“I object to this marriage!”
Qi Ke broke free from Song Yushi’s grasp, slapped Chengzhi on the thigh, and said indignantly, “I strongly object!”
Chengzhi yelped from the slap, “If you’re going to object, please slap your own thigh!”
Zhong Yi was calm and composed. “They’re a perfect match, talented and beautiful, and they hit it off. It’s not your place to interfere.” After speaking, she even sought Song Yushi’s opinion, “Don’t you think so? Captain.”
The Captain stated the facts, “They didn’t hit it off.”
Zhong Yi: “…” It was just a figure of speech, what do you know!
Interrupted by Song Yushi, Qi Ke calmed down considerably. She crossed her arms and squinted at Zhong Yi. Feeling guilty under her gaze, Zhong Yi was about to hide next to Song Yushi when she heard Qi Ke announce, “I’m pursuing the Captain. Is there anyone who doesn’t know this?”
Chengzhi muttered under her breath, “You know you’re just pursuing her, you haven’t even won her over yet, and you’re already trying to control who she meets?”
Qi Ke asked, “What did you say?”
Chengzhi stood up, pulling Zhong Yi towards the door. “I said I need to use the restroom! Zhong Yi, let’s go together! Hand in hand! Quick! Qi Ke is glaring at me! I’m scaaared, boohoo!”
The moment the door closed, Song Yushi’s face was cupped in someone’s hands.
Qi Ke’s lips pressed down, soft as jelly. The faded lipstick became even more vibrant and red as they kissed. Song Yushi obediently let her kiss her, and between breathless pants, the once cool air was pushed towards a scorching heat.
“Okay… that’s enough.” Song Yushi gently pushed Qi Ke’s shoulder. When her grip loosened, Song Yushi turned her head and rested it on Qi Ke’s shoulder.
Qi Ke said in a muffled voice, “…It’s not enough.”
Song Yushi chuckled softly.
“You’re still laughing?” Qi Ke felt even more wronged. She pulled at the corners of her mouth. “Why didn’t you tell Zhong Yi and Chengzhi that we’re back together? I have so, so much affection I want to show off to them.”
Song Yushi raised her arms to wrap around Qi Ke’s neck, her voice muffled against her throat, “We can’t.”
Qi Ke got angry, “Am I someone to be hidden?”
Song Yushi shook her head, “…No.”
“You want to meet that ‘talented and beautiful’ woman Zhong Yi introduced to you, don’t you?” Qi Ke gritted her teeth, her hand on Song Yushi’s waist tightening abruptly. She threatened in a low voice, “If you dare to be like those people with a wife at home and a mistress outside, I’ll take the third party, Zhong Yi, and Chengzhi down with me.”
Song Yushi couldn’t help but laugh, “What about me?”
Qi Ke was taken aback, “What?”
Song Yushi turned her head slightly, her soft lips brushing against Qi Ke’s skin. “If you take them all down with you, what about me?”
Qi Ke’s fingertips slowly traced her beautiful waistline, sending a shiver through her. Qi Ke hummed softly and muttered, “I like you so much, of course you have to live well.”
Song Yushi pulled away from Qi Ke’s embrace and looked directly into her eyes, “Since you like me so much, then listen to me.”
Qi Ke: “?”
What? Had she just fallen into her Captain’s trap? Captain! You’ve changed!
Qi Ke’s mournful gaze could kill. Song Yushi wavered for two seconds between immediately arranging for 《Cherry》 or coaxing her girlfriend, finally deciding, “Come here.”
Qi Ke leaned over, and Song Yushi whispered something in her ear.
Qi Ke’s eyes lit up, but then she remembered she needed to be reserved. Inwardly cheering, she feigned reluctance on the surface, “Are you really willing?”
Song Yushi raised an eyebrow, “You’re not?”
“It’s fine, I guess.” Qi Ke primly flipped her long hair, feigning seriousness. “I originally brought that bunk bed back just for sentimental reasons. If you want to do… things you like to do on it, I suppose I can reluctantly agree.”
Song Yushi held back for a moment, but couldn’t resist, and kicked out.
“Ah—”
A scream came from the bedroom, making Chengzhi and Zhong Yi, who were eavesdropping at the door, jump. Although they couldn’t hear the specifics of the conversation, the scream alone was enough for them to imagine a whole soap opera.
Chengzhi shook her head, “This is a scene of domestic violence.”
Zhong Yi sighed, “I never would have thought, I really never would have thought, that the Captain could be so violent.”
Chengzhi clicked her tongue, “Qi Ke is so petty. They haven’t even gotten back together, and she’s already stopping her from meeting new people? Zhong Yi, go ahead and introduce someone. Knock Qi Ke down a peg. Teach her for being a flirt and shipping random CPs!”
Zhong Yi hesitated, “I think the two of us have CPs with her too.”
Chengzhi recalled, “It seems like back then, we often topped the CP Super Topic charts. One after another, our CP fandoms would even fight over who was the most ‘real’ with Qi Ke.”
Zhong Yi mused, “I never expected that you and I would be the most real, and Qi Ke and the Captain would be the most real.”
Chengzhi nodded, “…Seems like something’s missing?”
Zhong Yi waved her hand, “Not important.”
Far away, Meng Ying, who was busy supervising the renovations at her hot pot restaurant, sneezed. A tissue was immediately offered to her by a hand with clean, slightly bent knuckles, revealing a hint of cautiousness.
“Thanks.”
Without looking back, Meng Ying casually wiped her nose and threw the tissue into the trash.
The hot pot restaurant was filled with the clanging sounds of renovation. The early summer dawn slowly rose, shining on the unpainted walls. A pair of dust-covered high heels followed closely behind Meng Ying.
Song Yushi’s illness kept relapsing; her temperature would spike at the slightest lapse in attention. Sister Ming called to say she had postponed all postponable upcoming schedules and was sending over scripts to keep her from getting too bored.
Flipping through the scripts Xiao Nan brought, Song Yushi asked, “Is the third public performance coming up soon?”
Xiao Nan was stunned for a moment, then realized, “Yes.”
“Don’t postpone the talent show recording.” Song Yushi closed the script. “And don’t put it on my official schedule. I’ll find some time to go see how the trainees are practicing.”
“Boss, your health…”
“It’s fine, I’ll just take a look.” Song Yushi said dismissively, “What day is the dress rehearsal?”
“The day after tomorrow.”
“Okay.” Song Yushi nodded. “Let’s do it then. Make a note of it.”
After taking the note, Xiao Nan was sent back to the company by Song Yushi. Just then, Qi Ke pushed a lunch cart into the bedroom. Song Yushi was helpless:
“I told you, I can walk to the dining room.”
“Isn’t it nice to eat in bed?” Qi Ke said with a grin, feigning casualness. “You’re going to watch the trainees’ rehearsal.”
Song Yushi gave her a light glare, “Don’t get jealous over nothing.”
Qi Ke protested her innocence, “You’re sick, I’m worried about you!”
Song Yushi scoffed lightly, “You’d better be.”
“Oh, right.” As if suddenly remembering something, she looked at Qi Ke. “You said last time that you wanted to dance to 《Cherry》 on the performance stage, but you missed the second public performance.”
Qi Ke: “…How do you still remember that?”
Song Yushi was honest, “I have a good memory.”
Qi Ke: “…”
She said pitifully, “《Cherry》 is so embarrassing. I think in our group, besides Meng Ying, no one else could dance it without feeling pressure.”
Song Yushi: “…” Well said. She couldn’t either.
Song Yushi lowered her eyes. “The second public performance is already over.”
Qi Ke nodded quickly, “Right, right, it’s too late.”
“Yeah, there’s nothing to be done.” Song Yushi slowly stirred the congee in her bowl. Suddenly, her eyes lit up, and she looked up at Qi Ke, her gaze sparkling.
Qi Ke: “…” She had a bad feeling about this.
Song Yushi smiled slightly. “Then let’s do it for the mentor collaboration stage!”
Qi Ke: “…”
She knew it!
【Not sure if I can ship this, but when the Little Captain fainted at the airport, Keke happened to be back in the country. She had no schedule, stayed for two days, and then left. It’s… kinda strange! I’ll just ship it casually, pretend I’m imagining things.】
【Then I’ll ship it first as a sign of respect!!】
【I checked, she really had no public schedule. Didn’t someone also say they saw Keke carrying the Little Captain?】
【The carrying part was debunked! Don’t ship this, the solo stans will get upset. They’ll immediately take a screenshot and say we’re shipping fake sweetness and tell us to delete it.】
【I was just shipping this CP for fun, how is it getting more and more real? Oh my god, did I stumble upon a real couple?】
【The Little Captain went to the talent show recording today and wore the ring necklace again, again, again!】
…
The cameras for the dress rehearsal were mainly focused on the stage, and not much of it would be shown in the final broadcast. Song Yushi was only there to guide the trainees’ stage performance, so she only wore simple makeup.
With a mask on, most of her beautiful face was covered, revealing a pair of slightly weary eyes.
There weren’t many groups for the theme evaluation, but each one strove for perfection, redoing their performance if they weren’t satisfied. Song Yushi stood below the stage, watching them one by one from the afternoon until the early morning.
After the last rehearsal ended, the director handed her a microphone, asking Song Yushi to say a few words to the trainees.
Song Yushi pulled down her mask, holding the microphone to her lips. She licked her dry lips, thought for a moment, and then slowly began to speak, “Enjoy the stage, enjoy your time as trainees, but don’t just enjoy the fans’ affection. You must work hard, perfect every performance, and be worthy of their love. Good luck with the public performance.”
“Thank you for your hard work, Teacher Song!”
The trainees bowed on stage, their smiling faces weary but so bright.
Song Yushi waited until they had all left before returning the microphone. Xiao Nan hurried over, draped a coat over her, touched her forehead, and grumbled softly, “I think you have a fever again.”
It had been relapsing like this for the past few days, and Song Yushi had gotten used to it. She didn’t say anything.
“Teacher Qi just called.” Xiao Nan handed her a thermos and walked beside Song Yushi towards the exit. “I didn’t dare tell her you weren’t off work yet.”
Song Yushi took a sip of water. “And then?”
“Teacher Qi is so smart. When she didn’t see any pictures of you leaving work on your Super Topic, she knew you weren’t done yet. How could I fool her?” Xiao Nan said resentfully, grumbling to herself. Before, I only had to serve the boss, now I have to serve the boss’s… wife? She pouted. “Boss, you should call Teacher Qi back quickly.”
They took an RV back. Xiao Nan deliberately sat in the passenger seat and pulled up the partition, giving the little couple some private, tender space.
It’s just that this tenderness went a little off track.
Song Yushi only opened the window a crack. The evening breeze that blew in was, at least, gentler than Qi Ke. “You could have just watched each performance once or twice. Watching them over and over again, can’t you think about your own health for a second!”
“No.” Song Yushi leaned against the glass and said in a low voice, “Watching them dance reminded me of you when you were a trainee.”
Qi Ke was taken aback, then broke into a smile. “Thinking of the green, inexperienced me, was I very innocent and pure?”
Song Yushi wanted to roll her eyes at her, but realizing she couldn’t see, she gave up and just said coolly, “I remembered how you couldn’t remember the moves the night before your debut stage and made me teach you hand-in-hand.”
Qi Ke recalled, “Oh, you mean that time. Actually, I already knew the moves.”
Song Yushi: “?”
Qi Ke said with a smile, “I just wanted to be alone with the Captain. You were so serious when you taught me to dance, and you talked a lot. You would even take my hand and hold my waist. Do you know what I wanted to do back then?”
Song Yushi’s heart inexplicably tightened. “…What?”
“I wanted to make you lose your composure, press you against the mirror and kiss you, make you smell of me.” A pleasant voice, yet extremely aggressive words.
Softly, laced with desire.
Deadly.
Song Yushi thought, the eighteen-year-old Qi Ke and the current Qi Ke, their temptation towards her was equally deadly.
Qi Ke had been very anxious lately.
The kind of anxiety where she could skip seeing a doctor, but she had to see Song Yushi.
First, she had finally won the Little Captain back. Although they couldn’t go public for reasons Song Yushi wouldn’t say, having a secret affair had its own kind of thrill. But—there’s always a but—right after they got back together, she had to fly abroad for work. Working on a new album took ten days to half a month, and due to the time difference, they rarely even video-chatted. Every day, she could only rely on pictures of Song Yushi going to and from work from fan sites to ease her lovesickness.
Second, because they couldn’t go public, Zhong Yi, who had been a third wheel since their Sweet Day days, was actually serious about introducing someone to Song Yushi?!
Taking advantage of Qi Ke being abroad, Zhong Yi triumphantly sent a photo of the person: “The CEO of the Lin Corporation. A domineering CEO, rich, from a good family. Although not as good-looking as you, she’s more considerate.”
Qi Ke: “Beep—beep—”
Zhong Yi: “? What are you saying? It got censored.”
Qi Ke: “Go f— yourself—”
Zhong Yi: “…”
Do you think you’re filming a TV show?! Why the hell are you manually censoring yourself in a WeChat chat!!!
Qi Ke: 【I can’t help it.jpg】 The Captain doesn’t let me swear.
Zhong Yi: Heh, since when have you ever listened to the Captain?
Qi Ke: You’re right.
Qi Ke: Fucking bullshit!
Zhong Yi: …
In short, after this not-so-friendly chat, Zhong Yi put her idea into action. Taking advantage of her free time, she organized a gathering in Yunzhou City, and a flashy invitation was delivered into Song Yushi’s hands.
When she received the invitation, Song Yushi happened to be on a video call with Qi Ke.
Qi Ke was typing on her computer, “Don’t worry, I’m booking a flight.”
Song Yushi was looking at the invitation. Hearing this, she looked up, “Is the young miss not taking her private jet anymore?”
Qi Ke: “Uh…”
“Don’t come back.” Song Yushi placed the invitation on the coffee table. “Didn’t you just finish work? Rest well for a couple of days before coming back. Don’t rush.”
Qi Ke said hopefully, “Then don’t go to this gathering.”
“I can’t.” Song Yushi rested her chin on her hand, looking at Qi Ke on the screen. She pursed her lips, feeling a little guilty under Qi Ke’s gaze. “…I already promised Zhong Yi.”
Qi Ke said hauntingly, “The bunk bed.”
Song Yushi: “…”
Seeing her silence, Qi Ke drew out her word, “Hey—”
“I know.” Song Yushi reached out to end the video call. “Candy needs to go for a walk. I’m not talking to you anymore, I’m going out.” While Candy wasn’t looking, Song Yushi leaned close to the camera.
A kiss landed on Qi Ke’s cheek through the screen.
Before she could respond, the video call was disconnected. Qi Ke touched her cheek, not yet satisfied. The smile on her lips gradually widened, a small hint of triumph at the corner of her eyes.
She looks so good when she blushes.
She thought.
Zhong Yi was a top-tier star with high traffic in the industry, holding global endorsements for two major luxury brands. She was usually as busy as a spinning top and rarely organized gatherings. Once the news got out, the heads of both luxury brands called her, and so a private gathering inexplicably turned into a business event.
The media was arranged, interviews were arranged. Because Song Yushi endorsed another line of one of the luxury brands, she also had to cooperate with the promotion, forced to act as a human-sized cutout for half a day, taking photos with wealthy women before entering.
After entering, the media was finally kept outside. Song Yushi breathed a sigh of relief, casually grabbing a glass of juice and sitting on a high stool.
Low-key, yet dazzlingly outstanding.
A black backless long dress, her exposed skin as delicate and smooth as snow. The silver ring hung from a necklace around her neck, swaying with her movements.
Song Yushi once again declined a man’s invitation to dance and drank the juice in her glass in one go.
Just as she stood up to leave, Zhong Yi sauntered over.
Zhong Yi pushed a glass of red wine towards her and lifted her chin. “Captain, see that beauty in the white dress at your three o’clock? That’s the domineering CEO I wanted to introduce you to. Not bad, right?”
Song Yushi glanced over.
The CEO in the white dress raised her glass in her direction.
Song Yushi gave a polite nod, took a small sip of red wine, and said to Zhong Yi, “She’s alright.”
Zhong Yi laughed, “Don’t compare her to Qi Ke. How many Qi Kes are there in this world? Talented, from a good family, beautiful, and so in love with you.”
Song Yushi turned to look at Zhong Yi, slowly trying to draw her out, “You know that so clearly?”
“Of course!” Zhong Yi had had a little to drink. Her white shirt was worn loosely, but her clean aura was even more striking. Her short hair was neat. She put down her wine glass and counted on her fingers as she spilled the beans to Song Yushi, “When you two were together, you couldn’t go public, so I was the only one who knew. Qi Ke fed me all her public displays of affection. Was it easy for me?!”
Song Yushi smiled, took another sip of wine, and inexplicably found that version of Qi Ke very cute.
“You’re still laughing?” Zhong Yi clutched her chest. “It’s because you spoil her that she’s so unrestrained! But it’s fine, you’ve already broken up anyway.” Zhong Yi was at peace with the world again. “Whatever you do, don’t get back together. If only to avoid dancing to 《Cherry》!”
Song Yushi’s smile froze. “…”
How does the whole world know about this?
Zhong Yi was still chattering on, but Song Yushi was no longer in the mood to talk to her. Seeing that the CEO Zhong Yi wanted to introduce was about to come over, Song Yushi said, “I’m going to the restroom,” and quickly slipped away.
But she didn’t expect that CEO to follow her.
Song Yushi: “…” Meeting someone her friend introduced in the restroom was something she had never, ever expected.
Song Yushi wasn’t good at making small talk with strangers. After introducing herself, she ran out of things to say. The CEO, however, suggested they talk somewhere else, joking, “I don’t want to remember our first meeting as being… fragrant.”
So the location was moved to the smoking room.
The media was still lurking outside. Most of the invitees were from the entertainment industry, and outsiders wouldn’t just come here for no reason. So the smoking room should be empty.
The CEO pushed open the door, but her steps faltered.
Song Yushi had just had a little to drink and was following behind her, a bit dizzy. Seeing her stop, she was also taken aback and asked, “What’s wrong?”
“You follow a stranger into a strange room, and you’re asking me what’s wrong?”
The voice that answered her was familiar, as if it had crossed oceans, sounding distant and drifting in her ears. After a few seconds of delay, Song Yushi belatedly realized.
Her eyes widened slightly as she stepped out from behind the CEO.
But her wrist was suddenly grabbed, and she was pulled forward and pressed against the wall. As a shadow fell over her, Song Yushi smelled a faint fragrance.
It was the clean scent of cedarwood mixed with iris.
It was Qi Ke.
And her kiss, staking its claim.
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