Chapter 35: · Rhodiola

The reason Pei Zhen dared to think “PA isn’t that brutal” was because he, after all, had the experience of battling upstream from the open auditions, cutting through thorns and thistles to successfully fight his way into the international competition.

It wasn’t to say that becoming a renowned perfumer in the industry required competing, or that one absolutely needed a few similar industry awards and certifications.

But… competing was indeed a difficult, torturous path, like thousands of soldiers crossing a single-plank bridge, yet it was a method that forced rapid learning and allowed one to stand out quickly.

“Perfumery,” in most people’s eyes, wasn’t considered a particularly “serious” profession.

The money wasn’t fast, and standing out was hard. So, many of those who willingly threw themselves into it carried passion and courage far exceeding that of ordinary people.

Pei Zhen believed that the vast majority of the contestants present were just like he was back then—holding firm dreams and convictions, wanting to break through themselves and advance further. That was why they unreservedly entered this high-intensity, high-pressure PA arena.

…

Words like “courage,” “passion,” and “chasing dreams” always sound beautiful.

Truly beautiful—so much so that throughout his journey, no matter the hardship, Pei Zhen never once thought of giving up. But precisely because he had persisted for so long, he understood better than anyone that before cruel reality, the price of “bravery” wasn’t necessarily a smooth, straight path.

People who stumble again and again, experiencing heartache and setbacks, were a dime a dozen in this industry.

The same was true before his eyes. The livestream had only been going for half an hour when Zhu Su’s prophecy that “someone is going to cry” came true.

As he had said, the happier they were before, the more miserably they cried later. When the bell signaling the end of the first round rang, the survivors had no time for wild celebration or sympathy for others before they hurriedly, nervously threw themselves into the second round of eliminations.

Pei Zhen remembered when he participated in PA years ago, the three judges and mentors were also highly respected seniors.

They were much older than the three today, with more gentle and steady personalities.

At least they wouldn’t be racing around the entire venue like Brother Poison Grass, constantly nitpicking, shouting, and scaring people.

But he could also understand Zhu Su’s difficulty.

The female mentor, Ye Zhenyi, was famously known as “Miss Unflappable Zhenyi.” Yi Changqing was also introverted by nature; although his amber eyes often held many emotions, his entire face was perpetually expressionless and ice-cold.

With these two “use stillness to counter motion” type partners, and this being a televised live show after all, if Zhu Su didn’t get fiery, shoulder the burden, and stir up trouble everywhere, the discussion points and highlights of the livestream would probably be paralyzed.

While the camera wasn’t on him, Pei Zhen swiped open his phone under the table.

“…” PA’s real-time livestream popularity was incredibly high, far more explosive than he’d imagined.

The traffic was almost surpassing that of the country’s most popular variety shows.

The bullet comments were even crazier. At a rough glance, eight out of ten comments were commenting on looks. The screen was flooded with variations of 【The mentor group’s visuals are exploding】【Just tell me which perfume, I’ll buy them all】【Let me sleep with that Brother Poison Grass】【I’ll take responsibility for Miss Zhenyi’s little red dress】.

In the era of visuals, the production team had clearly analyzed and considered the mentors carefully before choosing them.

Pei Zhen was convinced. No wonder some people could say few words the whole time, have no expression, yet were still invited to stand there like props…

Even Yi Changqing’s red suit, which looked weird on site, had a surprisingly good effect on the livestream. At least, it made the mountain-still him look very eye-catching, stirring up a wave of intense attention.

Pei Zhen waited patiently for a few seconds longer.

He just didn’t believe it. On a livestream where everyone was discussing “faces,” no one would mention his Han Fu?

This wasn’t a case of “a sugar daddy’s eye sees only beauty.” With that level of devastating beauty and that alluring little teardrop mole, Pei Zhen had no doubt that even if scared into a trembling dog, he was absolutely the best-looking trembling dog in the world!

Just as he was thinking this, the livestream followed Zhu Su and swept past his young man.

The bullet comment speed instantly spiked. The screen filled with 【Stop!】【Pause it!】. Unfortunately, the camera didn’t stop. So someone immediately kindly pointed the way—【Teardrop Mole Guy cut, address xxx…】

Pei Zhen followed the link and clicked.

That cut was a profile view. It must have been before they entered the venue. Han Fu was walking down a long corridor while talking to Fatty. His silly doggo hadn’t noticed the livestream camera at all.

But probably because he was so good-looking, the camera was also very patient, following him tirelessly the entire way.

The bullet comments went from a scattered few of 【What’s this, so dark】【What the heck are they filming】 to, the moment Han Fu turned his face sideways over a dozen seconds later, an instant explosion.

【Whoa!】【This little brother is super handsome!】【Is he a contestant?】【A male model hired to stand here?】

Han Fu finally noticed the livestream and generously turned towards the camera, waving. This was like a single stone stirring up a thousand waves.

【Oh my god】【He smiled, smiled, smiled, smiled】【I feel like I’m in love】【Hello everyone, I’m the judge, welcome to admire this year’s Perfumer Visuals Competition Grand Champion】.

Zhenzhen.

Pei Zhen froze.

In the livestream, it was noisy outside around Han Fu, so there was only the image without the sound recorded, but the shape of his mouth… it was definitely calling his name towards the camera.

Over these past few months, he’d been called “Zhenzhen,” “Zhenzhen,” hundreds, thousands of times. From the slight smile in that man’s voice when he said it to the small gesture of biting his lip, he knew it all by heart.

In that moment, right there, that man was calling his name, smiling with eyes narrowed, flashing a light like a river of stars.

“Zhenzhen, love you.”

The young man mouthed to the screen.

Most of the bullet comment viewers didn’t understand the “Zhenzhen,” but they all understood the “love you” that followed. Various 【Love you too】【Hahaha love you too】…

Idiot.

Pei Zhen turned off his phone, not daring to continue watching. He forced his gaze back to the competition.

The second elimination round was also soon nearing its end. The massive, dark crowd of contestants was whittled down to just a scattered twenty-odd people. Many who had just celebrated their narrow victory in the last round, thanking the heavens, were now crying even more miserably than those eliminated in the first round.

How could they not be miserable?

To fail in the second round was naturally a much greater letdown than the first. The heart-wrenching feeling of failing right before reaching the goal, of being so close to success only to fail, was clearly a much more crushing fall than having no hope from the start.

In the final elimination round, it wasn’t just the contestants whose mental states were crumbling; even mentor Ye Zhenyi was about to break down.

All of them were open-audition qualifiers. The fact they’d survived this long meant the gap in their skill levels was genuinely small, and their on-the-spot performances had all been decent. As judges, they had to make difficult choices. A single difference in thought might alter someone’s entire life trajectory.

By the final few eliminations, “Miss Unflappable Zhenyi’s” face was completely filled with a silent “I’m sorry, please forgive me.”

…

Pei Zhen had originally been a bit worried for that one-armed Miss Fu Yao.

Fortunately, her strength was outstanding; her disability hadn’t caused too much of a hindrance. Through three elimination rounds, she’d always been favored by the mentors. In the first round, there was even a situation where three people fought over her—when Yi Changqing asked her to put down the citrus, Zhu Su grabbed her wrist, and Ye Zhenyi simultaneously tugged at the hem of her skirt.

What surprised Pei Zhen more was that the conspicuous grandma in the red high heels also survived until the very end, smoothly entering Ye Zhenyi’s team.

Yi Changqing, probably to avoid suspicion, didn’t manage his younger brother Yi Changkong throughout the entire process.

But Yi Changkong, after all, had very steady hands. He was chosen by Ye Zhenyi in the first two rounds, and Zhu Su snatched him up in the final round.

…

Although he was just observing from the audience seats, Pei Zhen felt a bit tired coming out of the competition arena. The bun-faced boy in the backseat who’d hitched a ride and scribbled a ton of notes was directly sprawled out, exhausted.

“What took you so long?”

After waiting in the parking lot for half an hour, Han Fu and Fatty also got in the car.

Han Fu smiled: “I just got acquainted with the other three contestants my mentor chose. They’re all pretty unique. A bunny-hoodie cross-dressing master, a 28-year-old single mom raising a child by herself. Old Gu, who’s in your team?”

Pei Zhen silently started the car.

Among the four contestants under Zhu Su, there was one more person Han Fu skipped over and didn’t mention—that little white rabbit, Yi Changkong. And on Fatty’s team, there were several characters who looked very tough to deal with.

Han Fu: “Everyone’s hungry. How about we all go eat something delicious? Zhenzhen, I want sushi.”

A slightly ingratiating little look in his eyes. After all, a luxurious sushi feast wasn’t cheap.

Pei Zhen had no objections to the expense. He just felt a bit of heartache. Some people, clearly scared out of their wits like that, still turned around and tried hard to act cute and smile in front of him.

…

Midnight. Han Fu secretly turned over, then secretly turned over again.

“Can’t sleep?”

Pei Zhen turned on the light, got out of bed.

He heard Little Wolfdog softly call out to him, but he didn’t stop walking. People often follow their instincts in the dark of night. He walked into the kitchen, boiled some water, then opened the overhead cabinet with a habitual motion.

It was empty inside. Pei Zhen was stunned for a moment.

“…” Long ago, in this spot in the cabinet, there had always been a can or two of milk powder.

Warm water, two spoonfuls of milk powder, one spoonful of strawberry powder. He’d done this again and again in the middle of the night, because a certain person he’d once loved wholeheartedly was very prone to insomnia.

He stood there dazed and distracted for a dozen or so seconds, then slammed the cabinet shut.

Luckily, the fridge still had the fresh milk they’d just stocked. He opened a carton and slowly heated it in a pot.

As the milk bubbled and gurgled, the sound of slippers shuffling came closer. Han Fu, looking sleepy, sluggishly hugged him from behind, resting his chin in the hollow of his shoulder.

“Haven’t we already eaten a big dinner tonight? Hungry again in the middle of the night?”

“I’m heating milk for you!” Pei Zhen glared at him. “Aren’t you having trouble sleeping? This helps with sleep!”

Han Fu was overjoyed and flattered, looking at the milk pot with super touched emotion: “Zhenzhen, you’re so good.”

“Mm, drink it slowly, it’s hot! Slow down, careful, it’s hot!”

Young people these days. A mere bowl of milk, and they act like they’re fighting over it, burning themselves to the point of tears yet still desperately gulping it down. Silly.

Really…

An unlovable person, even after drinking free milk for years, would remain untouched. But someone this super lovable treats a single drink like a treasure.

And he must have been absolutely insane back then, to actually like that kind of cold, hard stone that could never be warmed. Luckily, now that he was older and had come to his senses, he should have fallen for a soft, cute type like this right from the start!

…

Back in bed, Pei Zhen reached out and actively hugged his Little Wolfdog, stroking his fur.

“Zhenzhen, go to sleep quickly. I’m fine. Maybe I’m just a little tired from standing all day…”

Pei Zhen: “Did you see how strong your rivals are, feel that your own skills aren’t enough, and are afraid of losing?”

“…” The air fell silent for a moment.

Han Fu whispered: “If I lose in the very first elimination match, will you be very disappointed in me?”

Pei Zhen tightened his arms around him. He wanted to scold him for being silly, but held back.

“What disappointment? Have you forgotten what I told you before?”

“You’ve only been learning perfumery for a few months. Right now, all the competitions, all the studying, is just about ‘gaining experience.’ Don’t put so much pressure on yourself, just do your best!”

“Just do your best.” Pei Zhen clearly remembered this line had successfully comforted his Little Wolfdog before, but now… it seemed to have lost its intended effect.

In his arms, Han Fu fiercely shook his head: “But Zhenzhen, I don’t want to lose.”

“I want to win. I want to stay longer, I want to make it to the finals. Right now, I really, really regret it—if only I could have found you sooner, if only I could have started learning perfumery from you sooner. If I had already been studying for three or five years, maybe I’d have the strength to truly compete with them on equal footing!”

“Every time I think about how stupid I was, wasting so much time…”

Pei Zhen didn’t say anything.

A moment later, he suddenly laughed.

It probably seemed quite unsympathetic. Someone else was under so much stress they couldn’t sleep, and he was still laughing at them. Little Wolfdog made a “Woo” sound, super displeased.

“But, hah… I really think this will become a good story someday.”

“Really, think about it. Someday in the future, when you’re famous, when someone writes a news article for ‘Famous Perfumer Han Fu.’ They probably wouldn’t dare make this up even in fiction—a renowned perfumery genius, before his first PA appearance, so scared he tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep.”

He laughed, petting Han Fu again.

“Don’t you think… that would be a good story the public would love to hear?”

“Same old words: this time, time is tight, but there will be other opportunities in the future. Don’t panic. Your health is the capital of revolution. Go to sleep obediently, don’t torment yourself, okay?”

“…”

In his arms, the tense body slowly relaxed.

After a while, Han Fu buried his head in, acting spoiled and rubbing against him fiercely. Pei Zhen heard him mumble, seemingly saying once more: “Zhenzhen, you’re so good.”

Of course. I’ve got to be good to you.

If I’m not a little better to you, you’re so cute—what if someone tricks you away and you become someone else’s little cutie?

…

During the week before the official start of the elimination rounds, Pei Zhen pushed all company matters onto his deputy, staying home every day to seriously teach Han Fu fragrance blending.

Han Fu didn’t want to lose.

He couldn’t guarantee Han Fu would win. He could only try his best to help pick out small flaws and oversights, tell him about points to note and basic principles. What they called doing one’s best and leaving the rest to fate.

Finally, September 15th arrived.

Pei Zhen mentally prepared himself for everything. Then, he watched the whole process as a certain someone, who acted like a ball of cowardice at home, transformed into a domineering, competent force the moment he stepped on stage.

Are you… kidding me?

Just like those annoying top students who cry and scream “I bombed the test,” only to get a score one point short of perfect when the paper is handed back. Such a waste of his heartfelt hugs and comfort.

…This was all just a scheme to get hugs and milk, wasn’t it?