Other than that, the rehearsal went quite smoothly.
The storyline of the performance was clear. It began with the master, played by Lin Yi, pressing the “on” button. Xu Shuyan then appeared wearing a monocle, and their duet was perfectly synchronized, their interactive movements sexy and alluring.
In the process of getting along with her master, the robot fell in love with her. Desire and jealousy, suppressed by the laws of robotics, became a virus of willing corruption that spread throughout its body.
“The master must like the robot too, right?” Yan Qi analyzed as she watched the video of Lin Yi and Xu Shuyan’s joint dance. “Starting from the line, ‘But how do I say it, how do I do it, how do I love?’ The robot got a virus, but wasn’t the master the same? The programmed setting ‘love me forever’ is just too tempting. Everyone wants to be someone’s favorite.”
Lin Yi and Xu Shuyan exchanged a glance.
Lin Yi: “…You don’t have to be so academic about it.”
Yan Qi pushed up her glasses. “Am I right?”
Xu Shuyan: “You could say you share a brain with the dance instructor.”
Yan Qi smiled.
She turned off the video and asked, “Why didn’t you dance the last part?”
Lin Yi said, “We haven’t perfected it yet.”
Xu Shuyan tattled on her. “Isn’t it because your posture is all wrong when you fall into my arms? Otherwise, would we be so far behind schedule?”
Yan Qi looked at Lin Yi. “What does she mean?”
Lin Yi looked aggrieved and retorted, “It’s all Xu Shuyan’s fault! She keeps saying that if I provoke her again, she won’t catch me when I fall into her arms and will just let me fall on the floor. How could I dare to fall backward then?”
Yan Qi said helplessly, “Can’t you just not provoke her?”
“Exactly!” Xu Shuyan chimed in. “Can’t you just not provoke me?”
Lin Yi said with righteous indignation, “Telling me not to provoke Xu Shuyan is worse than telling me to go die!”
Yan Qi: “…”
She rubbed the bridge of her nose. “So, what’s the story for the last part?”
Lin Yi: “After a duet, the master falls into the robot’s arms.”
Xu Shuyan: “The lights go out.”
“Then I have to crawl onto the bed myself,” Lin Yi grumbled. “The dance instructor wanted her to carry me, but she wasn’t willing, so I have to go over myself after the lights go out.”
Xu Shuyan was exasperated. “It’s not that I can’t carry you!”
Lin Yi: “You’re saying I’m fat!”
Xu Shuyan: “When did I say that?”
Lin Yi: “You said you couldn’t carry me.”
Xu Shuyan: “…”
Lin Yi: “Does that mean you’re weak?”
Xu Shuyan: “I’m saying you’re fat.”
Lin Yi: “Aaaah, I’m gonna kill you!”
Yan Qi was long used to their dynamic in front of the camera. She listened to their bickering for a while, then called the cameraman over and said, “The two of you will start building your chemistry now. Xiao Yi, do that move where you fall into Yanyan’s arms. Show me ten times.”
Lin Yi: “?”
Xu Shuyan held back a laugh and opened her arms. “Come on, Xiao Yi.”
The cameraman pushed in for a close-up. No matter how professional Lin Yi wanted to be, she couldn’t switch into business mode in a second. She froze on the spot for a moment, which came across on camera as being shy and flustered. To make matters worse, Yan Qi was directing from off-camera: “Go on, Xiao Yi. Fall boldly into Yanyan’s arms!”
Lin Yi: “…”
She really had Yan Qi’s entire family to thank for this.
Lin Yi took a deep breath. “Here I come!”
Yan Qi: “I’ll count the beat for you.”
“Five, six, seven, eight!”
After finishing the previous dance move, Lin Yi closed her eyes and fell back into Xu Shuyan’s arms. She thought that if Xu Shuyan dared not to catch her, she would stay up all night, wait for Xu Shuyan to fall asleep, and draw a turtle on her face-no, a whole lotus pond-
Xu Shuyan caught her.
Yan Qi clapped. “Not bad. Again.”
They did it ten times, over and over. Each time, Xu Shuyan caught her securely. After the last time, Xu Shuyan kept her arm around her waist and bumped her shoulder. “See? I told you. You have to trust me.”
Lin Yi hastily pushed her away. “I know, I know.”
Then she turned to Yan Qi off-camera. “That’s enough, right, Captain?”
Yan Qi nodded in satisfaction. “Then run through it from the top. I’ll film you to see if you’re off-center.”
Although Xu Shuyan was the rapper, singing and dancing were fundamental skills in a girl group, and she was perfectly in sync with Lin Yi. After one serious run-through, Yan Qi went to the next practice room to watch Zhou Shichen and Chen Yuan’s duet performance. Before leaving, she reminded them, “Remember to practice your solo stages too.”
Lin Yi twisted open a bottle of mineral water and took a quick sip. “I’ll go with you!”
Yan Qi hummed in confusion.
“I’ll go see how their progress is!” Lin Yi put down the water bottle, but as she passed Xu Shuyan, her wrist was grabbed. She frowned and instinctively tried to shake it off, but her tone was soft. “What is it, Xu Shuyan?”
Xu Shuyan pulled her into her arms and said, “Watch the performance. Don’t run off.”
Yan Qi agreed. “Listen to Yanyan.”
Lin Yi was about to make another excuse when she heard Xu Shuyan say softly in her ear, “You think I don’t want to go? The camera is filming the two of us for fan service right now. Are we supposed to go watch our other teammates dance?”
Lin Yi really wanted to say, “To hell with fan service,” but she glanced at the camera and held it back. Sullenly, she said, “Then let’s watch the performance first.”
As if to make up for it, she lightly punched Xu Shuyan. “Can’t even slack off for a bit!”
Xu Shuyan put an arm around her and sat her down. She naturally leaned against Xu Shuyan’s shoulder as she started the video.
A good performance requires repeatedly refining details and practicing over and over. With the concert just around the corner, no one in the Gu Group dared to slack off.
【Getting off work at 3 a.m., Sweet Melon Entertainment, you’ve really outdone yourselves! Can’t you let my girl get some proper rest?】
【Daughter’s eyes are all red from staying up late, she’s working so hard, it’s heartbreaking.】
【It’s so tough for Yan Qi being the captain, first to arrive and last to leave every day. Sweet Melon Entertainment and those biased group stans, stop ignoring this!】
【Yan Zhi You Yi got off work together again, kswlkswl】
【I can’t even imagine what our Yuanyuan is going through right now… She belongs on a film set!!! Making her sing and dance here is worse than killing her!】
【…To Chen Yuan’s fans, you need to get one thing straight-her singing and dancing are killing us innocent audience members too!】
【@ChenYuanAnti-HatePage, a teammate’s fan is being a bitch again, get up and do your job】
Three days left in the concert countdown, the third practice room rehearsal came to an end. After singing and dancing through more than ten songs, all five of them were panting from exhaustion. Xu Shuyan leaned against the mirror, wiping away her sweat. She could hear her heart pounding wildly. She watched the general director’s mouth open and close as he held the microphone, but she didn’t hear a single word.
Lin Yi, beside her, nudged her. “Are you okay? Why is your face so red?”
Xu Shuyan shook her head. “I’m fine.”
Lin Yi suggested, “Then should we go to the small practice room later to run through it again?”
Xu Shuyan’s limbs felt weak, and she wanted to refuse, but she didn’t want to show weakness in front of Lin Yi. She hummed in agreement. Seeing that the camera was filming, she leaned against Lin Yi. “Let me lean on you for a bit.”
Lin Yi looked down, noticing something was wrong with her. “You don’t have a fever, do you? I told you not to take off your clothes when you’re dancing. It’s easy to get sick from the air conditioning when you’re sweaty!”
Xu Shuyan insisted stubbornly, “I don’t.”
Lin Yi couldn’t be bothered with her. “You’d better not.”
Xu Shuyan swore she really didn’t have one at that moment; she was just a little tired and didn’t want to retort to Lin Yi. However, after running through “No. 89757” twice, she started to feel dizzy and her head began to throb.
So when Chen Yuan announced in the group chat that she was treating everyone to milk tea and dessert, and Lin Yi was about to excitedly run downstairs, she remained sitting on the mat and said weakly, “You go ahead. I’m not having any.”
It was an obviously weak voice; anyone could tell something was wrong.
…Lin Yi really wasn’t human!
Xu Shuyan touched her forehead to check her temperature, thinking, I’m already like this, and all Lin Yi can think about is dessert and milk tea. Has she completely forgotten that she gains weight the moment she eats? I hope she gains five or six pounds and has to eat nothing but salad greens every day-
“Hey! Xu Shuyan!” Suddenly, a shadow fell over her. Xu Shuyan froze for a second and looked up. Lin Yi was leaning over her. “You look terrible. Are you not feeling well somewhere?”
Xu Shuyan: “…”
Okay, so Lin Yi did have a conscience after all. She took back her curse.
Lin Yi continued, “If you have a fever, you’ll have to go to the hospital for a nucleic acid test. During these special times, a green health code is the most important thing.”
Xu Shuyan: “…”
Maybe gaining two pounds would be fine.
She rested her face on her knees, her voice hoarse. “I don’t have a fever, just a bit of a headache. I’m probably just tired. Don’t worry about me, go have your dessert and milk tea.”
“Do you think I’m an idiot?” Lin Yi crouched down. “The subtext of what you just said is, ‘Lin Yi, if you don’t take care of me, I’m going to curse you in my head to gain five pounds from drinking milk tea and eating dessert!’”
Xu Shuyan: “…Uh.”
“I knew I guessed your thoughts correctly!” Lin Yi saw Xu Shuyan’s listless state and reached out to pinch her cheek. “I’m guessing you don’t want anyone else to know, right?”
With the concert so close, a member falling ill would cause unnecessary tension. Besides, Xu Shuyan insisted that she would be fine after some rest and that there was no need to tell so many people.
Lin Yi nodded. “Okay, I’ll take your temperature. If you don’t have a fever, I’ll tell Sister Fang and take you back to the dorm.”
Xu Shuyan hummed in agreement.
After her temperature came back normal, Lin Yi left work early with Xu Shuyan.
It was an early spring day, and though it was only mid-afternoon, the sky was overcast and looked like it was about to rain. Lin Yi bought some oden when she passed a convenience store. She waved to the fans who had come to the company to see them before getting into the company car.
This moment was filmed by fans, turned into a short video, and posted online. In the gentle spring breeze, Lin Yi’s beauty as she held the oden from the convenience store was lethal. Even non-fans were drawn in, and it quickly surpassed ten thousand shares.
【NO ONE HATES A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN!!! I SAID! NO ONE HATES A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN!!!】
【Jiejie, can you feed me oden? [pitiful eyes]】
【Wife! My wife!】
【Um, I’m telling you guys not to go too far. Are you pretending you can’t see Xu Shuyan all bundled up waiting for Lin Yi outside the convenience store? It’s obvious Lin Yi bought it for Xu Shuyan to eat!】
【Damn, I can even ship this?】
【The little couple left work early together today. What are they going back to do?】
【Do the things that people in love do!】
…It’s obvious Lin Yi bought it for Xu Shuyan to eat!
Lying in bed, Xu Shuyan watched Lin Yi, who was sitting by the bay window, studying medicine instructions while eating the oden, and thought: Then why don’t you give me some!!
The smell was making her mouth water. She cleared her throat. “Lin Yi.”
“Hm?” Lin Yi didn’t look up.
“They all said you bought your oden for me,” Xu Shuyan said.
“Huh?” Lin Yi looked over blankly. One look at Xu Shuyan and she knew what she was thinking. Her expression darkened. “You can’t be serious. When I bought it, I asked if you wanted any, and you said no!”
Xu Shuyan said, “I regret it.”
Then, without any psychological burden, she guilt-tripped Lin Yi. “Besides, I’m sick. If you don’t give me any, you’re abusing me.”
Lin Yi: “…”
She was feeling murderous.
She had wanted to harden her heart and tell Xu Shuyan to get lost, but before she could speak, she saw Xu Shuyan pout. Her beautiful, large eyes seemed to be covered in a layer of mist, shimmering with moisture. She looked weak, pitiful, and possessed a kind of broken beauty.
“Aaaah, so annoying!” Lin Yi resignedly stood up and thrust the oden in front of Xu Shuyan. “Here, eat it!”
Xu Shuyan didn’t move.
Lin Yi was bewildered. “You’ve got to be kidding me, Xu Shuyan. You want me to feed you? How disgusting can you be!”
Xu Shuyan was too lazy to reach out. “I have no strength. My head hurts so much. Aiyo, I’m dying.”
“…” Lin Yi took a deep breath and silently chanted, Helping others brings joy to you, me, and everyone. Then she gritted her teeth. Clearly, the only one feeling any joy was Xu Shuyan. She plopped down next to Xu Shuyan. “Open your mouth!”
Xu Shuyan’s headache was indeed caused by exhaustion. Lin Yi prepared medicine and water for her and watched her take it, as if she were waiting on an ancestor. “You’ll be fine after taking the medicine and getting some sleep. Hurry up and sleep!”
Xu Shuyan yawned. “What are you going to do?”
Lin Yi said perfunctorily, “I’ll read my script.”
She said she was going to read her script, but she felt sleepy after flipping through two pages. After forcing herself to finish and reject one, Lin Yi took a shower in the downstairs bathroom and tiptoed into the bedroom.
She slept soundly through the evening and didn’t wake up until nine o’clock.
The bed next to hers was empty, and the sound of running water came from the bathroom. Her teammates weren’t back yet either. Lin Yi sat on the bed in a daze for a moment. Suddenly, she smelled the aroma of food and followed it to the downstairs dining room.
On the dining table was the fatty beef rice bowl she had been craving, with a note tucked under the plate.
Xu Shuyan’s messy handwriting read: Eat it all.
So awkward.
As expected, getting Xu Shuyan to thank her was harder than getting her to die.
Lin Yi’s stomach was growling with hunger, and she didn’t have any principles about refusing to eat food given by her love rival. She rinsed her mouth and unceremoniously dug into the rice with a big spoonful.
While eating, she opened her chat with Xu Shuyan. She changed Xu Shuyan’s contact name to: Annoying Person.
