By the time Xu Renfei realized what was happening, he was already standing at the ancient city’s gate, surrounded by a circle of fans who were screaming. Only then did Xu Renfei realize he had been tricked.
Xu Renfei: (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻
"Bi Xiaojiu!"
Bi Xia, raising his head from the bowl of sticky rice cake, looked at Xu Renfei and waved leisurely from the other side of the crowd, making a cheering gesture while munching on the sticky rice.
Xu Renfei: "Bi Xiaojiu! Get over here! Don’t think you can eat alone! Who do you think I’m doing this for?"
Bi Xia blinked, looking reluctantly at his diminishing bowl of sticky rice cake, and then at Xu Renfei. Suddenly, his eyes widened in disbelief, and he pointed dramatically behind Xu Renfei.
Reflexively, Xu Renfei turned around, giving Bi Xia a chance to hurriedly stuff the remaining rice cake into his mouth. When Xu Renfei turned back, he saw Bi Xiaoxia with his mouth stuffed full, cheeks bulging.
"You really went that far? You little food monster!" Xu Renfei said, exasperated but amused.
Of course, it’s worth it.
Bi Xia rolled his eyes, swallowed all the sticky rice, and then walked towards Xu Renfei. As a foodie, sharing food already in one’s mouth is not an option!
Thinking of this, Bi Xia paused. Hmmm... but if it’s Fourth Brother, he might get one piece, mouth to mouth!
As Bi Xia approached, the screams erupted again. Some fans were still shouting Bi Xia’s name, but there were even more calling out ’Your Majesty’.
"Why aren’t you dancing yet?" Bi Xia waved to the fans, and when the cheers subsided, he turned to Xu Renfei and raised an eyebrow.
Xu Renfei looked at Bi Xia, feeling wronged. "You called me Brother Qi before. Now that the food’s in your belly, you don’t recognize me anymore. I’m feeling so hurt!"
Bi Xia tilted his head, "No, I saved some for you, didn’t I?"
He said, holding the bowl in front of Xu Renfei with a cheerful smile, "See, though only the sauce is left, it still has the taste of sticky rice."
Xu Renfei: "... Go away!"
"By the way, have you started dancing yet?" Bi Xia urged, "Hurry up and dance, or the lady will ask us for money, and we don’t have any. We’ll have to push you down."
"Why push me!" Xu Renfei hopped up, "You’re prettier, smarter, more popular than me. Shouldn’t it be you they push???"
Bi Xia smiled, "Because you’re famous!"
Xu Renfei: "... Fine, I surrender!"
Then suddenly, Xu Renfei turned around, raising his right hand high above, spreading his fingers amidst everyone’s puzzled gaze.
Five.
Four.
Three.
Two.
One!
Xu Renfei’s arms dropped limply to his sides, his legs started to buckle, and his whole body moved like a puppet without a soul.
Suddenly, Xu Renfei moved. He stiffly raised his hand, made a movement, then slowly turned around, his head mechanically lowering.
Bi Xia had never seen Xu Renfei dance, but she noticed that whenever he danced or sang, he wasn’t the Xu Renfei she knew.
His dance wasn’t filled with the passionate fervor of the two people next to him, just mechanical movements like a puppet, yet it made people feel that he was like a puppet controlled by someone else, soulless.
That pitiful soul was filled with sadness and despair, trying to resist, and it was resisting, gradually coming back to life.
Just as everyone was transfixed by Xu Renfei’s dance, a thunderous drum sound broke the moment, sharply waking Bi Xia. She looked up to see a man riding a horse, with a red flower on his chest, donned in the attire of an ancient groom, swaggering arrogantly.
Behind him was a flower-laden palanquin, heavily guarded, and most importantly, sounds of distress came intermittently from within, masked by the drum beat, only faintly heard during the brief pauses.
Bi Xia frowned and turned her gaze to Lin Zi and A Wen, who were pretending to accidentally shift their cameras toward the palanquin. Instantly understanding, Bi Xia’s lips curled into a smile. As the palanquin passed by, she suddenly powered off her rear foot, flipped over the pole carried by the bearers, her hands landing on the bearers’ shoulders, standing on the pole with one foot, and lazily spoke, "This tree is my planting, this road is my opening. If you want the bride to pass, leave a story here."