Shang Shujue leaned back against the wicker sofa, tapping his fingers rhythmically on his knee. His gaze drifted, then settled on a camellia a short distance in front of him when a voice sounded in his ear.
"About what happened early this morning-why didn't you call me, or just unlock my door? Don't you have the key to my dorm room? Instead, you went and confronted them yourself."
As Shang Shujue said this, a droplet on the camellia suddenly seemed unable to withstand gravity any longer. It slipped off a petal and plopped into a small puddle on the ground, sending out tiny ripples.
"I heard your information was taken down not long after the incident went online. Did you end up getting a warning or a fine?"
Song Yanqing seemed to have anticipated Shang Shujue's questions. He did not answer the second one, merely sidestepping the important part and changing the subject. "I was afraid I'd startle you by speaking again, and you'd complain my voice wasn't loud enough for your bad ears to hear."
"..." Shang Shujue could not help rolling his eyes, somewhat speechless. The little flickers of warmth and attraction that had just gathered in his heart shattered all over the floor in an instant. This damned bastard was so annoying!
"Fuck! Are you ever going to let that go? I'm trying to talk about something serious."
"You get angry that easily? Your temper's terrible. You need to fix that, or you'll get excessive internal heat and damage your liver. And if your liver's damaged, won't your other internal organs suffer too? Like your stomach, gallbladder, kidneys..."
Without waiting for Song Yanqing to finish, Shang Shujue promptly hung up. His tightly knitted brows relaxed, and he returned to his leisurely, carefree self.
"If that bastard can run his mouth like that, he's definitely fine. Forget him. What a waste of my time. Time to eat melon and earn merit, earn merit."
Nuomi sneaked a glance at Song Yanqing and discovered that he curled his lips into a soft smile at the disconnected call. Then he opened a book thicker than three bricks stacked together, picked up a pen, and began copying it out stroke by stroke. On the cover were the words:
"Songhui Aristocratic Family Rules - Statutes Section"
"Hiss..." Nuomi sucked in a breath and could not help covering his eyes, unable to watch. "Oh dear, this punishment is even more vicious than a fine or a warning. A second of silence for Song Yanqing. But why do I feel like he's enjoying it?"
Unable to figure it out, Nuomi stopped watching. He would just focus on eating melon with his host. Anyway, it was enough that Song Yanqing was around. As long as he was there, he could always eliminate karma for his host through some fortunate coincidence. That way, everyone benefited.
"You little brats, where's my popcorn? You didn't leave me a single piece?"
When Shang Shujue returned to the dance studio, he found several young men in sportswear standing in the corridor. Zhang Zhichen and Bai Zhiyi were there too, leaning off to one side. He had no idea what they were talking about, but their faces seemed to be moving in profile. The others were fighting over the popcorn bucket.
One of them lost his grip, and the popcorn bucket fell to the floor, wobbling as it rolled to Shang Shujue's feet. He looked down and found it completely empty, without even a crumb of popcorn left. His eyes instantly widened in shock.
"Brother Jue, Xu Jiaqiao snatched it! I only ate a small handful. They fought over it and finished everything. Afterward, I didn't even get to touch the empty bucket!"
Bai Xiaoze immediately tattled, staring at Shang Shujue with his pretty, innocent, round almond eyes, trying to act cute and wheedle his way out of trouble.
The others quietly shuffled backward, unanimously deciding to pin the blame on Xu Jiaqiao. With popcorn crumbs clinging to the corners of their mouths, they looked at the sky, stared at the ground, and picked at their fingers, looking thoroughly guilty.
"What? Why are you all selling me out? Just you wait, Bai Xiaoze! You're done for!"
Xu Jiaqiao stood bewildered for a moment, then discovered that even Zhang Zhichen had pulled Bai Zhiyi into the crowd to hide. He instantly laughed in anger and went over to drag Bai Xiaoze out.
"Hey, hey, hey! Brother Jue, save me! He's so scary!"
Bai Xiaoze ducked behind Shang Shujue, even making faces at Xu Jiaqiao when he looked at him, provoking him relentlessly. Furious, Xu Jiaqiao chased him, and Bai Xiaoze dodged.
Treating Shang Shujue like a pillar, the two acted out the unofficial historical tale of "Jing Ke tried to assassinate the King of Qin, and the King of Qin ran around a pillar" on the spot, circling around and around until it made people dizzy.
Shang Shujue: "..."
"Enough, stop circling. I'm not a pillar. Here, I'll count to three, and you two have a fight."
Shang Shujue let out an inexplicable laugh, then swiftly caught each of them by the collar, one in each hand, and hauled them forward. He made them stand facing each other and offered his suggestion.
Bai Xiaoze and Xu Jiaqiao stared at each other, momentarily unsure how to react. Were they supposed to fight now or not? Uh... why was this a little awkward?
"Ahem... Shang Shujue, we're all supposed to dance to the opening theme song when tonight's livestream starts. I haven't seen you practice in the last three days. Will you be okay onstage? Do you want to run through it now?"
As everything fell silent, Zhang Zhichen suddenly coughed twice to draw everyone's attention. Then he looked at Shang Shujue with a slight smile and offered a small suggestion.
"I've watched it. I can keep up, so there's no need to run through it. Don't practice too hard. If you dance too much now, your backs and legs will ache tonight, and that'll affect your performance."
*[Ugh~ What dancing! No dancing, no dancing. I'll find an excuse to slip away in a bit, then take my seat after they finish. Let the young people have the spotlight.*
*ε=(´ο｀*))) Sigh, I'm getting on in years. Even my mindset's old. If it weren't for eating that melon and earning merit points, I probably would've dropped out of the competition and lain flat ages ago...]*
Zhang Zhichen and the other trainees, whose average age was twenty-two, discreetly glanced at Shang Shujue, who was only around twenty-three himself, their eyes widening in disbelief.
Seriously, dude? ∑(❍ฺд❍ฺlll) If you're already old, what does that make twenty-three-year-old Zhang Zhichen?
"But although I'm not practicing, I can watch you practice. Mind if I come in and take a look?"
After Shang Shujue finished speaking to Zhang Zhichen, he saw Bai Xiaoze's eyes light up. Before Zhang Zhichen could speak, Bai Xiaoze spoke first, looking very excited.
"Sure, sure! Brother Jue, we're in the same dance studio. I want to practice a little longer too. Come on, come on!"
Bai Xiaoze pulled Shang Shujue away, brimming with so much energy that even Xu Jiaqiao looked introverted beside him. Zhang Zhichen hesitated as if he wanted to speak, but ultimately said nothing.
"Let's go in first. Since we're going to eat melon, of course we should do it up close. Maybe he'll get the urge and mention the two of us."
Standing beside Zhang Zhichen, Bai Zhiyi suddenly said this. Zhang Zhichen turned to look at him and saw the depth and darkness in his eyes. He paused involuntarily, then nodded.
"You have a point. Shall we go together, then?"
Bai Zhiyi raised his eyebrows slightly and lifted his chin, seeming to have adapted very quickly. "Together."