Seeing Xi Nian’s successful return, everyone couldn’t help being overjoyed and gathered around one after another: “Have you got the necklace?”
Because of using the extreme speed to reach here, Xi Nian was panting a bit from running. He spread out his palms and showed everyone the necklace, and then put it together with the one in Teacher Min’s hand. Then, he walked up to the mechanism lock, opened the door, and said: “Bai Yicheng was an undercover agent, I locked him up on the second floor.”
Upon hearing this, Qiao Zhi was momentarily taken aback and then she said with righteous indignation: “Look, how many times I said I’m not an undercover agent, but you guys didn’t even believe me!”
Kong Xi glanced at Xi Nian: “You guessed it a long time ago. No wonder you deliberately dragged Bai Yicheng back together.”
Quiet smart, it had been a long time since she had met a guest celebrity on the program with such a high IQ. However, speaking this in front of the camera was too offensive, so Kong Xi remained silent.
During the conversation, Xi Nian had already clicked to open the mechanism lock. With the opening of the last door, the dim environment of the secret room finally poured into the light. At the same time, a cold game prompt rang in everyone’s ears.
[The game is over, congratulations on successfully escaping “Ivory Tower”]
After staying in the dark environment for a long time, when they suddenly went out and came into contact with the sun, everyone’s eyes felt like they were about to be blinded. Xi Nian squinted his eyes, and it took him a long time to get used to it. However, he saw Qiao Zhi sitting on the ground limply, and started to wipe away tears from her red eyes: “What a broken show, I will never come again next time!”
The director’s face turned green when he heard this. Was it easy for him to arrange these mechanisms? Not to mention that not even a single guest go eliminated, but he even paid for an undercover agent. In the end, he was one the who was being scolded.
Bai Yicheng was also released from the secret room by the staff. When he came up, he lightly punched Xi Nian on the shoulder, and laughed angrily: “You’re one good fellow! You look too quiet but, in fact, too ruthless.”
Xi Nian was full of calculations and manged to escape being seen through by people so it was too easy for people to ignore his existence. No one thought that team number two which was most likely to die in the game, would have survived to the end under his leadership. Teacher Min shook his head and laughed, meanwhile he kept saying that the younger generation was formidable.
After a thrilling exploration of the secret chamber, the relationships between the people were also unconsciously brought closer, so they left with contact information of each other. When Xi Nian walked out of the filming venue, he saw a car parked outside, and a man wearing a baseball cap was leaning against the car waiting, who was clearly Lu Xingzhe.
At a distance, Lu Xingzhe seemed to see him as well. He immediately walked over and handed a bottle of water to Xi Nian, and said: “Finally you came out, are you tired?”
Xi Nian took the water, unscrewed the bottle cap, and took a sip with a smile hidden in his deep eyes: “Don’t you want to ask me if I won or lost?”
Lu Xingzhe didn’t care, kicked the stone under his feet, and muttered: “It’s fine if you come out, who cares if you win or lose.”
He never cared about such things, the only important thing was the person in front of him.
Xi Nian paused when he heard that as if he wanted to say something. However, at this moment, Qiao Zhi walked over from the side, handed the phone to Xi Nian, and said, “Add a friend, only you are left.”
When everyone left their contact information just now, Qiao Zhi went to the car to change clothes, and only now remembered to add friends.
Xi Nian glanced at Lu Xingzhe, and saw the latter did not have much reaction, then took out his cell phone to scan the code to verify. Qiao Zhi probably thought even though this guy was quite stinky, it was also rare that he did not hold a grudge, so she even asked him to have dinner together next time: “Come out any other time to join the fun, I’ll introduce you to beautiful women.”
As she spoke, she suddenly noticed that Lu Xingzhe, who had not spoken anything from beginning to end. She glanced at him and said with great interest, “Hey, is this your assistant? He’s quite handsome.”
Xi Nian raised his eyebrows slightly upon hearing this, then raised his hand and lowered the brim of Lu Xingzhe’s hat, pushed the person into the car, and said to Qiao Zhi, “You can also go and hire a handsome person. I have something else to do, so I’ll go back to the hotel first.”
After he finished speaking, he got into the back seat of the car and closed the door with his backhand.
Lu Xingzhe sat inside, with the brim of his hat now slightly raised, glanced at the driver in front of him, and then at Xi Nian: “You seem to be quite familiar with Qiao Zhi?”
Xi Nian and Qiao Zhi belong to the type of bad friends1[sǔnyǒu]: bad friends/lost friends., who when met were familiar and if they did not meet for a long time they were unfamiliar. Xi Nian flipped his phone and didn’t intentionally want to play tricks on Lu Xingzhe, this vinegar jar2[cù tán zi]: vinegar jar/a person of jealous nature: “Not familiar, you saw too, I just added her as a friend.”
Although Lu Xingzhe was suspicious, most of the time he wouldn’t doubt Xi Nian’s words. Earlier when Xi Nian said he didn’t like Qiao Zhi, he believed him. Upon hearing this, Lu Xingzhe gently scratched Xi Nian’s legs with his fingertips under the cover of his clothes, and said: “It doesn’t matter if you just added friends, maybe you will become acquainted in the future.”
In fact, he still felt a little uncomfortable in his heart, but Lu Xingzhe didn’t show it, and always smiled in front of Xi Nian.
He would laugh when he was happy and also laugh when he was unhappy.
Due to the driver driving in the front seat, Xi Nian didn’t do anything. He just leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, holding down Lu Xingzhe’s hand that was moving around his legs. Then, he loosened open the other person’s fingertips one by one and slowly clasped them.
Lu Xingzhe’s hands were not as beautiful as his face, there were thin calluses on his fingertips and abdominal joints, and some old wounds. Compared to his absurd and reckless life now, his hands seemed to be the only evidence of his past struggles.
Xi Nian’s cold and hard heart suddenly softened for a moment, even if it was just a moment.
…
After arriving at the hotel where they were staying, the driver left and was scheduled to pick them up at noon the next day to drop them at the airport. Just as Lu Xingzhe opened the door before he had time to put his things away, a scorching body suddenly covered him from behind. He was immediately grabbed by someone as his waiste was hugged and he was pressed against the wall.
Lu Xingzhe knew it was Xi Nian, so he didn’t resist.
The curtains in the room were drawn tightly, refusing to let in the slightest light. He squinted at Xi Nian’s face, which was a very short distance away, and he could outline the man’s eyebrows and eyes just by memory.
“Fuck.”
Lu Xingzhe held Xi Nian’s face and suddenly cursed in a low voice. The corners of his lips widened uncontrollably, and he said jokingly: “You’re too fast, aren’t you? How did you get ahead of what I wanted to do.”
It wasn’t a day or two since he wanted to Kabedon Xi Nian.
Xi Nian couldn’t bear to see Lu Xingzhe’s rampant appearance. He lowered his eyes silently and then tilted his head to bite his white earlobe. The pain and itching instantly spread throughout his body, and even his tailbone began to tingle.
Lu Xingzhe let out a muffled groan and there was a hint of water in his eyes. He weakly lifted his head and was tormented by this feeling, causing him to stand unsteadily. His fragile Adam’s apple was exposed to the air, rolling up and down, and he said in a mute voice, “Hey, I can still be considered a fan of yours. Is that how you treat your fans?”
This fucking Xi Nian bit, it was painful and itchy, it was killing him.
Upon hearing this, Xi Nian remembered his abnormal group of fans again. Lu Xingzhe took advantage of his stunned moment to rescue his ears, and then grabbed Xi Nian’s hand and placed it on his lower back, and only a thin layer of fabric hindered the skin contact: “Do you remember…”
He had a somewhat lazy tone and deliberately reminded, “You signed here.”
Xi Nian’s memory was easily provoked: “Why, do you want me to sign again for you?”
Lu Xingzhe unknowingly provoked, “Tch, sign it if you have the ability.”
Numerous past facts have proven that Xi Nian not only had skills but also was quite capable. Unfortunately, Lu Xingzhe always liked to deliberately provoke and ended up making trouble for himself. He would cry till calling for his father and his mother3[kūdiēhǎnniáng] to shout and to cry in desperation. and even would be unable to get out of bed.
After a chaotic battle, the two of them had no strength left. Lu Xingzhe’s breathing fluctuated, and he lay on the bed stiff like a corpse. When he heard the sound of his mobile phone vibrating, he managed to gather his strength and reached out to touch the bedside table. The blanket accidentally slipped off half of the way, and there was a bright kiss mark on his back, the kind that couldn’t be eliminated for a while.
Lu Xingzhe’s eyes were blurry for a second, he turned on his phone and looked, only to find that it was a message from Sun Ming. He said that Xi Nian had accepted a guest role in a Republic of China drama, and the filming would start immediately, and he would have to join the crew the day after tomorrow.
The guest role, to put it mildly, sounded like a cameo, but if stated clearly then it was nothing more than playing soy sauce4Extras, referred to as temporary performances, refer to actors who play idle roles such as peddlers, diners in restaurants, and passers-by. Actors playing such roles in film and television works are also called “playing soy sauce” because they essentially doesn’t matter, someone of little significance or presence. . Moreover, the filming location was in a film and television city, and it would take at least four hours by plane to fly from C city. Shanxing was now looking at Xi Nian who was unwilling to renew his contract, indicating that they deliberately intended to harass him.
Lu Xingzhe frowned and looked at the script, only to find that it was a cannon fodder character who had appeared in less than three episodes. He typed a line of words and was about to say that Xi Nian was not available, but his phone was taken away.
It was unknown when Xi Nian woke up, he glanced at the chat records and then said to Lu Xingzhe: “Come on, I’ll catch a plane tomorrow. I should be there in time.”
Lu Xingzhe leaned against the bed and didn’t say a word. He personally felt that Xi Nian should play the leading role instead of such a small role. His voice was broken and hoarse after their affair just now, and he paused and said, “You just finished recording the show, didn’t you? It wasn’t necessary to go to another end of the country for a small role, and the pay would not even be worth the air ticket.”
Xi Nian knows that this was just a cannon fodder role, but if he did not want people to poke his spine5[chuō jǐ liáng gǔ] refers to exposing the scars of others behind their backs and talking about their shortcomings., so he must have at least an appearance in good work. It was just the beginning, so it was impossible for him to play the leading role in his current position: “Take it, it won’t take much time anyway.”
For this process of climbing from the bottom to the top, Xi Nian seemed to be quite familiar with it.
Xi Nian didn’t feel much about this. When he was not famous in his previous life, he also played a lot of small roles. Not to mention, now that he did not have any work, if he did not want to be scolded by netizens, he had to accept everything that came his way.
There was a faint ruthlessness in his heart, and he didn’t want to be looked down upon by others and fall into the dust (obscurity).
Seeing this, Lu Xingzhe fell into a subtle silence. Finally, he didn’t continue to stop him and wrote back a message to Sun Ming, changed their tickets, and whispered to Xi Nian, “Go to sleep for a while, you were recording a program for a whole day. Tomorrow, we have to catch the morning flight.”
Xi Nian was indeed a little tired. Hearing this, he pulled Lu Xingzhe into his arms and rested his chin on the top of the other person’s head. After a long while, he asked abruptly, “Do you think I’ll ever make it through?”
He relied on Lu Xingzhe in his previous life, who should he rely on in this life?
Himself?
About this, Xi Nian was actually not sure.
Hearing this, Lu Xingzhe opened his eyes in his arms, moved quietly, and said with a smile: “You will.”
He kissed Xi Nian’s chin, and lowered his eyes: “You will stand taller than me.”
One day in the future, Xi Nian would stand taller than others…
Lu Xingzhe seemed to believe in this more than anyone else.
Xi Nian seemed to be extremely tired, he closed his eyes and didn’t make a sound. Lu Xingzhe did not move until Xi Nian’s breathing became calm after a while and it seemed that he had fallen asleep. After a long time, he glanced at the time, Lu Xingzhe quietly put on his clothes and got out of bed as he tried his best to not make a sound.
The termination of the contract between Xi Nian and Shanxing Entertainment should be as soon as possible put on the agenda, but with which company the contract would be signed afterward was another problem. The artist’s traffic and celebrity status were the bargaining chips, the higher the bargaining chips, the better the treatment.
Lu Xingzhe sat on the sofa and turned on the computer. The faint light on the screen shone on his face, somewhat bright and flickering. He quickly browsed through the recently selected list of artists under several entertainment companies and finally found that a few of Zhongyi’s newcomers had just been brought out by their rival company to poach the corners of the wall.6[wā qiáng jiǎo]Also known as Digging the foot of a wall is a Chinese Idiom, which is pronounced wā qiáng jiǎo in pinyin, and its original meaning is to dig out the lower half of the wall, so that the whole wall loses balance and collapses. It is a derogatory term for metaphor, today, it refers to digging out the personnel and technology-related information of the competitors and using it to maximize one’s own benefits. However, because of the suppression of the news, the outside world had not yet caught the wisp of it.
Decoding of the Chamber of Secrets would be broadcast in a few days. This program has a fixed audience flow, and regardless of the situation, Xi Nian would gain another wave of popularity. If rumours of the termination of the contract were released at that time, it would give Zhongyi a timely hint, so it might be possible that the contract benefits could be increased by more than one level.
In Lu Xingzhe’s mind, he was rapidly thinking about ways to maximize his benefits. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Xi Nian turning over in the bed and Lu Xingzhe quietly turned off his computer, then got up and walked to the wardrobe, pretending to pack his luggage.
Xi Nian was a light sleeper, and now he really woke up, he lifted the quilt and got out of bed. He saw Lu Xingzhe packing his clothes, so he turned on the table lamp in his hand, and said, “I’ll help you pack.”
Lu Xingzhe curled up his lips, “This is a job for assistants.”
Xi Nian’s hair was messy, and when he looked at it, he had an indescribable sense of decadence and handsome. He lifted the hem of Lu Xingzhe’s clothes with his fingertips and glanced casually: “Which artist have you ever seen sleeping with an assistant?”
“Hey!” Lu Xingzhe stretched out his hand to cover it, but he was a little slow when he heard his words. He snapped his fingers again and started counting for him maliciously: “There are a lot! Do you know Cen Qiuming, the movie star with the most resources in movie theatres? He had an affair with his female assistant, and…”
Before he finished speaking, his mouth was covered by Xi Nian, and the latter gave him a half-smile, “You know quite a lot.”
Lu Xingzhe coughed twice in embarrassment but didn’t speak.
Xi Nian let go of him, and then stuffed the clothes into the suitcase: “Next time you talk so much, then you can pack it yourself.”
Anyway, he had never seen such an energetic person like Lu Xingzhe, he was alive and kicking every time he got in and out of bed like he didn’t know who he was insulting.7In case, this is a little confusing to understand. If Lu Xingzhe was so energetic after their passionate time, then that is an indirect insult to Xi Nian, because he was as sufficient as he should be.
Lu Xingzhe didn’t argue with him when he heard the words, he simply stopped, then sat on the sofa, and habitually shrunk up in a ball. Then, he unconsciously touched the hickey on his back with his fingertips, his tone was a little innocent in the dark night as he muttered, “What if it’s gone?”
Hearing this, Xi Nian looked at him, met his shining eyes, and was stunned for a second before realizing what Lu Xingzhe was saying. He suddenly felt that the person in front of him was a bit childish: “If it’s gone, I’ll make it up again.”
After Xi Nian finished speaking, he packed his suitcase and finally made sure nothing was missing, and said to Lu Xingzhe, “Go to bed early, you have to catch a plane tomorrow.”
Lu Xingzhe lay motionless on the sofa, with a sore back and waist. He bit his fingertips and then extended his hand to Xi Nian, and said, “Can you hug me?”
Xi Nian thought that this person hired was not an assistant, but a little ancestor.8“little ancestor,” often used when talking to a naughty kid or teenager He took a look at Lu Xingzhe, then walked to the sofa, leaned over, and hugged him. As usual, the breath on the lapel was light and faint, but it seemed to be a bit warmer than usual.
The person was still very light.
It was so light that each time Xi Nian as young as he was had saved up ten points of force, but he could only use seven points.
Lu Xingzhe’s chin rested on his shoulder, sharp and somewhat irritating, but the touch was also soft. Moreover, his hair accidentally brushed over his ears, causing a slight itching sensation.
During the short walk from the sofa to the bed, Xi Nian heard Lu Xingzhe say something in the dark, “Xi Nian, it would have been great if I wasn’t a paparazzi.”
Xi Nian paused, and then asked him, “If you hadn’t been paparazzi, what would you want to be?”
Lu Xingzhe leaned on his shoulders and said with a smile: “An investor, ah. Then I’ll let you play the leading role, also you could act in whatever you want.”
