I. Past and Present

     "Hey, Gorgeous. I was about to call you. I missed you."

"It's so good to finally hear your voice. I missed you too. How are you?"

"I just finished a rehearsal. How about you?"

"Tired but excited."

"Yeah? How did it go today?"

"They loved my ideas! They're going to have the contract signed tomorrow."

"That's really great news. Congratulations baby! I knew you could do it."

"This is one of my first deal for the company. I'm so excited to tell them."

"I'm sure they'll be proud of you. I'm proud of you baby."

"Thank you. I'll see you tomorrow when I get back?"

"I'll pick you up. We'll celebrate here"

"I love you."

"I love you too."

     If it would have been another day, Yixing wouldn't mind if his schedule would end until midnight. That was how his typical working day went anyway. This day though, he just wanted everything to be just done and go home. Something he rarely wanted to do.

Yixing had no idea why but he was just feeling not very sociable at the moment. Maybe he was just tired. He had been up since five in the morning for a breakfast interview. Aside from that, he also attended a meeting at his company and had a fan event right after.

Right now, he was in a press conference which had been going on for almost two hours for the game-variety-reality show Go Fighting. The show was already in its fifth season. It seemed that people still have a lot to ask them, but he just hoped that the event will follow the given time schedule. He might explode if that happened.

A lot had been happening he wasn't even sure he remembered what he did or say. They even have a team dinner after this. As much as he wanted to opt out he couldn't, out of respect for his friends.

Huang Lei, one of the members of their show Go Fighting, gently squeezed his shoulders in encouragement. "This will be over soon. Just hang in there for a moment."

It seemed he was not able to hide his feelings well. He was hoping none of his friends would pick his mood. But having worked and friends for more than five years, they knew him very well already.

He tried to return his smile. "Thanks, Gege."

"After this, we will be eating a lot of food," Huang Bo, another member, added.

He should have been used to this. Being an idol and an actor for almost ten years, this was not the first time that he had a crazy schedule. In fact, he had worse. But he came to realize that it was not something you really get use it. It was something that everyone in the industry must learn to accept.

"I have a question for Yixing."

Putting his best smile on, he faced the reporter. "For me? Yeah, go ahead Gege."

I hope this will be the last one.

"As one of the most successful idols and actors in the country, or in Asia even, why have you not accepted any collaboration from those international artists who expressed their desire to collaborate with you?"

"Collaborating with other singers takes time to happen, especially with artists who have a much more diverse audience than you. At least in my opinion. There are two artists with different sets of audiences, you have to make sure that everything is considered. Making decisions takes time. Yeah, of course, I want to have a collaboration, but we still have things to consider before making any decision."

Thankfully, it seemed that the reporter was satisfied with his answer as he nodded his thanks while another reporter raised his hand.

"Yes, go ahead please."

"You have been doing a lot of things lately. From your album to this show, also your recent movie. May are wondering if you even have enough time for yourself. I would just like to ask if this was the main reason that you're not in a relationship right now? Or is it a choice of yours to stay single for the time being?"

He tried to give the reporter a playful smile. "How do you know I don't have a girlfriend Jiejie?"

He let the laughter in the room die down before continue answering. "As you have pointed out, I have a lot of things going on lately. Yeah, my mind is everywhere right now. But as much as possible, I make sure that my career wouldn't be able to have that much effect on my personal life, like meeting someone. I'm the type of person who if I want something to work out, I try my best to find a balance between two parts of my life."

Questions were still thrown left and right but thankfully the other cast members were able to help him divert the questions