Chapter 16 – Group Photo
Shen Sijia was one of those people who became a chatterbox after a few drinks. Graduation day only made it worse. She’d been talking to Jiang Liusui non-stop, reminiscing from sophomore year all the way to senior year, and by the time they left the barbecue restaurant, she had drunk quite a bit. Zhou Xun had to practically carry her out.
Even in that state, Shen Sijia hadn’t forgotten the night’s main event: “Suisui! Wait for my message at midnight! Fresh first-hand reactions! Totally pure fan perspective, professional-grade review… Zhou Xun, why are you pulling me?!”
“You’d only embarrass yourself,” Zhou Xun muttered, scowling as she let out a drunken hiccup.
Jiang Liusui found it amusing. Seeing Shen Sijia wobbling on her feet, he reminded Zhou Xun, “Then you take her back. Be careful on the way.”
“You too, stay safe on your way back,” Zhou Xun added. “Shen Sijia’s unreliable—she’ll probably pass out as soon as she gets home. If you need anything, call me.”
Once home, Jiang Liusui took a shower, changed into cozy loungewear, and settled comfortably on the sofa. Less than ten minutes remained until midnight.
He idly played on his phone for a bit, and when the time was about right, he refreshed the page and saw He Yujing’s studio had promptly released the video. Almost simultaneously, Shengyun’s official Weibo account reposted the tweet right on schedule.
『⟪Fading Colors⟫, about inspiration and love. 』
It had been two years since He Yujing’s last full album release, and countless people had been eagerly anticipating this lead single. In under a minute, the number of comments and reposts was astonishing.
Jiang Liusui clicked into the MV. The opening played out with a gentle, lively prelude. A painter, stuck in a creative block, wandered aimlessly into a flower field under a sunshower—and there, he encountered a boy awakening amidst the flowers.
The scene before him captivated the painter’s eyes. His dried-up inspiration seemed to bloom again. The painter reached out his hand, and the youth, more beautiful than the flowers, followed him home and became his lover.
Every frame of Huang Zhicheng’s cinematography was a masterpiece, and paired with He Yujing’s signature intense, high-impact visual style, the MV dazzled with vibrant colors and a heartbreakingly passionate love story. The song, performed by the lead actor himself, fit the narrative flawlessly, giving the MV a thrilling tension between beauty and tragedy.
【OMG, only you, gege! This is insanely good!! Arguably the most stunning work I’ve heard recently—knew it was a banger from the first note of the intro!】
【He Yujing, are you a genius?? I was dead tired staying up this late, but your voice woke me right up. You sing like you’re telling a story.】
【So good, so good, so good, am I listening to celestial music?! It’s so beautiful it makes me cry!】
【Honestly, He Yujing, you’re such a player! But so handsome while being a player. Singing such a passionate song as a “player,” argh, I can’t even scold you!!】
【Thought we’d finally get to see A’Jing dance, but it’s a purely narrative MV. Still, it’s shot so well!】
【Oh my god, it’s my first time seeing gege in a kissing scene! The honeymoon phase basically counts as a bed scene, right? Either you don’t do it or you go all out—is there no one who can rein you in, He Yujing???】
【Who’s playing the lovers? Haven’t seen someone this captivating in ages. No wonder he got cast! Is he a model or an actor?】
【It’s Jiang Liusui! He’s been trending all day! Sisters who don’t know can search it up. Today, gege went to National University of Arts and revealed the male lead in advance hahahaha! His agent must be tearing her hair out.】
【The description says it’s about inspiration and love—so does that mean Jiang Liusui is his inspiration?】
【Ugh, can we not ship CP here? Where did these delulu shippers come from?】
【It’s just a normal collaboration. Everyone is imagining and claiming territory for fun. For sisters who are arguing against it, don’t be too harsh. Jiang Liusui performed really well and goes well with gege.”】
【Although I personally think they’re a great match too, they’re just colleagues who worked together once. They only met at the club two months ago, how close could they be? Besides, He Yujing isn’t even following Xiao Jiang. It’s BE before it even started—impossible to ship.】
The comments were scrolling too fast, and the dissenting voices quickly got drowned out. Seeing a small portion criticizing him didn’t surprise Jiang Liusui—he just felt relieved he hadn’t let Jiang Chuan stir the pot.
He couldn’t please everyone. No matter what others said, as long as his conscience was clear, that was enough.
He Yujing had been good to him, so he couldn’t pretend to be oblivious to Jiang Chuan’s sneaky tactics and shamelessly ride the hype.
With that thought, Jiang Liusui refreshed Weibo and discovered he had a new special follower.
It was a mutual follow.
Notifications kept popping up. Seeing that He Yujing, who had just followed him, had decisively posted a new Weibo, Jiang Liusui was completely stunned.
It was a photo of them together at NUA today. Jiang Liusui was smiling at the camera, while He Yujing’s eyes happened to drift toward him.
At first glance, the photo looked fine—but a closer look revealed that He Yujing had cropped out Chi Lianxi, leaving just the two of them.
Fans had instantly flooded He Yujing’s Weibo. Unsurprisingly, the top comment came from the unlucky one who had been cut out.
【Chi Lianxi: Where am I???】
【I’m dying of laughter! He Yujing, don’t think no one saw the original group photo from National University of Arts today—there were three people in it! I can just imagine Teacher Chi’s rage while typing this hahahahaha!】
【Hubby, hubby, hubby! Long time no see, finally caught you posting on Weibo! Wuwuwu QAQ】
【The new song is super super good! Producer He, you’ve descended to the mortal realm—thank you for your hard work. Can’t wait for the full album!”
【What does this mean? Did I ship the real deal?! Gege, are you directly following him AND posting a photo to prove you’re close?】
【So even you have a gentle side? For some reason, the look in this photo feels so tender and doting—who understands it?】
【Since gege posted the photo himself, I’ll say it loud: you two look great together!】
Comments were skyrocketing. As Jiang Liusui scrolled down, Jiang Chuan called, his tone practically giddy: “Have you seen the MV? It’s amazing! The reviews are great, and six of the trending list are about this MV alone!”
“I’ve lined up a marketing company for you to handle video edits and get a topic trending. Don’t worry, it’s just for your solo promo, no CP-related stuff… Man, He Yujing really knows how to play the game.”
After his sigh, Jiang Chuan couldn’t resist asking, “How did you get so close with him? Isn’t he supposed to be arrogant?”
Jiang Chuan managed Zone, the hottest boy band under Gallery, who could rightfully be called the company’s sole hope. The rest of the company’s artists were barely making waves. A while ago, a member of Zone had appeared on a talk-variety show with He Yujing. Gallery, being a subsidiary of Shengyun, saw this as a chance to leverage seniority—any slightly intimate interaction with He Yujing would boost topic trending instantly. It would also give He Yujing exposure while polishing his “caring senior” image.
Jiang Chuan tried every means to reach out, but He Yujing’s team flatly refused. Although the rejection was phrased politely, the underlying reason was undeniably arrogant: they don’t build that kind of image, and unfamiliar was just unfamiliar.
Sensing Jiang Chuan’s probing tone, Jiang Liusui retorted, “Not really, right? Brother Yu is very kind and considerate.”
Without the halo of a superstar, the He Yujing Jiang Liusui saw wasn’t the unreasonable figure the rumors had painted. He was wilder than most, more reckless, and yet undeniably childish.
He was a rare—and oddly charming person.
Jiang Liusui looked at the deliberately cropped photo and gave it a like.
Jiang Chuan, who knew Jiang Liusui’s personality well enough to understand he was warm on the outside but reserved inside, was a little surprised: “You have such a good impression of him? Seems like you two really hit it off. The kids in Zone all respect him and a little intimidated by him.”
After that, the agent remembered the main point of the call. “Check your personal entry—its trend is rising even faster than I expected.”
Jiang Liusui did as he was told.
The top trending post under the hashtag was a clip from behind-the-scenes footage of the MV shoot. Before filming officially began, Huang Zhicheng had asked him to try out the expression for the scene where he first meets the painter. Jiang Liusui gave a smile to the camera.
“No, that’s a bit too alluring,” Huang Zhicheng frowned. A bit sweeter, and make your expression more innocent.”
Jiang Liusui smiled again, but Huang Zhicheng still wasn’t satisfied. Seeing that Jiang Liusui didn’t quite grasp how to convey it, Huang patiently explained, “Relax. Think of something that amuses you. You’re not trying to attract him—just imagine how ridiculous it is that you’re both soaked in the rain. You can even secretly laugh at him in your head…”
Jiang Liusui hummed thoughtfully and nodded slowly.
The next time the camera focused on him, he suddenly broke into a smile. Although the change in expression was subtle, his entire aura had shifted.
“That’s the feeling!” Huang Zhicheng exclaimed happily. “Perfect, keep it like that. Next take will definitely be better!”
【Director Huang, hahahahahaha I’m dying! I’ve heard ’next take will definitely be better’ so many times in the BTS clips.】
【OMG, does anyone get it? I’m totally captivated by that smile.】
【He learns so fast! Just a little guidance from a good director, and he’s already got it! Not sure if it’s just me, but Jiang Liusui’s aura is so extreme—the contrast before and after is insane!】
【Sisters, go watch the BTS from when he was getting his makeup done. The way he talks to the makeup artist is so soft! You feel like you could pinch him and he wouldn’t even fight back.】
【Hahahahaha why do I feel like Jiang Liusui isn’t that easy to bully? After all, he doesn’t lose any presence standing next to gege. First time seeing someone match him so evenly on screen. PS: Chi Lianxi doesn’t count—they’re more like partners in crime.】
【Whispering a little secret, my friend is a student at NUA. Jiang Liusui isn’t exactly famous, but he’s particularly well-known among the students. Everyone knows there’s a guy in the Acting department who’s been getting confessions since his first day of school. Over the years, both guys and girls have confessed to him, and it’s almost never stopped.】
【Seriously… he’s that popular? Maybe he really isn’t as soft as he looks. At least when it comes to turning people down, he’s pretty decisive.】
“So many people are talking about you—everyone’s interested,” Jiang Chuan said, thoroughly pleased as the numbers kept climbing. “I didn’t even buy much traffic! And look at all this praise! …Hey, why didn’t you tell me people are always confessing to you? That’s such a good marketing angle—what a waste not to use it! I’ll arrange something when the timing’s right.”
After wrapping up a few more work matters and hanging up, Jiang Liusui opened his Weibo again. Under He Yujing’s studio account and Shengyun’s official account, most of the comments came from fans or casual viewers. Their opinions of Jiang Liusui were either strict or neutral—fair, but without a hint of favoritism.
But under Jiang Liusui’s own Weibo, it was a completely different story. As he scrolled, the screen filled with praise. The girls’ enthusiastic flattering compliments almost made him a little embarrassed.
He knew he wasn’t actually that amazing, and nowhere near as flawless as the fans made him out to be.
Even so… he couldn’t help feeling happy.
Jiang Liusui refreshed his homepage and unexpectedly saw that Chi Lianxi had also posted a new Weibo just minutes earlier:
『 Has everyone listened to ⟪Fading Colors⟫ yet? The new song is great! As expected of you, He Yujing (smile)(smile) 』
The attached image was the full version of the group photo at NUA—three people, all present and accounted for. Even though he was helping promote the new song, those two smiling emoji expressions somehow radiated palpable anger. Jiang Liusui burst out laughing:
“What’s this… these two brothers are something else, each more childish than the other.”
Apparently, he wasn’t alone. The comments were nothing but laughter.
【Tonight feels like watching a sitcom, Brother Xi actually posted the complete group photo… I’m dying of laughter. What do we call this move—killing them with kindness?】
【Jiang Liusui: Stuck between the two of you—I’ve got it rough】
【Suisui liked Brother Xi’s post too! Does that count as equal treatment for everyone?
【This is perfect hahahahaha, Jiang Liusui is being very fair and impartial, not favoring anyone.】
【Suddenly realized this isn’t his first time liking Chi Lianxi’s posts. He even liked the behind-the-scenes photos from “Long Street” three years ago! He must’ve only been a freshman then?】
【Wow?! Was he a fan? And an old fan at that!】
【Does that count as successfully chasing a star? Even if it’s in such a strange and unexpected way】
“… I guess it really does count.”
After laughing his fill, Jiang Liusui sent He Yujing a message congratulating him on his new song’s great success. While typing, he accidentally noticed the bucket hat on the coffee table and casually added:
Sui: By the way, your hat is still with me. When should I return it?
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