After Being Reborn, He Became An Ace In A Boy Band Chapter 24

Chapter 24: Of Course, Not Dating Is Best

This question, of course, received no answer. Li Xun felt that Tang Ruining’s question was completely unreasonable. Interactions between people are mutual; he wasn’t stupid, so naturally, he wouldn’t be nice to everyone. This was pure slander.

The magnificent music from the movie filled the living room. Yuan Zhiyan hadn’t heard what they were saying and turned to glance at them. “What are you two doing? Are we watching the movie or not?”

“We are,” Li Xun said, sitting back down.

A few minutes later, Tang Ruining got up and went to the kitchen. When he returned, he was carrying a plate of sliced cantaloupe, which he placed in front of Li Xun. “Pretend I didn’t say anything just now.”

“Say what?” Yuan Zhiyan speared a piece of cantaloupe, stuffed it into his mouth, and asked.

“Are all cantaloupes injected with sugar water now? How can it be this sweet?” he asked again, seemingly forgetting the previous unanswered question instantly. He immediately speared a second piece. “You guys try it. Is it injected with sugar water?”

“I think your brain is injected with water,” Tang Ruining said.

“I won’t hold it against you,” Yuan Zhiyan said generously, crunching loudly on the melon.

Li Xun speared a piece and handed it to Tang Ruining. “Eat a few more pieces. See if your mouth can become a little sweeter.”

“Exactly, exactly,” Yuan Zhiyan said, emboldened by having someone back him up, and his chewing became even louder. Tang Ruining accepted the cantaloupe Li Xun offered him and ate it in silence, not saying anything more to Yuan Zhiyan.

Later that evening, Rong Xiao returned. Wu Xingye was not with him.

“I thought you two went out together,” Li Xun said.

Rong Xiao hung his umbrella outside. “No, he had something to do. He’s not coming back tonight.”

He walked in and addressed the three people on the sofa: “Let’s have a quick meeting. There are some things we need to discuss.”

The movie had finished playing. Li Xun turned off the TV. Rong Xiao pulled a chair over and sat down facing the three of them.

“The first thing is to discuss relationship issues within the group.”

Tang Ruining looked up at him. Rong Xiao avoided his gaze and continued, “We all know that idols in their rising period are strictly forbidden from dating. This is something the Entertainment Agency stated long ago. But honestly, if someone really starts dating, the agency can’t force you to break up. There are plenty of people dating secretly. Give it a few more years, and the one who isn’t dating will become the odd one out.”

“I don’t have the right to manage this either, since I can’t guarantee that ‘I will never date.’ So I can only say, you must have self-control. Don’t do anything that violates morality or the law. Don’t be too flashy, and don’t reveal everything to your partner. You are all adults; you must be responsible for your own actions.”

Yuan Zhiyan looked around at the four people in the living room—only one was missing. He hesitated. “What happened? Is Xingye dating?”

Rong Xiao nodded. “Yes.”

“Ah!” Yuan Zhiyan shouted, then shouted again, “Huh?”

“How did he hide it so well? We didn’t know anything!” Yuan Zhiyan threw questions at Rong Xiao one after another: “Who is it? Is she in the industry? When did they start dating? Is he out on a date tonight because he’s not coming back?”

“Qiao Han,” Rong Xiao answered only his first question.

“Ah!?” Yuan Zhiyan completely jumped up, staring at Rong Xiao in shock.

Qiao Han was a senior in the industry, six years older than Wu Xingye. She also debuted in a girl group, but after her contract expired, they all went solo. Her results were the best in the group, and her career had been consistently good. Most importantly, Yuan Zhiyan had liked Qiao Han and viewed her as an idol since before his debut.

Yuan Zhiyan clearly remembered they had only interacted once, during a variety show. He had been happy for a long time just because he spoke to Qiao Han and exchanged contact information. Wu Xingye hadn’t seemed to say anything to her that time, so why did this happen?

Allowing him time to slowly accept this cruel reality, Rong Xiao continued, “If you really want to date, keep it covered up yourselves. There are countless examples of exposed relationships in the industry, and you all know how that goes.”

Rong Xiao looked at Tang Ruining. “Of course, not dating is best.”

By this point, Yuan Zhiyan had silently slumped back onto the sofa, beginning the quietest period of his life.

“The second thing: Cherry Pit’s official account posted the group photo from yesterday, and our official account reposted and interacted with it. That’s fine, but our two fanbases are fighting again. Don’t go online and look; it will only make you feel miserable these two days.”

Tang Ruining pulled out his phone and opened Weibo.

Rong Xiao glared at him, then continued helplessly, “Their leader just messaged me, saying to apologize to Yilan and Ruining. He said their fans were being ignorant.”

Tang Ruining quickly scanned the situation. The opposing fans were mostly attacking him, saying he was giving the cold shoulder to his juniors. It was the same old stuff, bringing up his past rumors again. However, this incident started with the To5 fans, who accused Cherry Pit of riding their popularity, forcing Jiang Yilan into a live stream, and then posting a group photo and making To5 repost it—riding their popularity from start to finish. Cherry Pit fans retaliated by saying Tang Ruining was putting on senior airs, giving juniors the cold shoulder, and if he acted like that even on a live stream, how awful must he be in private?

[Who didn’t start out as a rookie? He’s only been popular for two years and is acting like this. He’ll face backlash sooner or later.]

[Just asking, isn’t this workplace bullying?]

[Passing by as a former To5 fan. I used to think this group was unlucky because of Jiang Yilan, but now it seems they’re unlucky because of Tang Ruining. Hahaha!]

Seeing that the main focus of the attacks was on himself and that the innocent Jiang Yilan hadn’t been dragged into it, Tang Ruining closed his phone with satisfaction.

“The third thing: The next episode of the group reality show is tentatively scheduled for the Amusement Park. We’ll go to a meeting tomorrow to discuss the process.” Rong Xiao asked them, “Is everyone free tomorrow?”

“Yes,” Li Xun replied. Tang Ruining also shook his head. Rong Xiao nudged the remaining person, whose soul had drifted away and hadn’t returned. “Meeting tomorrow, okay?”

Yuan Zhiyan slowly and weakly said, “Okay.”

Rong Xiao: “Alright, meeting adjourned.”

Li Xun was quite looking forward to the Amusement Park. He had only taken Li Mo to a park when she was little, which had very simple amusement facilities like a carousel, slides, trampolines, and ball pits. There were also ring toss and shooting games to win prizes. The rabbit doll he won for Li Mo in a ring toss was crudely made—its face stitching was crooked, and it wasn’t stuffed enough—but Li Mo still kept it by her bedside to sleep with and washed it regularly. The pink color had faded, making it look old, but she didn’t mind.

He used to think that he would take Li Mo to Disneyland someday. Although Li Mo had never mentioned it herself, he had seen her scrolling through short videos online, watching the dazzling float parades, the grand and spectacular fireworks displays, and the interactions with cartoon characters. If Li Mo didn’t frequently watch these things, her homepage wouldn’t recommend so many to her.

“Which Amusement Park are we going to?” Li Xun asked, thinking of this.

Rong Xiao: “We don’t know yet. We’ll ask tomorrow.”

Perhaps his expression showed anticipation, because Tang Ruining asked, “Do you like Amusement Parks?”

Li Xun said, “I’m curious.” He then asked Tang Ruining, “Have you been to an Amusement Park?”

“I went when I was little. It wasn’t very interesting.”

“How can that be? Everything is interesting when you’re little, right?” Li Xun suddenly remembered a phrase he saw online a few days ago: “When you’re little, even playing with dirt is interesting.” He burst out laughing.

Unsure what he was laughing about now, Tang Ruining looked at him and was silent for a few seconds. “Anyway, I just don’t like them much.”

Yuan Zhiyan had recovered slightly by now. Hearing them discuss the Amusement Park, he guessed, “There won’t be a haunted house segment, will there?”

Rong Xiao: “Hard to say. A lot of fans said last time they wanted to see a haunted house.”

“Please, no haunted house…” Yuan Zhiyan wailed, his face mournful. He was already in a bad mood, and the thought of going to a haunted house made him genuinely want to shed a few tears right there.

“Roller coasters are terrifying too,” Yuan Zhiyan recalled the childhood fear of being dominated by roller coasters. “When I rode a roller coaster as a kid, I was so excited before we went up, and then I threw up by the flower bed when we got off!”

“Well, basic Amusement Park rides like roller coasters are definitely mandatory,” Rong Xiao added, twisting the knife. “We might even have to ride them with tasks, like carrying a cup of water up, or doing a specific pose at a certain point.”

“Just kill me now,” Yuan Zhiyan collapsed onto the sofa, sighing tragically. “Why does fate keep hitting me with blow after blow?”