Deeply Affectionate Male Supporting Character Topped the Protagonist 28

Chapter 28: Celebration

In the center of the flame-encircled rooftop, the two sat calmly on the cement floor.

By the flickering firelight, Xi Leng saw the man’s sharp profile. Even though he was long used to it, he couldn’t help but sigh again, Min Zhi truly was the protagonist of this world, even without trying to charm them, fans would be devoted to him.

From this angle, he could see Min Zhi’s left ear clearly. His gaze moved, then lingered.

He suddenly noticed that Min Zhi only had three ear piercings, not particularly extravagant. A normal piercing on his earlobe, with a ring-shaped black enamel letter earring, very eye-catching.

Actually, the total number of piercings wasn’t that many.

As a Comparative Literature graduate, the dissonance didn’t seem so strong anymore.

Xi Leng then looked at the fingers on his left hand.

Flowing, elegant cursive English letters, half-hidden on the inside of his finger. Like deciphering a code, Xi Leng stared intently, studying it for a while before finally recognizing the words.

Two simple English words.

keep silent

Keep silent?

Honestly, this motto shocked Xi Leng more than Min Zhi’s major. If Min Zhi’s intention was to tell others to keep silent with his middle finger, he should have gotten the more aggressive “shut up” tattooed.

That would be more in line with his personality.

But… keep silent?

Xi Leng couldn’t help but think of Min Zhi’s decision to end his music career three years ago and switch to acting. The novel didn’t elaborate on this, so Xi Leng assumed it was simply because acting made it easier to interact with the other protagonist.

But now, a small sprout of curiosity emerged from the barren soil, slowly growing, capturing Xi Leng’s attention.

Not long after, the fire set up by the program team burned out, the surroundings suddenly darkening, a cool, moist sea breeze blowing towards them.

Xi Leng snapped out of his daze, looking up to see the helicopter still circling in the distance, showing no sign of landing.

He stood up and walked to the edge of the rooftop, looking out into the distance, observing the helicopter’s direction.

After a while, the helicopter finally slowly descended, but in the opposite direction of the hotel, landing on the rooftop of a rectangular building.

Min Zhi also walked over: “That looks like a factory.”

“Mm-hmm.” Xi Leng nodded. “Did you also guess?”

Min Zhi: “Guess what?”

Xi Leng hesitated for a moment: “…Guess that the story might not be over yet?”

Min Zhi raised an eyebrow, only asking: “How is it not over?”

Xi Leng said: “The truth about Feifei killing her stepfather hasn’t been revealed, and the main culprit, Director Zhao, is still at large. Based on the meticulous logic before, it shouldn’t end like this…”

As his voice fell, a commotion came from below. The two looked down to see people dressed as firefighters spraying water to extinguish the fire.

The hospital doors opened again, and the medical staff rushed out joyfully, only to be met by the police, handcuffs already waiting.

Just like the ones they used to restrain innocent patients.

Now, they finally reaped what they sowed.

Seeing this, Xi Leng tilted his head and smiled, a genuine joy in his eyes: “We’re off work.”

It was already late when they returned to the hotel, almost eight o’clock in the evening. From the time they left until now, they had been filming continuously for seven hours.

And the other three, as expected, hadn’t returned yet.

They replenished their energy with a late dinner, slowly dawdling until ten o’clock at night, when the main group finally returned to the hotel.

Luo Jiayan went straight to Xi Leng, excitedly recounting their unfortunate experiences.

Xi Leng was also curious about the rest of the story. The five gathered in the hotel lobby again, learning about the subsequent events.

It turned out that Zhu Gongping was also a fugitive, having been imprisoned, which was why he hadn’t contacted his daughter for two years.

His ex-wife remarried, taking Feifei with her, but Feifei’s stepfather was also not a good person, molesting his young and beautiful stepdaughter, while her cowardly mother turned a blind eye, indirectly becoming an accomplice. Later, Feifei, to protect herself, severely injured her stepfather. Her mother, unwilling to expose her husband’s vile actions and not wanting her daughter to go to jail for assault, ended up pushing her own daughter into another hell.

The place where the helicopter landed was indeed a factory, Zhu Gongping’s base after his release from prison. He kidnapped Director Zhao’s son, using violence to force him to confess and surrender. At the same time, he didn’t plan to let the guests go just like that. So the three of them spent more effort piecing together the whole truth and successfully escaping from the factory.

Xi Leng sighed inwardly.

Thankfully, he was off work.

However, if he hadn’t volunteered to stay behind in the “fire” earlier, the program team would probably have found a way to keep him there. After all, his talkative persona today had been a bit over the top, stealing the spotlight. They needed to give the other guests some screen time, to balance things out.

But Min Zhi’s sudden jump from the helicopter was truly unexpected.

It was late at night. Xi Leng returned to his room and changed into a black turtleneck jacket with a hood, grabbed a pack of beer, walked through the empty hotel lobby, and discreetly left through the side door.

The resort hotel was surrounded by mountains and sea. After a few minutes’ walk, he arrived at the beach.

The night air by the sea carried a unique salty scent. The waves crashed against the shore, like a symphony in the quiet night, a beautiful melody unique to nature.

After walking along the soft, fine sand, Xi Leng sat down, looking out at the starry sky above the sea.

The white waves gently washed the shore, bringing a refreshing sea breeze.

As he quietly watched, the worries and troubles of two lifetimes seemed to fade away, leaving behind only infinite tranquility.

With a soft pop, Xi Leng opened a can of beer with one hand, bringing the overflowing white foam to his lips.

Living two lifetimes, he experienced the joy of celebratory drinking for the first time. This confirmed that alcohol could indeed be enjoyed when in a good mood.

He narrowed his eyes, enjoying himself alone.

He quickly entered a comfortable, slightly tipsy state. Unfortunately, there was no Animal World to watch, only the deep night sky above, the soft sand beneath him, and the accompaniment of the waves in the distance.

He simply lay down on the beach, spreading himself out like a cloth, gazing at the changing stars, then rolling over on the comfortable sand.

The night passed in a daze.

The sleeping figure was awakened by the first rays of sunrise, the dazzling light piercing his hazel eyes. He quickly shielded his eyes with his hand, sitting up.

The rising sun cast a golden veil over the clear blue sea, sparkling, as if countless diamonds were shimmering in the water. Like the stars of the night, hiding in the sea after daybreak.

It was good to be alive.

Xi Leng lay down on the beach again, facing the bright sky, tears welling up in his eyes from the bright light, not bothering to blink.

He suddenly felt a strong urge.

He wanted to paint.

Unfortunately, he didn’t have any art supplies with him, so he could only stand up and take out his phone, capturing the beautiful scenery.

Music was more convenient; he could compose with just a phone.

He became curious, how did Min Zhi create those songs? But according to his past life’s memory and the novel’s outline, Min Zhi wouldn’t touch music again in this lifetime.

Min Zhi…

Speak of the devil.

Like a hallucination, Min Zhi appeared before him, seemingly out of nowhere, from behind a cluster of lush tropical plants.

Startled, Xi Leng froze, his pupils constricting.

Min Zhi, being urged by the cameraman behind him, reacted first.

Xi Leng in the distance was wearing a black jacket with the collar raised high, his neck completely covered.

His medium-long hair was tucked behind his ears, perhaps to hide its messiness or something, revealing both of his ears and his sharp jawline.

Looking closer, his hair was noticeably curlier than yesterday, with a few grains of sand stuck in it. Indeed messy.

“…Is this your first time at the beach?” After a long while, Min Zhi only asked this question.

Xi Leng slowly hummed in agreement.

If it was his first time seeing the sea, then it wasn’t surprising for him to be so excited he came to the beach at dawn to watch the sunrise.

But the little fan’s personality was so independent it bordered on reclusive. With a readily available idol in the same hotel, couldn’t he have extended an invitation?

Perhaps the idol would have agreed.

Xi Leng noticed the cameraman and a screenwriter Min Zhi brought with him and asked: “Are we filming again?”

“Mm-hmm, I’m here to film the post-interview.” Min Zhi said. “My flight is at noon, I’ll leave after filming.”

After the variety show filming, all the guests needed to record a post-interview, explaining their thought processes during certain levels, which would be edited into the final program. But Xi Leng, unlike Min Zhi, didn’t have much work and wasn’t in a hurry, relaxing like he was on vacation.

He woke up early today, simply because of the sunrise.

He nodded, stepping aside for Min Zhi: “Then you film, the scenery here is quite nice.”

The screenwriter was very adaptable, immediately suggesting: “Why don’t you film together, Xi-laoshi? Weren’t you two together the whole time yesterday?”

The earlier they finished filming, the earlier they could clock out. Since Min Zhi didn’t object, Xi Leng, the fake fan, naturally didn’t either.

The screenwriter first asked them about their puzzle-solving logic. Their answers were always consistent, surprisingly in sync even without prior discussion.

Then, inevitably, the questions shifted from unlocking with a wire to whether Xi Leng had any illegal side hustles.

Xi Leng gave a practiced smile, deliberately creating suspense: “I have many more skills you don’t know about… that I haven’t shown…”

All those part-time jobs weren’t for nothing.

Even the experienced screenwriter was intrigued by his mysteriousness, deeply admiring Sheng Jiao’s decision to choose this amateur, such a natural at variety shows!

Then she asked about their fan-idol relationship.

Xi Leng, facing the camera, his acting impeccable: “I’ve been a fan of Min Zhi-ge for three years.”

The screenwriter suppressed a smile and coughed twice: “Heehee, alright, that’s enough… Right, do you have any questions for us?”

“Yes.” Min Zhi spoke. “Where was the key to the shackles?”

“Well, as long as one of you was taken to the basement for special treatment, the nurses would unlock them.” The screenwriter said. “We didn’t expect you two to fool them by pretending to be crazy, and even manage to go upstairs with the chain without being caught…”

And even picked the lock yourselves, impressive.

The screenwriter suddenly noticed something and said, “Eh,” reminding Xi Leng: “There’s sand in your hair.”

“Hm?” Xi Leng froze for a moment, then reached up to brush it off, but changed his mind, thinking the filming was almost over, and withdrew his hand. “It’s fine, leave it.”

His hand only brushed against his hair, revealing his clean ear.

The screenwriter smiled: “Oh right, I just remembered you’re not even wearing makeup, you’re really photogenic. This natural look suits the beach.”

He hadn’t even washed his face, actually.

“Then—clap!” The screenwriter clapped her hands, her eyes curving into crescents. “Thank you both, we’re done.”

Min Zhi’s attention was still on Xi Leng beside him. He stared at the few noticeable grains of sand for a while, then his gaze shifted to his clean ear.

He inexplicably felt that it would be very suitable for a few piercings.

The screenwriter and cameraman packed up and prepared to leave. Before they left, Xi Leng remembered something and turned towards a large rock.

Min Zhi followed and looked.

…Behind the rock were a bunch of empty beer cans.

At least half a dozen.

Beer wasn’t strong, and after the interview, Xi Leng was completely sober, bending down to carefully collect the trash into a plastic bag.

With his movements, the hair behind his ear slid down again, the unruly curls swaying in the sea breeze. His black hood also slipped, revealing sand underneath.

This person must have spent the night on the beach, no wonder he was wearing a thick jacket, the temperature difference between day and night by the sea was significant.

Min Zhi stared at his curly hair, sometimes seeing black waves, sometimes the untamed mane of a wild animal.

A wild beast, Min Zhi recalled his first impression of him, but that mysterious and dangerous aura, rather than a wild beast, it was more like… a wild animal?

There were many kinds of wild animals, each with different personalities and habits.

Even a fierce and powerful wolf would expose its soft belly to its trusted companions.

Xi Leng, after collecting the trash, turned around to see Min Zhi still standing there.

On the vast, golden beach, between the sky and the earth, suddenly, it was just the two of them.

This felt a bit strange. Min Zhi took a step closer and spoke: “I have a question.”

A certain fake fan listened attentively: “…Hm?”

“You’re only 21, an age when many people are still in university.” Min Zhi asked, “How are you so skilled at smoking and drinking?”

Xi Leng paused: “…All artists are like this.”

But Min Zhi raised an eyebrow: “Aren’t painters artists? But you personally said you weren’t a painter, just someone who paints.”

Xi Leng: “…”

This protagonist gong had quite the memory.

Just as he had become adept at playing the fan, Min Zhi’s attentiveness was like a blow to the head, making Xi Leng feel a long-lost sense of danger.

He smiled, trying to brush it off.

However, Min Zhi continued staring intently at him, his sharp and direct gaze unnerving, as if trying to see through all of Xi Leng’s hidden secrets.

After a long while, his lips parted slightly, but he only asked a completely unrelated question.

“Are you interested in getting your ears pierced?”

Xi Leng: “…?”

“It’s very… artistic.” Min Zhi added an explanation. “Ear piercings.”

Xi Leng chuckled: “Isn’t that a bit of a stereotype?”

The two returned to the hotel, chatting casually.

“Do you still consider yourself an artist?” The atmosphere was just right, and Xi Leng took the opportunity to ask the question that had been on his mind for two days. “If you’re not making music anymore…”

But there was no response from beside him.

It wasn’t until Xi Leng turned his head to look that Min Zhi, after taking two steps forward and putting some distance between them, finally spoke, clearly a casual and perfunctory answer: “Isn’t performing arts also art?”

He paused slightly, then added nonchalantly: “Acting is much more interesting.”

Xi Leng’s heart skipped a beat.

Because of his silence, the person walking ahead turned back, his sharp gaze studying him, lingering on his fair ear for a moment.

Xi Leng lowered his eyes, maintaining a calm expression.

Then he heard that inexplicable question again: “Are you really not interested in getting your ears pierced?”

Xi Leng: “…?”