Chapter 23: Sit Down and Do It

The crew carrying the backdrop boards walked past and then stepped back again, still saying, “Excuse me, excuse me.”

It looked like they intended to turn and enter the passage beside the lounge, almost brushing against Ke Ni’s back as they changed direction.

Ke Ni was forced forward, closing in on Jing Sicun.

When their shoe tips touched, she had to tiptoe and lean forward just enough to narrowly avoid the sharp corner of the backdrop board.

Ke Ni wasn’t afraid of being scraped.

She just noticed the backdrop board was made of foam material and worried that if she dodged too late, she might damage the prop.

Ke Ni edged even closer to Jing Sicun, and as her body swayed, she instinctively grabbed his upper arm with her hand.

The jacket prepared by the Competition Program Group for Jing Sicun had three-dimensional crochet floral decorations.

Ke Ni’s wrist pressed down on them, flattening two soft white roses.

Dodging the backdrop board, Ke Ni said, “Why does it matter to you that I’m against competing?”

Behind Jing Sicun was a chair.

The backrest was pressed tightly against Jing Sicun’s back, leaving no extra room to retreat.

When Ke Ni’s body swayed forward, Jing Sicun steadied her by supporting her elbow.

He smiled, “Just curious, if you’re so opposed to competitions, why do you still participate in competitive programs?”

Ke Ni’s emotions flared, and she wanted to have a big argument with Jing Sicun, but the posture wasn’t right.

Being this close would affect her performance.

Ke Ni wanted to let go of Jing Sicun, but…

Why couldn’t she raise her hand?

The stylist’s outfit for Ke Ni was complicated; just the bracelets alone had multiple layers.

These bracelets were purely decorative and couldn’t compare to the quality of jewelry designed by Ke Ni’s mother.

Within just a few seconds, the bracelets had tangled into a chaotic mess, tightly entwined with the crochet flowers on Jing Sicun’s jacket.

The current situation left Ke Ni speechless.

She didn’t understand why a mind-sport competition program had to be so flashy.

But the clothes and bracelets were all from the Competition Program Group.

If they got damaged, compensation would be required.

Ke Ni tried to raise her hand, but the thin threads tightened.

Jing Sicun leaned closer in response to her force.

So close, their eyes met, and the tense atmosphere from moments before shifted subtly…

Ke Ni frowned, “If you snap the thread, the bracelets I’m wearing won’t break. You can pay for it yourself.”

Jing Sicun was indifferent, “Paying is fine, but I wonder if the stylist prepared other outfits. If not, the director might scold us.”

That was definitely a threat.

Cunning and sly!

It seemed forcing it wouldn’t work.

The floral decorations on Jing Sicun’s jacket were too fragile.

Snapping one thread could cause the whole knit structure to unravel.

She couldn’t cause trouble for the staff.

Ke Ni tried using her other hand to untangle the threads caught in the bracelets.

After several attempts, all failed.

She needed to see the tangled parts clearly but couldn’t get too close to Jing Sicun.

She looked up; Jing Sicun was looking down at her.

The lounge was even messier than the last makeup room, with stacks of cardboard boxes piled along the wall.

The space was cramped, and the air conditioning barely worked.

The Competition Program Group’s outfits focused on styling but were stuffy and hot. Ke Ni was a bit anxious.

Their eyes met, and her palm began to sweat.

Jing Sicun was calmly watching?

Ke Ni felt flustered under his gaze.

Her dispersed anger reignited, and her tone turned sharp with a hint of gritted teeth: “Why don’t you help?”

The lighting here was terrible, and even with their heads nearly touching, they had no clue.

Jing Sicun turned his chair around, stretched out his arm, and pulled over another chair.

“Sit down and try again?”

Ke Ni raised her wrist tangled with several threads and sat facing Jing Sicun.

They tried several times but still failed.

Jing Sicun said, “Let A Zhi come back and rescue you.”

Ke Ni’s wrist had to remain suspended beside Jing Sicun.

Even the chairs were very close.

After a while, she grew uncomfortable and looked toward the door.

“Where did He Zhi go?”

“To the restroom.”

A few minutes later, Ke Ni couldn’t help but ask, “How could going to the restroom take so long?”

Jing Sicun lazily leaned back in his chair, “No idea, maybe he dropped something in there.”

The person so calm and focused on the program was so unkempt in real life?!

Ke Ni shot Jing Sicun a glare, then looked away and back again, “Did the stylist put eyeshadow on you?”

Jing Sicun said, “Did they?”

“They did, your eye sockets are red…”

“Probably irritated by the makeup.”

Suddenly, a slamming door came from next door, and Ke Ni instinctively turned her head.

The curtain blocked her view; all she could hear was a conversation:

“She clearly has no interest in competing, can’t you tell?”

The tone was mocking.

It sounded a lot like Feng Zi’an.

Contestants from the same city or school were arranged by the Competition Program Group to rest in adjacent areas.

Since Ke Ni was female, she wasn’t on the same side as them. If the neighbors were Feng Zi’an, that was nothing surprising.

Lin Xirun lowered her voice, “Ke Ni just has a bad mindset. Ke Teacher also said her stress resistance is weak.”

Feng Zi’an sneered, “Isn’t competition about skill and mental toughness? What’s the point of coming if you can’t handle stress? To cry?”

Lin Xirun quietly said, “Without Ke Ni, Ke Teacher wouldn’t have contacted Professor Wang for us. Professor Wang was invited as a question-review guest for other programs and is very experienced. That’s exactly what we need.”

Feng Zi’an smirked, “You’ve heard enough about experience. No need to team up with the flower vase group. He’s more suitable.”

Their voices weren’t loud, but Ke Ni clearly heard everything.

Jing Sicun probably heard it too.

Ke Ni glanced at Jing Sicun, who wore a poker face with the smile gone.

Lin Xirun didn’t argue back at Feng Zi’an, and her silence was expected by Ke Ni.

From the start, Ke Ni knew Lin Xirun had some motives in getting close to her.

When the Competition Program Group first announced they were recruiting competitors, Ke Ni was called to the Architecture College by her father and asked if she was interested in signing up.

Ke Ni wanted to refuse and stalled, saying she’d think about it.

Then she met Lin Xirun and Senior Zhu Yexue coming to see her father’s office.

Lin Xirun greeted Ke Ni enthusiastically, saying she was very interested in auditioning.

Ke Ni’s father said, “Exchange contact info and study together.”

Lin Xirun was a gentle, good-natured person, warm and outgoing, often stopping by to chat with Ke Ni.

According to Lin Xirun:

This was a task assigned by Ke Ni’s father.

Even if Ke Ni didn’t end up participating, her father would gain some positive impression of Lin Xirun from this.

Lin Xirun said, “I’m definitely competing. I want to win.”

Ke Ni asked why she was so determined.

Lin Xirun told her a story—

Her family wasn’t well-off.

When she was little and wanted roast duck, her father would say, “No roast duck without New Year or holidays.”

Lin Xirun’s mother felt sorry and promised that if Lin Xirun got the top score in the final exams, she’d buy roast duck as a reward.

Lin Xirun achieved it.

Her father promised to bring roast duck home but came back empty-handed.

He broke his promise.

Lin Xirun sulked and said she wouldn’t eat dinner without roast duck, and her father slapped her hard.

“Such a small achievement and you’re already demanding food and drink from me!”

Her father cursed terribly.

Her mother tried to stop him but was slapped too.

Ke Ni frowned hearing this.

Lin Xirun said, “Ke Ni, I have to seize every chance to rise above. I want to take my mother away from that man’s control.”

Ke Ni always knew:

Lin Xirun was gentle and kind but also willing to abandon some principles to achieve her goals.

Lin Xirun had said she admired Jing Sicun.

When she heard Ke Ni might know Jing Sicun today, Lin Xirun’s first reaction wasn’t to pry about Jing Sicun’s info like at the hotel but to guard against Ke Ni leaking practice questions to Jing Sicun’s side.

In this city,

everyone has their own choices.

Compared to the chance to succeed, nothing else mattered that much to Lin Xirun.

Ke Ni heard Lin Xirun say, “The first two rounds are elimination matches. At least don’t break ties now.”

Ke Ni naturally felt a bit disappointed that her friend didn’t refute Feng Zi’an’s “flower vase” insult and was saddened that her friend assumed she’d be eliminated in the knockout.

But she was more relieved:

Luckily, He Zhi hadn’t returned from the restroom.

If He Zhi had heard Feng Zi’an’s “What’s the point of coming if you can’t handle stress?” nonsense, it could have really affected the competition.

Jing Sicun suddenly moved.

Like he was about to stand up.

Ke Ni’s bracelet was still caught on Jing Sicun’s clothes, and she felt it the moment he moved.

For a moment, Ke Ni actually thought Jing Sicun was going to cause trouble with Lin Xirun and Feng Zi’an.

Her hand was faster than her brain; she stood first, flipped her wrist, and pushed him back into the chair.

The heavy wooden chair scraped against the tiles, making a sharp “zzzzz—” sound.

Behind the curtain, all noise stopped.

Ke Ni covered Jing Sicun’s mouth with her hand.

“Shh!”

They stayed quiet for a long moment.

Lin Xirun said, “We’ll talk about this after the competition.”

Feng Zi’an snorted.

Then came the sound of the door, Lin Xirun greeting other contestants, and footsteps fading away…

Ke Ni tilted her head, staring toward the door until all sounds disappeared before turning back.

Jing Sicun’s mouth was covered, but his eyes were laughing.

“Trying to kidnap the gifted seed contestant?”

His palm gave off a strange feeling—warm, soft, moist.

Ke Ni quickly pulled her hand away but stayed in a one-handed grip on Jing Sicun’s upper arm due to the bracelet and floral entanglement.

She looked down at him, “What were you about to do just now?”

Jing Sicun smiled, “What do you think I was going to do?”

Ke Ni had thought Jing Sicun was about to pick a fight with Lin Xirun and Feng Zi’an.

But thinking carefully, she realized she was overthinking.

They weren’t close.

How could Jing Sicun stand up for her?

Feeling embarrassed, she wanted to leave, but when she moved her hand, the threads tangled on the bracelets tightened again.

It was truly a nightmare.

Jing Sicun looked at her, “I’m not good at arguing. Even you can beat me.”

Ke Ni almost exploded, “You’re pretty good!

And you’re best at silencing people with just one sentence.”

He Zhi finally returned from the restroom like a ghost, gloomily drifting into the lounge.

He paused at the door, “Brother Jing, Sister Ke, what are you two doing?”

Ke Ni said, “Come save me.”

Two hands were definitely better than one.

Before turning cross-eyed, He Zhi finally untangled the bracelets and threads.

He Zhi’s nervousness was obvious; he paced restlessly in the lounge.

Ke Ni ignored Jing Sicun and comforted He Zhi a few words before planning to return to her own lounge.

She believed whether she resisted competing or had conflicts with friends was none of Jing Sicun’s business.

Jing Sicun suddenly spoke, “Ke Ni.”

Ke Ni said, “What?”

Jing Sicun approached, “I think I found out some of your secrets.”

Ke Ni’s pupils flickered.

Jing Sicun continued, “After this elimination match, want to talk?”

Words hovered on Ke Ni’s lips.

Thinking of Jing Sicun’s parents and grandmother, and his failure to study abroad…

Ke Ni softened and swallowed many harsh words, “You know I won’t pass the elimination and are just stringing everyone along?”

Jing Sicun said, “Sort of.”

Ke Ni felt an unprecedented arrogance from Jing Sicun, which instantly riled her temper.

Faced with his provocation, she took a deep breath before leaving, “Jing Sicun, just wait.”

He Zhi watched the two tense off like swords drawn, even stepping back behind a chair to avoid imaginary sparks.

Ke Ni slammed the door and left.

He Zhi opened his mouth, “Brother Jing, what secret do you know about Sister Ke?”

“Don’t know.”

“Then you…”

Jing Sicun smiled, “Psychological warfare.”