He called her "little friend," and this sentence was indulgently ear-piercing.
Su Lanqiao's eyes lit up, and she quickly typed back, "How did you know it's my birthday today?"
Chu: "Last time you mentioned it to my mom, only a few days until you're twenty-one."
Only then did Su Lanqiao recall that during the questioning by Li Wan in the car, he mentioned his age. At that time, he casually mentioned that his birthday was in a few days, and Chu Cheng specifically went to check the date? How detailed can this person's mind be? So tender, so thoughtful.
But the better Chu Cheng treated him, the more regretful Su Lanqiao felt. Regret that he couldn't go further, regret that he couldn't spend his life with him. He had been unwaveringly fond of this person for eight years. At this rate, he would never be able to like someone else in the future.
Having been treated so attentively and tenderly, how could he still like someone else?
Su Lanqiao carefully saved the screenshot of Chu Cheng's conversation box, then replied, "Thank you for remembering, I'm happy. By the way, when I just returned, I was walking in the dark when suddenly the production team brought out a big cake, scaring me."
Chu: "Have you seen the gift I sent?"
Su Lanqiao: !!!
He felt his hands trembling, and after stabilizing his emotions, he carefully typed, "The car keys were from you?"
Chu: "Then who else? Do you think it was from someone else?"
Su Lanqiao: "Your gift is too precious, I can't accept it."
Su Lanqiao: "I'll return it to you in a couple of days. Obedient.JPG."
Chu: "It's just a little something. Find the time to get your driver's license."
Su Lanqiao suddenly understood everything. The fact that Chu Cheng was able to give the gift to the staff and put it in a bag meant that the whole process was arranged by him.
No matter how considerate the production team was, they wouldn't deliberately look at every contestant's birthday. It must be like this.
Su Lanqiao: "!!! President Chu, you arranged the birthday surprise for me, right? Definitely!"
Su Lanqiao: "Driver's license... I will find time to take the exam. After the second episode is recorded, I will go sign up. When I get it, I'll be your driver! I'll accompany you to social events!
On the other side, Chu Cheng was smiling. This kid's speech really made him happy, pure and lovely.
Chu: "Alright, don't laugh, go to bed early. Good night."
Su Lanqiao: "Good night, President Chu."
Su Lanqiao put away his phone, then happily reread the chat history of the two from beginning to end before posting the photo of the gift on Weibo, along with the caption: "Turned 21 today, and someone still treats me like a little friend."
Because of the increasing popularity of the Qiao Li CP, Su Lanqiao had gained many more fans. Late at night, numerous comments kept coming up:
"You are indeed a little friend, happy birthday, go to bed early!"
"Why does this sound so ambiguous? Who called you a little friend? Tell the truth!"
"Who's this person? I smell a hint of adultery!"
"I only know one of the gifts is from Xu Zhili, they're even roommates, he definitely sent a gift!"
"I want to know which gift is from Xu Zhili haha."
"I just realized our little Qiao is only 21, wuwuwu, he's a handsome younger brother!"
"How are you planning to celebrate your birthday today? Do you want to have a candlelight dinner with Xu Zhili?"
"Forget the candlelight dinner, just lie in bed directly!"
Su Lanqiao scrolled through the comments, laughing helplessly. These CP fans were really good at imagining things; even if the two were just ordinary friends, they could still imagine so many scenarios. Quite impressive.
He then remembered the conversation with Chu Cheng tonight about who was behind the laxative, during which Chu Cheng said "Although I don't like Xu Zhili," why didn't he like him? Was it because netizens shipped the two of them as a CP?
Would Chu Cheng be unhappy if he saw these comments?
It must be that Chu Boss's possessiveness was at play. Su Lanqiao decided that in the future, he would have to maintain a distance from Xu Zhili and not let the production team control the situation.
The next day was a full day of regular physical training. After taking the medicine from Dr. Zhang, the diarrhea was stopped, but his body still felt weak and lacked strength.
Su Lanqiao barely made it through the day and felt completely drained.
As soon as the teacher called an end to the training, Su Lanqiao immediately collapsed on the ground.
The chief director came in and said, "The first episode of 'The Pinnacle of the Sky' will be broadcast tonight. Make sure to interact and repost on Weibo with the hashtag. You are all free to do what you like tonight."
"At last, the broadcast is coming. Come watch my brother's dazzling beauty."
"I only hope the editor will be kind and give me a few more shots!"
"Don't include the footage of me being lazy and not getting up in the morning..."
"Your being lazy is nothing, I often pick my nose, will the editor spare me?"
"Let me tell you, the more unflattering the shots, the more the production team likes to use them as openings..."
"Damn, it's over! Lately, I've been more and more carefree, I didn't even put on makeup, is it too late to make up now???"
...
A bunch of people started discussing the content of the show, each showing disdain on their faces, but deep down, they were all full of expectations.
Actually, considering it's a variety show platform with strong sponsorship and viewership, all the contestants hope to enhance their reputation and prospects through the program.
At this moment, the whole training room was as noisy as dozens of sparrows flying around, chattering endlessly, and the chief director walked away helplessly, shutting the door.
Sulan Qiao, seeing that the work for today was already done, stood up from the ground and clapped her hands to attract everyone's attention, "Um, everyone celebrated my birthday last night, and I was very happy. Tonight, I'll treat everyone to dinner and singing. I'm going to book a hotpot KTV now."
"Hotpot KTV, that's great, haven't had hotpot in a long time."
"Let's go, let's get excited. I've been suffocating these days."
"I second Little Qiao's proposal. Nobody can stop me tonight."
"No one wants to stop you. Tonight we won't return sober, let's have a good time all night."
"Let's go now. Little Qiao, where are we going? We'll go with you!"
At the same time, Jing He nudged Xia Ran's shoulder and asked with a smirk, "Are you going?"
"No one invited me, so I won't go," Xia Ran raised his chin and glanced at Sulan Qiao, thinking that this guy really knows how to get along with people, effortlessly winning everyone over inside and out.
Sulan Qiao, after hearing their conversation, turned around and glanced at Xia Ran, "I'm inviting all the contestants, you can come if you want."
Due to their previous bad blood, his and Xia Ran's relationship was really bad. If they didn't reconcile now, there might be some trouble in the next four recordings.
Though reconciliation wasn't in place, they still had to maintain a facade.
Xia Ran didn't expect Sulan Qiao to be so generous, so he was stunned for a moment before saying, "I'll go, I was just afraid you wouldn't want me to."
"Then let's pack up and go," Sulan Qiao said happily, squinting her eyes and revealing two small dimples, "Taking a taxi will only take twenty minutes."
So, the group set off excitedly to the hotpot KTV room that Sulan Qiao had booked.
Initially, when they sat down, everyone was quite restrained, carefully picking up their chopsticks to cook in the hotpot, and the background played monotonous background music. Most people here didn't interact much with each other, other than those from the show and those living in the dorms.
As they ate and drank, they gradually relaxed and started singing karaoke and playing dice. The noises from the private room were so loud that they almost scared the passersby in the corridor. It became a complete riot.
"It's boring to play separately. Let's play Truth or Dare." A boy with light yellow hair stood up and tapped the glass, "After all, we have to record many episodes together in the future, so getting to know each other more and making more friends is important."
"Alright, let's do it," the proposal received unanimous agreement. Some even turned off the background music, eagerly awaiting the game to start.
Scratching his head, the boy continued, "The rules are simple. Draw cards and whoever gets the highest number will take a punishment. Before we start the game, shouldn't the birthday girl answer a few truth questions first?"
Sulan Qiao, who was called upon, leaned back in her seat and said softly, "Don't target me, I don't have anything worth asking."
"Well, that's not necessarily true. You look young, but I'm sure you have lots of stories," the boy persisted playfully, "Don't you think the birthday girl should contribute five questions first?"
"Right, right, let the birthday girl go first! The birthday girl deserves special treatment!" At this time, the crowd was most vocal.
Helpless, Sulan Qiao covered her face, attempting to negotiate, "Five questions are too many, three questions, no more."
He wanted to kick himself for proposing to go to a hotpot KTV like this, couldn't they have just quietly had dinner? Just digging a pit for himself.
"Three is fine. I'll go first, do you, Little Qiao, still have your virginity?"
"Bro, you're pretty direct with that question! I like it!" someone cheered from the side, "There's no camera here, Little Qiao, don't worry, we'll keep it a secret."
Sulan Qiao's cheeks quickly turned red, fortunately the lighting in the room was dim, or everyone would see the embarrassment spreading from her cheeks to her neck. "What kind of questions are these?"
"Hurry up, hurry up, don't drag it out!"
"Alright, I'm not," Sulan Qiao said, covering her face after speaking, she wanted to find a hole to crawl into.
Suddenly, Xu Zhili, who had been silent, turned back and looked at him with complex expressions. However, in the end, he didn't say anything.
Sulan Qiao followed his gaze and hesitantly said, "Why are you looking at me? Surprised?"
"Very surprised, incredulous," Xu Zhili didn't look at him again, but drank a whole glass of pure vodka.
Meanwhile, the boy with light yellow hair couldn't contain his excitement and began shouting, "Sulan Qiao, I didn't expect that! So vibrant at just twenty-one! The young are really surpassing the old. My question's done, who's next?"
"The young surpassing the old, what a pity," someone else chimed in, carrying on from the previous question, "The person you spent your first night with, do you still have contact with them?"
"Now... I still have contact," they had seen each other last night, exchanged messages until dawn, Su Lanqiao's ears turned scarlet, stubbornly refusing to lie on this matter. It was as if lying would incur punishment from the gods and sever his connection with Chu Cheng.
It seemed like if he lied, the gods would punish him by severing his connection with Chu Cheng. When he finished speaking, his voice was shaking, and this topic couldn't be pursued further. If they dug deeper, they would bring Chu Cheng into it.
Sulan Qiao took a large gulp from his glass, trying to shift everyone's focus, "Alright, that's enough. Let's start playing the game. There are so many people here waiting for you to discover them, don't waste time on me."
The boy with light yellow hair nudged him with his arm, winking and grinning, "Come on, we're not done yet, we're all adults here, we can't be shy about the slightly scandalous."
Luckily, Chu Cheng is a man, and this group of people wouldn't have the wild imagination to bring him up. Su Lanqiao felt a little relief at that thought.
Xia Ran, who had been silent in the corner all night, suddenly spoke, his voice cold but shocking, "The person you're talking about, is it Chu Cheng?"