Dog Food
Zhong Yi swore that if she could do it all over again, she would give anything to not have stumbled upon the Captain and the lead singer’s relationship. Of course, that’s just how things were. Heaven was unwilling to let Zhong Yi lose everything, and instead gave her countless bowls of dog food.
One night, Zhong Yi woke up with a start from a nightmare.
She sat on the bed in a daze for a moment, then scrambled out of bed and knocked on the lead singer and the Captain’s door. After knocking for a while, she finally heard footsteps inside, accompanied by Qi Ke’s complaint: “Who is it?”
When the door opened, Qi Ke saw it was Zhong Yi. She scratched her hair, tucked the long strands behind her ear, and said irritably, “What can I do for you?”
Zhong Yi’s spirit was extremely fragile. “I just had a dream.”
Qi Ke froze for a moment, her expression turning awkward. “Zhong Yi.”
Zhong Yi: “What?”
Qi Ke said with difficulty, “I’m in a relationship with the Captain. It’s not good for you to run over here in the middle of the night and tell me this. What if the Captain hears?” After a pause, it dawned on her. “You’re not here for me, are you? You’re here for the Captain? Are you coveting my girlfriend?”
Zhong Yi: “…”
Get lost, you paranoid freak!!!
Zhong Yi was shocked awake by anger. “It wasn’t a wet dream!”
Qi Ke instantly breathed a sigh of relief, then her beautiful eyes widened. “If you have a nightmare, go find Chengzhi. If you have a dream about missing your mom, go find Meng Ying. What are you doing looking for us, a little couple?”
“…” Zhong Yi was already very calm. “I dreamed that you and the Captain went public.”
Qi Ke: “…”
Zhong Yi described it to her, “Man, it was a bloodbath. The fans were right in front of the company with banners, demanding refunds. They said if they didn’t get their money back, you could forget about getting their blessings!”
Afraid of waking Song Yushi, Qi Ke pushed Zhong Yi outside a bit and left the bedroom door ajar. After hearing Zhong Yi out, she asked thoughtfully, “How much money?”
Zhong Yi calculated, “At least twenty million, I’d say?”
Qi Ke nodded. “Not bad.”
Zhong Yi: “?”
What’s not bad about it?
Qi Ke said, “I can afford it.”
Zhong Yi: “…”
Who the hell cares if you can afford it!
Qi Ke added, “Even if my money isn’t enough, there’s still the Captain’s money. A little couple doesn’t distinguish between what’s theirs. Hey—why are you leaving? Going to sleep? Not talking anymore?”
Without looking back, Zhong Yi said, “Get lost!!!”
Qi Ke tutted. “Keep your voice down.”
With that, she pushed open the bedroom door and smoothly climbed onto the Captain’s bed. Song Yushi was half-asleep and snuggled into her arms, her voice muffled. “Who was it?”
Qi Ke patted her comfortingly. “No one, go back to sleep.”
Song Yushi hummed softly and fell completely asleep.
The next day, they were woken up by Meng Ying’s shriek. Mornings in the Sweet Day dorm were always chaotic, and today was especially so. Meng Ying cupped Zhong Yi’s face, “Zhong Yi, whose rice did you steal last night? Your dark circles are almost at national treasure level!”
Zhong Yi: “Heh heh.”
Chengzhi twirled a foundation brush. “Don’t be afraid, with my miraculous touch, I guarantee I’ll return a beautiful and energetic little girl Zhong Yi to the fans.”
Zhong Yi rolled her eyes. “I’m not dead yet! What miraculous touch are you talking about?”
Meng Ying sidled up to Chengzhi. “Ahhh, sister, do my makeup for me. I’m too lazy. If you don’t do it, I’ll go out with a bare face.”
Chengzhi wrapped an arm around Meng Ying’s waist. “Let’s go to my room, the light is better there.”
Chengzhi and Meng Ying left, all clingy and affectionate, creating the atmosphere of two straight girls being lovey-dovey. Zhong Yi was drinking milk when she looked up and saw Qi Ke with her arm around Song Yushi, walking out of the bedroom.
The milk, it came back out.
Song Yushi & Qi Ke: “…”
Song Yushi was the captain and considered it her duty to care for her teammates. She asked as she walked downstairs, “Is the breakfast not to your liking?”
“No, no.” Zhong Yi wiped her mouth and said, “Captain, let me ask you a question.”
Song Yushi: “Hm?”
Zhong Yi set a trap for Song Yushi, throwing out a suicidal question: “If Qi Ke asked you for ten million, and wouldn’t pay you back, would you give it to her?”
Qi Ke quickly looked at Song Yushi.
Song Yushi didn’t even hesitate. “I would.”
Qi Ke immediately broke into a triumphant smile.
Zhong Yi asked, “You’d give her that much money without a second thought?”
Song Yushi sat down opposite her, picked up a piece of bread, took a bite, and said nonchalantly, “Money is just a worldly possession.”
Zhong Yi: “…”
Give me some of this worldly possession?
Song Yushi asked, “Why have you stopped eating?”
Zhong Yi chuckled. “I’m full.”
She’d had enough of this dog food!
Hic!
First Snow
One of the tour stops was in the capital, just in time for the first snow. The sky was already gloomy when they entered the stadium for rehearsal, with dark, oppressive clouds gathering on the horizon, brewing a fierce winter snowstorm.
By the time they were left with the final blocking run-through, it was nearly four in the morning. The fans had long since been persuaded by the staff to return to their hotels to rest—
Sweet Day used centrally controlled light sticks for their concerts, so there was no competition over who had more light-up signs. The fans didn’t even have a venue to battle, so they all went home to save their voices, planning to win with volume at the concert.
Aside from a few key staff members, the venue was empty.
Song Yushi was holding a microphone, discussing with the lighting director how to best light a certain part of a song. Just as they finished, someone shouted, “It’s snowing!”
Some Sweet Day members were perfecting their positions, some were adjusting their mics, some were looking at lyrics, and some, whose stamina was failing, were sitting on the edge of the stage, dangling their legs. Hearing it was snowing, one of them whistled. “Whoa! I want to go see!”
Sister Ming shouted from below the stage: “Chengzhi! Mind your sweet girl persona! What does whistling look like!”
Chengzhi was rebellious. She whistled at Qi Ke, who was closest to her, and even acted like a “hooligan”: “Hey beautiful, are you free tonight? Let’s dance hotly together!”
“Dance your head off!” Qi Ke threw the lyrics in her hand at Chengzhi. “I’m the lead singer!”
Sister Ming: “Ahhh! Cooperate with her and give us some sugar!”
Qi Ke & Chengzhi: “…”
Their manager was really hard to please.
“Who wants to go see the snow?” Song Yushi was still holding the microphone, and when she spoke, her volume immediately won out, overpowering all other sounds.
Sweet Day teammates: “Me, me, me!”
Song Yushi nodded and said, “Let’s take a break, then we’ll do the final run-through.”
Sweet Day members: “Okay!!!”
Only Zhong Yi: “…”
Was it her imagination? Why did she feel like the little Captain was jealous that Sister Ming wanted Qi Ke and Chengzhi to be a CP, so she deliberately interrupted Sister Ming at that moment…
A jealous woman is terrifying! She can even stop a rehearsal!
They had been rehearsing for nearly six or seven hours with only a short half-hour break in between. Everyone’s stamina was long gone, and their hearts had already flown outside at the mention of snow.
Song Yushi was more thoughtful. She let Sister Ming know, asking her to order some food for the staff on site, and also ordered hot drinks for the fan site masters who were unwilling to leave and were waiting for them to finish work outside the venue.
The first snow in the capital was heavy, falling thick and fast, as if in an instant they had returned to old Beiping.
Song Yushi put on her down jacket and walked side by side with Qi Ke. Her hand, hidden in her sleeve, was grabbed, warm and toasty. The sky was still dark in the early morning, and the streetlights illuminated the falling snow on the stadium plaza.
Meng Ying and the other two had gone out first and were already chatting with the fans.
Seeing that they were about to be in front of people, Qi Ke let go of Song Yushi’s hand and stuck it in her own pocket. She said in a low voice, “Captain, let me sing you a song.”
“I listen slowly / to the sound of falling snow / closing my eyes, I imagine it won’t stop…”
Not far away, the sound of cameras clicking could be heard. Snow fell on the support banners that fans had long since tied to the railings. On them, all the members of Sweet Day were smiling brightly.
In her ears was Qi Ke’s soft and gentle singing, the sound of falling snow.
Later, after Song Yushi and Qi Ke officially announced their relationship, their fan site masters combined the individual photos taken that day into one. The two sites jointly posted it with a moving caption—
You are the first snow on earth, a beautiful dream, the last page of a poem.
Hot Spring
After the tour ended, Sweet Day had a short break. Although it was only one day, and although everyone really wanted to sleep in at the hotel, when Qi Ke suggested going to a hot spring, the proposal passed unanimously.
Meng Ying: “Eating hotpot while soaking in a hot spring is the absolute best!”
Zhong Yi: “Not bad. Soaking, doing a face mask, and sleeping all at the same time.”
Chengzhi: “A snowy day is perfect for a hot spring.”
Song Yushi yawned. “A hot spring hotel is still a hotel, no difference.”
Her teammates: “…”
And so, it was settled. Qi Ke was well-connected. A Maybach came directly to pick them up. Qi Ke drove, so with no outsiders to disturb them, the five members of Sweet Day checked directly into a well-known five-star hot spring hotel.
Two room keys. A family room, and a double room.
Meng Ying was stunned for a moment. “A family room? Who with who and who else?”
Zhong Yi was perceptive. She immediately put her arm around Meng Ying’s shoulder and said, “Of course it’s me, Chengzhi, and you.” She patted Meng Ying’s little head. “I’m the dad, Chengzhi is the mom, and you’re the silly daughter. Isn’t that what our fans say?”
Chengzhi agreed, “Silly daughter.”
Meng Ying was still puzzled. “Then the Captain and Qi Ke… Hey, hey, hey!”
Before she could finish, she was dragged away by Zhong Yi, the “old father” who cherished his daughter’s life.
Qi Ke gave Zhong Yi a thumbs-up, then turned to Song Yushi with the room key, smiling. “Alright, Captain, it’s just the two of us left. Let’s go take a shower together!”
It wasn’t that the two of them had never showered together. The shower in the dorm was small and cramped everywhere. A slight turn could make you bump into something, and one touch would ignite a fire.
Every time they showered, it would take at least two hours to get out.
The aftereffects were an aching back, weak legs, and heavenly sleepiness.
The concert had been too tiring. Song Yushi was sure she didn’t have the energy for a passionate encounter with Qi Ke, so she very humbly lay down on the bed. “You first.”
Qi Ke leaned over, looking pitiful. “You don’t want to?”
Song Yushi closed her eyes. The hot breath on her face was ambiguous and sexy, making her eyelashes tremble slightly. She opened her eyes and met Qi Ke’s big, watery ones.
The corners of her eyes were tinged with a hint of scarlet, alluring.
Song Yushi raised her hand, her palm covering Qi Ke’s eyes. Her tone carried a hint of a smile. “Don’t seduce me.”
Qi Ke grabbed her wrist, slowly guiding her hand down, kissing it when it reached her lips, then moving it lower. She whispered coquettishly, “Sister, I want it.”
Song Yushi licked her lips and spoke softly, “…Want what?”
Qi Ke lowered her head and captured her lips, her voice muffled in their intertwining kiss, domineering yet tender. “Want you.”
