Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Xing Shi immediately took off the cat ears.

From their last meal, he already knew Fu Xiuning had a thing for his looks, but he was still surprised that acting cute could increase his favorability by 2 points.

Turns out, Fu Xiuning wasn’t immune to that kind of charm.

But in the next second, he heard the notification sound again.

"Ding ding"

"Current favorability: -7"

Fu Xiuning also didn’t expect the 2-point increase.

Time and time again, he was always affected by this face.

He kept his emotions in check to prevent the favorability from swinging wildly, though Xing Shi and the others might think he was struggling internally. Still, he didn’t want this to happen too often.

But his real feelings couldn’t be controlled. The notification sound rang again, but it wasn’t the -8 or -10 he had guessed; it was only a 1-point decrease.

He looked at Xing Shi, refusing to admit that it might have something to do with the ears.

The teachers smiled warmly.

They had just seen Fu Xiuning and Xing Shi chatting in the corridor, and now their boss was holding a small cake.

Their boss usually kept his distance and didn’t accept things from people easily. These two were more than just acquaintances—likely close friends or something more.

One of them laughed and asked, "Why are you wearing that?"

Xing Shi made something up, "I happened to talk about this with my classmates, and they insisted I take a photo."

Remembering the artist management rules, he added, "Teacher, don’t worry. I’ll only take the photo and not post it. I’ll just show it to them on my phone."

The teacher chuckled, "Where are you planning to take it?"

Xing Shi said, "The leisure area."

The teacher doted on him, "Go ahead, be quick."

Xing Shi then left the practice room, still holding the cat ears.

The system was over the moon, "Not bad, right? Two points! Haha! Other hosts work themselves to the bone for just 1 point, and we got 2!"

Xing Shi said, "Thanks for the -7."

The system said, "Ah, he’s still avoiding it. I don’t think he can escape for long."

Xing Shi ignored it and went to the leisure area to casually take a selfie. Looking at the photo, he thought it wasn’t surprising that Fu Xiuning was affected; he really did look good.

He took a couple more photos before heading back.

A few teachers were updating Fu Xiuning on the progress.

The songs had been selected, the moves for each group had been decided, and only the group dance remained undetermined.

The trainees would attend classes as usual during the day and have one or two extra classes at night, followed by rehearsals. There were still over 20 days until the first rehearsal for the school anniversary; they had enough time.

Fu Xiuning nodded.

He deliberately waited outside Xing Shi's practice room, but unfortunately, he didn't overhear anything about the alliance. He gestured for them to start the class and then left.

At 8:15 PM, Xing Shi's class ended, and they began their rehearsal.

Each practice room was split between two groups, each taking up half the space.

Xing Shi, his roommate Yu Yi, and Feng Zifan were in the same practice room. The difference was that Xing Shi was in a different group, while Yu Yi and Feng Zifan were together.

Feng Zifan had sung a song during the class placement test and was average at dance. Although Yu Yi had a weak foundation, he had a good knack for learning and had made noticeable progress. However, his physical condition wasn't as naturally gifted as Xing Shi's, so he was grouped with Feng Zifan.

During the break, they came over and sat next to Xing Shi, sighing simultaneously.

Yu Yi said, "I'm so tired, my whole body aches."

Feng Zifan massaged his leg and said, "Once I stretch out, it'll feel better."

Xing Shi sprawled out lazily like a dead fish, dragged the bag over, and handed each of them a small cake.

Feng Zifan unwrapped his and took a bite, curious. "It looks like the boss is pretty invested in this show?"

Everyone around them looked over upon hearing this.

To be honest, they were quite envious, but since Xing Shi and the boss were alumni who earned their place through their abilities, they could only admire from afar.

Under everyone's gaze, Xing Shi replied, "I don't know, I didn't ask."

Not sure if he was telling the truth, but everyone was eager to befriend him, so they gathered around for a chat. The topics varied, from recently released movies to celebrity gossip, and then to the embarrassing incidents on the day of class placement.

"My mom went to get a fortune for me, and I was on the phone the whole time. She recited a line, and I repeated it."

"Xiao Qiao wore her clothes inside out and only realized it after the retest."

"It seems like everyone was nervous. I remember a guy had diarrhea and ran to the bathroom several times."

"Yu Yi also has a story. He tripped and fell on flat ground and was dazed for a few minutes."

Yu Yi helplessly said, "It was only for a short while."

"By the way," one person said, "Did you see someone suddenly sprinting during dinner? I thought he was going to crash into the wall. No exaggeration, folks, he was really about to faceplant into the wall, but he turned the corner at the last moment. I only saw his back; I don't know who it was."

Xing Shi said, "It was me."

The person paused, speechless.

There was a brief silence before everyone burst into laughter.

The person awkwardly ran his hand through his hair. "What was going on with you?"

Xing Shi pulled out the excuse he had made up that day.

He slouched peacefully, munching on a small cake, listening to their idle chatter while using the system to contact Lin Kecheng.

At that moment, Lin Kecheng had just been comforted by the system.

Upon learning that the hosts who had traveled through time were all suffering from amnesia, he felt confident again but still didn't quite understand. "If he lost his memory, how is he still so skilled in combat?"

The system said, "Some retain certain instincts."

Lin Kecheng recalled Xing Shi's reaction that day, "What kind of world was he in before he was transported?"

The system said, "That's personal privacy. Only the main system knows."

With no more questions, Lin Kecheng was about to climb into bed and scroll through his phone when he received a message from his ally.

Xing Shi: "Senior, good news~ I saw Fu Xiuning at the company and told him about your desire to become an artist~"

Lin Kecheng was startled, "What did you say?"

Xing Shi: "I said it directly."

Lin Kecheng felt a wave of dizziness, "Directly? You didn't ask me before saying it?"

Xing Shi: "Huh? Didn't you say you wanted to be an artist? So I thought the sooner the better, and I just said it."

Lin Kecheng's blood pressure rose a little, thinking this might really be a fool.

Despite his low score and being a bit of a drag, it was a done deal. He braced himself and asked, "What was his reaction?"

Xing Shi: "He hummed. I think he's considering it."

Lin Kecheng didn't believe him, "How can you tell?"

Xing Shi: "I gave him a small cake and told him you bought it. He took one. You owe someone when you eat their food."

Lin Kecheng and the system: "!!!"

Throughout their acquaintance, Fu Xiuning had never taken anything from him.

Even when he bought stuff for everyone, Fu Xiuning never took any.

Previously, when Xing Shi picked so many flavors at the dessert shop and felt a bit of a sting when paying, now he felt the money was worth it!

He was surprised, "Fu Xiuning likes sweets? It didn't say that in his profile."

The system said, "His preferences in recent years aren't very clear. The profile isn't helpful. But you've bought everyone milk tea before, and he didn't take any. Could it be because it was handed to him by Xing Shi?"

Lin Kecheng said, "I'm -5, he's -8. What do you think?"

The system figured it was probably just that he doesn't like milk tea and steered the conversation back, "Just pretend you don't know Xing Shi told him about it. Next time you see him, mention it casually and see how he reacts."

Lin Kecheng agreed and told Xing Shi to discuss things with him before acting, then closed the chat box.

Xing Shi continued rehearsing, spending the weekend as usual at the company.

In the blink of an eye, another week passed, and the trainees faced their first comprehensive class assessment. After this test, assessments would be held once per quarter.

Xing Shi performed normally and got into Class 2. His roommate Yu Yi had been grinding hard lately and just barely made it into Class 2. Feng Zifan had been in Class 2 since the first assessment and remained unchanged. However, Da Zhuang, who was originally at the bottom of Class 2, had been overtaken by several others and dropped to Class 3.

The teachers knew they were exhausted and gave them a day off.

Xing Shi returned to the school to find Lin Kecheng and renewed their alliance, still signing for only one week.

After getting to know him, Lin Kecheng realized this kid was probably a bit clueless and saw him as easy to manipulate. He said, "Sign for a longer term."

Xing Shi said, "No, just one week."

Lin Kecheng became suspicious. "What's your favorability score now?"

Xing Shi replied, "-8, you can see it after we renew the alliance."

On the third day, it briefly rose to -7, but seeing Fu Xiuning at the company brought it back down to -8, which is now visible to everyone.

Lin Kecheng’s suspicions eased. "Why insist on a one-week agreement?"

Xing Shi, being straightforward, said, "I told you, I need to see if we’re a good fit. You didn’t lift a finger to help me this week."

Lin Kecheng: "?"

You’re at -8 and you're still picky?

He held back his frustration and explained, "It's because I didn’t find the right opportunity."

Xing Shi suggested signing for another week to see how it goes, shook hands with him, and absorbed another small energy transfer, leaving satisfied.

The monotonous training continued. Before they knew it, the first rehearsal for the school anniversary was already happening.

The company sent a car to take them to the auditorium. People nearby caught sight of a group of strikingly handsome guys getting out of the car and nearly lost it.

Soon, the news that "a group of trainees had arrived at the auditorium" spread. Everyone scrambled for connections to get a chance to watch the rehearsal.

Lin Kecheng had invited Fu Xiuning.

With the system's help, he had many opportunities to run into Fu Xiuning, but it always felt too abrupt to bring up the topic of becoming an artist.

So, he chose today to bring up the topic while watching the trainees perform, making it feel more natural.

To boost favorability, he had bought some desserts, more than twice as expensive as last time.

He placed them on the table. "I ran some errands this morning and stopped by the dessert shop on the way back. I’ve heard great things about this place—Senior, would you like to try some?"

Fu Xiuning had seen Xing Shi several times recently but still didn’t understand the purpose of their alliance. He agreed to come today because both of them were here, which presented an opportunity.

He said, "No, thank you."

Lin Kecheng's smile stiffened slightly as he asked the system, "Doesn't he like this brand?"

The system replied, "You’ve already laid them out, so why don’t you give it a shot?"

Lin Kecheng then took them out one by one. "Senior, feel free to take some whenever you want."

He waited for a while, but Fu Xiuning remained unmoved. Thinking that maybe his approach was wrong, he took out his phone to contact Xing Shi. Their alliance had expired, and they had agreed to renew it today.

He vented, "Inviting Fu Xiuning should count as help, right? And yet, he’s only committing for another week. Is there something else going on here?"

The system paused for a moment, then exclaimed, "I get it!"

Lin Kecheng's heart skipped a beat. "Huh?"

The system said, "He’s hedging his bets!"

Lin Kecheng paused for a moment. "Could you use a different phrase?"

The system said, "...He’s keeping his options open and might switch alliances at any time."

Lin Kecheng figured Fu Xiuning would regret this later and sent the message.

Xing Shi came over quickly and, seeing Fu Xiuning, smiled and called out, "Boss."

Fu Xiuning nodded and slid the mini cake across the table, hoping to keep him around a bit longer.

Xing Shi's eyes lit up. "For me?"

Fu Xiuning nodded. "Yeah."

Xing Shi sat down with a grin. "Thanks, boss!"

Fu Xiuning simply replied, "Yeah."

Lin Kecheng and the system exchanged confused looks. "???"

Is something off here, though?