Male Sing and His Pet Owner: Chapter 97

The trending topic about the accidental explosion on the “Sharp Sword” production briefly floated on the homepage for an hour or two before being suppressed again. Zhao Kaile breathed a sigh of relief and logged out of the account the girl had given him.

Zhan Hang’s WeChat occasionally received messages, from people he knew and people he didn’t, until his head was spinning. He simply didn’t reply to a single one. Zhao Kaile’s WeChat wasn’t spared either. These past few days, the moment he opened his eyes it was ding ding ding notification sounds, noisy and nonstop. He had no choice but to post a “reporting safety” message on his Moments.

Midway through, a call came in on Zhan Hang’s phone. Zhao Kaile picked it up and looked at it. The contact name read Feng Biqin.

“Hello?” he answered. “Hi there.”

The woman named Feng Biqin sounded slightly surprised: “Who are you? Where’s Zhan Hang?”

“Hang-ge is working.” Zhao Kaile said politely. “I’m his assistant. Is there something I can help pass along, or would you like to call back when he’s resting?”

Feng Biqin laughed and said: “Oh, then I won’t disturb him for now. I just heard you had a little accident while filming and wanted to ask if anything happened to him. From the sound of it, it seems everything’s fine.”

“Mm mm, just some superficial wounds.” Zhao Kaile said. “Everyone’s fine. What’s spreading online is nonsense. Don’t believe it.”

“Ah.” Feng Biqin chuckled twice and asked: “Has he been sleeping soundly these days?”

Zhao Kaile felt question marks pop up over his head upon hearing this. Why would she ask about sleeping right off the bat……. What was her relationship with Hang-ge? How would she know about Hang-ge’s problem? He couldn’t tell her age from her voice. Were they friends?

“Pretty well.” Zhao Kaile answered hesitantly. “He rarely has insomnia anymore. Sometimes when the pressure is high, his old problem flares up, but normally he sleeps quite well.”

Feng Biqin said: “That’s good. Tell him to smoke less.”

Zhao Kaile: “Okay.” Feng Biqin: “Also, talk him into sending those two kittens away sooner. It’s from being around these little things for too long that he’s prone to getting sick.”

“Ah??” Zhao Kaile laughed and cried at the same time: “That won’t happen, and Hang-ge really likes them. It’s unlikely he’d send them away…….”

Hearing this, he could roughly guess who this Ms. Feng Biqin was……. But why would Hang-ge use his own mother’s full name as a contact note?!

Feng Biqin continued on her own: “He doesn’t listen to a single word I say. He doesn’t really respond when I message him on WeChat either. I’m just destined to be the one taking all the grievances.”

Zhao Kaile could only smile carefully and listen to her vent for nearly half an hour. At the end, he even advised her to call back later, but Feng Biqin absolutely refused, only saying that Zhan Hang was someone who wouldn’t listen to advice. After talking a couple of sentences with him, he’d get impatient, so she might as well not say anything.

After saying this, she angrily hung up the phone.

Zhao Kaile: “……..”

Setting everything else aside, the mother and son do have quite similar personalities.

Not long after, Zhan Hang came off set in costume for a brief rest. As usual, Zhao Kaile poured water for him, handed him water, handed him wet wipes. Zhan Hang leaned back in the chair and beckoned with one hand, signaling for his phone.

Zhao Kaile returned the phone to him and briefly recounted what had just happened.

“Mm.” Zhan Hang asked: “What did she call to say, did she chew me out?”

Zhao Kaile looked at him in shock: “How did you know!”

Zhan Hang scoffed, and indeed as Feng Biqin had said, Zhan Hang had always turned a deaf ear to her lectures.

Zhao Kaile: “She is actually…….”

“My mom.” Zhan Hang said lazily. “What did she just curse me out for? She didn’t chew you out too, did she?”

Although he had already guessed the truth, hearing Zhan Hang say it himself still made Zhao Kaile feel like he’d been struck hard: “No……. Auntie really is……. really is…….”

“She’s not here, who are you performing for?” Zhan Hang smiled yet didn’t smile, took a sip of water and looked at him: “Save your words. Say them to her face when you meet her someday.”

Zhao Kaile made an oh sound, thinking when is someday? Why would they meet? Is Hang-ge’s relationship with his mother good or bad? Why does it feel like they clearly still care about each other but are both so stubborn about it?

Two days later, Yu Zhengfeng wrapped his scenes. That night he invited several people out for drinks, including the lead actors and key creative staff.

He knew that if he got too drunk he would act crazy again, so he slightly restrained his alcohol intake, only drinking until slightly tipsy. Reeking of alcohol, he said some heartfelt words to everyone, from the hardships when he first debuted to the difficulties over the years, from the small-budget films at the beginning to the major IPs he had participated in, and then about the journey of meeting and getting to know many actors he had worked with. His eyes grew slightly red.

Zhan Hang sat to his left, occasionally patting Yu Zhengfeng’s back when he got worked up and started coughing, thinking with amusement that he’s still drunk after all.

“I also feel like I’m increasingly unable to endure lately.” Yu Zhengfeng smiled, but his eyes carried a trace of sorrow: “One must accept aging. That day lying in the hospital, I kept thinking, what am I even doing now……. So I’ve decided, after finishing this film, I’ll wash my hands in a golden basin, I’m done, retiring.”

Once these words were spoken, everyone was more or less somewhat surprised.

These were Yu Zhengfeng’s drunk words, but also his true words.

Some people heard it and let it go, not feeling surprised. After all, whether an old actor worked or not had no impact on the increasingly impetuous entertainment industry; some people stayed out of it, appearing extremely shocked and regretful on the surface but feeling no ripples in their hearts, planning their schedules for tomorrow as usual; and there were those like Song Yiming and Zhao Kaile, whose sympathy was written all over their faces, but deeply aware that they were alone and powerless, unable to help him with anything. They could only silently watch and listen, as a show of respect.

Some people told him not to get discouraged, some said they’d help him find his next project, and some directly came over to clink glasses and tell him to drink more.

However, Ren Jiayuan neither persuaded nor stopped him, only smiling and saying: “Lao Yu, since this is your last film, I’ll fight to win you an award no matter what.”

“Then I’ll thank you in advance.” Yu Zhengfeng laughed heartily upon hearing this and clinked glasses with him: “Your word counts.”

Ren Jiayuan said: “Definitely.”

Several people cheered, and the dinner table was once again a harmonious scene of joyful toasting and mutual drinking, but everyone knew that Ren Jiayuan was only saying nice words to coax a drunkard, not to be taken seriously.

When the gathering broke up, Zhan Hang still helped the assistant support Yu Zhengfeng to the car. Zhao Kaile followed behind carrying his jacket, his heart still gloomy and somewhat suffocated.

“He said when he came that he’d definitely drink less this time, but he couldn’t control himself again.” The assistant apologized to Zhan Hang: “Sorry to trouble you again, really sorry.”

“It’s fine.” Zhan Hang said: “When you get back, make him touch alcohol less.”

Yu Zhengfeng hadn’t completely passed out yet. Hearing this, he laughed again: “You brat…….”

Zhan Hang raised his volume slightly toward the drunkard and said: “Uncle Feng, I’m Zhan Hang. Go to bed early when you get back. I’m leaving now.”

“Got it, I’m not deaf yet……” Yu Zhengfeng mumbled: “Scram.”

He didn’t even finish speaking before collapsing onto the back seat and falling dead asleep, snoring like thunder. The assistant bid farewell to everyone and drove off.

Zhao Kaile shook out the jacket and helped Zhan Hang put it on. Zhan Hang slightly spread his arms and looked down at him.

“He’s already persisted for so long, why not continue persisting?” Zhao Kaile said: “What if this film becomes a hit.”

Zhan Hang also couldn’t answer. He reached out and touched Zhao Kaile’s forehead.

Zhao Kaile was still somewhat depressed. It seemed he wasn’t merely sympathizing with Yu Zhengfeng’s situation. He was more afraid that one day, Zhan Hang would also end up with such a result. Would Zhan Hang still be as determined as he is now? When Hang-ge becomes Hang-uncle, maybe even getting angry would be like a sickly lion, only going wuwuwu, but no one would be afraid of him anymore.

Zhan Hang said: “I can only be certain of one thing. I won’t regret my current choices in the future. Yu Zhengfeng should be the same as me. He’s lived more than twenty years longer than us, what wouldn’t he understand?”

Zhao Kaile nodded, helped him straighten his clothes, and obediently put his hands back in his own pockets. Zhan Hang hesitated for a moment, a kind of impulse flashing through his heart, his footsteps uncontrollably moving forward.

He wanted to hug him.

“Why are you guys here?” A slightly tipsy male voice suddenly appeared, successfully interrupting Zhan Hang’s thoughts, then stammered: “Zhao, Zhao Kaile.”

Zhan Hang: “……..”

“Yiming?” Zhao Kaile turned to look at him, then looked around and asked: “Why are you alone? Where’s your assistant?”

“Don’t know.” Song Yiming scratched his head and said: “I went to the bathroom. When I came back, you……. you had all left.”

Zhao Kaile sighed: “I’ll help you make a call. Did you bring your phone?”

“Let him call himself.” Zhan Hang pulled Zhao Kaile back with one hand, frowning and scolding: “Is he your boss? Why are you always worrying about him for no reason?”

Zhao Kaile stumbled, looking at him strangely.

Zhan Hang was silent for a moment, then said: “I’ll help him call.”

A few minutes later, Song Yiming’s assistants, who had been going crazy looking for their boss, rushed over in a frenzy. Upon receiving their person, they thanked Zhan Hang profusely, almost weeping with joy.

“Keep a better eye on your own boss, seriously.” Zhan Hang scolded them without good temper: “So many people can’t even watch one person? What are you good for?”

Those few people didn’t dare say a word, only keeping their heads down while Zhan Hang chewed them out fiercely, then respectfully sent their person off.

After bidding farewell to the second drunkard, both of them were somewhat exhausted. Zhao Kaile drove back to the hotel, attended to Zhan Hang until he fell asleep, then collapsed onto the bed utterly spent and drifted into dreamland in a daze.

Next door, Zhan Hang received a call from Feng Biqin.

Mother and son, after not hearing each other’s voices for over half a year, both maintained a state of complete indifference.

Zhan Hang: “Ms. Feng, could you pick a time when normal people are awake to call?”

“When did you and that little assistant of yours start?” Feng Biqin asked. “Have you told anyone else?”

Zhan Hang: “?”