Ji Xing tapped on Pei Yun’s attached image to take a closer look, realizing that the photo had been captured precisely at the moment He Mingchen was picking out a piece of cake for his plate. At the time, he hadn’t thought much of the gesture, but looking back now, it did seem a bit overly intimate.
Logically speaking, the kind of relationship he shared with He Mingchen was not one where they would eat food straight from each other’s plates.
“Ji-ge, I see the comment section guessing everywhere. Why don’t you just use your main account to reply in Teacher Pei’s comment section and claim it? Once the general public knows you and Teacher He are on good terms, the previous misunderstandings might just clear right up,” Xiao Lin suggested, offering an idea.
“Wouldn’t that look like I’m riding on their coattails for clout?”
And on top of that, riding the coattails of both a Best Actor and a TV Emperor all at once.
“It should be fine, right?” Xiao Lin said.
“I don’t want to chase their clout, let’s just leave it.”
People in the comment section were still speculating about the identity of the figure seen from behind in the photo, and while a few individuals occasionally guessed Ji Xing, they were quickly dismissed by others. In the minds of many, Ji Xing had offended both He Mingchen and Pei Yun, so how could the two of them possibly be on such close terms with him?
Ji Xing casually scrolled through the comments a bit more before handing his phone back to Xiao Lin, instructing him firmly not to get involved in the matter whatsoever.
In the span of just two days, Ji Xing had first endured being brutally berated by netizens, only for his public reputation to undergo a near-complete reversal because of a single photo. By this point, he had grown indifferent to these discussions, understanding that with his status, he shouldn’t overly obsess over such fleeting perceptions and empty fame.
Meanwhile.
He Mingchen and Pei Yun were drinking in the media room of their suite.
On the large screen in the media room, several performance clips that He Mingchen had copied from the production team were playing, and the one the two of them were currently watching belonged to Ji Xing.
“This little snail just suffered losses from not knowing how to speak prettily. From now on, as long as our fans don’t gang up on him, it should be fine,” Pei Yun muttered, swiping a few times through Weibo’s comment section before remarking, “Come to think of it, it’s pretty strange. People used to love sincere folks, even if their words sometimes sounded a bit harsh, listeners didn’t get offended so easily. For some reason, nowadays people seem to prefer those who know how to say pretty things, regardless of whether it’s true or false, as long as the words sound nice enough to keep people happy.”
On the day of the auditions, Ji Xing had chosen the other three mentors during his interview, and Pei Yun had jokingly dragged He Mingchen along to mock how the two of them had been rejected, though in reality, he hadn’t felt the slightest bit displeased. Neither of them had expected that casual joke to get edited into the main episode and draw so much abuse toward Ji Xing.
“Is that why you learned how to speak so nicely?” He Mingchen teased.
“I was born with a sweet tooth, unlike you. Remember how many people cursed you the year you won your award? Don’t tell me you forgot,” Pei Yun retorted, trying to rile him up.
Hearing that, He Mingchen didn’t even bother to pick up the thread of the conversation.
“Dare to make a bet with me?” Pei Yun suddenly grew interested.
“What are you betting on? Betting on when I’ll get cursed at next?”
“No, betting on whether that little snail can learn to speak prettily next time.”
“Are you sure you want to bet?” He Mingchen asked.
“I bet he learns by next week.”
“Then you’re definitely going to lose.”
Fearing that He Mingchen might try to back out of it, Pei Yun handwrote the bet right on the spot and even made He Mingchen sign it.
The Weibo incident that day sparked fierce discussions among fans, but since Ji Xing had turned off his phone and refused to look, it had zero impact on him.
Two days later, the production team adjusted the content of the show once again, adding a live broadcast channel alongside the regular weekly recorded episodes. The first stage of live broadcasting consisted of group streams, with each of the five groups streaming for a full day, while the second stage would be a real-time live broadcast of the reporting performance.
Ji Xing hadn’t been assigned a script for this stage, so he wasn’t particularly nervous.
To his surprise, on the very first day of the live broadcasts, Pei Yun suddenly showed up at their group’s practice room to borrow someone from He Mingchen. He explained that one of the trainees in his group had suffered from heatstroke and kept vomiting, making it impossible to continue rehearsals, and he wanted to ask Ji Xing, the only member across all five groups with no scenes, to come over and help out with blocking and reading lines.
He Mingchen looked over at Ji Xing with a questioning gaze. Assuming the other was just asking him to help out, Ji Xing didn’t refuse.
A few minutes later, Ji Xing’s figure appeared inside Pei Yun’s group live stream.
The bullet chat instantly exploded:
[They said they were looking for someone to help, but they didn’t say it was him!]
[With so many trainees around, couldn’t they find someone else?]
[Isn’t this the guy who used to give Pei Yun attitude?]
[Makes me not even want to watch. Can we switch people?]
Though Ji Xing couldn’t see the live comments, his mood wasn’t much better, because the moment he arrived, he discovered that the partner Pei Yun wanted him to help out with was none other than Qin Yi. This was the exact trainee who had led the charge against Ji Xing back during the safety training incident.
Qin Yi’s group was performing a wuxia drama. Fortunately, the trainee suffering from heatstroke didn’t have any action scenes, though the spatial choreography was quite complex. At the beginning of the scene, Ji Xing needed to execute the choreography alone, deliver a string of lines, and then have Qin Yi step onto the stage to take over.
Ji Xing had a sharp memory and high comprehension; after running through the script a few times, he had pretty much found the right state of mind. Pei Yun watched him run through it once and, seeing that the results were decent, told him to stay and partner with Qin Yi while he went off to mentor another group.
Perhaps seeing how naturally Pei Yun and Ji Xing interacted, the wind direction in the live chat shifted slightly:
[I think Brother Pei looks quite close talking with his hand on his shoulder, hey.]
[Didn’t he offend Pei Yun?]
[Why does this back view look kind of familiar?]
[Could that back view in Brother Pei’s Weibo post be him?]
[Oh my god, it really does look a bit like him.]
[Is it really him or not? Experts, please explain!]
The chat was fiercely debating Ji Xing’s identity, while Ji Xing himself remained entirely oblivious, focusing intently on matching lines.
The entire sequence of their scene took about five or six minutes, and the first minute consisted almost entirely of Ji Xing’s solo blocking. He helped run this portion to assist Qin Yi in locking onto the rhythm.
However, after running through the scene twice in a row, Ji Xing gradually began to sense a problem.
Under normal circumstances, once he finished the opening choreography, the rest belonged to Qin Yi’s performance. Yet every single time he finished the first part, whenever it was Qin Yi’s turn to pick up the cue, he would either rush it, drag it out, or mess up his lines.
Because of this, Ji Xing had to restart the opening sequence over and over. In the span of just ten minutes, Ji Xing had already walked through the opening six or seven times, while Qin Yi kept claiming he couldn’t find his zone. By this point, forget about Ji Xing, even the viewers watching the live stream could tell something was off.
[Is Qin Yi trying to teach this kid a lesson for Brother Pei?]
[Teaching him a lesson is good, takes him down a peg from being so arrogant.]
[Is there any chance Brother Pei actually gets along with him quite well?]
[Didn’t you guys see him putting an arm around his shoulder just now?]
At first, a portion of the audience in the chat was cheering Qin Yi on, but gradually, more and more people began to realize something wasn’t right.
[I feel like this little brother has a really nice temper, you know.]
[Nice temper? He’s even a bit clumsy.]
[It’s so hard to connect him with that annoying guy from the first episode.]
[If we’re talking about annoying, Qin Yi is the truly irritating one here.]
[Right? Someone came to help him out, what is his deal?]
Actually, you couldn’t entirely blame the audience for swaying with the wind. Ji Xing’s appearance and demeanor were simply too obedient and docile. In edited finished episodes, production teams could use editing tricks to smear him a little. But under a live camera lens, the moment he stood there, it was genuinely difficult for anyone to generate negative feelings toward him.
Especially when facing Qin Yi, his reactions and expressions couldn’t possibly be faked, otherwise, his acting skills would be god-tier. With Qin Yi acting as a direct foil right beside him, his whole vibe of gentle compliance was practically maxed out.
“Are you doing this on purpose?” After being forced to accompany Qin Yi through the opening nearly ten times, Ji Xing couldn’t help asking.
“I just made a mistake, I’m really sorry. If you don’t want to practice with me anymore, I can do it myself, I won’t trouble you,” Qin Yi said.
Ji Xing wasn’t stupid; of course he knew Qin Yi was doing it intentionally. Yet he wasn’t great at talking back or knowing how to retort, so to save face for Pei Yun, he swallowed his frustration and said, “I’ll accompany you through it one last time, just don’t mess up this time.”
Even with Ji Xing phrasing it as reasonably as that, it already sounded pitiable enough. To everyone’s surprise, instead of showing any remorse, Qin Yi actually pulled a face behind his back as he turned away. Ji Xing couldn’t see that face, but the viewers in the live stream caught it in crystal-clear detail.
In that single instant, the chat underwent a massive 180-degree reversal:
[Regardless of what Ji Xing is like, this guy named Qin Yi is genuinely repulsive.]
[Putting myself in the worker’s shoes, my fists are clenching.]
[Does this dude actually think he looks cool?]
[Bullying an honest person, is this workplace bullying?]
Human emotions tended to operate this way; the moment a more detestable person appeared, the previously disliked person suddenly looked a lot more agreeable. Riled up by Qin Yi’s antics, the audience collectively began to sympathize with Ji Xing, and quite a few people started speaking up in his defense.
[Since he’s chosen by the Best Actor, I’m siding with Ji Xing.]
[I feel like offending the Best Actor and TV Emperor was just a gimmick cooked up by the show production team.]
[If he really offended them, would they even give him the time of day?]
[Did everyone forget about their infamous god-tier editing?]
[Smearing guests to drive up topics isn’t a new trick for them.]
Amidst the discussion, Pei Yun finally reappeared in the live stream. This time, Qin Yi caught Ji Xing’s opening cues with absolute precision, finally running through the entire scene from start to finish.
As the scene concluded, Ji Xing had to perform a scripted fall where he got pushed down. Qin Yi held back zero strength when shoving him, sending Ji Xing stumbling far away. Once the scene ended, Qin Yi immediately put on a hypocritical front, hurrying over to check on Ji Xing while offering a nonstop stream of fake apologies.
By this point, the public sentiment in the live broadcast room had completely flipped.
Qin Yi had indeed acted deliberately today because he knew Ji Xing’s public reputation was terrible and wanted to ride the wave to gain some fans. However, he wildly overestimated his own influence and grossly underestimated the audience’s ability to discern right from wrong.
Earlier, the audience had berated Ji Xing because of the production team’s deliberate guidance. Inside the live stream, stripped of editing filters and narrative framing, right and wrong were plain for the audience to judge naturally.
“Let’s wrap it up for today.”
After Ji Xing accompanied Qin Yi through the complete scene twice, Pei Yun actively called a halt to the rehearsal. Outwardly boisterous, Pei Yun was actually exceptionally observant, how could he possibly miss Qin Yi’s petty little tricks?
“You’ve worked hard. Later on, I’ll have you bring your Teacher He along, and I’ll treat you to something good,” Pei Yun said before personally escorting Ji Xing out of the training room. “Let me walk you back.”
“Thank you, Teacher Pei, I can walk back by myself,” Ji Xing said.
With a belly full of accumulated anger and eager to go back and discipline his trainees, Pei Yun didn’t insist further.
After Pei Yun walked back inside, Ji Xing leaned against the corridor wall for a few steps before pressing a hand against his lower abdomen and sitting down on the long bench in the hallway. Perhaps he had taken a bad hit when Qin Yi shoved him down earlier, but right now, his lower abdomen felt faintly sore and achy, and even his complexion had turned somewhat pale.