Superstar Ch.32

Chapter 32: 3, 2, 1

There were many spin-off programs of Super Rookie.

There were dormitory highlights aired on Mondays and Thursdays, special practice room episodes on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and a game channel on Saturdays and Sundays. All of these were designed to maintain the trainees’ exposure during the main show’s off days.

This time, Xie Xizhao and Ai Qingyuan were heading to record the Saturday and Sunday game channel.

It was also the longest spin-off of Super Rookie. The combined episodes on both days totaled three hours.

With a long broadcast time, the recording time was even longer.

Therefore, before heading there, Xie Xizhao didn’t go to the practice room. Instead, he went back to the dormitory to catch up on some sleep.

By the time he woke up, Ai Qingyuan had already packed his things and was waiting for him.

For this kind of show, they usually wore their own clothes. Ai Qingyuan had returned to his usual black, white, and gray attire.

Xie Xizhao rummaged through his wardrobe and, this time, he didn’t pick any light-colored clothes. Instead, he went back to his original style—jeans paired with a minimalist white sweatshirt, making him look fresh and clean.

Ai Qingyuan observed coldly from the side but had to admit that the other had a good-looking face and a decent sense of style.

Once Xie Xizhao was ready, the two of them walked out of the dormitory together.

As they passed through the iron gate leading outside, the entrance suddenly became lively.

Compared to before their debut, the number of their dedicated fansites had increased significantly in recent times.

Especially for Xie Xizhao.

In the past, when he and Ji Yan went out, they were just silent “flower vases” on the sidelines. But not anymore.

His fans now had eagle-eyed vision, able to spot him from any corner and immediately call out to him.

Today was no exception.

As soon as he appeared, the voices of his fans filled the air—resounding, thunderous.

“Zhaozhao baby, eat more! Eat a lot! Did you hear me?!”

“Get some good rest, don’t overwork yourself! Rest well! Stop doing charity all the time! Rest!”

“The performance was absolutely amazing! Mommy loves you! Wuwuwu, take good care of yourself!”

Ai Qingyuan: “……”

What was all this nonsense?

His expression twitched, nearly breaking his cool and aloof demeanor. Meanwhile, Xie Xizhao remained completely unfazed. He stopped for a moment to wave at the fans outside the gate and smiled as he said, “I’ll take care of myself.” Only then did he continue walking forward.

Once they had passed through the iron gate, Ai Qingyuan finally spoke. “Aren’t you being a bit over the top?”

Xie Xizhao: ?

“I mean,” Ai Qingyuan clarified, “with your fans.”

He paused, recalling how the screaming had doubled the moment Xie Xizhao greeted them. His expression became indescribable. “Do you really have to be ‘on’ all the time?”

He couldn’t understand it.

Of course, he didn’t need to.

When they debuted, the company had tailored a specific persona for him based on his personality: the “bking” type—cool, dominant, and untouchable.

He only needed to perform during scheduled times. The rest of the time, he could maintain his high-class aloofness.

Talking too much would only ruin the vibe.

Xie Xizhao: “…”

“Your company really treats you well,” he remarked.

A tailor-made persona that played to his strengths while covering his weaknesses.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say they treated him like their own son.

Ai Qingyuan made a noncommittal sound. “It’s alright. My family owns shares in the company.”

Then, after a brief hesitation, he added, “Do you want to join?”

“I can talk to my manager,” he said.

Xie Xizhao was stunned for a moment.

Then, he said, “No need.”

“My current company is pretty good,” he added.

It was all about freedom.

Ai Qingyuan’s face was full of doubt.

But for him, simply extending an olive branch to Xie Xizhao was already his limit. If the other party didn’t accept it, he definitely wouldn’t beg. So, he simply said, “Alright.”

The two of them arrived at the filming location.

Just before stepping inside, Xie Xizhao suddenly remembered something and said,

“I wasn’t ‘on’ just now.”

Ai Qingyuan: ?

“I just think,” Xie Xizhao explained, “whether it’s fans or anyone else, if they’re standing outside for hours with kindness in their hearts, waiting because they love you, then saying hello when you pass by isn’t really that difficult.”

Ai Qingyuan was momentarily dazed.

By the time he snapped out of it, Xie Xizhao had already walked into the makeup room.

The makeup artist seemed familiar with him, greeting him casually while chatting as he sat down.

…It always seemed to be like this.

No matter where he went, Xie Xizhao could effortlessly earn people’s affection.

Even he himself…

Ai Qingyuan pressed his lips together, tightening his grip in his palm.

At the moment he lost to Xie Xizhao, Ai Qingyuan’s mind went completely blank.

He had never considered the possibility of losing.

Ever since he became a trainee—whether it was team evaluations, monthly exams, or the annual assessments—he had always ranked first.

Being first meant nothing. But second place? Third place? That was the mark of a failure, a useless person.

That was what his father had told him.

And for eighteen years at home, he had been nothing but a failure.

Growing up, everyone around them knew that the Ai family had two young masters. The eldest son, as the heir, was accomplished from a young age, displaying an impressive talent for business early on. The second son, on the other hand, was known as a lazy rich kid who indulged in food and idleness.

Being a failure wasn’t that big of a deal. His older brother used to tell him, Xiao Yuan, it’s okay. No matter what, you’re still an Ai. You can do whatever you want.

His brother treated him well, and he meant what he said.

But at eighteen, Ai Qingyuan still threw away the academic exam papers he could never quite grasp, changed the university applications his parents had planned for him, and stubbornly chose to join Shenghong Entertainment.

No one stopped him.

His father cursed at him for days, calling him an unfilial son. His mother was heartbroken, saying, Xiao Yuan, you had a perfectly good life—why would you go and become an artist? Do you know how many people will laugh at our family behind our backs?

A few days later, seeing that he had made up his mind, they handed him over to his older brother. His brother, amid his already packed schedule, was expected to spare a bit of time to oversee his younger brother’s hobby.

Because he was a failure.

No one had ever expected anything from him.

He thought becoming a trainee would free him from that torment.

Finally, he was at the front. People looked up to him with admiration and envy.

He felt satisfied. It felt like this was how things were always meant to be.

Until Xie Xizhao appeared.

Twice.

Counting the first stage performance, it was three times.

The name Xie Xizhao had become like a curse, an obsession that haunted him. It was as if he had been thrown back into his childhood, crushed under the weight of his older brother’s overwhelming presence, unable to rise.

And yet, even at the moment when he found reality the hardest to accept, he realized—

He had never hated Xie Xizhao.

Not even a little.

At first, Ai Qingyuan couldn’t understand it no matter how much he thought about it. But later, he started to realize—everything seemed to have a pattern.

Xie Xizhao had a certain kind of magic. A kind of… effortless charm that made being around him feel comfortable.

It was as if he could see through everyone’s thoughts—his teammates’, the production crew’s, the fans’.

Like that day—if Xie Xizhao had come over to comfort him, Ai Qingyuan was sure he would have fallen out with him on the spot and sworn to one day crush him completely.

But Xie Xizhao never came.

He didn’t come, nor did he blame Ai Qingyuan for deliberately avoiding him.

Ai Qingyuan sat in his seat, feeling almost baffled.

Did people like this really exist in the world?

Someone who could understand and account for everyone’s emotions while always responding in the calmest, most appropriate way.

And yet, Xie Xizhao was only two years older than him… or, well, that wasn’t exactly right.

Xie Xizhao had spent four years bedridden. If you looked at it that way, Ai Qingyuan should actually be the older one.

When Xie Xizhao turned around, he immediately noticed his teammate staring at him without getting his makeup done. His gaze was deep and unreadable, like he was studying some ancient fossil.

Xie Xizhao paused for a moment. “Is there something on my face?”

“There is—just a little bit of handsomeness,” the makeup artist quipped without missing a beat. Then she added, “He’s been staring at you for a while. Might have a secret crush on you. Be careful.”

Ai Qingyuan: “……”

What kind of nonsense?

He said, “So are you eighteen or twenty-two?”

Xie Xizhao: “…”

He replied, “Twenty-two. Don’t overthink it. You should be calling me ‘big brother’.”

Ai Qingyuan sneered. “You sure? I’ve wanted to k*ll my big brother since I was a kid.”

Xie Xizhao smiled. “Kids shouldn’t always talk about fighting and k*lling. It’s not very civilized.”

The makeup artist lazily chimed in, “You’re already twenty, way past your edgy teen phase, little brother.”

Ai Qingyuan: “……”

He took back what he had just thought about Xie Xizhao having some kind of magic.

This guy was still as annoying as ever.

—

They simply put on a casual everyday makeup look, and then the two of them got into the car along with the production team.

They were seated in a large bus. Besides them, a few other people were already scattered across the seats. Xie Xizhao took a glance around—counting himself and Ai Qingyuan, there were a total of nine people.

This was the cruel reality of a talent show.

By the time the first public performance aired, the program would have run for six episodes, with nine contestants per episode. Out of 100 trainees, only half would get the chance to appear on the spin-off show and gain exposure. And naturally, this half had nothing to do with the trainees at the bottom of the rankings.

To be honest, Xie Xizhao had initially thought that this show had nothing to do with him either.

“How capable you must be,” Ai Qingyuan said, his tone dripping with sarcasm as he spoke in his usual sharp-tongued manner. “Right after the public performance a few days ago, your fans started making a fuss under the official account, demanding an end to the unfair treatment against you. You didn’t know?”

Xie Xizhao hadn’t been online in a long time. Of course, he didn’t know.

There was one more thing Ai Qingyuan didn’t say—at this point, Xie Xizhao was already considered one of the most popular contestants. The other front-runners from earlier episodes had all appeared on this show before, and the production team had to consider online viewership ratings.

He glanced around again. Since the show was recorded two episodes in advance, the trainees in this bus were the ones who would appear in the sixth episode.

Aside from himself, Xie Xizhao, and a baby-faced contestant, it seemed like there were no other highly ranked trainees here.

He curled his lips into a smirk.

Hypocrisy.

Turning his head, he suddenly found himself making eye contact with the baby-faced contestant.

Ai Qingyuan: ?

He then heard Xie Xizhao say, “Hello.”

Ai Qingyuan: ??

And then, he saw the baby-faced contestant’s ears turn red as he responded in a small voice:

“…Hello.”

“I’m Xie Xizhao,” Xie Xizhao continued.

Then, after a brief pause, he added, “You sing really well.”

The baby-faced contestant blinked.

It seemed like he took a moment to process the compliment before finally responding in a small voice, “Thank you.”

His tone carried a sense of awkwardness and uncertainty.

Ai Qingyuan’s mouth twitched.

He watched as the younger contestant blushed and turned his head away. Then, he looked at Xie Xizhao and said, “Do you know what you just reminded me of?”

Xie Xizhao: ?

“A wolf grandmother coaxing a little white rabbit to open the door,” Ai Qingyuan said.

Xie Xizhao silently glanced at him.

Under the sunlight streaming through the window, his skin appeared almost translucently pale, his features delicate and refined—nothing about him resembled a wolf, let alone a wolf grandmother.

Ai Qingyuan: “…”

He turned his head away in exasperation, deciding he didn’t want to deal with him anymore.

Xie Xizhao hadn’t intended to be a wolf in disguise. He simply said whatever came to mind.

Yun Pan really did have a beautiful singing voice. Since they happened to meet, he mentioned it. Otherwise, the boy would have just sat there alone, looking a little pitiful.

What he hadn’t expected was that this one sentence would lead to Yun Pan seeking him out during the show’s recording.

“You want to team up with us?” Xie Xizhao asked.

Yun Pan nodded.

He still wasn’t much of a talker, but as soon as the topic of forming teams came up, he tugged on Xie Xizhao’s sleeve. Xie Xizhao, who had been discussing the program rules with Ai Qingyuan, suddenly felt like he had been pawed at by a kitten.

Xie Xizhao looked at Ai Qingyuan, who shrugged and said, “I don’t mind. Each team has three members anyway.”

It didn’t matter who joined.

So Xie Xizhao said, “Alright, then you’re with us.”

Yun Pan nodded vigorously. Even though his face was still soft and round, and his big eyes fluttered like before, Xie Xizhao inexplicably felt the obvious joy radiating from him at that moment.

After the three of them finalized their plans, the production team had also finished setting up all the equipment.

Having participated in various spin-off game shows before, Xie Xizhao was well-acquainted with their usual tricks.

These games were essentially a mix of different social challenges, designed to make the trainees showcase their charm through solving puzzles, completing tasks, and interacting with each other.

There were only a few typical categories: intelligence-based, physical endurance tests, and courage challenges.

So when the production team announced that their mission was to enter a designated section of a small town and locate a treasure map split into five pieces, Xie Xizhao fell into deep thought.

Ai Qingyuan said, “That’s it?”

Xie Xizhao replied, “Calm down.”

But Ai Qingyuan had already grabbed Yun Pan and started heading into the town.

Standing at 186 cm, Ai Qingyuan was about 7 or 8 cm taller than Yun Pan. The latter followed him with a bewildered expression, seemingly unused to the experience of being dragged along like an object.

The cameraman and the follow PD hurried to keep up behind them.

Xie Xizhao let out a sigh before taking a few quick steps to catch up with the two of them, walking into the town together.

—

It was a beautiful, ancient-style town.

Calling it a “town” wasn’t entirely accurate, though. The place was mostly deserted, and all the furnishings and street-side shops were built in an imitation of historical styles. It was said to have once been part of a film studio, with production crews filming dramas here in the past—but now, it had been left unused.

The area assigned to Xie Xizhao’s team was the entire eastern side of the town, stretching from a grand archway all the way to the end of a narrow alley. Though the area wasn’t large, it had a pond and a small grove nearby—small but well-equipped.

The most eye-catching feature was a tall, two-story wooden building painted in red lacquer. A sign hanging from the top bore the words “Inn” in flowing, ancient-style calligraphy.

By now, it was already evening. The setting sun was halfway below the horizon, casting a hazy glow over the entire town as dusk settled in.

“Should we split up?” Ai Qingyuan asked. “Seems like this is a speed-based challenge.”

The production team had spent a long time explaining the rules earlier. He had only half-listened, but at least he got the main point.

Xie Xizhao thought for a moment. “Let’s assess the situation first.”

He continued, “This place isn’t big. Walking around the entire area would take only about ten minutes. Sticking together shouldn’t be a problem.”

Ai Qingyuan didn’t argue. He also thought searching alone would be boring.

“Then let’s check the building first,” he suggested.

“Mm,” Xie Xizhao agreed.

The three of them headed toward the wooden building. Just as they were about to step inside, Xie Xizhao suddenly stopped in his tracks.

“Oh, right,” he said thoughtfully. “How’s your courage?”

Ai Qingyuan: “…”

“Huh?”

“I get scared easily.”

Behind them, Yun Pan quietly raised his hand.

It was the first thing he had said since they arrived.

Now that they were closer, Xie Xizhao realized that the kid’s voice was genuinely pleasant. It had a slightly husky quality, but not overly so—just enough to add a raw, youthful tone. A true band-style voice.

“Then stay behind me,” Xie Xizhao said.

As he spoke, he reached out and pinched Yun Pan’s cheek.

It felt just as soft as he had imagined.

Yun Pan struggled slightly when Xie Xizhao pinched his cheek, but since Xie Xizhao’s touch was light and his tone was gentle, he hesitated for a moment before giving in. He even obediently slowed his steps.

On the other side, Ai Qingyuan’s expression looked a little unnatural.

“It’s fine,” he said.

He carefully replayed the production team’s instructions in his mind. They had only mentioned searching for pieces of a treasure map—nothing else. Feeling more confident, he asked, “Are you scared?”

Xie Xizhao: “…”

“Mm.”

“If you’re scared, stay behind me,” Ai Qingyuan said, mimicking his tone. “Big brother will carry you two to victory.”

With that, he strode inside.

Xie Xizhao followed behind, silently counting down.

“Three, two, one…”

The moment Ai Qingyuan stepped over the threshold, a bloodcurdling scream suddenly echoed across the entire town—

“F**k!”

Xie Xizhao let out a sigh.

He patted Ai Qingyuan’s shoulder, then calmly reached out to push aside the bloody, prop severed head dangling in front of them. His voice was steady as he said—

“Alright, move to the back. I’ll go first.”

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