Lin Yi didn’t know how long she and Xu Shuyan had been holding each other.
The heating in S City hadn’t been turned on yet, and the past two days had been cool. A breeze blew in through the open window, and the chill of the floor seeped through her thin, sweat-dampened short-sleeved shirt.
Her head was spinning as she thought, Xu Shuyan’s cold isn’t better yet. Will this make it worse?
The more she thought about it, the more likely it seemed. Xu Shuyan hated taking medicine, and being sick for two more days meant two more days of forcing it down. It wasn’t that she felt bad for Xu Shuyan having to take medicine; she just found the bitter-melon face Xu Shuyan made while taking it incredibly annoying.
Growing anxious, she propped herself up on her hands to get up, but Xu Shuyan, thinking she was trying to run away, tightened her grip. Burying her face in the crook of Lin Yi’s neck, she asked in a muffled voice, “Can’t we just hold each other for a little while?”
“That’s not what I meant,” Lin Yi murmured. “I…”
As she tried to explain, she realized something was off. How was that not what she meant? What was her relationship with Xu Shuyan that they were here hugging on the floor? If she wanted to be ordinary teammates with Xu Shuyan, was this appropriate?
But Xu Shuyan had spoken in such a way! It wouldn’t be right for her to be cruel now!
Lin Yi’s voice softened. “I’m just worried the floor is too cold, and your cold isn’t better yet…” Fearing Xu Shuyan would read too much into it, she quickly added, “It would be bad if you passed it on to the rest of us.”
Xu Shuyan: “…Oh.”
Lin Yi asked cautiously, “How about… we get up first?”
Xu Shuyan was decisive. “No.”
She had finally caught Lin Yi in a moment of apology, a moment of obedience. Why should she get up before she’d taken full advantage? Lin Yi couldn’t win against her. After all, she was the one who had gotten distracted and knocked her over, so she could only obediently atone with her “body.”
However-
She thought again, when it came down to it, it was still Xu Shuyan’s fault!
If you’re going to dance, then dance. If you’re going to do the moves, then do the moves. Did she have to have such a seductive expression! This performance would have fancams! How many people would be zooming in and licking their screens! No normal person could control themselves, okay!
Just as she was grumbling internally, the door to the audio-visual room suddenly opened. Xu Shuyan’s young assistant walked in cheerfully. “Teacher Xu, I managed to buy the sweet and sour fish from that place you like! It’s been closed for half a month, I finally caught them-“
Xu Shuyan: “…”
Lin Yi: “…”
Keep talking!
The assistant: “…”
In the chaotic world of the entertainment industry, Xiao Zhou was just an ordinary worker bee, holding down a job at Sweet Melon Entertainment as a junior assistant to The Notes’ rapper, Xu Shuyan.
The job was pretty good for her- an annual salary of 150,000, full social insurance and housing fund contributions, plus room and board were covered. And Xu Shuyan wasn’t like other celebrities who threw their weight around and were full of drama.
On the contrary, in her daily life, Xu Shuyan was an easygoing girl with a squeaky-clean private life. She was dedicated and professional, wasn’t a picky eater-aside from not being able to handle spicy food-and would even give her red envelopes occasionally.
Because of this, she loved her life and her job every day. Today was no exception; she was even happy that Xu Shuyan would get to eat her sweet and sour fish. But she never expected that when she cheerfully pushed open the door to the audio-visual room, she would be greeted by the sight of two entangled bodies.
…At least they were clothed.
But! Wasn’t this position a little too strange! A little too intimate! A little too terrifying! Wasn’t Yan Zhi You Yi just a for-business CP? Weren’t they just pure best friends? Why were they lying on the floor hugging and not getting up!
Okay, Lin Yi was getting up now.
But what was with that flustered look, like she’d just been caught in the middle of a secret affair!
Xiao Zhou was having an internal breakdown. The expression on her face had frozen, completely unable to process the scene before her, until Lin Yi walked over, waved a hand in front of her face, and snapped her fingers. “Xiao Zhou?”
Xiao Zhou snapped back to reality. “Teacher Lin…”
Lin Yi looked her seriously in the eyes. “We were resting.”
Xiao Zhou was dazed. “Oh.”
Was it really just resting?
Lin Yi smiled. “We were just so tired from dancing that we lay down. The floor is a bit cold, though. It’s perfectly normal for girls to hug like this.”
Xiao Zhou remained dazed. “Oh.”
Is it really normal?
Lin Yi patted her shoulder. “Don’t overthink it. My relationship with your Teacher Xu is just this close. We’re good sisters!”
Xiao Zhou was still dazed. “Oh.”
What kind of good sisters act like this?
Lin Yi, believing she had successfully brainwashed Xiao Zhou, nodded in satisfaction and left the room. Before she left, she glanced at the door. The room’s soundproofing was good; you really couldn’t hear anything from the outside.
So she also didn’t hear what Xu Shuyan said to Xiao Zhou after she left: “Don’t listen to her nonsense. We’re not normal.”
Xiao Zhou: “!!!”
Holy crap, a Real Couple is right here beside me!
[Gossip: B City Starry Fashion Gala, Xu Shuyan and Lin Yi collaboration stage “Out of Control,” confirmed.]
[Out of Control? Is it the “Out of Control” I’m thinking of?]
[What is Yan Zhi You Yi doing? Are they going to doi on stage at a fashion gala?]
[LMAO, the biggest joke of the year: Yan Zhi You Yi is unbinding.]
[Don’t even think about unbinding before the group disbands, okay!]
[I have a friend who works at Sweet Melon Entertainment. They said Fang Yi wanted Lin Yi and Xu Shuyan to open their solo studios in B City, but Lin Yi didn’t agree, saying it would be bad for the group’s development.]
[Number one group stan leader Lin Yi wuwuwu]
[“The north is very dry, is it very humid where you are” [drooling] hehehehe I’m smiling pervertedly]
[Do it!!!]
After Xu Shuyan had rested for four days, Lin Yi had also chosen the location for their studios. It was in the same business district as Sweet Melon Entertainment, in a high-end office building not far away. To create some distance, she had specifically negotiated for the upstairs unit for Xu Shuyan.
In the van on the way to the company, Xu Shuyan looked at the lease agreement and asked, “Were there no vacant units next to yours?”
Lin Yi shook her head. “No.”
Xu Shuyan asked again, “Are there no vacant units next to mine?”
Lin Yi pondered. “Well, there are. But I prefer the eighth floor. It sounds like ‘fa,’ for getting rich, right? Who doesn’t like getting rich? The ninth floor is good for you, too. It means long-lasting.” [In Chinese numerology, the number eight (八, bā) is considered auspicious as it sounds similar to the word for wealth or to prosper (发, fā). The number nine (九, jiǔ) is associated with longevity and permanence because it is a homophone for the word “long-lasting” (久, jiǔ).]
Xu Shuyan narrowed her eyes. “Then why don’t you come be long-lasting with me?”
Lin Yi: “…Don’t push your luck.”
Xu Shuyan knew her limits. Since Lin Yi had said that, she took a step back, retreating to her original position to plan her next move slowly.
The assistants and the legal team had already reviewed the lease. She was just giving it another once-over, noting the address. After a quick scan, she signed it and gently bumped Lin Yi’s shoulder. “Thanks for your hard work.”
Lin Yi didn’t take the credit. “You’re the one paying for it. It was no trouble at all.”
Xu Shuyan smiled but said nothing.
This trip to the company was mainly to rehearse with the backup dancers and let the choreographer see the results. The two of them had been practicing diligently these past few days, and after avoiding a repeat of the first day’s awkward incident, their progress was swift.
After running through it once, the choreographer clapped in amazement. “The chemistry and sexual tension between you two are truly top-tier in the domestic entertainment industry. This performance will be absolutely fine.”
“Thank you, Teacher!” Seeing the camera, Lin Yi habitually put her arm around Xu Shuyan’s shoulder. The cameraman’s hand trembled, and he quickly cleared his throat to remind Lin Yi that it wasn’t business hours. Only then did Lin Yi react, hastily pulling her hand back. “Cut this part out!”
Xu Shuyan turned to look at her own empty shoulder, feeling a sense of loss. Of all the times to unbind, why now? It meant she could no longer use “business” as an excuse to look at Lin Yi so brazenly.
This time, it wasn’t for business; it was a genuine expression of her feelings.
The choreographer wasn’t very clear on their usual “business” interactions and asked strangely, “Why cut it? Are you afraid people will see you being so close? I thought you two had a lot of CP fans?”
“…” Lin Yi looked at the camera. “Don’t use this part either.”
Seeing the choreographer was still confused, Lin Yi felt a headache coming on. Explaining it would be too much trouble, so she just fobbed him off by saying trivial daily life stuff wasn’t needed, then quickly suggested, “Let’s have Xu Shuyan and I dance it one more time!”
The choreographer’s attention was diverted. “Sure, one more time and we can call it a day.”
Teetering on the edge of crossing a line. The springtime passion behind red gauze curtains bloomed in the humid night. The drumbeat was restless, and every interaction, every wave, every shared glance and brush of the shoulders was laden with meaning.
Lin Yi and Xu Shuyan watched the full dance in the front-facing video the choreographer had filmed. Lin Yi’s face turned red as she watched, and she gave a dry laugh. “How… interesting.”
Xu Shuyan dragged the progress bar back to the part where she fell to the floor and Lin Yi controlled her, watching it over and over again.
Lin Yi didn’t want to watch anymore. “Is there a problem with that part?”
Xu Shuyan shook her head. “No.” She curved her lips into a smile. “It just reminded me of something.”
Lin Yi asked, “What?”
The moment she asked, she froze. It was as if she instantly knew what Xu Shuyan was remembering. Her face flushed hot, and she gave Xu Shuyan a shove. “Don’t think about it!”
Xu Shuyan asked, “You know what I’m thinking again?”
Lin Yi’s face was red. “Who knows what you’re thinking! Anyway, you’re not allowed to think about it!”
Xu Shuyan sighed helplessly. “I can’t even think about it? I can’t control it, unless there’s some other way to distract me.” She propped her chin on her hand and looked at Lin Yi. “Do you have any other methods?”
If Lin Yi couldn’t understand Xu Shuyan’s hidden meaning by now, she would have wasted all her years on this earth. But the thought of Xu Shuyan’s mind wandering made her own mind wander uncontrollably. As if that wasn’t enough, her heart started pounding. If she kept thinking about it, she would explode sooner or later. So even though she knew Xu Shuyan was up to no good, she still fell into the trap.
She leaned in closer. “Look at me.”
Xu Shuyan fixed her gaze on Lin Yi’s face, her expression unchanging. “I’m looking.”
Her eyes traveled from the ends of Lin Yi’s eyebrows to the corners of her lips, then moved up inch by inch, taking in her high, delicate nose, her flushed cheeks, and the reflection of herself in Lin Yi’s clear eyes.
Her gaze grew more and more serious, making it harder and harder for Lin Yi to bear. Lin Yi swallowed nervously and couldn’t help but lean back slightly.
Xu Shuyan asked, “What’s wrong?”
Lin Yi scrambled to her feet, giving up in frustration. “Just think about it then! Think whatever you want! I can’t be bothered to manage you!”
She ran out as she shouted. A window in the hallway was open, and the cold wind blew past, dispersing the lingering heat on her face. She pointlessly used her hand as a fan, fanning her face vigorously.
She was indignant.
Was Xu Shuyan just teasing her when she said she liked her? She had been so close, yet Xu Shuyan wasn’t the least bit nervous? She didn’t blush or even blink, and her reaction was smaller than Lin Yi’s. Who liked whom here, exactly!
Back in the practice room.
Xu Shuyan let out a long sigh of relief.
She patted her chest, thinking to herself that if Lin Yi had left two seconds later, her heart would have uncontrollably exploded.
On the day Lin Yi and Xu Shuyan left for B City, the weather in S City had just cleared up. The sky was vast and cloudless, a washed-out blue so pure there wasn’t a single wisp of cloud. The temperature hadn’t risen, but the sun’s rays were no longer harsh, casting a pleasant warmth on the skin.
As usual, the airport was crowded with fans. Because it was a joint appearance, even more CP fans had gathered.
Following Sister Fang’s unbinding plan, Lin Yi and Xu Shuyan maintained a suitable distance from the moment they got out of the van. They didn’t say a word to each other, didn’t spare each other a single glance, and didn’t react to any of the fans’ shouts.
Protected by her assistant and security, Lin Yi’s passage was smooth. The fans knew about her little quirk and kept their distance, even spontaneously forming a human wall. Occasionally, a letter would be passed through the “wall,” and Lin Yi would take it, whispering a quiet thank you.
She was wearing a mask, so she didn’t know if the fan had heard her.
By the time they were on the plane, the paper bag in the assistant’s hand was already full of letters from fans, along with a bouquet of champagne roses interspersed with small pink and white daisies, glistening with dew and exuding a faint fragrance.
“Leave the letters,” Lin Yi said. “I’ll read them on the plane later.”
The assistant placed the paper bag at her feet, set down her breakfast and coffee, and reminded her, “We’re going straight to the venue for rehearsal after we land. You and Teacher Xu should try to get some rest on the plane.”
Lin Yi nodded. Seeing her assistant was still worried, she gave her a little push. “You and Xiao Zhou should go find your seats. Don’t block the aisle.”
Only then did the assistant reluctantly leave.
Xu Shuyan was also holding a paper bag, the letters inside neatly arranged by Xiao Zhou. Unlike Lin Yi, who always tried to sleep as soon as she got on a plane, Xu Shuyan couldn’t sleep sitting up and usually spent her flights reading letters.
“Why aren’t you sleeping?” Xu Shuyan asked. “Look how scared your assistant was. She thought something was wrong with you.”
Lin Yi mumbled, “I slept too much last night.”
Seeing Xu Shuyan was about to say more, she quickly cut her off. “Stop talking to me. If some random person or a fansite master is on our flight and sees us acting so familiar, they’ll start shipping us again.”
Although photos from inside the cabin usually aren’t released, if the CP fandom collapsed, it was hard to say whether a CP fansite might release them to stabilize and appease the fans. So, they had to commit to the act. Unless they could be certain no one was filming nearby, it was best for her and Xu Shuyan not to talk in public.
“I’ve thought about it carefully,” Sister Fang had said. “Having you two pretend to be unfamiliar or not know each other is too fake. After all, there’s video evidence of you being in love. So the best way to have a ‘bad ending’ is to have had a passionate love affair in the past, but now you’re not in love anymore. You’ve broken up. You’re strangers.”
Lin Yi forced a smile. “…Sister Fang, maybe you should write novels.”
“Life is much more exciting than novels,” Sister Fang said, very proud of her unbinding strategy. “Once the gala is over, Yan Zhi You Yi will have its bad ending. But I hope your relationship won’t be affected.”
Xu Shuyan asked, “Do you sincerely think that?”
Sister Fang: “I mean, I hope your relationship as ordinary teammates won’t be affected.”
Lin Yi: “…”
Sleeping on planes had become a habit for Lin Yi. The drone of the engines was the best sleeping pill, so much so that her eyelids started to droop after reading just two letters. By the third, she had fallen fast asleep.
The first-class cabin was spacious. Her seat was slowly reclined until it was flat, and a thin blanket was draped over her.
After doing all this, Xu Shuyan spread a letter out on her tray table. The paper made a crisp sound. The handwriting was neat, and the letter talked about school, studies, and the person the writer liked.
The young girl asked her: “Yanyan, if you like someone, would you have a secret crush or would you pursue them directly?”
She once thought she would only ever have a secret crush.
But was that method her own choice, or was it something Lin Yi had taught her?
When she liked Chen Yuan, she didn’t have a strong desire to have her. She was too busy competing, vying, and bickering with Lin Yi to have the time to think carefully about what exactly she liked about Chen Yuan.
Lin Yi said Chen Yuan was cute, so she also thought Chen Yuan was cute.
Lin Yi said Chen Yuan was soft and pitiable, so she looked at Chen Yuan with an extra bit of pity.
Lin Yi said Chen Yuan’s acting was amazing, miles ahead of other young actresses of her generation, so she contributed to the viewership numbers for Chen Yuan’s projects.
These were all things Lin Yi had said. The starlight that shone in her eyes couldn’t be faked. After seeing it so many times, Xu Shuyan vaguely felt that she, too, possessed the ability to love someone like that.
But that wasn’t it. The moment she realized she liked Lin Yi, she finally understood that she had desires.
Her affection wouldn’t be a secret crush.
Her affection was open and honest, passionate and direct. It wouldn’t stop at her lips. If she liked someone, she had to say it, had to let Lin Yi know, had to cut open her heart for Lin Yi to see.
Call her naive, call her arrogant, call her inexperienced- she had to let Lin Yi know that her affection wasn’t a joke. It was as serious as her love for music, laid bare for Lin Yi to see.
She took a pen from the paper bag and wrote on the letter that would never be sent back: “I would pursue her.”
The plane soared above the clouds. Vast expanses of clouds were piled up against the blue sky, like a castle in the sky from an anime. The roar of the engines crossed a thousand miles, from the south to the north, and the temperature dropped sharply.
Lin Yi put on a long down jacket, but because she was walking through the airport, she left it unzipped for style. As a result, a fan shouted from the side, “Zip it up! You’ll catch a draft!”
Lin Yi sighed helplessly and shouted back with a laugh, “Don’t worry about me!”
“I will worry about you!” the fan shouted while filming. “Listen to Mama! Dress properly!” Seeing Lin Yi was still being rebellious, the fan simply shouted to Xu Shuyan next to her, “Xu Shuyan! You manage her!”
Lin Yi froze.
Xu Shuyan also froze for a moment, looking over in surprise.
“Alright, alright, I’ll zip it up, okay?!” Lin Yi, terrified the fans would start shipping them again, lowered her head with natural-looking acting to reach for the zipper.
She was wearing a mask, and the down jacket was too long. When she lowered her head, the mask blocked her view. She adjusted it, and suddenly heard a collective gasp as she felt someone tug on the hem of her jacket.
It was Xu Shuyan.
She didn’t know when Xu Shuyan had crouched down in front of her. One hand held the hem of the jacket, while the other found the zipper, engaged it, and slowly pulled it up, perfectly aligned.
She was serious and focused, oblivious to the screams from the side and Lin Yi’s silence, as if this was the only thing that mattered in the world.
It’s over.
Lin Yi thought, What is Xu Shuyan doing? Weren’t we supposed to pretend we don’t know each other, that we broke up? Is Sister Fang’s unbinding plan going to fall apart before it even begins?
“There.” The zipper reached the top, blocking the wind outside the jacket. Xu Shuyan stood up. Her voice was muffled through her mask, but her tone was calm. “Let’s go.”
Lin Yi: “…Oh.”
Her assistant gave her a tug, and only then did she remember that walking required moving her feet. Her brain had been turned to mush by Xu Shuyan’s actions. She decided to ignore the screams of the CP fans and the wails of the solo fans and just followed behind Xu Shuyan. It wasn’t until she was in the car sent by the organizers that she came to her senses and demanded, “Xu Shuyan, what were you doing just now?”
“Helping you with your zipper,” Xu Shuyan said calmly. “Teammates helping each other out. Is that not allowed?”
Lin Yi: “…”
She gritted her teeth. “Allowed, why wouldn’t it be? But what’s the use of me saying it’s allowed? Let’s see if you can use that excuse to fool Sister Fang!”
Xu Shuyan was silent for a moment, then said, “I’ll talk to her and explain.”
After the video of Xu Shuyan helping Lin Yi with her jacket at the airport spread, the CP fans, who had been suffering a long drought, exploded with excitement. The organic searches were picked up by social media algorithms, and the hashtag #XuShuyanHelpsLinYiWithHerJacketAtTheAirport shot straight to the hot search list.
[I’m fucking losing my mind, family! What is this? This is a declaration of sovereignty!]
[Punching the unbinding rumors, kicking the baseless home-wreckers, Xu Shuyan! You’re the GOAT!]
[Lin Yi on the spot, dumbfounded: Didn’t we agree to pretend we don’t know each other? What are you doing? We’re going to get our pay docked for this!]
[Protect Xiao Yi’s wallet]
[You guys didn’t see it, the solo fans went crazy on the spot, shouting: Xu Shuyan! That’s my wife’s jacket, I’ll zip it up! Ahhh!]
[Xu Shuyan: This is my wife.]
Sister Fang had been busy with another artist’s film crew recently. She only saw the news after work. Her vision went black. She immediately sent the video, which had tens of thousands of reposts, to the group chat and tagged Xu Shuyan and Lin Yi: “Explain.”
Lin Yi: “@OrdinaryTeammate You explain.”
Then, the group chat went silent. Lin Yi figured Xu Shuyan must have gone to talk to Sister Fang privately. She didn’t know what they talked about, but Sister Fang didn’t bother her again, finally just saying in the group chat: “Perform well tomorrow.”
Xu Shuyan replied with an “OK” emoji.
…What on earth did they talk about?
Lin Yi tossed and turned in bed. Xu Shuyan wouldn’t have told Sister Fang that she liked her, right? Xu Shuyan wouldn’t be that bold, she thought. Otherwise, she would have confessed to Chen Yuan ages ago.
She had to perform tomorrow, so Lin Yi forced herself to sleep. But she ended up dreaming about the night of Chen Yuan’s wedding, of her and Xu Shuyan tangled together in bed. It was a humid, lustful dream, and perhaps because she had experienced it before, it was terrifyingly real.
A wet, slick tongue slid across her skin, sending shivers through her. She sank under Xu Shuyan’s command, submerged in a boundless ocean. Floating and sinking, she woke up with a moan, her back drenched in sweat, a cool breeze blowing under the hem of her nightgown.
Lin Yi: “…”
She covered her face and made a silent resolution in her heart. Unbind! We must unbind!
The Starry Fashion Gala was in its first year. It was run by a fashion magazine started by a few rich young masters and ladies. It didn’t have much of a reputation, but by throwing money around, they could attract a crowd of celebrities to support it. So, the night was still star-studded and highly anticipated.
And Lin Yi and Xu Shuyan’s duet performance was the main event.
[I’m ready! I’m really ready!]
[This stage design alone tells me this is something special. In front of so many people, Yan Zhi You Yi is actually doing it!]
[Drooling. The way Xu Shuyan is looking at Lin Yi, it’s like she wants to eat her… Fuck, being that close, are they really not going to have a reaction????]
[I’m… wet.]
[Both members of Yan Zhi You Yi are pretty flexible. They could probably do some difficult positions, right? hiss ha hiss ha]
To match the song’s style, Lin Yi and Xu Shuyan’s stage makeup was bewitching, every frown and smile filled with charm. Their all-black, lace-trimmed dresses clung to their bodies, and the waves they did with their slender, swaying waists were enough to make one’s blood boil.
After the final move, Lin Yi and Xu Shuyan’s fingertips separated as they crossed paths. They looked at each other as they walked to opposite sides of the darkening stage.
It was the lingering reluctance after a secret tryst, the clarity after sinking into indulgence, the promise of another meeting even after a break.
The dance ended.
The entire venue erupted in thunderous applause.
After leaving the stage, Lin Yi and Xu Shuyan were led by their assistants to a group interview backstage. Microphones from different media outlets were thrust into their hands until they could barely hold them all. They each took some, and only then did an assistant say, “You can ask your questions now.”
Lin Yi was a seasoned pro at this kind of interview, answering questions in an official yet polite manner.
Until one reporter asked, “You and Teacher Xu have known each other for so long and live in the same dorm. I was wondering if you could reveal any of her little sleeping habits.”
The other reporters glanced over: Isn’t this just a CP fan trying to get some sugar for themselves?
Xu Shuyan also looked at Lin Yi with a smile.
A dignified smile remained on Lin Yi’s face. She lowered her head slightly, her long hair brushing against her smooth shoulders. On her jade-like neck, a necklace glittered with a delicate light.
Lin Yi raised her microphone. “I’m not too sure about that.”
She said, “We don’t live together anymore.”
The media present: “!!!”
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