Chapter 232: Chapter 232 Almost Successfully Brainwashed
Li Juezhou: "..."
This is even more half-hearted than inviting someone to dinner. Who wants a long-distance flying kiss?
But having something is better than nothing. Even a token reward is worth feeling happy about.
"Alright, I’ve received it, and I forgive you now." Li Juezhou’s heart softened under Sang Ning’s teasing, and his tone was extremely gentle and indulgent.
His voice, like the deep and soothing sound of a cello, awakened the cells in Sang Ning’s ears.
"Boyfriend, your voice is so pleasant. I really enjoyed it." Sang Ning genuinely complimented.
There was a sudden silence on the other end of the call. Sang Ning wondered if Li Juezhou didn’t like hearing flattery.
The curve of Li Juezhou’s lips hadn’t relaxed for a single moment; for the first time, he truly understood what "overjoyed" felt like.
Sang Ning couldn’t hear any response from Li Juezhou. Just as she was about to lose patience and speak, he finally responded.
"Thank you, I’m very happy."
Sang Ning almost instinctively replied, "You’re welcome."
"Stay in touch via WeChat. I’ll pick you up after the gathering ends and take you home."
Sang Ning was about to say it wasn’t necessary, but Li Juezhou’s next words completely blocked her intention to refuse.
"This is a responsibility of being your temporary boyfriend. It’s also the substantial reward I hope to receive from you today. I hope you won’t refuse me."
"Alright then..." Sang Ning agreed. Refusing further would seem impolite.
Sang Ning ended the call and stepped out of the changing room.
The program’s recording location was in the lobby on the first floor. After leaving the dressing room, she had to navigate through winding hallways to reach the front lobby.
Wang Qiuhong and Xi Meina were already waiting for her in the lobby.
Sang Ning maneuvered through the winding paths but hadn’t yet reached the lobby when a shadow abruptly appeared from the corner of the hallway.
It popped out without warning, as if someone had been squatting there for a long time, deliberately waiting to scare her.
Sang Ning herself claimed she wasn’t startled; instead, she found it rather boring.
"Chu Xi, are you sick or something?"
If this were a comic world, there would certainly be three black lines hanging over Sang Ning’s right temple.
Chu Xi’s behavior could only be described as childish.
She was like a grade-schooler, hiding in a corner with her little hands clasped nervously but inexplicably patient, waiting for Sang Ning to arrive.
The moment she heard footsteps, she instantly popped out, aiming to catch Sang Ning off guard.
But the imagined scream never came; instead, all she saw was Sang Ning’s indifferent expression.
"Why didn’t you scream?" Failing to scare Sang Ning made Chu Xi feel defeated.
"Why should I scream?" Sang Ning merely gave her a fleeting glance. "Could you please not block my way? I’m in a hurry."
"Sang Ning, you’ve been eliminated!" Chu Xi gloated.
Sang Ning showed little emotional reaction: "I know, no need for you to inform me."
Chu Xi took another step closer, leaning her head toward Sang Ning’s ear: "Sang Ning, I advanced!"
The shout was practically deafening, leaving Sang Ning’s eardrum throbbing uncomfortably.
She raised her hand, grabbing Chu Xi’s earlobe and giving it a hard pull. Then she leaned close to Chu Xi’s ear and shouted loudly, "I! Know! That!"
Chu Xi instinctively stepped back after being shouted at, but Sang Ning yanked her back, causing her to grimace in pain.
Sang Ning blew lightly on Chu Xi’s ear. "I guess I hurt you, so I’ll blow on it to make it better."
Chu Xi clutched Sang Ning’s hand tightly, gritting her teeth. "Wow, thank you so much! You’re such a nice person!"
Chu Xi tried to pull back, wanting to break free, but Sang Ning held tightly onto her ear, refusing to let go.
The two started tugging in opposite directions. Eventually, Sang Ning lost patience first, letting go gently, causing Chu Xi to stumble backward and almost hit the wall.
"Sang Ning, are you jealous of me?" Chu Xi rubbed her ear lobe, glaring angrily at Sang Ning.
"Jealous?" Sang Ning found it amusing. "Why would I be jealous of you?"
"Because I advanced, and you were eliminated!" Chu Xi finally felt vindicated.
Sang Ning really wanted to shake Chu Xi awake, and she did exactly that.
She yanked Chu Xi back, gripping her by the shoulders, shaking her vigorously to try to rid her head of whatever nonsense it was filled with.
"Sang Ning, see? You are jealous! You’re so jealous you’ve gone mad! Seeing you like this makes me happy!" Chu Xi spiraled into a sort of manic euphoria, shouting and yelling.
Sang Ning didn’t act out of jealousy but out of sheer frustration.
Worried about how others might interpret their scuffle, Sang Ning didn’t care what room was beside her.
She kicked the door open, dragged Chu Xi inside, and then slammed the door shut.
Chu Xi was thrown onto the couch with no error.
"Ahhhhh!!!" Chu Xi grabbed the hair near her temples, shaking her head and screaming loudly.
Sang Ning was almost amused by her antics. What was Chu Xi even doing? Was this supposed to be beautiful madness?
If that was the case, she’d show Chu Xi what true madness looked like!
"If you scream again, I’ll slap you!" Sang Ning threatened.
Chu Xi continued screaming incessantly.
"I’ll slap you so hard your face swells into a pig’s head, making you unable to film the third episode of the show." Sang Ning added.
Chu Xi finally quieted down.
Sang Ning felt that perhaps due to the butterfly effects of being transported into the story, Chu Xi, the supposed female lead of the original novel, should have had a gentle and considerate personality.
But what had she become now? Nothing more than a crazed jealous maniac who couldn’t stand others being better than her.
All the covert attacks and petty tricks before, Sang Ning had let slide.
But now Chu Xi’s mental state was clearly teetering on the edge of lunacy, and Sang Ning felt it was time to put a stop to this. A serious talk was necessary.
"Chu Xi," Sang Ning began.
In the past, to annoy Chu Xi, Sang Ning had always mockingly called her "Xixi."
But this time, she called her full name with utmost seriousness.
Chu Xi straightened her posture, tilting her head proudly to meet Sang Ning’s gaze, refusing to lower her arrogant demeanor: "Speak, I’m listening!"
Sang Ning pulled over a rolling chair from the room and seated herself across from Chu Xi, ready to address matters one by one.
"Did you really fall down the stairs because I pushed you, as Li Sulan claimed?"
There was a brief flicker in Chu Xi’s eyes, but she still stubbornly held her ground, maintaining eye contact with Sang Ning without yielding.
"And, right after filming Wild Countryside, someone immediately purchased trending tags to smear me on Weibo. Was nobody really behind that?"
Chu Xi’s lips curled into a scornful smile. Of course it was her doing—what of it?
If she didn’t like Sang Ning, why couldn’t she retaliate?
"So, what do you think I threatened you with?" Sang Ning lowered her gaze, looking intently at Chu Xi. "Why must you step on me to feel happy?"
Sang Ning’s tone was peaceful now, like she was casually talking with a friend.
The question genuinely stumped Chu Xi.
Yes, what had Sang Ning actually threatened her with? Why did she have to crush Sang Ning to feel satisfied?
Chu Xi momentarily fell into deep thought but quickly snapped back to reality.
Damn it, she had almost fallen for Sang Ning’s psychological trick!