I Was Forced into the Limelight After Pairing with a Top Star - Chapter 14

When the phone ringtone sounded, Lin Wang still thought he was in his own bedroom. He rolled over and nearly fell off the sofa.

Chi Yuan reached out and caught him, pulling him back onto the cushions. Lin Wang’s mind was still groggy as he propped himself up on his arm to reach for his phone. Outside, the sky was bright; the display showed 8:37 AM.

The call was from Shi Yu. Afraid of waking Chi Yuan, Lin Wang tried to get up to answer it in the kitchen, but Chi Yuan’s arms were wrapped around his waist, pinning him down. He could only whisper, “I need to take this. Sister Shi Yu is looking for me.”

Chi Yuan rubbed his head against Lin Wang’s arm, frowning. It was unclear if he was agreeing or not. The phone kept ringing, and since it was so early, Lin Wang worried there was an emergency, so he answered it right there.

Propping up his upper body to keep the phone away from Chi Yuan’s ear, Lin Wang lowered his voice. “Hello? What is it?”

It sounded chaotic on Shi Yu’s end, as if she were calling him in the middle of a hundred different tasks. “You are asking me what today is? It is the Mid-Autumn Festival. Go home and see your father and mother.”

“Ah,” Lin Wang woke up instantly. Normally, a person as considerate as he was would never forget such an important matter. Having stayed up with Chi Yuan until the early hours of the morning, it felt as though he had been hypnotized; his mind had been completely blank of other concerns.

“What else can you remember? Yes, put the files over here,” Shi Yu instructed someone else while multitasking to advise Lin Wang. “Buy some gifts to bring back. Have a better attitude and do not argue with them, do you hear me?”

“I hear you. Do not worry, Sis.” Lin Wang sat up a bit more and shook off the lingering drowsiness for a minute after hanging up.

The sofa on the first floor was quite wide and covered with extremely comfortable soft pads, making it more than sufficient for someone to sleep on, provided it was only one person.

Lin Wang honestly did not know how he and Chi Yuan had ended up sleeping here after talking so late. Two men over 180 cm tall had squeezed together and slept soundly without either of them rolling onto the floor.

“Chi Yuan,” Lin Wang patted Chi Yuan’s wrist to wake him. “I have to go home for the day. You should get up and eat.”

Chi Yuan released his grip on Lin Wang’s hand. After a moment, he mumbled a faint “Mhm.”

Lin Wang got up and first drew the curtains; the sunlight was hitting the sofa directly, stinging the eyes. He turned and checked the kitchen. Auntie Zhou had arrived at some point; the food was already prepared and kept in the warmer.

The thought that Auntie Zhou might have seen him squeezed onto the sofa with Chi Yuan made Lin Wang’s neck burn. It was one thing to be intimate behind closed doors, but it was quite improper to be seen by an elder.

It was a seven or eight hour drive from here to North City, and the highways would certainly be congested for the Mid-Autumn Festival. Lin Wang checked high speed rail and flight tickets, but they were all sold out. If he left now, he might still make it for dinner with his parents; any later, and he would truly deserve a scolding.

He took a shower and changed his clothes. When he came out, he saw Chi Yuan still asleep on the sofa, draped in Lin Wang’s jacket.

He went over and told Chi Yuan that he had to leave without eating. He was not sure if Chi Yuan heard him. Lin Wang looked around, found a piece of paper, and wrote a note to leave on the coffee table before heading out.

The sound of the door closing was intentionally softened, a tiny click. A few seconds later, Chi Yuan opened his eyes and looked toward the door; there was not a trace of sleepiness in his gaze.

The moment Jiang Lanxin entered the house, she saw her son lying on the sofa, holding a sports jacket with a note in his hand.

“Happy Mid-Autumn Festival, son.” Jiang Lanxin carried two large bags of groceries and kicked the door shut behind her. Her features were almost identical to Chi Yuan’s, but softer; the fine lines at the corners of her eyes appeared gentle when she smiled.

Chi Yuan’s brow twitched at the sound. He stood up quickly to take the bags from her. As they walked toward the kitchen, he said, “You are late.”

Jiang Lanxin smiled and ruffled Chi Yuan’s hair. “Late? I thought my baby son would still be sleeping. It is only 9:10 AM.”

She looked upstairs, her voice dropping as she covered her mouth to ask, “Where is that boy, Lin Wang?”

“Gone.” Chi Yuan put the groceries on the table, opened a bag of fruit, and repeated lazily, “You are late.”

“Oh, you should have said so earlier. Did he go home for the holiday?” Jiang Lanxin swatted her son’s hand away to handle the vegetables herself, turning on the faucet to wash carrots. “Yu Qi mentioned that boy had a falling out with his family. I thought he might stay here.”

Chi Yuan remained silent, standing to the side with his hands in his pockets, watching her work. After a moment, he let out a yawn.

Jiang Lanxin noticed and asked, “Did you sleep poorly again last night?”

Chi Yuan gave a “Mhm,” a faint smile playing on his lips. “Headache. Could not sleep.”

“Were you chatting with Lin Wang?” Jiang Lanxin leaned toward Chi Yuan, sniffing the air. She said knowingly, “You clung to him and made him stay with you. You have someone else’s scent on you.”

Chi Yuan did not deny it. This was his mother; her nose was sharp, and her understanding of him was even sharper.

Jiang Lanxin sliced the carrots with expert knife skills. She did not know much about Lin Wang. Chi Yuan rarely contacted her, and Yu Qi could not be around every day.

Judging by Chi Yuan’s current demeanor, Jiang Lanxin genuinely felt that this boy, Lin Wang, was quite unlucky to have been targeted by her son.

Jiang Lanxin evaluated Chi Yuan with piercing accuracy. “You only know how to play the victim. No one is better at acting well-behaved than you.”

Every year he had a headache, and every year no one was with him, yet he chose to be this fussy this year. Jiang Lanxin could easily imagine her son acting pathetic to make Lin Wang feel sorry for him.

It was not that Jiang Lanxin did not care for Chi Yuan, but rather that she understood him too well. Chi Yuan was actually a person who rarely expressed his emotions; even his own mother rarely heard him say he was uncomfortable.

For a man accustomed to silence to suddenly start expressing himself, what other reason could there be besides intentionally trying to evoke pity?

Jiang Lanxin quickly prepared three dishes and a soup. Chi Yuan brought them to the table, and the mother and son sat opposite each other for their Mid-Autumn reunion meal.

Jiang Lanxin took a sip of soup and said, “Doctor Qu told me you did not contact her again this month?”

Chi Yuan picked up a shrimp, put it in his mouth, and swallowed. “Too salty.”

Jiang Lanxin ignored him. “Have you been taking your medicine on time? Are you still writing songs every day?”

“Mom,” Chi Yuan took a sip of soup and then a sip of water. “The soup is too spicy.”

“I hope it burns you,” Jiang Lanxin chided him. When Chi Yuan did not respond, she sighed gloomily. “No medicine, no consultations. I am your mother, and I do not even know if you are stable right now. Do you know how worried I am?”

Jiang Lanxin’s cooking had been the same for decades. Chi Yuan put down his chopsticks, his eyes downcast in a sickly manner. The expression on his face could almost be called gentle. “What are you worried about? Worried that I will drug Lin Wang the way I drugged Chi Zhenhuai? He has not made me unhappy. I would not do that.”

Jiang Lanxin said quickly, “No one is perfect. What if he makes you unhappy sometime?”

“Ah,” Chi Yuan propped up his chin with a faint smile. His voice was low, half-joking and half-serious. “I would lock him up and teach him how to make me happy.”

Jiang Lanxin was so angry she was speechless for a moment. She poured Chi Yuan a large bowl of the spicy soup.

The doctor’s diagnosis more than a decade ago was something she could not accept, but everything Chi Yuan did back then was for her sake. Even if her son was born different from other children, she would never give up on him.

Now that Chi Yuan was an adult, there were many things Jiang Lanxin could no longer monitor as closely as she did when he was a child. She wanted her son to settle down and live a more normal life, but she also worried he might commit a grave mistake.

Chi Yuan took another sip of the very spicy soup with indifference. “Eat.”

“I cannot eat anymore,” Jiang Lanxin threw down her chopsticks, her face darkened. But her tongue remained sharp. “I lose my appetite just thinking about that bastard Chi Zhenhuai. It is good he is dead. Life is more peaceful now that he is gone.”

Chi Yuan remained noncommittal. He went to the kitchen to get the food Auntie Zhou had prepared and brought it to the table. Jiang Lanxin naturally picked up her chopsticks again, and Chi Yuan let out a soft laugh as he watched her.

Jiang Lanxin glared at him. “You still have the heart to laugh. Without medicine, you see and hear things that are not there, staying up night after night. The fans love the songs you write, but as your mother, it breaks my heart to hear them.”

Chi Yuan sipped some soy milk with indifference. “I have not taken medicine for six years, and I am not crazy yet.”

“You have not taken it for that long, what did you say?” Jiang Lanxin’s chopsticks clattered onto the table.

The original host did not have a driver’s license, so Lin Wang had to take a taxi back. Having done his homework with Shi Yu beforehand, he stopped at a luxury store to buy gifts after getting out of the car. It was already past 8:00 PM when he arrived home.

It was a bit embarrassing to admit, but the money for the gifts was borrowed from Shi Yu. He was currently at his wits’ end and desperately needed to make money.

Recalling the details regarding his parents as he went upstairs, Lin Wang pressed the doorbell as soon as he stepped off the elevator.

The sound of footsteps approached, stopped for ten seconds, and then receded. About a minute later, the door opened.

His mother, Lang Zhi, opened the door. Her eyes showed a great deal of emotion upon seeing Lin Wang, but her face remained tight. She stepped aside to let Lin Wang in, mocking him. “Hanchuan, look at who this rare guest is. I almost did not recognize him.”

Perhaps because he had talked so much about the past with Chi Yuan last night, Lin Wang was touched by the emotion in his mother’s eyes. For a moment, he felt a bit dazed.

Recovering himself, Lin Wang first smiled and said, “Mom, happy Mid-Autumn Festival.” As he entered and changed his shoes, he explained naturally, “There was an event yesterday, so I could not make it back. I left early this morning, but it is so far that I only just arrived.”

Lin Hanchuan had just been discharged from the hospital following a heart attack a few days ago. He was an old professor who had taught at a university his whole life; his only blemish was his son. Because Lin Wang was so troublesome, he had been forced into early retirement and now managed the hotel with Lang Zhi.

When Lin Wang entered, Lin Hanchuan was sitting in the living room watching television. Seeing his son return, no matter how angry he was, he was still his son. Since it was the Mid-Autumn Festival, he took a deep breath, frowned, and told Lin Wang to sit down.

From the moment he walked in, Lin Wang’s attitude was perfectly calibrated. He was not overly submissive, which would feel alienating, but he was full of apology and regret, showing his sincerity. It was not enough to make them soften instantly, but they could no longer find the fire to scold him.

Lin Wang obediently sat beside Lin Hanchuan, brought out the jade pendant and gold bracelet he had bought, and smiled as he said again, “Father, Mother, happy Mid-Autumn Festival.”

Lin Hanchuan’s frown deepened. “What did you buy these for? Wasting money.”

Lang Zhi sat on Lin Wang’s other side, looked at the bracelet, and said, “The style is well-chosen. Did your Sister Shi Yu help you pick it?”

Lin Wang said yes. Lang Zhi scolded him a few more times, but by the time she stood up again, she had already put the bracelet on. “I am going to cook. You just had to buy one this big; it will get in the way of my work.”

Lin Wang said charmingly, “Big ones look good. It especially suits your elegance.”

“You are the champion of talking nonsense,” Lang Zhi huffed.

Once Lang Zhi went to the kitchen, only the father and son were left in the living room. Lin Wang poured a cup of tea for Lin Hanchuan. As he handed it over, he took the initiative to admit his faults and sincerely apologize for his past behavior.

“Father, I was confused before. I could not see clearly. Even I think the things I did were bastardly now.” Lin Wang’s eyes were serious as he spoke, and his tone was steady and reassuring. “I am not a child anymore; I should be responsible for myself and for you. I have already found a way to handle the debts. You do not have to worry about me taking a wrong turn, and I did not come back this time to borrow money. Father, I just missed you.”

After hearing what Lin Wang said, Lin Hanchuan’s eyes reddened. After his son had been acting out for so many years, this was the first time he had heard such decent words from him.

Picking up the teacup to hide his emotion, Lin Hanchuan took a breath, frowned, and changed the subject. “From what Shi Yu says, you are currently working as an assistant for that celebrity?”

In name, he was indeed an assistant. Lin Wang nodded without blushing. “Yes, I am helping him find inspiration.”

Lin Hanchuan waved his hand. “I do not understand acting and singing. Since Shi Yu introduced it, it should be reliable. Work hard for the man; do not quit halfway through.” He took a sip of water and asked with concern, “What is that celebrity like?”

“Father, that celebrity is called Chi Yuan. Chi like a celestial pool, and Yuan like profound knowledge,” Lin Wang laughed, rubbing his fingers against his leg. “He is quite nice. He is a year younger than me.”

The father and son had not seen each other for a long time, and Lin Hanchuan had many things to ask. In the past, they could never agree on anything, but the current Lin Wang seemed to have suddenly grown up. Every action and word made Lin Hanchuan nod inwardly, and so he spoke more.

Time passed as they chatted, and it was not until Lang Zhi finished cooking that they sat together at the dining table. During their dinner conversation, Lang Zhi mentioned Chi Yuan again.

Lang Zhi had managed hotel chains for decades and had many connections in various circles. No matter how angry she was at her son’s lack of ambition, after hearing from Shi Yu that Lin Wang was going to work for Chi Yuan, she had carefully gathered some information.

“A friend of mine knows his mother. Not very well. I heard she has been raising the child alone for many years. It seems it was not a divorce from the husband,” Lang Zhi said.

Lin Hanchuan asked casually, “If it was not a divorce, then what was it?”

Lang Zhi placed a serving of food on Lin Wang’s plate. “Widowed.”

Normally, Lang Zhi would not take such unsubstantiated rumors seriously, but since it concerned Lin Wang, she still offered a warning. “The rumors are quite frightening. They say that bastard husband was physically abusive to the mother and son for a long time. Once, in self-defense, someone accidentally killed the man.”

Lin Wang’s movement to pick up food paused. “His mother killed his father?”

“No,” Lang Zhi frowned, as even she found it absurd. “The rumor is that Chi Yuan killed him.”