Chapter 9 – I’ve Grown Up
When he heard Lin Ran’s voice, Shi Cha suddenly snapped out of his daze and realized he had just been lost in thought.
He quickly composed himself, reached out his right hand to grasp Lin Ran’s—who had been waiting for him to return the handshake—and said coldly and distantly, “Hello.”
He managed to maintain his aloof persona, but as their fingers briefly intertwined, the tips of Shi Cha’s ears still flushed a rosy red.
Fortunately, the camera didn’t linger on him for long. That small change was just a fleeting moment in the lens and went unnoticed.
However, standing directly across from him, Lin Ran certainly noticed.
Their fingers had barely touched before they parted. Lin Ran saw that although Shi Cha’s face remained serious, his ears were burning red, and the blush seemed to be creeping down his neck.
Just as Lin Ran was about to tease him with a smile, Zhong Jiarong, standing beside them, chuckled and asked, “Ran-shen, you know Shi Cha too?”
Lin Ran casually extended an arm and gently pulled Shi Cha, who was standing behind him, forward.
Everyone watching the gesture was first surprised, then puzzled.
Just moments ago, when Lu Lecheng had tried to pat Shi Cha on the shoulder, everyone had seen him brush it off.
Even his classmates of four years didn’t seem to get any special treatment. Though Lin Ran was currently a top celebrity, Shi Cha’s earlier cold tone suggested they weren’t particularly close.
Everyone feared Shi Cha would dodge Lin Ran’s gesture too, making things awkward for both him and the group.
But to everyone’s surprise, Shi Cha didn’t avoid Lin Ran’s touch. Though his expression remained neutral, he followed Lin Ran’s lead, taking two steps forward to stand in front.
One warm and gentle, the other aloof and distant—yet somehow, the two standing together looked unusually harmonious.
Lin Ran smiled and said to Zhong Jiarong, “Shi Cha is the younger brother of a good friend of mine. Last time I saw him, he had just graduated from elementary school. I didn’t expect him to have already graduated from university now. Puberty really does wonders—I almost didn’t recognize him.”
Everyone present was sharp and perceptive.
With just a couple of simple sentences, Lin Ran had not only closed the distance between himself and Shi Cha but also revealed he knew Shi Cha had already graduated college—something you wouldn’t know unless you’d done your homework or were genuinely close.
Zhong Jiarong and Wu Heze kept chatting casually with Lin Ran while subtly glancing at Shi Cha, who remained silent.
Since he clearly wasn’t just an ordinary nobody, they figured they should be more mindful of him. That meant including Shi Cha more in conversations, helping him fit in, and ultimately getting him more screen time.
After all, for an unknown guest on a variety show like this, getting more exposure was definitely the goal.
If Shi Cha had known what they were thinking, he would’ve coughed up blood.
Right now, what Shi Cha wanted most was for everyone to treat him like he was invisible—just quietly earn two days’ worth of pay and be done with it.
The most displeased person at the moment was Lü Lecheng.
He was already one of the least prominent cast members in this episode. When he first saw Shi Cha, a newcomer and guest, he felt smug, thinking that at least he outranked someone for once.
But to his surprise, a heavyweight guest—Lin Ran—had suddenly appeared and turned out to be familiar with Shi Cha. Now, Shi Cha was standing center stage beside Lin Ran, while he himself was stuck on the far edge, barely even captured by the camera.
A flurry of thoughts raced through Lu Lecheng’s mind.
If things continued like this, he would essentially become the “nameless guest” of the episode—a complete joke.
While laughing and chatting along with the others, he kept glancing at Shi Cha, secretly plotting how to turn the situation around.
Meanwhile, in the live-stream chat, some viewers were curious about Shi Cha’s identity, while others were already starting to criticize him.
[“This Shi Cha is really rude. Ran-shen greeted him first, and he responded so flatly.”]
Whether this comment came from a true fan of Lin Ran or a fake one trying to stir up trouble was unclear.
Regardless, it annoyed a lot of Lin Ran’s fans. Shi Cha might be good-looking, but he was still a nobody, with no fame to speak of.
[“Look at how the others shook hands with Ran-shen compared to Shi Cha. The difference is obvious. Our Lele bowed and used both hands—that’s what respect looks like. Unlike someone.”]
[“Hah, it’s not just about being rude—he clearly doesn’t know his place. Look at the current formation. The center spot should obviously go to Ran-shen and Brother Rong. Who does he think he is?”]
Some people, however, spoke up for Shi Cha—mostly because of his face.
[“It was Lin Ran who pulled him into the center. He didn’t do it on his own. Didn’t you see at the beginning? He was standing at the far edge, barely even in the shot.”]
But as soon as this viewer defended Shi Cha, they were immediately swarmed with replies:
[“Exactly! That’s why we’re saying he doesn’t know his place. If he had any self-awareness, he would’ve moved back on his own!”]
[“Even if Lin Ran gave up his spot for Shi Cha, Lin Ran didn’t move to the edge where Shi Cha was originally standing. That’s unfair to the other celebrities.”]
Positioning on camera has always been a sensitive issue for artists and guests.
This topic quickly sparked conflict, dragging all the fanbases of the various guests into the mess.
The livestream chat exploded in activity.
Back on set, Director Qi saw that everyone had arrived and finished their introductions, so she announced the official start of the show.
Usually, the six guests would be divided into three groups, each receiving a task list from the production team to complete a challenge.
Originally, Director Qi had planned to quietly pair Shi Cha with Lu Lecheng, since they were classmates. That way, Shi Cha would have someone familiar to talk to.
But now she discovered that Shi Cha was also familiar with Lin Ran.
So, Director Qi changed the game format and divided the six guests into two teams:
One was the regular cast team, and the other was the guest team.
With both Lu Lecheng—his classmate—and Lin Ran—someone familiar to him—on Shi Cha’s team, there was no doubt he’d be just fine.
Director Qi was very satisfied with the team arrangement.
None of the guests had any objections to the grouping either.
Since this episode was set in an ancient town, the six guests were sent off to change into period costumes.
When they reappeared, Shi Cha emerged wearing a pale moon-white robe, looking like a noble young master who had stepped out of a painting.
Right behind him came Lin Ran, dressed in a deep violet martial outfit and holding a sword.
The two stood side by side—one elegant and refined, the other dashing and bold—an absolutely striking sight.
In comparison, Lu Lecheng, who wore a sky-blue robe meant to look carefree and stylish, ended up looking more like the two’s manservant.
Lü Lecheng was so angry his face nearly turned green, but there was no denying his looks just didn’t compare to theirs. It couldn’t be helped.
As Lin Ran and Shi Cha walked ahead, they attracted the attention of passersby, many of whom turned to stare. Some even pulled out their phones to take photos.
Seeing this, Lin Ran subtly shifted his body to block the cameras from pointing at Shi Cha and gently asked, “Are you uncomfortable?”
While shielding Shi Cha from the lenses, Lin Ran had gotten quite close—so close that Shi Cha momentarily forgot to breathe.
He lowered his head slightly, revealing a graceful neckline, and softly shook his head. “It’s fine.”
Seeing that Shi Cha really didn’t seem too bothered, Lin Ran returned to walking beside him and smiled. “I thought you’d still be like when you were little. Seems like you’ve grown up.”
“Mm. After a while, I just got used to it.”
Shi Cha still kept his head down, but he wasn’t looking at the ground—he was secretly watching the hem of Lin Ran’s flowing robe as he walked.
His steps were light and graceful, swaying with elegance…
The consequence of not watching where you’re going? Almost bumping into someone.
Fortunately, Lin Ran pulled him aside just in time. Shi Cha avoided the passerby—but crashed right into Lin Ran’s arms.
“There’s no money on the ground for you to pick up.”
The laughter rumbled through Lin Ran’s chest, reverberating into Shi Cha, making the tips of his ears burn red.
Following behind the two, Lü Lecheng felt like a giant third wheel—worse, one that no one even noticed or cared about.
He swallowed his frustration, held the task card tightly, and walked up to Lin Ran.
“Brother Lin Ran, the card only says four words: ‘The Six Arts of a Gentleman.’ What does that mean?”
Lu Lecheng wasn’t entirely clueless—he just wanted to make use of Lin Ran’s popularity now that they were on the same team.
So what if he looked dumb?
Besides, it was just a question between teammates—hardly embarrassing.
But instead of answering, Lin Ran tossed the question to Shi Cha. “Little Shi Cha, what do you think?”
As soon as he heard Lin Ran call him “Little Shi Cha,” Shi Cha’s ears turned even redder. He muttered softly, just loud enough for Lin Ran to hear, “I’ve grown up.”
The unspoken message: Stop calling me ‘Little Shi Cha.’
Shi Cha thought that since he spoke so softly, no one would have heard him—completely forgetting the mic clipped to his clothes.
His whispered, slightly pouty remark was transmitted loud and clear to the livestream audience.
Lin Ran chuckled and changed his words. “Alright then, Xiao Shi, what do you think?”
Shi Cha glanced lightly at the task card in Lu Lecheng’s hand and said calmly, “The Six Arts of a Gentleman: rites, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy, and mathematics. That’s probably our task.”
Lu Lecheng: “…” That’s it?
Since Shi Cha didn’t elaborate further, the camera naturally shifted focus to Lu Lecheng.
He picked up where Shi Cha left off. “Rites, music and dance, archery, horsemanship, calligraphy, and mathematics. I should be fine with the music and dance part.”
As he said this, Lu Lecheng couldn’t help puffing out his chest a little.
After all, he had just debuted from a boy group—not only could he sing, but he was also confident in his dancing.
“I’ve never learned archery or horseback riding, but I did study calligraphy for a few years, so that should be fine. Math is probably some kind of test—I scored high in advanced math in college, so that should be okay too. I’m just not sure what the ‘rites’ part will test us on. I can handle three tasks. How about you, Shi Cha?”
By claiming three of the Six Arts for himself, Lü Lecheng not only made himself seem capable, but also got to choose first—conveniently picking the easier tasks.
He left what he assumed to be the harder ones—rites, archery, and horsemanship—for the others.
And instead of handing that challenge to Lin Ran, he threw it directly to Shi Cha, clearly trying to embarrass him.
If Shi Cha chose nothing, public opinion would drown him.
If he picked just one or two, it would look like he wasn’t contributing as much.
And if he chose all three, Lü Lecheng didn’t think he’d manage—someone like Shi Cha, who practically never left the house, definitely wouldn’t know how to ride or shoot.
As expected, Shi Cha really didn’t know how to ride a horse or shoot arrows.
“I can’t ride or do archery,” he said plainly. “But I can try rites.”
Once the two of them had made their picks, Lin Ran smiled and said, “It’s fine—I can handle horseback riding and archery.”
With that, the three divided the tasks among themselves.
On the way to the challenge location, Lu Lecheng tried everything he could to strike up a conversation with Lin Ran.
Lin Ran, ever the gentleman, responded politely, though without much enthusiasm.
That gave Shi Cha a chance to breathe. Lin Ran’s presence was simply too overwhelming—he wasn’t someone an average person could compare to. It was hard for Shi Cha to even catch his breath around him.
At the same time, he sighed inwardly. If this were online, I definitely wouldn’t be acting so lame.
Up ahead, Lu Lecheng asked, “Brother Lin Ran, you’ve known Shi Cha since he was really young, right? Was he cute back then?”
Lin Ran raised an eyebrow subtly and replied without missing a beat, “He was very cute.”
Seeing that Lin Ran answered, Lu Lecheng sighed dramatically, putting on a worried expression.
“I wasn’t just in the same class as Shi Cha—we were also roommates in the same dorm. I don’t know if he just couldn’t adjust to college life or what, but he always seemed kind of down and didn’t like talking to people. In our four years at university, we probably didn’t exchange more than twenty sentences.
If he seemed cold or indifferent to you today, it’s not personal. Really, that’s just how he is, so please don’t take it the wrong way.”
Lu Lecheng put on the act of a thoughtful classmate and caring roommate, as if pleading on Shi Cha’s behalf.
He was counting on Shi Cha’s quiet personality—someone who disliked talking and couldn’t be bothered to explain himself.
Meanwhile, Shi Cha, standing nearby and being treated like air: “…”
I just don’t like talking. It’s not like I’m dead!
Hearing this, Lin Ran turned his head and glanced at Shi Cha’s profile as he looked away, smiling indulgently.
“It’s fine. I like him just the way he is.”
Lu Lecheng: “???”
Shi Cha: “…”
His ears, which had only just stopped burning, flushed red all over again.