Male Sing and His Pet Owner: Chapter 121

Zhan Hang never told Zhao Kaile that on the day he saw Feng Biqin, he was actually quite bothered by how she compared him to Zhan Hongyuan. Feng Biqin always intentionally or unintentionally linked her son to Zhan Hongyuan, her words inside and out afraid that he would inherit some of Zhan Hongyuan’s unsavory traits, like his disregard for other people’s dignity, or his excessive self love.

Zhan Hang could of course see what she was worried about, which was why he had been a bit angry at the time and mercilessly mocked her own immaturity when it came to relationships.

Zhao Kaile never expected that the thing that had been bothering him all day would get such an answer. He wished he could dig a hole right then and bury himself in it.

Zhan Hang said, “Think about it some more.”

Zhao Kaile said slowly, “I don’t really want to do anything else, and we signed a three year contr…”

Zhan Hang looked at him without speaking, thinking to himself, contract my foot, you’re already mine and you’re still bringing up contracts.

Zhao Kaile shut his mouth awkwardly, still a bit embarrassed, then got up and put on airs saying he was going next door to find something. Zhan Hang didn’t stop him, silently watching him leave.

After Zhao Kaile left, he couldn’t help sitting down and replaying the expression on Zhao Kaile’s face just now. The more he thought about it, the more he felt he had done a beautiful job. It seemed that from now on, doing alone wasn’t enough, he also had to say more.

A moment later, the phone rang. It was Ren Jiayuan.

When the heat for “The Sharp Sword” started to slowly decline, Zhan Hang hadn’t paid much attention to the follow up publicity for the drama. Ren Jiayuan also hadn’t called in a long time. When this call came, Zhan Hang hesitated for a moment about whether to answer.

Maybe it was to talk about the year end awards?

Zhan Hang pressed answer and said politely, “Hey, Director Ren, hello hello, how do you have time to call?”

“Little Hang.” Ren Jiayuan’s tone didn’t sound as calm as usual. “You… do you know where Zhan Hongyuan is right now?”

Zhan Hang subconsciously wanted to frown the moment he heard those three words, but his tone didn’t change much. He played dumb while knowing full well, and asked back, “What? Who did you say? What yuan?”

Ren Jiayuan sighed, “Don’t hide it from me. He told me what your relationship is… Little Hang, I know you have strong pride, and all these years in the industry you never relied on your dad. But ‘The Sharp Sword,’ no matter what the reason, at its root it was him who chased down such a huge investment, so we could make the drama better. Isn’t that right? What father and son hold grudges overnight? Even if you don’t want to inherit the businesses under him, you don’t need to make things so stiff.”

Zhan Hang heard that the reason Zhan Hongyuan had made up for others was exactly the same as what Zhao Kaile had imagined before, and immediately didn’t want to be angry anymore. So he asked with mockery in his voice, “You didn’t call just to play peacemaker, did you?”

“That’s not it.” Ren Jiayuan thought for a moment and said in a low voice, “A couple days ago I went to a seminar near his company, and saw a court vehicle parked at the entrance… I can’t reach him now either, so I thought I’d ask you.”

Zhan Hang’s heart thumped heavily at this, faintly feeling that some guess of his was about to come true.

“I don’t know where he is either.” He was silent for a moment, then said, “You mean, his company is suspected of illegal operations and got shut down?”

Ren Jiayuan only said, “I’m not sure. The situation is unclear right now, don’t rush to conclusions…”

He said this with his mouth, but both the listener and the speaker knew in their hearts. Right now was a very sensitive period, with the higher ups cracking down hard. Even a deep water giant crocodile like Zhan Hongyuan, who had been entrenched for so many years, might need to pull a golden cicada shedding its shell to safely get away.

Ren Jiayuan probably knew what kind of business Zhan Hongyuan was in. But the industry had its own set of unspoken rules that ran on their own, and most people turned a blind eye. The reason he cared about Zhan Hongyuan’s whereabouts was most likely because he didn’t want the year end awards for “The Sharp Sword” to get dragged down by Zhan Hongyuan’s bad debts.

“I’ll try to contact him.” Zhan Hang said.

Ren Jiayuan seemed to have slightly set down a heavy stone in his heart, let out a breath and said, “Okay, let’s not overthink it either. You focus on your own work.”

Zhan Hang made a sound of agreement, then said goodbye and hung up. A few seconds later, he dialed Zhan Hongyuan’s number and, as expected, heard “The number you have dialed is powered off.”

He stood in the room for a long time without moving, unable to say what kind of feeling he had in his heart after getting this news. Excitement? Anxiety? Or relief? Maybe all of them.

He didn’t care one bit about what kind of fate Zhan Hongyuan himself met, but that one thread of blood connection between them would very likely seriously affect all his future development.

If people knew that his biological father was such a person, living outside the law, treating principles and bottom lines as nothing…

He couldn’t imagine further down, nor could he be sure how many people in this industry right now knew about their relationship. It was even very possible that the girl who had slipped into the assistant group earlier wasn’t an accidental oversight.

Once anxiety flooded his heart, Zhan Hang only felt the light before his eyes grow a bit dim. Countless names flashed through his mind, all being listed one by one on his suspect list.

The next day, Zhan Hang had Zhao Kaile ask the director for a leave of absence, instructed Ding Peng to drive back to Province A. He remembered that Zhan Hongyuan had also bought a house for one of his mistresses, right in District A.

They set out in the early morning, and by the time they arrived it was already afternoon. The three of them ate something simple in the car. Ding Peng stayed in the car, while Zhao Kaile followed Zhan Hang out to find the person.

The main gate was open. The courtyard looked no different from last time, even more meticulously trimmed. Zhan Hang walked along the gravel path in the middle to the front door, raised his hand and pressed the doorbell twice.

Zhao Kaile had followed the whole way and still hadn’t figured out what Zhan Hang was suddenly trying to do today, but instinctively felt he was in a bad mood and didn’t ask much. Zhan Hang waited a minute and still no one answered the door, so with some anger he annoyedly slapped the door.

A moment later, the door finally opened. Inside stood a woman looking haggard with quite messy hair, wearing only a thin nightgown.

Both sides were startled at the sight of each other.

Zhao Kaile still remembered that when he saw her last time, her makeup had been exquisite and proper, her gaze gentle and bright. She was completely unlike the person before him now, as if she had aged more than ten years. He couldn’t help showing shock, thinking to himself, what had she gone through in the time they hadn’t seen each other? How did she become like this?

The woman recognized who Zhan Hang was. Her expression changed several times, finally settling into calmness.

She raised her hand, preparing to close the door, and said lightly, “Zhan Hongyuan isn’t here. It’s not convenient to receive visitors today. Leave quickly.”

“What exactly happened to you all?” Zhan Hang stuck his foot in the door crack, reached out to brace the door panel, forcing her unable to close it. “Tell me.”

The woman looked at him strangely, puzzled as she asked, “Didn’t you disown this father of yours?”

Zhan Hang was about to say something, but she muttered to herself, “Oh, you’re afraid his mess will drag you down, so you’re anxious…”

“You can’t reach him either?” Zhan Hang didn’t want to hear this nonsense and got straight to the point.

The woman let out a low laugh, dropped her hand, turned and walked inside on her own, saying slowly, “How would I have such qualification.”

Zhan Hang and Zhao Kaile exchanged a look, then followed her into the room.

The first floor decoration was much more lavish than when they first came, but the curtains weren’t drawn inside. The light was dim and gloomy, and some artistic paintings looked exceptionally terrifying in this atmosphere. They were all the woman’s own work.

“He heard the wind and ran the first chance he got.” The woman brought over three cups of tea, her bare feet on the floor, seemingly not feeling the cold at all. She bent down to place the cups one by one before them, but her tone was as if discussing someone else’s matters, very ordinary. “Taking his… lover?”

Zhao Kaile didn’t understand what she meant, said thank you, then looked at Zhan Hang in confusion.

Zhan Hang asked, “He didn’t say anything to you before leaving?”

The woman drank her water on her own, reached up to tuck her hair back, and said indifferently, “What could he say to me? He never talked to me about his business. I’m just someone who holds a paintbrush. Even if he told me, I wouldn’t understand.”

Zhan Hang said, “You should at least know where he went.”

“I don’t know.” The woman said, “Where he went has nothing to do with me anymore.”

Zhao Kaile observed her expression and seemed to sense the chill in her heart. She couldn’t accept that when facing such danger, Zhan Hongyuan would unhesitatingly choose to abandon her at the first moment. She had always thought she was the most special one in Zhan Hongyuan’s heart, that one day he would turn back for her.

“He said he appreciated my work, that’s why he bought it at a high price. I actually believed it all.” The woman reached out, gently stroking the picture frame on the wall, her fingers pale and slender.

She had already cried for several days, her tears mostly dried up. Now she wanted to cry but couldn’t cry anymore, her tone even carrying a bit of free and easy self mockery. She still resented Zhan Hongyuan, but had also seen through some things during this time, no longer holding fantasies.

Zhan Hang knew that asking further would yield no more details, so he had to give up. He decided to give this pitiful woman a warning. “I suggest you get as far away from him as possible. He’s not a good person.”

The woman let out a low laugh, turned to look at him. “The things he told me… about you and your mother, they were all lies he made up, right?”

Zhan Hang didn’t answer, only looking at her with a blank expression.

The woman nodded, slowly reining in her smile, and said in a low voice, “I understand.”

Hearing this, Zhao Kaile finally vaguely understood the general picture, so he weakly spoke up to comfort her. “You two don’t have children yet… Zhan Hongyuan isn’t your whole life either. You can start over from the beginning. Don’t be too discouraged.”

At these words, the woman was startled, pondered for a long while, and her eyes rimmed slightly red as she looked at the wall.

Zhao Kaile: “…….”

Zhan Hang: “…….”

Zhao Kaile’s eyes widened in shock. “You, you…”

Zhan Hang wasn’t particularly surprised by this, but genuinely admired Zhao Kaile’s crow mouth that so often came true.