"You're being too obsequious." Jiang Lele gave him a disdainful look.
Chi Li looked at him with a smile, "Are you an idol now?"
"Ugh—" Gu Nan clutched his chest and took two steps back, looking as if he were seriously injured. "Your words really hurt me..."
Doesn't he want to be a shining idol on stage?! It's not that he doesn't have a stage; he can only be arranged by the company to perform at some galas during holidays and sing some positive-energy songs...
"Actually, everyone here has been hurt..." Jiang Lele also clutched her chest.
He still has more opportunities to perform than Gu Nan.
Aside from galas, he might occasionally get a chance to appear on variety shows... but that's what makes it all the more heartbreaking.
"Life is good enough as it is now." Wei Xuan chewed until his cheeks were bulging. "If you're all sad here, people will call you ungrateful and a Versailles."
"Alright, sit down and eat."
Gu Nan patted the non-existent dust off his bottom and sat down next to Jiang Lele.
"Um..." Seeing the silence on the table, Bu Yao, a member of this week's rental group at the Raising House, quietly raised her hand, "I'd like to ask Teacher Shen a question, but I don't know if it's appropriate?"
It took Shen Xunye a few seconds to realize that 'Teacher Shen' referred to himself.
"... Me?" Shen Xunye handed the soup he had ladled to Chi Li. "Ask if you want."
Having received permission, Bu Yao's tone was one of surprise and delight. "It's that... I heard online that you're planning to do a music show, is that true?"
There are many music variety shows in China, but most of them are gatherings of already famous singers to sing classic old songs or songs that have already been released.
Aspiring singers often only have access to online platforms but no real stage performances when they release their songs.
When news broke that Shen Xunye was going to be on a music show, it already garnered a lot of attention from aspiring singers.
"It's true." Shen Xunye gave a definite answer without the slightest hesitation. "The program has been approved, and the stage is currently being built. It will officially launch within two months."
[Waaaaah!! Stage fans' paradise has arrived!!]
[If Chinese music shows could be successfully produced... I'd immediately switch back from K-pop.]
[↑After seeing the stage quality, did they immediately roll back?]
This concern is very valid.
[Recorded and edited stages are all train wrecks; I really find it hard to believe those people can produce a good performance...]
[As long as they dare to go up, I dare to watch. [Winking]]
[That's right, we can just treat it as a skit.]
"...!!!" Bu Yao was overjoyed, "Then, can I register now?"
"Registration is not open at the moment," Shen Xunye said in a businesslike tone. "However, I can guarantee that the first few episodes will be very exciting."
"So, you mean some of the candidates have already been chosen?" Gao Yuan asked in surprise.
"Let's have a guessing game, no prize involved." Jiang Lele straightened her chest and said confidently, " Chi Li is definitely in it, right?"
Shen Xunye generously revealed, "Not only that, there's also Jiang Yue."
Chi Li paused in his chewing motion.
He and Jiang Yue had occasionally shared the stage in the past six months, but Shen Xunye always harbored obvious hostility towards Jiang Yue.
This person actually invited Jiang Yue to their show? That's quite unusual.
"Wow, really?" Bu Yao was even more excited upon hearing the news. "Then the scene will definitely be very lively!"
Shen Xunye nodded slightly and said calmly, "Mm."
At first, he did care a lot about Jiang Yue and the things he said.
However, since being firmly chosen by Chi Li and having learned some business acumen from Shen Yu, although he still disliked Jiang Yue, he still had to take advantage of him at this time.
"Yay! I've been looking forward to this for ages!"
Are there any other guests you can reveal?
"I know! And Gu Nan —yes, it's me."
"You should just give up..."
The topic immediately sparked a lively discussion at the table.
Gao Yuan, being the most experienced in 'live performances', began to impart his expertise to them.
An Che a pure actor, naturally couldn't join the conversation; he remained silent, looking somewhat lonely.
After finishing Jiang Lele's sentence, Chi Li was about to find a topic to chat with him for a while when their eyes met and she saw him shaking his head slightly and pointing to the phone lying face down on the table with his eyes.
Chi Li took out his phone from his pocket, had Shen Xunye shield it for him, and unlocked it.
Sure enough, there was a message from An Che a few minutes earlier: Doesn't this look very broken to me now?
Please don't talk to me.
Let me be a man isolated from the world because of a breakup.
Chi Li: "..."
This drama queen only thinks about herself and doesn't care about the lives of others at all!
If he were to isolate An Che in such a lively setting, what kind of person would he be?!
"... An Che." Chi Li turned off her phone and gave the person on the other end a standard business smile. "Eat more vegetables, we grew and cooked them ourselves."
An Che subtly pursed his lips, gripped his chopsticks, picked up a bit of bok choy and put it in his bowl, chewing it politely, and speaking listlessly, "... It's delicious."
Chi Li: "Let them continue talking about promoting their songs, I'll talk to you about something else."
"No... you don't need to worry about me." An Che put down his chopsticks, stretched out his arm, and reached for the red wine on the table. "I prefer sipping wine and listening to you talk about interesting things rather than chatting."
"... Why didn't you say so earlier?" Chi Li's lips twitched slightly.
This statement is tantamount to a disclaimer.
Chi Li drank a glass of wine with An Che, then let him go off to act all sentimental.
After a few rounds of drinks, most of the dishes on the table had been eaten, and most people were in high spirits and slightly tipsy.
Logically, the party should have ended by now, but no one at the table got up.
It seems they want to prolong this excitement a little longer.
" Chi Li..." Xie Weishui suddenly stood up, her face flushed, and raised her wine glass. "This is your last day here... I think I need to apologize to you in front of all the audience before you officially leave."
Chi Li didn't reply, but just looked at him quietly.
With him gone, Xie Weishui probably couldn't wait to set off firecrackers in celebration.
Therefore, instead of believing Xie Weishui's apology was genuine, he'd rather believe An Che could actually win over Shen Yu.
This guy is just having a histrionic personality disorder episode and trying to use this opportunity to whitewash himself.
There's no need to expose it.
Given his past actions, the audience is already wary of him. He'll just be putting on an act; he certainly wouldn't dare to frame anyone again.
"Back then... I was really fascinated by the feeling of everyone's eyes being on me," Xie Weishui said, half-jokingly, "But your appearance made me feel a great sense of crisis."