CH 2

Chapter 2 – Devil Incarnate

“Am I not good-looking enough or not rich enough?”

Upon seeing this particular comment, Ling Yi reacted faster than Fang Juexia, and immediately shifted the computer to the side. “Ah, the situation is probably just like that now…”

In fact, Fang Juexia didn’t actually think it was a big deal. Anyway, that was what the online world was like—even if something was false, if you said it an enough number of times, it would become true. 

Just as he was about to take the initiative to change the subject, Jiang Miao brought out a bowl of soup from the kitchen. “Juexia, Qiang Ge just called you, but you missed it. He wants you to go to the company for a meeting. Oh, right,” he added, “Xiao Pei has already gone over there.”

“Right now?”

“Yes.”

Under the pressure of the aura of maternal love being exuded by the captain, Fang Juexia still ended up drinking the bowl of chicken soup before rushing to the company.

He hadn’t expected that even the boss would join this meeting. Although Star Chart could only be regarded as a small-scale brokerage company, the boss still usually had a lot of things to do, so he seldom appeared in the actual company.

“Here he is, sit down.” Boss Chen Zhengyun sat in the middle of the conference room with his hands folded, and motioned for him to sit next to him. Fang Juexia sat down based on his directive and then looked across the long table.

The one who had pulled down his gray wool hat to cover his eyes and was leaning back in the chair to sleep soundly in public couldn’t be anyone else but Pei Tingsong.

“Xiao Pei, wake up.” Cheng Qiang, who was sitting next to him, woke him up. Pei Tingsong pushed his hat up in a daze, then took it off and scratched his head. The clouds parted to reveal his sharp brow and eyes, which were directly aimed at Fang Juexia, who was right across from him. 

“Finally arrived.” The first sentence he uttered upon waking up was not polite in the least. 

His eyes were pinned on Fang Juexia, but Fang Juexia reflexively turned his face to look away, so his birthmark at the corner of his left eye was now facing Pei Tingsong. Seeing it made him think back to when he was little and had seen a particular kind of flower in the garden. It had been pink, and its petals had been long and slender, exactly the same as the shape of Fan Juexia’s birthmark at the corner of his eye.

“Since last night, the two of you have been hanging on the Hot Searches list, and we were also quite surprised by this.” Chen Zhengyun glanced at his assistant and ordered, “Report the findings.”

This incident had blown up quite suddenly, but Chen Zhengyun had still sent someone to record and analyze the data at the first possible moment. There were a lot of PowerPoint slides dedicated to the data. Fang Juexia didn’t speak and just listened quietly. He casually glanced sideways at Pei Tingsong and saw him lying on the table, about to fall asleep again. 

“It’s basically like this: not only on Weibo and the Baidu Index, but also on some websites with a lesser number of active users, their trending search numbers are quite considerable.” The assistant laughed. “They’re trending even hotter right now than when Kaleido debuted.”

Pei Tingsong, who had closed his eyes, suddenly let out a mocking laugh. 

So he wasn’t asleep. Fang Juexia glanced at him again, and unexpectedly, this guy actually opened his eyes at that same instant. Both of them were caught off guard as their eyes met. Pei Tingsong had a pair of long, narrow, yet deep eyes, and the sharp contrast between the whites of his eyes and the black of his iris strongly gave off an aggressive feel. 

“Although it wasn’t done on purpose, the popularity is real. As all of you know, Kaleido’s development, even after having already debuted for two years now, has never been satisfactory.” Chen Zhengyun’s eyes flitted back and forth between the two people. “We’re having this meeting today in order to also discuss the development plans for the later stages.”

Fang Juexia knew how things stood. For artists, their boss counted as a very honest and kind person. Even if they had already debuted for two years and had only amassed a tepid following, he hadn’t forced everyone in the group to crazily participate in a variety of shows in order to improve their exposure unless the artists themselves asked to do so.

In other words, their group had also debuted pretty hastily. It had once been ridiculed as “five bargain-priced hidden treasures + one airborne household”.

At the beginning, it was because their senior brother group had gotten a bit popular, especially the group’s face, Shang Sirui. Taking advantage of the favorable winds, Star Chart had wanted to launch another new boy band. Fang Juexia, who had once been a trainee who had nearly debuted in a large company, naturally deserved the center position in this new group.

The other main dancer, Lu Yuan, had been the champion in a hip-hop competition before, but after the competition, due to an uneven distribution of interests in the company, he had been kicked out by the original dance company. After experiencing several twists and turns, he came to Star Chart. 

Ling Yi, the lead singer, had been born with a good voice, and when he had been a child, he had taken part in a children’s singing talent show. Unfortunately, he had encountered people with special connections, and so had only ever taken second place. When he was 17, he had participated in another recruitment talent show, but again, because he had no connections, he could only make it into the finals before being eliminated. Later, he was recruited by Star Chart’s talent scouts and became a trainee. He had trained for three and a half years before he made his debut.

Group leader Jiang Miao was a student from the Central Conservatory of Music, and he was good at playing the guzheng. Unfortunately, his family’s situation wasn’t good, so in order to support his Meimei, he had, for a time, become an anchor and had livestreamed playing the guzheng. However, he wasn’t popular because he didn’t show his face. He was then discovered by Star Chart’s talent scout and was turned into a trainee. 

As for the two rappers in the group, among all the idol trainees, they stood out even more for having “unknown origins”. He Ziyan had been very young when he had started mixing with underground bands, and he had also gone to bars to sing and work as a DJ back then. He had a natural gift for electronic music, but he never even mentioned his home or his family. Pei Tingsong counted as the only one amongst all of them who had been born with a golden spoon in his mouth. He had parachuted in as an airborne just before the group was created, throwing all the previous plans and arrangements into disarray, for everything had to be rearranged to shove this young master into the group.

However, it was undeniable that in this circle, Pei Tingsong’s rapping skills and creative ability were absolutely top-notch. When they had debuted two years ago, he had only been 19, and his family background, talent, and appearance were all so well-tailored that it felt as if someone had created a bug in the system, so it would have been difficult for the company to not have gone crazy over him. 

“I won’t do it.” Pei Tingsong didn’t mince words. With one hand supporting his cheek, his other hand picked up the pen on the table and twirled it. 

Chen Zhengyun didn’t seem to pay much attention to him. He turned to Fang Juexia and continued, “The planning department worked overtime and gave me a new outline.” The assistant distributed the plans to everyone in the room while Chen Zhengyun stated simply and clearly, “The company is ready to readjust the marketing strategy for you guys. To be frank, even if you and Xiao Pei agree to do fanservice by being a CP together, you don’t need to show too much intimacy. Be fairly normal, and just show a bit of friendship between group members, and that’ll be enough.”

These words stabbed straight into the bottom of these two people’s hearts. They had been at odds with each other ever since their debut, with both of them looking down upon the other. It was just that the way Fang Juexia expressed his dislike was by not spending much time with the other party, while Pei Tingsong wasn’t the same. He would come by every once in a while to play some vile tricks on him. 

Otherwise, it wouldn’t have stirred up this big of an uproar. 

“This is a very good opportunity. As long as you grasp this popularity, your future development will certainly reach new levels.”

Fang Juexia stared at the plan and was silent for a few seconds. He thought of all the large and small conflicts that had erupted between Pei Tingsong and him during the past two years. If their relationship stayed the way it had always been like, he could try to avoid him as much as possible and thus maintain a harmonious atmosphere within the team. But if they agreed to this….

The consequences were unimaginable.

He looked up and said, “Boss, forget it ba. I don’t really want to form a CP.”

Just as his voice fell, and even before the boss could get a chance to deal with him, the person from across the table started to get angry and asked, “Looking down on forming a CP with me?”

“Give me some reason to be convinced.” Pei Tingsong raised his eyebrows, his eyes contemplative. “Am I not good-looking enough or not rich enough?”

He was hinting brazenly. Fang Juexia neither changed his expression nor did he answer.

“Then, Xiao Pei, you really want to form a CP, don’t you?” Chen Zhengyun jerked his chin over at Cheng Qiang and said, “Record it down, the youngest member agreed.”

Xiao Pei rolled his eyes, and disagreed in a lifeless tone, “No.”

“You seem pretty eager to me.” Chen Zhengyun was too lazy to dally around with others. His gaze fell back on Fang Juexia, and he said, “Juexia, this matter concerns not only the two of you, but also the whole group. In fact, it’s okay if you don’t want to; it’ll just be losing a chance to gain some fans outside of the usual circle. But then again, by now, people online have already dug up old videos of the two of you, and as long as this topic keeps getting more popular, it will spread by itself. Even if you don’t take the initiative to organize any CP fanservice, from the moment that video landed on yesterday’s Hot Searches list, you two have been passively trussed together.”

His implication was that by looking at the current state of affairs, you should just go ahead and seize the initiative on this matter, rather than remaining passive. 

Fang Juexia looked at him. “I just don’t want to use this method.”

“It’s not a method, Juexia, it’s an opportunity.” Chen Zhengyun shrugged before adding, “The six of you, based purely on your strengths, could definitely have achieved better results than what the situation is like right now. The most difficult thing though is to have strength without having any opportunities.”

“Or have you already forgotten what you said to me when you first joined the company?”

Fang Juexia’s heart suddenly contracted. 

He had said that he wanted to stand in the center of the stage.

But he didn’t even have a stage now.

Even though their debut had involved a lot of coincidences, the company had still put their whole heart into it. Chen Zhengyun himself had prepared and completed the initial stages of planning for their group’s debut. The group’s name—Kaleido—was also based on the word ‘kaleidoscope’, embodying the ever-changing meaning of a kaleidoscope. They were all very clear on the hope that had been placed on them. 

But whether a group could succeed or not involved too many factors.

A thin layer of sweat formed on his palms, his nerves seemed as if they were being shredded inch by inch, and he stiffened. At this time, his cellphone suddenly vibrated, and Fang Juexia’s hand trembled. Seeing the caller ID flash by, his brow tightened even more. 

“Sorry, I… need to go out first.”

Chen Zhengyun nodded and since it was already like this, he let everyone else take a break too, also going outside to smoke. Only Pei Tingsong and Cheng Qiang were left in the conference room. Pei Tingsong felt bored stiff as he held the pen to practice calligraphy on the papers containing the plan. He had originally wanted to write out his name, but had just written the first part of ‘Pei’ when he heard Cheng Qiang sigh. He looked up to see that Cheng Qiang’s face was cloudy and grim with demoralization. 

He was a little curious. “Strong Ge, what’s the matter with you?”

The name ‘Strong Ge’ had been given to him by their fans first. This was because during airport meetups, all of the group members called him Qiang Ge, Qiang Ge. The fans heard them wrong, and since then had always called him Strong Ge. Pei Tingsong felt it was interesting and decided to follow suit. 

Cheng Qiang fidgeted and said, “Shit, as soon as we talk about it, I get angry…”

Fang Juexia had to go around and around in circles before he managed to find an empty meeting room on the same floor. He originally didn’t want to answer the phone, but this Assistant Director Yang was not only the assistant director for a number of variety shows, but was also a small high-levelled member on the program broadcasting platform. As a small, not-so-popular idol, he had already crossed the limits by not giving him much face. 

“Assistant Director Yang.”

The person on the other end of the line seemed to have switched personalities as he said with a kind tone, “Xiao Fang ah, you’re not busy at the moment ba? Yesterday, my temper was really a bit bad. If the words I used were too heavy, don’t take it to heart. You also know that I like you very much, and it’s only because I like you that I grew a bit excited….”

Once the word “like” came out of his mouth, Fang Juexia frowned. He put his cellphone back in his pocket and adjusted his wireless earbuds. “Director, I have already clearly expressed my intentions…” 

“You child, listen to me finish first. You got on the Hot Searches list yesterday, and don’t you feel pretty happy about it? You see, you actually have potential with how good-looking you are, right ba? You also have the professional ability, but just lack the steps to climb up.”

The more he spoke, the more disgust piled up in Fang Juexia’s heart. It was as if the big-bellied and disrespectful assistant director was standing in front of him at the moment, with lewdness spilling out of his eyes as he caressed his shoulder with that thick hand of his. Now, even hearing the sound of his breathing through the receiver made him feel sick.

“Assistant Director Yang, if you have to impose upon people…”

Without waiting for Fang Juexia to finish his sentence, the other end retorted in a loud voice—

“How is this imposing on people! This is simply taking what each person needs. All this mess trending online these past two days was because of your company buying a spot on the Hot Searches list ba. That’s good ah, they have learned how to boost people now. They should have started doing things this way a long time ago ma. But you have to think clearly, new people are piled up to the brim at all times in this circle. If you don’t get the exposure required to follow-up and make good use of this popularity right now, then it’ll all be in vain. All the money you guys spent on the Hot Searches list will be as if you tossed it into the water instead. Do you understand?”

The sharp voice coming through the earphones solidified and transformed into a grating electronic sound, cruelly cutting through Fang Juexia’s proud self-esteem.

At this moment, he had become a cheap commodity on the shelf. Even if he didn’t end up in the pitiable situation of being forced to be bought and sold, anyone could come along and wantonly crumble his insides into pieces, leaving behind only the fragile plastic packaging intact. Pick it up and shake it, and all you would be able to hear would be the clear wails of broken dreams colliding against each other.

The more the other side said, the more confident he grew, and so started exhibiting his intention of seducing him over to his side by saying, “What is a good way to gain exposure? Of course it’s by participating in a reality show ah! When it comes to reality shows, your company doesn’t have the kind of contacts I do…”

Nausea, dizziness and fatigue, along with his lack of food, darkened his vision and weakened his legs and feet. The voice coming through the headset split into countless pieces of sounds, with bursts of static layered on top of them. 

“What’s there to do online? If you’re going to do something, you need to get on a satellite TV program. For every minute you are on such a program, your national profile will increase, just like the boat that rises with the tide. Xiao Fang, you just have to take it easy. As long as you come to me, I promise to tailor one such plan just for you…”

All of a sudden, his cheek was brushed by cold fingertips.

The source of his disgust disappeared with his earphones being removed. His ears were empty for a moment, and the noisy and chaotic world suddenly quieted down, it felt as if he had sunk into the deep sea. 

“Assistant Director Yang.”

A hand was casually placed on Fang Juexia’s shoulder, and his entire body went stiff as he turned his head in stupefaction. 

The old man on the other end of the call, who had originally had an unceasing stream of words to still vomit out, was stunned at the sound of this voice, and the exaggerated words that he had held onto scattered all over the floor. After all, this low voice didn’t sound anything like Fang Juexia’s, and its cynical tone contained nothing in common with Fang Juexia. 

“I’ve recorded this.”