Chapter 58

Yuan Heng was not actually asleep.

In the afternoon, Yuan Qian'an's condition worsened and he was admitted to the intensive care unit again. All the directors were present, except Wu Xianyong who was absent due to personal reasons.

It is the nature of businessmen to seek profit and avoid harm. Yuan Heng is in charge of the overall situation but has no shares, while Yuan Qia'an is dying but holds great power.

Shortly after being admitted to the hospital for hemiplegia, Yuan Qi'an found a professional team to draw up a will. The property distribution regulations were locked in a bank safe, with the keys kept by three different lawyers. Even Xue Jinling had never seen it.

The directors took the excuse of visiting the patient to try to figure out the attitude of the Yuan family. Would Yuan Heng take over the power, or would Yuan Ye use the equity to get to the top? However, a second-generation rich man has no ability, and it is estimated that he cannot become the head of Yuantai. What's more, the highly respected Wu Xianyong did not show up.

Some people guessed that Old Wu was just sitting on the mountain watching the fight between two tigers, some people said that Old Wu had recently picked up a mistress and was very fond of her, and some people boldly assumed that Yuan Qi'an's recent worsening of his condition was really strange, and they were afraid that someone was interfering and that Old Wu wanted to get himself out of it.

Yuan Heng rushed directly to the hospital from the company, and the doctor also expressed his attitude. If Yuan Qian'an was lucky, he could still hold on for a year, but if he was unlucky, he could only hold on for two or three months.

He only had a light meal at noon and no food for dinner. After returning home, his headache came back and he didn't even have the energy to order food. He just took out a few pills, swallowed them, and went to bed to rest.

At this moment, when I heard Xiao Ziyu's voice coming from the phone, my depressed mood that had been agitated all night slowly calmed down.

He sang "Moon over the Long Bridge".

"Moon over the Long Bridge" has a total of eight acts. The first four acts talk about love and romance, and the last four acts talk about the world of martial arts. The whole piece is free and easy, with the spirit of "from the beginning of Wu to the end of Chu, a rower can travel a thousand miles in one row."

Every time Xiao Ziyu hummed this song, his eyes showed a rare liveliness and agility. Yuan Heng liked his lively look and always asked people to sing it again and again. Over time, "Moon over the Long Bridge" became a song that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had to listen to at every banquet or party.

Yuan Heng remembered that he had asked him why he liked this tune. Xiao Ziyu just smiled indifferently and said that he felt the artistic conception was broad, and the rhythm was particularly good when he sang it.

Later, at the prince's birthday banquet one year, Wang Jun got drunk and after singing the last four parts of "Moon over the Long Bridge", he couldn't help saying that he liked Fan Chengda and Xin Qiji, in short, a group of melancholy poets who were unable to succeed in the Dharma Ending Age. That's why he loved "Frosty Sky and Dawn Horn" the most and liked the adapted "Moon over the Long Bridge".

At that time, Yuan Heng was still wondering, Daliang was in its prime, so what was there to worry about? But he was also drunk and couldn't bear to hear Xiao Ziyu thinking about others. He didn't want any romantic affairs, he just wanted to talk about love with Xiao Ziyu.

Finally, Wang Jun fell asleep with red eyes. He was drunk and his words became childish. He even said that he had choreographed a dance for "Moon over the Long Bridge" and he never wanted to dance for him again.

Thinking about it now, perhaps Xiao Ziyu's ambitions had already been revealed at that time. He did not want to be a canary in the deep palace, but wanted to make something with his own abilities. He was always thinking about the long pavilion trees, foggy mountains, frosty forests and the letters from his hometown in the song.

Yuan Heng recalled the past while listening to the song, and suddenly wondered whether the dance had been choreographed.

The last word "Your Highness" brought him back to his senses. Yuan Heng forgot about his headache and was controlled so hard that he was out of his mind. Is there a possibility that Xiao Ziyu would forgive the prince Yuan Heng who had done so many bad things?

Will they ever be honest with each other?

As Yuan Heng fell into a dream with a tangled train of thought and a dull pain from deep within his nerves, he thought of what Monk Dugui said before he completely lost consciousness: "Using the blood in your heart to control the evil insect is like feeding the soul with a Gu. The soul will be incomplete from generation to generation, and both the body and mind will be affected. Have you thought about it, Your Highness?"

He was impatient to hear that at the time, but he has no regrets now: "I want Nanzhu to carry my remaining soul with me, for eternity and reincarnation together."

The next day, Xiao Ziyu woke up early in the morning, stretched his muscles as usual, and before starting filming, he modestly sent a message to someone to show his concern: Did you have a good dream last night?

Yuan Heng: Average.

Xiao Ziyu was worried that his headache wasn't getting better: Is it because the medicine wasn't working?

Yuan Heng tied his tie with one hand, unhurriedly. Editor: It was because Teacher Xiao was not quick enough that he didn't come into my dream to comfort me last night.

Xiao Ziyu paused, feeling that his concern was totally unnecessary.

The cultural festival opens today, and we are going to the town to shoot. There are also exhibitions and art performances on site. It is said that the financiers who invested in the program will also come to participate, so the crew started preparing early in the morning.

Some sponsors do not want to show up in front of the camera, so the overall live broadcast room is suspended and only each of their individual live broadcasts is open.

Luo Li had been staying at the town's logistics command center and also came with the car to pick them up. When he saw Xiao Ziyu, he asked, "Brother Xiao, can you adapt?"

Xiao Ziyu was used to living in this kind of place before, so he nodded: "It's okay."

Luo Li showed him the backstage data: "Brother Xiao, you are amazing. It has only been less than two days since the show started, and you have gained the fastest number of fans among the four guests, and you have the highest live broadcast room activity."

"There is also the mobile game Jiang Hu Wu Yang. The number of downloads has skyrocketed. It is estimated that it will soon become the number one mobile game download list."

After forwarding the promotional video of "Jiang Hu Wu Yang" before, Xiao Ziyu already had a rough idea of ​​the data. There were news popping up on Weibo all the time, and there were so many private messages that he couldn't read them all.

Luo Li said: "If you don't want to manage it, you can hand over the account to the company, and there will be a special department to help operate it."

Xiao Ziyu shook his head and refused. When he first registered the account, Luo Li was the one who managed it. After the number of fans increased, every Weibo post was sent by him after careful consideration. From this, we can see the most practical feedback from fans: "Listen to both sides and you will understand. I want to do it myself."

Luo Li made an OK gesture, stopped asking about business, and started chatting about gossip: "Brother Xiao, how do you feel about living with Wen Ci?"

Xiao Ziyu recalled the hot pot last night: "It was good, what happened?"

"He didn't go back to his room to sleep on the first night of filming," said Luo Li.

"How do you know?" Xiao Ziyu was surprised.

Luo Li was at the logistics base, and saw Wen Ci's agent pick him up in the middle of the night and send him back in the early morning. He described it vividly, and finally concluded: "Anyway, this industry is very complicated, especially for idols who debuted and suddenly became popular. They either have a father or a godfather."

"Godfather?" Xiao Ziyu opened his eyes slightly.

"It's the sponsor," Luo Li lowered his voice, "It is said that Wen Ci's godfather will also be here today, and he is also an investor in the program. Just pretend not to hear or see anything when the time comes."

Xiao Ziyu thought of the scar on Wen Ci's arm and frowned, "Did he volunteer?"

"It was definitely consensual at the beginning," Luo Li said. "It's hard to say what will happen over time, after all, some of the sponsors are really shady."

When we drove into the town, we found it was even more lively than during the Chinese New Year. Everywhere was filled with stalls and the sounds of vendors selling cloth, round fans, paper-cuts... and the villagers' homemade chili cakes, glutinous rice balls, and flower cakes, showing the most primitive style of the entire village.

There were no tasks today. Eric and Lu Yan had never seen such a village market before, so they had a great time and left the teacher who was filming them breathless.

Xiao Ziyu strolled along the street and vaguely caught a glimpse of his hometown amid the hustle and bustle. In the past, if a man made money in the opera garden, his senior brother would take him to the town for a stroll, buy him a piece of hand-made flower cake, drink a bowl of mung bean wine, and buy some newly dyed cloth to make clothes.

Xiao Ziyu stopped in front of a stall selling Shu embroidery. The photographer asked, "Teacher Xiao, do you have any research on silk fabrics?"

"This is blue dyeing," Xiao Ziyu explained. "The indigo color is extracted from the amaranth grass, and then the fabric is clamped with a template and soaked in the color. The dyed color is bright and vivid, which is the most suitable for tribute."

"Tribute?" The cameraman was stunned and didn't react.

The stall owner understood: "This young man is right. My family has been doing tie-dyeing for generations. In the past, the best tie-dye was offered to the imperial court. It was used to make clothes for the emperor."

The fabric felt good to the touch. Xiao Ziyu thought of how Yuan Heng looked in a suit and thought maybe he could add a scarf at the collar.

"I'll take this one," he said.

As the sun rises higher, the opening ceremony of the cultural festival is about to begin. Everyone gathered at the event venue, waiting for the host to announce the content of the event.

Xiao Ziyu didn't like the crowds, so he lingered outside the crowd, wanting to enter at the last minute. He found a shady place behind the stage, close to the water and the mountain. He picked a willow leaf and raised it to his lips, then played a lively tune.

Sparse footsteps were heard. Xiao Ziyu avoided meeting people and went around behind the willow tree, letting the thick branches block his view.

There were two people on the other side, but they were not hiding like him. Xiao Ziyu heard a familiar voice: "Mr. Wu, don't be here..."

It’s Wen Ci.

He understood what was going on almost instantly and subconsciously wanted to leave, but then a second voice came: "How come you've lost so much weight in just two days?"

This voice also sounded familiar. Xiao Ziyu lowered his eyes and recalled. It sounded old, hypocritical, and here it was mixed with some bad intimacy and teasing. He suddenly opened his eyes wide. It was Wu Xianyong.

He had met Mr. Wu once when he went to the sanatorium with Yuan Heng. Xiao Ziyu held his breath and looked over through the cover of the tree trunk. Sure enough, he saw a familiar face, with dark and yellow wrinkled skin, mean slanted eyes, and a brown birthmark the size of a copper coin under his eye!

Unlike the respected and honorable person he showed in the sanatorium, Wu Xianyong's true nature was finally exposed. He stood there calmly, with his chin raised arrogantly, and saw Wen Ci take the initiative to come forward and snuggle into his arms, kissing him gently on the lips.

Wu Xianyong was satisfied, and took the opportunity to hug Wen Ci's waist and squeezed it a few times: "How are your injuries?"

Wen Ci visibly flinched: "It's all right now."

Wu Xianyong said in a low voice: "Didn't anyone else see it?"

Wen Ci begged for mercy in a low voice: "Mr. Wu..."

Xiao Ziyu was so frightened that his back felt cold. It was only when the wind blew that he realized he was sweating. He fled from the spot as if escaping, his footsteps light and silent, only a willow leaf slowly fell to the ground.

Luo Li had been looking for him for a long time. Seeing him coming, he couldn't help but urge him, "Where are you going, Brother Xiao? You're almost late."

Xiao Ziyu's steps were unsteady: "Sorry, I..."

"You are not sick, you look so pale," Luo Li reached out and touched his forehead, then took out a thermos cup from his bag, "Iced mung bean soup, take it in and drink it."

Xiao Ziyu took a seat, and soon Wen Ci came back. The redness in the corners of his eyes had not yet faded, and he pulled his collar higher, wrapping himself tightly.

Wu Xianyong sat calmly on the stage, with a badge of honor issued by the program team pinned on his chest, representing his identity as an investor representative.

Xiao Ziyu didn't listen carefully to what the host said. Wu Xianyong gave a speech and the audience applauded continuously.

Xiao Ziyu glanced at Wen Ci and saw him sitting in a daze, as if he had lost his soul.

When the performance began on stage, investors were invited to sit in the first row. A professional song and dance troupe was about to go on stage. Wu Xianyong paused, looked around the audience, and finally set his sights on Xiao Ziyu.

Under the host's surprised gaze, he raised the microphone and said in a light tone as if he had ordered an actor: "I heard that there is an actor who can play and dance in the program. How about asking him to perform a piece to liven up the show?"