Chapter 10

The two remained silent for too long, and the people from the production team gradually started to sense something unusual.

Most people in the entertainment industry are sharp, and their gazes subtly shifted between Ke Xingzhou and Nie Chen, their intuition telling them that the relationship between these two seemed off.

However, this thought was quickly dismissed.

Mr. Nie was the heir of a top-tier conglomerate family, and Ke Xingzhou, even when he was still the second young master of the Ke family, was just an ordinary rich second generation with no significant reputation. Not many people in the capital knew him, which showed just how poor his social connections were.

How could these two possibly know each other?

Some even felt a bit of schadenfreude, secretly thinking that Mr. Nie must have learned about Ke Xingzhou's bad reputation and specifically came over to kick him out of the production team.

From his grim expression, it seemed like it was very likely.

However, the two people at the center of the storm, whether Ke Xingzhou or Nie Chen, only paused for a few seconds when they first made eye contact before quickly looking away.

Nie Chen turned his head and asked the production team leader beside him, "Who is this?"

His expression was indifferent, as if he really didn’t recognize Ke Xingzhou.

Ke Xingzhou was quite familiar with him. Even without looking at him, he could tell what Nie Chen was thinking from his tone and the slight pause in his speech. Realizing this, his breath hitched, and his heart skipped a beat.

But when his peripheral vision caught the production team leaders behind Nie Chen, his frantic heartbeat slowly calmed, and his expression returned to normal.

He turned around, smiled, and greeted them, "Sorry, there’s no nursery room here at the base, so I had to come here to feed the baby. Would you like to join?"

Everyone: "?"

Following Ke Xingzhou's gesture, they finally saw a small lump on the washstand behind him.

Everyone: "…"

When Nie Chen heard Ke Xingzhou's words, his expression changed slightly. His brows raised slightly, but after seeing the kitten, his expression quickly returned to normal.

He smiled, his gaze calm as he looked at Ke Xingzhou's face, "Did you pick this up?"

His attitude was casual, as if he were just a boss inspecting the project, politely asking about the staff involved.

"My partner gave birth to it," Ke Xingzhou avoided his gaze and casually lied. "I’m done now, feel free to do as you please."

After speaking, he tucked the kitten into his pocket and left, walking through the crowd without sparing Nie Chen another glance.Nie Chen’s gaze stayed fixed on Ke Xingzhou’s retreating figure for a long time, causing Ke Xingzhou to feel a chill down his spine. He subconsciously quickened his pace.

Fortunately, he was holding a small kitten, which prevented him from stumbling or making any mistakes in front of Nie Chen.

After a long while, until Ke Xingzhou’s figure disappeared around the corner, Nie Chen finally withdrew his gaze.

However, contrary to everyone’s expectations, Nie Chen did not comment on Ke Xingzhou’s presence. He simply glanced indifferently at the washstand where Ke Xingzhou had just fed the kitten and then left with the production team leader.

He appeared unchanged, still looking as cold and indifferent as ever. But if Ke Xingzhou had still been there, he would have noticed that Nie Chen seemed distracted.

His pupils trembled slightly, and his irises subtly dilated. Clearly, he had not heard a word the production team leader had said, his mind repeatedly replaying that brief moment of eye contact.

Ke Xingzhou...

He silently mouthed the familiar name that hadn’t been spoken in years, waves of emotions swelling in his chest.

It had probably been three years since anyone had mentioned this name to him.

Ke Xingzhou’s voice had only appeared in his dreams, and their face-to-face conversations like that had once been their daily routine, but now, it was a cherished memory.

For a moment, Nie Chen even found himself struggling to control his impulses, wanting to rush forward and take Ke Xingzhou away without thinking.

But he couldn’t.

Three years ago, Nie Chen could have done anything to Ke Xingzhou because they were the closest lovers in the world, but now, Nie Chen could only pretend to be indifferent when he saw him from afar.

Three years of separation, and countless visible and invisible barriers between them—

Ke Xingzhou’s sudden departure had already shown his attitude, and Nie Chen dared not test his boundaries lightly.

In those three years, Nie Chen had grown into someone who never showed his emotions, even his assistant, who had been with him for three years, hadn’t noticed that he was distracted.

As for the production team leader, after giving a simple introduction of the park, he wanted to take Nie Chen to the stage to check the situation.

“The police have already come. They’ve initially determined it was an act of revenge. During their visit, one of the contestants offended someone, and that contestant was eliminated during the preliminary rounds. But their relative works in the lighting department. After a routine check, the person loosened the screws on one of the lights...”

Xie An had someone check it, and it turned out to be him.

Initially unsure of when the light had fallen, this was now confirmed to be a targeted attack.

But if it wasn’t for Xie An’s reminder, those two contestants wouldn’t have avoided the danger in time. In a way, Xie An had saved their lives.

The production team leader couldn’t help but click his tongue, wondering if Xie An had actually helped or harmed them.

The assistant received a call and, at the right moment, interrupted the production team leader’s lengthy explanation, leaning in to whisper in Nie Chen’s ear, “There’s a call from the old house.”

Nie Chen immediately snapped back to attention.

Glancing at the phone the assistant handed him, he didn’t take it immediately but turned to the production team leader, saying, “I understand the situation. Just to be safe, I’ll strengthen the security and personally oversee the production. Make sure to handle the external explanation. I still have other appointments today, so I’ll leave here for now.”

He then took the assistant’s phone, “Grandfather.”

The person on the other end said something, and as Nie Chen quickly walked out, he explained, “There was a problem with the selection project on the west side of the city, but it’s already been resolved...”

Behind him, the production team leader took a while to process what had just been said and hurried to catch up, seeing Nie Chen off.After watching Nie Chen’s car drive away, Ke Xingzhou was still a little taken aback.

Nie Chen was actually going to personally supervise!

It wasn’t just him who couldn’t believe it—once this news spread, the entire production team was in an uproar.

But most of the reactions were filled with confusion.

“Strange, with Nie Chen’s position, he wouldn’t even care about projects worth tens of billions. Why did he suddenly appear on-site and decide to personally oversee this one?”

“Could it be because Nie Chen’s family is entering the entertainment industry for the first time and wants to be cautious?”

“Now that I think about it, the Nie family’s actions are also quite strange. They didn’t enter the entertainment industry early, nor did they directly acquire a company, but started their own from scratch. Is this the confidence of a top-tier conglomerate?”

“The heir of the Nie family actually chose the entertainment industry as a field to practice his skills. It almost feels like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut...”

The group discussed among themselves, but one particular piece of gossip caught most people’s attention: “Did you guys not know? Nie Chen has always liked men. The Nie family actually sent him to the countryside for a while because of this. He only came back after ‘correcting’ himself.”

“Isn’t sexual orientation supposed to be innate? How can it be ‘corrected’?”

“Just saying it out loud! You see, now that he’s in charge, he’s already holding a male artist talent show...”

By the time the gossip reached Ke Xingzhou, it had already been completely distorted.

Ke Xingzhou went to do his makeup and arrived at the studio, where Xie An mysteriously leaned over to him. “Have you heard? They’re saying Nie Chen’s been repressed for years and is using this show to pick a ‘wife’ for himself!”

Ke Xingzhou: “..........”

—

The gossip about Nie Chen’s sexual orientation spread like wildfire, but it didn’t affect the filming schedule of the show.

“Almighty Idol” was a reality show with “authenticity” and “live broadcasting” as its selling points, or rather, it could be called a live broadcast reality show based on a talent competition.

During its pre-launch promotion, the show was praised by many as a breath of fresh air among talent shows. Not only did it choose the nationwide selection method, which was time-consuming but highly rewarding, but it also had the backing of the top domestic conglomerate, Wanli Group, ensuring that the selection process would be transparent and fair, offering viewers the best viewing experience with no room for underhanded tactics.

During the selection process, aside from private locations, the contestants’ every word and action were under the watchful eyes of the audience. Over the span of three months, the goal was to select an all-around idol with outstanding abilities, strong personal charm, and moral character, to bring a breath of fresh air to the entertainment industry, which had become increasingly toxic.

Wanli Group’s financial power was formidable, and their early promotional efforts were ample. Coupled with a sincere live broadcast, the program had hired top-tier mentors with significant influence in the film, music, and hosting industries.

As a result, the show gained a solid fanbase as soon as it aired.

—Ke Xingzhou couldn’t care less about any of this.

As a “connections-based contestant” who didn’t come through the public auditions, his ranking was undoubtedly at the bottom. Throughout the show, he remained in the corner like a salted fish, occasionally checking the little kitten in his pocket to ensure it was alive.

While the mentors on stage passionately energized the atmosphere and explained the rules, Ke Xingzhou sat below, barely awake.

It wasn’t until people around him started moving that he opened his eyes. Looking up, he met the gaze of An He Guang and his sycophantic lackeys.

An He Guang had an unexplained bruise on his forehead, which was still noticeable even with makeup. His gaze towards Ke Xingzhou was even more unpleasant than before.

What surprised Ke Xingzhou was that Ke Yuan Bai was also in this group.However, Ke Yuan Bai clearly didn’t want to pay attention to him, his gaze constantly drifting elsewhere, acting like a stranger.

It was because he had enjoyed years of wealth and glory thanks to Ke Yuan Bai, Ke Xingzhou thought for a moment and still decided to remind him: “I noticed that these people have a dark aura about them, they seem to be cursed. You’d better stay away from them.”

Upon hearing this, Ke Yuan Bai furrowed his brows.

He had heard about Ke Xingzhou’s antics within the production team, but since they didn’t know each other, Ke Xingzhou’s actions didn’t concern him, so he had turned a blind eye. Who would have thought he would be deceived himself?

Thinking that Ke Xingzhou was deliberately provoking him, he frowned, “If you still want to stay in the Ke family, I have no objections. But you shouldn’t be using the Ke family’s name to stir up trouble and smear your adoptive parents’ family.”

Afterward, he apologized to An He Guang and the others, “He’s just talking nonsense, don’t take it to heart.”

An He Guang: “......”

He wasn’t too eager to believe that Ke Xingzhou could predict the future.

But ever since Ke Xingzhou made that remark, he had been extremely unlucky. Not only did he fall flat on his face in front of all the audience and contestants, but he also walked straight into a glass door when he left.

With a loud “thud,” he could only imagine how much the people watching on the security footage were laughing.

And that was just the beginning of his bad luck.

When taking off his clothes, he accidentally tore them, and while putting on makeup, a false eyelash got stuck in his eye, almost scratching his eyeball. When doing his hair, he lost so much hair that it was almost embarrassing. And when he finally finished his look, he ended up walking right into that same glass door again!

The staff were struggling to keep from laughing, nearly injuring themselves in the process. They weakly explained that it was because he bumped into the door, and they were worried the area wasn’t safe, so they changed to another door.

Who would have thought he would walk into it again?

An He Guang still couldn’t tell whether it was Ke Xingzhou’s bad luck or just his own terrible day. His head was still buzzing, and the more he looked at Ke Xingzhou, the more he felt that what people were saying about him was right.

This person really was a harbinger of bad luck!

And of course, as fate would have it, the team for the first episode was randomly assigned, and Ke Xingzhou, unfortunately, was placed in his group.

An He Guang, irritated, didn’t want to admit that Ke Xingzhou had been right. With a dark expression, he muttered, “I don’t believe it,” and walked off with his team members.

Ke Xingzhou stayed slouched in his seat, not really interested in cooperating with their actions.

But just then, Lu Li, who had disappeared for a while, reappeared and whispered in his ear—

“Five million.”

Ke Xingzhou: “......”

Having no choice, Ke Xingzhou stood up in resignation, slowly following An He Guang and his group to the practice room assigned by the production team.

However, An He Guang’s bad luck continued. Before they could even get to their destination, a staff member came running over, saying that the practice room originally assigned to them had a power failure and couldn’t be used, so they would be taken to another backup room instead.

The backup room was a bit far, and the contestants weren’t happy about it. An He Guang’s face was sour, and he shot Ke Xingzhou an irritated glance.

But he found that Ke Xingzhou’s expression was no longer as nonchalant as before. He suddenly became serious, his gaze intently fixed on the door of the practice room ahead, his fingers rapidly calculating something.

Seeing this, An He Guang’s heart skipped a beat, a bad feeling rising in him.