I Joined a Fake Variety Show (GL) - Chapter 25

“We are roommates, aren’t we?”

Han Shutong’s light sentence reached the ears of the two people present and the production crew in front of the monitors.

Zhou Xi paused, thinking about Han Shutong’s words.

Because they were roommates, they should film together.

Zhou Xi knew the staff didn’t want her to film for the same reason she’d just thought of: she had no fans and no fame; filming would be pointless.

Zhou Xi put herself in Han Shutong’s shoes and realized Han Shutong was worried she might feel excluded. But weren’t Han Shutong’s words going against the production crew?

It wasn’t worth causing friction between Han Shutong and the crew just for her sake.

Zhou Xi lightly coughed, ready to say they should follow the staff’s suggestion, but when her eyes met Han Shutong’s gaze, what came out was: “Okay.”

Hearing Zhou Xi’s answer, a smile curled on Han Shutong’s lips.

Zhou Xi was slightly taken aback; she hadn’t expected her spoken words to be so different from what she thought.

What had made her change her mind was a fleeting glint in Han Shutong’s eyes.

At that moment, the staff member also received a message from their team leader, telling them to go along with Han Shutong’s wishes.

The staff member immediately stepped forward. “Teacher Han, let me help you and Teacher Zhou film.”

“Mhm,” Han Shutong replied.

The video was finished in just ten minutes.

As the staff left, only Han Shutong and Zhou Xi remained at home.

Han Shutong looked at the person she hadn’t spent much quality time with in days and initiated a conversation. “What have you been busy with these past few days?”

Zhou Xi said, “Nothing much, just visited a friend in the hospital a few times.”

Han Shutong: “Is she doing better?”

“Much better. She was discharged yesterday.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know you had a friend hospitalized.”

Zhou Xi smiled and shook her head. “You don’t need to apologize for that.”

Zhou Xi changed the subject. “What should we do today? You’ve been busy for so long, how about we take a day off today, and go out to have some fun tomorrow?”

“…Okay.”

Zhou Xi: “Then I’ll think about what to do tomorrow and make a reservation in advance.”

“Let’s think together.”

Han Shutong said this, pulling Zhou Xi to the sofa. Once Zhou Xi sat down, Han Shutong picked up an apple and a paring knife from the coffee table. While peeling the apple, she asked, “What do you want to do?”

Zhou Xi didn’t hesitate. “Anything as long as it’s not high-altitude sports.”

“How about you?” Zhou Xi couldn’t think of anything right away, so she asked Han Shutong.

Han Shutong handed the peeled apple to Zhou Xi and said, “I’m fine with anything.”

As Zhou Xi took the apple, Han Shutong pursed her lips, coughed lightly, and said, “The important thing isn’t what we do, but who we…”

…do it with.

Han Shutong didn’t finish her sentence, as Zhou Xi’s attention was focused on the travel guide on the tablet and she didn’t hear her.

Han Shutong didn’t speak again but quietly watched Zhou Xi.

Zhou Xi checked the local tourist attractions. It was somewhat funny; despite living here for so many years, Zhou Xi had only been to one attraction organized by a university club, and never on her own.

There were many attractions in the city, but Zhou Xi immediately dismissed the idea once she searched them up.

It wouldn’t be a problem for her to go, but if Han Shutong went, she might be recognized in less than a minute. Then, they wouldn’t be touring the scenery; they would be the scenery being observed.

So, she needed an activity with fewer people, ideally one where their faces couldn’t be easily seen.

“I know.”

Zhou Xi’s eyes were sparkling, flashing with anticipation. “Let’s go go-karting.”

“Go-karting?”

“Yes,” Zhou Xi nodded.

Han Shutong said deeply, “Good.”

Having gained her agreement, Zhou Xi began to book the time slot.

The Next Day.

The two arrived at the go-karting club at nine in the morning. Since it was a weekday, there weren’t many people there.

The production team had informed the owner in advance, so he wasn’t shocked to see Zhou Xi, Han Shutong, and the several cameramen, though he was a bit excited to see Han Shutong in person.

The owner was also business-minded. Seeing the cameras behind Han Shutong, he realized his club might be featured on TV, so he said to Han Shutong, “Miss Han, shall I show you around while I introduce the club, and then take you to get your gear?”

The owner’s words were flawless, but both Zhou Xi and Han Shutong understood his intentions.

It was no issue for either of them. Han Shutong nodded. “Thank you for the trouble.”

After the owner replied, he led Zhou Xi and Han Shutong on a tour from the front desk, talking non-stop. He spoke about the reasons for opening the club and the experiences over the years, though most of it was self-praise and marketing directed at the camera.

Ten minutes later, Zhou Xi and the others finally reached the clothing area. Looking at the rows of racing suits and round helmets on the rack, Zhou Xi’s eyes finally showed some excitement.

The owner then said, “This is the clothing area. Miss Han and Miss Zhou can select what you want to wear for the race.”

Zhou Xi: “Can I choose now?”

Seeing the racing suits, Zhou Xi could no longer contain her excitement.

She loved the feeling of being on the track—free and racing with abandon.

“Of course.” As the owner spoke, he cleared the way, indicating they could go in and choose.

Zhou Xi chose a racing suit that was mostly black, with a black and yellow helmet. The yellow and black on the helmet formed a lightning bolt pattern.

Han Shutong chose a suit primarily in white, with a cyan and white helmet. The pattern on her helmet was a roaring tiger, which looked incredibly cool.

Seeing that both had chosen their outfits, the owner figured he had introduced enough and led the two to the changing rooms.

There were three stalls in the women’s changing room. The room was empty when Zhou Xi and Han Shutong entered.

Zhou Xi’s hair had grown much longer these days. It was initially above her shoulders, but now it reached below her shoulders, roughly resting on her chest.

With long hair, Zhou Xi had a gentler and quieter demeanor than with short hair, looking completely like the warm big sister next door who would give you candy when you cried.

As Zhou Xi was changing her clothes, her phone beeped just as she was pulling up the zipper. She turned to look at the phone, not noticing that a small strand of hair had gotten caught in the zipper chain due to her movement.

Then, her hair and the zipper became entangled.

A minute later, not only was her hair still stuck, but Zhou Xi’s forehead was beaded with sweat from her efforts.

Zhou Xi took a deep breath. She had no way to resolve the current situation.

She was about to forcefully pull and break the hair when there was a knock on the fitting room door.

“Teacher Zhou?”

At that moment, Han Shutong’s voice sounded to Zhou Xi like the Tang Monk, captured by a demon, hearing Sun Wukong say, “Master, your old Sun is here to save you.”

Zhou Xi raised a hand to wipe the sweat from her forehead and reached up to slide the door bolt.

“I’m truly clumsy,” was the first sentence Zhou Xi spoke when she opened the door and met Han Shutong’s eyes.

Then, without waiting for Han Shutong to speak, Zhou Xi added, “I can even get my hair caught while zipping up.”

Han Shutong had been worried that something had happened since Zhou Xi had been silent in the fitting room for so long. Relieved to hear it was only her hair caught, she consoled her. “It was just an accident, not clumsiness.”

Han Shutong’s fingers grasped the zipper and gently pulled down, but the zipper didn’t budge.

Zhou Xi: “I tried that just now; it won’t work.”

“I’ll just break the hair.” Saying this, Zhou Xi pushed Han Shutong’s hand away and grabbed a handful of her hair.

The moment Zhou Xi was about to pull, Han Shutong stopped her.

“Let me try again.”

After saying that, Han Shutong led Zhou Xi to a chair outside. She had Zhou Xi sit down, while she knelt beside her. Her two slender fingers slowly and gently teased out the hair tangled in the zipper.

Zhou Xi inadvertently lowered her gaze. The first thing she saw was Han Shutong’s smooth brow, followed by her determined and serious eyes.

Just as Zhou Xi had said, most people wouldn’t waste time untangling hair; they would either pull it to break it or simply snip it off with scissors, resolving the issue quickly.

But Han Shutong’s eyes told Zhou Xi that she didn’t view this as a trivial waste of time. Her relaxed brow indicated that Han Shutong also wasn’t impatient about the situation.

Staring at Han Shutong’s serene face, a warm current flowed through Zhou Xi’s heart.

Han Shutong is so kind.

Zhou Xi had thought this more than once.

“Shutong,” Zhou Xi called softly.

“Did I hurt you?” Han Shutong thought she had pulled Zhou Xi too hard, and immediately softened her movements.

“No.” Zhou Xi lowered her head. “Thank you.”

“You don’t need to apologize for that.”

Hearing the familiar phrase structure, Zhou Xi couldn’t help but laugh. At that very moment, Han Shutong pulled the zipper down, and the tangled hair was successfully freed.

Han Shutong looked up and said, “All done.”

Zhou Xi zipped up her suit, smiled, and met Han Shutong’s eyes. “Shall we go then?”

One sitting and one kneeling, as their eyes met, Han Shutong avoided her gaze, stood up, and said, “Okay, let’s go.”

Zhou Xi, however, was momentarily stunned by Han Shutong’s avoidance. It seemed… she had missed something.

But the thought was fleeting, and Zhou Xi dismissed it as her being overly sensitive.

On the way to the track, Zhou Xi was constantly looking at her phone, chatting with someone.

The person she was chatting with was the one who had messaged her earlier.

As they were about to reach the track, Zhou Xi had a contemplative look on her face.

Han Shutong, who had been observing Zhou Xi, asked seemingly casually, “What’s wrong?”

“Noth—” Zhou Xi was about to say nothing, but then changed her mind, thinking it wouldn’t hurt for Han Shutong to know. She said, “Yingran invited me to have dinner with her.”

Wu Yingran?

Han Shutong’s eyes flickered. “You don’t want to go?”

Zhou Xi hesitated, then nodded.

Han Shutong felt a smile bloom internally but didn’t show it. She said plainly, “Then don’t go.”

“But she said she’ll be alone on Qixi, and she’s afraid of feeling sad seeing other people show affection, so she wants me to keep her company.”

“Qixi Festival?” The smile that had just appeared in Han Shutong’s heart suddenly froze.

She remembered how Wu Yingran had previously deliberately mentioned her close relationship with Zhou Xi in front of her, and how she had asked Zhou Xi out on the day of the recording under the guise of being drunk. Now, she was asking Zhou Xi to dinner on the Qixi Festival.

Wu Yingran’s actions were far too obvious in their intent.

“Yes, she said the recording is that day, and she wants to have dinner with me afterward,” Zhou Xi said.

As the two walked onto the track, seeing the staff approaching them, Han Shutong asked, “Why… don’t you want to go?”

Zhou Xi was startled by Han Shutong’s question.

Actually, there was something she hadn’t told Han Shutong.

The last time she went to pick up the drunk Wu Yingran, as Zhou Xi was about to leave after getting her home, Wu Yingran mumbled, “Xixi, why don’t you move in with me?”

Before Zhou Xi could answer, the drunken Wu Yingran suddenly lost her balance and swayed. As Zhou Xi reached out to steady her, Wu Yingran’s head pitched toward Zhou Xi’s face. Thankfully, Zhou Xi managed to dodge.

But when she got home, Zhou Xi suddenly realized that if she hadn’t dodged, Wu Yingran’s lips would have landed on her face.