Lin Yi wanted to glare back.
Before she could, the conference room door was suddenly pushed open from the outside. The crisp sound of high heels echoed on the floor as the convener of this meeting, the little boss, arrived right on time.
She wore a sharp, black casual suit, her ear-length bob neat and tidy. A dark lipstick shade gave her a formidable air. Taking her seat at the head of the table, she accepted a folder from her assistant. “Is everyone here?”
The assistant replied, “Everyone is here except for Chen Yuan, who’s on marriage leave.”
She nodded slightly, flipped through the folder, then set it aside. Clasping her hands on the table, she offered a faint smile to the room. “Then let’s begin our meeting.”
There weren’t many people in attendance: the four members of The Notes, their four personal assistants, the group’s manager, Xu Shuyan and Lin Yi’s manager, Zhou Shichen and Yan Qi’s manager, as well as staff from operations, promotions, and planning. Before arriving, they had all been wondering about the meeting’s theme.
Was this a reckoning for Chen Yuan’s scandal?
“Everyone, please relax. This meeting is primarily about the individual development of The Notes’ members,” the little boss said, smiling to ease the tension. “The Notes has been established for three years and has achieved remarkable success. Although one member left the group this year, the overall loss has not been significant.”
“Therefore, after careful consideration, I have decided to approve the proposals previously submitted by your managers. The members of The Notes will establish their own individual studios and form more comprehensive teams to support them, allowing for better development of their solo careers during periods when the group is not active.”
Her words immediately caused an uproar in the conference room.
“We’re actually getting individual studios?”
“This is great news, truly great news. The personal managers must be ecstatic, right?”
“Xiao Li must be happy too. The better their solo careers, the more people will want to see them together. The hype will be even bigger for group activities, and the group’s commercial value will rise with it!”
The operations and planning staff murmured among themselves, and even the three managers couldn’t help but huddle together and whisper.
In contrast, the four members of the Gu Group seemed remarkably calm.
Once the chatter died down, Yan Qi raised her hand. The little boss tilted her chin. “Captain, do you have a question?”
Yan Qi asked, “What about Yuanyuan?”
As if she had expected the question, the little boss turned her head slightly. Her assistant stepped forward and answered, “Chen Yuan’s work will be paused for a while. This is her personal wish, which the company agreed to after consulting with her. She wants to take some time to settle down and prepare for her film role. At the same time, she’s also applying to schools abroad to further her studies.”
Yan Qi nodded slowly. “I have no more questions.”
The other three members of the Gu Group also breathed a small sigh of relief. After Chen Yuan left the group to get married, the five of them had rarely discussed it, nor had they inquired about her career development. Now that the company had suddenly agreed to let them open individual studios, they were still worried about Chen Yuan, which was why they had asked.
“I have a question.” Xu Shuyan raised her hand. “Our group… does it really still exist?”
The little boss raised an eyebrow, replying without hesitation, “Of course.”
“Your individual development is also for the betterment of the group,” she said. “When I formed this group, I wanted a group, not just individuals. The reason I’m letting you venture out into the entertainment world on your own is that I hope one day, you will have more works, a greater voice, and more choices.”
“So that when you reach a certain age, you can openly date and marry, and the people who like you will continue to like you.”
Xu Shuyan lowered her eyes. “…Thank you, little boss.”
The little boss scanned the room. “Does anyone else have any questions?”
Everyone shook their heads in unison.
“Alright, then. Yan Qi, Zhou Shichen, Xu Shuyan, Lin Yi, the four of you are now the bosses of your own studios. Pick whoever you want from the company. If that’s not enough, then hire new people. I want to see a prototype of your teams by the end of next month.”
The four members of the Gu Group replied, “Yes.”
“If there’s nothing else, meeting adjourned,” the little boss said, then added, “Oh. Lin Yi and Xu Shuyan, stay behind.”
At these words, three hearts in the room simultaneously skipped a beat.
Lin Yi: No way. The little boss couldn’t possibly know Xu Shuyan and I slept together, could she? How did it get out?
Xu Shuyan: No way. The little boss couldn’t possibly know Lin Yi and I slept together, could she? How did it get out?
Fang Yi: No way. The little boss couldn’t possibly know Lin Yi and Xu Shuyan slept together, could she? I swear I didn’t say a word to anyone!
Though their hearts were pounding, their faces remained impassive. Lin Yi and Xu Shuyan both acknowledged the request and stayed in their seats. Fang Yi, however, lingered reluctantly, which the little boss noticed. A light remark—“Don’t worry, I’m not going to eat your artists”—was all it took for the assistant to escort Fang Yi out.
“Sister Fang!” Yan Qi and Zhou Shichen were waiting by the door. They came over as soon as she emerged. “Do you know why the little boss wanted to see Yanyan and Xiao Yi?”
Fang Yi shook her head. “I was about to ask you the same thing!”
She glanced at the closed conference room door. “It’s probably nothing major, or she would have kept me in there too. You two go on and get busy. I’ll wait here.”
Temporarily reassured, Zhou Shichen and Yan Qi went upstairs to start working on their studios.
While Fang Yi waited anxiously outside, her heart racing, the atmosphere inside the conference room was not as tense as she imagined—aside from being a little awkward.
“You’re saying,” Lin Yi repeated with a strained smile, “that the organizer of next month’s fashion gala is your best friend, so you hope Xu Shuyan and I can perform and walk the red carpet to support her?”
The little boss, having shed her intimidating meeting persona, nodded with a grin. “Xiao Yi is a quick study.”
Lin Yi couldn’t manage a real smile. “Haha.”
The little boss blinked. “Is there a problem?”
There wasn’t a problem, exactly. It’s not that there isn’t one, it’s that I don’t dare have one, Lin Yi thought while forcing a smile. The little boss could have easily assigned this job to her and Xu Shuyan through Fang Yi, but she hadn’t. Instead, she had approached them personally, giving them an opportunity to do her a favor.
It wasn’t just a favor to her, but also to the gala’s organizer. In the entertainment industry, favors could be more valuable than money.
Refusing would be ungrateful.
Xu Shuyan had clearly figured this out as well. She asked, “As for the performance, will it be one each, or…”
“A duet, of course,” the little boss said. “But you can’t just sing. To warm up the crowd, you’ll need to do a rather sexy and alluring duet dance. There will be other guest performers at the gala—the entire group from the company next door is coming—but they aren’t well-known enough. The organizers are still hoping you two can make it. Is that okay? Do your big sister a favor?”
Lin Yi smiled and chose her words carefully. “How could we not do our big sister a favor? But Yanyan and I will need to discuss which song to perform.”
“You can pick whatever you want.”
“How about this,” the little boss said, glancing at her watch. “Time is a bit tight. Decide on a song before midnight tonight and email it to me. I’ll go buy the rights. How does that sound?”
With things having come this far, they had to agree, whether they wanted to or not.
Xu Shuyan and Lin Yi nodded in unison. Under the little boss’s genuinely warm smile, their own smiles looked a bit forced. They exchanged a look, a torrent of emotions swirling in their eyes, before both sighing inwardly.
Lin Yi sighed because she had just told Fang Yi they needed to uncouple, and now she had to perform a sexy duet. This wasn’t a gradual uncoupling; it was a lingering, messy attachment.
Xu Shuyan sighed because she had hoped to use work as a way for them to cool off, but now they were being forcibly tied together again. The unresolved atmosphere was bound to be awkward and would eventually explode along with all their other problems.
She followed Lin Yi out of the conference room, her mind elsewhere. Lin Yi doesn’t like me. If she knew how I felt, she’d probably laugh at me. I have to hide it carefully, if only for my own fragile pride.
But her acting was terrible. It was getting harder and harder to hide her feelings for Lin Yi.
[Huge news, everyone! Sweet Melon Entertainment is giving the Gu Group members their own individual studios!]
[What the hell? For which one?]
[I pray to the heavens and the earth that it’s my bias!]
[For all of them!]
[??? Is the Gu Group about to disband?]
[Oh my god! Can’t they give us group stans a break? I’m here to watch them put on a show for the fans, who wants to see them shining on their own?]
[If this is confirmed, then the rumors about Yan Zhi You Yi uncoupling might have some credibility.]
[I’m out, I’m really out. Sisters, got any other ships to recommend?]
The news online had been leaked by the company to give fans a heads-up and to build momentum for the individual studios. Many partners who had heard the rumors were already messaging the managers to discuss solo projects.
While Yan Qi and Zhou Shichen were already starting to select their teams, Lin Yi and Xu Shuyan sat in silence at the music teacher’s workstation. Only the sound of the keyboard and the teacher’s voice filled the awkward atmosphere.
The two of them would occasionally chime in. One song wasn’t right, a second was too romantic, a third was overly sexy. Finally, the music teacher threw in the towel. “Why don’t you two just pick one yourselves?”
“You pick, teacher!” they said in unison.
They glanced at each other again, then quickly looked away.
“What’s with you two today?” The music teacher looked from one to the other. “So strange. Didn’t you used to have a ton of options for song choices? Why not pick from those?”
Lin Yi hesitated. “Well…”
She and Xu Shuyan used to be in a business relationship. For their stage performances, the sexier and more interactive, the better. But now… was it still appropriate now? After what had happened between them, could they really do an intimate dance without their minds wandering?
“Enough with the hemming and hawing!” The music teacher opened their small group chat. “I have to go teach the trainees. Listen to these options, pick one, and see if you want any changes. Just send it to me directly when you’re done.”
She checked the time and stood up in a hurry. “I’m going to be late. Take your time listening.”
It was already past closing time. After the music teacher left, the only sound in the work area was the clatter of keyboards from a few employees working overtime, which only made the atmosphere feel quieter.
Lin Yi could even hear Xu Shuyan’s breathing.
It was soft and steady.
Coming from across the music teacher’s now-empty office chair, it was impossible to ignore.
The teacher had left in such a rush that the chair was still rocking slightly. Xu Shuyan reached out and steadied it, breaking the silence. “Let’s listen to the songs first.”
Lin Yi heard herself agree. A beat-heavy BGM filled her headphones, but her gaze was fixed on the hand Xu Shuyan was using to control the mouse. Her mind drifted.
Xu Shuyan’s wrists are so slender, she thought. Pale and delicate, as if boneless. I could circle one with just two fingers.
…Had she touched them that night?
Lin Yi’s hands inexplicably itched. Her fingertips twitched unconsciously, and she laughed at herself inwardly for the absurd thought. Her teammate was seriously listening to music and choosing a song, while she was reminiscing about their one-night stand.
An abnormal rhythm pounded in her chest. Beside her, Xu Shuyan pulled a pen from the holder and jotted down the names of potential songs in a notebook. As she leaned forward, the collar of her shirt shifted, revealing a small patch of skin below her collarbone.
The red mark had not yet faded. It was intimate and glaring.
She had made that mark.
Lin Yi jerked her eyes away, feeling a pang of guilt as if she’d been caught doing something wrong.
She thought she must be going crazy. It was all because she’d blacked out from the alcohol, forcing her to rely on her imagination to piece things together. The more she tried not to think about it, the less she could control it. It was like an opiate, tempting her, making her feel unlike herself.
“What are you thinking about?” Xu Shuyan suddenly said, her voice cold. “Can you focus?”
Lin Yi froze.
Xu Shuyan’s words were like a bucket of ice water poured over her head, chilling her to the bone. Then it hit her—
Right! This is how Xu Shuyan and I are supposed to interact! Even if we’re not rivals in love, we still can’t stand each other. Here I am, all worked up over that night, while Xu Shuyan probably hasn’t given it a second thought. If she knew my mind was wandering, she’d probably laugh her head off at me!
How could she give Xu Shuyan that chance?
“I was thinking about opening my own studio, of course,” Lin Yi said, sitting up straight and firing back. “Let’s just pick any song. I don’t have time to waste on this.”
Xu Shuyan shot her a sideways glance. “That’s not what you said in front of the little boss.”
Lin Yi scoffed. “I know how to say the right things, even if you don’t.”
Xu Shuyan was momentarily speechless. She randomly dragged a song over and played it. “How about this one, ‘Out of Control’? The lyrics are already R-rated. It’s not hard to sing, and it’ll be easy to stage.”
Lin Yi had heard the song before. Every line was a metaphor, every part an insinuation. It was exactly the kind of performance the fans loved to see.
She listened to the chorus and nodded. “Fine.”
Xu Shuyan hit pause.
“Then I’ll email it to the little boss,” she said, opening her email in a web browser. “I’ll have my assistant contact a choreographer and set up practice times. If the dance isn’t too difficult, we can get it done in two or three days.”
Lin Yi grunted in agreement.
It was already late. The employees who had been working overtime were on their way home. Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, the streetlights illuminated a ceaseless flow of traffic, like tiny toy cars heading to different destinations. She watched Xu Shuyan’s fingers dance across the keyboard, typing out the email word by word. Lowering her gaze, she said, “I’m planning to move downstairs.”
The typing stopped abruptly. Then, her fingers slowly returned to the keyboard, striking a wrong letter. Xu Shuyan forced a smile. “Moving into Chen Yuan’s room?”
Lin Yi nodded. “Yes.”
“You know she’s married, right?” Xu Shuyan suddenly pushed the keyboard away and turned to face Lin Yi, her question coming out fast and sharp. “If I remember correctly, we just got back from her wedding not long ago, didn’t we? And you’re still hung up on her, wanting to feel her warmth?”
The more Lin Yi listened, the more ridiculous it sounded. “What nonsense are you talking about? Yuanyuan’s things were moved out long ago. That room is completely empty now. What warmth am I supposed to be feeling?”
“Then why don’t you let me move out?”
“Don’t you have trouble sleeping in new places?”
“That was ages ago. Have you seen me have trouble sleeping anywhere all these years we’ve been traveling?”
“…Who cares if you do or not!”
As the argument escalated, Lin Yi, afraid the topic would veer toward that night, stomped her foot in frustration. “Anyway, I’m sleeping downstairs tonight.”
“I’ll move,” Xu Shuyan said.
Lin Yi was slightly taken aback. “You’ll move?”
Xu Shuyan hummed in affirmation. “My luggage isn’t fully moved up anyway. I’ll just put it there. I’ll live downstairs from now on.”
In an instant, Lin Yi knew exactly what Xu Shuyan was thinking. She laughed, but it was a laugh of anger. “Who’s the one hung up on Chen Yuan, Xu Shuyan? Do you even remember where you were going when you packed that luggage? To her wedding! And now you’re so eager to live in her room and feel her warmth?”
She threw Xu Shuyan’s own words back at her, hoping to see her get flustered. But Xu Shuyan had already turned back to the email, tossing a cool reply over her shoulder. “Think whatever you want.”
Lin Yi: “…”
Xu Shuyan was so infuriating!
So infuriating that she didn’t even want to breathe the same air. She kicked her chair and stormed upstairs, just in time to see Zhou Shichen leaving a meeting. Zhou Shichen called out to her, “Xiao Yi, are you done? Want to head back to the dorm together?”
“I don’t want to go back,” Lin Yi said, changing the subject to avoid questions about Xu Shuyan. “Did you just finish your meeting? How are you going to build your studio team?”
As expected, Zhou Shichen was immediately distracted. “It’s a pain! Our company doesn’t actually have that many people available, and you can’t just transfer them over. The recommendation is to hire new people, but we’ll let Fang Yi and the others handle that. The first step is to start recruiting.”
Lin Yi nodded thoughtfully.
Seeing that she still didn’t want to go back to the dorm, Zhou Shichen went to wait for Yan Qi.
Lin Yi sat in the lounge for a while before knocking on Fang Yi’s office door. Fang Yi had been swamped these past two days. Seeing Lin Yi, and then thinking of Xu Shuyan, made her headache even worse. “My dear girl, shouldn’t you be with Yanyan choosing a song right now?”
“We chose one,” Lin Yi said, flopping onto the sofa by the window and gazing at the dark blue sky. “We had a fight. She’s annoying.”
Fang Yi found that strange. “What did you fight about?”
Lin Yi’s mood soured just thinking about it. She forced a smile. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“My, you’re all grown up, keeping secrets now,” Fang Yi sighed, shaking her head. “It’s fine if you don’t want to talk about it. That’s your private business. What’s giving me a headache right now is the little boss making you and Yanyan do a duet. It’s completely messed up the uncoupling plan I spent all day writing!”
Lin Yi felt a pang of sympathy. “You’ve worked hard.”
She hesitated for a moment before saying, “Xu Shuyan is planning to move into the room Yuanyuan used to live in.”
Fang Yi’s eyes lit up. “Really?”
Regardless of why Lin Yi and Xu Shuyan had fought, the fact that Xu Shuyan was willing to move out proved that sleeping with Lin Yi had been an impulse. Now that the impulse had passed, it was awkward for them to stay in the same dorm room. Moving out was perfectly normal.
“Really.” Lin Yi kicked off her sandals. The thought that Xu Shuyan was going to “feel Chen Yuan’s warmth” made her scoff. “She’s probably moving tonight.”
“Then this can be the first step in the uncoupling plan!” Fang Yi said excitedly. “We need to find a way to leak the news that you and Xu Shuyan aren’t living in the same room anymore.”
Lin Yi frowned slightly. “Hire someone to leak it?”
Fang Yi slowly shook her head. “A leak won’t be enough. At most, it’ll just create some panic. It’s more effective if one of you dismantles it personally.”
“How would I do that?” Lin Yi asked. “Mention it casually in a vlog?”
Fang Yi’s face darkened. “That’s not uncoupling. That’s showing off your affection.”
Lin Yi: “…Right.”
Fang Yi said, “Let me think about it some more. And don’t worry about the studio. Your task right now is to prepare for your album and decide on the title track. As for Yanyan—”
She asked, “Yanyan is still at the company, right?”
The thought of Xu Shuyan made Lin Yi’s chest tighten. “Do you need to see her for something?”
“I need to talk to her about the uncoupling plan,” Fang Yi said, opening her chat with Xu Shuyan. “If you don’t have anything else, you should head home and rest. Don’t you have dance practice tomorrow?”
Lin Yi sat up. “Got it.”
Fang Yi was still worried. “You and Yanyan… when you’re dancing, try to control yourselves. Don’t… don’t…”
She wanted to say, “don’t let old flames reignite,” but that didn’t feel quite right. Then she thought of saying, “don’t dance up any sparks,” but before she could, Lin Yi cut her off irritably, “Impossible!”
Fang Yi: “?”
Lin Yi declared with absolute certainty, “The universe could explode, the Earth could end, the sun could burn out, and there would still be no chance of anything happening between me and Xu Shuyan!”
Fang Yi: “…Okay.”
Lin Yi nodded fiercely, full of righteous indignation. “I’m leaving!”
Fang Yi stared blankly as she waved goodbye. “Be careful on your way. Message me when you get home.”
She glanced at her chat with Xu Shuyan. Two minutes ago, Xu Shuyan had said she was on her way up and had even sent a waiting puppy sticker. Sure enough, not long after Lin Yi left, Xu Shuyan knocked and entered, holding a thermos.
“Come, sit,” Fang Yi called to her. “Just finished with the song selection?”
Xu Shuyan hummed in response. The office air conditioning was always set low in the summer, and after a full day of it, she felt a little unwell. She had put on a jacket before coming up, which made her seem smaller. As soon as their eyes met, she asked directly, “Did she tell you?”
Fang Yi was startled. “What?”
Xu Shuyan said, “You know what I’m talking about.”
Fang Yi let out a small “ah.” “Um, yes, I… she… Xiao Yi told me.”
“I knew it.” Xu Shuyan unscrewed the thermos, and steam rose from the hot water. She blew on it gently. “Let her say whatever she wants. What’s done is done.”
Fang Yi ventured cautiously, “You… it was just an impulse, right?”
Xu Shuyan took a sip of water. Through the rising steam, she smiled faintly. “Is that what Lin Yi told you?”
Fang Yi grew nervous. “It wasn’t?”
Could there be more to the story? I knew it! Is this a case of unrequited love for Xu Shuyan?!
Xu Shuyan was silent for a moment. Her long eyelashes, dampened by the steam, fluttered a few times. She looked up and said, “It was an impulse. We were both drunk.”
Fang Yi finally let out a long, relieved breath. “That’s good, that’s good.”
“But something like this should only happen once,” Fang Yi added. “Let’s use this opportunity, with you and Yanyan both opening your own studios, to uncouple and cool down the CP hype.”
Xu Shuyan was cooperative. “Okay.”
Fang Yi was gratified. Xu Shuyan and Lin Yi were two of her most professional and disciplined artists. She didn’t want to see both their careers collapse. She offered some reassurance, “But you only need to be less intimate in front of the camera. Off-camera, I still hope you two can remain friends forever.”
Xu Shuyan screwed the lid back on her thermos and looked up. “Thank you, Sister Fang.”
Fang Yi waved it off. “We’re all family here. Thanking me makes us sound like strangers!”
Xu Shuyan smiled. The tip of her tongue swept over her teeth, the small cuts left by the kisses on that night by the sea still stinging. She gazed out the window into the endless darkness.
Friends forever? she thought.
Dream on.
The universe could explode, the Earth could end, the sun could burn out, and she would never let her relationship with Lin Yi be just friendship.
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