Idol Chapter 131

Wen Feng really came.

The early hours of a summer night are very quiet, the green vines outside the floor-to-ceiling windows sway silently, like scattered thoughts.

The others politely greeted and then retreated back to their own rooms.

Mei Shengyao sat on the left side of the sofa, elbows on knees, fingers interlocked like a pyramid.

When Wen Feng entered, she was trying hard to appear calm and mature, but the panic in her eyes could not be hidden.

She still looked well-maintained, looking beautiful and youthful in her forties, without any signs of aging.

After the affair, she faded out of the entertainment circle for a while, probably because she couldn’t get satisfactory movie roles, so she settled for TV dramas instead.

Eventually, she and the Mei family became less connected.

The Mei family started from a small fishing village, with the eldest son Mei Heng becoming famous and supporting his younger siblings through their education.

Mei Heng’s parents were also wise and kind, willing to spend three months’ salary to send him for company training to achieve his dreams. When wealthy, they even attended university for the elderly together. With their warm and kind demeanor, and Mei Heng’s unique charisma, they were also very popular in today’s upper social circles.

Marrying Mei Heng and having Mei Shengyao was never a mistake.

The right time, the right person, the right child.

Wen Feng was gentle and close to the children in the crew, but she neglected her own son, largely out of self-deception and misplaced anger.

But she saw the lively appearance of the little phoenix in “The Immortal Painting.”

So much so that she sat in the cinema for a long time, realizing the mistakes she had made.

She always felt that Mei Shengyao resembled his father, suited for singing, not interested in film scripts, unable to inherit even a fraction of her essence.

Even when he became a hugely successful idol, the congratulations from everyone only annoyed her, and she once blocked all news related to that group.

Wen Feng watched “The Immortal Painting” three times, having seen the initial edited version before its release through a friend’s invitation, sitting alone in the projection room, distraught.

One blow had not yet subsided when another came.

Jiang Yanzhi, that bastard, that woman who stole her brilliant life, actually had a son who was in college.

And he had won the Asian Newcomer Award this year.

Wen Feng sat next to Mei Shengyao, clutching her purse unnaturally tightly, her voice especially strained.

“…Yao Yao.”

Mei Shengyao slowly drank milk from a glass, not looking at her.

Wen Feng forced a pale smile, trying to please him: “You’ve grown so much, and I’ve never really taken you out to play.”

“I’ve missed you so much these past few years, everything online, all of that is fake, don’t believe a word of it.”

“I’ve been trying to earn money recently, thinking that once you’re free, we could go abroad to see the sea together, how about it?”

Mei Shengyao still did not look at her.

Wen Feng herself lacked confidence in her words.

After the child was born, she was left in a large villa, seeing him at most two or three times a year, with Mei Heng taking care of him most of the time.

Shortly after turning twelve, he was sent here to SPF to board for so many years, claiming to be mother and son but actually estranged to the point of not knowing how to converse.

“I have training tomorrow,” the youth glanced at his watch: “Five more minutes, then I won’t see you out.”

“Mei Shengyao, I’m your mother,” Wen Feng reached out and grabbed his wrist, panicking and gripping tightly: “I’m your mother, look at me, look at me!!!”

Mei Shengyao let her grip him without resistance, glancing at her indifferently, dismissively: “I know.”

Wen Feng’s pupils contracted, incredulously saying: “Do you know how long it took me to give birth to you?! Ten months—from the first three months of pregnancy care to postpartum, do you know how swollen I was?!”

“How dare you speak to me with that tone? Mei Shengyao, I have given up this—”

“The day Dad came to see me in the rain, it was pouring outside.” Mei Shengyao refilled his glass with milk, calmly interrupting her tirade: “He was soaked through, yet still held me tight, afraid I’d be upset.”

“When he used to perform concerts, he only had seven minutes to rest and change clothes, yet he would video call me, lulling me to sleep.”

“I only realized how precious those seven minutes were after I held my own concert.”

“He just puts on this facade for you!” Wen Feng angrily exclaimed, “He’s hogged all the good for himself, and over the years, he has been plotting non-stop!”

“Yes, he’s now a superstar, and what about me? Do you know what I’ve become after having a child? If it weren’t for—”

Mei Shengyao looked up at her indifferently and said, “Then why did you come to me today?”

Wen Feng forcefully stopped her outburst, taking deep breaths, trying to say the words she had rehearsed many times on her way here.

“I’m sorry, it was mom who lost her composure, I just…”

“Three more minutes.”

Wen Feng, disregarding everything, grabbed his hand tightly, trying to close the distance between them: “Child, your performance in ‘The Immortal Painting’ was especially spirited.”

“You shouldn’t waste your time in places like this; you should go to the theater.”

“Yao Yao, you’re nineteen now, how about going to college? Mom can find you the best acting class in the theater, I can personally pick scripts for you, okay?”

“You will definitely become an excellent actor, you can take all the awards, you can do better than that kid Jiang Jue—”

She rambled on with her plans and aspirations, up to this moment without a hint of apology, losing all judgment to obsession.

Mei Shengyao looked at her for a few seconds, then slowly withdrew his right hand.

Then, with gentle movements, he wiped the tears from her face, his eyelashes drooping as he began to speak softly.

There was a naive coldness in his voice.

“You don’t understand.”

“I’m already very happy here, at the Mei family.”

“All I want now is the crown.”

Wen Feng stared at him blankly, her mind blank for a long while.

Mei Shengyao let go, took a tissue to clean his palm, and walked straight to the door to see the visitor out.

The woman sat in place, unwilling to move. She hoarsely spoke, still wanting to ask for more: “The crown? Which crown? The OSC one?! Will you go back to college after you get it?”

Even now, she didn’t know the exact number of letters in her son’s group’s name.

Jiang Shu had been waiting at the door, and seeing Mei Shengyao leave the living room, he gently persuaded Wen Feng to go back.

The woman left in a daze, hastily looking back once more as she went downstairs.

“Can I come to see him later?”

“I’m afraid not,” Jiang Shu shook his head, “This child is too busy, rarely staying here for more than a few days a year.”

The driver called by Jiang Shu waited at the elevator door, politely greeted her, and accompanied her to leave.

It wasn’t until the elevator doors slowly closed that Wen Feng suddenly slumped, kneeling in the elevator, crying uncontrollably, her cheeks streaked with tears.

Huo Ren waited until he heard the door close before he quietly opened the door to check on Mei Shengyao’s condition.

As soon as Huo Ren opened the door, the other five popped their heads out like mushrooms, looking around to see where the kid had gone.

Mei Shengyao, holding a toothbrush, finished a video call with his biological father, comforted Mei Heng, who was anxious and couldn’t sleep, then turned his head to find two rows of sunflowers staring at him.

“It’s really nothing.” He shook his cup and said, “I even comforted her a few times.”

Huo Ren quickly walked over and hugged the young man, and then everyone else rushed over, enveloping the little phoenix in a tight embrace.

“Ow, ow,” Mei Shengyao’s face hurt from the rubbing, he raised his voice, “We live on the seventeenth floor, what are you panicking about, it’s her who doesn’t want me, okay?”

Bo Jue hugged him even tighter, grunting several times.

“Sss… I’m going to suffocate, Jue bro…”

The incident indeed passed without much trouble. The next day, early in the morning, everyone went about their usual routine, eating and practicing, led by the little white dog running circles in the rooftop garden.

After the morning training, Uncle Wang found Huo Ren and motioned him to talk aside.

“There’s something I’m not sure if I should mention,” he said, scratching his head, “Do you remember the kid you picked up before, Fu Mingnian?”

Huo Ren glanced sideways, “Is he in trouble?”

“Not really, but I know you care about him, so I wanted to let you know.” Uncle Wang hesitated for a few seconds, lowering his voice, “This year, the company has a quota for public-funded plastic surgery, sending them to the best hospitals abroad. They’ll do whatever it takes to make them look good, including chin shaving, nose augmentation, eyelid surgery, the whole package.”

“Fu Mingnian… he signed up.”

Huo Ren was drinking an energy drink to replenish his strength, with Snowball rolling around at his feet. He paused for a few seconds, then asked instinctively, “When is he going?”

“The company is finalizing the audit, and the list will be published tomorrow.” Uncle Wang made a scissor gesture with his fingers, snapping in the air, “If you’re not okay with it, I can take care of this.”

Plastic surgery is nothing new in the entertainment industry.

Stars are always strictly scrutinized by the camera. Normal figures appear fatter on camera, and female stars in reality are almost all skin and bones, daring not to touch any staple foods.

If that’s the case with their figure, there’s even less of a limit when it comes to their faces.

By normal standards, handsome and beautiful faces are one in a million, and those truly born with perfect features are few and far between.

But once in the industry, you have to climb up, compete for resources and popularity. The disadvantages one is born with become the easiest points to modify.

Thick lips, small eyes, flat noses, wide chins, all are trivial in the face of modern medicine.

The pain is excruciating, and recovery involves months of torment, but all these are the price to pay in the pursuit of fame and fortune.

Huo Ren thought for a moment, then slowly agreed.

“Is he in SPF?”

“Yes, he’s been training for almost a year and a half now.” As Jiang Shu’s assistant, Uncle Wang was very thorough, “Before I came here, I checked, and he has always been outstanding, demanding a lot from himself, and the teachers think highly of him.”

Uncle Wang had seen Fu Mingnian a few times and actually thought he looked quite good, just not quite up to the current internet celebrity aesthetics.

According to the young people in the department, girls nowadays prefer the elfin look: sharp chins, big eyes, fair skin.

With more and more artists, countless aspire to become idols and gain fame. Newcomers need to be memorable at first glance, stunning the audience instantly.

But Fu Mingnian doesn’t stand out.

He’s not yet seventeen this year, but he already possesses a calmness and depth unrelated to his age.

It’s as if all his emotions and thoughts are hidden deep inside, with an elusive aura.

At first glance, he might seem like an ordinary passerby, decent-looking but not outstanding.

But upon the second and third look, one can feel the undercurrents raging beneath the calm surface.

Like a white shark lying in wait, his fierceness hidden deep within his eyes.

Such a person… doesn’t seem like he would make this choice.

“In the morning, can you keep an eye on Yun Ge and Jue Ge for me? The team should run ten kilometers before doing stretching and strength training.” Huo Ren picked up his jacket and walked back, his silhouette still sharp and attractive.

“I’ll go see him.”