After Being Reborn, He Became An Ace In A Boy Band Chapter 18

“…That’s enough.”

Tang Ruining had a dream.

In the dream, he was lying on Jiang Yilan’s double bed. Just as Yuan Zhiyan had said, the bed was very soft and fragrant; once he sank into it, he didn’t want to get up. Lying next to him was the owner of the bed. Tang Ruining, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, skillfully got up and pressed Jiang Yilan down, reaching his hand inside Jiang Yilan’s clothes.

Jiang Yilan merely looked up at him, showing no sign of refusal. Those eyes were bright yet hazy, like the night filled with stars.

Damn it.

Tang Ruining woke up with a start. His leg was being pressed down by someone else, but it wasn’t the person from the dream—it was Yuan Zhiyan’s leg.

The room was certainly big enough, but Yuan Zhiyan hated staying in his own room. He insisted on running over to bother Tang Ruining, saying things like, “Ge, I’m here to spread the love.” Tang Ruining was too lazy to deal with him and eventually fell asleep.

Before sleeping, Yuan Zhiyan had pulled him aside and said, “This bed isn’t as comfortable as Lan Ge’s Company Dormitory bed. Lan Ge’s bed is so soft and smells good.”

It must have been because of this that Tang Ruining had such a dream…

But why did the dream end so abruptly? Tang Ruining stared blankly at the ceiling.

Yuan Zhiyan was sleeping soundly beside him, but every time Tang Ruining closed his eyes, all he saw was Jiang Yilan’s gaze.

His room was on the second floor. Tang Ruining got up, washed up, and went downstairs. The house was quiet; no one else was awake yet.

They were returning today. Tomorrow, he had a solo schedule: a dance variety show where he would guest star for one episode.

Once they were in the nanny van for the return trip, Tang Ruining sat in a row with Li Xun. Li Xun asked him, “Did you sleep well?”

Tang Ruining shifted his leg and lowered his eyes. “Very well.”

“Good. Zhiyan is quite honest when he sleeps,” Li Xun said with a smile. “It doesn’t match his persona.”

“How does it not match? My persona is the good boy,” Yuan Zhiyan protested.

Li Xun: “You are good. It doesn’t conflict with being lively and cute.”

“See?” Yuan Zhiyan nodded, satisfied.

Rong Xiao said, “If Yilan were to become a father, how spoiled would he make that child?”

Yuan Zhiyan: “If Lan Ge had a daughter, she’d be so pretty. How about I have a son and marry him into your family?”

“No,” Tang Ruining said immediately. Yuan Zhiyan choked, protesting, “You don’t get a say!”

Amidst the chatter and laughter, the car started. Li Xun turned his head and noticed a reddish bump on Tang Ruining’s neck. He asked, “Did a mosquito bite you?”

Tang Ruining touched it; it felt a little itchy. “I guess so.”

There had indeed been mosquitoes last night. Li Xun took a jar of cooling balm from his satchel, scooped a little out with his middle finger, and dabbed it onto the mosquito bite.

It was very cool. His finger rubbed it in circles, repeatedly massaging Tang Ruining’s neck. The mosquito bite had only been slightly itchy, but under Li Xun’s touch, the itch became unbearable.

After the balm was absorbed, Li Xun scooped out another bit and pressed it onto the spot again. The car hit a speed bump and jolted. Tang Ruining suddenly grabbed his hand. Li Xun looked confused. “What is it?”

“…That’s enough.”

His heart was pounding rapidly, the sound so loud that Tang Ruining was afraid the person close to him would hear it.

Li Xun sat back. He hadn’t slept particularly well last night, perhaps due to not being used to the bed.

He closed his eyes and drifted off for a while, only to be gently patted awake. “We’re here.”

“Mm…” Light sleep often led to vivid dreams. Li Xun had dreamed he was still a Trainee. He asked vaguely, “Where are we?”

“We’re at the Company Dormitory.”

Li Xun nodded. Just as he was about to get up, his phone vibrated a few times. He lifted the screen to check and saw three text messages, the content of which made him frown.

“What’s wrong?” Tang Ruining asked.

“Nothing, probably a Solo Stan,” Li Xun locked his phone and got out of the car with Tang Ruining.

Their private phones frequently received calls and texts from Solo Stans. Some fans always found ways to get their numbers, and all they could do was block them one by one.

They had encountered extreme Solo Stans before. Once, they almost called the police but held back, not wanting to blow the matter up.

The three text messages read: [Why aren’t you replying to me or looking for me anymore] [You didn’t look at me at the fan meeting either] [Are you pretending not to know me?]

Was this a Solo Stan, or someone Jiang Yilan genuinely knew before? Li Xun couldn’t be sure, so he didn’t block the number immediately.

The next day, Tang Ruining went to participate in the program. The show had reached the finals. He and two other guests were tasked with dividing the contestants into three groups, mentoring them, and assisting them during the final performance.

The group he led was, of course, dancing to one of their songs: To5’s latest track, “Imbalance.” The team had six members, one more than To5, so the choreography needed modification. When Tang Ruining arrived, they were already practicing. He was supposed to make a sudden appearance for dramatic effect. He pushed the door open, and the contestants were greatly surprised to see him, rushing forward to bow and ask for hugs.

Tang Ruining actually disliked being hugged, but he certainly wouldn’t refuse in this kind of setting.

One of the contestants, Su Wenze, was the favored one in this group. He was handsome, danced well, stood in the center, and was confirmed to perform the duet. The production team wanted Tang Ruining to choose the other person, but they couldn’t show that Su Wenze was already an internal pick. So, the director wanted Tang Ruining to act as if he were selecting both of them.

Tang Ruining simply said, “Dance it once for me first.”

After the six finished dancing, Su Wenze’s technique was indeed fine, but after watching the entire song, Tang Ruining felt that two other contestants were better suited to the style of the song and dance. He asked those two to try the duet for him.

He was only a guest; he knew he didn’t have the power to change who the show favored. But this didn’t stop him from frankly praising the two other contestants. He also told the director directly that he wouldn’t pretend to choose Su Wenze on camera. They could just cut the entire segment. He was only responsible for teaching the choreography. Since he couldn’t genuinely decide who was chosen, he wouldn’t bother with the selection process.

The director team didn’t force him and agreed.

Su Wenze’s expression was ugly after hearing Tang Ruining’s evaluation, and he didn’t try to hide it from Tang Ruining. But as soon as the camera turned on, he acted extremely humble, sincerely seeking guidance from Tang Ruining. Tang Ruining was very responsible in his teaching, taking them through the routine again and again. During the duet, Su Wenze learned quickly. However, the other contestant paired with him, Zhang Xu, kept messing up the timing during the back-to-back section. Su Wenze was already impatient. “If you can’t dance it well, can we switch people?”

When he spoke, no one else dared to contradict him. Zhang Xu lowered his head and apologized softly. Zhang Xu was one of the people Tang Ruining had just praised. Tang Ruining watched the routine with his arms crossed, then turned to Su Wenze. “You’re too fast.”

Su Wenze froze. The word “Impossible” was about to leave his mouth, but he swallowed it back when he met Tang Ruining’s cold, emotionless eyes.

“This back-to-back section, dance it with me once,” he told Zhang Xu.

When the two finished, their movements were indeed nearly identical. Su Wenze’s face flushed red then turned white, unable to utter a sound for a long time.

“I need to go to the restroom,” Su Wenze managed to squeeze out, hurrying away.

Tang Ruining was also annoyed. He hadn’t wanted to participate in this kind of show as a guest in the first place; it was an assignment from the Entertainment Agency.

Zhang Xu whispered to him, “Teacher Tang, thank you.”

Tang Ruining shook his head. “I was just telling the truth.”

Tang Ruining took out his phone. The To5 group chat had several new messages. He clicked in and saw that Jiang Yilan and Yuan Zhiyan were out eating and asking if anyone wanted them to bring anything back.

Rong Xiao and Wu Xingye had replied. Jiang Yilan tagged Tang Ruining in the chat, asking if he wanted anything to eat.

Rong Xiao: [Ruining probably doesn’t have time to check his phone]

Jiang Yilan: [When will his show finish recording? Is he coming back tonight?]

Rong Xiao: [He should be. Where else would he go?]

Jiang Yilan: [I heard the production team arranges accommodation. If it’s too late, maybe he shouldn’t come back?]

Tang Ruining quickly typed: [Coming back]

Jiang Yilan: [You’re here]

Looking at those three words, Tang Ruining could almost see Jiang Yilan looking slightly surprised, then smiling sweetly as he said, “You’re here.”

His beautiful eyes would widen slightly, then curve into a lovely arc, his voice pleasant and gentle.

He stared at his phone for a moment, then replied: [Yeah] [Break time]

Jiang Yilan: [How is the recording going? Is it smooth?]

Tang Ruining typed out the words [It’s fine], thought about it, and deleted them. [Not very smooth]

Jiang Yilan quickly replied: [What happened?]

Now, in Tang Ruining’s mind, Jiang Yilan was gently frowning, looking at him with a hint of worry.

Tang Ruining: [I don’t want to cooperate with the production team’s performance] [I never want to participate in this kind of show again]

Jiang Yilan: [ [Sad face] ] [Next time, just tell the agency to turn it down]

Rong Xiao, who was silently lurking in the chat: “How unusual. Ruining is actually complaining in the group chat.”

Su Wenze hadn’t returned for a long time, and Tang Ruining also needed the restroom, so he headed to the bathroom.

Around the corner at the end of the hallway, Tang Ruining heard Su Wenze’s voice.

“…He did that on purpose! He’s targeting me because he wants to promote Zhang Xu. It’s ridiculous. Where was I too fast? Was I fast?”

“No, no, I don’t think you were fast.” The other person speaking was likely his closest friend on the show, but not from Tang Ruining’s group; the voice was unfamiliar. The groups were all practicing in the same large Practice Room and could see each other.

“Exactly! You saw it too, right? I clearly dance the best and learn the fastest!”

“You do.”

“Tang Ruining, their To5 is just an idol group. How can he compare to the other two professional dance teacher guests? Why was I unlucky enough to be assigned to him!”

Tang Ruining smiled. He genuinely wasn’t angry at hearing this and planned to continue to the restroom.

“That guy in their group, the most useless one, isn’t he still performing duets? Still being promoted? Did he get there based on skill?” He grew more agitated. “The entertainment industry is so messy. Who knows what shady deals they’ve made behind the scenes.”

Tang Ruining stopped walking. He took two steps and stood in front of Su Wenze, his voice deep. “What did you say?”

Su Wenze and the other person were so startled they nearly screamed. The other person reacted quickly, pulling Su Wenze and repeatedly apologizing to Tang Ruining, even tugging Su Wenze’s sleeve to make him apologize quickly.

Su Wenze’s face was pale, his voice trembling. “I’m sorry…”

Tang Ruining didn’t acknowledge their apology. He turned and walked toward the director.

“Find someone else. I’m not recording anymore.”

“Your agency hasn’t signed a contract with us yet, I know that,” Tang Ruining said calmly. “You still have time to find another guest.”

The director grabbed him, urgently asking, “Hey, hey, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I just don’t want to record anymore.”

Tang Ruining walked out, leaving the area, but the overwhelming annoyance felt like it had no outlet.

He picked up his phone and opened WeChat. There were no new messages in the group chat. Tang Ruining reread the messages Jiang Yilan had sent.

Then he read them a second time.

…I really want to see him.