Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Xie Xingyun never told me that Song Zhongtong had come to see him.

I only found out because a media outlet I was familiar with had captured a video of Xie Xingyun shopping at a supermarket with a young woman.

I had a fairly good relationship with the outlet’s owner. The money I paid into his account every year was enough to cover the annual revenue of a small or medium-sized company with a hundred employees.

So he didn’t publish it. Out of professional courtesy, he sold me the video as a favor.

I opened the video. The paparazzi must have been staking the place out for quite some time, because Xie Xingyun was completely disguised in the footage. Unless someone knew him extremely well, there was no way to recognize him.

The casually dressed girl beside him, however, had made no attempt to conceal herself. Even after so much time had passed, and despite the blurry image quality, I recognized her the moment I saw her.

Song Zhongtong, my and Xie Xingyun’s high school classmate, and Xie Xingyun’s childhood friend who had grown up with him.

Back in high school, Xie Xingyun was one of the school’s most prominent students. He was outstanding in those days, never once falling outside the top ten in the entire grade on an exam.

Of course, I had held firmly to first place for years. But unlike me, who spent more than a dozen hours a day studying, he was the kind of person who could achieve excellent results with effortless ease.

Good grades, a handsome face, and a winning personality made him famous throughout the school. Song Zhongtong, who went to and from school with him every day, naturally attracted plenty of attention as well.

At the time, Xie Xingyun was the student the teachers had the highest hopes for. During the final push of senior year, everyone had high expectations for him. That was, until he tried to protect Song Zhongtong when some thugs harassed her on her way home from school, and his excessive use of force left one of them permanently disabled.

The incident caused quite a stir at the time, even involving the education bureau. I don’t know whether it remained on his record. The thug’s parents were powerful and influential, and they refused to let the matter go. Yet Song Zhongtong, the person who should have come forward to explain what happened, never showed her face.

In the end, the school had no choice but to expel Xie Xingyun.

The last time I saw Xie Xingyun during high school was at a station. His figure, pulling a suitcase, disappeared into the crowd.

He was very tall. I watched him look around among the people, probably unable to find the person he wanted to see. In the end, he gave a self-deprecating smile and boarded the coach to A City without looking back.

At the time, I secretly saw him off from within the crowd for the last time. Though, strictly speaking, there was no need to hide. Xie Xingyun probably didn’t even know who I was.

I saw him again seven years later, at an ordinary celebration banquet. When he approached with a bottle of 1992 Lafite, I recognized him at once and blurted out in astonishment, “Xie Xingyun?”

He froze as well, then asked politely, “Do you know me?”

I laughed right then and there.

I looked at him. The hardships of society had matured him far earlier than most, giving him a composed, inscrutable air, but his looks were still exceptionally handsome.

He was different from the pretty boys I managed. His good looks carried a restrained, storied quality. With his sharp brows and bright, expressive eyes, a single lift of his gaze was enough to leave everyone dazzled.

I didn’t tell him that we had been high school classmates. Before leaving, I simply handed him my business card. He took it, glanced at my name, and showed no reaction whatsoever. I knew then that he had no impression of me at all.

But I didn’t take it to heart. I smiled at him sincerely and said, “Xie Xingyun, you have excellent potential. Would you be interested in joining the entertainment industry?”

Three days later, I received a call from Xie Xingyun.

Xie Xingyun had all the right qualities for the entertainment industry. In this business, a good face was enough to secure a place at the top. With me pouring every resource at my disposal into promoting him, everything aligned perfectly, and Xie Xingyun’s rise to fame happened naturally. He became my agency’s ace artist.

He had always cooperated with me. He was easy to manage and had never caused any trouble, until today, when I received this video.

I watched the video on my phone once more, then called Xie Xingyun. No one answered.

After thinking for a moment, I closed my phone, picked up the car keys from my desk, and walked out.