Saturday, the sixth elimination round of the PA Competition.
The increasingly intense competition had recently caused the broadcast hall to be infiltrated by many enthusiastic spectators who didn’t have entry qualifications but whose siblings, relatives, or friends worked at the television station, allowing them to barge in.
The production team issued repeated notices forbidding station employees from bringing guests, but unfortunately it had little effect. They couldn’t spare the manpower to screen and remove people, so in the end, they hastily added many small stools next to the audience seats.
Even that wasn’t enough; many brought their own folding chairs, melon seeds, and snacks. The place was overcrowded.
Faced with this situation, President Pei, whose seat in the prestigious front row was always the envy of all, had no worries.
That day, just as he settled down, Yu Wenzhe next to him bit his lip and looked at him with a strange expression. After staring for a moment, he seemed to have a question but hesitated. “Brother Pei, you’re so serious today. You look frightening. You and Old Han didn’t have a fight, did you?”
Pei Zhen: “…No, we didn’t.”
Still slightly unconvinced, Yu Wenzhe asked, “Really?”
Pei Zhen: “…”
When he looked in the mirror, his expression was generally not too stern, so he didn’t know what he really looked like when serious. But seeing the slightly fearful look on Yu Wenzhe’s face right now, perhaps… his straight-faced expression was genuinely a bit fierce.
A bit disheartening. Was it really that scary?
Not only had he been mistaken for Han Fu’s “dad” two days before, but now he was also suspected of quarreling when obviously nothing had happened. Pei Zhen was almost starting to wonder if he indeed had a typical, feudal-patriarch, “you owe me a million silver taels” scary face.
If it weren’t for the domestic doggo who never kept his hands to himself in bed and was always full of desire for him…
No. It was broad daylight; he shouldn’t be thinking about what happened after lights out!
But last night had been really, really comfortable.
He felt like an ice cream, meticulously licked from head to toe, about to melt.
Where on earth… did that doggo learn those devilish techniques?
Pei Zhen found himself becoming more and more depraved lately. At his age, he was no longer a young man full of hot blood, yet he was almost getting hard in public just thinking about the extent of his current blissful happiness. Luckily, he was sitting down.
He instinctively pinched the bridge of his nose, too embarrassed to look up.
Seeing this, Yu Wenzhe grew even more worried. “You really didn’t fight? Brother Pei, even if Old Han messed something up, his feelings for you are absolutely real. Anyone you ask would say the same. You can’t just get mad at him for no reason!”
Pei Zhen: “We really didn’t fight!”
He was just a little nervous on behalf of Han Xiaohua.
And he wasn’t the only one. The atmosphere among all the contestants present today was noticeably more serious than in previous rounds. This was mainly because Little Conan, who had consistently scored in the upper-middle ranks, had been eliminated in a shocking upset last round. This made every contestant acutely aware that this competition was truly unpredictable.
No matter who you were, a moment’s oversight in any detail could lead to a stumble and a fall. Thus, everyone was on edge, forced to take things with extra seriousness.
What’s more, those still left on the field—Pei Zhen glanced over them one by one: Fu Yao, Fatty, Yi Changkong, the Painted Spring Hall girl, the Cross-dressing Master, and the Single Mom… it was a forest of masters. Any one of them had the potential and strength to sweep the field and win the championship.
He really couldn’t rest easy like before, assuming his family’s Han Xiaohua would definitely stay in the top three.
…
That day’s first round, as expected, saw another usually stable contestant suffer a clear performance breakdown.
This time it was Painted Spring Hall’s young lady, Tu Ya.
No one knew what was wrong with her today; she seemed completely absent from the competition, terribly flustered. First, when in the essential oil room, she grabbed a pile of oils and raw materials completely unrelated to the theme, drawing doubt from the mentors. Then, in a panic, she spilled raw materials all over the floor.
She was far more discomposed than even the day her bottle was shattered.
The theme of the first round was the incredibly precious saffron powder, with each contestant receiving only a tiny bottle.
Her hands were still trembling while holding such precious material. Zhu Su, with his explosive temper, couldn’t stand it for another second.
“Miss, we’re this far into the competition. I’m now doubting if you even understand the most basic respect for materials?”
“Every single saffron flower has only the essence of the tips of its three stigmas that can be picked and made into saffron powder! The original flower’s blooming period is only a short half-month. Slight climate changes causing insufficient rain or sunlight drastically reduce quality. One kilogram of flowers yields only about ten grams of powder. It costs thousands of dollars for just a tiny bit, and you waste it like this?! Can’t you show some respect for someone else’s ten grams of essence?!”
Ye Zhenyi tugged Zhu Su from behind. “Poison Grass, Poison Grass, let it go.”
Zhu Su angled away from the camera, still very upset. “How can we let it go? The heir of a famous domestic perfume brand, wasting precious raw materials like this—isn’t this called irresponsibility?”
Once his temper erupted, the white terror he radiated covered everyone again, making all the remaining contestants nervous.
Actually, even before Zhu Su started scolding, Pei Zhen had glanced around and seen that everyone’s faces were grave. A theme like saffron was actually quite in line with the old PA competition’s principle of “difficult yet fair”—because it was so delicate and precious, almost no contestant had many opportunities to use it frequently. Yet now, in just one short hour, they had to infinitely unleash their intuition and imagination to create a fragrance with it that could achieve victory by surprise, allowed only to succeed, never to fail.
It truly tested knowledge, skill, and mental fortitude.
Pei Zhen had never actually bought such expensive raw materials for Han Fu either. His family’s Han Xiaohua was also trying saffron for the first time today.
But Han Fu was genuinely clever. Unlike many contestants who, after a moment’s determination, burned their bridges and started working with it head-on, he didn’t fear wasting time. He carefully separated a small sample and conducted tests like grinding, dissolving, and distilling, trying to find the most suitable processing method for this material.
Pei Zhen narrowed his eyes, watching his profile, which looked especially handsome when he was serious.
The focus in his black pupils, the practiced movements of his fingers. His family’s little wolfdog was now truly becoming more and more like an elegant, complex, and perfectionist qualified professional perfumer.
After a while, even Zhu Su was drawn over by the semi-finished product in his hands. He leaned in: “Wow…”
He immediately turned to the livestream camera and said, “I’m not protecting my own kid. I genuinely hope you all come and smell Han Fu’s fragrance. I think any saffron flower that, at the end of its life, can be made into a perfume by him, could definitely achieve enlightenment in peace.”
Pei Zhen: “…”
He sneaked a look at the livestream comments on his phone. The comments were a series of long ellipses. Although many people also expressed [Sold on the recommendation, I want this perfume], most were balanced assessments—[Uh, Brother Poison Grass, he’s really been letting loose more and more recently.]
Pei Zhen actually didn’t trust Brother Poison Grass’s taste. It wasn’t until Ye Zhenyi also nodded and stamped her approval that he relaxed, knowing Han Fu had another stable round.
Afterward, during judging, as expected, a flood of high praise poured in—words like professional movements, impressively memorable scent, soft and balanced fragrance, and even terms like “very sexy,” “full of allure,” “heart-fluttering colors,” and “fluid like poetry” came out. Pei Zhen was praised to the point of blushing.
Sexy… To be evaluated like that, he really quite wanted to try this fragrance of his quickly.
To think that just half a year ago, that handsome young man was still arranging bottles for him at the perfumer’s workstation, and now he had earned so much glory. Truly impressive, bringing him immense honor.
Then, seeing the traces of sweat on Han Fu’s forehead, a pang of heartache hit him.
Everyone liked glory, but it didn’t come easily. Talent and hard work were both indispensable. Han Xiaohua had also gone through countless nights getting up to read books and days buried in fragrance blending to get here. And clearly, to make this saffron fragrance well, he had expended enormous energy.
Although he kept smiling in front of the camera, his lips were very dry, almost pale when pressed together.
Pei Zhen figured there weren’t many people left anyway. At most, Yi Changkong might emerge as the dark horse. Either way, his doggo wouldn’t be lower than second this round. So he tipped off Yu Wenzhe and, while the camera wasn’t on him, slipped out the door.
He thought that during the upcoming intermission, everyone would crowd the vending machines. He’d take advantage of now to quickly buy a bottle of water for his doggo.
Unexpectedly, the vending machine on this floor had an “Under Maintenance” sign today.
Pei Zhen decided to take the elevator downstairs to buy some. But as soon as he stepped in, before he could turn around, another person rushed in breathlessly. They ran in too fast and couldn’t stop, crashing directly into his back. If Pei Zhen hadn’t been standing firm, he might have been slammed against the wall.
The faint, elegant rose fragrance of a young woman. The elevator door slowly closed behind them.
The girl, flustered, bowed deeply to him, her eyes red with tears.
“S-Sorry.”
It was the young lady from Painted Spring Hall.
PA intermissions were only thirty minutes. Contestants weren’t supposed to wander around except to use the restroom. But Pei Zhen could understand. A young girl like her had just been publicly scolded so harshly by Zhu Su without saving face. Feeling a bit emotional and wanting to cry was only natural.
He didn’t expect, however, to see the girl sniffle, then turn around and press the button for Basement Level 2, the parking garage.
Pei Zhen: “…”
Surely she wasn’t so upset after being scolded that she intended to just drive home? She’d made it so far. This was a precious opportunity that many people dreamed of participating in but couldn’t. Wouldn’t it be a shame to just give up? Besides, hadn’t she promised that red-high-heels grandma of hers…
He couldn’t help but ask her, “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
Tu Ya shook her head heavily, wiped her face with her sleeve, but tears continued to fall with soft plops. She was helpless against them, too, and couldn’t help but look up at the harsh overhead light, as if that could force the tears back.
Seeing this, Pei Zhen became a bit worried.
But he didn’t know her, after all; they hadn’t even exchanged a word. It wasn’t his place to comfort her. In that moment of hesitation, he forgot to press the floor he originally intended and went all the way down to the parking garage with her.
As soon as the elevator opened, Tu Ya rushed out. With a choked voice, she shouted “Chen She!” into the empty parking garage, but there was no answer, only an echo that rang back coldly.
The girl wouldn’t give up. Her thin silhouette began to run, tapping footsteps towards an empty area, shouting as she ran, “Chen She! Come out! I saw you!”
“Chen She! Don’t hide! If you have the guts to come see me, why are you hiding!”
Chen She.
Chen She… Chen She, Painted Spring Hall.
Pei Zhen froze, feeling as if struck by lightning, yet also as if a sudden enlightenment had dawned.
Before this, he had always felt the “Painted Spring Hall” brand sounded a bit familiar. But after so many years, today he finally made the connection—Painted Spring Hall, wasn’t that the family business of that person?!
Although they’d only met a few times, Pei Zhen had never forgotten Chen She.
That senior who liked the “White Porcelain Queen,” who had participated in the PA with him, but fell into a slump after being defeated by Lister, disappeared from the hospital and was never heard from again. Pei Zhen had always felt regret on his behalf.
Because of his crippled leg, Pei Zhen couldn’t run fast. Luckily, after running around pitter-patter in the parking garage for a while, Tu Ya was ultimately just going in circles, unable to find anyone. She could only wipe her tears and check car by car.
Pei Zhen caught up to her. “Calm down. The parking garage should be empty at this time. Continuing to search like this is futile.”
Tu Ya turned around. “Wahhh!”
Pei Zhen: “!”
So TV dramas weren’t lying. Some girls, when vulnerable, really would borrow a shoulder from a completely unfamiliar man.
A gay man, hugged for the first time in his life by a woman outside his family, felt a bit at a loss. This girl was also somewhat boyish, which inexplicably gave him an even stronger sense of guilt.
…
“Chen She is my older cousin. Originally… the family business would never have fallen to me to inherit. Chen She’s talent was far above mine. Grandpa and Grandma had high hopes for him since he was little. But later, he suddenly left without a word, and no one knows if he’s dead or alive!”
“I just saw him! He was standing in the audience! I wasn’t seeing things. It was definitely him. I couldn’t have been mistaken!”
Tu Ya sat on a small step, wiping tears with both hands.
“How can someone be like this? If he’s still alive, why hasn’t he come home for so many years? Does he know how worried his family is about him!”
Pei Zhen normally didn’t have the habit of carrying tissues; it was always Han Fu who thoughtfully stuffed some into his pocket. Now he gave them all to the girl who was crying her eyes out, coaxing her to stop.
He also felt sorry for her. No wonder her performance had been off. Anyone in this situation would have performed off.
Then he glanced down at his phone and saw it was already 3:25 PM. He hurriedly urged her, “You need to pull yourself together and go back. The second round starts in a few minutes. If you’re not there, you’ll be disqualified.”
“Disqualified then,” Tu Ya said, crying stubbornly. “Chen She must be nearby. He can probably even hear us talking! I’ll wait for him right here. I want to know why!”
“Anyway, originally… I entered this competition hoping to be on TV, thinking maybe Chen She was still alive and could see me working hard on his behalf from somewhere. I’m the young lady of Painted Spring Hall anyway. Winning or losing PA won’t change anything for me. Our products won’t stop selling. I don’t need an award to prove anything to anyone, sob…”
“Today I’m going to let Chen She know that if he doesn’t come out, I won’t go back to compete!”
“Sob… If he’s still alive, why doesn’t he come home?”
…
In the end, after much coaxing and persuasion, Pei Zhen managed to escort the girl back upstairs. He had planned to follow her in but then realized he had still forgotten to buy water.
Before he could turn around, he received a call from Han Fu, panicked: “Zhenzhen! Where did you go? Are you okay?”
Pei Zhen felt soft-hearted, helpless, and amused all at once. Nowadays, really… if he was out of sight for a moment, someone would worry. Having a dog was great.
“Good boy,” he smiled. “I came out to buy you water.”
Han Fu seemed to finally relax, but also a bit unhappy. “Oh. Where did you go to buy water that took so long?”
Pei Zhen: “I ran into a somewhat strange sudden incident just now. I’ll tell you when we get back. It’s nothing major. Focus on your competition first.”
Han Fu: “…Are you with Yi Changqing?”
Pei Zhen: “???”
Han Fu: “He’s not in the hall right now. He followed you out soon after you left. I ran out to look for you both but couldn’t find you. I called you, and you didn’t answer. Wuwu.”
Pei Zhen only then remembered he’d casually silenced two calls while comforting the girl.
“I’m not with him! I didn’t even see his shadow.” At this, he felt the need to prove his innocence. “Do you want me to send a selfie?”
Han Fu: “Huh? That… no need. Uh, I mean, I don’t need proof, but I’d quite like a selfie.”
Pei Zhen: “…”
The bell signaling the start of the competition round rang over there. Han Fu was reluctant. “I have to hang up. You’ll come back soon?”
Pei Zhen: “Mm.”
Han Fu added, “If you’re not here, some perfume effects I just can’t make.”
Pei Zhen thought to himself, I’m just a mascot sitting there anyway. I’m not winking at you or secretly guiding you. You can’t make it if you’re away from me?
“Like ‘sexy,’ I can’t make it,” Han Fu whispered. “I have to look at you to make it.”
Pei Zhen: “…”
