 Chapter 31-32 part 1
On Friday night, after coming back late from tutoring, Bai Sinian collapsed onto his bed and fell asleep immediately.
Bian Rui quietly tiptoed into the bathroom for a shower before slipping back into bed.
The next day, being Saturday, they could sleep in. However, Bai Sinian’s internal clock woke him up before 7 a.m.
He stretched out on the bed, yawned lazily, and turned over, planning to continue sleeping. But suddenly, his gaze fell on Bian Rui, who was lying on the opposite bed.
Bian Rui was lying flat, sleeping elegantly, unlike Bai Sinian, who often slept in a sprawled-out position, hugging his blanket. The protruding part of Bian Rui’s body was particularly eye-catching.
Hmm, understood. It’s just a natural phenomenon.
Bai Sinian swallowed a bit of saliva, suddenly feeling a little defeated compared to Bian Rui. It frustrated him slightly.
But Bai Sinian quickly let it go. “An idol is an idol,” he thought. “It’s normal for him to be superior in every way. Otherwise, why would I even chase after him?”
He averted his gaze and turned his back to Bian Rui.
Yet, the image of Bian Rui lingered in his mind.
Gradually, Bai Sinian drifted back to sleep. In a half-asleep, half-awake state, it felt as if something strange had happened. The sensation was so pleasant that he was reluctant to wake up.
Suddenly, a pleasant sound, like a gentle spring, woke him up. It was Bian Rui’s phone alarm.
Bai Sinian jolted awake, realizing that his pants were wet! Bian Rui was still groggily answering a phone call, while Bai Sinian, now fully awake, jumped out of bed and rushed into the bathroom.
Luckily, he hadn’t been caught. Bai Sinian breathed a sigh of relief. “How could I have such a dream… Ah! Sorry, idol… sorry!”
Bai Sinian quickly freshened up in the bathroom and changed into a clean set of clothes.
When he came out, he saw Bian Rui hurriedly getting dressed, looking anxious. Bai Sinian felt his heart tighten, too. “What’s wrong? What happened?”
Bian Rui rushed into the bathroom, brushing his teeth and washing his face, and mumbled, “Something happened to my mom. She drank a lot.”
“I need to go home.”
“I’ll go with you.”
Bai Sinian stood at the bathroom door, planning out the day. “I’ll go with you to check on her first. Just in case you need help. We can deal with the rehearsal in the afternoon. Maybe we’ll still make it.”
“Okay.”
Bian Rui quickly got ready, and they hailed a cab to his house.
This was Bai Sinian’s first time at Bian Rui’s home. The spacious and bright living room had soft carpets that felt delicate to the touch. The colors matched the surrounding decor beautifully.
However, a strong smell of alcohol filled the air. Bian Rui told Bai Sinian to make himself comfortable, then quickly changed into slippers and ran to his mother’s bedroom.
Bai Sinian found a pair of new slippers from the shoe rack, which seemed to be Bian Rui’s size. After putting them on, he headed toward the bedroom.
Bian Rui’s mother was lying on the bed, surrounded by bottles of alcohol—white wine, red wine, beer—you name it. The bedding was soaked, and the scene was hard to look at.
“Mom! Mom!” Bian Rui shook his unconscious mother.
His mother slowly opened her swollen eyes, completely different from the radiant celebrity Bai Sinian had seen before.
“Mom, you’ve had too much to drink. We need to go to the hospital.” Bian Rui tried to lift her from the bed, but she cried and refused to go.
Bai Sinian quickly grabbed a few tissues from the bedside table and handed them to her. “Auntie, please don’t cry. What happened? Tell us, maybe we can help.”
“Sinian… you’re here too.” Bian Rui’s mother’s voice was hoarse. She lay on her side, tears streaming down her face, soaking the pillow.
She kept crying, speaking in broken sentences, making it hard to understand the full story.
The smell in the room was overwhelming. Bai Sinian quietly opened the windows for ventilation and asked Bian Rui where the trash bags were. He grabbed several large bags and began cleaning up the empty bottles.
Afterward, he mopped the floor, which helped reduce the room’s odor.
Once Bian Rui’s mother had cried herself out, she seemed much calmer.
However, she still wouldn’t say what had happened. While silently cleaning, Bai Sinian secretly searched “Zhou Yingzi” online and found a tail-end trending topic about her. He quickly clicked on it.
It turned out that because the third female lead Zhou Yingzi portrayed had become more popular than the first female lead, the actress playing the lead began to badmouth Zhou Yingzi, claiming she was too old and had a bad reputation in the industry. All of it was baseless.
But fans didn’t care. As long as there was gossip, they followed along, discussing and insulting.
The narrative gradually shifted, with everyone showing sympathy for the first female lead and despising the third. Some even dug up old, unflattering photos of Zhou Yingzi from her early acting days, editing and spreading them as memes.
As Bai Sinian continued to help clean the house, the trending topic had already disappeared when he checked again.
The entertainment industry had always been like this. Bai Sinian understood. Zhou Yingzi had worked off and on for years and never truly made it big. She was always a background character, easily replaceable.
No director would want to offend the lead actress, so it was likely that Zhou Yingzi wouldn’t get any roles for a long time.
Bian Rui came out of the bedroom and closed the door. Bai Sinian quickly put away his phone and jogged over. “How’s your mom?”
Bian Rui didn’t look good. “She’s asleep.”
Bai Sinian asked, “Are you staying home with her today?”
“Yeah, I won’t make it to the afternoon practice.” Bian Rui walked to the living room, opened the fridge, and handed Bai Sinian a cold can of Coke.
Bai Sinian put down the mop, took the can, and popped it open. “Alright, take good care of your mom. I’ll go to practice in the afternoon. Don’t worry too much. After a few days of rest, once Auntie feels better, her health will improve too.”
“Thank you.”
Bian Rui grabbed a bottle of water for himself, sat down on the couch, and looked at the bags of trash. Standing up, he said, “I’ll take these out. Thanks for helping with the chores.”
Bai Sinian grinned. “When I was little, my parents were always busy with work, so I learned to be self-sufficient. I can do everything.”
Bian Rui leaned against the fridge door, lifting his eyelids to glance at Bai Sinian. “You must’ve had it tough.”
“Once you get used to it, it’s fine!”
At that moment, the doorbell rang. Bai Sinian and Bian Rui both looked toward the entrance, and a voice from outside called, “Rui Rui, are you home? Open the door!”
Bian Rui froze, not moving. Bai Sinian pointed to the door. “Should I open it?”
Reluctantly, Bian Rui walked to the entrance and opened the door. Bian Guang burst in, looking around. “Where’s your mom? Is she home? What’s this smell? Have you been drinking?”
“Hello, Uncle,” Bai Sinian greeted with a polite smile, thinking it was no wonder Bian Rui didn’t want to deal with his father.
“What’s a classmate doing here? You two drinking at home? Don’t you know minors aren’t allowed to drink?”
Bai Sinian quickly interrupted, “Uncle, Uncle, we didn’t drink.”
“Can you at least take off your shoes?” Bian Rui shouted impatiently.
Bian Guang stepped back, removed his shoes, and walked into the living room in just his socks. There were no slippers prepared for him. He headed straight for Zhou Yingzi’s bedroom, but Bian Rui quickly ran after him and blocked his way.
“My mom’s asleep. Don’t disturb her.” Bian Rui pulled him back to the couch. “What are you doing here?”
Bian Guang refused to sit down and said, standing, “I saw the news. I figured your mom must’ve had a rough time, so I came to check on her.”
Bian Rui coldly reminded him, “You two are already divorced.”
The implication was clear—what happens to her has nothing to do with you.
Bai Sinian’s heart raced. The tension between father and son was thick, and it felt like they were seconds away from a fight.
He prepared himself to step in and break them up if necessary.
“Just because we’re divorced doesn’t mean I can’t care about her! She’s a grown woman but acts like a child! Last time it was that psycho, and she still hasn’t learned!” Bian Guang’s gaze suddenly shifted to Bai Sinian. “It was you, wasn’t it? That psycho stabbed you! Wasn’t it all your mom’s fault?”
Bai Sinian was startled. How could this be blamed on Zhou Yingzi?
He hurriedly waved his hands in denial. “No, no, Uncle! I volunteered to get stabbed.”
Bian Guang ignored him and continued, “And this time? It’s just a ranking issue! Getting scolded online, and she can’t handle it? Then she should leave the entertainment industry! If she can’t take the heat, why stay? And she has the nerve to call me irresponsible for pursuing music!”
“Shut up! Get out!” Bian Rui had reached his limit and pointed to the door, telling his father to leave.
Bai Sinian’s heart pounded. It was clear Bian Guang still cared about his ex-wife, or he wouldn’t have rushed over to check on her. But his words were too harsh.
You could almost imagine how they argued during the divorce.
Bian Guang scolded, “Is this how you talk to me? I’m your father! And am I wrong?”
Bian Rui retorted, “You know exactly what you did!”
This sentence seemed to hit a nerve, and Bian Guang’s face turned red with anger. “What do you mean, what I did? Is this what your mom told you? She doesn’t know anything! I explained it all back then, but she refused to listen. She just wanted to divorce me and slandered me on purpose!”
“Would fake photos of you with another woman exist? Was the court ruling wrong? My mom only said she didn’t support your music career to save your face!” Bian Rui’s voice was full of fury.
Bai Sinian stood there in shock.
Not only was it the first time he’d seen Bian Rui this angry, but he also learned that Bian Guang had been divorced because of an affair!
What a shocking revelation!
*Smack!* A loud slap landed on Bian Rui’s cheek.
Bian Guang’s face was full of anger, confusion, and disbelief. His voice trembled as he said, “This is what happens when a woman raises a child alone. Look at what she’s turned you into…”
Bian Rui, gasping for air in anger, was about to lunge at him when Bai Sinian quickly grabbed him.
“You have no right to talk about her! What have you ever done for us?” Tears filled Bian Rui’s eyes.
Bai Sinian gripped Bian Rui’s waist tightly, preventing him from acting impulsively, and yelled at Bian Guang, “Uncle, please leave! Auntie is fine. You can check on her another time.”
Bian Guang stormed out of the house, leaving Bai Sinian staring at the red handprint on Bian Rui’s cheek, feeling a deep ache in his heart.
He helped Bian Rui sit on the couch and rushed to the fridge to find something cold.
There were two fridges in the house: one in the living room and another double-door fridge in the kitchen. The kitchen fridge was full of food, but there were no ice packs. He had to settle for a frozen steak, which he placed on Bian Rui’s face.
Bian Rui: …
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