Chapter 4 Chapter 4 He is much gentler than you

Fu Rouyun is always said to be careless and not pay attention to details.

However, he thought that it was because he focused all his attention on Cen Xue that he didn't care much about anything other than Cen Xue.

Ever since Lu Yanxi and Yan Pei appeared, Cen Xue's condition seemed off, and she felt low.

When he saw the two mentors' looks and actions towards Cen Xue, Fu Rouyun instantly realized one fact - the three of them were old acquaintances.

This "before" must be three years ago, even earlier, so early that he knew nothing about that part of Cen Xue. When he thought that Yan Lu and the others knew more about Cen Xue's past than he did, he couldn't help but grit his teeth, jealousy surging in his heart.

But before that—

Why are these two old men so aggressive towards Cen Xue?

What is the purpose of implying that they are very familiar with each other in his words? Didn’t you see that Cen Xue is unhappy?

Fu Rouyun's priority is obvious.

He stood in front of Cen Xue and deliberately talked about some strange and eye-catching topics to shut them up.

Because his back was to Cen Xue, he didn't bother to pretend to be innocent. Although he smiled, his aura was enough to rival the two people on the judges' panel.

Later, Cen Xue saw this close-up in the first episode of the film and was shocked to find that the expression was exactly the same as the expression on Mr. Fu's face when he wanted to kill his rival.

The second time I noticed something was wrong was after the lights were turned off.

He had a light sleep pattern in the new environment and didn't fall asleep much to begin with. He lay still because he was afraid that the bunk bed would make noises and disturb Cen Xue. He didn't expect that what he heard was him sneaking out of the room alone, leaving him behind.

Fu Rouyun's intuition told him that it must be related to Yan Lu.

"Why did you want to meet me even though you were treated like that? Why did you hide it from me?"

'Why do you leave me here alone? Will he come back tonight? Will he continue the show with me?'

During the silent and lonely hours, Fu Rouyun's mind was full of various ideas.

He felt a little regretful for instigating Cen Xue to accompany him to the audition.

Are you curious about your idol? There is a reason for that, but it's not to the point of obsession, otherwise you wouldn't have agreed with the production team to be eliminated in the first round.

For him, what’s important is not the talent show, but being with Cen Xue.

But he didn't want Cen Xue to be targeted and questioned in order to achieve his goal.

"...Are you withdrawing from the competition?"

With each passing minute, his endurance was also worn away.

So when he heard the noise at the door and Cen Xue discovered him, he impulsively blurted out a question.

"What?"

Cen Xue's expression and tone remained unchanged, as if she hadn't heard his question clearly.

He raised his right hand, which was behind his back, forward, making a sound of friction with the plastic bag.

Fu Rouyun felt sorry for him and said, "I thought you would be looking forward to it—what about the small cake?"

…

Five minutes later, the dormitory door was closed.

Fu Rouyun knelt on the ground and ate up all the small cakes that Cen Xue had packed and brought back.

He looked pious and did not dare to be negligent, not leaving even a single bit of cream.

Cen Xue: "I see you didn't eat much of the salad lunch the production team gave you. You must be very hungry, right?"

Fu Rouyun nodded and covered his mouth to block the chewing sound: "Brother...how did you get it?"

Cen Xue said lightly, "The Fu family has invested so much money, they can always make things easier for us, don't worry."

...So, so handsome.

Fu Rouyun's eyes suddenly became starry, and it seemed as if what he held in his mouth was not a cake, but Cen Xue's attention, care, and love!

Who else would buy him a cupcake for a late night out?

Woohoo, he really is, I'm crying my heart out.

Damn myself for forcing him to question me like that!

As he took the cake into his mouth, the cream, the filling and the chiffon cake soothed all the dark and crawling emotions, and hit his brain like a heavy hammer, waking him up. He deeply regretted his impulsiveness just now.

Even the answer to the question is not important. Only what you eat is real.

If I had known this, I would have pretended to be asleep. I acted very well in the first half of the night.

He didn't know who the person who was questioning was.

After eating the cake and destroying the garbage, Fu Rouyun swore that he would never get out of bed even if there was any movement. Unfortunately, he had to spend most of the night hungry, and his mood was very up and down. As soon as he touched the bed, he fell asleep.

This time he really fell asleep.

So the following night was not only peaceful, but also filled with the slightly sweet aroma of the lingering cream from the cakes.

It wasn't until the next day that we started learning the theme song.

*

For Cen Xue, today was destined to be a busy day.

In the morning dance class, the other students in Class D could do it physically but their brains couldn't learn it, while Cen Xue's brain was already proficient but her body couldn't keep up.

There was nothing he could do. He looked at Fu Rouyun's enthusiasm for lunch, almost wanting to lick the plate of fat-reducing meal, and sighed. Is this what youth is like? He almost lost his appetite.

In the afternoon vocal class, the vocal instructor who helped to smooth things over yesterday did not show up.

"Do you have an idea after listening to it? You also know that this is the demo I sang, right?"

Everyone in Class D sat on the floor, looking up at the man in the center of the classroom, holding their breath, afraid that even the slightest breathing would disturb his ears.

Wait—why is Yan Pei here?

How could a bunch of them, a bunch of noobs, deserve Yan Pei’s guidance...?

They opened their mouths slightly, their faces filled with dementia.

Their level is not as good as Class AB to begin with, and they basically have no ability to digest knowledge independently. At this point, it is almost foreseeable that they will be scolded by Yan Pei in the future.

Yan Pei ignored them all and went through the motions with the cue cards. "Anyway, these are the benefits of participating. In the morning, it's Class ABC, and in the afternoon, it's Class DF. Today, I'll give you one-on-one guidance on the theme song. In half an hour, each of you will come to the room inside for the assessment."

He said: "Do you think you've made a profit? Just be happy, you little noobs."

Class D: “…”

When they heard it was a one-on-one fight, their already dull expressions turned even more gray. Who on earth dared to be happy?

There is reason to suspect that "rookie" will be Yan Pei's gentlest word today.

And Cen Xue...had anticipated this.

Yan Pei is a collection of instability, flammable, explosive and neurotic, a well-known person who is a dog among people and a man among dogs.

He'll definitely find something to do.

Cen Xue hehe, if he doesn't treat the epilepsy, the epilepsy will come naturally.

Half an hour later, he became the first person to be tried according to the alphabetical order of his name.

Cen Xue: "."

…

In the room, Yan Pei half-hummed, "Sing."

Maybe because dogs like music very much, Yan Pei takes this aspect very seriously.

The theme song is in a refreshing youth style with a high pitch, which is not in Cen Xue's comfort zone, but she can still handle it.

But he didn't eat much at noon, so he didn't have enough physical strength to support himself, and there were too many flaws in the second half.

It would be enough to turn up the reverberation in a KTV, but Yan Pei would not tolerate any grain of sand in his eyes. After the song was over, he sighed.

"You've lived with me for so long, don't you know how to warm up your voice first?"

He stood up and walked towards Cen Xue, who subconsciously took a step back.

This action seemed to ignite his last bit of patience. Yan Pei quickly closed the distance and forced Cen Xue to the corner between the table and the wall.

In her haste, Cen Xue couldn't lean back in time, and her back felt empty, leaving her hands no time to support herself.

Yan Pei grabbed his waist and pressed his long, bony fingers against his waist. When he tightened his grip, the touch was distinct.

He raised his left leg again and forcefully spread Cen Xue's legs apart, not allowing him to stand up on his own.

Yan Pei was extremely angry at first: "Are you hiding from me?"

Then he frowned again, "... thinner."

In order to style her hair, Cen Xue deliberately grew her hair longer.

When he found that he couldn't break free from Yan Pei, he gave up resisting and turned his head to the side. From the other person's angle, he could see his eyelashes fluttering with his breathing, trembling slightly.

"It was filmed...Are you okay?" Cen Xue said dryly.

"I turned off those machines a long time ago. Isn't this quite talkative?"

Yan Pei used his free hand to slowly slide up along the folds of his clothes.

The trainees were distinguished by their levels using short-sleeved shirts of different colors. Class D wore lavender, made of pure cotton. They were made a little loose to accommodate the sizes, and the program crew later used this to capture many precious abdominal muscle shots.

Now the semi-circular neckline exposed Cen Xue's collarbone because of the movement. Yan Pei's fingers passed by and pressed there, which made him hiss slightly.

Finally, he used his index and middle fingers to lightly circle Cen Xue's Adam's apple: "Next time, don't strain your throat to sing. When you really become hoarse, you'll see where you can cry... Okay?"

"Why are you still wearing this necklace?"

Yan Pei pulled out a silver chain from under his collar, from which dangled an old-fashioned pendant, and a small bottle the size of a fingernail, made of copper and silver. When shaken, one could hear something inside.

The moment the pendant left her skin, Cen Xue's eyes widened.

Seeing Yan Pei playing with the pendant, it was as if he had dug out his heart.

Cen Xue's breath choked, and he let out a quick, low, and difficult gasp, as if he was restraining something. With his pupils shaking violently, he struggled forcefully and reached out to snatch the necklace!

But she lost her support for a moment and fell backwards, with the back of her head about to hit the table.

Bang!

There was a dull thud, and Cen Xue, holding the necklace she had taken back, propped herself up from the table in a slightly embarrassed manner.

Everything happened so fast.

His breathing was unstable, his hands were still shaking, and he turned around: "This is... you asked for it..."

It turned out that Yan Pei had supported his head with his hand to prevent him from getting hurt.

There were too many things on the table, and one could not be sure where his hand would get hurt. Cen Xue heard Yan Pei's cry of pain.

He ignored her, stood up and picked up the scattered lyrics materials, exuding resistance.

"I thought you were going to ask me why I didn't die," Cen Xue said in a low, hoarse voice, still feeling unsatisfied after thinking about it. "Now it seems that I thought too highly of you."

If it takes too long, people outside will become suspicious.

He also didn't want to stay in the same space with Yan Pei anymore. This mad dog... How did he endure it before?

Seeing Cen Xue was about to leave, Yan Pei waved his hand and grabbed his wrist without thinking.

"I don't want to ask?" He sneered, "Do you think you'll answer if I ask?!"

Cen Xue struggled: "...Let go!"

Yan Pei didn't understand what he was saying again: "Then tell me, why was it him that you met last night?"

The more he recalled, the more furious he became. He had waited in the equipment room all night, but no one showed up. The answer was obvious: Cen Xue had chosen to meet Lu Yanxi!

Thinking about the popular news pushed on my phone this morning, I became even angrier.

Seeing Cen Xue struggling, he exerted even more force.

Cen Xue frowned: "I don't understand what you are saying."

"Playing dumb with me?"

Yan Pei picked up his phone, clicked on the trending search, and forced the screen in front of him.

His pupils contracted for a moment due to the stimulation of the screen light.

Cen Xue first saw her own face, which was the picture accompanying the blog post, and then the title -

Help! I spotted an old acquaintance in a new talent show. Isn't this the co-star from actor Lu's debut film? How did he end up like this?

"You've got a good plan. You're so anxious to meet him and get him to reveal his past affairs—do you think I'm out of tricks?"

Yan Pei whispered nervously, "You were on guard against me. You thought I would hurt you... afraid I'd tell others about you. Now everyone knows you and Lu Yanxi filmed together!"

He gritted his teeth, even showing a hint of disbelief.

It’s hard to tell whether it was because of Cen Xue’s defense or for some other reason, but he always hated the feeling of being abandoned and not being chosen.

As a result, Cen Xue not only betrayed him, but also deceived him.

——Even when he appeared in front of everyone again, he had to choose to list his name together with Lu Yanxi's.

Why?!

Yan Pei used his remaining sanity to lower his voice and movements so as not to attract attention from outside.

He was almost retaliating: "Just because Lu Yanxi is your first love? Have you ever thought that he dared to abandon you completely then, but he wouldn't do that now? If it weren't for me——"

The uncontrolled force intensified on her wrist, causing Cen Xue to cry out in pain.

"…Isn't it obvious? Why choose him?"

Cen Xue interrupted Yan Pei.

He gritted his teeth, stabbing back word by word, with a touch of absurdity that even he himself felt:

"Because Lu Yanxi is much gentler than you, isn't she?"

These words were like a bucket of cold water poured on Yan Pei's head, and he realized that he had gone too far.

As if waking from a dream, she let go of his wrist, took a few steps back, and leaned against the table.

"You're so cruel...Xu Lin."

He gasped and uttered two completely unfamiliar words in a panic.

That was Cen Xue's former name.