WWSEG – Chapter 81

Date

Their first real date was on Halloween that year.

Sweet Day’s schedule was packed. Christmas, Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve, Qixi Festival—all sorts of holidays were fully booked. The only one they had free was Halloween.

On Halloween’s Eve, Sweet Day held an internal meeting.

Zhong Yi was cracking melon seeds, her unstyled hair sticking up here and there, her little mouth chattering away, “I think we should go to Director Chen’s party. He’s famous for his wide network; we can meet a lot of big shots.”

“I don’t want to go.” Meng Ying said, sitting cross-legged while unwrapping a chocolate box. “Director Chen’s son has been pursuing me recently. Last time, Sister Ming accepted the anonymous flowers he sent, and he thought I’d agreed to date him. If I go this time, he’ll definitely think I’m there to meet the parents.”

“Meng Ying, put down the chocolate!” Cheng Zhi slapped the coffee table. “Then let’s not go to Director Chen’s. How about Screenwriter Lin’s party? She has a lot of kittens at her place, ooh, I want to pet some cats.”

Zhong Yi exclaimed, “I want to pet cats too. I agree.”

Meng Ying reluctantly put down the chocolate, listlessly saying, “I agree.”

Cheng Zhi raised her hand. “I agree too.” She counted, “That’s three votes for ‘yes’. Captain and Qi Ke, why aren’t you saying anything? Do you agree? Of course, whether you agree or not doesn’t really matter anymore. The minority obeys the majority.”

Qi Ke had been sitting quietly on the small sofa, watching her teammates’ performance for a while. Seeing that she was finally being cued, she pursed her lips and said, “One question.”

Zhong Yi & Meng Ying & Cheng Zhi: “Speak!”

“Excuse me,” Qi Ke’s tone was sincere, “who made the rule that we have to spend Halloween together?”

Song Yushi: “Mm.”

The teammates: “?”

What happened to ‘in as a group, out as a group’? What happened to our group spirit!!!

Zhong Yi was the first to spot the blind spot. “You and the Captain have other plans?”

Qi Ke nodded.

Cheng Zhi discovered a new blind spot. “Behind our backs?”

Qi Ke nodded again, then felt it wasn’t quite right. “It’s not exactly behind your backs…”

Meng Ying was hurt. “So you just didn’t tell us, huh? I’m heartbroken.” She tilted her head back forty-five degrees, trying to hold back her tears. “Let’s just disband.”

Zhong Yi & Cheng Zhi: “…”

You’re being too dramatic!

Seeing that no one was appreciating her performance, Meng Ying casually dropped the act and asked Qi Ke, “So what plans do you and the Captain have? Why can’t you take me with you? Ah—you two aren’t going to find some men, are you?”

Zhong Yi immediately said, “Meng Ying!”

Cheng Zhi chimed in, “It’s one thing to suspect Qi Ke, but how can you suspect our most dedicated Captain of being in a relationship?”

The most dedicated Captain: “…”

She was unworthy of her teammates’ trust.

Qi Ke had no choice but to explain to her teammates that it was an evening festival in a small, newly developed tourist town nearby. It could be described as a Halloween version of a lantern festival, with nothing much to do and no cats to pet.

Unexpectedly, she received unanimous approval from her teammates. “Let’s go to that one!”

Song Yushi: “…”

Qi Ke: “…”

This was supposed to be her private date with the Captain! You bunch of third wheels!

Sweet Day was very popular, but luckily, a costume party was already a chaotic mix of characters. Everyone’s makeup was professionally done. Meng Ying simply cosplayed as No-Face and bounced freely along the bustling long street. Zhong Yi and Cheng Zhi, being a bit more conscious of their appearance, went with vampire makeup.

Song Yushi and Qi Ke, on the other hand, each wore a set of Hanfu, their hair tied up in buns, the pearls and jade on their hairpins swaying gently in the wind.

A teammate tut-tutted, “Are the outfits you two are wearing worthy of the Halloween atmosphere? So flashy. Are those wedding dresses? Are you two going to consummate your marriage?”

Qi Ke shot her a playful glare. “What do you know? We’re dressed as female ghosts.”

A teammate said, “You’ll be easily recognized like this!”

“That’s why I prepared these.” Qi Ke magically produced two masks from behind her back. “With masks, I’m more… than Meng Ying… oh, wait, I’m still not as unrestrained as Meng Ying.”

Meng Ying pouted.

Qi Ke helped Song Yushi put on her mask, took her captain’s hand, and said, “Alright, let’s have the vampires go be vampires, the No-Face go be No-Face, and those consummating their marriage go consummate their marriage. Dismissed on the spot.”

Just before leaving, she heard Meng Ying say faintly, “New hashtag: #SweetDayDisbandsOnTheSpot#.”

The members of Sweet Day: “…”

Can’t you say something auspicious!!

The East-meets-West lantern festival was surprisingly nice. The stalls on both sides were filled with countless interesting things. Qi Ke, who had never seen anything like it, pulled Song Yushi along to look here and there, and soon she was carrying a pile of things.

At the end of the long road, someone was setting off fireworks. They burst in clusters in mid-air, illuminating the small bridge and flowing water.

Qi Ke handed the things to Song Yushi, who obediently took them.

Qi Ke faced her and looked at her. “Captain.”

Song Yushi looked back at her. The mask blocked her peripheral vision, making the Qi Ke in front of her even clearer. Behind her were brilliant fireworks, her earrings swayed lightly, and she was truly moving and beautiful.

Song Yushi heard herself hum in acknowledgment, a sound lost amidst the noise and fireworks, barely audible.

But Qi Ke heard it. She took a step forward, placed her hands on Song Yushi’s shoulders, and said, “Captain, logically speaking, in a scene like this, we should kiss.”

Song Yushi blinked.

“Your hands are full, so let me kiss you.”

Qi Ke leaned down, her movements slow, giving Song Yushi time to pull away. But Song Yushi just watched her quietly. After Qi Ke had kissed her through the mask, Song Yushi spoke softly, “It’s a pity my hands are full.”

Qi Ke: “Hm?”

Song Yushi added, “Otherwise, I could have hugged you.”

Qi Ke: “…Throw them away immediately.”

Song Yushi was silent for a moment, then she really did put the things down. She lifted her mask, stepped forward, stood on her tiptoes, lifted Qi Ke’s mask, and while Qi Ke was still dazed, she kissed her on the lips.

Amidst the coming and going of the crowd, with the clamor at its peak, under the fireworks, the kiss was shy yet earnest.

A kiss to seal their love.

Ferris Wheel

Qi Ke had always been bothered by all the sweet moments that were cut from the group’s reality show, especially the Ferris wheel scene. She had muttered more than once about wanting to ride a Ferris wheel with Song Yushi again.

Song Yushi said helplessly, “We’ll be recognized.”

Qi Ke asked, “Just tell me, do you want to ride it with me or not?” After a thought, she added, “I mean ride the Ferris wheel. Don’t get any funny ideas.”

Song Yushi: “…”

She wasn’t having any funny ideas before, but now she couldn’t help it.

After a moment, Song Yushi shook the dirty thoughts from her mind and said, “I do.”

Qi Ke hugged her. “Then let’s get started.”

Song Yushi: “???”

Weren’t we talking about riding the Ferris wheel! Why did you suddenly start the car…!!!

Later, the group’s reality show was filmed in Iceland. Qi Ke booked the entire amusement park for the night. After riding the carousel, they went straight to the Ferris wheel. When the Ferris wheel reached its highest point, Qi Ke kissed Song Yushi.

Even though the legend had the flavor of an old-fashioned romance novel, even though it was a bit sentimental, even though it wasn’t believable, and even though they didn’t believe it themselves.

But, right now, she just wanted to kiss her.

Concert Tour

Sweet Day’s concert tour wasn’t as formal as a proper concert. It was more like a fan meeting, with a host to cue the segments. After the performances, there would be interactions with fans, games, and a Q&A session.

At that moment, the five members of Sweet Day were sitting in a row on chairs on the stage. The host stood to the side holding cue cards. “This next segment is the exposé segment.”

All five members of Sweet Day said in unison, “Ooh~~~”

The fans in the audience shouted, “Exposé! Exposé! Exposé!”

The host made an OK sign to the fans. “Don’t worry, trust me.” He looked at the members of Sweet Day. “First question, who in the group is the best at acting cute? 3, 2, 1, point!”

Meng Ying: 2 votes.

Qi Ke: 2 votes.

Song Yushi: 1 vote.

Song Yushi: “?”

Why did she get a vote?

The host exclaimed dramatically, “Qi Ke voted for the Captain. Qi Ke, why don’t you go first? Why did you choose the Captain?”

Song Yushi shot her a glare from across the stage.

Qi Ke: “…”

Uh, she had forgotten about the need to avoid suspicion.

There was no way out. She had to bite the bullet and say, “Uh, well, our Captain is very strict. Every time we rehearse, we have to practice many times. When we’re too tired to continue, the Captain will act cute and say, ‘One more time~ Just one more time~’!”

Fans in the audience: Ahhhh, just imagining it is so cute!!!!

Members on stage: “…………”

Qi Ke, are you heartless? Are you sure that was acting cute? Your filter for the Captain must be eight hundred layers thick!!!

Song Yushi’s public persona had always been that of a ‘little sweet bean,’ so the host didn’t catch the members’ indescribable expressions and cheerfully cued the next person. “Meng Ying, you pointed at Qi Ke. Can you tell us why?”

Zhong Yi handed the microphone to Meng Ying. Meng Ying cleared her throat and said, “Qi Ke is really, really good at acting cute.”

In the audience, the CP fans of Qi Ke and Meng Ying: I’m ready to eat some sugar!

“One time, we had to get up early for rehearsal. As you know, our Captain loves to sleep in, but the moment work is mentioned, she can get up immediately. That day was the same. The Captain was already up, and I heard Qi Ke whining to our Captain from outside the door: ‘I really don’t want to get up. Stay in bed with me a little longer, just a little while.’”

Meng Ying shivered with goosebumps. “Eww~~~”

Qi Ke and Meng Ying’s CP fans: ??? This sugar is not what I imagined.

Qi Ke’s other vote came from Cheng Zhi. Meng Ying’s two votes came from Song Yushi and Zhong Yi. It was a CP free-for-all. Every answer provided new material to ship, and every CP’s fans were shipping them to death.

The host asked a few more questions, such as who was the prettiest person in the group. Song Yushi and Qi Ke each got two votes, and Meng Ying chose to vote for herself.

The entire venue: As expected of you.

Another question was who was the biggest homebody in the group. Zhong Yi won against Cheng Zhi 4 to 1, and even gloated afterward, “When I’m not working, of course I’m going to lie around at home.”

Everyone: That’s logical and well-founded. A true corporate slave.

The last question: “If you were to date someone, who in the group do you think would be the most love-struck?”

Everyone hesitated at this question.

The members exchanged glances, hesitantly raised their hands, and finally pointed decisively at Qi Ke.

Qi Ke: “???”

Are they targeting me?

Then, she turned her hand around and pointed at herself. “Yes, that’s right, it’s me. Although I’ve never been in a relationship, I think I’d definitely be very clingy when I’m in love. Love-struck is me!”

The host was also curious and asked the teammates, “Hey, how did you all know?”

The teammates said in unison, “She said it herself while watching a romance movie!”

Fans in the audience: Hahahahaha, date me, Keke!!!

On stage, only Song Yushi hadn’t spoken in unison with the others. Meng Ying noticed, put down her microphone, and asked Song Yushi, “Captain, you weren’t there when we were watching the movie, so how did you know?”

Song Yushi smiled and patted her shoulder, saying, “This is grown-up business, kids shouldn’t meddle.”

Meng Ying tilted her head.

Song Yushi turned her head, her gaze meeting Qi Ke’s. She curled her lips into a smile.

How did she know?

She was Qi Ke’s lover.