I Joined a Fake Variety Show (GL) - Chapter 37

The moment Zhou Xi finished speaking, Han Shutong’s phone rang.

Han Shutong looked down. It was a call from Luo Shuiqiu. She showed Zhou Xi the caller ID and said quietly, “I’ll take this.”

Zhou Xi guessed it was work-related and nodded in agreement.

Han Shutong pressed the answer button as she turned, walking into the bathroom to take the call.

Luo Shuiqiu spoke first. “I checked it out. The deputy director is named Gao Liang, and he’s a relative of Director Gao, so no one on the crew usually dares to disobey him. He suddenly told your team leader last night that he was adding a guest and claimed Director Gao Ming instructed him. Your staff agreed.”

Han Shutong: “Mhm. Did you talk to Gao Ming?”

“I just finished the call with him. That’s why I’m calling you.”

“What did he say?”

“He reprimanded Gao Liang and revoked his deputy director position. As for the related staff, they were also fired.”

Luo Shuiqiu continued, “The outcome is quite good; at least he was punished. I also communicated with Gao Ming as you requested. Today’s footage will be discarded and won’t be edited into the main feature. This crushes your college classmate’s plan. Oh, and she should receive the news that she’s been dismissed as an observer tomorrow. Gao Ming suggested that himself, and your on-site staff will also be replaced for the next recording.”

Han Shutong only replied with a calm “Mhm.”

Luo Shuiqiu heard the lack of emotion in Han Shutong’s voice and sighed softly. “I’m sorry. This is my fault. I should have communicated with Gao Ming better, but I promise this won’t happen again.”

“It has nothing to do with you,” Han Shutong said.

Zuo Yuan had acted premeditatedly. Even with prior communication, it wouldn’t have helped. If she hadn’t come today, she would have come next time with an official invitation from the production crew.

Han Shutong’s words warmed Luo Shuiqiu’s heart. “That makes me feel so touched.”

Hearing the overly sweet voice on the other end, Han Shutong said sternly, “I’m hanging up.”

“Wait a second,” Luo Shuiqiu stopped her. She asked, “Is your old classmate still at your house? It’s raining heavily; she hasn’t gone home, has she?”

“Mhm, she’s here.”

Luo Shuiqiu tutted. “You and Xiao Xi are too kind. If it were me, I would have thrown her out ages ago. Let her sleep at your house? Dream on! Wait… where is she sleeping?”

“My room.”

“Then where are you sleeping?” Luo Shuiqiu immediately asked.

Han Shutong paused. “Teacher Zhou’s room.”

Luo Shuiqiu said “Oh.” “I think something is very odd about you. Under normal circumstances, you wouldn’t sleep with Xiao Xi.”

Han Shutong chuckled lightly. “Then where should I sleep?”

“Given your years of secret crushing and lack of courage to confess, you would obviously be sleeping on the…” Luo Shuiqiu stopped before saying “sofa.” She asked, “Did I just hit a nerve?”

Han Shutong let out a faint laugh.

“Tell me, is there a plan behind this abnormal behavior? Are you planning to confess? It’s raining so heavily; it doesn’t seem romantic at all. You…”

Han Shutong interrupted Luo Shuiqiu and said calmly, “Mhm, yes.”

“?!” Luo Shuiqiu stood up from her chair. “What did you just say?!”

Luo Shuiqiu’s voice was so loud that it made Han Shutong frown. “Forget it if you didn’t hear me.”

Luo Shuiqiu realized she hadn’t misheard. After two seconds, she sat back down and asked, “When I asked you at the hot pot dinner the day before yesterday, you said you didn’t know when you’d confess. How is it that only two days later, you’ve figured it out? Did something happen in the last two days?”

In the last sentence, Luo Shuiqiu’s tone was unmistakably teasing.

What happened?

Nothing happened.

It was simply that today’s Han Shutong liked Zhou Xi more than the Han Shutong of two days ago.

As for why she wanted to confess…

Han Shutong felt concerned when she saw Zuo Yuan leaning so close to Zhou Xi.

It was in that moment that she suddenly realized that when someone else stood next to Zhou Xi, she felt jealous, but the only thing she could do was find a clumsy excuse to get close to Zhou Xi.

Zhou Xi agreed this time, but what about next time?

“Nothing. I just came to terms with it.”

“It took you quite a long time to come to terms with it. Based on what you told me before, let me calculate… it’s almost five years. Five years, do you know that in these five years… I’m sorry, I misspoke.”

Luo Shuiqiu cleared her throat and said, “I’m not trying to discourage you, but I want to ask: do you know Zhou Xi’s sexual orientation?”

There was silence on the other end. Luo Shuiqiu continued, “Although I’ve always urged you to confess, when we ate hot pot, I felt Zhou Xi wasn’t very sensitive to these matters. If Zhou Xi isn’t like us, and you still want to be friends with her, you should probably not confess and find someone else to like. Although I know that’s difficult.”

“…Mhm.”

“Of course, it’s surprising that you’ve taken this step. Little Tongtong is finally going to be brave in pursuing love. I’m rooting for you.”

Luo Shuiqiu herself couldn’t handle her sudden sentimentality. Just as she expected Han Shutong to scold her, Han Shutong said, “Teacher Zhou is calling me. I’m hanging up.”

Luo Shuiqiu: “…”

That sentimentality was wasted.

Zhou Xi, after washing up, sat on the bed and watched the person spreading a blanket on the floor. She smiled and asked, “Student Han, I don’t quite understand why you’re sleeping on the floor?”

Zhou Xi patted the bed beneath her. “Is my bed not big enough?”

Han Shutong’s back stiffened. She turned and sat on the makeshift bed, looking up at the person on the bed, then glanced at the bed. “It is big.”

Zhou Xi: “Then come up and sleep.”

Han Shutong met Zhou Xi’s eyes, seeing the clarity in them. “Teacher Zhou, do you know why I wanted to sleep in your room?”

Zhou Xi chuckled, pointing to the blanket on the floor. “Because you didn’t want to sleep on the sofa, so you wanted to sleep on the mattress instead?”

Han Shutong shook her head, then was about to speak, but the room suddenly went dark.

“Is the power out?” Zhou Xi asked.

“The circuit probably tripped.”

“It’s probably because of the rain,” Zhou Xi said, picking up her phone and turning on the flashlight.

Light returned to the room, though this beam only illuminated a small area; the rest of the space was still filled with darkness.

Conveniently, both Zhou Xi and Han Shutong were within this beam of light.

“What were you trying to say just now?” Zhou Xi asked Han Shutong.

Han Shutong licked her lip. “Do you want to know how Luo Shuiqiu and I met?”

Zhou Xi didn’t understand why Han Shutong suddenly brought this up. Assuming it was part of a “late-night chat session” before bed, she nodded and asked, “How did you meet?”

Han Shutong simply stated, “It was at a bar. She was drunk and tried to pick me up. I refused her.”

Han Shutong’s story was brief but covered all the key points.

She had unintentionally entered the bar. She only ordered one drink and sat quietly in the corner. She happened to meet Luo Shuiqiu, who was also sitting in a corner.

It was the day Luo Shuiqiu broke up with Yan Mengnuo. She drank herself into a stupor, muttering, “I have plenty of others besides you, sister,” as she walked toward Han Shutong.

Heartbreak plus rejection caused Luo Shuiqiu to break down in tears, even hugging Han Shutong’s arm and crying.

Han Shutong couldn’t get away. Out of necessity, Han Shutong booked a room for Luo Shuiqiu and left after Luo Shuiqiu fell asleep.

When they met again, the two slowly became friends.

“Pick you up?”

Zhou Xi found Han Shutong’s choice of words odd.

“Mhm,” Han Shutong whispered, looking down. “It was a women’s bar.”

The statement was clear, and Zhou Xi immediately understood.

Zhou Xi paused, then remembered something. She asked Han Shutong, “So… the person you told me you like… is a girl?”

Han Shutong: “Mhm.”

Zhou Xi raised an eyebrow. “Is it Sister Qiu?”

Han Shutong looked at Zhou Xi, unsure why Zhou Xi thought she liked Luo Shuiqiu. She pursed her lips and replied, “No.”

Zhou Xi’s guess about Luo Shuiqiu was based on evidence.

Zhou Xi had seen the concern Han Shutong showed for Luo Shuiqiu at the hot pot dinner.

But since Han Shutong said no, Zhou Xi assumed she guessed incorrectly. “Oh, okay.”

The casual “Oh, okay” reached Han Shutong’s ears flatly. Han Shutong hesitated, then asked, “You… aren’t surprised?”

Zhou Xi hummed. “A little bit, but I can accept it.”

Zhou Xi then got off the bed and sat next to Han Shutong, placing her hand on Han Shutong’s shoulder. Her voice was gentle. “I knew your secret yesterday, and today I know your secret. We’re even now.”

Feeling the weight on her shoulder, Han Shutong turned her head to glance at it. As her gaze returned forward, she said, “I…”

“Mhm? Do you have something else to tell me?” Zhou Xi asked with a smile. “Is it the name of the person you like?”

The words she had been preparing all night finally led to this moment. Han Shutong looked up, the words on the tip of her tongue, and met Zhou Xi’s eyes.

Zhou Xi’s eyes were smiling, carrying a curiosity that was completely unrelated to her.

Han Shutong suddenly realized that she had been too confident in her assumptions.

She had planned to confess so she would have the right to approach Zhou Xi the next time she felt jealous. But she forgot to consider: What if Zhou Xi rejected her?

Would she approach her as a failure?

Did she deserve to?

She did not.

In the final moment, Han Shutong backed down. The words on the tip of her tongue were swallowed back. Even the love welling up in her eyes subtly retreated to her heart.

Han Shutong hid these emotions very well—so well that Zhou Xi, who was watching her intently, didn’t notice any tell-tale signs.

Han Shutong shook her head and spoke stiffly. “I wanted to say that I used your body wash when I took a shower just now.”

Han Shutong had showered in the living room’s bathroom, so she had to use Zhou Xi’s toiletries.

Zhou Xi’s eyes curved in a smile. “Just that?”

“Mhm.”

“No wonder your scent is familiar to me,” Zhou Xi said, lightly sniffing. “Feel free to use it anytime. You don’t need to tell me.”

After saying that, Zhou Xi felt her eyelids heavy. She asked, “Anything else?”

Han Shutong shook her head.

“Then let’s go to sleep. We still need to go see Lele tomorrow.” Zhou Xi got up and extended a hand to Han Shutong. “Come on, come to bed.”

Seeing Han Shutong make no move, Zhou Xi suddenly remembered something. She looked at Han Shutong and asked, “So, your preference for girls is the reason you don’t want to sleep in the same bed as me?”

Han Shutong: “…Mhm.”

“Then why didn’t you mind at the hotel last time?”

Han Shutong replied quietly, “There was a lot of distance between us.”

Zhou Xi said “Oh.” “Then it’s my fault for not having a big enough bed.”

Zhou Xi was already sitting on the bed as she spoke. She looked at Han Shutong and patted the mattress. “Come up.”

After waiting for a minute and seeing Han Shutong still not moving, Zhou Xi walked over, gathered Han Shutong’s blanket and pillow, carried them to the bed, and then turned to pull Han Shutong’s arm. “In my eyes, you are just Student Han. It doesn’t matter whether you like men or women. Also, you can’t stop having female friends just because you like women, right?”

Han Shutong was pulled to her feet by Zhou Xi. She looked at the bed, then at Zhou Xi, and a question slipped out. “…What if the person I like is you?”

The moment Han Shutong finished speaking, the lights in the room turned on, and the darkness in the corners was dispelled by the light.

The power was back on.

Zhou Xi knew Han Shutong was joking. After a moment of thought, she joked back, “That means you have excellent taste.”