RL – Chapter 67

A light, fleeting kiss.

While it wasn’t enough to satisfy her craving, it at least suppressed the urge to drag the other woman to bed for a passionate encounter right then and there. Besides, they had an audience. Considering that if they kissed any more intensely, Fang Yi would probably set them on fire, Xu Shuyan only pecked her two or three times before letting Lin Yi go.

Lin Yi’s face was bright red. She pursed her lips and cautiously glanced at Fang Yi, who was still frozen in place, staring at them without blinking.

Xu Shuyan snapped her fingers lightly. “Still not coming in? Should I kiss her a little longer, then?”

Fang Yi snapped back to her senses. “Don’t take it too far!”

She kicked the door shut without looking back, gritting her teeth. “I called you two in here to explain yourselves, not to show off your relationship in front of me! Wow, in all my years as a manager, I’ve never seen artists date so brazenly! Your careers are over, you know that?”

Xu Shuyan put on a troubled expression. “But there are a lot of people who hope we’ll get married.”

Fang Yi was speechless.

Lin Yi touched her index fingers together. “Our CP Super Topic has a million members.”

Fang Yi was speechless again.

“So what?” Fang Yi was so exasperated she laughed. “Are you two telling me you’ve built a mansion for your CP fans to live in?”

Lin Yi quickly said, “I never said that!”

Xu Shuyan added, “You said it! It has nothing to do with me!”

Fang Yi slammed her hand on the desk. “Xu Shuyan! Lin Yi! Do you still want your year-end bonuses or not!”

Xu Shuyan and Lin Yi shot to their feet, finally looking a little guilty, like students caught in a puppy love romance by the dean of discipline. They stood with their hands behind their backs, not daring to breathe too loudly. Fang Yi nodded in satisfaction, leaning against the desk. “Xu Shuyan, you first. Explain.”

“Why does she get to go first?” Lin Yi muttered, displeased.

“She’s the older sister, and she’s full of bad ideas. She must have been the one who coaxed you into this relationship!” Fang Yi had her own logic. “You’re so easily flustered, you fell right into her trap.”

Lin Yi let out a little “wow.”

Fang Yi asked, “Did I guess right?”

Lin Yi said, “…Of course not!”

When it came to defending Xu Shuyan, she threw facts out the window and spouted nonsense. “It was a mutual seduction! We were both running toward each other!”

Fang Yi was stumped for a couple of seconds, unable to speak. She turned to Xu Shuyan. “Explain.”

Xu Shuyan blinked. She had rushed back from G City on an early flight that morning and had gone straight to the company to meet with a producer without even catching up on sleep. A hint of fatigue now showed between her brows. Her weariness made her seem languid, and her voice slowed. “It’s nothing, really. It was after we slept together at Yuanyuan’s wedding…”

She clearly saw Fang Yi’s face turn a shade of green.

“I figured out my feelings,” she continued anyway. “I like Lin Yi.”

“I’ve heard fans say that when you do fan service for a long time, the outside world keeps saying this person is yours, this person loves you so much, and you love this person so much. You start to feel dazed, as if that person really is yours, and you really are in love. They say it’s a pseudo-romance illusion that many fan-service CPs experience. I know you’ll question us in the same way today.”

“But I want to say that my feelings for Lin Yi are genuine. It’s not because of fan service, and it’s not an illusion. I’ve thought about it seriously, struggled with it, and hesitated. I even thought about using the decoupling to distance myself from her, but I couldn’t do it.”

“I think I’ve truly fallen in love with her. It’s my first time loving someone, and I’m still in the exploratory phase, but no one can question the sincerity of my feelings.”

Fang Yi’s expression gradually softened. She looked at Xu Shuyan with a complicated gaze. “…I asked you to explain the situation, not to give a heartfelt confession… Look at how red Xiao Yi’s face is.”

Lin Yi didn’t want to blush either.

She was just a little embarrassed. She and Xu Shuyan were like a high school couple caught dating, summoned to the office by their “teacher,” Fang Yi. The teacher was obviously there to break them up, but instead, Xu Shuyan had launched into a confession, not only flaunting their relationship in Fang Yi’s face but also making her feel shy.

Xu Shuyan actually turned to look at her. Lin Yi gave her a light push. “Be serious!”

Fang Yi slammed the desk again. “You two are the ones who need to be serious! What do you think this place is! Are you flirting right in front of me? I told you to explain the situation! No public displays of affection!”

Xu Shuyan retorted in a small voice, “Our situation is that we’re in a relationship.”

Fang Yi glared at her, then turned to Lin Yi. “Your turn.” Before Lin Yi could speak, she quickly added, “No more heartfelt confessions this time. I want objective facts!”

“Okay! Understood!” Lin Yi nodded emphatically and stated the facts honestly. “When Xu Shuyan said she wanted to pursue me, I really did refuse her. And I refused her harshly!”

Fang Yi said, “Well done.”

Lin Yi was demure. “Thank you for the compliment.”

“Heh, but didn’t you fall into Xu Shuyan’s love trap in the end?” Fang Yi took back her praise, crossing her arms and speaking sarcastically. “I wonder who it was that went to the door to see someone off at the crack of dawn, still in their pajamas and slippers, and even put a scarf on them! What was the point of refusing so harshly before?”

Lin Yi paused, just now remembering that Fang Yi was talking about that morning. She stammered, “You pay way too much attention to detail, don’t you?”

-Are you secretly shipping us?!

“I’m gathering evidence on you!” Fang Yi had clearly heard Lin Yi’s subtext. “No matter how I look at it, it doesn’t seem like the normal interaction between friends or teammates! And you,” Fang Yi turned to Xu Shuyan again, “Lin Yi was coming back from G City today. Were you out of your mind to go find her yesterday?”

“I knew she was coming back today.” Xu Shuyan shifted her feet. “But I just really missed her last night. And I have to fly out for a promotional shoot tomorrow, so we wouldn’t have had much time together tonight when she arrived, so…”

Her voice grew smaller and smaller under Fang Yi’s death glare, until she finally just shut her mouth and nodded.

“You continue your explanation.” Fang Yi gestured to Lin Yi with her chin. “You refused her harshly, and then what? How long did you hold out? Don’t tell me it was less than twenty-four hours.”

“Of course not.” Lin Yi waved her hand. “My resistance is very strong!”

“…Don’t use this as an opportunity to praise yourself.”

“Sorry.” Lin Yi lowered her gaze obediently. “Anyway, I hesitated for a long time. You know, Xu Shuyan is beautiful and has a great figure. When she likes someone, she’s so gentle and considerate. Her occasional flirting can easily make a person lose their bearings. I really tried my best. But…” She looked dejected. “But I still couldn’t resist.”

Then she added confidently, “You wouldn’t have been able to hold out either!”

Fang Yi said, “I’m straight!”

Lin Yi thought for a moment. “If I were straight, I think Xu Shuyan would have turned me.”

Xu Shuyan burst out laughing.

Lin Yi was displeased. “Don’t laugh at me, I’m serious.”

Fang Yi watched them with a cold eye. “She’s not laughing at you. She’s just being smug.”

Lin Yi was speechless.

She poked Xu Shuyan in the dimple of her waist. “Is this the time to be smug?!”

Fang Yi grew anxious. “Is this the time for you two to be flirting?!”

Lin Yi was quick to admit her mistake. “I was wrong.”

Fang Yi said, “Quick to admit your mistakes, but determined not to change, is that it?”

Her true intentions exposed, Lin Yi looked sheepish.

Xu Shuyan was quiet for a few seconds before saying, “Sister Fang, actually, me and Xiao Yi being in a relationship won’t affect anything. Think about it, we’re already a fan-service CP. In the eyes of CP fans, we’re already dating. As for the solo fans, they’ll just say it’s fan service no matter how much evidence is presented. So…”

“So?” Fang Yi processed this logic in her head and said irritably, “You’re pretty good at exploiting loopholes, aren’t you?”

Her purpose in calling Xu Shuyan and Lin Yi in for a talk was, simply put, that she would be happy if they could break up, but if they couldn’t, she wasn’t necessarily going to force them apart.

Not to mention what era it was—even rules against office romances were no longer popular. For her to be here breaking up a loving couple would make her seem so heartless.

And while it was said that idols couldn’t date, that was a disqualifying act only if they dated an outsider or someone of the opposite sex. Dating a teammate was next-level. Dating the teammate your CP fans shipped you with was god-tier.

Furthermore, people in the throes of new love were at their most passionate. The more someone tried to break them up, the more determined they would be to stay together. She had no intention of being a stepping stone for their love story. Seeing how determined they both were, her anger gradually subsided. Once she had calmed down, she asked, “You’re not planning on coming out, are you?”

“We don’t have any plans for that at the moment,” Xu Shuyan said. “But we do have a small suggestion.”

“You dare to have an opinion?” Fang Yi’s anger almost flared up again, but then she realized it was a suggestion, not an opinion. “Let’s hear it. You’re not thinking of scrapping the decoupling plan, are you?”

Lin Yi and Xu Shuyan nodded in unison.

Fang Yi didn’t want to. “Do you know how many pages I wrote for that decoupling plan! Who’s going to die with me? I’m asking, who’s going to die with me?”

Lin Yi went over and fawningly massaged Fang Yi’s shoulders, cooing to get on her good side. “Our Sister Fang works so hard. How about I treat you to a meal?”

“You think you can get rid of me with just one meal?” Fang Yi shot her a sidelong glance.

“Eight thousand per person.”

Fang Yi swallowed, then said, “Fine. You treat me to one, and Xu Shuyan treats me to one. Even if you’re a couple, you can’t just get away with one meal.”

Lin Yi let out a little cry. “Then I’ll treat you to two!”

Fang Yi asked, “What? Is she out of money?”

Lin Yi nodded honestly. “She’s a little tight on cash after buying that twenty-six-million-yuan Jade and Pearl Necklace.”

Fang Yi said, “Oh.”

Then it hit her, and her eyes widened instantly. “I knew it! There’s no smoke without fire online! You two, you’ve kept me in the dark for so long! I’m going to kill you both today!”

“Hey, hey, hey!” Lin Yi patted Fang Yi’s back. “Calm down, calm down!”

Fang Yi thought about what terrible luck she had to run into a couple dating within the group. Then she remembered that she was the one who had paired them up in the first place, and she almost fainted again.

Seeing that she had calmed down, Xu Shuyan tentatively continued, “It’s not about going back to the previous state of fan service. Just don’t decouple us so drastically. The more obvious the split is on the surface, the more fans will think something is up. They’ll become even more curious about our private relationship. We have a lot of sasaengs, too, which means the more they dig, the more they’ll find. It’ll be uncontrollable.”

Fang Yi glared at her. “Can’t you two control yourselves?”

Lin Yi and Xu Shuyan exchanged a look.

Lin Yi said in a tiny voice, “If you’ve ever been in love…”

Xu Shuyan finished, “You would know. Love is like a cough; you can’t hide it.”

Fang Yi said, “Enough!”

Stop taking the opportunity to inflict secondary damage on a single person with your public displays of affection!

“Alright,” Fang Yi picked up her phone and checked the time. “In any case, you two be careful. If you want to kiss, go kiss somewhere no one can see you. If you dare to get caught in any intimate act beyond kissing, and your relationship is confirmed, I will really fight you both to the death.”

Lin Yi promised, “Absolutely not!”

Xu Shuyan also promised, “We’ll definitely be careful!”

“Then, Yanyan, you can go back first,” Fang Yi said. “Xiao Yi’s new song needs a new arrangement. I’ve booked a teacher for her, who should be here soon.” Seeing that Xu Shuyan was about to speak, she quickly cut her off. “You have an early flight tomorrow. Don’t waste time at the company. Go home, put on a face mask, and get some rest.”

Xu Shuyan let out a muffled “oh” and looked at Lin Yi, reluctant to leave. “I’ll go first, then?”

Lin Yi couldn’t stand seeing her look so pitiful. She reached out and cupped Xu Shuyan’s face, rubbing it gently. “Go home and warm up the bed for me. I’ll leave as soon as I’m done here.”

Xu Shuyan pressed her hand over Lin Yi’s and turned her head to kiss it. “I’ll wait for you.”

Lin Yi said, “Mhm, mhm!”

Fang Yi was speechless.

She temporarily closed her eyes, which had seen too much.

---

The arrangement teacher Fang Yi had booked was incredibly skilled, but she wasn’t signed to any company and only took on freelance work. She also had a strange temperament and a reversed sleep schedule, so it was truly difficult to get an appointment with her.

Lin Yi discussed the new arrangement for her song with the teacher for a full two hours. It wasn’t until late at night, when Fang Yi started yawning beside them, that they finally stopped. Lin Yi walked the teacher to the door, then turned back to Fang Yi. “I told you to go home and sleep, but you wouldn’t listen. Why are you forcing yourself to stay here?”

“Her classes are so expensive. Having an extra person listen in helps get our money’s worth, okay?” Fang Yi grumbled. “If Yanyan didn’t have an early flight tomorrow, I would have made her sit in too.”

Lin Yi pushed her toward the exit. “Alright, alright. Do you want a ride home in my car?”

“No need,” Fang Yi said. “I still have some things to take care of, and I have a morning meeting tomorrow, so I’ll just sleep at the company tonight.” She reminded Lin Yi, “Yanyan will be gone for two days at most this time. Don’t you dare get all love-struck and run off to see her.”

Lin Yi drew out her words. “Am I that kind of person?”

Fang Yi scoffed. “You weren’t before, but now that you’re in a relationship, it’s hard to say.” She added, “The proposal for your group’s winter concert has been submitted to the junior boss. Once she approves it, the project will start immediately. You all can start discussing the song selection.”

There would only be one winter concert, deliberately held in a northern city on a day when it was expected to snow. The theme was “Winter Sonata,” like an annual date where both sides met, full of ritual and a unique kind of romance.

Fans had been urging them on the official Weibo since mid-November, and there were many rumors circulating. It was only in the past few days that the company had started to appease them, saying that it would definitely happen, with the date and location to be determined, but that was enough to get the fans excited.

As Lin Yi went down in the elevator, she scrolled through the forums. She had originally wanted to check on news about the concert, but instead, she came across the picture from that morning of her seeing Xu Shuyan off at the door.

…If this had a paparazzi’s watermark on it, it would be a guaranteed career-ending scandal.

Lin Yi scrolled through the comments and, sure enough, saw someone say that if this were a man and a woman, it would definitely be a relationship reveal. Solo fans were furiously cursing these “shipping machines” to stop outing Xu Shuyan and Lin Yi, insisting they were just ordinary colleagues. The CP fans responded perfunctorily, “Mhm, mhm, as long as there’s a relationship, that’s all that matters. A relationship means they can have relations [drooling]!”

Lin Yi was speechless.

Stop being so infuriating!

There were only a few cars left in the underground parking garage. The driver was waiting for her with the hazard lights on. Her assistant walked a few steps ahead to open the car door, but the door opened by itself. The assistant let out a gasp. “Teacher Xu?”

Lin Yi was slightly taken aback. She looked up and saw Xu Shuyan sitting in the car, waving at her.

“Xu Shuyan?” Lin Yi got into the car in pleasant surprise and threw herself into Xu Shuyan’s arms, nuzzling her face. It felt magical. She had been physically and mentally exhausted after a long day, but the moment she saw Xu Shuyan, all that fatigue vanished, and she immediately felt full of energy.

Was this the power of love? Was this—

Wait.

Lin Yi lifted her head from Xu Shuyan’s embrace. “Didn’t I tell you to go home first? Why didn’t you go back? You still have an early flight to catch tomorrow. You’re being so disobedient and love-struck, Xu Shuyan!”

The car’s interior lights came on, and it slowly pulled out of the parking space. The assistant discreetly raised the partition, giving the young couple space for their romance.

And in the back seat, the young couple was using that space to bicker.

“Just tell me if you’re happy to see me or not.” Xu Shuyan avoided Lin Yi’s question and asked one that went straight to the soul. “Are you happy? Are you happy?”

“Happy, alright?” Lin Yi said irritably. “But I’m also angry at you.”

“How angry?”

“…A little bit.”

“How little is a little bit?”

Lin Yi hesitated, then made a small gap between her thumb and index finger. “This much.”

Xu Shuyan leaned in. “Then how about a kiss to make you not angry anymore?”

Lin Yi thought, Wow, what does Xu Shuyan take me for? Not angry after just one kiss? How am I supposed to argue with her in the future? That’s what she thought, but what came out of her mouth was, “Alright, then.”

She pretended to be reluctant, but inside, she was more thrilled than anyone.

When Xu Shuyan said one kiss, she meant just one kiss. Just as Lin Yi was about to deepen it, Xu Shuyan picked up a paper bag from the side. “I bought you some oden. Eat it while it’s hot.”

Lin Yi’s eyes lit up. “Wow! Such a thoughtful girlfriend!”

Xu Shuyan stroked her head and said, “I actually already went back to the dorm. I even took off my makeup and put on a face mask. I came to pick up my wife from work. It’s not illegal to pick up your own wife from work, is it?”

Lin Yi’s mouth was full, but she shook her head vigorously.

Not illegal, of course not. Picking up one’s wife from work was perfectly justified! Lin Yi silently added this to her mental booklet of “Little Tips for Romance,” deciding that she would pick Xu Shuyan up from work next time, too.

---

Back at the dorm, Zhou Shichen and Yan Qi were both there. When there were no external requirements, Yan Qi’s schedule was very regular, and she went to bed on time. Yan Qi had an audition in a few days, and Zhou Shichen was afraid of disturbing her in their room, so she was in the living room memorizing her script. She was still hard at work when Xu Shuyan and Lin Yi returned.

“You’re back?” She twirled the pen in her hand and teased Xu Shuyan excitedly, “Picked up your wife?”

Xu Shuyan replied naturally, “I did.”

Zhou Shichen clicked her tongue. “So brave, you guys!” She said to Lin Yi, “I heard everything from Yanyan. You came out directly to your manager. So brave! But Fang Yi is pretty open-minded. Please don’t decouple Yan Zhi You Yi anymore! If you do, I’m going to get anxious!”

“Don’t bring your shipping to the real people, you CP fan!” Lin Yi threw a cushion at her.

Zhou Shichen caught it and stuck out her tongue. “Clearly, the real people are the ones flaunting it in front of the CP fans! If you’re going to shove candy in my mouth, don’t blame me for eating it! By the way,” Zhou Shichen said, “do you guys know about the Candy Challenge that’s been trending online recently? How about you two play it for me during the intermission of the winter concert?”

“What Candy Challenge?” Lin Yi was truly impressed by this expert internet surfer. Every so often, a new term would pop up that left her clueless. She asked Xu Shuyan, “Do you know what it is?”

Xu Shuyan shook her head. Seeing the mischievous smile on Zhou Shichen’s face, she knew it wasn’t any sort of proper challenge. She just said, “I’ll look it up when we get back.”

Then she pulled Lin Yi upstairs.

When Lin Yi came back from her shower, she saw Xu Shuyan spreading a large comforter over their two beds, which had been pushed together. Seeing her, Xu Shuyan suggested, “Should we get a double bed?”

With the two beds pushed together, it was impossible for them to sleep separately anyway. They always ended up cuddling on one bed. It would be better to just get a large bed and save themselves the trouble. After Lin Yi agreed, Xu Shuyan immediately started looking for beds on Taobao. After a while, she suddenly remembered something. “I know what the Candy Challenge is.”

“What is it?” Lin Yi asked, applying eye cream. “A competition to see who can eat the most?”

“…Not that innocent.” Xu Shuyan sat up and thought for a moment. “You might not understand if I just tell you. How about we try it?”

Lin Yi looked troubled. “I just brushed my teeth. I can’t eat candy.”

“I’ll eat it.” Xu Shuyan got out of bed and started rummaging through their things.

“What are you looking for?” Lin Yi spread face cream on her face. “If you want to play, you have to tell me the rules. Otherwise, how can I play? Won’t I just lose immediately?”

“Found it!” Xu Shuyan pulled out a gift box from somewhere. “I bought this last time and have been wanting to use it, but I never got the chance.”

Lin Yi asked, “What is it?”

As soon as she asked, she saw what Xu Shuyan had taken out—a complete set of leather gear. It was very professional, very comprehensive, and very capable of making one’s heart race and face flush.

She lowered her voice. “Xu Shuyan! Are you crazy! Why would you buy this kind of stuff and have it sent to the dorm! What if someone finds it? We’ll be finished if we’re discovered!”

“It’s fine, I had Zhou Zhou buy it for me.” Xu Shuyan put the other items back in the box. “Let’s just use the blindfold today.”

Lin Yi was silent for a moment. “Aren’t we doing the Candy Challenge?”

“We are.” Xu Shuyan handed her the blindfold. “Put it on.” Seeing Lin Yi hesitate, she coaxed her in a small voice, “Be good. Put it on and let me see.”

Lin Yi took it dubiously. After putting it on, her vision went completely dark. The cool texture of the blindfold against her eyes made her feel a little insecure. She called out Xu Shuyan’s name, and her face was cupped in someone’s hands. She mumbled, “Xu Shuyan, what are you doing?”

“Here I come.” After saying that, Xu Shuyan kissed her.

Lin Yi was dazed, accepting the sudden kiss. She was already used to kissing Xu Shuyan, and her skills had improved greatly. She would even entangle her tongue with Xu Shuyan’s. But today, along with the kiss came a sweet taste.

It was faint, spreading between their lips and teeth.

As if she suddenly understood something, Lin Yi tried to say something, but Xu Shuyan pushed her onto the bed and kissed her more deeply.

Having lost her sense of sight, all her security came from Xu Shuyan. Under the pressure, her hands tightened around Xu Shuyan’s neck. She tilted her head back to kiss Xu Shuyan, her disheveled pajamas hanging off her arms, her skin looking almost transparently white under the light.

A sliver of reason remained, and she tried to push Xu Shuyan away. “Early… early flight…”

“It’s fine.” Xu Shuyan kissed her while her hands roamed. The taste of the candy had long since been consumed by the two of them. Xu Shuyan said, “Guess what flavor it is, and I’ll reward you once today, okay?”

The sound of her pajama pants being thrown to the floor was clear. Lin Yi panted, carefully savoring the taste. She licked her lips and hesitated. “Is it… is it peach-flavored?”

Xu Shuyan didn’t speak.

Lin Yi reached for her hand, touching it lightly. Her voice sounded like she was whining. “Is it?”

She heard Xu Shuyan laugh. The long hair that had fallen in front of the blindfold was brushed away, and Xu Shuyan’s kiss landed on the corner of her lips. Her voice was right next to her ear, turning into breath that slipped between her dry lips.

Xu Shuyan said, “You guessed right. Time for your reward.”

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