Lin Yi’s first reaction was that Xu Shuyan was spouting nonsense again. But seeing the completely serious look in Xu Shuyan’s eyes, she couldn’t help but feel a wave of sorrow. So this was the ordeal one had to suffer when asking for a favor. She clutched her chest, trying to resist. “I’m asking for a favor in a proper way! I won’t do anything improper!”
Absolutely! Not! Doing it!
Xu Shuyan said coolly, “Then I’m not going.”
Lin Yi: “Will you be taking a shower or a bath?”
…Maybe she didn’t have to be so resolute.
A smile appeared in Xu Shuyan’s eyes. She hooked the hair tie on her wrist and tied up her long hair. The cherries on the tie bumped together, making a crisp sound. She said slowly, “Who asked you to do anything improper?”
Lin Yi looked troubled. “Watching you bathe.”
Xu Shuyan: “Afraid of taking advantage of me?”
Lin Yi had wanted to be stubborn and say she was afraid it would hurt her eyes, but after thinking about it, with Xu Shuyan’s great figure, seeing it would indeed be taking advantage. So, she didn’t go against her conscience. “Yeah.”
“You’re overthinking it.” Xu Shuyan started walking upstairs again. “Can’t you just cover your eyes?”
Lin Yi: “…?”
Do you think this is a blind massage parlor!?
Fifteen minutes later.
Lin Yi waged a long internal battle at the bathroom door. Recalling Xu Shuyan’s slightly threatening gaze just before she entered the bathroom, Lin Yi gritted her teeth, stomped her foot, and pushed open the door with a black silk ribbon tied over her eyes.
But unexpectedly, she startled Xu Shuyan. “Who is it?”
She barked, looking toward the door, and was instantly stunned. She saw Lin Yi, who felt very insecure without her sight, holding onto the wall, taking tiny steps forward while calling out, “Xu Shuyan? Where are you? Say something!”
Xu Shuyan, submerged in a bathtub full of bubbles: “?”
She was puzzled. “Lin Yi, what is this… some kind of performance art?”
Lin Yi stopped in her tracks, looking bewildered. “What performance art? Didn’t you ask me to come help you bathe?”
Thinking Xu Shuyan was mocking her for taking so long, she couldn’t help but defend herself. “I needed to mentally prepare myself, okay? Not just anyone can help their love rival bathe without any psychological burden!”
Xu Shuyan: “?”
She was so exasperated she laughed. And not just anyone can let their love rival bathe them without any psychological burden, okay? she thought. She was just joking, but Lin Yi actually took it seriously-
Her eyes darted, and she had a new idea.
She asked Lin Yi, “Are you ready?”
Lin Yi nodded solemnly, her face a picture of someone facing death with equanimity. “Ready!”
Xu Shuyan pretended not to see it. “Then come over here.”
“Like I need you to tell me! I was coming over anyway.” Lin Yi, barefoot on the cold floor, moved slowly, afraid of bumping into something. Relying entirely on her familiarity with the bathroom, she felt her way to the edge of the tub. She sniffed lightly and frowned. “Did you use my body wash?”
Xu Shuyan nonchalantly put the body wash back in its original spot. “No.”
She flicked some bubbles at Lin Yi, resting her other elbow on the edge of the tub to prop up her chin, and looked up at her. “Besides, what’s wrong with using it? It’s not the bottle I gave you.”
“Who cares about yours? Yuanyuan gave this to me!” Lin Yi, annoyed by her antics, instinctively grabbed at her mischievous hand. “Don’t get me wet!”
Xu Shuyan: “…”
Seemingly realizing the ambiguity in her words, Lin Yi let out a grunt, then said, flustered and angry, “So how am I supposed to wash you!?”
Xu Shuyan stared at her. “Give me your hand.”
Lin Yi hesitated for a moment before extending her hand. A small washcloth was pressed into it. She heard a splash, as if Xu Shuyan had turned over, and then her wrist was grabbed.
It was wet and slightly sticky with bubbles.
Lin Yi struggled uncomfortably but couldn’t break free. Xu Shuyan guided her hand to her shoulder. The cool pads of her fingers against skin that had been soaking in hot water created a distinct sensation, and she instinctively pulled her fingers back.
Xu Shuyan’s voice came from the side. “Scrub my back.”
“Oh.” Lin Yi replied sullenly. Though reluctant, she obediently began to scrub.
Her eyes were covered, the ribbon blocking her vision completely, but she could still feel an intense gaze on her. She couldn’t help but pat Xu Shuyan’s back. “Don’t look at me!”
Xu Shuyan was lying over the edge of the tub, her head turned to the side to look at her. “I’m not looking at you.”
Lin Yi’s face was palm-sized. The ribbon was tied in a bow at the back of her head, its ends dangling down. She was still wearing the dusty rose dress she’d had on earlier. The steam swirling around them condensed into tiny droplets on her face,
Like a rose dampened by rain.
She averted her gaze, her tone disdainful. “Can you use a little more force? Haven’t you eaten?”
Unexpectedly, Lin Yi pouted, genuinely aggrieved. “I haven’t! You ate my portion of rice, remember?”
“…” Xu Shuyan was scared of her now. “Don’t you dare cry. Anyone who didn’t know better would think I was abusing you!”
Isn’t Xu Shuyan abusing me? Lin Yi thought. She won’t let me eat, makes me wait on her, and then complains I have no strength. This is unbearable! The more she thought, the angrier she got. She threw the washcloth onto Xu Shuyan’s back, splashing water. “You’d better not-”
“I’d better not what?” Xu Shuyan, oblivious to her mood, stared at the tiles in front of her, thinking seriously. “Should I bring a gift to your house? What does your dad like? I’ve never met a parent before, I really don’t have any…”
She looked at Lin Yi. “Where’s your washcloth?”
Lin Yi let out a slow “ah,” blinking furiously behind the ribbon. She stammered, “I-It accidentally fell.”
She placatingly touched Xu Shuyan’s back with her hand. “I can use my hand… Huh, Xu Shuyan, your back is so curvy.”
Xu Shuyan: “…”
Her face instantly flushed red. She yelled in a low voice, “Lin! Yi!”
Lin Yi froze, realizing what she had touched. Alarm bells went off in her head, and she reflexively tried to run, forgetting she couldn’t see. Xu Shuyan yanked her, and she spun on her feet, crying out as she fell straight into the bathtub.
Water splashed everywhere.
Xu Shuyan grunted as Lin Yi landed on her, habitually wrapping her arms around her. But Lin Yi didn’t want to be close to her and began to struggle in a panic. “Don’t touch me! Ahhh! Let me out! Xu Shuyan!”
“Stop screaming!” Xu Shuyan grabbed her wrist and lowered her voice. “Whose fault will it be if you attract attention?!”
Lin Yi immediately fell silent.
She calmed down a bit. It felt wrong no matter where she put her hands, so she just raised them all the way up as if surrendering. Her body, however, was pressed tightly against Xu Shuyan’s. She shifted uncomfortably a couple of times, only to be scolded by Xu Shuyan, “Stop squirming!”
“…” Lin Yi waited for her heart to calm down. “I’m getting up. Don’t move.”
Xu Shuyan grunted in acknowledgment.
Lin Yi was covered in white foam. Little bubbles piled up, hopping lightly onto her shoulders, making her look like she was frosted with white cake, giving her a charmingly naive air.
Slowly, she climbed out of the tub, completely soaked.
She stood in front of the tub, looking quite disheveled.
“Lin Yi,” Xu Shuyan called.
Lin Yi gave a bewildered “ah.”
Xu Shuyan adjusted the water temperature and said unhurriedly, “You should really see yourself right now. You look like you’ve been ravaged.” She sized Lin Yi up with a half-smile. “A moment ago, you told me not to get you wet. Now look at you, completely soaked.”
Lin Yi gritted her teeth in frustration. “…Xu Shuyan, I must really be in your debt.”
Xu Shuyan happily whistled a couple of notes. It was Lin Yi’s winter single, a lively and cheerful Christmas-themed song about a crackling bonfire and silent snowfall outside the window. Xu Shuyan somehow managed to make such a warm song sound flirtatious.
Just like its owner, who was being teased by her love rival, it was being thoroughly ravaged.
“You’re still not leaving?” Xu Shuyan asked.
“Since it’s your first time meeting my dad, you don’t need to bring an expensive gift,” Lin Yi said, not answering the question, calmly extorting her. “He doesn’t have any other hobbies, just likes to drink. A bottle of Maotai will be fine.”
Xu Shuyan: “???”
She sat up straight. “I’m paying?”
Lin Yi tilted her head. The water-soaked ribbon drooped slowly, hanging in mid-air. She bent over slightly, placing her hands on the edge of the tub. “You’re meeting the parent. Shouldn’t you make a gesture?”
Xu Shuyan said, “You’re the one who asked me for a favor!”
The corners of Lin Yi’s lips curled. “If you don’t agree, I’ll rip this ribbon off right now, look you over from head to toe, and take no responsibility for it!”
Xu Shuyan really wanted to say, Go on, I dare you, but the words died in her throat. She gritted her teeth. “You win!”
Having won a round, Lin Yi felt much better. She smiled slightly and patted Xu Shuyan’s cheek. “I’ll book your plane ticket for you.”
Xu Shuyan: “…”
Lin Yi was so damn annoying!
Lin Yi’s home was in the beautiful Mountain City, famous for its hot pot and its “3D magical city” landscape. Since it was a personal trip, Lin Yi only reported it to Yan Qi and Fang Yi.
Fang Yi was worried. “Just you and Yanyan? No bodyguards or assistants?”
Lin Yi sent back an “okay” sticker. “We’re taking an early flight, so there probably won’t be many fans following us. We’ll go tomorrow morning and come back the day after. It won’t take too long.”
Fang Yi hesitated for a moment. “Alright then.”
Then she asked why Lin Yi was taking Xu Shuyan home. Had their fan service turned into real feelings? Our company doesn’t approve of that kind of thing. You have to separate your personal feelings from the fan service. Don’t turn gay for love.
Lin Yi was speechless. “What? You guys need to stop taking the fan service so seriously! My dad wants to see her. He said if she doesn’t come, I don’t have to come home either. How could I disobey him?”
“Why can’t you disobey him?” Fang Yi sent a voice message, her tone laced with laughter. “Did he know when you ran off to S City to become a trainee?”
Lin Yi’s lips twitched. “He doesn’t care anyway. He only loves my mom.”
Just as she sent the message, the bathroom door opened. Xu Shuyan walked out drying her hair, shot her a glare, and sat down at the vanity to put on a face mask. She said irritably, “The liquor is bought.”
Lin Yi smiled as if she’d gotten her way.
Yan Qi sent a message, as calm as ever: Got it. Be safe.
Lin Yi: 【Obedient.jpg】
Captain: Also
Lin Yi: Hm?
She didn’t know what Yan Qi wanted to say. The “typing…” indicator stayed on for a long time, but no new message came. She yawned and said to Xu Shuyan, “The flight is at six tomorrow morning.”
Xu Shuyan’s eyes widened slightly. “That early?”
“Please just bear with it. It’s just the two of us, sneaking away.” Lin Yi wheedled in a low voice. “I’ll pay for first class. If you have any other requests, just name them!”
After a moment of silence, Xu Shuyan said, “Tonight, you sleep with your back to me.”
Lin Yi: “…Fine!”
Xu Shuyan gave Lin Yi a surprised look, but saw that she was staring at her phone with a strange expression. She asked, “What’s wrong?”
Lin Yi hesitated, then handed her phone to Xu Shuyan with a complicated look on her face.
Xu Shuyan glanced at it.
It was her chat with Yan Qi. Yan Qi’s profile picture was of rain-drenched eaves, very artistic and very old-fashioned. Her latest messages were links to a few articles from public accounts.
Looking closer.
Captain: 【Idols Dating Is a Capital Offense: Why Did They Flop Overnight! The Reason Is Actually This…】
Captain: 【Why Can’t Idols Date? A Veteran Fan Answers Your Questions!】
Captain: 【Ten Telltale Signs of a Scandal, See How Many Your Bias Has!】
Captain: In short
Captain: Be careful.
Xu Shuyan: “…”
Be careful of what? What on earth has Yan Qi misunderstood! Ahhh!
[Have you guys heard? My scalper source has Xu Shuyan and Lin Yi’s flight to Mountain City for tomorrow morning.]
[Mountain City? To eat hot pot?]
[Isn’t Lin Yi’s family from Mountain City? Don’t tell me she’s taking her home to meet the parents?]
[OMG!]
[LMAO, no wonder the Lin Yi fans on my timeline are freaking out, saying, ‘Daughter, what are you thinking! Why are you taking her home? An intra-group romance will never work out!’]
[The Xu Shuyan fans on my timeline have already coordinated their story: Lin Yi and Xu Shuyan are just good besties.]
[Are these the same solo fan sisters who usually say they’re just putting on an act and actually fight every day in private?]
[A passerby spotted them! They really did fly to Mountain City!]
[I’m dying, can I just join the cult already? Kswlkswl, when is the duo magazine cover coming out? I can’t wait to spend my money!]
…
An idol’s flight schedule is usually impossible to hide. Even for a personal trip, many people would follow. But thankfully, it was early, so very few people showed up. Lin Yi and Xu Shuyan also used the VIP channel, so aside from a chance encounter with a passerby, no one managed to get a photo.
“Coffee, thank you,” Lin Yi said to the flight attendant, then asked Xu Shuyan, “What do you want to drink?”
Without looking up, Xu Shuyan said, “Iced Coke.”
Lin Yi nodded and relayed to the flight attendant, “Hot water, thank you.”
Xu Shuyan froze and glared at Lin Yi. “Since when do you not understand Mandarin?”
“Drinking iced coke this early in the morning? Do you want to ruin your stomach or your throat?” Lin Yi retorted, her tone neither soft nor harsh. “Are you watching the four-member stage performance Shichen sent to the group chat?”
Xu Shuyan hummed in agreement. “The two of us have a duet dance part.”
Lin Yi was used to it, but she still couldn’t help but complain, “They’re making us dance to such a quiet song?”
Their four-member stage song was Jolin Tsai’s 《Sky》, a very soothing love song. But to add some dynamic to the performance, a duet dance was added during the middle chorus-a bit of ambiguous push-and-pull to enrich the stage content.
Xu Shuyan watched it once before turning off her phone. She opened the window shade. The plane was already above the clouds, and the world was slowly waking up. She rubbed the bridge of her nose. Unable to fall asleep, she asked Lin Yi, “When I get to your house, what should I say? You don’t have some lines or a script for me?”
“What lines or script?” Lin Yi paused, then waved her hand. “You don’t need one. My dad doesn’t care.”
Xu Shuyan frowned. “What do you mean, ‘doesn’t care’?”
Only then did Lin Yi remember that she seemed to have never told her teammates about her family situation. They only knew she was from Mountain City and had been discovered by a company scout while busking on the street, which led to her signing with Sweet Melon Entertainment.
Beyond that, they knew nothing.
Lin Yi blinked and said, “Oh. I guess I’m a mysterious woman.”
Xu Shuyan: “…”
Why can’t she ever forget to hype herself up?!
As if sensing Xu Shuyan’s speechlessness, Lin Yi quickly patted the back of her hand to soothe her. After explaining in a few words, she spread her hands. “When we get there, just say a few more words to my mom.”
Xu Shuyan: “Oh.”
You really don’t need a script to talk to a tombstone.
“Let me tell you, even though we’re materialists,” Lin Yi said to Xu Shuyan on the steps leading up the hill in the cemetery, “making a wish at my mom’s tombstone is super effective.”
Xu Shuyan replied distractedly, “Why is your dad walking so fast?”
Lin Yi looked up at her dad’s back in his suit. “He’s going to see my mom. He wishes he could fly.” She was dissatisfied. “Why aren’t you asking me why the wishes are so effective?”
Xu Shuyan glanced at the sky. “Go on.”
“When I started learning piano in elementary school, my dad wanted to show off to my mom, but you can’t drag a piano up here. So my dad said reciting the musical staff was just as good.”
That’s ridiculous enough, Xu Shuyan thought. “So you started reciting the musical staff in the cemetery?”
Lin Yi nodded emphatically. “The ‘Happy Birthday’ song, no less.”
Xu Shuyan: “…Isn’t that a bit disrespectful to the atmosphere here?”
“Exactly! The groundskeeper came over and told us not to sing here, especially not ‘Happy Birthday’.” Lin Yi sighed. “My dad was really disappointed. I secretly made a wish at my mom’s tombstone, saying, ‘Mama, I’ll sing for you again tonight. Please make sure I can sneak back over here.’”
Xu Shuyan’s expression faltered. “You succeeded?”
“Yeah.” Lin Yi smiled at her. “My family’s little shop isn’t far from here. That night, I came over carrying an orange lantern my dad made, and I sang the entire ‘Happy Birthday’ song for my mom, wishing she could eat delicious cake wherever she is.”
Xu Shuyan looked away, staring at the steps beneath her feet.
One, two, three.
She still couldn’t help but say, “You were so young. It’s very dangerous to be alone.”
“That’s true.” Lin Yi waved her hand. “But that’s not the point. The point is that a person suddenly stood up from in front of a tombstone ahead and said to me, ‘Little girl, you have good pitch.’”
Xu Shuyan’s heart suddenly leaped into her throat. “Who was he?”
Lin Yi said proudly, “My benefactor!”
Xu Shuyan: “?”
A wave of nameless anger rose in her. “Don’t tell me you started talking to him?”
Lin Yi paused. “Yeah.”
Xu Shuyan got even angrier. “It was already dangerous enough for an elementary schooler to be out in the middle of the night. Why would you talk to a stranger? What if something had happened?”
Lin Yi was puzzled. “But nothing happened to me, right?”
Xu Shuyan was at a loss for words. Right, nothing happened to Lin Yi, did it? Isn’t she perfectly fine, bouncing around in front of me and even fighting with me over Chen Yuan? What am I so angry about?
After a moment, she said irritably, “As an idol, that kind of behavior sets a bad example for your fans. You should reflect on your actions!”
Lin Yi: “?”
Xu Shuyan asked again, “And then what? What did you talk about with this man who appeared out of nowhere?”
Lin Yi was still dazed from being inexplicably yelled at. When she heard Xu Shuyan continue the topic, she became excited again. “He asked me to sing other songs for him, so I sang ‘My People, My Country.’ Very righteous!”
Xu Shuyan: “…”
She could already picture it.
“He said I was really talented and had a great tone, and that if I polished my skills, I could definitely become a singer. He left me his number and address and said my dad could take me there, and he would be my teacher.”
“And you just agreed?” Xu Shuyan asked.
“Of course not!” Lin Yi stopped to rest for a bit, tired. “What if he was from some training center that costs money?”
Xu Shuyan’s mouth twitched. “You were a pretty smart elementary schooler. What did he say?”
Lin Yi giggled. “He said it was free, that he just didn’t want to let a promising talent like me go to waste. And if my family had financial difficulties, I could apply for a subsidy after passing the exam.”
No wonder Lin Yi’s fundamentals are so solid, Xu Shuyan thought. She asked casually, “After all that, who was he?”
Lin Yi: “Liu Xuesong.”
Xu Shuyan thought she had misheard. “Who?”
Lin Yi: “Liu Xuesong. You haven’t heard of him?”
Xu Shuyan was incredulous. “You mean, the Liu Xuesong? The pianist who won every national award by the time he was twelve, was accepted into the Curtis Institute of Music in the US at thirteen, held a solo recital at the X Palace at fifteen, and is still world-renowned today?”
Lin Yi let out a “wow.” “You’ve got that memorized pretty well.”
“Are we at our mom’s grave yet?” Xu Shuyan quickened her pace. “I suddenly have a lot I want to say to our mom.”
Lin Yi: “?”
Xu Shuyan suddenly stopped again. “Do you think if I sneak in here at night, my chances of meeting someone of Liu Xuesong’s caliber would be higher?”
Lin Yi: “??”
As they spoke, they finally reached the top of the hill. Lin Yi’s mom had chosen the grave site herself. It had a great view, perfect for watching the sunrise and sunset. Winter jasmine was planted next to the grave, and its flowers were nearly all gone now, the petals scattering in the wind.
“You should take Xiao Xu to kowtow to your mom first,” Lao Lin said, glancing at Xu Shuyan and patting her shoulder dispassionately. “Say something to put her at ease.”
The pat made Xu Shuyan instinctively stand up straighter. She couldn’t help but ask, “What kind of thing?”
Lao Lin answered without thinking, “Things like how you two will grow old together, take care of each other, and love each other forever. Do I have to teach you this too?”
Xu Shuyan: “…”
You already have, sir.
Lin Yi couldn’t watch anymore. She pulled Xu Shuyan away. “We know, we know. You can come back in half an hour! Don’t disturb my date with my mom!”
“It’s a report!” Lao Lin corrected indignantly from behind her.
Lin Yi paid him no mind, pulling Xu Shuyan down to kneel with a thud. Xu Shuyan, stunned, blurted out, “Mom.”
Lin Yi: “…Stop pretending in front of my mom.”
Xu Shuyan: “Huh?”
“My mom knows who I like,” Lin Yi said. “Didn’t you want to make a wish? Don’t be shy. Right now, my mom is your mom. You can wish for as much as you want.”
Xu Shuyan: “…”
Is this a wholesale deal?
Xu Shuyan made a few random wishes and then left the time for Lin Yi and her mom. Lin Yi’s dad, however, had walked far away. On the long path, dressed in a well-tailored suit and holding flowers, he looked as nervous as a young man on his first date.
Xu Shuyan turned her head to look at Lin Yi, who was murmuring odds and ends in a low voice before the grave. Her heart suddenly softened.
She suddenly felt as if she were only just getting to know Lin Yi, going from familiar to unfamiliar, and then back to familiar again.
The feeling was strange.
So strange that, in that moment, she unilaterally reached a truce with Lin Yi.
This strange feeling hadn’t faded by the time Lin Yi walked over to her, so she asked gently, “What did you wish for?”
“Hm?” Lin Yi asked. “You want to hear?”
Xu Shuyan hummed in affirmation. She thought to herself that since Lin Yi’s mother was gone, there wasn’t much metaphysics involved in making her wishes come true. She was in a good mood now; if it was something she could solve, she was willing to help Lin Yi fulfill a wish.
“Let’s hear it.”
Lin Yi smiled a little sheepishly. “I told my mom that I hope Xu Shuyan stops liking Chen Yuan soon, so Yuanyuan will be all mine!”
Xu Shuyan’s smile froze on her lips. “…?”
Lin Yi took two small steps back. “You’re the one who insisted I tell you…”
Xu Shuyan: “…”
She must have had her heart clouded by lard to have felt soft toward Lin Yi!
Get instant access to all the chapters now.
