PNB Chapter 72, Soon
Chapter 72, Soon
Gao Huan waited for about thirty seconds.
A commotion arose in the crowd as Sun Honglei rushed over from the west.
"Point number 1 is ours!"
Gao Huan pressed the button the moment he saw him.
With a "beep", point 1 is activated.
The numbers on the screen jumped, displaying "Blue Team has captured the territory".
Sun Honglei rushed up to him, and when he saw the blue team logo, he froze as if he had been struck by a pressure point.
"When did you press it?"
"Before you run over."
Sun Honglei opened his mouth, as if to say something, but only managed to utter a few words: "You little brat... alright."
The battle for point 2 was much faster than for point 1.
When Gao Huan arrived at point 2, Luo Zhixiang was already there.
"Xiao Huan, there's no one here!"
Gao Huan pressed the button to activate.
The whole process took less than five seconds.
My phone vibrated. Zhang Yixing sent me a message: "Point 3 is safe."
Gao Huan glanced at the message, replied directly, then pressed number 3 and ran towards point 4.
The next ten minutes are Gao Huan's performance time.
Number 4 and number 7 were activated one after another, and the blue team's logo spread across the map like a virus, leaving the red team with almost no chance to fight back.
They simply couldn't keep up with Gao Huan's speed.
Gao Huan was not only the fastest runner, but he was also running in the right direction.
They were unfamiliar with the route, but Gao Huan was.
Because shortly after the game started, in his Weibo super topic fan group, fans had already hidden all twelve coordinates from the 4th to the 12th, including where the shortest route was, and the coordinates also included route maps and photos.
Gao Huan ran, Luo Zhixiang guarded, and Zhang Yixing went to investigate.
The three of them meshed together like gears, each doing their own job, without any unnecessary words or steps.
Gao Huan stood in front of point 9.
No one from the red team is here; everyone is still searching.
Sun Honglei chased Gao Huan all over the World Expo Park. Gao Huan ran ahead while he chased behind, but he was always a few dozen steps behind.
Huang Bo was doing tasks to earn time at the other end, while Wang Xun was wandering around aimlessly in the square.
Huang Lei stood alone next to point 12.
He didn't know what was happening ahead because no one told him.
His teammates weren't with him, so he couldn't see what was happening and could only wait.
Instead of good news, what arrived was the message that Gao Huan had already lit up number 9.
His fingers traced the phone screen, and his brows furrowed slightly.
He glanced at the time on his phone, then at the coordinates on the map that had already been captured by the blue team.
He's calculating.
He was calculating whether he had enough time and resources to turn the tide.
Point 10.
The moment Gao Huan pressed the button, a voice shouted from behind, "Gao Huan, stop right there!"
Sun Honglei rushed over from the other end of the square, covered in sweat and panting like an amateur runner who had just finished a marathon.
"You run way too fast..."
Gao Huan waited until he finished catching his breath before speaking: "Brother Honglei, how long have you been pursuing me?"
"How would I know? I don't have time to look at my watch."
"Seventeen minutes."
Sun Honglei was stunned for a moment.
He himself didn't expect that he would pursue it for so long.
"You can't outrun me," Gao Huan said sincerely. "Because you run slowly, and also because you're running in the wrong direction."
You run behind me, wherever I run, you run too, you're always slower than me.
You can't beat me, but you can outrun me. However, you can run ahead of me.
I'll tell you where I'm going. I'm going to number 11. Do you want to go there and wait for me?
Sun Honglei looked at him and remained silent for a moment.
Are you mocking me?
Gao Huan didn't answer the question, but instead turned and ran towards point 11.
The moment point 11 was activated, all eyes were on point 12.
Huang Lei stood there.
He was wearing dark sportswear, with goggles pushed up to his forehead, and his slicked-back hair was a few strands blown out of shape by the wind, but his overall look remained impeccable.
He is waiting.
Waiting for someone, waiting for news.
Then he saw Gao Huan.
Gao Huan walked over from the other end of the square, his pace neither fast nor slow.
Show Lo followed behind him, and Zhang Yixing followed behind Show Lo.
The three people lined up in a row, like a small honor guard, marching in an orderly and arrogant manner.
Huang Lei glanced at the map on his phone.
The blue team has activated coordinates 1 through 11. Once activated, these coordinates will be displayed on the map.
All the numbers are lit up now, except for the last one, 12.
If he presses the button, the red team wins.
However, button number 12 requires the entire team to be present to activate, meaning that Sun Honglei, Huang Bo, and Wang Xun must all be there.
But they are not here now.
Then he understood.
The game is over because he can't press 12.
Gao Huan walked up to him and stopped.
The two were less than two meters apart. Huang Lei was half a head shorter than him, looking up at him with a taut smile.
Gao Huan reached out his hand.
Huang Lei thought he was going to press a button, and his body tensed up instinctively.
But Gao Huan did not press the button.
"Teacher Huang, you lost."
Huang Lei stared at him for two seconds, then smiled.
The smile spread from the corners of his mouth to his eyes, and his entire face went from "frozen" to "convinced".
"You little brat, trying to play tactics with me."
"There are no tactics, just speed."
"Can you outrun me?"
Gao Huan glanced at Huang Lei's sneakers, then at his own running shoes, thought about the question seriously, and then answered, "I can outrun him."
Huang Lei paused for a moment, then laughed even harder, laughing so hard that his goggles slipped off his forehead and hung on the bridge of his nose.
"You win," he said.
……
Gao Huan didn't press number 12; instead, he had Zhang Yixing and Luo Zhixiang press it.
A few minutes later.
Yan Min's voice came through the walkie-talkie: "Second round over. Winners: Blue Team, Gao Huan, Luo Zhixiang, and Zhang Yixing."
When Luo Zhixiang heard the result, he jumped up and grabbed Zhang Yixing by the neck, shouting "We won!" He squeezed Zhang Yixing so tightly that he could hardly breathe.
Zhang Yixing's face turned red from being strangled, but he couldn't hide the smile on his lips.
Huang Bo walked over, glanced at Gao Huan, and patted him on the shoulder.
"You won, but don't be arrogant."
"I'm not arrogant."
"You're just being arrogant," Huang Bo said, laughing as he spoke. "I've seen that expression on your face before. It was the same when you killed four people in the first round."
Gao Huan thought about it and it seemed to be true.
He did not refute it.
Huang Lei stood to the side, pushed his goggles back from his nose to his forehead, and tidied his wind-blown hair.
"Alright, alright, we lost, we lost. Our red team isn't a sore loser."
He paused, glanced at Gao Huan, and said, "But you taught me a lesson today."
"What class?"
"Don't think that having more people means you can win." Huang Lei said this with a serious expression. "You led two people and beat the four of us. It's because you guys cooperated well."
Gao Huan smiled upon hearing this and revealed to everyone the secret that he had known the other nine coordinates in advance.
Sun Honglei squeezed through the crowd and grabbed Gao Huan's wrist.
"Oh, so this is cheating? Tell me the truth, was that 'running ahead of me' part just to annoy me or were you actually teaching me?"
Gao Huan looked at him.
"I just wanted to create some variety show effect, but I don't want you to work so hard following behind me."
Sun Honglei stared at him for two seconds, then smiled with relief.
Several people stood in a row in the square, with the red buildings of the World Expo Park and the eaves of the China Pavilion behind them.
The photographer counted "one, two, three," and all six of them laughed at the same time.
Huang Lei laughed triumphantly, Sun Honglei laughed with relief, Huang Bo laughed helplessly, Luo Zhixiang laughed loudly, Wang Xun laughed with a simple and honest smile, and Zhang Yixing laughed cleanly.
Gao Huan stood on the far right, hands in his pockets, tilting his head to look at the camera, a slight smile playing on his lips.
The photographer gave an OK sign.
knock off.
The crowd did not disperse.
Blue support uniforms surged in from all directions like a tide, and Gao Huan picked up a megaphone and walked to the front of the isolation zone.
"Everyone, please be careful! Those in the back, please don't push forward! Watch your step so you don't step on anyone!"
His voice came through the loudspeaker, and the crowd quieted down a bit.
Because he was speaking, they wanted to hear every word he said clearly.
"Please maintain order and be careful. Only when you are safe can I record the program with peace of mind."
Several girls stood behind the barrier at the front of the crowd, holding up their light sticks.
The words "Joyful Star Forever" are written on it.
Gao Huan saw the sign and his gaze lingered for a moment.
Then he picked up the megaphone and said something very softly.
"Thanks."
Just two words, and the voice wasn't loud.
But some people at the very front of the crowd were still crying.
Gao Huan saw it, but he didn't go over.
If he walks over, the crowd could get out of control and cause injuries.
Yangyang Jin stood on the periphery of the crowd behind the cordon, and as she looked at the group of girls holding up light boards and refusing to leave, she suddenly remembered something.
Gao Huan once said something that she hadn't paid much attention to at the time, but now she suddenly remembered it.
At the time, she asked Gao Huan how he felt about his fans.
Gao Huan thought for a long time and then said something very softly.
"They chose me without my request."
Yangyang Jin didn't quite understand the meaning of that sentence at the time.
Looking at the girls holding up their light sticks and refusing to put them down, she suddenly understood.
After the afternoon recording ended, Gao Huan got into the car to go back to the hotel.
He leaned back in his seat with his eyes closed. The May Shanghai sun shone through the car window, making the leaves of the plane trees shine brightly green in the sunlight.
Yangyang Jin, sitting in the passenger seat, turned around and glanced at him.
"Brother Huan, are you tired today?"
Gao Huan didn't open his eyes. "It's alright."
"With so many fans surrounding you, I was a little worried that it might affect the normal filming of the show. I didn't expect the fans to arrive so quickly!"
Gao Huan remained silent for a moment.
He recalled what he had seen at the World Expo Park that day.
A girl was pushed and fell to the ground. Several people nearby bent down to help her up. She got up on her own, dusted off her knees, and her first instinct was to bend down and pick up the light board that had fallen to the ground.
The sign had four characters written on it.
"I'm not tired," he said, "but I feel a little sorry for you."
Yangyang Jin glanced at him but didn't ask any more questions.
The car was parked in front of the hotel.
Gao Huan opened his eyes, opened the car door, and stepped out. The evening breeze was neither too hot nor too cold. Petunias were planted in the flowerbeds at the hotel entrance, their pink petals edged with gold in the afterglow of the setting sun.
He took out his phone and glanced at WeChat.
Naza posted a selfie with the caption, "I miss you so much while filming a night scene in Hengdian today."
He replied with just two words: "Withdraw! Post a photo of me wearing clothes!"
Then he sent another message: "Send a photo of yourself dressed!"
Meng Ziyi sent a voice message, but he didn't open it; instead, he replied with an "Mm".
Chen Duling sent a photo of the beach in Xiamen with the caption, "The sea is blue today."
He replied with two words: "Beautiful."
Liu Shishi posted a message with only four words: "Is recording finished?"
He replied with two words: "It's over."
Then Liu Shishi posted another message: "Are you tired?"
He typed a few words, deleted them, typed them again, and deleted them again.
Finally, he replied with two words: "It's alright. Are you coming over tonight?"
"Okay, soon."
Lock the screen and put the phone in your pocket.
He walked into the hotel lobby, and the elevator doors were just opening.
He went inside and pressed the button for the 12th floor.
The moment the elevator doors closed, he saw his own face reflected on the elevator wall.
Her hair was a little messy, there was a faint bluish-gray tint under her eyes, and a faint smile hung at the corners of her mouth.
The elevator reached the 12th floor, and the doors opened. He stepped out; the corridor was quiet.
He swiped his card and pushed open the door. The room was quiet, the curtains were drawn, and only the bedside lamp was on.
Gao Huan took off his coat and lay on the bed, the light on the ceiling flickering slightly.
Twenty minutes later, the phone vibrated again.
He listened to a sentence of the voice message sent by Liu Shishi.
"I've arrived, in the underground parking garage."
Then, after waiting another three or four minutes, there was a knock on the door.
After pushing open the door.
Liu Shishi was wearing a long black trench coat, her hair was loose, and she wasn't wearing much makeup.
She saw Gao Huan, her lips curled up slightly, and she went into the room.
"Are you getting impatient waiting?"
"No, I just lay down."
"How did your recording go today?" she asked.
"The variety show was pretty good, and the older brothers were all very kind. Most importantly, I won the game."
"You won again?"
"Um."
Liu Shishi glanced at him.
"Can't you be a little more humble?"
I'm stating the facts.
After Liu Shishi entered the room, she took off her trench coat and draped it over the armrest of the sofa.
Gao Huan glanced at her; she was wearing a dark-colored dance costume underneath, a one-piece that covered her from the shoulders to her thighs, with a thin gauze skirt tied around her waist, revealing a glimpse of her waistline.
The fabric clung to her body, outlining smooth curves, with long and graceful lines from her shoulders and neck to her arms.
"What are you wearing today?"
"Does it look good?" She turned around to face him, put her hands behind her back, and tilted her head slightly.
Gao Huan looked at her for two seconds. "Beautiful."
Liu Shishi smiled, a smile like a lotus flower about to bloom.
She walked to the speaker, connected her phone, and selected a song.
The piano prelude began, accompanied by "By the Lake Baikal," the melody slow and flowing, spreading like ripples in the room.
She didn't speak, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath.
When she opened her eyes again, music was playing, and she began to move.
The arm slowly rises from the side, like a wing spreading out on the water.
Her fingertips trembled slightly, the force traveling from her shoulder to her wrist, and from her wrist to her fingertips, as if an invisible thread was pulling her along.
Her body swayed with the music, her knees slightly bent, her weight shifting from one foot to the other, and her skirt fluttering gently with the movement.
Her dance, with her skirt flying up as she spins, revealing the lines of her thighs, and when she falls, the fabric clings to her skin, outlining the curve of her waist.
Gao Huan leaned back on the sofa, looking at her.
Liu Shishi twirled around, her skirt billowing up and landing on his knees.
Instead of backing away, she bent down, placed her hands on the sofa armrests on either side of him, and brought her face close to his.
He was so close that he could see the curve of her eyelashes and his own reflection in her pupils.
The music continued, but she remained still.
The two of them just stared at each other, their breaths mingling.
"When you had Nazha practice ballet before, was this how you viewed her?" she asked softly.
Gao Huan did not answer the question.
He reached out and tucked a strand of hair that was hanging by her face behind her ear. His fingertips brushed against her earlobe, and the warmth of his touch made her ear turn slightly red.
"You look great today," he said.
Liu Shishi paused for a moment, then smiled. The smile spread from the corners of her mouth to her eyes, and her whole face changed from sorrow to joy.
"You're terrible at giving compliments. All you ever say is 'good-looking'."
"That's enough," Gao Huan said.
"not enough."
She straightened up, took a step back, and straightened her skirt. "Let's do it again."
"What?"
"Dance. You weren't watching carefully just now."
"I read it carefully."
"So what did you see?"
Gao Huan thought for a moment.
"beautiful woman."
Liu Shishi paused for a moment.
She stared at him for a long time, then lowered her head and smiled.
"You're just talking nonsense."
Gao Huan didn't say anything, but stood up and walked up to her.
"Didn't you say you wanted to practice yoga?"
Liu Shishi raised her head and looked at him.
"It's in the living room?"
"Of course, it doesn't have to be in the bedroom."
You mentioned it last time.
You said you've been practicing yoga lately and wanted me to check if your poses were correct.
Liu Shishi thought about it and realized that she did indeed say that.
"Do you remember?" she asked.
"I remember everything you said."
Liu Shishi looked at him, her mouth moved as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she said nothing.
She straightened her skirt, took off her shoes, stepped barefoot onto the mat, and took a deep breath.
"Then can you take a look for me?" she said.
Gao Huan also took off his shoes and stood next to the mat.
The first pose is Mountain Pose, where you stand with your hands clasped together.
Liu Shishi's posture wasn't quite right; her legs weren't straight enough, her back wasn't upright enough, and the angle of her chin tuck was incorrect. Gao Huan didn't say anything, but walked behind her, placed his right hand on her lower back, and his left hand on her shoulder blade.
"Tighten your legs and engage your core."
Liu Shishi made some adjustments, but it still wasn't right.
Her waist was too flexible, her core wasn't in control, and her whole body looked loose and sloppy.
"When you practice, does anyone help you correct your posture?"
"No, I practiced by myself."
"Then you're doing a lot of the movements wrong."
Liu Shishi turned her head and glanced at him.
"Then teach me."
Gao Huan didn't speak, but instead took a step back and assumed a mountain pose.
His body, viewed from the side, is a straight line, without any extra curves from head to toe, like a fully drawn bow.
The T-shirt clung to the body, outlining the lines of the shoulders and chest.
Liu Shishi looked at him and swallowed.
"Did you see it clearly?" Gao Huan asked.
"Look carefully."
"Then do it again."
Liu Shishi did it again, just like he did.
This time it was a little better, but still not enough.
Gao Huan then walked behind her, pressed her waist with his right hand and her shoulder with his left, and pulled her back half an inch.
"That's right."
His palms were pressed against her waist, and warmth emanated from through her thin dance costume.
Liu Shishi's breathing became a little heavier.
"Gao Huan," she called to him.
"Um."
"Your hands are so hot."
Gao Huan withdrew his hand and took a step back.
"Next move, Cat-Cow Pose."
Liu Shishi knelt down, supporting herself with her hands on the ground, moving her spine segment by segment.
She did this pose better than the mountain pose, but when she arched her back, her pelvis tilted too far forward, and when she tightened her back, her shoulder blades didn't open up.
Gao Huan squatted down, pressing one hand on her lower back and the other on her shoulder blade.
"Tighten your waist a little."
She accepted it.
"Not enough, the ribs shouldn't flare outwards."
She adjusted it again, and this time it was a little better, but her shoulders were still too tight.
Gao Huan gently pressed her fingers on her shoulder blade, and she slowly lowered her shoulders.
"When you were filming 'Brotherhood of Blades,' did Zhou Miaotong sit like this too?" Gao Huan suddenly asked.
Liu Shishi was stunned for a moment. "What?"
"The way you sat on the edge of the bed when you played Zhou Miaotong."
My back is very straight, my shoulders are slumped down, but my neck is relaxed.
You held that position for a long time. I remember you had to do three takes, and the sitting posture was exactly the same all three times.
Liu Shishi turned to look at him. "You even remember this?"
"I told you, I remember everything you said and did."
Liu Shishi stared at him for two seconds, then suddenly smiled.
That smile contained joy, helplessness, and a sense of resignation, as if saying, "I really can't do anything about you."
"Do you remember when I first met you?" she asked.
Gao Huan thought for a moment. "November 1, 2014, at that Huaiyang cuisine restaurant on the East Third Ring Road, a dinner party."
"No," Liu Shishi said, "earlier."
Gao Huan looked at her.
In 2013, a visit was made to the set of "Gu Jian Qi Tan".
You were reading the script alone in a corner of the set when I passed by and you stood up and called out, "Hello, Sister Shishi." I didn't pay much attention then; I only knew you were a newcomer who suddenly landed the male lead role in that film. Now it's completely different.
"What's different?"
"Your voice," Liu Shishi said, "is especially beautiful."
Gao Huan was silent for a moment, then smiled.
"Should I call you 'Sister Shi Shi' then?"
"No need," Liu Shishi said. "You can just call me 'Shishi' from now on."
The two looked at each other, and neither of them spoke.
Outside the window, the night in Beijing was as dark as ink, and the lights of the China World Trade Center in the distance shone through the gaps in the curtains, drawing a thin white line on the ceiling.
At some point, the two shadows overlapped, like a watercolor painting that hadn't quite dried yet.