Chasing You (Arc 8+)

Showstopper (XVII)

When the morning came, Xiao Rui found He Xiao was already up and ready. His roommate's attire had caught his attention. His fluffy lavender hair was tied up carelessly and his four ear piercing was clearly shown. He was dressed in a slightly large knitted light gray sweater with a black cat's face on the front, a pair of blue jeans that clung onto his model like legs, and two black canvas shoes. Even though it was simple and recherche with a hint of faineance, it fit his profile very well. He Xiao's appearance looked much younger than his actual age with this combination and could easily be mistaken for a teen idol instead.

Xiao Rui sat up and ruffled his bed head and yawned. His eyes had long espied a rather conspicuous camera aimed right at him. It was the cameraman. They were inside of his room filming for who knows how long ago for the show and wasn't a surprise. The cameraman soon became a shadow to Xiao Rui and meticulously followed behind him. Only when he was going to strip or use the toilet was he left alone, but other than that, it snaked behind him as if he were its prey. Xiao Rui wasn't unnerved by the camera focus and acted as if it was air; he was long used to the attention.

Heading out of the room, Xiao Rui and He Xiao both went downstairs together and ate what Bai Taohua had cooked up for them. The couple looked as cheery as ever, constantly tossing out dog food to the two poor bastards that didn't have someone to help feed dog food to others.

He Xiao had observed the faces around him since their arrival and found that some overly enthusiastic participants yesterday looked listless and pale. It had to be the meal they ate yesterday and what they did in the afternoon. Some of the contestants were too excited the day before due to their immaturity, and now, they were suffering the consequences of their actions. If Bao Bao was right here he would have said that they reaped what they sow but his system was absent for some reason.

As for Xiao Nongzang, he was in a much better condition than the rest. Other than the slightly visible dark circles beneath his eyes, he looked normal. Only four, perhaps five were aware of what he had done. An enigmatic light flashed in his eyes as He Xiao grinned lightly as he observed him. His actions occurred on a microscopic level, and so the people surrounding him failed to notice it. He Xiao realized that he hadn't used it in a very long time and was sure that it must have been 'impatient' by now.

He glanced at the clock and found that they were a little less than five minutes before 9 AM. After, He Xiao idly conversed with Bai Taohua but soon found that perhaps it wasn't a good idea. She went on her own little spiel about her CPs, making He Xiao's head spin. He wasn't used to hearing all of these terms that she was using, nor did he know what she was even talking about. Bai Taohua had been talking about some donghua¹ that was going to be released soon, that was super hyped up due to the popularity of the novel. A manhua² was already released, updating weekly and many of the full audio drama were out. The fans were salivating about the voice actors' voices already, spamming Weibo like crazy. This donghua, of course, was in the danmei category.

He Xiao's head was swirling as he conversated with her. It wasn't that he suddenly dropped in IQ but rather... Her passionate ebullience shocked him silly. There was only one such person that stayed around him that was about this level, but they had a level of understanding, unlike Bai Taohua and him who had just become acquaintances. It was also because of her pattern of speech. He hadn't hidden his cluelessness when she was talking... But this only led to her excitement surging out of bounds. She vehemently discussed the details in a disorganized fashion, sometimes she would be at the end of the novel and suddenly talk about something halfway throughout the novel.

Hai Pixiu and Xiao Rui were staring at He Xiao with pity. It seemed that he had stepped on her switch, and could only be stopped only after she was done. Eventually, he pieced the majority of the plot together as she spoke and was no longer a sitting duck in the turbulent waters.

By the time they finished their talk, Jiang Man entered the room through the elevator doors. He punctually smiled as he stepped forward. "Good morning, contestants. It seems that you're all on time today. I hope you all had a restful night because today and the following days will be very busy."

He Xiao could see behind the meaningful smile, showing no change to his expression. The cast indeed has something 'special' in store for them today.

Rubbing his hands together, Jiang Man's eyes made contact with Xiao Rui and announced in a cheerful voice, "There will be a mini-challenge today in preparation for the large challenge. The only hint that you will have is that it will test the upper bounds of your courage. As to what it is? You will find out as soon as we arrive at the site."

He glanced at the time, "We shall depart now. You don't have to bring anything but your bodies. Let's be on our way."

Jiang Man winked and turned around. Everyone started murmuring to each other with hushed voices, as they guessed what the main challenge and the mini-challenge was. It was only Xiao Rui and Bai Taohua, who were the exception to this rule as they knew of what was to come. As for He Xiao, he kept up his clueless act and ran over some ideas with Hai Pixiu, who had a gut feeling that they wouldn't like what was coming their way.

Bao Bao had given him an update this morning before he disappeared. Only leaving behind a message on his phone stating that he needed to check something out. Although He Xiao doesn't know the exact details, he had a rough idea of what the main challenge and mini-challenge was. Knowing what was to welcome them, he didn't even have to exert much pressure in this first challenge; Xiao Nongzang was going to experience 'hell' already. They all boarded the bus and left the dormitory in high spirits.

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¹Donghua: 动画 Chinese term for animation/ cartoon.

²Manhua: 漫画 Chinese term for manga.