RCQT Chapter 86

The bathroom was filled with mist, a thin veil of gauze covering the glass. Rong Jinghe stood in the partially open glass partition, his wet hair clinging to his face. Foam greedily adhered to his skin, accentuating a subtle and alluring sensuality in the chilly air. A droplet of water dripped from the showerhead, landing on his body and leaving a faint trace in the foam.

Subconsciously, Chu Qianze closed the door and remarked, “Why didn’t you lock the door while showering?”

“I did lock the door.” Influenced by the other’s casual attitude, Rong Jinghe followed the conversation off course. After saying this, he realized that something was amiss with the situation.

“How did I come in, then? Did I pick the lock?” Chu Qianze glanced back, and from here, it seemed like the door was locked.

He pressed the lock button again with his finger, then turned to Rong Jinghe, saying, “The door lock doesn’t seem to be very reliable.”

“Turn your face away.” Rong Jinghe’s expression soured; he wasn’t accustomed to being naked in front of others. At this moment, whoever had fewer clothes would be more embarrassed, especially considering he was practically undressed.

“Uh, sorry about that.”

Chu Qianze complied, staring at the door panel in front of him. “I’ll just wash my hands, it’s fine, I won’t look at you.”

Rong Jinghe initially wanted to refuse, but upon hearing the last sentence, he swallowed the words he was about to say. What Chu Qianze had just said seemed a bit melodramatic.

He turned his back, placing the shower gel bottle on a small table nearby.

“Wash your hands and then leave.”

“Of course, I’ll leave right after washing.” Chu Qianze wet his hands. He was about to turn around and speak, but halfway through, he thought about the current situation of the two of them and decided against it.

After closing the faucet, he took some hand soap from the nearby dispenser. Chu Qianze didn’t say anything; instead, he meticulously followed the standard procedure, washing from fingertips to palms and not neglecting the wrists.

Casting a brief glance towards Chu Qianze, Rong Jinghe furrowed his brows slightly. After hesitating for a moment, he opened the nearby showerhead valve, and hot water cascaded down, rinsing away all the foam from his body. It dispersed onto the floor, twirling into the nearby drain.

Chu Qianze, following his usual routine, lifted his head to glance in the mirror and was met with that scene. Before his awareness could react, his brain autonomously stored the image.

With facial muscles twitching, he averted his gaze, turned on the tap to rinse off the foam, and then promptly opened the door and left.

Upon hearing the door close, Rong Jinghe paused in his movements. He closed his eyes and let out a soft sigh.

Exiting the bathroom, Chu Qianze bent down to inspect the door lock. It seemed genuinely broken; even though it appeared to latch when locked, it wasn’t actually secure.

After confirming his suspicions, he didn’t dwell on it and went straight to his desk, grabbing a bag of chips. After a few bites, he began packing his belongings.

After a while, the bathroom door opened, then closed again. It seemed like Rong Jinghe was experimenting with the lock.

After toggling the switch about three times, he emerged from the bathroom. His gaze paused on Chu Qianze before he sat down at his own place.

This was a four-person room with two beds on each side. Chu Qianze and Rong Jinghe happened to be on the same side, meaning that when they slept, they either had to align head-to-foot or head-to-head, or their feet had to face each other.

“The lock is broken. I just tested it. It works sometimes, but other times it doesn’t,” Rong Jinghe said, pouring himself a glass of water.

He locked it three times, and only once did it actually secure.

“Yeah, let’s inform the staff later. It’s quite inconvenient this way,” Chu Qianze said, placing his cup on the side. Simultaneously, he picked up his clothes, completing the organization of his belongings.

Seated on a chair, he casually grabbed the nearby chips and offered them to Rong Jinghe, saying, “Want some?”

Rong Jinghe shook his head. “No, thanks.”

He wasn’t interested in snacks, and besides, they were high in calories, not conducive to maintaining a good physique. Opting for something more nutritious seemed like a better choice.

Seeing the rejection, Chu Qianze didn’t insist. Feeling the discomfort of the hard chair, he stood up and leaned against the table.

“What about the other two?” he asked.

Rong Jinghe replied, “They went out to get familiar with the surroundings.”

“Oh, I see,” Chu Qianze nodded in understanding.

The conversation came to an end, and silence filled the room.

Chu Qianze sealed the half-eaten chips, took out his phone, and prepared to surf the internet.

The last time he had a thorough internet session was yesterday in the car. After finishing the shoot this morning, he went straight back and rested, not spending much time on his phone.

At this moment, someone opened the door and entered the room.

Hong and Ye Lunguo walked in side by side, still engrossed in their conversation about what they had just seen. It seemed like they were having a good time.

When they spotted Chu Qianze, the two of them paused for a moment before approaching him.

“So, you’re our fourth roommate. Hello, I’m Hong, mainly studying rap.” Hong was a tall guy with a small bun tied at the back of his head, giving off a somewhat cool vibe.

“Hello, I’m Chu Qianze,” Chu Qianze replied with a smile.

“I watched your performance, wow, the first one to get an A, you’re really amazing,” Hong laughed heartily, his praise sounding particularly sincere.

“It’s just luck,” Chu Qianze downplayed, then shifted his gaze to the young man beside him.

Unlike his own attempt at acting cute yesterday, this was a genuine teenager. His face was full of collagen, with a single eyelid paired with a neat hairstyle and an overall clean and refined aura that easily garnered affection.

“Hello, I’m Ye Lunguo, currently leaning towards vocal because I’m not very good at dancing,” he said, scratching his head and appearing somewhat shy.

Chu Qianze exchanged greetings with everyone.

Hong couldn’t resist ruffling Ye Lunguo’s hair and then shifted his gaze to Rong Jinghe. “This is Brother Jinghe.”

Rong Jinghe nodded in acknowledgment.

Chu Qianze chuckled. “We just greeted each other a while ago.”

Hong nodded without continuing the conversation. “I went out with Ye Lunguo for a walk just now. The environment here is really fantastic, and the practice rooms are spacious, making us look forward to it.”

Hearing this, Chu Qianze became more interested and looked at the two of them. “Did you guys see that? I mean the cafeteria. How’s the food there?”

“The cafeteria?” Hong thought for a moment but couldn’t find relevant information, so he passed the question to Ye Lunguo. “Did you see it?”

“We were too focused on checking out the practice rooms; we didn’t notice where the cafeteria was,” Ye Lunguo lightly tapped his own head, feeling a bit negligent.

“You probably only looked at this part; the cafeteria is in another building, so not finding it is normal,” Rong Jinghe chimed in.

“The one on the opposite side?” Chu Qianze continued.

“Yes, that’s right. I checked it out when I arrived,” Rong Jinghe confirmed.

Just at that moment, a knocking sound came from the door.

Chu Qianze was closest to the door, so he stood up and went to open it.

It suddenly dawned on him that he would probably be doing this quite often in the future.

Outside the door stood several staff members, and behind them was the cameraman.

“May we come in now?” one of the staff members asked.

After glancing inside and seeing that the three people were ready, Chu Qianze turned back to the staff and smiled, saying, “Sure.”

He opened the door, making way for them.

The staff member said, “According to the program’s requirements, the use of electronic devices is not allowed during the filming period, and internet-connected devices are strictly prohibited. We hope everyone will hand them over.”

Seeing the girl behind him dragging a suitcase, Chu Qianze helped her bring it inside. However, right after placing the items down, he heard this message:

[Host, I can also connect to the internet. Should I go back too?]

‘…Are you serious?’

The four of them turned off their phones and handed them over.

Ye Lunguo noticed the staff member staring at his desk and looked up. “Is a gaming console not allowed either?”

“Yes, I’m sorry. Anything that can connect to the internet can’t be kept.”

As the gaming console was handed over, Ye Lunguo looked at it with reluctance. “Take good care of it.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll take good care of it. If you’re concerned, we can mail it to a specified location for you,” the staff member reassured.

Chu Qianze was packing his own laptop and overheard the conversation. He chimed in, “Free shipping?”

The staff member didn’t catch on immediately. “Uh… well, it depends on where it’s being sent. If it’s too far, there might be additional charges.”

Rong Jinghe couldn’t help but chuckle, and he cleared his throat to suppress the laughter.

Seeing everyone’s attention on him, Chu Qianze shrugged. “Just a joke.”

With that, he handed his laptop to the person next to him.

“By the way, snacks also need to be turned in,” the staff member added, noticing items on Chu Qianze’s table.

Chu Qianze felt a slight pang in his heart.

“If you need anything, you can get it from the cafeteria. We have food available 24/7. Don’t worry; we’ll take good care of your belongings,” the staff member assured.

Only items from the investors could appear in the video. Things brought by Chu Qianze were not allowed to be seen. To prevent any accidents, they had to address the issue at the source.

Chu Qianze packed up all the snacks he brought and handed them over. “You don’t need to keep them; they’re not anything valuable. Just share them among yourselves.”

“Alright, thank you,” the staff member said as they received the snacks.

The girl then took out pre-prepared clothes from her suitcase and handed them to the four.

Chu Qianze received his, consisting of a formal suit and sportswear, seemingly for official occasions and training. Each type had three sets, probably for changing.

“These are your class uniforms. It’s currently six o’clock; please head to the public practice room by seven,” the staff member informed them.

“Our bathroom door lock is broken. Can someone come and fix it?” Rong Jinghe spoke up.

“The bathroom? We’ll send someone to take a look later.” After confirming there were no other issues, the staff members left.

Looking at the now half-empty cabinet, Chu Qianze sighed. “I’m going to grab a meal. What about you guys?”

“Although I’d love to, I’ve gained weight recently, so I need to lose some,” Hong revealed, displaying a world-weary understanding of life.

“I’m not hungry right now,” Ye Lunguo said.

Rong Jinghe roughly estimated the size, confirmed that it would fit him, and then spread out and neatly folded the clothes. “I’m going to the practice room, so I won’t join you.”

After saying this, he picked up the bag beside him and left.

Ye Lunguo put on the training suit, stood in front of the mirror, and turned around. “Brother Jinghe is so dedicated. I saw him running in the afternoon, and now he’s heading to practice.”

Chu Qianze asked, “All afternoon?”

He’s really full of energy.

“I’m not sure about that. I came around three, and Brother Jinghe was already running by then.” Ye Lunguo struck a few poses in front of the mirror to confirm the feel.

“I’m going to grab a meal. See you later,” Chu Qianze waved to the two and took the door on his way out.

Indeed, as the staff member had mentioned, the cafeteria offered a diverse array of food. Essentially, anything one could think of could be found here.

If he didn’t have dance practice later, Chu Qianze estimated that he could taste everything. Although he restrained himself a bit, he still ate quite a bit.

Considering the risk of indigestion, he decided to take a leisurely walk to aid digestion and familiarize himself with the nearby surroundings. As he strolled, he arrived at the practice room for Class A.

The theme song of the program reached his ears, and Chu Qianze peered inside. Rong Jinghe was facing the mirror, humming along with the original singer, synchronizing his steps with the beat.

“Come with me, sailing towards our dreams.”

Turn, lift the hand, send the hip, twist the waist.

Finish.

Taking a short break, Rong Jinghe watched the video of the just-performed dance. He felt that his movements were a bit awkward, lacking the desired feeling. However, he couldn’t pinpoint the issue.

He adjusted his expression.

After practicing the dance again, he returned to his dorm to change clothes.

Chu Qianze walked down the hallway, tapping out the beat with curved fingers, lifting his leg and making a leap, spanning three steps.

‘System, play the original song again.’

[Host, haven’t you already learned it?]

Perfectly mimicking the original.

Chu Qianze combed the loose strands of hair on his forehead backward, remained silent for a moment, and then smiled. ‘Just suddenly wanted to listen to it again.’

 

 

 

---

Support me on ko-fi ʚ(´꒳`)ɞ