The plan to discuss the new work with Xu Qiran ended without a conclusion.
The next day, before dawn, Sang Qiao received a call from the director Shao Ming, politely asking if he could return to the show's team for work today.
Sang Qiao recorded two episodes of the show, and other than meeting Shao Ming a few times, he didn't say a word.
Now, the chief director personally called, probably also because of Fu Xingzhou's intention.
As an entertainment industry underling who works and gets paid, Sang Qiao never hesitated when it came to money. He made it clear to the director that he would now leave to go to the cafeteria at the studio to have breakfast, striving to be the first to eat every day and eat the most.
Shao Ming: "......"
The chief director, aside from the show, rarely interacted with trainees.
Shao Ming probably saw Sang Qiao's style of painting for the first time, and was stunned for a moment when he heard this, then chuckled softly, "Sang Qiao, you are really interesting. Mr. Fu has a reason to value you."
Sang Qiao: "???"
Do I really have to believe it?
He, the street king, tsk, Sang Qiao, everywhere he went, flowers bloomed and cars broke down. Even Director Fu would have a flat tire after seeing him.
Although he shamelessly attached two pieces of gold to himself, Sang Qiao was still afraid of tarnishing Fu Xingzhou's integrity. He hurriedly added, "Don't get the wrong idea, director. President Fu is just taking pity on me, a small fry. Why else would he value me, right?"
Perhaps Shao Ming was busy on his end, and did not continue to respond to Sang Qiao's words. He said goodbye and quickly hung up.
Sang Qiao: "……"
No, did he really believe it or not?
But he probably did believe it.
Who could have such a wild idea to link Fu Xingzhou and himself, damn it!
Sang Qiao, who had regained employment, was excited and rolled around on the bed, then turned over and looked through the curtain crack at the still overcast sky.
Lying stiff for over ten minutes.
Unable to sleep, Sang Qiao got up and went to bother Xu Qiran wearing his slippers.
Poor Xu Qiran had not slept soundly in bed, and was abruptly woken up by a soft pillow.
As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw Sang Qiao in a light yellow Pikachu pajamas jumping around in front of him.
Xu Qiran: "……"
At times, he was really confused about where Fu Xingzhou saw something in Sang Qiao.
Xu Qiran threw the pillow back at Sang Qiao, angrily got out of bed, and was ready to beat him barefoot.
He took three steps, grabbed Sang Qiao's collar skillfully, and was about to start the violence—
But then he saw the wounds on Sang Qiao's arms, wounds which showed resistance to oppression.
Some of them were old scars, some deep and some shallow, others were new wounds that had just formed scabs, with hideous shapes.
The northern city had already entered autumn, and those short sleeves from the summer would not be seen for an entire year, effectively hiding these scars. Unfortunately, Sang Qiao was having a stroke of bad luck today.
Not only did he come out early to make trouble, but he also wore a loose Pikachu cotton pajama.
As he lifted his arm, his sleeve dropped.
Xu Qiran's expression changed immediately, and he grabbed Sang Qiao's arm, "You hurt yourself again? Are you crazy?!"
Sang Qiao was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly tried to pull his arm back.
After trying for a while, and finding he couldn't, he had to give up his resistance, "No, it's all old injuries!"
Xu Qiran was almost too angry to laugh, and pressed on the most obvious scab on Sang Qiao's arm, "Sang Qiao, do you think I'm blind?"
Sang Qiao: "……"
The voice early in the morning was too loud, and made Sang Qiao immediately disheartened.
Sang Qiao pursed his lips, his gaze wandering, and smiled, "No, no, I'm blind, I was trying to find a paper knife to do some paper-cutting, and it was an accident.”
If it had been at the time when the two first met, Xu Qiran might have been fooled.
But now.
Xu Qiran sneered, "Sang Qiao, I think you don't want to work. If I remember correctly, the last time I took you to see Luan Yinan, he said that if you self-injure again, he would stop your work directly and take you to the hospital. Is that true?"
Sang Qiao: "……"
Shaking his head, disavowing the charges: "No, that's not true!"
Xu Qiran released his arm harshly, "Sang Qiao, as your agent, I declare that all your work will be suspended from today. You better go to the hospital and stay there until you come to your senses, then come back to work, do you understand?"
Sang Qiao quickly covered himself with his pajamas, convincing himself, "It was just an accident, this small injury won't affect my work, I won't stop working."
Xu Qiran was so angry his chest hurt, he took a deep breath, "An accident?! Sang Qiao, how many 'accidents' like this do you have in your body? Aren’t you afraid? I am afraid! Afraid that one day you’ll be incoherent, and will cut yourself several inches deep, do you know that?"
Sang Qiao: "……"
The room suddenly fell silent.
Xu Qiran couldn't find any other words, while Sang Qiao, standing beside him, was deep in thought.
No one knew how much time passed.
Sang Qiao finally sat down on the sofa in the room, and slowly said, "Brother Ran, don't worry, I'm very clear-headed."
Xu Qiran looked up and asked, "What can I rely on to feel assured?"
Sang Qiao tilted his head, smiled, and said, "Just because I've muddled through for so many years."
Xu Qiran: "……"
Sang Qiao sat there earnestly, calculating with his fingers alongside Xu Qiran, "Look, I haven't had white truffles, white sturgeon caviar, bluefin tuna…"
Xu Qiran was speechless. "Sang Qiao, money can be earned slowly, but talent is fundamental…"
"No, it's not," Sang Qiao interrupted Xu Qiran, shaking his head. "Ran brother, it's not."
Sang Qiao seemed a bit puzzled himself, and after thinking for a while, he said uncertainly, "Actually, I don't think I want to eat white truffles and bluefin tuna…but it seems like I've always believed that as long as I have money, a lot of money, my life will be a little better."
Sang Qiao hopped on his tiptoes, "I don't know how to live a luxurious life with money, and I don't really understand how the rich entertain themselves…but when I see a lot of money in my wallet, I can at least feel like I'm finally free from hunger."
And also free from a childhood that will never be mentioned again.
"In any case, I can't stop working, Ran brother," Sang Qiao said, sprawled on the sofa. "If you stop my work, I will go back to the construction site to do manual labor, and let the whole entertainment industry know that the artist you manage is doing construction work!"
Xu Qiran: "???"
Xu Qiran: "I should have shoved you down the sewer at that time! I could have lived twenty more years!"
The paper cutter left controllable wounds, which would narrow after healing.
If the recovery ability were a little better when young, by next spring, these marks would have likely disappeared without a trace.
Sang Qiao was uncooperative and was forcibly taken by Xu Qiran to Luan Yinan's clinic, where he was thrown into a treatment room and made to yawn for ten minutes.
After that, Luan Yinan, who had just been pulled out from under the covers, was also thrown into the treatment room by Xu Qiran with the same action, and the door was locked.
Sang Qiao: "…"
Luan Yinan: "…"
With vacant eyes filled with torment, Sang Qiao listened to Luan Yinan's relentless nagging for forty minutes.
Then, the intolerable Luan Yinan threw him out.
At least Xu Qiran had some conscience and gave a pancake roll to both Sang Qiao and Luan Yinan.
While Sang Qiao obediently squatted in the corner to eat the pancake roll, Xu Qiran seized the opportunity and said softly, "Dr. Luan, how is Sang Qiao's condition now? Do you have any effective treatment plans?"
Luan Yinan coldly accepted the pancake roll. "The patient is still uncooperative. I won't disclose the patient's condition, but I can tell you it's still manageable, at least not worse."
Could it get any worse?
Xu Qiran kept the people inside from closing the door. "Dr. Luan, have you seen the wound on Sang Qiao's upper arm that I just mentioned to you?"
Luan Yinan frowned at his own door. "Patients with psychological disorders often have this tendency. It's an extreme way of releasing stress and fantasy."
Xu Qiran: "Is there a way to correct it?"
Luan Yinan grinned meaningfully. "Yes, actively redirect the patient's attention. Let him fall in love with something that touches his heart, for example, making love."
Xu Qiran: "…"
"I occasionally check Weibo too. If my face memory serves me well, your patient should be a little celebrity, right?" Luan Yinan weighed the breakfast in his hand. "Considering it's breakfast time, let me give you another piece of advice. It's best for these patients not to live under the spotlight. With public opinion, they are short-lived."
Xu Qiran: "…"
Xu Qiran had begun to consider whether to change to another doctor next time.
He watched as Sang Qiao, who squatted in the corner, devoured a pancake roll at an alarming speed.
Xu Qiran could only push back the words he had not asked and said softly, "Dr. Luan, as Sang Qiao's agent, if you have any new insights about his treatment, please inform me."
Luan Yinan shrugged, "I only communicate the patient's condition with the patient's family. Mr. Xu, that's professional ethics."
Xu Qiran could only explain, "But he doesn't have any family."
Luan Yinan didn't seem surprised either. "No family? Then find him a family. People, especially those like him, need something to hold onto in the world, bring hope, and offer hope for treatment. Understand?"
There was still some distance from Luan Yinan's clinic to the production office.
After being tormented by Xu Qiran all morning, Sang Qiao closed his eyes and pretended to be dead when he got into the car, showing a non-cooperative attitude.
The rush hour hadn't arrived yet, and there were only a few red lights on the road.
Xu Qiran kept thinking about what Luan Yinan had said, and then looked at Sang Qiao, who seemed undecided about whether he was sleeping or not.
Suddenly, he thought that maybe Luan Yinan hadn't been wrong.
With something to hold onto, there would be hope.
With hope, you'd want to live well.
Right now, Sang Qiao's hope was money, but it was just too cold.
If one day Sang Qiao made a name for himself in the industry, earned a fortune, and then found that this hope couldn't bring him happiness—
Before the yellow light turned red, Xu Qiran stepped on the brake and dared not think further.
The two of them soon arrived at the production office.
Li Yu is not here.
The director bowed to Sang Qiao with the rest of the project team.
Shao Ming spoke politely: "Sang Qiao, what happened before was the fault of the program team. Now that Li Yu has been replaced, you can rest assured to return to the program, we will definitely treat everyone equally."
Sang Qiao quickly shook hands with Shao Ming: "Director, you are too kind, thank you very much. But it seems that I have delayed my breakfast time. I'll just go directly to the training room later, you should go back to work quickly!"
The young man in front of him was obviously much easier to get along with than Fu Xingzhou, and showed no intention of continuing to hold anyone accountable.
Shao Ming let out a sigh of relief, then gave some instructions to the planners who had come together, and then led the group upstairs.
Only Xu Qiran and Sang Qiao were still standing downstairs.
Xu Qiran threw Sang Qiao's bag to him with a meaningful look: "I specially came here to wait for you, probably at Fu Xingzhou's request."
Sang Qiao quickly put his backpack on, and said to Xu Qiran, "Oh my goodness, you've changed, you never used to gossip with me before."
Xu Qiran: "..."
Xu Qiran naturally wouldn't respond to Sang Qiao's dramatic teasing: "I mean, you should call Mr. Fu and thank him."
Sang Qiao turned around: "Thank him?"
Xu Qiran tried to guide him positively, "Putting aside everything else for now, Mr. Fu has helped you a lot with the matter on Weibo. And now he is still sick, both morally and ethically, you should call him."
Sang Qiao thought for a moment and felt that Xu Qiran made a lot of sense.
So he turned around: "But it's just the beginning of work hours now, will he find me annoying?"
Xu Qiran slapped the roof of the car: "Are you going to make the call?"
Sang Qiao shrank back: "Yes, yes, I will make the call!"
He found the number in his contacts.
Made a call.
The other person almost answered immediately.
Sang Qiao, who wasn't prepared for a proper opening, forgot what to say, and blurted out, "Hey?"
Fu Xingzhou leaned against the head of the bed, pausing the work in his hand.
About to speak.
Then he heard a voice from the other end of the phone, "Hey, are you asleep?"
Fu Xingzhou raised his lips slightly: "I woke up early."
"Qiao Qiao, look outside the window, it's already morning."