Chapter 27: The Fallen Child Star (27) Part 1

The Xu family barely slept that night.

Early the next morning, the production team swiftly packed up and sent away Xu Ji, Xu Yiyuan, and Xu Yiyuan’s mother.

During their morning run, Xu Weiheng and Wen Qiu happened to see the car driving off in the distance.

“The production team acted really efficiently this time,” Wen Qiu muttered, wiping sweat with a towel.

“Indeed, very fast,” Xu Weiheng agreed.

Wen Qiu’s thoughts turned to Ping’an.

After Ping’an was sent to the hospital last night, Wen Qiu was also escorted back to her room by the production team. She could only vaguely guess the aftermath from the long Weibo post they had released.

Learning that Ping’an was no longer in serious condition, Wen Qiu felt relieved and continued her run.

Without the Xu family present, the atmosphere of the variety show recording improved significantly.

Today marked the last day of filming for the second episode. The three groups of guests spent the afternoon by the seaside, collecting seafood and even learning to pilot speedboats. They played until late afternoon before finally feeling satisfied.

Unlike the three groups of guests leaving G City in high spirits, Xu Ji and his family remained silent throughout their flight home.

Back at home, Xu Yiyuan’s mother sat in the living room, quietly wiping her tears.

Seeing her like that, neither Xu Yiyuan nor Xu Ji attempted to comfort her.

Xu Yiyuan went straight to his room and locked himself in, while Xu Ji retreated to his study.

The three stayed in their separate spaces until dusk fell outside the window. As the last rays of sunlight faded in the west and the entire city lit up, Xu Ji finally emerged from his study.

Hearing movement, Xu Yiyuan’s mother looked up, her eyes red and swollen.

Xu Ji glanced at the empty dining room, rubbed his stomach, and frowned, “You didn’t cook?”

Still waiting for consolation, Xu Yiyuan’s mother replied chokingly, “I didn’t feel like cooking today.”

“Enough, stop crying!” Xu Ji snapped, his patience wearing thin from her constant sobbing.

He had truly had enough these past few days – everything going wrong, being repeatedly mocked by Yao Rong who had found his weakness, and being viciously attacked by the netizens.

“Why are you yelling at me? What did I do wrong?!” Xu Yiyuan’s mother couldn’t take it anymore either.

She could sense that both Xu Yiyuan and Xu Ji were blaming her, feeling that she had mishandled things.

But it wasn’t her idea; she had done her best. Who could have predicted that the production team wouldn’t mediate, but instead cooperate with Yao Rong to investigate the matter?

“Fine, fine, fine. You didn’t do anything wrong. I’m the one who made the mistake, alright?” Xu Ji conceded, but Xu Yiyuan’s mother felt even more wronged.

In the past, Xu Ji would never treat her like this. Whenever she showed signs of crying, Xu Ji would comfort her immediately.

Seeing Xu Yiyuan’s mother like this, Xu Ji felt increasingly irritated.

He simply turned to go back to his study. After all, skipping one meal wouldn’t starve him to death.

Just then, Xu Ji’s phone rang.

He looked down at his phone, his expression changing slightly, and answered the call.

“Yes, yes, that’s right, sir… What? How can you fire me? I…”

Xu Ji wanted to argue more, but only a series of busy tones remained on the other end of the line.

He gripped his phone tightly, about to redial, when Xu Yiyuan’s mother suddenly grabbed his arm, speaking incoherently.

“What? Your boss wants to fire you… How can he do this? No, we must go find him right away… The compensation amount for Yiyuan’s case is huge, maybe all the money he’s earned in these two years of his career won’t be enough to pay it. If you lose this job too, how will our family manage in the future…”

Since she met Xu Ji, she had never worked. After marrying him, she became an even more pampered full-time housewife.

Now the family’s situation was already very bad. If Xu Ji really lost his job, it would be a disaster.

“Right, we can file for labor arbitration!” Xu Yiyuan’s mother’s eyes suddenly lit up. “You’ve made great contributions to the company. If they dare to fire you casually, we’ll sue them!”

“Don’t you think things are chaotic enough already?!” Xu Ji shouted, violently shaking off Xu Yiyuan’s mother’s hand, throwing her back onto the sofa. He spoke without thinking, “If I hadn’t divorced back then…”

As soon as he said this, Xu Ji knew he had said the wrong thing.

Sure enough, Xu Yiyuan’s mother’s emotions were completely shattered by these words.

“Oh, so Xu Ji, you’ve finally spoken your true feelings! What, you abandoned Yao Rong when she was young, and now seeing that Yao Rong has aged better than me, you want to get back together?”

Xu Yiyuan’s mother laughed coldly while crying: “Too bad, she’s not interested in you anymore.”

The slight regret that had just risen in Xu Ji’s heart dissipated with Xu Yiyuan’s mother’s words.

Overcome with rage, he slapped her.

The slap was crisp, and Xu Yiyuan’s mother screamed.

Xu Yiyuan had long heard the commotion outside. He could no longer bear it and opened the door, walking out with heavy steps. He glanced at his mother, who was covering her face and wailing.

“Mom, things at home are chaotic enough. Can you please stop making a scene?”

“What scene am I making…” Xu Yiyuan’s mother widened her eyes.

Xu Yiyuan bit his lip.

Xu Yiyuan’s mother stood up, grabbing Xu Yiyuan, her tone seemingly gentle but low: “Tell me, what scene is mom making…”

Xu Yiyuan was startled by his mother’s tone and instinctively took a step back: “…If it weren’t for your encouragement back then, how would Dad and I have agreed to continue recording ‘Dear Family’?”

Hearing Xu Yiyuan’s true thoughts, Xu Yiyuan’s mother was incredulous and found it laughable: “So you think all the blame is on me?”

Xu Yiyuan said nothing more, but Xu Yiyuan’s mother knew her son too well. She clutched her chest, nearly fainting on the spot.

Yao Rong and Xu Weiheng were unaware and unconcerned about the drama in the Xu family.

They had already returned to the guesthouse from G City seaside.

Looking at the familiar surroundings in the guesthouse, Xu Weiheng took a deep breath and stretched: “It’s still most comfortable at home.”

Although he had slept well during the days at the beach villa, being under the same roof with people he disliked was inherently uncomfortable.

After taking a sip of water, Xu Weiheng went to the corner of the yard to get a broom.

As the weather was gradually turning cooler, the flowers, plants, and trees in the yard were all turning yellow and withering. In just a few days they’ve been away, quite a few dead branches and fallen leaves had accumulated in the yard.

Just as he picked up the broom, the cheerful accompaniment of “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” rang out.

It was Xu Weiheng’s phone ringtone.

Xu Weiheng picked up the phone and glanced at it, his smile slightly freezing.

After a moment’s thought, he still answered the call.

As soon as Xu Weiheng answered, You Bai on the other end of the line eagerly spoke: “Weiheng! You’re still willing to answer my call, that’s great!”

“What’s the matter?”

You Bai’s voice suddenly deflated: “Can I take up a few minutes of your time?”

“Not really, I’m busy.”

“…What are you busy with?”

Xu Weiheng leaned on the broom and looked around the messy yard: “Sweeping.”

You Bai was taken aback for a moment, then spoke rapidly: “I know you’re blaming me for what happened before. But considering we’ve known each other for many years, are you willing to give me a chance to explain?”

“Because of what I said on the show, it affected your bookings, right? You Bai, if you had put all this acting skill into your performances, you wouldn’t need to come begging me today.”

“…” You Bai was silent for a moment, then forced a laugh, “Weiheng, aren’t we good friends? I can apologize to you on Weibo. I was wrong before.”

“Then go ahead and apologize. Also, I considered you a friend before because I didn’t understand what true friends were like, but now I do. I’ve said all I need to say. Take care of yourself.”

With that, Xu Weiheng hung up the phone.

When he had swept about half the yard, his phone made a “ding” notification sound.

It was You Bai posting an apology on Weibo, tagging @Xu Weiheng at the end.

Xu Weiheng didn’t respond.

Just as he finished sweeping the fallen leaves in the yard, the familiar ringtone sounded again.

Xu Weiheng thought it was another call from You Zhuo, but when he picked up his phone and looked at the screen, it clearly showed —

Director Chen.

“Weiheng, besides recording the variety show, do you have any other gigs recently?” Director Chen’s laughter was hearty as he got straight to the point.

“No.”

“It’s good for young people to stay busy. By the way, I’ve been busy promoting my new movie recently, you’ve heard about this, right?”

“I’ve heard of it.”

“The new movie is about to be released, and I’m currently busy preparing to shoot my next film. The estimated investment is 300 million, and the lead male role hasn’t been decided yet. I wonder if you’d be interested in starring in it?”

What surprised Xu Weiheng was that Director Chen had actually extended an olive branch to him.

But he was only surprised for a moment before regaining his composure.

He declined without hesitation.

“Thank you for your kindness, Director Chen, but I think I’ll pass.”

Director Chen sighed with disappointment: “Alright then, if you’re not interested, we’ll let it go. But Weiheng, I sincerely hope to invite you to participate in this project. I hope you’ll give it more thought. It would be a shame to miss such a good opportunity.”

Yao Rong walked out of the kitchen, holding a plate of cherries: “Who called you?”

…