Lin Yi strongly condemned Xu Shuyan for her shocking words that had frightened the young girl. But Xu Shuyan’s attitude was anything but proper. While Lin Yi was reprimanding her, she was constantly fidgeting, using every trick to harass her until Lin Yi’s efforts ended in failure.
Lin Yi sat on the desk, her arms wrapped around Xu Shuyan’s neck as they kissed.
The kiss, laced with longing, was tender and lingering. Lin Yi tried to muster some of her scolding energy, but she melted the longer they kissed. Soothed by Xu Shuyan, she ended up whimpering softly in her arms.
Outside the window, spring thunder rumbled as the rain grew heavier, pattering against the balcony glass. In the courtyard, newly bloomed flowers were swept up by the wind and rain, buried in the earth and releasing its fresh, loamy fragrance.
In the room, Lin Yi rested her head on Xu Shuyan’s shoulder. After catching her breath, she turned and buried her face in the crook of Xu Shuyan’s neck, nuzzling her coquettishly. Her voice was syrupy. “You still haven’t told me how you got here.”
“It’s a surprise,” Xu Shuyan said, pulling out a tissue and leisurely wiping her fingers. She brushed aside Lin Yi’s sweat-dampened hair, revealing a face that looked as if it had just been washed. “It’s not far, so I just drove over. Don’t worry, no one saw me.”
Lin Yi hummed. “I wouldn’t be afraid even if they did see.”
Xu Shuyan raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”
Lin Yi pecked her on the lips. “I’ve seen it online. The fans say it’s okay for me to be in a relationship now. As long as I don’t neglect my career, they think it’s fine.”
Xu Shuyan countered, “Are you sure they want to see you in a relationship with me?”
Lin Yi thought for a moment. At first, they probably didn’t, but she’d seen comments from her “mom fans.” They were always trying to find her a boyfriend, only to end up indignantly lamenting that no damn man was good enough for her. They’d conclude, Might as well be Xu Shuyan!
Xu Shuyan wore a complicated expression. “So that’s how I came out on top?”
“Your fans are the same, okay?!” Lin Yi retorted, defending her own fans. “After your fans say, ‘Might as well be Lin Yi,’ they immediately start saying, ‘What do you mean, might as well be Lin Yi? I don’t want to find a partner for Xu Shuyan-I want to do it myself!'”
Xu Shuyan was speechless. “…Really? How come I’ve never seen that?”
Lin Yi made a move to grab her phone. “I’ll find it for you.”
“Don’t-” Xu Shuyan stopped her, pinching her cheek. “Aren’t you exhausted? Filming was so hard today…” The more Xu Shuyan spoke, the more her heart ached for her. “Your director, honestly. There are limits to exploiting actors!”
Lin Yi gave her a placating kiss. “Oh, it wasn’t hard. It was actually pretty fun, really.”
Xu Shuyan didn’t accept her attempt to appease her and turned her face away. “Not hard? Fun? Was riding the horse fun, or was fighting someone in the rain fun? Your skin is so delicate, you bruise at the slightest touch. Let me see if you got bruised anywhere.”
Lin Yi laughed, dodging her hands. “Nowhere bruises as badly as where you pinch me, okay?”
Xu Shuyan argued defensively, “I do not!”
As she spoke, her hands grew even more insistent. Lin Yi couldn’t escape and had to let her grope around, but she didn’t stop talking. “I’m telling you, Xu Shuyan, after tonight, if I take a picture and post it online, the fans will think you’re abusing me! Yan Zhi You Yi will have a bad ending!”
“Mention ‘bad ending’ one more time, and I’ll make sure you don’t have the strength to post on Weibo tomorrow, believe it or not,” Xu Shuyan threatened in a low voice, a laugh mixed in that robbed it of any real menace. “Did you hear me?”
Lin Yi played along. “Alright, then.”
She put on the pitiful act of a poor, bullied little thing. “I won’t mention it again. Please don’t bully me.”
Xu Shuyan lifted her chin. “Do you think that’s possible?”
…Of course, it wasn’t.
But Lin Yi had to be up early for filming the next day, so they didn’t dare go too wild. In the end, they just held each other and slept until the alarm rang. A message from her assistant followed. “Teacher Lin, for breakfast, would you like to go to the restaurant or order room service?”
Lin Yi glanced at Xu Shuyan, who was clinging to her like a koala, and typed back, “I’ll eat at the restaurant. Order room service for Yanyan when she wakes up.”
The assistant replied with an “OK” emoji.
Lin Yi gently tried to push Xu Shuyan away, but just as she slipped out of her embrace, she was yanked back. Lin Yi fell back onto the bed, caught off guard. “You’re awake?” she asked helplessly.
With her eyes still closed, Xu Shuyan hummed in affirmation.
“You go back to sleep,” Lin Yi said, trying to get up again. “I have to eat quickly and then go to makeup. You get some rest.”
Xu Shuyan’s lips moved, and she articulated clearly, “No.”
Lin Yi got out of bed, surprised. “No?”
“Mhm.” Xu Shuyan sat up, rubbing her eyes, her tone firm. “No!”
Lin Yi looked at her. “And what might you want now, Miss Xu?”
Xu Shuyan hugged her from behind, pressing her lips to Lin Yi’s shoulder and inhaling her scent. Her voice was lazy. “I’m sticking to you now. Wherever you go today, I’m going with you.”
Lin Yi couldn’t help but laugh. “Didn’t you say no one knew you were here?”
Xu Shuyan hummed in agreement.
Lin Yi said, “Well, if you come to the set with me, people will find out, won’t they?”
Xu Shuyan mumbled.
Lin Yi patted the back of her hand, coaxing her. “Come on, you should rest. I’ll try my best to get my takes done in one go today so I can finish early and come back to you.”
But Xu Shuyan remained firm. “No! I’m going with you!”
…They were back to square one.
“So, what happens if people find out you came to visit me on set?” Lin Yi asked patiently.
“Then they’ll know,” Xu Shuyan said with a devil-may-care attitude, as if she was ready to come out of the closet if they were discovered. “So what? The Notes are a family, full of group spirit. Is it a crime to visit my good sister on set?”
Lin Yi was speechless. “Please, don’t mention ‘good sisters,'” she said resentfully. “Sister Fang has probably developed PTSD from buying us all those ‘good sisters’ trending topics over the years.”
Xu Shuyan chuckled. “Then just have her buy one more.”
Lin Yi was helpless against her. “Alright, alright. I’ll call room service, then. We can have breakfast in the room?”
Xu Shuyan thought for a moment. “No!”
Lin Yi’s temper flared. She pressed a finger to Xu Shuyan’s forehead. “Xu Shuyan, don’t push your luck, I’m telling you. It’s ‘no’ to this and ‘no’ to that. How come you weren’t shouting ‘no’ in bed yesterday?”
Xu Shuyan caught her finger and brought it to her lips for a kiss. “Because my wife’s fingernails are very neatly trimmed.”
Lin Yi’s face flushed. “…Stop talking nonsense.”
“Take me to the restaurant,” Xu Shuyan said, clinging to her. “I can meet the people from your drama ahead of time, so they won’t ask a bunch of questions when I go to the set with you today.”
That reminded Lin Yi of Che Ling, whom they had scared the day before. She wondered if the young woman had processed the bombshell news yet, or if she even had any interest left in dating. Worried, Lin Yi sighed. “Fine.”
Xu Shuyan was not satisfied. “What do you mean, ‘fine’? Don’t be so half-hearted! Please introduce your girlfriend to everyone, loud and proud!”
Lin Yi said coolly, “And then we’ll be immediately forced out of the closet, and two more pillars of the girl group The Notes will have collapsed.”
Xu Shuyan was speechless. She said stubbornly, “But some people’s luxury villas will spring up from the ground!”
That’s not wrong, Lin Yi thought. Besides, everyone staying on her floor was a main actor. They’d been in the industry for a while and had seen it all. They probably wouldn’t even be that surprised to see the two of them being affectionate. She just hoped they wouldn’t run into Che Ling. She was afraid the poor girl would suffer a critical blow first thing in the morning.
However, things rarely go as planned. The moment Lin Yi and Xu Shuyan arrived at the restaurant, the first person they saw was Che Ling, sitting in a booth near the door and eating an egg.
The young woman probably hadn’t slept well; she had dark circles under her listless eyes. Hearing a noise behind her, she turned. When she saw Xu Shuyan and Lin Yi, her eyes slowly widened and her mouth formed an “O,” large enough to swallow an egg.
Lin Yi was speechless. She said to Xu Shuyan, “Get me a bowl of small wontons, an order of pan-fried buns, and an egg.”
“Where are you going?” Xu Shuyan asked.
“…To soothe a frightened child’s soul.”
Xu Shuyan tilted her head. “Huh?”
“Don’t ‘huh’ me!” Lin Yi straightened her head. “And stop trying to be cute. Get our food and wait for me at table number three by the window.”
It was still early, and the restaurant was sparsely populated. Lin Yi poured a glass of soy milk and sat down across from Che Ling. “Xiao Ling, morning.”
Che Ling responded sluggishly, “Morning, Teacher Lin.”
Lin Yi studied her. “Didn’t sleep well?”
Che Ling was silent. It was worse than not sleeping well-she had barely slept at all!
Che Ling wailed internally. It was her own fault for being so sheltered, for having such a fixed view of relationships. She had never even considered that two women could be in love, which was why yesterday had been such a shock.
After returning to her room, she had started searching for Lin Yi and Xu Shuyan online, eventually finding her way to their Super Topic page. She watched countless analysis posts and videos, seeing CP fans yelling in the comments: “Lin Yi! Xu Shuyan! If you two aren’t dating, then what is this! Just admit it! You’re already hopelessly in love with each other!”
Che Ling was speechless. She yelled at her screen, “They are dating! And it looks like they really are hopelessly in love! And they’ve already come out to a minor actress they barely know! Aaaah!”
But she couldn’t possibly post that in the comments, so she just held it in and moved on to the next video, finally coming to a realization-So, women can do it with other women.
“Xiao Ling?” Lin Yi watched as the young woman’s face turned red. She didn’t know what Che Ling was thinking, but she had a feeling it wasn’t anything wholesome. She broke the other woman out of her reverie. “What are you thinking about?”
Che Ling snapped back to reality and vehemently denied it. “Nothing!”
Lin Yi was silent. Okay, so she was definitely thinking about something.
Lin Yi took a sip of soy milk, trying her best to sound friendly. “You won’t tell anyone, will you? About Yanyan and me.”
Che Ling quickly waved her hands. “I won’t! Sister Xiao Yi, you can trust me, my lips are sealed!” After her promise, she asked in a low voice, “Does your manager know?”
“She knows,” Lin Yi said.
Che Ling breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s good.” She managed a small smile. “You and Teacher Xu… are really good together.”
Lin Yi hummed, puzzled. “Did you look us up online?”
Che Ling was a little embarrassed. “Mhm…”
“We are pretty good together,” Lin Yi said. “We’ve been through a lot, and this isn’t some impulse. I love her very much, and she loves me very much.”
“That’s so wonderful!” Che Ling said with envy.
“So don’t feel pressured,” Lin Yi said. “Don’t overthink it. Just act normally around us.”
Che Ling nodded emphatically. “Okay!”
Lin Yi smiled. It seemed the young woman was placated for now. As for her little straight-girl world being rocked by a real couple, well, she could just watch a few more Yan Zhi You Yi videos to get used to it.
Although Xu Shuyan had arrived in secret, she made no effort to hide when she went to the set. She emerged from Lin Yi’s van so openly that the cameras of the proxy photographers and fansite masters wavered for a moment.
A solo fan fansite master: “The audacity! What right does Xu Shuyan have to be in my big sister’s van!”
A CP fan fansite master: “Holy shit! What an unexpected delight! I came to get solo shots and stumbled upon the two of them on an outing together!?”
A proxy photographer: “Sweet! I can take one set of photos and sell them to three different buyers. I’m going to make a killing!”
And the hashtag #XuShuyanVisitsLinYiOnSet# began to spread online.
Sister Fang, who had already heard about it from the assistant the night before, was unfazed. She arranged for press releases with headlines like “Xu Shuyan and Lin Yi’s Relationship Is So Good, Their Friendship Will Last Forever,” roped in Yan Qi and Zhou Shichen to generate some buzz about their group spirit, and just like that, the matter was closed.
Only Che Ling, the straight girl still reeling from their beautiful love story, was left to scroll through Weibo during a break. She watched as Lin Yi trotted over to Xu Shuyan to talk, and saw Xu Shuyan gently wipe the sweat from her brow. Then she looked back at her phone, at all the talk of “friendship,” “friendship forever,” “besties,” and “The Notes family.” She furiously typed: “Friendship my ass! This is love!!!”
It was Xu Shuyan’s idea to take the bus.
Mountain City had many hills, and the drivers were aggressive, making a bus ride feel like a thrilling roller coaster. Lin Yi had once shown her a map of Mountain City, tracing a route with her finger. “This is the way I took to choir practice, on the 301 bus. I went all by myself. Pretty impressive, right?”
Xu Shuyan, lying beside her, played along. “Wow, our Xiao Yi is so amazing!”
Back then, Lin Yi had only been eight or nine years old, a tiny little thing sitting at the front of the bus, her short legs dangling in the air. The card reader would beep: Student card. So well-behaved, so sensible, willing to endure any hardship for her passion.
“I want to ride the 301 bus, too,” Xu Shuyan said, pressing her face against the bedsheets and looking up with innocent, heart-melting puppy-dog eyes. “Lin Yi, take me back to Mountain City to ride that bus!”
Lin Yi’s finger slipped on the map. She looked at Xu Shuyan helplessly. “Do you really think that’s possible? If I take you back to Mountain City again, we might as well just come out of the closet.”
Xu Shuyan mumbled, “Then what should we do? I suddenly really want to ride the bus.”
“Have you never ridden one before?” Lin Yi asked, then added, “Oh, right. Our Miss Xu is a rich second-generation kid. You’ve probably never used plebeian transportation, have you?”
Xu Shuyan got annoyed and tickled her. “Who says I haven’t! When I first came to S City, I took the bus from the train station to our company, okay? Oh, and the subway. I took the subway more often.”
“Oh, right,” Lin Yi said.
Xu Shuyan whined, “I want to ride the bus with you! I really, really want to!”
The group had ridden a bus together once before while filming their variety show. It was in a coastal city on a weekday, so the bus wasn’t crowded. They rode it from the first stop to the last, enjoying the ocean view from the coastal highway the entire way. The final stop was right by the beach.
But back then, she and Lin Yi were still rivals, glaring daggers at each other and constantly trying to trip each other up. They had exchanged plenty of verbal attacks on that bus, leaving not a single tender memory behind.
“Let’s create our own romantic memories!” Xu Shuyan declared righteously. “This is our chance!”
Lin Yi considered it. “Then let’s not go back to Mountain City. We can ride one here in S City.”
“Okay!” Xu Shuyan agreed.
“How about the route you used to take from the train station to our company?” Lin Yi suggested.
“I agree, I agree!”
Lin Yi pinched her cheek. “But there’s one problem.”
“What is it?”
“We’re both at least a little famous now. If we just go ride the bus so openly without taking some precautions,” Lin Yi said, troubled, “we’ll definitely be recognized. It would be terrible if we got mobbed and ended up bothering other people.”
Xu Shuyan thought about it and agreed. “Maybe we should just forget it?” It had just been a whim, and she would feel terrible if they caused a traffic jam or bothered other people.
But Lin Yi had taken it to heart. Imagine: you have a girlfriend who asks for nothing all year long, and her one and only wish is to ride the bus with you. How could you not want to make that happen for her?
Just as she was pondering this, Xu Shuyan took her by surprise, pouncing and tackling her onto the bed. Though caught off guard, Lin Yi didn’t struggle. She just lay there obediently beneath her and looked up blankly. “What’s wrong?”
Xu Shuyan was speechless. Question! I want to get frisky with my girlfriend, but she’s looking at me with these innocent eyes and asking what’s wrong. What do I do?
Lin Yi, still thinking about the bus, didn’t notice Xu Shuyan’s speechlessness and asked again, “What do you want?”
Xu Shuyan was speechless. She licked her lips and decided to play the victim. “How long has it been since we’ve done it?”
Lin Yi thought for a moment. “Didn’t we just do it this morning?”
“Did we?” Xu Shuyan asked.
Lin Yi slowly came to her senses and gave an elegant eye-roll. “Mhm. Have you forgotten how you woke up?”
Xu Shuyan was speechless. Don’t ask. If you ask, the answer is that it was exciting. If you ask, the answer is that I’m in the mood now.
Xu Shuyan hugged her and whined, “But that was for me, not you. And we didn’t finish together. Let’s forget about the bus and have a complete great harmony of life!”
“…Alright, then,” Lin Yi conceded.
“You don’t seem very enthusiastic,” Xu Shuyan noted.
“I am,” Lin Yi said.
“Then take your clothes off yourself,” Xu Shuyan said.
Lin Yi was silent. With a casual tug, the collar of her shirt fell open. Xu Shuyan kissed her lips with satisfaction, but just as she was about to deepen the kiss, Lin Yi suddenly said, “Let’s go in the afternoon. There will be fewer people on the bus then.”
Xu Shuyan tickled her. “See! Your mind really isn’t on me!”
Lin Yi laughed out loud and initiated a kiss to soothe her bristling girlfriend. Her voice was muffled by the kiss. “Alright, alright, I’ll focus. You just do your best, okay?”
“Is there a reward?” Xu Shuyan asked.
Lin Yi… Lin Yi was already unable to speak.
On the day they put their plan into action, it rained in S City.
The midsummer rain came without warning. Dark clouds gathered, and it was as if the sky had split open. Rain poured down amid the rumbling thunder. Travelers, whether coming or going, hurried along under their umbrellas, their sneakers splashing in the puddles.
Lin Yi and Xu Shuyan sat in the car, watching the city blur and clear with each sweep of the windshield wipers. They exchanged a look.
Sister Fang sat in the driver’s seat with a numb expression. “You’re still going in this?”
“Mhm!” said Lin Yi.
“Mhm, mhm!” said Xu Shuyan.
Sister Fang was speechless. She had just finished a big project and had been looking forward to relaxing, but when she heard about Lin Yi and Xu Shuyan’s bus plan, she had immediately insisted on monitoring them in real-time and had quickly drawn up a contingency plan in case they were recognized.
In response, Lin Yi and Xu Shuyan both expressed their sympathy. “You’ve worked hard, Sister Fang.”
“Ha!” Sister Fang scoffed. She slapped the steering wheel like a mother sending her children off to school. “Did you bring enough change?”
Lin Yi patted her wallet, the coins inside jingling. “Brought enough!”
Sister Fang was exasperated. “How many round trips are you planning to take?”
Lin Yi was embarrassed. “I was just afraid it wouldn’t be enough…” She took out four coins and set the wallet aside. “Okay, we’re off!”
“…Wear your masks and hats properly,” Sister Fang said. “If you get recognized, just say you’re filming a variety show.”
“Okay!” Lin Yi replied.
Xu Shuyan had already opened the car door and put up an umbrella. Her black boots stepped into a puddle, and the eyes visible above her mask were sparkling. “Xiao Yi, let’s go!”
“Coming!” Lin Yi got out of the car and ducked under Xu Shuyan’s umbrella.
Dressed simply like a pair of college students, the two of them boarded the bus without any trouble. As expected, the afternoon bus wasn’t very crowded, but since it was the first stop at the train station and they had boarded a bit late, there were no seats left.
“Standing is better,” Xu Shuyan whispered. “It’s a more intense experience.”
Lin Yi pulled her to the back of the bus by her sleeve and wrapped her arms around her, a triumphant smile on her face. “How’s this? Am I exuding enough girlfriend power? Even if the bus gets bumpy, the only place you’ll be falling is into my arms.”
Xu Shuyan wrapped her arms around Lin Yi’s waist. “Thank you, girlfriend!”
Lin Yi’s face flushed. “We’re in public. Behave yourself.”
No matter how plainly they dressed, they couldn’t hide the aura they had cultivated over the years. And being so intimate, they inevitably drew a few extra glances. It was fine at the first stop, though; everyone was travel-worn and focused on their own journeys.
Several groups of passengers got on and off along the way. At one stop in front of a school, the bus filled with students. A few of them were fans, and the more they looked at the couple, the more familiar they seemed. One of them edged closer, but before they could speak, Lin Yi raised a finger to her lips in a shushing gesture, winked, and smiled.
The fan’s eyes widened. Their excitement was palpable as they whispered, “It’s really you!”
The bus grew more crowded, but Xu Shuyan remained safely encircled in Lin Yi’s arms, her head bowed. The fan didn’t see her, and, adhering to the principle of maintaining a respectful distance from their idol, they simply got off at their stop.
But there were others who didn’t approach, choosing instead to post on social media. The two were popular and had many obsessive fans, so it wasn’t long before sasaengs who had seen the posts began to follow the bus. In the end, they were forced to abandon their trip before reaching the final stop.
Lin Yi watched the cars chasing them outside the window and listened to the other passengers whispering as they took out their phones to take pictures and videos. She sighed. “Should we get off?”
Xu Shuyan, wearing a hoodie, had been well-protected by Lin Yi the entire time. She straightened up slightly, wrapped her arms around Lin Yi’s waist, and said, “There’s a mall at the next stop. Let’s get off and head straight there. We can call Sister Fang once we’re inside.”
Lin Yi nodded. Just then, the bus screeched to a halt at the stop. Lin Yi lost her footing for a moment and stumbled, but Xu Shuyan caught her securely. Her hand slid down Lin Yi’s arm, and she took her hand as they stepped off the bus.
But Lin Yi was lost in thought for a moment. She suddenly remembered her younger self, how sometimes she, too, couldn’t find a seat. A small child surviving in the cracks between all the adults, clinging tightly to the handrail, terrified of falling. Because if she fell, there would be no one to help her up.
Did she feel wronged? Yes, quite. But a person could always endure on their own. And so time spun on, bringing her to this very moment, in a different city on a different bus route. She had only stumbled, but now there was always someone there to catch her.
In a daze, she and Xu Shuyan got off the bus and walked out into the rain.
The obsessive fans who had been lying in wait at the bus stop swarmed them. Over the roar of the rain, she heard Xu Shuyan shout, “Xiao Yi! I’ll count to three, and then we run!”
“Three! Two! One-” Lin Yi broke into a run, plunging headfirst into the rain with Xu Shuyan.
Later, a genuine passerby uploaded a set of photos. In the Yan Zhi You Yi fandom, that set was hailed as the photo of the year.
In the photos, Lin Yi and Xu Shuyan were holding hands as they ran through the rain. The wind whipped their long hair about, and though the images were blurry and the downpour was heavy, nothing could hide the smiling eyes they had only for each other.
A fan commented: Run away. Escape all the noise and all the watching eyes, and live in a dream that belongs only to the two of you. And never, ever wake up.
