Immortal Koi Is Going To Debut - Chapter 47

 

Chapter 47: A Hug

After An Zhihan's departure, Gu Ju grinned and took the microphone, "Su Jinli always brings us surprises. Despite not feeling well, he performed excellently. I was really impressed with his posture just now and feel like learning it."

With that, he stepped onto the stage and approached Su Jinli, asking him to teach him how to play the pipa in the inverse manner.

Gu Ju then proceeded to learn from Su Jinli for a while.

Everyone knew that Gu Ju was wisely saving the situation.

The atmosphere at the venue had turned rather strange due to An Zhiyan's outburst and An Zhihan's remarks, which added a potentially explosive element.

Now, Gu Ju stepped in to lighten up the atmosphere, dispelling the awkwardness and adjusting the tone of the event.

After the situation eased, it would be less challenging for the jury to give their comments.

"This posture is indeed very difficult," Gu Ju said, holding the pipa and speaking to the audience, "I was genuinely enlightened by the performance, it's such a rare kind of show, really an eye-opener."

As Gu Ju spoke, he headed towards the judging panel, "When Su Jinli first came, he mentioned he wanted to be a classical teenager; back then, I thought he would only rely on antiques. But now, it's clear that he leans on his talent. I want to vote for Su Jinli. I’d also like to see him playing the flute."

After Gu Ju's efforts to diffuse the tension, the other judges also started giving their comments.

Qiao Nuo had lost his words and only nodded, no matter what the judges said.

The same went for Su Jinli. His throat was very uncomfortable at the moment, so he simply said "thank you."

In the end, Su Jinli received three votes, and Qiao Nuo one.

Han Kai spoke openly, "Indeed, Su Jinli's performance was not the best because of his throat issue, which was beyond his control. However, what surprised me was his emotional delivery while singing. It genuinely moved me. Moreover, none of us can deny the high quality of Su Jinli's singing. His previous position as the central character was based on his voice, and so was his title as the top vote-getter."

Su Jinli was retained.

Some still suspected foul play. If Su Jinli were eliminated, would An Zhiyan even continue hosting?

Now, Su Jinli was a popular contestant, and they probably wouldn't want to eliminate such contestants, would they?

This competition became a controversial subject indeed.

________________________

The fourth round of the competition had ended.

It was chaotic, surprising, with many things spiraling out of control.

After heading backstage, An Zhihan tried to pick a fight with Qiao Nuo but was restrained by Wu Yu and Fan Qianting.

An Zhihan was like a raging beast, cursing at Qiao Nuo, while the other contestants looked on. Chang Siyin was also from Muzitao, and for the company's sake, he hastily ushered Qiao Nuo away.

Seeing this, Wu Yu crouched down, picked up An Zhihan, and left. They didn't even go to the dressing room to remove their makeup but went straight back to the dormitory. They told the crew, "We'll return the outfits tomorrow."

They then walked away, with Fan Qianting following Wu Yu and trying to restrain An Zhihan from cursing more.

"Damn it! Put me down. My hair's messed up. Idiot Qiao Nuo, you're shameless!" was what An Zhihan kept yelling.

Su Jinli didn't follow An Zhihan and others. As soon as he left the stage, he was called aside by Gu Ju.

Gu Ju pulled Su Jinli to one side and explained that it was just an accident. He assured him not to worry, as the production team would try to edit this out in the officially broadcasted version.

"How's your throat? Do you need another check-up, or perhaps some medication?" Gu Ju asked Su Jinli.

Su Jinli shook his head, indicating that he was okay.

Gu Ju lifted his hand, seemingly wanting to comfort Su Jinli, then after thinking for a moment, withdrew his hand, "You really play the Pipa well. There's no conspiracy, I genuinely wanted to vote for you, don't overthink."

"Thank you, Teacher Gu," Su Jinli replied.

"Qiao Nuo challenging you was unexpected for us too. Due to the uncontrollable circumstances, the production team made a wrong decision. We hope that you are not upset."

"..." Su Jinli knew that Qiao Nuo's challenge was allowed by the rules of the competition, and the production team did indeed take care of him and communicate with the contestants.

He couldn't argue because he was weak...

Su Jinli just nodded, forcing himself to swallow the feelings of injustice.

A sensible child both tugs at one's heartstrings and is likable.

Gu Ju smiled slightly, lips pursing, and led Su Jinli to the resting room of An Zhiyan, "Could you please help to placate Young Master An too? He's quite angry this time. He's a popular artist and can't act wildly like An Zhihan. His actions could set off a chain of reactions and if not handled well, could have great impact on his own image."

Su Jinli knows, it doesn't matter if he feels wronged right now, the important thing is not to drag others into the situation.

So now, he needed to adjust his mentality and persuade An Zhiyan first.

"Should we call An Zhihan over as well?" Su Jinli asked.

"If we do, and the brothers see each other, they'd probably just get angry together, and the scene would be chaotic, right?"

"Ah... Right." Su Jinli followed Gu Ju to An Zhiyan's resting room and saw An Zhiyan sitting inside, legs draped over the makeup table, surrounded by the director and staff who were all trying to appease him.

An Zhiyan's expression lightened a bit when he saw Su Jinli.

"Is the competition over?" An Zhiyan asked.

"Um, yes."

"You guys, please leave first. I want to have a private talk with Su Jinli." An Zhiyan told the surrounding staff.

Zhang Heming led the other staff members out, and Gu Ju also followed after glancing at Su Jinli.

"Is your throat feeling uncomfortable now?" An Zhiyan withdrew his leg and adjusted his sitting position before pulling Su Jinli over to him.

"Actually, it's not too bad. It's just that... my singing doesn't sound good."

"Indeed, it doesn't sound good. Listening to it makes me feel uncomfortable."

"Oh..."

"But you played the Pipa well." After An Zhiyan complimented Su Jinli in this way, he gestured for Su Jinli to bend down.

Su Jinli bent down, and An Zhiyan raised his hand to button up Su Jinli's shirt for him, making him look a lot more pleasing to the eye.

Su Jinli suited a neat appearance. It made him look well-behaved.

An Zhiyan liked obedient kids, which was probably why he unusually did not like An Zhihan. Unfortunately, you can't choose your siblings. An Zhihan was still spoiled by him.

"Are you angry?" Su Jinli carefully asked An Zhiyan.

"Was I conducting performance art earlier?" An Zhiyan asked back irritably, "I was in a bad mood to begin with, and then they brought this kind of trouble to annoy me."

"But it was Qiao Nuo who challenged, it wasn't something they could control."

"But they compromised! They sacrificed you for the reputation of the program team. They could have explained that an incident had occurred and that you couldn't sing, thus Qiao Nuo couldn't challenge you and should challenge someone else. But they insisted on going ahead with it, just because they didn't want their management negligence exposed."

"But doing this... isn't it bad for you?"

"I know that myself. There were so many people on site, there must be someone who filmed it. This incident today is bound to be hyped up. I guess I will be criticized again."

"It's okay..." Su Jinli raised his hand, ruffled An Zhiyan's hair, and gave him a blessing.

An Zhiyan, harsh as he was, became obedient and calm once his head was petted. He sat on the chair, sulking alone.

Just as Su Jinli was about to remove his hand, An Zhiyan suddenly grabbed it. He raised his head to look directly at Su Jinli and asked, "Does your head-petting carry any special meaning?"

"It's... a blessing for you," Su Jinli answered.

"After petting the head, does it leave any trace or transmit any signals?"

"It will... it will... mess up your hair," Su Jinli nervously answered, letting out a burp as he finished speaking.

Looking at Su Jinli's confused state, An Zhiyan found it amusing. He grabbed Su Jinli's hand, turned it over to look at his palm, and continued, "Do you have any special abilities?"

"Huh?"

"Like telekinesis."

"How... How could that be possible?!" Su Jinli's voice became higher out of nervousness.

"There's no need to raise your voice, I can hear you."

"Oh, okay."

"Considering I'm your senior now, I need to understand your situation. So, there are a few things I need to confirm with you," An Zhiyan suddenly said.

"Alright, go ahead," Su Jinli answered nervously.

"Have you ever been in love?" asked An Zhiyan.

Su Jinli found the question quite odd as he had answered it many times before. "No, I have not."

"I want the truth."

"I really haven't."

"What about now? Are you in a relationship?"

"I mean, I've never been in love before, so how could I be in one now?"

An Zhiyan, bemused by the response, thought for a moment before asking another question, "Don't tell me, Shen Cheng doesn't want to fall in love, does he?"

"Huh?" Su Jinli thought bewildered, "Why are we suddenly talking about my brother?"

He pondered for a moment before replying, "He's afraid it would affect his work, that's why he's been refusing to fall in love."

Hearing this, An Zhiyan wasn't sure whether to feel happy or angry. He only said one thing, "You should keep your distance from him in the future. He only cares about himself. Such a jerk.”

"???"

An Zhiyan stood up, causing Su Jinli to instinctively step back. However, before he could move away, An Zhiyan grabbed his hand and pulled him back into his arms.

Su Jinli, being slightly shorter than An Zhiyan, was taken aback to suddenly find himself being pulled into An Zhiyan's embrace.

An Zhiyan held Su Jinli tenderly, hugging him tightly. He whispered, "Don't be afraid. I'll protect you from now on. In this situation, I will try my best to ensure you won't be affected."

Su Jinli could feel that An Zhiyan was genuinely concerned about him and was truly committed to protecting him.

He hadn't expected An Zhiyan to be so angry after Qiao Nuo challenged him.

So, Su Jinli didn't reject his embrace. He wrapped his arms around An Zhiyan's back. "Thank you, Big Brother An."

An Zhiyan didn't quite like that address and immediately objected, "Change what you call me."

"Uh... Young Master An?" Su Jinli suggested.

"Change it again."

"Big nostrils?"

"..." An Zhiyan suddenly wanted to drag An Zhihan over, kick him a couple of times, then throw him out.

"Can I go back and think about it?" Su Jinli really didn't know what to call An Zhiyan anymore, so he tried pushing An Zhiyan away.

However, An Zhiyan didn't want to let go of Su Jinli. Initially, it was meant to comfort him and to find out that Su Jinli had never been in love, which lightened his mood a little and made him want to ask for a hug from Su Jinli.

Once he hugged him, his nose was filled with Su Jinli's scent, making it even harder for him to let go.

"Hmm." An Zhiyan responded, continuing to cling to Su Jinli stubbornly.

"You shouldn't be angry either, can you calm down a bit?" Su Jinli asked tentatively.

"Hmm." God knew how much healing effect this hug had.

"Actually, you were a bit temperamental today..."

Before Su Jinli could finish his sentence, An Zhiyan let go of him abruptly and asked, "Isn't it all because of you? You threw up so much blood and couldn't speak. You looked so pitiful that it broke my heart!"

"I... I won't eat random things anymore."

What's going on?

An Zhiyan was feeling a bit discontented again.

"Don't be angry, talk to the program group properly." Su Jinli advised.

"No, I get annoyed at the sight of them."

"If you go on like this, I will deal with you!" Su Jinli threatened.

"Hey, you're quite tough, huh? Try to tackle me." An Zhiyan reached out and pinched Su Jinli's face, but he quickly let go.

Summoning his courage, Su Jinli reached out and pulled An Zhiyan's hand downward. It felt like he had only pulled the tip of his finger... and that was it.

An Zhiyan was stunned by the action and asked, "What kind of torture is this?"

"I'm sucking your Yang energy!" Su Jinli responded fiercely.

Quite fierce but adorable, in some way.

"Oh..." An Zhiyan understood, repressing a laugh before he replied, "I'm terrified."

Su Jinli pointed to the door: "You calm down a bit, I have to go back."

"Alright, you go."

After Su Jinli left, Jiang Pingqiu entered the room and asked An Zhiyan: "How do we handle this situation?"

Today's drama needed to be resolved.

Either they reveal the truth, which would inevitably damage the reputation of the show; An Zhihan who was still participating in the program could be affected, impacting the viewership ratings.

Or, they could hide the truth and preserve the crew, but such an action would lay all the blame on Su Jinli.

Also, there was an option to primarily clear An Zhiyan's name, or to exonerate the crew, or whitewash Su Jinli. These were all different choices.

An Zhiyan raised his hand, sniffed his finger tip, which still seemed to retain a pleasant scent, and answered at the same time, "Protect Su Jinli."

________________________

Author's notes:

[Private Chat] 

An Zhiyan: Angry, need comforting hug.

Big Boss Shen Cheng logs in.

Shen Cheng throws a salted fish into An Zhiyan's arms.

Shen Cheng forces Su Jinli to log off.

An Zhiyan hugs the salted fish: ...

Previous Chapter | TOC | Next Chapter