ITOTIABSAM | Entertainment Industry | 10
As the popularity of this season's "Let’s Travel Together" continued to soar, the recording in Country S quickly came to an end.
The moment his feet touched the soil of the motherland, Gu Cong, who had removed the microphone and left the camera's frame, felt a bit uneasy.
He and Xie Ye were about to part ways.
Due to another falling out with his manager over the endorsement matter, Gu Cong was afraid that the manager might cause trouble for Xie Ye at the airport. So, he deliberately delayed his announced arrival time by two hours.
Exiting through a special channel, everyone got into their respective cars. Even Zhou Ming, who had argued with Xie Ye multiple times, came personally to pick him up, considering Xie Ye's recent good performance.
In this setting, Gu Cong, dragging his luggage and texting with his head lowered, seemed particularly out of place.
"Where's your manager?" Both of them were wearing hats and masks to cover their faces, Xie Ye handed his luggage to Zhou Ming and turned to ask, his voice slightly muffled.
Gu Cong's gaze wandered. "I don't know. He hasn't answered the phone. Maybe he got the time wrong..."
Xie Ye: "Really?"
Gu Cong fell silent.
While he had told lies before, facing Xie Ye, he always involuntarily appeared clumsy. In a flash, it seemed like he saw a large dog with drooping ears apologizing. Xie Ye turned around, opened the car door, and said, "Get in."
Gu Cong: ?
"Or you can wait here until fans recognize you," seeing someone dumbfounded and motionless in place, Xie Ye looked up, intentionally teasing, "Or do you want to walk back and get some exercise?"
Before the words even finished, the young man, who had just looked disheartened, swiftly placed his luggage in the trunk. "Thanks, Xie Ge."
"Thanks, Manager Zhou."
Activating work mode, Zhou Ming waved his hand, smiling as he fastened his seatbelt. "It's okay. Whether it's one person or two, it's still a ride. Thank you for taking care of Xie Ye during this time."
Having watched the entire show, including the behind-the-scenes extras the program used to maintain interest, it's hard to say how public opinion would have turned out without the subtle sparks created by Gu Cong and Xie Ye.
Casually turning on the navigation, Zhou Ming asked, "Where are you headed, Xiao Gu?"
"Just drop me off at the company dormitory," Gu Cong smoothly provided an address and couldn't resist adding on Xie Ye's behalf, "Actually, Xie Ge is easy to get along with, and he helped me a lot on the show."
Like helping him out during the first room selection.
But Zhou Ming thought, "You just haven't seen that person acting mischievous. S Country seems to have some magic, actually making Xie Ye behave."
Glancing in the rearview mirror, he asked, "Have you been in good spirits recently?"
The dark-haired youth replied casually, "It's okay."
Xie Ye suffered from severe insomnia, a fact only known to his manager, Zhou Ming, and his life assistant. Seeing that there were no dark circles under his eyes this time, Zhou Ming would certainly inquire about it later.
Due to the disputes during the variety show recording and the matter with Xue Minglang, they had an unpleasant falling out. Zhou Ming could understand the somewhat indifferent attitude Xie Ye displayed now.
He even hoped that Xie Ye would continue to be "cool" like this, not acting impulsively and avoiding creating any love-related jokes.
"Recently, there are a few magazines..." Zhou Ming habitually brought up work, paused, and then cautiously confirmed, "You're not really going to chase after Xue Minglang again, right?"
Gu Cong's neck stiffened instantly as he looked out at the flowing traffic, his face clearly expressing, "Can I even listen to this?"
But his ears, on the other hand, stood up honestly.
At this moment, even the air seemed to move in slow motion. Unconsciously forgetting to blink, Gu Cong waited and waited until he finally heard a definite "Mm" from the side.
1101: "You hesitated. You actually hesitated."
Xie Ye: He just didn't want to admit to the silly things he did.
"I might have been under some kind of spell recently, and not very clear-headed," unable to explain the existence of the original plot, Xie Ye had to come up with a similar explanation, "It won't happen again in the future."
In Zhou Ming's ears, this translated to "After hitting a wall, I'm sealing my heart and focusing on my career."
Having checked in advance and confirmed that the Su family currently had no intention of completely eliminating Xie Ye, Zhou Ming breathed a sigh of relief and chatted on, "It's good that it's like this."
Black and red were still considered red. Xie Ye hadn't committed any major ethical mistakes, and with his acting skills and good looks, as long as he could shoot more good works, making a comeback shouldn't be difficult.
Sympathizing with their shared fate, 1101 sighed, "He's really naive."
With his host's lazy personality, Xie Ye might retire from the entertainment industry after finishing the variety show, conveniently using the money earned to cover the breach of contract penalty.
Indeed, that was Xie Ye's plan.
After safely delivering Gu Cong back to the dormitory, Xie Ye locked himself in his bedroom and took out the bright red property deed from the locked cabinet.
When the final payment for "Let’sTravel Together" arrived, along with the money from selling the apartment and after deducting the penalty for breach of contract, it should be enough for him to comfortably live for several years.
Following the pattern he had observed in other small worlds, awakening individuals would often meet untimely deaths due to various fatal illnesses or accidents, ranging from three months to two years.
Looking at it this way, it wasn't entirely a bad thing. At least he wouldn't have to worry about the troubles of aging.
1101:...
What twisted logic; its host's mind was probably messed up.
"Slandering the host, mute." Knowing that 1101 had no ill intentions, Xie Ye raised his hand, making a gesture that resembled a half-smile as he jokingly pressed his index finger against his temple.
His assets were a bit more than expected. Feeling good, Xie Ye quickly took a shower, changed into a soft silk pajama, drew the curtains, tucked himself under the blanket, crossed his hands over his abdomen, and earnestly closed his eyes.
Five hours later.
Xie Ye opened his eyes for the Nth time: "I can't sleep."
Despite trying various things like aromatherapy, melatonin, and even listening to rain sounds that Gu Cong once played for him, Xie Ye tossed and turned countless times, unable to fall asleep as smoothly as he did back in S Country.
The beddings were new, the pillow was soft, and a cleaning aunt came by every few days. Just judging from the bedroom, this apartment wasn't inferior to a five-star hotel.
Could there be jet lag?
He didn't rest well on the plane either. Xie Ye, who hadn't closed his eyes for over twenty-four hours, was getting a bit irritated, and his body was subtly craving tobacco.
Getting up to search for the hard candies Gu Cong had given him, the dark-haired youth furrowed his brows and opened his suitcase, only to realize that the palm-sized jar had already been emptied.
1101 took a break from binge-watching dramas and realized it forgot to inform its host about something.
【Although I don't know why, but the reason you were able to sleep before was probably, maybe, mostly because of Gu Cong.】Feeling a bit guilty, 1101 cautiously continued, "His sleeping posture isn't very honest. When you two lie on the same bed, no matter how you try to avoid suspicion, you'll inevitably touch each other to some extent."
【Once you have physical contact with Gu Cong, your mental fluctuations will stabilize, and the insomnia will naturally improve. Uh... perhaps thousands of years later, this place will become an ABO world?】
Xie Ye:...
If only he had known that this new quick-wear system sent by the quick transmigration headquarters would be so unreliable. However, he didn't expect it to be unreliable to this extent.
Following the memories left by the small the original owner, Xie Ye sat on the carpet, turned around to open the bedside drawer, and pulled out a transparent glass container. Skillfully lighting up a cigarette, he took a deep drag.
1101: "Aren't you going to find Gu Cong?"
【Find him? And then what? What should I say? "I can't sleep, so I have to be with you? What a joke, he'd probably think I'm a pervert.】
With a spark glowing between his fingers, Xie Ye remained calm. "Strong sleeping pills, quickly."
Those pills that Zhou Ming bought, his body had already developed resistance to them.
1101 hesitated. "An excessive dosage isn't good for your body."
Xie Ye replied, "Better than dropping dead suddenly tomorrow."
If he were to die, that would be minor. What if the tabloids arranged it as a tragic love story, claiming he succumbed to depression because he couldn't be with his love? He wouldn't have a place to argue.
1101:...
It always knew this guy would never get to the point.
A product of the system is always high-quality. In terms of items in the mall, the quick transmigration headquarters has never made a mistake. At three in the morning, Xie Ye finally fell asleep with the help of the medication.
Originally, he wanted to have a couple of drinks to enhance the effect, but 1101 vehemently refused, fearing he might experience sudden respiratory failure in his sleep.
As expected, the next day, Xie Ye woke up late and missed three calls from Zhou Ming. However, there shouldn't be anything significant for him to be contacted; otherwise, Zhou Ming would have come knocking on his door.
Without a script and without any announcements, the original owner, wrapped in the plot, turned down all work to pursue Xue Minglang before the variety show started filming. Now, it all turned out to be advantageous for Xie Ye.
Setting aside the occasional contracts Zhou Ming sent him to consider, his life was not much different from a vacation.
1101: "Vacation? Who treats a vacation by popping sleeping pills like candy?"
Xie Ye replied casually, "I do."
"There are a total of twelve episodes in 'Let’s Travel Together,' filmed in three different picturesque locations. Each shoot lasts for four days, with a ten-day break in between for the guests to handle their work."
Three days before the next departure, the official episodes on the platform reached the second episode. Xie Ye, who had uninstalled Weibo, saw for the first time the footage from the show's hidden cameras and the God's-eye view, observing how Gu Cong peacefully slept beside him.
Despite his calm appearance, Gu Cong's posture was quite unrestrained. His feet under the blanket touched Xie Ye's legs, indicating he was having a good dream.
CP fans, who had been waiting anxiously for a week, erupted in frantic screams:
"Why not hug? Why not hug!"
"Gu Cong, are you not up for it?"
"Sisters, look closely, the legs! The legs seem to be touching!"
"Next time, please use a smaller bed, thank you."
"Haha, won't teacher Xie be kicked out of bed then?"
"Poor Gu Cong, sleeping with a restless top means no wife. (confirmed)"
"Cheer up, maybe Gu Cong is still growing."
The air conditioning was set very low, and wrapped in a blanket, Xie Ye lounged on the sofa, watching the barrage of comments floating across the screen. The empty living room suddenly felt a bit lively.
The next moment, his phone buzzed.
It was Zhou Ming.
"What are you up to? Will you take the endorsement for Xing Qing's yogurt?" Zhou Ming's tone was unusually confident, as if he was sure Xie Ye wouldn't refuse. Xie Ye raised an eyebrow, decisively shattering Zhou Ming's illusion, "No."
"No?" Zhou Ming on the other end of the line couldn't hide his surprise. "Aren't you and Gu Cong on good terms? He's been facing a lot of trouble from the company lately because of this dual endorsement. I thought..."
After returning to the country, Xie Ye hadn't received many messages from Gu Cong. Xie Ye was puzzled, "Dual endorsement?"
Zhou Ming said, "Yes, with the popularity of your CP, it's perfect for a short-term promotion of fast-moving consumer goods."
"I've checked this brand..."
Patiently enduring the three-minute analysis of pros and cons, Xie Ye, who was leaning on the sofa with a calm expression, remained unmoved. Politely expressing gratitude, Xie Ye was about to hang up the phone when he suddenly noticed the round pearl gently swaying on his wrist as he moved.
There was a pause for about ten seconds. Just before Zhou Ming was about to lose his patience, Xie Ye spoke, extremely gently:
"I'll consider it."
Author's note:
Xie Ye: I'll consider it (I've agreed).
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