“If you’re really bored, just scroll on your phone. Stop staring at me; you’ve been doing it all morning. Aren’t you tired?”
“If I don’t stare at you, what if you get distracted?”
Jiang Ran, caught, still had a good argument, “Invigilators at school are all like that… practically glue their eyes to you.”
“Glue your ass!”
Xu Huo suddenly exploded in anger, slamming the table and questioning, “Do you think I’m handsome and you want to feast your eyes?”
Jiang Ran was dumbfounded.
Xu Huo grinned, giving his sister a thumbs up, “Good taste!”
Jiang Ran instantly broke character, switching to a slightly disgruntled complaint, “Bro, even though you do look decent, some things just can’t be so shameless; it’ll affect your sister’s opinion of her brother.”
“Wouldn’t that be perfect?”
Jiang Ran rolled her eyes, grumbled twice, then continued to watch her brother, fiddling with a strand of hair that fell beside her cheek.
Over the past few years, Jiang Ran’s figure had matured slightly; her slender waist was easily spanned by a hand.
The nightgown accentuated her delicate curves, flawless from both afar and up close.
Her pretty face had gained a touch more softness than two years ago, but overall, it remained predominantly clear and lively.
Xu Huo felt truly uncomfortable under her gaze, so he spoke to change the subject, “You were worried about Han Xiao a few days ago. How come you don’t even bother to ask about her now?”
“…Why do you keep bringing her up today?”
Jiang Ran tilted her head, a hint of suspicion suddenly bubbling up in her heart.
Hiss!
Thinking carefully, Han Xiao had a delicate face and perfect curves.
The key was that compared to herself, her “assets” were even more substantial…
Something was off.
Was kindness just a front, and was it actually that kind of plot?
Brother, [Miss Han, you wouldn’t want to be eliminated so easily, would you?]
Han Xiao, [What do you want to do?]
Brother, taking off his pants, body trembling, smiling evilly.
[Heheheh, if you don’t want to be eliminated… you’ll have to make me happy.]
Jiang Ran instantly became alert.
A quick thought crossed her mind, wanting to subtly probe Xu Huo’s intentions.
But the next second, Xu Huo confessed himself.
“I was worried about her because I didn’t want you to feel burdened… With your personality, you weren’t there when Grandma Qin got hurt, and Han Xiao helped out a lot. Now, if I can help but don’t, even if you don’t say anything, you’ll still have opinions in your heart…”
“I haven’t even asked now.”
“So I’m asking for you.”
Xu Huo put down his pen, and just as he was about to rub his temples, two slightly cool small hands reached up and gently massaged them.
“Oh, I see…”
Jiang Ran blinked her bright eyes, “Let me see, then. The preview should be out by now.”
The so-called preview was essentially a contestant introduction, serving as a final warm-up.
With that, she freed one hand from massaging, turned on the TV, and flipped through channels, “Look, it’s out… Huh? Why is Qin Yimo participating too?!”
Jiang Ran spotted Qin Yimo on the cover at a glance; it was hard to ignore.
Xu Huo also frowned.
Because of Han Xiao, he had some preconceptions about Qin Yimo; the truth would be hard to reverse now.
Especially knowing their bad relationship, Han Xiao had never mentioned Qin Yimo would participate.
Something’s going on!
“…I’ll see what’s happening.”
Jiang Ran clicked on the variety show.
Xu Huo looked up at the clock on the wall, “Then you watch. I’ll go make dinner.”
Jiang Ran sat obediently cross-legged on the carpet.
After spending the whole morning sitting sideways watching her brother, she could finally sit upright, but why did she still feel a bit empty inside?
Oh well, never mind.
The preview program was pre-recorded.
It started with the camera pulled back to the backstage, as contestants entered one by one.
Han Xiao was undoubtedly the most eye-catching among them.
She wore distressed denim shorts and a white off-the-shoulder T-shirt, revealing a pair of long, jade-like fair legs that perfectly showcased the lines and beauty of her legs, exuding youthful vitality.
Han Xiao also displayed her professionalism.
With a sweet appearance and elegant posture, her small gestures towards the camera gave a sense of mischievous charm.
No one’s success is accidental.
“Bro, look, Han Xiao is clearly different from everyone else…”
“Even if she’s bad, she’s still a professional.”
Like a certain 2-16 female contestant named Zhan, even though she was teased as a ‘noob,’ her 2-16 record was against the best in the industry.
A keyboard warrior going up against them would probably be 0-216.
Han Xiao was the same; her ability was far superior to these ordinary people.
After a series of voice-over advertisements, the stage lights blazed, and the hosts introduced the contestants one by one.
Nothing much happened in the beginning; they were all ‘fodder’ and ‘ordinary people.’
When it was their turn, they’d get a half-minute self-introduction at most.
They wanted to become famous, but they’d have to wait until the show started and break out with their skills.
In contrast, those less famous ‘trainees’ came with their own buzz.
Regardless of whether the general public had heard of them, when they appeared, the bullet comments would definitely be filled with cheers from their so-called fan clubs—likely the companies putting in effort.
It wasn’t until Han Xiao appeared that the excitement reached its peak.
Even being infamous counted as fame.
***
Especially when she was chatting and interacting with the host, that calm composure was something others couldn’t learn.
Demeanor and temperament always speak volumes.
During the Warring States period, strategists could easily manipulate people with just a few words.
In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, you often see “observing this person’s extraordinary demeanor and speech,” followed by immediate admiration.
Ultimately, it was about picking the tallest among the short; in an era where most people were illiterate, someone who could grasp the general situation of a region or make reliable predictions about the world’s trends, what else could they be but a talent?
Although compulsory education is widespread now, people with exceptional demeanor and speech are generally from the upper echelons of society.
This kind of composure, temperament, and confidence must be built upon knowledge and social validation.
Han Xiao was a dimension-level strike…
Xu Huo came out with bowls and chopsticks, laughing, “Looks like it’s going pretty smoothly, huh?”
“You wouldn’t think so if you turned on the comments,” Jiang Ran pressed the remote twice.
As a program that had always enjoyed a good reputation, its fan base was huge, so the comment section was lively.
[Can this show go from once a year to once a season?]
[The first season was still the best, with the most hit songs.]
[Waiting for new hit songs to be born.]
[Are the trainees this season any good?]
[Previously popular songs were all originals, can trainees please not come to this show?]
[Han Xiao is so beautiful!]
[“Ink Wash” family officially boycotts Han Xiao, trash get out of the entertainment industry!]
[Han Xiao, you green tea bitch!]
[Boycott! If the production team can’t pick people, they shouldn’t!]
Xu Huo placed the dishes on the table, tutting, “It’s true. Good thing Han Xiao can’t see this.”
“She’ll see it after it ends; this is a recording. Her stress resistance is truly strong. If it were me, I’d have buried my head in the sand long ago…”
At the dinner table, Jiang Ran ate furiously, her cheeks puffed out.
Xu Huo criticized, “Don’t eat so unattractively.”
“Hungry!”
Jiang Ran tilted her head, making a face at him, eating just as she pleased.
“Bro, you eat too. Studying is hard…”
Saying that, she put a “chicken leg” on his plate.
Xu Huo was displeased, his face darkening, “…What’s the meaning of giving me ginger?”
“To dispel cold.”
“Then why don’t you eat it?”
“It doesn’t taste good.”
She even said it with righteousness.
This sister was definitely his.
Xu Huo threw the ginger into the trash, and casually picked a piece of meat from Jiang Ran’s bowl, making her bare her teeth in frustration.
On the screen, the show continued.
The host, smiling brightly, “Alright, let’s welcome our final contestant. I won’t introduce this one; let her do it herself… A friendly reminder, there’s a surprise!”
With that, accompanied by the appearance of a blue dress, everyone present was captivated by the beautiful lines wrapped within, their eyes showing admiration and envy.
…Except for Han Xiao.
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