One morning later in the week, Mu Feng suddenly sat next to Wen Rui at the breakfast table. Wen Rui was eating a bowl of soggy cereal unenthusiastically at the dinner table, yellowish bits plopping off his spoon to splatter into the low-fat milk in the bowl.
This breakfast table was actually an island counter in the dorm kitchen. The four members of HEX4 shared one unit, which looked like a simple apartment with three bedrooms and a cramped living room. It wasn't as filthy as Wen Rui had expected of four young teenagers who had to clean up after themselves.
But it wasn't the kind of luxury that he was accustomed to either.
Wen Rui returned Mu Feng's bright greeting with a nod, trying his best to ignore the foot that kept kicking against the tall bar stool he was sitting on. Mu Feng was that sort of person, constantly active and unable to sit still. But Wen Rui didn't mind it. He was the friendliest person Wen Rui had met after losing his memories and he had an innocence about him that reminded Wen Rui of his easier high school days.
"Rui Ge," Mu Feng whispered, after giving the bedrooms a furtive glance. Wen Rui and Hong Si both had a single both Mu Feng and Pei Jun had drawn the short ends of the stick and had to share one. But right now, both Wen Rui's door and Mu Feng's door were open. So the only person Mu Feng could be wary of was Hong Si.
"What is it?" Wen Rui asked calmly. "If this is about new gossip, I'm not interested."
He was sick and tired of all the news about himself on Weibo. Luckily, some actress' love affair with an elderly investor in her movies had taken his place at number 1 on the trending list. While Wen Rui felt sorry for her, he was also relieved to have some of the attention directed elsewhere.
The entertainment industry could be so cruel and unforgiving. This was why Wen Rui had never chased celebrities or craved any of that fame for himself.
And yet, here he was.
Mu Feng hesitated. He rubbed at the back of his neck as he contemplated whether to carry on with his hot topic. "Um…it kind of is about gossip? But I also wanted to thank you…"
Wen Rui frowned in confusion. He couldn't remember doing anything in recent times that required thanking, let alone for Mu Feng. It had been three days since he'd shifted back into the dorms and it was Mu Feng who had been taking care of him all this while. Without Mu Feng, Wen Rui wouldn't have known how to use the kitchen appliances or where to go to do vocal recordings for practice. If anyone should be thanking anyone, it was Wen Rui.
"What did I do?" he asked.
"People have been saying that you asked Manager Qu to give your drama role to me instead of Hong Si…" Mu Feng's eyes were bright and earnest. "I'm really grateful, Rui Ge, but if Manager Qu doesn't change his mind, I think you shouldn't bring it up anymore."
Wen Rui chortled. Oh. This was about that? He loved how a private conversation that had been between his Manager Qu, Hong Si, and him, had oh-so-conveniently made its way onto the company's grapevine.
"What are they saying about me now?" he said, not exactly caring about the answer. "Let me guess. I'm salty that I lost my opportunity to Hong Si and am trying to ruin it for him now? No, that would be too kind. They must be discussing how I'm a two-faced sore loser who wants to create bad blood between Hong Si and you."
"That's not true!" Mu Feng shouted in panic, forgetting that he was trying to guard against potential eavesdroppers.
Wen Rui shot him an exasperated look and he slapped a hand over his mouth sheepishly.
"Of course, it isn't true. But the people spreading those rumours don't care whether it's true or not, they just want drama." Wen Rui pushed his bowl away from him and stood up. His appetite had been spoiled by Auntie's lavish breakfasts and he really couldn't stomach the instant cereal he'd bought from the company's convenience store the night before. At least, this way, he would be in the acceptable range during the next weekly weight check.
Mu Feng tugged on his bangs in agitation. It was a comical look but Wen Rui didn't laugh at him because he could tell that the boy was truly worried.
"I was really touched though, that you suggested me," he mumbled.
"No need," Wen Rui replied. "I was just speaking the truth. You're better suited for the role of Chen Wen than either Hong Si or me." He'd gone back to his room after the meeting and had skimmed through the novel just to satisfy his curiosity and ensure that he hadn't made a false statement.
He was just about to clear the table when the door to Hong Si's bedroom slammed open and its owner stormed out. Hong Si was in a vicious mood and Wen Rui couldn't tell if it was because he'd heard their conversation or if he was just prone to throwing fits for no good reason like a diva.
Not that Wen Rui particularly cared. He hadn't said anything that wasn't objective. After reading up on HEX4 online yesterday, he understood that all of them had been scouted off the streets to audition and had subsequently become trainees. None of them had a professional acting background. Perhaps makeup and styling would be able to change Hong Si's physical appearance but they would be able to change his 'zhuang B' attitude, which was the complete opposite to the male lead's personality.
But of course, if management was determined to let Hong Si publicly embarrass himself like that, it was none of Wen Rui's business.
He didn't want to stay in the same room as someone who was so pointedly glaring at him, so he washed his bowl and prepared to leave for the studios. Mu Feng tagged along, probably because he didn't want to hang out with Hong Si either. Just as well. Wen Rui had something he wanted to ask him.
"University?" Mu Feng asked in surprise. "But didn't Rui Ge just quit last year…?"
Wen Rui's flattened his lips. He'd asked Mu Feng how much university cost, after learning that Mu Feng had permission to do an online undergraduate degree. It wasn't as prestigious as Wen Rui's F University, of course, but it was already so much better than what Wen Rui had right now. He didn't want to stop at a high school diploma. There was nothing wrong with that but he had so many goals in the past, it didn't make sense to throw it all away just because Wen Guoyan ruined their family. That would be letting his father win.
He didn't know what had happened to 21-year-old him to give up on himself so thoroughly. But Wen Rui was determined to set things right.
"Well…" Mu Feng hesitated. "Rui Ge, I would happily send you the links to my uni, but you used to be a first-class admission student…"
Wen Rui had seen this on the fan profiles of him online too. CE had hyped him up during HEX 4's debut as a 'gorgeous genius', someone who could score 700 plus in the most important exam in the nation and still look like he was carved from marble. Wen Rui had looked at his results on display for the country to see on the free internet. His feelings about that had been mixed. To him, he hadn't even taken the entrance exams yet and so even though he was relieved to know that he'd done well, he also felt like it wasn't his hard work…
He sighed. Whatever. So what if his scores were that amazing? If he didn't manage to make enough money to terminate this stupid contract, he wasn't going to be able to go back unless the company made an exception for him. And given that he was persona non grata with the bosses at the moment, this was wishful thinking.
For the last couple of days, Wen Rui had been taking it easy during practice, just going through the motions without dancing properly. This was because of Dr Li's instructions. He was feeling a lot better now though, with none of the concussion symptoms anymore besides the amnesia. But he still hesitated to overexert himself. If he wound up in the hospital again, it would just cause Zhou Ye more trouble and Wen Rui didn't want to owe him even more.
He was just about to give Dr Li a call and ask whether he could drop the physical activity restriction when his phone buzzed. He clicked on it and WeChat opened to Zhou Ye's chat.
Zhou Ye's user icon was of Vincent Van Gogh's 'Starry Night'. Wen Rui wasn't sure if he was referring to his name, which was the character for 'Night' or if he was just…really a fan of post-impressionism art. If it were anyone else it would be pretentious but Wen Rui knew that Zhou Ye didn't have to attempt to impress others by pretending to be better than he was. This 'xiongdi' was just that good, no matter how much Wen Rui loathed to admit it.
Zhou Ye: Your scans are back
Zhou Ye: Nothing serious showed
There was a long pause as the 'the other party is typing…' message flashed at the top of their conversation. Wen Rui twiddled his thumbs and waited to see what Zhou Ye was taking so long to type. If Wen Rui had to be honest, he was feeling slightly guilty. After their not-quite argument in the weekend, he hadn't bothered contacting Zhou Ye at all and it felt like he had given Zhou Ye the cold shoulder despite the kindness Zhou Ye had shown him so far. Sure, Zhou Ye had a hand to play in this silly fake marriage Wen Rui was now stuck in.
But now that Wen Rui wasn't worked up, he could think about it rationally. Zhou Ye and his father might have agreed on the marriage on Wen Rui's behalf but it wasn't like they could force Wen Rui to sign the registration form right? There must have been a reason why he'd gone along with it in the end.
The new message finally came in.
Zhou Ye: Don't worry
Wen Rui's heart thumped. Was Zhou Ye…concerned? Even after Wen Rui had behaved so badly towards him?
Another long pause with more typing. It was like Zhou Ye was writing essays instead of his curt replies. Wen Rui wasn't sure why he was waiting with bated breath.
Zhou Ye: You're healthy
Zhou Ye: But take care
Zhou Ye:…don't dance yet
These last three messages flashed on the screen quickly before they were deleted, like Zhou Ye realised he was being a mother hen. But too late, Wen Rui had already seen them. Surprisingly though, they didn't annoy him like he thought they would.
Wen Rui: Got it
Wen Rui: Thanks
He tossed his phone back into his bag but couldn't stop himself from smiling throughout morning practice.