The rehearsal started in the afternoon.
It was just past 3:30 when Xing Shi and the others returned to the company. The teacher knew they wouldn’t be in the mood for class, so he talked about the problems today and let them arrange their own time and to train in the evening.
Xing Shi decided to find a place to lie down and play with his phone.
A trainee came over. He had been one of the people who was nervous and out of touch.
He had a bitter expression on his face. “Brother Shi, the rehearsal performance wasn’t ideal. Will the boss be angry?”
“No.”
The trainee was uneasy. “Are you sure?”
Xing Shi replied, “I’m sure.”
According to his observation, Fu Xiuning might have a bad personality but he wasn’t the type of person to get angry over such a small matter. He could still be friendly when Lin Kecheng, who was suspected of planning the assassination, appeared in front of him, let alone other things.
Compared with past experiences, Fu Xiuning probably didn’t take this small flaw to heart. He probably didn’t even remember the trainee’s face.
However, saying this was a bit discouraging.
Xing Shi comforted him. “This is a rehearsal, not a formal performance. It is normal to make mistakes. It is okay.”
The man felt more at ease, thanked him, and went to practice hard.
People nearly couldn’t help asking, “Why does the boss take the performance so seriously? He even watched the rehearsal in person.”
Xing Shi looked at them. “I’m not that familiar with him. Do you believe it?”
Everyone looked back in silence. Who else was the one who fed the boss small cakes at the rehearsal? He called this not being familiar?
Silence spoke louder than words.
Xing Shi knew the answer as soon as he saw their expressions and gave up explaining.
He thought about it.
If he had to guess, Fu Xiuning wouldn’t care as long as they didn’t make too big a mess that day and were ridiculed by the outside world.
He said, “You just… show your strength.”
Everyone pondered over this and left.
The second rehearsal was a week later.
Fu Xiuning didn’t come, and the trainees were relieved.
Lin Ke and Xing Shi’s alliance expired again, and the two of them renewed it.
Xing Shi’s favorability value remained at -7. He and the system had originally come up with a reason, but Lin Kecheng didn’t ask this time.
Lin Kecheng saw through the gap between him and this ‘-8’ and simply turned a blind eye.
He asked, “Have you seen him recently?”
Xing Shi answered, “I’ve only seen him once at school. I asked the system to ask you if you wanted to find out more from him, but you refused.”
Lin Kecheng nodded. He felt that the interval between the last time was too short. Repeating the question would be annoying and tactless.
He leaned in and whispered, “You can ask him next time you see him. Say it this way…”
Xing Shi listened silently before saying happily, “Okay.”
The system also heard it and complained. “He really knows how to flatter himself. Do you really want to help him?”
“I will help. As allies, we must be honest.”
The system didn’t know what he was thinking, but didn’t stop him. It felt that someone like Lin Kecheng would be at -4 at most after struggling to the end and wouldn’t pose any threat.
This rehearsal went more smoothly than the last time. There were basically no problems.
The trainees were also very satisfied with the dance and returned to the company happily.
The next morning, Xing Shi went back to school for class. After class, he planned to use the system’s positioning for the first time and have it check where Fu Xiuning was. As a result, he was lucky. He had just left the teaching building when he found Fu Xiuning not far away.
As the school anniversary approached, colorful flags were hung on the main roads, theme posters could be seen everywhere, and display boards had been moved out, showing the school’s history, achievements of past alumni, awards won by this year’s outstanding students, etc.
In addition, the school had invited well-known alumni to give lectures, and related posters had been posted.
Fu Xiuning was holding two books in his hands and looking at a poster.
The weather was getting warmer, so he was wearing a white shirt and jeans. He was gentle and elegant, as pleasing to the eye as always.
Xing Shi rarely saw him in such a leisurely mood. He smiled and walked forward. “Senior, what a coincidence.”
Fu Xiuning looked over and thought to himself that it wasn’t a coincidence. He specifically came here to wait for someone.
He had seen Xing Shi’s class schedule and knew that the other person had classes here, so he came over.
In fact, he also tried to create an encounter a few days ago but Xing Shi had skipped class. He could’ve gone directly to the company to find someone. However, it would attract attention and there was also no specific reason. Therefore, he could only set the location at school and gradually let them spend more time together.
He nodded in response and asked, “How was the rehearsal yesterday?”
Xing Shi walked forward with him side by side. “It was good. It went smoothly.”
“When is the last rehearsal?”
“The day after tomorrow.”
Then Xing Shi started to help his ally. “I met Senior Lin in the auditorium yesterday. He was collecting information about entertainment companies and making a comparison table. It seems that he wants to choose from one of them, but our company isn’t on the list.”
Fu Xiuning looked at him.
Xing Shi’s face was serious. “I think Senior Lin is very strong, popular, and has high emotional intelligence. He is very suitable for the entertainment industry. He graduated from Z College and can take the route of a top student.”
Fu Xiuning continued to look at him, waiting for his next words.
Xing Shi acted confused. “I asked him why he didn’t choose our company and he didn’t say anything. Does he not want to take the back door, or is there some inside story that I don’t know?”
The moment he finished speaking, he cleared up his expression and continued, “The above are his original words. He wanted me to try and find out more.”
The system: “?”
Huh? Was he so honest?
Fu Xiuning guessed that this was the case and said calmly, “Then he trusts you quite a bit to leave this matter to you.”
The system suddenly became nervous. Yes, on the surface, Xing Shi and Lin Kecheng had only known each other for a short time. How could they be so familiar with each other?
Xing Shi blinked. “You might not believe me if I tell you.”
Fu Xiuning felt that this sounded familiar. He thought about it, and it seemed that the same tone had been used when the system asked Xing Shi why he had to form an alliance.
He looked at Xing Shi, wondering what the other person would say this time.
Xing Shi replied, “Boss, do you know that Senior Lin has a brother who has been lost for many years? He said that he felt close to me when he saw me for the first time as if he saw his brother. Perhaps that is why he trusts me.”
Fu Xiuning asked gently, “Then you didn’t do a DNA test?”
“I felt that there should be no relationship between his appearance and mine in terms of DNA, so I didn’t mention it out of fear of making him sad.”
Fu Xiuning hummed before asking, “He trusts you like a brother, but you just sold him out like that?”
Xing Shi didn’t even blink. “Senior, to be honest, I’ve always wanted to have a brother.”
Fu Xiuning: “……”
Xing Shi said sincerely, “The first time I saw you, I wanted you to be my brother.”
Even though Fu Xiuning had already guessed what was going to happen, he still laughed.
He had to admit that apart from the appearance that made him a bit uncomfortable, this kid sometimes suited him very well.
[Ding.]
[Currently favorability value: -6.]
The system: “!”
This was a great help!
Xing Shi’s heart moved. He thought that his luck today was indeed good. Things would be much easier in the future.
He asked, “Do you want to drink coffee, Brother? I’ll treat you.”
Fu Xiuning didn’t refuse.
The two of them went to the nearest coffee store. Xing Shi sat down and ordered the food. He first instructed the system to install a patch to prevent Lin Kecheng from letting the secret slip.
The system listened to his main idea and sent a message.
[My host followed your instructions to find out what Fu Xiuning is thinking. Fu Xiuning didn’t say anything for the time being, and they are still chatting. In order to act closer to you, my host said that you have a lost brother. You hit it off right away and are as close as brothers. He really hopes to work in the entertainment industry with his brother.]
Lin Kecheng received the message and thought that the fool was quite reliable this time. He replied: [Okay, help me thank him. From now on, he is my real brother!]
The system thought, ‘You wouldn’t think so if you knew what he actually said.’
It relayed this to the host.
Xing Shi praised it before yawning and saying, “Give me a level two punishment.”
“…Huh?’
Xing Shi told it, “It is rare for me to sit with Fu Xiuning and he added one point. I just want to improve my condition and pursue victory.”
The system was very moved. “Will it be too hard for you? It is okay. We aren’t in a hurry. Just chat casually.”
“Come on. Don’t you want to get more points?”
The system naturally thought so. Therefore, it gave him a level two punishment.
Xing Shi originally wanted to find Fu Xiuning today. It was just a side job to help convey Lin Kecheng’s message. The main reason was using Fu Xiuning as an excuse to get the level two punishment.
He had formed an alliance with Lin Kecheng four times, and he fleeced it four times. However, the tiny energy flows were still nowhere to be found in his body, as if they had never appeared. This was why he wanted to try this.
He felt the familiar energy flowing throughout his body and immediately tried to absorb it.
Five seconds later, the punishment ended.
The bad news was that the energy flow caused by the punishment was harder to absorb than normal and he didn’t get any.
The good news was that the pain had weakened. This meant that the small amount of energy from the previous four times hadn’t dissipated but lay dormant, waiting to accumulate a large amount.
Fu Xiuning sat opposite him and looked at Xing Shi calmly.
He could only hear the conversation between the host and system, and sense the energy fluctuations. He had noticed other people at the scene where the system was disconnected and found they couldn’t perceive the fluctuations at all.
Xing Shi was a host who traveled through time and space. He used the body of this world, which was an ordinary person’s body. So why were there so many exceptions?
Also, could Xing Shi only sense energy like him, or could he do more? What did this ‘more’ mean?
This was a difficult problem.
Since Xing Shi didn’t talk about these things with the system, Fu Xiuning couldn’t hear it. He could only increase the daily contact and deduce the truth bit by bit through clues.
He asked, “You buy coffee, and I’ll buy dessert. Do you want to eat it?”
Xing Shi became excited. “Eat!”
Fu Xiuning went to add two desserts.
The two of them sat in the coffee store until noon and had lunch together.
Xing Shi had training in the afternoon, so he took Fu Xiuning’s car to the company and separated from him.
Two days later, Xing Shi and his friends had their last rehearsal. They performed smoothly, so everyone felt relieved.
They went to bed early and got up before 6 o’clock the next day.
This was their first public performance. Even though they didn’t get paid, the teachers didn’t fool around.
The makeup artists were in place and put makeup on them neatly. Some even used disposable hair dye. Once everyone finished their styling, they took a car straight to Z College.
The Z College’s anniversary celebration finally kicked off.
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