Qiu Yan was panting hard, so when she saw that Jiang Xuxu had stopped, she stopped running as well to catch her breath.
"You're mad, Jiang Xuxu!"
Unfortunately, her lofty screech posed no threat due to how hard she had to gasp even to breathe. She was barely able to finish her sentence.
Jiang Xuxu turned around to shoot her a look of disdain. "Stop with the schemes. Instigate another fight again and I'll do worse to you."
Qiu Yan had only meant what she said to Qi Wu as a joke, but what Jiang Xuxu just said provoked Qiu Yan to fully lean into it.
With a cold scoff, she exclaimed, "Scared? Well then, I should just steal Qi Wu then!"
Jiang Xuxu raised a fist in her direction. "Try me!"
"I'm not scared of you!"
Qiu Yan held her head up high. She had already made an enemy out of Tong Fei, so why would she be afraid of Jiang Xuxu who was just a nobody?
The proud look on her face sent Jiang Xuxu reeling in anger, making her roll up her sleeves in preparation for a fight.
"Xuxu."
Suddenly, Qi Wu chimed in with her cold voice.
Jiang Xuxu instantly stopped what she was doing. Glaring at Qiu Yan, she spat out, "You lucked out!"
Then, she turned and walked away without sparing Qiu Yan another glance.
*
Qi Wu's phone rang just as Qi Wu and Tong Luo returned to their room.
Tong Luo immediately tensed up, reminded of Qi Wu's sugar daddy.
When she cautiously glanced at Qi Wu, she found Qi Wu calmly entering the bathroom with her phone in hand.
Tong Luo frowned. Why was Qi Wu so calm?
That thought made her stop worrying since she thought it meant the call was not from the sugar daddy.
Meanwhile, Qi Wu answered the call as soon as she entered the bathroom.
"Chang Xun," she warmly greeted.
"Do you remember what I told you? You're in the bathroom right now, right?"
Chang Xun's worry was evident even over the phone.
Qi Wu hummed in confirmation and added, "I'm there."
"Good." Chang Xun heaved a sigh of relief before continuing with a smile audible in his voice, "Today's the first day of filming. Everything okay?"
Qi Wu had too much she needed to learn, so Chang Xun did not actually hold high hopes for her. This was just to return Song Qi's favor. Hence, Qi Wu just needed to have fun.
Qi Wu nodded and softly replied, "Yes. I had fun."
It was only then that Chang Xun properly let go of his worry.
"Have you contacted Jin Si yet? No, forget it. That cold-blooded man will just ignore you. Tell me if you need anything."
"Okay…"
Qi Wu slowly blinked in confusion.
Jin Si did not ignore her though.
Chang Xun ended the call after a few more questions, so Qi Wu did not tell him about the calls to Jin Si.
When Qi Wu walked out of the bathroom, Tong Luo immediately sat up straight. She had been keeping an eye out for the bathroom door the entire time.
"What's with you?" Qi Wu asked.
"N-Nothing. I'm going to wash up!"
For some reason, Tong Luo felt guilt rise in her when Qi Wu asked that. Hence, she made up an excuse to hide in the bathroom.
Qi Wu turned her attention away and sat down on her bed.
She then scrolled through her chat messages to message Jin Si.
Wu: Jin Si, chocolate is delicious! ^_^
She was acting just like a kid who was sharing a piece of happy news with her friend.
Perhaps Jin Si was busy as he did not respond to her right away.
Qi Wu was not surprised, nor did she think too much about it. Just as she was about to put her phone down, Tong Luo walked out of the bathroom.
Out of the corner of her eye, Tong Luo noticed that Qi Wu was messaging someone.
Then, before Tong Luo could think about what she was doing, she asked, "What are you doing, Qi Wu?"
"Making a report to my debtholder."
Qi Wu sounded calm and composed as she stated that.
While there was nothing special about the way she said it, her words left a deep impression on Tong Luo's mind.
Was Qi Wu's sugar daddy that possessive?
He had mandated she report to him every single day!
Tong Luo's impression of this faceless man had sunk to the lowest it could ever be.
She sat down beside Qi Wu and solemnly said, "You need to learn to say no, Qi Wu."
Qi Wu blinked in confusion.
She did know how to say no.
In Tong Luo's eyes, Qi Wu's confusion turned into dazed obedience that made her look like a pushover.
Tong Luo heaved a sigh. "Forget it."
She did not know the full story behind everything, so it would not be good for her to poke her nose in this. She would just have to keep a closer eye on Qi Wu. This sugar daddy cannot be allowed to interfere with Qi Wu's career!
Tong Luo felt herself burning up with a strange passion.
Thus, Qi Wu had gained another strange fan who was deeply invested in her career.
Now that Tong Luo had made up her mind, she stopped worrying about this. Just as she moved to head back to her bed, she suddenly realized something important.
She sat back down on Qi Wu's bed. "We haven't even added me as your friend yet."
"Okay."
Qi Wu's reply was calm and pliant.
Jin Si had told her to never add anyone as a friend if they were someone who liked to spin stories, but Tong Luo did not seem to be part of that group.
*
The next morning, the contestants were woken up at 7:00 a.m. again for their morning run.
After a day of settling in, the situation was much better than the chaos that reigned the other morning even though many of them were still completely exhausted by the end of the run.
At the very least, there were no more wails of agony.
While Tong Luo knew Qi Wu was capable of surviving the run, they continued to run at the back of the group at an even pace.
That was because they were joined by Jiang Xuxu who would be completely exhausted after running a few hundred feet.
Even Ke Luo who had been running at the head of the group yesterday had been dragged to the back by Jiang Xuxu.
Jiang Xuxu's logic was that they needed to work together.
She even self-righteously argued, "Don't you want to witness the birth of an idol?"
Ke Lu rolled her eyes and silently looked away.
Tong Luo did not even bother looking at her.
Qi Wu was the only one who took her seriously, and she replied, "You aren't improving though, Xuxu."
Silence fell.
Jiang Xuxu felt like she had been shot through the heart.
When it came to breaking hearts, Qi Wu really did not discriminate between friend and foe.
"I'm just starting out. Have faith in me. You'll see my proper growth in a month!" Jiang Xuxu muttered.
"I believe in you."
Qi Wu's voice was as bland as always.
Jiang Xuxu choked. She wanted to grumble about how perfunctory Qi Wu was being, but judging by the look in Qi Wu's eyes, Qi Wu was serious.
That was one of the magical aspects of Qi Wu. No matter what she said, it always felt incredulous to doubt her.
After the run, the contestants streamed into the cafeteria for their breakfast.
As the production team was not filming them during the meal, the contestants were able to move about in a much more carefree manner.
Qi Wu and her group silently sat at a table near the windows and enjoyed their breakfast.
The silence did not last for long as they suddenly heard Qiu Yan arrogantly pondering aloud nearby, "I wonder if Tong Fei is gone yet. What a pity I can't see her get dragged home."
Qi Wu turned around.
Qiu Yan was walking in the middle of a group of women and recounting what had happened the night before. It was clear that the fire was a blessing in disguise for her as her popularity had grown overnight.
However…
Qi Wu only stared at her for a few more seconds before calmly looking away.