Chapter 591: Chapter 591: Would You Still Fall in Love at First Sight?

The dishes in front of her were no longer enticing. Yu Xia picked at the flavored cold edamame, but her attention was fixed on the television.

During the initial appearance at the entrance, Xie Qingci didn’t have much screen time. At most, considering his undeniably handsome looks, the camera lingered on him for a few extra seconds when sweeping over the group.

She was just smiling at Xie Qingci when the scene switched to the mentors’ entrance, followed by the segment where the mentors gave gifts to everyone.

On the show, she took out a "Clear Heart and Few Desires" t-shirt, and Xu Yan chuckled softly.

Her smile froze instantly.

Xie Qingci fed her a piece of rib, lazily saying, "Yu Xia, the mentor takes an unusual path, leaving a deep impression from the moment she arrives."

"..." She awkwardly chuckled and then quietly gnawed on the rib.

Fortunately, this segment didn’t last long. Shortly, it moved on to the initial stage assessments.

The early stage showcases from the first few groups were pretty amusing. Her comments were equally entertaining, especially the remark to Wei Yaoyao’s group that "Listening to it makes one want to plow through a field two miles deep," which had everyone on the show in stitches.

Xu Yan couldn’t help but laugh along and praised the person involved, "You’re really quick to react, Xiaxia, you’re kinda cute."

Yu Xia’s face turned red.

Why does this family love to call her cute? Is it inherited?

Xie Qingci rested his head and watched her laughing, saying, "Wei Yaoyao mentioned when moving into the dormitory that your comment would stick with him for three years."

She responded with two dry laughs.

The show moved through a few more performances, and finally, Xie Qingci’s name was called.

Yu Xia regained her focus, staring at the person bathed in stage lights on TV.

Looking back, Xie Qingci, two years ago, was a bit inexperienced, just entering the initial stage of maturity as an adult. He had a cool and lean look, the kind that’s perfect for being an idol.

Xu Yan asked, "Is that makeup?"

Seeing Xie Qingci merely nodding, showing no sign of answering, Yu Xia explained for him, "Because the camera will dull the makeup, stage makeup is generally quite heavy. It was probably his first time using stage makeup at that moment, and his face read discomfort."

Xie Qingci fed her a slice of lotus root, "Not at all. That expression was of seriousness."

He was looking at a certain heartless person on the mentor stage, with intense longing mixed with self-loathing, so much so that he didn’t dare hold eye contact for more than two seconds.

The people on the show walked onto the stage, and the music started. Xu Yan exclaimed, "Hey."

"Is it the same as your performance, Xiaxia?"

"Yeah," she swallowed the lotus root and glanced at Xie Qingci, "Who would’ve known, purely coincidentally, his initial stage song is the same as mine. Otherwise, someone might think we coordinated it beforehand."

She even suspected he found some way to learn her performance piece and deliberately picked that song.

When she shared this speculation with He Ci, he sarcastically mocked her, saying she was so obsessed she couldn’t help but imagine melodramatic plots whenever she saw an attractive guy.

Later, she thought maybe this was the legendary telepathic connection, a sign from God that their fate wasn’t over.

Even though she hadn’t shared this thought publicly, He Ci still mocked her again, saying her expression wasn’t respectable.

Back when He Ci had just broken up, he was really irritable, kicking any dog passing by.

Xu Yan looked at Xie Qingci across from her, who was always smiling and seemed very relaxed, and said, "Could this be fate? Ci, is this how you got interested in Xiaxia?"

While still piling food into Yu Xia’s bowl, Xie Qingci casually shook his head.

"No."

"No?" Xu Yan and Xie Yin both glanced at him.

Yu Xia initially thought he would simply confirm this, letting his parents believe they started interacting then. But then she remembered on the romance variety show, he already mentioned the real day of their first encounter.

Indeed, he repeated the same line.

"We met before; she has been here."

"Been here?" Xu Yan looked toward Yu Xia again.

She could only add a few more details, "Probably for work reasons. I passed by his school from outside, and it just happened he was standing across the street, so he saw me. Plus, he always talks about my posters being everywhere, it’s been a few years now."

"So," Xie Yin, who hadn’t said much, clinked glasses with his son and asked, "Was it love at first sight?"

Yu Xia suddenly noticed that both father and son raised their brows the same way. Although his dad was already nearly fifty, because he worked in the laboratory, his skin was fair and he had a scholarly air, appearing much younger than his actual age, and as she looked, she could see his youthful resemblance to Xie Qingci.

Xie Qingci readily admitted, "Yes."

Xie Yin, "Could have fooled me. I thought you weren’t interested in girls your age and wouldn’t start dating until after university."

Saying he wasn’t interested in girls was putting it nicely; he seemed uninterested in people in general. He always wore a cold expression, like a top-tier spiritual scholar just waiting to soar.

Unexpectedly, he still experienced love at first sight.

Xie Qingci simply said about it, "I didn’t expect it either."

In just a brief exchange, Xie Qingci’s performance on the show ended, and it was time for the mentor’s comments.

At that time, Yu Xia didn’t rush to evaluate, not proactive at all, and only spoke when Shu Ran cued her.

Back then, she thought it was a very covert act of avoidance, considering herself very discreet.

But looking at it now, the flaws were everywhere. Anyway, Xu Yan could immediately tell her attitude had changed.

"Xiaxia, you seem... you held back a lot; earlier you were quite open looking at those guys, but when it was Ci’s turn, half the time you were looking down at the text introduction."

"Haha." She released two dry laughs again, catching a glimpse of Xie Qingci’s enigmatic smile from the corner of her eye, sipped her soup, and made a similarly bewildered expression.

"I didn’t even notice. It might be because he’s too good looking, but staring too long could lead to media fabricating stories, so with real handsome guys, you end up not daring to look too much."

Xu Yan gave her a meaningful look.

"Do you think he’s the best looking of them all?"

"Of course," this response came without any burden, "Otherwise, he wouldn’t have debuted from the center position without any company or backing. When he was voted to debut, most fans were swayed by his good looks."

Xie Qingci turned sideways, not sitting properly, resting his arm on the back of her chair, saying nonchalantly, "Thanks for the compliment."

"You’re welcome, Mr. Xie."

On TV, the show had already broadcasted past the initial stage and moved to the section where all one hundred and one chose their dormitories.

During the room allocation, Wei Yaoyao was nervous, craning his neck to watch Pei Lu walking back and forth, clearly wanting to be roommates with Xie Qingci’s group.

But Ning Yunchao, the other roommate, felt awkward rejecting Pei Lu. The program edited this segment like a melodramatic soap opera, focusing on Ning Yunchao’s hesitations and Wei Yaoyao’s anxiety.

Then Xie Qingci appeared as the steady and reliable leader, stepping forward to directly throw Wei Yaoyao’s bag into the room, effectively blocking Pei Lu.

Xie Yin remarked, "Still so blunt."