Ye Qiusuo turned her head to look at the corner, where the big star Xie Xi was squatting, glancing over guiltily.
"It's fine, you can play." Professor Ye understood. "This is for relaxation."
It's just that the original target users were children.
Xie Xi: "..."
He let go of the duck, placed it back where it was, stood up, as if nothing had happened.
"Am I supposed to sit here later?" Xie Xi walked over to the chair and asked, reaching out to fiddle with the metal headset above the chair. It really did look like a mind-control device.
After adjusting the final data, Ye Qiusuo looked up: "Yes, you can sit down now."
Xie Xi hesitated, looking at Ye Qiusuo, and pointed at the headset: "Is there electricity on this?"
"There is an electric current."
The big star felt a bit panicked inside, but his face remained calm: "Can I not wear it? This headset looks small, probably won't fit."
Professor Ye reached out and pulled the metal headset: "It's adjustable."
Xie Xi thought: Maybe he should pretend to go to the bathroom and then leave.
Seeing him hesitate to sit down, Ye Qiusuo thought for a moment: "It doesn't hurt, just a mild current."
She had seen how the dean tested children; you had to coax them.
"Really?" Xie Xi didn't quite believe it. They said there was electricity on it, and it wouldn't hurt?
"Really."
Xie Xi dawdled as he sat down. He was tall, and sitting on the chair, he seemed a bit cramped, his long legs having nowhere to go.
"The chair was custom-made for this machine, so it can only be this height," Ye Qiusuo explained, but it was suitable for the average adult. Children needed a cushion to barely manage.
Her words distracted Xie Xi. Then she pulled open the headset and gently placed it on his head, carefully adjusting it.
Xie Xi lowered his eyes, only able to see Ye Qiusuo's clothes—a dark brown jacket with several worn spots, very much like the industrial style popular on the streets.
He bet Ye Qiusuo definitely didn't wear that jacket because it was trendy.
Xie Xi stared at one of the damaged spots and suddenly realized it looked like something had splashed onto it and burned it like that.
"Your jacket is torn here." Xie Xi reached up and touched the jacket.
Ye Qiusuo glanced down casually: "Mhm."
"Was it burned?" Xie Xi thought the mark was strange—not a long scratch, but several small irregular circles, faintly revealing the jacket's lining.
"No, sulfuric acid splashed on it during an experiment."
A small test tube was placed on the lab table. A classmate bumped the table, knocking over the tube. Most of it spilled on the table, but a few drops splashed onto Ye Qiusuo's jacket. That was several years ago.
"Sulfuric acid..." The big star was shocked. He had only heard of it and never seen it in real life; it felt so distant from him. "Are your experiments that dangerous?"
"It's just special equipment; we don't usually handle it." As she spoke, Ye Qiusuo finally finished adjusting the metal headset. She lowered her hands and took a few steps back. "How do you feel?"
Encased in the metal headset, Xie Xi tried to turn his head and found it didn't hinder his movement much. "A slight feeling of pressure."
"That's normal." Ye Qiusuo turned around, turned off the lights in the room, and turned on the projector slides at the front. She went through them one by one, each time asking Xie Xi what he saw and having him describe it.
...
About two hours later, Xie Xi and Ye Qiusuo finally emerged from the room.
"I'll go return the key, then drive you back." Ye Qiusuo told him to wait here. There were too many people up front; Xie Xi might get recognized.
"I'm thirsty." Xie Xi had been talking for nearly two hours, which was more tiring than a concert.
Ye Qiusuo paused for a moment. "Wait here."
The front desk was quite far from their room. By the time Ye Qiusuo returned the key and bought water from the vending machine, Xie Xi was already gone.
Ye Qiusuo looked around, then started calling Xie Xi while walking toward the back exit.
The phone was still ringing, unanswered, but Ye Qiusuo spotted Xie Xi.
He was standing in front of a cotton candy vendor, looking utterly out of place because he was surrounded by a group of children.
By the time Ye Qiusuo walked out, Xie Xi had already made his purchase, holding a colorful cotton candy in his left hand and a white one in his right.
Seeing her, Xie Xi immediately wanted to wave, but his hands were full, so he gave a slight wave instead and quickly walked over to Ye Qiusuo.
"That person can turn sugar into cotton candy, and this one even has color." Xie Xi raised the colorful one in his left hand.
He had only read about it in books or seen it in movies and TV shows, but never had the chance to see it in real life.
During his teenage years, his food, clothing, housing, and transportation were all handled by dedicated staff; everything was delivered to him. Now, as a singer, even going out was problematic, requiring assistants and life managers to accompany him.
"He spins a stick, and it appears." Xie Xi was curious and casually offered the colorful cotton candy to Ye Qiusuo. "This is for you."
Ye Qiusuo didn't take it. Instead, she explained to him: "The crystalline structure of the sugar is destroyed by heating, turning from granulated sugar into liquid sugar syrup. The machine's outlet is narrow. When the liquid syrup comes out and meets the cold air, it instantly solidifies into solid sugar strands. The color comes from added dye."
Xie Xi looked down at the cotton candy in his hand. "But they're so pretty, like clouds."
"Mhm." Professor Ye was actually more interested in the transformation process than the cotton candy itself. But people are different—some lean more emotional, some more rational. She doesn't judge viewpoints different from her own.
"Eat it after we get in the car." Ye Qiusuo pointed at the mask on his face.
"Do you still want it?" Xie Xi asked as they walked.
In the end, the two sat in the car, each eating a stick of cotton candy.
Xie Xi pinched off a small piece and put it in his mouth, feeling like he was eating nothingness—no real sensation. He pinched off a larger clump and ate it, finally tasting a bit of sweetness.
The flavor wasn't particularly great, just sweet.
After a few bites, Xie Xi didn't want anymore, holding the stick. "Looks good, doesn't taste good."
"I'll go throw it away." Ye Qiusuo couldn't finish hers either; it was just the taste of plain sugar, something only kids would like.
"Wait." Xie Xi took Ye Qiusuo's cotton candy as well, then took out his phone and took a picture of the two. "To commemorate my first time eating cotton candy."
Professor Ye sat quietly beside him, watching Xie Xi take photos. His way of doing things was very different from hers.
"Done." Xie Xi handed both sticks of cotton candy to Ye Qiusuo.
When Ye Qiusuo returned after throwing them away, she heard Xie Xi on the phone.
"My phone was on silent, didn't hear it. I was with Professor Ye; her phone was on silent too." Xie Xi said something else in response to the person on the other end. "The class location changed, I know, I'm heading back now."
Ye Qiusuo took out her own phone and only then noticed over a dozen missed calls from numbers belonging to Wei Qi, Zhang Dong, and several others.
When they had entered the room earlier, to avoid interruptions, they had both put their phones on silent.
...
As soon as Ye Qiusuo dropped Xie Xi off, she saw Zhang Dong standing at the entrance, pacing anxiously.
"Brother Xi, you're finally back. Sister Wei is inside."
Usually, after finishing his lessons, Xie Xi would be picked up for styling and makeup, then go record a show.
During this tutoring session at home, Zhang Dong was sent out on an errand. He returned exactly two hours later, only to find the place empty. After waiting for half an hour, he called Xie Xi over a dozen times—no answer. He then tried Professor Ye's number, with the same result.
Almost an hour passed, and both the stylist and makeup artist started calling. The situation even alarmed Wei Qi, who was now inside the apartment.
"I understand," Xie Xi said, turning to look at Ye Qiusuo in the car. "See you next week."
"See you next week." Ye Qiusuo stepped on the accelerator and drove off.
Zhang Dong watched the car leave, then looked at Xie Xi, feeling that something was subtly different.
Since when did his brother Xi no longer look weary after finishing a lesson? He even said "see you next week" to Professor Ye?!
The moment Xie Xi stepped into the living room, he could feel the chill emanating from his agent, Sister Wei.
"Xixi, why didn't you tell anyone before going out? You should have at least taken Zhang Dong with you." Wei Qi was genuinely angry.
People have a herd mentality, and Xie Xi was far too popular. Being surrounded and trapped in public was no small matter; one never knew who might take advantage of the situation to cause trouble.
A few years back, there was an incident when everyone had let their guard down. Xie Xi, unaware of just how much attention he attracted, had simply put on a mask and a pair of sunglasses to visit a newly opened viral amusement park. Right after buying his ticket, he lowered his mask for the security check and was recognized. He had only taken a few steps inside when people who had finished checking in before and after him swarmed around. Someone bold even grabbed Xie Xi, refusing to let him leave, demanding a photo. Others nearby started shouting his name, drawing even more people over.
That viral amusement park was already crowded, full of young people. Upon hearing Xie Xi's name, they abandoned their rides and games, squeezing towards the commotion. The park's security couldn't maintain order, and Xie Xi was trapped in the middle, unable to escape. In the end, the management had to call the police, and it took the entire afternoon to disperse the crowd.
Because of this incident, Xie Xi was repeatedly singled out and criticized by the media: knowing he was a celebrity, yet still wandering around recklessly, causing disturbances and wasting public resources.
Wei Qi wasn't particularly concerned about the media bashing Xie Xi; he just wanted to visit an amusement park like any ordinary person, which wasn't wrong in itself.
But during that chaos, Xie Xi had gotten injured in the scuffle.
Wei Qi didn't want to see a similar scene happen again.
"Understood," Xie Xi immediately admitted his fault.
Wei Qi's anger subsided. "Let's go, I'll take you there. This episode is to select the top three, right?"
"Probably." At the mention of this, Xie Xi's expression turned indifferent. "I don't want to participate in any more talent shows in the future."
This show was full of tricks and murky depths, which Xie Xi genuinely disliked. He could directly breach the contract and quit—money wasn't an issue—but it would cause trouble for his team.
...
At the recording site of "Tomorrow's Star."
"Only five of us are left. After tonight, two more will leave," a contestant sighed backstage.
"Even if someone leaves, we'll all still be brothers."
Lu Mingzhe stood to the side, a hint of sarcasm in his eyes. Once they left, who would still keep in touch?
"Mingzhe is definitely secure, he has the most fans."
"Until the very last moment, no one can be sure," Lu Mingzhe said, straightening his collar. "Focus on the competition, don't overthink it."
Selecting the top three required combining the votes from the mentors and the live audience.
Sitting in the mentor's seat, Xie Xi listened to the audience chanting Lu Mingzhe's name in unison, his gaze turning cold.
Among the many contestants, Lu Mingzhe was famously popular, but none of the top five finalists lacked fans. For all five hundred selected audience members to be chanting only for Lu Mingzhe seemed far too coincidental.
It was hard not to suspect some behind-the-scenes manipulation.
Judging from the past few episodes, the production team was determined to push Lu Mingzhe to debut.
