Zhou Qi’an’s hand trembled slightly, and a few drops of water from the cup spilled onto the floor.
Even the color of the water stain was a shade deeper than the shadow’s outline.
“…”
Fortunately, the makeup artist had been focused on her work and hadn’t noticed the bizarre scene in the sunlight.
Soon, two more hairstylists arrived. Both were very experienced in styling, but even so, it took over an hour to finish everything and change clothes. During this time, the cameraman in charge of filming had urged them several times.
Hearing a “Done” from inside, the cameraman pushed the door open at the first opportunity:
“Hurry up, the car has been waiting at the door for a long time.”
When he saw the two newcomers who were to be filmed at the last minute, the impatience in the cameraman’s expression suddenly vanished.
Damn.
They looked so photogenic!
Zhou Qi’an shook his elf ears. “Call me Balala the Fairly Oddparent.”
The excited cameraman fell silent for a moment… at least he wasn’t filming his brain.
The moment they stepped out, Shen Zhiyi automatically switched to a pair of blood-red eyes. The cloak partially concealed his features, and in the shadow, the contours of his face became even more three-dimensional.
The two of them walked back to the company entrance and happened to run into the other players.
Around the same time and place as yesterday, the new security captain was giving a lecture. The new player was carrying a pile of miscellaneous items towards the bus. After seeing Zhou Qi’an and Shen Zhiyi, he rubbed his eyes several times.
How could they look different every day?
Until Zhou Qi’an walked past him, the new player hesitated to speak. Considering his survival, he finally couldn’t help but chase after him.
He asked in a small voice, “What about the mission?”
They had actually found some clues, but with so many people around, it wasn’t the time to share.
Just as he was about to ask Zhou Qi’an to meet in the evening, the latter stopped and said magnanimously, “If you bloom, the breeze will come.”
“…What?”
Not far away, Vikas had used some method to start a conversation with the arrogant artist from the morning. Seeing the follow-up camera behind Zhou Qi’an, the artist’s face instantly darkened.
Vikas, on the other hand, was pondering Zhou Qi’an’s words. Not knowing what he had thought of, he let out a cold laugh.
Just as he laughed, he suddenly stopped.
Not long ago, while lurking on the forums, he had accidentally seen a hot post: “The Two Major Elements of a Successful Player.”
Element one: Pick the right side.
Element two: Before you have absolute strength, do not sneer! Do not sneer! Do not sneer!!!
At first glance, he thought it was crazy, but when he actually laughed… Vikas chose to retract his smile.
Looking at the winged Zhou Qi’an ahead, he temporarily adjusted his gaze to a flicker.
On the other side, completely ignoring Victoria from behind, Zhou Qi’an looked up and glanced at the slightly thick clouds in the sky.
The weather had improved a bit, but it was still muggy.
The weather in the instances would always change. Low-star instances were even simpler and more direct: hot yesterday, cloudy today, and probably a storm tomorrow.
To prevent the boss from waking up midway, Shen Zhiyi left his shadow at the company, responsible for knocking him out at the first opportunity.
A special car drove towards the forest park. Halfway there, the air conditioning broke. The wind blew in from the lowered windows, and Zhou Qi’an’s small wings flapped.
Seeing Shen Zhiyi staring at him, he asked, “Are you hot? I can lend you a piece of my wing to fan you.”
The cameraman sitting in the passenger seat was suddenly reminded of a line: “I’ll pluck my wings and give them to you to fly.”
The whole car burst into laughter.
Zhou Qi’an looked at Shen Zhiyi again. “A cold joke to cool down.”
Shen Zhiyi, rarely, didn’t follow his point. He only caught the words “cool down.” He gently held the hand of the person beside him, controlling the temperature with his yin energy.
“Is it cooler?”
The touch of skin against skin caused his body temperature to rise a little, but it quickly lowered under the temperature control.
The car radio coincidentally played a classic advertisement slogan—
“Alternating hot and cold, be careful of heat stroke.”
The two of them fell silent for a moment.
The scenery of the forest park was beautiful, the air having a rare freshness far from the bloody smell of the instances.
Zhou Qi’an’s sharp comment: “It’s quite unsettling.”
Worthy of a one-star instance.
The cameraman had been here more than once and accurately found the most suitable place for taking photos. The company wanted to take pictures of the two men together. It was clear what the ingredient was. The cameraman knew the theme: hype.
Light and dark, a perfect contrast of perception.
Shen Zhiyi had not had many photos taken. After arriving at the location, he was like a rock, quietly watching Zhou Qi’an, standing still.
The cameraman got anxious. He had never seen anyone so wooden.
The sun finally came out from behind the clouds. The light was perfect. Missing this wave would definitely make the photos imperfect.
He couldn’t help but shout, “Move, don’t just stand there like a log!”
Shen Zhiyi was unmoved.
The cameraman was so anxious he was about to emit smoke. He continued to shout, “Do you understand interaction? Your fingers lifting the other’s chin, smiling, looking at each other, that kind of feeling of disdain, yet you chase and I run, do you understand!”
How can you hype a CP without contact?!
So this is how you take pictures.
In an instant, he agreed more and more with human culture.
Some were intimate, some were abstinent.
In the next set of photos, Zhou Qi’an was asked to sit on a tree, and Shen Zhiyi was in a different position.
“Imagine you are a necromancer in the darkness, you must look with a peeping gaze…”
The cameraman’s words came to an abrupt halt because he found that Shen Zhiyi had already surpassed his description. The moment he lifted his eyelids, he looked at the ‘elf’ on the tree with an almost reverent gaze.
Zhou Qi’an just lowered his eyes slightly. He didn’t look like an elf. For a moment, the sun shone down, casting a compassionate light, making him look like a god bowing his head.
Perfect, perfect.
The cameraman got more and more excited. “This set is done!”
“Get the water pipe ready!” he shouted. “Go change into modern clothes in the car first. Be careful not to ruin the makeup.”
“…This time we’re going for a ‘breaking the dimension’ feel. Imagine you’ve traveled here from another time and space, and you’re playing with water on the lawn! Understand?”
Shen Zhiyi was very receptive at this time and even asked a few more questions. He felt that the cameraman’s culture was not inferior to the makeup artist’s.
After changing into modern clothes one after another, the two were taken to a slope.
Everything was ready. The cameraman took a deep breath. “Begin! Spray each other!”
“…”
The last two words almost made Zhou Qi’an spray first.
Shen Zhiyi was still seriously carrying out the cameraman’s words: “Qi’an, he wants us to…”
Before the word ‘spray’ could be said, clear water splashed from mid-air, the droplets trickling down his perfectly lean muscles.
He who strikes first gains the advantage.
Zhou Qi’an’s eyes were sharp. He rolled up his sleeves and trouser legs, revealing half of his fair forearms.
After getting wet, his clothes inevitably became a little transparent. Shen Zhiyi held the water pipe with one hand and stood in front of Zhou Qi’an, blocking most of his body.
The water pipe was still spraying. The distance suddenly closed, directly causing him to lose control of the intensity.
Both of them became drenched at the same time. A small rainbow even refracted on Shen Zhiyi’s head.
Looking at each other, Zhou Qi’an couldn’t hold it in and let out a laugh.
Click.
The camera perfectly captured this moment.
“Good, good…” the cameraman was greatly satisfied. “This one is the best. That’s it.”
With a gesture from him, the photoshoot was declared a complete success. A staff member handed them towels.
“Thank you for your hard work. The shooting effect is very good.”
While the staff was packing up the equipment, Shen Zhiyi was gently helping Zhou Qi’an dry the water from his hair when he suddenly said, “I really like it.”
Zhou Qi’an blinked, his eyelashes still dotted with water droplets.
Without following his words and asking further, Zhou Qi’an glanced at the cameraman and changed the subject. “I wonder if we can take these photos out of the instance.”
Shen Zhiyi: “If the instance explodes, the photos will also be taken out.”
“…” Such great determination.
They both knew in their hearts that this was a belated date.
Long before his amnesia, the two had already broken through the window paper, but apart from that time they watched a movie, they had never had any real couple-like interactions.
After entering this instance, many of Zhou Qi’an’s arrangements were more to make up for this gap.
Singing on stage, kissing in the hotel, artistic photos…
Zhou Qi’an pursed his thin lips and said seriously, “I now declare the first Super Date a complete success.”
He looked at Shen Zhiyi, his gaze slowly falling to the hand holding the towel.
Shen Zhiyi understood and applauded softly.
·
It was already dusk when they returned to the company.
Shen Zhiyi showed a particularly attentive attitude towards the matter of the photos and successfully copied a set from the cameraman.
In this battle to protect the negatives, to prevent having too few backups from being uninsured, he bought another hundred USB drives and stored a copy on each one. He also saved the photos of Zhou Qi’an’s stage performance from yesterday.
The two newcomers who had been doing the production assistant work had just returned as well.
Seeing Zhou Qi’an, their expressions were a little anxious. They were about to speak but were interrupted.
With only the last day left in the mission countdown, Zhou Qi’an didn’t even have to think to know what they wanted to say. “I have my sense of proportion.”
The words “sense of proportion,” coming from his mouth and from Shen Zhiyi’s mouth, were equally unconvincing.
The new players looked at the shiny makeup and fell silent.
“We’ll be out of the instance soon,” Zhou Qi’an didn’t say much, only asking, “That handsome guy in mustard yellow this afternoon, what was he doing?”
“…He went out with us for fieldwork. Midway, he talked to an NPC, seemed to have triggered some mission, and left early.”
Zhou Qi’an showed a somewhat subtle smile after hearing this. “Is that so.”
The two players watched as they turned and walked towards the dormitory building.
On the way, Zhou Qi’an deliberately poked Shen Zhiyi’s other shoulder with the tip of his wing. When the other turned his head, he pretended nothing had happened.
A very boring little trick, but from his back, one could feel that Shen Zhiyi was in a very good mood.
The two were talking and laughing, a stark contrast to their own worried faces.
The male player’s mouth twitched. “Are these two on a honeymoon in the instance?”
They were being too relaxed!
People’s fates are different. It was their lot to be gofers. They were called upstairs by other passing employees to move things.
The corridor was quiet and dim at dusk, and there were signs of it getting dark outside. Every so often, they would see photos of the currently popular artists on the walls. All the artists promoted by Wang’s Group debuted in groups.
The male player said casually, “This company has a lot of black material online, but surprisingly, not a single artist has been found to have terminated their contract.”
This was unscientific.
Of course, it was still a bit more scientific than a honeymoon in an instance.
The female player next to him heard this and was suddenly stunned.
So far, they had only had significant contact with the boss, the trainees, the arrogant star from this morning, and a few ordinary employees.
The suspect should be among these people.
“If you bloom, the breeze will come…”
The words Zhou Qi’an had said in the morning floated in her mind, repeating over and over. Suddenly, the female player’s expression brightened.
The ones who had accidents were all popular artists. After Zhou Qi’an’s fake popularity, the suspect would definitely take action.
The other party was waiting for the suspect to come to him, and was just having a honeymoon on the side!
Just then, she suddenly received a message from Zhou Qi’an on her phone: “[There is a hidden ditch underground near the company. Find it, but don’t dig it up yet. (Very splendid.jpg)]”
“…”
The female player’s mouth twitched.
A normal person wouldn’t even think of digging up a ditch, okay?
·
Employee Dormitory.
Completely unaware of being defined as a honeymooner, Zhou Qi’an was taking off his elf ears under Shen Zhiyi’s regretful gaze. “If there’s no resolution tonight, then tomorrow we can only blow up the hidden ditch.”
Shen Zhiyi: “If there is a resolution…”
Zhou Qi’an: “Then tomorrow we can only blow up the hidden ditch.”
Regardless of whether the higher-ups were selling the Xuan Xuan Mei Ling pills or not, the company had done its fair share of shady things, otherwise it wouldn’t have built a hidden ditch to let its employees take the fall.
“Send a man on his way.”
To the western heavens.
After dusk, time passed quickly.
The dormitory building was exceptionally quiet at night. You couldn’t hear any musical instruments or dance practice. This was also one of the company’s requirements, ostensibly to ensure the artists’ physical and mental health by not allowing night rehearsals.
Zhou Qi’an was not idle. He was working at his desk at night, writing something with a pen, stroke by stroke.
Knock knock knock. Before midnight, there was a sudden knock on the door.
Zhou Qi’an raised an eyebrow at Shen Zhiyi, indicating that he would handle it.
“Who is it?” he asked.
“It’s me,” the person said, their voice very soft.
Walking to the door and standing a little distance away, Zhou Qi’an looked out through the peephole. A somewhat familiar figure stood outside. It was actually the trainee who had lent him the electric guitar yesterday.
“I came to congratulate you on getting popular. Want to celebrate together?”
“No.”
The other person was at a loss for words for a moment, then changed their tone. “Let me be honest with you. I actually want to ride on your popularity. It’s paid! The reward will definitely satisfy you.”
“Money?”
“Of course not something so vulgar.”
Vulgar?
Hearing someone slander worldly money like that, Zhou Qi’an wanted to rush out and slap him.
The electric guitar boy took a deep breath. “I guarantee it’s absolutely good stuff.”
Zhou Qi’an didn’t speak.
The person outside seemed a little anxious. “Let’s talk inside. It would be troublesome if someone else heard me…”
Before the last word could be said, with a click, the door opened.
The electric guitar boy was stunned. He really opened the door!
Soon, he realized his surprised expression didn’t fit his character. Before he could make amends, Zhou Qi’an’s beautiful eyes looked over and asked:
“Victoria, are you sick?”
Activating a confusion card at night for no reason and frolicking in front of his door.
The atmosphere suddenly became dead silent.
Gradually, the electric guitar boy’s previous trainee disguise disappeared.
Without trying to force the character anymore, Vikas asked in a gloomy tone, “How did you know it was me?”
Before his voice fell, a small object came flying straight at his head. He instinctively wanted to dodge, but after seeing it was a paper ball, he hesitated for a moment and caught it suspiciously, then opened it.
“The Secret of ‘Victoria'”
- After I said ‘if you bloom, the breeze will come,’ Victoria would inevitably think of my strategy and know that I was waiting for the suspect to walk into the trap.
- The foolish Victoria, he would first go do the mission, narrow down the general range of suspects, and then use people outside that range to mislead me.
There were five, six, seven, eight more points. The eighth point was only half-written, the ink not yet dry, obviously interrupted by the knock on the door.
Zhou Qi’an: “Be proud.”
The last person who made him write an analysis book was Mr. Si.
The light and airy tone was like a long nail, hammering directly into Vikas’s heart.
This analysis book was not just a simple humiliation, but more of a deterrent, as if no matter what he did, the other party was always predicting his predictions.
Clenching the paper tightly, the veins on Vikas’s forehead bulged. He was about to say something.
“Vikas…”
Vikas was stunned.
Being called by his correct name was strangely unsettling.
The playful look on Zhou Qi’an’s face disappeared. His blue eyes were excessively cold. “I’ll give you one last chance.”
“…Make a pact. Promise to hand over the things you prepared to deal with me to Ying Yu. At the same time, tell me the clues you obtained from today’s mission. I’ll narrow down the suspects, and you’ll be responsible for reporting the seller of the Mei Ling Pills.”
Every point was stated very clearly.
“Do these two things, and for the sake of blowing up the latrine, I can let you live.”
For the sake of your mother’s face!
Vikas sneered.
Suddenly remembering that metaphysical post, he quickly restrained his smile and only said coldly, “You think too highly of yourself. I…”
Suddenly, Vikas’s pupils shrank to the size of a needle point.
Under the indoor lighting, the man who had been silently standing behind Zhou Qi’an actually had no shadow.
As long as one was human, it was impossible to not have a shadow.
Also having a psychic constitution, after Vikas held his breath and concentrated, he vaguely felt a chill slowly seeping over.
Zhou Qi’an smiled faintly and continued his words, “You what?”
Vikas stared intently at the space under Shen Zhiyi’s feet. He couldn’t even move his gaze away.
After a long while, he finally managed to squeeze out a few words: “…Do you mind?”
Zhou Qi’an’s patience had already run out. No matter what Vikas said next, as long as it wasn’t what he wanted to hear, he could send the other back to the western world.
When he saw clearly what Vikas had suddenly produced in his hand, he was stunned for a moment. “Please, be my guest.”
It was actually a Prophecy Wizard!
Unlike the Prophecy Wizard he had in his hand, the one in Vikas’s hand actually had a serial number, and it was the number one.
Even Shen Zhiyi took a second look.
In the game, the same super-grade item actually had different strengths, especially for prophecy and luck-type items. Some people would have no side effects when using a luck item, while others would be plagued by bad luck in another aspect.
The predictive ability of the Prophecy Wizard was even more so.
There were only seven numbered Prophecy Wizards in the game, and the number 1 was even rarer.
The robe was even more radiant.
A spider smaller than a fingernail also appeared on Vikas’s left hand. He placed the thing in front of the wizard and asked with a hidden threat, “If I refuse him now, is it auspicious or inauspicious?”
Zhou Qi’an raised an eyebrow. Something that could threaten a wizard was definitely not an ordinary item.
It was most likely originally intended to be used against him.
However, before the Prophecy Wizard could respond, Vikas suddenly felt his body unable to move. After much difficulty, he managed to lift his eyelids and came face to face with a pair of colorless eyes.
“Change the question. Ask him, what will happen if I am with Qi’an?”
Shen Zhiyi was only concerned with the advice given by the Prophecy Wizard.
To prevent any future problems, he had to avoid all possible issues between a couple.
Vikas’s brain was completely out of his control. He uncontrollably followed the other’s request.
The Prophecy Wizard lifted his sharp face, seeming to size up Shen Zhiyi. As the number one among all prophets, after staring at Shen Zhiyi for two seconds, it seemed to have discovered something terrifying.
It was a dream…
The number one Prophecy Wizard’s body trembled slightly.
The few seconds of silence clearly displeased Shen Zhiyi. His pale, slender palm was about to be raised and placed on the Prophecy Wizard’s head in the next second.
At the same time, the wizard, who had never said anything but “inauspicious,” suddenly spoke, “Auspicious, very auspicious!”
It gave its precious advice:
“Please get married on the spot, get married immediately. You two are a match made in heaven. Your love moves heaven and earth. It would be a disservice to the world if you don’t get married…”
Seeing that Shen Zhiyi didn’t show any reaction.
The number one Prophecy Wizard continued, “Do you need me to divine the instance boss? Just consider it a wedding gift.”
Please hurry up and get out of the instance and get married.
Hearing the wizard say so much for the first time, Vikas, who had just regained his mobility, subconsciously said, “Aren’t you only able to divine once in a short period of time?”
The wizard: “You’re full of shit.”
“…”
