Chapter 153
Chapter 153
“Acting Basics may be basic, but your acting skills sure aren’t.” Ning Xi gave Jiang Sheshe a thumbs-up.
Jiang Sheshe thought Ning Xi was complimenting her and proudly puffed out her chest.
“Ahem.”
As if suddenly remembering something, Jiang Sheshe pulled up the QR code scanner on her phone and said, pretending not to care, “Um, didn’t you say before that we’re kind of friends? If we’re friends, then we should obviously add each other’s personal contact info.”
After she said that, she stared hard at Ning Xi.
She looked fully prepared to pester Ning Xi until she agreed if she dared to refuse.
Ning Xi’s expression seemed to show a hint of hesitation.
Jiang Sheshe immediately got anxious. “Are you going to-”
Ning Xi swiftly whipped out her phone and displayed a QR code. “It’s just adding contact info, right? Of course that’s no problem!”
Jiang Sheshe instantly broke into a delighted smile.
But after scanning it, her expression changed. “You…”
Ning Xi looked at Jiang Sheshe’s face, then at the QR code on her screen, and smacked her forehead.
“Look how careless I am! How did I mix up my friend-add QR code with my payment QR code!!! You absolutely must not overthink it!”
Jiang Sheshe: “.”
[That was definitely not a mistake.]
[When it comes to teasing Jiang Sheshe /.]
[Husky Ning, you little-]
Ning Xi cheerfully accepted Jiang Sheshe’s WeChat friend request.
Almost the instant it went through, Jiang Sheshe sent over a transfer.
The blunt, straightforward amount made Ning Xi’s eyes go wide. “Wait, you’re really transferring me money?”
She had purely been teasing Jiang Sheshe just now.
Jiang Sheshe crossed her arms over her chest, her tone disdainful. “It’s just the price of one outfit. You think I’d fake that? I originally wanted to give you a little present, but I couldn’t think of anything suitable on such short notice, so I might as well convert it to cash. Go buy whatever you like yourself~”
Ning Xi: “!!!”
The next second, she excitedly hugged Jiang Sheshe and started wheedling nonstop. “Big sister, big sister, big sister, big sister, big sister, big sister, big sister~”
At five foot eight, she was draped over Jiang Sheshe, who was only five foot four, like a giant bird nestling against a person.
The corners of Jiang Sheshe’s mouth had already curled up into a crooked villainous grin, but she still forced herself to act tough. “Aren’t you hot standing this close? Who’s your big sister? I saw you were pretty close with Wen Lu, that member from your old girl group, on other variety shows too. You often call her big sister as well…”
Before Jiang Sheshe could finish, Ning Xi had already “ruthlessly” let go of her. “Now that you mention it, it is kind of hot.”
Jiang Sheshe: “!!!”
Why did she have to run her mouth just now!!!
But now she couldn’t bring herself to ask Ning Xi to lean on her again!!!
Shaking with rage!!!
“What were you saying about Wen Lu just now?” Ning Xi looked at Jiang Sheshe curiously. She had been thinking about how many meals that money could buy her, so she really hadn’t heard what Jiang Sheshe said.
“Nothing. I just said I think you and Wen Lu have a pretty good relationship.” She had seen a lot of Ning Xi’s variety shows and reports say that Wen Lu was her best friend in the industry.
Tch. How old were they? Still playing the elementary-school ‘best friend’ game.
Did her social media bio also have ‘already has a bestie’ tacked on at the end or what?
Jiang Sheshe thought sourly.
“Yeah, Wen Lu is my best friend.” Ning Xi admitted it without the slightest hesitation. “We’ve known each other for many years.”
[Stop, stop, Jiang Sheshe is already so jealous she’s about to throw a fit.]
[She really is so in love.]
[Who would’ve thought? When this variety show first started, these two made the whole place chaotic, and now they’ve actually become friends.]
[Hahahaha, I saw this coming ages ago! On the first night of filming, after Ning Xi took off her makeup, Jiang Sheshe’s expression said it all. Face-lovers know. Ning Xi’s bare face must have hit Jiang Sheshe’s exact aesthetic sweet spot.]
[Then I get it. After all, any woman who sees Ning Xi’s bare-faced cold expression would end up smiling.]
[Xi’er is the authority here.]
Jiang Sheshe had still been feeling sour, but when she looked up and saw Ning Xi’s face, her thoughts couldn’t help wandering.
That new purple set Brand C released last month would definitely look amazing on Ning Xi. Pair it with the mermaid makeup look she’d just learned…
Shining Ningning, activate!
Jiang Sheshe spent the entire time thinking about how she would style Ning Xi’s outfits and makeup later, to the point that she completely ignored Wei Xuan playing the violin.
Wei Xuan had deliberately chosen Jiang Sheshe’s favorite piece and struck his most soulful pose, only for all that charm to be wasted on a blind audience.
It wasn’t until Wei Xuan’s performance was almost over that Jiang Sheshe finally realized the piece he was playing was the same one he had played when she first fell for him.
…Wei Xuan would probably never know that what had made her fall in love at first sight had never been the music. It had been the white moonlight boy in the piano room, dressed in a white shirt and looking as fresh as a breeze.
But now, her white moonlight had already gone rotten.
Wei Xuan, up onstage, was completely unaware. When he noticed Jiang Sheshe had finally fixed her gaze on him, the look in his eyes as he played the violin instantly became even more affectionate.
He looked determined to make Jiang Sheshe fall for him all over again.
Unfortunately, the current Jiang Sheshe had long since unstanned him-and was even ready to drag him on the way out.
“Who are you putting on this act for? Poser.”
“You were born a garlic sprout. No matter how you dress it up, you’re still garlic.”
“What are you acting like an elephant for?”
“…”
From the stage, Wei Xuan only saw Jiang Sheshe’s mouth moving nonstop. He assumed she was cheering him on, and the affection level in his gaze continued to rise.
In the end, even the audience couldn’t take it anymore.
“Does this kid have bad eyesight or something?”
“He’s probably nearsighted. That’s why he keeps squinting at people.”
“My sister said blinking like crazy can also mean your colored contacts are slipping!”
In the end, Wei Xuan received the “excellent” score of eight votes.
Seven of those eight votes came from people who were moved by his spirit of persevering through the performance despite clearly being nearsighted.
Truly a dark joke.
…
After Wei Xuan, Qin Se took the stage.
As a former girl group member, Qin Se’s stage control and expressiveness were top-tier.
As the first singing-and-dancing act so far, she took the highest score of the night: thirty votes.
“One more!!! One more!!!”
Ning Xi cheered for Qin Se from below the stage, and even joined in the heckling for an encore.
Her eyes were filled with pure happiness and support.
Maybe it was because the variety show was about to end. Or maybe Qin Se really was in a good mood tonight.
After stepping offstage, she actually walked straight over to Ning Xi.
Very seriously, she said to Ning Xi, “Thank you.”
Thank you for that card. Thank you for the line, “Running water doesn’t fight to be first; what matters is that it flows on without end.” Thank you for the Chinese notes written after every English lyric…
Ning Xi was startled by the solemn thank-you.
Her leg, which had been lazily stretched out, instantly snapped back. She stood at attention and bowed to Qin Se.
“I also thank thank thank thank you!”
She didn’t know what she was being thanked for, but she would thank her back first.
[No, wait, why does that bow look exactly like the Demon Pill’s? (wipes sweat.jpg)]
[Enough. Qin Se, why are you bowing too? Are you and Ning Xi about to bow to each other like a wedding ceremony?]
[Demon Pill Ning Xi x Ao Bing Qin Se]
[It took me exactly 0 seconds to accept this ship. You should try it too.]
After the “bowing and thanking” came to an end, Ning Xi made some casual small talk.
“Once You Are My Blessing wraps, who knows when we’ll get to see each other again.”
Although they were both in the entertainment industry, Qin Se mainly focused on acting, while Ning Xi was a singer. If not for this variety show, there really wouldn’t be many chances for their work to overlap.
“Maybe… very soon,” Qin Se said, suddenly raising a brow and smiling after hearing Ning Xi’s words.
Her expression was much more vivid than usual.
Ning Xi didn’t understand what Qin Se meant at the time. It wasn’t until later, when she joined the cast of The Chess Game and saw her scene partner, that she suddenly realized why Qin Se had said that.
…
After Qin Se, the next person to appear was Fu Zhi.
The netizens were full of anticipation. After all, Fu Zhi singing was one thing, but his dancing was also very much something else. His whole brand was making everyone laugh to death.
They had already prepared themselves to spend zero votes and focus entirely on watching the comedy.
But things often turned out unexpectedly-