PHM chapter 1

In July, the sun blazed fiercely, scorching the earth. There were few people out on the streets, with most hiding inside air-conditioned rooms and refusing to come out.

At the filming site of Entertainment, Life, Yan Xi was hiding beneath the shade of a tree. Waves of heat washed over him, and his fair face was flushed from the heat, fine beads of sweat glistening on his delicate skin. Years of dance training had kept his posture straight as a pine or cypress no matter the circumstances. His body was slender yet strong, and even under the scorching sun, he showed not the slightest hint of disarray.

The lounge was not far away. He and his teammates had just been “invited” out by the production crew, and they could still vaguely hear Brother Feng, their manager, arguing with the production crew inside.

“Wasn’t this assigned to us? How can you change it at the last minute?”

“…Even the people from the investors’ side should follow the order of arrival, right? If there isn’t enough room in the lounge, we can squeeze in together!”

The other party said something, and Brother Feng almost choked on his breath. “If he wants to rest—there’s a hotel right next door. Why doesn’t he stay there and insist on squeezing in here?!”

The production crew had clearly lost patience as well. “He’s willing to. If you’re unhappy, go talk to the sponsor.”

Brother Feng fell silent, suppressing his temper and forcing a smile as he tried to reason with them. “It’s almost forty degrees outside. What if something happens? Besides, getting tanned won’t look good on camera…”

From outside the door, Yan Xi heard a scoff. “Then that’s none of our concern.”

After that came a stretch of suppressed silence.

Not long after, Brother Feng came out with a dark expression. When he saw Yan Xi, he paused, then his expression darkened even further. “What are you doing here? The sun’s going to damage your skin… Where are the others?”

Yan Xi stuffed a bottle of mineral water into his hand. “I sent them to the convenience store. There’s air conditioning there.”

“Why didn’t you go?”

Yan Xi said, “I was waiting for you.”

Brother Feng was speechless. “Waiting for me for what? Were you afraid I’d hit someone?”

“No.”

Brother Feng gave a self-deprecating laugh. “Even if your brother had ten times the courage, I wouldn’t dare.”

Yan Xi wasn’t worried that he would hit someone. He was worried about getting bullied himself.

Entertainment, Life was the hottest variety show of the past two years. It was already filming its third season, yet its popularity remained sky-high. From the production crew to the guests, there wasn’t a single person they could afford to offend.

Although NEVER had been together for three years, they were still practically nonexistent in the entertainment industry.

It was a pity, because each of the four members had their own strengths. Yan Xi, in particular, had started training in Chinese dance at the age of three. At sixteen, he had won the gold medal in the youth division of the Jinlan Cup, the most authoritative and fiercely competitive dance competition in the country. Even without debuting, he was qualified to enter a national-level song-and-dance academy in the future.

When Brother Feng first received Yan Xi’s résumé, he simply couldn’t believe that such an outstanding young man would be willing to become a trainee at their tiny, rundown company.

He had asked several times, but the eighteen-year-old’s eyes remained clear and resolute. “I want to become a member of a boy group. Please give me a chance.”

With this kind of résumé, if he had been at a larger company, the marketing would have already been spread across the entire country.

Unfortunately, not only could he not pave the way for Yan Xi, but after falling out with his former company, he couldn’t even scrape together a single cent for funding.

Normally, given their level of fame, they wouldn’t even have been able to get close to Entertainment, Life. It was only because Brother Feng had shamelessly begged an old classmate who happened to be the chief director that he finally managed to secure them a chance to appear as extras.

The filming location was remote, and even the lounges had been hastily put together. Earlier, Brother Feng had told the four of them that his old classmate had given him face—despite their lack of fame, they had still been given a room. He hadn’t expected them to be kicked out the very next second.

Brother Feng asked, “You heard everything just now?”

Yan Xi: “Mm.”

Brother Feng let out a frustrated sigh, his brows tightly furrowed. “What a mess…”

Yan Xi didn’t complain. He only said, “Don’t stand under the sun.”

Brother Feng was still full of anger. “Let them roast to death. If someone actually dies, let’s see how they’ll deal with it.”

Though his mouth said that, his feet were honestly already moving forward.

A group of people came toward them. Seven or eight people surrounded a young man, some holding umbrellas, some fanning him, and others carrying his luggage. There were three or four personal assistants alone.

The young man wore a hat and mask, making his expression impossible to see clearly. However, there was clear impatience between his brows. A middle-aged man, seemingly his manager, walked beside him, patiently saying something, but the young man didn’t listen to a word.

He kept his head lowered and walked quickly. Yan Xi nearly collided with him, but fortunately, Brother Feng was quick enough to pull him aside.

“Are you blind?!” The middle-aged man turned around and cursed. He seemed to want to say more, but seeing that the young man had already walked some distance away, he could only hurry after him, not forgetting to glare fiercely at the two of them before leaving.

Soon, the group entered the lounge they had just been driven out of.

Yan Xi thought the young man looked somewhat familiar. He seemed to be a young idol who had been gaining momentum recently. Just as he was trying hard to recall the other man’s name, Brother Feng came over and hooked an arm around his shoulder.

Brother Feng cursed, “Damn, stop looking. We can’t afford to mess with them.”

The two of them returned to the convenience store. The moment they stepped inside, cool air swept over their bodies, so refreshing that every pore seemed to open up.

Yan Xi exhaled. With a glance, he noticed that the television hanging on the wall was playing a classic xianxia film called Slaying the Immortals.

On the screen, the male lead wore a golden crown and had his hair tied up, dressed all in white as he moved through a bamboo forest with a dark-colored folding fan in his hand.

The wind stirred, bamboo swayed, and his white robes billowed. The folding fan in his hand summoned thunderous power and filled the sky with oppressive, terrifying black clouds.

The villains screamed in terror, utterly powerless to fight back against the male lead, who had succumbed to qi deviation.¹Qi deviation (走火入魔, zǒu huǒ rù mó) is a cultivation term referring to a dangerous disruption of one’s internal qi during martial arts or cultivation practice. It can cause physical injury, mental instability, loss of control, or even death.

Suddenly, he seemed to notice something. Slowly, he turned his head and looked toward the camera.

It was a face so exquisitely refined that it was almost excessive.

His brows were sharply defined, his eyes deep and somber, his nose tall and straight, and his thin lips pressed into a cold, indifferent curve.

Nothing in heaven or earth could enter his eyes, filled with despair and grief.

Two seconds later, the corners of his lips slowly split into a smile. Blood trickled down, an eerie and sorrowful red.

It was Pei Yuxing. This was his first work after entering the film and television industry, when he was twenty years old.

From that moment on, a legend was born in the entertainment industry.

Yan Xi remembered this scene. It was during the summer vacation after he finished elementary school. He had finally completed his homework and was enjoying a rare moment of relaxation.

He had turned on the television, only to see this scene. Messy black hair fell against a fair neck, while red blood stained the pristine white collar.

The male lead, who should have looked terrifying after falling into qi deviation, was instead breathtakingly beautiful.

Although many years had passed since this scene, it was still one of the favorite classic shots among master editors, and it was a must-have clip in popular videos showcasing beautiful faces.

Actually, as the male lead, Pei Yuxing’s character wasn’t a righteous figure in the traditional sense. At first glance, the title Slaying the Immortals might make one think it was an inspirational drama about the protagonist fighting against injustice in desperate circumstances. In reality, the male lead was an immortal—he was the one being slaughtered.

The television series had been extremely popular at the time and was broadcast simultaneously on multiple channels. Although it was Pei Yuxing’s screen debut, his acting was beyond reproach. In particular, the scene where he succumbed to qi deviation became the white moonlight²“White moonlight” (白月光) is a Chinese expression for someone or something deeply cherished and unforgettable, often carrying a sense of idealization or unattainability. of countless people’s hearts—a beautiful yet tragic character who was both powerful and miserable.

Because of this, for some time afterward, Pei Yuxing was labeled as gloomy, twisted, and cold.

As for what he had been like before, Yan Xi didn’t know much. Before marrying Pei Yuxing, his knowledge of the man was limited to his film and television works and the various famous film festivals he had occasionally heard about, as well as the times he had gone to the cinema with friends to support a movie.

The Pei Yuxing of today was different from the young and immature man he had been back then. Life experience had made him steady, reserved, refined, and easygoing. In his free time, he would prepare three meals a day at home, patiently iron freshly washed clothes and hang them up, and remind Yan Xi not to eat too much cold food.

The man’s expression remained calm as he put the extra ice cream back into the freezer. His T-shirt was casual and loose, with only his arms revealing his solid, well-built physique. The wedding ring on the ring finger of his left hand glimmered faintly.

Yan Xi wasn’t someone particularly driven by his appetite, but he couldn’t resist taking the opportunity to tease the man, reaching both hands around from behind to snatch back the cold treat back.

Pei Yuxing’s expression remained calm, though he looked somewhat displeased.

Yan Xi wasn’t afraid. He reached out and touched the man’s ring finger.

Sure enough, after silently looking at him for a while, the ice cream ended up back in the man’s hands, and he resigned himself to tearing open the wrapper for him.

……

The television drama was nearing its end. The shop owner and his three other teammates were watching intently.

The convenience store wasn’t very large. A freezer stood by the entrance, and two rows of shelves filled the space inside, leaving hardly any room. The men could only stand.

The first to notice the two of them was the youngest member of the group, Lin Yi. He moved farther inside to make some room for them. “Brother, Brother Feng, how did it go? Can we go back to the lounge?”

“Let’s rest here for a while,” Yan Xi said. “There are still two hours left. Just hang in there.”

Hearing this, the others immediately understood the production crew’s attitude.

Xia Zefan, the group’s rapper, frowned. “No reason?”

Brother Feng said, “The sponsor’s people came and said they wanted to rest at the filming site, and that our lounge was bigger and more convenient.”

Lin Yi complained, “The VIC room next door is pretty big too. Why don’t they use theirs?”

Brother Feng laughed angrily. “Can we compare ourselves to VIC? They’re the first boy group launched by Pei Yuxing. The production crew can’t flatter them enough, so why would they offend them? They’re not stupid.”

Pei Yuxing had rarely appeared on screen in recent years. After establishing his own studio, “Stairway,” he spent most of his time nurturing younger talent. Last year, both the Best Actor and Best Actress awards at a certain major awards ceremony went to artists under his studio.

He wasn’t satisfied with achievements like that, either, and had begun venturing into the music market.

Actually, given his status, he had no need to create a boy idol group like this. It seemed he wanted to revive the glory of singing-and-dancing boy groups, and VIC was his first attempt.

As it turned out, Pei Yuxing really was extremely capable.

Just one year after debuting, VIC won the Best New Artist award on a domestic music chart. Their newly released solo song had already topped the rankings on various music apps for an entire month. This wasn’t popularity artificially boosted by fans; their songs could be heard on every street and in every corner.

The Chinese music market hadn’t seen such a spectacle in a long time.

At this point, Brother Feng sounded a little bitter. “Back when Stairway was selecting trainees, we could’ve made it to the second round.”

Yan Xi lowered his eyes slightly, remembering that missed opportunity.

At the time, they had gotten into a dispute with their former company and were eliminated because of their contract. Later, after finally winning the lawsuit, Brother Feng no longer dared to sign with an entertainment agency so easily and instead took NEVER on their own.

Brother Feng took a breath. “It took a lot of effort just to get you guys into this show. Be smart, and seize the opportunity to show what you can do.”

Lin Yi remained expressionless. “What’s there to show? Once it’s edited, we won’t even have a shot.”

Brother Feng laughed. “If I hadn’t shamelessly begged them, you wouldn’t even have had the chance to be background extras. You’ve been a group for three years. Have you even broken thirty thousand followers on Weibo?”

Lin Yi: “……”

Brother Feng glanced toward the lounge. “If you guys had even half of VIC’s popularity, I’d worship you like ancestors.”

Lin Yi was young and said whatever came to mind, muttering, “They made a huge splash right from debut. How can we compare?”

“You think my temple is too small? Pei Yuxing’s temple is bigger, but can you get in?” Brother Feng’s expression turned serious. “Put away those unrealistic fantasies. Keep your feet on the ground and work hard, understand?”

He then looked at Yan Xi, his tone softening. “You’re the team leader. You’ll have to work a little harder.”

Yan Xi nodded. “I know.”

Brother Feng received a phone call and walked off to the side to answer it.

Yan Xi bent down to tie his loosened shoelaces. The necklace around his neck slipped out from his collar, a silver ring hanging from its thin silver chain.

Lin Yi noticed it. “Brother, when did you buy that ring? The design’s pretty nice.”

Yan Xi tucked the ring back inside without looking at him. “Not long ago. I just bought it online. It wasn’t worth much.”

Lin Yi said, “Oh,” then added, “Send me the link. I want to buy one to play with too.”

Yan Xi said indifferently, “It’s been taken off the shelves. You can’t buy it anymore.”

Lin Yi let out a regretful “Ah.”

Brother Feng strode over in a few steps, his expression changing drastically. “Quick, pack up. We’re going to the lounge now.”

“What happened? Did they clear out our room?”

“In your dreams!” Brother Feng said. “Pei Yuxing is here.”

You can read the full completed story here with instant full access. ✨

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  Qi deviation (走火入魔, zǒu huǒ rù mó) is a cultivation term referring to a dangerous disruption of one’s internal qi during martial arts or cultivation practice. It can cause physical injury, mental instability, loss of control, or even death.
• 2
  “White moonlight” (白月光) is a Chinese expression for someone or something deeply cherished and unforgettable, often carrying a sense of idealization or unattainability.