"Previously, I had heard about the direct pass, but could it be used at this stage directly?"
"Yeah, I think the rules didn't mention that the direct pass could be used at this stage. What's going on?"
"Is this even allowed??? Preventing someone directly at the scene? Isn't it conniving behind the scenes?"
"But shouldn't the previously advancing ones have to eliminate another person in order?"
"Is there someone to come and explain this? Can it be operated like this?"
...
Chu Cheng's words sparked a huge reaction on the scene, and the whole venue suddenly erupted into a buzz of conversation.
It seemed like the host did not anticipate this sudden turn of events, and quickly stepped aside to discuss with the production team.
After a while, the host returned to the center of the stage and picked up the pace of the recording, "When the production team was devising the game rules, each judge was indeed given a direct pass, which is a hidden card function that can be used to resurrect eliminated contestants. Therefore, this direct pass is valid, and Su Lanqiao is revived. According to the same logic, taking the sixteenth spot, the previously ranked sixth, Han Lezhou, will be eliminated."
"I protest! You used the direct pass, isn't it unfair for me, who was squeezed out?" Han Lezhou, unable to restrain himself, spoke out anxiously, "I need an explanation. Is this rule really a hidden option, or was this a forced, last-minute decision?"
He heavily emphasized the words "forced, last-minute," almost openly implying whether Chu Cheng had used his own means to pressurize the production team for someone's benefit.
The host was about to interrupt the contestant's speech, but Chu Cheng spoke out directly, "Firstly, the direct pass was set by the production team to protect the players that the judges have faith in. I believe in Su Lanqiao and used the direct pass to save him. This logic is sound. It's fair as well. You can ask if any other judge is willing to save you."
Chu Cheng's aura was too strong, especially when he stared intently with a blank expression and his aggressive, piercing eyes, conveying a nonchalant, lax confidence that was more aggressive.
Furthermore, his statement hit the nail on the head, leaving Han Lezhou somewhat speechless, and he flushed red immediately. His overall ability was not high, and if each judge was asked one by one, it was uncertain whether anyone would want to waste their only chance of using a direct pass.
Unfortunately, Chu Cheng showed no sign of stopping and continued to insert the knife with interest.
"Furthermore, Su Lanqiao himself ranked very high. If he hadn't been sick, he wouldn't have been eliminated," Chu Cheng paused. "You should be very clear about his swimming ability, since you're in the same group."
There's no need to say more. In terms of justice and reason, Chu Cheng's starting point was beyond reproach.
Su Lanqiao sighed in his heart. Fortunately, Chu Cheng didn't use so much calculation when they were together usually. Even with his bias, he could come up with several reasons, leaving no room for criticism. It's really amazing.
The host, seeing that everyone had convinced expressions, breathed a sigh of relief and put on a smile. "So, according to what Mr. Chu just said, is there any judge willing to give Han Lezhou a straight pass card now?"
Several judges looked at each other and apologetically shook their heads. Such a precious thing would mostly be saved for the final competition to support their favorite contestant.
Han Lezhou let out a sigh, seeing that the situation was already decided. His face was full of disappointment and unwillingness.
"Sorry, Han Lezhou, you have been eliminated," the host concluded in a businesslike manner, "Congratulations to the other advancing contestants. There are no other arrangements today, so you are free to go out tonight."
After the competition ended, everyone relaxed, took back their phones and wallets, and started to walk out in a bustling manner.
Xu Zhili went forward and supported the weak Su Lanqiao as they walked behind the crowd. He asked with concern, "Do you want to go to the hospital? When you were competing today, did your stomach start hurting again? I thought it was already better?"
"I find it strange too. The medicine I took yesterday should have worked," Su Lanqiao muttered as he followed the crowd out, looking up to see Chu Cheng standing at the door of the swimming pool. The man had no expression, tapped his phone screen, and left.
Xu Zhili, with keen insight, stared at Chu Cheng's back and asked, "Was Chu Cheng just looking at you?"
"What would he be looking at me for? You're thinking too much," Su Lanqiao avoided Xu Zhili's scrutinizing gaze and quickly looked at his phone. Chu Cheng had sent a message.
Chu: [I'll take you to the hospital.]
Chu: [Waiting for you in the garage.]
Su Lanqiao's heart raced. He quickly covered the screen, afraid that Xu Zhili might notice, "Um, I have some personal matters to attend to later, I'll be back to the dormitory later, you don't have to take care of me."
"Do you really not need me to accompany you to the hospital? You look really pale," Xu Zhili persisted, "It's not okay for you to not have an IV. It must be a gastrointestinal infection."
Su Lanqiao smiled lightly and said anxiously as he walked towards the emergency exit, "I'll find time to go by myself. I'll be leaving first."
"What's the rush?" Xu Zhili asked with suspicion, then returned to the dormitory.
Su Lanqiao looked around and, making sure no one was paying attention to him, quickly opened the door of the emergency exit and ran towards the garage. Chu Cheng's car was waiting there as expected.
This feeling was really more stimulating than having an affair—being afraid of being seen but still wanting to meet.
Su Lanqiao now understood why so many celebrities took the risk of being secretly photographed by paparazzi to meet in private—they found a kind of exhilarating feeling in it.
Hurriedly, he opened the car door and quickly got in. But unexpectedly, he bumped into Chu Cheng, and his chin hit Chu Cheng's nose.
"Why are you in such a hurry?" Chu Cheng grunted, furrowed his brow, and moved over to give Su Lanqiao some room. "Get in."
Feeling weakened, Su Lanqiao gently closed the door. "I was afraid of being seen. Did it hurt?"
"You with your little high nose, do you think it hurt?" Chu Cheng sighed helplessly and instructed Lao Chen to drive to a private hospital.
Pouting, Su Lanqiao puffed up his cheeks a little, like a chubby pufferfish as he said, "Sorry, I'll be more careful next time."
"Alright, I don't blame you," Chu Cheng glanced at him and said with a smile, "I'll take you to the hospital first to check why your stomach hurts. Your situation is not ordinary."
Su Lanqiao nodded and asked leisurely, "Hmm, don't the big bosses like you always have this kind of thinking?"
Chu Cheng clicked his tongue, "Don't think so much, focus on getting better."
"Mr. Chu, I'm sorry, thank you for saving me again today," Su Lanqiao quickly apologized and jokingly pulled on his sleeve, "If it weren't for you, I would have gone home with my luggage. Great kindness demands great thanks, I'll devote myself to you."
He spoke sincerely while jesting.
"Hmm, haven't you already devoted yourself?" Chu Cheng repeated deliberately, emphasizing "devoted," and looked at him with amusement. He found it increasingly shameless how the boy talked to him, becoming more shameless and unrestrained.
Unlike the cautiousness at the beginning, he was becoming more carefree.
To his surprise, he felt that it wasn't too bad.
"Mr. Chu, we have arrived at the hospital," Lao Chen announced as he parked the car and opened the door.
Accompanying Chu Cheng, Su Lanqiao entered through the side door of the hospital and went directly to a VIP waiting room, where Dr. Zhang, who he had met at Chu Cheng's house last time, was deeply engrossed in writing a case.
"Dr. Zhang, could you check this kid and see what's wrong? He has been having stomach pains for the past two days," Chu Cheng walked over and bluntly explained the situation.
Dr. Zhang looked up, his eyes showing a slight surprise, then he resumed his normal expression, "Alright, Mr. Chu, please sit here for a moment. Handsome young man, come with me."
Following behind, Su Lanqiao said softly, "Thank you for your trouble, doctor."
Dr. Zhang took him for blood tests and other medical checks, which took several hours before Su Lanqiao was finally released. "Please wait for a while. The results will be out in half an hour."
Back in the resting room, Su Lanqiao sat next to Chu Cheng, waiting obediently. "Did you wait long? I hope I didn't delay your work."
"No, it's like taking a break," Chu Cheng half-closed his eyes and leaned back, showing a hint of weariness.
In front of Su Lanqiao, he always appeared vigorous and confident, rarely showing such a casual side.
It made sense, though. Besides this demanding and lengthy recording program, he likely had a lot of company business to deal with.
Thinking of this, Su Lanqiao felt a bit sorry. Silently, he placed the pillow next to Chu Cheng's head to make him more comfortable.
Twenty minutes later, Dr. Zhang came over with a pile of test reports. "The test results for Su Lanqiao are out. He had stomach pain for two reasons—normal gastrointestinal diarrhea, probably from eating bad food. The other reason is that he took a large amount of laxatives."
"Laxatives? I didn't take any," Su Lanqiao looked bewildered at the doctor and then at Chu Cheng, who had just woken up, "I'm not that foolish to take laxatives when my stomach hurts and risk killing myself."
"What did you eat the past two days?" Chu Cheng took the test report and flipped through it casually, finding nothing serious.
Su Lanqiao lowered his eyes and thought for a moment. "The first time I had diarrhea was the day I ate Sichuan food from a roadside stall with a few people from the dormitory. I was greedy, and the food was too spicy. I really don't know what happened with the laxative afterward."
Chu Cheng nodded and offered a rational analysis, “So the first time, you probably just had food poisoning, but you got better the next day and moved back to the top, someone couldn’t stand it, and used a little trick to give you a diarrhea drug.”
“Is that so? It seems to make sense.” Su Lanqiao bit his lip and tried to recall the fragments in his memory, “But I didn't eat much in the following days, and still had diarrhea. I couldn't eat anything... and I didn't even have the opportunity."
"Ah, I drank a lot of water yesterday, could someone have tampered with it?" Su Lanqiao's eyes lit up, then quickly dimmed as he self-denied, "The water was given to me by Xu Zhili, so it shouldn't be possible."
Chu Cheng said lightly, "Although I don't like Xu Zhili, Little Cat, just because someone gives you something doesn't mean they did it. It's also possible that someone borrowed his hand."
That made sense. Until the competition results were announced, apart from Xia Ran, Su Lanqiao couldn't think of anyone else who would dislike him for the time being.
But after this elimination competition, he probably gained another adversary, Han Lezhou, whom he had pushed down.
Thinking about it made Su Lanqiao's head ache. He sighed, “Why won't this person give up? He comes to provoke me for no reason. But it's difficult to find evidence for this matter, it's been one or two days already.”
“It's hard to investigate. You just have to be more careful in the future.” Chu Cheng rubbed his brow; he also felt sorry for Su Lanqiao, a newcomer to the entertainment industry, who had been through so much and still looked pale and delicate.
Dr. Zhang handed Su Lanqiao a bag of medicine and advised, “There's no major problem, you just need to take the medicine and rest well. Pay attention to a light diet recently.”
“Okay, thank you, Doctor, thank you for working so late.” Su Lanqiao glanced at the clock on the wall, it was already past eleven, "We'll be on our way then."
Chu Cheng escorted Su Lanqiao back exactly as they had come. Along the way, Su Lanqiao hesitated several times, holding back the words that came to his lips. When they reached the parking garage, it was almost midnight.
Su Lanqiao wanted to say that it would be his birthday at midnight and he really wanted to spend more time with Chu Cheng.
However, seeing Chu Cheng's slightly weary expression, he decided against it. After all, it wasn't the first time he would be spending his birthday alone. Every year had been cold and lonely, so it didn't matter.
So, he put on a smile and revealed his two charming dimples, “Goodnight, General Chu. Be careful on your way home.”
“Goodnight.” Chu Cheng watched him thoughtfully, following him until he disappeared from view.
Su Lanqiao quietly took the elevator and went upstairs. Since he came back late, most of the dormitories were already dark. At this moment, he walked quietly, afraid of being discovered and getting into more trouble.
When he reached the third floor, the elevator opened, and he was walking forward in the dark when all the lights in the corridor suddenly turned on with a click. All the participants walked out of their rooms, and Xu Zhili was pushing a huge cake to stand in the middle.
"Wishing Su Lanqiao a happy birthday." The contestants hadn't rehearsed in advance, so the congratulatory voices were a bit disorderly, but it was enough to make Su Lanqiao's eyes turn red.
He hadn't expected the production team to be so considerate, to have prepared a birthday surprise. Originally, it was just a brief encounter with a group of strangers, and there were no expectations.
Although knowing it was part of the program, and the camera lights were still on, Su Lanqiao sincerely thanked them.
“Make a wish and blow out the candles.” Xu Zhili lit the candles with a lighter. The candlelight flickered.
Su Lanqiao closed his eyes and made a wish, hoping to be with Chu Cheng one day.
Three seconds later, he opened his eyes and blew out the flickering candles.
“Su Lanqiao, your wish came too quickly.”
“What did you wish for? If it's for this program to win the first place, I'd object to that.”
"Hahaha, everyone here will quietly pray that your wish won't come true."
“We're being so considerate, don't make a wish to curse us, okay!”
...
Su Lanqiao looked at the laughter and said, “It's none of those, don't guess randomly.”
“Oh, this shy look must be because you have a crush on someone, right?”
“Really, with such a radiant smile, who could it be?”
“Su Lanqiao is not being fair, he didn't even bring his significant other to his birthday celebrations.”
The chaotic voices began to stir again. Su Lanqiao covered his face and denied thrice, “No, really, I didn't, stop saying stuff, thank you all for celebrating my birthday. Let's cut the cake together, shall we?”
“Why cut it? Let's just smash it.” A voice emerged from somewhere, and a blob of cream directly flew onto his face, instantly blurring his vision. It was a direct hit, right in the center of his face.
After a few seconds, the others joined in the fun.
These models, usually so aloof, were acting like kids at the moment, smearing each other's faces with cake, getting it on their necks, even pulling clothes and stuffing it inside, the laughter almost seemed to turn the building upside down.
The production team was delighted with this interactive traction and didn't stop them. After the three-tier cake was thoroughly demolished, everyone had become a big mess.
“Okay, that's enough.” An assistant called a halt and handed over a bag, “These are small gifts prepared for you by everyone, take your time to look at them when you get back. You can all go now, go back, shower, and sleep.”
“Thank you again, everyone.” Su Lanqiao bowed slightly and then took the bag of gifts home. As the other dorm-mates went for their showers, he began to unpack the gifts.
Everything from random and miscellaneous items was there. It was apparent that these were just small trinkets that had been collected.
There were some normal face masks, headbands, small snacks, a quirky book, "How to Get Rich Overnight," a pig trotter shaped pillow, and even his own autographed photo.
As Su Lanqiao laughed and took out the gifts one by one, he finally found a deep blue box at the bottom, tied with a neat bow, exuding a very different style from the other gifts.
He carefully untied the bow and found a Ferrari car key inside.
What? Was there someone among the participants so generous? Su Lanqiao's first thought was Xu Zhili, who was in the shower and couldn't be asked.
But in an instant, he overturned this guess himself. Their relationship wasn't good enough for someone to hand him a few million worth of a car just like that.
Su Lanqiao couldn't find a name on the box, so he put the key away to freshen up and wait for the owner of the key to come out and look for him.
After sorting everything out, everyone had already turned off the lights and gone to sleep. Su Lanqiao lay on the bed, picked up his phone, and was about to post the gifts on Weibo when he saw a message from Chu Cheng.
The message was sent exactly at midnight.
【Happy birthday to the 21-year-old young friend】