Chapter 144
Chapter 144
Ning Xi scratched her head like a clueless goof.
Jiang Sheshe’s words… Why did they sound a little weird?
Yet Jiang Sheshe herself seemed completely unaware of it and kept earnestly warning Ning Xi, “You have to remember this. Dating is fine, but don’t do it in secret, and don’t hide it from other people. As long as you’re not hurting anyone, then date openly and honestly. Because sometimes, sneaking around is a kind of harm to the person kept in the dark. It makes her feel like an idiot!”
By the last few words, Jiang Sheshe was practically grinding them out through clenched teeth.
Did people really think she was a fool just because she didn’t lose her temper?
She had treated Ning Mingyue as her best friend. She had been willing to share everything with Ning Mingyue.
Even her secret crush on Wei Xuan-she had told Ning Mingyue every bit of it without holding anything back.
And what had happened?
Ning Mingyue had actually gotten together with Wei Xuan behind her back!
Did the two of them think hiding it from her made their relationship especially thrilling?
Had they ever mocked her behind her back, laughing together at how ridiculous her crush was?
The moment Jiang Sheshe thought of these things, anger made her chest feel tight and painfully stifled.
If that pair of lowlifes had so much as told her they were together, she wouldn’t have kept chasing after Wei Xuan like an idiot.
But no.
They had never treated her as a friend at all.
…
On the other side.
When Wei Xuan heard the pointed meaning in Jiang Sheshe’s words, his face stiffened. It was as if a dull club had slammed into his chest.
The suffocating pressure nearly left him unable to breathe.
Sheshe… knew?
Back then, he had hidden his relationship with Ning Mingyue from Sheshe for two reasons. First, he was afraid Sheshe wouldn’t be able to accept it. Second, he and Ning Mingyue had only just gotten together, and their relationship wasn’t stable yet; he didn’t want any complications.
Later, he still hadn’t confessed because Ning Mingyue had suddenly proposed breaking up, then left decisively and returned to China. After that, she had grown closer and closer to Shen Yibai.
He had urgently wrapped up his company’s affairs and chased after her because he wanted to know why they had broken up in the first place.
And so, through one delay after another, the confession had been dragged out until now.
Now that Jiang Sheshe had suddenly discovered it… an uncontrollable panic spread through Wei Xuan’s heart.
When Ning Mingyue heard Jiang Sheshe’s words, her vision went dark in waves.
The last shred of hope still lingering in her heart sank completely.
Back then, she had persuaded Wei Xuan to hide it from Jiang Sheshe precisely because she understood Jiang Sheshe’s personality. Jiang Sheshe was like a bomb-uncontrollable, and liable to explode at any moment.
Especially now, during a live broadcast. Jiang Sheshe was angry, and there was no telling what she might say that she shouldn’t.
For a moment, Ning Mingyue was utterly overwhelmed, with no idea how to clean up this mess.
She was terrified that if she handled it badly, she would leave a poor impression on Shen Yibai’s family.
After all, the Ning Family could no longer be compared to the Shen Family. She had chosen to enter the entertainment industry only because she wanted to give herself another bargaining chip for marrying into the Shen Family.
If this bargaining chip became a burden instead, then she would simply leave the industry…
“Which one of you fed my Doudou random stuff?!”
Suddenly, a displeased voice came from outside the performance area.
Everyone followed the sound and looked over. They saw a boy of about ten or so wearing a red Wangzai sweatshirt, skinny pants, and loafers, holding the “stray dog” Ning Mingyue had thrown away earlier-apparently named Doudou. He glared angrily at everyone.
“The blade ain’t sharp and the horse is too thin-what makes you think you can battle me? Play if you want, joke if you want, but don’t joke about my Doudou! If anyone breaks my Doudou’s wings, I’ll destroy their whole heaven! Don’t try to go head-to-head with me. I take the wound, you lose your life!”
Everyone: “…”
Where did this wannabe street punk come from?
Also, why did those lines sound kind of familiar?
In the next second, they remembered.
Because a voice they heard every day while filming the variety show rang out-
“Boiling water’s too hot, I don’t dare drink!”
The boy jolted and looked toward the voice. On reflex, he responded, “Human hearts are too cold, I don’t dare touch!”
Ning Xi said, “When the river dragon meets the mountain tiger!”
The boy replied, “Society ain’t something you can steer!”
Ning Xi said, “If I mess around with you, then you gotta laugh!”
The boy replied, “If I give you face, then you gotta take it!”
Ning Xi said, “A man only says thirty percent!”
The boy replied, “And leaves seventy to conquer the world!”
Ning Xi said, “The righteous path of mankind is paved with hardship.”
The young man’s expression froze. “Keep your head down and don’t get loud!”
With that, he cupped his fists at Ning Xi. “Life ain’t scary if you start anew! What’s scary is a future that’s not waiting for you! Society has no sky-covering tree-there’s always one thing that conquers thee! Farewell!”
Ning Xi cupped her fists right back and even threw in a few words of encouragement. “As long as a young man’s spirit stays alive, wherever he goes, he’ll thrive!”
The young man took a deep breath, left behind the line, “Tears may soak my bean-bean shoes, but with a clutch under my arm, I’m still the dude,” and strode off with his head held high.
Only, as he was leaving, he realized he didn’t have a clutch, so he tucked the puppy Doudou under his arm instead.
Then he departed in style, without taking a single cloud with him.
[Too trendy. So trendy my rheumatism is acting up.]
[Accidentally wandered into a brainrot street-boy and street-girl exchange circle.]
[Am I the only one focused on this: Ning Xi solved that troublemaking hypebeast with just a few lines?]
[Hahahaha, exactly. I was waiting for the hypebeast to raise hell with the Program Team. Let everyone go crazy together!]
Watching the Danmaku, Director Qin shoveled blood pressure medication into his mouth. “You’re kicking me while I’m down! You drink a little horse piss and feel like king of the world, but if something happens on my variety show, whether I live or die is up in the air!”
The assistant director immediately struck a rapper pose, waving his hands and bobbing his head. “No way, no way, you’re telling me a single rhyme still counts as a rhyme?”
Director Qin: “…”
Enough. He’d had enough of these cursed catchphrases.
“Hurry up and contact that kid from earlier. See if the puppy’s hurt. If it is, make sure the compensation plan satisfies him. Whatever you do, don’t let him come back here again,” Director Qin said, his expression returning to seriousness as he quickly gave the order.
Thank goodness Ning Xi had been there to defuse the situation with her nonsense. Otherwise, if that kid had really kicked up a fuss and the incident of Ning Mingyue throwing the dog had blown up, the Program Team would have had a hard time cleaning up the mess.
At that thought, Director Qin looked at Ning Mingyue on the screen with a bit more irritation in his eyes.
The assistant director replayed the footage, then suddenly said with a grave expression, “Director, when that kid asked who had been feeding his dog random things, Ning Mingyue seemed to subconsciously take a step to the side. That direction just happened to block the kid’s line of sight when he looked over… Should we cut that shot from the replay video?”
Director Qin’s expression sharpened.
Because it had been a livestream, the staff followed the principle of staying off-camera as much as possible. When something happened, naturally, they first watched to see how the guests would handle it.
The incident with the puppy had all started because of Ning Mingyue. Logically, Ning Mingyue should have stepped forward to explain, but she had subconsciously avoided it instead.
On the contrary, Ning Xi’s first reaction had been to save the situation…
Even if Ning Xi hadn’t stepped forward, no one would have blamed her.
But if she had stepped forward and failed to handle it well, she would have drawn fire onto herself and attracted everyone’s anger…
“I suddenly understand why Wei Xuan and Qin Se voted for Ning Xi back then and made her the Team Leader,” Director Qin said with a sudden sigh. “Ning Xi really is the only one who can be this Team Leader.”
Because everyone else would weigh the pros and cons, prioritizing their own personal interests and image. Basically, they were pushed along by the show’s process.
But Ning Xi was always thinking about how to keep this variety livestream running smoothly. Whenever something happened, she never thought, “Someone else should do it.” She thought, “I’ll do it.”
“Don’t cut that shot of Ning Mingyue. Plenty of netizens in the livestream saw it anyway. Even if we cut it, they’ll remember,” Director Qin said after thinking it over.
The assistant director froze, not expecting that the director, who usually bent over backward for money, would actually allow footage unfavorable to an investor’s daughter to air.
…
In the livestream.
After Ning Xi finished saying all those low-fat, zero-calorie lines, she felt completely refreshed from head to toe.
In the past, she’d always felt no one understood her humor. Now, her fellow powerhouse had finally arrived.
If they weren’t about to eat soon, she could have chatted another eight hundred lines with Wangzai Little Brother.
Regarding this…
Fu Zhi sneered. “Insane.”
Jiang Sheshe was no longer sad or angry, suffering through the bitterness of love. Instead, she was only curious. “What did all of that mean? Why did it rhyme so much, and why is it so addictive?!”
Ning Mingyue looked worried. “Doudou’s owner just left like that? I still wanted to apologize to him. It was my fault for mistaking Doudou for a stray dog…”
Xie Lanchen said, “Same city, seeking chance encounter/. Anyone who can turn on a hotspot, come.”