Every Day the Villain Continues to Fail
[Quick Transmigration]
o0o
Early the next morning, a video about three minutes long silently climbed to the top of the trending list.
The video was simple. A handsome young man in a white T-shirt sat on a high stool in the center of a stage, singing.
The lighting was dim, and only one beam of white light illuminated his dark blue hair, like a deity rising from the sea.
Judging by the background, it seemed to be filmed in a bar.
The blogger added a single line of text: "My Aphrodite"
The video appeared to have been filmed from a close distance, likely by a customer sitting near the stage the previous night.
The camera's angle captured the mood of the shooter, the young man singing in the darkness, like a sacred deity born from a shell, or a beautiful goldfinch trapped in a cage.
The camera zoomed in to its limits, and the audience, through the eyes of the person filming, hungrily devoured every inch of the young man's soft, jade-like skin.
It left viewers dry-mouthed.
The moment the video was posted, the view count instantly surged into the tens of thousands.
The comments and shares exploded, growing exponentially.
"Wow, who is this guy? He's so good-looking, and his singing is amazing!"
"I'll call him my husband in advance, hehe"
"Why does this person make me want to hide him away? I feel so bad for thinking that."
"You're not alone, I want to hide him too..."
"Wait, why does he look so familiar? Wasn't he on some show?"
"Tsk tsk, have you guys forgotten? This is Ruan Yao from 'Chasing Light,' the one who was caught up in a scandal before the finals and ended up ranked eighth, not debuting. Who would have thought he's now reduced to singing in a bar."
"How tragic, he's so beautiful, and his skills are clearly strong!"
"Tragic? Pfft, he's probably being supported by a sugar daddy now. This is probably a publicity stunt, right? Didn't he post a picture eating steak at a fancy hotel a few days ago?"
"Strange, I remember him being pretty popular during the competition. Why does it feel like he just disappeared all of a sudden?"
Such a brief video, and initially, netizens only discussed it for a while.
But the haters came faster than the fans, quickly flooding the platform with half-true, half-false dirt on Ruan Yao.
The video was maliciously edited, with most of the commentary questioning Ruan Yao's real singing abilities, claiming he must have been lip-syncing.
Even those who were slightly interested in Ruan Yao quickly found they couldn't find any video material about him online, and their brief curiosity faded.
Ruan Yao's few poor fans could only timidly comment "He's not like that"
The trending topic fell just as fast, almost as if someone had paid to take it down.
The turning point came two hours after the trend disappeared when the popular singer Pei Xinan liked the video, which had over a hundred million views, and commented "The live version sounds even better"
Pei Xinan was a natural center of attention. Wherever he went, there was bound to be a storm of gossip and controversy.
A young and rebellious spirit, he had always walked alone. Even his longtime fans, who followed him from his debut, had never seen him get close to anyone.
And these two had no connection at all. Why would Pei Xinan like his post?
The online fans both supporters and detractors, erupted.
"Is this for real? How did Pei Xinan and Ruan Yao get involved?"
"Damn it, my son better not get influenced by Ruan Yao, has he been threatened?"
"Ha, ridiculous. Pei Xinan curses like a sailor, and people still think he's pure? He's a little gangster, for crying out loud!"
"Why can't Pei Xinan appreciate his singing? Can you guys compare to a genius singer who won a Grammy at seventeen? If he says it's good, it means Ruan Yao's amazing!"
"Ruan Yao's fans, can you just leave? An eighth-tier nobody can't even dream of rubbing shoulders with top-tier stars!"
o0o
Ruan Yao stood under the air conditioner and let out a small sneeze.
"Did you catch a cold?" Pei Xinan leaned in, about to press his hand against Ruan Yao’s forehead.
Most of Ruan Yao’s face was hidden beneath his mask, but a soft blush spread across his skin like peach blossoms in early spring.
He instinctively took a step back, his voice muffled as he looked around "No, there are people nearby"
The two of them were bundled up from head to toe despite the lingering heat of early autumn.
Hats, sunglasses, and masks everything was in place. In the vast, open hotel lobby, they looked incredibly suspicious.
Pei Xinan seemed a little frustrated that he couldn’t get close but made up his mind to make up for it later.
He held Ruan Yao’s hand in one and gripped an ID in the other. Pei Xinan’s family was something Sheng Yirong was bound to know about.
To make sure Ruan Yao wouldn’t get taken away, he decided to stay in a hotel for a few days first.
He chose the most expensive one in the city. A place like this was known for its discretion, ensuring that guests’ identities wouldn’t be leaked. It also happened to be conveniently close to Qiao Xinyan’s bar.
The ID had been delivered by Qin Shuang, who had gone through a long journey just to bring it.
The woman, always impeccably made up, looked like she was on the verge of a breakdown. "What exactly are you doing? Do you have any idea how many paparazzi are watching you?"
Pei Xinan casually blew a strand of hair from his forehead, completely unfazed. "I’m not stealing or cheating, so let them watch"
For them, being constantly in front of cameras might actually be safer than having Sheng Yirong suddenly appear out of nowhere to drag them away.
Qin Shuang looked like she was about to snap. "I’m begging you, please stop pulling stunts like this. Did you forget about the concert we’re putting together for Christmas? It’s only two months away. Can you focus a little?"
A concert… Pei Xinan suddenly thought of something. His eyes lit up.
After brushing Qin Shuang off with a few words, his restless mind started stirring again.
I should write a song for Ruan Yao. That voice of his can’t go to waste.
At the front desk, the receptionist spoke in an especially gentle voice as she looked at the two suspiciously dressed figures. "What kind of room would you like?"
Ruan Yao’s voice was quiet. "A double room is fine…"
A double room? That wouldn’t do. Couples slept in the same bed. Without hesitation, Pei Xinan pressed his ID down. "Don’t listen to him. One deluxe couple’s suite. You know what I mean."
The receptionist hesitated. "...I don’t want to know."
Ruan Yao’s ears, the only part of his face exposed outside the mask, turned pink. Panic crept into his voice. "I think this is moving too fast…"
Pei Xinan raised an eyebrow "Is it? We already know we like each other. Couples sleep in the same bed." And they do other things too, things that can’t exactly be described in polite company.
His mind was already filled with all kinds of thoughts, and for a brief moment, he even worried that, with no experience, he might end up making Ruan Yao cry on their first time.
Ruan Yao really did look stunning when he cried, but Pei Xinan had already promised himself that he wouldn’t bully him.
A quiet sigh of regret escaped his lips.
"What are you thinking about?" A face, impossibly beautiful and magnified several times over, suddenly appeared right in front of his eyes.
A genius singer, yet for some reason, Ruan Yao looked a little clueless. Had he gotten a little dumb from drinking?
Ruan Yao knelt suspiciously on the black bed, his round, slightly pink knees sinking into the mattress. That faint, teasing fragrance drifted out again, stirring up the haze in Pei Xinan's mind.
His collar was loose, effortlessly revealing deep collarbones and skin that was pale as snow.
"You have a fever?" Pei Xinan's face was tinged with an unnatural pink.
Ruan Yao pressed the back of his hand to Pei Xinan's forehead, his expression filled with worry. "You feel a little warm."
Pei Xinan knew exactly why his face was heating up.
His mind worked quickly, and his expression grew weaker. "Maybe I caught a chill last night."
Ruan Yao's wide, watery eyes blinked in surprise. In a panic, he tried to stand up. "I'll call a doctor for you." He had no idea how to take care of someone. The moment he heard Pei Xinan was sick, his first instinct was to find someone who could help.
He was too trusting. The second someone said something, he believed them. Now he even felt guilty, thinking it was somehow his fault that Pei Xinan had a fever.
"System, help!" Ruan Yao could only call for backup in his mind.
After all, System-ge was all-knowing.
The system stayed silent for a moment. "The protagonist shou's body temperature seems normal." The abnormal part is probably somewhere else. The best treatment would be to cut it off.
Ruan Yao didn't have time to figure out what the system meant before Pei Xinan grabbed his wrist and pulled him into his arms, pinning him beneath him.
The way Pei Xinan caged him in was unmistakably intimate, arms and legs locking Ruan Yao down against the bed.
Even someone as slow as Ruan Yao could tell that this position wasn’t right. "Pei Xinan, let go of me."
The other boy leaned in, burying his face against the side of Ruan Yao's neck and taking in a deep breath of that tantalizing scent.
Shamelessly, he murmured "No. I'm sick. The only way I'll get better is if I hold you."
Hearing that, Ruan Yao froze. His dazed eyes locked onto Pei Xinan's movements.
The hem of his white T-shirt had been pushed up slightly, exposing a sliver of his slim, snow-white waist.
Soft skin stretched over faintly visible ribs, leading up to delicate curves that dipped and rose gently. Pei Xinan’s hand stopped just at the edge of those flushed pink peaks.
The teasing touch sent shivers across Ruan Yao's entire body. He bit his lip, muffling a breathy laugh.
His dark lashes lowered, casting soft shadows over his starry eyes. The way they sparkled made him look almost mesmerizing. His lips, bitten red, bloomed like a delicate, many-petaled rose.
Heat surged inside Pei Xinan. Even the coldest mountain snow could melt into a trickling spring.
"It tickles." Ruan Yao caught Pei Xinan’s wandering hand, his voice nothing but honest.
Right at that moment, Qin Shuang's phone call cut through the air, buzzing frantically.
The second the call connected, a shrill voice screeched through the speaker. "What the hell are you doing? Giving them a free trending topic?"
Pei Xinan let out a lazy "Ah" then smirked. "Pretty much. With a voice like this, it’d be a waste not to add some fuel to the fire"
At the same time, Ruan Yao’s phone started vibrating.
He looked down without a word. A text message flashed on the screen.
Tomorrow night at eight. See you at the bar.
Sender: Yan Hui
o0o
C71-C75 on ko-fi.