He slowly went outside and was going to take a taxi. However, it’s too crowded and it’s nearly impossible. Then, his bracelet started ringing – it’s his mom asking if he’d go home for dinner.

  “Mom, I’m still with Duan Shurong. I won’t eat at home tonight.” He Jin’s level of lying had improved a lot too, that’s all because the locks around him, the mask that he was wearing every day, and every moment in his life constantly reminded him to lie.

  He Jin’s mother didn’t doubt a bit, she even sounded very happy. After all, it’s the first time He Jin didn’t go home after the first lunch/dinner with his date. It means that there might be a chance.

  He Jin walked mindlessly with the crowds. When he realized it, he found that he had already reached the entrance of the Cultural Palace, and it’s surrounded by people, reporters, security guards, fans……there was also a large group of girls who hadn’t bought any tickets. They looked like secondary school or high school students. They were holding posters, lanterns, and gifts printed with the names of “Qin Yang” or “Fire Ruthless”, and they were screaming excitedly.

  It was already 5:10pm, there was no back door in the Cultural Palace, and celebrities usually had to leave through the front door. The security guards and patrol police were clearing the road, and when a car was driving nearer, the fans started screaming again……

  The people and passersby nearby also stopped by to watch. It’s a human nature to be curious. Even though they didn’t know what’s going on, they stayed there and they had the place very crowded.

  He Jin was pushed forward by the people behind him. He was so nervous, but he was still afraid to run away. He felt like his feet had been stuck on the ground, and his eyes were also stuck on the gate of the Cultural Plaza, entirely impossible to move away.

  At 5:20pm, dozens of security guards took the lead out of the crowd. They tried to open a path in the crowd, and the fans started screaming Qin Yang’s name frantically.

  Afterwards, Qin Yang, who’s wearing a bright black suit and reflective purple sunglasses, walked out. He Jin’s heartbeat increased uncontrollably, and he felt that it’s aching.

  However, after more than ten seconds, Qin Yang got on the car, and nanny car slowly drove away in the crowd. The fans were still screaming and waving goodbye to Qin Yang. When the car was driving nearer to where He Jin was, he opened his eyes widely and wanted to glance at Qin Yang through the car window. Unfortunately, there was an opaque film on the glass window, and He Jin can’t see anything through it.

  Qin Yang was massaging his temples in the car as he was having a headache. While he was looking at the fans outside nonchalantly, his look suddenly froze.

  “Wait!” He yelled, and the driver stopped instantly. Both his assistant and manager were looking at him, as they didn’t know what’s wrong.

  Qin Yang was staring at the crowd – the person who’s obviously taller than the girls, through the window, only 2 to 3 meters away……

  “Nothing, let’s go.” Qin Yang said plainly.

  The car started driving slowly again, and Qin Yang’s look was following that figure which was getting smaller and smaller, until it faded away completely.

  The car successfully got rid of the fans and drove to the carpark nearby. Then, Qin Yang suddenly asked his driver to go back there.

  “Did you forget something?” His assistant asked him worriedly, “what if I call someone and help you look for it?”


  Qin Yang waved his hand, “there’s no need, I want to drive around. You guys can rest first.”


  The crowd hadn’t completely left, Qin Yang sat on the car anxiously and he was checking out the crowd carefully through the car window.

  Is he gone……? Has he already disappeared?

  Qin Yang switched on his bracelet and found that familiar number, yet his hands were shaking, and he switched it off again……

  “That way!” Qin Yang suddenly yelled, “Mr. Feng, the young man in grey clothes at two o’clock, follow him.”


  Mr. Feng, “oh……”


  He Jin had no idea how he left the Cultural Palace. It was getting dark, he didn’t want to go home, but he had no idea where to go either. Soon, he arrived in the bar street, the red and green neon lights were flashing outside.

  He Jin randomly chose a bar that was just open and found a dark spot to sit down. A waiter asked him what he wanted, he replied with a low voice, “7-up.”


  “Oh, sir, we don’t have any 7-up here, but we can serve you a sprite cocktail,” the waiter handed him the menu and pointed at the cocktails, “that’s Manhattan, and that’s Bloody Mary……”


  He Jin pointed at the entire bottle of martini on the menu and said, “I want this one.”


  The waiter was surprised, “a whole bottle? Sure, but if you order a whole bottle, I’m afraid you’ll need to pay first.”


  He Jin paid by credit card. The waiter opened the corkage, brought him an empty glass and a bucket of ice. Since He Jin had never drunk any liquor before, he filled the glass full and added some ice too. After drinking half of it, he felt so hot that he started bursting into tears.

  The bartender saw it from a distance and asked the waiter to pay attention. He has many experiences with drunk customers before, and they often had to intervene before any problems occurred.

  After half a glass of strong liquor, He Jin felt like the blood in his whole body was rushing to his head. He was not very good at holding alcohol, plus he hadn’t eaten anything before drinking. He had already gotten drunk and everything in front of him started spinning.

  He pressed his hot face against the table, and he was looking at the clear glass soullessly, how come Qin Yang was still on his mind now that he’s drunk……

  Then, he recalled the scene that he’d just seen in Cultural Palace – the manager, the makeup artist, the assistant and the bodyguard……he had already realized how famous Qin Yang had become, yet it’s still his first time to know that Qin Yang had such a big crew behind.

  Seeing how well Qin Yang was doing, He Jin started comparing himself to him. He’s wearing a pair of non-fashionable glasses with black frames, clothes without brands, just like someone from the village.

  They finally became people of different worlds.

  He Jin thought that he should be happy for Qin Yang. He had also acted selflessly by not hindering Qin Yang’s development……Qin Yang had become so successful, and it’s a good thing that they’ve become strangers……

  so, why exactly was he feeling so lost and depressed?

  His tears kept running out, from the corner of his left eye to his right eyeball, falling on the table that’s a bit dirty.

  Qin Yang was like a tree which had rooted in his body. The roots of the tree had already penetrated into every cell in his body. He thought he could uproot this person from him, but he didn’t want to. Even after the tree had already broken, all the roots had remained inside him. For the past three years, every inch of the roots was still sprouting and continued to torture him, making him scarred everywhere.