Chapter 34: Re-grouping

The live broadcast screen was flooded with an endless stream of question marks.

“Holy shit?? Did I hear that wrong? Was that really a mistake in the script? Could it be that he accidentally revealed his true feelings?”

“Hahahaha, you’re so cheap (flirtatious)!”

“What should I do? Suddenly, I feel so great. I’ve totally imagined Wen Anran as Ali, that shameless third wheel!”

“The person who said that President Ji bribed the crew to take advantage of our Wen? Come out and get slapped!”

—

Thanks to Ji Chenxuan’s “slip of the tongue,” Wen Anran, whose popularity was originally the lowest in the live stream, quickly became the leader in viewership, even though he was the target of jokes.

Wen Anran stared in disbelief, his eyes wide open, frozen in the position where he had leaned forward. He looked as though he had turned into an ice sculpture in an instant.

It wasn’t until the host quickly came out to defuse the situation, making light of the awkward moment and playing along with the joke, that the embarrassing ^[1]NG” stands for “No Good,” which is a term used in filming or live performances to indicate that a take or a scene was not successful or needs to be redone. It typically refers to … Continue readingNG from Ji Chenxuan was covered up.

Wen Anran had originally hoped to use this opportunity to secretly stir up a CP ship, but that plan was ruined. His gossip-worthy rumors were also dashed, and now the live stream chat was filled with discussions about Ji Chenxuan’s unexpected “wrong line.”

Even when his name was mentioned, it was now “Wen Ali!”

How could Ji Chenxuan treat him like this? As long as Xiao Chen was around, Ji Chenxuan wouldn’t even spare him a glance!

Wen Anran didn’t know how he returned to the guest seat. His skin felt as though it had been scorched by fire, burning painfully red, his hands hidden under the small table, his knuckles white from squeezing.

No one noticed his darkened mood. Ji Chenxuan calmly returned to his seat, and their eyes inadvertently met. Xiao Chi was smiling, his eyes curved like a blooming sunflower.

“It’s our turn now.”

It wasn’t until Xie Ting patted his shoulder that Xiao Chi reluctantly shifted his gaze from Ji Chenxuan.

Host Tian Tian: “The fourth group’s task is to perform a face-to-face dance! For the two of you, this task is a piece of cake.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, Ji Chenxuan’s face darkened instantly, and his poor bottle of mineral water met a tragic fate again.

Wen Anran, sitting in the back seat, stared at Xiao Chi with a deep, contemplative gaze, as if lost in thought.

When it was Xie Ting and Xiao Chi’s turn to take the stage, the live stream’s viewership spiked once again.

“The production team is so understanding! Are they giving fans a treat?”

“I don’t even know if I should envy Xie Ting or Chenchen!”

“I would never ship this CP! Even if I starve to death, I won’t… even if I have to jump down from here…”

A small metal card flipped in Xie Ting’s fingers as he stood with one hand in his pocket, raising an eyebrow as he looked at Xiao Chi. “Looks like the production team knows you’re an amazing dancer. A little face-to-face dance should be easy for you, right?”

Xiao Chi remained completely calm: “Of course, I can do it. Do you need me to teach you?”

Xie Ting smiled faintly: “Is this how confident the new generation is now?”

Xiao Chi tilted his innocent face up: “I’m just speaking the truth.”

“…”

Xie Ting coughed lightly: “No need, I practiced a few steps when I was younger. Just do whatever comes naturally, no need to be formal.”

Xiao Chi loosened his wrists and flexed his ankles to warm up, casually saying, “I’m never formal, but I just heard your bones crack. Don’t push yourself too hard.”

Xie Ting helplessly responded: “You can even hear that? Fine, even though I’m older and not as flexible as you young ones, I can still handle it.”

As the powerful melody of the music started, Xiao Chi immediately got into the rhythm, pulling Xie Ting’s waist and pressing his chest against Xie Ting’s back.

Xie Ting was caught off guard. He had originally thought he would be taking the male steps, but for some reason, Xiao Chi suddenly forced him into the female steps.

Xie Ting’s arm was tightly secured around his waist, immovable like an iron hoop. In his panic, he almost misstepped but barely managed to catch up to Xiao Chi’s rhythm.

With a quick spin, Xie Ting turned back, and in that moment, his eyes met Xiao Chi’s. Gone was the innocent, round gaze from earlier, now, they were dark and sharp like hooks, their penetrating gaze sending a shiver down Xie Ting’s spine.

The face-to-face dance wasn’t difficult in terms of moves, but the physical contact and coordination made it challenging.

Xie Ting was spun around by Xiao Chi, feeling dizzy and almost like an ornament being pulled along. For the first time, he understood the pain that Liu Bing must have felt on that day.

As they misstepped, their upper bodies moved closer, their shoulders brushing, and their foreheads touching.

Several cameras aimed at this fleeting moment, capturing angles that sent the live stream audience into a frenzy:

“The official team is forcing us to ship them? What should I do? I think I’m really falling for this!”

“Both of them are my husbands! I’m taking them, don’t fight me!”

In an instant, the CP fans in the live stream flooded the chat, with Xie Ting’s fans, who had previously disliked Xiao Chi, now pushed to the corners, drowned out by the massive influx of comments.

Each guest’s metal panel displayed real-time viewership data.

Seeing that the viewership for the fourth group’s performance was rapidly climbing and about to surpass his own, Wen Anran felt a surge of frustration. Today had already been a disaster for his reputation, and if his exposure dropped even further, what was there to fight for?!

He cast a dark glance at the two dancing, their bodies illuminated by the colorful lights, the focus of everyone’s gaze, then quickly glanced at Ji Chenxuan, who was expressionless and picking at his bottle. His eyes flickered slightly.

Wen Anran slowly twisted the cap off his water bottle, took a small sip, and placed the bottle beside his elbow.

Once again, he leaned forward, his wrist resting on Ji Chenxuan’s shoulder: “President Ji, look at those two. They really have good chemistry, you can’t even tell it’s their first time working together. Just look at this face-to-face dance—it’s both sexy and…”

Ji Chenxuan was already irritated, the sour feeling building up inside him. Wen Anran buzzed in his ear like a fly, and he couldn’t even be bothered with the usual formalities. He brusquely swatted his hand away.

Unexpectedly, Wen Anran’s arm was pushed aside, causing his water bottle to fall and roll away.

It was unclear whether the bottle hit the tip of his foot or if his foot accidentally kicked it, but the bottle rolled all the way to where Xiao Chi and Xie Ting were dancing!

Water splashed out of the bottle, spilling all over the floor.

Ji Chenxuan’s expression changed, and he suddenly jumped up from his seat.

Xiao Chi was about to step down with his raised leg when the director below shouted in surprise. He quickly adjusted his ankle, pivoting with incredible agility, and lightly tapped his foot next to the water bottle, narrowly avoiding it.

Xie Ting, who was stepping back, wasn’t so lucky. His heel landed squarely on the bottle, causing him to lose his balance and slip, his body tilting sideways!

Fortunately, Xiao Chi reacted swiftly and caught Xie Ting’s waist, effortlessly supporting his entire weight, preventing him from colliding with the floor.

It was a close call!

Ji Chenxuan sighed in relief, then turned his head, shooting a sharp, knife-like glare at Wen Anran.

Wen Anran was startled by the look, instinctively shrinking back, then putting on an innocent and anxious expression. His acting skills seemed to suddenly reach a whole new level at that moment.

The entire live stream exploded with excitement:

“What’s up with that bottle? Who did that? Was it intentional?!”

“I saw it! It’s Wen Anran’s water bottle!”

“I saw it from the other live stream! It was Wen Ali who knocked it over when he and Ji Shuxian were pushing each other!”

The quick-witted director immediately shouted to cut to an ad break, promptly halting the live stream of the unexpected incident. The viewers who were anxiously watching could only glare at the screen in frustration, helpless as they had to watch the ad.

As the music ended, Xiao Chi supported Xie Ting with one arm: “Are you okay? Can you walk?”

The other guests craned their necks, curious, looking toward them.

Wen Anran quickly stepped forward, kicking the water bottle away. Frowning, he apologized, “Sorry, it was my mistake. Xie Ting, you didn’t get hurt, right?”

Xie Ting glanced at him without changing his expression: “I’m fine.”

He leaned on Xiao Chi’s hand, moving his ankle to confirm there was no serious sprain. Just then, he felt someone’s hands on his shoulders. Turning around, he met a pair of deep, dark eyes that looked like two stars hidden in the night.

A faint scent of cologne lingered, just like the other person’s tone—low-key but impossible to ignore.

“Your ankle is sprained,” Ji Chenxuan said slowly, stating it with certainty.

“?!” Xie Ting was caught off guard and didn’t react immediately. “No, I didn’t—”

“You did.”

Xie Ting: “…”

Ji Chenxuan gently pressed on: “You need to rest. It’s not advisable to continue with strenuous activities like dancing.”

Xiao Chi nodded in agreement: “Since you’ve sprained it, you shouldn’t continue. You should have one of the doctors on standby take a look at it.”

Xie Ting looked at the two of them, who were playing off each other, and with a wooden expression, he wisely closed his mouth.

Xie Ting’s manager rushed up in a panic to help him off the stage to rest, almost as if a stretcher were needed. Xie Ting found it rather amusing, sighed, and looked up to meet Liu Bing’s silent gaze.

“Are you really okay?”

Xie Ting stretched his leg, giving a helpless smile: “I’m really fine, but… since President Ji has spoken, if I keep saying ‘I’m fine,’ what if I end up with someone holding a grudge against me?”

Sure enough, as soon as he stepped off the stage, he heard Ji Chenxuan use his injury as an excuse to demand a regrouping.

Xie Ting squinted slightly, casting a glance at Wen Anran, who stood in the corner with a dark face, then leaned over to Liu Bing’s ear and said with an odd smile: “Tell your little darling to watch out for Wen Anran. This guy’s not someone to mess with.”

“Little darling?” So, they were already on the nickname stage.

Liu Bing forced a smile, “Thanks for the tip, but he won’t be jumping around much. You don’t need to worry about my kid. Maybe you should worry about your foot instead.”

Meanwhile…

The director, under the pressure of Ji Chenxuan’s oppressive gaze, reluctantly and with much grievance, changed the groupings.

Ji Chenxuan finally got his wish, successfully removing two obstacles and settling into the seat next to Xiao Chi.

The stage lights spun above, and during the ad break, the staff busily ran around, not paying attention to Wen Anran, who had failed to achieve his goal.

Back in the guest seats, his partner had already been switched to Ji Chenxuan.

Xiao Chi tilted his head and secretly glanced at him. The smile in his eyes was brighter and more dazzling than the lights overhead.

Ji Chenxuan’s gaze was straight ahead, seemingly not looking at him, but it felt as if he was always watching him: “What are you laughing at over there?”

“Actually, Xie Ting wasn’t injured, right?”

Ji Chenxuan glanced at him in surprise. Xiao Chi’s round black pupils gleamed with a mischievous light, lively and brilliant, like a little rabbit suddenly sprouting a fluffy fox tail.

It made one itch to pull him into their arms and give him a good squeeze.

Xiao Chi leaned closer, squinting his eyes and waving his “fox tail” with pride: “Since you want to partner with me so badly, I’ll take good care of you, considering your VIP status!”

Ji Chenxuan couldn’t help but smile: “Well, I really appreciate it, big star.”

“No need to thank me!”