Chapter 57: Congratulations, You Have a Rival
Lin Qingyan stayed in the restroom for a few minutes to calm down from the call. As he stepped out, he heard a sudden burst of excited chatter outside, followed by hurried footsteps.
Someone shouted, “Teacher An.”
Before they even saw him, they heard the commotion. Besides An Jing, it could be no one else. Soon, An Jing walked over, followed by a group of trainees watching the excitement.
An Jing not only had good looks and a great physique, but also amazing singing and dancing skills. Many trainees were his fans, and Lin Qingyan admired him too. But thinking back to what happened at the club that night, he felt a little awkward.
Moreover, An Jing was Gu Fei’s good friend and An Nanyi’s brother, which made Lin Qingyan feel uneasy.
An Jing entered their dorm, scanned the room, and saw Lin Qingyan and Lu Shengqi. He raised an eyebrow in surprise and smiled, “Oh… you guys are living together?”
Lin Qingyan politely bowed his head and called him “Teacher An.”
An Nanyi happily went to An Jing, affectionately linking his arm, and said with a smile, “Brother, why did you suddenly come over?”
“To see you guys.” An Jing lightly tapped An Nanyi’s forehead, his tone serious, “You can’t call me Brother here. I’m very impartial.”
“I know, Teacher An!”
Perhaps because he disliked An Nanyi, Lin Qingyan found the brotherly scene irritating. He looked away, turned off his phone, and handed it to the staff.
The staff collected everyone’s phones and instructed them to open their suitcases to check for prohibited items. A bunch of trainees were watching and trying to get screen time, An Jing among them.
Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Lin Qingyan opened his suitcase.
The moment the suitcase opened, someone involuntarily exclaimed, “Whoa!” Realizing they were being filmed, they quickly covered their mouth. More than one person said “Whoa,” but probably no one noticed.
“Little brother, you’re here for an audition show, not to prepare for the Gaokao (College Entrance Examination). Why did you bring so many books?”
“Five Years of Gaokao, Three Years of Simulation, Top Student Notes, Must-Do Questions for Gaokao… No, no, the fear of the Gaokao is back, help!”
“Little brother, you’re working too hard!”
Lin Qingyan was fair and delicate-looking, his face appearing young. Saying he was a seventeen or eighteen-year-old high school student wouldn’t be unbelievable. Many thought he was a younger brother.
Lin Qingyan smiled awkwardly, appearing very obedient, “Anyway, we can’t use phones here, so I’ll just read something when I’m free.”
He really didn’t expect such a reaction. He’d just thought that even participating in the show shouldn’t mean neglecting his studies, so he brought many books. His suitcase, besides clothes and necessities, was filled with review books; nothing else.
An Jing was also surprised. He’d heard from his brother An Nanyi that Lin Qingyan dropped out of high school in his third year, supposedly stole wallets, and fought with people… which made his first impression of the boy not good—a bad student who didn’t like studying.
But after interacting with him, it seemed completely different.
Even if he didn’t trust his feelings, he had to trust Gu Fei’s judgment. Gu Ye’s judgment couldn’t be wrong; that man had been single for twenty-seven years before picking this treasure.
Thinking this, An Jing patted the younger man’s shoulder. Seeing the boy’s eyebrows and eyes, which resembled his own, he felt a sense of familiarity. He smiled gently, “Training will be tough; you might not have much time to study, but still, hang in there.”
The boy smiled back, his clear peach blossom eyes curving slightly, obediently saying, “Mm, thank you, Teacher An.”
An Nanyi, standing beside them, saw everything. He gritted his teeth, and at that moment, someone started whispering. Though their voices were low, he heard every word.
“Hey, don’t you think Lin Qingyan and Teacher An look alike? Standing together, they look like brothers.”
“Yeah, I feel the same.”
“An Nanyi doesn’t look like Teacher An at all. At first, I thought Lin Qingyan was Teacher An’s younger brother, but he’s not…”
No, he absolutely can’t let Lin Qingyan stay here for too long… An Nanyi secretly clenched his fist. His round, innocent-looking almond eyes flashed with malice when no one was looking.
An Jing didn’t stay long, moving on to other dorms.
Lu Yuqi, having had his phone, iPad, and game console confiscated, was sulking. Lin Qingyan comforted him, “It’s okay, everyone’s the same.”
“Not the same.” Lu Yuqi sneered, his tone slightly smug and arrogant, “I still have three hidden phones; even if they confiscate them, I can still play.”
Lin Qingyan: “…”
He understood that Lu Yuqi wasn’t the only one hiding phones. Only he had honestly handed over his only phone and genuinely called Gu Fei.
—
The next day, they shot promotional photos. They wore the same uniforms: navy blue, college-style suits with the Tomorrow Star’s logo on their chests—youthful and energetic.
Everyone wore the same thing, but some were exceptionally eye-catching. Lu Yuqi and Lin Qingyan were among them. Lu Yuqi didn’t need any explanation; he looked like a rebellious, aloof school bully.
Lin Qingyan was more like a cold and gentle school heartthrob, whose temperament was like moonlight. Though the uniform was the same, it looked different on him. It made people want to look twice, filled with envy, jealousy, and hatred.
If they had that face and temperament, would they still worry about not debuting?
…
Lin Qingyan didn’t expect to meet Wen Yan again. After their chance encounter at the Western restaurant, Wen Yan hadn’t appeared, and he’d almost forgotten him.
Wen Yan was the photographer for the promotional photoshoot. Lin Qingyan remembered that before inheriting his family’s company, he was a professional photographer, quite famous in the industry. He didn’t expect the show to invite him.
However, unbeknownst to him, Wen Yan had come on his own initiative. He’d specifically asked people to inquire about Lin Qingyan, learning that he was participating in this show, and even that An Nanyi was also there.
An Nanyi, huh…
In the previous life, Lin Qingyan hadn’t participated in any audition shows. Why had this changed this time…? No, many things had changed, further proving that Yan Yan, like him, was reborn.
Wen Yan was certain of it.
Lin Qingyan didn’t want any interaction with Wen Yan. He suppressed his emotions, his expression unchanged, no longer as flustered and helpless as the last time they met, pretending not to know him.
Even though Wen Yan was looking at him, with that gentle, affectionate, restrained gaze, he simply stood calmly in front of the camera, a gentle smile on his handsome face.
After the photos were taken, he politely nodded to Wen Yan, saying thank you.
But Wen Yan couldn’t easily miss this opportunity. While Lin Qingyan went to the restroom, he cornered him inside. He grabbed the young man’s wrist, softly saying, “Yan Yan, let’s talk. I know you’re like me, right?”
A layer of frost covered the young man’s beautiful face. He shook off Wen Yan’s hand, saying emotionlessly, “Since you know, why does Mr. Wen still dare to appear in front of me?”
He indirectly admitted that he was also reborn.
Whether he admitted it or not didn’t matter; Wen Yan already knew.
“Yan Yan, I know I was wrong. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have believed what An Nanyi said, shouldn’t have disbelieved you when you were misunderstood, shouldn’t have…”
Lin Qingyan interrupted him, “Don’t say it, it’s all in the past.”
Wen Yan’s eyes turned red. He excitedly grabbed the younger man’s arm, his voice trembling, “I love you, Yan Yan, I really love you. Can you give me another chance…”
“But…” The young man’s face was calm and indifferent. His voice was clear and gentle, but devoid of emotion, “I don’t have any feelings for you anymore, Mr. Wen.”
At that moment, there was a knock on the door.
Lu Yuqi’s voice came from outside, “Lin Qingyan, did you fall into the toilet?”
“Please, Mr. Wen, if you see me again, pretend you don’t know me. Thank you.” Lin Qingyan, as before, politely and distantly nodded to Wen Yan, then let go of his hand and opened the door.
“Let’s go.” He pulled Lu Yuqi and quickly walked outside.
Wen Yan quickly chased after them, anxiously calling out “Yan Yan,” but he didn’t dare to follow, only watching the young man’s back gradually disappear. He sighed, somewhat disheartened.
Lu Yuqi looked back, frowning curiously. Wasn’t that man the photographer just now? He was sure that he knew Lin Qingyan, and their relationship wasn’t ordinary.
While the photographer was taking pictures of Lin Qingyan, Lu Yuqi had a feeling that the man’s gaze towards Lin Qingyan was wrong, like he was looking at someone he liked.
He asked, “What’s going on?”
Lin Qingyan smiled, simply saying nothing and didn’t explain further. He didn’t want to elaborate.
Lu Yuqi didn’t ask further, but felt even more strange.
Gu had instructed that anything unusual happening to Lin Qingyan should be reported to him. That evening, Lu Yuqi gleefully sent a message.
—Congratulations, you have a rival, cousin.
Seconds after sending the message, a call came through. Lu Yuqi looked at the caller ID, raising his eyebrows with interest. It seemed Lin Qingyan’s importance to Gu Fei was greater than he imagined.
This was very interesting.