Although it was time for the confrontation between China and the United States, Mr. Huang He, the boss, was not training with the professional players in the hotel. Instead, he was in the tea room on the second floor of the hotel, chatting with a man with a scholarly demeanor, as gentle as jade.
This man looked very haggard. Although the splendor of his youth was still faintly visible, he was now exuding a sense of vicissitude and aging.
This person was Zhang Rong, one of Hong Kong's hottest superstars.
"Boss Huang, my friends in Hong Kong have already informed me that Tengda has signed many celebrities from Facebook. I'm afraid that in a while, these celebrities will collectively defect!" Li Dan was the first to visit Zhang Rong, but when he learned that Zhang Rong had gone to Korea, Li Dan was very disappointed.
However, he never dreamed that Zhang Rong would come to Korea to meet Huang He. At the same time, through his connections in Hong Kong, he informed Huang He of Tengda's actions in the first instance.
"Thank you, Mr. Zhang, for telling me. But we are not fools. Tengda's actions are so obvious, and I have also received this information!" Huang He said with a smile.
"Oh, it seems I've done something superfluous!" Zhang Rong gave a bitter smile.
"Not at all. This incident at least lets me know that you, Mr. Zhang, sincerely consider me, Huang He, a friend, and not like other friends who treat me like a fool!" Huang He sneered.
"Mr. Huang, everyone is just trying to make a living. It's a good thing for them that Tengda is willing to pay. I don't think they want to play tricks on you!" Zhang Rong explained.
"I don't blame them for signing with Tengda to get money. After all, if I were in a different place, I would do the same. But up to now, except for Liu Hua and you, no one else has proactively told me these things, which makes me very upset!" Huang He chuckled. "But it's okay. Since they don't consider me a friend, then we are not friends. It's no big deal."
"Alas!" Zhang Rong sighed, as if he could already see his future miserable appearance.
"But I am still very grateful to you, Mr. Zhang. You were the first to agree to join Facebook and the first to inform me of this news. I'll toast you with tea today!" Huang He said sincerely.
Zhang Rong was born in 1956. Roughly calculated, he is 46 years old this year, nearly 20 years older than Huang He. It was normal for Huang He to toast him.
"It is I who should thank you, Mr. Huang. I know many people, and not many can understand me. You are one of them!" Zhang Rong said with emotion. Seeing his desolate appearance, Huang He couldn't help but feel a bit of sadness.
If he remembered correctly, tomorrow, April Fool's Day, was the day this man would leap from the 24th floor, separating them forever. It was a sad event.
Huang He knew about Zhang Rong's future, so when he communicated with Zhang Rong earlier, he said many accommodating and warm words. Although Huang He had no interest in the path of love between men, he could understand the pain of those who were trapped in such suffering. This moved Zhang Rong greatly. Thus, Zhang Rong immediately agreed to join Facebook without any conditions, which also helped Huang He and Zhang Rong establish a very good relationship.
At this time, Zhang Rong's depression was already very serious. To help Zhang Rong alleviate it, and because Zhang Rong was interested in games, Huang He specially invited Zhang Rong and his boyfriend to Korea to watch the Sino-US arena competition, which led to their meeting today.
"It is I who should thank you, because you are the only one who logged into Facebook first and stayed loyal to Facebook!" Huang He sighed.
"Actually, another important reason why I am willing to stay on Facebook is that I found I have an additional channel to communicate with others!" Zhang Rong finally showed a hint of a smile. "You may not know, but I actually have two accounts on Facebook. One is my main account, and the other is a secondary account that I applied for privately."
"I control both of these secondary accounts myself. Every picture and word on them is carefully selected and posted, and every feeling described is genuine!" Zhang Rong said, his smile becoming even gentler. "Although these two accounts are one large and one small, they are both me. One is the me in the eyes of the world, and the other is the real me."
"I can use the outward me to show what everyone wants to see, but I can also use the real me to express my true thoughts."
"But what I didn't expect was that when the real me posted things that the world could not tolerate, I thought many people would criticize and insult me. However, I did not expect that there were more people who encouraged me, especially many girls. Not only did they not dislike the real me, but they liked the real me even more, saying it was the most beautiful emotion in the world."
"In fact, I am truly grateful to Facebook. I found recognition from the world on it, which gave me a lot of courage to live. Otherwise, I don't know how much longer I could have held on!" Zhang Rong said with emotion.
"Nonsense. Of course, there are many girls who support your secondary account. After all, Weibo will be a place dominated by fujoshi in the future. Those girls there like to read such BL content. If Douban is successfully established in the future, you might be able to live happily for another five hundred years in some Douban groups!" Huang He muttered to himself in his heart.
However, Huang He was very happy. It seemed that Zhang Rong might not have to die young as in history, leaping to his death.
"But Mr. Huang, I have encountered troubles again recently!" Zhang Rong continued. "Although I know that both the outward me and the real me are me, I increasingly feel that the outward me is too hypocritical. I want to make my secondary account official, I want to merge the two accounts into one, and I want the world to know my true thoughts."
"But I am very scared. Once I announce this, I worry that I will..." His words got stuck in his throat.
"This is probably why Zhang Rong jumped off the building back then!" Seeing Zhang Rong's extremely conflicted and painful appearance, Huang He mused. He heard that Zhang Rong in another world was in such a state of internal conflict, with conflicting emotions, coupled with the actions of a certain Mr. Tang, which led to his complete breakdown and leap to his death.
"Then show your true self!" Huang He said very decisively.
"But in this case..."
"Mr. Zhang Rong, is the money you have enough for now?" Huang He asked back.
"Of course, it is enough, and enough for me to use for several lifetimes!" Zhang Rong nodded.
"Then that's right. What are you still hesitating about? At worst, you can completely abandon all your current honors and status. These things can only cause you pain now and bring you no joy."
"Since you already have enough money, with this money, you can live the life you want. Other people's comments are meaningless to you. If you are not even afraid of death, then what else are you afraid of?" Huang He scoffed.
"But..."
"There is no 'but.' Life is full of 'buts,' which is why we lose our forward momentum. Many decisions seem very bad when we think about them now, but once you truly make a decision, after a while, you will find that the future is not so terrifying. At worst, you can lie in bed and live out your days."
"Moreover, I will support you. If you still want to be an artist, then come and sign with our Tangren. I won't say much else, but I guarantee you one movie opportunity a year and will shield you from many hidden arrows and overt attacks."
"In fact, there are only two paths before you now. One is to endure your pain and find a tall building to leap from. The other is to simply lie down, with only the pure sky in your eyes, and not see anyone around you!"
Zhang Rong chatted with Huang He for a long time before parting. He seemed to have made a decision, and he smiled and told Huang He that when the time was right, he would give Huang He a great gift to thank him for his help.
This made Huang He somewhat bewildered, not knowing what the right time and the great gift meant. However, it didn't matter, as everything was going according to his plan. Whether it was the upcoming Sino-US arena competition, Tengda's small movements, or the small movements of some people within his own company, Huang He was fully aware of everything.
***
On the streets of Wenzhou, a young man wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap hurried along the road, then painstakingly found an ordinary tea house, went up to a private room on the second floor, and finally met a somewhat nervous young man.
"Are you Mr. Ma?" the young man asked.
"I am!" Mr. Ma took off his sunglasses and baseball cap, revealing his true face. It was none other than Xiao Ma Ge.
"You really came!" The nervous young man breathed a sigh of relief.
"I don't understand why you insisted that I come to meet you in person. Can't we communicate directly on QQ?" Xiao Ma Ge asked.
"No!" The other party shook his head. "Jiangnan's network base can monitor all networks in Wenzhou. I am responsible for some of the code programs. Jiangnan Group can clearly check any information transmitted through the Wenzhou network."
"That's exaggerated!" Xiao Ma Ge opened his mouth. His Tengda did not have such exaggerated capabilities. Then he said, "Alright, even if what you say is true, then there should be no problem with calling directly."
"No, phone communication is also not safe. These can be intercepted and listened to, so face-to-face communication is safer. Jiangnan is not so arrogant as to have spies all over Wenzhou!" the man said. "However, once I leave Wenzhou, I will immediately be targeted, as my position dictates that I will definitely be watched."
"I understand!" Xiao Ma Ge nodded, then said, "I have considered the message you asked someone to deliver to me. I can satisfy all your conditions, but you must prove that what you give me is real!"