Chapter 21 I Want a Hug You A Gay Stereotype…
There is a commercial performance this Saturday and they are going to sing three songs.
They are the most popular artistes invited to this event and will be the last to perform. Most of the audience seats were filled with their fans, holding their cheering sticks.
I arrived backstage early to prepare, and when I was putting on makeup, someone knocked on the door. It was the new boy band Cherry Pit from the lounge next door.
They had met once before, but it was so hasty that they didn't have time to talk. There are nine people in this group, and it is quite lively once they come in. The lounge, which is not big to begin with, now seems very crowded with people.
Standing at the front was Huang Ming, who had already put on makeup. His young and handsome face stood out among the nine people.
Five people stood up to greet them. Li Xi was still putting on makeup and her clothes were not buttoned properly. She was a step late in getting up and walking over. Tang Ruining stood in front silently to block Li Xi.
Li Xi moved a little to the side, and Tang Ruining followed his steps, insisting on standing right in front of him to block his view.
Li Xi:?
He turned his head slightly and saw Huang Ming who was standing in front of him, then looked back at the stubborn back of his head, and a guess arose in his mind.
It can't be so childish...
Li Xi leaned forward and whispered in the ear of the person in front of him: "You are blocking me."
Tang Ruining didn't give up his seat, nor did he say anything. He just stood there straight, even his hair seemed to be trying to stand up, so that he could be taller and block the view from behind more completely.
Li Xi couldn't help laughing, so he walked away and stood at the edge so that no one could stop him.
The nine people, led by the captain, greeted them and said polite words. Just now Jiang Yilan was blocked and no one was seen. Now they saw Jiang Yilan appearing and turned to look at him.
Among the nine people, a few of them brightened up their eyes after seeing Jiang Yilan. Huang Ming was a straightforward person, and he praised without hesitation: "Brother Yilan, you look so handsome today."
Tang Ruining's eyes were glued to Huang Ming. He saw him waving at Jiang Yilan with a smile on his face. He also saw the latter waving back with a smile, and his fists clenched a little tighter.
I really don’t know what kids nowadays eat to grow up. They are taller than him and Jiang Yilan.
Huang Ming was very enthusiastic. He said to Li Xi, "Brother Yilan, last time you played the song Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence on the guitar live, I saw it and found the sheet music to practice that song. Wow, it was really difficult. You are amazing."
"You'll become familiar with it as long as you practice more," said Li Xi.
"Yeah, I used to have time to practice guitar, but now I'm too busy and don't have much time to practice."
"Yilan should be busier than you." Tang Ruining suddenly spoke, his tone very flat, and it was impossible to tell whether he was joking or serious.
Huang Ming nodded and said affirmatively: "Yes, so it's really amazing! Now when someone asks me who my favorite senior is, I always answer: 'Jiang Yilan from To5'."
Tang Ruining crossed his arms and said nothing.
After chatting for a few more words and a few people left, Tang Ruining said to Li Xi unhappily, "Why do you keep looking at him? What's so good about him?"
"Are you talking about Huang Ming? I did take a close look just now." Li Xi said.
Tang Ruining's mouth drooped, and Li Xi said slowly: "I've seen it and confirmed that you are indeed more handsome."
Tang Ruining's tense expression relaxed, the corners of his mouth straightened, then turned down, "Are you kidding me?"
"I'm telling the truth."
Seeing his sincere expression, Tang Ruining thought for a moment and said, "He doesn't dance as well as I do."
Li Xi showed a slightly surprised look: "I have never seen him dance."
"You'll be able to see it in a bit... Forget it, you'd better not watch it, it's not pretty."
"Have you seen it?"
“I’ve seen the video.”
Li Xi tapped his chin with his finger and said thoughtfully, "There aren't any male groups in our generation who dance better than you, right?"
Tang Ruining's expression finally relaxed completely, and he even smiled faintly.
Li Xi added: "But Cherry Pit has just debuted, so they still have a lot of room for improvement."
"..."Cherry Pit, Tang Ruining silently recited the name, but it didn't sound smooth no matter how he pronounced it.
"What's the name of a boy band Cherry..." he complained.
"Why can't the boy band be called Cherry?" Li Xin thought, you are a gay, why do you have such a strong stereotype? He didn't say it out loud, but he made himself laugh.
"Do you like it that much?" Tang Ruining asked dryly.
The smile on Li Xi's face turned into helplessness, "You over-interpreted it."
He looked at Jiang Yilan's smiling face, which had not yet finished putting on makeup. In fact, he could completely understand the expressions of those people when they saw him just now.
To be honest, I don't remember what it felt like when I first met him. At that time, the first news I heard was that he was parachuted in and relied on the backstage to make his debut, but in fact he could not sing or dance. I was extremely disgusted in my heart. Then, when I met him in person and experienced his arrogance, his attitude of holding others back and not wanting to learn properly, I was left with only disgust when I saw his stunning face again.
Tang Ruining suddenly reached out and touched his forehead.
Li Xi was stunned and didn't move. Tang Ruining said: "There's some glitter on the eyebrows."
Li Xi touched her own eyes, and her eyelashes drooped. "Then I'll go on to put on makeup."
"Um."
The three songs were performed very quickly, and the fans in the audience cheered very enthusiastically. Although it was a compilation, the atmosphere was as warm as their concerts.
They were the last group, and fireworks were set off at the edge of the stage, with sparks spraying high and carrying scorching heat. The organizers had reminded them in advance at which point the fireworks would be set off. Others had experience with this, but Li Xi had never encountered fireworks on stage before, and was still startled when they were suddenly set off with a "bang". Although he adjusted quickly, it was seen by Tang Ruining and recorded by fans.
The clip of him shaking with fear and his pupils dizzying was made into an animated GIF by fans, who praised him for being cute. The next day, Tang Ruining saw this Weibo post and silently clicked the save button.
After the performance, the group returned to the backstage and ran into Cherry Pit who was live streaming. Huang Ming, who was holding his phone, saw them and happily trotted over, excitedly saying to the fans on the screen: "It's the seniors from To5, look!"
He may just be careless and not think too much about it, but for a live broadcast like this, they need to be informed in advance. It would be very ignorant to suddenly drag people into the camera. The “surprise live broadcasts” that fans usually see are all discussed in advance. Under normal circumstances, no one would suddenly push open a star's lounge while holding a live streaming phone, or suddenly approach and confront the star without the star knowing.
He was still pulling Li Xi. Huang Ming pointed the front camera at Li Xi's face and said, "Look, isn't it beautiful? Wow, this face."
Li Xi was confused at first. He was still thinking about what happened on the stage when he came down from the stage. He didn't notice that someone was broadcasting live at all. It was not until he saw his own face enlarged on the screen and the scrolling comments that he realized what Huang Ming was doing.
He had just finished dancing three songs, his bangs were stuck to his forehead with sweat, and he was still breathing hard, but he still cooperated and smiled at the screen and said hello: "Hello."
Tang Ruining came over and grabbed his arm, "Let's go."
The people from Cherry Pit wanted to take a photo with them. They had agreed to this in the lounge just now, but Tang Ruining was unwilling to do so now. "How could they just come here while live streaming? What if we didn't notice and were chatting about private matters?"
"It's normal for a newcomer to not understand something," Yuan Zhiyan said soothingly.
"When we were newcomers, we were the ones who knew how to read people's expressions the most." Tang Ruining sneered, "Even you wouldn't do such a stupid thing."
Yuan Zhiyan: “…Ah?”
Huang Ming was enthusiastic towards Jiang Yilan before, and Tang Ruining was not seriously angry, he was just unhappy. But this matter really made him unhappy, and he has a strong sense of boundaries in this regard.
"Forget it, we already agreed to take a photo together." Li Xi said, "Don't be angry, it's not a big deal."
"Take the photo and say I'm gone."
It's not a big deal, but Tang Ruining sometimes gets excited and wants to do things according to his own ideas. He is not afraid of offending others and no one can persuade him.
Li Xi lowered his voice and said, "Don't you think your reputation as a big shot isn't big enough?"
Tang Ruining looked nonchalant again, "That's perfect. Today I'll show them what it means to act like a big shot."
"Tang Ruining!" Li Xi's face darkened and he spoke in a rare stern tone.
There were not only people from their two groups present, but also many staff members and temporary workers from various fields, with a wide range of opinions.
The other three people standing by didn't dare to say a word, for fear that the two would start quarreling like before and neither would give in. That was the time when Rong Xiao had the most headache.
Tang Ruining looked at him for a few seconds and pursed his lips.
Rong Xiao was about to say, "Forget it, if you don't want to take the photo, then don't take it. Just say that Ruining felt a little uncomfortable and went to rest. It's nothing." But he saw Tang Ruining lower his head and said softly, "I know."
That indifferent look disappeared so quickly, Tang Ruining's voice softened: "Don't look at me like that... I'm going."
Under the wide-eyed gazes of the people around him, Tang Ruining went to take a photo with Cherry Pit with a good attitude and without a stern face.
Huang Ming was probably reminded by his teammates. After taking the photo, he ran to Li Xi again. He was no longer as excited as before and looked like he had done something wrong. "I'm sorry, Brother Yilan. I was just thinking about my own happiness and forcibly pulled you over. I apologize if I offended you."
There are many precedents of artists getting into accidents due to live broadcasts, and their companies have specifically told them to be careful when broadcasting live, and it is best not to suddenly start a live broadcast outside. There was a precedent in their company where an artist accidentally recorded another artist next to him who didn't have his clothes on properly during a live broadcast. Luckily it was a male idol, but the male idol was still very unhappy.
"It's okay." Li Wei comforted him, "Just don't do this to others in the future."
Huang Ming nodded, "No more."
He is not stupid. When he saw the person being dragged away by Tang Ruining, he realized that Tang Ruining was unhappy. Some fans in the barrage also asked: [Was it Tang Ruining who just walked past? 】【Why do you feel he is angry? [No, Shuangdan was just passing by. He is usually like this. He is not targeting Mingming.]
Afraid that things were getting worse, Huang Ming quickly changed the subject and started talking to other teammates about something else.
Li Xi said: "You have just debuted, it is always better to be cautious."
Huang Ming kept nodding. Li Xi shut up after saying this. Strictly speaking, he debuted a little later than Cherry Pit, so why is he acting like a senior here?
Feeling guilty belatedly, Li Xi smiled and ended the topic: "Go back early, we are leaving too, bye."
The two sides said goodbye to each other, and when Li Xi turned around, he saw Tang Ruining standing behind him.
He walked closer and said to Li Xi, "I listened to you. Can I have a reward?"
...People really laugh when they are speechless. Li Xi: "I am afraid that your reputation will be damaged again, but you ask me for a reward."
I don't know when Tang Ruining started to adopt a desperate attitude: "Anyway, I listened to you, otherwise I would really leave."
"Okay, fine." Li Xi couldn't tell whether the smile on his face was speechless or angry. "Tell me, what reward do you want?"
"I want a hug."
Her heart seemed to be entangled by these words for several times. When Li Xi met his extremely serious eyes, she felt that her breathing was not smooth.
A hug is nothing, he can give it to anyone. But Tang Ruining treated it as a reward and asked himself if he could give it.
"Go back...and hold her." Li Xi said.
When he returned to the dormitory, Tang Ruining had even finished taking a shower when he knocked on his door.
His hair was half dried, and he walked towards Li Xi with the smell of moisture and shampoo, and asked him, "Can I hug you now?"
There was only a desk lamp on in Li Wei's room, and the dim light made the atmosphere even more ambiguous. Li Xi almost wanted to scream SOS in her heart, how could the situation suddenly become like this? On his way back, he just thought that at most they would be like they did when they filmed the MV, hugging each other for a moment and then breaking up. He even rehearsed it several times in his mind.
Tang Ruining walked over, one step, two steps... The room was only this big, and there was no more space and time for Li Xi to prepare himself mentally.
——No, this is not something that requires any psychological preparation.
Just a simple hug.
Li Xi closed her eyes, reached out and hugged Tang Ruining who had walked up to her.
Calculating the duration to be almost the same as the hug in the MV, Li Xi let go of his arms, but the person who had not moved until now tightened his arms and held him tightly, refusing to let him go.
He held her tightly, causing her pain.
His damp hair rubbed against his ears, making Li Xi feel uncomfortable.
Li Xi was vaguely thinking that maybe Tang Ruining just wanted to make him feel pain and uncomfortable. He was feeling upset today and he wanted to vent.
After an unknown amount of time, Tang Ruining let him go, stared at him for a few seconds, and said in a gentle voice, "Good night."
Then he left his room and closed the door quietly.
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