HWMTOTBM Chapter 11

Su Yuanjiu knew it was raining in Jian City because his cousin had just arrived from there.

“The weather here is nice,” Pan Wei said as he hung his half-wet, still-drying jacket on the balcony.

This Pan Wei was the blogger Xie Nan, who had shot Su Yuanjiu’s vlog.

Su Yuanjiu happened to be at home today. The cousins hadn’t seen each other in a while, and Pan Wei had called Su Yuanjiu before arriving. Su Yuanjiu had someone pick him up from the airport.

Pan Wei was in town for an event that started in the evening, so he came to Su Yuanjiu’s place first.

Not only did he come, but he also brought Su Yuanjiu a bottle of wine.

“Grandpa knew I was coming, so he had me bring this for you,” Pan Wei said, pulling a bottle from his bag. “It’s from Auntie’s winery.”

Su Yuanjiu took the bottle and glanced at the label: “I’ll call him later.”

Pan Wei smiled: “He’d be even happier if you visited.”

Su Yuanjiu: “I’ve been busy lately. I’ll definitely visit when I have time.”

Pan Wei’s grandfather was Su Yuanjiu’s maternal grandfather. Su Yuanjiu’s paternal grandparents had passed away early, and when his parents worked away from home, he lived with his maternal grandparents.

Su Yuanjiu grew up in Jian City with Pan Wei until he was taken to Lin City by his parents after graduating from junior high.

No matter how long they hadn’t seen each other, the cousins remained close. Pan Wei felt at home in Su Yuanjiu’s house and had even live-streamed from there several times. He loved the decor and thought any part of the house made a great background.

Although they were only a year apart, Pan Wei saw his cousin as an old-fashioned guy.

First, the old-fashionedness showed in Su Yuanjiu’s unfamiliarity with the internet. Pan Wei found it baffling that Su Yuanjiu didn’t have a Weibo account.

Secondly, this old-fashionedness manifested itself in Su Yuanjiu’s hobbies. As a 30-year-old, he wore prayer beads, enjoyed calligraphy and paintings, and even burned incense at home. Who could handle that?

Lastly, this old-fashioned guy had never dated. Over 30 years old, and still single—unbelievable.

They had already had lunch outside, and Pan Wei, who had gotten up early, planned to take a nap in the guest room.

Su Yuanjiu was watching a documentary and mentioned he would go to the office later.

Pan Wei was about to enter the guest room when he suddenly remembered something and turned back.

“Hey, cousin,” Pan Wei said, taking out his phone from his pocket. “I saw a fun test this morning. Want to try it?”

Su Yuanjiu didn’t even turn his head. “What test?”

Pan Wei suddenly laughed: “It’s a playful test, just do it for fun.” He opened his favorites. “Here.”

Su Yuanjiu took the phone, looked at the title, and read it aloud: “Will you always be forever single?”

As soon as he finished reading, Pan Wei burst into laughter: “Haha, isn’t it perfect for you?”

Su Yuanjiu asked: “What does ‘forever single’ mean?”

Pan Wei: “…”

Laughed too soon.

Pan Wei explained. “It means always single, never been in a relationship.”

Su Yuanjiu glanced at Pan Wei and clicked start.

There were a total of 20 questions, each with four options: A, B, C, and D. As Su Yuanjiu chose his responses, Pan Wei’s surprised reactions could be heard.

“Tsk, how can you choose A… You chose C for this one… Haha, how can it be D…?”

Su Yuanjiu ignored him and continued with the test.

When he got to the final question, Pan Wei suddenly asked, “Cousin, have you ever liked someone?”

Just as he asked, Su Yuanjiu’s phone on the coffee table lit up with a WeChat notification.

Su Yuanjiu’s finger, which had been hovering over option C, had now moved to option D.

As soon as he clicked it, the screen changed.

“99% chance of being forever single, haha, as expected of you, hahaha,” Pan Wei exclaimed.

Su Yuanjiu asked, “How about you?”

Pan Wei, with a proud expression: “5%!”

Su Yuanjiu did not mind much, but as he returned the phone to Pan Wei, he asked, “What is the point of this?”

Pan Wei: “No point and it’s not accurate, so you don’t have to believe it. It’s okay, cousin.”

Su Yuanjiu chuckled, “Are you trying to comfort me?”

Pan Wei raised his eyebrows, saying, “You could think of it that way.”

Su Yuanjiu: “Didn’t your ex five years ago last only a year?”

Pan Wei: “…Why?”

Su Yuanjiu: “28 years single and mocking someone who is 30 years single?”

Pan Wei: “…”

Failed to tease and got teased instead. What does a 5% chance matter? It is time for a nap.

Just as Pan Wei was about to leave, Su Yuanjiu called out to him.

Pan Wei turned back. “What is it?”

Su Yuanjiu asked. “Do you know Xu Yu?”

Pan Wei: “Who?”

Su Yuanjiu looked back at the TV. “Go to sleep.”

The WeChat message was from Xu Yu, a simple reply: Brought it; thanks for your concern.

Just as Xu Yu finished sending the message, the car arrived at the airport entrance.

Despite Yun Jie’s hidden smile, Xu Yu could only say that he and Su Yuanjiu really had nothing going on. The last message before this was from four days ago when he sent his song to Su Yuanjiu.

Yun Jie, knowing her limits, stopped there.

Soon, they arrived in Jian City, which was indeed experiencing heavy rain.

They took a car to the designated hotel, rested for the night, and started work early the next day. The rehearsal went smoothly, mainly a walk-through to check the sound, lighting, and other details.

After the rehearsal, they rested at the hotel for a few hours before heading back to the studio.

“I did some research on the remaining four contestants. Three are internet celebrities with decent fame, and the last one was the runner-up in a talent show organized by the station last year,” Yun Jie said.

Xu Yu: “I know them.”

Yun Jie nodded and lowered her voice. “The runner-up has some connections with the station. Although I don’t have concrete information, I suspect he’ll get the most votes tonight. Don’t be upset if you don’t make it.”

Xu Yu shook his head: “I won’t be.”

Xu Yu was the last to perform that night. To say he was not nervous would be a lie. He rarely had solo opportunities on the show, and this time he was singing his own song.

Backstage, he and Yun Jie parted ways. The five contestants shared a room with cameras recording them. They were able to see the stage from there.

Yun Jie and other staff members watched the stage from a different location.

Xu Yu was nervous, as was Yun Jie, especially about the judge, Zeng Chen.

The recording proceeded as usual. Yun Jie kept an eye on Zeng Chen, who usually criticized at least one contestant per episode, even if he had to find flaws where none existed, and his comments were highlighted in the previews as a selling point.

Three contestants performed without incident, and Zeng Chen had yet to make a move.

The fourth contestant was the runner-up with connections. When he took the stage, Yun Jie began to worry.

After the fourth contestant finished, Zeng Chen even praised him, causing Yun Jie’s concern to spike.

Xu Yu’s turn came.

As Xu Yu walked from backstage to the stage, Sister Yun’s heart was pounding. The production team had prepared a chair for Xu Yu, and he sat down after taking the stage.

Zeng Chen’s mic suddenly came on.

Yun Jie frowned, staring at Xu Yu on the screen, her palms instantly sweating.

“Hello,” Zeng Chen said.

Xu Yu stood up from the chair. “Hello, Mr. Zeng.”

Zeng Chen: “It says here you were the third-place winner on ‘Hello Sing and Dance.’ Is that the show I’m thinking of?”

Without waiting for Xu Yu’s reply, Zeng Chen turned to the other main singers.

Creating an atmosphere, he picked up his mic again after a few seconds: “The production team needs to be more rigorous in their selection process. We can’t forget how these contestants earned their places just because time has passed. We can’t let the standards of our show drop.”

The stage fell silent, and the camera focused on Xu Yu.

Xu Yu stood there, saying nothing.

Breaking the silence was one of the main singers beside Zeng Chen. She picked up the mic and smiled at Xu Yu on stage: “Are you going to sing your own song next?”

Xu Yu nodded. “Yes.”

The lead singer politely said, “Please begin your performance.”

Xu Yu replied with a “Sure” and sat down in the chair beside him.

Xu Yu’s performance was met with an intensity from Yun Jie ten times more than usual, and she only let out a sigh of relief after the last note was sung. There were no issues with performance; it was consistent and well-executed.

At this moment, the camera focused back on the lead singer, and Zeng Chen stood with his arms crossed, silent and seemingly furious.

The female singer who had intervened earlier picked up the microphone again: “Thank you for your song. Let’s bring the other four contestants on stage.”

Next came the usual routine where the audience voted. As Yun Jie had predicted, the contestant with connections at the station won first place.

However, Xu Yu ended up in last place.

When Xu Yu came out from backstage and met Yun Jie, she immediately took him away.

In an empty area on the first floor of the station, Yun Jie cursed everyone involved, from Zeng Chen to the show’s crew.

“This is infuriating! If they had told us this was how it would be, who the hell would come to this crappy show?” Yun Jie cursed as she called for a car.

The recording wasn’t even over, but she couldn’t stand it any longer and didn’t want to see the final scores.

Xu Yu didn’t look good either. He hadn’t said a word since he finished his song.

Yun Jie cursed for almost three minutes before gradually calming down.

“Sorry,” Yun Jie said, rubbing her temples. “I didn’t pick the right show for you.”

Xu Yu shook his head. “It’s okay.”

Yun Jie sighed in frustration. “Argh! This is so infuriating! And who knows how they’ll edit this?”

Xu Yu quietly said, “It is what it is.”

It was still pouring outside. They had exited the building and were standing under the large awning near the entrance, waiting for their car.

Xu Yu, with his guitar on his back, stared at the traffic and flashing lights in the distance, the rain pouring down, and had no idea what to think.

“At least you performed well,” Yun Jie found some solace, “You didn’t say much, so they shouldn’t have much to edit out.”

Xu Yu responded softly, “Yeah.”

Yun Jie sighed again, at a loss for words.

The car had just been called, and due to the rain, it would take some time to arrive.

The temperature had dropped slightly at night. They preferred to stay outside in the wind rather than go back inside.

After waiting a while longer, Xu Yu’s pocket suddenly vibrated.

He took out his phone to see a message from Su Yuanjiu.

Mr. Su: Finished?

Xu Yu took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.

He typed: Yes, it’s over.

Mr. Su: How did it go?

Xu Yu replied: I didn’t get a chance to perform the duet.

Mr. Su: It’s okay.

Mr. Su: Duet or not, you’re still excellent.

Xu Yu looked at the text and finally smiled for the first time that night.

 

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I’m also so mad for Xu Yu! That Zeng Chen will see his karma soon enough… hopefully!

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