As a result of this teasing moment of absentmindedness, when Gu Qingtong finally came to her senses, she found herself already taken out of the car by Yan Chi. The feeling of her over-the-knee boots stepping on the soft snow made a creaking sound of ice crystals breaking. A gust of cold wind blew, and Gu Qingtong couldn’t help but shiver despite being wrapped in a down jacket. She had just mentioned how Yan Chi was afraid of the cold, but now it seemed like she was the one who needed to take better care of herself.
Gu Qingtong took a few deep breaths to calm herself down and suppressed the embarrassment that arose from hearing the words Yan Chi had just said. Why did Yan Chi have to say such strange and embarrassing things out loud?
Once completely composed, Gu Qingtong dared to sneak a glance at Yan Chi beside her, only to see a calm and indifferent expression on her face, as if she had never said anything embarrassing just now. Gu Qingtong couldn’t understand how someone could say such embarrassing words without even a hint of change in their demeanor.
The place they were heading to was the hotel arranged by the program team for Xiao Jun, located just above this parking lot. However, Yan Chi was the one who opened the door with her key card, and Xiao Jun wasn’t in the room.
“Where is Xiao Jun?” Gu Qingtong couldn’t help but ask.
“I asked her to leave early for something. Now there are only the two of us in the room.”
At the same time, the sound of the door closing could be heard. Yan Chi happened to turn around, and her gaze fell calmly on Gu Qingtong’s body. Gu Qingtong was just about to take off her down jacket when she heard this meaningful remark. She immediately froze and involuntarily shrunk back, stammering: “Later, when the program team is shooting… You’re not allowed to do those things again!”
“What things? Kiss the neck? Nibble the earlobe? Or eat…” Yan Chi’s words weren’t fully spoken as Gu Qingtong rushed over and covered her own red lips, forbidding her from saying that word.
As a result, Yan Chi did stop talking, but after a moment, Gu Qingtong felt a moist feeling between her fingertips. After a while, she realized that Yan Chi was gently sucking on her finger.
“!!!” Gu Qingtong was on high alert, and she couldn’t help but react instantly. She quickly pulled her hand away, feeling the lingering sensation, unsure of whether to hold on or let go.
Yan Chi looked innocent, and she kindly handed Gu Qingtong a tissue.
Afraid that she might say something she couldn’t resist, Gu Qingtong quickly urged: “Don’t you need to wear more clothes?”
“Yes, you can wear this down jacket. I’ll find another one for myself. I have the inner layers in my suitcase.” Yan Chi said, glancing to the side, indicating the location of the suitcase.
However, Gu Qingtong suddenly froze: “In your suitcase? Aren’t they all your clothes?”
Then, she realized that Yan Chi intended to wear her clothes to participate in the variety show shoot…
Sure enough, Yan Chi responded nonchalantly: “What’s wrong with that?”
“We’ll be found out! They will notice if we wear the same clothes.” She looked at Yan Chi in a hurry.
Yan Chi had several Weibo accounts that analyzed her outfits every day. If they saw her wearing the same clothes as Yan Chi on the variety show, it would be too arrogant!
Yan Chi didn’t insist and simply said: “The down jacket is new and has never been seen in front of the fans. For the rest, it’s up to you whether you want to freeze or wear them.”
Although she said that, Yan Chi understood Gu Qingtong well. She knew that Gu Qingtong was someone who cherished herself, and she wouldn’t choose to freeze.
As expected by Yan Chi, Gu Qingtong hesitated for a long time while biting her lip, but eventually walked stiffly towards the suitcase, searching for something suitable.
Her suitcase was neatly arranged inside, clearly organized by Yan Chi herself. Yan Chi handled her private matters herself and wouldn’t entrust them to Xiao Jun. Her storage style naturally reflected her meticulous and composed personality. Gu Qingtong didn’t dare to look beyond the clothes area; she just focused on finding something.
Luckily, the innerwear and outerwear were not stored together; otherwise, Gu Qingtong would have been scared again by the black garment she had seen before. Yan Chi’s clothes were all from brand C’s autumn and winter collections, and they were all in dark and cool tones, clearly matching her style.
After a long time of choosing, Gu Qingtong finally closed her eyes and picked a white knitted sweater. Hurriedly, she took the clothes and went to the bathroom to change. Unexpectedly, right at this moment, a coincidence occurred.
Gu Qingtong found that the zipper of her small dress couldn’t be pulled up suddenly. It was already difficult to reach behind her back, and now it seemed to be stuck or broken, as there was no response no matter how she pulled it. She didn’t know if it was jammed or just broken.
If she couldn’t move at all, it wouldn’t be too embarrassing, but now the zipper was stuck exactly halfway, causing an extremely awkward situation. She looked at herself in the mirror, with the zipper only halfway up, and several straps on her back clearly visible.
After seriously considering the possibilities, Gu Qingtong ultimately decided to ask Yan Chi for help. She first opened the bathroom door slightly and whispered: “Yan Chi, did you close the curtains outside?”
Yan Chi, sitting on the sofa, felt a sudden jump in her brow, as if she could sense what Gu Qingtong was going to say next. After confirming that there was no problem, Gu Qingtong awkwardly walked out, holding the clothes.
Although it was a serious matter, she felt particularly awkward because of the exposed area behind her: “Um, the zipper at my back suddenly broke. Can you help me take a look?”
As she said this, she secretly glanced at Yan Chi and saw that her expression was as cold and distant as usual, indicating that she probably wasn’t interested… right?
So, Gu Qingtong obediently turned her back to Yan Chi, waiting for her to fix it. Even after being teased so many times, she still had such innocent trust in her?
Yan Chi looked at the broken zipper area on Gu Qingtong’s particularly fair skin. When she was wearing clothes earlier, Yan Chi could only tell that she had a slim figure, looking delicate and thin.
Yet, when she really looked closely, she realized that it was mostly her small frame that made her appear delicate. There wasn’t a single aspect of her that didn’t unconsciously attract Yan Chi.
Yan Chi reached out her hand and touched the zipper, attempting to pull it, but it didn’t budge at all. Gu Qingtong also felt the force pulling downward and knew that Yan Chi had hit a dead end. She could only say with difficulty: “Can you check if it’s stuck inside?”
As she spoke, she couldn’t help but feel that her words didn’t sound quite right. It almost seemed like she was trying to seduce Yan Chi, but she swore on her conscience that she had no ulterior motives at all!
And why did the zipper have to break now? Why not earlier or later? It put her in such a dilemma.
Yan Chi made a nasal sound in response and agreed to check. Her hand flipped the fabric over, but in the process, it inevitably brushed against Gu Qingtong’s skin. It was a familiar cold temperature, and her fingers seemed even colder after being exposed to the icy surroundings today.
The sudden chill surprised Gu Qingtong, and at that moment, she paused, her shoulder shivering along with her cheeks as if to react to the cold touch.
In Yan Chi’s eyes, it was just a small incident that caused a stir. Just as Gu Qingtong tried to act as if nothing happened, they suddenly heard the sound of the room card unlocking at the door.
Before they could react, Xiao Jun’s figure appeared outside the door. Both of them were facing Xiao Jun, and at that moment, Gu Qingtong looked terrified as she locked eyes with Xiao Jun, only to find that Xiao Jun was even more shocked than she was.
“You, you two… continue! I-I’m… sorry for disturbing you guys!”
After snapping out of her shock, Xiao Jun’s face turned red, and she stammered a few words before quickly closing the door and locking herself outside, as if it wasn’t her own room.
Gu Qingtong understood that Xiao Jun had misunderstood the situation, and she felt hopeless. “Xiao Jun misunderstood, right? We were just fixing the zipper! Now we’ll be seen as perverts messing around in someone else’s room, aah!”
Seeing Gu Qingtong panicking over such a misunderstanding, Yan Chi thought about everything that had happened earlier when Chu Yu might have seen them.
In her heart, she couldn’t help but think, ‘If she knew about that incident, she’d be so embarrassed and angry, wouldn’t she?’
“It’s okay, if she really thinks that way, she’d probably just see me as a pervert,” Yan Chi finally managed to untangle the stuck zipper, releasing her hold, “All done.”
As Yan Chi predicted, Xiao Jun was still sitting at the end of the hotel corridor, completely immersed in the awkwardness of stumbling upon them. The action of fixing the zipper from behind… it hadn’t even begun yet, right?
No, how much longer will this take!
Can I still go back to my room?!
As Xiao Jun felt frustrated, she once again evaluated the extent of teacher Yan’s perverseness.
What should I do? I want to replace Tongtong’s ‘female goose1This term in this context refers to a person who acts overly cute or naive.’. Teacher Yan is just too perverted!! Tongmei can’t handle someone like her!
Somehow, images from the videos she saw on that account last night flashed in Xiao Jun’s mind, and she couldn’t help but take a sharp intake of breath.
As she pondered, she couldn’t resist the urge to check again, thinking, “This is so strange, let’s take another look!” She opened the collection called “What is Tongtong eating today,” searched through it, and eventually clicked on the one with the least shocking title, “Midnight Session.”
Little did she know that her phone was on speaker mode, and as soon as she opened the video, a famous Xiao Huang2“Xiao Huang” is likely a nickname for a certain idol or celebrity. song started playing, complete with a clip of Yan Chi enduring the beatings in the movie without making any sound.
To make matters worse, while she frantically tried to lower the volume of her phone, she noticed a shadow quietly casting over her.
Xiao Jun seemed to have anticipated something and slowly looked up, only to directly meet a pair of shocking eyes.
Her phone fell to the ground in an instant.
The one who was shocked was, of course, Gu Qingtong. After she fixed the zipper, she quickly changed her clothes and urged Yan Chi to leave, wanting to catch up with Xiao Jun before she went too far and explained everything clearly.
When she came out, she did see Xiao Jun crouching at the end of the corridor, but little did she know that as she approached, she suddenly heard a background music from Xiao Jun’s side that made her whole DNA react. It was Xiao Huang’s song….the suppressed voice…..
She couldn’t be mistaken; it was definitely Yan Chi’s famous video edit “Midnight Session.”
Though the edit was popular with over two million views on U Station, and there were always hundreds of viewers watching it no matter when one clicked on it, why would Xiao Jun be watching it in public like this?!
This made Gu Qingtong momentarily forget about covering up the vest, and she appeared extremely shocked in front of Xiao Jun. However, her remaining bit of rationality prevented her from asking what it was.
Xiao Jun, who was already watching something improper, became flustered when she saw Gu Qingtong’s expression and frantically crouched down to pick up her phone, avoiding Gu Qingtong’s gaze.
The crisp sound of the phone falling to the ground also woke Gu Qingtong up as if from a dream. She instantly knew that she must not reveal that she had seen this video, or else all her efforts to hide so many things would be in vain!
In a state of extreme nervousness, her brain automatically blurted out: “Have you also heard this song?”
“Ah! Yes, the Xiao Huang song… I accidentally played it in loudspeaker mode. It’s so embarrassing, hahaha.”
Both Xiao Jun and Gu Qingtong forced a smile and breathed a sigh of relief, thinking they hadn’t exposed anything to each other.
Just then, Yan Chi appeared behind them and casually asked: “What’s going on?”
Seeing the main character’s arrival, Xiao Jun and Gu Qingtong both fell silent, clearly not wanting Yan Chi to know anything about the video or the Xiao Huang song.
Gu Qingtong immediately looked to Xiao Jun for help, hoping she could say something to handle Yan Chi’s question.
Xiao Jun quickly came up with a response: “You guys….finished doing it?!”
As she spoke, Xiao Jun couldn’t help but size up Gu Qingtong. Suddenly, she noticed, “Hey, isn’t this gray down jacket the one Yan Chi wore when she came to Wushan in the morning? How come it’s on you now?”
Speaking with a straight face, Xiao Jun’s words almost petrified Gu Qingtong in place. What did she mean by “finished doing it?” Was it what she was thinking?! It seemed like a complete misunderstanding.
“We are innocent! We didn’t do anything. I just asked Yan Chi to help me with my dress zipper. That’s all! Please don’t misunderstand!” Gu Qingtong quickly remembered her main purpose for coming to Xiao Jun and hurriedly explained.
At last, the misunderstanding was resolved, though Gu Qingtong was still puzzled about why Xiao Jun clicked on that video.
However, as the scheduled filming time was approaching, she had to temporarily put aside this question.
The two of them went directly to the landmark ancient pine tree in Wushan. With Yan Chi’s sweater and down jacket providing protection, Gu Qingtong finally became fearless of the severe cold and started to frolic around.
Perhaps because of the cold weather, they arrived at the shooting location five minutes early and found only the program crew there.
As soon as the two appeared, they attracted the attention of everyone present. Gu Qingtong also tensed up and remained silent, keeping a distance from Yan Chi.
One of the crew members also focused on Gu Qingtong’s clothes and asked with some doubt: “Did I remember it wrong? I thought Yan Chi appeared in this gray down jacket this morning.”
Hearing this gossip, the eyes of the program recording team seemed to light up with interest.
“I didn’t know it would be this cold here, and my clothes were not enough, so I borrowed this one from teacher Yan,” Gu Qingtong truthfully replied, knowing she couldn’t escape the program crew’s questioning. As she spoke, she discreetly glanced at Yan Chi. Seeing that Yan Chi didn’t intend to cause trouble, she finally felt relieved.
However, once the gossip fire started, it wasn’t that easy to extinguish. Another person who didn’t understand asked: “But why did you take off your own clothes and give them to Gu Qingtong? Wouldn’t it be normal to lend her spare clothes?”
Gu Qingtong was momentarily at a loss for words and thought to herself: ‘Why are you asking such unnecessary questions!’
Seeing Gu Qingtong remaining silent for a while, Yan Chi finally looked up and calmly helped defuse the situation: “Oh, that jacket is new, Qingtong didn’t want her fans to easily notice that she was wearing the same one.”
Upon hearing this explanation, the program crew felt regretful and frustrated. They thought, ‘What a nice sweet moment it would have been if the fans had seen them wearing the same jacket! Why did they refuse to give their fans that joy?’ It was quite strange that while other guest pairs were freely expressing affection, this pair, which seemed awkward and uncooperative, unexpectedly gained popularity.
Now, the program crew’s focus was on capturing more footage and highlights of the silent pair.
Just as they were discussing, it was time, and the other guest pairs arrived at the designated spot within a minute.
Two weeks had passed, and it seemed that everyone’s behavior was unchanged from the previous episode. Chu Yu was still introverted, not daring to look at Gu Qingtong and Yan Chi. Bai Jin, on the other hand, acted like nothing happened and greeted Gu Qingtong as if nothing had happened.
“Alright, let’s divide into groups quickly. We will be doing a live-streaming task soon, and the live-streaming groups will be based on these divisions,” Director Bu announced, interrupting Bai Jin’s antics.
Helpless, Bai Jin could only leave Gu Qingtong and return to Deng Yu3Referring to Deng Dongjun and Yu Xi‘s side. “The results of the groupings are out”.
Upon hearing this, all seven guests were surprised. They hadn’t done anything yet, so how could the results be out? Was the form they filled in earlier just for reference?
Director Bu knew he had successfully tricked everyone and spoke proudly: “Now, let me announce the groupings. Group One is Wen Ziyao.”
Chu Yu was expecting to hear her name, as she had written on the form that she wanted to be grouped with Wen Ziyao. Although she knew that Wen Tiantian was dissatisfied with her behind her back, the two of them being in a CP4Couple Pairing together was arranged by their managers; it was just a part of their work.
Unexpectedly, Director Bu skipped to Group Two directly without mentioning Chu Yu’s name. Chu Yu couldn’t help but ask, “Director, did you miss my name? You haven’t called it yet!”
Director Bu shook his head and said: “Group One indeed only has Wen Ziyao. He is the one without a partner.”
Wen Ziyao was taken aback. He already felt insignificant in the CP group, and now he was left without a partner. Would he still get any screen time?
Protesting immediately, Wen Ziyao said: “It’s impossible that nobody picked me! Chu Yu just said she should be grouped with me. Director, how did you make this decision? This is so unfair!”
Facing the questioning, Director Bu couldn’t hide the grouping method any longer. He took a tablet from his assistant and played a video, showing it to Wen Ziyao.
“The grouping rule this time was not based on who you chose, but on who you went to after hearing that you could leave the interview. A hidden camera captured each of your choices. As for you, Wen Ziyao, after the interview, you went straight to your manager without anyone approaching you. So, you became the one without a partner. We don’t know if there will be any additional guest appearances, so for now, you will be in a group of one,” Director Bu explained.
Almost all the guests were caught off guard by this sudden rule and started to recall what they did after the interview. Instantly, their expressions became quite interesting.
Gu Qingtong realized that she was too tired that day and left without choosing anyone. She felt a bit embarrassed as she touched her nose.
Recalling the phone calls and messages from Yan Chi that day, Gu Qingtong began to understand why she didn’t end up being the one without a partner; it must have been because Yan Chi approached her.
Thinking of this, Gu Qingtong glanced at Yan Chi from afar and noticed a faint coldness in her expression, as if she wasn’t very happy. Could it be… she’s angry that I didn’t choose her?
Gu Qingtong’s heart tightened, and she suddenly felt a bit panicked.
Director Bu appreciated the colorful expressions of all the guests and continued announcing the groups: “The second group is Deng Dongjun and Yu Xi, the third group is Gu Qingtong, Yan Chi, Chu Yu, and Bai Jin.”
Four female guests being assigned to one group? It was unheard of! The production crew immediately focused the cameras on their faces. Gu Qingtong and Chu Yu seemed to be shocked and frozen in place. Yan Chi’s emotions were hard to read, and only Bai Jin’s visible excitement stood out.
“Although Gu Qingtong left early, the three of you asked the production crew about her whereabouts after the interview. Since the crew didn’t know but assured you they would inquire, you waited for some time in the rest area. Based on this, we can deduce that all three of you sought out Gu Qingtong as your first choice. As Gu Qingtong didn’t approach anyone, it means all three of you effectively chose her. Following the rule from the previous round, you are assigned to the same group.”
After hearing the production crew’s detailed explanation, Gu Qingtong was utterly at a loss. She never expected that leaving early due to tiredness and fever would lead to such a mess! No wonder Yan Chi was upset…
Bai Jin was like a ticking time bomb in the team. Even without Yan Chi, Gu Qingtong was afraid to do tasks with her around. As for Chu Yu, they seemed to be nothing more than casual acquaintances, just friends who ate melons together during the program.
Gu Qingtong remembered that she still had a privilege she won from a live broadcast, which allowed her to form or break up a couple.
“Big sister Gu! This time I was honestly assigned to your group. I didn’t expect that after the show, you didn’t go find teacher Yan. I thought you two were quite close, but it turns out I misunderstood~” Bai Jin understood the rule the moment she heard it and felt incredibly elated. She immediately started poking at Yan Chi’s sore spot.
Gu Qingtong also looked at Yan Chi and noticed that she showed no expression, seemingly unaffected by Bai Jin’s words. However, when Yan Chi caught Gu Qingtong’s gaze, she looked deep into her eyes, as if conveying some inexplicable grievance.
It was as if… the prideful Alphine Flower had been hurt for the first time, and she wouldn’t lower herself to seek help. Instead, she would just look from afar, lowering her eyes and letting herself slowly lick the wounds in the icy world.
Gu Qingtong could almost hear Yan Chi’s voice, the one that only appeared at night, whispering in her ear, “Tongtong, didn’t we agree to choose each other? Why was it only me who chose you in the end?”
Finally, Gu Qingtong suddenly spoke to Director Bu: “Director Bu, I would like to use my privilege.”
Almost all the guests, except for Yan Chi, had forgotten about Gu Qingtong’s unused reward, and everyone was stunned upon hearing this.
However, upon hearing about this privilege, Wen Ziyao and Chu Yu seemed to see a glimmer of hope. Wen Ziyao wanted the exposure, and Chu Yu was terrified when she found out she was in the same group as Gu Qingtong and Yan Chi. She had been avoiding them since the incident and couldn’t imagine doing any tasks with them!
That day, the reason she stayed behind to find Gu Qingtong was because she briefly had the idea of seeking Gu Qingtong’s help to avoid any trouble with Yan Chi. Of course, since Yan Chi didn’t show up at the time, she decided not to use that method anymore and planned to keep the secret hidden in her heart, avoiding any contact with them after the variety show ended.
Now, hearing that there was a chance of being kicked out, she immediately went to request Gu Qingtong to put her and Wen Ziyao in the same group. The two fake CPs poured out their hearts to each other, appearing as if they were deeply in love, almost embarrassing Gu Qingtong to the point of digging her toes into the ground.
Not only did the two of them act as a CP, but even the director and the audience probably hoped she would use the privilege this way. With this thought in mind, Gu Qingtong’s eyes flashed with determination.
She knew about Yan Chi’s possessiveness and understood that Yan Chi wouldn’t want Bai Jin to be by her side. She wanted to comfort Yan Chi just a little.
“Director Bu, I hope I can untie the CP between me and Bai Jin,” Gu Qingtong said and turned to Bai Jin, “I’m sorry.”
