The night the winter concert ended, while CP fans of every pairing were going wild, they didn’t forget to praise the performances. Individual fancams, fan-taken photos, and official footage were all arranged on the trending topics list. They clipped the killing parts to promote them to the whole world: “Idols can’t live without the stage! And I can’t live without the stage!”
Sweet Melon Entertainment also took the opportunity to arrange a marketing push using the “Winter Messages for Teammates” segment. They cleverly used the hashtag #SayWhat’sOnYourHeartToAFriendInWinter# to attract casual viewers to click on the topic and share their daily lives, while also gaining some public recognition.
[I don’t know these pretty ladies in the video, but what they said was really sincere. I love the friendship between pretty girls! Already forwarded it to my roommate and told her what’s on my heart: It’s cold, can you bring me back some beef fried rice from the cafeteria?]
[Hahahahahaha I told my roommate to bring me back some fried rice noodles when she went out. She angrily grabbed my neck and said she was just going out to get water. I said, can’t you just make a trip to the cafeteria on the way? She told me to get lost… Hehe, such a fragile friendship!]
[…Am I the only one who thinks one of the girls’ messages to another was really ambiguous? I’m shipping it! The orange situation is looking great, hehehe!]
This trending topic had a lot of casual viewers and a wide range of discussion. Fans seized every opportunity to promote their idols. Seeing this comment, Xu Shuyan’s and Lin Yi’s fans immediately took action.
Xu Shuyan’s fan replied: That’s @Thenotes-Xu Shuyan! You should follow her. She’s the group’s only rapper and visual, a sincere and cute girl [Photo of Xu Shuyan]
Lin Yi’s fan replied: It was written for @Thenotes-Lin Yi! Who doesn’t love the group’s one and only main vocal, Lin Yi? ^^ If you’re interested, you should check her out. She’s a super cute youngest member [Photo of Lin Yi]
Yan Zhi You Yi CP fan replied: The two moms above are both right. I’ll just add one thing: If you’re shipping it, the #YanZhiYouYiSuperTopic# welcomes you! The orange situation is great! Yay! [Photo of Yan Zhi You Yi together]
Casual viewer: I’m shipping it!
Xu Shuyan’s fan: Get lost!
Lin Yi’s fan: Get lost!
With the company’s marketing and the fans’ promotions, the internet was buzzing. The discussion volume was unparalleled, making the rival anti-fans—who had been waiting to see them become a joke and flop after Chen Yuan left the group—grind their teeth in frustration.
Meanwhile, the four members of the Gu Group simply posted on Weibo once each after the concert and didn’t go online again. When they woke up, they were met with a surprise: the number of viewers for last night’s livestream had far exceeded expectations, the discussion volume was at 300 percent, the official Weibo account had gained 500,000 new active followers, and the company’s upper management was very pleased. Bonuses had already been approved, plus a three-day paid vacation. Wherever they wanted to go and whatever they wanted to do would be fully reimbursed by the company.
The group’s manager excitedly sent several celebratory sticker packs in the group chat: Enjoy your vacation, babies!
Yan Qi: [OK]
Zhou Shichen: Okay!!!
Lin Yi: Alright! The company is the best! I’ll love the company forever!
Manager: What about Yanyan?
Lin Yi: She’s in the shower.
Manager: This early in the morning?
Zhou Shichen: This early in the morning [Drooling]
Yan Qi: …
Zhou Shichen: @Yan Qi, what’s wrong?
Yan Qi: Class is in session.
Manager: What class has the Captain been taking recently?
Zhou Shichen: How to Get Along with Three- to Six-Year-Old Children.
Manager: … You really should read that. You’re about to be on a variety show with a kid. You can do it, Captain!
That’s right. Ever since her “friendly” exchange with Xiao Tang Bao, Yan Qi had gone back, summarized her experience, reflected on her shortcomings, and requested to go on a parenting-type show.
The manager thought it was absurd. “Are you secretly married with a child?”
Only later did she realize Yan Qi meant taking care of someone else’s child. Coincidentally, a platform had a similar project for a new season of a variety show. After communicating with the production team, they treated the idea like a treasure. Yan Qi came with her own fanbase, and the topic of an idol raising a child would generate a lot of buzz. If they invited other group members as guest stars, the ratings would be through the roof. They wouldn’t have to worry about sponsors at all.
Lin Yi gave the Captain a thumbs-up for her diligence, then went on a travel app to look for plane tickets directly from H City back to Mountain City.
It had been snowing heavily the past two days, and many flights were affected. The most recent ones were either canceled or delayed. To be safe, she chose a flight for tomorrow evening.
Afraid that scalpers would get their flight information in advance and leak the fact that Xu Shuyan was going home with her again, Lin Yi asked her assistant to book the tickets later.
The sound of water from the bathroom stopped.
Lin Yi pattered off the bed, called out, “I’m coming in!” and pushed the door open. Xu Shuyan was wrapped in a bath towel, drying her hair. Her slender figure was faintly visible through the hazy steam. She said helplessly, “What’s the rush?”
“I have something to discuss with you,” Lin Yi said seriously, but her eyes unabashedly swept over Xu Shuyan’s body. Taking a closer look, she said, “It’s really red. Does it hurt?”
“No…” The truth took a detour on her lips. Xu Shuyan said decisively, “It hurts! It hurts like hell!”
As expected, Lin Yi’s face fell. She picked at her hands worriedly. “I’m sorry, Xu Shuyan. I meant to control myself. But the more I… tasted you… the happier you seemed, so I couldn’t hold back.”
Xu Shuyan’s face flushed. “Are you saying it’s my fault?”
Lin Yi quickly waved her hands and shook her head frantically. “Absolutely not!”
She pouted, sneaking a glance at Xu Shuyan’s expression. She watched as Xu Shuyan’s half-dry hair cascaded over her jade-like shoulders. The steam dissipated, and her features became clearer. Lin Yi hummed, “Actually, it is your fault.”
Xu Shuyan raised an eyebrow, her mouth forming a small “O.” “Oh?”
Lin Yi said with a straight face, “If being beautiful is a crime, then you’d be unforgivable, baby.”
Xu Shuyan: “…”
She was at a loss for words. “Lin Yi, that was so cheesy. I love it.”
Lin Yi’s mood brightened again, but then she quietly accused Xu Shuyan, “You weren’t exactly gentle with me last night either, okay? It’s a little… a little difficult for me to walk right now!”
Xu Shuyan tilted her head and beckoned to her. “Then come over here and let me see.”
Lin Yi subconsciously pressed her legs together. “No, thanks!”
Did she think she didn’t know? Going over to “let her see” wouldn’t just be about seeing. She still wanted to walk out of this hotel on her own two feet!
Xu Shuyan sighed softly, thinking that Lin Yi was getting harder and harder to fool. The heater in the bathroom was on high, quickly evaporating the remaining moisture from her skin. She didn’t hurry to get dressed. Frowning, she lowered her gaze and remained silent for a moment before asking, “So what am I going to do about this?”
Lin Yi let out a sound. “What?”
Xu Shuyan committed to the act. “It hurts even when my clothes rub against it. What am I supposed to do?”
Lin Yi: “…I won’t do it like that next time.”
Xu Shuyan suggested with a straight face, “Come over and kiss it better.”
Lin Yi: “!”
She took a small step back. “This early in the morning… that’s not a good idea, is it?”
Xu Shuyan hummed. “Then why did you come in?”
“I felt guilty,” Lin Yi said, aggrieved. “The lights were off at the end last night, so I didn’t see. I was afraid that when you came back from your shower, I’d want to look, and you’d think I was trying to strip you or something… that’s why…”
Xu Shuyan tucked her hair behind her ear. The movement caused the towel draped around her to loosen, revealing a flash of skin.
She drew out her words. “So, are you going to kiss me or not?”
Lin Yi: “I will!”
A teasing smile appeared in Xu Shuyan’s eyes.
Lin Yi closed her eyes.
…She’d accidentally said what was on her mind.
Lunch was delivered to their hotel room.
The four of them filled the booth perfectly. Yan Qi methodically cut her steak, quietly listening as Zhou Shichen suggested to Lin Yi and Xu Shuyan that they go skiing. Lin Yi was unenthusiastic. “The last time I went skiing, I just kept falling. I fell so much my head was spinning. I don’t want to go.”
Xu Shuyan, sipping her congee in small mouthfuls, interjected, “That’s because you were competing with me back then, insisting on skiing faster than me.”
Lin Yi: “…Who told you to be so good at it! Who gave you permission!”
Xu Shuyan said helplessly, “Didn’t I explain it to you?”
Lin Yi said, “No, you didn’t.”
She recalled, “You said you were exceptionally talented, that you knew how to ski the moment you stepped on the board. You said a normal human like me could never learn it and should just give up early, otherwise rolling down would be faster.”
Xu Shuyan: “…”
How did I manage to get a girlfriend like this?
Zhou Shichen, with a look of utter disbelief, asked directly, “How do you have a girlfriend?”
Lin Yi asked, “So you actually practiced in secret, didn’t you?”
“Yeah,” Xu Shuyan said. “When I was little, my parents would take me to social events and just dump me with an instructor. I learned by falling a lot.”
Lin Yi’s heart ached hearing this. “Our poor Yanyan!”
Xu Shuyan pouted. “Mhm.”
Zhou Shichen: “…”
Okay, now she knew why Xu Shuyan had a girlfriend.
There was a lid for every pot. Lin Yi’s pot was made specifically for a little radish like Xu Shuyan, who knew how to act pitiful and play the victim.
“So let’s go!” Zhou Shichen smoothly brought the topic back. “You two have rarely gone out on dates since you started dating, right? What’s the fun in staying in your room all day? Go out on a company-funded date, look at the snow, look at the blue sky. How great is that!”
Lin Yi was tempted. She asked, “Is the Captain going?”
The Captain, who doesn’t speak while eating, blinked.
“She’s going,” Zhou Shichen said after a mouthful of pasta. “If she doesn’t go, it’ll be the three of us. Are you willing to have me follow you around every second?”
Lin Yi: “?”
Zhou Shichen’s face was full of longing. “I’m not here to break you up, I’m here to join you.”
Lin Yi: “…”
Xu Shuyan said, “Great, the Captain is going too.”
Yan Qi finished the last bite of her steak, drained the red wine from her glass, and calmly wiped her mouth. “But I don’t know how to ski. I’m going to build a snowman there. Who wants to sign up?”
Zhou Shichen: “I want to ski.”
Yan Qi looked at Lin Yi and Xu Shuyan.
Lin Yi: “…Sorry, Captain. I have to be in a relationship.”
Xu Shuyan also said, “Sorry, Captain. I have to be in a relationship with her.”
Yan Qi: “…”
Alas, where in the world could one find a kindred spirit?
It wasn’t that Yan Qi couldn’t ski; she just disliked the feeling of being out of control. During the period before she mastered the skill, nothing was within her control, and she even had to rely on safety personnel for help. She didn’t like that.
“Once you learn, you’ll be in control,” Zhou Shichen said. “Try it this time. I’ll teach you.”
Yan Qi pondered. “Wait until I’ve finished building my snowman.”
So, after lunch that day, the four of them set off for the nearest and largest ski resort. They bought all the necessary equipment on the spot. They used the VIP entrance, which came with a private ski area and dedicated service. In the manager’s words: “One-on-one instruction, guaranteed to teach you! We’ll absolutely ensure you experience the joy of skiing!”
Yan Qi was the first to refuse. “No need. That area is fine. Don’t let anyone come over. I’m going to build a snowman.”
Manager: “?”
Lin Yi refused next. “No need. I just want to walk around. Please prepare some snacks for me. I’ll call if I need anything else.”
Manager: “??”
Xu Shuyan pointed at Lin Yi. “I’m with her.”
Manager: “???”
He looked at Zhou Shichen, the only one who hadn’t spoken. “Ma’am, you…?”
Zhou Shichen was bundled up tightly, her ski suit worn perfectly. She took a step forward, lifted her chin, and after getting a mouthful of flying snow, coughed twice. “I, cough cough! I’m going to be the queen of this ski resort!”
Manager: “…Okay.”
Finally, someone who actually came to ski.
Lin Yi and Xu Shuyan didn’t rush off to find a place to be romantic. Instead, out of humanitarian spirit, they first accompanied Yan Qi to build a snowman for a while. Lin Yi, wearing gloves, grabbed a handful of snow. “Captain! What kind of snowman do you want to build? I’ll help you!”
Xu Shuyan stuck her hands in her pockets and gave a perfunctory nod, her voice muffled by her scarf. “We’ll help you.”
Yan Qi said, “Hold on.”
Then she pulled a blueprint out of her pocket.
Lin Yi: “??”
Xu Shuyan commented, “Do you have to be so meticulous!”
Yan Qi pulled her scarf down a bit, glanced at Zhou Shichen who was already racing across the ski slopes, and said, “Shichen wanted a Totoro. I think it’s very challenging and quite distinctive, so I want to give it a try.”
Lin Yi cheered her on. “You can do it, Captain.”
Yan Qi hummed in acknowledgment, then, as if remembering something, said, “This is an open-air area. Be careful with your romance. Don’t get caught doing anything intimate.”
Lin Yi’s face flushed. “Of course not! We’ll control ourselves!”
Yan Qi lowered her eyes. Frost had formed on her long lashes, melting into tiny water droplets with her warm breath. Her tone was calm, as if she were discussing something mundane. “If you could control yourselves, how could you kiss until your lips were broken?”
Lin Yi: “…”
Xu Shuyan burst out laughing.
Even after they were far from Yan Qi’s snowman-building base, Lin Yi still refused to acknowledge Xu Shuyan. Clutching the snacks, she walked faster and faster, until her foot slipped and she fell into the snow.
“Lin Yi!” Xu Shuyan cried out. She trudged through the snow, squatting down to help her up. “Are you okay?”
Lin Yi shook off her hand. “Leave me alone!”
Xu Shuyan whined coquettishly, “But you’re my girlfriend. How can I not care about you? Look, the snacks are scattered all over the ground. Get up quickly, how about we finish them off?”
Lin Yi’s voice was muffled. “No.”
Xu Shuyan turned her head to find her gaze. When their eyes met, Lin Yi looked away. Xu Shuyan, enjoying this game of chase, gave Lin Yi a gentle push. “Why not?”
“Haven’t you heard that saying?” Lin Yi huffed, swatting her hand away. She spread her limbs out in the snow like a starfish. Gazing at the bare branches of the birch forest reaching toward the azure sky, she said in a deep voice, “Where a person falls—”
“They must get back up from there?” Xu Shuyan asked.
“No!” Lin Yi turned her head. The thick, fluffy hat insulated her from the cold snow. Her tone was firm. “I’m going to lie there a little longer.”
Xu Shuyan: “…”
Lin Yi grumbled, “Feel guilty, Xu Shuyan! It’s all because you kissed me too hard, breaking my lip, and the Captain even found out. It’s bad enough you didn’t help me when she teased me, but you actually laughed out loud! You made me angry, and then I fell! It’s all your fault, all your fault!”
“Yes, yes, it’s all my fault.” Xu Shuyan went along with her. Her legs were getting numb from squatting, so she just sat down on the ground. “Then how about I take responsibility for you?”
“Responsible for what?” Lin Yi asked warily.
“From now on, I’ll be responsible for you. No matter how much blame you throw my way, I can take it, okay?” Xu Shuyan coaxed her like a child, poking her here and there. “Okay? Please~”
Lin Yi was silent for a moment, then asked, “Xu Shuyan, do you think I’m being unreasonable?”
“How could I?” Xu Shuyan lay down beside her, wrapping her arms and legs around Lin Yi. “Is a girlfriend being unreasonable really being unreasonable? It’s a cute little quirk, proof that you love me!”
Lin Yi muttered under her breath, “How are you so good at sweet talk, Xu Shuyan?”
Xu Shuyan: “Hm?”
Lin Yi was held in her embrace, like two clumsy people who had fallen in the snow. Lin Yi adjusted her position so she could look Xu Shuyan in the eye, reached out to pull Xu Shuyan’s scarf up a little, and said, “The most dangerous thing is a rapper singing sweet nothings. Who gets it?”
Xu Shuyan caught her hand and brought it to her lips for a kiss.
The snow on her glove melted into a droplet and fell. Even though there was a layer of fabric between them, Xu Shuyan’s kiss felt like it landed on the tip of her heart. The falling snow was all gentleness and endless affection. She blinked slowly. The frost on her eyelashes made her vision blurry, adding a filter that made everything beautiful.
“Xu Shuyan.”
“Hm?”
“Are you really, really sure you want to come home with me?”
“…Why are you suddenly asking that?”
“I need you to be sure. This time, if you come home with me and meet my parents, you’ll be part of my family.” Lin Yi domineeringly declared the most serious consequence. “We have to go apologize to my mom, and then introduce you to her.”
Xu Shuyan smiled and said, “Okay. I’ll tell Auntie, ‘I’ve run off with your daughter. I hope you can wish us happiness!’”
Lin Yi said thoughtfully, “Making wishes at my mom’s place is very effective.”
Both of them simultaneously recalled the last time they returned to Mountain City, when Lin Yi had made a wish at her mother’s grave, hoping Xu Shuyan would stop liking Chen Yuan. Looking at it now, in a sense, that wish had come true.
Xu Shuyan mused, “Then I’ll have to prepare a wish list for this trip.”
“…” Lin Yi shot her a look. “Don’t push your luck! The first time you formally meet my mom, you’re going to bring a long wish list for her to grant? How rude can you be!”
Xu Shuyan laughed just imagining the scene. She let go of Lin Yi and also spread out on the snow. The blue sky was reflected in her eyes. She said, “You have to come home with me, too.”
Lin Yi grabbed a handful of snow and played with it in her palm, teasing Xu Shuyan. “Didn’t you tell your auntie and uncle that I was your future girlfriend? Do they know I already am?”
“Of course they know,” Xu Shuyan said. “You have no idea. My parents bombard me in the family group chat every day, asking if I’ve made you my current girlfriend yet. If not, my mom said she’d introduce me to someone, but she can’t tell who likes girls, so it’s a bit hard to find someone, and she told me to just keep trying to pursue you.”
Lin Yi couldn’t help but laugh. “Your parents are pretty open-minded. When I went to Y City to rescue you, thinking about what your parents did and seeing your home’s decor, I pictured two old-fashioned people.”
But they turned out to be surprisingly easy to talk to.
Xu Shuyan said, “Maybe it’s because they objected so many times before, and I just never listened.”
Lin Yi laughed at her. “You really are rebellious!”
Xu Shuyan suddenly fell silent.
Lin Yi froze for a second, then turned her head to meet Xu Shuyan’s calm gaze. Her heart skipped a beat, and she heard herself ask, “…What’s wrong?”
“My rebellion came too late,” Xu Shuyan said softly. She moved closer, her nose brushing against Lin Yi’s. Her warm breath puffed against Lin Yi’s face, the mingling streams cooling in the air. She said, “If I had been a little more rebellious, I would have fallen for you sooner.”
It didn’t have to be too much sooner.
Just on that Christmas Eve morning, when the entire city had yet to awaken, the moment Lin Yi pushed open the practice room door—love at first sight.
That would have been perfect.
Topic: Gu Group’s four members at the ski resort [Pics]
OP: Scalpers are selling. Anyone want to chip in with me?
“What ski resort pics? Who went skiing? Aaaaaah did Yan Zhi You Yi go too!”
“Me, me, me!”
“Damn, is OP talking about the picture of Yan Zhi You Yi tangled up on the ground? I saw a preview from a scalper! I was so shocked, I wanted to buy it immediately. If that picture gets out, Yan Zhi You Yi will be outed instantly…”
“I want to see, I want to see! I’ll chip in one yuan!”
“I’ll chip in two!”
“I’ll give 200!”
“Wait, is this real or fake? OP isn’t colluding with the scalpers, right? Don’t scam us little shippers!”
“It’s a private schedule, let’s not look. We’re not that desperate for content.”
“Actually, I am.”
“I have some connections. I’m a staff member at the ski resort. The Gu Group really did come here yesterday. My colleague received them in the VIP area. I heard all four are very pretty and cute, with small, fair faces! But only the one with pigtails was actually skiing properly.”
“Pigtails? Shichen? She loves wearing pigtails!”
“Someone who loves skiing that much has to be Shichen, no doubt.”
“There was also a more serious-looking girl who was building a snowman the whole time. She ended up building a Totoro, and it’s still standing in our scenic area. Everyone is welcome to come take a picture with it.”
“…Captain, is that you, Captain? Yan Qi! Going to a ski resort to build a snowman! That’s so you!”
“Where did the other two go? Connection person? Don’t leave us hanging! This is very important to me!”
“I’m back, I’m back, something came up. My colleague said the other two helped the serious girl build her snowman for a bit and then left. It seemed like one made the other angry. They walked off, bickering, toward the birch forest. Later, one of our staff members went over because they were worried something might have happened, and they saw the two of them lying on the ground, holding hands, and quietly looking at the sky.”
“…I don’t even know where to start shipping from.”
“They’re literally shoving food into my mouth, family! Burp! I’m stuffed!”
“Yan Zhi You Yi isn’t going to come out while they’re still in the group, are they? Does that mean our Gu Group is going to disband? No! You little lovebirds, control yourselves! If you really can’t hold it in, I can accept a sub-unit.”
The discussion about the ski resort wasn’t even over, and the “sugar” hadn’t been thoroughly analyzed, when someone else dropped another bombshell: “Xu Shuyan and Lin Yi, 8 PM flight to Mountain City tonight.”
Netizens: “???”
[Lin Yi is taking Xu Shuyan home again. Looks like Lin Yi’s parents are very satisfied with Xu Shuyan!]
[I’m numb to it now. If Yan Zhi You Yi kissed in front of me, I wouldn’t even bat an eye. Is there anything they wouldn’t do? …But I hope they kiss in front of me ASAP!]
[Wait, I saw Xu Shuyan’s solo fans debunking this. They said Xu Shuyan is clearly flying to N City and then taking a car home. She’s not going home with Lin Yi at all. They’re even mocking CP fans for shipping fake content.]
[It’s fine. It’s not like she hasn’t taken her home before. Going to their respective homes is no big deal~ Anyway, your idol isn’t going to take you home ^^]
[Anyway, in my mind, Yan Zhi You Yi have already met each other’s parents. All that’s left is the official announcement.]
A prominent solo fan screenshotted these CP fan comments and posted them on Weibo to mock them: “Hehe, look at the CP fans’ rhetoric. They’re purely using my idol as a tool for their ship, assigning her a sexual orientation without any regard for her own thoughts. Their intentions are malicious!”
Below, solo fans, filled with righteous indignation, attacked the CP fans and got the hashtag #YanZhiYouYiIsOver# trending.
But half an hour later.
@HalfALoveLetterYZYY1105x0813: |20221217 Mountain City Arrival| Ran into the little couple coming home. Even their backs look happy! Yay!
In the picture, Lin Yi and Xu Shuyan were walking side by side, each pushing a suitcase. It was unclear what they were talking about, but even with masks on, you could tell they were smiling brightly.
Solo fans: “???”
What happened to Yan Zhi You Yi being over!???
![How to Escape from the Hands of Yandere [QT]](https://novels.space/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/images-94.jpeg "How to Escape from the Hands of Yandere [QT]")
