Chapter 29
Chapter 29
First release on Jinjiang Literature City
“San Ge.”
Bai Li comforted the just-injected Tan Yi by rubbing against him and even offered his soft little belly for San Ge to touch: “Don’t cry anymore, we won’t get injections tomorrow.”
Tan Yi held back the tears caused by pain, stubbornly said, “Li Li, San Ge didn’t cry, these are physiological tears.”
“Physiological tears?” Bai Li asked confusedly.
Tan Yi stroked his little brother’s soft belly and explained: “Physiological tears mean that subjectively I didn’t cry, but because of physical injury, tears appeared.”
He explained it over and over but it all meant the same thing—he simply didn’t cry.
Bai Li nodded vaguely, seeing San Ge’s eyes were no longer red, then climbed out of San Ge’s grasp.
Dinner was eaten in the ward.
Tan Yi had his manager buy a lot of tasty food. Once the food was placed on the table, Tan Yi waved his hand, not allowing the manager to watch him here.
Once the manager left, only the two brothers were left in the ward.
“Li Li, come, have some meat.”
Tan Yi had ordered all human food, which ordinary pet cats couldn’t eat, but their Li Li wasn’t an ordinary cat, he was a cat from the Demon Mountain.
Bai Li wolfed down the meat in one bite; the sauce on the meat smelled delicious!
“Is it tasty?”
Tan Yi fed his little brother while nervously asking.
Compared to the Xie family’s meals, the ingredients weren’t as good.
“Delicious!”
Bai Li’s eyes sparkled, giving his approval: “I want more.”
Tan Yi was happy seeing him enjoy it.
“Come, San Ge will feed you.”
Bai Li shook his head, refusing San Ge’s feeding. San Ge fed too slowly, which affected his eating.
Tan Yi served a full bowl of rice, added various dishes, and finally Bai Li even had him mix it all together before he started eating.
Full and satisfied, Bai Li lay on the bed being petted by San Ge and noticed the ring on San Ge’s hand.
“Meow meow.”San Ge, how much is your ring?
“This was given by a sponsor; I didn’t spend any money. But this ring’s official website price is 120,000 yuan.”
Tan Yi said, taking off the ring: “Li Li, do you want it? I’ll give it to you.”
“I don’t want it.”
Bai Li only asked about the price out of curiosity because...
He used the money he earned from working to buy the same sparkling ring for Xie Chen, who is still wearing it now.
San Ge’s ring costs 120,000 yuan.
The same style ring he bought cost only three yuan.
Bai Li can do math; the difference between 120,000 and three yuan is obvious even without counting on his paws.
Thinking of this, Bai Li felt a little guilty. Xie Chen is so good to him, but the ring he bought for Xie Chen only cost three yuan...
Bai Li, absorbed in his guilt, didn’t remember that on the day he bought the ring for Xie Chen, he himself only ate a one-yuan steamed bun all day.
After a while.
“San Ge.”
Sitting on the bed, Bai Li rubbed his eyes and before sleepiness hit, meowed: “I’m going to find Xie Chen.”
It was already dark; he was going to sleep at Xie Chen’s place.
Tan Yi frowned, not wanting his little brother to leave at all.
“Li Li, is there any way to solve Xie Chen’s problem all at once?”
Bai Li said with frustration, “No.”
The dark mist on others can be wiped clean with one pat by Bai Li and never come back.
Only the dark mist on Xie Chen always clings on, breaking it creates new ones.
He didn’t know why.
Hearing this, Tan Yi frowned even more.
“Forget it, I’ll think of another way.”
Since Li Li had to go to Xie Chen’s place anyway, Tan Yi pondered for a moment, and an idea suddenly came to mind.
“I remember there are still villas unsold in the area where Xie Chen lives. Li Li, San Ge will move the house there, so it will be more convenient for you to come back later.”
Changing houses...
Bai Li tilted his head and asked Tan Yi, “San Ge, do you have money?”
“Yes.”Tan Yi decided to buy the house he was currently living in so he could move to a new one.
After agreeing on the house change, since Tan Yi couldn’t leave the hospital room, he planned to have the manager take Li Li away.
But just as the manager led the little kitten out of the hospital, coincidentally, Xie Chen’s car was parked outside.
“Meow!”
Master!
A flash of surprise passed through Bai Li’s beautiful amber eyes. He quickly ran over and jumped into the car door Xie Chen opened.
Xie Chen took the little kitten into his arms and wiped the dirty paw pads with a tissue.
Bai Li obediently stretched out his little legs, letting Xie Chen clean his pink paw pads.
“Why are you here?” Bai Li meowed, “Are you sick?”
Xie Chen lowered his eyes. Although he had already cleaned the pink paw pads, his hand still held on without letting go.
He said softly, “Not sick, just passing by and saw you come out, so I stopped the car.”
Bai Li didn’t suspect anything and leaned his chubby body against him, meowing, “Then I don’t have to run back, I can ride in the car.”
“Mm,” Xie Chen replied, then asked, “I’m going somewhere, want to come along?”
Most cats are naturally curious, and Bai Li was no exception.
He tilted his head, looking straight at his master who always looked especially good in his eyes, and meowed, “Where are we going?”
Xie Chen met his gaze, paused, and said, “To sing for you.”
“I want to go!”
Bai Li happily said, remembering the song his master sang to him last time—it was very beautiful.
Xie Chen held his paw pads and told the driver to drive to the industry’s largest entertainment company, Xingguang (Starlight).
This entertainment company didn’t belong to Xie Chen, but the founder had some complicated family ties to him.
Xie Chen’s mother had a half-sister from the same father, so she was Xie Chen’s maternal aunt. This aunt cheated on her husband and had a son.
This company was run by Xie Chen’s aunt’s son, who was Xie Chen’s cousin.
Xie Chen’s aunt was unreliable and spent most of her time out causing trouble, not caring about her son at all.
When they were kids, it was Xie Chen’s mother who often looked after this cousin.
The cousin was ruthless to outsiders but nice to Xie Chen. He was 35 years old and, perhaps due to family reasons, was still unmarried.
The car arrived at Xingguang.
Xie Chen carried the magical little kitten who always slept while in the car, then got out and entered the big doors of Xingguang.He has rarely appeared at public events over the years, and his albums are not many. After all, he has other things to be busy with.
But the best recording studio at Xingguang Company has always been his exclusive space and has always been available for his use.
“Brother Xie, hello.”
When he entered, some artists saw Xie Chen and respectfully greeted him.
Xie Chen slightly turned aside and, after letting them pass, pressed the elevator button.
At the entertainment company, there is no shortage of artists, some beautiful, some talented.
Some dare not talk to Xie Chen, while others would love to get close to him.
Bai Li, still half asleep, sneezed on Xie Chen’s hand, triggered by a strong perfume scent.
“Li Li.”
Xie Chen looked down, observing the little one’s condition: “Where do you feel uncomfortable?”
Awakened by the sneeze, Bai Li raised his head, his beautiful amber eyes still showing sleepy daze.
“Meow.”
Sleepy.
Xie Chen stroked his fur and softly coaxed, “If you’re sleepy, keep sleeping.”
Bai Li shook his head, no longer wanting to sleep. He hugged one of Xie Chen’s fingers and slowly pressed his face against it, trying to wake himself up.
As for the several young girls crowding next to Xie Chen, Bai Li was too distracted to pay attention to them for now.
The elevator opened, Xie Chen stepped in first, and the girls followed behind.
“Brother Xie, hello.”
The girls wore revealing clothes, with delicate makeup—some charming, some pure, some cute—a mix of types. They looked either like close friends or a girl group from the company.
The one leading them, a long curly-haired girl, smiled brightly and greeted Xie Chen, “What a coincidence, didn’t expect to meet you here at the company.”
Xie Chen was used to their enthusiasm; most artists in the company treated him this way.
“Mm, quite a coincidence.”
Xie Chen replied perfunctorily, and after pressing the elevator button, deliberately stepped back a bit.
The perfume scent on those girls was enough to irritate Li Li.
The girls were indeed a newly formed girl group at the company and currently in an awkward position.
There are many girl groups now, and theirs had nothing special. Whether they would become popular depended on luck or finding some shortcut.
Without a doubt, Xie Chen in front of them was the fastest shortcut if they could get close to him.
“Brother Xie, we’re all your big fans. May we take a photo with you?”“Sorry, I don’t like taking photos,” Xie Chen refused coldly.
“Then, how about adding WeChat?”
“I don’t use WeChat.”
The girls: “……”
The girls didn’t give up and wanted to say something else, but the elevator doors opened, and Xie Chen had already walked out.
He headed to the ninth floor.
This place was not somewhere they could freely enter yet.
“Forget it.”
The girl group leader—the one who had been talking to Xie Chen—reluctantly withdrew her gaze and led the other girls away.
“I get along well with Liu Yi. Liu Yi said he would introduce us to people who can help.”
The leader was ambitious; she was unwilling to be left behind in this circle.
“Is the person Liu Yi introduced reliable?”
“Look at Liu Yi’s current popularity. I heard he might soon replace Tan Yi,” the leader whispered, sharing private information. “Someone is targeting Tan Yi. When Tan Yi steps down, Liu Yi will definitely take over.”
“We’re close with Liu Yi, so we won’t worry about opportunities in the future.”
Some are ambitiously trying to climb up in this circle; others work steadily to rise.
It can only be said that these are their own choices, their own paths.
When Xie Chen entered this circle years ago, he relied on himself and didn’t bother with any shady shortcuts.
Before long,
In the recording studio, Bai Li was placed on a high stool by Xie Chen.
“I’ll get ready. We’ll record the song a few times later.”
“Meow!”
Okay!
Now fully awake, Bai Li sat properly, his beautiful round eyes staring at Xie Chen without blinking.
The equipment in the recording studio was the ones Xie Chen used and were all top-notch.
Xie Chen reviewed the music score he had recently written. During this, a burly man wearing a baseball cap came in. The man was a usual collaborator with Xie Chen.
He was responsible for sound recording and adjustment, very silent and rarely spoke nonsense.
The only nonsense he said was probably a comment while looking at Bai Li.“Your cat looks nice.”
After saying that nonsense, the burly man adjusted his hat and got to work.
After a short while of preparation, Bai Li saw Xie Chen put on headphones and finally start recording.
For the first song, Xie Chen sat at the drum set, personally playing the drums to accompany himself.
Bai Li had never seen anyone play drums in person before, except Xie Chen...
In his ears was Xie Chen’s singing voice, and in his sight was Xie Chen’s face immersed in music, his eyes full of rebellious spirit.
Thump, thump—
Bai Li pressed his paw against his chest, feeling like he was about to get sick.
Otherwise, why was his heart beating so fast?
In Bai Li’s eyes, Master was always gentle. But now, Master was so cool that Bai Li couldn’t look away.
“Meow.”
When the song ended, the little kitten who was stunned and mesmerized accidentally meowed.
The sound engineer caught the meow in the recording; he raised his eyebrow but didn’t blame the little cat. After finishing, he asked Xie Chen,
“Your cat’s voice got recorded, do you want it deleted?”
“No.”
Xie Chen took off his headphones, closed his eyes briefly, coming out of the mood he had been in.
“Send me a copy of the audio later.”
Xie Chen stepped out a few steps and said to the burly man who was fiddling with the equipment.
Usually, he only kept audio he was satisfied with at the end, but today’s request was an exception.
The burly man responded with a “Hmm,” offering no opinion on the matter.
Seeing that Xie Chen wasn’t singing anymore, Bai Li hurriedly stood up, his chubby body stretching out paws wanting Xie Chen to hold him.
“Meow meow.”
Master, you were so cool just now!
Seeing Bai Li’s admiring eyes, Xie Chen’s lips curled slightly.
He picked up the little kitten who had eyes full of him, pressed his forehead against the kitten’s forehead, and paused for a few seconds.
“After we finish recording, I’ll teach you a cat song.”
Hearing this, Bai Li quickly raised his paw to add, “Master, I also learned a new cat dance!”
The new cat dance was taught by Zhou Zhi; maybe it could go well with the new cat song.Xie Chen quite liked watching the little guy dance, especially the previous broadcast calisthenics. After recording the screen, he often watched it.
When work was tiring and his mind felt restless, he would open the cat version of the broadcast calisthenics and watch it several times. Watching the little kitten inside seriously patting paws, spinning, doing splits, somehow all troubles could be temporarily suppressed.
“All right, I’ll watch your cat dance later.”
Perfect, he could record new video material again.
They stayed in the recording studio for a long time. Not only did Xie Chen record songs, but Bai Li also used the top equipment, sitting in Xie Chen’s arms, facing the microphone, and recorded a complete cat song.
This cat song was collected by Xie Chen and specially backed up in a separate folder.
The folder included his new songs. Xie Chen was planning to keep them for himself for now. But later, this folder also had an accident.
“Master, are we going home?”
Tonight Bai Li heard several of Master’s songs and even recorded a song himself, feeling very satisfied.
He tugged on Xie Chen’s clothes, looking up, wanting to go home with Xie Chen.
“Going home?”
Xie Chen put on the jacket he had just taken off, picked up Bai Li, and wrapped him with the jacket.
“The weather forecast says it will rain tonight.”
Xie Chen spoke as he walked, “It might get colder outside.”
Bai Li pressed against Xie Chen’s chest. After hearing it might rain, his meows sounded droopy.
“Master, I don’t want it to rain.”
If it rains, it would be very hard for him to run deliveries tomorrow.
Cats all hate getting caught in the rain.
Xie Chen seemed to see through his thoughts and frowned, “I’ll ask for leave for you at the seafood shop.”
“No leave.”
Having been cheated once by the unscrupulous kiln boss, Bai Li was afraid to ask for leave.
His wet, round eyes looked at Xie Chen, and he desperately emphasized again, “No leave. Asking for leave means cutting wages.”
The little guy didn’t want to take leave, but Xie Chen also couldn’t let him work in the rain.
After thinking for a few seconds, Xie Chen had an idea but didn’t tell Bai Li.
When the man and cat took the elevator down, it was probably a bit late now, so there weren’t many people in the company.
Not many people didn’t mean no one at all.
Xie Chen’s peripheral vision caught a glimpse of a guy left in the company, wearing dance clothes, forehead sweaty, probably just came out of the dance room.He pretended not to see it, just holding the little kitten in his arms, and strode out of the company.
On the way back, Bai Li indeed fell asleep again in the car.
If he’s asleep, let him sleep; his paws were still playing with that cheap ring on his hand that couldn’t be taken off.
Author’s note: The cat song is coming!
**
San Ge: Third Brother
(San means third, Ge means brother)