Ji Xing never expected He Mingchen to eat directly from his hand. By the time he registered what had happened, a bright blush had rapidly spread across his cheeks. His face remained flushed all the way until they reached the training room.
If anyone else had done this, the gesture might have struck him as merely surprising. Yet the person in question was He Mingchen, and since they had recently shared the most intimate of encounters, any physical contact between them inevitably triggered involuntary memories of that night.
He couldn’t resist stealing a sideways glance, only to find He Mingchen’s expression entirely neutral as he discussed something with the group trainees. It turned out he was the only one overthinking things the entire way, and perhaps the man had simply taken a bite from his hand to avoid getting oil from the peanut crisp on his fingers.
With that thought, Ji Xing quickly dismissed all those messy, scattered stray thoughts.
After arriving at the site today, He Mingchen only gave the trainees a few brief instructions before retiring to his private lounge. The individual lounge featured a large screen that displayed real-time footage from inside the rehearsal room.
As He Mingchen’s teaching assistant, Ji Xing naturally stayed behind in the lounge as well.
Perhaps growing accustomed to He Mingchen’s frantic work tempo over the past few days, Ji Xing found it somewhat disorienting to suddenly slow down, and he didn’t truly start to relax until the afternoon. He Mingchen remained glued to his computer screen, engrossed either in script reading or handling other work-related tasks.
Not daring to disturb him, Ji Xing quietly settled onto the nearby sofa to wait. The coffee table in front of the sofa was piled high with various snacks and fruits, and after staring at them for a while, Ji Xing found his hands growing restless.
Oddly enough, he had never been much of a foodie before, yet his appetite over the past two days had turned astonishingly voracious. He felt perpetually starved, craving whatever food caught his eye.
Stealing a quick glance at He Mingchen and confirming the man wasn’t looking, Ji Xing carefully picked out a piece of chocolate from the tray. The chocolate possessed an exceptional texture, melting instantly on his tongue with a rich jam filling inside. Yet after consuming a single piece, the gnawing hunger in his stomach not only failed to subside but instead flared up with even greater intensity.
Consequently, he quietly reached for a second piece, followed by a third.
The tray held a wide array of snacks, and fearing he might polish off all the chocolate, Ji Xing switched to sampling other items.
The afternoon stretched on indefinitely. Ji Xing nibbled away here and there, failing to fill his stomach while successfully filling the trash can past the halfway mark with empty food wrappers. Staring down at the colorful wrappers packed inside the bin, he felt a mix of awkwardness and creeping guilt.
Granted, the production team had provided those snacks specifically for people to eat, but he never anticipated consuming such a massive quantity without realizing it.
Ji Xing gently pressed down on the contents inside with his hand, only to find that the fluffy, voluminous wrappers quickly rebounded and expanded back upward once released. Staring at the overflowing trash can for a long moment, then casting another furtive look toward He Mingchen, he ultimately arrived at a bizarre decision.
He tied up the opening of the garbage bag, lifted it out, and resolved to dispose of it outside. While the wrappers looked bulky, once compressed they took up very little space, meaning he could casually slip them into any hallway trash can without a soul ever knowing.
Lifting the bag stuffed with wrappers and using his body to shield He Mingchen’s line of sight, Ji Xing pretended to stand up for a trip to the restroom. Just as success seemed within his grasp and he had already cleared the doorway of the lounge, he collided straight into Pei Yun right outside.
“What are you doing?” Pei Yun asked, looking at the bag in his hand with a deeply perplexed expression.
“Teacher Pei, I am just taking out some trash.” Just as Ji Xing hurried to offer an explanation, Pei Yun grabbed him by the shoulder and hauled him right back inside the lounge.
Seated within, He Mingchen lifted his gaze toward the pair, his eyes lingering on the bag in Ji Xing’s hand for a brief second. Breaking out in a cold sweat, Ji Xing desperately wished a hole would open up in the floor so he could crawl right into it.
Half-jokingly, Pei Yun directed a questioning complaint at He Mingchen. “Aren’t you taking things a bit too far? Asking Xiao Ji to serve as your teaching assistant is already pushing it, but now you’re making him do chores like this? Do you throw out your own trash, or does the production team lack cleaning staff?”
Putting on a brave face, Ji Xing rushed to clarify, “Teacher Pei, it is not what you think.”
“You are still covering for him?” Pei Yun wore an expression of profound exasperation. “Stop serving this ruthless exploiter. Come over to my group instead. I will kick Qin Yi out and give his role to you, how about that?”
“Thank you, Teacher Pei, but really, it is not what you think.”
“Think nothing of it, it is settled then.”
Pei Yun snatched the bag straight out of Ji Xing’s hand. “I will toss this out for you on my way, no need to thank me.” Right before stepping out, a wave of curiosity struck him, prompting him to bring the bag closer for a quick peek before murmuring casually, “My, you certainly eat a lot. Remarkable appetite.”
Ji Xing: ……
He might as well just be put out of his misery.
“Almost forgot the main reason I came back.” Sticking his head back through the doorway, Pei Yun addressed He Mingchen, “The second episode is about to air, and Teacher Zhang suggested everyone watch it together. Tonight in my suite, make sure you show up.”
“Alright,” He Mingchen replied indifferently.
“Bring the little snail along too.”
With that final remark, Pei Yun finally departed, leaving Ji Xing standing there as he seemingly muttered another parting comment through the door frame: “Eats so much!”
Rooted to the spot, Ji Xing felt his entire face burn a fiery crimson from sheer embarrassment.
He was currently consumed by intense regret, unable to fathom why his cravings had gone completely off the rails today.
Just as he stood there completely at a loss, He Mingchen’s voice suddenly broke the silence: “Which of these non-sweet ones tastes good?”
Startled, it took Ji Xing a moment to process the question. He walked over to the table and picked out a piece of dried meat jerky from the tray. “This one is not sweet.”
“Let me try some.” He Mingchen extended a hand toward him.
Handing over the jerky, Ji Xing watched as the man immediately unwrapped and tasted a piece.
“Not bad,” He Mingchen remarked, picking up two more packets of the exact same jerky from the tray before adding, “I will keep these, the rest of the snacks belong to you.”
Ji Xing felt a bit dazed. He distinctly recalled that He Mingchen never touched snacks; back on their film sets, any treats prepared for the crew were always handed out by the actor to everyone else, and Ji Xing had received plenty of them himself in the past.
Still, He Mingchen’s casual diversion successfully defused the heavy awkwardness in the room. Fearing the Best Actor might not have enough, Ji Xing selected two more bags of nuts from the tray and handed those over as well.
Gazing down at the nuts in his palm, He Mingchen felt the corners of his lips curve upward of their own accord.
That evening, Ji Xing accompanied He Mingchen over to Pei Yun’s suite. He originally wanted to avoid the gathering, but He Mingchen mentioned that work-related matters might come up for discussion, requiring his assistance to take notes.
True to his usual meticulous approach toward his duties as an assistant, Ji Xing obediently tagged along.
All five mentors were present that evening, accompanied by a few assistants and managers, leaving Ji Xing as the sole trainee in attendance. Perhaps intimidated by He Mingchen’s imposing aura, the others offered only superficial, polite greetings and paid him little further attention, leaving Pei Yun as the only one who occasionally tossed out a teasing remark to lighten the mood.
Having suffered psychological trauma from the first episode, Ji Xing felt immense anxiety upon learning they were about to watch the second installment. He had no idea how the production team planned to edit his footage this time around, and watching himself alongside so many mentors would undoubtedly turn incredibly awkward if another hit-job editing happened.
“Just watch casually. If you feel tired later, you can head back to rest early.” Sitting down right beside Ji Xing, He Mingchen casually handed over a warm beverage. Expressing his gratitude, Ji Xing took a sip of the drink and discovered to his surprise that it was jujube tea.
He had half-expected beer or something similar, so finding that Pei Yun actually served jujube tea to his guests struck him as genuinely miraculous.
After the group chatted idly for a bit, the broadcast officially commenced.
The second episode showcased the post-grouping rehearsal conditions across all five teams, covering the selection and assignment of performance pieces as well as behind-the-scenes daily clips from the early stages of practice.
The moment the broadcast started, Ji Xing kept his eyes glued to the live comment stream, terrified someone might suddenly pop up to curse him. Yet after several minutes passed, not a single mention of him appeared.
When the segment shifted to the group assignments under He Mingchen, the broadcast retained the exact moment He Mingchen picked his assistant. Because Ji Xing failed to raise his hand, he somehow wound up as the Best Actor’s assistant by sheer fluke, prompting Pei Yun to nearly choke on his own laughter the moment the scene played out.
The bullet chat during this sequence remained relatively normal, with several viewers even expressing sympathy for him:
[Looks exactly like me when I don’t raise my hand in class yet get called out by the teacher anyway.]
[Why do I feel like the Best Actor did that on purpose?]
[Putting myself in the worker’s shoes, I am already starting to emo.]
The team assignment segments lasted only a few minutes before the broadcast transitioned into formal rehearsals.
When the screen shifted to Pei Yun’s team, a wave of hostile comments directed at Qin Yi flooded the chat, especially when viewers watched Qin Yi execute his partner’s cues with absolute precision, triggering intense reactions:
[Didn’t he catch those cues just fine?]
[Why did he fail to catch a single one when working with Ji Xing?]
[This was filmed right after grouping, days earlier than the live stream.]
[This guy could pull off the cues on day one, but after a week of practice he suddenly forgot how?]
At this point, the audience conclusively determined that Qin Yi had intentionally made things difficult for Ji Xing during the live stream.
While the abuse directed at Ji Xing in the first episode stemmed from deliberate editorial framing, the backlash hitting Qin Yi today arose from a completely different context. Having watched both the live broadcast and the current episode, the audience felt fully justified in tearing Qin Yi apart.
Some viewers who had previously cursed Ji Xing in the first episode even transferred their guilt directly into burning anger, venting it entirely on Qin Yi.
Ji Xing was not someone who held onto grudges for long, so watching Qin Yi take heat didn’t bring him any particular joy. Realizing he wouldn’t be subjected to online abuse tonight, he shifted his focus entirely back to the show itself, hoping to study the performances of the other teams and pick up a few acting tips along the way.
Past the halfway mark of the episode, the focus turned to the daily training footage of He Mingchen’s team.
Among the mythical-creature group members, Chen Feng, playing the scholar character, kept struggling to find the proper character state, prompting He Mingchen to step in and demonstrate personally. The moment that announcement dropped, everyone in the media room perked up with rapt attention, realizing this marked the first time any mentor had opted for a live, in-person demonstration of an entire scene.
Initially, seeing He Mingchen call upon Ji Xing to partner with him for the demonstration didn’t surprise anyone. It wasn’t until they realized He Mingchen was demonstrating the role of the fox demon that gasps echoed through the room.
The person struggling with his state was Chen Feng, meaning logically He Mingchen should have demonstrated the scholar role for him. Instead, the actor took the opposite route, portraying the fox demon himself while guiding Ji Xing through the scholar role.
When the fox demon played by He Mingchen pinned the panicked scholar down onto the floor, the comment stream instantly vanished beneath a wall of screaming [Ahhhh] symbols, forcing Pei Yun to manually adjust the real-time comment density filter just so they could still see the screen.
This sequence generated wild excitement not just among the viewers in the bullet chat, but even among the veteran mentors present in the room.
While the Best Actor He Mingchen boasted an extensive filmography, portraying a paranoid and seductive fox demon marked a first for him. The high-tension dynamic combined with his exquisite acting chops delivered an intoxicating audiovisual feast for audiences and fellow actors alike.
Even more impressive was how rookie trainee Ji Xing managed to catch and hold his ground against He Mingchen’s performance.
The little scholar shook with absolute terror, his reddened eyes shimmering with moisture as if the fox demon might crush the life out of him at any second. Guided by He Mingchen’s momentum, his emotional transitions hit every required beat with precision, portraying the scholar’s fear, helplessness, and even a hidden, tangled undercurrent of affection.
Minor flaws aside, the brilliance vastly outweighed any imperfections.
“Ah, I am almost regretting not recruiting him,” Teacher Zhang sighed with genuine regret.
“I am the one with true vision, it is just a pity Old He snatched him away right from under my nose,” Pei Yun joked.
Laughter erupted around the room, their tones brimming with genuine appreciation for Ji Xing.
Meanwhile, Ji Xing sat quietly tucked away in the corner, his ears turning so red they looked ready to bleed.
While he had initially watched the plot unfold calmly since he had previously reviewed the playback with He Mingchen, that prior version featured only a single camera angle. The officially broadcast version seamlessly integrated footage from multiple camera angles across the set, complete with soaring background music.
What proved fatal were the intricate close-up shots. When the fox demon pinned him to the floor, the editing cut to a shot of He Mingchen pinning down his wrists, followed immediately by a close-up of his own flushed eyes. As the entangled struggle played out on screen, alternating close-ups tracked his straining wrists, the subtle bobbing of He Mingchen’s throat, and even the angle where his ankle was trapped beneath the other’s weight…
Naturally, he could accept all of that since the original dynamic between the fox demon and the scholar in the script was fundamentally a romance story.
What brought ultimate mortification, however, were the comments flooding the screen:
[This size difference has my heart]
[Do you dare make this forced romance happen?]
[Forgive me, I am boarding this ship first]
While the initial comments remained relatively restrained, once the screen cut to the close-up of Ji Xing’s pinned ankle, the chat threw off all restraint and ventured into territory that could only be described as unmentionable:
[Can someone violate him]
[Please Best Actor, just ravish him already]
[I demand to see them hook up today]
[******************************]
Averting his gaze, Ji Xing hardly dared to look at the screen any longer.
This was simply far too humiliating!