Chapter 51 The group returned to the professional players' backstage area...
The group returned to the professional players' backstage lounge. Although the players, eager to see what was going on, took turns "interrogating" Zhou Zekai, he proved to be their nemesis.
No matter what they said or how they tried to subtly probe, he remained as steady as a mountain and unmoved.
At first, they could get brief responses like "yes" or "no," but later all they got were "um," "oh," "uh," and nodding or shaking their heads. Finally, they simply stared at them with their clear and innocent big eyes, without saying a word, using all the tricks they usually used to deal with reporters.
If Zhou Zekai's fans saw this expression, they would definitely shout "Our Emperor Kai is so cute!", but in the eyes of Zhang Jiale and other professional players who were eager to watch the drama unfold, this was simply a blatant provocation and passive resistance.
Zhang Jiale was even more puzzled. She leaned close to Chu Yunxiu and whispered, "It's one thing for Fang Minghua to be married, but Zhou Zekai is so spineless. How come he's single? How come he's single before me?"
Chu Yunxiu stroked her chin, thought about it seriously for a moment, and gave a seemingly very reasonable explanation: "Maybe it's because of looks. Besides, the two were high school classmates, so they've known each other since childhood. And don't you think that someone like Captain Zhou, who looks obedient, has a good personality, is quiet, and handsome, is actually quite popular in real life?"
As she spoke, her gaze swept over Huang Shaotian, who was incessantly complaining to Yu Wenzhou about being dragged along to watch the drama unfold, and she deliberately put him down: "Come on, let's make a choice. The quiet and handsome Zhou Zekai or the noisy and annoying Huang Shaotian, which one would you choose?"
Zhang Jiale glanced at Huang Shaotian, and without hesitation, said decisively, "If you're going to compare them like that, then I'll choose Zhou Zekai too! At least my hearing won't be damaged, and he's more pleasing to the eye!"
"Hey! Hey! Hey!" Huang Shaotian instantly bristled and jumped over: "Are you kidding me! Shouldn't we be united in attacking this traitor Zhou Zekai? Why are you suddenly attacking me? I, the Sword Saint, have a lot of fans too, okay?! And am I not handsome enough? What's wrong with talking? Chu Yunxiu, didn't you say before that girls are auditory creatures and need to hear sweet words?"
Wang Jiexi, who had been quietly observing, chimed in at the opportune moment, delivering a precise blow: "I hope you can face up to the essential difference between 'sweet talk' and 'trash talk'."
Huang Shaoqi was furious: "...Wang Jiexi, you!"
Meanwhile, Zhou Zekai, the key figure who had just been "besieged," remained unmoved. He even took advantage of their infighting to quietly move to a corner, take out his phone, and have a faint smile on his lips.
For professional players, All-Star Weekend is a time for relaxation and entertainment, so a little gossip is fine.
Meanwhile, Zhao Zhinian's fellow commentators and staff, though also harboring some curiosity, ultimately prioritized their work and were all busy with their own tasks, so no one egged them on.
For Zhao Zhinian, this All-Star event was a valuable work opportunity and a test of her professionalism: from carefully matching her dress and accessories to repeatedly rehearsing each segment, she memorized her hosting script perfectly, all to maintain the same professional demeanor when facing any contestant.
Even though she was going to interview Zhou Zekai later, she was determined to treat everyone equally and not let personal feelings affect her professional performance.
However, she misjudged the audience's mindset: most of the audience who came to watch the All-Star game were there to watch the drama unfold, and what they wanted to see was her special reaction when facing Zhou Zekai, rather than her calm and even-handed demeanor.
Even the director understood this well, constantly tracking the interaction between the two, ready to cut to close-ups of their expressions at any moment. After all, in an event like the All-Star Game, trending topics and buzz are paramount.
However, satisfying the public's gossip expectations has never been Zhao Zhinian's obligation. Her responsibility is to be a professional host and ensure that every aspect of the All-Star event runs smoothly, which is precisely why she and Zhou Zekai decided not to go public for the time being.
She didn't want to be labeled with overly conspicuous tags, even though in everyone's eyes, her specialness was already self-evident.
The first day's activities, especially the rookie challenge, were indeed somewhat lackluster. The director failed to capture any truly exciting shots. Finally, after Liu Xiaobie and Lu Hanwen's match, they spotted Huang Shaotian giving the middle finger, but the camera was a beat too slow to switch to the shot, missing this potentially controversial moment and leaving the director frustrated.
The only thing that surprised the audience was that Chu Yunxiu seemed unusually familiar with the host, Zhao Zhinian. Although no one could think of any connection between the two, most people assumed it was just a friendship between girls. They seemed quite familiar with each other, and some even went to Chu Yunxiu's social media account to leave messages asking, "Sister Yunxiu, do you know about Zhinian and Captain Zhou? Are they really together?"
After the All-Star game ended, Chu Yunxiu responded with a cute "shh" emoji, accompanied by a thought-provoking caption: "The Buddha said, it cannot be spoken."
Although Zhao Zhinian and Lou Guanning of Yizhan interacted very familiarly, and there were even CP fans who teased the two of them in the past, now that Zhou Zekai, the "real person," is present, all those past speculations have long since vanished.
Therefore, the audience's jeering has completely shifted; everyone is now more interested in seeing how Zhou Zekai, sitting in the contestant's seat, will react. The director, naturally aware of this, thoughtfully switched the camera to Zhou Zekai in the audience while Zhao Zhinian was interviewing Lou Guanning.
However, Zhou Zekai's facial expression management was impeccable. In the video, he looked calm and even had a perfectly timed look of bewilderment, leaving the audience who were waiting to see the excitement disappointed. At the same time, he received teasing comments from professional players who called him an "actor".
The first day of activities came to a successful conclusion, with contestants and audience members leaving one after another. Although many felt that the day was a bit uneventful, Zhao Zhinian, the host, was quite satisfied: while trending topics can certainly bring attention, they can also easily add variables to the work. For her, as a host, a smooth and stable outcome is the best result.
The contestants' exit was relatively simple; they could change into casual clothes and leave. However, Zhao Zhinian, as the host, was wearing a formal dress that restricted movement and needed to briefly coordinate the next day's work before going backstage to change and remove her makeup.
After changing out of his team uniform, Zhou Zekai ignored the teasing from the surrounding players about "Where is Captain Zhou rushing off to?" and headed straight for the host's dressing room. Although he remained silent, the slight upturn of his lips and the gleam in his eyes clearly conveyed a smug "You should know this even if I don't say it" attitude, making the professional players' teeth ache with envy. They secretly plotted to teach Zhou Zekai a "lesson" during the All-Star game and show him the wrath of a single man.
When the commentators and staff in the dressing room saw Zhou Zekai again, they were much calmer. One familiar commentator even greeted him naturally, "Captain Zhou, are you waiting for Chinen?"
Zhou Zekai nodded frankly, making no attempt to hide his feelings. Although the two had agreed not to make a public announcement, his actions clearly indicated his intention to spread the word.
The dressing room was brightly lit. Zhao Zhinian was taking off her earrings in front of the mirror. When she saw Zhou Zekai's figure in the mirror, she couldn't help but smile.
"You're all changed already?" Zhao Zhinian continued what she was doing, her tone tinged with a friendly complaint: "Didn't I tell you to wait in the lounge?" The two had just briefly discussed the arrangements after the event via WeChat.
Zhou Zekai walked behind her and naturally took the pair of delicate earrings from her hand. His fingertips inadvertently brushed against her earlobe, and both of them saw the slightly reddened tips of each other's ears in the mirror.
"I want to see you." He spoke softly, intending to say it only to Zhao Zhinian. However, everyone in the dressing room, though seemingly busy with their own tasks, was actually watching closely and listening intently. Lin Shuang, who was tidying up her jewelry, immediately lowered her head upon hearing this, pretending to be focused on organizing the necklace in her hands.
The commentators were also taken aback by Zhou Zekai's blunt statement, completely surprised that he would speak so directly in private. They deliberately raised their voices and pretended to be busy with their own things.
"Oh dear, I suddenly remembered there's a process sheet I haven't checked yet!"
"I think I left the script at the front desk..."
"Then hurry up and get ready, let's go together?"
Amidst a chorus of excuses, the group quickened their pace and then tacitly withdrew from the dressing room.
Afterwards, Lin Shuang deftly helped Zhao Zhinian change out of her cumbersome dress and carefully put it away. Glancing at Zhou Zekai waiting quietly at the door, she finished packing and tactfully picked up her bag, saying, "Zhinian, we'll head back now."
As she turned away, she sighed softly to herself: Lou and the others had gone to see Ye Shen, and Zhi Nian had a date tonight, leaving her, the cameraman, and the editor—three working-class people—to fend for themselves. She still had to keep an eye on editing Lou's All-Star Rookie Challenge footage later… The only consolation was that Zhao Zhi Nian had specifically secured extra pay for their part-time jobs; after all, it wouldn't be right to freeload off them.
Money is indeed the best way to soothe the hearts of working people. When Lin Shuang thought about the extra income this month, she suddenly felt that working overtime all night was not so hard. When she carried her bag and walked out, her steps were lighter.
After Zhao Zhinian changed into her casual clothes and got ready, Zhou Zekai naturally took her bag, and the two left the venue hand in hand through the back door, heading to have dinner. However, they bumped into several internal leaders of the Glory League as soon as they stepped outside. Zhao Zhinian only recognized one of them, having interacted with him before during the Challenger Tournament. While Zhou Zekai didn't recognize them, they all clearly knew this key figure in the league.
So the leaders' gazes fell on the two of them with a mixture of curiosity and inquiry, especially the familiar atmosphere and the excessively close distance between them. There are really not many romantic scandals among professional players in the Glory League, so they couldn't help but take a second look now that they had encountered one.
Zhao Zhinian felt a strange, slightly awkward feeling, as if their "office romance" had been caught by their boss, even though they weren't strictly speaking traditional office colleagues. Because they weren't familiar with each other, they only nodded politely as they passed each other, though they did glance at each other.
After walking a few steps away, Zhao Zhinian still felt a little uneasy. Although she had accepted the change in her relationship with Zhou Zekai, she still felt a subtle awkwardness in the work environment and in front of the people around her. She explained to Zhou Zekai in a low voice, "Those were probably the leaders from Glory. I've seen the one on the far right before, but they probably don't recognize me. However, they definitely recognize you, so they kept looking at us..."
Zhou Zekai didn't care about any of that. He just looked at Zhao Zhinian with a wronged expression and muttered in a low voice, "You let go again."
The two had left hand in hand, but when they ran into the leader, Zhao Zhinian subconsciously let go of his hand.
Zhao Zhinian chuckled. Although she wasn't a traditional working person, she had experienced the workplace and instinctively had some conditioned reflexes towards her superiors: "You don't understand. When we working people face our superiors, we instinctively feel a little awkward. This psychological pressure forces me to do things against my conscience."
“When Zhang Jiale and the others come, you should let go.” Zhou Zekai suddenly started bringing up old grievances and began to accuse them with a righteous indignation.
Seeing his earnest and calculating expression, Zhao Zhinian was surprised that Zhou Zekai was so clingy. She had no choice but to take his hand again, hold it tightly, and coax him in a slightly coaxing tone: "Okay, okay, I was wrong. I just haven't fully adjusted yet. Brother Kai, you're so magnanimous, aren't you...?"
Her eyes lit up, and she had a mischievous idea: "How about we go to the supermarket now and buy a bottle of super glue, and stick our hands together, okay? We'll never be apart again! It won't affect me much; I'll probably be more interesting hosting the Glory event with you holding my hand, maybe even getting higher ratings. But you can't hold my hand while playing games, oh no, what will happen to Samsara's champion? I'll become Samsara's sinner, is this what netizens call a femme fatale?"
“You’re not.” Zhou Zekai wasn’t good with words to begin with, and now that Zhao Zhinian was teasing him like this, his ears turned slightly red, and he didn’t know how to respond. He just subconsciously tightened his fingers and held that soft hand firmly in his palm, showing his attitude with his actions: 502 probably won’t be needed for the time being, but he’s going to hold it for now.
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Author's Note: Painfully rushing to meet the word count [crying][crying][crying]
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