Ch 5: The Cannon Fodder Won’t Play Along Anymore [QT]

On the day Mu Xing left with his bag, Star Entertainment’s official account posted a Weibo statement, saying that their artist Mu Xing had terminated his contract with the company and withdrawn from MRC. Both parties parted on friendly terms, wishing Mu Xing a bright future.

Coincidentally, that day the members of MRC had an event scheduled, which was canceled at the last minute. The official explanation was that several members caught colds and went to the hospital together.

A cold isn’t a serious illness, so after showing some concern, fans quickly began expressing their joy over Mu Xing’s contract termination in the comments under the Weibo post:

[Great! This useless guy finally left the group. No more worrying about him dragging the others down.]

[Congratulations, congratulations. Wonder which company’s going to be his next victim.]

[Friendly parting—those who understand, understand.]

……

Only a small portion of fans who still liked Mu Xing were asking in fan groups and on Weibo about Mu Xing’s future plans.

They soon got an answer.

Mu Xing updated his own Weibo account with a video recorded on his phone.

No professional filming, no editing.

It was clearly a selfie video. In it, the young man wearing a simple hoodie jacket had endless green mountains behind him. He faced the camera with a smile free of any gloom:

“Hello everyone, I’m Mu Xing. Consider this video my farewell to you all…”

“I won’t be renewing a contract with any company, and I have no intention of continuing to work in the entertainment industry.”

His expression was calm and steady: “Actually, many netizens are right. I’m not suited for the stage, nor for being a star in the spotlight. Life in the mountains suits me much better.”

“After I post this video, I won’t be using this account anymore.”

“Goodbye.” Finally, he waved at the camera.

The video ended there.

Mu Xing, at least, had been a black-and-red trending celebrity. And since this was also a withdrawal statement, within less than half an hour of its posting, the video quickly shot up to the top ranks of the hot search.

[Whoa, directly quitting the industry? Is this real? I’m going to do twenty test papers to celebrate such a good thing!]

[Tsk, this is definitely another round of hype. Just wait, within half a year, I’ll definitely see news of ‘Mu Xing’s comeback.’]

[Quitting the industry voluntarily? That’s just for saving face. Anyone who’s seen that earlier video knows Mu Xing was abandoned by Star Entertainment. He clearly just couldn’t make it anymore.]

[Am I the only one who thinks… Mu Xing in the video actually looks really handsome?]

[You’re not alone upstairs. I think so too, but I didn’t dare say it before.]

[+1 to thinking he’s handsome. His fans have always praised his looks, and I never got it before, but just now… I really was struck by how good-looking he is.]

[Reporting in as a long-time face-fan of Xing Xing! He’s always been good-looking, but those stage outfits never suited him. Like this—simple, even barefaced—he’s absolutely stunning!]

Following the hashtag #MuXingAnnouncesQuittingTheEntertainmentIndustry#, the hashtag #MuXingVisuals# also gradually began to gain popularity.

But Mu Xing didn’t know this, nor did he care.

After posting that video, he logged out of the account.

At this moment, Mu Xing had just finished a more than six-hour ride from the county town, returning by evening to the hometown of this body—a very remote mountain village.

There weren’t many households in the village, and compared to when Mu Xing was little, it had become even more desolate.

Carrying his luggage, he walked toward his home. From behind came a shout: “Hey, young man up front, who are you?”

Mu Xing turned around. It was an old man in a straw hat, his skin tanned dark and covered in wrinkles.

Smiling, Mu Xing called back, “Uncle Fang, it’s me, Mu Xing.”

The old man squinted, walked two steps closer, looked at Mu Xing carefully, and broke into a smile: “Oh, it’s little Xing Xing. Weren’t you in the big city being a big star?”

Then he shook his head. “You’ve gotten thinner.”

Mu Xing said with a smile, “Being a big star isn’t fun. Home is more comfortable.”

Uncle Fang’s eyes crinkled into a smile, and he came over to take the suitcase from Mu Xing’s hand. “Come on, let’s go to Uncle’s house for dinner. I’ll tell your Aunt Xiu to make a few more dishes.”

Mu Xing quickly said, “No need, no need. I was planning to go home first.”

Uncle Fang cut him off: “You haven’t been back for two years. Can your house even be lived in? No food, no drink—are you going home to eat the northwest wind?”

Mu Xing froze. He really hadn’t thought of that.

It was true—after two years of being unoccupied, the house certainly wouldn’t be ready to live in right away. Not to mention that his family’s house was already in dilapidated condition, and now it was nearly dark, which made tidying up even less convenient.

In the end, he still went to Uncle Fang’s house. Aunt Xiu even planned to kill a chicken to stew, but Mu Xing quickly refused. Even so, the elderly couple still prepared a large table of dishes.

After dinner, Aunt Xiu led him to a room. “This is your cousin Zhi Lan’s room. After she got married, she only comes back once every few months. The quilt and pillows have all been washed clean, and they were just sun-dried yesterday—they’re nice and warm.”

Zhi Lan was Uncle Fang and Aunt Xiu’s only daughter and now worked as a teacher in the county town.

Mu Xing couldn’t help saying, “I’m really troubling you, Uncle Fang, Aunt Xiu.”

Aunt Xiu waved her hand, pretending to be displeased. “What are you saying, child? Your Uncle Fang and I watched you grow up—you’re no different from our own child. You used to be so generous when you were young, how come after two years away you’ve become distant?”

Mu Xing touched his nose in embarrassment, thought for a moment, then smiled. “Then I won’t be polite.”

He stretched lazily and said with a drawl, “I have to admit, after traveling around for more than ten hours straight, I really am tired.”

Aunt Xiu quickly said, “Then why don’t you hurry and rest?”

“Okay!”

Mu Xing really was tired. After seeing off the enthusiastic aunt, he quickly took a shower, yawned, and dove into the soft, warm quilt, soon sinking into sleep.

*

Early the next morning, after eating breakfast at Uncle Fang’s house, Mu Xing finally returned to his own home.

Even though he already knew from memory what Mu Xing’s house looked like, actually opening the door and seeing it still left him a bit stunned.

It was too run-down.

There was hardly any decent furniture. The walls were mottled, with many cracks, and in one spot, a blade of grass was even growing out.

Mu Xing decisively turned around and left. Over the past two years, Mu Xing had still made some money—enough to fix the house easily. He planned to go ask Uncle Fang where he could find a builder.

Just then, he heard lively voices behind him. Turning around, he saw Uncle Fang at the front, followed by a dozen uncles and aunts, each carrying tools and smiling at him.

Uncle Fang said with a smile, “I said little Xing Xing has come back and will be staying for a while. So when I told them, everyone came to help you fix up the house.”

“That’s right, we all thought you wouldn’t be coming back, so we never touched the place.”

“It’s definitely not livable right now.”

“Little Xing Xing is getting more and more handsome, huh.”

Mu Xing stood frozen in place, looking at those weathered, not-so-handsome old faces. Suddenly, he understood why, after seeing all the splendor of the outside world, the original owner’s heart had still been tied to this backward, poor little village.

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