Chapter 10: The Price of Past Connections

Liu Pangpang only snapped out of his daze after they had stepped out of the main gate. He immediately grabbed Su Xuan.

“Su Xuan, are you really going to stay at Yezi Media?”

Su Xuan turned, patting Liu Pangpang’s hand.

“…I’m already twenty-six now. Starting all over again somewhere else…”

“It’s not very realistic,” Su Xuan stated calmly.

Liu Pangpang sighed deeply.

At twenty-six, his age was indeed a concern. While changing agencies wasn’t impossible, where could he even go? Any new place would mean starting from scratch, enduring the grind step by step. Su Xuan had been dormant for four years; how old would he be if he had to endure another four?

Su Xuan had been through a great deal.

When Su Xuan first signed with Yezi Media, he, Fu Mu, and Shen Chao were part of the specially formed ‘New Stars’ group—three artists deemed to have the most promising futures.

Among them, Su Xuan possessed the best overall qualities. Liu Pangpang had always firmly believed that Su Xuan would become even more popular than Shen Chao, precisely because even Shen Chao, prior to his own surge in popularity, hadn’t been quite as exceptional in Su Xuan’s presence.

Su Xuan was once the most brilliant artist at Yezi Media; Fu Mu and Shen Chao both ranked behind him. He was at the pinnacle of his career, and his choice to have Liu Pangpang as his manager was entirely an act of kindness to help Liu Pangpang.

Su Xuan had starred with Shen Chao in their first drama, *The Courtyard*, and had secured Fu Mu his first singer-songwriter opportunity. He was the senior brother among that batch of new artists signed by Yezi Media, and many newcomers had received his guidance.

Alas, Su Xuan no longer even had the to tie others’ shoelaces.

Liu Pangpang felt a suffocating tightness in his chest at the thought.

Su Xuan remarked, “It’s rare that I’m popular enough for Yezi Media to want to keep me.”

His expression was calm, almost serene, as he spoke these words. Liu Pangpang had always found Su Xuan’s temperament contradictory; he seemed like a perfectly normal artist, yet he approached major events with an unusually composed and formidable mindset, never losing his composure.

Whether it was during the release of *The Courtyard* or this contract renewal, Su Xuan handled these matters with an effortless grace that many seasoned industry veterans couldn’t match.

This was not the kind of child that could be raised in an ordinary family; one had to have weathered countless storms to maintain such tranquility.

At midnight on Monday, the daily box office statistics were freshly released. The Courtyard ranked third among films released in the same period, boasting an impressive 170 million yuan at the box office. However, for a film primarily starring Shen Chao, this was considered merely an average performance. To celebrate breaking the 100 million mark, The Courtyard’s official Weibo account posted a celebratory behind-the-scenes clip titled—[About the School Uniform].

It was a snippet from when Su Xuan and Shen Chao were filming *The Courtyard*.

The camera shook slightly. Shen Chao was in the process of taking off his vest, getting it stuck halfway on his shoulder blades. The lines of his side muscles were remarkably defined, making him look like an athlete. Su Xuan’s voice drifted from nearby.

“Shen Chao, the camera’s still rolling! Go back to the dressing room to change!”

Shen Chao casually pulled off his clothes and tossed them aside, his gaze sweeping over the camera indifferently.

“No need. It’s already been filmed.”

Shen Chao had already put on his school uniform jacket, his hair sticking up in various directions from changing, yet his expression remained cool. Su Xuan found it amusing.

“You’ve already graduated high school, and you’re still wearing a school uniform?”

Shen Chao glanced at Su Xuan, who was still smiling. Shen Chao calmly replied, “Because there are many bed scenes with you, and a school uniform is easy to take off.”

Su Xuan choked, coughing, his face instantly flushing crimson. Someone nearby whistled, egging them on.

“Take it off! Take it off! Let our Teacher Su wear it!”

Su Xuan gave a wry smile. “I’ve already graduated from university!”

Shen Chao quietly watched Su Xuan, his hand hesitating for a moment before resting on his zipper. Su Xuan stared, wide-eyed.

“Shen Chao, you’re not serious! You’re actually going to take it off for me to wear!”

The people nearby burst into laughter. Shen Chao was usually aloof and rarely played along with their jokes. Now that he was cooperating, they wouldn’t miss the chance to tease the handsome man, mysteriously explaining.

“Xiao Shen, do you know that only your girlfriend gets to wear your school uniform? If you let Teacher Su wear your uniform, then he’ll truly become your wife!”

In the drama, the mute character considered the Third Young Master their ‘wife’. Su Xuan, being gay, was already blushing from the teasing, and his face deepened further.

“Stop teasing Shen Chao. He might have a girlfriend.”

“I don’t have a girlfriend.” Shen Chao calmly took off his school uniform, revealing his well-defined upper body beneath. He handed the uniform to Su Xuan. “Do you want to wear it?”

Su Xuan and Shen Chao’s gazes met for a long, unblinking moment. Su Xuan’s face, uncontrollably, flushed red bit by bit, even his neck turning crimson. He awkwardly took Shen Chao’s school uniform, his words even a little stuttered.

“…Why are you giving this to me?”

Shen Chao slightly averted his gaze. “There are many bed scenes today. You can wear this; it’s easy to take off.”

Su Xuan’s face was burning, and he stammered, “Then what will you wear?”

Shen Chao didn’t look at him, dropping his gaze. “I can go without.”

Su Xuan watched the behind-the-scenes clip intently, feeling that something was amiss. This clip, he thought, felt, *emmm*, just not quite right.

The previous one, despite being a rather suggestive kiss scene, was at least within the scope of work. But this one, no matter how he looked at it, felt emmmmm.

Had he and Shen Chao been so emmmm back then?

Liu Pangpang bit at the dead skin on his index finger, cutting straight to the chase. “It’s too gay. Did he really not wear anything in the end?”

Su Xuan awkwardly coughed. “At that time, we had a good relationship… so there wasn’t much distance…”

Liu Pangpang took a deep breath, rubbing his hands on his knees. “Give me the lowdown, Su Xuan. How much distance exactly was there between you two?”

Su Xuan paused for a few strange seconds, then shifted his gaze. “Just, the normal distance for people filming a bed scene?”

Liu Pangpang, “…”

Liu Pangpang felt his head spinning. “You’re quite something! It was like that, and you still didn’t date him?!”

Su Xuan humbly replied, “Wasn’t that just getting too deep into character? I wouldn’t have the guts to pursue Shen Chao on my own! You’re giving me too much credit.”

“…I wasn’t trying to give you credit, but Su Xuan, what do we do?” Liu Pangpang’s eyebrows furrowed into a worried inverted ‘eight’, and his chin seemed to have lost a layer from stress. He stared at Su Xuan with a melancholic sigh. “You don’t want to stir up a CP with Shen Chao, but I see plenty of people who want you two together. And with so many behind-the-scenes clips in their hands, I reckon the other party is fishing, slowly baiting with crumbs. A professional marketing team will be stepping in soon, and on our side, you see…”

Liu Pangpang’s eyes darted around slyly. “Seriously, Su Xuan, this easy fame that’s being handed to you, you really don’t want it?”

Su Xuan cast a light glance at Liu Pangpang, who felt a chill run down his spine. He smacked his lips and fell silent.

Liu Pangpang and Su Xuan had been friends for several years, so he understood his temperament somewhat.

Su Xuan was just stubborn, sometimes unreasonably so. Liu Pangpang couldn’t quite figure it out, but he couldn’t force a bull to drink water it didn’t want.

Even if you chopped off Su Xuan’s head, he wouldn’t drink water he didn’t want.

Liu Pangpang thought of this fame as a choice cut of meat, dangling right by his mouth, making him drool with desire, yet Su Xuan still refused it.

Liu Pangpang felt a mix of indignation and urgency in his heart. “Su Xuan, is it still because you like Shen Chao? It shouldn’t be to the point of avoiding him like this. Who in the industry hasn’t used the pretext of ‘love blossoming from a drama’ to fake a relationship and gain some attention…”

Su Xuan unconsciously rubbed his hands together. “No, Shen Chao hasn’t reposted anything either. This attention is too hot to handle; we can’t touch it. Many people want to cling to Shen Chao, and many also use the ‘love from a drama’ excuse. Have you seen anyone come to a good end?”

Liu Pangpang suddenly startled awake as Su Xuan calmly elaborated, “Shen Chao is someone who will ruthlessly shut down rumors, the kind that leaves no trace. We mustn’t try to outsmart him only to suffer a greater loss. Contact Shen Chao’s manager and tell them that if needed, we are willing to clarify that we were merely good—”

Su Xuan paused. “—friends.”

Wang Shou looked troubled, holding his phone and sighing deeply, a sigh filled with countless turns. Shen Chao cast a glance at him.

“What’s wrong?”

Wang Shou looked up mournfully. “Boss Shen, give me a break. Just how much interaction did you and Su Xuan have? If the film company keeps hyping it, your CP with him will really take off, and we won’t be able to kill it all.”

Shen Chao’s gaze wasn’t on Wang Shou but on the screen in Wang Shou’s hand. “Why can’t we kill it all?”

Shen Chao didn’t have few scandals, but they had all been thoroughly eradicated. Many opponents had exhausted themselves trying to dig something up, all to no avail.

“That’s because those didn’t have concrete evidence!” Wang Shou emphasized. “You know what I mean by concrete evidence. Before, the most outrageous thing was them using a vague photo of you to create hype. You usually don’t interact much with people on set, so there would never be such intimate and ambiguous behind-the-scenes footage!”

As he spoke, he tapped on the two figures on his tablet. Wang Shou grew increasingly worried the more he looked. “Don’t you think this feeling is crossing a line, Shen Chao? I’ve never asked about your romantic history before you came to Star Culture, but I’m asking you now: what exactly is your relationship with Su Xuan?”

Wang Shou’s tone grew serious. “If you really have something with him…”

“No, I have nothing with him.” Shen Chao slowly turned his face, his gaze exerting a strong pressure. Shen Chao articulated clearly, “We have a normal colleague relationship.”

Wang Shou looked at the screen, a little troubled. He thought, ‘I don’t feel like this colleague relationship is normal at all.’

But Shen Chao clearly didn’t want to say more.

This young shareholder’s approach had always been neither dictatorial nor capricious, but this time it seemed a red line had been crossed, and he didn’t wish to discuss it further. Wang Shou had no choice but to bite the bullet and press on. “You two had a pretty good relationship back then, right? How about I ask Su Xuan’s manager, and we issue a joint statement?”

Shen Chao asked, “Statement about what?”

Wang Shou’s mind also went blank; he was stunned by Shen Chao’s question. Right, what would they state? Just an eighteen-liner, and a man at that. A proactive statement would only make it look like they were trying to cover something up. Wang Shou was a seasoned veteran and wouldn’t make such a mistake, but he couldn’t quite grasp Shen Chao’s attitude.

Shen Chao lowered his gaze to Wang Shou. “There’s nothing to state. Let them say what they want.”

Wang Shou agreed, “Alright.”

Shen Chao never cared whether rumors were true or false, male or female; if they bothered him, he would eradicate them completely. But this time…

Wang Shou clicked into the CP rankings, his heart heavy—the CP name [God’s Choice] had already climbed to twenty-seventh place.

If they didn’t kill it now, it would become too big to handle later, and it wouldn’t be so easy.

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