Chapter 54: Being a Guest
The fights in the fan circle cannot affect the players who are still in the training camp.
At this moment, they were busy saying goodbye to their eliminated friends. Similar scenes had already played out twice before, but even so, the boys were still not used to parting.
Although we left each other contact information, no one knows whether we can continue to keep in touch after going out or just become part of the circle of friends.
As their popularity grows, their lives may not intersect in the future.
Just like those old classmates who have suddenly become internet celebrities, they may not remember you when you were just a nobody. Because you are no longer from the same world.
But if the person who left encounters other better opportunities and becomes famous in the future, then the friendship may still continue.
Although it's realistic, this is the adult world. Rather than emotions, they focus more on the exchange of interests.
However, there are always exceptions. Even though most people forget about you after you leave, there are still some who can maintain their original intentions and not mix any interests into their emotions.
After the ranking recording was completed, the program team did not immediately start the recording of the fourth round of performance selection songs, but gave the contestants two days off to rest and adjust.
This was done to, firstly, ease the contestants' tense nerves, and secondly, to slow down the progress of the competition so that the broadcast speed of the program could catch up with the progress of the group formation night.
Just when Mo Bei was thinking about how to spend the two-day holiday, Lian Cheng appeared.
Mo Bei was a little surprised, "Why are you here?"
Lian Cheng still had that cynical smile on his face. "Didn't we agree before that I'd invite you to my house for dinner?"
Hearing this, Mo Bei blinked: "Today?"
"What else?" Lian Cheng shrugged. "You only have two days to rest. After that, you'll have to prepare for the finals performance. From what I understand, you'll have more than one stage to prepare for."
"What's the meaning?"
However, Lian Cheng didn't intend to answer. He just smiled and said, "Since the production team didn't tell you, I won't say anything. I can only tell you that in addition to the normal group performances, you need to prepare another song."
The program team plans to broadcast the final round of the group finals live.
In addition to the singing and dancing performances prepared by the groups, all contestants are also required to prepare a chorus piece. However, they are not aware of these matters yet.
Because the show's broadcast progress was slightly behind the actual competition schedule, the production team had to add more episodes to keep up with the finals. So far, the second round of performances has been completed, and the third round, which just concluded, has also begun to be put on schedule.
With such a tight schedule, Lian Cheng could only squeeze in whenever he could. After all, once the group formed, the other party would only become busier.
Besides this, there was actually another more important reason why he came to invite the other party today——
Today is his daughter's birthday.
Anyway, he had been planning to take Mo Bei home to meet his family. In that case, it would be better to do it today than today.
What's more, he had already promised Coco that he would let her meet her favorite idol on her birthday.
Interestingly, his daughter Keke actually came into contact with the program "Youth Project" earlier than he did, and even became a fan of "Jiang Mo Nan".
After 20 years, Lian Cheng felt a little strange that his former teammate had become his daughter's idol.
When he showed his daughter a video of his performance when he was young, she didn't seem very interested. She even complained that his hair color was like the Black Magic Fairy...
It’s all the fault of the company at that time. What a weird design!
Mo Bei didn't refuse Lian Cheng's invitation, but nodded: "Okay. Let's go."
On the other side, Lei Lieta and Tao Xiaotie, who had just walked out of the practice room, bumped into the two of them unexpectedly and were stunned for a moment.
"Brother Mo Nan, are you going out?"
Mo Bei nodded, "Mr. Lian... invited me to his house for dinner."
Although I know that Lian Cheng has become a very wealthy boss, it is still difficult to change the habit of addressing him.
Lian Cheng ignored Mo Bei's slightly unnatural pause and smiled at the two of them. "Do you want to come together?"
Lei Lie & Tao Xiaotie: !!!
Lei Lie was shocked. "Can we go too?"
Although Tao Xiaotie didn't say anything, his big, bright eyes blinked and his face showed "I really want to go".
"sure."
Lian Cheng said as he looked up at the practice room behind the two of them, "If you have time, you can come and play together."
As soon as he finished speaking, heads popped out from behind the practice room door. A closer look revealed that they were the Zhao Xi and Zhao Chen brothers, as well as Zheng Xingye, Cui Junxi, and Zhong Gaoyi.
After being caught peeking, the few of them did not feel embarrassed at all and just stood up calmly.
"If Brother Mo Nan, Lei Lie and the others are going, then we should go too."
Lian Cheng smiled and said, "Okay, let's pack up and go together." Then he called his secretary to drive another car over.
Mo Bei looked towards the practice room and saw Sheng Yanyu continuing to practice with his back to them without saying a word.
Thinking about the other party's previous relationship with Star Entertainment, Mo Bei immediately understood the reason for his silence.
However, he had no position to let the other party see things clearly.
Don't advise others to be kind without experiencing their suffering. He had heard a little about Sheng Yanyu's past experiences.
After years of painstaking practice, he was finally about to debut, only to be replaced by a newcomer with connections. If he were in his shoes, he wouldn't be able to let go of this.
Zaoxing Entertainment has let down his past efforts and contributions. How can he face the boss of this company without any grudges?
Indeed, according to Lian Cheng himself, he had long since stopped caring about internal recruitment. After all, he now had other businesses to manage besides Zaoxing Entertainment. As a shareholder, he only needed to attend the shareholders' meeting on time each year and wait for the year-end dividend.
But this does not affect the outside world's impression of him. As the founder, he is still the spokesperson for Zaoxing Entertainment.
Sheng Yanyu, who harbors resentment towards Zaoxing Entertainment, will naturally have negative thoughts about him as his boss.
Although he could understand Sheng Yanyu, Mo Bei still hoped that he could get out of this shadow as soon as possible.
Maybe if he has the chance in the future, he can find a chance to have a good talk with the other party about this matter.
Just when Mo Bei was thinking this, Lian Cheng's voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts.
"Aren't you going?"
At some point, Lian Cheng, who had just finished his phone call, stood at the door of the practice room and spoke to Sheng Yanyu inside.
Because they were going out, everyone else went back to the dormitory to change clothes. At this moment, there were only three of them in the corridor of the practice room.
Sheng Yanyu, who was practicing, suddenly stopped when he heard a voice coming from behind.
Seeing Lian Cheng, he pursed his lips and shook his head slightly, then continued to practice.
Lian Cheng had always been aware of Sheng Yanyu's grudge against him, and he also knew why.
But he hadn't intended to offer any explanation. After all, so many trainees were eliminated from Zaoxing Entertainment every year, and he couldn't possibly ask about the reasons one by one. Even Sheng Yanyu, who was now a little famous, was the same.
However, when he saw that the person in front of him had a gloomy look on his face since he appeared, Lian Cheng suddenly felt that he needed to let the other person know the truth.
After all, the person who prevented Sheng Yanyu from making his debut was not Lian Cheng, but Team Leader Zheng from the artist selection team who had been expelled.
Why should I take the blame for others? Is it just because he is the boss?
God knows how many years he has not been involved in the company's internal affairs.
Even if he didn't plan to sign the other party back to Star Creation, he couldn't let people continue to misunderstand him.
Feeling frustrated at being misunderstood, Lian Cheng said sternly, "I know you have issues with both Star Creation and me. But I still have to explain: I wasn't the one who removed you from the debut group. It was Team Leader Zheng from the artist selection team. I only found out about this later."
"I've already fired that guy who abused his position for personal gain. But his nephew, Zheng Zhilu, has already made his debut, and there's nothing I can do about it."
"However, his popularity is at the bottom, and the company will not continue to waste resources on a worthless person in the future."
Having said this, Lian Cheng paused.
"Although it seems a little late to say this now, I still want to tell you——"
"You're very good. It's a loss for them and the company that they didn't let you debut in the group."
"Gold shines everywhere. Now, you have proved it with your actions."
"Even if there is no Star Entertainment, you will find a place that is more suitable for you in the future."
Lian Cheng did not apologize to Sheng Yanyu. As the nominal boss of Zaoxing Entertainment, his status and pride did not allow him to do so.
He simply recounted the entire incident in a calm tone. He didn't expect Sheng Yanyu to let go of his grudge, but he wanted him to understand the truth.
Because Lian Cheng always hated being slandered and having to take the blame for others.
After saying this, Lian Cheng left the practice room without caring about Sheng Yanyu's reaction.
Mo Bei stood far outside the door, looking at Sheng Yanyu's motionless back, trying to see what he was thinking at the moment, but the person in front of him did not show any expression.
Just when he thought the situation would remain deadlocked, he saw the stubborn figure in the distance slowly squat down and bury his head between his knees.
It was like a hedgehog suddenly retracting its soft, defensive spines. At this moment, this perfect young man, known to everyone as responsible, gentle, and capable, revealed for the first time his vulnerability as an ordinary person.
Mo Bei knew that Sheng Yanyu might not want to show this vulnerable side to others, so he turned his back silently and left quietly.
"Brother Mo Nan, you finally came out. We were looking for you."
Seeing Mo Bei walking out of the practice building, Lei Lie immediately came up to him and asked, "Where did you go just now?"
"restroom."
After he finished speaking, he glanced at Tao Xiaotie who was concentrating on eating a lollipop, and then looked at the other people in the distance who had changed into new clothes and walked out of the dormitory, feeling a little surprised.
"Are you ready so soon?"
"Um."
Lei Lie paused and lowered his voice: "After all, we are going to visit President Lian's house, so it is impossible for everyone not to take it seriously."
Hearing this, Mo Bei subconsciously looked down at his simple white T-shirt and fell silent for a moment.
Compared to the others, he seemed a little casual.
Just as he was hesitating whether to go back and change his clothes, Lian Cheng came over and said, "The car is here, let's go."
So, the idea of changing clothes had to be abandoned.
Because more and more people were coming, the original car couldn't accommodate them all, so Lian Cheng asked his secretary to drive a bigger car directly over.
Seeing the impressive and flashy extended Bentley parked at the entrance to the park, the contestants' eyes widened. Zheng Xingye couldn't help but exclaim, "Holy crap!"
Although they were shocked, everyone still cared about their image and tried to remain calm. However, these boys were still young and couldn't help looking around after getting on the bus.
Although inviting the contestants to his home was just a spur of the moment decision, seeing these curious young people who had to pretend to be mature, Lian Cheng couldn't help but think of his own youth.
At the time, he had just entered the idol industry, knowing nothing about it, so everything he saw was new to him. He remembers that when he first stepped onto the stage, he couldn't help but look and touch the stage equipment. He finally stopped touching it out of embarrassment after being stopped by the staff.
Thinking about it this way, he was no different from the boys in front of him at that time.
The scene outside the window kept receding as the car slowly drove out of the city center and began to approach the suburbs.
To Mo Bei's surprise, Lian Cheng's current home was also in Yuehai City. Furthermore, his family's home was near the area where he had lived before his death. The two places were only a few minutes' drive apart.
Unlike Lu Yu's luxurious apartment, Lian Cheng's home is located in a quiet villa area. It not only has its own viewing pool and garden, but also has a clubhouse and winery.
Mo Bei had never been to this place before. He guessed that this might be the property that Lian Cheng bought after his marriage.
Mo Bei couldn't help but sigh softly when he thought of Lian Cheng's behavior after they met again.
He claimed to be breaking off relations with him, but ended up being his neighbor after he died. This guy is even more dishonest than him.
My mind was racing with thoughts when Lian Cheng suddenly spoke up beside me: "The environment here is great, and the facilities are complete. I wanted to move here many years ago, but due to some unexpected events, I wasn't able to make the move until after I got married."
Perhaps because they were in a strange and high-end environment, even the carefree Zheng Xingye and Zhao Xi became a lot more reserved for a moment. Hearing this, they could only smile foolishly and nodded.
After all, such topics are beyond their knowledge.
However, Lian Cheng didn't expect these young people to give any reaction. After all, he was actually talking to Mo Bei.
Mo Bei naturally heard the hidden meaning in Lian Cheng's words.
The so-called accident probably refers to his sudden death.
I remember that before the incident, he had invited Lian Cheng to be a guest at his concert. At that time, Lian Cheng was very reluctant, saying that he had retired from the entertainment industry and didn't want to go on stage. Despite this, Lian Cheng finally agreed to it.
I remember that at that time, Lian Cheng mentioned that he was going to move soon and might not have much time to rehearse.
When he asked him where he was moving to, Lian Cheng didn't answer him. He just smiled mysteriously and said, "You'll know when the time comes."
Now thinking back, the new home the other party was talking about should be here.
Like Mo Bei, Lian Cheng was also lost in memories at this moment.
Until now, he was still a little dazed about Mo Bei's resurrection.
Even though he had signed a contract with the other party and was well aware of the secrets he was carrying, he found it too unbelievable when he thought about it calmly.
An old friend who had died many years ago now appeared before him alive, and he looked exactly the same as when he was young.
He really wanted to know what the other person had experienced over the years, but he was afraid that Mo Bei's secret might be Pandora's box, which would likely lead to regretful consequences once opened.
Reincarnation was just his previous guess, but recently he discovered that the truth might not be as simple as he thought.
Because he felt some strange feeling from Jiang Mo Nan that he had never felt before.
His body was stiff, his skin was cold, and he couldn't even feel his pulse.
This made Lian Cheng start to wonder, was Mo Bei really reincarnated? Or was he not even human at all?
When Mo Bei passed away 20 years ago, his funeral was personally organized by a few of his friends and his parents. Even the ashes were collected by the old man himself.
But now, Mo Bei appeared in front of them in good health.
This made Lian Cheng start to hesitate, wondering whether he should continue to explore the secret behind it or pretend to be ignorant of it.
Thoughts gradually drifted away, and the group finally stopped in front of a Western-style villa with its own garden courtyard.
Entering the courtyard, we saw snow-white dining tables set on both sides of the garden, piled high with a variety of dishes. Balloons and decorative bouquets were everywhere. Everyone was stunned when they saw the enormous birthday cake placed on the center table.
"Dad! You're back!"
A clear child's voice suddenly came from the opposite side.
A little girl, about seven or eight years old, wearing a pink princess dress ran towards Lian Cheng.
Facing everyone's surprised gazes, Lian Cheng explained casually, "This is my daughter. Today is her 8th birthday."
Hearing this, the group of older boys couldn't help but look embarrassed.
It was Mr. Lian’s child’s birthday, but they came empty-handed. How embarrassing!
Noticing the contestants' awkward expressions, Lian Cheng smiled and waved his hand, "Don't worry about those empty formalities. Your presence is a gift in itself."
Contestants: ???
What's the meaning?
Before they could figure out what Lian Cheng meant, they saw the little girl's eyes light up, and then burst into an excited scream -
"Ah! It's Brother Nannan!"
"And Brother Lei Lie, Brother Xiao Tie and the other brothers!"
It’s difficult...Brother...
When Lian Cheng heard Coco's name, his expression twitched slightly.
It’s okay for others, but Jiang Mo Nan... No, Mo Bei, you should call him uncle!
They are obviously from the same generation!
Although he felt a little uncomfortable about calling her his daughter, Lian Cheng couldn't say anything in front of so many people.
After all, this matter concerns the secret of an old friend's identity.
But no one else knew about this, and for now he could only let his daughter call the other person brother.
On the other side, seeing the little girl's reaction, the group immediately understood what Lian Cheng meant by his previous words.
It turns out that his daughter is a viewer of the show and also a fan of theirs!
Because he had younger siblings, Lei Lie always knew how to interact with children. He squatted down, smiled warmly, and extended his hand: "Hello, I'm Lei Lie."
"I'm Lian Kehan. You can call me Keke."
The little girl in front of him was not shy at all. She shook hands with Lei Lie confidently and then got to know the other contestants one by one.
When it was Jiang Mo Nan's turn, the originally outgoing little girl suddenly became shy.
Seeing this, Lian Cheng instinctively sensed something was wrong.
Just when he was wondering if he was overthinking it, Keke grabbed Mo Bei's sleeve and asked with her cute little round face -
"Dad, can I marry Brother Nannan?"
Contestants: “!!!”
Lian Cheng: "???"
As soon as these words were spoken, the scene fell into silence.
Not only Mo Bei and his group, but even Lian Cheng was stunned.
No matter how careful you are, you can never guard against a thief in your own home.
I was always on guard against the little boy in my daughter's class, but unexpectedly, the biggest loophole appeared in his friend!
For a moment, the old father was so frightened by his daughter's words that he almost vomited blood.
Looking at his daughter's innocent and lovely face, Lian Cheng suppressed his inner guilt and shook his head righteously.
"No. The age difference between you two is too big. There is no future for you."
As she spoke, she watched her daughter's reaction nervously.
I thought Coco would burst into tears after hearing what I said. But she just nodded very coolly and said, "Oh, okay then."
It seemed that she accepted the reality very calmly.
This kind of reaction made Lian Cheng a little unsure of how to respond.
Fortunately, Coco's mother appeared at this time.
This is a beautiful and gentle person, and Coco seems to be very attached to her. When she saw her mother, she didn't care about her favorite idol and ran straight to the opposite side.
Children are always short-lived. Often, they like something one second, but it is replaced by something else the next.
Looking at the stuffed teddy bear her mother brought, Keke's attention was immediately diverted. It was as if her previous words about wanting to marry Jiang Mo Nan were just innocent childish talk.
Seeing this, Lian Cheng's heart, which had been hanging in the air for a while, finally settled down again.
He looked at Mo Bei deeply, with a hint of condemnation in his eyes.
Mo Bei, who was suddenly stared at, said: "..."
Is it my fault?
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