Ch 2: The Cannon Fodder Won’t Play Along Anymore [QT]

Li Xin almost thought he was hearing things.

His first reaction wasn’t even anger—it was doubt.

Through the lenses of his glasses, he comically widened his eyes and stared hard at Mu Xing, almost unable to believe that those mocking words had actually come out of the mouth of this guy who normally wouldn’t make a peep.

But there were only two people in the dressing room. After speaking, the man in front of him didn’t even look at him again, simply reached for the tissues on the table.

A beat late, Li Xin’s anger flared instantly. He shouted, “Mu Xing! What did you just say? Are you crazy?”

Mu Xing paid no mind to his anger. He pulled out a tissue, neatly folded all four corners, and wiped the water droplets off his face. Looking at him in puzzlement, he asked, “Was my voice too quiet just now? Or was I not clear enough?”

Li Xin: “…”

“Well.” Li Xin took a deep breath, looked Mu Xing up and down, and let out an angry laugh. “You’ve really grown today—you even know how to talk back. What, have you realized you don’t have what it takes to be popular and given up? Let yourself go? Or have you just always had a problem with me and finally couldn’t hold it in today?”

“I knew it—you’re not as honest as you look, you little ingrate!”

He looked at Mu Xing with contempt. “But you’d better understand this, Mu Xing—everything you have today, you have because of me, Li Xin! Without me, you’d still be in some mountain ditch playing in the mud!”

Mu Xing recalled the memories in his mind and seriously refuted him: “If I remember correctly, you were the one who grabbed my hand and wouldn’t let go, begging me to sign a contract and begging me to enter the entertainment industry.”

Li Xin: “…”

So angry he almost became clear-headed, Li Xin reined in his temper and gave Mu Xing a strange look.

A person who liked to overthink wouldn’t realize that Mu Xing was simply stating a fact.

A man who had always been silent and weak suddenly turning tough and even bringing up old grievances—Li Xin thought it over and decided there could only be one reason: Mu Xing wanted something.

“What do you want?” he suddenly asked.

Mu Xing gave him a strange look. He knew Li Xin bore him no goodwill, but he couldn’t figure out what this man was thinking now.

He shook his head and said nothing.

Li Xin, seeing this, sneered. “Fine, tough guy!”

“I won’t argue with you—this is just lowering my level. But Mu Xing, people have to pay for their impulses. From now on, don’t go to the practice room. All your activities are suspended.”

Without even looking at Mu Xing, Li Xin turned and left.

Today, he was going to teach Mu Xing a lesson: to be tough, you need to have something to back it up.

Without it, even a washed-up little nobody dared to talk tough to his face?

Mu Xing stood in the empty dressing room, looking baffled at the agent’s storming back.

Leaving the room, he ran into a staff member and learned that Star Entertainment’s car had just left. The staffer asked if Mu Xing needed help calling a taxi. Mu Xing shook his head and thanked him.

Just then, his phone buzzed in his pocket. Mu Xing glanced at the message—it was from his assistant, Xiao An, assigned by the company, saying that Brother Li had given him time off, so he wouldn’t be coming by for the next few days.

As for how many days, Xiao An didn’t say. This was Li Xin’s way of putting him in his place—most likely, Xiao An would only come back to work once Mu Xing went to “admit his mistake.”

Following what he remembered, Mu Xing used an app to call a ride. Once in the car, a sudden cramp twisted in his stomach, and he instinctively pressed a hand to it.

From the rearview mirror, the taxi driver glanced at him. With a hat on, the man’s face was hard to see, but from his build and clothing, the driver could tell he was a young guy.

“Young man, is your stomach bothering you?” the driver asked.

Mu Xing rubbed his belly and made a slightly displeased “mm” in reply.

The driver began to chatter away, saying that young people these days had terrible schedules—his daughter too, staying up all night and sleeping all day on vacation, no matter how much he scolded her, she wouldn’t change…

Mu Xing listened attentively and didn’t find it annoying. At least this uncle’s voice was much nicer than that of his agent earlier.

Soon they reached the destination. As Mu Xing got out, the driver reminded him, “Young man, don’t work yourself too hard. You can never earn all the money, but your health is the most important.”

Mu Xing nodded in agreement. “Makes sense.”

He watched the taxi speed away, then turned and walked into the residential complex behind him.

Opening the door, he found the apartment quiet; none of the other roommates were back yet.

To build rapport and chemistry, the four members of MRC lived together. Unfortunately, their relationship had never been good from the start.

In his room, Mu Xing found two bags of milk powder, made a big cup of hot milk, and drank it down. The cramping in his stomach eased considerably.

He ordered takeout and, while waiting for it, took a shower.

Only after taking off his clothes did Mu Xing realize just how thin this body was. Looking down, he could clearly see the lines of his ribs under his pale skin.

Li Xin said being thin looked better on camera and strictly controlled his diet—especially forbidding him from eating any staple food at night.

With the company’s heavy training load, inadequate nutrition, and the double burden of psychological stress, Mu Xing’s weight had dropped rapidly over the past two years, and his complexion had worsened. Li Xin even claimed this was good—that fans liked the pale and sickly look.

As he showered, Mu Xing thought: Star Entertainment’s decline was no mystery—you could see plenty of problems just from Li Xin, the agent.

They had no aesthetic sense of their own, blindly believing in so-called market demands, without even knowing what actually suited their own company’s artists.

This body of Mu Xing’s had very clear strengths—delicate, handsome looks, a pure and clean temperament, and the vibrant vitality of a child raised in the mountains.

Li Xin had many ways he could have created an idol with a rare style in the market.

But what did Li Xin do after signing Mu Xing?

He made him lose weight until he was unnaturally thin, polished away his natural vitality, forced heavy idol-style makeup on him, and made him “blend into the crowd,” just another background piece among countless performers on stage.

And then Mu Xing faded into obscurity.

Apart from a small handful of die-hard face-fans, most of his supporters left the fandom, and even more turned into anti-fans. Even the video that had first made Mu Xing go viral was, in their eyes, reinterpreted as a deliberate marketing ploy.

Li Xin, meanwhile, mourned the fact that Mu Xing hadn’t brought him the expected profits, while placing all the blame on Mu Xing—completely unaware of his own mistakes.

“Meow~”

The sound outside the bathroom door interrupted Mu Xing’s thoughts.

He put on his clothes and opened the door.

A round, gray “coal ball” was scratching at the door. When it saw Mu Xing come out, it let out a happy mewl, jumped to his feet, and with a “plop,” settled on the top of his foot without moving.

It had some weight to it.

Mu Xing moved his foot but couldn’t shake the cat off.

This was his roommate Xu Wen’s precious British Blue, Mei Mei—a haughty little thing who, according to memory, would only let Xu Wen hold her when she was in the mood.

What was going on now?

The little creature lying on his foot, seeing no reaction from him, let out two more dainty cries.

Mu Xing could actually hear a hint of urging in the sound. He pinched the loose skin at the back of her neck and lifted her into his arms. Sure enough, she didn’t struggle, happily clutching his collar and mewing sweetly.

Mu Xing searched his memories but found no sign of the cat ever being close to the original Mu Xing. Just then, his phone rang. He set the cat on the sofa to take the call.

“Hello?”

His hem suddenly sagged—there was a cat pendant clinging to him again.

In the end, with the cat hanging from his arms, Mu Xing went out to pick up his takeout.

When he opened the box, the rich aroma of fresh meat porridge wafted out.

Mei Mei mewed, wriggling further into his arms.

Mu Xing: “…Hungry?”

He said warily, “This is my dinner!”

Mei Mei clutched his collar, mewing a few more times, without even glancing at the bowl of porridge.

Not trying to eat?

Relieved, Mu Xing decided to let the cat hang there if she wanted.

It was at that moment that his three roommates noisily returned.

They seemed to be chatting about something, laughing loudly.