Lin Cimian fumbled to steady his cap, pressed it firmly back onto his head, then lowered his gaze guiltily like a thief. He instinctively held his breath and tried his hardest to reduce his presence.
Outwardly, he pretended to be calm, but the little person inside his heart was already rolling around throwing a tantrum.
How could anyone be as stupid as him?!
After wailing inwardly for a while, Lin Cimian’s mind slowly cooled down. Even though he knew he was already covered from head to toe, he still tugged his mask higher, unwilling to expose even an inch of skin.
The situation remained deadlocked. Lin Cimian could not help pricking up his ears to listen to the conversation in the distance. Yan Shiyue’s voice was warm and clear, with a magnetic quality when he spoke softly—the kind of beautiful voice that would drive voice-cons wild.
Lin Cimian struggled for several seconds, then failed to suppress his restless curiosity and secretly took a peek.
Yan Shiyue had turned his head and was chatting with someone. He did not carry the slightest arrogance of a major celebrity; his attitude was mild, and he did not look as though he had noticed Lin Cimian at all.
Only then did Lin Cimian relax. His unfocused gaze settled on the wall as he counted silently from boredom, praying they would hurry up and finish talking.
Unfortunately, the two television-station employees clearly had not heard his prayer. They were displaying terrifyingly high-level social skills, one topic flowing into another without the conversation ever going cold.
This was far beyond the comprehension of social trash like Lin Cimian. He listened in wide-eyed amazement. Even though he was anxious and restless, he almost wanted to pull out a little notebook and take notes.
Learned something new: when talking to people you don’t know well, you can discuss things like this… Wait, that isn’t the point! Can’t you go talk inside a room? Please leave him one path to survival!
Every second felt like a year. Lin Cimian unconsciously twisted the hem of his shirt until it was covered in wrinkles. His pale fingertips and the taut lines of his arms revealed just how nervous he was.
Standing there facing a wall was too stupid. Lin Cimian could only grit his teeth and find something to do.
He slowly crouched down, gently untied his already tied shoelace, then tied it again. His movements were so slow they could have defeated a sloth.
He tried his hardest to kill time, but the people at the far end of the corridor were still chatting. Lin Cimian waited until his scalp tingled. Unable to endure any longer, he worked up the courage to sneak another glance.
Maybe he was lucky, or maybe the others were too engrossed in conversation. Either way, no one had noticed him yet.
But there was no telling whether that would remain true.
Taking advantage of the fact that no one was looking, he spun around quickly and pretended to walk away naturally. His legs moved at top speed, though, and he stayed plastered against the wall as if that would somehow make him less conspicuous.
Just after Lin Cimian’s back disappeared, Yan Shiyue’s conversation ended as well. He and his manager left through the television station’s rear entrance, where their car had already been waiting for some time.
His manager had just sat in the front passenger seat and was about to answer work emails when he suddenly remembered something. Turning around, he looked at Yan Shiyue. “Should we deal with that little celebrity who was shamelessly riding your popularity before? What was his name again? Lin… Mian?”
“Lin Cimian.” A low, clear voice sounded.
The man sitting in the back seat looked out the window, and the figure he had seen in the corridor surfaced before his eyes.
Lin Cimian had been wearing both a mask and a cap, but his hair color was too distinctive. One strand of silver-white hair sticking out beneath the brim had exposed his identity.
Yan Shiyue had pretended not to notice Lin Cimian and turned to chat with the television-station employees instead. But because they were standing face-to-face, his peripheral vision inevitably caught Lin Cimian’s little movements—
His posture was restrained, his head lowered tightly. The nape of his neck that showed above his collar was thin and pale. The hand gripping his shirt hem had prominent knuckles, as though he were using a great deal of force.
When he secretly glanced over, the eyes beneath the brim of his hat were clean and clear, incapable of hiding a single thought, and even the movement itself was cautious.
Yan Shiyue was an actor. He had strong powers of observation and was highly sensitive to other people’s emotions. At a glance, he could tell that Lin Cimian was very afraid of him and did not want to be discovered.
Yan Shiyue had originally intended to go with the flow and lead the others into a nearby room, but Lin Cimian had escaped first through the emergency passage behind him. He had looked a little like a frightened small animal whose ears had flattened into airplane ears, fleeing close to the ground in a panic without caring where it went.
Clumsy and very childish.
Yan Shiyue paused, then said, “No need. Let the attention die down naturally.”
His manager frowned in disagreement. “The other party may not think the same way. He might keep riding your popularity later. It may be a small matter, but if we ignore it, it could easily leave us covered in stink.”
Yan Shiyue cut him off. “He won’t.”
“???”
The manager looked at Yan Shiyue suspiciously, unable to understand why he sounded so certain.
But seeing that Yan Shiyue had no desire to continue the topic, he did not bother him further with something this minor and temporarily let it go.
Lin Cimian essentially had a private car. Without waiting for the other members, he returned to the hotel first, took a wonderful afternoon nap, then splurged on a delivery of local specialties.
No one disturbed him the entire time. Lin Cimian assumed there were no other scheduled activities. After dinner, he watched a movie, and just when it was time for him to wash up and go to sleep, someone suddenly knocked on his door.
Lin Cimian hated being disturbed at this hour and immediately became nervous, but the person knocking was extremely impatient. Before he had finished preparing himself mentally to open the door, the person had already left.
Lin Cimian vaguely guessed what had happened. He pulled up the work group chat and, sure enough, saw that the manager had ordered everyone to gather.
Why was this boy group’s work schedule so cursed?
As a member of the group, Lin Cimian helplessly sighed. No matter how unwilling he was, he could only follow the collective schedule and go downstairs to get in the car.
Lin Cimian’s biological clock had always been stable, and he slept very well. It was already his normal bedtime, so he slept for a while in the car, then fell asleep again while his makeup was being done.
He had no idea how much time passed before someone patted his shoulder and rudely woke him.
His lashes trembled twice. Lin Cimian opened his eyes blearily, his consciousness still foggy, and the first thing he saw was a deathly pale face.
!!! A ghost!
Lin Cimian’s pupils contracted in fright. His body jerked backward uncontrollably, and the chair creaked under the sudden strain.
The white-faced ghost made exactly the same expression and movement.
“…” The ghost was actually me.
Lin Cimian’s startled soul finally returned to his body. Only then did he notice the mirror in front of him, and realize that the white-faced ghost was what he looked like after makeup.
His natural skin tone was already very pale, but the makeup artist had somehow found an even whiter foundation shade and painted his entire face corpse-white. The makeup was so thick that Lin Cimian suspected ten pounds of foundation might shake loose if he moved.
Not only that, the makeup artist had altered the shape of his eyes with eyeliner.
His irises were naturally framed by full, rounded eyes, but the makeup artist had drawn them narrow and flat, with the outer corners lifted so high they nearly met his eyebrows. The lipstick shade was especially garish too, red enough to look as though blood might drip from it.
A huge white face with blood-red lips—were they trying to scare the audience to death?
Lin Cimian had serious objections to the makeup artist’s aesthetic judgment, but the person had already left. Even if the makeup artist were still there, with Lin Cimian’s level of social anxiety, he would never dare voice a complaint.
With his face buried beneath heavy cosmetics that made him look cheap and coquettish, Lin Cimian did not even want to look in the mirror. He picked up his phone and tried to find the schedule for the next few days in the work group, but just as he opened the shared files, the door was pushed open from outside.
He raised his head and stared blankly at the captain walking in.
The captain knew Lin Cimian’s makeup was always rather unusual, but he was still struck by how ugly it looked and could not help frowning.
However, Lin Cimian was the best-looking member of the group. If his makeup were normal, he would undoubtedly steal the captain’s title as the group’s visual, so the captain did not mock him aloud.
Seeing the captain’s unpleasant expression, Lin Cimian keenly sensed the hostility in his attitude and asked, “What’s wrong?”
The captain’s personality was fairly steady—otherwise he would not have held onto his position—but before coming over, Zhou Chen and several other members had stirred him up until very little reason remained. “You still have the nerve to ask what’s wrong? You went to all that trouble to ditch the nine of us and record a program alone with Shen Ruyao. Feeling pretty pleased with yourself now, aren’t you? Stop daydreaming. We’re only unlucky enough that we have to pinch our noses and tolerate a burden like you. If the group disbands and no one wants you around, do you really think you’ll still be able to survive in this industry?”
Lin Cimian: ???
Are you okay? Seriously, are you okay in the head?!
What do you mean I went to all that trouble to ditch the nine of you? You’re talking like I personally planned the traffic jam on the expressway. If I had that kind of power, would I still be here playing house with all of you?!
Lin Cimian tugged at the corner of his mouth. Words flew through his mind like a barrage of comments, but in reality, he could only squeeze out a few stiff words. “If… that’s what you want to think, there’s nothing I can do.”
Captain: “…”
Lin Cimian was actually first-rate at roasting people in his head, but during a real argument, either anger turned his brain into paste or his mouth seemed glued shut. He could not display even a tenth of his true ability and performed like complete trash.
But once he was alone, or when he remembered the argument before bed that night, he would become so angry he wanted to start shadowboxing.
Unwilling to accept defeat, Lin Cimian thought furiously:
Arguments are not my true level! If you’ve got the guts, come find me before I sleep or when I’m having a late-night emotional spiral. I’ll roast you to death in minutes!
Although Lin Cimian’s abilities had plummeted, the captain was the type who filled in the blanks with his imagination, so this light, almost helpless sentence irritated him enormously.
Even garbage like Lin Cimian dared disregard him! He said there was nothing he could do, but he was clearly provoking him. If the captain did not display his authority and teach Lin Cimian a lesson, Lin Cimian would absolutely climb right over his head.
The captain sneered. His expression fell as he looked down at Lin Cimian from above. “As for the upcoming performance…”
The instant Lin Cimian heard the word “performance,” his expression stiffened and his mind went blank.
Making him perform onstage would be worse than killing him outright. It would absolutely turn into a disaster scene.
Panic had only just begun to spread when the captain continued, “…we don’t need you. If you dare play little tricks like this again, believe me when I say I’ll never give you another chance to perform onstage!”
Lin Cimian: Music to my ears! If you can talk like this, please say more!
He let out a breath of immense relief, feeling much happier.
He did not want to perform, but as a member of the boy group, it would be strange if he did not appear at all. It might even attract attention and discussion. Besides, he felt a little guilty about making money while doing nothing.
The captain misunderstood Lin Cimian’s reaction and assumed he was unwilling and searching for a rebuttal. He spoke first. “Don’t worry. The nine of us are better without you. There won’t be any mistakes in the formation or performance. And do you seriously have no awareness of your own reputation? Nobody wants to see you onstage.”
Now that he had put it that way, continuing to refuse would simply be impolite.
Thinking of how he would not have to perform, Lin Cimian suppressed the rising corners of his mouth, kept a straight face, and nodded.
The captain snorted coldly. Having recovered his dignity in front of Lin Cimian, he stingily refused to spare him another glance. Like an undefeated general, he turned away with his chin high and strode out.
Only Lin Cimian remained in the dressing room.
The room stayed quiet for several seconds. Lin Cimian’s face remained tense, but his shoulders started trembling uncontrollably. Finally, he let out a piglike squeal of laughter.
Thank Heaven, thank Earth, thank the captain! Not having to go onstage had practically saved his life!
Only another socially anxious person could understand this joy. The corners of Lin Cimian’s mouth nearly flew into the sky. Excitedly, he shadowboxed at empty air, whipped his head back and forth, and started dancing wildly around the room!
At that exact moment, the door opened.
Lin Cimian, frozen in mortification: “…”
The captain, frozen in shock: “…”
Lin Cimian was still holding his fists up. His entire body went numb from head to toe. The muscles in his face seemed to petrify, and his eyes turned vacant.
In the suffocating silence, the captain paused for several seconds, then closed the door with a smug and delighted expression.
See? Lin Cimian had been driven completely insane with rage.
