CHAPTER 187: 086 THE MOON THAT CAN BE HOPED FOR BUT NOT REACHED (SECOND UPDATE)_2

This kid is destined to become a sensation.

The director watched for a while, then turned and walked away with his hands behind his back.

The planner caught up to him. "Director, aren’t you going to talk to him?"

"Talk about what? If things go sideways, he’ll have to deal with it himself. President Ding from Eternal treats him like a treasure, and they’ll continue collaborating later on. Don’t strain the relationship too much."

After a moment’s thought, the director said, "Go tell the editor to cut in more shots of Rong Xianning for the reality show... Never mind, I’ll oversee it myself."

In the practice room, Wen Yan and Ge Qi were sitting together. Ge Qi glanced irritably at Rong Xianning.

"Brother Wen, he’s the one shining now. We’ve all become background fodder. This is so unfair."

Wen Yan curled his lips in sarcasm. "Do you think the entertainment industry is a place that cares about fairness?"

Ge Qi pouted. "I just feel stifled inside."

Although the company promised them that there would be spots for their debut, the four of them knew perfectly well that they were just accompanying Rong Xianning, playing the role of his supporting cast.

Knowing it from the start was one thing, but actually going through it was a whole different matter.

Teenagers at fourteen or fifteen are at a stage where their minds are unstable and easily influenced by external factors. After the show aired, everyone had phones and saw the overwhelming comments online—witnessing with their own eyes a colleague they spent every day with becoming an overnight sensation, while they themselves remained unnoticed. That feeling, only those who experience it could truly grasp.

Wen Yan patted Ge Qi on the shoulder, grabbed a bottle of water, and walked toward Rong Xianning.

"Aning, have some water and take a break. You’ve already done a great job dancing."

Rong Xianning stopped his movements but didn’t accept the water. Instead, he picked up the towel from the floor and wiped the sweat off his forehead.

"Thanks, but I’m not thirsty."

Wen Yan narrowed his eyes slightly, lowered his head, and chuckled.

"Aning, you still don’t trust me, do you?"

Rong Xianning shot him a faint glance, his expression emotionless. "If you don’t like me, don’t pretend to get close to me. Your eyes have already betrayed you."

With that, he picked up the coat from the ground and turned to leave the practice room.

Wen Yan stared at the boy’s retreating back, his grip on the water bottle tightening slightly, his emotions wavering between light and dark.

Rong Xianning returned to the dormitory, took a hot shower, changed into clean clothes, and walked out of the bathroom while drying his damp hair.

The production team was well-known, and investors were optimistic about the project from the start, sparing no expense. The crew was also generous, so the contestants’ dormitory conditions were no less lavish than those of a five-star hotel.

Rong Xianning dried his hair, walked over to the desk, pulled out his textbooks, and began studying.

When Feng Cheng entered, he saw Rong Xianning engrossed in his studies and immediately softened his steps to avoid disturbing him.

During this time, Rong Xianning opened his tablet and consulted with his tutor.

Before participating in the program, everyone was still a student. While others had mostly given up academics in pursuit of fame, cramming with hired top tutors only during exam periods to barely scrape by, Feng Cheng and the other three contestants signed with Eternal operated similarly.

Their families had already mapped out their future plans—to abandon traditional educational paths and plunge wholeheartedly into the entertainment industry, sacrificing everything for it.

But Rong Xianning was different. No matter how grueling or exhausting the daytime training, no matter how packed the rehearsal and filming schedules were, he steadfastly studied for three hours every night.

Returning at midnight, he would study until three in the morning, then wake up at five to train. In other words, he only slept two hours a night but remained full of energy during the day.

Feng Cheng witnessed this firsthand and was genuinely impressed by his near self-destructive self-discipline.

Every corner of the dormitory was monitored by cameras installed by the production team to document contestants’ daily lives and edit them into the reality show. Others would pick up a book and pose for the cameras to build a persona.

But Feng Cheng could confidently say, neither posing nor pretending, Rong Xianning was the only one truly studying among all the contestants.

After consulting with his tutor for a full half hour and resolving his confusion, a boyish smile of relief finally appeared on his face.

"Thank you, Mr. Lin. Please rest early."

"Xiao Rong, I watched last night’s program. You performed excellently. I’ll always support you. Keep it up."

In the video, the young female tutor made a cheering gesture at the camera.

With a faint smile lingering at the corners of his lips, Rong Xianning replied, "I will."

After hanging up, Rong Xianning raised his hand to massage his sore neck, then got up and walked to the bar to pour himself a glass of water.

Feng Cheng seized the moment to approach him, pulling out his phone to show him.

"Aning, look! Your fan club has already surpassed one million members. This is insane—far better than the stats the lead singer of Team V had back in his prime. Aning, you’re famous now!"

Feng Cheng was more excited than Rong Xianning himself.

Rong Xianning took a sip of water and hummed softly, showing little emotion.

"Aning, you’re famous now! Aren’t you happy about it?"

Rong Xianning tugged at the corners of his mouth, but his gaze remained cold.

"So what?"

Feng Cheng faltered, staring blankly as Rong Xianning took off his shoes, lay on the bed, turned over, and fell asleep.

If it were him, he would’ve been overjoyed, jumping sky-high.

But Aning’s reaction was so calm, it was almost unnerving.

Thinking about it, Feng Cheng realized this might be why Aning had risen to fame.

The contestants weren’t short on talent, like Wen Yan and Ge Qi, who were exceptional in their own right. But compared to Rong Xianning, they paled instantly.

Aning, he... was simply born to be a star.

Rong Xianning closed his eyes, though sleep eluded him.

It felt as if he had returned to that sunset-drenched afternoon, with cicadas chirping and birds calling, wind rustling through gauzy curtains.

A girl rested her head on his shoulder, her breathing shallow, time serene.

That was the most beautiful memory of his life.

Whenever he recalled it, it brought an unparalleled calm to his heart.

Late at night, restless in bed, that person had become the unreachable moon in the teenage boy’s sky.