In the study, with the doors and windows tightly shut, the sound of rapid typing on the keyboard filled the air. As the coffee residue in the mug slowly congealed, Tan Qing finally finished writing his graduation thesis.
In fact, his advisor had already relaxed the graduation requirements for him. He wasn’t the only celebrity at the school, but he was the only one whose dedication to academics was on par with that of regular students. This was something both teachers and students clearly recognized.
Still, Tan Qing insisted on meeting the standard requirements for graduation. As a member of a top idol group, he had to be excellent in every respect to withstand the public’s harsh scrutiny.
After sending the email and shutting his laptop, Tan Qing quietly made his way back to the bedroom. The desk lamp cast the faintest glow. Zhu Lianzhen set his phone down and asked, “You finished?”
“Mm.” Tan Qing wrapped an arm around his waist, lips brushing his ear. “Still awake? Didn’t you just say you were sleepy?”
“I was waiting for you,” Zhu Lianzhen murmured in reply.
Lately, due to school or work, neither of them had been able to give the other their full attention. Even the simplest forms of intimacy, like now, had become rare.
Zhu Lianzhen said, “I’ll go stay at home next month. Pei-jie’s been asking why I never take the driver home after work. She suspects I’ve been out messing around.”
Then he asked Tan Qing, “Why doesn’t she suspect you? How do you act around her to earn that much trust?”
Tan Qing took off his glasses and smiled. “She’s not wrong, is she? Have you ever done anything proper after work?”
“So you’re saying you don’t count as something proper?” Zhu Lianzhen clicked his tongue. “Okay. At least you’re self-aware.”
As soon as he said that, Tan Qing wrapped his arms around his waist and pulled him down, settling him on his lap. Zhu Lianzhen instinctively wrapped his arms around Tan Qing’s neck to keep his balance and muttered a curse under his breath. Tan Qing said in a deliberately disappointed tone, “Xiao Zhu, you’re getting meaner and meaner to me.”
“You dare say that? Why don’t you say that you’re getting more and more—” Zhu Lianzhen started to protest, but the rest of his words were swallowed into Tan Qing’s mouth.
Tan Qing pulled back just slightly, giving them space to catch their breath, and spoke in a coaxing voice, “Sleep early.”
Zhu Lianzhen thought he was just putting on an act, so he bared two sharp white canines in defiance. Seeing that fierce look, Tan Qing’s mood instantly relaxed. He no longer wanted to do anything, just silently admire the pair of eyes so close to his own.
They turned off the lights and lay in bed. The night was quiet and still.
“Xiao Zhu?” Tan Qing whispered.
“Hm?”
“Do you like living together with me?”
“Mm.”
“Sometimes I think about when we were trainees and lived together. The company used to show us fan letters every week. A lot of people were curious about what our lives looked like back then,” Tan Qing said slowly. “Too bad that time didn’t last long.”
“Isn’t this just like how it used to be?”
“Now we’re not ordinary people anymore.”
“That’s true.” Zhu Lianzhen blinked. He remembered once, back when he injured his right arm while practicing a difficult move, and he had to rest for many days with a splint and bandages. At the time, Tan Qing would leave school during lunch break and come back to the dorm to eat with him.
It rained that day. The sky outside the window was gloomy and oppressive. After eating, Zhu Lianzhen lay in bed in a daze. Tan Qing poured a cup of warm water and placed it on the bedside table. Just as he turned to leave, Zhu Lianzhen suddenly grabbed his sleeve.
“Skip your afternoon classes and hang out with me,” Zhu Lianzhen jokingly pleaded.
He said it casually out of boredom, but Tan Qing still answered seriously, “There’s a test this afternoon. It counts toward the final grade.”
“Alright.” Zhu Lianzhen let go and asked out of curiosity, “Your art exam scores were really good. I thought you only needed to pass the minimum line on the college entrance exam? Shouldn’t be hard for you, right? Even if you skipped class a little, the teachers probably wouldn’t care.”
There were other third-year high school trainees in the company like Tan Qing. They all took classes together with external teachers, so they could focus on academic reviews without falling behind in vocal and dance training.
But only Tan Qing still insisted on getting up early to go to school. Aside from evening study sessions, he rarely missed a class.
Tan Qing sat down by the bed and said, “The homeroom teacher said I could skip, but I don’t see the point in being treated like some exception. There are only a few months left before debut. This is the last stretch I get to be a normal person, so I want to spend more time at school.”
Zhu Lianzhen more or less understood how he felt. “Oh, I thought you were going just to see someone.”
“What do you mean?”
“Like Ting-ge. He kept running to school during his senior year, and I thought it was because his family told him to. But it wasn’t,” Zhu Lianzhen said. “It was because he wanted to see a girl in his class, so he made excuses to skip company training.”
Tan Qing asked, “You thought I was like that too?”
“I didn’t rule it out. But I knew you wouldn’t ditch your friends for a relationship like he did,” Zhu Lianzhen said confidently, then looked to Tan Qing for confirmation. “Right?”
Tan Qing turned to look at him and replied, “You never know.”
Zhu Lianzhen let out an exaggerated “Ah!” to show his disappointment. “Go away! Don’t come back!”
Tan Qing chuckled and stood up. “I’m going to be late.”
After he left, the room returned to silence. Not long after, the sound of rain outside gradually grew louder. This kind of weather made Zhu Lianzhen feel even more down. He had gotten bored of the games on his phone, and with his injured right arm, nothing was convenient to do, so he had no choice but to watch a movie on his laptop.
Just after he finished watching one, he heard the sound of a key turning in the lock. Zhu Lianzhen peeked his head out from the doorway and said in surprise, “Why did you come back?”
“Took a leave.” Tan Qing opened his umbrella and left it in the corridor, then came inside and shut the door.
“What about the test?”
“I finished the paper in the office ahead of time. The teacher let me go after that.” Tan Qing glanced at the clock hanging in the living room. “The questions were all pretty simple. It only took one class period to finish.”
Zhu Lianzhen climbed back onto the bed. “You were just saying at noon that you didn’t want to be the exception in class.”
Tan Qing took off his school uniform and tossed it onto the sofa, giving him a helpless look as he asked back, “Weren’t you the one who told me to skip class?”
Zhu Lianzhen immediately changed his expression and played dumb. “Hehe.”
That day, the two of them lay on the bed watching movies together, all the way until the rain stopped and night fell.
Looking back on that day, Zhu Lianzhen realized that there had been moments worth missing during their trainee days. Compared to the busy work now, those days had indeed been carefree and light.
But fortunately, he and Tan Qing had never changed.
That was the most important thing.
–
The next day, everyone came to the company for a meeting.
Everyone’s expression was serious, and the atmosphere was heavy.
Originally, today was supposed to be the teaser release day for Acemon’s new album “Shake.” All the promotional drafts for various platforms had been prepared, but unexpectedly, it coincided with a popular singer announcing their marriage.
There was no doubt that, for the next few days, the only hot topic in the entertainment world would be this.
“Weibo crashed. I’m really impressed with their team. They just had to announce it today.” Pei Qiao impatiently put her phone back on the table and instructed a few assistants nearby, “Get in touch with the fan clubs, have them spread the word. We’ll extend the promo to next week.”
That artist had debuted the same year as Acemon and was only just graduating from university. With his boyfriend image, he had captured the hearts of many fans. By now, his popularity was enough to rival top-tier groups. At his recent birthday event, he had hinted to fans that he was entering a new phase of his life.
The fans thought “new phase” meant evolving from an idol into a more professional musician. They hadn’t expected it meant evolving from national heartthrob to a married dad.
The sudden marriage announcement today was actually because the child needed to be registered in the household system. Rather than waiting to be exposed by paparazzi, he chose to step forward and explain it himself.
“Of all times, they just had to announce it today. His team must want to mess with us even from the grave. He didn’t win any of the major awards in the past few years and has been holding a grudge.” Pei Qiao poured a cup of tea and let out a sneer. “But if he couldn’t make it on his own, who else can he blame?”
Just after scolding someone else, she suddenly remembered that her own artists probably weren’t doing any better in this regard. Not long ago, Koty had been caught by paparazzi buying a car for his new lover at a dealership. The company had to spend money to suppress the news and was forced to order him to break up. Fu Rong was still as passive and unmotivated as ever. Several collaborators had called Pei Qiao to vent about how hard he was to work with.
Pei Qiao set down her teacup and asked the Acemon members gathered around the meeting table, “Still can’t reach Fan Gerong? Is your relationship with him really that bad? Not even a hint from him?”
Zhu Lianzhen said, “He’s just too withdrawn. We didn’t go out of our way to avoid him.”
“You don’t get to talk.” Pei Qiao shot him a look. “I heard you offended someone again in an interview the other day?”
Zhu Lianzhen looked puzzled. “Who? I don’t remember doing any interviews recently.”
Pei Qiao: “Didn’t they do a backstage interview at that Xingkong TV event?”
Zhu Lianzhen suddenly remembered. “Oh, that one? I thought it was just casual chatting.”
His careless tone made Pei Qiao even angrier. “There was a camera on you and a mic on, and you thought it was casual? If that reporter didn’t deliberately try to set you up, they’d be generous.”
“What did I say? I don’t think I said anything over the line…” Zhu Lianzhen asked cautiously. Under Pei Qiao’s stern gaze, he picked up his phone to look up the video.
The event had been pre-recorded and aired last month, so his memory of it was vague. He remembered that after performing, he returned backstage and ran into an entertainment reporter doing random interviews with artists.
These days, it was common for rising idols to take acting roles to boost their popularity. The reporter had pre-collected many fan comments, many of which expressed hopes that Zhu Lianzhen would try acting.
The reporter brought this up, and Zhu Lianzhen forced a stiff smile. “Forget it. I’ve never properly studied acting. Joining a production would just make things harder for the director.”
The reporter followed up, “But crossovers between singers and actors are pretty common now. Have you ever considered challenging yourself?”
“Just because many people cross over into other fields doesn’t mean everyone can do it well,” Zhu Lianzhen replied with a laugh. “I really can’t stand people who can’t sing insisting on standing on stage and lip-syncing. So, as someone who can’t act, there’s no need for me to join the big screen. Not only would it offend the audience, but it might also force my fans to defend me and lie to save my face. Their time is precious too.”
He spoke too bluntly and ended up roasting a lot of celebrities, even some who were at the event that day.
This interview segment hadn’t aired with the main program but was included as exclusive bonus content on a streaming platform, available to VIP users. Normally, the visibility would have been low, but after being edited and pieced together by marketing accounts, the video clips and long screenshots suddenly went viral across various platforms.
Since he, as an insider, dared to speak so directly, it gave netizens the confidence to start naming names. They listed out a bunch of artists who acted poorly or sang badly and even dug up old clips of public takedowns, attracting even more spectators who enjoyed the chaos.
The general public was entertained, but the artists being mocked and attacked were quite thin-skinned. Their fans, knowing better than to antagonize the masses, redirected their anger toward Zhu Lianzhen, accusing him of being passive-aggressive, sarcastic, and disrespectful toward his seniors.
After understanding the situation, Zhu Lianzhen still didn’t take it seriously and even found it amusing. Pei Qiao said, “Can you only grow either a mouth or a brain? From what I see, no one even needs to sabotage you behind your back. They could stab you in the front, and you might not even notice.”
Zhu Lianzhen scoffed. Seeing this, Tan Qing changed the subject. “Fan Gerong isn’t replying right now, but he’ll probably see the message. Maybe we should go ahead and tell him about the song change.”
Back on topic, Pei Qiao had no time to scold them further and told everyone to go home and wait for next week’s work updates.
As Zhu Lianzhen opened the car door, Tan Qing stopped him and said, “I’ll drive.”
Koty passed by them and couldn’t help but ask, “You two have been leaving together a lot lately. Are you going somewhere fun?”
Zhu Lianzhen’s hand froze, but Tan Qing calmly replied, “We’re thinking of collaborating on a song. Want to join?”
“No thanks, I’m going home to catch up on sleep.” Koty waved a hand. “Bye!”
The two of them got into the car and returned to their villa in the suburbs. Zhu Lianzhen felt a bit irritable and muttered, “Pei-jie always calls me out over things like this. What does she want? How am I supposed to know what people like or don’t like to hear? If she thinks I can’t handle interviews, then don’t send reporters to talk to me in the first place.”
But his mood brightened again as soon as they stepped inside and saw Naisi. He crouched down to pet the cat, while Tan Qing stood beside him and stroked his head, saying, “There’s nothing wrong with turning down an interview. Just let your assistant handle it next time.”
Zhu Lianzhen threw a toy ball into the distance, and Naisi immediately dashed after it.
Still crouched on the floor, he looked up at Tan Qing. From this angle, his eyes seemed innocent. He asked, “How about you teach me some routine answers?”
“Pei-jie’s taught you plenty, and you still haven’t learned.” Tan Qing gave a soft laugh and leaned in closer. “Staying silent is better than saying something you don’t mean. You don’t need to force yourself.”
Zhu Lianzhen looked at him, then suddenly reached up and hooked an arm around his neck.
Tan Qing wrapped an arm around Zhu Lianzhen’s waist and pulled him up, then they both fell back onto the leather sofa behind them. They squeezed together in that narrow corner, kissing, their bodies fitting together as if naturally aligned. Tan Qing liked running his hands down from the back of Zhu Lianzhen’s neck to his spine and waist. Every time his fingertips pressed over that dip in his lower back, Zhu Lianzhen couldn’t help but let out a soft moan, his body arching upward.
Zhu Lianzhen felt Tan Qing’s palm move to the spot where his tattoo was and remembered that day they had also shared a long, lingering kiss. At the time, he had been lying face-down on the massage table. The needle hadn’t pierced too deeply, making his skin feel like fabric under a sewing machine. When the pain made him suck in a breath, Tan Qing leaned down and kissed him. Pain prickled continuously from behind, while tenderness surged from the front.
When the healing period ended, Tan Qing traced the design on his lower back and told him that pure black absorbed all light and was easily scorched, which was why black roses didn’t exist in nature.
But now it’s growing on your skin. You gave it vivid, tangible life.
“Should we go back to the bedroom?” Tan Qing asked in a low voice between kisses.
Zhu Lianzhen felt dizzy and flushed. He had meant to say something, but as soon as their lips met, his mind went blank. All that was left was the instinct to stay intimately entangled.
“Right here.” He finally managed to regain a shred of reason.
Tan Qing lifted the hem of his shirt, unfastened the belt buckle, and whispered in his ear, “You like tight spaces?”
Zhu Lianzhen didn’t respond. Tan Qing continued, “In the car?”
“That’d have to be your car… mine’s no good.” Zhu Lianzhen’s eyes looked misty. Tan Qing laughed at how serious he was and pressed down harder. Zhu Lianzhen closed his eyes and breathed quickly, waves of heat sweeping over him.
Night was falling.
Wrapped in a bathrobe, Zhu Lianzhen turned the central heating up two degrees. He walked over to Tan Qing and laid his head directly on his lap.
“Where’s my phone?” Zhu Lianzhen asked.
“It’s on the cabinet by the entrance. Want me to get it?”
“No need, don’t move.” Zhu Lianzhen had no energy left and just wanted to lie there lazily, so Tan Qing handed him his own phone to use.
The crashed Weibo server had already been repaired by the programmers. Zhu Lianzhen logged into his assistant’s alt account and tapped into the trending page to read what people were saying.
[Unreal. If he had just announced the relationship when it started, I could’ve still given my blessing before unfollowing. But of course he only says it when he can’t hide the truth. Can’t let go of the perks of acting single, huh?]
[Has anyone counted how many fan accounts have turned on him so far?]
[Wow, I saw a bunch of receipts from a fansite. Turns out he was already dating around when he was underage. So many details came out, but the fans always turned a blind eye…]
[Disgusting. All that talk about “only loving music” and “no time for romance.” He clearly never put any effort into his work, just curated his image. The new album is awful and overpriced. Can’t believe I scrimped and saved to boost sales for you.]
[Looks like the only honest thing was his sexual orientation. Heard there are lots of bisexual and gay folks in the industry. Some even fake straight relationships publicly just to cover for their real orientation.]
[So could there be dating going on within the group? CP fans must be dreaming come true.]
[Even that’s not okay! Everyone else is working hard, and you’re using the job as an excuse to date?]
Although it had nothing to do with him personally, as a fellow idol, Zhu Lianzhen still found it hard to stay completely unaffected by those comments.
An artist’s value wasn’t entirely based on their own achievements, but was the result of combined efforts from many people. Once their image was damaged, the backlash wouldn’t come just from fans but also from teammates, the company, collaborators, investors… Related projects would be stalled, and no one knew how many people’s work and lives would be impacted by their negative influence.
Zhu Lianzhen had thought about this issue before, but never had he felt it as concretely as he did now.
A low battery warning popped up on the screen. Zhu Lianzhen exited Weibo and handed the phone back to Tan Qing.
He was tired of lying in that position and sat up, letting out a sigh without realizing it. Tan Qing glanced sideways and asked what he wanted for dinner. Zhu Lianzhen shook his head, indicating he had no appetite.
His naturally air-dried hair was slightly messy. Tan Qing reached out to smooth it down, then leaned in to kiss him.
The kiss brought a sudden sense of identity disorientation, and Zhu Lianzhen tensed up instinctively, nearly forgetting that he was simply resting at home.
Tan Qing noticed the unusual tension in his emotions almost instantly, no matter how fleeting it was.
“Then sleep early.” Tan Qing looked calm as he got up to charge his phone.
thanks for the update!! ❤️❤️