Chapter 13

In the dim and lightless storage room, Jiang Yi found Yang Yunran’s scent on him to be pleasant. Up close, Yang Yunran’s fragrance, with his fresh, fruity, shampooed hair, filled Jiang Yi’s breathing space entirely, but it felt strange. Yang Yunran was gay, and his hugging Jiang Yi like this clearly wasn’t within normal social boundaries… Most importantly, his breath, his face, hotly buried in Jiang Yi’s neck, made the touched skin feel uncomfortably warm and itchy.

Jiang Yi’s whole body tensed up, and he furrowed his brow tightly. Yang Yunran was acting too abnormally… too…

No, to say it was abnormal might not be accurate either.

Yang Yunran had just been hugging his professor a moment ago.

But Yang Yunran’s hands…

They seemed somewhat impolite, lacking a sense of boundaries as they pinched him.

Jiang Yi’s throat tightened, and he glanced at Yang Yunran, then promptly pushed away his hand, speaking somewhat hoarsely and coldly, “They’re gone, let’s get out.”

Because Jiang Yi always spoke this way, Yang Yunran naturally took his hand and said, “Then let’s go out… Oh, Jiang Yi, how do you train your chest muscles?”

“What?” Jiang Yi blinked at him.

Yang Yunran blinked back, “Your chest muscles, I think they feel good.” Not overly exaggerated, but quite appropriate in touch, Yang Yunran had just unconsciously pinched a few times.

…So Yang Yunran had been pinching his own chest because of that. Did he want to train too? Jiang Yi absentmindedly replied, “Push-ups and bench presses.” Then he reached behind him and with a “click,” opened the storage room door.

In the newly regained light outside the storage room, Jiang Yi felt sweaty, possibly due to the confined space. Once outside, Yang Yunran instinctively let go of his hand, wary of being photographed. Although he had no intention of returning to the entertainment industry, he still needed to earn money to repay debts, and exposing his sexual orientation wasn’t a wise move at the moment.

Immediately, Yang Yunran started taking calls, first from Chen Fangzhou, and then from his father, Yang Liming. Compared to Chen Fangzhou, Yang Liming showed less concern for his son. The main reason was that he had always viewed Yang Yunran as unintelligent and unlike himself, with a volatile personality that had caused many headaches since entering the entertainment industry.

His secretary frequently reported:

“Mr. Yang, Young Master wants a 20 million endorsement deal.”

“Mr. Yang, Young Master wants a designer outfit costing 5 million. He says he’s out of money.”

“Mr. Yang, Young Master got into a fight. He says SARFT might blacklist him and wants you to use your connections to protect him.”

Initially giving his son a monthly allowance of 2 million, Yang Liming had gradually reduced it to 1 million and recently cut it further. He was aware of the academic hearing but hadn’t wanted to get involved, telling his assistant before bed, “Once his hearing’s over, call him and tell him to come back to China to study at Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business, no more being a star.”

Yang Liming had expected Yang Yunran to be expelled during the hearing and had arranged a backup plan for him to inherit the family business. Someone had to take over the family legacy, and Yang Yunran was his only son, despite not being particularly smart and having a flawed character. Nevertheless, Yang Liming still harbored hopes of grooming him.

But not long after, his assistant informed him, “Mr. Yang, I watched the live broadcast. Young Master’s hearing ended successfully.”

“What?” Yang Liming sat up, clicking on the playback video his assistant had sent.

Watching the video of Yang Yunran, Yang Liming was bewildered. He seemed to have transformed into a completely different person from the rabbit-like kid who used to incessantly demand pocket money and make various demands without any ambition.

In the playback, Yang Yunran appeared composed, and articulate, with logical reasoning skills, presenting himself as remarkably knowledgeable.

Yang Liming found it hard to believe. “Is this Yunran? My son?”

“Yes, Mr. Yang,” the assistant, who understood him well, replied. “I’ve verified it. The live broadcast was real-time, without any AI face-swapping traces. It’s definitely Young Master himself in the video.”

Yang Liming’s emotions were mixed. “I didn’t expect him to excel overseas.” He had initially opposed sending his son abroad, fearing that Yang Yunran’s personality would lead him into bad company, potentially resulting in troubles that would be hard to untangle.

To avoid triggering resistance from Yang Yunran, he hadn’t sent a secretary or assistant to follow him but instead chose a chaperone. This companion was a student sponsored by his foundation, known to Yang Yunran and appearing friendly and affable, qualities that Yang Liming found appealing in a young man.

The chaperone would check in with the assistant once a week. Recently, they had heard that Yang Yunran was studying seriously, something Yang Liming hadn’t quite believed until now.

Yang Liming called his son, and when Yang Yunran saw the incoming call, he hesitated for a few seconds before calling out, “Dad.”

He had never spoken to or met with the original owner’s father. They had exchanged text messages only during the Chinese New Year, with his father asking if he planned to come home, to which Yang Yunran replied that he couldn’t because he needed to prepare for exams.

Because Yang Yunran was afraid of being caught, he had refrained from initiating contact with his parents and tried not to form emotional ties to avoid difficulties when the time came to leave.

Speaking in Jiangxi dialect, Yang Liming said, “Yang Yang, I’ve seen the video of your hearing. It went well. You’ve been studying hard lately. I’ll have Xiao Feng transfer an extra 2 million in your allowance next month. Is that enough?”

Yang Yunran didn’t quite understand the two sentences and haphazardly answered in Mandarin, “Yes, Dad.”

His father continued in the dialect, “Uncle Xu’s daughter is also going to study in Boston. She’ll be going in two months. She’s about your age. Both Uncle Xu and I are thinking of matching you two. If you both don’t object, you can come back to get married. You can also quit the entertainment industry, study at a business school, and come back to inherit the family business.”

Yang Yunran still didn’t quite understand, so he said, “Okay, I understand.”

He didn’t dare to ask why his father wasn’t speaking Mandarin.

His father’s attitude softened considerably, and after saying a lot, Yang Yunran agreed to everything. Yang Liming was relieved, feeling that his son had grown up and become a good child.

They talked all the way until Yang Yunran got into the car, and finally, the call ended.

Jiang Yi silently drove Yang Yunran home.

In the car, Yang Yunran stretched lazily. He had really worked hard during this period, but fortunately, the hearing had ended successfully.

He asked, “Jiang Yi, I’ll be starting classes tomorrow. Do you have any plans for this afternoon?”

Jiang Yi replied, “I’ll be at the laboratory.”

Yang Yunran felt a bit disappointed. “So you won’t be able to accompany me?”

“Mm.” Jiang Yi saw Yang Yunran’s disappointed expression in the rearview mirror.

After having lunch outside, Jiang Yi paid the bill and drove Yang Yunran back home. Yang Yunran took a nap and then began dealing with work and messages.

His former agent came to see him:

“Little Ran, Mr. Zhang says there’s a slight issue with this termination agreement and wants to resign it.”

Yang Yunran asked, “Oh? I had my lawyer look at it. There shouldn’t be any issues. I’m compensating for all the losses caused by myself, unrelated to the company, and terminating the agency contract with immediate effect.” He read through the termination agreement and asked, “Is there a problem?”

“Um, well…”

Of course, there was no issue with the termination agreement. It was a template from the company’s legal department that had been used for many years. Xiao Tang quickly said, “Little Ran, to be honest with you, Mr. Zhang has changed his mind. He doesn’t want to terminate the contract with you anymore. After so many years of cooperation, we have some rapport. How about we sign a new one?”

After the morning’s live broadcast, Yang Yunran’s attempt to derail had failed, but instead, he had solidified his public image.

Although his reputation hadn’t completely turned around, everyone at the agency felt that Yang Yunran still had a chance.

The premise is that he has always been so refreshing and a straight-A student.

Yang Yunran directly refused: “Tang Ge, I want to focus on studying. Regarding the contract, let’s discuss it another time.”

Xiao Tang couldn’t salvage the situation and could only part ways amicably with Yang Yunran. Mr. Zhang started blaming him: “How could you act so quickly! You’ve already sent over the termination of the electronic contract? Huh?”

Xiao Tang remained silent.

Mr. Zhang: “Forget it, he’s just preserving his image. He can’t sing, can’t act, and his business skills are mediocre. Without that star quality, not renewing the contract is for the best.”

Yang Yunran was busy with academic matters this month and hadn’t had time to inform his former company. He wanted to sell the copyrights of several songs to avoid future disputes over attribution, so he planned to withdraw funds from the company’s account.

Now that the contract was terminated, things became simpler.

Yang Yunran opened Whale Live, found contact details from private messages, and decided to contact companies interested in buying song usage copyrights. After searching online, he chose Wanyan Entertainment and added them as a friend using a pseudonymous account.

Zhou Kai: “Hello Teacher, I’m Kevin from Wanyan Entertainment. I’d like to ask if the copyrights to these songs are still available?”

Yang Yunran: “Hello, I’m Ye Ye. Yes, the copyrights are available. May I ask what they will be used for?”

Zhou Kai: “Well, we find your songs very appealing. Personally, I admire them a lot and would like to buy the rights to these: ‘World’, ‘The Time of a Song’, ‘Day and Night’, and ‘Supernatural Love’.”

Yang Yunran sent a cute sticker and said, “Buying rights outright isn’t very convenient. May I ask what your intended use is?”

Zhou Kai, a veteran agent immersed in the entertainment industry for many years, thought a small sum of money could secure him, but he didn’t expect this Haliyeh to be so experienced!

Mr. Lin urged him from the side: “How’s it going? Did you get a headshot? Did he agree to sign?”

Zhou Kai: “Um… Boss, he won’t sign an artist management contract and won’t sell the songs outright. The music rights for films are 120,000 each after tax, TV theme songs are 81,000 each, and incidental music is 50,000 each.”

It was more expensive than expected; a new singer usually asks for around 20,000 per soundtrack. Harry Ye Ye was asking for quite a bit more. But even slightly famous singers start at a million, and they don’t sing as well as this internet singer.

Mr. Lin wasn’t short on money: “Alright, pay him first. It’s not much, but let’s show sincerity.”

Zhou Kai: “Understood, Lin Zong. The total for five songs after tax is 600,000. I’ll have the legal department draw up the contract?”

Yang Yunran spent an hour negotiating the cooperation and sighed, “Making money in the entertainment industry is fast, just like printing money. I sold second-hand stuff for over a month and barely made back over 200,000. In the same month of live broadcasting, I made 200,000 in tips.”

With all the money together, Yang Yunran could pay off his debts with just over 1.2 million.

“Yang Yunran!”

Just as Yang Yunran finished his calculations, he heard an extremely impolite “Honk-honk” horn downstairs.

He pulled back the curtain and looked out onto the balcony. It was a young man with a crew cut driving a Hummer. He wore a diamond earring on one ear and had tattoos on his neck, looking cool and handsome, someone he had seen in the school auditorium that morning.

Yang Yunran didn’t speak, but he was certain he knew him, though he couldn’t recall his name.

He said, “Don’t honk, it’s noisy. What’s up?”

The other person called out to him, “Come down! Why aren’t you replying to my messages? You passed the hearing; we’ve set up a game for you. Hurry up and get in.”

Harry: “Woof! Woof!”

The other person got out of the car. “Bring the dog too. How much longer will you be? Open the door downstairs for me.”

Yang Yunran: “I’ll be right down, just need to use the restroom.”

Yang Yunran used the excuse to go to the restroom and started checking unread messages, quickly matching them with photos on his friend circle. He found information about the impolite guy downstairs named Jimmy. He seemed to be a rich second-generation kid, part of the original owner’s clique. Not long ago, he even sent pictures of skiing in Denver, complaining why Yang Yunran hadn’t come. Yang Yunran had replied saying he was studying.

Yang Yunran opened the door, and Jimmy came in, skillfully petting the dog, saying, “What took you so long? There’s a party later, specially arranged for you.”

Yang Yunran: “I’m not feeling well. Can I not go…”

He had no interest in the party whatsoever.

Jimmy frowned, “Is it because of your friend? I even helped you with your due.”

Yang Yunran: “…”

This time, Yang Yunran couldn’t refuse: “What kind of party is it? I won’t be able to show up to the ImPart. I have to report to my boyfriend and can’t let him know.”

Jimmy laughed, “Haha, still talking about ImPart, that’s rich. Is your boyfriend the one who came with you today?”

Yang Yunran: “Yeah.”

Jimmy: “Wow, you change boyfriends fast. This one is much better looking than the one I saw last time. You’ve got good taste.”

Yang Yunran looked slightly wary, “Which… which one did you see last time?”

Jimmy admired him, “You don’t even know how many exes you have?”

Yang Yunran scratched his head and said, “Haha, I forgot.”

With the original owner’s social situation, Yang Yunran really couldn’t do anything about it.

Jimmy looked him up and down and said, “You’ve changed quite a bit, even your style of dress.”

Yang Yunran evaded, “I’ve decided to turn over a new leaf and start afresh.”

With a last-minute appointment, Yang Yunran couldn’t go to MIT to pick up his boyfriend after class. He sat in Jimmy’s Hummer with the dog and headed to the party. The party was held in a large mansion, complete with a DJ, lights, music, and an indoor heated swimming pool. The bustling hall had around thirty people, both men and women, with some women in bikinis and some men in swim trunks. Everyone seemed to know Yang Yunran and whistled at him, “Roy, you look really handsome today!”

Yang Yunran was actually quite experienced with such scenes and didn’t feel out of place. But because there were some people whose names he couldn’t recall, he remained reserved: “No, no, just average.”

A guy said, “Roy has become a good student now, I’m not used to it.”

Yang Yunran replied, “My dad made me change, so I did.” Glancing around, they were playing pool and poker, all of them were friends with food and drink, and he didn’t have to come to this kind of game next time.

Yang Yunran sat in the corner playing with his phone. He saw a message from Jiang Yi ten minutes ago: “Where are you?”

Yang Yunran replied now: “I have plans with friends. I’m having dinner here, so I can’t accompany you.”

Jiang Yi responded: “It’s okay.”

He didn’t ask who Yang Yunran’s friends were or what plans he had.

Jiang Yi didn’t even check up on him? Yang Yunran was actually a bit unhappy: “Aren’t you going to ask who I’m meeting?”

Jiang Yi came out of the lab and replied: “Who are you meeting?”

Yang Yunran: “More than twenty friends.”

Jiang Yi: “A party?”

Yang Yunran: “Yes.”

Jiang Yi: “What kind of party?”

Good! He was indeed suspicious now and started checking up on him! Yang Yunran’s lips curled into a smile, and he replied: “The kind with card games.”

Jiang Yi: “Just card games?”

As Jiang Yi walked and read the messages, he honestly distrusted parties where kids might participate. Just the thought of Yang Yunran possibly messing around made Jiang Yi very unhappy. If it was that kind of dirty party, how could he explain it to Professor Chen?

He asked: “Are there guys and girls?”

Yang Yunran: “Yes, both.”

Jiang Yi: “How many guys and how many girls?”