Chapter 29

Huo Cheng headed out early today.

His gut told him the competition was getting brutal.

Just waiting wasn't going to cut it. Everyone was lying low, ready to spring out the moment the timing was right.

Once he got to the office, he told his assistant, "Find out who in this company is the best cook and have them come see me."

The assistant blinked.

"Cook?"

Huo Cheng hummed, then said, "Forget it. Find me a restaurant for lunch, have the chef come talk to me in person. Something that specializes in home-style cooking, nothing too fancy."

"President Huo, you're not thinking of learning to cook, are you?"

It's for the variety show!

Everyone started heading out. Yan Zhi kept his promise from yesterday - both Zhai Xingchen and Wen Nu got into his car.

It was Wen Nu's first time riding in Yan Zhi's car. A little nervous, he voluntarily took the back seat.

Zhai Xingchen took the passenger seat.

"Did you change the perfume in your car?" Zhai Xingchen asked.

Yan Zhi hummed.

The scent was really nice - a woody, slightly bitter opening, drying down to a faintly sweet tobacco note.

According to the original novel, this should be Yan Zhi's signature scent: "LOEWE After Dawn."

The name alone told you it belonged to the Tang family.

"After Dawn" goes for that cold, minimalist aesthetic - gray-black packaging, clean and square. The tagline: 【After the tangle, at the break of dawn.】

Zhai Xingchen felt this was an important signal. Yan Zhi had always cultivated that gentle gentleman image - his old scent was Bvlgari Aqva, crisp and clean, zero aggression.

Now he'd switched to something that makes people want to sleep with him the second they smell it. Maybe Zhai Xingchen could glimpse Yan Zhi's hidden inner world through this faint fragrance.

Like a storm was brewing.

Distance-wise, Zhongwu Academy was actually closer to the Red and Blue House, but Zhai Xingchen wanted to look out for Wen Nu, so he told Yan Zhi, "Drop Wen Nu off first. I'm not in a rush."

Yan Zhi dropped Wen Nu off at the bakery where he worked.

The bakery Wen Nu ran with a friend sat next to an old residential area. It was over a hundred meters from the main road, so the location wasn't great - not many customers, mostly old regulars from the neighborhood. But the old houses around here had red walls and black tiles, real fifties-and-sixties flavor. If they got the word out, it could become an internet-famous spot.

"We're already here, let's go in and take a look," Zhai Xingchen said with a smile.

Both Yan Zhi and Zhai Xingchen got out. Zhai Xingchen looked up and read aloud: "Promise of Sweetness Bakery. Wow, what a nice name."

"We put a lot of thought into naming this place. We brainstormed forever and couldn't figure anything out, so in the end we each took one character from our names. My friend's name is Jin Qian."

Yan Zhi, who'd been pretty low-key, actually laughed at that. "Great name."

"Hard not to get rich with a name like that," Zhai Xingchen said, grinning.

The two of them followed Wen Nu inside for a look around. Zhai Xingchen even bought a small cake.

"I'll save it for lunch."

Wen Nu was touched.

Because all this footage could boost their bakery's screen time on the show. Even a single second where viewers could read the shop's name could bring in immeasurable foot traffic down the line.

He was the most insignificant of the eight contestants. He'd been terrified their shop would get cut entirely.

Now with Yan Zhi and Zhai Xingchen here, and them staying so long, the main episode should at least leave in a little footage.

He thought Zhai Xingchen was really so thoughtful.

He wasn't Zhai Xingchen. He was Zhai Sun.

Being near him made you feel warm.

Silently, he added another point to Zhai Xingchen's score in his heart.

After leaving the Promise of Sweetness Bakery, Yan Zhi drove Zhai Xingchen to Zhongwu Academy.

Yan Zhi was a bit quiet today. Still devastatingly handsome, but his energy was clearly deflated.

After being dropped off at the Dance School, Zhai Xingchen said, 'You don't have to come pick me up this afternoon.'

Yan Zhi hummed, then suddenly got out of the car, gesturing for him to step outside to talk.

Zhai Xingchen glanced at the camera in the car, then followed Yan Zhi a bit further away.

His heart was racing a little.

Sure enough, as soon as they stopped, Yan Zhi asked, "Is it Hu Ying?"

It was already an open secret, so Zhai Xingchen put on a shy look and nodded.

Yan Zhi pressed his thin lips together, was quiet for a moment, then said, "Hu Ying is great, but... you haven't really been out in the world yet, have you even dated before? You're so innocent, there are things you might not know."

Zhai Xingchen hadn't expected him to say this. His expression grew serious.

Yan Zhi's expression actually softened: "This is a Love Variety Show. Some of the guests here are actually looking to date, some aren't - they might just be after exposure, popularity, whatever. Hu Ying does self-media. Whether she's genuinely here to date or not, hard to say. Don't be stupid and hand over your whole heart so fast. Take it slow, get to know people, don't lock in feelings too early."

Zhai Xingchen had only meant to provoke Yan Zhi a little, make him jealous. He hadn't expected Yan Zhi to open up like this.

He wasn't jealous of him and Hu Ying at all - he was genuinely worried for him, afraid he was too innocent, too quick to give his heart away.

Yan Zhi sounded so sincere, no ulterior motive at all!

Zhai Xingchen felt too embarrassed to keep up the act, so he nodded. "I know."

Yan Zhi's day-long gloom finally found some temporary comfort.

He himself wasn't sure if those words were self-serving or heartfelt, or what the ratio was. Rivals in love have natural hostility toward each other - animal instinct. But Hu Ying was a flirt, the kind who radiated charm, and a famous rich-kid influencer. Whether she wanted to date or wanted exposure, hard to say.

Even if he couldn't have Zhai Xingchen, he hoped whoever did would be someone who treated him seriously.

Someone who loved him for love's sake, not for traffic.

Noble purpose, heavy self-interest.

"The show's just started. Don't rush. Take your time, look at everyone, no need to settle down so fast." Yan Zhi said, "That's all. Go on."

Zhai Xingchen had taken two steps when he suddenly realized Yan Zhi had somehow turned the tables on him.

He looked back at Yan Zhi. Yan Zhi stood under the sunlight, his lenses glinting a deep red.

Yan Zhi had changed his glasses. His old lenses had a faint ice-blue glint in sunlight.

Yan Zhi really had Hu Ying all wrong.

Actually, he thought Hu Ying was the one most wanting to date out of all eight contestants.

She was someone starving for love.

Did Yan Zhi really think Hu Ying was chasing him so obviously just for traffic and buzz?

He needed to have a proper talk with Hu Ying.

Yan Zhi went back to his own place. He had a villa in South City, bought last year, mainly to store his Harley.

He was a hardcore Harley enthusiast, owned several bikes worth over a million each.

Riding was like gaming to him - mainly a way to blow off his excess desire. He'd been hooked since first touching the Harley scene at sixteen.

He parked his car in the garage, put on his helmet, and rode out on a Harley.

"You guys still following me?" Yan Zhi asked the Production Team.

The cameraman said, "A lot of people don't know you ride. The contrast will be huge on camera, really good for you."

"I'm worried you can't keep up," Yan Zhi said.

The Production Team felt like they'd heard this before.

Right - when Hu Ying wanted to go running with Pei Xu, Pei Xu had said the same thing to her.

"How fast?" the cameraman asked.

Two seconds later, Yan Zhi was gone in a roar of engine.

The cameraman stopped, panting, eyes full of envy and frustration: "Why is everyone copying Pei Xu these days!"

Yan Zhi rode his Harley down the coastal highway, a shooting star leaning through the curves, with blue sky and emerald sea stretching out beyond, seabirds wheeling.

Speed and passion. Pure danger and velocity. The motorcycle was like a game - maximum thrill in something almost brutally violent and wild.

On the Salon Stage at Zhongwu Academy, Zhai Xingchen moved with the music - a shooting swallow, turning, reaching, retreating, leaping. His hair was thick and black like seaweed, swaying with each movement, his cheeks flushed, sweat streaming.

Pei Xu was on the phone with Zhou Lan.

Early that morning, the Production Team had called Zhou Lan to tell her about the Rose Flower.

"We can basically confirm Pei Xu's arrow now!"

Zhou Lan was shocked.

Honestly, she'd almost given up on the Pei Xu thread.

"Isn't this just because I talked to him last time and asked him to play along with some flirting?" Zhou Lan asked.

"Sis, his arrow is huge right now!" Guo Bing said. "He even ran out first thing this morning to buy pain patches for Zhai Xingchen!"

Now Zhou Lan was really stunned.

Pei Xu wasn't the tender, attentive type. He wouldn't go out of his way like that unless he had feelings for someone.

Zhou Lan's heart bloomed. She immediately called Pei Huahong, and the sisters-in-law got worked up on the phone for ages.

Could Pei Xu finally escape his lonely fate!

Zhou Lan felt she needed to verify again.

So she said, beating around the bush: "Our show's about to officially launch. I'm calling to ask - the trailer content can't be removed, but those tough lines you dropped when you first moved into the house, those can still be taken out. Want me to remove them for you?"

"No need," Pei Xu said.

He took responsibility for every word he'd said.

"Our next stop is North City, right?" Pei Xu asked.

Zhou Lan said on the other end, "Did you even read our itinerary before signing?"

After a pause, Zhou Lan said, "Yes, next stop is North City. What about it?"

"Can you see the northern lights there?"

Zhou Lan said, "You can't see them from where we're staying. To see the northern lights you have to drive north, toward Arctic Village. If you're lucky, you'll catch them."

"Mm."

"You called me just to ask this?" Zhou Lan laughed. "Tell me what you want to do. We've got connections, your auntie's got you."

"No need. I'll handle it myself," Pei Xu said.

Zhou Lan didn't know what to say for a moment. Her heart ached with emotion - everything felt like a dream. This version of Pei Xu made her heart sting, strange and moving.

She heard singing coming through:

【I've never seen a village where the northern lights appear,

Nor seen anyone setting off fireworks late at night.

The evening star is like your eyes,

Killing and setting fires.】

This seemed to have something to do with the northern lights Pei Xu had just asked about.

"You're listening to music?"

Pei Xu hummed. "Liu Shuang's song."

Zhou Lan paused.

She remembered someone really liked Liu Shuang's songs.

Oh, right - Zhai Xingchen.

After hanging up, Pei Xu walked to the floor-to-ceiling window. His slim, straight black silhouette stood against the glass, Liu Shuang's song drifting through the room. On the computer on the desk was the ticket page for Liu Shuang's North City Station Concert, with the tagline:

"Searching for everything that radiates light."

Zhai Xingchen was still spinning fast on stage, sweat dripping down his cheeks.

The dance teacher clapped out the rhythm: "Up... turn, again, again, right leg, step... hook, yes, hold it!"

His clothes rode up, revealing the pain patch on his lower back.

His feet hit the wooden floor with a thud-thud. His eyes were so bright, sweat drenching him, making him glow - like fireworks blooming under the northern lights, all falling into his eyes.

A large crew from The Red and Blue Signal's production team poured into the Salon Stage performance hall at Zhongwu Academy, setting up cameras, adjusting lights, doing test shots.

The chaotic site, everyone in a frenzy of work, all for the sake of delivering the most spectacular performance tomorrow.