Chapter 36

."

"Under these circumstances, it's impossible for both sides to create a completely new original work together."

"My idea is to combine two of our songs, then make a few changes to the original choreography. We can also add some interactive parts. If it works for you, we could swap centers, too."

Sheng Chi paused. "Swap centers?"

Xu Yin nodded. "I'll be Color4's center, and your center can come be Light's center. Then we'll switch back during the interactive part of the performance. What do you think?"

"That way, the other members won't be under too much pressure. Mainly, the two centers will just have to work a bit harder."

With so little time left, repackaging what they already had was about the limit of what they could manage.

There really didn't seem to be a problem with it.

Except-

Gu Zhijing glanced at Sheng Chi and hesitated. "Our captain was injured recently. The doctor recommended-"

"It's fine."

Sheng Chi rubbed Gu Zhijing's head, cutting him off. "It's not like I can't dance anymore."

He asked Xu Yin, "Which song do you want to use? I'll take a look at the dance. If there aren't any difficult moves, I can do it."

Xu Yin paused, then said, "Sorry, I didn't know you were injured."

She thought for a moment. "The dance moves shouldn't be too difficult, but it might take a little longer to put everything together. It'll be a bit tiring."

"If your captain can't do it, another member can take his place."

As she spoke, Xu Yin glanced at Gu Zhijing, who had just spoken up beside him, and said with a smile, "Little brother, I think you'd be good. How about you do it?"

Gu Zhijing: "???"

Gu Zhijing: "!!!"

The author had something to say: Fruit Jam: No, I can't do it QAQ

Me, your own mother: You can!!

Thanks to the little angel who threw a landmine: T#T*^O^* 1;

Thanks to the little angels who gave nutrient solution: Muli, wenjiu. 6 bottles; Yufengpeace 2 bottles; Aimengbaomaomao, Tangcuyu 1 bottle each;

Kisses for all my darlings!

Chapter 37

Gu Zhijing had briefly worried earlier that, if it was a collaboration stage between a boy group and a girl group, his captain might have to do an intimate interaction with the young lady from the other group.

He hadn't expected to end up the subject of the gossip himself. He immediately froze like a reaction meme.

After a moment's hesitation, Gu Zhijing was just about to use his weak fundamentals as an excuse to turn her down when the other Light members immediately chimed in. "I think that works!"

"I think he's a great fit too!"

"Don't think about it, little brother. It's you! I'm really looking forward to it!"

Gu Zhijing: "..."

Unable to resist the seniors' enthusiasm, he could only turn to his teammates and appeal to them.

To his surprise, Jiang Yu eagerly patted him on the shoulder. "You can do it, Gu Jing. Success or failure hinges on this one move. It's all up to you."

Judging by his tone, he didn't feel the slightest bit sorry for him.

He instinctively looked at Sheng Chi again.

Sheng Chi met his gaze and, apparently noticing his hesitation, frowned.

Then he thought for a moment and leaned forward, as if preparing to discuss it with the seniors again and suggest that he take the role instead.

But in a flash-

Gu Zhijing immediately turned back, his tone decisive. "All right, senior, I can do it."

Sheng Chi: "...?"

It was already late by the time filming ended that day.

So after tentatively settling on the first part of their collaboration plan, the two groups made a group chat and decided to go back and rest, contacting each other there if anything came up.

Since they had to rehearse together all week, they wouldn't be going back to their companies for the time being.

Most of the other groups had made the same decision. They would rest at the nearby hotel provided by the production team, so they could go straight to the practice rooms to rehearse the next day.

But when their car arrived, they found the hotel entrance packed with people, blocked so tightly that there was no way through.

Jiang Yu looked down through the car window and stared. "Why are so many fans waiting for us?"

Quick on the uptake, Gu Zhijing immediately put on his mask and pulled up his down jacket's hood before leaning against the window to look down.

It really was a sea of people.

He blinked, looking startled himself.

"It's not just our group staying here. There are probably fans of the other groups too."

Sheng Chi leaned over to take a look as well. His expression was less than pleasant as he said, "Be careful when we get out."

The van door opened.

Color4 pulled their down jackets tightly around themselves and hurried into the hotel under the protection of the hotel security guards, not daring to look to either side.

The fans' screams mingled with the biting wind of the winter night, loud enough to make their eardrums ache.

Some fans tossed letters to them along the way, but they couldn't take them. They could only harden their hearts and walk past without looking back.

But Gu Zhijing was softhearted after all. Once inside the hotel, he couldn't bear it and looked back at the fans behind him.

A fresh wave of screams immediately erupted outside.

But a moment later, Sheng Chi pressed a hand to his shoulder and guided him toward the elevators ahead.

Only after they entered their room and closed the door did it end.

Sheng Chi took off his mask and finally seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

There were many groups competing this time and few suites in the hotel, so the two of them were sharing a room.

He pinched the bridge of his nose and reminded Gu Zhijing, "If a stranger knocks later, don't open the door, no matter what. Don't take anything pushed under the hotel room door either."

Ever since Gu Zhijing had encountered a sasaeng while out last time, he had become very vigilant.

Gu Zhijing nodded as he hung up his down jacket. "I know."

"And..."

As Sheng Chi spoke, he looked up at him and paused.

The down jacket had made him look bigger. Without it, Gu Zhijing suddenly looked much thinner.

He curled up on the sofa in the hotel room, looking like a soft, fluffy ball that would be nice to squish.

He also looked a lot like their cat, Color.

They had spent the past few weeks rushing around to appearances and other engagements and had hardly gone back to see Color.

Sheng Chi had always thought he didn't like cats.

But perhaps because he hadn't seen Color in so long, he suddenly found himself missing the cat a little.

Then, looking at the person in front of him, he fell into a daze, and his palms suddenly began to itch.

He kind of... wanted to pet some fur.

Sheng Chi's fingertips curled, and he forgot what he'd been about to say.

Fortunately, both their phones vibrated at the same time.

Gu Zhijing looked down at his phone.

It was a new message from the group chat they had just made.

Senior Xu Yin had sent a video of a performance, saying it was the song they wanted to use for the collaboration.

She had also included a message.

[See you in the practice room tomorrow ^^]

Her tone was so cute that it was almost hard to connect her with the cool, dashing mature-woman image her company had created for her.

After reading the message, Gu Zhijing waved his phone and asked Sheng Chi, "Brother Chi, want to watch it together?"

As he spoke, he was lying on the sofa with his chin resting on a cushion.

He really did look like a soft, long cat.

Sheng Chi: "..."

He felt his palms itch even more.

But he couldn't think of a reason to refuse, so he walked over.

Gu Zhijing immediately sat up on the sofa and moved his phone closer to him.

The song Light had chosen was also quite new. It was from an album released a few months ago.

But as soon as they played the video, both of them paused.

Three minutes later.

Gu Zhijing swallowed.

How should he put it?

It wasn't difficult to dance.

He just hadn't expected them to choose a song in this style.

Since they were collaborating with a girl group this time, the Color4 members had discussed it privately and suggested using a sweet love song from their first album to set the mood for the collaboration.

But how had they forgotten?

Ever since their debut, Light had hardly ever gone for a sweet, girlish style.

Sheng Chi suddenly spoke. "Want to switch?"

He said, "If you change your mind now, there's still time."

Gu Zhijing paused, then shook his head firmly. "No."

He put down his phone and hugged one of the hotel's cushions. He looked a little troubled, but his tone was resolute. "Senior has pretty high expectations of me. They said I could do it... so I should be able to."

He added very quietly, "Besides, if I don't do it, wouldn't that leave you?"

The young man's voice was soft, striking Sheng Chi right in the heart.

He had always put the standard of the performance first, but now, for some reason, his heart softened completely.

Sheng Chi thought for a moment. "There are still the others. If you want to switch, you can."

But even as he said that, he understood perfectly well why Xu Yin had chosen Gu Zhijing.

In terms of skill alone, Gu Zhijing was not as good as Jiang Yu or Xu Linyuan.

But taking everything into account, Gu Zhijing's stage presence and ability to draw the audience's attention were first-rate.

Besides, his looks were bright and beautiful. Wherever he stood, he seemed to shine, and even among a girl group, the other female idols wouldn't outshine him in the slightest.

He really was the best choice.

But being the best choice was one thing.

The pressure this placed on Gu Zhijing was also obvious.

Since his debut, the group's choreography had always taken his weak points into account, and he had never been asked to shoulder the burden of an entire performance alone.

And now, all at once, he was being asked to stand in the center for such an important collaboration stage.

If his skills couldn't carry him through in the end,

He would probably blame himself to death.

"No." Gu Zhijing shook his head. He turned to look at Sheng Chi's expression and suddenly laughed. "What's wrong, Brother Chi? Are you trying to help me dump this burden on someone else? That's not very cool."

"Since I've already agreed, I'll definitely do it properly."

His peach blossom eyes curved, as though holding a faint glimmer of starlight. "Believe in me."

Sheng Chi stared at Gu Zhijing without realizing it, suddenly remembering him during the July assessment.

The Gu Zhijing who had drawn a song he didn't know at all, yet had still taken it on with an easy expression and, sure enough, performed well in the end, delivering an excellent performance.

He had always been that kind of person.

Memories came rushing back.

An inexplicable impulse swept over him.

In the end, Sheng Chi couldn't resist the urge in his palms. He stepped forward and rubbed Gu Zhijing's head, his voice turning gentle in an instant. "All right, I believe you."

But no one had expected that, before there had been any real progress on the collaboration stage, the fandom would make a move first.

Somehow, news that Sheng Chi was ill had gotten out.

Supposedly, someone had inside information and claimed to have seen Sheng Chi faint and be taken to the hospital.

Such rumors were never very reliable to begin with. As this one spread through the fandom, it eventually became a story about the company forcing Sheng Chi to endure a grueling filming schedule without sleep for three days and three nights, until he went into shock during filming and was at death's door when he was taken to the hospital.

And after all that,

The company had actually forced him to come straight back to work.

Just listen to that. Were they even human?

Then there were the photos of them returning to the hotel, taken by fansite masters that night.

Sure enough, Sheng Chi's expression didn't look good, and the other members looked exhausted too.

What fan wouldn't feel sorry for their own idol? Putting that together with the rumor they'd heard earlier, they drew a conclusion.

They understood now.

The company was mistreating their boy.

So the fans immediately started pushing a fresh hashtag on Weibo to demand fair treatment.

#LeapEntertainmentPleaseTreatShengChiFairly.

Sheng Chi and Gu Zhijing had been exhausted the previous day and had gone to sleep after discussing the collaboration stage, so they hadn't had time to notice any of this.

The next morning, they got a call from Brother Fei, and after hearing the whole story, they were dumbfounded.

Sheng Chi: "..."

He smiled helplessly. "But I'm really fine."

Besides, if anyone had to be blamed, it was Gu Zhijing himself. He had refused to rest and insisted on performing a difficult move, ultimately landing himself in the hospital.

On top of that, insisting on filming Starlight Show had been his own idea.

Fei Yue was truly innocent.

But how could the fans possibly know those details?

From their perspective, the company had failed to take proper care of him, and their anger would be hard to quell without a few harsh words.

Gu Zhijing listened along from the side.