Quentin’s emotions were relatively stable the moment he discovered the coward occupying the only chair in Room 205 was Xue Mingzhu.
However, he then heard Xue Mingzhu say his own task had nothing to do with the chair, had his hand held by Yan Qiao to paint his nails, and had his chin pinched by Fang Xu to be fed…
Quentin: (^▽#)!
Well, at least the food was delicious. It had been a long time since he had eaten snacks like chips and chocolate.
The period of “imprisonment” at the filming base and cutting carbs really felt like an eternity.
Quentin slowly chewed the chocolate in his mouth, the sweet and bitter taste spreading between his lips and teeth.
He narrowed his eyes, his originally somewhat irritable mood quickly calming down under the soothing effect of the small snack.
Seeing his obedient and cooperative demeanor, the program team in the adjacent Room 206 marveled at Quentin’s good temper. He didn’t get angry even while being tormented by three boys.
“Quentin’s temper has always been very good. We’ve been filming for half a month, have you ever seen an unhappy expression on his face?”
The screenwriter laughed while looking at the monitor feed: “The most amazing thing about him is that despite having a good natured, easygoing personality, he can still command the scene. During the first collaboration group division, I truly didn’t expect Quentin to manage the members of his group so we’ll. He has the demeanor of a leader even at such a young age.”
The assistant director next to her thought of something and suddenly chuckled: “Hey, don’t you think it would be very interesting if these three boys knew the person they’re currently surrounding and pranking is Quentin?”
The screenwriter hesitated for two seconds: “… If they knew, they probably wouldn’t treat Quentin like this, right?”
She remembered Fang Xu was quite doting towards Quentin, or rather, both people from Dorm 303 were very accommodating to Quentin. Xue Mingzhu went without saying; this kid basically hovered around Quentin whenever he had free time.
As for Yan Qiao… his behavior wasn’t as obvious.
But the screenwriter was very skilled at observing details and was deeply perceptive of the differences in how people interacted with each other.
She could see that Yan Qiao would deliberately “act properly” in front of Quentin, subconsciously behaving more seriously and unconsciously toning down that flirtatious and frivolous air of his.
Yan Qiao wasn’t a local of Yanhai; his hometown was in the south. You couldn’t tell when he sang normally, but he actually had a bit of a southern accent when he usually spoke. He never consciously corrected it himself, except when he was speaking to Quentin.
In the behind the scenes footage of EP02 aired yesterday, a small incident occurred in the Class A practice room before the official theme song assessment.
At that time, Yan Qiao and Quentin were sitting together discussing idol facial expression management, while Xue Mingzhu sat against the wall playing with a water bottle and interjecting his own views whenever possible.
As they chatted, Yan and Xue started bickering, and Yan Qiao’s accent emerged uncontrollably.
Suddenly, Quentin, who had been looking down in thought, asked Yan Qiao a question about finding the camera on stage. Yan Qiao subconsciously turned to look at him, and the first sentence he spoke seamlessly switched to standard Mandarin.
The barrage immediately became as lively as a morning market.
[Ahhhhhh YanQue is indeed real!!!!]
[So doting, Yan Qiao you… I don’t even know what to say about you, how is this any different from humans instinctively using a higher pitch when talking to cats…]
[I’m a bit confused about your thought process, brother. Are you looking at Xiao Q’s mixed-race face and subconsciously thinking he’s a foreigner still learning Chinese? Why don’t you look at his high school entrance exam results before speaking [laughing-crying]]
[I’m devouring this! I just love this kind of preferential treatment www]
[Laughing my head off, friends, look at Xiao Xue’s constipated expression next to him, he definitely noticed Yan Qiao’s peacocking]
[Our Xiao Xue is a top-tier tea identifier [thumbs up]]
[Isn’t Yan Qiao accustomed to peacocking in front of Quentin? Xiao Xue is probably used to it by now]
[I seriously suspect there’s an insider in the production team, they actually have a close-up shot here!]
……
In short, the cp fans on the forums knew more and in greater detail than the screenwriter. She often only realized many things after reading analyses by netizens on the forums. She had to admit, cp fans were really amazing at reading comprehension.
And now the situation in Room 205 was very dramatic.
Unaware of Quentin’s identity, Yan Qiao was lazily spouting flirtatious remarks one after another while painting nails. His back-and-forth with Xue Mingzhu was even more unrestrained than when in front of Quentin. He definitely didn’t expect to reveal his true self so suddenly in front of Quentin like this.
The screenwriter’s gaze shifted to Xue Mingzhu.
To be honest, although Quentin was currently sitting on Xue Mingzhu’s lap, their posture wasn’t intimate; instead, it exuded a sense of unfamiliarity and stiffness.
Quentin’s back was ramrod straight, and his upper body was leaning forward slightly, striving to maintain balance on the rocking chair while intentionally keeping distance from Xue Mingzhu.
On the other hand, Xue Mingzhu remained lying flat with his back against the back of the chair, his hands hanging on either side of the chair. The distance between the two was at least thirty centimeters, embodying the words “not familiar” to the fullest.
The screenwriter had just this thought when, the next second, she saw Xue Mingzhu sit up, the rocking chair swaying violently due to his sudden movement.
Quentin, who was sitting in front earnestly eating chocolate, almost fell forward, but was tightly encircled around the waist and abdomen by two hands reaching forward from behind.
Then, with a pull, he abruptly fell into Xue Mingzhu’s embrace. The series of actions happened so fast Quentin himself didn’t react.
But the “culprit” was very calm, as if he was holding a 1.8-meter tall large doll. With his chin resting on Quentin’s shoulder, he sniffed the sweet fragrance of chocolate, his tone full of ease and a hint of happiness as he answered the broadcast’s questions.
The screenwriter was bewildered.
Huh? What happened? Why did this kid suddenly start getting handsy?
Quentin wanted to know too.
He was acting like the perfect wooden dummy, but was suddenly and inexplicably hugged. Even if Xue Mingzhu was doing it to smell the food, he didn’t need to stick so close, right? It almost made him fall.
Quentin and Xue Mingzhu were almost the same height, and there was no size difference.
If it was to be precise, perhaps Quentin had a smaller head and broader shoulders, making his proportions better, but Xue Mingzhu wasn’t bad either.
Their hair created static electricity from the close friction, and a few strands interlocked together.
They both had lots of voluminous, fluffy, frizzy hair. When viewed from the ceiling’s night vision monitor angle, their fluffy heads huddled together looked exactly like two small animals huddling for warmth.
Having answered three questions correctly in a row, Xue Mingzhu had his competitive spirit ignited. He sniffed vigorously and charged forward incessantly. The rocking chair also swayed back and forth due to his movements, and he held Quentin tighter so he couldn’t even avoid it.
To make matters worse, Quentin was somewhat ticklish. The back of his neck and waist were tingling from the other party’s actions, but he endured because of the task.
How could someone act like a shameless dog in his every move?
And it was the kind of native guard dog, with a fierce 凶-looking face, barking and biting at outsiders, but the moment it sees a familiar person, it whimpers and circles around their legs.
Its front paws vigorously paw at the person, its tail wagging frantically like a propeller, unbearably sticky and not caring in the slightest if its owner has time to play with it.
Yan Qiao, who was squatting nearby, silently tightened his grip on Quentin’s wrist, trying to create some distance from a certain someone.
Yan Qiao had never been able to understand Xue Mingzhu’s thought process.
Before, he didn’t understand why this guy stopped him from getting close to Quentin. Now, he also didn’t know why this person suddenly became happy and active, when just two minutes ago he looked irritable and unhappy, wishing he could immediately run out the door.
After painting the nail polish crooked for the fifth time due to Xue Mingzhu’s shaking, Yan Qiao could no longer bear it. He took a deep breath and said, “Xue Mingzhu, can’t you act normal!”
“What’s wrong with me? I’m answering questions properly, aren’t I?”
The boy, who had just answered the fifth question correctly, was in a good mood. Taking advantage of the moment when Fang Xu bent down to get food from the box, he leisurely glanced towards Yan Qiao: “Hey, paint properly. They’re such good looking hands, don’t make them ugly.”
Yan Qiao raised an eyebrow: “How can you tell his hands are good-looking? Do you know who he is?”
Xue Mingzhu: “… No, I don’t. Didn’t you say his hands were long and slender?”
“Oh, I thought you suddenly started hugging and holding him because you recognized him.”
Yan Qiao teased casually, not picking up on the other person’s slightly guilty tone, and continued focusing on tracing and painting Quentin’s fingers.
But Fang Xu silently looked up.
His attention was mainly on Quentin.
After getting used to the darkness, the figure of the person being held in Xue Mingzhu’s arms became clearer and clearer. Although he still couldn’t see his features clearly, that faint, elusive sense of familiarity was hard to ignore.
In the entire “NS” filming base, who else besides Quentin could make Xue Mingzhu so proactive?
After realizing this, Fang Xu suddenly felt that the marshmallow in his hand was too hot to handle.
So… he had been feeding Quentin all along?
And he had grabbed Quentin’s face?
“Hey, brother, why are you in a daze? Come on.” Xue Mingzhu urged.
Fang Xu responded subconsciously: “Coming.”
“…”
The scene fell silent for two seconds.
Xue Mingzhu looked at the blurry figure in the darkness with suspicion, his tone uncertain: “Are you… Fang Xu?”
Fang Xu: “…”
Fang Xu nodded helplessly: “Mm.”
After speaking, he no longer reached out to grab Quentin’s chin. Instead, he directly held the marshmallow and moved it forward.
“Hey! Be careful, why the rush? Don’t poke his eye!”
Before Xue Mingzhu finished speaking, Quentin reacted quickly by tilting his head back and actively opening his mouth to take it.
But because Fang Xu extended his hand too fast and couldn’t brake in time, his finger directly bumped into Quentin’s lips and even hit his teeth…
Now it was unclear whether the hand or the mouth hurt more, but their instinctive reactions were to cover the hand and cover the mouth respectively.
Fang Xu heard Quentin’s pained gasp and felt uncharacteristically flustered. His current state of being at a loss was comparable to when he first entered Room 303 and saw Quentin half a month ago.
At this moment, the task to remain silent had already flown out of his mind. His voice was dry, and there was an unconcealed panic: “Sorry……are you… are you okay?”
Quentin didn’t respond.
Fang Xu immediately became nervous: “Does it hurt a lot? Is it bleeding? Do you need to go see…”
“Hey hey, that’s enough. Did you forget he’s a wooden dummy who can’t speak or move right now?”
Xue Mingzhu reached up and rubbed Quentin’s head: “It’s just a bump on the mouth, what could happen? How many more do you have left to eat? Let’s control the speed, don’t be too rushed or too slow, finish early and go back to the dorm to rest.”
“And the one painting nails, what’s your progress?”
With a crisp “click”, Yan Qiao closed the nail polish lid and said flatly, “Over.”
Xue Mingzhu: “…?”
“You, are, done?!”
Xue Mingzhu immediately turned to Fang Xu, saying fiercely, “Hurry up, let’s continue. There’s no need to wait for the question, Quentin just ate a marshmallow, and it was orange jam-filled!”
Broadcast: “…… Okay, congratulations, correct.”
“Quentin?”
Yan Qiao, who was planning to find the exit to leave, stopped in his tracks, almost thinking he was hallucinating.
He turned to look at the person sitting on Xue Mingzhu’s lap, as if unable to believe it, and repeated in a low voice: “……Quentin?”
But Fang Xu was busy feeding, Xue Mingzhu was guessing rapidly while urging him on, and Quentin’s mouth was full. No one present noticed Yan Qiao’s strange reaction.
Only the program team with their god’s-eye view saw everything clearly.
“Heh heh heh I knew Yan Qiao’s reaction would be interesting! Later, editing will add that petrification and cracking special effect for him. Look, he’s still standing there stunned!”
“So Xue Mingzhu already recognized him…… But how did he guess? Are he and Quentin already that close?”
“But I must say, Xue Mingzhu’s nose is really sharp. He actually guessed that marshmallow. Most people would guess orange candy or the like, right?”
“He even answered the trick questions correctly. It looks like the highest scorers in this group game will be Yan Qiao and Xue Mingzhu.”
“To be honest, Quentin’s task was really quite simple. It’s just that Xue Mingzhu messed it up. I don’t even know how to score him now. The moment Xue Mingzhu moved, he was also moved along. They never stopped…”
“And Quentin kept actively taking the snacks from Fang Xu’s hand. His own task is still hanging in the air, yet he single-mindedly helps others.”
“Whatever, look how hard he’s trying, even when being bullied like that, he still obediently did his task. Give him some sympathy points at least.”
“Ah, they’re all done. I’ll go open the door for them!”
The screenwriter closed the laptop in front of her and stood up eagerly, walking towards the door.
As soon as she pushed the door open, she ran into Assistant Director Wang, who was also heading towards Room 205. She smiled and walked over to greet her: “Xiao Wang, what a coincidence. Take me along, let’s go together. I haven’t spoken to Quentin and the others yet.”
Assistant Director Wang was taken aback and quickly said, “Mm, of course. I was just about to tell them the final score results. How about you announce them, sister?”
“Okay, you calculated the scores so quickly? Let me see…..”
The screenwriter took the notebook and looked closely: “Oh dear, how come our Quentin has the lowest score?”
Assistant Director Wang’s tone was helpless: “Quentin had too many small movements, those are constant mistakes. There’s nothing we can do about it.”
The screenwriter sighed: “My heart aches for him. He worked so hard, yet got nothing in the end… Do you think he’ll cry when he finds out this result?”
Assistant Director Wang: “?”
The screenwriter smiled, linked arms with the assistant director, and said, “Let’s go, let’s go see how Quentin and the others are doing.”
Poor Quentin hahaha