Lin Yi looked into Fang Yi’s eyes, repeating word by word, “Xu Shuyan and I slept together.”
She was saying it to Fang Yi, but also to herself.
Her hand under the table tugged at the lace of her dress. The white pearls on the black leather choker tied around her neck swayed gently, hiding the evidence of the previous night’s wildness with Xu Shuyan.
She thought to herself that she hadn’t been wrong to call Xu Shuyan a papillon. She just had to bite where people could see, leaving marks as if afraid no one would notice. Her thoughts couldn’t help but wander. She had been drunk last night, but what about Xu Shuyan?
Was Xu Shuyan sober?
If she was sober, why would she have tumbled into bed with her?
“What did you say?!” From across the desk, Fang Yi finally snapped out of her shock, her nerves nearly short-circuiting. “Wait, how did you two sleep together? Wait, wasn’t it Chen Yuan’s wedding? No, wait, which one of you likes women? Wait! Are you gay?”
She clutched her head, on the verge of a breakdown. “I told you to do fanservice, not to take the fanservice to bed!”
Lin Yi hadn’t expected such a strong reaction from Fang Yi. The barrage of questions distracted her a little, and she found herself comforting Fang Yi instead. “Calm down. You have so many questions. Which one should I answer first?”
Fang Yi didn’t hear a word she said. After a moment of stunned silence, she suddenly plopped down into her chair with a thud and started furiously typing on her keyboard.
Lin Yi was puzzled. “What are you doing?”
Fang Yi muttered to herself as she typed, “Emergency plan, press release, public relations… What if they were photographed? I need to come up with a plan right away.”
Lin Yi: “…”
Another one’s gone crazy.
She placed her hand on top of Fang Yi’s. “No one could have photographed us. Even if I was seen coming out of Xu Shuyan’s room, we’ve been living together for so long. No one would suspect anything.”
Fang Yi stared at the document, processing Lin Yi’s words.
She had been in the industry for many years, managing artists of all levels and guiding them through numerous PR crises. But she had never experienced an in-group scandal, a “collapsed house.” This was beyond her knowledge and capabilities, so a little panic was inevitable.
Now, comforted by Lin Yi, she quickly thought it through. Yes, that was right. To the outside world, Lin Yi and Xu Shuyan already had a great relationship. Sleeping together was well within the normal scope of their fanservice. As for how they slept together…
Her vision went dark. She really didn’t want to think about how Lin Yi and Xu Shuyan slept together.
“Go on,” Fang Yi said, pinching the bridge of her nose as she calmed down. She gestured for Lin Yi to sit. “Tell me everything, from beginning to end. I need to understand the whole story.”
Lin Yi’s gaze drifted. “There’s not much to tell.”
She hadn’t had a moment’s rest since waking up, and standing for so long had made her legs even more sore. After sitting down, she crossed her legs, looking like a rebellious teenager. She looked down at her nails and said, “Anyway, I can’t continue doing fanservice with her anymore.”
“You two…” Fang Yi gestured vaguely in the air with both hands, searching for the right words. “You… you and she… was it consensual… you know?”
“I guess so?” Lin Yi stared at her own smooth, clean nails. “I was drunk. You know I black out when I drink. I can’t remember the details of what happened. Why don’t you just ask Xu Shuyan directly?”
Fang Yi slammed her hand on the desk. “How am I supposed to ask her that?”
Lin Yi knew she was putting Fang Yi in a difficult position. After all, it was a private matter. If Xu Shuyan didn’t bring it up herself, it would be incredibly rude for Fang Yi to just go up and ask, “Did you sleep with your roommate?”
But she couldn’t help it. She had blacked out and couldn’t remember, and she didn’t want to have an in-depth discussion with Fang Yi about sleeping with Xu Shuyan or her complicated feelings toward her. Her mind was a tangled mess of thread right now, and if she couldn’t untangle it, she’d rather just ball it up and throw it away.
“Anyway, in the second half of the year, I’m preparing my solo album. At most, I’ll be a guest on a few variety shows. There aren’t many group activities, so it’s the perfect time to uncouple,” Lin Yi said, fiddling with the clasp on her bag. “I’m sure Xu Shuyan feels the same way.”
Fang Yi understood.
Lin Yi and Xu Shuyan were both gay. Something had happened at Chen Yuan’s wedding-a drunken one-night stand. But there were no feelings between them; it was just a moment of impulse.
A moment of impulse was good. A moment of impulse was great!
As long as it wasn’t an in-group dating scandal, she could accept anything right now. It was just uncoupling, right? Lin Yi was right. The Notes had been active for three years, and solo activities had long since opened up. The members had all found their own paths. Although they still had comeback periods, focusing on their individual careers was inevitable. Using this as an opportunity to uncouple the CP was a good thing.
Otherwise, what if they kept at it and actually developed feelings for each other? If an in-group dating scandal got out, wouldn’t it blow up the entire domestic entertainment industry?
“But you can’t just uncouple suddenly,” Fang Yi mused. “That would be strange. It has to be gradual.”
Lin Yi was impatient. “How do we do it gradually?”
“How about this? I’ll draft a plan and send it to you,” Fang Yi said. “I’ll talk to Yanyan when she gets back from H City. She’s also releasing an EP in the second half of the year, so you two won’t have many overlapping activities.”
Lin Yi tugged at the corner of her mouth. “Fine.”
With the business out of the way, Fang Yi’s expression grew complicated again. She looked at Lin Yi, hesitating, opening her mouth several times only to swallow her words, thinking better of it. Lin Yi saw this and said with a sigh, “I know what you want to ask.”
“I was born gay,” she said.
“!!!”
“Xu Shuyan… probably is too, right?” Lin Yi closed her bag. “But the two of us just have a pure, normal teammate-fanservice relationship. We never thought about anything happening between us.”
She paused, then added, “Before.”
Fang Yi was curious. “Why?”
In her eyes, Xu Shuyan and Lin Yi were both outstanding artists. They were beautiful, talented, and interesting people. Although their relationship was just for show, the chemistry of their personas was incredibly shippable. Their status as the group’s hegemon CP was no joke.
If they were both gay, could they really resist being attracted to each other?
Lin Yi had a good idea of what Fang Yi was thinking, but of course, she couldn’t tell her the truth. For one, it would drag Chen Yuan into it. For another, if Fang Yi knew she and Xu Shuyan used to be love rivals, she’d probably pass out from the shock.
She mumbled evasively, “…We’re both tops.”
“You guys have roles?” It was as if a whole new world had opened up for Fang Yi.
“Of course!” Lin Yi decided to commit to the lie. “You can tell from our personalities. We’re both the dominant type. In bed, we’d just end up fighting, okay?”
The corner of Fang Yi’s mouth twitched. “So how did you two fight in bed last night?”
Lin Yi: “…”
She snapped, “I already told you I blacked out, how would I remember?” She thought for a moment, then added, unwilling to concede, “But I’m really strong when I’m drunk. I definitely fired the first shot.”
Fang Yi: “…”
Don’t say any more. I’m getting a mental image.
Lin Yi blushed a little too. She had been running around all morning and was already tired from the long talk with Fang Yi. Muttering that she was going back to the dorm to catch up on sleep, she left. In the car on the way back, however, she couldn’t stop thinking about Fang Yi’s question: “So how did you two fight in bed last night?”
She couldn’t remember, but the marks left endless room for imagination.
What was Xu Shuyan like in bed?
Would she lose control?
How did she do it? She barely even watched porn, and she had to be taught how to masturbate. How did she manage to wear her out so completely without any instruction? What did she use? Fingers, or… her mouth.
The more she thought, the hotter her face became. She covered her face, but accidentally brushed her lip and hissed softly.
Her lip had been bitten during their kisses, and even the slightest touch was painful.
Xu Shuyan was ruthless.
“Xiao Yi?” Her assistant, who had been watching her expression change constantly as she sighed and groaned, finally couldn’t help but ask, “What’s wrong with you?”
Lin Yi snapped out of it. “Ah,” she said. “A demo I liked got bought by someone else. I’m sad.”
The assistant breathed a sigh of relief. “Oh, it’s okay. There are so many good demos in the world. Take your time, you’ll find one that’s even better.”
Lin Yi smiled and patted her shoulder. “I’m sure I will.”
She looked out the window. The colors of S City at the end of September were brilliant. The golden sun spread between the buildings, its vibrant energy sweeping away the gloom in her heart. She closed her eyes, feeling the sunlight on her face.
Whatever, she thought. I’ll get a good sleep first and worry about it later.
She slept until nearly nine o’clock. The soreness in her body hadn’t lessened with sleep; instead, it grew even more intense, a constant reminder of last night. She covered her eyes with her arm and listened for a while.
The dorm was quiet. No one else was back yet.
Right, the company had given them a three-day break. Their original plan was to fly back tomorrow. Her stomach was growling with hunger. She ordered some food on a delivery app before slowly opening WeChat.
Unread messages flooded in.
She replied to her album producer first, then opened their group chat. There were over 100 unread messages, most of which were photos they had taken at the beach today. She randomly tapped on one.
It was a selfie taken by Yan Qi. Xu Shuyan stood in the back, making a small peace sign with a deadpan expression. Her long hair was blowing in the sea breeze as she coolly struck a pose, looking completely unruffled.
…Looks like she’s having fun.
She scrolled up to the earliest messages. In the morning, Zhou Shichen had tagged her in the group, asking why she had suddenly gone back. It was Chen Yuan who replied for her, saying something had come up at the company. Zhou Shichen then sent a sticker and tagged Xu Shuyan: “Are you awake yet? What’s going on with Xiao Yi at the company? You should know, right?”
Half an hour later, Xu Shuyan finally replied: “I don’t know.”
Such a good act!
After reading through the messages, Lin Yi noticed that Zhou Shichen had sent her a private message half an hour ago, asking why she hadn’t replied. Lin Yi sat up and typed: “Just woke up.”
Zhou Shichen replied instantly: “You left so suddenly! What happened? Did something really come up at the company?”
One lie requires countless others to cover it up. Besides, Zhou Shichen could ask anyone and find out she’d only been at the company for half an hour. There was no point in lying.
But she couldn’t tell the real reason.
Lin Yi thought for a moment and said, “I think I wasn’t acclimatized. I wasn’t sleeping well there, so I came back early.”
Zhou Shichen said, “Oh, I see.”
It seemed she believed her.
“I thought you and Yanyan had a fight after you went back first last night.” Zhou Shichen’s message popped up. “She’s been distracted all day today, and she doesn’t look too good either. You two… you didn’t fight, did you?”
Lin Yi dodged the question. “You didn’t ask Xu Shuyan?”
Zhou Shichen said, “I did. She said you didn’t fight, and that you were gone when she woke up. But wait, didn’t they arrange two rooms? You two still slept together last night?”
Lin Yi’s head ached. Why was Zhou Shichen still shipping them! She really wanted to tell her that her CP had a bad ending after sleeping together!
Wait, wouldn’t that just make Zhou Shichen ship them even harder?
She rubbed her forehead and mumbled, “Yeah, we were talking in her room for a while and I was too lazy to go back, so I just slept there. We’re used to it, anyway.”
Zhou Shichen: “Mhm, mhm, you’re used to sleeping together anyway.”
Lin Yi: “…Ship a little less intensely.”
She hesitated, then went back to her chat list and scrolled down. She tapped on her conversation with Xu Shuyan. The contact name was still “Most Annoying Person in the World.” Their last conversation was when Xu Shuyan asked to borrow her earrings. She had agreed, and Xu Shuyan had replied with a sticker that said, “Lin Yi says thank you to you.gif”.
She stared blankly at the few lines of text.
Zhou Shichen said Xu Shuyan didn’t look well today. Could she be mad that she’d slept with her and then run off?
She had to admit, sleeping with someone and running off was a bit irresponsible. But who could stay calm after sleeping with their love rival? If Xu Shuyan had woken up first, would she have handled it any better?
She probably would have run faster and farther!
No, wait. Another unpleasant thought occurred to Lin Yi. Could it be that Xu Shuyan looked unwell because the person she’d slept with was her? To be fair, tumbling into bed with your love rival after getting drunk… just thinking about it was disgusting, right?
But she wasn’t disgusted, so what right did Xu Shuyan have to be? Wait- Lin Yi reflected again. Why wasn’t she disgusted? Why didn’t she feel disgusted?
She quickly found an excuse for herself. It was because she was used to physical contact with Xu Shuyan, so she was already desensitized. More importantly, she had blacked out from drinking and couldn’t remember anything. Otherwise, she would have been the first one to throw up.
Yes, that was definitely it.
Just as Lin Yi was pondering this, the delivery driver called to say her food was in the locker downstairs. Lin Yi hung up and looked again at the chat window with Xu Shuyan still open on her phone screen.
After a moment’s thought, she changed Xu Shuyan’s contact name to “Normal Teammate.”
The buzz around Chen Yuan’s wedding was still going strong online. After a day of fermenting, photos from the event were leaked. To promote the group’s bond, Sweet Melon Entertainment bought a trending topic: “The Notes’ Most Beautiful Bridesmaids.”
Solo fans got to see their beautiful idols, while group fans shed tears over their gorgeous friendship. The positive spin created a harmonious atmosphere all around.
The only ones who weren’t quite satisfied were the Yan Zhi You Yi CP fans. First, they nitpicked that Xu Shuyan and Lin Yi were standing too far apart. Then, someone revealed that Lin Yi had rushed back to S City the day after the wedding instead of going out to sea with the other four members. The CP fans were heartbroken that the little couple had lost a chance for a romantic date.
Finally, a rumor surfaced claiming that Yan Zhi You Yi was about to be uncoupled and that fans should prepare themselves. This completely broke the CP fans’ defenses.
[I’m begging you, do the people spreading these rumors have a heart? Didn’t you see Xu Shuyan wore her wife’s earrings to a teammate’s wedding? I’ve seen Lin Yi wear those pearl earrings!]
[Is this confirmed? If it’s confirmed, I’m starting to look for a new ship now.]
[To be honest, all the members of the Gu Group are doing well individually now, so uncoupling is inevitable. At least CP fans still have their memories, and the members are still in the same group. The uncoupling won’t be that absolute. Not like my CP, it’s been 254 days and they haven’t even seen each other.]
[Reported for spreading rumors.]
[Does anyone still not know that Yan Zhi You Yi have already done it and are preparing to get married abroad?]
[Our Yan Zhi You Yi haven’t actually broken up, have they…]
…
Zhou Shichen and the others took an early flight the next day. On her side account, Lin Yi saw airport photos posted by a group fansite. The three of them were waiting to board. Zhou Shichen and Yan Qi were talking in low voices, while Xu Shuyan stared blankly at an advertisement, her face tilted up and covered by a mask, her expression unreadable.
She scrolled for a while, zooming in again and again, but still couldn’t see clearly.
…Why was she trying so hard to see, anyway!
Lin Yi tossed her phone onto the bed and calculated the time in her head. The flight was at six in the morning, so they should be arriving at the apartment complex soon. Just as she was thinking this, she heard a noise downstairs.
“Xiao Yi! We’re back!” It was Zhou Shichen’s voice.
They’re back?
So soon!
A belated sense of nervousness washed over Lin Yi. What should she do? What should she do? She still hadn’t figured out how to face Xu Shuyan. What would be the first thing she said? Would they talk about that night? Or should she pretend nothing happened?
It would be hard to pretend nothing happened!!!
“Xiao Yi?” When she didn’t come out, Zhou Shichen called again, puzzled. She asked Yan Qi, “She’s not home, is she? Where could she have gone so early in the morning?”
Lin Yi broke out in a nervous cold sweat. She took two deep breaths, finally pushed open her door, and walked out, feigning composure. “You’re back! Captain! Shichen! Xu Shu- where’s Xu Shuyan?”
Downstairs in the empty living room, there were only Yan Qi, Zhou Shichen, and two suitcases.
“Yanyan went straight to the company from the airport,” Zhou Shichen said, collapsing onto the sofa. “I think it’s about her EP. The company hired a lyricist from a well-known label to work with her, and she went to discuss the collaboration.”
She didn’t come back.
Lin Yi let out a muffled “oh.” Relief and disappointment welled up in her heart at the same time. Xu Shuyan is such a coward, she thought. What “meeting a lyricist”? She was clearly just too scared to come back and see her!
“Oh, right,” Zhou Shichen added. “We all have to go to the company for a meeting at two this afternoon. The young boss is leading it.”
“The young boss?” Lin Yi was surprised. “Even though she’s the one who formed our group, she hasn’t really been involved since we got on track, has she? Why call a sudden meeting?”
Yan Qi mused, “She probably wants to give some important directives about the group’s future development.”
Zhou Shichen couldn’t help but laugh.
Yan Qi glanced at her. “What’s so funny?”
Zhou Shichen rolled over, lying on her stomach on the sofa, unafraid of the captain. “I’m laughing because you’re so serious, it feels like I’m already in the meeting.”
Yan Qi threw a cushion at her. “Stop laughing.”
Zhou Shichen caught the lightly tossed cushion and yelled, “Yan Qi is bullying Zhou Shichen! Is anyone going to do anything about it!”
Lin Yi: “…”
Is anyone going to do anything about this couple!!!
After her silent complaint, Lin Yi’s heart tightened again. The two o’clock meeting was being led by the young boss. Xu Shuyan would have to be there. They would definitely see each other. If they sat by age, they might even end up next to each other.
She started to panic again.
Fang Yi was also at the company now. Would she mention the uncoupling plan to Xu Shuyan? Knowing Xu Shuyan’s personality, she’d probably agree without a second thought.
That’s for the best, Lin Yi thought. Just pretend that night never happened. From now on, we’ll go our separate ways. Everyone has a bright future ahead.
Her thoughts were carefree, but her heart was still pounding like a rabbit in her chest, up and down. Her panic lasted right up until the meeting.
With the young boss leading the meeting, no one dared to be late. They even arrived at the company half an hour early. Instead of going to the practice room, they waited and chatted in the break room lounge. The meeting was a much bigger affair than they had imagined, with people bustling in and out of the conference room.
Lin Yi distractedly got a cup of water, checked the time, and asked with feigned casualness, “It’s about to start. Why isn’t Xu Shuyan here yet?”
“Miss her?” Zhou Shichen never missed an opportunity to ship her CP. She teased, “She’s just in the recording studio upstairs. It’ll only take her two minutes to come down. It would only take you two minutes to go up, too.”
Lin Yi rejected the idea. “Who misses her? I’m just worried she’ll be late and get yelled at, and then we’ll all get dragged down with her.”
Zhou Shichen let out a meaningful “oh,” extracting the key point. “So you’re worried she’ll get yelled at!”
Lin Yi glared at her. “Still shipping, still shipping!”
Zhou Shichen stuck out her tongue.
Xu Shuyan came down five minutes before the meeting. She was still wearing her airport outfit: a jumper dress with embroidered sunflowers over a clean white t-shirt. A matching clip held back her bangs, making her look both sweet and cool.
The air conditioning in the conference room was turned down low, and she shivered as soon as she entered. Zhou Shichen waved at her. “Yanyan! Over here!”
Xu Shuyan’s gaze followed the sound.
Lin Yi was sitting next to Zhou Shichen, with an empty seat to her right, presumably saved for her. She hesitated. Even though she had clearly heard Zhou Shichen call out to her, Lin Yi didn’t even look up.
…She really doesn’t want to see me, does she?
Xu Shuyan laughed self-deprecatingly in her mind. She should have known. Lin Yi had run off so quickly this morning, and now she was ignoring her completely. Was she afraid she wouldn’t be able to resist hitting her if she saw her?
She almost wished Lin Yi would slap her and then interrogate her.
Then she wouldn’t have to pretend anymore. She could lay her desire and affection bare for Lin Yi to see, and tell her that her heart had changed a long time ago.
God knows when it happened. Maybe it was when she wasn’t as sad as she’d expected after learning about Chen Yuan’s relationship. Maybe it was when Lin Yi coached her while they were watching that movie. Or maybe it was even earlier. There were too many ambiguous moments, on and off stage, each one adding to her feelings for Lin Yi until one day they were about to overflow.
It was out of control.
She wasn’t a worthy love rival in Lin Yi’s eyes. Lin Yi was right; she had never liked Chen Yuan that much. She wasn’t sad because Chen Yuan was getting married; she was sad because Lin Yi was sad.
But Lin Yi had been the one to invite her that night. She thought that at least… at least Lin Yi liked her a little.
She had asked again and again, and Lin Yi knew it was her. She thought their relationship would progress, but that wasn’t it at all. She had woken up before Lin Yi but hadn’t dared to stir, forced to watch Lin Yi’s panic and terror, and finally, her hasty escape.
Escaping her bed wasn’t enough; she had to escape the entire city.
She thought, almost masochistically, that when they finally met, there would inevitably be a confrontation and a long talk. She had looked forward to that moment, but when it came, she had fearfully postponed it, only showing up five minutes before the meeting.
In her mind, she had imagined that even in a setting not suited for conversation, she and Lin Yi would at least have a clash of gazes when she arrived, which would allow her to gauge Lin Yi’s mood. But Lin Yi didn’t look at her.
That night had been thrown into the recycling bin like trash by Lin Yi, who wouldn’t even spare her a single glance.
“What are you standing there for?” Yan Qi spoke up. “Hurry up and sit down.”
“It’s too close to the air conditioner over there,” Xu Shuyan said, snapping back to reality. “Captain, I’ll sit next to you.”
Yan Qi nodded slightly. Her mind was completely focused on the upcoming meeting, and she didn’t notice the undercurrents flowing between her members. Zhou Shichen, however, sensed something was off. But she could never have guessed that the CP she shipped had already slept together. She looked at Xu Shuyan, then at the equally distracted Lin Yi.
Never one to shy away from a shocking statement, she asked, “Did Xu Shuyan confess to you?”
If it weren’t for her self-control, Lin Yi would have jumped out of her seat. She hissed in a low voice, “What nonsense are you talking about! Stop spreading rumors! I’ll sue you for slander!”
Zhou Shichen looked innocent. “Don’t get so worked up. I was just asking.”
“I-I was just getting worked up casually,” Lin Yi stammered. It was hard to peek at Xu Shuyan from two seats away, but she couldn’t help but glance over. “Don’t spread rumors about my relationship with my teammate!”
Zhou Shichen was obedient. “Okay, I’ll reflect on my actions. Next time, I definitely won’t ship you right to your faces.”
Lin Yi knew she was being too sensitive. She patted Zhou Shichen’s head soothingly. “Good girl.”
The moment she finished, Xu Shuyan shot a cool glance in their direction. Lin Yi instinctively snatched her hand back. Her heart skipped a beat, and she even had the strange feeling of being caught flirting with someone else.
She regretted pulling her hand back as soon as she did it. “…”
Why should she feel guilty!
And what right did Xu Shuyan have to look at her like that?
What?
Just because we slept together once, she thinks I belong to her?!
Get instant access to all the chapters now.
