Chapter 80: After the Audition
Xi Leng chuckled.
His body trembled with laughter, more teardrops falling from his long eyelashes.
Min Zhi also laughed, “Just cry, why are you laughing?”
Xi Leng: “I felt like laughing.”
Min Zhi: “You look fake.”
Xi Leng asked, “What’s fake?”
“I don’t know either.” Min Zhi said. “I’ve been interacting with my fans more recently, and they’re saying I’m fake.”
Their casual banter was filled with unconcealed familiarity and intimacy.
Ignoring the uproar they were causing in the live stream, Min Zhi patted the cameraman’s shoulder, silently mouthing, “That’s enough.”
The cameraman left the lounge, and the live stream ended there.
The excited viewers left a string of question marks in the comments.
Closing the lounge door, Min Zhi walked towards Xi Leng again, gently pulling him into a hug.
Min Zhi’s appearance made Xi Leng think that those tears of emotion would finally stop, but his eyes, stinging, completely lost control, tears streaming down his face.
And with his waist being held, he couldn’t even hide.
He could only turn his head away, wiping his tears with his sleeve, unexpectedly mirroring Rong Xingyi’s instinctive action.
But Min Zhi wouldn’t let him go that easily, holding his chin and turning his face back, then gently kissing away his tears with soft lips.
Xi Leng froze, motionless.
His nimble tongue first traced the wetness on Xi Leng’s face, then moved to his lips, gently sucking, softly nibbling.
As the kiss deepened, Xi Leng also responded skillfully.
Until, driven by instinct, Min Zhi started rubbing against him again, shameless and inappropriate, regardless of the time and place.
He suddenly came back to his senses. To avoid giving Min Zhi more ammunition by pushing him away, he murmured against his lips, his voice hoarse,
“Did you forget…”
“You’re a mentor?”
“And what are we doing here?”
Min Zhi: “…”
At this moment, in the live broadcast, the voting was about to close, and the notary was getting ready, the camera focusing on the nervous trainees and the mentors’ encouraging expressions.
Only the vocal mentor’s seat was conspicuously empty.
The fans and viewers, however, knew exactly where he was.
【Min-ge is still with Leng Leng, not even caring about work???】
【This dude, I’m speechless】
【All those who insisted that Leng Leng was a trainee’s fan, come and see, he clearly came for our didi, and also as a family member of a mentor…】
【Just accept your fate, ZhiMi (Min Zhi fans), your future sister-in-law is practically confirmed (doge for protection)】
As their scandal intensified, Min Zhi, one of the parties involved, returned just in the nick of time.
His expression was calm, his appearance still impeccable, his hair, however, seemed to have been restyled, slightly messy, one earring missing, He usually didn’t wear foundation, so there was no smudging, but his lips were unusually red, as if he had applied lipstick.
…Believing he wore lipstick was more absurd than the sister-in-law theory.
But this earth-shattering gossip didn’t cause much of a stir for now, the voting just happened to close, and the notary handed the final results to the host.
To build suspense, the host interviewed the 15 trainees, asking if they had anything to say.
The ranking was final, no amount of eloquence could change it.
Some of the trainees, knowing they had no hope of debuting, burst into tears in front of the camera, some generously congratulated the popular trainees, gaining some sympathy from passersby.
The host came to Rong Xingyi.
“I hope I can debut with Liang Zhun…” Rong Xingyi’s tone wasn’t very certain.
The host, as expected, followed up: “What if, between the two of you, only one can debut?”
Rong Xingyi smiled, his dimple appearing, “Then I definitely hope Liang Zhun debuts.”
In the eyes of haters, these were naturally just empty words, but Liang Zhun, knowing him very well, his eyes instantly reddening, hurriedly shook his head.
Rong Xingyi continued, “Don’t let Liang Zhun’s cheerful and carefree demeanor fool you, I’ve seen him several times, pretending to go to the restroom, then staying there for one or two hours, repeatedly watching his own performance, taking detailed notes.”
“His memory is usually very good, but he often forgets his lyrics on stage. He cares too much, wants to do well, his nervousness is what makes him forget. Every time he makes a mistake, he’s more upset than anyone, he just doesn’t show it, hiding under the covers and crying in the middle of the night, thinking I don’t know.”
Liang Zhun’s face and neck flushed instantly: “Don’t believe him! I didn’t!”
The audience burst out laughing.
And Liang Zhun’s fans, laughing through their tears, who didn’t know that Liang Zhun had been called useless since the beginning of the show, although he was constantly improving, he still couldn’t shake off the “can’t sing, can’t dance” label, even trending at number one twice because of his mistakes on stage.
And Rong Xingyi, as his best friend in the training camp, and also his biggest competitor, told the national audience that Liang Zhun wasn’t there to play around, he worked harder than anyone, he cared more than anyone, his usual happy-go-lucky demeanor just a way to hide his worries from those who cared about him.
After Rong Xingyi’s heartfelt confession, fans in the audience shouted, “You’ll definitely debut together!”
“Let’s walk the flower road, Ye Xingyi! Let’s walk the flower road, Liang Zhun!!”
“Debut! Debut!”
There were eight debut spots in total, and the host started announcing the results from seventh place, leaving the eighth spot as the final suspense.
The sixth and seventh places were as expected, popular trainees since the beginning of the competition, but Ren Xu, destined not to debut in a high-ranking position, his face darkened as he heard the names of his competitors.
Even if he made it, being below these two was still frustrating.
The host continued, “Next, the fifth place…”
Ren Xu’s eyes were fixed on the host, intently waiting for his name.
However—
“Congratulations to Liang Zhun!”
What?
Liang Zhun, always on the brink of elimination, actually achieved the excellent result of fifth place, successfully debuting.
Everyone, including Liang Zhun, was in disbelief.
Rong Xingyi was the first to react, throwing his arms around Liang Zhun, screaming, laughing and crying, even happier than if he himself had debuted.
Liang Zhun, shaken by him, finally snapped out of his daze, the one who actually debuted not showing any joy, instead bursting into tears, only reluctantly going to the debut spot after being called several times by the host and forcefully pushed by Rong Xingyi.
Standing on the “5” spot, he was still sobbing uncontrollably, unable even to say his prepared debut speech, only crying and thanking his fans, his parents, and Xiao Yi.
After the suspense of the center position, it was finally time for the last debut spot.
The large screen above the stage split into three smaller screens, close-ups of the three trainees ranked eighth to tenth, Rong Xingyi and Ren Xu among them.
“Before announcing the result…” The host created some suspense, returning with a piece of paper, looking at Rong Xingyi, “Mentor Min left a letter for you.”
Only leaving a letter for Rong Xingyi, so biased.
And the audience in the front rows started whispering, their focus on the empty seat in the mentor’s section, where did Min Zhi go again?
“Xiao Yi, I’m very happy to have witnessed your growth these past three months, you’ve shown exceptional talent, hard work, and unwavering determination, often making one forget that you’re only 15, whether you debut or not, you are, just like your name, shining brightly, with a promising future.”
“By the way, if you don’t debut, would you be willing to lend your talent to my company?”
“Ahem,” the host cleared his throat, “This ‘my’ refers to Mentor Min, he’s asking… if you want to sign with his company.”
This sudden offer, like an atomic bomb dropped on the audience, caused an uproar.
“But you don’t have to answer immediately…” the host continued reading the letter, the sentimental part ending here, “Because I need to go to the restroom now, we can talk privately later.”
“…”
The host, reading the letter, was the first to look speechless.
Various exclamations from the audience, “I’m speechless,” “That’s our Min-ge,” clearly his long-time fans, while passersby and fans of other trainees laughed, incredibly envious of Rong Xingyi, a direct invitation from Min Zhi, that was much better than debuting!
Min Zhi’s studio, also his company, revolved solely around him, besides his own work, it was all film and television investments, no other artists sharing his resources, in other words, if Rong Xingyi signed with him, he would be the only one promoted, Min Zhi’s sole heir apparent.
Rong Xingyi, clearly not expecting this, was stunned.
The host, smiling brightly, asked him, “Do you want to keep this letter?”
“Yes! Give it to me!”
Rong Xingyi hurriedly nodded, taking the letter eagerly, carefully folding it and putting it in his pocket like a talisman.
The last debut spot was about to be announced.
The three small screens, each showing a trainee, flickered a few times, then stopped on one, zooming in, only his surprised and delighted face filling the entire screen.
“Let’s congratulate—Jiang Ci! Successfully debuting in eighth place!!”
Rong Xingyi smiled faintly and applauded his teammate of three months, his microphone off, only the word “congratulations” discernible from his mouth.
Ren Xu’s face darkened, unable even to offer a fake congratulation.
Amidst the cheers, applause, and flowers, amidst the trainees’ tearful congratulations and hugs, only he was out of place.
Although he didn’t debut, Rong Xingyi had showcased his various charms on this stage, gaining countless fans.
Perhaps he had already cried all his tears while singing to his brother. He was unusually cheerful now, even comforting the crying Liang Zhun.
“Stop crying!” Rong Xingyi struggled, trying to peel off the clingy koala, “I need to go find my ge! My mom and Liang Zi are also waiting…”
“You said I was your only love, sob, sob, sob.”
“Who said that, are you dreaming?”
Min Zhi, the master of disappearing acts, returned to the stage again, congratulating the eight debuting trainees, then, as requested by the program team, watched their debut performance.
As soon as it ended, he disappeared again, this time taking Rong Xingyi with him, coming and going as if it were his own home.
Fans gradually went from speechless amusement to being completely unsurprised.
The three-month-long “Shining Boys” officially came to an end, and another important question arose—the intensifying rumors, Min Zhi’s “sister-in-law”?
“Is Leng Leng really Yi Yi’s brother?”
“Definitely, I bet they’ll post something on Weibo soon.”
These naive show fans were actually still discussing this trivial matter!
“So, this is Min-shen loving the house and its crow, treating Yi Yi so well because of Xi Leng… even signing him to his studio, so whipped.”
“Since Xi Leng and Min-shen were on the same variety show, became friends, it’s normal to take care of each other’s younger brother, right?”
“Min-ge stayed backstage for so long after the cameras stopped rolling… they weren’t just old friends catching up, were they?”
“Hahahaha, I’m starting to become a fan, being lovesick really is a man’s best cosmetic surgery!”
After Huoshu Entertainment’s shady tactics, some idiots, not realizing the damage they caused, still wanted a piece of the action.
Like the relentless Rong Haigao.
Or perhaps he was desperate, his debt snowballing, and both his sons were now successful celebrities, earning a lot of money, while he, their father, was like a rat in the street, being hounded by debt collectors, how could he possibly be happy with that?
He first contacted a few marketing accounts, but they all rejected him without exception, no matter what explosive gossip he had, hearing the names Xi Leng and Rong Xingyi, they immediately refused, avoiding him like the plague.
Since the marketing accounts wouldn’t take it, then he would create his own Weibo account and post it himself, all the traffic and profit would belong to him!
Acting immediately, Rong Haigao stayed up all night writing a long post, attaching childhood photos of his two sons as proof, accusing the two ingrates of abandoning him, their father.
However, just as his exposé started gaining attention, the #XiLengRongXingyi# topic trending, his account was… suspended?
The curious newcomers were left confused.
Just then, a reputable journalist posted a new Weibo, a black video file containing a recording, with subtitles helpfully added.
It was the recording Qiao Yusen took when he went to teach Rong Haigao a lesson.
Rong Haigao’s voice saying, “I usually just kicked them a few times, maybe a few punches, as a man, you know, when I lose my temper, just venting, you understand, right? I knew my limits, I wouldn’t benefit from seriously injuring them…”
“I was wrong, I shouldn’t have hit them, I lost control.”
“You didn’t just ‘hit’ them,” a voice, specially processed, said coldly, “You almost killed Xi Leng.”
“You’ve got it wrong! He was the one who tried to kill me! He came at me with a knife…” Rong Haigao still argued, twisting the truth, “I wasn’t thinking, it was self-defense, if I hadn’t grabbed the knife, he would have stabbed me!”
Facing his sophistry, that specially processed voice calmly revealed his crimes: “How old was Xi Leng then? In elementary or junior high? This is domestic violence and assault, and the victim was a minor, that’s at least ten years in prison, believe it or not.”
Rong Haigao was speechless.
At the end of the recording, he could only cry and beg for forgiveness.
Then, that voice said softly, “Afraid? Isn’t this how you treated Xi Leng before?”
“I was wrong… I’m sorry, I know I was wrong…”
The recording spread like a virus online, and the journalist then released a written statement, claiming that their father was not only violent, but also a hopeless gambler, not only neglecting his responsibilities as a father, but also exploiting his young children, repeatedly threatening and blackmailing them.
This kind of biological father, this kind of dysfunctional family, was a dark side many netizens hadn’t encountered before, it was hard to imagine how the two brothers survived such an environment and became the successful people they were today.
All the accusations and doubts vanished, replaced by deep empathy and sympathy.
As netizens eagerly awaited his response, Rong Xingyi, having slept well, logged into Weibo and shared a new photo.
The photo was of the two brothers, this time, Xi Leng holding the cat, a blurry black and yellow ball of fur, his long hair past his shoulders indicating it was a recent photo, Rong Xingyi smiling sweetly at the camera, oblivious to his brother’s struggle with the escaping Ban Li.
@YeXingyiV: My brother and I are home! [Picture]
His eagerly awaiting fans swarmed the post.
【Aaaaah, Mama’s babies have finally appeared!!】
【You two look more and more alike, hahaha! Handsome guys always look good together!!!】
【So, who took the photo, baby? [/Side-eye]】
【Hahahaha, those who know, know!!!】
