Chapter 142
Chapter 142
There were three hours left before the performance.
After Ning Xi finished her makeup and styling, she had nothing to do, so she sat in the courtyard hugging a watermelon and gnawing on it.
Her phone beeped twice. Ning Xi glanced at it. It was a message from Fu Zhi.
Born Simp Constitution: “There’s going to be a good show tonight.”
Ning Xi ignored him.
If the WeChat account provided by the Program Team hadn’t made it impossible to delete the other guests, she would have loved to let Fu Zhi know what it meant to receive fatherly love in the form of a block button.
But Fu Zhi was the type who only got more energized the more you ignored him.
“Ahem.”
Not long after Ning Xi put down her phone, an intentionally loud cough came from the courtyard entrance.
Ning Xi was truly at her wit’s end.
She looked toward Fu Zhi, who was standing at the entrance doing everything he could to get her attention, and asked in genuine confusion, “Am I a piece of shit? Why are you so drawn to me?”
Fu Zhi: “…”
Don’t think he couldn’t tell Ning Xi was calling him a dog who couldn’t stop eating shit.
Remembering that he had come here to break the ice and ease the tension between them, Fu Zhi took a deep breath and decided to endure it.
He entered the courtyard. His eyes first scanned the place like X-rays, and only after confirming that Xie Lanchen wasn’t there did he instantly breathe a sigh of relief.
Then he saw Ning Xi, and in that instant, he froze completely.
Who knew what he was thinking, but his earlobes suspiciously reddened.
Only after a long while did he come back to himself. His voice was halting as he asked, “Why are you dressed like that?”
Though his voice was quiet, his tone sounded like he was questioning her-and dissatisfied.
Ning Xi immediately lowered her head and looked herself over.
A violet off-shoulder top. Jeans.
Paired with an exaggerated necklace and earrings that fit the character’s vibe, plus slightly mature makeup.
Although it was a little different from her usual style, she didn’t think it was a disaster, right?
The Danmaku had already turned into a flood of people calling her Mommy.
If Ning Xi’s usual girl-idol style was baby-level beauty, then this slightly mature look was mommy-level beauty.
It was a refreshing change for them.
[Mommy mommy mommy!]
[Purple really does have so much charm. Absolutely authoritative.]
[She really looks like a beautiful bad woman ahhhhhhh!]
[Wife, step on me!]
[If Ning Xi’s dog ever gets lost, I will take its place.]
[Can you people stop saying things like, “If your dog ever gets lost, I will take its place”? Have some shame, okay? I would never get lost.]
Under Ning Xi’s increasingly dangerous narrowed gaze, Fu Zhi finally realized, belatedly, that his tone had been wrong.
He gritted his teeth, steeled himself, and said as if an honest man had finally thrown caution to the wind,
“What I mean is… you look pretty good like this.”
Seeing Fu Zhi looking as if someone had forced him at knifepoint, Ning Xi gave two dry laughs.
Who car(e is silent)?
Seeing that Ning Xi didn’t seem to believe him, Fu Zhi hurriedly repeated it louder. “You look pretty good.”
“Oh, I know.”
Fu Zhi emphasized heavily, “You really do look pretty good in that outfit!”
Ning Xi emphasized right back, “I really do know!”
Of course she had confidence in her face and her taste. Fu Zhi’s words had never had any effect on her.
Fu Zhi: “…”
No matter what the process was like, as long as Ning Xi was still willing to talk to him, that meant their relationship had eased.
So Fu Zhi, just like he had countless times before, took the initiative to start the conversation that would lead to reconciliation.
“Didn’t you see the message I sent you?”
Ning Xi didn’t answer.
Because she knew Fu Zhi didn’t need her answer at all. He could ask and answer his own questions perfectly fine.
Sure enough, Fu Zhi couldn’t hold it in for even a second.
Worried that it would be broadcast on the livestream, he planned to lean in and whisper into Ning Xi’s ear.
After what happened with Xie Lanchen last time, Ning Xi now had PTSD about this behavior. Before Fu Zhi could even get close, her palm had already landed on his face.
“If you have something to say, say it. Why are you getting so close?”
Fu Zhi: ?
[Hahahahahahahahaha, I found a bite of sugar in the cracks! Xie Lanchen also leaned in to whisper in Ning Xi’s ear before, but Ning Xi didn’t slap Xie Lanchen. This is the difference between being loved and not being loved.]
[Good lord, Ning Xi and Fu Zhi are literally fighting, and the chefs among the Xi-Lan Flower CP Fans can still cook up a meal.]
[So they’re the mess hall crew in the middle of a war zone, huh?]
Fu Zhi covered his face and angrily demanded, “You fuc-”
Then, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Xie Lanchen coming out of the room, and instantly changed his words. “…Does your hand hurt?”
This time, Ning Xi was the one horrified.
Good lord. Had she slapped Fu Zhi so hard she brought out one of his hidden traits?
“Damn it, I just hit you and made you enjoy it.” Ning Xi was filled with regret.
Fu Zhi nearly fainted from rage.
He also forgot to tell Ning Xi about how he’d discovered that Wei Xuan might be having an affair with Ning Mingyue.
And that wasn’t even mentioning how he’d already told Jiang Sheshe about this discovery.
“The Program Team sent a message saying we should go to the performance venue and run through the schedule one more time.” Xie Lanchen leaned against the doorframe and gave the phone in his hand a little shake.
Lazy and casual.
Ning Xi’s attention was instantly diverted. She smacked her forehead.
“I put my phone on silent just now, so I didn’t see the message.”
As for why she had suddenly put her phone on silent…
“You deliberately put your phone on silent so you wouldn’t have to look at my messages?” Fu Zhi was so furious he pinched his own philtrum.
Ning Xi corrected him, “How can you call it ‘deliberate’? It was just convenient.”
Fu Zhi slammed the door and left.
Ning Xi, meanwhile, was smug: Operation Drive Away Fu Zhi-success √
But she hadn’t been proud for long when she heard Xie Lanchen say faintly from the side,
“How could he slam the door? So scary. Not like me. I only feel sorry for… my jiejie.”
Ning Xi sprayed out a mouthful of watermelon. “Pfft-”
She turned her head and stared at Xie Lanchen in disbelief.
Wait. Her ears weren’t malfunctioning, were they?
Did Xie Lanchen just call her jiejie?
The netizens, however, focused on something else:
[Xiao Xie knows how to act like green tea too? (bruised and battered.jpg)]
[What other surprises are you hiding from Us?]
The netizens found it novel.
After all, no matter how you looked at it, those words didn’t seem like something Xie Lanchen would ever say.
But now, through Ning Xi’s eyes, they were starting to understand more and more about Xie Lanchen.
Every time, they would exclaim: So Xie Lanchen can be like this too!
In their memories, Xie Lanchen had gone from a faint impression to a vivid, unforgettable stroke of color.
[I think I suddenly understand why Ning Xi can always find Xie Lanchen at a glance]
[This is so magical. My impression of Xie Lanchen used to be that he was a cool guy, but now I feel like he’s the kind of cool guy who’s a little cute]
“What did you call me? What did you call me?” Ning Xi immediately perked up.
Xie Lanchen looked rather innocent as he knowingly asked, “What?”
“The part where you said, ‘Not like me. I only feel sorry for…'” Ning Xi prompted him.
Xie Lanchen tilted his head in confusion, his gaze meeting Ning Xi’s. His voice carried a lazy drawl. “Hm?”
Ning Xi was greatly disappointed.
Fine. She couldn’t trick Xie Lanchen into calling her jiejie again.
Once this was over, she would definitely watch the livestream replay, record that part, and listen to it several more times.
Ning Xi silently made arrangements for herself.
…
All the guests arrived at the performance venue one after another.
And here, the good show Fu Zhi had mentioned had already begun.
Because of the earlier scandal over the manipulated ranking by likes, Ning Mingyue desperately needed to salvage her image in front of the netizens.
It just so happened that there was a dirty white stray dog near the performance venue.
Ning Mingyue deliberately carried the dog over and asked everyone for help.
“Teachers, does anyone have any food we can give the dog? I saw it hanging around here for a long time. Its whole body is dirty, and it seems to be a homeless stray. It looks so pitiful.”
[Mingyue is so loving and compassionate! She even noticed a stray dog, wahhh]
[A beautiful, kind-hearted little angel. I stanned the right person!]
[Uh, if I’m not mistaken, this dog should be a Bichon Frise, and its breed quality looks pretty good too. Is it really a stray?]
This Danmaku was quickly drowned out by Ning Mingyue’s fans flooding the screen.
In the livestream room, the dog in Ning Mingyue’s arms suddenly began struggling.
If Ning Mingyue hadn’t reacted in time, the puppy would have nearly scratched her hand.
A vicious glint flashed through Ning Mingyue’s eyes. Fortunately, her gaze was lowered, so no one noticed.
“All right, be good. Don’t be scared. No one here means you any harm…”
Ning Mingyue tried to soothe the struggling dog in her arms.
Unfortunately, she really had no experience taking care of small animals, and for a moment, she was flustered and fumbling.
[Ning Mingyue has no idea how to interact with small animals…]
[Oh no, Ning Mingyue isn’t even holding the dog right. Its legs could get pulled and injured]
[Why is the Danmaku still nitpicking? Are kind people going to get criticized now too? Got it. The more you do, the more mistakes you make. Mingyue should’ve just ignored the stray dog like everyone else. Then no one would have anything to say]
[Some haters should just shut up. Don’t make kind people lose heart!]
[…]
Just then, Jiang Sheshe, who had just arrived at the performance venue, saw the way Ning Mingyue was interacting with the dog.
The first words out of her mouth stunned everyone present: “Are you even human?”