Chapter 82 Stalemate

Everyone thought that Guan He Yigong's outstanding performance made Shen Xingzhi look at him differently, but only Chen Xi didn't believe it.

Especially when Guan He did not agree ecstatically at the first time, but asked Shen Xingzhi with some stammering, "Brother Xingzhi, can I bring another guest? Li Meng and I agreed to form a team together for the second public performance..."

Hearing this, Chen Xi suddenly felt like "the shoe has dropped to the ground". This was the only way to explain Shen Xingzhi's sudden favor for Guan He.

"You guys agreed?"

"Uh-huh!"

Guan He was a little excited, and didn't notice the unusual dullness in Shen Xingzhi's voice, and asked with a confirmation tone.

Guan He glanced at Chen Xingzhi quietly, then tilted his head slightly and exchanged friendly glances with Chen Xi next to him. He was very satisfied with the composition of this team!

He and Ren Limeng had originally intended to join Chen Xi's team. Now, not only was Chen Xi there, but also Chen Xingzhi, the one who ranked first in popularity! Moreover, it was Chen Xingzhi who took the initiative to find him!

Guan He couldn't refuse Shen Xingzhi, especially when he felt that Shen Xingzhi didn't directly reject his "buy one get one free" request. He enthusiastically and sincerely recommended Ren Limeng to Shen Xingzhi, even going so far as to embellish some words in an attempt to rationalize Ren Limeng's absence at the moment.

"Li Meng and I both really like you and Sister Chen Xi, but she was embarrassed to approach you directly for fear of being rejected. Now it's great! Brother Xingzhi, you may not know that Li Meng is from Mei City! Our room is most likely going to Mei City, and Li Meng happens to be a local. She is in the same team with you, and you should be able to see that she is very capable, good at singing and dancing, and she is also gentle and kind..."

A must-have for a good teammate!

Guan He praised eloquently, but before he could finish, he was interrupted by Shen Xingzhi coldly, "I'll think about it."

As if impatient, Shen Xingzhi looked at Guan He with a dark look in his eyes and asked directly, "Will you join?"

Facing Shen Xingzhi's deep and sharp gaze, Guan He subconsciously nodded slightly. By the time he reacted, it was too late. Shen Xingzhi had already said directly, "Okay, it's settled."

He really didn't mean to abandon Ren Limeng, but Shen Xingzhi's gaze that was directed at him was chilling and filled with indescribable power and majesty. His eyes were like the dark clouds before a storm, making Guan He involuntarily feel a sense of oppression that froze his soul.

Guan He sighed secretly, looking at Ren Limeng who did not stand up and choose Shen Xingzhi in the seat in front of him.

"Do it!"

Chen Xingzhi didn't change his mind at all because of Chen Xi's excited call. He didn't seem to care much about what the other guests thought. He just stared at the right side of his seat, his cold face full of determination. He bowed lightly to express his apology, "Thank you all for your kindness, but I already have a single candidate."

Shen Xingzhi’s choice?

The guests who stood up looked at each other in bewilderment. In the silence of the recording site, one could hear the "low hum" of the machines running around, as if silently reminding everyone of the unspeakable situation at the moment.

The only guests who did not enter Room 4 in the first round were Hong Qingli and Zheng Chuanbai. According to the rules, the two have been assigned to their respective favorite captains. Apart from these two, Chen Xingzhi has the opportunity to choose from all the guests. Why is Chen Xingzhi giving up?

If some people in the first round were still wondering whether Hong Qingli or Zheng Chuanbai would be the last team member for Shen Xingzhi, they couldn't help but turn their heads to look at Li Qingzi and Ren Limeng, which happened to be the direction Shen Xingzhi was looking.

Only these two people did not stand with Shen Xingzhi at this moment. Who is Shen Xingzhi's "only one"?

Thinking about the interaction between Li Qingzi and Yan Baiwei, the answer suddenly became obvious.

The scene fell into a dead silence. The celebrity guests who were always at ease in various places were all silent at this moment. After Chen Xi, the host, exclaimed, she did not make any other moves, nor did she take any measures to control the situation. She just turned her head and kept looking at Shen Xingzhi, as if hoping that he would "pull back from the brink."

"Teacher Chen Xi, continue. Teacher Chen He, continue to choose."

It was not until the program staff's voices, which could not be distinguished between joy and anger, came from the work area at the back of the waiting hall, tacitly approving Shen Xingzhi's "abstention" behavior, that the recording atmosphere was restored on the scene. The standing guests sat down silently, with their usual smiles on their faces. Only the curious and gossipy glances in their eyes betrayed their inner emotions.

"Dear sisters, welcome to play in my team!"

Movie star Chen He walked to the center of the stage and took the microphone from Shen Xingzhi's hand. His light-hearted and humorous words finally made the scene come alive and successfully attracted the attention of all the guests to be selected.

"Oh my god, Brother Chen He, everyone's standing up! Your popularity is on par with Xingzhi's! Looks like you were just unlucky in the first round! No need to feel down in your boots!"

Chen Xi spoke carelessly, her expression returning to calm, but when she said "all", she obviously emphasized her tone, and her eyes unconsciously looked at Ren Limeng who was slowly standing up on the right side of the seat opposite.

Chen Xi immediately glanced at Shen Xingzhi who was standing upright beside him. His cold expression was the same as before, but seemed even colder.

Ren Limeng no longer paid attention to the guests around her. She finally understood why Chen Xingzhi always had a stern face. It turned out that the cold expression was not to show off, but because he had no choice!

From the moment Shen Xingzhi said "abstain", she completely felt like sitting on pins and needles, feeling like a thorn in her back, walking on thin ice, and even having a lump in her throat!

There were no fools among the guests present. Shen Xingzhi's pointed words "I abstain" were like roasting her on the most intense fire, and he just didn't call her name!

This is ridiculous! I might as well just invite her directly!

We just have to show that we both want each other in front of the camera!

Ren Limeng maintained a dignified smile on her lips, as if she didn't notice the frequent glances of the guests around her, nor did she notice the black camera that the program crew had placed directly in front of her, and she didn't reveal a single bit of her frantic heart.

The most basic qualities of a professional host:

He remained calm.

As expected, Chen He did not choose Ren Li Meng, but then Fan Xinran, and then Yan Baiwei.

Only two people chose to stand with Yan Baiwei. Yan Baiwei invited the other person without hesitation and did not even look at Ren Limeng the whole time. Ren Limeng was really numb from standing there.

After all, they were former teammates at the first stop, but Yan Baiwei didn't even say a few polite words. She was so anxious to avoid him as if he were the plague god. Could she please care a little more about... the camera!

With such tacit understanding of avoiding each other, Ren Limeng had completely understood what the other captains meant. They would not choose her, at least not before Shen Xingzhi completed his team.

This is workplace marginalization! This is workplace isolation! This is workplace cold violence!

She wants to complain!!!

"Everyone take a 20-minute break before recording."

After Yan Baiwei selected her teammates, a staff member suddenly came in and interrupted the recording. They walked to Shen Xingzhi and politely invited him to have a chat with director Yao Xin.

"Li Meng, you and Brother Xingzhi are not really talking, are you?"

Yang Shuyu, a second-tier star who happened to be sitting next to Ren Limeng, had a gossipy look on her face. She looked at Ren Limeng with a smile, approached Ren Limeng directly as if she was a familiar person, and was ready to put her arm around Ren Limeng intimately.

Ren Limeng glanced calmly at the other side of the waist and the rye, then intimately took Yang Shuyu's arm and gently put it on, "Sister Shuyu, why do you ask that?"

In addition to embarrassment, there was also a hint of helplessness in her coquettish tone.

Yang Shuyu smiled and glanced at Chen Xingzhi, who was walking towards Yao Xin in the work area behind him. Then she quietly approached Ren Limeng and whispered, "Limeng, did you have a conflict with Brother Xingzhi? I feel like the atmosphere between you two is not right today. It's like you're having a cold war after a quarrel."

Cold war after a quarrel?

Yang Shuyu's guess basically fits her and Shen Xingzhi's current situation, but Ren Limeng just repeated, "Sister Shuyu!"

Ren Limeng's face was filled with anguish. "Everyone knows about my relationship with Brother Xingzhi. Not only have netizens been discussing it this week, but the production crew has also been filming it 24 hours a day. If we really were having an affair, how could we have hidden it from everyone? Why does it have to be something just because a boy and a girl have known each other before?"

Although, they do have something going on.

Ren Limeng remained calm and composed, showing no trace of guilt, but the micro-expressions in her eyes carried some indescribable complexity. She sighed softly with some helplessness, lowered her head slightly to avoid Yang Shuyu's probing eyes, but "just happened" to meet the "gaze" of the camera in front.

"I'm sorry, Li Meng, you're right. It's just that you two are such a good match, and you're university classmates, so everyone can't help but make fun of you."

Yang Shuyu also glanced at the lens without leaving any trace, and said with some apology in her voice, "And... Brother Xingzhi was really special to you when we just teamed up. Did you feel it?"

“Very special…”

Ren Limeng repeated Yang Shuyu's words thoughtfully, her brows furrowed slightly, her hair sliding down to hide the emotions in her eyes. "Sister Shuyu, I feel a little strange too. Do you think everyone... doesn't like me? Why didn't they choose me?"

Listening to Ren Limeng's dejected question, Yang Shuyu's smile froze. She looked up at Ren Limeng's confused and melancholy gaze, and couldn't help but wonder, who of the two of them is the actor? Does Ren Limeng really not know, or is she just playing dumb?

No matter how much doubt she had in her heart, Yang Shuyu kept comforting Ren Limeng. The topic suddenly went off track until the staff came over and asked Ren Limeng to see Yao Xin.

"Director Yao."

When Ren Limeng came over, Shen Xingzhi had already returned to the front recording area. This was the first time Ren Limeng met the program's chief director Yao Xin face to face. She looked at Yao Xin a little stiffly and sat down on the small bench in front of him.

"Li Meng, did I bother you while you were putting on makeup?"

Yao Xin sat on another small bench with a smile on his face. "I called you over here to ask you and Xingzhi, is there anything going on?"

Prisoner's dilemma.

As Yao Xin spoke gently, four big words emerged in Ren Limeng's heart.