Idol Chapter 171

Xie Lianyun wasn’t sure if his eyes were deceiving him, his hand trembled almost hanging up the phone.

“Chi Chi? Can you hear us speaking? Could you laugh again?”

Bo Jue glanced at the encryption mark on the top right corner of the mobile phone screen, confirming that paparazzi-like eavesdropping was likely not present, and hurriedly said, “Yao Yao had said before…”

Xie Lianyun quickly stood up: “I’ll go call the doctor over to take a look.”

Half an hour later, the two doctors who had participated in the blood clot removal arrived at the old house in the suburbs, quickly going over the recent monitoring data.

“Director Wu is performing a major surgery and can’t come over for now.” The lead doctor, with a cold demeanor, wrote a few notes on the medical record book after examining Chi Ji: “Using fMRI, we can confirm his brain wave activity and specific consciousness, but considering the patient’s unique identity, we advise against transferring to another hospital for a second examination.”

The other doctor, speaking gently, asked, “Besides finger movement, seems to laugh when hearing conversations, any other conditions?”

Xie Lianyun thought for a few seconds, somewhat hesitant: “When I play the violin for him, I always feel his eyelashes quiver.”

“This is a very good sign.” The younger doctor smiled: “Please let him listen to more familiar melodies, stories, to stimulate more of his consciousness awakening.”

“Then, can he hear us speaking now?” Xie Lianyun briskly went to pour a cup of water for them, trying to appear calmer: “I had asked earlier, but there was no response.”

“Mr. Chi might not yet be able to fully control his body and nerves,” the doctor explained: “More joint and muscle massage, more patient communication, will accelerate the awakening time.”

“How soon could he possibly wake up?”

As soon as he asked, Xie Lianyun realized his eagerness was somewhat impetuous, his eyes showing apology: “Sorry, I didn’t mean to pressure you…”

“It’s indeed difficult to answer,” the younger doctor earnestly said: “Specific situations vary in past cases, but we hold an optimistic attitude towards Mr. Chi.”

“Maybe he also wants to wake up, striving hard just like you and your friends.”

Xie Lianyun took a deep breath, quickly nodding his head.

“Okay.”

He controlled himself not to send this Q&A into the group chat, not to call everyone saying Chi Chi finally laughed, restrained to the point of being cold.

“Thank you very much, I’ll see you two out.”

 

SPF program recording building.

Han Yang, carrying a backpack, signed at the security and turned to walk towards the deep gray Cullinan parked at the building’s entrance.

He hadn’t expected his biological father to be so high-profile, blatantly ignoring the option of the underground parking lot.

Before he even approached the door, the fan girls who had been almost 24-hour stakeouts near the fence had already seen him, their cameras clicking non-stop.

“It’s Yang Yang!!”

“Could that Rolls-Royce be here to pick him up?! Who’s sitting inside?!!!”

“Yang Yang, look at Mommy ahhh—”

This was getting out of hand.

Han Yang rubbed his face, thinking this relationship cover might be blown.

He waited two seconds in front of the revolving door, then the driver’s window rolled down.

Han Gaozhi, with a gentle expression, waved his hand, while Han Qu, sitting in the passenger seat, played with his phone with a cold face.

Han Yang dashed to the car side in two or three steps, trying to smile towards the direction of the flashes to show he had nothing to hide, then darted into the car.

“Let’s go.” Han Gaozhi, steering the wheel, asked: “Thirsty? There’s a Coke for you in the cooler.”

“Thanks, I brought a thermos.”

“That’s right,” Han Gaozhi laughed: “You have to protect your throat for singing.”

Han Qu, already sick to his stomach from this affectionate father-son dialogue, continued to reply to messages on his phone without saying a word.

Han Yang sneakily glanced at this stepbrother’s profile, asking: “We’re going to see an opera today, could we pick up a friend of mine too? He’s just on Binjiang Road, on the way?”

“Of course, we can,” Han Gaozhi relaxed: “Just the chance for dad to meet him too.”

He was eager to mend this father-son relationship, even personally acting as the driver today to close the distance with his younger son.

Han Yang breathed a sigh of relief internally, smiling and saying, “Thank you for the trouble.”

These days, with the airing of “Chosen by the Gods,” Han Yang’s popularity had been skyrocketing, soaring alongside the program’s viewership ratings.

Originally known within the industry for his exquisite drawing skills as a renowned illustrator, and as a formally trained talent from the Honglu Music Academy, his exceptionally smooth and natural singing voice was unparalleled.

Coincidentally, among the trainees who were male models, Han Yang stood out with his distinct, more refined stature.

Among a long line of tall youths, suddenly being a bit shorter was indeed too conspicuous.

The fans hadn’t expected this young man of modest height to hold so many surprises.

Most of them had never delved into the art circle before, and after becoming true fans, they peeled layers off this trainee like an onion, only to be met with more questions.

“So the desktop wallpaper I’ve used for four or five years was drawn by my new favorite artist??”

“My idol actually drew fanart of the anime couple I ship??!!”

“Han Yang’s life photos are too cute, he looks so adorable and meek like a little sparrow wuwuwu—”

Just as the fourth episode aired, in just a few short scenes, Han Yang’s seriousness and effort were truthfully portrayed, instantly exploding the goodwill of many viewers with his incredibly light and agile voice.

While the audience who watched the show for the looks were still debating over who among Gu Shaochu, Fu Mingnian, Chen Yuanqing, and others was the most handsome, fans of voices had already fallen at the feet of Han Yang and Bo Huan’s microphones.

One vote after another, and the brother will debut tomorrow!!!

What are these heavenly vocal talents and pitch perfection, my headphones are blown away!!!

Recently, Han Gaozhi had been incredibly busy, barely touching the ground with his feet, and had actually watched the solo direct shots and behind-the-scenes edits provided by his assistant on a plane.

He had been immersed in the murky business world for too long, and it was rare to see such a pure and bright child, especially one who was his own son.

The more he watched, the more he felt as if he had returned to his younger days, his mindset reverting to that of someone in their thirties.

His younger son’s singing was truly beautiful, although the footage was too sparse, totaling less than five minutes.

—Wasn’t Han Qu supposed to take good care of him? Is this the result of his care??

This week, Han Yang had to juggle program rehearsals while worrying about Chi Ji and Han Qu’s relationship, pondering over and over again, feeling that no plan was safe.

If Dr. Xu had ulterior motives, wanting to form a superficial relationship with the Han family or himself, one wrong step could lead to many awkward situations and future troubles.

But if Chi Ji’s suicide really had something to do with Han Qu… it would definitely not be wise for the three of them to meet alone.

After all, this stepbrother’s terrible deeds were no secret on various forums.

Practically all the dirty deeds done by rich second generations were associated with him, no wonder his biological father looked at him much more kindly.

In the end, Han Yang had Qiu Yu book four box tickets for the opera, then called his biological father.

Of course, his tone was still timid.

“Dad… we haven’t been in touch for many years, and it seems like brother doesn’t really get along with me.”

“If you’re free next weekend, could we go watch a performance together, please?”

Han Gaozhi quickly agreed, even casually rejecting Han Qu’s inquiry about buying a new helicopter.

“Spend more time with your brother! Less of these frivolous things!”

Han Yang had thought it through clearly.

He wasn’t very familiar with Xu Le, and with dedicated service in the opera box, they could ask the guest to leave at any time if the situation turned sour.

What mattered was the brief time spent together in the car.

He needed to understand what exactly had happened between Han Qu and Dr. Xu.

The Rolls-Royce soon stopped in front of a café on Binjiang Road.

Xu Le had received a message early in the morning, greeted Han Gaozhi with a bit of restraint before getting in the car, then sat next to Han Yang.

Playing with his phone, Han Qu glanced casually through the rearview mirror, feeling this person looked somewhat familiar.

“Yang Yang, what does this friend of yours do for a living?”

“He’s a psychologist, previously studied at the Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.” The young man said calmly.

Han Qu’s movements jerked dramatically as he turned his body to look at Xu Le’s face.

“What’s with that reaction, haven’t seen a person before?” Han Gaozhi frowned.

“It’s you—” Han Qu’s eyes flashed darkly for a moment: “We’ve met.”

Xu Le acted as if unaware, calmly saying: “Yes, we’ve met at your suburban billiards club.”

“So you two brothers have a mutual friend?” Han Gaozhi felt somewhat relieved, his expression lightening: “Have a good chat, don’t be so estranged, you two.”

“I’m not going, stop the car.” Han Qu reached to press the car door’s lock, his tone very cold: “There’s a meeting at the company that needs me. You three go, don’t include me.”

“Han Qu, you’d better stay here,” Han Gaozhi, a typical middle-aged man, was most annoyed by such public defiance, his tone immediately becoming firm: “I already told you that today you were supposed to accompany your brother, and the tickets were bought by Yang Yang, keep that in mind.”

Han Qu couldn’t decide whether to glare directly at that brat or continue to play obedient, his own company relying on leveraging his father’s name for investment. Now, turning hostile would be a huge loss.

He sat stiffly for a few seconds, his mind a chaotic mess.

This person, whether surnamed Xu or Lu, wasn’t sure if the money had been properly dispatched to his subordinates.

The things buried in the past were very deep, unlikely to be dug up, so these two fools probably wouldn’t know.

It should just be about attending an opera… Who listens to such outdated stuff these days.

Han Gaozhi coughed coldly, disgusted that his eldest son was still acting this way in his thirties.

“I know.” Han Qu turned away to look out the window, no longer interacting with the other two: “I’ll delegate it to my subordinates.”

Han Yang sat in the shadow, exchanging glances with Xu Le after a long while.

He felt something was off.

That sudden turn, and the extremely fierce expression for a moment, couldn’t have been his illusion.

“Brother.” He reverted to his child-like disguise, crisply saying: “So you’ve met Dr. Xu before, why didn’t you ever mention it to me?”

Han Qu coldly looked out the window, giving no response.

In Han Gaozhi’s eyes, this was a rare moment of his younger son trying to get close to his brother.

He gave Han Qu another warning glance.

“Just once, not familiar.” Han Qu said coldly.

“Indeed, maybe you forgot.” Xu Le smiled: “Mr. Han asked me that day, how to alleviate anxiety symptoms in a family member, and what health products could improve sleep while protecting the nervous system.”

“That bottle I took last time,” Han Gaozhi glanced sideways: “Was it you who asked Dr. Xu for it?”

Han Qu didn’t expect this person to actively help smooth things over for him, his gaze shifting ambiguously in response.

He didn’t trust the two people in the back seat at all, and had to make sure later on.

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The author has a message to share:

Due to the severe epidemic situation in my hometown recently, my emotional state has been unstable, and I can’t guarantee a fixed time for updates. I apologize.