Confession before the finals
The night before the finals, the dressing room seemed drained of all sound, leaving only the hum of the central air conditioning. Yun Heng sat in front of the mirror, her fingertips unconsciously stroking the makeup remover pad. The person in the mirror had dark circles under her eyes, her lips pressed into a straight line, and even the lines of her neck were tense.
The final is tomorrow.
This stage, the one he'd tried so hard to escape, had now become the final straw. The directors had just announced a "special surprise" for the finals night. Combined with the finals schedule Assistant Yu Xiao had slipped him that afternoon—his name circled in red next to the center-position debut awards ceremony—Yun Heng's stomach began to churn.
It was like this again. It was Yu Xiao's arrangement again.
He grabbed his coat and wanted to go out for some fresh air. As soon as he opened the door, he ran into an embrace that smelled of cedar.
Yu Xiao stood at the doorway, his figure erect yet strangely tense. The sleeves of his black shirt were rolled up to his elbows, revealing a few shallow scars on his forearms—the result of being scratched by glass the other day when the rooftop went haywire. He clutched a small velvet box, his knuckles white as if he were holding something scalding hot.
"What's up?" Yun Heng took a half step back, putting some distance between them. Her tone was as cold as ice. They hadn't spoken in three days since that rooftop moment. They'd deliberately avoided each other during training, chosen the farthest seat at mealtimes, and even the camera-triggered attempts to create a shared frame were dismissed by Yun Heng with the most rigid of body language.
Yu Xiao didn't say anything, but simply squeezed into the dressing room and locked the door. A soft "click" sound blocked out the cheers of the couple's fans and the footsteps of the staff.
"Tomorrow..." Yu Xiao's voice was a little hoarse. He took half a step forward and stopped, as if he was afraid of scaring the other person. "Don't be nervous."
Yun Heng twitched his lips, revealing a mocking smile. "With Master Yu's arrangements, why should I be nervous?" He paused, his gaze landing on the box in Yu Xiao's hand. "What 'surprise' have you prepared? Are you going to just give me the championship trophy, or announce our 'relationship' right there and then?"
Yu Xiao's brows knitted together, and his Adam's apple rolled: "That's not what I meant."
"Then what do you mean?" Yun Heng's voice suddenly rose, three days of pent-up grievances and anger bursting out like a flood. "Are you trying to tell me how glorious it is to have that C position you arranged? Or are you trying to show off how much negative information you've suppressed with money? Yu Xiao, do you think this will make up for what happened on the rooftop? Will it make me forget you almost pushed me off?"
He became increasingly agitated as he spoke, his chest heaving violently, his eyes reddening. "I'm telling you, it's impossible! Your money, your arrangements, your apology... in my eyes, they're all like the railings on the rooftop, dirty and disgusting!"
The last sentence was like a needle, piercing Yu Xiao's heart. He suddenly opened the velvet box in his hand, revealing a plain ring inside - silver, without any pattern, simple and even a little ordinary, but warmed by Yu Xiao's body heat.
"This wasn't arranged." Yu Xiao's voice was soft, with a barely perceptible tremor. "I had a craftsman make it myself." He took out the ring and handed it to Yun Heng, his fingertips trembling violently. "There's words engraved on the inside."
Yun Heng's gaze fell on the inside of the ring. With the light from the makeup mirror, she could see two small characters - "Heng" and "Xiao", which were connected by connected strokes like tangled vines.
His heart skipped a beat, and he subconsciously tried to step back, but Yu Xiao grabbed his wrist. This time, the force was very light, with a cautious and tentative look, as if he would let go immediately if Yun Heng struggled even a little.
"Wait until the game is over." Yu Xiao's Adam's apple rolled again, his eyes reddened. He looked like something Yun Heng had never seen before—no longer the assertiveness and playfulness of the past, only frank nervousness and a subtle hint of vulnerability. "Give me a chance, okay? Don't just treat this as a game of capital."
Yun Heng was stunned.
He looked at Yu Xiao's reddened eyes, at the clear reflection of himself in them, at the simple, plain ring—this was so different from Yu Xiao's usual ways. No threats, no calculations, not even that suffocating desire for control. Only a clumsy, pleading confession remained.
Memories suddenly flooded back uncontrollably.
He recalled their first encounter, the boy squatting in the corridor wiping water stains with the sun shining on his head; he recalled how he stubbornly wanted to be in a solo group during the team formation, only to be poked in the back by the other party with the "3,000 yuan loss of work compensation"; he recalled the assessment, Yu Xiao singing "My Rose" on the stage, his eyes burning as if burning through him; he remembered how he put his coat on his shoulders in the rainstorm and said in a low voice, "I'm not laughing at you"; he even remembered the flash of panic in Yu Xiao's eyes before the rooftop went out of control...
These fragments are like puzzle pieces, suddenly piecing together a vague outline at this moment - perhaps, there is really something else hidden in this entanglement that started with capital.
"I..." Yun Heng opened her mouth, wanting to say "impossible", wanting to say "we are not the same kind of people", but found that those words seemed to be blocked and she couldn't say them.
For the first time, he didn't say "no".
The air seemed to freeze at this moment. The light from the makeup mirror softly fell on the two of them, reflecting the surprise in Yu Xiao's eyes and Yun Heng's shock.
Suddenly, a raucous cheer erupted from outside the door. Couple fans, holding up signboards, passed through the hallway, shouting, "Xiao Heng is locked!" and "We're giving out sweets in the finals." Their voices were loud enough to penetrate the door. Then, through the crack in the door, came the whispered report from Yu Xiao's assistant, so clear it seemed intended for Yun Heng to hear: "Master Yu, all the negative information has been suppressed. The debut position for the finals has been arranged. Yun Heng will definitely be the center of the debut. I've already arranged all the resources..."
Yun Heng suddenly came to her senses and shook off Yu Xiao's hand as if she had been scalded.
Yes. How could he forget?
Forget that this person is Yu Xiao, the crown prince of the Yu Group, the capital itself that can settle everything with money and power. Even if the fragility in his eyes is real, the ring in his hand is real, and the words "Don't treat it as a game of capital" are true - but the C position he arranged, the negative information he suppressed, and the ubiquitous control are also real.
"I don't want your chance." Yun Heng's voice turned cold. He pointed at the door and said, "Please go out."
Yu Xiao's face paled instantly. Seeing the alienation that had returned to Yun Heng's eyes, he felt as if he had been splashed with ice water, chilling even his fingertips. "Yun Heng, listen to my explanation. Those arrangements..."
"I don't want to hear it." Yun Heng interrupted him, her tone resolute. "Whether you're sincere or not, I don't want you anymore. After the finals, we're even."
After saying that, he turned and walked to the makeup mirror, picked up the makeup remover cotton, and began to wipe his cheeks vigorously in front of the mirror, as if trying to wipe away the momentary hesitation just now.
Yu Xiao stood there, clutching the plain ring. The cheers and the assistant's reports continued outside, as if mocking his presumptuousness. He looked at Yun Heng's tense back and suddenly felt a fishy sensation in his throat.
It turns out that once some damage is done, there is really no going back. Even if he takes off all his armor and shows his most sincere heart, he still can't warm the broken heart.
Yu Xiao slowly clenched his fist, the ring rubbing against his palm causing pain. He said nothing more, only gave Yun Heng a deep look from behind, turned around, opened the door, and walked out.
The door was closed gently, and the silence in the dressing room returned.
Yun Heng looked in the mirror, his red eyes visible, and suddenly realized that his makeup remover pad was stained with tears. He raised his hand to wipe his face, but the more he wiped, the wetter it became.
What was he expecting? Was he hoping for Yu Xiao to become an ordinary person without the financial support? Was he hoping for a clean ending to this relationship that had begun with calculation?
That's ridiculous.
The noise outside gradually faded, leaving only the hum of the central air conditioning. Yun Heng picked up the ring that Yu Xiao had left on the dressing table and ran his fingertips over the engraving on the inside. The cool touch of the metal seemed to remind him of something.
He stuffed the ring into his coat pocket, took a deep breath, and pushed open the dressing room door.
The corridor was empty, lit only by the dim green glow of the emergency lights. In the distance, the director's voices shouted, "Final rehearsal," as if urging this farce to its final chapter.
Yunheng walked towards the rehearsal room with firm steps.
Regardless of whether tomorrow's C position was arranged or not, regardless of whether Yu Xiao's confession was sincere or not, he would stand in this final. If for nothing else, just to give himself an explanation, to put an end to those days that were controlled by capital.
But he didn't notice that he was holding the plain ring in his pocket tighter and tighter until his palms were sweating.
At the other end of the corridor, Yu Xiao stood in the shadows, watching Yun Heng's back disappear at the door of the rehearsal room. He held his phone in his hand, and on the screen was the last message from his assistant: "Master Yu, do you really not want the center position? All the resources have been connected..."
Yu Xiao's fingertips hovered over the screen for a long time before he slowly typed out two words: "Cancel."
He turned and walked in the opposite direction, his back looking particularly lonely in the green light of the emergency light.
Perhaps, the last thing he could do was to truly return the right of choice to Yun Heng.
Even if it means he loses everything.
The night before the finals was destined to be a sleepless one. Some cheered for their debut, others worried about hidden scandals, and still others busied themselves with the arrangements of their investors. And the plain ring left in the dressing room, along with the two young men's respective concerns, lay in the silent hallway, awaiting the judgment at dawn.
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