"Good boy"? What does this one word mean?
Is he praising him for rejecting someone, or for taking the initiative to bring up this matter with him?
Sulan Qiao furrowed his brow. He had said so much, and yet he didn't seem to get jealous. It seems that Chu Cheng doesn't like him that much.
This quickly killed the conversation. He sighed, "Actually, there's nothing else to talk about. You should go to bed early."
"The person who confessed to you is Xu Zhili, right?" Chu Cheng brought the topic back again, being direct.
Sulan Qiao was taken aback, and replied, "Yes, it's him. Is it so obvious?"
"I have run into him on many occasions. He came to participate in the program, definitely not just to win the championship," Chu Cheng's tone became even lighter, "If you don't like him, don't give him hope."
Sulan Qiao pursed his lips and responded, "I have been clear with him. He should have given up on his thoughts."
"How did you tell him?" Chu Cheng saw that this topic wouldn't end so easily and got out of bed to walk to the window and light a cigarette.
Sulan Qiao wasn't good at lying. Chu Cheng suddenly asked so many details, he didn't know how to answer. He couldn't directly tell him that he told Xu Zhili he likes Chu Cheng. It's not the right time for a confession now.
"Just said that I don't like him, and asked him not to put his thoughts on me," Sulan Qiao glossed over the details vaguely.
Chu Cheng took a puff of smoke, then exhaled lightly, "Do you remember the way I responded when Chang Xi added me on WeChat last time?"
Sulan Qiao remembered it very clearly. He quickly replied, "You said you couldn't add her, as you have a partner."
"So, you should tell Xu Zhili that you have a partner, so that he will know it's not possible and give up," Chu Cheng coaxed him patiently.
Sulan Qiao was thinking something else. Xu Zhili obviously already knows that he likes Chu Cheng. If he says it, the misunderstanding will only get bigger. But since Chu Cheng said so, he went along with it, "Yes, yes, your point makes sense. Next time, next time I will find an opportunity to tell him."
"Wait a moment, I'll call you back later." Chu Cheng abruptly hung up the phone, catching Su Lanqiao off guard.
Su Lanqiao looked bewildered at the disconnected phone, feeling a bit perplexed. What important matter could there be in the middle of the night?
Standing at the door, he treaded back and forth on the fallen dry leaves on the road, producing a creaking sound.
Bored from waiting, he took a stroll around the grassy area. Finally, his phone rang. Su Lanqiao answered, "It's past midnight, is it urgent?"
"Just finished handling some work and, oh, I have a birthday gift for you. I'll give it to you tomorrow morning," Chu Cheng said indifferently.
Su Lanqiao absentmindedly plucked a leaf and held it in his hand as he sighed, "You don't need to give me another gift; your gifts are already precious enough."
Unspoken was his concern about how he would cope if such tenderness were to disappear in the future.
"You'll be very happy when you receive it," Chu Cheng glanced at the time. "You haven't gone back yet?"
"I'm calling you from below the dormitory," a gust of cold wind blew by, causing Su Lanqiao to shiver. The December weather was truly cold.
Chu Cheng's tone grew stern as he urged, "Go back and get some rest. Don't catch a cold."
Su Lanqiao responded with a sound of acknowledgment, said goodnight, and reluctantly hung up the phone.
Back in the dormitory, the others were watching a replay of the first episode of the recording on their iPads. They were at the scene where Chu Cheng blindly praised him after his runway walk, insisting on giving him a vote.
The video magnified Chu Cheng's actions and expressions, making it all the more embarrassing, with comments flooding the screen.
"Ha ha ha, Chu Zong, did you learn these sweet words from Weibo‘s comment section?"
"Is Chu Cheng from the flattery group? Ha ha ha, so unexpected!"
"He's really great, very subtle. How did you figure that out?"
"Good job, have you already predicted all the future trends for international models? Ha ha ha, does your conscience hurt?"
"Look at Chang Zong's unbelieving expression next to him; it's so funny!"
"Oh my god, I suddenly had an idea. I want to ship this CP!!!
"1. I'm hesitating between Qiào Lì CP and Qiào Chéng CP, so Su Lanqiao is the top, ha ha ha!"
"What the heck is Qiào Chéng CP? Why do you all assume that Su Lanqiao is in the lead?"
"Qiào Chéng CP is fine, Chu Zong’s praises are really top-notch, ha ha ha ha ha ha!"
The group of people watched with various expressions, and the editor didn't cut a single second, making the time particularly long.
Su Lanqiao couldn't help but cough, and he made eye contact with Xu Zhili, their faces showing a hint of embarrassment.
It was truly bizarre for the parties involved to see such barrage of comments, especially after Xu Zhili had just confessed to him and been rejected.
Qiào Lì CP and Qiào Chéng CP, an ultimate battleground.
Su Lanqiao couldn't bear the atmosphere and threw his coat on the chair. After a quick wash in the bathroom, he lay down on the bed to rest. Xu Zhili, on the adjacent bed, had also laid down, while Xia Ran and Jing He were still quietly discussing the show's content on the other side.
Su Lanqiao wasn't in the mood to deal with Xu Zhili, after seeing his confession. What was originally a friendly relationship now seemed unlikely.
Knowing the other's feelings but acting as if nothing had happened, pretending to be good friends, was just too hypocritical.
-
On the following day, the last day of physical training recording, before the recording started, Chu Cheng sent him a message to go to the garage to collect something.
Su Lanqiao was glad that the recording would be late that day, and he hadn't handed in his phone, or else he would have missed Chu Cheng's message.
He didn't even have time to eat breakfast. Seeing the WeChat message, he quickly headed to the underground garage, as he was familiar with the route.
It was the familiar parking spot, and the old Chen was still squatting beside it, smoking.
After opening the car door, he looked at Chu Cheng, who was sitting upright, and asked, "What's the rush for giving me this? Couldn't it have waited for a few more days?"
Chu Cheng took out a report and a plastic bag containing leather gloves from the folder next to him and handed it to him, "Take a look for yourself."
Su Lanqiao glanced at the gloves through the plastic bag before flipping through the report. It clearly stated, "Gloves tested positive for compound laxative granules and carboxymethyl cellulose sodium granules, as volume laxative components."
"Are these Xia Ran's gloves?" Su Lanqiao asked hesitantly.
Chu Cheng nodded and said softly, "We had someone find them at his place. The report came out last night after I hung up with you."
Su Lanqiao looked back at the report and analyzed, "Can I infer from this that he used gloves to avoid leaving fingerprints during the operation, but the residue of the laxative substance was still detected inside. In other words, he can't escape from this."
"Smart," Chu Cheng nodded slightly. "How do you plan to handle it? I'll respect your decision."
"Of course, I'll throw this stuff back in his face, make him apologize, and let you handle the rest," Su Lanqiao didn't intend to let the matter slide. When he was on the verge of being eliminated, there were only cold and rigid rules to follow; this wasn't what he deserved.
Chu Cheng took back the items and put them away, "Okay, I understand."
"Thank you, Chu Zong. This must have been quite a hassle for you. I feel really sorry," Su Lanqiao looked apologetic.
"Don't be so polite, go to training," Chu Cheng said.
"Alright, I'm heading there now." Su Lanqiao got out of the car and couldn't help looking back before hastening back to the training room.
Today's training was the same as before, with several specialized exercises. However, everyone looked a bit puffy-faced from yesterday's heavy drinking, making the training appear sluggish as a result.
Su Lanqiao had drunk quite a bit the previous day and still had a slight headache, and he was not feeling well throughout the day. He barely made it through the recording.
Everyone in the training room appeared a bit exhausted, except for the chief director, who seemed to be in good spirits. He grinned and asked, "Everyone watched the live broadcast of the first episode yesterday, right? Share your thoughts."
"Director, I have too few shots, and my left side looks better. Please, cameraman, take more shots from my left side next time."
"Oh, stop being so dramatic. Just having a shot is good, I only have a few shots except for the runway, and mostly the back of my head."
"Mainly because a week's worth of material is condensed into an hour and a half, so each person doesn't have many minutes."
"Exactly! You asked me over a dozen questions in the interview, and in the end, you only included my awkward smile! Is that a clear conscience?"
"You still have an awkward smile, I looked like I was about to cry, playing along with the way I was close to being eliminated, it's really something."
"Ah, I look too fat on camera, ten times fatter than in real life. Fans are telling me not to eat for three days to lose weight."
.......
"Your tone is all complaining, dissatisfaction with the production team?" The chief director chuckled, "Complaining about the lack of screen time? Then try hard to stay until the end, if there are fewer people, your chances of appearing will naturally increase. Looking fat, you should really listen to the fans and lose weight. Brother, weren't you here to participate in a weight loss program for models?"
Jinghe muttered quietly on the side, "This director's mouth is even more poisonous than mine, truly impressive."
The chief director looked at the despondent group, changed his expression, "Alright, let's stop here, we also need to slightly handle the contestants' private matters. Follow me to the meeting room."
"What's going on? Whose private matters are so mysterious?"
"I don't know, it's so strange, we have to go to the meeting room."
"My sixth sense tells me that something big is about to happen!"
"I think it's a bombshell, I've already grabbed a small chair."
"Maybe it's your own bombshell, hahaha....."
As the group discussed, they walked to the meeting room. When they pushed open the door, they saw Chu Cheng and several responsible members of the production team sitting on one side of the round table, all looking very serious.
Sulanqiao met eyes with Chu Cheng, suddenly understanding, that laxative incident, now they were going to be held accountable.
The contestants found seats, waiting for the big shots to speak. The room became quiet, almost to the point where their breathing could be heard.
Sensing that something very serious was about to be discussed, even the usually carefree Huang with the blonde hair wasn't smiling, but was rather rubbing his foot against a stool, looking somber.
Seeing everyone seated, the chief director in the center spoke, "During the second round of the competition, it was found that Sulanqiao fell ill, went to the hospital after recording, and it was discovered that someone had used a method to give him a laxative, causing him to underperform in the competition. Our production team is extremely shocked and angry about this event, that's why we have called everyone here, to discuss this matter in a small group. We want to know if anyone is willing to recognize their mistake and step forward to apologize."
"What, using a laxative is too extreme, who could be so unethical?"
"Sulanqiao is so pitiful, no wonder he looked so unwell those days, he was sabotaged by someone."
"The person responsible should be exposed, this time it's Sulanqiao, but next time it could be any of us."
"It's just a small competition, is it really necessary?"
"If this comes out, there's no chance of turning things around."
"Even if someone admits it, who's willing to do so? Considering the consequences, it's clear to anyone."
......
Sulanqiao glanced at Xia Ran with indifference, the person's expression was calm, with an air of confidence.
Perhaps confident in his own cleverness, he had cleaned the surface of the gloves thoroughly, feeling that there were no flaws.
"No one is willing to admit their mistake?" the chief director looked around and repeated, "So, Sulanqiao drugged himself with the laxative? Is he that harsh on himself?"
Someone couldn't help but burst into laughter, then immediately held it in.
Finally, Chu Cheng, who was sitting in the middle, spoke, "Since no one is confessing, then I'll have to name names."