QT: Don't fall in love with the Male Lead

Chapter 151: Don't be bait and switched

Xi Zirui recoils in shock from Jin Ranyu, completely at a loss, but by then there's a thundering roar of cheers and catcalls from the other trainees.

The cameras cut away from them before Xi Zirui breaks free from Jin Ranyu's hold, immediately focusing on Ji Limei next to the judging panel, gushing effusively about their performance.

Xi Zirui's cuts his eyes towards the podium where the trainees sit, but he can't find Han Yu anywhere.

He doesn't have time to look for him, because moments later the judges are addressing him and Jin Ranyu.

"That was surely passionate," Bai Mi says, her sharp fingernails clicking on the sleek tabletop, punctuating each word. "But I think Jin Ranyu let himself disappear into the dance  far more than Xi Zirui." Looking straight at him, she adds "I felt like you were thinking instead of feeling the music."

That's because he had to focus on not tripping over himself.

Jin Ranyu thanks her politely while Xi Zirui just nods impatiently. 

He wants to get this over with and make everything clear with Han Yu. 

Su Xueyi looks Xi Zirui up and down with an appraising eye. "I agree with everything Bai laoshi said, but this dance has made me see Xi Zirui in a different light."

That couldn't have sounded more ominous if he tried.

Liao Min just gives both of them a thumbs up. 

In the end Jin Ranyu is upgraded to A-rank, while Xi Zirui is placed in C-rank, along with Cao Fei and all the other average people.

"Where has Han Yu gone to?" he asks Cao Fei, as soon as he sits down.

Cao Fei gives him watery look. "I don't know...probably licking his wounds like I should be doing."

Xi Zirui sighs. "There's nothing between me and Jin Ranyu."

Immediately perking up, Cao Fei sits up a little straighter. "Oh..."

"In fact, he told me he likes you, I think you should have a talk with him," Xi Zirui says. "Now, can you tell me where Han Yu went?"

Cao Fei points to a dark area backstage, behind a black curtain. "He went that way."

He doesn't even have the decency of blushing when Xi Zirui throws him an accusing glance over the shoulder while he makes his way down the stage.

It's always the quiet ones.

---

Xi Zirui can tell someone is chasing him, a quick glance above his shoulder reveals a cameraman trying to be discreet while following in his wake with a smaller camera.

A worrying thought strikes him: what if he's being set up?

What if Han Yu lied to him?

He tries to lose his tail but the man is hot on his heels. He hears a sudden gasping sob coming from a closed off production corridor and dodges quickly, flapping a curtain in front of the cameraman's face and slamming a nearby door closed, making him think he went through it.

He hides under a pile of props and waits for the cameraman to walk through the door he just slammed before following the sound of the gasping.

It leads him to an empty hallway, where he finds Han Yu sitting down the first step of a flight of stairs, his face between his hands, sobbing inconsolably. 

It almost scares him.

All this because Jin Ranyu kissed him?

He approaches him quietly, calling out a soft, "Didi?"

Han Yu's neck snaps up, his eyes wide. "Rui-er?"

Hearing him say his name so tenderly makes something in Xi Zirui's heart seize.

He used to say his name like that first thing in the morning, softly inquiring if Xi Zirui was awake as well so they could enjoying a few moments all to themselves before the twins needed their attention.

"Have you forgotten me, Rui-er? Am I too late?"

"What?" Xi Zirui asks, not fully trusting the deductions his brain is trying to make.

What if he's just fooling himself?

"You said you always remembered our lives together, has that changed Rui-er?"

Xi Zirui lets out a wet gasp, his throat constricting painfully, and rushes to Han Yu, crushing him the strongest hug he's capable of.

"You remembered?" he asks, whispering the words against Han Yu's hair, his voice full of wonder.

Han Yu slings one arm around his neck and pulls him into a breathless kiss, stealing all the air from his lungs, and taking away with it some of the sadness of the past days.

Han Yu's kiss is always the same, no matter the world, but there's something to it this time that tells Xi Zirui that more than kissing Han Yu, he's kissing his husband.

"I missed you so much," Han Yu says, whispering the words wetly into Xi Zirui's skin. "After you left, it was so hard, Rui-er, but I did it, I kept the promise I made you."

Xi Zirui chokes on a sob, the tears pouring out of him unbidden. A few days have gone by for Xi Zirui, a few days in which he has tried to make his peace with leaving his family behind -- and failed.

But Han Yu had to go on living for their children, because Xi Zirui asked him to. Because Xi Zirui can never treat any of these worlds as transitory things, but especially not the one in which they were parents.

"Thank you," Xi Zirui says, running his hands through Han Yu's hair, wishing it was its usual smooth silky texture, instead of hard from being caked with product. "Will you tell me about our children, I want to know everything I missed."

Han Yu looks into Xi Zirui's eyes, his lips curling into a small, pleased smile. "I'll tell you everything."

---

Despite their best efforts, someone from the production team finds them, and ushers them back to set. 

Xi Zirui wants to rebel against it, but Han Yu tells him they're better off not making a scene before they've had the chance to talk more.

At least he has managed to clear up the misunderstanding regarding the kiss, which he tells Han Yu was totally Jin Ranyu's idea. While relieved, Han Yu vows to punch Jin Ranyu in the face for it, Xi Zirui is tempted to let him.

Since Han Yu is in A-rank and Xi Zirui is in C-rank they're forced to sit apart, but Xi Zirui does his best to steal glances whenever he can. He's probably smiling like a crazy person, but he can't help being giddy. 

If Han Yu remembers, then it means they're one step closer to finding their way back to their original worlds, where Xi Zirui will do his best to get his twins back.

He won't accept that he only got to spend one short year with Han Xiu and Han Zhiye. He'll get them both back -- whatever the cost.

His look of fierce determination possibly scares Cao Fei a little. "Why do you look like you're going to set fire to the building?" he asks, his tone apprehensive. "I had a chat with Ranyu, he said the kiss wasn't his idea, so don't be mad at him for it."

Xi Zirui turns to him with a raised eyebrow, some of his manic energy dissipating. "Then whose was it?"

He shrugs. "He didn't say."

Xi Zirui casts his eyes towards the table where the three judges sit.

He'll make a wild fucking guess.

---

After what seems like an eternity, every presentation is finally over and everyone has their new ranks for the week.

Jade team is the clear loser, which means they'll be losing ten of their current members at once.

They're forced to go to the central stage and huddle together, as if the thought of being separated from a person they met a week ago breaks their heart.

Shen Yun is openly sobbing.

Xi Zirui would complain more if it didn't give him the chance to edge closer to Han Yu and press ever so slightly to his side. Hidden by the people surrounding them, Han Yu runs two fingers over the underside of Xi Zirui's wrist, sending a delicious shiver through Xi Zirui that he hopes the cameras don't catch.

In the end, Xi Zirui isn't voted out like he expected, and neither is Han Yu. Xi Zirui still wishes they could have left together, and forget everything about this insane experience, but now that Han Yu has his memories back Xi Zirui is less exasperated by the whole thing.

Not that NNI ever stops reminding him of just how unpleasant it can be.

"Now that we've said goodbye to good friends, it's time to make some adjustments to the teams to keep everything balanced," Ji Limei says, looking solemnly into the cameras. "That means some people will leave Jade team while others will join it."

A production assistant hands her an envelope outside of frame, and Ji Limei shows it to the camera.

"I have in my hand and envelope with the names of every trainee who will be switching teams."

Xi Zirui closes his eyes and links his pinky with Han Yu. 

He has a bad feeling about this.

Sure enough, the first name Ji Limei reads is, "Xi Zirui."