I Want To Retire From the Circle but Become Famous by Acting Poorly

The background music slowly starts playing, with subtle differences from the death metal that Su Chengyang has heard before. It seems that the melody has been slightly slowed down to cater to the preferences of the Chinese audience.

As the lights on the stage come on, Su Chengyang sees not only a woman struggling in pain, but also a man wearing a strange outfit.

Like the woman, the man is also chained, but unlike her, he looks like a superior, coldly watching the woman beside him.

At the sight of him, the woman’s expression turns fearful. She struggles and tries to escape to the rhythm of the music, the chains making a chilling sound as they rub against each other. When she finally runs out of range, the chains suddenly tighten, with one of them stretching from the ground to mid-air during her struggles. It’s only then that Su Chengyang realizes that the source of the chains entangling the woman like maggots on a bone is the man himself.

The place she’s trying so hard to escape from is not hell, but the man’s side.

The music roars and the rhythm suddenly accelerates. The woman tries every means to resist and escape, but to no avail.

With each struggle, Su Chengyang feels her heart being squeezed tighter and tighter.

After a long four minutes, the background music finally slows down and becomes ethereal, and all the harsh sounds disappear, leaving only a faint, hoarse hum.

Finally, at the last moment, the woman who had only been trying to escape suddenly lunges at the man and bites his throat with all her might, as if wanting to snap it in half.

The screen gradually darkens, reflecting Su Chengyang’s face, with a clear tear mark on it.

“Chengyang?” Ye Ming sees that she hasn’t returned to reality for a long time and worries, patting her shoulder with his hand.

Death metal itself carries a certain impact. Although the style has changed after modification, the dance performance is even more unbearable than the music.

Su Chengyang came back to her senses, lowered her head and wiped away the tears on her cheeks before asking, “Teacher, what’s the background of this dance?”

Su Chengyang had a keen sense and strong perception, which made it easy for her to resonate with the images she saw. From this dance, she felt a lot of emotions 一 fear, struggle, anger, disgust, confusion, numbness, and finally, a desperate gamble.

Ye Ming was stunned and glanced at Terry before saying, “Special trauma.”

“Miss Su, if you don’t want to, you can still back out,” Terry said.

Su Chengyang shook her head and said, “No, let’s begin.”

Su Chengyang didn’t have much confidence in herself when it came to dancing, but playing the role of a person with special trauma wasn’t difficult for her.

For lunch, Su Chengyang had a light meal and continued to devote herself to practice.

Su Chengyang was amazing at grasping emotions and could use body language to express herself. The practice went smoothly.

“Chengyang, thank you. You’ve surprised me!” Terry was thrilled and hugged Su Chengyang’s shoulders.

Ye Ming nodded in approval and said, “Miss Su, I’m looking forward to your performance. It will surely have a great response.”

Su Chengyang had not yet recovered from her emotions, as Terry played the role of the abuser in her heart. When his hand touched her body, a chill ran through her heart, but she forced herself not to say anything.

Fortunately, Terry’s attention was quickly diverted, and he let go of her. Su Chengyang let out a sigh of relief without showing any signs of discomfort.

“Knock一”

The dance studio door was knocked, and the three turned to look.

Xiao Lu poked her head through the crack and smiled at Su Chengyang, saying, “Boss Lin is here.”

Terry’s eyes lit up, “Please come in, please come in.”

Xiao Lu pushed open the door and walked in, with Lin Yu following behind her. His chestnut eyes fell on Su Chengyang for a moment.

Su Chengyang was wearing a black vest, with sweat soaking through her back, her cheeks flushed, her expression cold and even showing a trace of imperceptible disgust.

Lin Yu withdrew his gaze and looked at Terry and the others.

“Hello, I’m Lin Yu, Chengyang’s manager.”

“Hello, hello, I’ve heard about you.” Terry warmly shook hands with him. He had long wanted to meet the person who could make Mary completely infatuated and see what they looked like. Seeing Lin Yu in person, he was even more charming than in the photos.

“Hello, I’m Ye Ming. Chengyang’s performance was excellent and completely exceeded our expectations,” Ye Ming nodded at him.

Lin Yu smiled and then looked up at Su Chengyang, who had not yet recovered from her emotions. “Chengyang, put on your jacket and don’t catch a cold.”

Su Chengyang was stunned and looked at Lin Yu in a daze for several seconds before realizing who he was.

Xiao Lu picked up Su Chengyang’s clothes and draped them over her shoulders. The sudden touch made Su Chengyang instinctively want to escape, and a look of fear appeared on her face.

Lin Yu turned his head and asked Ye Ming, “Mr. Ye, where is the bathroom?”

Ye Ming pointed to the back of the dance studio. “The girls’ bathroom is back there.”

“Thank you.”

He looked at Xiao Lu and said, “Lu Yin, take Chengyang to the bathroom. You should have clean clothes in your car, right?”

Xiao Lu nodded. “Yes.”

After speaking, Xiao Lu instinctively wanted to hold Su Chengyang’s hand.

“Don’t touch her, let her go by herself,” Lin Yu said, stopping her.

Xiao Lu was taken aback. “Oh.”

She turned back to Su Chengyang and said, “Chengyang, let’s go.”

Su Chengyang responded in a daze and followed her out of the dance studio.

After the two left, Lin Yu asked, “Can you show me the complete dance? Chengyang’s condition doesn’t seem very good.”

“Uh… sure.”

Entering the bathroom, standing under the showerhead, the warm water washed over Su Chengyang’s body, and her emotions slowly calmed down.

Actually, under normal circumstances, Su Chengyang would recover quickly after finishing a scene, but today might be different. Having to repeat these emotions all day made her brain abnormally slow. Only with the surrounding water did she feel like she came to a safe zone and breathed a sigh of relief.

By the time she finished showering, Su Chengyang’s mood had improved quite a bit.

Lin Yu and the others were waiting for her in Ye Ming’s office.

“Chengyang.” Xiao Lu waved at her.

Lin Yu glanced at her and said to Ye Ming and Terry, “It’s getting late. I’ll take her back first.”

“Okay, be careful on the way.”

The three of them left the building and got into the car.

Xiao Lu drove in front, while Lin Yu and Su Chengyang sat in the back, with a space between them.

“How do you feel?”

In the quiet car, Lin Yu turned his head towards her.

Su Chengyang smiled, “It’s okay, not as difficult as I imagined.”

“Have you met Mary?” Lin Yu asked.

Su Chengyang paused for a moment and nodded, “Yes, I met her. She’s very beautiful.”

Outside, the sky was getting darker, and the light in the car was dim.

Lin Yu looked at her but couldn’t see her expression clearly. “If she said anything to you, don’t take it to heart. I’m sorry.”

“I know.”

“I bought a vase for you as a reward,” Lin Yu said.

Su Chengyang asked, puzzled, “Why do I deserve a reward?”

Lin Yu smiled and said, “Teacher Ye said you performed very well today.”

“Oh.” Su Chengyang nodded. “Can I ask for a different reward?”

Lin Yu glanced at her, perhaps because of the lighting, his eyes inexplicably softened. “What reward do you want?”

“Have a big meal… and such?” Su Chengyang asked tentatively.

Lin Yu shook his head. “No.”

Su Chengyang pouted. “Then what am I going to do with the vase you’re rewarding me with? Use it for flower arrangements?”

Lin Yu spoke naturally, “If you’re busy or don’t have the energy, I can help take care of it for you.”

“Ah…”

Xiao Lu’s expression flickered as she listened, looking up at the two in the rearview mirror with a strange feeling in her heart.

Su Chengyang didn’t think too much and accepted Lin Yu’s reward.

Although Lin Yu didn’t want to reward her with a big meal, that night he didn’t control Su Chengyang’s eating and only reminded her to stop when she had enough. He also told her they had to practice again tomorrow.

The next morning, Su Chengyang was still tidying up when Lin Yu had Assistant Xu bring the vase and her breakfast.

Looking at the plain white vase on the coffee table in the living room, Su Chengyang felt like laughing. Lin Yu was probably someone who liked to play with flowers and plants.

After several days of hard practice, Su Chengyang had made great progress.

The time for recording the on-location program happened to coincide with the airing of the second season of <Travel>.

This morning, Lin Yu came to the door in person.

Su Chengyang opened the door, and Lin Yu held a white rose in his hand.

“Manager Lin…”

Su Chengyang was stunned.

Lin Yu smiled, “I think the vase should still be empty. I picked a rose on my way here.”

“Oh…”

Su Chengyang made way for Manager Lin to enter in a daze.

At a glance, Lin Yu saw the vase on the coffee table. He guessed it had not been moved since it was sent by Assistant Xu. He picked up the vase, went to the bathroom to fill it with water, and put the single rose in it.

Su Chengyang stood in the living room and looked from beginning to end.

Finally, she couldn’t help but say, “Manager Lin, actually, it’s okay to pick a few more.”

Lin Yu bent over to put the vase on the coffee table and, hearing this, turned his head to look at Su Chengyang and said with a smile, “It’s okay, just change it every day.”

Su Chengyang blinked. Did that mean he would come every day?

Also, Manager Lin’s house is not far from here anyway.

“Where is Lu Yin?”

“She’s getting ready.”

Lin Yu nodded and said, “The program starts at eight o’clock. After lunch, I’ll take you there.”

After speaking, Lin Yu left.

When Xiao Lu came out of the restroom, Su Chengyang was sitting in the living room, staring at a vase with a rose in it.

Xiao Lu rubbed her wet hair and asked, “Did Assistant Xu come? Why did he only bring one?”

Su Chengyang gradually shifted her gaze to Xiao Lu’s face and said in a frustrated tone, “No, your cousin brother brought it.”

Xiao Lu was taken aback. “My cousin brother? Personally?”

Su Chengyang was nervous. “He even said he will bring a new one every day, and I got the feeling he might come every day.”

Xiao Lu was stunned. Is her cousin brother really that idle lately?

“Do you think he found out that I sneak snacks every day and came to monitor me personally?” Su Chengyang took a deep breath.

Subconsciously shaking her head, Xiao Lu said, “My cousin brother is not that idle… wait a minute?”

Xiao Lu looked at Su Chengyang with a puzzled expression and said, “You sneaked snacks? How come I didn’t know about it? You quickly confess to me!”

Su Chengyang: “…”

Su Chengyang inexplicably exposed herself.

To keep Xiao Lu from telling others, Su Chengyang tried hard to explain and finally let the matter pass.

After lunch, the two drove to the recording location of the program.

Perhaps Lin Yu had finished his work at the company, so he went with them.

In the car, Lin Yu and Su Chengyang talked for a few words, and then remained silent.

After arriving at the location, Terry came out to greet them personally.

“Miss Su, Mr. Lin, you finally came.” Terry approached and took Su Chengyang’s right hand, kissed the back of her hand, and then extended his hand to Lin Yu.

Lin Yu glanced at him, smiled, and shook his hand slightly. “Chengyang, please take care of her.”

“Definitely, definitely.”

Terry led the three of them backstage and had a conversation with Lin Yu.

“Mr. Lin, I have a good friend who wants to meet you. She is in the room.”

Stopping in front of a door, Terry said, “Speaking of which, I was influenced by her when I was studying Chinese before.”

Su Chengyang stood behind the two men and glanced at Lin Yu’s face when she heard the words.

She already knew who Terry’s friend was. Su Chengyang had never told Lin Yu what had happened between her and Mary that day.

On the one hand, she felt it was unnecessary. On the other hand, she didn’t want to get involved in Lin Yu’s personal feelings. After all, as Mary had said, Lin Yu had a strong sense of boundaries in his heart. She didn’t want him to hate her for thinking that she wanted to pry into his past.

Lin Yu’s expression remained calm after hearing Terry’s words. He looked down and smiled, “Is that so?”

“Yeah, you don’t know, I thought she came here today just to support me, but it turns out that her main purpose is to meet you.”

No matter what he faced, Lin Yu always had a gentle expression. He gestured with his hand and said, “Please.”

Terry pushed open the door, and inside was an ordinary resting room.

A blonde woman was sitting on the sofa with her back to them. She stood up at the first sound behind her.

“Yu!” Mary turned around with surprise. “You really came!”

She was wearing a black deep V-neck long dress today, with fair skin, beautiful features, and long legs. The joy on her face diluted the impact of her features as she walked briskly towards Lin Yu.

Upon seeing Mary, Lin Yu showed no surprise and greeted her with a lukewarm attitude, nodding his head and saying, “Mary, long time no see.”

“It’s been two years! I heard you came back to China some time ago, and I’ve been wanting to come find you, but I never had the chance,” Mary replied.

Xiao Lu stood beside Su Chengyang and lightly bumped her shoulder, whispering, “Mary looks even better than her pictures.”

Su Chengyang responded with a “Hmm.”

Lin Yu didn’t respond and turned to Su Chengyang, saying, “This is Mary, my former colleague.”

Upon hearing the word “colleague,” Mary’s face stiffened.

Indeed, in Lin Yu’s eyes, they weren’t even friends, just colleagues.

Su Chengyang bowed to greet Mary, “Hello.”

Lin Yu continued, “Mary, this is my artist, Su Chengyang.”

Mary looked slightly surprised but smiled and said, “I know Su Chengyang, we met a few days ago.”

Lin Yu politely smiled and asked Terry, “Where is the makeup room? Let’s have Su Chengyang meet the makeup artist first.”

Yesterday their rehearsal went very smoothly, and they also tried it on the original stage a few times, without encountering any major problems.

Terry said, “I’ll take Chengyang over first, you guys can talk slowly.”

Su Chengyang didn’t say anything and followed Terry out of the rest area.

“Lin Yu, we haven’t had a chance to talk properly…” came Mary’s low, gentle voice from behind the room, different from what Su Chengyang had heard before.

She was momentarily stunned and subconsciously wanted to hear what Lin Yu would say in response, but the gradually closing door completely blocked out the sound from inside.