Yi Xing returned to the room booked by the production team, found clean clothes in his suitcase, and went into the bathroom. Five minutes later, he emerged with wet hair, tossing his changed clothes into a nearby basket. He planned to wash them all together later, never thinking he would one day learn to do laundry himself.
However, he had no choice. His current savings were insufficient to support dry cleaning expenses, which could range from three to four digits per visit. A few trips would quickly deplete his funds, so he had no option but to learn to wash them himself.
As he toweled his hair dry, he secretly lamented that he should have asked the household staff for some tips back then. Now he was clueless about everything. This hands-on lifestyle was truly a bit hard for him to adapt to, but he had no choice but to get used to it. He wondered how long this state would last.
His hair was mostly dry. He sat on the bed, playing on his phone. He opened Wei Bo and saw that his follower count hadn't changed much. Since reaching 200,000, it had remained stagnant. He wasn't particularly concerned about this; he was full of confidence in “China Speeding Up” and believed his follower count would definitely increase after the show aired.
He noticed someone had sent him a message. Clicking on it, he saw it was from Xu Ke.
“Xu Ke: What's your Wei Bo name? We're announcing the lineup tomorrow and will need to tag you.”
“Yi Xing: Let me check!”
“Yi Xing: Yi Xing 9527.”
“Xu Ke: I understand the first two words, but does that string of numbers have any special meaning?”
“Yi Xing: No, I originally intended to use 'Yi Xing,' but it told me the username was unavailable, so I just randomly typed a string of numbers after it, and that's how it ended up.”
“Xu Ke: Alright, please cooperate with our promotion tomorrow. I just sent you the picture.”
“Yi Xing: OKOK, just let me know when you're about to post it.”
After finishing his chat with Xu Ke, Yi Xing clicked on the photo he had sent. He truly was something; still so handsome. The production team had good taste, picking such a good-looking one. Not bad, not bad, he was very satisfied.
He admired it for a while, then thought he shouldn't be the only one to appreciate it. Of course, he had to send it to his good brothers.
“Yi Xing: 【Picture】”
“Yi Xing: Oh, oops, my hand slipped and I sent it to you. Since that's the case, come and admire my photo.”
But he didn't receive a reply in time, realizing he was probably busy filming and couldn't check his phone. So, he switched to the group chat interface to see what they were talking about there.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. He put away his phone and walked to the door, looking through the peephole. He saw Ju Jingyi standing outside. He quickly opened the door, met her gaze, and asked with a smile.
“What made you come looking for me? Were you bored staying in your room?”
“Yes, I was just by myself in there. Since I'm idle anyway, I might as well come chat with you, and then we can go to the dinner gathering together.”
Ju Jingyi continued his line of thought, relieved she had a good excuse. In truth, she wanted someone who knew the way to act as a guide. In this unfamiliar city, she was afraid she wouldn't find the way to the agreed-upon restaurant. She had a bit of a poor sense of direction.
“Alright then, come in.”
“Have you tidied up inside? There's nothing I shouldn't see, right?”
“No, don't worry!” Yi Xing's face darkened as he moved aside, saying impatiently. He wasn't the type to leave his personal belongings scattered everywhere.
“That's good then.” Ju Jingyi lowered the hand she had placed in front of her eyes and walked in.
She looked around, finding it much tidier than she had imagined. There were no takeout boxes on the table, nor clothes on the bed. She walked to the bed and sat down unceremoniously, praising him.
“I thought all guys' rooms were messy, but I didn't expect yours to be so neat. I had a stereotype.”
“Of course!”
Yi Xing scratched his head, his eyes unconsciously darting upwards. If someone familiar with him were present, they would know he was feeling very guilty at this moment. After all, he needed to maintain his image when outside. If he were at his own home, it would be a different story; clothes would truly be scattered everywhere.
“Not bad, not bad. What's your Wei Bo name? Let's follow each other, shall we?”
“Yi Xing 9527.”
“Oh, Yi Xing what?”
“9527!”
“Is this string of numbers your ex-girlfriend's birthday? Like born on February 7th, 1995 or something?” Ju Jingyi opened her phone, typed in his Wei Bo account, and casually asked if the numbers had any meaning.
“No, I just typed them randomly. And I… I've never been in a relationship.”
Suddenly, her eyes widened, and her hand movements stopped. She looked at the man in front of her in disbelief. No way, really? A rich second-generation heir who had never even been in a relationship? She found it a bit hard to believe.
“Don't joke around. How could you have never been in a relationship? You look like you've been through a lot.”
“It's true, why would I lie to you? I gain nothing from it. From childhood, my social circle was always controlled by my family. It wasn't until I went abroad to study that I started to have friends I could truly confide in… Forget it, telling you all this is useless.”
As he spoke, Yi Xing unconsciously revealed details from his past. Realizing this, he quickly closed his mouth. He didn't want to gain others' sympathy through such experiences. He was a very strong-willed person and didn't want anyone to pity him.
“I see. Hello, my name is Ju Jingyi. May I be your good friend?” Ju Jingyi nodded after listening, stood up, and extended her hand of friendship to the man who was looking down.
“In my opinion, you already are.”
He firmly grasped her hand, staring at her beautiful face, and an unfamiliar feeling unexpectedly arose within him. His heart rate suddenly became a little uncontrollable, accelerating rapidly. He quickly let go of her hand and turned away to conceal his unusual reaction.
Then, feigning composure, he said, “I saw in the group chat that they're about to leave. Shall we go too?”
Ju Jingyi evidently didn't notice his change, responding with a cheerful, “Mm-hm, let's go!”
Then, she walked towards the door, and Yi Xing quickly grabbed his phone from the table and followed her.