Chapter 140
Chapter 140
Ning Xi turned her head to look at Xie Lanchen.
Only to find that Xie Lanchen happened to be looking at her, too.
Their eyes met.
Ning Xi, who normally would never have read too much into it, felt her heart inexplicably skip a beat.
Her lashes trembled as well.
Meeting Ning Xi’s gaze, Xie Lanchen suddenly curved his lips ever so slightly.
“Do you want to know?”
Ning Xi nodded.
The next second-
Xie Lanchen suddenly bent down, half-leaning in close to Ning Xi’s ear.
His crisp, pleasant scent instantly filled Ning Xi’s nose, and the shadow of his body nearly enveloped her completely.
Ning Xi instinctively turned her head to look at Xie Lanchen.
In his dark eyes, she saw her own tiny reflection.
The distance between them was so close it was almost nonexistent, barely one or two centimeters.
Even their breaths tangled together in the air.
Ning Xi’s heartbeat was a complete mess, and the temperature of her ears was rising rapidly.
Did he really need to get this close just to say something…?
“Xie Lan-”
“Since… you didn’t hear it just now, then forget it. It wasn’t anything important anyway.”
The moment Xie Lanchen saw Ning Xi’s impossibly beautiful eyes, his originally composed expression suddenly faltered.
He rushed through the words, then straightened and headed toward the rooftop exit. His steps were somewhat hurried and flustered. If one looked closely, they would even notice a suspicious flush sweeping over the tips of his ears.
“The director seems about to announce some results. Let’s go back.”
Ning Xi was still standing where she was.
Replaying and reviewing the scene that had just happened.
Had she… just been flirted with by Xiao Xie?
Or had Xiao Xie only meant to tease her, and she was overthinking it?
The more Ning Xi thought about it, the more incredulous she felt.
Then she looked at Xie Lanchen’s back as he left, looking as if he had flirted with her and then walked away all “casual and calm,” and Ning Xi’s competitive spirit instantly flared up.
No, wait. She was over here spiraling, and he was acting like nothing had happened?!
Xie Lanchen deliberately slowed his pace as he left, his peripheral vision waiting for Ning Xi the entire time.
And then he saw someone-
Take a deep breath and charge over with an aggressive aura.
Then, one step ahead of him, she planted her hands on her hips and marched in front of him, looking arrogant enough to warn strangers not to come near and acquaintances to get lost even harder.
Her footsteps went click-clack-click-clack, completely ignoring Xie Lanchen behind her.
Xie Lanchen froze for an instant, then the corners of his lips rose uncontrollably.
Although he didn’t know why Teacher Ning seemed a little emotional, this lively, high-spirited version of her was his favorite.
Because Teacher Ning like this had to be happy.
The Danmaku had long since lost all sense of heaven and earth from shipping them so hard.
[The way these two interact is practically like they’re already married.]
[Xie Lanchen actually took the initiative to flirt with wooden-block Ning Xi. Even as a corpse, I feel relieved.]
[I can’t even imagine how good it would smell if the Leopard-Cat CP’s hair strands got tangled together.]
[Xiao Xie flirted and then his ears turned red. He even almost walked with his arms and legs moving on the same side just now. He’s so bad at this it’s hilarious.]
[Xie Lanchen on the outside: constantly looking for girlfriends, but never a long-term girlfriend; Xie Lanchen in reality: pure-love warrior.]
[High offense, low defense type.]
[Wanted to flirt with someone, but ended up being the one who got flustered? That’s so him.]
[Does no one understand the moment when Ning Xi rushed ahead of Xie Lanchen and Xie Lanchen smiled behind her? So doting.]
[This time really is different. I’m shipping a real couple, wuwuwuwu.]
And so, Ning Xi and Xie Lanchen swaggered back into the house one after the other.
When Jiang Sheshe saw Ning Xi return, she was just about to move closer.
But when she thought of how Ning Xi had “abandoned” her earlier, she immediately decided: unless Ning Xi came to her first, she absolutely would not take the initiative to talk to Ning Xi this time.
Twenty seconds later.
Jiang Sheshe shuffled over to Ning Xi in tiny steps.
“What shampoo do you use? It smells amazing.”
As she spoke, she took another deep, fierce sniff, looking utterly satisfied.
Seeing that Jiang Sheshe’s expression of adoration didn’t seem fake, Ning Xi waved a hand grandly. “Send me your shipping address.”
“What do you need that for?”
“I’ll send you two sets.”
Ning Xi said it like it was no big deal.
Jiang Sheshe clutched her chest. So… so domineering.
Pink, heart-shaped bubbles instantly began popping uncontrollably in her eyes.
Ning Xi: …
She shot Jiang Sheshe a baffled glance.
That shampoo brand was one she endorsed. The brand had sent her enough to last several lifetimes, and she’d given it to plenty of friends before. Why was Jiang Sheshe acting so excited?
“Ahem!”
Director Qin made a dazzling entrance with his little portable voice amplifier.
“Good afternoon, guests! Earlier, the guests split into four groups to take photos. The Program Team uploaded the photos online to rank them by likes, and now the results have been tallied!
“The Program Team would like to remind everyone one last time: the rankings of the four groups will affect the order of tonight’s stage performances! And that performance order will, in all likelihood, greatly influence how much the audience likes each performance!
“P.S. For tonight’s stage, the later a performing guest appears, the more likely they are to receive audience favorite cards!”
The guests all fell into thought.
As for the voting results, they were basically prepared.
Barring any surprises, it should match the like rankings everyone had seen earlier.
Ning Xi and Xie Lanchen’s group would be first, Qin Se and Wei Xuan’s group second, Jiang Sheshe and Shen Yibai’s group third, and Ning Mingyue and Fu Zhi’s group fourth.
The Danmaku thought the same.
[The results are definitely going to be pretty much the same. When the Program Team hid the like counts, I specifically took a look, and it matched everyone’s predictions]
[I think Jiang Sheshe and Shen Yibai’s group might be the wild card. That trending topic about Jiang Sheshe accidentally falling into the water got a lot of traffic earlier. They might even rank second]
[Has anyone else noticed no one really objects to Ning Xi ranking first in likes? It feels so good to see]
[I noticed too… Honestly, when the variety show first started airing, there were so many malicious Danmaku comments slandering Ning Xi that I was really confused. Aside from some baseless rumors, Ning Xi doesn’t really have any scandals, but back then a ton of comments were questioning her like a bunch of impostors]
[The more popular someone is, the more trouble they attract. Ning Xi has the highest popularity, so of course all sorts of monsters and demons show up]
[My lady, mind thy words. The phrase “highest popularity” must not be uttered lightly, lest it stir turmoil in the mortal realm. Amitabha]
[So that is how it is. This humble scholar was rash. Many thanks to the fair maiden for resolving my confusion. I have learned much]
[My lady is most wise. This humble scholar admires you]
[…What a bunch of drama queens.]
[All of you, speak like normal humans [hug] (not a hug, I’m strangling you)]
Director Qin coughed into his portable amplifier again, trying to draw everyone’s attention.
Ning Xi, who was standing closest to him, heard the tinny, blown-out audio from the amplifier and felt her whole head buzz.
“Oh my fu-” Halfway through, Ning Xi remembered they were livestreaming and swiftly changed course.
“Good heavens! This humble maiden has been shocked half to death!”
The words had barely left her mouth when, in the next second…
A broad, cool palm suddenly covered her ears. It carried a faint, clean scent that made her feel at ease, one that was incredibly familiar.
All the noise from the outside world was shut out.
Ning Xi could only hear her own heartbeat.
Thump, thump. Thump, thump.