Zhou Xihe had already signed a contract with Duo Guo – black and white on paper, leaving no room for negotiation.
At the hotel, besides Wang Yuling, he had met with several other executives from Duo Guo. Everyone was satisfied with Zhou Xihe’s appearance and dance abilities, hinting at plans to heavily promote him.
Zhou Xihe was extremely excited internally but dared not show it. Throughout the meeting, he maintained an exceptionally obedient demeanor, afraid that one wrong move might offend these powerful backers, causing both money and his chance at fame to vanish.
After signing the contract, Wang Yuling told him that as a Duo Guo artist now, the company would plan his future development path. He could continue his studies, but outside of school, all activities must follow the company’s arrangements. He couldn’t privately accept commercial performances or participate in any competitions.
Zhou Xihe agreed without hesitation.
At that moment, he completely forgot about his brothers waiting to pursue their World Cup dream together.
Teng Yi didn’t learn about this until the next day.
It was evening when Teng Yi finished training and came downstairs, seeing Zhou Xihe standing outside Xiyou’s door. He was looking up at the new buds on the trees, a half-burned cigarette between his fingers, emanating an inexplicable air of ambition.
“Xihe,” Teng Yi pushed open the door. “What’s going on with you? Haven’t seen you all day – don’t need to train anymore?”
Zhou Xihe stubbed out his cigarette and smiled at him.
“Yi, are you free? Let’s have a drink?”
“Sure.” Teng Yi didn’t think much of it, pointing upstairs. “Let’s wait for the others to come down, and go together.”
“No.” Zhou Xihe quickly waved his hand. “I want to talk with you, just us two.”
Teng Yi snorted: “What are you up to? Just to be clear, I have a girlfriend, and I’m very straight.”
“Don’t worry, I’m not bent either.”
They both laughed.
“Let me get my jacket.”
“Okay.”
Teng Yi went inside to put on his jacket, then walked with Zhou Xihe to the bar at the street corner.
The bar was noisy, and not an ideal place for conversation, but Zhou Xihe felt the flowing crowd and clamor gave him security. Too much quiet would expose his guilt.
Teng Yi ordered two pitchers of draft beer, pushing one to Zhou Xihe.
“What do you want to say?” he asked.
Zhou Xihe rubbed the bar counter, momentarily silent.
“Why so hesitant? Embarrassed to say it?” Teng Yi smiled.
Unable to meet Teng Yi’s clear gaze, Zhou Xihe gulped down two mouthfuls of beer. Using the rising sensation, he said, “Yi, I’m sorry, I can’t participate in the competition with you guys anymore.”
The smile froze on Teng Yi’s lips, the overhead light suddenly draining the warmth from his eyes.
“What do you mean?” he asked.
Zhou Xihe had never seen Teng Yi so serious. After hemming and hawing for a long while, he finally gave a vague explanation about signing with Duo Guo, downplaying the important details.
“Wang Yuling approached you?” Teng Yi frowned.
“No.”
“Then?”
“I approached her,” Zhou Xihe admitted.
This situation was, in fact, thanks to Jian Xiangxiang’s “help.”
When shopping, Jian Xiangxiang always liked having Zhou Xihe carry her bags, showing off her boyfriend’s devotion to passersby. Although Zhou Xihe wasn’t enthusiastic about carrying bags, even somewhat resenting it, he would always satisfy her vanity whenever she asked.
It was while carrying bags for Jian Xiangxiang that Zhou Xihe discovered Wang Yuling’s business card.
Initially, he thought it was fake, but the quality of the card made him suspicious – surely scammers wouldn’t print such high-end business cards? While Jian Xiangxiang wasn’t looking, Zhou Xihe secretly pocketed the card. Back in his dorm, he decided to try calling the number.
The call connected but was quickly disconnected.
Wang Yuling hadn’t answered his call.
Zhou Xihe thought there was no hope, but shortly after, Wang Yuling called back.
However, she addressed him as Teng Yi.
“Teng Yi?”
Zhou Xihe was confused by her greeting.
He remained silent, so Wang Yuling assumed it was Teng Yi.
“Sorry, I was in a meeting earlier. We were just talking about you – what a coincidence, right? You finally called me, I’ve been waiting for you.”
“I’m sorry, I’m not Teng Yi,” Zhou Xihe said timidly.
“…” Wang Yuling paused, her tone instantly deteriorating. “Then who are you?”
“I’m Teng Yi’s friend, Zhou Xihe.”
“What do you want?” Her tone grew increasingly impatient.
“I wanted to ask if your company has any trainee programs suitable for college students. I…”
“Sorry, no.”
The call ended abruptly.
Zhou Xihe held his phone, unable to even manage a bitter smile.
Why was this woman so enthusiastic about Teng Yi but so cold to him? Just because he was the one pursuing her?
Yes, pursuing someone’s favor was worthless.
But he wasn’t bad-looking either. Although his breaking wasn’t as good as Teng Yi’s, he had his specialties. In a locking battle with Teng Yi, he might not lose.
Why did he have to live in Teng Yi’s shadow?
This was the first time in two years that Zhou Xihe had such thoughts. These thoughts were terrible, unconscionable – after all, Teng Yi had been nothing but good to him and everyone else. But once the thoughts emerged, they couldn’t be ignored.
At night, the more sleepless he became, the more stifled he felt.
He thought of Bi Chengjie.
Although Zhou Xihe despised Bi Chengjie, he couldn’t deny his envy of him – envious of his fans’ cheers, envious of his promising future.
He too wanted such a path to stardom, even if the process was a bit unsavory.
In today’s society, everyone looks at results – who cares about the process?
…
He thought the matter would end there, but unexpectedly, things took a turn the day after Valentine’s Day.
Wang Yuling contacted him again.
This time, she proposed meeting him.
Of course, Zhou Xihe immediately agreed.
He put on what he considered his most handsome clothes and shoes, even especially went to the salon for a hairstyle, before rushing to Wang Yuling’s studio – he’d never been so meticulous even for dates.
When Wang Yuling saw Zhou Xihe, although she wasn’t as impressed as when she’d seen Teng Yi, she was generally satisfied with his looks and appearance.
She asked Zhou Xihe to demonstrate his talents, so he performed a locking routine.
Professionals judge street dance by technique, while outsiders only look at how flashy the moves are. Wang Yuling didn’t understand street dance, so it was easy to impress her.
Zhou Xihe successfully won over Wang Yuling.
Wang Yuling broadly outlined his future development direction and mentioned the obligations he would need to fulfill after signing the contract. Zhou Xihe agreed to everything without hesitation.
Zhou Xihe’s compliance left Wang Yuling with no desire to conquer.
But Wang Yuling had also realized something – someone as untameable as Teng Yi might not obey even if signed. Disobedient artists were like bombs – well-handled, they could destroy enemies; poorly handled, they’d destroy yourself. That was too dangerous; she didn’t want to risk her promising future.
Things developed more smoothly than Zhou Xihe had imagined. He was happy, but amid his joy, he also felt guilty because he didn’t know how to explain this to his Xiyou brothers.
–_–
“So, you signed with an entertainment company and now you’re abandoning your brothers?” Teng Yi’s usually warm face was as cold as if touched by frost.
Zhou Xihe hung his head, reaching for his beer. The pitcher was cold; he withdrew his hand as soon as he touched it as if he’d touched Teng Yi’s ice-cold face.
“Speak.”
“I… I don’t know what to say. Anyway, this is my choice.” Zhou Xihe licked his dry lips. “I know suddenly quitting is irresponsible, but if I miss this opportunity, I don’t know when I’ll get another chance to succeed. Yi, I’m not like you – I don’t have a good family background or money. I’m graduating soon, I need to make practical plans for my future instead of following you around chasing intangible dreams… The Street Dance World Cup – even if we win, so what? It’s just street dance circle drama. We think we represent the country, but the country won’t recognize our honor. Will the country treat us like athletes?”
Teng Yi’s lip curled.
So this was how Zhou Xihe thought.
So Zhou Xihe had always seen their street dance dream as intangible.
“Yi…”
“Why not tell the brothers yourself?”
Zhou Xihe fell silent.
Yes, he didn’t have the face to confront the brothers he’d spent day and night with. Someone who was practicing together yesterday would part ways today and as a traitor – how awkward.
Moreover, Zhou Xihe knew that Xiao Qing and Caihong weren’t as even-tempered as Teng Yi. No matter how angry Teng Yi got, he would restrain himself and save face for others. But if Xiao Qing and Caihong got angry, they wouldn’t care about place or occasion – they’d curse him outright, not stopping until they’d thoroughly humiliated him. Although he’d mentally prepared himself, Zhou Xihe still wasn’t confident he could handle such abuse, so he chose to avoid them.
“You can’t face explaining your actions, so you want me to do it for you? Zhou Xihe, you’re something.”
“Sorry, I don’t expect you to understand.” Zhou Xihe quietly clenched his fists, suppressing the pain in his heart. “Let’s leave it at that. I’m going now, good luck with the competition.”
With that, he fled the bar like an escapee.
Teng Yi looked at the two pitchers of beer shoulder-to-shoulder before him and heaved a long sigh.
He hadn’t expected such an incident before the competition even began.
“Buzz.” His phone vibrated in his pocket.
Teng Yi pulled out his phone to see Caihong tagging him in the group chat.
“Boss, where did you go? How did you disappear after coming down?”
“Eh, why did Old Zhou leave the group?” Xiao Qing sent a “surprised” emoji. “Accidentally?”
Teng Yi sent his location to the group.
“Wow, Boss, you went drinking without us? With who? Sister-in-law?” Caihong, oblivious to the situation, was childish as usual.
Teng Yi didn’t answer, just tagged Xiao Qing, Caihong, and Lin Shan, telling them to come to the bar immediately.
Before everyone arrived, Teng Yi got a private room.
His head was throbbing; he needed a quiet place.
Caihong and the other two arrived quickly. After hearing Zhou Xihe’s story from Teng Yi, the three immediately exploded.
“Fuck! No wonder he left the group! This traitor!” Caihong rolled up his sleeves, looking toward the door. “Did he leave? Just now? Can I still catch up and beat him up?”
“Stop it.” Teng Yi glared at Caihong.
“I’m not joking! I want to beat him up! Didn’t we agree to dance together at the World Cup for national glory? Fuck, what is this now? He abandons us halfway – does he even consider us brothers?”
“Brothers my ass! To think I was planning to bring him breakfast tomorrow!” Xiao Qing punched the tea table, still not feeling satisfied. He had been closest to Zhou Xihe, so now felt the deepest sense of betrayal.
Lin Shan didn’t say anything, but his expression was more grave and disappointed than ever.
“What do we do now? How can we compete with one person missing?” Caihong asked.
Teng Yi shook his head; he didn’t know what to do either.
The competition had strict number requirements – teams not meeting the requirement would be disqualified.
And now, with the competition approaching, finding an excellent street dancer who could mesh well with their team wasn’t an easy task.
–_–
Before the domestic qualifiers even began, Xiyou had reached an impasse. The World Cup seemed to have become an impossible dream for Teng Yi and his boys.
All team members were anxious, especially Teng Yi.
In two days, he contacted all possible dancers who could replace Zhou Xihe in Xiyou, but everyone was busy, some even already forming teams to enter the qualifiers – they wouldn’t just be unable to become teammates, they’d become opponents.
As everyone struggled for solutions, their resentment toward Zhou Xihe deepened.
At this moment, Han Zuo returned.
For the past half month, Han Zuo had been in his hometown caring for his seriously ill mother. The young man had lost weight and aged considerably as if he’d endured a worldly catastrophe and instantly grown old.
“Han Zuo?” Teng Yi was overjoyed to see him.
After getting off the plane, Han Zuo came straight to Xiyou with his suitcase. Though travel-worn and exhausted, seeing Teng Yi still brought out his signature sunny smile.
“I’m back.”
These simple words steadied Teng Yi’s turbulent heart.
Finally, light through the darkness.
Finally, a turn of events.
Teng Yi stepped forward and embraced Han Zuo. Both men had grown thinner, but their hug was stronger for it.
Hearing Han Zuo’s voice, the boys upstairs all came running down.
“Wow! Old Han! You’re finally back! You’re finally back!”
“Han Zuo! You coming back now is like the Monkey King arriving on auspicious clouds! I missed you so much! Hug me too!”
Everyone swarmed around, surrounding Han Zuo and roughhousing with him. Caihong even held Han Zuo’s face and planted a “smack” on his cheek.
Han Zuo was overwhelmed.
“Alright, alright, stop it!” He complained while unable to suppress his brilliant smile.
Since learning of his mother’s illness, Han Zuo had fallen into a dark abyss. This was his most joyful moment in nearly half a month. His friends’ warmth melted the mountain of ice that had been weighing on his heart, letting him temporarily forget his troubles.
It was good to be back.