Chapter 96: A Sudden Turn of Events
Zhou Xihe had already signed the contract with Duoguo—black ink on white paper, leaving no room for negotiation.
This time at the hotel, aside from Wang Yuling, several other executives from Duoguo were present to meet him. They were all highly satisfied with Zhou Xihe’s appearance and dancing skills, hinting at their intention to heavily promote him.
Zhou Xihe was ecstatic inside but dared not show it. He remained obedient throughout, afraid that a single misstep might offend his new benefactors, causing the piles of cash and fame to vanish into thin air.
After signing the contract, Wang Yuling informed him that he was now officially an artist under Duoguo. The company would plan his career trajectory moving forward. He could continue his studies, but all activities outside school had to be arranged by the company. He was forbidden from taking on commercial performances or participating in any competitions without authorization.
Zhou Xihe agreed without hesitation.
At that moment, he completely forgot about his brothers—and the shared dream of competing in the World Cup.
Teng Yi only learned about it a day later.
It was evening when Teng Yi finished training and came downstairs, only to find Zhou Xihe standing outside Xiyou’s entrance. He was staring at the fresh buds on the tree, a half-smoked cigarette between his fingers, exuding an inexplicable air of triumph.
“Xihe,” Teng Yi pushed the door open. “What’s up with you? Missing training all day?”
Zhou Xihe stubbed out the cigarette and grinned at him.
“Yi, got time? Let’s grab a drink.”
“Sure.” Teng Yi didn’t think much of it. He gestured upstairs. “Let’s wait for the others to come down and go together.”
“No.” Zhou Xihe quickly waved his hand. “I want to talk to you—just the two of us.”
Teng Yi scoffed. “What’s with you? Just so you know, I have a girlfriend. Very straight.”
“Relax, I’m not bent either.”
The two exchanged a laugh.
“Let me grab my jacket.”
“Alright.”
Teng Yi went inside to put on his jacket, then walked with Zhou Xihe to a bar at the end of the street.
The bar was lively—not the best place for a serious conversation—but Zhou Xihe felt the crowd and noise gave him a sense of security. A quiet place would only amplify his guilt.
Teng Yi ordered two pints of draft beer and slid one to Zhou Xihe.
“So, what did you want to say?” he asked.
Zhou Xihe rubbed the bar counter, silent for a moment.
“Why the hesitation? Too shy to say it?” Teng Yi teased.
Unable to meet Teng Yi’s clear gaze, Zhou Xihe gulped down two mouthfuls of beer, using the rush of alcohol to muster his courage. “Yi… I’m sorry. I can’t compete with you guys anymore.”
Teng Yi’s smile froze. The light overhead seemed to drain the warmth from his eyes.
“What do you mean?” he asked.
Zhou Xihe had never seen Teng Yi so serious. He stammered for a long time before finally giving a vague explanation about signing with Duoguo, downplaying the details.
“Wang Yuling approached you?” Teng Yi frowned.
“No.”
“Then?”
“I went to her.” Zhou Xihe admitted.
In truth, this was all Jian Xiangxiang’s “doing.”
Whenever Jian Xiangxiang went shopping, she loved making Zhou Xihe carry her bags, flaunting her boyfriend’s devotion to passersby. Though Zhou Xihe had no interest in being a pack mule—even resented it—he always indulged her vanity whenever she asked.Zhou Xihe discovered Wang Yuling's business card while carrying Jian Xiangxiang's bag.
At first, he thought it might be fake, but the high-quality texture of the card made him suspicious—would a scammer really print such premium business cards? Seizing the moment when Jian Xiangxiang wasn’t paying attention, Zhou Xihe secretly pocketed the card. Back in his dorm, he decided to give the number on the card a try.
The call connected, but it was quickly hung up.
Wang Yuling didn’t answer his call.
Zhou Xihe thought it was a dead end, but shortly after, Wang Yuling actually called him back.
Yet, the first name she called out was Teng Yi’s.
“Teng Yi?”
Zhou Xihe was stunned by her greeting.
He stayed silent, so Wang Yuling assumed it really was Teng Yi.
“Sorry, I was in a meeting earlier—and we even mentioned you during it! What a coincidence, right? You finally called me. I’ve been waiting for you.”
“Sorry… I’m not Teng Yi,” Zhou Xihe replied timidly.
“...” There was a brief silence on Wang Yuling’s end before her tone instantly turned cold. “Then who are you?”
“I’m Teng Yi’s friend. My name is Zhou Xihe.”
“What do you want?” Her impatience grew.
“I wanted to ask if your company currently has any trainee programs suitable for college students. I—”
“Sorry, no.”
The call ended abruptly.
Zhou Xihe held his phone, unable to even muster a bitter laugh.
Why was this woman so warm toward Teng Yi but so cold to him? Just because he was the one reaching out?
Yeah, being the eager one really made him worthless.
But he wasn’t bad-looking either. Sure, his breaking wasn’t as good as Teng Yi’s, but he had his own strengths in other dance styles. If he battled Teng Yi in locking, he might not lose.
Why did he always have to live under Teng Yi’s shadow?
This was the first time in two years Zhou Xihe had ever thought this way. It was a terrible, ungrateful thought—after all, Teng Yi had always been nothing but good to him and everyone else. But once the thought surfaced, it couldn’t be ignored.
That night, the more he lay awake, the more frustrated he became.
He thought of Bi Chengjie.
Though Zhou Xihe looked down on Bi Chengjie, he couldn’t deny that deep down, he envied him—envied his cheering fans, envied his promising future.
He wished he could have that kind of stardom too, even if the path there was a little dirty.
In this society, everyone cared about results. Who cared about the process?
...
He thought the matter would end there, but the day after Valentine’s Day, things took an unexpected turn.
Wang Yuling reached out to him again.
This time, she asked to meet him in person.
Zhou Xihe, of course, agreed immediately.
He dressed in what he considered his most stylish outfit and shoes, even going to a salon to get his hair styled before heading to Wang Yuling’s studio. He had never put this much effort into an actual date.
When Wang Yuling saw Zhou Xihe, though she wasn’t as dazzled as she had been by Teng Yi, she was still quite satisfied with his looks and overall image.
She asked him to showcase his talents, so Zhou Xihe performed a locking routine.
Experts judged street dance by technique, while amateurs only cared about flashy moves. Wang Yuling knew nothing about street dance, making her easy to impress.
Zhou Xihe successfully won her over.Wang Yuling outlined the general direction of future development to Zhou Xihe and mentioned the obligations he would need to fulfill after signing the contract. Zhou Xihe didn’t hesitate and agreed to everything.
Zhou Xihe was so obedient that Wang Yuling felt no sense of conquest.
But then again, Wang Yuling had come to realize that someone as unruly as Teng Yi might not obey even if he signed the contract. A disobedient artist was like a bomb—handled well, it could blow up the enemy; mishandled, it would blow up oneself. That was far too dangerous, and she had no intention of gambling away her bright future.
Things had progressed more smoothly than Zhou Xihe had imagined, and he was happy. Yet, beneath that happiness, he felt a twinge of guilt because he didn’t know how to explain things to his brothers from Xiyou.
--?--
“So, you signed with an agency and just abandoned your brothers?” Teng Yi’s usually warm face turned icy, as if a blizzard had swept through.
Zhou Xihe hung his head, reaching for his beer. The chilled glass was freezing to the touch, and he quickly withdrew his hand, as if he’d brushed against Teng Yi’s frosty expression.
“Speak.”
“I… I don’t know what to say. But this is my choice.” Zhou Xihe licked his dry lips. “I know quitting without reason is irresponsible, but if I miss this opportunity, I don’t know when I’ll ever get another shot. Yi, I’m not like you—I don’t have a privileged background or money. I’m about to graduate, and I need to plan for my future realistically, not chase some elusive dream with you… What does winning the Street Dance World Cup even mean? It’s just a game within the street dance circle. We might think we’re representing our country, but the country won’t recognize our glory. Will they treat us like athletes?”
Teng Yi’s lips twisted slightly.
So, this was how Zhou Xihe saw it.
So, to Zhou Xihe, their street dance dream had always been nothing more than an illusion.
“Yi…”
“Why didn’t you tell the others yourself?”
Zhou Xihe stayed silent.
Yes, he couldn’t face the brothers he’d spent every day with. Just yesterday, they were practicing together; today, he was parting ways with them—as a traitor. How awkward.
Moreover, Zhou Xihe knew Xiao Qing and Cai Hong weren’t as even-tempered as Teng Yi. No matter how angry Teng Yi got, he’d restrain himself and spare Zhou Xihe’s dignity. But if Xiao Qing and Cai Hong were angry, they wouldn’t care about time or place—they’d curse him out mercilessly. Even though he’d mentally prepared himself, Zhou Xihe wasn’t confident he could endure such a verbal onslaught, so he chose to avoid them altogether.
“You can’t face them, so you’re making me do it for you? Zhou Xihe, you’re something else.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t expect you to understand.” Zhou Xihe clenched his fists quietly, suppressing the ache in his chest. “Let’s leave it at that. I’ll go now. Good luck with the competition.”
With that, he fled the bar as if escaping.
Teng Yi stared at the two beer mugs sitting side by side on the table and let out a long sigh.
He hadn’t expected something like this to happen before the competition even began.
“Buzz.” His phone vibrated in his pocket.
Teng Yi pulled it out and saw Cai Hong tagging him in the group chat.
“Boss, where’d you go? You disappeared after coming downstairs.”
“Huh? Why did Old Zhou leave the group?” Xiao Qing sent a “shocked” emoji. “Did he slip up?”Teng Yi sent a location in the group chat.
"Wow, boss, you actually went drinking behind our backs? With who? Your missus?" Cai Hong, oblivious as usual, acted like a kid.
Teng Yi didn’t answer, simply tagging Xiao Qing, Cai Hong, and Lin Shan, telling them to come to the bar immediately.
Before everyone arrived, Teng Yi went ahead and booked a private room.
His head was pounding, and he needed a quiet place.
Cai Hong and the other two arrived quickly. After hearing about Zhou Xihe from Teng Yi, they immediately erupted.
"Holy shit! No wonder he left the group! That traitor!" Cai Hong rolled up his sleeves and glanced toward the door. "Is he gone? Just left? Can I still catch up and beat the crap out of him?"
"Cut it out," Teng Yi shot Cai Hong a glare.
"I’m serious! I really wanna punch him! Weren’t we supposed to compete in the World Cup together for our country? What the hell is this? Ditching us halfway—does he even consider us brothers?"
"Brothers my ass! And here I was planning to bring him breakfast tomorrow!" Xiao Qing slammed his fist on the coffee table, but it still wasn’t enough to vent his anger. He had been closest to Zhou Xihe, so the betrayal stung the deepest.
Lin Shan didn’t say anything, but his expression was grimmer and more disappointed than ever.
"So what do we do now? How can we compete with one less person?" Cai Hong asked.
Teng Yi shook his head. He didn’t know either.
The competition had strict participant requirements. If they didn’t meet the quota, they’d be disqualified.
And now, with the competition looming, finding a street dancer skilled enough and in sync with their team wasn’t going to be easy.
--?--
Before the domestic qualifiers had even begun, Journey to the West was already in a deadlock. The World Cup seemed like nothing more than a distant, hopeless dream for Teng Yi and the guys.
The team was anxious, Teng Yi most of all.
Within two days, he reached out to every possible dancer who could replace Zhou Xihe in Journey to the West. But everyone was busy—some had even formed their own teams and registered for the qualifiers. Not only couldn’t they be teammates, they’d now be rivals.
Frustrated and helpless, their resentment toward Zhou Xihe only deepened.
And then, Han Zuo returned.
For the past two weeks, Han Zuo had stayed in his hometown to care for his seriously ill mother. The guy had lost weight and looked worn, as if he’d weathered some great calamity, aged in an instant.
"Han Zuo?" Teng Yi was overjoyed to see him.
Han Zuo had come straight from the airport, dragging his suitcase to Journey to the West. Dusty and exhausted, he still managed a trademark sunny smile at the sight of Teng Yi.
"I’m back."
Those four simple words settled Teng Yi’s restless heart into calm.
Finally, a ray of hope.
Finally, a turn for the better.
Teng Yi stepped forward and pulled Han Zuo into a tight hug. Both had lost weight, but the embrace was stronger than ever.
Hearing Han Zuo’s voice, the guys upstairs came rushing down.
"Holy crap! Old Han! You’re finally back! You bastard, you’re finally back!"
"Han Zuo! Coming back now—you’re like the Monkey King riding a rainbow cloud! I missed you so damn much! Gimme a hug too!"
They swarmed around Han Zuo, roughing him up in the middle. Cai Hong even cupped Han Zuo’s face and planted a loud kiss on his cheek.Han Zuo was completely overwhelmed.
"Alright, alright, stop it already!" he complained, yet couldn't help but break into a bright smile.
Ever since learning of his mother's illness, Han Zuo had plunged into a dark abyss. This was the happiest moment he'd had in nearly half a month. His friends' warmth melted the icy weight that had been pressing on his heart, allowing him to forget his troubles, if only for a while.
It was good to be back.
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