Chapter 70

Chapter 70

Su Ximu hadn’t expected a few energy bars to leave such a lasting impression on Wang Xingxing. Sensing Wang Xingxing’s genuine emotion, he smiled somewhat sheepishly.

As the two chatted, time flew by. The boat, having just departed the shore, was already preparing to dock at the island pier.

After disembarking, Wang Xingxing dutifully rejoined the staff, posing for several seaside photos at their direction. These would later be featured on the show’s official social media.

Once the photos were taken, Wang Xingxing headed back to the dorm. Su Ximu, concerned about his potted plants and noting the trainee dorm’s proximity, decided to check on them first.

The two set off together once more.

Compared to before, the island was noticeably quieter, devoid of the usual hustle and bustle of trainees.

After about twenty minutes of walking, a familiar dormitory building gradually emerged into Su Ximu’s view.

With only twenty-one trainees remaining on the entire island, and many still immersed in practice despite the next day’s performance, Su Ximu and Wang Xingxing ascended to the third floor without encountering a single soul.

The third-floor corridor remained spotless. As Su Ximu stood before his dorm room, Wang Xingxing, who had already returned to his own room, poked his head out. “Selection Manager Su, we’ve kept your door clean all this time. But we didn’t dare go inside.”

“If you need help cleaning later, just call me. I’ll lend a hand.”

To be precise, it wasn’t that they couldn’t enter—it was that they didn’t dare. To the supernatural beings frequently passing by the dorm, Su Ximu’s seemingly ordinary room likely resembled a morgue.

Wang Xingxing had personally witnessed the short, stout assistant director taking long detours just to avoid walking near the dorm building.

Previously, Peng Jia had considered sneaking in to see if there was anything to gain, but Rao Fei had talked him out of it. After all, their strategy in this instance was to play it safe—no unnecessary risks until the very end.

“Thank you. I’ll take a look inside first,” Su Ximu replied, appreciating Wang Xingxing’s kindness.

He had his dorm key with him. Gazing at the gleaming door and the deserted third-floor corridor, he felt a belated sense of melancholy.

Su Ximu recalled the conversations he’d had with the trainees, particularly one with Trainee No. 44, Liu Jie, which stood out most vividly.

Trainee No. 44 had said he’d been a trainee for over seven years.

He said his lifelong dream was to debut, to stand on that stage. He believed he had the determination to become a good idol and would never let down any fan’s love.

He mentioned his poor family background—his father was terminally ill, and his dying wish was to see him debut in the show.

He said if he failed to debut this time, he would likely have to leave the stage forever.

Despite his determination and hard work, when Wang Xingxing had earlier recounted the trainee rankings, Su Ximu hadn’t heard Trainee No. 44’s name.

He had been eliminated in the performance round that narrowed the contestants from 45 to 21.

Su Ximu reflected that, before this, he had interacted with Trainee No. 44 quite often.

During the nightly prank sessions, Trainee No. 44 was always the first to pretend to be asleep and signal him. When chased, he ran the fastest, screamed the loudest, and put on the most dramatic performance.

But now, he was gone.

Thinking it over, Su Ximu realized he didn’t have any of the trainees’ contact information.

The show didn’t allow trainees to bring phones.

Pursuing dreams in the entertainment industry was a cruel endeavor.

The young man seemed to understand something profound as he gently turned the key and opened his dorm room.

He didn’t have many belongings, and his habits leaned toward tidiness, so even after nearly a month away, the small room remained neat and orderly.

Before leaving last time, worried that the sun would be too harsh the next day and he might not make it back in time to retrieve his mushrooms, Su Ximu had moved the potted plants indoors, placing them on the table by the windowsill.

Now, seeing the two mushroom pots—one large, one small—Su Ximu hurried over to inspect them.

Fortunately, the mushrooms from the Tourism Park seemed to be a drought-resistant variety, hardier than ordinary mushrooms.

Despite going nearly a month without water or care, the mushrooms were still thriving.

Su Ximu measured the cap of the little green mushroom with his finger and noticed it had grown a bit taller.

The mushrooms in the larger pot were doing well too. The red mushroom in the center was almost squeezed out of space by the expanding blue mushrooms around it.

Speaking of the blue mushrooms, he was surprised to see that some of the larger ones seemed to be changing color.

Their caps were beginning to show circular patterns in a bluish-green hue.

Noticing this, Su Ximu instinctively looked up toward the window across from his.

In the past, he would have shared such small daily observations with Group Leader Lan242.

But now…

Just as the thought crossed his mind, the window of the opposite dormitory was slowly pushed open by a pair of hands.

A long clothes-drying pole was extended toward him, with a small bag hanging from it as usual.

Following the pole upward, Su Ximu blinked and softly called out, “Brother.”

In that moment, the figure of Group Leader Lan242 seemed to overlap with that of his older brother, who had held him as a child and comforted him to sleep when he cried.

Su Ximu thought distractedly that he had, in fact, called Group Leader Lan242 “brother” before.

As before, he reached out to take the item from the pole, then leaned halfway out the window, propping himself on the sill.

He asked, “Second Brother, why can you have two forms?”

Su Juzi smiled. “When did you figure it out?”

“It just felt familiar.”

Group Leader Lan242 had been so kind to him that it sometimes made him anxious—could he really have made such a good friend so quickly in this world?

But if that friend was his second brother, his older brother, then the anxiety vanished completely.

Because he believed his second brother ought to love him.

Just as he would love him in return.

Su Ximu seemed to take the transformation of Group Leader Lan242 into his second brother quite well.

He continued to ask, “Second Brother, was it you who helped me request time off before?”

Su Juzi nodded.

Su Ximu leaned forward even further, clearly feeling emboldened, knowing that his second brother would never let him fall.

He suggested to his second brother, “Second Brother, let’s go together to the director to check in after leave. I heard from Wang Xingxing that they’re having their final show tomorrow, and the crew is extremely busy right now.”

Once the final show of the program ended, his second summer job would also come to a close. It felt like a proper ending.

“Alright, I’ll head downstairs now. You come down too,” Su Juzi said. He had only taken the job in the first place to accompany “Xiao Xi,” so of course he wouldn’t refuse.

After making plans with his second brother, Su Ximu pulled his upper body back inside the window and turned his attention to the item his brother had given him.

It was another tiny red stone stored in a glass jar.

He opened the drawer, placed the new stone alongside the previous ones, and decided he would count how many stones were in the bottle once he returned later.

***

Blue 534 had been riding high lately. The director who had been looming over him had unfortunately made a misstep and ended up as part of a potted plant decoration, thanks to a ghost.

Investors had pulled out one after another, and it seemed like the show was doomed. But then, the Su Financial Group saw potential in it and provided a much-needed boost of confidence to the production team.

With the Su Financial Group on board, other investors saw an opportunity and quickly changed their minds, pouring money back into the show.

The biggest sponsor was wealthy and hands-off, hardly interfering with the production. Blue 534, who had already been acting as de facto director after the original director’s disappearance, now officially ascended to the director’s seat.

Most importantly, the vicious ghost who had been using the dormitory as a morgue had been on leave for almost a month!

With the show nearing a successful conclusion and the threat to his life gone, Blue 534 was already planning ideas for a second season.

He figured they could start next month.

As he was lost in thought, the stocky man with a beer belly and a smug expression casually glanced outside the door. Suddenly, his eyes widened in fear, as if he had seen something utterly terrifying.

Not far away, Su Ximu noticed the director’s gaze and politely waved in greeting.

As he approached the director with his second brother, Su Ximu noticed sweat beads forming on the director’s forehead. Clearly, as Wang Xingxing had said, the production team was incredibly busy.

Blue 534 didn’t even register what the young man in front of him was saying. Whatever it was, he nodded obediently.

With such efficient communication, Su Ximu successfully checked in after leave for himself and his second brother in under three minutes.

After they left, Director Blue 534 let out a sigh of relief and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

He couldn’t help but wonder, is this how the big shots like to play these days?

Clearly a ruthless ghost,

pretending to be a polite, innocent little rabbit.

Who does he think he's fooling?

Or was he just waiting for some clueless ghosts to stumble into his path, so he could add another piece to his potted plant collection?

Ruthless! Absolutely ruthless!

No wonder he was capable of putting corpses on display as a warning—he was probably a sociopath.

“The director is really too kind. He even gave me tickets,” Su Ximu said, looking at the several tickets the director had pushed into his hands during the process. He couldn’t help but suspect that his status as someone with connections had been exposed again.

Although he hadn’t relied on connections to get the job initially, now that his eldest brother had invested in the show, by extension, he really was a nepotism hire.

Su Juzi suggested, “Since he gave them to us, why not invite Big Brother and Jiang Lou to watch the performance tomorrow?”

“Sure,” Su Ximu replied. When it came to family outings, he was always an enthusiastic participant.

He added, “After the performance, we can all have a meal together.”

“Oh, second brother, why does one of my blue mushrooms have green markings on it now?” Su Ximu asked, changing the subject again.

Su Juzi held his younger brother’s wrist as they walked slowly back to the dorm.

Hearing the question, he explained, “It’s because you’ve taken good care of that mushroom, ‘Xiao Xi.’ That’s why it’s changing color.”

“Will it turn completely green later?”

“Over time, yes.”

“After it turns green, can it change to other colors?”

“It will turn yellow, then orange, and finally red.”

“Yellow? Then will the little green mushroom I’ve been raising slowly turn yellow too?”

Su Juzi shook his head at this question. “Not yet.”

The mushrooms in the large pot had been forced back to their original forms.

But the little mushroom was different.

It hadn’t been forcibly reverted by the Tourism Park staff.

It was an asexually reproduced offspring of the green mushroom.

But Su Juzi wasn't concerned about this. If “Xiao Xi” enjoyed raising the little green mushroom, he could keep it as a pet.

If not, he could always return it to the green mushroom.

He would continue to find other interesting things for “Xiao Xi.”

Author's Note:

Second Brother: Let your child play with ours for a while. We’ll return it if it cries.