Chapter 65

'Lottery Draw?' Hu Ying's eyes went wide.

He was going to perform Violin! He was really good at it, and he wanted to blow everyone away!

'Yeah, Lottery Draw. We've mixed up all eight guests' acts. Everyone draws at random, and whatever you draw, that's what you perform.'

'Director, you guys are kind of out of ideas lately, huh? You're seriously doing Lottery Draw again?' Hu Ying said.

'What if I draw an instrument?' Huo Cheng said. 'I can't play a single one.'

Wen Nu quickly said, 'Me neither.'

It wasn't just instruments. He couldn't dance either.

Singing was out too. He got nervous way too easily.

Magic was even less possible.

Martial Arts was the one thing he could do. His only real specialty.

'You might not draw an instrument. Everybody draw first, then we'll adjust after. Plenty of our guests know instruments,' Guo Bing said.

'Then let's draw,' Zhai Xingchen said. 'No point fighting it anyway.'

'Everyone should learn from Xingchen,' Guo Bing said. 'Trust the Production Team. Doing it this way will definitely make the show better. We've done audience research. If the show is good, that's good for everybody. And the viewers will know you drew by lot, so no one's going to say much if it turns out great or not. The main thing is that it's fun.'

'I want to see what everybody signed up for,' Hu Ying said.

So Guo Bing showed them.

The one that fit everyone's expectations best was Zhai Xingchen's dance, Spring of the Northland. Hu Ying had prepared a Violin piece, The Fire. Just hearing the title, you could tell it'd be intense. Duan Yihua had prepared an Accordion song called Mural of Dusk. Nobody knew what style it was, and it sounded pretty obscure, but somehow Accordion really fit Duan Yihua's whole vibe. Yan Zhi had a Guitar piece called Soaring. Just the name made you think of freedom and birds. Lin Qingning had prepared the Piano piece Love Song. Pei Xu had also prepared a Piano piece, By the Lake Baikal. Whether that was pure coincidence or totally on purpose, who knew.

Huo Cheng had prepared a Magic act.

Just like Guo Bing said, everybody's picks were basically what you'd expect. No surprises.

The biggest surprise was still Wen Nu. He'd prepared a Martial Arts Performance.

Overall, the rich kids really were way more likely to know an instrument.

'Who wants to go first?' Guo Bing asked, holding the cardboard box.

'Qingning's not here,' Zhai Xingchen said.

'Everybody else draws first. Whatever's left at the end is his,' Guo Bing said.

Duan Yihua stepped out first. 'I'll go.'

He smiled, reached into the box, felt around for a while, then finally pinched out a slip of paper. The second he opened it, the corners of his mouth lifted.

Guo Bing leaned over for a look. 'Show it to the camera.'

Duan Yihua showed it to the camera. Once Hu Ying saw it clearly, he laughed and said, 'Can we really do this? Duan-ge, you know how to play Guitar too?'

Duan Yihua had drawn Yan Zhi's Soaring.

Yan Zhi smiled and clapped once.

Duan Yihua smiled and said, 'I've never heard Soaring, but I'm happy to give it a try.'

What a total humblebrag.

Why? Because that meant Duan Yihua didn't just play Accordion. He could play Guitar too.

Zhai Xingchen couldn't help saying, 'This'll be good. Those two pieces should be completely different styles.'

Yan Zhi looked over at him and said, 'Yeah. Not the same style at all.'

'Next. Number two,' Guo Bing said.

Yan Zhi stepped out and drew a slip.

He got Huo Cheng's Magic.

Yan Zhi smiled. 'Not bad.'

Zhai Xingchen stepped up right after him and drew one too.

He let out a breath, opened the slip, and smiled.

'What?' Hu Ying hurriedly asked.

Zhai Xingchen held it up to the camera. 'Martial Arts.'

Wen Nu looked both disappointed and happy. He clapped softly and said in a low voice, 'Xingchen's a dancer. Martial Arts should be fine for him too.'

As soon as he said that, he stepped out and drew a slip.

He opened it and froze. 'I got Lin-ge's Piano piece.'

Huo Cheng looked over what everyone had already drawn. That left one Piano, one Violin, one dance, and one Accordion.

Not a single one he could pull off.

This was where the gap really showed between a poor kid like him and this pack of rich second-gens.

These rich kids all seemed to know at least one instrument. It was basically a required childhood skill for them.

So he just drew one straight away. He opened it and saw he'd gotten Pei Xu's Piano piece.

'Please let Pei-ge draw the dance,' Hu Ying prayed from the side.

Out of all the guests, he was the coldest, and he'd definitely be the most fun to watch dance.

And in the end, things really did work out exactly how he wanted.

Pei Xu actually drew the dance.

Zhai Xingchen smiled and clapped.

Pei Xu dancing. That was impossible to picture.

Hu Ying got excited right away.

Because the only things left were his own Violin and Duan Yihua's Accordion.

A fifty-fifty shot!

'I've had crap luck with draws so many times already. I even got stuck in that busted house. I should get a little luck by now, right?' he said, then actually clasped his hands in a quick little prayer, milking the variety-show effect for all it was worth.

Then he pressed his lips together and reached into the cardboard box, feeling around forever.

Picking one up, then putting it back.

Huo Cheng said, 'You're making two slips feel like two hundred.'

Hu Ying's heartbeat sped up.

He was already dying to show off his talent.

In the end, he picked one of the slips, pulled it out, and stuffed it into Zhai Xingchen's hand. 'You look for me.'

Zhai Xingchen smiled and opened it for him, then lifted a brow.

Before he could say anything, Hu Ying couldn't hold back anymore. He lunged over for a look himself, then immediately jumped up. 'YES!!'

Hu Ying turned out to be the luckiest one there. He drew his own piece: Violin.

'I'm actually kind of looking forward to Hu Ying's Violin,' Zhai Xingchen said.

Not even because it was Violin, really. It was more that the piece Hu Ying picked, The Fire, sounded like it'd go hard.

'Then that leaves the Accordion piece, Mural of Dusk, for Lin Qingning,' Guo Bing said.

'Learning a song in one day, maybe. But Piano? No way,' Huo Cheng said.

Wen Nu immediately said, 'Exactly. I seriously don't know how to play Piano at all.'

'I'll switch with Wen Nu,' Zhai Xingchen offered. 'I think he really should do Martial Arts. The contrast would be great.'

Hu Ying and Duan Yihua both agreed. 'I think Wen Nu should do Martial Arts too. I want to see that.'

'Piano. Can you handle it?' Wen Nu asked.

Zhai Xingchen said, 'A little.'

Duan Yihua and Hu Ying both shot Zhai Xingchen another look.

He could play Piano too?

Xingxing, what other surprises are you hiding from me?

Huo Cheng immediately said, 'I want to switch too.'

'Huo-ge, you want to do your own Magic?' Yan Zhi suddenly asked.

Huo Cheng glanced at Yan Zhi.

'Can you play Piano?' Huo Cheng asked.

Yan Zhi said, 'A little.'

Huo Cheng felt like he was copying Zhai Xingchen on purpose.

He looked at Yan Zhi and imagined him playing Piano in that whole Asceticism getup.

Nope. Way too attractive.

'I want to switch with Pei Xu. I drew Pei Xu's piece,' Huo Cheng said. 'And I actually kind of want to try dancing too.'

Huo Cheng had his own little plan.

First, if he had to choose between Pei Xu and Yan Zhi, he'd pick Pei Xu without even thinking. Second, he didn't know the first thing about dancing, but messing it up kind of fit his image anyway, and being funny wasn't a bad thing. Most importantly, dance was what Zhai Xingchen was best at, so this gave him a chance to learn from him.

As for his Magic, it wasn't that great to begin with. Didn't really matter whether he performed it or not.

So he said to Pei Xu, 'Xu, how about we switch too? You play Piano, I'll do the dance.'

'I'm fine with whatever,' Pei Xu said.

Guo Bing asked, 'Accordion too?'

Pei Xu said, 'A little.'

And of course, 'a little' basically meant he was good at it.

Duan Yihua gave a little 'wow' and said, 'There really aren't that many people who can play that.'

'What about Violin?' Hu Ying chimed in.

Pei Xu said, 'I'm not that good at Violin.'

Which meant, obviously, he knew a little.

Everyone looked at him with pure envy.

Guo Bing said, 'That's great. If Lin Qingning can't manage Accordion, he can switch with you.'

Pei Xu said, 'Sure.'

Everyone looked at Pei Xu and felt like the whole man was glowing.

Zhai Xingchen felt like all of this fit their character setups a little too perfectly.

Forget everything else. Just on talent alone, the Jinjiang male lead absolutely crushed the Haitang and Dianjia types. Basically every skill tied to romance came built in with a Jinjiang male lead.

One word: killer.

In the end, everybody's Performance for tomorrow night was locked in.

Zhai Xingchen and Pei Xu had Piano pieces.

Wen Nu had Martial Arts.

Yan Zhi had Magic.

Lin Qingning had Accordion, and Duan Yihua had the Guitar piece.

Huo Cheng had dance.

Hu Ying had Violin.

Just in terms of what sounded the most fun to watch, Hu Ying's Violin, Wen Nu's Martial Arts, and Duan Yihua's Guitar were the most anticipated. Hu Ying's had the strongest flavor, while Wen Nu and Duan Yihua were all about the contrast.

After that came Huo Cheng's dance. He was tall and broad and had such an open, easygoing personality that him dancing would definitely max out the variety-show effect.

As for the others, they were more middle-of-the-road.

'Actually, I kind of feel like having Yan Zhi do Magic is wasting him a little,' Huo Cheng said. Out of all the talents, his own Magic looked the least impressive, and even he felt a little embarrassed about it. 'Why don't we just let Yan Zhi pick something else?'

To everyone's surprise, Yan Zhi said, 'Magic's good. No need to change it.'

The real heavy hitters didn't need flashy tricks to grab attention.

'All right, happily settled then. Everybody get some rest tonight and help each other out tomorrow. The Performance is tomorrow night, and after the Performance we'll do Room Assignment.'

'The pace is insane,' Hu Ying said.

'That's what makes it fun. It's supposed to feel like a roller coaster,' Guo Bing said with a smile.

'So how are we doing Room Assignment this time?'

'Can't tell you yet. Don't want to put pressure on you. We'll tell you tomorrow.'

'I hope it's something creative. Please don't make us do Lottery Draw again,' Hu Ying said.

'Definitely not Lottery Draw,' Guo Bing said. 'You'll scream when you hear it.'

'Director, stop talking. You're going to make us all too nervous to sleep tonight,' Huo Cheng said with a laugh.

Everyone got ready to head back and rest.

'You guys in Room 3 going to survive tonight?' Huo Cheng asked Hu Ying. 'Want to crash in one of our rooms for the night? Pick whichever one you want.'

'Really?' Hu Ying asked. 'Then I'll go to yours.'

Huo Cheng thought Hu Ying would pick Room 1. He hadn't expected him to want to go with them instead.

'Sure. We've got a double bed. You can squeeze in with me, or with Wen Nu. Either works.'

Hu Ying said, 'I'm seriously going, then.'

'I'm serious too,' Huo Cheng said, then looked at Wen Nu. 'You good with that?'

Wen Nu smiled and said, 'Of course. You're very welcome.'

He wanted another person there too. More people meant more fun. Otherwise it'd just be him and Huo Cheng, and that'd be awkward.

Then Huo Cheng looked at Pei Xu. 'What about you? Come with us too.'

'I'll pass,' Pei Xu said.

'I should ask the Production Team first, see if they're okay with it,' Hu Ying said, looking over at Director Guo Bing.

'It's a special situation tonight. The Director should agree,' Huo Cheng said.

As he walked, Guo Bing said, 'Approved, approved. Do whatever you want tonight.'

They chatted a little longer in Room 1, then headed back separately. Huo Cheng and Wen Nu first went over to Room 3. When they reached the crossroads, Wen Nu spotted the Snowman figures Pei Xu had built and lit up. 'Who made these snowmen? And stacked them this tall too.'

'Pei Xu made them,' Huo Cheng said with a smile. 'Our Pei Xu's still got that childlike side in him.'

Hu Ying said, 'Too bad they don't have eyes or noses. They're not detailed enough. I'll come fix them up tomorrow, dress them up a little.'

Room 3 was freezing by now, and the window still leaked a little air. Hugging his quilt, Hu Ying stuffed his toiletries into a bag and asked Pei Xu, 'You're really not coming? Then you'll be keeping an empty room company all by yourself tonight.'

Pei Xu said, 'At least you'll get a good night's sleep tonight.'

He saw Hu Ying and the others out, then sat down alone in the quiet, rundown house.

He unlocked his phone and put on a song by Liu Shuang.

It was a perfect fit for the mood: The Desert Dance Hall.

'If you have time, come see me sometime.'

At this hour, though, no one was probably coming to see him.

And then he heard someone knocking on his door.

Then he heard Zhai Xingchen call out, 'Pei-ge, you asleep?'

Pei Xu got up at once and went to open the door.

Zhai Xingchen came in with snowflakes all over him, shut the door, and said, 'Why didn't you turn on the light? I thought you'd gone with Huo-ge and the others.'

Pei Xu switched on the light, then hurried over to brush the snow off Zhai Xingchen's clothes. 'Why'd you come? It's freezing out there.'

'I was worried Huo-ge and the others forgot to light the fire for you.' As he spoke, he glanced at the heated kang. 'See? They did forget. Good thing I came.'

Pei Xu said, 'I was just about to light it.'

Zhai Xingchen crouched down and looked underneath the kang. Pei Xu quickly brought over the dry wood and coal.

Zhai Xingchen helped him get the fire going, and while they were at it, he noticed Pei Xu's hands were red from the cold.

His hands were big, with a broad frame to them, long fingers, and sharp, distinct knuckles. Right now they were flushed bright red from freezing.

'How'd your hands get this cold?' Zhai Xingchen asked, startled.

'From building the snowmen. I didn't pay attention at first.'

'Does it hurt?' Zhai Xingchen asked.

Seeing the worry on his face, Pei Xu found it deeply satisfying and said, 'Yeah. It hurts.'

Right then, they suddenly heard a rush of footsteps outside, and Huo Cheng pushed the door open and came in.

'Look at me, I completely forgot to light your fire.' Huo-ge came in smiling, wrapped in wind and snow. 'Oh, Xingchen's here too.'

'I came over to check whether you'd lit it or not,' Zhai Xingchen said, laughing.

'I remembered halfway there, so I ran straight back.' Huo Cheng crouched down as he spoke. 'Move, move. Lighting a fire still takes Huo-ge.'

Both Pei Xu and Zhai Xingchen laughed. Pei Xu reached out and brushed the snow off Huo Cheng's hat.

Huo Cheng got the firewood burning in no time. Warming himself by the fire, he said, 'You really shouldn't have stayed here. You should've come to my place. We could've shared a bed.'

'Look at him. Does he seem like the kind of person who shares a bed with somebody?' Zhai Xingchen said, laughing at him.

'I could if I had to. I just don't think it's necessary. It's only one night.'

'Don't say that too early. Watch them stick you here again next time.'

Pei Xu smiled and said, 'Then that's just my fate. I'll accept it.'

Once the fire inside had settled, Huo Cheng covered it with the metal sheet, dusted off his hands, and said, 'Done.'

'Thanks,' Pei Xu said.

'No need to be polite. We're off, you lonely bachelor,' Huo Cheng said.

He and Zhai Xingchen headed out together. When they got to the crossroads, Huo Cheng stopped and looked at the two snowmen. Then he said to Zhai Xingchen, 'For a guy like Pei Xu, all closed-off and cold, it's funny that he built two snowmen.'

Which just proved he wanted love too.

Zhai Xingchen said, 'Tomorrow I'll bring a carrot and give them noses, then add a couple of eyes. Then they'll be perfect.'

This was where they were supposed to split up. Huo Cheng said, 'All right, I'm heading out, Teacher Zhai. Your student is counting on you tomorrow.'

Zhai Xingchen smiled and waved. 'Good night.'

'Good night.' Huo Cheng shoved both hands into his pockets, hunched his neck against the cold, and walked a couple steps into the north wind. After he'd gone a little farther, he turned back for one more look. Snow was falling thick and wild. He turned around and started walking back, then before long broke into a run.

He'd had such a happy day. Right before bed, he even got to say good night to Zhai Xingchen alone. And tomorrow, he'd get to learn dance with him too.

His happiness was as huge and sweeping as the snow filling the sky.

Room 3 warmed up fast. The place was pretty bare-bones, there was no bathroom, and because he'd been sharing with Hu Ying, Pei Xu hadn't showered in two days. He'd sweated through the night before, but luckily he'd been dressed warmly enough that there wasn't much smell. Since he had the room to himself for once and it had finally gotten warm, he poured out the hot water from the kettle on the stove, took off his clothes, and wiped himself down with a towel.

By then it was already past ten. With music playing from his phone and water splashing everywhere, he didn't hear the footsteps outside at all.

Hu Ying had run back to get his phone. Seeing the room was still lit, he knocked on the door eagerly. 'Pei Xu.'

He gave it a hard push and—oh. It was bolted.

Pei Xu froze for a second, then hurriedly grabbed his pants and pulled them on. 'Hang on.'

Hu Ying asked, puzzled, 'Were you asleep?'

As he said it, he peeked through the crack in the door.

One look and his eyes went wide. Pei Xu had just gotten his pants on and was reaching for his coat. His shoulders and back were broad, his waist narrow. Maybe it was the room, maybe it was the hazy light, maybe both together, but he looked so good it was ridiculous.

Hu Ying awkwardly turned around.

So when he wasn't there, Pei Xu was this uninhibited.

When they'd slept together, the guy had wrapped himself up as tight as Yan Zhi.

A few minutes later, Pei Xu came over in a Down Jacket and opened the door for him.

'Why'd you come back?' Pei Xu asked.

Hu Ying was too embarrassed to even look at his face. He just said, 'I... I forgot my phone.'

'I just wiped myself down. There's water on the floor.' Pei Xu was still totally calm, still treating him like a Puppet.

There really was water on the floor. Hu Ying hurried to the bedside for his phone, noticed his rabbit sitting there too, grabbed that as well, and ran out in a fluster.

The snow outside was coming down hard now, already half a foot deep on the path. It crunched underfoot as he ran, and all the while he kept thinking, damn, Pei Xu's body is insanely good.

He suddenly got Pei Xu's sex appeal right then, in that shabby little room, with him taking his clothes off.

Hu Ying instantly felt like he'd lost his competitive edge.