Chapter 50. Inside the filming studio, several Glory members were all in the spotlight…

Inside the studio, several Honor of Kings All-Star players are having promotional photos taken under the guidance of a professional team.

Zhou Zekai had the heaviest workload for solo shoots, but he was already used to this work rhythm and cooperated with the photographer's various requirements. Around noon, his phone suddenly vibrated in his pocket.

He glanced down at the message, his previously calm expression softening instantly, a slight smile unconsciously playing on his lips. The coldness and aloofness he displayed during the photoshoot vanished without a trace. After confirming there were no further photoshoots scheduled, he gave a brief explanation to Vice-Captain Jiang Botao, then turned and left with a light step.

"Hey? Where's Captain Zhou rushing off to?" The photographer couldn't help but sigh as he watched Zhou's departing figure. "Just now, when I asked him to smile more naturally, his smile looked forced, like he was being pressured into doing a job. Now, however, he's all smiles as he leaves!"

"The captain has some personal matters to attend to," Jiang Botao explained at the opportune moment, with his usual gentle smile: "We are all players, and we are indeed not very good at managing our expressions in front of the camera."

These words immediately caught Chu Yunxiu's attention. She put down her mineral water, and with her keen intuition honed from years of watching dramas, coupled with the various rumors circulating online recently, and the host of this All-Star event, a sudden realization dawned on her: the answer to why Zhou Zekai had left in such a hurry was obvious.

Chu Yunxiu looked around at the group of male contestants. She cursed Excellent Era for being so useless, which prevented Mu Cheng from coming to the All-Star Game to gossip with her this year. Finally, her gaze settled on Zhang Jiale, who was fixing his braids.

She leaned closer and lowered her voice, briefly explaining the whole story, and then boldly questioned and reasonably guessed: "I think Zhou Zekai probably went to see Zhao Zhinian."

"Zhao Zhinian?" Zhang Jiale's eyes lit up: "You mean that host? Oh~ no wonder he ran out so excitedly!"

Hearing the conversation, Li Xuan immediately leaned closer: "What? Zhou Zekai and Zhao Zhinian? Count me in, I have to get my hands on this juicy gossip!"

Lu Hanwen, who was selected for the All-Star team for the first time, curiously leaned over and asked, "What are the seniors talking about?"

"Children shouldn't pry into what adults are saying." Gossiping in front of children would damage his dignity as a senior, so Zhang Jiale waved his hand to send him away.

Lu Hanwen pouted unconvinced: "It's just about Captain Zhou and Sister Chinen, I know that!"

Upon hearing this, the group immediately surrounded him. Zhang Jiale's eyes widened: "What do you know? Tell me! I thought it was just the Reincarnation people who knew but didn't report it! You Blue Rain people knew too?"

Just then, Yu Wenzhou coughed twice and called out from afar, "Hanwen," timely rescuing his new wife from the awkward situation.

Lu Hanwen, as if grasping at a lifeline and granted a pardon, hurriedly replied, "The captain called me!" He then tried to slip away, not forgetting to shift the blame to his vice-captain before leaving. After all, several senior members of his team had repeatedly warned him before coming to the All-Star event that as a rookie, he should blame Huang Shao if there were any problems. He was good at talking, knew how to talk, and loved to talk: "Ask Huang Shao! I heard it all from Huang Shao!"

Zhang Jiale immediately grabbed Huang Shaotian, who was standing next to him: "You, Huang Shaotian, how dare you eat all that yourself! You knew but didn't tell anyone!"

Li Xuan was shocked: "Young Master Huang, you can actually keep your mouth shut!"

Huang Shaotian retorted unhappily, "What do you mean I could keep my mouth shut! I'm a very sensible person when it comes to my words and actions! Besides, you all believed whatever Hanwen said casually..."

Chu Yunxiu, too lazy to watch them make a fuss, reminded them, "Captain Zhou has been gone for a while now, are you going or not?"

Zhang Jiale was already walking towards the door impatiently: "Then what are we waiting for? We'll miss the show if we're late!"

Li Xuan shook his head with a smile: "You guys are just too gossipy." He said this, but completely ignored Wu Yuce's warning look beside him and honestly followed the group.

In the end, Chu Yunxiu, Zhang Jiale, Li Xuan, and Huang Shaotian, whom Zhang Jiale had dragged along, formed today's "gossip-eating squad." The group headed straight out, tacitly ignoring Jiang Botao and Lü Boyuan from Samsara. After all, they had already subjected the Samsara members to "torture" without success, so now they had no choice but to rely on themselves to enjoy the gossip. Although their actions were somewhat furtive, each of them wore an air of self-righteous indignation.

As Huang Shaotian left, Yu Wenzhou glanced at him subtly. Although his captain's eyes held a smile, the reminder couldn't be clearer: be mindful of your behavior.

On the other side, Zhang Xinjie also wanted to remind his teammates to stop, but Zhang Jiale had already walked away excitedly, his braids bouncing happily behind his head, completely unaware of the expressions and looks on his captain and vice-captain's faces.

After the gossip squad left, Yu Wenzhou smiled apologetically at Jiang Botao, then whispered a few words of advice to Lu Hanwen. At this moment, Wang Jiexi spoke up casually, "It seems Captain Yu is in the know."

Yu Wenzhou calmly replied, "Doesn't Captain Wang know this perfectly well? Captain Wang's name frequently appears in those online posts. I wonder when we'll see gossip posts featuring Captain Wang as the main character, instead of him being a supporting character in someone else's story."

Wang Jiexi calmly retorted, "I'd rather see some gossip about Captain Yu. But as a member of Blue Rain, Captain Yu must be facing extraordinary difficulties."

Gao Yingjie and Lu Hanwen stood on either side of their captains, exchanged a knowing glance, and both chose to remain silent.

Gao Yingjie quietly took out his phone and sent a message to Zhao Zhinian: "Sister Zhinian, Captain Zhou suddenly left the filming studio just now, and some professional players were curious and followed him." In Gao Yingjie's heart, he always felt that he and Zhao Zhinian were a bit closer, and he was also one of the first players to know about their relationship.

Unfortunately, Zhao Zhinian, who was getting her makeup done, didn't see the warning message in time. Meanwhile, the "gossip squad," leveraging their status as All-Star contestants, were freely inquiring about Zhou Zekai's whereabouts backstage. After some twists and turns, the four finally headed towards the host's dressing room.

The noise outside carried into the dressing room, and Zhao Zhinian clearly heard Zhang Jiale calling for Zhou Zekai. She instinctively tried to pull her hand away from his grasp, but just as she managed to loosen it slightly, Zhou Zekai firmly held it again. Helplessly, she looked up and met his pitiful gaze.

Those usually calm eyes were now slightly lowered, and the corners of her lips were pursed. This vulnerable expression softened Zhao Zhinian's heart. She could only give him a reproachful look and let him continue to hold her hand.

What they witnessed was this scene: Zhao Zhinian, dressed in a champagne-colored gown, sat in front of a vanity mirror, while Zhou Zekai stood naturally beside her. The intimate distance between them far exceeded the bounds of normal social etiquette. Their clasped hands were still subtly tugging at each other before finally clasping together. Even from a distance, the affection in their eyes was palpable, and this small interaction made the air feel sweet.

The staff around them all lowered their eyes and focused on their work, seemingly oblivious to everything in front of them. However, they were secretly thinking: First, Zhou Zekai came alone, and now four professional players have poured in. This year's pros seem to be particularly "leisurely".

Zhang Jiale's mouth formed a perfect "O" shape, and his usually bright eyes were now wide open. He kept nudging Chu Yunxiu beside him with his elbow, as if to say: Look! That taciturn Zhou Zekai, that Zhou Zekai who's so stingy with words, is actually holding a girl's hand!

Chu Yunxiu gasped in pain and glared at him irritably. One poke would have been enough; she wasn't blind. But Zhang Jiale seemed to have activated an automatic elbow-striking mode, completely unable to stop. Seeing that his foolish act was directly revealing the purpose of their gathering, Chu Yunxiu simply and decisively raised her foot and lightly stomped on him.

Zhang Jiale was caught off guard by being stepped on. Just as she was about to cry out, Li Xuan behind her quickly covered her mouth, and she could only make a muffled "woo woo" sound.

With a bright "I knew it" smile on his face, Li Xuan restrained the struggling Zhang Jiale while nodding amicably to the two people in the dressing room. If you ignored the fact that he was tightly covering Zhang Jiale's mouth, this gesture was quite the demeanor of a captain.

Huang Shaotian, who had been forcibly dragged there, was unusually quiet at this moment.

He blinked, his gaze sweeping back and forth between Zhou Zekai and Zhao Zhinian's clasped hands, his face showing the excitement of discovering a new continent: Zhou Zekai is pretty quick, isn't he? They probably weren't even together before, but now they're in a long-distance relationship. He's got that opportunistic style.

He opened his mouth, a thousand words swirling on his tongue, but in the end he just touched his nose, swallowing all his words back. But his expression clearly screamed, "Zhou Zekai, you're something else!"

Zhou Zekai, however, seemed completely unconcerned about their expressions, and even slightly turned his body, as if trying to block their gazes as they looked at Zhao Zhinian.

After a brief silence, Lin Shuang was the first to react. Her professional habit led her to step forward and greet the group of experts: "Gentlemen, come here. Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Uh... well." Chu Yunxiu cleared her throat, trying to make her voice sound normal: "We... came to see... ask if anyone wants to challenge us in this year's newcomer challenge?" The excuse was so clumsy that even she didn't believe it. When had they ever cared about this?

Li Xuan released his hand from Zhang Jiale at the opportune moment and chimed in, "Yes, yes, yes, let's see if there are any newcomers who want to challenge me this year, so I can prepare in advance. Team Leader Zhou is here too, what a coincidence."

Zhang Jiale gasped for breath, finally finding his voice: "You Zhou Zekai! I was wondering why you ran faster than a rabbit, it turns out you were..." Before he could finish, Chu Yunxiu pinched him from behind, forcing him to swallow the rest of his sentence, "ran away for a secret rendezvous."

Zhou Zekai didn't speak, but just looked at them calmly. His eyes showed no emotion, but the four people at the door felt a strange pressure.

Zhao Zhinian took a deep breath to calm her racing heart, then withdrew her hand, stood up, and gave a professional smile: "Although the contestants will submit their challenge intentions in advance, the final decision will be based on the on-site selection. I'm sorry, I may not be able to give you any definite information right now."

Chu Yunxiu hadn't come for this purpose in the first place, so she casually replied and stepped forward: "Oh, Chinen, your dress is so beautiful!" She looked at the jewelry box with interest, and after chatting for a few minutes, she finally revealed her true intentions: "Actually, I've always wanted to get to know you. How about we add each other on WeChat? I'm also friends with Zhong Yeli from your team. Do you mind if I just call you Chinen?"

Zhao Zhinian was slightly taken aback, then smiled and said, "Okay, Captain Chu, please wait a moment while I get my phone."

She reached for her phone on the table, and Zhou Zekai, ever the perceptive one, handed it to her. Chu Yunxiu smiled and watched the sweet moment up close.

As Zhao Zhinian unlocked her screen and the WeChat interface popped up, she and Chu Yunxiu, who was leaning closer, both clearly saw the warning message sent by Gao Yingjie: "Sister Zhinian, Captain Zhou suddenly left the filming studio just now, and some professional players were curious and went to follow him."

The air suddenly became quiet.

Chu Yunxiu coughed awkwardly and touched her nose: "Xiao Gao is quite helpful, he just misunderstood us."

Zhao Zhinian forced himself to remain calm and swiped the message away. Seeing that Chu Yunxiu had already opened the QR code scanning interface, he showed his own QR code: "Captain Chu, scan me."

As the notification sound indicated that the connection had been successfully established, Chu Yunxiu pressed her advantage: "Just call me Yunxiu, anyway I've been calling you Chinen all along."

Seeing Zhao Zhinian readily change her tune, Chu Yunxiu waved her phone with satisfaction. Another valuable channel for gossiping had been opened!

She turned her gaze to Zhou Zekai, who had been silently guarding her side, and smiled mischievously, "I won't bother you anymore, I'll be going now." Her words were meaningful, her eyes darting between the two of them before she finally prepared to leave, satisfied.

However, the other three were still a bit stunned.

Zhang Jiale, Li Xuan, and Huang Shaotian exchanged glances, their eyes conveying the same message: they'd gotten their fill of gossip and dog food (a Chinese slang term for witnessing public displays of affection), and Chu Yunxiu's actions had paved the way for them to follow up with more gossip...

This is actually the perfect opportunity for them to add each other on WeChat, since they are both in the same industry and will inevitably have collaborations in the future.

But none of the three grown men dared to speak under Zhou Zekai's calm yet oppressive gaze.

This attempt to get by is far too obvious, and it seems a bit... abrupt?

Zhang Jiale scratched his head, swallowing back the words that were about to come out: "Then let's add each other as friends." He secretly glanced at Zhou Zekai. The other man had no expression, but Zhang Jiale inexplicably felt that taking out his phone now was like running wild on someone else's territory, just like someone recklessly rushing into the middle of Samsara during a team competition.

Huang Shaotian opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to use his usual trash talk as a cover, such as "Hey, Host Zhao, let's add each other on WeChat so it'll be easier to schedule an interview later," but when he met Zhou Zekai's gaze, he swallowed the words back. Remembering his captain's hint, he just touched his nose and swallowed back all the nonsense he had in his mouth.

Li Xuan, being the most sensible, maintained a polite smile and took half a step back, demonstrating with his actions that "I have no other intentions and I will not get involved."

Seeing the three of them in their awkward situation, Chu Yunxiu chuckled inwardly and called out, "Come on, come on, what are you standing there for? Chinen has work to do later, don't delay his business." With that, she turned and walked towards the door first.

Zhang Jiale and the others then seemed to wake up from their daze, carrying a subtle regret of "having tasted the melon but not fully understood it," and followed Chu Yunxiu out dejectedly.

The gossip-loving team finally left. As soon as the door closed, Zhang Jiale's low-pitched complaint could be faintly heard outside: "...Why are you the only one who added me on WeChat? What did you see on your Moments? Let me see!" And Chu Yunxiu's smiling reply: "Who told me to be so quick...and we're all girls...I'm not telling you what I saw!"

Silence finally returned to the dressing room. Zhao Zhinian looked at the closed door, then turned to Zhou Zekai: "Your teammates... and these professional players, they're all quite adorable."

Looking at Zhao Zhinian, whose eyes were crinkled with laughter, Zhou Zekai's earlier displeasure at being disturbed by outsiders vanished. He stepped forward, naturally took Zhao Zhinian's hand again, gently squeezed her fingertips, and whispered, "Mm." He paused, then added, with a hint of possessiveness, "Don't pay any attention to them."

Zhou Zekai wanted to stay a little longer, but Zhao Zhinian glanced at the time, gently nudged his arm, and said in a gentle yet firm tone, "You should go back first. Vice Captain Jiang and the others must be getting impatient. I also need to prepare for the next part of the hosting process."

Zhou Zekai nodded, and though reluctant, he let go of her hand. Reaching the door, he turned back, his gaze falling on her, before opening the door and leaving.

The group of onlookers didn't immediately go far in the corridor outside the door.

Zhang Jiale was still lamenting, "What a blunder! I should have been more shameless! Now look what's happened, our primary sources of information have been monopolized!"

Huang Shaotian chimed in, "Exactly! Chu Yunxiu will definitely embellish what she tells us! No, I have to think of a way to force Zhou Zekai to say more..."

Li Xuan remained calm and smiled as he smoothed things over, saying, "With Sister Yunxiu here, are you worried about not having any gossip to share? She'll definitely share it."

Chu Yunxiu leaned against the wall with her arms crossed, waving her phone smugly: "That's not necessarily true, it depends on my mood. But don't worry, if there's any big news, it will be spread in a small circle... well, depending on everyone's reaction, it will be appropriately disseminated."

Just as the group was chatting and laughing, the door to the dressing room opened again, and Zhou Zekai walked out slowly.

The four fell silent instantly, and Zhang Jiale and Huang Shaotian moved forward in perfect unison, flanking Zhou Zekai in the middle.

"You bastard Zhou Zekai!" Zhang Jiale lowered his voice, but a mischievous smile appeared on his face: "Confess the truth!"

Huang Shaotian immediately chimed in, his words flowing like a clockwork toy: "Exactly! Zhou Zekai, you're really not being fair! You kept such a big thing from us! You didn't even reply to messages in the group chat before, let's see how you hide today! Tell us quickly, when did it start? How did you win her over? The internet says she was the one who confessed in high school, is that true? Today they were even holding hands! Isn't it said that esports doesn't need love? What's with you two getting together? Is it really because of the feng shui that you said last time that reincarnation brings good luck in finding love?..."

Zhou Zekai was sandwiched between the two men, bombarded with Huang Shaotian's rapid-fire questions. He calmly swept his gaze over their faces, which were filled with curiosity and expectation. When Huang Shaotian finally caught his breath, a barely perceptible smile appeared on his lips: "I won't tell you."

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Author's Note: I've been a bit busy lately, I need to catch up on the word count for the rankings these next couple of days [crying][crying][crying]