Chapter 14: No Longer Cohabiting [bushi]
“Why haven’t I heard you mention this before?”
Lin Zhile said, “I only found out about it after I went there, and I only told the director today.”
“Why do you want to go stay in a hotel?” Gu Jingxiu asked again.
His tone was indistinguishable between joy and anger, and his gaze was pitch-black.
Lin Zhile’s hands hung by his sides, unconsciously twisting the hem of his shirt.
Gu Jingxiu pressed step by step, “If you don’t explain clearly, what if people mistakenly think I’m mistreating you.”
Lin Zhile hurriedly lifted his head. “How could that be… I’ve always claimed to outsiders that I have a very good older brother. Not only is he handsome, but he takes incredibly good care of me.”
“Moving to the hotel is just because it’s close. This way, I won’t have to ride in a car for a long time, and you won’t have to go through the trouble of picking me up and dropping me off,” he said.
Jin-jie came over to smooth things over. “That’s also quite good. You came back so late yesterday. With the time saved from commuting, you can sleep a bit longer at the hotel.”
Lin Zhile sneaked a peek at Gu Jingxiu. “Yes, but when the production crew isn’t busy, I’ll still come back to stay. You wouldn’t shut me out, right?”
Jin-jie waved her hand. “How could that be? As long as you are here, I’ll make your favorite dishes for every meal.”
Lin Zhile instantly curved his eyes into a smile. “That’s wonderful.”
Gu Jingxiu watched expressionlessly from the side and said, “I’ll help you call a car for tomorrow morning.”
So this meant he agreed?
Lin Zhile nodded obediently, letting him arrange it.
The next day, Lin Zhile woke up bright and early, packed some daily necessities, and set off after eating breakfast.
It was just unfortunate that he didn’t run into Gu Jingxiu, failing to say goodbye to him in person.
The hotel was indeed very close, just as Bai Yue had said, but the conditions were quite average.
The exterior was magnificent, but the room’s interior decor was very old, and the windows surprisingly leaked air.
Lin Zhile requested to change rooms but was rejected by the front desk, who said there were no extra rooms provided for the production crew.
He had a schedule to attend to later, so he had no choice but to let it go.
Today’s schedule included a portion in the large rehearsal room and another portion for interviews.
This time, the makeup artist was much more enthusiastic upon seeing Lin Zhile. He also knew his name and insisted on calling him Xiao Le.
VOXI arrived at the recording site before him. The members sat quietly in a row, looking quite cheerful. Upon seeing him, they happily stood up and pulled him over to sit together.
Being pulled by them, Lin Zhile coincidentally missed Zhang Chengdong, who had wanted to come over and strike up a conversation from behind.
“You guys look very happy. Did something good happen?” Lin Zhile asked.
Leo said with a beaming face, “I don’t know why, but hearing that we joined the show, there are many people encouraging us!”
Bai Yue also said, “Some fans who followed us before have returned to support us.”
Lin Zhile also felt happy for them. “That’s a great thing.”
Leo added, “However, Little Le-didi is even more popular than us. There are so many topics about you online right now. Looking at your photos, they say you look like their long-lost husb…”
The last word was muffled by Luo Ming covering his mouth, so Lin Zhile didn’t hear it.
He was a bit puzzled. “My photos? Has it been officially announced already?”
The production team filmed and broadcasted simultaneously, but currently, he had heard that the promotional plan wasn’t finalized yet, so the outside world knew very little.
Luo Ming released Leo, shoved him to the back, and whispered, “No, it’s because Xu Xunzhu’s fans took a picture of you. They thought that Maybach was coming to pick him up, so they started a livestream.”
“As a result, not only were they slapped in the face, but the people watching the livestream became very interested in you instead, and they dug straight into your school.”
Lin Zhile: “…Is it really that intense?”
Leo poked his head over. “Little Le-didi, you are ranked first on the school hunk list!”
Bai Yue also joined the topic: “Are you really Mei Yi’s student?”
This was the second time Lin Zhile had heard his teacher’s name on this show.
As for Teacher Mei, his impression had always been of a people’s teacher with flowing long hair who commanded respect without being angry.
Of course, she was always very amiable to him.
Normally, he had never seen her figure in any trending hot topics or celebrity scandals. He hadn’t expected that so many people actually knew her.
“Yes,” Lin Zhile said. “I only just realized that my teacher is so famous.”
Seeing Lin Zhile’s face completely kept in the dark, Bai Yue quietly cleared up his confusion. “Because she is Teacher Dongjing’s ex-wife.”
“They all say that Teacher Dongjing being able to reach this position is inseparable from Teacher Mei Yi’s help.”
Lin Zhile: “!”
Seeing his astonished expression, Bai Yue stood up straight with a face full of satisfaction and patted his shoulder. “However, I suggest you concern yourself with another issue.”
Lin Zhile: “What?”
Bai Yue said, “Xu Xunzhu exhausted his efforts to build hype, only to have you intercept it. He might be holding a grudge against you now.”
Lin Zhile followed his gaze. Sitting over there was the other focal point of the show.
That person was surrounded by cameras, wearing a white button-up shirt. Sitting beside the senior He Yixin, he looked just like a cute boy next door.
With cameras surrounding him, he remained composed and spoke with assurance, making He Yixin laugh continuously.
Lin Zhile recalled the light boards he had seen that day, things like “Angel on Earth Xu Xunzhu.” He said, “I didn’t do it on purpose. Probably not…”
The chat didn’t last long, and the program began.
Lin Zhile acutely sensed that the number of times the cameras pointed at him had increased, and the host also cued him a few times. However, thinking of Caroline’s words, his responses were very cautious.
Today’s recording content involved two draws: one for the stage theme, and one for the performance order.
The theme was drawn by Luo Ming. Unfolding it, a single word was printed on it: “Clay Idol.”
Leo scratched the back of his head. “Ming-ge, what does this mean?”
Bai Yue said, “The literal definition is an unfired idol.”
Leo wore a terrified face. “So idols all have to be fired?”
Ye Ziqian rarely spoke up. “It refers to sculpted dolls. Have you been slacking off on your Chinese studies recently?”
Bai Yue said, “The theme can be redrawn. We have two more chances. Do we want to swap?”
The group fell somewhat silent.
Lin Zhile felt that this concept was quite fitting for VOXI.
In mythological legends, the heavenly goddess Nüwa grew weary of the lifeless wasteland day after day, so she took water and mud to sculpt humanity.
Who among the people of the world wasn’t originally a clay idol?
And the former VOXI had a “golden body” sculpted for them by the love of their fans. Now, having fallen into the dust, they could only be “fired” once more.
Reborn through the fire of nirvana, to obtain a new life.
This stage was exactly like the first trial.
After listening, Luo Ming looked thoughtful. Leo didn’t understand but thought it was profound, merely nodding his head. Ye Ziqian didn’t express any opposition. Thus, Bai Yue made the final decision: they wouldn’t change it, this was the one.
Having decided on the theme, the staff distributed a notebook to each group. They were required to record their creative process within it.
There weren’t many restrictions on the notebook. They could write whatever they wanted, even draw pictures, but a minimum of three entries must be recorded.
In the subsequent performance order draw, Leo volunteered. However, it seemed koi fish didn’t like the little foreigner; he drew the number 2 slot to perform.
Holding the performance number, Bai Yue hissed, while Luo Ming and Ye Ziqian gave Leo a thorough beating.
However, some issues arose during this segment. The staff said they missed writing a few numbers.
“You can miss writing numbers out of just twenty-something? Did you even graduate elementary school?!” The director had no choice but to curse while announcing a redraw.
Ignoring Leo’s persistent entanglements to “wipe away his previous shame,” Bai Yue resolutely sent Lin Zhile to the front lines.
The result this time was the 10th slot.
“Much better than the 2nd slot,” Luo Ming said.
“By that calculation, we’re still performing on the first day. That leaves us with only three days to create,” Ye Ziqian said.
The production team had a total of 26 groups of contestants. The stage recording would be split over two days, so the contestants performing on the second day would inevitably gain an extra day.
Bai Yue said, “It’s fine, it’s still better than the first time. We can’t change it anyway, right? Let’s hurry up and start creating.”
The recording in the large rehearsal room was finished, and the group moved to a small creation room. Leo went to apply for a dance studio in preparation for the upcoming choreography and rehearsals. Bai Yue, meanwhile, discussed musical matters with Lin Zhile.
Bai Yue wanted to preemptively seize attention, proposing high notes and a more explosive style in terms of the musical genre.
Lin Zhile, however, had a different opinion.
“Perhaps eighty percent of the contestants here are thinking the same thing. Homogenization won’t win favor.”
Luo Ming expressed his agreement with this view.
In the end, the group discussed it and settled on an expressive direction of “authenticity and bravery” for the song.
As a creator, once Lin Zhile had a goal, he became extremely focused.
So much so that it wasn’t until he wrapped up work and returned to the hotel that he discovered an unread message on his phone, sent by Gu Jingxiu.
Lin Zhile walked out of the bathroom. The spot where a hairdryer should have been only held an empty rack, forcing him to use a bath towel to dry his hair.
Looking at the message on the screen asking if he had finished work, Lin Zhile thought for a moment, and his finger moved to the voice call icon.
He was using one hand to dry his hair, so typing was inconvenient. Therefore, calling the other party was completely reasonable, right?!
Thinking this, who knew a drop of water would fall from his hair, landing perfectly on the screen. As Lin Zhile grabbed a tissue to wipe it, he accidentally tapped the video call button.
The ringtone only sounded once. Before he could cancel it, it was picked up by the other party.
There were still some water stains on Lin Zhile’s face. His eyes were a little red from his violent makeup removal.
Seeing his large face shoved right up against the camera, he hurriedly moved away a bit.
“Ge?”
On the other end of the video, Gu Jingxiu was picking out wine in front of his wine cabinet when he answered.
Hearing the familiar voice, he subconsciously let out an “Mm” in response.
Then, looking down, Lin Zhile’s face was framed right within the screen.
Those eyes had just been dampened by water, the thick black eyelashes further accentuating his pale skin. The corners of his eyes and cheeks were covered in a thin flush, and his deep black pupils stared fixedly over.
Because he didn’t see Gu Jingxiu’s face, only some slanted wooden racks, Lin Zhile subconsciously tilted his head slightly. “Ge, what are you doing?”
On this end of the screen, Gu Jingxiu’s breath suddenly hitched.
His Adam’s apple bobbed slightly. The call duration quietly ticked past two seconds before he said in a low voice, “Picking out wine.”
Lin Zhile let out an “Oh.” “Have you picked out one you want to drink?”
Gu Jingxiu raised his hand. The golden liquid inside the bottle refracted a faint light—only then did he realize he had grabbed the noble rot wine he disliked the most.
It seemed his thoughts had been completely outside their master’s control just now, drifting far too away, even disregarding his will.
Gu Jingxiu pursed his lips and placed the bottle back.
“It seems I have,” he replied softly.
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