The car turned a corner.
Qi Ke was not one to compromise on comfort; the RV was luxurious and spacious. Xiao Nan, who had already moved to the back seat, was startled by the question and looked at her boss—Song Yushi didn’t move, only giving a faint “mm.”
Qi Ke’s heart sank.
“It’s fake,” Song Yushi added.
Qi Ke: “…” Don’t leave me hanging like that!!!
She grumbled, “The gossip accounts made it sound so convincing, I actually believed it.”
The press release about Song Yushi’s suspected engagement to a non-celebrity boyfriend came out last week. The accompanying GIF was so blurry you couldn’t recognize anyone, but they slapped Song Yushi’s name on it anyway. The text was complete nonsense: “The media recently photographed Song Yushi secretly entering and leaving a hospital with her non-celebrity boyfriend. It is reported that Song Yushi has accepted his proposal. A trip to the hospital at this time… could good news be on the horizon?”
As soon as the gossip accounts posted it, Song Yushi’s fans were instantly furious.
【Good news your ass! You can tell that’s Song Yushi from one blurry picture? Was the poster using the Hubble telescope or X-ray vision? Our beautiful sister is focused on her career, so don’t drag her into this.】
【Can’t find any real dirt so you just make up rumors? I’ve taken a screenshot. Repost this over 500 times and we can sue for defamation. @Song Yushi’s Studio, get out here and do your job!】
【No way, no way? Who leaked the secret that I’m Song Yushi’s non-celebrity boyfriend? Thanks for the blessings, everyone.】
Although Qi Ke also thought the news was probably fake, she had examined the GIF closely, zooming in again and again, and discovered that the person in the picture really was Song Yushi, and the location was indeed a hospital. That was why she had to ask the person in question.
“What were you doing at the hospital?” Qi Ke asked.
Song Yushi looked back. “I wasn’t there for dinner, that’s for sure.”
Qi Ke: “…”
Well, she wasn’t wrong.
Song Yushi didn’t want to say, so Qi Ke didn’t press further.
After all, their relationship status was clear.
Hadn’t people said it before? A proper ex should act as if they were dead and never come back to haunt you. But look at them now. Not only had they come back from the dead, but they also had to dance and party, telling the whole world: We’re in love.
And the whole world responded with enthusiasm: “I’m shipping this so hard I could die!”
Song Yushi had been working nonstop and was truly exhausted. After arriving at the hotel, she immediately got a room, didn’t even shower, and fell straight asleep. She didn’t wake up until almost five o’clock.
She felt groggy as she took a shower, then sat on the edge of the bed drying her hair while scrolling through her phone.
The new message was from her manager.
A drop of water trickled down the tip of her hair and dripped onto the screen, blurring her vision.
Song Yushi wiped the water away.
Sister Fei: I know you don’t like being tied to someone for business, but I can’t do anything about the company’s decision. Just treat this variety show as a chance to relax and get some rest. I’ll keep an eye out for good scripts for you.
Sister Fei: By the way, Qi Ke is your former teammate, right? I heard from someone that her sexual orientation is a bit abnormal, and she even had a huge fight with her family over it. Just a rumor, haha, might not be true.
Sister Fei: If it’s nothing, just pretend I said too much. Anyway, just be careful.
Song Yushi stopped drying her hair, staring blankly at the messages from Sister Fei. After a long while, she slowly typed a reply: I know.
After replying, she tossed her phone aside and lay back on the bed.
The ceiling seemed to shift, sometimes near, sometimes far.
Song Yushi thought, she really did need to be careful.
The first day of filming for 《30 Days of Cohabitation Life》 was a sunny day.
It had just snowed in Yunzhou City two days prior. When the sun came out, the snow covering the rooftops, roadsides, and lawns began to melt bit by bit, and the temperature actually dropped lower than when it was snowing.
Song Yushi had a strong sense of time and always arrived half an hour early for appointments, so when she got to the filming location, the other guests hadn’t arrived yet.
“Teacher Song, you’re so early,” the director said as he walked over, signaling for someone to mic up Song Yushi. He asked her, “Have you had breakfast? We have some here if you haven’t.”
Song Yushi smiled and declined, “I’ve already eaten.”
She had a sweet appearance. During her girl group days, she held a series of titles like “Human Sweet Pea,” “Straight Man Harvester,” and “Slayer of a Hundred Men.” Even after leaving the girl group, her habit of smiling at everyone she met hadn’t changed.
The director was so charmed by her smile he almost lost his bearings.
After her mic was on, Song Yushi took a look around the set.
《30 Days of Cohabitation Life》 was an observational reality show. The production team had invited a total of three groups of guests: a romantic couple, a pair of brothers, and a pair of best friends.
The couple was a famous model couple in the entertainment industry.
The brothers were members of a currently popular boy band.
The best friends were Song Yushi and Qi Ke.
When the show was officially announced, it sparked intense discussion among netizens, with related topics reaching 180 million views. The most popular Weibo post was from a well-known entertainment blogger, who directly tagged the show’s account.
@BlindlyShippingCentral: @30DaysOfCohabitationLife Tell me secretly, these three pairs are all couples, right?
【They’re three couples! The show doesn’t even need to change its name! I declare, this is a paradise for us shippers!】
【Let’s not call them out on it. The production team can’t exactly say it’s a dating show, right? I’m just going to watch it as one. Hurry up and air it!】
【On the straight romance channel, we have the Best Actor and Best Actress, a perfect match. On the BL channel, if the boy band doesn’t get gay, they’ll fade into obscurity. On the yuri channel, a long-awaited reunion and a mended relationship! I’m gonna ship them all to death!】
The show had attracted enough attention from the very beginning, and the filming schedule was public, so fans were already waiting outside the villa complex where the show was being filmed.
Qi Ke lived close to the filming location and had left late. As her car entered the villa complex’s parking lot, she happened to be scrolling past a photo of Song Yushi arriving for work.
It was cold. Song Yushi was wrapped in a black down jacket that reached below her knees. The jacket was unzipped, revealing a dark blue dress with a bow. A matching scarf hung down long, and her legs were straight and slender.
She was smiling so wide her eyes curved into crescents, raising a hand to greet her fans, while her other hand held a bouquet of flowers.
The shutter froze at that instant.
“Qi Ke?” Sister Ming tapped her and waved a hand in front of her eyes. “Time to get out of the car.”
Qi Ke snapped back to her senses.
Sister Ming handed her a coat and asked casually, “What are you looking at?”
Before Qi Ke could answer, Sister Ming saw her phone screen, which hadn’t been turned off. Sister Ming’s expression changed. “You… you… you two aren’t rekindling an old flame, are you?”
Qi Ke locked her phone and shook her head. “You’re overthinking it.”
Sister Ming looked unconvinced. “Then why are you looking at pictures from her fansite?”
Qi Ke hugged the down jacket. She put one foot out of the car, then paused. She turned her head back and said in a deep voice, “To outshine her.”
Sister Ming: “…”
What? Lovers turned rivals?
Half an hour later, a Qi Yu CP fansite posted a picture: “Older sister and younger sister are wearing matching earrings, suspected to be the Bvlgari Valentine’s Day limited edition. They match so well, so well, I’m dying from shipping this!”
Qi Ke: …Damn it.
The production team rented a four-story villa in the suburbs of Yunzhou City. The fourth floor was for entertainment and fitness, and each of the other three floors was assigned to one group of guests.
Song Yushi arrived the earliest. First come, first served. She chose the third floor.
The couple was on the second floor, and the boy band chose the first. After about ten minutes of awkward small talk in the common living room, the three groups of guests finally went back to their respective floors under the director’s urging.
Song Yushi secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
She turned around and said to Qi Ke, “My luggage is already upstairs. Let me help you with yours.”
They weren’t going to live here for 30 consecutive days for the show’s recording. It was filmed in installments, with each episode requiring about two days’ worth of footage. So Qi Ke hadn’t brought much luggage.
But Qi Ke shook her head, pushing her luggage towards the stairs. As she walked, she said, “I can do it myself!”
She turned her head back and blinked. “If I carry it up, will the Captain give me a reward?”
Song Yushi was in a daze for a second.
Back when they were in the group, Qi Ke liked to call her Captain. “Captain this, Captain that.” Such a formal form of address was scrutinized by everyone and taken as proof that they weren’t close.
Later… Song Yushi learned that calling her “Captain” could also be a form of flirtation.
…
Song Yushi shook the messy thoughts from her head, went to the common kitchen to grab a bag of fruit, and followed Qi Ke upstairs. While Qi Ke was unpacking, she arranged the fruit in a row by type.
Qi Ke, stealing a moment from her busy task, glanced at her. “What are you doing?”
Song Yushi: “The reward.”
Qi Ke: “?”
Song Yushi: “…”
Qi Ke looked at the camera helplessly. “You could at least peel them. If not a fruit salad, a fruit platter would be fine. Arranging them like this, do you want me to play ring toss?”
Qi Ke ruffled Song Yushi’s hair. After her complaint, she played along seriously, “So which one should I eat first? Eeny, meeny, miny, moe—”
Qi Ke’s finger suddenly changed direction and pointed at Song Yushi.
Song Yushi was taken aback. “Me?”
Qi Ke paused, then smiled. “No, I want you to pick for me. I have decision paralysis.”
Song Yushi casually picked a cherry for Qi Ke, her favorite fruit. After washing it, Qi Ke sat cross-legged on the sofa with the fruit bowl, watching TV and humming a song.
She called to Song Yushi, “Come watch with me.”
Song Yushi looked at the double bed in the bedroom and decided to put the sheets and duvet cover on before resting. Her self-care skills were average; usually, her assistant or a housekeeper did these things. It looked simple enough, but the moment she started, she was instantly lost.
The TV in the living room was playing something that made Qi Ke laugh out loud.
Song Yushi sat on the bed, holding the messy pile of bedding and duvet cover, sulking. They hadn’t seen each other in two years. How did it seem like Qi Ke’s heartlessness had reached a new level?
What had she been through these past two years?
Song Yushi silently glanced at the camera and continued to ponder.
After graduating from the girl group, she had made a sharp break with her past. New fans who had recently gotten into her had no idea she had been in a girl group. And the dramas she took on were mostly serious dramas, and once she joined a cast, it would be for more than half a year.
She couldn’t multitask, so she had lost contact with almost all her former teammates. The occasional times they saw each other were mostly at major year-end award ceremonies.
A fleeting glimpse, not even enough time to exchange a few words.
“Staring at the duvet so affectionately won’t make it jump up and put itself on.”
Qi Ke’s voice suddenly came from the doorway.
Song Yushi looked up.
Qi Ke was leaning against the doorframe with her arms crossed. Her makeup was light today, her lips stained cherry-red, and when they parted slightly, they revealed her white teeth. “Want me to help you?”
Song Yushi nodded.
Qi Ke deliberately gave a wicked smile. “Then beg me.”
Song Yushi froze for a moment, then broke into a smile. She, on the other hand, was wearing a full face of makeup. Her exquisite face, when she smiled, was as radiant as a thousand suns. She tightened her grip on the duvet and, as if acting cute, drew out the last syllable: “I’m begging you~”
At the end, she added a mock threat, “Aren’t you going to hurry up and come over?”
Qi Ke walked over, took the duvet cover from her hands, and flicked it up. The light pink silk cover danced in the air for a second, lightly draping over both of them.
All the cameras were shut out.
Under the duvet cover, light filtered through. Song Yushi looked at Qi Ke with a blank expression.
Qi Ke clicked her tongue. “Now this is more like it.”
Song Yushi praised her without emotion, “Not bad acting.”
Qi Ke suddenly reached out and, before Song Yushi could dodge, stuffed the cherry she had prepared into her mouth.
Song Yushi glared at her.
A smile crossed Qi Ke’s lips. “Not as good as the Hundred Flowers Best Actress.”
