Xie Lan glanced at Dou Sheng, then turned back to look at the barrage, feeling disappointed.
-what's the situation
-The director next door
-The boy on the string
-What is Xian Shao’s current progress
- I think I need help from someone else
-So Lanzai had a falling out with the director
- Douzi Douzi, please tell me more
Dou Sheng yawned, "I just said it casually, stop making trouble. You only want to cooperate with that one person, right? There are many people who want to contact Xie Lan."
"… "
Are you serious, bro
Xie Lan cleared his throat and said, "Let's just watch the show quietly. Thank you, producer. I'll check the private message later."
Fortunately, the comments didn’t pay too much attention to this episode. Xie Lan watched the ending with everyone else, chatted for a few more words, and then logged off, making the excuse that he had class the next day.
He turned off the streaming and pulled Jujiu out of his private messages on Weibo.
The second season of Girls' Generation is in preparation, and we will invest heavily in this potential project. Are you interested in arranging the opening and ending songs? We have also learned about your previous cooperation with Lingxi. This time, you can use your strengths to arrange the main part of the song and give us some adjustment rights. Of course, you will be allowed to supervise. In terms of price, it will be lower than the quotation for Strings.
"That's pretty sincere." Dou Sheng sighed. "I just checked Zhang Yichi and found out that he has a good reputation. The music and art producers who have worked with Tianya Shenwang in the past also have good opinions about this company."
Xie Lan nodded, replied with his WeChat ID, and made an appointment to chat with the other party in detail.
Tomorrow is the last day of the provincial training camp. Dou Sheng is busy editing a video of himself pretending to be her boyfriend in his room. Xie Lan runs out to the corridor alone and receives a phone call.
He covered his mouth and the microphone with his hands and spoke in a low voice.
"Well, rent it for four hours this weekend afternoon."
"We need staff. Can you provide all the list I sent you?"
"I'll go alone. Okay, see you then."
After hanging up the phone, Xie Lan heaved a sigh of relief and glanced through the glass of the dormitory door.
Dou Sheng was concentrating on editing the video on the screen, his slender fingers resting on the left button of the mouse, clicking briskly.
Fortunately, no one noticed any movement outside.
Just as he breathed a sigh of relief, his cell phone started vibrating. It was Che Mingla’s secret group: Doudou was gone.
As the name suggests, there are no beans in the group, and it is a secret organization for everyone to discuss birthday gifts for Dou Sheng.
Che Ziming sent a bunch of links to the group: "Comrades, how about this year's gift list?"
The list is quite complex, including SLR lens, microphone, canvas bag, cat health insurance, and "Teaching You How to Take the Most Beautiful Photo of Your Boyfriend/Girlfriend"...
-Herring: Claiming SLR Lenses
-Latte: Then I claim the microphone
-Cherry: I'll claim the backpack.
-Afternoon Grape Ice: Wait, you decided so easily
-Cherry: So what? Just buying anything is giving him face.
Xie Lan was a little confused by the group chat.
The gifts were all quite suitable for Dou Sheng, but as a boyfriend, he didn’t want to hang out with this group of people.
-Dog Wangwang: Looking at the price, I think I can only claim "Teaching You How to Take the Most Beautiful Photo of Your Boyfriend/Girlfriend". Grape ice in the afternoon, do you think Xie Lan is okay
That book was indeed the most affordable. Xie Lan replied, "Whatever. Why are you asking me?"
-狗子旺旺: I'm just asking, don't take it personally. That's all I have to say.
Four of the five gifts were picked, leaving only one "cat health insurance" for Xie Lan. He clicked it with a confused look on his face, and found that it was actually a real pet insurance. It was okay for someone else to give it to Dou Sheng, but it was outrageous for him, as a boyfriend, to give it to him.
-Cherry: Xie Lan, how about giving the cat health insurance
Xie Lan replied expressionlessly: "Great, I'll give you this."
-Cherry: Cheers.jpg
-Cherry: Then it’s settled. According to the custom of previous years, we’ll mix these gifts in a box and sign it. The friendship between us is equal, and there will be no inward-looking.
-Dog Wangwang: Is this how it works? I think I am taking advantage of everyone, especially the Herring who is responsible for buying the SLR.
-Herring: No problem. Money is worthless to me.
-Dog Wangwang: Who is responsible for the overall planning? We agreed to roll up our sleeves, what if someone secretly gives us extra gifts
The group suddenly fell silent for a moment.
Xie Lan was looking up the meaning of "involution" on the Internet when Dai You's message popped up from the top.
-Latte: This is easy. Let the coordination work be handed over to an honest person. I suggest Xie Lan to collect them, and no one is allowed to secretly send more.
This is perfect.
Xie Lan breathed a sigh of relief and replied calmly, "Leave it to me, don't worry. I will never allow any secret extra gifts to be discovered."
Except myself.
Everyone cheered ignorantly: "Great."
The next morning, the results of the provincial training camp exam were posted on the blackboard.
Xie Lan and Dou Sheng squeezed into the crowd and looked at the light piece of paper together.
First place: Xie Lan, full marks.
The second is Dou Sheng, 92.
Third: Geng Rui, 91.
Fourth place: Li Yuening and Dai You tied for 88.
Lao Ma and the two coaches were standing in the corridor chatting. Lao Ma looked very happy. He looked up and saw Xie Lan and raised his eyebrows at him.
Geng Rui said with emotion from behind Xie Lan: "Boss, you managed to solve such a difficult number theory problem?"
Xie Lan retracted his gaze and hummed, "I have been practicing this for more than half a month, it must be effective."
"… This is definitely not true for ordinary people." Geng Rui looked pale and sighed, "I am an ordinary person."
Everyone was talking about the league, and after discussing the results, they started talking about gossip. Xie Lan squeezed out from the crowd. He heard that since the provincial training camp exam, college admissions offices have been paying attention to top students.
He and Dou Sheng came out of the house and saw Li Yuening standing in the corridor, talking to Coach Kang.
Coach Kang was serious when he was teaching, but probably because the camp was over, his demeanor became much gentler.
Xie Lan walked over and just happened to hear him whisper to Li Yuening: "You and Dai You are both good. In fact, this year's competition is quite strong overall. Don't put too much pressure on yourself, and don't focus too much on others. League quotas are fixed, and for most of you, it's just another path. I heard that you are an all-rounder and have been number one in the school for the entire second year of high school, right?"
Li Yuening hummed, "Thank you, coach. I understand."
Old Ma was surprised and said, "Always ranked first in the school year? That's great. Our Xie Lan can only hope for the competition. The overseas returnee children's Chinese language is really not good enough. It's really pitiful."
"Hmm?" Li Yuening was stunned. "Chinese?"
Old Ma smiled and said, "You probably haven't realized the fear of being dominated by Xie Lanyu."
Xie Lan and Dou Sheng deliberately stopped at the back and waited until Li Yuening left before moving forward.
As soon as Dou Sheng saw Lao Ma, he asked with joy: "Do I need to bring up Xie Lan's shortcomings to comfort others?"
Old Ma asked in surprise, "Is Xie Lan's good language skills a weakness?"
Dou Sheng choked.
He subconsciously turned his head and looked at Xie Lan, "That's not what I meant."
Xie Lan glanced at him and lifted the schoolbag hanging on his shoulder. "I heard what you said."
"… "
Dou Sheng opened his mouth blankly, but couldn't muster any more explanation.
Old Ma smiled cunningly at Dou Sheng and grabbed Xie Lan's shoulder again, "Come with me, I have something to ask you."
The other end of the corridor was empty and quiet. Xie Lan stood by the window and heard Lao Ma ask him, "Were you shortlisted for IMO before returning to China?"
"Hmm?" Xie Lan was distracted. "Ah, yes."
Lao Ma sighed, "Why didn't you tell the teachers about such an important thing?"
Xie Lan looked confused, "Didn't you say that?"
"You only said that you participated in AMC and your performance was okay." Lao Ma frowned, "but you didn't say that your percentage in AMC was in the top 1%, nor did you say that you were selected for the national team abroad and were preparing to participate in international competitions."
Xie Lan said, "Maybe I forgot. I was a little confused when I took the exam at the beginning of the school year."
"… "
Old Ma was amused, rubbed his cheeks and sighed: "Okay. Today, the teacher from the Education Bureau suddenly came to ask me, and I was like a fool and didn't know anything. What happened..."
Xie Lan was a little surprised, "Education Bureau?"
Lao Ma hummed, "I guess it was commissioned by the college admissions office."
Lao Ma did not further explain what this background check meant. He stood at the window and seemed to be in a trance, and his emotions could be seen.
Xie Lan hesitated for a while and was about to leave when Lao Ma suddenly turned around and looked at him with a hesitant tone.
"You and Dou Sheng..."
"Um?"
The nerves in Xie Lan's heart suddenly tightened, and his hands hanging at his sides clenched unconsciously.
Old Ma seemed to be struggling. He paused for a long time before asking, "What is your next plan with Dou Sheng?"
"We?" Xie Lan's heart almost stopped beating. He didn't know how to answer, so he could only vaguely say, "I want to study mathematics at T University. Dou Sheng... I don't know, he must also go to the first two universities, but I don't know what major he will take."
"I see..."
Lao Ma heaved a sigh of relief, not sure whether he felt relieved or emotional.
The atmosphere was a little subtle, and Xie Lan couldn't help but ask: "Teacher... why are you asking this?"
"Nothing." Lao Ma waved his hand and took out his phone from his pocket. "I just remembered that I taught several students to go to T University in the past few years. If you want to go to T University, you can add me as a friend in advance so that you can consult me if you have any questions."
"Oh, OK." Xie Lan breathed a sigh of relief and quickly took out his phone and said, "I'll add him."
This is a business card recommended by Lao Ma. His avatar is Bulbasaur from Pokémon, and his nickname is his real name, He Xiu.
"This is the most reliable one. You can ask him anything, study, life, life choices... Anyway, you can ask him anything, he has experienced most of the things." Old Ma said calmly, raised his hand and patted Xie Lan on the shoulder, "You are almost in your third year of high school, and the league is just around the corner. There is still a little summer vacation left, so you should stay in shape."
"Yeah." Xie Lan glanced at the avatar and said, "Thank you, teacher."
For some reason, he always felt that Lao Ma had something to say today.
But his basic Chinese conversation skills were not enough to eliminate the subtexts.
After reviewing the test papers in the afternoon, this year's provincial training came to an end.
Everyone stood at the gate of Yingzhong to say goodbye to each other. Some people lingered for a while, but more people hurried to catch the bus. Xie Lan and Dou Sheng came out of the school gate with their things and happened to meet Geng Rui and Li Yuening who took a taxi together.
"Bye." Geng Rui waved to them reluctantly, "See you again, big guys!"
Dou Sheng waved at him casually.
Li Yuening looked at Xie Lan, as if he wanted to say something, but he hesitated for a long time and only whispered "Good luck in the league".
"You too." Xie Lan smiled peacefully, "Come on."
As the car drove away, Dou Sheng's face fell for a second, and he hooked his shoulder and said, "Tell me to come on, hurry up, and then you'll be angry right there."
"..." Xie Lan pushed him away speechlessly, "I'll tell you."
Dou Sheng frowned, "Why don't you tell me? Give me some encouragement too."
"No need to add more." Xie Lan walked straight forward and stretched out his hand to stop a car.
Dou Sheng suddenly grabbed his hand that was stretched in the air.
As the taxi approached, Xie Lan quickly broke away from him and opened the door. Unexpectedly, just as she got into the car, someone pinched her fingertips.
"Boyfriend, please be kind and give me some encouragement for my work plan tonight." Dou Sheng leaned close to his ear and whispered.
"… "
The driver looked back at them.
"Where are you going?"
"Wang Jiang Liying." Xie Lan suppressed his panic and said, "East Gate."
The driver nodded and turned the car around.
Dou Sheng continued to sigh in Xie Lan's ear, "I was so focused on the exam that I didn't work for a long time. I'm almost fired."
“… Please shut up.”
When I got home, the cleaning lady had not left yet, and Zhao Wenying's suitcase was also at home. It was said that she had ended her business trip early and went to the supermarket to buy groceries in person.
Dou Sheng walked in with a smile on his face, and went upstairs expressionlessly after hearing the news.
Although Xie Lan tried to hold back his laughter, he felt a little regretful in his heart.
I haven't spent any time with my boyfriend during these days of preparation for the exam. It would be a lie to say that I don't miss him.
He walked to the door of the room and hesitated, "I'm going to take a shower."
"Wash it." Dou Sheng sighed, "If you fail at your job, find another job."
"Um."
Zhao Wenying is coming back, so he needs to be more restrained.
Xie Lan simply packed up the things he brought back, took a thorough shower, blew his hair dry, and sat on the bed to relax.
After a while, Dou Sheng suddenly knocked on the door and called him softly: "Master—"
Xie Lan slowly came back to his senses and gave him a questioning look.
Dou Sheng pointed at his phone, "This is the video you've been waiting for. I'm here."
video
Ah. It's a video of pretending to be a boyfriend.
Xie Lan hastily opened his phone. The fresh and popular video was posted ten minutes ago, and it only had tens of thousands of hits.
The first frame is an upward perspective, with the sun shining through the mottled sycamore leaves. It is a cloudless day, and the leaves are swaying gently in the wind.
With the strong sunlight, Xie Lan's voice sounded off-screen, "Can you walk faster?"
"Here it comes." Dou Sheng's voice.
The scene retracted from the sky and returned to the campus. Xie Lan, wearing a white T-shirt, stood under the shade of a tree and looked back at Dou Sheng, then returned to the camera after a moment.
"Filming again." The voice sounded a little sleepy and lazy, and he yawned as he spoke.
Dou Sheng hummed, "Can you get into the role a little more? It sounds fake."
"Oh, okay." Xie Lan stood up straight after hearing that, and waited for Dou Sheng to walk to his side before continuing to move forward.
Dou Sheng adjusted the camera to the front, put himself in the same frame with Xie Lan, and made a scissors hand gesture.
"What are you having for dinner?" Dou Sheng asked.
Xie Lan said calmly: "Listen to your boyfriend."
The picture froze and gradually faded. After a long time, it turned back to the parasol tree swaying in the sunlight.
The white title slowly appeared: Pretend I have a boyfriend | July vlog | Provincial training for math competition | Genius love story
This short clip is very ordinary, but the effect as a lead shot is explosive. As soon as the low and soft words "Listen to your boyfriend" came out, the barrage of comments filled the screen.
-Ahhhhhh
-Boyfriend! Lanzai said boyfriend!
- I was twisted like a maggot on the bed
-Excited!!!!!
Xie Lan turned around unconsciously, luckily, Dou Sheng had already tactfully returned to his room.
Of course, if two people who are acting out their real feelings watch this kind of thing together, it is bound to be bad.
Xie Lan turned down the volume, closed the door and continued watching.
Dou Sheng's lazy voiceover sounded: "When making this video, I thought of many love scenarios, such as Ferris wheel, movie theater, western restaurant... but in the end, none of them worked. I carefully imagined the scenes of Xie Lan and I being together, and the answer I came up with was daily life. Going to school and coming home together, eating and sleeping, filming and editing videos."
"We are just two ordinary high school students. Studying and making videos fill 40-90% of our energy, and the remaining 5-10% is left for each other."
The vlog was recorded intermittently throughout the holiday, and finally presented a concise 10-minute video, which is a presentation method similar to a memory gallery.
On a midsummer afternoon, the camera was hidden in the pencil case. It first stealthily filmed Coach Kang, who was lecturing in front of the podium with a serious expression, then turned around and scanned the tired and drowsy faces of the students behind him, finally settling on Xie Lan.
As soon as Xie Lan appeared, the scene suddenly became much fresher. He lowered his head and looked at a question seriously, his brows slightly knitted.
Dou Sheng's hand entered the frame and gently tugged at his sleeve.
"Boyfriend—" Dou Sheng called him softly off-screen.
Xie Lan hummed, "What?"
"It's so hot, I want to buy you an ice cream during the break."
Xie Lan put down his pen after hearing this and looked over here, his eyes meeting the camera, "Are you recording again?"
"Just taking some photos." Dou Sheng said, "I'll buy you an ice cream, okay?"
"Okay..." Xie Lan paused and said hesitantly, "But it's too sunny outside, I—"
"I told you I'd buy it for you." Dou Sheng immediately said with satisfaction, "Just wait and eat. You don't have to accompany me."
Dou Sheng sighed in the voiceover, "Dear audience members, if Xie Lan is really my boyfriend, then this is it. He will bully me to death in the future."
The comments were filled with laughter.
-It's so funny, a cosmic scam
-You sent yourself to lick it, thank you
-Humble Beans
- I don't care, the beans are so good 555
- Lanzai is well taken care of.
-Buy him ice cream!!!
The scene turned, ran bumpily through the corridor, and returned to the familiar desktop.
Xie Lan tore open the ice cream packaging, and the milky white ice cream flashed in the screen, and the screen only captured the position of his neck and the white wrist of the hand holding the ice cream. He took a bite and sucked in two breaths of air because of the cold.
"Is it delicious?" Dou Sheng's voice.
Xie Lan hummed, "Try it?"
In the camera, his sleeves stretched out to cover most of the field of vision. Although his face was not visible, he was obviously extending the ice cream to the mouth of the person on the other side of the camera.
After a while, the arm was stretched back.
Dou Sheng exclaimed in satisfaction, "This has a strong milky flavor."
"Yeah." Xie Lan picked up the pen again, "Sweet."
Dou Sheng asked, "Can I wear the same T-shirt tomorrow?"
"Put it on." Xie Lan said, raising his hand to tug at the collar of his clothes, muttering, "I just realized, did I wear the wrong clothes again?"
Dou Sheng sighed, "Yeah."
Xie Lan was a little confused looking at the screen.
He didn't feel that there was any overly explicit material during the entire video shooting phase, but for some reason, when these intermittent daily clips appeared on the screen, the atmosphere of love was so turbulent, and the entire screen seemed to be flowing with ambiguity.
From the very beginning, the screams of the barrage never stopped.
-I cried. Was biting the same popsicle a real act
-Wearing each other's clothes is a real thing
-When it's raining, holding an umbrella and running to pick up the other person and walking a few meters, is it real or not
- Is squatting on the ground to tie someone's shoelaces considered real
-Do you and your fake boyfriend look at each other so naturally and lovingly every day
-Have you been feeding your fake boyfriend for a month straight
-Do you spend your free time drawing stick figures of your fake boyfriend on your math paper? His name
- cried. I don’t know whether it’s true or not, but I think Douzi is really in love.
The shots are obviously interspersed very quickly, but the picture is very slow.
The two teenagers who were frozen in the miniature in the picture were also slow. They always walked side by side slowly along every tree-lined road in the campus, and the camera was focused on the two figures rubbing against each other on the ground. The one on the left was often photographed with his chin pressing on the shoulder of the one on the right.
Like two lazy cats snuggling together in a midsummer afternoon.
Dou Sheng took many photos of Xie Lan's back, and repeatedly boasted to the audience that his boyfriend had a great figure, a nice voice, and a calm and gentle look.
He secretly followed Xie Lan and recorded him running when he was late. He said stealthily into the microphone, "Look, those two strands of hair on Xie Lan's head look very artistic when he runs, don't they?"
Then Xie Lan braked suddenly at the door of the classroom and looked back. Dou Sheng turned the camera to the ground in a second and said calmly: "Luckily we made it in time. You are awesome."
The camera was focused on the two people's white shoes. They hurried back to their seats, and then Xie Lan panted softly and said, "Stop filming."
The camera will then go dark obediently.
…
In the penultimate clip, the camera focuses on the report card on the podium.
That was the report card before the closed camp exam. Xie Lan had ranked first in the daily test for seven consecutive days, and his name was printed high at the top of the list.
In the row below him is Dou Sheng.
Dou Sheng cleared his throat in the voiceover, "When it comes to math, my boyfriend really has me beat to death. But that's the only area. Ahem."
- Damn, I understand.
- I'm confused. Are you two real
-Delete the word "pretend" from your name, quickly!
-Don't wait for me to come to your house to catch you in adultery!
The more Xie Lan watched, the faster his heart beat. In the eyes of others, this might be a half-true and half-false business video, but in his eyes, it was like a detailed and shocking "Evidence".
The progress bar quickly pulled back and froze at the end.
One day, Xie Lan was sitting in his seat, staring out the window at the bright afternoon. The camera was behind him and to the side, as if staring at him.
The voice-over said: "No matter what Xie Lan and I are like, the good days will be treasured forever."
After a few seconds of pause, the screen returned to the initial frame. Dou Sheng's voice-over suddenly became relaxed and cheerful, and he said with a smile: "This is today's program. I made this video for the 100 Big Awards, but I did gain a lot of feelings during the filming process. Ah, I don't know what to say. I hope this video of pretending to be a boyfriend can make your summer a little sweeter! See you in the next video."
"By the way, I solemnly declare that Xie Lan is pretending to be my boyfriend in the video. Please have fun in moderation."
- For the 100
-"pretend"
-It's so funny, I can tell it's fake
-It seems so illusory, but I feel like every scene is irrefutable. Ah, I'm going crazy.
-I will treasure every frame forever, Big Cat and Little Cat will always be close to me
-Open! Head! See you!
Xie Lan looked at the comments, paused the video, rewound five seconds, and listened to it again.
Dou Sheng's relaxed voice sounded again: "I solemnly declare that Xie Lan is pretending to be my boyfriend in the video."
pause.
Perhaps it was because Dou Sheng's tone put the emphasis on the word "pretend", so the screen was full of screams, praises, and jokes, and no one could hear the ambiguity of this sentence.
But if you turn off the sound, you can only see the subtitles.
Xie Lan's Chinese was not good, but he caught it keenly.
Hidden between the lines may be a code that only a boyfriend can decipher.