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On April 8, the same day EXO is celebrating its 10th anniversary, EXO's Lay announced his departure from SM Entertainment.

In a handwritten letter posted on his Twitter account, Lay paid tribute to his EXO members, the company, and his fans.

This decade is one of the greatest gifts I could've ever received. pic.twitter.com/7Cmpyygprg

-- Lay Zhang (@layzhang) April 8, 2022

He wrote, "Ten years of growth, thank you all. Thank you to my EXO brothers for your company and encouragement. Thanks to my colleagues at SM for witnessing every step of my growth and achievement. Thank you to all of my fans for your unconditional love and support.

"It's time to say goodbye as an employee of SM. It's also my new beginning as a 30-year-old. But I will always be the Lay when my members need me. I'm your family member in China, Zhang Yixing. Love you forever."

As of this writing, the hashtag "Lay Zhang" is trending on Twitter with more than 47,000 tweets. In these tweets, fans expressed their support and love for Lay's decision.

"Believe in your dreams, believe in yourself, believe in hard-work, believe in struggle, never be afraid to wait, always look forward to the future. In the next ten years, hard-work will always paid off"

-Lay Zhang

It hits hard. 😭😭😭

-- jane • SUH2O (@konnichiwaexo_) April 8, 2022

Yixing new song “酒 (JIU)” means alcohol in chinese but its pronunciation is as 9'😭😭😭the intro of the song is exo members voices and the poster for jiu” re-presents 9 stars. Its practically a song dedicated for EXO @weareoneEXOhttps://t.co/jDxeKl3Yih pic.twitter.com/hlLXSZpCjn

-- EXOBreakingNews ( Read Bio )(҂-̀_-́) (⇀‸↼‶):- (@EXOBreakingNews) April 8, 2022

thank you for 10 wonderful years lay zhang! exo won't complete without you. I hope you'll find your happiness now. We still support you, You've always our healing unicorn! I'm happy and sad with these news. Thank you always LAY! EXO OT9 FOREVER!😭😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/glkZ8N7qbY

-- keiko 🔸au prompt on pinned 📌 (@KEI4NORI) April 8, 2022

to lay zhang, you did well for this 10 years. i will always support no matter what and i will always love you no matter what. being 9 forever. i hope i can see OT9 soon. i really miss you 🤍 pic.twitter.com/GyZPcq4JWr

-- myeonieeeee (@kjmyeonie22) April 8, 2022

No matter what's happen, we will be here to support you always!
LAY Zhang Yixing, you're our love 🤍
Happy 10th year Debut Anniversary 🤍🤍#10YearsWithEXO#AlwaysAndForeverEXO#엑소와_함께한_아름다운_10년
#1ΞX0 #EXO10thYearAnniversary@weareoneEXO @layzhang@B_hundred_Hyun https://t.co/YZ0t2hltTs

-- サソリ| 1ΞX0 (@sasorighostly) April 8, 2022

Lay, real name Zhang Yixing, is a Chinese rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, director, dancer, and actor. He made his debut in 2012 as a member of the K-pop boy group EXO under SM Entertainment.

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