I Joined a Fake Variety Show (GL) - Chapter 56

Zhou Xi knew she shouldn’t have knocked on Han Shutong’s door.

But even with her head covered by the blanket, the edges of the blanket tucked tightly around her, and the bedside lamp turned on, Zhou Xi still felt that those extra things could see her.

The floating shapes in her mind became increasingly vivid and concrete.

They had wide mouths and full rows of fangs. They wore red robes, with blood and tears streaming from their eyes.

Just as they reached out to pull at the blanket, trying to drag the person inside out, Zhou Xi opened her eyes, stopping the imagining.

Looking at the narrow space inside the blanket, Zhou Xi hesitated.

She debated whether to go find Han Shutong.

In the midst of making the choice, a shout rose from a protected part of Zhou Xi’s heart. The shout urged: Go! Go!

But because the area producing the shout was covered by a protective shield, Zhou Xi did not hear the voice of her heart. Instead, she consciously decided she should not go.

The reasoning was simple: unlike before, Zhou Xi knew Han Shutong liked her. Since she had rejected Han Shutong’s confession, she needed to maintain distance.

Don’t go.

Thinking this, Zhou Xi closed her eyes again, forcing herself not to think about certain things.

But… the effect was minimal.

After feeling the blanket being tugged again, Zhou Xi threw off the covers. Looking at the empty room, she paused for a second.

The next second, she found herself standing at Han Shutong’s door.

And the protective shield around her heart developed a small, unnoticed crack.

“I’m a little scared.”

Zhou Xi, afraid of being rejected by Han Shutong, immediately stated her reason.

She didn’t find it embarrassing for a twenty-five-year-old to be scared of ghosts.

Han Shutong pressed her lips together, chuckling silently. She then took a step back, making space, and said, “Come in.”

Zhou Xi clutched the blanket in her arms. After saying “Thank you,” she slipped into the bedroom sideways.

Han Shutong’s room was still lit.

Because she had been standing with her back to the light, Zhou Xi hadn’t seen Han Shutong clearly before, but standing in the room now, she clearly saw Han Shutong’s appearance.

Han Shutong’s hair was wet, water still dripping from the ends. A thin layer of sweat covered her nose and forehead, and droplets of water clung to her neck.

“You… just finished showering?”

“Mhm.”

She had just come out of the bathroom to get something.

Han Shutong walked to the side, took a new bottle of body lotion from the cabinet, and said to Zhou Xi, “You go to sleep first. I still need to blow-dry my hair.”

Zhou Xi nodded, about to say “Okay,” but suddenly realized that if Han Shutong went to the bathroom to dry her hair, the room would be empty again.

Zhou Xi hesitated. “How about… you dry it in the room?”

“I also need to apply this.” Han Shutong held the body lotion up in front of Zhou Xi.

“You can apply that in the room too.”

Zhou Xi didn’t think much of it and saw no problem.

Han Shutong’s eyes deepened. She put the body lotion on the cabinet. “I’ll go get the hairdryer.”

Han Shutong opened the door and was about to step out when she heard Zhou Xi behind her say, “Please, Shutong…”

Han Shutong turned around.

Zhou Xi said solemnly, “…be quick, and come right back.”

Zhou Xi’s sudden flare of playful melodrama momentarily stunned Han Shutong. She eventually chuckled softly. “Okay.”

When Han Shutong left, perhaps from being used to sleeping together, Zhou Xi walked straight to the far side of the bed and quickly laid out her pillow and blanket.

Just as she finished making her bed, Han Shutong walked back in with the hairdryer.

Zhou Xi took off her shoes and got into bed. “I’m going to sleep now.”

“Mhm.”

Zhou Xi originally wanted to cover her head with the blanket, but just as she started, she heard the sound of the hairdryer.

Zhou Xi looked in the direction of the sound and saw Han Shutong playing with her hair in front of the mirror.

This scene instantly calmed Zhou Xi’s anxiety, which had been plaguing her all night.

Feeling safe, Zhou Xi’s gaze lingered on Han Shutong’s lower body. Her eyelids slowly drooped.

Han Shutong looked at the bed at the same moment. Seeing the extra person on the empty bed, her mood was joyful.

A while later, the sound of the hairdryer stopped.

Zhou Xi, groggy with sleep, subconsciously noticed the sound had stopped. She opened her eyes and looked in the direction she had last seen Han Shutong.

Zhou Xi froze for a second, then tightly closed her eyes.

When Zhou Xi entered the room, Han Shutong was wearing a bathrobe.

But now, she didn’t know when Han Shutong had taken off the bathrobe. She was wearing a wine-red nightgown. There were two fluttering lace butterflies over her chest. The two shoulder straps were the kind of strings tied at the back. A gentle pull would loosen the straps, and the dress would fall away…

The wine-red color made Han Shutong, who was already fair-skinned, look even paler.

The sight of black hair, pale skin, and red clothing hit Zhou Xi with an immense shock.

But that wasn’t why Zhou Xi closed her eyes.

It was because…

Han Shutong was applying body lotion to her legs.

Zhou Xi saw Han Shutong’s toes resting on the edge of the chair. The hem of the nightgown slid up because of the movement, revealing not only her thigh but also a hint of her hips.

Her slender, pale hand spread the lotion onto her leg. Her movements were slow and gentle, massaging every inch of her skin to ensure the lotion was absorbed properly.

As Han Shutong bent down to apply the lotion, the fabric over her chest hung loose, revealing a glimpse of the scenery beneath.

Zhou Xi saw it.

And because she saw it, she closed her eyes.

But the image lingered in her mind. Even with her eyes closed, the scene remained, refusing to fade.

Han Shutong moved her toes from the chair and put on her slippers.

Just as she put her other foot on the chair and squeezed body lotion onto her leg, her peripheral vision caught the person on the bed adjusting the blanket.

Although Zhou Xi’s movement was small, Han Shutong still saw it.

“Teacher Zhou,” Han Shutong called out. “Are you still awake?”

“…”

No response.

Han Shutong smiled silently.

Three minutes later, Zhou Xi, who was pretending to sleep, felt movement on the other side of the bed.

A faint, clean scent followed, a fragrance so appealing one wanted to inhale it again.

Zhou Xi lightly sniffed. After a few seconds, she felt the scent getting closer.

Just as Zhou Xi held her breath, a weight pressed against her back.

The sweet, non-cloying scent instantly enveloped Zhou Xi.

Han Shutong looked down at the person feigning sleep. A knowing look and a hint of teasing crossed her eyes.

If the person beneath the blanket knew she was about to kiss her, what would her reaction be?

Normally, Han Shutong wouldn’t have this thought. Even if she did, she wouldn’t act on it.

But tonight, Han Shutong, whose heart felt soft because of Zhou Xi’s girlish fear, slowly moved her head toward Zhou Xi’s face.

Afraid Zhou Xi wouldn’t notice, Han Shutong even whispered, “Teacher Zhou.”

Hearing the voice so close, Zhou Xi’s hands, hidden beneath the blanket, subtly clenched.

One second, two seconds…

Time slipped by quietly. Zhou Xi felt a tickle on her face; Han Shutong’s hair had brushed against her.

Just as Zhou Xi debated whether to open her eyes and what to say if she saw Han Shutong right there, the tickle on her face vanished.

Han Shutong looked at the person whose eyelashes were constantly fluttering and said softly, “Goodnight.”

Afterward, Han Shutong got up. Seeing the person was still pretending to sleep, she lay down on the other side of the bed, placing the pillow between herself and Zhou Xi.

The scent faded, and the frantic pounding of Zhou Xi’s heart, which had started when Han Shutong got close, gradually returned to normal.

Zhou Xi’s clenched hands did not relax. She realized one thing: a temptress was more terrifying than a ghost.

Zhou Xi didn’t know when she fell asleep. She only knew that when she woke up, Han Shutong was gone.

She got out of bed and opened the curtains, letting the sunlight flood the room.

Looking up at the sun in the sky, Zhou Xi knew the ghosts she feared last night were gone.

The night had passed peacefully.

The door opened. Han Shutong looked at the person standing by the window, her body outlined in a golden halo of sunlight.

Han Shutong spoke slowly. “You’re awake?”

Zhou Xi turned and took two steps toward Han Shutong. “Good morning.”

“Xiao Bai brought breakfast.”

“Xiao Mo is here?”

Just then, Bai Mo appeared at the door. Her first question was, “Sister Zhou, why did you sleep with Sister Tong?”

“**We slept together,” Zhou Xi corrected Bai Mo’s wording.

Bai Mo said “Ah.” After thinking about it, she couldn’t find a difference between the two terms. She giggled. “It’s all the same.”

Zhou Xi glanced at Han Shutong. Seeing that she was unfazed, Zhou Xi naturally explained to Bai Mo, “I was afraid of ghosts, so I came to find Shutong.”

“Ghosts?” Bai Mo was surprised. She didn’t expect Zhou Xi to be afraid of ghosts. “There are no ghosts in this world, Sister Zhou.”

Zhou Xi was curious. “You’re not afraid?”

“If you haven’t done anything guilty, you don’t fear the ghosts knocking on your door,” Bai Mo joked. “Sister Zhou, you didn’t do anything guilty, did you?”

Guilty?

She hadn’t.

The only bad thing she had done recently… was secretly looking at the delivery information slip yesterday.

Seeing Zhou Xi fall silent, Bai Mo said, “Sister Zhou, let’s believe in materialism, okay?”

Zhou Xi recovered and smiled at Bai Mo. “Okay.”

After breakfast, Han Shutong and Bai Mo returned to the company, and Zhou Xi went home alone.

Upon arriving home, Zhou Xi began packing her luggage for the film crew.

Bai Mo had already prepared all of Han Shutong’s luggage.

The film location was only two cities away, quite close.

The next day, when the group arrived at the hotel, it was nine o’clock.

As soon as they arrived, they saw Director Li Junpeng waiting for them at the front desk.

Of course, Zhou Xi knew that the reason Li Junpeng came to meet them personally was naturally because of Han Shutong.

After a simple greeting, Li Junpeng said to Han Shutong, “I’m so delighted you could come! I thought you would turn down the script and not even come for a cameo.”

“The script is excellent. Why wouldn’t I take the role?”

Li Junpeng smiled and glanced at Zhou Xi. “Xiao Zhou, I watched your new drama. You acted so well! I made the right choice in inviting you! Haha.”

Dark City had premiered a few days ago. Because there wasn’t much promotion initially, viewership was low, but after three days, click-through rates gradually increased, and more people started watching.

The current clicks were close to reaching 100 million.

It was the most popular drama among the recently aired ones.

Zhou Xi gained recognition from the audience because of it, and her acting received many positive reviews.

Her Weibo fan count was also steadily growing.

Zhou Xi smiled when she heard this. “Thank you, Director.”

Li Junpeng gave a few more compliments, then said to the two of them, “Our commencement ceremony is starting soon. You go back to your rooms and rest first. I’ll have someone call you when it’s time.”

“Okay, thank you, Director,” Zhou Xi said with a smile.

Li Junpeng said it was no trouble. After chatting with Han Shutong for a few more minutes, he left.

While the group was talking, Bai Mo went to the front desk and got their room keys.

Zhou Xi and Han Shutong’s rooms were adjacent.

This made Bai Mo relieved. Adjacent rooms would make her job much easier, as she wouldn’t have to run back and forth.