Chapter 163

Chapter 163

◎All gone.◎

Following Ren Suiwu, Wang Boyuan became the second person to leave Sunflower Primary School.

Before Wang Boyuan boarded the helicopter heading to the capital, Meng Qi had never imagined that Wang Boyuan would be the one to leave him so soon. He had always believed that the one who would stay by his side the longest would be Wang Boyuan.

Fortunately, the capital was neither close nor far. More importantly, they were still in the same world. Whenever he wanted to see Wang Boyuan, besides a video call, a three-hour helicopter ride could bring them together. He wouldn't have to miss his grandparents like he did, separated by untouchable time and space.

That day, after Meng Qi told Wang Boyuan about wanting him to enter the entertainment industry immediately, Wang Boyuan didn't agree right away. He hesitated for a long, long time—so long that Meng Qi was about to retract his seemingly bizarre idea—before Wang Boyuan smiled and replied, "It's good to keep myself busy. Let's do it your way."

Meng Qi knew full well that Wang Boyuan agreed in order to put his mind at ease. Even if this impulsive thought had completely disrupted Wang Boyuan's plans, Wang Boyuan still chose to go along with him.

In fact, Meng Qi did feel much more at ease because of Wang Boyuan's agreement. Keeping Wang Boyuan busy—too busy to overthink, so busy that he would develop a greater sense of belonging and attachment to this world—might make him stay longer.

With that in mind, Meng Qi went to beg Ren Suiyi, asking him to pull strings and pour as many resources from Ren Entertainment into Wang Boyuan as possible.

At that time, Ren Suiyi stared at Meng Qi for a long while. In the end, he still asked nothing and gave Meng Qi a gentle nod.

Since Wang Boyuan refused to take the black card Ren Suiwu had left him, Meng Qi transferred half the money from his own wallet to Wang Boyuan. The saying goes, "Travel rich when leaving home." Besides, everyone says the entertainment industry is a money pit. He didn't want Wang Boyuan to suffer financially. And since he did have money right now, if such grievances could be avoided, then avoid them—push them as far away as possible.

At first, Wang Boyuan didn't want to take Meng Qi's money either, thinking Meng Qi needed it more. So Meng Qi showed Wang Boyuan his wallet balance to prove he wasn't putting up a front—he still had plenty. "It's an amount we never dared to dream of before. Even if I need money, I won't spend all of it at once."

After careful consideration, Wang Boyuan finally accepted it, depositing half of Meng Qi's money into his own balance. Then he said to Meng Qi, "I heard stars make money pretty easily. I'll try to make it big and earn money for you."

This counted as having a new goal, didn't it?

Would Brother Boyuan hold on a little longer to achieve this goal?

When that thought crossed his mind, Meng Qi suddenly regretted rushing to ask Ren Suiyi to pull strings for Wang Boyuan. If he had let Wang Boyuan struggle alone in the entertainment industry, the road to becoming a big star might have stretched indefinitely...

But as soon as he thought this, Meng Qi raised his hand and smacked his own head. He felt such selfish thoughts shouldn't even cross his mind. If he intentionally made Wang Boyuan suffer just to delay his stardom, what right did he have to call himself Wang Boyuan's best friend and closest family? Everything he was doing for Wang Boyuan—or rather, everything he was pushing Wang Boyuan to do—was first to prevent Wang Boyuan from doing something reckless, and only second to hope Wang Boyuan would stay with him longer. He must not lose sight of what was truly important!

"I'm really looking forward to that day. When it comes, I'll follow your lead, big brother. We won't give a damn about anyone." Meng Qi smiled at Wang Boyuan.

But there was too much bitterness in his heart—too many emotions he couldn't vent. So as he smiled, his eyes involuntarily reddened. Even though he clenched his teeth immediately to keep the tears from falling, his tears didn't listen; they had already slipped out of his eyes.

Wang Boyuan gently wiped the corner of Meng Qi's eye with his thumb, then comforted him in his usual calm and composed tone, "It will come true. It definitely will."

After returning to the capital, Wang Boyuan didn't immediately appear in the entertainment industry. Ren Entertainment assigned him a highly capable and experienced agent, who crafted a flawless debut plan for him—dubbed the "Poor and Scholarly Campus Heartthrob"—set to launch around the Spring Festival.

Of course, like most people about to enter the entertainment industry, Wang Boyuan had to undergo artist training before his official debut. It was a comprehensive, no-blind-spot skills training, including but not limited to physical training, vocal lessons, etiquette classes, acting classes, and even basic makeup and aesthetic courses. He was so busy that every time Meng Qi wanted to call him, he had to leave a message on WeChat to schedule a time.

Meng Qi didn't complain about this even once; on the contrary, he was happy about it.

Because he could see that the busier Wang Boyuan got, the better his condition became day by day, and the more he smiled. Although Wang Boyuan was physically exhausted—often falling asleep mid-conversation—his spirit was fulfilled. Often, looking at the vibrant Wang Boyuan on the other end of the video call, Meng Qi felt as if they were chatting back in the real world.

Three days after Wang Boyuan left, Kuang Hui, Dong Jiaming, and Elder Dong also set off on their return journey as promised, again taking a helicopter arranged by Ren Suiyi.

Kuang Hui and Dong Jiaming needed to get back to school to resume classes, while Elder Dong was famous far and wide. Every day, countless patients came to him for treatment. Besides some highly challenging cases he couldn't bear to miss, there were also prominent figures from various industries waiting for him to save their lives—people he couldn't afford to offend. Even if only for the latter reason, he couldn't stay at Meng Qi's any longer.

Before boarding, Kuang Hui kept looking back almost every step. Each time, he seemed about to say something to Meng Qi, but in the end, nothing came out. He made Meng Qi feel rather uncomfortable. When Kuang Hui looked back again, Meng Qi decided to take the initiative. He rushed over and hugged Kuang Hui, saying, "Brother, have a safe trip. Keep in touch. Come visit me again during the holidays."

"I finally see who's close and who's distant, Meng Qi. Last time Wang Boyuan left, your tears fell like they cost nothing. Now it's my turn. Count how many times I've looked back at you, and you still haven't even shed a tear for me!" Kuang Hui gritted his teeth, furrowed his brows, and snorted through his nose, looking thoroughly pissed off. Moreover, he didn't give Meng Qi a chance to say something nice to placate him. He pushed Meng Qi away angrily, turned, and dove into the cabin, crossing his arms against the cold glass window, continuing to glare at Meng Qi, venting his dissatisfaction in silence.

Meng Qi pursed his lips and awkwardly defended himself, "But you're going back to school. My brother Boyuan is going into the entertainment industry. Can the dangers of school and the entertainment industry be compared? I'm not worried about you, so naturally I can't cry."

This explanation didn't dissipate the resentment in Kuang Hui's heart. He simply rolled his eyes and turned his head inward, refusing to look.

Seeing this, Qu Liang quickly chimed in with a grin, leaning on the cabin door to coax Kuang Hui, "Exactly! Brother Kuang's path ahead is all smooth sailing. We should be seeing you off with joy. Who would cry at a time like this? That would be a real lack of wits."

Li Qingjiang bypassed Kuang Hui and looked at Elder Dong, who was sitting in the innermost seat, reminding him with concern, "Grandpa, drink less when you get home. The jar of sweet potato liquor Uncle Gu gave you is too strong. Don't drink by the bowlful like you did a couple of days ago."

"I know, I know. This jar is a treasure. I need to savor it slowly. I won't waste it." Elder Dong smiled, glancing at Meng Qi and Ren Suiyi standing beside him. Then he looked at Li Qingjiang and, with even more concern than Li Qingjiang had shown him, instructed his absent-minded nephew, "Do what I told you with all your heart. No slacking, no half-assing it. If you satisfy me this time, I'll give you that flame stone you've been longing for."

It seemed the flame stone's allure was strong enough. Hearing this, Li Qingjiang's eyes lit up. He leaped onto the helicopter, ran two steps to Elder Dong, high-fived him in a pact, and swore by heaven that he would keep his promise, hoping his grandpa wouldn't go back on his word either.

With this distraction, Kuang Hui's anger toward Meng Qi dissipated considerably. He leaned against the helicopter door and called out to Meng Qi reluctantly, "Make sure to keep my room! Don't let anyone else take it. And tell Uncle Gu to make more cured meat. Next time I come, I'll buy some from him so my parents can taste this extraordinary delicacy."

"You haven't even left yet and you're already planning your next visit? I say you should just drop out. Let Jiaming and Grandpa Dong go back first, and you stay here to hang with us." Qu Liang joked with Kuang Hui.

Kuang Hui glanced at Dong Jiaming and then shook his head sadly. "Compared to Meng Qi, I miss little Mingming more. I'll go back with him."

Dong Jiaming smiled at Kuang Hui. Then, under the reluctant gazes of Meng Qi, Qu Liang, and the others, he skillfully closed the helicopter door.

Sunflower Primary School, which had been lively for many days, fell silent. Meng Qi's heart felt a void. But when he turned to meet Ren Suiyi's gaze, that empty space was miraculously filled with a warm current. Before he could even savor the loneliness left by his close friends and family, that loneliness had already drifted away.

"If Kuang Hui saw you not only not crying but also secretly smiling behind his back, he'd be heartbroken," Ren Suiyi patted Meng Qi's head, then put his arm around Meng Qi's shoulders and started walking back. "Uncle Gu will probably be sad when he comes back and finds out he missed seeing Elder Dong off because he went to a feast."

"Uncle Gu and Grandpa Dong got along so well; they've become close friends. I think he'll definitely be sad. But Kuang Hui won't—as long as someone plays with him, he can forget about sad things in a minute." Meng Qi looked up at Ren Suiyi. He only explained who would be sad or not, deliberately avoiding the "secret smile" part. After all, the reason for his smile was standing right in front of him. He felt too embarrassed to mention it.

"What do we do next?" Ren Suiyi glanced at his watch. It was ten thirty—neither early nor late. At this time before, with Kuang Hui around, his ideas were endless and his chatter constant; no one could idle for more than a minute.

But now Kuang Hui was gone. The remaining people weren't the rowdy type. So they all looked a bit lost about how to spend the rest of the day. How did they get through the days before Kuang Hui arrived?

Anyway, it was unusually quiet now, which felt unsettling.

Meng Qi thought for a moment and said, "I plan to go to the newspaper office and talk to Editor-in-Chief Han about the interview."