The sick beauty became popular after she brought her ex to the show

From the stylist's intermittent narration, Su Ye and Xi Yu roughly understood what she had experienced that year.

I finally squeezed into Xingli as an intern, but was rejected at the last round. This was painful enough. Many years later, I learned that what happened back then might not be that simple. I was suspected of being a victim of the conspiracy without knowing it, and I suffered for a long time because of it.

Being unemployed sounds easy, but it is a very difficult thing to bear if you think about it carefully.

"I had just graduated at that time, and my relationship with my family was not very good. My savings were spent bit by bit. For a long time, I had to count on my fingers when I ate instant noodles."

The stylist was a little excited, but the two did not interrupt her and just continued to listen quietly.

"Forget about all that. The hardest part was watching my friends in the same industry improve their professional skills step by step. Their careers got better and better. They went to various big crews and did styling for many stars who I couldn't even take photos with before."

She sniffed, "My skills are not bad, but I can only stay in my rented room and scroll through my Moments. After that, I have to find a part-time job."

Although the stylist sister was cheerful and sweet-talking, she couldn't help but wipe her eyes halfway through talking about the sad things in the past.

"I had already accepted my fate, maybe I was just unlucky, and now I have finally made it through, and I don't have to dwell on the past so much. But now, I'm suddenly told that it wasn't my fault at all, and someone did it on purpose. How can I accept that my youth is no longer youth?"

After Su Ye's hairstyle was done, the stylist realized that he had lost control of his emotions today.

"Forget it. Sorry, Teacher Su and Teacher Xi, just treat it as gossip. After all, it's a thing of the past."

After saying this, the stylist looked up in confusion without waiting for the two people's response.
Xi Yu, who was sitting in the armchair next to him, did not speak. He leaned forward with his elbows on his knees, his eyes fixed on the mirror in front of Su Ye.

The stylist followed his gaze and his heart skipped a beat.

When she was talking just now, she was trying to do two things at once, paying attention to the work in her hands and recalling the past, so she didn't pay much attention to Su Ye's expression.
Only now did she suddenly realize that since she started talking about the past, Su Ye, who was sitting in front of her, had suddenly fallen silent.

Su Ye lowered his head slightly, clenched his hands on his knees, his fingertips turned white, and slender finger bones appeared on the back of his hands.

The stylist's words kept circling in his mind. Hearing her mention the sadness in the past, Su Ye felt a surge of indescribable emotions, as if he had completely empathized with her difficulties and state of mind at that time.

The stylist couldn't help but slow down her movements and whispered, "Teacher Su? Is the air conditioner turned too low? I'll go adjust it."

Su Ye suddenly came back to his senses and when he looked up, he bumped into Xi Yu in the mirror.
Then he was stunned for a moment because of Xi Yu's eyes.

Su Ye was very clear that he had lost his composure just now. Fortunately, the stylist did not ask any more questions, but left under the pretext of the air conditioning, leaving Su Ye some space to catch his breath.

Seeing the look in Xi Yu's eyes when he looked at her, Su Ye subconsciously thought that with Xi Yu's personality, his eyes would probably be a little angry and a little inquiring.
Coupled with Xi Yu's meticulous nature, there might also be some heartache and complicated emotions.

But now, reflected in the mirror, the look in Xi Yu's eyes in Su Ye's eyes was completely different.
It was a very, very sad look.

Xi Yu looked even sadder than Su Ye himself. His brows were slightly twisted because of the emotions he revealed. His beautiful peach blossom eyes were tangled with complex emotions, and the corners of his eyes seemed to be stained with some scarlet. He just kept staring at Su Ye.

He leaned forward, as if trying to get closer to Su Ye through some invisible object and see Su Ye's face clearly.

Su Ye was stunned for a moment, feeling a little confused, wondering why Xi Yu had such a sad look on his face.
This made Su Ye very sad.

The past events that the stylist described subtly overlapped with his own experiences, but the moment Su Ye lost control of his emotions, it was not only because he thought of himself, but also because he empathized with that feeling of regret.

Late at night, I watched the people I once knew go to higher places one after another, and I was the only one left behind.
Su Ye could understand her feelings very well.

The only difference from a stylist is that he has already anticipated all possibilities when making certain decisions. Just like a decision-making game leading to the unknown, Su Yeti has already seen various development paths.

So for Su Ye, these results would not make him too uncomfortable. It would be better to say that this is exactly what Su Ye expected.
He left Oril in order not to hinder the development of his teammates.

If Xi Yu and the others had failed to fly higher, it would have been a truly suffocating retribution for Su Ye.

But why did Xi Yu look so sad?

A short moment was not enough to think clearly, but it was enough to awaken Su Ye's deep feelings for Xi Yu.
He didn't want to see that unbridled man showing such an expression.

Like a lonely and homeless puppy lost on the street in a rainstorm in the middle of the night.

Su Ye reached out to Xi Yu's fingertips, held them, and rubbed them gently, "Xi Yu? What's wrong?"

Xi Yu's eyes moved, and he turned from looking in the mirror to looking at Su Ye himself in front of him, but he still didn't say anything, just moved his mouth slightly.

Su Ye was not sure whether Xi Yu did not speak or spoke but he did not hear it.
He moved closer, still holding Xi Yu's hand, "Hmm?"

The palm suddenly felt warm. It was Xi Yu who held Su Ye's hand in return, with his five fingers clasped on Su Ye's wrist. Su Ye keenly noticed that Xi Yu's hand was shaking slightly.

Su Ye gradually felt at a loss and very uncomfortable. His heart seemed to be tightened and he didn't know how to comfort Xi Yu.
Before he could come up with a suitable and appropriate plan, Su Ye's body had already regained its senses and hugged Xi Yu.

The stylist realized that her words might have brought up some unpleasant past events. She also regretted that she shouldn't have mentioned these things in front of Su Ye. She had already hidden away under the pretext of the air conditioner, leaving the space for Su Ye and Xi Yu.

Su Ye patted Xi Yu's back gently with his other hand, which was not being held.
He said softly, "What's wrong? Tell me, I'm here, I'm listening."

This sentence seemed to have the opposite effect. Su Ye clearly felt that Xi Yu's mood had become even lower. The hand pinched Su Ye's wrist so hard that it hurt slightly. The red mole at the end of Su Ye's eyebrow was slightly wrinkled.

“How miserable you must be.”

After a while, Su Ye heard Xi Yu's low voice, suppressed in his throat, with a trembling sound at the end of the sentence.

Su Ye's hand, which was patting Xi Yu's back, paused unconsciously.
Xi Yu rarely speaks with such controlled emotions.

Xi Yu is naturally casual and willful. He is the most dazzling child of destiny. He does not need to hide any of his emotions. There will always be countless people who find suitable reasons for him.

But now he was unconsciously suppressing himself, suppressing the sadness and regret that was almost about to burst out of his heart, fearing that his emotions would affect Su Ye and make Su Ye fall into those endless abysses again.

Xi Yu felt as if someone was strangling him, and every word he uttered caused a slight vibration.

Does Su Ye feel the same way? Does he feel the same way when he has an asthma attack?
No, it should be much more painful than this.

"I don't feel bad."
The hand on Xi Yu's back began to pat gently again.

Su Ye hugged Xi Yu and put his face on Xi Yu's shoulder. After finding a suitable position, he rubbed his forehead gently against the side of Xi Yu's face.

"Xi Yu, I have never forgotten you."

Su Ye spoke quietly, mentioning a lot of things, recalling in detail the award ceremony where Xi Yu won the Golden Music Award, the talent show where Jiang Congfeng served as a mentor for the first time, and the variety show festival where An Sijia hosted the first time.

"I've been watching you guys."

Su Ye recalled many things, including the malicious speculations about him on the Internet, the abuses against him for leaving the group without reason, and the calls for him to apologize to other teammates.
His voice softened for a moment, and he felt a lot of apology, but his tone was slow and firm as he repeated what he had just said.

"I know that my withdrawal from the group has let down many people, especially you three."
"But I have never forgotten you, not even for a moment."

Su Ye's hand that was patting Xi Yu's back unconsciously changed into a posture of hugging Xi Yu. His face was still pressed against Xi Yu, rubbing against the two white rings on Xi Yu's ear bones.

The black and gold ring flashed a little light. Su Ye didn't know what he remembered. He smiled gently and touched his cheek against the cold metal again.
"I really don't feel bad at all. When I saw you win the award, I was super happy."

Su Ye tried hard to recall the details of that time.
"I cooked a lot of dishes at that time, but I didn't finish them. The vegetables couldn't be kept overnight and had to be thrown away. Isn't it a waste?"

"You also ate the cake, right?" Xi Yu said.

".Well, how did you know?" Su Ye was a little surprised, "Did Sister Lan tell you?"

"Hmm." Xi Yu's voice was muffled. "The quick-frozen cake is not delicious. The cherries are all wilted."

Xi Yu now looked like a sulking child, and Su Ye couldn't help but smile.
"I just picked it up at the supermarket. I can't finish a whole cake by myself."

Xi Yu loosened his grip on Su Ye's hand, inserted his five fingers into Su Ye's fingers, and imitated Su Ye's strength to gently clasp them together.
"Next time we'll eat together."

"Okay." Su Ye agreed with his eyes curved.

"Aren't you sad at all after hearing what the styling teacher said?" Xi Yu couldn't help but ask this question.

Su Ye thought for a moment, then nodded with his chin resting on Xi Yu's shoulder.
"It's a bit sad. She had such a hard time in those years."

Xi Yu sighed.
What he wanted to ask was whether Su Ye himself was sad.

"Didn't you have a hard time during those years?"

After Xi Yu said this, he suddenly felt that Su Ye, who had been gentle and quiet just now, suddenly became uneasy, as if he had done something wrong. The head leaning on Xi Yu's shoulder moved slightly, and a strand of hair brushed the tip of Xi Yu's nose.

Xi Yu waited patiently for Su Ye to speak.

Su Ye leaned on Xi Yu's shoulder for a while reluctantly, then slowly sat up, his face slightly red and his eyes a little evasive.
"I—I'm sorry."

Xi Yu didn't expect that the first thing Su Ye said was an apology.

Su Ye pursed her lips slightly, lowered her head, and spoke in a very low voice.
"When I quit the group, Xingli gave me a withdrawal contract fee."

Xi Yu nodded, "Yeah, I know."

Su Ye was still hesitating about his words. When he heard Xi Yu say this, he was stunned for a moment without reacting.
"You know?"

Xi Yu calmly pushed the blame onto Jiang Congfeng who was nowhere to be found, "I heard it from Jiang Congfeng."

Su Ye's face showed a confused expression and his brows were slightly furrowed, but soon relaxed, as if he accepted Xi Yu's explanation, or as if he had figured something out.

Xi Yu heard Su Ye mutter to himself, "Oh, I forgot. You should have heard about this."

Xi Yu raised his eyebrows slightly, but did not continue to talk about this topic. "Well, I gave you a contract fee, and then what?"

Su Ye came back to her senses and tucked the loose hair on the side of her face behind her ears as if to hide her guilt.
"Yeah, so that's it. My financial situation is not particularly tight. In fact, it's not to the extent that a stylist can't afford to eat."

Xi Yu nodded.

Through what he learned about Xingli's strange behavior in the past two days, Xi Yu has basically confirmed that Xingli is afraid of Su Ye.
I just don't know what he is afraid of. At least from the surface, Xi Yu can't see what threat Su Ye can pose to Xing Li now.

Even Su Ye himself didn't know why Xing Li had always been targeting him.

But it shouldn't just be the problem of the withdrawal contract back then. Xi Yu vaguely felt that the withdrawal contract was just an indirect fuse.
After hearing what the stylist had just said about the past, Xi Yu became even more certain of this feeling.

There is no other reason. The stories about the stylist's internship back then may not seem like a big deal when heard alone, but it just makes people sigh that these shady dealings have done so much harm to people.
But the most likely reason for the stylist's dismissal was actually somewhat related to Su Ye, so this matter did not seem so simple.

Xingli is a large company. It cannot be said that there are no shady dealings at all, but it is definitely not to the extent of putting obstacles in the way of an intern for seemingly no reason, and then spread rumors in the industry afterwards, preventing the stylist from getting involved in the related industry for a long time.

It is already very close to being banned in the industry.

Unless the stylist really offended someone and created a big grudge between them, Xingli would not need to go to this extent.

Such a big company would not use such a petty trick on a mere intern. Besides, Xi Yu knew Ji Ru well. Although Ji Ru valued talent, she valued her reputation even more. If there was indeed something wrong with the stylist, Ji Ru would never hire her into her studio.

Thinking about it this way, Xi Yu could only think of one possibility.

The stylist may have accidentally learned something that Xingli’s top management did not want her to know.
And this matter is very likely related to Su Ye.

The only thing that puzzled Xi Yu now was that he really couldn't figure out what on earth was there about Su Ye that could make Xing Li so scared that he even went so far as to push out Shu Ling, who was still considered to be a powerful figure, and do some clownish actions just to suppress Su Ye.

It's not just suppression, it seems like they want to make Su Ye completely obscure and never have the chance to appear in the public eye again.

Xi Yu thought a lot in a short moment, and finally turned his attention back to Su Ye, who was feeling guilty in front of him.

The withdrawal contract fee given by Xingli.

Based on Oril's popularity at the time, the commercial value of the entire group, and Su Ye's personal status, if Su Ye was persuaded to withdraw, the withdrawal fee would generally be over seven figures.
Su Ye's uneasy look, coupled with what Jiang Congfeng said when they met at the Kids Show, this contract money should indeed be quite sufficient -

"Xingli gave me more than two million, which was not a small amount."

Su Ye was really uneasy. He retracted his hands and crossed them on his knees obediently. However, his fingers kept scratching the fabric under his fingers because of nervousness and shame, which made the fabric a little out of shape.

After saying this, Su Ye's heart was filled with shame that almost overflowed. He sat opposite Xi Yu in shame, with his head lowered, not daring to look Xi Yu in the eye.

When Xi Yu heard Su Ye's words, his canine teeth bit the tip of his tongue reflexively.
The smell of rust gradually spread.

Xi Yu spoke, his voice floating, "Two million?"

Su Ye's face turned red, he lowered his head and didn't dare to speak. He clasped his fingers together and nodded slightly when he heard the words.

Su Ye knew that no matter how noble his starting point was in his heart, no matter how much he cared about others, it was an irrefutable fact that he took Xingli's money and quit the group.
From other people's perspective, there is nothing wrong in thinking that he quit the group because he wanted the money.

If you look at things from different standpoints and angles, you will get different results. This is a truth that Su Ye is very clear about.
He would not correct others' thoughts because deep down he himself felt uncontrollable shame about the matter.

Other people's attitude towards this matter may be similar to Jiang Congfeng's.
Disappointed and confused.

Xi Yu may also——

Su Ye sat quietly, even his breathing was very light, waiting for Xi Yu to speak as if he was waiting for a trial.

Xi Yu was silent for a long time
Su Ye guessed wildly, perhaps Xi Yu was trying his best to digest the truth.

Xi Yu was indeed digesting this matter.

Ever since Su Ye came back, he hasn't been in such a state of extreme emotional confusion for a long time.
Xi Yu seemed to be able to hear his own frantic heartbeat and the sound of blood flowing in his veins, like a chaotic symphony, tormenting his nerves.

But clearer than these miscellaneous noises was Su Ye's breathing.

So light, like a cold wind blowing up fine snow.
The snow fluttered up into the air, but not very high, and swirled back down.

Xi Yu imagined that slightly cool and refreshing temperature and tried his best to restrain himself.
"Two million only gave you two million?"

Su Ye opened his mouth and raised his head, his face blank and surprised, his eyes cautious and nervous, as if he didn't expect Xi Yu to say that.

Two million was really a small number for Oril, which was known as a top-level group at the time.

It was so small that when they took on an endorsement, the amount they got was more than this number.
The commercial value that any one person in their group brings to Xingli can easily far exceed this ridiculous number.

Xi Yu clenched his hands into fists and poked his palms hard with his fingertips, causing severe pain.

Two million was not a lot, but it easily got rid of Su Ye. It also bought Su Ye's genuine guilt, which made him carry a heavy psychological burden and unable to hold his head up in front of his former teammates. He spent five whole years like this.
Xingli is really good at doing business.

Xi Yu felt like he had fallen into a trap of rage, and could only calm his nerves bit by bit by looking at Su Ye.

He suddenly felt he didn't know what to say.

If I tell Su Ye that two million is not really a lot, it would be like letting Su Ye realize five years later that the psychological burden he has been carrying over the years is actually nothing, which is ridiculous.
Wouldn't that be the same uncomfortable situation as that of the stylist?

But Xi Yu didn't want Su Ye to be kept in the dark.
Why? Why do you treat him like this?
"Shuishui." Xi Yu heard himself speak with difficulty, "Two million is actually very little."

Su Ye seemed stunned. He sat opposite with his lips slightly parted, but made no sound.

After a moment, Xi Yu caught a glimpse of Su Ye raising his hand, followed by a heavy "pop" sound.
His heart tightened and he immediately looked up, but Su Ye just patted his forehead with one hand, pressing it as if he had a headache.

Su Ye covered his eyes with his hands. After a while, Xi Yu saw that the eyes and the mole at the end of the eyebrow were exposed.

Su Ye's brows were slightly frowned, and he looked embarrassed as usual, but a little different.
Those soft eyes were slightly curved, showing an arc that seemed to be both crying and laughing.

Su Ye spoke up, as if making a casual joke.
"Really? Oh, then I am too stupid."

Xi Yu felt a slight pain in his chest.
He grabbed Su Ye's hand in panic, but Su Ye seemed to be in a trance for only a moment, and soon recovered, revealing a helpless smile.

"Never mind, it's better than not getting any points at all."

Xi Yu felt that he couldn't bear it anymore.
He felt that he would rather Su Ye broke down or even cried bitterly after knowing this, as it would be better than making Xi Yu feel better like now.

The two people had just separated for a short while when they hugged each other closely again.

Xi Yu whispered in Su Ye's ear, "Why aren't you angry? Why aren't you crying?"

Su Ye murmured "eh" and then made a joke, "Men don't shed tears easily."

Xi Yu couldn't laugh, but just hugged Su Ye tighter.

This proverb sounded strange coming from Su Ye's mouth, because Su Ye herself looked like a very fragile ice crystal, beautiful, but also very easy to melt.
But this person who looks so fragile can endure things that others may not be able to endure, without even shedding a tear.

Xi Yu suddenly understood why Su Lan used the word "brave" to describe Su Ye.

When Su Lan was chatting that day, she also told Xi Yu a small story.
She said that Su Ye was very fond of crying when he was a child, and his eyes were swollen three or four days a week. The old lady downstairs would always give him two pieces of candy when she saw him.

But later, Su Lan couldn't remember exactly when it happened. It was probably after she took Su Ye, who was still in elementary school, away from home that she never saw Su Ye cry again.
Except for the day I left Nanshi, when I burst into tears because of the feeling of suffocation.

Xi Yu felt that he was actually not as good as Su Ye, "You make me look so childish."

Su Ye couldn't hold back a chuckle from his throat, "You are childish to begin with."

"Yes, that's right." Xi Yu agreed readily.

“Actually, I loved crying when I was a kid.”
Su Ye suddenly mentioned something that coincidentally coincided with what Xi Yu was thinking.

"My mother and my aunt often said that I was a crybaby when I was little. Once I cried, I couldn't stop."

Xi Yu listened carefully and imagined how Su Ye would cry as a child.
He felt a little unwilling that he had not been able to participate in Su Ye's childhood.

If possible, he really wanted to meet little Su Ye, buy him lots of candy, take him to see the sunrise and sunset, go to a concert together, point to the piano on the stage and tell Su Ye "You will also stand on a stage like this in the future."

"Then Shui Shui matured and stopped crying?"

Su Ye pinched Xi Yu gently, "Later, my mother thought that my name must be wrong, so I cried so often, so she took me to change my name."

Xi Yu seemed to have discovered a new world and suddenly became interested. "Really? What was your name before?"
He had never heard Su Ye talk about this matter.

Su Ye frowned briefly, as if thinking for a while, then seemed a little hesitant, and finally spoke.
Before speaking, Su Ye glanced at Xi Yu, as if expressing a silent reproach.

"Zhi, my name used to be Zhi, with three water drops."

The smile on Xi Yu's face slowly faded, and he asked tentatively: "No way, is it really Su Zhi?"

When he first met Su Ye, he often deliberately called Su Ye's name wrong in order to make Su Ye angry.
At that time, Xi Yu always called Su Ye "Su Zhi" as a prank.

Su Ye nodded gently, "Well, my mother thought there was too much water in my name, so she just removed some of the water and changed it to Su Ye."

Xi Yu suddenly felt a little guilty.
He had a bad temper before, and when he deliberately provoked Su Ye, he never thought that there was such a past.

No wonder Su Ye showed a moment of displeasure when he heard him deliberately call the wrong name for the first time.

Xi Yu was a little panicked, thinking that his character was indeed too bad and that he had finally lost all his merits.
He really deserves to die. He will probably go to hell after he dies.

".You hit me."

Why do children love to cry? Considering the scar on the back of Su Ye's head, Xi Yu is not mentally retarded and can guess that Su Ye's family is not ordinary.

"I don't hit people." Su Ye reached out and touched Xi Yu, "It's okay. My last name wasn't Su before, but Gu. Besides you, no one else would call me that."

Xi Yu felt relieved when he heard Su Ye say with a smile: "You are the only one who likes to do such childish things."

Xi Yu admitted his mistake out of guilt.

After a while, Xi Yu spoke again.
"Does the scar on the back of your head hurt? Did you cry a lot at that time?"

Although this was mentioned last night, the two of them later changed the subject. Xi Yu also saw Su Ye's hesitant expression, so he chose not to ask any more questions for the time being.

Su Ye reached out and touched it, but only felt a wig that had been done to style the hair.
"Yeah, it hurts. I seem to have cried for a long time."

Xi Yu didn't say anything else.

But Su Ye knew that he was just holding back and not asking, so she took the initiative to speak.
"The scar is from an injury I suffered when I was a child, but I can't quite remember the details."

Su Ye didn't lie. He really couldn't remember too many details. Only some vague impressions remained.
As he recalled the past, his brows knitted tightly together unconsciously.

"It seems like something happened at home. It should be related to debt, and then a lot of people came, and then-"

Su Ye's hand was held by Xi Yu.

Xi Yu's heart was tense.
"It's okay. It's okay if you can't remember it. It's okay if you don't think about it."

Su Ye looked at Xi Yu, smiled after a moment and shook his head.
"I promised to tell you, and I promised you I wouldn't run away from it again."

This was the first time since Su Ye reunited with Xi Yu that he looked into Xi Yu's eyes so directly and without any hesitation.
"I will keep my promise to you."

(End of this chapter)