On the other side, as soon as Li Jinyuan had hung up the phone, he looked up and saw his three old roommates from during the training period looking squarely at him.
âPhone call with your girlfriend?â One of them asked.
Li Jinyuan busted out laughing. âOf course not.â
The one who asked nodded slightly and said in a low voice, âGood then. Keep in mind that weâve all signed contracts when we joined the show. We are not allowed to date during the period when the contract is in effect.â
Another one chimed in as well, âNever mind about the contracted period. We canât date even after the show is over. Once we started dating, our career would be over before it even got started.â
Someone teased, âNo worries. Li Jinyuan is still so young. He wonât be dating for a while.â
Li Jinyuan nodded.
Exactly.
He wouldnât be dating for a while.
He didnât know how Huo Chengming felt about this, but at least he himself had never considered that possibility.
Picturing Zhong Yuhuanâs look in his head, Li Jinyuan tightened his lips a bit and said, âI was talking to my sister on the phone.â
âWhat? Li Jinyuan has a sister?â
âShe must be very pretty!â
âHow old is your sister now? Does she have a boyfriend?â
Li Jinyuanâs face dropped all of a sudden. âDidnât you just say that we are not allowed to date?â
The others chuckled and said, âWe are not the same as you. Even if you donât get first place, you are still someone that the show wants to come back. There will be companies lining up to sign with you after the show is over. Of course you wonât be able to date. We are just here for the head count. Once itâs over, we are going to go back to become interns⦠when we canât even do that anymore, we will just go home.â
âThatâs right. I am going to go home and become a piano instructor.â
âI will go open up a bookstoreâ¦â
âAnd thatâs why we can date all we want!â said all three of them at them at the same time.
Li Jinyuan: ââ¦â¦â
âMy sister is the same age as me. She canât get married legally yet,â said Li Jinyuan with his brows raised.
One of them patted him on his shoulder and said, âSo what? We could be dating for 2-3 years. Then itâd be perfectâ¦â
Li Jinyuanâs face turned dark. âNo, you canât. You are not my sisterâs type.â
âAre we not good looking enough?â The three of them looked at each other as they talked.
Of course, they were just kidding. None of them were truly interested.
But Li Jinyuan sulked and stopped talking after giving them a polite smile.
Were they as good looking as him? No, they were not as good looking as him.
***
The group had a short break after another two hours of filming.
Sitting to one side, Li Jinyuan slowly replayed the dancing and singing techniques that were taught to them by the instructors, as well as how to insert oneâs emotion into them⦠that was Li Jinyuanâs weakness.
While he was in his own little world, he heard his three roommates, along with a few other candidates talking about the latest discussions on WeChat.
âThatâs so wealthyâ¦.â
âSo nice to be a Second Generation Rich.â
âThis one is pretty!â
âShe is very pretty. When she stands in front of the picture, you canât even tell whoâs the art hereâ¦â
âI am saving this picture.â
âI am following her as wellâ¦â
Li Jinyuan was still quietly going through the lessons in his head, unaffected by what was going on around him.
He didnât care who was rich or who was pretty. That had nothing to do with him.
Shortly after, the filming of the show resumed. Li Jinyuan quickly put down his cellphone and had no more time to look at the WeChat that Zhong Yuhuan was sending over.