Ch32 - Little Train's Conductor

Wang Chao was already angry when he spotted Xie Zhuxing and Yan Jiajia standing together. When he eavesdropped on their conversation and realized that Xie Zhuxing’s attitude toward her softened again, he became angrier.

He thought he lost his temper and scolded Xie all for the latter’s good. He knew Xie was better than that.

He thought his anger was perfectly justified.

But when Xie Zhuxing turned away to leave, Wang no longer cared who was right. Instead, he rushed and pounced onto Xie to keep the latter with him.

Wang Chao’s words were too cruel, and initially, Xie Zhuxing was angry too. Yet, seeing Wang hanging onto him so shamelessly, Xie could not get himself to be mad at him.

After all, they were outside. Being seen by others like this is not good for their reputation. Xie Zhuxing directed: “Get off of me first.”

Wang Chao refused: “I will get off only if you don’t lose your temper at me.”

Xie Zhuxing: “……” Who was the one losing their temper???

Once Wang Chao noticed that Xie Zhuxing was not as angry as before, slowly, he got off.

Xie turned around, and they stared at each other for a moment.

Wang Chao looked hurt.

Xie Zhuxing wanted to beat him up.

Wang Chao was full of complaints: “You weren’t even mad when netizens flamed you, but when I only chided you for one sentence or two, you blew up on me? All of our intimacy was for nothing?*”

He had already forgotten how cruel his words were and only remembered how Xie Zhuxing lost his temper at him.

Xie Zhuxing reminded him gruffly: “Don’t kiss me, go kiss someone else. Am I not the bad concrete that can’t hold up a wall?”

For a moment, Wang looked stunned: “I said that about you?”

Xie Zhuxing wanted to beat him up again.

Even though Wang Chao felt a little regret, he did not want to admit his mistake: “Even if I said that about you, you can’t just say you want to disband out of nowhere. Disbanding is not anything trivial! Sure, I don’t care about this shitty group, but you insisted on disbanding in front of the other members. You are already the most popular among us. Others may not show it, but deep down, they are probably jealous. Suggesting ‘let’s disband’ in front of them, are you stupid?”

Xie Zhuxing: “……”

This idiot.

He is such an airhead. As reckless as he was though, he cared for him more than anyone else.

Yes, he is stupid, shameless, and downright infuriating. Yet, the more he looked, the more captivating he became. Every second, he became more enamored.

Wang Chao softly shook his arm, and pleaded: “Are you still mad? Don’t be. Look at me, I’m not even mad anymore.”

Xie Zhuxing also softened when he replied: “What were you mad for? I lent my own money to her, why would you be mad?”

Not realizing it was jealousy, Wang Chao assuredly defended himself: “Wasn’t it all for your good?”

Xie Zhuxing is both annoyed by his naivety and content with his innocence; he chided: “You are such a drama queen.”

While harsh, the intimacy wrapped within the loving chide was felt by both of them.

They reconciled and returned to the dressing room with arms around each other’s shoulders as if nothing had happened.

Tacitly, their teammates pretended to forget too, and no one mentioned the commotion.

After spending two days dog sitting for Liang Xi, Wang Chao and Xie Zhuxing headed to Chang Sha together with their teammates.

The shooting of the variety show was otherwise smooth, with only a brief interruption.

Since id had just debuted, and this was their first appearance on a variety show, the staff were worried about the group’s appeal and their show’s ratings. Thus, when a young pianist whom they have been trying to schedule became available, they arranged both of them to appear in the same episode.

The pianist had a poised and reserved personality that surprisingly complemented id’s charismatic and lively presence. The problem is, with an expert present, playing the piano is no longer a viable talent for Wang Chao to display during the show unless he wants to embarrass himself.

Halfway through the rehearsal, Wang Chao watched Xie Zhuxing practice his high jumps for a segment. He whistled cheerfully when the latter cleared five feet five bar effortlessly.

All six members were in a cheery mood until one of the directors informed them of the sudden conflict and asked: “Leo, do you have any other talents?” The members were worried that Wang Chao would throw a tantrum.

As predicted, Wang scowled: “Why didn’t you ask me sooner?”

Not wanting him to cause a scene, Xie hurriedly tugged Wang Chao’s arm. Though, he was irritated by the programming staff too. Only informing them at the end of the rehearsal, it was evident that they paid little respect to new performers.

Embarrassed, the young director apologized again and again. Yet, they insisted: “Since the situation is already like this, you should hurry up and switch to another talent.”

The members couldn’t help but be worried: if Want Chao is not allowed to play the piano, what other talent does he have?

“Then I will play the violin instead,” Wang Chao instructed impatiently, “Find a high-quality violin for me. I won’t play it if it’s cheap.”

Agreed, the director went to look for a suitable violin.

Xie Zhuxing dubious: “You know how to play the violin?”

Wang Chao replied: “I have a level 11 certificate for amateur players.”

Other members: “……” How much did he pay for the certificate?

The director quickly brought over a violin. After adjusting its position a few times, Wang Chao put the violin down and asked for some rosin.

Once the rosin arrived, Wang Chao rubbed it on the violin bow. Even while doing so, he complained about its quality: “I told you to not look for a cheap violin, but you still gave me this piece of trash. It’s made of plywood – to fool people who know nothing about good violins. Is your tv station that poor?”

Seeing the dubious looks of his teammates, the director couldn’t help but suspect whether Wang Chao’s confidence was only a bluff.

Finally, Wang Chao finished rosining the bow. He adjusted the violin again, but instead of playing, he looked at Xie Zhuxing from the corner of his eyes, and asked: “What do you want to hear?”

Xie Zhuxing was not familiar with famous violin pieces. Moreover, he was dubious of Wang Chao’s proficiency too. Tentatively, he asked: “How about ‘The Butterfly Lovers’?”

Wang Chao grinned at him: “Sure.”

A string of notes cascaded from the violin – sometimes joyous, sometimes melancholic – and delicately, it strung together the familiar melody of The Butterfly Lovers.

Wang Chao stopped after only one bar.

Astonished, his teammates applauded him.

Wang Chao gloated: “I will play another bar for you guys, consider it a gift. What else do you want to hear?”

Chen Yao coaxed him into playing “Summer Ice.” After experimenting with the key and playing a few lines from the chorus, Wang Chao’s enthusiasm ebbed. He returned the violin to the director and said: “I will play it again during the live recording tomorrow. My arms are sore.”

Satisfied, the director left with the violin.

With a tap on his shoulder, Wang Chao caught Xie Zhuxing’s attention: “What’s up? Are you in a daze?”

Xie Zhuxing: “……”

He was dazzled by Wang Chao. He was handsome, elegant, and even a bit cute.

With that said, Xie Zhuxing did not want to flatter Wang Chao too much, for he was one to gloat over a simple compliment or two: “I didn’t expect you to actually know how to play.”

Triumphant, Wang Chao drew closer and whispered to him: “You are the only person I am telling this to. Don’t spill it to anyone else! It is a long story. As a kid, Hazhi said I had long fingers, so she forced me to learn how to play the piano. She went to the store to buy a piano, but when she saw that there was a sale for violins, she couldn’t stop the itch in her hands to buy a violin too. When my dad said she was wasting money, she made me the scapegoat* and told him that I was the one who insisted. So, my dad booked two classes for me, piano on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and violin on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday*.”

Xie Zhuxing: “……” Yeah, never mind.

Once the shooting wrapped up, the group returned to Beijing, right before the National Day Golden Week. As new artists, they couldn’t afford any breaks: their fame was only budding and thus unstable. To solidify their presence, they performed back to back for commercial audiences.

October 1st, their advertisement for the sports brand officially launched on traditional television and online media. Their episode of the variety show was also released during the Golden Week on multiple satellite channels, attracting fans from all over the country.

Besides Tomas Xie, who performed as expected, Leo Wang emerged as a dark horse who surprisingly garnered lots of fans with his talents in both piano and violin. Coincidentally, these two split the only two lines in the sports commercial too.

Since then, the id fandom was no longer monopolized by Xie Zhuxing’s fans. A new chapter, characterized by mutual and spiteful fights between fans of Xie Zhuxing and Wang Chao for their idol’s dominance within the group, had begun.

This year’s mid-autumn festival occurred on October 8th. The night before, the group performed live at the celebratory gala.

Calmly, they waited backstage, some browsing on their phones and others casually bantering with each other. Only a month ago, live performances had shaken their nerves and left them flustered backstage. But now, they have grown accustomed to performing.

Scrolling through Weibo, Wang Chao complained to Xie Zhuxing: “Your fans are flaming me again. This one, ‘Little Train’s Conductor,’ insulted me multiple times already. They even photoshopped my picture to mock me, look!”

Xie Zhuxing took a look. The fan deliberately photoshopped Wang Chao’s portrait to resemble Yuanmou Man and commented that Wang’s unattractive bone structure would cause him to one day age into the distorted picture.

Xie Zhuxing warned: “Don’t repeat your last mistake. Don’t argue with fans.”

When the variety show premiered days ago, Wang Chao suddenly gained a lot of fans. Alas, those included antis who bombarded his account with hateful comments. Not only did they call him hideous, they even dug up his mom’s picture and jeered that “a mom’s ugliness spoils the whole family.”

Wang Chao woke up that morning with a foggy brain and a foul mood. When he read the hateful comments targeting his mom, however, his anger exploded. Sitting on the toilet seat, he chewed on the toothbrush as he and the antis dragged each other’s families and ancestors enough for his account to trend.

The company hastily handled the crisis by claiming that his account was hacked. Though their explanation was not convincing, the majority of public opinion swayed in Wang Chao’s favor, resulting in limited harm to his reputation.

Wang Chao continued to stare at the “Yuanmou Man” picture. Bitterly, he cursed: “If it wasn’t because this account used your image as their profile picture, I would have flamed her to death.”

Xie Zhuxing took out his phone and opened Weibo too.

Wang Chao craned his neck over with curiosity. He saw Xie Zhuxing locate “Little Train’s Conductor,” and with a tap, block her on his account.