RL – Chapter 3

The room fell completely silent.

Lin Yi blinked as if in a dream, stiffly turning her gaze from the doorway to meet Xu Shuyan’s eyes. “…”

She thought, what kind of scene did Chen Yuan see from the doorway?

She was wearing a backless nightgown, pressing down on Xu Shuyan. One of her hands was held by Xu Shuyan, while the other was pinching Xu Shuyan’s waist. Such a position, such a place, such an atmosphere, plus that sentence, “Am I interrupting?”

Chen Yuan! Definitely! Misunderstood!

Lin Yi’s heart sank as she sat up. But then, she lost her balance and fell straight toward Xu Shuyan again, this time more solidly than before. Her chin slammed right into Xu Shuyan’s shoulder. She heard Xu Shuyan let out a soft “Ah!” and say, “That hurts!”

Being so close, the sensation was even more distinct. Lin Yi was dazed for half a second before blurting out, “Xu Shuyan, you’re so soft there.”

Both of them froze after she said it.

Xu Shuyan was the first to react. She flung Lin Yi’s hand away and pushed her shoulder with force, flipping Lin Yi over. The deep V-neck of the nightgown had opened even wider during their scuffle. She glanced at it once before looking away, then took off her jacket and threw it onto Lin Yi. “Put this on,” she said.

Lin Yi deeply regretted her words, but she also felt Xu Shuyan was overreacting. They had done all sorts of things for fan service, so why the cold face now?

Grumbling inwardly, she put on the jacket and got off the bed.

“Where are you going?” Xu Shuyan asked.

“Yuanyuan must be looking for us for a reason. Even if not, I have to go explain things to her.” Lin Yi asked, “Aren’t you coming?”

The joy in her tone was completely unconcealed, as if she was afraid Xu Shuyan wouldn’t know how happy she’d be if she didn’t come.

Xu Shuyan hadn’t planned on going down, but once she figured out Lin Yi’s little scheme, her rebellious streak kicked in. “Let you and Yuanyuan be alone? In your dreams. Let’s go!”

Lin Yi: “…”

Xu Shuyan is so annoying!

Mentally beating up Xu Shuyan, she dragged her feet and followed her out the door.

Yan Qi had also finished her shower and was now sitting in the living room, drinking her bedtime milk while wearing a face mask. A tablet was propped up on the coffee table, playing an “Economics Lesson” that was explaining sunk costs in simple terms.

“Where’s Yuanyuan?” Lin Yi asked.

Yan Qi jutted her chin toward the balcony. Lin Yi immediately rushed over, getting to the balcony ahead of Xu Shuyan. Chen Yuan was on the phone with someone and hastily hung up when she saw Lin Yi approach, hiding the phone behind her back. “Xiao Yi.”

“Who were you talking to?” Lin Yi asked. “Did I interrupt you?”

Chen Yuan shook her head. “No.”

She looked at Xu Shuyan, who had followed Lin Yi in. “Are you two… done?”

Lin Yi’s hackles immediately rose. “What do you mean, done! Nothing was going on! We were just fighting! You didn’t see the brawl! Xu Shuyan, tell her, right?”

Xu Shuyan grunted in agreement. “We were fighting.”

Chen Yuan smiled. “Our Yanyan and Xiao Yi get along so well.”

Lin Yi: “…”

Which eye are you seeing that with?!

She couldn’t be bothered to explain anymore and changed the subject. “Did you come to our room for something just now?”

“Oh,” Chen Yuan said, placing her phone on the table. “I have something tomorrow afternoon, so I took some time off. Can we move practice to the morning? It doesn’t have to be too early, you can still sleep in. Around ten o’clock would be fine.”

Xu Shuyan said, “I can do that.”

Lin Yi immediately said, “I can do even earlier.”

Xu Shuyan: “Right, eight is fine too.”

Lin Yi: “I can get up at six.”

Xu Shuyan: “Five isn’t that early either.”

Lin Yi: “The air is best at four.”

Xu Shuyan: “Three-”

“I say,” Yan Qi, who had heard the entire conversation from the living room, said speechlessly, “shouldn’t there be some basic decency to your helpfulness? Are you going to let the birthday girl get any sleep?”

Chen Yuan was also amused by the two of them. “You guys are usually so busy with schedules, you should sleep in. This dance really isn’t that hard, I’ll learn it well!”

Looking at Chen Yuan’s earnest little face, Lin Yi’s heart melted into a puddle. Aww, fans, stop scolding her. Yuanyuan is already trying so hard!

Xu Shuyan found it sickening to watch Lin Yi tugging on Chen Yuan’s sleeve and whining softly. She wanted to roll her eyes but felt she had to maintain her image. After standing there awkwardly for a moment, she finally found something to pick on. “Lin Yi, you haven’t done your face mask yet, have you?”

Lin Yi’s whining came to an abrupt halt. “?”

Xu Shuyan continued to twist the knife. “If you don’t do your mask now, your skin will be in bad shape tomorrow, and the makeup artist will definitely yell at you when they can’t apply your makeup properly!”

Lin Yi: “…You win!”

Unwilling to go upstairs by herself, she grabbed Xu Shuyan. “If you don’t shower and go to bed soon, will you be able to face anyone tomorrow with dark circles under your eyes? Come back with me and go to sleep!”

Caught off guard, Xu Shuyan stumbled. “…”

After the two left, Yan Qi took off her mask, rubbed her face, and said, “Good thing Shichen isn’t here, or she’d be shipping them to death right now.”

Chen Yuan deeply agreed. “Definitely.”

Yan Qi glanced at Chen Yuan’s phone on the table. “Don’t go online during the promotional period. Even if you do, don’t let the online comments affect you.”

Chen Yuan paused, then nodded. “I know, thanks, Captain.”

Yan Qi gave a noncommittal response.

Girl groups in the domestic entertainment industry emerged one after another, but the pie was only so big. The various entertainment companies couldn’t share it equally and were all competing fiercely, each one more intense than the last.

If fans liked performances, they’d go on tour, promote songs, and release albums. If fans liked group chemistry, they’d do group variety shows and create CPs. If fans wanted to stan a top-tier idol, they’d release solo singles, join film crews, and do magazine shoots.

And The Notes had made a name for themselves in the domestic entertainment scene by naturally covering all these bases.

Captain Yan Qi was cool and steady, with a commanding stage presence—a born main dancer. All-around ACE Zhou Shichen was an internet surfing expert, fun and highly skilled. Rapper Xu Shuyan could be cool or sweet, and was devastatingly cute when forced to do fan service. Although Chen Yuan’s stage performance was lacking, her acting career was blossoming, with a hit drama under her belt. The youngest, Lin Yi, was a sweet girl with an irreplaceable, healing voice.

Five members, ten CPs. You could ship them all together for group chemistry, or you could do 1v1s. There were even “Real Couple” ships like Yan Zhi You Yi, which the group members themselves shipped, practically force-feeding you sugar. This attracted countless shippers to fall into their trap.

Correspondingly, rival fans and anti-fans never rested. During comeback periods, when their popularity was at its peak, the number of hate posts also peaked.

Comments like “Lin Yi’s fans are secretly hyping her up again, so let’s all enjoy the ‘Lin Yi’s Stage Fails Compilation’” or “Does anyone not know that Xu Shuyan is useless besides queerbaiting?” or “Hasn’t Yan Qi had enough stage accidents?” or “Click here for solid proof of Zhou Shichen’s plastic surgery” or “Chen Yuan is a disgrace to idols!”

Therefore, during comeback periods, the company advised members who weren’t as mentally resilient not to go online.

Those with strong mental fortitude, however, were fearless. Like Lin Yi.

When Xu Shuyan came out of the shower, she saw Lin Yi browsing a forum and casually asked, “What are you looking at?”

Lin Yi didn’t look up. “Seeing what the CP fans are shipping.”

“What are they shipping?” Xu Shuyan applied a sleeping mask to her face. “Oh, that we pushed the cake to Yuanyuan together?”

Lin Yi showed her the screen. “They’re saying we were pushing an engagement cake.”

Xu Shuyan: “…”

She protested, “Why are they shipping us with rumors?”

Lin Yi put the tablet away and pulled up the covers. “You don’t understand ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’.” She burrowed into the blankets, leaving only the top of her round head visible. She stared at Xu Shuyan for a moment and said, “Xu Shuyan, can we discuss something?”

Xu Shuyan got into bed too. “What?”

Lin Yi said, “Can you sleep with your back to me? I don’t want to wake up and see your face first thing.”

Xu Shuyan laughed, annoyed. “Can’t you just sleep with your back to me?”

Lin Yi said righteously, “If I sleep with my back to you, what if you try to murder me in the middle of the night?”

Xu Shuyan: “And you wouldn’t try to murder me?”

Lin Yi: “Of course not!”

Xu Shuyan: “I don’t believe you.”

With that, Xu Shuyan turned off the light, leaving Lin Yi to grieve in the darkness. She thought back to how she and Xu Shuyan had been partners who survived on a deserted island and made it to the end together. The trust between people was just too fragile.

This is human nature!

Due to some distortion of human nature and a loss of trust, the first thing Lin Yi saw when she woke up was Xu Shuyan.

Lin Yi felt that Xu Shuyan was most well-behaved when she was asleep.

She didn’t have her usual cocky look. Her features softened, making her look clean and beautiful, like a pink peach just picked after a light rain. It seemed like if you took a bite, sweet juice would eagerly spill out.

Just as she was imagining this, the peach moved and opened its eyes.

It had turned back into the annoying Xu Shuyan.

Her first words were: “What are you looking at?”

Lin Yi threw off the covers and launched her first sarcastic remark of the morning. “Seeing when you’d wake up. You’re so unenthusiastic about teaching Yuanyuan, I guess your affection for her isn’t all that much after all!”

“And how much more devoted are you, waking up five minutes before me?” Xu Shuyan stretched and asked, “What are you wearing today? I’ll coordinate with you.”

The drive from the dorm to the company was twenty minutes, and there would be fansite photographers waiting at the company entrance to take pictures of them arriving for work. So, they always put on makeup and coordinated their outfits, which was part of an idol’s job.

Lin Yi squeezed out some toothpaste. “All black.”

“Trying to be a cool girl?” Xu Shuyan scoffed. “Then I’ll wear that white dress with the puff sleeves?”

Lin Yi was indifferent. “Whatever you want.”

Yan Qi and Zhou Shichen had to go to the recording studio for their collaboration track, so they had done their makeup early and left. Chen Yuan had woken up earlier than them, gone out to buy breakfast, and had also finished her makeup. Lin Yi felt a little embarrassed. “Yuanyuan, sorry for making you wait.”

Chen Yuan stuck a straw in a cup of soy milk and handed it to her. “It’s fine. I’m the one who should be embarrassed since you two have to teach me.”

Lin Yi’s heart went aww. Yuanyuan is so gentle!

“Yuanyuan, I want some soy milk too,” Xu Shuyan’s voice suddenly came from the side, her tone soft and whiny, as if she were pouting. “My hands are full.”

Lin Yi: “…”

Chen Yuan, oblivious to the undercurrents between the two, passed the soy milk to Xu Shuyan, who was getting her makeup done. “Be careful, it’s hot,” she reminded her.

Xu Shuyan flashed Chen Yuan a perfect eight-toothed smile, full of sweetness. “Thanks, Yuanyuan.”

Lin Yi: “…”

Her fists clenched.

She took a fierce gulp of her soy milk and stood up. “I’m going to get changed.”

Thinking it would take Xu Shuyan a while longer with her makeup, Lin Yi didn’t lock the door. She went straight into the walk-in closet, took off her jacket and nightgown, and picked out a black puff-sleeved princess dress. But just as she took it down, the door was opened from the outside.

“What the hell!” Lin Yi quickly held the dress in front of herself. “How are you done so fast?”

When they were on tour, they often changed clothes in front of each other between stage rotations and had seen each other’s bodies countless times. Xu Shuyan didn’t care at all. “I need to do something,” she said, walking toward Lin Yi. Lin Yi took two steps back and asked warily, “What?”

Xu Shuyan stared at her. “Put the dress down.”

Lin Yi was confused but did as she was told. “What are you doing?”

The words had barely left her mouth when a certain spot was suddenly squeezed. Before Lin Yi could react, the perpetrator had already withdrawn her hand, hummed in thought, and commented, “Yours is pretty soft too.”

Lin Yi: “???”

So, you’re the type to hold a grudge, Xu Shuyan!