Chapter 1: Twists and Turns
At 3 a.m., a heavy snow fell in Beijing. After finishing a show recording, Henry Foster got into his manager’s car to return to the dorm. He stared blankly out the window; the concrete jungle after the snow was eerily silent, as if the stiff limbs had finally been covered with a quilt, waiting for rest.
The show had gone on too long, and the indoor competition games had left Henry Foster exhausted. He wasn’t good at socializing, but he always had to compromise for exposure.
“Juexia, are you tired? How long did you record this time, really…” Manager Ethan Carter glanced at the rearview mirror. In the reflection, he was wrapped in a large, fluffy black down jacket, his pale face almost swallowed by the darkness. He looked like a beautiful phantom, trapped inside the mirror.
Henry Foster turned his face slightly, the faint red birthmark at the corner of his left eye peeking out from his bangs. He vaguely caught sight of a faded maple leaf buried in the snowy ground outside. The late autumn that had fled in a hurry had forgotten it here, leaving a touch of red in the ice and snow.
Or maybe he was just seeing things.
“Eight hours and forty-two minutes,” he replied precisely, his voice very soft. Then he answered the first question, “It’s fine, I’m not tired.”
“Next time, get more sleep before recording. Don’t go to the practice room.” Ethan Carter turned the steering wheel and changed the subject, “But you barely spoke in the later part. That won’t do. The TV station already doesn’t give you much screen time, and if you don’t say anything, you’ll get cut even more. You’re someone who can attract a ton of fans just with your looks—every second on camera is a win.”
Henry Foster knew Ethan Carter meant well, so he forced a smile and replied gently, “Okay, I’ll pay attention next time.”
Hearing this, Ethan Carter couldn’t say anything more. Henry Foster was a member of the six-person boy group Kaleido, considered a lucky find for their company. After all, he had once been a trainee at Astar, the country’s top entertainment company, and had fan support even before debut. Rumor had it he would debut as the center of their new boy group. But unexpectedly, Henry Foster left his original company right before the group was formed, joined Xingtu, and after two years of training, debuted in Kaleido as the visual, main dancer, and sub-vocalist—the soul of the group.
At debut, there was quite a splash. Henry Foster’s reputation as the strongest trainee hadn’t faded, and there were loyal fans who had always waited for him. When Ethan Carter first took over the group, he was full of enthusiasm and hope—these kids had both looks and talent. But what happened later was beyond his expectations.
The feeling of a project dying young is not a good one.
Suddenly, he remembered something. “Oh right, you were supposed to shoot a magazine spread tomorrow…” Just thinking about it made Ethan Carter feel frustrated, but he didn’t want to affect Henry Foster’s mood, so he tried to sound casual, “No need to go. They’ve made other arrangements.”
Henry Foster had actually found out that afternoon. During a break, he overheard assistant Little Owen on the phone, cursing about “being cut in line” and “so what if it’s one of the big five magazines, so what if you have traffic,” clearly angry. After asking, he learned that the previously confirmed magazine shoot and interview had been snatched by a male actor who’d recently become popular from a hit web drama. Losing the job should have been discouraging, but Henry Foster actually felt relieved.