How About a Surprise Bonus Update

Any variety show that blows up always launches at least one dark horse.

This season of The Red and Blue Signal, it's definitely Zhai Xingchen.

They and the show have a symbiotic relationship—when a dark horse emerges, it means the show is about to blow up.

Zhai Xingchen just noticed a row of cameras on the other side of the audience, right next to the stage.

'Still recording?' he asked Yan Zhi.

Yan Zhi said, 'Live Streaming.'

Zhai Xingchen startled and immediately sat up straight.

If it's live streaming, he needed to be more careful.

Was his Performance just now streamed out too?

At the thought, Zhai Xingchen couldn't help but tense up, his expression turning serious.

Pei Xu kept his arms crossed, fingers scraping his chin absently.

He was sitting right next to Yan Zhi, and caught every little move Yan Zhi made.

Pei Xu's heart felt cold, his face an iceberg.

He didn't turn to watch how Yan Zhi and Zhai Xingchen were whispering to each other.

Didn't want to see it.

For Zhongwu Academy's Final Exam, each school's dance style was different. The Ethnic Dance Academy performed a nostalgic piece set to 'Nightingale' by the Erguna Band — a deeply emotional song with a Soviet feel.

But only Wen Nu and Lin Qingning really sank into that song. The others had no mind for music.

They were all thinking about the future.

What would they do once they left here?

Huo Cheng was the most worked up.

Because he never expected Zhai Xingchen's dance to be like this—every move set his blood on fire.

He felt like what he felt for Zhai Xingchen wasn't just liking anymore.

He'd really fallen in love with him.

His heart was full, and he couldn't stop glancing at Zhai Xingchen past Duan Yihua and the others.

Duan Yihua was also turning to look at Zhai Xingchen, then caught Huo Cheng's gaze, turned, met his eyes, looked away, and pressed his lips together as he faced the stage.

Duan Yihua didn't see Huo Cheng as much of a threat.

He felt he had a natural advantage.

Because Zhai Xingchen was a Blue Team Member, and he was a 1.

His biggest threat in his heart was Hu Ying.

After tonight, he didn't know if Hu Ying's feelings about Zhai Xingchen had changed.

So he turned to look at Hu Ying.

But Hu Ying was unexpectedly quiet. She sat in her chair, posture lazy, leaning back, one hand lightly propping her chin, her profile like jade, like a painting, dazzling beyond compare.

Hu Ying had been watching the stage, but after a while she suddenly zoned out, forgetting there was a camera right in front of her.

What she was thinking wasn't clear—Zhai Xingchen's dance on stage, him changing clothes backstage, the moment he'd shielded her.

She didn't know how long she'd been lost in those scattered thoughts before she heard applause and noticed everyone around her standing up.

The host was still talking on stage, but the Production Team had quietly come over to ask them to leave first.

'Is it over?' Hu Ying asked.

'There's one more act,' Lin Qingning said.

But they had to leave before the crowd dispersed, to avoid drawing too many onlookers.

A lot of people in the venue already knew they were live streaming.

Their group got up under staff escort, immediately causing a stir in the audience—some students even grabbed their phones and followed them out of their seats.

Once outside, they found it was raining.

The rain wasn't heavy—just a light drizzle—but the Production Team still handed out four umbrellas.

'Two to an umbrella,' a staff member said.

Hu Ying grabbed one first, popped it open, and said, 'Xingchen!'

The Production Team had clearly only given out four umbrellas on purpose—they obviously wanted to see the eight of them pair off.

He felt Hu Ying shouldn't be sticking so close to him right now—as a wingman he had limits, he shouldn't keep monopolizing Hu Ying.

Hu Ying should share an umbrella with Yan Zhi!

Just then, Huo Cheng opened his umbrella and reached out to grab Zhai Xingchen's shoulder. 'What are you spacing out for? Let's go.'

Students had started chasing after them, the exit was getting chaotic, and the Production Team was hurrying them along.

Then Hu Ying saw Zhai Xingchen gesture toward Yan Zhi beside him.

Hu Ying pressed her lips together. She got what Zhai Xingchen meant.

Lin Qingning and the others tactfully left Yan Zhi out of their pairings too.

A few students who'd been lying in wait had already crowded around them, blocked by the Production Team.

They all headed for the door together. Huo Cheng was so worked up his whole body was trembling.

Partly from the cold, partly from excitement.

Zhai Xingchen turned to look at him. 'That cold?'

Huo Cheng smiled. 'A little.'

Huo Cheng was wearing a white shirt today.

'Squeeze closer, warm up.' Huo Cheng said it and wrapped his arm around Zhai Xingchen's waist. But then he suddenly remembered how soft, how slim that waist was, his heart jumped like he'd been shocked, and he pulled his arm back instantly.

He was afraid he wouldn't be able to walk.

Just feeling Zhai Xingchen's body heat, catching his scent, and he was already losing it.

Behind him, Pei Xu looked coldly at Huo Cheng. Under the umbrella, Lin Qingning was still talking. Pei Xu hummed, 'Mm? What?'

'I went home today and ran into Auntie Pei at my place,' Lin Qingning said. 'She was asking about us guests.'

Pei Xu hummed again, said nothing else.

But Lin Qingning was already satisfied.

His heart had been soaked by this cold little rain—soft and tense at once.

He felt he'd really fallen for Pei Xu. Emotion had won out over reason.

He adjusted his glasses and caught the faint mint scent on Pei Xu.

Pei Xu loved mint. Pei Huahong had said he had a whole patch of it growing in the garden outside his villa.

Hu Ying used to be lively and chatty around Yan Zhi, but today she was unusually quiet.

Yan Zhi was even quieter.

Equally quiet were Duan Yihua and Wen Nu.

Duan Yihua felt his withered, old heart had come fully alive tonight.

He looked past Yan Zhi and Hu Ying to Zhai Xingchen walking at the front, noticed the follow-cam filming him, and glanced up at the lens. From the Salon Stage, choral singing drifted out, hovering in the thin rain.

South City, warm all year round, now felt so cool—like spring rain, spring rain covering the ground, every little weed and flower struggling to push through.

'Are we heading straight back to the Red and Blue House?' Hu Ying asked.

Zhai Xingchen turned to look at her at that.

'It's still early,' Hu Ying said. 'Shouldn't we celebrate for Xingchen today? Let's find somewhere to grab a drink. Tomorrow we're splitting up for a while.'

Everyone agreed.

'I know a place—a friend of mine owns the bar,' Huo Cheng said. 'Let's go there, I'll give him a call.'

He pulled out his phone to call his friend. Zhai Xingchen turned to look at the follow-cam beside him—the cameraman was working hard, wearing a disposable clear rain poncho, chasing them to film, and another staff member was holding up a phone filming him.

'Still live streaming?' he asked, surprised.

The other person smiled and nodded.

Zhai Xingchen immediately waved at the camera. 'Hi everyone, I'm Zhai Xingchen.'

After saying that, he noticed the staff member was still filming him.

Why keep filming him? There were plenty of handsome guys right next to him.

Could it be that the Production Team saw netizens shipping him and Huo Cheng as a CP, so they were deliberately filming them together?

Wrong CP shipping is depressing. Production Team, don't mess around.

He reached out. The other person hesitated, then handed him the phone.

Zhai Xingchen saw the bullet comments and leaned in to look.

A staff member called out, 'Don't film yourself that close.'

The bullet comments were all laughing.

[Having beauty means you can do whatever you want!]

[Even up close he's this good-looking!! Sunshine sweet 1 yyds!]

[Filmed like this he looks so cute, baby's mama loves you!]

[Zhai-ge look at me, I love you ahhhhhh!]

Zhai Xingchen laughed. 'I see, I see.'

He switched the phone camera and pointed it at Pei Xu and Lin Qingning beside him.

All these guests were really good-looking—great faces, tall, amazing vibes. Pull any two of them together and it's a feast for the eyes.

Like this pair of childhood sweethearts.

Lin Qingning immediately waved at the camera. He smiled gently, maintaining his usual intellectual image—steady and composed.

He turned the camera to Pei Xu. 'Pei-ge, say hi to the netizens.'

Pei Xu obediently waved. 'Hi everyone, I'm Pei Xu, please support me.'

'Pei-ge, smile,' Zhai Xingchen teased.

Unexpectedly, Pei Xu glanced at him and actually smiled.

[Ahhhhhh, Pei Xu smiled!]

[OMG, his smile is so good-looking!!!]

[This is the first time I've seen grumpy-face-ge smile!]

[Iceberg melting—what happened these past few days? Why is he so obedient? Isn't he famously arrogant?]

[Last time he went out with Lin Qingning, he was super arrogant. So arrogant the Production Team couldn't even get mad!]

[Looking at them, he and Lin Qingning are a perfect match!]

[Such a big change must be the power of love. Did he and Lin Qingning make progress?]

Before everyone finished discussing Pei Xu, Yan Zhi and Hu Ying appeared on screen.

The rain was light, so Zhai Xingchen ran out from under the umbrella and held the phone up to Hu Ying and Yan Zhi.

[Ahhhhhhhhh!]

Yan Zhi was, after all, the number one most popular player in the esports circle. Among the live viewers, he had tons of fans. The moment they saw Yan Zhi's Asceticism-meets-handsome face, the bullet comments went wild.

[So handsome so handsome so handsome!]

[My sixth-ge!!!]

[Hu Ying and Yan Zhi really are the best match!]

On camera, Yan Zhi and Hu Ying both greeted the netizens in turn.

Zhai Xingchen wasn't on camera—only his voice could be heard. 'Say a bit more.'

Hu Ying said, 'We came to see Xingchen's Performance today. Did you all see it?'

She leaned in for a close-up too. 'I can only say, Zhai-ge...'

She didn't say 'badass,' just pressed her lips together and gave a firm thumbs-up, then laughed. Such a dazzling, radiant beauty—even without picking an angle, even filmed up close, she was stunning.

Wen Nu and Duan Yihua were a completely different vibe. Wen Nu was still his usual shy self, waving at everyone a bit awkwardly.

'Our little Wen Nu,' Zhai Xingchen introduced him.

The camera turned to Duan Yihua. He glanced at Zhai Xingchen behind the phone, suddenly a bit nervous, gave a faint smile, and said warmly and generously, 'Hi everyone, I'm Duan Yihua.'

'Duan-ge looks really different today,' Zhai Xingchen said.

Duan Yihua's face flushed slightly, as if his secret had been poked. 'Really?'

'First time I've seen you dressed like this—very handsome, very good-looking!' Zhai Xingchen praised.

Duan Yihua glanced at the camera, as if millions of netizens could see right through him. That mature, steady face flushed even redder.

Luckily Zhai Xingchen ran back quickly. Huo Cheng had finished his call, so he held up the phone to interview Huo Cheng.

Huo Cheng smiled the brightest—you could tell he was excited all over.

He was a bit taller than Zhai Xingchen, so he bent down slightly, resting his chin on Zhai Xingchen's shoulder, smiling at the camera. His buzz cut made his features look even sharper, more striking, his eyes bright and piercing.

'Our other handsome guy on the blue side, Boss Huo,' Zhai Xingchen introduced.

Huo Cheng waved. 'Live stream?'

'Yeah.'

Huo Cheng accidentally brushed Zhai Xingchen's warm ear, and a jolt ran across his face.

He'd really fallen in love with Zhai Xingchen.

Right now, his heart was sweet and happy. He turned to look at Zhai Xingchen, his eyes full of love's light. He was drowning in this galaxy of stars.