Lin Yi wanted to refuse.
She thought it wasn’t appropriate. Even though neither she nor Xu Shuyan could have Chen Yuan now, both heartbroken, they should be commiserating and crying on each other’s shoulders. But that didn’t include sleeping in the same bed on a rainy night, pouring their hearts out to each other.
Thinking was one thing, doing was another. While Lin Yi’s mind was still analyzing the pros and cons, her body had already made a choice—she slipped through the opening into Xu Shuyan’s bed.
The early summer rain made it cool outside, but the room felt stuffy in contrast. The air conditioning was set low, making the warmth under the thin blanket even more apparent.
Xu Shuyan’s bed smelled wonderful.
It was a pleasant mix of fruity and milky scents. Lin Yi couldn’t help but take a couple more sniffs. Xu Shuyan loved playing with perfumes, buying piles of samples and trying a new one each day. She would even write serious reviews, recommending to Lin Yi which ones had nice base notes and which ones faded quickly. Lin Yi wondered which perfume this was.
As she thought this, she asked it out loud.
“Perfume?” Xu Shuyan tucked in the corner of the blanket and sniffed. “I’m not wearing any perfume.”
Lin Yi didn’t believe her and leaned in to sniff her. “But you smell so good.”
“Hey-” Xu Shuyan pressed a fingertip to Lin Yi’s forehead. “Don’t you think saying something like that in someone else’s bed is a little… creepy?”
Lin Yi didn’t think so. She wondered, “Could pheromones actually exist in this world?”
Xu Shuyan let out a laugh. “What pheromones?”
“You don’t even know about that?” Lin Yi wrapped the blanket tighter, still feeling cold. She told the AI to turn up the AC temperature. After it gradually warmed up, she said, “Haven’t you read fanfiction? In the ABO universe, after differentiation, there are pheromones. Alphas can mark Omegas, making the Omega carry their scent.”
“What kind of weird stuff are you reading every day?” Xu Shuyan paused, then asked, “Whose fanfiction are you reading? It’s not about the two of us, is it?”
Lin Yi chuckled. “I’d love to read some about me and Yuanyuan, but it’s a rarepair. There’s no one even writing for it. So tragic!”
Xu Shuyan blurted out, “There’ll be even less in the future.”
The moment she said it, she realized it was the wrong thing to say. She opened her mouth to explain, then gave up. She gave a self-deprecating smile. It wasn’t the wrong thing to say; it was the plain truth.
But once the words were out, the lighthearted atmosphere instantly froze, with no room to recover.
In the dark night, the sound of the rain became clearer, turning into something tangible and cold that splashed into their veins. As if afraid of disturbing something, their breathing grew softer.
Lin Yi lowered her eyes. Her hand, hidden under the blanket, accidentally touched Xu Shuyan’s. As if grabbing a lifeline, she hooked her fingers around Xu Shuyan’s. Xu Shuyan moved but didn’t pull away. Lin Yi grew bolder, intertwining their fingers more tightly, their slender, distinct fingers locking together. Only then did her heart calm down a little.
Then she mocked herself inwardly. How pathetic she was right now, relying on her love rival to calm her heart.
But it was different.
She thought again, Xu Shuyan wasn’t just her love rival; she was also her teammate of three years. Regarding Chen Yuan, the group, the future, and all her current panic and fear, Xu Shuyan would understand best.
Finally, Lin Yi spoke softly, “Xu Shuyan.”
Xu Shuyan hummed in response.
Her voice was muffled in her throat, slightly hoarse.
Lin Yi licked her dry lips, her voice low. “Do you think Yuanyuan will leave the group?”
The hand clasped with hers trembled slightly. Outside, a bolt of lightning flashed, suddenly illuminating the room. In that brief flash of light, she saw the vulnerability in Xu Shuyan’s eyes.
“…I don’t know,” Xu Shuyan said. “But I don’t want her to leave.”
“I don’t want her to, either.”
Lin Yi unconsciously played with Xu Shuyan’s fingers, her thoughts drifting far away. “I remember when we first formed the group, we prepared for our debut stage day and night for two months. The tickets for our debut showcase couldn’t even sell at a huge discount from scalpers. Naturally, very few fans showed up, and many of those who did were staff members there to show support.”
They still performed the entire show.
After it was all over, a light rain began to fall. They walked from a lonely excitement into true loneliness. They walked along the Huangpu River, talking softly, discussing the stage, their dreams, the future. They made wishes to the Huangpu River, which was constantly being fed by the drizzling rain.
“What did you wish for back then?” Lin Yi asked Xu Shuyan.
Xu Shuyan’s fingers were intertwined with hers, tinged with a faint red. After a while, Xu Shuyan said, “I wished that one day, the audience below our stage would be full.”
“What about you?” Xu Shuyan asked.
“I wished that the five of us could be together forever.” Lin Yi was a little embarrassed. “Back then, besides already knowing you, I hadn’t known the others for long, but I really meant it.”
Lin Yi had left home at fifteen. She had lived in dorms and made friends, but she had never felt a sense of belonging. But in the days of sweating with her teammates, striving to prepare for the stage, her heart had felt more grounded than ever before.
In those days, they ordered from every takeout place around the company, and in the end, they’d secretly eat instant noodles in the stairwell.
They had cried while stretching, cried while practicing dance, cried when they couldn’t hit the high notes. In the end, they would wipe their tears and continue training.
They had argued, getting red in the face over a single dance move. In the end, making up only required a pack of gummy candies and a bit of coaxing to the angry one: “Hey, I saved the sweetest one for you!”
They had been caught in the rain together, skipped classes together, gotten their hair done together, gone shopping and gotten their nails done together. They had complained together that a certain takeout place was too greasy, and stayed awake at three in the morning by playing games, only to throw their phones down after a miserable defeat and yell, “Let’s dance!”
Later, their popularity gradually rose, and they became truly famous.
The audience below their stage was always full. They released albums, won awards. They walked red carpets, attended galas. They appeared on variety shows, held concerts.
More and more people liked them. The brighter the spotlight, the greater the pressure. But it didn’t matter. In this world of fame and fortune, in an entertainment industry that devoured people without blinking, they had their teammates. They were much luckier than those who fought alone.
They knew that one day they would disband, go their separate ways, and walk their own grand paths alone. But they always held onto a sliver of hope, thinking that as long as they didn’t think about it, that day would be delayed indefinitely.
But Chen Yuan’s situation was like a rude awakening, pulling Lin Yi out of her fantasy.
There weren’t so many “forevers.” Chen Yuan wouldn’t always be standing there with that harmless smile for her to like, and no one could be with anyone forever.
“Don’t overthink it.” Xu Shuyan forcibly pulled her hand from Lin Yi’s palm. She gently clenched her fist and shifted to lie on her side. “Whether she leaves the group or not, let Yuanyuan decide for herself. I respect her choice.”
“You respect her choice?” Lin Yi, still lost in her memories, felt her emotions weren’t being reciprocated. Her words came out sharp. “How understanding of you, Xu Shuyan. You’re the only rational one, the only calm one, right? You think I’m a total idiot for reminiscing like this, don’t you?”
Xu Shuyan was taken aback, then she laughed in exasperation. “What are you talking about?”
Lin Yi knew she had no reason to take her anger out on Xu Shuyan. Choked up, she paused for a moment, then threw off the blanket and started to get out of bed.
But Xu Shuyan grabbed her wrist and pulled her back down onto the bed. “Where are you going? If you have something to say, say it clearly! Don’t make me out to be some cold-blooded person! You’re the only one who loves the group, the only one who can’t bear for Yuanyuan to leave, is that it?”
“Let go of me!” Lin Yi struggled, her chest heaving from the intense emotional turmoil. “Xu Shuyan, let me go!”
Xu Shuyan grabbed her arms and pinned them to the pillow, using her legs to stop Lin Yi’s flailing feet. She looked down at her from above. “Let you go so you can run away? You’re not leaving until we clear this up today!”
“Xu Shuyan!”
“Don’t say my name!”
“I’ll say it if I want to!” Lin Yi’s rebellious streak flared up. “Xu Shuyan, Xu Shuyan, Xu Shuyan, Xu Shuyan, Xu-”
Xu Shuyan’s breath was hot. Lin Yi’s endless repetition came to an abrupt halt when Xu Shuyan suddenly leaned down and rested against her shoulder. For the first few seconds, Lin Yi didn’t push her away. Only one thought was in her mind.
As cold as Xu Shuyan’s hands were, her breath was just as scorching.
It pressed against her undefended neck, seeping into her pale blue veins, warming her blood, which flowed back to the tip of her heart. Her heart began to beat violently. Unable to bear it, she turned her face away, her swan-like neck stretching out, completely exposed to Xu Shuyan’s breath.
I’m done for.
Lin Yi thought, if this were the ABO universe, her gland would be right where Xu Shuyan was pressing against her, and Xu Shuyan definitely wouldn’t be able to resist biting down.
Her thoughts were a jumbled mess, her mind like paste. She completely forgot to push Xu Shuyan away, forgot how they had even ended up in this position. After a long while, she finally heard Xu Shuyan speak. “I’m upset too.”
Lin Yi mumbled an “ah.”
“I don’t want us to separate either,” Xu Shuyan said again. “But what can I do? Will things change just because I want them to? No. That’s why I don’t want to cry.”
What was she saying?
Lin Yi’s hands, pinned to the pillow by Xu Shuyan, were going numb. She felt as if she’d been placed in a giant, scorching container. As Xu Shuyan spoke, her lips parted and closed, as if she were mouthing the patch of skin, letting it go, until it too grew hot and burning.
Like an asphalt road baked by the fierce summer sun, it was dry and steaming, with invisible flames dancing upon it.
She swallowed, suddenly feeling thirsty.
She couldn’t hear what Xu Shuyan was saying. Her heightened senses traveled from her neck down to where their bodies were pressed together. That full softness was crushed against her. Xu Shuyan’s unique scent wafted from the air, making it hard for her to breathe.
Dizzy.
Her head was spinning.
Until Xu Shuyan suddenly gave that burning patch of skin a light bite. She let out a soft hiss and finally came to her senses. “…Why did you bite me?!”
It was meant to be a question, but it came out soft and weak.
“You were spacing out.” Xu Shuyan even started to blame her. “When you were sad, I was here with you, listening to you. I finally show you my vulnerability, and you’re spacing out?”
Lin Yi shifted uncomfortably and pushed her. “Who wanted to see your vulnerability!”
“I don’t care if you want to see it or not!” Xu Shuyan released her wrists. As she got up, her warm lips brushed against Lin Yi’s collarbone—whether intentionally or not, Lin Yi couldn’t tell. She pinched Lin Yi’s chin. “I’ve laid it bare, so you have to look.”
Lin Yi slapped her hand away, her sharp tongue returning before her jumbled thoughts. “Fine, fine, lay it all out for me to see.”
Xu Shuyan knelt on the bed. “…Get lost.”
Lin Yi was defiant too. “Fine, I’ll get lost!”
Without waiting for Xu Shuyan to move, she scrambled back to her own bed, pulled the blanket over her head, and suppressed her frantic heartbeat before pulling the blanket down just a tiny bit.
Seeing that Xu Shuyan had already lain down, she breathed a sigh of relief. “Xu Shuyan.”
Xu Shuyan snapped, “Don’t talk to me.”
Lin Yi was choked up by the response. Suddenly, she said, “Tianx Genie!”
Tianx Genie: “I’m here.”
The genie in their room was a co-branded model between the brand and The Notes, and the voice was set to Xu Shuyan’s.
Xu Shuyan: “?”
She furrowed her brow. “Do you really have to find someone to talk to?”
Tianx Genie: “Oh my, that’s a rather profound question.”
Xu Shuyan: “…”
It’s so weird hearing myself talk to myself!
Lin Yi suppressed a laugh. “Tianx Genie.”
Tianx Genie: “Here.”
Lin Yi asked, “Will it rain tomorrow?”
Tianx Genie: “It will rain in S City tomorrow. Moderate rain turning to light rain. The above information is from XX Weather.”
Lin Yi: “Tianx Genie.”
Tianx Genie: “Master, I’m here.”
Xu Shuyan: “?”
This is never going to end, is it?
Lin Yi asked, “Will it be okay?”
Tianx Genie: “There’s nothing that can’t be overcome with a smile.”
“Is that so…” Lin Yi seemed to deflate. She sat quietly for a moment before lying down, no longer bothering the AI.
The night grew quiet. The rain, set to continue into the next day, once again filled the room, its pitter-patter seeming to make even their dreams damp.
After an unknown amount of time, Lin Yi heard Xu Shuyan say, “It will be okay.”
Chen Yuan’s statement was posted at nine in the morning.
Few words, big news.
@TheNotes-ChenYuan: I apologize for taking up public resources. I will take full responsibility for all my actions. After my work handover is complete, I will be leaving The Notes. Please give me a little more time. Thank you for your understanding. I’m sorry to those who love me.
【???】
【WTF?? She’s really leaving the group???】
【No way? I fucking woke up and was dumbfounded!】
【You really did let down the people who love you, huh. You also let down your teammates! Your company! The person you should be most sorry to is yourself, the one who trained for the stage until your knees were injured!】
【No! My Gu Group can’t lose a single member!!!】
【Chen Yuan, break up with him. If you break up, we’ll forgive you, and you’ll still be a part of the Gu Group.】
【Holy shit! Chen Yuan is really leaving the group! I really have to thank her for doing the idol world a favor! No more watching train wreck performances! Thanks! Going to do a giveaway now!】
【Fuck, The Notes’ official account reposted it. There’s a press conference at this time tomorrow.】
【I can’t believe it blew up this big… But Chen Yuan is pretty responsible. I’ve seen some people get caught dating and immediately release a statement saying they’re currently single, lmao. Dating lets down the fans, but who are you doing right by if you break up immediately after being discovered?】
【No way, is my Gu Group really about to lose a member? QAQ】
【I’m going crazy. My comeback, my concert, my new group variety show—they’re not all going to die with this, are they? Can’t you just let an able-bodied, mentally mature adult crushed by life have a little fun…】
The trending topics were once again dominated by related subjects. Netizens argued endlessly. Some were clout-chasing, others were genuinely discussing the issue of idols dating. Once you turned off the internet, you could find some peace.
Xu Shuyan and Lin Yi went to work as usual, but their subconscious’s worst fear had become a reality, and they couldn’t bring themselves to smile.
When they saw fans holding umbrellas and their group’s lightsticks, chanting “Gu Group will not disband,” their eyes reddened, and they almost burst into tears on the spot. Xu Shuyan took her hand, their fingers slowly intertwining. After acknowledging the fans, they entered the building.
“Okay,” she said. “You can cry now.”
Lin Yi sniffled. “I’m not crying.”
Xu Shuyan looked at her for a moment, pushed her into the elevator, and just as the doors were closing, she suddenly hugged her. Resting her forehead on Lin Yi’s shoulder, she said in a low voice, “Then I’ll cry.”
Lin Yi was wearing thin clothes, and the small patch of fabric became noticeably damp, making her realize that Xu Shuyan wasn’t joking. Xu Shuyan was really crying.
She suddenly became flustered. She froze for a long while before tentatively raising a hand to pat Xu Shuyan’s back, awkwardly comforting her, “Y-you, don’t cry.”
“If you keep crying…” Her voice was tinged with tears. “If you keep crying, I’m going to cry too.”
Xu Shuyan raised a hand to touch the corner of her eye. Just as she was about to speak, the elevator suddenly stopped. She froze. Were they there already? Looking over Xu Shuyan’s shoulder, she realized it had stopped on another floor. Someone must be getting on-
Wait! Wasn’t her current position with Xu Shuyan a bit too intimate?!
Seeing the elevator doors slowly open to reveal a figure outside, about to walk in on their “illicit affair,” Lin Yi violently pushed Xu Shuyan away and darted to the side to face the wall.
Xu Shuyan, pushed away so suddenly: “?”
The passerby, who had already seen two girls hugging in the elevator and thought it was perfectly normal between girls, but then saw one push the other away in a way that only made it more suspicious, and suddenly felt it wasn’t normal at all: “?”
Taking a second look, holy cow, weren’t those Xu Shuyan and Lin Yi from Sweet Melon Entertainment upstairs?
No way, no way?
Yan Zhi You Yi can’t be real, can it?!
We’ll leave aside the bullet comments running through this passerby’s mind. Over there, Lin Yi, facing the wall, became more and more dissatisfied with her own reaction. What was that? Panicking like that, making it seem like she and Xu Shuyan were doing something shameful!
As she was reflecting, Xu Shuyan hooked her fingers and gave them a little shake. “Let’s go.”
Lin Yi mumbled an “oh.” Before leaving, she glanced at the passerby who had just entered and saw the profound meaning in their eyes. Lin Yi: “…”
Okay, she and Xu Shuyan had indeed been doing something shameful, at least in this passerby’s eyes.
Although they had come to the company for “work,” no classes had actually been arranged for them. The group’s three managers were all at the company, monitoring public opinion, meeting with the PR team, and discussing plans.
Lin Yi and Xu Shuyan sat in on the meeting, but their heads were spinning, and they slipped out before it was over.
Sister Fang was understanding. She just told them that Zhou Shichen and Yan Qi would be arriving soon and let them go. Lin Yi got a cup of water, moistened her lips, and asked Xu Shuyan, “Did you understand any of that?”
“More or less.” Xu Shuyan pushed open a window. The rain had lightened, and a cool breeze blew in. She summarized, “After Yuanyuan… leaves the group, the group still has to continue operating. Luckily, none of us knew about her relationship, so we can be completely separated from it. And even,”
She paused before continuing, “we can even use this opportunity to play the victim and build up our group spirit.”
PR is so ruthless.
Xu Shuyan thought, their relationships, their feelings, their years of companionship had all become bargaining chips on the table of interests, coldly weighed by others to earn the maximum amount of sympathy. Who to step on, who to praise—it was all precisely calculated.
They were the beneficiaries, and they didn’t even have the right to refuse.
How could they refuse? Stand with Chen Yuan in solidarity? Sign a joint petition protesting her departure? Chen Yuan was the one at fault first. They had a responsibility to their fans; they couldn’t be willful.
Lin Yi listened numbly to Xu Shuyan’s explanation when she suddenly heard a commotion outside the door.
Then, the practice room door was pushed open. An assistant stood panting in the doorway. “Yanyan, Xiao Yi, Shichen and the others are back.”
Five minutes later.
Sweet Melon Entertainment’s small conference room.
The five members of the Gu Group sat around a round table, looking at each other in silence.
Zhou Shichen and Yan Qi had rushed back on a red-eye flight. They weren’t even wearing makeup, and the masks they’d worn for so long had left faint marks on the sides of their faces. On the plane, they could only connect to the internal network, but on the way back to the company, they had thoroughly scrolled through Weibo. They still hadn’t fully processed everything and were now drinking coffee while looking over the plan from the PR department.
Chen Yuan hadn’t slept all night either. The exhaustion was evident on her face, which was so pale it was almost translucent, as if a gust of wind could blow her away.
Lin Yi’s heart ached seeing her. She reached out and gently patted the back of her hand.
Chen Yuan’s expression faltered for a moment. She gave Lin Yi a reassuring smile, which then faded slightly. She lowered her eyes and said softly, “I’m sorry.”
It broke the silence in the room.
“Sorry?” Yan Qi looked up, her tone calm. “You should indeed be sorry. Sorry to your teammates, your fans, and everyone who supported and loved you.”
Zhou Shichen couldn’t listen anymore. “Captain…”
“But do you have to leave the group?” Yan Qi asked. “Can’t you break up?”
Lin Yi and Xu Shuyan looked at Chen Yuan at the same time.
Chen Yuan’s lips moved. Under the gazes of the other four, she shook her head firmly. “I can’t.”
Zhou Shichen couldn’t help but ask, “Is he that great?”
“It’s not that he’s great, it’s that I need this relationship.” Chen Yuan’s tone was slow but firm. “We were together before the group was formed. Back then, I was afraid my parents would find out, so we kept it a secret. Later, when we could finally go public, I joined a girl group.”
“Every day in the group, I lived in fear and panic of being discovered. The moment I found out I’d been photographed, I even felt a sense of relief.”
“Of course, I can’t blame the fans. They’re innocent. It’s my fault, and I’ll take responsibility. I’m willing to start over from scratch. But I can’t drag the group down with me.”
Chen Yuan’s eyes filled with tears, and her voice trembled. “I don’t want people to mention our group and say, ‘Oh, that’s the group that had a scandal.’ So, leaving the group is the best way to handle this.”
It was her fault, so she should be the one to bear the infamy. She had no reason to drag the whole group down with her.
Yan Qi opened her mouth as if to say something, but in the end, it turned into a sigh. She placed the proposal on the table and said, “I respect your choice.”
Yan Qi was the captain, so her opinion represented everyone’s. But even so, leaving the group wasn’t something that could be done with just a word. They were currently in the middle of their most important comeback period, with six concerts yet to be held and their variety show not yet finished filming. These were all problems that needed to be solved immediately.
Chen Yuan had clearly thought a lot about this over the past two days and already had ideas. “I’ll participate in the concerts. After all, if the group is missing one person on stage, all the formations will have to be re-choreographed. As for the variety show-”
She pressed her lips together. “I’m the one planning the next episode of the variety show, and I originally designed it so that I wouldn’t be participating.”
Yan Qi asked, “What’s the plan?”
Chen Yuan said, “One-Day Limited.”
Zhou Shichen: “Huh?”
Chen Yuan looked at her teammates. “You’ll split into pairs of two, and for this one limited day, you’ll be each other’s partners.”
Zhou Shichen: “…”
Yan Qi: “…”
Xu Shuyan: “…”
Lin Yi: “…”
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