Ch37 - Flirt with me

He kept claiming that he scraped his leg, and now “the wound’s bleeding buckets.” When he arrived at the company, he even wore a pair of ripped jeans that displayed the wound on purpose.

Xie Zhuxing inspected the wound: only bits of skin were scraped off on both knees.

Yet, he continued to whine: “I sprinted down twenty-six floors in one breath! My lungs nearly exploded. I didn’t even bother to inspect my knees when I tripped over – only later did I discover the wound, and damn, it hurt so much I could barely walk! When I drove here, even stepping on the gas pedal was painful.”

Xie Zhuxing: “……” So spoiled that he’s even more infuriating than before.

The disdain on his face was obvious. Wang Chao complained: “What is that look on your face? I’ll have you know, this is all due to my affection for you. If my wound leaves a scar, wait for me to blackmail you for the rest of our lives.”

Xie Zhuxing let out a brief chuckle before he retorted with a straight face: “Don’t blame it on me. You told my broke ass to get lost. Am I still an eyesore to you?”

Wang Chao hastily denied the accusation: “You are being petty. I already told you those were words of anger. If I genuinely despised you, why did I invite you to move into my place before?”

Xie Zhuxing had long rid his fury from the previous night. He bent down to further inspect the wound through the other man’s ripped jeans. Then, he straightened up and instructed: “Make sure to apply some iodine on the wound later, don’t let it become infected.”

Recognizing that the stormy fury had passed, Wang Chao contentedly agreed and said: “Come with me after class. Afterward, we can go home together.”

Xie Zhuxing then told him about sharing an apartment with Zhao Zhengyi.

Wang Chao was instantly furious. A slew of curses gathered at the tip of his tongue.

Xie Zhuxing interjected: “You wouldn’t want us to argue again?”

Wang Chao didn’t. Bitterly, he swallowed his words with a sullen face.

Xie Zhuxing secretly regretted his impulsive decision too, yet he’s already agreed to share the apartment with Zhao Zhengyi, it would be inappropriate to renege on the agreement now.

“Go to class first, everyone’s waiting for you. We can discuss after class.” He nudged Wang Chao toward the classroom.

The instructor lectured about important points to remember and then played a video recording for them: the fan meet of a more senior boy band, NEX.

While Xie Zhuxing was watching the recording attentively, Wang Chao placed his hand on the former’s thigh. To prevent the troublemaker from disturbing him, Xie Zhuxing simply grabbed wang Chao’s hand to stop it from venturing elsewhere.

In exchange, Wang Chao wrote with his free hand a few words in his notebook. Once he’s finished, he pushed the notebook over for Xie Zhuxing to see: “Where does Zhao Zhengyi live?”

Xie Zhuxing scanned the notebook but didn’t respond. He’d prefer to discuss it after class.

Wang Chao continued to write: “Liang Ge said he’s talkative and loud.”

Amused, Xie Zhuxing thought to himself: Quit badmouthing others! Who could be more talkative than you?

Wang Chao badmouthed Zhao Zhengyi even more in his notebook, such as how he’s rather messy, addicted to video games, and has an irregular sleep schedule.

Xie Zhuxing observed him scratching his head to generate more criticism against Zhao Zhengyi. While he maintained a straight face, he couldn’t stifle his laughter on the inside. Is he an idiot? All these “bad habits” that he attributed to Zhao Zhengyi describe himself perfectly.

Wang Chao wasn’t familiar with Zhao Zhengyi enough to criticism him.

Everything he had written was based on his belief that Xiao Xie preferred early risers who were quiet, clean, and diligent. And the fact that it’s normal for guys to have those shortcomings. He wouldn’t believe it if Zhao Zhengyi claimed he didn’t have any of them.

He only wanted to provoke Xiao Xie enough to be annoyed at Zhao Zhengyi. Yet, Xiao Xie had ignored him the entire time he’d been writing. Bored, he decided to watch the video recording instead, yet that was not more entertaining either.

His left hand was still on Xie Zhuxing’s thigh, he realized, held by the latter’s right hand. He then took advantage of the situation and tugged on Xie Zhuxing’s right hand, before placing it on his own lap.

Feeling a prickle on his wrist, Xie Zhuxing looked over.

Wang Chao was drawing a watch on his wrist.

Xie Zhuxing: “…”

Once he completed the drawing, Wang Chao grinned to himself. Then, he turned and grinned at Xie Zhuxing too.

Since Wang Chao arrived too late, it was lunchtime after only one hour of class. The instructor dismissed them for lunch and warned them to not be late again in the afternoon.

The six members of ID headed to the company cafeteria together for lunch.

Wang Chao was quite hungry, as he had skipped breakfast. Yet, when the actual lunch was served, he struggled to eat it.

Xie Zhuxing noticed the grimace on the other man’s face and questioned: “What are you making yourself look this silly for?”

Wincing, Wang Chao replied: “My tongue hurts. I accidentally bit on it yesterday and thought it’d recover after a night’s sleep.”

Hot, spicy, salty, any food would hurt his tongue.

Unable to help, Xie Zhuxing only said: “Then make sure to eat slowly. I will wait for you.”

Other members left first after they finished their meal.

Wang Chao, however, trudged through his meal. He had to wait until the foods had cooled to eat, yet even then, he barely finished his plate. He couldn’t even squeeze his throat to gargle without pausing and resuming three separate times.

Afterward, he again demanded Xie Zhuxing accompany him to the bathroom. While washing his hands, he stuck his tongue out at the mirror to inspect the wound.

The wound on the side of his tongue looked much worse after merely twelve hours.

He spun around and tugged on Xie Zhuxing in the nearby sink. He extended the tip of his tongue toward one corner of his mouth until the entirety of the wound could be seen. With a stuck-out tongue, his demand was muffled: “Flirt with me.”

Xie Zhuxing’s heart fluttered at the mere sight of his wet, pink tip of the tongue. He thought to himself: “Then…let’s flirt?”

He decisively sidled up to Wang Chao. As he caught and gently swept the other man’s tongue with his own, both of his hands clenched unconsciously from the adrenaline rush. His heart pumped so loud he could swear it was about to leap out of his chest.

Wang Chao: “!!!” Stupefied, he bounced backward like a coiled spring. He stared at Xie Zhuxing, incredulous.

Before the affectionate Xie Zhuxing could even utter a single word, Wang Chao spat on the ground: “Bah!”

Xie Zhuxing: “…”

Wang Chao accused: “Are you making me drink your saliva? That’s disgusting!”

Xie Zhuxing couldn’t believe what he said. Disgruntled, he retorted: “Have you never kissed a girl? Or did you think that was disgusting too?”

Kiss? KISS! Wang Chao could hear celebratory fireworks exploding within his skull. What does Xiao Xie mean?

Observing the idiotic expression on the other man’s face, the frustrated Xie Zhuxing replied with random nonsense: “Saliva is a disinfectant. Do you have any common sense?”

Wang Chao: “……Oh.” So that’s not what he meant.

Xie Zhuxing: “……” He fucking believed it! Does he have even a bit of common sense?!

Wang Chao still hasn’t gotten used to tongue-to-tongue contact. He “bah” -ed again and said: “Then why did you tell me that earlier? Suddenly doing it – it was quite gross.”

Xie Zhuxing wanted to slap him.

Wang Chao scratched his head and continued:” Never did I kiss anyone like this either. Isn’t it gross to feed each other your saliva? Even if she’s a goddess, I wouldn’t want to drink her saliva.”

Xie Zhuxing inhaled sharply, not sure whether he should be happy or angry.

Regardless, whoever wants to kiss this douche again is an idiot.

After class, he headed to Zhao Zhengyi’s place to check out the interiors. Compared to other rentals, that apartment was in particularly good condition, and its rent was reasonable too. Even less reason for him to back out on the agreement.

He brought over the rest of his belongings at Wang Chao’s to his new apartment that very night.

Despite the resentment, Wang Chao begrudgingly helped the other man move his belongings, though not without swearing and cursing. Then, once they arrived, he began to criticize the apartment for the tiniest flaws. Even though Zhao Zhengyi faked an amicable facade during his visit, he probably cursed the nitpicky man out a million times inside his heart.

Xie Zhuxing coaxed him to leave. Afterward, he chatted with Zhao Zhengyi for a few minutes before they bid each other goodnight.

Before he showered, he raised his wrist to examine the “watch.”

This idiot Wang Chao – he drew the watch upside down. Xie Zhuxing had to carefully inspect it to notice the lines pointing to 11:15, or the exact time when Painter Wang finished his art piece. Although he despised it, after the foam washed it off, Xie Zhuxing regretted his decision as if he had actually lost a watch.

After a busy period of preparations and training, October 31, or Halloween, arrived.

That night, Ice Dream’s Beijing fan meet took place at 7:30 p.m. in the Olympic Sports Center Stadium.

Since it was their first fan meet, and the organizers intended to test the waters, only 2,200 tickets were released to the public. All were sold out. Including complimentary tickets for the media, there were around 2,600 people in the audience, nearly packing the stadium full.

The opening performance consisted of two back-to-back songs: “Summer Ice” and another lyrical ballad.

Their fans were very cooperative. Even though not many were present, their supportive cheers rose wave after wave.

After the performance, they swiftly retreated backstage to change, in preparation for the interactive segment of the fan meet.

Since everyone was nervous about the upcoming segment, they all quietly minded their own business.

Except for Wang Chao. “Did the Xingchen shippers come to stir trouble?” He groaned to the assistant as he changed, “Her LED sign is the largest in the audience, so large it even prevented my fans behind her from viewing the performance. Have someone tell her to put down her sign unless she wants it confiscated!”

“Xingchen” is the ship for Xie Zhuxing and Cheng Yao. The eldest paired with the youngest – this is considered the official pairing by the group’s fandom.

Given its popularity, however, Captain Wang harbored lots of resentment against Cheng Yao. The latter doesn’t even dare to mention anything related to Xie Zhuxing. If he did, Captain could be jealous for several days, even more so than the venomous solo fans of Xie Zhuxing.

Once they had changed and reappeared on stage, that shipper’s LED sign had disappeared from the front row. Yet, the moment Wang Chao was satisfied, the sign lit up again in the back row.

Cheng Yao could almost smell the bitter jealousy emanating from their captain.

During the activities that ensued, Cheng Yao glued himself to Ji Jie or Yang Xiaomu, and never once stepped within a few feet of Xie Zhuxing.

Yet, all of his efforts had been futile. The frontline fans analyzed and reported his behavior as – Xingchen seemed to have had a scuffle! Yaoyao actually learned to act “tsundere“! How cute!

This live-tweet ended up on the real-time display of Weibo discussions during the group’s interactive segment with the fans.

To entertain the audience, the host rallied with the fans for a response. With no way out, Xie Zhuxing had to give Cheng Yao a friendly hug. The fans shrieked in excitement, and the host was very satisfied.

Therefore in the activity that ensued – where each member had to pass a paper-thin card to the next by pressing their cheeks together – the host purposedly arranged Cheng Yao and Xie Zhuxing to stand next to each other. This activity is designed to hype up the fujoshi crowd after all.

Captain Wang, however, squeezed himself right in between the two with a scowl on his face. He even shot the host a death stare when the latter tried to persuade him to leave. Afraid that he’d stir trouble in such an important occasion, Xie Zhuxing hastily tapped him on the shoulder. In response, Wang Chao glared at him too.

The fans noticed and recorded this interaction on their devices, adding to the existing resources that fans of Xie and Wang utilize in their internet feuds with each other.

Once the fan meet ended smoothly, the members said farewell to their reluctant fans and wearily climbed into their company van, preparing to head back and rest. Everyone seemed excited – given such a successful fan meet, a concert must on the horizon.

Amidst the chattering, Wang Chao silently cradled his wounded cheek. Since he prefers strong spices in his food, and the preparation for the fan meet had been stressful, his tongue never recovered. He woke up this morning with severe pain from his tongue. A check in the mirror revealed the culprit: a large area of pale ulcers had grown on its surface. While yesterday, his tongue only hurt from eating; now it even hurts from speaking and smiling. The disinfecting spray didn’t yield much improvement either.

His bad temper today was directed to the shippers, the host, Cheng Yao, and eventually Xie Zhuxing. The reason behind his flared temper, however, was not only because he disliked ships between Xie Zhuxing and any of the teammates beside him, but also because he really felt sick.

Xie Zhuxing brought him a bottle of ice water. He sipped and held the water within his mouth as its cold temperature soothed his pain. Tilting his head, he leaned on the other man’s shoulder, feeling super sorry for himself.

Xie Zhuxing was amused by the other man’s reactions. This person can act insufferably arrogant and pitifully aggrieved. He expresses his emotions similar to that of a seven-year-old – not even eight – an elementary school wouldn’t even admit him.

The group’s ride hadn’t left yet because it had been waiting for Duan Yikun.

Soon, Duan Yikun stepped into the car, bringing good news with him: “I just received a call. About tomorrow night’s Pop Music Awards Ceremony. The award for Best New Group.”

Six members: “…”

They had planned to attend the award ceremony a while ago, but no one expected to win any awards so soon.

Ji Jie tentatively asked the question that everyone wondered: “Kun Ge, is it us?”

Smiling, Duan Yikun nodded: “Yes, it’s you, Ice Dream.”

The van was silent for a few seconds. Then, it erupted in cheers.

November 1st, 2014, Pop Music Awards Ceremony. The Best New Group award was presented to the group that had debuted this summer from Huixing entertainment, Ice Dream.

Also in attendance was a girl group from Huixing that had debuted a week after ID. Their lukewarm popularity had earned them a nomination at the awards ceremony, though they were already informed that their shixiongs had won. When the guest presenter announced the latter’s name, the camera only captured the girls’ genuine smiles and blessings.

After receiving the award, the group returned backstage. Ji Jie earnestly suggested: “How about we invite the shimeis to our celebration later?”

Since his ulcer hadn’t recovered, Wang Chao replied listlessly: “I won’t go. My mouth hurts so much I can’t eat nor drink. I’m going to go home early to sleep.”

His teammates were fine with that. In fact, the majority of them felt it would be better if the captain didn’t go.

Aside, Cheng Yao grinned as he teased Ji Jie: “Do you mean shimei – s – ? Why do I feel that you specifically want Mango there?”

The shimeis belong to the aforementioned girl group, known as Fruitsgirl, where every member had a stage name in relation to fruit. Mango is the hottest one among them.

Blushing, Ji Jie retorted: “Since when did a kid like you have so much to say?”

Yang Xiaomu only fanned the flames: “Hey hey, why are you blaming Yaoyao? Whenever you see her, you can’t take your eyes off of her. Who wouldn’t notice?”

Seriously embarrassed, Ji Jie decided to drag someone else into this mess:” Don’t talk nonsense. I suggested it since Peach had a crush on Xiao Xie Ge. I’m creating an opportunity for him.”

Xie Zhuxing, who had gotten randomly dragged into this mess: “…You don’t talk nonsense. Taotao (Peach) is my actual shimei.”

Wang Chao’s ulcer hasn’t recovered. Cradling his cheek, he questioned: “What? What Taotao? What shimei?”

Peach, or Taotao’s, given name is Tao Tao. She too graduated from Beijing dance academy, though two years after Xie Zhuxing. Since Xie was somewhat a celebrity at the academy, this shimei excitedly told him at their first encounter that she had admired him while she was in school, she’s pumped to finally meet him face-to-face, etc.

Yang Xiaomu is gossipy by nature, and Ji Jie is intentionally shifting the attention to Xie Zhuxing. Together, they began to weave together a convincing story of the nonexistent mutual crush between shimei Taotao and shixiong Xie Zhuxing.

While Cheng Yao initially knew nothing about the situation, after listening to their description, he created his own associations: “I watched an episode of a variety show that Taotao attended. She did an amazing impression of Xiao Xie Ge.”

Gao Siyuan was brainwashed by their narrative too: “I think Taotao is quite cute. She’s the kawaii type – and my type too. Xiao Xie Ge, try your best later, the company didn’t forbid us from dating anyone.”

Despite his attempt, no one would even listen to Xie Zhuxing’s explanation. He turned to look at Wang Chao. The latter cradled his cheek with obvious jealousy on his face.

Xie Zhuxing got an idea. Instead of explaining, he pretended to tacitly agree: “Stop chattering. Let’s invite the shimeis. More girls there are, merrier the celebration is.”

His teammates were very happy.

Next, he told Wang Chao: “You should go home early then.”

Wang Chao’s ulcer was burning in pain, as though he could spit fire once he opens his mouth: “Who the fuck do you think you are? Who are you to shoo me away?”

The other teammates hastily averted his gaze and pretended that they didn’t exist.

Xie Zhuxing replied: “You said yourself that you won’t come with us.”

Furious, wang Chao spat: “How could you go celebrate with random people but not me? No way!”

Other members: “…” Is this…Captain’s team spirit?

The celebratory party after the awards ceremony.

Duan Yikun heard that they had invited their shimeis‘ group and voluntarily excused himself from the party.

Both idol groups are quite busy ordinarily. As artists, they hardly have any time for regular socialization, except those with their teammates. This opportunity to hang out with their peers of the opposite sex is thus particularly rare and exciting to them.

The only one not excited was the ulcer patient Wang Chao. Alone in a corner, he occupied an entire couch by himself, and refused to eat, drink, or even chat with anyone. His face had “grouchy” written all over it.

His teammates were long used to his fickle temper. Thus, no one paid him any attention.

Moreover, rumors regarding his industry background had spread across the entire company, including to his shimeis. In addition, they’ve encountered him before and had a first-hand impression of his spoilt temperament. They understood that if it could be avoided, do not provoke him at any cost. As such, they kept a far distance from him.

Even Xie Zhuxing kept a far distance from him too, occupying another couch by himself.

With girls present, he was embarrassed to glue himself to Xie Zhuxing as usual. He did not like this celebratory party at all, his teammates and those girls are each more annoying than the other.

He couldn’t recognize the members of this girl group, nor could he discern which one was Taotao. He glanced around and spotted a girl who seemed to be the kawaii type. Really, her? Ugly.

Though he judged her appearance, he continued to stare at her. He watched her grab a piece of cake and sit down next to Xie Zhuxing as the two of them began to chat and joke with each other. They even scooched their heads together to share a phone screen.

……Damn it!

He snatched a tv remote from the tv and threw it at Yang Xiaomu, the member located closest to him.

Confused, Yang Xiaomu met the other man’s eyes: “Captain?”

He said: “Go, tell Xiao Xie to come to me.”

Once he picked up the remote, Yang Xiaomu followed his request.

Xie Zhuxing came over, carrying the piece of cake that Taotao had brought over and came over, and asked: “Do you want it? This piece has a lot of strawberries in it.”

Wang Chao rebuffed in a harsh tone: “No, I don’t want it! Sit down!”

Xie Zhuxing sat down. Then, he asked: “Your mouth still hurts?”

Wang Chao replied: “None of your business.”

Xie Zhuxing followed up: “Then why did you tell me to come?”

Wang Chao could not control his temper and brusquely interrogated the other man: “Have you fucked that shimei of yours?”

Xie Zhuxing: “……Keep your voice down.”

Wang Chao refused to listen, and even raised his voice: “Who are you to tell me to ‘keep my voice down’? You’re really confident in yourself now, huh?”

Amidst the loud music, everyone else could only recognize that there was a commotion, but not its exact details. One by one, they glanced toward the two.

Xie Zhuxing dismissed them with a wave of his hand: “Nothing’s going on, you guys can continue to celebrate.”

Their teammates understood that they had similar scuffles on a regular basis and weren’t too concerned by the situation. Yet, their shimeis had no idea, and they continued to glance in their direction.

Wang Chao paid no attention to anyone else, except for Taotao, whom he noticed was glancing at them. Out of jealousy, he mocked Xie Zhuxing: “Your lover is glancing at you right now.”

Xie Zhuxing did intend to evoke a reaction from him, but he didn’t want to drag anyone else into his mess. He whispered in warning: “Don’t run your mouth. She’s a nice girl.”

Wang Chao couldn’t tolerate such words from him, for he was convinced that the latter was biased in the girl’s favor. Instantly, he lost his temper and shouted: “What do you mean, a ‘nice girl’? A nice girl would be into you? What do you think you have besides your looks? What is this peach, the Queen Mother's Peach of Immortality? She has a taller nose bridge than that of a white girl’s, obviously a result of plastic surgery, and her boobs aren’t even real either, how could you even sleep with her?”

The more he shouted, the louder he became. If he continued, everyone would hear him.

Xie Zhuxing raised his hand and smashed the piece of cake into Wang Chao’s face.

The entire suite quieted down. Only the background music remained with no one dared to speak.

Xie Zhuxing stood up and said: “I’m going home, the rest of you enjoy yourselves.”

Then, he left.

Wang Chao sat there with a face of icing and cake, his entire body trembled with anger.

Cheng Yao cautiously passed him a tissue box.

He yanked a few tissues from the box and roughly scrubbed his face. Then, he grabbed a bottle of beer, chugged it in one breath, and slammed the bottle to the ground.

Even his teammates were stunned now: are they done for real?

Wang Chao stood up and said: “I’m going home too.”

He thought it through.

Xiao Xie dared to treat him as such, so he’s over.

He wanted to sleep with Xiao Xie for so long but never dared to make a move, what for? For Xiao Xie to smash him a face full of cake in front of that many people?

All of his affection toward him had been for nothing.

He will sleep with Xiao Xie today, then he won’t have had wasted so much time.

He headed straight toward the parking garage to retrieve his car and planned to hunt Xie Zhuxing down at the latter’s apartment.

But the person he wanted to hunt down, was standing right next to his car.