As soon as Ji Yan returned to his apartment, he saw his friends lining up on the sofa, all with expressions that said, "Confess and you'll be treated leniently, resist and you'll be punished severely."
Ji Yan knew that confessing would also be severely punished, so he quietly turned to the other side, trying to avoid it.
"Ahem, is anyone back from a date?"
"Don't try to escape judgment. Tell me, why didn't you take me to eat hot pot?"
"Ha, traitor, tell us honestly, how did you get to know Ning Wei behind our backs?"
While Fang Yu and the others were still wondering what Ji Yan meant by "date," Ji Yan suddenly appeared on the trending search list after lunch.
Moreover, he ate hot pot with Ning Wei!
That's just... way too much.
Ji Yan blinked: "I got the tickets to the 'Blue' concert, one for each person."
"Not enough, three hot pot meals." Fang Yu held up three fingers.
"One meal," Ji Yan bargained.
"Two meals, no lower than that, plus a signed J.L. album."
Ji Yan: "...If you want to rob me, just say so."
"Teacher Ji, this is already the mercy your teammates have shown you."
Fang Yu and the others didn't ask much about Ji Yan and Ning Wei eating and strolling together. They knew that Ji Yan and Ning Wei had a good relationship, and it was perfectly normal for them to communicate in private.
Moreover, judging from the photo of the two of them, Ji Yan seemed very happy.
“Teacher Ji, the hotpot must be served this week.” Lu Wei looked at him with a smile. “If Sister Ying asks, remember, it was you who dragged us innocent people into this mess and tainted our pure hearts with this wicked hotpot.”
Ji Yan couldn't help but give Lu Wei a thumbs up. He really had a hard time judging which of the two was more shameless.
...
After that, Ji Yan and Ning Wei went out together a few more times, sometimes to a music store, sometimes to a stadium, and sometimes they simply did nothing but stroll around.
There were also one or two times when the two sang for each other in the recording studio.
Ji Yan usually sings songs with a "blue" theme, while Ning Wei sings songs with a "wing" theme. When the other sings, Ji Yan listens quietly from the side. Ning Wei is much more reserved when singing in private than on stage, and he can easily calm people down. His rendition of "Is It Black or White" feels very different from the original version of "Wing," but it is also very beautiful.
Ji Yan felt that he and Ning Wei had gradually developed a certain tacit understanding. Neither of them were particularly direct in their personalities, but generally, when one of them said something, the other could naturally follow up. When chatting on WeChat, although Ning Wei's replies were not quick, he would reply to every single one of them, with an incredibly serious attitude.
In a way, this was a magical experience of making friends.
...
Before you know it, the Spring Festival is here.
"Wing" didn't have much work to begin with, and even if there were new invitations, Ye Ying would try to decline them and let the members go home for the New Year early.
"Don't get fat, you have to control your weight." Ye Ying deliberately held Ji Yan back and reminded him, "Eat less hot pot."
Ji Yan: "..."
Actually, his brother had already informed him that they would be having hot pot for New Year's Eve dinner at home this year. He decided not to tell Sister Ying for the time being, otherwise Sister Ying would probably be the first to drag him onto the scale when he got back to the company.
Ye Ying is usually quite gentle, but once she gets angry, even the four of them combined can't handle it. Ji Yan feels a little scared just thinking about being dragged by Sister Ying to lose weight.
"Happy New Year in advance," Xie Mingxuan said, patting Ji Yan on the shoulder. "You can have a peaceful New Year at home this year."
Fang Yu and Lu Wei each hugged one of Ji Yan's shoulders: "Teacher Ji, I will continue to send you pictures of New Year's Eve dinner."
Be careful not to gain weight.
"The same to you."
Going home for the Chinese New Year is bound to make people excited. This year, "Wings" is busier than last year, not only in terms of workload, but also in terms of the pressure and attention that come with fame. Although the members are used to being followed by reporters no matter what they do, there are times when they still hope to have a period of time to completely relax.
Going home is undoubtedly the best way to relax.
Except for Ji Yan, all the members of the "Wings" group are only children, and their family relationships are extremely harmonious. Every time Xie Mingxuan and the others come home, Ji Yan can get some of their local specialties. The time when he was recognized by the Ji family was the worst time in Ji Yan's life when he experienced family relationships. Fortunately, things are different now. Ji Qing and his little nephew are also one of Ji Yan's motivations for striving. He is also looking forward to the time to go home.
"Be careful on the road."
"Bon Voyage!"
Ji Yan grinned, waved to his friends, and boarded the high-speed train home.
He returned home a little earlier this year than in previous years. The Spring Festival was late this year, and Ji Qing's school also arranged a training session for homeroom teachers after the end of the semester. He really didn't have time to pick up Ji Yan, but he was not comfortable letting Ji Yan drive home alone, so he let Ji Yan take the high-speed rail back.
The high-speed rail station was packed with people. Ji Yan hadn't seen such a scene in a while. He took a picture and sent it to the group chat, but Lu Wei had already posted a picture of herself on the high-speed rail: "4 more hours."
Ji Yan didn't have to wait long. It only took him about 20 minutes from getting his ticket checked and entering the station to sitting in the train. He didn't bring much luggage because he had asked Xu Zhou to send his packages home first. After sitting down, Ji Yan relaxed. He watched the scenery flashing by outside the window for a while, and then slowly closed his eyes.
I'm home now.
In fact, celebrities have no privacy, especially since "Wing" is currently very popular.
Almost as soon as Ji Yan was queuing to enter the station, fans secretly took photos of him and posted them online.
"We caught Teacher Ji, who's going home for the Chinese New Year."
"Teacher Ji's everyday attire is also unbeatable. By the way, Teacher Ji went back to Z County. He really didn't spend the New Year with those members of the Ji family."
"Teacher Ji is so handsome! It's a pity he's in business class. I really want to sneak into business class, sob sob."
Although the photos taken by fans were blurry, many netizens recognized Ji Yan just by looking at his back. He was wearing a thick down jacket, a red scarf around his neck that looked particularly warm, and a bulging sports bag on his shoulder. If it weren't for his tall stature and the fact that even the scarf couldn't hide his handsome face, Ji Yan would look no different from an ordinary passenger.
Lu Wei and Xie Mingxuan were also quickly photographed. Like Ji Yan, Lu Wei fell asleep as soon as she got in the car, while Xie Mingxuan even used the time to read a book. Because Xie Mingxuan usually exudes a very cold temperament, even if he wasn't sleeping, no fans dared to disturb him easily.
"The Wings Group is on vacation!"
"The high-speed rail team building team is now only missing @Fangyu."
"He didn't take the high-speed rail because of the heavy rain. He posted photos of his journey home on Weibo, which should be from the highway."
Ji Yan dozed off for a while when his phone suddenly rang. The person with the rabbit avatar in his friend list sent him a rabbit waving emoji. Ji Yan smiled and replied with a panda goodbye emoji.
"Has Brother Ning gone home?"
"I've gone back."
After replying to Ji Yan's message, Ning Wei sent him a picture of steamed buns. The background of the picture was very simple, and Ji Yan only noticed a large pot and a bowl of unsteamed bun filling.
The "Blue" group receives invitations to the Spring Festival Gala every year, but the members generally don't participate because they already participated once when they first became popular, and it seems pointless to go again later.
In Duan Yiran's words, they work all year round, and even have to work overtime during the Spring Festival. If this continues, they won't even want to write songs.
When Ji Yan got off the high-speed rail, Ji Qing was already there to pick him up. Dun Dun was much stronger than last year and was now a lively and energetic boy who could run and jump a long way if you weren't careful.
Fortunately, Ji Yan had just returned home recently, so he was a fairly familiar face to Dun Dun. As soon as Ji Yan stretched out his arm, Dun Dun obediently snuggled into Ji Yan's embrace.
"It's really heavy." Ji Yan weighed it in his hand. "It's gotten heavier again."
"Can you carry him?" Ji Qing asked him.
"I practice dancing every day, and I also train my lung capacity, so it's no problem."
"I heard from your manager that you sometimes slack off during dance practice?"
Ji Yan: "...I didn't, Sister Ying is so long-winded."
"You guessed right?" Ji Qing laughed. "Your agent was worried that you'd look bad on camera if you gained weight, but I think you're too thin. Your arms don't even look as thick as Dudu's."
Ji Yan could only show Ji Qing the muscles he had worked so hard to build. Although they weren't very muscular, muscles are muscles, and he wasn't faking it at all.
...
Staying at home was a time of complete relaxation. Ji Qing took care of all the cleaning. When Ji Yan wanted to help fry meatballs, Ji Qing pushed him away, saying, "Go play with Dun Dun."
Ji Yan: "..."
Ji Xiaodun: "..."
Ji Yan could only sit on a small stool and accompany the children to learn to read. He found it very boring, but Ji Xiaodun seemed to be even more bored than him.
Later, Ji Yan discovered that his celebrity status did have some effect. When watching the Spring Festival Gala, Ji Qing and his sister-in-law would ask him if he knew certain celebrities. In fact, Ji Yan only knew a few of them, but under the eager gaze of his brother and sister-in-law, he said that he would try to get to know them next time.
During the New Year's Eve dinner, Ji Yan happily showed off his family's hot pot.
Then, he was overwhelmed by the even bigger table of food that Fang Yu's family served compared to last year.
"Ha, this kind of showing off is meaningless."
Ji Yan's disdain was strongly echoed by Lu Wei. Xie Mingxuan, on the other hand, had not been online at all. Ji Yan and Lu Wei were tagging Xie Mingxuan like crazy in the group chat.
A little while later, Xie Mingxuan posted a picture of an even more luxurious and sumptuous New Year's Eve dinner.
Lu Wei & Ji Yan: "What's going on with you two? Did you secretly make a fortune behind my back?"
"Just an ordinary day."
It is just a daily routine.
Oh.
"I've decided, I'm going to write songs and earn royalties next year too."
+1.
In terms of wealth, Ji Yan is undoubtedly the number one in the "Wing" group. However, a large part of his wealth comes from the real estate inherited from the Ji family. Ji Yan has no intention of touching that part, and he doesn't consider it his own money.
In terms of earning power, Xie Mingxuan is far ahead in "Wing".
Ji Yan and his group's income mainly comes from group album sales, group endorsements, team activities, and individual activities. Group album sales include album sales revenue and royalties, which are split equally among album sales, endorsements, and commercial performances. Royalties are split among the artists individually. Regarding individual activities, after Xie Mingxuan's compositions for Mi Lin were a huge success, he received composition invitations from almost every major music company in the industry, with invitation fees comparable to those of top-tier songwriters. This is partly due to Xie Mingxuan's strong songwriting abilities, and partly because "Wings" (the group's name) has a reputation that makes singers very willing to collaborate with him, generating significant buzz even without extensive marketing.
In comparison, Ji Yan, Lu Wei, and Fang Yu's incomes were much lower.
Ji Yan's main activity outside of the group is acting, but he only appeared for a few minutes in director Li Xiang's "I, Nameless", and his salary was negligible. It is no exaggeration to say that Li Xiang was generous enough in paying him. Many actors are even willing to appear in each other's movies for free.
As for "Young Love Poems", Zhu Shuguang's films have always been known for their low pay. Even though Ji Yan is the lead actor, his pay is quite limited, which is less than what Xie Mingxuan earns for writing a song.
Ji Yan wrote two songs for each of his albums, "Mist" and "At 23," one titled "Silent Confession" and the other "Leap." The royalties he received for these two songs have already exceeded the combined earnings from "I, Nameless" and "Youthful Love Poems."
Lu Wei and Fang Yu's income is comparable to Ji Yan's, with Fang Yu slightly better off because he has more fashion events and his appearance fees are not low.
However, at present, "Yi" does not have any solo endorsements. The endorsements are basically done in the name of the group. This is because writing songs and acting are essentially about improvement, while endorsements are different. They are purely commercial and involve the distribution of benefits. "Yi" has seen many popular groups disband, and most of them are due to the uneven distribution of benefits among the members, whether it is endorsements or resources.
While they pursue their own development, they still want to release enough albums as a group, and then choose to separate when they get tired of it, or perhaps—never separate.
"I'm so envious, so very envious."
Without giving Xie Mingxuan a chance to reply, Ji Yan and his group extorted several meals from him in the group chat, with dates booked until next summer.
...
After the New Year's Eve dinner, Ji Yan received a picture from Ning Wei on his phone, along with the message "Happy New Year".
Ji Yan replied with a "Happy New Year," and casually added, "Your New Year's Eve dinner looks delicious."
The rabbit spun around happily, wiggling its bottom, seemingly very pleased with Ji Yan's praise.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
