New Year's Eve

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, it was the end of the year.

Although Xie Guan was said to be on "vacation," it was impossible for him to stay at home and peacefully celebrate New Year's Eve. At the end of the year, major ceremonies and New Year's Eve events were piled up, and he had received numerous invitations. Lin Yao picked the best of the best, finally selecting two events for him that were star-studded enough without reducing him to an insignificant figure.

One was an annual gala for an online platform, and the other was a New Year's Eve concert for a TV station. For the online platform, he just had to go up and receive an award. The TV station's event was a bit more troublesome; he had to go on stage and sing—and it had to be live.

Given Xie Guan's soaring popularity this year, and since it was his debut performance, the production team, after hearing him sing, arranged a five-minute solo for him.

Once this decision was made, let alone Lin Yao, even Xie Guan himself was startled.

Xie Guan rarely sang. He didn't even hum simple tunes at home, let alone properly open his throat on stage. However, although his timbre was average, his pitch was good, making him the type who didn't easily go off-key. Plus, he had a natural advantage, able to easily hit an A4. With these two points as a foundation, coupled with technical training from a vocal coach, it was hard to say how he'd sound live, but in the recording studio, he actually sounded quite decent.

When it came time to decide on the song, everyone from the director down to the assistants assumed that Xie Guan, playing it safe, would choose an easy theme song from a TV drama. Who would have thought that after huddling and whispering with his vocal coach for a long time, the final choice would actually be an old Cantonese song.

“The pronunciation is standard, and the singing is not bad. If you consider the lyrics, it's quite fitting for New Year's Eve,” the director said, stroking his chin in puzzlement after listening to Xie Guan's trial performance. “But why do I feel like it’s so awkward?”

The other staff members nodded vigorously in deep agreement.

Only Huang Cheng, who was waiting outside the studio, saw everything clearly and remarked with a cool detachment: “How ignorant. Don't you know what a 'long-distance confession of love' is?”

Xie Guan calmly took off the headphones, walked out of the soundproof room, took the down jacket Huang Cheng handed him, and asked the director while putting it on, “Do you think this song is okay?”

The director didn't detect the romantic declaration in the song, and after careful consideration, he felt that just based on singing and stage performance, there was nothing to fault. So he approved it: “Very good, let’s go with this program. We’ll see the effect at the rehearsal the day after tomorrow.”

After attending the annual gala for the online platform in B City, Xie Guan continued on nonstop to N City to participate in the joint rehearsal.

Last New Year's Eve, the two were in a cold war. This year, they were finally together, only to be disturbed by work. Xie Guan felt a little bad for Huo Mingjun. Although President Huo appeared virtuous, magnanimous, and unconcerned on the surface, he was probably still disappointed inside.

Therefore, on the day before his departure, he was completely at Huo Mingjun's beck and call. Whatever Huo Mingjun said, he agreed to it readily—yes, yes, yes, okay, okay, okay—exuding a mysterious 'boyfriend power'.

Xie Guan was projecting his own feelings so obviously that Huo Mingjun had to comfort him in return, coaxing and persuading him all the way onto the plane. The moment he turned around and left the airport, the smile on his face vanished completely.

“How is Kong Ni's case? What's the reaction from Huo Zhongchen's side?”

“The procuratorate has already filed a public prosecution, and the court will convene the day after tomorrow,” Zhong Heguang said. “Kong Ni requested to contact her family, but Mr. Huo didn't go see her. Old Master Huo has grounded him at home to reflect on his actions.”

A sarcastic chuckle escaped Huo Mingjun's throat.

“This couple is like two birds in the same forest; when disaster strikes, they fly their separate ways,” he said slowly and deliberately. “Why is it always him who flies away first?”

Zhong Heguang didn't feel it was his place to comment on the Huo family's affairs, so he focused on driving in silence.

“Heguang,” Huo Mingjun said suddenly, “notify the sanatorium to start preparations. On the last day of this year, send him on his way.”

Zhong Heguang was horrified. His palms were instantly covered in cold sweat, and he almost lost his grip on the steering wheel. He glanced at Huo Mingjun in the rearview mirror, unable to hide his shock: “Sir…”

“Three strikes and you're out,” Huo Mingjun said, leaning back against the leather seat with his arms crossed, his expression as calm as stagnant water. “He tried to kill me twice. The first time, he got Cheng Sheng killed. The second time, he nearly got Xie Guan killed. There won't be a third time.”

His voice was as soft as a whisper, yet every word carried the weight of a mountain: “Do as I say.”

On New Year's Eve, a cold, drizzling rain fell in N City, while in B City, clouds gathered, a sign of impending snow.

An unremarkable Phaeton emerged from the shadows of the night and stopped outside a sanatorium in the distant suburbs of B City.

This place was far from the city, sparsely populated. The faint white light shining from the windows looked particularly eerie in the desolate and bleak northern winter night.

Huo Mingfei had been locked up here for a full five years.

Huo Mingjun sat in the car, as if in a different world from the chilling and gloomy atmosphere outside—he was using his 4G data to watch the live broadcast of the New Year's Eve gala. Before leaving, Xie Guan had earnestly reminded him not to miss it.

Zhong Heguang had a strange expression on his face. While trying to suppress his discomfort about what was about to happen, he silently complained that his boss wasn't focused on his proper business: At a time like this, he still hadn't forgotten to be a fan.

With a wireless earphone in his ear, Huo Mingjun picked up another, unregistered phone from the seat and spoke into the microphone: “You can begin.”

The person on the other end asked: “Aren't you going to see him one last time?”

“There's no need,” Huo Mingjun said coldly. “Do it.”

Huo Mingfei was originally sent here for being 'mentally abnormal.' For five years, he had been continuously taking antidepressant medication. The drugs slowly eroded his healthy heart, which had now developed into chronic heart failure.

He couldn't withstand any stimulus, and his emotions couldn't fluctuate too much.

On this day of city-wide celebration, to create a bit of a festive atmosphere, the television in his hospital room had been left on.

The drugs added to his food would make him more excited, quickening his heartbeat.

Immediately after, a news report, long prepared for him, would appear on the television right on schedule.

A burst of applause and cheers came through Huo Mingjun's earphone. His brow strangely relaxed a little, and a soft expression, incongruous with the current situation, appeared on his face.

Xie Guan appeared on the stairs at the side of the stage. A dark blue, slim-fit suit outlined his lean waist. The top button of his collar was fastened. Tall with long legs, handsome and elegant, he slowly descended the stairs under the gaze of the entire audience.

The musical accompaniment began. When he opened his mouth, the words he uttered were in mellow, gentle Cantonese.

“If sorrow runs deeper than joy, I wish to walk alongside you all the same.”

“If a bitter smile is truer than tears, I wish our laughter could be like a string of kisses.”

The other phone was faithfully recording the sounds from the hospital room. As the newscaster, in a flat tone, read out “First-instance verdict: the defendant, Kong, is found guilty of attempted murder,” a sudden thud came from the other end, as if someone had abruptly fallen to the floor.

Intense emotions would lead to arrhythmia. The heart muscle, already damaged by drugs, was too weak to contract. Breathing gradually became difficult. The feeling of suffocation was overwhelming, like the billowing black robes of the God of Death.

Huo Mingfei struggled to press the call bell on the headboard.

The male voice in the earphone was soothing and mellow, kept very low, as if whispering softly right next to his ear.

“No matter how low the temperature of the era before us drops, how fortunate it is that the long night need not be spent alone.”

“No matter what possibilities the future holds, with you, we would be the last pair to change.”

Huo Mingjun finally understood why Xie Guan had insisted he watch the gala live.

“I only wish that before the remaining light, I can save my eyes to see you one more time.

As long as we can still embrace, I won't fear sudden changes, but I fear the longing.”

The handsome man on the screen gazed at the camera lens. Though facing an audience of thousands, his gaze seemed to land on only one person.

The first time singing a love song, is for you.

The first time loving someone, is falling in love with you.

“I only wish to embrace you to sleep in time, to hold on to the warmest side of this world.

Huddling for warmth in the vast sea of people, to pass the coldest day.”

The duration of a song, five minutes. There was no longer any sound from the other end of the phone. The breathing, so faint it was nearly non-existent, could not be picked up by the phone's earpiece.

Huo Mingfei's hand stopped forever, a few centimeters from the headboard.

Fate, or perhaps Lady Luck, always seemed to brush past him at the very last moment. He had schemed and fought against Huo Mingjun his entire life, but in the end, he wasn't even worthy of being an opponent. For Huo Mingjun to get rid of him, he didn't even need to show up in person.

It was snowing.

At eleven o'clock, the black Phaeton, as low-key as when it arrived, departed silently into the night.

At eleven fifty-five, at the N City New Year's Eve gala. Dozens of guests went on stage, and the microphone was passed to Xie Guan's hand.

The host asked: “So, Xiao Xie, do you have any blessings to give to everyone?”

“I wish all the viewers progress in their studies and success at work. I hope everyone stays safe and sound,” Xie Guan said with a smile. “Happy New Year.”

At exactly twelve o'clock, countless fireworks shot up into the sky outside B City.

“Happy New Year,” Huo Mingjun said to the youth smiling and waving on the screen. “I love you too.”

At the start of the new year, the news of Huo Mingfei's death spread, reaching the ears of those who were meant to hear it, becoming the Huo family's first small firecracker of the year.

It made a sound, yes, but for a chess piece that had already withdrawn from the game, no matter how powerful he had once been, he couldn't cause much of a splash now.

Kong Ni was locked up in prison. Huo Zhongchen, wisely looking out for himself, was as quiet as a mouse. Old Master Huo's health had been poor recently, and he no longer had the energy to manage these trivial matters. Most of the power he held had been given to Huo Mingjun.

Xie Guan finished his year-end work, and his vacation came to an end. Lin Yao found him several new scripts. They were all for movies, not big productions, but he would be the male lead in all of them.

With The Rising Tides of the Azure Sea and A Handful of Snow, Xie Guan had already begun transitioning into a movie actor. Now was the perfect opportunity to strike while the iron was hot. If he could secure his position with a successful leading role, his transition would be more or less complete.

However, this year, fortune did not seem to be smiling on Xie Guan.

First, before he could even make a choice among the scripts, two of the production companies had already confirmed their lead actors. Then, someone started buying paid articles and hiring an online water army to spread 'black material' about Xie Guan across the entire internet. And most of it was vague and specious gossip. For example, claims that he had a violent personality and often got into fights, as well as rehashing old accusations of role-snatching, juggling multiple projects, and suppressing Zhong Guanhua by latching onto powerful backers. The mastermind behind it didn't dare to implicate Hengrui's Huo family, so they turned their guns around, listing various instances of Xihua Entertainment's leniency and indulgence towards Xie Guan since his debut, insinuating that he had an ambiguous relationship with Xihua Entertainment's President, Ye Zheng.

With such a relentless smear campaign, doubts and discussions about Xie Guan immediately spread like wildfire online. Overnight, Xie Guan alone occupied three spots in the top 50 of Weibo's hot search list.

'Sitting at home, a pot falls from the sky.' Lin Yao was furious and immediately contacted the PR team to figure out how to resolve it. However, she wasn't the only one enraged. Xie Guan's official number one sponsor, Mr. Huo Mingjun, and the innocent, married-with-family Mr. Ye Zheng, who was caught in the crossfire, also exploded in anger one after another.

On the second day of the incident, Ye Zheng's personal Weibo, which had been playing dead, suddenly had a new post—and it even included a picture.

The photo was of a large desk. On the desk was an open finance magazine. Only the hand of the man sitting at the desk, turning a page, was in the shot. The sleeve of a light gray shirt was slightly rolled up, revealing a slender wrist bone. The fingers were long, and on the ring finger was a plain platinum band.

Ye Zheng V: Stop spouting nonsense, my family member will get upset. [Image]