Chapter 20

Ke Xingzhou quickly reacted, slowly straightening up and locking eyes with Nie Chen in the mirror.

Nie Chen looked no different from the last time they met, except for the fact that his iron-gray suit had been replaced with a younger-looking black outfit. The previously cold and oppressive aura was gone, and his features were now accentuated, making his sharp eyes even more piercing.

At this moment, those eyes were tightly fixed on Ke Xingzhou.

Ke Xingzhou met Nie Chen's gaze but could not discern what he was thinking.

Since he opened his Third Eye at the age of five, this was the only exception that appeared with Nie Chen.

The realm of metaphysics was broad, and "heart-capturing techniques" were one of its many disciplines. Ke Xingzhou, with his Third Eye, was particularly skilled in this field, or rather, the human heart had no secrets before his eyes.

But Nie Chen's heart was not something Ke Xingzhou could see through.

When Ke Xingzhou was five, he triggered a disaster when his Third Eye opened, falling seriously ill. When he woke up, he realized he wasn’t from the Ke family’s bloodline and chose to live alone in the old house of the Ke family in the countryside.

That year, when Nie Chen was seven, he was locked in the Nie family ancestral hall. The village children had never seen such a clean and beautiful child of his age. They called him the "fairy" of the Nie family ancestral hall and forced Ke Xingzhou into the hall, asking him to "capture the fairy."

They discovered each other’s secrets.

The first time Ke Xingzhou and Nie Chen locked eyes, he noticed that Nie Chen's gray-green eyes, inherited from his grandmother, were exceptionally clear, without the "veil" that should normally be present in ordinary people.

The "veil" was not a bad thing. On the contrary, it blocked the yin and yang, allowing both ghosts and living humans to coexist in the same space without disturbing each other.

Without this "veil," Nie Chen had effectively lost his protection.

He could see ghosts.

Ke Xingzhou, with his Third Eye, could see them too.

At that time, Nie Chen was two years older than him and already a big kid, yet he innocently looked at Ke Xingzhou and asked, “Did you get locked up for telling the truth too?”

Ke Xingzhou shook his head, looking into his eyes, and instead of answering, asked, "Why can’t I see what you’re thinking?"

He became deeply interested in Nie Chen, and over the next ten years, without the help of his Third Eye, he slowly unraveled the thoughts of this person.

Back in the present, Ke Xingzhou stared at those eyes in a daze, realizing that they were now completely different from the ones he remembered. At this moment, he couldn’t tell if Nie Chen was happy or not.

Did Nie Chen… remember him?

If he did, he wouldn’t have acted like a stranger when they met last time. But if he didn’t remember, why was he here now?

Ke Xingzhou tried to act naturally, but his lips involuntarily pressed into a straight line, making him feel completely exposed in front of the person who had once known him the best, the person who understood him more than anyone else in the world.This realization made Ke Xingzhou feel a little frustrated.

Since he learned that Almighty Idol was organized by the Wanli Group led by the Nie family, and that Nie Chen was going to be the supervisor for the show, he knew that he and Nie Chen would inevitably meet. He wasn't completely unprepared for it in his heart.

However, he didn't expect the other person to appear so suddenly, rendering his mental preparation useless.

Not knowing what to say, Ke Xingzhou remained silent, and perhaps Nie Chen was the same. So, the two of them stared at each other silently for half a minute without speaking.

Slowly, Ke Xingzhou started to feel a bit anxious.

Because Nie Chen was surrounded by an overwhelming aura of merit, a golden light so powerful it could obscure everything. Furthermore, due to the deep bond between them, Ke Xingzhou couldn't glimpse the trajectory of Nie Chen's life. In the past, he relied on his familiarity with Nie Chen to speculate on his thoughts, never feeling inconvenienced.

However, three years had passed, and the little remaining tacit understanding between them seemed to have vanished with time.

Times had changed, and this situation made Ke Xingzhou's mood more complex. Adding to it, ever since he awakened his Third Eye and joined a master for systematic training, he had rarely encountered a situation he couldn't control. His instincts made him feel somewhat uncomfortable with this.

This continued until the little milk cat, who was hungry and couldn't bear it anymore, began meowing, struggling to raise its head to nudge Ke Xingzhou's hand.

Ke Xingzhou let out a deep sigh of relief, naturally shifting his gaze, and lowered his head to feed the warmed goat milk to the little milk cat.

But he still felt Nie Chen's gaze, lingering on him for a long time.

Ke Xingzhou lowered his eyelids, remaining unaffected.

Nie Chen remained silent, quietly watching him for a moment. Only when footsteps approached did he turn his gaze away, as if nothing had happened, walking away with calm steps.

A long time passed, long enough for the little milk cat's belly to swell from the milk. Finally, Ke Xingzhou lifted his head and looked toward the direction where Nie Chen had left.

The corridor was as quiet as usual, with only the occasional staff member passing by and some contestants taking a breath outside. There was nothing unusual.

It was as if Nie Chen had never been there at all.

"..." Ke Xingzhou had no idea what he had come for.

He lowered his eyes, looking at the little milk cat in his hands.

This little thing had grown a lot since it was born. It wobbled its head, stumbling around, trying to find a safe place to sleep.

Ke Xingzhou's gaze darkened as he reached out and gently rubbed the cat's head, then turned and went back to the practice room.

Ke Xingzhou slept on and off the entire day.

When he woke up, it was already completely dark outside.

It seemed that dealing with international matters was a bit difficult, as Lu Li still hadn't returned, nor had he sent any updates.

The practice room was warm, with the heater making him feel comfortable and warm all over. He was too lazy to get up and just lay back on the lounge chair in the practice room, his gaze lazily sweeping across the people inside.

He truly admired these contestants. They had been looping the same theme song all day, doing the same dance moves over and over again. Just watching it made him feel visually and audibly fatigued, yet they didn’t seem to tire of it at all, practicing for hours on end.

It was already late into the night.

Ke Xingzhou yawned but didn't leave early. Instead, he lazily watched them practice, holding the little milk cat in his arms.The main focus was on Xie An.

Ke Xingzhou carefully watched them practice for the first time and was surprised to find that Xie An was exceptionally serious about this matter.

He stood in the center, his cat-like eyes rarely serious, staring intently at the mirror in front of him without blinking.

As the team leader, Xie An had to not only focus on his own movements but also pay attention to whether others' movements were correct, if anyone was offbeat, and so on.

A team consisted of six people, which was just enough for a complete positioning unit. However, due to the accident a few days ago, two of Xie An's teammates were absent, and the newly arrived Ke Xingzhou wasn’t participating in the practice, leaving the remaining four to practice six-person positions, which was somewhat chaotic.

But every time there was a mistake, Xie An would notice it immediately and, during the subsequent review, he would point it out precisely, urging his teammates to actively correct it.

Such things were usually rather offensive. Some people are petty, and even if they were wrong, being pointed out publicly would make them unhappy, or even resent the person who did it.

Ke Xingzhou glanced around and noticed one of the team members.

With thin lips, a small mouth, and a pointed chin, this person had a face that suggested someone petty and narrow-minded, someone who couldn’t accept correction. Yet, when facing Xie An’s guidance, he often displayed an attitude of humility and gratitude, as if seeking advice with great appreciation.

Ke Xingzhou stared at him for a while, his brows slightly furrowed.

This person gave him a strange sense of familiarity, but it was fleeting, and the feeling quickly disappeared.

He was about to investigate when Xie An suddenly noticed the black eyes that had quietly opened in the corner, both surprised and delighted: "Bro? You’re awake at last!"

The person with the pointed chin also looked over.

Ke Xingzhou made a sound of acknowledgment, calmly withdrew his gaze, yawned, and glanced at the time.

It was already 2 AM.

From the afternoon until now, except for the time they had for meals, Xie An and the others had been practicing for at least seven hours.

Ke Xingzhou was always lazy, and just thinking about the duration of the practice made him feel exhausted.

Yet Xie An was still full of energy, enthusiastically asking him: "Are you going to practice with us now? I’ve almost got it all down, and we’ve nearly finished practicing the positioning. If you start learning the moves now, you’ll be able to practice the five-person positioning with us tomorrow!"

His cat-like eyes were bright and full of enthusiasm, and his gaze was sincere and passionate. It was hard for anyone to refuse his invitation.

But Ke Xingzhou was not an ordinary person.

He had come to this show out of necessity, not with dreams of entering the entertainment industry. Although the Ke family wanted to sever ties, it wasn’t to the extent that they would force him to perform and redeem himself.

Ke Xingzhou directly ignored the question: "Can I go back to sleep?"

The others: "..."

Except for Xie An, the other three teammates were speechless.

They had practiced all day, yet Ke Xingzhou spent the day either sleeping or feeding the cat, never participating in a single practice, and here he was, saying this with confidence.

But they didn’t know what Xie An had said in the earlier meeting. After a brief silence, they quickly adjusted their emotions and greeted him with smiles.

Although one or two of them had somewhat stiff expressions, unwillingness apparent on their faces, this fake camaraderie, maintained through performance, was undoubtedly refreshing to Ke Xingzhou, especially compared to the blunt hostility he had faced in the previous group.It was much more comfortable than dealing with the Ke family and the teammates from the previous group.

Ke Xingzhou was a bit surprised.

He hadn’t realized it, but Xie An, who seemed like a naive and sweet person, actually had some skills.

Although, from his appearance, it seemed like he often got the short end of the stick in relationships, with no true friends and easily scheming against him due to his excessive trust in others, he handled other people's matters unexpectedly maturely and reliably.

As the saying goes, you don’t hit someone with a smiling face, and Ke Xingzhou wasn’t the type to curse bad luck at people he met. Seeing that their attitude was decent, he calmly exchanged names with them.

When it was the turn of the teammate with the pointed chin, he very familiarly grabbed Ke Xingzhou's hand: "I’m Lu Deben. Ke Xingzhou, right? I know you. Don’t take what people say online to heart. At least you grew up with your foster parents, and those 20 years of affection are definitely not fake."

At these words, everyone was startled.

— It seemed that Lu Deben was trying to comfort Ke Xingzhou, but in reality, every sentence was reminding him that he was merely an adopted son of the Ke family, a discarded pawn.

Ke Xingzhou couldn’t be bothered to respond to him and turned to look at Xie An.

The teammates hadn’t expected Lu Deben’s emotional intelligence to be so low. They gave him a strange look before following Ke Xingzhou’s gaze toward Xie An.

Xie An froze for a moment before realizing something: "It’s already two o'clock!"

Teammates: "..."

"Then you all should hurry up and rest. We’ll practice the rest tomorrow." He repeatedly apologized. "Sorry, I lost track of time. I was thinking the progress was so fast today that we were about to start on tomorrow’s content… really sorry!"

He suddenly bowed deeply, startling the other three, who instinctively followed suit and bowed as well.

"It’s nothing." Lu Deben, as usual, tried to act grand: "We’ve received a lot of help, we should be the ones thanking you."

The other two teammates felt oddly indebted to him, but the fact was, Xie An had led them through an entire day of practice, so they had no choice but to speak up: "Yeah, without the captain, we wouldn't have been able to finish the dance today."

"Captain, you really shouldn't be so polite. You’re the one who’s been the most tired. If you keep saying this, we’ll feel bad."

Xie An’s thinking was simple. He felt that, as the captain, he should have paid more attention to the team's physical condition, and he couldn’t help but feel guilty, apologizing again and again. His teammates were being led by Lu Deben and had no way to escape, so they could only keep thanking him.

The atmosphere gradually became awkward.

Xie An kept bowing: "Sorry, sorry…"

The teammates kept expressing gratitude: "Thank you, thank you…"

Ke Xingzhou, still sitting on the lazy couch, looked up at the four people standing in a circle: "…Are you guys getting married?"

Everyone: "…"

This unexpected bowing ceremony finally stopped, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Once the dizzying feeling passed, the two group members slowly realized what had happened and exchanged a subtle glance at Lu Deben, somewhat blaming him for not thinking before speaking. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be this exhausted and still bowing to each other.

But he had never been quick-witted, and during the previous auditions, he had often made others feel uncomfortable. They didn’t think much of it.

After turning off the live broadcast equipment, the two couldn’t help but complain about Lu Deben: "You need to be more careful next time. Can’t you think before you speak?"Lu Deben scratched his head in confusion: "What’s wrong with me? Isn’t everything I said the truth? Xie An really helped us a lot."

The teammates were speechless: "You really... Ugh, forget it, we give up! Just talk less in the future, or one day you won’t even know when you offend someone!"

Lu Deben scratched his head and gave a dry laugh.

He looked like someone without much thought, just speaking his mind without filter.

Ke Xingzhou, however, was watching the three of them leave. His gaze landed on Lu Deben's left shoulder, and he raised an eyebrow thoughtfully.