Me And My Four Dancers - Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Sleeping in One Bed

“Superstar” is produced by Pineapple TV. Living up to its reputation for affluence, Pineapple TV has prepared a villa for the guests to use as dormitories.

Yan Shuo and Shen Ze arrived at the perfect time, waiting for everyone to arrive. After everyone was ready, the director personally introduced everyone and went over the basics. Then, they had their makeup done before dinner began.

Since the script for the first episode had been distributed to the guests in advance, everyone was familiar with the process.

The dinner, of course, wasn’t just a simple meal. The plot in the script can be summed up in four words: commercial flattery.

Yan Shuo was adept at this, and his flattery was actually quite sincere. After all, every one of the guests present was worthy of praise.

For example, Du Peng is a renowned director. Yan Shuo grew up watching his films and is a die-hard Du fan, boasting about them without the need for the production team to orchestrate his own praises.

Lin Kang is a singing legend of the older generation, a reminder of Yan Shuo’s mother’s youth.

Zhou Huanrong holds two Golden Globes, Du’s personal favorite, with a nationally renowned reputation and a list of her representative works that could fill a table.

Li Wenhan is a household name comedian and a frequent Spring Festival Gala guest.

There’s also Zhang Lan, Ni Feng, Shi Long, Mi Ling…

Among the guests present, only Mi Ling strikes a sympathetic rapport with Yan Shuo. Why? Because Mi Ling is one of the most popular young actresses in recent years, known as a straight man’s goddess. Her immense popularity has inevitably led to her being subjected to considerable criticism.

Mi Ling was previously rumored to be dating Li Jin, stemming from a photo of her attending a M.E.N. concert. She didn’t hold back, directly posting a photo of herself and Li Jin backstage at the concert on Weibo.

Yan Shuo was deeply impressed by this, because Qi Haoyu and Fu Xinyan were both her fans at the time. They would watch every episode of her drama regularly, even if the plot was incredibly Mary Sue, because their looks were enough.

Alas, even the straight male goddess couldn’t escape Li Jin’s clutches, and this cruel reality left Qi Haoyu and Fu Xinyan heartbroken for a long time.

Yan Shuo, however, had no feelings for her.

Oddly enough, Yan Shuo reflected carefully. He never seemed to have felt attracted to any beautiful female celebrities. Pretty was just beautiful, and he appreciated them, not attracted. Perhaps it was because he hadn’t met anyone he liked.

However, he had no idea what kind of person he liked; he was just too busy being narcissistic.

—Compared to that, the one with the best taste in choosing a partner among the Plastic Heavenly Group was actually Chen Ze?

Yan Shuo went around in circles, finally praising himself.

He adorably helped Chen Ze pick up some food, and the camera didn’t miss his subtle gesture, immediately giving them a close-up.

Finally, the meal was almost over, and the commercial exaggerations could be put to rest. The performances began.

The so-called performances weren’t formal stage performances, but rather small tableside extravaganzas to liven up the atmosphere.

Yan Shuo performed a casual dance, Chen Ze sang a song, and Li Wenhan teamed up Zhang Lan and Shi Long for an impromptu skit…

After all the performances were over, the atmosphere certainly brightened, and everyone’s fake smiles became more genuine. The only downside was that Yan Shuo hadn’t eaten enough.

After the meal, there was some free time, the cameras were turned off, and the guests were given makeup touch-ups.

Yan Shuo took the opportunity to surf the internet for a while—his phone had been returned by Li Linjia. He checked WeChat and saw Qi Haoyu had just posted a comment complaining about how boring acting was and how idiotic his character was.

Yan Shuo commented: “Wouldn’t that be a perfect opportunity to play himself?”

As soon as I finished sending the message, Qi Haoyu’s private message popped up: “Brother, I just need to talk to you about something.”

Yan Shuo: “What’s it?”

Qi Haoyu: “Last time, you added me as your friend. Didn’t I say I’d ask for you? QVQ? Then I asked, and my girlfriend said she didn’t know her. QAQ.”

Yan Shuo: “Just talk to me.”

Qi Haoyu: “Well, what I mean is, I might have put that person in the wrong group. I forgot why I added her in the first place. I don’t know her details. Be careful.”

Yan Shuo: “…”

Be careful about what? Didn’t we agree to just have an online relationship, no face-to-face? It’s safe and secure, right?

Yan Shuo, unconcerned, pulled out his backup phone, opened QQ, and sent a message.

123123: “Are you there?”

123123: “You haven’t been online in a few days.”

The message fell flat on its face.

Yan Shuo was losing his patience. This was no fun at all. Perhaps he should really go find Qi Haoyu and find a new online lover instead of just hanging himself on the same tree.

Just as Yan Shuo was pondering the feasibility, the assistant director arrived to announce that the break was over and asked him to get ready and continue filming.

The next part was simple: the dormitory assignments were assigned by drawing lots.

It was nominally a drawing, but in reality, it was all pre-determined. The final groupings were: Yan Shuo + Chen Ze, Mi Ling + Zhou Huanrong, Ni Feng + Shi Long, Li Wenhan + Zhang Lan, and Lin Kang + Du Peng.

Of course, the drawing process had to include some suspense and conflict, and the dormitory assignments were even more engaging—Yan Shuo and Shen Ze were the last to be assigned a room. Since all the other rooms were taken, the remaining bedroom for them only had one bed.

—The director was so cunning. He said he wanted to be open, but he didn’t say he wanted to be open to every bed?

Yan Shuo’s expression, held tightly in place by the camera, was even more distorted. Turning around, he saw Chen Ze’s face, even more distorted than his own.

Yan Shuo’s desire to scold the production team was instantly diverted. He suddenly realized that Chen Ze’s reaction seemed a bit illogical. Why did he seem so reluctant? Shouldn’t he be looking forward to it?

What? Was it moving too fast? Was he shy? Was he really feeling that way?

I really couldn’t understand what their secret crush was thinking.

Sleeping in the same bed like that wasn’t a good idea…

Yan Shuo couldn’t continue to think straight. That night, he called Li Linjia and asked for an extra bed.

Li Linjia brutally rejected his request, saying she’d listen to the director.

Yan Shuo hung up and returned to his room. When he entered, Chen Ze was about to take off his shirt, but upon seeing him, he immediately let it down and refused.

Yan Shuo: “…”

If you’re brave enough, sleep in your clothes today.

Yan Shuo ignored Chen Ze and surveyed the bedroom carefully. He then unpacked his suitcase and took out his belongings. When he went into the bathroom to put his things away, he found Chen Ze’s belongings already laid out.

“Have you showered yet?” Yan Shuo leaned against the bathroom door. Seeing Chen Ze nod, he asked, “Are they not going to do a surprise inspection tonight? What time do we have to be in office?”

“No.” Chen Ze finally undressed and changed into pajamas in front of him. He said casually, “But I suggest you don’t even think about anything indecent.”

Yan Shuo: “…”

What was I thinking? Don’t bite back. Just try to force your own random thoughts into my head.

…Unfortunately, they did.

Yan Shuo closed the bathroom door and turned on the shower.

He couldn’t control his mind from playing the movie, and the harder he tried to stop thinking about it, the harder it was to divert his attention. He was curious about what Chen Ze was thinking. Based on his limited knowledge of gay relationships (learned from forum fans), when two men are together, there’s usually a clear distinction between the top and the bottom—is Shen Ze trying to have s3x with him, or is he trying to be fucked?

“…”

I’m crazy, am I?

Yan Shuo cursed inwardly, quickly finished his shower, dried himself, put on his bathrobe, and left.

Shen Ze was already lying in bed, leaving a bedside lamp on for him.

Yan Shuo flicked off the light and climbed onto the other side.

He consciously leaned over, lying a bit too far away. Shen Ze did the same.

But the bed was actually quite large, leaving a significant distance between them—the same distance had existed when Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai shared a bed. It made Yan Shuo really want to imitate them and place a bowl of water between them to see if it would spill when he woke up the next day.

Yan Shuo couldn’t sleep, so he and Shen Ze lay back to back. There was no movement behind them, only the dim light of their phones.

With a buzz, Yan Shuo’s QQ phone suddenly chimed.

He muted his phone, then opened it to see that he’d received a reply to the message he’d sent earlier that day—

Annoyed: “I’m here.”

Annoyed: “Still awake, huh? I have something to say to you, /smile.”