Chapter 15
Cheng Xia calmed down very quickly.
After that incident two years ago, not only was he forcibly made to withdraw from the survival show by the production team, and continuously cyberbullied by the entire internet, even the friends who used to train with him at the base began to draw a clear line between themselves and him.
It was as if overnight, everyone had accepted his “true face,” and no one was willing to listen to the truth coming from his mouth.
Or rather, the real truth of the matter had already lost all meaning to those people. They would only choose to believe what they wanted to believe.
Even the fact that the company had not immediately terminated his contract was only because the contract he had signed back then was a special kind of “sell-yourself” contract.
On top of that, his existence could serve as a “stepping stone” for Cheng Li, which in a certain sense could still bring benefits to the company.
After something like that happened, it was not as if Cheng Xia had never tried.
He had accepted interviews, wanting to use them to clear his name, but the unethical production team maliciously edited his words and twisted his meaning, pushing him even deeper into the abyss.
He had also gone to the company’s trainee manager and explained the situation, hoping they would help him, but the other party ignored him completely.
Cheng Xia had also tried posting clarification statements himself, tried finding a lawyer, and even thought about going to talk things through properly with his uncle and aunt, but none of it worked.
Every method he could think of, he had already tried. But not a single path had led anywhere.
Cheng Xia suddenly felt that maybe it was not that his methods were wrong, but rather that… this world seemed to have an invisible hand blocking every road he could possibly take.
The owner of that hand did not want him to have a good life, so he was unable to have one. He could only follow the route laid out by the other party, moving farther and farther away from the direction he himself wanted to go.
—Was this fate?
Originally, Cheng Xia had never believed in that sort of thing.
But under such extreme circumstances, he could not help thinking of the word “fate.”
Cheng Li’s appearance only made him more certain of it.
As though the two of them were perfect opposites, Cheng Li’s idol path was smooth to the point of being unbelievable.
He obviously had no singing or dancing foundation at all, yet in less than a year, he had become one of the most outstanding trainees in the base.
Fans, public favor, astonishing talent… everything. It was as if he barely needed to do much at all to obtain results other people could never get even after years of hard work.
Cheng Xia had once thought that if this were a novel, then Cheng Li would be the so-called “child of destiny,” while he… was perhaps just cannon fodder, a clown existing only to highlight the protagonist’s brilliance.
Maybe for his entire life, he could only live in the darkness behind the protagonist.
A sudden knock at the door interrupted Cheng Xia’s thoughts.
“Cheng Xia, are you in the dorm?”
Coming back to himself, Cheng Xia hastily wiped the dampness off his face and asked in a low voice, “Who is it?”
“It’s me, Jiang Cheng.” The person outside the door said, “Do you have time right now?”
Cheng Xia froze for a moment before realizing that it was the trainee manager in charge of him.
The last time the two had spoken was already more than a year ago. Jiang Cheng had over a hundred trainees under him to manage, and after that incident happened to Cheng Xia, Jiang Cheng had more or less stopped caring about him.
Cheng Xia hesitated for a moment before opening the door. “Brother Jiang, what is it?”
“You’ve probably already seen the hot search, right?” Jiang Cheng said. “This is a very good opportunity for you. As long as the name gets cleared, then in the future—”
“Brother Jiang,” Cheng Xia interrupted him, “can you let me be alone for a while first?”
Jiang Cheng froze, seeming to notice only then the faint redness around Cheng Xia’s eyes.
He looked like he wanted to say something, then held it back, and finally said, “Alright. I’ll come find you again later.”
After Jiang Cheng left, Cheng Xia sat alone in the room for a long time.
He thought about many things and also read many of the comments online. Most of the comments were very subtle, but combined with the guesses he had already had—
It was Lin Zhiqiao.
A voice in his head told him so.
Cheng Xia tightened his grip on his phone, suddenly wanting very much—wanting desperately—to see him. He abruptly pushed open the dorm door and headed toward Lin Zhiqiao’s dorm.
It was just after dinner, and everyone had only recently returned to their rooms.
There were so many people in the corridor, but Cheng Xia had no mind to notice their gazes. His steps grew faster and faster, until in the end he was moving so fast it could almost be called running.
Yet when he truly arrived outside that dorm room, Cheng Xia suddenly hesitated.
With countless thoughts in his heart, all he could hear was the rapid thumping of his own heartbeat. The arm he had raised stopped in front of the door for a long time, but never actually knocked.
Until a familiar voice came from behind him. “Cheng Xia?”
It was Ji Ran’s voice.
[Hm? Cheng Xia?] Lin Zhiqiao poked his head out from behind the others. [Why did he come over here? Shouldn’t he be busy dealing with PR matters right now?]
Cheng Xia opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
Ji Ran noticed the increasing number of eyes gathering around them, opened the door, and pushed Cheng Xia inside. Lin Zhiqiao casually closed the door behind them, cutting off the many gazes from outside.
The cameraman was still carrying his camera, as dedicated as ever.
Pei Ning poured Cheng Xia a glass of water. Cheng Xia thanked her and took it, but did not drink. He only sat on the sofa with his lips pressed together, glancing hesitantly at Lin Zhiqiao, then quickly and cautiously lowering his eyes again.
Ji Ran and the others exchanged glances. They all knew what was going on and had already guessed Cheng Xia’s thoughts.
“Lin Xiaoqiao.” Ji Ran called to him very softly.
Lin Zhiqiao was listening to 888’s reward announcement and did not hear him.
888: [Gossip rating: A+. Reward of 880,000 RMB has been deposited!]
[How much? 880,000?!] Lin Zhiqiao sucked in a sharp breath. [If the on-site gossip bonus had doubled, how happy would that have been?!]
888 also felt deeply regretful, but still comforted him. [It’s okay, Host. There will be chances in the future!]
Ji Ran shoved him. “Lin Xiaoqiao!”
Lin Zhiqiao tilted sideways a little and looked up blankly. “Huh? What is it?”
Ji Ran said, “I just remembered I left something in the cafeteria. I’m going to get it. I’ll be back in a bit.”
Lin Zhiqiao: “Oh, okay.”
Pei Ning said, “I’m going too.”
Lin Zhiqiao looked puzzled. “You left something too?”
Pei Ning nodded calmly without changing expression, then followed Ji Ran out the door.
Wen Li thought for a moment and said, “I’m still not full. I’ll go buy some more food.”
Jiang Qianqian hurriedly followed after her. “I’m afraid I’ll get hungry later, so I’m going to buy some late-night snacks and store them.”
Several people left in a row. Lin Zhiqiao stayed confused for quite a while, then looked at Tang Zhou, who also seemed ready to sneak away.
“You’re going to the cafeteria too?” he asked. “Didn’t you just say you were stuffed?”
“Yeah, I’m stuffed.” Tang Zhou spoke very quickly, but his feet moved even faster than his mouth. “So I’m planning to go out for a walk and digest.”
The room door shut with a bang, leaving Lin Zhiqiao sitting there in complete confusion.
Then he looked at Cheng Xia, who was still sitting on the sofa, and instantly understood.
They were giving Cheng Xia time and space!
Everyone was so considerate.
Lin Zhiqiao thought for a moment. “Then maybe I should also—”
Before he could finish, the cameraman’s lens turned toward him.
Cheng Xia also looked up at him. His lips were pressed together and he did not say anything, but his expression somehow seemed to be asking, Can you stay?
Lin Zhiqiao hesitated a little, his toes shifting back and forth along both sides of the same floor tile.
A moment later, he gave in and sat down beside Cheng Xia, trying to find something to say. “Water doesn’t taste good once it gets cold.”
Cheng Xia glanced at him.
Lin Zhiqiao tried again. “How about… I go buy you something to drink?”
“No need.” Cheng Xia finally spoke. “Sorry for disturbing you all. I just…”
He paused, and his voice dropped even lower. “I just didn’t know who else I could go to at a time like this.”
Looking across the entire training base, Cheng Xia knew quite a lot of people, but it seemed that… there was not even one person he could truly open his heart to.
Those so-called teammates and friends who had once laughed and talked with him, played around with him, and promised they would keep walking forward together in the future had long since gone far away from him.
Lin Zhiqiao paused slightly. He closed his eyes once, and something seemed to flash through his clear pale eyes, quickly hidden beneath his lowered lashes.
888 seemed to notice something. [Host?]
But then it heard Lin Zhiqiao screaming in his heart: [What kind of pitiful little darling setup is this… save me! I can’t resist this at all—my paternal instinct is exploding!!!]
Cheng Xia’s eyes widened slightly.
The next second, the hand resting on his knee was suddenly held tightly by someone else.
Lin Zhiqiao tried to comfort him. “We all—” He paused for half a second, glanced at the cameraman, then changed his wording. “The cameraman and I are here. Don’t be too sad.”
Cheng Xia instinctively shrank back a little, and even his fingertips trembled violently.
It had already been a very, very long time since he had experienced such friendly physical contact from another person.
A strange warmth and softness came from the hand holding his—yet it was full of strength, and gave him an overwhelming sense of reassurance. Tiny currents seemed to travel along his nerves and reach deep into his heart.
In a daze, he seemed to hear a clear cracking sound by his ear.
It was the shackle called “fate.”
Cheng Xia’s nose turned a little sour, and his voice trembled. “…Lin Zhiqiao.” His tone was solemn. “Thank you.”
