The accompanying image was precisely a GIF of Ye Zexi unable to smile. Someone had even captioned it with four words: forcing a smile.
Chapter 5
The boy in the GIF had delicate features. His lips seemed to curl upward, but the attempt failed. In the next instant, his beautiful eyes abruptly reddened. Even so, he still gave the audience a strained smile.
As soon as this GIF came out, the comments were filled with netizens clamoring for the original image:
"This GIF is way too good-looking! Please, I need the original!"
"I want a handsome little brother too, please!"
"I'm totally into Ye Zexi's face! Heavenly visuals!"
"Not only is he good-looking, he sings pretty well too. I wonder when they'll announce the rankings. I'm boldly betting Ye Zexi will make the top ten!"
Once rankings were mentioned, more and more netizens joined the discussion.
"Tang Jing is pretty good too. He should make the top ten as well."
"Every contestant on Era Idol is pretty good! It feels like this will be a great idol competition show. Looking forward to the finished episodes."
Era Idol got off to a roaring start on the night of its premiere, with peak concurrent viewership reaching tens of millions!
It was not only trending on the hot search rankings; it also generated plenty of discussion across trending topics all over the internet.
At the same time, related topics such as #He Jinyun Joins Era Idol#, #Shan Zeyu Mentor#, and #Qu Xiao Dance Mentor# also trended, sparking heated discussions among fans and netizens.
Quite a few contestants were mentioned as well, and Ye Zexi was naturally the one drawing the most attention.
The clearest sign was that Ye Zexi gained tens of thousands of Weibo followers overnight.
Ye Zexi was somewhat shocked by this. Early the next morning, he received a call from Wei Lifei.
Wei Lifei was the original owner's best friend. Like the original owner, he was a useless rich second-generation heir.
The moment the call connected, Wei Lifei howled from the other end, "Ye Zexi, you're amazing! I always thought you were just there to make up the numbers, but I didn't expect you to actually make something of yourself! My mom even called me this morning. She said she was going to get all the employees at her company to vote for you!"
Ye Zexi had originally worried that talking to Wei Lifei might expose him, but hearing Wei Lifei's tone put him much more at ease. "There's no need to go to all that trouble, because I didn't plan to..."
"Oh, right, you said on the livestream yesterday that you're not pursuing Tang Jing anymore? Is that true?" Wei Lifei interrupted Ye Zexi.
Ye Zexi smiled helplessly and answered, "It's true."
Wei Lifei said, "It's fine! Brother, there are millions of men in the world. If one makes you unhappy, just switch them out every day!⑴ I told you long ago that Tang Jing wasn't right for you. I'll send your WeChat to a few top-quality power tops later. Guaranteed to satisfy you!"
Ye Zexi's brow immediately twitched. "Hey, wait, I..."
Before Ye Zexi could finish, Wei Lifei hurriedly hung up.
Ye Zexi felt a breath catch in his throat. He really wanted to correct him: he was the power top himself. There was no need to introduce any power tops to him!
A few pretty bottoms, on the other hand, would be nice.
At that thought, Ye Zexi came back to himself. Didn't he happen to have one right beside him?
The corners of Ye Zexi's lips rose despite himself, and his face suddenly grew a little hot. His smile widened further, and just as he raised a hand to cover his face and grin like an auntie, the light before him suddenly dimmed.
"Good morning." An unfamiliar male voice sounded.
The smile at the corner of Ye Zexi's lips instantly froze.
"What are you smiling about?" the man continued.
Ye Zexi looked up and only then realized that He Jinyun had somehow appeared in front of him.
Good morning?
Good my ass.
Ye Zexi grumbled inwardly as he wiped the smile from his face.
Ye Zexi had seen He Jinyun during last night's performance, and he had wanted to marvel at him even then.
He Jinyun truly deserved to be the protagonist top in the novel: broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and a black custom-made suit wrapped around his long, straight legs.
Under the warm indoor lights, beneath the man's high, straight nose were lips that carried a smile. His brows and eyes were dashing and handsome. Though his features were rather aggressive, he somehow seemed approachable at that moment.
Those eyes, dark as bottomless pools, made it seem as though one careless glance would pull a person right in.
A face like that would indeed make any pretty bottom's heart flutter.
But unfortunately, Ye Zexi considered himself to be the same type as He Jinyun. With such a handsome face so close to him, he did not feel the slightest attraction. Instead, he felt a faint displeasure, as though his territory had been invaded.
Without showing it, Ye Zexi took half a step back before putting on a faint smile again. "Good morning, Mentor He. I wasn't smiling about anything."
That form of address was rather novel. He Jinyun's brows lifted slightly at the words, though his smile remained unchanged. "This is the first time I've heard you call me that."
Ye Zexi maintained his professional fake smile. "What can I do for you, Mentor He?"
He Jinyun nodded. "Yes." He paused, then made sure no one was around before continuing, "I've recently been preparing a new film. It happens to begin shooting once your idol competition ends. Are you interested in playing a role in it?"
Ye Zexi was secretly surprised. He had not expected He Jinyun to seek him out over this matter.
His expression did not change, and he quickly gave his answer. "Sorry, but I may not have any talent for acting."
He Jinyun had clearly expected Ye Zexi to refuse and continued, "That's fine. We'll have professional teachers to train you. Do you have other plans after the competition ends? I heard you haven't signed with an agency yet, and you don't seem to have any clear career plans. Don't you want to make something of yourself in the entertainment industry?"
Ye Zexi's smile finally became a little more genuine. Meeting He Jinyun's faintly expectant gaze, he slowly shook his head. "No."
He Jinyun choked on his words. After a long moment, he gave a helpless smile. "Then didn't you come to Era Idol with any dreams?"
Ye Zexi opened his mouth.
He Jinyun cut him off before he could speak. "Other than pursuing Tang Jing."
Ye Zexi swallowed back the words already at his throat. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Then I suppose all that's left is going home to inherit the family business."