A moment of silence made all the trainees present feel a chill creeping up from their feet.
“Don’t joke around. Someone knocked on the door; how could there be no one?” Ding Zhaozhao, with a bit more courage, pushed through to the door, holding his camera, and stepped outside.
He peered around at the door but saw only darkness, as if there was an impenetrable fog, making it impossible to see if anyone was there.
Ding Zhaozhao shouted outside, “Who knocked on the door? Stop fooling around!”
One of the trainees from the same group suggested, “Could it be one of the staff members?”
Ding Zhaozhao found this answer acceptable, “Certainly, it must be. The corridor also has no power. The whole building probably had a power outage.”
“That’s not surprising at all. With such heavy rain and thunder today, it’s bound to happen,” their group leader explained. “I bet some staff members are checking the circuit breakers right now.”
This was their fourth group configuration since the fight incident, and neither Jiang Qiao nor Lu Qing were in their group. After the brawl, the production team had intentionally separated them.
The group leader, Alan, was organized, had excellent singing skills, and had chosen Chu Ruochun voluntarily.
Alan’s words had a calming effect. Everyone had been startled by Chu Ruochun earlier, but now they started to become active again. Who would have thought that someone who usually kept to himself would suddenly make a joke? It must have been a joke.
Ding Zhaozhao went along with it, “Then let’s wait in the training room. With the power outage and heavy rain, there’s nowhere else to go.”
Meanwhile, in the live broadcast room, there were different voices.
— Rain? I remember 991 is in the Nanbin District of Jingzhou. I live in the suburbs too, but it’s not raining here.
— Plus, it’s only 4 o’clock in the afternoon, and the sky is still quite bright.
— I opened the weather app on my phone, and it didn’t show any rain in the Nanbin District of Jingzhou. The weather forecast today is sunny.
— That means 991’s training camp is not in Jingzhou.
— That makes sense. It’s impossible for it to be raining and thundering in one area while we can’t hear anything.
These discussions about the weather quickly disappeared from the barrage.
Unable to return to their dormitories and unable to continue practicing, the hallway outside was pitch black. In just a few minutes, it had gone from a misty fog to complete darkness. No one dared to wander around, so they all returned to the training room.
Alan tried calling the director of the show, but no one answered for a long time. They weren’t sure what was going on, but they all believed that someone would handle it, so they didn’t worry about it.
Chu Ruochun specifically closed the door and reminded everyone, “No matter who knocks on the door later, don’t open it casually.”
However, it seemed that nobody listened to him. Instead, they all gathered in a circle, focusing their attention on the live broadcast.
Ding Zhaozhao was more inclined to liven up the atmosphere, “Since we can’t train, how about turning this into a fan Q&A session? Fans can ask each of us two questions, and we can answer. What do you think?”
Everyone was eager to try this, as it offered more exposure than just appearing briefly in behind-the-scenes footage.
“Alright, let’s start now, beginning from my left.” Ding Zhaozhao pointed to the trainee next to him, who had been his roommate before, and they had a good relationship.
Alan saved the seat next to him for Chu Ruochun, saying, “You can sit here.”
Chu Ruochun didn’t refuse.
The trainees began answering the questions asked by fans in the live chat, and the atmosphere became quite lively for a while.
There were eight people in one group, plus Ding Zhaozhao, making nine people in the training room. It was quick to rotate and answer questions.
Soon, it was Alan’s turn. He ranked high in popularity, and as soon as he appeared, the live chat was filled with his fans. A fan asked about his requirements for a future girlfriend, and he answered with a smile, being quite diplomatic – it was evident he had been trained by the company.
Next up was Chu Ruochun.
Everyone got excited, and Ding Zhaozhao pretended not to know about Chu Ruochun being used as a scapegoat by the company. As soon as Alan’s Q&A session ended, he immediately turned the camera toward Chu Ruochun.
Ding Zhaozhao acted like he knew nothing, raising his eyebrows innocently and asked, “Now it’s Ruochun’s turn. Do our dear fans have any questions for him?”
Chu Ruochun could hear the excitement in their voices.
In Alan’s group, besides Alan himself, Chu Ruochun had high popularity. Moreover, he had just trended recently, making it difficult for the show’s fans not to know him!
In the live chat, as soon as Chu Ruochun showed his face, several comments popped up, criticizing him.
While criticizing him, they didn’t forget to admire his appearance.
The person being criticized remained surprisingly calm. He brushed his forehead’s hair upward, revealing a smooth and radiant forehead. His eyes, full of collagen, gazed gently at the barrage scrolling rapidly. There was a hint of curiosity in his beautiful eyes.
Even though the barrage was scrolling quickly, he still managed to capture all the content.
The questions were chosen by Ding Zhaozhao, who leaned in and took a photo of the screen with his phone. From the frozen image, he selected two questions.
“These were just taken, no hiding. Let’s hear the questions.” He showed the photo to Chu Ruochun and inexplicably felt a bit guilty as he said, “A fan asked, ‘Why did you fight with Lu Qing?'”
Chu Ruochun calmly replied, “I didn’t fight with Lu Qing.”
Ding Zhaozhao, tending to the content on the screen, asked, “You said you didn’t fight with Lu Qing. Do you have any evidence?”
Chu Ruochun propped up his chin in front of the camera, raised an eyebrow slightly, glanced at the wristwatch on his wrist, and smiled as if basking in the spring breeze, “In three minutes, the evidence will reveal itself.”
As soon as he finished speaking, a new round of mockery began in the barrage.
— Are you daydreaming here?
— Trust you? I must be an idiot!
— With a power outage like this, are you foolish enough to come here and prove you didn’t hit someone in three minutes?
— Daydreaming, huh? You’ve already admitted to the assault, and now you want to whitewash yourself!
— Chu Ruochun, withdraw!
Ding Zhaozhao immediately turned the camera to the trainee below, as for the barrage, it could be ignored.
The other trainees who had already been questioned weren’t bothered by Chu Ruochun’s statement that evidence would appear in three minutes. They chatted if they wanted to, and rested if they wanted to.
Although the trainees didn’t care about Chu Ruochun’s words, the fans did. The trainees who followed him in the Q&A session couldn’t chat for even a minute. The barrage was full of insults towards Chu Ruochun. Some were even waiting for the three minutes to pass so they could continue mocking him, saying that he was like a locust jumping around in late autumn.
However, there were some discordant voices in the mix. Some fans actually found Chu Ruochun attractive and thought his posture, with his legs crossed and his chin propped up, was elegant. Others didn’t appreciate these comments, and the two sides started arguing, with one side questioning the so-called elegance and suggesting it was just an act.
Alan was aware of the animosity between Lu Qing and Jiang Qiao. He had some sympathy for Chu Ruochun and whispered, “You don’t need to offend the fans.”
Chu Ruochun repeated, “Offend?” He didn’t care about these online users.
However, these online users were indeed easy to manipulate. With a little provocation, their emotions would surge, and they could be easily led astray. They could be someone else’s weapon at any moment or elevate someone to stardom at any time. It could be said that they were a double-edged sword.
“You still have to continue competing later. It’s best not to antagonize them. It won’t benefit you.” Thinking about how even Qingju Company had given up on Chu Ruochun, Alan’s voice lowered. He saw that Chu Ruochun seemed to be paying no attention at all and sighed inwardly.
Before Alan could finish sighing, the door of the training room was suddenly knocked heavily, and the knocking was urgent.
“Open the door! Open the door! Please open the door! Help!”
Before the trainees could react, Chu Ruochun was already standing by the door, but he didn’t open it.
He knew who was outside; it was the trainee who had witnessed the fight between Lu Qing and Jiang Qiao in the restroom that day.
Ding Zhaozhao sensed the surge in viewership, and he turned the camera towards Chu Ruochun.
Wanting to speak, Chu Ruochun placed his index finger on his lips and made a “shh” gesture.
Some trainees reacted:
“Is it really three minutes?”
“It seems like it.”
“Just a coincidence, right?”
Chu Ruochun, standing by the door, asked the person outside, “He Jun, can you answer me? Did you see Lu Qing and Jiang Qiao fighting in the restroom that day?”
The person outside was evidently in a hurry, “Yes, Jiang Qiao was pinning down Lu Qing.”
Chu Ruochun asked again, “What did Chu Ruochun do?”
He Jun, outside the door, seemed to be speaking without thinking. There was the sound of rain and the distance made the voice unclear, but he blurted out, “Chu Ruochun held onto Jiang Qiao to stop the fight!”
The quick question and answer session ended, and He Jun urgently said, “I’ve answered your question, please let me in! Something is chasing me!”
The online users in the barrage suddenly didn’t know what to comment.
The trainees: “…”
It seemed like it had been about three minutes.
At this moment, the barrage immediately responded:
— I don’t believe it. He Jun is from their Qingju Company. He must have coordinated with Chu Ruochun to say this.
— I don’t believe it either. What three minutes? Are they fooling us?
— But, from what I know, He Jun has the best relationship with Jiang Qiao. They were high school classmates. He wouldn’t speak up for Chu Ruochun and offend Jiang Qiao, would he?
— Ah, well…
— I don’t believe it. Chu Ruochun must have coordinated with He Jun using his phone in advance!
The online users just realized that He Jun did indeed have a close relationship with Jiang Qiao. They frequently interacted on Weibo, and there was even a time when He Jun mentioned on the show that Chu Ruochun’s T-shirt had a hole in it, which made Chu Ruochun very embarrassed.
But, was Chu Ruochun’s claim about three minutes really that mysterious? Could it be that he had coordinated with He Jun in advance?
The trainees’ feelings were more straightforward. First, they were certain that Chu Ruochun didn’t have a phone with him, so he couldn’t contact He Jun. Moreover, He Jun did have a better relationship with Jiang Qiao.
Ding Zhaozhao said something that everyone could hear, “Ruochun didn’t bring his phone.”
At the same time, Chu Ruochun asked Ding Zhaozhao to step back two steps, saying, “Step back two steps, and I’ll let He Jun in.”
Ding Zhaozhao obediently stepped back, and then, in front of the online users’ eyes, Chu Ruochun drew a cross on the door. He opened the door, and a hand formed from black mist pressed down on He Jun’s head. In the blink of an eye, the pale-faced He Jun tumbled inside, and Chu Ruochun quickly closed the door. The black mist hand retreated as it touched the door, disappearing into the darkness.
And all of this was faithfully recorded in the live broadcast.
— I think I just saw a hand, black…
— Me too…
— Goosebumps all over
— Ah, ah, ah, I was scared!
— What, what? I just blinked and didn’t see anything. What happened?
No one answered the viewers’ questions.
The trainees, seeing He Jun in a nearly frightened state, approached him with concern.
Ding Zhaozhao, being close to He Jun, directly asked, “What’s wrong with you? Are you afraid of the dark?”
He Jun’s voice trembled as he replied, “I’m not afraid of the dark, it’s just that something has been chasing us outside!”
“What, what is it?” Ding Zhaozhao dared not continue to ask.
“But why is it only you?” Alan also questioned him.
He Jun huddled between them, holding onto his legs, and shook his head. “We were running in the corridor and got separated. I even heard Jiang Qiao’s voice just now. Didn’t he come in?”
The others shook their heads.
He Jun’s face grew even paler.
Earlier that morning, Chu Ruochun had seen Jiang Qiao with a blackened forehead and a lifeless face. He had just recovered and hadn’t had time to think too much about it, never expecting it would happen here.
Just then, rhythmic knocking on the door once again broke the sudden silence in the training room.
Knock, knock, knock, knock.
“He Jun, open the door, it’s me,” it was Jiang Qiao’s voice.
He Jun wiped away the tears that fear had brought to his eyes and suddenly exclaimed, “It’s Jiang Qiao! Quick, let him in!”
But Chu Ruochun calmly told him, “He’s not Jiang Qiao, you can’t open the door.”
He Jun angrily said, “Chu Ruochun, I know you and Jiang Qiao aren’t on good terms, but you can’t just let him die! Whatever is out there is terrifying!”
Other trainees joined in, “Yeah, how can you do this?”
He Jun urged, “Hurry, let him in!”
The trainees collectively decided to open the door and let Jiang Qiao in, pushing Chu Ruochun aside.
One of the trainees opened the door slightly…
