Salted Fish is a Rebellious Person – Chapter 14

Lin Kecheng asked, “Is this what you call -8? Fu Xiuning treats him much better than he treats me!”

The system replied, “It was indeed -8 last time.”

Lin Kecheng immediately understood what the system meant.

The -8 value was from when they first formed their second alliance. Recently, with the school anniversary preparations and Xingshi busy rehearsing, their alliance had expired three days ago. In other words, Xingshi’s favorability score was -8 ten days ago, but it might not be the same now.

He instructed, “Once the alliance is formed, have him send the favorability value immediately.”

After giving the instruction, he smiled at Xingshi and asked, “How are your preparations going, junior brother?”

Xingshi replied, “Very good.”

Lin Kecheng leaned forward and extended his hand. “Come on, I wish you a smooth rehearsal.”

Xingshi understood, put down his fork, and shook hands with him.

The systems on both sides activated simultaneously, and the alliance was successfully formed.

Their hands hovered slightly above the table, right in Fu Xiuning’s line of sight.

Fu Xiuning glanced over. This was the first time he had seen two hosts openly forming an alliance right under his nose, and it was also his first time witnessing the process.

He already knew about the alliance ceremony and thought it was nothing special, but the next second, he sensed a faint flow of energy.

It was so subtle that if he hadn’t encountered enough hosts before, he wouldn’t have noticed it.

Whenever he witnessed a system leaving its host, he could feel a similar energy fluctuation—just like what he was sensing now.

However, he had never felt this energy during punishments. He had assumed such energy only occurred during separation, but apparently, it also occurred during alliances.

This was likely due to the biological barrier preventing punishment energy from spilling out. But no matter how tightly the two hands were clasped, there would always be a gap—one that he managed to detect.

Could this be the reason why Xingshi kept forming alliances?

Xingshi successfully absorbed another small stream of energy and withdrew his hand with satisfaction.

Lin Kecheng’s system asked for permission from its host and shared the favorability value with Lin Kecheng.

Lin Kecheng, concerned that someone might approach him, didn’t lower his consciousness and instead asked the system directly, “What’s the score?”

The system replied, “-8.”

Lin Kecheng was baffled. “How is that possible?”

The system said, “The sharing program cannot be faked. Perhaps… Fu Xiuning found the cake annoying and gave it to someone he disliked even more?”

Lin Kecheng refused to believe it and wanted to test it out himself.

He pushed all the desserts toward Xingshi and said, “This is the first rehearsal. I have a lot to handle. You guys eat and chat.”

Xingshi smiled and thanked him. Seeing Lin Kecheng wink and gesture toward Fu Xiuning, he remembered Lin Kecheng’s dream of becoming an artist. So, he picked up a piece of cake and handed it to Fu Xiuning.

“Boss, do you want to eat this?”

Fu Xiuning, still preoccupied with the energy flow he had just sensed, looked at him when he heard the question.

Xingshi smiled and extended the cake further.

Fu Xiuning took it, glanced at him subtly, and casually asked, “Which performance is yours?”

“In the middle,” Xingshi replied.

“Didn’t I tell them to put you guys last?” Fu Xiuning asked.

“The president and his team considered it at first,” Xingshi explained. “But later, they felt that none of the trainees except me are students of this school, so it wasn’t appropriate. They put us in the middle to ensure the event would have a climax.”

Fu Xiuning nodded slightly, not particularly concerned.

However, he began to speculate further. Was Xingshi forming these alliances solely for the energy flow, or had he discovered some kind of clue?

【Didi】

[Current Favorability Value: -7]

Xingshi was about to pick up a fruit decoration from the cake but paused when he heard the notification. He glanced at Fu Xiuning.

Fu Xiuning looked calm as always. He shifted his gaze toward the stage and casually placed the dessert on the table.

The system was ecstatic. “He’s been watching you! You got extra points just because he looked at you!”

Fortunately, after forming an alliance, both parties couldn’t see changes in each other’s favorability values. Otherwise, Lin Kecheng would have immediately realized that Xingshi’s favorability values were constantly fluctuating, making it obvious that he was special to Fu Xiuning.

Luckily, the extra points were added after the alliance was formed. Otherwise, they would have to come up with an explanation for the sudden increase. If the next alliance returned to -8, Lin Kecheng would undoubtedly question it again, which would be a hassle.

Lin Kecheng, however, was feeling increasingly frustrated.

He watched Fu Xiuning take the dessert and felt his mentality collapse. “So it was because Xingshi gave it to him last time? Why?!”

The system hesitated and replied, “Maybe… because Xingshi is part of his company? No matter how annoying he is, he’s still better than… a random passerby?”

Lin Kecheng retorted, “When he was the president, I was also his subordinate! But he still refused to accept my things!”

The system tried to console him. “Look, he didn’t eat it. He just put it down.”

“But he didn’t refuse it. He accepted it!” Lin Kecheng countered.

The system fell silent. If it could accurately analyze Fu Xiuning’s psychology, it would have helped Lin Kecheng succeed long ago. There wouldn’t still be a -5 score.

Lin Kecheng tried to maintain his composure. When someone called for him, he immediately walked away, deciding to take his time.

Fu Xiuning, on the other hand, was accustomed to hosts analyzing and overthinking his small actions. It didn’t bother him.

The last time, he had accepted Xingshi’s dessert bag in public, so this time, he took the cake but didn’t eat it. He had no intention of eating it this time either.

Meanwhile, Xingshi was thoroughly enjoying the dessert.

He became even happier when the president and others came over and started chatting with him.

Halfway through eating the cake, he noticed Yu Yi approaching. “Did the teacher send you?”

Yu Yi shook his head and first greeted the boss politely. After Fu Xiuning responded, Yu Yi walked over to Xingshi and whispered, “There are people backstage, all staring at us.”

Knowing that Yu Yi was introverted and reserved, Xingshi pushed a piece of dessert toward him and said, “Eat some cake to relax.”

Yu Yi glanced at Fu Xiuning hesitantly.

Xingshi reassured him, “Senior Lin bought it.”

Only then did Yu Yi open the package with confidence.

The two didn’t linger for long and returned to their practice.

Lin Kecheng, after adjusting his mood, returned to watch the rehearsal with Fu Xiuning.

“What do you think, senior?” he asked.

Fu Xiuning replied, “Not bad.”

Lin Kecheng commented on the performances and tried to highlight his imaginative ideas for the event, working hard to showcase his abilities.

But Fu Xiuning only listened absentmindedly.

His thoughts were focused on how to keep Xingshi closer and under his watchful eye.

The daily routine for day students like Xingshi involved attending classes and training. On weekends, they trained from morning until night at the company, leaving little opportunity for interaction with others.

Fu Xiuning’s favorability toward Xingshi always fluctuated. While he wasn’t concerned that the main system would recall Xingshi anytime soon, he still couldn’t figure out the many exceptions surrounding him. The reason, he concluded, was that they simply hadn’t spent enough time together.

He thought for a moment and came up with an idea.

Xingshi’s body had a father. Based on the system’s earlier comments, this father seemed to hold a very high status in the entertainment industry. However, the specifics of their father-son relationship were unclear.

If their relationship was good, and this father found out that Xingshi was training in his company, he might ask Qi Changyi to look after him. Since Qi Changyi was always so busy, he would likely delegate the task to him, which would make keeping an eye on Xingshi much easier.

The performance on stage ended, and the auditorium began to buzz with noise. Almost everyone backstage ran to the front to watch.

Lin Kecheng sat up straight and said, “Next up are my juniors.”

Fu Xiuning snapped out of his thoughts as the music started and the first group of trainees took the stage.

Overall, the performance was decent. However, some trainees lacked stage experience and appeared visibly nervous in front of the cheering crowd, causing a few moments of disconnect.

But this was only the first rehearsal. With two more rehearsals to go, there was plenty of time to make adjustments.

Lin Kecheng finally seized the opportunity to speak. “On the day of the official event, they’ll look even better in their performance costumes.”

Fu Xiuning responded with a neutral “Hmm.”

Encouraged, Lin Kecheng continued, “I’ve been spending time with them recently. Listening to their dreams and visions for the future, I feel inspired. I’m even thinking about becoming an artist myself.”

He half-jokingly added, “But I’m not as good as them. I’d probably be better suited for variety shows. Do you think I’m cut out for this, senior?”

Before today, Fu Xiuning might have seriously considered this.

But after observing everything today, he felt it would be better for Lin Kecheng to remain in school, forming alliances with Xingshi once a week.

He replied calmly, “You’re still more suited for planning.”

Lin Kecheng’s expression froze, and he forced a dry laugh. “It’s tiring to always be involved in planning. I kind of want to try something new.”

Fu Xiuning didn’t comment further.

Lin Kecheng called out to his system, “Does this mean he doesn’t want me?”

The system wasn’t optimistic.

“Xingshi already mentioned this to Fu Xiuning once before, and now you’re bringing it up again. If Fu Xiuning were truly interested, his reaction wouldn’t be so dismissive.”

The system thought for a moment and suggested, “If this path doesn’t work, let’s try another one.”

“What do you mean?” Lin Kecheng asked.

The system explained, “The other boss of June Culture is Qi Changyi. If he decides to let you in, you’ll have a chance. Once you become famous, Fu Xiuning will have no choice but to notice you.”

Lin Kecheng immediately perked up. Qi Changyi was a top star, a movie emperor, and one of the most popular figures in the industry. “How do I meet him?”

The system checked its data. “He has a movie coming out soon and will be doing a roadshow in your city. You should find a way to approach him first.”

Fu Xiuning didn’t even blink at this suggestion.

Qi Changyi had been in the entertainment industry since he was 17 years old. He was incredibly shrewd and wouldn’t fall for cheap tricks.

Fu Xiuning’s main reason for coming today was to observe the alliance between Xingshi and Lin Kecheng.

When he successfully managed to keep Xingshi engaged with just a piece of cake, he had already figured out part of the truth. After watching the company’s program, he decided there was no need to linger.

Lin Kecheng walked Fu Xiuning to the door, deliberately avoiding the topic of becoming an artist to avoid irritating him further.

He watched as Fu Xiuning drove away, then instructed his system to send a message to Xingshi. He wanted Xingshi to probe Fu Xiuning’s thoughts on the matter but decided to discuss an explanation with him first.

Xingshi had just gotten into the company car.

Normally, participants were expected to stay until the end of the rehearsal, but due to their special status, they were allowed to leave early.

After hearing the system recount Lin Kecheng’s instructions, Xingshi commented, “It seems like his dream of becoming an artist isn’t going well.”

The system quipped, “He’s average-looking, didn’t win the lottery, and has a -5 favorability score. No hope.”

Xingshi chuckled and was about to close his eyes to rest when his phone buzzed with a message.

He pulled it out and saw a message from a famous international director:

[Sui Sui, my dad’s new movie is coming out soon. He’ll be doing a roadshow in your city. Want me to reserve a seat for you?]

Xingshi stared at the message for a moment before replying: [Oh, sure.]

On the other side, Director He heard the message notification and immediately assumed it was a rejection.

He sighed, opened the message, and froze when he saw the reply.

He reread it twice to confirm. Did this kid actually agree?!

“No, it’s not that simple!” Director He muttered to himself.

He called his assistant and instructed, “Hire more security for the roadshow in City Z.”

The assistant, thinking he was concerned about the artist’s safety, responded, “Don’t worry, we’ll ensure everything goes smoothly.”

But Director He, still feeling like he was defusing a bomb, said sternly, “No, you don’t understand. Find more security. A lot more.”

The assistant was puzzled. “?”