Yao Shen tries to defend himself. "That's not-"
But before he can get a word in edgewise, the interviewer jumps in to add, "That's right, Yao laoshi said so himself in his introduction segment for that actor survival show a few years ago."
Yao Shen's expression shutters immediately, his heart kicking up a storm inside his chest.
At his side, Xin Hulei has no reaction, continuing to look expressionlessly into the camera.
The interviewer clears his throat, noticing the charged atmosphere.
"Right, Yao laoshi, does Xin laoshi have any pets?", the man asks, reading from his queue card awkwardly.
"He has a cat, and, uh, caterpillar," Yao Shen replies, pulling at a loose string in his sleeve, wishing he had a zipper to fiddle with instead.