The Dance of Fame and Shadows Chapter 3

There is no need to draft when bluffing. Ethan is so envious.

"You! Who are you?"

"Can't you hear it?" The ending tone of the question made it look even more careless. Ethan felt the hand on him swaying slightly, and the fingertips tapped his shoulder lightly, "I'm Finn Pei."

The other party's voice suddenly stopped, "Pei..."

"Yes, it's Finn Pei who fought back against you bunch of rubbish last time. I heard that you wanted to find someone to ban me last time? Did you succeed?" Finn Pei pressed his hand on the table behind him and sat on it. "It seems that they didn't dare to cut me out in the final broadcast."

Ethan knew where his confidence came from, but he didn't expect that this guy would be willing to use this confidence on himself.

The other party felt like he had something stuck in his throat for a moment, knowing that he couldn't afford to offend this kid, so he didn't bother with him, "Give the phone to Ethan, I have something serious to discuss with him."

"Your main business is to take advantage of young male artists? Your company has pretty good benefits."

He actually knew this. Ethan frowned.

Finn Pei was a straightforward person, and he knew this very well after working together for two years. But even so, he was also touched by the three words "unspoken rules", so he tried to escape from the leisurely hands and distance himself from the overly close distance.

But Finn Pei caught his wrist the moment his shoulder left his control. He still maintained the posture of half-lowering his head to make a phone call, only slightly raised his eyes, and met Ethan's gaze with sharp eyes, and then continued his previous conversation, "I just want to work in the news, there are ready-made materials waiting for me to expose, right."

Ethan didn't know who he was talking to when he said "right?". He just felt as if his wrist was covered with thorns.

"What the hell does it have to do with you?"

He was also curious because this really had nothing to do with Finn Pei.

"Of course."

The wrist grip tightened.

Finn Pei stretched out his long legs, "Didn't you see the trending searches? The company asked us to be a couple, so before the end of business..." He turned to Ethan and smiled like a naughty child, "Everything about him is tied to me."

"His reputation is related to my reputation, and his private life affects my private life in the eyes of the public. Once we become a community of interests, these things will be equated in the eyes of others."

His tone was full of joking, "Do you think I look like someone you would support?"

The voice on the other end of the phone went from being excited and angry at the beginning to being completely choked up at the end, unable to make any sound. In this circle, some people are famous, some are rich, and some have means, but no matter what, they all have one thing in common, which is to accept and roughly abide by the rules of the game in this circle. But Finn Pei is a freak who likes to break the rules, but he has a strong backing behind him to support him to break the rules. This makes him not only muddy, but also hard to mess with.

Hearing the silence on the other end, Finn Pei curled his lips and said, "Goodbye, Deputy Director Yang."

After saying this, his tone quickly turned cold again.

"Be honest and stop dreaming."

Finn Pei put his hand to his ear to hang up the phone and took off the headset. He raised his chin and stared at Ethan without saying a word. Although he didn't say anything, the hint of his raised eyebrows was too obvious, that is, he was waiting for him to speak first.

Ethan knew he should say something at this time, but he looked down at Finn Pei's hand, which showed no sign of loosening. Finn Pei saw him like this, and the corners of his mouth curled up again, playing with his headphones with his slender fingers.

"Thanks."

Finn Pei tilted his head, his eyes following Ethan's evasive gaze, "From your tone, it seems that you don't thank me much."

Unexpectedly, Ethan suddenly became serious, "I am very grateful. But I don't want anyone to be involved in this, especially my teammates."

So serious.

Finn Pei nodded lazily twice, "Especially not me."

Ethan looked at him with those indifferent eyes for a few seconds, and then actually nodded slightly, agreeing with what he said.

"But thank you all the same."

Hearing this, Finn Pei smiled. Speaking of which, the most peculiar feature of his face was his eyes. When he was not smiling, they were cold and deep, but as soon as he smiled, they immediately turned into two childish smiling eyes, and his temperament changed in an instant.

However, Ethan knew that even if he was laughing now, he was just making fun of him.

He asked out of pure curiosity, with an expression like a student with a strong desire for knowledge, "Why would anyone want to have S3x with you? I can't imagine what you look like in bed at all. Do these people have an ice fetish or a wood fetish?"

Ethan didn't get angry even though he said it so bluntly. He just said calmly, "Then can you let go of Mu Tou's hand?"

Finn Pei then realized that he was still holding his wrist, and his bad nature suddenly broke out again, "I won't."

During the stalemate, they heard Leo Cheng's voice coming from outside, "Juexia? Xiao Pei? This is strange..."

"Brother Leo Cheng told you." Ethan quickly understood the whole story. He just shrugged and said, "Who told me? If things continue to develop, everyone in the company will know about it sooner or later."

"So what if I know?"

Finn Pei found it funny to see this fearless look, "Yeah, it's not the first time. So why did you refuse this time? Anyway, before..."

At the same time, Leo Cheng saw the two people in the conference room through the glass door. He pushed the door open and asked, "What are you two doing? I looked around for a while before I found you."

Ethan pulled his hand away calmly, looking down to see his wrist bone which was gripped red. Finn Pei came down from the table with a relaxed look on his face, "I didn't do anything, just cultivate the relationship in advance."

"Come on, it's been two years and I still haven't cultivated it. It's just fake." Leo Cheng noticed the expression on Jue Xia's face and asked deliberately, "What's wrong?"

"I've settled that matter." Finn Pei took the lead, "I'll tell my sister later that if Yang Chenggang doesn't behave himself, I'll just withdraw my investment. With his character, if he's exposed, the show will be boycotted, and her money will be wasted."

Leo Cheng nodded. The reason why he was willing to tell Finn Pei was that he was aware of the conflict between him and the assistant director before, and he knew that Finn Pei would definitely take action given his unyielding character.

"Then you have to thank Xiao Pei very much." He put his arm around Ethan's shoulder and walked towards their previous meeting room, but Ethan just stood stiffly and responded in a low voice.

Finn Pei walked behind, looking at Ethan's back. He knew that people were a complex of contradictions. But Ethan was probably the strangest contradiction he had ever seen. She had a natural coldness in her appearance, as if she would always keep people at a distance. Yet, such a person was deeply involved in that rumor.

But now seeing that he would rather die than live in disgrace, Finn Pei was really curious.

Could it be post-traumatic stress?

Although Finn Pei looked down on people who relied on selling their bodies to get ahead, he had a natural liking for people with high professional skills. Ethan was one of these people. His dancing ability was absolutely top-notch in the entire circle, not to mention that he was born with a voice that could crush anyone. After working together for two years, Finn Pei's dislike for him gradually decreased from the peak when he first heard the rumors, and now he was almost indifferent.

In addition to feeling indifferent, I was also a little curious because Ethan was too contradictory.

The second half of the meeting went very quickly. Finn Pei was so absent-minded that he even forgot that the purpose of his coming here was to oppose their plan to form a CP. After a while, the door of the meeting room opened and the other four teammates came in one after another.

The boss motioned for everyone to sit down and told his assistant to distribute new projects, "Kaleido has only released two albums since its debut, and the most recent one was a mini album released a year ago. In fact, it should have come back a long time ago, and you must be very anxious."

Henry Chen glanced over and said, "We just had a meeting and discussed that in order to make the most of the recent popularity, the company decided to produce and release the new album as soon as possible."

Captain Mason Jiang asked, "But it takes time to make an album..."

"That's right." Henry Chen said, "You can't compress the production time and churn out an album to fool your fans just because you're popular. You are idols, singing and dancing are your vocations, at least you can't let others down. To balance the production level and time, you need other ways to maintain popularity. Zi Yan and Mason Jiang, you have variety show resources, Dylan Lu is also recording a dance show, Max Ling has an OST, Jue Xia is also recording..."

Leo Cheng interrupted, "Juexia's show is over."

Henry Chen showed some confusion on his face, but he didn't delve into it and continued, "Let's talk about it later. Anyway, we are discussing resources. If the negotiations go well, we can get a guest spot on a popular variety show." After saying that, he signaled his assistant to distribute another project plan.

Ling got the plan and flipped through it quickly, and said in surprise, "There's also a group variety show?!"

"This time we will mainly record everyone's real life, and we may add some entertainment to avoid monotony." Leo Cheng explained the details of the group variety show planning to everyone in detail, "The format may be recording and broadcasting at the same time, and there will be some live broadcasts in between to save time."

Before the meeting ended, Henry Chen stood up and said, "You are all talented kids. After these two years, you should have realized how cruel this industry is. I don't need to say much. You all know it."

"I look forward to seeing you shine as idols."

When Ethan heard these words, he felt as if he had returned to the beginning. The stage he had once longed for seemed to be approaching him again, although in such an absurd way.

The same day after the meeting, the six people stayed in the company to practice and prepare for the new album.

Today's entertainment industry has given idols many opportunities, but not many opportunities for the idol profession. The embarrassing thing is that most of these young people originally entered the circle with the dream of singing and dancing, but ended up doing various other jobs for various reasons. They suffered all kinds of prejudices under the name of idols, and could not really get the stage that idols deserve.

Gradually, they drift away from music and dance, busy themselves running to various film sets, staying up all night in similar recording studios, forgetting their original intentions, and finally getting a hasty conclusion like "greedy" or "don't take on a job you don't have the skills to do", and disappearing in the new beautiful wave.

The chaos in the professional divisions of artists has caused too many fresh lives to passively become the residue under the gears of the ever-operating machine of the entertainment industry. Day after day, there are always new and beautiful victims involved.

"Juexia's dance practice today was too intense." Max Ling panted and leaned against the wall, unscrewing the thermos bottle filled with puffed sterculia lychnophora to drink water, "No, I didn't warm up my throat well today, cough cough." He started to act weird, stretching out his hand with a hoarse voice, "Huohuo, my throat, what's wrong with my throat? I can't be favored anymore..."

Zane He, who was helping Captain Mason Jiang do sit-ups, freed one hand to cover his mouth, "Go to the cold palace, Princess Ling. You are too weak to be favored."

"No, you see, even Brother Dylan Lu can't keep up! They are the main dancers, so they are comparable." Max Ling nudged Finn Pei with his arm, "Isn't it, Xiao Pei?"

"Yeah." Finn Pei responded perfunctorily with his hands in his sweatshirt pockets, looking at Ethan in front of the mirror from a distance.

He felt that this person was full of energy.

The feeling was indescribable. Obviously, in the secular aesthetic, this person's appearance could almost be described as fragile and soft. But he felt that Ethan was like a thorn.

A stubborn thorn that never softens.

This was the second time that the man in front of him was deeply mired in the quagmire of unspoken rules. If the first time could barely be considered a rumor, this time it was an unsuccessful transaction that Finn Pei actually saw.

What do these people want? Beauty? Youth?

Honestly he doesn't understand.

Finn Pei has never been in love, not because he is young and has no idea about love, but because he has no interest in love. He feels it is a waste to think that his heart will be tied up by some sticky and trivial thoughts. Love is something that can send people to heaven when it is good, but worse than hell when it is bad.

But they probably don't want to fall in love with Ethan. These middle-aged men have families to support, and they just want to try something new.

The physical desire was even more ridiculous. He could hardly imagine what it felt like to have thoughts about a man's body. Although he grew up abroad, he had all kinds of friends around him and was quite supportive of minority groups. But he was not gay and could not understand this addiction.

He hit two blind spots at once. Finn Pei's way of thinking was different from others. He couldn't stand the vague appearances and he had to think.

He tried to find the answer from Ethan.

"Oh my god, Ethan has gone crazy. How long has he been practicing? He is so tired. I will never practice dancing with such a crazy dancer again." Dylan Lu also came back, panting with his hands on his H!ps. Mason Jiang finished the last sit-up with a smile, "Ah, my stomach is so sore..."

"Let's go eat. I'm so hungry~" Max Ling pulled Mason Jiang, "Captain, I want to eat!"

"It's time too." Mason Jiang glanced at his watch and called Juexia from a distance. Ethan stopped in front of the mirror and panted, "I'll go in a while."

"Okay." Everyone knew his personality. This guy was the most intense in the company. No one could stop him. Max Ling pulled Finn Pei and said, "Come on, Xiao Pei. Today, I'll take you to the countryside to eat in the company cafeteria. Use my card!"

Unexpectedly, Finn Pei said in an uncharacteristic way, "Brother Yi, you guys go first, I'll practice."

Several people stood there in a daze.

No, has this guy who used to treat his idol career as a hobby changed his personality?

Mason Jiang knew what was going on and smiled, "Then we'll go first. Don't practice for too long and miss dinner."

When they all walked to the cafeteria, Max Ling was still worried, "Will they fight?"

"We've waited too long for this fight." Zane He had a look of a Bodhisattva with eyes wide open, which was incompatible with his broken eyebrows. Dylan Lu took the opportunity to take the beef brisket from his plate and stuffed it into his mouth. "You know what, I seem to have been brainwashed by those girls on the Internet. Now I think they are a good match."

Max Ling used chopsticks to pick up a thickly cut potato shreds, like a big man smoking, "Xiao Fang, and this Xiao Pei, every day, it seems like they will fight at any second. Do you think these little girls will still like them after seeing the truth?"

"Yes." Zane He calmly used chopsticks to slap away Dylan Lu's evil hand that was stretched out for the second time.

"Why?" Ling blinked.

"Let's eat." Mason Jiang had a smile on his face, "There's no chance of a fight."

There were only two people left in the practice room, and Ethan stopped practicing. The habit of the past two years had made him naturally avoid Finn Pei and avoid causing trouble. He pushed his sweaty hair back, revealing his smooth forehead, and prepared to leave.

Seeing the natural red in the corner of the other's eyes, Finn Pei suddenly remembered the first time he met him.

As a parachuted trainee, he was brought by Leo Cheng to meet his future teammates. It was also in this practice room, and it was also winter. When the door opened, several boys were practicing the dance for their debut song. Everyone turned their heads when they heard the noise, except for a guy wearing a black baseball cap who was still practicing in front of the mirror until Leo Cheng spoke.

He stopped, panting silently, and turned around, just like he was doing now. Sweat dripped down his jawline like a drop of water melting off an icicle on the eaves.

It was natural that he was the last one to introduce himself.

Ethan, who was only 20 years old at the time, took off his hat and put his wet hair back like before, revealing his complete face. A thin, light red birthmark on his fair skin was abstracted in Finn Pei's mind.

Cherry Blossoms and Snow. This was the most appropriate image he had found.

"Hello, my name is Ethan."

[When it rains continuously, you don’t realize that spring is gone; when it clears up, you realize that summer is deep.]

It is clearly a name that belongs to summer, but it feels like the chill of winter.

He nodded and smiled back, "Finn Pei."

Max Ling, who was very outgoing at that time, asked curiously, "What a unique name! How did you come up with it?"

"I was born on New Year's Eve. The fire in the pot was blazing and the bamboos were roaring. The New Year's Eve feast was set up and the peppers were singing. My grandfather named me after two words from this poem."

"Wow, that's really nice, but you don't look like a child born in winter."

Yeah.

Finn Pei's vision, blurred by memories, gradually returned to reality, and he stared at Ethan in the mirror.

Her lingering gaze fell on the half-rolled sleeves of his sweatshirt, revealing a white and lean arm. The veins on his arm moved faintly. The loose clothes and pants, soaked with sweat, clung to his body unconsciously, expanding and contracting with his movements. Following the line downward, the depressions on both sides of his ankles and heels were held by the closed trouser legs, scraping against his snow-white skin.

Somehow, Finn Pei remembered the feeling of holding his wrist.

"What are you looking at?" Ethan noticed his gaze in the mirror, turned around and looked at him coldly.

Letting go of his subconsciously clenched hands, Finn Pei smiled lazily and looked straight at his face.

"See what's good about you."