The young man stood at a height of 180 centimeters, handsome and striking. His tea-brown dyed short hair accentuated his fair complexion, with a straight, distinguished nose and well-defined features. At first glance, he seemed like the aloof, hard-to-approach type.
Who would have thought he was actually a genuine extrovert?
As soon as he finished speaking, he shifted over and sat down beside Gu Nanci, instantly revealing a relieved expression as if a weight had been lifted. He looked up at the sky and sighed:
“The enemy of my enemy is my friend—the ancients truly didn’t deceive us!”
Gu Nanci: …Slowly raises a question mark.
Almost the moment the young man sat beside her, Gu Nanci keenly sensed a sudden surge of unfriendly gazes, shooting toward her from several directions.
On stage, the actress-host named Yin Yue aside.
In the audience, Si Chang was glaring at her with fiery eyes. After a second, he cast a complicated look at the young man who had moved beside her, then turned back to glare at her again with a darkened expression…
Wait, why was there another one… Gu Nanci lifted her gaze and met eyes with a young man sitting in the row behind Si Chang.
He was quite handsome too, arguably one of the two visual standouts in the production crew besides herself, rivaling the contrasting handsome guy beside her.
However, his gaze toward her wasn’t the undisguised hostility of the previous two, but rather… a thick, resentful accusation, as if he had been abandoned?
Gu Nanci: A bit speechless.
“I know you, Gu Nanci! Hey, let me introduce myself—I’m Wen Jiuyi!” The young man had a very cheerful personality, smiling as he nudged Gu Nanci with his shoulder in greeting.
Unexpectedly, Gu Nanci was surprisingly slender. Using the same force he usually did with his buddies, it felt like he had bumped into a piece of lightweight paper, almost knocking her over.
Wen Jiuyi panicked, fumbling to pull her back, only to see Gu Nanci look up expressionlessly and press down on his offending shoulder with one hand.
A paper-thin person, but with great strength.
The culprit, Wen Jiuyi, was subdued on the spot.
Wen Jiuyi flustered: “I-I-I… I can explain! I really didn’t mean it! I just didn’t expect—”
Gu Nanci sighed lightly: “…Forget it, it’s fine.”
“…Didn’t expect… your physique to be even weaker than a girl’s!” Wen Jiuyi shook his head and sighed.
Gu Nanci: “…”
She withdrew her hand casually in a second, switching to a death glare.
Wen Jiuyi: Suddenly felt a chill down his spine!
Wen Jiuyi swallowed hard, silently glanced at Gu Nanci’s hands as she clenched her fists, recalling her lightning-fast, martial artist-like speed and grip from earlier. With keen awareness, he quickly added:
“No, no, no! What I meant was… seeing is believing! Finally meeting you, bro, you’re just too handsome!”
This statement was quite sincere.
Wen Jiuyi directly experienced the overwhelming impact of Gu Nanci’s looks, inwardly clicking his tongue in admiration.
Goodness, with a face like that, who wouldn’t go crazy?
No wonder she’s so popular online—the term “pretty face” really isn’t an exaggeration!
Gu Nanci reluctantly accepted this, withdrawing her death glare and glancing pointedly at Si Chang in the distance. With a dignified tone, she asked, “Enemy?”
“…Smart, bro!” Wen Jiuyi slapped his thigh, finally finding someone to vent to. Without waiting for Gu Nanci to ask further, he poured out everything like beans from a bag:
“I’m so damn fed up! That Si Chang must be desperate to get famous! I’m straight! Straight! Isn’t it disgusting how he keeps dragging me into selling that ship all day? Can’t those CP fans see it? How can they even ship that?”
“Century-old reunited CP? Rekindling romance from trainee days? Come on, he and I weren’t even from the same company before, and we’ve never even met!”
“Thank goodness you have a feud with Si Chang, at least you can dodge that lunatic… Tsk, but Cheng Yang is doomed now. That guy’s next target is probably him. Oh well, better him than me. Amen, good luck to little Yang!” Wen Jiuyi clasped his hands together, looking as if he’d narrowly escaped disaster.
Gu Nanci remained expressionless on the surface, raising a slight eyebrow.
Si Chang glared fiercely at her a few times, and though he seemed reluctant to leave Wen Jiuyi, the thought of facing Gu Nanci—who disgusted him like a mouthful of flies—made him abandon the idea of approaching.
He said something to the person beside him, moved back a row, and sat right next to the guy who had just given Gu Nanci a resentful, accusing look.
No surprise, this was likely Cheng Yang, the one Wen Jiuyi had mentioned.
Wow! What a juicy scoop!
Gu Nanci’s eyes sparkled with interest, like a startled badger darting through a melon patch.
A boy band that doesn’t sell bromance might as well go home and sell sweet potatoes.
To get famous, you need a whole package of hype and rumors.
This Si Chang really has no real talent for being in a boy band, but he’s stacked all the wrong kinds of buffs!
“Ridiculous, right? You think it’s ridiculous too! I’ve never seen anyone so insane!” If it weren’t for the cameras, Wen Jiuyi would’ve been throwing punches on the spot.
Up front, Yin Yue was reading the show’s opening remarks and competition schedule.
An ice-cold beauty, her professional skills were just as icy. With a face praised by the internet for its authenticity but actually arrogant as hell, she coldly recited the teleprompter content without interacting with the audience at all.
But who could argue? She was the biggest star in the room. All the cameras were focused on her, and they didn’t dare pan to the audience’s reactions, afraid of casting a negative light on Yin Yue’s zero-skill, pure script-reading performance. They’d just fill in the gaps with footage from other sessions during the final edit.
As an industry veteran, Wen Jiuyi took one glance and understood the situation. He leaned back comfortably and started whispering.
“Gu Nanci, for the group showcase later, let’s team up!”
“Group? Isn’t it individual evaluations first?” Gu Nanci replied calmly.
“Tonight is individual, but there’s a group evaluation later. When that happens, let’s team up. Brother Wen will guarantee you a spot!” Wen Jiuyi confidently patted his chest.
“Is this payment for helping you dodge the CP?”
Wen Jiuyi’s face turned ashen. “…Don’t mention it. What CP? I don’t acknowledge it.”
“What’s in it for me if I help you?” Gu Nanci raised an eyebrow.
“Buddy, I’m ranked in the top three in skill, and you’re asking what’s in it for you? Guaranteed advancement! More screen time! Others would beg for this opportunity, and you’re actually—”
“Oh, it’s not like I don’t have those already,” Gu Nanci said nonchalantly.
“…Are you insane?!” Wen Jiuyi looked shocked. Everyone knew Gu Nanci’s actual skill level. If it weren’t for her massive, controversial black-and-red popularity, dik would never have invited her.
But from the moment Gu Nanci entered the show, her role was destined to be nothing more than promotional stepping stones for the Fire Debut Battle, used to stir up hype and then discarded once the buzz died down.
Wen Jiuyi believed this was a fair trade: he’d help Gu Nanci survive a few more rounds, and she’d help him fend off that disgusting lunatic Si Chang.
Besides, with one of them skilled and popular and the other controversially infamous, neither would be accused of riding the other’s coattails.
He just never expected Gu Nanci to be such a clueless fool.
Wen Jiuyi’s expression darkened slightly. His initial favorable impression of Gu Nanci diminished, yet he was even more unwilling to be pestered by Si Chang again. Helplessly, he said:
“Alright, what else do you want? Don’t push your luck!”
When it came to idols, what they usually asked for was nothing more than the center position on stage, the distribution of parts, or, going even further, insisting on inserting a solo song or dance to showcase themselves—caring only about personal prominence rather than the team’s overall effect.
With a vase like Gu Nanci, Wen Jiuyi could already imagine what a trainwreck the stage performance would turn into! He couldn’t help but regret his earlier words about carrying the team.
However, just as Wen Jiuyi was feeling uneasy inside, he suddenly heard something that made him question himself.
Gu Nanci, without changing his expression, said with utmost audacity, “My cafeteria meal expenses for the next week.”
Wen Jiuyi: …???