After a fierce battle, Ji Sheng and He Shuyi, who had finally eliminated Wen Xinyi and Qi Yang, stood by the elevator on the first floor. Ji Xu, who had appeared out of nowhere after they finished tearing name tags, waited for the elevator with them.
The three looked at the decreasing red numbers on the display screen. Ji Sheng casually started a conversation: “Qi Yang and Wen Xinyi were actually quite good. If our roles were swapped with theirs, we might have really lost.”
He Shuyi smiled and said: “Even if our roles were swapped, we wouldn’t have foolishly fought head-on when we could have run. A mouse team needs to have the awareness of a mouse team. For example, Quentin is doing very well. I haven’t run into him even once since eight o’clock.”
“I’ve run into him twice…” Ji Sheng pouted. “But for the past half hour or so, he’s really been able to hide. He’s the only one who can hide so well. Five people have been eliminated so far. What do you think? Is he the only mouse team member left now, or are there two little mice hiding among us cat team members?”
The elimination announcements had occurred in three different time periods. Apart from the first announcement that eliminated two people simultaneously, the subsequent two times were both resolved by Ji Sheng and He Shuyi working together.
So, for now, they couldn’t determine whether the two first eliminations had been cat team members taking each other out in internal strife, or if other cat team members had also cooperated with each other to eliminate two mouse team members.
Ji Sheng naturally hoped it was the latter, but if it was the first, then the mouse team in this episode was really too uncompetitive.
Logically, the production team wouldn’t sit idly by and watch a one-sided situation. Even if it meant extending the length of the name-tag tearing round, they would just temporarily add some revival tasks. The fact that it was so calm now was actually suspicious.
These off-camera analyses were based on his experience and weren’t suitable to be said on the show, but He Shuyi had been his teammate for so many years that he didn’t need to spell it out. The tacit understanding between them was enough for their thoughts to be shared.
He Shuyi said: “I think there are still people hiding. Otherwise, wouldn’t this name-tag tearing round be too simple?”
After saying that, the man smiled and turned to look at Ji Xu: “What do you think, Junior Brother? To be honest, I’m a bit suspicious of you, because your appearance just now was too coincidental. As soon as Xiao Wen and Xiao Qi were taken away, you came out of the side corridor…”
“How could it be me?!”
Ji Xu widened his eyes in surprise and denied without hesitation: “Senior Brother, I can swear an oath that I am definitely not a mouse team member.”
The young man sighed: “Things just happened to be so coincidental. As soon as I got down to the first floor, I heard noise over here. Of course, I would run over, because we cat team members aren’t afraid of being eliminated. I also feel it’s a pity I didn’t come earlier to help you all. Sigh.”
He Shuyi nodded: “Mm, that makes sense. Actually, the person who suspected you wasn’t me. It was Ji Sheng who secretly told me you might have a problem. Ji Sheng, do you think what our Junior Brother said just now is believable?”
Listening to these two calling each other ‘Senior Brother’ and ‘Junior Brother’ in every other sentence, Ji Sheng found it so greasy he got goosebumps.
He couldn’t even be bothered to turn his head. His eyes fixed on the elevator stopped on the second floor, and he didn’t say a word.
Ji Xu felt wronged and aggrieved: “I, I’m being wronged… Yan Qiao is more suspicious than me, right? If you, Senior Brother, weren’t sure that Brother Ji is on our cat team, I would definitely suspect Brother Ji. Who told Brother Ji to keep throwing mud at me!”
He Shuyi comforted him: “Your Brother Ji is a single-cell intuitive type. He’s stubborn, extremely stubborn, and he holds grudges like crazy. Do you know why he’s holding a belt? It’s to get revenge on Quentin. He asked me to help him find a belt, and we searched for twenty minutes before finding one in a leather goods store upstairs.”
As he spoke, he sighed and said: “And for the past half hour or so, we’ve actually been looking for Quentin. It’s just that he’s too good at hiding. We just can’t find him.”
So the three people earlier were all eliminated by you while you were looking for Quentin? And by the way, what does a belt have to do with revenge?
What had happened between Ji Sheng and Quentin? They had run into each other twice? So, after he separated from these two, the two of them had run into each other again?
Many thoughts flashed through Ji Xu’s mind, but his expression remained completely neutral.
He didn’t respond to He Shuyi’s words but instead brought up another topic and said seriously: “It’s okay, Senior Brother, I can understand. But I still think there’s something wrong with Yan Qiao. Quentin, Wen Xinyi, and Qi Yang are all on the mouse team. There’s no reason Yan Qiao wouldn’t be.”
He Shuyi smiled: “Your analysis is a bit like cheating. What if Director Chen is playing reverse psychology to mess with us?”
Before Ji Xu could answer, the elevator suddenly dinged, and the doors slowly slid open.
The people inside the elevator saw the figures outside through the gap and their eyes lit up. But when they saw that it was Ji Sheng and the other two, the joy of spotting prey instantly vanished, replaced by disappointment.
Watching this scene, Ji Sheng thought to himself: ‘This is the normal reaction of a cat team member. Ji Xu is still too green.’
In the elevator were two members of Inferno. They politely greeted their seniors.
“Brother Ji, Brother He, what a coincidence.”
After stepping out of the elevator and seeing Ji Xu standing on the other side, the two showed delight: “Ji Xu, have you seen Quentin? We’ve been looking for him for ages.”
Ji Xu: “…”
Why is everyone looking for Quentin… What the hell did he do!
He Shuyi smiled and voiced the question for him: “What a coincidence! We’re also looking for Quentin. Why are you looking for him? Do you want to team up?”
Unexpectedly, the two hesitated, glanced at each other, then shook their heads and said: “Because we were chasing after Quentin on the fifth floor from the start. We can team up, but splitting up will be more efficient. We plan to search again from the first floor upwards…”
“Oh, by the way. If you see Yan Qiao, don’t be fooled by him. He should also be on the mouse team. The location updated five minutes ago should be his.”
Upon hearing this, He Shuyi turned his head and looked at Ji Xu: “Junior Brother, you guessed right. It really is Yan Qiao!”
Before Ji Xu could react, Ji Sheng added fuel to the fire from the side: “Quentin and Yan Qiao are both little mice. Then there’s still one more person hiding among us.”
Ji Xu raised his hands in surrender, extremely helpless: “Senior Brother, stop suspecting me. I really can’t do anything about it. I won’t walk with you guys, okay? Jian Yu, take me with you.”
The Inferno member he called out to instinctively agreed: “Oh, okay.”
So He Shuyi and Ji Sheng entered the elevator, while the three Inferno members walked away together.
He Shuyi quite liked observing others and was happy to act in a group. So he felt a little regretful that they parted.
Unlike Ji Sheng, who had mainly learned about the NS trainees before recording the show, He Shuyi had focused his attention on the company’s newly launched boy group called Inferno.
Ji Xu, positioned as the ace, and Jian Yu, the official face of the group, were currently Inferno’s most popular members and would most likely be the group’s top members for a long time to come.
But information found online could only be used as a reference. He Shuyi preferred to understand a person through real-life interactions.
For example, Ji Xu’s persona in the eyes of fans was that of a sunny, cheerful little puppy, but after actually spending time with him, one could discover that this kid had the potential to be ‘white on the outside, black on the inside’. He is quite the actor and also enjoyed taking risks.
Jian Yu’s persona was that of a delicate, weak, easy-to-push-over omega. When establishing the boy group’s CPs, the company seemed to be guiding them towards ‘all for Jian Yu’. But who knew if Jian Yu himself truly fit the traditional omega personality? Maybe he was actually an alpha disguised as an omega.
Although He Shuyi and Ji Sheng were both very dissatisfied with the dog company’s heartless actions and spent their time behind the scenes cursing the company’s stupid arrangements, and also couldn’t help but complain about the tradition of ‘seniors nurturing juniors’, they had to admit that when they went out to record variety shows with their juniors, no matter how much they complained inwardly, they would still unconsciously take more care of them and be a bit more partial.
When facing Qi Yang and Wen Xinyi, they had shown no mercy, tearing their tags without hesitation. But when facing Ji Xu, even though they had clearly seen through this kid’s acting, they still pretended not to know, giving him so much leeway it was practically a sea.
Of course, this kind of care and partiality stemmed solely from a sense of responsibility born of habit and did not mean they considered Inferno their own.
The identity of senior and junior brothers did allow them to quickly go from strangers to familiarity, but it also invisibly created distance from ‘equal friendship’.
After all, one side were ‘past their prime’ seniors abandoned by the company, and the other were rising star juniors, vigorously cultivated by the company. For these two groups to actually become friends wasn’t easy.
Compared to He Shuyi’s patient observation, Ji Sheng had no interest in Inferno whatsoever. His mind was entirely focused on Quentin. The more he couldn’t find him, the more excited he became.
“Old He, you go to the second floor. I’ll go to the third.”
Ji Sheng played with the belt in his hand as he reminded him: “Searching separately is more efficient. If you find him, shout loudly. Don’t underestimate Quentin. He’s quite ruthless.”
He Shuyi blinked: “Such high praise? I remember he’s even younger than Ji Xu, right? Kids their age are still growing. How strong can he be?”
Ji Sheng twitched the corner of his mouth: “You’ll know when you meet him. Anyway, be careful. You should be fine against him, but remember to call me.”
He Shuyi walked out of the open elevator doors, leaving behind a teasing remark: “I know. You want ‘revenge’.”
…
Another ten minutes passed.
Apart from the regularly announced location updates, there had been no elimination announcements from the broadcast for a long time. This meant Yan Qiao and the other teammate were both hiding very well.
Quentin carefully pushed open the cabinet door and, crouching low, crawled out of the low storage cabinet.
He straightened up, stretching his slightly stiff limbs from being curled up in the cabinet, and looked down at his watch: “… It’s past ten o’clock.”
He looked up at the cameraman: “Brother, roughly how long do your name-tag tearing sessions usually last?”
The cameraman, who had also been quite tired from hiding with Quentin, said sullenly: “It depends. For a pilot episode like today, it’s usually about three hours.”
Quentin thought it over: “It’s already been over two hours. There are still three of us on our team. It should be safe.”
He had given up hope for a counterattack. After such a long time without it happening, it was most likely that someone had been eliminated. He would just honestly hide it out.
Just as Quentin was about to walk out of this 4S shop’s showroom, he suddenly heard faint voices coming from the entrance.
It was already too late for him to hide back in the storage cabinet. Even if he moved fast enough, the cameraman would be spotted.
So he could only crouch down on the spot, using a load-bearing pillar for cover, trying to identify the arrivals by their voices.
“…The location is here. Could he have run off again?”
“Sigh, they really know how to hide, every single one of them. They must really be mice.”
“Hey, is anyone there?”
It was one person speaking the whole time. Quentin recognized the voice. It was He Shuyi’s, the leader of ECHO.
He held his breath and, while the man walked to the left side of the car showroom, he rushed out from the right without hesitation.
“…!”
He Shuyi only heard a few overlapping, heavy footsteps. When he turned his head, he saw a dark figure running to the shop’s entrance.
The footsteps were heavy because the other party’s cameraman was running along. The person who had darted out of the 4S shop within two seconds was as agile and quick as a cat, disappearing in a flash.
‘Mm, a pitch-black black cat.’
If it weren’t for the cameraman being a big enough target, He Shuyi probably wouldn’t have been able to see anything after turning around and running out of the door.
“Quentin?”
He stared at the back of the person ahead as he ran, inwardly surprised: “It really is Quentin. He’s running so fast! His speed is almost comparable to Ji Sheng’s.”
The young man in the peaked cap seemed very familiar with the mall’s layout, constantly changing direction and taking shortcuts through shops with front and back doors that connected.
He Shuyi nearly lost him two or three times. He really had to thank the fact that the cameraman carrying the heavy camera couldn’t run fast. But if this continued, even the cameraman would eventually be shaken off.
“Ding dong!”
The broadcast’s chime made both the pursuer and the pursued pause simultaneously. To ring out at this time, had someone else been eliminated?
But the content of the next sentence was unexpected.
“Congratulations! The mouse team has completed all tasks. A 30-minute identity swap period has been unlocked!”
“Attention, please. The identities of the cat and mouse teams have now been swapped. I repeat, the cat and mouse identities have been swapped!”
Important things had to be said three times. The broadcast announcement made the two engaged in the chase slow down their pace without prior agreement.
He Shuyi saw the tall, slender young man dressed all in black turn around, raising the brim of his cap a little. Even from such a distance, his features were still clear.
The young man, adjusting his breathing as he walked toward him, looked very much like a mysterious assassin carrying out a mission in a movie. It was a pity they were in a brightly lit mall. It would have been more atmospheric if they were walking on a rainy night.
The man who had become the prey after the identity swap wasn’t in a hurry to run. He stood patiently in place, waiting for Quentin to approach, then politely beckoned with an inviting gesture: “Come on, please.”
Without a word, Quentin charged straight at him, pushing one hand against He Shuyi’s shoulder while reaching his other arm under the man’s ribs toward the name tag on his back.
He Shuyi reacted very quickly. He retreated along with the force of Quentin’s push while using his elbow to block Quentin’s hand reaching for the name tag. It looked like an elbow strike at first glance.
The two exchanged several moves, one advancing and one retreating, like a martial arts duel in a wuxia film. Their hands never stopped moving, and their bodies collided with thudding sounds that made one wince for them.
At that moment, the mental activities of the two reached unprecedented consensus…both were surprised by the other’s reaction.
He Shuyi had been practicing boxing since his debut and had even gone abroad for half a year of training with a world-renowned boxing coach. His fighting style was far more professional than Quentin’s street-style, makeshift techniques.
However, he lacked Quentin’s practical experience. On a show, he couldn’t exert force like he would in a ring. His fighting style was more visually appealing but far less practical than Quentin’s in the current situation.
So, gradually, he began to lose ground.
He Shuyi felt helpless inside. What black cat? It was clearly a black panther.
He glanced at the peaked cap that had fallen to the floor, then looked at the blonde hair growing from the top of the young man’s head.
A lion? A tiger? Anyway, it was a fierce beast completely opposite to his appearance.
With an incredibly handsome, ethereal elf-like face, he fought so wildly. He Shuyi could tell that if it weren’t for the show, this kid would have kicked him in the crotch!
He had originally intended to call for backup, but seeing how serious and competitive Quentin was, He Shuyi couldn’t bring himself to ask for help.
Why did he get the illusion it would be bullying the weak with numbers, of bullying a child…
But even if he didn’t call, Ji Sheng, who had followed the location updates and the noise, had already arrived.
Quentin saw the belt in Ji Sheng’s hand, paused, and warily stepped back two paces, creating distance.
Just as the three were in a standoff, the broadcast announcement came again.
“Ding dong, attention, Jian Yu, eliminated!”
“Ding dong, attention, Zhou Ziqian, eliminated!”
Two members of Inferno had been eliminated in a row, and both were on the cat team.
It was obvious that the other two mouse team members were out there on a rampage.
He Shuyi’s expression changed.
Wait a minute. Counting the numbers, only he and Ji Sheng were still alive on their team. All the others had been eliminated?
What had happened downstairs?!
Ji Sheng, however, looked completely unconcerned. His eyes were fixed solely on Quentin. The corner of his mouth twitched, and his smile was quite arrogant: “It doesn’t matter if we lose. I’m only targeting you tonight.”
Quentin’s expression was indifferent. Leaning against the glass railing, he casually looked downstairs.
The next second, he opened his mouth and shouted: “Yan Qiao! Come to the second floor! He Shuyi and Ji Sheng are here!”
He Shuyi & Ji Sheng: “?!”
Fuck, this kid has no sportsmanship!
