Chapter 24

Bai Siyi was sitting in the corner of the dressing room, chatting with Meng Chen. Surrounding them were members of the atmosphere crew, all wearing brightly colored wigs. The small dressing room was crowded with seven or eight people. At this moment, everyone was startled by Huo Xingming’s movements. They all turned in unison, staring at him in shock.

The staff members following Huo Xingming, as well as those waiting for Bai Siyi outside, stood at the door, their faces frozen in disbelief.

Huo Xingming, under the gaze of everyone: “……”

At this moment, Huo Xingming realized how foolish he had been.

He could just run away, but why was he still holding the cake and drink?!

It must be because he had been pretending to be poor for so long that he lost himself in the role!

Moreover, since spending time with Xiao Bai, he always felt that Xiao Bai’s situation was tough, that food was precious. Since there was free cake and drinks today, he didn’t want to waste any. Even if people were chasing him from behind, he had to carry the food away!

This was the dignity of the poor!

Huo Xingming’s side face was pressed against the wall, holding the food in his hands in a strange posture, looking at Bai Siyi pitifully.

Bai Siyi: “……”

Meng Chen was dumbfounded. He lowered his voice and said, “He, he, he looks like, like your boyfriend?”

Bai Siyi didn’t respond, instead standing up. Meng Chen continued to babble, “Holy crap, this waist, these chest muscles, this height, this face… but… his IQ seems concerning?”

Bai Siyi, already under the gaze of everyone, walked up to Huo Xingming. He glanced at the cake and drink in Huo Xingming’s hands, then at his side profile pressed against the wall. Without a word, he reached out, gently taking the cake and drink from Huo Xingming.

After two seconds of silence, Bai Siyi quietly asked, “What happened?”

This silly, straight guy couldn’t have been frightened by the enthusiasm of the fans, could he?

But… it shouldn’t be that bad, right?

Huo Xingming rubbed his face against the wall. Bai Siyi couldn’t help but follow his gaze.

Huo Xingming looked embarrassed, thinking the tattoo sticker wouldn’t fall off now. He straightened up, his face red and ears burning as he looked at Bai Siyi, trying to explain, “I just thought… food shouldn’t be wasted…”

Bai Siyi placed the cake and drink on the dressing room table. He noticed that the atmosphere crew was getting restless, like hungry wolves eyeing a piece of meat. Worried that Huo Xingming might be scared again, Bai Siyi pulled him out of the room.

As soon as they stepped outside, Huo Xingming grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the back door. He whispered urgently, “We’ve been surrounded! The viewers followed us from the live stream to here. The front door is full of people. If you go out, you’ll definitely be mobbed.”

Bai Siyi was also stunned. “Huh? I thought today wasn’t a holiday or weekend. Why are there so many people?”

The hotel’s floor manager called at that moment. Bai Siyi glanced at Huo Xingming, then walked to the corner to answer the phone.

“Xiao Bai? Are you in the dressing room?”

Bai Siyi lowered his voice, “Yes, I just came out.”

The floor manager was utterly shocked. “Xiao Bai, impressive! Since when did you become famous? How come I didn’t know?”

Even with the situation as it was, the floor manager’s main concern was: “If you become famous, will you still come back to dance? I can apply for double your salary.”

Bai Siyi: “……”

Bai Siyi wasn’t sure if he could come back to dance in the future, but given the current situation, he definitely wasn’t coming back anytime soon.

It would probably take a long time. After all, aside from the live broadcast, First Heartbeat also had recorded episodes. After the live stream ended, the production team would edit eight episodes for national TV broadcast. Who knew how popular it would be by then?

Bai Siyi sighed. He had been careless. At first, he thought this variety show wouldn’t affect his life much. Seven days of live streaming for 500,000 yuan—seemed like easy money.

And yet…

Bai Siyi explained the situation to the floor manager. But with things as they were, the floor manager wouldn’t dare let him return to work either. If a stampede happened, they’d all be screwed.

Meanwhile, the viewers in the live stream comment were furious:

【Seriously, I don’t understand some people! Do they not know what “keeping a distance” means?! Rushing to the bar like this—aren’t they just making things harder for Xiao Bai?】

【Unbelievable. I was looking forward to finally seeing Xiao Bai dance, and now because of them, how is he supposed to perform?! Angry.jpg】

【Can the production team use their brains for once? Sure, Xiao Bai and Piupiustar are newcomers, but their stream gets decent viewership. And yet, the production team didn’t even notify the bar in advance. Just speechless.】

—

In the production office, Director Liu was panicking. He sighed. “I really didn’t expect this. How did so many people suddenly rush to the bar?”

He turned to his assistant. “Have you arranged a car to pick them up?”

The assistant hesitated. “Before they even went to the bar, our car was already waiting at the back door. But… we lost track of them. The staff couldn’t keep up…”

Director Liu: “……”

The production team hadn’t been completely unprepared. Every time the guests went out, they prearranged transportation. For tonight, their car had been waiting at the back entrance of Bright Blue Bar in case anything unexpected happened.

But somehow, Huo Xingming and Bai Siyi had managed to get lost. They never even found the production team’s vehicle.

Director Liu nearly choked on his own breath. “Quick! Check their GPS location!”

When Bai Siyi led Huo Xingming out the back door, they had actually seen a car waiting there. The production vehicles were marked with the show’s logo.

But it was nighttime, and the two of them were so on edge that they didn’t notice!

As for why they were so tense—besides the fear of being surrounded, there was also the fact that…

Huo Xingming’s fake tattoo was starting to peel off, and Bai Siyi’s fake chest… the strap seemed to be coming loose…

One was clutching his chest, the other covering his face. As they dashed out the back door, Bai Siyi said, “Follow me. I know this place well.”

Huo Xingming, covering his face: “Okay, okay!”

The two of them sprinted frantically down the dark alley, one in front, one behind. From the passageway at the bar’s back door, they could still hear voices:

“Hey, hey, hey? Did you see Bai Siyi?”

“Ah! He went out through here! Over there!”

“Where? Where?”

Someone had already found the bar’s back exit!

The two immediately ran even faster. By the time they were out of sight, four crew members finally rushed out of the back door, panting.

“Ugh, the car was right here! Where the hell did you two run off to?!”

“How are they so fast?! What do we do now? We lost them! The live stream is probably going to hit trending searches.”

“Quick, quick! Contact the control room and send out their GPS location, hurry!”

—

Bai Siyi wanted to grab a shared bike—he couldn’t let that membership go to waste! He had to ride as much as possible to get his money’s worth.

But Huo Xingming didn’t have a membership, and Bai Siyi couldn’t just ride off on his own, so he had no choice but to keep running.

Huo Xingming had long legs, so even with one hand covering his face, he ran pretty fast. But considering Bai Siyi’s short legs, he deliberately slowed down.

And so, the two of them kept sprinting through the alley while looking out for each other.

Then suddenly—”Bang!”

A muffled sound.

Huo Xingming jumped in shock, thinking Bai Siyi had fallen. He quickly stopped and turned around. “Xiao Bai, what happened?”

Bai Siyi stood there in an awkward posture and snapped at him fiercely, “Mind your business, don’t look!”

Huo Xingming: “……”

Without hesitation, he smoothly turned his back to Bai Siyi, speaking carefully, “Xiao Bai, are you okay?”

Well, what could he say? Bai Siyi’s fake chest had fallen off.

He had actually noticed back in the dressing room that the chest piece was getting loose. It wasn’t expensive, and after sitting in his closet for a year or two, the straps had worn out. He originally planned to take it off before dancing and put it back on afterward.

But, well… there was no time for that.

And now, mid-sprint, the strap had snapped. And once it broke, it was too late—he couldn’t catch it in time, and the thing just dropped straight to the ground.

Face burning, Bai Siyi lowered his head, picked up the fake chest, and glared at Huo Xingming’s back. “No peeking!”

Huo Xingming: “……”

Still covering his face with one hand, he simply covered his eyes too. “I swear, I won’t look!”

Awkwardly clutching the fake chest, Bai Siyi dashed over to a trash can and tossed it in without hesitation.

He was still wearing a pink wig, a flashy black jacket, and a glittering vest from his dance performance.

Taking off the pink wig and holding it in his hand, he pulled his jacket tightly around himself and silently continued walking forward.

There were no footsteps behind them—no one seemed to be chasing them anymore. They had already run through several alleyways by now. Bai Siyi was familiar with this area. If they took a few more turns before heading out, they could contact the production team to pick them up.

Bai Siyi had already walked several meters ahead, but Huo Xingming was still standing in place, covering his eyes and whispering, “Xiao Bai, Xiao Bai? Are you done yet? Can I open my eyes now? I think I heard footsteps passing by me?”

Bai Siyi: “……”

He stopped in his tracks, turned around, and snapped, “Hurry up, idiot!”

With that, he kept walking.

Huo Xingming finally uncovered his eyes, glanced around, and then quickly caught up to Bai Siyi. He assumed Bai Siyi was in a bad mood because he was scared, so he walked beside him and reassured him, “Xiao Bai, you don’t have to worry. If they really come after us, I’ll use ‘Limitless’ to fend them off!”

Bai Siyi’s expression darkened. After a few seconds of silence, he turned to Huo Xingming. “What the hell is Limitless?”

Without hesitation, Huo Xingming took off his black wristband and pulled it over his eyes. Striking a pose, he lifted the wristband with one hand and said seriously, “Limitless is… the ^[1]“Limitless” (无下限术式) technique from Jujutsu Kaisen, which is used by Gojo Satoru. It’s a powerful cursed technique that manipulates space, creating an effect where anything … Continue readingLimitless Technique!”

As he spoke, he combined his movements with a dramatic recitation in Japanese.

Bai Siyi: “……”

Huo Xingming smirked and looked at Bai Siyi. “Xiao Bai, you really should’ve brought the three swords I gave you. Wouldn’t they come in handy now?”

Bai Siyi: “……”

Expressionless, Bai Siyi stared at him for a long time before finally speaking. “Huo Xingming.”

Huo Xingming raised an eyebrow and ran a hand through his hair, thinking he looked really cool. “Hmm??”

Bai Siyi: “Your face tattoo is peeling off.”

Huo Xingming: “…Huh?”