Chapter 78: Visiting the Studio
During the break, Su Jinli and Shen Cheng left their previous practice room and went alone to the practice room B, which was no longer in use by other contestants. This allowed them to talk more easily without disturbing other participants.
With no cameras in this room, they felt more at ease.
Su Jinli had never heard the song "The Bird and the Fish" before. As he listened to it with his headphones, he noticed Shen Cheng's serious face, full of dissatisfaction.
"The fans voted for this song. Wouldn't they be disappointed if we didn't sing it?" Su Jinli cautiously asked Shen Cheng, hoping that he wouldn't continue to be angry.
"Do you just do whatever they ask you to? If they ask you to jump off a building, would you do it?"
"Well, you can't put it that way. Being liked is an honor. Plus, I'm competing here, and if people make requests, I can't just refuse."
Shen Cheng, who was standing with his arms crossed by the window, finally sat down cross-legged on the floor, supporting Su Jinli's knee so he turned to face him.
"At worst, I'll sing with you during the final. Just don't perform with him. Otherwise, I'll have a hard time with envy," Shen Cheng insisted on this matter.
"But your singing... honestly... "
When Su Jinli was little, Shen Cheng once sang a lullaby to him. After that, he had nightmares, and Shen Cheng never sang again.
When Su Jinli later ventured into the outside world, he realized that Shen Cheng's singing was more than just off-pitch. He was completely tone-deaf, not hitting the right note on a single word.
Aware of his own limitations, Shen Cheng retorted defiantly, "Doesn't An Zhiyan lip-sync too?"
"After the last competition, he sang 'Unforgettable Feelings' once. He actually sang quite well," Su Jinli immediately recalled, then asked her brother, "He said you accused him of lip-syncing, is that true?"
"I generally don't do such things. It's dishonorable and affects one's virtues," Shen Cheng replied.
Su Jinli perked up instantly. "I knew you were a good person!"
"However, my manager did it. I knew about it, but I didn't stop him."
"Is there any difference from you doing it yourself? Why didn't you stop him?"
"As long as I didn't do it personally, it wouldn't affect me," Shen Cheng answered confidently.
Su Jinli sighed. No wonder Shen Cheng and An Zhiyan have such a bad relationship. Neither of them is a good person.
"You're really bad," Su Jinli said, feeling frustrated.
"What did you say?"
"It's nothing..." Su Jinli quickly backed down.
After staring at Su Jinli for a while, Shen Cheng finally compromised: "You can sing, but don't flirt with him."
"Alright, fine."
"I also found out about the rain during the competition."
Su Jinli instantly retracted his neck, feeling incredibly guilty. Before long, he started hiccuping.
He had this peculiar quirk: the guiltier he felt, the more intense his reactions. Hiccuping was one of them, as was subconsciously speaking loudly and avoiding eye contact with others.
Shen Cheng, being his older brother, was naturally aware of Su Jinli's quirks.
"This is also why I don't want you to enter the entertainment industry. If you participate in reality shows in the future, there will likely be many instances where you get wet. Will you avoid all of them? And even if you take the path of a singer and there's rain during a concert, can you persevere through the entire performance?" Shen Cheng continued to question.
Su Jinli was silenced by the barrage of questions, unable to answer.
"Maybe that tall, goofy guy is willing to let you soak up his yang energy now, but will you carry him around with you everywhere?" Shen Cheng continued to ask.
"I can't... I definitely won't ask for his help next time..."
"So... you really did use his yang energy?" Shen Cheng couldn't help but frown.
Only then did Su Jinli realize that Shen Cheng had been trying to extract information from him earlier!
He was caught completely off-guard!
Shen Cheng grew increasingly annoyed and continued questioning, "How exactly did you absorb his yang energy?"
"I used my hands…"
"With your limited abilities, it must have taken you many hours, right?"
"I tried really hard to absorb it!" And then he hiccuped.
Shen Cheng had never disliked An Zhiyan so much. He finally understood what it felt like to see the fish he had been guarding for hundreds of years being poached by a big bear.
He was angry!
Extremely angry!
Even though he knew it was Su Jinli taking advantage of An Zhiyan, he felt that An Zhiyan, that opportunistic rascal, had taken advantage of his younger brother.
"Has An Zhiyan been bothering you since then?" Shen Cheng continued to interrogate.
"No." He hiccuped again, raising his voice.
"Did you two do anything else?"
"No, no, no!" His voice raised louder and louder.
Shen Cheng covered his face with one hand, trembling with anger.
Su Jinli shrunk down again, his eyes flickering pathetically as he watched Shen Cheng, his heart pounding anxiously.
"There's only one round of competition left. After it ends, move into my house immediately," Shen Cheng ordered.
"Alright, fine."
"I want to review your schedules from now on."
"I can't control that."
"I'll talk to your manager."
"Alright."
Shen Cheng reached out, "Give me your phone."
"But I need to listen to music..."
"Did you add him as a friend again?"
"I…" Su Jinli didn't know what to say. Once again, he revealed his intentions without being asked directly.
"Brother, I'm an adult now. This puts me in an incredibly difficult position!"
"Are you in your rebellious phase?"
"No, not at all."
"I wouldn't oppose if you chose to be with Zhang Caini, or if you prefer men, Wu Yu or Chang Siyin, anyone but the An family! Their yang energy is too strong, it could harm you! Do you not care about your life?" Fan Qianting was ruthlessly dismissed by Shen Cheng due to his unattractive appearance.
Yet Su Jinli wasn't guilty, rather he surprisedly asked, "You remember their names? I remember your memory isn't that good."
"Is that the point here?"
"Brother, you must be watching my show attentively, aren't you?"
"Give me your phone. I promise I won't do anything excessive, alright?"
Shen Cheng made Su Jinli take out her phone and told him, "Write a message to him and ask him to stop bothering you."
Obediently, Su Jinli started typing: From now on, stop bothering you.
After thinking about it, he felt something was wrong and retyped: From now on, stop bothering me.
Surprisingly, An Zhiyan replied instantly: Shen Cheng?
Su Jinli continued typing: It's not him.
An Zhiyan: Oh, are you tired from training?
Shen Cheng glanced at the screen and continued to say, "Tell him you're going to block him."
Su Jinli: I'm going to block you.
An Zhiyan: It's fine. I'll be there tomorrow, and we can talk face-to-face.
Shen Cheng looked at the phone screen, feeling so disgusted he could almost throw the phone. "You should withdraw from the competition."
He didn't even want Su Jinli to stay for another day.
"Brother, calm down for a moment..." Su Jinli hurried over and gently patted Shen Cheng's back.
"I'm going to be so angry that I'll die."
"Do you want me to get you some fast-acting heart pills?"
"Close your mouth first."
"Oh."
After waiting for a while and seeing Shen Cheng still not speaking, Su Jinli quietly started explaining, "Last time, it was an emergency... I had no choice..."
"If you continue like this, I may have to silence you," Shen Cheng said, the words seemingly squeezed out of the gaps in his teeth with a hint of ferocity.
"You shouldn't. I've always declined! I know what I'm doing."
"Are you trying to protect him now?"
Su Jinli was puzzled and couldn't help but retort, "Brother, are you just causing trouble now?"
Shen Cheng was again angered. He had always thought that Su Jinli was obedient, but now he seemed quite troublesome?
At this point, the WeChat notification sounded again. Shen Cheng picked it up before Su Jinli and saw another message from An Zhiyan: Is there anything you want to eat? I can bring it to you tomorrow.
"How can this man be so shameless?!" Shen Cheng asked indignantly, his usual elegant demeanor completely lost.
After reading the message, Su Jinli answered in a low voice, "Brother, you dislike him so much, I should just eat him out of house and home."
"Forget it, you don't need to strain yourself, I can handle it," Shen Cheng said as he stood up and handed the phone back to Su Jinli, "I have things to do this afternoon, I'll leave first."
"Oh, okay."
________________________
After Shen Cheng left, Su Jinli returned to the practice room where Zhang Caini ran over to him, speaking incoherently, "Autograph! Your brother! My idol, can I have an autograph?"
Su Jinli looked around the practice room before responding, "Actually, it's pretty easy to get an autograph."
"And then?" Zhang Caini inquired.
"If you get that lady to bring me a milkshake, I'll ask for you," Su Jinli offered.
"Su Jinli, you've been picking up some bad habits!" Zhang Caini couldn't help but exclaim, but she nodded in agreement, "Fair enough."
As Su Jinli walked away, he mentioned, "My brother has exceptionally good hearing."
"What?"
"He heard everything you and An Zhihan were saying." Also, he heard her as well.
Zhang Caini tried to remember what she had said, and her face registered shock.
"How could he..."
"But my brother remembers your name now, and considering he used to be face-blind and had a poor memory, remembering names isn't easy for him."
Zhang Caini's face was a picture of conflict, torn between emotions: "Should I be happy or sad about this!"
"The milkshake," Su Jinli reminded her with a smile.
"……" Zhang Caini was speechless.
________________________
Author's Notes:
Shen Cheng: Don't communicate with An Zhiyan.
Su Jinli: Brother, tell me the truth, are you jealous?
Shen Cheng: I just don't want you to go astray.
Su Jinli: So, you are jealous then?
Shen Cheng: ...
Later at night, Shen Cheng opened the door to see An Zhiyan at his doorstep, pulling a suitcase. He asked disapprovingly, "Why are you at my house?"
An Zhiyan: If you won't let my wife live with me, I'll move in here.
Hearing the commotion, Su Jinli came out and saw her brother and husband squaring off.
Su Jinli: ...
[In fact, don't take this mini drama too seriously. After all, Shen Cheng could take out An Zhiyan with his powers in a second.]
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