The direction of public opinion was just as Sister Ming had expected. With Sister Fei unwilling to cooperate and even deliberately guiding fans to become solo stans, Song Yushi’s and Qi Ke’s fans began throwing subtle shade at each other that very night. The superficial harmony didn’t last long before a large-scale fan war erupted with great fanfare.
While the solo stans were fighting, the CP fans were muting themselves to focus on anti-slander efforts and cleaning up the search results, and the onlookers were enjoying the sweet moments amidst the smoke of battle, a Weibo user unexpectedly became a hot topic in both fan communities’ search results.
And they were firmly fixed at the number one spot.
Weibo Username: Have Qi Ke and Song Yushi Gotten to Know Each Other Today?
Weibo Content: Day 1560. They know each other, I guess, but it feels like the sense of unfamiliarity is even stronger than before.
The comment section immediately exploded.
【Maybe the “sense of unfamiliarity” the poster is talking about is the awkwardness of meeting again after a breakup?】
【How the hell can you find a shipping point in this? But I’m shipping it.】
【If you think about it carefully, it’s really there. Averting their gazes after making eye contact, wanting to get closer but also wanting to run away during physical contact. Isn’t this just “If we meet again and our eyes don’t turn red, can our faces still blush”?】
【We need to be indebted to each other, we need to have lingering ties. I’m shipping this to death!】
【The poster is right, and the comment section is really good at making things up. Face reality, the two have only ever been ordinary colleagues. Why would you be so familiar with your colleagues?】
【Don’t mention Song Yushi. The great beauty is focusing on her career.】
【Taking Qi Ke away. Qi Ke is so pitiful, she’s not even in the group anymore and still has to be leeched off of.】
【Who wouldn’t say Qi Yu is fake after watching this video? – Link: 《The Truth is Fake》】
An onlooker followed the link.
It was a video edited by a solo stan about how the two weren’t familiar. Paired with the lyrics, it easily drew people in. After watching it, this onlooker returned to the comment and passionately posted: “Who wouldn’t say Qi Yu is real after watching this! The BE aesthetic is killing me!”
Solo stans: Damn it!
While online, the solo stans were fighting tooth and nail, the CP fans were shipping them to death, and the onlookers were munching on melon seeds, the inpatient department of the hospital was as quiet as ever.
In the long corridor, only a few lights were on, making it appear even dimmer in the misty winter morning.
“…Okay, thank you, doctor.”
Song Yushi pulled her mask down a little and gave a slight bow to the doctor on duty. As the doctor’s footsteps faded into the distance, she turned her head and looked into the room through the small window on the door. Ruan Xiangmeng was lying on her side on the hospital bed, fast asleep.
Amidst her steady breathing, her not-so-healthy heart was beating strongly.
Song Yushi pushed the door open and walked in. Almost instantly, Ruan Xiangmeng opened her eyes.
“You’re awake?”
“You and Qi Ke have really made up, haven’t you?”
“…It’s just for business.”
“You looked pretty happy doing it. You could still smile even after someone threw strawberry jam at you. Aren’t you a neat freak?”
“My neatness depends on the person.”
“…”
Please don’t be so blatant with your double standards, thank you.
This remark was too direct, leaving the girl, who was usually as eloquent as Qi Ke, speechless. After a long while, she finally managed to squeeze out a sentence: “…Don’t you forget what you said after she dumped you!”
Song Yushi seriously recited, word for word: “If I get back together with her, I’ll dance to 《Cherry》 on a stage in front of a hundred thousand people.”
《Cherry》 was Sweet Day’s famous song and dance number, which established Song Yushi’s status as the “sweetest” member of the group. Because this label was completely inconsistent with her personality, it was a nightmare of a song that she didn’t want to dance to even when thinking about it today.
It could be said that she was determined not to get back together with Qi Ke.
Ruan Xiangmeng nodded. “As long as you remember.”
Her mood improved a little, and she sat up. “What’s your schedule like recently? Let me see it.”
Song Yushi showed Ruan Xiangmeng the schedule Xiao Nan had sent her.
Schedule:
《Awakening of Insects》 script reading, 2 days
Photoshoot with Qi Ke for the cover of 《Time》 magazine.
Record 《Happy Star Show》 with Qi Ke.
Record 《30 Days of Cohabitation Life》 with Qi Ke, 2 days.
With Qi Ke…
Ruan Xiangmeng: “…”
Who the hell would believe they won’t get back together when they’re stuck to each other every day?!!
Ruan Xiangmeng shoved the phone in front of Song Yushi. “Aside from the script reading tomorrow and the day after, you’re tied to Qi Ke all the other times? Has your company gone crazy trying to make money?”
Song Yushi said thoughtfully, “No.”
Ruan Xiangmeng said angrily, “It’s not?”
“No,” Song Yushi said. “I mean, Qi Ke will be at the script reading too.”
Ruan Xiangmeng: “…?”
She let out a light scoff. “I have a suggestion.”
Song Yushi: “What is it?”
Ruan Xiangmeng: “Will you listen?”
Song Yushi was very honest. “Probably not.”
Ruan Xiangmeng: “…” She hated this directness!
But she still chose to persevere and continue speaking: “I suggest you and Qi Ke can just hold your wedding in a stadium with a hundred thousand people. Making money, dancing, getting married—all three things taken care of.”
Song Yushi: “…”
Okay, she really wasn’t going to listen.
When Song Yushi left the hospital, it started to snow in the half-awake Yunzhou City. Mixed with the drizzling rain, it seeped into her off-white woolen coat, and the wet asphalt road reflected the light from the street lamps and the dawn.
She caught up on sleep in the car on the way to Moonlight City. When she groggily woke up, she found that the snow in Moonlight City was falling even heavier, fluttering down like goose feathers. The wind carried the cold, making the surface of her umbrella rustle loudly as the snow fell silently.
Xiao Nan said as they walked, “The script reading starts in forty minutes.”
Song Yushi hummed in acknowledgment.
The script reading was held in a conference hall at a five-star hotel in Moonlight City. The director, assistant director, screenwriter, and actors sat at a long table, discussing the script for the entire morning. The director didn’t dismiss them until twelve o’clock.
Room 1906.
Holding the room key card, Song Yushi stared with hazy, sleepy eyes and slowly repeated Xiao Nan’s words, “I’m—sharing—a room—with—Qi Ke?”
The script reading was scheduled for two consecutive days, so the production team had booked rooms at the hotel for the attendees.
Xiao Nan’s face fell. “The production team arranged it. I didn’t even dare to let Sister Fei know.”
Song Yushi: “…” Were she and Qi Ke some young couple eloping without their parents’ consent?
Song Yushi shook her head, clearing her mind of the messy thoughts. She placed the key card on the table and changed the subject, “How are things online?”
“It’s the usual…”
Hearing this, Xiao Nan’s face fell even further. She had now become a Qi Yu CP fan. With the two fanbases fighting, she had spent the whole night on her side account, busy with anti-slander efforts, cleaning up the search results, and—shipping them in the cracks. But the fan war only got more intense, and solo stans flocked to the CP fan’s Super Topic to wreak havoc. Her happy place had almost been destroyed.
Song Yushi was too sleepy. She sat at the table, listening to Xiao Nan with her chin propped on one hand. By the time she heard “…it’s too real,” she had fallen asleep in that position.
Click—
The door clicked softly. The motion-sensor light in the entryway turned on, casting a soft glow. Xiao Nan was startled and quickly turned around. Seeing who it was, her eyes widened slightly. “Teacher Qi…”
“Shh.”
Qi Ke made a hushing gesture.
Her footsteps were light as she walked towards Song Yushi, carrying the chill of the wind and snow with her.
The orange-yellow lampshade cast a gentle light, enveloping Song Yushi. She slept without any defenses, her usual cold aloofness and feigned sweetness gone, leaving only a tranquil expression.
Outside the window, the snow fell heavily.
Only she was so innocent and pure, the last bit of gentleness in a weary life, the well-behaved, quiet little girl hidden away in Qi Ke’s heart.
Peeking from the entryway, Xiao Nan suppressed a scream and shouted wildly in her heart—
“Mama! I’m stanning a real couple!!”
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