“I’m telling you that it wasn’t me. It’s up to you if you want to believe it or not.”
The man’s voice was low and husky and carried with it a strange feeling.
Bai Lang had always been unable to like it. But right now what made Bai Lang’s hands and feet feel even more cold, was the meaning behind the sound of those words.
“… if it’s not you, then who?” Bai Lang’s throat felt dry.
“You’re asking me?” Seeing Bai Lang’s tense appearance, the man’s voice carried laughter. “Shouldn’t you be asking yourself?”
Bai Lang felt as though he had been hit over the head. He took an involuntary step backwards.
The tall and imposing man in front of him bent his waist and picked up the remote control from the table.
Pa! There was a noise and a TV that took up almost half of the wall lit up.
Bai Lang’s thoughts were still sunken into a chaotic emotional state but the sound of the broadcast pierced his ears painfully.
“… In regards to Kang Jian’s earlier press conference, Asia International’s Chief Executive’s daughter, heiress Shen LingLing has also ten minutes ago updated her website to publicly confirm to all the media the news of her engagement to Kang Jian….”
Bai Lang suddenly raised his head. He stared disbelievingly at the television screen.
The screen showed a press conference. The lights and cameras flashed constantly, showing Kang Jian’s unmistakably familiar face in high definition. There was a dazzling smile on that face.
“…. She is incredibly grateful for everyone’s well wishes and also hopes that everyone will continue to support Kang Jian. Kang Jian’s road to fame has not been easy and he has shown that he is an honest and sincere person who is also warm-hearted and gentle. As for those people who have spread heinous slanders about him and Bai Lang being gay in order to suppress Kang Jian, Shen LingLing expresses deep regret. After all she has been in a relationship with Kang Jiang for two years, it’s only that they didn’t publicise until now…”
After hearing this, Bai Lang’s entire person shook.
“…. Now that these two people had decided to come together to form a family and plan a future together, they hope that those slanders will settle down. As for the date of the wedding, taking into consideration that in the coming months Kang Jian will be filming Director Guo Shan’s latest masterpiece “Mountain Rain Will Come”, she plans to have a simple wedding with Kang Jian overseas. To have the support and well-wishes of their friends and family is their greatest desire. She once again wishes to thank everyone for their support….”
The sound of the broadcast was incredibly crisp and clear. Each word was like a knife cutting into Bai Lang’s heart.
Bai Lang suddenly felt as though he couldn’t breathe. Add to it the fact that he had had trouble sleeping for a week, and the vision in front of his eyes suddenly went black. In his chest a terrible pain tore through his heart. Bai Lang unconsciously clutched his left breast, crumpling his shirt.
The man in front of his eyes looked shocked. He took a step closer. Normally Bai Lang would have backed away but this time he found he couldn’t. He could only double over painfully. In his ears the words “wedding”, “dating”, these types of words echoed repeatedly….
The pain in his chest became worse and worse.
It was so painful cold sweat appeared on his skin, and tears fell from his eyes.
His last impression was that the voice that he originally didn’t like was yelling, filled with desperation.
“Bai Lang!!!?”
****
The terrible pain made Bai Lang gasp. Then once again he woke up from a terrible nightmare.
When he opened his eyes, he heard the sound of his own gasping and painful breathing sounding in the quiet room.
Bai Lang lay on the bed. He stared dazed at the white ceiling lit by a street lamp from the window and listened to the sound of his own heart pumping furiously; peng, peng, peng. It felt as though any minute now it would fail.
After a long time, when his heart beat had somewhat slowed down, Bai Lang finally rubbed his face and raised his body to drink a sip of water.
There was a warm thermos beside his bed. In the last few days he had gotten into the habit of preparing one before going to bed.
Only after feeling the warm liquid flow down his throat could Bai Lang escape from the grasp of the repeated nightmare that he had had night after night.
However if it was only just a nightmare, a dream, then how good would it be?
And if it wasn’t a dream, then how should he describe it….?
Bai Lang clutched the thermos, staring dazed into the darkness.
His eyes turned, unbidden, again to the digital clock sitting on his bedside table.
In the darkness, the illuminated numbers and words clearly showed: August 23rd, Year 20XX.
This was the summer of ten years ago.
The him that had died of a heart attack, had somehow returned to ten years previously.
****
In the entertainment world ten years into the future, although Bai Lang perhaps could not be considered a mega star, he was at least someone who had attained household name status.
He had a warm and gentle image. In the broadcast of the long drama “Partners for Life”, he portrayed the role of a young single father. He held the hand of a five year old little boy and this image of father and son was carved deep into the hearts of the audience.
This kind of suitable role helped shape his image. Bai Lang’s fans came from all age groups: from small school students, to old 70 or 80 year old grandmothers and grandfathers. During a particular time, he was also considered every unmarried girl’s dream “good husband” image representative.
Suitably accompanying Bai Lang’s image was his clean and warm appearance. He had white skin that never tanned, straight and glistening black hair, and full lips that carried with it a natural redness. He had a tall and slender figure and was a living example of a white-skinned and red-lipped scholar from a storybook. After “Partners” became a popular drama, it was extremely difficult for Bai Lang to shake off this image.
This kind of advantage also had its limitations. In his next five dramas, Bai Lang’s company arranged for him roles all of which showed him as a good and upright youth, it was unable to be changed. In the future all of his roles went in this direction: righteous, good and family-friendly.
Thus Bai Lang’s advancement was limited, however since this image was suitable for many types of product endorsements, Bai Lang’s rewards could have been said to be more than his losses. In terms of the amount of taxes paid, in many years Bai Lang could have been accounted in the top five artistes, and can be considered an actor who worked hard for the aim of earning money.
[T/N: This is a bit hard to translate. It’s basically saying someone who accepts a lot of roles, not all of which are outstanding, in order to hunker down and slowly bit by bit grind out money. Not someone who is chasing achievement/awards or to make waves.}
However for someone like Bai Lang who had this kind of spotless image, even the slightest bit of slanderous rumors, was extremely difficult to recover from.
