Chapter 103
Xiao Jingxi was so furious at Xie Mi’s words that he roared, “Can’t you see every single one of his actions is carefully calculated? We’re both men, don’t think I don’t know what he’s scheming. He’s nothing but a green tea bitch!”
“Hiss…”
Shen Yanqing once again did the frail-Daiyu pose, hand to forehead, his tall body swaying slightly.
“Teacher Xie, I’m dizzy…”
Xie Mi immediately wrapped her arm around his lean, firm waist, then pointed at Xiao Jingxi and angrily cursed, “You think I don’t know whether he’s green tea or not?”
“He’s just a poor pitiful soul who fainted in the bathroom! He’s got low blood sugar, and you still won’t let him go? Can’t you have a bit of empathy?”
Xiao Jingxi: “?????”
He was about to lose his mind. Seeing Xie Mi clutching Shen Yanqing’s waist so tightly made his breathing grow even heavier.
“A man who’s been training in the gym for years can get low blood sugar? Can faint in the shower? You believe such a lousy excuse? And look at the way he’s wearing that bathrobe—what normal person wears clothes like that?!”
“Shut up!”
Xie Mi shook her head in disappointment.
“He just put it on in a hurry and didn’t wear it properly. And then it just so happens his body looks really good. That’s your big argument?”
Xiao Jingxi’s chest heaved violently with anger.
Xie Mi, “Oh, I see—schemer boy is showing off his pecs now?”
Xiao Jingxi: “?”
He practically fainted from rage again.
Xie Mi and Shen Yanqing looked at each other at the same time. After two seconds, neither of them could hold back their laughter.
“Pfft—”
Messing with him was way too fun.
Rehearsals continued.
In just two days, Xiao Jingxi the director looked like a completely different person. He was visibly haggard, his whole body radiating a faint aura of despair.
“He kind of looks dead,” Xie Mi said seriously.
Liu Woxing, who was peeling an orange, looked up.
Sure enough—there was Xiao Jingxi sitting blankly in the audience, face expressionless, while Qiu Chengye and Lai Bingxuan were on stage acting out a scene—holding prop cannons and blasting each other.
“Where the hell’s my howitzer?!”
“Oh, so you wanna play like that? Fine, gimme my grenade!”
Word was their script had already been changed so that the Emperor came from an interstellar world, while the Empress was an alien who’d descended from the neighboring planet…
Xiao Jingxi was completely numb, mouth slightly open, eyes glazed over.
“…Yeah, kind of dead,” Liu Woxing admitted.
She set the peeled orange on Xie Mi’s plate and stood.
“I should go rehearse too.”
“Eh, you’re not gonna eat your orange?”
Xie Mi’s eyes lit up, her hand already reaching for it, though she put on a righteous face, “I’m not saying that because I want to eat it, okay. I just mean—you already peeled it. If you leave it too long, it won’t taste good.”
“I really don’t have time to eat it after peeling. And since it won’t taste good if left out too long… Teacher Xie, please eat it for me.”
“Tch, we’re colleagues, no need for all that. Don’t be so polite.”
Xie Mi happily popped the whole orange slice into her mouth.
Liu Woxing’s lips tugged upward, though she restrained herself until she got backstage where no one was around. Then she clenched her fists in secret excitement.
Perfect. Today she had talked to Teacher Xie again.
[I don’t even want to expose you]
[Our Sister Liu is successfully chasing her star]
[“Sister Liu must have her reasons for doing this”]
[Hahahahahahaha]
Xu Shuangrong, half-hidden in the shadows, watched all this from afar. Her eyes were deep and burning.
She lowered her head again and continued scribbling on her script.
Those few thin pages were already covered in dense notes and revisions, but she still wasn’t satisfied.
Finally getting the female lead role in this play—she had to be the center of attention.
She refused to be just background ever again.
Three days of rehearsal flew by, and soon it was the day of the Drama Festival.
The eight guests took a bus to the venue.
On the ride, everyone was quietly reciting lines from their scripts. Even the audience could feel the tension through the screen.
[Jokes aside, when it comes time to perform, they’re really serious about it]
[Not gonna lie, after watching them rehearse these past few days, I’m actually looking forward to the final product]
[Seeing them all memorizing lines like this, why do I feel like a proud parent watching my kids grow up]
[What’s my Sister Xie doing?]
[Hand seals]
Seven of them were reciting lines. One was furiously making ninja hand seals.
Even a mute girl had her own way of practicing lines.
Soon, they arrived at the venue—but it was even grander than they expected.
Although ticket checks weren’t scheduled to start until 7 p.m., the entrance was already packed, overflowing onto the sidewalks and stretching out hundreds of meters.
As soon as the bus pulled up, deafening screams erupted outside.
The assistant director, smug, explained, “I heard tickets for this year sold out instantly. Not only that, they added 2,000 standing-room tickets at the last minute—and those sold out too.”
[Say no more, the fool who didn’t even get a standing ticket is right here]
[Didn’t get a ticket +1. But I’m already outside the venue—prepared to watch the live stream from the gate]
[Ahhhhh I saw myself on camera!! That’s me holding the green sign!!]
[Holy crap, how many people is this—insane]
The online amazement synced with the offline chaos.
The sea of fans had all come for them, waving banners and chanting slogans. The scene was overwhelming.
Xiao Jingxi and Xu Shuangrong were clearly used to it, smiling and waving to the crowd with practiced ease.
Liu Woxing, having seen big crowds before, remained composed—smiling gently and nodding with poise.
Yu Jinzhe blushed slightly at the fans’ cheeky shouts, looking every bit the bashful boy-next-door—which only made the fans scream louder.
At first Lai Bingxuan thought they were too noisy. But then she spotted fans holding banners for her, shouting “Sister Lai, I love you!”
Her expression softened, a flicker of emotion in her eyes. Then she remembered herself, turned her head away arrogantly, and gave a little “hmph.”
Qiu Chengye, meanwhile, lifted his chin proudly, chest puffed, exuding full Tom-Cat-level self-confidence.
Until someone shouted:
“Kitty bro! No need to feel inferior, Sister Xie is manlier than you!!!”
Qiu Chengye’s proud face instantly crumbled. He glared viciously in the direction of the shout.
“Pfft—hahaha—quack—”
Xie Mi clutched her stomach, laughing like a duck, absolutely reveling in his misfortune.
But then the fans’ screaming nearly deafened her.
“Brother Xie! Diss me!!”
“Old Xie, like I always say—women who don’t belong to me don’t need to be that beautiful!”
“Sister Xie, when I was ten I got bitten by a dog, forgot to get the vaccine, and eight years later the symptoms hit me—now I’m your loyal dog!!”
“Teacher Xie, don’t you remember me? When we were kids, we used to play together! You at your house, me at mine!”
“Old Xie, I’m your dog!!!”
Xie Mi, horrified, clamped her hands over her ears and stared at them.
“Holy Tang Dynasty glory what the hell is this?!”
