“Cheers-” Five glasses clinked together in the center of the table, making a crisp sound. The milky-white non-alcoholic beer swirled gently in the cups, catching the hazy glow of the small night light on the table.
Lin Yi took a small sip and commented, “There’s no alcohol in this.”
“We’re filming a show,” Zhou Shichen teased. “Did you really want to drink?”
Xu Shuyan also said, “Don’t you know your own alcohol tolerance? Back in Q City, when a few of us snuck out for barbecue, you insisted on drinking beer.”
“Isn’t that a Q City specialty? The kind in a bag. Didn’t you drink it?” Lin Yi retorted, unconvinced.
“Well, I didn’t get drunk and make a scene,” Xu Shuyan shot back, her tone neither soft nor harsh. “Some people, on the other hand, black out when they’re drunk and refuse to admit what they’ve done, even to their death.”
Lin Yi was exasperated. “You said I threw up all over you, and didn’t I pay you back for the clothes?!”
Xu Shuyan huffed. “Don’t think I don’t know what you’re thinking. You still believe I scammed you, don’t you?”
“…” Lin Yi faltered, then muttered under her breath, “Well, I don’t remember, so it’s whatever you say it is.”
Xu Shuyan: “…”
Unable to hold back, she tried to complain to the others. “Look at her-”
Before she could finish, she met Zhou Shichen’s big, sparkling eyes, which were filled with the knowing smile of a shipper. Then she looked over at Chen Yuan, who was also watching them with great interest.
Xu Shuyan decisively gave up on those two and turned to Yan Qi. “Captain-”
Yan Qi, however, wasn’t shipping them. With a profound expression, she swirled her non-alcoholic beer, enjoying the sea breeze, already in a different dimension from the rest of them. When she heard Xu Shuyan call her name, she merely glanced over. Xu Shuyan swallowed her complaint. “It’s nothing.”
Seeing Xu Shuyan hit a wall with everyone, Lin Yi’s frustration eased a bit. Still, she couldn’t help but whine playfully to Chen Yuan, “Yuanyuan, you were the one who said you wanted to watch us dance, but you didn’t even look!”
“I’m so sorry.” Chen Yuan pressed her palms together and shook them, begging for forgiveness. “A call came in right then, so I missed it. I’ll make up for it by watching ‘No. 89757’ ten times tonight!”
Lin Yi’s eyes lit up. “You said it!”
She took out her phone and opened her chat with Chen Yuan. “I’ll send you the link.”
Xu Shuyan said, “I’ll send one too.”
Chen Yuan hummed in confusion. “Can’t I just search for it online?”
Lin Yi recited a title with great feeling: “‘No. 89757’ Lin Yi Seven-Cam Solo Focus, Click to See C-Ent’s Little Sweet Bean’s Killer Stage! Watch the fancam, the official camerawork is terrible.”
“…” Chen Yuan looked at Xu Shuyan. “You too?”
Xu Shuyan recited a title without a shred of emotion: “|Master, I Will Never Betray You| Stage Fairy Xu Shuyan Transforms into a Yandere Robot, You’ll Regret It for Life If You Don’t Watch! Also a seven-cam solo focus.”
Chen Yuan: “…”
Beside them, Zhou Shichen happily joined the resource-sharing family. “I’ll send you one too!”
Chen Yuan looked at her chat with Zhou Shichen and read aloud, “|One Command from You, One Action from Me| C-Ent’s Yuri World Becomes Reality, Childhood Sweethearts Form a Powerful Double-A Duo, Yan Zhi You Yi’s Latest Stage ‘No. 89757’ Portrays a Human-Robot Romance!”
Xu Shuyan & Lin Yi: “…”
There’s a mole! Stop the transaction!
The variety show recording wasn’t over yet. The production team’s cameras were still diligently filming, and their mics were still clipped on. The reason they were so relaxed was that their group’s variety show was a collaboration with a platform the company trusted, allowing them to review the footage beforehand without worrying about malicious editing.
The previous exchange, for example, would never make the final cut.
Xu Shuyan took a sip of her non-alcoholic beer and asked, seemingly casually, “Yuanyuan, who called you?”
Maybe it was her imagination, but she felt like Chen Yuan’s gaze flickered away for a second. By the time she tried to look closer, Chen Yuan was already smiling at her. “No one, just work stuff.”
Xu Shuyan nodded thoughtfully and didn’t press the matter further.
After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Yan Qi suggested, “Since we’re at the beach, how about we set off some fireworks?”
She received everyone’s support. “Yay!”
It was this same beach. After that survival challenge, they had been a mess, setting off fireworks while covered in dirt. The brilliant explosions had illuminated their beautiful, young faces, bringing that season of their group show to a close.
These fireworks, however, heralded a beginning.
“If I had a magic wand~ I’d make things big and small and pretty~” Lin Yi, barefoot on the sand, pointed a sparkler at the sky and cheerfully sang the Doraemon theme song. “And I’d make a house of comics, chocolate, and toys-”
“Make me a bed!” Zhou Shichen said. “I want to fall asleep right here, right now!”
“You don’t need my magic wand for that, do you?” Lin Yi had run a little far, and her voice was scattered by the sea breeze. She raised it slightly. “Just make a wish to our director! Have them carry one over for you!”
Zhou Shichen actually went to find the director. Afraid of being shot down, she even brought Yan Qi along for backup.
Yan Qi wasn’t interested in fireworks anyway, so she figured a short walk would help with digestion and let Zhou Shichen drag her over to the director. This left Xu Shuyan, Lin Yi, and Chen Yuan on the beach. To avoid ruining the atmosphere, a drone flew up over the coast, filming the scene.
Xu Shuyan was on the left, Lin Yi on the right. Chen Yuan stood in the middle, grinning foolishly at her sparkler, completely oblivious to the scorching gazes on either side of her.
They were close to the water. The sea constantly crept forward and then receded, its waves crashing in bursts, hiding a secret heartbeat.
The atmosphere was perfect, Lin Yi thought. The brilliant fireworks against the dark, surging sea, the bright moon hanging in the sky, and no outsiders-aside from the meddlesome and annoying Xu Shuyan-what a perfect night for a confession!
Should I confess?
Lin Yi mustered her courage and walked toward the unsuspecting Chen Yuan. One step, two steps, the distance between them shrinking. The sparkler in her hand burned down to its end, its ashes falling onto the sand and getting swept away by the tide.
Her heart was pounding violently. So what if I get rejected? she thought. She was so good at acting cute and being mischievous that she could easily claim it was a task from the production team. She could definitely fool Chen Yuan.
But if Xu Shuyan found out, she would definitely laugh her head off.
But that was fine. If Xu Shuyan laughed at her for failing to confess, she would laugh back at Xu Shuyan for breaking character. Publicly a fearless cool girl, but in reality, too cowardly to even confess. A total wimp. They’d see whose trash talk was better.
“Xiao Yi?” Chen Yuan’s voice suddenly sounded in front of her.
Lin Yi snapped back to reality and realized she had already walked right up to Chen Yuan. Chen Yuan’s sparkler had also gone out. She took out a new one, and the flame from the lighter danced as she lit it again.
Sparks flew upward, dazzlingly brilliant.
Lin Yi licked her lips and opened her mouth. “Yuanyuan, actually, I-”
“Lin Yi!” From the other side of Chen Yuan, Xu Shuyan suddenly called her name. Lin Yi froze. In the instant her attention was diverted, Xu Shuyan had already circled around Chen Yuan and wrapped an arm around her waist. “I want to go for a walk in the sea. Come with me.”
Lin Yi’s first reaction was that Xu Shuyan was talking nonsense again. With her level of courage, walk in the sea? She probably needed to work up her nerve just to walk by the sea.
It was only when Xu Shuyan started dragging her toward the water without another word that she belatedly realized what was happening. “Xu Shuyan! What are you doing?”
“What am I doing?” Xu Shuyan’s voice was very low. “I should be asking what you think you’re doing. I didn’t think the alcohol content in that non-alcoholic beer was that high. Are you crazy, looking at Yuanyuan with that kind of expression?”
Lin Yi stubbornly retorted, “What expression? What kind of expression? Stop right there!”
Xu Shuyan didn’t stop walking. “It’s one thing for you to mess around normally, but you’re not actually thinking of confessing to Yuanyuan, are you? Do you have any idea how big of a crime dating within the group is? Can you bear that responsibility?”
“Stop acting so righteous!” Lin Yi pushed Xu Shuyan. She had ripped off her mic, and her tone was hostile. “Aren’t you just afraid that if Yuanyuan says yes to me, you won’t have a chance? If you’re so scared of an in-group dating scandal, then you should’ve had the guts not to fall for Yuanyuan in the first place!”
“Lin Yi!” Xu Shuyan sounded as if her secret had been exposed, and her grip on Lin Yi’s wrist tightened.
“Don’t say my name!” Lin Yi irritably tried to shake her hand off, using extra force for fear that she couldn’t.
But she hadn’t realized that in their haste, they had already walked into the sea. With her forceful shove, Xu Shuyan was caught off guard. Her foot slipped, and she fell straight backward into the water.
Lin Yi cried out, “Xu Shuyan!”
She quickly reached out to pull her up, but Xu Shuyan didn’t stand on ceremony. She grabbed Lin Yi’s hand and pulled her into the sea along with her. A wave crashed over them, submerging them past their heads, and they were instantly soaked to the bone.
Lin Yi unexpectedly swallowed a mouthful of seawater and started coughing violently, the curses she wanted to shout getting stuck in her throat. Her waist was held firmly by Xu Shuyan. Exasperated, she slapped Xu Shuyan’s hands. “Let go!”
“I won’t!” Not only did Xu Shuyan not let go, she buried her face in Lin Yi’s wet chest, her voice muffled. “I’m scared, ahhhhhh!”
“…” She would gladly give Xu Shuyan the title of Gu Group’s number one main vocal!
After their dance, they had changed into photogenic dresses. The fabric was already thin, and now, soaked with seawater, it clung damply to their skin. The two of them were floating in the sea in a very strange position, which was extremely uncomfortable.
The more she tried to push Xu Shuyan away, the tighter Xu Shuyan held on. Seeing another wave coming, and with Xu Shuyan trembling in her arms, she steeled herself, turned around while holding Xu Shuyan, and blocked the wave for her.
Then she gritted her teeth. “Xu Shuyan! You owe me for this! And stop rubbing against my chest!”
On the shore, Chen Yuan finished her last sparkler and finally noticed the two of them had fallen into the sea. Her voice carried from a distance, “Yanyan! Xiao Yi! What are you two playing at?”
Xu Shuyan: “Ahhhhh, let’s get back to shore!”
Lin Yi: “…”
We’re playing a game of getting soaked with my love rival while simultaneously plotting her murder.
Later, this clip was edited into the behind-the-scenes footage. Because it was filmed from too far away, no sound was recorded. All the audience could see was Xu Shuyan and Lin Yi pulling at each other before falling into the sea together, where they embraced and didn’t let go for a long time.
The BGM they used was gentle and romantic.
A comment flew across the bullet screen: Pass it on, Yan Zhi You Yi are playing like lovebirds in the water!
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