Kris has had it up to his scary eyebrows with the cold shoulder. The fact that Yixing was not just avoiding him but also ignoring him was driving him slowly insane. Also, it wasn’t just Yixing. The other people at the lunch table, Xiumin, Chen, Lu Han, and Tao, have also been getting colder and colder with him.

It doesn’t help, of course, that his manager has been sending texts and calling non-stop for the past three days.

“Manager Ge, for the last time, I said no,” Kris snapped, not bothering to even say hello as he picked up the third  call of the day.

“But-”

“I will block your number and never talk to you again,” Kris threatened.

“You can’t do that,” Manager Wei replied, matter of factly. “As your manager and agent, not talking to me would be a very bad career choice.”

Kris scoffed, but quieted.

“Anyway, I’m not calling to talk about the Happy Camp opportunity, which is always still open as a wonderful career choice, by the way. But no, I’m calling about an endorsement. ShanCha Jelly Drink. How about it?”

“I don’t drink those,” Kris muttered, getting up to pace the room. Yixing had disappeared again, probably to Lu Han and Kai’s room, and Kris was just in a bad mood.

“What does that matter? Just film the commercial, Kris.”

“Those drinks are tasty, but they’re full of sugar and additives. I refuse to endorse a product that I don’t use.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Manager Wei snapped.

At that, Kris just rolled his eyes. Manager Wei had a fiscal brain, not a moral one. He just didn’t get it. It wasn’t about being able to look handsome while posing with some ridiculous jelly drinks; it was about being true to oneself.

“I’m not going to be a fake,” Kris said decisively. “Look, I worked nonstop for the past eighteen months and made more than enough money for me to take a break from the business. Stop calling me.”

“How long, Kris?” Manager Wei asked, warily. “How long is this break we’re talking about?”

Forever, maybe.

“At least until I graduate high school, so a year at minimum.”

There was a beat of silence, and a long sigh from Manager Wei. “When I agreed to let you attend school, it was with the impression that you will continue modeling,” he said, voice carefully controlled.

“Well you thought wrong. If I’m going to be a student, then I’m going to do it the right way,” Kris countered. He took a seat on the edge of his bed, and then flopped onto his back.

“As your manager and agent, I believe that-”

At that, the door to the room opened, and Kris looked up to see Yixing slipping through the doors.

“Look, I have to go,” Kris interrupted, cutting off Manager Wei mid-sentence. “We’ll talk later, okay? Actually, no. Don’t call me if it’s about that again. But otherwise, let’s meet up for lunch some time.”

Ignoring Manager Wei’s protests, Kris pressed the red end button on his phone, and sat up to watch Yixing.

The smaller boy had