The Companion Player Doesn’t Want a Shura Field [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 5

The next day, after finishing his morning workout, Qi Ming took a quick shower and picked out a clean, sharp outfit consisting of a white T-shirt and deep blue wide-leg jeans.

Following the address on the business card, he transferred through several subway lines before finally boarding a bus. As the vehicle traveled, the scenery outside the window gradually shifted.

The towering skyscrapers that touched the clouds were slowly replaced by low-rise residential buildings and vast, open fields. Seeing this, Qi Ming had a sinking feeling of foreboding.

In his imagination, the location of an entertainment company, even if not in the core district, should at least be within the city, right?

The bus slowly pulled up at an exceptionally remote stop. Looking at the carriage, where only he and the driver remained, Qi Ming was momentarily speechless.

To make matters worse, the driver, a middle-aged man, turned around and waved at him with great enthusiasm, speaking with a heavy accent. “Hey, kid! What are you doing out here in the countryside? Are you here to visit your elders?”

After a moment, he could not help but add, “I have never seen a doll as good-looking as you until now!”

In the driver’s eyes, the boy’s appearance and temperament were clearly out of place amidst the dilapidated low buildings and fields.

Being praised so bluntly by an older stranger made Qi Ming feel a bit embarrassed. His eyes crinkled as he asked with a smile, “Thank you, Uncle. I am not here to see elders. Excuse me, do you know where Neon Agency is?”

Upon hearing this, the driver’s eyes widened, and his face was filled with surprise. Qi Ming was not sure if it was his imagination, but he thought he detected a hint of pity in the man’s expression.

“Ah, ah, Neon. I know it, I know it. That kid actually managed to make it happen.” The latter half of the mutter was very quiet, and Qi Ming did not hear it.

“Just get off here, walk that way, turn right, then go straight. Turn left when you see a shipping container.”

Gripping his backpack straps tightly, Qi Ming felt as though countless words were spinning around his head. “Left, right, left, left.”

“Got it? Do you want me to take you there?”

“No, no need, I have got it.”

Not wanting to delay the driver’s work any further, Qi Ming nodded despite not having memorized the route at all. Opening the navigation on his phone, he walked for nearly half an hour according to the prompts.

The map clearly stated that the company was nearby, yet Qi Ming saw that both sides of the road were still lined with the same familiar poplar trees. Other than that, there were only a few old black cows grazing, which glanced at him in a strangely human-like way before flicking their tails.

Qi Ming had a bit of face blindness, so he was not sure if he had just seen these same animals a moment ago.

While he was struggling to find his way, inside the only practice room of Neon Agency, “Hey, I am saying, are you really not some kind of骗子 (scammer)?”

The male voice speaking carried the rawness unique to a minor, but the ending notes rose slightly with a hint of hoarseness, exuding a casual, nonchalant vibe. It was a voice that originally felt distant, but his pronunciation carried a thick regional dialect, which instead lessened that feeling and added a touch of earthiness.

With his arms crossed, the boy leaned diagonally in the corner of the room. His eyes swept lazily over the other two guys who were either standing or squatting in the other corners, as he questioned the man outside the door with dissatisfaction. He did not use honorifics at all.

Facing such an impolite brat, the man raised his hand to adjust his glasses and gave a half-smile. “Your name is Cui Yuxuan, right? Just think of me as a scammer then. But you will not have a chance to escape either; I will send people to catch you and bring you back.”

If that kid had not shamelessly used a personal favor to threaten him, Yin Zhao would never have come to this backwater place to be some crappy manager. Plenty of big companies wanted him.

“Wow, you actually have people you can send? I thought there were barely any living souls in this company!”

Being threatened like this, Cui Yuxuan ground his back teeth in frustration and began to speak sarcastically, causing the other two to let out bitter laughs. Why did that feel like the honest truth?

“Rest assured, we have everything we are supposed to have.” Although the scale of their company was indeed small, the sparrow may be small, but it has all its vital organs.

“Tch, so is everyone here yet? Let us start quickly; do not waste everyone’s time.”

Since he had already boarded the “thief’s ship,” Cui Yuxuan knew he could not get off, so he could only act tough with his words. These adults were indeed very devious.

“Wait, we are still missing one person.” Glancing at his phone, Yin Zhao frowned. It was already ten minutes past the scheduled reporting time. Why had the last person not arrived yet?

He heard it was a beautiful, well-behaved child. A “well-behaved” child who was late on the first day of practice?

Just then, his phone rang. After picking up, before Yin Zhao could speak, a somewhat aggrieved voice came from the other side. “Brother Yin, where exactly is the company? The cows have already gone home, but I still have not found the way.”

Perhaps because he was tired from walking, the boy was still panting slightly as he spoke, with a perfectly placed raspiness that was gentle and dense, as if one had eaten a large spoonful of thick honey. Falling into the ears, it made the tip of one’s heart feel itchy.

The first thought: This child’s vocal condition is too good; he is truly a heaven-sent Vocal lead! The second thought: So it is a beautiful, silly child.

Their company was newly established, and there was not a specific address on the navigation yet; only a general area had been entered. It was all that guy’s fault for picking such a terrible location!

Hearing the words “Brother Yin” from the other party, Yin Zhao could not help but feel a sense of pity. He even softened his tone by several degrees, comforting him gently. “Do not worry, do not worry. Just stand right where you are and do not move. I will send someone to find you.”

A place with black cows, that should be that specific field. One could not blame the kid for being directionally challenged; the road sections nearby were indeed very complex, especially with many narrow paths. Even Yin Zhao had almost gone the wrong way when he first arrived.

“Okay, I will wait right here. Please take your time and stay safe.”

The moment the voice from the other end of the phone came through, Cui Yuxuan also could not help but freeze for a moment, his heart beating a little faster. This person’s voice made his heart flutter a little.

But Cui Yuxuan quickly realized that this was the last person, the person who was making them all stand here like idiots waiting. Therefore, the dissatisfaction in his heart quickly overshadowed that strange throb. He let out a scoff, his words full of irony. “Hey, are there really people these days who can be directionally challenged to this extent? When the time comes, will he even be able to find where the stage is?”

His voice became inexplicably loud, seemingly to hide something. Yin Zhao covered the receiver with his hand and gave him a cold, sharp glare. What a brat who deserves a beating!

“Eh? Was someone speaking just now? I am sorry, I did not understand. Could you repeat that?” Sure enough, Cui Yuxuan’s voice was caught by the person on the other end of the phone, just as he intended.

“Pfft!” Holding the phone, Yin Zhao really could not hold back his laughter.

Were those words a subtle dig at Cui Yuxuan’s dialect being too thick and his speech being unclearly articulated? Who would understand, the guy’s position was supposed to be the rapper!

Hearing this, Cui Yuxuan’s breath hitched, getting stuck in his throat; he was nearly driven to death by anger. Since he was a child, he hated it most when others mocked his accent.

More importantly, Yin Zhao’s face, which was turned toward him, still bore blatant schadenfreude, yet his voice responded gently. “No, you misheard. A dog just passed by asking us for food. It is normal that you did not understand.”

Cui Yuxuan, the “dog asking for food.” He was about to die young from anger. What kind of two-faced person was this manager? Just a moment ago, he was threatening him with a cold face, “But you will not have a chance to escape either; I will send people to catch you and bring you back.”

To suddenly turn into a considerate older-brother-next-door type was a bit too terrifying!

Once the person on the other side hung up, Yin Zhao tilted his head. His eyes behind the lenses flashed with an inexplicable light as he suddenly spoke. “Then I will have to trouble you, Xiao Xuan.”

As Cui Yuxuan was leaning against the wall, clutching his chest to catch his breath, he was caught off guard by Yin Zhao calling him by a nickname. He got a coat of goosebumps and said with disgust, “Do not call me that, it is disgusting. What do you mean by that?”

“Literally.” Yin Zhao was not angry at being called disgusting. He always kept a detailed tally of debts. Later on, once this kid was under his hand, would he not be able to handle him however he pleased?

He smiled mischievously. “Does our company not lack people? Then I will trouble you to go and bring him back. After all, you will be teammates in the same group in the future; you need to have group spirit.”

Group spirit, my foot. This group has not even been formed yet!

Neon Agency was only recently established and currently needed to assemble a boy group that could serve as their flagship, which was why they sent people everywhere to scout for good talent. But becoming a trainee did not mean one could definitely debut. If one was found unqualified midway, they would be ruthlessly replaced. They were all very clear on this point.

However, although Cui Yuxuan was grumbling inwardly, he was not actually that resistant to going to find the person. Mumbling a few random words, he draped his varsity jacket over his arm and walked out quickly.

It was that same familiar field.

Qi Ming sat on a stone by the roadside, his legs spread casually. His left hand supported his cheek while his right hand held a piece of foxtail grass, looking down and teasing a muddy little yellow dog. He moved his wrist slowly, the fresh foxtail grass swaying continuously in front of the dog.

Attracted by the movement, the little yellow dog’s head swayed left and right following the grass, its grape-like eyes staring intently, its tail wagging as fast as a propeller. But soon, it got dizzy. Its furry body pressed against Qi Ming’s pant leg, making “wu wu” whimpering sounds as if acting spoiled.

“Hey, hey, you really are a silly fellow.” Scratching the dog’s chin with his fingertip, Qi Ming narrowed his eyes and laughed happily. He had intentionally moved it in circles, yet this little guy was actually so foolish that it kept following along.

As if understanding Qi Ming’s words, the little yellow dog opened its mouth and gave a few soft “woofs” toward him, which could be said to have zero intimidation factor.

Why did even an angry sound seem like it was acting spoiled? I am clearly saying you are stupid! Even stupider now.

“Hmm, why is there another one next to me?” Qi Ming turned his head to look at the person who had been standing not far away for a long time without saying a word.

When he saw the golden angel halo above the youth’s head from the sunlight, he almost lost his composure. Fortunately, Qi Ming was very professional at controlling his expressions; he only offered a faint smile as a gesture of friendliness.

But in Cui Yuxuan’s eyes, he only felt as if the whole world had been covered in a hazy veil, with sunlight leaking through the dappled leaves and scattering like crushed gold around the man. Even the smell of artificial fertilizer in the field turned into the fragrance of flowers, with invisible petals spinning around him.

When he heard the voice full of grievance on the phone, Cui Yuxuan guessed the person would look harmless and cute. Paired with being directionally challenged, he would surely have a silly “sweet pea” persona. However, he now felt he was truly mistaken.

How could he be an ordinary sweet pea? He was clearly an angel! An Angel Oppa!

“Hello? Hello? Ah, so you are someone who cannot hear?” This kid had been standing there like a wooden stake, which made Qi Ming a bit puzzled. He walked up to the other person and waved his hand.

After several consecutive “Yeoboseyo,” Cui Yuxuan finally snapped back to his senses. Seeing the face enlarged in front of him, he was suddenly startled and took several steps back. As a result, he was tripped by a soft, unidentified creature and fell squarely on his butt, letting out a loud cry. “Ah!”

Accompanied by that was the tragic yelp of the little yellow dog. “Awoo!” One person and one dog fell into a tangled mess. For a moment, Qi Ming could not quite tell if the person was the dog or the dog was the person.

Clutching his butt, which had almost broken into four pieces, Cui Yuxuan’s ears turned bright red from both anger and annoyance. How could he lose face like this during their first meeting? This damn local dog. So annoying!

“Do you need help?” A warm spring breeze seemed to brush across his face.

Lifting his head, Cui Yuxuan saw a fair and slender palm stretched out in front of him. The nails were trimmed clean and neat, and the nail beds carried a faint, cherry-blossom pink. These were hands perfectly suited for playing the piano.

Tentatively reaching out his right hand, Cui Yuxuan’s sharp eyes caught sight of the dust sticking to his palm, mixed with some grass roots and grit. Country paths were never as clean as asphalt roads.

Just as Cui Yuxuan attempted to pull his arm back, the other person extended his arm and firmly grasped that hand. With great force, he pulled him up. Stumbling on his feet, Cui Yuxuan failed to stand firmly and fell directly into the other person’s embrace.

The scent of jasmine became even more apparent. Ah, what should I do? It feels like I have embraced the spring.