Chapter 55

Chapter 55

The little fox mascot costume designed by Su Xingyao for the third stage had already been made.

However, as usual, the staff politely informed him that if he had a new mascot costume, they hoped he could wear it on the day of the competition to surprise the audience.

Su Xingyao had only prepared the little fox mascot costume, and the remaining sunset and cat mascot costumes had been borrowed by Lu Zhiyun.

With no other choice, he asked driver Wang to go to the store where he had previously bought the frog mascot costume and help him buy a new bear mascot costume.

The weather was getting hotter, and although the mascot costume Wang had chosen for him was the lightest one available, wearing such a thick costume in this heat still felt unbearably stuffy.

Especially after leaving the cool air conditioning in the car, Su Xingyao's face flushed red the moment he stepped out of the car into the sweltering heat.

Eager to escape the heat, he hurried towards the elevator at the VIP entrance.

Upon arrival, he found a sign outside indicating that the express elevator was out of service and was being repaired by the staff.

Oh no.

With no other option, he went to the stairwell and, looking at the high stairs, Su Xingyao, clad in the bulky bear costume, had no choice but to trudge up the stairs from the basement level two (B2) up to the first floor.

Because only on the other side of the first floor was there an elevator that went directly to the studio.

After climbing three floors, Su Xingyao finally felt the building's AC again.

The cold wind blew towards him, and Su Xingyao was convinced that AC was one of humanity's greatest inventions!

After cooling off for a bit and noticing he still had time, he kept his head down and strolled leisurely through the building.

As he approached the halfway point, he suddenly heard someone shouting his name loudly from afar.

"Kitty!!"

Su Xingyao looked up, the bear's round head swiveling left and right.

"Here!!! In front!!"

Su Xingyao followed the voice and saw a huge crowd gathered at entrance B.

The voice belonged to a fan standing by the entrance.

The moment Su Xingyao glanced their way, the fans erupted in excited screams.

"Aaaah!"

"It's really Kitty!!"

"Today Kitty's turned into a bear~"

Today wasn't the actual competition day, just a day for the contestants to film some promotional clips.

Su Xingyao was surprised that even for something like this, so many of his fans would show up.

Having just been overwhelmed by the heat from climbing stairs without air conditioning, Su Xingyao quickly approached his fans when he saw them waiting for him under the blazing sun.

From behind the guardrail, Su Xingyao asked them, "Did you come here specifically today?"

Fans holding fan banners and eagerly snapping photos of Su Xingyao's costume replied, "Yes!!"

"I came here at five in the morning."

"Finally seeing you go to work in person, so happy~"

Hearing that someone had arrived at five in the morning, Su Xingyao was momentarily stunned.

After so many years in the industry, it was the first time he had seen so many fans waiting for him to go to work.

The feeling of being cherished and passionately liked filled him with an indescribable sense of wonder.

He looked up and took in each person.

Seeing the satisfied smiles on everyone's faces after seeing him, Su Xingyao gratefully said to them, "Thank you for your hard work."

But grateful as he was, he couldn't help but remind everyone, "But it's really hot here. Once I go in, you should head back, don't get heatstroke."

He had just climbed the stairs and knew how hot it was.

The fans standing at the entrance had no air conditioning, and waiting like this wasn't ideal.

While Su Xingyao was earnestly advising, the fans felt a bit aggrieved that they were being urged to leave before they had their fill of him.

"But sweetie, you don't promote yourself or have a personal account. Besides waiting at the program building, we don't know where else to find news about you."

Hearing the enthusiastic fans call him 'baby,' Su Xingyao felt a twinge of guilt.

When he joined the program, he hadn't thought that far ahead or considered so many things.

So he hadn't planned to create a Weibo account.

Not knowing how to explain his situation to the fans but not wanting to upset them, Su Xingyao stood in front of the camera and hesitantly asked, "Then... how about taking some photos now?"

After saying this, he flashed a peace sign at the camera, starting to promote himself.

The bear costume's mouth was in a perpetual smile, and when Su Xingyao made this gesture, he looked even more adorably goofy.

Seeing their idol putting in such an effort, the fans' hearts were melting.

"Ahhhhh, even a peace sign can be this cute~"

"Wuwuwu, my son is just so adorable~"

"Son, mommy loves you~"

The bear's peace sign hung in the air for half a second...

Su Xingyao, who had gone half his life without a mother's care, was a bit bewildered by life.

Son? Really?

It wasn't until it was almost time for the program group's call that Su Xingyao left.

Before leaving, he didn't forget to continue reminding the fans to go home.

The fans stayed for another half an hour, only to find that their Kitty had ordered each of them an iced milk tea.

*

After the elimination in the last episode, only 24 contestants are left.

During the first recording, the venue was packed with people.

Now, not even half the seats are filled.

However, compared to the first episode, the contestants' makeup and styling have become much more polished in this episode.

The number of contestants with assistants has also grown.

Through chatting with fellow contestants, Su Xingyao learned that most of the remaining contestants have gained popularity through the show. Many have already signed with management companies.

Therefore, seeing Su Xingyao still coming alone, the rapper was a bit curious.

"Kitty, have you signed with a company?"

The one with the little bear head shook three times in a row.

Hearing this, the folk singer came over, surprised.

"With your popularity, shouldn't those companies be fighting to sign you?"

Facing everyone's surprise, it was number 77 who figured it out.

"Maybe... just maybe... they don't know who Kitty is..."

Although the show hasn't revealed their identities, the 24 contestants have mostly been exposed by others.

That's why management companies could easily approach the show to sign them.

But among these people, only number 78 has never been identified.

Despite being a top-tier contestant, major management companies have held back from making any moves.

After all, they need to find the person first to sign them.

Hearing number 77's words, the folk singer, who also knew nothing about Su Xingyao, nodded in agreement.

"True, Kitty, you don't even have a Weibo account. I was planning to follow you."

The singer and dancer, whose Weibo followers surged by three million after Su Xingyao's help in the last episode, also felt a bit regretful.

"Kitty, if you opened a Weibo account, your fans would definitely hit five million."

Seeing Su Xingyao smile without responding, number 77 sensed he didn't want to discuss it and joked, "Experts are always a bit unique."

As soon as he finished speaking, he spotted Song Yingming passing by and quickly changed the subject to him.

"Director Song, when are we starting the recording?..."

Song Yingming, who was dragged into the conversation to divert the topic: ?

He reached into his bag and felt for his phone.

Song Yingming resisted the urge to reveal the truth.

It wasn’t that there were no management companies coming to sign him; his phone had been constantly ringing recently.

All of them were calling to inquire about the contact information for Cat Cat.

After the contestants chatted for a bit, the day’s recording started.

This time, Shen Huaixi had already withdrawn from the show, so everyone was speculating about what kind of mentor the production team would bring in to replace him.

Especially the unfortunate members of his group—they were all on edge, unsure of what would happen to them next.

But unexpectedly, there was no new mentor on set today.

The mentors were still the same three as before.

Fu Qingyan, who had a scheduling conflict last time, made a point to come this time.

Not long after, Fu Qingyan stood in the center of the stage and announced to everyone, "Due to Shen Huaixi’s poor health, he is unable to participate in the subsequent recordings of the show. Therefore, starting today, the contestants from his team will be under my guidance."

After hearing Fu Qingyan’s words, the first thing everyone noticed wasn’t that he was taking over Shen Huaixi’s mess.

It was the excuse he provided for Shen Huaixi.

The fact that Shen Huaixi had made such a big joke and was booed by the entire audience, who demanded he leave the show, was already well-known.

Yet when Fu Qingyan mentioned him, he still spoke in a way that preserved Shen Huaixi’s dignity.

The contestants below the stage couldn’t help but laugh after hearing Fu Qingyan’s blatant lies.

"The bond between Fu Qingyan and Shen Huaixi is really strong..."

After Fu Qingyan’s announcement, the staff came to have the contestants do individual interviews.

This interview was new to this episode.

Originally, everyone thought that, given the show’s reputation for being tricky, the interview would be full of traps.

But unexpectedly, the questions were all fairly straightforward.

They were asked to evaluate their performance in the previous episode, share their expectations for the next one, and give their opinions on other contestants.

After about ten minutes in the "black room," when the staff stopped asking questions, Su Xingyao assumed it was over and got up to leave.

The staff quickly called him back.

"Cat Cat, hold on a second."

Su Xingyao sat back down in his seat and noticed the staff holding a card and an envelope.

"We have one more segment."

"Write the name of a contestant you least want to face on this card and put it in the envelope."

Hearing this from the show’s producers, Su Xingyao immediately became wary and looked at them.

"Are you going to reveal this during the third live performance?"

The staff, whose intentions were immediately seen through by Su Xingyao, quickly shook their heads guiltily, "It's just... a preliminary survey."

Su Xingyao wasn't buying their excuses for a second. He picked up a marker from the table and quickly wrote a number on the card.

After showing it to the camera once, he swiftly sealed the envelope and handed it to the staff.

After completing this task, Su Xingyao finally stepped out of the "isolation room."

As expected, the contestants who had already finished their interviews were all discussing who they least wanted to encounter.

But since the production team had instructed them to keep it confidential, everyone was hinting and fishing for information, but no one actually revealed who they had voted for.

This interview recording took a long time.

By the time everyone was done, it was already afternoon.

After a quick meal from boxed lunches, Song Yingming assembled everyone in the studio.

"I see everyone is quite tense, so why don't we play a little game."

With that, the staff brought out a wall panel.

This wall was covered with song cards.

Su Xingyao focused his gaze and saw that they were all song titles.

The arrangement of these cards was random, and the genres of the songs were just as varied.

Dark, healing, anime, showy, bubblegum...

They even included a few children's songs.

"There are twenty-four songs in total," Song Yingming pointed at the wall with a smile, "You can take a look at these songs first."

Seeing these songs, the contestants were already starting to feel the pressure.

Someone couldn't help but guess, "Director, are the songs for our next performance going to be chosen from here?"

These songs looked each more challenging than the last, and if the performance songs were these, the contestants would completely lose it.

Fortunately, Song Yingming immediately shook his head, "That's not the case."

Just as the contestants were about to breathe a sigh of relief, before they could even relax, they heard Song Yingming nonchalantly add, "But these songs were selected by netizens through voting for you, and you will need to perform them the day after tomorrow."

As soon as Song Yingming finished speaking, the room went dead silent.

What on earth?

So we still have to sing them?

And!!! Why didn't they know that netizens had voted for these songs for them?

Before they came, the internet was completely quiet!!!

Song Yingming glanced at the shock on everyone's faces and smirked smugly.

"Well, this... it was voted on during your interviews this morning..."

The contestants who learned the truth: ...

Damn, that's wild.

No wonder they were all completely in the dark.

It turns out the show crew started their sneak attack right after they handed in their phones!

This damn show crew has been causing chaos for more than a day or two. After rolling their eyes in exasperation, everyone quickly accepted it with surprising calmness.

They comforted each other.

Although the songs voted by netizens seemed pretty ridiculous, fortunately, it was just material for a recording video. Singing it wasn't a big deal and wouldn't impact the final results.

However, the contestants clearly underestimated the ability of the show crew and netizens to stir up chaos.

Just as they were comforting themselves that it was just a video recording, the next second, someone who got their song completely broke down.

The cool and aloof rapper's ear-piercing scream echoed throughout the recording studio.

"Why does my card also say to perform a boy band dance???"

"Do I look like I can pull that off??"

Hao glanced at his card and whined, "So why does my children's song require me to sing it in a depressive, sorrowful style?"

The two hapless duo, looking at their troublesome songs, were about to hug and cry.

But suddenly, they heard a contestant from the neighboring group ask Director Song, bewildered, "Director Song, was there a printing error? Why does mine say 'acrobatics' at the back?"

Director Song smiled and shook his head, "No, last time you performed a backflip, right? This time, your fans want you to show off some acrobatics with this BGM."

The backflip contestant was speechless: ...

Others burst out laughing: Hahahahahahahahahaha

Seeing someone else in such a sorry state, the other contestants suddenly felt their own tasks weren't so bad.

Su Xingyao in the crowd, seeing the backflip contestant angrily do two more backflips, also couldn't help but laugh a little too hard.

But the next second, after seeing his own song and the card's instructions, his laughter died.

The song voted for him by netizens wasn't too outrageous, just a super cutesy song sung by a super cutesy girl.

But the instructions on the back of the card left him stunned.

It only had two words: Falsetto.

Su Xingyao, who had been laughing at others just moments ago, now felt his world go dark.

Falsetto? How am I supposed to do that?

This really must have been thought up by his loyal fans...

This segment was meant to be lighthearted, and the show crew didn't push them too hard, just told them to go back, prepare, and return to record tomorrow.

*

After the contestants picked their respective songs, the day's group interview wrapped up.

However, to add more content, the crew decided to record a scene of everyone dining together, so everyone went up to the building's top-floor restaurant.

The long dining table was already filled with a variety of dishes, and the crew set up a fancy dinner for everyone.

Su Xingyao and number 77 sat in a corner.

Because there were so many people, some contestants and mentors hadn’t arrived yet, and those who arrived first didn’t rush to eat.

As they waited, Su Xingyao and number 77 started chatting.

But before they could say much, the lights suddenly went out.

Then, people started shouting around them.

"Why is there a blackout?"

"What's going on?"

The sudden blackout threw the room into chaos.

Worried things might get out of hand, the staff quickly came out and told everyone to stay calm and stay put.

The contestants dared not leave on their own, so they could only take out their phones, turn on the flashlights, and use them for light.

No one knew what had caused the power outage, and after the staff spent over twenty minutes trying to fix it, there was still no resolution.

No one was sure if they should start eating, but considering this was a recording task, none of the contestants wanted to be the first to suggest leaving.

So everyone just kept waiting.

The blackout made things unbearable for everyone, not just because it was hard to see, but also because it was so hot.

It just so happened to be during a heatwave, and the city was already hot to begin with.

Now, without air conditioning, the restaurant, packed with people, was sweltering.

Everyone was miserable from the heat.

But compared to others, Su Xingyao had it the worst.

While others were at least wearing short sleeves, he was stuck wearing a thick mascot costume over his short sleeves.

Su Xingyao felt like he was being steamed alive, his head buzzing.

To make things worse, right then, he felt something on his back, digging into his skin.

"Kitty, maybe you should take off the mascot costume, be careful of heatstroke."

Number 77, who had managed to find two program cards to use as fans, was frantically fanning Su Xingyao to cool him down.

Originally, he thought Su Xingyao might refuse, but to his surprise, the other nodded in agreement.

The two went to the restroom, and instead of taking off the mascot costume, Su Xingyao said to number 77, "77, could you help me check? There seems to be something on my back."

Upon hearing this, number 77 quickly placed his phone on the sink and unzipped the back of Su Xingyao's bear mascot costume.

"Where is it?"

"On the left shoulder area."

Number 77 lifted Su Xingyao's T-shirt.

Without the shirt covering him, his slender waist and fair skin were fully exposed.

Number 77 didn’t pay attention to these details, focusing solely on checking Su Xingyao's back for any issues.

After looking back and forth, his gaze was instantly drawn to the shoulder blade on Su Xingyao's left side.

There was a large scar there.

Though the color had faded a lot, it still stood out against the surrounding fair and delicate skin.

Seeing such a large scar on Su Xingyao's slim, beautiful back, number 77 had to ask, "Does it hurt here, near the shoulder blade? That's a big scar."

Realizing number 77 had the wrong spot, Su Xingyao corrected him quickly. "Not there, that's from an old burn."

He added, "A little lower."

"Oh, okay."

Number 77, realizing he was wrong, quickly looked further down and noticed a faint scratch below the scar.

The scratch looked fresh.

"I see it, there's a scratch here."

He quickly grabbed his phone to check the scratch, feeling a little confused.

"It looks like a knife cut..."

After saying this, he quickly unzipped the left side of Su Xingyao's costume and carefully searched twice before finally finding a sharp object, like a staple, in a hidden spot.

"Whoa, there's a nail in your costume."

He quickly helped Su Xingyao take out the nail.

"Here, take a look."

Seeing the sharp, needle-like object number 77 handed him, Su Xingyao was surprised too.

"This costume was bought last minute, maybe the seller didn't check it carefully and accidentally left it inside."

Number 77 nodded and quickly threw the culprit into the trash.

When he looked back at Su Xingyao, he saw that he had already zipped up the costume again.

"Aren't you too hot like this? Could it irritate your burn scar?"

Number 77, still concerned about Su Xingyao's scar, asked.

Su Xingyao, however, wasn't worried. "That wound is six years old, it won't be a problem."

"Six years? How did that happen?"

Number 77 exclaimed in surprise before realizing that his question might be inappropriate. He was about to apologize for prying into Su Xingyao's privacy when he heard Su Xingyao speak indifferently.

"I was trying to save someone at the time..."

Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly saw a figure two meters away.

It was Fu Qingyan.

Su Xingyao didn’t finish what he was about to say.

It felt like a sea of fire suddenly appeared before his eyes, and the wound that had long stopped hurting began to sting inexplicably.

Noticing Su Xingyao’s gaze, number 77 also looked over and awkwardly called out, “Teacher Fu…”

He had originally intended to let Su Xingyao take off the mascot suit to get some air. Knowing Su Xingyao didn’t want to reveal his identity, he found a less crowded restroom to wait until the power came back on before heading upstairs.

So they ended up in the restroom on the 13th floor.

But who would have guessed that Fu Qingyan would also come here…

Fu Qingyan, who had suddenly appeared, nodded to number 77 in his usual manner, then turned his gaze to Su Xingyao.

Reflecting on the scene he had just witnessed and the words he had overheard, he took the initiative to apologize, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to overhear.”

He gestured upstairs, “There are too many people up there.”

Su Xingyao remained silent, but number 77 waved his hand, “Ah… it’s fine, it’s fine.”

After that, number 77 assumed Fu Qingyan would head to the restroom.

But instead of leaving, Fu Qingyan approached Su Xingyao.

He looked down at Su Xingyao, his gaze drifting over his shoulder.

“Have you been burned as well?”

Su Xingyao didn’t respond.

Noticing the other party’s silence, Fu Qingyan smiled lightly and rolled up his sleeve, revealing a portion of his forearm.

“No offense, but I’ve been burned before as well.”

After that, he looked at Su Xingyao, “I know a highly skilled doctor abroad. If you need to remove the scar, I can introduce you to him.”

When he arrived earlier, he happened to see number 77 lifting the hem of Su Xingyao’s outfit.

Since Su Xingyao always wore a mascot suit during recordings, there were many speculations about him in the outside world.

Particularly concerning his figure and appearance.

Those with malicious intent online believed that Su Xingyao didn’t dare to show his true face because he must be unattractive and have a poor figure.

But Fu Qingyan had seen clearly just now.

Su Xingyao’s waist was slender, and the contours of his back were strikingly beautiful.

Except for that unsightly scar, he was nearly flawless.

Such a person, one could easily imagine, must exude an elegant presence in real life.

Fu Qingyan couldn’t help but recall the scene when he first saw number 78.

At just one glance, he felt an inexplicable urge to get to know and be close to that individual.

It's unfortunate that after recording the show for so long, the other person has always been cold and indifferent towards him.

Fu Qingyan started to reflect on himself, wondering if he had done something wrong.

But he didn't mind Su Xingyao's indifference.

Instead, he thought about how coincidentally both he and Su Xingyao had been burned in a fire six years ago. Having gone through such an unfortunate event, he felt a sense of fate and couldn't help but want to recommend a doctor to him.

After all, such a beautiful genius shouldn't have any scars on his body, no matter the reason.

Fu Qingyan was eager, but Su Xingyao was unmoved by his kind offer.

"Thank you."

After a polite remark, Su Xingyao walked away without hesitation.

Watching number 77 walk away, Fu Qingyan fell into deep thought.

Back on the fifteenth floor, the professionals had already fixed the malfunction.

The contestants, feeling the air conditioning again, felt like they had been reborn.

After the staff touched up everyone's makeup, they finally got to enjoy this hard-earned dinner.

To make up for it, after recording the footage, the production team bought a lot of crayfish and seafood to treat the contestants.

As soon as the cameras were off, the contestants didn't hold back and dug in.

Number 77 peeled a crayfish and glanced at Su Xingyao, only to find that he hadn't touched anything in front of him and was just eating dessert.

"Are you allergic to seafood?" Number 77 asked.

Su Xingyao nodded, "Sort of, but I'm only allergic to shrimp and crab."

Number 77 nodded knowingly, "I have a friend just like you."

With that, he waved the spicy crayfish in front of Su Xingyao and teased, "What a shame... this is really good."

Su Xingyao smiled, "Then you'll have to eat my share, double portions."

Number 77 smiled and gave a thumbs-up.

Fu Qingyan, sitting across from Su Xingyao, watched their exchange the whole time.

He didn't eat any because he couldn't handle spicy food and didn't care for seafood.

Hearing the person across from him say he was allergic to those two things, he suddenly thought of Su Xingyao.

It had been a while since he had thought of the other person so casually.

Fu Qingyan looked down at the shrimp and crab in front of him, pushing them aside to stop himself from thinking about anything related to the other person.

After all, whatever affection they had was long gone, burned away in that fire.

There was nothing worth remembering about this person.

By the time the contestants finished dinner and supper, it was already late.

Su Xingyao said goodbye to number 77 and headed down alone to find Master Wang, who was waiting for him in the underground parking lot.

He had just entered the elevator when he ran into Fu Qingyan again.

Upon seeing Fu Qingyan's face, Su Xingyao instinctively stepped back two paces, trying to keep his distance.

But Fu Qingyan, who had been observing his every move, walked up to him and asked in a low voice.

"Little Cat, am I that scary?"

Su Xingyao: ...

Su Xingyao didn't speak, just gently shook his head.

The reflection of the smiling bear in the elevator, even without uttering a word, just shaking its head side to side, still looked really cute.

Still receiving no verbal response, Fu Qingyan sighed helplessly and said, "So why do you always avoid me? Don’t you want to talk to me?"