Chapter 8

When Nie Chen's car turned around, Xie An finally found Ke Xingzhou in the highest and most secluded dormitory on the contestant floor.

The dormitory assignments were originally supposed to be based on the performance scores from the class division rehearsals. However, due to an accident during the rehearsal, the dormitories were now freely chosen by the contestants.

Among the 101 contestants, 4 people per dormitory, and with intentional exclusions, Ke Xingzhou had unsurprisingly become the one left behind.

Standing at the door of Ke Xingzhou's dormitory, Xie An hesitated. After all, Ke Xingzhou had kindly read his fortune earlier and only charged him ten yuan, but Xie An had, without hesitation, lashed out at him when he mentioned his parents.

If it had been him, he would have immediately blacklisted the person after such a well-intended gesture was mistreated and would never speak to them again.

Moreover, now that Ke Xingzhou was being openly isolated by other contestants and insulted by netizens, his earlier uncontrolled temper might have played a part in the situation.

However, to his surprise, just as he was hesitating at the door, not knowing whether to knock or not, the dormitory door suddenly opened.

Ke Xingzhou, as if already knowing he was coming, showed no surprise. He looked Xie An up and down, and his gaze lingered approvingly on Xie An's biceps.

He asked, "Can you do housework?"

"Huh?" Xie An was momentarily stunned and hesitated. "I... can... a little?"

Before he could finish speaking, a broom was shoved into his hand.

Ke Xingzhou made way without hesitation. "Then get to work."

Xie An: "..."

After entering the room, Xie An realized why Ke Xingzhou had to clean the room himself—the place looked like it hadn’t been prepared for anyone to live in. The production crew hadn’t cleaned it, and there was a thick layer of dust. As soon as he walked in, he was immediately choked by the dust and began coughing.

"Cough, cough..." Xie An held his breath and waved his hand. "What’s going on? Did the production team forget to clean this room?"

That shouldn’t be the case. The previous show had only just ended, so had no one stayed here all this time?

Ke Xingzhou gave him a meaningful glance but didn’t say anything.

He fetched a basin of water from the bathroom, came out, and wet the floor. The constant dust floating around, threatening to enter his nose, was finally reduced a little.

He didn’t ask Xie An why he had come back, whether what he had said earlier had come true. Instead, he had Xie An help him, and they spent over an hour together, barely managing to tidy up the place.

Fortunately, the production team had provided enough bedding for the contestants, though they had to collect it themselves.

Ke Xingzhou looked at the logistical message on his phone with a calm and confident expression as he looked at Xie An.

Xie An: "..."As the young master of the Xie family, Xie An had never experienced such hard labor. He was already exhausted to the point of nearly collapsing, but when Ke Xingzhou gave him a look, driven by his guilt towards Ke Xingzhou, he managed to push through and hold up his tired body.

"I'll go get it."

Ke Xingzhou nodded with a smile and even took his change of clothes into the bathroom to shower.

When Xie An struggled to return, holding two comforters and four sets of bedding, Ke Xingzhou had just finished showering, and the sound of water in the bathroom had ceased. Xie An knocked on the door, thinking that, since they were both men, there was nothing to hide, so he simply pushed the door open.

The moment he stepped inside, he froze.

On the bed sat a man with damp hair, wearing a simple knitted casual top. The small V-neck didn’t cover the youth’s delicate collarbones, revealing a large expanse of smooth, white skin.

The youth’s wet hair continued to drip, and the long-untrimmed hair, having been wet, no longer looked messy. Instead, it lay obediently just above his collarbones, with water droplets flowing down the strands, creating damp spots around the neckline.

He slightly lowered his head, his black-and-white eyes cast downward as he looked at the small kitten in his hands, which was drinking milk from a syringe.

The usually stiff and indifferent corners of his lips had curved slightly upward. His moist red lips made him look less unapproachable than before, and rather... rather a little...

Xie An stood there, frozen, staring at the scene in front of him. The soft glow of the light shining on the youth made him unconsciously think of his mother.

He couldn't help but cover his face. What strange thoughts were these!?

At that moment, Ke Xingzhou noticed the person at the door and looked up.

When facing people, Ke Xingzhou didn’t have that gentle expression anymore.

He furrowed his brows, but before he could speak, Xie An quickly snapped out of it, repeatedly bowing and apologizing, "Sorry, sorry! I went into the wrong dorm!"

While apologizing, he quickly retreated and kindly closed the door behind him.

Ke Xingzhou: "..."

After a few seconds, still holding the kitten, the door was pushed open again.

Xie An kept comparing the dormitory number on the door with the scene inside, his eyes widening with disbelief. "You, you, you... are Ke Xingzhou?!"

Ke Xingzhou looked at him speechlessly. "Who else would I be?"

"When did you become like this? Wait... where did your cat come from? You even brought baby formula!" He had almost thought he had entered a different world’s maternity room!

Ke Xingzhou, even more speechless, had no intention of dwelling on that topic. "Aren't you here because of your family? What's the situation?"

Xie An, with his simple thoughts, quickly shifted his attention. "Ah, right! If it weren't for you today, my two teammates from the same company, and my parents, would have been in big trouble! I can't thank you enough! If you ever need anything from me, just ask!"

Ke Xingzhou gave him a glance. "Did you resolve the conflict with your family?"

"Resolved!" Xie An smiled broadly when talking about it. "What's your bank account number? My parents transferred one million to me to make sure I thank you properly, and my sister transferred eighty thousand. I also have eighty thousand in spending money. Altogether, I don’t know if this will be enough to pay for your services?"

Ke Xingzhou had just taken a sip of water and nearly spit it out upon hearing this.

"How much?!"

"1.88 million," Xie An misunderstood, nervously continuing, "Is that not enough? But this is all I can get right now. If you think it’s not enough, I’ll make up for it later!"

Ke Xingzhou: "..."He looked at this naive, sweet person with a complicated expression, unsure whether to envy or resent him.

How could someone casually take out 1.88 million like that, as if it were easier than him handing over 10 yuan!

Now he understood where the threat he had felt earlier had come from—if he had really taken the 1.88 million, all the good karma he had accumulated would have been immediately wiped out, and he might even end up owing more.

Therefore, despite being very tempted, Ke Xingzhou steadied himself and rejected the offer.

“No need,” he said quietly. “You’ve already given me the divination fee. The transaction is complete. You don’t owe me anything…”

Xie An, however, thought that Ke Xingzhou didn’t want to take credit, and he admired him even more.

Earlier, he had thought Ke Xingzhou was messy and unreliable, but now, seeing him refreshed, Xie An only felt that Ke Xingzhou seemed to exude an ethereal aura no matter what he did.

Even the patched robe he had once been wary of now seemed to symbolize a person unburdened by material things.

Xie An’s eyes seemed to be filled with stars. “Brother, can I call you Brother? You’re just... so cool!”

Ke Xingzhou: “…”

With great difficulty, Ke Xingzhou turned his gaze away from the 1.88 million on Xie An’s phone screen. He gently rubbed the kitten’s belly. After a moment, he asked, “Do you have something else to do?”

Xie An paused, then quickly slapped his forehead. “Oh! I understand!”

He quickly brought in the bedding and four-piece set from outside, eagerly setting up the bed Ke Xingzhou had chosen. Then, standing by the bed, he looked at Ke Xingzhou with anticipation.

If it had been two years ago, he would have been the type of spoiled young master who couldn’t even do the basics. But after running away from home for two years, he was now a well-rounded young man with solid life skills.

Making the bed was nothing for him. His roommates had even praised him for doing it quickly and well, often asking him to help them with their beds!

Ke Xingzhou glanced at the bed he had made and nodded. “Thanks. It’s getting late; you can go now.”

After receiving the praise, Xie An, excited, was about to make his own bed when he froze. “??”

He was confused. “Go? Go where?”

Ke Xingzhou looked at him as if it were obvious. “Your own dorm, right next door. Didn’t you get the message?”

Xie An looked at the door, then at the tidy room he had just arranged, and his face immediately scrunched up.

Hadn’t Ke Xingzhou asked him to help clean just to invite him to stay together?

He really wanted to ask Ke Xingzhou, but thinking back to how he hadn’t been very polite earlier, he didn’t dare to speak up.

Ke Xingzhou, however, saw through his thoughts with a single glance and blinked. “You don’t think I was assigned here because I was ostracized, do you?”

Xie An innocently replied, “Wasn’t that the case?”

“Of course not,” Ke Xingzhou replied, his rebellious nature evident. “I chose this room because I don’t like sharing a room with others. Got it?”

Xie An nodded, not fully understanding, then nodded again, suddenly realizing that “others” included not only the other contestants but also himself.

The cheerful expression on his baby face instantly faded.He stared at Ke Xingzhou, but Ke Xingzhou never had much compassion for humans, especially not for a grown man.

He waved his hand, yawning. “Take care, no need to see me off.”

After a pause, he added, “Next time you need fortune-telling, you can come find me. If you bring others, I’ll give them a discount for your sake.”

Upon hearing this, Xie An, who had been feeling down, suddenly perked up.

Originally, he wanted to stay with Ke Xingzhou not only because of guilt and wanting to make up for things, but mainly because he wanted to build a good relationship with such an impressive person.

With Ke Xingzhou’s words, he now had the chance to continue being friends with him!

Xie An cheerfully walked off with his bedding in hand.

Looking at the child whose attention was so easily diverted, Lu Li clicked his tongue twice. “Used and discarded, is that how you treat a kid?”

Ke Xingzhou shrugged. “He didn’t refuse.”

“...” Lu Li scanned him up and down, shaking his head. “I think you’re not just lacking metal in your five elements, you’re also lacking morals!”

Ke Xingzhou ignored him.

Taking care of the kitten and cleaning the room, either task was exhausting. He hadn’t slept for hours before he finally reached the bed Xie An had made for him. The moment he closed his eyes, he instantly passed out.

His remaining bit of consciousness was only enough to place the fragile little kitten on top of his head, so it wouldn’t get squashed if he turned over in his sleep.

Completely exhausted, Ke Xingzhou didn’t notice that just as he closed his eyes, Lu Li suddenly looked up and stared into the distance, his expression filled with doubt.

At the same time, the person in charge of the program received a message and hurriedly gave orders to all departments. “Quick, quick, quick! Tell the contestants to get moving! Mr. Nie is coming for an inspection!”