CHAPTER 362: 152 WHEN WAKING UP FROM A DREAM

After taking a shower, Rong Xianning tidied up the bathroom and returned to the study.

He unfolded the sofa bed and turned his head to glance at the bookshelf opposite him.

His eyes landed on *The Little Prince.*

The young man’s gaze, like the starry river of a summer night, instantly became radiant and tender.

He walked over, stood on tiptoe, and pulled out the book.

And then he froze.

It was nothing more than a decorative fake book.

Looking up at the three walls filled with bookshelves, he suspected that they were all fake.

He put the fake book back, shook his head, turned off the light, and lay down.

The study had a massive floor-to-ceiling window that overlooked the night view of Spring River. Rain and mist blurred the glass, and pea-sized raindrops hammered against the pane, tracing long streaks down like strings of sorrowful tears.

The room was well-insulated against sound. Despite the lightning, thunder, and howling wind outside, the interior was warm and peaceful.

Rong Xianning stared at the water trails on the glass, crossing and winding like the rugged paths of life.

He thought it would be another sleepless night, but when he opened his eyes again, it was the piercing sunlight that woke him.

Rong Xianning instinctively raised his hand to cover his eyes, remaining dazed for a moment.

Once his eyes adjusted to the brightness, he slowly sat up.

Outside the floor-to-ceiling window, the blue sky and white clouds seemed close enough to touch.

In the distance, modern skyscrapers stretched high into the clouds as Spring River meandered through the city. Sunlight scattered across the river’s surface, as though a river full of starlight had been shattered into countless shimmering fragments. The gleaming waves mirrored the flowing light on silk, breathtakingly beautiful.

In the far southeast, there was the outline of a verdant mountain shrouded in the mist of dawn, resembling a mystical peak from a fairy tale.

Standing before the window, gazing downward, the great expanse of land unfolded before his eyes, evoking boundless grandeur—a feeling of standing tall among mountains.

It was as if all the heaviness and frustration in his chest dissolved—like the vast and infinite sky, like the ceaselessly flowing river, like the mysterious emerald mountain—all blending into a one-of-a-kind scene.

Rong Xianning quietly admired the view for a while, but as he turned, he saw his phone lying on the carpet.

He stared at it for three seconds, then bent down to pick it up.

The battery was dead, and the phone had shut down.

He rummaged through his backpack, found the charger, and plugged the phone in.

As soon as the charger was connected, the phone automatically powered on.

Almost instantly, a barrage of missed calls jumped onto the screen.

Calls from Ding Meng, Fang Hui, Li Kun, and even teammates Feng Cheng and Du Yuchun piled up—hundreds of missed calls stacking one upon another like crushing stones.

Amid these calls was a single unfamiliar number, with no identified region, nestled conspicuously amid the sea of contacts.

Rong Xianning stared at the number for a few seconds. The timestamp lined up with Zhao Heng’s arrival last night.

For some reason, Rong Xianning’s heart suddenly skipped a beat.

This call was likely from the "boss" Zhao Heng had mentioned, the one who appreciated him.

Just then, Ding Meng’s call came through again. Rong Xianning furrowed his brows, answered, and put the phone to his ear.

"Rong Xianning, you’re finally answering! Where on earth have you been for the past day and night? Do you even realize the company is on the verge of losing its mind looking for you? Get back here immediately!"

The woman’s furious roar pierced through the phone, practically making his eardrums ache.

Rong Xianning silently moved the phone slightly away from his ear. "What does President Ding intend to do?"

The person on the other end took a deep breath, suppressing her explosive temper. "I’ll handle the public opinion. You just hurry up and come back."

"And then?"

"What do you mean ’and then’?"

Ding Meng sensed an unusually calm demeanor in the young man’s voice, and her grip on the phone unconsciously tightened.

"This isn’t the first time something like this has happened, is it, President Ding? You’re well aware of that."

"What exactly do you want?" the woman growled through clenched teeth.

"Tell me where you are now, and I’ll send someone to pick you up immediately."

"That won’t be necessary. I think we both need some time to cool down. Perhaps I’m not suited for the entertainment industry. Rather than waste time on me, President Ding should find someone more capable."

"Rong Xianning." The woman spoke through gritted teeth. "Don’t think about running. No matter where you go, I’ll find you—even if it’s the ends of the earth."

The boy’s clear and defined eyes were cold, laced with mockery.

"One week. Let’s take a week to calm down. Don’t contact me during this time."

With that, he hung up the phone.

Rong Xianning’s gaze hardened slightly.

He hadn’t been bluffing Ding Meng. He truly felt drained by this industry. It was suffocatingly saturated with restlessness, self-interest, and deceit. If he continued down this path, he feared he’d one day no longer recognize himself.

He remembered how, for as long as he could recall, he’d been running to one artistic training class after another. When he practiced dance, the pain of foundational training often brought him to cold sweats. To make his mother happy, he gritted his teeth and endured, even biting down so hard that his mouth filled with blood without uttering a sound.