Chapter 1

"Tao, I’m going back to my country. I wanted to let you know before I leave..."

Upon hearing this, the blond-haired youth who was feasting suddenly changed his expression, almost dropping his chopsticks in disbelief, and asked:

"What? Are you also going to be a traitor like that person, abandoning your brothers and leaving?"

Yuan Hua refilled his glass and then said with genuine emotion:

"As the saying goes, no matter how tall the tree grows, its leaves will eventually return to its roots. We, the wanderers far from home, will ultimately return to our hometown...

Moreover, South Korea is too small to contain my dreams."

Huang Zitao covered his glass with his hand, his face flushed as he said:

"Don’t you dislike that person? Why are you following his example? Have you thought about what this will do to the rest of us?

No wonder you tried to stop me when I posted on Weibo criticizing him...

I was puzzled why you would defend him, turns out you had the same idea!"

Fool, I stopped you for your own good. You should know this is one of your biggest black spots; in your previous life, you suffered a lot because of it...

However, Huang Zitao had a stubborn temperament. Despite Yuan Hua’s earnest persuasion, he secretly posted a Weibo dissing Wu Yifan, which left Yuan Hua speechless. It’s hard to persuade a stubborn ghost with good words!

Yuan Hua was not surprised by Huang Zitao’s intense reaction, after all, he knew he wasn’t being entirely fair.

Ever since Wu Sir was forcibly released from his contract and returned to China over a month ago, the company had tightened its control over their batch of Chinese artists. Moreover, the Korean members of the group looked at them with prejudice, and the rift between the two sides grew increasingly wider...

In addition, the pressure from fans also made things difficult for them.

After all, some fervent fans, while cursing Wu Sir, would also hate by association and include their fellow countrymen...

It’s easy to imagine that if a second "traitor" appeared, the situation for the remaining Chinese members would become even more dire.

Today, Yuan Hua deliberately chose a secluded private room to invite Huang Zitao for a meal, not only to formally inform him of his intention to leave the group but also to persuade him to leave with him!

After all, based on his previous life’s experience, Huang Zitao would also leave the company and return to China less than a year after Wu Sir. It would be better to invite him to leave together, at least they could share the burden...

Among the famous four Chinese returnees, the first to propose a contract termination and return to China was Wu Yifan. On May 15, 2014, he formally requested the Seoul District Court to declare his exclusive contract with SM Entertainment invalid, causing a huge stir.

Next was Lu Han, who filed for contract termination on October 10, 2014. Although a settlement was reached on July 19, 2016, he had already shifted his personal activities to mainland China long before that.

The third was Huang Zitao. On April 22, 2015, his father announced on Weibo that the contract with SM Entertainment would not be renewed. Huang then faced widespread criticism online, with only Wang Jingze quietly giving him a thumbs up.

As for Zhang Yixing, he never actually terminated his contract, but he also established a personal studio in China on April 8, 2015, gradually shifting his activities to the mainland, which could be considered a form of "returning" in a certain sense...

To be honest, the timing of Huang Zitao’s return to China was awkward. Wu and Lu, as the first and second to break the mold, reaped the benefits of the traffic era. By the time it was his turn, there wasn’t much left...

He hardly benefited from the traffic era but still suffered from the backlash of being a traffic artist. If it weren’t for his later success in a talent show, he might have been forgotten in the entertainment industry!

Among the Chinese members of EXO, Huang Zitao was the one closest to Yuan Hua. After all, they joined the company as trainees in late 2010 and naturally became roommates, so they had always been close...

In his previous life, Yuan Hua had heard many negative things about Huang and initially didn’t like him much...

But after living and working together, he found that Huang wasn’t a bad person, just a bit immature and still retained some of his rich kid habits...

But this person was lively and passionate, with a heart that couldn’t hide anything, almost saying whatever came to mind. Such a person was actually easier to get along with.

Yuan Hua’s invitation for him to return to China together was well-intentioned, but Huang Zitao didn’t seem to appreciate it and was furious about Yuan Hua’s decision to leave the group. In the end, they parted on bad terms...

In fact, Yuan Hua knew it would be difficult to persuade Huang Zitao before he came. After all, he had only said those words a month ago. How long had it been? Was he going to slap his own face?

But as his friend, he had fulfilled his duty to persuade him. If he didn’t listen, that was his problem. As long as Yuan Hua could live with a clear conscience, that was enough!

...

At the end of June 2014, a well-known paparazzi revealed that EXO’s former leader, Yuan Hua, had formally requested the Seoul District Court to declare his exclusive contract with SM Entertainment invalid and was preparing to return to China to develop his career.

In just over a month, two Chinese members of EXO had applied for contract termination and returned to China, causing a huge stir both inside and outside the industry...

Moreover, Yuan Hua’s popularity in China far exceeded that of Wu Yifan, and the impact of his departure was incomparable.

After all, Yuan Hua was one of the two Aces of EXO, heavily promoted by the company since his debut, with various resources poured into him, maintaining high popularity.

In China, he was basically the top one, with the only real threat being Lu Han, who never surpassed him.

In Korea, he consistently ranked in the top three, often vying for the top spot. His fans often argued with other fans over who was the most popular in the group...

Of course, Yuan Hua’s high popularity was also due to his years of careful maintenance and operation.

His popularity in Korea was certainly due to the company’s resources and extensive exposure...

However, in China, he had put in a lot of personal effort, focusing on developing and operating his domestic popularity, sometimes even spending his own money on promotions...

Despite the intense reaction Yuan Hua caused, strangely, the criticism this time was much less than when Wu Sir left.

Instead, more EXO fans went to criticize Wu Sir, blaming him for setting a bad example and triggering the "great exodus" of EXO.

On the morning of July 1, 2014, at 10:00 AM, Yuan Hua posted a selfie on his personal Weibo with the caption "I'm back," seemingly responding to the situation, which immediately topped the Weibo trending list.

I’m back!

In 1995, basketball god Michael Jordan shouted this phrase, then made a dominant return, winning his second three-peat and solidifying his status as the basketball god.

Yuan Hua used this phrase to openly display his ambition and grand vision.

Ten minutes later, the Weibo account posted another announcement, declaring the official establishment of Yuan Hua’s personal studio and that the studio would outsource Yuan Hua’s entertainment career in mainland China to Yanjing Yixin Entertainment.

This move was nothing unusual, basically the same as what Wu Sir did. Wu Sir also first established a personal studio and then outsourced his mainland business to Yaolai Film & TV.

Outsourcing a personal studio is essentially a form of indirect signing with a company, but it offers more freedom and a lower cost of separation.

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