Soon it was the weekend again, and the second episode of the variety show officially went online.
Xiao Can was in a hotel, eating a boxed meal and watching alone.
Not long after the show started, he received a message from He Xingzhou.
“Are you watching?”
They hadn’t been in contact at all these days. Xiao Can missed him a little, but stubbornly refused to take the initiative to contact him. He resented He Xingzhou for not caring about him, but had to admit that he didn’t actually hold any resentment.
He thought, if He Xingzhou had even a little bit of liking for him, he would definitely not be able to resist coming to talk to him.
Seeing He Xingzhou’s name on the screen at this moment, Xiao Can’s mood suddenly became bright. He picked up his phone, but secretly grumbled to himself.
He felt he shouldn’t reply too quickly, it would seem very unreserved, he should leave He Xingzhou hanging for a while.
After that, he picked up and put down his phone three more times, holding back for about a minute and a half, before finally being unable to resist opening the chat box.
After careful consideration, he replied with a pretense.
“Okay.”
Just as he pressed send, He Xingzhou’s phone call came through.
Xiao Can’s hand trembled as he answered.
“Hello?” He Xingzhou greeted him very proactively, then asked, “Watching together?”
“What, are you afraid of being lonely?” Xiao Can pretended, “You need company to watch a variety show.”
“Inconvenient?” He Xingzhou said, “Forget it then.”
Xiao Can hastily tried to salvage the situation, “No, it’s… I’m alone.”
“Your roommate isn’t there?” He Xingzhou asked.
“I’m in a hotel,” Xiao Can said, “For the Bai Tao event, in City C.”
Cai Yawen was actually with him, but she was staying in the next room.
“Oh? Which hotel?”
Xiao Can was stunned, “You’re not in City C too, are you?”
“No, I’m at home,” He Xingzhou said.
Xiao Can’s excitement quickly dissipated, feeling speechless, “Then why did you sound so excited with the ‘oh’? I thought you might come over.”
“I could, you know,” He Xingzhou said, “I’ll check the earliest flight.”
“Wait!” Xiao Can chuckled, “I’m leaving early tomorrow morning!”
“Oh.”
“Besides, what would I need you for…” Xiao Can grumbled, “If someone saw us together, it would be hard to explain.”
“You’re coming back tomorrow?” He Xingzhou asked.
“No, I have to go somewhere else,” Xiao Can said, “For an audition.”
“A movie?”
“I wish,” Xiao Can laughed, “It’s a web series.”
“And you’re the lead?”
“A supporting role,” Xiao Can said, “But one of the more important ones.”
“You’re not picky,” He Xingzhou remarked.
“What’s there to be picky about? They might not even want me,” Xiao Can sighed, “I have no experience at all, I don’t even know if I’m capable.”
“You are, I think you can act,” He Xingzhou said.
“What do you mean?” Xiao Can asked, not pleased.
“Look!” He Xingzhou said, “Isn’t this one currently airing acting very well?”
On the TV screen, Xiao Can was striking a mysterious pose with a golden egg.
The show gave him a lot of close-ups, fully capturing his enigmatic smile.
The scene quickly cut to Tan Zhen’s interview.
Tan Zhen looked sincerely at the camera, his eyes clear, “Xiao Can wouldn’t lie to me, right? I definitely trust him!”
He Xingzhou’s laughter came through Xiao Can’s phone.
“He was so annoyed when he found out he was being fooled that night,” Xiao Can also laughed, “I had to coax him for quite a while.”
“Oh?” He Xingzhou was very interested, “How did you coax him?”
“Just… apologized and admitted fault, and then acted cute…”
It felt natural to do it in front of Tan Zhen, but now, just retelling it to He Xingzhou, he was starting to feel embarrassed.
After hearing it, He Xingzhou fell into a strange silence.
“Hello?” Xiao Can thought the signal had dropped.
“…How do you act cute?” He Xingzhou asked.
“Why do you want to know in such detail? Do you want to learn?”
“Just asking casually,” He Xingzhou said, “I’ve never seen it, I’m quite curious.”
“Boring.”
“You can act cute too?” He Xingzhou was amused, “I can’t imagine it at all.”
“I definitely wouldn’t do it in front of you!” Xiao Can said.
“Why not?” He Xingzhou asked.
That question was strange, leaving Xiao Can speechless.
He remained silent, and He Xingzhou sighed, saying, “Because… you still dislike me a lot?”
“What an idiot,” Xiao Can thought.
Why would anyone willingly have relations with someone they disliked? Even if it was out of necessity, their conversations now were voluntary. If he truly felt repulsed, Xiao Can would have found an excuse to brush him off long ago. Why would he chat about these meaningless topics and enjoy it?
“I used to dislike you… but, but the shrimp cakes tasted good last time,” he told He Xingzhou, “So I’ll give you a few extra points.”
He Xingzhou was stunned for a few seconds, then sounded very pleased when he spoke again, “So it’s that easy to earn points? What else do you want to eat?”
“Why are you trying to accumulate so many points with me?” Xiao Can felt hopeful and deliberately asked.
“Don’t you find our relationship strange?” He Xingzhou said.
Xiao Can also felt that way, but he had to say the opposite, “Is it?”
“Are we friends?” He Xingzhou asked.
Xiao Can nervously said, “Yes, yes.”
He Xingzhou continued, “Friends who have had sex, isn’t that…”
“Ew!” Xiao Can interrupted him, “Special circumstances, don’t generalize like that!”
“But it still feels a bit awkward,” He Xingzhou said, “If you don’t dislike me anymore, then why don’t we just…”
“…just what?”
“Be together,” He Xingzhou said.
Xiao Can felt dizzy for a moment, unable to speak.
Seeing him not responding, He Xingzhou took a deep breath and continued, “You probably don’t have anyone you like, right? Let’s give it a try, maybe we’ll find out—”
Midway through his sentence, Xiao Can suddenly woke up, interrupting, “What try? I won’t settle for just anyone.”
“…”
“Not being in a relationship and not having someone to love won’t kill me, so why settle?” Xiao Can questioned.
“Do you have someone you like?” He Xingzhou asked.
Xiao Can replied unusually loudly, “It’s none of your business!”
“Oh,” He Xingzhou said, “I was just casually mentioning it, if it’s not possible, it’s not possible, I won’t force you… Why are you so worked up?”
“This isn’t something to be taken lightly,” Xiao Can was genuinely upset, “I hate people like you who treat emotions like child’s play.”
“How am I…”
“Actually, you just want to sleep with me again, right?” Xiao Can blurted out, shocking.
“Why would you think that?!”
“Then honestly tell me, do you want to or not?” Xiao Can’s words came out rapidly, “If I agree to be with you right now, then go to your place, have dinner, take a shower, and lie down on your bed, do you want to do something with me?”
He Xingzhou took in a sharp breath, “So specific?”
“Do you want to?” Xiao Can pursued, “I’m lying down right now, do you want to?”
“It’s not… you, you should get up first and put on your clothes…” He Xingzhou was nervous.
“I didn’t take them off! I never said I did!” Xiao Can snapped, “You’re already fantasizing, and you still want to argue?”
He Xingzhou’s voice was dry, “After all, I’m also a normal Alpha…”
“You pervert!” Xiao Can cursed.
He Xingzhou fell silent.
“Do you have anything else to argue about?” Xiao Can asked.
“I suddenly remembered something,” He Xingzhou said, “That day, I got drunk and woke up to find… um, you were also cursing at me.”
Xiao Can blinked twice.
“But that was clearly your doing,” He Xingzhou seemed to catch on, “Now you’re suddenly throwing a tantrum for no reason, it’s hard not to make connections.”
“W-what do you mean?”
“It makes people suspect if you’re trying to cover something up,” He Xingzhou said.
Xiao Can’s heart skipped a beat.
Covering up what?
Was he covering up his own eagerness for He Xingzhou’s suggestion, yet unwilling to settle for just “making do”, so he was causing trouble unreasonably, seizing on any excuse?
He hoped He Xingzhou would also like him, genuinely wanting to have a romantic relationship with him.
If there were other feelings mixed in, he would rather not.
But who would like someone with such unstable emotions and a bad temper?
Xiao Can sniffed, “No, I just have hyperthyroidism.”
“Huh?” He Xingzhou was surprised.
“I won’t say anymore, I’m eating. I’m hanging up.”
He finished speaking and immediately ended the call, tossing the phone aside.
About ten seconds later, the phone vibrated. Xiao Can endured for a while but ultimately picked up the phone again.
It was indeed a message from He Xingzhou.
—”Is it true? Have you seen a doctor about it?”
Xiao Can replied.
—”As long as you’re not mad at me, it’s fine.”
He Xingzhou quickly replied again.
—”Is it really true? Don’t scare me.”
Xiao Can ignored him.
After the program aired that night, there was another lively scene on the hot search.
Xiao Can glanced briefly at it. Most of them were obviously orchestrated by the program team, with high click rates, but due to the lack of controversy, the hype quickly died down.
There were some people who didn’t like him, attacking him, saying he was hypocritical and pretentious, clearly a scheming person.
One person analyzed him thoroughly, concluding that they had a moral aversion and would definitely stay away from such people in real life, and received dozens of likes.
A fan of Xiao Can replied, “Don’t worry, you won’t encounter him in real life.”
This comment sparked a series of attacks. Some said, “He can’t even handle a bit of criticism before becoming famous,” while others said, “People who like him must have low standards in real life.”
A few like-minded critics affirmed each other, praising each other for having “good values” and “strong morals,” receiving strong spiritual satisfaction.
But this was ultimately a very small number.
The vast majority of people who mentioned Xiao Can praised his beauty and agility, saying he was clever and adorable. His fans took advantage of this, praising him not only for his outstanding appearance but also for being intelligent, well-rounded, hardworking, and down-to-earth, truly a positive influence in the entertainment industry.
Xiao Can’s comment section was filled with a large number of fresh emojis and various filtered, airbrushed photos, making him laugh and cry.
Surprisingly, some people specifically went to share with He Xingzhou. Opening He Xingzhou’s comment section, you could see many screenshots of Xiao Can’s expressions.
But He Xingzhou, who had been happily engaging with everyone just last week, was very silent this time, not replying to a single comment, very quiet.
Putting down his phone and disconnecting from the internet, Xiao Can didn’t feel much turbulence in his heart.
When He Xingzhou retweeted his video initially, he thought that was the peak of his lifetime’s popularity, but unexpectedly, afterwards, there were all sorts of things happening, and he had actually been on an upward trend all along.
If the audition tomorrow goes smoothly, his career will have a new expansion.
This was already quite satisfactory.
Even though he realized his feelings for He Xingzhou, Xiao Can still felt that love wasn’t a necessity.
The next day, after getting off the plane and rushing to the audition venue, Xiao Can belatedly realized that the so-called audition only had a few participants, mostly relatively unknown actors vying for supporting roles.
The director called him over mainly just to go through the motions, wanting to meet him face-to-face to get to know him better, but it was basically a done deal.
At first, he was a bit nervous during the performance, but he quickly got into the rhythm and received good feedback.
On the way back, he was ecstatic and couldn’t wait to share the good news with Mu Nianwen and Tan Zhen.
Tan Zhen called him back, eagerly asking when this show would start airing.
“It hasn’t been filmed yet,” Xiao Can laughed, “And it’s just a verbal intention, we’ll know the specifics when we negotiate the contract.”
“What about the script? Did you get it?” Tan Zhen asked.
“There’s a first draft,” Xiao Can said, “My character’s setting is really good, I feel like anyone who plays it will shine.”
For the audition, he had specially gone to see the original work.
The character he was going to play in the story was described as a supporting role, but with almost as much screen time as the two main characters. He was portrayed as an extraordinarily beautiful Omega, initially naive and inexperienced, but actually strong-willed and loyal, willingly sacrificing himself for the protagonist without complaint, and ultimately meeting a tragic end.
Very standard: beautiful, strong, and tragic.
If the makeup and acting were passable, he could very well overshadow the main characters.
After hearing this, Tan Zhen became even more excited, “It suits you so well! They really have a good eye for choosing you!”
“It’s not certain yet, just saying there’s a good chance,” Xiao Can modestly replied.
“Oh, by the way,” Tan Zhen suddenly changed the subject, “Have you been in contact with He Xingzhou recently?”
Xiao Can immediately tensed up, “Huh? Why bring him up all of a sudden?”
“He’s been quiet, probably didn’t watch that surveillance video,” Tan Zhen lowered his voice, speaking cautiously, “I guess we’ve dodged a bullet this time?”
“Um…” Xiao Can felt awkward, not knowing where to start.
Since returning from He Xingzhou’s place, he had been incredibly busy and hadn’t had a chance to tell Tan Zhen the outcome yet.
Tan Zhen keenly picked up on his hesitation, “Is there something going on?”
“…He watched it,” Xiao Can said, “Didn’t go out of his way, but the police over there sent him the video.”
“Oh!” Tan Zhen became nervous.
“But… it’s all okay now,” Xiao Can downplayed it, “I talked to him, he said he won’t hold it against you.”
“Everything’s okay now? That easy?” Tan Zhen found it hard to believe, “He didn’t even tell me?”
“But you still need to apologize sincerely,” Xiao Can reminded him, “I think he’s a bit bothered by it.”
“I understand, but…” Tan Zhen hesitated.
“What?”
“Does he know it was you who he slept with back then?” Tan Zhen asked, “Didn’t he react to it?”
“Just… just like he did with you at first,” Xiao Can said, “I didn’t agree.”
“And then he just gave up?”
“What else could he do?” Xiao Can said, “I didn’t want to, could he still force me?”
He didn’t intend to tell Tan Zhen the truth about the marking incident.
Firstly, they hadn’t known each other for long enough to be as open as he was with Mu Nianwen. Secondly, he was afraid Tan Zhen would go crazy upon hearing it and start planning their wedding on the spot.
“Hasn’t he confessed to you?” Tan Zhen said, “Whether you accept or not is one thing, but he should still try!”
“What are you talking about? He’s just offering compensation, not actually trying to pursue me,” Xiao Can said.
Tan Zhen thought for a moment, “Is it because we haven’t officially announced our breakup that he’s hesitant?”
“Don’t be impulsive! Don’t you think you’ve been criticized enough recently?” Xiao Can hurriedly cautioned him, “What could he possibly be hesitant about? His social skills are so low, he doesn’t even have the ability to hesitate.”
“Mm,” Tan Zhen responded vaguely, sounding a bit unconvinced.
Xiao Can wanted to say more but was interrupted by him.
“I’ll do some probing, talk to you later tonight!” Tan Zhen said, “Bye! Waiting for your good news!”
“Wait—”
Xiao Can was cut off mid-sentence as the call ended.
