After the recording wrapped up, the others packed their things and left.
Xie Xizhao and Yun Pan stayed behind in the practice room, waiting for Fu Wenze.
Leaning against the railing, Xie Xizhao watched Yun Pan eat candy. Suddenly, he asked, “Was it you who wrote ‘abstain’?”
With just that one sentence, Yun Pan nearly choked on his candy.
He coughed so hard it felt like his lungs were being torn apart, startling Xie Xizhao. Quickly, Xie Xizhao grabbed a tissue to wipe Yun Pan’s teary eyes while patting his back to help him breathe.
But as he steadied Yun Pan by the shoulders, he suddenly paused for a mont.
Just for a mont, Xie Xizhao paused, but then he resud his movents.
He was very close—close enough that Yun Pan could catch the clean, fresh scent of his cologne.
Xie Xizhao had been using the sa cologne for years, a light aquatic fragrance. Yun Pan, still dizzy from coughing, didn’t forget to take a deep inhale.
That made Xie Xizhao laugh.
He said, “Are you a little puppy?”
His tone was gentle.
Feeling a bit embarrassed, Yun Pan sniffled.
Once his tears were wiped away, Xie Xizhao withdrew his hand. “I was just curious and wanted to ask.”
“For , either option would have been fine,” he explained.
Only then did Yun Pan relax.
Xie Xizhao studied him for a mont before suddenly asking, “Am I scary?”
Yun Pan blinked. “…Huh?”
Xie Xizhao chuckled. “It’s the first ti I’ve seen soone get this shaken up because of .”
‘Especially a kid,’ he thought.
Since both his parents were teachers, he had been surrounded by the principles of education and guidance from a young age. Most of the children he t liked him—especially his younger cousins.
Yun Pan gripped the hem of his shirt tightly.
After a brief hesitation, he quietly said, “Not at all.”
“You’re very nice,” he added after a slight pause. “I… It’s my own problem.”
He admitted, “I’m just a little timid.”
Xie Xizhao stilled for a mont.
Perhaps worried that Xie Xizhao might misunderstand, Yun Pan took a mont to gather his words before speaking again, his voice sowhat strained.
“When I was little, I lived with my dad. He liked to drink, and when he was in a bad mood, he would start yelling.”
He lowered his gaze, his fingers clenching tightly around the fabric of his clothes. “Back then, I was always scared of making him upset, so I…”
So as he grew up, he beca afraid that a single word from him might upset soone.
Especially a brother he liked.
Xie Xizhao remained silent for a mont.
Then, he reached out and ruffled Yun Pan’s hair. “Got it.”
After a brief pause, he added, “I’ll try to give more of a heads-up next ti.”
Yun Pan couldn’t help but laugh at that.
“Then later,” Xie Xizhao suddenly rembered sothing, “how did you end up joining a band?”
It wasn’t that he had a rigid stereotype, but Yun Pan’s image didn’t match that of soone scraping by in an underground bar band.
Now that he had started opening up, Yun Pan found it easier to continue speaking.
“Back then, my family was poor, so I didn’t continue school after middle school,” he said in a quiet voice. “My dad wanted to go out and make money, so he sent to… well, those small restaurants to do odd jobs. But I was too young.”
He thought for a mont. “They called it child labor. After they got fined, the boss didn’t want anymore.”
“…Yeah, they really shouldn’t have hired you,” Xie Xizhao comnted.
How old would he have been after middle school?
Definitely not sixteen yet.
“Later, I t a few older guys,” Yun Pan continued. “They said I had a nice voice and let train with them for a while. Once I turned sixteen, I slowly started performing live.”
Xie Xizhao finally understood.
He had always wondered how soone with Yun Pan’s personality managed to survive in the chaotic bar scene.
If soone had been looking out for him, then everything made sense.
Throughout the conversation, Yun Pan had kept his head down. But when he spoke about those older bandmates, his eyes suddenly lit up, finally showing a bit of the youthful energy soone his age should have.
He was probably the one everyone spoiled back in the band.
Xie Xizhao said, “You really do have a great voice.”
Yun Pan smiled a little, embarrassed.
One last question.
Recalling the round scar on the boy’s shoulder, Xie Xizhao asked softly, “Did your dad ever get violent when he drank?”
Yun Pan’s eyelashes trembled.
“…Yeah,” he murmured.
Xie Xizhao didn’t say anything more. He simply gave Yun Pan’s shoulder a light hug.
—
Because of this conversation, Xie Xizhao was unusually quiet during dinner.
Guan Heng noticed his preoccupied expression and silently glanced at Fu Wenze, who had co to the cafeteria with Xie Xizhao. Fu Wenze returned a look that said he had no idea—he had only just t up with Xie Xizhao himself.
Ai Qingyuan wasn’t around today, so that left only Yun Pan quietly eating his al beside them.
After racking his brain for a reason and coming up empty, Guan Heng decided to change the subject. “How’s everyone’s progress today?”
“Not bad,” Fu Wenze replied.
He was in the rap group, and their song was an idol track.
The biggest issue was part distribution, but after the first public performance, everyone had gotten used to it.
“Our group is doing alright too,” Guan Heng said.
There were a few minor issues—like the fact that they still hadn’t decided on the center position. But his main competitor was Lu Xing, and while the guy had ambition, he was at least fair and open about it. Any competition between them was above board.
After they finished speaking, they both turned to look at Xie Xizhao.
But Xie Xizhao, still lost in thought, just took another bite of his chicken leg.
Guan Heng sighed and shifted his gaze to Yun Pan instead.
Caught off guard by the sudden eye contact, Yun Pan almost dropped his chicken leg onto his plate. He fumbled with his chopsticks and barely managed to catch it before stamring, “Our group… uh, we’re doing alright too.”
“The song is set,” he added. “We’re using Xie Brother Xizhao’s song.”
Guan Heng looked a little surprised.
Hearing Yun Pan’s voice, Xie Xizhao finally snapped out of his daze.
“It was decided by vote,” Xie Xizhao said. “We haven’t settled on the song yet—I’ll look for one when I get back tonight.”
Hearing how casually he said it, Guan Heng could tell that this was just a minor matter to him. So, he chuckled and said, “Then I’ll start looking forward to it from now.”
“Oh, right,” he continued. “I heard so gossip. Interested?”
Fu Wenze asked, “About who?”
Just as Guan Heng was about to spill, he suddenly rembered sothing and hesitated awkwardly. “Uh… it’s about Xia Ruiyan.”
Yun Pan had been coming to their dorm so often that Guan Heng nearly forgot he and Xia Ruiyan were from the sa company.
At the ntion of the na, Yun Pan visibly tensed. When his eyes t Guan Heng’s, he paused for two seconds before saying, “It’s okay, brother, go ahead.”
“…Alright, then.” Guan Heng nodded.
He paused before saying, “There’s a reason Xia Ruiyan joined the composition team this ti—he already has a song.”
Fu Wenze took a bite of his chicken leg and stated flatly, “Didn’t know he could write songs.”
“That’s because he didn’t,” Guan Heng shrugged.
Then he added, “There’s soone from his company in his group, and that trainee can write songs.”
“Jiang Wenhai,” Yun Pan said quietly.
“Yeah, I think that’s the na,” Guan Heng confird.
He paused aningfully before continuing, “But from what I heard, that song was never ant to be public. When Xia Ruiyan recorded with his team, he claid he and Jiang Wenhai co-wrote it.”
Xie Xizhao lifted his gaze, his expression unreadable.
Fu Wenze let out a derisive scoff.
“Thief,” he said bluntly, showing no intention of holding back.
“Well, not exactly,” Guan Heng replied evenly. “After all, it seems Jiang Wenhai knew about it—and agreed.”
—
On the way back, the group naturally split up into pairs.
Fu Wenze walked alongside Xie Xizhao and suddenly asked, “Did Xia Ruiyan co to see you a while ago?”
“Yeah,” Xie Xizhao replied.
Then he paused. “How did you know?”
“Ji Yan told . He said Xia Ruiyan tried to pull so workplace s*xual harassnt stunt,” Fu Wenze said bluntly. “He even told to find a chance to ambush him with a sack and beat him up to get justice for you.”
Xie Xizhao: “…”
Why did Ji Yan always co up with such absurd yet oddly vivid statents?
“Stay away from him,” Fu Wenze added, short and to the point, still maintaining his usual cool-guy deanor.
“Of course,” Xie Xizhao agreed.
Then he paused. “I originally thought he was just overly ambitious. I didn’t expect…”
That he could go this far.
Company favoritism was an unspoken truth—everyone knew it happened. But in reality, it wasn’t that common.
Even in a talent show setting, training was usually fair. A company might have its favorites, but they wouldn’t keep other trainees around just to waste their ti.
Unless it was one of those agencies that specialized in squeezing trainees dry for contract termination fees, most companies had a reason for keeping certain trainees.
Xie Xizhao was sure that Jiang Wenhai’s songwriting ability was a key factor in why he had been retained.
But even if favoritism was common during a talent show, giving away your own song to a teammate still seed outrageous.
This wasn’t just a company decision anymore—it was downright unethical.
As if reading his thoughts, Fu Wenze spoke.
“That company, Wenyao, was never any good,” he said.
Xie Xizhao froze for a mont before realizing he was referring to Yun Pan and Xia Ruiyan’s company.
He glanced at Yun Pan, who was on the outermost side, speaking softly with Guan Heng. Retracting his gaze, he lowered his voice and asked, “Do you know this company?”
“Yeah.” Fu Wenze replied, “They approached before.”
He paused for a mont and added, “Back then, I had a friend in their company who told not to join, so I didn’t sign with them.”
Xie Xizhao remained silent.
Fu Wenze seed to recall sothing and hesitated for two seconds before saying, “It’s nothing.”
“There are a lot of exploitative companies in the entertainnt industry,” he added.
Xie Xizhao: “……”
Honestly, this kind of reassurance felt like a dark joke.
He sighed. “What about your company?”
Fu Wenze kept a low profile, but his ranking was not low.
For him to climb up the ranks, it was clear that besides his own efforts, his company wasn’t just sitting idly by either.
Sure enough, Fu Wenze answered straightforwardly, “There are shady things in my company too, but my manager is decent.”
Xie Xizhao nodded, indicating that he understood.
As they reached a fork in the road, Xie Xizhao initially planned to go to the composition room alone. But at the last mont, he reconsidered and made a different decision.
He spoke up, “Panpan.”
Yun Pan responded, “Hmm?”
“Do you want to co with to the composition room to pick a song?” Xie Xizhao asked him.
Yun Pan froze for half a second, then his eyes suddenly lit up.
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