Chapter 52 The End of Their Journey
In the fifth year since To5 debuted, Jiang Yilan started the first solo activity among the members.
He released a solo album with eight songs, and he was highly involved in the entire album, from the overall concept to the song selection. One of the songs was his own composition and was placed at the end of the album.
At the same time, the contracts between the members and the company were about to expire, and there were rumors that Wu Xingye did not plan to renew the contract. At first, most people did not believe it. To5 is still in a good momentum, and the development prospects of going solo are definitely not as good as staying in the popular group. But with Wu Xingye's absence from the year-end activities and others' vague explanations for his absence, fans gradually became uneasy.
Li Xi no longer cared about this person and had no time to care about him. All his energy was focused on his solo activities and he had lost a lot of weight.
He had always maintained a good figure, and if he lost any more weight, it would be too much. This made Tang Ruining feel distressed. He touched him several times and sighed: "It hurts my hands. Can you eat more?"
"I'm not eating less." Li Xi pushed his hand away, "It will be fine after the solo period."
Tang Ruining knew that he was tired, didn't sleep well, and was under a lot of mental pressure, so it would be strange if he didn't lose weight. He had no other choice but to watch him eat, accompany him to sleep, and take care of him in every detail every day. When he was scouting locations in other cities for his music video, Tang Ruining went with him, and was so clingy that even the staff couldn't stand it anymore.
"Is Tang Ruining like this in private?" a new employee asked in surprise. Another old employee was not surprised: "This 'private' is 'Jiang Yilan's limited edition', and no one else is worthy of it."
The dance for his solo hit this time was also very intense, and unlike when he was in a group, he didn't have short breaks. He danced the entire song by himself while singing at the same time. There was no shortcut other than to keep practicing.
Tang Ruining accompanied him while he was in the practice room. After several repetitions, he was exhausted and lay on the floor looking at the ceiling with stars in his eyes. Tang Ruining sat next to him.
"You know what, Ruining, the practice room makes me feel especially safe." After catching his breath, Li Xi said to him while Tang Ruining shielded the ceiling light for him.
“I used to come here when I didn’t know what I was holding on to and couldn’t see the future.”
I managed to get through those days and nights. Looking back now, it seems incredible.
"I understand." Tang Ruining leaned over, the light was completely blocked, Li Wei closed his eyes, and gave his lover a long kiss.
The solo performance was very good, the quality of the album and personal ability were there, the result was as expected.
They held a celebration banquet, booked a large flat, and invited everyone in the company. Li Xi originally thought that Wu Xingye would not come, just like in previous group activities, he assumed that he would not participate, and he didn't even think about this person. But halfway through the banquet, Li Wei saw him. Wu Xingye was alone in a corner of the venue, looking at her, and it seemed that he wanted to say something.
Li Xi turned around and glanced at Tang Ruining. He was talking to a senior executive of the company. Li Xi walked over alone and stopped a few steps away from Wu Xingye. "You're here?"
Everyone can see that Li Xi is in a good mood today. Wu Xingye raised the corner of his mouth and said with a smile: "Congratulations, you deserve such a good result this time."
Li Xi did not respond to his polite words, but just looked at him with a smile, waiting for him to get to the point.
After a while, Wu Xingye said, "I owe you an apology."
Maybe it’s because I’m leaving, so it doesn’t matter whether it’s truly from the heart or just to leave a way out for us to meet again in the future. Li Xi smiled and said, "That's not necessary."
"It's not just because of that time... I asked you to come out to Tang Ruining." Wu Xingye said. He took a breath and exhaled slowly. "I have always had a problem with you. It's my own problem. You didn't do anything wrong."
"I know." Li Xi still had the same attitude, "I can see it, and I know what you did."
"You, you know...what?"
"You did it on purpose when I was allergic." Li Xi saw his expression change and opened his mouth to ask something, but she spoke before he did, "It wasn't Rui Ning who told me. I was just a little suspicious at first, but I didn't think you would really do that kind of thing on purpose... But Rui Ning let something slip in a hurry that time, and then I was sure it was true."
After saying this, Li Wei shook his head slightly, with a mocking smile on his face, as if he still found it incredible when he thought about it. Why did they have to go to this extent?
Wu Xingye's face turned pale, and he didn't dare to look at him. Li Xi continued, "So there's no need. After you leave, it's best for us to pretend that we don't know each other. I wish you a bright future in the entertainment industry."
Despite the noise behind him, Li Xi still heard the sound of quick footsteps coming from behind him. He turned around and saw Tang Ruining.
Tang Ruining seemed to want to stand between the two of them, but Li Xi turned around to block him and straightened his collar.
Wu Xingye left when he saw him coming. Tang Ruining hugged his waist, not very happy. "What did he say to you?"
"Congratulate me and apologize to me."
Tang Ruining frowned even deeper and sneered, "Pretentious."
Li Xi pinched his chin and shook it, saying with a smile: "Don't let irrelevant people affect your mood."
They drank a lot of wine at the celebration banquet, and Li Xi's face had already turned red. Tang Ruining held his arms tighter, looked into his smiling eyes, and rubbed his lips, "It's too noisy here, how about we sneak away?"
Li Xi opened his eyes wide, "But I am the host of this celebration banquet."
Tang Ruining leaned close to his ear and said, "Master, you have to be responsible to me first."
Li Xi pinched his mouth, her face even redder than before, "Don't pretend you're so obedient."
He ran away with someone anyway and sneaked out through the side door.
It was drizzling outside. Li Xi looked up and felt the cool rain on her face, which was quite comfortable.
Wu Xingye hasn't left so soon. After he leaves, they will be active as a group of four. It would be a lie to say that there will be no impact without a lead singer. The fan base will also be hit hard.
The rain was getting heavier, so the two of them sat down on the edge of the eaves and chatted for a while.
About half an hour later, they saw Xie Yang walking out of the celebration banquet venue.
All the members for today have arrived, and Li Xi also spoke a few words to Xie Yang. Their group is developing quite well and they just released a single. Xie Yang looks much more mature than when he first debuted, and there is a hint of fatigue in his eyes and brows.
Xie Yang walked to a luxury car and a man got out.
"That's..." The man showed his side profile, and Li Xi was shocked, "...Ming Yi? How does Xie Yang know him?"
Tang Ruining laughed at him, "Are you stupid? Can't you see the relationship between these two people?"
"Ah..." Li Xi stared blankly at the two people standing opposite each other in the rain. Ming Yi said a few words, but Xie Yang kept his head down and did not answer. Then he stepped into the car before him.
Only then did Li Xi realize why Su Wen Ze had been so well behaved and even deliberately avoided Xie Yang when he saw him.
Two months later, the news that Wu Xingye would not renew his contract was officially released, but To5's activities were not interrupted, and the other four members continued to perform under the group name.
The next large-scale concert is coming soon, and all the previous songs have been re-divided into parts and choreographed. The one who replaces Wu Xingye's parts the most is Li Xi, because he has the best singing skills among the remaining four. Although his skills are not as good as lead singer Wu Xingye, he has already made everyone very satisfied.
This was also the first time they officially performed in front of fans since Wu Xingye left the team. During the talk, Rong Xiao did not shy away from explaining to the fans as the captain: "In the future, To5 will be active as a four-member group. Xingye has his own choice, and we all respect him. We are also very grateful to all the fans who stayed and continued to support us. Thank you so much."
The four of them held hands and bowed together. The audience responded enthusiastically. Yuan Zhiyan lowered his head and wanted to cry again. It was not that he was reluctant to part with Wu Xingye, but he was emotionally filled with many feelings.
When he stood up, he couldn't help it. He turned around and saw the annoying couple next to him who were looking at each other affectionately without letting go of each other. Yuan Zhiyan turned around and hugged Rong Xiao, buried his head in his shoulder and cried loudly.
The concert came to an end, and the solo travel plan that Li Wei promised Tang Ruining was also put on the agenda. They decided to go to a faraway country where few people knew them. They could go shopping on the streets, date in restaurants, hold hands in an amusement park, watch the sea and the sunset together, and kiss in the afterglow.
On the day of departure, both of them woke up very early, pushed two suitcases downstairs to wait for the car to take them there. They held hands from the moment they left the house, their fingers tightly intertwined, and they didn't let go of each other until they reached the airport.
They embarked on a journey that belonged only to them.
——End of text——
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