TRYMBPIETM 54: Mirror, Night, Snow Peak (17)

Xing Shuangzhan lifted his free hand and squeezed Chi Qingzhou’s ankle.

His fingertips were warm, resting on Chi Qingzhou’s cooling skin like a flame, burning through his blood.

Chi Qingzhou blinked slowly.

Xing Shuangzhan was bad.

He was obviously a fierce ghost, and under normal circumstances, his body temperature would be much lower than Chi Qingzhou’s, but now he was deliberately doing this.

Xing Shuangzhan chuckled, his pupils deep.

“Ankle chain? Why can’t I remember this?

Chi Qingzhou’s face was full of innocence. “I don’t know, maybe Su Ge, you just have a bad memory.”

Xing Shuangzhan tightened his grip on his ankle, applying slight pressure. Taking advantage of his bent knee, he leaned in closer, his eyes darkened.

“Little troublemaker. Since you like wearing it on your ankle, that’s fine.”

“Mm?”

This motion made Chi Qingzhou feel a sense of tension and danger as if he might fall backward. He quickly reached out his right hand, wrapping it around Xing Shuangzhan’s neck and letting out a soft, muffled hum from his nose.

Xing Shuangzhan deliberately slowed his speech, “If you like it, then it’s fine. After all, I never mind.”

The distance between them was now incredibly close.

Xing Shuangzhan’s face was only two or three centimeters away, and his breath, as he spoke, fell onto Chi Qingzhou’s nose and cheek, making him instinctively want to pull away.

“Don’t move.”

Xing Shuangzhan used a bit of skill to free his right hand from Chi Qingzhou’s grip, then placed it firmly around his waist to prevent him from actually falling off the second floor.

“You’re not afraid at all, even in such a dangerous place,” he said, his words carrying some hidden meaning.

Chi Qingzhou’s eyes flickered briefly, and his other hand also wrapped around Xing Shuangzhan’s neck.

Leaning against Xing Shuangzhan’s shoulder, he looked obedient, even more innocent and pure than before.

But his tone was still light, with his voice rising at the end.

“Su Ge, it’s late. You shouldn’t waste time. I still want to go back to sleep.”

Xing Shuangzhan laughed again, not responding to him. He just took a step back, creating some distance.

Chi Qingzhou raised his eyebrows in delight, about to lift his chin at him when the hand gripping his ankle suddenly tightened, lifting his right foot several inches.

Perhaps because it was inconvenient to handle in midair, or maybe for some other reason, Xing Shuangzhan slowly pressed Chi Qingzhou’s foot against his abdomen, his deep gaze full of meaning.

“Be a good boy.”

Chi Qingzhou couldn’t help but curl his toes.

Xing Shuangzhan held his ankle tightly, and his entire foot pressed firmly against the other man’s body. He could clearly feel Xing Shuangzhan’s abdominal muscles.

The warmth from his fingertips burned through Chi Qingzhou’s foot, spreading toward his limbs. He pursed his lips, his gaze wandering.

Xing Shuangzhan lowered his head and fastened the silver chain around Chi Qingzhou’s ankle, flicking the small bell that hung from it.

The crisp, subtle sound echoed in the night wind, as though it was some kind of special omen.

Chi Qingzhou paused for a moment, trying to pull his foot back, but was forcefully held by Xing Shuangzhan.

Xing Shuangzhan bent down and picked up the shoe Chi Qingzhou had tossed aside, putting it back on his foot before lifting him up again.

Xing Shuangzhan asked, “Are you tired?”

Chi Qingzhou obediently said, “Yes, I’m tired. I want to go back and sleep.”

Xing Shuangzhan smiled, “Alright, let’s go back and rest.”

Chi Qingzhou looked at him suspiciously, thinking, is he really this easygoing?

Xing Shuangzhan casually said, “Don’t rush. You’re staying with your brother tonight, but there will be times when you’ll have a room to yourself.”

Chi Qingzhou raised his chin, “Frugality is a virtue.”

Xing Shuangzhan glanced at him, “If the funds are sufficient, who wouldn’t want to live more comfortably?”

Chi Qingzhou’s gaze began to wander. “…Hmph.”

Xing Shuangzhan, holding him, strode toward the second-floor guest room, his laugh low, “Little troublemaker, there’ll be a day when you cry.”

……

The lights in the guest room went out, and the only source of light was the moon outside the window.

Chi Qingning lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep.

Suddenly, the door made a sound. He jumped in surprise, instinctively turning around to see that it was Chi Qingzhou returning.

The faint sound of a bell rang from the door, traveling to the other side of the single bed. In the darkness, Chi Qingzhou stopped in his tracks, his gaze falling on his younger brother.

“Are you still not asleep?” Chi Qingzhou asked.

Chi Qingning tightened his fingers, his eyes stinging with heat.

“I can’t sleep. I… I didn’t expect to hear so many things today. I…” He couldn’t help but sob a couple of times, his shoulders trembling.

“I still find it hard to accept.”

His voice was full of sorrow, and he curled up in the blanket, looking pitiful.

Chi Qingzhou stood in the darkness, quietly watching him for a while before letting out an ambiguous laugh.

Chi Qingning: “…”

That laugh was so mocking.

Trying to garner sympathy didn’t work at all with his second brother.

His sobs suddenly stopped, and shame and awkwardness slowly spread in the air.

The two of them sat in silence for a while, and Chi Qingzhou, as if nothing had happened, naturally said, “I’m tired. You should rest early too.”

Chi Qingning: “Oh…”

He bit his lower lip, somewhat unwilling.

“Second brother, I… I’m a little scared.”

Chi Qingzhou took off his coat and changed into his pajamas. While buttoning it up, he casually said, “I’m getting ready to sleep. If you have something to say, you should say it all at once.”

Chi Qingning was taken aback, looking at the unyielding Chi Qingzhou with a pitiful look. After hesitating for two seconds, he decided to speak the truth.

“Second brother, do I really have that mark that Sheng Yihang left on me? Can it be erased?”

Chi Qingzhou paused in pulling the blanket, standing by the bed and watching him for half a minute. When he sensed his brother’s unease, he finally averted his gaze.

“Don’t worry, it won’t kill you.”

Chi Qingzhou adjusted the blanket and climbed in, flashing a smile full of hidden meaning in the dim room.

Chi Qingning swallowed, his scalp tingling.

Suddenly, he felt that he shouldn’t continue asking.

If he kept asking, the answers might make him unable to sleep the entire night.

……

In another guest room, Xue Jinshi lay on his bed, filled with shame, tossing and turning, unable to sleep.

Tang Qichen, who had shallow sleep, was annoyed by the disturbance and sat up abruptly, frowning as he asked, “Why aren’t you sleeping at this hour? Are you making pancakes^[1]?”

Xue Jinshi froze for a moment and then turned around to glare at him. “Your attitude is so relaxed. With something like this happening, you’re still thinking about sleeping?”

Tang Qichen rolled his eyes. “If I didn’t sleep, would I follow your example and make pancakes?”

Xue Jinshi sneered. “Making pancakes is better than burning an pancake to a crisp.^[2]“

Tang Qichen snorted disdainfully. “Sure, as if you don’t need rest. You’re staying up all night making pancakes, and tomorrow, if something happens, you’ll probably have no strength to flip them.”

Xue Jinshi didn’t respond.

Tang Qichen lay back down, saying unceremoniously, “I really must have bad luck to be stuck in the same room with you. If you’re not going to sleep, go out. I still need to sleep.”

Xue Jinshi’s expression darkened, just as he was about to retort, his phone suddenly vibrated.

He glanced at the caller ID—it was his manager—so he had to swallow his dissatisfaction, get out of bed, and go outside to take the call.

After everything that happened tonight, he didn’t dare to walk around recklessly. He walked along the second-floor corridor toward the terrace, stopping to answer the call.

“Xue Jinshi, you really are something! What did I tell you before filming the variety show? To think things through before doing them, did you even hear me?!”

The manager’s furious voice came through the phone. Before Xue Jinshi could say anything, a torrent of scolding poured out.

“Do you not understand human speech, or did you toss your brain somewhere far away? Sometimes I really doubt how you managed to score 500 on the college entrance exam!”

Xue Jinshi’s face turned pale as he was scolded. His reflex was to open his mouth and retort, but his gaze swept across the bottles on the terrace, and he suddenly remembered that the livestream had been on tonight. He awkwardly closed his mouth instead.

The manager didn’t hear a rebuttal from Xue Jinshi and immediately knew he was feeling guilty, which made him even angrier.

He had been acting like a grandfather all night, doing his best to clean up Xue Jinshi’s mess, but Xue Jinshi hadn’t even bothered to give him a heads-up. All his earlier advice had been in vain!

Xue Jinshi was being scolded mercilessly, and he didn’t have the courage to fight back. As frustrating as it was, he could only listen.

Fortunately, the manager eventually remembered the real issue. After venting, he started informing Xue Jinshi about the problems they were facing and said that for now, the matter had been settled, urging him to pay more attention in the future to avoid causing more trouble.

Xue Jinshi wanted to explain but couldn’t find the right words after several attempts. Finally, he could only reply quietly.

He didn’t want to hide the truth from his manager, but he suddenly realized that what happened tonight was so outrageous that if he weren’t the one involved, he doubted anyone would believe such things were possible.

Even though many in the industry were superstitious, with practices like raising little ghosts, wearing Buddhist talismans, or worshiping fox spirits, when it came to actual unscientific events, the common reaction was always, “It must be fake,” “Special effects,” or “This is ridiculous.” Few believed in it.

The manager, misunderstanding Xue Jinshi’s silence, thought he had learned his lesson and finally felt a little relieved.

“Alright, you know that reflecting on your mistakes is enough. Don’t make the same one again next time.”

He moved past the issue and explained the next steps.

“I think the production team is reasonable. Tomorrow morning, I’ll talk to them and see if we can get some similar segments for the other guests, like you recommending a few skincare products or having products hidden, and guests would have to borrow them from you.”

His tone grew serious.

“You should’ve noticed by now, from the guests to the production team, they’ve been hyping up Chi Qingzhou. He has the most camera time. Even if I can reach an agreement with the production team tomorrow, there’s a chance the person involved in that segment might still be him.”

“I’m warning you now: even if it’s Chi Qingzhou in the end, you need to pretend like you’re on good terms with him!”

“Don’t argue with him, don’t mock him, don’t say anything bad about him. Do you hear me?”

Xue Jinshi paused for a few seconds, then responded softly, “I would never dare to insult him.”

Insulting others might just mean gaining another rival, but insulting Chi Qingzhou might mean that the next year could be his memorial day.

Manager: “…?”

He had never seen Xue Jinshi back down like this. Hearing those words, he couldn’t believe it. He glanced at his phone in disbelief. Was he really calling Xue Jinshi?

He suspected that Xue Jinshi might have been scared, so he cautiously asked, “Did something happen after the livestream ended?”

Xue Jinshi gave a wry, sorrowful smile. He wanted to say that much more had happened after the livestream, but after hesitating for a long time, he couldn’t say a word.

Everything that happened tonight was beyond anything he had ever experienced in his life.

He had never felt this awkward and terrified before.

Who could have thought that the world was so different from what he knew?

He still couldn’t accept everything that had happened.

The manager waited for a long time but got no answer. He simply moved past that topic and said directly, “You better not mess with him. You have too many rivals. If this gets out and they get hold of this evidence, if you cause even the slightest stir, your resources in the fashion industry will be in trouble.”

Xue Jinshi paused before responding in a deep voice, “Don’t worry, Brother Qian. I won’t have a conflict with Chi Qingzhou. He saved me today. From now on, I won’t target him anymore.”

The manager was suspicious. “Really?”

He found it hard to believe based on Xue Jinshi’s previous actions.

When Chi Qingzhou first entered the industry, he hadn’t even released an MV, which technically didn’t even count as a formal debut. Yet, he had already been the target of much criticism and condemnation.

Many people had attacked his character, claiming he didn’t have any works, and it was obvious to anyone with eyes that this direction wasn’t normal.

There were suspicions that this situation had something to do with Chi Qingzhou’s family, but at that time, the actions of the Chi family were particularly discreet, so no one suspected them of secretly pushing things behind the scenes.

After searching through the industry, the one person who had been most obvious in causing this was Xue Jinshi, who had previously encouraged fans to stand up for Chi Qingning.

To say that Xue Jinshi wasn’t a good person wouldn’t be entirely true.

In fact, in many ways, he was a very loyal and good-hearted person.

He valued relationships and, because Chi Qingning had once helped him, he would often step up to help Chi Qingning without needing to be asked.

Those around him, from his manager to his assistant and many other regular staff, he would always have their backs when in trouble.

Even those he had never met, if they were in need, he would not hesitate to offer help.

He was the type of person who would do things driven by love or hatred, often helping friends and not necessarily what’s right, which led to many mistakes.

Like the issue with Chi Qingzhou.

Without understanding the truth, he had used his affection and care for Chi Qingning to secretly guide his fans to support Chi Qingning, against the company and his manager’s wishes.

The so-called “illegitimate child” rumors spread so widely and ridiculously because Xue Jinshi’s fans had been helping to spread them.

The people arranged by Chi Xiaoyuan only played a secondary role. The rumors had originally been contained within the elite circles, but when they reached the entertainment industry and even spread beyond, it was all thanks to the efforts of the little golden crows.

Not only that, but before Chi Qingzhou participated in the last episode of “Scenery Along the Way, several major forums had posts sympathetic to Chi Qingning from a passerby’s point of view, and they were all linked to Xiao Jinwu.

With this history, no matter how adamant Xue Jinshi was, the manager found it hard to trust his promises.

What troubled the manager the most wasn’t the potential conflict between Xue Jinshi and Chi Qingzhou, but the fact that if such a conflict did arise, the little golden crows would likely rally to defend Xue Jinshi, and the manager might not be able to control these fans.

The manager was well aware that Ding Sheng Entertainment’s management of fans was extreme. The fans they raised might not always be the most loyal, but they were definitely crazy.

When they liked a celebrity, they would spend money without a second thought and defend their idol without question.

They weren’t necessarily long-term fans, but when they decided to go all in, they would fight fiercely, looking for every weakness in their opponent to crush.

In daily life, they might have morals and boundaries, but once they were caught up in the group mentality of fans, all rationality would disappear.

Such fans were enough to scare a manager with a clear head.

And Xue Jinshi secretly directing his fans only made things worse.

If an artist didn’t intervene, fans might think they were protecting their idol in their own way, but once the artist became involved, that sense of pride and satisfaction would become real.

They would take pride in protecting their idol and be thrilled by the idol’s response, becoming immensely motivated.

From then on, even if the idol didn’t ask them to do anything, they would keep fighting for them, as they saw it as something rewarding.

The manager had already realized how difficult it was to reason with them. The only thing that reassured him was that tonight’s incident had been handled in time. Up until now, the fans hadn’t started a riot, which meant they likely hadn’t developed too much dissatisfaction.

He was planning to help Xue Jinshi better manage his fanbase later, concerned that Xue Jinshi might impulsively ruin the balance with Chi Qingzhou. After a lot of caution and reassurance, he finally hung up the phone.

Xue Jinshi felt exhausted from the manager’s constant chatter. He thought the manager was overthinking things and, feeling utterly tired and helpless, he returned to his room.

After being lectured by his manager all night, plus the fatigue from the day, he was beyond exhausted. He lay down on the bed and fell into a deep sleep without the energy to think about the walking corpse or the embarrassing events.

However, what neither he nor the manager knew was that that same night, many fans were choosing to stay awake to “protect their brother.”

…

At 2 a.m., in Xue Jinshi’s personal fan group, the group leader was busy urging the members.

【Has everyone got their materials ready? Remember to double-check before submitting, don’t let any mistakes slip through. Whether we can clear Xue Ge’s name depends on this wave at 11 tomorrow!】

The group members quickly posted a series of “1”s, indicating they had received the instructions.

A few fans responsible for creating the content discussed among themselves and asked in the group, 【We have both the full version and the simplified version ready, should we post them from different accounts? Maybe post the simplified version first to warm things up?】

Some fans agreed with this idea, while others thought it might dilute the attention. The discussion in the group grew heated.

Before they could reach a conclusion, a fan responsible for gathering materials suddenly posted a string of ” WTF” in the group, claiming to have some big news.

She sent a recording file to the group and typed excitedly, 【Guess who I ran into tonight at the Putao Terrace?】

【I ran into the director who was replaced from Scenery Along the Way! He said CQZ lied in the earliest solo interview, he actually admitted to wearing a genuine VN product! It’s so laughable! This guy is such a liar. He’s finished!】