Although the phrase “couple’s trip” was cringe-worthy enough, they had been promoting their CP for years and were used to being bundled together. It wasn’t enough to make Lin Yi furious, so she just sent a sticker in the group chat that said, “Stop getting high on fake ships.”
Zhou Shichen wasn’t convinced and asked directly in the group: Weren’t you two together?
AAA Lin Yi (Hot pics on my Moments): Yes…
Gu Group’s Famous Shipper (Zhou Shichen): Did you take pictures together, eat together, and go back to the hotel together?
AAAA Xu Shuyan (Gu Group’s #1 Beauty): Yes…
Gu Group’s Famous Shipper (Zhou Shichen): kswl
Thenotes-Yan Qi: 【thenotes group variety show episode 1 proposal.doc】
AAA Lin Yi (Hot pics on my Moments): ?
AAA Lin Yi (Hot pics on my Moments): Captain, what is this???
Gu Group’s Famous Shipper (Zhou Shichen): She’s been working on it since this morning and finally finished… I mean, the group variety show doesn’t start filming until after the first concert. There’s no need to rush the proposal!
Thenotes-Yan Qi: I had nothing better to do.
AAA Lin Yi (Hot pics on my Moments): Stop being such an overachiever!
AAAA Xu Shuyan (Gu Group’s #1 Beauty): Return to the deserted island? That’s a good idea. I remember that island is much more developed now. This time, I’m determined to make up for all the hardships I suffered there last time!
AAA Lin Yi (Hot pics on my Moments): Hardships my ass. Wasn’t I the one who climbed the tree to get you coconuts?
AAAA Xu Shuyan (Gu Group’s #1 Beauty): Heh.
AAAA Xu Shuyan (Gu Group’s #1 Beauty): And then you fell out of the tree and almost paralyzed me. Forget that, you insisted I split the coconuts with my bare hands! You just wouldn’t be happy unless I got a little scraped up, would you?
AAA Lin Yi (Hot pics on my Moments): …
AAA Lin Yi (Hot pics on my Moments): Well, you were the one who wanted to eat them.
AAAA Xu Shuyan (Gu Group’s #1 Beauty): 【eye_roll.jpg】
Gu Group’s Famous Shipper (Zhou Shichen): 【This is what I eat at home, every meal is this good.My_Melody.jpg】
Yuanyuan: It really is a good ship.
AAA Lin Yi (Hot pics on my Moments): 【dying_peacefully.jpg】
AAAA Xu Shuyan (Gu Group’s #1 Beauty): 【kickthestoolforme_thanks.jpg】
The most painful thing in the world wasn’t having to promote a CP with your love rival and accept the world’s chorus of “I’m dying from shipping this,” but that the girl you both liked was also dabbling in your CP.
Ship, ship, ship!
Stop shipping! Yan Zhi You Yi is fake!
Lin Yi kicked her legs at the air in frustration. Before falling asleep, she thought of eight hundred ways to decouple herself from Xu Shuyan, only to dream that she and Xu Shuyan were performing a provocative dance on the concert stage while Chen Yuan was in the audience, holding a “Yan Zhi You Yi is real” sign and screaming for them to get married immediately.
She woke up in a cold sweat, dazed for a long time before realizing her phone was vibrating and the doorbell was ringing at the same time, each sound more urgent than the last.
It was a call from Xu Shuyan.
“I knew you’d wake up eventually, you lazy pig!” Xu Shuyan’s voice overlapped from outside the door and through the phone. “Sister Fang changed our flights. Hurry up and pack your bags for the airport!”
Lin Yi sat amidst her messy bedsheets, her hair a mess with a tuft sticking straight up. The call had already ended by the time she thought of a retort. “You’re the pig! Your whole family are pigs! Xu Shuyan! I’ll-beep-your grandpa!”
From outside the door, Xu Shuyan said leisurely, “Cursing. That’s a fine.”
Lin Yi: “…”
If she died one day, it would be because Xu Shuyan had angered her to death!
The reason Sister Fang had changed their flights in such a hurry was that the permit for their group concert in C City had been approved the previous night. The year’s concert tour was officially kicking off, and they were gathering on their day off to select songs for their duo, group, and solo stages.
“Song selection again?” Lin Yi hadn’t even eaten and was leaning listlessly against the car window. “And the duo stage… it’s not me and you again, is it?”
“Who else?” Xu Shuyan shoved a paper bag at her. “I ordered too much for breakfast. Lucky you.”
Lin Yi’s eyes lit up. She pounced on the food like a hungry tiger, wolfing it down.
Xu Shuyan kindly reminded her, “Chew eighty times.”
Lin Yi: “…”
She had the type of body that gained weight easily, so she didn’t dare eat much on a normal day, and with a performance coming up, she had to be even more restrained. That was one thing, but why were some people able to eat whatever they wanted without getting fat!
Lin Yi shot Xu Shuyan a hateful glare.
Xu Shuyan was baffled. “I give you food and you glare at me?”
Lin Yi just huffed.
Ever since they started promoting their CP after debuting, every concert tour had one or two duo stages for Lin Yi and Xu Shuyan. They would pick songs with sexual tension or sing sweet little duets, which was enough to make the CP fans ship them to death.
“Are there any other duo stages?” Lin Yi asked while eating.
“Yuanyuan and Shichen have a vocal-only one.” Xu Shuyan scrolled through last night’s group chat history. “The rest are trio, group, and solo stages. What are you planning to sing for your solo?”
Lin Yi had already decided. “‘Fulfill.'”
Xu Shuyan just said, “Oh.”
Lin Yi said, “I’m singing it for you.”
Xu Shuyan was puzzled. “Why?”
This person is so dense, Lin Yi thought. Does she really have to make me spell it out? “Look at the lyrics. Can’t you appreciate my good intentions?”
Xu Shuyan thought for a moment, then it dawned on her. “You’re finally going to let me and Yuanyuan be together? Thanks.”
Lin Yi was furious. “I want you to listen to the part that goes, ‘One person’s fulfillment is better than three people’s entanglement’! You should hurry up and back out!”
Xu Shuyan: “Heh.”
Lin Yi asked, “What are you singing?”
Xu Shuyan looked at her. “‘How Are You So Stupid You Don’t Even Know I Like You.'”
Lin Yi looked triumphant. “You’re calling Yuanyuan stupid! I’m going to tell her right now!”
Xu Shuyan leaned back, perfectly composed. “Then thank you for confessing my feelings for me.”
Lin Yi: “…”
Damn it. After that trip to Universal Studios, she couldn’t even win a verbal spar with Xu Shuyan anymore!
The flight change was so sudden that the fans hadn’t had time to react, so not many people were there to see them off. After boarding the plane smoothly, Lin Yi switched to sleep mode. She still wasn’t fully awake when they landed, and the crowd waiting to greet them was large, so she just stuck close to Xu Shuyan, resting her chin on Xu Shuyan’s shoulder when they moved through the most crowded parts.
【Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit, they’re being all lovey-dovey in public!!!】
【Xu Shuyan is the ultimate stud!】
【I want to lean on Xu Shuyan’s shoulder too… I need to possess Lin Yi’s body right now.】
【Hehe, I want our Lin Yi to have a shoulder to lean on, so I need to possess Xu Shuyan’s body right now.】
【The little couple is back from their honeymoon!】
【I’m definitely getting tickets for this concert! I want front-row seats to watch Yan Zhi You Yi be in love!】
【Is there a duo stage? If so, I’m all in… I want to see a provocative dance, preferably the kind where they do it on stage [panting]】
【What’s wrong with you CP fans? Don’t defile the sacred stage!】
【I support what the solo fan said! Don’t defile the sacred stage! Defile me instead!】
【…】
The song selection process went relatively smoothly. Since they had to consider copyright issues, most of the songs were pre-selected by the company for them to choose from.
“What about you two?” Yan Qi, wearing glasses with a chain, looked stunning even without a trace of makeup. Her face had lost some of its flamboyance and gained a gentle refinement. She looked at the travel-worn Xu Shuyan and Lin Yi, who had rushed to the company for a meeting right after getting off the plane. “What are you planning to perform for your duo stage?”
Lin Yi tied her long hair into a ponytail. “Haven’t decided yet.”
Xu Shuyan asked, “Do you have any suggestions?”
Yan Qi twirled the pen in her hand, thought for a moment, and said, “Your performance is scheduled for the first half. I’m leaning toward something that can hype up the crowd. A song and dance number would be best.”
Lin Yi nodded thoughtfully.
Although she and Xu Shuyan didn’t get along, to the point of being sick of the sight of each other, they were always professional when it came to the stage. Their coordination was seamless, and fighting backstage never stopped them from getting up close and personal on stage.
After the meeting, neither Lin Yi nor Xu Shuyan was in a hurry to leave. They sat facing each other at the conference table, looking at one another in silence.
The cameraman conscientiously shouldered his equipment and aimed it at the two of them.
Lin Yi rested her chin on her hand and lightly kicked Xu Shuyan’s leg under the table. “Have you thought of any song and dance numbers?”
Xu Shuyan was lying on the table, half her face buried in her arms. She looked up at Lin Yi, her voice a little quiet and slightly hoarse, her gaze evasive as if she were uncertain. “I do have one song in mind…”
“What is it?” Lin Yi leaned forward too, mirroring her pose. They were suddenly very close, and she could see her own reflection in Xu Shuyan’s pupils. “Let’s hear it.”
Xu Shuyan paused for a moment, then said, “How about ‘No. 89757’?”
“…” Lin Yi cursed inwardly. And she has the nerve to ask me what I think. Looking at Xu Shuyan’s expression and the glaring camera lens, it was obvious she’d already made up her mind and was just forcing Lin Yi to agree.
“The one about the robot,” Lin Yi murmured. “That could work.”
She smiled. “When did you think of it?”
Xu Shuyan smiled back. “On the plane, while you were sleeping.”
Lin Yi: “Oh.”
“Is ‘oh’ all you have to say?” Xu Shuyan reached for her hand. “Do you have to sleep every time we get on a plane? It’s so boring being awake by myself. Talk to me more next time, okay?”
Lin Yi tried to shake her hand off but couldn’t, her face flushing. “If I hadn’t been sleeping, would you have been able to pick a good song?”
Xu Shuyan considered this. “That’s true.”
“See?” Since Lin Yi couldn’t shake her hand free, she gave up and used her other hand to count Xu Shuyan’s fingers one by one, then intertwined her own with them. “Let’s submit it first, then we can figure out the choreography and stage production.”
Xu Shuyan grabbed her mischievous hand. “Shall we go home then?”
Lin Yi nodded, then frowned. “Let go!”
Xu Shuyan: “You first.”
Lin Yi: “You’re the one holding my hand!”
Xu Shuyan: “But you’re holding mine too.”
Lin Yi: “I let go.”
Xu Shuyan: “…I didn’t.”
Lin Yi: “Well, let go then!”
Xu Shuyan stood up with a grin and reached out to block the camera lens. “Turn it off and I’ll let go.”
The cameraman obediently turned off the camera, but not the recording function. From the black screen, Lin Yi’s indignant voice could still be heard: “You liar! You didn’t let go even after he turned it off!”
“What’s wrong with holding hands?” Xu Shuyan vaulted over the conference table and pulled Lin Yi into her arms. “Come on, come with me to listen to the solo demos.”
“…”
“Teacher Xu, Teacher Lin, the camera is off,” the cameraman offered as a friendly reminder.
In less than a second, Lin Yi had flung Xu Shuyan’s hand away. Xu Shuyan took a wet wipe from a nearby table, her tone indifferent. “Seems you have plenty of strength, don’t you?”
Lin Yi scoffed. “What do you know about push and pull?”
After a pause, she asked, “Are you really going to listen to demos?”
Xu Shuyan nodded. “I’ve got nothing to do back at the dorm anyway. I’m going to take a quick lesson.”
Lin Yi also took a wet wipe. “Then I’m going back to the dorm to catch up on sleep.”
The two of them left the conference room together. One went left to find the vocal coach, the other went right toward the elevator to go back to the dorm.
Humming a tune, Lin Yi nonchalantly entered the elevator. She quickly glanced outside twice, and when she was sure no one was looking, she pressed the button to go up.
Heh, back to the dorm? She hadn’t seen Chen Yuan in two days. Was she supposed to wait until she was back at the dorm to compete with Xu Shuyan for her attention, instead of taking this chance to see her while she was alone in the practice room?
Ding! The elevator arrived.
Lin Yi got off the elevator, looking left and right as she crept toward the door of Chen Yuan’s practice room. She stealthily reached for the handle, but before she could touch it, her hand brushed against something warm.
Caught completely off guard, Lin Yi let out a shriek that pierced the heavens-the main vocal’s breath support was truly impressive. After seeing who it was, she couldn’t help but blurt out, “Fuck!”
Xu Shuyan looked at her, her face expressionless. “Cursing. That’s a fine.”
Lin Yi: “…”
Fuck!
