RL – Chapter 29

Lin Yi’s vision went black.

What she feared most had come true. Protecting Xu Shuyan? And she had to give Xu Shuyan a gift at the concert and say some heartfelt words? She might as well jump off a building.

The expression management classes she’d taken came in handy. Lin Yi’s heart was in turmoil, but she didn’t show a hint of it on her face.

She looked up, scanned the room, and took the initiative to play it up for the show. “Shichen, I’m protecting you! Just you wait! I’ll be good to you these next few days!”

Zhou Shichen feigned surprise. “Oh my god, what a coincidence! I’m protecting you too! We’re protecting each other!”

The two of them clasped hands. “Good sisters! We’ll be each other’s guardian angels!”

“Really?” Xu Shuyan put away her sticky note and glanced at their joined hands. “Then I’ll just have to use the process of elimination. I’m bound to guess one of you right, aren’t I?”

Zhou Shichen resentfully let go of Lin Yi’s hand and pouted, “Yanyan, do you have to be like that?”

Xu Shuyan frowned. “Huh?”

She said, “Oh,” and smiled. “I want to see you guys get punished.”

“No,” Zhou Shichen said. “You’re jealous. I just held Lin Yi’s hand for a second. Stop making excuses! You’re just jealous, aren’t you?!”

Xu Shuyan: “…I’m not.”

Zhou Shichen tutted. “Duck head, you’re being stubborn.”

Xu Shuyan: “…”

Are CP fans this brazen nowadays? Not only using their full names, but also flaunting it right in front of the actual people?

A dark look crossed Lin Yi’s face. “That’s enough, you two!”

Then she whined to Yan Qi, “Captain, aren’t you going to do something about them!”

Yan Qi tore up the sticky note, intending to throw it in the trash, but then considered that someone might go to the trouble of piecing it back together. So she stuffed it into the pocket of her dance pants instead. Only then did she realize Lin Yi was asking her to restore order.

Yan Qi said, “Oh,” and announced, “Break’s over, right? Let’s start practice.”

The four members of the Gu Group: “…”

The day-in, day-out training was dull and tedious. They had practiced for each stage thousands of times, the moves etched into their DNA. Even someone as untalented as Chen Yuan could perform without a single mistake.

Group practice ended at six in the afternoon.

Afterward, some members, like Zhou Shichen and Xu Shuyan, went to the recording studio for private lessons and to work on music. Others, like Chen Yuan, went to acting class with the trainees. And some, like Lin Yi, furtively appeared in the break room.

Yan Qi was eating dinner. Lin Yi glanced outside, and after confirming no one was there, quickly shut the door and called out in a low voice, “Captain! Captain!”

Yan Qi took a sip of soup and said calmly, “There’s no one else here. Don’t act like you’re here for a secret affair.”

Lin Yi: “…Actually, I’m here to secretly break the rules.”

Yan Qi: “Oh, so about the same as a secret affair.”

Lin Yi: “…”

It’s completely different, okay!

Yan Qi had always been methodical. As long as conditions allowed, she ate, slept, and attended classes on a set schedule. So even if Lin Yi had something to say, she had to wait for her to finish eating.

“Captain, for the sake of our friendship, can I talk while you eat?” Lin Yi sat across from her, pleading with her eyes.

“No,” Yan Qi said. “I’m not Xu Shuyan. I won’t spoil you.”

Lin Yi had been about to say, “Why not? Why can’t you? Is our friendship that fragile?” But when she heard the second half of the sentence, she jumped to her feet. “When has Xu Shuyan ever spoiled me?!”

Yan Qi fell silent.

But Lin Yi was just getting started. “Captain! I thought you were the most perceptive person in our group. How could you be fooled by us, a pair of little love scammers? It’s fake, family! It’s fake! Xu Shuyan and I are fake! We’re acting! All the world’s a stage, don’t you get it?”

Yan Qi finished the last of her soup and wiped her mouth. “I haven’t seen you two get high marks in acting class.”

Lin Yi was furious. “…You can insult Xu Shuyan, but you can’t insult me!”

Yan Qi: “…”

She gave Lin Yi a complicated look and asked, “What did you want from me?”

Only then did Lin Yi remember her real purpose. “I want to trade guardian angels with you. Let’s switch!”

Yan Qi was wary. “Do you know who I’m protecting?”

Lin Yi said, “I don’t.”

She tugged on Yan Qi’s sleeve, whining, “Please, Captain, I just want to switch with you!”

“Why?” Yan Qi stood up with her tray and started walking out. “If I switch with you, won’t we both be exposed? I can guarantee I won’t report you, but can you guarantee the same?”

Lin Yi followed her. “Of course I can!”

Yan Qi handed her tray to a staff member, tilted her head, and considered how much truth there was in Lin Yi’s words. After a moment’s thought, she said, “Let’s just forget it.”

“No!” Lin Yi quickly grabbed her. “Don’t forget it! I really need to switch, sob sob, Captain, my good Captain, my dearest, dearest Captain, please-”

Just as she was whining and begging, she saw Xu Shuyan coming down the stairs. She had clearly heard her shameless pleading and didn’t hide her disgust. “Lin Yi, are you the spirit of the tilde? I could hear you whining from upstairs. It’s giving me goosebumps.”

Isn’t it because I drew your unlucky ass? Lin Yi thought. Otherwise, would I be here selling my soul?

She was too annoyed to let it go and retorted, “Weren’t you in a private lesson? You were only in there for a few minutes before running downstairs. Don’t tell me the teacher yelled at you and kicked you out?”

“Stop talking nonsense!” Xu Shuyan took off her Bluetooth earbuds. “I came down to get my notebook. I didn’t expect to see a certain someone slacking off and whining to people. What an eye-opener. If I’d been a step later, would you and the Captain have already struck a business deal?”

Lin Yi was amazed by Xu Shuyan’s divergent thinking. “With a thought process like that, why don’t you go write science fiction?”

Xu Shuyan chuckled dryly. “I will when I retire from the industry.”

Lin Yi: “Retire now!”

Xu Shuyan: “If I retire, who’s going to do business with you?”

Lin Yi: “Weren’t you just saying I was about to strike a business deal with the Captain?”

Xu Shuyan: “Aha! So you really were discussing business with the Captain! Does anyone even ship that? I’m just asking, does anyone ship that?”

Lin Yi: “Why wouldn’t they? Captain, she suspects- huh? Where’s the Captain?! When did she leave?”

Xu Shuyan slowly put her Bluetooth earbuds back on. “When you told me to go write science fiction.”

“You saw her and you just let her leave?!” Lin Yi’s eyes widened.

“She’s the captain. Am I supposed to stop her and get extra training?” Xu Shuyan feigned innocence. “Besides, you’re the one who needed her for something. Why would I be crazy enough to stop her for you?”

Lin Yi: “…”

“Also,” Xu Shuyan walked over and stood parallel to her, their shoulders touching, her voice close to Lin Yi’s ear, “I don’t know what you wanted from her, but it’s obvious she didn’t want to help you. Take a hint!”

Lin Yi: “…”

Xu Shuyan gave her a slight smile. “But I’m very kind. I’m the bigger person. Whatever you need, maybe I can help you.”

Lin Yi looked at her. “You’ll help me?”

Xu Shuyan shrugged. “If you get on your knees and beg.”

Lin Yi stomped on her foot. “In your dreams!”

Xu Shuyan: “…My brand-new shoes! Lin Yi, I’m going to kill you!”

Who cares about you? Fight whoever you want, Lin Yi thought. After stomping on Xu Shuyan’s foot, she was about to stride away, but after two steps, she remembered. She hadn’t successfully switched with Yan Qi, which meant she was now Xu Shuyan’s guardian angel. Stomping on the person she was supposed to be guarding…

Was that allowed?

Wouldn’t Xu Shuyan secretly keep a tally of this, and then, when the answers were revealed, viciously denounce her at the concert?!

Lin Yi’s heart skipped a beat, and she walked back. Xu Shuyan had just crouched down to wipe her shoe. When she looked up and saw Lin Yi had returned, she quickly pulled her foot back a couple of steps. “What are you doing? Are you not done yet? You want to stomp on it a couple more times?”

Lin Yi: “…”

What kind of image did she have in Xu Shuyan’s mind?

Lin Yi forced a smile. “No, I just remembered, we’ve been leaving early and coming back late recently, our schedules often don’t line up, and the company hasn’t released any new content. It’s time we went out for a meal to do some business.”

Lin Yi thought she was brilliant for phrasing an invitation to dinner in such a fresh and refined way. Could there be a more competent guardian angel than her?

“No,” Xu Shuyan refused.

A question mark appeared over Lin Yi’s head. In disbelief, she said, “Woman, you dare refuse me?”

Xu Shuyan gave her a look that said, Are you crazy? “I don’t know how late I’ll be working on music today. I’ll just grab a boxed meal. Where would I find the time to go out and do business with you?”

Lin Yi insisted, “I’ll wait for you.”

Xu Shuyan narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing her. Lin Yi felt a pang of guilt. “Wh-what are you doing?”

Xu Shuyan asked directly, “The person you’re protecting isn’t me, is it?”

“How could that be possible?” Lin Yi summoned the greatest acting performance of her life. “Xu Shuyan, can you stop flattering yourself? Is my luck that bad? That I’d draw you of all people? In your dreams! I just want to do some business with you. If you don’t want to eat, fine. I’ll go ask Yuanyuan!”

Xu Shuyan gave a half-smile. “Then go.”

Lin Yi: “I will!”

After saying that, she turned and left. She reached the top of the stairs and still hadn’t heard Xu Shuyan call her back. She was annoyed. What did Xu Shuyan mean by that? Could she really accept her having dinner with Chen Yuan?

On second thought, since she’d already said it in the heat of the moment, she might as well really go find Yuanyuan for dinner. After all, compared to Xu Shuyan, she would much rather eat with Chen Yuan.

Chen Yuan’s acting class was forty minutes long. Lin Yi decided to just wait by the door, playing on her phone. When the trainees said in unison, “Goodbye, teacher,” and the door to the practice room opened, she straightened up and waved to Chen Yuan. “Yuanyuan!”

Chen Yuan was talking to the acting teacher about something. Hearing her name, she looked over and called out, “Wait for me a second!”

The trainees filed out. “Hello, Senior.”

Lin Yi nodded slightly, then grabbed one of them and asked, “What’s your Senior Chen doing?”

Chen Yuan, after all, had a hit drama under her belt and was a student in the acting department of S City’s drama academy. Her acting skills were naturally leagues ahead of the trainees. They all admired her, and their eyes lit up at the mention of her name. “Senior Chen Yuan said she has an audition the day after tomorrow and wanted the teacher to help her review her performance.”

Lin Yi nodded thoughtfully.

After the trainees left, Chen Yuan trotted over. “Xiao Yi, did you need me for something?”

Seeing the redness around her eyes from overwork, Lin Yi’s heart softened. “It’s nothing. I just wanted to find someone to eat with. You go ahead and finish up, I’ll wait for you here.”

“I’m done!” Chen Yuan bowed goodbye to the acting teacher and smiled at Lin Yi. “I made an appointment with the teacher for tomorrow.” She asked, puzzled, “Where’s Yanyan? Isn’t she eating with you?”

Lin Yi said sourly, “She’s busy on a date with her music. Where would she find the time for me?”

Chen Yuan was amused. “Are you still going to get her some takeout then?”

Lin Yi was going crazy inside, wanting to tell Chen Yuan to stop shipping them, but then she remembered she was Xu Shuyan’s guardian angel. Even if she starved, she had to bring food for the person she was protecting. After struggling with it for a while, she grunted reluctantly, “I’ll get her something!”

Chen Yuan had an “I knew it” expression. “Let’s go then!”

Sweet Melon Entertainment was located in a business district, with a shopping mall right outside. But they would inevitably be followed by sasaengs, making it impossible to enjoy a meal. So Lin Yi deliberately chose a Jiangsu-Zhejiang restaurant far from the company. Before leaving, she got takeout for Xu Shuyan, all of her favorite dishes.

I really am an angel, Lin Yi thought.

Protecting her love rival so conscientiously—could there be anything more angelic than that?!

@User12345678910: Ahhhhh I ran into a celebrity! Can someone help me see if this is Chen Yuan who played Princess Pingting? Is that her groupmate next to her…? 【Image】【Image】【Image】

[Holy shit, isn’t that Chen Yuan and Lin Yi?]

[Is it just the two of them? Did the original poster miss someone? Was there someone else next to them who wasn’t in the picture?]

[Do Yan Zhi You Yi CP fans have no home? It’s obviously just Chen Yuan and Lin Yi, I’m shipping it! Hehe!]

[Which restaurant is this? I want to go check it out!]

[They look so good even in unedited photos! I’m telling you, everyone in our Gu Group is a visual!]

[I love pretty girls so much!]

@User12345678910: Thanks for the comments, everyone! They had already left when I got there, I took the picture from far away. I just asked the restaurant and ordered the same dishes they did. Oh, and they also got takeout: osmanthus and lotus root powder balls and Yangzhou fried rice.

[I won’t say who in the Gu Group loves sweets]

[This is definitely my ship’s content! Lin Yi goes out to eat with a friend and still doesn’t forget her wife!]

[Xu Shuyan isn’t even off work yet, Lin Yi must be getting takeout for her wife, right? Poor wife working so hard sob sob sob]

[Such a considerate wife! I’m so jealous of Xu Shuyan]

[Lin Yi is beautiful and kind-hearted]

[Are you guys just pretending my girl isn’t there? Maybe it was our Yuanyuan who suggested getting takeout for Xu Shuyan? She’s always been nice to these irrelevant teammates.]

[Alright, this round goes to Xu Shuyan’s shipper solo fans!]

…

When Lin Yi and Chen Yuan got back to the dorm, Xu Shuyan had already showered. She was sitting on the swing on the balcony, looking at the river view and counting the moons. Hearing the door open, she glanced over. Her cold expression gradually warmed when she saw Chen Yuan. “Yuanyuan, you’re back?”

Chen Yuan answered, “We’re back.”

Lin Yi gritted her teeth. Is Xu Shuyan blind? Can’t she see me standing right here? Is it that hard to add a plural marker? And to think she’d brought Xu Shuyan food. She should have just let her starve!

Lin Yi put the takeout container on the shoe cabinet and whispered to Chen Yuan, “You give it to her!”

Chen Yuan paused. “Me?”

“Yeah.” Lin Yi looked displeased. “I can’t be bothered with her.”

Chen Yuan asked, “Did you two have a fight?”

Lin Yi turned her face away. “No.”

“Look at you,” Chen Yuan pinched her cheek and said softly, “When you fight with someone, you need to communicate, not just sulk. It was your idea to get this takeout, and you paid for it. If you have me give it to Yanyan, how will she know about your good intentions?”

“What are you two whispering about?” Xu Shuyan had been watching the doorway from the balcony. She could tolerate the whispering, but now they were getting physical? She stood up. “Are you not coming in?”

As if Lin Yi didn’t know what she was thinking. She shot her an annoyed glare and said petulantly, “I’m going to take a shower!”

Chen Yuan watched her run off without a backward glance, sighed helplessly, and asked Xu Shuyan, who had come to meet her, “Yanyan, you haven’t eaten yet, have you?”

“No.” Xu Shuyan thought about how she’d been on edge just thinking about Lin Yi having dinner with Chen Yuan. After going on Weibo and seeing fans shipping Chen Yuan and Lin Yi, she’d completely lost her appetite.

Chen Yuan lifted the bag and dangled it in front of her. “Xiao Yi said you forget to eat when you get busy. So she specially got you your favorite osmanthus and lotus root powder balls and Yangzhou fried rice.”

Xu Shuyan was hesitant. “…She’d be that nice?”

Meeting Chen Yuan’s confused gaze, Xu Shuyan quickly corrected herself. “Ah, I mean, she… she’s so concerned about me.”

Chen Yuan was gratified. “Yes! She cares about you a lot! You two shouldn’t fight, okay?”

Xu Shuyan lowered her eyes, then smiled at Chen Yuan. “I know.”

After Xu Shuyan promised Chen Yuan she absolutely wouldn’t fight with Lin Yi and would go thank her for her kindness, Chen Yuan finally went back to her bedroom. By the time Lin Yi came downstairs after her shower, Xu Shuyan had just finished the last bite of fried rice.

Lin Yi glared as she went into the kitchen to pour a glass of water. She held back for a moment, but couldn’t resist. “You ate it all?”

Xu Shuyan rubbed her full stomach, licked her lips contentedly, and said, “Yeah, all of it. After all, Yuanyuan brought it for me!”

She tutted and gloated at Lin Yi, “Yuanyuan is so good to me. She was even thinking of me while she was out eating with you. I think I have a place in Yuanyuan’s heart!”

“My ass!” Lin Yi retorted. “I’m the one who brought it for you, okay?!”

Xu Shuyan feigned surprise. “You? You’d be that nice to me? I’ve caught you, haven’t I? You’re my guardian angel!”

Lin Yi laughed dryly. “I already told you it was for business! Since you wouldn’t go out to eat with me, I got takeout for you instead. I’m determined to do this business today!”

“So you weren’t worried I’d starve to death?” Xu Shuyan rested her chin in her hand and looked at her.

“Who cares if you starve?” Lin Yi retorted while drinking her water. “I was just going to let you take a picture for Weibo and then throw it out, but who knew you’d eat it all.” She gritted her teeth. “Aren’t you afraid of getting fat!”

Xu Shuyan gloated, “Is it my fault I don’t get fat when I eat?”

Lin Yi: “…”

Damn it!

After finishing the last of her water, Lin Yi slammed the glass down on the dining table and sat. “Post on Weibo now and do your business. Don’t waste my money.”

Xu Shuyan didn’t move. “How much was it? I’ll transfer you the money.”

Lin Yi choked. “What do you mean?”

Xu Shuyan said, “I mean, since you want to do business, I’m deliberately not going to cooperate with you.”

Lin Yi: “…You’re in your twenties, what’s with the rebellious phase?”

But Xu Shuyan was dead set on not cooperating. She stood up. “If you don’t tell me, I’ll just assume you treated me. Thanks.”

“Xu Shuyan!” Lin Yi stood up too, glaring at her angrily.

Xu Shuyan met her gaze, her eyes calm. “What? You go out to eat with the person I like, then come back and do business with me. Don’t you find that disgusting?”

Lin Yi was stunned for a moment. “Disgusting? Haven’t we always been like this? There should be some ground rules for your jealousy. When I came back, I didn’t even gloat to you about what Yuanyuan and I talked about, or the selfies we took, or how Yuanyuan even peeled shrimp for me. What are you so jealous about?”

Xu Shuyan: “…”

She hadn’t been showing off before, but now she’d shown it all off in one breath!

She was fuming. She turned to leave, but Lin Yi thought, If she leaves now, did I spend that money for nothing? and quickly followed her. “Fine! Fine! I’ll tell you how much I spent! Never mind the cost of the food, the affection I brought back for you is priceless! Can you even afford to repay that?”

Xu Shuyan stopped in her tracks. “…You don’t have to disgust me like this just to get me to do business.”

Lin Yi said seriously, “Actually, I want to throw up too.”

After a pause, she added, “But my feelings for you truly are priceless, Yanyan~~~!”

Xu Shuyan: “…”

Seeing that Lin Yi was about to say more, Xu Shuyan, afraid she’d throw up the food she’d just eaten, quickly stopped her. “I’ll post on Weibo. I’ll post, I’ll post right now, just shut up!”

Lin Yi obediently clamped her mouth shut, blinked, and spoke with her eyes: I’m being good.jpg

Xu Shuyan gritted her teeth in frustration. She took a few pictures of the empty bowl and composed a Weibo post: Late-night snack brought back by a certain someone. All gone [Yay]

After posting it, she showed it to Lin Yi. “Satisfied now?”

Lin Yi blinked again: Giving you a thumbs up.jpg

Xu Shuyan shot her an annoyed glare, left her with a “Hurry up and comment,” and went upstairs. After she left, Lin Yi took out her phone and left a one-word comment.

@Thenotes-Lin Yi: Good.

[Holy crap!!!]

[Caught my precious daughter!]

[She ate it all so cleanly! Ahhhhh a certain someone! A certain someone!]

[She loves her so much]

[I can’t take it, Lin Yi, how much do you love her??? You obviously love spicy food so much, but you deliberately chose a Jiangsu-Zhejiang restaurant just to get her the osmanthus and lotus root powder balls she likes? You’re really too much! It’s driving me crazy!]

[Good. She’s telling her to be a good girl and eat, not to starve herself sob sob sob]

[Yan Zhi You Yi really fucking knows how to do business. Even a passing ant would have to say they’re a perfect match!]

Lin Yi left the comment section, satisfied.

The concert date was approaching, and time was getting tighter. The only good news during this period was probably that Chen Yuan had a successful audition and landed the female lead role in a famous director’s film, taking a successful step onto the big screen.

To celebrate, Chen Yuan treated the members of the Gu Group to a meal.

They got off work late that day and ate until two in the morning. Lin Yi’s brain was so fried from the meal that she didn’t realize she’d forgotten her phone until they were almost home. After the driver dropped the others off at the entrance to their complex, she had him turn back to get it.

There were still lights on at the company. So dedicated, Lin Yi thought. She took a closer look and saw it was actually Sister Fang.

Since she’d run into her, Lin Yi figured it would be rude not to say hello, so she knocked on the door. Sister Fang clearly looked like she was pulling an all-nighter. She was also surprised to see Lin Yi. “Why haven’t you left yet?”

“I forgot my phone,” Lin Yi said. “Busy?”

“Yeah.” Sister Fang pinched the bridge of her nose, looking stressed. “One of the young stars I manage got caught in a relationship. It’s so annoying. Dating during a rising career is just asking for trouble!”

Seeing she was in a really bad mood, Lin Yi didn’t want to get on her bad side. She offered a few words of comfort and was about to leave.

“Wait,” Sister Fang called out to her. “Actually, I needed to talk to you about something. Come sit down.”

Lin Yi was puzzled. “What is it?”

Sister Fang thought for a moment. “That script you and Yanyan accepted, the one where you have a secret crush on her? I’ve been thinking about it these past two days. You both studied music, and your acting hasn’t improved much over the years. The director of this drama is notoriously difficult. It’ll be embarrassing if you get yelled at on set.”

Lin Yi was full of hope. “So you turned it down for us?”

Sister Fang wagged her finger. “So I came up with a good solution.”

Lin Yi: “What?”

Sister Fang: “Starting today, you will have a secret crush on Xu Shuyan.”

Lin Yi: “???”

What the hell???

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