Chapter 59

Jiang Luo ignored the comment and looked at the bunk below Fu Wei.

The room had bunk beds, four people to a room. The bunk below Fu Wei was empty, a name tag of one of the three deceased trainees stuck to the wooden frame.

The Assistant led Jiang Luo over, but the bed was completely blocked by a pair of long legs. To get in, he'd have to bend at the waist and crawl under Fu Wei's feet.

Jiang Luo looked up at Fu Wei. 'You're blocking my bed.'

The angle was less than ideal—bottom to top, past Fu Wei's crotch all the way up to his chest and throat, rising and falling like a mountain hollow. The man was utterly unrestrained. He lowered his head to look at Jiang Luo, smoke drifting from his lips to the top of Jiang Luo's head. After he'd looked his fill, he unhurriedly drew his legs up and propped them on the iron railing at the edge of the bed.

Jiang Luo tossed his bag on the bed and let his gaze sweep the room.

There was a camera in the room too, but it had been covered by a piece of clothing. The Assistant rambled on at Fu Wei, so worried he could pull his hair out. 'Fu Wei, could you be a little more mindful of your image? There's a camera right here and you're still smoking and drinking. If this gets edited out again and more people start demanding you withdraw from the competition, what then?'

Fu Wei was faintly impatient. He tapped the ash off his cigarette: 'Then turn the camera off.'

The Assistant stopped his nagging. After a pause, he said a few more things in a low voice. From his attitude, Jiang Luo could tell what kind of position Fu Wei held in Next Stop, Idol.

If Fu Wei really withdrew, Next Stop, Idol would probably collapse on the spot.

With people in the dorm, the Assistant couldn't say much to Jiang Luo. 'Then just stay here. If anything comes up, come find me.'

Jiang Luo: 'Okay.'

The Assistant left. Jiang Luo made his bed and stood at the bedside, looking at the name tag on the wooden frame.

The bed's original owner had been called 'Chen Liuzhi.'

Jiang Luo remembered that Chen Liuzhi's ranking in Next Stop, Idol had been fairly high. His memory was good; even now he could recall the voting list from the first episode's broadcast.

In the first episode of Next Stop, Idol, Chen Liuzhi was decent-looking but had made a mistake on stage. But he was naturally funny, Duan Zi coming to him on the spot, and the result had been comedic and memorable instead. The audience remembered him for it; Chen Liuzhi's votes landed him right at the debut cutoff.

The show would debut eight people in total.

Come to think of it, the other two deceased trainees had also ranked fairly high, hovering around the debut cutoff.

Fu Wei climbed down from the bed and sat at the desk. The already cramped dorm felt even more crowded. Fu Wei was tall, aggressively so; in just that brief moment, Jiang Luo could tell he was hard to approach.

Jiang Luo wasn't actually here to compete in a talent show. He had no intention of getting close to the top-ranked contestant, but the man had been Chen Liuzhi's roommate, so he should know something about Chen Liuzhi.

'Hello,' Jiang Luo said, catching Fu Wei's gaze. He pointed back at the bed. 'The person who used to sleep here was Chen Liuzhi, right? Were you two close?'

Fu Wei: 'What do you want to ask.'

'Just curious about why he withdrew from the show,' Jiang Luo said. 'You were roommates. Was there anything off about him before he left?'

'You've asked the wrong person.' Fu Wei lazily turned his head back, looking at the sheet music in his hands with disinterest. 'I don't care why he withdrew. Why would I pay attention to him?'

Jiang Luo watched his expression. Fu Wei wasn't lying.

From outside the door came Lu You and Ye Xun's voices: 'Jiang Luo.'

Jiang Luo went out.

Ye Xun and the other had also asked their own roommates about the three deceased trainees and learned a thing or two. The three dead trainees had one thing in common: their skills weren't strong, but they had audience appeal.

'Audience appeal is a strange thing. No real skill but audience appeal—sounds like the kind of thing that makes people resentful and jealous.' Jiang Luo looked thoughtful.

Whether you go viral or not is a mystery. Every day, countless celebrities run off to Tianshi Manor hoping to get famous. This mission might well be related to something like that.

Who loses the most if the show doesn't air? By common sense, it's these trainees who haven't debuted yet.

If the mastermind really were human, it would make some sense. But the strange incidents that had happened on the show didn't seem like something a person could pull off.

Jiang Luo's lips were dry. He walked to a vending machine nearby and bought a bottle of mineral water. 'Shall we check out the Broadcast Hall tonight?'

Ye Xun and Lu You naturally had no objections.

After dinner, Jiang Luo returned to the dorm. Most of the trainees were back by now. The news about the three of them had spread fast; as Jiang Luo passed through the Corridor, he felt even more curious or unfriendly gazes.

Not many people could put on a friendly face toward a strong competitor who'd dropped in from nowhere.

Jiang Luo suddenly thought that being resented might actually be useful.

Based on the common trait of the dead trainees, the mastermind clearly didn't like undeserving eye candy. And the three of them—Jiang Luo, Ye Xun, Lu You—could draw Spirit Papers, catch ghosts, read feng shui, but singing and dancing? Would calisthenics count?

Here, they were simply put 'useless eye candy'—the kind of presence that invited dislike.

Jiang Luo reached the dorm door and heard several voices inside. He pushed it open. Two people were sitting at the desk, both unfamiliar faces.

The two boys were cute-looking, fresh in style, completely different from Fu Wei's type. Their eyes flashed with admiration at the sight of Jiang Luo. The brown-haired one praised: 'Wow, you're really good-looking.'

'Right, what's your name…' He instinctively glanced at Jiang Luo's bed, but seeing the name tag still read 'Chen Liuzhi,' he smiled awkwardly. 'Sorry, what's your name?'

Jiang Luo studied them without showing it. 'I'm Jiang Huan.'

'Which Jiang, which Huan?'

Jiang Luo picked up a marker from the desk and wrote 'Jiang Huan' beneath 'Chen Liuzhi' on the name tag beside the bed.

The handwriting was bold and flamboyant. Jiang Luo capped the pen, tapped the three characters 'Chen Liuzhi,' and said casually: 'By the way, do you know why he withdrew from the show?'

He smiled. 'I was pretty surprised when I got the replacement notice.'

The two boys exchanged a glance. 'We were surprised too.'

'Chen Liuzhi got along fine with us, except—' one boy's gaze darted furtively toward the bathroom, '—he also said he was going to lose weight during filming. None of us expected him to withdraw.'

Jiang Luo didn't miss the look. He glanced toward the bathroom as well. A tall shadow was moving at the doorway.

Was the relationship between Chen Liuzhi and Fu Wei bad?

The other boy tugged at the brown-haired one's clothes, signaling him to stop talking.

Jiang Luo looked at the name tags on their clothes. The brown-haired one was Zhang Cheng; the rounder-faced one was Zhao Ban.

These two had decent skills; their evaluation ranking was above Chen Liuzhi's, but audience votes had placed them below him.

'I came a bit late; the show had already started airing,' Jiang Luo said slowly, his eyes lowered. 'The response has been good. I remember you two—your rankings are pretty high too.'

Zhang Cheng's face lit up. 'Really?!'

Zhao Ban's face showed pleasure too, but he quickly suppressed it. He said quietly to Jiang Luo: 'The Director said not to talk about this, so stop. By the way, did they take your Mobile Phone?'

Of course they hadn't, but Jiang Luo couldn't say that. 'All taken.'

He leaned against the desk, his back to the camera. 'Push a little harder and you'll make the debut lineup. But the most popular one is still…' He glanced at Fu Wei's bunk, the corner of his mouth lifting, watching every flicker of expression on the two boys' faces. 'That one. His votes are in a different league. The numbers are scary.'

Zhang Cheng and Zhao Ban fell silent. They had clearly anticipated Fu Wei's popularity.

'Smoking and drinking and people still like him?' Zhang Cheng muttered, his voice so small Jiang Luo almost didn't catch it.

The two of them didn't much care for Fu Wei either.

Jiang Luo was about to say more when the bathroom door opened and Fu Wei walked out.

He wasn't wearing a shirt, his upper body bare. His muscle lines were smooth and tight. Fu Wei's hair hung wet over his forehead, his eyelids drooping half-shut. His pants weren't pulled up tight either—a strip of white underwear waistband showing. Somewhat sensual.

Very masculine.

A flash of envy crossed Zhang Cheng's eyes. He kindly reminded: 'Fu Wei, why did you come out without a shirt on?'

Fu Wei looked up at the camera, his brow furrowing. The displeasure in his voice was easy to catch: 'Where did the clothes I put over the camera go?'

Zhang Cheng and Zhao Ban's faces went awkward. They said nothing more.

Dorm life was also filmed and edited. Everyone else was desperate for more camera time; who would cover a camera? They'd pulled the clothes off as soon as they got back. They knew Fu Wei was showering, but hadn't expected him to walk out like that.

Fu Wei's lips curved. He lifted his eyelids to look at Zhang Cheng and the other for a moment, then turned back into the bathroom.

Zhang Cheng and the other held their breath for a few seconds without meaning to. Jiang Luo watched their reaction and couldn't help laughing.

When the two younger boys looked at him strangely, he shook his hand, still holding back laughter. 'Nothing. I just suddenly thought of a joke.'

He got up and walked to the bed, pretending to look for clothes while actually searching for his Spirit Papers.

Wrapping the Spirit Papers in clothes, Jiang Luo also went into the bathroom.

In the bathroom, Fu Wei had already put on a shirt—a white T-shirt clinging slightly damp to his body. Steam curled through the room, the floor tiles wet, the Mirror completely fogged over.

Fu Wei looked over at the sound. The black-haired youth's lips still held the flush of laughter. Fu Wei tossed an empty cigarette pack into the trash, then noticed the clothes Jiang Luo was holding against his chest. 'There's no hot water right now.'

Had to admit, Fu Wei's voice really did grab you. Listening to him talk was like being brushed against. Jiang Luo said 'Oh,' then: 'I'll just use the Toilet then.'

Fu Wei lit a cigarette. He had no intention of leaving.

Jiang Luo turned and opened the bathroom window. 'Sorry, I can't stand cigarette smoke.'

He looked back at Fu Wei, deliberately putting a provocative, condescending edge into his expression. 'The bathroom is a public space. Watch yourself.'

Chen Liuzhi and Fu Wei didn't get along.

Chen Liuzhi was dead.

Everyone here was a suspect. The mastermind might not be a ghost—it could be someone directing a ghost. Fu Wei was a suspect too. Jiang Luo planned to provoke him a little and see how he reacted.

Fu Wei crushed out his cigarette and looked at Jiang Luo.

The black-haired youth's expression was provocative. He was clever—he knew exactly what kind of look would most ruffle a man like Fu Wei. Fu Wei's gaze darkened. He watched Jiang Luo with a look that said plenty.

Jiang Luo drew out his tone, repeating the words the Assistant had said that morning that had annoyed Fu Wei: 'We're filming a show here. With that many bad habits, why bother being an idol? If you want to corrupt the youth, I'd suggest you go act on the legal-education channel.'

Fu Wei finally moved. He walked toward Jiang Luo.

Jiang Luo stood still, waiting for him.

When Fu Wei reached him, he suddenly reached out and grabbed Jiang Luo's collar, yanking the youth hard toward himself. The smell of tobacco from his breath rushed over.

'Can't stand it,' he said, 'then smell more of it. Get yourself used to it.'