Ji Xing sat on the long bench for quite a while before the sharp pain in his lower abdomen finally subsided.
Whether he was exhausted from rehearsing with Qin Yi or something else was going on, he felt utterly drained at the moment and walked back toward the rehearsal room with heavy, lifeless steps. To prevent the various groups from disturbing one another, the practice rooms were spaced quite far apart, and by the time Ji Xing walked back from Pei Yun’s studio, a fine layer of sweat had beaded across his forehead.
Reaching the exterior of his own training room, he had to lean against the wall to catch his breath for a moment.
“What’s wrong?” A familiar voice suddenly sounded from behind him.
Ji Xing instinctively turned around to look, meeting He Mingchen’s gaze filled with quiet concern.
Perhaps his complexion looked truly dreadful, because He Mingchen instinctively reached out and gripped his wrist. The warmth of the man’s hand radiated through the skin of his wrist, helping some color return to Ji Xing’s pale face.
“Teacher He, I’m fine, maybe just a bit of low blood sugar.”
Ji Xing couldn’t quite figure out what was wrong with him today either, as he had never experienced such a condition before.
If he blamed it on the rehearsal with Qin Yi, that didn’t make much sense since his usual physical activity levels were far higher than this. Even after being shoved twice by Qin Yi, he shouldn’t have reacted this violently; he wasn’t made of paper, after all.
The only logical explanation Ji Xing could come up with was low blood sugar.
“Come with me.”
Wrapping one arm around his shoulders, He Mingchen half-carried him over to his personal lounge.
“Teacher He…” Ji Xing originally wanted to say there was no need to trouble him, but his weak, breathless tone ended up sounding remarkably like he was acting spoiled. He Mingchen’s breath caught for a second, and the movements of his hand softened considerably on their own accord.
“Try eating a piece of chocolate. If you’re still feeling unwell, I’ll call the medical staff over to take a look.” He Mingchen unwrapped a piece of chocolate and popped it straight into Ji Xing’s mouth. In a daze, Ji Xing nibbled on the sweet, his lips accidentally brushing against the man’s fingertips, which caused He Mingchen to jerk his hand back in surprise.
Perhaps the chocolate finally took effect, or maybe lying flat on the sofa helped alleviate his exhaustion, but Ji Xing’s pale complexion gradually regained some warmth, and his breathing steadied noticeably.
Standing quietly off to the side, He Mingchen let his gaze rest openly on Ji Xing. The young man’s eyes were tightly shut, and the stray locks of hair across his forehead were slightly damp with sweat, making him look frail and innocent, entirely different from his usual cautious demeanor.
Ji Xing slept for quite a stretch. When he finally woke up, he found himself still resting inside He Mingchen’s lounge while Xiao Lin stood guard nearby.
“You’re finally awake.” Xiao Lin handed him a cup of warm water and added, “Teacher He asked the medics to check on you, and after they confirmed you were just sleeping, he had me stay here to watch over you.”
Ji Xing sat up, feeling a bit dazed since he couldn’t even remember how he had managed to get here.
“How on earth did you end up with low blood sugar out of nowhere?”
“Maybe I didn’t eat enough earlier?”
Ji Xing couldn’t explain what was wrong with him either, but after getting a solid nap, his body felt completely recovered without a single trace of lingering discomfort. Seeing him lively again, Xiao Lin finally let out a sigh of relief and resolved to strictly monitor his meals from then on.
That afternoon, He Mingchen gave Ji Xing the rest of the day off, telling him to head back to the hotel to rest.
Once back in his room, Xiao Lin pulled up the live stream playback, letting Ji Xing discover that his guest appearance in Pei Yun’s group had actually won him a wave of favorable public opinion.
“That Qin Yi completely outsmarted himself. He thought that by messing with you, he could win over the viewers who already hated you, but what a pipe dream. The audience isn’t stupid; why would they blindly follow his lead?” Xiao Lin looked rather gleeful watching Qin Yi get dragged in the comments.
“He’s never really liked me much,” Ji Xing remarked.
Back during the safety training incident, Qin Yi was the one who had taken the lead in pointing fingers at him.
“Teacher Pei is actually pretty decent too. After you left, he made Qin Yi run the falling scene twenty times in a row, and the bullet chat was just rows of haha.” Xiao Lin even screen-recorded that segment to show Ji Xing, adding, “Look at how that jerk fell, he’s probably bruised all over.”
Later, Ji Xing checked Weibo and found that almost nobody in the show’s topic discussions was cursing him anymore. Only a few isolated voices criticized him for being too soft and letting people bully him without fighting back. However, other viewers quickly stepped up to defend him, pointing out that if he had fought back under those circumstances, he would have been the one catching all the flak.
After all, prior to today, Ji Xing’s reputation on the show had been abysmal.
That evening, Pei Yun originally wanted to drag Ji Xing and He Mingchen out for a meal, only to learn at the last minute that Ji Xing had already returned to the hotel. If He Mingchen hadn’t stopped him, he would have dragged the kid out no matter what.
Pei Yun was a relatively straightforward person. Today, he had asked Ji Xing for a favor, only for his own trainee’s poor character to bully the helper. As a mentor, he naturally felt a deep sense of guilt.
“That jerk Qin Yi has no professional ethics. He pushed Xiao Ji around last time and pulled this bullying stunt right in front of my face today, always picking on soft targets. And that little snail of yours too, why is he so docile? Getting bullied like that and not even knowing how to fight back,” Pei Yun complained.
Hearing this, He Mingchen furrowed his brows and asked, “Qin Yi bullied him today?”
“Huh? Didn’t he come back and complain to you?” Pei Yun looked genuinely surprised.
“He didn’t say a word,” He Mingchen replied.
“This silly kid…” Pei Yun felt even more embarrassed now.
Pulling out his phone, he brought up a video clip. Before today’s live broadcast had even concluded, netizens had already clipped the footage of Qin Yi bullying Ji Xing and sent it trending on the hot searches. Pei Yun hadn’t known about what happened at the start, but after watching the clip, his blood boiled with rage, and he had nearly kicked Qin Yi out of the group on the spot.
Watching the video, He Mingchen’s brows drew tighter and tighter.
The first half of the video showed Ji Xing patiently helping Qin Yi run his lines over and over again, complete with subtitle markers added by the uploader tracking every single repetition. As the count climbed higher and higher, Qin Yi’s intentional sabotage became increasingly blatant.
The second half captured the moment Qin Yi shoved him down during the scene. One segment had been slowed down by the editor, making Ji Xing’s slender figure look almost as if he were flying through the air before crashing heavily onto the ground.
The edited video lasted only a few minutes, but throughout it all, Ji Xing maintained absolute focus and dedication to the rehearsal, showing no signs of perfunctory behavior even after realizing Qin Yi’s malicious intent.
Accustomed to seeing Ji Xing’s usual cautious and timid behavior, this was the first time He Mingchen had witnessed this side of him. Even though he had been bullied, there was nothing pathetic about his demeanor, projecting instead a strong sense of quiet resilience and stubborn grit.
“His temper is just too good,” Pei Yun evaluated.
“He is simply taking things seriously and refuses to half-ass his work,” He Mingchen countered, his tone carrying an unmistakable edge of protectiveness.
Returning the phone to Pei Yun without another word, He Mingchen felt a sharp, cutting edge settle deep within his gaze.
That night, just as Ji Xing had finished showering and was getting ready for bed, a knock sounded at his door.
Opening it while wrapped in a bathrobe, he was stunned to find He Mingchen standing outside.
“My assistant ordered some hot drinks, but I don’t care for sweet things. Do you want this?” He Mingchen asked, holding out a warm beverage to Ji Xing.
“Thank you, Teacher He.” Not declining, Ji Xing accepted the warm drink from the other man.
“Is your body feeling better?”
“Much better, thank you, Teacher He.”
“Is ‘thank you’ all you have to say?” He Mingchen asked.
“I… um.” Ji Xing bit his lower lip, looking rather cornered.
He Mingchen had originally felt a bit stifled with frustration, but seeing that expression wiped away his temper instantly. Waving a hand dismissively, he turned back toward his own room.
Ji Xing opened the drink and took a sip, discovering to his surprise that it was jujube tea, meant for replenishing vital energy and blood. He felt a bit puzzled, thinking to himself that He Mingchen certainly didn’t look like someone deficient in energy and blood, so why would his assistant order something like this?
It seemed Teacher He’s assistant wasn’t very attentive after all.
Early the next morning, Ji Xing woke up a bit late, quickly swallowed a few bites of breakfast, and hurried out of the hotel. To his surprise, he bumped into He Mingchen right at the entrance, who invited him to ride along in his car.
Ji Xing never dared to refuse He Mingchen, so he obediently climbed inside. The interior space was confined, and sitting in the back seat allowed him to clearly catch that familiar, subtle woody fragrance lingering around He Mingchen, which smelled wonderfully soothing.
“The jujube tea last night tasted really good…” Ji Xing intended to express his gratitude, but remembering He Mingchen’s words from the previous night, he hurriedly swallowed the word “thanks” back down.
Hearing that, He Mingchen casually remarked, “If you like it, I can have someone order it for you every day from now on.”
“I didn’t mean it like that,” Ji Xing rushed to clarify.
“Were you bullied at school when you were little?” He Mingchen changed the subject.
“Sometimes, especially in elementary school. I had fair skin and liked wearing pink clothes, so they always teased me about it.”
Imagining a tiny version of Ji Xing dressed in pink, He Mingchen couldn’t help raising an eyebrow. “And what did you do? Did you fight back?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
Ji Xing thought about it for a moment without answering.
“When children get bullied, if they don’t fight back, the bullies only become worse.”
“But I couldn’t beat them, I had no strength when I was small,” Ji Xing said.
“You could find backup. You might not have been able to beat them, but you always had people around who knew how to fight,” He Mingchen coaxed patiently. “When you’re being bullied and can’t take it anymore, you can always tell an adult.”
“Mhm,” Ji Xing gave an ambiguous, muffled response.
Turning his head, He Mingchen caught the sight of the person beside him stealthily stuffing something into his mouth and chewing with utmost caution.
Noticing He Mingchen’s gaze, Ji Xing instantly froze with his cheeks puffed out, biting his lip in awkward embarrassment. After suffering from low blood sugar the day before, Xiao Lin had stayed up late buying a mountain of snacks so he could nibble on something whenever he needed. Coincidentally, he hadn’t eaten enough breakfast that morning, so feeling a bit hungry, he had sneaked a bite, never expecting to get caught red-handed.
“I felt a bit dizzy from hunger, so I just had a little piece,” Ji Xing whispered in self-defense.
He wasn’t lying; for the past two days, for reasons unknown, he had felt constantly ravenous.
He Mingchen’s gaze lingered on his puffed-up cheeks for a moment before asking in a low voice, “Is it good?”
“Yeah.” Instinctively, Ji Xing offered the peanut crisp he was holding out toward He Mingchen. “Would you like to try one?”
Hesitating for just a second, He Mingchen leaned forward and bit the peanut crisp right out of his hand.
Ji Xing suddenly felt a trace of warmth against his fingertips, and by the time he registered what had happened, the crisp was already gone.
Ji Xing: ……