Did Assistant Xie Make the Trending Searches Today? - Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Learning

Xie He-ting spent an hour exploring the five rooms of the apartment.

The place wasn’t particularly large; only two of the rooms were bedrooms. In the original host’s memory, he lived with his mother, but she rarely returned, so he essentially lived alone.

However, that wasn’t the point. After finishing his tour, Xie He-ting’s heart was filled with a mix of emotions. He truly wondered if this was the dwelling of immortals—everything he saw was too miraculous!

To store things here, one didn’t need to dig a giant pit in the ground. Instead, food was placed inside a large cabinet that was cool to the touch, keeping items fresh for days. Hot and cold water flowed on their own from pipes, yet there was no water vat in the house; he had no idea how they managed to store such a vast amount of water.

Most amazing of all was the large, black, bulky object stuck to the wall in the main hall. When opened, it contained many people—all sorts of characters who could actually move. Xie He-ting couldn’t help but suspect the people here possessed magic. Otherwise, how could they fit so many people inside that flat object? When did the people in the box come out to eat? Where did they live?

Most importantly, if he could see them, could they see him? Terrified by this possibility, Xie He-ting guiltily found a piece of cloth and covered the contraption. This way, those people shouldn’t be able to see me!

Having finished that task, Xie He-ting began his most vital mission: learning.

During his search earlier, he had found a pile of books. Perhaps because he had inherited the original host’s memories, he could understand most of the writing, even if the characters felt a bit unfamiliar at first.

After reading the television manual, Xie He-ting had an epiphany. It turned out the big object was called a “TV,” and the performers weren’t actually living inside it. Truly miraculous! Following the manual, he learned how to turn the TV on and off and how to change channels using the remote and voice commands. He spent half an hour watching Animal World with great interest; it was a total eye-opener. From now on, he could use this “TV” thing to properly supplement his understanding of this world.

After thirty minutes, even though Animal World hadn’t finished, Xie He-ting showed great self-control by turning off the TV to continue his studies. The second book he looked at was the mobile phone manual. Fortunately, it was a touchscreen smartphone that unlocked automatically with face recognition, but the device was so complex he only managed to learn how to answer a call.

Though his progress was modest, Xie He-ting was not discouraged and picked up a third book. Recalling his chat with Jiang Ye, who had called his speech “overly formal,” his top priority was to learn how the people here spoke so he wouldn’t expose himself. Without hesitation, he picked up the top book, The Way of High Emotional Intelligence Communication for the All-Encompassing Charismatic, and began to read.

At around three in the afternoon, the stylist arranged by Jiang Ye’s manager, Zhao Xia, arrived on time.

The stylist stared at the young man before him. His ear-length black hair was a messy, puffy disaster, and a pair of dowdy, heavy black frames covered half his face. His back was slightly hunched, making him look both old-fashioned and gloomy. Used to glamorous stars, the stylist felt that looking at someone whose appearance was so far below standard was a form of ocular torture.

“Quick, quick, quick! Get that ugly thing off your nose!” the stylist snapped with utter impatience.

Xie He-ting followed the instruction and removed his glasses. “Like this?”

The stylist frowned, ready to scold him, but his eyes lit up the moment his gaze met the face revealed by the removed glasses. A smile finally appeared—his first since entering the room.

“I knew it. A prospect Sister Xia has her eye on couldn’t be ordinary.” When he spoke again, his attitude had clearly changed. “You’re Xie He-ting, right? I’m Alan. I’ll be in charge of your styling today. If you have any preferences, you can tell me in advance.”

Xie He-ting looked at the beautiful silver scissors in the man’s hand. He stared directly into Alan’s eyes with a hesitant gaze. “Brother Alan, are you going to cut my hair later? Could you please not cut too much? I am not used to short hair.”

The book said that to show politeness, one should look directly into the other person’s eyes while adding an honorific. Calling those older than oneself “Brother” and those younger “Little Brother” was more conducive to smooth communication.

The assistant nearby gasped. Seeing such a handsome guy, she felt pity and hurried to say, “Master Alan hates it when people mispronounce his name, you—”

“It’s fine,” Alan interrupted the assistant. Touching those mist-filled eyes, his expression unconsciously softened. He had seen countless people, but he had never seen a pair of eyes like these. How to describe them? They were like those of a young deer. When those moist, clear eyes looked at you, who could have the heart to refuse him?

Moreover, the owner of these eyes had a face where every detail was exquisitely over-the-top. He had only called him “Alan”! It sounded so pleasant! Why should he be angry?

“Alright, He-ting—can I call you that? Don’t be afraid. I promise you’ll be satisfied.” Alan gestured with his tools and smiled. “Trust me, I’m a professional, and my reputation has always been quite good.”

Xie He-ting keenly sensed the shift in Alan’s attitude. Is calling someone ‘Brother’ this effective? Truly, ‘Within books, one finds faces as smooth as jade’! He decided he must study that All-Encompassing Charismatic book diligently. Just a smattering of knowledge was this useful; if he finished it, he would surely be invincible in modern society!

Next, the master named Alan washed his hair, applied various fragrant things, and used a heated device to pull at his hair. Finally, he began trimming. Just as he promised, he cut less than a finger-joint’s length.

However, by the time the hair was blown dry, he looked like a completely different person. The messy dark hair now rested softly against his shoulders, tucked behind his ears. His bangs were readjusted, and his facial features—so exquisite they seemed unreal—were finally restored to the light of day.

The young girl who came with Alan was simply dazed, beginning to doubt her own eyes. Even a “total makeover” wasn’t supposed to be this drastic. Was this even the same person?

Afterward, Alan had Xie He-ting try on several outfits and took a flurry of photos of him with a phone. Xie He-ting noted this small action as well.

Before leaving, Alan repeatedly suggested: “I think if you debut, you will definitely be a hit. Trust me, consider my suggestion.”

Once they left, Xie He-ting couldn’t wait to pull out his phone. Mimicking Alan, he pointed it at the living room and pressed the shutter; he discovered he really could produce a photograph. Besides taking pictures, he figured out how to take a selfie. Looking at himself on the screen, he realized he truly looked like a different person after Alan’s grooming.

It was then he noticed that the original host’s face was a 90% match to his own. The only difference was a tiny black mole on the tip of his pert nose that the original host didn’t have. This made Xie He-ting, who had been used to seeing his own face since childhood, feel a bit awkward.

The short hair also made him uncomfortable. The people here were too bold—they all kept short hair! On TV, some people even had hair so short it barely clung to their scalps. Did they not know that one’s body, hair, and skin are gifts from one’s parents and should not be casually altered? Sigh, there’s no choice but to wait and let it grow back slowly.

Putting down the book The Way of High Emotional Intelligence Communication for the All-Encompassing Charismatic, which he had already read halfway through, Xie He-ting pressed his empty stomach. It was already past five o’clock; he had to find something to eat.

But he didn’t know how to cook. Forget cooking—in all his years, he hadn’t even washed a single bowl.

Just as Xie He-ting was worrying, the door clicked open. A middle-aged woman in her late forties or early fifties walked in. Seeing him standing in the middle of the living room, she was startled. “Who are you? Did you enter the wrong house?”

“I am Xie He-ting.”

The woman looked him up and down several times. She thought to herself how the “death-child” had suddenly cleaned himself up; he actually looked quite pleasant. However, remembering her fright, she said reproachfully, “What are you standing there for? Scared me to death. Not a sound out of you all day.”

Xie He-ting tilted his head and thought for a moment. He remembered—this seemed to be the family’s nanny, surnamed Huang.

“All you know how to do is stay home all day. I don’t know how your mother puts up with you. If I had a son like you, I’d rather—”

“I am hungry. Can you be a bit faster?” Xie He-ting interrupted her.

Sister Huang slammed the vegetables into the water basin, indignant. “What’s this? Am I a servant here to wait on you? What’s with that tone? Don’t you know to respect your elders?”

Xie He-ting looked at her calmly. “I have already paid the compensation.”

The woman was choked by his words. At the same time, she was intimidated by the stern aura radiating from him. She had only started working here half a month ago. The work was easy—only two meals a day, and the pay was excellent. The first time she came, she thought no one was home until Xie He-ting came out and startled her. Later, she found the child was indeed eccentric, locking himself in his room and rarely seeing people. She assumed he had autism or depression. Relying on his “good temper,” she usually nagged him, and he never talked back.

What was going on this time?

Indignant as she was, she was still afraid the employer would complain about her on the platform. It would be a pity to lose such a good job. Within half an hour, Sister Huang had prepared three dishes and a soup. Once the kitchen was clean, she didn’t even say goodbye to Xie He-ting; she just grabbed her bag and left.

Looking at the table of food that was clearly finished in a perfunctory manner, if this were the Xie Manor, the cook would have been kicked out. But Xie He-ting didn’t lose his temper. He couldn’t cook, so as long as it was edible, it was fine.

After eating, he put the leftovers into the “fridge.” He thought the name was very appropriate—a big icy box, cold and breezy. He wondered who was clever enough to name it that.

The following days were much the same. Sister Huang came every day to make two meals. Her attitude wasn’t great, but she didn’t dare challenge him directly like before. Xie He-ting wasn’t physically strong and didn’t eat much; since no one made breakfast for him, he simply skipped it.

The night before, he had finished The Way of High Emotional Intelligence Communication for the All-Encompassing Charismatic left by the bedside. He proceeded to read the books beneath it: Talk So People Will Listen, Good Eloquence Decides a Good Destiny, and so on. These were all books the original host kept by the bed.

He also read some of the storybooks left behind. He truly didn’t know how those books were written—they were incredibly exaggerated. The protagonists were written to be as omnipotent as immortals, yet everyone loved them to death. Xie He-ting felt the people here weren’t very solemn about their feelings. After reading two, he found them boring and stopped.

His favorite thing now was watching TV. He watched whenever he was free. As channels flipped by, besides Animal World, his favorite was the children’s channel for its various science facts, and the drama channel. He even watched a few episodes of romance films while covering his eyes, peeking through the gaps in his fingers. The people here were truly too bold, people were actually kissing passionately in public on the streets!

Once, at 7:30 PM, he saw Happy Saturday. After watching for a bit, he was certain this was the “variety show” Jiang Ye had mentioned! A group of people laughing and playing. Just as Jiang Ye said, it was just eating, drinking, and having fun—nothing difficult. However, he hoped the variety show he was to record didn’t have too many activities; he was truly afraid of exposing himself.

He also watched some period dramas. Xie He-ting’s evaluation: “What a load of absolute rubbish!”

Since the original host didn’t have a TV membership, Xie He-ting also watched many commercials. And because he didn’t know which video platform he was watching, the ads were endless—one every 30 minutes on average. An ordinary person would have been driven mad, but Young Master Xie watched with relish. He learned that there was so much delicious food in this world: the eternal “M-Gate” and “O-Kee”, the office workers’ favorite Luckin, and Tims with its Tuesday “buy one get one free” deals. Watching the fried chicken ads, he was nearly dying of cravings.

There were also many real estate ads. The apartment they lived in now was by Vanke, which could give him a “five-star home.” This world was truly miraculous!

On the third night, the phone rang. Xie He-ting no longer thought it was a monster. Both Jiang Ye and Zhao Xia had called him over the last two days. After Master Alan’s makeover, Zhao Xia was very satisfied and stated the director’s team thought highly of him. she told him to perform well and said if he wanted to debut, he could call her and she’d make him famous.

Xie He-ting picked it up; it was Jiang Ye. The other man told him a car would be arranged tomorrow to take him to the recording site. He also told him to prepare a nickname for his name tag.

After hanging up, Xie He-ting stood in a daze for a while. He gripped the phone tightly, gazing blankly at the sky full of red clouds. His mood was like the horizon between the setting sun and the sky, dim and uncertain.

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