When Su Chengyang returned to the private room, Han Songxue was drunk and insisted on pulling the quiet female guest to dance together.
The girl was young, a few months younger than Su Chengyang, named Qin You. She had just graduated from high school and was a prospective college student.
It is said that she did well in her studies and was accepted to an art college. She acted in a movie during high school and did well, but was busy with her studies afterwards, and only has one work, making her only half a member of the entertainment circle.
Before the recording of the last program, she had just attended the school opening ceremony and was still studying during the recording process. Su Chengyang talked to her a few times, but she said she didn’t want to fall behind in her studies because of the program and didn’t want to be left behind by her classmates.
Qin You has a typical bookish personality, she is quiet and introverted, but she looks quite good when she smiles.
“Xiaoyouyou, come here!” Han Songxue pulled her up from the chair, the latter blushing and a little embarrassed, but did not resist her.
Han Songxue leaned on her, burped, and said, “You don’t know, when I was in school, I hated bookworms like you the most, always just reading books…”
Han Songxue has always been outspoken, and Qin You has thin skin. As she pulled and tugged at her, her cheeks turned red.
“Sister Songxue…” the little girl cried helplessly, but Han Songxue was pressing on her, and she was afraid of dodging and falling to the ground, so she had to hold onto her arm with her hand, which looked very funny.
“You’re so cute. Why do you always keep your head down? You have no presence at all.” Han Songxue reached up and pinched Qin You’s face, like a female hooligan.
Qin You was about to cry as she didn’t know what to do.
The program’s ratings were good, proving their trial was successful. Everyone was in high spirits and drunk, and no one had the energy to rescue Qin You.
Han Songxue didn’t mean any harm, she just wanted to get Qin You to talk. In the last program, she had low presence, so Han Songxue and Tan Qi intentionally cued her to speak, which resulted in a little bit of her footage being edited in.
The more Han Songxue wanted Qin You to speak, the more nervous she became, and the more she couldn’t speak. Normally, Han Songxue would probably stop when she saw that, but now she was drunk and couldn’t think straight.
“Xiaoyouyou, why do you have so many books in your schoolbag? Let’s do a show… hey hey hey!”
Han Songxue was acting crazy from the alcohol, when suddenly she felt her collar being pulled up. Being drunk made her powerless, so she was easily pushed aside by the person behind her.
“Chengyang? You’re back? Why did you come back so late? I missed you so much…”
After saying that, she opened her arms and was about to pounce on Su Chengyang.
Su Chengyang didn’t like her alcohol breath and pushed her forehead away to keep her from getting too close.
She had been exercising and had good physical fitness, so Han Songxue couldn’t get close.
“Are you bullying a little kid?” Su Chengyang lightly pulled her hair and asked.
“Ah… no, I want to teach Qin You how to socialize properly!” Han Songxue replied vaguely.
Su Chengyang laughed, “You? Teaching a little kid how to socialize properly? You have no shame.”
Qin You: “……”
She kept calling me “little kid,” even though she’s only a few months older than me.
Oh yeah, Su Chengyang is only a few months older than me. Why does she sometimes feel so mature? Although sometimes she’s also very childish.
Su Chengyang apologized to Qin You and led Han Songxue back to their seats.
When it was almost time, the assistant sent their artists back to their rooms. Su Chengyang couldn’t handle her alcohol, and with Lin Yu’s prohibition of her drinking, only Qin You and another male guest, who was even quieter than Qin You, remained sober. However, unlike Qin You, he wasn’t shy; he simply didn’t like to talk. Su Chengyang had never seen him speak in the WeChat group.
. . . . .
After resting for one night, Su Chengyang woke up early.
By the time Xiao Lu came to wake her up, she had already finished washing up and was ready to go.
She was in a good mood at first. Although her performance on the show wasn’t ideal, as long as the ratings were high, she could earn more money, even though most of it would go into Lin Yu’s pocket. She just hoped that Lin Yu would be happy so that she could take the opportunity to eat something delicious.
Su Chengyang walked into the hotel lobby with Xiao Lu, chatting and laughing. Unexpectedly, when she raised her head, she saw Lin Yu next to the director, who happened to be looking at them with a smile. The two of them suddenly remembered what happened last night and quickly restrained their laughter, walking up to them in a proper manner.
“Manager Lin, hello. Director, hello,” they greeted.
During the greeting, Su Chengyang didn’t lift her head at all.
She couldn’t help but feel embarrassed, thinking about how she had spoken ill of the manager behind his back and was caught in the act.
Lin Yu didn’t react much and had already forgotten about what happened yesterday. He nodded and said, “Let’s depart after breakfast.”
Su Chengyang and Xiao Lu nodded obediently, then turned and walked towards the restaurant. Once they were out of Lin Yu’s sight, they resumed their conversation as usual.
In the morning, Xiao Lu didn’t hold Su Chengyang back from eating whatever she wanted. Su Chengyang was curious and asked why, only to find out that it was Lin Yu’s idea. This made her very excited.
However, the hotel breakfast was buffet-style, with only buns, noodles, soy milk, fried rice, ham sausages, and bacon as the only meat dishes. Despite this, Su Chengyang still ate happily.
Xiao Lu looked at her, having tried almost every dish, and sighed while slumping in her chair, looking like she had no regrets in life.
She couldn’t help but ask, “Chengyang, did you have a hard time before? Why are you such a good eater?”
It feels like if you don’t eat enough at this meal, you won’t have anything to eat at the next one.
Xiao Lu’s question was just a casual one without any other meaning, but it obviously touched Chengyang’s heart.
She appeared slightly stunned and nonchalant, with a flat tone, “Did I mention to you that I’m an orphan?”
Chengyang didn’t mind talking about her background or childhood experiences to others, but she wouldn’t bring them up unless asked.
She didn’t want others to feel sorry for her, nor did she think she deserved anyone’s sympathy.
Regardless of her background or past experiences, Chengyang worked hard to live the life she wanted 一 even on the day before her success, she became another Chengyang in a different world.
Xiao Lu stared at Chengyang in shock for a moment, unsure of how to react or what expression to show.
Before becoming Chengyang’s assistant, Xiao Lu had read through her information, but the company didn’t have much information on her background. They didn’t even have an emergency contact for her. Xiao Lu had asked Lin Yu about it out of curiosity, and Lin Yu had said they would have Chengyang update it later, but she had forgotten about it.
So Chengyang was an orphan?
Chengyang turned her head to look at Xiao Lu and was not surprised to see shock and sympathy on her face, even a hint of embarrassment. In that moment, Xiao Lu’s eyes were unfocused and she looked away.
What Su Chengyang fears the most is not hardship, not being scolded, not losing face, not being so poor that she can’t afford to eat, and not even being unable to eat meat. What she fears the most is the sympathy that others show towards her. What she fears the most is when people around her feel sorry for her.
Unlike pretending to be pitiful in a talk show, she was only pretending at the time and did not care if others sympathized with “Su Chengyang’s” experience because “Su Chengyang” was not her.
However, her background is something that accompanies her throughout her life, and…she can’t handle such sympathy a little bit.
Especially…when the person she considers a friend shows sympathy towards her.
“Chengyang… I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it,” Xiao Lu held her hand hanging at her side, looking apologetic. “What do you want to eat? Can I help you get something?”
Su Chengyang looked up at Xiao Lu for several seconds.
She knew she couldn’t blame Xiao Lu. She had to answer this question herself.
However, she didn’t want to be friends with people who sympathized with her.
She couldn’t bear it. She would feel very sad about herself.
It’s even harder for her to bear than never being able to eat meat again in her lifetime.
Therefore, with Xiao Lu’s apologetic look, Su Chengyang slowly withdrew her hand from her palm.
Su Chengyang’s character can be described as gentle, and it is not difficult for her to make friends.
However, every friend she makes is pushed to a safe distance, just like Lin Yu’s safe distance.
Because once she crosses the safe distance, her background will be pitied, and she will behave like Lin Yu, pushing away the person who crosses the safe distance.
After breakfast, the program team arranged for the guests to take a car to the outskirts.
Still three guests in one car, Han Songxue wanted to ride with Su Chengyang, but the program team had already arranged it in advance, so she could only ride with Qi Fu and Jiang Shanqi in another car.
Su Chengyang sat in the same car with the two people who spoke the least in the program.
She and Qin You sat in the back row, and a male guest named Shen Fu sat in the front row.
Since leaving the restaurant, Su Chengyang hasn’t spoken much.
She didn’t speak, and the other two guests in the car didn’t want to speak either.
The driver felt the heavy atmosphere and frequently checked on the three through the rearview mirror. The program arranged for them to ride in the same car because in the previous episode, Su Chengyang had shot many useful scenes and they hoped she could inspire the other two. However, they never expected that all three of them would be so quiet. They might not even have any usable footage for the journey in post-production.
The staff in the earphones urged him to create some topics, as each group of guests must have footage during the journey.
The driver twitched his mouth and forced himself to speak, “Xiao Qin, don’t you feel dizzy reading in the car?”
Suddenly, Qin You was cued by the driver and raised her head confusedly.
The other two looked out the window and had no thoughts of conversation.
Well, if this segment was aired, the guests would surely be suspected of having a bad relationship.
Although unsure, Qin You still smiled shyly at the driver, “Mister driver drives steadily, so I won’t feel dizzy. I don’t want to waste time falling behind my classmates in my studies.”
The driver gave a dry laugh, and the other two remained silent.
He had to continue cuing, “Chengyang, you and Xiao Qin are about the same age. Shouldn’t you be in college now?”
Su Chengyang: “…”
Is it Mercury retrograde1“水逆” (Shuǐ nì) is a term from Chinese astrology that refers to the period of time when the planet Mercury appears to move in a backward or retrograde motion in the sky. This phenomenon is also known as “Mercury retrograde” in Western astrology. In Chinese culture, it is believed that during the period of 水逆 (Shuǐ nì)2, which occurs three to four times a year and lasts for around three weeks each time, there may be disruptions, miscommunications, and difficulties in various aspects of life, such as relationships, work, travel, and technology. It is considered a bad time for making major decisions, signing contracts, starting new projects, or purchasing expensive items. these past few days? Yesterday, she was caught talking behind Lin Yu, and today there were back-to-back heartbreaking incidents.
Of course, no one is to blame. If it weren’t for the sudden recollection of the past, Su Chengyang would have been unfazed by such problems.
But now, Su Chengyang doesn’t really want to answer.
“No, I’m not suited for studying.” She finally answered, not wanting to make the driver uncomfortable.
“Oh.”
The driver clearly didn’t know what to say, so he attempted to start a conversation with the co-pilot, Shen Fu. The young man was wearing a duckbill cap, revealing some messy hair as he dozed off with his head down. The driver didn’t want to disturb him.
At this moment, a staff member’s voice came through the earphones: “Ask Su Chengyang why she is not suitable for studying. Did she drop out because of poor grades, or was she expelled for other reasons?”
Su Chengyang was supposed to have just started her freshman year, but she had signed with a talent agency a year ago and hadn’t been to school since at least her senior year of high school.
The driver was stunned, urged by the voice coming from his earphones.
“Chengyang, why aren’t you suitable?”
Su Chengyang looked up at the driver. He looked embarrassed and was wearing an earphone on his right ear. She realized that it was probably a question from the program group. It seemed like there wasn’t much interesting content to broadcast from their car.
She turned her head and looked out the window, telling a lie that she had been using for years.
“I couldn’t go to college because of family reasons after graduating from high school.”
At this point, no one would continue to ask further questions.
