Did Assistant Xie Make the Trending Searches Today? - 23.1

Chapter 23.1: The Task

The popularity of Shi Jixing’s live stream instantly soared to the very top of all the broadcast rooms.

Is Shi Jixing confessing right now?

Shi Jixing’s fans typed away rapidly: What are you looking at? He’s just asking if he likes the song.

Yeah, is there even anything worth discussing here?

Xie He-ting nodded obediently: “I like it. Brother, you sang exceptionally well~”

Shi Jixing’s gaze paused, as if he were trying to determine if Xie He-ting was joking or truly felt that way.

The person before him had clear eyes and a sincere expression; Shi Jixing saw nothing out of the ordinary.

It was as if everything just now had been merely a jest.

After the minor interlude, the bullet chat continued to wail. For the first time, viewers felt dissatisfied with the show’s live broadcast mechanism.

I’m confused. Did Xie He-ting actually know this song or not?

He definitely knew it. He just intentionally pretended he didn’t, then threw in a few stunning lines at the end. Such a schemer.

Ahhh, I want to transmigrate into an audience member at the scene. I can’t imagine how happy I’d be if I were there. Why does this have to be a live stream? I want to re-watch it forever!

There’s already a fan-cam version from a passerby on Weibo. It’s on the hot search. Go check it out.

On the hot search again?

People were already impatient, opening small windows for the live stream and logging into Weibo.

The hashtag #XieHe-tingShiJixingDuet# appeared prominently on the hot search page, ranked in the twenties.

Zhang Peng, a senior at a music conservatory, usually loved singing on karaoke platforms and watching amateur music bloggers on Bilibili. In his following list, his favorite was a blogger named “Cx330.”

That blogger didn’t have many works, and every video was an a cappella performance without showing their face.

The vocal quality was superb, garnering a huge following on Bilibili.

Unfortunately, the person’s update frequency was measured in quarters. Lately, they hadn’t even logged in.

Zhang Peng had played the few works in his favorites list until they were practically “worn thin.”

Now, hearing the duet between Shi Jixing and that amateur guest, the voice felt inexplicably familiar to him, especially the final two lines of the harmony.

How could this amateur’s voice sound so much like the great master “Cx330” he had followed for so long?!

The duet between Shi Jixing and Xie He-ting achieved unexpectedly positive results.

When Li Lesheng saw that most of the bullet comments were positive evaluations, he immediately contacted people to start boosting the hot search.

His prediction was correct; this performance by Shi Jixing and Xie He-ting truly broke through the circle. Although the hot search rank wasn’t high, under Li Lesheng’s operation, a search on the home page showed nothing but their videos. After the first wave of marketing accounts reposted it, Shi Jixing’s fans and casual passersby swarmed in.

“Wow. Who is this person duetting with Shi Jixing? They have great chemistry.”

“That was actually a great sing.”

The filming crew also paid constant attention to the online discussions about Love Signal and its guests. Orange TV was already skilled at marketing; after the hot search for the duet, a large wave of “water army” (paid posters) strongly entered the fray to recommend Love Signal.

Through various efforts, Love Signal successfully triggered another wave of nationwide discussion, and the ratings for Shi Jixing’s live stream soared to a new height.

The production team also immediately posted a high-definition version of their duet to the official Weibo, and the number of reposts reached ten thousand within a minute.

People within the industry also helped repost. For a time, everyone’s Friends Circle was uniformly flooded with that video of Shi Jixing and the others.

In the lounge bar.

Zhou Yanrong habitually scrolled through his Friends Circle and saw a reposted video of Shi Jixing and Xie He-ting singing. With a beaming smile on his face, he raised his phone to show Shen Ji, who was silently drinking a beverage opposite him.

“Teacher Shen, it seems we really have grown old. We aren’t romantic at all; it’s the young people who know how to play.”

Shen Ji looked down according to his gaze. In the video, Shi Jixing plucked out the interlude with his fingers, and Xie He-ting stood as straight as a tall pine, singing a beautiful harmony that made it impossible to look away.

“He-he is truly dazzling. Teacher Shen, what is your favorite type of person?” Zhou Yanrong asked the hidden question as if it were a casual inquiry.

Shen Ji was indeed off-guard, his gaze landing softly on the screen.

“Previously, I liked strong people—those who could stand with me and resist the wind and rain of the outside world.”

“Oh? Previously. Then what about now?” Zhou Yanrong raised his eyebrows slightly, the obvious smile in his electric eyes full of probing intent.

“Now, I just want to find someone quiet, simple, and not so troublesome.”

Zhou Yanrong burst out laughing at this old-fashioned tone: “Teacher Shen, saying it like that makes it feel like you have no expectations for relationships anymore.”

Shen Ji was still smiling, but the mirth in his eyes had clearly faded significantly.

“Who doesn’t like living a stable life? Three meals and four seasons—isn’t that also very good?” He took a sip of his drink before asking Zhou Yanrong back.

Which era was Shen Ji talking about? Hasn’t he been without scandals since his debut all these years?

There’s a story, definitely a story.

Do you guys remember that one scandal between Shen Ji and… you know who?

Who? Speak plainly, my ‘skylight’ is open. Shine a light.

Fu?

Yes.

No way, wasn’t that just a pure rumor?

Believe it or not.

The uninformed onlookers were anxious: Giao (Damn), why the riddles? The mutes are getting anxious!

Zhou Yanrong unobtrusively looked at the camera. His slender fingers rested on the edge of the glass, revealing a faint flesh-pink color; every detail appeared full of charm.

Ding—

The glasses clinked, and the liquid in the glass rippled into a small circle. Crossing his slender hands, he gazed out the window, narrowing his eyes slightly, lost in thought.

On the other side, the photography team finally caught up with Jin Huaifeng and Lan Chi, who had finally arrived at their dating location.

In fact, their dating location was… McDonald’s.

Hhhhhh, I thought the children’s playground was the limit, but here someone just finds a random McDonald’s to be a dating spot.

Lan Chi was clearly also completely dumbfounded.

Seeing Jin Huaifeng park the car in front of the burger shop and prepare to get out, he was utterly stunned.

It took a long while for him to react. Angrily rolling down the window, he shouted at Jin Huaifeng: “Hey, don’t tell me this is where we’re having our date?”

Jin Huaifeng got out of the car to smoke, leaning against a tree with his arms crossed. He flicked the ash from his hand, his gaze spilling out: “Didn’t you say you wanted to find a place to eat?”

Lan Chi practically wanted to call the police! He said he wanted to find a place to eat because he wanted to complete the “small cake” task.

And Jin Huaifeng? He directly took the nearest highway exit, found the first chain restaurant he saw, and dumped him there.

“I wanted Western food! Candlelight! White roses! A piano and delicious food! Not burgers, fried chicken, and fries!!!”

Jin Huaifeng let out an impatient “Tsk”: “Just eat something. It hasn’t even been two hours since breakfast.”

Hhhh, is this perfunctory attitude the same person who drove twenty or thirty kilometers to buy food for He-he?

Whether he loves or not is so obvious.

Poor Xiao Chi, you’ve suffered.

Lan Chi was so aggrieved he was about to cry, staring fiercely at Jin Huaifeng.

The other party remained indifferent, as if blind.

Lan Chi thought to himself, It’s not like I can’t afford a meal myself. If you won’t buy it for me, I’ll buy it myself!

He slammed the car door shut and strode off in the opposite direction.

The production team saw this and realized something was wrong. They immediately stepped forward to stop Lan Chi, explaining that the two of them still had to follow the rules, otherwise there would be a penalty.

Lan Chi’s beautiful face was flushed pink with anger as he pointed at Jin Huaifeng and accused: “The other one won’t cooperate, what can I do!”

The segment director looked troubled.

Logically, he should go persuade Jin Huaifeng, but Jin Huaifeng looked to be in a foul mood with such low air pressure—who would dare go?

The segment director was doing some psychological prep, ready to bite the bullet and go.

Lan Chi sat on the curb huffily, taking out his phone to play.

Before long, Lan Chi also saw the video of Xie He-ting and Shi Jixing singing. Looking at the dazzling pair on the screen, his heart felt both sour and jealous.

Wuwu, I want to play a romantic date too! I want a playground too!

He loved riding the Pendulum the most!

The more he thought, the more aggrieved he felt. Lan Chi sniffed his nose, walked up to Jin Huaifeng, and said in a small voice: “Jin Huaifeng, I don’t want to eat anymore. Let’s go to the playground too, okay?”

As he spoke, he pushed his phone in front of Jin Huaifeng.

The man bit down on his cigarette holder, his gaze landing on the screen.

The long silence made Lan Chi inevitably nervous. To be honest, when Jin Huaifeng had a grim face, it was actually quite scary.

Lan Chi’s gaze fell on the shadow where his head was lowered at the chin and neck.

Jin Huaifeng bit the cigarette holder with his teeth, his fingers repeatedly dragging the progress bar, skipping frame by frame through the sweet duet between Xie He-ting and Shi Jixing.

In the end, for some reason, it automatically skipped to the next video, which looked like a scene after the singing had ended. It was clearly filmed by a passerby, and the image quality was poor, but one could clearly see Xie He-ting reaching out to pick a fallen leaf from Shi Jixing’s hair.

The sunlight fell on Xie He-ting’s smiling face; no matter how one looked at it, it felt eyesearing.

Jin Huaifeng threw the phone back to Lan Chi and strode with a dark face toward the production team.

The photographer saw this man looking like a god of death and instinctively wanted to take a step back, but stopped.

He silently pulled the lens from a close-up to a medium shot.

The director bit the bullet, feigning composure.

His heart was thumping, fearing he would say something like “I’m in a bad mood, I’m quitting.”

Others didn’t know, but they were aware that as one of the “investor fathers,” Jin Huaifeng had the right to quit at any time.

If that happened, there would truly be nowhere to cry.

Although the date location Shi Jixing arranged was a flop, he had the “off-field guide” Li Lesheng!

Li Lesheng was determined to help Shi Jixing redeem himself. Without even consulting Shi Jixing, and relying on his years of experience in the arena of love, he directly booked a restaurant for him.

He chose a fusion cuisine restaurant. Compared to the exquisite dishes, the overall decor of this restaurant had more style—a standalone small Western-style house by the sycamore trees, with red bricks and white tiles paired with an open-air exhibition stage, quiet and private.

In Li Lesheng’s view, this place was not ostentatious or high-profile; it had a tranquil temperament and low-key luxury, very suitable for Xie He-ting.

Sure enough, after Xie He-ting followed Shi Jixing to the restaurant, he was a little stunned by the unique decor style of the entire place.

The restaurant’s entrance featured a simple yet elegant wooden frame inlaid with transparent glass. Pushing it open gently, a warm and subtle fragrance quietly permeated the air. The space had a high ceiling, with staggered chandeliers hanging from the top, casting mottled patterns of light and shadow.

Although he knew through self-study that these things were called “glass” and “crystal” and weren’t too valuable, seeing those beautiful colored glass lamps, Xie He-ting couldn’t help but feel moved.

In their Great Yan Dynasty, such things were only for the use of the imperial family and nobles. His home also had dozens of colored glass cups, which his mother liked very much. But compared to the ones here, his were dwarfed.

“He-ting, take a look. What do you want to eat?” Shi Jixing’s cold voice woke Xie He-ting from his reverie.

He took the menu written on kraft paper and read it carefully.

The menu here was quite interesting, but with things like “Liquid Nitrogen Rose Frozen Milk,” “Tuna Tartare Caviar,” and “Avocado Poke Bowl,” he couldn’t make heads or tails of it.

“You order. I haven’t eaten these before and have no dietary restrictions.”

Tsk, faking it again.

What are the sour chickens chirping for? Shi Jixing clearly falls for this; why be jealous?

The waiter had already brought the drinks.

Considering Xie He-ting’s tastes, Shi Jixing ordered the shop’s signature honey peach sparkling water.

It used Yangshan honey peaches, fragrant and sweet. A thin layer of light frost hung on the walls of the beautiful glass cup, and the pale pink liquid swayed within, looking very tempting.

Xie He-ting loved cold drinks most, but his family was strict and didn’t let him drink much. Seeing the juice-like drink in the cup, he impatiently picked up the glass and took a small sip.

The smile on his face hadn’t even faded before his expression changed drastically. The drink in his mouth was spat out with a “pfft.” He pointed at the pale pink sweet drink with a look of horror, saying in a panic: “Brother, this is poisonous! It makes your tongue so spicy, so spicy!”

Shi Jixing was originally worried if there was something wrong with the soda, but hearing what he said, the concern on his face turned into suppressed laughter, a faint smile inadvertently curling at the corners of his mouth: “This is soda water. Haven’t you had it before?”

“Soda water?” Xie He-ting listened intently to this new name.

“Yes. Soda. Haven’t you had it before?” Shi Jixing asked again.

“It’s my first time drinking it. I didn’t know it was like this.” Xie He-ting felt embarrassed, a flush unconsciously rising on his cheeks, his eyes flickering with a bit of shyness and awkwardness.

He-he, you are just a bit too cute!!

Uh, who hasn’t had soda water? This is hard to evaluate.

So fake, I can’t take it. Switching live streams.

Shi Jixing gave him a surprised look.

Seeing that he seemed to want to ask more, Xie He-ting immediately forced a change of subject: “Brother, you sang so well just now!”

“Your lute is also fantastic!”

“No wonder so many people like you. You’re so amazing.”

The series of flatteries made Shi Jixing quite embarrassed. He tried hard not to look at Xie He-ting’s “starry eyes.” Although a flicker of pleasure shone in his gaze, it was quickly replaced by a deliberately suppressed composure: “It’s alright.”

He’s here, he’s here, he’s here again. Every time Xie He-ting calls him ‘brother,’ his bones turn to mush.

Just tell me if you could take it if it were you.

Heehee.

Xie He-ting idly traced the wall of the glass with his finger, water droplets blurring at his fingertip. Seeing that Shi Jixing seemed to be in a good mood, his eyes darted as he thought of the two questions arranged by the production team.

Xie He-ting brewed for a while before speaking tentatively: “Brother, I have two questions I want to ask you. Is that okay?”

“Go ahead.”

“First question: What is your most memorable romantic experience?”

Pfft—is it okay to just ask that directly?

Such a personal question is a bit offensive, isn’t it?

Mind your own business about it being offensive or not; he’s completing a task.

Made me laugh for no reason. He-ting, can you not be so direct? Use a roundabout way; how is he supposed to answer that?

One bullet comment that seemed to see through everything said: Relax, I bet Shi Jixing will definitely answer.

Sure enough, Shi Jixing was perfectly natural, without a hint of being offended, and replied: “I don’t have a ‘most memorable’ romance.”

“Brother, you’ve never been in love?” Xie He-ting’s expression was a bit shocked.

In his impression, the people here seemed to have a very open concept of love. He hadn’t expected someone as popular as Shi Jixing to have never been in a relationship.

Shi Jixing pursed his lips, seemingly thinking of how best to explain.

Xie He-ting clearly didn’t dwell on it: “Oh, okay. Then I’ll ask the second question.”

Shi Jixing looked at Xie He-ting’s eyes a bit blankly. Xie He-ting’s eyes were large and clear, like a blue lake that never froze. His long, curled eyelashes trembled slightly, like two flapping butterfly wings.

“Brother, what type of person makes your heart stir the most?”

A roar went off in Shi Jixing’s head.

Is he… hinting at something to me? No, he’s practically stating it clearly, isn’t he?

Shi Jixing’s hand hanging at his side clenched into a light fist. His eyes focused intently on Xie He-ting’s expression, moving inch by inch, wanting to see clearly if he truly wanted to know the answer or was just asking casually.

Xie He-ting tilted his head to look at him, his gaze clear and bright.

The words in his heart weren’t guarded and blurted out.

“Like you… um, no, I mean, someone with a good voice, a cute appearance, height not exceeding 1.8 meters, age not exceeding 22, weight under 65kg, fair skin, and preferably with the character ‘He’ in their name.”

He said it all in one breath, and the bullet chat fell into a deathly silence.

The head of Shi Jixing’s fan club almost passed out from not being able to catch her breath.

Bullet chat: ??? Shi Jixing, saying such a long string of requirements, wouldn’t it be easier to just say Xie He-ting’s name?

??? Since when did Shi Jixing fall for Xie He-ting? What did I miss?

After a brief three-second silence, the bullet chat began to flood the screen passionately.

Hahaha, who was it that said Shi Jixing was a dating idiot? I think you’re quite skilled, kid!

I just let out a screaming boom! Little ‘Brother,’ you’re so good at this!

XSWL (Laughing to death). Just now Shi Jixing’s big fans were hopping up and down saying he had no interest in He-ting. You call this no interest? When someone asks you what type you like, you just state their name.

‘Preferably with the character He in their name.’ My God, best confession of the year.

The expressions of the staff on-site were as colorful as Shi Jixing’s face.

Especially a few female staff members; they were practically going crazy shipping them on-site!

Good, good, good—the “good brother” confessed and now he’s speechless. This “straight ball” is so good that even Shen Ji would have to give him a thumbs-up.

Everyone’s gaze landed uniformly on the other person involved.

Quickly, first date, mutual confession, successful hand-holding.

This truly is the “Oddish eating a Crunchie in the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse”—extraordinary to the max!

Why worry about the ratings not being high!

Shi Jixing heard a thumping, thumping sound and was wondering if someone nearby was beating a drum, only to realize after a while that it was actually his own heartbeat.

He had to reach out and press his heart to make the fellow behave.

Shi Jixing looked at Xie He-ting expectantly, but the other party didn’t seem to receive his signal, so Shi Jixing had to speak up: “He-ting, what do you think?”

Xie He-ting was baffled by Shi Jixing’s question.

Ah, he was just asking a question. Does he… does he have to answer what he thinks?

And, brother’s requirements are truly high!

First, this person’s height can’t be too tall; second, the age can’t be too old; most importantly, there must be a ‘He’ in the name, and it still has to be a guy. To find such a person is no different from looking for a needle in a haystack.

Of course, he himself sounded like he fit the criteria.

But he didn’t want to fall in love, so he could be ruled out.

Meeting Shi Jixing’s expectant gaze, Young Master Xie was panicking inside.

Stammering for a long time, he looked at Shi Jixing’s handsome and delicate face and replied tentatively: “Then… then should I keep an eye out for you? If there’s a suitable person, I’ll notify you immediately?”

I’m falling. The real dating idiot has appeared.

He-ting, can’t you just think about yourself?

Some bullet comments felt He-ting’s words had a hidden meaning: Don’t you understand a polite refusal between adults? It’s clear He-ting just isn’t responding to Shi Jixing directly.

Looking at it this way, He-ting’s EQ is actually quite high, using this way to resolve the awkwardness.

Clearly, Shi Jixing thought so too.

The light in his eyes dimmed bit by bit. He withdrew his gaze dejectedly and said softly: “I understand what you mean.”

Understand? Understand what?

Xie He-ting was even more at a loss.

He knew it—it must be because his recent study hadn’t been diligent. It’s all TV’s fault; he thinks about watching TV every day and hasn’t seriously studied High EQ Communication for the Heartthrob in a long time. He must study hard when he gets back tonight. Previously he couldn’t understand what people here were saying, which was too embarrassing.

The previously passionate atmosphere suddenly grew quiet for some reason.

Steady footsteps approached from a distance.

Xie He-ting twitched his nose, smelling a quite familiar fragrance.

It seemed…

Perhaps…

Like the scent from a certain person’s body.

Xie He-ting, for some reason, felt his scalp tingle a bit.

Before he could turn his head, a pair of black sunglasses “pa”-ed onto the table next to him.

Jin Huaifeng sat down beside him with an air of authority: “What are you chatting about so happily?”

His tone sounded just like someone who had come to catch a cheating partner.

No, Young Master Jin, with which eye did you see ‘happily’?

If you ask, both eyes saw it.

Xie He-ting looked blankly at Jin Huaifeng, who was sitting very naturally beside him, and then at Lan Chi, who walked in behind him rolling his eyes the whole way. He said dumbfoundedly: “Why are you here?”

Jin Huaifeng’s expression didn’t change, and his voice was incredibly calm: “A chance encounter.”

Lan Chi’s eyes rolled all the way to the sky.

The thirty-kilometer drive just now was eaten by you, was it? Who just happens to ‘pass by’ this road?

But Xie He-ting actually believed it.

“Oh, what a coincidence then!”

Is that really not sarcasm?

An ID named “Moron Himself” replied: Why give Xie He-ting so much screen time? Is he a commoner guest signed by Orange TV? I really don’t want to see him anymore.

Don’t you know you can switch cameras?

I don’t have VIP!

Then what the hell are you talking about!

Poor people shed humble tears.

Eight Hundred Moron: Give me your ID; I’ll buy it for you. You being here is annoying to me too.

A minute later, Moron Himself went crazy online: Holy crap! Bought a whole year! Thank you, Moron-bro! No, thank you, Moron-Big-Brother! No, thank you, Moron-bro??? Never mind, thank you, Brother!

Morons stand down, stop the comedy. I’m laughing too hard; it’s affecting my viewing.

Unlike the joyful atmosphere in the bullet chat, the atmosphere on-site was indeed full of gunpowder and a bit of awkwardness.

Jin Huaifeng gave a fake smile, acting like the other male master of the house, his tone natural: “Since it’s such a coincidence, let’s just eat together. Lan Chi and I happened not to find a place to eat.”

Wait a minute, who was the one who just said ‘let’s just eat whatever’?

Brother, did you forget? You just took Lan Chi and were about to eat McDonald’s?

Number one at lying through his teeth; the only victim is Lan Chi!

Shi Jixing had no good feelings toward Jin Huaifeng; against someone who acted cool in front of him, he would only be cooler. Staring coldly at Jin Huaifeng, his tone was unfriendly: “There are still empty tables in this restaurant. There’s no need to squeeze together.”

“Since we’re already here.” Jin Huaifeng very naturally patted Xie He-ting on the shoulder: “Right?”

Brother Jin, you dare say you didn’t do it on purpose.

Hhhhh poor He-ting, small and helpless.

Xie He-ting saw Jin Huaifeng’s fake smile and knew the ill-tempered Jin Huaifeng was about to erupt again; it was better not to provoke him.

“I… I think it’s fine too. Everyone eating together is lively.”

Shi Jixing’s expression cooled. He stood up and said to Xie He-ting: “It’s fine. No need to squeeze. Let’s change tables.”

Jin Huaifeng’s face also darkened. Their gazes collided in mid-air, neither yielding, and a tense atmosphere was on the verge of breaking out.

A corner of a garment was gently pulled. Following the gaze, Lan Chi’s face was wrinkled together, looking like he was about to cry: “Brother Xing, stop struggling. If you change tables, we’ll have to change too. I haven’t eaten since I came out this morning. I beg of you, let a child eat a peaceful meal.”

In a head-on clash, Shi Jixing had never been afraid. But hearing Lan Chi’s words and seeing his extremely weathered face, it truly wasn’t easy dating a moron like Jin Huaifeng… fine.

Shi Jixing sat down with a foul face.

“For Lan Chi’s sake.”

Jin Huaifeng didn’t care whose sake it was. Acting as if nothing had happened, he naturally signaled a waiter to bring two new sets of utensils.