Aftermath

Everyone else was still asleep when Zhai Xingchen got up first.

After all, he's the hardest worker on this show.

While all these trust-fund pretty boys were still sawing logs, as the diligent workhorse he was, he figured he should get started on dinner.

The fridge was basically empty, so he slipped on his shoes and headed out for the supermarket.

But then he spotted Lin Qingning and Hu Ying sitting in the front yard chatting. No follow-cam crew anywhere near them.

They were clearly dodging the Production Team on purpose to have a heart-to-heart.

Hu Ying asked, 'So, did you have fun hanging out with Pei Xu?'

'It was alright,' Lin Qingning said.

'Is Pei Xu still doing the sour face thing?'

He thought about how Pei Xu had ditched him that morning to go running alone, and his chest flared with irritation.

Maybe because of that, something was stuck in his chest — he really wanted to know what it was like when Lin Qingning and Pei Xu went out together.

Lin Qingning laughed. 'No sour face. We're old friends, he at least gives me that much.'

Hu Ying grinned. 'No sparks at all?'

'With Pei Xu?' Lin Qingning said. 'I've known him since we were kids. Nothing's gonna happen between us. You like him?'

Hu Ying blinked, then said, 'I'm not a masochist.'

Then she told Lin Qingning about the morning run. 'I went out for a run this morning too. I figured we'd all run together, chat a bit on the way. But Pei Xu just took off like a shot and vanished.'

'He's been like that since we were kids. Likes to do his own thing.'

'I seriously wonder what kind of person could actually stand him,' Hu Ying said. 'Has he ever dated anyone?'

Lin Qingning laughed. 'Not that I know of. He barely has any friends either.'

'Called it,' Hu Ying said.

Looks like Pei Xu's about to get passed over by them.

Remembering how everyone had steered clear of Pei Xu during the team split, Zhai Xingchen decided to do a good deed.

He walked over to Hu Ying and Lin Qingning.

Lin Qingning spotted him first and smiled at him. Hu Ying turned around — bare-faced, she suddenly looked a lot fresher and cleaner, all that flashy glamour stripped away.

'I thought everyone was still asleep.' Zhai Xingchen sat down next to them. 'What are you two chatting about?'

'Just shooting the breeze,' Lin Qingning said, adjusting his glasses.

'We're roasting Pei Xu,' Hu Ying said straight out. 'You wearing a mic?'

Zhai Xingchen shook his head. 'He's definitely worth roasting.'

Get in with them first, then figure out the rest.

Sure enough, hearing him say that, Hu Ying's roast-mode kicked back in. 'Right? It's not just me who thinks he's too cocky?'

Lin Qingning, ever the peacemaker, immediately defended Pei Xu. 'He's really not like this just because of the show. That's just his personality. He's bad at dealing with people.'

'Yeah, I've seen news about him online before. Everyone says he's got a terrible temper. Didn't he smash a paparazzi's camera? I remember that whole stretch, the entertainment media was dragging him nonstop,' Zhai Xingchen said.

When it came to knowing the guests, he basically had a bird's-eye view.

Pei Xu is a classic sour-faced top, but there's a reason he ended up this way.

Tell his backstory and you can basically clear his name.

Classic Jinjiang dark-male-lead whitewash trope.

Lin Qingning said, 'He really got dragged through the mud back then. On top of that, his family had some stuff going on. He was pretty low for a while, but it wasn't his fault. His grandfather had passed away, and he went to the funeral with Auntie Pei. The paparazzi followed them the whole way, cameras practically shoved in Auntie Pei's face. Pei Xu's a filial kid — he just couldn't stand watching it, so he smashed the camera. But the other side blew it up as huge news and dragged him for what felt like forever.'

That scandal was huge at the time, so Hu Ying obviously knew about it. Hearing Lin Qingning say all that, she went quiet for a moment, then said, 'Honestly, he'd already been wild with the paparazzi before that and pissed off a bunch of them. Otherwise there wouldn't have been so many media outlets kicking him when he was down.'

'He's hated paparazzi since he was little. Think about it — he's not in the entertainment industry himself, but as the kid of a huge star, he can't escape their stalking. Seems like he's been hounded by the media since kindergarten. Then his parents divorced, and reporters were blocking him on his way to and from school. He ended up transferring to a school abroad. He was in middle school then. His mom was still pretty active in the industry back then and couldn't go with him. So there he was, just a kid, no parents around, alone in a foreign country, not a single family member. Honestly, kind of pitiful when you think about it,' Zhai Xingchen said. 'But if he hates dealing with the media this much, I wonder why he agreed to do this show.'

'I heard it might have something to do with Producer Zhou,' Lin Qingning said. 'Our show's producer is his aunt.'

Zhai Xingchen put on a look of sudden realization. 'Oh, so that's how it is.'

He glanced at Hu Ying, who was looking thoughtful beside him, and said slowly, 'Honestly, I think Pei-ge is pretty great. I have a friend studying psychology, and according to him, people like Pei-ge — the ones who've kept their hearts locked up, never dated, barely any friends — on the surface they look like they keep everyone at arm's length, but that's only because they don't know how to love someone, don't know how to get along with people. Once you warm them up, they completely change. And they only change for you. You're their one and only light.'

Pretty thorough analysis, right?

That's the biggest moe point of the cold Jinjiang male lead — readers love it. He didn't believe Hu Ying and Lin Qingning wouldn't love it too.

Sure enough, he saw Hu Ying bite her lip, looking thoughtful.

Who doesn't have a little savior complex? Who doesn't want to be the one and only light in a Jinjiang male lead's life?

Zhai Xingchen figured his little speech had successfully piqued Hu Ying and Lin Qingning's interest in Pei Xu.

He dropped his final hook — the thing most likely to reel Hu Ying in.

'I think he's never even had his first love.'

Hu Ying's eyes lit up just like that, the corner of her mouth curving into a faint, ambiguous smile.

Yep. Hu Ying's got a thing for virgins.

A gorgeous beauty who's seen it all ends up preferring the pure-hearted type. The reason she fell for Yan Zhi was that Asceticism vibe he had going.

People really do chase after what they don't have.

Hu Ying suddenly snorted out a laugh.

Lin Qingning and Zhai Xingchen laughed along with her, the three of them muffling their giggles together.

This whole being-besties-with-the-pretty-bottoms thing felt great.

He was happy to be the good girlfriend to all these gorgeous beauties — harmonious, no romantic tension whatsoever.

Zhai Xingchen stood up. 'I gotta go, supermarket run.'

Hu Ying stood up too. 'I'll drive you. You don't have a car, right?'

'No need, it's close by. Walking's easier,' Zhai Xingchen said.

'Come on, I'm free anyway,' Hu Ying said.

'Then I won't crash your little world-for-two,' Lin Qingning joked.

Hu Ying and Zhai Xingchen head out the door. Lin Qingning gets up and goes back inside. On his way upstairs, he hesitates, then goes to knock on Pei Xu's door.

'Come in.'

Lin Qingning pushes the door open and sees Pei Xu lying on the sofa.

'Something you need?' Pei Xu asks.

Lin Qingning walks in. 'Just came to check on you. Not interrupting, am I?'

Pei Xu sits up.

Lin Qingning glances at Pei Xu's bare feet, then sits down next to him.

Pei Xu's room is very clean. There's a faint mint scent in the air.

It's been a long time since he smelled that kind of cologne.

Many years ago, he and Pei Xu attended the same high school abroad. Back then they were both just teenagers, both Chinese, both alone overseas, and they'd occasionally run into each other at gatherings in the Chinese community. Even then, Pei Xu was already a famous math prodigy at the Dance School — the teachers there couldn't teach him anymore.

At that tender age when feelings first stir, he'd actually had a secret crush on Pei Xu — this boy three years younger than him.

No way around it. Pei Xu had a face no one could resist.

Pei Xu always kept to himself.

Going to class alone, going back to his apartment alone, shooting hoops alone on the empty Playground, getting soaked by the rain and not going inside. In his free time, he'd sit alone by Gray Lake on the outskirts of the city, and he could sit there for half a day.

That coldness, that solitude — combined with his brilliant mind and handsome face, it made him magnetic in a way all his own, drawing people who wanted to conquer him.

Sometimes a sharp brain is more lethally sexy than any muscle.

Zhai Xingchen was right — faced with a boy this outstanding, this good-looking, who wouldn't want to be his one and only light?

Deep down, everyone has that ridiculous savior complex.

Even now, he couldn't deny Pei Xu still had that irresistible pull.

Like, as long as no one had conquered him, he'd stand there tall, tempting people to climb up.

Once feelings stir, conversation stops being free.

Suddenly he had no idea what to say to Pei Xu. His heart was beating fast.

But Pei Xu was looking straight at him, eyes clear and cold.

Lin Qingning touched his knee. 'Isn't Auntie Pei's birthday coming up? Does it clash with our filming schedule?'

Pei Xu hummed. 'I told the Production Team, I'll take leave and go back.'

'Then I'll probably need to take leave too.'

Their two families had always been close. Pei Huahong liked him a lot.

Unlike Pei Xu's cold silence, he'd always been the type elders loved — mild-tempered, top grades.

He picked up the book on the coffee table.

The Long Tail Theory.

A finance book.

'You're reading this?'

'Mm.'

Lin Qingning picked it up and flipped through it. His eyes were on the pages, but his brain was scrambling for something to talk about.

That strained feeling was familiar.

He was flipping through the book when someone knocked at the door.

Lin Qingning turned his head and saw a crew member pushing the door open.

'Pei Xu, can you take the shirt off the camera? It's broad daylight... we can't film like that, can we?' The crew member sounded reasonable but unsure of themselves.

Lin Qingning glanced at the wall and realized a T-shirt had been covering Pei Xu's room camera.

He laughed, watching Pei Xu take the T-shirt off.

The Production Team was freaking out.

Lin Qingning and Pei Xu were a CP line they were really banking on — childhood friends, rich second-gen, the fresh CP angle for Red and Blue this season.

A lot of people love the childhood-friends-to-lovers trope.

So when they could only hear Lin Qingning and Pei Xu talking but couldn't see the footage, they were really panicking.

Once the footage was confirmed normal, the crew member quickly retreated.

Leaving just Lin Qingning and Pei Xu.

Lin Qingning flipped through the book for a while, then let out a soft laugh. 'You know, earlier Xingchen, Hu Ying, and I were all talking about you.'

'Mm?'

Feeling Pei Xu's gaze on him — those distinct eyes a little too piercing — Lin Qingning lowered his eyes to the book, flipping pages as he spoke. 'Everyone thinks you're a bit too cold. A lot of people are kind of scared of you.'

'Mm.'

After a pause, Pei Xu asked, 'Who's scared of me? Hu Ying or Zhai Xingchen?'

'Not scared exactly. It'd be nice if you could be a bit more engaged. Actually, a lot of people here like you.'

Pei Xu said, 'How engaged?'

Then he suddenly said, 'Like Huo Cheng?'

Lin Qingning froze.

Because he hadn't expected Pei Xu to suddenly bring up Huo Cheng.

Huo Cheng was indeed very engaged. You could say he was the most proactive of all eight guests — probably the Production Team's favorite too. Whatever they did, he went along with it.

Mentioning him when talking about being proactive seemed normal enough.

But somehow he got the feeling Pei Xu had... some kind of issue with Huo Cheng's proactiveness.

'Huo Cheng is pretty engaged, yeah,' Lin Qingning laughed.

'Mm, he's engaged,' Pei Xu said, noncommittal, his air cool and distant, his profile cold as a god. 'I think Zhai Xingchen's pretty engaged too.'