The boys looked at Steve with admiration, their eyes practically saying: Brother, you're bold.
The girls, however, had far more complicated emotions. Some felt contempt, others disgust, and a few couldn't quite put into words the strange mix of confusion and discomfort they experienced.
Steve, on the other hand, seemed completely unaware of the awkwardness his words had caused. He simply shrugged and explained, "Whenever I text a girl, they always reply with 'I'm sleepy, I want to sleep.' Tell me, am I not good at getting girls to sleep?"
He looked around, his expression completely serious, as if genuinely asking for confirmation.
For a moment, there was silence.
Then, Bai Xiaolu erupted into laughter. "Hahahahahaha!" She rolled on her bed, clutching her stomach.
Jarvis, who had initially felt annoyed, suddenly understood and sighed. She rolled her eyes at Steve before flashing him a small, amused smile.
Peng Peng burst into laughter as well. "Dude! That's some talent right there! Hahaha! But too bad you can't showcase that in the competition."
Steve spread his hands in mock helplessness. "That's my only skill. The only other thing I can do is sing and dance."
Jarvis smirked. "Well then, I guess we'll just have to wait and see how 'talented' you are."
Steve raised an eyebrow at her comment, but she simply rolled her eyes again.
For celebrities, any opportunity to perform in front of an international audience was a golden one. Exposure mattered. For a rising star like Steve, this was a chance to gain new fans and increase his popularity. Even if the performance didn't turn out great, at least his face would be seen worldwide.
For a top-tier celebrity like Jarvis, though, this kind of exposure wasn't as beneficial. What mattered most for her was delivering classic, unforgettable performances.
Still, she was willing to support Steve in getting this opportunity. Whether or not he would be able to seize it depended entirely on him.
Even though no one had ever seen Steve sing or dance, expectations were low. If he had been any good, he wouldn't be as unknown as he was now.
But since this was just a tentative decision, there was no harm in giving him a chance.
With Steve's performance tentatively on the list, the group continued brainstorming.
"Mina, do you have anything you can perform?" Chen Chichi suddenly asked.
Mina hesitated before answering, "I can do a folk dance, but my skills are just average."
Before anyone could respond, Steve suddenly burst out laughing.
Everyone turned to look at him, confused.
Mina's face darkened. Had he just laughed at her?
Jarvis sighed internally. This idiot. He was finally behaving a little better today, but now he's offending people again.
Steve, noticing Mina's glare, quickly raised his hands in surrender. "Whoa, don't get me wrong! I wasn't laughing at you. It's just that the word 'folk dance' reminded me of a joke. I couldn't help it."
Bai Xiaolu's eyes lit up. "A joke? Tell us, tell us!"
Peng Peng leaned forward. "Yeah, spill it!"
Steve hesitated. The joke was a bit risqué, and as a public figure, maybe it wasn't the best idea to share it.
"Uh… There are girls here, so maybe I shouldn't—"
Bai Xiaolu cut him off. "Oh, please! You guys always think we can't handle jokes. Trust me, we can."
Steve looked at the other girls for confirmation. When none of them objected, he sighed and relented.
"Ahem," he began. "So, I have this friend—"
Chen Chichi immediately interjected, "Yeah, yeah, whenever someone says that, they're really talking about themselves."
The group burst into laughter.
Steve rolled his eyes. "Fine. In that case, my 'friend' is named Chen Chichi."
"Hahahahaha!" Bai Xiaolu practically collapsed, laughing so hard that tears streamed down her face.
Steve smirked and continued, "So, 'Chen Chichi' once stayed at a hotel. Not long after checking in, there was a knock at the door.
"He opened it and found an older woman standing there, maybe in her forties or fifties. She smiled mysteriously and said, 'Handsome, do you want to watch a dance?'
"Now, 'Chen Chichi' was confused. 'Dancing? What kind of dance?'
"The woman smirked and whispered, 'Folk dance.'
"He frowned and thought, Folk dance? That's boring. So he shook his head and said, 'What's so great about folk dance?'
"But the woman leaned in closer and whispered, 'The kind without clothes.'
"At that moment, 'Chen Chichi' immediately slammed the door shut and muttered, 'Lady, I already know what nationality you are without the clothes.'"
For a moment, there was silence. Then—
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"GESE, GEESE, GEESE—"
Bai Xiaolu and Peng Peng were the loudest, practically rolling around laughing. The others chuckled as well, some shaking their heads at how ridiculous the joke was.
Everyone except Mina.
She pursed her lips, her smile tight. Her eyes, however, were full of resentment as she glared at Steve.
Steve felt the weight of her stare and thought back to what he had just said. He groaned internally. Crap. She misunderstood.
He cleared his throat. "Mina, I swear, I wasn't talking about you—"
The room fell silent.
Everyone turned to look at Steve.
Mina's face darkened further. Are you serious?
Bai Xiaolu exploded into laughter again. "HAHAHAHAHA—OH MY GOD! I CAN'T—HAHAHAHAHA!"
Seeing her reaction, the rest of the group followed suit. The laughter this time was even louder than before.
Steve sighed, rubbing his temples. Great. That made it worse.
Jarvis, though both amused and exasperated, finally decided to step in. "Alright, alright. Mina, don't take it to heart. Steve just has a habit of digging his own grave."
Mina sighed but nodded.
"Anyway," Jarvis continued, "this means we've got two performances on the list—Steve's singing and dancing, and Mina's folk dance. That's a decent start."
She then turned to Kevin, the eldest in the group. "Kevin, as the big brother here, it wouldn't be fair if you didn't participate. What are you planning?"
Kevin shook his head firmly. "Forget it. I can't sing, I can't dance—there's no way I'm performing."
Zhang Xiaoai sighed. "This competition really isn't in our favor. Except for Steve, we're all actors. Stage performances need time to prepare, and we don't have that luxury."
Steve, however, simply smiled. "You guys are looking at this the wrong way."
Jarvis raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And what are we missing?"
Steve's smile widened. "We have the biggest advantage of all."
The group leaned in, curious.
"What advantage?"
Steve's eyes gleamed with confidence.
"You'll see."
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