Chapter 63: Hot Pot
Su Jinli stood with his mouth open as several people peered at his throat.
An Zhihan, though unclear of what was going on, was part of the crowd, remarking, “It seems there's nothing wrong.”
“Indeed,” Wu Yu followed up, “the voice sounded normal just now, especially when scolding you.”
Fan Qianting nodded with approval, “There should be no issue with the next game.”
Feeling a bit sheepish, Su Jinli remember having absorbed An Zhiyan's Yang energy, which upon assimilation, expedited his recovery.
They, being immortals, indeed possessed the unique ability to absorb Yang energy for cultivation. However, using it to harm people was strictly prohibited.
In truth, Su Jinli had launched an assault on An Zhiyan the previous night, drawing his Yang energy. He had indeed taken advantage.
Retorting, he said, “I have a good physique.”
“Still, you should eat less of these instant noodles. Why do you even love them so much?” An Zhihan kept rummaging through Su Jinli’s cabinets, taking out snacks he was not supposed to eat.
“I'm healed! I can eat it now!” Su Jinli continued to protest adamantly.
"And why are you eating this pork floss cake? Isn't it too salty? It's so dry it could turn you into a salted fish. Why would you even eat it?" An Zhihan continued to throw things away.
"Can't I just eat it after I get better?" Su Jinli stomped in frustration. He bought all of these with his own salary.
"You know the rules of the competition, right? The next round is a solo performance. Each person has to prepare two songs. Can your voice handle it? You do realize the pressure is higher this time around?" As the older brother, An Zhihan enjoyed looking after Su Jinli.
Outraged, Su Jinli kicked An Zhihan’s rear-end.
An Zhihan, just about to retaliate, was interrupted by a knock on the door. Someone came in and asked, “Why do you always leave your dormitory door open?”
"Circulating air is cool and natural," An Zhihan replied, then asked, "Brother, why are you back again?"
"I've not had much work lately and thought I'd drop by. I won't be able to come tomorrow, I am shooting a commercial endorsement."
"Bro, he just kicked me!" An Zhihan pointed at Su Jinli, complaining.
"I saw it. You did lift your foot quite high, Su Jinli. Be careful next time you kick, you don't want to strain anything," the man said to Su Jinli.
Feeling that his older brother was not siding with him, An Zhihan instantly became grumpy.
Then, An Zhihan saw his brother sit on his bed and couldn't help but ask, "Bro, why are you here, really?"
"I just came to see you," he said.
"Oh, would you like to listen to the songs I chose for the next round?"
"No, I'm good."
"What???" An Zhihan was puzzled about his brother's real intentions for visiting.
Taking advantage of the situation, Su Jinli quickly returned all the snacks An Zhihan pulled out into the cabinet and then locked the cabinet door.
Just as he finished, someone brought in a table.
He was still figuring out what was happening when Jiang Pingqiu walked in with a bunch of ingredients, and another man followed, carrying a pot.
"I heard you haven't had dinner yet. How about hot pot?" An Zhiyan proactively suggested.
Su Jinli was so excited that he was almost speechless, his eyes gleaming, "Oh! Wow! Eat, eat, eat!"
He hadn't eaten hot pot in a long time, and, moreover, it was his first time having hot pot with new friends. He was naturally over the moon.
An Zhihan excitedly hugged An Zhiyan, "Bro, you really do love me."
An Zhiyan just smiled and didn't respond. He loved Su Jinli more now.
Once everything was set up, everyone, fearing others would discover their feast, closed the door and turned on the air conditioner.
After Jiang Pingqiu delivered the items, he left, leaving the four of them and An Zhiyan. Su Jinli even quietly invited Chang Siyin.
Six men enjoying hot pot in a bedroom felt a bit cramped, causing Su Jinli to barely noticed An Zhiyan sitting close by, as he was fully focused on the hot pot.
"There are neither shrimp balls nor seafood, can it even be called a hot pot?" An Zhihan asked after seeing the array of ingredients.
"Su Jinli does not eat seafood," An Zhiyan confidently said.
"It's okay, you guys can eat whatever you want. I just won't partake in the seafood." Su Jinli instantly replied.
"All the food goes into one pot, so let's avoid mixing flavors," said An Zhiyan, then he picked up more mutton for Su Jinli, piling it onto his bowl.
The mutton seemed to be a favorite as An Zhiyan kept adding more to Su Jinli's bowl, forming a mini mountain, while the others watched in envy.
At first, everyone waited for the mutton to finish cooking. Then, they awaited Su Jinli to finish eating quickly.
Feeling extremely satisfied, Su Jinli put down his chopsticks only after he was completely stuffed. He stood up and said to them, "I ate too much, I need to take a walk, or I won't be able to sit still."
"I'm also full, let's go together," An Zhiyan suggested, putting down his own chopsticks.
Su Jinli hesitated. He had rejected An Zhiyan earlier, and he wasn't sure if it would be appropriate to go for a walk with him now.
However, since he had received benefits, he could only agree; after all, he didn't want to appear ungrateful.
Once the two of them had left, An Zhihan couldn't help but comment, "My brother is definitely getting attached to me."
"And why do you say that?" asked Fan Qianting, who was still busy fishing for food in the pot. An Zhihan simply dumped the rest of the meat into it.
"The competition is approaching the end, and I'm about to make my debut. After I debut, our encounters as brothers will certainly decrease. He just can't help but come to see me," An Zhihan explained.
"Is it really that busy? I can never quite grasp that feeling," Chang Siyin asked.
"Consider H country's artists. Their entire country isn't as big as one of our provinces, yet they always split up due to excessive schedules and spend more time apart than together. In our big country, with all sorts of public appearances, one will definitely be kept busy to madness," An Zhihan pointed out. (Note: He's referring to Han Guo = Korea)
Wu Yu just watched An Zhihan speak and couldn't help but curl his lips into a smirk. An Zhihan was so sure about his brother coming for him, even when An Zhiyan had spent the entire time serving food only to Su Jinli, and even left with him in the end. It seemed more likely that An Zhiyan was trying to win favor from his new "money tree".
________________________
Su Jinli and An Zhiyan walked side by side to the training room.
There was a small athletic field there that is normally used for training. Now, during dinner time, most of the contestants were in the dining hall and did not come here.
After walking around the room for a bit, Su Jinli suddenly said to An Zhiyan, "Thank you, Xiao Jingzhi."
"I heard you love hot pot, so I brought it over to satisfy your craving."
"Actually, I wanted to thank you for letting me absorb your yang energy. Look, my throat is all better now." Su Jinli immediately stopped and opened his mouth for An Zhiyan to see.
"Um, it should be much better, right? Do you need to absorb more?" An Zhiyan didn't know how to inspect a throat and just glanced at it casually.
"No need."
"It's fine, I have plenty of yang energy. After you absorb it, my issues can be somewhat relieved too."
"The main thing is, I don't really want to take responsibility."
An Zhiyan really wanted to go back to yesterday, slap himself in the face, and take back his thoughtless words. There was no need to take responsibility; Su Jinli could absorb as much as he wanted.
"If you need it, you don't have to take responsibility," An Zhiyan said with extra sincerity.
"No need, it's too presumptuous."
"It's fine..." An Zhiyan was quite looking forward to it.
Then, Su Jinli reached out and grabbed a pinch of energy from An Zhiyan's fingertips.
So, it ended just like that.
"Is that all you need?" An Zhiyan asked in surprise.
"Um, taking in too much gives me a headache. I didn't sleep well last night."
"I didn't sleep well either."
"Is it because you felt uneasy after losing your yang energy?"
"No, I was thinking about you."
Su Jinli immediately shut his mouth, glanced around, and noticing no one else, warned An Zhiyan, "Stop saying nonsense."
"I'm not saying nonsense. They are true words."
Even if Su Jinli didn't understand these things, he knew An Zhiyan's words were embarrassingly strange.
He blushed, looked in a different direction, pretending to be composed, and even coughed lightly.
An Zhiyan, however, didn't mind. He was exceptionally pleased to be with Su Jinli, feeling his visit today wasn't a waste.
"Also, if you need to absorb yang energy or something, just look for me. Going for someone else might expose you. Moreover, this method is pretty ambiguous. While I don't mind you doing it me, it may not be good for others to feel that way."
An Zhiyan was worried that this little innocent fool, who had kissed and thanked others, might do the same to "handle" other people.
"Ah... You... don't always say these things!" Su Jinli panicked.
"What words? That I like you?"
"Um... um." Su Jinli nodded.
"But I do like you."
Su Jinli couldn't take it anymore. He quickened his pace, trying to leave An Zhiyan behind, but An Zhiyan grabbed his wrist and quickly let go, "Let me tell you something serious."
"Alright, go ahead."
"I accepted a TV show for you. It's CCTV's National Cultural Treasures. The host admires you and has been very concerned about your recent situation. When they learned that you're in good health, they came immediately to invite you. After the competition is over, this will be the first show you'll attend. Is that alright?"
"Sure, I'll follow the leader's arrangement. However, I don't know what I have to do on the show?"
"They appreciate your ventriloquism performance and the pipa playing. They want to interview you, and you'll also need to prepare a performance that they can record and add to their cultural archive."
"Sure, I can do that."
Seeing Su Jinli's unconcerned demeanor, An Zhiyan began to patiently explain, "An artist's debut show is crucial. After your competition, no matter what place you get, the talent show will be behind you. Some people's first shows after their debut are on-stage performances or appearances on variety shows. Your debut method is probably the most unique among all artists but also the most worth promoting, after all, it's a prime time slot on CCTV."
"I trust you won't arrange anything wrong for me," Su Jinli nodded in full trust of An Zhiyan.
Seeing this, An Zhiyan finally felt a bit better, asking Su Jinli, "What song have you prepared for the next round of the competition? Sing it out for me."
"Didn't you say you didn't want to listen?"
"I want to listen if you're the one singing."
"Oh, alright." Then, Su Jinli sang the song his teacher selected for him, "Release" - "Allow me to live alone, please don't hold on with both hands, I am at least clean and straightforward when alone, even if I fall, let me fall, love mischief then create mischief..."
An Zhiyan and spoke again: "Alright, stop singing; it makes me feel uncomfortable."
"Oh..." Su Jinli closed his mouth.
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