APCF – Chapter 66 Diamond Hand Mic

After dinner, with their relationship clarified, Qi Xingchen felt relaxed and decided to take Liang Jing on a tour around S City.

However, Liang Jing declined, citing the importance of his business trip, and instead offered to drop Qi Xingchen back at the hotel.

Before getting out of the car, Qi Xingchen thought for a moment and said, “Since we’re back to being good friends, make sure to let me know before making any big decisions in the future.”

Like, say, donating a kidney.

Liang Jing assumed he was talking about going abroad and smiled as he agreed, “Sure, I’ll definitely let you know.”

The weather was getting warmer, and Liang Jing was wearing a simple white shirt that carried a faint scent of soap. His smile was clean and gentle.

Qi Xingchen suddenly understood why the original host had liked him— Someone like Liang Jing, appearing in anyone’s youth, would naturally be admired.

He didn’t deserve to end up dying from heartbreak.

Qi Xingchen added, “If one day you meet a girl who makes your heart flutter, you can tell me too. I’ll help you analyze it.”

“…My studies come first. I don’t have any plans to date for now,” Liang Jing said, lowering his gaze. He got out of the car first and opened the door for Qi Xingchen.

“Thank you.”

That’s even better. Qi Xingchen stepped out of the car and said politely, “I didn’t entertain you well this time. When we’re back in H City, I’ll make it up to you.”

As he spoke, he caught a glimpse of a nanny van slowly approaching from the other side of the road. The license plate was very familiar—he had ridden in that car twice before.

It was Bo Ye’s car!

…Bo Ye had wrapped up work so early today? Did he have lunch? What kind of styling did he do? How was the shoot going? Was he still going to the studio in the afternoon?

A flood of questions flashed through Qi Xingchen’s mind. He couldn’t help but stand on tiptoes, peering toward the nanny van.

Liang Jing, standing across from him, clearly noticed the sudden sparkle in Qi Xingchen’s eyes and the smile he couldn’t suppress. Liang Jing’s heart sank abruptly.

Following Qi Xingchen’s gaze, Liang Jing turned to look to his left.

The nanny van parked in the spot next to Liang Jing, and Bo Ye stepped out soon after. His gaze inevitably met Liang Jing’s, and both paused for a moment.

“You’re back!”

Qi Xingchen’s voice broke the silence, his tone rising with unmistakable excitement.

Bo Ye, tired from the morning’s shoot, felt unexpectedly rejuvenated upon hearing his little fan’s voice. He nodded and walked over to Qi Xingchen.

“…Sorry, I forgot to introduce you. This is Liang Jing, my childhood best friend.”

Qi Xingchen turned to Liang Jing and said, “And this is my good friend, Bo Ye. You’ve been abroad for a while, so you might not know him—he’s super amazing!”

If time allowed, Qi Xingchen could have said “super” a billion more times.

Liang Jing’s expression darkened slightly. Resting his left hand on Qi Xingchen’s shoulder, he extended his right hand. “Hello, I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Hello.” Bo Ye’s gaze swept over Qi Xingchen’s shoulder before shaking hands with Liang Jing.

This hotel had good security, but it couldn’t block out the paparazzi circling around Bo Ye like flies. Bo Ye didn’t know Liang Jing and didn’t have much to say to him. Qi Xingchen subtly shifted his shoulder, slipping out from under Liang Jing’s hand, and said, “I’ll head back to the hotel first. Drive safely.”

But Liang Jing replied, “I’ll take you upstairs before I leave.”

“No, I—”

“Don’t worry,” Bo Ye interrupted before Qi Xingchen could refuse. “Xingxing and I are staying in rooms across from each other. I’ll take him back.”

Liang Jing was silent for a few seconds before nodding. “Alright. Thanks for taking care of Xingxing during this time.”

“It’s no trouble; I should be taking care of him anyway.”

After saying this, Bo Ye turned and walked toward the hotel. Qi Xingchen waved at Liang Jing before quickly following behind him.

It wasn’t until the two disappeared from view that Liang Jing finally got in his car and drove away.

Bo Ye walked quickly, and Qi Xingchen, with shorter legs, had to jog a little to keep up.

When they got into the elevator, Bo Ye stood on the right side. Qi Xingchen shifted closer to him and asked in a small voice, “Did you have lunch yet?”

“I did,” Bo Ye replied calmly. “Ate in the cafeteria.”

“Oh, good, as long as you’ve eaten.”

As he spoke, Qi Xingchen snuck glances at Bo Ye. Today, Bo Ye’s outfit was formal, fitting the theme for the MV shoot, which made his expression seem colder than usual.

No, it wasn’t just his expression. He seemed… not very happy.

“Was the morning shoot tiring?” Qi Xingchen guessed. “What time did you start?”

“Not tiring. I got there around seven.”

“That’s so early… If you’re not heading to the studio this afternoon, you should take a good nap.”

Bo Ye hummed in acknowledgment. Just then, the elevator doors opened. He reached into his pocket and took out the milk for the day.

Strawberry-flavored—he had asked Alan to pick different flavors so his little fan wouldn’t get tired of drinking the same thing all the time.

Qi Xingchen blinked and took the milk. They exchanged goodbyes and used their cards to access their respective rooms.

Once inside his room, Bo Ye pulled off his suit jacket and tossed it onto the sofa. He grabbed a bottle of water, took a few sips, and then picked up his phone to check his messages.

WeChat showed dozens of unread notifications. Group chats, concerned messages from his “family” in this timeline, work reminders for tomorrow, and casual greetings from “friends” and business partners.

He skimmed through them but had no interest in replying.

Instead, his mind kept replaying the image of Liang Jing’s hand on his little fan’s shoulder and that comment: “Thanks for taking care of Xingxing.”

It sounded as if Liang Jing and Qi Xingchen were incredibly close, while he himself was just an outsider.

The thought made him uncomfortable.

Bo Ye tossed his phone aside and leaned heavily against the chair, the impact making a dull “thud.”

When he first found himself in this world—let’s call it a “world”—he had no idea what had happened to him.

It wasn’t until after repeated exploration and observation that he realized everyone here followed a set trajectory, and a series of events seemed to be pushing him toward a predetermined path. It reminded him of the “transmigration stories” his friend Xiao Man used to rave about.

That’s when it hit him: like the protagonists in those stories, he had transmigrated into a book.

He didn’t know what had triggered this or what the full plot was. He had to feel his way forward, cautiously interacting with the rigid characters in the story.

The only exception was his little fan.

Qi Xingchen felt lively, genuine, and easy to be around—refreshingly different.

And, honestly… a little cute.

So cute that Bo Ye couldn’t help but want to grant all of Qi Xingchen’s wishes and treat him well.

But Liang Jing’s appearance today reminded him of something: no matter how endearing, Qi Xingchen was still just a character.

A fictional creation, crafted by an author to serve a specific purpose in the story.

And Liang Jing? He was the childhood friend—the one who had grown up with Qi Xingchen, their lives intertwined.

Bo Ye was the outsider.

Yes, he was late to the game.

The more Bo Ye thought about it, the more irritated he became.

The four-day break quickly passed, and Zheng Yuyang, Wei Qin, and Chen Jiayi returned to their positions.

After the theme song shoot, the competition was about to enter the real battle phase. Starting from the next round, My Era would implement its harsh elimination system, meaning that trainees with poor performance would be leaving the stage.

On the eve of the recording, the producers held a routine meeting to go over the process. Qi Xingchen entered the meeting room chatting with Chen Jiayi, and when they saw the person standing in front of the whiteboard, both paused for a second.

“Hello to all five mentors, my name is Lei Zi. I’m filling in as the producer, and I’ll be hosting today’s process meeting with you.”

“What happened to the original producer?” Zheng Yuyang asked curiously. “Are they sick?”

“Uh… they ran into some minor trouble and are currently under suspension for review,” Lei Zi explained. “But don’t worry, the planning was done collectively, so I won’t mess up the process.”

Everyone said it wasn’t a problem and took their seats. However, what Lei Zi said next had a subtle undertone that caught their attention.

“Previously, Director Sun might have mentioned that three contestants required special attention. Thank you all for your cooperation, but starting from the next round, there’s no need for that anymore. Let’s stick to the evaluation standards and judge fairly.”

Zheng Yuyang: “Okay.”

“Now, let me introduce the rules for the first round of the competition. The first round will be a group PK format: 88 trainees will be divided into 12 teams, with two teams performing the same song. The audience on site will vote to decide the winning team. Each member of the winning team will receive an incentive of 30,000 points.”

“After all the performances, the online voting scores and the incentive points will be combined to calculate the total score. Contestants ranking 67th and below will be eliminated. The remaining 66 contestants will automatically move on to the next round.”

Hearing the word “elimination,” Qi Xingchen’s mind buzzed. F Class currently had 24 members, and 22 of them were likely to be eliminated this round. It was almost certain that F Class would bear the brunt of the cuts.

Although he hadn’t spent much time with these boys, he couldn’t help feeling a bit reluctant at the thought of them leaving.

He needed to come up with a training plan—anyone he could help stay, he would.

Lei Zi continued explaining important details, such as rules and song selections. Qi Xingchen focused on the key points, carefully considering how to quickly improve F Class’s performance in the limited time available.

Twenty minutes later, the meeting ended. Qi Xingchen sent a message to Wu Qian, asking him to gather all the members of F Class in the practice room. Then, he called Qi Yunxiao.

From what had just been discussed in the meeting, it was clear that Zheng Yuyang and the others were curious about why Dongcheng Entertainment had suddenly decided to stop manipulating the results behind the scenes. But Qi Xingchen had a guess.

It was probably his older brother’s doing.

“Beep—beep—”

After two rings, Qi Yunxiao picked up the call. “Xingxing, are you calling to ask about Dongcheng?”

Truly perceptive. Qi Xingchen replied with a simple “mm.”

“The CEO of Dongcheng is a friend of mine. I’ve asked him to conduct a thorough investigation of the entire program process. If all goes well, the results should be out within half a month. From now on, just judge as you see fit. No one will dare question the scores you give—but remember, don’t let personal feelings interfere. Be fair. These kids have it tough enough.”

Hearing Qi Yunxiao’s words didn’t surprise Qi Xingchen; his family had always been this kind-hearted.

He smiled and agreed, “Got it, bro. I was a trainee too, so I’d never deliberately ruin someone’s future.”

“I know you wouldn’t, just reminding you… Oh, by the way,” Qi Yunxiao suddenly recalled something. “The supervisor at the diamond mine will be returning next week for some personal matters and will stop by to report to you. I had him take the diamonds mined over the past six months to a mic manufacturer and had them make a custom diamond-encrusted handheld mic for you. Once you get it, test it out and see if it works well. If it doesn’t, it can be reworked.”

Diamonds? Diamonds mined over the past six months? A diamond-encrusted mic?

Qi Xingchen’s head buzzed even louder. He immediately asked, “Bro, can you tell me how many diamonds we’re talking about?”

“Not too many. About 20 that are three carats or above, around 30 that are two carats or above, and the rest are small fragments—roughly 200. You can use them for fun. If you get tired of it, there are also colored diamonds you can swap in.”

Qi Xingchen: “…”

You’re telling me to play with a mic encrusted with over 200 diamonds?

What will the audience think of me? The sparkly boy with a diamond mic???

Qi Xingchen suddenly understood the suffocating feeling that makes Sa Beining reach for oxygen.