Chapter 50: 50 Uninvited Guest
Chapter 50: 50 Uninvited Guest
Clumsy Shen Jinyue once again became the winner in life, the savior of the love reality show, a terrifying dictator of singledom.
Today, between Liu Renzhi and You Zijun, one must end up alone. Whomever Shen Jinyue chooses, the other will have to stay in the love cabin, desolately keeping watch.
Keeping watch basically means nobody is paying attention anymore, unless one strips naked and streaks around.
Upstairs.
Xu Qingyan pulled Pei Muchan's suitcase out and, looking up, saw her standing in the doorway. There was daylight in the corridor, a hazy sunlight infiltrating from the window, lingering at the doorway, gently enveloping her slender shoulders.
Her ponytail, tied for running, had come undone at some point, and her waterfall-like curly hair cascaded down, slightly veiling her cheeks, revealing a face that seemed a tad bewildered.
At some point, she had applied matte lipstick, and it was as if she was holding a red date in her mouth.
"Will you be taking a shower later? Should I wait for you here, or in the downstairs living room?" he asked, not blinking, just staring at her like that.
Even though Pei Muchan was quite good at maintaining her composure, being stared at so intently by him made her face heat up nonetheless. She turned her head away subconsciously, saying awkwardly,
"Let's say the downstairs living room, I will message you when I'm about to finish."
"Okay."
Xu Qingyan nodded, dragging the suitcase out. Pei Muchan followed behind, and the dull sound of the rolling wheels echoed in the hallway, covering up their footsteps.
Guests of different genders stayed on separate floors of the two-story lodging, with the girls staying in a different corridor. Reaching the intersection, they suddenly heard Shen Jinyue's neurotic laughter coming from downstairs.
Passing through the long corridor, Pei Muchan's room was the last one at the very end.
The keyhole was designed somewhat crooked, and after failing to get the key in after two attempts, she resignedly compromised. She slowly bent down to unlock the door.
"What's the matter?" Xu Qingyan's voice sounded behind her.
In that instant, Pei Muchan remembered that her posture was somewhat indecent; bending over unavoidably caused her buttocks to reveal a suggestive full-moon curvature, and there he was, right behind her, pushing the heavy suitcase!
At that moment, it was as if she had been shocked by electricity, and she straightened up in an instant, turning around to back against the doorframe.
When she looked at Xu Qingyan, her face was burning red, out of extreme embarrassment. Her eyes inadvertently fluttered quickly, welling up with a thin layer of physiological mist.
From Xu Qingyan's perspective, Pei Muchan was unable to open the door. He didn't know why she suddenly became so restrained, her eyes brimming with tears, looking at him as if she wanted to caress him.
"Can't… can't open it, the key," she stammered.
Upon hearing this, Xu Qingyan was momentarily stunned, thinking it wasn't a big deal to be so nervous. After thinking for a moment, a smile emerged on his face.
"It's fine, there are many normal people who can't use keys to open doors. You're already doing great."
Pei Muchan: "????"
Is he implying... that I'm a loser?
While she was still dazed, Xu Qingyan had already proactively taken the key from her hand. Seeing she was still standing, blocking the door in a daze, he looked at her with a questioning gaze.
The latter made a light sound and shifted one step to the left.
For some reason, Pei Muchan felt her mind often blanked out whenever she was alone with him.
She prided herself on having seen many people, both within and outside the industry, all sorts of characters, and had quite a few admirers. Everyone was always in a hurry, either oblivious to the larger world or too worldly-wise.
Therefore, she withdrew and hid, never considering getting involved in anything beyond singing.
In the eyes of others, she was a gentle and low-key pop diva, who almost released one album per year over her seven-year career. From an obscure singer, she leapt to stardom.
Like all well-known singers, she broke her contract with her original company to establish her own studio. The only difference was that after completing ninety percent of the journey, she collapsed just a hundred meters before the finish line.
Her condition deteriorated, her new album received a cold reception, and her studio started going downhill.
Pei Muchan saw herself as an old house standing for twenty-six years. It looked splendid on the outside, but was filled with dust on the inside, with her twenty-six years of life on the brink of collapse.
Why she joined a dating show, she didn't have an answer herself. Perhaps it was a whim, or maybe she was just giving up on life, but in any case, she didn't want to be trapped in that old house in her mind any longer.
With a click, the door lock opened in response.
The sound of metal sliding was heard, and Xu Qingyan had already pulled out the key from the lock with an easy face, quietly opening a crack in the door.
He didn't seem to intend to take a look inside the room, and his brow and eyes relaxed as he turned around. It seemed like he wanted to smile, but he held back and handed back the key to her.
"See, that was easy."
"Thank you."
There was an awkward moment in the air, and she just wanted to quickly drag her suitcase and scurry back to her room.
"You can just leave the suitcase to me, I'll definitely tell you after I shower," Pei Muchan said with conviction. "If it takes too long, you can remind me."
"Okay," Xu Qingyan didn't say much.
He planned to go downstairs to play a couple of games. The show team had just sent over a new phone, the latest model from Cucumber, and it would be a waste not to play games on it.
The suitcase changed hands, and they drew closer.
Suddenly, her phone rang.
Pei Muchan hesitated for a moment at the unfamiliar number but eventually swiped up to answer. Xu Qingyan was about to leave when he heard the man's pleading tone on the other end of the phone and stopped in his tracks.
A faint breeze swept through the quiet hallway.
"Muchan, I'm begging you, don't avoid me anymore, okay? I really like you, truly, give me a chance. Being with me is beneficial to you, please think it over, okay?"
The voice on the other end was abject and urgent.
Xu Qingyan glanced at Pei Muchan and saw a thin layer of cold light in her eyes. Her hand gripping the phone was also trembling slightly, her knuckles clenched white.
"Mr. Ji, I've said it long ago, please stop harassing me by calling from different numbers."
"Also, don't call me by my name, we are not familiar. If there is something, you can contact the studio and talk to my assistant strictly on business terms."
The person on the other end didn't seem surprised by her reaction at all, not pausing for a moment, instead continuing in a tone that was seemingly heartfelt and advising.
"Muchan, I know your studio is now having a hard time even maintaining operations. Why do you insist on struggling? I heard you even joined some sort of dating show; it's ridiculous."
"If you really need money, you can definitely borrow from me. You know, I've always liked you a lot, and I wouldn't hesitate for a moment if you give me a chance."
"Running such a big studio isn't easy for a girl. You are a singer, and I play in a band; together, we would be even stronger."
"Right now, our West Liang's development momentum is booming, and in half a year, we might even become the top mainstream act in the country. Muchan, just a bit of popularity for you, is way better than being on that lousy dating show..."
Pei Muchan couldn't listen anymore and raised her hand to hang up. Just as she put the phone down, it was grabbed by another hand.
Looking up, it was Xu Qingyan.