The Third Year After The Breakup, He Knelt and Begged to Get Back Together - Chapter 4

Chapter 4: It’s Just That This Job Has No Room for Promotion…

Two years had passed, and He Xian still lived in the same duplex as before.

The door was opened from the inside. He Xian, dressed in a sharp suit, glanced at his wristwatch while stepping aside to make way, frowning. “Eight o’clock sharp. You certainly know how to time it.”

Despite knowing he wouldn’t escape He Xian’s mockery, the fact that the very first sentence was a nitpick made Qi Mingfeng stifle his frustration.

He lowered his head toward He Xian. “Apologies, President He. I will make sure to arrive early next time.”

He Xian didn’t dwell on the issue further. He stepped aside to let him enter, continuing to grumble, “President He, President He. You go away for two years and come back not even knowing how to call my name.”

Qi Mingfeng didn’t know how to answer and pretended to be focused on finding shoes in the shoe cabinet.

Once he had changed his shoes, He Xian was still looking at him with displeasure. “Speak.”

Qi Mingfeng squeezed out a sentence: “…President He, have you had breakfast yet?”

He Xian was infuriated. He let go of the suitcase and crossed his arms over his chest. Just as he was about to let out more nonsense, a woman’s voice came from behind.

“Mingfeng is back!”

Auntie Sun, wearing an apron, waved at Qi Mingfeng with a joyful face.

Auntie Sun was the helper He Xian had hired previously. She was reliable, efficient, a great cook, and didn’t gossip, so he had kept her on.

Qi Mingfeng had received much care from Auntie Sun and waved back to greet her. “Auntie Sun, long time no see.”

Auntie Sun: “Mingfeng, have you eaten? Mr. He told me yesterday you were coming back and asked me to make you…”

He Xian interrupted. “Auntie Sun.”

Auntie Sun chuckled happily.

Qi Mingfeng had actually already eaten breakfast, but seeing He Xian walk toward the dining table, he followed and ate another meal.

Clause 3 of the contract: Accompany He Xian for meals at home whenever possible.

Today was a workday. After their brief meeting, He Xian had to go to the company. Auntie Sun went to clear the dishes, and Qi Mingfeng stood up to see He Xian out.

He Xian was clearly pleased by this. He pulled a card from his pocket and handed it to him.

Qi Mingfeng didn’t take it. “President He, you’ve already transferred money to me.”

He Xian shoved it directly into his hand. “You’re not working right now. That was your allowance; this is for household expenses.”

It was the same card from years ago.

He didn’t refuse again and silently tucked the card into his pocket.

He Xian: “Is Qi Huan moving back to C City? Should I have someone find an apartment for him nearby?”

Qi Mingfeng: “Thank you, President He, but it’s not necessary for now.”

He didn’t intend to tell He Xian about Qi Huan’s situation.

Firstly, it was his family matter; secondly, Qi Huan’s illness now only required money; thirdly, if He Xian got involved, the situation might become even worse.

Currently, he only wanted stability.

Auntie Sun had no children of her own and treated him like her own child. As soon as He Xian left, she pulled him into a chat. “Let Auntie Sun have a good look at you. Have you lost weight?”

Qi Mingfeng pinched his own arm. “I’m okay, just a bit more solid.”

Auntie Sun: “It’s good for a boy to be solid. So, was it fun abroad?”

Qi Mingfeng was silent for a moment before answering, “I didn’t go abroad.”

Auntie Sun: “Why didn’t you go? Weren’t you and Mr. He because…”

Qi Mingfeng was vague. “There was an accident.”

“If you didn’t go, you didn’t go. We have so many beautiful mountains and rivers in our country that we couldn’t see them all in a lifetime.” Seeing that he didn’t want to talk about it, Auntie Sun didn’t ask further and patted his hand to change the subject. “It’s good you’re back. After you left, Mr. He was in a bad mood for a long time and hasn’t eaten at home much these past two years. I thought I was going to lose my job. Now that you’re back, this place finally feels like a home again.”

Qi Mingfeng: “…”

Auntie Sun really knew how to talk.

Qi Mingfeng didn’t know how to respond for a moment, so he laughed it off and asked about Auntie Sun’s health. They chatted for about half an hour before Auntie Sun left.

Qi Mingfeng finally had a moment to look around the house.

Compared to two years ago, there seemed to be no difference.

He Xian once had a dream of being a designer. Although that dream couldn’t withstand his ambition to take over the He Group or his pursuit of his career, it was occasionally reflected in the house, and he too had added many pieces of furniture and decorations here.

For example, the original chandelier in the living room had been smashed while he and He Xian were fooling around, and he had personally gone to pick out a replacement.

For example, there used to be a post-modern abstract painting from an auction on the wall, which he disliked no matter how he looked at it; later, it was replaced with a landscape picture.

Step by step, he went up to the second floor.

Six years ago, after he moved in, He Xian had specifically hired someone to build a studio for him next to the study, knocking through another guest bedroom to make it even larger than the study, so he could fit his instruments and workstation.

Qi Mingfeng pushed open the studio door; the inside was also unchanged.

Many of his instruments were gifts from He Xian. He Xian had no interest in music and hadn’t studied it deeply; he just bought whatever expensive thing he happened to see. Qi Mingfeng had to scold him several times to stop the house from becoming an instrument market.

Of course, he hadn’t taken these instruments with him, but it appeared He Xian had them regularly sent for maintenance.

He took the items out of his suitcase and placed them one by one on the workstation, then stood quietly for a moment looking at the room full of equipment.

Even standing in the middle of these things, it felt very, very far from his days of singing.

Before he could indulge in sentimentality for long, Qi Mingfeng sat at the workstation and opened his second-hand laptop.

It was very laggy, especially when writing demos, but it was at least usable.

Aside from physical labor, over the past two years, he had also taken orders online to write demos. It didn’t earn much, but every little bit helped.

He Xian returned once at noon, claiming he forgot some documents, and hurried back to the company after eating.

The demo only needed finishing touches. Qi Mingfeng continued working after lunch.

In the evening, He Xian returned home on time. Auntie Sun did not stay overnight; she left after preparing the meal, leaving only the two of them in the vast house.

According to the contract, he needed to spend at least one hour of private time with He Xian every day.

Qi Mingfeng asked, “What does President He plan to do tonight?”

He Xian: “Tonight is the Golden Song Awards ceremony. Let’s watch some TV.”

Qi Mingfeng obediently turned on the television and tuned it to the corresponding channel.

Given He Xian’s status, he would certainly have received an invitation to such an event.

In the past, Qi Mingfeng would have asked curiously, but he had changed his mindset. Since he couldn’t change reality anyway, he might as well make things easier for himself by treating He Xian as an ordinary boss who paid his salary. His job was to satisfy the boss’s various needs and think of nothing else.

However, since there was no room for promotion in this job, he didn’t feel the need to go out of his way to please the boss.

He just sat quietly on the sofa, treating himself like a music player that hadn’t been turned on.

He Xian watched the screen with boredom. “Each year is worse than the last. Since you left two years ago, not a single person in the music industry has even shown their face.”

Qi Mingfeng offered no comment.

Nowadays, entertainment activities are endless, and various apps are competing for users. The music industry has been somewhat affected. Although it’s not like it was ten years ago, in recent years, besides him and Zhou Zhiqi, there have been some good singers; they just aren’t as prominent.

When Qi Mingfeng was doing manual labor, he didn’t have time to listen to music, but in his two months at the bar, he had heard a lot. In his eyes, this year’s Best Track would be swept up by Zhou Zhiqi.

The Golden Song Awards are held every three years. Last time, Zhou Zhiqi also won these awards.

And Qi Mingfeng had won Best Male Singer. When it was his turn to receive the award, all the spotlights were on him. He was more dazzling than the trophy itself, the focus of everyone’s attention with a bright future ahead.

Now, just three years later, he could only sit in front of the TV, trapped in a tiny space by He Xian’s arm around his shoulder.

The award ceremony venue was, as usual, themed in black and gold, and it was held grandly and vibrantly. The camera swept across the faces of the guests—all familiar faces—during the opening song created by a famous singer.

But Qi Mingfeng didn’t see Zhou Zhiqi in the crowd.

Just as He Xian said, there were no outstanding newcomers at this year’s Golden Song Awards. Best Male and Female Singer went to industry veterans, while Best Lyrics and Best Composition went to Zhou Zhiqi.

However, Zhou Zhiqi did not come to accept the awards.

Zhou Zhiqi was always professional; he shouldn’t be absent from an award as prestigious as the Golden Song Award… He hoped nothing had happened.

Qi Mingfeng’s hand hanging by his side instinctively clenched into a fist. Realizing his movement, he sat back on the sofa as if to cover it up.

He Xian glanced at him. “Met only twice, and look at you worrying.”

Qi Mingfeng pretended not to understand. “What?”

He Xian: “I heard that fellow surnamed Zhou has run into some trouble recently and fled abroad to take refuge.”

Qi Mingfeng immediately looked at He Xian. “What trouble?”

He Xian gave a half-smile, a hint of mocking coldness in his eyes as they met his.

Qi Mingfeng immediately felt he had misspoke.

He Xian had always disliked Zhou Zhiqi.

Qi Mingfeng and Zhou Zhiqi were the two most outstanding newcomers of the younger generation—one skilled in singing, the other in creation. They graduated from the same music conservatory and, strictly speaking, were fellow students. Yet they had never collaborated, nor was there even a single photo of them together. People online speculated they were as incompatible as fire and water, two kings who could never meet.

But in reality, Qi Mingfeng and Zhou Zhiqi felt like old friends from their very first meeting.

That was backstage at a joint variety show. They met by chance after the show ended…

They finally met.

“Qi Mingfeng, I finally met you. I really like your singing style. Is it impolite to call you by your name directly, um… Senior?”

Unfortunately, before they could chat for long, He Xian had come looking for him and was angry because they were chatting so enthusiastically upon their first meeting—partly because people were shipping him and Zhou Zhiqi online, and He Xian had accidentally stumbled into the CP forum the day before.

Heaven knows, although he and Zhou Zhiqi graduated from the same school, he was five years older than Zhou Zhiqi. When Zhou Zhiqi was in school, he had already been graduated for a year. They hadn’t even met before that.

But He Xian was still jealous. He dragged him away from the backstage and made a scene for a long time because of it.

The second time he and Zhou Zhiqi met was through their Teacher’s connection, who wanted to facilitate a collaboration between the two newcomers.

Zhou Zhiqi would be responsible for the creation and Qi Mingfeng for the singing, producing several singles belonging to them as fellow students.

From a commercial perspective, a joint effort by two popular newcomers was mutually beneficial. From a personal perspective, Qi Mingfeng greatly admired Zhou Zhiqi’s lyrics and music, not to mention it was supervised by the Teacher who best understood his singing style, guiding Zhou Zhiqi to create lyrics and music specifically for him.

He truly loved music. Just the thought of the Teacher’s proposal was enough to make his blood boil.

But when He Xian found out about his second contact with Zhou Zhiqi and that Zhou Zhiqi was going to write a song tailored for him, he was beyond angry and stepped in to ruin the matter.

Not only that, He Xian also made him give the collaboration opportunity to the person he hated most. After being rejected, He Xian cut off all his assignments.

At that time, their relationship had already shown cracks, and the matter of the collaboration made everything irreconcilable.

His thoughts returned.

Qi Mingfeng knew that given the extent to which He Xian hated Zhou Zhiqi, it was absolutely impossible to get any news from He Xian. He could only find another way.

Qi Mingfeng lowered his eyes, appearing obedient. “I’ve never even added Zhou Zhiqi’s contact information, and we haven’t been in touch these past two years.”

Only then did He Xian’s expression soften. He pinched his chin and gave it a shake. “Is that so? Let me check.”

His other hand lifted his shirt as he leaned in close.

The man’s looming shadow enveloped him like the sky darkening in an instant. Memories of the past, both good and bad, rushed back all at once.

When the kiss descended, Qi Mingfeng instinctively turned his face and leaned back, avoiding all of He Xian’s intimacy.

In the next second, Qi Mingfeng, having realized what he had done, felt cold all over.

It was over.

He Xian’s eyes were terrifyingly dark, as if they wanted to swallow him whole.