What?
Quitting the team…
All these days, Fang Juexia had thought his resilience was already quite high, yet hearing this sudden news still left him stunned. He couldn’t even begin to fathom Liang Ruo’s motives for doing this.
Guessing Liang Ruo must have posted on Weibo, Fang Juexia didn’t think twice and logged in to search. To his surprise, the trending topics he’d dominated for days had been replaced. Topping the list was #LiangRuLeavingTheTeam.
“What’s wrong?” Pei Tingsong, standing beside him, quickly noticed Fang Juexia’s unease. “What happened?”
Fang Juexia clicked on the trending topic and saw Liang Ruo’s latest Weibo post—a video with over fifty thousand comments.
“I don’t know why…” He looked up at Pei Tingsong. “Liang Ruo announced his withdrawal from the team on Weibo.”
Pei Tingsong was equally stunned. “What is he doing?”
While waiting for their styling to be done, they clicked on the video to watch. Liang Ruo appeared barefaced, wearing a simple white T-shirt, seated at a table. He began by smiling and greeting the audience.
“Hello everyone, I’m Liang Ruo. Today, I want to share something I’ve never been able to say before. It might come as a shock to some of you, so I’ll start by saying I’m sorry.”
Having grown accustomed to Liang Ruo’s glamorous image as the lead of the top-tier idol group, Fang Juexia almost forgot what he looked like without makeup.
Seeing him gaze at the camera like this now, Fang Juexia was inexplicably reminded of him during his trainee days.
“First, I’m leaving the Seven Stars group. To my fans and teammates, I’m sorry I can’t continue this journey with you.”
He stood up and bowed deeply. Then, lifting his head again, he continued, “Astar might still pursue legal action against me, but that’s fine. I’ve considered this decision for a very long time, and there are reasons I must do this.”
”During my trainee days, when I was 18, I was drugged and raped by Chairman Kim Hyang-sung, a high-ranking executive at Astar. Since then, I’ve never been able to escape his control. Of course, this also granted me a debut opportunity—one that never should have been mine. As you all know, at the time, I was the strongest trainee in Astar’s debut reserve roster. After learning about this, he tried to appeal to other executives on my behalf, hoping to seek justice. But you all know what we are, right?”
A bitter smile touched his lips. “That was when Kim Hyang-sung’s influence was at its peak. We couldn’t do anything. Fang Juexia couldn’t accept it and left Astar. I, for various reasons, couldn’t leave.”
Liang Ruo’s face was deathly pale. “But if I’d left back then, my fate would’ve been far worse. Every single day after debut was pure agony for me. I was on long-term antidepressants, attempted suicide twice, but was saved both times, only to be abused and violated again. I was terrified of anyone finding out, of the gossip, because I knew so many would stigmatize it. That’s why I couldn’t speak up. But now I’ve come to terms with it.”
In the video, Liang Ruo composed herself and pulled out a laptop. “I want to expose the true nature of this entertainment industry tycoon. I have evidence of many things Jin Xiangcheng did to me. It’s clear I’m not the only victim.”
After speaking, he clicked the mouse. The laptop immediately amplified processed audio—recordings from others, both male and female voices.
“These are trainees within the company who suffered sexual harassment or assault by Kim Hyang-sung. While I was gathering evidence, they stepped forward voluntarily to provide recordings and other related proof. The youngest among them was only 15 years old.” “Liang Ruo paused. ”I thank them for their courage. They are all braver than I am.”
“I will submit all evidence to the police for investigation. I believe results will come soon. Kim Hyang-sung’s criminal acts extend far beyond these. All other incriminating evidence in my possession has already been handed over to the police and prosecution authorities. Only after completing these steps did I record this video.”
Liang Ruo continued, “To avoid unnecessary speculation, I want to clarify that the other members of Seven Stars have not endured any special hardships. Each of them debuted through their own genuine talent. Aside from Jin Xiangcheng, Astar remains an outstanding major entertainment company. It was his one-man rule that nearly destroyed the entire Astar. I am grateful for the company’s cultivation and support. I hope everyone will continue to support Seven Stars and the company’s other artists—they are all wonderful, hardworking individuals.”
“This time, I’m not just leaving Seven Stars—I’m leaving the entertainment industry altogether,” Liang Ruo said with a relaxed smile. “For the rest of my life, I want to live for myself and do what I truly desire.”
“Finally, thank you to my past friends for shielding me. Making you bear the brunt of criticism for two years—it was my cowardice.”
Liang Ruo bowed his head and murmured a quiet apology.
The video abruptly ended.
After watching it, Fang Juexia felt an indescribable mix of emotions. He understood Liang Ruo’s final apology was directed at him, yet in truth, he didn’t need it at all. Whatever Fang Juexia had endured these past two years, he had chosen willingly.
Though Pei Tingsong had never liked Liang Ruo, his first reaction after watching the video was concern. “Now I’m actually worried about his safety.”
Fang Juexia shook his head. “Liang Ruo is smart. If he couldn’t walk away unscathed, he wouldn’t have come forward now.”
This remark struck a chord with Pei Tingsong. For someone to gather so much evidence during the underhanded dealings, record the video, deliberately separate Jin Xiangcheng from Astar in his statements, and even protect teammates he wasn’t close with—he wasn’t acting alone. He had switched sides, becoming the vanguard for another faction.
“Li Luo helped him.”
Fang Juexia nodded. “That’s my guess too. Otherwise, the contract alone would be a tough legal battle—he couldn’t just walk away.”
Just as Liang Ruo had said himself, he wasn’t a saint, but he wasn’t utterly depraved either. Exploiting Li Luo’s desire to utterly destroy Jin Xiangcheng to fulfill his own wish of leaving Seven Stars and Astar—using one capital to crush another—sounded exactly like something Liang Ruo would do.
Yet he still felt a pang of sadness, especially seeing all the evidence of Jin Xiangcheng abusing so many trainees.
After filming wrapped, everyone discussed Liang Ruo in the van. Compared to Fang Juexia’s father abusing drugs and committing domestic violence, this explosive sex scandal—involving a top-tier boy band member enduring prolonged sexual assault by company executives before quitting and exposing hard evidence—was undeniably more sensational. Moreover, the intricate connections between the central figures of both incidents made the whole affair even more intriguing.
Fang Juexia, who had long been slandered as a victim of industry exploitation, was actually an innocent scapegoat. As a top-tier trainee with straight A’s for two years, his reason for leaving Astar was his inability to endure the sexual assault perpetrated by the company’s executives.
It took two or three years to piece together the full story, which is now being eagerly shared and discussed online.
Truth revealed, smackdown delivered—this is the script everyone loves.
[@BlankPage: Holy crap… this is a whole series of scandals??? fjx is so messed up, a beautiful, strong, tragic soul forced to take the fall. Jin Xiangcheng should just die! How could he do this to a 15-year-old kid!]
[@Red Bean Rice Cake Dumpling Soup: Liang Ruo’s been through hell too, forced into this for so long and attempted suicide twice. I’m genuinely worried about his safety now. Hope he finds happiness moving forward.]
[@SurrealDisguise Replies @RedBeanRiceCakeSoup: It might’ve been genuine coercion at first, but later he probably used his looks to climb the ladder. He presents himself as pure as snow, but who knows the truth? And daring to go public like this? Jin Xiangcheng must be on the brink of collapse. lr probably found a new patron too.]
[@MemeryL replies to @SurrealDisguise: No need to assume everyone’s that bad. The fact he dared to come forward about the past, gather evidence for the police, and go public is already commendable.]
[@Today’s JiuJiuIsAlsoClockingIn: Creepy when you think about it. If Astar’s top brass are like this, what about the people below them…?]
[@meiyou: The most innocent victim in this whole mess is probably fjx. Not only did he have to leave the company to avoid being tainted by their corruption, but now he’s being framed. fjx has suffered so much, silently taking the blame for all these years.]
[@MyQiaoForeverShines: Please don’t drag other members into this. They’re all innocent. Wishing Liang Ruo all the best in the future.]
[@Who Says I Like You: This video feels packed with info and hints… But my first thought after watching? FJX is a fucking hero (.]
[@Winter Left for You: Must thoroughly investigate the Kim Hyang-sung case! Who knows how many underage trainees and artists he abused? That capitalist scum deserves to die!]
[@KissUnderTheStars: A few days ago I saw gossip about internal capital struggles within As, and now it seems real… Finally coming out into the open.]
Online opinions are all over the place.
The truth has been sliced into countless fragments, selectively shown to people, who then selectively believe what they want to believe. In the end, everything diverges far from its original form.
Even Fang Juexia, at the epicenter of the storm, could only glimpse fragments—let alone ordinary netizens watching from afar.
He’d long prepared to grapple with these unwritten rules and rumors for life, for it was a path he’d chosen himself, blaming no one. Yet he never imagined Liang Ruo would resort to such a scorched-earth tactic to clear his name.
His teammates, however, were overjoyed. After finishing their work and returning to the dorm, Ling Yi even suggested celebrating. “This is fantastic! Our Juexia is finally free from those rumors. Honestly, every time I saw him before, it used to make me furious.”
He Ziyan also let out a long sigh. “Finally, the bitter ends and the sweet begins.”
“I never imagined there would be so many victims,” Jiang Miao shook his head. “They absolutely have to arrest him.”
“They definitely will. This scandal is so huge and so vile. Have you seen the trending topics online? Public outrage is boiling over.” Lu Yuan jumped onto the sofa. “And the scandal that’s surfaced—apparently this guy surnamed Jin has a big tiger backing him. That tiger just fell from power recently. Now they’ve got evidence pointing straight to Jin. Not even God could save him now.”
“Holy crap, is that for real?”
“So the other evidence Liang Ruo mentioned includes this too?”
The discussion grew heated, but Pei Tingsong remained mostly silent, his gaze fixed on Fang Juexia. He understood him better than anyone. He knew Fang Juexia would never feel relieved now that the pressure was off him. If that were the case, he wouldn’t have helped Liang Ruo conceal the truth all those years ago.
He must be weighed down by guilt right now.
“I’ll get some drinks. Juexia, help me out.” Pei Tingsong pulled Fang Juexia toward the kitchen and opened the refrigerator door. As he pulled out juice and beer, he spoke, “You should call him.”
Fang Juexia had just taken two cold beers from his hand when he uttered those unexpected words. His eyes widened in surprise. “Huh?”
Pei Tingsong closed the fridge door with his elbow, turning back with a slightly awkward expression. “Though, as your rival, I really don’t want you talking to Liang Ruo. Just thinking about him liking you—and liking you for so long—makes me really annoyed.”
He started speaking childishly again, but mid-sentence, his expression grew more composed.
Pei Tingsong looked at Fang Juexia, his eyes conveying sincere encouragement as he murmured, “But you should still go. Otherwise, you’ll feel uneasy. More than anything about a rival, I don’t want you to feel burdened by him.”
Maybe that’s exactly what Liang Ruo intends. Pei Tingsong thought darkly to himself.
“Anyway, he’ll never measure up to me.” Pei Tingsong smiled as he pulled out several cups. “I’ve got that much confidence.”
Fang Juexia couldn’t help but laugh at his candor, then used the cold beer can in his hand to give Pei Tingsong’s neck a quick chill. “What are you thinking about every day?”
“Freezing!” Pei Tingsong flinched away from the icy touch, snatching the beer from his grasp with a smile. “What am I thinking? Wondering when my moon will be a little fuller.”
Lu Yuan, who had walked over to grab some snacks, overheard. “What are you guys talking about? What moon being full? Is it the fifteenth today?”
Pei Tingsong continued seamlessly, his expression unchanged. “Who knows. Hey, pass me some over there. I can’t carry any more.”
Watching his retreating figure, Fang Juexia felt a weight lift from his heart.
Pei Tingsong was always like this—piercing through his tense nerves with a single glance, then enveloping him in the most direct, purest emotion, warming his stiffened limbs. His tenderness was unlike anyone else’s. It wasn’t a form or a pose, but a softness at the level of consciousness, a complete understanding.
Was it complete?
Fang Juexia couldn’t help asking himself.
He had to admit, Pei Tingsong saw things clearly. These past two years, he’d convinced himself he’d let go completely—that he could accept the other person’s debt to him, which allowed him to cut ties without guilt. But if the roles were reversed? Not only would he not feel it balanced out, he’d feel burdened.
It was strange, but that was just who he was.
Watching his teammates bicker, Fang Juexia finally entered his room, stepped onto his small balcony, and dialed Liang Ruo’s number.
This was the first time Fang Juexia had reached out to him since leaving Astar.
The phone rang only a few times before being answered. Liang Ruo spoke first, calling his name from the other end, his voice still tinged with surprise and doubt. “Juexia.”
“Mm.” Fang Juexia’s tone was calm as he asked, “You really intend to leave Seven Stars?”
Liang Ruo paused for two seconds. “Yeah, I’ve had my mind made up for a while. Hey, you didn’t think I came forward just to shield you from the heat and dispel rumors, did you? Nope. I recorded this video half a month ago, but submitting evidence and negotiating took some time. I didn’t expect you’d get into trouble later.”
After a pause, he continued, almost to himself, “But seeing what happened to you really upset me. So I went ahead and released it, a bit earlier than planned.” He chuckled. “Do you think I’m trying to butter you up now?”
“No, thank you,” Fang Juexia replied calmly.
On the other end, Liang Ruo’s playful tone softened. “I’m the one who should thank you. For nearly three years, you’ve shielded me. I hid like a turtle, too scared to do anything, yet I claimed to like you. I’m really sly, aren’t I?”
Deep down, he hoped Fang Juexia would say yes, hoped he’d scold him a little. It felt like that might somehow bring them closer.
But Fang Juexia had never shown emotion in front of him, and this time was no different. “I did it willingly.”
He knew it would be like this.
How could Fang Juexia ever connect his actions to him?
“This time, I was also willing, Juexia.” Liang Ruo maintained the playful tone in his voice. “You know, I used to be so naive, thinking that since you left Astar yet still protected my reputation, you must have had some feelings for me. Otherwise, why would you rather let others be slandered than expose me?”
He had truly deluded himself like that.
“But I gradually came to understand. It wasn’t because you still felt friendship toward me. It was simply because you are Fang Juexia. You didn’t want to change yourself.”
Fang Juexia didn’t know how to respond. He stared at the spider plant on the balcony, its green leaves curled inward, their tips slightly yellowed.
“Thank you for staying the same,” Liang Ruo continued. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t have the courage to stand up today. It took me nearly three years to learn just a little bit from who you were back then.”
Back when they were trainees together, Liang Ruo had weak fundamentals and no connections. Yet whenever he went to the practice room, Fang Juexia was always there. One day, he finally gathered the courage to ask Fang Juexia for guidance.
No matter how patiently Fang Juexia taught him, he often couldn’t grasp it.
Later, he lost this one friend too.
Hearing his words, Fang Juexia felt a pang of bitterness. “Let bygones be bygones. What are your plans now?”
“Don’t worry. I’ve saved enough for retirement over the years, and I got a hefty sum from Chairman Li. You probably guessed it already.”
“Yeah, I figured.” Fang Juexia had known since Zhai Ying could so easily obtain his monthly evaluation videos. “Li Luo wants to completely eliminate Jin Xiangcheng. This is indeed a good method. It’ll affect Astar too, but a slow recovery is better than watching it rot away.”
“Exactly. It’s a battle between capital. I’m just a pawn in this game. But if it means my freedom, then so be it.” Liang Ruo sounded surprisingly detached. “I’m utterly sick of this circle. Unlike you, I lack both talent and clout. My teammates constantly target me—hanging around here is pointless. Once this is settled, I’ll travel the world, then emigrate somewhere no one knows me. Just like I told you before—open a little café. That’ll be perfect. As for Jin Xiangcheng…”
Liang Ruo let out a cold laugh on the other end of the line. “His crimes are far worse than you imagine. Just a few charges will lock him up for life. It’s worth all those years I spent as your lackey—finally, I get to bite back.”
Fang Juexia didn’t care about Jin Xiangcheng’s specific charges. He knew the man had no moral boundaries. His downfall was the result of multiple forces working together.
“No matter what, take care of yourself.” After a long pause, that was all he could manage to say.
But hearing those words was enough to make Liang Ruo happy. “I will. Rest assured, small fry like me tend to live longer. I’ll definitely outlive Jin Xiangcheng.”
Hearing this, Fang Juexia finally felt at ease. He knew Liang Ruo wasn’t inherently bad. Not everything in this world was black and white; everyone was pushed along by circumstances.
At least Liang Ruo had awakened and turned back.
“Hey, Juexia, did Pei Tingsong know you called me?” Liang Ruo asked deliberately. “He won’t be upset, will he?”
The mention of Pei Tingsong made Fang Juexia’s lips curve into a faint smile. “No,” he replied honestly. “He was the one who encouraged me to get in touch with you.”
Liang Ruo sighed deeply on the other end. “Alright, alright. I should’ve known.”
“Known what?” Fang Juexia asked, puzzled.
I should’ve known you’d like someone just like him.
“Nothing,” Liang Ruo chuckled. “I won’t keep you, superstar. I need to head to the prosecutor’s office.”
“Mm.” Fang Juexia lowered his eyes. It was time to say goodbye. A person who had shared hiser weary youth, an old friend whose paths had diverged, only to circle back and reconcile—yet ultimately, parting remained the outcome.
Everything was destined.
Hearing a knock, Fang Juexia turned to see Pei Tingsong standing at the door. The other person gestured with hands and feet, quietly asking if he wanted pizza.
Fang Juexia nodded lightly. Before hanging up, he said one last thing to Liang Ruo.
“I hope someday I can come to your café for coffee.”
A sudden silence fell on the other end. After several seconds, Liang Ruo spoke again, his voice trembling—a cry so obvious it couldn’t be disguised.
“Sure, free coffee. Drink as much as you want.” He sniffed, his voice wavering between laughter and tears, adding,
“But if you bring Pei Tingsong along, you’ll have to tip me double.”
