Chapter 21
The regular training set by Zhongtian was from 8am to 6pm with one hour break at noon. However, most of the trainees would practice extra hours and it was not uncommon for them to practice until 11:00 or 12:00 at night.
They gave up their studies, signed a ten-year contract and there was no way back except to practice hard for their debut.
Cen Feng used to be the best among them, he was the earliest to practice and the latest to leave but now he has just become the unmotivated one. Yin Chang had already followed the other trainees in the training room and sweated for a round before Cen Feng arrived, late.
He wore a black basketball cap, he did not talk to anyone. The brim of the hat was very low, covering most of his face. He finished the dance that need to be practiced today under the distressed gaze of the dance teacher, he then sat down in the corner like a cold sculpture and looked out of the window in daze.
This was the dance that the trainees only started to learn yesterday, and Yin Chang has not even finished learning the movement while he could already dance it perfectly in on beat.
The dance teacher was amazed and saddened, amazed at his talent and saddened by abandoning himself.
But what should be said and what should be advised has been tried all year, and this once best seedling in their eyes has been labeled as a quitter.
The teacher sighed a few times and clapped his hand to attract the attention of the other trainees.
“Come on, practice twice more. Fang Wenle, don’t stare at Cen Feng. He can dance better than you with his eyes closed!”
The training room burst into laughter, Yin Chang gritted his teeth and withdrew his eyes, secretly resolving that he would surpass him!
Nearly noon, Niu Tao’s assistant came to call Cen Feng.
“Brother Niu wants you to go to the office.”
Niu Tao was the person who went to the night market to trouble him last night, and was the supervisor of the company who was specifically responsible for managing the trainees.
Cen Feng stood up and walked out in silence.
As soon as he left, the training room immediately started discussing.
“Is it time to talk him about the termination of his contract?”
“I guess so? It’s been a year, if it was anyone else he would been kicked out of the company.”
“It’s good if he leaves, it saves me from affecting my mood. He always look like a dead person every day.”
“How can you talk like that? Cen Feng used to treat you good, right? Staying up late to help you practice the dance since you dance like a dog.”
“Who the fuck are you calling a dog? Am I not right? Tell me, all of you, am I not right? Since he doesn’t want to stay here anymore, isn’t it better to leave sooner than later?”
“Yin Chang you have the best relationship with Cen Feng, you speak!”
Yin Chang who was still pressing his legs in the mirror, slowly take his legs down. His elegant, white and fair face had unconcealed sadness even his voice sounded muffled.
“Looking at him, he can do whatever he wants and be happy.”
Everyone knows that he has the best relationship with Cen Feng and now that Cen Feng was leaving, he should be the most upset. They were just a group of teenagers which had no deep hatred and at this time they all put aside their prejudice and wanted to comfort him.
Yin Chang said sadly but firmly.
“I’m fine, no matter what I’ll keep going on this road! Together with you guys!”
He was not aware of the commotion that happened in the training room because Cen Feng at this time was in the supervisor’s office, Niu Tao was sitting in front of the computer desk. He had changed from his arrogant and domineering face to a smiling one.
Standing opposite to him, Cen Feng still has the same look like he wouldn’t wrinkle his eyebrows even if the sky were to fell. Niu Tao slammed a document in front of him.
“This is your attendance in the past year, take a look at it yourself.”
Cen Feng glanced casually.
Niu Tao continued.
“Being late and leaving early for more than ten times, negligent and practice hours were the shortest among all.”
He leaned forward, dragged his chin with the back of his hand and asked with a smile.
“Cen Feng tell me the truth, do you want to debut?”
That smile was by no means friendly.
But he looked like a snake that spits out words with venom, he was sinister and horrible.
Cen Feng stared at him without saying anything.
Niu Tao waited for a while, but did not wait for his response. He leaned back in his chair and slowly said.
“Did you think I would say that I would cancel the contract if you say you don’t want to debut?”
He smiled grimly.
“Is that what you were waiting for?”
Cen Feng final frowned.
Niu Tao seemed to be satisfied with his performance, his fingers happily knocking on the edge of the table. He seems to want to use this method to break Cen Feng’s psychological defenses but after knocking for a long time, Cen Feng had no extra fluctuations on his expression except the frown just now.
Niu Tao couldn’t pretend any longer, he stood up abruptly and pointed his finger viciously in the air.
“Don’t even fucking think about it! What kind of place do you thing Zhongtian is? You think you can just come and go? I’m telling you, Cen Feng, you’ll rot and you’ll rot in Zhongtian! You don’t want to train, fine, no one will force you! You don’t want to debut, let me tell you once you decided you want to, you won’t have the chance! Not in this life!”
He picked up the trainee contract and slammed it over.
“Ten year contract, I will not take initiative to terminate the contract with you. Can you afford the liquidated damage? You can’t make enough money even if you sing in the night market for the rest of your life! You like to sing, right? Fine, you can sing whatever you want in the future but you can never terminate the contract peacefully, no way! You want to play tough with this Lao Zi1? I want to see who can afford it!”
After he got angry, he was happy inside as he waited to see Cen Feng’s panicked expression and come begging to him.
But the result disappointed him.
Cen Feng’s eyebrows were as usual, his dark pupils were still cold and indifferent as he asked him.
“Is there anything else? If nothing I’m leaving.”
Niu Tao almost drowned on his own breath.
Is he a fucking robot with no joy and anger?
He originally wanted to see Cen Feng wrecked appearance but he instead let Cen Feng see him as a joke. In order not to lose his self-control, he hurriedly waved his hand and with his evil voice drive him away.
“Get out! What I just said, you remember them.”
Cen Feng turned around and went out.
When he came downstairs, Yin Chang was waiting there with a few young men who had a good relationship with him. As soon as they saw him coming, they gathered around him.
“Cen Feng, are you going to cancel your contract?”
He ignored them and hung his eyes as he walked down the hall.
Yin Chang gritted his teeth and cried in front of everyone.
“Brother, do you really not care about me anymore?”
His good looks and fragile appearance was one of the types that could arose people’s desire to protect. This cry was almost helpless than a girl crying.
Cen Feng on the other hand just walked down the stairs with his indifferent back not even looking back.
The few people surrounding Cen Feng were all upset on him.
“What’s going on with Cen Feng? Is he treating all of us as enemies?”
“Obviously, we used to have a good relations so I don’t know what’s wrong with him.”
“We’ve been practicing together for at least three years, so even if we’re leaving we should still say hello, right?”
“It doesn’t to have to be termination of contract right? He’s not training well anymore, but he’s still the best of us! Mr. Amo even praised him this morning. Then the company won’t necessarily give up on him.”
Yin Chan thought that Cen Feng had just gone to the office to terminate his contract but now when he heard that, he felt he might not have get rid of him yet. For a moment his heart that was filled with sorrow and hatred for Cen Feng almost reached its peak. He didn’t want to train in the afternoon so he took a time off to rest in his room.
Cen Feng finished his afternoon practiced and casually ate dinner in the cafeteria and then left the company while it was snowing outside again.
The more it falls, the thicker the layer of snow has accumulated on the road.
With this weather, not many people would go to the night market and he does not have to go and sing but when he thought of the little girl who left last night. She said she would wait for him there today and after thinking about it, he finally quickened his pace back to the dormitory.
When he opened the door and entered his room, he saw that the mechanical model on the desk were gone including the parts he had piled up randomly.
Cen Feng stood at the door and paused for a second then turned around to knock in Yun Chang’s door.
He knocked for a long time before someone came to open the door, wearing pajama as if he just woken up and called out.
“Brother.”
Cen Feng spoke coldly.
“Where are the model and parts on my desk?”
Yin Chang looked like he didn’t anything.
“Brother what are you talking about? I…….”
Before he could finished speaking his collar was grabbed by Cen Feng.
He was thin and shorter than Cen Feng so when the latter grabbed his collar, he was easily lifted up. There was no room for resistance and with just a few steps Cen Feng pushed him back and banged close the window.
Yin Chang was shocked by his ruthless eyes and shouted out loud.
“Cen Feng what are you doing! Have you gone crazy?!”
Cen Feng choked him with one hand and opened the window with the other. Yin Chang only felt the cold wind pouring in and reacted only when most of his body was already hanging outside the window.
They live on the seventeenth floor, the cold wind whistling with the heavy snow scarping him like a knife.
Yin Chang directly collapsed and screamed like a pig.
Cen Feng tugged the collar and carried him upwards, Yin Chang saw the sinister look in his eyes like a beast tearing its prey apart. He was so scared that he couldn’t even scream and only heard him asked again.
“Where is the stuff?”
He shivered.
“It’s… under my bed.”
As soon as the words fell, he felt his body move downward. He cried and screamed pitifully calling his mother and father.
Hearing the commotion, the two other roommates finally ran over and sucked back a breath of cold air when they saw the scene and shouted at Cen Feng to stop.
Yin Chang clutched the window pane with both hands, fearing that Cen Feng would just throw him down, his nose was running as he said.
“Brother! Brother I was wrong! Sorry I was wrong brother, please…. Please brother!”
He violently yanked him back and Yin Chang’s entire body fell back to the floor with a thud.
Cen Feng turned around and walked to the bed, and found the model he had hidden underneath then returned to his room expressionlessly. The other two roommates looked at each other, and both saw horror in each other’s eyes.
Yin Chang was lying on the ground, his legs were too weak to get up.
In a few minutes, Cen Feng went out with his guitar on his back as what happened earlier was nobody’s business.
As snow was getting heavier, the warning for blizzards were announce on radio reminding the people to pay attention to safety.
When walking to the night market, the whole street was empty and most of the store were not open.
Cen Feng saw the little girl standing under the streetlight.
She still wears a thick, pink and white padded jacket with large red scarf and a hat with fox fur and was holding a pink box in her arms.
Because to was too cold, once in a while she would stomped her feet and bounce around as her fox ears followed.
Cen Feng walked over.
When she heard the footsteps, she looked up and saw him with joy in her eyes, excitedly running towards him and calling him from afar.
“Brother! It’s snowing so hard, I thought you wouldn’t come!”
As she run closer, he could smell a sweat creamy smell coming from her.
She held a small cake in her arms.
Cen Feng froze for a moment.
Xu Zhaixing looked around and walked towards the eaves next door where she could hide from the snow and waved at him.
“Brother come here.”
Cen Feng walked over and saw the little girl put the box on the step, took out the cake inside and inserted three candles.
Today was his birthday.
How did she know?
Xu Zhaixing as if unaware of his gaze stood up with the cake. The candle flame reflected her eyes, tinged with warm and bright light.
She smiled and said.
“Brother, today is my birthday but my parents are not home. No one to spend it with me, so I invited you to eat the cake with me instead.”
This snowy night was his eighteenth.
***
Lao Zi1– arrogant way of saying me, I
TL: my nostril were flaring up when translating this!! But really how sweet of Xu Zhaixing