It's Actually Not Easy Wanting to be a Supporting Male Lead-Chapter 9 part12
Translated by Eve
Edited by Juurensha & Karasunofight
The manager, who was shocked by Eason's words to the point of feeling like he had been blown around by a storm, systematically recounted Eason's words back to the company's upper management. They all were frightened half to death by his words.
The entertainment industry was a place where lies were mixed in with the truth. Rumours of homosexuality could be found everywhere. However, everyone knew just how serious this kind of □□ was. There was no one who wouldn't try to keep it tightly under wraps. They would even tremble in fear at groundless accusations, let alone be like Eason who wanted to frankly say it outright. He unexpectedly even threatened (?) the company to help them come out of the closet— it was simply an event that split heaven and earth apart. It terrified everyone to the point where it made them all unanimously doubt whether or not they were experiencing a mass hallucination.
They repeatedly verified that they hadn't misheard or misunderstood. The entire company's upper management was enshrouded in a miserable and gloomy atmosphere.
If it was any ordinary singer, even if they were a bit popular, the company would definitely bury them without any explanation. However, the one giving them a hard time right now was Eason. With just an EP and an album, Eason rapidly won the title: Emperor of the Music Industry. Some people even praised him and called him the sole person who genuinely understood music at present, the only one who truly loved music, and a musical genius. Aside from his huge, zealous fanbase, he was also friends with many seniors who had withdrawn from the music industry but still held considerable influence. They saw him as the hope for the music industry, fully supported him, and were even his fans—The company's upper management had no choice but to admit that they already had no power over Eason.
Right now, Eason was still with the company, but only because his contract had yet to expire, and he probably had some feelings of gratitude for his boss' continual support. Add in the fact that their recent collaboration had been delightful, and this was probably why he had yet to answer positively to other companies' attempts to poach him. However, if the company plans to go against his wishes, then Eason would terminate the contract immediately and look elsewhere. After all, behind him was a huge heap of people who were all crying and begging to help him pay off the contract termination fee!
No matter if it was banning him or intentionally keeping him idle, the company did not dare try it. They were also reluctant to let him go. Their only choice of action was to surrender to Eason's will. Thus, according to his wishes, the PR team prepared to deal with the crisis that would come about after their coming out.
—— However, who could do it?! Even if it was the world's best manager or the world's best PR manager, none of them had any experience with handling this sort of situation! Everyone who was assigned to this job simply worried themselves until their hair turned prematurely white. They had no choice but to place their trust in the manager and the company's upper management, hoping that they could pacify the 'impatient' Eason who wanted to announce his relationship to the whole wide world, and persuade him to endure for just a bit longer…the longer he could endure, the better….
Eason, at first glance, looked like an uncommunicative person. For this reason, the manager worried over this for half the night. He decided to save the nation in a roundabout way: he looked to the docile and lovable Sui Yuan with hopes that he could stop Eason from 'acting recklessly'.
Who'd have expected that before the manager could even get out two sentences after pulling Sui Yuan away for a one-on-one conversation, that the latter would be seized by Eason who was always keeping a close eye on him. The manager had directly touched the other's reverse scale.
Eason couldn't care less about anything else, but he absolutely would not permit anything to influence Sui Yuan's life or mood. In his opinion, the manager's roundabout solution was simply asking Eason to kill him.
The manager who was seeking death: "………………QAQ"
The company's upper management who were threatened and admonished again: "………………QAQ"
The bitter company was forced to mobilize its whole strength and begin working on coming up with a proper response strategy. While the people in the company lived a miserable life where they were always frightened, on edge, and felt like they had fallen into an abyss of suffering, Sui Yuan and Eason's life remained unchanged for the most part—aside from that one day, when Eason proudly announced that he would bring Sui Yuan to meet a famous Hollywood director named Smith to participate in an audition for a large-scale production movie.
"Smith?" Sui Yuan recalled the plot and then firmly shook his head, "Isn't that the crucial role that Huo Ke manages to get? I don't want to snatch his role again."
"Whether or not you want to act, you can decide. However, whether or not we go to the audition, that's my call," Eason raised an eyebrow, snorting with quite a bit of contempt, "I want to let that Le Sen see whether or not I have the power to make you popular. Whatever he can give you, I can too."
The corner of Sui Yuan's lip drooped down, and he silently turned his head away. He understood that although Eason seemed to not have a big reaction after Le Sen's call at the time, he had always held a grudge and remembered it until now—he's completely just comparing himself against Le Sen! And the implicated Sui Yuan had no choice but to go with him.
"Say, how come I didn't know that you met with that Director Smith before?" Sui Yuan asked skeptically, standing and changing clothes as told, "Have our itineraries ever been different?"
"Did you forget that there's internet in this world?" Eason lazed on the bed, narrowing his eyes as he appreciated the view of Sui Yuan 'clothes changing show', "The theme song and OST for this movie were all composed by me. Of course, we're acquainted."
Sui Yuan paused, feeling a bit astonished, "…Does the company know this?"
"Of course," Eason stood up and walked towards Sui Yuan. He fixed his collar and fastened his necktie, responding indifferently, "It's fine as long as I just give them a heads up. Even when we said we wanted to come out of the closet, they didn't dare to utter 'no', so why would they deny me this kind of a good thing? In addition, they don't have any leeway for refusal. Even if they want to, they can't do it."
Stepping back, he eyed Sui Yuan's outfit from top to bottom. Eason smiled, fully contented, "Good. Let's go. When it comes time for it, don't be nervous. Whatever you want to say, whatever you want to do, just go for it. I'll take responsibility for everything."
Sui Yuan nodded superfluously—anyway, he didn't need this role. People with no selfish desires have nothing to fear, so he naturally wasn't even a little bit nervous.
When Sui Yuan and Eason reached the designated building for Director Smith's audition, they unexpectedly saw Le Sen and Huo Ke there. They were happily chatting with Smith—rather, this wasn't a coincidence. It was probably because Eason knew that Le Sen would come, so he decided to arrive at this time too.
When he saw Eason, Smith's eyes lit up, and he enthusiastically stood up to welcome him. He shook hands, hugged, and even wanted to kiss Eason, though Eason refused without any hint of politeness.
Smith, who had been refused, was not displeased at all. Instead, he laughed and clasped Eason on the shoulder, "I never thought that your temperament was really as unreasonable as they say!"
Soon after, he eyed Sui Yuan who had followed Eason from behind, "This is the precious little boyfriend you wanted to bring over to audition, right?"
When he heard this, Le Sen's eyes widened, and he was stunned. Huo Ke's expression faltered for a moment before returning to normal— even if a foreigner's tolerance was higher towards this kind of thing, you don't need to say it so bluntly! You should make preparations with your manager and the company, but instead, you unexpectedly told this foreigner. Just what are you playing at?!
"That's right," Compared to Le Sen and Huo Ke who had been disheveled by the metaphorical wind these words caused, Eason very naturally pulled Sui Yuan in front of him and placed his hands on the other's shoulders. Sui Yuan also did not have any stage fright. He smiled at Smith and said his hellos. He had learned English from 5237 for so long, yet this was his first time putting it to use—Sui Yuan felt extremely gratified!
Seeing Sui Yuan's smile, Smith's eyes shone. Soon after, he held his own chin and looked him up and down, carefully pondering—even if Eason and his relationship was good, he absolutely could not treat his own film as a joke. Every role required careful selection.
After quite a while, Smith helplessly creased his brows, "Eason, your boyfriend is extremely pretty and is easily recognizable—which is a good thing. However, on the other hand, because his appearance is a bit too delicate and young, the limitations on the kind of roles he can play is pretty strict. Unlike Huo—"
Smith turned his head to face Huo Ke and indicated at him, "His looks are handsome and graceful. He can act old or young and roles with any kind of personality. I'll tell you the truth, if we're looking at the roles I have, from just looking at outer appearances, Huo Ke is much more suitable. Of course, if Li, your little boyfriend, can act extremely well, then that could make up for it…."
"Then so be it," Eason interrupted Smith, seeming not to care. From his peripheral, he glanced at Le Sen, explicitly indicating that he was talking to him, "Actually, I don't really want him to waste too much time acting. He also likes music more. I brought him this time to let him see more of the world and to let him get to know you. It's just another path he could take. Also, it was to let a certain person know that if he can help Li Kun get a role, then so can I. I'm not any worse off than he is."
Smith has spent half his life in the movie industry and was naturally quite shrewd. He immediately sensed that the atmosphere between Eason and Le Sen was like a gathering storm, so he simply watched with folded arms, laughing as he set the matter aside.
—— Everyone knew that you could meddle in a lot of things, but emotions were not one of them. Although he was curious to death, Smith would rather act oblivious.
Since Sui Yuan had voluntarily given up the role, the rest of the conversation was much more relaxed and cheerful. The five people each took a seat and began to enjoy their rare free time. Eason, Le Sen, and Smith were familiar with one another, so they talked more. Meanwhile, Sui Yuan who was not as familiar with English and thus couldn't stick himself into the conversation was pulled into one with Huo Ke, "Aren't you curious as to why I'm here?"
"…Aren't you here to audition?" Sui Yuan stared blankly, having completely no idea as to why Huo Ke would ask this kind of obvious question.
Huo Ke, who perceived that his IQ was being judged, discretely glared at Sui Yuan, "What I mean is, aren't you curious as to why Le Sen agreed to take me here for the audition?"
Sui Yuan hesitated. For a moment, he didn't know how to respond, because he was honestly not curious at all since he thought it was something that was only to be expected. However, he figured that if he were to say this out loud, Huo Ke would get angry…human emotions were truly complicated and troublesome.
Seeing Sui Yuan's hesitation, Huo Ke felt rather defeated, but he still said, "It's because, after the night of your awards ceremony, I had faintly overheard your phone call and made a guess based on your conversation. Since Eason declined on your behalf, I wanted to grab this chance. So I pestered and begged Senior Le Sen to give it to me. He probably thought that I was also a diamond in the rough, so he decided to take me along."
While saying this, Huo Ke observed Sui Yuan, trying to find even a hint of discontent. However, he discovered that he came up with nothing, "Before you and Eason arrived, I had already done my audition. Director Smith was pleased with my acting."
"En! I believe that you can grab this role! Congratulations to you!" At last I found a suitable place to cut in. Sui Yuan promptly replied, tone especially sincere— it was sincere to the point where he absolutely could not be any more sincere. For Huo Ke to participate in a big Hollywood production on Le Sen's recommendation meant that after making a great detour, the plot was finally back on the right track. Sui Yuan simply was moved to tears and was itching to spread the word and rejoice.
Unfortunately, Huo Ke did not react like Sui Yuan wished— in the 'you're great, I'm great, everybody's great' kind of way— to this congratulations that had come from the bottom of his heart. Huo Ke turned his head, and moodily rubbed the space between his eyebrows. The despondency within his heart couldn't be any greater.
In his last life, even though he had already fallen into the mud, Li Kun still wouldn't let him off. From time to time, he would come to step on him, wanting to push him deeper into the hole. In this life, he clearly climbed higher and higher, got things that were better and better, waiting for the other man to show up again. However, Li Kun didn't seem even a little bit fake in his congratulations just now. This kind of disparity made Huo Ke, who was still affected by his resentment from his last life, feel helpless and confused. He felt that he was as laughable as a clown, provoking the other party untiringly, only for the other man to not even notice.
Huo Ke had continuously felt that perhaps he had misunderstood. Even though he was reborn, he had been limited by his experiences in his last life. He felt that, from now on, he should probably adopt a kinder attitude and forget what happened in his previous life. He'd throw away his prejudices and genuinely start all over without indulging in his flights of fancy. He'll use a new light to look at the things and people around him once again.
—— It was only this way could he truly be reborn.
Huo Ke looked at Sui Yuan, and his expression gradually warmed.
Sui Yuan and Huo Ke chatted in low voices, but both Eason and Le Sen secretly paid attention to their conversation. The former disdained Huo Ke's words of provocation, and the latter noticed that when Huo Ke hinted at the friendship between Huo Ke and Le Sen, Sui Yuan didn't seem affected at all. He had no choice but to admit that Sui Yuan only saw him as just a senior and likely nothing else.
When he thought back to Eason and Smith naturally chatting about Eason's "little boyfriend", Le Sen felt a bitter taste in his mouth.
Although it hasn't been long since Eason became popular, he was at the peak of the music industry. His influence was absolutely not inferior to his as the Film Emperor. If Eason's creative inspiration persisted, then Le Sen wouldn't be surprised if Eason eclipsed him one day.
Reputation, status, appearance, temperament— Eason was not inferior to him in any of these aspects. In addition, Eason has known Sui Yuan far longer than he has, and their feelings were much deeper. It was only expected that Sui Yuan would choose Eason. Furthermore, with regards to how steady their feelings were, Le Sen was far inferior to Eason.
When he had first realized that his feelings for Sui Yuan exceeded the boundary where they should have stayed, Le Sen's first reaction was to restrain himself and run. Even if he could face these feelings calmly now, he would probably never be able to calmly make their relationship public as Eason had. Instead, he'd choose to conceal it until they were old and retired from the movie industry.
Since it was like this, what qualifications did he have to fight against Eason?
After watching Huo Ke and Sui Yuan chat, Le Sen seemed to have given up on something. His whole body relaxed, and he suddenly felt that he should probably give up his feelings, give up on this little seedling that had yet to sprout through the ground.
Le Sen has always been a rational person, so although he found it a bit difficult, he had no doubts that he could do it.
All five of them were busy people. Even if they caught a break, it wouldn't last long. Very quickly, Eason and Le Sen took Sui Yuan and Huo Ke with them and said their goodbyes. Smith, who was perfectly content after getting to see his beloved musical genius and having found a suitable actor for his film, enthusiastically sent them off.
When they left and arrived at the underground parking lot, the four people split off in pairs, standing face to face, For a moment, there was an awkward silence.
Eason took the initiative to break the silence. He wrapped an arm around Sui Yuan and raised an eyebrow while looking at Le Sen, "I think that in today's meeting, I've expressed myself clearly. I hope that you don't get too close with Li Kun, and that you don't have any delusions about him."
Le Sen tried his best to maintain his peaceful manner. However, when he saw Eason and Sui Yuan's intimate appearance, he couldn't help it as his expression darkened, "You guys…are really together?"
"Of course," Eason's expression was that of someone who had just won, "Moreover, one day, I'll make it known to everyone."
Le Sen opened his mouth and suddenly realized that he wasn't even qualified to say the words 'take good care of him' to the other man. In the end, he only smiled bitterly, "You guys…be careful. Not everybody in this world is as tolerant as you guys think."
"You don't need to worry about that," Eason shrugged his shoulders. He took Sui Yuan with him and turned around to leave. Le Sen and Huo Ke watched as the two people departed. Soon after, they exchanged bitter smiles, though who knows if behind those smiles was envy or concern.
"I hope that everything goes smoothly," Le Sen sighed.
"No matter what, this was their choice," Huo Ke shrugged.
—— Anyway, whatever happens next, no matter what happens to Eason and Sui Yuan from here on out, probably has nothing to do with them.
Eve: That jealousy, my god.
Juurensha: ZXH was so extra is this chapter, sigh. But then again, when is he not.
