Chapter 52: The Ex
The next day, as soon as Su Jinli opened his eyes, he saw three people surrounding him.
Upon seeing him wake up, Fan Qianting immediately pointed at him and said, "Look, has he turned over?"
"How did someone so tall manage to do this on such a small bed?" An Zhihan asked curiously.
"Why not check the camera to find out?"
The group looked at the camera and burst into laughter together.
"For the first time, I think this camera is quite useful. It can reveal the mysteries of Su Jinli's sleep," An Zhihan remarked.
Su Jinli felt particularly helpless, "What are you all doing, watching me sleep?"
"Good boy, don't talk in the morning. Your voice is really annoying," An Zhihan comforted him before heading off to wash up.
Su Jinli climbed out of bed, stood next to An Zhihan, opened his mouth, and began singing, much like reciting poetry. Annoyed, An Zhihan brushed his teeth and paced around the room.
After fooling around all morning, the four of them left the bedroom together and saw Zhang Caini leaning against the wall, waiting just around the corner.
Seeing them come out, she immediately stood up and said, "Your dormitory is really noisy, thankfully it's secluded."
"All the other dormitories have empty beds now, ours is the fullest," An Zhihan replied.
"Are you waiting for me?" Su Jinli took the initiative to walk over and ask. They were teammates now. Plus, An Zhihan's comment just now might have sounded a bit harsh to others, so he quickly interrupted.
"Yes. I thought all night and I'd like to make some adaptations and discuss it with you," Zhang Caini replied. After this, she merely glanced at An Zhihan without saying anything.
Su Jinli nodded, "I had the same idea."
Zhang Caini and Su Jinli walked shoulder to shoulder to the cafeteria. During the meal, Zhang Caini was holding a paper with the song lyrics on it, pointing at each line, humming to Su Jinli.
Su Jinli ate and listened, occasionally making comments.
"Adding drama to this song could make it very strange," Zhang Caini muttered, eating a few bites before continuing to hum the song again.
"Aren't you going to eat anymore?" Su Jinli asked.
"No, I'm afraid of getting fat."
Su Jinli nodded, and then picked up a rib from Zhang Caini's plate.
Zhang Caini watched his actions and couldn't help but laugh. She didn't say anything and continued to hum the song.
This time, their training session was not in the previous classroom. Su Jinli came to the B group's classroom to accommodate Zhang Caini.
The two sat on the floor cross-legged, holding the lyrics, sketching, and humming the song.
After listening to Su Jinli's rap part, Zhang Caini couldn't help but ask, "Do you think my hair has become thicker now?"
"Huh?"
"I have so many question marks in my head right now, making my hair look very thick. How did your singing turn out like this? I've always had confidence in you, but now it's all collapsed."
"I've never sung this type of music before," Su Jinli replied in a wronged tone.
Zhang Caini took out her guitar and played it to find the rhythm. It took them a whole day of practice to find a bit of a sense of the song. Zhang Caini patiently taught Su Jinli how to sing, one verse at a time. The two worked on modifying the song until midnight.
Exhausted, Su Jinli returned to the dormitory and saw Wu Yu as the only person in the room.
After a moment of eye contact with Su Jinli, Wu Yu explained, "Your little brother left the dormitory, and Fan Qianting went to comfort him."
The little brother referred to An Zhihan.
Su Jinli nodded and asked, "What happened this time?" This had become a frequent occurrence.
"I said his singing was terrible."
"Oh, I'll go take a shower first." Su Jinli grabbed his toiletries and went straight into the bathroom. He knew that An Zihan would return when it was time for bed.
Wu Yu didn't mind and continued reading his book.
________________________
The top 30 contestants gathered the next day for a joint review.
Few of the songs this time featured a dance routine. The songs were chosen by the netizens, and a lot of them were popular hits. Most of them were not very challenging; the judges only needed to give some feedback.
Han Kai listened to Wu Yu and An Zhihan singing, and nodded, "Your pitch is accurate, but the emotion is not there. When you two sing, it always seems like there is a sense of hostility. You didn't manage to clear the air, but instead, it appears you both are constantly displeased with each other. The rare eye contact you two make also seems to be glaring at each other."
Many people chuckled softly, especially Su Jinli, who had already grown used to it.
Wu Yu remained silent and did not respond.
An Zhihan held the lyrics casually and replied, "When we're on stage, we just need to perform."
"If there's no interaction during your practice, there won't be any chemistry on stage. One wants to move forward, the other stays still; when one looks at the other, the other ignores them."
This time, An Zhihan fell silent.
Han Kai instructed both of them to face each other and look straight into the other's eyes, to build some connection - this made both of them feel awkwardly uncomfortable.
Despite that, Teacher Han Kai moved on to the next pair, which happened to be Su Jinli's group.
"Have you modified the song?" Han Kai asked the two of them.
Both of them nodded in unison.
"Your styles are different, so I've always found your pairing interesting. Go ahead."
Once they finished singing, Teacher Han Kai nodded, "You two also have no eye contact throughout."
Su Jinli answered somewhat shyly, "I'm a bit embarrassed..."
"Don't be. In the context of this song, your feelings for her should be more than just like. It should be sweeter, with some interaction. The connection between you two should be even more intimate than that of Wu Yu and An Zhihan’s group."
"Oh, okay," Su Jinli agreed.
"Thank you, Teacher." Zhang Caini gave the same reply.
Finally, Han Kai let Wu Yu and An Zhihan off the hook. They returned to their group while he sought inspiration elsewhere.
Unfortunately, Su Jinli had gone to Group B. For the two of them to practice alone was like a hell mode—it was hard to break the ice.
Su Jinli, too busy to care for him, could only say a few words to An Zhihan before going to rehearse with Zhang Caini again.
They returned to the classroom of Group B and practiced for a while, but the interaction was still not up to par.
Zhang Caini said to Su Jinli, "Come with me."
The two of them slid out of the camera's view to a place without cameras. It was then that Zhang Caini said, "Actually, you don't need to feel too pressured. From the start, I just wanted to pair up with you to get more screen time. I didn't expect things to turn out this way. Don't jeopardize the competition by trying to avoid misunderstandings."
Su Jinli looked at Zhang Caini. She was slightly bowing her head, her hands fidgeting with her clothes' hem while talking. When she finished, she pursed her lips. Her downcast eyes seemed to indicate that she was about to cry.
"Um, why are you crying then?" Su Jinli asked her.
Zhang Caini, who had been trying to hold back her tears, was stretched to her limits. When the question was asked, she could no longer hold back. She turned around, raised her arms to cover her face, and started crying, "Everybody says that, you can think the same way too, why do you care whether I cry or not?"
Su Jinli, not very skilled at handling such situations, was immediately thrown off, "I didn't think too much..."
"I just don't get it. What's wrong with singing rock? Is there a problem with having tattoos? Everyday, people call me an 'old driver', criticize me for being manipulative, and even say that I’m clingy... Why on earth am I not allowed to have a crush on anybody?"
Zhang Caini's sudden breakdown caught Su Jinli off guard, "Um... can you calm down?"
"Even Teacher Han Kai says that our styles are incompatible. So what?! You are the pure and cute one, and I, the raucous witch with a crow-like voice? Must a girl like me always fall for rebellious, delinquent young men? Why does everyone have to conform? Why do they reject men liking men and women liking women? Why do they make a fuss about everything?!"
Observing Zhang Caini sobbing, Su Jinli felt overwhelmed, unsure what to do. He tried to console her, "Why don’t you... cry again after taking a break?”
"Do you think crying is a relay race?! It has to be interrupted…” After harshly criticizing Su Jinli, Zhang Caini started crying again.
She had a rough, raspy voice. Her crying was similar to a tragic outcry, deafening and hard to bear.
Listening to her cries, Su Jinli couldn’t help but ask, “When I had a sore throat some time ago, did my singing sounded as awfully as your crying now?”
As soon as he asked this question, Zhang Caini's cries came abruptly to a halt, and she turned to look at Su Jinli.
Seeing her gaze, Su Jinli became a bit nervous. He immediately stood upright and dared not breathe too loudly.
"Is that how you comfort a girl?" she asked him.
“You... you're pretty good at crying. Well done.”
Zhang Caini was amused by Su Jinli's comment. Wiping away her tears, she said, "You're single because of your charm and crying for you is not worth it, you big oaf!"
"I... I've heard that you need to have mutual feelings for one another to be together. I do not have those kind of feelings for you, so..." Su Jinli thought for a while, then decided that he still needed to clarify things lest there be a strange awkwardness between them.
"No, no, no. Don't issue me a ‘Friendship Card’. Just pretend that you don't know anything. I am just a fangirl chasing her star. Can you leave me with some dignity in the end?"
"Okay."
"When you're singing, don't worry about gossip or rumors. Just treat me as a prop, look at me a few times. You won't die and you certainly won't fall in love with me, don't worry."
"Alright."
After Su Jinli responded, Zhang Caini suddenly rolled up her trouser leg to show him the tattoo on her ankle. "This tattoo is my ex-boyfriend's name. We broke up a while ago, but I never had it removed. I guess that he's long since removed his. The only one who's still holding a torch is me."
Su Jinli didn't understand these things and just blindly nodded along.
"I only have had one boyfriend. I'm not experienced." Zhang Caini added.
"Oh."
"It doesn't matter if others criticize me. Although you have rejected me, I still don't want you to think ill of me. I'm not a good girl, but I'm also not a terrible person! I just do what I like, dress the way I like, and always be myself. If I like it, I like it. If it's not okay, it's not okay. Do you understand?"
Su Jinli was asked a question by the spirited Zhang Caini and, somewhat foolishly, responded, "Not really."
"Don't worry about it. I won't cling to you. Once we're done singing together, consider the task completed. Also, I think this might be my last time on stage. So... I want to perform well."
Su Jinli nodded. He saw Zhang Caini's efforts, and the girl's extroverted personality didn't make her repulsive.
"You can go now." Zhang Caini waved her hand, "Since I've cried, it's easy to see. I'll take a break before going out."
"Alright, then I'll go ahead." Su Jinli really left.
Watching Su Jinli's retreating figure, Zhang Caini couldn't hold back and began to cry again, wiping her tears.
There was something about Su Jinli that attracted her, but she couldn't quite pinpoint it.
At first, she thought Su Jinli was good-looking. Later, she found his personality to be quite endearing, and he was very innocent. Also, he was especially charming when he was on stage.
The closer such a person is, the more you like them. Despite being rejected, Zhang Caini still felt a bit sad.
However, she finally slapped her face and said, "Zhang Caini, cheer up! Those fans can't even see Su Jinli in person. You've sung a duet with him. You're a champion!"
After saying this, she started to hold back her tears.
________________________
When Su Jinli returned, he saw Wu Yu rarely leaving for his dormitory so early.
An Zihan was following him and said, "Don't take it too much to heart. This is something you have no control over."
Wu Yu didn't answer and strode away.
Su Jinli hurriedly went over and asked, "What happened?"
"Wu Yu's ex-girlfriend got 'doxxed'."
"Doxxed? Like a steamed bun?" (Note: the characters are similar)
"No, doxxing is online exposure; her personal information has been released without consent. Right now, she is being harshly criticized."
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