Chapter 21.2
Meanwhile, Xiang Qingwei lay in a warm bath, staring blankly at the ceiling above as she sank into her thoughts.
Her long, dark hair was tied up, exposing her slender neck, and her face was free of makeup, revealing skin as delicate and fair as porcelain. Through the steam-fogged walls of the bathroom, she stared at the ceiling, replaying the conversation between herself and Zhou Yuehe over and over again, along with his abnormal attitude and behavior.
But no matter how she tried, she couldn't recall any interactions she'd had with Zhou Yuehe besides that dinner three years ago.
She didn't believe her memory was so poor that she couldn't recall events from merely three years prior, but even though she racked her brain until it felt like it would explode, she couldn't remember anything.
Covering her face with her hands, she let out a low moan, then submerged herself in the water, sinking down until her long, dark hair resembled seaweed drifting in the ocean.
Xiang Qingwei walked out of the bathroom, still in her pajamas, and into the bedroom, picking up a cell phone that had been ringing for a while.
"Hello?"
"It's me." Ning Yang's clear and refreshing voice came from the other end of the line, carrying an uncharacteristic hint of cheerfulness.
"I know." Sitting on the edge of the bed, Xiang Qingwei wiped her hair with a towel, her voice nonchalant.
Ning Yang paused, then said in a calm voice, "I just wanted to tell you that my performance rating today was an A." Afterward, he held his breath briefly, the corner of his lips lifting into a faint smile.
Xiang Qingwei's mind was occupied by the thoughts of Zhou Yuehe, and she had already known the result of the performance rating, so her tone was rather disinterested. "Mm, congratulations."
The response Ning Yang received was not what he had expected. The smile on his lips froze momentarily before disappearing altogether, and he fell silent.
"Are you moving out tomorrow?" Xiang Qingwei asked.
"Mm-hmm."
"I'll have Xiao Wu help you with your luggage tomorrow. Tell him if you need anything."
"Okay."
"You must be tired today, don't stay up too late, go get some rest soon."
"Okay."
"Um, I'll hang up then. Goodnight."
"... Goodnight."
Ning Yang clenched the phone that had been hung up on him, the nervous anticipation on his face from earlier replaced with a look of loss. As soon as the recording ended, he'd wanted to call her, but he was afraid she might be busy, so he waited until he got back to the hotel to dial her number.
But perhaps he had misjudged her. To her, he wasn't as important as he thought.
For a while, Ning Yang sat motionlessly by the bed, then pulled himself up and went to the bathroom to shower.
To her, he was merely one of her many artists, nothing special.
Xiang Qingwei hung up the phone and stood up to blow dry her hair.
Once she finished, she suddenly felt her reaction just now was too cold. Ning Yang had never taken the initiative to call her before, and when he finally did, it was to tell her his evaluation rating. He must have wanted to receive her praise, only to be met with her indifferent reaction, which must have disappointed him greatly.
Xiang Qingwei sat on the bed holding her phone, then sent a WeChat message to Ning Yang.
Ning Yang finished bathing and drying his hair, emerging from the bathroom still glum, feeling no better at all. Tomorrow, they still had more recordings to do, so they needed to wake up early.
Ning Yang didn't touch his phone again, lying on the bed and closing his eyes in preparation for sleep.
Yet after what felt like a long time, his consciousness was still awake, devoid of any hint of drowsiness, and his chest felt tight and suffocating.
He raised a hand to check the time on his phone resting on the nightstand, but upon unlocking the screen, he saw two messages on WeChat.
Upon seeing Xiang Qingwei's name, he paused for a moment, then slid open the app.
Xiang Qingwei: "I was backstage today during the recording, and I saw that you got your first A! You looked super cool climbing toward the top of the pyramid! Keep it up!"
Then, she added an encouraging message and a cute emoji of a pat on the head.
The screen lit Ning Yang's face, his dark eyes gleaming in the glow. So she had been backstage the whole time. She already knew he had received the grade A, which was why she remained so calm on the phone earlier.
The dejection in his chest vanished, replaced by a newfound cheerfulness.
Ning Yang responded, "Why didn't you tell me you were here?"
Xiang Qingwei replied swiftly, "I was afraid you'd be nervous."
"Are you still not going to bed? You need to get up early tomorrow, so you should hurry up."
Ning Yang's lips curled up even more. "Mm, I'm going to bed now."
"Okay, sweet dreams."
"Goodnight."
After sending this last message, Ning Yang didn't immediately put down his phone. Instead, he scrolled up to reread their conversation. It was only a handful of messages, but he read it over and over again, the corners of his lips curved upward throughout.
Only when he saw the time in the corner did he finally turn off his phone and place it beside his pillow instead of the nightstand. He closed his eyes, inhaled gently, and exhaled slowly, drifting into a peaceful slumber with a faint smile on his face.
Xiang Qingwei closed the chat window with Ning Yang, then opened the windows of Xiao Dong and Xiao Dong, who both reported to her about Ling Jiayi and Tao Yuner's condition today.
As a manager, she had to pay attention to every aspect of her artists' lives, not just their work, but also their emotions and overall well-being.
After briefly chatting with them, she closed WeChat, put her phone on the other side of the bed, and lay down to sleep.
She didn't transfer the money for the medication to Xiao Zhao.
Now that Zhou Yuehe had taken a turn for the worse, transferring money over would be akin to slapping him in the face.
The thought of Zhou Yuehe once again gave Xiang Qingwei a headache. This inexplicable feeling of constantly forgetting something was driving her mad.
Early the next morning, Xiang Qingwei arrived at the hotel and knocked on Ning Yang's door.
Ning Yang thought it was Xiao Wu, but upon opening the door, he found Xiang Qingwei standing outside.
"Good morning." Xiang Qingwei handed him the breakfast she'd brought for him, then stepped inside the room.
Ning Yang accepted the food in a daze, frozen momentarily before he came back to his senses, closed the door, and followed Xiang Qingwei into her room.
"Xiao Wu has something else to take care of today, so I'll be taking you to the bureau." Xiang Qingwei looked slightly surprised at the luggage already neatly packed by the bed. "You've already packed your things?"
Ning Yang grabbed the breakfast from her, still scratching his head. "Mm-hmm, just a few small things left to put away."
"Don't mind me. Go ahead and eat your breakfast first," Xiang Qingwei said.
"Have you eaten yet?" Ning Yang asked.
"I ate on the way here." Xiang Qingwei turned to look at him. "May I take a look inside your suitcase?"
Ning Yang nodded, slightly taken aback, then set the breakfast down on the table. He came over and unlocked both cases, opening them up.
"Go ahead and eat. I'll just look through your things," Xiang Qingwei said.
Ning Yang walked over to sit down and eat.
"That's all your belongings?" Xiang Qingwei asked, surprised.
Inside his suitcase, aside from a few sets of clothes, there was only a hair dryer and some toiletries, yet even that didn't fill up one whole case.
"Mm-hmm," Ning Yang confirmed.
"You're not wearing enough clothes. I'll buy you a few outfits, and have Xiao Wu deliver them to you," Xiang Qingwei said. "Do you have enough money?"
"I do," Ning Yang replied.
The last time they met, Xiang Qingwei had given him an advance of fifty thousand yuan, but he hadn't used much of it. He'd given most of it to his mother, keeping only a small portion for himself.
Xiang Qingwei sounded like a mother hen, chattering away.
"After you move into the dorm, try to interact more with the other contestants. Be generous with your money, and don't hesitate to call me if you run out. You can spend your own money without any pressure."
Ning Yang listened patiently. "Okay."
"Do you smoke?" Xiang Qingwei asked casually as she helped him close the suitcase.
Ning Yang blinked, slightly startled. "No."
"Good. It's best if you don't, but even if you do, don't smoke in public," Xiang Qingwei said.
"Okay. I understand."
Xiang Qingwei sat down on the edge of the bed, looked at Ning Yang, and laughed. "Am I too chatty?"
"No," Ning Yang said.
In truth, he enjoyed listening to her talk.
"That's good," Xiang Qingwei said. "Ling Jiayi always complains that I'm too chatty. Oh, right, do you know Ling Jiayi? He's another artist I manage."
"I do." Ning Yang's dark eyes flickered slightly. "He's very popular."
Xiang Qingwei smiled. "Once you debut, you won't be any less successful than him."
Ning Yang looked up at her, his black eyes bright and shining.
"Mm-hmm."
After checking out, Xiang Qingwei and Ning Yang descended the stairs to the lobby.
Then she drove him to the dorms.
Super Idol's recording sessions were closed to the public; contestants could not leave the recording base for three months unless it was an emergency.
The traffic on their way was quite smooth, and they arrived at their destination within half an hour.
This morning, the crew only recorded footage of the contestants moving into the dorms, so the afternoon would be dedicated to filming the next episode of the initial rankings.
As a result, this was precisely when the contestants were moving in.
Most contestants moved their luggage over on their own, while a minority had assistants or family members help them.
Xiang Qingwei parked her car beneath the dorm building, and then stepped out. She wore a dress in a soft apricot color, paired with white strappy heels, her long black hair loosely tied into a ponytail, and a light, natural makeup look.
Unlike the vibrant youthful beauty of other pretty young women, she possessed an elegance and mature attractiveness.
Quite a few contestants who were pushing their suitcases glanced over, especially when they saw Ning Yang descend from her vehicle. Immediately, they began speculating about Xiang Qingwei and his relationship.
"Huh? Isn't that Ning Yang? Who's that woman with him?"
"It's probably his sister."
"Driving a BMW, huh? You must be loaded. I'm so jealous."
Xiang Qingwei looked nothing like the typical manager, so at first, no one even guessed she was Ning Yang's manager; most assumed she was his sister.
Xiang Qingwei couldn't enter the dorm, so she stopped at the door. "I won't go up. Don't worry about the auntie, I'll visit her when I have the time."
"All right," Ning Yang replied.
Xiang Qingwei lifted a hand and playfully patted his head. "Behave now, alright? I'll come visit you if I have the chance."
She wasn't more than a few years older than him, yet she had the demeanor of a parent.
Ning Yang's face felt warm, and he glanced at her with bright eyes before nodding.
"Go on in," Xiang Qingwei said with a smile.
"I'm leaving," Ning Yang said.
Xiang Qingwei nodded, still smiling.
Ning Yang picked up his suitcase and walked into the main hall, but before reaching the elevator, he couldn't help but turn back and look. Xiang Qingwei was still standing outside the door, waving at him with a grin. His lips curved upward as well, and he lifted his hand to wave back at her.
Several contestants nearby turned to look, including Yao Yuan, whose gaze met Xiang Qingwei's.
Perhaps it was only his imagination, but the woman had smiled at him.
The elevator door opened.
The contestants all stepped inside.
When they reached the fifth floor, the corridors on both sides led to their dormitories, and a list hung above each door with the names of the residents.
"Wow! I'm rooming with Tan Yi!"
"Which room am I in? I can't find my name!"
"Chen Xuan! Which room are you in?!"
The corridor echoed with the contestants' excited voices.
Ning Yang quickly found his name, and directly below it was Yao Yuan's.
He pushed open the door to his dorm room, rolling suitcase in hand.
Yao Yuan and a few other Createx Entertainment members followed close behind, also pushing their rolling suitcases.
"Hey! Ning Yang! We're roommates!" One of the boys, a tall guy with bleached hair, greeted him enthusiastically. "Nice to meet you, I'm Tan Zhengyu, from Createx Entertainment." He then introduced the others to Ning Yang.
Six people could fit in each dorm room, and aside from Ning Yang, the other three were all from Createx Entertainment.
Ning Yang responded courteously.
"Hey, Ning Yang, who was that who just dropped you off? Your sister?" Tan Zhengyu asked curiously.
"It's my manager," Ning Yang said.
Tan Zhengyu's eyes widened in surprise. "No way. Your manager is that pretty?!"
Another competitor from Createx Entertainment was also surprised. "That's your manager? No way! She looks so young."
Even Yao Yuan, who was busy opening the suitcase, paused momentarily before looking up.
The woman at the entrance earlier was the person who had discovered Ling Jiayi and Tao Yuner?
"Wow, Ning Yang's manager is so pretty. I'm jealous now," the trainees from Createx Entertainment discussed amongst themselves.
Ning Yang pushed the suitcase under his bed, a slight furrow between his eyebrows as he listened to the others discuss Xiang Qingwei. He wasn't feeling happy or proud at their comments, rather the opposite; he didn't like them talking about her like that.
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