The two of them chased and played around the compound for two laps before heading back. Before entering the building, Yan Jie stretched and casually asked:
“Hey, Mr. Hang, do you have any goals in mind for this show?”
“Goals?” Jiang Nan’an raised an eyebrow.
“Yeah, like winning a championship, lifting a trophy, something like that.” Yan Jie looked at him.
“…” Jiang Nan’an hesitated for a moment, then shook his head:
“No, just get me eliminated quickly, preferably in the first round.”
Yan Jie was somewhat surprised:
“You’ve come all this way, you’re already here-don’t you want to win?”
“This place doesn’t belong to me.”
Jiang Nan’an patted Yan Jie’s shoulder and said in a very official, wooden tone:
“You should win instead. You deserve it. Good luck.”
“Although your second half was very sincere and absolutely correct, I still want to say there’s no such thing as belonging or not belonging. Since we’re here, everything before us is ours. Don’t say such things so early-you haven’t properly experienced the competition yet. Maybe our Mr. Hang will catch fire once he steps onto the stage?”
Yan Jie held his hand in front of Jiang Nan’an’s eyes, wiggling his five fingers to mimic flames:
“When I first entered the industry at around sixteen, to be honest, part of it was rebelling against my family. But later, once I sat on that stage, I forgot everything else and just wanted to win.”
Hearing him say this, Jiang Nan’an was slightly taken aback.
He instinctively opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to ask something in response, but after hesitating for a moment, he ultimately remained silent.
The two parted ways at the stairwell. Yan Jie returned to his room humming a tune. When he got back, inBlue was lying sideways on the bed playing a handheld game with a lollipop in his mouth. Hearing someone enter, he didn’t even look up, just greeted lazily: “You’re back?”
“Yeah.” Yan Jie took off his light jacket, casually tossed it aside, and went to the table to pour himself a glass of water:
“You young people, I invite you out for exercise and you don’t go, just lying in bed playing games. Is this the spirit young people should have?! Don’t you understand the future of the country and nation rests on your shoulders?”
“Get lost, I’m not in the mood to watch you show off this late at night.”
inBlue glanced at him:
“Had fun?”
“Of course.”
“If I were Jiang Nan’an, I’d be sick of you. Why do you keep teasing him all the time?”
“How can you talk like that! He just wished me success and said I’m the most deserving person in the world. How could he be annoyed with me? You’re talking nonsense. I’m going to report this to the central government! I’m going to report this to the central government!!”
“I bet one penny those weren’t his exact words. There must have been at least ten times more sarcasm and mockery added to that. Teacher Spring, could you please stop filtering what you hear? Thank you.”
“Hahaha… I can’t help it, he’s too much fun.”
Yan Jie laughed a couple of times, then as if suddenly remembering something, asked:
“Oh right, Blue, do you know what he did before?”
“?” inBlue didn’t understand what he meant:
“Isn’t he an actor? What else would he do besides acting?”
“He’s about your age, right? Just twenty-two or twenty-three, fresh out of college? I mean, where is he from, where did he study before, that kind of thing.”
“You’re asking me?”
“Yeah, I don’t follow these things.”
“I don’t know much about that either… A public figure’s background isn’t a secret. If you’re curious, just search online and it’ll come up, right?”
Yan Jie spread his hands:
“No phone.”
“…”
Fair point.
inBlue racked his brain for a long time:
“I really don’t know much. My sister is a big fan of his, often watches his dramas and movies. Other than that, I don’t have much impression. I just remember he’s been popular for many years. I feel like I’ve been hearing his name since I was sixteen or seventeen.”
Yan Jie nodded thoughtfully.
inBlue looked at him:
“If you’re really curious, can a little thing like not having a phone stop you? Just go downstairs to the training room, turn on a computer, open a browser, and search. Problem solved, right?”
Hearing this, Yan Jie raised his eyebrows, stretched lazily, and flopped onto his bed, not taking his advice:
“Forget it.”
“Want to know but not that curious?” inBlue knew him too well and chuckled:
“Typical.”
–
【A-Cai Zheng killed A-Jiang Nan’an】
…
【A-Spring killed A-Suave】
【A-Spring killed A-inBlue】
【A-Spring killed A-Fangfei】
【A-Spring killed A-Cai Zheng】
【Quadra Kill!】
…
【Victory!】
“Damn, Brother Spring, you’re really inhuman. When their three ganged up on you mid, you could have just gotten revenge on those three! Why did you sacrifice me first?!”
As the Class A internal match ended, Suave returned from the adjacent training room to the Class A classroom. As soon as he entered, he caught Yan Jie and questioned him in despair.
Yan Jie dodged his outstretched hand and high-fived him:
“I saw you and wanted to say hi. Who knew Teacher Suave was so fragile? One second it’s ‘Say hi,’ the next it’s ‘Good bye!'”
“Get out of here.”
Suave leaned on the back of Yan Jie’s chair and glanced at Jiang Nan’an, who was staring at the screen checking the results:
“Class A is really full of hidden talents-champion junglers, mysterious kings, technical streamers, semi-professionals. There are gods battling everywhere, always making us two ordinary mid laners suffer. Anyone can come and slap us around, right, Teacher Jiang?”
Jiang Nan’an nodded, deeply agreeing. He raised both hands to gesture and said coolly:
“We should suggest to the planners that starting tomorrow, they put up a sign in mid lane: ‘Spring and wild monsters not allowed.'”
Spring himself wasn’t happy about this: “Teacher, you’re hurting my feelings. What has little Spring done to make you dislike him? Wasn’t I the one who ganked Suave to death seven times? Wasn’t I the one who cried at your grave and then cyber-ascended for a quadra kill? How did I suddenly become a bad jungler who can’t even enter mid lane?”
Jiang Nan’an silently watched his performance while moving his mouse to close the game client and computer. He pushed against the desk, sliding himself and his chair backward:
“Next time you pass through mid lane, don’t dance at me. Then I might consider withdrawing my complaint.”
After speaking, Jiang Nan’an stood up from his chair, picked up the class uniform jacket hanging on the back, looking like he was ready to clock out.
Yan Jie quickly called out to him:
“Hey, Mr. Hang, done for the day? Want to run a couple of laps tonight?”
Jiang Nan’an turned to look at him, about to say something, when suddenly they heard a knock on the training room door.
A staff member stood at the door with a cameraman:
“Teachers, would it be convenient for you to go to the dining hall now? We’ve prepared a small team-building activity for everyone tonight.”
Hearing this, Suave nearly jumped off the ground:
“Is it hot pot? Really hot pot?! Little Blue just said in the hallway that he smelled hot pot, and I told him it was a hallucination from his intense longing! So it’s real?!”
The contestants had been in the camp for half a month. Although the dining hall auntie’s cooking was delicious, after eating it for so long, they felt like they were missing something with a kick, like hot pot. Excited Suave received confirmation from the staff and immediately dashed toward the dining hall, his joy evident.
Jiang Nan’an didn’t feel particularly disturbed.
It wasn’t that he had anything against hot pot, but the team-building activity after work hours was occupying his rest time, which counted as overtime. He believed no normal human would have a good attitude toward the word “overtime,” especially when it was evening overtime.
But as a dedicated worker, he still had to cooperate when needed, though enthusiasm was another matter.
By the time Jiang Nan’an and Yan Jie leisurely strolled to the dining hall, almost everyone from the three classes and their coaches had arrived.
The staff had pushed the small tables together to form several large ones, each filled with dishes and hot pots of different flavors-clear broth, mushroom soup, tomato, spicy, and “insanely spicy” (变态辣)-all available for contestants to choose according to their taste preferences.
Some tables were already full, while others had only a few people. Jiang Nan’an scanned the room and noticed the emptiest table currently had only two people: inBlue and Chenghua.
Team-building events inevitably involved lively conversation and interaction, and Jiang Nan’an never liked joining crowded places. Looking around, every table had strangers except for the one with inBlue and Chenghua, whom he was relatively familiar with, so without thinking, he headed toward that table.
Yan Jie followed beside him, shocked by his choice. He probably wanted to say something but couldn’t speak up, only watching as Jiang Nan’an walked a few steps ahead. After struggling for a few seconds, he finally followed with a self-sacrificing spirit.
Before sitting down, Jiang Nan’an hadn’t realized the seriousness of the situation. From a distance, he had assumed this table had a regular spicy hot pot, but upon closer inspection, he discovered the broth was so red it appeared almost black.
So there was a reason this table wasn’t chosen?
After a moment’s hesitation, Jiang Nan’an raised an eyebrow and asked:
“What kind of hot pot is this?”
inBlue was stirring the broth with a ladle and answered in a very casual tone: “Insanely spicy.”
“?” Jiang Nan’an looked at him, then at Yan Jie beside him.
Yan Jie understood his look and also found it ridiculous:
“You didn’t see ‘insanely spicy’ written on the table? I thought you liked this kind of thing and came straight over.”
“…” Jiang Nan’an looked at the other tables, his gaze shifting between the strangers chatting animatedly and the death-black spicy broth for several seconds. In the end, he felt that being tortured by chili peppers was preferable to forced socializing, so he sighed and completely gave up struggling.
inBlue didn’t know Jiang Nan’an’s taste preferences, but he knew Yan Jie, and immediately questioned his choice:
“You can handle insanely spicy food? Why did you follow him here?”
“Why can’t I?” Yan Jie became defiant and played the emotional card:
“This table has my old comrade, my good brother, and our Mr. Hang. Even if there were razor blades in this pot instead of spice, I’d still have to eat it!”
inBlue immediately raised his hand: “Hey, director, we have someone with pica who wants to eat razor blades-bring a couple over!”
Jiang Nan’an listened to their banter absent-mindedly. When he looked up, he happened to see Sheng Yujia who had just entered the dining hall.
Sheng Yujia was clearly hesitating as he looked at the bustling central tables, but upon meeting Jiang Nan’an’s gaze, he made his decision and walked over.
Sheng Yujia, being a major introvert, obviously wasn’t comfortable with the team-building atmosphere either. After sitting down, he rubbed his thighs and nodded to everyone at the table:
“Hello, I’m Sheng Yujia from Class B.”
Everyone at the table except Jiang Nan’an was outgoing and enthusiastic. Yan Jie, inBlue, and Chenghua introduced themselves. While they were getting acquainted, Jiang Nan’an used the public chopsticks to pick up a slice of meat, dipped it in the pot, and when it was fully cooked, placed it directly in Sheng Yujia’s bowl.
Sheng Yujia was surprised by this gesture, perhaps not understanding why his cool friend was being so thoughtful today. His gaze toward Jiang Nan’an contained a hint of pleasant surprise. After saying “thank you,” he didn’t hesitate at all and immediately picked up the meat and put it in his mouth-
As efficiently as he ate it, he looked just as disheveled seconds later as he frantically searched for a drink with reddened eyes.
He sucked in cold air, gulped down several mouthfuls of cold drink, and only then thought to ask: “…What kind of hot pot is this?”
Jiang Nan’an’s lips curved into what might have been a smile, though it quickly returned to his usual cool, serious expression. He cleared his throat lightly and answered:
“Insanely spicy.”
“.”
—
(advanced chapters available on kofi)
![President Huo Wants Me to Restore His Reputation [Entertainment Circle]](https://www.freenovels.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/03-cd6f642.jpg "President Huo Wants Me to Restore His Reputation [Entertainment Circle]")
