CH 44

“Do you actually want him to come or don’t you want him to come?” They had been cut off from the outside world for months, not knowing that netizens were already speculating about their break-up because of one phone call that had not been made.

Ou Shaowen kept his head down and didn’t say anything.

“Anyway, you’ve been acting weird lately, take some time off after the competition, play around with President Ou and have a good rest.”

Ou Shaowen pursed his lips, his mood even more depressed. He was now a bit afraid to face Ou Renjin, after he had vowed to give him his heart, only to find out that it might not be possible to do so.

He had spent a long time, using up his phone’s battery, looking up countless articles, confirming that no such technology as a heart simulator existed in this world, and that the names of all the rich and powerful people who had his heart transplanted to them in the past could not be found.

In this world, there seemed to be no such terrifying place as the laboratory. He seemed to have escaped to another time and space inexplicably. He could continue to be happy in paradise, no longer having to worry about being caught suddenly and going back to hell.

These surprises didn’t make him happy for long. He quickly thought of another frightening fact. Without the instruments from the laboratory, could he still successfully transplant his heart to Ou Renjin? Or, even if the transplant was successful, did he still have a chance to grow another one and continue to live?

No wonder Ou Renjin refused to accept his heart; no wonder Dr. Chen and Guan Qijun were so shocked. They must have thought he was just like a normal person, dead without a heart.

But it wasn’t like that, he wasn’t as good and noble as they thought, he just had an absolute confidence that he wouldn’t be in any danger anyway, so he dared to say those things righteously. When he thought of it in this way, he felt like a big liar who cheated people, the unforgivable kind of sin.

He was even a little afraid of meeting Ou Renjin. In case he asked about the heart transplant, he would not be able to answer ”I am ready to cooperate” without hesitation anymore. It wasn’t that he wasn’t willing, he just… needed time to think and prepare.

He was completely unprepared for the fact that he might die; he had never had that concept because of his special physique. Especially now, after coming to the outside world, meeting Ou Renjin and knowing that he would never be taken back to the lab again, he wished even more to live a little longer.

He clenched his fists and felt his chest tighten, weighed down by layer after layer of frustration.

He was so sad, so overwhelmed with sadness, so sad that he couldn’t shed a single tear.

Only when Song Yiju reminded him that it was time to go on stage did he manage to pull himself together and try to suppress those emotions.

After finishing his performance in the group opening dance as usual, when he turned his head and walked down the stage, he suddenly heard the name of a person mentioned by the host.

“…Ou Renjin, head of Qimeng Entertainment, welcome.”

He turned his head abruptly, his gaze wandered around the stage, and finally settled on the handsome, elegantly dressed, upright man.

Ou Renjin seemed to be looking at him too, and being a little too far away, Ou Shaowen couldn’t see the expression on his face, only that he didn’t seem to be smiling, just looking at him quietly and somewhat seriously.

After seeing him appear in front of him, Ou Shaowen’s previous hesitation and timidity vanished without a trace in an instant. At this moment, he didn’t have the mind to think about anything else, he just wanted to rush up and kiss Ou Renjin and hug him. It seemed that only by touching Ou Renjin’s skin and smelling Ou Renjin’s smell could his heart settle down safely.

“Eh.” He had just taken a step when Song Yijiu, who was standing next to him, grabbed his arm and couldn’t help but laugh, “Don’t get excited, you can do whatever you want after the finals, you’re still on stage, calm down.”

He still looked in Ou Renjin’s direction, but Ou Renjin had averted his gaze and was leaning over to listen to what the person next to him was saying in the midst of the noise.

Ou Shaowen stood stubbornly in place for two seconds, and the audience close to the stage noticed this bit of movement from him and began to whisper.

“Hey, what are you doing, let’s go!” Song Yijiu’s gaze was already tinged with a little anxiety as Ou Shaowen finally relaxed his body and followed him off the stage.

When he reached backstage, he stood straight as if he had lost his soul, quietly cooperating with the stylist to change his clothes. When some of his teammates talked to him, he just nodded and muttered “hmm” in reply, looking disoriented.

Then a staff member handed over his mobile phone. It was not the spare mobile phone that Ou Renjin had sneakily sent him before, but his own, with so many calls from Ou Renjin in the call history.

He accepted it with some confusion, and the phone rang before he could hold it firmly. He almost dropped it when seeing the name on the screen that made his heart burn, and picked up hurriedly, his voice trembling a little, “Hello.”

“What are you doing, little fool? Staring at me carelessly while you’re on stage.”

“I…” Ou Shaowen couldn’t say anything.

“Remember to keep your eyes on the camera during the performance and stop staring at me.”

“Okay.”

“I’ll take you to dinner when it’s over.” Ou Renjin’s voice was a little soft, saying intimate words, but his tone was very calm.

Ou Shaowen felt a bit like crying for some reason, “You won’t leave first, right? Will you wait for me? The game will be over soon.”

“Don’t worry, play well.”

Ou Renjin forbade him to look at him during the performance, so Ou Shaowen really obediently didn’t glance in that direction until all the performances were over. When the time came to announce the rankings, he finally smiled sweetly in the direction of the guest seats with impunity and then waved his hand excitedly, very uncharacteristically.

He was standing in the middle of the first row and his movements were so big that all the viewers watching the broadcast could see them clearly. The crew very knowledgeably cut a shot of Ou Renjin, who raised an eyebrow, turned his face sideways and smiled a little helplessly.

“Holy shit, Brother Wen has turned into Sister Wen, and Brother Cool has become a little too sweet.”

“Brother was originally soft and naive in private.”

“Who’s talking about their break-up? They’re in love, you can’t say anything about it.”

“Hahahahahahaha, I’m fine again, help me up, I can still take it. I just said that with Ou Renjin’s character, if they broke up, he would post it on Weibo as soon as possible.”

“Damn, so sweet.”

Ou Shaowen stood in the centre of the stage, turning his head to look at Ou Renjin almost every half a minute. During the competition, there were so many noisy friends around him that when he didn’t see Ou Renjin, he felt that he was used to it and wouldn’t be too sad missing him occasionally. But when he really saw Ou Renjin, he knew how much he missed him. The seemingly lively life didn’t seem to be exciting enough, and only now was he alive.

When it came to the regular melodramatic session, one by one, the contestants’ family and friends or company bosses began to deliver their encouraging messages.

When it was Ou Renjin’s turn, he faced Ou Shaowen’s burning gaze, soaking in pleasure, as if he had proved something and gotten back at something.

No matter how many people in the world like him, the person he likes most is still me. What can you do but chirp on the sidelines?

Obviously, at the beginning, he sent Ou Shaowen to this show with the intention of allowing him to enjoy the love of the world. Now it seemed that he was really not a saint. No matter how gentle he pretended to be, his heart was still dark.

Ou Shaowen could be loved by the world, but he couldn’t love the world. And what Ou Renjin had always wanted to prove was that after Ou Shaowen was loved by the whole world, he would still only like him.

It turned out that this was his ultimate goal.

He had been so influenced by the naivety and simplicity of the kid that he had even fooled himself.

He picked up the microphone and opened his mouth under Ou Shaowen’s gaze, “Do you know how proud I am? Signing you up was one of the wisest decisions I’ve made in recent years.” After a pause, he continued, “It’s just that the time limit is a bit short, so why don’t we re-sign a 10-year contract after the show?”

Ou Shaowen’s fanbase started a little riot.

This big pig hoof is so bad, he’s doing it on purpose, just to get back at those fans who said they wanted Wenwen to terminate his contract with Qimeng!

But their Wenwen had a surprised and touched expression on his face, and said “Okay” with a big smile, as if he had received some kind of reward, the sight that could choke people to death.

“You hear that? I’ll plan his career well.” Ou Renjin tilted his head and raised an eyebrow at the camera provocatively.

“Ahahahahaha, President Ou is too much of a dog.” The melon-eating masses got excited again.

Ou Shaowen opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something else, but the session was over and the next procedure started, the hosts ready to announce the votes. So he quietly closed his mouth, saving all his words for later to say in private.

With this meeting, he had already forgotten about the issue of transplanting or not transplanting his heart and his guilt over it.

No surprise, he was in first place. The fans were already cheering as soon as the second place name was announced, but he was very calm, just flashing an extraordinarily bright smile, his eyes curving, making thousands of fangirls drown in his eyes.

He held the microphone, his gaze confident and proud, “Standing in this position, I want to tell you that if you want to be the fan of the number one, I will always be the number one. Next I will make you fans of a popular idol, fans of a top star, I will be your pride and will always make you feel that liking me is something you can brag about.”

The young man standing at the highest point was spirited, as if he had not yet learned what reservation and humbleness was. He just knew that if others liked him, he had to give back the best.

So energetic, so dazzling.

Ou Renjin looked at him under a chorus of screams and realised how much this young man had grown.

In the days of spending time with a hundred people of his own age, in the days of always being able to finish his tasks the best and the fastest, he had finally realised through countless comparisons that he was not an ordinary person, that he was a genius, born to be better than everyone else.

He deserved to be confident.

Ou Renjin bowed his head, not quite knowing what he felt at the moment.

Ou Shaowen didn’t know whether or not this acceptance speech would cause controversy. All he knew was that the finals were over and he could jump in front of Ou Renjin with joy.