“I’m telling you that it wasn’t me. It’s up to you if you want to believe it or not.”

The man’s voice was low and husky and carried with it a strange feeling.

Bai Lang had always been unable to like it . But right now what made Bai Lang’s hands and feet feel even more cold, was the meaning behind the sound of those words.

“… if it’s not you, then who?” Bai Lang’s throat felt dry.

“You’re asking me?” Seeing Bai Lang’s tense appearance, the man’s voice carried laughter. “Shouldn’t you be asking yourself?”

Bai Lang felt as though he had been hit over the head. He took an involuntary step backwards.

The tall and imposing man in front of him bent his waist and picked up the remote control from the table.

[Pa!] There was a noise and a TV that took up almost half of the wall lit up.

Bai Lang’s thoughts were still sunken into a chaotic emotional state but the sound of the broadcast pierced his ears painfully.

“… In regards to Kang Jian’s earlier press conference, Asia International’s Chief Executive’s daughter, heiress Shen LingLing has also ten minutes ago updated her social media to publicly confirm the news of her engagement to Kang Jian….”

Bai Lang suddenly raised his head. He stared disbelievingly at the television screen.

The screen showed a press conference. The lights and cameras flashed constantly, showing Kang Jian’s unmistakably familiar face in high definition. There was a dazzling smile on that face.

“…. She is incredibly grateful for everyone’s well wishes and also hopes that everyone will continue to support Kang Jian. Kang Jian’s road to fame has not been easy and he has shown that he is an honest and sincere person who is also warm-hearted and gentle. As for those people who have spread heinous slanders about him and Bai Lang being gay in order to suppress Kang Jian, Shen LingLing expresses deep regret. After all she has been in a relationship with Kang Jiang for two years, it’s only that they didn’t publicise until now…”

After hearing this, Bai Lang’s entire person shook.

“…. Now that these two people had decided to come together to form a family and plan a future together, they hope that those slanders will settle down. As for the date of the wedding, taking into consideration that in the coming months Kang Jian will be filming Director Guo Shan’s latest masterpiece “Mountain Rain Will Come”, she plans to have a simple wedding with Kang Jian overseas. To have the support and well-wishes of their friends and family is their greatest desire. She once again wishes to thank everyone for their support….”

The sound of the broadcast was incredibly crisp and clear. Each word was like a knife cutting into Bai Lang’s heart.

Bai Lang suddenly felt as though he couldn’t breath. Add to it the fact that he had had trouble sleeping for a week, and the vision in front of his eyes suddenly went black. In his chest a terrible pain tore through his heart. Bai Lang unconsciously clutched his left ******, crumpling his shirt.

The man in front of his eyes looked shocked. He took a step closer. Normally Bai Lang would have backed away but this time he found he couldn’t. He could only double over painfully. In his ears the words “wedding”, “dating”, these type of words echoed repeatedly….

The pain in his chest became worse and worse.

It was so painful cold sweat appeared on his skin, and from his eyes tears fell out.

His last impression was that the voice that he originally didn’t like was yelling, filled with desperation.

“Bai Lang!!!?”

****

The terrible pain made Bai Lang gasp, then once again he woke up from a terrible nightmare.

When he opened his eyes, he heard the sound of his own gasping and painful breathing sounding in the quiet room.

Bai Lang lay on the bed. He stared dazed at the white ceiling lit by a street lamp from the window and listened to the sound of his own heart pumping furiously; peng, peng, peng. It felt as though any minute now it would fail.

After a long time, when his heart beat had somewhat slowed down, Bai Lang finally rubbed his face and raised his body to drink a sip of water.

There was a warm thermos beside his bed. In the last few days he had gotten into the habit of preparing one before going to bed.

Only after feeling the warm liquid flow down his throat could let Bai Lang escape from the grasp of repeated nightmare he had night after night.

However if it was only just a nightmare, a dream, then how good would it be?

And if it wasn’t a dream, then how should he describe it….?

Bai Lang clutched the thermos, staring dazed into the darkness.

His eyes turned, unbidden, again to the digital clock sitting on his bedside table.

In the darkness, the illuminated numbers and words clearly showed: August 23rd, Year 20XX.

This was the summer of ten years ago.

The him that had died of a heart attack, had somehow returned to ten years previously.

****

In the entertainment world ten years into the future, although Bai Lang perhaps could not be considered a mega star, he was at least someone who had attained household name status.

He had a warm and gentle image. In the broadcast of the long drama “Partners for Life”, he portrayed the role of a young single father. He held the hand of a five year old little boy and this image of father and son was carved deep into the hearts of the audience.

This kind of suitable role helped shape his image. Bai Lang’s fans came from all age groups: from small school students, to old 70 or 80 year old grandmothers and grandfathers. During a particular time, he was also considered every unmarried girl’s dream “good husband” image representative.

Suitably accompanying Bai Lang’s image was his clean and warm appearance. He had white skin that never tanned, straight and glistening black hair, and full lips that carried with it a natural redness. He had a tall and slender figure and was a living example of a white-skinned and red-lipped scholar from a storybook. After “Partners” became a popular drama, it was extremely difficult for Bai Lang to shake off this image.

This kind of advantage also had its limitations. In his next five dramas, Bai Lang’s company arranged for him roles all of which showed him as a good and upright youth, it was unable to be changed. In the future all of his roles went in this direction: righteous, good and family-friendly.

Thus Bai Lang’s advancement was limited, however since this image was suitable for many types of product endorsements, Bai Lang’s rewards could have been said to be more than his losses. In terms of amount of taxes paid, in many years Bai Lang could have been accounted in the top five artistes, and can be considered an actor who worked hard for the aim of earning money.

[T/N: This is a bit hard to translate. It’s basically saying someone who accepts a lot of roles, not all of which are outstanding, in order to hunker down and slowly bit by bit grind out money. Not someone who is chasing achievement/awards or to make waves.}

However for someone like Bai Lang who had this kind of spotless image, even the slightest bit of slanderous rumors was extremely difficult to recover from.

In these ten years as an actor, Bai Lang had faced three great trials.

The first time was not long after “Partners for Life” became famous. Because of the large debts of Bai Lang’s brother Bai Li, his image suffered a blow. But after all it was the problem of Bai Lang’s family members and was not directly related to him, and so after Bai Lang appeared to help Bai Li clear his debts, he was able to pacify the talk about his low-class family background. However due to this incident, his fame which had only just begun to rise, was once again pulled back down.

The second time Bai Lang became famous, it was after a few more years.

At that time Bai Lang accepted a role in the reality cooking show “Who is Hosting Dinner?” and for the second time tasted the flavor of becoming famous. The friendly and handsome young man would carefully select ingredients and go to a famous star’s home help them cook and host a dinner party for their guests. At the same time the audience was able to see each star’s luxurious homes and get a glimpse into their private lives. This plus the carefully selected menus and delicious delicacies made the show incredibly popular to mothers and grandmothers.

At that time Bai Lang once again became the number one male star that every woman wanted to marry. This was undoubtedly related to his cooking skills. Any company that was half-related to cooking came knocking on Bai Lang’s door to ask him to endorse their products. All the way until an fuzzy and unclear video was broadcasted on a popular video-sharing site, accusing Bai Lang of often attending luxurious yacht parties to gamble and take drugs. These kind of serious accusations led to Bai Lang being investigated by the police. Although the investigation turned up no evidence to support these claims, Bai Lang’s fortune took a second large blow.

But the God of Fortune had clearly taken an interest in Bai Lang. After two quiet and lonely years where he didn’t have much work, Bai Lang shot an MV for a love song and once again audiences took note of this elegant, clean and gentle youth.

At this time Bai Lang was someone who had been in the entertainment circle for many years. After the two previous tumultuous incidences of wind and rain, in which he had experienced the coldness of human hearts, he had learnt to become strong internally. This kind of inner strength and elegant bearing was not something a new young artist who had only experienced success could demonstrate.

When he once again obtained a role as a second male lead in the movie “Sunset”, Bai Lang portrayed the tragic role of someone who was misunderstood however in the end stood in the background to silently bless the male and female lead. This kind of role strongly hinted about Bai Lang’s own tragedies and misfortunes in the past, and so under the influence of this “full of meaning” image, Bai Lang for the third time achieved a height in his career.

However what didn’t change was, after attaining this height, there would always be an inevitable fall.

The third time was the last time. This time Bai Lang faced the accusation of homosexuality.

According to the stories, Bai Lang was not only gay but he was also a dirty person.

Because he used underhand and terrible methods to force the new star Kang Jian to be with him.

Don’t look at Bai Lang’s cultured and clean image, underneath that he hid a disgusting and ugly face.

Isn’t it obvious that the reason each time Bai Lang was able to return to the spotlight, was because he had climbed into some rich man’s bed?

No wonder Kang Jian felt disgusted, and had no choice but to publicize everything in order to prevent more people from being hurt….

As for the starring role that Bai Lang was originally supposed to have in “Mountain Rain Will Come”, the fact that it was changed to Kang Jian was only karma and justified comeuppance….

This kind of human scum should disappear forever from the entertainment world, and never again see the light of day…

***

Each time he saw this kind of online comment, the corners of Bai Lang’s lips would lift ironically as he reminisced.

All of these was nothing compared to the words Kang Jian had once spoken to him.

“Ah Lang, we love each other. Clearly we haven’t hurt anybody so why do we need to hide our relationship!?”

“I know that you want the best for me. However what I want is to stand proudly by your side. I want to hold your hand in front of the whole world. I love you so much, I don’t want to hide anymore. I’ve suffered enough!!”

“Just think about our future together. Don’t we have many decades together? You know that I can’t let go of you forever. How can we live the rest of our lives hiding in the shadows like sewer rats?”

“Why don’t we try? Let’s try! Perhaps after publicising our relationship, we will everyone’s support and love! Look at these comments, don’t the fans always say they’ll support us no matter what? What do we have to fear!?”

“Anyway, even if the whole world is against us, we will still have each other isn’t that right!?”

***

Unable to withstand Kang Jian’s begging, Bai Lang finally decided to try. He was stupid, so very stupid.

They had discussed it previously. Bai Lang would first make an appearance at some particular venues, in order to allow the fans some time to get accustomed to the idea. {T/N: Basically at gay venues, bars etc.}

However Bai Lang had only stepped half a foot out of the closet when everything changed.

Kang Jian became uncontactable, and following that poisonous and terrible rumours began to assault Bai Lang.

Bai Lang was hardly able to withstand it, however in order to fulfill his promise to his lover, Bai Lang didn’t run but could only force himself to weather the storm. He had endured the previous two incidents in this manner. Even when his father, mother and older brother all stood out to publicly denounce him, announcing they were severing all ties with him, he could only clench his teeth and endure it. {T/N: Remember the slanders are not just that he was gay, but that he was someone who was dirty/slept-around/forced other people to be with him etc etc.}

However two weeks later, when Bai Lang finally once again received news of Kang Jian, he was met with this kind of press conference.

In it Kang Jian and Shen LingLing’s wedding was announced, and at the same time Kang Jian stole the role that he had been anticipating for a long time and which was supposed to help change his image.

And so, everything became crystal clear.

However unfortunately it was not until the moment just before he died, that he finally understood everything…

A familiar pain pierced his chest.

Bai Lang paid no attention to it. In the darkness he could only laugh at his own idiocy.

Even he didn’t understand why fate had chosen to return him to ten years ago.

For someone who had nothing to live for like him, what was the point?

Especially for someone like him who had an unhealthy heart, and who had been told by doctors that he had to avoid becoming overly strained or too much pressure, and could only live carefully and delicately, he probably had an expiry date of only 50 or 60 years. In his last life had used it all up prematurely, but this time would the result be any different?

Working hard to live. Living carefully to survive. Last lifetime Bai Lang thought he had done enough.

In the end all he had achieved was an episode of terrible pain. Fortune, fame, in the end all of it had only been empty air.

If he could start again, with even a chance for revenge, so what of it?

However when thinking of those last painful moments, and those strange last images, there was still a few things that Bai Lang couldn’t forget.

It was as though his soul had left his body.

In his previous life, as for what happened after his heart attack, Bai Lang should have had no knowledge. However strangely he actually knew. After he fell down there was someone who had caught his limp body, someone who had called his name desperately, someone who had taken him to the hospital. The images which came after came into his head chaotically…

All the way until the emergency doctor had announced that the resuscitation had failed and that all hope was gone for him. His parents and brother had long cut ties with a “monster” like him. However at his funeral there had been a lone black umbrella shielding him, and someone had with his own two hands, slowly, slowly, taken his ashes into the cemetery.

Bai Lang closed his eyes and recalled his unbelievable images.

He had once heard the older generation say that ghosts at their own funerals, would be drawn to the person who mourned them the most.

Qiu Qian.

Bai Lang would never have thought, that it would be him.

(while reading you'll come cross weird slangs ... don't mind it..... all those responsibilities lies with the author who translated this)

Bai Lang and Qiu Qian had met quite early on.

Long before Bai Lang first appeared on TV screens, the two of them had had a meeting.

At that time, Bai Lang was a third year student at a famous university. One day on the street had been given a business card. For Bai Lang who looked clean and good-looking this was not the first time something like this had happened. Every time previously he had simply thrown it into the trash bin and never thought about it again.

However that year was the first time his older brother Bai Li had experienced a business failure, resulting in a large debt. Although the sum was nothing compared to the one that in the future the Bai Lang who had gotten famous would have to repay for him, however at that time it was enough to make the Bai family suffer some pressure.

Thus, Bai Lang’s father and mother came to Bai Lang to discuss withdrawing him from school.

Bai Li was their oldest son. And their “backup son” Bai Lang was someone who had been born unexpectedly and was outside their plans. In these two old people’s hearts, their expectations and concerns for their eldest son Bai Li was always much higher than their second son Bai Lang.

And this time if Bai Li was not able to come up with the money, he would face the penalty of a bankruptcy record, and would be a stain that he would not be able to clean off his entire life. So no matter what the fact that the younger brother Bai Lang should reach out to help his brother was something that they felt was to be expected.

Bai Lang was not surprised by this request even though he was not close emotionally with Bai Li who was older than him by seven years. However withdrawing from school would impact his future greatly. So in order to remain in school and still have money to help his family, Bai Lang sought out the company who had given him the business card. He thought about the advance signing bonus that the company promised him. If he could help Bai Li weather this initial hardship, then he could slowly make up the rest in time.

However in this world there was no such thing as a free lunch. The Bai Lang who was innocent and naive and didn’t have any society experience, fell into a trap this time. After he received the money, Bai Li’s burdens were reduced greatly. However at this time Bai Lang found out that his first job was to go to a club to accompany people to drink. He regretted it but it was too late to back out.

It was at this time that Bai Lang went out to the club, that he met the VIP customer, Qiu Qian.

Qiu Qian was immediately attracted to the pale-faced Bai Lang at first glance. It was not related to Bai Lang’s appearance. It wasn’t as though that in the circle of actors and models that he was used to associating in, that there wasn’t anyone better looking than Bai Lang. What piqued Qiu Qian’s interest was the expression of panic and disgust in those eyes which the young man was unable to completely conceal. He wanted to see what it would take to make this young man yield.

However Qiu Qian overestimated Bai Lang. After only a few sips of spirits, Bai Lang became dizzy and was able to pushed down by Qiu Qian into the couch. After being held underneath his chin and kissed with tongue, with their upper thighs rubbing together, Bai Lang’s eyes were filled with tears and he was played with by Qiu Qian until he was trembling and humiliated and nearly came inside his pants.

It was Qiu Qian who was pressing Bai Lang down who decided not to do it until the end. It was like he was playing with a small animal. He only licked Bai Lang’s red ears and unexpectedly let Bai Lang go that night.

But the day after Bai Lang ran away in a panic from the club, he received the notice that his contract had been transferred to the En Jiang Group’s subsidiary “Total Entertainment”. He received a call from a slew of strangers which told him that Total Entertainment’s big boss was Qiu Qian and that he was very interested in taking Bai Lang as a kept lover, because he was clean and beautiful.

{T/N: 包养/”bao yang”, literally means nurturing/cultivating and basically means taking someone in and providing for all their expenses and in return they will become your kept lover or mistress. A sugar daddy/sugar baby type relationship.}

Bai Lang was so angry his entire body trembled. He was also both shocked and scared.

When Qiu Qian called personally to ask him, Bai Lang rejected him with a trembling voice. To this Qiu Qian replied in his husky voice and on the phone lightly laughed at Bai Lang for his innocence and naivety.

In the following weeks Bai Lang was on tenterhooks, afraid that Qiu Qian would come after him for revenge, however nothing came of it. However all of the good opportunities for training and exposure passed him by. The other small name actors beside him told him that this could be counted as being slowly frozen out. If he didn’t consider changing his answer, then his career as an actor would be at an end.

This was something that Bai Lang could only wish for. The Bai Lang at that time only wanted to fulfill his contract at the most basic level. Once he repaid his debt, he would be free of this world of darkness and evil.

However it was as though the company wanted to keep Bai Lang hanging. Every job he got came with minimal payment, such as being the waiter at a wine exhibition or passing out flyers at a car exhibition. This way it was dragged on and on, the contract wore on for over a year and by the time Bai Lang graduated university, he still had not repaid his debt.

In this time Bai Lang had also considered breaking the contract. However the high cost of breaking the contract was not something that Bai Lang could repay. Also, the contract clearly stated that during the time of the contract, Bai Lang was not able to undertake any other kind of separate work. Whether it be a tutor, shop assistant or even an assistant teacher at the school, it was all not possible.

It was completely denying Bai Lang all work opportunities. Even though he graduated from university, if he wasn’t able to get out of the contract, Bai Lang was still restricted and had no income. And at this time the Bai family was still not able to completely walk out from the shadow of Bai Li’s failed business venture. In the face of Bai Lang’s inability to work, they were filled with laments and complaints. They had completely forgotten that the entire reason that Bai Lang had gotten into this mess was because of Bai Li.

After Bai Lang graduated university for two months, just as his situation was becoming more and more hopeless, the company suddenly unexpectedly gave him a role in a long drama that was to run for over half a year. It was also something that suited Bai Lang’s image.

In order to help him undertake this role which had a “not many but also not few” number of scenes, the appropriate acting lessons and training also soon followed. In the next four months, Bai Lang undertook a busy and varied schedule of training which was almost equal to the official artists signed to the company.

Of course, the costs of such a training were to be undertaken by Bai Lang himself. According to the entertainment company, since the benefit of the training was Bai Lang then it was up to Bai Lang to pay for it. However it seemed that the previous incident of Bai Lang rejecting being a kept lover seemed to have been forgotten by the company.

Bai Lang was suspicious about this incident however he couldn’t consider it too much. The reality of his circumstances forced him to accept these conditions. He seriously undertook his training programme and completely dedicated himself to his first role in “Partners for Life” as a single father, Jiang XinCheng.

In the drama, although Bai Lang’s acting ability was shallow, however his image completely completely fulfilled the requirements of the role. He was someone who had not been in society for long, an innocent and awkward single father. All of this helped to cover up Bai Lang’s inexperience, and the addition of the cute and genius six year old child star Duo Duo helped a lot too. He acted as Bai Lang’s son in the drama and helped Bai Lang became famous almost overnight.

As the six month long drama “Partners” slowly broadcasted, during this time the company also helped Bai Lang accept many advertisement endorsements. All different types of jobs came his way and further helped push Bai Lang into the road of becoming an actor and after this it was impossible for him to get away.

Even afterwards when his fortune turned, Bai Lang did not consider leaving the road of being an actor. The first acting job really brought to Bai Lang many feelings of true joy.

However afterwards, Bai Li once again had a second business failure. This time Bai Li did not learn from the mistakes of the first time, and after falling in with some unsavory ‘friends’ and believing he had some insider knowledge, he thought he could invest in an unlisted company and be able to win back a great reward. Thus he borrowed a large sum of money from an underground money lender, and placed it all into this company.

However in the end the insider knowledge he received was only empty air. Thus Bai Li fell into a huge debt. When the underground money lender furiously pursued him to repay the money, the entire Bai family was placed under violent threats of danger. The Bai Lang who had no house or assets could only open his mouth to ask the entertainment company for more money in order to help his brother repay his debts and bypass the storm.

From that day on, the Bai Lang who on the screen was bright and dazzling, began to take on the dark and terrible burden of repaying debts.

Because it wasn’t just Bai Li’s debt itself, but more because Bai Lang had been contracted to endorse several products, however when the news of Bai Li’s debts ruined Bai Lang’s image, he had repay a much larger damage of defaulting on his contracts. {T/N: Because his contract stipulates that he cannot have any image damaging incidents, or be forced to pay damages.}

And these two incidents of great rises and great falls became like a vicious cycle. And Bai Li continued to ask Bai Lang to help him repay various debts. Thus Bai Lang’s debts became more and more, to the extent that even if he wanted to buy a car, he had to consider things carefully.

However Bai Lang’s debtee, from the beginning to the end, had always been Qiu Qian.

It was Qiu Qian who helped Bai Lang settle his damages for breaking his contracts, it was him that accepted all of Bai Lang’s responsibilities. And the reason seemed to be just so he could at irregular intervals call Bai Lang on the phone, to discuss with him his debts and his choices in life, and ask him to reconsider his proposal which was still valid: to be his kept lover.

After seeing the gentle but stubborn Bai Lang refuse him time after time, it seemed that Qiu Qian was able to get some joy out of these interactions. He loved to bring up this proposal each time Bai Lang was at his lowest, to test Bai Lang’s perseverance.

This kind of mocking and playful attitude provided an explanation for some things. The people beside Bai Lang, whether it be his stylist, manager, or make up artist, were all people of skill and talent. However each time he faced a crucial trial, they would not receive much assistance. It was as though a cold blanket always covered Bai Lang and so his road as an actor was always difficult and shallow.

It was not until the final time that Bai Lang really broke his heart.

He would rather that these ugly and poisonous slanders were tricks that

Qiu Qian had created, rather than Kang Jian. That was why he had run over here to accuse Qiu Qian. And the answer he had received was the one that until now he had been too afraid to face: Kang Jian’s betrayal.

It was probably good that he had died at that moment. Bai Lang always thought this.

Facing the rejection of both his family and his lover, he really didn’t know what else he had to live for.

But he had never thought that Qiu Qian, whom Bai Lang had always seen as a knife held to his throat, would be so unexpectedly sorrowful over him.

Even if there must have been some element of guilt in there, Bai Lang had never blamed Qiu Qian. He only remembered Qiu Qian’s holding the black umbrella, and his anguished profile. That image was like a stamp, from the moment it appeared, it remained stubbornly fixed in Bai Lang’s mind….

[Di-lin-lin-di-lin-lin–]

In the darkness the piercing sound of the mobile phone rang, breaking Bai Lang’s daydream.

He picked up his phone and took a look. It was his older brother Bai Li calling.

Bai Lang’s heart felt extremely complicated. Because judging by the time, he knew that his older brother was calling to beg for his help.

After “Partners for Life” broadcasted for two months, Bai Lang had only just signed a few important endorsement contracts. However it was at this time that Bai Li became indebted to the underground lender for the sum of two million borrowed money plus three million interest, a total sum of five million. He had received his final notice. If he didn’t pay within one week, then there would be consequences.

Since fate had chosen to let Bai Lang do over everything again, then this time what should he chose….?

“Big brother,” Bai Lang waited two more rings before answering the phone.

“Little brother!! You have to help me!! My life is in your hands!!”

Bai Li’s cry sounded from the phone.

This night, starting from 2AM in the morning, Bai Lang received three phone calls. One was from his older brother and two from his mother.

All of it was to tell him how deadly the underground money lender was and how Bai Li and the two old people were frightened to death. They had received several phone calls in the dead of the night with no one talking on the other end, and also people had been tailing them on their way out to buy groceries. For several nights past they had been so frightened they couldn’t sleep. As for Bai Lang who had a successful career, all he needed to do was to run by the bank tomorrow morning and borrow five million dollars to help Bai Li and save their family. It was this simple, no?

Bai Lang lowered his head listening to their calls, and in his heart he couldn’t help but recall the scenes from his previous life.

Because after this incident, Bai Li would continue to borrow money time and time again, and would time and time again ask him for help to repay it. Through this incident Bai Li came to understand that if he was in debt, then Bai Lang’s reputation would also suffer. So he knew that no matter what his younger brother Bai Lang would come to his aid, so he felt free to go out and do whatever he wanted.

All the way until eight years later when Bai Li had finally accumulated enough experience from this manner of using money, he was finally able to open two relatively successful restaurants in his hometown of T City, and became the so-called boss of a “chain” and made a minor name for himself. Then when the ugly rumors surrounding Bai Lang being gay was broken to the media, Bai Li was the first person to stand out and post on the two restaurant’s website that the Bai family had not taught this younger son well, that they wanted to apologize to society, as well as to completely cut off all ties with Bai Lang.

This notice was furiously reposted by all the paparazzi. Everyone said that even though there was no real evidence to support to rumors, Bai Lang’s own family had pretty much admitted it. Hence it was clear that Bai Lang really had some serious problems. So the previously unsubstantiated slanders became real in this fashion. For Bai Lang, who had painstakingly supported Bai Li and these two old people these past years, he was heartlessly stabbed in the back several times.

However at that time Bai Lang still felt guilty towards his parents. Because he knew that the two old people who had grown up in a small regional town were very traditional thinking people. Homosexuality in their eyes was something that was disgusting and perverted. Actually when Bai Lang admitted his sexual orientation to his parents, the words they had spoken to him were even uglier than that which was being said outside by others.

However people’s hearts in reality were made of flesh and blood. If it was cut then of course it would hurt.

Bai Lang had been a good and obedient son for his entire life. He was a good younger brother. However all he had gotten in return was this kind of abandonment. Although he understood it logically, however Bai Lang did not want to repeat this kind of experience.

Especially Bai Li. When Bai Lang thought about letting Bai Li use him for money again, he really wanted to jump out of the window of the building.

The phone had still been held in his hand for too long and it was slightly hot. Bai Lang paused for a few seconds and then finally decided to dial a number.

In his previous life, he had never once before called this number voluntarily.

However it had always been saved inside his phone.

[Du–du–du—], then there was the sound of the call been connected. “Who is it!?”

The deep and husky voice sounded angry, it seemed like the person on the other end hadn’t even had time to open their eyes yet.

“It’s me, Bai Lang.” Bai Lang looked again at the digital clock. It was still August 23rd 20XX, 4AM in the morning.

“Does Mr Qiu have time to talk?”

***

“You have something on in the afternoon? Brother Lang, are you going somewhere ah?”

The young voice on the phone belonged to Bai Lang’s assistant Xiao Yang, Yang GuoZhong.

Bai Lang had previously considered Yang GuoZhong a faithful and loyal assistant who had helped him in many situations, even down to the details of selecting his lunch boxes and creating multiple accounts to help talk for him on the internet. Once Bai Lang had completely trusted him and had no guard against him at all.

However after the incident regarding the video of the yacht party, his assistant was suddenly changed from Xiao Yang to Er Hong, whose real name was Hong Hong. {T/N: “Er” means two, referring to the fact that Hong Hong name has 2 Hong’s. They are different characters but pronounced similarly.} It was not until then that Bai Lang knew that other than being his assistant, Xiao Yang had another job, and that was selling news about the private lives of stars to the paparazzi.

He clearly had such a friendly and happy face, with a liveliness that brightened the atmosphere everywhere. However in reality he was doing all he could to get close to the assistants of other famous stars, and through casual conversation he was trying to glean information that he could sell. Until that moment Bai Lang finally realized that the news about Bai Li’s debt was leaked most likely because Xiao Yang was by his side and overheard Bai Lang to Bai Li when the other person was yelling at him and begging for help.

Because after all when an underground money lender was trying to chase a debt, they would keep it secret from the outside world. They obviously knew that Bai Li had Bai Lang behind him to help repay his debt, so the underground money lender would not do anything so stupid as to destroy Bai Lang’s fortune and also expose themselves in the process. {T/N: It’s underground because it’s illegal, hence the huge interest rate. A loan shark. Probably I should have used that term instead haha, but the Chinese “underground money manor” sounded more sinister lol.}

Originally Bai Lang had been suspicious that it was Qiu Qian who had leaked the news. After all Bai Lang had had no choice but to ask the company to lend him money. He had also received a phone call from Qiu Qian asking him if he wanted to reconsider the matter of being a kept lover. But now that Bai Lang thought about it, it was more likely that Qiu Qian only had a passing interest. But because of that, in this life, Bai Lang finally had the courage to make that phone call last night.

Towards Xiao Yang’s question, Bai Lang only said vaguely, “I’m going to see the boss. I have some things to discuss with him.”

“The boss!? Big boss Qiu?!” The voice on the phone rose two octaves. “How come ah!? Is it a new drama or what? You should tell me these kind of things ah! Okay, is it tomorrow afternoon? I’ll take brother Lang there. Where are you meeting? I’ll take you brother Lang, you don’t have a car right?”

Bai Lang laughed. This type of question was probing him for information. The Bai Lang who had mingled in the entertainment world for ten years could already discern it. “Since we are having a discussion, where else could it be but at the company office? Is there something wrong with the company office that we have to go out and spend money?”

“Oh. It’s like that.” Xiao Yang’s voice fell slightly. “Then what time? I’ll go and pick you up?”

“There’s no need. These two days I won’t be turning my phone on. You should have a good rest. The advertisement shoot has been changed to the day after tomorrow.”

They were still filming “Partners for Life” {T/N: Remember it is a super long 6 month show, and they’re most likely filming and broadcasting at the same time}. However because the male lead had some conflicts in schedule, so they could only film a little, then rest a little. The director was so stressed his hair nearly went white however this let Bai Lang have quite a lot of free time, as well as time to do other jobs.

“Tomorrow as well? What are you doing? Are you meeting Mr Qiu again?” Xiao Yang asked inquisitively.

“Tomorrow I’m going home to see my family while I have some free time. When I get busy again I won’t get time.” Bai Lang pretty much only went home once every few months, so his reasoning made sense.

“Okay. Brother Lang, once you finish your talk with big boss Qiu, remember to tell me ah!” Xiao Yang didn’t want to give up. “I hope that brother Lang will get more roles in dramas and fly up to the sky! That way I can become the most important assistant on set, ahahaha!!”

Hearty laughter sounded from inside the phone. Bai Lang thought about how much sincerity there was in that laughter. “Okay. See you in two days.”

“Bye, brother Lang.”

***

Two hours later, Bai Lang sat respectfully on the sofa outside Qiu Qian’s office, waiting for him.

Total Entertainment was only a small subsidiary of the En Jiang Group, so Qiu Qian didn’t often appear here. If one wanted to see Qiu Qian then one had to make an appointment very early and come here to wait.

If one wanted to talk about the En Jiang Group behind Qiu Qian, everyone knew that it belonged to the Xindao’s Qiu Family. {T/N: Xindao is a place name, like Qingdao. It literally means “New Island”. The author’s following description makes me think of Macau/Hong Kong but it’s a made up place I’m sure.}

Speaking of Xindao, it was a place that only in the last ten years had been legitimized as a designated specialty gambling area. It was known for its nightlife, exportation business and entertainment business. However previous to that, it was a place where illegal gambling and black market exportation was rife.

The illegal activities coming from on the island was very serious and it was almost impossible to completely change its ways. Until one year when the government somehow saw the light and decided to just simply legalize its gambling and open its harbor. That way they could openly and legitimately police and regulate its activities.

The Qiu family had been doing business on Xindao for generations. At the time of the legalization they were already quite powerful. Once their business became legal they immediately began to spread their business properly and openly. They opened casino after casino, hotel after hotel, buying up bundles and bundles of land. After ten years of washing themselves clean, they could now be considered a very legitimate entertainment, hospitality and shipping company.

However the Qiu family still followed the old traditions and family business model. Their so-called “professional management model” was just a veneer, underneath it the regulations that they followed were a minority, and the ones that they flaunted was the majority. In actuality, all the power still lay in the family head. So of all the Qiu’s family’s enterprises, not one was listed on the stock market. They simply placed it under the umbrella company called “En Jiang Qiu Group”. In the business world no one dared to look down on them.

{T/N: So basically unlike most major corporations which are listed on the stock exchange and have a board of directors and are answerable to their shareholders, the En Jiang group is basically run in an old-school family business model where all the power lies with the head of the company who is also the head of the family. Think more mafia or yakuza style. Hope that makes sense. I tried to follow how the author wrote it, but not sure if the translation makes as much sense as the original.}

As for the Qiu family which originally came from Xindao, because they were involved in the shipping business, so from an early time they had expanded to all corners of the world. In the mainland, other than shipping, the Qiu family also was familiar with the hospitality business. Since unlike on Xindao, gambling was illegal on the mainland, so they turned their focus on entertainment venues, hotels and high-class clubs, as well as the related businesses of selling alcohol, cigars and luxury cars.

In the last couple of years, the Qiu family had taken steps to venture into the entertainment world and had created the not large but also not small “Total Entertainment” company. Originally insiders did not have much expectations of it. They felt that the entertainment world was too complex and its ocean too deep, just because you had money didn’t mean you would become successful. However within a few years, Total Entertainment had debuted a successful male idol group R-RED, as well as two winners of the “Golden Coil” trophy {T/N: A made-up singing award like the Grammys}. In addition they had signed the young movie emperor Su Quan who was developing overseas. These kind of showy successes had smashed the glasses of many insiders, causing them to realize that once you had both money and power, then no ocean was too deep for you to swim.

As for Qiu Qian, who in the rumors was the illegitimate son of the head of the Qiu family, in the beginning he was just a small-time shipping boss that worked at the docks and was often at sea, and the family did not place much importance on him. However for reasons people didn’t know, in the last few years he had suddenly become powerful, to the point where he behaved as though he was the successor of the family. Old man Qiu, the head of the family, really had in the last half year, started giving control of the family to the just over 30 year old Qiu Qian to manage. Especially the heart of the family, which was its shipping business, had caused Qiu Qian’s personal worth to skyrocket to over ten billion in one stroke.

However Qiu Qian’s outer appearance completely did not match with the appearance of a company big boss.

He had a tanned complexion, untamed half-long hair, and always wore a shirt that was never completely buttoned up. In front of his chest he always wore a thick and large gold chain. Even after he took over control of the company, he still looked like a shipping worker, it was only that he had changed his flower print shirt to a more high-quality silk shirt that’s all.

{T/N: If you guys want to get some idea of what Qiu Qian’s personal style is, just google the Taiwanese movie “Monga” and look at what Ethan Juan and Mark Chao are wearing lol. Basically like a yakuza or a thug.}

Even so, it couldn’t obscure Qiu Qian’s very strong and tall body, his handsome and deep-set features, as well as his unique personal charisma. Even though his style was crude, it gave him a sort of wild and untamed handsomeness. The year Qiu Qian took over “Total Entertainment”, he had been listed by a tabloid publication as the “number one most desired patron”. It was a fortunate coincidence that his name also contained the world “Qian” {T/N: Sounds like the character for money.}

It was unknown if it was because of this, however Qiu Qian loved to make this kind of joke.

Bai Lang waited quietly for a few minutes. In his heart he still had not fully made up his mind.

In his previous life’s ten years, Bai Lang had more or less heard stories about Qiu Qian’s methods. He looked strong and generous, decisive and practical, however he also had a vicious personality. He knew how to hide his intentions and motives, before pulling out a knife that could kill with one stroke. Towards his enemies, he was undoubtedly their greatest nightmare.

If not for the scene he had seen from his previous life, then Bai Lang would never have believed that he had been special in any way to Qiu Qian.

In Qiu Qian’s position, how many small stars would have enthusiastically warmed his bed. Bai Lang’s rejection really was something that was unimportant. He wasn’t the most talented or eye-catching person within the entertainment circle and Qiu Qian really never took his rejection much to heart. Bai Lang was clear in his heart even in his previous life that Qiu Qian had helped him in some small ways, however the motivation behind that should have been to play with him, so as to entertain himself by seeing the drama unfold.

But as for what Qiu Qian had done for him after he died, to Bai Lang it really was something completely out of his expectation.

Even from the perspective of a friend, someone that would mourn for him, then on his road of suffering and fighting, it seemed like there was at least one person that recognized it. After being rejected by so many people, Qiu Qian’s one act of kindness was etched deep inside Bai Lang’s heart.

However in his previous life Bai Lang had been a small star that resolutely refused to bow his head.

But this time he had voluntarily sent himself to Qiu Qian’s door. Bai Lang laughed mockingly to himself. Like this, would things between them still be same?

Outside the door there was a flurry of activity. He heard the sound of people enthusiastically welcoming their boss.

A few moments later the door was brusquely and roughly pushed open.

There was a cigar dangling from the corner of Qiu Qian’s mouth. His head was tilted and his eyes swept over Bai Lang with interest.

“Little white rabbit, you were looking for me?”

{T/N: The “Bai” in Bai Lang’s name translates to “white”. It’s also my surname too haha. This is the second story I’ve translated where the MC is surname Bai. It’s a coincidence I swear!}