Rebirth from the Ashes

“Aren’t you leaving?” Shen Xi took the last bite out of the petal cake before throwing Guan Yue the question.

Guan Yue replied, “In a bit.”

Shen Xi tilted her head to glance at her. “I’m guessing you’re not afraid of our midnight encounter being leaked to the press. It doesn’t bother me, but I don’t think it’d look good on you if people were to find out.”

Guan Yue answered, “I’m not in showbiz. It’s all about your dancing skills in our circle. Also, what’s wrong with dating when both of us are unmarried? This is completely normal.”

Rolling her eyes, Shen Xi stood up. “I’m taking a shower and going to bed.”

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

Since Shen Xi went into the bathroom and shut the door behind without any intention to answer, Guan Yue, as a guest, got up to open the door.

She thought the production crew came to deliver the key to her room. To her surprise, she opened the door to five people standing outside.

That was right.

Five people.

The five mentors cum judges gathered here after receiving the news late at night.

He Sumo and Gu Yang had not had time to straighten themselves out. By the looks of their unpainted face, they probably rushed over following a change of clothes.

Since Fang Yao and Xia Mi were after the finest thing in life, they would not allow themselves to appear in front of the camera or public in their bare faces. However, their makeup appeared to be done in a rush.

Su Muyan had made up his face, changed his clothes to formal wear before coming over.

“Welcome, welcome.” Xia Mi first gave Guan Yue a friendly bear hug. “Wow, you kept it a secret from me as well.”

She had asked around about the mystery guest and by chance, Guan Yue was the first person she inquired. Nevertheless, the latter denied it.

“I wasn’t supposed to be invited for this episode.” Guan Yue came clean. “I was in the next episode. I’m here to replace that person as there was a clash in their schedules.”

“Who is it?” Fang Yao might not be close to Guan Yue, but they were acquaintances. Out of all of them, Fang Yao was the most inquisitive.

“I’m not sure.” Guan Yue shook her head.

Gu Yang earnestly searched for names in his mind, wondering which prominent celebrity could possibly have schedule conflict during this time.

On a separate note, they were perplexed by how Ms. Guan Yue knew Mr. Xixi. The usually distant and aloof Mr. Xixi even allowed her into his room.

They did not share the same courtesy. It was an embarrassing thing to say, but Gu Yang wanted to invite Mr. Xixi to the cafeteria the other day only to be kept waiting outside the door.

Among the mentors, Su Muyan had the most activities going through his mind. It did not take long before he was basking in bitter jealousy. He, Gu Yang, and Xia Mi were given the cold shoulder when they came to look for Mr. Xixi the last time. However, Mr. Xixi did not mind opening his doors to Guan Yue.

Su Muyan had a low opinion of Guan Yue. The vixen was likely to adopt some means to seduce Mr. Xixi.

The pair would probably be rolling around in bed had they not arrived at the scene.

“Mr. Xixi, I should get going.” Guan Yue did not think for a second that the bunch came to meet her. They must have their hidden agendas.

Instead of responding, Shen Xi replied to her question with the drizzling of the shower.

The group was not here just for Guan Yue. This was also a great opportunity to engage with Mr. Xixi in private and get to know each other more before asking for his contact so on and so forth.

“Thank you for the hearty welcome. Let’s chat in my room.” Guan Yue may be a known otherworldly ice queen in the dancing circle, but that was only limited to her dancing and stage presence. She was a friendly person behind the scenes.

With Guan Yue ready to make a move, Su Muyan took a quick look inside. Seeing that there was no one else around, he asked with a smile, “What about Mr. Xixi? Why don’t we chat here? I have a few questions I need to consult him on.”

“Mr. Xixi is tired and getting an early rest.” Guan Yue knew this would be the case. She walked out of the room and shut the door behind her, cutting the mentors off from whatever plans they had.

Shen Xi would be bare-faced after the shower. She must protect the secret for Shen Xi’s sake.

Su Muyan scowled as raging fury overtook him.

Wanwan sent him a message earlier today about the mystery guest, and they had their suspicion that it might be Shen Xi. Now that this was not the case, Su Muyan could heave a sigh of relief. Still, he was not pleased with Guan Yue’s presence since she and Shen Xi were both students of Ms. Shu.

Well, Guan Yue was acting like she owned the place. She was calling the shots for Mr. Xixi and driving them away without Mr. Xixi having a chance to say anything about it.

Guan Yue sniggered to herself after catching a glimpse of Su Muyan’s change of facial expressions. She wondered how Su Muyan would react when he found out that Shen Xi was Mr. Xixi.

Although Gu Yang and the rest intended to have a chat with Mr. Xixi, it did not look like it was going to happen. Sure, they were disappointed, but they were not here all for Mr. Xixi. They genuinely came to see Guan Yue.

Xia Mi affectionately held onto Guan Yue’s arm and engaged in a gossip mode. “How did you and Mr. Xixi meet?”

She finally caught on that Guan Yue kept her in the dark about Mr. Yun Xiao’s identity. Guan Yue was so naughty not to tell her even though she knew about it.

“Mr. Xixi came to seek guidance from my teacher a while ago,” Guan Yue answered.

Xia Mi did not probe further as this was Guan Yue’s private affairs after all. She could understand why Guan Yue hid the truth from her, and similarly, she was not to expose Mr. Xi’s identity while on the show.

The group entered Guan Yue’s dorms. Xia Mi and Fang Yao helped Guan Yue unpack while Gu Yang and the guys were chatting outside and helping themselves to local delicacies brought by Guan Yue. However, there was not much to talk about since they did not have a close relationship. Thus, they excused themselves and returned to their respective rooms to rest.

The next day, the mentors went to the cafeteria first thing in the morning to avoid causing a stir among the trainees.

Wide awake early in the morning, Su Ruowan, He Lu, and two other girls gathered to head for breakfast together.

Once at the cafeteria, He Lu’s eagle eye caught sight of an additional person among the mentors’ crowd. Having recognized the person as Guan Yue, He Lu knew she must be the mystery guest invited to the show.

Guan Yue might not be as well known in the entertainment world, but anyone who dabbled in dancing would know who she was. As a student of Ms. Shu Baiyu, she was a professional dancer in China.

Su Ruowan found out that Guan Yue was the guest during the wee hours as Su Muyan had sent her a text message. To see Guan Yue in the flesh, Su Ruowan clenched her fists tightly.

One of her girlfriends stared at Su Ruowan. “Wanwan, you must be close to Ms. Guan Yue.”

Another chimed in. “I’m sure that’s the case. Rumor has it that Ms. Shu Baiyu wanted to take you in as her student, but you turned her down. Is it true?”

They, as dancers, paid close attention to the dancing world. Ms. Shu Baiyu, especially, was viewed as an idol by aspiring dancers.

He Lu’s interest was piqued. “Really? Wanwan, why did you turn her down?”

Hating on these people’s guts, Su Ruowan wanted nothing more than to stuff it to their mouths. Without saying a word, she smiled.

The girls took Su Ruowan’s smile as acknowledgment. They were envious that Su Ruowan danced well and now for Su Ruowan to acknowledge she had refused Ms. Shu Baiyu before, turned them into green-eyed monsters.

“Guan Yue’s here. We’ll know if it’s just a rumor by asking her.” Without regards to Su Ruowan’s feelings, He Lu strode off.