Ch 3: The Cannon Fodder Won’t Play Along Anymore [QT]

The other three members of MRC had disliked Mu Xing from the very start.

Though all newcomers, Mu Xing had received extra attention from day one.

At that time, both the company’s higher-ups and the agent treated Mu Xing like a treasure, showing blatant favoritism toward him, giving him better treatment than the other three.

Mu Xing didn’t understand these undercurrents. When he tried to share with them, it was taken as pretentiousness.

They were all young and proud—who could accept such unequal treatment? The three quickly began to form their own clique, intentionally or not excluding Mu Xing. But at the time, Mu Xing was popular, and the company protected him, so they didn’t dare go too far.

Now, though they weren’t exactly famous, the three were still doing far better than Mu Xing, whose haters outnumbered his fans. He had become the one dragging the group down.

The exclusion went from subtle to blatant.

Captain Chang Yiming patted the other two on the shoulders. “Good work today, everyone. Go take a shower and get some rest.”

Xu Wen, wearing a black hoodie, gave a cold laugh. “Shame that after all that practice, the stage was still ruined by certain people.”

Seeing that Mu Xing seemed oblivious, he couldn’t hold back. He threw the bag in his hand heavily to the floor and raised his voice: “Seriously, if I were certain people, I’d be too ashamed to stay in this group. But some people have such thick skin—they can still enjoy their porridge!”

Mu Xing looked up, puzzled. “Why can’t I drink porridge?”

He disagreed with Xu Wen’s words. “My stomach’s not good. If I go hungry and make it worse, my condition will only get worse.”

Thinking of what the taxi driver had said earlier, he added, “Nothing is more important than your own health.”

“You—!” Xu Wen choked. “So you messed up on stage today, got us all scolded, and you don’t feel the least bit guilty?”

“I actually do feel very guilty,” Mu Xing said.

The original Mu Xing hadn’t just felt guilty—he’d felt so ashamed he couldn’t even face his teammates.

“Really?” Xu Wen sneered. “I sure can’t tell.”

Mu Xing paused, then asked in return, “You really can’t tell?”

Xu Wen rolled his eyes.

Mu Xing thought for a moment, then stood up and said earnestly to all three of them, “I didn’t perform well today, and I dragged you down. I really do feel guilty.”

Xu Wen: “…”

Is guilt something you just say with your mouth?

Putting on this act—who’s it for!

He snapped, “Who wants your fake apology? Do we need an apology? If you really feel guilty, go tell the company and quit the group. Stop dragging us down!”

Mu Xing nodded. “Don’t worry, I’ve already been thinking about that.”

Xu Wen: “Otherwise, don’t fake… Wait—what did you say?”

Mu Xing said, “My contract with the company doesn’t have much time left. I don’t really like life in the entertainment industry. I’ll talk to the company about it.”

Xu Wen and the other two members froze. They hadn’t expected Mu Xing to say it so naturally.

Who wouldn’t want to be a superstar in the spotlight? Especially since Mu Xing had once been so popular.

Xu Wen gave him a strange look, thinking he was acting oddly today.

But since Mu Xing usually didn’t talk much—and the three either treated him like air or mocked him—they didn’t know him well enough to guess that he now had a different soul inside.

The thing they had dreamed of was actually spoken aloud so easily?

Xu Wen thought he should be overjoyed, but looking at Mu Xing’s calm expression, he inexplicably felt stifled.

And who knew if he was telling the truth?

He sneered, “Hope you keep your word. If you really dare to tell the company, I’ll admit you’re a real man, and I’ll let bygones be bygones.”

Hearing this, Mu Xing looked at Xu Wen and confirmed, “You’re saying you’ll let bygones be bygones?”

Xu Wen’s eyes widened. “What do you mean? Are you questioning me?”

Mu Xing didn’t answer, but turned to Captain Chang Yiming and the other member, Xu Zijia, and asked, “What about you? Do you feel the same way as Xu Wen?”

The two didn’t quite understand, exchanged a glance, and Chang Yiming said, “We’ve lived under the same roof for nearly two years. Although you’ve dragged us down a lot, if you can take the initiative to tell the company you want to quit, whether or not it works out, Zijia and I will respect you as a real man. Let the past be the past.”

Mu Xing looked at the three well-groomed young men in front of him and nodded. “I understand what you mean. Since you’re done, it’s my turn to speak.”

Chang Yiming frowned. “What do you want to say?”

Mu Xing reviewed the memories in his mind. “Since we’re setting things straight, before we end this, there are things that need to be made clear.

“When MRC was first formed, I was at the peak of my online popularity. Back then, the company’s marketing used me almost entirely as the hook. How much traffic did you all get just from following the name Mu Xing?”

He looked at the three of them. “Did any of you ever thank me for that?”

Without waiting for an answer, he asked again:

“These past two years, with my poor stage performance—did I really hold you back? Did I really drag you down that much?”

The three stared at him. Under the white light, the young man—barefaced and looking even younger than his real age—watched them calmly and openly with those beautiful eyes once praised by fans as clear as a mirror.

Those eyes, once clouded with dejection and gloom, had once again become clean and pure, as if they could reflect all the hidden filth in the world.

“Every time I make a mistake on stage, it doesn’t take long before the internet is filled with comments about how people feel sorry for my teammates, along with all kinds of comparisons between me and you from every possible angle.”

“Now, with me, this so-called ‘useless teammate,’ as your backdrop, the other three members of MRC have become the ‘most unfortunate idols in the entertainment industry’—supposedly possessing the strongest abilities, yet being held back by me and unable to become truly famous.”

“Every time I make a mistake, your so-called ‘strength’ gets to rise another level.”

Mu Xing stopped speaking, watching the shifting expressions on their faces, and asked, “Is that really all just a coincidence?”

He asked them, “You’re always asking me if I feel guilty—but when you stepped on Mu Xing to climb higher, did you ever feel the slightest guilt toward him?”

After a moment of silence, Chang Yiming let out a small laugh and said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Mu Xing shook his head. “You understand. This isn’t fair.”

He looked at the three of them. “I’ve already apologized for the ways I’ve wronged you. Now, for the ways you’ve wronged me, you should also apologize to me.”

Chang Yiming chuckled. “Mu Xing, you must be too tired today—you’re starting to talk nonsense. Let’s talk about whatever it is tomorrow. For now, let’s all get some rest.”

He was the first to step toward his room.

Xu Zijia followed behind.

Xu Wen gave Mu Xing a complicated look, opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end, closed it again and left in silence.

Three doors shut without a sound.

Mu Xing looked at the three closed doors and muttered, “You guys really aren’t the least bit honest.”

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