The broadcast date for this episode of Celebrity Observer was moved up due to overwhelming audience demand for Acemon. Given the recent performance targets, the producer decided to air it a week early.
Soon, discussions about the episode became the hottest topic across all the fan forums that day.
Title: [A Special Thread Just for QingZhen’s Sweet Moments]
[There were some leaks earlier saying the A-Group would appear on this show, and I guessed it might be Tan Qing being observed. Turns out I was right.
I just watched the discussion segment, and every time they got to something important, Zhu Lianzhen looked so awkward. Is it just my imagination =_=]
[Comment 2: It’s not. He really looked like he didn’t want to talk about Tan Qing.]
[Comment 5: Try to understand, okay? A newlywed wife not wanting to talk about his husband in front of others is totally normal. He’s just shy.]
[Comment 8: ? Newlyweds again? Every time I open a QingZhen CP thread, you all say they just got married. Is this wedding never-ending?]
[Comment 9: What, can’t handle our little couple being in the honeymoon phase every single day?]
[Comment 16: I’m speechless. QingZhen fans really see everything through rose-colored glasses. It’s just normal work interaction, and y’all spin it into wild fantasies.]
[Comment 17: Wuwu where did this monster above me come from? Our faves held hands, okay? Is it our fault we’ve got rose-colored glasses on? Wuwuwu]
[Comment 20: Wait what? Held hands? Where! How did I miss that!]
[Comment 25: Skip to 32:07, the lounge scene. You’re welcome]
[Comment 32: OMG, someone’s way too smooth. Just casually started touching hands while talking]
[Comment 33: That just means he’s used to it. Got nothing better to do, so his hands act on their own]
[Comment 37: Off-topic, but I really think Tan Qing is such a professional idol. That part where he was advising Zhu Lianzhen was so thoughtful. He even considered the manager and fans]
[Comment 40: Exactly! Compared to some other idols in C-ent… milking the “I’m single” image to spend on their girlfriends, then secretly badmouthing fans]
[Comment 42: Seriously? You’re praising that? You really think Tan Qing didn’t notice the hidden camera? He’s been in the industry for years. He definitely saw the setup. He said all that on purpose to build his persona.]
[Comment 44: Even if he did notice, he still spoke so gently, trying to persuade his little boyfriend to break up with his fake girlfriend. That’s just how couples flirt]
[Comment 51: Holy crap, I rewatched the earlier part and found some major sugar! Why hasn’t anyone mentioned it yet!]
[Comment 53: What what what?]
[Comment 55: I’m all ears now]
[Comment 61: The part where Zhu Lianzhen came back in the morning! As he passed by Tan Qing, Tan Qing asked if he’d changed his perfume?]
[Comment 63: Fck, I caught that too. And Tan Qing even added, “It’s not really your kind of scent.” AHHHHH so they even remember each other’s perfume preferences?! Like, seriously… Do regular teammates know each other that well?]
[Comment 67: I follow other groups. Yeah, sometimes teammates remember scent preferences. But for Tan Qing to care that much? That’s not normal]
[Comment 71: I’m dead. These couple moments are killing me.]
…
After this episode aired, aside from the “QingZhen CP” interactions attracting a wave of new fans, it also sparked a public debate about whether idols should date, and whether those relationships should be made public.
Ah-Xu scrolled through the posts with great interest and messaged Zhu Lianzhen: “Boss, your acting’s not bad at all.”
Zhu Lianzhen thought she was just flattering him, but Ah-Xu immediately followed up with: “You really looked like a straight guy when you were pretending to talk to your girlfriend on the phone.”
Zhu Lianzhen: “…”
“By the way, that house you asked me to check out last time—I found someone to look into it.” Ah-Xu suddenly turned serious. “It’s already been bought. Apparently by a middle-aged woman.”
Some time ago, Tan Qing had mailed Zhu Lianzhen his lost earphones, and the return address turned out to be the place where the two of them had once lived together.
At the time, Zhu Lianzhen assumed Tan Qing had bought the villa. But that curiosity couldn’t be satisfied by asking him directly, so he had Ah-Xu investigate it instead.
“Really?” Zhu Lianzhen’s fingers paused over the keyboard. This wasn’t what he’d expected. “Then I guess Tan Qing just filled in the wrong address last time.”
Delivery apps now stored address history, so it wasn’t unusual to make that kind of mistake.
–
At 10 AM, the company car arrived right on time at the dorm entrance to take the five of them to the Music Station awards ceremony.
This was one of the three most prestigious Chinese music awards. Nearly every commercial artist saw it as a yearly goal worth striving for. Winning all three “Best Singer” awards in the same year was considered a Grand Slam—a major milestone.
Across the entire Chinese music scene, only a handful of artists had ever achieved that. For an idol group, just being nominated already signaled a stable standing.
Zhu Lianzhen’s hair color had already begun to fade, so the stylist sprayed on a layer of temporary silver-white dye to add more dimension.
To match the hairstyle, he also had to—
Tan Qing, who was standing nearby, noticed and asked, “Aren’t you going to wear them?”
He spoke at a normal volume, so everyone could hear. Zhu Lianzhen shot him a glare and replied, “You said it was a gift, so of course I’m keeping them safely at home.”
“I thought you didn’t like them,” Tan Qing said. “I’m glad you still kept them.”
Koty caught a whiff of gossip and leaned in. “What did you give him?”
“Get lost.” Zhu Lianzhen drove him away.
The five had just finished getting ready when it was time for the guests to walk the red carpet. Spring had only just begun in Ronggang, and the temperature still dipped now and then. Since their turn to appear was later in the lineup, they had to stand in place, braving the cold wind.
As the chilly air entered his nose, Zhu Lianzhen couldn’t help but shiver. Tan Qing quickly noticed. “Cold?”
Zhu Lianzhen didn’t answer and just looked up at him. Tan Qing shifted half a step closer, blocking most of the wind blowing directly at them.
From the corner of his eye, Zhu Lianzhen noticed several reporters nearby taking photos and realized that Tan Qing was showing concern to create a CP moment.
Since it was for fanservice, Zhu Lianzhen accepted his kindness with a clear conscience and leaned a little closer to his side.
“It’s your turn,” a staff member came over to remind them.
The moment Acemon stepped onto the red carpet, the crowd around the venue erupted into screams. Accompanied by the rapid clicks of camera shutters, flashing lights swept over all five of them, making their popularity obvious at a glance.
Their seats were also arranged in the VIP guest section, surrounded by veteran singers. This special treatment was something Pei Qiao had worked hard to secure. In contrast, other idol groups were seated in the middle of the venue, barely visible when the camera panned past them.
Once all the guests were seated, the awards ceremony officially began. Within about twenty minutes, Koty had already struck up a conversation with members of a girl group in the back rows. Whatever he was saying had them frequently covering their mouths with laughter.
There were several cameras in front of them, so Ji Yunting grew concerned. He nudged Koty with his elbow. “Cut the chatter. Aren’t you worried the reporters will spin a story out of this? The girls still have to think about their public image.”
Koty explained innocently, “I was just complimenting their new song. How does that affect their reputation? Just being caught having a nice chat with me doesn’t automatically mean a scandal, right?”
Fu Rong let out a snort. “Being caught having a nice chat with you is straight-up scandal material.”
Koty: “……”
He wore an expression like he had just swallowed a lemon whole, then shut his mouth and pitifully endured Fu Rong’s humiliation.
Since Pei Qiao had collected all their phones, Zhu Lianzhen, bored out of his mind, ended up betting with them on who would win each award. After Tan Qing guessed wrong three times in a row, Zhu Lianzhen said, “What kind of professional intuition is that… I guess with how busy you’ve been, you probably haven’t had time to listen to new music.”
“Mm, I haven’t updated my usual playlist in two years,” Tan Qing replied.
Most of the songs on that playlist had been recommended by Zhu Lianzhen. Picking up on the unspoken meaning, Zhu Lianzhen hesitated for a moment, then asked, “You haven’t moved in two years either?”
“Didn’t you drop me off after that hotpot with the leader?” Tan Qing said. “I’ve been living there the whole time. Why?”
“No reason.”
On stage, the award presenter announced the nominees for one of the categories, and the winner turned out to be a girl group that had recently been gaining popularity. They entered from the back and would pass by Acemon’s seats on their way to the stage.
This was when reaction time was put to the test. After all, the girl group members were wearing short dresses. If anyone’s eyes wandered and got caught on camera, it was guaranteed to be blown out of proportion by gossip blogs.
Ji Yunting pretended to rub his eyes. Fu Rong had been zoning out and didn’t even notice anyone walking by. Koty was doing his best to keep his eyes from wandering.
Zhu Lianzhen hadn’t really been paying attention at first, but seeing his teammates on edge, he decided to play along and asked Tan Qing to hand him a bottle of water.
After taking a few sips, he habitually wiped the corner of his mouth. Something immediately felt off—his fingertips were slightly sticky. He remembered the makeup artist had applied lip gloss earlier and warned him not to smack his lips.
“Do you have a mirror?” Zhu Lianzhen asked Tan Qing in a low voice.
Tan Qing turned to look and saw that the makeup around Zhu Lianzhen’s lips had smudged a bit. Without saying anything, he pulled a tissue from the table.
“Want me to wipe it for you?” he asked. “There’s no mirror.”
“Okay.” Zhu Lianzhen turned to face him and lifted his chin slightly.
Tan Qing wrapped the tissue around his index finger and gently dabbed away the excess lip gloss from Zhu Lianzhen’s lips. The two of them were quite close, and Zhu Lianzhen didn’t know where to look. Occasionally, his eyes would flick up to Tan Qing’s face.
Koty happened to turn and caught the scene.
His eyes lit up like someone had flipped a switch, and a knowing smile curled at the corners of his mouth.
“Whoa, what happened to your lips?” Koty stared straight at Zhu Lianzhen, then shifted his gaze to Tan Qing and asked, “Did you kiss him?”
“I wouldn’t be that rough,” Tan Qing replied.
His tone was so calm and casual that Zhu Lianzhen didn’t even register what he’d said. Even Koty, who’d started the joke, needed a couple of seconds to process it.
“Ohhh…” Koty dragged out the sound.
Zhu Lianzhen finally caught up to what the two of them meant. He instantly bristled like a cat and declared righteously, “I wiped it myself by accident!”
“Mm-hmm, got it.” Koty slowly scooted his seat away like he didn’t want to disturb them. He even gave a mysterious wink and assured Zhu Lianzhen, “My lips are sealed.”
“…” Koty got under his skin way too easily, so Zhu Lianzhen naturally took out his frustration on Tan Qing. “You don’t have to answer everything!”
Tan Qing didn’t say a word and just smiled at him.
Soon, the awards ceremony moved into its second half. Since it was being livestreamed online, every award result instantly became a trending topic on various social media platforms.
[Speechless. What is up with this winners list]
[Did Music Station just give up this year? Some of these awards are so obviously rigged. They’re not even pretending anymore]
[Getting sleepy. Is there anything left worth watching? I want to go to bed]
[Don’t worry, A-Group hasn’t come on yet.]
[No way they’ll win anything, though. The Best Group Award is based on yearly popularity and achievements. They only just made a comeback and haven’t even finished promotions]
[Yeah, no way. They’re just here for show.]
[But A-Group is sitting in the front row and got tons of camera time, lol. Feels like they’re getting better treatment than the winners.]
Discussions among netizens kept circling the same points—calling out rigged results, making predictions about what might happen next. Overall, disappointment outweighed excitement.
Until five minutes later, when the direction of the comments began to shift.
[????? What is QingZhen doing]
[WTF, Tan Qing is wiping Zhu Lianzhen’s mouth]
[AAAHHHHHH how can he be so blatant in public!]
[Why is he wiping his mouth? I don’t even see any food on their table]
[Please, cameraman, give us more close-ups!]
The livestream had a five-minute delay, so by the time viewers noticed Tan Qing’s actions, Zhu Lianzhen’s lips were already clean, and the two had returned to maintaining a normal distance.
Backstage, Pei Qiao was making perfunctory small talk with a few familiar managers. They were chatting about recent industry trends when the host’s voice came from the stage: “Next up is the Best Group Award…”
Two award presenters stepped onto the stage, exchanged a few playful remarks, then opened the envelope and announced loudly, “—Congratulations to Lock-M!”
Lock-M’s agent, Jiang Hong, looked like he’d expected it all along. He turned to shake hands and patted Pei Qiao on the shoulder with a smile. “The younger generation always replaces the older—looks like I win this round.”
His tone and expression were perfectly calculated; anyone watching would think he could joke like this because he was close with Pei Qiao.
“Congratulations, senior. You finally got an award. That’s not easy.” Pei Qiao shook hands with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. Only after turning away did she finally roll her eyes.
She knew perfectly well that if the idol scene hadn’t been in a slump these past couple of years, there was no way a group so plain in both musical style and choreography would have stood a chance.
Pei Qiao had studied cultural industry management in school. Jiang Hong, Lock-M’s manager, had been her direct senior. They both later joined the same entertainment company, which quickly went bankrupt. Eventually, they parted ways over creative differences.
Now, their most important artists were rivals, so every time they met, some passive-aggressive remarks were inevitable.
A few minutes later, Lock-M’s name shot straight to the top of the trending list, right next to “Best Group Award.”
Interestingly, “A-Group” trended immediately after. Since they hadn’t won any awards yet, the real-time discussion was filled with comparisons to Lock-M.
[Looks like Lock-M is on track to become China’s No. 1 boy group. They’ve only debuted just over a year ago and already won Best Group, leaving A-Group in the dust. Impressive]
[LOL, earlier the camera kept cutting to A-Group, but after Lock-M got the award, they didn’t get a single shot anymore]
[Isn’t it totally reasonable for Lock-M to win? A-Group just came back. No matter how crazy their numbers are, they can’t beat a full year of momentum.]
[Weird, why is it “A-Group” trending instead of Acemon? I clicked in and it’s all just people praising Lock-M…]
[I just asked if Lock-M had a member recently exposed for dating, and the post was instantly deleted. Impressive]
[Congrats to Lock-M! The future looks bright!!!]
…
Zhu Lianzhen hadn’t expected to win anything today, but since they had always swept the Best Group Award in the past, watching someone else stand in that spot still felt a little unfamiliar.
Tan Qing clapped along with the other guests, but his gaze stayed fixed on Zhu Lianzhen’s face.
Noticing it from the corner of his eye, Zhu Lianzhen kept his eyes facing forward but leaned slightly toward him and said, “The earbuds you sent me had the wrong return address.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Mm. You put the address in Jiangbei District.” He brought it up because he knew that villa now had a new owner. If Tan Qing messed up the address again, it could leak personal info or cause trouble for someone else.
Tan Qing replied, “Ah, I just happened to be there that day, so I used that address.”
“What were you doing there?”
“I passed by after work and felt a bit tired, so I went in to rest for a while.”
Zhu Lianzhen froze for a second, then quickly turned to look at him. “What do you mean? My assistant asked around, and the current owner of that house is…”
“Mm. Since I needed to protect my privacy after buying the place, I had the manager register it under a different name. Unless you have certain channels, you wouldn’t be able to trace it back to me.” Tan Qing explained first, then turned the question back on him. “You had your assistant look into it. Were you curious about something?”
“No, it’s just…” He paused for a few seconds, unable to come up with a good excuse, and simply asked, “When did you buy it?”
No, more than the timing, what he really wanted to know was why Tan Qing bought the house.
But Tan Qing didn’t answer that directly either. “If you want to go see it, you can, anytime. I haven’t changed the door code.”
“There’s nothing to see,” Zhu Lianzhen said.
Tan Qing let out a soft laugh. “I go over and clean it often. It’s pretty tidy. Ever since you left, it’s stayed exactly the same.”
Zhu Lianzhen had expected this topic to make him want to retreat, but surprisingly, it didn’t. Maybe because Tan Qing was acting so normal, he found himself feeling calm, too.
“That area’s pretty average. You’re not using it for investment, either. Honestly, it would’ve been better to buy in my complex.” Zhu Lianzhen continued the conversation casually. “It’d be easier to resell too. You wouldn’t lose money.”
“Mm. But when I bought it, I didn’t really have any particular reason in mind,” Tan Qing replied steadily.
At that moment, the music in the venue got too loud. Tan Qing leaned closer to Zhu Lianzhen’s ear, one hand resting on his shoulder, and continued, “It was the place where we lived together. I just didn’t want it to become someone else’s home.”
Every word came through crystal clear.
Zhu Lianzhen’s heartbeat pounded in his chest, syncing exactly with the rhythm of the music blasting through the venue. For a moment, he couldn’t tell if his heart was racing or if it was just the bass.
“Congratulations to Acemon—!”
Suddenly, cold fireworks flared up from the stage ahead.
Zhu Lianzhen snapped back to his senses and saw Koty with his mouth wide open in shock. Ji Yunting and Tan Qing exchanged a glance, confirming that they hadn’t misheard.
Only Fu Rong remained expressionless. He stood up and said, “Let’s go get the award.”
“What?” Zhu Lianzhen hesitantly got to his feet. When he looked toward the front, he saw the big screen displaying the name of the award: “Best Music Award.”
[WTF WTF WTF it’s actually A-Group!]
[Oh my god, congrats!!!!]
[Did I hear that right? The Best Music Award is the biggest one from Music Platform!!]
[…Just made a comeback and already won a major award. Guess their luck finally turned]
[Damn, is this the first year of A-Group’s new era?]
[Holy crap!! Is this real!!!]
[Congrats!! Surprising, but it makes sense]
[Shit, I can’t believe it]
…
When the words “Best Music Award” and “Acemon” appeared together, Jiang Hong’s face looked like he’d just been struck by lightning.
At that moment, Pei Qiao stepped forward with a naturally radiant smile. “I was just thinking, back when we first started working, we trained our artists with the goal of winning major awards. I didn’t expect I’d beat you to it, senior.”
Her smile was genuinely heartfelt. “Shall we host a celebration banquet later?”
Jiang Hong tugged at the corner of his lips, doing his best to keep his expression composed. “No need. My kids don’t drink—they can’t really let loose. Better to let them head back and rest early.”
“All right then. Let’s have a meal together another day.” Pei Qiao dialed it back a little. After all, she didn’t have time for more passive-aggressive jabs, as she needed to contact media outlets as soon as possible to unify the post-award promotion narrative.
Truth be told, even she was surprised.
Music Platform was the most popularity-driven of the three major music festivals, and its Best Music Award was based on a combination of professional reviews, media votes, audience polls, and platform data.
Acemon had only recently released their new song, but their popularity numbers had remained sky-high, easily doubling second place. Even when compared to other artists’ full-year stats, their metrics held up. So they absolutely qualified to compete.
However, most assumed expert votes would carry the most weight, and it was notoriously difficult for an idol group like Acemon to break through.
But the fact was, they had genuinely won.
When Ji Yunting stood on stage to give the acceptance speech, his mind went completely blank, and he nearly started rambling.
All the members knew exactly what this award meant: Acemon’s music had begun earning real recognition within the industry. In other words, to professionals, their new work was no longer just “idol group” music.
After all the awards had been presented, Pei Qiao gave each of them a hug. “Tonight, you’re allowed to drink a little more.”
Usually, they’d look for any excuse to drink when bored. But now that they finally had a real reason to celebrate, they actually wanted to stay sober, just to fully feel the moment.
Still, a gathering was in order. The success of their new song wouldn’t have been possible without the efforts of the many staff members working behind the scenes. Pei Qiao covered the bill for the celebration, which included dozens of people. They partied at the hotel until the early hours of the morning.
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