Wen Rui flinched as the man on the line screamed at him. He couldn't speak for the period of memories that he seemed to have lost, but in all 18 years of his life that he could recall, no one had ever dared to speak to him like this. He was the pampered son of Wen Guoyan, a self-made billionaire whose home electronics company was a household name, and Jiang Qing, an old-money heiress whose family wealth went back many generations. Born with a silver spoon in his mouth, Wen Rui was used to being doted and fawned upon.
As a result, he frowned in disapproval and said, "Could we please have a civilised conversation?"
This achieved the opposite effect of what he had intended. Instead of calming down, Manager Qu's voice became incredulous as he mocked Wen Rui to his face.
"You're telling me to be civilised?! Suddenly bringing out the young master airs and graces, are we? Where were your good manners yesterday night when you broke the rules and sneaked out to a club to party? Huh? Where were they when you decided to pick a fight? Do you know you were recorded? That video is all over Weibo now! Do you know how much trouble you've caused me? Who do you think has to wipe your sorry ass?!"
[But I don't remember doing any of it…] There was a bitter taste in Wen Rui's mouth. He wanted desperately to protest but he didn't even know how to begin. Say that it wasn't him? But it was, and just because he thought he was 18 years old him now didn't excuse his actions, no matter how unfair it felt.
"You'd better listen up now. You've already skipped practice today—"
"I have a doctor's certificate," Wen Rui interrupted. It was uncharacteristic of him, but he could tell that this Manager Qu was used to talking at him and would not let him get a word in edgewise. "I'm suffering from a concussion and unable to perform any physical activity for 10 days—"
"I DON'T FUCKING CARE, IF YOU'RE NOT DYING IN THE EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT, I EXPECT YOU TO SEE YOU IN HERE IN HALF AN HOUR, YOU HEAR?"
Before Wen Rui could even ask where 'here' was, Manager Qu slammed down on him.
"…" Wen Rui ran a hand through his hair and pressed gingerly against the bump on the back of his head. It was still a bit tender but bearable. "How long is my contract for?"
Zhou Ye looked up from working on his laptop to raise an eyebrow at him. "Do you think you've ever told me?"
The answer was an obvious no.
Fine. Wen Rui would have to figure out how to worm his way out of this one. He should go in now and talk to this Manager Qu. Explain that he was willing to pay to terminate his contract prematurely. He could already envision an exorbitant sum but there was nothing that money couldn't fix. If there was, it just meant not enough money was on offer. But Wen Rui had never had money problems. Just relying on his sizeable savings, he was confident he would be able to settle things by the end of the day. And then go home and properly apologise to his parents, re-enrol in university, and set his life back on track.
He could do this.
Reassuring himself that he had everything under control, he turned to Zhou Ye expectantly.
"…what is it?"
"You at least know where my workplace is right?"
——————————
Constellation Entertainment was part of the Major 3 in the industry, a group of three big companies that were responsible for the production of most of the superstars in the country. Basically, they didn't sound like they were easy to deal with and Wen Rui had a foreboding feeling when the car pulled up on the doorstep of the futuristic building that was CE's headquarters.
"Right then." Wen Rui sighed. "Thanks for the lift. I'll go sort things out with…whoever."
He was about to open the car door when a large hand seized him by the wrist. Wen Rui stiffened up, still uncomfortable from the contact with his 'new husband'. Maybe Zhou Ye noticed because he let go immediately but still looked like he wanted to say something.
Wen Rui cocked his head to the side and waited. "What is it?"
To his surprise, Zhou Ye hesitated. "I could…no, it's nothing," he said at last. "The car will be circling the building, go and complete what you need to do."
"Huh?" Wen Rui didn't want to trouble him anymore. Didn't Zhou Ye have work or something to get to? He was taking his husband role too seriously… "There's no need, I can just call a DiDi after—"
"You're concussed." Zhou Ye's tone brooked no nonsense. "My condition for driving you here is that you conclude your matters quickly and go home to rest. The alternative is we leave right now."
"…" Ordinarily, Zhou Ye's overbearing attitude would have pushed Wen Rui to retort rebelliously, but it was hard to argue with someone who had his best interests at heart. And Wen Rui couldn't even lie to himself and say that Zhou Ye didn't. What else could Wen Rui call cancelling an entire day's agenda to shepherd him to the hospital and nag him about his health?
"All right," he muttered, sweeping a hand through his fringe in frustration. "I'll…try and make it quick."
"Here, take this." Zhou Ye opened a compartment in the car and handed over a pair of classy, understated Dior sunglasses.
"…? The main entrance is just twenty metres away…"
"Trust me. You'll want them."
Zhou Ye's confidence was convincing. Wen Rui took the sunglasses and put them on before placing the casing back in Zhou Ye's waiting outstretched hand. He didn't realise how naturally Zhou Ye took care of him.
Five seconds later, as the door of the car shut behind him, he understood why Zhou Ye spoke so surely. In fact, Wen Rui wished he had a face mask too, as a group of tabloid reporters swarmed him out of nowhere. The flash of camera lights was directed towards the car too, and Wen Rui couldn't be more grateful that the windows were tinted so the curious reporters couldn't glimpse inside.
He could just imagine the headlines otherwise: DISGRACED IDOL RELIES ON HANDSOME SUGAR DADDY TO BAIL HIM OUT OF TROUBLE.
Although, the horrible questions the paparazzi fired at him mercilessly weren't much kinder.
"Wen Rui, Wen Rui! Is it true that you were brought in for questioning after your club brawl?"
"Could you tell us why you lost your temper?"
"Wen Rui! Who was the lady in the club with you? Was she the reason you couldn't control your anger?"
No comment. Also, what lady? Never mind, no comment. Wen Rui made his progress through the throng as best as he could without touching anybody, just in case someone seized the opportunity to 'fall' and accuse him of pushing them.
This was the first time since waking up this morning that he had to face this terrifying new world alone. It was unreasonable but he found himself wishing Zhou Ye had accompanied him, even though he knew there was no way. Wen Rui had already noticed earlier that neither of them wore a wedding ring. He guessed that their marriage was a hidden one. Zhou Ye appearing with him in public now would just cause chaos.
And Wen Rui didn't want to rely on him.
The guards at the entrance of the building finally took notice of the commotion and came out to rescue him. They were clearly used to dealing with reporters and Wen Rui was soon ushered safely past the glass sliding doors and into the foyer.
The interior of the building was modern luxurious, with high ceilings, plenty of windows, and decorated with expensive furniture. Glass and silver chrome was the main theme. It definitely increased the B points of the place but at the same time, had a very cold, heartless vibe. Wen Rui decided he didn't like it.
He tried calling Manager Qu again but either Manager Qu really was busy or he was trying to impose his authority on Wen Rui because his call was cancelled. Twice. He sent Manager Qu a message and sat down at the lounge chairs to wait for a reply.
None came, even ten minutes later.
Now, while ten minutes may not sound like a lot, Wen Rui would be the first to admit that patience was not his strongest suit. He was brought up with people waiting on him and cultivated patience only because it was necessary for success in life. But his polite manners meant that he couldn't stand to waste the time of others, and he was painfully aware that Zhou Ye was still outside.
Besides, Wen Rui wanted to get this over and done with.
The receptionist who had been sneaking glances at him this whole time was shocked when Wen Rui came straight up to her.
Up close, the full effect of his face was even stronger, and she couldn't help but gush internally, [No wonder his fans call him angel! He really is too beautiful, it's such a pity it's wasted on his terrible personality!]
"Excuse me," Wen Rui said. "I understand that this may be an unusual request, but could you help me broadcast an announcement that I'm leaving the building in exactly one minute?"