After Dumping the Scumbag Top, I Was Relentlessly Chased by a Top-Tier Idol - Chapter 5

Back home, Lin Yizhou collapsed into the sofa, resting his arm across his forehead. He stared blankly at the yellowing ceiling, his brow furrowed slightly.

“Mr. Lin, Mr. Song just canceled all the auto-renewal items he had arranged for your mother. He stated that from now on, you will be responsible for paying all expenses yourself.”

“Tomorrow is the payment date for this month. If it’s convenient, please come to the service desk with me to re-register your information.”

Those were the words the nurse had just said to him.

Since he and Song Chizheng had broken up, it was only natural for the other man to do this.

“But,” Lin Yizhou murmured to himself, “if you never liked me, why did you take it upon yourself to move my mother to such a high-end nursing home in the first place?”

Song had even forced him to let him pay all the costs back then, claiming that if he didn’t, it meant Lin didn’t truly see him as a partner.

Partner…

Haha.

How ridiculous.

And now, it seemed Song couldn’t wait to sever all ties…

He closed his eyes and massaged his temples, letting out a slow breath. Now was not the time for such thoughts.

When he went to register his information earlier, he had prepaid the fees. Gu Lan was currently staying in the most premium nursing home under the Song Corporation. The monthly accommodation fee was 30,000 yuan, and adding the astronomical costs of the imported medications she had switched to, along with other miscellaneous expenses, the total came to at least several hundred thousand yuan a month. After paying this time, his savings would only be enough for one more month.

If he moved Gu Lan to a regular nursing home now and switched her back to her old, standard medication, it would be a fate worse than death for her.

Beyond that, there were Lin Yidan’s living expenses and the extra costs for her acting classes, which required several tens of thousands of yuan each month…

Life felt as though it had suddenly snapped back to the time right after the accident.

Lin Yizhou shook his head to clear his mind. He was the one who caused this, so he had to endure it. The priority now was to pull himself together and make money.

He took out his phone and found his former manager’s number. The first time he called, no one answered, and the ringtone timed out.

He dialed again, and this time it was picked up quickly.

The sound of a noisy crowd came through first, followed by a clear male voice: “Hello, Xiao Zhou? Why are you calling me?”

“Brother Huang,” Lin Yizhou said politely. “I want to make a comeback. Can you see if there’s any work for me? I’m okay with being a human punching bag on variety shows or the guest everyone pranks, like when I first started. I’m not picky.”

There was a long silence on the other end, punctuated by intermittent noise. Lin Yizhou waited quietly. After a good while, the man said, “Xiao Zhou, I’m very busy right now. Let’s talk about this later, okay? I’m hanging up.”

Before Lin Yizhou could say anything else, the phone emitted a rapid “beep-beep” busy tone.

He had no choice but to leave it at that. He sent a text message instead, stating that as long as it wasn’t illegal, he would take any job.

Unsurprisingly, he received no reply over the next two days. Jiang Siyuan, however, was persistent, trying to add him as a friend and even calling from different numbers, but Lin ignored him completely.

On the third day, Lin Yizhou called his manager again. The call was answered quickly, but the voice on the other end was explosive with hostility: “Can you stop bothering me? I’m swamped! Who has time to deal with your mess?”

“Haven’t you realized why I’ve ignored you for days? Don’t blame me for being blunt—you’ve offended President Song. No one in the industry dares to help you. Stop calling me.”

Before Lin Yizhou could utter a word, the “beep-beep” mechanical tone returned.

Before he could even process it, his phone pinged with a notification. Weibo had pushed an update from one of his “Special Follows.”

[Brother Huang]: Some people really have no brains. Sometimes silence should be the unspoken agreement between adults, not persistent harassment.

To anyone following Lin Yizhou—if not 100%, then at least 95%—it was common knowledge that “Manager Huang” used to be his manager.

Although Manager Huang had managed many artists with varying degrees of fame, given the events of the past few days, many netizens quickly guessed who this “brainless person” was.

• Isn’t this exactly what he deserves? If he hadn’t quit the circle back then, wouldn’t he have his pick of scripts? No matter how “watered down” it was, the man still won Best Actor.
• The dream of marrying into wealth shattered, so now he wants to come back to the entertainment industry to milk the fans? Do we look like suckers to you? Get lost!!!
• A parasite living off Song Chizheng. Don’t come out and disgust people.

In an office on the top floor of a skyscraper in the city center, Song Chizheng sat back leisurely in his chair. He scrolled through his phone screen with a careless finger, laughing at the public outcry with eyes full of mockery. “Hmph, overestimating himself. Sooner or later, he’ll have to crawl back and beg me.”

Just as the words left his mouth, an incoming call flashed at the top of the screen.

The corners of Song Chizheng’s mouth curled up. “Speak of the devil.”

He didn’t answer immediately. He set the phone on the desk and slowly counted down from five before finally picking up.

The call stayed connected for a while, but the person on the other end didn’t speak, nor did they hang up.

After waiting a moment, Song Chizheng frowned, his tone displeased. “Did you call just to listen to me breathe?”

The phone remained silent for another beat. Just as he was about to hang up, the voice on the other end spoke: “Do you have to be this heartless? Why?”

“Why?” Song Chizheng gave a light, dismissive scoff. “Then why did you think you were qualified to break up with me?”

“Then what do you mean?” Lin Yizhou asked back calmly. “Do you not want to break up with me?”

The air suddenly went still.

Both sides were silent for a moment before Song Chizheng denied it: “Are you talking in your sleep?”

Lin Yizhou took a deep breath and changed the subject. “Is it possible, from the perspective of company profit, to let me make a comeback?”

“I don’t need a team. I can handle the business negotiations myself.”

He didn’t care about his manager’s vitriol. He didn’t strictly need a manager or a top-tier team; he just needed to work and earn money.

He had already contacted the only two directors he was still somewhat familiar with, but both had expressed that their hands were tied.

It was clear that Song Chizheng had issued an industry-wide “blacklist” against him.

Even though he had only worked for two years after signing with the entertainment company under the Song Group, he had brought immense value to the company. In those two years, he hadn’t taken a single day off, moving seamlessly from one job to the next. That was until Song Chizheng said his heart ached for him and wheedled him into taking a temporary one-year retirement to rest…

Song Chizheng sneered. “Lin Yizhou, how special do you think you are? Newcomers in the entertainment industry arrive in waves. Forget being gone for a year—even if you disappear for a week, netizens will find a replacement for you immediately.”

“Besides, what makes you think you can compete with those young kids?”

Lin Yizhou knew then that there was no room for negotiation. “In that case, can you let me go?”

Song Chizheng let out two cold laughs. “You want to terminate the contract? Have you thought about it? Even if I let you go, as long as I spread the word, which agency would dare take you?” He paused, his finger tapping rhythmically on the polished black wood desk. “But letting you go isn’t impossible. You signed for ten years; there are seven left. The penalty for breach of contract is nine figures. The moment I receive the money, you’re free to leave.”

Silence fell over the line again. Lin Yizhou took a deep breath and asked once more, “Do you really have to be this heartless? Not even a shred of…” old affection?

The words caught in his throat; he didn’t ask. Perhaps everything he had done over the years had been credited to someone else in Song’s eyes.

And he, to the other man, was a non-entity.

Song Chizheng raised an eyebrow. “Am I the one stopping you? You can’t come up with the money, and you blame me?”

Lin Yizhou exhaled sharply. Song Chizheng knew. He knew Lin’s entire situation; he knew every word he said was pushing him toward a dead end, and he didn’t care at all.

For a dazed moment, Lin Yizhou felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar. The cold invaded from all sides, wrapping around him until he couldn’t move.

After hanging up, he felt utterly exhausted and collapsed straight onto the bed. The old wooden boards creaked loudly. The bed was hard, and it hurt the back of his head, but he seemed to have lost all sensation. He just lay there silently, his arm shielding his eyes, slowly breathing out.

Since he couldn’t return to the industry, he would have to find other work.

But as a high school dropout, what kind of good job could he find to support his mother and sister…

The phone beside him suddenly vibrated, interrupting his thoughts.

Lin Yizhou glanced at it. Seeing an unknown number, he ignored it and hung up.

Soon, it vibrated again. He was about to hang up again when he saw a familiar name on the screen.

He pressed answer, hoping for a sliver of a turning point, but Jiang Siyuan’s voice came through: “You sure picked up fast when I called from Ah-Zheng’s phone.”

As if afraid Lin Yizhou would hang up, Jiang rushed on, “I saw a fan analysis under your response post. They said you wrote ‘May you be well’ instead of ‘May we both be well,’ implying that you don’t want to go your separate ways, but rather want to reconcile?”

“Tell me, is their analysis right?”

His tone lilted at the end, carrying the testing edge of a victor.

Lin Yizhou: “…”

In that brief silence, Jiang Siyuan immediately understood his meaning and let out a soft laugh. The sound was pleasant, but to Lin Yizhou, it was incredibly grating.

“It’s not,” Lin Yizhou explained with a half-beat delay.

“That explanation is a bit late, baby.” Jiang Siyuan was still smiling, but his voice gradually turned cold. “Though I believe you. I don’t think you’re the type to lust after someone else’s boyfriend, right?”

“Hey, don’t be in such a hurry to hang up,” Jiang Siyuan added, as if anticipating the other’s move.

Lin Yizhou’s finger paused.

He heard the other man continue: “I know your current situation. I can help you. How about we meet tomorrow?”

“If there’s something to say, you can say it over the phone.” Lin Yizhou didn’t refuse outright.

“This kind of thing… it’s more interesting to discuss in person.” Jiang Siyuan paused, his tone rising playfully. “Besides, I have something here to show you—something related to Ah-Zheng. I guarantee you’ll be interested.”

Seeing that there was no immediate answer, Jiang Siyuan checked his screen to ensure the call hadn’t been disconnected. He continued to entice him: “Really? You won’t meet me?”

“What time tomorrow?” Lin Yizhou finally relented.

“Accept my WeChat request, and I’ll send you the time and location in a bit,” Jiang Siyuan said with a smile.

“No, just send it to me via text.”

“That works too.”

After hanging up, Jiang Siyuan deleted the call log and returned to Song Chizheng’s office. Seeing the man inside with his head lowered, massaging his temples, Jiang set the phone aside and leaned against the desk, asking softly, “What’s wrong? A headache?”

Song Chizheng shook his head slightly and looked up. He pulled Jiang toward him by the waist, resting his head against the other man’s abdomen. He smiled and said, “It’s nothing. I just lost track of time looking at files.”

“Then it’s just in time for lunch. Shall we go eat and relax together?” Jiang Siyuan poked his cheek with a finger.

“I still have a little left to finish, I—”

Before he could finish, he was interrupted: “Then you stay busy. I won’t bother you. I’ll head out first, but remember to eat lunch.” With that, he gave Song Chizheng a quick peck on the lips and turned to leave.

Watching him go, an image of Lin Yizhou unexpectedly flashed through Song Chizheng’s mind.

If it were Lin Yizhou standing here today, hearing him say that, he would have asked if he should wait to eat together, or how much longer it would take. If it was going to be a long time, Lin would have offered to go home, cook, and bring the food back so they could eat together…

He shook his slightly dizzy head. If Lin Yizhou were here, he would have proactively come over to massage his head to help him relax—a technique he had specifically learned for him…

He brushed the stray thoughts aside. These two only looked a bit alike; their personalities were completely different. There was no point in comparing them.

The next day, Lin Yizhou kept the appointment as scheduled. He pushed open the door to the café, only to find that besides Jiang Siyuan sitting prominently in the center, the rest of the seats were empty.

This café was famous in the area; usually, when he passed by, it was crowded with people.

Clearly, Jiang Siyuan had booked the entire place.

Seeing him enter, Jiang Siyuan walked over to greet him, his hand reaching out unabashedly to wrap around Lin’s waist.

Lin Yizhou avoided him without a word and walked straight ahead.

Jiang Siyuan followed behind him with his arms crossed, his tone casual: “You are a public figure, after all, so I specifically booked the venue. Aren’t I thoughtful?”

Lin Yizhou picked a corner seat at random and got straight to the point: “The item.”

Jiang Siyuan sat opposite him, resting his folded hands on the table. He leaned forward slightly, his gaze sweeping over Lin Yizhou without reservation, his smile looking pure and harmless. “Before that, I have one wish that only you can help me fulfill.”

Lin Yizhou gave him a cold look and stood up to leave, but Jiang Siyuan caught his wrist. His tone remained leisurely: “Sigh, don’t be in such a rush. It’s not like I’m going to eat you, right?”

His fingertips traced intentional circles on the back of Lin’s hand.

Wrenching his hand away from the restless touch, Lin Yizhou sat back down.

“My wish is simple: first, accept my WeChat friend request.” This time, Jiang Siyuan stopped beating around the bush.

Lin Yizhou frowned. “What does that have to do with what you want to show me?”

Jiang Siyuan sat up straight. Seeing Lin sit back down, he leaned against his chair again, habitually crossing his legs while looking him in the eye. “It has everything to do with it. If I’m in a good mood, won’t the item naturally find its way into your hands?”

Not wanting to waste any more time, Lin Yizhou accepted the friend request.

Jiang Siyuan smiled with satisfaction. His slender, jade-white fingers moved across his phone screen as he sent an audio file to Lin Yizhou.

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