“Thank you.”
This was Song Yushi’s answer.
She put the ring necklace back into the sapphire blue velvet box, walked around Qi Ke to the door, placed her hand on the doorknob, and then suddenly said, “Qi Ke.”
Qi Ke quickly turned around. “I’m here.”
Song Yushi hastily lowered her head, her eyes stinging. She tried her best to keep her tone calm and steady, causing her to speak extremely slowly. “I don’t want to lead you on. But I’m really not sure if I have the courage to start over.” She turned back. “So—”
“Then lead me on.” Qi Ke met her gaze, her tone carrying its usual hint of a smile. “Captain, I’ve said it before. Don’t feel pressured. I don’t want my affection to pressure you; that’s not my intention. Just enjoy my affection with a clear conscience. Okay?”
Song Yushi didn’t speak.
Qi Ke walked forward, her hand gently resting on Song Yushi’s shoulder, her voice slipping into her ear. “Actually, I’m very happy.”
“…What?”
“You at least care about my feelings.” Qi Ke nodded seriously. “Not bad, I’ve found another sweet moment.”
Song Yushi turned and glared at her.
Qi Ke grinned, and just as she was about to speak, she saw Song Yushi reach out. Her palm swiped the cake from her own face onto Qi Ke’s mouth. After doing this, Song Yushi licked her fingers, opened the door, and left, leaving behind a soft “You’re cuter when you’re not talking” lingering in the air.
Qi Ke tilted her head, unable to speak for a moment. “Mmph?”
Captain, you’ve really changed!
But the cake is really sweet.
After Song Yushi’s birthday, it rained in the film city for a full two weeks before stopping. As soon as the rain passed, the scorching summer seemed to be approaching. The blazing sun evaporated the rainwater, and the early summer cicadas began to buzz noisily in the branches.
Song Yushi scrolled through the news while eating breakfast. After going through all the hot topics, she unhurriedly refreshed her homepage.
The first post on her side account was a picture of Qi Ke getting off work.
Qi Ke had registered this side account for her, saying as she did, “Don’t be like me, using your main account to browse gossip. One careless ‘like’ and you’ll be trending on the hot search. How embarrassing would that be?”
Zhong Yi leisurely commented from the side, “The Captain doesn’t even like gossip. She barely uses her main account, let alone a side account.”
By then, Zhong Yi already knew about their relationship, so Qi Ke shamelessly shoved a cold serving of dog food in her face. “Actually, the main reason is that I wanted to have a couple’s side account with the Captain.”
Zhong Yi: “…” Damn you!
Thinking of this, Song Yushi silently pitied Zhong Yi, then clicked on the picture of Qi Ke getting off work.
【@SummerFireworks0119: Getting off work from the recording studio. She’s gotten off at 5 AM four days in a row. Sister, please stop staying up all night [Crying]. Her voice was hoarse just now when she spoke.】
In the photo, Qi Ke was dressed simply in a white long-sleeved shirt and a plaid skirt. She wore a yellow baseball cap and a black mask. When she greeted her fans, she lifted her head slightly, revealing an unconcealable exhaustion in her eyes.
Fans expressed their heartache in the comments and reposts.
【She must be preparing for her new album. My baby is working too hard, wuwuwu, my heart aches for her.】
【Even though it’s almost summer, it’s still a bit cold in the morning and evening. @Sister Ming, make her wear more clothes!】
【She’s always like this. She seems to handle everything with ease, but whenever she’s faced with something she loves, she gives it her all. Everyone says she has a God-given voice, but she actually works harder than anyone.】
【Going slightly off-topic. That ring, has Keke been wearing it for a long time?】
Song Yushi enlarged the photo and saw the ring the fan mentioned. It appeared in every picture of Qi Ke coming to and from work these past few days.
When I miss you, I’ll wear this ring.
Qi Ke’s words from that day still echoed in her ears.
As if she’d been burned, Song Yushi placed her phone face down on the table. Before she had time for her thoughts to run wild, a scream came from the bedroom: “Ah!! I woke up late!!”
Song Yushi closed her eyes.
After a flurry of chaotic activity, Meng Ying sat down across from her, scratching her messy hair and complaining coquettishly, “Captain, why didn’t you wake me up?”
Song Yushi said helplessly, “I did. You didn’t wake up.”
Meng Ying: “You were too gentle.”
Song Yushi: “…I was one step away from banging an iron pot next to your ear.”
Song Yushi considered herself someone who loved to sleep in and had a bad temper upon waking, but she never expected that Meng Ying, whom she hadn’t lived with for nearly three years, was even worse. In the nearly one week since she moved in, eight alarm clocks had been sacrificed.
Song Yushi said faintly, “You said you were idle at the company. I believe you now.”
Meng Ying’s face turned red.
She had good skin, and a faint blush spread across her fair face, looking like natural girlish makeup. She looked pitiful.
Unfortunately, Song Yushi wasn’t falling for it. She sincerely suggested, “Move next door.”
Next door, the house Qi Ke had only lived in for a week.
Meng Ying shook her head. “No. That one is for Xiangmeng to live in. She needs to rest quietly.”
Right, that’s the reason.
Song Yushi guessed that Qi Ke had tricked Meng Ying.
After the birthday, Ruan Xiangmeng wasn’t in a hurry to return to Yunzhou City, saying she’d been cooped up in the hospital for too long and wanted to relax. Song Yushi thought about it and agreed, letting her be. Song Yushi left early and returned late, so the two of them rarely saw each other. But—one day, Meng Ying suddenly moved in next door, and a day later, she swapped rooms with Ruan Xiangmeng.
The nice-sounding reason was to let Ruan Xiangmeng rest quietly, but Song Yushi knew this was definitely Qi Ke’s idea.
Qi Ke didn’t like Ruan Xiangmeng.
She hadn’t liked her from the very beginning, even before she knew what the Ruan family had done to Song Yushi.
For some inexplicable reason, she just didn’t like her.
But whatever, Song Yushi thought. Her own schedule was irregular, so it really wasn’t suitable for her to live with a patient like Ruan Xiangmeng.
But—
if Meng Ying could also move in with Ruan Xiangmeng, that would be even better.
Song Yushi ignored Meng Ying, took a sip of coffee, and continued scrolling through Weibo. As she scrolled down, it was all comedy bloggers telling bad jokes that weren’t even as good as Zhong Yi’s.
As the filming schedule progressed, the crew split into A and B units. Song Yushi didn’t have many scenes that day, so she unexpectedly got half a day off after filming. She had planned to take Ruan Xiangmeng for a walk around the city, but the heavens were uncooperative. Just as they wrapped up, a light rain started again, and the gloomy sky threatened to turn into a downpour.
“See, I told you, the weather forecasts are all fake!” Meng Ying sat on the rocking chair by the window, chewing on a straw and drinking juice. “Hey, Xiangmeng, you’re leaving?”
Ruan Xiangmeng was already at the door. Hearing this, she turned back and smiled, “Yeah, I plan to go to bed early.”
Without turning her head, Song Yushi said, “Good night. Remember to take your medicine.”
At the same time, her phone rang. Song Yushi glanced at it once and hung up.
“Who was that?” Meng Ying asked casually. “I feel like you’ve been hanging up on calls a lot these past two days.” Before Song Yushi could answer, she was struck with a sudden fear and sat up straight. “Is it a stalker fan?”
Song Yushi paused for a moment, then gave a vague “mhm.”
“I knew it!” Meng Ying said angrily. “Back when we were in the group, you had the most stalkers. These stalkers are terrifying. How did they get your phone number? Did you change it?”
Song Yushi nodded. “I did.”
Meng Ying: “And they still found it?”
Song Yushi: “…Mhm.”
Even though it was warm indoors, Meng Ying shivered. “This… reminds me of that one stalker. Do you remember him?”
Of course, Song Yushi remembered.
That stalker was a scruffy, bearded man whose age was indiscernible due to his slovenly appearance. He had been frantically harassing Song Yushi since her trainee days, waiting at the company entrance every day to give her food, flowers, and love letters. After being rejected, he even pulled out a knife to threaten her.
Later, the company reported it to the police. The man was detained for a few days and then quieted down for a long time.
After that, Song Yushi debuted with the group, and it was a period of great success. All five of them had stalkers, but the security at the residential complex where the company rented their dorm was good, so the stalkers couldn’t get in. Aside from occasional harassing phone calls and being cornered in public, it didn’t cause them too much trouble.
Until one day, when Sweet Day was resting at home, everyone’s phones and computers froze in an instant. Blood-red characters appeared in the center of their screens: I’m back.
The signature was cy.
The initials of that stalker’s name.
A blood-stained shirt, pants stained with a white liquid, and love letters written in blood. A love that had soured was inherently terrifying, wrapped in threats and perverted desires, laid out gruesomely before Song Yushi and the other members of Sweet Day.
Reporting it to the police had become meaningless. This level of harassment would only get him detained for a few days, and it would only make him escalate his behavior.
Back then, she wasn’t with Qi Ke yet; they were just simple roommates. For half a month, Song Yushi couldn’t get a single good night’s sleep. She was often startled awake by nightmares, and after crying out and sitting up, she would see Qi Ke silently watching her from the other bed.
Song Yushi murmured, “I’m sorry.”
Qi Ke sat up, the slight rustle of the quilt exceptionally clear in the silent night. She asked, “Sorry for what?”
Song Yushi still hadn’t come to her senses, looking at Qi Ke with a lost expression.
Qi Ke got out of bed. Her cotton pajamas had a cute little yellow duck on them. She walked closer and asked again in a low voice, “Sorry for what?”
“I woke you up.” Song Yushi wasn’t used to being close to people and shifted back a little. Her voice was very quiet: “…I’m sorry.”
But Qi Ke suddenly got annoyed: “You did nothing wrong.”
Song Yushi looked at her in surprise.
“Don’t just take all the blame on yourself. You didn’t wake me up. I… I just love staying up late and haven’t slept yet!”
Song Yushi hesitated. “…At four in the morning?”
Qi Ke: “Yup.”
Seeing her spouting such serious nonsense, Song Yushi’s heart relaxed. After Qi Ke’s interruption, she had mostly forgotten the details of her dream, though the palpitations remained.
Qi Ke volunteered, “If the Captain doesn’t mind, I can sleep here with you.”
The Captain didn’t say anything.
No objection meant agreement.
So, Qi Ke logically climbed into the Captain’s bed, so much so that the corners of her mouth were turned up all the next day and never came down. The problem was truly resolved after a fan meeting.
For that fan meeting, the stalker had sent a message threatening to do something to Song Yushi. Because of this, the company reported it to the police and strengthened security. The entire fan meeting went on without incident, which, instead of bringing relief, made people even more afraid.
Qi Ke left the venue early, saying she had something to do, but before leaving, she put on Song Yushi’s jacket.
They had performed an opening dance that day, and the whole group’s outfits were identical. It was hard to tell who was who just from the back, let alone when someone was deliberately imitating another.
By the time everyone in Sweet Day realized what was happening and rushed back to the dorm, they pushed open the door to a scene they would never forget—Qi Ke had one foot on the man’s back, bending over and grabbing his hair. Amid his screams, she asked, her expression unchanged, “Are you going to keep following her? I’m asking you, are you going to keep following her?”
With each question, she smashed his head against the ground.
“Did your mother give birth to you just so you could be a pervert? If your fucking cerebellum isn’t fully developed, then get the hell to a hospital for treatment instead of acting up here looking for trouble!”
Bang!
“Our Captain is good-tempered and doesn’t stoop to your level, but do you think everyone is that good-tempered? I’d rather teach a pig to talk than try to reason with someone like you. A pig would learn to recite the Three Character Classic before you could understand human speech!”
Bang!
“Love her? Are you even worthy of loving her? Just because you, a pockmarked, second-rate piece of trash, send some love letters written in blood all day, that means you love her? Do you love your mother? Why don’t you show these to your mom and see if she’ll be happy?”
Bang!
After she had vented her anger, Qi Ke finally noticed she had an audience. She froze for a moment, then let go. With a thud, the stalker’s head hit the ground, and he passed out.
Qi Ke looked up, pointed to a small cut on her wrist, and said with a face full of pure innocence, “This was self-defense.”
All of Sweet Day: “…”
That’s right! It was self-defense!
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