RCQT Chapter 96

The bus swayed back and forth, with occasional whispers among the students. Chu Qianze couldn’t sleep at all; he simply closed his eyes to rest.

It must be said that, with the body swaying along with the bus, it was a different kind of relaxation.

Suddenly, the bus turned, causing the body to shift outward. However, feeling both hungry and tired, he didn’t want to move at all. Finally, just as he was about to fall out, Chu Qianze prepared to adjust himself. Suddenly, his arm was grabbed, and he toppled backward.

The next moment, his chin rested on the shoulder of Rong Jinghe.

Well.

Chu Qianze considered whether to wake up naturally, but after contemplating for about half a second, he gave up. After opening his eyes, speaking, moving himself over, and going through a series of activities… he decided to let it be.

With determination, he controlled his breathing, started seriously brewing the desire to sleep, and made an effort to transition from feigned sleep to genuine slumber.

Before he could even meet the Sandman, he felt his head grow heavy.

Opening his eyes, he discovered that Rong Jinghe had leaned against and dozed off. The light cast shadows on his eyelashes as they fell.

To be able to sleep like this, it seemed he was genuinely tired.

Chu Qianze sighed inwardly, lifting his hand to shield Rong Jinghe’s face. He slowly sat upright, allowing him to lean against his shoulder.

The bus arrived at the entrance of the apartment complex, leisurely making its way inside.

Realizing they had reached their destination, Chu Qianze nudged the person next to him, saying, “Wake up, we’re here.”

Rong Jinghe responded with a murmur, opening his eyes, but his mind still felt a bit fuzzy.

How did… How did he end up leaning on Chu Qianze like this?

“Have we arrived?” he asked, a beat behind.

Rong Jinghe moved away from Chu Qianze’s shoulder, rubbed his eyes, and glanced around. Most of the people in front had already disembarked.

How did he manage to fall asleep? Truly…

Chu Qianze bent down and stood up, heading towards the aisle. “Let’s go.”

Following by lowering their heads, Rong Jinghe took a slow half step forward along with the others.

As soon as they got off, they saw Hong standing on the steps.

Seeing Chu Qianze and Rong Jinghe getting off, Hong quickly approached, “Just waiting for you two! Hurry up, quite a few people are eager to grab a chance to eat hot pot! Ye Lunguo has already gone to secure a table.”

“The two of you were fantastic in the performance this time. I was mesmerized even in the green room! Wow, you guys are really amazing! I wonder how you’ll perform together.” Hong walked ahead, talking as they walked.

“I’m serious, you two should team up for a performance next time. A powerful collaboration, it would be absolutely explosive! It’s sure to attract a lot of attention!”

“It’s not something you can just decide, we have to follow the program’s arrangement,” Chu Qianze said with a yawn.

“Brother Chu, are you tired?” Hong asked.

Upon hearing the question, Chu Qianze paused, pondered for a moment, and then said, “Not really, just a bit. The wind just made me feel like yawning.”

“Let me tell you, I was really dozing off on the bus, almost passed out, and then I woke up as soon as we got off. Now I’m full of energy!” Hong chuckled.

Rong Jinghe walked beside them, listening to their conversation with a thoughtful expression.

Entering the cafeteria, Ye Lunguo had secured a table for four. Seeing them arrive, he stood up and waved, as if afraid they wouldn’t notice.

“Over here!”

“You finally made it.” Ye Lunguo sighed in relief as the three approached.

Just a while ago, several people had come wanting the four-person table, asking if they could go to another table. Although he refused, he still felt a bit embarrassed. It seemed he needed more experience; his face was too thin.

“It’s not my fault. These two are too slow. Almost everyone had left the bus when I finally saw them,” Hong said with a grin.

Hong took a seat across from Ye Lunguo. “Have you ordered yet?”

“Not yet, waiting for you all to arrive so we can order together,” Ye Lunguo replied.

“Let’s order then. I’m really starving,” Hong said.

Chu Qianze sat next to Hong, picked up the menu from the table, and asked, “What do you want to eat? Noodles, vegetarian dishes, seafood? I’ll have a plate of shrimp balls.”

“Mushrooms, lettuce, potatoes, wood ear fungus, pork, beef, lamb, and a large ham – we can’t miss any of these!” Hong emphasized.

Chu Qianze nodded, “Okay, I’ll check all of those for you. Since you ordered, you’ll be responsible for finishing everything later.”

“Of course!” Hong was confident in his appetite.

Chu Qianze continued flipping through the menu, “What about you, Jinghe? What do you want to eat?”

Rong Jinghe replied, “Purple sweet potatoes, bean sprouts, mountain taro balls, and a plate of duck blood.”

“Got it,” Chu Qianze confirmed.

After ticking off items for everyone, Chu Qianze estimated what he wanted to eat. Once all four had gone through their selections, he handed the menu over, saying, “Shouldn’t be missing anything, take a look to see if there’s anything else you want.”

The menu was submitted, and in no time, the hot pot arrived. The staff skillfully brought the prepared dishes to the table through the window. The four started cooking and enjoying the hot pot.

Hong, who had been waiting eagerly, immediately scooped a ladle of food into his bowl. At the moment he took a bite, tears of emotion welled up in his eyes.

“Mmm, so good!” he exclaimed.

Chu Qianze chuckled, “Quite the character.”

“If you’re so capable, don’t eat so quickly!” Hong retorted.

“This is my normal speed.”

When the mountain taro balls were ready, Chu Qianze used a ladle to serve two for Rong Jinghe. “Try them.”

“Hmm, you should eat too.” Rong Jinghe picked up his bowl and began eating slowly.

Back in the dormitory, after everyone finished washing up, they each returned to their respective beds.

“It’s amazing, the food today was truly amazing,” Hong suddenly sighed.

“You’re not asleep yet?” Chu Qianze spoke up.

“Holding out until I can’t stay awake,” Hong replied.

“What are you up to, Brother Chu? Why aren’t you sleeping either?”

Chu Qianze casually replied, “Just bored, lying down and daydreaming.”

Considering the other two were still asleep, they didn’t continue chatting, maintaining the valuable silence.

Chu Qianze suddenly remembered that he hadn’t watched the second episode of the program. Due to the arrangements for team training, he had forgotten to catch up. Now that he had some free time, he decided to pass it by watching the show.

Summoning the system, he brought up the screen and selected to play the second episode of “Debut, Trainees!”

Combining the program with 2x speed made it more efficient.

Skipping through a few scenes, he fast-forwarded and stopped at a particular moment.

This was the interview segment featuring the trainees.

On the screen, after answering a few questions, Rong Jinghe was asked about his thoughts on his roommates, followed by a question about his opinion on Chu Qianze.

“He’s a very talented person, excellent in both singing and dancing. After spending time with him, I’ve found that he’s actually a very nice person.”

The interviewer asked, “A very nice person?”

“Yes, during the practice sessions, he has helped us a lot,” Rong Jinghe smiled.

The interviewer asked, “With such a contestant beside you, do you feel pressure?”

Rong Jinghe responded, “There’s definitely pressure, but more than that, it’s motivation. He’s a fantastic competitor.”

The scene then shifted to Ye Lunguo.

Paused.

Chu Qianze dragged the progress bar back, replaying Rong Jinghe’s segment. It seemed like he wanted to say something more, taking a breath as if preparing to continue, but the subsequent part was edited out.

After Rong Jinghe finished speaking, the scene shifted to Ye Lunguo.

“I actually hadn’t learned dance before. My basic skills were the weakest in the class, and I learned very slowly. When I danced the theme dance before, it looked weird. Later, Chu Qianze helped me adjust my moves and corrected mistakes.”

The interviewer asked another question.

“Yes, I’m really grateful to him,” Ye Lunguo added.

Rong Jinghe, Ye Lunxuan, and Hong, in the edited-out portions of the questions from Class A, all mentioned Chu Qianze, stating that they received help from him during the practice.

It seemed like not long after the rankings were announced, these people… probably thought I was more of a threat at that time and wanted to boost their presence by mentioning me here.

A slight smirk appeared on Chu Qianze’s lips. He continued fast-forwarding, starting to watch the rest of the content.

One couldn’t deny that the editing was well done, with good pacing and effective special effects. However—

In the later part, there was a slight emphasis on the competition between Chu Qianze and Rong Jinghe, highlighting the content related to their rivalry for the first place.

In the first episode, Chu Qianze expressed his desire to claim the top spot while sitting in the last row, but Rong Jinghe directly claimed the first-place throne.

In this episode, they danced to the same theme song, the same track “Little Cutie.” Even during the performance, they were in opposing groups, intensifying the rivalry.

Feeling a bit annoyed, Chu Qianze closed the program, minimized the screen, and then laid his pillow flat.

Time for sleep.

So, what did Rong Jinghe say afterward?

Ah, I want to know.

As soon as the morning light appeared, Chu Qianze sat up from his bed, ran his fingers through his hair, and looked down. Indeed, Rong Jinghe had already picked up his shoulder bag, ready to go out for training.

“Hey, wait a moment,” Chu Qianze called out.

Rong Jinghe looked up, a bit puzzled. “What’s up?”

“You woke up really early today; are you heading to training now?” Chu Qianze said as he climbed down from the bunk, immediately rummaging through the wardrobe to find some clothes.

“Yeah, woke up a bit earlier,” Rong Jinghe replied, taking out a fresh towel and tying it around his wrist.

“I’m going to train too; wait for me three minutes.” Dressed, Chu Qianze headed straight for the bathroom.

Seeing the other entering, Rong Jinghe hesitated for a moment before saying, “Alright.”

Exiting the bathroom, Chu Qianze wiped the water off his face with his hand, picked up a cup, poured some lukewarm water, and gulped it down in one go.

“Let’s go.”

While jogging, Chu Qianze ran alongside. Every time Rong Jinghe turned to look, Chu Qianze would meet his gaze and then flash a cheerful smile.

Turning away, Rong Jinghe felt a bit inexplicable, but he continued running with steady breaths.

During stretching.

After finishing a set of stretches, Rong Jinghe lowered his leg and saw Chu Qianze leaning on the railing, chin resting on his elbow, staring at him, looking thoughtful.

When he noticed Rong Jinghe looking back at him, Chu Qianze gave a delayed smile.

“…”

During breakfast.

After finishing an egg, Rong Jinghe picked up the soy milk, took a sip, and sighed, “If you have something to say, just say it.”

From leaving until now, it had been two full hours of this.

Can’t both of them just admit defeat?

“Then I’ll be straightforward,” Chu Qianze propped his elbows on the table, showing a somewhat embarrassed expression, “Since last night, I’ve been curious about one thing.”

“Hmm?”

“After the first rankings were announced, there was an interview, right?”

Rong Jinghe nodded, waiting for the continuation.

“During that interview in the room, did you guys talk about me?”

“Yes, we did.”

“What did you talk about?” Chu Qianze was intensely curious.

The action of sipping soy milk paused, and after a moment of contemplation, Rong Jinghe said, “It’s been too long; I forgot.”

Contradictions in your story.

Feeling the teasing gaze from the other, Chu Qianze playfully shook Rong Jinghe’s shoulders. “Come on, try to remember! Quickly!”

Rong Jinghe swayed back and forth with the force, tilting his head up and down. “I can’t remember.”

How could he possibly reveal such a thing?

 

 

 

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