Chapter 44: Romantic Relationship

Ji Chenxuan was momentarily dazed, thinking he must have been sleeping too deeply to be having such a strange dream.

The silk pajamas clung to Xiao Chi’s body, draping in soft folds around his waist. The warm yellow light from the bedside lamp cast a gentle glow on his face, which was smooth and pale, like a ripe peach.

Now, this “peach” was staring at him intently, silently urging him to respond.

Perhaps his gaze was too intense, as Ji Chenxuan felt a sharp prick, and in an instant, he woke up. His body was still there, all his weight pressing down on his legs—this wasn’t a dream?!

Xiao Chi had actually climbed into his bed in the middle of the night and was asking him what love felt like?

After waiting for a long time without receiving an answer, Xiao Chi stretched his hand in front of his eyes and waved it impatiently. “Ji Chenxuan, did you hear me?”

“…Yes, I heard.” Ji Chenxuan rubbed his throbbing temple, his eyes darting around. “Why are you up so late, not sleeping, and suddenly asking me something like that?”

Xiao Chi sighed deeply. “The teacher told me to find family, friends, and a lover to explore my inner emotions, but I have neither family, nor friends, nor a lover.”

Ji Chenxuan brushed a few strands of messy hair from his face, finally sorting out his thoughts from the confusion. He closed his eyes and leaned back against the headboard. “So, is that why you’ve been sighing and sulking all night long?”

“Yeah.” Xiao Chi nodded with a furrowed brow, his expression troubled. “What book do I need to read to learn about emotions? I searched through your study and couldn’t find anything.”

Ji Chenxuan watched him, amused by his “emotional dilemma,” but before a smile could even reach his lips, it faded, leaving only a slight sense of melancholy lingering in his heart—because in Xiao Chi’s eyes, he was neither family, nor a friend, and certainly not a lover.

Late at night, the room was quiet except for the sound of wind outside the window and their breathing.

Sleep was completely driven away. Ji Chenxuan looked up at him, narrowing his eyes slightly. After a long pause, he spoke in a low, deep voice, “That’s not something you can learn from books. You need to experience it for yourself.”

Xiao Chi looked at him curiously. “What about you? Have you experienced it?”

Ji Chenxuan lowered his gaze, his throat involuntarily moving as he spoke, his heart uneasy. He stared blankly at the grayish-white plush of the blanket. “I… not much.”

“Sigh, I guess you don’t understand either.” Xiao Chi sighed disappointedly, slowly starting to slide down. “Liu Bing said Xie Ting has a lot of experience. Maybe I should ask him to teach me…”

“No!” Ji Chenxuan’s heart raced, and he grabbed Xiao Chi’s arm tightly.

Xiao Chi wasn’t surprised at all. Instead, he followed the pull and withdrew the foot that had been on the floor, blinking his eyes and waiting for Ji Chenxuan’s next words.

This guy was really getting worse and worse! Who knew where he had learned all this…

Ji Chenxuan’s teeth clenched with frustration. He held on tightly to Xiao Chi’s hand, trying to keep his voice steady: “This kind of thing… how can you trouble someone you’re not close with?”

He emphasized the word not close, his expression serious and inscrutable. “If you really want to experience it, then I’ll reluctantly agree to pretend to be your lover for a while, just so you can get a feel of what love is like.”

Xiao Chi tilted his head. “Pretend? Then what’s the real thing?”

Ji Chenxuan felt like he was about to break, so he sighed as if giving up entirely. “The real thing is when two people are genuinely in sync, when they like each other.”

Xiao Chi stroked his chin, his gaze drifting far away as he fell into deep thought, letting out a long “hmm.”

Ji Chenxuan, with a hint of faint hope, asked, “Have you figured it out?”

Xiao Chi immediately shook his head, honest and straightforward. “No.”

“…” What a waste of time!

Ji Chenxuan gave up trying to reason. “Forget it, let’s just go to sleep.”

“Oh.” Xiao Chi was quite eager, moving over to the empty side of the bed, skillfully lifting the blanket, and preparing to crawl in.

Ji Chenxuan froze mid-movement, his eyes widening as he watched Xiao Chi’s actions. He almost lost his voice. “What… What are you doing?”

“Sleeping.” Xiao Chi lay down without hesitation, pulling the soft blanket close to him, happily rubbing his cheek against it. Since the first day he arrived at Ji Chenxuan’s house, he had been longing to sleep in the master bedroom’s lamb fleece blanket, and now he had finally succeeded in getting into it!

Ji Chenxuan was a little dizzy from the sequence of surprises tonight. “You’re going to sleep here?”

Xiao Chi confidently asked back, “Didn’t we agree to pretend to be lovers? Don’t we sleep together?”

“…” Ji Chenxuan carefully swallowed and asked in a low voice, “Do you… need an extra blanket?”

“No.” Xiao Chi firmly refused, pulling the blanket up to his chest as if afraid it would be taken from him. “I like it like this.”

So, the two of them ended up under the same blanket, “pretending” to be lovers, and sleeping side by side.

The bedroom returned to darkness once more.

Ji Chenxuan crossed his arms over his stomach, not daring to move, lying still like a holy offering. He could faintly hear Xiao Chi yawning beside him, with warm air brushing against his ear, playfully tugging at his earlobe.

It should have been the deepest part of the night when he would be in the most peaceful sleep, yet Ji Chenxuan was frustratingly wide awake. Every little sound, every movement, made him alert, like a cautious little deer.

He wasn’t sure how much time had passed when he cautiously turned his head. Xiao Chi was lying on his side facing him, already fast asleep.

“This little brat…” Ji Chenxuan cursed silently, closing his eyes, but eventually he quietly inched closer, wrapping his arm around Xiao Chi’s waist, and finally fell into a peaceful sleep.

—

Liu Bing’s PR efforts were swift. Once he reached an agreement with Shao Jingfeng, he quickly contacted the media and entertainment reporters. They exaggerated the situation where Xiao Chi was late due to his heroism and was wrongfully criticized for being “difficult and unprofessional,” spinning the story as if Xiao Chi had deliberately snubbed Master Rong Shan and left to collaborate with more famous stars, expressing fake regret in the process.

Liu Bing knew the media like the back of his hand. The truth of the matter wasn’t as important as how to create buzz, how to attract attention, and how to capture the public’s eye.

So, he kept the matter under wraps until the right moment to release it. Although the street surveillance footage wasn’t very clear, the endorsement from the Vice President of the National Music Association quickly turned the tide of public opinion.

Xiao Chi’s fans felt as if they had won a battle. In response to every post that tried to smear him, they posted countervideos, exposing the lies. Within 24 hours, the rumors used to mislead the public were mysteriously wiped clean.

Studio.

Master Rong Shan glanced at the latest entertainment headlines and immediately picked up the remote control, flipping through several entertainment channels. He kept seeing news about Liu Bing and Shao Jingfeng.

His long brows furrowed in anger, and in frustration, he turned off the TV. He tossed the remote aside, and it slid off the edge of the table with a loud thud.

“These young people have such audacity,” he muttered. “In order to clear their names and make a comeback, they even make up things like this. Are they saying the person in that video is him? With that kind of skill, is he filming an action movie? He doesn’t even show his face. Shao Jingfeng’s words are as ridiculous as farts. He once said he would retire and stop taking commercial collaborations, but now? Isn’t he bowing down for money? Ha!”

Lu Sheng, who was about to hand over the newly recorded audition video for Master Rong Shan to review, smiled and tried to calm him down. “Master, no matter what, they’ve given a reasonable explanation. With President Shao’s words, no one can keep pressing this matter. I think, since the incident was so public, President Shao wouldn’t lie. Perhaps that Xiao Chen really is quite skilled.”

For years, Master Rong Shan had a deep, natural hostility and prejudice towards this person:

“That’s because you all don’t know what a despicable and insidious man he is. Back when we were still friends, he knew I liked Lanlan, but he took advantage of the situation to sow discord. He entered Tianyu, stole my work, and earned the favor of the higher-ups. I should’ve been the one to join the Musicians’ Association, but instead, he used his connections to sneak through the back door, and it was him who got in! My talent was clearly superior to his, but the public always favored him! Too bad, I don’t have evidence!”

Lu Sheng looked at him in surprise. So, there was such a complicated history behind the vague rumors?

These two really were… sworn enemies.

Before Lu Sheng could digest this piece of gossip, Master Rong Shan suddenly looked up and fixed his gaze on him. “I don’t care if that person named Xiao Chen is his real disciple or a fake one. This time, for the endorsement of The Celestial Fairy, I absolutely cannot lose to him! No matter what method is used, I will not let that Shao guy climb over me again!”

—

As the deadline for the audition songs drew near, AI Company’s popular virtual idol Tang Wanwan and rising star Lu Sheng both released their respective theme songs.

The virtual project team at AI Company created a complete set for Tang Wanwan, including an original storyline, a xianxia-themed skin, and even exclusive weapons and skills for the game. From her usual role as a youthful, cute girl, she transformed into a goddess soaring through the skies.

In contrast to the virtual idol, Lu Sheng went with a more traditional endorsement approach. With an MV short film and powerful musical style, he performed a grand, epic battle between gods and demons.

Thanks to his solid fanbase and high-quality work, both their videos immediately gained immense popularity, surpassing other auditioning artists by a large margin.

However, Huanyi, the company representing Xiao Chi, had yet to release any information about him. His fans anxiously waited in frustration. Those who had been suppressed by public opinion before were now resurfacing, mocking and criticizing him for not producing any works, claiming he lacked the talent to compete for resources with his seniors, and could only rely on his “heroic act” to salvage his reputation.

So, what was Xiao Chi doing?

—

Wutong University Music Department, Music Recording Studio.

On the windowsill, there was a blue porcelain vase with fresh poppies, still carrying dewdrops.

Xiao Chi had recorded no less than ten versions of the song over the past few days. He felt confident that he had performed it perfectly, but to his surprise, Shao Jingfeng, ever the perfectionist, rejected all of them.

Liu Bing, standing outside the door, was so anxious that her hair was falling out in clumps. The special effects team had nearly finished the MV, but the song was still incomplete, and there were still several minutes of footage that Xiao Chi needed to film. Post-production was in a race against time.

“President Shao, please, it’s almost done. This is just an endorsement audition, not the Grammy Awards!” Liu Bing pleaded.

“No,” Shao Jingfeng said, his brow furrowing. He replayed Xiao Chi’s latest recording over and over. “It still feels completely wrong. Didn’t you say you wanted a style different from Tang Wanwan and Lu Sheng?”

“I’ve told you so many times, this song is supposed to be passionate and heart-wrenching. But listen to what you’ve sung—where’s the romance? Where’s the passion? If I didn’t know better, I’d think it was a choir in a church,” he criticized.

“Can’t you imagine, while singing, the kind of twisting, aching longing one feels for a lover, the constant thoughts day and night?”

Xiao Chi shot him a frustrated glance. For his mind, which was adept at precise calculations, such vague concepts were completely beyond his understanding.

Something that couldn’t be calculated, couldn’t be expressed accurately, couldn’t be controlled, lacked patterns and standards—this was, in his eyes, pure torture.

After a whole day of training, Xiao Chi returned home, weighed down by melancholy. Before leaving, Liu Bing, who was struggling at the edge of the deadline, mysteriously handed him a “secret manual” and told him to study it well, hoping he’d soon grasp the essence of love songs.

Xiao Chi flipped through it—“100 Secrets to Love”

What is this?

Sitting cross-legged on the sofa, he eagerly began to study the first tip: Always hold hands with your lover.

Xiao Chi suddenly realized, was love really that simple?

Ji Chenxuan came home after work and was changing his shoes at the entrance. Hearing the movement, Xiao Chi excitedly ran over. “You’re back!”

Ji Chenxuan was taken aback by this enthusiastic greeting. A hand immediately shot out in front of him, and he froze. “What are you doing?”

Xiao Chi waved his hand in front of him. “Hurry, hold my hand!”

Without hesitation, Ji Chenxuan grabbed the hand, and his heart instantly bloomed with joy. What day was it today to have such a pleasant surprise?

He eagerly awaited Xiao Chi’s next move—would there be an embrace? Or perhaps he could dream of Xiao Chi initiating a kiss?

At the thought, he couldn’t help but slightly squint his eyes, a touch of modesty mixed with a hint of expectation, as he peeked at Xiao Chi’s expression through the gap in his eyes.