Dark Fire chapter 34
Not a Good Person
At 1 PM, Ling Zhuo appeared at the photo studio for the shoot of next month’s new album cover and promotional photos.
While getting his makeup done, Zhong Yiran handed him a cup of milk tea. Ling Zhuo took it and thanked him.
Zhong Yiran asked, “I heard Jing Jie is helping you find a new place. Are you moving out of the dorm soon?”
Ling Zhuo avoided his gaze, “Yeah, she said the dorm lease ends at the end of the year, and the company might not renew it. We’ll have to move out by then. Liu Ge mentioned this before, right?”
“He did,” Zhong Yiran said helplessly. “Now everyone has their own work, living separately would be more convenient and avoid disturbing others. Liu Ge said he’ll find us separate places.”
Ling Zhuo nodded and fell silent.
“Ling Zhuo,” Zhong Yiran hesitated, “you…”
He didn’t finish his sentence, and Ling Zhuo didn’t press. He lowered his head and absentmindedly drank his milk tea.
Fortunately, the crew soon called them back to work, and Zhong Yiran was also summoned away.
Ling Zhuo put down his milk tea cup listlessly, lost in thought. His phone buzzed with a WeChat message from Lu Chixie.
“Focus on your work and stop overthinking.”
Ling Zhuo: “…”
Was this guy monitoring him somehow?
After that, they busied themselves with the shoot—posing, adjusting outfits, repeating the process over and over. Everyone’s expression was somewhat numb, but knowing this might be their last group photo shoot like this, they reluctantly rallied.
During breaks, they sat together, chatting idly.
Qi Liangli originally hadn’t paid attention to anyone, buried in his phone. After a while, he suddenly spoke up, “Did you guys see Weibo? There’s a hot topic about our group disbanding.”
The other four reacted differently. Ling Zhuo was the first to pull out his phone and open Weibo.
Indeed, it was trending—the news that their group might disband, sparked by a major marketing account leaking rumors of Zhang Xun leaving and changing agencies. With their contracts expiring next year, the idea of disbanding had been around, but today it unexpectedly blew up.
Not only that, but Zhong Yiran and Deng Lanluo’s personal resources were also exposed together. All the marketing accounts were posting similar messages, and fans from various sides were engaging in heated battles and confrontations.
Especially Ling Zhuo’s fans who reacted the most intensely. They were eagerly anticipating Ling Zhuo’s solo debut or leaving the group, but now someone else was the first to go. Ling Zhuo had been eagerly waiting for the concert, but it turned out someone else’s personal resources were being managed during the concert period. How could they remain calm? Adding to the earlier incident where their endorsements were snatched away, even if they confronted Ling Zhuo’s teammates and the company directly, it was hard for them to vent their anger.
Ling Zhuo frowned after reading for a while, and sent a message to Zhang Jing: “Jing Jie, have you seen what’s trending on Weibo?”
Just as he put down his phone, Zhang Xun suddenly confronted him, his face dark: ‘What’s with these marketing accounts and trends? Your fans seem to know exactly where to strike. Did you and your agent do this? Just because I’m leaving, and stole your limelight. Do you really have to target us like this?”
Every marketing account that mentioned the three of them, especially him, subtly implied that they were ungrateful and treacherous. Zhang Xun had a quick temper, and couldn’t bear it anymore. Besides Ling Zhuo and his agent, he couldn’t think of anyone else who would buy such marketing accounts and trends, so he immediately started attacking Ling Zhuo.
Ling Zhuo frowned and said, “I don’t know, it has nothing to do with me.”
Zhang Xun retorted, “How does it have nothing to do with you? If not you, then who?!”
Qi Liangli stepped in to defend Ling Zhuo: “What do you mean? Why suspect Zhuo Ge for no reason? There are plenty of people who envy our group. How did it become Zhuo Ge who bought the marketing accounts and trends? Are you out of your mind? Besides, those marketing accounts didn’t say anything wrong. If you don’t think you’re ungrateful, why feel guilty?”
Zhang Xun raised his voice, “You’re the one who’s out of your mind. If it weren’t for him buying all those marketing accounts to talk about how much injustice he’s suffered, how worthless it is, who among those envious of our group would be so kind as to help the top star sell his misery?’
He emphasized the words “top star,” clearly insinuating something sarcastic.
Qi Liangli was so angry that he was about to roll up his sleeves, “Do you want to fight? Zhuo Ge’s status as a top star is bothering you? What are you poking at? You might as well just admit you’re jealous of him!”
Zhang Xun replied, “What did I say wrong? Why are you defending him? Only you are so naive. Until now, you still don’t have any personal resources, and he doesn’t even look at you. If one day you also get good resources, see if he won’t be wary and target you too!’
“That’s enough, stop talking,” Zhong Yiran interrupted them, “Don’t accuse people without evidence.”
Zhang Xun sneered, “‘Captain, his fans have been cursing you for years, calling you a vampire, saying you cling to others. Can you really endure.?”
Zhong Yiran also turned cold, “I said, without evidence, don’t casually accuse people.”
Deng Lanluo frowned and looked at Ling Zhuo, asking him, “Ling Zhuo, do you really not know?”
Ling Zhuo stood up, threw out a sentence, “I’m going out to make a phone call,” and left regardless of what others might say, heading outside.
He called Zhang Jing in the corridor. She answered quickly, and Ling Zhuo asked directly, “Jing Jie, did you know about what’s trending on Weibo?”
Zhang Jing replied irritably, “Are you suspecting me? I have better things to do. Those few people are indeed ungrateful, but I don’t care about those resources. They are far from your level. Why would I bother targeting them? If I have money to buy marketing accounts and trends, I’d rather use it for positive publicity for you.”
Ling Zhuo could tell from her tone that it couldn’t have been her: “Do you know then, who did buy them?”
After a moment of hesitation, Zhang Jing said, “Those few people have been quite active lately. With so many people in your group watching, and new idol shows launching on various platforms soon, the idol market is so small. There isn’t enough cake to go around, so anyone could have bought them. Don’t think too much about it. It’s just for fans to vent their frustrations, it won’t change anything.”
Ling Zhuo fell silent.
Zhang Jing probably sensed his mood and asked, “You were supposed to be shooting new album promotional photos with them today, right? Did you argue with them? Do they really think it was me, or even you, who bought those trending topics and marketing accounts to smear them?”
Ling Zhuo didn’t say a word. Zhang Jing sighed, “So what’s the point of staying with such a group? After all these years, there’s not even basic trust. I feel sorry for you.”
Ling Zhuo replied quietly, “… It’s fine.”
Arguments aside, the shoot had to continue.
The group manager, Liu Tao couldn’t make it to the shoot due to something urgent, so it was up to Zhong Yiran, the captain, to coordinate everyone. Zhang Xun kept glaring at Ling Zhuo, but he respected Zhong Yiran enough to follow his lead. Ling Zhuo remained silent, following the staff’s arrangements, and finally managed to barely finish the work.
At the end of the shoot, Ling Zhuo stopped Zhang Xun. In front of the others, he said, “I’ll say this once. Whether you believe it or not, I didn’t do it, nor did Jing Jie.”
Zhang Xun naturally didn’t believe him, snorted, and walked away.
Qi Liangli wanted to comfort Ling Zhuo, but Deng Lanluo called him over, and Deng Lanluo looked back at Zhong Yiran, giving him a glance before leaving with Qi Liangli.
Ling Zhuo packed up his things, and Zhong Yiran apologized to him, “Zhang Xun has always been outspoken. Don’t take it to heart. He was wrong today. I’ll talk to him later.”
“Forget it, Captain,” Ling Zhuo interrupted him, “It’s really okay now.”
After a slight hesitation, he asked Zhong Yiran, “Captain, do you think I did it?”
Zhong Yiran replied firmly, “No, I know you wouldn’t do something like that.”
Ling Zhuo continued, “But it wasn’t Jing Jie either. Do you believe that?”
Zhong Yiran hesitated for a moment, then said, “Ling Zhuo, don’t worry about these things. I don’t want this incident to affect everyone’s relationships.”
Ling Zhuo said firmly, “You don’t believe it wasn’t Jing Jie.”
His tone was resolute, “And neither would I if I were in your shoes.”
Moreover, Zhang Jing had also done similar things before. Last time when his personal assistant was promoted to the team assistant, Zhang Jing was upset and leaked information, leading his fans to engage in a big fight. This time such a thing happened, naturally everyone would first think of Zhang Jing. After all, accurately exposing the whereabouts and resources of several of them, the source of the information could be said to be well-informed, and the probability of being someone around them was obviously higher.
Ling Zhuo couldn’t describe what he was feeling right now. From the perspective of a bystander, he could understand Zhang Xun and others’ thoughts. But as a participant, saying he wasn’t disappointed would be insincere. Even if Zhong Yiran didn’t trust him, it wasn’t his own decision.
But he always hoped that Zhong Yiran would unconditionally stand by his side.
After packing up, Ling Zhuo nodded at Zhong Yiran, “I’m going back first.”
Zhong Yiran stopped him by the arm as he passed by, “Ling Zhuo, let’s have dinner together.”
Ling Zhuo replied, “… No, I have a lot of scenes to film tomorrow, haven’t finished memorizing my lines yet, and I still have homework to do when I get back. Maybe next time.”
It was almost seven o’clock by the time they returned to the hotel. During dinner, Ling Zhuo received another WeChat message from Lu Chixie, saying he had just finished work and was having dinner. Lu Chixie sent a photo of a table full of delicious food, saying it was a treat from an advertising client.
Ling Zhuo casually took a photo of his dinner table and replied, “Having dinner.”
Half a minute later, Lu Chixie responded, “Nice, behaving yourself, not going out.”
Ling Zhuo asked, “Are you checking on me?”
Lu Chixie replied, “Hmm, just seeing if you’re misbehaving while your boyfriend’s away.”
Ling Zhuo couldn’t be bothered to argue with him.
After dinner, Yang Ming helped him tidy up a bit, then he returned to his room. Ling Zhuo, feeling bored, sat on the sofa watching TV to pass the time. He hadn’t told Zhong Yiran the truth; he had actually memorized tomorrow’s lines long ago. He just didn’t feel like going.
Suddenly, Lu Chixie’s face appeared on the TV screen. Ling Zhuo focused, watching intently.
It was a Republic-era espionage film Lu Chixie had filmed last year. He played a young undercover member of the Communist Party, infiltrating enemy organizations and rising to the rank of a senior officer. Lu Chixie looked sharp in military uniform, holding a gun and casually smiling, exuding a hint of wickedness.
Ling Zhuo stared at the screen, thinking to himself that Lu Chixie seemed to bring a sense of flair to any role he played, truly born for this.
His phone rang, and he saw Lu Chixie’s name on the caller ID, answering it.
The episode on TV had ended, so he turned it off absentmindedly, got up, and walked out onto the balcony to talk to Lu Chixie.
Upon hearing his voice, Lu Chixie asked, “Feeling down?”
Ling Zhuo replied, “You can tell?”
Lu Chixie said, “I guessed.”
Ling Zhuo hesitated for a moment, then admitted, “I had a conflict with my teammates this afternoon.”
Lu Chixie asked, “Because of that trending topic?”
“You saw it too?” Ling Zhuo responded. “Yeah,” he sighed, “they think if it wasn’t me, it was my agent who bought the trending topic, trying to provoke fans intentionally against them. But I really didn’t do it, neither did Jing jie. Why won’t they believe us?”
Lu Chixie asked, “Do you care if they believe you or not?”
“It’s not that,” Ling Zhuo muttered, “it’s just frustrating. Clearly I didn’t do it… even the team captain believes me, but not my agent. Maybe he still thinks Jing jie kept it from me, or he thinks I misplaced my trust in Jing jie.”
“You’re bothered by this, huh?” Lu Chixie remarked.
When Zhang Jing mentioned leaving the group again today, Ling Zhuo did feel a sense of exhaustion and powerlessness he had never felt before.
A voice in his heart kept repeating, Maybe it’s better to just let it go, to stop insisting.
But he couldn’t help wanting to complain to someone.
Ling Zhuo said, “… I guess I can only tell you these things. It wouldn’t be appropriate to tell anyone else.”
Lu Chixie chuckled on the other end. “Should I feel honored that you’re confiding in me?”
Ling Zhuo replied, “Can’t you just comfort me?”
“Alright,” Lu Chixie said, “Ultimately, it’s about facing the truth. Isn’t it good that you see things clearly now? What else can’t you let go of? Didn’t expect you to have such team spirit? Or are you just reluctant to part with that great captain of yours?”
“It’s not that,” Ling Zhuo said seriously. “I just think my previous thoughts were too simple, too naive. I idealized some things too much.”
“Human hearts are treacherous,” Lu Chixie reminded him.
“Maybe,” Ling Zhuo replied.
“Don’t overthink it,” Lu Chixie advised. “Things will get better in the future.”
Ling Zhuo gripped his phone tightly and hesitated before asking, “Teacher Lu, what about you? Would you disappoint me?”
There was a quiet pause on the other end before Lu Chixie replied, “Ling Zhuo, I’m not a good person.”
“What?” Ling Zhuo exclaimed.
Lu Chixie continued, “I’m controlling, have a bad temper, possessive, and do things recklessly to achieve my goals. But I don’t plan on changing. Are you prepared for that?”
“Are you trying to scare me?” Ling Zhuo asked.
“Just so you don’t idealize me too much,” Lu Chixie said with another laugh.
“So what?” Ling Zhuo asked.
Lu Chixie replied, “So if you’re with me, you have to be prepared for all that.”
Ling Zhuo didn’t know what he meant, but he didn’t dwell on it. “It’s not like I didn’t know about your personality from day one.”
Lu Chixie laughed again, “Just remember this.”