“I want Xue Xiao.”
The ending note reverberated and fell.
The entire studio was silent for a second.
Immediately afterward, the screams that rang out in unison almost reached the top.
Xue Xiao was stunned. He was violently shaken by his friends from all directions.
“D*mn, Teacher Shen is awesome!”
“Teacher Shen is so handsome ahhhhh!”
“I want Xue Xiao. Dmn, dmn!”
“I just said it! I said that it is impossible for Teacher Shen not to want Xue Xiao. So he was waiting for this!”
In the midst of the noise, Xue Xiao saw the man looking at him.
The sound of his heartbeat almost drowned out everything else.
Xue Xiao gulped and suddenly felt hot. His whole body was burning.
—
15 participants were eliminated, and the show didn’t even give them a resurrection card, but in the end, none of this seemed to matter.
Everyone was still discussing Shen Tingyan’s reversal as they left the studio.
Exciting, really exciting!
Xue Xiao didn’t follow the large group.
The moment the recording ended, he impulsively ran backstage to find Shen Tingyan.
At the end of a certain corridor backstage, Shen Tingyan was talking to Fang Lei, who had been waiting for him backstage since arriving here in the afternoon.
Xue Xiao found the two of them, took a breath, and shouted without thinking, “Teacher Shen!”
The two of them stopped their conversation and looked toward him. Then Xue Xiao’s mind returned, and he said, “Ah, I’m sorry. I—”
“It’s okay,” Shen Tingyan said to him in a low and gentle voice. “Come here.”
Xue Xiao calmed his breathing, walked over, and greeted them. “Brother Fang.”
Fang Lei nodded at him kindly and joked, “The two of you stole the spotlight today. How do you feel? Did you really think Tingyan wouldn’t steal you?”
Xue Xiao was extremely embarrassed to be teased so frankly.
He shook his head quickly, but Shen Tingyan raised an eyebrow. “No? Then who was the one pouting so much that a teapot could hang from his lips just now?”
Xue Xiao suddenly blushed. “…I didn’t blush.”
“Oh, who is the one whose head was almost hanging to the ground?”
“……” It was hard to refute this.”
It turned out that Shen Tingyan had been paying attention to him just now!
…But no one knew at the time that this man wasn’t holding a resurrection card at all, but a robbery card. How could Xue Xiao have expected this person to perform such an operation later…
Shen Tingyan said in a joking tone, “Xue Xiao, if I really hadn’t chosen you, would you have cursed me in your heart by now?”
“No way!” Xue Xiao blushed and retorted softly. “… In fact, I didn’t care that much about it just now.”
“Really?”
Xue Xiao pursed his lips and said frankly, “I am definitely a bit disappointed… but Teacher Shen, you have no obligation to choose me.”
Xue Xiao would never blame Shen Tingyan for this kind of thing.
At that time, he really didn’t want to explore the reason why Shen Tingyan didn’t choose him.
He said seriously, “I originally thought that if you didn’t choose me now, I would continue to work hard in the next round and make you want to choose me again.”
“In any case, you don’t hate me, and you have no reason to deliberately not choose me. So what I have to do is always the same.”
—It was to work hard.
If he could go to Shen Tingyan’s team, then he would work hard. If he couldn’t go, he still had to work hard.
He would work until the moment when the man could no longer take his eyes away from him.
Of course, Xue Xiao could only quietly hide this sentence in his heart.
Xue Xiao spoke seriously. Shen Tingyan’s eyes darkened slightly when he heard it.
This guy turned out to be mentally prepared for this.
Even if Shen Tingyan didn’t really choose him, the little light bulb was ready to charge toward him again.
Shen Tingyan suddenly didn’t know how to describe the feeling in his heart at this moment.
The corners of his lips twitched as he said, “Xue Xiao, everyone knows that I like you.”
His voice was hoarse when he said this. Fang Lei, who was smiling with the mentality of watching a drama, suddenly felt a thump in his heart.
He looked at Shen Tingyan doubtfully.
Xue Xiao was stunned.
The next second, he realized that this sentence definitely didn’t mean what he thought. The word ‘like’ really meant…
He touched his forehead in a covert manner and lowered his head. His heart was beating rapidly, and he stammered, “Um… thank you, thank you…”
Shen Tingyan looked down at Xue Xiao, whose whole body was red.
If he had seen Xue Xiao’s reaction before, he would be sure that this was a sign of liking.
But now…
he smiled to himself.
Even so, he couldn’t stop.
He said slowly, “Everyone knows that it is impossible for me to not choose you, so you can be more confident. Sooner or later, I will grab you.”
Xue Xiao’s fingers curled up. “T-Thank you, Teacher Shen…”
Seeing how shy he was, Shen Tingyan chuckled and said, “Just a thank you?”
Xue Xiao trembled and looked up slightly with shame.
On the side, Fang Lei couldn’t help straightening up, and his heart was beating wildly.
At this moment, someone passed by the corridor, and a female voice interrupted them. “Xiao Xiao, Teacher Shen!”
Jiang Lianlian went to find Guan Ruoying just now and the two of them had just separated. She was very happy right now and said casually, “Xiao Xiao, aren’t you going back to your bedroom?”
Xue Xiao replied quickly, “It is almost time to go back. Just wait for me and we can go together.”
He turned around and sensitively noticed that the smile on Shen Tingyan’s face had faded a lot.
Xue Xiao was stunned for a moment before asking softly, “Teacher Shen.”
Shen Tingyan’s mind returned.
What Zhang Chengyu said to him before the start of the afternoon performance echoed in his mind.
“He told me yesterday that he has a girl he likes.”
“No, this guy just got the idea. He hasn’t expressed it yet.”
“I guess it must be a girl on the show.”
Shen Tingyan thought to himself that he had actually become this type of person.
He stared at Xue Xiao, almost uncontrollably wanting to ask on the spot who Xue Xiao liked.
However, he couldn’t do such a thing. It was strange and unlike him.
It made no sense to ask this type of question.
Xue Xiao was stunned.
He didn’t know if it was his imagination, but he always felt that Shen Tingyan had something to say to him. Then after a moment, the man looked away.
A cold and somewhat heavy aura enveloped the man in front of him.
Xue Xiao was stunned.
Shen Tingyan… wasn’t he actually a bit unhappy tonight? Why?
Xue Xiao was a bit confused. He hesitated and reached out to pull the corner of Shen Tingyan’s clothes.
The man looked at him again with an unreadable expression. Then Xue Xiao said, “Teacher Shen, I don’t have a thank you card. I also don’t have a gift to give you now.”
Shen Tingyan’s lips twitched. “I’m not asking for a gift. Forget it. You should go back.”
“Teacher Shen.” Xue Xiao interrupted him. He pursed his lips, blushed, and said softly, “I want to say that I like you too. Everyone knows that I like you.”
Shen Tingyan hesitated for a moment.
Xue Xiao was actually extremely worried because he was afraid he would show some abnormalities.
However, good feelings shouldn’t only exist in the love between men and women.
His liking for Shen Tingyan was very complex. He had a special liking, and there was naturally also a more simple liking that was born in his heart a long time ago.
What was there to say about this type of liking?
He felt that Shen Tingyan was a bit unhappy tonight, so he just wanted to make Shen Tingyan happy.
His liking might not necessarily have a big effect on Shen Tingyan, but even if it was only a little bit, he was willing to work hard to express it.
He plucked up his courage and said, “…Teacher Shen, I like you the most. Really.”
Shen Tingyan’s eyes darkened while Fang Lei took a deep breath on the side.
After Xue Xiao finished speaking, he didn’t know what to say.
He looked at Shen Tingyan’s face eagerly, tugged at the corner of the man’s clothes, and whispered, “Teacher Shen, be happy. I was really happy when you chose me today.”
Shen Tingyan asked in a low voice, “Did you say you like me just to make me happy?”
“…I want to make you happy, but I also mean it from my heart!”
Shen Tingyan looked at the young man in front of him, who was looking at him in a shy and worried manner. He suddenly laughed.
He let out a long breath. He felt that facing this little guy, he really had no choice but to raise his hands and surrender.
He was still jealous in his heart, but he still felt very happy to hear such a confession even though he knew it wasn’t what he wanted.
Seeing him smiling, Xue Xiao finally smiled with relief.
Over there, Jiang Lianlian was still waiting for him.
He said softly, “Teacher Shen, shall we meet tomorrow?”
Shen Tingyan looked at him deeply before smiling. “Yes.”
—
On the way back to the dressing room, Fang Lei kept hesitating.
Shen Tingyan didn’t say anything. After entering, he sat down, and the two of them waited for the driver to bring the car over.
Fang Lei lingered behind him for a moment. The moment he opened his mouth, the door opened, and he could only close it again.
Feng Wei said goodbye to the people outside. Then he walked in slowly, saw Shen Tingyan, and said, “Congratulations to Teacher Shen for grabbing a general.”
He sat down next to Shen Tingyan and grabbed the teacup. “Now there are five people in your group, and only three people left in my group.”
Fang Lei’s teeth were sore when he heard this. It was so sarcastic. This old fox must be quite unhappy today.
Shen Tingyan was more straightforward than him and asked directly, “Unhappy?”
Feng Wei drank tea without changing his expression and didn’t respond.
Shen Tingyan lowered his head and swiped on his phone, saying, “If I leave him in your group, you will only treat him as Cheng Yang’s foil in the next round. At that time, you will be happy, but I will be very unhappy. I can only wrong Director Feng for a while.”
These words surprised Fang Lei.
Feng Wei stopped and asked, “What do you mean, Teacher Shen?”
“Are you asking me?” Shen Tingyan said calmly. “After you gave up on Fan Xue, you made up your mind to bet on Cheng Yang, right?”
Fang Lei, in the corner, covered his face while inwardly shouting, ‘Fan Xue? Fan Xu has something to do with Feng Wei?’
Wait, thinking about it carefully, Fan Xue had a certain degree of confidence when he dared to set up a counterattack character. Apart from Zhang Luyang’s editing, his confidence came from…
Fang Lei stared at the back of Feng Wei’s head in shock—it must’ve come from the support of a certain mentor!
In the dressing room, Shen Tingyan’s voice was unwavering.
“It is no longer to continue to praise participants who are popular with the audience. It is always better to be discerning. Uncovering a new star that no one has noticed by yourself can better reflect your power as a director, right?”
Feng Wei glanced at him quietly.
“You can’t interfere with the selection of participants in this round of competition, and Cheng Yang doesn’t have the ability to carry a group by himself. Therefore, you let Xue Xiao play the leading role. You praised him and let him lead the whole group to fly. There is no loss at all. But in the next round, the mentor can freely determine the role. Are you planning to let Xue Xiao act as Cheng Yang’s partner?”
Shen Tingyan laughed. “It is okay if I didn’t see it before, but now that I’ve seen it, do you think I will still ignore it?”
“Not to mention, you all know that I like him.”
The dressing room became so quiet that the sound of a needle dropping could be heard.
Fang Lei didn’t even dare to take a breath. He just felt that the pressure increased sharply just by staying in this place. The aura of these two people was too strong.
Feng Wei suddenly laughed.
He didn’t deny Shen Tingyan’s words. Instead, he asked, “Then if you snatch Xue Xiao over and make him the protagonist, you are being so partial to him. Are you worthy of the other participants in your group?”
“Teacher Shen, there are always protagonists and supporting roles in acting. You don’t need others to say this to understand this truth.” Feng Wei lowered his head and placed the lid on the teapot. “Don’t make it sound like everyone else is doing something bad. This is a competition. It can’t be fair to all participants.”
Shen Tingyan said lazily, “It is true that it isn’t really a bad thing, but since they are already in my hands, can’t I give the five of them the same amount of scenes? In the end, what I have to arrange is just a short play of 10 minutes. I can still achieve this level of fairness.”
Feng Wei was really surprised now. “When did Teacher Shen become a model teacher who takes such good care of the participants?”
“Today, I started to feel like it was worth it.”
Shen Tingyan received a message from the driver that the car was already outside. He stood up and put one hand in his pocket.
Before walking away, he chuckled and said, “But before leaving this arena—”
“I can like him as much as I want.”
The man’s voice cooled.
“—Don’t come to me and point fingers.”
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I like you the most!
Eeeeeeeehhhhh!!!! *squeals*
Damn! They’re so sweeettt!!
Fang Lei: damn so much popcorn. Don’t mind me, I’m just a fly in the wall
All this confessing but not confessing. I feel like I’m eating chocolate covered salted fish.
*sigh* The waters are still murky huh.
Sh*t I really didn’t expect that Director Feng Wei is just as corrupt as Zhang Luyang and that Director Yu something. Turned out only Old Gao the sincere director in this novel, others only see commodities and profits. Sigh. No wonder it is hard for no name actors to get popular without somekind of unspoken rules.