TCFOKTB 58

Chapter 58: Discontinuity

Lou Ting still remembered He Yunzhou’s gaze when he spoke; he recalled it even back in his dorm room.

What was it like?

A black panther in the forest, walking with slow, elegant steps, its golden eyes fixed on its prey without blinking.

Sharp teeth and claws poised to strike.

It was…the feeling of a hunt.

Lou Ting was at the washbasin, splashing water on his face, when he felt a warmth at his waist, an arm encircling half his body.

The water stung his eyes. Lou Ting wiped them with a nearby tissue, squinting and asking, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” He Yunzhou leaned down, his lips brushing against his neck, softly saying, “Suddenly wanted to hug you.”

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“Kwpv y bwt?” Nsw Mkdt aykple yd lulcaso, bkp olv qkdtlap xshkdt esodoyae, nwazkdt bkp qkdtlavkrp yde awcckdt ytykdpv bkx. “Mbld obyv’p vbkp ycswv?”

Tl Zwdgbsw kxxlekyvlzu qasodle, vyjkdt y cyalzu rlanlrvkczl pbyar calyvb, iwknjzu taycckdt bkp xkpnbklhswp byde. “Psd’v.”

Tl Zwdgbsw eked’v wpl xwnb qsanl, yde Nsw Mkdt eked’v vau vs pvawttzl. Tl zkqvle bkp yax yzsdt okvb bkp xshlxldv yde, pllkdt Tl Zwdgbsw pvkzz alpkpvkdt, ypjle nwakswpzu, “Ebyv yal usw pvkzz blpkvyvkdt ycswv?”

Rq Tl Zwdgbsw bye ralhkswpzu clld yqayke vbyv xyajkdt oswze nywpl kaalhlapkczl eyxytl vs bkp cseu, vbl lmyxkdyvksd alpwzvp olal dso nzlya; vbl xyajkdt oswze dsv sdzu dsv nywpl byax cwv oswze yzps alryka csvb vblka prkakvwyz ldlatklp.

Jlpkelp, Tl Zwdgbsw oypd’v vawzu alzwnvydv. Nsw Mkdt oyp nsxrzlvlzu cyqqzle.

Tl Zwdgbsw’p Geyx’p yrrzl csccle. Tl zktbvzu pdkqqle vbl qykdv qaytaydnl sq vbl Xxlty, bkp hsknl bsyapl. “R’zz vlzz usw zyvla.”

Vywpkdt, Tl Zwdgbsw pyke, “Zsw’zz qkde swv pssd.”

Nsw Mkdt oyp clokzelale.

---

The matter of the photo was like a minor episode in Lou Ting’s normal life, not affecting his life much.

Everything proceeded as planned.

After all…for them, the photo was just a photo, with no real impact. The truth needed to be found slowly; there was no rush.

After this performance, it was the second team change.

This time, the bottom four trainees were eliminated, leaving only fifteen to compete for seven debut spots.

There should have been a farewell speech after the voting ended.

But because Lou Ting was unexpectedly stuck on stage and the director didn’t want to dampen the mood, there was no farewell on the spot.

People leaving always meant emotional scenes.

The initially enthusiastic atmosphere would be ruined by sentimentality.

It was better to end it while the atmosphere was still high and not have a farewell on the spot.

Instead, they would record individual farewell speeches from the eliminated trainees later, allowing them to say more.

Lou Ting stood at the front of the line. The recording hadn’t officially started yet; he was looking at his phone.

As the top-ranked trainee by a significant margin, Lou Ting’s position was well-deserved.

But he had a question about his vote count. Why were his votes so high?

Although it was the era of traffic stars, fan economy, and fan power, the difference between him and the second-place Liang Caijin was too much.

It was so much that many people couldn’t believe the number was real, including Lou Ting himself.

A vote count he himself didn’t believe, but the audience seemed to find it normal.

This strange aspect puzzled Lou Ting all night.

At this moment, a Weibo post appeared; Lou Ting paused, quickly pulling down the post. It was a folded Weibo post.

Fully expanded, it read:

Ji Xing V: @ReturnIsStillYoung, cast your precious vote for Lou Ting.

He Yunzhou V: @ReturnIsStillYoung, come quickly! Lou Ting needs your help!

He Xiangyuan V: @ReturnIsStillYoung, vote.

Lou Ting: “???”

You guys are causing trouble.

【Hahaha, what’s going on? Those who don’t know might think my little prince is debuting.】

【Good, good. Let’s get the hype going.】

【I saw this in the middle of the night; I thought my account was hacked.】

【Gossip time! Do you remember Yu Yimeng’s incident? ‘Harming the Imperial Family’? Lou Ting was injured by the insects released by Yu Yimeng. It’s said that Yu Yimeng tampered with Lou Ting’s shoes, so…think about it! Think carefully!】

This comment had the highest like and reply rate.

Some things had passed; Lou Ting thought they had been forgotten.

After all, everyone’s memory differs. No one would remember such unimportant gossip clearly.

But…

Lou Ting curiously opened this person’s profile to see who this person was.

This person even remembered such a small thing.

The result was astonishing.

—Doctor Zhao!

Lou Ting: …

His fists clenched.

Lou Ting exited Weibo and sent a message to He Yunzhou.

Lou Ting: 【Can you get Doctor Zhao to take a vacation?】

No wonder he remembered so clearly; a professional part-time internet water army was helping to set the tone.

Before He Yunzhou replied, Lou Ting was called to choose a group. He put away his phone and said, “Teacher, I want to join the rap group.”

In the previous two rounds, the mentors had snatched people first.

For the last team change, Lou Ting wanted to try a group he hadn’t trained with before.

Ba Yanchen was ready to roll up his sleeves and take this opportunity to get Lou Ting, but unexpectedly, Lou Ting had already made his decision.

Ba Yanchen’s mouth almost reached his ears. “Lucky, lucky.”

He laughed, “Rap is so charming; I can’t help it. Hahahaha!”

Yan Ziguo: …

Xie Rongrong: …

Liang Caijin, who came in second, walked over and silently stood behind Lou Ting.

This meant he also wanted to join Lou Ting’s group.

Seeing this, Ba Yanchen silently looked at Yu Senze.

Brother, you three have the best relationship; now that two of you have spoken, aren’t you going to do anything?

While making eye contact, he raised an eyebrow, signaling Yu Senze to make a decision quickly.

Yu Senze, under the gaze of the three mentors, dawdled.

When it was his turn, he hid behind Liang Caijin.

—Safe!

“How can I miss such a luxurious lineup?” Ji Huan also joined the group.

The rap group, which had been the quietest, now had the most people.

The other mentors didn’t have anyone yet.

However, now that the popular trainees were in the rap group, and popularity would be linked to later voting, it would help them stay on the show.

If you score ten points but are going to be eliminated, but a group performance gives you an extra fifty points, resulting in just enough to pass, who wouldn’t want to be in the rap group?

Therefore, everyone looked at Ba Yanchen expectantly.

Ba Yanchen: …

When you came to my group because there were no spots in other groups, you didn’t have this look.

This wolfish gaze. I’ll have to choose carefully.

I don’t want anyone who can’t sing well.

Lou Ting stood in the first row, and Liang Caijin patted him on the shoulder from behind.

Lou Ting: “Hmm?”

Liang Caijin spoke softly, mindful of the recording, “Thank you for the examination report.” Thank you is better expressed in person rather than online. However, except during the show’s recordings, He Yunzhou was always with Lou Ting. An Alpha’s possessiveness is incomprehensible to ordinary people.

Especially when another Alpha approaches his Omega. In such a situation, the Alpha will only feel hostility.

Very domineering.

Liang Caijin said, “I’m taking this opportunity to thank you.”

Lou Ting raised his eyebrows, “What examination report?” I don’t understand.

Seeing this, Liang Caijin thought that he might have too much to do, and such a small matter had been forgotten, so he said, “Yu Jinxia’s examination report.”

Lou Ting said, “Did He Yunzhou give it to you?”

He didn’t even know about it. But since Liang Caijin thanked him, it meant it was related to him; it could only be He Yunzhou.

Liang Caijin was startled; the account that sent the file was Lou Ting’s, so he subconsciously thought it was Lou Ting who sent it to him.

Thinking about it, such things weren’t easily accessible. In the star age, personal privacy was highly valued, but for criminals, privacy didn’t matter; physical examinations were necessary.

Yu Jinxia’s records upon imprisonment showed she had been marked, but later examinations showed no markings.

When the authorities were verifying, they connected the previous events, and when they found the matter to be serious, they directly reported it to He Yunzhou.

He Yunzhou wasn’t interested in this and directly sent it to Liang Caijin using Lou Ting’s account.

The logic is sound.

But they were practically inseparable, so it didn’t matter who he thanked.

“I still have to thank you.”

Liang Caijin said, “Omegas can only be marked by one Alpha unless they undergo surgery. The documents initially showed that Yu Jinxia had never been marked by an Alpha and had no signs of surgery. Although AO equality is promoted, the scales of justice are still somewhat biased towards Omegas. Without this report, if the matter got out, the fact that I marked Yu Jinxia would have been a foregone conclusion, and I might have been discriminated against by the Omega Association for life.”

But now it was different.

There was evidence, and it wasn’t something obtained secretly; the authorities investigated this matter fairly.

When Yu Jinxia reported it, she swore that she had been marked by Liang Caijin and was reporting it because it wasn’t consensual. This means Yu Jinxia was also suspected of deceiving the authorities, which is another crime.

Previously, some people online had been trying to whitewash Yu Jinxia, saying things like, ‘Although she did something wrong, a marked Omega is already pitiful; is Liang Caijin being too inhumane by forcing her?’

‘Forgive and forget; what goes around comes around; don’t be too harsh.’

‘Omegas are so pitiful; they constantly shout for equality, but in the end, they get bullied like this?’

…

Liang Caijin had seen even worse and more hurtful comments but didn’t take them to heart.

This report cleared him of all accusations.

He never marked Yu Jinxia!

He never had any contact with Yu Jinxia.

Yu Jinxia fabricated it when he was unconscious.

It couldn’t be trusted!

With the official announcement, Liang Caijin could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

“If it weren’t for you and Mr. He, I might still be controlled by Yu Jinxia.” Liang Caijin thought, the past few days felt like a dream.

Unbelievably easy.

“Now that Yu Jinxia’s matter is resolved, I can go back to him…” Speaking of this, Liang Caijin had a smile on his lips.

Liang Caijin had never actually broken up with his former manager; he might have been protecting him.

After all, Yu Jinxia was meticulous; she might not be good at other things, but her calculations were difficult to counter.

Now that the truth was out and Yu Jinxia was in prison, Liang Caijin no longer had to worry.

Lou Ting blinked, sensing a change in Liang Caijin’s demeanor when he said this.

But…how did it suddenly change from gratitude to showing off his relationship?

Am I receiving dog food just by standing still?

Liang Caijin, somewhat carried away, cleared his throat. “By the way, how are you and Mr. He doing recently?”

“Pretty good.” Lou Ting felt that his relationship with He Yunzhou had always been stable, but recently, their relationship had progressed beyond hand-holding and hugging; except for not being fully marked, they were practically doing everything.

Liang Caijin laughed. They seemed to have skipped the relationship adjustment period and gone straight to the old couple stage. “Although your relationship is good, I really don’t recommend celebrities getting married early; it hurts their popularity.”

“Marriage certificate?” Lou Ting said. “We got it before the show started.”