The person looking for him was Xia Ruiyan.
It was a cloudy day. Worried that it might rain, Xie Xizhao grabbed an umbrella on his way to the practice room.
When he ca out, soone was leaning against the wall near his umbrella.
A loose black T-shirt, legs lazily crossed, headphones in, chewing gum while scrolling on his phone.
He had picked an oddly strategic spot.
As Xie Xizhao bent down to grab his umbrella, he entered the other’s field of vision.
Xia Ruiyan took off his headphones.
“Hey, Xizhao,” he said. “What a coincidence.”
Xie Xizhao lifted his eyes, his gaze pausing briefly on Xia Ruiyan’s face before responding calmly, “Aren’t you waiting for ?”
The bluntness caught Xia Ruiyan off guard for a second.
Then, he chuckled. “Yeah.”
He straightened up. “It’s about ti, right? Want to grab a al together?”
Xie Xizhao hesitated for a mont.
“I know you’re alone today,” Xia Ruiyan added. “I saw Guan Heng and the others go shoot the mid-roll ad at noon.”
The mid-roll ad—an in-program comrcial.
The grouping was interesting. All three of his dormmates, plus Ji Yan, were included.
The show’s producers were making their stance clear—this is what happens when you don’t cooperate. It vaguely reminded Xie Xizhao of schoolyard cliques pulling so juvenile isolation tactic.
If anything, kindergarten-level at best.
Xia Ruiyan’s insistence on this al made his intentions clear.
Xie Xizhao thought for two seconds and didn’t refuse.
The two walked out together.
Just as they reached the door, Xia Ruiyan took Xie Xizhao’s umbrella.
“I didn’t bring one,” he said. “Mind if I borrow yours?”
Xie Xizhao looked up.
Outside, a light drizzle had begun to fall.
His prediction was right.
He paused for a mont before replying, “I’ll hold it.”
Both of them were just over 180 cm tall. Didn’t really matter who held it.
“How could I let you get tired?” Xia Ruiyan chuckled. “Ji Yan keeps nagging about you—says you’re not in great health and need to be taken care of. Let hold it.”
Xie Xizhao was silent for a mont before finally loosening his grip on the umbrella handle.
—
If he said he was taking care of him, then he really was.
The whole way, Xie Xizhao barely felt the rain at all.
Xia Ruiyan subtly tilted the umbrella towards him, sacrificing half of his own shoulder in the process.
Xie Xizhao tried to nudge it back a few tis but failed each ti.
Finally, he sighed and reminded him, “…It’s not raining that hard.”
The umbrella wasn’t small, either.
Xia Ruiyan humd absentmindedly, pretending not to hear, and changed the topic. “You and Panpan are close?”
Xie Xizhao paused for two seconds before replying, “We’re alright.”
By now, the two of them had reached the iron gate.
The rain didn’t dampen the fans’ enthusiasm. A group of young girls stood outside, umbrellas in hand, clutching their massive caras. The mont they spotted them—before even getting a clear look—they started screaming. And once they did get a clear look, the screams only got louder.
Xia Ruiyan lifted the umbrella slightly and, at the sa ti, rested a hand on Xie Xizhao’s shoulder.
Xie Xizhao’s fingers twitched slightly as he looked up.
But Xia Ruiyan acted as if he didn’t notice.
“Good afternoon, princesses,” he drawled lazily toward the crowd outside the gate. “It’s a workday, isn’t it? What are you all doing loitering around here?”
Imdiately, one of his fans called back, “Obviously, we’re here to see you, handso!”
Xia Ruiyan grinned. “Wow, I’m that important?”
He and Ai Qingyuan were the sa type—both had that roguish, charismatic charm.
The difference was, Ai Qingyuan had a habit of acting cold and aloof, giving off an infuriatingly indifferent vibe. anwhile, Xia Ruiyan was clearly much more skilled at playing the ga.
With just a few words, he had the girls at the gate blushing and breathless.
But the whole ti, Xia Ruiyan never let go of Xie Xizhao. The way they stood together looked effortlessly intimate.
Many people were chatting, but their eyes kept sneaking glances at Xie Xizhao.
Not many of his own fans had co.
Xie Xizhao didn’t like the idea of fans skipping work or school to see him—he had ntioned this in a solo interview once, and his fans had taken it to heart.
Now, only a handful of college students were at the gate, leaning against the railing to chat with him.
He responded to each of them, when suddenly, Xia Ruiyan said, “Let’s go.”
“So soon?!” His fans protested imdiately.
Clearly, he was the type to regularly linger at the gate, engaging with fans. Right now, they were all calling for him to stay.
Xia Ruiyan let out a dramatic sigh, as if forced into a difficult situation. “Our dear Teacher Xie isn’t in the best health—don’t you all know how to cherish delicate beauty? Making him stand in the rain for this long.”
The mont he said that, a wave of excited screams erupted from the crowd.
Xia Ruiyan acted like he didn’t hear it, keeping his tone light as he turned to Xie Xizhao. “Let’s go, Xizhao. To the cafeteria.”
Xie Xizhao glanced up at him.
Their eyes t, and Xia Ruiyan flashed him a dazzling smile.
Xie Xizhao smiled back, then lowered his gaze thoughtfully and stepped forward, his shoes pressing into the rain-dampened ground.
—
This matter felt like a minor interlude.
Every contestant had experienced working at the Iron Gate before. Online, people jokingly called it practically one of Super Rookie’s biggest spin-off shows. For the contestants, it had beco routine.
The two got their als and sat down, quickly getting to the main topic.
“I actually ca to find you today,” Xia Ruiyan said. “I wanted to ask you sothing.”
“Second public performance song selection?” Xie Xizhao asked.
Xia Ruiyan snapped his fingers. “Smart.”
“Give a hint, Teacher Xie,” he said lazily. “Which group do you want to join?”
He paused for a mont and guessed, “The composition group?”
Xie Xizhao had written and composed his own song for the initial stage. The composition group was more challenging, but it suited him well.
Xie Xizhao didn’t confirm or deny it. He only smiled and lifted his gaze. “Do you want to know so you can avoid , or so we can be in the sa group?”
As soon as he said that, Xia Ruiyan’s chopsticks paused.
He also lifted his gaze and t Xie Xizhao’s eyes.
A mont later, his smile faded slightly.
Up until just now, Xie Xizhao had always been warm and easygoing with him. That aligned with his usual impression of Xie Xizhao.
Incredibly skilled, but quiet and overly kind.
And with a very limited social circle.
People like that were a bit like bookworms back in school—easy to push around.
—At least, that was what he had thought until just now.
Until he saw Xie Xizhao’s gaze.
It was a look that suggested he understood everything.
Only then did he realize, belatedly, that Xie Xizhao might have known his intentions all along.
He had simply chosen not to expose them.
Xia Ruiyan tapped his fingers on the table. After a brief pause, he smiled and said, “Does it make a difference?”
Xie Xizhao smiled as well.
“No.”
“No matter whether you want to avoid or be in the sa group,” Xie Xizhao said calmly, “I can’t give you any guarantees. I need to listen to all the song clips before I decide.”
Xia Ruiyan paused for two seconds.
He looked at Xie Xizhao. “If we can avoid each other, it’d be good for both of us.”
At last, he discarded his usual lazy, indifferent attitude. His tone was straightforward.
But Xie Xizhao simply replied, “Is that so?”
“I think it’s fine.”
Xia Ruiyan’s smile faded.
He had spoken to quite a few people.
Other than Ai Qingyuan, who was completely unyielding, even Qiao Ye—the one who always maintained a “cool guy” persona—had at least said he would consider it. Popular contestants choosing to avoid each other helped prevent internal competition within a group.
It was beneficial for everyone.
Xie Xizhao was the only one who had subtly refused him.
After a brief silence, Xia Ruiyan let out a small laugh. “Alright.”
“Then I’ll see you at the second public performance.”
Xie Xizhao nodded.
They finished their al together, and Xia Ruiyan said he was heading back to the dormitory, choosing not to leave with Xie Xizhao.
Xie Xizhao was going back to the practice room—it was part of his usual routine.
However, as they parted at the entrance, his steps paused for a mont. “Oh, right.”
Xia Ruiyan turned. “Hm?”
“I’m not considering any form of public engagent outside of performances and daily interactions for now,” Xie Xizhao said. “So, Teacher Xia, next ti you go out, rember to check the weather forecast.”
With that, he didn’t look at Xia Ruiyan’s reaction. Holding up his umbrella, he turned and walked into the misty rain.
Behind him, Xia Ruiyan’s expression darkened instantly.
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