RL – Chapter 26

Xu Shuyan stood up, sized her up, and asked, “Have you gained weight again?”

“How is that possible?!” Lin Yi protested indignantly from her back. “You’re the one who ate more at hot pot just now, okay? I just had a few leafy greens. Don’t blame others for being heavy just because you’re weak!”

Xu Shuyan just said, “Oh.” She wasn’t much taller than Lin Yi and could, at most, carry her up this flight of stairs. She counted the steps. “Mountain City has so many stairs.”

Her hands were supporting Lin Yi’s legs. An inch lower and she wouldn’t be able to hold her; an inch higher and it would feel like she was taking advantage. She thought she must have too much time on her hands, carrying her love rival up the stairs on this beautiful spring day. If she threw Lin Yi down, would it count as murder?

“Well, it’s Mountain City,” Lin Yi said, happy to exploit Xu Shuyan. She rested her chin on Xu Shuyan’s shoulder. “When I was little, I’d sometimes take this path home from school. There were so many routes, it was like an adventure.”

Xu Shuyan was dismissive. “You had nothing better to do.”

“Yeah, I had nothing better to do,” Lin Yi said. “And I wanted to get my dad’s attention. See that tree up ahead-” she pointed for Xu Shuyan. “It wasn’t that tall back then. I climbed it once.”

“So you maxed out your tree-climbing skill from a young age, huh?” Xu Shuyan was speechless. “Don’t tell me you climbed trees to raid birds’ nests?”

“Am I that kind of little rascal?” Lin Yi retorted, though she sounded a little embarrassed. “I just wanted to make my dad worry, preferably to the point where he’d be shouting my name all over the streets. Then, when he found me here, he could scold me.”

“…And then? Did he find you?” Xu Shuyan seemed to have already guessed the ending.

Sure enough, she heard Lin Yi sigh dejectedly in her ear. “Of course not. Later, when it got dark, I was scared of walking home at night, so I scurried down and went home.”

“He didn’t care about you?”

“It’s not that he didn’t care, exactly,” Lin Yi recalled. “When I got home, he asked me where I’d been and told me not to play around so much next time and be late for dinner. I asked him, ‘Why didn’t you look for me?’”

“What did he say?”

Xu Shuyan stepped onto another stair. Perhaps from long-term erosion by the rain, its edge was covered in moss. She carefully stepped over it and hoisted Lin Yi up a bit higher.

Lin Yi wrapped her arms around her neck. “He said he hoped I could be a little more well-behaved, so I wouldn’t distract him. He likes well-behaved kids.”

Xu Shuyan found that strange. “Are you well-behaved?”

Lin Yi lightly tugged her ear. “Who are you looking down on?”

“Oh?” Xu Shuyan said.

Lin Yi said righteously, “I’m not well-behaved, but I can pretend to be! He hoped I could be a little more well-behaved so I wouldn’t distract him from mourning Mom with all his heart, so I became a well-behaved kid, an invisible kid, who wouldn’t cause him any trouble.”

“Oh.” That kind of well-behaved.

Xu Shuyan stepped onto the last stair. Ahead was a wide road. She patted Lin Yi’s butt. “Get down.”

Lin Yi jumped off her back and glared at her. “Are you copping a feel?”

Xu Shuyan was so angry she wanted to kick her. “Lin Yi, do you have a conscience? I counted just now, I carried you up forty-five whole steps. And patting your butt once means I’m taking advantage of you?”

“Are you crazy, counting them?!” Lin Yi guiltily reached for her ankle and cried out “ouch” a few times. “Don’t make me mad, my ankle is hurting again.”

Xu Shuyan couldn’t be bothered with her and started walking.

Lin Yi hopped after her on one leg. “Why are you walking so fast? Do you even know where my house is?”

Xu Shuyan thought that the worst decision she’d made in the first half of the year was coming to Mountain City with Lin Yi. Not only was she forced to play along for the fans, but she was also being completely manipulated. She turned and glared at Lin Yi. “Where is it?”

“This way.” Lin Yi grabbed her arm. “Give me some support.”

The roads in Mountain City were complicated, twisting and turning, and Xu Shuyan quickly got disoriented. She simply let Lin Yi lead the way. Bored, she remembered what Lin Yi had said earlier and picked up the thread of the conversation. “So you left him after that?”

Lin Yi paused for a moment before realizing what Xu Shuyan was talking about. She let out a slow “ah.” “Yeah.”

After that chance encounter at the cemetery, Lao Lin took her to visit Liu Xuesong the next evening.

She leaned half her body against Xu Shuyan and said, “My mom liked Liu Xuesong when she was alive, which is why my dad took it so seriously. He felt it was some kind of guidance from the great beyond. See? He’s so superstitious. He might as well have said I inherited my mom’s good voice.”

Getting her into the choir was a simple matter for Liu Xuesong. Her personality was likable, and she made many friends in the choir. She went to school during the day and choir practice at night. All in all, it was a very happy time.

Until the summer vacation of her third year of middle school. She went to Shanghai with the choir for a competition. After it was over, she snuck out to go shopping and saw someone singing on the roadside. A chair, a microphone, a guitar—it had the vibe of a street performer.

“A lot of people praised her, and some threw money into her guitar case.” Lin Yi’s eyes still sparkled when she talked about it.

Xu Shuyan retorted, “Don’t tell me you started singing on the street because you saw that you could make money? I remember in your self-introduction, you said you wanted to find a place to sing to build up your courage!”

“You believed that?” Lin Yi shot Xu Shuyan a look. “Do you even know what it means to say the right thing?”

Xu Shuyan was speechless.

Now she understood what it meant to be two-faced!

She asked, “And then you started singing on the street too?”

“Yeah,” Lin Yi said. “I didn’t have a guitar or a stool. I borrowed a microphone from someone in the choir and started singing on a busy street. I remember that day I sang a song… what was it again?”

“Pear Blossom Simmered in Snow,” Xu Shuyan said.

Lin Yi’s voice was a gift from the heavens. After being carefully polished, it stood out from the choir. The moment she opened her mouth, it was heavenly, stunning everyone present.

It was later called the “original divine stage” by Lin Yi’s fans.

Later, as the clock ticked late into the night and she sang song after song, the crowd grew larger and larger. Many talent scouts came after hearing the news. Lin Yi carefully packed up, and when she returned, the supervising teacher waiting for her in the lobby caught her red-handed.

“The teacher gave me a harsh scolding,” Lin Yi said, leading Xu Shuyan into a small alley. The path sloped upward into another flight of stairs. “She said I’d run off to play the day before without reporting it, and today I’d reported I’d be back at eight but only came back at ten. She said Mr. Liu was waiting for my call and told me to call him right away.”

Lin Yi didn’t have a phone back then, so she borrowed the teacher’s to call Liu Xuesong and told him about the talent scouts.

As luck would have it, Liu Xuesong also had shares in Sweet Melon Entertainment. He asked Lin Yi if she liked singing, if she was willing to enter the entertainment industry, that the industry was very complicated. Lin Yi asked, “Can I make money? Can I leave Mountain City? Can I meet a lot of people?”

After getting affirmative answers, she said, “I’m willing.”

After the last step, across the road was the gate to a residential community. It was a very ordinary place, so old that it didn’t even have a security gate. Xu Shuyan followed behind Lin Yi and said, “So you came to our company.”

“I’m pretty lucky, right?” Lin Yi said. “At least I’ve never met any truly bad people.”

After joining Sweet Melon Entertainment, Lin Yi went through a summer of evaluations and successfully stayed with the company, joining the music department. To allow her to train long-term, the company, after discussing it with Liu Xuesong, arranged for her to attend high school in S City as a visiting student.

Xu Shuyan was from Y City, which was very close to S City. Her older cousin was a music teacher at Sweet Melon Entertainment, so she would tag along on weekends to sit in on classes. She met Lin Yi before anyone else did. This is what the fans call “a pair of childhood sweethearts.”

“No,” Lin Yi added. “You’re the bad person! Trying to steal Yuanyuan from me!”

Suddenly being slapped with such a heavy accusation, Xu Shuyan said, “…Get lost.”

She had read a written version of this story in an interview once. The text was dispassionate, passed from person to person, becoming a part of Lin Yi’s resume. It could be used to elicit sympathy from fans and also to inspire people.

But this was the first time she had heard Lin Yi tell it herself.

I’m done for.

Xu Shuyan thought, Lin Yi is trying to open up to me. Once we’ve opened up and become confidantes, how could I have the nerve to compete with Lin Yi for Chen Yuan? Ah, that Lin Yi, she’s so cunning!

Luckily, she was sharp and quickly saw through Lin Yi’s scheme!

Pfft, pfft, pfft!

Don’t you dare feel sorry for Lin Yi!

“What are you thinking about, Xu Shuyan?” Lin Yi looked at her strangely. “Your face is turning red and green. Are you performing Sichuan opera face-changing over there?”

Xu Shuyan’s tone became stiff. “Nothing.”

As they spoke, they had already arrived at the apartment building. Lin Yi didn’t pay it much mind. She took a key out of her bag and said, “I wonder if my dad is back yet.”

Apparently, he wasn’t.

Just as Lin Yi had said, time in her home had completely stopped in the year her mother passed away. The furnishings had remained untouched for over a decade, a deep love that would move anyone.

But Xu Shuyan found it irritating. She thought Lin Yi’s father was deeply in love, a good husband, but not a good father.

No amount of deep love was useful for Lin Yi’s growth.

…She detested this kind of deep love.

To put it bluntly, the person was already dead. If you don’t live your life properly, who are you putting on this show of deep love for?

But these were her love rival’s family matters, so she was in no position to voice her opinion. She could only lie on Lin Yi’s small bed in a gloomy mood, watching stage performance videos.

Lin Yi assumed she was tired and didn’t bother her. She went to take a shower first, then fished out a harmonica from who knows where. “It’s actually still here!” she exclaimed in pleasant surprise. She climbed onto the bed and nudged Xu Shuyan. “During the tour interview, I said I could play the harmonica, and you didn’t believe me. See! This is proof that I learned the harmonica!”

Xu Shuyan glanced at it. “Just because you learned doesn’t mean you still know how. You probably returned all that knowledge to your teacher long ago, right?”

“Don’t question the main vocal’s talent, okay?” Lin Yi huffed, pressed her lips to the harmonica, and tried to play a note. She said smugly, “I still know how.”

Xu Shuyan sat up. “Play something for me to see, otherwise you’re just bragging.”

“You think you’re here to listen to a little tune?!” Lin Yi saw through her intentions, but she couldn’t resist showing off and proving her wrong. She said defiantly, “Fine, I’ll play!”

Xu Shuyan rested her chin in her hand and watched her. “Go on, play.”

It was already late when they got back. By now, the moon was high in the sky outside the window. The watery moonlight slanted in, resting on Lin Yi’s shoulders. Her lowered eyelashes were coated in a layer of light. In the hazy glow, there was a dazzling purity.

The tune was “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.”

Xu Shuyan stared at her lips pressed against the harmonica and suddenly felt her mouth go dry. Once the thought popped into her head, she couldn’t suppress it. In her flustered state, Lin Yi noticed her strange gaze and, thinking she was being mocked, kicked her lightly. “What are you thinking about?”

Xu Shuyan lowered her eyes and denied it. “Nothing.”

“You’re totally thinking something!” Lin Yi tossed the harmonica aside and started tickling Xu Shuyan, insisting that she explain herself. “Are you going to tell me or not? Even though I played ‘Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,’ it still proves I know how! What were you thinking? Huh?”

Lin Yi’s bed was too small and couldn’t withstand their roughhousing. It creaked noisily. Xu Shuyan was pushed down onto the bed and, afraid of falling off, quickly grabbed Lin Yi’s waist firmly, dodging her hands. “Stop messing around!”

Lin Yi took the opportunity to straddle Xu Shuyan and pretended to choke her. “Are you going to tell me or not, or not, or not?”

Xu Shuyan couldn’t handle her antics. “Fine.”

She beckoned to Lin Yi. “Come here, I’ll tell you.”

Lin Yi narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing her from above. After a long hesitation, she reluctantly lowered herself, pressing her ear to Xu Shuyan’s lips.

Xu Shuyan placed a hand on the back of her head. Her thin lips moved slightly as she asked a question.

Lin Yi’s face instantly turned red.

Xu Shuyan had asked, “Does this train your oral skills?”

…Lin Yi had to admit, for those few seconds, she really did feel something for Xu Shuyan.

The urge to kill.

She thought to herself that watching porn with her love rival and teaching her how to scissor wasn’t a big deal. At worst, she was just being helpful, a beautiful person with a kind heart. But being teased by her love rival in her own bed was absolutely unbearable!

After being stunned for nearly half a minute, Lin Yi fought back. “Yeah! Congratulations to Yuanyuan! She’s in for a treat!”

Sure enough, the moment Chen Yuan was mentioned, Xu Shuyan’s face immediately turned cold. She said, “Stop fantasizing about her,” and tried to push Lin Yi away. But Lin Yi was fired up now, shouting, “As if you don’t fantasize about her! What’s with the righteous act, Xu Shuyan? You even know about oral sex, looks like you’ve watched your fair share of porn alone-”

Furious with embarrassment, Xu Shuyan flipped her over and pinned her down. Lin Yi fought back, and the two of them wrestled. The flirtatious atmosphere instantly vanished. Clouds covered the moon, as if sighing at the scene unfolding on the bed.

“How could I compare to you, Lin Yi? As if you haven’t watched plenty!”

“Better than certain people who watch it and still don’t get any better! Someone as frigid as you could never give Yuanyuan sexual bliss!”

“I think your brain has been filled with yellow paint, hasn’t it? I don’t have so many improper thoughts about Yuanyuan. I like her for who she is! What about you? You just lust after her body!”

“Bullshit! It’s impossible to like someone and not lust after their body! Stop pretending!”

“Pretending my ass! I-”

“Knock, knock, knock.” The sudden sound at the door interrupted the fierce “brawl” on the bed. Both Lin Yi’s and Xu Shuyan’s bodies stiffened. They exchanged a look and hastily let go of each other.

Lin Yi straightened her hair and called out tentatively, “Dad?”

There was a moment of silence from outside the door before her dad’s voice came through. “Keep it down. Don’t stay up too late.”

Lin Yi was speechless.

She quickly tried to explain. “No, we were just playing around, it’s not what you think- Dad? Papa? Father?”

She hurried to the door and opened it. Lao Lin was already in the kitchen. Hearing the noise from her room, he glanced over, then indifferently looked away and poured himself a glass of water.

Lin Yi paused, then closed the door.

She turned around to see Xu Shuyan sitting on the bed, clothes disheveled, a dazed look on her face. Lin Yi snapped, “Hurry up and fix your clothes. Anyone who didn’t know better would think I did something to you.”

Xu Shuyan came to her senses, her expression also souring. She shot back, “Your dad definitely thinks you did something to me.”

Lin Yi was confused. “?”

Xu Shuyan covered her face, feigning distress. “You have to take responsibility for me, sob sob.”

Lin Yi snapped, “Stop grossing me out!”

Xu Shuyan instantly returned to normal and made a face at her. “Going to take a shower.”

Lin Yi was speechless.

Ugh, this is so annoying!

While Xu Shuyan was in the shower, Lin Yi urgently searched online for “how to uncouple a CP.” The results were all sorts of things, including but not limited to-

“How to uncouple a CP,” “How to convert CP fans to solo fans,” “Who benefits if Yan Zhi You Yi uncouples?” “Who gains more fans from the Yan Zhi You Yi CP?” “Ten pieces of ironclad evidence that Xu Shuyan loves Lin Yi,” “Solid proof of Xu Shuyan and Lin Yi’s in-group relationship!”

What was all this nonsense!

Lin Yi randomly clicked on a post and let out a “whoa.” “Is this 3,000-post thread for real?”

The original post used all kinds of evidence from different angles to prove that Xu Shuyan was hopelessly in love with Lin Yi, and that her love-addled brain should prepare her solo fans for their idol’s “house to collapse.” If Lin Yi hadn’t just gotten into a fight with Xu Shuyan, she might have actually believed it.

[Xu Shuyan is a lost cause. At the event, she wasn’t looking at the camera, she was staring straight at her wife. Is that reasonable? I don’t get it.]

That was because I was talking to Chen Yuan, and Xu Shuyan was glaring at me, okay?

[Lin Yi had a small interaction with a teammate and Xu Shuyan got so mad. She completely lost control of her expression. A jealous pot, she’s a jealous pot, right!]

She was jealous, alright, just not for the reason you think!

[The thought of my CP fighting in bed every day [drooling emoji] makes me so happy, hiss ha hiss ha. But for the sake of work tomorrow, don’t ‘do it’ too late, hiss ha hiss ha.]

…We just had a fight. If I told you that, would you still be happy?

Lin Yi couldn’t read anymore. She backed out and clicked on other posts.

The forums weren’t entirely filled with CP shippers. Some people analyzed the pros and cons of uncoupling the CP, and they made some good points. Unfortunately, it was all analyzed based on the premise that “Lin Yi and Xu Shuyan are dating,” so the rest was obviously nonsense.

Lin Yi angrily uninstalled the app and opened her chat with Sister Fang. “I want to uncouple! Right now!”

Sister Fang replied leisurely: The fifth time this year.

Lin Yi: ?

Sister Fang: A once-a-month performance. You’re really something.

Lin Yi: I’m serious!

Lin Yi: I can’t stand Xu Shuyan anymore! I can’t tolerate it for another second!

Sister Fang: Is she at your place now?

Lin Yi: Yeah.

Sister Fang: Sleeping in the guest room?

Lin Yi: My place doesn’t have a guest room.

Sister Fang: Oh, so you’re sleeping together?

Sister Fang: Then you’ll have to tolerate it for one more night.

Lin Yi: [The water of the Huangpu River is my tears.jpg]

Lin Yi: Xu Shuyan is so annoying!

Sister Fang: What did she do this time?

Lin Yi: …

Sister Fang: ?

Lin Yi: I can’t be bothered to say!

Sister Fang: Just bear with it a little longer.

Sister Fang: It’s not like we haven’t tried to push CPs of you two with other members before.

Sister Fang: With Yuanyuan, with Shichen, with Yan Qi, we’ve tried them all. But the fans don’t buy it. They say even dogs wouldn’t ship it. What can I do?

Sister Fang: You should reflect on yourselves.

Sister Fang: Do you and Yanyan have some kind of chemistry that just makes you look like a couple?

Sister Fang: Even I ship it a little sometimes.

Lin Yi: Who has chemistry with her!

Lin Yi: How disgusting!

Sister Fang: [I love this kind of content, give me more.jpg]

Lin Yi: …

Just then, Xu Shuyan finished her shower and pushed the door open. Lin Yi quickly tossed her phone aside, closed her eyes, and pretended to be asleep. But her ears were listening to Xu Shuyan’s movements. Perhaps thinking she was asleep, Xu Shuyan moved very quietly.

Lin Yi secretly opened her eyes a crack.

Xu Shuyan had her back to her, letting down her tied-up hair. Her seaweed-like hair was fine and thick. She bent down to pull a disposable eye mask from her suitcase, her nightgown clinging to her body and accentuating her delicate figure.

Xu Shuyan turned around, and Lin Yi quickly squeezed her eyes shut. Soon, the bed beside her dipped, and the lamp was turned off.

Xu Shuyan was sleeping next to her.

The bed was really too small. No matter how they lay, parts of them would touch. Xu Shuyan was facing Lin Yi as she slept. In the silence, Lin Yi could hear her light breathing.

…So annoying. Can’t she sleep with her back to me?

Then, her nose was pinched.

“Pretending to be asleep?” Xu Shuyan’s voice was laced with amusement. “That was a bit too fake, don’t you think?”

Lin Yi couldn’t keep up the act. She opened her eyes and glared at Xu Shuyan, her voice stuffy. “Let go of me!”

Xu Shuyan squeezed her nose gently. “I can let go. But first, tell me, what were you thinking just now while you were secretly watching me?”

Lin Yi said, “…Nothing.”

Xu Shuyan squeezed harder.

Under duress, Lin Yi quickly gave in. “Okay, okay, I’ll talk. You can’t get mad after I say it.”

Xu Shuyan said, “I won’t get mad.”

Lin Yi blinked. “I was thinking-”

Xu Shuyan prompted, “Yes?”

Lin Yi said, “Your butt is really perky.”

Xu Shuyan was speechless.

Lin Yi added, “You said you wouldn’t get mad.”

Xu Shuyan said, “…Get lost.”

---

The next day, they had an early flight back to S City.

When they were leaving, Lin Yi’s dad had just returned from his morning exercise, carrying breakfast for three. Seeing them come out with their suitcases, he paused. “Leaving already.”

It was a statement, devoid of much emotion.

“We have to go back and prepare for the concert.” Lin Yi pulled down her mask and took the breakfast from Lao Lin’s hands. “You bought this for me and Yanyan, right? We’ll eat it on the way. Thanks, Dad!”

Lao Lin said, “Oh. Wait a minute.”

Lin Yi stuck a straw into her soy milk and took a sip. “What is it?”

Her dad walked past her and Xu Shuyan into the apartment. He came back less than two minutes later, holding a passbook, which he stuffed into Lin Yi’s hand. “If you don’t have enough money, here. The password is your mom’s birthday.”

Lin Yi held the soy milk in her left hand and the passbook in her right. She let out a dazed “ah.” “I-I have enough money.”

Her dad said, “Go on.”

Lin Yi was speechless.

She sighed. “I’m telling you, Dad, you really need to get on the internet!”

Her dad waved. “Goodbye.”

Lin Yi said, “…Bye.”

Xu Shuyan also bowed. “Goodbye, Uncle.”

After the door closed in front of them, Lin Yi and Xu Shuyan exchanged a look. She stuffed the passbook into her bag, picked up her suitcase, and headed downstairs. “Let’s go, the car we called is already at the community gate. Xu Shuyan-”

At the second-floor landing, she turned back impatiently. “Are you coming or not?”

Xu Shuyan stood where she was, watching her. After a long moment, she walked over, reached out, and gave her a hug. Then she took the suitcase from her hand and continued downstairs.

Lin Yi stood frozen for a while before chasing after her. “What was that about, Xu Shuyan? Why did you hug me? You don’t think I’m pathetic, do you? Are you okay?!”

Xu Shuyan thought that anyone in that situation would have given Lin Yi a hug.

Because in that moment, Lin Yi looked like she needed it so badly. She needed someone to hug her, to pat her on the head, to pull her into a safe harbor.

She couldn’t give that much, except for a hug.

…And because of that hug, Lin Yi ignored Xu Shuyan for the entire trip back.

“Did you two have a fight?” Zhou Shichen was waiting for them at the door of the practice room. Seeing that neither of them looked happy, she approached Xu Shuyan, who seemed slightly less gloomy. “Meeting the parents didn’t go well? They don’t approve?”

Xu Shuyan said helplessly, “You know perfectly well it wasn’t ‘meeting the parents’.”

Zhou Shichen tugged at the corner of her mouth. “Fine. I just wanted to get a taste of some fresh shipping material. So what happened with you two?”

“What do you mean, what happened?” Xu Shuyan pushed her suitcase against the wall and glanced around. There were no photographers. Lin Yi had gone straight to Chen Yuan, who was by the electronic keyboard. She pulled at the corner of her mouth, her tone sour. “When no one’s filming, aren’t Lin Yi and I always like this?”

They were a CP for business. When there were no cameras, even regular teammates wouldn’t play it up, let alone love rivals.

But Zhou Shichen didn’t know they both liked Chen Yuan, so it was normal for her to be confused. She didn’t explain further and went to the changing room to change into her practice clothes. When she came back, Lin Yi was teaching Zhou Shichen and Chen Yuan the song for their four-person stage.

“Let’s do the chorus again.” Lin Yi sat at the electronic keyboard, her long, slender fingers resting on the black and white keys. When she lowered her head, her long hair fell forward, brushing against the keys as notes danced at her fingertips.

It had to be said, Lin Yi had absolute authority in her area of expertise. When she was serious, she didn’t let a single detail slide.

“Yuanyuan, this line is wrong.” She pressed a key and sang, “I’m quietly thinking / and don’t want to be disturbed by anyone… Sing it with me twice.”

Chen Yuan sang along, but it was still wrong. She couldn’t help but feel dejected. “My pitch is terrible.”

“It’s okay,” Lin Yi comforted her. But she didn’t say that singing it a few more times would fix it. Singing was too dependent on talent. Some people were naturally tone-deaf; it couldn’t be forced.

She patted the piano bench, motioning for Chen Yuan to sit. “Let’s sing the sheet music first.”

Seeing Lin Yi giving Chen Yuan a private lesson, Zhou Shichen took Xu Shuyan to teach her the moves for their duet. Xu Shuyan really didn’t want Lin Yi and Chen Yuan to be alone, but training was important. She stood there for a moment before reluctantly leaving.

When she returned, Chen Yuan was gone. The sound of the piano filled the room as Lin Yi sang.

Hearing footsteps, Lin Yi glanced up at her, then continued singing as if she hadn’t seen her. Xu Shuyan didn’t avoid her, just leaned against the wall and waited for her to finish before asking, “Where’s Yuanyuan?”

“Her assistant picked her up for something.” Lin Yi gathered her sheet music. “Are you done learning?”

Xu Shuyan grunted in affirmation.

Lin Yi stretched and stood up. “Then let’s get to it.”

She acted as if nothing had happened, as if she wasn’t the one giving her the cold shoulder. Xu Shuyan also found it tiresome. She grabbed Lin Yi’s hand and yanked her into her arms. Caught off guard, Lin Yi stumbled and pushed her. “What are you doing?”

“The first move,” Xu Shuyan said, her face cold.

Lin Yi froze for a second. It was only when Xu Shuyan pulled her into the second move that she slowly said, “Oh.”

She got it. This was Xu Shuyan’s way of expressing her dissatisfaction. She had indeed acted poorly in this matter. Xu Shuyan had been trying to comfort her out of kindness, and she had failed to appreciate the gesture, biting the hand that fed her.

But realizing her mistake was one thing, and admitting it was another. She’d rather kill herself than give in and apologize to Xu Shuyan.

Thus, the lesson was bound to proceed under a gloomy atmosphere. By the time they finished learning the dance, there was no trace of flirtation or ambiguity. They finished the dance mechanically, without any emotion. Neither was satisfied, but neither was willing to back down.

Lin Yi grabbed a bottle of water from the table and took a sip. “Let’s call it a day.”

Xu Shuyan didn’t say anything.

It seemed she wasn’t going to talk to her for a while. Lin Yi irritably twisted the cap back on, slammed the water bottle on the table, and was about to grab her bag and leave when the practice room door was pushed open.

Xu Shuyan’s surprised voice rang out. “Sister Fang?”

Lin Yi looked over.

It was indeed Sister Fang. She managed more than just Xu Shuyan and Lin Yi and was often away on business trips, rarely coming to the company, which was why they were both so surprised. When Fang Yi saw them, her expression darkened. “I heard you two had a fight?”

Lin Yi frowned. “Why is Shichen such a tattletale?”

She walked over to Xu Shuyan, grabbed her arm, and leaned against her, smiling at Fang Yi. “See, we’re getting along great,” she nudged Xu Shuyan. “Right?”

Xu Shuyan said, “…Yeah, we’re getting along great.”

“Really?” Fang Yi looked at them suspiciously as she walked in. “It wasn’t Shichen who told me. I ran into the photographer who was filming you when I came into the company. He said he wanted to film you when you got back today, but both of you looked grimmer than the other. If they released the footage, it would have total ‘bad ending’ vibes.”

Lin Yi stammered, “Uh, don’t listen to his nonsense! We were just tired from the flight, and then we had to learn a new song. We didn’t have the energy for fanservice.”

Only then did Fang Yi relax a little. “That had better be the case.”

She held out her hand. “Here, give me your hands.”

Xu Shuyan and Lin Yi obediently extended their hands. Fang Yi placed their hands together and said earnestly, “In your current situation, it’s better to be tied together to hype up the CP. Who doesn’t know that our Seven Musical Notes has a Real Couple?”

“Don’t think I’m trying to harm you. I also hope you two can have a hundred years of… no, that your careers can flourish! Yes! Flourish! Understand?”

Xu Shuyan & Lin Yi: “…”

You were going to say ‘a hundred years of good union,’ weren’t you? You were totally going to say it!!!

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