CSGM - Chapter 18
Chapter 18: Covert Observation
"What do you mean?" Ren Zhi looked up at her.
Chu Xi pursed her lips, glancing vaguely outside the tent.
"That new green tea… uhm… that Zhao Shiqing who came today, she seems to really like you."
Ren Zhi scoffed, letting out a "Heh." No matter how she heard it, it sounded like Chu Xi was being passive-aggressive.
Zhao Shiqing had just arrived today, and they'd had no prior contact. How could the girl just inexplicably like her?
Trying to ruin me with praise, is that it?
Nothing good could ever come out of that dog's mouth of Chu Xi's.
Chu Xi smiled maliciously, asking Ren Zhi with a gossipy tone:
"You don't like her? I saw her following you around like a puppy dog today, calling you 'Sister' this and 'Sister' that. Her voice is so sweet."
Her face—a mixture of thirty percent curiosity, thirty percent schadenfreude, and forty percent wicked grin—looked incredibly punchable to Ren Zhi.
Even the light, airy way she said, "Her voice is so sweet," didn't sound like a compliment at all, but rather a form of blatant, backhanded mockery.
Ren Zhi felt that Chu Xi was up to no good.
At the very least, she was mischievous.
So she also gave a faint smile, her words not matching her heart, and retorted with a fake grin:
"If I don't like her, does that mean I'm supposed to like you?"
In reality, however, Ren Zhi didn't have a single shred of goodwill toward Zhao Shiqing.
But she didn't want to say anything nice to the sharp-tongued Chu Xi either.
Mutually assured destruction, then. Bring it on.
Who would have thought that after hearing this, the corners of Chu Xi's lips would curve up even higher? She even flashed her pearly white teeth, which made her lip color look even more vibrant and beautiful.
Ren Zhi really had a temper when it came to her.
Back in the tent, with no more talk of "teamwork," she was like a little hedgehog, demanding an eye for an eye in every verbal spat.
How interesting.
However…
She still warned Ren Zhi seriously, "You'd better not treat her like some sweet little girl. Keep your head clear."
Don't make me force-feed you some brain supplements, Chu Xi added silently.
"Chu Xi, are you warning me?"
"I guess so. If my roommate is too stupid, I'll lose face."
"…" Ren Zhi gritted her teeth. "Stop thinking you're such a genius."
Chu Xi neither confirmed nor denied it, just chuckled. "You don't know me. A genius is never self-proclaimed."
It's based on the standards of human intelligence classification and numerical testing. It's scientifically sound, okay?
An IQ of 140 or above falls into the genius category for humans. Besides, hers was currently 144.
Ren Zhi rolled her eyes at her, disregarding her image.
Narcissist!
The topic wasn't brought up again as the two went to sleep.
Chu Xi's warning was just a hint; she figured Ren Zhi couldn't be that stupid.
The next morning.
It wasn't yet nine in the morning, and the live stream hadn't started, but work at the RV restaurant had already begun.
Every morning, two of the members were scheduled to clean the RV restaurant before it opened for the day, ensuring a clean and hygienic dining environment for the guests.
The black-hearted production team wouldn't help them with this at all. The Director required the cast members to manage the RV restaurant entirely on their own; the five of them had to be completely self-reliant.
Now with the addition of a flying guest, there were six people.
This morning, Ren Zhi and Li Xiling were supposed to be on cleaning duty.
But the flying guest, Zhao Shiqing, was being exceptionally attentive.
"Sister Ling, since I'm already here, of course I should do more. You rest, I'll go clean with Sister Zhi."
"Sister Zhi, I'm sweeping now. If you need help with anything, just call me."
Zhao Shiqing took over Li Xiling's task for the morning and cleaned with Ren Zhi. Her diligence in following Ren Zhi around could almost be described as being at her beck and call.
Ren Zhi smiled. "It's no trouble. You can sweep then, and I'll wipe the tables."
After washing up, Chu Xi wandered into the restaurant with a lollipop in her mouth, just in time to see this scene.
Tch…
Could it be that Ren Zhi has a thing for green teas?
She was being quite pleasant to Zhao Shiqing.
How boring.
She clenched her back teeth and crushed the lollipop in her mouth to bits.
Li Xiling, with nothing to do, thought she had it easy this morning. She found a spot far away, sat down, and opened her mahjong app.
"Two of Circles." The mahjong announcer's voice was quite loud.
Li Xiling sat on a ledge, hugging her legs, leisurely enjoying herself.
As for the other two male members, they had stayed up late last night washing several sinks full of dishes and were still catching up on sleep.
As Chu Xi walked through the center of the restaurant, Zhao Shiqing called out to her:
"Sister Xi, you go rest. Sister Zhi and I will take care of the cleaning here."
It was a preemptive strike, as if she was afraid Chu Xi would join them and get in the way like a third wheel.
She glanced sideways, saw the other girl's fake smile, and sneered.
Walking around the table, she tossed the finished lollipop stick into the trash can before replying icily:
"Then take your time."
It wasn't her turn to clean this morning anyway.
Chu Xi scrutinized Ren Zhi again.
As if sensing her gaze, Ren Zhi looked up. Their eyes met for a second before Ren Zhi expressionlessly lowered her head and continued wiping the table.
A moment later, Zhao Shiqing came out carrying a stainless steel basin full of clean water and placed it on the table.
"Sister Zhi, I got this water for you to wash the rag."
"Thanks."
Ren Zhi was engrossed in her cleaning, still showing no expression.
Chu Xi thought to herself: Such a workaholic. So focused even when just wiping a table.
I really want to cut open that workaholic's brain and see what's inside.
If it's already been poisoned and is overflowing with the scent of tea, then she's not sleeping with me tonight. We're getting separate tents.
She doesn't associate with idiots.
The grating voice sounded again.
"Sister Zhi, I never knew you were so virtuous. You look so skilled at cleaning. I need to learn more from you," Zhao Shiqing praised in a syrupy-sweet voice.
"…" Ren Zhi hated it most when people gave her insincere compliments.
It gave her goosebumps and made her uncomfortable.
She gave an awkward but polite laugh and focused on her work.
Chu Xi also laughed when she heard it.
Her tone is so fake. Doesn't she find it awkward to listen to herself?
Chu Xi found a chair and sat down, draping an arm over the backrest. She looked up in Ren Zhi's direction and suddenly teased—
"Wow, Ren Zhi, you seem even more capable today than you were yesterday."
The emotionless "wow" was clearly passive-aggressive, with honeyed words hiding a dagger.
Ren Zhi turned her head, shot her a glare, and retorted mercilessly.
"Shut up, you."
She saw Chu Xi's unrestrained posture and knew she wasn't the type to say anything nice.
Such a smart mouth.
Zhao Shiqing secretly watched Ren Zhi's expression and felt pleased.
It seemed Chu Xi and Ren Zhi's relationship was bad; Chu Xi couldn't win any favor with Ren Zhi at all.
Chu Xi turned her head away with a disdainful look.
Zhao Shiqing didn't understand her. She didn't know that with Chu Xi's personality, she would never try to curry favor with anyone, so all her worries were for nothing.
"Chu Xi! Chu Xi! Chu Xi, come quick!!!"
Li Xiling, who just a moment ago was "deaf to the world outside," suddenly stood up. Cradling her phone, she rushed to Chu Xi's side, her brow furrowed.
Her anxious expression and urgent tone made Ren Zhi and Zhao Shiqing, who were cleaning nearby, look over, worried that something had happened to her.
"Quick, help me see which tile to play! If I lose again, I'll be eliminated!"
Li Xiling held her phone out for Chu Xi to see, looking at her eagerly.
Ren Zhi: "…"
Zhao Shiqing: "…"
Only Chu Xi remained calm. She glanced at the discard pile and calmly instructed, "Eight of Circles."
Li Xiling played the tile as she said and, thankfully, didn't let anyone win off her discard. She breathed a sigh of relief.
After the round ended, Chu Xi said, "I'll play for you."
Li Xiling immediately handed her the phone. "Okay! If I win three more hands, I'll make it to the semi-finals!"
She believed in Chu Xi.
Chu Xi could remember tiles and calculate odds. Her brain worked at lightning speed. She had even told her about some mathematical expectation formula involved… though Li Xiling hadn't understood a single word.
But before, when Chu Xi had helped her with her hands, she had really won many rounds in a row.
Besides playing mahjong, Li Xiling's second favorite hobby was singing.
Her singing had won her a Golden Melody Award, but unfortunately, her mahjong skills were still nothing to write home about.
Now that she had met Chu Xi, this mahjong mentor, she was as excited as if she'd met an old friend in a foreign land.
Li Xiling: "It would be even better if you could help me get into the finals. You can guide me then."
She was unskilled but loved to play.
But this played right into Chu Xi's hands.
Chu Xi said, "No problem. I'll teach you. By then, you'll be able to win the championship yourself."
Mahjong has its own system of memorization, calculation, and deduction. The old folks who say this game can prevent senile dementia aren't exaggerating.
Eager to improve her mahjong win rate, Li Xiling was full of enthusiasm for learning, watching and studying by Chu Xi's side.
The two of them, phone in hand, gradually walked from the restaurant to the area outside the RV, completely engrossed in mahjong.
After they left, Zhao Shiqing seized the opportunity to say to Ren Zhi with feigned surprise, "Chu Xi just left? This… she's not even going to help clean? Just focused on playing her game… Oh well, Sister Zhi, don't take it to heart. Chu Xi probably didn't mean anything by it. But I definitely wouldn't feel right playing mahjong while you guys are cleaning, especially since I'm just a flying guest. Actually, I'm quite envious. Since Chu Xi is here all the time, she can be more relaxed and not worry about our feelings."
Ren Zhi suddenly looked up and gave Zhao Shiqing a deep look.
The look was a little cold, a little warning, a little dissatisfied, but it was all like a wisp of smoke, dissipating in an instant. It was so faint and fleeting that Zhao Shiqing wondered if she had imagined it.
"She was the one who cleaned yesterday morning," Ren Zhi stated calmly.
This left Zhao Shiqing a bit stunned.
Was Ren Zhi speaking up for Chu Xi?
But no matter how she looked, she couldn't figure out what Ren Zhi was really thinking. No emotion leaked from her face.
She laughed awkwardly. "Oh, so that's how it is. I misunderstood her."
Actually, Ren Zhi didn't dislike Chu Xi.
But she also didn't like the scheming Zhao Shiqing.
However, she was long used to dealing with people like this. The entertainment circle was full of abnormal people.
But abnormal was the new normal.
If she met good people every day, that's when she'd start to wonder if this was really the entertainment industry.
She stopped responding to Zhao Shiqing and focused on her own tasks. During this time, the thought, "At least talking to Chu Xi isn't this tiring," mysteriously floated through her mind.
But she was quickly so shocked that she shook the thought right out of her head.
Was she crazy? To actually think that talking to Chu Xi—the girl whose dog mouth couldn't spit out ivory—was relaxing!
About ten minutes later, Chu Xi walked back into the kitchen, picked out an egg, and placed it in the egg steamer.
After plugging in the steamer, she paused as if she'd thought of something, rubbed her chin, and walked to the doorway to look outside.
Ren Zhi had her sleeves rolled up, revealing two slender, fair arms, and was mopping the floor.
The slow-moving Zhao Shiqing following behind her was clearly not much help.
Chu Xi let out a soft, mocking laugh, turned around, and added another egg to the steamer.
A little extra protein for Ren Zhi to grow a brain.
She planned to make a bowl of noodles for herself as well.
But after taking just one step, she stopped abruptly.
She suddenly remembered that a female celebrity like Ren Zhi, who was strict about managing her figure, would have to eat a fat-reducing meal for breakfast.
So particular.
Chu Xi clicked her tongue inwardly, took an apron off the wall, tied it on, and surveyed the ingredients in the kitchen.
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