After work, Shang Sirui's assistant found a hot pot restaurant that was still open in the early morning near the recording location and booked a private room. The five people came out and went straight to the restaurant's private room. Shang Sirui was familiar with the place and pointed at a lot of signs. "I have been here with the group members several times before. This hot pot is authentic, with authentic Sichuan flavor."
"Are you from Sichuan?" Ruan Xiao asked.
Shang Sirui smiled so hard that his teeth were exposed. "Beijing people." He looked up at everyone. "Do you want to drink?"
Cen Cen shook his head and said, "I'm going on tour soon, so I have to protect my voice."
"I don't drink." Zhou Ziheng took off his coat and poured himself a glass of water. "No need to order for me."
From the moment he took off his coat, Xia Xiqing's eyes never left him. Wearing only a white T-shirt, he looked clean and refreshing, like a college student.
The raised veins on the back of the hand when holding the cup, the slender fingers with distinct joints, the thick eyelashes when hanging down, the angular jawline, the high and raised brow bones, every piece of it is perfect.
His sight extended along the side of Zhou Ziheng's neck, almost intertwining with the muscle texture, from the loose cotton collar all the way down to a place that was out of sight.
This guy looks just like what I like.
"Xiqing, do you drink?"
Shang Sirui's question interrupted Xia Xiqing's reverie, "Me?" The moment Xia Xiqing came back to his senses, he found that Zhou Ziheng, who was sitting opposite him, was still holding the glass, but his eyes were glancing at him, but only for a moment, because he quickly looked away again, his brows slightly frowned.
It's really interesting. Xia Xiqing rested his right elbow on the table, holding his chin with his palm, and turned his face to Shang Sirui, "Yes, I want red wine."
"Hot pot with red wine?" Shang Sirui laughed, "You really know how to pair it."
"I'm not really hungry." Xia Xiqing still turned his head and smiled at Shang Sirui, "I just want to drink some wine to relieve the tension from before."
Eating at the same table is almost the fastest way to bring strangers closer together, not to mention that the five of them have been locked together for several hours in the reality show, which makes them even closer. Without the tension and mutual suspicion during the game, everyone was more relaxed when chatting.
Cen Cen couldn't eat spicy food in order to keep her voice healthy for the tour. She was a little surprised to see Zhou Ziheng didn't eat spicy food either. "Don't you eat spicy food?"
Zhou Ziheng shook his head, "I can't eat much."
"Ziheng eats very healthily. When I was recording a program with him, I found that he doesn't smoke or drink at all. He eats very light meals and even soaks wolfberries in a thermos."
What kind of style is this for an old cadre? Xia Xiqing couldn't help laughing.
No, it's the style of a three-good student.
Ruan Xiao was eating tripe while asking Shang Sirui through the hot steam, "Is your personality so different? I have a friend who likes your group, but her favorite is another member. She has also followed your performances many times. I heard her say that you are quite confused both on and off the stage."
Shang Sirui bit the end of his chopsticks and hummed. "Actually, I'm not that confused usually. How should I put it? The members of our group are all quite young, and many fans regard us as their sons. Especially my fans, they usually shout "Mom loves you" when they pick us up at the airport. So the company deliberately shows our cute and childish side in some daily clips. Over time, we were forced to adopt a silly and cute personality."
He took a beef ball out of the hot pot and put it in his bowl, reminding Ruan Xiao, "Ah, your tripe may be old."
"Oh, right, right." Ruan Xiao picked up his tripe in panic. Cen Cen said, "Don't you feel tired? Pretend to be another person."
As soon as he said this, Xia Xiqing felt like someone was looking at him. When he looked up, he saw Zhou Ziheng staring at him.
How can I be tired when doing something so interesting? Xia Xiqing raised the corners of his mouth slightly, turned his eyes away from Zhou Ziheng, picked up the glass and took a sip of wine.
"It's okay. Actually, I'm usually quite confused." At this point, Shang Sirui began to sigh again, "It's a rare opportunity for me to be a villain. I was really just a little bit away from winning. What a pity. I had planned it perfectly, but Xi Qing messed it up halfway, and I panicked all of a sudden."
Xia Xiqing chuckled and said, "You can only blame yourself for being so easily influenced."
"What was your plan before?" Cen Cen asked.
"I disguised myself very well at the beginning. I was instigating you and Ruan Xiao, saying that Xi Qing was a big suspect, and you believed it. When the first round of voting begins, our votes can vote Xi Qing out. Xi Qing is too powerful, and it is a hidden danger for him to stay. When Ziheng has almost collected all the clues, I will use the killer's privilege to kill Ziheng, reap the benefits, and break through the city gate in one fell swoop! Perfect~"
Shang Sirui, who was explaining the original plan with great excitement, suddenly changed his expression and leaned back in his chair like a wilted eggplant. "Alas, what a pity! My plan was discovered by Xi Qing. As soon as he found out, he ran to find clues to expose my identity. The vote was about to start, so of course I was anxious, so I killed Xi Qing without a second thought."
Hearing this, Xia Xiqing couldn't help but laugh, "Did you regret it right after you killed him?"
"Of course I am. I regret it so much." Shang Sirui shook his head. "It's too late to regret now. I just thought I might as well confront Ziheng. But Ziheng already got all the clues and knew I was a killer. I haven't even started the fight yet." Shang Sirui stuffed another piece of rice cake into his mouth and looked at Zhou Ziheng who had been silent. "By the way, Ziheng, how did you know I was a killer? Did Xiqing tell you?"
When talking about Zhou Ziheng, Xia Xiqing deliberately did not turn around to look at him. He still turned his face sideways and looked in the direction of Shang Sirui with an extremely gentle expression.
Zhou Ziheng hummed, and Cen Cen, who was sitting next to him, laughed for the first time. "You just believe what he says."
“…” Zhou Ziheng was choked again, not knowing what to say.
Ruan Xiao also joined in, "Logically speaking, the clue to cracking the door should have been given to Ziheng by Xi Qing."
Shang Sirui also suddenly reacted, "Ah, I know! It's that painting!" He shook his chopsticks excitedly, half turned around and looked at Xia Xiqing, "It's the rose, right? Ah, I'm so angry, I should have snatched that painting away at that time." He slapped his forehead hard, "Why am I so stupid!"
Xia Xiqing was completely amused by Shang Sirui's look of eternal regret. He still maintained the lazy posture of supporting his chin with his hand, stretched out his left hand to pull Shang Sirui's hand that was patting his forehead, and said with a smile, "Stop patting, the more you pat, the stupider you are."
"Oh my god, it's really that painting." Shang Sirui grabbed the hand that Xia Xiqing stretched out and shook Xia Xiqing vigorously, "No, I'm too sad. You must compensate me and draw me a painting! I want a super big one, two! One for my dormitory and one for my mother!"
Although she was not drunk, Xia Xiqing felt dizzy after being drunk. She could only compromise with a smile, "Okay, okay, it's just two paintings. I'll draw them for you tomorrow when I get home."
Xia Xiqing himself was used to such pampering, especially when he met some willful people in the past. Before he got tired of them, Xia Xiqing always pampered them like this. As long as the other party saw the gentle smile on his face, they always thought that they occupied a considerable position in his heart. Little did they know that it was all fake.
But Zhou Ziheng saw this clearly.
It's not anything else, Zhou Ziheng just can't figure it out, no matter how hard he tries, he can't figure it out, this person is obviously his fan, he keeps saying he likes him, and when he expresses his loyalty, he has a lot of tricks. Logically speaking, as a fan, it's not easy to have dinner with the idol, shouldn't he seize every opportunity to talk to the idol
But Xia Xiqing didn't even look at Zhou Ziheng seriously the whole night.
Feeling bored for no reason.
This womanizing scumbag must have fallen for Shang Sirui. As expected, the feelings of fans are the most unreliable. When they say they like you, they want to give you their heart, but once they have fallen for you, it would be considered a mercy if they don't come back to step on you.
Zhou Ziheng held the chopsticks, unable to eat a single bite. His ears were filled with the laughter of the two people sitting opposite him.
The midnight snack lasted nearly two hours. When it was almost over, Shang Sirui suddenly remembered something. "Let's set up a WeChat group." He took out his phone. "This way we can chat every day, how nice."
Zhou Ziheng didn't want to join the group at all, but Shang Sirui pulled him in directly. His phone kept vibrating. When he opened it, he saw a group named [Let me guess who is the killer today] that was constantly flashing new messages.
"Everyone please change the notes." Ruan Xiao reminded.
Zhou Ziheng was forced to change his note, and when he exited, he glanced at the group members and immediately saw Xia Xiqing. In fact, Xia Xiqing had not changed his note, but Zhou Ziheng recognized him by his profile picture.
It's the one where he's playing in a red jersey.
For some reason, the feeling of annoyance in his chest suddenly dissipated a lot. Zhou Ziheng stared at the small avatar with a frown. He was afraid that others would notice him staring, so he didn't dare to click on the large picture. He could only look at it with half-closed eyes.
After looking for a long while, he looked up at Xia Xiqing who was sitting opposite him.
He was leaning on the chair with his head tilted to one side. His hair covered most of his face, making it impossible to tell whether his eyes were open or closed.
Like he was very drunk.
Shang Sirui saw Zhou Ziheng looking over here, and he also turned his head to look, "Hey, Xiqing, are you drunk? Are you okay?" He pushed Xia Xiqing's hair aside, revealing his slightly flushed face.
Xia Xiqing hummed in confusion, as if he didn't hear clearly what Shang Sirui said. This hum was full of twists and turns, and his tone was hoarse as if he was drunk.
You are so drunk, I wonder how you are going to get home later. Zhou Ziheng almost rolled his eyes.
"Where is Xi Qing's hotel?" Cen Cen asked, "I seemed to see him with an assistant today, but it's so late..."
Ruan Xiao took out his phone and prepared to call a taxi, "How about letting him stay at my place? My home is not far from here."
"No. This will easily lead to misunderstandings. There might be reporters outside, and you two, a man and a woman, will be easily misrepresented. You should take him to the hotel where I live, and we can stay together for one night." As soon as he finished speaking, Shang Sirui began to worry, "Oh no, I have a flight tomorrow morning, and then I will leave him alone."
Everyone was discussing Xia Xiqing's affiliation, except Zhou Ziheng, who said nothing.
He now inexplicably had a feeling that he was afraid of being called on by the teacher to answer a question in class.
"Ziheng, why don't you take Xiqing to your place? I remember your hotel is quite close to here. Didn't you drive a car?"
What you fear will come true. Murphy's Law never deceives me.
Zhou Ziheng hummed in self-abandonment and accepted the challenge given to him by fate.
Shang Sirui helped Xia Xiqing into Zhou Ziheng's car and closed the passenger door. "Then I'm leaving. I have a meeting tomorrow. You should get some rest too."
Zhou Ziheng nodded.
"Don't forget to fasten his seat belt." Shang Sirui turned back and shouted at him after walking a long distance.
Xia Xiqing, who was drunk and unconscious, was lying on the passenger seat like a cat in a coma. Zhou Ziheng tried hard to straighten him and leaned over to help him pull out the seat belt, but this posture was not effective and he failed after trying for a long time.
troublesome.
Xia Xiqing, who was cunning, shameless, a habitual liar and a playboy, became a little puppet in Zhou Ziheng's heart. In a flash, he slapped a new label of "trouble" on his forehead.
After the show, I really don’t want to see this person again.
Zhou Ziheng muttered this to himself, not knowing who he was talking to.
Suddenly, the unconscious drunk man whimpered like an animal and hugged him from the front.
She buried her head in Zhou Ziheng's neck.
Zhou Ziheng suddenly felt a pair of soft lips rubbing his neck gently, and his whole body felt like it was electrified, crackling and tingling, from his neck to his fingertips. This inexplicable current finally exploded in his chest.
Paralyzed the heart.
Zhou Ziheng, who felt this mysterious feeling for the first time in 20 years, once again forgot the person who hugged him in a daze after getting drunk and refused to let go.
He's been a liar all along.