Chapter 17: 17

The showcase opened with AOW’s debut single, “Out of The World”.

 

There were no seats left vacant in the audience, and cheers resounded from the crowd. It was only when Fang Yu’s video conveying his greetings to the fans was played did the atmosphere quieten for a moment.

 

Due to the ample preparation, the showcase went quite smoothly. In the second half of the show, a small mistake happened during the performance between Lu Xiaochuan and Gu Chenkai. Lu Xiaochuan had a wrong verse in his rap, and then forgot the lyrics right after. Holding on to the mic, he stood there in a daze. Fortunately, Gu Chenkai reacted quickly, coming up with two lines and continuing the song, making the mistake less obvious.

 

“I asked you to memorise the lyrics properly, and yet you went out all the time!” Backstage, Zhang Fan reprimanded Lu Xiaochuan, her hands on her hips. “From tomorrow onwards, stay in the dormitory! Report to the company everyday punctually, and you’re not allowed to miss a day!”

 

It was a rare moment that Lu Xiaochuan did not object. His head hung low, his eyes downcast. It was not sure what he was thinking about, and his attention was completely not present.

 

Ning Lan was hurried away by An Lin to change his outfit. Once V-Wish’s performance ended, it would be his turn to dance with Sui Yi.

 

Sui Yi only needed to change the T-shirt he was wearing to a white shirt. Seeing Ning Lan hugging his clothes and shoes, running about looking for an empty room to change, he found it odd.

 

When the guest performance ended, the lights on stage dimmed, creating a hazy, seductive atmosphere.

 

Sui Yi went on stage first. A corner of his white shirt was tucked in his pants, and the rest hung loose casually. Two of his buttons were left undone, his tie loosely draping around his neck. His thin lips were pressed lightly together, and he looked indolently sexy.

 

The fans offstage seethed in excitement, screams piercing the air.

 

When the music started to play, his dance partner finally arrived. Everyone’s eyes were glued to the rising platform, only to see a tall, thin, hazy figure slowly appearing in the centre of the stage.

 

Sui Yi did not expect that Ning Lan would be in women’s wear.

 

According to the dance requirement, he walked over and caught his dance partner. Holding his hand, he pulled Ning Lan into his arms.

 

Ning Lan looked up, and their eyes met. Glittery eyeshadow had been applied around the corners of Ning Lan’s eyes, and that mole of his hid amongst the glitter, making others unable to tell which part of Ning Lan’s face was actually blushing a shy red.

 

The huge swath of skin exposed under the black lacy top was extremely pale in contrast to the dress, and the gold curls of the wig danced between Ning Lan’s long neck and chest, along with his movements. During a movement when Sui Yi had to pull Ning Lan into his arms, then slide an arm around his waist, Sui Yi used his other hand and moved the hair in the way, revealing Ning Lan’s long and slender neck.

 

This action was originally not part of the dance. With the sudden absence of the hair covering his neck, Ning Lan shivered slightly. The temperature of that hand on his body was a lot higher than his, and through a very thin piece of cloth, its heat was transferring onto his skin, so hot that he wanted to flee.

 

He dared not look at Sui Yi’s expression, afraid that he would see disdain and contempt in those eyes.

 

The shoes did not fit well, and halfway through the dance, one fell off Ning Lan’s feet. When Sui Yi caught Ning Lan around the waist, lifting him up, one of his hands could not avoid sliding through the slit of the dress, his palm sealed against Ning Lan’s bare thigh. Ning Lan’s breath caught, and his toes curled instinctively. In the spin of the dance, his other shoe also fell.

 

When he landed, his hands were still clasped around Sui Yi’s neck. The moment his soles touched the icy, cold ground, he stumbled, out of balance. Without the aid of the high heels, he only reached Sui Yi’s nose. As he lifted his head, with a careless act, his lips pressed against Sui Yi’s chin.

 

Sui Yi did not push him away, and instead, even pulled him tighter into his embrace. Quietly, he spoke into Ning Lan’s ear without the earpiece, “Stand firm.”

 

The music on stage thundered, and the screams offstage too turned extremely loud. However, as they were standing way too close, Ning Lan could still hear Sui Yi very clearly.

 

His ears immediately flushed red. Not wanting Sui Yi to notice it, his hand that was against Sui Yi’s chest gave a push. His little finger curled, and he accidentally pulled two more buttons undone on Sui Yi’s shirt.

 

Ning Lan’s body was a little cool to touch, but it felt as though a fire was raging within Sui Yi. Especially after touching Ning Lan’s smooth and soft thigh, Sui Yi’s eyes could not help but drift down to see that long, slender leg flashing in and out of the dress along with the dance moves, as well as the round, perky butt covered by the dress.

 

The ground was extremely slippery. Without any shoes, Ning Lan dared not move too much. In Sui Yi’s arms, he carefully twisted his hips and waist along with the music. He tried very hard to maintain the distance between them, trying his best not to lean onto Sui Yi. However, for some reason, the two of them were still pressed closely against each other. There were too many moves involving his back pressing against Sui Yi’s front, and his buttocks were almost plastered to Sui Yi’s crotch. Fortunately, there was only the friction between the materials of their clothes. If not, Ning Lan was afraid that he might have some strange reaction.

 

A dance that lasted for around three minutes left Ning Lan covered in sweat. He reached up, brushing away the hair on his forehead casually. He was not sure if he was mistaken, but he felt Sui Yi’s hand on his waist tighten.

 

The last move was to lift his leg and slide it against Sui Yi’s, then standing at an angle, they would fake a kiss. As though afraid of exposing himself, Ning Lan tugged at his skirt with one hand, curling his leg slightly as he slid it on the outside of Sui Yi’s thigh. The peculiar prickling feel as his bare leg brushed past Sui Yi’s pants made his heart beat a little faster.

 

During the last four beats of the dance, Sui Yi reached out and grabbed onto Ning Lan’s leg that was curling around him like a snake. Pulling the leg at the knee, he fixed it firmly around his body while his other hand pressed onto the back of Ning Lan’s head. Sui Yi bent over, lowering his body and blocking Ning Lan, displaying an extremely intimate position.

 

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Ning Lan’s entire body weight was nearly hanging off Sui Yi’s body. The tips of their noses touched, and this was a lot closer than how they were during rehearsals. Ning Lan was so shocked that he did not even dare to breathe too hard, his hands unconsciously clutching at the front of Sui Yi’s shirt. His eyes slid up the well defined chest, and in Sui Yi’s amber eyes, he could see two tiny reflections of himself.

 

Ning Lan was momentarily lost. Perhaps due to the great influence of the atmosphere, he had a misconception that he was actually important to Sui Yi.

 

The lights gradually darkened, and the two people left the stage in the dark. Ning Lan walked barefooted, and he stumbled, nearly falling down. Following behind, Sui Yi reacted swiftly and reached out, supporting him as they walked on.

 

The entire time, Ning Lan did not look back. Sui Yi released a breath slowly, rubbing his chest in the dark, trying his best to calm his pounding heart before they reached the backstage.

 

After a song performed by all members of AOW and their guests, the showcase concluded successfully. The brilliant performance was quickly broken down into various hashtags and then uploaded onto Weibo.

 

The company had arranged for a celebration dinner, and all staff headed to the restaurant after the show.

 

The youths scrolled through Weibo excitedly in the car, except for Ning Lan, who sat in the corner, apart from the group. He did not even want to touch his phone. Replacing Fang Yu and dancing with Sui Yi today, who knew how badly the Mountain Flower fans were scolding him online?

 

At first, he did not really understand why Zhang Fan would make such an arrangement, but now it was clearer to him. For a performance, not only did it have to be entertaining, more importantly, it had to be able to attract discussion. Whether Ning Lan was being scolded or mocked, as long as it could bring up further discussion, the objective was met.

 

A small little role like him, was it not supposed to be used at this sort of timing?

 

The celebration dinner was held in a large private room. After a few drinks, everyone started becoming close to one another, running around riotously. With the group, Ning Lan drank a few glasses with the company’s higher-ups, and when the alcohol kicked in, his head started to swim. Exiting the room, he lingered in the corridor for a break. When he again opened the door to the room, the smell of cigarettes and alcohol was like a punch in the face, and he really did not want to go in.

 

Closing the door, he swayed as he walked along the corridor, wanting to find an empty room to rest.

 

At the end of the corridor, there was an empty room with its door open, and the lights were off. Ning Lan walked in, pulling the door nearly shut, and the light from the corridor shrank to a long slit across the carpet inside, and he could just about make out the furnishings within the room.

 

In the dark, Ning Lan followed the wall and felt the edge of a chair. Without thinking, he sat down.

 

What his butt touched was not the flat surface of a seat, but a pair of human legs with warmth.

 

“Who’s that?” Sui Yi’s eyes opened in alertness, as he reached out and clamped down on the person leaning on him.

 

He also could no longer stand the ugly, messy atmosphere in the room anymore, and hence came out to look for a quiet place to rest. In the end, when he closed his eyes, a figure in a black dress twisted continuously in front of him, causing his body to heat up, and his breathing hurried. It was as though if a spark came in contact with him, his entire body could flame up from within.

 

“Ah, I’m sorry.” Ning Lan had not expected that there would be anyone here. Quickly, he wanted to stand up, but the hold around his waist was so tight that he could not move.

 

Turning his head, he looked behind him. A face that was still very eye-catching in the dark appeared, and Ning Lan’s mouth fell open in shock. “Lead?”

 

Sui Yi also saw Ning Lan’s face clearly. Their dance had been arranged to be the second last item of the showcase, and Ning Lan had to make his way over to the celebration dinner with no time to remove his makeup. At that moment, the slit of light from the corridor happened to fall on his face. The corners of his slightly uptilted eyes had a lingering redness to them, and his black, inky eyes were glimmering gently. Unlike the cool temperature of his body, his heated breath exited his nose, spreading across his cheeks.

 

Sui Yi’s heart skipped a beat.

 

Ning Lan surmised that Sui Yi had probably drank too much, and that was why he was sitting there stupidly, motionless.

 

Ning Lan was unable to free himself from the other person’s hold, and with nowhere to place his hands, he reached down, groping for the edge of the seat, wanting to push himself up. In the end, he did not manage to feel the chair. Instead, he touched Sui Yi’s tensed thighs first. Just as he wanted to move his hand away, he then touched something hard and heated.

 

Next, he heard the person behind him swallow. It was accompanied by a sexy, low panting. Forming a current, the sound shot straight into Ning Lan’s heart, leaving a trail of sparks behind, spreading rapidly through his entire body.

 

This time round, he could clearly feel Sui Yi’s hand around his waist tightening. It was even more forceful than the time onstage, and it made Ning Lan’s legs turn into jelly, causing him to want to give up resisting, and become obedient instead.

 

Ning Lan turned away, taking in a few deep breaths. However, his chaotic thoughts did not expel from his body along with his breaths.

 

Unable to bear it, he bit his lip, lifting his head. Just like what he did onstage, he leaned back onto that person’s broad chest. Raising his arm, he reached backwards, tentatively touching that person’s burning cheeks with the tips of his fingers. Not receiving any rejection, Ning Lan daringly slid his hand down the slightly trembling face, finally curling his fingers and hooking them around that stiff neck that seemed to be meaninglessly defiant.

 

Ning Lan laughed quietly, leaning into Sui Yi’s ear. “Lead… You’re hard again.”

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