Chapter 86

Chapter 86

Ning Xi fell silent. Ning Xi pondered. Ning Xi scratched her head.

No, she thought she had found the cards fast enough-she’d even managed to get information on Fu Zhi’s card. How was she still a step behind Xiao Xie?

Could it be…

“It’s all Fu Zhi’s fault for talking to me. He wasted my time and made me late,” Ning Xi grumbled, annoyed.

She shouldn’t have paid him any attention.

But whenever someone spoke to her, she just couldn’t help but respond. What was she supposed to do?

Fu Zhi, having suddenly become the scapegoat for a massive blunder, snapped back in irritation, “Why don’t you blame Xie Lanchen for beating you to it instead?”

Ning Xi looked at Fu Zhi and let out a performative sigh. “Being a graceful loser is a quality every adult should have. A loss is a loss. How can you blame the winner for being better than you? You young people just have no sense of the bigger picture.”

Fu Zhi’s lips trembled with rage. Between the good and the bad, Ning Xi had said it all. This fake, pretentious woman!

“You are the worst person ever!” Fu Zhi cursed.

Ning Xi almost laughed out loud.

[I’m about to laugh too. Is this the extent of the Prince’s trash-talking skills?]

[His vocabulary is pitifully small. I don’t understand where he gets the courage to argue with Ning Xi.]

[He actually said ‘You are the worst person ever.’ I pity this foul-mouthed man for a second.]

Ning Xi looked at Fu Zhi with disdain. “How bad can a person like me be when my head is filled with nothing but food and money?”

She literally didn’t have the time to do anything bad, okay?

Fu Zhi was choked with frustration.

[Wait… did she just get complimented?]

[She can’t be bad at all. My wallet wouldn’t even support me doing anything bad.]

As the two bickered, they reached the courtyard.

Ning Xi scanned the area and immediately locked onto Xie Lanchen.

“Xiao Xie, how many cards did you find just now?”

“Two.”

Xie Lanchen looked down at Ning Xi, the corners of his lips curving slightly.

“What?!” Ning Xi couldn’t believe it. He won with just two cards?

In truth, it was pure luck on Xie Lanchen’s part this time.

He had found a deeply hidden card in the storage room, which happened to be a Polaroid showing half of Qin Se’s face.

If it had been any other female celebrity in the country, Xie Lanchen might not have recognized her. However, Qin Se used to be in the same idol group as Ning Xi. Since he followed Ning Xi’s activities in private, he was the first to guess the new guest’s identity.

But these hidden thoughts and his secret observations couldn’t be revealed to Ning Xi. Otherwise, she would surely find him creepy or even loathe him…

So, Xie Lanchen tilted his head toward Ning Xi, his dark eyelashes casting quiet shadows.

“One of the cards showed what the new guest looks like.”

“No wonder!” Ning Xi realized.

The two of them stood there chatting. Even though they were clearly discussing information about the guests without a hint of ambiguity, to everyone else, it looked like they were practically glued to each other.

Shen Yibai took one look before calmly withdrawing his gaze. He lowered his eyes, his thoughts unreadable.

“I only found one card. It looked like a photo of the new guest participating in a Chinese dance competition as a child, but it was just a shot of her back. I couldn’t guess who it was at all…” Ning Mingyue spoke to Shen Yibai in a soft voice.

When she finished and received no reaction, she paused. “Yibai? Are you listening to me?”

Only then did Shen Yibai look at Ning Mingyue and give a brief hum of affirmation.

Ning Mingyue’s lips twitched. Even though Shen Yibai was by her side and prioritized her in everything, why did she always feel like something was missing?

Shen Yibai never looked at her the way he had looked at Ning Xi in their past life…

Ning Mingyue began to feel insecure again.

“Move, move.”

With a cold face, Fu Zhi squeezed himself between Ning Xi and Xie Lanchen.

He then looked down at them condescendingly. “Can you two listen to the director properly? Whispering like this-what is wrong with you?”

Ning Xi: …

Ning Xi turned away immediately, deciding not to give Fu Zhi the time of day.
Xie Lanchen shot Fu Zhi a cool glance before looking straight ahead as well.

Suddenly, the atmosphere turned chilly.

Only Fu Zhi remained leisurely, looking like he was in a pretty good mood.

[I’m gonna kill Fu Zhi for breaking up my Xi-Lan Flower CP!!!]

[Fu Zhi: My being here is basically a middle finger.]

[Let our Princess have his way. He’s Ning Xi’s toxic solo stan, and toxic solo stans hate the real partner the most. (Kowtowing to everyone.jpg)]

Director Qin cleared his throat. “Dear guests, our new friend has been waiting outside for a long time and is eager to meet everyone. Now, please welcome-”

“Teacher Qin Se!”

It really was Qin Se!

Ning Xi was delighted.

At that moment, a cool, clear voice drifted in from the doorway.

“Hello, everyone. I am Qin Se.”

It sounded like pearls falling onto a jade plate-exceedingly pleasant to the ear.

However, what left the deepest impression were Qin Se’s eyes. They were like a cold pond, guarded by high walls that made people hesitate to approach.

“Why does it feel like we’ve got another mute?” Jiang Sheshe whispered her critique.

Ning Xi, on the other hand, clapped with a smile to welcome the new arrival.

[Group fans of ‘Girls’ are so relieved!]

[In my lifetime, I’m actually seeing the first and second place winners of the girl group I used to follow appearing on the same variety show. I’m tearing up.]

Qin Se glanced at Ning Xi.

Ning Xi’s pupils were very light in color. Her amber-like eyes sparkled when she smiled, looking like clean, translucent glass.

Qin Se met her gaze for a split second before quickly looking away, showing none of the warmth one might expect from old teammates reuniting.

Ning Xi was used to it; after all, Qin Se had always been this aloof.

But in Ning Mingyue’s eyes, this scene took on a different meaning.

Even though this Qin Se was in the same group as Ning Xi before, it seemed their relationship wasn’t very good.

It made sense. How could the second-place finisher of a survival show ever stand the first-place winner? Otherwise, she wouldn’t have ‘accidentally’ liked those Weibo posts containing black material about Ning Xi.

“Is Miss Qin currently active in the entertainment industry as an actress? I watched your drama last year. Your acting was excellent; you don’t seem like a rookie actress at all.”

Ning Mingyue spoke in a soft tone.

She had a delicate, gentle appearance and usually spoke in a quiet voice, making it easy for people to feel close to her.

However, Qin Se only gave Ning Mingyue a silent glance. “Oh.”

Ning Mingyue’s smile faltered, but she quickly pulled herself together.

It didn’t matter. While cold people like this were hard to approach at first, once you truly became friends, you would receive all their favoritism and attention.

It was like that with Shen Yibai, and it would be the same with Qin Se.

“To welcome our new guest, we’re going to play a simple game of ‘Telephone.’ Guests, please head to the game area.”

The location changed. Ning Xi and the others followed Director Qin to a large mud pit.

There were eight circular platforms inside the pit.

“The guests will be divided into two groups. You will stand on the platforms wearing headphones. The first guest will see the prompt and pass the content down the line. The last guest must repeat the content. The group with the highest accuracy wins!”

Hearing about the groups, Fu Zhi silently took a step closer to Ning Xi.

Then he noticed that while the new guest, Qin Se, didn’t say much, she had been standing neither too far nor too close to Ning Xi.

Fu Zhi: ?

Having one Xie Lanchen was already annoying enough; surely there wasn’t going to be a female version of Xie Lanchen too?

Fortunately, Qin Se seemed sensible. After Fu Zhi gave her a look, she silently shifted her position to maintain a certain distance from him.

“Now, Xie Lanchen, who was the first to guess the new guest’s identity, will decide the members for the two groups.

Note: this grouping will affect all of this afternoon’s activities!”

Everyone held their breath and looked at Xie Lanchen.

Xie Lanchen only looked at Ning Xi. He arched an eyebrow, a faint smile floating in the depths of his eyes.

“Teacher Ning, do you want to win this round with me?”