Proofreader: Kazuha

Du Yun Xiu drove his car through the night city that was lit up with the bright neon lights. The city had a steady stream of vehicles and a flow of weaving people.

The bright tail lights reminded him of the flash of camera lights, bright and ruthless. Artists like himself need these lights to become well known, but at the same time, their wounds were also treated cruelly by these camera lights and their lens.

Du Yun Xiu could not tell what his feelings were for Feng Jing.

Perhaps the other man only regarded him as one of his many artists, or perhaps he did not meet the other man's standards of a friend, but...

Many years ago in his past life, he was not that close to Feng Jing. But from a bystander's point of view, he had witnessed Feng Jing change from being an unknown newcomer to becoming the center of the limelight, to be the only star that would be able to compete with Xie Yi; but at his most prime time, he had decided to retreat and work behind the scenes and became the ace manager, helping Li Rui seize the power of ESE, which led to Li Chen's retaliation on him...

Everything that followed can be summarized in just a few words.

But Du Yun Xiu knew very well the price that Feng Jing had to pay was far more than what it appeared to be on the surface.

Du Yun Xiu had once compared himself with Feng Jing.

Feng Jing was different from him in that Feng Jing was decisive and had a unique charm so he could go farther in his career. However, both he and Feng Jing did not have any secure connections or a powerful background, loved acting, and had paid a lot for their lovers...

At least he has had a chance to restart his life.

And Feng Jing...probably the other man only has an identity of a former popular star.

The other man had entered ESE. If it was not to help Li Rui train other artists into professional actors, Du Yu Xiu really could not find a reason for the newcomer who loved acting so much to give up on his own career at the prime time of his youth, and retreat to be behind the scenes rather than being active on the big screen.

In his past life, Du Yun Xiu was just a second-rate actor, but he had felt the pleasure of performing on screen; it was like an addictive drug, once you have a taste of it, you could never let go of it. Even Xie Yi would rather give him up, to pursue acting---However, Feng Jing, a rising star at the time, could easily abandon acting just like that.

In this world.

Only love has the power to override other qualifications. And only love wouldl make people willing to give up on everything.

But not everyone is willing to sacrifice everything for love.

At the present.

Meeting Feng Jing again after his rebirth, at first he could not get used to Feng Jing's way of doing things; but with all the events following his rebirth, if it was not for Feng Jing's suggestions and guidance, he probably would still be the same as before his rebirth, and would not be able to identify the flaws in his character and would not know which aspects of his personality needed improvement.

It was because of Feng Jing.

His rebirth had fulfilled its true meaning of being reborn. Not only in acting, but also in life.

*** *** ***

Du Yun Xiu went through each club, coming in and out of each bar...

Nothing.

He went to all the places that Feng Jing frequented, yet the other man was not in any of them.

The chilly night breeze of the starry night brushed by his face.

Du Yun Xiu looked at his phone, it was already 1 o'clock. Yet he did not give up and tried to dial the other man again; even though he knew the possibility of the man picking up was quite low, he still held onto that one hope that the other man would pick up.

The phone kept on ringing for a long time.

When Du Yun Xiu thought he would hear the phrase "the number you have dialed is not in service" message again, the call strangely got connected!

He had been dialing this number many times and failed, so when the call actually connected Du Yun Xiu could not believe it, but due to the noisy background on the other line---the other had really picked up the call!

"Where are you?! Are you doing ok?!" Du Yun Xiu did not have time to think much, and just directly blurted out this sentence with his tone full of concern.

"Not bad."

Feng Jing's drunken lazy voice came through the other line along with bursts of laughter in the background, "...isn't that so ah, baby~"

Du Yun Xiu's heart shivered.

But then he recovered from his dazed state at Feng Jing's frivolous voice and laughter, he could tell that the man was flirting with the people next to him.

"Where are you? I'll come to pick you up!" Du Yun Xiu said decisively.

"Ah, so boring! You called me 58 times just to say this. Hang up, I have other "arrangements" for tonight already." Feng Jing laughed flirtatiously, and the last sentence sounded very ambiguous.

Du Yun Xiu understood right away what the other man meant.

One night stand...

"Not allowed!" Du Yun Xiu decisively ordered.

"...listen to me, Feng Jing, I know that you're hurting right now." Du Yun Xiu lowered his tone a bit, and said slowly.

He actually did not know how to comfort Feng Jing.

Feng Jing had a very strong self-esteem, and when he encountered such a situation, he would rather bear it all by himself, and definitely did not want others' sympathies.

But at this moment, Du Yun Xiu felt like he wanted to say something.

Like that one time when his sexual orientation was being exposed...

He just wanted Xie Yi to say something, just anything, even just a few words like, "I'll be here with you", "Don't be afraid", or "stop". Then the pain in his heart would have lessened. Alleviated by a lot.

No matter how much he pretended his heart was made out of steel, and would not be injured.

There would be times that he felt so pained and suffocated, when he became all powerless...

"Are you sympathetic of my situation? When in fact, seeing me falling down like this...you're indeed very happy!" The other man's tone turned cold, "Haha, look, a complacent Feng Jing will become this miserable! He also has this kind of day!"

"No!" Du Yun Xiu immediately retorted, "It's not like that!"

Du Yun Xiu clenched his phone to adjust his breathing.

"...All this time, I've been envying you. Whether as an actor, manager, or in other aspects, you've done them so well. You like challenge, being proactive, even if you have to take risks that bear a lot of risk, you are willing to try them!"

"Not everyone can have this kind of character, for someone who has had a second chance at life, being reborn again, if they don't possess such enthusiasm and the courage to go against all odds like you, even if they're being bestowed with a talent or an ability, they might not be able to do it better than you..."

"It is true. There are people who dislike you, this is inevitable. But there are a lot of people that are envious of you, and like you! They like your character, like you for who you are...Now, such things happen, of course they will care about you, and this caring---is not sympathy nor ridicule!"

"Because they like you and care about you! They don't want to see you unhappy!"

"..."

The other end of the line remained silent.

The other man did not say anything, only the sound of laughters and conversations in the background resonated through the earpiece.

"Give me the address. I'll pick you up." Du Yun Xiu took in his breath twice, and then said. Such a gentle tone that the other party could not resist.

"...Noble." Feng Jing hesitated for a moment then said softly.

"Noble on East Street, a male host pub."

"...Got it. Stay there and wait for me, don't go anywhere, I'm coming to get you."

Du Yun Xiu arrived at Noble at 2 o'clock, late into the night.

This is a very upscale nightclub, with stylish decorations. A magnificent hall with the frosted glass door painted with a gold-rimmed sign that said "Noble" in italics, written in gorgeous and elegant Western style. Right after he entered the place, handsome hosts in black suit uniforms turned around and welcomed him.

If it were a usual situation, he might have sighed in appreciation of this club's hosts' appearances, which can be comparable to those of popular idols and celebrities'.

But right now, in his heart there was only Feng Jing.

Perhaps it was due to the fact that his mind was filled with thoughts of Feng Jing.

With just one glance, Du Yun Xiu immediately found the man that he looking for. He was currently half-lying on the leather sofa in the corner of the hall...

He still had that mischievous look on, maybe he was having quite a lot to drink, so his cheeks were tinted and emitted an attractive aura.

His ink-colored eyes were long and narrow, but they did not have the usual flirtatious curvy look, and it seemed like they carried a bit of coldness in the stare. His mouth curved up into a perfectly shifted cold smile that carried a hint of hidden ridicule, a trace of brutal meaning...

The goblet was placed on the matte round coffee table.

Feng Jing did not use the glass, instead he directly held up the liquor bottle and chugged it down. Next to him were two male escorts, one tall and handsome, and another one beautiful and cute; the two of them kept on persuading him to drink the wine, as they bit down Feng Jing's earlobes, blowing and touching him in an ambiguous way.

Feng Jing did not seem to look like what he sounded in the phone earlier of taking the initiative to flirt with other people, but he just sat still to lazily drink his wine and welcomed all comers, then flirted back with a smile.

"Let's go back." Du Yun Xiu came forward, completely ignored the unhappy look of the two male escorts.

Feng Jing, who had been drinking his wine was stunned for a moment.

"...you? Really came..."

"Isn't that what I told you on the phone?" Du Yun Xiu replied as he hooked his arm around Feng Jing's shoulders.

Due to his excessive drinking.

Feng Jing could not stand straight on his feet, his body became fragile, Du Yun Xiu could feel the flexible muscle through the fabric, the other man's body reeked of alcohol, he could easily detect the strong spicy mellow scent through the other's breath.

When Du Yun Xiu put his arm around Feng Jing, he noticed that although Feng Jing seemed to have a broad shoulder from the clothes that he wore, they were unexpected flimsy. He was suddenly being reminded of the day that Fu Zi Han put his arms around his shoulders...Fu Zi Han's shoulders were wide and secure, while Feng Jing's were not, his shoulders were the kind that..made people feel distressed for him trying to be strong.

Feng Jing was leaning on Du Yun Xiu's body as he looked up, his slender eyes looked at Du Yun Xiu. Those eyes seemed to be measuring and considering something. After staring for a long time Feng Jing finally spoke up.

"My card got maxed out!"

"I'll pay!"

Du Yun Xiu wanted to send Feng Jing home.

But Feng Jing insisted on going to Du Yun Xiu's house, even though it was not appropriate, he noticed Feng Jing had finished two bottle of hard liquor from the bill! Du Yun Xiu was afraid that something might happen to Feng Jing while the other man was in his current condition, so it probably would be the best choice to bring the drunken man to his apartment, so it would be easier for him to take care of Feng Jing.

Sure enough, it was very warm in the car which caused the drunken man to sweat out some of his alcohol, and as they got off the car the cold breeze at night brushed by the man's skin, encountering such a sudden change in temperature acted as a trigger for the hard liquor in the man's system to display its awesome wild power.

Feng Jing was not just staggering in his pace, he kept on blabbering nonsense, and several times he raised up his fist as he cussed.

"He really thinks that he would be able to drive me out that easily! Hahaha, fuck our unrealistic dream!"

"For him, I've done so much for ESE, why did he want to cast me out?!"

"Those ESE artists, half of them are being handpicked by me, by me! How many years does it take to cultivate an artist? One year, three years, five years...I've invested more than ten years of my life for this company!"

"He thinks that he can drive me out with this trick! He really is underestimating this Feng Jing! ---I still have a trump card in my hand! ...haha, but I will not tell him..."

"If he's being heartless, then I'll be unjust. If I were to die, I would also drag him down with me; his reputation will be swept away, it'll be either the fish dies or the net splits, I also want him Li Rui to taste what I'm feeling now! I'm not a toy that he can throw away as he pleases! Isn't that so! Hm? Tell me, isn't that so?..."

Feng Jing grabbed Du Yun Xiu by the collar.

A ruthless light flashed through his slender eyes like a burning hot fire, but the next second, this light slowly dimmed down, the previous sharp tone...also became weak.

It was like such power that makes everyone feels amazed from earlier was being taken away from him.

Only the hurts could be seen through those eyes.

Feng Jing's body slowly slid down.

Du Yun Xiu did not hold onto him, and just watched Feng Jing slipping down on the cold ground, gray stains were visible on his noble clothes, like a lonely wolf that was being abandoned in the moonlight...

The moonlight was very pale.

At this moment, Feng Jing looked quite lost sitting on the ground. The dark night cast a big shadow over him.

After what seemed like a very long time.

A weak and dull voice came to Du Yun Xiu's ears.

"...why is he going to marry that woman?"

"Didn't you say that it was just for stabilizing the share in ESE? Why... are you following that woman's wish, to drive me out of ESE."

Feng Jing's voice was not as impulsive and outrageous as before.

Just that each word and each sentence became faint and weak.

But Du Yun Xiu could also feel that the night wind around them seemed to be gently sobbing...

---

End of Chapter 36