HOYSE CHAPTER 72

Chapter 72 — Light and Dark

Gu Xi was doing the math on selling his apartment, settling the debt, and how much film bonus he might see from the box office.

Would it all add up to a fifty-million check? In his head the scene kept replaying while his face stayed perfectly calm.

Xie Ling glanced at the room number, then at the person by the elevator.

Gu Xi. Omega. Gender confirmed.

Then there was no problem.

Long haunted by the shadow of that brat’s AA flirtation, Xie Ling let out a silent breath.

That Gu Xi had managed to pull an Alpha who was tilting toward AA back onto the right track was something even he had not expected.

He felt truly relieved, but the look he gave Gu Xi grew colder.

Gu Xi’s heart lurched. He was nervous. Why did Rong Jing’s big brother’s eyes look that scary?

Did he think I am some little seducer leading Rong Jing astray?

Well, I am.

Xie Ling grabbed his unruly little brother and hauled him off, brushing shoulders with Gu Xi, who was mid mental storm.

He shoved Rong Jing into the car, told Zhou Xiang to drive, and sent Liu Yu a quick message saying the person had been found and offering apologies.

They had wasted time for family business.

The assistant director and others saw the message too. With manners like that, it was hard to dislike Xie Ling.

People say wealth does not pass three generations. The Xies were well past a dozen.

If heirs were all like Xie Ling, no wonder they topped the rich list year after year.

Back seat of the car.

“Had fun last night?”

“Accidentally set my phone to airplane mode.” Answered something else entirely.

“What exactly are you and he?”

“Friends.”

“Friends who spend the night?”

Rong Jing had just pulled a bottle of water from the mini fridge. He almost sprayed it. “Cough, cough.”

How was he supposed to answer. If he said he planned to keep up the surface-level sugar-daddy act while actually being friends, would Xie Ling kill him?

But Xie Ling did not press the point. He patted his brother’s back with distaste, then said why he had come. He was taking Rong Jing to the nursing home.

Rong Jing remembered what Xie Ling had said before that there was a scene to play out at Grandfather’s. His face stiffened. “Brother, is it…”

Xie Ling did not respond directly. He rubbed his brother’s hair and noted the dark circles under his eyes. “You look wrung out. Rest. I will wake you when we arrive.”

Rong Jing felt mildly offended.

Then, from some hidden compartment, Xie Ling produced a fluffy teddy bear and stuffed it into Rong Jing’s arms as a cushion.

Before this, nothing soft or cute ever appeared in Xie Ling’s car.

Rong Jing buried his face in the plush. How old do you think I am?

Only family and doctors could enter Old Master Xie’s room. As the second young master by blood, Xie Jisheng could be approved to go in.

After the paperwork, he eased the door open with a creak.

In the monitoring room, the brothers had been waiting. When Xie Jisheng stepped inside, Xie Ling shot to his feet. Rong Jing saw his brother’s tight jaw and stared at the screen too.

Xie Ling had said it. Xie Jisheng was out of chances.

But catching him in the act would not only be evidence. It was also the last, last chance his brother was giving him.

Several officers stood with them. Given the old man’s status and the major economic cases he had taken part in, it was simple to arrange once Xie Ling made the request.

Old Master Xie was past ninety. After Xie Ling came of age, he bypassed Xie Zhanhong and directly named Xie Ling the first executive of the group.

At the time, Xie Ling had not even finished high school. No major family would make such a rash decision. The old man had a will of iron. Everyone had opposed him, but he stood behind Xie Ling, clearing away board members who thought the youth easy prey.

He had no choice. He was old. Xie Zhanhong was not made for it. Xie Jisheng had long been led into the ditch by the Ji family. Before the old man was gone, Xie Ling needed to rise as fast as possible.

He knew better than anyone how much weight the boy had carried.

Inside the room it was so still it seemed the only sound was Xie Jisheng’s footsteps.

The old man lay on the bed. The heart monitor traced slow waves.

A drip still hung from his hand.

Xie Jisheng was nervous. He peered out the door, then went back to the bed.

He was excited and in pain at once.

The clash of two feelings made his hands tremble. He pulled out the syringe he had brought, drew the liquid, and took the IV line.

He stared at the sleeping old man with a feverish look. “Do not blame me. You forced me. In your eyes there is only Xie Ling. Do you even see me as your grandson?”

He had been pushed to a wall. Once the Ji family’s great hope, he was now, in their eyes, a failed murderer. He felt there were hands behind it all, but could not find whose.

And that Omega named Qi Ying he contacted had told him he was not worth one strand of Rong Jing’s hair. An Omega without power or wealth dared to bark at him. He would make him pay.

With the old man gone, he could fake a decree and push Xie Ling off the throne.

He was already obsessed and heedless of consequence.

He knew there was one person who could help him scrub every loose end and trace.

He raised the syringe to inject.

Bang. The door flew open.

A squad of officers rushed in. They had him pinned at once. He fought like mad.

Xie Ling’s face was iron. Disappointment is for those you still love. This person did not deserve it.

His hand cracked across Xie Jisheng’s face. “Beast.”

He looked at the old man, who had long since opened his eyes and watched in silence. Xie Ling told the officers to take the suspect away and not disturb the patient’s rest. This time Xie Jisheng would not be leaving prison.

Xie Ling asked Rong Jing to sit with Grandfather for a while. He would deal with the aftermath.

Rong Jing felt awkward. When the original host had entered the Xie family, the old man’s health was already failing, and he rarely showed himself. This was their first face-to-face like this.

The old eyes were clouded gray, but wisdom lay behind them, clear as if seeing through to the heart.

The old man said, “Xiao Ling is soft-hearted. He could not do it. Twenty years ago he should have.”

“You mean the kidnapping,” Rong Jing asked.

“He told you that? Then he truly trusts you.”

“I am old, but not blind.” His breath rasped. “Zhanhong is unreliable. Jisheng harbors malice. Xiao Ling has deep feelings and ends up clawed bloody. I forced him to grow up. He may hate me.”

“Big brother would not.” Xie Ling truly cared for the old man.

“He would not.”

But I wronged him.

More drillmaster than grandfather, I drove him to grow fast.

“Xiao Ling has not known joy since he was a child. Lately he is happy… when he talks about you.”

Rong Jing’s heart shook. The old man beckoned him to bend close, then whispered a string of numbers in his ear.

“This is the password to my account at RS Bank. There is a sum no less than the group’s assets. If anything happens to the Xies, you can use it to save them. This is the second password. The first is with Xiao Ling. Only with both can the safe be opened.” He had been waiting for years to hand the second part to someone.

Rong Jing stared, stunned. The old man was not giving a password. He was giving trust and a charge that needed no words.

The old man chuckled, voice like a cracked bell. “Not going to call me anything? I have been waiting over ten years.”

He had said very little, yet Rong Jing felt a tide in his chest.

At last he understood why, in the original story, after Xie Jisheng ruined the company the Wu family could swallow it so easily. He had strangled the only lifeline with his own hands.

The old man would never leave the wealth to someone of crooked mind. He would rather take it under the earth.

“Grandpa.”

“Mm.”

Brothers support each other. Never forget.

Xiao Ling, you are finally not alone.

Old man, this is as far as I can walk with you.

Rong Jing stepped out. The corridor was washed in cold blue.

No sign of Xie Jisheng. He had likely been taken away.

Xie Ling sat on a bench, back bowed into a curve.

He covered his face. Rage spread through him like flame, and worse than rage was the disappointment.

Until Rong Jing came to him and hooked his hand behind his head, drawing him in.

Xie Ling’s body went rigid, then slowly eased.

Rong Jing then went to the family doctor and, thick-skinned, asked about which ointments were needed after that act. The doctor explained which felt most comfortable, which cooled the most, which worked the best.

He ran to the pharmacy and, after dithering, bought them all. It filled a bag.

Back at the studio hotel, he knocked on Gu Xi’s door.

Mo Dian opened it and faltered. This was the Alpha who had made their Gu Xi crack his public image.

By every measure, this man was dangerous.

Mo Dian stepped aside, then closed the door without a sound to leave them space.

Gu Xi’s head was buried under the blanket, breathing even.

Eight hours had felt not enough at the start, but the aftereffect had been fierce. He had taken the whole day off and slept like the dead.

Rong Jing set a big palm to his forehead. Good, no fever.

He folded back the blanket, ready to put on ointment, when Gu Xi stirred and pried his eyes open.

He saw hands on his waistband and jolted. “You…”

Under that clear gaze, Rong Jing actually stammered. “I… I am putting on medicine.”

Gu Xi snatched the ointment. “I will do it.”

He had not looked that closely at that place himself. With the lights this bright, would not everything be crystal clear?

He trembled. Better do it himself. If you do it for me, I might not survive.

Rong Jing had helped clean him up last night, so it felt natural to continue.

Seeing Gu Xi’s face flame, Rong Jing felt awkward too. He set the bag of ointments on the side. “All in there. See which works.”

He stood, said goodnight in a mechanical voice, and left in a hurry.

Gu Xi stared at the closed door.

After a while he looked at the bag. Ointments for Omega aftercare.

Each one had a sticky note with handwritten uses. The handwriting was Rong Jing’s.

He had gone out of his way to study this.

“Ahhh—”

Wrapped in the duvet, Gu Xi screamed into it and rolled around the bed.

Wu Hanqi woke from a dream.

The sudden inversion of feeling left him briefly dazed. He rose, draped a fine wool sweater over his shoulders, and calmly watched the lightning in the distance.

He had not dreamed in a long time. Since childhood his dreams had been the same.

Boundless dark and an endlessly spiraling fall.

Tonight the heavy fog thinned.

A vast consciousness poured into his mind. At the birth of this world, only a fragment of it had been placed in a vessel, like a seed that would never sprout.

Only in a moment of crisis would that vessel be reactivated.

Activation meant the rules here had run aground.

This vessel that carried his scattered awareness had to be cold, objective, and strong. Only then could it turn the tide.

Last night the world’s order had been completely scrambled.

If it lost energy, all children of fate would disappear with it.

And because of Wu Hanqi’s special status, his heart-voice could not be read.

A vast, dark space opened in his mind. He stood like a master, without feeling, watching it. A river of stars split the space in two.

On the right stood five humanoid plaques. Two had gone dark and could not be restored. One flickered like a dying bulb.

Only two remained steady. They had not yet been touched.

On the left were more plaques. The foremost shone gold and could not be moved. It had its destined path, but that path had been altered.

In a field of gray, the most striking was a piece that had vanished and then reappeared. It was red, a wild tile, an aberration to be cleared, a bug.

None of the plaques showed names.

But Wu Hanqi sensed the pattern. The plaques were people. The two closest were likely those around him. Otherwise the Way would not have chosen him.

He stared at the red plaque across from him. A small knife appeared above it and five kill options. Only one was available: Illusion.

Reason: this bug was abnormal. No permission to process. To unlock the others, a price must be paid.

Illusion’s energy remaining: 40 percent. If the target broke through, the drained energy would not return.

The first three rounds had burned 60 percent, which meant after a failure the system could store up power for the next attempt, growing each time. The last would be the strongest.

Three tries and still not cleared. Trash.

Thunder answered him above the villa.

At last a hint of interest shone in his dull eyes. His life had been boring for decades. At last, something fun.

Illusion had one charge left. Search the soul for what it wanted most and give it a true mirage. Keyword: water.

No one escapes what lies closest to the heart.

Meanwhile, a staffer’s anonymous account had quietly gone a little viral.

One early post read: “Ahhhhh I am on set and I can hardly breathe. A g male star’s first on-screen kiss. Who would have thought. I figured I would only ever see cheats and cheat angles and more cheats. When the director said a real kiss this time, I did not believe it. For that kiss alone I will go back and boost the box office.”

At first almost no one cared. It was not a famous account.

But as the account occasionally dropped set photos, sharp-eyed users spotted clues. Some guessed the person might be on the set of Sovereignty.

That crew had only opened the first scene to a few media and critics before shutting the door to all visits. It had gone almost silent, extremely low key.

If not for the occasional official stills, or the cast posting daily about how good the meals were, people might have thought the whole production vanished.

G male star. Was it Gu Xi?

Only he fits. Gu Xi had always refused romance scenes and intimacy.

Marketing accounts began to speculate, but with no response the buzz died.

Xi-fans were adamant it could not be their Gu Xi. If he agreed to a kiss, they would book out a theater.

Just when people thought the account was done, it posted something cryptic.

“You think the boy beside you is only a boy. No. He might be a big boss. Salute, boss.”

That line was foggy. Soon the crew was rumored to have a Mr. Unspeakable. Who? Unspeakable?

Fans felt they had been taken for a ride and learned nothing in the end.

“Is Mr. Unspeakable the big boss that account hinted at. Is everyone a big boss now?”

“Another rich second-gen persona. How many is that already? Every time they get exposed as fake. Can PR teams respect our IQ.”

“First time seeing a crew focus on filming, no antics, no promo gossip, yet still shoved onto hot searches by marketing accounts.”

“I do not believe and will not spread rumors. I only trust the official page.”

“Sovereignty is so miserable. Getting @ed every day.”

“Sisters, go watch the teaser for Absolute Idol. I am done. Cannot breathe. The boss is so swoon-worthy. One petition per person for debut.”

People had not known what Absolute Idol was until the recs kept popping up. It was an idol survival show with imported rights. One hundred trainees, nine debuting at the end. In the teaser, the camera swept over one good-looking ABO after another, hearts racing, until they saw a judge. Many were won over.

The judge looked young. Looked, because his face never showed.

The show only captured him from the back, or half a face at most, from nose to jaw. The line of it was intoxicating, said the comments.

The editors even added a caption by his frame: noncombatant, please blur.

He was not just handsome. He was savage. Golden lines dropped from his mouth without warning.

“… three months, one month, and one with none. Are you here to do comedy?”

“Ha. I targeted nothing at all.”

“So you smoke, drink, and street-race but claim to be a good Alpha. I shouldn't eliminate you on the spot.”

“Be confident. Remove the words kind of. Your dancing is bad.”

…

“I cannot hold my squeals. He tosses off one-liners like breathing. That is not the point. The point is his voice is so good. He sounds so refined. Please unblur. Who is he?”

“If you know how to talk, talk more.”

“He is too good. Even the barbs are charming. That voice is special. Will the main run have him? I need the main run.”

“Does anyone think he sounds like XJR. Only his voice is even more attractive. Natural and magnetic. I am pregnant.”

“XJR fans arriving in ten seconds.”

“From that seat he should be senior leadership at Xietian Entertainment. So young, and even his back radiates presence.”

“I just want the judge to debut center. You deserve it.”

The teaser drew cheers. General Manager Gao at Xietian asked if Rong Jing wanted to reveal his identity.

Rong Jing had not expected that idioms from his past life had appeared online here. To him this was just casual chatter, nothing worth making a splash.

He was quiet a moment. “All the while you filmed this, why did no one tell me?”

You are going viral and not excited. How do you still remember the details?

We thought you were camera-shy. Who knew you would be harsher than President Xie. Did you not see those trainees quake when they saw you?

After Rong Jing refused to debut that way, Xietian issued a statement. The judge was an internal staffer and had no plans to debut through the show. Thank you for your love. We will do our best to make this season well.

The less they showed, the more people wanted to know. The mysterious sharp-tongued judge grew hotter.

Some media with sources had heard whispers, which only made them more cautious about running it.

So the legend grew and no one dared dig.

To Rong Jing, the unexpected heat worked in Absolute Idol’s favor. Maybe it could surpass the original’s popularity. He cared more about how to break that plotline.

Tonight’s shoot was the second water scene.

As the scenes deepened, he finally began to work free of the camera-phobia embedded in his body. Gu Xi deserved a lot of the credit. He had come to almost every early shoot to help Rong Jing drop into character in various ways.

The story had Rong Jing’s eunuch Fu Qianming discovering that the tribute from a rival state might contain an addictive poison.

He had found a mouse that had eaten it. It went mad, gnawed the wooden chest to bloody splinters, then bled to death. He told no one, quietly hiding the discovery.

The princes had already smuggled the substance into the palace, planning to dose the emperor and high officials, then use the addiction to force a change in the edict of succession.

Fu Qianming had made it into the emperor’s service. Before the tribute was presented, he meant to destroy it.

To keep Shao Hua from getting dragged in, he decided to fake a break and draw the third prince’s eyes upon himself.

He had sensed that Shao Hua’s feelings for him were shifting. To keep Shao Hua from slipping, he hid his true aim.

After a string of cutting words, Shao Hua smashed the jade pendant he had carved by hand during their trip.

Fu Qianming looked unmoved, but later that night he went alone to the shore to search for the pendant thrown who knew where.

He could not know that Shao Hua had only mimed the throw. No matter how hurt he was, he could not bear to part with it. What he tossed was a cheap bead string. No wonder Fu Qianming would never find it.

The mistake felt like an omen for the ending.

“In this scene you show restraint and pain. You care deeply, but in these treacherous currents you have no right to love. The object is the one bond between you. You will do anything to find it. It is your one thought.”

Rong Jing nodded and glanced toward Gu Xi. Gu Xi had no scenes tonight. He was only watching, dressed in his own clothes.

It was warm with the lingering autumn heat. Gu Xi wore only mid-length shorts. When he sat, a bit of fair thigh showed. Many gazes landed on those long pale legs.

Gu Xi did not notice. He stretched lazily, a lollipop in his mouth. Preserved plum flavor. Rong Jing had given it to him.

Rong Jing kept sneaking looks, a soft itch in his chest. He wanted to drape a blanket over Gu Xi’s legs.

Too selfish. That cursed Alpha possessiveness again. Gu Xi was not dressed provocatively. It was only a bit of leg. Why was he being so controlling?

He never saw the way Gu Xi’s head was bent, the faint curve at the corner of his lips.

At the shore an uninvited guest had arrived. Wu Fuyu’s injury had healed after a flood of money.

He wore head-to-toe luxury and his swagger had not changed. He took a seat and had his assistant hand out milk tea, as if rewarding the crew for shooting a night scene.

Xia Manni, the female lead, spotted him and frowned. “Why is he here again?”

Gu Xi looked at the second-generation heir surrounded by people and said nothing.

“I mean, is he here for you?”

“Not me.” For my man.

Wu Fuyu crossed one leg over the other and watched from afar, gaze sliding between Gu Xi and Rong Jing.

When Gu Xi’s eyes happened to pass over, he even lifted a hand in a friendly greeting.

Gu Xi thought of what he had done. The other’s calm made him more wary. With Wu Fuyu’s arrogant nature, how could he not care?

Gu Xi pretended not to see and studied the script.

His body had recovered. Rong Jing looked rough but was extremely gentle.

Their sizes did not quite match, but he could adapt. Maybe a few more times would do it. When would there be a next time though?

Ever since mentioning the contract, Rong Jing had gone quiet. Outside of shoots he left set to handle Xie family and company business. Now that they knew his other identity, the directing team gave him a wide berth.

They still spoke daily, but his seduction plan had stalled. He could not even get close. How was he supposed to lure?

There was still no contract and another Alpha was shadowing him. It felt like walking a tightrope with no idea what lay ahead.

The scene began.

By the lotus pond, Fu Qianming returned to where he had quarreled with Shao Hua that afternoon. The water mirrored stars and moon.

He scanned the shore, looked to where the pendant had been thrown, and his expression shifted.

Then he leaped. His robes arced through the air. Fireflies drifted in the trees.

First dive. Nothing. He climbed out and drew a breath.

His face showed doubt and urgency, back and forth.

Second dive.

Still nothing.

The camera rolled in, catching each emotion.

On the third dive, seconds ticked by. Rong Jing did not reappear.

The director remembered Rong Jing had said he was good in water. Two or three minutes was fine.

He was ready to keep shooting, but Gu Xi suddenly stood. “Hold it, Director Liu.”

Gu Xi checked his watch. From the moment Rong Jing went under, two minutes and three seconds had passed.

Even with the plot, he should not still be under.

This was not Rong Jing choosing to go deeper for realism. He was not the kind to change the beat on set.

Gu Xi looked up. The night was clear. The stars were thick. Nothing looked wrong, yet an unaccountable fear crawled up his spine.

No time to think. He dove into the water to a chorus of shouts.

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