An Xumo hadn’t eaten his fill in a long time.
Teenage boys always had big appetites—there was a saying that half-grown boys could eat a family into poverty. This was the stage when they were growing fast. But An Xumo’s hunger had started when he was seven years old. A decade had passed, yet his habits hadn’t changed much.
Back when he was at the Zhou family’s house, things were still manageable. Although no one cared for him, there was always food in the kitchen. An Xumo didn’t eat with Zhou Yunlin and his wife; he ate on his own, and no one controlled how much he ate. At school, meal fees were collected uniformly. Even if he wasn’t full, he could always rummage through the kitchen when he got home at night.
But being a trainee was different. Every meal was fixed in portion and schedule, and all the food was low in calories. Even sports drinks had to be bought separately. An Xumo was often starving—drinks that others despised for tasting like bitter melon juice, he finished to the last drop. Chicken breast, which many found unappetizing, he ate along with the carrot garnish. But even that wasn’t enough. When hunger struck, his only option was to buy cheap bread from the convenience store.
For a while, he had lived off compressed biscuits, the cheapest plain-flavored kind. He didn’t care about taste, only about getting full. But after eating them for too long, they left his mouth dry and his body overheated, so he eventually switched to something else.
The last time he managed to get a decent meal was at that chaotic birthday banquet. An Xumo was usually indifferent to the gazes of those around him, but that time, Zhou Jinchen had been there. The other man had given him an impatient glance, and in a daze, An Xumo had left early. In the end, he hadn’t eaten much at all.
But for An Xumo, the constant presence of hunger was something he had long since adapted to. He had many ways to suppress it—biting the tip of his tongue, doing extra training to distract himself, or secretly looking at Zhou Jinchen’s photos while eating.
Now, with Zhou Jinchen sitting right in front of him, An Xumo hadn’t even started eating, yet his perpetually empty stomach already felt comforted.
Following the server’s lead, An Xumo went to the food station. This buffet restaurant was lavishly decorated and had booked two entire floors for the event. The second floor offered grilled dishes that could be ordered and delivered, so he first explored the first floor.
The seafood section alone had four or five long counters divided into Japanese, French, Chinese, and other styles. The cooking stations had an even wider variety of dishes. As he walked, An Xumo picked up food along the way, quickly filling an entire meal cart.
The server helped push the cart back to the private dining room. The small, elegant plates covered more than half of the table. Since Zhou Jinchen wasn’t in a position to appear in public, he had asked An Xumo to bring back portions for both of them. But judging by the amount of food, even with two people, there would likely be leftovers.
After the server left, the two began eating in silence. Zhou Jinchen had originally planned to bring up the variety show after they finished their meal, but before long, he couldn’t help furrowing his brows.
Zhou Jinchen ate at a normal pace and had a standard appetite. Since he maintained a regular fitness routine, he had never deliberately dieted. But just as he was halfway full, the seemingly slender An Xumo had already eaten twice as much as him, and his eating speed hadn’t slowed down in the slightest.
Setting aside the seafood like Arctic surf clams and spicy crab, An Xumo had finished an entire bowl of sour soup beef on his own. He had eaten two servings of fried milk and sweet-and-sour pork ribs, and if Zhou Jinchen remembered correctly, he had also just polished off three slices of double-cheese pizza.
Even ordinary people who didn’t need to be camera-ready rarely ate like this. This wasn’t maintaining his figure—it was like he was trying to eat himself into a ball.
Zhou Jinchen asked, “The company’s meal plan doesn’t taste good?”
An Xumo, who was focused on eating crab roe, looked up. “The company meals? I think they’re pretty good.”
Zhou Jinchen glanced at the half-empty plates. “Haven’t been eating well these past two days?”
An Xumo wasn’t sure why he was asking, but after thinking about the fitness meal he had at noon, he honestly nodded. “A little. I haven’t really been full.”
In fact, he hadn’t felt full in a long time. But since seeing Zhou Jinchen today, that lingering sense of hunger had eased quite a bit, so he hadn’t taken too much food this time. If it were any other day, he could have eaten at least twice as much.
Although Zhou Jinchen found An Xumo’s appetite a bit odd, he didn’t dwell on it after hearing that the other hadn’t been eating well lately. Now that the conversation had started, he brought up the main topic. “Greent City TV has a variety show that will soon begin recording its second season. There’s a guest spot reserved for you. Your agent will inform you of the exact schedule, but you can check out the first season in advance to prepare.”
An Xumo, who had paused to speak, almost knocked over his soup spoon. Green City TV, second season of a variety show…
“Is it… <Weekend with a Sunny Day>?”
“En.” Zhou Jinchen took a sip of red wine. “The guest contract is only for one episode, but I’ll be on the same one as you.”
Two consecutive pieces of news sent An Xumo’s thoughts into a whirlwind. The crab roe in front of him remained unfinished, yet his stomach already felt full, his entire being overflowing with a sense of happiness and contentment.
But despite that, the sheer weight of such an opportunity crashing down on him made disbelief his most genuine reaction.
The first season of <Weekend with a Sunny Day> had propelled three young artists—including Han Ming—to stardom. In just two months, from the first episode to the finale, they had gone from complete nobodies to being greeted by thousands at the airport. And none of them were even regular cast members.
With such impressive results, the second season was set to continue with the same production team and cast lineup. It was an undeniably valuable opportunity. Not to mention a trainee who hadn’t even debuted—this was something even established artists would go to great lengths to secure.
Zhou Jinchen naturally understood An Xumo’s emotions, but he didn’t think it was a big deal. This resource was simply compensation for the misunderstanding he had about An Xumo before. But since An Xumo hadn’t known about that incident, there was no need to tell him now.
“A variety show is just a platform. It’s like a magnifying glass that can highlight your strengths and draw attention to you.” Zhou Jinchen said. “But what really allows an artist to establish themselves is their own professional ability. That’s what gets magnified.”
“The recording for <Sunny Weekend> will take a month, post-production about the same, and after approval, the broadcast will be at least half a year later. During this time, you must debut with actual works, or else this show won’t have its full effect.”
“Do you understand?”
Zhou Jinchen’s tone wasn’t particularly warm, but his words were already rare advice. Other than this nominal younger brother he felt some obligation toward, he wouldn’t have bothered to say such things to anyone else.
But the usually obedient younger brother’s expression didn’t seem quite right at the moment.
“U-understood.”
An Xumo’s face was pale, and a faint layer of cold sweat had formed on his forehead. His voice trembled slightly, and he even stuttered. Zhou Jinchen assumed he was just nervous, so he didn’t press further. In any case, he would be there during the recording—nothing major would go wrong.
“Are you full? I’ll send you back.”
The bill had already been paid in advance, and the person being asked gave a soft response, preparing to leave together. Zhou Jinchen was just about to step away from the table when he suddenly saw the person beside him sway.
He instinctively reached out to support him. The thinness he felt under his hand made him wonder where all the food this person had just eaten had gone. But before Zhou Jinchen could think further, the boy, upon being touched on the back, suddenly curled in on himself, letting out a muffled whimper from his throat.
“What’s wrong with you?”
Even Zhou Jinchen could tell something was off now. An Xumo’s slender neck was completely covered in cold sweat, his thin back tensed like a steel plate, and his entire body trembled uncontrollably, on the verge of convulsing.
An Xumo was already unable to speak. Zhou Jinchen made him sit back down and reached out to lift his shirt. He had just touched An Xumo’s back—so the problem had to be there. But even though he had mentally prepared himself, seeing it with his own eyes still made him frown deeply.
On that frail back was a glaringly deep bruise. The injury wasn’t bleeding, but a large, dark hematoma had pooled beneath the skin. Even more concerning, the bruised area had begun to swell, along with the surrounding skin. Against the stark contrast of his pale complexion, the injury looked all the more shocking.
The author has something to say:
An Xiao Mo just got full and then… The lesson here is, don’t eat recklessly when you’re injured (cough
The details of Mai-zi’s CP will be revealed in the next chapter 030.
The extra update progress is more than halfway done la. Looking forward to your comments (☆▽☆).
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