Chapter 12
Lin Zhiqiao: [Holy crap! Is it really this intense?! The real young master and the fake young master actually signed with the same trainee company and are even in the same training base?!]
The people in the practice room all nodded inwardly in agreement.
This was way too intense, okay?!!!
Ji Ran’s expression went blank for a second, as if his heart had stopped beating for a moment.
…The real son of Dad and Mom was actually in the same training base as him?
Right now was training time for the trainees. Other than those with special circumstances, everyone else should be inside the practice building.
Ji Ran swallowed hard.
So right now, they were very likely in the same building. Maybe even—maybe even only separated by one wall.
Ji Ran could not quite describe what he was feeling at that moment.
Half a year ago, when he had first found out that he and his parents were not biologically related after all, that they had been switched by accident at birth, he really had broken down for a while. And for a long time after that, he chose avoidance, unable to truly accept the fact.
Back then, Ji Ran often had nightmares. In them, his parents found their biological son, and that person was obedient, sensible, and outstanding—better than him by ten thousand times over and then some—
Then… could this home really still be his home?
For a time, Ji Ran truly believed he was nothing more than an impostor occupying someone else’s nest.
Fortunately, Father Ji and Mother Ji really were excellent parents. Through their actions, they gave him a great deal of security, and that was also the main reason why Ji Ran had gradually come to accept things later on.
But persuading himself mentally to accept it was one thing. Actually facing it for real was another matter entirely.
Ji Ran tightened his grip on the doorknob, the force in his fingers so strong that his knuckles turned faintly white.
Countless scenes flashed through his mind in an instant—
The real young master Ji saying to him, Please leave. This is my home. The real family of three living happily together, while he crouched off to one side like some gloomy clown, peeking at a happiness that did not belong to him…
Ji Ran closed his eyes briefly and swept all those chaotic, ridiculous thoughts from his mind.
So… who exactly was that person?
He held his breath and waited, but all he heard was a string of unrelated gossip—
[xxx didn’t come back last night and actually went to the little grove with someone…]
[xx lost a game, got scolded by his teammates for being trash and still daring to play, then cried from being roasted and, in heartbreak, rage-ate three whole roast chickens…]
Ji Ran & everyone else: “…”
888: “Gossip rating: F-minus…”
Lin Zhiqiao silently closed the system interface.
His luck was a little cursed right now. If he kept opening blind boxes, they would only get worse and worse.
A born unlucky person forcing himself to be a gambling addict had no future!
Later tonight, he was definitely going to pick an auspicious time before opening more blind boxes!
Training continued, but everyone present was a little distracted. Only Lin Zhiqiao kept his steps light and lively, apparently not affected at all.
A moment later, Director Fang returned, and this time he brought someone else with him.
“I found you some backup.” Director Fang said with a smile. “I specially invited this person for you boys. This trainee has experience dancing girl group choreography, and dances it very well.”
Ji Ran asked curiously, “Who is it, Director Fang? Someone from our base?”
“Of course.” Fang Xinnan’s expression remained unchanged as he beckoned toward the door. “Come in, Cheng Xia.”
Everyone froze for a moment, their expressions all turning a little unnatural.
“Who? Did I hear that right? Cheng Xia?”
“The Cheng Xia I know? Or just someone with the same name?”
“Damn, it really is him! Mingguang still hasn’t terminated his contract?”
“For the babies who don’t know, let me explain. Cheng Xia is… For the more detailed version, go here @SoThisIsWhoChengXiaReallyIs, the blogger organized everything very thoroughly.”
“What is this production team thinking? Inviting a scandal-ridden artist on camera just for traffic? Do they have zero bottom line??”
“The show really has mastered the code to traffic, huh. [smile.jpg]”
Lin Zhiqiao looked up and briefly met the gaze of Cheng Xia, who had just walked in.
There were still injuries on Cheng Xia’s face, though lighter in color than two days ago. His hair had been simply styled, his slightly long bangs parted to both sides, revealing a delicate but somewhat pale and gloomy-looking face.
To be fair, Cheng Xia’s appearance really was extremely outstanding—delicate and soft, yet not to the point that anyone would mistake his gender. The kind of face that was hard to forget after just one glance, very memorable.
“I know everyone has questions,” Fang Xinnan said, his smile unchanged. “But there are less than seven days left before the stage performance. No matter how many questions you have, please practice the group dance first.”
“I’m sure none of you wants our group’s first stage to turn into a disaster in full public view, right?”
Ji Ran shuddered violently, the soul of a trainee blazing to life within him.
Their first stage turning into a disaster?
He! Absolutely! Refused!!
The reason Cheng Xia had once exploded onto the scene as a dark horse two years ago was that his professional ability was indeed flawless.
Even when it came to girl group choreography, Cheng Xia could dance better than many female idol trainees.
Over the next hour, Cheng Xia demonstrated how to bring out the girlishness in the dance, clearly and concisely explained the key points, and then began correcting their movements by hand.
When it was Lin Zhiqiao’s turn, Cheng Xia said, “I’ve watched your movements. Honestly, I can’t really pick out any major problems with your individual moves.”
“But the most important thing in this dance is bringing out a girl’s youth and vitality. It should feel bright and energetic…”
Cheng Xia instructed him in a low voice.
His professional ability was strong. Not only could he instantly spot everyone’s problems, he could also quickly propose ways to improve them.
As Lin Zhiqiao listened to his guidance, he secretly looked at him.
When Cheng Xia was immersed in teaching, that gloomy aura around him seemed to fade a little.
It was almost like he was glowing.
Not a harsh kind of glow—just a faint one, but very hard to ignore.
“Leaving other things aside, Cheng Xia’s overall skill really is crazy strong. He’s basically miles ahead of almost all the idols who’ve debuted in recent years, right?”
“Oh great, the whitewashing brigade is here. Moral corruption is not something you can just ‘leave aside’ :)”
“Cheng Li’s professional ability is strong too, okay? Who watched his stage performance not long ago and didn’t say it was amazing?”
“Tsk, I feel bad for our Lili. Getting stuck with a cousin like that is basically a stain on his idol career—no, on his whole life! [cursing.jpg]”
Cheng Xia only stayed there for one hour before leaving first.
After he left, Lin Zhiqiao heard trainees from the same room discussing in low voices—
“Cheng Li is coming back to base today, right? I remember their group went off for extra training recently.”
“Should be today. Their group is probably about to debut, right? That’s so nice… We still don’t even know when we’ll finally make it.”
Cheng Li was Cheng Xia’s younger cousin—the son of Cheng Xia’s uncle and aunt who raised him. He was only half a year younger than Cheng Xia.
Not long after Cheng Xia’s scandal was exposed two years ago, Cheng Li signed with Mingguang Entertainment and also became a trainee.
After people with ulterior motives dug it up, Cheng Li explained that his family owed a lot of money, and he wanted to start earning earlier to ease the burden on the family.
His sincerity and filial devotion formed a stark contrast with Cheng Xia’s supposed coldness and heartlessness. As soon as that report came out, Cheng Li immediately gained a wave of fans.
On top of that, he truly did have talent. Over the past two years, he had constantly been active in touring stages and promotional performances, and had already built up quite a number of die-hard fans. He was only one final step away from debut.
Lin Zhiqiao suddenly thought of something. [System, do you think the person with a system around Cheng Xia could be Cheng Li?]
888 thought for a moment. [It’s possible. But whether it’s really him or not, we’ll only know after meeting him.]
The chance to meet him came very quickly.
After training ended, the group went together to the cafeteria for dinner.
The cameraman still dutifully followed behind them, firmly refusing to miss a single detail worth filming.
The six of them had just bought their food and sat down when a burst of commotion suddenly rose near the cafeteria entrance.
Lin Zhiqiao immediately looked up.
Where there was commotion, there was definitely gossip.
Big gossip or small gossip, it did not matter—eat first, ask questions later.
And as luck would have it, it was precisely Cheng Li, whom they had just been talking about, together with his five teammates.
Worth mentioning: Cheng Li’s current teammates had all been Cheng Xia’s teammates two years ago.
After Cheng Xia’s scandal came to light, not only was he forced to withdraw from the competition, even his teammates kicked him out of the group and severed ties with him at lightning speed.
The six-member group became a five-member group. It only returned to six members after Cheng Li joined.
Lin Zhiqiao asked quietly, [System, is it him?]
888 tried to sense it. [Too far, host. We need to get a little closer.]
Lin Zhiqiao took a bite of rice and was thinking about how to get closer to Cheng Li without attracting attention when the noisy commotion suddenly went silent.
It was like someone had hit a pause button, making it impossible not to notice.
Ji Ran muttered, “Finally quiet. They were making my head buzz.”
Then he heard Lin Zhiqiao beside him suddenly suck in a breath. [Cheng Xia?] There was surprise in his voice, but also a trace of excitement. [Wow! Enemies really do meet on a narrow road!]
