Xu Shuyan really didn’t come back.
Lin Yi sat on the bay window with a face mask on, listening to the economics course Yan Qi had shared with her. Yan Qi said it could calm the mind. She listened to two minutes about choice and discrimination, watching a cruise ship slowly pass by on the river outside, and her thoughts drifted away again.
Half an hour ago, their assistant had said in the work group chat that she would pick them up at nine tomorrow morning. Xu Shuyan had replied with an “OK” emoji. This meant Xu Shuyan was already back at the dorm but hadn’t come upstairs. Clearly, she was a woman of her word, planning to sleep in Chen Yuan’s old room starting tonight.
Speaking of which, ever since Yuanyuan moved out of the dorm, she had never been inside her room.
That place had once been where she most wanted to go.
Lin Yi peeled off the face mask and threw it in the trash, massaging her face with her fingertips. The economics professor’s voice from the tablet was like wind past her ears, brushing by without registering.
She remembered the “battle armor” she had bought to “seduce” Yuanyuan. That night, she had also been aiming to stay over, but she ended up running back before even reaching the top of the stairs. Xu Shuyan had even laughed at her, telling her to give up on her dream of climbing into Chen Yuan’s bed long ago.
Of course, she hadn’t given up. Later, she had actually succeeded in persuading Chen Yuan—just to platonically sleep with her best friend, of course—but Xu Shuyan had ruined it!
Thinking of this, Lin Yi gritted her teeth and dug up the Weibo post Chen Yuan had made at the time.
The photo was clear. She and Xu Shuyan were sleeping soundly, hands and heads entangled. After waking up, both she and Xu Shuyan had commented in a teasing tone. She asked Chen Yuan how much money it would take to delete it, while Xu Shuyan asked how much it would take to post the original picture. The comment section was once again going wild with shipping.
Somehow, her dad had seen it and called her, telling her to be more careful. After all, she was a public figure and needed to protect herself. She had wanted to explain, but her dad had hung up on his own accord.
At that time, she had resentfully changed Xu Shuyan’s contact name to “The Most Most Most Most Most Most Annoying Person.”
And now, Xu Shuyan was the only one left in that bed.
On what grounds?
Lin Yi felt indignant again. Why did Xu Shuyan get to sleep in Chen Yuan’s bed? The hand massaging her cheek pressed harder. The more she thought about it, the more unwilling she was to accept it. She simply washed her face and headed downstairs, secretly determined to have a proper battle with Xu Shuyan over the right to use the room.
Her slippers stomped menacingly on the wooden stairs, but after a gasp of surprise, the sound suddenly vanished.
Lin Yi held onto the handrail and stared wide-eyed at Xu Shuyan, who was two or three steps below her. Finally, Xu Shuyan grew impatient. “What are you doing, blocking the way?”
“I- I…” Her grand ambitions from before vanished in an instant. Lin Yi couldn’t even get out the words “I’m here to battle you.” After stammering for a moment, she turned sideways. Just as Xu Shuyan was about to pass, she seemed to remember something and grabbed Xu Shuyan’s wrist.
She could indeed circle it with just two fingers.
That was the first thought that popped into Lin Yi’s head. Before she could have a second one, Xu Shuyan interrupted, her voice icy. “Is there something you need?”
Lin Yi blinked. “…No.”
“If there’s nothing, why are you grabbing me?” Xu Shuyan pulled her wrist from Lin Yi’s grasp, then let out an “oh” as if remembering something. “Don’t worry, I’m not coming back to the room to sleep. I’m just getting my pajamas.”
Don’t worry? Lin Yi thought. What am I supposed to not worry about? Not worry about letting Xu Shuyan sleep in Chen Yuan’s old room, reminiscing about her lost, unspoken first love?
“Are you really going to sleep in Chen Yuan’s room?” Lin Yi asked.
“What else?” Xu Shuyan retorted, not waiting for an answer. “Doesn’t this also go along with our plan to uncouple? How are we supposed to uncouple if we’re still living in the same room?”
Lin Yi let out a soft “ah.” “Fang Yi talked to you.”
“Mhm.” Xu Shuyan rubbed her wrist. “She also told us we just have to pretend not to know each other in front of the cameras, but off-camera, our friendship should last forever.”
A faint, unreadable smile touched her lips. “Can our friendship still last forever?”
Lin Yi didn’t understand what she was smiling about. She just felt that after they had even slept together, talking about “friendship lasting forever” was just deceiving themselves. So, she shook her head. “No.”
Xu Shuyan nodded. “I think so too.”
She turned her head to look at Lin Yi. It was late September, almost autumn, and the nights were cool. Lin Yi had changed into long-sleeved pajamas, and the cotton fabric made her look very gentle and well-behaved. Feeling inexplicably flustered by her gaze, Lin Yi gave her a light push. “What are you looking at me for?”
Xu Shuyan asked, “Why can’t our friendship last forever?”
Lin Yi: “Huh?”
She immediately grew nervous. No way, no way, is Xu Shuyan going to talk about that night? I’m not ready to face it! What kind of expression should I make? I’m not going to blush, am I? That would be so embarra-
“Because the two of us never had a friendship.”
Xu Shuyan tossed out this line lightly and went upstairs, leaving Lin Yi on the staircase to question her existence.
Listen to what Xu Shuyan just said! Did she and Xu Shuyan never have a friendship? Had Xu Shuyan eaten all those years of youthful friendship before they met Chen Yuan?!
After standing frozen on the stairs for a while, she finally realized she should go argue with Xu Shuyan. But before she could charge up, she ran into Zhou Shichen, who had come out for a midnight snack.
Zhou Shichen yawned. “Xiao Yi, what are you doing just standing there?”
“Who knows?” Xu Shuyan walked out of the room with her pajamas, glancing at Lin Yi. “Probably wanted to sneak a snack, this late at night.”
“Huh?” Zhou Shichen’s sleepy eyes widened slightly. “Yanyan, where are you going with your pajamas?”
Xu Shuyan said flatly, “From now on, I’m staying in the room Yuanyuan used to have.”
“What?” Zhou Shichen’s pretty eyes flew wide open, all sleepiness gone. She watched Xu Shuyan head downstairs, brushing past Lin Yi’s shoulder as she went. Lin Yi’s dazed expression shifted slightly as she came back to her senses.
Hearing the door close, Zhou Shichen rushed down. “What’s going on? Did you and Yanyan have a fight? Is this a trial separation?”
Trial separation?
A separation before a divorce. The term was quite fitting.
Lin Yi nodded absently, then suddenly remembered something. “Shichen, don’t you have a lot of fan-edit videos of me and Xu Shuyan saved?”
Zhou Shichen looked guilty. “Huh? No. I never watch that kind of messy stuff.”
Lin Yi was puzzled. “Didn’t you used to watch them with the Captain all the time?”
Zhou Shichen declared righteously, “You told me this afternoon not to bring the shipping to our faces, so I quit as soon as I got back! I even deleted all the videos from my favorites! I’m never watching them again!”
Lin Yi: “Really?”
Zhou Shichen: “Mhm, mhm.”
Lin Yi: “I don’t believe you.”
Zhou Shichen: “…”
Five minutes later, Zhou Shichen was making a cup of instant noodles, using her Kindle as a lid. She glanced out of the corner of her eye at Lin Yi, who was sitting on the sofa scrolling through her favorites folder on a certain video site. Finally, she couldn’t help but speak up. “Xiao Yi, if there’s something you want to watch, I can just recommend it to you.”
Lin Yi shot her a reproachful look. “You watch way too much of this stuff!”
“But it’s good,” Zhou Shichen said in a small voice. “Didn’t you see? It’s not just you two. There are friendship-focused ones of me and the Captain, group ensemble ones, epic ones… all sorts.”
“‘Yan Zhi You Yi | Contains Smut | Enter with Caution | You Are the Only Prey in the Web I’ve Woven’—what is this?!” Lin Yi asked.
“…A precious recording of CP fans imagining you and Yanyan taking your driving tests,” Zhou Shichen answered without batting an eye, not looking like she was spouting nonsense at all.
“Really?” Lin Yi was skeptical. Why did she find that so hard to believe?
“Mhm, mhm, it’s nothing special!”
“A video about getting a driver’s license can get a million views?” Lin Yi gave Zhou Shichen a distrustful look and clicked on the video. “Let’s see how they imagined it.”
Zhou Shichen tried to stop her. “Don’t-”
Too late.
The video started to play. The dangerous, ambiguous BGM immediately signaled that this was no ordinary video. Lin Yi was still thinking, Isn’t this a video about learning to drive? Why use this kind of BGM?
She patiently watched on. She saw herself lifting the hem of her dress as she walked onto an awards stage. The camera cut to Xu Shuyan in the audience, smiling and applauding. When the screen suddenly turned black and white, her eyes widened.
“What is this?” Lin Yi hit pause. “This… this! Why is Xu Shuyan smiling so creepily? What is she trying to do?!”
“…” Zhou Shichen advised her, “Xiao Yi, maybe you should just stop watching.”
Lin Yi’s rebellious streak kicked in. The more she was told not to watch, the more she wanted to. After eyeing Zhou Shichen suspiciously for a few seconds, she pressed play again, turned on the bullet comments, and went back to rewatch.
[Under 18s, get out now!]
[Lin Yi, Xu Shuyan, if you clicked on this, it’s not too late to leave!]
[This is not an instructional video. Lin Yi and Xu Shuyan, you’re not allowed to learn from this! But remember to tip!]
[Nosebleed…]
Lin Yi: “…”
Is this a normal video?!
The fans were quite talented, writing fic in the bullet comments based on the video’s content.
[Here, Yanyan has taken a liking to the little idol Lin Yi and has her assistant send Xiao Yi a room key, but Xiao Yi rejects it.]
Hmm? She liked this character setup. It suited her. She was just that principled!
[Yanyan isn’t angry about being rejected. She just smiles, confident of her victory, and tells her assistant: She’ll be mine sooner or later. Just you wait.]
Wait! Weren’t those lines from a short skit they filmed? If she remembered correctly, the “she” in that line was an ice cream!
[They meet again at a banquet. Someone has their eye on Xiao Yi and drugs her drink to get her.]
Drugging…
Lin Yi was going crazy. Is this even legal?!
[Yanyan rescues Xiao Yi and takes her back to her own room.]
She bet Xu Shuyan was the one who had someone drug her! There’s no way it was such a coincidence. And why does the rest of this plot seem so familiar?
The video continued in its dark tone. The “driving” was subtle, which only made it more sensual. The use of montage was masterful, and paired with the audio of panting and soft cries, Lin Yi felt a little dazed. Were she and Xu Shuyan filmed that night?
After realizing that was impossible, she then wondered, Was it like this that night?
Did she lie on the bed so defenselessly like that, and did Xu Shuyan kiss her so gently with the tip of her tongue? No, it probably wasn’t gentle, or the marks wouldn’t have been so obvious.
Her hand on the sofa quietly clenched into a fist, her fingertips digging into her palm. She licked her dry lips. Only when her consciousness pulled away from her imagination did she hear Zhou Shichen calling her. “Xiao Yi? Don’t be angry. Fans edit these kinds of videos all the time. There are even some of me and Yanyan!”
Lin Yi frowned. “You and Xu Shuyan?”
Zhou Shichen took a sip of her noodle soup. “Yeah. Even though the CP of me and Xu Shuyan is a rarepair, there are still some people who aren’t picky and will ship it. If there are shippers, there will be fan content. It’s totally normal.”
For some reason, Lin Yi felt an inexplicable resistance to the idea of smutty edits of Xu Shuyan and Zhou Shichen existing online. She scrolled through Zhou Shichen’s favorites, muttering, “How is that normal? Isn’t that making me a cuckold?”
Zhou Shichen burst out laughing. “It’s a crackship! Crackships are totally normal in girl groups.”
Not normal at all!
Lin Yi was annoyed but felt she had no standing to argue with Zhou Shichen. Sulkily, she exited the video and asked, “Are there any growth-themed videos of me and Xu Shuyan?”
Zhou Shichen recalled, “You should watch ‘Yan Zhi You Yi Growth | Dual POV | A Friend Loves Me So.’ They even dug up videos from your trainee days.”
Lin Yi’s face darkened. “How many times have you watched it? You’ve memorized the title!”
Zhou Shichen feigned pitifulness. “There’s nothing wrong with shipping a CP.”
Lin Yi: “…Fine.”
The video Zhou Shichen mentioned had a thumbnail from a JK uniform photoshoot they did on a school campus. She and Xu Shuyan were leaning against a soccer net, smiling into the brilliant sunlight with their eyes curved into crescents, the very picture of invincible youth.
The video was indeed well-edited. It showed her and Xu Shuyan’s individual growth, as well as their growth together.
Memories and reality were interwoven: her singing a cappella on the roadside, Xu Shuyan at a school arts festival, and finally, the stage where all eyes were on them. From green to mature, from naive and ignorant to steady and determined, from one person to two. The dorm, the practice room, the airport, backstage, the awards stage, the red carpet—everywhere was evidence of her and Xu Shuyan’s love.
The female vocal in the BGM was melancholic and calm, and the lyrics paired with the visuals really made it seem believable.
Zhou Shichen, who had finished her instant noodles beside her: “Wuwuwu!”
Lin Yi: “?”
Zhou Shichen pulled out a tissue. “Wuwuwuwu, she loves her so much!!!”
Lin Yi: “…?”
Hey! One of the “she’s” is right next to you!
The bullet comments were also a sea of tears. Some said if Yan Zhi You Yi wasn’t real, they would never believe in love again. Some said if Yan Zhi You Yi didn’t get married, they would literally die. And others said Yan Zhi You Yi would always be by each other’s side.
Watching it, Lin Yi also felt quite moved. She sighed. “Xu Shuyan and I are just a couple of liars.”
Zhou Shichen: “Wuwuwu… what?”
Lin Yi took a tissue and wiped the two teardrops from the corner of Zhou Shichen’s eye, repeating seriously, “Xu Shuyan and I are not nearly as good as the edit makes us out to be. We’re just a couple of love scammers. We’ve let the CP fans down.”
“How can you say that!” Zhou Shichen protested. “It’s one thing for you not to admit it, but you can’t deny it on Yanyan’s behalf!”
“What?”
Just as Lin Yi was about to say that Zhou Shichen was high on shipping and talking nonsense again, Zhou Shichen turned her face forward. “Look at this yourself. Do you dare say the way Yanyan looks at you is innocent?”
Lin Yi’s gaze fell on the video again.
The video was nearing its end. The BGM paused, and a sudden burst of noise was heard. The screen went dark and then slowly lit up again. Lin Yi recognized it as the end of one of their summer tour concerts. Unable to resist the fans’ clamor, she had sung a short a cappella snippet of their title track before leaving the stage. But her voice was only in the background; the subject of this shaky fancam video was Xu Shuyan.
In a place untouched by the stage lights, Xu Shuyan, who had been about to exit, stopped in her tracks and turned back to look at her. Silently, wordlessly, like gazing at a distant star in the night sky. Although her expression couldn’t be seen clearly, the emotion was distinctly palpable.
The BGM suddenly swelled, pushing the video to its conclusion: “A friend loves me so / Do you love me / Mentioning me like a stranger, then moving on / Then why do you gaze at me for so long in the darkness…”
–Do you dare say the way Yanyan looks at you is innocent?
Zhou Shichen’s voice echoed in her ears again. Lin Yi stared blankly as the video ended, leaving a screen full of related recommendations. The final scene replayed over and over in her mind.
Why did Xu Shuyan wait for her? Why did she look at her like that?
Xu Shuyan…
What was Xu Shuyan thinking in those seconds she was looking at her?
“This fancam… it’s been slowed down, right?” Lin Yi said, as if she’d suddenly found a lifeline. “Video edits can be speed-adjusted, can’t they? Sometimes I just glance at Xu Shuyan, and those people slow it down so much it looks like I’m deeply in love.”
But Zhou Shichen shattered her illusion. “It’s not slowed down. She watched you for as long as you sang.”
Lin Yi understood again. “She must have known someone would be filming, so she was doing fanservice, right? Ah, that Xu Shuyan, secretly working so hard where I can’t see!”
Zhou Shichen patted her head. “If that’s how you want to see it, then let’s just say she was doing fanservice.”
What does she mean, “let’s just say”?
Xu Shuyan was two hundred percent doing fanservice! Look how good Xu Shuyan was at deceiving people, she’d even fooled their own teammate. And even- Lin Yi closed the tablet. She thought, Xu Shuyan was about to fool her, too.
“By the way,” Zhou Shichen asked, “why did you suddenly want to watch videos of you two?”
Lin Yi: “…I was looking for proof that Xu Shuyan and I had a youthful friendship.”
Zhou Shichen asked, “Did you find it?”
Lin Yi: “…”
She found it, but it also felt like she hadn’t.
“It’s all your fault!” Lin Yi took a throw pillow and lightly tapped Zhou Shichen with it. Seeing Zhou Shichen laughing so happily didn’t make her feel any better. “Right, I forgot to tell you something.”
Zhou Shichen chuckled. “What is it?”
Lin Yi said flatly, “Xu Shuyan and I have reached an agreement with Fang Yi about uncoupling. It’s happening soon. Your CP is about to have a bad ending.”
Zhou Shichen’s smile froze on her lips.
Lin Yi patted her cheek. “Good night, little Shichen.”
Zhou Shichen: “…”
Oh! No!
The rain started sometime after three in the morning.
Lin Yi hadn’t closed her window before bed. A fine, cool autumn rain drifted in, and gusts of wind startled Lin Yi, who hadn’t been sleeping well to begin with, from her dreams. She sat in the darkness for a long while before slowly getting out of bed to close the window.
The magazine on the small bay window table was soaked. Water stains bloomed across her and Xu Shuyan’s faces, looking ambiguously as if they were about to merge into one.
The quality was bad enough.
Lin Yi flopped onto her bed and pulled the covers over herself. Drowsily, she thought, Xu Shuyan sounded like she had a cold when she was talking tonight. I wonder if she took any medicine. This drop in temperature might make it worse.
This thought was confirmed the next morning in the dining room.
Xu Shuyan threw a tissue into the trash can. Cupping a glass, she grimaced at the brown liquid sloshing inside. “I hate drinking medicine more than anything in this life.”
“Hurry up and drink it,” Yan Qi said, eating her breakfast elegantly. “If it gets any worse, you won’t be able to sing.”
She looked up. “Xiao Yi’s down?”
Xu Shuyan looked over too. Lin Yi met her gaze for a second before quickly looking away. She considered whether she should ask about Xu Shuyan’s cold, but while she was hesitating, Xu Shuyan had already downed the cold medicine in one go and was washing the glass.
…Then I guess I won’t ask.
Lin Yi pulled out a chair and sat down. She took a sip of milk before realizing someone was missing. “Where’s Shichen?”
It would have been fine if Lin Yi hadn’t mentioned it. But now that she had, Yan Qi couldn’t help but stand up for her roommate. “What did you say to her last night? When she came back, she was wailing and crying to me for a long time, saying you bullied her.”
What did I say?
Lin Yi thought back. Uh, was it about telling Zhou Shichen that the CP she ships is about to have a bad ending?
“She cried to you for that long,” Lin Yi said, changing the subject, “and she didn’t say what I told her?”
Yan Qi took a bite of bread and shook her head. “I was too sleepy at the time, I didn’t hear what she said at all. After she finished crying, I just told her to wash up and go to bed. So she went to sleep, and she’s still not up yet.”
Lin Yi: “…”
Looks like Qi Shi is going to have a bad ending even before Yan Zhi You Yi!
Zhou Shichen only got up when they were almost done with breakfast. Brushing her teeth, she stood on the second-floor landing and looked down. “Yan Qi, wait for me. Let’s go to the company a bit later.”
Yan Qi, listening to the morning news, said, “Okay.”
Lin Yi and Xu Shuyan had arranged to meet their assistant at nine, and the assistant was already waiting downstairs. Yan Qi reminded them that it was cold today and to bring a jacket. Lin Yi ran back upstairs to get one, and was cornered by Zhou Shichen just as she was about to come back down.
“What is it, Shichen?” Lin Yi saw Xu Shuyan putting on her shoes and was anxious to get downstairs. “Be good, I have to go to the company.”
Zhou Shichen looked serious. “Wait!”
Lin Yi sighed. “What’s wrong?”
“I’ve thought it through,” Zhou Shichen said. “So what if you’re uncoupling? You still have to perform together, right? You still have to do a hot dance with each other, sing a duet!”
Lin Yi: “?”
Zhou Shichen nodded. “Forced pairings are the sweetest!”
Lin Yi: “…”
She wailed, “Captain! Can you please control Zhou Shichen!”
The Captain sat on the sofa, steady as a mountain, engrossed in national affairs, with no time for her teammates’ petty romances. Fortunately, after having her say, Zhou Shichen let Lin Yi go. But Xu Shuyan was no longer at the door.
She must have gone downstairs already!
She wouldn’t leave for the company without me, would she? Lin Yi felt that with Xu Shuyan’s personality, it wasn’t out of the question. She quickly changed her shoes and chased after her. Just as she got out, she saw Xu Shuyan pressing the elevator button. Hearing the door open, Xu Shuyan turned her head. “You’re so slow.”
“Why are you being so fierce! You could have just left without me,” Lin Yi retorted.
“I wanted to,” Xu Shuyan’s cold was bad, making her voice nasal and stuffy. “But the elevator just won’t come down. What can I do?”
Lin Yi was amused. “So it’s my fault?”
Xu Shuyan: “…”
She couldn’t be bothered to deal with her.
Lin Yi watched the elevator’s number steadily rise and worried inwardly. Zhou Shichen was right. Even though they were supposed to uncouple, because of the “little boss,” they had to make an appearance at the gala, and she and Xu Shuyan still had to perform a duet dance.
But after a night like that, even if she didn’t bring it up and Xu Shuyan didn’t bring it up, it didn’t mean that night never happened. How could she and Xu Shuyan dance together platonically anymore?
To Lin Yi’s relief, the choreographer hadn’t finished revising the performance yet, so she didn’t have to be in the same room with Xu Shuyan for the time being. After arriving at the company together, they parted ways at the elevator, each going to their own destination.
Setting up a studio was easier said than done. In practice, every step was difficult. Just choosing a location and hiring staff was a huge headache. Fang Yi had other artists under her, so she couldn’t be expected to do everything. During her breaks from preparing her album, Lin Yi also started looking at office rental listings.
“I really suggest opening the studio in B City,” Fang Yi said earnestly from across the table in the company’s small, empty cafeteria, as they had missed the lunch rush. “After all, it’s the capital. So many big stars are there. You need to establish yourself there to really integrate into the circle.”
Lin Yi took a sip of pork rib soup. It was too bland. She frowned, pushed it aside, and said, “I’ve been thinking about it too, but isn’t it a bit too far from the company?”
After leaving Mountain City, she had put down roots in S City. She went to school and debuted here. Although her work often had her flying all over the world, to her, S City was home. The sudden prospect of moving to B City made her a little reluctant.
Fang Yi thought she was worried about resources and reassured her, “Actually, once you open your own studio, resource collaborations will bypass the company and be decided directly by us. The company will only take a cut of the profits; they won’t be able to help you with much anymore.”
Lin Yi nodded thoughtfully.
She stared at the bowl of bland, oily pork rib soup for a moment, then suddenly asked, “What about Xu Shuyan?”
Fang Yi said, “What?”
Lin Yi immediately regretted asking. “Nothing.”
“Are you talking about Yanyan?” But Fang Yi had heard her. “I’ve talked to her. She said she doesn’t care where it’s located. You’re both my artists, and you’ve been bundled for so long. Even though you’re going to uncouple, I still think it’s better to be in the same office building. What do you think?”
Doesn’t care where?
Xu Shuyan really was carefree.
Lin Yi took a napkin and wiped her mouth. “I’ll think about it some more. Going to B City, for me-”
Before she could finish, she was interrupted by a phone ringing. It was Fang Yi’s phone, set to ring, vibrate, and flash, as if afraid of missing an important call. Fang Yi picked it up. “Yanyan’s assistant, what’s up?”
She answered, “Hello?”
The person on the other end said something, and her expression changed drastically. “What? Yanyan fainted?”
“What?” Lin Yi cried out as well. Her heart instantly clenched, and the hand holding her chopsticks trembled uncontrollably. She raised her voice. “Xu Shuyan fainted? Where is she?!”
Fang Yi made a hushing gesture at her and asked the person on the phone, “Has an ambulance been called? It’s almost there? Okay, I’ll be right over.”
Lin Yi stood up. “I’m going too.”
“You can’t go.” Fang Yi stuffed her phone back into her bag and hurried out. “The assistant said it’s just low blood sugar, but news of her fainting will definitely get out. We need to do a thorough checkup to reassure the fans.”
She stopped and pushed Lin Yi, who was following closely behind her, back into the cafeteria. “Since you’re uncoupling from her, it’s not convenient for you to go to the hospital right now. Just stay at the company and think about the studio. I’ll let you know if there’s any news.”
Lin Yi tried to argue. “I-”
She wanted to say, I’m not worried about Xu Shuyan, I’m worried about the performance, about work progress, about… Before she could finish finding an excuse, Fang Yi was already in the elevator.
She leaned against the cafeteria doorframe, watching the elevator doors slowly close, then lowered her head to stare at the tips of her shoes.
She whispered, “I’m not worried about Xu Shuyan at all.”
Lin Yi said she wasn’t worried, but back in her office, the more she looked at rental listings, the more agitated she became. She couldn’t help but start scrolling through Xu Shuyan’s fan tag on Weibo.
News that Xu Shuyan had fainted and been taken away by ambulance had indeed already spread.
[Sweet Melon Entertainment is a trash company that exploits its employees!]
[I’m seriously going crazy, @SweetMelonEntertainmentOfficial take my daughter for a full-body checkup ahhhhh!]
[The fan club is already in contact with the staff. Everyone, don’t worry. Yanyan had a bit of a cold since yesterday, she’s probably just overworked.]
[Hehehe, if something is really wrong with Xu Shuyan’s health, Sweet Melon Entertainment, you’re dead!]
[I was there, oh my god, Xu Shuyan was so pale when they carried her down on the stretcher, my heart aches QAQ]
[Poor baby wuwuwu]
[Image]
Lin Yi quickly clicked on the image. It was very blurry, but she could vaguely make out Xu Shuyan. Her eyes were closed, her lips were pale, and she looked so small and pitiful lying there.
This is killing me!
She had to go see her!
Lin Yi pushed her mouse aside and started walking out while calling her assistant. “Have the driver wait for me in the underground parking garage right now. I’m going to the hospital.”
“Don’t try to stop me! I need to see with my own eyes whether Xu Shuyan is dead or not!”
“Xu Shuyan is so annoying!”
If something like this had happened before, Fang Yi would never have stopped Lin Yi. It was such a good opportunity to show their affection. But now, during the uncoupling period, it was normal for Fang Yi to stop her, and Lin Yi understood that. So, she had the driver switch to a car the company rarely used and headed straight for the hospital from the underground garage.
Lin Yi arrived in a fury, but just as she stormed up to the hospital room door, she received a message from Fang Yi saying that Xu Shuyan had only fainted from low blood sugar. She was on an IV drip now and would be fine after some rest.
Lin Yi: “Sister, I’m at the door.”
Fang Yi: “?”
A moment later, the door to the room opened. Fang Yi had an expression of exasperated disappointment. “Can’t you just be a little more obedient?” She glanced behind Lin Yi. “No one saw you come, right?”
“No.” Lin Yi slipped inside and took off her hat. “I came in secret.”
Fang Yi: “…”
Why did she feel like Lin Yi was secretly dating Xu Shuyan, and she, as their manager, was providing cover for them!
But since she was already here, sending her back wasn’t realistic. Fang Yi said she was going to talk to the doctor and told Lin Yi to watch over Xu Shuyan. Before leaving, she reminded her, “She’s asleep right now. Be quiet and move slowly. Don’t wake her up.”
Lin Yi pushed her out the door. “I know, I know.”
It was a private hospital that offered full VIP service, and the inpatient area was VVIP. The huge private room was luxuriously decorated, looking less like a hospital room and more like a medieval castle.
And Xu Shuyan was the sleeping beauty in the castle.
She lay there quietly. The IV dripped slowly, trickling down the transparent tube and into a pale blue vein. Her lips had been moistened with water and had regained some color.
A morbid kind of beauty, a fragile, breakable appearance.
Lin Yi slowed her steps as she approached. Who would have thought that before she could even sit down, Xu Shuyan would suddenly open her eyes.
Lin Yi jumped and took two steps back. “Did I wake you? I didn’t even make a sound when I walked! D-don’t look at me like that. Fang Yi went to talk to the doctor. I…”
She tried to find an excuse for coming to the hospital to see Xu Shuyan. Her eyes darted around, and finally, she blurted out, “I just came to see if you were dead or not.”
“Not because I was worried about you…” Her voice grew quieter and quieter until she lost all confidence and didn’t dare take another step forward.
Xu Shuyan lay there, quietly watching her flustered state. After a moment, she closed her eyes wearily. Her lips moved, and her voice was so light it could have floated away. “Come sit.”
Lin Yi froze for a moment before frantically saying “oh” and sitting in the chair by the bed.
Xu Shuyan’s eyes remained closed.
“Are you feeling better?” Lin Yi asked cautiously. “Was it because you didn’t eat breakfast? Let me tell you, food is essential. If you skip one meal…”
“The assistant saw the hickeys on my body.”
“…you’ll starve… What?” Lin Yi’s voice rose. “How did she… she said, how did she see them? Did she lift up your clothes?!”
Xu Shuyan closed her eyes. “No. She saw them by accident. She didn’t ask me anything.”
Only then did Lin Yi breathe a sigh of relief.
Then, the tension set in. This was the first time she and Xu Shuyan had talked about that night. It was direct, without any beating around the bush, leaving no room to change the subject. She was forced to confront it head-on.
“I…” She licked her dry lips, trying to think of the right words, but what came out was, “I was drunk that night.”
Help, why does that sound so scummy!
She heard Xu Shuyan let out a soft “mhm” and forced herself to continue, “You must have been drunk too… We, um… we still have to work together, so why don’t we just pretend that night never happened!”
As she finished, the end of her sentence lifted, feigning a casual tone. She looked at Xu Shuyan, full of expectation.
But she froze when she met Xu Shuyan’s gaze.
Xu Shuyan looked at her calmly, complex emotions swirling in her dark pupils, as if she could see straight into her heart. Lin Yi’s heart suddenly felt empty, and then she heard Xu Shuyan speak softly.
Xu Shuyan asked her, “What if I said I was sober?”
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