Strangely, Jiang Shulu understood what Tang Yue wanted to ask.
Tang Yue was a very simple person, yet he was also someone that both Liu Xicháo and Yao Lixin found extremely unsettling upon closer examination.
He had no material desires and was easily satisfied.
Money, to people like Jiang Shulu and Yao Lixin, who had been born into affluent families, was just a number.
However, judging from Tang Yue’s background, he wasn’t from a wealthy family.
Compared to Liu Xicháo’s addiction to luxury goods, the Tang Yue they knew didn’t value the quality of life.
If you gave Tang Yue a musical instrument, he could sit in the courtyard for a whole day without eating or drinking.
It seemed that watching the clouds drift by could bring him joy.
Such a person wouldn’t beat around the bush; if he didn’t want to train, he would simply say he couldn’t.
Initially, the manager tried to teach Tang Yue some phrases to handle the media, but Tang Yue was unteachable and would even ask why.
The manager was the one left speechless.
Why? It’s only natural for artists to be interviewed, and it’s only natural for them to be trapped in tricky questions.
This is the rule of society, the price of fame.
How to explain this, how to paint the world’s vibrant black onto a blank sheet of paper, almost became the most painful thing for the Away team staff.
Tang Yue wasn’t just a problematic member in Jiang Shulu’s eyes, but in everyone’s eyes.
Liu Xicháo, who liked luxury goods and money, wasn’t a problem, as long as he wasn’t allowed to buy too many things that might be perceived as showing off wealth.
Yao Lixin, who liked bars and hot girls (a very straight man), didn’t have any major problems either; it was easy to make excuses if he was photographed, after all, that’s just who he was.
Only Tang Yue, during his free time, liked to wander into all sorts of messy alleys.
The young man hated skyscrapers, hated steel and concrete, and preferred those dilapidated alleys where tangled wires divided the sky.
The smell of cooking oil wafting from ordinary people’s windows, the little cats sleeping on the road, and the nonchalant, unafraid little dogs.
Several times, after events ended and everyone had agreed to go their own ways, it was always Tang Yue who was photographed.
The maknae (youngest member) of the popular boy group was either sitting at the entrance of a roadside store watching dogs fight, wearing a mask and hat, or standing outside watching a cat sunbathe in a coffee shop.
This wasn’t really a big deal, it was better than being caught doing something wrong.
It’s just that the photos of Tang Yue always looked so pitiful, anyone looking at them from the window would feel sorry for him. In the words of his fans:
“Our Tang Yue looks so much like that stray cat that went viral online—the one who envies those who get petted!”
That’s too much!!
Which top boy group’s maknae looks so pitifully unloved!
The maknae of the rival boy group UL are all sunshine sweethearts; even idols who take the melancholic route don’t look as endearing as Tang Yue.
Tang Yue usually had a low presence, and he wasn’t eye-catching on stage.
But in situations like this, his presence was very strong, leading to many speculations about bullying within the Away group.
Many of the guesses were well-founded, with some claiming that Chengkong Media treated Tang Yue poorly, which is why the young man looked so lonely.
So Away was sent trending again.
Solo fans attacked the manager’s Weibo, and they didn’t let Jiang Shulu off the hook either, saying that the rumors of them not being close definitely weren’t baseless, and that the captain was also at fault.
Then Jiang Shulu’s solo fans started fighting with Tang Yue’s solo fans.
The other two members’ fans, like their idols, loved the drama and took photos in the front row to commemorate the occasion.
Once again shattering the group spirit that Away had planned for during their formation.
That kind of thing never existed; from the members to the fans, they all loved watching the drama.
That time, Jiang Shulu personally went to find Tang Yue wandering on the street.
The fans were fine, they just followed from afar and didn’t bother Tang Yue.
Only when Jiang Shulu approached did they start screaming.
Tang Yue, who was happily watching dogs fight, suddenly had his view blocked. The next second, he met Jiang Shulu’s gaze, his smile froze, and he almost ran away.
Unfortunately, he was caught on the spot. He didn’t receive gentle treatment from the captain; he was directly shoved into the car.
From behind came the fans’ enthusiastic concerns:
“Little Yue, get along well with your brothers!”
“Don’t go wandering around alone!”
“Captain, can you be nicer to our baby?”
“Little Yue likes cats, you can get him one!”
“Wuwuwu, our baby looks so lonely, I even want to see him… Never mind, I can’t say it.”
Tang Yue, who was pushed into the car, looked particularly innocent, but it was obvious that he wanted to stay away from Jiang Shulu.
After calling him “Captain,” he moved to the other side.
The manager was sitting in the passenger seat and was about to say something to Tang Yue, but Jiang Shulu stopped her with a look.
At that time, Jiang Shulu didn’t ask why, he only asked Tang Yue: “When did you separate from Yao Lixin?”
Away’s schedule was very full, basically running around the country. A full day of rest was a rare thing.
It was already evening now, and Yao Lixin, who had gone golfing in the afternoon, only found out that Tang Yue was missing after Tang Yue’s trending.
Tang Yue: “A few hours ago.”
He was very nervous, and subconsciously started fiddling with his fingers, the index finger and thumb of his left hand pinching the index finger of his right hand, then repeating the action alternately.
Just looking at his hands was actually pleasing to the eye, but looking up, Tang Yue was biting his lip, his brows furrowed, completely different from the relaxed look he had in the photos taken by passersby that Jiang Shulu had seen.
It gave Jiang Shulu a feeling that he was in pain.
Jiang Shulu: “Did you eat? I heard you didn’t eat much at noon.”
Yao Lixin was quite at ease with Jiang Shulu; he wasn’t that worried, saying that Tang Yue was eighteen years old, what was there to worry about?
He thought it was fine for him to go out for a stroll if he was bored.
This guy was very open-minded, thinking that Tang Yue didn’t have anyone he liked, and there was no gossip about him, so being photographed wouldn’t be a big deal.
That was indeed the case.
But because he looked so lonely, it was fermented by fans into company mistreatment of Tang Yue, sending him trending.
Tang Yue thought that Jiang Shulu would ask more detailed questions, blaming him or something, but he didn’t expect the other party to ask such an ordinary question.
Tang Yue: “No.”
Jiang Shulu: “What do you want to eat?”
The manager couldn’t help but say: “Tang Yue, you need to tell me when you go out yourself. Did you take a taxi to this district?”
This southern city wasn’t a first-tier city, let alone having any good entertainment facilities, but for Liu Xicháo, who was on vacation, it was just a chance to visit the most expensive malls.
Liu Xicháo wasn’t as calm as he appeared; he was materialistic and shrewd, because he had suffered, and now he was engaging in retaliatory consumption.
Jiang Shulu had returned to the hotel earlier to deal with family matters, and only drove over after receiving a call from the manager.
He knew Tang Yue’s preferences were unique; he liked everything that was alive, but the entertainment industry was the least alive.
Tang Yue hummed, his head lowered, his apologies overflowing: “I’m sorry, I thought that vacation meant I could go anywhere.”
He explained: “I saw in a guide that this place is going to be demolished, so…”
The car was supposed to go back to the hotel, but it hadn’t even left the district yet.
Jiang Shulu asked the driver to stop.
Manager: “What’s wrong?”
Jiang Shulu: “I’ll go for a walk with Tang Yue.”
Tang Yue was startled and quickly waved his hands.
Manager: “You two are going for a walk?”
She didn’t think much of it; now a boy group attracts a lot of girls to ship them.
The team also knew what a popular ship was; some companies would even ask members to sell it.
The combination of Tang Yue and Jiang Shulu was the least popular and had been mocked several times for not being close.
The manager had quite a good idea: “Okay, you two can go for a walk, so that next time the problem comes to me again, I don’t have to ask why you two aren’t close.”
She added: “I’m very relieved to have Tang Yue with Shulu.”
But Tang Yue wasn’t very relieved; he was afraid that he would look at Jiang Shulu too much again. He was about to refuse when he heard Jiang Shulu ask: “Don’t you really want to go for a walk?”
Tang Yue really, really wanted to, and finally nodded.
Jiang Shulu smiled, that day he said: “If you want something, just say it.”
But Tang Yue replied quickly: “It’s not that I can get whatever I want.”
This was quite novel coming from someone who was usually taciturn.
Manager: “Then what do you want? Anyway, your captain has everything, he should be able to give it to you. He’s the oldest, he’s responsible.”
Tang Yue shook his head at that time, but he rarely looked at Jiang Shulu seriously, then got out of the car.
“What I want, the captain can’t give me.”
Jiang Shulu didn’t continue to ask.
At that time, he didn’t expect this sentence to become the source of his sleepless nights for so many years.
Time fast-forwarded to many years later, the once outspoken person had learned to beat around the bush.
Yet Jiang Shulu understood.
Because Tang Yue looked at him.
With a burning gaze, like a fuse that had been burning for many years, but hadn’t yet reached the fuel of the firecracker.
Only the sizzling sound of ignition could be heard, seemingly boundless.
Perhaps this fuse would never reach the end, the fire would extinguish, leaving only black burn marks, with no possibility of rekindling.
In the eyes of passersby, the two people recording the show didn’t seem to match the style of this small village, but the evening breeze was captivating.
Or perhaps, even the most ordinary people’s souls still yearn for ordinary love and tenderness, so it wasn’t out of place.
“[What was this question about? Was it asking if Jiang Shulu had a girlfriend?]”
“[It was asking when Jiang Shulu is getting married!! Tang Yue, are you urging him to get married again?]”
“[Ah… am I the only one who feels that Tang Yue asked in a choked voice? I don’t think I heard wrong.]”
“[It felt a bit jumpy, doesn’t he want Jiang Shulu to go to his house?]”
“[He wants him to so much!! Wuwuwu, my baby is still hesitating!]”
“[Tang Yue feels like he’s a father but still so lacking in love.]”
“[He’s already been healed a lot by his child… when he debuted, he looked like a child who needed so much love.]”
Many people had asked Jiang Shulu when he was getting married.
This kind of question seemed to become a high-frequency question at a certain age.
Yao Lixin occasionally had dinner with Jiang Shulu and talked about this topic, and he found it annoying.
Married people wouldn’t be urged to get married; they would only be asked when they were going to have children.
Yao Lixin didn’t really want to, thinking it would hurt his wife too much, and he didn’t feel that he could shoulder this responsibility right now.
Yao Lixin still had serious moments occasionally.
Like during the group’s time, everyone could see that Jiang Shulu was the backbone.
Unfortunately, at that time Yao Lixin still had to tease Jiang Shulu.
“I don’t think you would be a good father, Captain.”
Jiang Shulu nodded: “I never thought I would be a father.”
Yao Lixin thought for a few seconds, and said: “Unless you’re not an arranged marriage, and you genuinely love the child’s mother.”
Yao Lixin knew what kind of family the Jiang family was.
In the group for three years, he just listening to Jiang Shulu answer calls made him feel a headache. He thought it was a miracle that this kind of person could grow up to this age without going astray.
He also complained to Liu Xicháo about how these wealthy children wouldn’t become rotten people; they would have a nervous breakdown.
Liu Xicháo deeply agreed, saying that the company’s boss was already crazy.
At this moment, Tang Yue asked sincerely, he was waiting for Jiang Shulu’s response.
To gauge whether he should honestly tell Jiang Shulu—
Actually, we have a child.
He felt that if he announced it, he would be laughed at, and every time he opened a news website, there would be another child.
You guys are so unchaste or something like that.
Tang Yue didn’t want that either.
He wasn’t a woman, the risk of childbirth was too great, and the risk of telling the child about another father was also great.
If the other person was someone he could entrust his life to, Tang Yue still hoped that Xiao Me could have such a person to accompany him.
But if Jiang Shulu was still bound by his family, and this matter was exposed, Tang Yue might not even be able to keep his Xiao Me.
In the past, Tang Yue wouldn’t have thought so much.
In his student days, he was too independent and was teased for being a single-celled organism.
Even single-celled organisms would worry too much because of someone they depended on, either tossing and turning all night or staying awake until dawn.
He would go to his workroom and compose music all night, completing the soundtracks for many popular TV series over the years.
Evening was another Tang Yue.
He could perfectly meet the producer’s requirements, complete the soundtrack for the famous scenes of the TV series, and interpret life, death, separation, and regret.
Tang Yue had completely transformed from someone who only sought emotions in books to becoming a person in the book.
He suddenly realized that there were so many obstacles between “liking” and “being together because of liking”.
Human beings’ direct liking and probing don’t conflict.
It was that kind of look again.
Jiang Shulu felt his heart soften, and he couldn’t help but hug the young man standing one step up on the steps.
Jiang Shulu: “No.”
Jiang Shulu: “I hope the person I marry is someone I love.”
“[Seeing Jiang Shulu suddenly makes me feel that being a domineering CEO isn’t that easy.]”
“[It’s not that easy for a young master of a wealthy family, he’s from a single-line family, I wonder if there’s a throne to inherit?]”
“[But Jiang Shulu doesn’t have that… cool and domineering feeling.]”
“[I feel like crying when I see the two of them hugging, why is that!! Doesn’t Jiang Shulu want an arranged marriage!!]”
“[If Jiang Shulu is constrained, why does Tang Yue seem to feel that way too?]”
“[I don’t know why, but I feel like there’s a lot of story behind them whenever they’re together.]”
“[Don’t worry about it! Just ship them! I’ve already thought about the hashtag #JiangShuluRespondsToTangYue’sConfession#]”
Jiang Shulu turned off Tang Yue’s microphone the moment he hugged him, and now he turned off the microphone on his collar.
He whispered in Tang Yue’s ear: “Tang Yue, what’s your secret?”
