Xu Shuyan had a dream.
In the dream, she was at the filming location for the historical idol drama Chen Yuan was starring in. The crew was using a real snowy landscape. She was dressed thinly, standing far away in the bone-chilling wind. She could only see Chen Yuan’s cloak, a solitary splash of vibrant color in the white world, rising and falling with the wind.
It’s too cold, she thought. Her fingertips, hanging at her side, curled into a fist. Her knuckles turned a faint pink, occasionally brushed by passing snow, becoming damp.
Suddenly, someone grabbed her pinky finger.
She froze for a moment. Her gaze, fixed on Chen Yuan, began to waver, flicker, and finally moved to her side. Looking down, she saw a little girl, five or six years old. She was tiny, bundled up in a large down jacket. Even though it was cold, she stubbornly reached out from her long sleeves to grasp Xu Shuyan’s pinky.
The girl looked up at her as if she were an idiot, her sharp remark coming without hesitation: “Why are you standing here like a dummy dressed so lightly?”
…Such a familiar little girl, such a familiar taunt.
After a good while, she finally realized—isn’t this fucking mini Lin Yi?!
Her attention was completely diverted. She tried to pull her pinky from mini Lin Yi’s grasp, but unexpectedly, this mini Lin Yi was quite strong. She couldn’t pull it free, so she squatted down and asked, “Lin Yi?”
Mini Lin Yi tilted her head back. “How do you know my name? You’ve been following me for a long time, haven’t you?”
Lin Yi’s narcissistic little act made her laugh. She gently poked mini Lin Yi’s forehead with her index finger. “Why would I follow you? You’re the one following me, right? Showing up in my dream, tsk!” She shook her head. “So forward!”
Sure enough, mini Lin Yi’s expression changed instantly. “Isn’t it because you were thinking of me that I appeared in your dream?”
Xu Shuyan: “…”
She pointed at Chen Yuan. “I was thinking of her.”
Mini Lin Yi chuckled. “Really?”
Xu Shuyan gritted her teeth. The kid’s voice was so pleasant, crisp and clear against the snow, yet her words were so infuriating. She said impatiently, “Isn’t that obvious? Don’t you dare give me that ‘Really? I don’t believe you’ routine. I’m telling you, it’s true, it’s true, it’s-“
Before she could finish, mini Lin Yi suddenly jumped up and hugged her. The moment she embraced her, she abruptly grew larger. Caught off guard, Xu Shuyan was knocked straight back into the snow.
Loose snowflakes danced around them. The world was a vast expanse of white. The person in her arms snuggled softly against her chest.
It tickled.
Her eyes flew open.
No Chen Yuan, no snowy day, no bone-chilling wind, and no mini Lin Yi. She was still in X City, at an altitude of two thousand meters, with Lin Yi… with Lin Yi! Wait! But someone really was nuzzling her chest!
Xu Shuyan shifted her eyes downward and saw Lin Yi with an arm around her waist, her face buried in her chest, nuzzling and whining, “I don’t wanna get up~~~”
The cameraman was still coaxing in a low voice, “Time to get up.”
Xu Shuyan: “…”
She closed her eyes for a moment, her thoughts quickly returning to reality. She finally remembered that she and Lin Yi had lost the dice roll and had to get up early to buy breakfast for the whole group. It must be time for their wake-up call.
…But she remembered that before bed, Lin Yi had been sleeping right on the edge of the mattress to avoid being near her! How did she wake up with her in her arms?
After thinking about it, there was no other reason except for fan service.
This gave her even more of a headache. She didn’t know where Lin Yi found the professional spirit to switch into fan-service mode first thing in the morning, but she was too tired and had no energy for it. Too lazy to even push Lin Yi away, she raised a hand to block the camera. “Don’t film yet.”
–Don’t film yet, I’m not ready for fan service.
Unexpectedly, after this wake-up clip was broadcast, CP fans voted it the sweetest moment of the episode. A “screaming thread” was started in their Super Topic, reaching five thousand posts.
[I’M LITERALLY DYING I’M LITERALLY DYING!]
[What were you two doing before the camera came in? So early in the morning… and what about last night… did you do it until you were tired and just fell asleep cuddling????]
[They’ve done it, Yan Zhi You Yi has really done it!!!]
[Xu Shuyan is so obviously trying to hide something. ‘Don’t film yet,’ haha! I’ve already discovered your relationship and have the evidence! Go public already!]
[AHHHHHH! No dating within the group! Mama forbids it! This is an idol disqualification, an idol disqualification!]
[Why do you have to sleep holding each other? Won’t half your body go numb? It’s not like I’ve never been in a relationship, but we were never this clingy. Xu Shuyan, what are you feeling guilty about? Lin Yi, why are you so natural about it?]
[Production team, I really hate how obedient you are. She told you not to film and you actually stopped!]
Since they still needed to change, and seeing that they were both awake, the cameraman obediently left. About ten minutes later, Lin Yi opened the door again. “You can send the makeup artist in.”
They got up at four, and hair and makeup took an hour. By the time they set out to buy breakfast, it was already five.
The sky was still dark at five, the dawn light still below the horizon. Early summer wasn’t hot to begin with, and the temperature difference between day and night here was huge. They had to wear down jackets over their dresses to dare go outside.
“Is anyone really open this early?” Lin Yi started the car and pulled away from the curb, yawning. “I hope we don’t get there and find no one. We’ll all just have to drink the northwest wind.”
Xu Shuyan was still sleepy. She propped her elbow on the car window and gave a perfunctory “mm.” “We’ll see when we get there.”
“Why are you so tired?” Lin Yi turned on the GPS and followed it onto the main road, giving Xu Shuyan a strange look. “What were you doing behind my back last night?”
Xu Shuyan didn’t even open her eyes. “…Nothing. Let me nap a little longer.”
Lin Yi pouted resentfully. After less than two minutes of quiet, she couldn’t help but speak again. “You didn’t have insomnia, did you? I was sleeping like a log and you couldn’t fall asleep, is that it?”
Xu Shuyan paused, then turned her head to look at her. “Why do I detect a hint of schadenfreude in your tone?”
Lin Yi’s eyes curved into a smile. “Do you?”
Xu Shuyan: “…”
Maybe not before, but definitely now!
“I had insomnia once, too,” Lin Yi said. “You were sleeping so soundly next to me, I was dying of jealousy. If I weren’t so kind, I definitely would have woken you up!”
Xu Shuyan: “…Thank you so much.”
Lin Yi managed to throw her a flirtatious wink. “We’re in the same group, why be so polite?”
It took a great deal of effort for Xu Shuyan not to roll her eyes at her in front of the camera. In the end, she just said irritably, “Just drive properly!”
The city roads were smooth, and it wasn’t rush hour yet. Only a few early-rising cars passed by, leaving the streets mostly empty. After another turn, they actually found a breakfast stall that was open.
She hadn’t felt it before, but the moment she smelled the aroma, Lin Yi felt hungry. She parked the car and eagerly unbuckled her seatbelt. “I heard the steamed bun and vermicelli soup and the beef noodles here are especially good. I’ll order the soup, you get the beef noodles, and we can share. How about it?”
Having been so clearly assigned her role, what else could Xu Shuyan do?
It was called a breakfast stall, but there was no actual storefront, just a canopy set up outdoors. The wind blew in from all directions, and only a hot soup could warm you up. There were quite a few people eating breakfast, crowded together boisterously, a mix of dialects from all over the country creating a lively, down-to-earth atmosphere.
The production team was still filming them. After ordering, Lin Yi and Xu Shuyan tried to be as low-key as possible, finding a seat on the outer edge. It was naturally colder there. Lin Yi shivered for a moment, then suddenly said, “Xu Shuyan.”
“Hm?” The cold wind had woken Xu Shuyan up. She was compulsively wiping the table in front of her with a wet wipe. Hearing Lin Yi call her name so formally, her heart skipped a beat and she instinctively grew wary. “What is it?”
Lin Yi had specially braided her hair today, with a bunny-ear clip on one side. When she blinked rapidly at her, she looked like a lop-eared rabbit brewing mischief while trying to cover it up. Xu Shuyan placed the scalded chopsticks on Lin Yi’s plate and said, “If you have something to say, just say it. Why be so formal with me?”
Lin Yi: “Why don’t you feed me!”
Xu Shuyan: “?”
I tell you not to be polite, and you really take me at my word!
Lin Yi shrank her head into her down jacket, looking pitiful. “It’s so cold. I really can’t get my hands out. I feel like they’ll freeze off if I do.”
Xu Shuyan said, “Is that so? Then take them out and let me see.”
Lin Yi: “?”
Xu Shuyan: “No reason, I just want to witness fingers freezing off with my own eyes.”
Lin Yi: “…You’re so cruel!”
As the two were bantering, a shout came: “Steamed bun soup, beef noodles, ready!” Lin Yi quickly raised her hand. “Over here, here!” Catching Xu Shuyan staring at her hand out of the corner of her eye, she quickly pulled it back. “You didn’t see anything!”
Xu Shuyan: “The internet has a memory.”
The cameraman diligently filmed them, then panned to the food on the table.
The steamed bun and vermicelli soup were separate. As the saying goes, “Steady and stable, steamed bun and vermicelli soup,” eating it on a cold day is the best way to warm the body. The beef noodles were a local specialty: a broth made from beef bones, wide noodles, garnished with cilantro and green onions, steaming hot and very appetizing.
Xu Shuyan thought to herself that she’d been too groggy this morning to play along with Lin Yi’s fan service. If Lin Yi brought it up later, she could just say she hadn’t been thinking clearly. But if she didn’t seize the fan-service opportunity right in front of her now, she’d never hear the end of it from Lin Yi until next year.
She pulled at the corners of her mouth, resentfully picked up her chopsticks, and held a steamed bun to Lin Yi’s lips. “Ah-“
Lin Yi didn’t quite process it, but she opened her mouth out of reflex and bit into the bun. She blinked. “It’s pretty good.” Before Xu Shuyan could say anything, she turned to the camera. “Does this count as completing my mission?”
Xu Shuyan: “?”
Lin Yi gave her an embarrassed smile. “If I could get you to feed me, I’d get fifty yuan. We can spend it together. Don’t be polite, and don’t glare at me!”
Xu Shuyan: “…”
She’d been tricked by Lin Yi again! If she ever believed Lin Yi’s words again, she was a dog!
A papillon!
The cameraman beside them was shaking with laughter and couldn’t help but say, “Teacher Xu and Teacher Lin are so cute. How are you so cute even when you’re always bickering?”
Xu Shuyan ate a mouthful of noodles.
She thought, if love rivals don’t bicker, are they supposed to kiss?
The fifty yuan Lin Yi won was used to buy takeout breakfast for their teammates. Watching Lin Yi pay, Xu Shuyan complained to the production team, “Why didn’t I get that mission?”
Production Team: “?”
Xu Shuyan shook her head and sighed. “A tragic loss of a fifty-yuan fortune!”
Production Team: “??”
Isn’t this a different tune from when you were mad at Teacher Lin for tricking you?
When they got back, the other three were up and doing their makeup. Seeing they still had some time before they had to leave, Lin Yi and Xu Shuyan decided to go back to their room for a nap.
After shutting the camera crew out, they found that the cameras inside the room had also been removed since they were leaving. Lin Yi instantly relaxed. She squinted at the sun for a moment, then drew the curtains and flopped onto the bed.
She called out to Xu Shuyan, who was slowly taking off her shoes, “Aren’t you going to hurry up? Weren’t you dead tired?”
“What’s the rush?” Xu Shuyan stood barefoot on the carpet but didn’t hurry to get into bed. She leaned her knees against the edge of the mattress, looking down at Lin Yi, and suddenly said, “Lin Yi, did you get hit a lot as a kid?”
“Why are you asking that?” Lin Yi rolled over, lying on her back to look up at Xu Shuyan. “Of course not. I was so well-behaved.”
Xu Shuyan leaned down, placing her palms on either side of Lin Yi’s head. The arrogant, domineering little Lin Yi from her dream overlapped with the well-behaved yet cunning big Lin Yi before her, giving her the illusion of being back in the biting wind and snow. She was dazed for two seconds before Lin Yi grew impatient. “Hey, Xu Shuyan, this position is very dangerous.”
Xu Shuyan didn’t move. “How is it dangerous?”
Lin Yi was lying on her back, so Xu Shuyan appeared upside down to her. She found it novel and didn’t think it was ambiguous, just said, “If you lose your balance and fall, wouldn’t we end up kissing?”
Xu Shuyan: “…”
“Kissing is a small matter,” Lin Yi added. “But if you fall on me, it could be disfiguring… Hey, why’d you move away?”
Xu Shuyan pushed Lin Yi aside, annoyed. “I’m afraid of being disfigured!”
She was starting to see that whether it was mini Lin Yi or the full-sized version, both could easily infuriate her to death. And the person herself was completely oblivious. Lin Yi muttered under her breath, “Why’d she get so worked up?”
Xu Shuyan reached out and covered her eyes. “Go to sleep.”
Lin Yi blinked, her long eyelashes brushing against Xu Shuyan’s palm. She heard Lin Yi say “oh” and obediently close her eyes.
The room suddenly fell silent, their breathing clearly audible.
Lin Yi let herself be “sealed” by Xu Shuyan for a while. Hearing Xu Shuyan’s breathing grow steady, she carefully lowered her hand. Not daring to move much, she turned her head slightly to look at Xu Shuyan in the light filtering through the curtains.
…Mm, a sleeping Xu Shuyan is indeed the most well-behaved.
So when Xu Shuyan woke up and was scrolling through her Moments during lunch, she saw a post from Lin Yi. She was about to ask where she was going when her hand suddenly froze.
【Lin Yi: So well-behaved when she’s asleep. [Photo of Xu Shuyan sleeping]】
Likes: Shichen, Captain, Yuanyuan, Fang Yi, Assistant A, Assistant B, a certain variety show director, a certain screenwriter.
Xu Shuyan: “Lin! Yi!”
Lin Yi had already slipped out the door, only her voice drifting back from a distance: “I’ll wait for everyone in the car!” Xu Shuyan gritted her teeth and looked at her other teammates at the table.
Yan Qi said slowly, “She’s driving this afternoon. Settle whatever dispute you have tonight behind closed doors at the hotel.”
Zhou Shichen said excitedly, “Can I apply to watch… I mean, break up the fight?”
Chen Yuan said with a smile, “It’s very cute.”
Xu Shuyan’s eyes lit up: Yuanyuan called me cute!
After getting in the car, Lin Yi received a new WeChat Moments notification: Xu Shuyan liked your photo and commented: I was called cute, saved [shy][shy][shy]
Lin Yi: …
Chen Yuan praised her, it must have been Chen Yuan. Look at Xu Shuyan’s smug face!!!
They weren’t in a hurry, setting off in the afternoon. They drove east along the G6 Expressway for three hours at a leisurely pace, enjoying the scenery along the way.
The sky was a washed-out blue. Here and there, heavy clouds gathered, casting shadows on the mountaintops where snow lay hidden.
On the long, endless highway, the wind whistling through the open windows was cool and refreshing. Music played from the car stereo, a song of freedom-
“Often I give it my all / Risking my life to pass through without a trace / But I’m never afraid / To dig out my fiery heart…”
“Driving on this road is so awesome!” Lin Yi gripped the steering wheel and said to Xu Shuyan, who was singing along excitedly beside her, “When we stop to take pictures later, I’ll let you drive.”
Xu Shuyan said sourly, “So you’re finally willing to let go of the steering wheel?”
Lin Yi felt a pang of guilt. “What’s with that? You make it sound like I never let you guys drive. We still have a few days left!” She looked in the rearview mirror, seeking her teammates’ opinions. “Right?”
Yan Qi said seriously, “Why don’t you let me drive after we stop for pictures?”
Zhou Shichen condemned her, “Exactly! Don’t be so biased towards Xu Shuyan! We’re all your dear teammates!”
Chen Yuan… Chen Yuan didn’t really want to drive. In fact, she’d been feeling a bit carsick since they got on the road. She was slowly eating a plum, leaning against the window with a pale face. She just said, “You’re working hard, Xiao Yi.”
Lin Yi quickly replied, “Not at all, not at all.”
It really wasn’t hard work. Lin Yi loved the feeling of being in control of the steering wheel, especially on such a wide, flat road, feeling the wind, watching the lakes pass one after another, and seeing yaks lazily drinking water.
They passed one or two people cycling into Tibet, and a singer on the roadside, playing and singing for nature, flashed past the window-
“Actually,” Chen Yuan, in the back seat, had sat up at some point. She licked her lips, as if she had hesitated for a long time before mustering the courage to speak. “There’s something I’ve been wanting to tell…”
But just then, the car, which had been moving steadily forward, suddenly started reversing.
Everyone’s attention was instantly diverted. Xu Shuyan was the closest, and she looked at Lin Yi in the driver’s seat. “What’s wrong? You didn’t forget something at the hotel, did you?”
“I saw someone I know.” Lin Yi said as she backed the car up to the person singing on the roadside. The window rolled down further. Speaking across Xu Shuyan, she called out, “Hey, it really is you! Long time no see!”
Xu Shuyan frowned slightly and looked out the window.
She hadn’t noticed when they flashed past, but now she saw the person was sitting on a high stool with an off-road bicycle parked next to her. Behind her was an endless wilderness. She held a guitar, her long hair braided into small plaits with colorful ties. She wore a bohemian maxi dress with complex, vibrant colors, her slender frame giving her a unique charm.
Hearing Lin Yi’s greeting, she looked over coolly. Her whole demeanor was as if she’d been soaked in cold water, as chilly as a winter pond.
Xu Shuyan couldn’t help but say, “She probably doesn’t even know you.”
“How could she not?” Lin Yi leaned over, pushing her aside, and waved her hand. “Miss Shen, don’t you remember me? I’m Lin Yi! When you used to sing on the street in S City, I sang next to you, the middle schooler!”
The person’s eyebrow twitched slightly. “Ah,” she said. “It’s you.”
Her voice was like the clinking of fine jade, clear and cool. Her gaze fell on the production team’s car following behind them, then she deftly retracted it. “I remember you. You debuted in a girl group. I even bought your album.”
“Are you filming a show?” she asked, hopping off the high stool.
“Do you mind being filmed?” Lin Yi asked. “If you do, we can have them blur you out in post-production.” She then quickly introduced this acquaintance to the other members of the Gu Group: “This is Shen Yujia, a folk singer. When she used to sing on the street in S City, our company’s talent scout was there every day trying to sign her, but she didn’t want to sign with a company.”
That was all before Lin Yi joined the company. After she signed, she had wanted to help the company persuade Shen Yujia, but when she went back to that street, Shen Yujia was gone.
Only the passersby who listened to her sing every day were left sighing in her old spot.
“I heard her singing just now,” Zhou Shichen said, leaning on the car window and watching Shen Yujia talk to Lin Yi. She remarked, “It’s not like singing, it’s like telling a story, unfolding gently.”
She patted her face, a little embarrassed. “Actually, if Xiao Yi hadn’t known her, I was about to ask her to back up so we could meet her.”
It was unclear what Shen Yujia said to Lin Yi, but they both laughed at the same time. Shen Yujia reached out and patted Lin Yi’s hair.
“Didn’t they just sing together for one night? And Lin Yi was the type to steal her business,” Xu Shuyan watched this scene and muttered under her breath, “Are they really that close?”
…Is it necessary to pat someone’s hair the moment you’re reunited?
She fiddled with the car’s air conditioning vent, pointing it up and then down, wondering how long Lin Yi would take to catch up with this person. Just then, Lin Yi turned and walked over, sticking her head into the passenger-side window. “Babes, I just asked. Yujia is also going to Chaka Salt Town. She was singing here while waiting for a ride. Why don’t we give her a lift?”
Yujia, she calls her. Didn’t they just sing together once? They haven’t been in contact since. Are they already close enough to drop the surname?
As Xu Shuyan’s mind raced with these thoughts, Lin Yi had already gotten unanimous agreement from everyone else. Lin Yi poked her. “Xu Shuyan, how about you drive? I’ll sit in the back.”
Now she wants me to drive?
So she can sit in the back and whisper secrets with that Shen Yujia, right? A rebellious streak flared up in Xu Shuyan, and she refused flatly. “I don’t want to!”
“Didn’t you just say you wanted to drive?” Lin Yi was baffled. “Why are you being so fierce?”
Xu Shuyan didn’t want to drive, but there were others who did. Sure enough, the usually zen Yan Qi immediately volunteered. “I’ll drive!”
Chen Yuan said, “Then I’ll take the passenger seat.”
Shen Yujia had nothing else planned, so a trip to Chaka Salt Town wouldn’t delay her. It was just a matter of singing in a different place.
The production team had long since recognized her as Shen Yujia, the folk singer who had been popular online for a long time and whom Sweet Melon Entertainment’s top talent scout had tried and failed to sign. Since Shen Yujia didn’t mind being filmed, they weren’t about to turn down free publicity, so they naturally didn’t mind a slight delay in their schedule.
So another person was added to their seven-seater van. Although Lin Yi and Shen Yujia had only met once, Lin Yi had never forgotten her. She had listened to Shen Yujia’s unofficially circulated audio recordings countless times. Seeing her now was almost like meeting an idol.
Over the years, Shen Yujia still hadn’t signed with a company. But she had become popular through the power of the internet, and more companies sought her out. Annoyed by the constant offers, she would run whenever she was approached. In the last two years, she had fallen in love with the great northwest, singing and stopping as she pleased. Meeting Lin Yi was truly fate.
“Xiao Yi has grown up, you’re a big star now.” She looked at Lin Yi with a smile, reminiscing. “You were only fifteen back then, right? Just a little sprout. I never would have guessed you could hit such high notes.”
She didn’t wear makeup. The high-altitude UV rays had tanned her skin to a wheat color, giving her a kind of plain, detached beauty.
Lin Yi covered her face shyly. “If the talent scout hadn’t been there waiting for you, I wouldn’t have been discovered. At the time, I thought I might even join the company with you.”
The two of them were chatting happily, but Xu Shuyan found it irritating to listen to. She put on her headphones. Zhou Shichen watched silently for a moment, then gently tapped Xu Shuyan’s shoulder. “Yanyan.”
Xu Shuyan turned her head. “What’s wrong?”
Zhou Shichen asked in a low voice, “Are you jealous?”
Xu Shuyan froze for a second, then averted her gaze. “How could I be?”
Although she said that, her irritable mood lasted until they checked into their hotel in Chaka Salt Town. The production team had booked a room for Shen Yujia as well, but she declined it. With her guitar on her back, she stood in the wind as if she might float away at any moment, waving to Lin Yi. “I have friends here. See you around if fate allows.”
Lin Yi waved back. “Let’s keep in touch on WeChat!”
Shen Yujia smiled, then turned and disappeared into the twilight of the small town. Zhou Shichen stood with Lin Yi, watching her go. Seeing the wind lift her long dress, she said with envy, “She’s so free!”
Lin Yi said, “Yeah!”
“But you should stop looking at her,” Zhou Shichen said quietly. “You were so focused on her today, Yanyan was like she’d fallen into a vinegar vat. She’s been sour from head to toe.”
Lin Yi frowned. “Is… that so?”
She could actually sense that Xu Shuyan was in a bad mood, but she was certain it wasn’t because she was “jealous” as Zhou Shichen claimed. She must have offended her in some way again. But how? She hadn’t even interacted much with Yuanyuan today!
Muttering to herself, she finished checking in. She was still sharing a room with Xu Shuyan. After entering the room, before she could even think of an opening line, Xu Shuyan grabbed her pajamas and went into the bathroom.
Lin Yi: “…”
What’s she throwing a tantrum about now? Acting like a princess! I’m not going to put up with it!
She tugged at the corner of her mouth, calming herself down. The thought of seeing Shen Yujia today made her spirits lift again. She turned on the TV and put on a random variety show for background noise, then went through the photos on her phone, arranged a nine-photo grid, and posted it to Weibo.
Then she glanced relaxedly toward the bathroom.
And froze.
Wait a minute!
Why is the glass on this bathroom transparent???!!!
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