Qi Ke closed the door.
Song Yushi raised an eyebrow. “You’re not going?”
Qi Ke shook the cigarette case in her palm and answered seriously, “I think I need a cigarette to calm down.”
With that, she picked up the cigarette and walked over.
Song Yushi took a step back, her face wary.
“Wrap yourself in a towel.” Qi Ke took a bath towel from the cabinet and tossed it to her. “Don’t catch a cold. I need to smoke for a bit.”
Song Yushi: “…”
But Qi Ke burst out laughing. “Just kidding. You’re not mad, are you?”
Song Yushi looked at her coldly, clearly not finding it funny.
Qi Ke pouted resentfully, placed the cigarette case on the sink, said, “Wait for me,” and went out. Song Yushi wrapped the towel around herself, staring blankly at the cigarette case.
Qi Ke used to smoke too—very elegant ladies’ cigarettes, long and slim. The smoke rings she blew had a faint rose scent.
She remembered they weren’t this kind.
The bathroom door opened and closed again. A long, fair hand reached in and took the cigarettes. Qi Ke gestured with her chin toward the shelf. “I just picked a set for you.”
Qi Ke leaned against the door, lit a cigarette, and sighed. “Why aren’t you wearing long johns?”
Song Yushi unwrapped her towel. “Mind your own business.”
Qi Ke: “…”
Song Yushi’s figure was very well-maintained. Her legs were long, her waist was slender, and the ab lines on her flat stomach were eye-catching. Qi Ke took a longer look, only to be met with a sharp glare. “Turn around.”
Qi Ke obediently turned around to face the door.
“We’re all girls, there’s no need to be shy, right?” Qi Ke faced the door, blowing smoke rings. The rings of smoke intertwined with the steam, blurring her vision. She rambled on, “And another thing, how can you not wear long johns in winter? If you don’t, you’ll get sick easily when you’re older…”
“Are you wearing them?” Song Yushi interrupted.
Qi Ke froze for two seconds. “…I am.”
Song Yushi: “You’re not.”
Qi Ke: “…”
Song Yushi: “Not only do you not wear long johns in winter, but you also like to wear skirts with bare legs. One time at a gala, you were shivering from the cold, and someone took a video that was turned into a GIF sticker. I still have it saved.”
Qi Ke: “…” Please, say no more.
This was the good thing about observational reality shows: there was no rush, almost no tasks, and the director only occasionally cued the next part of the schedule. The rest was up to the guests to improvise.
Qi Ke lingered in the bathroom for a long time before coming out. As soon as she did, she saw Song Yushi staring thoughtfully at a small blackboard.
Qi Ke smoothed her long hair and asked casually, “What are you doing?”
Without looking up, Song Yushi said, “The director told us to set up roommate rules.”
Qi Ke: “Huh?”
She walked over. Song Yushi had already listed two rules. Qi Ke read them aloud: “1. Whoever cooks doesn’t do the dishes, and whoever does the dishes doesn’t cook. 2. Who cooks is decided by rock-paper-scissors… Isn’t that a bit too casual?”
“Is there a more reasonable method?”
Song Yushi leaned back. She had just finished her shower, and her pinned-up hair was now down. Her curly hair, damp with a bit of mist, swayed in the air, occasionally brushing against the back of Qi Ke’s hand.
It tickled.
Qi Ke was distracted for a second.
Song Yushi turned her head and snapped her fingers. “What are you thinking about?”
Qi Ke blurted out, “I was thinking about the rules we had when we were roommates before.”
Song Yushi: “Uh…”
When they first became roommates, they didn’t talk much. Qi Ke was pretty, generous, and knew how to get along with people, so it didn’t take long for her to win over the other members. Besides urging them to practice for their debut stage, Song Yushi kept to herself most of the time.
As for roommate rules, they naturally never set any.
Later, after they got together, they did set some.
But they were all things that absolutely couldn’t be broadcast on this show, like “No intimate actions in front of teammates,” “Don’t act too familiar in public, try for zero interaction,” “A maximum of three times a week,” “Don’t wear each other’s clothes or matching couple items,” and so on.
Qi Ke had clearly thought of this too. She picked up the chalk, and it clacked against the board.
【3. No sleeping in.】
Something many people didn’t know was that when she didn’t have work, Sweet Day’s captain, Song Yushi, could stay in bed until noon.
Song Yushi wasn’t having it. “Am I sleeping in your bed?”
Who would have thought Qi Ke would nod, and as if that wasn’t enough, add a punishment: “If you sleep in, you have to post a Weibo with rainbow praise for the other person.”
Qi Ke, being deft and clever, added some color and drew a rainbow at the end.
Song Yushi: “…”
Seeing her displeased expression, Qi Ke reached out and pinched her cheek. “Don’t be upset, I’m doing this for your own good. Do you know how fresh the morning air is?”
Song Yushi: “You’ve asked the right person.”
Qi Ke: “?”
Song Yushi spent years filming on sets. Forget the morning air; she was used to the air at two or three in the morning. Qi Ke was silent for a moment, then said, “Alright, I just want to hear your rainbow praise.”
Damn, so sweet.
Qi Ke could already imagine the CP fans screaming when this episode aired.
But the show wouldn’t air for at least a month, which was a long wait. If Song Yushi posted on Weibo, she could see it tomorrow.
“Fine, then.”
The business contract was right there. Song Yushi compromised.
She leaned against Qi Ke and muttered under her breath, “Anyway, you can’t out-sleep me. I’ll just schedule the post.”
Qi Ke smiled: Plan successful √
Song Yushi reached up to touch the cheek Qi Ke had pinched and lowered her head with a smile.
“…Making money is so hard.”
The next day at nine o’clock, the many fans who had set up special notifications for Song Yushi’s Weibo all received the same alert: 【Your little baby Yushi is open for business!】
The fans were ecstatic: “My baby finally posted on Weibo!!!”
They clicked on it and, without exception, turned to stone.
@Song Yushi: This world is a chaotic mess, but you are pure and clean. You can hang in my heart, be my sun and moon. @Qi Ke
Fans: ????
CP Fans: !!!!
【Baby, if you’ve been kidnapped, just blink.】
【Did she lose a game? Song Yushi! You must be the game’s black hole! Everyone just watching the drama, disperse, disperse. Why not look forward to 《30 Days of Cohabitation Life》 instead?】
【Even if it’s a game, it’s the ‘truth’ part of ‘truth or dare’! If you know, you know.】
【I really don’t want to ship CPs anymore, but she loves her so much.】
【The ‘live long enough and you’ll see everything’ series. I will definitely wait for Qi Yu to get married!】
…
Qi Ke closed her phone, satisfied. Humming a tune as she entered, she happened to run into Chen Sheng, who was coming out of his room yawning. She greeted him proactively, “Morning.”
Chen Sheng waved. “Morning, Teacher Qi.”
He squinted, sleepy. “Teacher Qi seems to be in a great mood. Is that breakfast?”
“Yep, but none for you guys. I brought it for Teacher Song.”
Chen Sheng didn’t mind. “As long as my idol eats well, that’s all that matters.”
Qi Ke’s good mood subsided a little. How could she forget there was a toxic solo stan here? As she walked toward the stairs, she asked, “You haven’t checked your phone yet, have you?”
Chen Sheng shook his head blankly.
Qi Ke breathed a sigh of relief. “I’ll be going then.”
Just as she lifted her foot to slip away, she suddenly heard a loud shout from a bedroom on the first floor: “Chen Sheng!”
Qi Ke jumped in fright.
But Chen Sheng seemed unfazed and said lazily, “What?”
“Someone’s stealing your goddess! Your house has collapsed!!!”
Chen Sheng: “?”
Qi Ke: “…”
Gotta go!
