《Fanservice Paradox》


 CH 1

    A Turn for the Better


    It was three o¡¯clock in the morning, and it was snowing heavily in Beijing. After he was done recording the program, Fang Juexia sat in his manager¡¯s car to go back to his dormitory. He looked out of the window in a daze. The concrete forest covered in snow was incredibly quiet, so obedient that it was like a blanket had finally been laid over a stiff body waiting for peace.


    The recording had gone on for far too long. The indoor competitive games had sapped Fang Juexia of all his energy. He wasn¡¯t good at socialising with others, yet he always has to submit because of the exposure it affords.


    ¡°Juexia, are you tired? How long did the recording go for this time, damn it¡­¡± Manager Cheng Qiang sneaked a glance at the rearview mirror; within the mirror, Fang Juexia was covered in an oversized, fluffy black down. His pale face was about to sink into the darkness, as if he was just a beautiful phantom who was sealed up in the mirror.


    Fang Juexia had his head turned to one side, and the light red birthmark at the corner of his left eye could be seen through the strands of hair on his forehead. He caught a glimpse of the faded maple leaves buried by the snow outside the window. Late autumn had fled in a hurry, leaving them behind, forgotten, and now they were a mere touch of red amidst the blanket of ice and snow.


    Or perhaps, he was mistaken.


    ¡°Eight hours and forty-two minutes,¡± he replied with exact numbers. His voice was very soft. Then, he answered the first question, ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯m not tired.¡±


    ¡°Get more sleep before the next recording. Don¡¯t go to the practice room.¡± When Cheng Qiang turned the steering wheel, he changed the subject, ¡°But you barely spoke towards the end, that won¡¯t do. The TV station didn¡¯t give you much screen time in the first place. If you don¡¯t speak, they would just cut you out entirely. You¡¯re someone who can attract a whole wave of fans with just your face, you know? As long as the camera focuses on you, you¡¯ll win.¡±


    Fang Juexia knew that Cheng Qiang had good intentions, so he forced out a smile and said in a gentle tone, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll definitely take note next time.¡±


    Upon hearing that, Cheng Qiang couldn¡¯t say anything more. Fang Juexia is a member of the six-man boy band, Kaleido, and he could be considered a treasure that their company had picked up by chance. After all, he was once a trainee in Astar, the top entertainment agency in China. He had a fan support group even before his debut. Rumour has it that he would debut as the Center in the company¡¯s new boy band. But an unforeseen event occurred; Fang Juexia actually left his original company before the band was formed and joined Star Chart. After two years of being a trainee, he debuted as the face of the group, main dancer, and lead vocal of the boy band Kaleido. He was the key figure of the group.


    At the beginning of his debut, there was quite a stir as well. Fang Juexia¡¯s popularity from being the best trainee in the beginning hadn¡¯t waned, and there were also loyal fans who had always been waiting for him. When he first took charge of this band, Cheng Qiang was full of enthusiasm and expectations. After all, these children had both good looks and talent. But even he didn¡¯t expect the series of events that occurred afterwards.


    Coming to a premature end doesn¡¯t feel good at all.


    He suddenly recalled something. ¡°Oh, right, you were supposed to take photos for the inside pages of a magazine tomorrow¡­¡± As soon as he thought about it, Cheng Qiang almost flared up, but he didn¡¯t want to affect Fang Juexia¡¯s mood so he informed him in a tone that could be considered relaxed, ¡°You don¡¯t have to go anymore, they have other arrangements on their side.


    Fang Juexia actually knew about that in the afternoon. During his break, he heard his assistant, Xiao Wen, on the phone, while cursing about ¡°intercepting¡±, and ¡°so what if they¡¯re one of the FBM (Five Big Magazines: Vogue, Bazaar, ELLE, Cosmo and Jiaren), do they think they¡¯re all that just because they have a ton of readers¡±. He looked quite indignant then. Later on, after asking about it, he found out that the inside page shooting and interview that had been finalised earlier was intercepted by a male actor who had recently become popular due to a hit web drama. Losing a job opportunity should have been quite discouraging, yet Fang Juexia felt relieved instead.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, there¡¯ll be more chances in the future. That magazine can be considered to owe us one now,¡± Cheng Qiang comforted. ¡°It¡¯s pretty good now. Since you don¡¯t have work tomorrow morning, you can sleep in and eat something good. You¡¯ve become skinnier recently. Oh right, when you go back, tell Ling Yi that if he orders takeaway in the middle of the night again I¡¯m going to force him to go on a diet. He doesn¡¯t have the self-awareness of being an idol at all, his cheeks are just full of fat when you pinch them. Is he trying to become a comedian¡­¡±


    As he listened to his manager nag, Fang Juexia¡¯s phone suddenly started vibrating. He took his phone out and glanced at it ¨C the words ¡°Assistant Director Yang¡± were flashing on the screen. Two seconds later, he pressed the side button to turn the display screen off, acting as if he didn¡¯t see it.


    But within a minute, his phone started vibrating again. It was a text message this time.


    [Why didn¡¯t you pick up?]


    [Did you think over what we talked about last time?]


    [Call me back, hurry!]


    [Don¡¯t worry, you can be certain I won¡¯t treat you unfairly.]


    The text messages flowed out one by one, like snakes constantly scuttling out of holes in the dark.


    His fingers were frozen from the cold, so he typed slowly.


    [I¡¯ve already refused your offer the last time.]


    Within two seconds, his phone rang again, so Fang Juexia had to pick it up. The middle-aged man on the other end started raging, ¡°I¡¯ll give you one more chance. You have nothing to lose from this! If you want to continue participating in the program, then you better start behaving.¡±


    ¡°I apologise.¡± Fang Juexia¡¯s calmness seemed out of place at the moment. Seeing that something seemed off, Cheng Qiang glanced at him again. ¡°Who is it?¡±


    After half a month of offering carrots and sticks, Assistant Director Yang has lost all patience. All kinds of unpleasant words started spewing from his mouth, ¡°Do you know how many people who can¡¯t get famous would stick close to my ass? Do you think you¡¯re some clean toy?¡±


    Here we go again.


    ¡°Laozi is letting you follow me because I think highly of you, I think highly of your face. You think I¡¯d cling onto you? Pei, you¡¯re just a slut yet you dare set up a chastity gate, you don¡¯t need to come to the recording anymore! Pack your bags and scram! Seriously, I fucking gave you face and you have the nerve to not take it!¡±


    Fang Juexia listened to his scolding in silence. When the other side hung up in exasperation, he finally felt relieved.


    ¡°What is it? Who was that?¡±


    ¡°Assistant Director Yang.¡± Fang Juexia announced the outcome as if it was nothing major, ¡°He asked me to get off the program.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± Cheng Qiang stopped the car at once and turned around. ¡°No wait, what, what happened?¡±


    Fang Juexia licked his dry lips and simplified the whole process down to its barest essentials. ¡°He has always wanted me to follow him, I didn¡¯t agree, so he wants to kick me away.¡±


    He had said those words very nonchalantly, yet Cheng Qiang¡¯s expression changed and he didn¡¯t know what to say for a while.¡±


    ¡°This isn¡¯t funny, we had signed for six episodes in the beginning. You¡¯ve only gone for three recordings! This is a breach of contract¡­¡±


    Fang Juexia said in a flat tone, ¡°It isn¡¯t the first time for them to do something like this. There¡¯s no point in discussing contracts with hoodlums.¡±


    That was true. Cheng Qiang rolled down the window and lit up a cigarette. A cold gust of wind poured in all of a sudden, beating painfully against their faces. ¡°By then, they may just throw the blame to you to make you look bad, no they¡¯ll definitely do that, they¡¯d have to come up with a reason for kicking you off the show all of a sudden¡­this won¡¯t do, I have to contact the TV station. We can¡¯t just let him mess around like that.¡±


    Hearing this, Fang Juexia¡¯s indifference thawed. He sometimes wished that he wasn¡¯t a member of a band, so that he would be able to assume responsibility for everything without dragging anyone else down.


    ¡°I¡¯ll have to trouble you all, Qiang Ge.¡± At last he sighed, breaking the calm front he possessed as if he was an outsider.


    Cheng Qiang¡¯s hands gripped the steering wheel as he muttered some vague curses. His brows furrowed, then smoothed out. With swift movements, he put out his unfinished smoke, rolled up the windows, and started the car again. ¡°It¡¯s okay, it isn¡¯t the first time this damn program¡¯s messing with us. Nothing happened the last time too.¡±


    Last time¡­


    A tall figure walked by on the road. Fang Juexia, who was in a daze, mistook that person for someone else. He raised his hand to wipe away the condensation on the windows. That person turned around as well, but it wasn¡¯t the person he was thinking about, so he calmed down.


    Of course nothing would happen, who would dare provoke a powerful little devil?


    After a while passed, Cheng Qiang heard the word ¡°sorry¡± uttered at the back. This made him feel even more helpless. Beyond the windshield, the night scene of the city continued flying backwards, and the circle of light cast by the street lamps broadened their field of view. Suddenly, the scene of Fang Juexia coming to the company for the first time popped up in front of his eyes. At that time, he was stopped by a female colleague for some gossip, saying that a super amazing trainee had just arrived at their company who looked insanely handsome.


    He wanted to know how exaggerated the ¡®insane¡¯ part was, so he dropped whatever work he had and ran over to have a look.


    He really was especially good-looking, extremely good-looking. He was so good-looking that his scout was put on the company¡¯s annual commendation list by default.


    At that time, Fang Juexia was only 18 years old, dressed in a black hooded sweater. He had even thought that the sweater, which had no sense of design, looked good because he was wearing it. The young man¡¯s bare face felt transparent somehow, and the spot at the corner of his left eye close to his temple had a tiny, thin light red birthmark that looked very unique.


    In this circle, the supply of pretty faces has always exceeded demand. They were refined and approachable, attracting you as they roused your imagination.


    But what¡¯s special about Fang Juexia¡¯s beauty was how distant it seemed.


    He naturally has a temperament that seems to keep people out of a ten-thousand-mile radius around him, like a silent, cold art piece with a low saturation.


    Cheng Qiang sent him back to the dormitory. Although Fang Juexia was tired, he was feeling restless. He took a bath, then sat in front of his desk and quietly opened a Sudoku book. With a pen in hand, he calculated everything out silently before filling in the blanks with numbers one after another, and his heart gradually calmed down. Once he was done with the Sudoku game, Fang Juexie went to bed and covered himself with a blanket. A wave of sleepiness hit him like a tide, submerging him in an instant. He didn¡¯t know how long he was deep asleep for before he vaguely heard a familiar voice while he was half-conscious.


    ¡°Juexia? Jue¨Cxia¨C¡±


    After struggling to open his eyes, he was greeted by the sight of a face mask that was within inches. Fang Juexia blinked twice, like a lens that was trying to focus, then burrowed deeper under his blanket. With a drowsy voice, he asked, ¡°What time is it?¡±


    Ling Yi took off his face mask. ¡°It¡¯s so late we can have afternoon tea!¡± As the main vocalist and treble, his voice would reverberate when he shouts. His ice cold hand reached into the blanket and he pulled Fang Juexia out. ¡°Stop sleeping my Ge, something big happened!¡±


    The words ¡°something big¡± stabbed Fang Juexia in an instant. He sobered up, wiped his face, and got off the bed. ¡°I¡¯ll go wash up.¡±


    ¡°Why is this Ge so calm all the time¡­¡± Ling Yi sat up from the bed and ran back to the living room. Sitting side by side on the sofa in the living room were two big guys ¡ª one was Kaleido¡¯s main dancer, Lu Yuan, and the other was He Ziyan, the lead rapper. The two of them had their heads stuck together as they stared at a laptop¡¯s screen with relish.


    ¡°You¡¯re awake?¡± Jiang Miao, the leader of the team, had just wiped down the zither placed in the corner of the living room with the soft piece of cloth in his hand. ¡°I¡¯ll go heat up the soup for him, he hasn¡¯t eaten anything after sleeping for so long.¡±


    Ling Yi nodded rapidly, his gaze chasing after Jiang Miao, who was walking to the kitchen. ¡°Miao Ge, I want a bowl too!¡±


    Lu Yuan exclaimed, ¡°These girls are bloody amazin¡¯! How could they say that?!¡±


    He Ziyan, who was sitting right next to him, teased, ¡°Dalian Hunk, please speak proper Mandarin.¡±


    Lu Yuan, ¡°I am speaking proper Mandarin!¡±


    Ling Yi snickered as he squeezed in with them, emulating his accent, ¡°Din¡¯ he now, it was bloody proper!¡±


    ¡°Piss off!¡±


    Just as they were causing a huge fuss, Fang Juexia walked out. The three-man group on the sofa looked up with subtle expressions on their faces.


    Fang Juexia understood. Before the rest could speak, he apologised, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I got you all involved again.¡±


    The three people on the sofa looked at each other, then looked back at Fang Juexia, question marks plastered all over their faces.


    ¡°Huh, shouldn¡¯t we be thanking you?¡± He Ziyan said with a smile, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that our K band would blow up in such a way.¡±


    Thank?


    Fang Juexia had a vague sense that everything seemed to be a little different from what he had predicted. ¡°What was the big thing you guys were talking about?¡±


    Ling Yi turned the laptop around to face Fang Juexia. ¡°The video taken of you and Xiao Pei at the airport by a fan made it to the Hot Searches list! Look, there are already more than 30,000 shares!¡±


    And Pei Tingsong?


    Fang Juexie squinted a little as he watched the video playing on the screen. It was taken when he and Pei Tingson were waiting at the airport the day before yesterday.


    In the video, Pei Tingsong, dressed in a black overcoat, was wearing a pair of sunglasses as he strode over with his long legs to Fang Juexia, who was looking down at his ticket. He forced him to walk back so much that he had to lean on the wall. This guy who was almost 1.9m tall exuded an overbearing pressure. He casually took away the ticket in Fang Juexia¡¯s hand, pinching it between his fingers as he smiled at Fang Juexie, seeming as if he was saying something. Then he lifted his hand, and just like that, gently patted Fang Juexia¡¯s cheek with the ticket.


    The straight, sharp line of the ticket glided across his fair skin, that piece of paper bumping around with no restraint as they tried to knock down each other¡¯s bottom line.


    It really was Pei Tingsong¡¯s vile style, as always.


    But no one expected this scene to be caught on camera.


    In the video, Fang Juexia looked up slightly and stared at Pei Tingsong, only to see the smile on his face become more arrogant. He remembers the atmosphere then, and he also remembers how Pei Tingsong was actually forcing him to switch seats. At that time, he was adhering to his usual code of How to Get Along with Pei Tingsong 101 ¨C hide whenever he can and not cause any trouble. So he took the ticket back, bit it, straightened his lapel with both hands, then looked up again and forced out a soulless smile as he faced the youngest member slash devil incarnate of their group.


    Ling Yi, who was lying on Fang Juexia¡¯s shoulder, was scrutinising the Fang Juexia in the video in silence. He saw this living Buddha¡¯s expression turn grave, who then stayed silent for a while before speaking.


    ¡°Are the netizens talking about how Pei Tingsong is bullying me in the group? Has the company¡¯s PR said anything?¡±


    Teammates: ¡­


    ¡°Juexia, wake up!¡± Ling Yi shook him vigorously. ¡°They¡¯re shipping you and Pei Tingsong!¡±


    ¡°Ship¡­¡± Fang Juexia was instantly stunned.


    How can there be people in this world who would ship the CP who has the worst relationship in the group?


    Dalian Hunk Lu Yuan bravely snatched the mouse to click on the comments. ¡°Ai, my goodness you just haven¡¯t seen what the netizens are saying. Come come come, I¡¯ll show you, it¡¯s really just, wow.¡±


    [Licking Sugar in the North Pole Circle (north pole circle = shipping rarepairs, basically): AAAAHHHHHH PHEROMONES ARE FLOODING THE SCREEN!!! (*whispers* see the beautiful Gege leaning against the wall wearing a white wool? Is the mark at the corner of his eye a wound or birthmark ah, this beautiful Gege is so handsome!)]


    Just by seeing the first comment, Fang Juexia could feel what wow meant.


    [First Class Member of the Roast Duck Association: how are they able to turn a ticket into something so sexual?]


    [77repeat77: holy crap that little Ge in the black overcoat is so tall and cool! Who is he!?]


    [Player12: *SHOCK* that black overcoat boy is too gong ba, using a ticket to pat his face, oh my god¡­]


    [Is Kaleido back today: fjx really deserves to be called the one and only ice cool beauty amongst male idols today, he looks so cold and lusty with that ticket in his mouth, this is a 10/10 scenery.]


    [Putuo Temple Believer: he¡¯s our little unpopular band Kaleido¡¯s 19-year-old main rapper, Pei Tingsong! The N rich gen who¡¯s chasing his dreams, Putuo Temple (Putuo Temple = Pu Tuo Si = PTS = same acronym for Pei Tingsong¡¯s name), hear his name! Xiao Pei Xiao Pei, invest in him and you won¡¯t lose!]


    [First-class scholar of the handsome men appreciation profession: Putuo Temple scenery hahahaha, isn¡¯t the k band¡¯s secret code too idiotic?!]


    [I am Fang Juexia¡¯s gorgeous birthmark: An idol by birth, Fang Juexia, hear his name! The FACE OF THE GROUP WHO¡¯S THE MAIN DANCER AND MAIN VOCAL, an omnipotent ACE!]


    [I will always love my K]: Is our K finally going to become popular (sobs) although the two aces really aren¡¯t pushed as a pairing officially, they should be the coldest CP within the group¡­a combination that instantly BE-ed after debut]


    [I hate Pythagorean theorem the most: what the fuck this pairing actually BE-ed right after debut?]


    [I¡¯m a little smartass: a passer-by fan here, there have been rumours of them not getting along with each other ever since their debut. Pts doesn¡¯t even stay in the dormitory with the rest, though there are some who said that Pei Tingsong¡¯s living outside because he¡¯s still schooling. In any case, it¡¯s true his family¡¯s rich, I think he went to the US when he was really little and only came back recently. He probably just debuted for fun, so he¡¯s not serious about it at all. But his skill can really crush most of the other idols, he¡¯s crazy talented.]


    [10/10 scenery: isn¡¯t it because someone¡¯s an airborne member that they don¡¯t get along?] (airborne member = slang for someone who debuts without going through a training period or whose training period was extremely short)


    [With money, you can do anything: he¡¯s an airborne member with skill, don¡¯t like it? Isn¡¯t your idol someone who brags about knowing how to do everything? Go rap then, if you can¡¯t stand it then hug a higher-up¡¯s thigh to kick our young master out]


    [Really good at getting blacklisted: where did this unknown group who¡¯s buying their way into the hot search list coming from? I¡¯m speechless.]


    [I¡¯m a fan of everyone: Is my North Pole Circle¡¯s TingJue CP finally going to blow up? Call a spade a spade, once you get what this pair is about it¡¯s really just wow. Devil incarnate delinquent handsome gong x cold, beautiful, ascetic shou, isn¡¯t it so damn shippable?]


    [Who said it isn¡¯t so?: Is the one with a hat the face of K group? I may be a passerby, but I think this face is GORGEOUS! Especially his birthmark! What the fuck!!]


    [Expert at spectating gossip: I sort of heard about how the face of K group had been taken advantage of by his original company, is that true?] (take advantage here is a specific term for uh, having sexual relations in return for benefits)

 CH 2

    Chapter 2 ¨C Devil Incarnate


    ¡°Am I not good-looking enough or not rich enough?¡±


    Upon seeing this particular comment, Ling Yi reacted faster than Fang Juexia, and immediately shifted the computer to the side. ¡°Ah, the situation is probably just like that now¡­¡±


    In fact, Fang Juexia didn¡¯t actually think it was a big deal. Anyway, that was what the online world was like¡ªeven if something was false, if you said it an enough number of times, it would become true.


    Just as he was about to take the initiative to change the subject, Jiang Miao brought out a bowl of soup from the kitchen. ¡°Juexia, Qiang Ge just called you, but you missed it. He wants you to go to the company for a meeting. Oh, right,¡± he added, ¡°Xiao Pei has already gone over there.¡±


    ¡°Right now?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Under the pressure of the aura of maternal love being exuded by the captain, Fang Juexia still ended up drinking the bowl of chicken soup before rushing to the company.


    He hadn¡¯t expected that even the boss would join this meeting. Although Star Chart could only be regarded as a small-scale brokerage company, the boss still usually had a lot of things to do, so he seldom appeared in the actual company.


    ¡°Here he is, sit down.¡± Boss Chen Zhengyun sat in the middle of the conference room with his hands folded, and motioned for him to sit next to him. Fang Juexia sat down based on his directive and then looked across the long table.


    The one who had pulled down his gray wool hat to cover his eyes and was leaning back in the chair to sleep soundly in public couldn¡¯t be anyone else but Pei Tingsong.


    ¡°Xiao Pei, wake up.¡± Cheng Qiang, who was sitting next to him, woke him up. Pei Tingsong pushed his hat up in a daze, then took it off and scratched his head. The clouds parted to reveal his sharp brow and eyes, which were directly aimed at Fang Juexia, who was right across from him.


    ¡°Finally arrived.¡± The first sentence he uttered upon waking up was not polite in the least.


    His eyes were pinned on Fang Juexia, but Fang Juexia reflexively turned his face to look away, so his birthmark at the corner of his left eye was now facing Pei Tingsong. Seeing it made him think back to when he was little and had seen a particular kind of flower in the garden. It had been pink, and its petals had been long and slender, exactly the same as the shape of Fan Juexia¡¯s birthmark at the corner of his eye.


    ¡°Since last night, the two of you have been hanging on the Hot Searches list, and we were also quite surprised by this.¡± Chen Zhengyun glanced at his assistant and ordered, ¡°Report the findings.¡±


    This incident had blown up quite suddenly, but Chen Zhengyun had still sent someone to record and analyze the data at the first possible moment. There were a lot of PowerPoint slides dedicated to the data. Fang Juexia didn¡¯t speak and just listened quietly. He casually glanced sideways at Pei Tingsong and saw him lying on the table, about to fall asleep again.


    ¡°It¡¯s basically like this: not only on Weibo and the Baidu Index, but also on some websites with a lesser number of active users, their trending search numbers are quite considerable.¡± The assistant laughed. ¡°They¡¯re trending even hotter right now than when Kaleido debuted.¡±


    Pei Tingsong, who had closed his eyes, suddenly let out a mocking laugh.


    So he wasn¡¯t asleep. Fang Juexia glanced at him again, and unexpectedly, this guy actually opened his eyes at that same instant. Both of them were caught off guard as their eyes met. Pei Tingsong had a pair of long, narrow, yet deep eyes, and the sharp contrast between the whites of his eyes and the black of his iris strongly gave off an aggressive feel.


    ¡°Although it wasn¡¯t done on purpose, the popularity is real. As all of you know, Kaleido¡¯s development, even after having already debuted for two years now, has never been satisfactory.¡± Chen Zhengyun¡¯s eyes flitted back and forth between the two people. ¡°We¡¯re having this meeting today in order to also discuss the development plans for the later stages.¡±


    Fang Juexia knew how things stood. For artists, their boss counted as a very honest and kind person. Even if they had already debuted for two years and had only amassed a tepid following, he hadn¡¯t forced everyone in the group to crazily participate in a variety of shows in order to improve their exposure unless the artists themselves asked to do so.


    In other words, their group had also debuted pretty hastily. It had once been ridiculed as ¡°five bargain-priced hidden treasures + one airborne household¡±.


    At the beginning, it was because their senior brother group had gotten a bit popular, especially the group¡¯s face, Shang Sirui. Taking advantage of the favorable winds, Star Chart had wanted to launch another new boy band. Fang Juexia, who had once been a trainee who had nearly debuted in a large company, naturally deserved the center position in this new group.


    The other main dancer, Lu Yuan, had been the champion in a hip-hop competition before, but after the competition, due to an uneven distribution of interests in the company, he had been kicked out by the original dance company. After experiencing several twists and turns, he came to Star Chart.


    Ling Yi, the lead singer, had been born with a good voice, and when he had been a child, he had taken part in a children¡¯s singing talent show. Unfortunately, he had encountered people with special connections, and so had only ever taken second place. When he was 17, he had participated in another recruitment talent show, but again, because he had no connections, he could only make it into the finals before being eliminated. Later, he was recruited by Star Chart¡¯s talent scouts and became a trainee. He had trained for three and a half years before he made his debut.


    Group leader Jiang Miao was a student from the Central Conservatory of Music, and he was good at playing the guzheng. Unfortunately, his family¡¯s situation wasn¡¯t good, so in order to support his Meimei, he had, for a time, become an anchor and had livestreamed playing the guzheng. However, he wasn¡¯t popular because he didn¡¯t show his face. He was then discovered by Star Chart¡¯s talent scout and was turned into a trainee.


    As for the two rappers in the group, among all the idol trainees, they stood out even more for having ¡°unknown origins¡±. He Ziyan had been very young when he had started mixing with underground bands, and he had also gone to bars to sing and work as a DJ back then. He had a natural gift for electronic music, but he never even mentioned his home or his family. Pei Tingsong counted as the only one amongst all of them who had been born with a golden spoon in his mouth. He had parachuted in as an airborne just before the group was created, throwing all the previous plans and arrangements into disarray, for everything had to be rearranged to shove this young master into the group.


    However, it was undeniable that in this circle, Pei Tingsong¡¯s rapping skills and creative ability were absolutely top-notch. When they had debuted two years ago, he had only been 19, and his family background, talent, and appearance were all so well-tailored that it felt as if someone had created a bug in the system, so it would have been difficult for the company to not have gone crazy over him.


    ¡°I won¡¯t do it.¡± Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t mince words. With one hand supporting his cheek, his other hand picked up the pen on the table and twirled it.


    Chen Zhengyun didn¡¯t seem to pay much attention to him. He turned to Fang Juexia and continued, ¡°The planning department worked overtime and gave me a new outline.¡± The assistant distributed the plans to everyone in the room while Chen Zhengyun stated simply and clearly, ¡°The company is ready to readjust the marketing strategy for you guys. To be frank, even if you and Xiao Pei agree to do fanservice by being a CP together, you don¡¯t need to show too much intimacy. Be fairly normal, and just show a bit of friendship between group members, and that¡¯ll be enough.¡±


    These words stabbed straight into the bottom of these two people¡¯s hearts. They had been at odds with each other ever since their debut, with both of them looking down upon the other. It was just that the way Fang Juexia expressed his dislike was by not spending much time with the other party, while Pei Tingsong wasn¡¯t the same. He would come by every once in a while to play some vile tricks on him.


    Otherwise, it wouldn¡¯t have stirred up this big of an uproar.


    ¡°This is a very good opportunity. As long as you grasp this popularity, your future development will certainly reach new levels.¡±


    Fang Juexia stared at the plan and was silent for a few seconds. He thought of all the large and small conflicts that had erupted between Pei Tingsong and him during the past two years. If their relationship stayed the way it had always been like, he could try to avoid him as much as possible and thus maintain a harmonious atmosphere within the team. But if they agreed to this¡­.


    The consequences were unimaginable.


    He looked up and said, ¡°Boss, forget it ba. I don¡¯t really want to form a CP.¡±


    Just as his voice fell, and even before the boss could get a chance to deal with him, the person from across the table started to get angry and asked, ¡°Looking down on forming a CP with me?¡±


    ¡°Give me some reason to be convinced.¡± Pei Tingsong raised his eyebrows, his eyes contemplative. ¡°Am I not good-looking enough or not rich enough?¡±


    He was hinting brazenly. Fang Juexia neither changed his expression nor did he answer.


    ¡°Then, Xiao Pei, you really want to form a CP, don¡¯t you?¡± Chen Zhengyun jerked his chin over at Cheng Qiang and said, ¡°Record it down, the youngest member agreed.¡±


    Xiao Pei rolled his eyes, and disagreed in a lifeless tone, ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°You seem pretty eager to me.¡± Chen Zhengyun was too lazy to dally around with others. His gaze fell back on Fang Juexia, and he said, ¡°Juexia, this matter concerns not only the two of you, but also the whole group. In fact, it¡¯s okay if you don¡¯t want to; it¡¯ll just be losing a chance to gain some fans outside of the usual circle. But then again, by now, people online have already dug up old videos of the two of you, and as long as this topic keeps getting more popular, it will spread by itself. Even if you don¡¯t take the initiative to organize any CP fanservice, from the moment that video landed on yesterday¡¯s Hot Searches list, you two have been passively trussed together.¡±


    His implication was that by looking at the current state of affairs, you should just go ahead and seize the initiative on this matter, rather than remaining passive.


    Fang Juexia looked at him. ¡°I just don¡¯t want to use this method.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not a method, Juexia, it¡¯s an opportunity.¡± Chen Zhengyun shrugged before adding, ¡°The six of you, based purely on your strengths, could definitely have achieved better results than what the situation is like right now. The most difficult thing though is to have strength without having any opportunities.¡±


    ¡°Or have you already forgotten what you said to me when you first joined the company?¡±


    Fang Juexia¡¯s heart suddenly contracted.


    He had said that he wanted to stand in the center of the stage.


    But he didn¡¯t even have a stage now.


    Even though their debut had involved a lot of coincidences, the company had still put their whole heart into it. Chen Zhengyun himself had prepared and completed the initial stages of planning for their group¡¯s debut. The group¡¯s name¡ªKaleido¡ªwas also based on the word ¡®kaleidoscope¡¯, embodying the ever-changing meaning of a kaleidoscope. They were all very clear on the hope that had been placed on them.


    But whether a group could succeed or not involved too many factors.


    A thin layer of sweat formed on his palms, his nerves seemed as if they were being shredded inch by inch, and he stiffened. At this time, his cellphone suddenly vibrated, and Fang Juexia¡¯s hand trembled. Seeing the caller ID flash by, his brow tightened even more.


    ¡°Sorry, I¡­ need to go out first.¡±


    Chen Zhengyun nodded and since it was already like this, he let everyone else take a break too, also going outside to smoke. Only Pei Tingsong and Cheng Qiang were left in the conference room. Pei Tingsong felt bored stiff as he held the pen to practice calligraphy on the papers containing the plan. He had originally wanted to write out his name, but had just written the first part of ¡®Pei¡¯ when he heard Cheng Qiang sigh. He looked up to see that Cheng Qiang¡¯s face was cloudy and grim with demoralization.


    He was a little curious. ¡°Strong Ge, what¡¯s the matter with you?¡±


    The name ¡®Strong Ge¡¯ had been given to him by their fans first. This was because during airport meetups, all of the group members called him Qiang Ge, Qiang Ge. The fans heard them wrong, and since then had always called him Strong Ge. Pei Tingsong felt it was interesting and decided to follow suit.


    Cheng Qiang fidgeted and said, ¡°Shit, as soon as we talk about it, I get angry¡­¡±


    Fang Juexia had to go around and around in circles before he managed to find an empty meeting room on the same floor. He originally didn¡¯t want to answer the phone, but this Assistant Director Yang was not only the assistant director for a number of variety shows, but was also a small high-levelled member on the program broadcasting platform. As a small, not-so-popular idol, he had already crossed the limits by not giving him much face.


    ¡°Assistant Director Yang.¡±


    The person on the other end of the line seemed to have switched personalities as he said with a kind tone, ¡°Xiao Fang ah, you¡¯re not busy at the moment ba? Yesterday, my temper was really a bit bad. If the words I used were too heavy, don¡¯t take it to heart. You also know that I like you very much, and it¡¯s only because I like you that I grew a bit excited¡­.¡±


    Once the word ¡°like¡± came out of his mouth, Fang Juexia frowned. He put his cellphone back in his pocket and adjusted his wireless earbuds. ¡°Director, I have already clearly expressed my intentions¡­¡±


    ¡°You child, listen to me finish first. You got on the Hot Searches list yesterday, and don¡¯t you feel pretty happy about it? You see, you actually have potential with how good-looking you are, right ba? You also have the professional ability, but just lack the steps to climb up.¡±


    The more he spoke, the more disgust piled up in Fang Juexia¡¯s heart. It was as if the big-bellied and disrespectful assistant director was standing in front of him at the moment, with lewdness spilling out of his eyes as he caressed his shoulder with that thick hand of his. Now, even hearing the sound of his breathing through the receiver made him feel sick.


    ¡°Assistant Director Yang, if you have to impose upon people¡­¡±


    Without waiting for Fang Juexia to finish his sentence, the other end retorted in a loud voice¡ª


    ¡°How is this imposing on people! This is simply taking what each person needs. All this mess trending online these past two days was because of your company buying a spot on the Hot Searches list ba. That¡¯s good ah, they have learned how to boost people now. They should have started doing things this way a long time ago ma. But you have to think clearly, new people are piled up to the brim at all times in this circle. If you don¡¯t get the exposure required to follow-up and make good use of this popularity right now, then it¡¯ll all be in vain. All the money you guys spent on the Hot Searches list will be as if you tossed it into the water instead. Do you understand?¡±


    The sharp voice coming through the earphones solidified and transformed into a grating electronic sound, cruelly cutting through Fang Juexia¡¯s proud self-esteem.


    At this moment, he had become a cheap commodity on the shelf. Even if he didn¡¯t end up in the pitiable situation of being forced to be bought and sold, anyone could come along and wantonly crumble his insides into pieces, leaving behind only the fragile plastic packaging intact. Pick it up and shake it, and all you would be able to hear would be the clear wails of broken dreams colliding against each other.


    The more the other side said, the more confident he grew, and so started exhibiting his intention of seducing him over to his side by saying, ¡°What is a good way to gain exposure? Of course it¡¯s by participating in a reality show ah! When it comes to reality shows, your company doesn¡¯t have the kind of contacts I do¡­¡±


    Nausea, dizziness and fatigue, along with his lack of food, darkened his vision and weakened his legs and feet. The voice coming through the headset split into countless pieces of sounds, with bursts of static layered on top of them.


    ¡°What¡¯s there to do online? If you¡¯re going to do something, you need to get on a satellite TV program. For every minute you are on such a program, your national profile will increase, just like the boat that rises with the tide. Xiao Fang, you just have to take it easy. As long as you come to me, I promise to tailor one such plan just for you¡­¡±


    All of a sudden, his cheek was brushed by cold fingertips.


    The source of his disgust disappeared with his earphones being removed. His ears were empty for a moment, and the noisy and chaotic world suddenly quieted down, it felt as if he had sunk into the deep sea.


    ¡°Assistant Director Yang.¡±


    A hand was casually placed on Fang Juexia¡¯s shoulder, and his entire body went stiff as he turned his head in stupefaction.


    The old man on the other end of the call, who had originally had an unceasing stream of words to still vomit out, was stunned at the sound of this voice, and the exaggerated words that he had held onto scattered all over the floor. After all, this low voice didn¡¯t sound anything like Fang Juexia¡¯s, and its cynical tone contained nothing in common with Fang Juexia.


    ¡°I¡¯ve recorded this.¡±

 CH 3

    Chapter 3 ¨C Cherry Blossoms Billowing Across Snow


    ¡°I can¡¯t imagine the way you would look in bed at all.¡±


    He didn¡¯t even have to come up with a draft before bluffing people. Fang Juexia envied him so much.


    ¡°You! Who are you?¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t tell?¡± His tone at the end of this question made him sound even more careless than before. Fang Juexia felt the hand on his shoulder sway gently as fingertips tapped against him. ¡°I¡¯m Pei Tingsong ah.¡±


    The other party¡¯s voice suddenly came to a halt. ¡°Pei¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes, Pei Tingsong, the one who had counter-killed your garbage last time. I heard you wanted to have me blocked last time? Did you succeed?¡± Pei Tingsong pressed a hand on the table behind him and then sat on it. ¡°It seems that in the end, the broadcast didn¡¯t dare to cut out my parts ma.¡±


    Fang Juexia knew where this guy¡¯s power came from, but he didn¡¯t expect that this guy would actually be willing to use this power on his own self.


    The other party experienced the sensation of having a fishbone get stuck in his throat for a moment. He knew that he couldn¡¯t afford to offend this guy, so he didn¡¯t try to go around in circles with him. ¡°You give the phone to Fang Juexia, I have proper business to discuss with him.¡±


    ¡°Your proper business is related to hidden rules for young male artists? Your benefits are pretty good ah.¡±


    He even knew about that; Fang Juexia frowned.


    Pei Tingsong had a straightforward character, and after having worked with him for two years, Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t be more clear about this point. But even so, the words ¡°hidden rules¡± pierced sharply through him, so he tried to escape from the loose grip of that leisurely and carefree hand on his shoulder to widen the excessively intimate distance between them.


    But the moment his shoulder left Pei Tingsong¡¯s grasp, Pei Tingsong caught hold of his runaway wrist. He hadn¡¯t changed his posture at all¡ªhis head was still half-bowed as he spoke on the phone¡ªonly his eyes raised up slightly as he matched his sharp gaze against Fang Juexia¡¯s. Then he continued with his conversation, ¡°If I worked for the news, this would be a great scoop. Ready-made materials just waiting for me to bust them open and explode them into the light, right?¡±


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t know who that ¡°right¡± was meant for, all he could feel was his wrist being encircled and pricked by thorns.


    ¡°What the hell does it have to do with you?¡±


    Fang Juexia was also curious, because this matter really had nothing to do with Pei Tingsong.


    ¡°Of course it has something to do with me.¡±


    The hold on his wrist tightened.


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s long legs spread apart as he explained, ¡°Didn¡¯t you see the Hot Search? The company has asked us to form a CP, so before this business agreement ends¡­¡± He faced Fang Juexia and laughed like a naughty child. ¡°Everything he does is bound to me and mine.¡±


    ¡°His reputation concerns my reputation, and his private life affects the public¡¯s view of my private life. Once we publicly announce and establish a symbiotic relationship, the eyes of the many will start to equate all of these things between us.¡±


    His tone made it very clear that he was completely bantering. ¡°Do you think I look like the kind of person who would become a sugar baby for you?¡±


    The voice on the other end of the phone went from being agitated and indignant at the beginning to getting completely choked off by the end of this conversation. This person could think of nothing more to say. In this circle, some people were famous, some had money, and others had their own means. However, they all had one thing in common; that was, they accepted and generally abided by all the rules, spoken and unspoken, of this industry. But Pei Tingsong was a freak who loved breaking the rules, and he also had strong backing behind him, one who supported his rule-breaking wholeheartedly. This not only made him look like a bastard, but also made him someone not to be trifled with.


    Hearing no further sounds from the other end of the call, Pei Tingsong¡¯s mouth curled as he said, ¡°Goodbye then, Assistant Director Yang.¡±


    His tone then cooled as he warned¡ª


    ¡°Be a bit more well-behaved, and dream less.¡±


    Pei Tingsong raised his hand to the earphones to end the call before taking them off. He then raised his chin and stared at Fang Juexia, not saying a single word. Although he didn¡¯t speak, the way he raised up his eyebrow made for a very obvious hint¡ªhe just was waiting for him to speak first.


    Fang Juexia knew that he should open his mouth and say something at this time, but he first looked down at  Pei Tingsong¡¯s hand, which was still grasping onto his wrist, and there didn¡¯t seem to be even the slightest indication that he would let go. Pei Tingsong saw him glancing at their hands, and the corners of his mouth hooked up again, while the slender fingers of his free hand started playing with the headphones.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Pei Tingsong tilted his head, and his eyes chased Fang Juexia¡¯s evasive gaze. ¡°Listening to your tone of voice, it doesn¡¯t seem like you¡¯re all that grateful towards me.¡±


    Who would have known that Fang Juexia would suddenly reply solemnly, ¡°I¡¯m very grateful. But I didn¡¯t want anyone else to get involved in this matter, especially my group members.¡±


    So earnest.


    Pei Tingsong lazily nodded twice. ¡°You especially didn¡¯t want it to be me ba.¡±


    Fang Juexia¡¯s indifferent eyes fell on him for a few seconds, and then he nodded slightly, showing his agreement for this sentence.


    ¡°But thank you all the same.¡±


    Hearing this, Pei Tingsong laughed. Talking about it, the most unusual part of his facial features were his eyes. When he wasn¡¯t smiling, they looked cold and intense. But the moment he smiled, they would immediately turn into a pair of curved, childish eyes, and his entire demeanor would also change completely in a flash.


    However, Fang Juexia knew that even if this person was smiling at him now, it was only out of amusement at his circumstances.


    He was simply curious and asked, with an expression like that of a student with a strong thirst for knowledge, ¡°Why would there be someone who has taken a liking to you ah? I can¡¯t imagine the way you would look in bed at all. Do these people have a thing for ice or wood?¡±


    He said it so bluntly that Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t get angry at all, and instead quipped back quite peacefully, ¡°Then can you let go of this wood¡¯s hand?¡±


    Only then did Pei Tingsong discover that he was still holding onto his wrist, and his naturally vile instincts took over again as he stated, ¡°I won¡¯t.¡±


    In the midst of this standoff, they heard Cheng Qiang¡¯s voice calling out from outside, ¡°Juexia? Xiao Pei? Weird¡­¡±


    ¡°Qiang Ge told you.¡± Fang Juexia quickly understood the whole story.


    He just saw the other side shrug, then non-committedly say, ¡°Who cares who told me, anyway, if things had continued to develop, sooner or later, the whole company would know.¡±


    ¡°So what if they knew?¡±


    Looking at this fearless appearance of his, Pei Tingsong felt it was funny. ¡°That¡¯s true, it¡¯s not like it¡¯s the first time. Then why did you refuse this time? Anyway, previously you¡­¡±


    At that very instant, Cheng Qiang saw the two people inside the conference room through the glass door. He opened the door and said, ¡°What are you two doing? I had to go around in a whole circle before I found you guys.¡±


    Fang Juexia pulled his hand away quietly and looked down at his wrist, which had turned red from the strength of Pei Tingsong¡¯s grip. Pei Tingsong looked completely relaxed as he got down from the table. ¡°Nothing, just cultivating feelings in advance.¡±


    ¡°Come on, you haven¡¯t managed to cultivate any feelings even after two years, you phonies.¡± Cheng Qiang kept an eye out for the expressions on Juexia¡¯s face and specially asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    ¡°I took care of that matter.¡± Pei Tingsong took the lead in saying, ¡°I¡¯ll also tell my Jie that if Yang Chenggang misbehaves again, then she should directly withdraw her investment. With his character, we¡¯re just waiting for him to be exposed and for the program to be boycotted, and by then her money would really have been squandered away.¡±


    Cheng Qiang nodded. The reason why he had been willing to tell Pei Tingsong about this matter was because he had long been aware of the issues between him and this assistant director from before. He knew that with Pei Tingsong¡¯s character of not even being able to bear a speck of dirt in his eye, he would definitely take action.


    ¡°Then you have to really thank Xiao Pei.¡± He placed his hand on Fang Juexia¡¯s shoulder and steered them towards the conference room where the meeting was being held, but Fang Juexia just stiffened up before agreeing in a low voice.


    Pei Tingsong walked behind them and looked at Fang Juexia¡¯s back. Humans were a complex mass of contradictions¡ªa fact he knew well. Yet, Fang Juexia was probably the strangest contradiction he had seen. There was a natural coldness to his appearance, which gave the impression that he kept people at arm¡¯s length at any and all times, and yet such a person was deeply involved in rumors of that sort.


    But now, looking at his current countenance of preferring death before dishonor, Pei Tingsong became really curious.


    It couldn¡¯t be post-traumatic stress?


    Although Pei Tingsong looked down upon people who sold their bodies to get to their positions, he had a natural affection for people with high professional ability, and Fang Juexia was such a person. His dancing ability was absolutely top notch in the entire circle, not to mention that he had been born with a good voice that had a hoarse timbre to it. After working together for two years, Pei Tingsong¡¯s aversion to him had gradually decreased little by little, dropping from the peak it had been at when he had first heard the rumors, and currently, he almost couldn¡¯t feel anymore of it.


    Besides not being disgusted anymore, he had also become a little curious, because the contradictions that were present in Fang Juexia¡¯s personality and behaviour were too special.


    The second half of the meeting flowed by very quickly. Pei Tingsong was absent-minded for most of it and even forgot about the purpose he came here for here¡ªto oppose their plan to make them form a CP. After a while, the door of the conference room opened, and the four other members of their group entered one by one.


    The boss motioned for everyone to sit down and told the assistant to distribute the new plan. ¡°Ever since Kaleido debuted, you guys have only released two albums, and the most recent one was the mini-album from a year ago. In fact, you should have made a come-back a long time ago, and you guys have all probably been pretty anxious this whole while.¡±


    Chen Zhengyun glanced over each group member and said, ¡°We discussed it in the meeting we had just now. In order to make the most of your recent popularity, the company has decided to launch the production and distribution of a new album as soon as possible.¡±


    Group leader Jiang Miao brought up a question. ¡°But it takes time to make an album¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Chen Zhengyun said, ¡°We can¡¯t compress the production time and release a crudely-made album to fool the fans just because you guys got a bit more popular. You guys are idols, and singing and dancing are your bounden duties, so at least in these aspects, we can¡¯t let anyone down. Therefore, in order to balance the production quality and time, we need to maintain your popularity in another way. Ziyan, Jiang Miao, you guys have variety show resources, Lu Yuan is still filming a dance program as well, Ling Yi has an OST, and Juexia is also filming¡­¡±


    Cheng Qiang cut him off. ¡°Juexia¡¯s program is gone.¡±


    Chen Zhengyun¡¯s face showed some suspicion, but he didn¡¯t delve into the topic. He continued, ¡°To reiterate, in short, we are still engaged in talks about acquiring other possible prospects. If these talks go well, we can get a spot as a drop-in guest for you guys on some of the popular variety shows.¡± With that, he motioned to his assistant to distribute the other documents related to the plan.


    Ling Yi took the plan, flipped through its pages, and said in surprise, ¡°There¡¯s even an ensemble show featuring only us?¡±


    ¡°This time, we will mainly film everyone¡¯s day-to-day real life, and may add some entertainment sections afterwards to break it up a bit and not make it too monotonous.¡± Cheng Qiang carefully explained the details of the plan for the ensemble show to everyone, ¡°The format will likely consist of filming and livestreaming at the same time, and we may intersperse some livestream clips in the middle too to save time on filming.¡±


    Before the end of the meeting, Chen Zhengyun stood up. ¡°You are all children possessing good abilities. Over the past two years, all of you should have realised how cruel this circle can be. I don¡¯t need to say anything else, everyone already knows the score.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to seeing you all as shining idols.¡±


    When Fang Juexia heard this sentence, he fell into a reverie and felt as though he was back to the start. It seemed as though that stage he had longed for back then had once again drawn near him, even though it had approached him in this absurd way.


    Right after the meeting finished, these six people stayed behind at the company to practice for the new album.


    Today¡¯s entertainment industry offered idols a lot of opportunities, but they were not all specifically related to the career of an ¡®idol¡¯ itself. What was embarrassing was that most of these young people entered the circle with the dream of singing and dancing on a stage, but eventually ended up doing various other jobs for a variety of reasons. By carrying the title of ¡®idol¡¯, many of them suffered from all kinds of prejudices and couldn¡¯t get the kind of stage an idol should have.


    Music and dance gradually got further and further away from them, as they busied and tired themselves out by rushing between large and small performance venues, and then burning through countless all-nighters in largely identical recording studios, until they forgot their original intentions. Finally, they would be hastily judged as being ¡°insatiably greedy¡± or ¡°trying to do something beyond their ability,¡± and would then disappear under the new wave of beauty that entered the circle.


    The chaos that came with being in this artiste profession caused too many fresh lives to be passively ground into residue under the gears of the entertainment circle, which was like a large and perpetually-moving machine. This would happen day after day, and there would always be more fresh and beautiful victims who would be lured into its jaws.


    ¡°The intensity of Juexia¡¯s dance practice is too high today.¡± Ling Yi panted for breath while leaning against the wall, and unscrewed his malva nut thermos to drink some water. ¡°No way, I didn¡¯t warm up my voice properly today, cough, cough.¡± He started to goof off, speaking in a hoarse voice while stretching out his own hand, ¡°Huohuo, my throat, what¡¯s wrong with my throat? I will never be favored again¡­¡±


    He Ziyan, who was helping group leader Jiang Miao hold down his feet while he was doing sit-ups, spared a hand to cover his own mouth as he laughed. ¡°Enter the cold palace ba, Concubine Ling. Your physical strength is too poor for you to be favored.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not it, look, even Yuan Ge can¡¯t keep up with him! Both of them are our main dancers, so we can compare them ba.¡± Ling Yi used his arm to turn Pei Tingsong around a bit. ¡°Right ba, Xiao Pei.¡±


    ¡°En.¡± Pei Tingsong, with his hands stuffed in the pockets of his hoodie, replied perfunctorily as he gazed at Fang Juexia, who was in front of the mirror, from a distance.


    He felt that as though this person was completely filled with energy that he had been holding back for a long time.


    That kind of feeling couldn¡¯t be described; clearly, in terms of popular aesthetics, this person¡¯s appearance could pretty much be described as fragile and soft. However, he felt that Fang Juexia was much rather like a thorn.


    A stubborn thorn that never softened.


    This was already the second time that the man in front of him had found himself drowned up to his chin in the quagmire of hidden rules. Even if that first instance could be somewhat regarded as just a rumour, Pei Tingsong had personally witnessed the unsuccessful transaction that the most recent instance had ended up being.


    What was it that these people were coveting so much? His beauty? His youth?


    Seriously, he didn¡¯t understand.


    Pei Tingsong had never been in love before. It wasn¡¯t that he was too young to be interested in these kinds of feelings, it was just that he wasn¡¯t interested in dating. He felt that it would be a waste whenever he imagined his heart being caught up in such sticky and trivial thoughts. These kinds of things like feelings¡ª when it was going good, it could send people up into the heavens, and when it was going bad, even going to hell would be a better option.


    But they probably didn¡¯t want to date Fang Juexia ba. These middle-aged men all had families; they just wanted to sample something fresh and then leave.


    The thought of that sort of physical lust felt even more absurd; he had a very hard time imagining what it felt like to have any ideas towards a man¡¯s body. Although he grew up abroad, had all kinds of friends around him, and supported minority groups, he wasn¡¯t gay. He couldn¡¯t understand this kind of craving.


    Two of his blind spots had been poked at in one go. However, Pei Tingsong¡¯s way of thinking was different from others. Above all else, he couldn¡¯t tolerate ambiguity and had to deeply consider any matter involving it.


    He tried to find the answer from Fang Juexia¡¯s body.


    ¡°Holy crap, Fang Juexia is crazy. How long has he been practicing for by now? Daddy is tired to death, in the future, I¡¯m not going to practice dancing alongside crazy training demons anymore,¡± Lu Yuan also came back, bent over and gasping as he wheezed out these words.


    Jiang Miao finished his last sit-up with a smile and said, ¡°Ah, my stomach is so sore¡­¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s eat, I¡¯m so hungry~¡± Ling Yi dragged Jiang Miao up. ¡°Captain, I want to eat!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true, it¡¯s time.¡± Jiang Miao looked at his watch and then called out to Juexia from afar. Only then did the Fang Juexia being reflected in the mirror stop, and he gasped out, ¡°I¡¯ll come later.¡±


    ¡°Alright ba.¡± Everyone knew what his personality was like. When it came to training, this guy would become the most intense person in the whole company; no one could stop him. Ling Yi pulled at Pei Tingsong. ¡°Let¡¯s go Xiao Pei, today, Ge will take you down to the countryside to eat at the company canteen, using my card!¡±


    Who would have known that Pei Tingsong would take this moment to deviate from his normal behavior by saying, ¡°Yi Ge, you guys go first ba, I¡¯ll practice for a bit.¡±


    These several people froze right on the spot.


    No, this guy who usually treated his job of being an idol as a hobby, had undergone a personality change?


    Jiang Miao could take a hint and smiled. ¡°Then we¡¯ll go first. Don¡¯t practice for too long and delay eating dinner.¡±


    Ling Yi was still worried even after they all reached the canteen. ¡°The two of them won¡¯t start fighting ba.¡±


    ¡°This fight has been waiting to happen for a long, long time.¡± The expression on He Ziyan¡¯s face, that of a Bodhisattva having opened his third eye to predict the future, really clashed with his short eyebrows.


    Lu Yuan took the opportunity to cut a piece from the sirloin steak on his plate and stuff it into his mouth. ¡°You have to say though, I seem to have been brainwashed by those girls online. When I look at the two of them now, they seem like an old couple.¡±


    Ling Yi used his chopsticks to hold a very thickly cut portion of shredded potato, and held it in such a manner that he looked like a big boss who was smoking as he spoke, ¡°Xiao Fang, and this Xiao Pei ah, every single day, they always seem like they could start fighting in the very next second. Do you think all these little girls will cultivate the two of them as a CP after seeing what they¡¯re really like?¡±


    ¡°They will.¡± He Ziyan calmly used his chopsticks to slap Lu Yuan¡¯s evil hand away, which had stretched forward for a second time.


    ¡°Why?¡± Ling Yi blinked.


    ¡°Eat ba.¡± Jiang Miao¡¯s facial expression clearly conveyed that he had seen through things but was too polite to explain it. ¡°They won¡¯t fight.¡±


    There were only two people left in the practice room, and Fang Juexia soon stopped practicing dancing. Habits learned over the course of two years already caused him to naturally take the initiative in trying to turn away from Pei Tingsong whenever he faced him, in order to avoid creating any trouble. He pushed his sweaty hair back, revealing his bright and clean forehead, and got ready to leave.


    Seeing the other party¡¯s naturally red birthmark, Pei Tingsong suddenly remembered the moment he had seen him for the first time.


    As an airborne trainee, he had been led by Cheng Qiang to meet his future group members. This meeting had taken place in a training room, and it had happened in winter. When the door had opened, several boys could be seen practicing the dance for their debut. Upon hearing movement, everyone had turned their heads. Only one guy, in a black baseball cap, had still been practicing while facing the mirror, and did so right up to the moment Cheng Qiang opened his mouth.


    He had then stopped, and breathing silently, had turned around, very much like the way he did just now. Sweat had trickled down the lines of his jaw, just like how a drop of water melts off an icicle hanging at the edge of a roof.


    The last person to introduce himself was, of course, him.


    Fang Juexia, who had only been 20 years old at that time, had taken off his hat and pushed his sweaty hair back, exactly the way he had done just now, thus revealing his whole face. The slender and long light red birthmark on his pale skin had brought forth an abstract image in the sea of his mind.


    Cherry blossoms scattering and billowing across snow¡ªThis was the most appropriate image he had found to describe it.


    ¡°Hello, my name is Fang Juexia.¡±


    [ Even though the rain doesn¡¯t know summer has left, the sun was clear and summer was deep. ]


    Obviously, his name pertained to summer, but his whole body carried the coldness of winter.


    He had nodded and smiled back. ¡°Pei Tingsong.¡±


    At that time, Ling Yi, who was a naturally friendly person, had asked curiously, ¡°What a special name! How did your parents come up with it?¡±


    ¡°I was born on New Year¡¯s Eve. ¡®A pot of fire roars with the bamboo, staying up to feast and listen to the pepper wine being poured.¡¯ My grandfather named me using two words from that poem.¡±


    ¡°Wow, it sounds really good, but you don¡¯t look like a child who was born in the winter.¡±


    Really.


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s gaze, which had been blurred by his memories, gradually returned to reality, and he noticed himself fixedly staring at Fang Juexia through the mirror.


    His unceasing gaze fell on the half-rolled up sleeves of Fang Juexia¡¯s hoodie, where his exposed arms looked pale and wiry. The blood vessels and muscles in his arm could be seen moving faintly. Since he had worked up a sweat, his originally loose clothing was now unconsciously sticking to his body, swaying with his movements. Pei Tingsong¡¯s gaze wandered down to see the hollows on the sides of his ankles and heels being hugged tightly by the hems of his pants, which also scraped against his snow-white skin.


    At the sight of this, for some reason, Pei Tingsong recalled the feel of the moment when he had held onto Fang Juexia¡¯s wrist tightly.


    ¡°What are you looking at?¡± Fang Juexia noticed the direction of his gaze through the mirror, turned around, and looked at him coldly.


    Releasing the hand that he had subconsciously clenched, Pei Tingsong¡¯s lips lazily curved up, and he looked straight at his face.


    ¡°Trying to see exactly how you¡¯re attractive.¡±


    ¡ª


    The author has something to say:


    The names of the two people are from:


    Pei Tingsong: ¡®A pot of fire roars with the bamboo, staying up to feast and listen to the pepper wine being poured.¡¯¡ª¡ª¡±New Year¡¯s Eve¡± (Dai Fugu of the Song Dynasty)


    Fang Juexia: ¡®Even though the rain doesn¡¯t know summer has left, the sun was clear and summer was deep.¡¯ ¡ª¡ª¡±Xi Qing¡± (Fan Changda of the Song Dynasty)


    In fact, these two poems are quite in line with their respective personalities.


    [If you can¡¯t get used to Fang Juexia¡¯s character in the beginning, please directly abandon this story. Don¡¯t scold him as being a weak bun or say that he might as well just clean himself up and send himself in to be cursed out or something, it¡¯s very unpleasant to hear. Fang Juexia is definitely not a weak bun character. He is a very strong and rational and brave person. Please don¡¯t use the ideas you¡¯ve formed from just three chapters to maliciously speculate about him.


    At this time, the relationship between the gong and shou is very bad, so there¡¯s no need to scold him for disrespect. The writing made it clear that they had a bad relationship from the start, and the shou also hasn¡¯t taken care of the gong. If you guys lived with someone you had a bad relationship with, you probably wouldn¡¯t be very affectionate with them either. If you can¡¯t accept this, then you can abandon this story.


    And finally, explaining the question many people have asked, ¡°Why not make a recording?¡± Do you really think that a little idol recording something can change the fact of him being bullied by those with capital and family background? Can he really revolt? After sending out the recording, who do you think will be the one bearing the consequences, won¡¯t it be him and his group members? They already didn¡¯t have any backstage connections or capital, and after this, won¡¯t they now get frozen out by national TV and capital resources?


    This article starts with an unpopular group and an unpopular idol, who will crawl up step-by-step. If you don¡¯t like this, you really can abandon this story, don¡¯t force yourself to continue reading.]


    No abuse, no abuse, no abuse in this work.

 CH 4

    Chapter 4 ¨C Troubling Event


    Dreams are the sort of things that can¡¯t be divided into high or low


    After all, they were people who had worked together for two years, so Fang Juexia had long gotten used to Pei Tingsong¡¯s banter. Without showing even a flicker on his face, he picked up his coat off the ground, shrouded himself with it, and prepared to leave the training room.


    However, Pei Tingsong still hadn¡¯t gotten used to his blatant disregard and pulled back on his arm. ¡°Hey, is that how you treat a benefactor?¡±


    Fang Juexia paused in his steps and glanced at him, his words cool as he retorted, ¡°I also don¡¯t want to do so, but with the way you take liberties with me, you don¡¯t seem to regard yourself as my benefactor.¡± He pulled his arm away from Pei Tingsong¡¯s hand, and his coat fell to the floor.


    ¡°Then what do I regard myself as?¡±


    Fang Juexia¡¯s eyes were indifferent as he said curtly, ¡°A patron.¡±


    Having said that, he was ready to leave the room, but Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t intend to let him go so easily. This time, he didn¡¯t try to grab him anymore; he directly stepped forward and blocked Fang Juexia from moving forward, and did it so abruptly that Fang Juexia almost ran into him.


    ¡°About that, you really reminded me of something.¡±


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s eyes drooped, while the corners of his mouth seemed to carry a trace of perverseness as he spoke¡ª


    ¡°I also can¡¯t help you for nothing ah.¡±


    Fang Juexia silently raised his eyes and looked directly at the teammate who had never stopped trying to trip him up.


    ¡°As a patron, I¡¯m bound to take something from your body, right?¡± Pei Tingsong laughed. ¡°Isn¡¯t that how it is?¡±


    He originally thought that he had become immune towards such banter and would not react to it at all, but whenever the initiator was Pei Tingsong, Fang Juexia¡¯s mood would begin to creep beyond the bounds of calmness.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have time to play this kind of boring game with you.¡± He moved away in preparation to leave, but who would have known that Pei Tingsong would calmly block him again.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I don¡¯t desire your body.¡± Pei Tingsong  looked him up and down, not bothering to cover up the profane expression on his face while doing so. ¡°But since we¡¯re going to be selling fanservice from now on, one side will have to cooperate with the other side ba. Looking at your expression¡­¡± He bent down, picked up the coat that had fallen on the ground, and placed it on Fang Juexia¡¯s shoulders. ¡°It¡¯s a bit too fake.¡±


    Fang Juexia stared at him and didn¡¯t speak. He was always like this; those eyes of his were cold and direct, as if he was never afraid nor did he care about anything.


    ¡ªThis reminded Pei Tingsong of winter.


    He liked the smell of winter, the cold air mixed with the faint scent of withering plants. Although it had hardly ever snowed in Atherton, he still liked winter.


    Pei Tingsong had a strange hobby since childhood.


    In the winter, the gardener would cut off half of the withered branches and leaves that had lost the vitality of summer in the garden. This was the happiest time of the year for him. He would squat on the ground, carefully select the straightest of these branches, then grasp its two ends and break it in half.


    These cut-off branches were beautiful, straight, and inflexible, and looked as if they would never yield. At the moment it snapped in half, you could feel the power of its obstinate resistance beneath its hard surface. But this power was of no use; all the branches would eventually snap in two with a crisp cracking sound. The broken sections then revealed the last green bits of the tree¡¯s vitality, and the complex scent of plants and decayed dead branches would waft out, which Pei Tingsong found very bewitching.


    That moment when the branch broke was the moment he experienced immense psychological satisfaction.


    And at this current moment, he could feel that very familiar satisfaction nearing him.


    It felt as if he had once again found his favoured type of withered branch.


    ¡°Don¡¯t make it seem as if we¡¯re as incompatible as fire and water. I¡¯m really not interested in you that way. However, since we¡¯ve already agreed to sell fanservice, we have to at least make it look fanservice-y. If you don¡¯t know what to do¡­¡± Pei Tingsong¡¯s smile at the end of this trailing sentence looked very pure.


    He stretched out his hand and pushed away the sweaty hair across Fang Juexia¡¯s forehead. His voice was very low as he said, ¡°It¡¯ll be okay if you just obediently listen to me, Juexia Gege.¡±


    This was the first time that Fang Juexia heard this guy, who was three years younger than him, actually call him ¡®Gege.¡¯


    In these two years, their lives appeared to have converged many times, but in fact, they had completely existed as two straight lines positioned at different coordinates on the same plane, without any intersections at all. Fang Juexia¡¯s temperament was always very placid, treating and regarding whatever kind of difficult person he ran into rather coolly. He did so because he believed that people always followed the basic rules of the animal kingdom, which were just projections of the laws laid down by nature for all living creatures.


    But Pei Tingsong was an exception.


    He was an incendiary, explosive, and completely uncertain factor.


    Fang Juexia maintained his habitual silence, while his eyes still openly and directly looked at Pei Tingsong. After a few seconds, he reached out to Pei Tingsong and neatened up his carelessly rumpled collar, just like a good Gege would do. That beautiful mouth didn¡¯t utter any words in the end; the corners of his mouth simply drew up, and he left.


    The group spent the next few days in planning meetings and in practice rooms, with the concept of their comeback still being a bit fuzzy. That lasted until Cheng Qiang made a joke in the middle of a meeting.


    ¡°It¡¯s really difficult. If worst comes to worst, let¡¯s let Jiang Miao play the guzheng, Ziyan can DJ, and after they¡¯re done, Yiyi can wail a bit, and then Juexia and Lu Yuan can come dance while Xiao Pei raps.¡±


    Originally, it was just a joke, and everyone was busy laughing. They never thought that this ¡®joke¡¯ would be taken seriously by two of the people at the table.


    ¡°Wait a minute.¡± / ¡°I have an idea.¡±


    Fang Juexia and Pei Tingsong spoke simultaneously in one voice, and the meeting room went silent for a moment. Everyone was shocked speechless by this unprecedented tacit understanding between these two people, and the atmosphere in the room turned awkward for a bit.


    Just as everyone was waiting for them to explain further, the two of them once again fell silent, as though they were waging a contest against each other.


    Cheng Qiang knocked on the table with his knuckles. ¡°You two are too funny. Alright ba, Lao Si, you talk first.¡±


    ¡°Based on what criteria?¡±


    Knowing that Pei Tingsong would definitely not be satisfied by this, Cheng Qiang just went along with him and said, ¡°Then you talk first.¡±


    ¡°¡­if I¡¯m going to talk, then I¡¯m going to talk.¡± Pei Tingsong cleared his throat, and as he twirled the pen in his hand around and around, he said, ¡°For the comeback, let us personally produce it.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t so much his idea, but his tone and the way he expressed it made it seem as if he were making an official announcement.


    Cheng Qiang rolled his sleeve and said, ¡°Hey, you little punk¡­¡±


    ¡°I also approve of his idea.¡±


    Everyone¡¯s heads turned together as they looked in the opposite direction at Fang Juexia.


    Ling Yi tilted his chair back and said to Lu Yuan in a small voice, ¡°Do you think it¡¯s strange¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Lu Yuan nodded his head seriously, and his eyes kept flickering back and forth between the two people. ¡°Why do I feel like the two of them make a good pair right now, what¡¯s going on with me?¡±


    Ling Yi rolled his eyes and quipped, ¡°You¡¯ve eaten a poisonous Gu.¡±


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t hear these comments his group members were making. He said, ¡°In fact, the concept of the previous two albums also took a lot of thought, but their ultimate effect was rather tepid. Of course, it may be that we didn¡¯t properly digest and implement the concepts. So I thought,¡± he looked at the boss with a sincere attitude and continued, ¡°that instead of creating a new concept for us to adapt and digest, we should assume¡­¡±


    As this math major graduate¡¯s aphorisms appeared again, all of his group members couldn¡¯t help laughing. Ling Yi directly went along with him and teased, ¡°We should assume X, and obviously¡­¡±


    As everyone laughed, Pei Tingsong took a sideways glance at him and saw that his pale neck had begun to grow red.


    Fang Juexia coughed and tried to drag the topic back to its original point. ¡°I meant to say, we should just cleanly throw out the past model and get everyone to participate in the creation process of this album. As Qiang Ge said, everyone has something they are good at. Although it can¡¯t be guaranteed that the effect will be a simple summing up of all our abilities, some sparks will definitely get kicked up during the fusion process, won¡¯t they?¡±


    He very seldom spoke this much, so he seemed even more serious while saying this.


    Chen Zhengyun was a little surprised but still nodded. ¡°Give me a clear-cut idea.¡±


    ¡°Chinese classical folk music with electronic music.¡± Pei  Tingsong stopped twirling the pen in his hand and explained, ¡°This isn¡¯t something new, but you won¡¯t find it  flooded with many boy-bands either. Miao Ge¡¯s guzheng can be used as the pluck or lead. Take trap music as an example, the low pitch of the bass with the clear sounds of the guzheng should create a very good sense of space. Add in some catchy drum sets, and I think it would make for some great dance music.¡±


    (These are all popularized terms)


    His idea quickly won the approval of electronic music producer He Ziyan. ¡°I¡¯ve thought about this problem before. To tell you the truth, I still have several demos in my hand that I created based on this idea, with trap and future bass. Being non-mainstream and using the guzheng as the foundation of a vaporwave track will definitely be amazing. And since you can change the plucking of the guzheng, the rhythm can become very fast, which is very suitable for the buildup before the drop.¡± He then looked at Jiang Miao. ¡°What do you say?¡±


    Jiang Miao smiled. ¡°It¡¯s very interesting. If you guys really want to try, I¡¯ll give you another suggestion.¡± He looked at Ling Yi and said, ¡°Yiyi can try singing opera. You have a high voice, so if you hold it up there to go with both the folk music and the electronic music, it should make people break out in goosebumps.¡±


    ¡°With the captain saying that, I have a little to do now too, huh.¡± Ling Yi rubbed his own arm. ¡°But I have never tried that before. What about Juexia? Why don¡¯t you also try it?¡±


    Before Fang Juexia could even open his mouth, he heard Pei Tingsong say, ¡°His voice has a more mixed feel, it¡¯s more suitable for the hook.¡±


    Ling Yi immediately naughtily teased, ¡°Tch, tch, tch, finding yourself a hook so fast.¡±


    He Ziyan looked completely serious as he stated, ¡°The hook is the soul of hip hop ah.¡±


    ¡°Wow¡­. Soul~¡± Lu Yuan also joined in. ¡°Watching those CP videos for the past two days has kind of gone to my head.¡±


    ¡°Gone to what head.¡± Cheng Qiang knocked on Lu Yuan¡¯s head as he asked, ¡°What about the choreography?¡±


    Ling Yi immediately started imitating an artificial Northeastern accent, ¡°Don¡¯t strike his weirdo head.¡±


    ¡°Scram, you keep trying to learn it, but you still don¡¯t sound right. What weirdo head, it¡¯s the crown of my head.¡± Lu Yuan rolled his eyes, then became serious and said, ¡°You guys have finally come to my home court. Choreography for a boyband needs to be both memorable and have dramatic tension. Since everyone has set the theme, I don¡¯t think we should try to insert too much traditional choreography into the performance. There are two kinds of live-styles we can use: one is the band version, where we play the guzheng live on the spot, while the other is singing and dancing live.¡±


    ¡°This is a good idea.¡± Looking at the rush of inspiration everyone was experiencing, a smile appeared on Chen Zhengyun¡¯s face. ¡°Anything more?¡±


    ¡°I have a suggestion ha.¡± Lu Yuan grinned and looked at Juexia as he proposed, ¡°The part about making it memorable, we should let our Juexia take the reins for that.¡±


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t understand his reasoning. ¡°Me?¡±


    ¡°Since tradition and modernity are colliding together musically, some traditional elements to the choreography also have to be included ah. A scene just flashed through my mind, in which Juexia was dancing classical Chinese dance. We only need a short solo dance to accompany the bridge in the middle, and if we can get that dance sequence captured in a long shot there, it will definitely be really amazing¡­¡±


    Listening up to here, Pei Tingsong¡¯s mind unexpectedly and automatically proffered up an image. During the solo performance of the guzheng, a single beam of light was projected down onto the completely dark stage, only illuminating Fang Juexia. His waist bent down, his sleeves flicked up, and with a folding fan in his hands, his slender body stretched out, before twirling around. Through the silk fabric of his clothes, the light caressed the flexible lines of his muscles, just like the way moonlight skims over water.


    At the last pluck of the guzheng, his pointed toes landed on the ground, his fan unfolding in an instant, a touch of red extending beyond his eyes and brow.


    ¡°Xiao Pei? Pei Tingsong¡ª¡±


    Cheng Qiang¡¯s voice pulled him out of his imagination. Pei Tingsong returned to his senses, looked up, and found that everyone was looking at him. ¡°What are you guys looking at me for?¡±


    ¡°What were you thinking about that you got so engrossed into it?¡± He Ziyan was already standing up and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go ah, the meeting is over.¡±


    So fast.


    It was over in the duration of just one dance.


    ¡°How about it? The idea I just suggested.¡± Lu Yuan held Fang Juexia¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°I remember you said that you had learned both classical dance and modern dance as a child.¡±


    Fang Juexia nodded and replied, ¡°I danced both as a child.¡±


    ¡°As a child?¡± Ling Yi could always manage to insert himself into any conversation. ¡°Juexia, you¡¯ve also been trained in dance since you were a child? You¡¯ve never even mentioned that to us before.¡±


    Pei Tingsong walked behind them with his hands stuck in his pockets, and thought¡ª let alone his childhood, when has this guy ever shared anything about his own experiences?


    ¡°En.¡± Fang Juexia¡¯s eyes drifted down unconsciously. The white floor tiles in the corridor were glared under the reflected light, and one such bright tile reflected a stage. The man on the stage danced unhurriedly, with both ease and grace. Walking further, he saw his immature self standing beneath the stage, holding his mother¡¯s hand and looking up.


    [Mama, I¡¯m going to be like dad when I grow up!]


    [Okay ah, our baby will definitely be the best dancer, even better than your dad~]


    ¡°I learned it for a few years, and then I stopped.¡± Fang Juexia raised his head, looked straight ahead, and walked to the elevator with everyone. His tone was calm, but he quickly continued speaking, seemingly in an effort to prevent anyone from asking any further questions, ¡°The foundations should still be there, I can try.¡±


    Jiang Miao looked down to scrutinize his own hand. ¡°Aiya, I also have to go back to my old career.¡± Just as he said that, his right hand was seized by He Ziyan.


    He Ziyan made the motion of laying down beats and laughed as he said, ¡°Going back to our old careers 2.0.¡±


    Lu Yuan said, ¡°Then you guys quickly make a demo ah, I want to start choreographing now!¡±


    Ling Yi started fawning upon him, ¡°Yuan Ge! Dalian hunk! I want a super handsome part!¡±


    Seeing everyone get caught up in this bustle, Fang Juexia¡¯s heart filled with a warmth that he hadn¡¯t experienced in a long time. It was as if they had gone back to the time of their debut, the time when everyone had been working hard to advance towards their dreams and had been putting in their full effort to try and present the best stage they could¡ª all except for one person.


    Glancing away from these people, he saw the metal wall of the elevator reflect Pei Tingsong¡¯s figure. His head was half-lowered, and looked as if he was lost in thought.


    In Fang Juexia¡¯s memory, Pei Tingsong had still been a 17-year-old child when he had arrived. In fact, he didn¡¯t have too many opinions on airbornes; in the end, he was a group member, so he would also get along with him normally.


    However, at that time, Pei Tingsong had really been too rebellious. Just because he had had a bad attitude one time during dance practice, Fang Juexia, who had never lost his temper before, came into conflict with him. That was the first time they had had a fight. When the two youths had started fighting, the people to the side couldn¡¯t even stop the fight.


    [Did you think I just wanted to come here to be some kind of idol? Practice, what practice?! I don¡¯t have anything to say to someone like you who spends all their effort into climbing higher and will do anything to get promoted!]


    Only after hearing this did Fang Juxia realize why the initially friendly Pei Tingsong had changed his attitude towards him.


    But he hadn¡¯t gotten angry at that moment, and had instead gone completely icy cool.


    [I hear you want to be a hip-hop singer.]


    As early as the day after Pei Tingsong had entered the company, everyone had heard that he had been forcibly sent back to China from the United States by his parents when he was just a teenager. Everyone had also heard that he had been carted off into a small company like Star Chart by his Jie probably because his family wanted to let him experience the muddy waters of the entertainment circle.


    Whether it was his original intentions or even the way he arrived here, all of it was totally different from the way the rest of them had bitterly worked to get here.


    [Dreams are the sort of things that can¡¯t be divided into high or low, but only realized or unrealized.]


    Fang Juexia had then loosened the hand that held him by his collar¡ª


    [I also have nothing to say to a childish and prejudiced person like you.]


    The trajectories of the lives of a paranoid person burdened with rumors and an arrogant and unbridled rebel should have run opposite to each other. However, under the influence of a strange series of events, they just happened to run into each other, and this encounter had turned into a troubling event that still hadn¡¯t been repaired even after two years.


    Neither one of them condescended to go and understand the other. Both were of the opinion that as long as they could keep a safe distance between them, they could always maintain a superficial peace.


    ¡°Oh right, Miao Ge,¡± Pei Tingsong said as they got out of the elevator, ¡°You guys go practice first, I have to move.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re moving?¡± Ling Yi¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°You¡¯re moving back to the dorms, right?! Today?¡±


    Pei Tingsong nodded. ¡°Tomorrow, Strong Ge has been urging me to do so for a long time. After all, we¡¯re going to be recording the group documentary soon.¡±


    Fang Juexia stared at Pei Tingsong¡¯s side profile. Coincidentally, he turned back and met his gaze at the same time. It was just like what had happened the second time they had formally met and again like that time when dealing with the ¡°hidden rules¡±. As soon as Pei Tingsong had found out about it, he had taken action. If it hadn¡¯t been for this, they would have probably continued to avoid one another, perhaps even until the day the group disbanded.


    Pei Tingsong laughed, gratuitously giving off a bratty feel. ¡°It seems that not every Gege is welcoming me home ah.¡±


    It was said that many killers liked to return to the scene of a crime in search of some kind of pleasurable sensation. Strangely, he had always thought that Pei Tingsong was such a person, but at this moment, his own simple and ordinary body seemed to be secreting some kind of pleasure-promoting neurotransmitters, making it seem as if he was looking forward to something.


    Now that the safe distance had been breached¡ª


    Those troubling matters were going to be tragically acted out again ba.


    ¡°Welcome back.¡± Fang Juexia smiled.


    ¡ª


    The author has something to say:


    This chapter contains some music production terms, will try to explain it (a dabbler¡¯s ability isn¡¯t necessarily accurate ah, this can all be discussed together ~)


    Trap: a style of electronic music. The earliest ¡°trap¡± music originated in Atlanta. In slang, it refers to the place where drugs are traded and it¡¯s hard to break free from one¡¯s environment. Later, it gradually evolved into a hip-hop electronic music style, which is generally more psychedelic, mainly rap or melodic rap. I will share the example song The Weeknd¡¯s ¡®The Hills¡¯ on Weibo, and it is also suitable for the atmosphere of this chapter.


    Pluck: a kind of sound in the production of electronic music. The timbre here is the various sounds that will appear while listening to a song (Electronic Music). Then pluck is the sound of a plucking instrument (such as when plucking guitar strings). This kind of timbre is melodic and gradually declining, that is, after a sound is issued, the volume decreases and does not last.


    Lead: it¡¯s also a sound like a pluck, but it¡¯s powerful and prominent. It usually appears at the beginning of a song. (The song shared above starts with a lead)


    Drum set: as the name suggests, it¡¯s a set of percussion music. For example, European and American music attach great importance to the sense of rhythm. Therefore, whether a drum set is good or not can largely determine whether a song will sell or not. You can try to listen to the annual hot list in Europe and the United States. It can be said that the drum set of each song there is excellent.


    Demo: Song sample. All the songs we hear are the finished products after editing and voice mixing. The demo is actually the predecessor.


    Future Bass: it¡¯s also a music style. It¡¯s a popular genre right now, but there¡¯s no good definition of it at present. However, everyone may have heard a lot of it. For example, ¡°Faded¡± and The Chainsmokers¡¯ ¡°Closer¡± are both future bass songs, and some ¡°vaporwave¡± electronic music can also count as examples of this. Therefore, future bass has a wider audience.


    Drop: as you all know, after a part of the main song is over, there¡¯s the phrase ¡°DJ drop the beat.¡± In fact, the drop is the high-energy moment when you are listening to the music, and you have been waiting and waiting, and finally, you feel that super boom that you can¡¯t help swaying to.


    Hook: a lot of people understand it as the chorus, especially when hip-hop songs are mixed with a chorus. In fact, hook means a literal hook that often appears within the chorus and is the most attractive part of the whole song. (Xiao Pei says that Juexia is suitable for hook because his voice is very special, and in other words, is the best way to catch people¡¯s attention within the song.)


    Other terms:


    Bridge: The buildup before the last chorus. Take The Hills song above as an example: ¡°Hills have eyes¡­ only you¡±, that part is the bridge. Generally, after it hits the bridge, the song will change its tone.


    Long shot: no editing, one shot to the end.

 CH 5

    Chapter 5 ¨C Anonymous Post


    If fjx hadn¡¯t been kicked out of AS, he would have been at the top of the most influential idol groups now


    Ever since they had made it onto the Hot Search list because of the airport video, the conversation about them online had never stopped. Cheng Qiang found Fang Juexia and asked him to promote things on his own Weibo as well.


    In fact, everyone in Kaleido had started doing things like promoting on Weibo from the time they had debuted. With the popularity Fang Juexia had already garnered and the support of their senior brother idol group, the initial response hadn¡¯t been bad. Just when everyone thought that they could just coast on the favorable east wind created by their senior brother idol group, an anonymous post had suddenly appeared in the forums, titled¡ª [If fjx hadn¡¯t been kicked out of AS, he would have been at the top of the most influential idol groups now ba, it¡¯s really true that scandals can hurt you].


    The author of the post claimed to be a former AStar trainee, and he told the whole story in vivid detail.


    [fjx entered AS as a dancer. Let alone his ability, just his face completely outstripped that of others. A high-leveled person (but not a top boss) took a liking to him, and he was kept by that person for a while. However, I don¡¯t know why, but later on, he had a public quarrel with that person, slammed the door, and left (many trainees know about this matter), and then he was expelled from the company the next day. At that time, there had been less than half a year left before the debut of 7L. On the surface, he had even been slated for the center position in the group, the teaser had already been filmed, and the debut song had already been recorded. I don¡¯t know why he went to look for trouble. Now that he has debuted, isn¡¯t he still fighting with 7L? Oh, no, such a disgrace, he just doesn¡¯t fit with that muddled K group.]


    7L was the nickname for ¡°Seven Luminaries¡°, AStar¡¯s seven-man boyband. Because it was a seeded group created by a large company, many people paid close attention to it even in its early stages of formation. It had a smooth sailing debut, exploding in popularity and gaining numerous fans very quickly. Seven Luminaries launched a year earlier than Kaleido, but because of the circumstances surrounding Fang Juexia¡¯s special training experience, the two groups that had completely different starting lines were now linked together, and so they started being compared against each other.


    [Was fjx that high-handed? Even a predetermined center position can get kicked out, that¡¯s going pretty far ah.]


    [To tell you the truth, comparing K to 7L is like comparing the moon to porcelain. 7L is a top idol group created by a legitimate major corporation, where everyone keeps striving for the top. How can a pheasant-like group from a small company even have the gall to compare themselves to 7L?]


    [Like a cooked duck flying. But to tell the truth, his face really can play, his appearance level as an idol reaches all the way up to the ceiling. If I were a golden boss, I would also take him as a sugar baby. The face of 7L right now is really just like the faces of passers-by. What¡¯s more, fjx¡¯s pink birthmark is really too seductive. An abstinent, beautiful drama queen would also be quite delicious, but unfortunately. they went with some kind of abstinent iceberg-faced character for his debut. It¡¯s boring.]


    [Reasonably guessing, it may be that fjx opened his mouth like a lion and pissed off the high-leveled person so much that he told him to scram. How many true loves are there really ah, men are all the same, they get tired of someone once they have them. Even if they had gotten an immortal, it would be of no use.]


    [The group is really chaotic. Having one member being an airborne is fine, but now, even the only member who had the background of being a genuine trainee has now been exposed in a sex scandal. Unpopular K really will never be able to make a turn-around like this.]


    [Hahahaha, how everyone here has silently agreed that it was a male high-level executive who was keeping fjx ah hhhhh]


    [About to die from laughter, fjx, this kind of hype about yourself is pretty good ah. In the future, you can bind yourself to 7L and happily suck on their blood for a lifetime.]


    [Will an explosive video get leaked soon ah? I feel like this matter has someone big moving behind it]


    ¡­.


    This explosive post was pinned to the front page, and hung there for several days. Other social networks also spread it around while chattering about it endlessly, and other media-related marketing account Weibos tirelessly forwarded it around as well.


    On the third day after this post was published, even part of an audio recording that Fang Juexia had done for the Seven Luminaries debut before he had left AS was leaked. His voice was so special that no one could mistake it for being anyone else¡¯s. This leaked recording directly confirmed the fact that the author of the post had once been a reserve member for the Seven Luminaries¡¯ debut, which made this discussion about ¡°hidden rules¡± turn more and more intense.


    Even when Star Chart later issued a legal notice and published an announcement trying to clarify this so-called ¡°hidden rules¡± scoop, it didn¡¯t help.


    The cost for spreading rumors online was terrifyingly low¡ªthe speaker only needed to move a finger, and the listener would only believe what he or she was willing to believe. Everyone loves dogblood gossip and tends to be hooked by news of beautiful wastes of skin getting involved in dirty deals. No one cared about any truth that was being revealed by a person new to the fray.


    Kaleido lost several endorsements back then, and their performances were also canceled. Many ¡°passers-by¡± summed up this situation as both a success and failure for Fang Juexia.


    He originally hadn¡¯t been afraid of anything, but this sentence had stabbed him hard.


    But at that time, his teammates and the company didn¡¯t give up on him, and he also didn¡¯t want to give up. This kind of scandal was very personal, and not many people would take the initiative to confirm the exact details of what had happened with him. However, his group members tried very considerately to avoid this topic. They didn¡¯t seem to care whether the post was true or not, but just wanted to keep safeguarding the group. So, Fang Juexia had just distanced himself from all social networks and had given the company full responsibility over his accounts.


    It was kind of funny now; Fang Juexia, who didn¡¯t even have any Weibo side accounts at that time, had by now pretty much given up on all social networks, and contacted everyone either through text messages or phone calls. Ling Yi often complained that he was like a village devoid of the Internet, always lagging behind on the latest news.


    Although this method was clumsy and dumb, it also allowed Fang Juexia to slowly come around. His thought process was very simple, which was that he would keep proceeding forward on the path he had chosen, no matter the cost he had to pay while traversing it. He was just like a tree whose only goal was to grow higher. Even if his branches and leaves were pruned, or his branches were cut off, as long as he kept striving for the high skies, everything would be fine.


    However, it really wasn¡¯t an easy matter to persuade Fang Juexia to return to social networks now.


    ¡°Can¡¯t Xiao Wen help me promote things?¡±


    Xiao Wen was the group¡¯s assistant. He was usually the one who took Cheng Qiang¡¯s place and helped to smooth certain relationships out, across the various levels of staff they worked with, using money. However, he had recently taken a vacation and gone home.


    ¡°You can¡¯t always let Xiao Wen take your place. How¡¯s this, you download Weibo first, login into your account, and then read the fan¡¯s messages ah.¡± At the other end of the call, it seemed as if Cheng Qiang had been called over by someone else again. ¡°Hey, I can¡¯t talk any longer, I have to go to work.¡±


    He hung up the call. Fang Juexia sat in front of the mirror in the training room, and held the cellphone for a long time, before finally downloading Weibo again.


    At this time, the door of the training room was pushed open, and Ling Yi darted in, actually holding an ice-cream cone in his hand and calling out, ¡°Juexia!¡±


    Fang Juexia¡¯s natural disposition was to be a bit slow, so before he could react, Ling Yi had already caught sight of his cellphone screen.


    ¡°You¡¯re going back onto Weibo!¡±


    As a result, Fang Juexia, who had planned to do some psychological preparation for a while before jumping back into Weibo, was half-forced into logging onto his account again just like that, with everyone egging him on.


    To be honest, his heart was beating obviously fast; it seemed that even after this long, he could still get nervous. He could almost clearly recall that period¡ª whenever he went online, he would be bombarded by the curses ringing out everywhere, and the words in the various comments would jitter before his eyes, just like a swarm of wildly dancing bees.


    ¡°Eh, it froze.¡± Ling Yi¡¯s voice brought him back to reality.


    Jiang Miao once again tapped on the Weibo icon to open up the app which had crashed and thus had exited out of that account on its own. ¡°Maybe there are too many notifications in the cache?¡±


    The Weibo interface opened again, and sure enough, proved their captain¡¯s conjecture right. The notification interface was a sea of red, and there were countless comments and unsolicited private messages piled up into a heap.


    He Ziyan said with a laugh, ¡°Xiao Wen only took three days off, and the notifications are already about to explode. It seems that the popularity gained from Juexia Ge¡¯s Hot Search is truly real.¡±


    ¡°Quickly check and see what they have written.¡± Lu Yuan¡¯s head directly propped itself right in front of Fang Juexia, crowding into that space in such a way that Ling Yi had no space anymore.


    ¡°Hey, hey, hey, buddy, you¡¯re rubbing off some of my ice cream!¡±


    Holding his small cellphone, Fang Juexia took a deep breath and clicked open the comments section.


    [AHHHHHHHH JUEXIA GEGE I¡¯M HERE!!! I¡¯m sorry I¡¯m late! The Hot Search made me so happy! It let me find this immortal little Gege!]


    [Watched your dance clip at station B! It¡¯s really intense! It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve become a fan of an idol group!]


    [Why are you so good-looking, even your birthmark is a huge plus! Goddess Nuwa carved you out meticulously, while I¡¯m just a little pile of mud 55555]


    [I want to see a fresh selfie of you! Begging you, save us children ba!]


    [Adding my ID number to wanting to see selfies! I feel like Gege¡¯s Weibo is full of advertisements, and contains nothing about his daily life. I want to see regular life updates!]


    [Ge, do you know how special your voice is? It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve run into and admired such a cool young voice that isn¡¯t greasy or artificial at all, one that also carries its own reverberation and an ethereal feel to it. It¡¯s so great, wuwuwu voice fan is crying like crazy!! You are the true voice rogue! Can you go to more singing programs in the future ah, live singing is also okay!]


    [jxgg, I just started liking you recently, because I thought you looked pretty good when I saw you on the Hot Search list, and when I searched some more, I ended up entering your fan circle. Seeing your previous performances and variety shows, it¡¯s like I¡¯ve really discovered a treasure! I feel like I came in too late wuwuwu, sorry Gege!]


    [When will you return ya, I miss Gege! Our K group has to do well ah!]


    [It¡¯s nearly New Year¡¯s. I wish that Juexia Gege will be safe and healthy this year and will have his own stage.]


    Upon seeing this sentence, Fang Juexia¡¯s heart couldn¡¯t help but tremble.


    There were endless comments, countless words containing praise and encouragement, as well as reams and reams of private messages. These little girls, who were total strangers, were like skylarks that had come out of nowhere, chirping cutely towards him as they flew over and drowned him in soft pleasure.


    ¡°Let¡¯s take a picture together ba!¡± Ling Yi proposed.


    Fang Juexia immediately supported this proposal but soon realized that they were missing one person, and so subconsciously raised his head and looked around. Jiang Miao quickly realized the meaning behind his subtle movements, and then said with a smile, ¡°I have a backstage group photo of us from when we participated in that Hor D¡¯oeuvres concert. Xiao Wen took a pretty good picture. Should I send it to you?¡±


    A little surprised at Jiang Miao¡¯s understanding and his subtle thoughts, Fang Juexia nodded.


    At this time, if he posted a selfie containing only the five of them, it would definitely create a line of discussion divergent to their narrative, even if the simple truth behind the matter was that that specific person just happened to not be present at that time with the rest of them.


    ¡°You download WeChat again ba.¡± He Ziyan said, ¡°Or the captain will have to send you an email.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    Thus, under Ling Yi¡¯s instigation, Fang Juexia once again downloaded all the social platform apps he had previously deleted one by one. He logged into WeChat and saved the photo Jiang Miao had sent into his phone.


    The six of them were dressed in costumes of the same color, and had gathered backstage for a touch-up. His face just happened to be facing the camera, and Pei Tingsong could be seen behind him. His face was turned to the side, and he was letting the stylist tidy up his coat, a rare occurrence of him looking smartly well-behaved.


    After pondering for a while, he couldn¡¯t think of any good captions to post along with the picture. He was really unfamiliar with this kind of thing, so Fang Juexia just uploaded the photo by itself in the end.


    This photo took on the form of a newly opened window for Fang Juexia. The spring breeze blew in, and he was once again knocked down and submerged into a sea of small skylarks that blotted out the sky.


    Cute things really did engender cheer in people.


    ¡°Wow, it¡¯s only been a few minutes and it¡¯s already broken through 10,000 forwards.¡± Ling Yi was a little surprised; none of their posts had ever achieved such a  level this quick before. ¡°You¡¯ve really become a trending person, Juexia.¡±


    He was just about to deny it when Lu Yuan interceded, ¡°You didn¡¯t see the reaction to Xiao Pei¡¯s last Weibo post. There were so many comments there, and it got popular to the point that even the rest of us got more followers.¡±


    He Ziyan held Ling Yi¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°Whether or not it¡¯s trending, put that aside for now. You have to record the demo with me first.¡± Then he looked at the group leader. ¡°Miao Ge, you bring the qin ba.¡±


    Jiang Miao nodded and told Lu Yuan, ¡°Qiang Ge just informed me that your dance teacher will be arriving soon. Go to the 10th floor and wait for him ba.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Lu Yuan grabbed his clothes and shook them out. ¡°Work has started la.¡±


    Looking at everyone getting busy with impending work, Fang Juexia asked, half a beat too slow, ¡°What about me? Am I going to record with Ziyan, or am I going with Yuan Ge?¡±


    But both of them refused him because they didn¡¯t need him at the moment.


    ¡°There¡¯s a place that actually really needs your presence.¡± The droop to Jiang Miao¡¯s eyes became more obvious as he smiled and said, ¡°You have to go back to the dormitory. They told us that the production team is going to come over to install cameras, so help everyone by taking a look ba.¡±


    Thus, in the end, Fang Juexia was allotted the most leisurely job and went home to take a rest.


    After a bath, he changed into pajamas and pulled his slightly long hair into a short ponytail, one which looked a bit like an apple stalk. After returning to the room and taking his daily dose of vitamins, Fang Juexia took out a thick Sudoku book, turned to a page that he hadn¡¯t done yet, sat down at the desk with a pen in his hand, and thought carefully.


    Just after Fang Juexia had finished three Sudoku puzzles in a row and was feeling extremely tranquil, he suddenly heard the doorbell to the dorm ring.


    Oh, no, the production team was here.


    Conscious that he was being negligent of his duties, Fang Juexia immediately put down the Sudoku book and stepped into his slippers, quickly hurrying to go open the door. Every time he played Sudoku, he would get immersed in his own little world. Hearing the doorbell ring persistently now, he could wager a good guess at the amount of time the other party had been pressing the button for.


    Without looking at the monitoring screen of the security camera installed at the door, Fang Juexia anxiously ran out onto the porch and opened the door. He was too busy apologizing to notice anything. ¡°My¡­¡±


    However, there was no production group on the other side of the door, and instead, standing there was Pei Tingsong, wearing a black down jacket and a black facemask, with his hand raised in the air, as if he was about to press the doorbell button again.


    The ¡°my apologies¡± that he had just been about to say was swallowed back down into his stomach.


    ¡°My what?¡± Pei Tingsong unconsciously raised his eyebrows, one hand pulling off his mask and stuffing it into his pocket as he asked, ¡°My who?¡±

 CH 6

    Chapter 6 ¨C Two People Alone


    Who do you live with?


    Fang Juexia¡¯s surprised expression cleared up bit by bit, like water gradually growing still again after the ripples dispersed.


    ¡°No one,¡± He replied simply.


    ¡°You¡¯re the only one here?¡± Pei Tingsong glanced inside, his body permeated with the cold air from the outside. ¡°The moving company is downstairs and will bring the things up in a moment.¡±


    Fang Juexia, who had frozen mid-way through opening the door, let go of the door only after hearing that and said, ¡°Oh¡­¡± Then he remembered that the other party hadn¡¯t entered the room yet, so he moved up a step and asked, ¡°Is there a lot?¡±


    He also wanted to ask if he needed help, but it felt as if this question had gotten stuck in his throat. He could neither swallow it down nor ask it out loud.


    The warmth of the house gushed out into the corridor, and Pei Tingsong plucked off his hat as he replied, ¡°Not much.¡± He glanced at Fang Juexia¡¯s snow-white soft pajamas and seemed to have guessed the direction of Fang Juexia¡¯s thoughts. ¡°Go in ba. With you wearing this little, you¡¯ll freeze to death if you go down.¡±


    These weren¡¯t words that souded any good, but at least now he wouldn¡¯t have to go out. Fang Juexia was quite satisfied with this outcome.


    After a while, the sound of the elevator doors opening could be heard, and the movers quickly brought in Pei Tingsong¡¯s luggage. Fang Juexia tidied up the living room, where the games his bandmates had played yesterday had been left strewn about, so that he could make some room for the movers.


    After doing that, he got himself a cup of hot tea, and holding it, leaned against a wall, and watched them. Altogether, they brought in five big cardboard boxes. Observing the way they put down the boxes, he guessed that each box was pretty heavy.


    Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t help but be curious about the things that Pei Tingsong had brought in.


    ¡°Have troubled you guys,¡± Pei Tingsong thanked them politely.


    Just as he was about to send them away, Fang Juexia suddenly called out to them and stopped them, then poured a cup of hot tea for each of the three big uncles. Without saying anything, he handed it directly to them.


    ¡°Thank you, thank you.¡± Huffing and puffing, the three big uncles hastily took the tea. After drinking it, their chests and hearts both felt nice and warm, and they were smiling and laughing as they left.


    The production team that had been arranged hadn¡¯t arrived yet, so the only two people left in the dormitory were him and Pei Tingsong. Over the past two years, this kind of one-on-one time with just the two of them was almost zilch, which was somewhat embarrassing. He stared at the big boxes as if they were also staring back at him.


    ¡°I¡¯ll show you your room.¡± Fang Juexia finally managed to think of something to say. He walked around him in his slippers, and only when he got to the door did he remember that He Ziyan would usually lock the door. He was worried and decided to give it a try, so it was unexpected when it opened.


    He Ziyan knew that Pei Tingsong would be coming?


    ¡°I¡¯m rooming with Ziyan Ge?¡± Pei Tingsong was standing behind him, and was carrying a cardboard box to bring into the room.


    ¡°En.¡± Fang Juexia moved to let him in. The room was quite large, and as soon as one entered through the door, they would see a large workbench with several display screens and midi percussion pads on it. Going around it, on another table, was a DJ mixer board. This really was Ziyan¡¯s room. There was plenty of sunshine shining in, and the area next to the window was empty, with only a solid wood bed there that hadn¡¯t been made. Pei Tingsong put down the cardboard box and touched the bookshelf being used to divide up the room.


    ¡°Who do you live with?¡± He asked suddenly.


    Fang Juexia froze for two seconds before answering, ¡°Yiyi.¡±


    He thought that if Miao Ge or Yiyi had been here right now, they might have taken Pei Tingsong around to familiarise him with the environment. However, it just so happened that he was the only one here, and he wasn¡¯t clear on what to do. Should he take Pei Tingsong around for a tour of the dormitory, or should he remain silent and help him move his things in, or should he just ignore him and go back to his room?


    The last option was too cold, even if Fang Juexia really wanted to do so.


    He could just do so.


    Fang Juexia had started to take a step away, wanting to go, but who would have known that Pei Tingsong would suddenly open his mouth¡ª


    ¡°I want to see the other rooms.¡± He took off his coat and put it on the empty bed, and he was wearing a very-soft looking gray sweater underneath.


    Forget it, after all, they were both in the same group.


    ¡°En,¡± said Fang Juexia, then turned around and went out. Pei Tingsong kept his eyes pinned on this person. His back was covered with a snow-white fuzzy sweater, and his neck was long; when specifically looking at him from the side or the back, he looked just like a lone little swan. This surprised him, probably because he had never seen the way Fang Juexia was at home. Devoid of any makeup and wrapped up in a soft coat¡ªit seemed that he had lost some of that cold aura he usually rediated so that no one may either approach or look at him closely.


    ¡°This is Miao Ge and Yuan Ge¡¯s room.¡± When Fang Juexia opened the door, the room looked very cramped. There was a stack of guqin music scores piled up on the shelf near the door, and a guqin was placed by the window. Back then, the captain had taken the initiative in choosing the smallest room, which also only contained a bunk bed. However, it turned out that Lu Yuan also liked to sleep in bunk beds, feeling that sleeping high up in the top bunk was very nice.


    He didn¡¯t know how to explain their surroundings well, so he simply stayed silent. He took Pei Tingsong out of the room and then led him to take a turn around the living room and the open-plan kitchen. Fang Juexia said dryly, ¡°That¡¯s basically it.¡±


    Who knew that at this moment, Pei Tingsong would lean against the kitchen counter and ask, ¡°What about your room?¡±


    Fang Juexia blinked slowly, then as if acquiescing to this request, he turned around and guided him to his own room.


    After all, they now lived together. If he didn¡¯t see it today, he would inevitably see it tomorrow.


    Pei Tingsong felt this was interesting; he had thought that Fang Juexia would refuse. After all, he had always refused him, but now, he agreed to let him breach his private space so easily. Today¡¯s Fang Juexia seemed to be particularly easy to pick on.


    But the guy wearing pajamas just opened the door and didn¡¯t go inside. From outside the room, he politely introduced, ¡°This room.¡±


    Pei Tingsong definitely wouldn¡¯t miss this opportunity to invade his territory. He stepped in without saying a word, which led to Fang Juexia losing control of the situation, leaving him the only option of passively following him from behind.


    This room was more distinct than he had imagined, with a row of wardrobes separating the two sides. The area facing the door was filled with all kinds of ornaments. The bedding had a Minion pattern printed on it, and there was also a row of Minion dolls lined up on the head of the bed. Ling Yi was, famously, a Minion fan.


    Pei Tingsong walked further into the room, and the area on the other side of the wardrobes was an extreme opposite to the front of the room. It looked very empty, with the only furniture being a combined wooden bookshelf and desk, two or three light gray cabinets, and a bed. A folded square shaped quilt lay on top of the dark blue bed, all very clean and meticulous.


    He searched his mind for an appropriate adjective to describe this scene, but realized that the most appropriate description that could be used was the owner himself¡ª


    This was all very Fang Juexia.


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing to see in my room.¡±


    He could sense that Fang Juexia¡¯s tone had begun to sound a little defensive. Pei Tingsong couldn¡¯t help it as the corners of his mouth quirked up, and then he walked up to the desk. His gaze was drawn to the huge Sudoku book that lay on it.


    ¡°Do you like Sudoku?¡±


    Fang Juexia walked over, stuck a pen in to bookmark the unfinished page, and closed it. ¡°When I¡¯m bored, I play a bit.¡±


    This surprised Pei Tingsong a bit, but as his gaze moved upwards, more unexpected things continued to appear in his line of sight.


    ¡°The Unity of Mathematics.¡± He drew closer and looked closely at the books on the shelf.


    It wasn¡¯t just ¡°The Unity of Mathematics¡±, but also ¡°Lectures on Riemann Surfaces¡±, ¡°Functional Analysis¡±, ¡°Morse Theory¡±, and another dozen or so mathematics textbooks, all in the same vein.


    In fact, Fang Juexia¡¯s embarrassment had already reached its peak, but due to an emotional delay, his tone was still calm as he answered, ¡°Obviously, I studied mathematics.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I almost forgot.¡± Pei Tingsong remembered that Ling Yi and the others had mentioned this and had also joked about it before by saying that Fang Juexia had more homework in college than in high school. He also remembered Fang Juexia¡¯s inborn talent for mathematics, even though he had just seen the tip of that iceberg every once in a while during some popular variety shows.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± Fang Juexia reached out and tried to pull him away, grasping his wrist tightly, exactly like how Pei Tingsong had caught hold of his before.


    His fingers were very long, but much softer than Pei Tingsong had imagined, and they were warm as they gently encircled his cold wrist.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go and arrange your things.¡±


    Obviously, this sentence carried a commanding tone, but Pei Tingsong could hear a slight request embedded in it.


    In fact, he was very curious about what kind of reaction Fang Juexia would show if he continued to stay here, in total opposition to his wishes. However, he could feel that Fang Juexia¡¯s tolerance had already reached its limits. Even if he wanted to have fun with him, he would have to take it slow.


    Pei Tingsong wasn¡¯t sure whether this aura of coldness and indifference that Fang Juexia exuded at all times was actually real, or just a fake character he was acting out. Maybe Fang Juexia was the type of person who would sell his body for opportunities like they said, and because his desires were too obvious, he had to cover it up by playing an abstinent character. If so, then his acting skills were really too sophisticated. Pei Tingsong was really curious, to the extent that he even started wondering why he hadn¡¯t found it so interesting to interact with him in the past.


    But Fang Juexia¡¯s shell was both cold and hard, and pretty much grew right on top of his skin, so just peeling it off would be simply too cruel.


    Thus, Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t continue tangling with him, and let the other person drag him out of the room.


    Once they reached the cardboard boxes, Fang Juexia naturally loosened his hold on Pei Tingsong¡¯s wrist and rolled up the sleeves of his pajama top, thus revealing a small section of his pale forearms. He helped move a big box into the room and realised that it was really terribly heavy. Only when Pei Tingsong opened up the box did he find out that it was full of books.


    Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t let him move any more boxes, and just told him that he could help him arrange his books on the bookshelf. Fang Juexia pulled out and carried several books in his hands and asked him how he wanted them placed, whether in alphabetical order or by year. Who would have known that Pei Tingsong would heedlessly say, ¡°However.¡±


    However. Fang Juexia repeated this word in his heart,  then he started arranging the books in his hands one by one. He didn¡¯t arrange on the basis of the year of publication or the title, but rather on the color shades of the book covers.


    Pei Tingsong moved the rest of his things in, then started opening them up and arranging them on the side. He had brought only four large boxes as his moving-in luggage, with only one of them containing his daily necessities, while the rest were full of books.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t bring any clothes?¡± Fang Juexia had stepped onto a chair to arrange books on the top-most shelf, and he asked this as he stepped off of it.


    ¡°I don¡¯t live far away, we¡¯ll see later ba.¡± Pei Tingsong said as he sat cross legged on the ground, setting books into the bottom-most shelf.


    They organized the books in silence just in this manner, one shelf per person, until they filled up the entire previously-empty bookshelf. Fang Juexia felt an inexplicable sense of achievement,  even though the books weren¡¯t his, nor was this bookshelf.


    ¡°What about the rest?¡± He asked questions much like a child.


    Pei Tingsong gathered up a few hardback multi-volume works, stepped onto a stool, placed them on the top of the bookshelf, and then stacked them into piles. He clapped his hands and said, ¡°Done.¡±


    He had grown up in the United States. Even though he had always been studying Chinese and had even lived in China for several years now, some of his habitual English expressions would still appear from time to time.


    Fang Juexia stood in front of the bookshelf and saw that the finished product, which they had put together, gave off a strange feeling of having different layers. The colors of the book-spines on the first layer went from light to deep, while the colors on another layer had no pattern whatsoever.


    ¡°Meditations on First Philosophy¡°, ¡°Critique of Pure Reason¡°, ¡°Ethics¡°, ¡°The World as Will and Representation¡°¡­. He looked at the books on the bookshelf and found that they were all reading material beyond his knowledge.


    It turned out that Pei Tingsong studied philosophy.


    He only knew that Pei Tingsong had originally been studying in the United States. Like any young dandy who was going to inherit his family business, he had studied business management. However, he had later dropped out without approval and had applied to another liberal arts and science college, and it seemed that he had chosen to study a major that his parents hadn¡¯t agreed to. And then, because he had been drawn into the underground hip-hop circle, his elders simply sent him back to China.


    But why enter the entertainment industry, and moreso, why come to such a small company? These were questions whose answers could only be speculated about, because Pei Tingsong¡¯s coming and goings were uncertain and mysterious. All that everyone knew was that he finally tested into P University as an international student, and then refused to live in the group dorms by saying that he had to go to school. Anyway, they didn¡¯t have many public events, so normally, he would just pretty much go to school.


    Now that he thought about it, their lives really had no intersection, aside from work.


    ¡°Pretty much done now.¡±


    He saw Pei Tingsong move the stool away, and he wanted to help, but as soon as he lowered his head, he bumped into the bookcase. He felt something shaking, and before he could react, he was dragged forcefully over to the side, which threw his body off-balance, and he nearly fell over.


    A succession of thuds sounded out against the ground, and now, there were several thick books spread out upside down on the floor.


    It was at this point that the hand holding  his arm tightly released its grasp. Fang Juexia turned his head and saw that Pei Tingsong¡¯s other hand was covering his right eye, and he suddenly realized what had happened. ¡°Alright ba? You¡ªdid your eye get hit?¡±


    Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t let go of his eye, instead shaking his head continuously like a child, before sitting on the hard bed and burying his head in his arms.


    ¡°I caused that to happen, I¡¯m sorry.¡± Fang Juexia¡¯s guilt suddenly welled up. He remembered that it had been him just now who had lowered his head and hit the bookcase. Pei Tingsong must have come over and pulled him away before getting hit.


    ¡°Don¡¯t try to put feathers in your own cap,¡± Pei Tingsong pushed his hand away as he argued, ¡°It was me who wanted to put the books up there.¡±


    After saying that, he murmured in a low voice, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry, every day it¡¯s I¡¯m sorry¡­¡±


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t listen to him at all. ¡°Let me have a look.¡±


    ¡°No need.¡± He suddenly grew wayward again.


    After going up against each other in such a way, Pei Tingsong thought that Fang Juexia was just saying that sentence for show, but what he didn¡¯t know was that Fang Juexia was terribly stubborn. He kept repeating this sentence like a robot.


    ¡°Let me see.¡±


    But after all, he had failed to become a hero and had instead gotten hurt himself. His self-esteem had suffered a slight set-back, so he was even more awkward when making a compromise. ¡°Then you go get me a band aid.¡± Having said that, he stressed again, ¡°Just a band aid is enough, okay, a band aid.¡±


    However, it seemed as if Fang Juexia¡¯s ears had become blocked as he ran out with a dundundun sound. When he came back, he was carrying the whole first-aid kit, and it clattered against the headboard of the bed when he put it down.


    Pei Tingsong looked at the box in front of him, then looked at Fang Juexia.


    This wasn¡¯t a little swan, this was a goose.


    ¡ª


    The author has something to say:


    The group livestream begins in the next chapter!


    Friends, the gong¡¯s character has already been written. Xiao Pei just has a bad boy character at the start. He is only a teenager, not a mature, stable, and perfect man. If you don¡¯t like it, you don¡¯t have to wait for the delicious payoff; you can stop now. Don¡¯t curse out the character, don¡¯t curse out the character.


    The two of them didn¡¯t interact much for two years because of a misunderstanding. Fang Juexia¡¯s way was to pretend that Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t exist, while Pei Tingsong¡¯s way was to play tricks on him. As for why he has misunderstandings? Because Juexia would never talk about the hidden rules situation, so Pei Tingsong could only understand the situation slowly through the outside world. But after he gets to know Fang Juexia, he will realize that he could not do such a thing and will offer him an honest apology.


    When Fang Juexia was really being coerced, Pei Tingsong ran over immediately to make things right, all because of the relationship between teammates. When Pei Tingsong got injured, Fang Juexia also immediately bandaged him.


    If this wasn¡¯t the starting scenario, there would be no need for the two of them to be forced into offering fanservice, which would force them into understanding each other. Otherwise, they definitely would have gotten together a long time ago.


    I personally can not accept the role of being scolded. Begging everyone that if you don¡¯t like it, then just give up, you really don¡¯t have to force yourselves.

 CH 7

    Chapter 7 ¨C Ensemble Livestream


    Hello everyone, we are Kaleido!


    ¡°I said it¡¯s just a little scrape, what are you mobilizing all your forces for?¡±


    It seemed as if Fang Juexia was unable to hear him, and the expression on his face seemed to have congealed from the start. In fact, when he had run out to fetch the first-aid kit just now, he had even imagined the scene of him rushing Pei Tingsong into the emergency room. There were just the two of them in the dormitory right now, and what would he do if an unexpected misfortune befell Pei Tingsong? He wouldn¡¯t be able to explain it clearly, and things that couldn¡¯t be explained clearly were the most troublesome.


    Even if no unexpected misfortune befell Pei Tingsong, if his appearance was ruined because of this incident, Fang Juexia would still not be able to escape that responsibility for it. However you put it, they all depended on their faces to earn a living to a certain extent.


    Fang Juexia opened the medicine box immediately after fetching it. Although Pei Tingsong kept covering half his face with his hands and was not letting him do anything, he still went ahead and took out a cotton swab, dipped it into the iodine solution, and then reached out to his face with it.


    ¡°Are you doing some sort of patient-nurse roleplay?¡± Pei Tingsong asked a little angrily, not bothering to cover up his face anymore, and instead grabbed that hand holding the cotton swab in front of his face.


    He was also slightly dazed. After saying those words, he actually went ahead and really imagined Fang Juexia acting out this kind of role-playing scene with some unknown boss. However, in this two-person scenario that he imagined, he could only see Fang Juexia¡¯s face.


    Originally, because Fang Juexia had wanted to help him deal with the wound quickly, he had leaned over quite a bit, so now their faces were really much too close to each other¡¯s.


    Pei Tingsong could smell the fragrance of the shower gel Fang Juexia had used on his body. The soft smell of milk mixed with a hint of bitter herbs wafted up from the side of his pale neck, and like threads of soft yarn, fluttered across Pei Tingsong¡¯s face.


    ¡°It¡¯s bleeding.¡± Fang Juexia stared at the corner of his eye. His voice contained a slight surprise, and even his cold eyes had widened a bit, which made it seem as if he had been infused with life, and his whole cold person had become enlivened as he said, ¡°Almost hit your temple.¡±


    It was actually a really serious injury. The area where the corner of the hardcover book had hit was very dangerous, being between the corner of his eye and his temple; a slight amount of carelessness could have led to an even more serious injury. Blood had welled out of that spot, and two drops had landed on his sweater before disappearing into its fibers.


    Fang Juexia¡¯s wrist was being held very tightly by Pei Tingsong. He turned his wrist around, trying to break free from the other¡¯s grasp, and his protruding carpal bone rubbed into Pei Tingsong¡¯s palm.


    When he lifted his eyes in response to this struggle, he caught a glimpse of Fang Juexia¡¯s slightly pursed lips. The bow of his lips had sunk into his soft lower lip, which gave the misconception of him being both stubborn and delicate to most people.


    Pei Tingsong let go of his hand and quickly sobered up his thoughts. The person in front of him wasn¡¯t delicate at all, but was just born with the kind of face that made people come up with misconceptions about it.


    Fang Juexia acquiesced to the resistance being put forth by this devil incarnate, so he simply wiped off the blood on his face and then handed him an alcohol wipe, saying, ¡°Wipe the blood on your hands by yourself.¡±


    He had been dancing for many years, and injuries were common fare in this field, so he was also used to resolving them by himself. After becoming a trainee, he had begun to help his friends in dealing with minor injuries, so this didn¡¯t count as anything new. However, Fang Juexia had unexpectedly discovered that if he observed Pei Tingsong by drawing closer to him, then this person seemed to look different than he usually did.


    He was the one who looked the most aggressive in the entire band. His facial bones were so defined that it gave off the feeling that he was a mixed-blood. In addition, his skin was also quite pale, which made him look even more like a person with mixed-blood, and so he had always been called the ¡°unofficial face of the band¡±.


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s eyes were long and narrow, his double eyelids were long and deep, the angle at which his eyebrows protruded over his eyes was deep, and there were two very light moles situated underneath the curve of his right eye.  Fang Juexia had never discovered any of this before, and only saw it now, after drawing so close to his face.


    It was this very pair of eyes that allowed both perversity and boyishness to coexist in harmony in Pei Tingsong¡¯s appearance, because his true smiles didn¡¯t originate from his lips, but from his eyes. If his eyes didn¡¯t smile, and he just hooked up the corners of his mouth, he looked very evil. But if his eyes were also smiling, then he looked very much like a child.


    ¡°Hey, have you gone mute?¡±


    Fang Juexia stopped scanning his appearance, came back to his senses, and tore off a section of the medical bandages in his hands as he said, ¡°Wood, ice, mute. Your description of me is starting to look more and more like a biological classification.¡±


    How strangely he talked, this nerd.


    ¡°You¡¯re more lifeless than non-living things,¡± He consciously said this, in a mean way, but Fang Juexia actually thanked him for it, which left him bereft of any way to retort.


    Pei Tingsong, like a broken recording, had been repeatedly saying the entire time that he could just stick a bandage on it, but Fang Juexia was just like a bad robot who didn¡¯t listen to any instructions, and used the best quality bandages on his wound. The movements of his hands were very light, and from time to time, the outer edge of his palm would gently press against Pei Tingsong¡¯s cheekbones, soft to the touch.


    The neckline of his sweater was too high and tight, so he couldn¡¯t breathe freely, and there was blood on the top of it too, so Pei Tingsong¡¯s desire to change out of it grew even more. The warm air seemed to bake the scent of Fang Juexia¡¯s shower-gel on his body, making it grow even richer and stronger. Pei Tingsong tried to glance over, but his gaze accidentally fell on the birthmark at the corner of the other¡¯s party¡¯s eye. It was such a small mark, but when he didn¡¯t put on any foundation, it looked even more pink and soft, and drew in all the color from his skin.


    This seemed to be the most vibrant part of Fang Juexia¡¯s body.


    ¡°Enough.¡±


    Pei Tingsong quickly shifted his gaze away, and then rubbed at the gauze placed at the corner of his eye.


    ¡°Making a mountain out of a molehill,¡± he said in a low voice.


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t hear him clearly, so his hands paused for a moment as he was packing up the medical kit.


    He raised his head, his beautiful eyes widened slightly, looking not so-cold anymore, and instead showing a hint of muddled confusion.


    Pei Tingsong glanced at him and curtly said, ¡°Didn¡¯t say anything.¡± He pulled at the collar of his sweater. ¡°I need to change clothes.¡±


    Fang Juexia had always ignored this kind of a ¡®Young Master¡¯ tone, so he just kept looking at him, and so these two people ended up looking at each other awkwardly.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t bring any clothes,¡± Pei Tingsong continued.


    Fang Juexia was still looking at him, not moving even a bit to take any action.


    ¡°Forget it.¡± Pei Tingsong understood that he couldn¡¯t communicate with him, so he took out his cellphone to call He Ziyan. ¡°I¡¯ll take something of Yan Ge¡¯s.¡±


    Fang Juexia tidied up the medical kit and returned it to its original spot, only to discover that Pei Tingsong hadn¡¯t moved after he came back.


    ¡°He didn¡¯t pick up,¡± Pei Tingsong murmured, ¡°What is he doing¡­¡±


    Fang Juexia, who was standing at the side, stared at the little spots of blood on his sweater. They had nearly dried, and it probably didn¡¯t feel good.


    ¡°I have a sweater that I¡¯ve only worn once. It¡¯s very big, and you should be able to wear it.¡± Having said that, he quickly added, ¡°If you want to wear it.¡±


    Pei Tingsong finally ended up acquiescing to this. It was a round-collared lavender gray sweater, with a long black frame printed on the chest, and with grayish-white words written inside it¡ªMelt for you.


    Melt for you.


    At this moment, Pei Tingsong began to imagine what this sweater would look like on Fang Juexia¡¯s body. It definitely wouldn¡¯t look ugly, but this phrase was too inconsistent and really didn¡¯t fit his style.


    He changed his clothes and came out. He had matched it with a pair of black overalls, so the overall style gave him a fresh air of youthfulness.


    ¡°Just right.¡± Pei Tingsong pulled at the cuffs of his sleeves. In fact, Fang Juexia wasn¡¯t short; his stature of 1.8 meters also counted as being absolutely tall in the boy band, but it was just that Pei Tingsong was too good at growing. When he had entered the band as an airborne, he was still in the midst of his growing stage, but even at that time, he had  already reached a height of 184 cm. He had then made another leap, and now was already 188 cm, which made him the tallest in the entire band.


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t make a sound, simply taking the sweater he had changed out of, and putting it into the washing machine. He was pondering by himself on how he could go back to his room alone without seeming too cold or indifferent.


    He was just hesitating on what to do when a voice called out from the direction of the door.


    ¡°Juexia!¡±


    He walked into the living room and saw that everyone had returned. He Ziyan was carrying two boxes of fried chicken in his hands, and as soon as he came in, he bumped his shoulder against Pei Tingsong¡¯s shoulder and greeted, ¡°Hey, bro.¡±


    Real ABC Xiao Pei used Chinese to reply, ¡°I just called you, but you didn¡¯t answer.¡±


    ¡°Really? Let me see.¡±


    Ling Yi rushed over, bitterly embracing Fang Juexia and complaining, ¡°Two Fire isn¡¯t letting me eat fried chicken.¡±


    He Ziyan turned his cellphone on while his voice carried some ridicule as he replied, ¡°It¡¯s not me, it¡¯s the flesh on your stomach that prevented you first.¡±


    Lu Yuan and Jiang Miao walked into the house behind them, and the two of them seemed to be talking to someone else.


    ¡°Who else is there?¡± Fang Juexia asked.


    ¡°Ah, we came with the staff of the production team,¡± Ling Yi said. ¡°They¡¯re going to start recording today, just as soon as the cameras are installed. Qiang Ge said that since Xiao Pei also came back today, it¡¯s the perfect occasion for us to do a livestream to celebrate all of us being together again!¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re starting today?¡± Fang Juexia felt that it was too sudden, but Jiang Miao had already brought the staff inside. They turned around for a bit and then started to install the cameras.


    Lu Yuan was cradling two large tubs of popcorn in his hands. ¡°Strong Ge said that we should make a pilot livestream episode to build up momentum for the group, and it¡¯s already been publicized.¡±


    He Ziyan put down the fried chicken in his hand. ¡°The topic once again returns to our Dalian Hunk¡¯s home field.¡±


    ¡°Iron bros, double click 666, yo~¡± Pei Tingsong suddenly inserted.


    ¡°See,¡± He Ziyan patted Pei Tingsong on the shoulder and said, ¡°Even our Xiao Pei, an overseas returnee, knows this phrase!¡± He suddenly discovered something. ¡°Yi? Xiao Pei, what¡¯s wrong with your face?¡±


    Fang Juexia glanced at him. The corners of his eyes seemed to be a bit swollen, but Pei Tingsong just answered casually, ¡°Got it while practicing boxing.¡±


    This person was really strange. On one hand, he was frank enough that he didn¡¯t fear offending anyone, but on the other hand, he could spout lies without having to come up with a draft beforehand, and his face wouldn¡¯t carry even the slightest tinge of red while he did so.


    ¡°Juexia, you¡¯re not going to clean up a bit?¡± Ling Yi ran over and hugged Fang Juexia, rubbing his arms against the fluffy sweater he was wearing.


    Fang Juexia shook his head, and pulled up the plush hood of his pajamas, which then covered most of his face. ¡°Forget it. Let¡¯s not make everyone wait for me.¡±


    Ling Yi sighed, ¡°Ah, the basic strength of the face of a group is that you can meet anyone without any makeup at any time, not even being afraid of a livestream.¡±


    The staff¡¯s efficiency was very high, and soon, all the machines were installed and debugged successfully. As soon as they took their first steps out of the house, Cheng Qiang arrived right on their heels. Behind him was a young woman around 30 years old, who was the director of the ensemble show this time. Based on how she talked, she seemed very energetic and experienced. After finishing his chat with the director, Cheng Qiang came to them and told them the things they had to pay attention to during the recording process, before pulling Pei Tingsong and Fang Juexia to the side.


    ¡°They¡¯re going to start the fanservice now.¡± He Ziyan had gotten Pocky from somewhere and had a stick of it dangling from his mouth.


    Ling Yi snapped the stick hanging out of his mouth in half and very quickly ate it. ¡°Our Two Fire is the emperor of truth.¡±


    Lu Yuan seemed to think of something, and spoke while heading over to the spot the two of them were. ¡°Hey, do you need me to provide a plan for you? I¡¯ve read a lot of comments by your CP fans online¡­¡± Before he could finish saying that, he was grabbed by their smiling captain, who rebuked him, ¡°Enough, you.¡±


    Ling Yi clicked his tongue a few times. ¡°The Dalian Hunk looks sophisticated on the surface.¡±


    He Ziyan was expressionless as he said, ¡°In reality though, he¡¯s crazily shipping the CP of his own family¡¯s teammates.¡±


    The two of them high-fived each other.


    ¡°OK! Let¡¯s all get ready, we can start now!¡±


    Their ensemble show would be a combination of footage gathered from both manual shooting and the fixed cameras. 24 hours of source material would be gathered by the fixed cameras, while manual shooting would only take place during certain periods of time, and only when everyone was present, such as the livestream right now. However, in order to make it seem as real as possible, there weren¡¯t many people in the camera crew.


    ¡°The livestream has started.¡±


    As soon as they said that, the livestream froze. This was the first time it had actually frozen like this.


    Jiang Miao asked, ¡°Is it a problem with the network speed?¡±


    Lu Yuan replied, ¡°No ah, our dormitory network is excellent.¡±


    The staff member explained, ¡°It¡¯s because there are too many people. It¡¯s fine, it¡¯ll be good in just a bit.¡±


    This ¡°just a bit¡± took nearly 15 minutes. During this period, they moved the sofa back, spread a tablecloth on the floor, and placed all the food and drinks on it. Everyone sat down on the carpet, and several people also ate and drank for a while. Finally, they saw the barrage start scrolling smoothly, and almost all the words were in Klein Blue, which was the Kaleido support group color.


    [AAAAAHHHHHH I¡¯M HERE GEGES! Was crying over it freezing 5555]


    [Three Water, Two Fire, Yiyi, Juexia, Yuanyuan, and there¡¯s even Xiao Pei! I love you all!]


    Jiang Miao clapped his hands twice, prompting the members around him. ¡°Let¡¯s greet everyone ba. 1, 2, 3.¡±


    The six big boys sitting in a row raised their right hands at the same time, with their thumbs, index fingers, and middle fingers stretched out in front of their faces to make a ¡°K¡± character. They all cried out in unison, ¡°Hello everyone, we are Kaleido!¡±


    After greeting everyone, Ling Yi and Lu Yuan started clapping for themselves. ¡°Good!¡±


    ¡°Do some more!¡± The more Ling Yi clapped, the more excited he got. ¡°Yuanyuan, do some breakdancing!¡±


    Fang Juexia silently grabbed Ling Yi¡¯s small excited hand, pulled it down, and stuffed him with some jelly drops.


    [Teacher Fang: As a calm person, I am so tired of living with this crazy group.]


    [Hahahahahaha the Roommate CP is really cute! You cause trouble, while I pull you back hhhhhh]


    [How are Juexia¡¯s pajamas this cute? It¡¯s so fuzzy, really want to stroke it!]


    Ling Yi¡¯s eyes were sharp. ¡°Juexia! They say your clothes are really cute, and they want to pet you!¡±


    Juexia squinted at the screen. He pulled a bit at the fluffy pajamas on his body, and his tone was flat as he responded slowly, ¡°What brand is this¡­ Yiyi gave this to me last year for my birthday, and I already cut off the tag, so I can¡¯t check.¡±


    ¡°Hey, they¡¯re sure to be able to get the same one, don¡¯t worry ba,¡± Ling Yi said.


    [Ahhhhh, the Roommate line is so real!]


    [Yiyi is super sticky with Juexia~ Cold, doting gong x soft adorable cutie shou, we¡¯re fed so well!]


    Jiang Miao, as always, cued them up, ¡°In order to celebrate our Xiao Pei¡¯s return to dorm life, Ziyan bought a lot of delicious food today.¡±


    [Every time I watch K group activities, I feel like I¡¯m watching Three Water and Two Fire take little children out to play~ The spring outing of the Kaleidoscope kindergarten has started la.]


    [Captain, your yellow sweater today looks really good ah!]


    [The little band is really very handsome! The Wanyan band was honest and didn¡¯t deceive me.]


    ¡°Thank you, Two Fire!¡± Ling Yi clapped his hands like a little seal, then flew to open the box of fried chicken, but was quickly knocked aside by Lu Yuan with his chopsticks. ¡°We¡¯re letting you eat, so you just immediately make a grab for it? Don¡¯t you know how many jin and liang you¡¯re at?¡±


    ¡°Lu Yuan is implying things about me!¡± After shouting, Ling Yi fell on Fang Juexia¡¯s shoulder and lamented, ¡°I¡¯ll give it to Juexia, he¡¯s thin!¡±


    Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t hold back anymore, and so he lowered his eyes and laughed gently. This laugh just happened to be spotted by Pei Tingsong, who was handing out the utensils, and he felt that it was strange.


    It turned out that he could also laugh like this.


    [Where¡¯s Xiao Pei?]


    [The black pants belong to Xiao Pei ba! Completely can¡¯t see his face ah hhh Xiao Pei, quickly come out and let mama seeee!]


    ¡°They¡¯re calling for you,¡± Fang Juexia lifted his head up and said so suddenly to the close-by Pei Tingsong, while taking over the utensils at the same time. He saw that during this spare time, Pei Tingsong had put on a pair of black-rimmed glasses, which gave him a very school-boy look.


    Pei Tingsong froze for a moment, and then realized what he meant, so he sat down next to Fang Juexia. As soon as he sat down, his face finally appeared on the screen.


    They were too close, and Fang Juexia felt unaccustomed to it, so out of habit, he moved a bit to the left. However, Pei Tingsong reached out and grabbed him around his waist. He simply dragged him back to the right, and the two of them ended up close together.


    Pei Tingsong kept his composure and then let go of Fang Juexia¡¯s waist, using his hand to push up his glasses a bit as he smiled at the camera.


    [AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH MY XIAO PEI!!!!]


    [What¡¯s wrong with the corner of Putuo Temple Site¡¯s eye? Are you hurt?]


    [Nearly didn¡¯t see it since it¡¯s blocked by the glasses, there¡¯s even gauze on there.]


    [TingJue CP combo!!! Screenshot it ma! In a daze ah!]


    [Shit! Did Xiao Fei embrace jxgg for a bit just now?!! Such a gong of a man!]


    [Ahhhhhhh Putuo Temple Site is too sue-ish! It¡¯s all over for me!]


    [Joy, joy, joy, joy, joy, joy, joy, joy, joy, joy, joy, joy, joy, joy, joy, joy, joy, joy, joy, joy, joy]


    The livestream was instantly covered with red ¡®joy¡¯ words spamming the barrage.


    ¡°Stop,¡± Pei Tingsong said, pointing at the camera with a finger.


    [AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH XIAO FEI IS SO HOT!]


    Seeing this sentence, Pei Tingsong furrowed his eyebrows, seeming helpless to the extreme as he insisted, ¡°It¡¯s Xiao Pei, Pei¡ªnot Fei.¡±


    [He¡¯s frantic he¡¯s frantic he¡¯s frantic he¡¯s frantic he¡¯s frantic he¡¯s frantic he¡¯s frantic he¡¯s frantic he¡¯s frantic he¡¯s frantic he¡¯s frantic he¡¯s frantic he¡¯s frantic he¡¯s frantic he¡¯s frantic he¡¯s frantic he¡¯s frantic]


    [Hahahahahaha who hit you, Xiao Fei?! Banished from the fan group! Crawl around for this lordship!]


    [Hahahaha why does my fave keep getting called the wrong name?!]


    [Whispering a secret passcode, is the girl who ¡°keeps calling the wrong name¡± an Alpha physics department actor fan hahahaha]


    [Hahahaha I know, you¡¯re Zhou Ziyan¡¯s fan ba]


    However, who knew that Fang Juexia, who had been staring at the screen, would suddenly look up at this moment and smile. The corner of his eyes curved into a beautiful arc, extending all the way to the edge of his pink birthmark.


    ¡°Xiao Pei, take off the yi and start up the wen.¡±


    He said this rather inexplicably, and Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t know what he was talking about, so he stared at him, only to see Fang Juexia¡¯s index finger stretch out from the cuffs of his sleeves and write out the yi character in the air.


    [I get it!!! Change the character of yi into wen, and Pei becomes Fei! Ah, our Juexia is such a smart baby ah!]


    [When Juexia isn¡¯t smiling, he looks pretty cold, with a completely chilly and domineering face. Once he smiles, it¡¯s too sweet ba. The curve of his eyes and his beautiful birthmark all go together then la~]


    [55555 a giant mouthful of fluff as soon as I come on! That pun of ¡®take off the yi character, and start up the wen¡¯ is also too cute! Deadpan Fang Juexia!]


    Pei Tingsong realized what was going on and wanted to laugh, but also thought that doing so would be too stupid. So he tried to hold back his smile and pursed the corners of his mouth instead. He turned his face to shake his head at the screen, saying in a deep voice, ¡°What a rotten pun.¡±


    This was the first time he had heard Fang Juexia say Xiao Pei, although the purpose wasn¡¯t to call out to him.


    [Oh my God, this year¡¯s doting is coming!! Wuwu kswl!]


    [OMG Pinot Tree Supreme is such a good gong!! Him suppressing his smile is too sue-ish, too sue-ish. I¡¯m thinking again of that scene where PTS was taking that plane ticket and lightly swatting Gege¡¯s face with it!]


    [Hahahaha what the hell is a Pinot Tree Supreme la, Pei Tingsong has a few too many nicknames!]


    [Thanks to the sister who misspelled Xiao Pei¡¯s name. Don¡¯t crawl around, quickly come back!]


    [Wait, that sweater Xiao Pei is wearing¡­ Isn¡¯t that the birthday present Awakening Juexia Station sent this year? Juexia wore it once, and Awakening Juexia Station¡¯s Weibo even verified it before¡­]


    The appearance of this line in the barrage soon caused a great disturbance.


    [I just exited to flip through Awakening Juexia Station¡¯s Weibo for a bit, and it really is there! It¡¯s the same style!!]


    [It¡¯s Juexia¡¯s ba!]


    [TingJue is rio!!!! ]


    [Xiao Pei, how is this taking off yi to start up wen, when it¡¯s clearly you putting on clothes to start up with Xia ah !]

 CH 8

    Chapter 8 ¨C Game Punishment


    Sure enough, there are no straight men in Kaleido.


    Only now did Pei Tingsong discover the origins of this sweater. He supported his forehead and looked at Fang Juexia. His eyes widened a little, and he made an expression that clearly said¡ª [you explain this to me].


    However, Fang Juxia was still immersed in searching his memory, and only snapping out of it after a long while had passed. ¡°It seems it really was sent by a support station.¡±


    I¡¯ll kill this person. Pei Tingsong could only pretend that nothing had happened and forcefully changed the topic by requesting, ¡°Ziyan Ge, help me get some potato chips ba.¡±


    ¡°If you want to eat something ah, it¡¯s not that easy.¡± He Ziyan crossed his two long legs and stated, ¡°You have to play a game. You can eat if you win, and you will be punished if you lose.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the punishment?¡± Ling Yi suddenly grew spirited.


    Lu Yuan had a burst of inspiration, and exclaimed, ¡°How about a kiss on the mouth?¡±


    The other five people: ¡­.


    [Hahahahahaha Teacher Lu Yuan, if you can say it, then go ahead and perform it live!]


    [How made winds£¡]


    [WOC kiss on the mouth hahahahaha! Is our little K group this open? What are all of you usually doing in the dormitory!]


    Ling Yi narrowed his eyes and pinched Lu Yuan¡¯s face as he teased, ¡°You¡¯re afraid it¡¯s not gay enough ba?¡±


    Lu Yuan pinched his face in return. ¡°If I¡¯m gay, then you¡¯re a 0.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Ling Yi!¡±


    Lu Yuan asked, ¡°Are you a 1 or 0?¡±


    He Ziyan immediately added, ¡°If he¡¯s a 1, I don¡¯t believe it.¡±


    Xiao Pei commented, ¡°How is he a 1?¡±


    Jiang Miao quickly intervened to mediate the dispute, ¡°Okay, okay, don¡¯t keep going.¡±


    [The little team: My situation is too hard!]


    [What kind of gay group crosstalk is this ah hhhh]


    [01: in three days I¡¯m going to k*ll all of you]


    [Sure enough, there are no straight men in Kaleido.]


    Jiang Miao said, ¡°If there¡¯s going to be a punishment¡­ To be fair, everyone should write down a punishment, and the loser will have to draw out one of them and then perform it, how¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡±


    [Whoa, whoa, whoa, I want to see what punishment everyone wrote!]


    The director arranged for these things behind the camera, and then said, ¡°Everyone has one minute, so come and write your punishment down in front of the camera ba. Remember to show it when you finish writing it oh.¡±


    Fang Juexia was a bit distracted as he thought about this punishment matter when he suddenly heard everyone talking about him.


    ¡°We have to agree first, we can¡¯t have any games that involve arithmetic ah.¡± Lu Yuan took a French fry and stuffed it in his mouth. ¡°Otherwise, Teacher Fang will curbstomp us all.¡±


    Once he said that, everyone actually sighed deeply at the same time.


    [Hahahahaha, what should have come out, still came out]


    [Will the human-shaped calculator Fang Juexia make his reappearance in the world??!]


    [£¿£¿ New fan is completely confused, begging for an explanation!]


    He Ziyan laughed and said, ¡°I can still recall the fear of being dominated by Wangzai Milk.¡±


    [I knew it! Wangzai Milk was really too funny!]


    Ling Yi clapped his hands and explained to the online audience, ¡°Let¡¯s go. So, previously for one of our group¡¯s activities, our Juexia participated in a variety show, and it seems that b station has a clip from it. At that time, there was a segment that was all math, the kind where the subsequent problems just kept getting harder and harder. However, our Juexia, with his amazing calculation abilities, won the grand prize: a car full of Wangzai Milk. Yes, a whole car.¡±


    [WTF? A whole car?]


    [Why is it so dumb hahahaha]


    [In the early days, Juexia really did go on a lot of strange variety shows for exposure, hugging my Xia~]


    ¡°How long did it take for us to finish drinking all of it?¡± Lu Yuan drew close to ask.


    Jiang Miao thought about it. ¡°A month or two ba. At that time, the only designated drink for us after we returned home was Wangzai Milk.¡±


    [Hahaha, six young people gathering together to drink milk! About to die from laughter!]


    [Wangzai, collect money from the viewers!]


    He Ziyan grinned and showed his shiny, white teeth. ¡°I remember that during that time, Juexia would use milk to stew tong sui every day for us to eat. Ah, right, explaining a bit to new fans, Juexia grew up in Guangzhou.¡±


    [AHHHHHHHHHH plgg and I are from the same place! I¡¯M SO HAPPY!]


    Ling Yi, as his roommate, added, ¡°But I heard that Juexia¡¯s mother is from the North.¡±


    Juexia nodded and stated, ¡°Shandong.¡±


    [The most beautiful children are North-South mixed bloods! No wonder!]


    [What the hell are North-South mixed bloods ah hahahahaha the sisters can flatter!]


    Lu Yuan shook his head. ¡°Anyway, after that incident, we start to shiver anytime we see Wangzai Milk.¡±


    Speaking of the past, Pei Tingsong thought it was funny. When they were on that program, the sponsors probably hadn¡¯t expected that such difficult questions could be worked out, so they had set up that kind of award. They hadn¡¯t expected Fang Juexia to really solve them.


    [At that time, Juexia was also slandered because of this¡­]


    Seeing this sentence, Pei Tingsong also recalled the other things that had happened at that time.


    It was a small program, not very popular, so it didn¡¯t get much of a response after it was broadcast. However, Fang Juexia¡¯s anti-fans would never miss any opportunity to mock him. At that time, they said that it was scripted, that he had cheated, and had even written a lot of such small pieces about it. If Pei Tingsong hadn¡¯t been there on the show to witness what had actually happened, he would have been pretty much brainwashed by them.


    Fang Juexia looked cold, but to the people close to him, his silence seemed more like a slow reaction on his part. He didn¡¯t have much expression on his face and spoke quietly, not having much confidence in defending himself. ¡°Wangzai Milk is very delicious ah.¡±


    [AHHHHHHHHH, Juexia is too milky today! Sure enough, no matter how alpha he is on stage, he becomes very milky offstage!]


    [The way he trailed off was too cute ba!]


    Pei Tingsong glanced at him and noticed that once Fang Juexia had finished saying this sentence, he had gone to Ling Yi to verify whether Wangzai Milk was good or not.


    This guy was so strange; he was the strangest person he had ever seen.


    Everyone talked and laughed, and driven by Jiang Miao, they began to prepare for the game. When writing out the  punishments, everyone went to one side by themselves. Fang Juexia leaned over on the sofa with his back to it and thought for a long time.


    He really couldn¡¯t think of any good punishment.


    Ling Yi¡¯s mind was fast and he was the first to rush in front of the camera, where he then secretly wrote down the words, ¡°special dark drink¡±. He was elated to show it to everyone. Lu Yuan followed after him to write a sentence, ¡°copy a little clip of someone doing the coarse flower hand.¡±


    [If there is a punishment, there must be a special x]


    [Hahahahaha little clip of coarse flower hand, killing people and punishing the heart ah, Teacher Yuan!]


    [Yuanyuan is really not worried about lifting a stone to hit his own feet]


    Jiang Miao was kind enough to just write ¡°20 handstand push-ups¡±. Pei Tingsong casually wrote down ¡°send an ugly photo to the groupchat.¡± When it came to Fang Juexia, he really didn¡¯t know what he should write. Seeing that the given time was coming to an end, he had to quickly put his pen to paper, then he folded the note with the words ¡°elephant trunk game¡± written on it and put it in the punishment box.


    [The little captain and Juexia really are the angel team la, they completely don¡¯t know how to give people a hard time.]


    [Send an ugly photo to the groupchat hahahahaha, Pinot Tree Supreme, you really are 19 years old!]


    [I¡¯m still looking more forward to our Huohuo¡¯s idea. After all, he¡¯s a wolf in sheep¡¯s clothing hhhh]


    He Ziyan stepped forward, wrote down a line of characters, and showed it to the camera. His bandmates were ordered to turn around and weren¡¯t able to look at the screen during this period. However, when they turned around, they found the barrage still messaging about it.


    [Shit! It¡¯s still Fire Ge who can play!!!]


    [Fire Ge is too good at this hahahaha, looking forward to the punishment!]


    [respect Fire Ge!!!]


    What kind of a punishment was it? Fang Juexia was curious and envious at the same time. Interesting people always wrote down punishments that were also interesting.


    The set of games began. At first, it was simple, with You Draw and I Guess, then Guess the Name of the Song, and so on. However, Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t know what kind of misfortune he was suffering from, but that night, he lost again and again. From the total of six punishments, he did three all by himself. First, the handstand push ups, and then the dizzying elephant trunk game. He was still dizzy when he drank Ling Yi¡¯s special drink, made of soy sauce, vinegar, honey, mustard, sesame oil, and milk.


    ¡°Is this really giving me a welcome for my new arrival? This is simply looking forward to my sudden death the very day I move in ba.¡± Pei Tingsong couldn¡¯t stop coughing.


    [Hahahahaha the band tyrant also has a day like today! It¡¯s really the heavens that have eyes hahahahaha]


    [How hard to drink is Yiyi¡¯s drink ah hahaha, Xiao Pei already poured himself a large can of coke!]


    [Finally, we have something that all us sisters can get ¡ª Ling Yi¡¯s special drink that Xiao Pei drank!]


    [You guys look at the expressions around hahahaha]


    Pei Tingsong still felt nauseous and wanted to grab some more drinks to make the taste of the special drink disappear. He stretched his neck and looked around, but it seemed that there were no unopened drinks left in front of him anymore. Although Fang Juexia had a cold face, he was also very observant. While everyone was still immersed in the happy atmosphere of the game, only he realized what Pei Tingsong was looking for. After only two seconds of hesitation, he pushed the can of orange soda in front of him towards Pei Tingsong.


    Seeing this move of his, Pei Tingsong turned his head to look at him.


    Fang Juexia mouthed silently¡ªhaven¡¯t drunk from it.


    Thinking of the words that Cheng Qiang had said to them before the livestream, Pei Tingsong went ahead and picked up the soda can. Fundamentally, both of them actually didn¡¯t have much of a band camaraderie with each other, so he automatically regarded Fang Juexia¡¯s action as a kind of ¡°fanservice.¡±


    [Xiao Pei is drinking Juexia¡¯s drink!]


    [Wearing Gege¡¯s clothes and drinking Gege¡¯s drink, Xiao Pei is awesome!]


    [Cult CP fans, don¡¯t look at basic human behavior with rotten eyes la. Just obediently watch the game, okay?]


    The barrage burst into a frenzy, and the director¡¯s voice sounded out again, ¡°Then start the last game. You guys can draw it yourself ba.¡±


    With that, the staff took out the game box. Pei Tingsong saw it, put down the soda can, and rolled up his sleeves. ¡°I¡¯ll draw. They have been the ones drawing for all the previous games, and I must have always been losing because of this.¡±


    He Ziyan laughed and teased, ¡°Because why? Because of philosophy?¡±


    [Hahahaha, Fire Ge is great! Does the youth study philosophy?]


    [Hahahaha, Xiao Pei¡¯s daily philosophy study joke has been cued]


    Ling Yi declared, ¡°Just won¡¯t let him draw!¡±


    Jiang Miao grabbed Ling Yi¡¯s hand and said, ¡°You let him draw ba.¡±


    [Hahaha, I¡¯ve discovered that the words Three Water says the most every day are ¡°You stop¡­.that¡± and ¡°You let him¡­.ba¡± breaks my heart x]


    Lu Yuan was bored and started popping his arm to the music. ¡°Yeah, or else he won¡¯t admit that he¡¯s a game black hole.¡±


    ¡°Who said that, I play games very well. It¡¯s these low-energy games that don¡¯t match me.¡± Pei Tingsong¡¯s expression was completely defiant, but in Fang Juexia¡¯s eyes, the way he dragged out the words ¡°very well¡± made him look like a stinky little kid.


    ¡°How about this: we let you draw, but if you lose again this time, during the punishment, we¡¯ll add the clip of you doing the flower hand move, how¡¯s that?¡±


    Fang Juexia wanted to laugh; Lu Yuan was being really persistent about this clip.


    Lu Yuan¡¯s carefully prepared punishment hadn¡¯t been used up until now, and internally, he was sighing and wringing his hands over it. Unexpectedly, there was Pei Tingsong who ran straight into it.


    ¡°Alright.¡± Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t fear it at all, and directly put his hand into the game box. Fang Juexia quietly put a potato chip into his mouth as he stared at him, and a slightly bad premonition arose in his heart.


    Snap, the chip broke in half.


    His premonitions had always been very accurate.


    Pei Tingsong had a straight-forward attitude as he stretched out his hand, drew a note out from the box, opened it, and looked at it.


    The director said, ¡°Give everyone a look at it too.¡±


    When the note was turned over, Pei Tingsong frowned in disbelief and asked, ¡°Pass the candy wrapper. What is this ah?¡±


    The barrage had already taken the lead in going crazy.


    [AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH PASS THE CANDY WRAPPER! Is it the one where you suck the wrapper to stick it steady, then turn around as you keep going?!!!]


    [Holy shit, I caught sight of this being played in another group before!!! Super exciting!!!]


    [Passing around a tissue paper would be too effective ba, director Jiejie is awesome!!! Candy wrappers are so thin, it¡¯s equivalent to nothing being there aaah!]


    [WOC don¡¯t dare to imagine the feel of the candy wrapper. I¡¯ve broken out in goosebumps!]


    [@Teacher Yuan, Teacher Yuan¡¯s dream of kissing all his bandmates has come true]

 CH 9

    Chapter 9 ¨C Knockout


    The livestream is here, and don¡¯t go in if you don¡¯t like it


    Watching the lines in the barrage fly past on the screen at what looked like double speed, the six people didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry.


    ¡°Pei! Ting! Song!¡± Ling Yi shook Pei Tingsong¡¯s shoulders. ¡°Look at what you drew!¡±


    Jiang Miao and He Ziyan didn¡¯t say anything, but they did glance at each other at the same time.


    [Holy shit, Water and Fire¡¯s held gaze is so subtle! Why did you look at each other as soon as you hear about passing the candy wrapper~]


    [The WaterFire closet door can¡¯t be held shut anymore! It¡¯s worthy of being the number one CP in K before the birth of the TingJue CP. It really brings the atmosphere of an adult CP¡­]


    Fang Juexia hadn¡¯t seen the livestream room being so active in a long time, so he focused on the screen.


    Passing a candy wrapper around with their mouths? What kind of game did this count as?


    Lu Yuan was laughing so hard that he had rolled onto the floor. ¡°Pei Tingsong, hahaha, Putuo Temple Site has discovered his golden finger!¡±


    ¡°What are you laughing at? Don¡¯t you also have to do it?¡± Pei Tingsong held back his instinct to roll his eyes.


    ¡°I¡¯ll do it ah.¡± Lu Yuan crawled up and then proclaimed, ¡°You¡¯re definitely recording that coarse flower hand dance move clip today!¡±


    Pei Tingsong raised his eyebrow as he quipped back, ¡°Dream on, this time, I definitely won¡¯t lose.¡±


    At this moment, the director announced the rules. Consistent with what was being said in the barrage, it was a game where the band members had to pass the cellophane to the next in line with their mouths, and the last member needed to hold the candy wrapper with his mouth for three seconds before it could count as being a success.


    ¡°Alright, now figure out the order.¡±


    [AHHHHH order! I¡¯m getting excited!]


    [God forbid, don¡¯t tear apart TingJue, don¡¯t tear apart TingJue!!]


    [WaterFireWaterFireWaterFireWaterFireWaterFireWaterFire!!]


    [OneRoad!! OneRoad has to be together!!!]


    [SquareCircle! SquareCircle!!!]


    The barrage had turned into CP chaos, and it seemed as though people couldn¡¯t send enough messages about their preferred CP.


    The director again took out a box, this time containing six balls, on which were written numbers, and then said, ¡°Draw these and then sit in a row according to the number you get oh.¡°


    [Sit in a row and kiss.]


    [Hahahahaha what the hell is sitting in a row and kissing?!]


    [What beautiful Chinese!]


    Everyone successively grabbed a ball. Jiang Miao drew a 2, after which it was He Ziyan¡¯s turn. He carefully flicked his fingers around while drawing a ball, a bit like a gambler king watching the cards, before then showing a confident smile.


    [Fire Ge is either 1 or 3!!!]


    He Ziyan aimed the other side of the ball at the camera, and sure enough, it was a 1.


    [Two Fire: You guys are right, I am a 1]


    It was now Ling Yi¡¯s turn to take the box.


    [Is our Lingyi a 0 or 1 hahahaha]


    ¡°3!¡± Ling Yi hugged Jiang Miao¡¯s arm and exclaimed, ¡°Ah, I¡¯m next to Miaomiao!¡±


    Lu Yuan rolled up his sleeves and shook the box, which had only three little balls left, for a long time. At last, he extremely cautiously drew out a ball and announced, ¡°It¡¯s now time to witness whether or not I¡¯m a third wheel!¡±


    [Hahahaha Teacher Yuan is really the TingJue CP official support group captain!]


    Fang Juexia faintly felt a bit worried. If Lu Yuan didn¡¯t split up the two of them, this game would become really embarrassing. Of course, it was also embarrassing to pass the candy wrapper using the mouth around with other members, but it would still be better than doing so with Pei Tingsong. It was plainly clear that up until two days ago, they had still been waging their two-year long cold war, but now, they were playing such an intimate game.


    You never knew what would happen next.


    ¡°Let¡¯s draw together ba.¡±


    The director suddenly said, ¡°Lu Yuan really knows how to create an effect for the program ma.¡±


    [Hahahahahaha Northeast Lao Ge is awesome]


    Xiao Pei shrugged. ¡°Fine.¡±


    The two of them reached into the box and took out the balls. Before the numbers were announced, Lu Yuan suddenly became serious, and said with a lowered voice, ¡°Seriously, I still want to pass the candy wrapper around with Juexia.¡±


    Pei Tingsong let out a sneer.


    [AHHHHHH, this deja vu of two gongs fighting for one shou]


    [That sneer is so Alpha!]


    [Hello, in the SquareCircle CP, Teacher Fang is the gong ba. 1.8 meters tall and has a salty look, we¡¯re not joking around here]


    [Wuwuwuwuwuwu SquareCircle girl enjoying blue skies overhead!]


    Ling Yi, whose seat had already been assigned, opened a package of milk toffees and distributed them. Fang Juexia took one and stuffed it into his mouth. The rich sweetness of the milk toffee spread in his mouth.


    [However, the frigid face lordship doesn¡¯t care about this battle at all and instead eats sweets happily.]


    [Juexia¡¯s face, if I had to pass the candy wrapper to him, I might just die suddenly 5555]


    [Xiao Pei, you fight for your mama a bit!]


    [Xiao Pei, you spent this whole night as a waste just for this moment of luck ah! You have to pass the candy wrapper around with the beautiful baby!]


    ¡°Come on, come on, come on, let¡¯s announce it together.¡± Lu Yuan counted to three, and the two of them then reached out their hands at the same time to show the numbers on the balls to the camera.


    [AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH XIAO PEI IS 5!!!]


    [Okay, No. 4 honored male guest missed the chance to kiss the beautiful baby]


    [AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH TINGJUE IS COMING UP!! I¡¯ll go downstairs and run ten laps to calm down!]


    The barrage simply went crazy.


    Even though Fang Juexia looked as though he had expected this, his consciousness was still stuck in a state of dissociation. He still hadn¡¯t figured out what the situation was and what it had to do with him.


    [jxgg really assumes the role as K¡¯s calm person, he really has no waves at all]


    [Hahahaha, Fang Juexia has never let go before!]


    [jxgg is really beautiful. He looks like a quiet little white rabbit in these pajamas and hat]


    [Ah, I¡¯m jealous, I want to bodyswap with pts¡­.]


    It wasn¡¯t until Jiang Miao symbolically put the last of the remaining six small balls into his hand that Fang Juexia suddenly realized what had just happened.


    ¡°You¡¯re the last one,¡± Jiang Miao said.


    Was that so?


    What was the meaning of this?


    His fuzzy pajama hood covered his dizzy head, and an abnormal heat rose up on his cheeks.


    ¡°Wait¡­¡± He stepped back and asked Ling Yi in a low voice, ¡°Is Pei Tingsong passing it to me?¡±


    Ling Yi pretended to wipe away some tears, took a long breath through his nose, then deeply nodded.


    How could this happen?


    Fang Juexia¡¯s soul began to leave his body.


    Under the guidance of the staff, the other members sat down in the order they had drawn, and he was automatically lined up last. He Ziyan raised his hand and asked, ¡°Will standing be more¡­ convenient?¡± He hesitated for a second.


    [Hahaha, the word ¡®convenient¡¯ is too wonderfull!]


    [Messing around with adult idols is an endless enjoyment!!]


    Who would have known that the director would actually happily agree, ¡°Alright ah.¡±


    So the six big boys stood in a row and waited for the game to begin.


    Lu Yuan was just joining in the fun and didn¡¯t think it was a big deal. ¡°Whoever loses the candy wrapper will have to record themselves doing the flower-hand clip ah!¡±


    ¡°Mr. Yuan, persistent men like you are really rare these days,¡± Ling Yi complained.


    Lu Yuan said, ¡°Don¡¯t fall in love with me, there will be no result, unless you¡¯re better at the flower-hand dance than me.¡±


    He Ziyan said with a laugh, ¡°Maybe Xiao Pei will be better at the flower-hand dance than you.¡±


    Pei Tingsong shrugged and replied, ¡°Anyway, if I lose, I won¡¯t be surnamed Pei any longer.¡±


    [Hahaha Pei Tingsong¡¯s desire to win is real!]


    The staff took out a palm-sized piece of colored cellophane and handed it to He Ziyan, who was first in line.


    ¡°This candy wrapper is strangely very good looking.¡±


    Having said that, He Ziyan turned around. In order to reduce the possibility of losing hold on the candy wrapper as much as possible, he directly shortened the distance between himself and group leader Jiang Miao. Only when the tips of their noses were about to stick together did He Ziyan stick the candy wrapper onto his mouth, sucking air in to hold it in place before drawing even closer.


    Ling Yi exclaimed, ¡°Ah, Fire Ge is so clever ah!¡±


    While their surroundings started to rise up in an uproar, Jiang Miao took a deep breath and held back his smile. He blocked his ears and ignored the playfulness with which his Didi was drawing closer. He took hold of the cellophane wrapper stuck to He Ziyan¡¯s lips, but in the beginning, it didn¡¯t go smoothly, and the cellophane wrapper remained stuck fast to He Ziyan¡¯s mouth.


    ¡°OOOOOHHHHHH so exciting!!¡± Lu Yuan crowed.


    [Mr. Yuan is really a rotten man ba!]


    [wtf, I¡¯m about to have a nosebleed! This is just a fucking hot kiss ah!]


    After several attempts, the disobedient candy wrapper was finally sucked up by Jiang Miao¡¯s mouth. Taking advantage of this opportunity, he turned around quickly and approached Ling Yi, who wasn¡¯t ready yet.


    ¡°Ah, wait a minute! Wait!¡±


    [AHHHHHHHHHHHH FORCEFUL KISS!!!! Wtf I¡¯m shipping the YiMiao CP!!!]


    [WaterFire just now really did rub their mouths together for a long time ah, oh my fucking god! Fire Ge did it on purpose ba!]


    [TingJue girl has already shown a dirty smile in front of the screen at the moment!]


    [WTF, I¡¯m blushing right now!]


    Ling Yi did yell to wait, but he moved unexpectedly fast; his lips were like a small suction cup that immediately sucked and held fast onto the wrapper. He turned around fiercely and didn¡¯t even think before directly standing on his tiptoes, grabbing Lu Yuan¡¯s shoulder, and drawing him closer, scaring Lu Yuan so much that his pupils enlarged.


    ¡°Wu?!¡± Lu Yuan¡¯s eyes were as wide as copper bells.


    [Hahahahahahahaha I¡¯m about to die laughing from Yiyi.]


    [Why is it that when it comes to OneRoad, the scene becomes so funny hahahaha]


    [Suddenly a tough guy! Kissing online!]


    Lu Yuan was flustered as he took the cellophane wrapper from Ling Yi¡¯s mouth, but due to Ling Yi¡¯s nervousness, he had forgotten to let go of Lu Yuan. As a result, Lu Yuan could only forcefully push Ling Yi away, and then turn to face Pei Tingsong.


    [Hahahahaha what love and hate is this?!]


    [Yuanyuan: Let me go! I need to go find Xiao Pei!]


    [Juexia is so calm, he¡¯s like a bystander at the moment lolololol]


    [Did jxgg forget that he is also playing the game hahaha, he¡¯s even showing the kind of expression where he¡¯s smartly watching a play]


    Fang Juexia, who was watching from the side, had become engrossed in it, and didn¡¯t realize that it would be his turn soon. Compared to him, Pei Tingsong wasn¡¯t much better either. He was used to just fooling around at work, so at this critical moment, he had still simply stuck both his hands into his pockets, and wasn¡¯t looking nervous at all. When he saw Lu Yuan turn to face him, he just lowered his head a bit.


    Lu Yuan seemed to have mastered some skills. Almost as soon as the two of them touched, they completed the handover, with the cellophane wrapper very quickly transferring over to Pei Tingsong.


    [Wow, how fast! Mr. Lu is awesome!]


    [Wuwuwuw how is my Xiao Pei this handsome ah! Two hands stuck in his pockets, not in love with anyone!]


    [AHHHHHHHHHHH MY TINGJUE IS COMING UP!!!! TINGJUE!!!]


    [TINGJUE!!!!!!]


    [I¡¯m waiting for the TingJue kiss of the century!!!!]


    The barrage suddenly went crazy as if they had been injected with chicken blood.


    Maybe it was because of an emotional delay, but Fang Juexia, who should have reacted earlier, only started to suddenly feel nervous at this moment. His heart began to beat strangely, in a rather violent and unfamiliar fashion.


    Pei Tingsong, who still had his hands stuck in his pockets, turned around. The lower half of his handsome face was covered with translucent cellophane, and the refracted gorgeous luster of it softened the edges of his face.


    He was recklessly shining as he stood on that spot.


    The light in the living room pierced through the lenses of his glasses and dissolved into his eyes, which were full of aggressiveness.


    He didn¡¯t know from which second it started, but somehow, the air around them seemed to solidify, and all movements were transformed into a slow-mo state, further turning into a montage under a gaussian blur filter.


    Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t step closer. He just turned his head and bent down to get close to him.


    As if he was getting close enough to steal a kiss.


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t know what was wrong with him, and it wasn¡¯t that he wanted to go against him, but he still subconsciously took a step back.


    With that step back, the soft light in Pei Tingsong¡¯s eyes immediately disappeared, and now, the desire to win sharpened them. He pulled his right hand out of his pocket, reached out and quickly took off his glasses, then grasped the back of Fang Juexia¡¯s neck, and firmly dragged him back towards him while he was still trying to draw further away from him.


    Also, at this moment, Pei Tingsong¡¯s breathing began to grow ragged.


    The cellophane wrapper was pushed free by his breath, and it left his lips as it frivolously and slowly started to fall to the ground.


    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s over, it¡¯s over!¡±


    ¡°Lost, lost, lost!¡±


    Even Fang Juexia had concluded that he would lose, and had also concluded that the troublesome lip contact would not come as scheduled. The punishment wouldn¡¯t fall on him, so logically, he should be relieved.


    But he wasn¡¯t.


    Was he really going to lose?


    No one could imagine how strong Pei Tingsong¡¯s desire to win was.


    In the next moment, everyone was left stunned. Pei Tingsong actually bent down, tilted his head slightly, and caught that slow-escaping cellophane wrapper again. He was like a cheetah just waiting for the opportunity to strike, his movements natural and smooth, just like floating clouds and flowing water, taking only seconds to accomplish his goal. He then seized the back of Fang Juexia¡¯s neck with his right hand again and held his cheek in place with his left.


    His body suddenly leaned forward, and Fang Juexia¡¯s escaped soul returned at that very moment.


    The delicate membrane rustled, and then the other party¡¯s soft lips were forced against his. His heart nearly stopped beating at this point, and all his senses were violently mixing together.


    The cellophane had blinded his mind.


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s desire to win had resulted in them colliding into a kiss.

 CH 10

    Chapter 10 ¨C Delighted To See And Hear


    Kaleido, you can change your name to Gayleido, alright


    Everyone was shocked by this scene.


    Not to mention the vast number of fans who had already thought that the transfer of the candy wrapper had failed.


    [HOLYSHITHOLYSHITHOLYSHITHOLYSHITHOLYSHITHOLYSHITHOLYSHITHOLYSHITHOLYSHITHOLYSHITHOLYSHIT]


    [Holy sh*t! Why didn¡¯t I record this?! Which sister recorded this?! I¡¯m going to put it on repeat 10,000 times! ]


    [This shocked my entire cram school¡­.]


    [Omgomg, I even have goosebumps now what kind of idol drama plot was that scene just now ah!!!]


    [Terrific! TingJue is amazing, they¡¯ve made a reservation on the Hot Search list now¡­.]


    [These ups and downs are brilliant]


    [Xiao Pei is too gong-like! Wolf cub, you¡¯re awesome!!]


    [What have I done to be done like this by the TingJue CP ah!!!]


    ¡°Holy¡­¡± Lu Yuan was completely shocked, but his last remaining trace of reason compelled him to change his words in front of the camera, ¡°¡­.crap.¡±


    It was at this moment that Pei Tingsong became clear-headed, and that¡¯s when he felt that he had been possessed by something for an instant. Logically speaking, his part of the mission for the game had been successfully accomplished by now.


    That¡¯s right, that¡¯s right.


    Upon coming to this realization, he quickly withdrew his hands from where they were holding Fang Juexia in place and pulled away from his lips.


    However, Fang Juexia still hadn¡¯t managed to react to all this yet.


    His eyes were muddled, his head was in a complete mess, and every nerve in his body was sluggishly standing still. So, that candy wrapper just stayed on his lips for less than a second before it fluttered off and fell down. The light motion it flickered with as it descended downwards made it seem as though it was very satisfied with the development it had brought about.


    ¡°AHHHHHHHH JUEXIA! IT FELL!¡±


    What?


    Fang Juexia reached out in a panic and managed to grab the cellophane candy wrapper that had escaped his lips. He looked at everyone in chagrin and confusion.


    In not even three seconds, this roller coaster game had finally ended with a dramatic failure.


    The director regretfully noted, ¡°The game challenge failed, and the pass failed at the last person in the line, so Juexia has to accept the punishment.¡±


    [Ah, Juexia alone?]


    [How can my beautiful baby be so miserable ah 5555]


    [Juexia was scared into failing ba, who could have expected such a development ah]


    [Writing in my blood to beg that Xiao Pei accompanies jx in bearing the punishment!!]


    When Ling Yi saw these lines on the barrage on the screen, he also started to yell and jump around with them. ¡°They¡¯re right, it was only because Xiao Pei scared Juexia that he forgot to suck in a breath and secure the candy wrapper. Xiao Pei is responsible for half of the failure!!¡±


    At this, Pei Tingsong¡¯s expression was full of question marks, and he reached out to push aside Ling Yi¡¯s head, which the person had stuck closer to him while speaking.


    Ling Yi immediately fled to the captain and complained, ¡°Miaomiao! He¡¯s shoving me!¡±


    He Ziyan once again forced away Ling Yi¡¯s arms which were hugging Jiang Miao. ¡°Go, shoving you back.¡±


    Lu Yuan said, ¡°I also agree that Xiao Pei should be punished together with Fang Juexia!¡± Saying so, he then fell to his knees with his hands devoutly clasped together and pleaded, ¡°Begging you! Let my group members get the chance to record a clip of them doing the hand flower dance ba!¡±


    ¡°No? Based on what?¡± Xiao Pei refused, ¡°It didn¡¯t fall down when it was with me.¡±


    Jiang Miao, who shouldered the heavy responsibility of cueing people while on the show, took the punishment box from the staff and smiled like a Bodhisattva as he said, ¡°However we do it¡­ Juexia, you should draw a punishment first ba.¡±


    Fang Juexia raised his hand and took off his pajama hoodie, thinking that it was the cause for his feverish cheeks. Without saying a word, he reached into the box, and without much hesitation, chose one of the two remaining punishment slips.


    [Teacher Fang: the bottom line of K¡¯s emotions]


    [Juexia isn¡¯t calm, but in a daze ba hahahaha, so cuuuute]


    [Please draw Two Fire¡¯s! Begging you, I¡¯m willing to exchange my height with Ling Yi¡¯s for a lifetime!]


    ¡°Clip, clip, clip¡­¡± Lu Yuan chanted as he hung on Fang Juexia¡¯s shoulder.


    Opening the note, Fang Juexia showed the side with the punishment written on it to the camera.


    Written on it in bold and big letters were: The group will select another member who is to be shut up in a closet with the person responsible for drawing the punishment, and then the two of them will be left alone in there for five minutes.


    [AHHHHHHH IT¡¯S THE PUNISHMENT WRITTEN BY Fire GE!]


    [Two Fire is too awesome! K is so amazing to have you!]


    [Holy shit holy shit!! K group is really all gongs!!]


    [The closet! My God, I surrender!]


    [Kaleido, you can change your name to Gayleido ba, you can even think of such a gay punishment hahaha]


    [As we all know, Kaleido has no straight men.]


    ¡°Ah! My little clip! My hope has been dashed to pieces!¡± Lu Yuan was holding his head and squatting on the ground as he grumbled, ¡°I even already found the specific video that I wanted you guys to imitate.¡±


    Pei Tingsong raised his eyebrows. ¡°Then why don¡¯t you be the one to just do it?¡±


    Lu Yuan suddenly stood up and adjusted his collar, before refusing, ¡°In that case, let¡¯s just forget about it.¡±


    As soon as Ling Yi saw the punishment, he stamped his foot and shouted, ¡°Ahhhhhh, Juexia, who are you going to choose!? Who?¡±


    Fang Juexia was in a quandary when Jiang Miao suggested, ¡°Why don¡¯t you choose the person who passed you the candy wrapper?¡±


    Lu Yuan immediately made a ¡°please¡± gesture towards Pei Tingsong. ¡°I agree! Please enter the closet.¡±


    Ling Yi was already laughing hard enough to roll around on the sofa. ¡°Hahaha, remember to come out in five minutes oh!¡±


    ¡°What are you guys talking about?!¡± Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t know what was going on, but he could distinctly sense that his welcome night to the dorm was becoming stranger and stranger.


    Not daring to wait for him to understand, Ling Yi and Lu Yuan began to push at his back, and nudged him into one of the rooms. Ling Yi shouted, ¡°Juexia¡¯s closet is big! Head to our room!¡±


    ¡°Wait, isn¡¯t it¡­¡± Pei Tingsong was completely baffled. ¡°I didn¡¯t lose, so why should I also go in, I¡¯m not going.¡± Saying that, he then pointed to Fang Juexia and ordered, ¡°You¡¯re also not allowed to go in.¡±


    I¡¯m the benefactor here¡ªthe one who helped you get rid of that big problem after all.


    But before Fang Juexia could say anything, He Ziyan grabbed the initiative and broke his daydream apart first. ¡°That won¡¯t work. Juexia drew the note that I had written, so of course, I will set the rules.¡± With that, he waved his finger quite dominantly and directed, ¡°Force Lao Liu into there.¡±


    ¡°Aye.¡± Ling Yi and Lu Yuan responded in unison, then trapped Xiao Pei, who was the tallest in the group, between them, and dragged him against his will into Juexia¡¯s room. Jiang Miao kept smiling from behind them and glanced back at Juexia. ¡°You don¡¯t want to go in?¡±


    Fang Juexia was naturally reluctant to do so internally, but he had been the one to lose the game, and he had also been the one who just had to draw this particular punishment. In fact, rather than being shut up into a closet together with Pei Tingsong, he would prefer to record a clip of himself doing the hand-flower dance.


    ¡°Can the punishment be changed?¡± Fang Juexia asked.


    [Is Juexia embarrassed? Hahaha]


    [God, if I were Juexia, I would definitely still be muddled, it was all too stimulating]


    [Our beautiful baby is really miserable. He was clutched at by the neck and kissed, and he still has to suffer punishment lolololol]


    Jiang Miao laughed, ¡°That¡¯s not my call.¡± After saying that, he cast a gentle look over at the staff and said, ¡°How about you work through things a bit more here? It¡¯ll be fine, everyone will wait for you.¡±


    As soon as this sentence was uttered, Fang Juexia¡¯s [not willing to trouble others] mechanism was triggered. He sighed silently and went to his room.


    By now, the barrage was already covered in messages¡ª


    [AHHHHHHHHHH the ceremony is over, into the bridal chamber with you!!!]


    [Congratulations to the two newlyweds!! A harmonious union lasting a hundred years!!!]


    [999999999999999]


    [Wtf, when I clicked in, I didn¡¯t think it would be so wonderful x]


    [Holy shit, this group¡¯s livestream is too exciting lolololol I can actually witness people coming out of the closet with my own eyes in this lifetime hahahahaha]


    [Juexia is really so coldly cute. He has no expression on his face, but he still obediently went in]


    The staff carried the recording equipment into the room, opened the closet door, and forced both of the people to hand over their cellphones to them. Fang Juexia took off his slippers and of his own free will, entered the inky-dark space, but Pei Tingsong kept pretty much shouting and yelling as Ling Yi and Lu Yuan tripped him up and tossed him into the closet.


    The door slammed shut.


    The staff maintained a bit of distance, so the camera could only capture the firmly closed closet door.


    Ling Yi¡¯s voice sounded out, ¡°The two of you shouldn¡¯t even think about sneakily coming out ah. There¡¯s a camera Da Ge stationed outside, and everyone watching the stream is staring at you.¡± Having said that, he pulled Lu Yuan away. ¡°Let¡¯s go, we¡¯re just in time to take a five minute break to go eat something.¡±


    The sound of footsteps got farther and farther away. Inside the closet, it was so dark that you couldn¡¯t even see your own fingers if you stretched your hand out. Many short coats hung down from above, and the only posture the two people could sit in was face to face with their knees bent. There was no space to place their four long legs comfortably, so they could only be bent and placed in a cramped position.


    With the closet door closed, this dark rectangular space was cut into two distinct regions, just like two disjoint magnetic fields, by a ray of light shining in from the crack of the door.


    Pei Tingsong, who had kept losing all night, had nursed a bellyful of anger throughout, and he had, through great effort, finally managed to not lose at something, but in the end, his outcome was to actually be forced to accompany the person getting punished. What kind of logic was this?


    He wanted to vent his grievances, and even more wanted to directly leave the closet, but there was a camera placed right outside.


    Leaving aside the punishment, he was even locked up with the person most contrary to himself in the entire group. Needless to say, this closet must be Fang Juexia¡¯s. The smell prevalent in here was exactly the same as that on the clothes he had on his body¡ªa lingering cold scent. It was just like the frosty breath that blew against one¡¯s face when one took a popsicle out from the freezer and then unwrapped it.


    Even his smell matched his person¡ª No warmth, no emotions, just dull and indifferent.


    Compared with the wolf cub, who was at the edge of turning manic, Fang Juexia was much calmer about taking the punishment. He bent his right leg and curled up against it, then rested his chin in the curve of his elbow as he tilted his head and stared quietly at the closed closet door. Five minutes was 300 seconds, and that didn¡¯t count as too long a time.


    Ever since he was little, he was a child who loved to just sit in a daze, and the thing he did most often when in such a daze was to count the seconds as they passed. There was a very small clock hidden in his heart, a tick tick tick that could be heard clearly with every second that went by.


    In Fang Juexia¡¯s view, these so-called hardships were just emotional factors that people attached to time by themselves while at work. Within his ever-turning internal clock, time was forever objective and direct, and thus there were no emotions that could interfere with its operations.


    In this way, he could separate time and emotion, and whether he was sad or happy, the speed with which time passed always remained constant. There was no fleeting moment of happiness that darted away in a flash, and there was also no suffering that seemed to last a year. His mind remained calm because of the existence of this precision, no matter what happened.


    It was the same at this moment. As long as he counted the seconds away as usual, he could forget that this was some kind of punishment.


    Originally, they could have gotten through the full five minutes by being quiet. However, a burst of gurgling sounds broke this equilibrium, while also halting Fang Juexia¡¯s little internal clock.


    In the dark, he raised his chin slightly and looked sideways at the other person.


    ¡°What are you looking at?¡± Pei Tingsong kept his voice low in fear of being recorded by the camera outside. The tone he used was fierce, but he seemed handsome for only a second before his stomach growled again. He quickly lowered his head and subconsciously covered his stomach with both of his hands.


    Although Fang Juexia¡¯s face didn¡¯t contain much emotion, he still turned around and stopped staring at the closet door. He knew that Pei Tingsong had had pretty much nothing to eat all night, so it was inevitable that he was hungry. If something like this had happened in the past, he would definitely have pretended that he hadn¡¯t heard anything. In any case, he was very clear on the fact that Pei Tingsong wouldn¡¯t die of starvation in five minutes.


    But Pei Tingsong had really been dragged into this punishment because of what he had drawn; he hadn¡¯t really lost that game, and he had even strived greatly to win.


    Fang Juexia reached out and felt around in the pocket of his pajamas in the dark. Before they had started to play the games, Ling Yi had handed him an individually wrapped mochi. Once the games had started, it had become too late for him to eat it, and he had the impression that he seemed to have stuffed it into his pocket.


    Sure enough, he found this unexpected ration hoard in his pocket and took it out.


    ¡°Stretch out your hand.¡± Fang Juexia¡¯s voice sounded out in the darkness, light and slow, as he said, ¡°I only have here¡­¡±


    Pei Tingsong was unaware of what Fang Juexia was going to do this time around, so he grumpily interrupted, ¡°What? You feel like you haven¡¯t made me suffer miserably enough?¡±


    Just when he threw out these words, he felt the other party fall into silence. This feeling was a little strange; it was as if on the other end of this darkness was a little animal who was hiding there, and as long as he browbeat him even a little, this animal would stay in his place and not dare to move.


    A slight thread of guilt rapidly shot up in his heart¡­ a very little one.


    But after a few seconds, the things that happened completely deviated from the scene that Pei Tingsong had imagined. That small animal not only dared to move, it even made a very not-so-small movement. Under this heavy curtain of darkness, he couldn¡¯t see what Fang Juexia was doing, but the sudden sensation of hands fumbling around his body caught him off guard.


    Fang Juexia knew that it was useless to say anything more, so he directly reached out and wanted to give him the small snack in his hand. However, he couldn¡¯t see anything; the tiny bit of light coming from the crevice of the closet door might be somewhat useful to Pei Tingsong, but it was totally useless to him. Fang Juexia half-knelt on the floor of the closet and leaned forward. He stretched his hand out and groped around like a blind man. This kind of recklessness was a very rare occasion for him who had always been restrained and careful.


    His fingertips came into contact with the cotton coat, and after the clothes, he touched bone. Based on what his fingertips were touching, he came up with a picture of the scene in his mind.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    Clear and distinct lines of his bones, and then to the right, was the collar of the shirt, and he even accidentally managed to rub against the exposed skin at the edge of the collar. This was probably the shoulder, Fang Juexia thought. His hand headed down, his target being reaching the other party¡¯s hand. But along the way, his slender fingertips glided past too many places, such as Pei Tingsong¡¯s chest, the words ¡°melt for u¡± on his chest, his tight waist and abdomen, and then further down.


    ¡°Hey.¡±


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s voice was so deep that it fell straight into Fang Juexia¡¯s heart, just as he grabbed Fang Juexia¡¯s hand to stop him from recklessly groping about anymore.


    In the next moment, Pei Tingsong used some strength to pull Fang Juexia, who was already leaning towards him, closer to him.


    Time was really not objective. At this moment, the speed with which it passed by had slowed down infinitely, so that when Fang Juexia¡¯s body crossed the weak line of light coming in through the seam of the door, Pei Tingsong could clearly see the pink birthmark at the corner of his eye. It flashed in the dark, crossed the boundary of light, and then disappeared into the darkness again.


    Fang Juexia wasn¡¯t kneeling quite so stably, and as soon as he was pulled, he was forced into a position right in front of Pei Tingsong. The two of them almost ran into each other. Fang Juexia didn¡¯t know exactly how close they were, he only knew that he could feel the other person¡¯s warm breath directly now.


    At this moment, that infallible tiny clock hidden within his heart suddenly malfunctioned.


    ¡ª


    The author has something to say:


    Kaleido settings:


    (top to bottom by age)


    Jiang Miao: 23 years old, 177cm, group leader, secondary lead singer, hidden skill: guzheng


    He Ziyan: 22 years old, 186cm, rapper, hidden skill: composer DJ


    Lu Yuan: 22 years old, 178cm, main dancer, hidden skill: choreographer


    Fang Juexia: 22 years old, 180cm, official face of the group with ace/center position, hidden skill: Mathematics


    Ling Yi: 20 years old, 173cm, lead singer, high pitched voice, hidden skill: being funny


    Pei Tingsong: 19 years old, 188cm, popular face of the group with ace/center position, hidden skill: lyric composition


    Fans: Question! K¡¯s heights are so different! Won¡¯t the arrangement on stage be very ugly?


    Jiang Miao: The stylists have considered this point. For example, the height of our shoes worn during performances is different, and the formation and standing positions will also be adjusted. The overall situation looks pretty harmonious.


    He Ziyan: It already counts as good for a small broken company to be able to gather enough people to make a debut, don¡¯t nitpick.


    Lu Yuan: It¡¯s harmful ah. I¡¯m 1.8m when wearing shoes, not short, not short.


    Pei Tingsong: Hehe.


    Juexia: Well¡­. (microphone snatched)


    Ling Yi: Ah, I have worn cushioned insoles for two years now, so why do you have to expose my real height!!! I hate it!!!


    ZC£º¦è_ ¦è

 CH 11

    Chapter 11 ¨C Senses In The Dark


    Today is the commemorative day of our TingJue¡¯s coming out of the closet!


    Fang Juexia¡¯s sense of time was thrown into chaos, and so was he.


    ¡°Here.¡± He hastily stuffed the mochi into Pei Tingsong¡¯s hand, before forcibly pulling his arm away and returning to his half of the space within the dark closet.


    How many minutes were left? He tried to calculate the amount of time left, but the more he calculated, the more chaotic he felt instead. The second hand of his internal clock that had mis-ticked seemed to have gotten stuck in the rhythm of a beat that he couldn¡¯t get into, and even when he chased after it, he couldn¡¯t bring it back to its normal track. Finally, Fang Juexia could only choose to give up. He leaned his back against the wall of the closet and retracted his hands and feet as far back as possible. It seemed that staying in such a posture was safe.


    However, his little clock was broken, and he no longer had the confidence that he would remain calm and stable.


    To be honest, Pei Tingsong was a little confused about what had happened just now. He pinched the mochi in his hand, and from the packaging came the broken crinkling sounds of plastic being squeezed.


    Fang Juexia¡¯s perceptiveness was always delayed. His perception was slow in catching up, just like during the transferring the candy wrapper game before, where he was only startled by Pei Tingsong¡¯s swift and vicious attack, but felt nothing else. However, all of a sudden, the sound of the rustling of a package appeared in the silent wardrobe. This seemed to trigger some of the nerves in his sensory system, which then instantly pulled him back to the scene of that explosively competitive game.


    The sound of the rubbing of the cellophane candy wrapper brought about a reaction after a long delay¡ªhis already red ears started to boil up.


    Just having his clock fail was enough, but now, even his perception was starting to go haywire.


    It turned out that Fang Juexia was trying to give him a snack. Only now had Pei Tingsong managed to figure out the other party¡¯s motivation.


    Then just say it directly ah.


    Right, Fang Juexia had wanted to tell him directly in the beginning, but he had stopped him.


    The lively voices of their group members floated in from outside.


    Pei Tingsong felt powerless inside. Originally, he should have been one of them.


    ¡°You want to dispatch me with just this¡­¡± He said in a low voice.


    Who would have known that under the cover of darkness, Fang Juexia would grab the initiative to say, ¡°Then throw it over here, and return it to me.¡±


    He tried to take the opportunity to get back his snack, although his tone seemed a little cold.


    ¡°Dream on.¡± Whatever had arrived in his hands would not be returned. He directly opened the package with his teeth and squeezed the soft mochi into his mouth.


    The moment it touched his lips, the familiar soft glutinous feeling caused Pei Tingsong to become lost in his thoughts.


    Clearly, during the process of playing the game, he had had no abnormal emotions, just a pure desire of wanting to win.


    But right now, it seemed as if his lips had been electrified, and this mochi led him down a path filled with intrigue and strange, wild thoughts.


    In the darkness, where no one could see anything, Pei Tingsong¡¯s Adam¡¯s apple rolled up and down in a flurry, and then he swallowed up the small soft thing, secretly vowing that he would never eat mochi again.


    Even so, the scene of when he had transferred the candy wrapper still lingered in his mind. The darker the surroundings became, the brighter the glimmer of Fang Juexia¡¯s eyes seemed to be.


    Under the darkness, a petri dish of emotions started to breed, and the accompanying silence allowed for  a magnifying glass to be focused on all their senses.


    Only wanting to get away from some kind of train of thought that even he wasn¡¯t clear about, Pei Tingsong tried to break this silence. He stretched out his somewhat limp and numb legs and poked Fang Juexia, calling out, ¡°Hey.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t I have a name?¡±


    Fang Juexia wasn¡¯t trying to make things hard for him on purpose, and was just asking this question without carrying any emotions about it. As a matter of fact, he had long been used to Pei Tingsong¡¯s wanton disregard, and he also didn¡¯t care much about the proper behavior that should be displayed with order of age. It was merely that at this moment, he felt very strange; everything was very strange.


    Pei Tingsong choked. He had originally wanted to ask Fang Juexia if he had anything else to eat, but now that he had been coldly counterattacked, his natural vicious behavior bounced right to the forefront.


    ¡°How many times have you called my name?¡± After saying this, he attempted to grab the cool guy¡¯s attention by getting closer, then using his knee to push apart Fang Juexia¡¯s legs, and giving an order in a rather commanding tone, ¡°Hey, look at me.¡±


    His deliberately low voice sounded more oppressive like this. He maliciously pushed his knee in hard, pushing the other person¡¯s legs further apart, even going to the extent of stepping on his thighs. ¡°You¡¯re not looking at me at all ba?¡±


    Fang Juexia answered bluntly, ¡°I can¡¯t see you.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care.¡± Pei Tingsong¡¯s tone contained more mischievousness now, shadowed with a hint of a smile. Just as he was about to make his next move, the closet door was suddenly opened.


    The light caught them off guard.


    ¡°Dang dang dang dang! Come out of the closet ba!¡± Ling Yi, who was holding the door of the closet, had the cameraman standing behind him. At first, he didn¡¯t see things clearly, but in the next second, he noticed that there was something strange about the positions of the people in the closet, especially Pei Tingsong¡¯s legs¡­


    Standing beside Ling Yi, Lu Yuan gloated and said, ¡°Yuan Ge is very pleased. It seems that in the past five minutes, you two have gotten along very well ma.¡±


    Eyes that had been immersed in the dark always took some time to adjust to the brightness of the light that had suddenly returned. Fang Juexia squinted his eyes and lowered his head, while Pei Tingsong reached out his hand to block his eyes, while also quickly retracting his wanton legs.


    Of course, this scene was also immediately recorded by the camera and broadcasted on the livestream.


    [It¡¯s only been five minutes, but I¡¯ve missed you guys so much!! Quickly let mama peek at what you two are doing!]


    [Hahahahahaha 01 about to die of laughter, come out of the closet la, it really is]


    [AHHHHHHHH WHAT KIND OF ADULTEROUS SCENE IS THIS!!! I feel faint!]


    [Pinot Tree Supreme, where are you stepping with your feet!]


    [WTF, what happened between the two of you to be in this position?? Why was there no cameraman in the closet! I hate it!]


    [This scene contains the visual sense of the anti-pornography team directly breaking into the scene hhhhhh, especially with the way Juexia¡¯s lowering his head, as if admitting guilt]


    [AHHHHHHHHH A BILLION TIMES WRONGED!! I want to see wardrobe play!!]


    [Came out of the closet came out of the closet came out of the closet]


    [Today is the commemorative day of our TingJue¡¯s coming out of the closet!]


    Pei Tingsong walked out first, mumbling to himself and suffocating to death.


    ¡°Just now we played another game outside, and then Lu Yuan lost, hahaha!¡± Ling Yi said that and then couldn¡¯t stop laughing as he continued, ¡°He had to record a clip of himself doing the flower hands!¡±


    Only then did Fang Juexia realize that they had been deceived when they had been told about a cameraman sitting outside, and that there had been no one outside the closet at all.


    His heart beat a little strangely, not following his body¡¯s usual rhythms. He attributed this to the lack of oxygen in the confined space.


    ¡°I¡¯m starving.¡± As soon as he got out, Xiao Pei started to forage for food. ¡°I¡¯ve been punished all night, quickly give me something to eat.¡±


    Ling Yi picked up a bag of food that had already been opened and was lying on the sofa. ¡°Hey, eat this. Mochi, it¡¯s delicious.¡± Then he took one out of the package and threw it at Pei Tingsong.


    This tiny little mochi drew an arc in the air. When it reached Pei Tingsong¡¯s arms, the way he reacted violently to it made it seem as if it had basically turned into a hot potato. ¡°I don¡¯t want this.¡± After saying that, he threw it to He Ziyan. He Ziyan didn¡¯t manage to catch it, and the mochi bounced off his arm, and as luck would have it, fell into Fang Juexia¡¯s hands.


    Seeing this scene, Pei Tingsong walked away awkwardly, pretending that he hadn¡¯t seen anything. ¡°Where¡¯s that half-full bag of chips from before?¡±


    Fang Juexia bowed his head and stared at the poor mochi  that lay paralyzed in his palm. Finally, and still expressionless, he opened the bag and ate it himself.


    ¡°Is it delicious?¡± Ling Yi pulled him in front of the sofa. ¡°I bought it.¡±


    It was delicious¡­.


    Fang Juexia pursed his lips and then smoothed them out again. He gripped the transparent colored plastic wrapper and stuffed it into the pocket of his pajamas. Suddenly letting go of the squeezed packaging caused it to slowly rebound in this small fluffy space, making a slight but lingering rustling sound as it did so.


    ¡°Delicious.¡±


    After everyone arrived, an interactive chat session was opened up. Each of them could feel the growing number of fans, and could also tell that there were a lot of new fans who couldn¡¯t manage to connect to the livestream right now. This was an exciting matter; after two years of hard work, they could finally be seen by everyone.


    ¡°Let¡¯s answer the fans¡¯ questions.¡± Jiang Miao looked at the barrage rolling across the screen and automatically cued everyone up.


    Ling Yi and Lu Yuan gave him a lot of face and started clapping, ¡°Okay!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go.¡± He Ziyan took a look at the screen and picked a question. ¡°This fan friend with the ID of [Kaleido is my new obsession] asks, ¡®Are all the Gege in K using their original name? Do any of you have a stage name or an English name or something?¡¯¡±


    He then exchanged glances with Jiang Miao, who said with a smile, ¡°Very few people ask about this. Is it because our members¡¯ names are all pretty special?¡±


    As soon as this was mentioned, He Ziyan started up, ¡°Only Ling Yi is special ba.¡±


    Just as he finished saying that, he and Lu Yuan started up a two-person act without any warning. Suddenly, they both cried out in unison, ¡°Is there a 1?¡± Lu Yuan even pulled open Ling Yi¡¯s coat, searched inside, and was kicked away by Ling Yi who yelled, ¡°No! Scram!¡±


    Pei Tingsong had seen the video before, and he was laughing so hard that he was nearly spraying out the potato chips in his mouth. ¡°Hahahahahaha.¡±


    [Hahaha, no, I¡¯m going to go crazy with laughter from watching this silly group]


    [Help, hahahahaha is there a 1 hahahahahaha]


    [Look at 01¡¯s expression hahahaha, damn 01 is too miserable hhhh]


    ¡°You guys are bullying me again!¡± In the beginning, Ling Yi swung his arms around like a little chicken paddling in the water, putting up a desperate fight against He Ziyan and Lu Yuan. He was restrained by Fang Juexia and Jiang Miao with difficulty, and Jiang Miao held back a smile as he said, ¡°Okay, okay, don¡¯t get angry with the two of them.¡±


    Fang Juexia suddenly, and also rather absent-mindedly, added, ¡°If you damage yourself by being angry, there¡¯s no one to replace you.¡±


    [Hahahahaha Teacher Fang gradually becomes meaner]


    He Ziyan, who had laughed enough, covered his stomach and sat upright before saying, ¡°Okay, okay, okay, seriously answering the question now. All six of us are using our original names. We have no stage names or English names. Maybe the company didn¡¯t make any overseas plans at that time?¡±


    Lu Yuan directly exposed everything, ¡°The company is so poor, how can it afford to do overseas planning?¡±


    Ling Yi said, ¡°It¡¯s fortunate that they didn¡¯t make any such plans, since we haven¡¯t gotten that popular.¡±


    Pei Tingsong said, ¡°This group¡¯s biggest strong point is that we all know ourselves.¡±


    [Hahahaha Teacher Yuan is awesome!]


    [Boss is watching you!]


    [Pei Tingsong, you didn¡¯t inherit this advantage, and you¡¯re the one who knows himself the least!]


    [Fuck! Three consecutive hits, hahahaha, what¡¯s with this group!]


    Jiang Miao looked at the barrage and said, ¡°What about Juexia? Ah, yes, Juexia is his real name.¡±


    Fang Juexia immediately nodded and said, ¡°Yes, my mama came up with it, because my birthday is June 26, and I was born in the summer.¡±


    ¡°Juexia¡¯s name comes from ancient poetry,¡± Jiang Miao added, ¡°Xiao Pei¡¯s is also from ancient poetry, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Xiao Pei had a Pocky dangling from his mouth, and he looked at the camera and asked, ¡°Does my name sound nice?¡±


    [Sounds nice!!!]


    [It has both Ting and Song, you were born to be a singer!]


    Jiang Miao suddenly thought of something and said, ¡°Ah, but Xiao Pei grew up in the United States, so maybe he has an English name ba.¡± He glanced at Xiao Pei as he continued, ¡°We actually really don¡¯t know.¡±


    However, Pei Tingsong directly shook his head. ¡°No, when I was there, everyone just directly called me Song. The pronunciation wasn¡¯t a barrier, and Americans would also find it strange to come up with another name when you already have one. And my grandfather said that one should be proud of their origin and their name.¡±


    [Your grandfather feels very stylish]


    Ling Yi said, ¡°Telling you guys secretly, Xiao Pei¡¯s grandfather is a writer oh, and he¡¯s published a collection of poems.¡±


    [Wow! Your grandfather is so awesome!]


    [I feel that Xiao Pei¡¯s family is especially magical. No wonder Xiao Pei is so talented!]


    Lu Yuan stared at the screen. ¡°Someone is asking why Xiao Pei¡¯s Chinese is so good.¡±


    ¡°I grew up in a bilingual environment.¡± Pei Tingsong explained, ¡°My grandfather used Chinese with me, and I used English with my mom. When I was a child, my grandfather took me to read Chinese books, and he taught me how to write characters using a brush.¡±


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t know anything about any of this. He listened in silence, and some particular thoughts came to his mind. Sure enough, people¡¯s inherited genes would be responsible for many things, eventually evolving into those so-called ingrained bad habits or those inborn talents. He could verify that fact just by looking at Pei Tingsong.


    ¡°In short, I don¡¯t have an English name. Everyone should just call me by my real name.¡± Pei Tingsong emphasized again, ¡°It¡¯s Pei, not Fei.¡±


    [Hahahahahaha take off the yi and start up the wen Xiao Pei]


    The corners of Fang Juexia¡¯s mouth couldn¡¯t help but draw up upon being cued like this. It just so happened that this sentence had also made Pei Tingsong think of him, and so the two people¡¯s gazes collided unexpectedly.


    Pei Tingsong mouthed at him¡ªwhat are you laughing at?


    Fang Juexia raised his hand, pulled down the rising corner of his mouth with his index finger and thumb, and returned to his expressionless state.


    Before Pei Tingsong could bask in his satisfaction, Ling Yi, who had suddenly hooked his arm around his neck from behind him, shouted, ¡°Xiao Pei, I¡¯ll give you an English name!¡±


    Long years of doing crosstalk with him gave Lu Yuan the opportunity to immediately respond, ¡°You withdraw, let me do it!¡± He covered Ling Yi¡¯s mouth and said, ¡°Pei Tingsong¡¯s English name is Listen and Song¡­¡±


    ¡°Pei,¡± He Ziyan added his surname to it and in the imitation of a foreign accent, dragged out the name.

 CH 12

    Chapter 12 ¨C End Of The Livestream


    Let¡¯s create the last miracle together ba.


    [Hahahahahahahahahaha I¡¯m laughing so hard that my next door neighbor is calling to report me at 3 in the morning]


    [Listen and song pei!]


    [ABC Xiao Pei is an unfounded rumor!]


    [Hahahahaha, xswl, who¡¯s going to save me]


    Pei Tingsong picked up the pink leopard doll lying on the sofa and swung it to hammer against Ling Yi and Lu Yuan¡¯s heads. Finally, he used the leopard¡¯s legs to strangle He Ziyan¡¯s neck.


    [Hahahahahaha the group bully is worthy of being the group bully. One against three!]


    [hhhh look at Juexia! He¡¯s quietly, and bit by bit, moving further away from the battlefield, hahahaha]


    Only after the usual consequence of their group leader stepping in to mediate between them did Kaleido restore its veneer of team harmony and everyone sat back in place. Jiang Miao was half dead with exhaustion as he asked, ¡°What were we doing just now?¡±


    Fang Juexia, who was in charge of being the rational one, looked up and raised his hand, like the only student in the class who was listening, and said, ¡°Answering the fans¡¯ questions.¡±


    ¡°Oh, yes, yes.¡± Jiang Miao took a deep breath. ¡°Then let¡¯s find another one.¡± Cheng Qiang, who was behind him, pointed at the clock, and Jiang Miao immediately understood the cue as he suggested, ¡°This will be the last question. How¡¯s this, Juexia will take a screenshot of the barrage, and then Lu Yuan will pick a question from it.¡±


    With Fang Juexia¡¯s less talkative personality, he basically ended up being a wallflower on any program he was a part of, so Jiang Miao often went out of his way to cue him and give him more camera time.


    ¡°Screenshot it, here.¡± Fang Juexia handed his cellphone over to Lu Yuan.


    ¡°Okay lei.¡± Lu Yuan carefully went through the screenshot, and suddenly, his eyes brightened and he announced, ¡°I¡¯ve decided it¡¯s you! The ID called [Wild Boy Pei Tingsong]¡­.pfft.¡±


    ¡°Hahahahahaha wild boy listen and song!¡± Ling Yi started laughing so hard that his whole person bent over into Juexia¡¯s chest, and then he was gasping for breath even as he continued, ¡°Hahahahaha!¡±


    Juexia also laughed and patted Ling Yi¡¯s arm while warning, ¡°You¡¯re about to swoon.¡±


    [AHHHHHHHH jxgg is so doting!]


    [The Nap CP has red hot interactions!!!]


    In the face of his Geges¡¯ merciless ridicule, Pei Tingsong showed a fake smile and stated, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? I think this ID is very cool. Swag.¡±


    ¡°Cough,¡± Lu Yuan held back a smile. ¡°This fan is asking if Kaleido has an official name for their fans? Our K fans can¡¯t not have an official name ah.¡± He vividly imitated the excited tones their fans usually used.


    He Ziyan pulled the pink leopard doll that had been used just now into his hands. ¡°There actually is an official name for the fans.¡±


    Jiang Miao nodded and added, ¡°Yes, our boss came up with it himself. Because our group¡¯s name is Kaleido, then based on homophony, Boss named our fans Domino.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t it sound like a spell?¡± Ling Yi picked up a small toy hammer to act out a little fairy casting a spell with a wand and waved it around while chanting, ¡°Kaleidomino!¡±


    [Hahaha 01 is really so cuuute, there¡¯s nothing in his head]


    [You saying it like that even makes me myself feel cuter~]


    ¡°This name actually has a profound meaning,¡± Ling Yi explained, before throwing the hammer away. ¡°Everyone knows that there are usually a lot of domino tiles, and all of them are small and very cute ma, just like our fans!¡±


    Lu Yuan shot a disgusted glance at him and said, ¡°What kind of explanation was that ah?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter with it?! Then you explain it!¡±


    [K: Sorry, we really don¡¯t know what the name for our fans means.]


    [Hahahahahaha, I¡¯m going to be angry! Is our name so unimportant?]


    [It¡¯s obvious that no one listened during the planning meeting hhhh, but this Domino name is pretty good]


    The two of them continued to talk all over each other, while Jiang Miao bumped Fang Juexia¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°Juexia, come explain?¡±


    Only then did Fang Juexia, who had been watching this play silently the entire time, open his mouth and replied, ¡°I actually¡­also don¡¯t remember what the boss said at that time.¡±


    Hearing this, Pei Tingsong, who had originally also gotten pulled into the fray with Lu Yuan and the others, also felt amused and laughed.


    [Hahahahahaha Juexia is too honest]


    ¡°But I really like this name.¡±


    Fang Juexia considered his words for a bit before saying, ¡°How to say it¡­? Dominoes is a team game. I even participated in a domino-toppling competition with a small team when I was still a student. In this competition, participants needed to place these dominoes one by one, one after the other, which is a matter that requires a lot of patience and precision. Finally, just by pushing the first tile, you can make each of the other following tiles fall down one after the other. If even one tile in this train of tiles doesn¡¯t fall, then all that remains is a very small probability of success.¡±


    He seldom said so many words, so he felt a bit unused to it. He also felt that he had deviated from the main topic a little, so he explained further, ¡°En¡­ In fact, I just think the process of playing this game is very similar to the feelings of our fans. You are all encouraging us and waiting for us with your greatest patience and perseverance. You¡¯re just like a series of well-behaved dominoes waiting in your positions. Every single person is indispensable.¡±


    While saying all this, Fang Juexia had forgotten to even look at the camera. Whenever he got lost in his thoughts, his eyes would look upwards unconsciously. So, right now, he was being illuminated by the ceiling lamp of the living room, and his eyes and eyebrows appeared incomparably tender.


    ¡°Moreover, you guys are also very clear on the fact that a group becoming wildly successful is quite a remote possibility, but even then, everyone still continues to give us their very unselfish love and support to allow us to carry on. En¡­¡±


    When Fang Juexia had started talking, Pei Tingsong had been disdainful, thinking that he had nothing to say, and so had just started talking some nonsense. But gradually, Fang Juexia¡¯s explanation began to resonate with him. He was also acutely aware that Fang Juexia¡¯s thoughts had now hit a roadblock, so he opened his mouth and continued his words, ¡°You¡¯re right.¡±


    Fang Juexia froze for a moment. He had almost never heard Pei Tingsong agree with him before, so this surprised him.


    ¡°Juexia Ge is right. Domino-toppling is a game that requires a lot of endurance, and if you¡¯re even just a little bit careless, you may fall short of success, and end up facing a field of collapsed tiles. And you will experience collapses like these over and over again. This is a lot like how¡­ you guys know that there will be many setbacks and defeats faced during the development of a group, but you guys still keep accompanying us.¡± He smiled at the camera. ¡°You guys don¡¯t give up, but instead pick up the fallen tiles and set them up straight again and again.¡± There was sincere admiration on his face as he uttered, ¡°Respect.¡±


    No one could have imagined that Pei Tingsong, who possessed the least sense of belonging to the group, could have ever spoken words like these. In this situation, everyone else around him was a bit stunned. He Ziyan was the first one to reach out with his hand and pat him on the shoulder. ¡°Yes, really thanking everyone so much. Without you guys, we couldn¡¯t have held on until now, and you guys are the best!¡±


    Lu Yuan clapped and echoed, ¡°That¡¯s right! Dominoes are the best!¡±


    Jiang Miao smiled and added, ¡°I hope that we can keep showing everyone a new view, just like a kaleidoscope, and also hope that all Dominoes can accompany us, one by one, step by step, never stopping.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s create the last miracle together ba.¡±


    The livestream ended at 9:30 p.m. After seeing the staff and Cheng Qiang out the door, the six of them played a few games in the dormitory, and had fun until around 11 or 12, when they finally started feeling sleepy. Only then did Pei Tingsong remember that he had not made his bed, nor did he have any bedding to make his bed with right now.


    ¡°You¡¯re really like you¡¯ve just come to the countryside, too miserable.¡±


    So all he could piece together was that Ling Yi and He Ziyan¡¯s bedding had just been changed, with the previous ones not being washed yet, and that Jiang Miao and Lu Yuan¡¯s bunkbed was a whole size smaller than theirs, so none of these people¡¯s bedding would work.


    There was only Fang Juexia¡¯s left.


    One was not willing to lend it out, and the other wasn¡¯t willing to make his bed with it, but there was no other way; after all, Pei Tingsong had to sleep.


    Fang Juexia opened the cabinet and took out the sheets that he had changed and laundered to give to Pei Tingsong, along with a new quilt he hadn¡¯t used. To be honest, he was a bit of a neat freak, and underneath his still expression, his heart had already become filled with turbulent waves.


    What to do, did he really have to lend it to him? He had never shared these kinds of things with others; sharing clothes was already the furthest limit of what he could bear.


    What to do now? He could just refuse, but he couldn¡¯t let Pei Tingsong sleep in such a manner for a night; he was also so tall, so he couldn¡¯t squeeze into someone else¡¯s bed¡­.


    It would still be better to lend it to him ba. It was just this once, and that was fine, it was no problem.


    ¡°Hey.¡± Pei Tingsong crossed his arms over his chest and stared at Fang Juexia. ¡°What are you thinking about?¡±


    He was determinedly clinging to his quilt and sheets, looking like a rabbit protecting its food.


    Fang Juexia returned to his senses. He decided that he still had to be a good Gege, so he hesitantly extended his arms out front.


    ¡°You¡­¡± Fang Juexia was stuck mid-sentence for a long time and didn¡¯t know what he should order the other person to do. He was also very clear that it was useless to order the little demon king Pei Tingsong to do anything.


    ¡°Thanks la.¡± Pei Tingsong took hold of the sheets and the quilt, wanting to accept them, but the other party still didn¡¯t subconsciously let go. So, he pulled at it a bit, and nearly ended up pulling Fang Juexia into his arms.


    He was really a strange person. Wasn¡¯t it just some sheets and bedding? Instead, he was acting as if it was his life that was required.


    However, Pei Tingsong was a young master, who, from a very young age, only had to open his mouth to get food delivered into it, so even if he had the bedding in his hands, he was completely lost on how to make a bed. Fang Juexia watched his performance¡ª where he pulled at the sheet and bent his waist around the bed for 20 minutes, before he couldn¡¯t watch anymore, and helplessly offered his aid, ¡°Let me do it ba.¡±


    ¡°Okay ah.¡± Pei Tingsong took this aid as a matter of course and acted as a master who only asks others to do things instead of doing them himself. He went around to the other side and opened the window. The night view outside was beautiful, and he leaned half of his body out the window to see the curling vine of wisteria growing at the side of the building. Its green tendrils were all curled up, and it was a rare sign of vitality in the midst of winter.


    It seemed to have grown over to this side from the balcony next door.


    ¡°It¡¯s done.¡±


    Hearing Fang Juexia¡¯s voice, Pei Tingsong turned around. The bed had been made neatly and tidily, without any wrinkles. The quilt had also been covered into the bed cover, and was even folded into a square tofu block shape, just like how Fang Juexia¡¯s was next door.


    This guy couldn¡¯t actually be some kind of domestic robot ba?


    ¡°Thank¡­¡±


    Before he could finish saying thank you, Fang Juexia turned away stiffly, his indifferent back causing Pei Tingsong¡¯s next words to stick in his throat.


    The whole bed smelled of Fang Juexia, just like the way his clothes and his closet did. Pei Tingsong, who was wrapped in this soft, cold fragrance, turned his head to look out the window.


    It seemed as if he was wrapped in the moonlight.


    At the thought that his sheets and quilts were all being used by another person, and were covering him on the top and cushioning him at the bottom, Fang Juexia just couldn¡¯t sleep, and kept turning around in his bed like a pancake that just could not be thoroughly cooked.


    Separated by a wall, these two people suffered from insomnia together.


    As Kaleido¡¯s popularity had recently seen a rise, many marketing accounts had already recorded the livestream, with the expectation of finding some explosive moments that would increase their own traffic.


    But there were too many explosive moments in that livestream, too many to even count. So in the early hours of the next day, the keywords [Fang Juexia and Pei Tingsong¡¯s candy wrapper kiss] directly appeared in the Hot Search list, and its popularity kept climbing. Fans watched as it gradually rose from the bottom of the list to reach second place. The next morning, entries such as [Kaleido crosstalk group] and [Kaleido fans¡¯ name] had also appeared on the list.


    Fang Juexia had been forced off his original variety show and had thus lost his only daily journey outside. However, his lifestyle habits had always been healthy¡ª which consisted of getting up early in the morning and then running a small circle around the neighborhood before returning to the dormitory. His room had a balcony, which had been empty when he first moved in. Now, it was already full of flowers and plants.


    His mother was a person with a very strong sense of life. Their small house in Guangzhou had been decorated by her to be warm and beautiful, with the small garden on the first floor being filled with flowers and plants. When he was a child, he had watered and loosened the soil with his mama. Now that he had grown up, he still had the habit of taking care of his own small garden very seriously.


    Plants were as simple as math problems. As long as you followed the rules for their growth and spent ten times the required amount of patience on them, these little guys would reward you with the most beautiful results.


    Ling Yi and their group leader had things to do, and so left early in the morning. By the time he returned home from his morning run, Fang Juexia saw Lu Yuan¡¯s Gudetama slippers lying by the door, so realised that he had probably gone to dance practice. Thinking that He Ziyan should still be in the dorm, classmate Xiao Fang, after finishing his work in his garden, made two egg salad and bacon sandwiches, and also brewed two cups of coffee.


    Only when he walked up to He Ziyan¡¯s door did he suddenly remember that Pei Tingsong had also moved back into the dorms.


    In order to avoid facing any dangerous elements, Fang Juexia¡¯s hand, which was about to knock on the door, stopped in midair. He simply pulled it back, and instead called He Ziyan on his cellphone.


    The call was picked up after it rang a few times on the other end. ¡°Juexia? What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    His voice didn¡¯t sound like he had just woken up. Fang Juexia asked, ¡°Where are you?¡±


    ¡°Oh, Jiang Miao has low blood sugar and doesn¡¯t feel good. He sent me a message, so now I¡¯ve bought some stuff and I¡¯m going to go find him.¡±


    Fang Juexia heard the sound of the GPS and realised that he was driving. ¡°Okay ba, then be careful on the way.¡±


    ¡°Did you come find me for something?¡± He Ziyan asked.


    ¡°No, just saw that you weren¡¯t here, and so was just asking.¡±


    After hanging up the call, Fang Juexia held his cellphone and was getting ready to leave. Unexpectedly, the door to He Ziyan¡¯s room was suddenly opened. Pei Tingsong, dressed in dark gray pajamas, was now standing in front of him. His hair was ruffled from sleep, and the low pressure of having not gotten enough sleep surrounded him.


    Fang Juexia felt a little guilty. He stood still and blinked at him.


    ¡°It¡¯s not enough for you to stand here when making a phone call, but you also have to block my way¡­¡± Pei Tingsong stretched, and when he brought his arms down, he coincidentally patted the brim of Fang Juexia¡¯s hat. ¡°If I end up late for school in a bit, are you going to explain it to the professor?¡±


    ¡°Oh, right.¡± Fang Juexia quickly straightened his hat. It was only then that he remembered that this guy was still a college student.


    Pei Tingsong quickly washed up; his mouth was parched, so he planned to go to the refrigerator to find something to drink, but when he walked over to the kitchen, he found two breakfasts laid out on the table.


    Fang Juexia changed his clothes, came out, and found that Pei Tingsong had already sat down at the table and was eating the breakfast he had originally prepared for his roommate.


    Pei Tingsong drank a mouthful of coffee, and contentedly stretched before saying, ¡°So you still count as possessing a bit of conscience, knowing to prepare breakfast for the youngest in the group who has to take morning classes.¡±


    Actually, it wasn¡¯t made for you¡ªFang Juexia responded in his heart. But he didn¡¯t plan to say it out loud; anyway, this breakfast would become wasted if it just sat there. After washing his hands, he also sat down, finished his share, and then cleaned up without saying a word.


    When Xiao Wen called, Fang Juexia pressed the speakerphone button and placed the phone by the kitchen counter.


    ¡°Juexia?¡±


    ¡°En, you talk, I¡¯m listening.¡±


    ¡°Okay lei, I¡¯ll report your guys¡¯ itinerary to you,¡± Xiao Wen banged out a lot of words, and then added, ¡°By the way, there is a new event in the next two days. Next Monday night, the Spring Festival party on the CloudTV platform will be livestreamed online. One of their guests dropped out of the program because of illness, so let¡¯s go replace them. Everyone needs to practice the main single a bit and then go to rehearsal on Sunday night. There¡¯s not even two days left, so it¡¯s a bit of a rush.¡±


    Fang Juexia let out an ¡°en¡± and said, ¡°It¡¯s just as well that I don¡¯t have any personal events recently, so I¡¯ll practice it well.¡±


    ¡°Who would worry about you ah, mainly it¡¯s that group bully¡­¡±


    Pei Tingsong suddenly appeared behind Fang Juexia and picked up his cellphone, responding, ¡°What group bully? I¡¯m right here, so talk a bit more carefully for me.¡±


    Xiao Wen, who was on the other end of the phone, was so scared that he choked on his own saliva. ¡°Cough, cough, cough, Xiao-Xiao Pei, how are you right next to Juexia?¡±


    Fang Juexia¡¯s hands were wet, so he couldn¡¯t grab his cellphone back at this moment. He didn¡¯t expect Xiao Pei to take the initiative to put the cellphone aside and keep talking, ¡°I¡¯m in the dormitory, and so is he, is that not okay?¡± After saying so, he turned and walked away, as if looking for something, murmuring to himself about keys and so on.


    ¡°Oh, right, right, you moved back to the dorms.¡± Xiao Wen pressed his chest and after finishing his report on the events for the next few days, he didn¡¯t have anything else to add. ¡°Then you guys get along well ah. I have to go to a meeting, so I¡¯ll hang up first. Bye bye!¡±


    Get along well.


    These words made Fang Juexia want to laugh.

 CH 13

    Chapter 13 ¨C Bizarre


    There was a wall between geniuses and ordinary human beings like them.


    ¡°It¡¯s over, I didn¡¯t drive my car over here.¡± Pei Tingsong was still an ABC in his bones, who had grown up abroad, so when he got worried, words starting with the letter ¡®F¡¯ began to appear. Fang Juexia turned a deaf ear towards him and washed the dishes in silence.


    ¡°Do you have a car?¡± Pei Tingsong put on his hat while walking over; he was even still wearing yesterday¡¯s lavender-gray sweater.


    Fang Juexia shook the water off of his hands and said, ¡°Yes.¡± Although it wasn¡¯t a fancy car, it could be used instead of walking. However, he wasn¡¯t planning on going out of his way to help, and so suggested, ¡°You can call a taxi.¡±


    Pei Tingsong raised his hand and glanced at his watch before replying, ¡°It would be very difficult to call one now.¡±


    ¡°But I¡¯m going to the company later.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s on the way, see me off first ba.¡± Pei Tingsong dragged Fang Juexia to the hallway, nimbly took down his white down jacket from the hanger by the door, wrapped it around his body, and quickly pulled the zipper up with a swish. ¡°Quickly.¡±


    This person was really just¡­ Fang Juexia didn¡¯t know how to describe him.


    He was different from everyone else he¡¯d ever met before.


    The results were obvious. Fang Juexia parked his car outside the entrance of P University, where people were coming and going, and pushed his hat down onto his face. The person in the passenger seat was sleeping soundly. When he was woken up by Fang Juexia, he frowned and even pulled down his wool cap to cover his eyes.


    Fang Juexia sighed and surprised him by saying, ¡°They¡¯re taking attendance now.¡±


    Pei Tingsong woke up with a start. He pushed his hat up and stared at him for three seconds. Fang Juexia opened the car door and said, ¡°Get out of the car.¡±


    ¡°So fast?¡±


    It wasn¡¯t fast at all. During the 20 minutes it had taken to drive here, they had passed six traffic lights, and they had had to wait for more than 40 seconds at four of those. Fortunately, the traffic wasn¡¯t too heavy at this time of the day.


    Using the rearview mirror, Pei Tingsong tidied up his hat, got out of the car, and closed the door. Tilting his head, he waved to Fang Juexia in the car, and said, ¡°Thanks.¡±


    Fang Juexia nodded and watched Pei Tingsong trot into the campus with everyone else, carrying his school bag on his back. His cellphone rang, and it was his mama sending him a message.


    [Juexia, Mama was watching the program at home and discovered that you weren¡¯t in the previous episode. Did you get sick?]


    Only then did Fang Juexia remember that he had forgotten to tell his Mama about the show. There had been too many things happening recently, so he hadn¡¯t thought that even those parts of his that had already been recorded had been completely cut out.


    [No, I¡¯m in very good health, but I didn¡¯t feel like filming for that program anymore, so I left. Don¡¯t worry, Mama, I¡¯ll call you in the evening.]


    After editing his message and sending it, Fang Juexia got ready to start the car and depart. However, as soon as he looked down, he found a card lying on the passenger seat, one which was even covered with a matte black card cover. He flipped over the card, and sure enough, there was a picture of Pei Tingsong.


    Even his campus ID card photo emitted the arrogant air of a demon king.


    He wanted to send a message to Pei Tingsong to let him know about this, but found that he did not have any of Pei Tingsong¡¯s contact information.


    It was just a campus card. At worst, once he got back to the dorms, he could put it on Pei Tingsong¡¯s desk.


    Fang Juexia held the little card and looked at the bright smile shown by the youngest in their group in the ID picture. He thought about his own feelings, of what it felt like to lose his campus card when he was in school.


    Without a card, you couldn¡¯t eat, and you couldn¡¯t go to the library. There were also some classrooms you couldn¡¯t enter without swiping your card.


    Ugh.


    Fang Juexia finally stuffed the card into his pocket, undid his seat belt, and got out of the car. Fortunately, he had a very good memory. During breakfast, he had heard Pei Tingsong murmuring to himself when he had brought up his schedule on his cellphone to confirm the building number. The campus was bustling, so he put on his mask and lowered his hat. However, because he wasn¡¯t very familiar with this place, even after he walked a bit of a ways away based on the map, he still did not manage to find the building Pei Tingsong had mentioned.


    It seemed that he would still have to find someone to ask him for directions.


    With just this small walk, he had already been noticed by many girls. Fang Juexia didn¡¯t really want to expose himself, and looking around, he suddenly saw a very tall boy in front of him. His back looked very reliable, so Fang Jeuxia quickly walked over to him and lowered his mask.


    ¡°Excuse me, I want to ask¡­¡±


    The moment the other party turned around, Fang Juexia was startled.


    Wasn¡¯t this¡­ Zhou Ziheng who had filmed ¡°Escape For Your Life¡± along with the senior from his company?


    Even though he was wearing a pair of black rimmed glasses, Fang Juexia could see past them straight away. It was only at this time that he remembered that Zhou Ziheng was indeed studying at P University as well. He felt that it was a bit impolite for him to freeze up like this mid-sentence, so he cleared his throat and finished asking his question.


    ¡°In fact, it¡¯s over there. You turn right and cross the path, and it¡¯s that gray one.¡± Zhou Ziheng pointed and gave directions. ¡°Very close by.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Fang Juexia bowed. ¡°Thank you, senior.¡±


    Who knew that the widely famous top class actor¡¯s eyes would suddenly shine and that he would suddenly ask, ¡°Sure enough! I was just wondering about how familiar you looked, are you from Kaleido? Why are you here?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m Fang Juexia.¡± He raised his head, and the wind blew the brim of his hat upwards, enough to reveal his forehead and the red birthmark at the corner of his eyes. ¡°I¡­ came to give something to the youngest of our group.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I know, Pei Tingsong ba, he¡¯s pretty famous around the school.¡± Zhou Ziheng was satisfied with his memory and reached to pat him on the shoulder like a senior member would as he said, ¡°I like your guys¡¯ songs a lot. I have to go to the laboratory, so I¡¯ll leave first la.¡±


    Seeing this senior performer leave, Fang Juexia felt that it was a little strange. It turned out that the actor who usually looked so imposing actually had such a friendly and easy-going personality.


    Based on the directions, he found the building that Pei Tingsong was having class in.


    ¡°422¡­¡­¡± Fang Juexia silently read the number and entered the elevator. However, he soon regretted his decision. The elevator was narrow and there were mirrors on all sides. He could clearly feel the girls around him looking at him, especially the one standing right in front of him, who had rushed into the elevator in a hurry. Fang Juexia lowered the brim of his hat as much as possible to cover his birthmark, then lowered his head and stared at his shoes.


    ¡°Hello¡­¡± A girl¡¯s hesitant voice sounded out. ¡°Are you Fang Juexia?¡±


    Sure enough, he was still recognized. Fang Juexia looked up and laughed, neither admitting nor denying it. The other party felt that he had admitted it, so her tone was jubilant, and she even began to stutter, ¡°Oh my god, good god, I love you so much!¡± She seemed to have thought of something while saying this, and her eyes brightened as she asked, ¡°Juexia Gege, did you come here today to find Pei Tingsong?! I-I¡¯m in the same class as him! Today¡¯s class!¡±


    Fang Juexia glanced at the time in the upper right hand corner of the elevator¡¯s electronic display board and then focused his gaze back onto the girl. In a very objective manner, he said, ¡°Then you¡¯re already late.¡±


    ¡°Sure enough!¡± The girl grew more excited and exclaimed, ¡°You came here just to find Xiao Pei! Oh my God. I didn¡¯t stay up reading the Hot Search until 3 am last night in vain. It¡¯s so real, it¡¯s so real¡­ ¡± She then covered her mouth as if she were afraid of making any noise, seeming just like a strange little animal.


    What was so real?


    Fang Juexia was at a complete loss.


    Pei Tingsong was sitting in a seat right next to the door and facing the window, and he was listening to the lecture, when suddenly, a voice came in through the door, and a late girl crept in. Not many people took this course, so there was an excess of empty seats. As soon as this girl came in, she sat directly in front of Pei Tingsong.


    After glancing at her once, he continued to listen to the professor.


    ¡°¡¯The Ship of Theseus has a reasoning similar to that of a typical Sorites paradox, but it is different in essence: the predicate used in the latter is the initial logical predicate, and it is a typical fuzzy predicate¡­¡±


    When the professor on the platform mentioned the Ship of Theseus, Pei Tingsong stopped twirling the pen in his hand and couldn¡¯t help being distracted. It seemed that he was now that great ship that was constantly being disassembled, and everyone was always forcing him to replace old parts with new parts.


    After replacing every deck and every part, was he still himself?


    How could you manage to preserve your true self.


    Just as his mind was wandering, the girl in front of him suddenly turned around and put a card on his desk. It was clearly his campus ID card.


    Pei Tingsong was stunned and wondered if she had picked it up after it had fallen down somewhere. So he said thanks in a soft voice as he took back the card.


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t me.¡± The girl lowered her voice. ¡°Someone asked me to give it to you and told me not to tell you who they were.¡±


    Since she had said it in such a way, Pei Tingsong naturally asked, ¡°Who?¡±


    ¡°Juexia Gege,¡± The girl¡¯s expression suddenly turned excited as she continued speaking, ¡°He just left la.¡±


    Fang Juexia?


    He subconsciously looked out of the window. In fact, Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t expect to see anything, so he wasn¡¯t clear on what had motivated him to do this. However, he just happened to catch sight of the figure wrapped in a snow-white down jacket as he walked on the path downstairs, and his slender legs walking step by step along the path, as he gradually left his sight.


    Pei Tingsong placed a hand against his cheek and tapped his right index finger on the campus ID card.


    This was really beyond his expectations. He hadn¡¯t expected that Fang Juexia would actually make an extra trip for him. Plainly, during the livestream last night, he had felt that this person¡¯s shell had softened a little, but after one night, it seemed that he had recovered that ice cold appearance of his.


    But then again, why didn¡¯t he just directly send him a WeChat message?


    Only then did Pei Tingsong remember that he did not even have the contact information of this person, and not a single way to contact him at all.


    After he had returned to the dormitory, He Ziyan¡¯s phone rang.


    [Xiao Pei: Yan Ge, send me Fang Juexia¡¯s WeChat ba.]


    Pei Tingsong held his cellphone. He had been listening to the professor attentively all along, but now he seemed to be unable to concentrate at this moment. He waited a long time before receiving He Ziyan¡¯s reply.


    [Ziyan Ge: What? Are you guys doing fanservice?]


    [Ziyan Ge: Kaleido groupchat has him ah, silly Didi.]


    [Ziyan Ge: The one called Non-differentiable Life]


    Pei Tingsong frowned. What kind of WeChat username was that¡ªNon-differentiable Life?


    Anyway, he still clicked on Fang Juexia¡¯s WeChat and opened it. His profile picture looked strange at first, but after he enlarged it, he could see that it was an empty Sudoku array. Clearly, even though he was born with a pretty face that everyone coveted, his core was as rigid as it could be.


    Sure enough, this Fang Juexia didn¡¯t possess a single thing that they could be in harmony on.


    Although he complained about this person internally, Pei Tingsong still sent him a friend request. Midway through the class break, he was lying on the table trying to make up some sleep, since he hadn¡¯t managed to get enough the previous night. However, just as he put his arm under his head, he smelled the cold scent that had emanated from the bed yesterday, which suddenly pulled him back to his insomniac state from the previous night.


    This scent was really stubborn, just like its owner.


    Pei Tingsong suddenly raised his head, startling the boy who was sitting next to him. The other party thought that this person wanted to go out, so he was getting ready to get up so that he could let him out, but unexpectedly, Pei Tingsong reached out and pulled him back.


    ¡°Classmate, let me ask you a question.¡±


    The boy sitting at the same desk felt a little flattered. After all, this person was an idol, and was also a student who had won the highest level scholarship available for gifted students without much effort. The professor had even praised him as talented, and he was always a loner. No matter which circle it was, he didn¡¯t interact much with anyone. The boy had never thought that such a person would actually come to him to ask for advice. He cleared his throat and fully prepared himself psychologically for the unexpected examination of his knowledge and upcoming academic discussion. ¡°G-go ahead.¡±


    Who knew that this unconventional top student would suddenly stick his arm out in front of the boy¡¯s nose, his expression nearly looking superstitious as he asked, ¡°Can you smell something?¡±


    ¡°Ah?¡± The boy was confused.


    ¡°Smell it.¡± Pei Tingsong even specially rolled up his sleeves a bit.


    Although the boy didn¡¯t know why he was asking this, he still obediently sniffed, and then answered, ¡°En¡­there¡¯s something.¡±


    Sure enough, that smell was still around! Pei Tingsong then asked, ¡°Does it smell good?¡±


    The boy didn¡¯t know what kind of answer he wanted to hear, so he could only state the facts, ¡°Smells good ya¡­¡±


    ¡°What smells good?!¡± Pei Tingsong suddenly flared up. He pulled his arm back and smelled it again. He then said to himself, ¡°Where does it smell good? Why does it smell good now?¡±


    His male classmate was utterly baffled, and was still pondering on what exactly had happened, when the other party again extended his arm out and ordered, ¡°You smell it again.¡±


    This time, he must know the right answer ba.


    He pretended to be very serious, and after smelling it again, he went against his conscience and said, ¡°En, it doesn¡¯t smell good, it smells very bad.¡±


    Who knew that Pei Tingsong would retrieve his hand again and frown. ¡°Who are you saying doesn¡¯t smell good?¡±


    The boy: ???


    He was completely stupefied as he watched Pei Tingsong sniff repeatedly at his collar and arms, continuously muttering to himself. He really didn¡¯t know what to make of it. The bell rang, signalling that class would be starting, and this poor temporary table mate of Pei Tingsong¡¯s finally achieved salvation from this mire of a dilemma.


    Sure enough, there was a wall between geniuses and ordinary human beings like them.


    It was already noon by the time Fang Juexia finished his dance practice. Only then did he discover the friend request on his WeChat.


    This person¡¯s WeChat username was Resister, and there were no further messages attached to this request.


    From the first moment that he saw the name, his intuition told Fang Juexia that this was Pei Tingsong, and a message from He Ziyan confirmed his hunch. He accepted the friend request, since after all, they were all part of the same idol group. Fang Juexia had a strict personality, so right after adding him, he changed the name it was saved under. In order to facilitate easy retrieval in the future, he used the same format for renaming as he did for everyone else in the group.


    After a while, this new friend sent him a message.


    [Kaleido Pei Tingsong: I didn¡¯t even notice that my card was missing, thx]


    This thanks was entirely Pei Tingsong¡¯s American style, but Fang Juexia didn¡¯t actually want to confirm that he was the one who had returned his card. To his surprise, Pei Tingsong seemed to have predicted this behavior of his, as just when he was about to type and deny it, he received a photo of his back profile from the other party, which had been taken from a window.


    Pei Tingsong watched as the typing prompt of the other party paused, and felt pleased. When he was leaving the classroom, there were two girls who were eating the Hot Search¡¯s melon.


    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s really sweet. What kind of immortal maneuver is a candy wrapper kiss ah!¡±


    ¡°Is this wanting me to stuff myself with dog food to have a good year? Ah, how can TingJue be so real¡­¡±


    They ate so much melon that they had unknowingly arrived right in front of the melon¡¯s root.


    His cellphone vibrated, and Pei Tingsong took it out and unlocked it, involuntarily smiling while doing so.


    [Just a pretty face: No need for thanks.]


    But when he saw the lines that popped up following this message, the smile on his face gradually solidified.


    [Just a pretty face: Take it as me paying off my debt.]


    ¡ª


    The author has something to say:


    Ship of Theseus: One of the oldest thought experiments. In the first century A.D., Plutarch asked the question: if the wood on Theseus¡¯ ship was gradually replaced until all the wood left was not the original wood, would this ship still be the original ship? Later, the ship of Theseus evolved into a classic paradox of identity. This paradox will be unfolded later on.


    Non-differentiable Life: Juexia will explain later why he came up with this name.


    Resister: Rebel


    By trying to clear up mines, my piece is getting longer and longer hhh


    Some readers who have read my other pieces should know that I am a very, very protective writer. I can¡¯t really accept the role of being scolded groundlessly, so by making the tags more specific, it¡¯s probably for the better, so as to avoid readers from entering by mistake. I also wrote clearly in the summary that Pei Tingsong is a 19-year-old boy who is rebellious and a bit arrogant. However, he is also very kind, and he was born with a golden spoon in his mouth, but he doesn¡¯t have a young master¡¯s temper. On the contrary, he dares to resist his family and pursue his own dream. If you like mature, steady, low-key, and silent gongs, Xiao Pei is obviously not that, and he can¡¯t be. So if you don¡¯t like this type, you can quit directly, but please don¡¯t curse out the character~


    I like to write developing characters, so that you can feel a sense of participation in witnessing their changes after reading the piece, so their initial personas are not perfect. This story is the same, and Xiao Pei and Juexia will influence each other and grow together during their best age.


    Innocent Zhi Chu bows (presses head) and thanks you for your tolerance~

 CH 14

    Chapter 14 ¨C Slip Of The Hand King


    Contains lots of Weibo Comments


    The power of the Hot Search was no joke.


    While Fang Juexia was having lunch in the company canteen, he received many screenshots and Weibo links from Assistant Xiao Wen. He originally didn¡¯t want to read them, but Xiao Wen sounded so excited in his messages and had wanted to share so much that Fang Juexia went ahead and clicked open the first one.


    [@I¡¯ve bumped into a real one: Kaleido¡¯s livestream was really amazing. Everyone must click open the video to watch it. There are a lot of boy bands playing the ¡®transferring the candy wrapper¡¯ game, but this time, when watching these guys play it, I blushed, my heart started pounding, and I nearly ascended into heaven! Pei Tingsong passing the candy wrapper to Fang Juexia made for too strong of a moment there. I even added a slow-mo playback at the end of the video, and the higher the quality of the video, the more amazing it looks. Kaleido is a real treasure of a boy band, so everyone should go to Station B to watch the recording. The whole thing is full of high energy!]


    This Weibo post only showed those few minutes when they were passing the candy wrapper, and the slow-mo part came just when Pei Tingsong was passing the candy wrapper to him, with special effects and background music also having been added to this part. The Weibo post was published at 10 o¡¯clock last night, and had already passed 60,000 forwards by now.


    @Neon Girl: Shit! Who doesn¡¯t want to kiss a beautiful baby? //@Flying over the top of the fandom wall: I really find Fang Juexia¡¯s face so delicious ah. All beauties have such a face 5555, but how can someone also have such a long birthmark? A birthmark as beautiful as a woman¡¯s beauty mark / @The Useless Person is Me: My wolf blood is boiling! //@I¡¯m the Emperor of Europe: The moment Pei Tingsong took off his glasses was amazing¡­. //@Who doesn¡¯t love beautiful Geges: PTS is the youngest in the group??? //@Rotten Women HQ: Holy shit, this candy wrapper doesn¡¯t exist in my eyes, that was purely a forceful kiss ah!! Pei Tingsong is too gong!


    These words were strange to Fang Juexia. He had pretty much gotten used to people saying things like¡ª ¡°The hidden rules person who was born just a pretty waste of skin¡±, ¡°stillborn C position¡±, ¡°abandoned imperial concubine,¡± or words that were even more unpleasant to hear. Upon suddenly seeing such words, his mind went a bit blank. He didn¡¯t know how to feel about it, so he just replied to Xiao Wen¡ª


    [Xiao Juexia: Wow, so many people.]


    Xiao Wen received this not very serious reply, and didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or to cry.


    [Xiao Wen: Juexia, you really know nothing about popularity.]


    Pei Tingsong, who had completed his second round of moving into the dorms, also received Xiao Wen¡¯s WeChat message, but the Internet addicted teenager had already opened his Weibo on his way back to the company long before he received those messages. Their popularity ranking was still high and trending, and for the first time, all six members of K were on the Hot Search list.


    [@Kaleido, let¡¯s get explosively popular ba: When I was lurking in the livestream last night, I was shrieking so much that my next door neighbor called the police! Here¡¯s a summary of the fluff moments for everyone: The sweater Xiao Pei was wearing was Juexia¡¯s, when they sat together, Xiao Pei even put his hand on Juexia¡¯s waist, and we don¡¯t even have to mention the candy wrapper kiss. The biggest piece of explosive news from last night is that they were locked up in the closet together for five minutes after losing that game! Isn¡¯t that awesome?! Start shipping it for me!]


    [@ Does Weibo have 1: I really didn¡¯t expect it to be so awesome before clicking into it. The moment the candy wrapper fell, I sucked in a breath, but who could have thought that he would actually save it and start kissing him¡­.]


    [@ Don¡¯t love me, there¡¯s no result: This already isn¡¯t me messing with a CP but the CP messing with me ah! Isn¡¯t it enough that I¡¯m shipping it?!]


    [@Sansan is my little baby: Fuck! This was a real kiss ah, the candy wrapper was pretty much not even there, okay! It¡¯s pretty much @ing me to ship the CP! Look at your junior company brothers!!!]


    Pei Tingsong looked at the profile picture of the above poster. Huh, it was really clever, this was a fan of their senior brother group.


    [@Is TingJue doing fanservice today: Fucking hell, Pei Tingsong, you¡¯re only 19 years old ah, how can you be so smooth!? When Gege was held down and kissed by him, my wolf blood started boiling up!]


    Pei Tingsong carefully recalled his actions from that time¡­


    Did that count as holding him down and kissing him?


    [@Just a face dog, what about it: K¡¯s face is so quiet ah lololol. I have seen them perform on stage before, and he has always had that kind of iceberg face, but how can he look so obedient and blank during this game hahahaha]


    That was true; this guy was like a different person on the stage, but after getting off the stage, he wouldn¡¯t even say a word.


    [@Did you read a book today: Big fan, I saw their answer about their fan name on another Weibo post, it was really conscientious. It didn¡¯t feel like a group just going through the motions with their fans.]


    [@Teacher Fang is as beautiful as a flower replying to @Did you read a book today: Although K is messy, it has never just gone through the motions with its fans. Everyone is very good, and their professional ability is strong and lovely.]


    [@Sweet pepper little cutie: Fuck, this kind of game, I remember that 7L has also played this game ah, and a lot of other groups have played this game as well, but the most exciting thing that happened there was just that the candy wrapper fell and two people ended up accidentally kissing. I didn¡¯t expect such a wonderful second try! PTS is really capable, what kind of alpha move is directly holding the back of Gege¡¯s neck to hold him still?? ]


    [@The world is hard: This group actually looks pretty good eh, and this is my first time seeing them, but the main face and maknae¡¯s faces are just yjjc. I just saw someone say that the maknae is alpha, but the appearance of the main face is a little like an alpha who deliberately pretends to be a cold beta. He is really super alpha when on-stage, the type that holds no one in high regard. On-stage, he¡¯s the cool, salty ace, while offstage, he¡¯s forcefully kissed into confusion by the group bully maknae¡ªit¡¯s an immortal doujinshi!]


    [@Watermelon is too much like a pig replying to @The world is hard: I think Fang Juexia is an omega pretending to be a beta! He looks like an iceberg beauty but he is actually a clever, gentle, and beautiful baby!]


    [@Empty Nest Girl replying to @ Watermelon is too much like a pig: You guys are actually discussing ABO designations so seriously hahahaha. If it¡¯s like this, I¡¯m standing for alpha-beta; I think Fang Juexia is a beta with very weak pheromones!]


    What are pheromones? Wasn¡¯t Omega a popular watch brand?


    Everyone¡¯s discussion gradually began to enter the blind areas of Pei Tingsong¡¯s knowledge.


    [@ Happy fat house little darlings: This candy wrapper kiss must be poisonous, I can¡¯t get out¡­.]


    [@Six men¡¯s cross talk group: In fact, K¡¯s appearance and strength are all especially strong. From writing lyrics to music composition to choreography, these are all pretty much arranged by the members of the group themselves. Everyone can go find out~  Xiao Pei¡¯s rapping ability is basically at the level of an underground rapper, and I¡¯m willing to declare he could beat up the rap parts of other boy bands. Although Juexia is the main dancer, his vocals are also extremely excellent, and he is a complete voice rogue! The other members also have their own special characteristics, you absolutely won¡¯t go faceblind! Everybody go seeeeee our little K ba! Becoming part of our little K is a win-win situation!]


    Although Pei Tingsong had always insisted that he didn¡¯t regard being an idol as a career, and that sooner or later he would leave Kaleido to become a serious hip-hop artist, when he saw these fans conscientiously introducing their good points to others, his heart was still moved by it. After entering the company¡¯s building, he was just about to get out of the elevator when his cellphone vibrated. It was a screenshot of a chat log Xiao Wen had with Juexia, which he had sent to Pei Tingsong.


    [Xiao Wen: I¡¯m here to supervise your fanservice! Juexia is slacking off a bit here, so President Pei, you have to start fighting for it!]


    [Little Tyrant: Nope.]


    After playing it cool with Xiao Wen, Pei Tingsong couldn¡¯t help opening the screenshot of the chat log he had just received.


    ¡°What tone is this ah,¡± He unconsciously took on Fang Juexia¡¯s voice as he complained, ¡°Wow, so many people¡­ What kind of perfunctory words are these? How can you look down on forming a CP with me?¡±


    Pei Tingsong had always been a person who, if instructed by others to go East, would plant himself in the West. Fang Juexia was a thorn in his side; there was no harm caused by seeing this perfunctory reply of his, but it just stuck in his heart and made him unhappy.


    As he walked to the practice room, he opened up his chat with Fang Juexia and edited his message to him¡ª


    [Kaleido Pei Tingsong: The company wants us to do Weibo fanservice.]


    Fang Juexia actually replied back very fast this time, which made Pei Tingsong feel more relaxed.


    But as soon as he opened it¡ª


    [Just a pretty face: Really? I didn¡¯t get a notice.]


    Notice??? His mood took a sharp turn.


    Pei Tingsong held his cellphone with both hands, lowered his head, and started replying back in an angry manner, not bothering to look forward anymore.


    He originally wanted to write¡ª [Are you suggesting the company write out a script for you to follow step by step?]¡ª but he kept feeling like something was off about this response, so he deleted it word by word.


    I am the notice¡ª Pei Tingsong nodded in his heart. Yes, acting like a cool guy was more consistent with his style.


    While typing these words quickly, the absent-minded Pei Tingsong accidentally bumped into someone. He reflexively said sorry, but then when he looked up, as luck would have it, he saw that he had just bumped into that heartless Fang Juexia. The other party was wearing a thin white shirt while holding his coat in his hand, and his cheeks were red. One look and it was obvious that he had just come out of the practice room again.


    Under the dual pressures of bumping into him and his own shock at this encounter, Pei Tingsong clicked on send and sent the message without even knowing about it. Meanwhile, Fang Juexia¡¯s cellphone vibrated at that very moment.


    Fang Juexia saw that Pei Tingsong¡¯s eyes were on guard and contained some doubts, so he simply replied, ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± He lowered his head and took his phone out of his pocket to unlock it. Pei Tingsong went around him and was prepared to leave when another person appeared at the end of the corridor and called out to him. It was Cheng Qiang.


    ¡°Hey, perfect, you two are here. I have something to tell you guys.¡±


    Pei Tingsong frowned, and while pulling the zipper of his coat up and down, asked, ¡°What is it now?¡±


    Cheng Qiang shrugged and replied, ¡°Remember the inside pages of the magazine Juexia was supposed to do, but someone else stole from us? This time, you guys have been invited to shoot a two person cover. They say it¡¯s an upgrade, and it also makes up for the missed cooperation opportunities from before.¡±


    Pei Tingsong straightforwardly rolled his eyes. Although he didn¡¯t get along with Fang Juexia, following this kind of behavior of going where the wind was blowing was really disgusting. ¡°They really can talk, back when they pushed Fang Juexia out, they weren¡¯t this nice. I¡¯m not doing it.¡±


    ¡°Hey, they have taken the initiative to upgrade us to the cover. What¡¯s funny is that the group that stole the original job from us is very dissatisfied with the invite for the cover shoot that we¡¯ve gotten, and so, they are all clamoring to withdraw from the photoshoot for the inner pages. Who knew that the people on the magazine¡¯s side would actually agree, saying, ¡®You guys can quit ba.¡¯ Is that funny or what, guys. This circle is just so cruel; only those who are popular have the right to speak.¡±


    Pei Tingsong hissed, but when he turned his head, he realized that Fang Juexia wasn¡¯t really paying attention to this matter that was directly related to him. It really was the situation where the emperor wasn¡¯t anxious, but his eunuchs were anxious. As Fang Juexia put away his cellphone, his expression was a little strange, and he even raised his head to stare at him.


    ¡°What are you looking at?¡± Pei Tingsong pretended to be fierce.


    Fang Juexia looked hesitant and embarrassed as he asked, ¡°What you said¡­is it true?¡±


    ¡°What is true?¡± He didn¡¯t understand what Fang Juexia was talking about. He frowned and said, ¡°I¡¯m not some lame liar.¡±


    Fang Juexia blinked two times slowly, then let out a dull ¡°oh¡±, and said, ¡°Then that¡¯s very good.¡± After he said that, he was called away by Cheng Qiang, who said that the composer was coming.


    Pei Tingsong went to his own small rap writing practice room, took off his coat, and put it aside. Then he took out his cellphone, planning to open up his audio memos. However, as soon as he sat down, he thought back to Fang Juexia¡¯s reaction just now. The more he thought about it, the stranger Fang Juexia¡¯s expression and eyes seemed to him, but he couldn¡¯t pinpoint why they were strange to him.


    Finally, half an hour later, Pei Tingsong opened up his WeChat chat box with Fang Juexia again, and then saw the message he had sent, in distinct, bright words¡ª


    [I am the gay.]

 CH 15

    Chapter 15 ¨C Scene Of The Gala


    What if Fang Juexia was gay?


    Xiao Pei held his cellphone and let out a string of ¡°fucks¡±, and as he panicked, he ended up kicking his shin against the table. It hurt so bad that it made him feel as though he was going to die. He quickly bent over and clutched his leg, unable to even let a cry out.


    Coincidentally, the door of the small practice room was suddenly opened at this time. Ling Yi appeared, carrying a bag of oversized yam slices, and was followed by a camera. Ling Yi didn¡¯t even glance at him and said, ¡°Xiao Pei, Huohuo said to ask if you have any lyrics written on hand to discuss¡­¡± He saw Pei Tingsong sitting with his large stature all huddled up on his chair and asked curiously, ¡°What are you doing? Doing yoga on the chair ah?¡± Then he went over and offered, ¡°Do you want to eat yam slices?¡±


    When Pei Tingsong raised his head, Ling Yi looked at him and was startled. ¡°Oh, why are you shedding tears, if you didn¡¯t write lyrics, then you didn¡¯t write them bei, what are you crying for ya?¡±


    Pei Tingsong gnashed his teeth and said, ¡°I hit my leg¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh it¡¯s like that ah, silly.¡± Ling Yi laughingly patted him on the back. ¡°It¡¯s fine as long as you didn¡¯t break it, or else it would affect our comeback~¡±


    ¡°You have the heart and lungs of a dog.¡±


    Ling Yi grinned. ¡°Yes ah, you are a Siberian wolf, while I am an adorably cute Chihuahua.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re pretty good.¡± Pei Tingsong finally managed to knead his leg a few times before placing it down slowly. Ling Yi then led him to He Ziyan¡¯s workshop, after saying that the composer had also arrived.


    Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t expect that as soon as he entered the workshop, he would catch sight of Fang Juexia, with whom he had just parted ways not too long ago, as he sat next to He Ziyan. They seemed to have been discussing something, and when they heard someone coming into the room, they naturally raised their heads. However, as soon as he saw that it was Pei Tingsong, Fang Juexia lowered his head again.


    This unnatural behavior reminded Pei Tingsong¡ªhe still hadn¡¯t cleared up that misunderstanding with Fang Juexia.


    Pei Tingsong coughed twice and walked over, then called out, ¡°Um, Juexia Ge¡­¡±


    ¡°Ah?¡± Ling Yi¡¯s ears were miraculously sharp, and he disrupted the conversation mercilessly by asking, ¡°How come the words coming from our youngest son today are so sweet, calling someone Ge?¡±


    He Ziyan also followed along in interrupting, ¡°Could it be that something of our Xiao Pei¡¯s has landed in Juexia¡¯s hands?¡±


    Fang Juexia guessed that Pei Tingsong wanted him to hide the fact that he had come out to him on WeChat today. It seemed that everyone didn¡¯t know about this. Although he didn¡¯t understand why Pei Tingsong would suddenly tell him such a private matter, when he thought about it carefully, he understood that since Pei Tingsong had grown up in a foreign country, he was used to being free and open, and it was very normal for him to have awakened to his true self early on.


    Since this logic seemed to be consistent, Fang Juexia also succeeded in persuading himself about it.


    Since Pei Tingsong hadn¡¯t told any of the others about this, it would be better if he came up a lie for him and changed the subject. With such a kind thought in mind, Fang Juexia said, ¡°He¡¯s actually¡­¡±


    Just after he said those few words, his mouth was suddenly covered. The perpetrator was Pei Tingsong, who was now standing behind him.


    ¡°Actually what?¡± Pei Tingsong forced himself to smile as he stated, ¡°I am a Didi, and Didis should call their seniors Gege.¡±


    He Ziyan laughed and agreed, ¡°Well founded, completely unable to refute.¡±


    Ling Yi felt that something was strange and wanted to stretch out his paws to push Pei Tingsong¡¯s hands aside, but his hands were covering Fang Juexia¡¯s mouth quite tightly, and did not let go even a bit.


    ¡°Do you guys share some small secret you haven¡¯t told us?¡± Ling Yi¡¯s face was full of suspicion. ¡°The post-production little Jiejie remembered to give me a complete set of Detective Conan manga ah. There is only one truth¡­¡±


    ¡°There is only one,¡± Pei Tingsong barreled in to interrupt, ¡°It¡¯s that we have a little secret we don¡¯t want to tell you. Don¡¯t try to pry into things you don¡¯t oversee, or you¡¯ll already not be my most loved Ling Xiao Yi.¡±


    He Ziyan applauded, ¡°It rhymes, awesome.¡±


    Pei Tingsong let go, pulled up a chair, and sat in front of Fang Juexia. He raised an eyebrow at him, his warning obvious.


    I didn¡¯t want to say anything anyway. Fang Juexia thought that saying anything more at this point would be superfluous, so he just didn¡¯t say anything. His skin was very pale and delicate, and Pei Tingsong¡¯s ten fingers clasping him had left a red mark.


    ¡°Tch, tch, tch¡­¡± Ling Yi, with a sad face, went over to the camera and mimed out being a blubbery mess of snot and tears. ¡°This section must not be cut. Ling Yi is now already an abandoned wife, having been replaced by another one. Barrage, spam for me, Pei Tingsong is an unfaithful lover, and needs to give his abandoned wife some face!¡±


    Even the composer, who had been watching the whole time, couldn¡¯t help laughing as he said, ¡°It¡¯s really a waste to have Yiyi as the main singer, he should have gone to the acting department.¡±


    Fang Juexia was also amused by Ling Yi, and the corners of his mouth unconsciously curved up slightly. The icy layer on this eternally cold face broke, and emotions rippled through it¡ªseeing it made Pei Tingsong feel strange. His outstretched feet quietly kicked against Fang Juexia¡¯s, and he saw the other person return to his senses as he turned his face slightly to look at him, still not saying anything, but having just taken his smile off his face.


    ¡°Was it funny?¡± While everyone else was chatting in a lively manner, Pei Tingsong asked him this in a low voice.


    His voice was special, possessing a deep tone that didn¡¯t match his richly youthful face. It was probably because people who grew up speaking English had a stronger chest resonance. Normally speaking, in a noisy environment, bass sounds were the ones most easily covered up, but the three words Pei Tingsong had spoken fell directly into Fang Juexia¡¯s ear. He wasn¡¯t sure whether he heard him first or whether his eyes saw the irrepressible bantering smile at the corner of Pei Tingsong¡¯s mouth.


    Fang Juexia pursed his mouth and turned his head back around while wielding a cold shield of indifference. He had been calm for a long time, and had long become accustomed to feeling no waves of emotion, but would often still get flustered by Pei Tingsong.


    No one had taught him how to get along with people like Pei Tingsong.


    Jiang Miao and Lu Yuan also hurried back, after which, the whole group and the staff started the first round of demo selection. Fang Juexia¡¯s cellphone vibrated. He looked down to check it and found that it was a message from Pei Tingsong.


    [Kaleido Pei Tingsong: I mistyped that message. It was supposed to be ¡°notice¡±, not ¡°gay¡±. Sexual orientation may be the only physiological thing in my life that I have to cater to the public with.]


    At the moment he sent that message out, a thought appeared in Pei Tingsong¡¯s mind¡ª What if Fang Juexia was gay, otherwise how could such rumors exist, even if they were fake¡­


    Fang Juexia stared at the screen and then scrolled up to look at the message he had sent about a notice before. Thinking about it, this kind of mistyping logic made more sense than Pei Tingsong suddenly coming out of the closet, so he naturally accepted it. Just as he was ready to reply, a second item popped up on the chat screen.


    [Kaleido Pei Tingsong: Of course, I have no objections towards gay people. Love is love. I¡¯m just purely explaining what happened.]


    Fang Juexia¡¯s mind wasn¡¯t as delicate as Pei Tingsong¡¯s. His way of thinking was straightforward and simple, so he didn¡¯t read anything into this sentence, and since He Ziyan was talking to him again, he could only reply with a brief message.


    [Just a pretty face: Okay.]


    Okay?


    Okay???


    Pei Tingsong was getting worked up even more and more. What straight as steel man, this guy was the definition of real steel. He was completely unaware of the amount of empathy that had gone into the editing of the message for him.


    He threw his cellphone into his pocket and ignored it.


    The discussion of the new album lasted the whole afternoon. Originally, it would have been time for them to return to the dormitory for a rest, but the temporarily assigned evening livestream show had disrupted their schedule, and having a live stage to perform on was very rare, so they all desperately practiced until 3 in the morning.


    Ever since Pei Tingsong and Fang Juexia had appeared on the Hot Search, the online discussion about Kaleido had become polarized. Besides their fans, those who had been sucked in or passersby who didn¡¯t care, everyone else still looked down on them, cursing them out as selling rot, and cursing them out as not having any real ability and just selling hype, along with hating them and wishing that they could trample this group, that had just become a bit more popular, under their feet.


    This was all very normal. Fang Juexia was especially clear-headed about that.


    They were a boy band. Their strength on the stage would be the thing that could make all these people settle down, not their popularity.


    They practiced non-stop for two days in a row. Besides their debut at the end of the year award ceremony, this occasion would count as Kaleido¡¯s second large-scale gala since their debut. CloudTV was the largest video website platform in China. Everyone took this job very seriously, even though they were just the backup option.


    It was only on the 29th day of the New Year, that is, the day of the formal performance, that they found out that the stylists they had always been complaining about weren¡¯t there anymore, and that the company had specially switched in a new stylist team for them.


    The stage makeup for Fang Juexia also changed now. In the past, most of his birthmark would be covered up with concealer, but the new makeup artist used a red eye shadow, similar in colour to his birthmark, to outline his eyes and then link his birthmark to the corner of his eye. The eyeshadow was applied lightly, being only a bit heavier and more obvious at the corner of his left eye. His brown hair was curled a bit, so that his bangs fluttered down on his forehead, and when paired with the gray satin shirt he was wearing, he looked like a kind of decadent beauty.


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t have any high requirements for his style, but he thought that this time, he looked quite special. He glanced at the others through the mirror. The group leader¡¯s blow-dried, temporarily dyed blue hair was eye-catching, and He Ziyan¡¯s red hair also looked very cool. His eyes finally fell on Pei Tingsong¡¯s new style. Usually, all of Pei Tingsong¡¯s stage clothes were selected while aiming for a more youthful look, but this time, his hair had been styled by being blown clean and tidy, with his bangs framing his forehead like commas, and after adding on a pair of gold wire glasses with a narrow frame, he gave off the impression of being an ambitious professional, which suited his dark gray suit coat very well.


    ¡°You guys are now hanging on the Hot Search, and in addition to the fact that you¡¯ve attracted new fans, there must be a lot of people out there who are questioning your abilities, which is rather normal.¡± Cheng Qiang began his daily counselling speech in the dressing room. ¡°This is a rare opportunity, and with regards to your strength, Ge is at ease. As long as you perform at your normal level, you¡¯ll all be really great!¡±


    Ling Yi had, for once, gotten the stylist to give him a wolf head hairstyle, and was so happy that he almost completely ignored Cheng Qiang¡¯s words and chimed in, ¡°Ah, I like this hairstyle, it makes me five centimeters taller!¡±


    ¡°Five centimeters is still not enough ba.¡± Pei Tingsong was chewing bubblegum and blew a bubble.


    ¡°You shut up!¡±


    ¡°Strong Ge, when this is done, can we go get kebabs?¡± Lu Yuan looked up at Cheng Qiang and asked, his smoothed-out hair making him give off the impression of being clever and well-behaved, a look seldomly seen.


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s no problem. Let¡¯s give a good performance, and Qiang Ge will treat you all tonight!¡±


    Due to the sudden change in the original schedule, and the fact that Kaleido wasn¡¯t a heavyweight among the many other guests performing tonight, the fan-allotted seats that could be won by their fans were also very limited. However, the Dominoes present on the scene also tried their best to help out their idols. Each little girl carried a heavy Kaleidoscope lamp and a Klein Blue lightboard as they patiently waited for the six big boys to appear act after act during the whole performance.


    The gala hadn¡¯t pressed for any rigid requirements for the singing portion during the event, and so, many of the groups or individuals who went before them had performed by only singing live for half of their performance duration, or by lip-syncing the whole time. However, the Kaleido team had insisted that they would sing and perform their song live, with the background vocals being played so lightly that it would be as if they were literally not there.


    During the rehearsal, Fang Juexia kept feeling that things were not quite right. The earbuds provided by the organizers were not effective, and the sound coming through them was poor. Cheng Qiang, in the end, had simply taken out the six handheld mics that the company had bought at a high price.


    They knew very clearly where their own strengths lay.


    This was an occasion where they could use their strengths to clinch the outcome in their favour.


    ¡°I¡¯m so nervous, so nervous.¡± Based on the gala program¡¯s schedule, there were two other performances left before it would be their turn. Ling Yi kept trilling his vocal notes in front of the group camera they had brought along with them. ¡°I feel like I haven¡¯t sung live in a long time. What are we going to do if my voice cracks later?¡±


    Lu Yuan pinched his shoulder and said, ¡°If you crack, me and Shuishui will each take over one of your parts.¡±


    ¡°You won¡¯t be able to continue with his three high notes,¡± Jiang Miao laughed.


    He Ziyan said, ¡°He can do three bass notes instead.¡±


    ¡°Then let Juexia do it.¡± Lu Yuan winked at Juexia and said, ¡°Juexia singing those three lines will sound like water being sprinkled down la.¡±


    Everyone chatted and played games backstage as they waited, and soon, they were summoned via their earpieces. They cheered each other on and then went onto the stage.


    ¡°Let¡¯s welcome the new, popular idol group, Kaleido!¡± The two hosts welcomed them to the middle of the stage, and then announced, ¡°Welcome, welcome, this is Kaleido¡¯s first time coming to the CloudTV gala, right? Greet the audience friends on the scene ba.¡±


    The captain looked left and right, at his group members standing beside him, and said, ¡°One, two, three¡ªHello everyone!¡±


    ¡°We are Kaleido!¡± All six men neatly made a K using their hands and then bowed to the audience.


    ¡°Wow, this gesture is really cool.¡± The hostess imitated them, adding, ¡°Then Kaleido, do you want to take this opportunity to offer a New Year¡¯s greetings to the audience offstage, and to the ones on the livestream? Everyone is really looking forward to it.¡±


    ¡°Everyone, say one sentence ba.¡± Jiang Miao glanced at He Ziyan, who was standing at the leftmost side. After understanding what he was indicating at, He Ziyan picked up the microphone and greeted, ¡°Happy New Year, I wish you all to make a fortune throughout this new year.¡±


    There was a burst of laughter from the audience. No one had thought that this group would be so sincere.


    Next was Lu Yuan. ¡°Be happy and smile often.¡±


    Jiang Miao said with a smile, ¡°I hope everyone and their families can get together like this and be happy in the new year.¡±


    Ling Yi said, ¡°Those who want to stop being single, will stop being single, and those who want to stay single, will make a lot of money!¡±


    Then came Fang Juexia¡¯s turn. He thought carefully and finally offered a very plain wish, ¡°I wish everyone success in their work and progress in their studies.¡±


    In fact, he was a little curious about what Pei Tingsong would say. After all, taking just one look at his personality, anyone could tell that he had not been a child who would behave himself and give New Year¡¯s wishes to adults.


    He even seriously imagined this scene in his head.


    Looking sideways at the boy beside him, Pei Tingsong smiled and held up his microphone. ¡°I hope everyone can realize their dreams.¡±


    Fang Juexia found this sentence unexpected, but then realized that it was also reasonable.


    It really was very Pei Tingsong.


    After this brief interaction, their performance officially began. As the lights changed, the six of them quickly got into their proper positions. The original song had been edited heavily due to time restrictions and during their rehearsals, it had been adjusted to become their debut song of the same name¡ª¡°Kaleido.¡±


    It had been a long time since they had stepped onto a real stage, and so Fang Juexia took a deep breath when he grasped the microphone. His heart was beating very fast; those past few days of intensive practice had been just for this moment, and this event was too important for them, this was the deciding moment they had all been really waiting for.


    They could only succeed, not fail.


    The lights came on again, and the familiar opening notes of their song sounded on the stage.


    Not right.


    Not right.


    Fang Juexia squinted. Standing at the starting position of the two main dancers, he quickly exchanged glances with Lu Yuan who was next to him. He raised his finger and pointed to his ear, and Lu Yuan also quickly nodded.


    There was something wrong with the earpieces; they were full of background noise, almost exceeding the volume of the accompaniment that should have been transmitting through. They weren¡¯t working at all. The fans were very close to the stage, and although there weren¡¯t many people, their screams made it clear that they were very enthusiastic. They could hardly hear the background sound being played on the stage.


    Such a large open-air venue, with a teeming crowd, and there was no playback coming from the earpieces.


    His heart sank.

 CH 16

    Chapter 16 ¨C Turn The Tide


    Stop the performance?! Are you crazy, this is a national live broadcast!


    He was now the C position, and the person responsible for kicking off their performance.


    He had no other choice.


    When the stage lights came on, Fang Juexia raised his head just as the drumbeats started, and began his performance with the most perfect expression and state of mind, as if nothing had happened. He convinced himself to not panic; as long as his internal clock was accurate enough, there was nothing for him to worry about. This was a song that they had practiced countless times. The accompanying music would come to him naturally and automatically.


    ¡°Never go for survival of the fittest, the law is trapped within a grimace, the rules are up to me to prove, and the door of life will be broken through with one move.¡±


    After singing his part, Ling Yi and Jiang Miao quickly took up the song and continued to sing. Their rhythm was right, so Fang Juexia didn¡¯t know if he and Lu Yuan were the only ones having problems with the music coming through their earpieces.


    [Life is a game of adventure, with rewards and costs for conservative ventures]


    The electronic disturbance in his ear piece was growing even louder. Fang Juexia continued dancing while glancing at the back-stage and pointing to his ear piece, trying to seek help from them.


    [However cold reality may be, is how sincere towards your dreams you must be]


    Jiang Miao finished this sentence and subconsciously looked at He Ziyan, who just slightly nodded his chin. These details were quickly noticed by Fang Juexia, and he quickly understood the situation.


    At worst, all of them may be having problems with their earpieces.


    If this was a performance that was just being recorded, then they could have completely stopped the performance directly and recorded it again after the earpieces had been repaired or replaced. However, right now, they were performing a live show, in front of the entire country. Stopping the performance mid-way would be tantamount to self destruction.


    Fang Juexia, accustomed to the harshness of the Internet, was the person most clear of this fact. If they stopped now, this live broadcast would then be recorded, edited, and spread on various social networks. Even if they released a message saying that the real reason for doing so was because their earpieces were malfunctioning, with their current rising popularity, they would all be pinned with the stigma of possessing poor professional ability. Originally, not many audience members really understood the point of wearing ear-pieces on the stage anyway.


    So the group members tactically chose to continue their performance.


    Connecting the main song and the side song were a few lines in English by Pei Tingsong, which had been pre-recorded and then had been processed to sound like a loudspeaker announcement¡ª


    [Ladies and Gentlemen,


    Welcome to flight KALEIDO.


    Next station is


    Future]


    It never rains, but it pours.


    This monologue suddenly started to cut in and out, and mixed into it was the sound of interfering static. But these were the electronic sounds that went with the song¡¯s accompanying music, so was even the sound system in the venue having problems now?


    Fang Juexia was suspicious, but he continued to dance with a calm expression, with each movement being clean and neat. Although he couldn¡¯t hear the accompaniment, he still hit his mark at the right moment and moved to the very front. The chorus was going to start immediately, and after Ling Yi finished singing, it would be his part again.


    The audio system¡¯s failure became more and more obvious, and the background music kept cutting in and out, just like a broken tape, leading the audience below to start an uproar. Although Ling Yi persisted in singing, he was obviously a bit flustered. Fang Juexia could hear the hesitance in his breath.


    [Unwilling to be mediocre, the pulse of my heart has endlessly argued on setting myself apart]


    All of a sudden, anxious cursing from the director sounded out through the earpiece, but there was no accompanying music.


    ¡°Cut to the panoramic view! What is the sound department doing?! If you really can¡¯t do anything else, replace the audio!¡±


    ¡°Stop the performance ba!¡±


    ¡°Stop the performance?! Are you crazy, this is a national live broadcast!¡±


    ¡°Get the sound engineers to deal with this quickly!¡±


    He Ziyan was about to open his mouth to start his rap for Ling Yi, when suddenly, all the music completely stopped.


    The audience below, who were waving glowsticks and lamps, halted their motions in midair, and everyone started talking about the accident with the sound system. Only the accompaniment music onstage had gone silent, but even if it was so only for one second, the silence in this second was enough to destroy the countless late hours they had spent in the practice rooms.


    Just when everyone thought their group¡¯s performance was going to die here¡ª


    Fang Juexia¡¯s crystal clear voice broke through this challenge.


    ¡°The soul has been burning, scorching with desire,¡± He directly pulled his earpiece off, holding tightly onto the hand mic they had brought themselves, while still performing every dance action in his best condition, without the beats of the accompaniment, and sang ¡°And at this moment, it bursts into flames roaring.¡±


    He knew the value of a stage better than anyone else in the world.


    Even if everyone else had chosen to give up, he couldn¡¯t just let it end like this.


    The option of giving up was one that he did not have from the beginning.


    Fang Juexia¡¯s voice was steady and accurate. His pure voice, without any accompaniment, made the advantages of his timbre even clearer, and this strong pressure radiating from his sound quickly suppressed the noise and uneasiness that had spread throughout the venue. The audience burst out into loud applause and cheers, which came not only from their fans, but also from the many other fans there.


    ¡°Holy shit, he¡¯s really singing, awesome!¡±


    ¡°What a wonderful voice ah!¡±


    ¡°No wonder they¡¯re all holding mics ah.¡±


    Even so, if he was the only one who persisted in continuing on, this performance couldn¡¯t be maintained. Although Fang Juexia¡¯s face was calm, and not even the slightest flaw could be seen in his dancing and performance, internally, his anxiety had reached its peak.


    He was afraid that there would be no one behind him.


    ¡°Say hello to my ego.¡±


    While spinning around for one of the dance movements, Fang Juexia was surprised to see Pei Tingsong, who had also taken off his earpiece. He didn¡¯t expect to hear Pei Tingsong start to rap from behind him the moment his high note ended.


    With a crackle of electricity, the corners of Pei Tingsong¡¯s mouth quirked up as he looked at him.


    Fang Juexia¡¯s heart, which had been at the peak of its anxiety, was firmly caught by this bright smile. He couldn¡¯t describe what it felt like, just that it was as if he had been teetering on the edge of a dangerously deep suspension bridge when suddenly, another person had firmly grasped his hand.


    ¡ªDon¡¯t worry, I¡¯m behind you.


    His heartbeat finally settled down.


    At exactly the right time, Ling Yi¡¯s voice also appeared, and without the accompanying music, his strong singing skills were displayed at their full potential.


    The disappearance of the accompaniment track failed to stop them from performing. Whether it was the proper stage expressions they should be wearing on their faces or the intensity of their dance movements, not even the slightest bit was left to go lax. Fans close to the stage tried their utmost best to sing for them. These 60 or 70 girls worked very hard to sing with the presence of hundreds of people.


    Even if it was just for the sake of these children, they couldn¡¯t accept losing.


    [It¡¯s me who¡¯s ever-changing, unpredictable and free


    A myriad colored dream, casting this kaleidoscope]


    The sharp-as-a-knife group dance during the chorus part took place neatly and straightforwardly beneath the harmony created by the fans and the lead singers. The dance for this song contained complicated positions and a lot of changes. Although everyone¡¯s rhythm was in place, and their strength was being exerted as required, still, their movements would seem strange if there was no accompaniment. Taking advantage of the opportunity offered by the group dance to move to a position behind the rest of the group, Pei Tingsong covered the top of his microphone with his left palm, then motioned to He Ziyan who was about to start rapping, to which He Ziyan nodded in response.


    At this moment, the sound of a powerful beat appeared in the venue, which was Pei Tingsong beatboxing.


    The appearance of this sound was akin to a blast of thunder, and the venue started boiling over. The unexpected sound accident, their strong resilience, as well as their daring and courage to turn the tide¡ªall these factors undoubtedly turned this accidental live performance into a powerful adrenaline-rush like stimulant. Every heart in this venue was beating hard at this moment, fighting with this powerful improvised beat.


    Although these big boys on the stage had been nervous at the start of their performance, they had started to accept their reality and had already come to accept this imperfect stage.


    It didn¡¯t really matter. For only imperfect things could surprise you.


    With Pei Tingsong¡¯s assistance, He Ziyan also started spitting out words like a machine gun. ¡°Never concealing my ambitions, disdain in telling you my origins. No matter how high, how fly you sing, your high still can¡¯t match the beat I try.¡±


    Using the cue given by the words being rapped, Ling Yi placed his hands on his hips and let out a dramatic, ¡°What?¡±


    Everyone began to enjoy the performance on the stage, and the smooth but varied rhythm gave the performers room to display their abilities to the full.


    He Ziyan stopped Ling Yi with one hand, and with a smile on his face, continued to rap, ¡°Very sorry the road ahead is just one way, if you refuse to obey, that¡¯s not okay, right now just listen to my voice and command hey, and your heartbeat I¡¯ll hold here to stay.¡± He turned around after this, and stuck close to Jiang Miao, and then the two of them spun around in a circle to complete the exchange of their positions. He Ziyan held up his right hand and pointed to the sky. ¡°Hey baby, remember our names. This world has nothing new, it¡¯s so boring, just look around, so why don¡¯t you come see a miracle brew.¡±


    After finishing his part, he also joined in on Pei Tingsong¡¯s impromptu beatboxing, and the other four members sang the climax of the chorus. The beat was accurate and strong, with each beat perfectly in step with each movement of Kaleido¡¯s dance, and everyone in the audience was trying to quickly capture all this on camera. The effect this brought about on the stage was so good that it was far beyond the director¡¯s imagination.


    ¡°Group dance! No. 4 go for a long shot!¡±


    ¡°No. 1, pull in, grab their expressions!¡±


    [We gonna fight£¡ Fight£¡ Fight£¡


    with the face in the mirror


    Yes we¡¯ll fight£¡ Fight£¡ Fight£¡


    Never flinch, standing shoulder to shoulder]


    These words were really in line with the current situation. Originally, it was just a standard hot-blooded boyband song, but with this sound accident, the song felt more heroic and full of momentum and vitality going against the trend.


    [Fight! Fight! Fight!]


    The repeated syllables of the chorus sounded like war drums, decisive and powerful. Jiang Miao held his hands up high and led the audience into clapping with them.


    [Enjoy falling in the wild wind]


    Ling Yi¡¯s high notes remained as high as ever. He was originally already a high-performance vocalist who had strong resonance and could pull off his own mix of sounds perfectly. Even if he only had a beatboxing accompaniment, he didn¡¯t sound sloppy at all.


    [Fight! Fight! Fight!]


    Fang Juexia clenched his hand, and the two lead singers started to sing the high notes together.


    ¡°You will remember me after the storm.¡±


    Kaleido¡¯s popularity wasn¡¯t very high; most of the people sitting beneath the stage hadn¡¯t even heard of the group before. What¡¯s more, prior to their performance, the stage had just been filled with act after act of lip-synching, which had worn away at the audience¡¯s goodwill. Their performance time was close to 11 o¡¯clock, and going on-stage at that time already counted as being at a great disadvantage for the group. Then, adding on the very difficult to control large stage, the pressure of a multi-platform national live broadcast, and finally, the damaged ear pieces and loss of accompanying music.


    This was definitely the worst situation.


    This small boyband, which no one was looking forward to or even cared about, had really drawn the card for the most hellish scenario.


    However now, this audience that had been paralyzed by frustration and disappointment by the previous acts had now reaped a surprise. No one had expected that it would be under the worst circumstances that the best performance would appear. No, they had already forgotten that this was just a performance. The gala venue had turned into a live house with a warm atmosphere, with the cheers almost drowning out the voice of the fans who were diligently chanting out the response lines.


    The rhythm of the beatboxing was now controlled by He Ziyan, and it started to change. The six people changed their dance formation to match the beat, and Pei Tingsong, with one hand in his pocket, strode on his long legs up to the camera amidst the screams, before raising an eyebrow and starting in on his home turf.


    ¡°Welcome to the start of the gorgeous Kaleido, what are you afraid of, don¡¯t rush to go, from this competitive auction show, haters aren¡¯t qualified to raise their hands, yo. Baby focus on my voice, all my money rising tall.¡±


    He took off his gold glasses, placed them in his suit pocket, and temporarily changed the lyrics. ¡°I am rich, oh, I am fresh. Your little bitches love me so.¡±


    When Fang Juexia heard the word ¡®bitches¡¯, he nearly lost control over his expression, but it was only for that moment. In the past, whenever Pei Tingsong wrote lyrics, he would completely copy the style of most black artists, but the company had concerns about the songs meeting the standards of distribution, so they could only modify and delete certain words. Therefore, it was normal for Pei Tingsong to change the words temporarily when singing live. Because of this, they were often ridiculed by fans¡ªK¡¯s CDs go through a lot of processing, and the only way to test if their mics were live was by listening to Xiao Pei.


    ¡°China swag, China dope. See the sound system mess up the perfect show. The original lyrics have been thrown below, and we¡¯re singing right into the mic, do you have any woes?¡± All of them finished the kicking movement of their dance cleanly, and only Pei Tingsong pulled at the collar of his shirt from his position near the front of the stage. ¡°Fakers have all been kicked away by me. Please, when picking opponents your standards are too carefree.¡±


    ¡°Next stop is my universe,¡± Pei Tingsong opened his right arm, his aura deft and full of provocation as he continued, ¡°You have one second to escape and curse.¡±


    As soon as he turned around, he and Fang Juexia looked at each other again. To his surprise, Fang Juexia, who had started singing the following part of the song, also stretched out his hand and patted his right palm.


    This brief collision was like a handover ceremony between comrades-in-arms.


    The lead singers started in on the chorus and stirred up the crowd again, their perfect triple harmony controlling the whole audience. Just after this part of the chorus, when repeating the lyrics, they wouldn¡¯t perform that uniform knifelike dance again. Pei Tingsong walked to the very front of the stage, sweeping through it in an absolutely gangster-like manner. He led his Geges in dispersing to various places on the huge stage, and then took the audience into singing along with them, ¡°We gonna fight! Fight! Fight! Sing together!¡±


    ¡°Fight! Fight! Fight!¡±


    The venue was boiling over, and all of the audience beneath the stage joined in. Following their rhythm and constantly repeating these syllables, the atmosphere kept climbing, and the thrilling scene of the sound accident turned into a concert chorus.


    The whole scene was boiling, and tens of thousands of glowsticks were waving frantically and flashing for them, for the very first time.


    They finished their final dance under the high-pitched harmony of Ling Yi and Juexia, turning around and switching into their ending formation as they waited for their two lead singers to finish the last bar.


    Everyone thought it was about to end. But in that instant, the accompaniment track, which had been absent this entire time, buzzed and then returned to normal, playing the last few seconds of the original accompaniment.


    Completely and absolutely, the dance of all the K members was to the beat of the track, including the last lyrics that came from Fang Juexia.


    [Just born for passion]


    As he put down the microphone, he and Pei Tingsong collided and looked up side-by-side in the double C position that was the ending movement of the dance, coming to a stop at the exact moment the last drumbeat of the track ended.


    The audience was stunned at first, then burst into applause and cheers, looking like a tide surging all around them!


    This was an imperfect live feast.


    ¡°Thank you everyone!¡±


    Fang Juexia¡¯s chest heaved violently, and sweat from his forehead was about to drip into his eyes. The stage lighting dazzled his eyes. The audience chanted ¡®Kaleido¡¯ and ¡®Encore¡¯ repeatedly, with each chant growing louder than the one before, and this tide covered up his trembling breath.


    Finally, they were also like the other groups, now possessing the qualifications to have their name be called out with pride.


    Everything was like a dream.


    A complete and wonderful dream.


    ¡°Thank you! Thank you Kaleido for your wonderful performance! It was really such a shock!¡±


    Their nerves, which had been stretched taut, loosened under the control of the host¡¯s voice, and the six of them bowed deeply towards the audience, not straightening up for a long time.


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s hand tightly held Fang Juexia¡¯s hand, all ten fingers intertwined, as if they had miraculously survived something.


    It was not until they straightened up that Pei Tingsong slowly let go. He didn¡¯t know why he was so excited. This felt like a flashpoint in his life, and it was also the first time that he felt the satisfaction that an idol stage would bring. He was so excited that he wanted to embrace every teammate, including Fang Juexia.


    While his thoughts were turning and churning, Pei Tingsong heard Fang Juexia¡¯s very quietly spoken words.


    Glancing to the side, he saw that this person¡¯s face that was covered with sweat, was smiling, panting and smiling at him.


    ¡°Now I think the lyrics you wrote are really good.¡±


    You will remember me after the storm.


    ¡ª


    The author has something to say:


    [Super long warning ahead ¨C I put the full version of ¡°Kaleido¡± lyrics as words, babies who don¡¯t want to read, remember to exit oh, thank you! ]


    (Trash lyrics, very sorry, but I can¡¯t write a performance chapter without lyrics. So I can¡¯t help but come up with them by myself! )


    ¡¶Kaleido¡·


    Composition: XXX /XXX / XXX


    Lyrics: Pei Tingsong / xxx / xxx


    Singers: Kaleido


    Final productions rights: ZC


    Juexia: Never go for survival of the fittest, the law is trapped within a grimace


    Juexia:  The rules are up to me to prove, and the door of life will be broken through with one move


    Ling Yi: Life is a game of adventure, with rewards and costs for conservative ventures


    Jiang Miao: However cold reality may be, is how sincere towards your dreams you must be


    Lu Yuan: Just born for passion


    Pei Tingsong (loudspeaker sound effect)


    Ladies and gentlemen,


    Welcome to flight kaleido


    Next station is


    Future


    Ling Yi: Unwilling to be mediocre, the pulse of my heart has endlessly argued on setting myself apart


    He Ziyan: (Welcome to my dream)


    Juexia: The soul has been burning, scorching with desire, and at this moment, it bursts into flames roaring


    Pei Tingsong: (Say hello to my ego)


    Ling Yi & Juexia: It¡¯s me who¡¯s ever-changing, unpredictable and free


    Ling Yi & Juexia: A myriad colored dream, casting this kaleidoscope


    Jiang Miao: Silent for too long, lost, who is willing to show weakness all along, cowardice as a wrong


    Lu Yuan: From now on, the real me is here in this song


    Pei Tingsong: Ready?


    He Ziyan¡¯s rap:


    Never concealing my ambitions, disdain in telling you my origins.


    No matter how high, how fly you sing, your high still can¡¯t match the beat I try. (Ling Yi: What?)


    Very sorry the road ahead is just one way, if you refuse to obey, that¡¯s not okay


    Right now just listen to my voice and command hey, and your heartbeat I¡¯ll hold here to stay


    Hey baby, remember our names. This world has nothing new, it¡¯s so boring,


    Just look around, so why don¡¯t you come see a miracle brew


    He Ziyan: (We are Kaleido.)


    Whole group: We gonna fight! Fight! Fight!


    Lu Yuan: With the face in the mirror


    Whole Group: Yes we will fight! Fight! Fight!


    Jiang Miao: Never flinch, standing shoulder to shoulder


    Whole group: Fight! Fight! Fight!


    Ling Yi: Enjoy falling in the wild wind


    K: Fight! Fight! Fight!


    Juexia: You will remember me after the storm


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s rap:


    Welcome to the start of the gorgeous Kaleido, what are you afraid of, don¡¯t rush to go


    From this competitive auction show, haters aren¡¯t qualified to raise their hands, yo.


    Baby focus on my voice, all my money rising tall


    I am rich oh I am fresh


    Your little bitches love me so


    China swag, China dope.


    See the sound system mess up the perfect show.


    The original lyrics have been thrown below, and we¡¯re singing right into the mic, do you have any woes?


    Fakers have all been kicked away by me. Please, when picking opponents your standards are too carefree.


    Next stop is my universe, you have one second to escape and curse.


    Ling Yi: Unwilling to be mediocre, the pulse of my heart has endlessly argued on setting myself apart


    He Ziyan: (Welcome to my dream)


    Juexia: The soul has been burning, scorching with desire, and at this moment, it bursts into flames roaring


    Pei Tingsong: Say hello to my ego


    Ling Yi & Juexia: It¡¯s me who¡¯s ever-changing, unpredictable and free


    Ling Yi & Juexia: A myriad colored dream, casting this kaleidoscope


    Jiang Miao: Silent for too long, lost, who is willing to show weakness all along, cowardice as a wrong


    Lu Yuan: From now on, the real me is here in this song


    Pei Tingsong: Ready?


    Whole Group: We gonna fight! Fight! Fight!


    Lu Yuan: With the face in the mirror


    Whole Group: Yes we¡¯ll fight! Fight! Fight!


    Jiang Miao: Never flinch, standing shoulder to shoulder


    Whole group: Fight! Fight! Fight!


    Ling Yi: Enjoy falling in the wild wind


    K: Fight! Fight! Fight!


    Ling Yi & Juexia: You will remember me after the storm


    Juexia:  Never go for survival of the fittest, the law is trapped within a grimace


    Ling Yi:  The rules are up to me to prove, and the door of life will be broken through with one move


    Juexia: Just born for passion

 CH 17

    Chapter 17 ¨C Bouncing Up From The Bottom


    Lots of Weibo Comments, don¡¯t like don¡¯t read


    While they were on-stage, they maintained the quality and air that idols should have no matter how difficult the situation became. However, once they stepped off the stage and returned to the lounge, the six big boys all had lingering fears in their hearts, with Ling Yi even directly starting to shed tears.


    ¡°Did I sing badly?¡± He reached out in a panic and wiped his eyes. ¡°I couldn¡¯t hear what I was singing, what to do, I¡¯m really sorry everyone, I shouldn¡¯t have said anything about my voice breaking before the show.¡±


    ¡°Aiya, it¡¯s okay. You sang so well, and your voice didn¡¯t break. The wails that came out of your throat caused me to directly break out into goosebumps.¡± Lu Yuan pulled him into his arms, but then energetically rubbed his hair. ¡°Purr, purr, little kitty, there¡¯s no need to get scared silly.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t mess up my hair! It took a long time to blow dry it and style it that way! ¡± Ling Yi pushed him away, and his bitter expression just happened to get caught by the ensemble show camera. He immediately covered his face up. ¡°Don¡¯t film me, cut it out!¡±


    ¡°Cutting it, cutting it, this section has to be cut.¡± Jiang Miao was about to go up and hug him, but He Ziyan seized him instead and handed him some candy. ¡°Don¡¯t go too fast. You didn¡¯t eat before you went on-stage, and you didn¡¯t crouch or sit down after getting down, so be careful you don¡¯t feel faint later.¡±


    Pei Tingsong was originally watching the fun when he suddenly realized they were missing a person. Only after turning his head did he realize that Fang Juexia was sitting alone, right by the corner of a wall.


    He walked up, and although he was concerned, he still used a tone that made him seem completely unconcerned. ¡°Hey, there¡¯s a sofa, so why are you sitting on the ground?¡±


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t answer, his head still buried in his arms.


    Seeing him like this, Pei Tingsong wanted to pull him up, but also felt that if he did so, it would be very strange. ¡°Your ears have been defeated, right?¡± Saying that, he went to pull at Fang Juexia¡¯s arm but didn¡¯t manage to move it.


    However, at last, he heard this guy speak.


    ¡°My legs have gone soft¡­¡±


    Pfft.


    Pei Tingsong couldn¡¯t help laughing, and it got to the point where he couldn¡¯t stop. Fang Juexia was a bit dissatisfied and looked up at him as he asked, ¡°Is it that funny?¡±


    ¡°En, funny.¡± Pei Tingsong crouched down, facing his icy cold face, and replied, ¡°On the stage just now, you were so bold, leading the entire venue in charging forward. I thought you weren¡¯t afraid at all.¡±


    When smiling, he looked more childlike. ¡°So it turns out that you also have times when you panic ah.¡±


    Fang Juexia just kept staring at him, but this look of his just made Pei Tingsong feel that he was cute, and reminded him of the kind of kitty that didn¡¯t like to stick close to people.


    ¡°Alright, if you let them see this later, they¡¯ll think that I¡¯m bullying you again.¡± Pei Tingsong pulled at his arm, and propped him up, off of the ground. ¡°If your legs have gone soft, don¡¯t be arrogant, sitting on the sofa is better than being on the ground.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­ Thank you.¡± Fang Juexia sat down, his heart beat still not having returned to normal, and the remnant of a hum from the stage still in his ears. In the situation from just now, all of them had basically been walking a tightrope; any carelessness, and the entire group wouldn¡¯t have any way to make a turnaround.


    Thankfully, they gritted their teeth and got through it.


    The makeup artists came into the lounge to help remove their makeup, and they were really excited, even hating that they couldn¡¯t praise these boys up into the skies. Adding on the laptop that was playing the livestream the entire time, the whole lounge had become very lively.


    A new performance was being shown on the livestream, and it was again a lip-synching performance, with the movements of the performers¡¯ mouths not even matching up to the song. The movements of their mouths were about the same as their expressions for the performance.


    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s lip synching again.¡± A makeup artist little Jiejie took a cotton swab and went to Fang Juexia, chatting and joking, ¡°At this time, the sound actually manages to work well.¡± Fang Juexia just sat on the sofa and let the makeup artist little Jiejie take off his eye makeup without saying a word.


    Xiao Wen said, ¡°But it is pretty miserable to appear after you guys now la. Anyway, Xiao Pei, your freestyle rap just now, really, I was trembling as I heard it down there.¡±


    Pei Tingsong declined the makeup artist¡¯s help and took the cotton swab himself. ¡°What, I didn¡¯t say anything that wasn¡¯t true.¡±


    He Ziyan smiled and repeated his previously improvised lines, ¡°Your little bitches love me so~¡±


    Sitting in front of the mirror, Lu Yuan was getting carried away as he spoke up, ¡°No, no, no, the sentence that was the most awesome was, ¡®The original lyrics have been thrown below, and we¡¯re singing right into the mic, do you have any woes?¡¯ At that time, my heart shuddered and nearly missed a beat. I was worrying whether I would get frozen out because of Pei Tingsong, this little Lao Di.¡±


    Ling Yi shook his head. ¡°Xiao Pei is too shameless. Every time he writes lyrics, if they¡¯re not praising himself, then they¡¯re dissing someone else.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll diss you next time.¡±


    Jiang Miao interjected, ¡°But fortunately, Xiao Pei and He Ziyan¡¯s beatboxing was there to save us.¡±


    Fang Juexia closed his eyes and didn¡¯t participate in the discussion. Whenever someone said something, he would silently nod. Pei Tingsong was sitting in a spot not far away from him, leaning back on the sofa and wiping his face with a cotton swab, joining in on He Ziyan¡¯s jokes sometimes.


    The lounge was noisy, but it was not as noisy as when they had been on the stage. Fang Juexia¡¯s mind was currently filled with Pei Tingsong¡¯s smile, the scene of him rapping, and the indescribable presence he radiated¡ªwhich gave off the feel of a newborn calf who didn¡¯t even fear tigers. He wasn¡¯t sure whether he had fallen into the trap of his imagination of them on a suspension bridge from before, but at that moment, he had really been moved by Pei Tingsong¡¯s rap.


    As time went by, no more accidents happened, and the hosts of the live broadcast read off of the script that had been written for them.


    Fang Juexia¡¯s little internal clock was also ticking along, pretty much like before, never dragging or stumbling. The second hand moved bit by bit, ten, nine, eight, seven¡­


    ¡°Xiao Pei will treat us all later.¡±


    Pei Tingsong threw the cotton swab that he had just used on one side of his face at He Ziyan. ¡°Based on what, are you the Gege, or am I the Gege?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m the Gege, and you¡¯re the tyrant ah. Look at your pace just now, at the end of the performance, where you were acting as if you were disowning all your relatives and friends, were you taking us to head into a fight ah?¡±


    Pei Tingsong closed his eyes and laughed. ¡°Then you call me Gege, and I¡¯ll¡­.¡±


    A soft, low voice interrupted his banter.


    ¡°New Year¡¯s Eve is here.¡±


    From the laptop came the background sound of the host¡¯s announcement of the time, as well as the large-scale singing and dancing performance that started right on time at 00:00. This noisy and excited madness wanted to get into his brain, occupy his mind, and prod him into joining in the revelry.


    But right now, he could only hear one person¡¯s voice. Pei Tingsong opened his eyes, which he had closed to douse with make-up cleanser. He hazily saw Fang Juexia¡¯s fresh and clean face. His eyes were also closed, and he looked unexpectedly not ice-cold, but very warm.


    ¡°Happy birthday,¡± he said softly.


    Pei Tingsong fell into a rare daze, while still clenching the cotton swab in his hand. His mind went entirely blank, his usual glib tongue had degenerated into a state of blunt silence, and only his auditory senses felt as if they had grown more sensitive.


    He had heard Fang Juexia¡¯s words, had heard them clearly and distinctly, with the words even echoing repeatedly in his heart.


    ¡°Thank you¡­¡±


    As soon as he said it, he regretted it. He felt that he had sounded so weak and not cool at all. He had actually been so dazzled by this guy Fang Juexia that he had even dumbly just said thank you to him.


    It must have been because that terrifying performance had exhausted all of his energy.


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome. Maybe you don¡¯t celebrate your birthday according to the lunar calendar.¡±


    In fact¡­ it wasn¡¯t like he couldn¡¯t celebrate it now, after all, they were all Chinese. Pei Tingsong mumbled in his heart¡ª


    Yeah, he¡¯s Chinese, so he could celebrate his birthday according to the lunar calendar, what about it?


    Pei Tingsong said, ¡°Actually¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes ah! Xiao Pei¡¯s birthday is today!¡± Ling Yi¡¯s appearance interrupted the possibility of conveying his reply to Fang Juexia. The ability of a lead singer with a loud voice was to call all the people to his side in a flash, and thus this single birthday wish was turned into a wishing carnival by a large group of people.


    Jiang Miao glanced at the time and said, ¡°Hey, then that¡¯s just perfect. We¡¯ll go out and have some delicious food in a moment, and let¡¯s all celebrate together.¡±


    Ling Yi exclaimed, ¡°Hot pot! Hot pot!¡±


    Lu Yuan retorted, ¡°Kebabs! Kebabs!¡±


    He Ziyan raised his hand. ¡°Captain, I want to drink alcohol.¡±


    Fang Juexia, who had made this all happen, retreated and was squeezed aside as he quietly watched everyone argue. He just laughed and didn¡¯t speak any more.


    Pei Tingsong was happy, but he kept feeling as if something was stuck in his heart. It felt really uncomfortable to be forcefully interrupted before he could utter what he wanted to say. He finally understood what it was meant for someone to steal his initiative.


    At this time, Agent Cheng Qiang rushed through the door into the lounge, and exclaimed in an excited voice, ¡°You guys are on the Hot Search list again!¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Lu Yuan quickly logged into his Weibo side account and scrolled through his homepage a bit. A big-name verified entertainment account that he was following was actually forwarding the recording of their performance.


    [@Wave after wave: Did you guys see Kaleido¡¯s (thank you ppl for telling me the name) completely live singing performance?! F*ck! Too amazing! Watching it, I jumped out of bed like a carp, feeling doughty as a dragon and lively as a tiger, and dashed around like a tiger running down the mountain! They really turned a scene of an accident into a rave, quickly go watch it for me! High energy starts at the 32 second mark! However, we still have to curse out the garbage hardware of a certain platform. They had such a big venue, and yet such an accident could still occur.]


    [@Can I pass the CPA exam this year: Watched it! As soon as the lead singer wearing the grey shirt opened his mouth, I began to break out in goosebumps. The whole group singing into hand-held mics was really awesome, did these six all debut as vocals?]


    [@Little smart guy is me: Two days ago, when they were crazily climbing the Hot Search, I actually thought they were just selling rotten fanservice and was a little disgusted. I didn¡¯t expect my reversal to come so quickly. PS: CloudTV is as garbage as ever ah]


    [@woxiaole: Selling rot is pretty good, but this level of performance already reaches the ceiling of an idol group¡¯s professional ability. After all, some idols find it even hard just to match up the shape of their mouth with lip synching.]


    [@My precious is so Sue: Even me, a person who never pays attention to boybands, by the time I finished watching it, I felt on fire, really wanting to dance! That plgg with the red at the corner of his eyes is really powerful, his reaction time is amazing!]


    [@Taking 8 days off a week: Before, I didn¡¯t find that this obscure group (fans don¡¯t hit me) was very strong. I just saw that the two faces of the group formed a CP to get on the Hot Search, and I thought they were an empty flower vase, but they turned out to actually be aces. The second when they took off their ear pieces, they looked so hot, I was about to fall over. The rappers are also very strong, and this is the first time I¡¯ve seen such good flow in a boyband. The whole group performed without earpieces, and their rhythm, intonation, and expressiveness weren¡¯t affected. What¡¯s more, was the last fading echoes of background sound there just to magnify their awesomeness XD? Perfectly on point, and even if you¡¯re not a fan, you should praise them, they really brought light to their obscure group.]


    [@Inherit my Huabei: You don¡¯t say, but they may not be an obscure group after this. Take a look at how many threads this has spawned ba, and they¡¯ve exploded on the Hot Search list. Conspiracy theory wave, this accident couldn¡¯t have been created to make sure things couldn¡¯t result in a scandal ba.]


    [@ Smile and don¡¯t talk replying to @Inherit my Huabei: This ¡°created accident¡± is too miserable, not even preventing trouble but causing more popularity hahahah. PS: I fell in love with the main dancer Gege with the slicked back hair, his explosive and controlled moves were so strong! And the Gege with the blue hair, when he smiles, his eyes droop down, and it¡¯s too sweet!]


    [@Hugging close my little obscure K: This fan feels ashamed, can¡¯t praise as well as some passersby, can only silently like their statements.]


    [@LOLLOLlollol: No one mentioned that rapper with the glasses? Holy shit, when he was acting so gangster in front of the camera, he killed me! His beatboxing was infused with soul.]


    [@Pinot Tree Supreme needs to grow well replying to @LOLLOLlollol: I¡¯m here, I¡¯m here. Letting you understand our 19-year-old suit-wearing, gangster-like wolf pup Pei Tingsong¡ªhe¡¯s the youngest member of the group, and the lyrics of this song were also written by him! What¡¯s more, his lines changed when he was rapping during the performance, the original version is more harmonious hh]


    [@LOLLOLlollol replying to @Pinot Tree Supreme needs to grow well: The youngest??? WTF, I thought he was the oldest. I was just saying how his words seemed to be satirizing the situation with the mics at the gala tonight. Shit, he can still freestyle under these circumstances, respect¡­]


    [@Did the little artist post a selfie today: Wasn¡¯t there a group before who had mocked this group as being bargain-bin artists just shoved together, but now it seems that¡¯s not the case oh. All the ones carried out seem to be beautiful, strong, pitiful characters.]


    Later, CloudTV¡¯s official Weibo released the live video of Kaleido¡¯s performance. Very quickly, the video became the first real hard core program to make it¡¯s way out of the entertainment circle that night, under the numerous forwards it was given by many big verified accounts. Kaleido once again appeared on the Hot Search list, becoming truly worthy of being called a Hot Search group. Station B¡¯s video editors matched their live performance that didn¡¯t have any accompanying music, with the original CD accompaniment music for comparison, and the comparison video also appeared on the homepage of the video website.


    Overnight, the follower count on all six of their Weibos doubled and skyrocketed. The most exaggerated accounts belonged to Fang Juexia and Pei Tingsong, who were quickly becoming the favorite of the fan circle. However, these heartless boys didn¡¯t pay any attention to that at all. They forced their family¡¯s youngest to celebrate his birthday, eating and drinking, and then staying at a KTV all night, only returning to their dormitories in the early hours of the morning. Relying on the fact that their schedules were temporarily empty, they all went to sleep the entire day away.


    They don¡¯t know how much of an online tsunami that performance of theirs had caused.


    The CloudTV network program group was cursed out by people online until they had no choice but to put out an apology statement for the previous stage accident. The next day, #Star Chart Scout#  and #Kaleido member experience# appeared on the Hot Search list. Various marketing accounts appeared on the Hot Search list by picking out and publishing their photos and videos from their debut, and by sharing the clips of Lu Yuan and Ling Yi participating in their competitions, the video of He Ziyan performing at bars, and even Jiang Miao¡¯s guzheng livestreams. Of course, they didn¡¯t miss the news articles of Fang Juexia being selected as his department idol when he was in university, or early posts by a certain official in his old company who had designated him as a treasure that absolutely had to make an official debut.


    The only mystery was Pei Tingsong, with any explosive headlines about him being deleted in a second. There was also a blogger claiming to be an informed person, who sent an image of an attendance register from a famous American school, and Pei Tingsong¡¯s name was circled in red in it. He vividly described his family background and his legendary childhood of when he had dropped out of school without permission, and had then gotten beaten up and sent to the hospital by his dad because he was mixing in the underground rap scene without his permission, and then had run away from the hospital. However, this post was also quickly deleted, with this person¡¯s Weibo ID even being completely suspended.


    The power of gossip was infinite. Netizens were more curious about such a combination of mysteries. It seemed that every person in this group had quite a story, which had taken the form for many different styles of ¡°protagonist¡± scripts.


    This group of six beautiful, strong, and pitiful people was completely worthy of its name.

 CH 18

    Chapter 18 ¨C Injustice Provokes An Outcry


    It seems as if he really isn¡¯t gay.


    Inevitably, once they became the center of everyone¡¯s discussion, rumors about their group spread rampantly again, especially those about Fang Juexia, who had a stormy and bloody past. The only difference was that compared to before, he now had more fans who were counterattacking the antis, and received more support from the netizens. For the first time, the number of clarification Weibo posts and popular forum posts was more than the rumor posts. Many of the more extreme antis opined that he was purposefully making himself look pitiful just so that he would have more fans defending him.


    In reality, Fang Juexia, who was at the center of this whirlpool, had no emotions to spare or time to pay attention to these matters. After the livestream of the accident and their performance, Kaleido¡¯s commercial activities increased rapidly, with big brand companies and major program groups throwing olive branches at them one after another. They had a lot more to do than pay attention to online public opinion.


    The other members had their own personal schedules, and Fang Juexia¡¯s latest upcoming job was a two-person photoshoot for the cover of a magazine with Pei Tingsong. This cover could count as being his first job in the fashion industry, and moreover, it was also for one of the five major fashion magazines. If the effect was good, it would unlock a whole new circle for them. If the effect wasn¡¯t good, then their plane would have crashed upon takeoff.


    At 5:30 in the morning, Cheng Qiang came to the dormitory to wake up Fang Juexia and Pei Tingsong, so as to get them ready for the photoshoot for the magazine. The weather was getting colder and colder, and it had snowed heavily the previous night.


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s bad mood at having to get up early was serious, and even after they reached the dressing room, where they had to choose outfits, he was still making a face, not caring the slightest about even pretending to put on the image of being a kindhearted and dedicated idol. Like an overworked demon in hell who was assigned to push others¡ª this was the novel simile that Fang Juexia¡¯s brain came up with after looking at him.


    ¡°Morning~¡± The door was pushed open, and a tall, strong man in a fluorescent colored down jacket entered the room, after which his rough voice pinched sharply up as he greeted, ¡°Hi~ I¡¯m today¡¯s modeling director, you guys can call me Andy.¡± His fingernails were very long, with glitter and small gems on them. Fang Juexia politely smiled at him and greeted, ¡°Hello.¡±


    ¡°Do you have no makeup on, darling?!¡± Andy talked in a very exaggerated way, exactly like an actress in a musical. He suddenly drew closer, which made Fang Juexia unconsciously lean back. ¡°Wow, you have the palest and most beautiful skin of all the male artists I¡¯ve worked with. Many artists like to say that they¡¯re naturally pale, but in fact, they usually lay on three layers of makeup in private.¡± Saying this, he suddenly saw the birthmark at the corner of Fang Juexia¡¯s eye and reached out to rub it. ¡°Eh, I¡¯ve been surprised this whole time oh, this mark on your face¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be curious, really.¡± Pei Tingsong grabbed his hand and pulled it away from Fang Juexia¡¯s face. Pei Tingsong had a fake smile on his face as he said, ¡°Andy Ge, shouldn¡¯t you go find clothes for us?¡±


    Andy saw Pei Tingsong, and his expression suddenly turned a little shy. He went along to lightly pat Pei Tingsong¡¯s sleeve as he said, ¡°Aiya, yes, yes, yes, going to find clothes. Tingsong is so tall, he should have been a model.¡± Pei Tingsong was rarely called that, and so he directly broke out in goosebumps and let go of the other person¡¯s hand. Andy took off his coat and revealed the slightly slim-fitted black T-shirt he was wearing. He reached out to fan himself. ¡°Coco, take out the design plan for the photoshoot.¡±


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t have a good or bad feeling about Andy. When they were just an obscure group, he had gotten used to the contempt of the staff. In fact, there had been many times where his face after getting made up looked worse than when he didn¡¯t have any make-up on. Idols were different from other artists, they relied a lot on their stylists, and thus, the status of stylists in this small circle was not low. This Andy was famous, but he didn¡¯t put on any airs, which already counted as very good. He glanced at Pei Tingsong and felt that his reaction was actually much more obvious.


    It seems as if he really isn¡¯t gay¡ªFang Juexia thought.


    Coco, the modeling assistant who distributed the materials, was a girl who talked very fast. ¡°It¡¯ll be spring soon, so the magazine has decided on a ¡®colorful spring day¡¯ concept. Because the studio picked a greenhouse for the shooting location, we will also do some styling with natural scenery, such as with flowers and plants.¡±


    At this time, Xiao Zhou, the assistant photographer who was responsible for communicating with the modeling department, also entered. He discussed some things with Andy for a bit and confirmed on the style of makeup again.


    Fang Juexia opened up their plans, and inside the file were some abstract design drafts and color combination schemes. It did look good, but he possessed a good memory. He remembered that the star-making role of the actor who had previously cut him out of this job had been a florist, and this design plan seemed to be tailor-made for him.


    He flipped forward some more pages, and sure enough, both the concept and the overall style were born out of the theme ¡°florist¡±. From the text of the concept, the parts regarding ¡°spring¡± looked like they had been added on later, making it all feel as if this design plan had been done in a very impromptu manner.


    However, Fang Juexia knew that he could not ask too much based on his qualifications. If this was a job on the stage, he would definitely not permit even a speck of dust to enter his eye, and even if there was a slight flaw in the headset, he wouldn¡¯t accept it. But he already wasn¡¯t that enthusiastic about jobs aside from work on the stage, so he naturally wouldn¡¯t put up a fight about this matter.


    The assistant photographer also cooperated. ¡°Yes, the magazine also feels that both of these people fall in line with the concept of spring in terms of image and temperament. The style of young people in florals has been enduring, and recently, the popularity of these two has also been very high, so we would like the two of them to get similar makeup, so as to give the idea of them being twins.¡±


    It seemed that in their desire to make the whole design easier for themselves, they had just fitted this leftover florist-themed design on the two of them. Fang Juexia closed the planning book, vaguely worried about whether this kind of floral concept makeup would make him look feminine or vulgar.


    ¡°So we will highlight the similarities between the two with their makeup¡­.¡±


    ¡°Excuse me.¡± The assistant was interrupted.


    Fang Juexia looked back and saw Pei Tingsong slowly raising his hand. ¡°Can I join in on this discussion?¡±


    Artists from idol groups interfering with photoshoots was a regular occurance, and they¡¯d come across many rude requests, so surprise only flashed for a moment on the assistant photographer¡¯s face before he said, ¡°Of course.¡±


    However, Fang Juexia understood Pei Tingsong¡¯s personality, and was sure that this person was definitely not going to do something as simple as just joining in on the discussion. From the start just now, his expression hadn¡¯t looked very good.


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll say it directly, this design is very good.¡± Pei Tingsong sat on the sofa, raised his head, and smiled before he continued, ¡°But it¡¯s not suitable for Juexia Ge at all.¡±


    Fang Juexia was a little stunned.


    ¡°Also, I don¡¯t look like him at all. The concept of twins will be very difficult to apply to us.¡±


    The words didn¡¯t count as being the slightest bit euphemistic, and everyone in the room now carried a different expression. Even Cheng Qiang, who had been checking the questions for the interview the whole time, felt the embarrassment that now floated in the atmosphere. He looked up at everyone and immediately laughed while excusing, ¡°That¡¯s just what our Xiao Pei is like. Having grown up abroad, he says whatever he thinks; everyone can just listen to him speak, but you don¡¯t have to take his advice.¡±


    Coincidentally, the door was pushed open at that moment, and this time it was the tardy photographer Lin Mo who entered. His position in the circle was extraordinary, and what he was best at was excavating and magnifying anyone¡¯s most brilliant features. No matter how generic a model looked, the picture he would shoot of them would be absolutely beautiful.


    The only trouble was that this photographer was eccentric, difficult to work with, and worked only on projects that attracted his attention. The magazine managing to invite him this time was purely due to luck; because of a scheduling problem, a famous foreign actor had canceled their photoshoot, and only then could they take advantage of this vacancy in Lin Mo¡¯s shooting schedule.


    ¡°Xiao Zhou? Are the lights ready?¡± His tone didn¡¯t sound very nice, and he took a general look at the situation in the room before asking, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    Assistant Xiao Zhou laughed twice and replied, ¡°Oh, there¡¯s no problem, there¡¯s no problem, I¡¯m going to find the lighting technician.¡±


    ¡°There is a problem.¡± Pei Tingsong looked at Lin Mo, and his tone was neither humble nor overbearing as he stated, ¡°Mr. Lin, I just looked through your assistant¡¯s design book. To be honest, it doesn¡¯t look like your style.¡±


    For Lin Mo, this job was just a job to fill the hole in his schedule. When his assistant had offered to plan it, he had agreed. On the other hand, he was biased against the profession of idols.


    In his opinion, beautiful faces often had no story to tell, and the photos that he took of them couldn¡¯t speak and possessed no soul. Moreover, the main requirement of these beautiful faces was often ¡°please make me look more beautiful¡±, which made Lin Mo unable to realize the true value of his work when shooting them.


    From the start, this was the attitude with which he had regarded these two boyband members who had become very popular recently. When he heard Pei Tingsong being critical of the design, this view of his solidified further. Lin Mo laughed and looked at Fang Juexia, who hadn¡¯t reacted at all. ¡°Do you also think so?¡±


    Just by glancing at him, he could feel that Fang Juexia was more like an exquisitely made, flawless doll, rather than a human being.


    Fang Juexia had always been weak in expressing himself.


    Yet somehow, he had a kind of subtle tacit understanding with Pei Tingsong. For example, just now, when Pei Tingsong had interrupted the assistant, he had immediately understood what Pei Tingsong had meant by ¡°not suitable.¡± Originally, he had wanted to compromise, just like how he had done many times before, because he felt that these matters were not important, and that they could all just go through the motions together.


    However, it was obvious that Pei Tingsong would just not stand down on this matter, and so he had to stand up and lift aside the white curtain here.


    As a bandmate who had debuted together with him, Fang Juexia didn¡¯t like this kind of solitary courage. So he chose to express himself this time, and even Cheng Qiang was surprised at this.


    ¡°When Xiao Pei said it wasn¡¯t suitable, he wasn¡¯t negating the entire design; it is very good in itself and very suitable for Pei Tingsong.¡± Fang Juexia kept up a polite smile as he explained, ¡°It¡¯s just that¡­ If we simply try to combine the two of us in line with recent network trends, that may not be the best solution. We are very different.¡±


    Lin Mo nodded thoughtfully, glancing a few times back and forth between these two boyband members that he wasn¡¯t familiar with, and then took a design book from the table, flipping it open to look at it.


    ¡°As soon as I got the design, I knew that it wasn¡¯t your work,¡± Pei Tingsong directly laid it bare. ¡°After all, you¡¯re the photographer who dislikes assembly line photos the most.¡±


    Hearing this, Cheng Qiang¡¯s heart was completely on edge; such a statement was directly equivalent to Pei Tingsong slapping the face of Lin Mo¡¯s studio. He wanted to speak, but Fang Juexia, who was standing beside him, gently pulled at his arm to stop his movement.


    Lin Mo paused in flipping through the book. He raised his head, squinted at Pei Tingsong, then stood up and walked towards him step by step.


    For a while, the atmosphere in the room dropped to below freezing, and even Andy, a worldly-wise person, didn¡¯t dare take a breath.


    Only once he walked and stood in front of Pei Tingsong did Lin Mo finally open his mouth and comment, ¡°You¡¯re quite capable ah.¡±


    Fang Juexia silently breathed a sigh of relief.


    ¡°Xiao Zhou,¡± Lin Mo turned around. ¡°You came up with such a perfunctory design for me, so did you think I also regarded this job as just something to go through the motions with?¡±


    These words were very artful, not only separating the matter of this design from himself, but also expressing his attitude towards his work.


    Xiao Zhou mumbled in agreement. The boss was bad-tempered and cursed him out almost every day. He counted it lucky that he had just been reprimanded and not cursed out today. What¡¯s more, he really had been lazy. Knowing that that leftover design plan was still around, he had just gone to discuss it with the modeling team and had then changed it a bit to reuse it.


    Lin Mo drew closer to Pei Tingsong, and in a volume that only the two of them could hear, asked, ¡°If you were photographed using this design, you would still be brilliant, so why did you stick your head out like that?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this a two-person shoot?¡± Pei Tingsong raised his eyebrows.


    Lin Mo nodded with a smile. ¡°Sure enough, you¡¯re just the way your Jie said you were.¡±


    Pei Tingsong smiled and replied, ¡°She definitely didn¡¯t say anything good.¡±


    Lin Mo turned around and said, ¡°Xiao Zhou, change the design right now. We will keep the spring concept only for Pei Tingsong¡¯s shoot.¡± Xiao Zhou exclaimed in a hurry and flipped open his laptop. He saw the boss walk to a stop in front of Fang Juexia and look at him. He spoke slowly, ¡°Just¡­. We won¡¯t do spring for you. Fang Juexia¡¯s features are too delicate, and being surrounded by masses of flowers will look too vulgar on him, while making any of his distinguishing features disappear.¡± Then he asked, ¡°What ideas do you have?¡±


    Fang Juexia had remained so silent all this while that he didn¡¯t seem like an artist, and he didn¡¯t seem to show much emotional fluctuation upon hearing the question.


    ¡°Winter.¡±


    Lin Mo¡¯s eyes flashed with surprise. ¡°Why?¡±


    As Fang Juexia recalled something, the constantly pursed corner of his mouth suddenly curved imperceptibly, giving off an effect totally different from all his previous professional smiles. This was a smile from the heart.


    ¡°Some people say I look like ice.¡±

 CH 19

    Chapter 19 ¨C Snow¡¯s Hospitality


    A solitary pine rising from the ground on a flat snow plain


    Pei Tingsong was a little surprised.


    When he had opened his mouth, he had been aware of the fact that most of the people here would not understand what he was thinking and what he wanted to do. After all, he has been like this since he was a child. In other people¡¯s eyes, he was just a stubborn person who shouldn¡¯t be trifled with. The unexpected thing here was that Fang Juexia had understood him. Originally, he had thought that at the most, Fang Juexia would manage to guess that he was dissatisfied with this sloppy design, but he hadn¡¯t really expected Fang Juexia to completely comprehend his entire thought process.


    It was as if their two minds had accidentally connected.


    They were contradictory people. They weren¡¯t a mutual, bionic melding of images, but strong personalities set opposite one another.


    Fang Juexia had his own temperament and style, which shouldn¡¯t be homogenized in such a rough manner.


    These ideas seemed to flow through both their minds. Pei Tingsong attributed this kind of unexplained tacit understanding to the two years they had spent together. Even though there was near zero communication between them, nothing in this world was purely isolated. There existeds a subtle connection between him and Fang Juexia, one which was complex and hard to detect.


    Maybe they had similarities in their logic ba¡ªhe tried to come up with a reasonable explanation.


    Lin Mo seemed to be very satisfied with Fang Juexia¡¯s proposal. Images and inspiration appeared in his mind, which greatly improved his enthusiasm for this job. ¡°Spring and winter, very good.¡± He checked over Fang Juexia¡¯s face, scrutinised it very carefully, and finally came to the conclusion, ¡°You really do fit the concept of winter. Andy.¡±


    ¡°Hey~ Coming, I also think this version is better. The end of winter and the arrival of spring are also in line with the season right now, and these two weren¡¯t the same type in the first place. I will have to think hard about the makeup style this time.¡± Andy had been in the circle for ten years, and he was a real talent. As soon as he looked at Lin Mo¡¯s expression, he knew that this shoot was going to become a big ticket item. The idea he had at the start, of just paddling along and taking it easy, had already disappeared; after all, he was cooperating with a big photographer and two upstarts in the circle this time.


    The most taboo thing in the entertainment industry was to look down on someone. No one could predict who could turn popular overnight. What¡¯s more, the explosive popularity these two had garnered was as obvious as the nose on his face.


    They spent more than two hours discussing everything over again. Such a process was not common in the entertainment industry that tended to pursue high efficiency, where everyone hoped to directly start the work and then quickly finish the job. But it was worth it. After all, starting from a perfunctory assembly line design to actually having everyone be seriously involved in creating this design, this kind of experience was rare and interesting enough.


    The editor, who was noting down the interesting tidbits for the interview piece, was giggling. He usually had nothing to write and had to scramble and just piece something together. Now, this dramatic turn of events was practically just delivering great material straight into his lap.


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s make-up was clean and simple. Andy also specially highlighted the two moles below his eye and on his lower eyelid. ¡°Your moles are just in the right place. The popular saying for these kinds is that they¡¯re both pure and lustful.¡±


    When Fang Juexia, who was just coming out of the dressing room, heard that, he felt that it was odd. At the moment, he couldn¡¯t sense that feel coming off of Pei Tingsong at all. However, the semantic meanings of pure and lustful were completely opposite, and this sense of contradiction was totally in line with his personality.


    ¡°The scab at the corner of your eye¡­¡± Andy looked at his raised scab and worried a bit. ¡°Can¡¯t cover it with concealer, just photoshop it out later ba.¡±


    ¡°Do whatever is convenient ba.¡± Pei Tingsong had begun to feel sleepy again and was too lazy to care about these details.


    Fang Juexia stared at the huge mirror in the dressing room, through which Pei Tingsong could be seen sitting, and the injury at the corner of his eye could be seen clearly as well. He had changed into a milk brown T-shirt, and his rebellious temperament had softened a lot.


    ¡°Juexia, coffee.¡± Cheng Qiang, who had gone out and came back during this time, placed a cup down in front of Pei Tingsong, and then led Fang Juexia, who had yet to start modeling clothes, to sit down in a corner of the dressing room. ¡°Sleepy ba?¡±


    ¡°Not bad.¡± Fang Juexia discovered that the wooden table in this corner was empty, but on the floor was a small potted plant¡ªa tree made of pink flowers.


    He carefully looked at the flowering tree while carrying the cup of coffee in his hand. Right then, Coco, the modeling assistant, came to clip up his hair, and he asked softly, ¡°Hello, what kind of flower is this?¡±


    ¡°This ah, this is a winter-flowering cherry tree, which was given to Mr. Andy two days ago. There are so many people here today that we were afraid of it falling over, so we placed it on the ground.¡±


    Winter-flowering cherry tree.


    After getting the last clip affixed to his hair, Fang Juexia squatted at the side of the small flowering tree. The soil of the flowerpot was covered with a layer of fallen petals, all of which looked very soft and light pink.


    The ensemble show¡¯s camera was still focused on Pei Tingsong. Pei Tingsong grew bored as his makeup was being applied, and he started to chat with the cameraman, ¡°How about we play rock-paper-scissors, and whoever loses has to tell a story?¡±


    The cameraman shook his camera back and forth in a gesture of refusal.


    ¡°You¡¯re afraid of losing. I know.¡± Pei Tingsong put on a cold expression and stated his judgement, while his makeup was almost close to being done. As soon as he looked into the mirror, he saw Fang Juexia coming towards him. He had changed a loose black shirt, which only served to make the cold paleness of his skin more obvious.


    He seemed to be looking for a make-up assistant in order to borrow something. Finally, he took a very small bottle and squeezed a bit of something onto his hand.


    ¡°Almost done, it¡¯s just this scab that¡¯s troublesome.¡± As Andy was talking, Fang Juexia suddenly said, ¡°I want to try something.¡±


    ¡°Try what?¡± As soon as Pei Tingsong asked, Fang Juexia had already bent over towards him on his own initiative.


    The distance between the two people suddenly reduced to less than five centimeters, and the air seemed to have been suppressed solid. As Pei Tingsong breathed in, the rippling smell of ice cream when an ice cream container was just opened wafted over once again. His eyes were full of the red birthmark at the corner of Fang Juexia¡¯s eye, like just a touch of red on a field of white snow.


    The palpitations of his heart were short-lived, for Fang Juexia¡¯s action was also short-lived, so short that his consciousness had no time to process this feeling before his fingertips lifted off of Pei Tingsong¡¯s skin.


    After a few seconds of careful study, Fang Juexia straightened up and looked at him again.


    ¡°How about this?¡± After finishing his art, he lifted his head up to look at Andy.


    Andy held Pei Tingsong¡¯s jaw and looked into the mirror. It was only then that Pei Tingsong discovered that the scab at the corner of his eye was now covered by a pink petal.


    Fang Juexia¡¯s voice didn¡¯t carry too much emotion, just stating his own point of view. ¡°Perfectly it¡¯s a spring concept, so flowers shouldn¡¯t conflict with it.¡±


    Andy looked left and right and was very surprised. He repeated the word ¡°perfect¡± a few times, then affixed the petal with detachable glue and said, ¡°And with this stuck on, it echoes the birthmark on Juexia¡¯s face.¡±


    Fang Juexia hadn¡¯t thought of this, so he was left stunned for a moment. When he bowed his head, his eyes accidentally met Pei Tingsong¡¯s.


    Pei Tingsong lifted his eyes, his fingers touching the petal that covered his scar, and he said, ¡°You did this on purpose ba.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Fang Juexia refuted quickly. This was quite different to his usual reaction speed.


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s eyes swept lazily across his bare face and finally stopped at his scarlet neck. He didn¡¯t speak and instead looked at himself in the mirror. With the petal at the corner of his eye, he really did have something in common with Fang Juexia.


    ¡°Tingsong¡¯s makeup is more simple, giving the kind of feeling that nothing has been done, but in actuality, a lot of care has gone into the details.¡± Andy started to make up Fang Juexia. ¡°Juexia¡¯s make-up will be a bit more special.¡±


    Pei Tingsong lifted his coffee cup and sat in the chair next to him. He had a rare chance to have an honest reason to freely stare at Fang Juexia.


    Andy didn¡¯t apply any foundation on Fang Juexia. ¡°Your skin is too good, if we put any on, all the natural texture of your face will be rubbed out.¡±


    Fang Juexia¡¯s expressionless face was reflected in the mirror.


    Taking advantage of the time they took to style his hair, Pei Tingsong unscrupulously observed Fang Juexia through the mirror. He realized that, in fact, Fang Juexia¡¯s facial features were heavily idol-like¡ªbeautiful, exquisite, and looked unburdened by life. However, the ridge of his brow and the bridge of his nose were very special; they were perpendicular to each other. On that narrow face, was a thin and straight T-shaped shape, making the face seem like something between a man¡¯s rugged cragginess and a woman¡¯s softness and smoothness, just reflecting the image of a solitary pine rising from the ground on a flat snow plain.


    This kind of lonely and upright bone intensified the stubborn feeling of being cold and alone he gave off.


    Pei Tingsong thought that if the ridge of his brow and the bridge of his nose were matched with a pair of sweet and bright big eyes, perhaps the cold feeling he gave off could still be neutralized. Yet, he just had to be born with a pair of beautiful cold eyes, with narrow and thin double eyelids, lightly colored irises, and corners that were neither ordinary nor bad looking. They all said that eyes could send speechless messages, but Fang Juexia¡¯s eyes seemed to be separated from the world by a layer of transparent ice. His eyes couldn¡¯t pass on any feelings, just freezing logic and alienation. And all of this was set on pale skin, like a tough yet fragile white flower.


    That withered branch waiting to be broken, tenaciously using the last of its ability to let a single flower blossom¡ªa sad and gorgeous white flower.


    Fang Juexia¡¯s eye makeup was not complicated, for Andy did not even put any black mascara on him. Instead, he pulled out a white mascara bottle and brushed it on his long eyelashes. The color was brushed onto his eyelashes bit by bit, to make it seem as if snowflakes had fallen on his eyelashes, and a wintery feeling immediately appeared.


    Fang Juexia raised his eyes at that moment, and Pei Tingsong had to admit that he was really moved by this pure white beauty. Originally, there had been no escape from Fang Juexia¡¯s inherent coldness, but now, the coldness became even more intense.


    Even the modeling assistant¡¯s words carried some surprise as he praised, ¡°So immortal ah, immortal and cold.¡±


    Andy swept a bit of blush on Fang Juexia¡¯s lower eyelid, extending it all the way to his red birthmark, and then applied a nearly invisible white eyeliner along his lower eyelid, before using silver eyeshadow to draw tear shaped marks under the corner of his eye, allowing them to flow all the way down, just like a trail of frozen tears.


    It gave off the feeling that he was crying, Pei Tingsong thought to himself.


    But Fang Juexia probably couldn¡¯t cry. He couldn¡¯t imagine what such an emotionless person would look like if he cried.


    In the whole of the two years since they debuted to now, he could hardly recall any emotional moments from Fang Juexia. Although their relationship could only be regarded as that between professional bandmates, they hadn¡¯t spent any less time with each other than with the others.


    While searching through his memory, he actually recalled something.


    A year ago, when the group had been doing a commercial performance, he had gone out to take a breather before going in for makeup, and had accidentally run into Fang Juexia in the corridor. He had been standing at the side of the vending machine and had been talking on the phone. It seemed like he really hadn¡¯t wanted to be seen, so he had hidden himself behind the machine. Pei Tingsong vaguely heard him call out to his mother and between words, he had mentioned things about his grandfather going to see the doctor.


    Originally, he had not been interested in listening and had just been struggling over whether he still wanted to buy a drink. However, the other party just happened to turn around at that moment, and the two people¡¯s gazes had awkwardly connected.


    At that time, a stunned expression had appeared on Fang Juexia¡¯s face, and the corners of his eyes were red, with the ice in his eyes having melted as his eyes shone with liquid. He had held his cellphone, bowed his head, and had left in a hurry, just like a cold wind passing by.


    It was also that time that Pei Tingsong, who pursued logic and self-consistency in everything, figured out the reason behind the rumors about Fang Juexia and that entire hidden rules situation surrounding him. His family didn¡¯t have it easy, and he had no background, so he was only left with the option of this shortcut. At first, he had been convinced that this reasoning was sound, but currently, he had become more and more suspicious about it, and even wanted to directly overturn it.


    He just wanted to know why Fang Juexia had never explained the situation.


    There were too many contradictions that existed in this person. Plainly he was entangled in rumors, and yet, from head to foot, he exuded a detached indifference. Clearly, he was born in summer and called summer, but he was like the never-melting snow.


    For no reason, a poem that Pei Tingsong liked very much suddenly appeared in his mind. His eyes fell upon the pen and paper that the modeling assistant was using to take notes.


    ¡°It¡¯s done.¡±


    Only after he heard Fang Juexia¡¯s voice did he get up from his chair. Fang Juexia saw him staring at himself, and his eyes widened slightly, with his white eyelashes fluttering. This was the expression he would show whenever he doubted himself.


    ¡°The way I look right now.. .does it look very strange?¡±


    The relationship between them seemed to have already eased up, to the extent that Fang Juexia could be relaxed enough to ask him for his opinions. This was truly some gratifying progress. Pei Tingsong remained speechless though, and only the corners of his mouth quirked up. He put a folded piece of paper into Fang Juexia¡¯s shirt pocket, and then left under the assistant¡¯s urging.


    Fang Juexia stayed in place and opened that piece of paper. The handwriting in it was loose and carefree, with only a few lines written on it¡ªIt was a poem.


    [Rest assured, you may


    entertain me with snow:


    whenever I walked shoulder to shoulder


    with the mulberry tree through the summer,


    its youngest leaf


    cried out.]

 CH 20

    Chapter 20 ¨C Spring Surprise Attack


    The feeble winter has been imprisoned in spring


    Although the plan had just been modified, they were lucky that there had been heavy snowfall last night. Lin Mo was picky and wanted to shoot real scenes, so the planning team had to seize the time and find a suitable venue. In the meantime, Pei Tingsong would do his single-person photoshoot first, and it had been arranged that Fang Juexia would wait in the rest area. However, for some reason, he wasn¡¯t sleepy, and he kept looking at the paper in his hand several times.


    [Rest assured, you may


    entertain me with snow:]


    It seemed as if there was a voice in his heart, continuously repeating this line from the poem in his mind.


    He had always been aware that he hadn¡¯t been born with much of an understanding for gorgeous and romantic words, and was a person completely cut off from literature. But strangely, looking at these words written by Pei Tingsong, Fang Juexia fell into a wild and fanciful reverie in his heart.


    However, he had no way to express how he felt.


    Emotions and thoughts were really complex; things that couldn¡¯t be modeled with or reasoned out mathematically were all very complicated for him.


    Cheng Qiang brought in some hot milk and a down jacket. Fang Juexia placed the paper back into his front pocket and then put on the black sweater handed to him by the assistant. Cheng Qiang advised him to sleep for a little longer, since the photoshoot later would be very hard, but Fang Juexia knew that this opportunity was rare. He wanted to have good enough photos taken of him, so he draped his clothes over himself and went to the studio to watch the photoshoot.


    Everyone was circling around Pei Tingsong. In order to satisfy the concept of spring, the lighting engineer had tried his best to recreate the warm full light that pervades a greenhouse, thus hitting Pei Tingsong with light from every direction.


    ¡°Xiao Pei was really born to do this job,¡± Cheng Qiang said. ¡°Even if he hadn¡¯t entered this circle, he would still take over an enterprise or something. Then, he would definitely become like that kind of rich second generation who gets onto the Hot Search list because of his good looks ba.¡±


    Fang Juexia nodded, but he couldn¡¯t actually imagine such a scenario. In his mind, Pei Tingsong seemed to have a binding relationship with the stage.


    However, it was true that he was tall and had a face that could appear either domineeringly handsome or sweetly cute; he was the prototypical example of god-given superior talent. Not only was the basic hardware in place, but he also expressed himself very strongly through his fashion, or in other words, people with strong personalities were always very good at expressing themselves.


    All Pei Tingsong had to do was just go stand in the greenhouse that had been set up, and the picture already looked pretty good.


    The camera for the ensemble show was also following them, and Cheng Qiang felt that the way the two of them were acting would show that they didn¡¯t have much team camaraderie, so he pushed Juexia and whispered, ¡°You also go over and see Xiao Pei.¡±


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t really want to do so, but he had already been pushed in that direction by Cheng Qiang. There was no other way out, so he simply gritted his teeth and walked over.


    ¡°Adjust the light overhead to make it an area light.¡± Lin Mo checked the frame and without raising his head, instructed, ¡°Try it out first. Xiao Pei, you are free to move as you like, I¡¯ll take some candid shots to try it out.¡±


    The greenhouse was decorated with all kinds of flowers¡ª clusters of honey-caramel colored roses huddled next to pink tulips and clematises, making for an endless spread of aqua blue summer mixed with tiny spots of grape hyacinth.


    Wrapped in a light gray down jacket, Fang Juexia quietly walked up to Pei Tingsong from behind. He didn¡¯t know how to start up a conversation with him, and he didn¡¯t really want to talk. With his makeup on, he looked just like a silent snow spirit.


    Pei Tingsong, who had his back to him, glanced at the flowers, and discovered a touch of white amidst the overlapping flowers. It had pretty much been squeezed all the way to the inside by the other flowers. He reached out a hand to push aside the other flowers, and the straight green stem of that flower trembled.


    He was going to save this white flower.


    ¡°Very good.¡± Lin Mo took a few pictures and checked them. The quirking of Pei Tingsong¡¯s lips was subtle and not easy to detect. He was very satisfied with this feeling.


    ¡°Why pick this one?¡± Fang Juexia suddenly opened his mouth. It was only then that Pei Tingsong discovered his existence. The flowers here were all freshly cut, and Pei Tingsong also didn¡¯t hesitate in pulling out that white flower. His fingertips pinched and twirled the flower¡¯s stem before drawing  it close to his nose, only to discover that there was no ordinary flower fragrance, just a light smell of plants.


    He asked with a smile, ¡°Why do you think I did?¡±


    Fang Juexia lowered his eyes to look at the flowers, and this movement dragged at his long snow-white eyelashes, making them look like two trembling petals.


    He faintly detected something.


    ¡°If I knew, I wouldn¡¯t have asked.¡± Fang Juexia raised his eyes again.


    However, who would have known that Pei Tingsong would merely raise his eyebrows and instead of answering, would hand the flower over, not delivering it to Fang Juexia¡¯s hands, but rather, reaching out towards his face, and then placing it against his face.


    His eyes narrowed slightly, as if scrutinising something.


    However, until the end, Pei Tingsong did not give out any conclusions. When he took his hand back, the flower, which was in full bloom, brushed against Fang Juexia¡¯s jawline.


    ¡°I think you know.¡± He raised his eyebrows, his tone sure and light, and pulled his hand back. With that, his left hand started to scatter the petals of the flower around one by one.


    Fang Juexia had to admit that he had never felt this kind of feeling before; this kind of push-and-pull conversation had already gone way beyond his barren modes of communication. He and Pei Tingsong were completely different kinds of people; when Pei Tingsong was blunt, he caught people off guard, but when he decided to talk in a roundabout manner, no one could guess what he meant.


    He had to admit that this boy, who was two and a half years younger than him, was a master of game theory.


    ¡°Very good, pretty good state.¡± After taking his fill of candid shots by the side, Lin Mo changed the angle of the camera and told Pei Tingsong, ¡°A little more gentle, closer to the concept of spring.¡±


    The skepticism in Pei Tingsong¡¯s bones broke out again, but he spoke a smile; the way he looked when smiling, however, was really in line with their so-called ¡°concept¡±.


    ¡°Must the concept of spring be gentle?¡±


    This sentence stunned the staff on the scene a little bit.


    Fang Juexia also raised his head and pulled away from his thoughts. He really admired people with the kind of personality where they could express their views anytime and anywhere; it was probably because of Pei Tingsong¡¯s childhood environment.


    If one stayed too long in an environment that favored harmony, all skeptics would have lost their edges long ago.


    ¡°As soon as anyone mentions spring, they say it¡¯s gentle. A gentle breeze and the warm sun, winter has gone, and spring has come. It seems that the idea of warm spring flowers blooming immediately after winter¡¯s rampage has become a stereotype. It¡¯s really boring, can¡¯t we have some new concepts?¡± After that, he glanced at Fang Juexia and said, ¡°For example, the feeble winter has been imprisoned in spring, and will never see the light of day again¡­ something like that.¡±


    This was a very meaningful glance.


    Lin Mo stood up straight, not expressing any opinions about Pei Tingsong¡¯s idea for a moment. The other staff members didn¡¯t dare to say anything. Only the magazine editors and the main writer, who were standing at the side, had flowers blooming in their hearts. Besides the fact that it had been easy to get approval for this piece because this StarChart group had become famous, there were no taboo subjects being discussed here, so they were even happier.


    After a while, Lin Mo began to circle around in place, then stopped suddenly and asked Fang Juexia, ¡°What do you think?¡±


    Such photographers were not common; most of the big-shot photographers in the circle were arbitrary. Lin Mo fell into the same category, but probably because his expectations had been overthrown by Pei Tingsong once before, his tolerance threshold had widened.


    ¡°An aggressive spring,¡± Fang Juexia affirmed the idea, ¡°I like this saying.¡±


    He wasn¡¯t simply falling in line, he was really interested in this concept. What¡¯s more, in his eyes, Pei Tingsong was not a good and honest person, and completely didn¡¯t comply with the setting of warm spring days.


    ¡°Did you know?¡± Lin Mo laughed and told Pei Tingsong, ¡°The last time someone went up against me and successfully made me compromise was the Grand Slam movie queen. Her aesthetic level was very high, and she had a very proud temperament.¡±


    The implication behind this sentence was clear to everyone, so they let out a breath of relief.


    Cheng Qiang¡¯s forehead had even started to gather sweat. Although Pei Tingsong had a good background, taking this child, who feared nothing and no one, around to work was even more difficult than walking on a tightrope.


    The plan was changed again and again, and the final version was 18,000 li away from the original concept. However, none of the staff on-site had not been convinced by Pei Tingsong¡¯s expression. After the official photoshoot started, Fang Juexia left the studio and stood by the monitor.


    Pei Tingsong sat lazily on the ground, one leg propped up and the other stretched out straight ahead. Surrounded by flowers, all he grasped in his hands was a lonely white flower. The camera started taking pictures from top to bottom. Pei Tingsong¡¯s hair had been blow-dried fluffy, and a few random strands of hair hung down in between his eyebrows. As soon as he raised his eyes, the shape of his eyes narrowed and elongated, and the shadow at the corners of his eyes almost connected with the petal of the winter-flowering cherry tree.


    But the aggressiveness in his eyes was revealed, and he looked just like a dangerous wild animal about to go on the hunt. With the soft, warm, and fragrant flowers all around, this kind of casual ruthlessness became even more obvious.


    ¡°Very good. Good eyes.¡± Lin Mo lowered his body, zooming the camera closer onto his face. The small mole at the corner of his eye inexplicably added some real sense of desire to the picture. Pei Tingsong turned his face to the side, and held the half-bloomed flower up to his mouth.


    Fang Juexia watched quietly. He thought that Pei Tingsong would kiss it.


    However, his lips just brushed against it like a dragonfly skimming over water, and then he opened his mouth, and his teeth bit the tender petals. The corners of his mouth drew up, making him look like a beast that had successfully bitten the arteries of its prey. The revelry of a successful hunt was boiling in his eyes and blood.


    The camera shutter kept ringing.


    Fang Juexia was a little distracted. He could almost feel the dull pain that the petals would experience the moment Pei Tingsong sank his teeth into them.


    Somehow, he felt for the flower.


    Lin Mo was very satisfied, satisfied to the point that he didn¡¯t have time to talk anymore, and just constantly kept clicking down on the shutter whenever Pei Tingsong moved.


    ¡°Darling,¡± Andy¡¯s voice appeared again, and pulled Fang Juexia away from his wandering thoughts. He held a powder puff in his hand. ¡°I¡¯ve been looking for you for a long time, and it turns out you were here ah. Your group has such a good relationship with each other ah.¡±


    Their relationship was really not very good. Fang Juexia¡¯s eyes turned, and he guiltily smiled at him. Andy fixed his make-up. ¡°The snow scene has already been found. They said there is a park nearby, and the scenery there is very beautiful.¡± He touched up his make-up, then stood a little further away and looked him up and down before stating, ¡°Perfect.¡±


    Andy had probably put on some cologne when he had gone out, but the cologne¡¯s smell was incredibly heavy, as if he had emptied half the bottle onto himself, and this heavy scent choked Fang Juexia and made his nose itch. He squinted and bowed his head, enduring for a long time, but finally, still ended up sneezing.


    ¡°Achoo.¡±


    The noise made by this was actually very quiet, but Pei Tingsong¡¯s attention was immediately drawn by this small sneeze, and he raised his head. Fang Juexia also turned his head after sneezing, and their gazes accidentally collided.


    Pei Tingsong laughed.


    As luck would have it, this scene was also captured by the camera. His chin and lips were covered with torn flower petals, but the curve of his smiling eyes was very bright.


    ¡°This picture is blurry, but it¡¯s very alive,¡± Lin Mo expressed his satisfaction.


    He was a photographer who liked to shoot isolated parts of models. This time, his target was Pei Tingsong¡¯s hands. Against the background of flowers, which were in a multitude of colors, Pei Tingsong once again drew out a white flower, his fingertips teasingly brushing along the petals that were so tightly overlapped that it seemed nearly closed, and then he grabbed the petals and tore them apart roughly. They are brutally forced to separate from the cyan colored sepals, and only the stem of the flower was left to stand there alone, as it trembled and shook.


    Obviously, it was a scene of destruction, but from within the lens of the camera, and also in the eyes of Fang Juexia, this scene appeared to be one of desire in full bloom.


    The rapid sound of the shutter took on the metaphor for breathing. The pure white petals were crumpled into translucent folds, as if they had been bruised. Light doesn¡¯t lie, and it shone out of these tiny wounds. The fibers inside were all illuminated, and these were the capillaries of the flower.


    ¡°Scatter them.¡±


    Following the photographer¡¯s instructions, Pei Tingsong stopped his rampage, and his fingers loosened without any regret. Petals, like broken butterfly wings, drifted down from his fingers and palms, completing their mission.


    The staff had brought over a small bowl of bright red cherries. Originally, it had been a prop from the original design. When it was brought over, Fang Juexia saw that the small bowl was very delicate; it was a translucent, white piece of crackle-glazed ceramic.


    ¡°This is very nice.¡± Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t help complimenting it.


    Who knew that Pei Tingsong would walk over and take the bowl from the staff member¡¯s hand.


    ¡°What is nice? This?¡± With an  innocent expression on his face, he sat cross-legged on the ground, and then held the bowl in both hands, as if getting ready to smash it on the ground.


    Fang Juexia went into a rare panic. ¡°Hey¡ª¡±


    Seeing that his prank had worked, Pei Tingsong laughed just like a child who had gotten his own way. He then took his hands back, and placed his index finger, which was smeared with liquid from the flowers, into the bowl, and started to stir the small cherries around.


    Lin Mo, who was currently checking the pictures that had been taken, suddenly caught a glimpse of this scene and ordered, ¡°Wait, you keep going.¡±


    The camera was pointed at him again.


    His fingertips reached deep into this soft redness and stirred it. Pei Tingsong selected a plump and juicy cherry and brought it to his lips. His teeth bit into this perfectly round, agate fruit, and the points of his teeth pierced into its skin, making the fruit look full and plump as its surface tightened. Bright red and sweet juice covered his teeth, and then seeped along the corner of his mouth.


    ¡°Very good!¡± The photographer¡¯s high and unstinting tone showed his satisfaction with the scene.


    In the monitor, Pei Tingsong raised the back of his hand and wiped off the bright red juice from the corners of his mouth, smiling very wickedly all the while. Unconsciously, Fang Juexia¡¯s larynx shifted up and down.


    In the last frame of this scene, Pei Tingsong¡¯s satisfied eyes almost seemed to pierce through the screen¡ª


    Straight up to biting at his throat.

 CH 21

    Chapter 21 ¨C Cold And Silent Snow Forest


    Then do you think that it¡¯s a pity you¡¯re an idol?


    After finishing Pei Tingsong¡¯s photoshoot, everyone gathered in front of the monitor to check the pictures that had been taken, and they were all full of praise. As more and more people kept arriving in front of the monitor, Fang Juexia instinctively started to step back in order to make room for everyone.


    He backed up, and accidentally backed right into a person¡¯s arms.


    Fang Juexia reflexively lowered his head and apologized. However, his shoulders were seized, and he was pulled into this person¡¯s arms.


    ¡°Do I look good, Juexia Ge?¡±


    Since he had just washed his hands, there was still some water on them, so Pei Tingsong simply set his wrists on Fang Juexia¡¯s shoulders, with his hands hanging down emptily. Fang Juexia didn¡¯t even have to lift his head; upon hearing the three syllables of Juexia Ge, he knew that there was a camera next to them.


    ¡°En.¡± He could only cooperate and show some brotherly love.


    Pei Tingsong, however, just came closer to him, step by step, as he asked, ¡°Which picture do I look best in?¡±


    A particular photo floated up in Fang Juexia¡¯s mind, but he still chose to reply with the safe answer, ¡°They all look very good.¡±


    Cheng Qiang was even more satisfied than Pei Tingsong. He kept smiling, and only turned around when he thought of something. ¡°By the way, Juexia, did you stick on some heating pads? It¡¯ll be very cold outside when we have to go out in a bit.¡±


    Fang Juexia nodded and replied, ¡°Stuck some on.¡±


    ¡°Stick more on.¡±


    Pei Tingsong was feeling very playful. ¡°Stuck on how many? Where did you stick them?¡± He looked down at Fang Juexia¡¯s sweater, trying to discover some clues from it. Relying on the fact that Fang Juexia wouldn¡¯t resist in the presence of the camera, Pei Tingsong¡¯s hand slid down Fang Juexia¡¯s shoulder, caressing his shoulder blade, and then heading further down.


    ¡°Found it.¡± Pei Tingsong¡¯s eyes were curved into a smile, while the palm of his hand impolitely rubbed his shoulder blade as he declared, ¡°Two of them.¡±


    Fang Juexia wanted to resist, but Pei Tingsong¡¯s appearance right now was completely emulating that of a cute Didi, without a hint of malicious trickery. He also couldn¡¯t interrupt his fanservice in front of the camera.


    ¡°You only stuck on two?¡± Cheng Qiang began to worry again. ¡°Two won¡¯t do, you need to stick on some more ah.¡±


    Meanwhile, Pei Tingsong¡¯s hand continued to slide down as he said, ¡°You definitely have more than that on ba.¡± His motivation was very simple and very naive; that was, he wanted to challenge the threshold of people like Juexia and wanted to try and break through his guard to make inroads with him. Fang Juexia¡¯s shell was too thick; he nearly seemed fake.


    ¡°There¡¯s more.¡± Fang Juexia quietly broke away from his half embrace before answering, ¡°I stuck on four pieces, and I have a hand warmer.¡± His face shrunk down into the collar of the down jacket, and he then looked at Cheng Qiang, trying to change the subject. ¡°We can go now ba.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go ask.¡±


    Fang Juexia accompanied Cheng Qiang. Looking at the way Fang Juexia looked right now, as if he hated the fact that he couldn¡¯t just hide himself away, Pei Tingsong actually found that even more interesting.


    After finishing the single person photoshoot, the staff members began to take the set apart. Originally, he had thought that it was a shame for all these flowers to be wasted like this, but unexpectedly, the people in the props group started to take them along with them to the next set as well. They were probably going to be used during the two person photoshoot as well. As they passed by, Pei Tingsong asked casually¡ª


    ¡°What¡¯s the name of this white flower?¡± He pointed to the flower he had just been photographed with.


    The props assistant replied, ¡°This one ah, eustoma.¡±


    Eustoma¡­ Pei Tingsong nodded and casually took out his cellphone to search for it.


    It was a pretty nice name.


    On the screen of his cellphone, a colorful array of this particular flower appeared. At a glance, the pure white kind still stood out as the most beautiful one. Beneath the pictures was a list of its nicknames, as well as the various meanings people had attached to it.


    The ensemble show¡¯s camera came close to him, so Pei Tingsong put his cellphone away, tilted his head at the camera, and then adjusted the small monitoring screen attached to the camera to face himself, straightening his hair as he looked into it.


    ¡°Handsome?¡±


    The camera moved up and down.


    The magazine staff was almost ready to move to the next location, so Cheng Qiang grabbed their things and said, ¡°Okay, we¡¯ll drive behind them to get there.¡± He then asked, ¡°Xiao Pei, are you coming?¡±


    By this time, Pei Tingsong had already put on a thick coat, and was going around and around in a circle as he discussed some logic puzzle with the ensemble show cameraman, causing the cameraman to keep having to pan the camera around. Only when he heard Cheng Qiang call out to him did he turn his way.


    He wanted to sleep and was just about to say no, when Fang Juexia answered for him, ¡°He doesn¡¯t have to come ba.¡±


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s cold outside. Then, Xiao Pei, you first head over to the location for the two-person photoshoot and wait for me¡­¡±


    Pei Tingson stuck both of his hands into his pockets and said, ¡°I want to come.¡± He purposefully grinned. ¡°During my photoshoot, Gege was nearby. Now that Gege is doing his photoshoot, of course I have to go, otherwise it would be too shameful.¡±


    You don¡¯t have to¡ªFang Juexia¡¯s head throbbed unceasingly, but he could only recite that in his heart.


    The snow scenery they had chosen for the photoshoot was a spruce fir forest, and after a night of snow, it really embodied the forest of its name. Pei Tingsong, although his words were pretty, started napping as soon as he got into the car and sat down beside Fang Juexia.


    ¡°It¡¯s a real pity these photos are for the inside pages.¡± While saying this, Andy¡¯s tone was exaggerated, but his words weren¡¯t exaggerated at all. Lin Mo, who always had a spiteful tongue, also added, ¡°The expression is pretty good. Generally, prickly people make really good candidates for modeling.¡±


    Cheng Qiang laughed along with him. Fang Juexia looked out of the window in silence and felt as the head of the guy beside him started to continuously droop forward, just like a fishing pole.


    The injury at the corner of his eye had still not healed, and if it went on like this, he¡¯d gain another scar on his forehead. If this had happened in the past, Fang Juexia definitely wouldn¡¯t have cared. But before, Pei Tingsong also would not have sat next to him.


    When Pei Tingsong¡¯s head started to droop forward again, Fang Juexia¡¯s palm covered his forehead and supported him back, all the way until the back of his head was obediently lying against the seat¡¯s headrest. After finishing this arduous task, Fang Juexia breathed a sigh of relief, and then caught a glimpse of Pei Tingsong¡¯s hands, which were red from the cold.


    ¡°Seize the time to set up all lights and props, hurry up!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s time to start the shoot!¡±


    Fang Juexia walked step by step into the depths of the spruce fir forest, according to the instructions given to him. Lin Mo took pictures from behind him and then checked them. The composition of these pictures consisted  of the white expanse of the sky and snow, and under clumps of towering black spruce and fir trees, Fang Juexia¡¯s back, dressed in a black sweater, could be seen.


    His temperament was really cold, it was almost like he was about to become one with the snow here.


    The photography assistant sprinkled some snow on Fang Juexia¡¯s hair, echoing his white eyelashes. The tip of his nose had turned red from the cold, and the birthmark at the corner of his eye became even redder. In any case, this face was better for close-ups.


    Lin Mo asked him to lay down in the snow. He pointed the camera down, lying it very low, and then photographed Fang Juexia¡¯s side profile as he was lying on his back. The curve from his forehead to the bridge of his nose, and then to the peak of his lips, looked like a continuous snowy mountain range, and at the foot of these snow-covered mountains was a touch of scarlet, like a leftover wound made by spring before leaving. Lin Mo already had an overlapping double exposure composition in mind, with such a curve positioned there, which would then reflect the silent spruce fir forest.


    He was right; Fang Juexia was too suitable for winter.


    Pei Tingsong kept on sleeping, when his head turned to the right, fell into empty space, and he suddenly woke up. Upon opening his eyes and seeing that there was no one in the car, he vaguely felt that something was off. As soon as he lowered his head, he saw that his hands now contained a small spherical hand warmer, and it was very warm.


    He pulled open the door and got out of the car. The cold wind poured against his neck, and he woke up in an instant. Stepping on the snow, he headed towards the big group of people step-by-step, and Pei Tingsong spotted Fang Juexia, even from a distance. This person stood in the middle of the snowy forest, not looking like a human being, but rather like a deer lost in the snow.


    A person¡¯s temperament could actually really be so clean.


    The temperature outside wasn¡¯t as warm as that inside the studio, so in the middle of the photoshoot, Fang Juexia had to stop in order to get warm. The assistant handed him hot tea and a down jacket so that he could warm up as quickly as possible. Lin Mo saw Pei Tingsong come over, and said in a very satisfied voice, ¡°You actually are naturally gifted.¡±


    Pei Tingsong asked with a smile, ¡°In what area are you speaking of?¡± He intuitively knew that what he was referring to was not his expressiveness during the photoshoot.


    ¡°Aesthetic.¡± Lin Mo paused before continuing, ¡°Perception, creativity.¡± With that, he handed the camera to Pei Tingsong, lit a cigarette, placed it in his mouth, and vaguely added, ¡°He really is very suitable for winter.¡±


    ¡°And it¡¯s a winter without any aggression.¡± Pei Tingsong looked at Fang Juexia¡¯s eyes in the photo¡ª they were straight and tough, hiding a hint of moist softness.


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard about you from your Jie, and I thought you were a loud-mouthed hip-hop fanatic. I didn¡¯t expect things to turn out like this in front of me.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s you who is biased against hip-hop.¡± Pei Tingsong also wasn¡¯t polite. ¡°Its spiritual core is free and profound.¡±


    Lin Mo nodded, making no secret of his attitude. ¡°Then do you think that it¡¯s a pity you¡¯re an idol?¡±


    When he asked that, Pei Tingsong¡¯s first reaction upon hearing this sentence actually wasn¡¯t to think that it was a pity, but remembering a dispute between him and Fang Juexia from before.


    [Dreams are the sort of things that can¡¯t be divided into high or low, but only realized or unrealized.]


    He let out a long breath, and his white breath curled. He wanted to say that it was a pity, and he should say that it was a pity.


    His eyes drifted far away, and ten meters away, he saw Fang Juexia dressed in a thick down jacket. The staff around him was getting ready for the next photoshoot and were making changes to the scenery, while he was stepping on the snow, then stepped on it a few more times, seemingly turning his steps into dance steps. Originally, it was just a few silly steps in the snow, but he suddenly began a small dance. Doing this while wrapped up in a large and wide down jacket made him look exactly like a little penguin sliding around.


    His cellphone vibrated, and Pei Tingsong lowered his head to unlock the screen. It was their band¡¯s groupchat.


    [Just a pretty face: @DalianHunkLu No, I¡¯ve suddenly thought of a move that is very suitable and can be edited into our performance to become the killing part. When I get back, let¡¯s discuss it.]


    He had also added an uncool looking sun emoticon.


    So it turned out that when he chatted, he would also use emoticons. Pei Tingsong looked up at Fang Juexia and found that he had continued to stomp out a few small footprints in the snow, until Andy, who needed to touch up his makeup, stopped him, and it was only then that Fang Juexia¡¯s original appearance of being a small iceberg was restored.


    Lin Mo saw that he didn¡¯t answer, and squatted down with a smile, putting out his cigarette on the snow. ¡°Sure enough, you do think it¡¯s a pity ba.¡±


    Who would have known that it was then that Pei Tingsong would open his mouth and say, ¡°Probably not ba.¡± He kicked the snow and put his hands in his pockets. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± After saying that, he headed in Fang Juexia¡¯s direction, and he could be heard humming some song, which sounded very nice.


    Fang Juexia obediently closed his eyes and allowed Andy to apply transparent lip oil beneath his eyes. Unexpectedly, the back of his neck would suddenly feel cold. He abruptly opened his eyes and turned his head around, just to see Pei Tingsong behind him, who then spoke with a smile, ¡°I threw a snowball in.¡±


    Seeing Fang Juexia¡¯s eyes widen, Pei Tingsong started to laugh very hard before confessing, ¡°Tricked you.¡±


    The shoot went on smoothly. It really was too cold outside, and after just piling up enough snow for a snowman¡¯s head, Pei Tingsong felt so cold that his teeth had started chattering. He kicked at the snowball that he had been rolling together for a long time, then quickly hid himself back in the staff¡¯s shed and sat down there. His eyes were drawn to the pictures being displayed on the monitor. There were two monitors, one on the one left and one on the right. The one on the left was showing pictures straight from Lin Mo¡¯s camera, while the one on the right was from the video being taken for the highlights section of the magazine.


    In the picture, Fang Juexia was seen laying on his back. Unlike the previous group of pictures, his makeup had been changed, and his eyes now looked damp, with some transparent liquid gliding across his cheek, to give an appearance of tears. Eyelashes as white as snow encircled his confused eyes.


    His birthmark was red, the tip of his nose was red, and his lips were red as well; they were slightly open, with a glittering and transparent piece of ice that could be seen through the gap, and a cherry frozen inside that piece of ice.


    This picture was too beautiful. Pei Tingsong stared fixedly at it, only returning to his senses when he heard some noise.


    He looked at the screen on the right. In the video, the ice kept melting, and water flowed out from the corner of Fang Juexia¡¯s mouth. When Lin Mo said, ¡°Okay,¡± Fang Juexia¡¯s turned his face to open his lips, and the tip of his tongue gently pushed the ice out and straight into his hand. He sat up, his hair scattered with snow, the birthmark at the corner of his eye as red as his lips, and his whole person was smiling as he said, ¡°How icy ah.¡± Having said that, he put his lips against the back of his hand, then pulled it away and brought it back again and again, repeating that action several times. ¡°My lips have even turned numb.¡±


    Pei Tingsong suddenly thought of the sensation he had felt when they had been passing the candy wrapper.


    Plainly speaking, it had been a long time, but that sensation had not been forgotten.


    ¡°He was really born for this job ah.¡± A staff member standing not far away behind Pei Tingsong sighed and said emotionally, ¡°This face looks even better than that of a girl¡¯s.¡±


    ¡°Yes ah. If it was just a woman, how beautiful would that be ah. It¡¯s a pity, or else a lot of people would chase after them.¡± Another male technician¡¯s face showed a meaningful expression as he continued, ¡°No wonder¡­¡±


    Before he could finish talking, his shoulder was grabbed, and when he turned his head, all he saw was Pei Tingsong¡¯s simple smile.


    ¡°No wonder what?¡± His tone was kind and curious as he asked, ¡°I want to hear it too.¡±


    ¡ª


    The author has something to say:


    My style of writing will be adjusted based on the chapters and characters. Sometimes it will be more flamboyant, sometimes it will be more funny; writing is just that straightforward of a process. These chapters of the magazine shoot are also different; they need a sense of picture, so there will be more descriptions. Pei Tingsong¡¯s character also requires things to be a bit more poetic and romantic.


    If you like the type of fast-paced push progress bar, I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯m not that kind of style. I hope every reader can find their favorite story and have a good time~

 CH 22

    Chapter 22 ¨C Snow In Spring


    Enduring Winter


    The male technician was a whole head shorter than Pei Tingsong, and in front of him, he seemed to shrink even more. He could only smile awkwardly and answer, ¡°Ah¡­ Nothing, just felt that it¡¯s a bit of a pity.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Pei Tingsong laughed innocently. ¡°Why is it a pity when boys are beautiful? I don¡¯t quite understand this kind of logic; it can¡¯t be that you have to be born unattractive in order to deserve any praise?¡±


    Plainly it was a very friendly question, but nevertheless, a cold sweat broke out on this technician¡¯s back. He had just seen the power this young male idol wielded, for even the big photographer had deigned to listen to him. ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant¡­¡±


    ¡°I see what you mean.¡± Pei Tingsong released the hand he had on his shoulder. ¡°It¡¯s not a pity at all for a boy to be born good-looking, and being good-looking also doesn¡¯t mean that there¡¯s ¡®no wonder¡¯ something might happen. You wanted to say that, right?¡±


    ¡°Right, right.¡±


    Pei Tingsong nodded in pretend seriousness. ¡°Very good, then our thinking is quite similar.¡± Letting out a sigh, he said, ¡°I actually thought that the person who was talking was just some low-class straight man who was playing dirty tricks. I had even raised my knife up already, but I didn¡¯t expect it to just be words from friendly forces ah.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll just take my knife back ba, to avoid any accidental injuries.¡± Pei Tingsong laughed. ¡°I¡¯m a famously obnoxious person. When I take action, my impact is very heavy.¡±


    Then he put both his hands in his pockets, turned away, and left.


    After listening to all this, the two staff members were already dripping in cold sweat. Most of the people in the circle knew that Pei Tingsong was not someone to tangle with. That had been established as a fact from before, much less now that he had become popular. However, they had thought that Pei Tingsong was just like rumor said and didn¡¯t get along with Fang Juexia; they totally hadn¡¯t expected him to come out and take action. But in any case, they didn¡¯t want to end up losing their jobs because of their stupid mouths, so they could only resentfully eat this setback and go hide to one side.


    As it was getting late, the orange sunset drifted down into the fir trees, and the snow was set afire under the twilight.


    Pei Tingsong had now gotten warm, and so he walked a few steps toward the shooting site. From a distance, he could see Fang Juexia, who was wearing a black sweater, walk forward continuously under Lin Mo¡¯s guidance.


    ¡°Good, now turn your head and smile.¡±


    At that moment, he saw Fang Juexia look back, and his smile looked even brighter than the light reflecting off the white snow.


    Stepping steadily on the snow, he kept walking closer towards him, and it seemed as if his gaze was already out of his consciousness¡¯ control, as it tracked Fang Juexia¡¯s figure through the gaps revealed in the crowd.


    Snow covered him from head to foot, and his face glowed with the vivid color of his blood under the light of snow and sky. As soon as he looked up, the red at the corner of his eye spread out, like a wound. His clear eyes were half covered by his snowy eyelashes, and in the close-up shot, his infiltrated eyes reflected that snowy-white color, giving a transparent feel, looking just like ice about to melt.


    Lin Mo directed from the side, ¡°Walk back inside, Juexia.¡±


    Based on his words, Fang Juexia headed into the snowy fir forest step by step, and did not stop until he was told to, which was upon reaching a fir tree.


    ¡°Turn around, hide half of your body behind the tree, then lean over some more.¡± Lin Mo held his camera while instructing, ¡°Yes, only expose half of your face.¡±


    Pei Tingsong also started walking in that very direction, although he didn¡¯t know why he wanted to walk over there. Maybe it was because he was curious, just like those times when he was a child and had wondered whether life could be seen within the broken-off section of dead branches.


    ¡°Your eyes, they¡¯re a bit too cold now. They need to have a bit of emotion, tap into your instincts¡­¡±


    Photographers always spoke very abstractly. Fang Juexia didn¡¯t know exactly what kind of feeling it was that he was describing, and just felt confused. This was a strange concept; he didn¡¯t know what it was like to be imprisoned, or what instincts he was supposed to have.


    Pei Tingsong went to Lin Mo¡¯s side and looked at Fang Juexia from Lin Mo¡¯s perspective.


    ¡°Look over here, yes.¡±


    Fang Juexia¡¯s gaze had indeed fallen onto another person.


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s eyes shifted away from the camera, and he raised his head to see Fang Juexia standing not far away. That pair of beautiful eyes looked straight at him as ever before, whilst carrying the same final resistance those dead branches of his childhood had.


    ¡°Yes, just like that,¡± Lin Mo¡¯s voice carried a hint of surprise as he said this, and he quickly seized the opportunity to take a few photos before checking the results.


    ¡°Very good, even though this look isn¡¯t the same as what I had in mind, but it is really good.¡± Lin Mo was so pleased with himself that he brought it over to Pei Tingsong to view as well, while praising, ¡°Look, how is that? This face is too photogenic, and it¡¯s even more expressive than I thought. He could switch jobs to become a model.¡±


    In the picture, Fang Juexia was half-covered by dark tree trunks. The left exposed half of his face had a calm expression, and his red birthmark was the only color in this field of black and white. The eye that was revealed shone with a clear light, just like a reflection of the shining moon cast on top of a frozen pond.


    This was the hard-to-come-by emotion that Lin Mo had been talking about¡ªthe last struggle put up by Winter before he fell into a trap.


    However, this struggle was akin to a thin layer of fragile ice, and it would be shattered with just a gentle pinch. Once the warm currents invaded, this winter would no longer have any place left to hide. He would only be forced to melt, to strip himself bare, and thereby reveal his original shape.


    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you saying anything?¡±


    Pei Tingsong had been engrossed in the picture, and only after being asked did he return to his senses and nodded as he replied, ¡°It is very good. He¡¯s very suitable.¡±


    He looked up and then over at the person being discussed, only to see that Fang Juexia was already wrapped in a big coat and was laughing quietly because of the staff member¡¯s teasing. He also reached out and plucked off half of the leaves on the assistant¡¯s head.


    Pei Tingsong could not deceive himself anymore; when connecting this person in front of him right now with those rumors of the past, another voice appeared in his heart.


    Maybe, at the bottom of his heart, he had never really believed those rumors. He had just been trying to find a valid reason to alienate himself from this person, just the way this person had kept him at a distance.


    Whether the voice was right or wrong, he already couldn¡¯t judge. Their prejudice and stubbornness evident on both sides had already pulled the distance between them too far.


    The last bit of light in the sky disappeared. As the setting sun jumped into the snowy forest, annihilating the scene behind Fang Juexia, Lin Mo used his camera to preserve it.


    ¡°Troubled all of you.¡± Fang Juexia, who had finished his photoshoot, bowed to the staff, and walked back on uneven steps while dressed in his down jacket. When he came to a stand by Pei Tingsong¡¯s side, he didn¡¯t say a word.


    At this moment, Pei Tingsong even felt that something was blocking his heart.


    ¡°Hey, are you not afraid of falling over when walking so fast ah?¡±


    After he said that, he felt a little regretful. It was as if he had done something on his own initiative, as if he had helped Fang Juexia in his heart while accompanying him all the way back to the garage.


    However the other party didn¡¯t even turn his head while replying, ¡°Not walking fast.¡±


    Back in the studio, Fang Juexia stamped his feet while looking at his own pictures. He had been freezing in the snow for so long that his limbs had all turned numb.


    Pei Tingsong saw that his nose and ears were all red from the cold, that his cheeks were also bright red, and that he kept rubbing his hands together. Pei Tingsong wanted to give Fang Juexia the hand warmer he had passed to himself before, but when he put his hand into his pocket, he realized that the pocket was warm, but the hand warmer didn¡¯t contain any warmth any more.


    ¡°This one is good, and so is this one.¡± Lin Mo was very satisfied. ¡°You could even create a MV using your highlights video, the artistic conception is very good. These are the cleanest major pictures I¡¯ve taken recently.¡±


    Fang Juexia was a little embarrassed after being praised. ¡°Thank you¡­¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to thank me, you are very photogenic. Basically, we didn¡¯t waste any film, and that¡¯s very rare. And your temperament is very special, it¡¯s actually really a pity you didn¡¯t become a model.¡±


    Fang Juexia was neither good at being sociable nor did he like being sociable. In the face of getting so much praise heaped onto himself, he wasn¡¯t sure about how to deal with it. Like a robot, he scoured his barren database for words that could be applied to this situation.


    Just when he was struggling, his hand was suddenly grabbed. Fang Juexia instinctively turned his head and saw Pei Tingsong standing beside him. His frozen fingers were then suddenly wrapped up in warmth.


    It was Pei Tingsong who had grabbed his hand and stuffed it into his warm coat pocket.


    ¡°I also think the same, and I even took out my cellphone just now to take two pictures.¡± Pei Tingsong freely stuck himself into the conversation and changed the subject as he said, ¡°The snow scenery here is also very beautiful, it¡¯s like adding flowers to brocade.¡± Then he looked at Fang Juexia and asked with a smile, ¡°Right?¡±


    Fang Juexia still hadn¡¯t pulled away from this unexpected gesture, so just replied, ¡°En¡­¡±


    ¡°Your handwarmer has already gone cold.¡± Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t look at him before continuing to whisper, ¡°Just put up with this ba.¡±


    So it was because of this reason.


    He¡¯d just put up with it then.


    Fang Juexia chewed over Pei Tingsong¡¯s words repeatedly in his heart. His thought process was simple and straightforward, and he often couldn¡¯t understand the meaning of Pei Tingsong¡¯s words immediately. However, this didn¡¯t impact the confusion he was experiencing in his mind. It seemed that his brain and his heartbeat had already established their own individual systems and were no longer related to each other.


    His frozen fingers gradually regained feeling, and the heat from the other hand seeped into his skin, surging through his capillaries and flowing into his fingertips.


    That was the warmth of another person.


    Every word spoken by Pei Tingsong was akin to a trap gleaming with cold light. He was already used to avoiding it, so he tried to break free every time, although it ended up being in vain every such time.


    He was still hesitating over whether to pull his hand away when Pei Tingsong went ahead and released the hand holding his wrist, depriving him of even the chance to break free.


    In this small, narrow, and warm pocket, were two wildly different souls squeezed together.


    All the photos that had been taken were roughly confirmed, and without taking any time to rest, everyone ate something casually while they were in the car as they immediately rushed to the two-person photoshoot site. Both of their styles were changed for this; they wore the same type of shirt now, but Pei Tingsong¡¯s was black, while Fang Juexia¡¯s was white. However, Fang Juexia¡¯s shirt was a bit too big for him, so he wore it a little loose.


    This time, the set for the photoshoot was very simple. The studio¡¯s floor just contained a bed covered with white velvet, which looked very soft.


    Fang Juexia, who was dazed upon looking at this bed, heard Pei Tingsong chuckling and joking carelessly, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect the first bed scene in my life to arrive so quickly.¡±


    Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t laugh.


    He couldn¡¯t imagine how a two-person cover for a big-name magazine could be taken on a bed.


    Seeing Lin Mo enter the studio, Pei Tingsong, who was full of curiosity, immediately asked, ¡°What position should we do? Me and Juexia Ge.¡±


    As soon as he said that, the little Jiejies from the props group, who had walked over, all covered their mouths and started to laugh. Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t know what was going on, and so looked at Fang Juexia doubtfully. On some occasions, this boy who grew up abroad would occasionally use the wrong word because of a situation mismatch, even though he had high literacy accomplishments and a strong learning ability.


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t know how to explain it, so he simply said, ¡°The word position can¡¯t be used casually.¡±


    Pei Tingsong, with an innocent expression on his face, asked why. Fang Juexia didn¡¯t want to answer because he didn¡¯t want to discuss adult topics while the ensemble show camera was following them around and have it get recorded for the ensemble show broadcast.


    ¡°Why?¡± Pei Tingsong asked again.


    Fang Juexia said helplessly, ¡°I don¡¯t know, stop asking.¡±


    Pei Tingsong frowned., ¡°You don¡¯t know, and you¡¯re still talking about me?¡±


    Fang Juexia: ¡°¡­¡±


    Lin Mo didn¡¯t allow them with much time to discuss this ¡°position¡± issue. After discussing the lighting problem with the lighting supervisor, he called Fang Juexia over and asked him to lie down on the big velvet bed. Fang Juexia¡¯s attitude towards work was serious, so he just lay on the bed without saying a word.


    ¡°Turn your head, face this way, yes.¡±


    After confirming Fang Juexia¡¯s position, Lin Mo told Pei Tingsong, ¡°You, turn to face the other way and lie down.¡± He also made a gesture of turning around.


    For some reason, another burst of laughter f spread through the surrounding staff. Pei Tingsong felt that all of this was inexplicable, but it was work after all, so he still did what Lin Mo instructed.


    ¡°Xiao Pei, go down, go down some more. Your head needs to be near Juexia¡¯s head. Yes, place your heads to the side, face to face.¡±


    Upon hearing the instruction to lie on his side, Fang Juexia, who was lying on his back, consciously turned his face, but this action made the distance between them shrink to nearly nothing. The tip of his nose almost touched the bridge of Pei Tingsong¡¯s nose, so he immediately shrank back and pretended that nothing had happened.


    They were half curled up on their sides, lying on this big, circular velvet bed, their bodies a bit staggered from each other, with their faces close together, whilst they were facing one another.


    ¡°Still not close enough.¡± Lin Mo stepped forward and adjusted them himself while explaining, ¡°I need the lines of both your side profiles to give off a sense of fitting together. The kind where, if you compress this distance to the very minimum, you would fit together perfectly. Understand?¡±


    Lin Mo was only describing the effect he wanted to achieve, but this description was inevitably intriguing.


    ¡°Especially the straight line of the bridge of the nose, I hope you guys can be parallel here, with one person¡¯s body going from top to bottom of the bed, while the other¡¯s body is in the reverse direction, going bottom to top.¡±


    Pei Tingsong and Fang Juexia kept drawing closer under his request, like two meteors on mutually exclusive paths. They leaned into each other as if they were doing tai chi, and their bodies seemed to extend in opposite directions. Even when they were in balance, they were the unity of opposites.


    ¡°Very good, just like that.¡± Lin Mo went far away from the big bed and checked the position again. ¡°Very good, bring out the props.¡±


    Pei Tingsong naively asked, ¡°There are even props?¡± The people around him laughed again, and even Cheng Qiang helplessly supported his forehead with his hand.


    Fang Juexia, the one closest to him, just wanted to shut him up.


    The props group brought out a long green vine. There seemed to be flowers on it, but they hadn¡¯t bloomed yet and were just small buds.


    ¡°What is this?¡± Fang Juexia reached out and touched it.


    The staff member hadn¡¯t even opened his mouth before Pei Tingsong spoke up, ¡°Honeysuckle.¡±


    Fang Juexia was a little surprised at his strange knowledge base and asked, ¡°How do you know?¡±


    ¡°When I was a kid, there were some in my home¡¯s garden.¡± Pei Tingsong¡¯s answer was very simple.


    Honeysuckle.


    Fang Juexia recited the name in his heart and thought it was very wonderful. The wonderful part was how well it fit with the concept, and also seemed to exceed it.


    They twined the green honeysuckle vine around Fang Juexia and Pei Tingsong, and they kept going up, all the way up to Pei Tingsong¡¯s arms, making it seem as if these vines had grown out of Pei Tingsong.


    ¡°I feel like a tree spirit.¡±


    ¡°Nope, not that, you¡¯re a flower fairy.¡± Andy fixed several clematises using hair gel on Pei Tingsong¡¯s head, and then placed flowers on his ears, shoulders, and arms.


    Lin Mo came to the bed again to help them get into the right arrangement. ¡°Xiao Pei, hold the back of his neck with your hand.¡±


    Pei Tingsong understood what he meant very quickly. His arm went around the back of Fang Juexia¡¯s head and grasped his slender neck.


    ¡°Very good.¡± Lin Mo leaned against his chair and took a picture. ¡°Make your expressions more natural, look at each other.¡±


    But even after several attempts, none of the pictures reached the feeling Lin Mo wanted. He always felt that there was something that didn¡¯t breathe well in the pictures. ¡°Something¡¯s still missing, there¡¯s not enough tension. Xiao Pei, relax a bit.¡±


    Not knowing why, Fang Juexia once again thought of the honeysuckle. He silently recited the word ¡°endure¡± in his heart, and a new idea arose. He sat up and looked at Lin Mo before saying, ¡°Mr. Lin, I have some ideas.¡±


    Cheng Qiang, who was standing to the side, was a little surprised that it was Fang Juexia, and not Pei Tingsong, who had opened his mouth.


    After all, in his limited memory, Fang Juexia didn¡¯t have the kind of personality that could easily put forward his own opinions.


    Having had the experience of his original plans being overturned by Pei Tingsong several times by now, Lin Mo had already become used to this working method, and so said, ¡°Speak.¡±


    ¡°I saw the honeysuckle, and I thought of an issue. We seem to have made a hypothesis at the beginning of the shoot.¡±


    Pei Tingsong, who was still lying on the bed, looked up at the sitting Fang Juexia. All of his words carried rigorous logic.


    ¡°We have been assuming this entire time that in this sort of confinement, it is Winter that has to endure, but what about Spring?¡±


    From Pei Tingsong¡¯s perspective, Fang Juexia¡¯s eyes were looking up, and with the light hitting him at the right angle, his whole face seemed to shine brightly. ¡°Then what if we break this a priori condition and look at this relationship again?¡±


    While speaking, Fang Juexia¡¯s snow white eyelashes fluttered. ¡°In fact, Spring is also enduring something ba.¡°


    The appearance of this sentence struck straight into the ground and caused Pei Tingsong¡¯s heart to leap all of a sudden.


    What does Spring endure?


    ¡ªEndures personal gains and losses, and endures wanting but not getting.


    ¡ªEndures the fact that as soon as he draws close, he has to watch as Winter melts and loses his original form with his own eyes.


    He had to admit, at this moment, he was emotionally eclipsed by Fang Juexia¡¯s point of view. He realised that Fang Juexia wasn¡¯t just a silent formula, and his spirit was actually hidden within the rules of arrangement and combination.


    The resonance of inspiration during any creation process is silent. Lin Mo reached out with his index finger and pointed at Fang Juexia several times in a row. ¡°Yes, you are right. This kind of mutual emotion is right.¡±


    Tension didn¡¯t always have to mean the display of restraint and resistance in a situation where daggers were drawn, it could also be that desperate desire to draw close to the ice and snow, but unfortunately, because of reason, he had to endure. Logically, Winter knew he had to avoid warmth, but he still couldn¡¯t control that heart of his that wanted to pounce on Spring.


    Fang Juexia lay down again.


    Having thoroughly understood the concept, this time, Pei Tingsong did not reach out to grasp the back of his neck, but instead backed away a little. He reached out to the side of Fang Juexia¡¯s cheek with his hand, his fingers looking long and clean. His fingertips then pulled at the muscles and veins at the back of his hand, and the illusion of him enduring something came into being.


    All of a sudden, Fang Juexia called out Andy¡¯s name. When he came over, Fang Juexia asked, ¡°Can his hands be painted with frostbite?¡±


    ¡°Frostbite?¡± Andy¡¯s eyelashes flickered.


    ¡°En, and not just that.¡± Fang Juexia continued, ¡°Please wrap some more of the honeysuckle vine around me, all the way, stretching up to just beneath my chin. Then Andy Ge, please draw some small cuts on my neck and face, just like I have been cut by the honeysuckle vine.¡±


    ¡°En!¡± Lin Mo hurried to nod even before he had the chance to swallow the coffee in his mouth. ¡°Yes, yes, this is very good.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Pei Tingsong actually knew the answer, but still wanted to ask.


    Fang Juexia replied simply and plainly, ¡°Only those who have paid the price can be termed as having endured something.¡±


    He wasn¡¯t just a beautiful waste of skin, Pei Tingsong had to admit.


    Everything was carried out in accordance with the design they had discussed just now, and Lin Mo was very satisfied. He needed to connect the theme of this two-person photoshoot with the solo pictures he had taken before, so he sprinkled eustoma petals, which had featured in the previous photographs, between Pei Tingsong and Fang Juexia.


    The camera was then focused on the scene, and he felt that everything was in place. ¡°Very good, let¡¯s start.¡±


    In the close-up focus shot of the camera lens, there were two side profiles. They were pressed close together, but they also seemed to be resisting one another. Pei Tingsong¡¯s hand was stretched out, his fingers blue from frostbite. His fingertips were only a milimeter away from Fang Juexia, but he couldn¡¯t touch him. Even in a static frame, it seemed as though his hands were shaking.


    Bound from top to bottom by the spring-charged honeysuckle, looking seemingly completely enclosed by a woven green cage, Fang Juexia had his eyes closed and was frowning slightly, seeming to be too exhausted to even breath.


    The birthmark at the corner of his left eye was the only color on his face. It was like a petal, and also like a cruel scar. It was mirroring Pei Tingsong, who lay opposite him and had a fallen winter-flowering cherry petal at the same location.


    When Lin Mo pressed the shutter¡ª


    Fang Juexia, with his eyes closed, revealed a delicate smile.


    It was no accident that the editor-in-chief of the magazine designated this photo as the cover on the spot. There was absolutely no need to choose any more; experience and instinct told him that this was the best one. What made it good was that this Spring, who had long wanted to monopolize and engulf Winter, was holding onto the last bit of his control with great difficulty.


    What made it even better was that this Winter, who had been imprisoned and abused, was finally willing to be happy in his own degeneration.

 CH 23

    Chapter 23 ¨C The Truth And You


    Is its existence very important?


    The contrast and expressiveness displayed by these two idols, whom no one had any expectations for in the beginning, had gone beyond the imagination of the editor-in-chief. The secular prejudice he had held against idols was broken at the moment when these two bravely collided all their thoughts together and released amazing creativity.


    They weren¡¯t like usual idols, but they seemed to deserve the title of an idol even more.


    ¡°I can already imagine the scene when this set of pictures gets onto the Hot Search list,¡± said the editor-in-chief to Lin Mo. Lin Mo just lit up a cigarette before saying, ¡°You should think more about the scene when people are frantically trying to seize copies of the magazine.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true. When I changed the cover, I just saw their potential.¡± The editor-in-chief laughed and continued praising, ¡°They¡¯re topical, beautiful, and they have real skills; in this circle, such children will only become more and more popular.¡±


    Immediately following after the photoshoot was the magazine interview. Fang Juexia¡¯s eyes felt a bit uncomfortable, so he removed his eye makeup first before coming back and sitting down beside Pei Tingsong. At the beginning, there was a quick Q&A session, in which the host, from behind the camera, asked the two of them questions one by one.


    ¡°What¡¯s the food you can never get tired of eating?¡±


    Pei Tingsong said offhand, ¡°Cheeseburger, without pickles.¡±


    Fang Juexia said with a look of hesitation, ¡°Shrimp dumplings ba.¡±


    ¡°Who is the most caring person in the group?¡±


    Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t even think about it before opening his mouth, ¡°Miao Ge, his special hobby is taking care of people.¡± Saying that, he then added, ¡°Though He Ziyan also takes great care of Miao Ge¡­ But if we¡¯re talking about who is the most caring person in the group, it¡¯s still Miao Ge.¡±


    Fang Juexia also agreed. ¡°Captain, maybe because he¡¯s taken care of his little sister since childhood.¡±


    ¡°What are the most common recreational activities in the dormitory?¡±


    Fang Juexia replied, ¡°En¡­ Playing games?¡±


    Pei Tingsong shrugged. ¡°Sorry, I just moved into the dormitory, so I¡¯m not fit to answer this question.¡±


    The host laughed loudly. ¡°What¡¯s your favorite book recently?¡±


    Pei Tingsong picked up the tail of a small dinosaur pillow on the sofa. ¡°The Roots of Romanticism,¡± Then, he looked at Fang Juexia and added, as if on purpose, ¡°Recommend it for you.¡±


    Fang Juexia knew that Pei Tingsong was implying that he wasn¡¯t romantic, but he didn¡¯t refute his remark at all. After all, there was nothing wrong with this statement. He simply raised his right eyebrow, in a rare fashion, and answered the previous question as if nothing had happened. ¡°Recently, I¡¯ve been reading The Outsiders.¡± After saying that, he also looked at Pei Tingsong on purpose and countered, ¡°Very suitable for you.¡±


    These two people seemed to be battling over something, for it was obvious that their two disjoint magnetic fields were differentiated and repelling each other. Even the host started laughing. ¡°Next question, what do you guys do when you have insomnia?¡±


    Pei Tingsong replied, ¡°Listen to songs, read books, write something.¡±


    Fang Juexia replied, ¡°Play Sudoku or Rubik¡¯s cube.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the fun of a Rubik¡¯s cube?¡± Pei Tingsong asked.


    Fang Juexia smiled and responded, ¡°If you have memorized most of the formulas for the Rubik¡¯s cube, you can experience the fun of it.¡±


    ¡°Coffee or tea?¡±


    Pei Tingsong replied, ¡°Coffee.¡±


    Fang Juexia answered, ¡°Black tea.¡±


    ¡°The preferences you guys have are pretty far apart, eh.¡± The more the host asked, the more interesting she felt this was. Obviously, they were two people in the same group, and they were a CP pair that was quite hot right now, but their interests and hobbies were poles apart.


    ¡°What¡¯s your favorite variety show?¡±


    Just after feeling how could they not match at all, an unexpectedly unanimous answer arrived¡ª ¡°Escape For Your Life.¡±


    The host asked, ¡°Is it because one of the regular guests is your senior brother Shang Sirui?¡±


    Fang Juexia explained with a smile, ¡°Of course, but the program itself is also excellent. When watching, all of us will become very nervous. Before, when the first season was airing, we would chase after updates in the dorm, and everyone would discuss the plot and the identity of the killer.¡±


    Pei Tingsong was very straightforward with his answer. ¡°Some of the script settings are very interesting, and there are a lot of word games, so it¡¯s more interesting than most reality shows.¡±


    His words were too straightforward, but it seems that everyone was used to it by now. The host said with a laugh, ¡°The program group and the screenwriters for ¡®Escape For Your Life¡¯ should be very happy when they hear that. Last quick Q&A question, what¡¯s your favorite movie?¡±


    Pei Tingsong quickly answered, ¡°Dead Poets Society, the Chinese name seems to be¡­¡±


    ¡°¡¶ËÀÍöÊ«Éç¡·,¡± Fang Juexia answered for him.


    Pei Tingsong nodded. ¡°Yes, ¡¶ËÀÍöÊ«Éç¡·.¡± He was a little surprised. Did this mean that Fang Juexia also liked this movie?


    The host asked again, ¡°Then what¡¯s Juexia¡¯s favorite movie?¡±


    Fang Juexia replied, ¡°En¡­ Fermat¡¯s Last Theorem.¡±


    Pei Tingsong asked, ¡°It¡¯s a movie?¡±


    Fang Juexia nodded. ¡°A documentary.¡±


    ¡°Why do you like this one?¡± He was simply curious.


    Fang Juexia lowered his eyes, which was the action he often employed when thinking through things. He tried to explain simply, ¡°Because it really moved me.¡± With that, he added, ¡°Every time I watch it, it moves me.¡±


    Pei Tingsong still wanted to keep asking about this because he was really curious. He wanted to know why a documentary named after a mathematical theorem would move Fang Juexia to such an extent. However, the host had already cued up for the next stage and was ready to start the questions for the formal interview section, so he had to give up.


    Cheng Qiang had already read the outline of the questions prepared for the interview, and there weren¡¯t any very difficult questions. However, Fang Juexia wasn¡¯t really a person who was good at interviews, so most of his answers to the questions were pretty shallow. Although Pei Tingsong was much younger, he was never afraid of expressing himself and always seemed to be in control of the whole situation.


    The host began to ask, ¡°A few days ago, Kaleido performed their debut song at a broadcasted gala. En, as we all know, a little accident happened that day. We are all very curious about what kind of mood or state you guys were in during the moment of the accident? Is there anything you can share with us?¡±


    They all knew that they couldn¡¯t escape this question, the magazine was just like a waterfront tower being the first to catch the moon, and so they became the first party to raise this question.


    Fang Juexia was a little worried that Pei Tingsong would be too frank while answering, so he went first, ¡°First of all, we are very grateful to the organizers for giving us this opportunity. Yes, in fact, our group has had a long gap period, and this was a very hard to come by stage, so we all practiced for a very long time. In fact, when the accident happened, we were actually very nervous, and there was no time to actually think about too many things, so our first reaction was to continue the performance. We also believed that the backstage staff were working hard to try and repair the sound system, so we couldn¡¯t give up that easily. At that time, our mentality was quite simple.¡±


    What he said was very polite and gave CloudTV enough face, as if they had prepared for an incident like this in advance because they knew there would be such a problem. Of course, Pei Tingsong knew why he had said that, and he also knew that Fang Juexia would be more worried than others about this matter. He was often the representative for the entire Kaleido group, and he had to be responsible for it.


    If this interview had happened before, Pei Tingsong would definitely have happily said whatever he wanted to say, but upon seeing the person next to him, even he began to worry about this matter.


    The host then asked, ¡°After the performance, this song has also become a popularly searched song on major music platforms, and it¡¯s now ranked #1 on the basis of  the number of clicks and downloads for it. I also went to listen to it, and then I realized that some of the words in the rap seemed to be different from the studio version of the song. Did you change the words on-stage?¡±


    Sensitive questions were suddenly being posed. Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t help but look at Pei Tingsong.


    Pei Tingsong just laughed calmly and replied, ¡°Yes, I was getting high from singing at the time, so I changed it a bit. I often change words on the spot. You know, people¡¯s inspiration often comes from strong emotional collisions. When you¡¯re on a live stage, with people¡¯s emotions so full and intense, that moment is very suitable for freestyle.¡±


    Fang Juexia also added, ¡°He¡¯s often like this, and he also really likes to liven up the atmosphere of a performance. He doesn¡¯t really like for us to have the exact same performance every single time.¡±


    ¡°However, boybands still tend to emphasize an overall consistency in their performances, and there isn¡¯t much free space for them to maneuver in. In this case, why did Tingsong choose to join a boyband?¡± The host took the opportunity to throw out a new hot potato, one that hadn¡¯t been written down in the outline of the questions for the interview.


    Standing behind the camera, Cheng Qiang immediately went on alert. After all, Pei Tingsong really hadn¡¯t volunteered to make his debut with a boyband. If this guy told the truth again, they would be in trouble.


    On one hand, Fang Juexia was as worried as Cheng Qiang, but on the other hand, was also a bit curious about Pei Tingsong¡¯s answer. He felt that he himself was acting strange. Pei Tingsong was just like a knife, and whenever he drew closer to him, he would be afraid of this weapon, but also would be even more enraptured in wondering if this knife was sharp or blunt.


    ¡°I just talked about my favorite movie ba, Dead Poets Society. There is a line in it, and since I have only seen the original version, I can only recite the line in English¡ª ¡°I went to the woods because I wanted to live deliberately. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life¡­to put to rout all that was not life; and not, when I had come to die, discover that I had not lived.¡±


    What Fang Juexia found amazing was that he was also impressed by this line.


    [ I went to the woods because I wanted to live deliberately. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life¡­to put to rout all that was not life; and not, when I had come to die, discover that I had not lived.]


    Pei Tingsong continued, ¡°The woods in my heart belong to more than one kind of forest. It could be fir, or it could be cedar. I¡¯m so young, so why shouldn¡¯t I go from a fir forest to a cedar forest, and maybe in the future, there will also be a maple forest, a cherry forest¡­ I want to try living all kinds of life¡ªbeing a poet, a writer, a hip-hop artist, a boyband member¡­ There are countless woods on my wish list, and I want to live like this, so that¡¯s why.¡±


    What he said made Fang Juexia come to the realization that this usually arrogant and childish person was indeed nourished by and had grown up in a humanities environment. He was free, and was extremely proud of his ability to pursue this kind of freedom. Even if it was just to cover up the facts and deal with the interview, he could still say something poetic and true.


    What if this was directed to him?


    The stage was the only forest he wanted to go deeper into.


    It seemed that the host had not expected for Pei Tingsong to reply with such an answer. She was slow in replying by half a beat and couldn¡¯t help sighing emotionally. ¡°I never thought it would be such an answer, it¡¯s truly worth pondering over.¡± This impromptu question was originally posed to make things harder for Pei Tingsong, but the way he just defused the entire situation like that and persuaded everyone with his reasoning was really surprising.


    He really wasn¡¯t just a regular idol.


    ¡°Next question: Both of you are members of a male idol group, and nowadays, there is a generally accepted notion that idols are selling fantasies. What do you guys think of this?¡±


    This question seemed very ordinary, but in fact, it had always been a hotly discussed topic online, and the opposition to this view was also quite strong. For idols like them, answering such a question was akin to walking on thin ice.


    Pei Tingsong only briefly thought for a few seconds before putting his opinion forward, ¡°I understand this kind of statement. Since idols, to some extent, are different from the kind of occupations other artists have; the sense of distance is less with an idol, and they¡¯re compared to a perfect image that¡¯s far away from human nature, so idols are more like beautiful goods in the window. People like you because your perfect image creates a kind of illusion that stimulates their desire. Most of the time, it¡¯s not really the real you they are seeing; they won¡¯t see your shortcomings and bad habits, or the dark side of your human nature.¡±


    ¡°They actually fold that part of themselves away in order to be like an idol, so once all of an idol¡¯s real traits are spread out, the people will definitely see a considerable gap from their expectations. To be honest, saying that idols sell fantasies is also true. The more you prune and shape your external image to be closer to perfection, the higher the fantasy value, and the heavier the burden you have to bear. ¡°


    What he said was very straightforward, and the strict logic of his argument laid all the facts out under the bright sun¡ª it seemed as if he totally wasn¡¯t a member of the idol circle. Thus, when he finished talking, all the staff members present were surprised. However, this person, Pei Tingsong, could not be measured or predicted using common sense.


    ¡°What about Juexia? What do you think?¡± The host tried to cue Fang Juexia into responding, because he had always been very reticent in the face of every single question before.


    ¡°Obviously,¡± said Fang Juexia, ¡°this is already the mainstream view. However, I still may have to refute it a little bit.¡±


    This was a rare scene, especially, the word ¡°refute¡± seemed very explosive, and even the host was excited. ¡°Really? What do you think?¡±


    ¡°It is true that the kind of situation Tingsong just spoke of exists, and its universality cannot be tested. In fact, for many fans, their liking is not as simple as some kind of stimulated desire, but is actually very complex. Of course, I don¡¯t deny the existence of this kind of stimulated like; it is very normal, and liking something itself is a kind of desire. No matter how it is classified and explained, the emotional essence of liking something belongs to the category of desire. It¡¯s just that there is a difference in the proportion of how much desire for something in particular exists in someone¡¯s liking. For example, maybe I like an idol, and in my liking for him, desire only accounts for 10%, while for my friend, the proportion of desire in his liking is 80%.¡±


    Pei Tingsong listened and became interested in his point of view. Fang Juexia always seemed to be able to quantify his thinking in a certain manner, as if he was in pursuit of accuracy and precision, which was amazing to him.


    Fang Juexia continued, ¡°I think for most fans, the proportion of desire in their liking is not as high as the public imagines. It may also satisfy the normal distribution, with it being less at both ends and significantly more in the middle. Therefore, idols are not so much selling fantasies as they are embodying dreams; they are not stimulating desire, but actually providing emotional motivation.¡±


    He realized that his manner of expression might not be easy enough to understand, but he had already done his best, so he paused and put it more bluntly, ¡°Real life is pretty hard, and everyone has their own difficulties. There are so many occasions during which the word ¡®dreams¡¯ feels far away and rather empty to everyone. Therefore, people begin to feel that their dreams are out of their reach. In my opinion, idols who succeed are actually the embodiment of a dream. They are like a proof, and with the existence of this person, everyone can really see the existence of the dream as well.¡±


    ¡°Is its existence very important?¡± Pei Tingsong suddenly asked.


    ¡°Of course, its existence means that there actually also exists a realistic path to the final answer, which proves that dreams can be realized.¡± After saying that, he showed a smile and stated, ¡°In this hard world, that is something really amazing.¡±


    His manner of expressing himself was more vivid than ever, especially his last phrase, which basically showed that he was in high spirits.


    It was as if he was saying¡ªYou see, that¡¯s why I wanted to be an idol.


    I will be the proof of that existence.


    Pei Tingsong couldn¡¯t help being stunned at this and looked at him, completely entranced.


    He thought that of the moment when Lin Mo had asked him if it was a pity that he had become an idol. If it had been in the past, he wouldn¡¯t have hesitated to say what a pity it was, because this really wasn¡¯t the path he had wanted to choose. If it wasn¡¯t because he felt responsibility towards the group, he wouldn¡¯t have been afraid to say it.


    But then he had seen Fang Juexia, who had been pondering dance moves while stepping through the snow, after which he couldn¡¯t utter the words, ¡®it¡¯s a pity.¡¯


    The existence of this light had shaken his once firm judgment.


    The atmosphere turned a little subtle, and the host said with a smile, ¡°It seems that although you guys are in the same group, you often have completely different views ah.¡± She jokingly mentioned the anti-materials that were spreading online, ¡°I think the rumors on the Internet that say that you don¡¯t get along are actually¡­¡±


    Cheng Qiang was very sensitive to this kind of topic, and for the purpose of protecting his artists, he tried to interrupt, ¡°This one, we¡¯ll just¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Pei Tingsong said with a clear smile, ¡°Qiang Ge, what can¡¯t be said here?¡±


    If it was only Fang Juexia alone here, he would actually have a hard time dealing with such a topic. This rumor wasn¡¯t like the groundless wind that he was used to facing from before, the discord being discussed here between them was true; they really had maintained a cold war relationship for two years. It was hard for him to smile and lie to everyone about how deep their friendship was and how close they were.


    Yet, at this time, he had become very contradictory. On one hand, he couldn¡¯t answer this, but on the other hand, he was curious about what Pei Tingsong would say. Plainly speaking, this person was usually the one who hated lying the most.


    Would he admit to it directly?


    Fang Juexia¡¯s palms were braced against the sofa. He warned himself to be psychologically prepared, because with Pei Tingsong here, anything could happen. It was only because everyone knew about Pei Tingsong¡¯s trait of always being an explosive subject that he had become the focus of the interview.


    He heard Pei Tingsong say, ¡°The rumors that we don¡¯t get along, I understand ah. After all, the modern Internet is so developed that the cost of creating rumors is also reduced. Probably, when everyone sees the scene from before, they will become even more sure of the fact that we don¡¯t get along ba.¡± Saying this, he started laughing and then continued, ¡°However, when you look at Aristotle and his mentor, Plato, did they also not erupt into a war-like debate over the concept of ¡®universalism¡¯?¡± Pei Tingsong¡¯s education had made him used to seeking out examples for his arguments himself. ¡°And Brutus, did he not love Caesar? After his successful assassination of Caesar, he said frankly, ¡®I love Caesar, but I love Rome more.¡±


    Fang Juexia¡¯s fingers relaxed. He hadn¡¯t expected such a result.


    These examples were too cunning, and it was only Pei Tingsong who dared to make these kinds of analogies without blushing or feeling his heart race.


    Saying that, Pei Tingsong looked at Fang Juexia and quoted one of the famous sentences handed down by Aristotle, the ancient Greek sage¡ª


    ¡°Plato is dear to me, but dearer still is truth.¡±


    I love my teacher, but I love the truth more.


    ¡°You¡¯re the same, aren¡¯t you?¡± He laughed as he called out, ¡°Juexia Ge.¡±

 CH 24

    Chapter 24 ¨C Loosened Shell


    This world needed different methods to arrive at solutions


    For a moment, and for the very first time, Fang Juexia felt that they were similar.


    This was very strange because, when considering either their outward appearances or inner logic, they were like two arrows travelling in opposite directions, but they still resonated together in some subtle way.


    Facing Pei Tingsong¡¯s question, Fang Juexia nodded. In fact, he knew that he didn¡¯t have to explain anymore, but he still wanted to say something.


    ¡°Yes. Maybe everyone has different definitions for social relationships. Perhaps, in the eyes of many people, harmonious social relationships are those where people communicate and get along well without there being any dispute or friction between them. In fact, this kind of a social relationship is very likely to be an illusion of harmony created and maintained by both sides. People are inherently different from each other, so no matter if they are very similar or close to each other, they will always have different views.¡±


    Pei Tingsong was a bit surprised. Originally, he had just given free play to his words in order to diffuse the idea that they didn¡¯t get along. He hadn¡¯t expected Fang Juexia to be able to add on some orderly logic to his explanation so quickly. He couldn¡¯t help thinking that maybe Fang Juexia was not nearly as unsociable as everyone thought he was.


    He was just very precise in picking, choosing, and managing his social relations.


    Fang Juexia continued, ¡°We are able to stick to our own points of view and yet, at the same time, are at ease when boldly colliding against the other person¡¯s ideas. We express our own opinions and defend our own held truths, but at the end of the day, we will not be estranged by this fierce debate, but in fact, we will know each other better. This is what I think makes for a good social relationship.


    ¡°To put it simply, it¡¯s like a math homework problem: you have your method, and I have my method, but we are all pursuing the goal of getting the right answer. During class, math teachers also encourage everyone to try to obtain the solution by using various different methods, and that¡¯s because this world needs all kinds of voices and needs all kinds of people. I won¡¯t submit to your method just because I¡¯m afraid of destroying my friendship with you; instead, I¡¯m going to take out my method to discuss it with you. Having this kind of confidence speaks to deeper feelings, doesn¡¯t it?¡±


    Having said this, Fang Juexia started to laugh and then added, ¡°So us getting along in this way doesn¡¯t mean that we¡¯re not amicable. We are just affirming our own thoughts and respecting each other¡¯s freedom of self-expression.¡±


    As soon as his words landed, Pei Tingsong actually started clapping. Fang Juexia turned his face to look at him, just in time to see Pei Tingsong use his right hand, that was holding a plushie, to give him a thumb¡¯s up.


    Fang Juexia quickly turned his head away, with the corners of his mouth quirking up.


    The editor-in-chief, who was listening to the interview from behind the scenes, continuously nodded. The thoughts these two young boys had displayed previously had already made him re-evaluate them, for they had gone beyond the concept he held of idols, but after listening to their interview, he couldn¡¯t help thinking¡ªWhy did he think that idols weren¡¯t able to say such things?


    Just as Fang Juexia said, this world needed different methods to arrive at solutions, so the issue regarding idols also required different kinds of methods.


    There was not only one formula through which these young people could shine on the stage.


    The host nodded repeatedly. If it wasn¡¯t for professional ethics, she would have exclaimed loudly, but she still managed to hold herself back when she spoke, ¡°You put that across really well. I have also reaped a lot from today¡¯s interview, which is also the meaning of my job.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± After answering that question, Fang Juexia took a sip of water from the cup on the table. When he put the cup back, he realized that Pei Tingsong¡¯s cup was placed very haphazardly, so he quietly moved the two cups to stand on the same horizontal line. He seemed to have transformed back into the little idol with the cold appearance.


    Seeing his series of movements, Pei Tingsong was amused. He rubbed the head of the small dinosaur plushie in his hand, and the more he thought about it, the funnier it seemed to him, so he ended up bowing his head and started laughing.


    The host flipped through some cue cards and continued, ¡°We went really deep into the last few questions, so let¡¯s tackle a more relaxed subject for our last question ba. We used a lot of flowers and plants in the photoshoot today, and even our modelling set was like a botanical garden, so I¡¯ll ask about a more interesting topic¡ª If you were asked to choose a plant to represent each other, which one would you choose?¡±


    Fang Juexia asked, ¡°You¡¯re saying the plant most like him? We¡¯re not picking for ourselves?¡±


    ¡°Yes, a plant that you think is very similar to the other person, or a plant that could represent them best.¡±


    Fang Juexia glanced at Pei Tingsong, who also tilted his head to look at him. Fang Juexia¡¯s brain soon came up with a plant. ¡°Um¡­. Although Pei Tingsong has the nickname ¡®Pinot Tree Supreme¡¯¡­¡± After saying this, he couldn¡¯t help but start laughing.


    The host was a bit doubtful. ¡°Pinot Tree Supreme?¡±


    Fang Juexia chuckled. ¡°Because the initials of Pei Tingsong¡¯s name in pinyin is PTS, and the word that would frequently appear through auto-complete when typing is ¡®Pinot Tree Supreme¡¯, so everyone calls him that.¡±


    Pei Tingsong immediately faced the camera. ¡°See that? We all know what you guys usually say. Don¡¯t speak ill of me, or else I¡¯ll follow the wires back to your house and unplug your Wifi.¡±


    His joking around like that made Fang Juexia want to laugh even more, but he still remembered that he hadn¡¯t answered the question, so he tried to turn serious. ¡°En, if I¡¯m supposed to pick a plant to represent him, I think he is more like a cactus.¡±


    Hearing that, Pei Tingsong picked up the small dinosaur plushie by its tail and started to swing it around at him. Fang Juexia immediately pointed at Pei Tingsong and said, ¡°Just like right now, they¡¯re very alike ba.¡±


    The host laughed. ¡°So Juexia feels that Tingsong is a lot like a cactus because he¡¯s very prickly, is that right?¡±


    Fang Juexia ignored Pei Tingsong¡¯s tail attack and nodded. ¡°En.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re even ¡®en¡¯ing?¡± Pei Tingsong was pretending to be fierce, but his voice was quite small.


    ¡°But,¡± Fang Juexia grabbed the dinosaur¡¯s little tail and looked frank and serious as he explained, ¡°Cactuses look like they have a lot of hard thorns on the outside, but in fact, they are very soft on the inside. Can you imagine, the water content in a cactus is 85% to 90%. Because of its harsh environment, it is always absorbing and saving water; it¡¯s a plant that is very seriously working hard to try and survive.¡±


    Hearing this, Pei Tingsong¡¯s hand froze, and he forgot to pull the toy¡¯s tail back.


    ¡°He¡¯s a lot like that too.¡± Fang Juexia released his hand and smiled at the camera.


    ¡°So it turns out that it has such a deep meaning ah.¡± The host laughed and looked at Pei Tingsong as she asked, ¡°Then what kind of plant does Tingsong think Juexia is like?¡±


    Pei Tingsong leaned back against the sofa and began to pull at the spikes on the dinosaur¡¯s back. ¡°I used to think he was more like a cherry blossom or something. You know,¡± He looked sideways at Fang Juexia, and even put his hands beside his own face in order to create some shadows for contrast as he continued, ¡°this face is very beautiful, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Fang Juexia was a little embarrassed. He let go of the hand that was holding the dinosaur¡¯s little tail and tilted his head away from Pei Tingsong.


    The host nodded, unable to hide the smile that crept onto her face. ¡°There is a bit of that cherry blossom feeling.¡±


    ¡°But now I don¡¯t think so.¡± Pei Tingsong began to toss the little dinosaur¡¯s tail around again. ¡°I think he¡¯s a white eustoma.¡±


    Since he was being so specific, Fang Juexia became very curious and asked, ¡°Why?¡±


    Pei Tingsong flicked the little dinosaur tail at him one last time, then raised his eyebrows. ¡°Not telling you.¡±


    Fang Juexia nodded, and then began to clap slowly. Pei Tingsong was amused by this and also started to clap with him. He clapped and clapped, then abruptly switched to banging on the table. ¡°Okay, that was the last question, we¡¯re done!¡±


    ¡°Hard work, everyone.¡± Fang Juexia stood up and bowed to the staff.


    After the end of the interview, they changed out of the outfits they had worn for the photoshoot and got ready to leave.


    In the dressing room, as Fang Juexia took off the sweater, static from the yarn crackled all around him. He then recalled something, reached into his shirt pocket, took out the piece of paper with the poem written on it, hesitated for a bit, then didn¡¯t look at it again before folding it and placing it into the pocket of his down jacket.


    After leaving the location of the photoshoot, they headed for the company. On the way, Cheng Qiang praised and extolled their performance until Fang Juexia felt embarrassed and stopped talking again. He just listened to Pei Tingsong chat with Cheng Qiang, replying in a desultory fashion every once in a while.


    ¡°If the sales of the magazine go up this time, more job opportunities in the fashion world will open up for you guys in the future.¡± Cheng Qiang¡¯s face was filled with a smile. ¡°Yesterday, Xiao Miao and Ling Yi¡¯s variety show ratings also went up, while at the same time, Lu Yuan received an invitation from the dance variety show that he wanted the most, and Ziyan was also invited to collaborate on a feature track, which is still being discussed right now. Step-by-step, everyone is on the right track now ah.¡±


    ¡°Strong Ge¡¯s old mother¡¯s heart has finally paid off.¡± Pei Tingsong laughed and complained, ¡°Except for the two of us, everything is going well.¡±


    Fang Juexia also laughed with him, but Cheng Qiang said, ¡°You two? Don¡¯t even mention it, all the jobs are looking for the two of you now, there¡¯s a giant heap of them, all of them requiring both of you to participate together.¡±


    These two people looked at each other at the same time, but because of this tacit understanding, they felt some embarrassment and so looked away at the same time. Clearly, when shooting for the magazine, they seemed to have gotten much closer, but after leaving that situation, they still couldn¡¯t interact naturally like ordinary bandmates.


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s childishness rose up again. ¡°If it¡¯s not something with hip-hop, I¡¯m not going.¡±


    ¡°There aren¡¯t any hip-hop jobs for the time being.¡± Cheng Qiang turned the steering wheel. ¡°We¡¯ve gone through all of them, and there¡¯s nothing particularly good right now, so we can wait some more. When we get back, you guys also have a look at them. If you want to do something, you should do something that is suitable for both of you and is a high-quality program with an equally high-quality team behind it. Otherwise, it¡¯ll be too much of a waste if you guys work hard and don¡¯t get commensurate returns in the end.¡±


    Cheng Qiang was a good agent who was focused and cared a lot about his artists, and Fang Juexia had been clear on this for a long time. In fact, he didn¡¯t have much expectations for variety shows and reality shows; to begin with, he didn¡¯t even like them very much. In addition, he had a quiet personality, so he wasn¡¯t the kind of talent that reality shows needed to bring in to create obstacles or comedic moments. What¡¯s more, he also didn¡¯t like the exaggerated methods used by reality shows to attract attention.


    But he was also aware of the fact that variety shows were an essential factor for maintaining exposure and improving their national popularity.


    Cheng Qiang concentrated on driving and didn¡¯t speak any further. Fang Juexia took out his cellphone to deal with his unread messages, and suddenly, remembered the last question from the interview just now. So, he opened up a search engine to look up ¡®eustoma¡¯.


    Wasn¡¯t this the white flower that Pei Tingsong was holding during the photoshoot?


    Once he made this connection, the strange emotions during the photoshoot started to flow through him again.


    Pei Tingsong had just put his earphones on when his cellphone vibrated. Unlocking it, he found that it was actually a message from Fang Juexia, who had never taken the initiative to send him messages before.


    [Just a pretty face: Why a eustoma?]


    He was also strangely persistent.


    The corner of Pei Tingsong¡¯s mouth involuntarily quirked up. Clearly, he and Fang Juexia were sitting right next to each other, but Pei Tingsong still turned over and typed his reply with his back facing him. A big and tall 1.8m guy sitting sideways in a car made for both a strange and funny scene.


    Fang Juexia also felt puzzled, but he was quickly getting used to Pei Tingsong¡¯s confusing behavior. As usual, he gazed at the nighttime scenery through the car window, while the little clock in his heart ticked away. After 4 minutes and 50 seconds had passed, his phone vibrated.


    [Kaleido Pei Tingsong: [Cactus emoticon]]


    Pfft.


    After holding back for such a long time, how is it that you¡¯re just sending this?.


    But before long, another message popped up¡ª


    [Kaleido Pei Tingsong: In fact, there is another name for the eustoma, it is also called the prairie gentian; its native environment is limestone. Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s very wonderful? It is a flower that looks very delicate and very fragile, but in fact, contains the courage of a dragon and grows amongst the rocks.]


    After that, he also sent a small dinosaur emotion.


    The courage of dragons.


    Flowers blooming amongst the rocks.


    The top of the chatbox showed that he was still typing, but after a while, the ¡°typing¡± notice disappeared, and then appeared again.


    Fang Juexia¡¯s eyes couldn¡¯t help but stare at this notice that kept changing, all the way until new content popped into the chatbox once again.


    [Kaleido Pei Tingsong: Anyway, it¡¯s a bit like you.]


    [Kaleido Pei Tingsong: If you don¡¯t feel like it is, then forget about it, I¡¯m just talking nonsense.]


    ¡°We¡¯re here!¡± Cheng Qiang backed up the car and told them, ¡°Get dressed and get out of the car, hurry up, hurry up.¡± He casually glanced into the rearview mirror. ¡°Yi? You two didn¡¯t sleep ah.¡±


    Fang Juexia¡¯s train of thought was suddenly interrupted. He held his cellphone tightly and said, ¡°No¡­¡±


    ¡°Then get out of the car quickly ba, and wait for us.¡±


    Under Cheng Qiang¡¯s urgings, Fang Juexia could only quickly put on his coat, open the door, and get out of the car.


    Seeing his rapid movements, Pei Tingsong actually felt a little uncomfortable.


    He finally glanced at the words he had just sent out, threw his cellphone into his pocket, closed the car door with a black expression, then slouched around at the very back as he even started complaining about Cheng Qiang, ¡°What¡¯s the hurry? You¡¯re rushing as if you have to give birth to triplets ah.¡±


    Once they were back at the company, before they could get any time to rest, they were called in to participate in the screening of the first round for the demo music with the other members. As soon as everyone got together, the atmosphere turned noisy, with Ling Yi pulling Fang Juexia over to eat some new snacks he had bought.


    Even with all this, Fang Juexia¡¯s feelings kept returning to that moment in the car, when he was still holding his cellphone, reading the message Pei Tingsong had sent him.


    Eustoma.


    He couldn¡¯t describe the kind of mood he was in now. Maybe it was because the Pei Tingsong in his impression had always faced him with a hostile attitude, so he subconsciously avoided him.


    But now he had begun to praise him¡ªright ba, that should be regarded as praise?


    This change made Fang Juexia feel very unused to it; this person Pei Tingsong had no rules, so he just wasn¡¯t able to discover a way to deal with him.


    But there was also a slight pleasant feeling that lingered in his heart. Fang Juexia wasn¡¯t the kind of person desperate to be praised by others; on the contrary, most of the external evaluations of him couldn¡¯t affect his judgment of himself. He knew clearly what kind of person he was and what he needed to do. His inner world was stable and consistent.


    So when his mood became affected by Pei Tingsong¡¯s simple words, Fang Juexia felt that this was inconceivable.


    ¡°Everyone is here ba?¡± Chen Zhengyun sat down. ¡°Then let¡¯s start ba.¡±


    In addition to the demo provided by He Ziyan, this first round of songs also included some songs the company had bought, and they screened them all together. There were many aspects to consider when selecting songs for an album: how well they matched with the concept of the album, the diversity and consistency of the song styles, the balance between dance music and ballads, etc.


    Fang Juexia was hesitating a bit. He had a ballad he had composed himself, but he wasn¡¯t sure whether it fit in line with their new album¡¯s concept. After all, this was his first attempt at composing music. Unlike when it came to matters about his strong points of singing and dancing, he wasn¡¯t 100% sure about this. Ever since he created the demo for it, he has been carrying it in a USB flash drive with him the entire time, for he had wanted to discuss it with the boss or a composer in private and listen to their suggestions. However, he hadn¡¯t expected that there would be so many new jobs for them. His plan was disrupted, and in a blink of an eye, the company had already started to pick songs.


    The meeting lasted for three hours, because all the group members had gotten together, and their current momentum was akin to wheels and axles rotating and working smoothly with each other to move forward. Although it was hard, they all enjoyed this process, for it was for the sake of the new album. This was the first album that they had all been involved in the production process for, and it was very meaningful.


    Pei Tingsong had made up for some of his lost sleep during the freetimes during the photoshoot, so he still counted as being pretty awake during the meeting. He glanced at Fang Juexia, only to find that this person was distracted. This was very abnormal; based on normal circumstances, Fang Juexia should be the most serious one here.


    Strange.


    The stranger he was, the more Pei Tingsong wanted to observe.


    The boss, who had heard several songs, commented, ¡°These songs are all pretty good, but there are no bright spots in the compositions of the second and third demo songs, though it¡¯s probably very difficult to save that. Pass them first, and the rest will be decided pending the second round. This time, we¡¯ll also do our best to promote the non-title songs, so everyone can rest assured. Is there anything else, Xiao Cheng?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s another song for the first round of song selections.¡±


    ¡°What style?¡±


    ¡°R&B ballad.¡± Cheng Qiang said, ¡°This composer is very good, he has written several hot OST songs.¡±


    Pei Tingsong discovered that Fang Juexia¡¯s fingers seemed to be holding onto a small square metal item. He was also leaning forward, which was a very clear sign of him wanting to take action.


    ¡°This album is focusing on electronic and dance music, so ballads should be limited to just one or two. We can¡¯t have too many.¡±


    Fang Juexia clenched his hand and pulled it back.


    Pei Tingsong keenly captured this movement. He spun the pen in his hand, and his eyes fell on Fang Juexia once again.


    The meeting didn¡¯t end until 1 in the morning, and by then, everyone¡¯s energy had reached their limits. They got into the van to return to the dormitory to rest. The one who was usually the most energetic, Ling Yi, also managed to ask only two questions about what had happened when they were doing the magazine photoshoot before falling asleep. Ever since Fang Juexia and Pei Tingsong began to sell their CP, they even had to sit next to each other in the van to ensure that they appeared together in the daily livestream.


    Once he finally reached the dormitory, Cheng Qiang woke the sleeping members up one by one, just like he was waking up a litter of puppies. Of course, there was a wolf cub mixed in with them.


    ¡°¡­¡­we¡¯re here?¡±


    ¡°So fast ah~¡±


    ¡°Ah, I slept in a weird position, and my neck hurts¡­¡±


    ¡°Where am I? Where is this¡­¡±


    Everyone got out of the car one after another. Fang Juexia, who had woken up first, got out of the car with his coat gathered in his hands. Pei Tingsong was also getting ready to get out when he inadvertently spotted a metal USB left on the seat beside him.


    There were only two bathrooms in their collective accommodations, which was not very convenient. Fang Juexia took a bath as quickly as possible, and when he came out, he found Pei Tingsong sitting alone in the living room.


    Did he want to take a bath?


    Fang Juexia thought about it for a moment, but finally he didn¡¯t actually ask the question. He wiped his hair with a towel and prepared to go back to his room. However, as soon as he put his hand on the door handle, he saw a palm press against his door. Only when Fang Juexia turned around did he discover that Pei Tingsong had already surrounded him from behind.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± His tone was flat.


    Pei Tingsong stretched out his right hand, from which a USB swayed and dangled in front of his eyes, and said, ¡°You dropped something.¡±


    Fang Juexia¡¯s eyes changed slightly. He hastily thanked him and wanted to grab it, but Pei Tingsong was faster and clutched the USB back into his palm, before laughing and saying, ¡°You want it? Beg me.¡±


    They had already crossed the safe distance between them.


    Fang Juexia looked up at him with his damp hair, and that familiar look appeared in his eyes again. ¡°Don¡¯t want it, so you take it ba.¡±


    Sure enough, Pei Tingsong was still that devil who craved to see the world plunged into chaos. It was he who had thought too much and had become captivated by his clever words during the interview.


    Pei Tingsong suddenly felt excited, because this was the first time that Fang Juexia had shown an outwardly strong but inwardly weak side in front of him. Right now, he was acting brave and trying to speak angrily.


    ¡°What are you afraid of?¡± The corners of Pei Tingsong¡¯s mouth hooked up, and he deliberately lowered the voice as he said, ¡°Isn¡¯t it just a song?¡± As he spoke, the fragrance of Fang Juexia¡¯s shower gel filled the space between them; it was a very clean smell.


    Fang Juexia frowned. ¡°How do you know?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not hard to guess ah. You held onto it without letting go of it during the meeting, and then hesitated for so long.¡± Pei Tingsong continued to guess, ¡°It¡¯s not just any demo, I¡¯m guessing it¡¯s a ballad.¡±


    Fang Juexia felt both angry and amused. What kind of an evil fate was this¡ªevery time he had no confidence, he would fall straight into Pei Tingsong¡¯s hands. Sure enough, he couldn¡¯t deal with this guy, Pei Tingsong.


    While they were confronting each other, Ling Yi¡¯s voice sounded out from the main bathroom as he yelled, ¡°Juexia! I forgot to bring in my pajamas. They¡¯re just on my bed, help me get them ba!¡±


    ¡°I just wrote it casually. If you want to listen to it, then fine; give it back to me when you¡¯re done.¡± Fang Juexia turned to open the bedroom door and did not continue to tangle with him. In any case, all that would happen was that Pei Tingsong would just listen to it, then ridicule him a bit; it wasn¡¯t some big loss.


    Bang. Just like that, Pei Tingsong had the door slammed in his face. Originally, he had thought that as soon as Fang Juexia said a soft word, he would return the USB to him. Who had known that it would turn out like this? Staring at the door, Pei Tingsong felt bewildered with this unexpected event.


    This was really a very hard branch.


    This was not a eustoma, but a solid prairie gentian.


    No, a glacier gentian.


    Even after gaining the combat experience of repeatedly running into a stone wall, Pei Tingsong still didn¡¯t give up his confidence in continuing to face this kind of confrontation. Instead, even more than ever, he now wanted to understand what kind of temper Fang Juexia had.


    His curiosity was growing as their relationship grew ever closer.


    After helping Ling Yi, Fang Juexia sat at his desk and opened his Sudoku book. He did two puzzles in a row, but his mood didn¡¯t calm down as fast as he thought it would. Fang Juexia seldom had times when he couldn¡¯t restore his own emotions to their original state, and he didn¡¯t even know what he was angry at right now, or why he was unable to calm down even after this long.


    He sensed that he had changed. It was like his state of equilibrium had been broken, with his entropy increasing, and things were now starting to incline towards randomness. Fang Juexia didn¡¯t like this at all. He didn¡¯t like randomness, he liked his state when at equilibrium.


    He considered the possible reasons for this, investigating them one by one, until he was left with only the last one option¡ªhe had mistakenly thought that the ice had already been broken in the relationship between him and Pei Tingsong, when that wasn¡¯t actually the case.


    As he was immersed in his thoughts, the tip of his pen seeped ink into the space where a number should have been filled in. Black ink continued to spread and stretch along the trails of the paper fiber until a WeChat prompt sounded.


    [Kaleido Pei Tingsong: Shared a video.]


    Fang Juexia felt that this was strange and clicked it, only to realize that it was actually a video of him shot during the outdoor photoshoot during the day. It was just that this was something that had obviously been taken by a cellphone, and was not from the official shooting angle.


    In the video, he was lying quietly on the snow for a close-up shot. When Lin Mo called out ¡°OK¡± and pulled the camera¡¯s focus away from him, he immediately sat up and shook off the snow on his head. Snowflakes fluttered down from his fluffy hair. In the video, the tip of his nose was red, his hands were held in front of him to warm himself, and he laughed resplendently.


    The Fang Juexia watching the video currently thought he heard something, but it wasn¡¯t very clear, so he put his ear closer to his phone.


    ¡°Frozen silly ba.¡±


    It was Pei Tingsong¡¯s voice. It was very light, and it was something that he said to himself as he was filming this video.


    ¡°¡­Laughing like this.¡±


    Fang Juexia shut the video and quit WeChat, cleared out all the running apps on his phone, quickly turned off the desk lamp, and went to bed.


    Ten minutes later, yes, the little clock in his heart told him very accurately that it was ten minutes, Fang Juexia opened up his cellphone again.


    A burst of cold white light quietly cut through this dark space, and his chest also opened a small crack, revealing his lively heart beating inside.


    Across the wall, Pei Tingsong was lying on his bed tossing and turning as he waited and waited ah, waiting until even his favorite book had become boring. He was waiting for a message.


    [Just a pretty face: Please give me some advice after listening to it.]


    He couldn¡¯t help laughing, and then even read these nine words from the little ice cube out loud again.


    How could this person be so frozen? He could even imagine the expression on Fang Juexia¡¯s face while he was typing these words.


    He was just getting ready to reply when another message came from the other end¡ª


    [Just a pretty face: Don¡¯t film me again.]


    With a thump, Pei Tingsong closed the book that he just couldn¡¯t get through, and then lay on the bed with his head propped up. He opened the video he had sent through the chatbox again, rewatched it for the nth time, and soon replied with a smile¡ª


    [Kaleido Pei Tingsong: [Cactus emoticon]]

 CH 25

    Chapter 25 ¨C Two Sided Insomnia


    I can turn on that light


    Putting his cellphone down, Pei Tingsong still couldn¡¯t fall asleep smoothly. He tossed and turned until the clock struck 3:30 a.m., then got up to sit at his desk and turn on his computer. That USB drive was lying on his desk. Thinking about Fang Juexia¡¯s piqued words, he picked up the USB drive and stuck it into his computer.


    However, just when the pop-up for the USB drive appeared on the screen, Pei Tingsong hesitated.


    Right now wasn¡¯t a good time yet.


    He could see that Fang Juexia cherished his creation, and he could completely understand this frame of mind as a creator. A painstakingly created work required better treatment.


    After pulling the USB drive out of the computer, Pei Tingsong lay on his desk, and recalled the scene of the interview as soon as he closed his eyes. They had given different answers for almost every question. Fang Juexia was like a window; by just pushing it open a little, he had already seen a world completely different from his own.


    He had never seen such a person, one who lived both silently and soberly, who did not need to shout any slogans, or needed to show off any rebellious spirit; it was as if being self-sustaining was his natural ability.


    Remembering something, Pei Tingsong sat up and found the documentary about the proof process of Fermat¡¯s last theorem.


    Since he was a child, he knew little of mathematics, and also wasn¡¯t very interested in it. Before watching the documentary, he didn¡¯t expect his viewing experience to be very good. But unexpectedly, he actually seriously kept watching it and actually got quite deep into it.


    Clatter¡ª¡ª


    Suddenly, a loud noise came from outside.


    Pei Tingsong stopped the movie, took off his earphones, and walked out the door quietly. The source of the sound seemed to be coming from the living room. He went out and walked along the corridor, but unexpectedly, he actually saw Fang Juexia there.


    He was still wearing the sweater that Ling Yi had given him, while squatting furtively at the entrance to the corridor. Pei Tingsong wanted to scare him a bit, but was also afraid that if he really did get scared, he would yell and wake up the others. So he simply stepped closer and quietly squatted beside Fang Juexia.


    In this way, the two of them crouched side by side, blocking the entrance to the corridor.


    Regarding the sudden appearance of an extra person, Fang Juexia was completely ignorant of his presence. At the moment, he was trying to sort out a pile of books that he accidentally knocked down when he was passing by. On top of the books had been an old copper vase. He had been walking along the hallway, and had run into it as soon as he had turned the corner. The vase had crashed down, startling him into jumping up.


    Fang Juexia stood the vase upright and set it next to his hand. Most of these books were so old that their pages had started to curl, which may be why they were being pressed down by the vase like this.


    It must be from when Pei Tingsong had moved here and had no place to put these, so he had just piled and left them here. Fang Juexia¡¯s obsessive-compulsive disorder compelled him to organize it for him, which he did until there was only one book left. A rectangular bookmark had been placed on the open page, and under the light of the lamp, he recognized the handwriting.


    It was Pei Tingsong¡¯s.


    Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t help but read out in a low voice, ¡°A robin redbreast in a cage, puts all heaven in a rage¡­¡±


    ¡°Cough.¡°


    The sudden cough scared Fang Juexia into directly sitting down on the ground, and his hand accidentally knocked the vase over.


    Oh no¡ª¡ª


    The vase didn¡¯t fall down the way he had thought it would; the corridor was still very quiet, so quiet, to the point where Fang Juexia could hear his heartbeat clearly.


    The dim light of the floor lamp brightened the face that was so incomparably close to him. Pei Tingsong was very near him, and with one of his hands on the wall of the corridor, they were face-to-face as he encircled him.


    ¡°You¡­¡±


    ¡°Shh.¡± Pei Tingsong relaxed the hand that was against the wall, stabilized his center of gravity that had tilted forward from having to save the vase, and then set the vase down gently.


    Fang Juexia blankly held the bookmark in his hands, and his eyes were wide open as he stared at Pei Tingsong without moving a muscle, looking just like a badly frightened hamster.


    Seeing him like this, Pei Tingsong held back a smile and pulled the bookmark away from him. He pretended to be angry and stared back at Fang Juexia, then lowered his voice and said, ¡°It¡¯s the middle of the night, and you¡¯re not sleeping just to steal a peek at my bookmark?¡±


    Fang Juexia¡¯s expression currently was a little innocent.


    After all, he was innocent.


    ¡°No¡­¡± He also lowered his voice. ¡°I was a little hungry and wanted to eat something, but then I accidentally knocked into it.¡±


    Pei Tingsong nodded meaningfully, stuck the bookmark back into the last open book, and placed it back on the top of that pile of books.


    Fang Juexia supported himself against the wall as he got up; he had been really scared by this person just now.


    ¡°I¡¯m hungry, too. Is there anything to eat?¡± It was too dark, so Pei Tingsong turned on the light in the dining room.


    ¡°En.¡± Fang Juexia started to work quietly.


    Their kitchen had a semi-open layout, separated from the rest of the space by a small bar. Pei Tingsong sat in front of the bar and poured himself a cup of juice. He also poured a cup for Fang Juexia and set it across from him.


    He quietly watched Fang Juexia busy himself in front of the kitchen counter. This was a rare scene for him; from his childhood to his adulthood, he had only had nannies who were responsible for his daily necessities, and they did not, and also could not, eat together with him at the same table. He had already gotten used to the loneliness of dining alone since he was a child, especially after his grandfather had died.


    ¡°Do you want to eat fried eggs?¡± Fang Juexia turned and asked him in a low voice.


    Pei Tingsong shrugged. ¡°Alright.¡±


    Not long after, Fang Juexia carried over some dishes and set them on the bar. There were six crystal clear shrimp dumplings, two runny fried eggs, and a dish of radish cake.


    ¡°You cooked so fast?¡± Pei Tingsong asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s just a midnight snack,¡± Fang Juexia knew he was an otherworldly young master, so he explained, ¡°The shrimp dumplings were quick-frozen, but they still taste pretty good. As soon as they¡¯re steamed thoroughly, they can be eaten.¡± He pointed to the radish cake. ¡°My mom sent this to me some time ago, and she made it herself. You can try it.¡±


    Although Pei Tingsong was born with a gold spoon in his mouth, he was rarely particular about things. Even though he had been forced into StarChart to suffer, he had seldom complained about it.


    He picked up a shrimp dumpling and stuffed it into his mouth; it was delicious, going way beyond his expectations. When Fang Juexia saw that Pei Tingsong¡¯s eyes had even brightened, his mouth quirked up in a slight smile.


    ¡°This is really delicious, no wonder you like to eat it.¡±


    Fang Juexia froze for a moment before remembering that that was a question they had answered in the rapid-fire Q&A session. He used his chopsticks to break open the fried egg and let the yolk flow out. ¡°The ones from dim-sum at the teahouse are even better.¡±


    Pei Tingsong then picked up a radish cake. He was very curious what this rectangular, soft, and glutinous thing tasted like.


    ¡°This is delicious, too.¡±


    Seeing his satisfied expression, Fang Juexia felt a bit happy inside.


    This person ate just like a child. But that was right, he was a child who had just turned 20 a few days ago anyway.


    Thinking that this dish of radish cake was made by Fang Juexia¡¯s mother, Pei Tingsong felt a little envious and a little curious. ¡°When you were a child, did you eat meals made by your mom every day?¡±


    Fang Juexia drank a mouthful of juice before replying, ¡°Not necessarily.¡± He hesitated for a few seconds, then explained, ¡°My mom is a middle school teacher. When I was in primary school, I couldn¡¯t wait for her to come back to cook, so she would give me money and let me go downstairs to buy roasted pork rice or something. But as long as she had time, she would cook for me.¡±


    So his mom was a teacher. Upon hearing Fang Juexia talk about his family and childhood himself, a sense of joy inexplicably appeared in Pei Tingsong¡¯s heart.


    Fang Juexia seemed to think of something. He looked up at the camera installed in the corner of the kitchen. ¡°They¡¯re also recording at night ba.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Pei Tingsong picked up another shrimp dumpling. ¡°We¡¯re not wearing mics, so they can¡¯t hear anything.¡±


    ¡°But they will see us sneaking a midnight snack.¡±


    Pei Tingsong said ambiguously, ¡°You were so hungry that you couldn¡¯t sleep, and you¡¯re still caring about that.¡± Having said that, he glanced at Fang Juexia again. ¡°And on that topic, look at you, so thin you¡¯re about to die.¡±


    Fang Juexia choked. He just knew that this guy couldn¡¯t speak any good words. He changed the subject and stretched out his chopsticks to get the last piece. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you sleeping? It¡¯s not like you¡¯ve gotten a lot of sleep already.¡±


    ¡°I was watching Fermat¡¯s Last Theorem.¡±


    Upon hearing his words, the shrimp dumpling that Fang Juexia had just picked up accidentally fell down. He really hadn¡¯t expected that this person in front of him would actually go and watch a mathematical documentary just because he had mentioned it.


    Pei Tingsong supported his chin with his hands and looked at him. ¡°It¡¯s better than I expected.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Fang Juexia put down his chopsticks. ¡°I thought you would find it boring.¡±


    ¡°There are a lot of places where I can only half-understand what¡¯s going on. After all, I¡¯m not good at math.¡± Pei Tingsong added, ¡°I only wanted to see it because you said it moved you.¡±


    This sentence fell on his ears, and they started to feel faintly warm.


    ¡°But my level of understanding is limited, and so my experience after watching it must be different from that of yours. So I wanted to ask you,¡± Pei Tingsong looked him in the eye. ¡°Why do you like it so much? Is it because of that kind of academic spirit?¡±


    Fang Juexia lowered his head, picked up the remaining small pieces of radish cake, and packed them together neatly, one by one, as he answered, ¡°En, after all, for more than 300 years, so many people have gone one after another to prove this theorem. This process is very hot-blooded.¡±


    ¡°And,¡± he raised his head and spoke, ¡°Wiles dreamed of proving Fermat¡¯s Last Theorem since he was ten years old, and he really did so after becoming an adult. Can you imagine that feeling?¡±


    The light that shone in Fang Juexia¡¯s eyes as he said this made it seem as if his whole person had come alive. Pei Tingsong couldn¡¯t help but nod, wanting to affirm his statement.


    ¡°Of course,¡± Pei Tingsong said, ¡°Your expression right now is very similar to the one he had when he was talking about that in the documentary.¡±


    Fang Juexia was a little embarrassed. He composed his facial expression and drank a mouthful of juice. ¡°No, it¡¯s just that every time I think about it, I feel that it¡¯s very inspiring.¡±


    Almost immediately, Pei Tingsong thought back to Fang Juexia¡¯s definition of an idol during the interview.


    ¡°So, this is the embodiment of a dream that you were talking about.¡±


    Fang Juexia nodded, his face showing a peaceful calmness. ¡°At least this existence allowed me to dare to dream when I was a child.¡±


    Pei Tingsong felt that this was inconceivable. ¡°When did you start to think like this?¡±


    Fang Juexia finished the juice in his glass. ¡°The first time I saw this film was when I was in junior high school. I still remember the beginning scene of the movie to this day, and I¡¯ll probably remember it for the rest of my life.¡±


    ¡°That monologue?¡±


    His eyes softened as he recalled, ¡°I remember the background sound for that scene was the ticking of a clock. Wiles then said, ¡®Perhaps I can best describe my experience in mathematics as entering a dark mansion. One goes into a dark room; it¡¯s dark, completely dark, and he stumbles into the furniture.¡¯¡±


    This was surprisingly similar to the unexpected and startling experience they had just had.


    ¡°Gradually, you learn where each piece of furniture is. And finally after six months or so, you¡¯ll find the light switch and turn it on, and suddenly, it¡¯s all illuminated, and you can see exactly where you were.¡±


    Fang Juexia stopped, and after a period of silence, he added, ¡°I know I¡¯m in the dark right now.¡±


    ¡°But one day,¡± he said, looking up at Pei Tingsong with a quiet smile, ¡°I¡¯m sure I can turn on that light, too.¡±


    ¡°That day, I¡¯ll see where I am, and will let everyone see me too.¡±


    ¡ª


    The author has something to say:


    A robin redbreast in a cage, puts all heaven in a rage ¡ª¡ªfrom The Roots of Romanticism


    Little K Group Omake:


    At the same time Pei Tingsong and Fang Juexia sneak into the corridor¡ª¡ª


    The group chat of four people in Kaleido, minus #4 and #6, flashes red:


    [Kaleido¡¯s #1 Boss 01: Juexia actually ran out without sleeping.]


    [National first-class flower hand dance performer: What are you saying, aren¡¯t you also not sleeping?]


    [Kaleido¡¯s #1 Boss 01: I slept too much in the car, I¡¯m hiding in my quilt and reading novels right now. Juexia has never been the frightening insomnia type!]


    [Your Fire Ge is still Your Fire Ge: My roommate went out, too.]


    [National first-class flower hand dance performer: ???]


    [Kaleido¡¯s #1 Boss 01: !!!]


    [The Household¡¯s Essential Good Captain: I actually didn¡¯t turn on Do Not Disturb¡­You guys woke up the last person.]


    [Your Fire Ge is still Your Fire Ge: Still selling fanservice at 3:30 in the morning, do they have to be so hardworking?]

 CH 26

    Chapter 26 ¨C Thoughts Spiralling


    I believe you.


    At this moment, Fang Juexia¡¯s entire body seemed to be glowing.


    Pei Tingsong couldn¡¯t describe what that feeling was. Obviously, they were both pursuing their dreams, but the ways and means with which he and Fang Juexia chose to go about doing so seemed to be completely different.


    He was directly rushing up and dashing his head bloody against the bars of his cage, wanting to see a freer world.


    Fang Juexia groped around patiently in the dark, looking for the button that would trigger the light.


    Pei Tingsong couldn¡¯t help laughing out loud. ¡°This world really has many solutions.¡±


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t understand the meaning of his words, but he realized that he had said too much.


    Plainly speaking, his relationship with this person in front of him had been just like that between fire and water a few weeks ago, but now, he could actually tell him about how his train of thought had developed, something that he had never shared with others before.


    This wasn¡¯t like him at all, he wasn¡¯t a person who would casually share such things with others.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t actually think you would answer my question,¡± Pei Tingsong said.


    Fang Juexia was internally surprised by this tacit understanding, but his expression was indifferent as he replied, ¡°I also didn¡¯t think you would go watch that movie.¡±


    ¡°You said it moved you.¡± The corners of Pei Tingsong¡¯s mouth carried a smile. ¡°I was very curious, what kind of thing could move you?¡±


    It wasn¡¯t that easy to shake an iceberg.


    ¡°You are so curious.¡± Fang Juexia began to clean up the dishes, putting all the dirty plates away, in preparation to leave.


    ¡°Since you already said that,¡± Pei Tingsong said, ¡°I have another question.¡±


    Fang Juexia put the plates into the sink and quickly washed them.


    Pei Tingsong directly took his silence for acquiescence. He went over and leaned on the kitchen counter.


    The shualala sound of the water didn¡¯t manage to drown out Pei Tingsong¡¯s voice.


    ¡°What actually happened when you were at Astar?¡±


    After asking this question, Pei Tingsong felt that this was incredible of him. In the past, he definitely would not have been so careful when questioning someone, it was completely impossible for him. Right now, not only was he thinking about how to make the wording of his question more euphemistic, but was also eager to not be misunderstood.


    Most of all, after he asked that question, he actually felt uneasy.


    Fang Juexia took the plates out of the sink, turned off the tap, dried his hands, and then looked up at Pei Tingsong as he said, ¡°This question, I may not be able to give a detailed answer to you.¡±


    When he saw Pei Tingsong¡¯s puzzled expression, he added, ¡°In fact, if you ask me directly whether I have really participated in the hidden rules business before, I can answer that clearly.¡±


    He looked straight into Pei Tingsong¡¯s eyes and said, ¡°I haven¡¯t.¡±


    Pei Tingsong instinctively blurted out, ¡°I know.¡± He then realised that he had reacted too fast, so he paused before speaking again, ¡°I mean, I believe you.¡±


    The tone with which he said these words was so certain that Fang Juexia was almost shaken.


    ¡°That¡¯s not what you used to be like.¡± Fang Juexia laughed and took the dishes back to the cupboard.


    Pei Tingsong immediately replied, ¡°People¡¯s cognitive processes regarding things are always spiralling.¡±


    Fang Juexia stopped and turned to look at him. ¡°Things?¡±


    When Pei Tingsong thought of the ¡°ice¡±, ¡°wood¡±, ¡°silly goose¡±, and other assorted metaphors he had come up with for Fang Juexia, he felt a little guilty. ¡°¡­.and of people.¡±


    Fang Juexia closed the cupboard door and asked, ¡°So how can you be so sure that I¡¯m not lying to you right now?¡±


    ¡°If you are, then you are too cunning.¡± Pei Tingsong¡¯s voice carried a bit of a complaint here.


    Fang Juexia let out a rare audible laugh. ¡°One good turn deserves another.¡± But he soon restrained his smile. ¡°I didn¡¯t lie to you. However, I can¡¯t tell you what happened back then. The only thing I can say is that I haven¡¯t done anything I feel ashamed about. I left AS simply because I didn¡¯t want to change myself.¡±


    Pei Tingsong believed this sentence, because it was completely in line with Fang Juexia¡¯s philosophy.


    He knew that his relationship with him wasn¡¯t close enough for him to speak his mind freely, so he didn¡¯t press on.


    Fang Juexia¡¯s frankness at this moment was already a surprise to him.


    The blue light of day gradually leached into the dark night outside the window. None of them thought that they would actually be able to spend such a long time with each other, and even get along with each other peacefully during it.


    ¡°Go back to bed ba. It¡¯s almost light outside.¡± Saying that, Fang Juexia got ready to leave, but Pei Tingsong grabbed his wrist again. Only this time, he could clearly feel that Pei Tingsong wasn¡¯t using much strength.


    He was just holding on gently.


    ¡°That song you wrote, I haven¡¯t listened to it yet.¡±


    Pei Tingsong explained himself, ¡°I just wanted to tease you at that time. Originally, I was going to return it to you, but I didn¡¯t expect you to just throw it at me with angry words accompanying it.¡±


    Yeah ¡ªFang Juexia internally complained. He also hadn¡¯t expected that he would get angry.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. If you don¡¯t want to listen to it, then just¡­¡±


    ¡°I actually do want to listen to it.¡± Pei Tingsong interrupted his sentence mid-way, ¡°But I want to ask for your consent first, so that it¡¯s not out of a fit of pique, but that you¡¯re really willing to let me listen to it.¡±


    Fang Juexia suddenly froze.


    ¡°Are you willing?¡±


    Insomnia and hurriedly coming out to resolve his hunger, coupled with more than ten hours of work¡ªall of these factors had led to his mind becoming fuzzy.


    Fang Juexia wasn¡¯t very clear-headed right now.


    He nodded but didn¡¯t know why he was doing so.


    This song hadn¡¯t been heard by anyone else but him since its birth. When he first wrote it down, he had never imagined that the first audience member to hear it would be Pei Tingsong, a person diametrically opposed to him.


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll listen to it thoroughly.¡± Pei Tingsong released his hand and said, ¡°I¡¯m done talking.¡± He made way for Fang Juexia as he added, ¡°You can go back and rest.¡±


    With the residual warmth on his wrist, Fang Juexia headed towards his room. They walked back together, with him in front, and Pei Tingsong behind, and as soon as they got to the door, Fang Juexia suddenly turned around. He hadn¡¯t expected Pei Tingsong to be so close to him, and ended up nearly colliding into him.


    Pei Tingsong was obviously also startled, and he reflexively caught hold of Fang Juexia¡¯s elbow and whispered, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± He thought that Fang Juexia had left something outside.


    In the dark, Fang Juexia¡¯s eyes, which were looking straight at him, seemed especially bright as he said, ¡°I want to read that book.¡±


    Book? Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t understand, but he saw Fang Juexia nod, and then continue in a very quiet voice¡ª


    ¡°The Roots of Romanticism.¡±


    Pei Tingsong let go of his hand.


    For the first time, he found that the title of this book could actually sound so nice when said out loud.


    Their busy schedule made it so that none of them were able to even remember the date, so a week passed by in the blink of an eye, and it seemed as if their insomnia driven nighttime chat had just taken place.


    If the magazine hadn¡¯t gotten in touch with Fang Juexia midway through and asked them to help put together a monologue, he would have remained under the impression that they had just finished that job.


    Fang Juexia finished the recording according to the materials distributed by the magazine, and then gave Cheng Qiang full authority over everything else related to it without any further questions.


    Kaleido¡¯s popularity was climbing higher and higher. With the industrious efforts of their agent Cheng Qiang, the whole group had recently won a highly nationally recognized food brand¡¯s spokesperson job. The last spokesperson for this brand had been a well-known singer. Coincidentally, on the day everyone was shooting the advertisement for this job, the magazine released a promotional trailer and some highlights from the photoshoot. Pei Tingsong¡¯s clothes weren¡¯t the right size, so he was waiting for the replacement while everyone else was getting their make-up done. Ling Yi suddenly cried out, ¡°Wow, Juexia, Xiao Pei, the magazine you guys did a photoshoot for last time just released some stuff! How wonderful!¡±


    Lu Yuan was playing a game, but his hand slipped because of Ling Yi¡¯s howling. ¡°Ah, Ling Yi, don¡¯t cry out like a pig, I was about to carry this match ah!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re the one crying like a pig! If you have the ability, open up your mic, and I¡¯lI howl until your teammates shoot you!¡±


    Almost at the same time, Fang Juexia received a message from Cheng Qiang, who was asking him to forward the magazine¡¯s ad on his Weibo.


    He Ziyan was quick. ¡°Really, it¡¯s a video.¡±


    ¡°So fast ah?¡± Jiang Miao said, ¡°I¡¯ll go and give it a like.¡±


    Fang Juexia clicked on the Weibo link they had sent in the groupchat and opened up the highlights video that had been posted.


    Ling Yi stressed, ¡°You must put on earphones, you must!¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Fang Juexia took out his earphones and put them on.


    The beginning of the video was pitch black, and the faint sound of wind whistling appeared in his ears, making it seem as if he had entered a cold winter day. Two or three seconds later, in the center of the screen began to appear a horizontal gap, and within that gap was a vast expanse of white. He could faintly hear a voice saying the word ¡°winter¡± repeatedly. The voice was very light and deep, and he could almost imagine the image of the tip of his tongue touching the back of his teeth while articulating this word.


    Gradually, the scene on the screen widened, and what appeared was actually him with a silly smile on his face while he was sitting on the snow.


    It was that particular scene of his that Pei Tingsong had taken.


    Accompanying this was a red, handwritten English word in the middle of the screen¡ªImprisoning.


    Imprisoning.


    All of a sudden, the wind stopped. Once again, the image disappeared, and the screen turned black. He heard the low voice again, and it was one that he couldn¡¯t be more familiar with, only this time, he was sure of who it was.


    ¡°Beg me.¡±


    The sound of music appeared, and every picture that flashed by was stuck between low drum beats ¡ªhis back as it was hidden by the snowy forest when he entered it step-by-step; a pair of slender hands pushing aside the array of colorful flowers to find the trembling eustoma; him glancing backwards through the cold and dense fog; in a room full of spring colors, a stem that was being held and twirled around; him lying in the snow, his eyelashes trembling as he closed his eyes; the close-up shot of lips and teeth biting into the plump and white flower petals.


    Being sensitive to music, Fang Juexia quickly recognized the sounds hidden in the background¡ª of broken glass and of chains being dragged on the ground.


    The camera kept zooming into the torn white petals, eventually transitioning into a field full of white daytime sunlight. The music had also changed, and a romantic and tender guitar tune now played in the background.


    Fang Juexia¡¯s own voice then sounded out from his headset.


    ¡°Spring¡­¡­¡±


    The sound had been processed into a worn-out sound¡ª it was very light, and when repeated slowly, sounded like a whisper, or more like a cry for help. Under the swaying sunlight, the image shifted and cut to a sunlight-filled greenhouse. Pei Tingsong, who was sitting inside, looked up at the camera. Superimposed by using a double exposure shot, on the fresh flowers behind him appeared the faint image of the cold snowy forest, and of Fang Juexia as he lay in the middle of that snowy forest.


    The narration appeared again. It was still Pei Tingsong¡¯s voice, but he wasn¡¯t speaking in Chinese or his American English, but instead spoke in Spanish. Subtitles appeared at the bottom of the video¡ª


    ¡°You are more than this white head that I hold tightly


    As a bunch of flowers, every day, between my hands.¡±


    In the next scene, he mercilessly tore off the snow-white petals. The next second, a close-up of Fang Juexia¡¯s face appeared. His eyelashes, which were brushed with snow, quivered faintly, and the look in his eyes was perfectly straightforward¡ªboth fragile and tough¡ªvery contradictory.


    ¡°You are here. Oh, you do not run away.


    You will answer me to the last cry.


    Curl round me as though you were frightened.¡±


    The torn petals fell down in slow motion. The sound of the piano that played in the background sounded just like how cold beads of water dripped after the ice and snow melted, and they fell faster and faster, faster and faster.


    The next images cut back and forth with the sound. Fang Juexia having difficulty breathing in the snow and exhaling white breath with his mouth open; a close-up of Pei Tingsong¡¯s finger going deep into an agate like red object; the melting ice-cube on his soft lips; a body bound with vines; countless beautiful flowers that couldn¡¯t be named.


    ¡°I will bring you happy flowers from the mountains,


    bluebells, dark hazels, and rustic baskets of kisses.¡±


    The music stopped, and the background sound shifted to the sound of rapid breathing. The next close-up shot showed the tip of Fang Juexia¡¯s tongue as it pushed out the ice cube that was making his lips red. The image gradually moved up to the red birthmark next to the wet corner of his eyes. A drop of blood dripped onto it, and the scene cut to a cherry lying in the palm of a hand.


    Pei Tingsong picked it up, and his sharp teeth bit through the membrane and went deep into the flesh of the fruit, with bright red juice flowing down his lips.


    ¡°I want to do with you what spring does with the cherry trees.¡°


    The screen went dark for the last time, the background music disappeared, and all that was left was just the sound of wind and snow whistling, as it had been at the beginning of the video. An image gradually emerged¡ª a pair of legs walking in the snow.


    Fang Juexia¡¯s unique cool voice appeared, narrating the ending.


    ¡°I¡¯m the last on your path.¡±


    This person took one step, then another. The trampled snow let out a creaking cry for help.


    ¡°The last springtime.¡±


    He stopped, bent, and picked up something lying in the snow.


    ¡°The last snow.¡±


    The camera moved up, and there was a snapping sound.


    ¡°The last struggle not to die.¡±


    Surrounded by snow, he broke a dead branch into two.

 CH 27

    Chapter 27 ¨C Gaming Black Hole


    Lots of Weibo and barrage comments, don¡¯t like don¡¯t read


    Once the video was posted online, it pretty much left the confines of the entertainment circle at the fastest possible speed.


    [@Eating hot pot tonight: Holy shit, fjx¡¯s hair and makeup is amazing! This concept is also too amazing!]


    [@I¡¯m just greedy for your body: It seems that when they were stealing the cover before, they didn¡¯t say it would be Lin Mo shooting it ah]


    [@My three singles dominate the whole show: I¡¯m  announcing that this year¡¯s top magazine makeup style has appeared, so Bilibili beauty circle, start making reservations for imitation makeup.]


    [@Today is also a fishing day: The last part of that video was so wonderful! Was that FJX or PTS?]


    [@Creaking and shattered: Ha, me failing to make preparations for this not blowing up was sure enough right. And Lin Mo is awesome!]


    [@Abbot of Putuo Temple Site: Shit, Pinot Tree Supreme, you are only 19 years old ah! Mama won¡¯t allow you to be so sexy!]


    [@YOyo: Although, the level of this magazine is too unstable ba? I still remember them getting scolded by some fans last month for not being conscientious. Now they managed to see which way the wind was blowing ah.]


    [@Number One Court Herald replying to @YOyo: Magazines also need to eat la. If you look at the speed with which these two are gaining fans, as long as the cover is well shot, there¡¯ll be no need to worry about the sales volume.]


    [@Holding TingJue¡¯s Big Flag high: Ahhhhhhh, I¡¯m not sober yet, I really can¡¯t go on, how can they film so well ah, they¡¯re both so good-looking, and their voices also sound so good, why are there such perfect people in the world? I¡¯m beginning to talk nonsense wuwuwuwuwu]


    [@7654321: Not a fan, but this concept is really powerful. Many of the shots implicitly hint at this, but in fact, the word ¡°imprisoning¡± at the beginning of the film made it clear that the core point is imprisonment. Cutting in those specific lines from Neruda¡¯s poem and matching it with those scenes greatly changed the atmosphere, giving it a strong sense of sexual tension. The last few lines of Paul¡¯s poem are pretty much infused with soul. Although, are you sure that it was Pei Tingsong reciting the Spanish parts? (Just asking because the Spanish pronunciation is really accurate), and Fang Juexia¡¯s ice-water tone, I really give in; after hearing that voice, I¡¯ll never forget it.]


    [@Pinot Tree has ripened replying to @7654321: Yes, yes, yes, I also think it¡¯s a concept of imprisonment. Looking at the materials released up to now, one of them is in the snow, and the other is in a place full of flowers. In addition, there was the word ¡°winter¡± crooned at the beginning and then the word ¡°spring¡± appeared later, so it¡¯s very likely that they¡¯re representing winter and spring respectively.]


    [@Beautiful Fine Jewellike Xeriscape replying to @7654321: What kind of immortal description is ice-water tone! Once again, a fan isn¡¯t even as good as a passer-by, abashedly giving you a like!]


    [@Happy Little Editor Anna: Was very lucky to take part in the shoot, and both of them were great! This time, almost all the concept plans were put forward by them, and everyone was involved in all those discussions. It was a brand-new work experience. When shooting on location, Juexia was really frozen speechless. However, he said he was going to lie in the snow, so he lay in the snow, and the photoshoot went on for three hours. Moreover, he even ordered hot Ovaltine and pizza for all of us staff members on site. He was pretty much an angel! [Highlight: The narration here was voiced by Xiao Pei and Juexia. The two poems in the narration were selected by Xiao Pei; Xiao Pei is amazing]. They are both really talented. I hope that everyone can view the cover and read the interview soon.]


    [@Heaven Will not Tolerate TingJue not getting popular replying to @Happy Little Editor Anna: Thank you, editor Jiejie! What a treasure our TingJue boys are ah! Coordinating both the photoshoot and the narration, they¡¯re too talented!]


    [@Please turn off the light replying to @Happy Little Editor Anna: My God, it¡¯s actually really Pei Tingsong and Fang Juexia narrating? Their voices match so well ah.]


    [@NeverBetheSame: Wearing so little and shooting in the snow for three hours, really respect, so dedicated.]


    [@I only love beautiful people: Shit, isn¡¯t this an officially released CP video? My mind came up with 10,000 words of abusive gay fiction upon watching it. And it¡¯s even been shot by the number one wedding photographer in the circle¡ªLin Mo, you can¡¯t deceive me.]


    [@I love that you are silent: God, it¡¯s Neruda and Paul¡¯s poetry! This video is so good that I, a passer-by, am wriggling with excitement!]


    [@There¡¯s nothing more to say: FJX¡¯s face is too beautiful, beautiful enough to make one ignore his anti-materials. It¡¯s no wonder that he is now the number one scandal proof person, and there¡¯s no similar entertainer at present.]


    [@If I ship RPS again, I will commit suicide: Back when they had the ¡®patting the face with the ticket¡¯ incident at the airport, I didn¡¯t ship it, and later when they had the candy wrapper kiss, I also didn¡¯t ship it. Today I saw this video, and I¡¯ve given up. I¡¯m shipping it, isn¡¯t it enough that I¡¯m shipping it now?]


    [@My CP is sending out fluff: I¡¯m so jealous, I¡¯m so jealous, why can someone else¡¯s CP change from the Arctic Circle to a red hot master who is stuffing fluff in the circle within one night!!! I¡¯m really jealous! Mr. Lin Mo, look at my family¡¯s CP ba!]


    The stylist was currently blow-drying Fang Juexia¡¯s hair, and was growing more and more fascinated as he kept reading the comments. Suddenly, his cellphone vibrated.


    [Kaleido Pei Tingsong: [Cactus emoticon]]


    [Kaleido Pei Tingsong: Forward the Weibo post]


    It was only then that he remembered the task he was supposed to do. When he slowly opened the forwarding interface, he found that Pei Tingsong had already forwarded it.


    [@Pei Tingsong: Imprisoning winter.]


    Only after the clothing problem was solved did Pei Tingsong return to the dressing room, and he was currently seated on the outermost seat, separated from Fang Juexia by four people. He took out his cellphone to refresh the Weibo page and saw Fang Juexia¡¯s latest forward.


    [@Fang Juexia: Waiting for spring.]


    This person was actually quite good at copying homework.


    Their forwards quickly attracted a large number of fans, and the video grew even more popular.


    [@Putuo Temple Site¡¯s Fine Jewelike Xeriscape: Ahhhhhhh even their captions match so well!]


    [@TingJue is real: These double aces really have super good sense! These two captions are so touching! I¡¯ve already automatically filled their voices in my head.]


    [Little Official of Beautiful People with Good Hearts: xs, it¡¯s all the work of the copywriting staff.]


    [@Beauty of the Flourishing Age Fang Juexia : AHHHHHHH Juexia, mama is coming! Snow elf, look at mama ba!]


    ¡­.


    The commercial shoot lasted for nearly five hours. The attitude of the advertisers and producers towards them was already completely different from before; they had a lot of assistants, their modeling positions were good, and they weren¡¯t even scolded for making mistakes during the shoot. This circle was very realistic, and those who had been ignored before would see it more clearly.


    ¡°Hard work, Kaleido la, enjoyed our cooperation!¡±


    After they finished the job and got into the van, Xiao Wen reported the latest schedule to them, after which he started to falter as he said, ¡°By the way, there will be a charity gala in a few days, and you guys are invited. Of course, there will be some other groups there too¡­¡±


    Other groups? Fang Juexia soon realized that something was going on. He was about to ask when Xiao Wen said, ¡°HighFive is also going.¡±


    ¡°Senior brothers are also going!¡± Ling Yi¡¯s spirits suddenly rose.


    ¡°What are you so excited about ah?¡± Xiao Wen fastened his seat belt and started the car. ¡°You guys are also going to be going as distinguished guests to your senior brothers¡¯ concert in a few days.¡±


    This sentence made this nest in the car boil up with excitement. Although StarChart was poor, it did really create music and cultivate its artists properly. Therefore, the relationship between the artists in the company was very good, and theirs with their senior brother group HighFive especially more so, for they had taken care of these juniors since their trainee days.


    Kaleido used to livestream almost twice a month, but recently they had been too busy, and they hadn¡¯t livestreamed since the New Year¡¯s. During the ride, Jiang Miao logged into the official account of their group¡¯s livestream. Due to the widespread popularity of the promotional materials that had just been released by the magazine, their livestream room was at bursting capacity.


    ¡°Good evening ah,¡± said Jiang Miao, who was sitting in the front seat of the van and holding a selfie stick. ¡°We just finished our work. Can you guys see us clearly?¡± Saying that, he then asked the driver, ¡°Xiao Wen, can you turn on the lights for us again?¡±


    [AHHHHHHHHH GEGES I¡¯M COMING!]


    [We can see! It¡¯s Geges¡¯ beauty that lights you guys up for us!]


    ¡°Pfft,¡± Ling Yi was successfully amused and asked, ¡°What is this advanced rainbow fart hahaha, Gege, am I a light bulb?¡± His voice was a little hoarse, and he coughed a few times before explaining, ¡°Today¡¯s song recording lasted for the whole morning, so I¡¯ve gotten a duck¡¯s voice now.¡±


    [01 Gege, your OST is on the download list again!! 01 is awesome!]


    He Ziyan commented, ¡°A light bulb of the male duck brand.¡±


    [Heart aches for Yiyi]


    [Hahaha, as always, Fire Ge is in charge of complaining]


    [11 is sandwiched between several pairs of CP every time, he really feels like a light bulb hhhhh]


    Fang Juexia sat in the very back. Somehow, he felt and found a candy on the seat cushion, and then examined it in the dim interior light for a long time.


    ¡°¡­¡­White Rabbit candy?¡± As soon as he was sure of what it was, Pei Tingsong, who was sitting to the side, took it out of his hands, quickly stripped off the wrapper, and tossed the candy into his mouth.


    Fang Juexia failed to react in time, his hand still stuck in the posture of holding the candy.


    Pei Tingsong stuck his tongue out at him and pressed down on his fluffy fisherman¡¯s hat.


    Fang Juexia blinked. He felt that his life had begun to turn into a complete assortment of the different confused reactions he had to Pei Tingsong. He put his hand down, though he didn¡¯t know that the barrage had already started boiling over at this time.


    [Did Xiao Pei snatch Juexia Gege¡¯s candy just now?!]


    [Pei Tingsong, this bratty kid, what¡¯s up with him?! Hahahahaha I¡¯m laughing to death!]


    [I don¡¯t see you eating candy normally ah? What¡¯s in Gege¡¯s hand is more fragrant, right?!]


    [Pinot Tree Supreme, I¡¯m laughing to death. When you were doing the magazine shoot, weren¡¯t you so alpha ma, why are you so elementary kid-like now?!]


    [AHHHHHHH the magazine! I want to buy it so bad! Quickly let me buy it!]


    [Juexia was in a daze just now hhhhh]


    [Teacher Yuan, stop listening to the song, quickly look at me!]


    Up front, Jiang Miao was chatting with the fans. He and He Ziyan were the group members who always managed to best control the scale and rhythm of a conversation, and they spoke with ease. Ling Yi and Lu Yuan possessed a talent for comedic timing, so they were usually the ones who had the most offers for variety show jobs. Fang Juexia didn¡¯t like to express himself, while Pei Tingsong often slacked off and took it slow, so these two members, who were the best at attracting fans, had to rely on their faces and stage performances to do so. Now, of course, their CP had also become a huge source of popularity.


    ¡°The broadcast time of the ensemble show? The first episode of the ensemble show should be released this weekend ba. It¡¯ll depend on our backstage little Ge¡¯s work efficiency, everyone is a bit slow right after the New Year, haha,¡± Jiang Miao answered the fans¡¯ question, ¡°In fact, I think this ensemble show is quite meaningful.¡±


    He Ziyan quickly got what he meant to say, and added, ¡°Yes, everyone may have already guessed that our new album has also been put on the agenda.¡±


    [AHHHHH A NEW ALBUM!]


    In tacit understanding, Ling Yi and Lu Yuan started to make gong and drum sound effects at the same time while sitting in the last row.


    [The ventriloquist team is online again!]


    Fang Juexia, who was at the very back, gestured with a conductor¡¯s motion of ending a concert while saying, ¡°The End.¡± However, this situation wasn¡¯t that easy to control, so after his first failure, he coughed again, then pretended like nothing had happened, and tried it once more.


    [Hahahahahahaha our little conductor Juexia~]


    [Mr. Fang: I¡¯m so tired that I can¡¯t control the little crazy people in my family.]


    [It¡¯s so cute how he checks their expressions when he coughs!]


    ¡°So,¡± He Ziyan regained his composure and went on to say, ¡°This time, a lot of the new album¡¯s production process will also appear in the ensemble show, with the exception of some parts that can¡¯t be broadcast.¡±


    The barrage soon went crazy.


    [AHHHHHHHH what can¡¯t be broadcast?! Let me seeeeeeeee!]


    [I just want to see what can¡¯t be broadcast! No cutting anything out!]


    [We¡¯re not lacking for that little traffic! StarChart entertainment! Kaleido! Broadcast it for me!]


    Pei Tingsong clapped He Ziyan¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Asking you, what part can¡¯t be broadcast?¡±


    Lu Yuan also followed the rhythm of the group bully and patted He Ziyan¡¯s other shoulder as he repeated, ¡°Yeah, what can¡¯t you broadcast?¡±


    Looking at how the barrage on the screen scrolled even faster, He Ziyan helplessly explained, ¡°The parts I said couldn¡¯t be broadcast are the parts about the new album that need to be kept secret, such as the music, choreography, dance, and stuff. After all, we do have to surprise you guys ma.¡±


    Jiang Miao held back a smile and nodded. ¡°En, this time, all of us have participated in those parts, and we also hope that everyone can witness the birth of this album!¡±


    The streets were a bit jammed, so after chatting on the livestream for a while, these several people began to play the ¡°Expressionless Challenge¡± game to pass the time.


    ¡°Wait!¡± Ling Yi raised his hand. ¡°Juexia is the best at being expressionless, so for this game, we must exclude him!¡±


    When Fang Juexia heard that they were going to exclude him, he rubbed his face. ¡°It¡¯s not that bad ah, I don¡¯t have facial paralysis.¡±


    [Ah hahahahahahahaaha Fang Juexia, why are you so cute?!]


    [FJX is really serious in everything he does oh]


    Lu Yuan comforted him, ¡°You don¡¯t have facial paralysis, you¡¯ve just collected too few expressions.¡±


    In any case, they all ruled out Fang Juexia, and assigned him the position of the referee, along with making him the person holding the tasks to be drawn. Although it wasn¡¯t some important task, he was still conscientious, so he shook the stack of notes everyone had written in his hands for a long time before offering it up to everyone to choose.


    ¡°Xiao Pei, go first!¡± Ling Yi said.


    He Ziyan said, ¡°It¡¯s time to show your real skills.¡±


    Pei Tingsong clicked his tongue before drawing a piece of paper from Fang Juexia¡¯s hands.


    Since Fang Juexia possessed a powerful memory, he immediately knew that things weren¡¯t going to be good.


    ¡°What is it? Quickly show me!¡± Ling Yi grabbed the note from his hand, and suddenly let out a groundhog scream, ¡°Ah!!¡±


    ¡°Eating a lemon!!!


    Pei Tingsong had a completely confused expression as he asked, ¡°No, where in the car are you going to get a lemon from?¡±


    ¡°I have some.¡± Their group leader took out a small box filled with fresh lemon slices from his bag. ¡°I drink lemon water every day, so I bring some along.¡±


    ¡°You even do that?¡± Pei Tingsong was in despair.


    Lu Yuan said, ¡°Come, come, come, send a few comments to the barrage, Xiao Pei is eating some lemon, so old iron bros send a 666 ah!¡±


    Ling Yi shook his head. ¡°If his feelings are deep! Stuff the whole thing in his mouth! If his feelings are shallow! Just lick it!¡±


    Jiang Miao sort of didn¡¯t have the heart to go on and suggested, ¡°I¡¯ll find you the thinnest slice¡­¡±


    He Ziyan snatched up the box all of a sudden. ¡°That¡¯s no good. I bought the lemons, so I¡¯ll pick!¡±


    ¡°Why is it always you?!¡± Pei Tingsong grew angry.


    Fang Juexia raised his hand and asked, ¡°Is there any punishment for failing?¡±


    Pei Tingsong covered Fang Juexia¡¯s mouth.


    ¡°Wuwu¡­¡±


    [Hahahahahaha with every game segment comes the time for the serfs to turn on the group bully!]


    [That moment he covered up his mouth was so alpha ah~]


    ¡°Let go of Juexia!¡± Ling Yi strenuously dragged Fang Juexia out of the other¡¯s grip.


    Jiang Miao said while laughing, ¡°How¡¯s this ba, the person who wins in the end will get a reward, but if someone loses, he will not be punished.¡± After saying that, he then added, ¡°Lest Xiao Pei is left with some lingering trauma.¡±


    Pei Tingsong covered his chest and confessed, ¡°I already have it, captain.¡±


    He Ziyan asked, ¡°Really, how many months has it been around for?¡±


    Lu Yuan added, ¡°Whose is it? Daddy will take you to beat it out!¡±


    [Hahahahahahaha going crazy]


    In the car, after this burst of conversation, akin to chaotic chickens pecking each other, the game officially began. He Ziyan deliberately picked a thick slice of lemon for him. ¡°Come on, real men never frown while eating lemons.¡±


    Under heavy pressure, Pei Tingsong put the entire lemon slice into his mouth, and the results were obvious.


    He failed in being a real man.


    [Hahahahahaha this twisted expresion!]


    [Screenshot it, what¡¯s going on, why is it frozen?!]


    [ThisIsMeBeingJealous. JPG]


    [Juexia just looked from the side and started frowning involuntarily hahahaha]


    Pei Tingsong hurriedly started rubbing his face against his own body, which is when Fang Juexia realized what was going on and handed him a napkin with good intentions, allowing him to spit the lemon out.


    With a drumroll, Ling Yi announced, ¡°Okay, Pei Tingsong, challenge failed!¡±


    They drew notes again and started up a new game, with Ling Yi, Lu Yuan, and He Ziyan participating in a laughter challenge this time. Seated up in the front, these people played merrily, with Jiang Miao using his iPad to show them the most popular funny video collections online, seeing who could hold his laughter to the end.


    Fang Juexia, who had finished his task by letting the people draw tasks, began to fish around. He leaned forward and earnestly watched the small cellphone screen in front of him, wanting to see what everyone was saying.


    [Xiao Pei, weren¡¯t you so handsome when you ate cherries? How come when it¡¯s changed into lemons, you turn into a comedian hhhh]


    [hahaha his main gong image was destroyed by a lemon!]


    Seeing this, Fang Juexia accidentally let out a laugh.


    Pei Tingsong turned toward him, originally wanting to appear a bit fierce, but that lemon had been so sour. ¡°What are you laughing at?¡±


    Fang Juexia chuckled. This time he didn¡¯t shake his head as usual and say ¡°nothing¡±, and instead looked at him and said, ¡°Laughing at you.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡± Pei Tingsong lowered his hat a little, looking just like a rebellious adolescent kid acting cool. Fang Juexia turned his head and looked out of the window, and because of that line in the barrage that made him laugh, he couldn¡¯t help but think of the magazine¡¯s promotional video.


    He suddenly turned his head. Pei Tingsong wasn¡¯t too far from him, so Fang Juexia whispered, ¡°When did you record it?¡±


    Pei Tingsong glanced at him. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    ¡°Nothing¡­¡± Fang Juexia stopped talking for a while, and then asked, ¡°How did you know how to speak Spanish?¡±


    ¡°What are you two clucking and pecking away at behind our backs?¡± The first one who had lost the laughter challenge, Lu Yuan, turned his head to look at them.


    At this moment, Fang Juexia had the feeling of being caught while doing bad things, and with it being so all of a sudden, he was a little flustered. ¡°Ah? No¡­.¡±


    ¡°Juexia Ge asked me why I was so good at speaking Spanish.¡± Pei Tingsong seemed to be in high spirits, for he suddenly sat up straight while also popping out his collar.


    [AHHHHHHHHH FLUFF IS HERE!]


    [Xiao Pei, this stinky little kid!]


    [What kind of an adorably cute showing-off expression is this ah?! The youngest is really amazing!]


    Whoever posed the question like that? Fang Juexia died for no reason; this embellishment was too much.


    Ling Yi mimicked the gesture of carrying a microphone with his hand and propped it in front of Pei Tingsong. ¡°Then why don¡¯t you say why?¡±


    Pei Tingsong replied in English, ¡°Because I am a genius.¡±


    The car was full of hissing noises.


    With this non-serious answer, everyone soon launched into a new crosstalk program. The car was still moving forward slowly, and the crowded traffic seemed to reflect Fang Juexia¡¯s blocked heart.


    All of a sudden, his cellphone vibrated several times.


    [Kaleido Pei Tingsong: The nanny who took care of me as a child was of Mexican origin.]


    [Kaleido Pei Tingsong: When there was no one else in the house, I would secretly talk to her in Spanish.]


    [Kaleido Pei Tingsong: Understood?]


    The car moved suddenly, and Fang Juexia¡¯s heart moved along with it. He kept staring at the three messages he had just received, not moving his fingers.


    Only after He Ziyan defeated everyone and became the champion of the ¡°Expressionless Challenge¡± did Pei Tingsong, who was watching the competition and eating melon on the sidelines, feel his cellphone vibrate.


    [Just a pretty face: I can¡¯t imagine what you were like as a child.]


    He couldn¡¯t help laughing; Fang Juexia had held back for so long, only to come up with such a sentence.


    The CP fans in the barrage possessed very sharp eyes, and they just kept staring at the two people who seemed to have no interaction between them.


    [Since the game started, Juexia Gege has been looking at his cellphone. Are cellphones more fun than bandmates hahaha]


    [Mr. Fang may be watching the livestream on his cellphone]


    [Ahhhhhhh Two Fire is the best!]


    [Mr. Yuan is too cute hahahahahaha still not managing to get back on his feet after this long]


    [Xiao Pei just looked at his cellphone, and he even laughed!]


    [Ahhhhh could it be that Xiao Pei and Juexia Gege are chatting secretly?!!! Kswl£¡]


    [CP fans reel it in a bit ba, forcing the idols to read this¡­.]


    [AHHHHHHH I DON¡¯T CARE! I¡¯LL SHIP IT AND STRIKE FIRST!]


    The group members were having a fun time, and didn¡¯t care much about keeping an eye on the barrage. By the time they did look at the comments carefully, the topic about the cellphones had already scrolled past. However, having just witnessed these two people¡¯s ¡°unusual¡± behavior during the group game, it was inevitable that these magnifying-glass wearing TingJue girls would add a whole big scene onto it, write a small piece about it, make a post, and then spread it around as fluff.


    It was just that even those girls, who had gone crazy while shipping this, didn¡¯t know that this really was the case.


    Because Juexia hadn¡¯t participated this whole time, Ling Yi pulled him up again. ¡°We¡¯re still stuck in traffic right now, so let¡¯s livestream some more, and Juexia will also come and play!¡±


    Lu Yuan clapped his hands and suggested, ¡°We haven¡¯t played that game for a long time, the one where two people wear headphones, and while one describes something, the other one has to guess the word!¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll play that one!¡± Ling Yi nodded wildly, and started making notes so that everyone would draw the names of their partners.


    Pei Tingsong suddenly opened his mouth, ¡°Don¡¯t draw, if you keep doing this drawing thing, I¡¯m going to start drawing and quartering people.¡± He cleared his throat. ¡°I¡¯ll go with Fang Juexia.¡±


    He Ziyan uttered in a voice full of magnetism, ¡°Wow.¡±


    [This wow is very soulful hahahaha]


    Jiang Miao laughed. ¡°Alright ah. Anyway, Xiao Pei was the first one to be eliminated last time, so it¡¯s perfect they play together ba. Come on, put on the headphones.¡±


    Lu Yuan and Ling Yi contributed their noise-cancelling headphones. They chose some dance music, turned the volume up, and only after verifying that they couldn¡¯t hear any outside sounds did they put them on the two chosen people.


    [Want to see Two Fire write the prompts!!!]


    [Seconded!]


    ¡°Satisfying you guys then.¡± He Ziyan took out his cellphone and spoke, ¡°But in view of our classmate Pei Tingsong¡¯s status of being a gaming black hole, it would be shameful of me to choose a word that¡¯s too hard.¡± With that, he typed a word, handed it to Pei Tingsong to look at, and then raised it up for the barrage to see.


    It was ¡°rapper¡±.


    [Ah, this is so simple! Two Fire has shown mercy!]


    [Two Fire showing mercy sounds so strange hahahaha]


    [Don¡¯t worry, no matter how simple the prompt is, it will become extraordinary in Pei Tingsong¡¯s hands.]


    Pei Tingsong used his hands to flash an OK. After the timer started, he pointed to Fang Juexia before pointing to his own mouth and saying, ¡°Rapper,¡± he emphasized again, ¡°Rapper!¡±


    Fang Juexia nodded his head earnestly and said, ¡°Rare fur!¡±


    [Hahahahaha what is rare fur?!]


    He didn¡¯t know what part of this was making Lu Yuan laugh, but since he was leaning back and laughing nonstop, Pei Tingsong understood that something must have gone wrong, so he said it again, making his movements slower and more obvious this time, and even added an explanation, ¡°English, it¡¯s in English.¡±


    ¡°English rare fur!¡± Fang Juexia gave a firm answer again.


    [Hahahaha, how come this Ge is so serious and funny every time ah]


    Pei Tingsong gave up; this prompt was more difficult than he had imagined, so now he tried to explain it in Chinese, ¡°Hip-hop, hip¡ªhop¡ª¡± He tried to emphasize the shape of his mouth when saying this, in order to make it more obvious.


    Fang Juexia¡¯s face showed a puzzled expression ¡°Hip hip? Hip shop!¡± His face showed a rare expression of excitement, and he quickly looked at He Ziyan and Jiang Miao as he asked, ¡°Hip shop! Am I right?¡±


    Upon seeing his confident expression, Pei Tingsong also thought that they had succeeded. ¡°Yes!¡±  He stretched out his hand to high-five him, but it was caught by Lu Yuan. ¡°Hey, hey, hey, you¡¯re still playing, and you want to high-five?¡±


    [Hip shop hahahahaha]


    [Putuo Temple Site is taking out a loan for a high five hahahaha]


    [What kind of beautiful fool is Fine Jewelike Xeriscape!]


    [Seriously, they are called TingJue because their hearing is bad ba x]


    He Ziyan used his fingers to form an X in front of him, thereby shattering little friend Fang Juexia¡¯s beautiful dream. Fang Juexia¡¯s mouth puckered up, and his recently-found happiness was cleanly swept away.


    Pei Tingsong realized that he hadn¡¯t guessed right, and the urge to win swept up in him again. ¡°Hip! Hop!¡±


    ¡°Ha? Ha, what?¡± Fang Juexia tried very hard to recognize his exaggerated expression.


    Ling Yi began to make trouble by interrupting, ¡°Ha, Mount Ali¡¯s girls are as beautiful as pictures ya~¡±


    Pei Tingsong took a deep breath, pointed to himself and said, ¡°I, what am I¡­¡± But before he could say the word ¡®position¡¯, Fang Juexia, who thought he was proficient at reading lips, stopped him.


    ¡°Whose mom am I?¡±


    [Hahahahahahhahaha I¡¯m your mom!]


    [Hahahahahahahahaha what kind of deafness is this!]


    [Shit, I¡¯m going to start speaking passionately! I love little mom stories!]


    Pei Tingsong was about to die from irritation; he was so irritated that he nearly stopped breathing. ¡°Hip hop!¡± He opened his mouth to the widest extent it would go and repeated, ¡°Hip hop¡ª¡± Then he stabbed his chest with an intensity equivalent to beating his chest and stamping his feet as he continued, ¡°Hip Hop! What am I? What is Pei Tingsong?¡±


    [He¡¯s frantic he¡¯s frantic he¡¯s frantic he¡¯s frantic he¡¯s frantic!]


    Fang Juexia vaguely recognized some of the words out of the long string of words he had just uttered. ¡°Hip¡­.am, no, no¡­.ah¡­.¡±


    Just when he was confused, Pei Tingsong pointed at himself crazily and gave him the last hint he needed.


    ¡°I see!¡±


    Fang Juexia suddenly realized something and looked at everyone with a smile. His face was filled with the joy one felt upon handing in their examination paper.


    ¡°Hip hip hooray, a Pinot Tree Supreme~¡±


    And he even sang it.

 CH 28

    Chapter 28 ¨C Surging Wave


    Going against the flow for you


    [Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha]


    [In fact, the meaning of the TingJue CP is that you lost your hearing and became a fool CP]


    [How is Juexia so cute ah xswl]


    [Guys look at Pinot Tree Supreme¡¯s old man looking at a cellphone on the subway expression hahahahahahaha]


    [I can¡¯t stand this silly group! Newly arrived friends, these people are actually the runner-up (not first due to insider plots) of a singing contest, a hip-hop dance champion, a real DJ, an excellent student of folk music, a student of P University, and a student of Beijing Normal University. Everyone, please believe me]


    [Don¡¯t believe it, upstairs is a liar]


    [Don¡¯t believe it, liar, liar, these are six crosstalk actors, and we¡¯re in talks with the Happy Comedian show]


    [It¡¯s over, that theme song is already rolling around in my head]


    In the end, they finally failed at this game. Pei Tingsong, who had pinned all his hopes of a comeback on this one game, failed to get rid of his title of being a gaming black hole. Instead, he also managed to drag Fang Juexia into this black hole.


    Over the next few days, Kaleido had activity after activity and was so busy that their feet hardly touched the ground. They filmed two commercials, then flew to their senior brother group High Five¡¯s concert in Nanjing as VIP guests, which was followed by a charity fashion show and party.


    Apart from the true and false numbers online, the most direct manifestation of a group¡¯s popularity was the wave of people present for an airport meetup. Previously, Kaleido also naturally had fans organising airport meetups, but there weren¡¯t many people participating in them, so they had never walked through the VIP aisle before. To their surprise, when they caught their flight to Nanjing, the number of people who sent them off at the Beijing airport was really large¡ªthe group members were crowded in by the fans so tightly that they nearly couldn¡¯t even move their legs to step forward.


    After great effort, when they finally got on the plane, Pei Tingsong went to sit by the window. Having worked hard for several days, the other members were very tired and went to sleep soon, but only he was left feeling sleepless.


    Glancing at Ling Yi, who was sleeping with his neck askew, Pei Tingsong opened his laptop and clicked on the FJX folder on his desktop. Inside it was Fang Juexia¡¯s demo, and he hadn¡¯t gotten the chance to properly listen to it until now.


    However, this demo was named in a very Fang Juexia style. It was just a string of dates and numbers, which was probably the time when the song had been completed.


    Putting on his earphones, Pei Tingsong clicked play.


    Surprisingly, there was no prelude in the beginning. The first second was just a short breath, quickly followed by Fang Juexia¡¯s voice. He didn¡¯t have any lyrics and was just humming. Ten seconds later, a soothing piano sound appeared. It didn¡¯t sound anything like a played sample or a synthesized sound, but sounded as if the person had recorded himself playing it.


    Fang Juexia¡¯s voice was very special¡ª it was cold, and contained within it a real sense of space. Pei Tingsong closed his eyes, and it was as if he could see the person himself sitting in front of the piano, humming out this tune.


    The melody of the chorus part was very good, very catchy, and you only had to listen to it once to remember it. Although it was a flawed piece of work, Fang Juexia¡¯s aura was vividly displayed in this piece of music. Most ballads were connected to the subject of love, with most of them being associated with the sad themes of being frustrated and lovelorn, and it was rather easy to fall into a conventional pattern with such music.


    But Fang Juexia hadn¡¯t done so. He was an excellent singer, and the alienation and calmness in his voice were obvious from the start of the song, making it clear that his emotions were very restrained. Then, from the second time the chorus played, he deliberately increased his breath, and the ending notes lasted slightly longer than the previous times. In the end, even the sound of the piano exploded before finally stopping abruptly, and the song ended with his deep trembling breath.


    Pei Tingsong couldn¡¯t help but think of a common and sad opening line¡ª ¡°I have a friend who has not had a good time lately.¡±


    Every single line of his, and every single pronunciation of a note, all of it seemed to be showing off some false bravado. He was telling you repeatedly that this was someone else¡¯s story and had nothing to do with him; he was just a poor narrator, who was unable to maintain his own state or disguise his own vulnerability. It wasn¡¯t until the end of the song that his emotions were on the verge of collapse and defeat.


    Pei Tingsong was really impressed.


    There were countless singers who possessed good singing skills, but what was rarer were those who could wield their skills almost invisibly, those excellent singers who could accomplish great tasks with subtle maneuvers.


    Being able to create a sense of narrative in a song without having any lyrics and just by humming along¡ªhe finally understood why the company had to let Fang Juexia be a lead singer; even if he had many burdens and may cause doubts, they had insisted on it.


    But that was because Fang Juexia fully deserved this position.


    Pei Tingsong turned his head and looked at Fang Juexia, who was sitting in the back row. He was sleeping while resting his head against the back of the seat. He was also wearing a blue eye mask that he had received from his fans, and his skin looked so pale against it that it nearly shone.


    The demo continued to play through his headphones.


    Suddenly, Pei Tingsong had the urge to write some lyrics for him.


    When the plane landed, they were greeted by an even more exaggerated number of people than they had seen at the Beijing airport. Five out of the six members had fallen asleep on the plane, just leaving the somewhat calm youngest member. The company hadn¡¯t expected this many people and thus hadn¡¯t prepared enough bodyguards in advance, so both Cheng Qiang and Xiao Wen had to also come up to protect the group members after they disembarked.


    ¡°Excuse us, let us pass. Please let us get out first ba.¡±


    ¡°Excuse me, move a little.¡±


    Whenever Fang Juexia had some spare time, he would use it to practice some more, so he was very short on sleep. However, he didn¡¯t get better after sleeping on the plane, instead, he was suffering from a headache now. Many of the non-fan proxy-photographers in the crowd were squeezed together with big cameras in their hands, and their flashes were so strong that he was unable to open his eyes.


    Soon, fans started yelling, ¡°Don¡¯t turn on the flash!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t fight okay? Don¡¯t crowd them!¡±


    Since everyone was squeezed together, a girl was accidentally pushed down by the people behind her and she fell against Fang Juexia. Fang Juexia immediately bent down to help her.


    ¡°You okay?¡±


    There was chaos everywhere around them, so the little girl grabbed Fang Juexia¡¯s arm before coming to a firm stand. She nearly had tears coming out as she said, ¡°Th-Thank you, Juexia Gege.¡± Unfortunately, other people were still crowding in, and before he knew it, the crowd had separated him from the rest of his group.


    With his name being shouted from every direction, and white light continuously flashing in front of his eyes, Fang Juexia¡¯s headache grew even more excruciating.


    ¡°Juexia Gege!¡±


    ¡°Fang Juexia, look here!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t push forward any more!¡±


    ¡°Juexia Gege, how many days are you guys staying in Nanjing for?!¡±


    Suddenly, his arm was caught. There was a figure in the crowd moving in the wrong direction, pushing aside the noisy waves of people, and coming towards him.


    ¡°Ahhhhhh it¡¯s Pei Tingsong!¡±


    Before Fang Juexia could react, Pei Tingsong had already taken off his baseball cap and stuck it firmly on Fang Juexia¡¯s head. The brim of the hat was first lowered to cover the upper half of his face, after which Pei Tingsong pulled Fang Juexia to stand in front of him. Then, with one of Pei Tingsong¡¯s arms separating him from everyone else and the other supporting his shoulder, they both started walking forward.


    The drowning man, who had been caught in a huge wave, was suddenly rescued and dragged onto a boat.


    Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t say a word, his expressionless, sunglass-wearing face kept looking straight ahead, and he didn¡¯t release his grip on Fang Juexia¡¯s shoulder the whole while.


    These two people, who had been left behind from the rest of the group, managed to escape after going through untold hardships and finally got into the van.


    As soon as the car door was opened, Cheng Qiang asked, ¡°Is Juexia okay? He isn¡¯t hurt ba?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, it was a fan who had fallen down.¡± Fang Juexia sat down, and Pei Tingsong followed him closely after. Only when he saw this person sitting down beside him did Fang Juexia take off his hat and hand it back to him.


    Pei Tingsong pushed his sunglasses up to the top of his head and said lightly, ¡°Wear it ba, you look pretty good in it.¡±


    Fang Juexia was a little confused. He was about to speak when Pei Tingsong opened his mouth again, and he heard¡ª


    ¡°Anyway, I still have some of your clothes.¡±


    The other group members all kicked up a fuss upon hearing this, which Pei Tingsong thought was just funny. It was like being back in middle school, when the class would kick up a fuss about the two people who had an ambiguous relationship.


    No, why did he even think of something like that?


    In order to ensure that that there would be no problems, Kaleido made it to their destination by noon and participated in the rehearsal with their senior brother group. While their senior brothers performed on the stage, these six people watched from below.


    It would be a lie to say that they weren¡¯t envious. Fang Juexia looked up at the huge stage, and when he saw his senior brothers performing with perfect tacit understanding between themselves, certain emotions surged up in his heart.


    ¡°When will we ever be able to have our very own concert ah?¡± Ling Yi sighed.


    Jiang Miao put his index finger against his lips and said, ¡°Shh¡­¡± He Ziyan saw this, smiled, and took hold of Ling Yi¡¯s small shoulder. ¡°Soon, as long as we work hard enough.¡±


    Lu Yuan said with a smile, ¡°What are you worried about ah, Xiao Ling¡¯er, didn¡¯t you just have a solo at the T.V. station¡¯s end of the year party?¡± With that, he winked at Pei Tingsong. The youngest member, who always liked to muddy the waters, quickly added, ¡°Yeah, just now, the milk tea shop next to the stadium was playing the songs you sang for the TV series. Ling Ge is really popular. ¡°


    ¡°That¡¯s all because of the T.V. show¡¯s popularity.¡± Ling Yi grabbed Fang Juexia¡¯s arm like he was grabbing a life-saving straw, and shook it back and forth while complaining, ¡°Juexia, they¡¯re all bullying me.¡±


    Ling Yi was making so much noise that it was hard for Juexia to hide his smile, but he didn¡¯t know how to help him. After thinking for a long time, he ended up asking, ¡°Then what should I do?¡±


    All of a sudden, everyone started laughing even harder, and only Ling Yi was left feeling angry, to the extent that he even wanted to stamp his feet.


    They laughed, but when they really started working, out of the six of them, none of them acted perfunctorily. Although they didn¡¯t have many performances, they rehearsed even more seriously than HighFive, whose concert it actually was. After going through their two songs over and over again, they were completely familiar with the choreography and positions which had been rearranged just 24 hours ago, and all the staff on the scene were full of praise.


    Once the concert officially started, the six members of Kaleido waited in the lounge backstage. Their senior brothers¡¯ performances were being shown on the broadcast screen, and everyone watched it seriously. Pei Tingsong had always been rather uninterested in the kind of singing and dancing done by idols, even if he was in this line of business now. However, when he looked at Fang Juexia, who was sitting at the other end, he found this person fully absorbed in the performance. The gorgeous visual effects being displayed on the screen were projected into his eyes, flashing across them. His pupils looked like beautiful glass beads that had a fire burning within them.


    He liked it that much?


    Fang Juexia was sitting on the sofa, but he couldn¡¯t help but follow along with the dance beats of the song. He was making very small movements, and he actually looked kind of cute while doing so.


    Right before they went on stage, they rehearsed once again just to be on the safe side.


    In their previous performances, Pei Tingsong would pretty much have no interaction with Fang Juexia on-stage. Even more so, as soon as they got off-stage, they would place themselves at opposite ends of the group; every time they went out, all the other Kaleido members would be inserted between them. Nowadays, as long as they appeared at a place at the same time, Cheng Qiang would start crazily dropping hints, reminding them even if they were just a little bit far away from one another, worrying that if they didn¡¯t conform to the rumors, trouble would get stirred up again.


    But right now, Pei Tingsong couldn¡¯t help himself from looking over at Fang Juexia, especially at a time like this, when they were just practicing.


    Everyone gave off a different feel when they were dancing.


    Fang Juexia was 1.8 meters tall, with long hands and long feet, and was very eye-catching when dancing. His temperament on-stage was also cold, but was more freely aggressive than in private. ¡°The Fang Juexia on-stage is the most alpha¡± was a sentence most often said by fans.


    The company¡¯s dance teacher had said more than once that both Lu Yuan and Fang Juexia could dance, but they were different. Lu Yuan had hustled for his street-dancing skills, and on a technical level, even this teacher felt a bit guilty that he wasn¡¯t at his level, and the two of them asked each other for advice.


    In contrast, Fang Juexia was a born dancer. The true ability of a dancer was to be able to seize the audience¡¯s heart when on the stage. Juexia was able to pretty much completely crush this point. He possessed the best inborn qualities, a stage temperament that couldn¡¯t be copied, and an excellent appearance¡ª all the talents that others couldn¡¯t achieve even after going through thousands of hours of training sessions. His limbs, his muscles, and even his shoulder blades, hidden and secretly rippling through the flesh of his back, all of it could dance.


    Pei Tingsong had regarded this kind of description as beneath contempt before, finding it to be too mysterious. However, now, only when he really put down his prejudice and looked properly, did he discover that he was really fascinated by him dancing. It held an uncontrollable gravitational pull on him.


    ¡°Hey, hello!¡±


    Ling Yi¡¯s loud voice suddenly awakened the distracted Pei Tingsong. He followed the direction of Pei Tingsong¡¯s gaze and saw Fang Juexia, who was adjusting his microphone.


    ¡°Oh! You were looking at Juexia!¡±


    Ling Yi¡¯s voice was so frighteningly piercing that as soon as he cried out, everyone turned around to look at them, including a blank-looking Fang Juexia himself.


    Pei Tingsong quickly disassociated himself from the situation. ¡°What nonsense are you talking about?!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not talking nonsense!¡± Ling Yi really didn¡¯t let it go. ¡°You were staring so hard just now that your eyes nearly froze, and when I was talking to you, you didn¡¯t even notice me!¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± Pei Tingsong glanced at Fang Juexia again and found that he had already turned his head away and wasn¡¯t looking over in their direction anymore. So, the words in his mouth changed, and he said, ¡°Okay, okay, okay, you are Yi Ge. Whatever you say is right.¡±


    Fang Juexia watched Pei Tingsong through the mirror and just saw him shrug and stop entangling with Ling Yi. He also didn¡¯t look at him again.


    Jiang Miao confirmed the time, ¡°It should be our turn soon.¡±


    ¡°Ten minutes! Kaleido stand by!¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡±


    The staff took them to the lift platform. Fang Juexia was walking at the very front, and he wasn¡¯t very fast, but pretty much kept sticking close to the staff around him. The lighting in the lift walkway couldn¡¯t be called bright, and there were ground pipelines crisscrossing the walkway as well, so it wasn¡¯t easy to traverse. The six of them arrived at their designated spot and stood according to their positions. Kaleido had an even number of members, so the choreography mostly adopted a double C position design¡ª which usually meant there were two main dancers or the two aces in turn.


    There were two main dancers who would be starting off the performance this time, so Fang Juexia, and Lu Yuan, who was standing beside him, looked at each other and took a deep breath.


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget that you will return from here. The lights will flash on the stage floor.¡± Under the cover of the chaos reigning underground, the staff member yelled into the walkie talkie, ¡°Kaleido in place!¡±


    Their time on the stage was very short.


    From the moment the lift rose slowly to when Pei Tingsong stood shoulder to shoulder with him at the end of the performance, Fang Juexia felt that only one second, or even less, had passed. At this time, the little clock in his heart had been smashed by the infatuation he had for the stage, and had thus stopped functioning, all because he loved this place so much.


    All the things he liked possessed a very short shelf life.


    Looking at the vast array of light boards in the inky darkness spread out below the stage, which, in the blink of an eye, seemed to turn from the dazzling orange HighFive support light colour into the brilliant Klein Blue Kaleido support light colour. The people under the stage twirled the lights around in their hands, projecting magnificent and colorful shadows that belonged only to them.


    ¡°Hello, everyone.¡± Jiang Miao raised his head, and all the six people raised their left hands to make a sign, as he greeted, ¡°We are Kaleido!¡±


    Every time he stood on the stage and said this sentence out loud with everyone, Fang Juexia felt that his flimsy life had gained some weight, along with feeling a sense of belonging.


    He loved the stage, and loved this group that had gone through all the highs and lows together with him.


    With their mission fulfilled, the six big boys of K rushed back to the initial lift platform located at the very back of the stage, where they stood and bowed to the stage hand-in-hand. The flashing light on the platform was akin to the second hand on a clock approaching 12 o¡¯clock in fairy tales, reminding everyone that time was up.


    As the lift slowly sank downwards, so did his nervously palpitating heart. Fang Juexia, who was completely spellbound, forgot to let go of the hand he was holding. He even forgot the identity of the person who was closest to him as one of the double C positions at the ending of the song, and whose hand he was tightly pulling at.


    His vision was getting dimmer and dimmer, while the staff members in the walkway below were still hastily shouting and coordinating things.


    ¡°Hey.¡±


    Suddenly, he heard a low voice. The next second, the hand that he was tightly holding onto lifted his own up high, and with his voice seemingly carrying a smile, he asked, ¡°How long do you want to hold onto it?¡±

 CH 29

    Chapter 29 ¨C Fault Tolerance Rate


    he fault tolerance rate in this circle is close to zero


    Fang Juexia woke up in an instant and immediately released his hand.


    ¡°Everyone in Kaleido, hurry back! Hey! Over there! Quickly move the props over here!¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡±


    ¡°Is this the prop?¡±


    The group members evacuated the platform one after another, and the noisy environment caused Fang Juexia¡¯s heart to quake violently in his chest.


    He had actually been holding Pei Tingsong¡¯s hand the entire time.


    Aware of this point, Fang Juexia hurriedly made his way off of the platform of the stage lift. Unexpectedly, he tripped over one of the numerous pipes on the ground and fell to the ground unprepared.


    ¡°Hey, Fang Juexia, are you ok?¡±


    He could hear the concern carried in Pei Tingsong¡¯s voice, and he also realised through the increasing volume of his voice that Pei Tingsong was drawing closer to him, but Fang Juexia was currently a little flustered. Everything in his vision was fuzzy and dark, and his surroundings were chaotic.


    This isn¡¯t the first time¡ª he tried to calm himself down while thinking this.


    Don¡¯t panic, don¡¯t panic. He reached out and fumbled around on the ground before managing to feel the pipe running in front of him, and then tried to get up carefully. After standing up steadily, Fang Juexia squinted. There were many dark shadows flashing back and forth in front of him, and he couldn¡¯t make out anything else.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter with you?¡± Pei Tingsong immediately noticed that Fang Juexia didn¡¯t seem right and was behaving very strangely. Right now, he just looked like¡­.


    The word that flashed unconsciously in his mind gave him a sudden pause.


    Pei Tingsong went up and caught hold of Fang Juexia¡¯s arm. ¡°Do you have night blindness?¡±


    He was also unaware of what was going on, but as soon as he asked that question, Pei Tingsong immediately thought back to that early morning insomnia incident, where Fang Juexia had accidentally knocked over that pile of books.


    How could they have been knocked over? Even if the lights were not turned on, the room wasn¡¯t completely dark.


    If he hadn¡¯t walked while supporting himself against the wall, he wouldn¡¯t have hit it.


    Yes.


    All those irrational details could now be explained.


    The situation when they had been locked up in the closet together came to his mind again. At that time, he had wanted to force Fang Juexia to look at him, but had only received one sentence in return¡ª


    [I can¡¯t see.]


    He hadn¡¯t lied; he really couldn¡¯t see.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Fang Juexia¡¯s tone while admitting to this was also extremely calm. His mood gradually became tranquil, although he still couldn¡¯t see his surroundings clearly.


    The other group members had already walked far away. The dark and crisscrossed passageway, coupled with the staff urging them forward, caused everyone to subconsciously only look in the direction ahead of them, and made it very difficult for them to notice that they had lost some people. Pei Tingsong was very surprised, and thinking back to the way Fang Juexia looked after he had fallen, he even started to inexplicably feel a bit angry. He couldn¡¯t help asking, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say that you have night blindness?¡±


    As soon as he posed that question, he regretted it. With the cold relationship he had had with Fang Juexia for the past two years, how could this already icy cold person tell him about such a private matter? Even a fool would know that he would not say anything.


    The relationship between them had completely never reached the level of being frank and honest with each other.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Upon hearing the voice of another staff member come from behind him, Fang Juexia tried to break away from the grip Pei Tingsong¡¯s hand had on him and pretend that nothing had happened.


    This reaction of his gave Pei Tingsong a hint.


    ¡°Everything¡¯s fine.¡± Saying this, Pei Tingsong tightened his grip even further, and went to the extent of stretching out his other hand to wrap it around Fang Juexia¡¯s waist. ¡°He came over to find something just now and tripped. You¡¯re busy ba, I¡¯ll help him back.¡±


    ¡°Really? Be careful ah, it¡¯s a bit messy down here.¡±


    After seeing the staff member leave, Pei Tingsong, who was now completely supporting Fang Juexia, drew close to his ear and in a lowered voice, asked¡ª


    ¡°So reluctant to ask me for help?¡±


    As the warm breath drifted across his face, Fang Juexia smiled bitterly in the dark.


    Since he had anticipated that Fang Juexia wouldn¡¯t say anything more, Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t expect any response. He simply continued supporting Fang Juexia as they moved forward step-by-step, letting him know in a soft voice when to avoid all kinds of obstacles. Just when he thought that this guy had finally put down his hard shell and compromised to move slowly forward in this darkness , Pei Tingsong suddenly heard his voice.


    ¡°It¡¯s so strange.¡±


    Their steps paused one after the other.


    ¡°Why is it you every time?¡±


    A brief silence fell between them.


    Fang Juexia¡¯s smile looked bleak. Perhaps Pei Tingsong also felt that he was an unlucky star, getting forced into binding himself to him, and then running into him just when he was being menaced by a hidden rules situation. Even the night blindness problem that he had been keeping well-hidden this entire time had been exposed to Pei Tingsong.


    Why? Plainly he¡¯d been able to hide this fact well every single time prior to this incident, to the point that he was already used to the dark.


    If, just now, he had still been holding onto that other hand tightly and had not let go of it¡­.


    He traced the illusory path of choices offered by this butterfly effect, all the way until his train of thought was broken by Pei Tingsong¡¯s voice.


    ¡°Maybe I spoke too presumptuously on that phone call last time, saying that you and I are bound together.¡±


    ¡°As soon as God heard this, he really tied you and me together.¡± Pei Tingsong¡¯s voice carried a hint of a smile as he stated, ¡°Maybe God also ships our CP.¡±


    Fang Juexia was stunned by this sudden statement.


    What God or not¡­.


    ¡°Don¡¯t joke around.¡± He still tried to escape from Pei Tingsong¡¯s grip on his hands, but the hand wrapped around his waist gripped tighter and tighter instead, and his tone was serious as he said, ¡°Not joking around. I do usually really like to tease you, but I also have a bottom line.¡±


    Fang Juexia glanced at him. ¡°Your bottom line exists somewhere in the third quadrant of a graph.¡±


    When he heard this, Pei Tingsong was stunned at first, and then he burst out laughing, like a high school student.


    Fang Juexia¡¯s ears were filled with Pei Tingsong¡¯s bright laughter. It was strange to say, but it felt like his tension simmering in him seemed to have suddenly been relieved.


    Thinking with his emotional side, he even began to consider taking a chance. Maybe he could really trust this demon-in-human-shape, with whom he had just repaired the broken relationship between them, even letting him know his biggest secret.


    But his reason admonished him to not so easily give up what he had held onto for such a long time.


    If he knew it, then he knew it ba¡ªFang Juexia comforted himself. In any case, it had always been his rule in life to be content with whatever happened to him.


    Under these circumstances, he more and more couldn¡¯t learn how to calmly consider things.


    ¡°If it¡¯s in the third quadrant, then it¡¯s in the third quadrant ba.¡± Pei Tingsong tilted his head at him and said, ¡°It¡¯s better than nothing.¡±


    With his support, Fang Juexia kept moving forward bit by bit. From time to time, his toes would bump into a pipe on the ground, and then he stumbled and tripped, just like the way he had fumbled and groped around in the darkness surrounding his path these past few years.


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s body temperature was very high, and his arms were wrapped around Fang Juexia¡¯s back in order to support his entire person, so Fang Juexia was being heated up and he started to feel a bit uneasy. In the dark, he heard Pei Tingsong¡¯s voice ask, ¡°You¡­really can¡¯t see anything at all?¡± He quickly added, ¡°I mean, after things get dark.¡±


    He had very seldomly heard Pei Tingsong talk so hesitantly, in such a manner. This boy, who was three years younger than himself, was always determined and ostentatious, as though there was nothing in life he was afraid of.


    ¡°Basically.¡± Fang Juexia added a relatively accurate figure. ¡°80 percent.¡±


    Pei Tingsong nodded and repeated his words in a low voice, ¡°80 percent¡­¡±


    The narrow walkway compressed the surrounding air into a slow flowing viscous fluid. Fang Juexia felt a weak breeze in front of his face, making it seem as if the trajectory of the fluid had changed.


    He raised his hand and reached out into the darkness.


    Pei Tingsong was stunned, and his footsteps stopped right then and there. He had just stretched his hand out in front of Fang Juexia¡¯s face and waved it in front of him a bit, but Fang Juexia had caught him just like that.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you can¡¯t see?¡± Pei Tingsong¡¯s tone was a bit surprised and accidentally sounded a little childish as well, just like that of a little kid who got caught doing bad things.


    Once again, a smile appeared at the corner of Fang Juexia¡¯s mouth.


    ¡°I really can¡¯t see,¡± he said, releasing Pei Tingsong¡¯s hand. ¡°But I do have powers of foresight.¡±


    Pei Tingsong let go and also laughed.


    Fang Juexia was indeed much smarter than he had thought.


    He pulled Fang Juexia forward and asked, ¡°So, have you been hiding for so long by relying on your powers of foresight?¡±


    Without waiting for Fang Juexia to answer, Pei Tingsong asked, ¡°Why do you want to hide it from everyone? It¡¯s not a very special disorder, and it doesn¡¯t affect other people.¡±


    Fang Juexia knew that he would not understand, and that was very normal.


    He could only explain to him by using his own experience as an example.


    ¡°I learned dance, both folk dance and modern dance, for a while as a child. When I was seven years old, my mom took me to the Guangzhou Junior Dance Troupe to take part in the selection process for their seeded dancers. At that time, all the adults told me that I was the child with the best conditions and would definitely be selected.¡±


    Such narration in the beginning always implied that the inverse of it would take place.


    ¡°For the last assessment, we went onto a real stage, which wasn¡¯t quite the same as the prior assessments. It was very big, very dark, with only one spotlight.¡±


    Pei Tingsong understood the situation soon enough; he could pretty much see the events of that scene in front of his eyes.


    A little boy, confused and helpless, standing on a dark stage.


    ¡°You¡­.didn¡¯t get picked?¡±


    ¡°En.¡± Fang Juexia¡¯s tone was rather flat, as if nothing had happened. He walked forward step by step as he continued, ¡°I tried my best, but I still fell off the stage and even broke my left leg. Only after I went to the hospital that time did everyone realise that I have night blindness.¡±


    ¡°You were very disappointed back then ba?¡± Pei Tingsong asked.


    ¡°No actually. As soon as I woke up, I asked my mama what the results were. She told me they would send me a message later. After that, there was no such thing.¡± The corners of Fang Juexia¡¯s mouth helplessly hooked up. ¡°Maybe the adults thought that children don¡¯t remember things, and after a period of time passed, they¡¯d forget. But I have a very good memory. I ate very seriously, recuperated, and was very obedient, thinking that as long as my legs got better, I could join the dance troupe and could become a dancer.¡±


    In the dim light, Pei Tingsong looked at him. There wasn¡¯t much expression on his delicate face, and he really didn¡¯t look like a person who was recalling their past regrets. However, this was Fang Juexia, and all this became reasonable.


    But when he listened to his story, his mind even came up with the image of a child obediently and cleverly recuperating.


    When he was a child¡­.he should have been very good-looking then too ba.


    ¡°And then?¡± Pei Tingsong asked.


    ¡°There was no ¡®and then¡¯,¡± Fang Juexia said coldly, ¡°My grandfather told me about the night blindness, so what else could I expect. How could a person with a high probability of going blind on the stage become a dancer?¡±


    Pei Tingsong knew that he should comfort him at this time, but he didn¡¯t know how to comfort him, and all of a sudden, he even started to fumble his words. He could only sigh and say from his heart, ¡°What a pity.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not a pity.¡± Fang Juexia said, ¡°Afterwards, I accidentally heard the adults talking, and only then did I know that even if I didn¡¯t have night blindness, I wouldn¡¯t have been selected.¡±


    Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t understand and asked, ¡°Why?¡±


    Fang Juexia turned his head, glanced at Pei Tingsong through the darkness, raised his finger, and pointed to the corner of his eye as he replied, ¡°Because of this.¡±


    ¡°A dancer can¡¯t have any obvious marks on their face.¡±


    Unlike idols, they didn¡¯t need to be recognized.


    ¡ªNo matter how beautiful they were.


    With just this glance of his, Pei Tingsong¡¯s mood was shaken. He didn¡¯t know what to say, so he just supported him through the last small dark passageway in silence.


    Their stages also weren¡¯t completely illuminated, but most of them did have lights. He couldn¡¯t imagine how Fang Juexia managed to never make a single mistake, so that no one could find out that he was different.


    Pei Tingsong remembered that when he first entered the company, the first internal legend he had heard was about Fang Juexia. Everyone had said, ¡°Don¡¯t look down upon how StarChart is a small company, there is a trainee practice god inside.¡±


    The amount of Fang Juexia¡¯s negative news was directly proportional to his well-known level of hard work. Everyone knew that he pretty much lived in the practice room. No matter when you went to the company¡¯s practice room, you would definitely find him, and he would definitely be dancing in there.


    At that time, Pei Tingsong had just felt that all of these things were exaggerated. He didn¡¯t understand why a person, who everyone defined as possessing rare natural talent, should basically utilise basically the intensity of self mutilation to force himself to get better.


    Now he understood.


    In terms of pursuing his dreams, he counted as being a person who had already failed once.


    He finally understood why Fang Juexia was moved by the opening of that documentary.


    No matter in which sense it was, he was in the dark. And in that dark little house, Fang Juexia totally had no way out.


    The end of the passage led to the lobby underneath the stage. With the gradually increasing light, Fang Juexia consciously, and slowly, retreated to a safe distance from Pei Tingsong. It was as if he stepped out of the deep sea, and was dragging behind him a trail of heavy footsteps as he returned to dry land.


    ¡°You¡¯re not afraid that maybe one day you¡¯ll fall off the stage, just like how you did when you were a child?¡±


    Hearing Pei Tingsong¡¯s question, Fang Juexia calmly and confidently said, ¡°I¡¯m afraid. So I have to ensure that every move I make is so accurate that there is not a single deviation in terms of distance on the stage.¡±


    Just as he said this, the dim yellow light hit his face, lengthening the shadow of his eyelashes, making them flutter across his cheeks like butterflies.


    ¡°The fault tolerance rate in this circle is close to zero, but unfortunately, I was born with the wrong mark, and I was also born as a person who tends to make mistakes.¡±


    He showed Pei Tingsong a cool smile. ¡°I can only work hard to try and pretend that I won¡¯t make any mistakes.¡±


    ¡°Juexia! Xiao Pei!¡±


    Cheng Qiang came running over to them from not far away, and he was panting, as if he had been looking for them for a long time. His appearance interrupted Fang Juexia¡¯s self analysis, and he gathered up his emotions before facing Cheng Qiang.


    He also didn¡¯t really understand why he would say so much to Pei Tingsong; he didn¡¯t understand it every time this happened.


    He thought, perhaps Pei Tingsong also felt very puzzled by this, because what reason was there for him to have to listen to all this stuff about his past, and even his heartfelt thoughts on top of it all? Would Pei Tingsong see this as some kind of ploy to ingratiate himself to him by showing weakness? It was a bit like those contestants on talent shows who tearfully spilled their tragic pasts to everyone, using their deceitful tears to enrich their own characters.


    What would Pei Tingsong think of him?


    ¡°What are you two doing? I¡¯ve been searching for you guys in circles.¡± As Cheng Qiang got closer and closer, Fang Juexia considered whether to use the excuse Pei Tingsong had just used to get rid of that staff member. Unexpectedly, he suddenly heard the person beside him speak up.


    ¡°I have one last question for you.¡±


    He looked at Pei Tingsong, a bit puzzled.


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s eyes were very sincere as he asked, ¡°How many other people know your secret?¡±


    Fang Juexia¡¯s Adam¡¯s apple rolled as he stared at the person in front of him. But, as though feeling that there wasn¡¯t enough time, Pei Tingsong quickly changed his words before Cheng Qiang could arrive, ¡°Forget it, let me go again.¡±


    Fang Juexia¡¯s slightly raised eyebrows indicated his doubts.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go again and say one last thing.¡±


    That young face, which always failed to show any restraint, looked at him, and there was a soft light shining in the depths of his eyes.


    ¡°Your birthmark isn¡¯t a wrong mark. It¡¯s beautiful.¡±

 CH 30

    Chapter 30 ¨C Hotel Party


    Xiao Pei, Xiao Pei, of the whole group, the most tired today


    Fang Juexia froze right where he was standing.


    He stared fixedly at Pei Tingsong, a faint light shimmering in his pupils.


    All of his senses and thinking processes were running delayed at this moment. It was as if he was stuck in slow-mo, stopping at Pei Tingsong¡¯s last sentence repeatedly, echoing that scene again and again.


    Pei Tingsong woke up, and it seemed inconceivable that  he had just blurted out such words. Exactly how possessed had he been to say something like that to Fang Juexia? He had completely lost his head.


    He couldn¡¯t figure out his motive for saying something like this at all.


    ¡°What are you guys doing?¡± Cheng Qiang asked as he ran over to them, then bent and panted for breath.


    Fang Juexia lowered his head immediately and took a deep breath. Pei Tingsong opened his mouth and explained, ¡°He just sprained his foot when coming off the platform, and I helped him in walking over here.¡±


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± Cheng Qiang asked him in a hurried tone, ¡°Is it serious? There¡¯s a doctor backstage, I¡¯ll take you there to get it looked at.¡±


    Fang Juexia shook his head. ¡°No need¡­¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter with you?¡± Seeing that the base of his ears were completely red, Cheng Qiang felt something was wrong, so he asked, ¡°How did you suddenly trip? Did you catch a cold during the photoshoot a few days ago, do you have a fever?¡± He was about to stretch out his hand, but Fang Juexia avoided it. ¡°It¡¯s really okay. No injuries, and no cold.¡±


    Saying that, he walked towards the elevator located in the underground lobby, leaving Pei Tingsong and Cheng Qiang to look at each other.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on here?¡± Cheng Qiang looked back at Pei Tingsong and asked, ¡°Kid, are you bullying Juexia again?¡±


    Pei Tingsong felt wronged to death, but couldn¡¯t explain things clearly, so he just complained, ¡°Why is it that I¡¯m the one bullying him? You are so unjust. Be careful, or else I¡¯ll quit and not do this anymore.¡± Saying that, he also ran away.


    The underground lobby also didn¡¯t have good lighting, and he was still a bit worried about Fang Juexia, so he pretended to get angry and then chase after him.


    ¡°Hey, it¡¯s not that, you¡­¡± Cheng Qiang, who was left behind, wiped off a full forehead¡¯s worth of sweat and kept repeating to himself, ¡°Holy crap, my job here isn¡¯t easy. I have to provide for six Buddhas all at once.¡±


    Fang Juexia walked forward step-by-step. Ever since he was little, his steps seemed to be measured, and each step was very accurate. He was a person with rules in his heart, and he had a very low error acceptance rate.


    But, at this moment, he felt something disturbing his emotions, something that made his heart quake and caused his steps to become flustered.


    His gaze fell on the long shadow on the ground that was getting closer and closer to himself.


    He pressed the up button to call for the elevator and stared at the glowing floor numbers.


    ¡°Hey, are you alright?¡± His voice was very close by.


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t open his mouth until he felt Pei Tingsong come to a stop right next to him. He didn¡¯t look sideways, just kept staring straight ahead.


    ¡°Among all the people you know, there is no one else.¡±


    Pei Tingsong was a bit distracted, and it took him a few seconds to understand what was being said. Fang Juexia had actually given him the answer to the first question that he had taken back, which Pei Tingsong had never imagined he would do.


    With a ding, the elevator door opened. Fang Juexia walked in first and then turned to face Pei Tingsong and looked up at him. His eyes were still clear and smooth.


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s throat rolled up and down, and he asked somewhat doubtfully, ¡°What about Ling Yi? And Qiang Ge, do they know?¡±


    It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t believe Fang Juexia¡¯s words, but that he thought it wasn¡¯t quite possible. He was the only one? How?


    The second hand of his internal clock ticked forward, leaping forward into the abyss under the tightrope stretched out over it. Fang Juexia¡¯s eyes went across the lines of his shoulder and caught sight of Cheng Qiang, who was about to be upon them. His voice was calm and firm as he asserted¡ª


    ¡°There¡¯s only you.¡±


    A subtle feeling would appear once a person had been designated as ¡°one of a few.¡±


    Pei Tingsong was holding a secret in his hand.


    Or maybe, he was caught in the grip of a beautiful secret.


    A hand landed on the dazed Pei Tingsong¡¯s shoulder, and a voice spoke up, ¡°Go in ah, why are you frozen here ma?¡± The huge stage elevator was very empty, while Cheng Qiang chattered on, ¡°Go up now, hurry up and change your clothes and take off your makeup. They should be nearly done.¡±


    Fang Juexia raised his eyes with his head half-lowered, catching sight of Pei Tingsong¡¯s face being reflected in the mirrored wall of the elevator. He was also staring back at him. In fact, Fang Juexia was also slightly regretting just going ahead and answering the question Pei Tingsong had already taken back, but he had just wanted to do so at that moment.


    Sure enough, under the catalysis of a tense atmosphere, people would take unexpected actions.


    He saw the red birthmark at the corner of his eye being reflected in the mirrored doors, and irresistibly recalled Pei Tingsong¡¯s ¡°last sentence.¡±


    The frequency of his heartbeat once again exceeded its normal range, and Fang Juexia had to take a deep breath to try and correct this physical error.


    Everyone had their own set of rules of conduct.


    Fang Juexia¡¯s rules were a two-way chain: On the basis of a specific paradigm unique to him, he would try to avoid mistakes that could possibly take place and would head towards his established goal step-by-step; every time there was any mistake encountered on this path, he would reverse-trace his steps, to track where the mistake happened. It was just like discovering that the result was wrong after solving a math problem, he would then start deriving the solution backwards, going step-by-step, until he figured out the key step in which the mistake had occurred. This was his method of self-reflection.


    The elevator stopped. Fang Juexia looked up and caught sight of the other person reflected in the mirror.


    Since the start of the fanservice, every time he tacked back and derived which key step the issue had occurred at, it always ended up being Pei Tingsong.


    This person did as he pleased, which made Fang Juexia feel completely uncertain about him, and so, every move of his thus became a trigger for error.


    ¡°Go ba, go and clean up.¡±


    They would take part in activities in Shanghai the following day, and the charity party would also be held in Shanghai. After the concert, they flew over to Shanghai with their senior brothers and stayed in a hotel. In the past, whenever they stayed in a hotel, they would divide the rooms between themselves quite casually, with the only principle being that Pei Tingsong and Fang Juexia had to be kept separated.


    But this time, Cheng Qiang just started handing out the key cards while in the hotel elevator.


    ¡°Everyone is on the same floor, and so are your senior brothers. Here, this is Ziyan and Ling Yi.¡± He gave the room card to He Ziyan, and then turned to Jiang Miao and said, ¡°Miaomiao and Lu Yuan are also in one.¡±


    The last room card was naturally handed over to Fang Juexia.


    ¡°Take it, yours and Xiao Pei¡¯s.¡±


    Fang Juexia took the room card. Although the expression on his face remained unchanged, he felt a little flustered inside. After all, they had never stayed in the same room in the course of the past two years. In addition, he hadn¡¯t even uttered a word about the episode after leaving the performance to Pei Tingsong while they were on the plane.


    But now, they were going to spend the night together in the same room.


    Their other group members had already started to quip and joke around, with Lu Yuan knocking his shoulder into Pei Tingsong¡¯s, who was still listening to music and was completely unaware about what was happening. ¡°Aiya, what a joyful day today is.¡±


    Pei Tingsong took off his earphones with a completely confused expression. ¡°What?¡±


    Ling Yi began to swing his arms around and complained teasingly, ¡°I¡¯m not okay with this, I want to sleep with Juexia!¡±


    He Ziyan fished Ling Yi over and rubbed his hair. ¡°Fire Ge doesn¡¯t smell good? Huh?¡±


    Jiang Miao explained the entire situation to their youngest, who was still muddled. ¡°Qiang Ge said you and Fang Juexia will sleep in the same room tonight.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± Pei Tingsong had a completely shocked expression on his face now, and he stared at Cheng Qiang as if asking him if he made a mistake.


    Cheng Qiang glanced at him and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter, you¡¯re even being reluctant ah? Juexia is even the one who is the most well-behaved and quiet when sleeping out of all of you. It¡¯s a good deal for you, kid. Listen to me. I have the final say.¡±


    When the elevator door opened, everyone pushed and shoved to get out, pushing Pei Tingsong and Fang Juexia together. Pei Tingsong subconsciously held onto him, before the two of them quickly separated.


    ¡°I¡¯m so tired! I want to take a bath first!¡±


    ¡°No one¡¯s fighting you for it.¡±


    ¡°Strong Ge, when the company makes money, can I stay in the presidential suite once?¡±


    ¡°If the company makes money, it¡¯s me, Strong Ge, who will be staying in the presidential suite first.¡±


    Everyone entered their own rooms one by one, leaving only Pei Tingsong and Fang Juexia behind, for their room was the furthest into the corridor.


    The atmosphere in the corridor suddenly quieted down, and it seemed as if the silent air was compressing and squeezing them together. Even their breaths would accidentally bump into each other, so both of them were taking the greatest amount of care in keeping a distance.


    Fang Juexia took the room card and opened the door. The room was no different from the many hotel rooms he had stayed in before, with floor to ceiling windows and two large beds.


    Logically speaking, there was nothing different, but Fang Juexia¡¯s palms still began to sweat. ¡°Which side do you want to sleep on?¡±


    ¡°Either is fine.¡± Pei Tingsong looked at where the bathroom was located and pushed his suitcase over to the bed by the window as he stated, ¡°I¡¯ll sleep here ba.¡±


    The bed he had left free was also on the side Fang Juexia preferred to sleep in. Fang Juexia let out a soft ¡°okay¡± while putting his luggage in its place.


    ¡°Do you want to wash first or¡­¡± / ¡°Would you like to take a bath first?¡±


    The two people tacitly started talking at the same time, and also went quiet at the same time.


    Pei Tingsong had never experienced such an awkward moment before; he was clearly not such a courteous person, and ordinarily, he should be saying and doing whatever he felt like, but right now, it really felt like someone had some kind of hold over him.


    It was too strange when it was obvious that the opposite of this was true.


    He scratched his head. ¡°You go first ba. I¡¯ll look for my clothes.¡± With that, Pei Tingsong sat cross legged on the carpet, his back facing Fang Juexia as he opened his suitcase. Fang Juexia accepted his proposal and went into the bathroom on his own. However, only after he began to wash did he realize that the bathroom was translucent, covered by frosted glass on all sides, through which the people inside could be seen faintly.


    He finally knew why Pei Tingsong had turned his back to the bathroom earlier, even before he had entered it.


    The temperature in the bathroom was too high, and the sweltering steam that billowed out made Fang Juexia feel dizzy. The water splashed over his head, and he lowered his head while supporting himself with his hands against the wall. His mind was currently filled with that scene that took place under the platform. He tried very hard not to think about it, but his brain seemed to be going firmly against him.


    He had said he needed to sort out his clothes, but Pei Tingsong actually hadn¡¯t brought much clothing. His back was to the bathroom, but the small glass bathroom was being reflected on the glass of the floor-to-ceiling windows. Such a scene, when reflected on top of Shanghai¡¯s bustling nightlife, was like Pandora¡¯s Box.


    A door suddenly opened in the corridor, and then came  loud knocks on their room door. Pei Tingsong yelled, ¡°Who is it?¡±


    ¡°Xiao Pei, quickly open the door!¡±


    Only upon hearing Ling Yi¡¯s voice did Pei Tingsong get up and rush to the door. Him catching sight of a tall and thin figure, made indistinct by the frosted glass and curling steam, was inevitable.


    ¡°Why?¡± Pei Tingsong asked through the door.


    He heard Lu Yuan¡¯s voice next. ¡°Something¡¯s come up, quickly open up.¡±


    Exactly how many of them had come over? Pei Tingsong opened the door, and all of them tried to clatter their way inside, looking just like a bunch of puppies scrambling after dog food was laid out. He immediately leaned against the door, his arm blocking them from going further, and asked, ¡°What¡¯s going on ma?¡± He then noticed Ling Yi¡¯s cellphone in his hand currently filming him. ¡°Yi Ge, what¡¯s up with you this time?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m livestreaming ah.¡± Saying that, Ling Yi changed the camera view to selfie mode, turned around and after getting everyone into the camera lens, said, ¡°Xiao Pei, quickly say hi to everyone!¡±


    ¡°Eh, it seems it¡¯s a little stuck.¡±


    ¡°The network here isn¡¯t good ba, it froze.¡±


    Livestreaming???


    Fang Juexia was still taking a bath inside; if he really let them in to film the bathroom, how terrible would that be?


    Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t even say anything before preparing to close the door, but He Ziyan and Lu Yuan seized his arm. ¡°What¡¯s the matter with you? Being all sneaky and furtive.¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s being sneaky and furtive?!¡± He deliberately replied in a very loud voice, hoping that Fang Juexia would hear a little bit from inside the bathroom, ¡°It¡¯s the middle of the night; even if you guys aren¡¯t sleeping, I want to go sleep.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s definitely something fishy going on.¡± Lu Yuan and He Ziyan geared up to break through the door and were already rushing up towards Pei Tingsong, who was still providing some last ditch defense, until suddenly, a cold voice appeared from behind him.


    ¡°You guys¡­.What are you doing?¡±


    Pei Tingsong abruptly turned his head around.


    He actually came out?!


    ¡°Cough.¡± Pei Tingsong guiltily cleared his throat, and loosened his arm that had been defending him. ¡°Nothing, they want to livestream.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s still stuck.¡± Ling Yi couldn¡¯t stand the Internet speed and simply closed the livestream. ¡°Yo, now you¡¯re actually letting us in. So weird, Pei Little Six.¡±


    Fang Juexia still had a towel on his head. He had changed into a pair of comfortable and spacious pajamas, and he was still steaming slightly, with his skin glowing red.


    He Ziyan opened his mouth and asked, ¡°Sansan said that we can go over to his room to have fun, are you coming or not?¡±


    Sansan was their senior brother, Shang Sirui. He was also, previously, the most popular artist in Star Chart, and after he had appeared on the show ¡®Escape For Your Life¡¯, he had become even more popular. When Fang Juexia was still a trainee, Shang Sirui had often helped him, and he was a very lively and optimistic person.


    ¡°En.¡± Fang Juexia nodded with a smile. After wiping his hair, he placed the towel back in the bathroom and followed everyone to Shang Sirui¡¯s room.


    Shang Sirui¡¯s door was half-closed, and he was just staying there alone. As soon as he heard the sound of footsteps, he immediately ran over and stuck his head out to take a look. Upon seeing his Didis, he opened the door immediately and greeted, ¡°You guys came.¡± He specially pulled on Fang Juexia¡¯s arm. ¡°I thought you weren¡¯t coming, but it turns out you were taking a bath. You move so fast?¡±


    ¡°En, took a bath as soon as I got to the room.¡± Fang Juexia naturally followed Shang Sirui into the room, with a smile on his face.


    Maybe it was because Fang Juexia was too good-looking when he smiled, but Pei Tingsong, who was following behind him, actually started to feel uncomfortable.


    He had done so much for him. He had concealed secrets for him, had come up with ridiculous excuses for him, and had held off these whelps for him, but Fang Juexia was doing just great, grinning happily at someone else.


    There was a heap of food laid out on the carpet behind Shang Sirui¡¯s bed. ¡°I¡¯m telling you guys, this was all secretly ordered by Gege here. Definitely don¡¯t tell Qiang Ge, or he¡¯ll say again that I¡¯ve led you all astray.¡±


    Ling Yi shrieked, ¡°Ah, there¡¯s maocai! I love maocai!¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s even double cooked pork!¡± Lu Yuan also grew excited and exclaimed, ¡°Let¡¯s start eating!¡±


    ¡°I know Juexia can¡¯t eat spicy food.¡± Shang Sirui took out several other lunch boxes and said, ¡°Look, I ordered a lot of dim sum, and there¡¯s the Japanese food Miaomiao likes to eat, and Ziyan¡¯s favorite barbecue, it¡¯s all here.¡±


    Fang Juexia smiled at him again. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s eyes were entirely pinned on Fang Juexia, not even seeing the chopsticks Jiang Miao held out towards him. His gaze remained focused until Shang Sirui handed him a lunch box. ¡°Xiao Pei? I ordered pizza for you, you should love eating it!¡±


    ¡°Ah, thank you, shixiong.¡± With complicated emotions, he took the pizza, feeling a little ashamed for the direction his stray thoughts had wandered to.


    ¡°You¡¯ve all been working hard, practicing so long for our concert.¡± Shang Sirui divided up the food between everyone and then ran to lock the door. ¡°Originally, the other members were also coming, but they started playing video games, and they¡¯ve gotten into it in full swing over there, so let us all eat first. They have been busy with concerts recently, so it¡¯s been a long time since they got time to play a few matches.¡±


    Fang Juexia took a shrimp dumpling and stuffed it into his mouth. When he looked up, he caught sight of Pei Tingsong, who now had some sauce on his mouth.


    Every time he stared at Pei Tingsong, the other party would immediately stare back at him. Fang Juexia pointed to the corner of his own mouth with his finger, but Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t know what was going on. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with your mouth?¡±


    He helplessly lowered his head and pulled out a napkin. ¡°You have sauce on your mouth.¡±


    ¡°Aiya, you wipe it for your Didi ma.¡± With the door locked, Shang Sirui had once again taken a seat next to Fang Juexia, and now he grabbed Fang Juexia¡¯s arm, and pulled his hand directly up to Pei Tingsong¡¯s mouth, wiping away that bit of sauce.


    ¡°Now that¡¯s right. Band members have to be deeply attached to each other, understood?¡± Shang Sirui put on the appearance of being an old Da Ge as he took out a bottle of alcohol from beneath the bed. ¡°This came with the Japanese food, let¡¯s each take a sip.¡±


    He Ziyan said with a smile, ¡°You really deserve to be called drunkard Sansan; I was just saying that something was missing.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t drink too much,¡± Jiang Miao said, ¡°We still have activities to do tomorrow morning.¡±


    Lu Yuan chimed in, ¡°It¡¯s fine, everyone¡¯s drinking capacity is pretty good, so such a tiny amount won¡¯t be a problem. Also, even Xiao Pei is an adult now.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been an adult for a long time,¡± Pei Tingsong hurried to clear his name as he declared, ¡°I just had another birthday, so I¡¯m already 20 now.¡±


    ¡°20 ah, that¡¯s great.¡± Shang Sirui poured out the alcohol and began to clap. ¡°You¡¯ll never be an age starting with 1 anymore.¡±


    Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t help laughing and accidentally grew distracted. He automatically took the alcohol that Shang Sirui offered to him and drank it all in one gulp.


    He hardly drank alcohol. In the past, whenever he went out to dinner with everyone, there would often be underage trainees who would also avoid drinking, so he didn¡¯t really know what his capacity for alcohol was. Upon taking a gulp like that, he started choking and coughing.


    Jiang Miao handed him a napkin and advised, ¡°Slow down, no need to choke, eat something and suppress it.¡±


    Lu Yuan took hold of his shoulder and said, ¡°Juexia is pretty capable ah, gulping it down like that, he¡¯s worthy of being half a Shandong man.¡±


    Fang Juexia stuffed a custard bun into his mouth, trying to suppress the pungent fumes of the alcohol. He had just stuffed his cheeks to the brim when he looked up and saw Pei Tingsong suppressing a smile. He finally understood why Pei Tingsong would ask him what he was laughing at every time; if it wasn¡¯t for the fact that he couldn¡¯t open his mouth right now, he would ask that question too.


    Chewing the custard bun in his mouth, Fang Juexia quietly listened to everyone chatting away. Shang Sirui had a high drinking capacity, and he drank most of the bottle by himself without any trouble.


    Ling Yi thought of something. ¡°Hey, Sansan, are you going to start filming the program soon? When will the second season of ¡®Escape For Your Life¡¯ come out ah?¡±


    Shang Sirui waved his hand and answered, ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. They said we were going to start filming, but last season, there was a girl, you guys remember ba, she got married in a flash, and now she¡¯s on an international honeymoon, and so we can¡¯t film.¡±


    Jiang Miao nodded. ¡°Ah, it¡¯s hard to do that when missing a person.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not just one.¡± Shang Sirui explained further, ¡°The program group is changing, and they might add some more people. It¡¯s not easy to invite guests in the first place, and you guys know the difficulty level of this program.¡± He coughed and whispered, ¡°Don¡¯t tell other people ah, but there is a pretty popular celebrity, and their group contacted the program group. Of course, the program group didn¡¯t refuse them, but this celebrity group also made a request.¡±


    Pei Tingsong, who was listening to all this, guessed the rest, ¡°He was asking them to reduce the difficulty ba.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Shang Sirui nodded repeatedly and continued, ¡°Moreover, he also asked for his script to be given to him beforehand, and put forth the condition that they give him the role of the killer. The screenwriter wouldn¡¯t agree no matter what, saying that if they did so, he just wouldn¡¯t write the script anymore. Naturally, the program team didn¡¯t want to lose the entire public reputation they have built up over one distinguished guest, so this matter just blew over.¡±


    Fang Juexia found it interesting. He had been forced to participate in an unsuitable reality show in the beginning, and had turned into a spray of wallflowers being menaced by the deputy director. However, this person took the initiative to go on programs unsuitable for him, and he even used his popularity as a bargaining chip.


    Everyone was doing things that weren¡¯t suitable for them.  The world was like a staggered gear, with people always running into problems when it rotated to a certain point.


    ¡°Which celebrity?¡± Lu Yuan¡¯s face carried the standard expression of eating melons. ¡°Do we know them?¡±


    Shang Sirui was a bit more free with his words after drinking, he didn¡¯t have many scruples in the first place, and they were all close to each other. ¡°You do. Not only do you know them, but there¡¯s a bit of a grudge there.¡± Having said that, he looked at Fang Juexia.


    Fang Juexia immediately realized what was going on, and it was not only him, but the others in his group also came to the same realization.


    Pei Tingsong and Fang Juexia weren¡¯t so familiar with each other before, but looking at the way everyone¡¯s facial expressions changed, he could also hazard a general guess. Whoever had a grudge against Fang Juexia¡ªthere was an 80% chance that it had to be someone from Astar. Most probably, it was a member of Seven Luminaries, the group that Fang Juexia hadn¡¯t debuted with.


    The most popular member of Seven Luminaries¡­ Pei Tingsong thought for a bit, and remembered that it was that artist who was officially promoted by the company and often stood in the C position?


    By the time he returned to his senses, everyone else had already changed the topic. Fang Juexia looked unperturbed, not seeming to have any emotions about that so-called ¡°grudge¡± that had been mentioned just now. Everyone began to play drinking games, but they avoided the multiples of seven game, the one game Fang Juexia was best at. As a result, Fang Juexia kept losing and kept drinking until there was no alcohol left, and his words grew rarer and rarer.


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s eyes never really left him. After watching him drink cup after cup, he appeared to be fine; his face wasn¡¯t red, and he wasn¡¯t breathless, but Pei Tingsong kept feeling that something was off.


    Fang Juexia bit open a custard bun, then turned his head and suddenly started smiling at Pei Tingsong.


    It wasn¡¯t a normal smile, but a silly and sweet smile.


    There was definitely something wrong.


    Shang Sirui¡¯s cellphone suddenly vibrated. He picked it up and looked at it before exclaiming, ¡°Holy shit, holy shit, Yang Ge is about to come up and find me.¡±


    Yang Ge was his agent. As soon as the Kaleido members heard that, they immediately stood up and said, one after the other¡ª ¡°Then-then let¡¯s go back first.¡±


    ¡°Holy crap, I¡¯m most afraid of Yang Ge.¡±


    ¡°Quickly grab your clothes!¡±


    ¡°Put these away quickly.¡±


    ¡°Wtf, why is he coming all of a sudden?¡± Shang Sirui quickly cleaned up the food on the ground and stopped all of them from trying to help him. ¡°You guys go back now. If you¡¯re late, he¡¯ll give you guys a lecture. I can do it on my own.¡±


    In this way, the friendly and harmonious late night party of bros ended in such a mess. Pei Tingsong watched with his own eyes as Fang Juexia supported himself and stood upright using the bed, coming to a steady stance.


    But as soon as he walked, he¡¯d be exposed, for he was moving his hands and feet at the same time.


    Everyone fled in panic, with no one having the time to mind Fang Juexia, who was behaving strangely. Pei Tingsong, as his temporary roommate, had to shoulder the arduous task of taking his arm and running out with him.


    Finally, they fled back to their room, and once the alarm was temporarily off, Pei Tingsong let out a sigh of relief. He closed the door and inserted the room card, but before he could turn on the lights, he heard a thump.


    ¡°It hurts¡­¡±


    When he turned on the lights, he found Fang Juexia crouched at his feet with his head buried in his arms, facing the wall, whining and crying out in pain.


    Pei Tingsong wanted to pull him up, but this guy was like a little ostrich; not only was his head in his arms, but his two arms were also wrapped around his knees and buried under his head. His whole person looked almost like a closed ball.


    ¡°You¡¯re a ridiculously terrible drinker. Do you not know how much you can drink? Just drinking whatever is handed to you.¡± Pei Tingsong complained as he tried to pull apart this small ball before pulling him upright by his arms. However, Fang Juexia was still strong even though he was drunk, and he wasn¡¯t able to break his grip no matter what.


    It was too comical; Pei Tingsong felt like he was that huffing and puffing dumb rabbit in that song.


    He had met a stubborn and delicate white turnip that he couldn¡¯t pull out no matter how hard he tried.

 CH 31

    Chapter 31 ¨C Soft Candy Surprise Attack


    I¡¯m Pei Tingsong, your¡­


    ¡°I¡¯m tired.¡± Even after many attempts, Pei Tingsong still couldn¡¯t pull Fang Juexia¡¯s arms apart, and so he simply sat down against the wall, right next to Fang Juexia, and panted, while Fang Juexia continued to groan, ¡°It hurts¡­¡±


    ¡°Where does it hurt?¡±


    Burying his head even deeper into his arms, Fang Juexia complained in a low muffled voice, ¡°Head, and also hands.¡±


    Pei Tingsong said helplessly, ¡°Then what are we supposed to do, do you want to get up so I can take a look?¡±


    ¡°It hurts!¡± This time, his tone sounded irritable¡ªit seemed as though the little ostrich had become impatient.


    ¡°Okay, okay, okay, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts.¡± Pei Tingsong¡¯s heart was currently experiencing a surge consisting of a multitude of emotions. An hour ago, he was still worrying about how awkward it would be to stay alone in a room with Fang Juexia, who had just laid all of his cards on the table. Yet, now that object had suddenly changed and become a Fang Juexia who had lost all his senses.


    ¡°Rub my head!¡±


    The little ostrich began to give orders, and Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t dare not obey.


    ¡°Okay, understood, rubbing your head.¡± He put his hand on Fang Juexia¡¯s head and rubbed it gently. He couldn¡¯t help but think of the Maltese dog he had raised when he was a child. It had been particularly beautiful and also liked to have its head rubbed.


    After only having rubbed two or three times, Fang Juexia muffled voice sounded out, ¡°Doesn¡¯t hurt now.¡±


    ¡°That works so well?¡± Pei Tingsong was a little happy, and felt that he was now a man who could take very good care of people. ¡°Then get up bei, wash your face and sober up a bit.¡±


    But who could have known that this little ostrich, who still had his head buried, would stretch out an arm next while saying, ¡°My arm hurts.¡±


    Looking at the thin, pale arm, Pei Tingsong was puzzled. ¡°Um¡­rub your arm?¡±


    ¡°En.¡±


    How could he rub that ah? Pei Tingsong felt that this was all off, for what man would rub another man¡¯s arm?


    ¡°I¡¯ll massage it for you ba.¡± After saying that, he began to knead Fang Juexia¡¯s arm with his eyes closed, looking quite like an abnormal blind masseur. He didn¡¯t dare to exert too much force, for fear that this guy would rebound again.


    He had really given too much up for this guy¡ªPei Tingsong thought to himself.


    ¡°Alright, Gege.¡± By now, Pei Tingsong was half-dead from fatigue, so he held Fang Juexia by his wrist and requested, ¡°Can we get up now?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s so dark ah.¡± Fang Juexia still showed no intentions of getting up, instead shrinking into himself even further.


    Pei Tingsong helplessly said, ¡°It¡¯s not dark though? If you lift your head up, it won¡¯t be dark; I turned the lights on.¡± Saying that, he drew closer to Fang Juexia and pulled him in such a way that he would face him instead of the wall. He then stretched out his hand to help him lift his head, thinking that doing things this way definitely wouldn¡¯t pose a problem.


    But not only did Fang Juexia not cooperate, he even bit Pei Tingsong¡¯s hand that was stretched out towards his chin, biting down hard.


    ¡°Ah, ow, ow, ow¡­¡± Pei Tingsong was angry and anxious, and only managed to force Fang Juexia into letting his hand go after he grasped the back of this person¡¯s neck firmly.


    ¡°Look at how you bit me, you look up and see this bite mark, it¡¯s bleeding!¡±


    Fang Juexia still didn¡¯t look up, and not only did he not look up, but he also shifted his butt so that he would face the wall again, with all of these actions of his containing not a single shred of guilt.


    This move completely exhausted Pei Tingsong¡¯s patience. He shook his bitten hand twice, and without saying another word, picked up Fang Juexia and carried his whole person on his shoulder. Fang Juexia flopped around non-stop, just like a little fish ending up on the bank, and even his slippers flew away. Pei Tingsong then looped both of his arms around his legs and admonished, ¡°Be good.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to fly! I don¡¯t want to!¡±


    Pei Tingsong found this both infuriating and funny. ¡°What fly ah? I still want to fly.¡± He supported Fang Juexia¡¯s back as he placed him on the bed, and he was so tired out that he was currently panting for breath. He also lay down on the bed halfway, with his two hands supporting him. ¡°Thankfully it¡¯s me, if you were with Ling Yi today¡­.¡±


    In the middle of his speech, he suddenly froze.


    Fang Juexia was right under him, with his lips half open, and his chest moving up and down as he fought for breath. His always stubborn beautiful eyes were covered in a teary mist, and even the gaze with which he looked at him right now was soft.


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s Adam¡¯s apple rolled up and down, and his breathing started to become somewhat abnormal.


    Probably because he had consumed alcohol, the corners of Fang Juexia¡¯s eyes had turned red and had combined with his red birthmark to extend out and form one ruddy field. His skin was too pale, and when he was drunk, patches of his skin turned pink, making it seem as if his face had been rubbed against something.


    ¡°Thirsty¡­¡± Fang Juexia twisted around on top of the quilt, his head tilted to one side, and his voice sounded mushy. ¡°I¡¯m thirsty.¡±


    Pei Tingsong pulled himself out of a not-so-good reverie, and once again shouldered the responsibility of taking care of his Gege. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll get you some water.¡± It took him a long time to stuff Fang Juexia into the quilt, and then he started feeling hot, so he took off his coat and walked towards the table.


    After getting drunk, should he drink some hot water? Pei Tingsong looked for a kettle, but he wasn¡¯t very good at using it. Only after studying for a long time did he figure out how to use it to boil water.


    ¡°It¡¯s so hot.¡± Pei Tingsong glanced behind him to see that Fang Juexia was still obediently tucked into the quilt, although he was muttering something that he couldn¡¯t hear.


    ¡°My situation is so hard.¡± Pei Tingsong looked back and whispered, ¡°I¡¯m telling you, up until now, I¡¯ve never actually taken care of anyone, everyone has just taken care of me. Really, Fang Juexia, you have too much face, you may have been my ancestor in your last life.¡±


    Finally, the water started boiling, and when he was pouring it out, which he did clumsily, he almost scalded himself. You couldn¡¯t immediately drink water that had just been boiled, so he mixed into it half a cup of bottled mineral water and made sure the temperature was okay before bringing it over to Fang Juexia.


    When he got closer, he found that Fang Juexia was reciting multiplication tables, and had already started over again after finishing one whole round.


    ¡°Drink some water, drink some water.¡± He opened the quilt and was startled by the expanse of pale and smooth skin on display. ¡°Hey, why did you take off your T-shirt?!¡±


    Fang Juexia was lying on his side, facing Pei Tingsong, and then scooted forward to end up on the side of the bed. ¡°I¡¯m hot.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll get a cold!¡± Pei Tingsong wrapped the quilt around him and put the cup up to his mouth. ¡°Drink some water.¡±


    Fang Juexia gulped down all the water under his ministrations, and after becoming fully content, giggled at him, sweet and soft, just like a different person.


    ¡°Close your eyes and go to sleep.¡±


    As soon as he said that, Fang Juexia really did close his eyes.


    He was actually pretty obedient. Pei Tingsong subconsciously reached out his hand and almost ended up covering his soft hair with his palm, but soon, he stopped mid-way.


    What was he doing?


    Pei Tingsong quickly stood up, wondering whether he was also drunk or not.


    Why did he involuntarily want to rub this person¡¯s head?


    ¡°It¡¯s so hot.¡± Pei Tingsong took off his shirt with one hand, then grabbed his pajamas to enter the bathroom.


    He needed to take a bath now in order to calm down.


    While bathing, Pei Tingsong couldn¡¯t help but think of what Shang Sirui had said when they were drinking. It couldn¡¯t be that the celebrity who couldn¡¯t reach an agreement with the program group was really the person who had taken the official debut spot from Fang Juexia?


    When they were together in Astar, they should have been trainees at the same time.


    Seven Luminaries was now one of the most popular boy-bands in China. The officially promoted Liang Ruo had possessed the best resources from the start of his debut. He was the main dancer and the secondary singer, and he almost always occupied the fixed opening and ending C position in the choreography of most of their songs. In the past, he had also been invited to be the regular guest on two different variety shows. Although he also had a countless number of anti-fans, considering that he had the blessing of a large company, everything had been smooth sailing for him.


    By aiming at a slice of the pie of ¡®Escape For Your Life¡¯, he definitely wanted to set himself up as a person with a high IQ.


    Pei Tingsong just couldn¡¯t figure out the reason for making this kind of move. Fake was fake, and the more real you pretended to be, ultimately, when you were exposed, the more unbearable it would become.


    He couldn¡¯t help thinking about how Fang Juexia must have felt when he had heard the news about Liang Ruo. Did he feel that it was a pity? Did he feel uncomfortable?


    If¡­if back then, he hadn¡¯t been forced to leave Astar, what would it be like now?


    In that case, they should have¡­


    ¡°Bang bang bang!¡±


    The continuous sound of knocking pulled Pei Tingsong away from his thoughts. When he turned around, he got so scared he nearly slipped and fell down, a string of F-words bursting out of him. Fang Juexia, who he had thought was asleep, had suddenly appeared at the door of the bathroom. His entire body was sprawled out against the frosted glass door, while he was slapping the bathroom glass wall with his hand. ¡°Let-let me in!¡±


    The frosted glass made his figure look even more furtive. Pei Tingsong leaned against the wall and pulled over a towel to hastily dry off his body.


    Little friend Fang Juexia¡¯s face was pressed tightly against the glass, crowding in so tightly that his face looked a bit deformed. ¡°My eyes are broken, why can¡¯t I see clearly¡­¡± He slapped the glass door several more times. ¡°I¡¯ve already counted to a hundred, and I¡¯ve got you!¡±


    It was over, he couldn¡¯t even think about sleeping tonight.


    Pei Tingsong hastily put on his clothes and opened the bathroom door to come out. Yet, as a result, Fang Juexia, who had been ready the entire time, pounced on him, and his two hands firmly wrapped themselves around him.


    ¡°I-I¡¯ve got you!¡±


    He didn¡¯t have his shirt on, and he threw himself into Pei Tingsong¡¯s arms while his upper body was bare. He was pretty much behaving like a three-year-old kid at this point. Pei Tingsong could only go along with him, ¡°Yes, you. caught me, you won. Can you go to sleep now?¡±


    Fang Juexia looked up at him, his watery eyes blinking. ¡°Sleep?¡±


    ¡°Yes, sleep.¡± Pei Tingsong dragged him forcefully back to the bed, where he once again stuffed his hands and feet back into the quilt. ¡°Look at you, ice-cold. If you do this again, I won¡¯t care for you anymore.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Fang Juexia hugged his arm and looked really aggrieved, as if he would start shedding tears the very next second.


    Just when Pei Tingsong was starting to feel much more sympathetic, Fang Juexia called out sweetly, ¡°Little Abacus~¡± and then he stubbornly held out his hand and scratched Pei Tingsong¡¯s chin. ¡°Are you hungry, Little Abacus? I¡¯ll go pour you some dog food~¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not your dog!¡± Pei Tingsong grabbed his hand. ¡°Fang Juexia, look closely. I¡¯m Pei Tingsong, your¡­¡±


    He stopped, and Fang Juexia¡¯s watery eyes blinked.


    After a second-long pause, Pei Tingsong continued, ¡°I¡¯m your bandmate, understand?¡±


    ¡°Understood, Little Abacus.¡±


    What a waste of words, Pei Tingsong sighed. He tucked Fang Juexia in and considered it; if this person currently thought that he was Abacus, then he¡¯d just be Abacus ba. The present Fang Juexia completely possessed a child¡¯s mind, so he could only coax him by employing the strategies used to coax children into doing things. ¡°How about this, shall we have a sleeping competition? Whoever falls asleep first is the champion!¡±


    Fang Juexia blinked and asked, ¡°Then-then is there a reward?¡±


    ¡°Reward¡­¡± Pei Tingsong asked, ¡°What kind of reward do you want?¡±


    Fang Juexia¡¯s mouth shrunk slightly. ¡°I¡­ I want my dad to turn back into my old dad.¡±


    Upon hearing this, Pei Tingsong couldn¡¯t help frowning.


    What did that mean? What was his ¡°old dad¡±?


    But he had no way to investigate any further. These were Fang Juexia¡¯s private matters, and the only reason he was carelessly talking about them right now was because he was drunk. Once he sobered up, he definitely wouldn¡¯t want his privacy to be delved into by anyone.


    ¡°Okay, you can have whatever you want. Now we¡¯re going to start!¡± Saying that, Pei Tingsong turned off the lights. He then thought of Fang Juexia¡¯s night blindness and left a bedside lamp on. He got into his own bed, for he was very exhausted after having been tossed around for such a long time in the hotel, not to mention that he had originally already been very tired from the flight. Pei Tingsong lay in bed with a long sigh of relief and closed his eyes.


    He kept chanting in his heart, praying that this guy would not start anymore drunken hijinks again. Gradually, just as he was about to sink into a dream, his consciousness flowed out of his stretched body and spread out around him.


    In a trance-like state, he felt his quilt being pulled at, and then something crept up, moving from his feet to his side. Pei Tingsong was confused, and he simply let out an ¡°en.¡± However, that was when he heard Fang Juexia¡¯s voice in his ear¡ª


    ¡°Can I hug you to go to sleep, Little Abacus?¡±


    Pei Tingsong, who had nearly fallen asleep, was suddenly awakened, and opened his eyes to face the person next to him. Fang Juexia¡¯s innocent and pitiful eyes looked at him just like that.


    He was really going to go crazy.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you have a bed?¡± Pei Tingsong asked in a completely helpless tone, ¡°You¡¯re already such a big kid, you have to learn to sleep by yourself.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡± Fang Juexia¡¯s mouth shrunk as he began to speak, before hesitating.


    ¡°But what?¡± Pei Tingsong looked at him with the manner of an adult.


    Fang Juexia¡¯s tone was pitiful as he explained, ¡°But Dad came home today. I¡¯m a little scared, he-he drank again, will he scold me¡­¡±


    Right now, when he spoke, the logic and organization that Fang Juexia had developed over the years seemed to have regressed to that of a frightened child¡¯s. Although all he said were a few short, confused words, Pei Tingsong more or less understood what he meant.


    ¡°No,¡± he rubbed Fang Juexia¡¯s head and consoled, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid.¡±


    Fang Juexia sniffled and looked at him. ¡°Little Abacus, my eyes are sick, did you know?¡±


    Pei Tingsong nodded, his fingers touching Fang Juexia¡¯s eyes. ¡°I know.¡±


    ¡°Then will you also find me annoying?¡± Fang Juexia¡¯s eyes were filled with a watery haze, as if tears would start falling in the next second. He didn¡¯t know why, but Pei Tingsong¡¯s heart ached at this, and such a feeling was particularly strange.


    ¡°Of course not.¡± Pei Tingsong pinched his cheek and said, ¡°Am I that kind of person, pei, am I that kind of dog?¡±


    Fang Juexia finally started smiling. ¡°Will you night-night with me?¡±


    In the end, Pei Tingsong finally compromised. He was obviously a bad-tempered, rebellious, and unrestrained prick, but every time he ran into Fang Juexia, he would compromise and do things he had never done before. It was as if this person had completely confiscated his power of refusal.


    ¡°Alright, alright,¡± Pei Tingsong soothed him, even though he knew that some people would suddenly turn hostile and start acting nasty when they woke up the next morning. Fang Juexia would probably think he had taken advantage of him, so he pulled out his cellphone and turned on the recording app. ¡°This is you absolutely wanting to sleep with me.¡±


    ¡°En!¡± Fang Juexia immediately grew happy, with his voice turning sweet, and his eyes brightening, looking just like two beautiful glass beads, in which Pei Tingsong¡¯s face was being reflected. ¡°Then, can I hold you?¡±


    Being asked in this manner, Pei Tingsong suddenly ended up tongue-tied, and his ears felt hot as he replied, ¡°What-whatever you want.¡± After that, he turned to the other side, with his back facing Fang Juexia. He had lived for 20 years, and he had never slept with anyone in the same bed before; doing this much was already his highest level of compromising.


    Yet, he hadn¡¯t even turned around for a second when Fang Juexia seized the clothes on his back and gently pulled at them, grumbling, ¡°Hey, I can¡¯t see you anymore.¡±


    ¡°Fang Juexia, if you keep being so flirty, you will regret it when you wake up tomorrow.¡± Pei Tingsong sighed and turned to face him. ¡°Like this is fine ba.¡±


    ¡°En!¡± Fang Juexia arched up and then really hugged his head just as if he were hugging a small dog and also started patting Pei Tingsong on the back. ¡°Little Abacus, night-night~¡±


    Pei Tingsong, a tall man of 1.9 meters, was pressed close and had to shrink to fit like that in Fang Jue Xia¡¯s arms as he was pressed into his clavicle. He didn¡¯t dare to breathe, let alone sleep.


    ¡°Night, night¡­¡± Fang Juexia began to sing randomly, as if he really wanted to coax a puppy to sleep. He first started with an out-of-tune lullaby, and then he somehow started singing the Snail and the Oriole Bird song, of which he would only sing the first verse. He kept singing about ¡°Pinot Tree Supremes¡± until finally Pei Tingsong couldn¡¯t stand it anymore.


    In one swift action, he moved Fang Juexia¡¯s arms away from his head, and took him into his arms instead, then placed his arms under his neck, only to wrap his own arms all the way around him, thus coming to hold Fang Juexia firmly in his arms.


    ¡°It¡¯s still a bit more comfortable for me to hold you.¡± His chin was on the top of Fang Juexia¡¯s hair, and his hand gently patted Fang Juexia¡¯s back while saying, ¡°Sleep ba.¡±


    Fang Juexia, currently possessing a child¡¯s mind, also copied his actions, patting Pei Tingsong¡¯s waist and hugging him tightly. ¡°Sleep ba, Little Abacus.¡±


    It could now count as things having finally quietened. Pei Tingsong closed his eyes and took a deep breath. This hug was the first one between him and Fang Juexia¡ªa real and intimately close hug, even if it was born from neither of their free wills.


    He had once firmly believed that he and Fang Juexia must be two people walking different paths in life. Once such people met, the consequences would only be bad, not good.


    So, this moment was too sudden and too unexpected.


    If time travel really existed, and the Pei Tingsong from a month ago transmigrated over and saw this scene, he would probably be scared silly ba. Recalling the events of these past few days, Pei Tingsong felt as if the two of them had been forced into the same dramatic whirlpool; the more they wanted to separate, the closer they instead became to each other.


    Sensing that Fang Juexia wasn¡¯t really moving around anymore, Pei Tingsong reached for his cellphone and stopped the still on-going recording. But it was at this time that the person in his arms suddenly raised his head and placed both of his hands on Pei Tingsong¡¯s face. In the dim light, he drew close and gave him a kiss. Maybe he wanted to kiss his chin or his cheek, but unfortunately, it was their lips that met.


    Pei Tingsong stopped breathing.


    ¡°Thank you for keeping me company, Little Abacus.¡± He giggled in a silly manner, then snuggled back into Pei Tingsong¡¯s arms, rubbing against his clavicle until he found the most comfortable spot where he could be at ease, and closed his eyes.


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s nerves seemed to have been anesthetized. His thoughts turned sluggish, and even up until now, the dull sensation of his lips being collided with could still be felt. This time though, there was no cellophane candy wrapper, and the lips that had touched his own had been completely soft. The short touch slowed down and stretched out in his memory: the coming into contact, sinking in, leaving, and his lips springing back. These four gentle moves of Fang Juexia¡¯s had completely toppled his heavy heartbeat, and after getting stirred up, he had no way to calm it down again, while it just continued to grow faster and faster. It was so fast that he was afraid that the crazy rabbit that was thumping away in his heart would wake up the little radish in Fang Juexia¡¯s heart while their two chests were this close against each other.


    Oh no.


    He had been surprise-attacked by a soft candy.


    Ten minutes passed, twenty minutes passed, and then even after who knows how long, his heartbeat still didn¡¯t manage to return to its normal pace. The tight embrace provided it with a steady stream of energy, allowing it to beat crazily, and in a lively fashion, regardless of any resistance from Pei Tingsong¡¯s brain.


    That had been his first kiss.


    Pei Tingsong tried to talk himself out of it. He was very cool, so cool, and a kiss on the mouth counted as nothing at all. What¡¯s more, he had already tried this out when they had been passing around the candy wrapper.


    However, his persuasion didn¡¯t seem to have much of an effect, and his adrenaline ratcheted up recklessly. The smell of Fang Juexia¡¯s shampoo confused his brain, and he felt dizzy and breathless.


    Clearly, he had already overdrawn his energy levels, but Pei Tingsong still couldn¡¯t fall asleep. He didn¡¯t even dare to move, for fear of waking up the person in his arms.


    An unexpected kiss managed to stuff 10,000 butterflies into his chest. They fluttered their wings as they tried to fly out of his throat. They plotted together to create a tsunami in a sea of alcohol.


    And he was the fool obediently holding onto a small bomb.


    Dizzy, and not knowing how long he had slept, a throbbing headache pulled Fang Juexia out of deep sleep, his consciousness just floating around for now. His thoughts were confused, and he couldn¡¯t open his eyes. He could feel that his body was slightly sore, so he moved a bit. Unexpectedly, he immediately felt a pair of arms around him tighten, after which he was patted on the back.


    He vaguely heard a familiar low voice, one which sounded a bit sleepy, say, ¡°Be good¡­¡±


    Be good?


    What kind of strange dream was this?


    This reflexively tightened embrace compressed the distance between the two people until there was nearly none left. What was embarrassing was that although Fang Juexia wasn¡¯t sure whether the voice he had just heard was real or not, what his thigh had accidentally touched was far too real.


    He violently came to his senses and in just one move, pushed Pei Tingsong, who still wasn¡¯t awake, away. He grabbed the quilt and retreated to the edge of the bed.


    ¡°Pei Tingsong!¡±


    It was the first time he was so emotive.


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s brows twisted together, and he said, ¡°Now what¡­¡± He opened his eyes and only after seeing Fang Juexia in that standard posture¡ª of a woman from a good family after having been taken advantage of¡ª did his sluggish brain wake up.


    Sure enough, he just knew this would happen.


    At this time, Pei Tingsong sighed emotionally, feeling glad about his ingenuity in preparing beforehand for a rainy day.


    ¡°Wait, you calm down.¡± Pei Tingsong drew closer; he actually wanted to grab his cellphone and open the evidence for Fang Juexia to look at.


    However, Fang Juexia was completely unaware of what he was trying to do; all he knew was that as soon as he had woken up, he had discovered that he wasn¡¯t wearing a shirt and that Pei Tingsong had been holding him tightly in his arms. Moreover, the guy who seemed to be the initiator was still approaching him, and so Fang Juexia said, ¡°It¡¯s you who should calm down.¡± Having said that, he coughed and added, ¡°And you, down there¡­¡±


    Down there?


    Pei Tingsong, who still hadn¡¯t fully woken up, looked down at himself, and then let out a curse in a low voice.


    ¡°This is a normal phenomena that happens in the morning, okay?¡± He looked completely shameless and scratched his sleep-tousled hair. ¡°You¡¯re also a man, so what are you making such a fuss about? This is showing that it¡¯s working normally. Don¡¯t you know?¡±


    ¡°Shut up.¡± Fang Juexia didn¡¯t want to listen to his middle school biology class lecture. ¡°Then why did you need to hug me while sleeping? Didn¡¯t you say you¡¯re not gay?¡± His soul felt tortured right now.


    Pei Tingsong had nothing to say.


    Shouldn¡¯t you ask yourself that?


    Obviously, last night, he had been the one constantly calling him Little Abacus and stickily pasting himself onto him, but in the blink of his eye, he had now turned hostile and acted as if he didn¡¯t recognize him anymore.


    Pei Tingsong was angry, but he was also very clear on the situation. He had clearly known that Fang Juexia had the kind of stubborn personality¡ªone who wouldn¡¯t change his mind about anything without getting a rude awakening about it first. Thus, he decided to first get to his carefully compiled evidence. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll tell you why.¡±


    Fang Juexia was flustered. His brain was in a complete mess, and yet again, this person was drawing closer to him.


    Where was his shirt?


    Pei Tingsong wasn¡¯t really gay ba? ¡ªThis question kept lingering in his mind.


    He stretched out his hand to resist, but Pei Tingsong grabbed his wrist in one move. ¡°Don¡¯t move.¡± Saying that, his other hand felt around the pillow and he said, ¡°Where did it go?¡±


    ¡°You let me go.¡± Fang Juexia¡¯s only other free hand also began to struggle.


    His current actions completely exhausted Pei Tingsong¡¯s patience, and so he just grabbed Fang Juexia¡¯s other hand and pressed it into his body, while wearing a condescending look on his face, as if Fang Juexia would do whatever he wanted. ¡°I told you not to move. Do you know how obedient you were last night?¡±


    ¡°You!¡±


    ¡°Turning hostile as soon as you wake up¡­¡± He stared at Fang Juexia, and the anger in his eyes softened again. ¡°Listen to me. Just wait until I find it¡­¡±


    Before he could finish speaking though, repeated thumps on the door sounded out, coming from outside, and then Ling Yi¡¯s penetrating voice came through.


    ¡°Dang dang dang dang! Kaleido ensemble show special! Morning raids and sudden inspections!¡±


    Shit.

 CH 32

    Chapter 32 ¨C Surging Undercurrent


    But I need a fanservice partner.


    Pei Tingsong quickly got up from Fang Juexia. He then heard a ding sound, which was the sound of the door being unlocked.


    ¡°Shit, how could they have the keycards?¡± Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t have time to push Fang Juexia off his bed, and had to run quickly over to Fang Juexia¡¯s bed.


    Fang Juexia stiffly stared at the ceiling, still frozen in his original position, until Ling Yi entered the room with the camera.


    ¡°Surprise!¡± Ling Yi bounced in and said, ¡°It¡¯s time to announce who the lazy king of the group is¡­¡±


    ¡ªThis wasn¡¯t quite what he had imagined.


    He had thought that Pei Tingsong would definitely be the one still deep asleep, but what he didn¡¯t expect to find was this little tyrant actually neatly sitting upright on the bed, with a pillow placed on his stomach, his face wreathed in a professional smile, and his two hands folded properly on top of the pillow. The entire image seemed rather like a fake of the ¡°Mona Lisa¡±.


    ¡°Morning.¡±


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s pure American English gave Ling Yi the illusion of having walked into the wrong play. It was too strange; based on Pei Tingsong¡¯s normal behavior, he should have been kicked out of the room with two pillows being thrown at him at this time. How could he just casually reply with a ¡°good morning¡± to him, behaving just like a young lady from a great noble family? He was possessed ba.


    On the contrary, after he had entered, Fang Juexia had wrapped himself up in his quilt and had rolled from one end of the bed to the other, now looking like a tamagoyaki.


    Something wasn¡¯t right ah, how was the atmosphere here so strange¡­.


    Ling Yi was a smart guy and quickly realized that something was wrong with them. He guessed that they may have just engaged in a quarrel, but what could they have been arguing about this early in the morning?


    He cleared his throat, popped up the collar of his pajamas, and pretended to be talking into a walkie talkie. ¡°No. 01, No. 01. The raid task is completed, and no lazy eggs were caught. Getting ready to go to the next room! Over.¡±


    ¡°Wait a minute.¡± Pei Tingsong¡¯s chin lifted and he asked, ¡°Where did you get our key card?¡±


    Ling Yi¡¯s current expression made it clear that he had just been waiting for this question as he placed his butt down on the side of the bed, fished out three key cards in the manner of a gambling king, and wiggled his eyebrows up and down. ¡°Strong Ge gave them all to me.¡±


    What exactly was all of this?


    They had nearly been caught engaging in an adulterous scene while in bed.


    Pei Tingsong rolled his eyes. ¡°Get up, I want to sleep some more.¡±


    ¡°Not eating breakfast?¡± Ling Yi tried to pull his pillow away; his sudden niceness was way too fast. ¡°Pei Little Six, let¡¯s go have breakfast ba.¡±


    The only pillow covering up his shame was about to be pulled away by Ling Yi, so of course, Pei Tingsong would not agree to his suggestion. ¡°I¡¯m not hungry, you go by yourself, I¡¯m so sleepy.¡± After saying that, he lifted up the quilt, put it over his body, and diligently pretended to sleep. ¡°Remember to close the door for me!¡±


    Really weird.


    The camera was right behind them, so Ling Yi knew that he couldn¡¯t say anything, for fear that if he went deep into it, he¡¯d end up digging into some kind of big trouble. As a worldly-wise person, he definitely wouldn¡¯t allow something like that to happen on his watch.


    ¡°Alright ba, anyway, I¡¯ve finished the surprise shot~ Mission accomplished!¡± Ling Yi got up from the bed and accidentally discovered that when Pei Tingsong had moved the quilt to cover himself, the T-shirt Fang Juexia had been wearing when drinking last night had appeared.


    No ah, why would Juexia¡¯s clothes appear on Pei Tingsong¡¯s bed?


    Right when Ling Yi had come up with a hundred different answers, none of which made any sense, his eyes, which were comparable to those of Leeuwenhoek¡¯s, took aim and noticed an even stranger point.


    Next to Fang Juexia¡¯s pillow was Pei Tingsong¡¯s cellphone! That fancy purple cellphone case was absolutely Pei Tingsong¡¯s, make no mistake!


    Fuck, did he discover some kind of amazing secret?!


    Ling Yi¡¯s chest stirred with excitement, wild joy and fear, all of these emotions mixing together, and he quickly hurried the camera Da Ge, who didn¡¯t know what was going on, out of the room. He himself politely closed the door. ¡°Then you guys don¡¯t oversleep oh.¡±


    His little heart was pounding, thinking that after the shooting of the segment was over, he would immediately convey this amazing secret he had observed to their four-person groupchat, take his bros along to happily eat melon, and all of them would gorge on it until they were full!


    Only after Ling Yi¡¯s loud voice and the sound of his footsteps got further away, and once he was certain that there wasn¡¯t any possibility of them coming back, did Pei Tingsong flip open the quilt and get off of Fang Juexia¡¯s bed. He also took the T-shirt that had appeared and threw it in front of Fang Juexia, who had turned his back on him by now.


    Fang Juexia was obviously stewing in anger and kept himself buried in the quilt, not even poking his head out. Pei Tingsong sat at his bedside, feeling as if he had returned to last night¡¯s awkward circumstances again¡ªwhere no matter how hard he pulled, he couldn¡¯t pull Fang Juexia¡¯s head out.


    ¡°Hey, Fang Juexia, you really don¡¯t remember what happened last night?¡± Pei Tingsong couldn¡¯t really believe it; any person who didn¡¯t know better would think that they were following the script of some drama or something. ¡°You really don¡¯t remember even a little bit?¡±


    Fang Juexia slapped down the quilt over his head and then stared at Pei Tingsong without saying a word. His voice had restored to its usual indifferent tone, and completely didn¡¯t contain any trace of his cutesy, brainless self from last night. ¡°Don¡¯t try to deceive me.¡±


    ¡°Me deceive you?¡± Pei Tingsong was so angry that he started laughing at him, his expression turning into that of an abandoned wife¡¯s. ¡°Do you know what you did to me last night? Who was the one groaning and whining without stopping, who couldn¡¯t be coaxed at all and even had to be hugged to sleep? I didn¡¯t have a second¡¯s leisure before you fell asleep, you know? Now you¡¯ve turned hostile and refuse to recognize me. Fang Juexia, you¡¯re really heartless.¡±


    Fang Juexia narrowed his eyes while still wrapped in the quilt, and expressed doubt at every word uttered by Pei Tingsong. ¡°Impossible.¡±


    ¡°Alright, then I¡¯ll just have to bring out the big moves.¡± Pei Tingsong was so angry by now that his lungs had started aching. ¡°Do you know what faceslapping is? I¡¯ll give you a taste of a faceslap today.¡± Saying that, Pei Tingsong picked up the cellphone pressed against the corner of the pillow, found the recording from yesterday, and split his legs to ride astride on this tamagoyaki Fang Juexia.


    ¡°I¡¯m really a genius. I just knew you¡¯d turn your back on me and not acknowledge what you did, so¡­¡±


    Ding.


    The door opened again.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go in first!¡±


    ¡°Shh, shh, shh!¡±


    ¡°What are you squeezing in for, I lost my slipper!¡±


    Pei Tingsong, holding his cellphone, riding on top of Fang Juexia¡¯s body, turned to stare at the other four members¡ªall six members¡¯ faces had turned muddled.


    ¡°Um¡­¡± Ling Yi was holding a slipper in his hand, and carried a guilty smile on his face. ¡°Everyone was worried about you guys, scared that¡ªscared that you¡¯d start fighting¡­¡±


    Pei Tingsong proffered a spiritless smile. ¡°Fight, what, like fight on the bed?¡±


    After saying that, he climbed off of Fang Juexia¡¯s body and faced the crowd of melon eaters who had broken in. ¡°Are all of you satisfied with what you saw?¡±


    ¡°Tch, it¡¯s not a good time.¡± He Ziyan rubbed his chin and commented, ¡°We should have come in later.¡±


    Lu Yuan snapped his fingers as he added, ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it all have been over later?¡±


    Jiang Miao coughed twice as a warning.


    Ling Yi said, ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be that fast ba?¡±


    Thump, thump, thump¡ªtwo pillows hit four people.


    ¡°Scram, scram, scram.¡± Pei Tingsong rolled his eyes and said, ¡°How can I have such a group of bandmates? My life is too hard.¡± With that, he got out of bed and approached the bathroom with his cellphone in his hand.


    Ling Yi cleverly ran over to Fang Juexia and explained, ¡°Are you okay, Juexia? Actually it was¡­ it was the captain who was coming to give you some hangover medicine, and then we all followed him in.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, my head just hurts a bit.¡± Fang Juexia sat up, put on his T-shirt, and then went downstairs for breakfast with everyone else after washing up. The ensemble show¡¯s cameraman also followed them, filming their breakfast buffet trip.


    Throughout this duration, Pei Tingsong and Fang Juexia got no chance to be alone together. They were even seated far away from each other, and everyone made a lot of noise. After breakfast, they were all whisked away by Cheng Qiang to get styled.


    Probably because they knew that the charity party taking place today would be popular, the magazine had released various clips of the interview videos of Pei Tingsong and Fang Juexia in the morning, which featured several specific questions. Soon, ¡°#TingJue Idol Definition¡± was trending on the Hot Search list. This kind of question was in itself topical, so it also led to the birth of a lot of trending discussions. These two idols, who had first appeared in the public eye in a boyband, were now being viewed by the public for the first time for something besides their performances and exquisite appearance.


    It wasn¡¯t a small number of passersby who were turned into fans from this, and it even led to many people¡¯s prejudice against idols being reversed. Of course, there were also a lot of marketing accounts stirring up shit, claiming that all of this was just part of an interview manuscript that had been written in advance, and was the usual trick employed by a magazine to promote people. All in all, because of the fight between the supportive people and the brainless antifans, their popularity rose up at an unusual speed.


    The two people in the center of the whirlpool were in the dressing room at the moment, listening to Cheng Qiang nag about the issues that needed to be paid attention to at the gala, his words spinning over and over again like a wheel. They were seedlings, ones who had just attained newly sprouted popularity in this circle, and nothing was stable. There were too many people staring at them, and if they weren¡¯t careful, their hard-earned recent popularity would be mercilessly crushed into pieces¡ªThis was the entertainment circle.


    ¡°Remember, in the last big group photo, let your seniors go up first, and whatever else you do, do not rush forward. Even if your face gets blocked out, it doesn¡¯t matter, grabbing the C position is not a good thing, we really don¡¯t want this kind of topic coming up.¡±


    Ling Yi nodded heavily. ¡°Un¡ªder¡ªstood.¡±


    Jiang Miao said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll be in charge of them later.¡±


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t speak, and didn¡¯t really listen to Cheng Qiang¡¯s words. His headache had been relieved under the effects of the medicine, but he still couldn¡¯t remember the events that took place last night. He just vaguely felt that something had happened, otherwise, they couldn¡¯t have woken up early in the morning while holding each other.


    It couldn¡¯t be that he had gone crazy while drunk yesterday and had done something he shouldn¡¯t have done to Pei Tingsong?


    But Pei Tingsong was tall, and he was stronger than him. Even if he really wanted to have drunken sex, his chance of succeeding at it wasn¡¯t high ah.


    His mind was too confused and currently possessed no capacity to think about anything else. This itself was very strange¡ªhe clearly had a job to do, so why was he still entangled with the events of the night he had spent with Pei Tingsong¡ªthis wasn¡¯t like him at all.


    [Do you know how obedient you were last night?]


    [Turning hostile as soon as you wake up.]


    Repeatedly thinking back on the words Pei Tingsong had spoken at the end, no matter how he interpreted them, they just sounded wrong. Fang Juexia pressed his Jingming acupoints and searched his memory again with his eyes closed.


    ¡°Today, Juexia¡¯s hair will be blown out.¡± The stylist neatened out his hair and continued explaining, ¡°Juexia¡¯s hairline is beautiful, and if we comb his hair up, his facial features will appear more delicate.¡±


    ¡°Do you want to cover up your birthmark?¡±


    Fang Juexia wanted to tell her to do whatever she wanted to, but unexpectedly, Pei Tingsong preemptively opened his mouth. ¡°Why cover it up? It¡¯s not a blemish.¡±


    He looked at himself in the mirror, and then glanced at Pei Tingsong, who was finished with his styling and had lowered his head to listen to some music.


    ¡°Then let¡¯s not cover it up ba.¡± Fang Juexia smiled at the stylist Jiejie.


    All six of them were dressed in white suits that differed only slightly in terms of style and detail. Fang Juexia was in a white swallow-tail suit, while Pei Tingsong was in a three-piece suit, with a long waistcoat. Time was tight, and after finishing their make-up and hair styling, they immediately drove to the location of the charity gala.


    The car door opened, and their leader was the first to get out. They heard huge cheers coming from fans on both sides of the red carpet, all of them shouting their names.


    Fang Juexia tidied up his suit coat and got out of the car, with Pei Tingsong coming from behind him. They stepped onto the red carpet, and walked step-by-step to the organizer¡¯s signature board. The six people stood side by side with a smile on their faces.


    ¡°Welcome, welcome to the popular boy-band Kaleido!¡±


    The cheering of the fans almost drowned out the voice of the host. This red carpet seemed to be endless, and reminded Fang Juexia of a music award ceremony they had attended the year they had debuted. They had arrived early at the sponsor¡¯s red carpet, but they had been stopped and kept outside by the staff, and had to wait for other actors, singers, and even other groups who had made their debut in the same year, to go in first. By the time Kaleido¡¯s six people stepped up, the fans on both sides of the red carpet had grown sparse, and even the proxy photographers had all disappeared.


    They had just debuted, but they didn¡¯t even get a chance to introduce themselves. All they could do was to just quickly write down their names on the boards already filled with various signatures, thereby ending the parade of self-esteem with just a scribble.


    ¡°This should be Kaleido¡¯s first time participating in the charity fashion event,¡± the host introduced and laughed awkwardly, for the fans¡¯ voices were really too loud. ¡°Everyone is really quite enthusiastic, so let¡¯s greet them ba.¡±


    Jiang Miao counted off ¡°one, two, three,¡± and the six people raised their hands together to introduce themselves, ¡°Hello everyone, we are Kaleido!¡±


    The male host laughed and asked, ¡°Today, Kaleido¡¯s style is of a prince on a white horse?¡±


    Jiang Miao skillfully replied to and dealt with the host. They were receiving unprecedented attention and were the first to enter the venue; they could sign their names on the blank signature board. Countless camera flashes went off at them, with numerous people calling out their names in hopes of getting a press photo.


    After entering the venue, they received instructions from the staff, who told them that there was still some time before they could enter the gala room. They were given a specific number for a round table; each round table could sit six to seven people, and Kaleido perfectly managed to  fill up one whole table.


    The lighting in the venue was very dark, with all of the light being concentrated on the stage. Fang Juexia subconsciously focused his eyes on Jiang Miao, who was in front of him. The tables and chairs in the venue were arranged close to each other, and the corridor was narrow and curved.


    The visibility here was very low. He could be as careful as he liked, but diagonally in front of him was a chair that had been pushed out and away from the other chairs.


    He couldn¡¯t see it clearly.


    When he stepped forward in its direction, Fang Juexia found his waist suddenly being gripped by a hand, which then proceeded to drag him just slightly off track.


    Fortunately, he thus managed to avoid that obstacle.


    Mission accomplished, but the hand on his waist didn¡¯t remove itself. Long and slender fingers rested in a rather natural manner on the waist-line of his custom-made swallow-tail suit, as if they simply just belonged there.


    People would naturally experience emotional fluctuations from the unknown.


    But Fang Juexia knew exactly who was behind him.


    Yet, his heart was currently beating fast, all for this known person.


    His heart beat clearly in the dark field of his vision, like flickering fireflies, steadily pushing him forward.


    ¡°Found it.¡± Jiang Miao checked the table number. ¡°Everyone sit down.¡±


    All of them sat down, sitting down based on their standing positions, and by Fang Juexia¡¯s side was Pei Tingsong. The venue wasn¡¯t quiet, there were staff people coming and going, and also other artists who were entering and sitting down one after another.


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t look at him and just whispered, ¡°You don¡¯t have to help me.¡±


    Even he felt that his voice was a little cold as he said this, but this was the only way Fang Juexia could say it. He had told Pei Tingsong his secret because it had already been revealed and he had had no alternatives at that time. However, he had never expected to obtain Pei Tingsong now ¡°keeping an eye on him¡± because of this defect, and this was the thing he felt most annoyed about.


    He had no inferiority complex, and had never not felt confident because of this problem.


    He was very normal, just like everybody else.


    So, he didn¡¯t need to be treated differently.


    Pei Tingsong smiled, picked up the wine glass set on the table, poured some sparkling water into it, and placed it in front of Fang Juexia. Taking advantage of this brief moment when he was leaning close to him, he said, ¡°I¡¯m not helping you, I¡¯m helping myself.¡±


    ¡°I know you¡¯re very strong and don¡¯t need me.¡± His profile was illuminated by the gorgeous lights on the stage. ¡°But I need a fanservice partner.¡±


    ¡°So I¡¯m asking you,¡± he looked at Fang Juexia, the corners of his mouth carrying a hint of a smile. ¡°Leave me some room to perform.¡±


    Fang Juexia looked away.


    His heart was beating in an even more disorderly manner now, as if a hand had physically reached into his chest and forced the second hand of the hidden small clock to move, so it began to collapse and malfunction.


    Fang Juexia drank the water in front of him and maintained his apparent composure.


    When he looked up again, he caught sight of a group of artists passing by them, wearing complete sets of black suits, and they were all people familiar to him.


    ¡°Seven Luminaries is actually sitting next door.¡± Ling Yi whispered.


    Pei Tingsong heard that and propped his chin in his hand as he looked over. He saw one of the guys there, the one with flaxen hair who seemed to face them, and this guy raised his hand and waved it vigorously at them with a social smile on his face.


    Liang Ruo¡ªPei Tingsong chanted this very dull name in his heart.


    He was waving at Fang Juexia ba.


    Pei Tingsong turned his head towards Fang Juexia, only to see him remain as calm as usual, while smiling and nodding at that warm guy.


    This was a very courteous gesture, Pei Tingsong was clear on that. Not only was he clear, he also knew that Fang Juexia was far from being such a person. He could get excited, could get angry and speak ironically, could start sparkling when talking about his dreams, and could also want to rely on other people.


    This was the Fang Juexia who these people didn¡¯t know about at all.


    However, when he thought about it, he had known Fang Juexia for a mere two years, and they had really interacted for only about a month. What did he really know?


    He lowered his head, took out his cellphone, and compiled a message.


    Before long, Fang Juexia¡¯s cellphone vibrated. He thought it was a bit strange.


    [Kaleido Pei Tingsong: Don¡¯t you want to know what happened last night? Listen to it yourself.]


    [Kaleido Pei Tingsong: shared a recording]


    This was the evidence that Pei Tingsong had said repeatedly that he would show him?


    He didn¡¯t have earphones right now.


    Fang Juexia thought for a moment, took off his coat, and stood up from his seat. He told the captain, ¡°Miao Ge, I¡¯m going to the bathroom.¡±


    ¡°En, go ahead ba.¡± Jiang Miao added, ¡°I think you just have to go out through that door.¡±


    Fang Juexia nodded and left without looking at Pei Tingsong.


    Naturally, Pei Tingsong wasn¡¯t happy; how was it that as soon as he sent him a message, Fang Juexia would get up to go to the bathroom? But he couldn¡¯t just directly follow after him, so he poured himself a glass of water and guzzled it down.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that we could sit with Seven Luminaries,¡± Ling Yi laughed at himself.


    Jiang Miao motioned at him to stop talking. Only then did Ling Yi lower his head and pretend as if nothing had happened.


    This wasn¡¯t the first time that they had been involved with Seven Luminaries. At the end of the year when they had debuted, Kaleido had, very early on, won the opportunity to perform, but on the day before their performance, they had been informed that the program list had been changed and that their performance had to be cancelled.


    They didn¡¯t have a chance to perform, but they still had to go and attend. The six big boys sitting in the audience watched the whole show and saw that their three minute song and dance performance had been compressed into a 13 minute showcase for Seven Luminaries.


    They knew it couldn¡¯t be helped; whoever was popular was whoever had the right to speak.


    That was also that scene that had frustrated Pei Tingsong to the depths of his self-esteem for the first time. It was only then that he understood what his father had said to him¡ª¡±Your world is too much of an ideal. You should take a look at what ordinary people¡¯s life is like and what it is like to not even be worth being mentioned.¡±


    There were more and more stars gathering in the venue, but Liang Ruo, who was seated at the Seven Luminaries table, stood up and went out of the door that Fang Juexia had walked out of just before.


    ¡°I just don¡¯t feel good about it, why can that Liang Ruo just smile cheekily at Fang Juexia as though nothing has ever happened?¡± Ling Yi couldn¡¯t stay silent for long before he couldn¡¯t stand it any longer. Although he said it very quietly, Pei Tingsong still heard him.


    ¡°What did he do?¡± Pei Tingsong asked.


    Lu Yuan turned his cup around. ¡°Liang Ruo¡¯s qualifications definitely didn¡¯t qualify him for being a part of AS¡¯ upper circle of trainees. Him being able to debut while Juexia was instead expelled, and even being able to make an official debut on top of that, there have always been some problems in this story.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s particularly interesting is,¡± He Ziyan continued, while leaning on the back of his chair and observing the reactions of the other people in the Seven Luminaries group after Liang Ruo left, ¡°The relationship between the group members doesn¡¯t seem to be very good.¡±


    Ling Yi seemed to have recalled something. ¡°Right, I remember, around the time we were about to debut, that Liang Ruo even came to find Juexia. He was in the company¡¯s parking lot at that time, and I saw him when I was getting some take-out.¡±


    Pei Tingsong frowned. ¡°What happened?¡±


    Ling Yi shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I also can¡¯t read Juexia¡¯s expressions, but he didn¡¯t return to the dormitory that night, and just slept in the practice room.¡±


    ¡°Stop guessing, they¡¯re probably friends.¡± Jiang Miao poured water for them one by one. ¡°There are also pictures of the two of them during their trainee period floating around online. Based on those photos¡­ they had a good relationship; they were smiling quite happily in those pictures. None of us are in the know about this, so we shouldn¡¯t discuss these matters any more, especially when this isn¡¯t the place to talk about it.¡±


    Their leader had spoken, and so the others couldn¡¯t say anything more. They could just watch the stage silently and wait for the first program to commence.


    It wasn¡¯t easy to find the restroom in this venue. Fang Juexia searched for a long time before finding one, and it was both very luxurious and very hidden. He went to the sink, took out his cellphone, and minimized the volume on his phone.


    All of this was too absurd, absurd to the point that Fang Juexia laughed out loud while holding onto his cellphone.


    He would even go all the way out from the performance venue just to find a quiet place to listen to something, all because Pei Tingsong had sent him a recording.


    His finger was about to click open the recording when another person suddenly appeared at the doorway of the bathroom.


    ¡°Juexia?¡±


    Fang Juexia looked up when his name was called and saw Liang Ruo coming in.


    ¡°That¡¯s great, you¡¯re really here. I was afraid that I wouldn¡¯t even be able to bump into you out here.¡± Liang Ruo warmly smiled at him and spoke, ¡°It¡¯s really not easy for us to meet. You¡¯ve been good recently ba?¡±


    Fang Juexia held his cellphone and replied quietly, ¡°Very good.¡±


    ¡°I saw your interview on the Hot Search List this morning, it¡¯s really amazing. You¡¯re the same as you were, you haven¡¯t changed at all.¡± Liang Ruo walked closer as he continued speaking, ¡°Have you been really busy? Did you know, I sent you a lot of messages. I sent you a message on WeChat on your birthday and wanted to have dinner with you to celebrate, but you didn¡¯t reply to it.¡±


    Fang Juexia smiled. He remembered that Seven Luminaries had been holding a concert in Japan on the day of his birthday.


    But he didn¡¯t expose him, and replied, ¡°Is that so? Then, thank you. I haven¡¯t used social networking apps for a long time, so I wouldn¡¯t have received those messages.¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s how it is.¡± Liang Ruo smiled very brightly and reached out for a hug, but Fang Juexia dodged him.


    This action seemed to hurt him a lot, and the expression on his face suddenly looked lost, but Fang Juexia still looked completely unperturbed. He began to step away to leave.


    ¡°Do we have to be like this?¡±


    Liang Ruo¡¯s words stopped him in his tracks.


    ¡°We were clearly very good friends. I was the one who used to accompany you while practicing day and night, wasn¡¯t I?¡± Liang Ruo raised his head and looked at Fang Juexia, his eyes full of grievances. ¡°I am very grateful to you for what happened back then, but wasn¡¯t it because we were friends that you were even willing to step forward? Why do you refuse to acknowledge me now?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re actually lying, aren¡¯t you? You¡¯re still totally blaming me.¡±


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t say anything. He wasn¡¯t good at dealing with such scenarios, and he also felt exhausted and a little out of breath.


    He didn¡¯t want to recall his past experiences. He had spent a very long time persuading himself that there was nothing wrong with what he had done, that there was nothing wrong with his action of coming forward, and that there was nothing wrong with persisting in what he believed in.


    ¡°Juexia, what happened in the past¡­¡±


    Knock knock¡ª¡ª


    The sudden knock on the door interrupted Liang Ruo¡¯s argument. Fang Juexia looked up to see Pei Tingsong leaning against the door frame while wearing a cynical smile on his face.


    ¡°Am I disturbing you guys?¡±


    Liang Ruo turned to look at him and said, ¡°Sorry, we have something right now¡­¡±


    ¡°Great.¡± Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t let him finish his words, and with one hand stuck in his pocket, he walked straight in. ¡°I just wanted to disturb you guys.¡±


    Liang Ruo was suddenly blocked.


    ¡°Fang Juexia.¡± Pei Tingsong walked up to him, stood in front of him, and tilted his head while asking, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you reply to my WeChat message?¡±


    Fang Juexia was stunned.


    He had originally wanted to reply¡­


    Pei Tingsong took hold of his shoulder in one move and said, ¡°Dawdling while going to the bathroom, I even thought that you had gotten lost. Did you listen to what I sent you?¡±


    ¡°Haven¡¯t had the time yet,¡± Fang Juexia replied honestly.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t bring earphones ba.¡± Pei Tingsong put some wireless earbuds into his front pocket and said, ¡°Go back and sit down to listen to it, isn¡¯t it tiring to just keep standing there ah?¡±


    Liang Ruo seemed to be unable to bear the way these two people just kept ignoring him. He struggled forward for the last time and called out, ¡°Juexia, you¡­¡±


    Pei Tingsong stopped, and his tone was not good. ¡°Originally, Strong Ge and the captain exhorted me, telling me to not make trouble when we go out. I promised them and everything, but you just have to make me break my promise.¡±


    He turned around and looked down at Liang Ruo from his domineering height, his voice completely odious as he stated, ¡°Don¡¯t think you¡¯re such a big deal. Didn¡¯t he just help you once? You feeling deeply grateful in your heart towards him is just enough.¡±


    Liang Ruo took a deep breath and argued, ¡°You¡­what right do you have to comment on our past?¡±


    ¡°Based on the fact that I¡¯m his bandmate,¡± Pei Tingsong said, while still holding onto Fang Juexia¡¯s shoulder with his hand. ¡°Based on the fact that I¡¯m with him day and night, based on the fact that one-sixth of his dream, when it finally comes true, will have my name written on it.¡±


    Pei Tingsong sneered¡ª


    ¡°And what are you?¡±


    Liang Ruo gazed at Pei Tingsong with those innocent eyes.


    ¡°Don¡¯t want to say it?¡± Pei Tingsong acted as if he was pondering over it before speaking, ¡°I¡¯ll think through it for you ah¡­ Former fellow company trainee? Old friends who parted ways? Or someone who displaced him from his debut position?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s fame and wealth, there¡¯s friendship, and then there¡¯s emotional blackmailing.¡±


    The smile on his face disappeared, and he raised his eyebrows.


    ¡°Do you match all that?¡±

 CH 33

    Chapter 33 ¨C Heart Like A Restless Monkey


    You should take responsibility.


    One-sixth of a dream.


    Fang Juexia wasn¡¯t sure if Pei Tingsong was being sincere right now, but the moment he heard that sentence, his heart shook quite violently, and his fingertips went numb. Plainly speaking, not too long ago, they had still been at odds with each other, but now Fang Juexia got to indulge in this sense of belonging, which came from Pei Tingsong putting them squarely in the same camp.


    When did he become like this?


    ¡ªBeing so easily moved.


    After listening to Pei Tingsong¡¯s merciless sarcastic taunts, Liang Ruo, who was standing to the side, clenched his fist, and felt that a fishbone had gotten stuck in his throat. He had heard about Pei Tingsong¡¯s style a long time ago, and even their agent said that he shouldn¡¯t come into conflict with him, so Liang Ruo swallowed his anger back down for the time being. He didn¡¯t want to cause trouble, so he could only pretend that Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t exist.


    ¡°Juexia,¡± he turned his head, and while displaying a hint of weakness in his eyes, started to speak, ¡°If you have time, we can¡­¡±


    ¡°Sorry.¡± Fang Juexia expressionlessly interrupted his words, firmly leaving no room for negotiation. ¡°I don¡¯t have time, and you have even less.¡±


    Liang Ruo couldn¡¯t believe it; he would never accept Fang Juexia  becoming just a stranger passing him by on the street. Even if they had to traverse different paths because of the past, all those memories they shared were true.


    ¡°Actually, you really don¡¯t have to keep worrying about it.¡± The corners of Fang Juexia¡¯s mouth raised slightly, forming a smile full of grace but no emotion as he said, ¡°If it had been anyone else back then, I would have still stood up for them back then.¡±


    For Liang Ruo, this sentence was the largest possible mockery he had ever received.


    ¡°I¡¯m going back, I¡¯m tired.¡± Pei Tingsong held onto Fang Juexia¡¯s shoulder as they left. ¡°Hey, even if you didn¡¯t have headphones, you didn¡¯t have to run so far away to listen to it ba.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s too noisy inside.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t you just ask others first, about whether other people brought some earphones or not? Such an axis.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve even learned to use the word ¡®axis¡¯. ¡°


    As he watched the two people leave, Liang Ruo supported himself against the sink. He took in a deep breath, faced the mirror, and with great effort, managed to piece his usual expression back onto his face.


    The mirror in front of him seemed to turn into the mirror installed in the practice room, and there, reflected beside him, was that cold person, still standing next to him.


    But now, everything was different.


    The two people left the bathroom, and after they turned the corner and were walking down another hallway, Fang Juexia tried to remove Pei Tingsong¡¯s arm off his shoulder.


    ¡°Hey, how come you¡¯re throwing me away as soon as you¡¯re done with me?¡± Pei Tingsong was completely dissatisfied with being abandoned like this, and complained, ¡°Sure enough, you¡¯re heartless.¡±


    ¡°My shoulder hurts¡­¡± said Fang Juexia in a low voice, after which he glanced at Pei Tingsong and asked, ¡°How long have you been hiding and listening outside?¡±


    This particular look gave Pei Tingsong a different feel; this no longer felt anything like the Fang Juexia who was indifferent to everything. Pei Tingsong let out a long ¡°en¡± sound. ¡°From the start of Liang Ruo¡¯s first sentence? I followed him in anyway.¡± After saying that, he thought of Fang Juexia¡¯s behavior in the bathroom and inquired, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you just directly refuse him a few moments ago? It can¡¯t be that you really were leaving room for me to perform in ah?¡±


    Fang Juexia lowered his head and laughed. ¡°Did you feel like that because I didn¡¯t refuse and kept listening to him as he went on, it made me seem a bit indecisive?¡±


    That wasn¡¯t it. Pei Tingsong was clear on Fang Juexia¡¯s  personality, and even though he looked calm most of the time, he was actually very powerful when standing up to someone.


    He shrugged. ¡°I just felt it was strange.¡±


    ¡°I know Liang Ruo¡¯s personality better than you do. He¡¯s a person with an excess of ego.¡± Fang Juexia said all this in an unremarkable way, ¡°If I had decisively refused him and interrupted him, that would only serve to make him feel like I still care a lot about the past, and he would feel very satisfied.¡±


    Pei Tingsong asked, ¡°What kind of logic is that?¡±


    It couldn¡¯t be that Liang Ruo had the kind of personality where he would feel good only if he could get Fang Juexia to hate him?


    Fang Juexia continued, ¡°In fact, I didn¡¯t say anything just now merely because I don¡¯t feel anything about him, just like he was a stranger.¡± He looked at Pei Tingsong and said with a simple tone, ¡°Would you refuse a stranger sternly?¡±


    Pei Tingsong sometimes felt that the person in front of him was terrifyingly precise. He would classify everyone into categories that they should belong to. There were no gray areas in Fang Juexia¡¯s mind; he was always clear-cut. If there was someone who meant nothing to him emotionally, then they would be automatically classified into the ¡°stranger¡± category.


    It seemed that even disgust was considered by him to be a waste of energy.


    ¡°But,¡± Pei Tingsong still found the whole thing surprising. ¡°You could stand to hear him utter all of those nauseating words?¡±


    Fang Juexia shook his head. ¡°If it¡¯s coming from a person I don¡¯t care about at all, why are we even talking about ¡®standing¡¯ anything?¡±


    If it¡¯s a person he didn¡¯t care about, then whatever they did, he wouldn¡¯t care at all. Fang Juexia was such a strange person, with a logic that was completely different from that of ordinary people. He could separate his emotions cleanly, and as long as he wanted to, he could walk out of the past at the fastest possible speed.


    The speaker didn¡¯t mean that, but the listener picked up on something from his words.


    Pei Tingsong actually captured something.


    He ran to catch up quickly with Fang Juexia, then walked ahead of him, and turned to block his way.


    Fang Juexia looked up at him, and with an expression that said he didn¡¯t know what was going on, asked, ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Nothing,¡± Pei Tingsong said, smiling with both hands stuck in his pockets.


    ¡°Crazy.¡± Fang Juexia bypassed him and was about to walk away, but he was blocked by Pei Tingsong again, who shifted to the right side this time, and almost ended up running into his shoulder.


    ¡°Pei Tingsong,¡± Fang Juexia¡¯s tone changed, and he looked him straight in the eye as he questioned, ¡°Exactly what are you trying to do?¡±


    Seeing the obvious impatience on Gege¡¯s face, Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t feel angry at all. Instead, he was actually a little pleased with himself, just like a small child. Before forcing the other party into growing anxious, he obediently gave way. ¡°Not doing anything.¡±


    Completely inexplicable. Fang Juexia shook his head and walked by himself in front of him. Pei Tingsong followed behind him step-by-step, his two hands stuck in his pockets as he smiled contentedly.


    It seemed that exercising patience had become a measure of emotional depth.


    Very interesting.


    When they got back to the table and sat down, Ling Yi couldn¡¯t help but complain, ¡°You two even have to be hand-in-hand when coming back from going to the bathroom ah.¡±


    Fang Juexia looked at his hand and commented, ¡°Are we hand-in-hand?¡±


    Lu Yuan directly ignored this fact and picked up from where Ling Yi left off, quipping, ¡°You don¡¯t say, do you remember back in high school, if the girls couldn¡¯t all go to the bathroom together, then they¡¯d rather not go. That¡¯s a good relationship ah.¡±


    He Ziyan laughed and added, ¡°Yuan¡¯er, I¡¯ll accompany you to the bathroom later.¡±


    Everyone talked and laughed, and Fang Juexia soon forgot what had happened before. The central axis of his memory was pulled back to where it was before he had left his seat, and the initial reason for which he had left popped up again.


    Right ah, he had just wanted to listen to a recording.


    Fang Juexia took out the earphone Pei Tingsong had given him before and connected it wirelessly to his cellphone, which was when he realised that he only had one earbud in his hand. Touching Pei Tingsong¡¯s arm, Fang Juexia asked him for the other one in a low voice. However, more and more people had now come to occupy this main hall, and so his voice was completely covered up by the noise. Seven Luminaries had stood up from their table, looking as if they were preparing to go onstage.


    ¡°What did you say?¡±


    Fang Juexia moved to draw in closer to him, and it just so happened that Pei Tingsong also drew in closer towards him at the same time. The distance between these two people shortened by twofold just like that, and they nearly ended up touching. Fang Juexia retreated a little, blinked quickly a few times, and then turned his head.


    The other group members didn¡¯t notice this little episode, for their attention had been completely drawn to the opening act on the stage that was starting up.


    Pei Tingsong drew closer to Fang Juexia again, this time sticking close to his ear to whisper, ¡°What did you say just now?¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± Fang Juexia paused and restored his calm demeanour. ¡°I wanted to ask you for the other earbud.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± Pei Tingsong nodded. ¡°I¡¯m only lending you one.¡± Upon seeing Fang Juexia turn his head to stare at him at this, Pei Tingsong started laughing. ¡°Even if you stare at me, I¡¯m still just lending you one.¡±


    This person was really¡­ Fang Juexia had to work very hard to control his emotions.


    He really couldn¡¯t do anything when it came to Pei Tingsong.


    ¡°Press play ah.¡± Pei Tingsong propped his chin on his hand, ¡°What, are you afraid of me listening to it ah? The original recording is on my cellphone, and I can listen to it as many times as I want to.¡±


    Fang Juexia really couldn¡¯t continue listening to him anymore. He took a deep breath and clicked on that recording. Placing his arm against the table and his forehead against his arm, he held a half-lying posture as he listened to the evidence preserved by Pei Tingsong.


    Right now, he wasn¡¯t thinking of anything, he just wanted to figure out what had happened last night.


    Pei Tingsong also imitated him, lying on the table together with him, and staring down at that recording¡¯s progress bar. This pair of earphones separated them from the noisy hall, and they were like two high school students who were secretly lying down on their desks to listen to music during a lunch break. They were sharing the same audio but hiding different thoughts.


    Fang Juexia covered his other ear with his hand, and the volume of the recording was pulled to the highest it would go. Suddenly, he heard Pei Tingsong¡¯s voice¡ª


    [This is you absolutely wanting to sleep with me.]


    His heart immediately jumped up.


    [En!]


    [Then can I hold you?]


    Upon hearing his own voice utter these words in such a tone, even without waiting to hear Pei Tingsong¡¯s response, Fang Juexia really wanted to die. After just listening to the recording for a few seconds, Fang Juexia had already resigned to his fate and started to take out the earbud, but Pei Tingsong was faster, and stopped his movement mid-way.


    ¡°There¡¯s still more.¡±


    [What-whatever you want.]


    The Pei Tingsong in the recording sounded like he had lost a bit of his usual swaggering confidence, but it was still definitely him.


    How could this happen, how could this happen¡­.


    When Fang Juexia heard his own voice next, his hand couldn¡¯t help but pinch his thigh.


    [Hey, I can¡¯t see you anymore.]


    It was too interesting¡ªPei Tingsong had never run into a more interesting situation in his whole life. He found holding back his smile at this too hard, and so he raised his head and lifted his arms, while his own divine prophecy was now playing in the earbuds.


    [Fang Juexia, if you keep being so flirty, you will regret it when you wake up tomorrow.


    [Like this is fine ba.]


    The rustling of the blanket as they turned around sounded very realistic. Clearly, the venue was so noisy that even talking to people was difficult, but their hearing seemed to be infinitely magnified at the moment. Them hugging, him patting his back, his sweet replies, him singing disorderly songs¡ªall these details were reproduced through the sound, and pulled Fang Juexia, who didn¡¯t want to believe it, back to that drunken night.


    He had even regarded Pei Tingsong as Little Abacus.


    At this moment, Fang Juexia seriously considered the maneuverability and success rate of him biting his own tongue right there and committing suicide.


    Accidentally noticing that Fang Juexia, who was lying on the table, was currently pinching his own thigh, Jiang Miao worridely asked, ¡°Is everything ok? Juexia, what¡¯s wrong, do you not feel good?¡±


    Pei Tingsong held back his smile and explained for him, ¡°It¡¯s fine, he¡¯s good.¡±


    Saying that, he then patted Fang Juexia¡¯s back. ¡°Right, Juexia Ge?¡±


    After seeing Fang Juexia¡¯s red ears and neck, Pei Tingsong felt more satisfied than ever.


    The progress bar reached the end of the recording, and ended with Fang Juexia¡¯s last sentence of ¡ª[Sleep ba, Little Abacus.]


    Fang Juexia felt that his self-esteem had never been so thoroughly devastated to such a point before. He took off his earbud, slapped it onto Pei Tingsong¡¯s thigh, before sitting upright and taking in a deep breath.


    He needed to pull himself together. That wasn¡¯t him, that was him after drinking alcohol.


    Pei Tingsong restrained himself to take a cool breath, but still smiled as he put away the earbud Gege had returned to him. He seemed extremely pleased with himself as he drew closer to ask, ¡°I didn¡¯t deceive you ba.¡±


    Fang Juexia¡¯s face was so hot right now, he even felt hot all over.


    ¡°You are too thin-skinned.¡± Pei Tingsong stared at his red earlobe, a little distracted, and couldn¡¯t help but recall the cherry during the magazine photoshoot.


    ¡ªWould break with just a pinch.


    On the stage, the host appeared, and everyone began to clap. The first program was Seven Luminaries opening up the scene, but Fang Juexia simply didn¡¯t have any attention to spare for them. He even forgot that there would be fans here, specifically taking reaction shots at this time, his mind was too full of the things from last night.


    ¡°You¡­ Did you record anything else?¡±


    Pei Tingsong spread his hands,.¡±Just this one.¡±


    That was good news, at least. Fang Juexia blushed and asked, ¡°Then what happened later, I fell asleep?¡±


    Later¡ª


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s memory instantly returned to the eve of that tsunami, back to that soft surprise attack.


    That later part was too dangerous for him, dangerous to the point that when he thought about it now, those butterflies started up their perilous death throes once again.


    ¡°Yes.¡± He replied stiffly, ¡°You fell asleep, you slept really well, and you know what happened later.¡±


    After hearing what he said, Fang Juexia felt relieved.


    Losing face was just losing face. If he had just hugged him to sleep, then that was really nothing. They were both men, and they couldn¡¯t do anything that would cross any lines anyway.


    Yet, the scalding heat on his face didn¡¯t dissipate with this reasoning, instead, it seemed to spread even further, just like prairie fire. Fang Juexia poured himself cup after cup of water and guzzled them down in an attempt to douse this heat. However, it didn¡¯t seem to be working, and he couldn¡¯t even focus on the show taking place right now.


    The other members were watching Seven Luminaries¡¯ opening performance. Lu Yuan, who was swaying to beat on the surface, whispered, ¡°Isn¡¯t the accompaniment too quiet?¡±


    Ling Yi let out an ¡°en¡± and said, ¡°His voice just cracked¡­¡±


    ¡°This kind of not very professional gala, none of the sound equipment will be very good,¡± Jiang Miao said, saving against a rainy day. ¡°It may be the same for us when we go up. Everyone should get ready in advance ba.¡±


    All of them were discussing the stage, but Pei Tingsong couldn¡¯t hear a single word. The half-dead butterflies in his heart seemed to be enjoying their final gleaming performance before the sun set, and didn¡¯t seem to know how to stop fluttering. He needed to get out of the memory of that unexpected kiss and divert his attention elsewhere. He subconsciously clenched his fist, with which Pei Tingsong felt something.


    ¡°There¡¯s one more thing,¡± Underneath the table, he stretched out his right hand towards Fang Juexia and asked, ¡°Do you know why I wore a glove today?¡±


    Fang Juexia certainly didn¡¯t know. When they were getting styled, he had wondered why the stylist Jiejie had only put leather gloves on Pei Tingsong, and that too only on one hand. He had simply written it off as a new trend.


    He looked down at the glove and shook his head at Pei Tingsong.


    Pei Tingsong wore an expression that loudly said¡ª ¡°I just knew that¡±, and then he winked at him, and his voice took on the hint of a command as he ordered, ¡°Take it off.¡±


    Although Fang Juexia felt something was odd, his hand still grabbed Pei Tingsong¡¯s fingertip involuntarily and pulled off the white leather glove.


    In the dim light of the venue hall, he held Pei Tingsong¡¯s hand and drew it closer to himself to look at it clearly. In the area between the thumb and index finger on Pei Tingsong¡¯s right hand rested a clear bite mark, blue and purple, and the spots where his skin had been broken had already started to scab.


    ¡°You did a good job.¡± Pei Tingsong raised his eyebrows.


    ¡°Me?¡± Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t believe it. Forget about biting people, he was already this old and he had never gotten into a physical fight with anyone before.


    But after listening to that recording just now, he could believe anything.


    Pei Tingsong wore an innocent expression.¡±Or else who could it be? I regret not having recorded a video now. You should really see yourself when you¡¯re drunk.¡±


    It couldn¡¯t be that it really had been him¡­ Fang Juexia stared at the bite mark and felt guilty inside. He really didn¡¯t think that his drunken behavior would be this bad.


    ¡°Does it hurt?¡± Fang Juexia raised his eyes and looked at Pei Tingsong.


    He didn¡¯t know why, but as soon as he looked into Fang Juexia¡¯s eyes, Pei Tingsong couldn¡¯t help but recall that night¡ª recall the warmth of Fang Juexia¡¯s skin and the aroma of his shampoo.


    ¡°Nonsense.¡± Pei Tingsong turned his head and pretended to look at the stage.


    ¡°Sorry.¡± Fang Juexia apologized to him, ¡°There¡¯s nothing here to wrap you up with either.¡±


    Pei Tingsong glanced at him stealthily. ¡°No need, I¡¯m not so delicate.¡± Then he awkwardly added, ¡°Help me put on the glove.¡±


    Fang Juexia nodded, placed Pei Tingsong¡¯s hand on his knee, and softly pulled the leather glove onto his hand. After putting it on, he even pinched at the tips of his fingers to check if they were empty.


    ¡°Done.¡± Fang Juexia was very satisfied with this achievement of his. He looked up with a smile in his eyes.


    Pei Tingsong pulled his hand back, uneasily clenched his fist, and coughed, ¡°Then-then, you can wrap it up for me later, after we return to the dorm.¡±


    Fang Juexia thought that he had heard wrong. His eyes widened a little. ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°What ¡®huh¡¯, you bit me in such a way, what if I get infected?¡± Pei Tingsong felt extremely awkward as he ordered, ¡°Wrap it up for me when we get back. You bit me, so you should take responsibility.¡±


    Fang Juexia¡¯s eyes were still looking at him like that. They were so bright that Pei Tingsong¡¯s heart started to jump around like a restless monkey while his thoughts started to run wild, just like a galloping horse. He then gripped Fang Juexia¡¯s shoulder and forced him to face the stage.


    ¡°Watch the show, what are you staring at me for?¡±


    Seven Luminaries¡¯ performance ended to the sounds of the fans¡¯ strenuous support chants. The other performances took place in their requisite order, and it wasn¡¯t long before Kaleido¡¯s turn came. Under the guidance of the staff, the six boys rushed to the backstage in a hurry. As they turned a corner, a woman accidentally bumped into Fang Juexia.


    ¡°Sorry.¡±


    Fang Juexia supported her and politely said, ¡°Be careful.¡±


    The woman looked like she was about 30 years old and was decked out very tastefully. She kept apologizing to them and made way for them herself.


    He just felt that she looked familiar, but time was tight right now, and Fang Juexia didn¡¯t have even a moment to care about her. They went on the stage according to the instructions given to them. Sure enough, the sound from the equipment was the same as before, and the accompaniment was very quiet. However, what kind of broken acoustics equipment hadn¡¯t they come across in all their previous commercial performances? So, this much really counted as nothing.


    The six people held handheld mics and sang both a fast song and a slow song, using their own strength to enthrall the whole audience. During the performance, Ling Yi and Fang Juexia exchanged their parts, with Fang Juexia¡¯s voice easily reaching up to those three high notes. He Ziyan and Pei Tingsong also exchanged their rap parts, while Lu Yuan and Jiang Miao exchanged dance movements.


    It was an idol¡¯s natural instinct to enjoy performing. During the time they were unknown, Kaleido had learnt to take every hard won performance seriously, and even if the people watching them from below that stage didn¡¯t recognize or care about them, they would still spare no effort in trying to unleash all their enthusiasm.


    They liked doing this¡ª shouting out the names of their bandmates on the stage, and then smoothly switching parts with each other without carrying any worries.


    This kind of display of ease while performing couldn¡¯t be attributed to mere talent, but the tacit understanding and ability developed by six boys who had spent countless silent nights together in a small exercise room. Sweating, getting hurt, falling down, standing up, singing two or three lines of lyrics repeatedly¡ª all the while imagining fans and a stage that didn¡¯t exist yet; they had all endured those boring and exhausting days together, and then they had grasped each other¡¯s hands to explore the unknown road ahead.


    So, at this moment, Fang Juexia looked at his bandmates on-stage and thought of Pei Tingsong¡¯s words.


    [Based on the fact that one-sixth of his dream when it finally comes true has to have my name written on it.]


    He liked this one-sixth.


    ¡°Everyone, thank you very much.¡±


    He liked the satisfaction of bowing to the audience alongside them, hand in hand.


    He wasn¡¯t actually fumbling around in that dark room all by himself. And it wasn¡¯t the corner of cold furniture that he touched when he reached out, but a hand.


    The other five people¡¯s warm hands.


    The audience below almost forgot that this was a charity dinner, and thought that they were at a concert instead. It wasn¡¯t until Kaleido finished their performance that everyone belatedly started clapping. The host came on the stage to chat with them, and only at this time did the group members find out that the company had donated 300,000 yuan in Kaleido¡¯s name. Looking at the surprise that flashed across Jiang Miao¡¯s face, Fang Juexia knew that Qiang Ge didn¡¯t tell any of them.


    However, to their greater surprise, their Domino fans had held a fundraiser and had gathered together 200,000 yuan in just three short days after learning that they would attend the charity dinner. This was the first time that they had participated in such activities since they had become popular, and their fans had constantly forwarded Weibo posts and called for donations, hoping to use their little strength to give these six boys confidence.


    ¡°Then let¡¯s invite Ms. Jiang Yin, one of the directors of the charity fund, to come onto the stage to present our Kaleido with a small gold commemorative ring and to thank Kaleido for their contribution to the many autistic children.¡±


    A lady in an evening dress emerged from the backstage, picked up a small gold ring from the red velvet cushion held by one of the Mistress of Ceremonies on-stage, walked over, and handed it to group leader Jiang Miao with both hands.


    Fang Juexia looked at her, and only then did he realize that she was actually the woman who had accidentally bumped into him a while ago.


    Jiang Yin¡­.


    After their segment finished, Kaleido stepped down from the stage according to the directions given by the staff. When Fang Juexia was just exiting the backstage corridor, he overheard the voice of the host on the stage. That person seemed to be talking to the woman named Jiang Yin, and he even mentioned ¡®Escape For Your Life.¡¯


    Cheng Qiang hugged them one by one backstage. ¡°You guys were all so good. You performed especially well, so no wonder you¡¯re my cubs. Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s go, let¡¯s go, we can eat down there now and finally watch the other performances in peace.¡±


    ¡°Qiang Ge.¡± Fang Juexia asked, ¡°The Miss Jiang who gave us the prize was?¡±


    ¡°Ah, she¡¯s really powerful.¡± Cheng Qiang said, ¡°You remember Zhou Ziheng, who became the Berlin Film Awards Emperor some time ago ba? Mm, he goes to the same school as Xiao Pei. Jiang Yin is his agent.¡±


    ¡°Not only that,¡± They left the backstage area and prepared to enter the audience seating from the aisle outside the venue. ¡°She¡¯s one of the producers of ¡®Escape For Your Life.¡¯ What, did she speak to you in private?¡±


    Fang Juexia shook his head. ¡°That didn¡¯t happen.¡±


    ¡°Hey, I thought she would come find you to get you on the show.¡± Cheng Qiang laughed and continued, ¡°Still shouldn¡¯t dream of pies in the sky.¡± He escorted the six people back to their seats like herding ducks. He was very pleased to see Pei Tingsong support Fang Juexia all the way to their seats.


    This fanservice hadn¡¯t just changed their popularity, but it seemed to have also brought the little wolf cub back into the fold.


    The programs continued one after the other, and the Kaleido¡¯s members watched with great interest. He Ziyan could see their fans from his seat, so they also interacted with the station Jies for a while. After all, they didn¡¯t have to go on-stage again, and one by one, these fans had started to grow flustered. Seven Luminaries was the most popular group on site, with their every move causing a scream, so the organizers had shifted their award ceremony to the very end.


    The Seven Luminaries group donated 500,000 yuan, and their fans also donated 500,000 yuan in their name. The host finished the interview and invited the editor-in-chief of the magazine to present them with a small golden commemorative ring after they had made their donation.


    ¡°Then, does Seven Luminaries want to say something?¡± The host handed over the microphone, and Liang Ruo, who was standing in the very center of the group, took the microphone and looked down at the guests below.


    ¡°First of all, I would like to thank the organizers for giving us the opportunity to participate in this grand ceremony. This time, the charity¡¯s goal was to help autistic children in improving their living and growing environments. I think this is very meaningful. In fact, when I was a teenager, I also didn¡¯t like to talk very much, and socializing with others was a very big obstacle for me. But I was very lucky. At that time, I was helped by my good friends¡­¡± When he said this, Liang Ruo looked over at the spot where Fang Juexia was seated.


    He was here again.


    Pei Tingsong had to put in a lot of effort to manage his expression, despite never having done so before, and resisted letting the level 10 sarcastic expression from being displayed on his face. However, he did reach out and take hold of Fang Juexia¡¯s shoulder, pulling on him to face himself.


    Fang Juexia had a confused expression on his face. He was pulled into facing Pei Tingsong, only to watch him pick up a marshmallow from the table and stuff it into his mouth.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t eat any now, they¡¯ll all be eaten by Ling Yi.¡±


    Ling Yi, who was secretly chewing on some food while making small movements, was suddenly cued, and got so scared by this that his shoulders trembled a bit.


    Caught off guard by the mouthful of sugar stuffed into him, Fang Juexia¡¯s eyes were full of the words ¡®completely baffled.¡¯ Pei Tingsong also ate a marshmallow, and then he put his right hand in front of Fang Juexia.


    Fang Juexia just looked up at him without saying anything.


    ¡°Hand hurts,¡± Pei Tingsong mouthed at him.


    Fang Juexia¡¯s cheek was bulging, so he nodded at him to show that he understood.


    Then, he stretched out his index finger and expressionlessly poked at Pei Tingsong¡¯s hand. Pei Tingsong hadn¡¯t expected such an action, and his hand ended up bouncing up a bit like a little grasshopper. He stared at Fang Juexia in disbelief.


    After eating the marshmallow, Fang Juexia also mouthed back, ¡°Oh, I thought you said it didn¡¯t hurt.¡±


    Then he pointed to his ears¡ª


    ¡°Bad hearing.¡±

 CH 34

    Chapter 34 ¨C Ambiguous Reverie


    Geges should take the initiative in caring for Didis


    In the group photos taken after the event, Kaleido kept hovering around the corners. The six boys kept bowing, and even though the host and editor-in-chief kept telling them to go to the center, they always declined. As instructed by Cheng Qiang, Fang Juexia, who was standing beside Pei Tingsong, shouldered the arduous task of reminding the little devil king to bow. His hand continuously remained on Pei Tingsong¡¯s back, and every time they bowed, he had to press him into bending down.


    The group photo was an occasion where artists could contend with each other in terms of beauty and level of fascination, and thus, everyone posed in various ways in front of the camera. However, the six big boys in white suits didn¡¯t try anything new, just tacitly putting up their group gesture and then stood straight, looking like six little princes whose white horses had fled far away.


    Coincidentally, the same was true for their senior brother group High Five, and after the event, all of them were mocked by netizens on Weibo that day¡ªStarChart groups didn¡¯t try to fight for attention and just edged to the corner by themselves.


    After the event, they flew directly back to Beijing. Besides Pei Tingsong and Fang Juexia, the other four members had their own variety shows to participate in. The company¡¯s plan was to have everyone on a variety show right when the new album was being released, so as to ensure maximum exposure.


    That night, the terms #Kaleido white suit#, #Kaleido¡¯s scene#, and #TingJue CP# once again burst onto the Weibo Hot Search list, stirring up fevered debate. Some big verified music accounts even commented on Kaleido¡¯s performance, praising it tremendously for it¡¯s high quality, calling it a key example of live performances by boy-bands. Of course, many netizens also compared Seven Luminaries¡¯ performance with that of Kaleido¡¯s. The two groups of fans tore into each other a little bit, making this the first time they had actually fought each other. Seven Luminaries had a large fan following, and as soon as these fans appeared, they laid waste to Kaleido¡¯s sphere, but such an onslaught actually made many passersby feel bad for Kaleido, and ended up turning many of them into Kaleido fans.


    After spending a week away from the dorms, Fang Juexia had almost forgotten what it was like to sleep in his bed. After washing up quickly, he went to bed and curled up in his quilt. At 3:00 in the morning, the moonlight crept in through the balcony, and his vision turned hazy. He couldn¡¯t help thinking of the night when he had been alone with Pei Tingsong, and although he didn¡¯t remember anything after he had gotten drunk to the point where his consciousness was in pieces, there seemed to be some emotions leftover from that night in his heart.


    Somehow, he suddenly recalled how he had bitten Pei Tingsong¡¯s hand, and with that, all of his sleepiness flew away.


    Fang Juexia was a person who couldn¡¯t stand leaving things on hold for later at all. After tossing and turning around for a few minutes in his bed, he got out of it. There was no one else at home, so he turned on the light without any scruples, went to the living room to get the first-aid kit, and with light movements, walked over to Pei Tingsong¡¯s bedroom. He knocked on the door, but no one responded; instead, the door opened with a squeak.


    Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t sleep with the door closed?


    Fang Juexia hesitated for a moment. The bookshelf blocked the view of Pei Tingsong¡¯s bed, but he felt that there was no movement at that end. Embracing the idea that some people would be more obedient when sleeping, Fang Juexia entered the room. He turned on the light located on He Ziyan¡¯s side and crossed the bookshelf, all the while prepared to make a quick decision after understanding the situation on the other side.


    Sure enough, Pei Tingsong was asleep. He was lying on his side with a book by his face, probably having fallen asleep while he was reading. He hadn¡¯t even turned off the light at the head of the bed. Coincidentally, his bitten right hand was stretched out, half hanging out just over the edge of the bed. The bite on his hand had been covered by the glove all night, and so it was already inflamed and red.


    If it still wasn¡¯t dealt with, the injury may become even more serious. Fang Juexia didn¡¯t want to have his bite mark remain on someone¡¯s hand for a lifetime.


    Fang Juexia walked around the bed, sat down quietly, carefully opened the first-aid kid, took out a cotton swab, and dipped it in anti-inflammatory medicine. He made his movements as light as possible, gently and carefully touching the wound with the cotton swab.


    So deep? Fang Juexia looked at the wound that he had created by biting, and subconsciously poked at his teeth with the tip of his tongue.


    The guilt in his heart suddenly increased exponentially.


    The medicinal liquid seemed to sting a bit, for Pei Tingsong¡¯s hand twitched a bit. Fang Juexia immediately withdrew the little cotton swab grasped in his hand, and then observed the hostile force¡¯s reaction.


    Fortunately, Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t make any big movements, just shifting his right hand over to the side of his cheek. Fang Juexia also shifted over in order to draw closer to the head of the bed, then dripped a few drops of medicinal liquid on Pei Tingsong¡¯s hand again, and gently wiped at it with a cotton swab.


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s fingers twitched again. Fang Juexia raised his eyes to look at him, only to see him frown and mutter something, which seemed to be in English.


    Before he could understand what was being said, that hand had already lifted itself up and was groping around for something. Then, it suddenly slapped on the top of Fang Juexia¡¯s head and ruffled his hair.


    ¡°Stop, Lily.¡± With his eyes still closed, Pei Tingsong spoke a few words in a confused way. His voice was soft, and Chinese and English were all mixed together as he continued, ¡°Good girl, good¡­ How about we sleep together?¡±


    Upon hearing this, Fang Juexia immediately dropped his small cotton swab.


    He waited for Pei Tingsong to finish ruffling his hair, then pulled his hand back and turned around. He quickly packed up his things and left the room hurriedly, like he was fleeing from a calamity.


    That night, Fang Juexia had a strange dream.


    In the dream, Pei Tingsong announced that he actually had a fianc¨¦e named Lily, and that he was going to leave the group and return to the United States to get married. The speed of this was as fast as the manner in which he had become an airborne member of their group, and everyone was caught off guard. They were all invited to the wedding and soon found themselves sitting in the chapel. However, there seemed to be something wrong with the church door; when the priest announced it was time for the bride to enter, the door couldn¡¯t be opened no matter what. The bride smashed at the door desperately outside.


    Then, Fang Juexia woke up.


    ¡°Bang, bang, bang.¡±


    He had opened his eyes, but the knocking sound still continued.


    This wasn¡¯t a dream?


    ¡°Fang Juexia, are you up yet?¡±


    It really wasn¡¯t a dream. Fang Juexia rubbed his eyes vaguely, got out of bed, and rushed to open the bedroom door. It was actually Pei Tingsong who had been knocking.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter¡­¡±


    Before he could finish his sentence, Pei Tingsong dragged him to the hallway entrance and dialed to call the property¡¯s security. ¡°The person downstairs tried calling you for a long time, but when they said you didn¡¯t pick up your phone, they had to call the property¡¯s security site. They said that someone who claims to be your family member has come.¡±


    Fang Juexia suddenly woke up and thought of today¡¯s date. Someone from the property management picked up the phone and greeted, ¡°Hello, Mr. Fang?¡±


    ¡°Hello, can I ask, has my Mama arrived?¡±


    Mama?


    Pei Tingsong was surprised and asked in a low voice, ¡°Your mom is about to come up?¡±


    Fang Juexia let out an ¡°en¡± and continued to communicate with the property management until the other party confirmed that there was no mistake, and the person being discussed was allowed up. Fang Juexia quickly went back to his room to wash up, leaving a standing Pei Tingsong on the porch alone.


    Pei Tingsong was a person who couldn¡¯t deal with family relationships at all. During his childhood, he had almost no elders besides his grandfather. As for other elders, he would only meet them just a few times in a year, and they were just his father, who criticized him, his mother, who was addicted to living an extravagant life all over the world, and his older sister, who had lived like the perfect example of an excellent specimen since childhood. These were the people who formed his absurd and complicated family.


    When the doorbell rang, Pei Tingsong shouted towards the bathroom, but Fang Juexia was still washing up. He gritted his teeth, walked over, and opened the door.


    Outside the door stood a dignified lady, dressed in a neat and elegant camel-colored coat, with a lot of things held in her hands, and she started smiling as soon as she saw him. Pei Tingsong was stunned at that moment, however, he quickly reacted and bent down to take the things from Mama Fang¡¯s hands. ¡°A-Auntie, I¡¯ll take that for you.¡±


    ¡°Thank you~¡± Mama Fang said with an amiable smile. ¡°You¡¯re Xiao Pei ba, so tall. Very nice, you really are a good child,¡± Mama Fang exclaimed as soon as she came in. Pei Tingsong hadn¡¯t received much praise from other adults before, so he was a bit unused to it. ¡°Thank you¡­ Would you like to change your shoes? Um, so, Fang Juexia is washing up right now.¡±


    ¡°Sleeping in so late ah,¡± Mama Fang changed into the guest slippers and glanced at the clock. ¡°You guys worked really late again ba. What about the other little friends, is Yiyi not here today?¡±


    ¡°No, he went to his show.¡±


    Used to being a teacher, Mama Fang kept calling people ¡°little friends¡± and said, ¡°Come, come, Xiao Pei, give the things over to Auntie, and I¡¯ll put them in the refrigerator.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll help you.¡±


    When Fang Juexia came out, he saw Pei Tingsong beside the island in the kitchen, standing and handing things to his own mother, and both of them were cooperating together very well.


    ¡°Auntie, what¡¯s this jar?¡±


    ¡°Ah, this is XO sauce. It¡¯s really good in fried rice, have you had it before?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s OK. Let Juexia stir-fry it for you next time. You¡¯ll definitely love it.¡±


    ¡°En!¡±


    Fang Juexia stood to the side and had the illusion that he was actually the outsider here.


    ¡°Mom, you sit down and rest. I¡¯ll do it.¡± Fang Juexia rolled up his sleeves and went over to help. Mama Fang stopped him immediately and admonished, ¡°You sit down ba, it¡¯ll be fine with just me and Xiao Pei.¡±


    After being refused by his own biological mother, Fang Juexia looked at Pei Tingsong. This guy actually turned around and stuck out his tongue at him, while looking very proud of himself.


    Alright ba.


    Fang Juexia could only sit at the bar and watch the popular food science program and cooking program that was jointly being performed by these two people. From time to time, he would offer a word or two, which was ignored by his own mother.


    ¡°Auntie, I¡¯ve finished cutting up this green onion.¡±


    ¡°Give it over to Auntie.¡± Mama Fang took over Pei Tingsong¡¯s crookedly chopped green onion and smiled like a blooming flower. ¡°You cut it really well, Xiao Pei has talent.¡±


    Pei Tingsong smiled just like a little pupil praised by his teacher, and Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t help laughing at that.


    Thanks to Mama Fang, they partook in a rare family meal. Fang Juexia and Pei Tingsong sat on one side, while Mama Fang sat opposite them. She kept using her chopsticks to put more food in their plates. ¡°Eat more. You guys work too hard. Juexia, eat more carrots, your eyes¡­¡± Speaking until there, Mama Fang suddenly paused in her words.


    Fang Juexia calmly opened his mouth and stuffed the food his mama had given him into his mouth. ¡°It¡¯s okay, he already knows.¡±


    Fang Mama wore an expression of complete surprise. ¡°Xiao Pei knows?!¡±


    Pei Tingsong laughed in embarrassment. He was about to say that it had been an accident, but Fang Juexia took the lead.


    ¡°I told him,¡± Fang Juexia said, then put some food on his mama¡¯s plate. ¡°Eat more. How¡¯s grandfather?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s the same as before. After a while, when we¡¯re done eating, Mama will go see him at the hospital. He said he wanted to eat walnut cookies last night, and perfectly I just saw a Chinese snack shop right outside your neighborhood.¡±


    ¡°Walnut cookies are too oily for him, he shouldn¡¯t eat too much.¡±


    Pei Tingsong felt unused to listening to the two people chatting about their family matters, but he was actually more envious than anything else. His gaze kept switching between Fang Juexia and Mama Fang, as he watched them get along and quietly listened to every word they said. Such a warm moment was too unfamiliar for him.


    This unfamiliar thing always seemed to be so good.


    ¡°Xiao Pei, eat more ah,¡± Mama Fang saw that he was in a daze, so she gave him some beef. ¡°You grew up abroad right, so you should love beef ba.¡±


    Pei Tingsong was a little surprised and asked, ¡°Auntie, how do you know that?¡±


    Fang Juexia turned to him and explained in a low voice, ¡°At home, she¡¯s always flipping around and watching our group¡¯s activities every day, and she would also go search online¡­¡±


    As soon as he said that, his chopsticks were clacked into by Mama Fang¡¯s, and Fang Juexia immediately shut up.


    ¡°Auntie, you¡¯re too cute.¡± Pei Tingsong chuckled and stuffed the beef into his mouth.


    Hearing this, Mama Fang felt a little surprised. The environment Pei Tingsong had grown up in had taught him to express his feelings straightforwardly, but Fang Juexia wasn¡¯t like that, therefore, this was the first time she had heard this kind of praise coming from the younger generation. Naturally, she was happy.


    ¡°Xiao Pei, you are also cute, Auntie likes you very much.¡± Her chopsticks moved nonstop while moving food around, and she nearly turned Pei Tingsong¡¯s bowl into a small hill. ¡°Auntie brought a lot of delicious food this time, so let Gege cook it for you.¡±


    Gege¡­.


    As soon as this word came out, Fang Juexia and Pei Tingsong looked up at the same time, their expressions and movements completely synchronized.


    ¡°What are you looking at me for?¡± Mama Fang rebuked Fang Juexia. ¡°You are three years older than Xiao Pei, so  you should already have taken on the responsibility of being a Gege and should take good care of your Didi. It was so hard for Pei Tingsong to start following you guys around even before becoming an adult ah. A lot of kids usually don¡¯t even develop fully by then.¡±


    What else did he want to develop into ah¡­ Fang Juexia tugged the corners of his mouth back down.


    ¡°Auntie, I have developed very well.¡± Pei Tingsong¡¯s expression right now was almost like that of the fluffy fat birb emoticon, as he puffed out his chest and looked practically ready to take off.


    Mama Fang smiled at him. ¡°Yes, you are even taller than Juexia. He hasn¡¯t grown at all these last two years.¡±


    The attacks on his height had started up again. Fang Juexia silently listened to his own mother¡¯s malice.


    ¡°A Gege should act like a Gege and take the initiative to take care of his Didi.¡±


    Fang Juexia was like an emotionless nodding machine. ¡°Understood.¡±


    Seeing him like this, Pei Tingsong was overjoyed. He had thought that only a big iceberg could produce a small iceberg, and thus hadn¡¯t expected Fang Juexia¡¯s mama to be so friendly and talkative, along with the most important thing¡ªshe kept protecting him the whole time. Pei Tingsong liked this gentle auntie too much. Even after eating, after which Mama Fang had to rush to the hospital, he kept feeling a little reluctant to see her go.


    ¡°Auntie will come to see you guys next time. Quickly go back in, it¡¯s cold outside.¡±


    ¡°Goodbye, Auntie~¡±


    ¡°Goodbye, goodbye. If something¡¯s the matter, tell Gege and get him to help you.¡±


    Upon seeing Pei Tingsong continue to stand there, reluctant to look away and sending off his own mother, Fang Juexia spoke with a trace of irony, ¡°Someone who didn¡¯t know better would even think that you¡¯re her son.¡±


    Pei Tingsong closed the door. He really did wish for that.


    Fang Juexia walked over and took the slippers his mama had worn back to the shoe cabinet. He turned around and prepared to leave, but was suddenly stopped by Pei Tingsong. Two hands landed on both sides of the cabinet, encircling him inside.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Fang Juexia looked up at Pei Tingsong serenely. He seemed to have already gotten used to Pei Tingsong¡¯s mischievous behaviour, which could start anytime and anywhere.


    A smile hung on Pei Tingsong¡¯s face. ¡°Nothing, just remembered that I forgot to praise you in front of Auntie just now.¡±


    Fang Juexia frowned, looking puzzled.


    As if he had already surmised a long time ago that Fang Juexia would be like this, Pei Tingsong raised his right hand, held the back of it towards him, and waved it.


    The trace of medicinal liquid left on it was almost invisible.  Fang Juexia didn¡¯t want to admit that he had done it himself, even if the ridiculous act of applying medicine to someone who was asleep was something he had done last night.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter with it?¡±


    Pei Tingsong had already guessed that Fang Juexia wouldn¡¯t admit to it, so he took out a used cotton swab from his pajama pocket and twirled it around. ¡°Pretend a little less, I¡¯ve already figured it all out.¡±


    ¡°Gege also has times when he carefully takes care of me ma.¡± He shamelessly laughed.


    Sure enough, it was finally still revealed. He simply shouldn¡¯t have left anything to chance with Pei Tingsong, this sly guy.


    In his heart, Fang Juexia sighed. His head had been rubbed suddenly, which had caused him to leave the cotton swab on the ground without even realizing it. He could hardly think of anyone else who would do something as stupid as leaving behind a thing that could be used against him.


    Thinking along those lines, he actually did come up with a name.


    Cinderella.


    Compared to a crystal shoe, this small cotton swab seemed to become more and more of an eyesore. Fang Juexia reached out to grab it, but Pei Tingsong put it away. ¡°I found it, so it¡¯s mine. What are you trying to grab it for? Is it so hard for you to admit that you applied medicine on me last night ah?¡±


    Even the corners of Pei Tingsong¡¯s eyes carried a smile as he said, ¡°In fact, when you¡¯re not being stubborn, you¡¯re a lot like a good Gege.¡±


    ¡°Get out of the way.¡± Fang Juexia was ready to force his way out of his arms, but Pei Tingsong drew them in tighter. ¡°Why, haven¡¯t we even hugged before?¡±


    ¡°Pei Tingsong¡­¡±


    Upon hearing the sound of teeth being gnashed, Pei Tingsong¡¯s sense of achievement grew even bigger. ¡°Do you want me to play the recording again? I¡¯ll play it on the home stereo ba.¡±


    Fang Juexia tried very hard to calm his own emotions. ¡°You¡¯d better not.¡±


    ¡°Then you¡¯d better beg me.¡±


    Again.


    Sure enough, he shouldn¡¯t underestimate this devil incarnate at all.


    ¡°If you keep behaving like this, I will tell everyone else you actually have¡­¡±


    Halfway through this threatening sentence, Fang Juexia¡¯s cellphone rang. He took a deep breath and pulled it out to take a look. It was Cheng Qiang.


    ¡°Hello?¡±


    The voice at the other end was obviously happy and even sounded a little excited. ¡°Juexia? Come quickly to the company. Is Xiao Pei there?¡±


    Fang Juexia glanced at Pei Tingsong and answered, ¡°He¡¯s here.¡± With that, he switched to speakerphone mode.


    ¡°Does he have classes in the afternoon? If he doesn¡¯t have classes, then he should also come over.¡±


    ¡°Okay, we¡¯re coming over now.¡±


    Pei Tingsong interjected, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    ¡°Something good.¡± Cheng Qiang just finished saying that when he realized something was wrong. ¡°Are you two right next to each other? Why?¡±


    The two people looked at their current posture at the same time. Fang Juexia was about to push him away, when Pei Tingsong caught hold of his hands to stop his actions and replied, ¡°Shar¡ªing¡ªfeel¡ªings.¡±


    ¡°Ah, good, good, good. Then you guys come over here quickly. I still have some stuff to do, so I¡¯ll hang up first.¡±


    After ending the call, Fang Juexia shook Pei Tingsong off and went to change his clothes, but this person still hadn¡¯t forgotten their previous topic of conversation, and so asked, ¡°What did you just say? What do you want to tell everyone else?¡±


    ¡°You just behave yourself.¡±


    Looking at Fang Juexia walking back to his room after tossing out such a sentence, Pei Tingsong found the whole thing inexplicable.


    They drove to the company, with Pei Tingsong being entangled in these words of Fang Juexia¡¯s for the entire duration. He didn¡¯t understand how Fang Juexia could suddenly have something on him, he shouldn¡¯t ah. However, Fang Juexia didn¡¯t pay any attention to him the whole time, and didn¡¯t even reply to him at all when they entered the company. This just made Pei Tingsong become even more curious.


    As soon as they arrived at the company, they were called to a small conference room by Cheng Qiang. Opening the door, Fang Juexia caught sight of a familiar woman¡¯s back. Upon hearing movement, the person inside turned around.


    It was Jiang Yin.


    ¡°Hello, nice to see you guys again.¡± Jiang Yin reached out with her hand and said, ¡°Sit down and let¡¯s chat.¡±


    They both sat opposite Jiang Yin. Jiang Yin took out two documents from her briefcase and pushed them towards Fang Juexia and Pei Tingsong. ¡°You¡¯re all smart people, so you should have guessed the purpose behind me coming here today.¡±


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s eyes drifted over the documents. ¡°We can guess, but we don¡¯t really dare to try.¡± Saying that, he jerked his chin over at Cheng Qing, since after all, this was the person who had said not to dream of pies in the sky just yesterday.


    Jiang Yin smiled as she tapped her hand with red nail polish lightly on the table. ¡°There¡¯s actually something you, Pei Tingsong, don¡¯t dare to guess?¡±


    Fang Juexia opened the documents and found that both of them were contracts, guest contracts for ¡®Escape For Your Life.¡¯


    Just like what Jiang Yin said, he had guessed and had a hunch about this, but he hadn¡¯t expected that the program group would come to them so soon, let alone the fact that Jiang Yin herself had come.


    ¡°The purpose of my coming here was to reassure you,¡± Jiang Yin went straight to the point. ¡°Moreover, it is imperative for me to book you too.¡± The assistant entered and brought her coffee. Jiang Yin thanked them in a low voice and took a sip before continuing, ¡°You guys have shown a strong momentum recently, and I also paid special attention to the magazine sales this morning. Congratulations on setting a new record.¡±


    Fang Juexia himself didn¡¯t know about that; the two of them had still been asleep this morning.


    ¡°The last record was set by my artists, and they were also a pair who came out of ¡®Escape For Your Life¡¯.¡± Jiang Yin¡¯s implication was obvious. ¡°I know that right now, there should be an uncountable number of large and small programs coming to you and inviting you to be permanent guests on their shows. There may be a lot of reality TV shows on big satellite TV among them, and the exposure you will gain from those shows is much higher than that from our program.¡±


    She folded her hands. ¡°However, there are also differences between programs. Some variety shows actually consume your popularity, while others tap into your potential.¡±


    Cheng Qiang asked, ¡°Are there any additional conditions for signing the contract?¡±


    ¡°Hm¡­¡± Jiang Yin thought for a moment and added, ¡°If we have to say it, it¡¯s that Juexia and Tingsong have to come onto the show together. If we want them, we want both of them.¡±


    Fang Juexia was very clear on the fact that this was a conscientious show, and he had always really liked it. Even if there were no additional benefits to their popularity to be gained through it, he would still be very willing to participate.


    But he also knew that Pei Tingsong had always wanted to participate in a hip-hop program. If he signed this, and some music programs came with invitations later on, he may find himself with no room in his schedule then.


    Cheng Qiang took over the conversation. ¡°In fact, both of them are fans of ¡®Escape For Your Life¡¯. They said it in the interview as well, and we¡¯re all very much looking forward to working together.¡±


    ¡°Very flattered,¡± Jiang Yin said with a smile. ¡°However, I want to collect all the smart kids in the circle into my program. If you guys go, you can film with Sirui, and it¡¯ll be really good.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m okay.¡± Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t wait for them to talk any further and directly signed his name, not messing around at all. ¡°Signed it.¡±


    Jiang Yin thought that was interesting. ¡°You¡¯re not even going to look over it carefully?¡±


    Pei Tingsong shrugged. ¡°You¡¯re even here in person, so can you pit me?¡±


    Fang Juexia was a bit surprised at this and turned to look at Pei Tingsong. He didn¡¯t understand why this guy was being so decisive at this time. Clearly speaking, he hadn¡¯t agreed to participating in any programs before and had slacked off all day on that decision.


    ¡°What are you looking at me for?¡± Pei Tingsong said in a low voice before winking at him. ¡°Sign ah.¡±


    Really strange. Fang Juexia inhaled a deep breath, and still couldn¡¯t make himself believe it. In the span of one night, his favorite program had taken the initiative to come to his door, and all good things seemed to have arrived all at once. He knew that the contract must have been confirmed in advance multiple times by Cheng Qiang, so he just quickly flipped through it and signed.


    Jiang Yin wasn¡¯t as aggressive as rumor had it. In fact, it seemed that she wasn¡¯t much older than them, yet still carried the feeling of being a big Jiejie.


    ¡°Good.¡± After receiving the contract, Jiang Yin gave a long sigh of relief. ¡°A big stone in my heart has finally fallen away. You guys don¡¯t know how difficult it has been for me to find a guest.¡± As if she had suddenly changed her personality, she began to complain to them, ¡°Everyone who came to us either asked us to change the script, saying that it was too difficult and that they couldn¡¯t escape at all, or else they agreed to be on the show, but wanted us to give them scripts, so as to let them act according to the script, and they also wanted brilliant roles on top of that. Our little script writer disagreed. The good thing about our program is mainly our script, so of course the script is the most important thing.¡±


    ¡°Then how did you find us?¡± Fang Juexia was curious. ¡°We are not actually very famous artists.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be modest, you guys are very popular now.¡± Jiang Yin laughed. ¡°Our little script writer saw the magazine interview, and he thought you guys spoke especially well. He told me about it, and I just investigated you two. By the way, I also saw your math competition clip. You¡¯re really good, you won a whole car of milk.¡±


    When she said this, everyone else laughed, but Fang Juexia felt embarrassed.


    After confirming the recording time and other basic requirements, Jiang Yin was anxious to return to attend a meeting and so left in a hurry. As soon as she left, Cheng Qiang showed his true colors. His professional agent aura disappeared, and he looked overwhelmed with joy.  He hugged Fang Juexia first and then went over to hug Pei Tingsong. ¡°That¡¯s so great, that¡¯s so great. I didn¡¯t expect that this big cake would run over on its own for us to chomp into. You¡¯re definitely the little friends that I brought up!¡±


    ¡°Qiang Ge!¡± Xiao Wen pushed open the door. ¡°The boss is looking for you.¡±


    ¡°Going right now.¡± Cheng Qiang rubbed his hands happily and took the contracts. ¡°The boss must already know.¡±


    All of a sudden, they were the only ones left in the meeting room. Fang Juexia still didn¡¯t understand. ¡°Why did you agree to sign the contract so quickly?¡±


    Pei Tingsong glanced at him. ¡°Don¡¯t you want to go on?¡±


    ¡°Me?¡± Fang Juexia was stunned.


    So it was because of him?


    ¡°Just count it as having fun in an escape room at public expense ba.¡± Pei Tingsong sat on the table and smiled. ¡°It¡¯s also very interesting.¡± After saying that, he remembered that the problem from before still hadn¡¯t been solved, and so continued, ¡°Oh, by the way, you just said at home, that you wanted to tell everyone something about me. What is it ah? It can¡¯t be that I was talking in my sleep last night and I told you some secret?¡±


    Fang Juexia let out an ¡°oh¡± and said, ¡°You still remember.¡±


    ¡°Of course. If you don¡¯t tell me, I won¡¯t be able to sleep tonight.¡±


    The corners of Fang Juexia¡¯s mouth faintly quirked up and he replied, ¡°It¡¯s just¡­the matters between you and Lily. Don¡¯t worry, I was just saying things. I won¡¯t tell anyone else.¡±


    ¡°Lily?¡±


    Fang Juexia had finished talking and started moving to go to the practice room. He totally didn¡¯t take any notice of the strange expression on Pei Tingsong¡¯s face.


    ¡°You wait.¡± Pei Tingsong, who was leaning against the table, grabbed Fang Juexia¡¯s wrist and pulled him back towards him. ¡°Tell me, what happened between Lily and me?¡±


    The smile on his face seemed to carry a lot of implications. His legs stretched out and surrounded Fang Juexia, who was now standing in front of him. This sudden shortening of the distance between them made the air feel compressed and so thick that even the ending of this sentence gained an ambiguous aura.


    ¡°How did I say it in my dream? Hm?¡±


    His voice was deep and soft, and in that moment, Fang Juexia returned to the early hours of this morning, when Pei Tingsong had also used this voice to stop him, rub his head, and had mistaken him for Lily.


    ¡°You¡­¡± Fang Juexia broke away from his grasp and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t hear what you said, anyway¡­¡±


    You let Lily sleep with you.


    ¡°Anyway what?¡± The corners of Pei Tingsong¡¯s eyes and his eyebrows were full of smiles, and he looked at the person in front of him from top to bottom while commenting, ¡°How much inappropriate stuff did I say ah? Your neck is red.¡±


    Fang Juexia uneasily felt his neck with his hand. ¡°Quit that.¡±


    Pei Tingsong revealed the smile that he couldn¡¯t hold back anymore. ¡°What are you afraid of? You are the Gege, one who is nearly four years older than me, and I have followed you since I was a minor.¡±


    These words were clearly underlining the order left behind by his mother, but when Pei Tingsong said them, they became extremely ambiguous. Fang Juexia¡¯s heartbeat grew disorderly again. He didn¡¯t want to keep getting entangled with this person; anyway, all of this was a part of Pei Tingsong¡¯s private matters, which had nothing to do with him.


    ¡°Whatever you say.¡±


    Fang Juexia turned and was about to leave when he heard the person behind him suddenly burst out laughing.


    Was there something wrong with this person? Fang Juexia wore a completely confused expression on his face. He turned his head to see Pei Tingsong sitting on the table, and he was unable to sit straight because of how hard he was laughing. It was as if he had just heard the funniest joke in the world, and he was almost out of breath.


    ¡°What exactly is your problem?¡± Fang Juexia finally couldn¡¯t endure it any longer, and his tone turned fierce.


    Pei Tingsong was laughing so hard that all his teeth were revealed and his eyes had disappeared, his face looking completely childish at this moment. He took a few deep breaths and tried to control his laughter. ¡°I¡¯m fine ah. You¡¯re the one with a problem.¡±


    Fang Juexia, who now had a bellyful of anger, was about to refute him, but then he heard this abominable guy speak again¡ª


    ¡°Lily is my dog la.¡± Pei Tingsong jumped down from the table, his face wreathed in smiles.


    ¡°Dummy.¡±

 CH 35

    Chapter 35 ¨C Sheep In The Mouth Of A Tiger


    Xiao Pei, Xiao Pei, definitely won¡¯t suffer any losses today


    After learning that he had mistaken a little dog for Pei Tingsong¡¯s girlfriend outside the entertainment circle, Fang Juexia keenly felt that  he had made a fool of himself all day long. So in the attempt to avoid Pei Tingsong, he sequestered himself in the practice room, immersing himself in dance practice.


    Even when his cellphone vibrated, he never looked at it. It was only after returning to the dorm late at night did he discover that all the messages he had received were from Pei Tingsong.


    [Kaleido Pei Tingsong: Shared a picture]


    He had sent out nine photos in one shot, all of which featured a dog. It was a small snow-white dog with long fur; her fur had even been twisted into small braids, her eyes were very round, and she was especially pretty.


    So this was Lily.


    Fang Juexia was a bit surprised; he hadn¡¯t thought that Pei Tingsong could actually raise such a cute little dog. After all, with a devil incarnate like him, raising even a Tibetan mastiff was possible.


    [Just a pretty face: Cute.]


    Pei Tingsong had waited for an entire night, and after receiving only that word in lieu of a proper reply, he nearly died from anger.


    [Kaleido Pei Tingsong: You are too perfunctory ba]


    [Kaleido Pei Tingsong: Courtesy demands reciprocity, let me see Little Abacus]


    Then came another good long wait. Nearly 20 minutes later, Pei Tingsong¡¯s cellphone finally let out a half-dead vibration.


    [Just a pretty face: Shared a video]


    He clicked on the video, which looked to be about three minutes long. The scene in the video was of a beautifully arranged little garden. Fang Juexia was wearing a white baseball cap and half-kneeling on the grass. With one hand, he pulled a husky into his arms, and using the other hand, he then smeared some doggy shower gel over its body. He kept saying, ¡°Little Abacus is so good. How about going out to play after the bath?¡±


    How was it that even a husky could become so obedient and sensible under his hands?


    At the end of the video, he heard Mama Fang¡¯s voice, ¡°Juexia, look here.¡±


    The next second, Fang Juexia turned to face the camera, and it seemed that he was a bit younger than now. It was at this time that Little Abacus, who was completely soaked, suddenly shook himself and splashed water all over Fang Juexia¡¯s whole body. At this, Fang Juexia began to laugh, smiling helplessly, but very beautifully.


    This was a Fang Juexi radiating life that was filled with firework-like sparks.


    For a reason Pei Tingsong couldn¡¯t explain, he ended up watching the video repeatedly for a long time, wearing headphones throughout, so that Fang Juexia¡¯s voice, as he coaxed the dog to bathe, was right by his ear.


    His uncontrollable thoughts kept veering back to the memories of that particular night.


    The wider these folding windows opened, the more curious he became about the scenery on the other side of them.


    ¡°Escape¡± had a large number of fans and was a common topic of conversation. On the second day after the contract was finalized, the marketing accounts online suddenly began to release information about the show one after another, mostly pointing at the lineup of program guests, with mixed accuracy. There was only one marketing account that implicitly mentioned that popular boy-band members had been invited to star in the new season.


    This piece of news soon set off a huge wave. Some people in the comments said that Seven Luminaries had contacted the program group very early on, but their fans refused to acknowledge that, and so these two groups tangled for awhile. Later, a long anonymous thread was built up in the forum, which stated that the newly signed guests were Fang Juexia and Pei Tingsong, the pair who had recently become popular by selling a rotten CP.


    With this, the fans of Seven Luminaries and Kaleido collided again. Fang Juexia, for some reason, became the main target, being regarded by the Seven Luminaries fans as the one who had stolen their idol¡¯s spot, and so they did their utmost to discredit him. It got to the point that Star Chart had to send out a lawyer¡¯s notice that night, demanding that these fans stop slandering their artist. Normally, since such wars were a frequent occurrence in the fan circles, passers-by didn¡¯t pay much attention to it. In addition, nothing about the line-up was really known, so the program fans were just watching from the sidelines.


    But the next day, the posts on this topic suddenly doubled. All because Liang Ruo had released a selfie on a foreign social network platform.


    He seemed to have been photoshopped in this selfie. His face was covered with a painted-on grimace as he showed an aggrieved expression, and there were even photoshopped tears added to his face.


    Such a selfie would usually account to nothing much, and would be considered to be just a way to keep himself trending and give some cuteness to his fans. However, when such a selfie was published right in the middle of a heated debate revolving around the guest line-up for the show, this crying face took on a whole new meaning in the netizens¡¯ eyes.


    [@23CHIWE: 7L C, he¡¯s implying something here ba?]


    [@Little angel is me: From the perspective of a passer-by, posting up such a selfie at this time is too coincidental, and I don¡¯t believe that it wasn¡¯t done on purpose. If the official guest really turns out to be FJX in the end, then 7L C is really¡­ He¡¯s so popular, why does he need to touch porcelain?]


    [@3000 scoops of the Yalong River: Laughing to death, a top artist from the most popular group accusing a 38th parallel line idol, I¡¯d really like to know what touching porcelain really means?]


    [@kumakuma replying to @3000 scoops of the Yalong River: Don¡¯t put it so badly. The netizens still remember the scene of your family¡¯s group being abused by that obscure group two days ago. You can¡¯t do anything, so first place hatred you bring.]


    [@Is the second season of Escape For Your Life out yet: Anyway, I believe in the program group¡¯s vision, and it¡¯s impossible for them to destroy their own brand. In the first season, the score of a certain team exceeded 9, and the guests were all super strong, so the program group will definitely take word-of-mouth as the top priority. P.S. new people can be added, no problem, but can you also let the original teams all return!]


    [@Beautiful Fine Jeweled Xeriscape: Other people posting up selfies can even land on FJX¡¯s head, FJX is really miserable. I¡¯m carrying away my beautiful Gege, not enjoying any success, and not accepting any stigma. On March 17, Kaleido ensemble show will premiere everywhere online. Welcoming everyone to come and watch!]


    [@Fleet-footed little fool: Previously, the leaks always said it was a popular boy-band member ah, some 18th rank small obscure group shouldn¡¯t try to get close to the word ¡°popular¡± ba.]


    [@Never lllllb: Shit, Liang Ruo is really bitchy, hahaha]


    [@Shipping fun things to save my dog life: Not a fan of either, but based just on their faces, I¡¯d pick Fang Juexia.]


    Online, fans kept increasingly sniping fiercely at each other, and ¡®Escape For Your Life¡¯ ended up hanging on the Hot Search list for the whole day. This continued until the evening of the next day, when the program group¡¯s official Weibo finally released the list of the guests for the first episode, thereby confirming the fact that Fang Juexia and Pei Tingsong were joining the new season of ¡°Escape¡±, a topic that aroused a heated discussion again.


    Cheng Qiang specially comforted these two people by saying, ¡°You guys have gotten more and more popular, so there will also be more and more disputes. This is very normal, don¡¯t take it to heart.¡±


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t really care about it. He knew very well that the fiercer the debate, the higher the popularity they would accumulate before the broadcast of  ¡®Escape 2¡¯. Anyway, such a thing posed no problem when it came to their path to the ultimate goal, and he didn¡¯t really mind all the twists and turns they would have to face en route to it.


    Different from his cold-eyed bystander, Pei Tingsong was a thorn that would never suffer losses.


    On the night the most vicious curses were being rained upon them, he was still updating his Weibo by posting a photo. However, the picture he had taken was his palm with his five fingers outstretched. Interestingly, he had used a graffiti brush to paint all four fingers, except the middle finger, black. Only the finger in the middle stood out, vivid and eye-catching.


    Of course, this Weibo post was also gathered and recorded into a certain forum named ¡°Pei Tingsong¡¯s recklessness incident log¡±, which was full of his repeated victories.


    ¡°These poor fans think they can seize the initiative by swearing a little bit more.¡± Pei Tingsong laughed scornfully and commented, ¡°They¡¯re being used as pawns for gaining popularity, and they don¡¯t even know it. Letting them rip into each other like this, when the whole world knows that the second season of Escape is about to start shooting.¡±


    It was also because of Pei Tingsong¡¯s picture, that thegroup of crazy fans were attracted over to his Weibo, and almost all the firepower was now concentrated solely on him.


    Pei Tingsong wasn¡¯t afraid of this at all and even posted a sentence in the comments¡ª


    [You guys don¡¯t really want to compete with a rapper in terms of cursing people out ba?]


    He was an aberration in this circle. Possessing both background and personal strength, he used all the methods, which most PR teams would avoid, to smash people online relentlessly. Crushing this ant colony with his heavy fist was very much consistent with his aesthetics of perpetrating violence without sticking to any bottom line.


    Three days later, Fang Juexia and Pei Tingsong went to the location where the reality TV¡¯s program group was going to be shooting. Fortunately, the second season of ¡°Escape For Your Life¡± was set up to be shot in Beijing this time. After recording an episode, they could go home; it was really very convenient. They took Cheng Qiang¡¯s car to get to their destination early in the morning, and their Kaleido groupchat was in full swing by this time¡ª


    [@Your Fire Ge: @Kaleido¡¯s Only Big Boss, can you bring your cellphone in? If you really can¡¯t figure things out, come find your Fire Ge, me. I¡¯m really good at unlocking things.]


    [@Sexy Teacher Yuan Doing Flower Hand Dance: Unlocking things hahahahaha. There won¡¯t be any horrifying places ba? Damnit, I¡¯m so timid, my blood freezes just thinking about it.]


    [@Water Water Water: There may be a little dark room or something. What if you two can¡¯t get out? By the way, can you guys bring water in? When they¡¯re halfway through with filming, will they give you anything to eat?]


    [@The Original M-Dash: My God, it¡¯s too hard if they don¡¯t give you any food. Fortunately, they didn¡¯t ask me to go (even if they did, I wouldn¡¯t be able to get out of the room) Juexia, you mustn¡¯t be in the same room as Xiao Pei. I¡¯m afraid he¡¯ll fall into a hurry, then pry open the door, and accidentally hurt you.]


    Pei Tingsong was left speechless when he read the chat record.


    [@Kaleido¡¯s Only Big Boss: I¡¯m going to film an escape room, not a picnic. Besides, I¡¯m sure I can get out of there. All of what you said has rebounded!]


    Just after he sent that out, Pei Tingsong looked up to see Fang Juexia fishing through the pockets of his jacket.


    [@Just a pretty face: I¡¯ve got milk candy and little cakes.]


    [@The Original M-Dash: Great! Don¡¯t give them to Xiao Pei, starve that little cub.]


    [@Kaledio¡¯s Only Big Boss: ¡­.]


    ¡°Here we are. Get out of the car ba.¡±


    As soon as they arrived at the building where the filming  was to take place, they were guided to the hairdressing room first by the staff. Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t help but sigh; well-funded programs were just different.


    ¡°Your skin is really good ah.¡± The stylist was a young man, and he then asked, ¡°Do you want to cover up this birthmark?¡±


    Fang Juexia looked at his reflection in the mirror and shook his head. ¡°No need.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    His clothing style didn¡¯t seem to contain any distinctive features. He was wearing a white shirt paired with suit pants, and a knitted sweater vest on top of that. The stylist also specially placed a pair of non-prescription glasses on him, thereby giving him a very bookish air. Fang Juexia, as a loyal viewer of ¡®Escape For Your Life¡¯, soon realized that this get-up might have something to do with his identity on the show.


    ¡°My role couldn¡¯t be that of a teacher or a student ba?¡± Fang Juexia looked up at the stylist.


    ¡°You are too clever.¡± The stylist sprayed a little bit of styling gel onto his hair before declaring, ¡°Done. I really like styling good-looking children, no matter how I do it, I just can¡¯t fail.¡±


    Fang Juexia smiled in embarrassment. Before handing in his cellphone, he read the message he had just received.


    [Kaleido Pei Tingsong: In case we end up in a small dark room in a moment, remember to call me.]


    The corners of his mouth rose.


    [Just a pretty face: If you¡¯re the killer, wouldn¡¯t I become the sheep being sent straight into the mouth of a tiger?]


    It didn¡¯t take long for him to receive a reply.


    [Kaleido Pei Tingsong: My tiger mouth has already been bitten by you, where is there any other tiger mouth now?]


    Fang Juexia¡¯s fingers stopped moving and for the next few moments, he was at a loss on how to respond. This person was just too good at stirring up his emotions, especially when it came to guilt and compassion.


    But this feeling of guilt didn¡¯t persist for too long, because Pei Tingsong soon sent another message¡ª


    [Kaleido Pei Tingsong: Besides, if I really am the killer, I can kill you any time.]


    ¡°Okay la, Juexia, we have to go over now.¡±


    ¡°En.¡± He could only give up and hand the cellphone over to the crew member, and then he followed them into the elevator to head to the designated floor. Before getting out of the elevator, the crew member covered his eyes to mask his vision.


    Masking his vision this time wasn¡¯t as simple as covering his eyes with an eye mask. Instead, a square hood was placed over his head, and in the blink of an eye, everything went dark, and there was someone supporting him and guiding him forward.


    This kind of operation easily increased the tension felt by the guests, but Fang Juexia was rather familiar with this feeling, so he didn¡¯t feel anything. He just felt that it was a bit of a pity; according to the schedule, he should be entering the escape room directly, that was to say¡­.


    He wasn¡¯t the killer.


    This made Fang Juexia feel rather disappointed. Although he looked like he had a mild personality, he also very much  wanted to try playing a villain-like role, like that of the killer who needed to possess nerves of steel and a strategic mind. It seems that he had missed this opportunity by just a little bit for this first episode.


    Fang Juexia heard the sound of a door opening. He was then helped into the room by the crew and was seated into a chair. He could feel that it was a very comfortable leather sofa. Subsequently, they tied him up with ropes and also fixed his legs in place, but they didn¡¯t remove his hood.


    ¡°This is your cellphone, specifically designed to let you receive text messages from the program group.¡± The crew member put the cellphone into the pocket of his trousers.


    ¡°Yes, thank you.¡±


    Once in the dark, Fang Juexia, who had lost his sight, would usually become extremely sensitive. He could easily judge the trajectory of the rope based on the crew member¡¯s movements, and quickly outlined out a mental sketch of the way he had been tied up.


    The clock in his heart rotated for only ten minutes before Fang Juexia heard the door open again.


    It seemed that he wasn¡¯t the only one present in this escape room. However, he wasn¡¯t sure whether this was a good thing or not. Although more people possibly meant more help, no one could tell whether the other party had a good identity.


    Listening to the sound of the movements, Fang Juexia was sure that the newcomer was sitting right opposite him, and that the distance between them shouldn¡¯t be more than 50 cm, because he could clearly hear the sound of clothes rustling. There were also some sounds of metal clanging, which probably came from handcuffs.


    Once all sound disappeared, and the door of the room was closed for the last time, was when this escape room was finally initialized.


    The next moment, a rather familiar and slightly metallic sound filled the room, which was the intro theme to ¡®Escape For Your Life.¡¯


    ¡°Welcome to the second season of ¡®Escape For Your Life¡¯. Now, please forget all about your original identities. In this game, your only identity is that of players who are currently trapped in the escape rooms. Please note that this game consists of not just a single escape room, but rather of many such rooms connected to each other, which means that when you open the door of your own escape room, you will enter a new escape room. There may be other people, who are just like you, trapped in there.¡±


    Fang Juexia possessed a good memory. Just after listening to the beginning bit, he noticed that this monologue was a complete copy of the first season¡¯s.


    ¡°Please allow us to introduce the rules of our game. The person who escapes all the escape rooms and leaves the house in the shortest amount of time will be the winner of this game, and will thus gain the highest number of points. The rest of the players will be allotted points calculated in accordance with their escape durations, and one point will be deducted from the player¡¯s score for every extra ten minutes taken after the winning duration.¡±


    The voice paused for a moment, and then continued, ¡°I think we all know that the difference between ¡®Escape For Your Life¡¯ and other escape room games is that there is a killer present among the players. Unlike ordinary players, this hidden killer holds the right to ¡°kill¡± other players, and the killed players will be able to attain no points for that round. However, in each episode, the killer can only kill off one player.¡±


    ¡°Ordinary players can also deduce the identity of the ¡°killer¡± through reasoning. Once all the players have gathered together, they can vote to ¡°kill¡± this specific player. The players who manage to successfully vote the real killer out of the game will gain 1.5 times the points they would originally accrue. However, if the ¡°killer¡± becomes the final winner in the game, then every other ordinary player gains the status of being killed. Their points for that round are completely cleared, and the killer will get double the amount of points then.¡±


    Listening to this, the only difference from the first season seemed to be the change in the calculation of points. In the previous season, players who had correctly voted to oust the killer wouldn¡¯t be rewarded; this was the new mechanism that was added in the second season of the show.


    But if this was the case, wouldn¡¯t players go all out to find the killer¡¯s identity in order to get the reward, so wouldn¡¯t the game become more difficult for the killer?


    ¡°None of you have any supporting decryption equipment on your bodies, and we hope that you won¡¯t use any physical means to break open the escape rooms. Each player has been equipped with a modified cellphone designed so that they receive their group information, get information on countdown timings, and for voting. Please note,¡± Here, the narrator paused for a moment, ¡°the only thing you can rely on in this game is your own intelligence and teamwork.¡±


    ¡°Then good luck to everyone. Commencing the countdown¡ª¡±


    Was that it?


    ¡°Three¡­¡±


    ¡°Two¡­¡±


    Fang Juexia still felt that it was a little strange.


    ¡°Wait a minute.¡± The narrator suddenly stopped the countdown and laughed. ¡°Just joking around with you guys. There is still another key rule, one that wasn¡¯t stated just now. Attention, please.¡±


    ¡°There is a new character being introduced for all players in this season¡ª the double-faced knight.¡±

 CH 36

    Chapter 36 ¨C Double-Faced Knight


    Non-professionals should not imitate


    Double-faced knight?


    ¡°As the name suggests, double-faced knights can belong to the dark camp or the light camp.¡±


    ¡°Players who get the role of the double-faced knight will choose the camp they wish to belong to based on the rules, after the game starts. If the double-faced knight chooses to side with the ordinary players, they will need to do their best to help the good guys find the killer. Once the double-faced knight is ousted from the game, be it from them being voted as the killer or being killed, the killer will gain an extra escape clue. If the good guys emerge victorious in the end, the double-faced knight will be awarded 1.5 times their original points.¡±


    It was like a gamble; dangerous as it was, the payoff was also quite considerable.


    The good guys needed to protect the knight, and the knight should also do their best to help the good guys. Once the light camp was chosen, the knight would become the killer¡¯s first target for murder.


    ¡°On the flip side, if the double-faced knight chooses to side with the killer, they will join the dark camp. Once they escape, the good guys will get information on the killer¡¯s identity, in order to speed up the process of uncovering the killer. Of course, if the dark camp wins the game, the double-faced knight will also be awarded 1.5 times their original points.¡±


    Fang Juexia subconsciously calculated the probability of this character¡¯s victory. If the double-faced knight could privately get in touch with the killer, and the killer had some key parts of the plot in their hand, this wasn¡¯t really fair. The chances of attaining victory were higher if the killer¡¯s camp was chosen.


    ¡°You all must be thinking that if you get the double-faced knight¡¯s role, you will choose the killer. But,¡± the narrator¡¯s voice carried a hint of a smile as it warned, ¡°it¡¯s not going to be that easy this season.¡±


    ¡°In season two, the killer will no longer have the right to know the original story. Every player will receive a message about which role cards have been assigned to them only once the game starts. In other words, both the killer and the double-faced knight will be unaware of their own identity until they enter the escape room. Besides their own identity, they will not know anything else.¡±


    It was at this moment that Fang Juexia¡¯s slow senses finally started to grow excited.


    He finally got the fun of this change. Under such a rule, the double-faced knight, the killer, and the players belonging to the light camp¡ª all had equal odds of winning, along with the fact that every player was trapped in an isolated black box and couldn¡¯t see any other player.


    It was inevitable that everyone would be worried and suspicious of their fellow players, even if they were partners belonging to the same camp. Any word was likely to break this unstable cooperative relationship and push the other party into the abyss.


    Too interesting.


    ¡°All the rules have been relayed. Good luck to everyone.¡±


    ¡°The game has officially started.¡±


    The narration ended just as abruptly as it had started, with a murmur of static. This sudden silence worked to heighten the tension.


    Fang Juexia took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and created a mental sketch of the manner in which the staff members had previously tied him up.


    First, they put the rope around the back of his neck, then the two ends of the rope passed through his armpits to spiral around his arms. They had then bent and bound his two arms to his back, in an imitation of a yoga pose. After that, they had tied his two wrists. Finally¡­.


    Fang Juexia was thinking about the last move when suddenly, he felt his foot being kicked.


    It was from the person sitting opposite him.


    Why did this person move in such a manner? It couldn¡¯t be that he also couldn¡¯t see anything?


    Fang Juexia waited for the next movement, and when it didn¡¯t come, he became even more sure of his judgment.


    Yes, this person had entered the room later than himself, and so probably didn¡¯t know there was a second person in the escape room.


    ¡°I¡¯m opposite you.¡± Fang Juexia opened his mouth, and spoke softly, having no intentions of scaring the other person. ¡°Be careful, I can¡¯t see either. If you accidentally fall over or run into something, it will be difficult for me to help you for the time being.¡±


    After this brief statement, Fang Juexia did not intend to continue to entangle with him. He continued to recall how he was bound up¡ªafter winding the rope around his wrists, the crew member seemed to have pulled upward. Yes, the two ends of the rope had gone through the one that was first wound around the back of his neck, before being pulled down and tied into a knot.


    That was to say, as long as he could untie the knot hanging right above his wrist, he had a chance to get out of his bindings.


    After a brief silence, a slight laugh sounded out from the other side.


    It was very short, with weak sound waves rolling up before floating across the darkness towards him.


    For others, a laugh would carry very little information, but this particular laugh managed to break the calmness Fang Juexia had maintained since entering the escape room.


    ¡°Pei Tingsong.¡±


    Fang Juexia called out his name directly. He was very sure to the point that he didn¡¯t even think about how the audience would react, especially the CP fans, after this episode was broadcast, as they watched him figure out the identity of the person opposite him so firmly and easily.


    Another length of silence followed after this proclamation.


    The continued silence made him more sure of his judgment.


    ¡°Really boring.¡± Pei Tingsong¡¯s voice sounded out as expected, and even carried a trace of complaint as he commented, ¡°I thought I would be locked up with new friends.¡±


    Already used to Pei Tingsong¡¯s banter by now, Fang Juexia didn¡¯t take this comment seriously. He said frankly, ¡°When you escape, you can find new friends.¡±


    ¡°My hands are handcuffed,¡± Pei Tingsong said.


    ¡°I know.¡±


    Pei Tingsong laughed again. ¡°How do you know?¡±


    ¡°Heard it.¡±


    While dealing with him, Fang Juexia reached for that knot. Years of dance practice had given him a flexibility that ordinary people couldn¡¯t attain. Although his wrists were bound, the program team had probably been worried that binding them too tightly would affect the guests¡¯ blood circulation, so they had left a little room. He moved his wrist and tried to reach up as high as he could.


    His fingertip really touched something similar to a knot.


    But if he wanted to untie it completely, he would have to work harder.


    Fang Juexia suddenly heard a sound that seemed to come out when a bunch of building blocks collapsed. He asked the opposite side, ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Nothing.¡± Pei Tingsong¡¯s voice sounded very effortless, as if just like he had announced before, he was just here to play. ¡°Although my hands are handcuffed, it¡¯s just that I can¡¯t separate them. As soon as I touched the table in front of me, it seems that I pushed down the pile of metal blocks there.¡±


    He said it as though that was a matter of course.


    Fang Juexia heard some other sounds and guessed that Pei Tingsong was probably putting something together. Suddenly, he heard the sound of a click, as if something just happened to snap together.


    After hearing this sound several times in a row, he heard a didi sound. Strangely, it wasn¡¯t coming from the speakers in the room, nor was it coming from Pei Tingsong¡¯s side, but rather, it was from his own hood¡ª


    ¡°Ding Dong.¡±


    When the last tone ended, to Fang Juexia¡¯s surprise, the square hood that was caging his face scattered, like a gift box bursting apart, each side falling in different directions.


    Fang Juexia could see everything in an instant.


    Pei Tingsong, whose head was also caged in by a hood, was sitting opposite him across a table, and his hands handcuffed. If Fang Juexia hadn¡¯t been familiar with his voice, he feared that he wouldn¡¯t have been able to guess his identity through the hood.


    ¡°Hm?¡± Pei Tingsong made a questioning sound.


    ¡°My hood split open.¡± Fang Juexia looked around; the metal blocks that Pei Tingsong had been fumbling with were pressed into the table. ¡°It should be the mechanism in front of you that controlled my hood.¡±


    Looking around, this room looked like a counseling room with many books on psychology on the shelf to the side. He looked at Pei Tingsong¡¯s clothes again¡ª he was wearing a white shirt, with a name plate pinned to the front.


    Maybe his character was that of a psychologist.


    Looking down, Fang Juexia found a display screen embedded in the armrest of his sofa chair. He tried to bend to one side and touch its screen with his elbow.


    The screen lit up and displayed a digital clock, with the hours, minutes, and seconds all formed of seven LED lines.


    At this point, a sound was emitted from the hood on Pei Tingsong¡¯s head, a female AI voice.


    ¡°Excuse me, what time is it?¡±


    Sure enough, it was a time? But this seemed to be oversimplifying it.


    ¡°What did you find?¡± Pei Tingsong asked.


    ¡°Hm.¡± Fang Juexia identified the LED numbers on the display¡ª09:15:50


    He tried out this answer, even though it was really too simple. ¡°9:15:50 a.m?¡±


    The hood made a harsh di sound.


    ¡°Sorry, wrong answer.¡±


    Fang Juexia had already expected this outcome. ¡°Sure enough, it¡¯s wrong¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s wrong, and yet you still said it,¡± Pei Tingsong murmured, ¡°My ears are going to explode.¡±


    ¡°Shhh¡­¡± Fang Juexia examined the six numbers in front of him again. It really was a very common digital clock, and there was nothing wrong with it, so then why had his  answer been wrong?


    There must be something he was misunderstanding.


    He focused his attention on these numbers, and kept feeling as though something was wrong, but he couldn¡¯t pinpoint it. These small LED lines clearly formed these six numbers.


    ¡°We¡¯re not going to get stuck at the smallest hurdle at the very beginning ba, that¡¯s going too far.¡± Pei Tingsong began to say again and again, ¡°I even wanted to take first place, but now it looks like I¡¯m going to be the number one player after the winning order is counted in reverse.¡±


    Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t help frowning. ¡°Don¡¯t keep saying ¡®first place¡¯, ¡®first place¡¯, what number one ah¡­.¡±


    All of a sudden, something flashed through his head, and he leaned over again to look at the six numbers, especially at the number 1 after the first colon.


    1¡­¡­


    He finally discovered what was wrong.


    The vertical and horizontal lines in the LED display weren¡¯t forming square rectangles, but were actually polygons with varying edges and corners, some of which were hexagonal. In previous digital clocks, the 1 was made up of ¡°vertical lines¡±, but the left side would be slightly lower than the right side, thus forming a small slope, and looking more like a printed 1.


    But now, the 1 in this display was reversed, and its left side was higher than the right side.


    So that¡¯s what it was.


    ¡°I see, you have to flip it around.¡± Fang Juexia tried to turn around and identify the numbers, ¡°05, 51, 60¡­¡±


    Fang Juexia touched the screen again, and the voice from Pei Tingsong¡¯s hood once again asked, ¡°Excuse me, what time is it?¡±


    ¡°5:52 in the morning.¡±


    Two seconds later, a ¡°ding dong¡± sounded out. Pei Tingsong¡¯s hood also scattered in the same way his hood had, which was a little funny to Fang Juexia¡¯s eyes, for it made Pei Tingsong seem like a surprise gift that had been wrapped up, and which was now appearing in front of him.


    As soon as light hit his eyes, he saw that Fang Juexia was smiling. Pei Tingsong frowned and asked, ¡°What are you smiling for? You¡¯re even all tied up.¡±


    Fang Juexia disapproved but still kept a smile on his face. ¡°I can untie this rope, do you believe me?¡±


    Pei Tingsong looked at the rope on his body from all angles. His hands were completely tied behind his back, with his arm having been bent into his back as much as possible¡ª there was almost no possibility of this person being able to move at all.


    However, he did not dare to say that he did not believe him. Based on Fang Juexia¡¯s character, if he wasn¡¯t completely sure of himself, he wouldn¡¯t say anything.


    So Pei Tingsong sat back in his chair, and even with his hands handcuffed, he possessed the bearing of a master. He faced Fang Juexia and said with a smile, ¡°Please.¡±


    Fang Juexia straightened up his upper body, and noticed that the ties at his wrist had loosened a lot due to the activity just now.


    With great effort, he reached up and grabbed that huge knot. His fingers groped around, following the twists and turns of the winding on the rope to reach the end. This kind of binding, carried out using only one rope, even if it was more complicated, both of its ends must eventually overlap somewhere.


    Pei Tingsong quietly watched the whole thing. Under his gaze, Fang Juexia¡¯s body was tightly bound by the snake-like rope, and the intertwined rope rubbed against the fabric of his clothes, outlining a clear inverted triangle figure.


    As he made movements to escape, the contours of his muscles also started moving. When he turned his head to look behind him, the curve of his neck elongated, looking beautiful and slender, containing a fragile sense of beauty. The thick rope slipped down the collar of his shirt and rubbed against the back of his neck, turning his sensitive skin red.


    The delight of watching wasn¡¯t immediate, but it was very novel.


    ¡°Got it.¡±


    He heard Fang Juexia murmuring to himself. The tight grip of the binding made his breathing tighten, and he gasped a little, with the pale skin on his forehead now covered with sweat, which shone with a delicate luster under the light.


    This performance didn¡¯t last too long. Although every move seemed to linger in Pei Tingsong¡¯s heart, Fang Juexia, true to his word, managed to untie the knot hanging on his back using his amazing flexibility and memory recall.


    He turned his neck, and he could now put his arms down, for they weren¡¯t bent anymore, but there was still a knot around his wrists.


    Being able to go to this extent, Pei Tingsong already couldn¡¯t help but applaud him. ¡°Too strong. But what about the rest, can your fingers twist around and untie the knot on your wrists?¡±


    Fang Juexia glanced at him, then looked at the camera on the table pointed at him before taking a deep breath.


    ¡°I hope that for the next segment, the program team will help me put up a warning notice when it¡¯s broadcast.¡± After saying this, Fang Juexia moved forward on the chair as far as possible, as if to make room for his back. He then moved his shoulders and slightly pulled at his wrists, which were tied up behind him. ¡°The following movements are very dangerous. Non-professionals should not imitate them, especially children.¡±


    Pei Tingsong wore a completely puzzled expression, for who would have known that in the next moment, Fang Juexia would raise his bound arms backward and suddenly jerk them forward. He managed to turn his arms, which were tied behind his back, all the way to the front!


    ¡°You¡­. How did you do that?!¡± Pei Tingsong was so flabbergasted that he couldn¡¯t say anything more, and instead just started laughing. He felt as if he was watching an acrobatic performance, that seemed to violate the way human bodies were designed to work.


    80% of the directors in the program group were also startled right now, at the fact that this kind of position, where his hands had been tied behind his back, had been solved by the person himself. This was just too exaggerated.


    Fang Juexia rolled his joints, lifted his bound wrists, and tried to bite at the last knot with his teeth. He explained, ¡°I¡¯m very flexible; I started learning how to dance all the way back in kindergarten.¡±


    At this moment, vibrations sounded out from the cellphone in his pocket. At the same time, the same sound of vibration also resounded from Pei Tingsong¡¯s side.


    Putting aside the knot for the time being, Fang Juexia took out his cellphone with his bound hands and lowered his head to unlock it.


    The screen lit up, and a sentence popped out¡ª


    [Escape For Your Life: Hello player, welcome to the card drawing segment. Your role in this round of games is¡­.]


    The text disappeared, and two cards appeared on the screen. One was a picture of a knight in black armor, while the other was that of a shining white knight.


    [Double-faced knight.]


    [Please select your camp.]

 CH 37

    Chapter 37 ¨C Invitation To Break The Rules


    Is it your turn to beg me now?


    He really hadn¡¯t expected this. He actually got a special role in the very first episode.


    Fang Juexia glanced at the camera in front of him.


    It couldn¡¯t be that the directors had issued their role cards based on their performance just now? But giving this kind of role to a completely new player in the very first episode, were they really not afraid of screwing up the whole show?


    He glanced in front of him, only to see that Pei Tingsong seemed to have finished checking his role as well. He stuffed his cellphone back into his pocket and looked up at him.


    ¡°Why do you have a face filled with woe?¡± The corners of Pei Tingsong¡¯s mouth drew up as he guessed, ¡°Did you draw the killer?¡±


    Fang Juexia raised his eyebrows. This way of bluffing him into revealing his identity totally wouldn¡¯t work on him. ¡°Yes ah, you¡¯re with the killer in the very first game. How do you feel about that?¡±


    Pei Tingsong, who was handcuffed, leaned forward across the table. With both of his eyes pinned on Fang Juexia, he put on a pitiful and innocent expression. ¡°I¡¯m especially scared.¡±


    However, as soon as he finished saying that, he began to laugh.


    This appearance of his really makes him look like a crazy killer¡ªthought Fang Juexia.


    It couldn¡¯t be that Pei Tingsong was the killer?


    That thought flashed through his mind. If it was really two newbies taking the special role cards together, then the program group may really be crazy.


    On second thought though, he remembered that his senior brother had also been a newcomer when appearing on the first episode of the first season¡ªa completely blank slate. However, the first role he drew was that of the killer, which showed that the program team didn¡¯t seem to consider too much when distributing role cards. The only possible consideration they had should be on how well the killer matched with the script.


    Even so, he still couldn¡¯t rule out the possibility that Pei Tingsong had gotten the killer role card.


    The table was positioned just right for him to block the movements of his hands. Fang Juexia clicked on the role card on the screen, chose his camp, and pretended to stick his head down as he stuffed his cellphone into his pocket. Then he expressionlessly raised his hands and continued to bite at the knot with his teeth.


    He was sure that there was a tool to cut the rope present in some corner of the room, but he didn¡¯t feel like spending the effort to find it. Anyway, as long as the goal was achieved, there was no difference between good and bad when going through the process to reach it.


    ¡°If you continue like this, you count as doing a brute force attack ba.¡± Pei Tingsong scoffed, ¡°The program group should have given the rope to me and the handcuffs to you, just to be on the safe side.¡± As he said this, he suddenly noticed that his handcuffs had the letter B printed on them; its color was very light, making it not easily detectable.


    If something was marked, then there must be a puzzle accompanying it.


    The space Pei Tingsong had available to move around was very limited; he could only check if there were any other clues on or around the table. Now that his hood had been removed, he could see that the block he had just pressed into the table had a capital letter ¡®A¡¯ written on it.


    Intuition told him that this ¡®A¡¯ was related to some kind of puzzle.


    Looking up at Fang Juexia, Pei Tingsong wanted to tell him about the letters he had found, but unexpectedly discovered a very small card hanging on the rope that bound Fang Juexia¡¯s arm. This card was currently shaking due to his movements.


    ¡°Stop moving for now.¡±


    Upon hearing Pei Tingsong¡¯s words, Fang Juexia stopped and looked at him. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a card hanging from your left arm.¡±


    After listening to his words, Fang Juexia looked to his side and saw that it was a small wooden card with the letter ¦Á written on it. Pei Tingsong also managed to finally see it clearly.


    A and ¦Á.


    ¡°So it¡¯s not English letters.¡± Pei Tingsong smiled, not expecting to find the corresponding letter so quickly.


    ¡°What English letters?¡± Fang Juexia asked.


    ¡°The letter on the card on your arm corresponds to the one on the block of metal I just pressed into the table.¡± Pei Tingsong took out the block and showed the side printed with the letter to Fang Juexia, explaining, ¡°They are all Greek letters, one in the uppercase and its corresponding one in lowercase.¡±


    Now Fang Juexia understood; this was probably the tool designated by the program group to untie the rope, but how would a block cut the rope?


    Pei Tingsong held the block in both of his hands, trying to knock on it and twist it, but no change took place from any of those actions.


    It couldn¡¯t be that it was broken?


    Only after he looked at it closer did he discover that near the edge of the cube was an almost indiscernible strip, just like a small drawer hidden in the cube. Pei Tingsong tried to push at it with his fingers, but that strip was too narrow for his fingers to push open.


    Fang Juexia felt that doing all this was hopeless. Even if Pei Tingsong found a way, it was very unlikely that he would just give it to him. He might as well solve the problem by himself; maybe he could just bite the knot open.


    ¡°I see now.¡± Pei Tingsong soon thought of a new way. With his handcuffed hands, he took off the nameplate on his shirt. It was a thin rectangular piece of metal with the words ¡°Doctor Tian¡± written on it.


    Sure enough, his character was that of a doctor?


    Pei Tingsong connected a corner of the metal nameplate to that metal cube marked with an A, and pushed it into that small strip. Sure enough, a square piece of the cube popped out with that push, just like pulling out a flat block from a drawer!


    The end of the square facing him was the strip attached to the cube just now, and its front end, that emerged from the middle of the cube, was as thin as a blade.


    ¡°Here, found it.¡± Pei Tingsong held the square ¡°blade¡± in his hand and waved it at Fang Juexia.


    Fang Juexia wasn¡¯t very happy inside, because based on his past experiences, he knew what was going to happen next. He could only hope that because they were filming, Pei Tingsong wouldn¡¯t say¡­.


    ¡°Beg me, and I¡¯ll give it to you.¡± Pei Tingsong clearly didn¡¯t bother to pretend even a little.


    Sure enough, he still said it¡­ Fang Juexia sighed in his heart.


    ¡°No need.¡± He still chose to try and bite open the knot on his own.


    Upon looking at him lowering his head and biting at the rope, Pei Tingsong glanced at the handcuffs on his own hands.


    He really couldn¡¯t be teased.


    ¡°It¡¯s a joke ma.¡± After watching Fang Juexia use his teeth like that, even Pei Tingsong had to wince. ¡°I know your teeth are good, but the program group arranged everything carefully to make us cooperate in order to escape. You should also let me perform.¡±


    ¡°Here,¡± he said, pressing the blade on the table and pushing it over to the opposite side where Fang Juexia was seated. ¡°The greatness of mankind lies in the use of tools.¡±


    Fang Juexia glanced at the blade that had been pushed over.


    Pei Tingsong being so cooperative today made him suspicious. Fang Juexia speculated internally¡ªit couldn¡¯t be that he wanted to play nice and get him to vote for him.


    Forget it. Anyway, since the blade had already been found, if it wasn¡¯t used, it¡¯d be a waste.


    Just as he reached out with his hands, he saw Pei Tingsong put his elbows on the table as he propped his cheek against his two handcuffed hands, with one hand covered in a glove and the other bare. His face literally had the words ¡®lonely and pitiful¡¯ written on it, and he even let out a long sigh as he reminisced, ¡°Oh, I¡¯m missing my Lily.¡±


    Fang Juexia had to force himself internally into keeping calm.


    He had known that Pei Tingsong would never let him down.


    ¡°You can bring her to China.¡±


    Pei Tingsong shook his head. ¡°Should just forget it, can¡¯t afford two doggies.¡±


    Being faced with such insinuations from Pei Tingsong, Fang Juexia tried very hard to keep his emotions calm. He could almost imagine the scene after the program was broadcast; the fans would definitely spam the barrage and ask if they had a little dog in the dorms.


    He shouldn¡¯t have replied to this little devil at all from the beginning.


    In order to move freely, Fang Juexia still picked up the ¡°blade¡±. Although it didn¡¯t have the sharpness of a real blade, it was sharp enough to cut the rope. He tried moving it back and forth several times, and sure enough, the rope was being cut.


    Suddenly, the narrator¡¯s voice sounded again as he announced, ¡°Players, please note that the double-faced knight has made their choice. For a period of time, the black or white face of the knight will be kept hidden, but it is only temporary. As the players continue to solve plot clues, we will select an appropriate time and announce the knight¡¯s chosen camp in the form of a formal announcement.¡±


    Pei Tingsong sprawled comfortably across the couch, lazily slacking off, and commented, ¡°They really can play.¡±


    This period, where they didn¡¯t state whether the knight was good or bad, was the most suitable time for fishing in troubled waters. Every player only possessed a small amount of information, and although no one trusted each other, they still had to communicate and cooperate with each other in order to piece together the whole plot. Depending on what was said during this entirely dark period, the direction of the whole game could be affected.


    After hearing this announcement, Fang Juexia started to secretly rejoice. He had initially been worried that his camp would be exposed soon after he had picked it, but it seemed that the program group wanted to keep the players and audience in suspense for a longer period of time. In spite of the tempestuous storm brewing in his heart, Fang Juexia¡¯s expression didn¡¯t allow even the slightest tremor to be shown, as if all of his attention was still focused on the knot around his wrists.


    As a knight, this particular period of time was his prime opportunity, and he had to escape this room as soon as possible to collect more information and thus control the rhythm of the game.


    After seeing Fang Juexia work so hard in order to break free, Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t stay idle either. Although it was his first time playing this game, the logic was clear: in the case where two people were tied up in designated places at the very beginning, the tools for them to break themselves free must be hidden nearby.


    And what was closest to him was this table.


    His gaze hastily swept across the table, but there wasn¡¯t much there. In front of him was a blank notebook with a pen beside it. Next to that was a desk lamp with a round lampshade, and there was another desk lamp in front of Fang Juexia on the other side.


    ¡°Why is it that only the light at your end has been turned on¡­¡± Pei Tingsong muttered to himself. There had to be something meaningful about having only one of the two lights on. He stretched out both of his handcuffed hands and tried hard to get close to the lamp placed at the upper left corner of the table. Just then, he unexpectedly noticed a letter that was engraved on the base of the lamp.


    It was ¦Â.


    Found it.


    Pei Tingsong used all his strength to get to the switch, and when he finally touched it, the light suddenly turned on.


    Only after spending a long time cutting the rope did it finally break. Fang Juexia rubbed his chafed red wrists, then gathered up the rope and put it on the table. That was when he saw Pei Tingsong examining something closely in the light of the lamp, so he stood up and walked to him.


    A faint shape had appeared on the lampshade.


    It was the shape of a key.


    Just as Pei Tingsong was about to pull off the lampshade, Fang Juexia, who was more agile at the moment, grabbed this opportunity. After stripping off the lampshade, it could be seen that the lamp had only one isolated bulb, and that a small key was hidden within that transparent bulb.


    ¡°You really throw things away when you¡¯re done with them ah.¡± Pei Tingsong, who had lost the initiative, still laughed. ¡°Am I your handyman?¡±


    Fang Juexia smashed the light bulb and picked up the small key from the debris. The metal key was very small, and he was afraid it couldn¡¯t be used to open anything besides the handcuffs. He held it in his hand and played with it for a while. Then he leaned against the table and faced Pei Tingsong with a calm expression. ¡°Isn¡¯t this the way this kind of game progresses? Everyone is suspicious of each other, but we all have to make use of each other.¡±


    The eyes beneath these glasses were tranquil. Under the dark rules of the game, Fang Juexia uttered these kind of words to someone for the first time in his life¡ª


    ¡°Is it your turn to beg me now?¡±


    Pei Tingsong leaned back on the sofa with a cynical smile on his face.


    In his eyes, the Fang Juexia of this very moment still carried red rope marks left on his wrists and neck, while the collar of his shirt was spread open, and he had a pair of refined glasses on his face. This was a more fragile and scholarly look than that of the usual Fang Juexia, and this look also brought with it an inviolable sense of taboo. Even when he said such threatening words, with that face and just that amount of coldness seeping from his bones, he didn¡¯t really sound like much of a deterrent.


    Instead, it seemed as if he was teasing him.


    It was like Fang Juexia was inviting him to break the rules.


    Therefore, the more threatening Fang Juexia tried to be as he stood against him in confrontation, the more excited Pei Tingsong felt.


    This was a really abnormal feeling, but the adrenaline rushing through his body right now wasn¡¯t a lie. Maybe he was just born with some slightly mutated genes in his bones.


    Pei Tingsong curled up on the sofa and smiled at him. As soon as the fierceness in the corner of his eyes and eyebrows disappeared, his face actually gave off a completely youthful feel.


    ¡°Juexia Ge,¡± his voice was obedient, and right now, in front of the camera, he really seemed like the youngest in a family. ¡°You¡¯re not going to not help me ba?¡±


    ¡°If I help you, what can I get?¡± Fang Juexia held the key in his hand and expressionlessly scratched out a mark out with it on the table, upon which the table let out a plaintive whine.


    ¡°If you¡¯re the killer, or the black knight, what will I do then?¡±


    He looked really cute when he asked ¡®what will I do then.¡¯ Pei Tingsong couldn¡¯t stop the corners of his mouth from rising. ¡°How¡¯s this ba, as long as you help me unlock the handcuffs and the foot cuffs, I promise you that I¡¯ll agree to an alliance with you.¡±


    Fang Juexia glanced at him, but his eyes didn¡¯t meet Pei Tingsong¡¯s. Pei Tingsong looked completely at ease, as if he completely wasn¡¯t the one at a disadvantage currently.


    In his heart, he calculated the sincerity of Pei Tingsong¡¯s alliance offer.


    If Pei Tingsong was an ordinary player, an alliance with him would be harmless and result in all gains. If he was the killer, that option still seemed to be alright. In any case, for the double-faced knight, it was beneficial to gain the trust of any player.


    But this guy he was facing was someone with no bottom line; what he would do or say next was completely unpredictable, and these premises and assumptions would be totally meaningless. Even if they formed an alliance right now, if in the next moment Pei Tingsong voted to have him executed, Fang Juexia wouldn¡¯t be surprised. Getting into an alliance with a bomb, one would always be able to predict the tragic ending in advance.


    However¡­.


    In this kind of game of fishing in troubled waters, people without bottom lines were more likely to win.


    Fang Juexia pulled at Pei Tingsong¡¯s hands and looked down at the keyhole in his handcuffs. ¡°What counts as an alliance?¡±


    Pei Tingsong sat up, drew closer to him, and said in a sincere voice, ¡°In the first round, I will unconditionally vote with you and try my very best to take you out of this room with me.¡± His tone was suggestive as he continued, ¡°You will always have a time when you need me.¡±


    Fang Juexia had no words and so quietly opened the handcuffs for him.


    ¡°Too uncomfortable.¡± Pei Tingsong¡¯s hands could finally move nimbly, and he stretched to his fullest extent, rolling his wrists around. He then lowered his head to look at the foot cuffs below. These two foot cuffs didn¡¯t have any keyholes, instead, they had a four digit passcode lock, and there was also a character on the code lock ¨C ¦Ä.


    The next step¡ªhe should find the corresponding capital Greek letter.


    At this time, Fang Juexia was scrutinizing the entire room. Their table was in the center of the room, and on the right was a five-story bookshelf, propped up against the wall. It was stuffed full with books, most of which were related to psychology, but occasionally, some humanities and social science books could be seen mixed in there, and there were even some popular science books on subjects such as astronomy and mathematics as well. There were a few ornaments hanging on the wall, and there was only one painting in the room, positioned right next to the door. Its width was about the width of the door frame, but it was much shorter in height.


    The only door in the whole room faced their table. Fang Juexia approached it, and was surprised to find that the door had neither a keyhole nor a passcode lock; there was only a display screen embedded into the door panel. He tried touching it, and sure enough, the display lit up, and an electronically synthesized tone was then emitted¡ª


    [Please do not leave until the end of your appointment.]


    ¡°Appointment?¡± Fang Juexia was puzzled.


    It couldn¡¯t be that this building was actually a psychologist¡¯s clinic, and he was a patient who had come to see a doctor?


    After the alert concluded, the screen went dark, and a white ¦Ã appeared in the middle.


    The third Greek letter had appeared, but what did it correspond to?


    Just when he wasn¡¯t sure, a man¡¯s voice suddenly sounded out from the stereo in the room¡ª


    [Now, next please, I will hypnotize you:]


    ¡°Hypnotize?¡± Pei Tingsong felt that this was strange. ¡°What did you move just now?¡±


    Fang Juexia pulled back and pointed to the screen on the door panel. ¡°This.¡±


    Pei Tingsong saw the letter on the display screen; it didn¡¯t match the ¦Ä printed on his foot cuffs, and it was in lowercase, but his intuition told him that it would have some special meaning as the game progressed.


    ¡°Juexia Ge, help me find out if there is anything printed or marked with a triangle symbol or the letter ¦¤ in the room. It may be a clue to the code to unlock the cuffs on my feet.¡±


    ¡°En.¡±


    The man¡¯s voice, coming from the stereo, continued non-stop, his voice was slow and peaceful, as if he were really hypnotizing someone.


    [Your muscles on your body, relax them all. Then empty the thoughts in your mind and enter into the void. Let the top of your mind stretch out into its deepest reaches. The outside shelf of the world that created these emotions is where they return to¡­]


    Fang Juexia went with what Pei Tingsong had told him to do and looked for things marked with the letter ¦¤.


    If he considered things from the game designer¡¯s point of view, he must consider the worst possibility¡ª that of the two people locked in the same escape room deciding not to cooperate with each other. If that happened, Pei Tingsong, whose hands and feet were both tied up, would be isolated and helpless. The clue that could let him restore his own freedom therefore must definitely be in a place he could reach through his own efforts.


    Hypnotic words reverberated throughout the room, carrying the faint power capable of soothing emotions and calming down any anxiety.


    [Now think of a world where depression and resentment never interfere with you. Then feel the splendid palace built by your consciousness. Climb the bookcase-like steps and go to the deepest place. There is the home of the soul in all its tranquility¡­.]


    Something within reach.


    Fang Juexia¡¯s eyes locked onto the table. Pei Tingsong was bent over it, writing something down, and there were only a few things on the table. The lamp? No, it had already been used. Pen and paper, Pei Tingsong was using them right now, and he should have already checked them. There was nothing else there.


    According to conventional thinking, if there was nothing on the table¡­¡­


    Underneath the table.


    Fang Juexia immediately crouched down and shifted to look under that big table. However, even this movement of his didn¡¯t manage to distract Pei Tingsong from his task.


    The space under the table was very small. Fang Juexia simply knelt down and tilted his head back, as far as possible, to look at the bottom of the table. Sure enough, there was a convex triangle there. It couldn¡¯t be pressed, so it didn¡¯t seem to be a button.


    He changed his plans and tried to grasp the triangular block and pull it out.


    Sure enough, the wooden block moved as he pulled at it, and a wooden triangular prism, with a piece of paper stuffed in it, was finally pulled out. Fang Juexia took it out and spread it on the floor.


    This paper was very similar to the game of Sudoku that he usually played, but there were no numbers in the grid. It was more like an ordinary scratch paper, and in the middle of the paper was a line of numbers: 258, 321456987, 12369, 12369874.


    What is the meaning of this? Fang Juexia knelt on the ground, lost in thought.


    The ¡°hypnotic monologue¡± resounding in the room continued on¡ª


    [Look, the blue sea in the middle of this pure land. Now a book this is not, don¡¯t be afraid, the rustling chilly wind will never blow here. Stretch yourself open and spread out in the warm sunshine to your heart¡¯s content¡­]


    The voice was so loud that he almost couldn¡¯t think.


    [Now then, it is time to slowly open the door of your subconscious mind. To open up your memory and your true self.]


    Fang Juexia held the piece of paper tightly and scanned every number with his eyes, trying to find any patterns. It couldn¡¯t be that the number that was next in this sequence was a four-digit number that could be entered into Pei Tingsong¡¯s cuffs?


    But, however he looked, he couldn¡¯t see any pattern to these numbers.


    Just then, Pei Tingsong suddenly slapped the table, startling Fang Juexia into twitching a bit as he lay underneath the table.


    ¡°Juexia, quickly go to the bookcase over there. The blue book on the top shelf! Bring it over here.¡±


    What?


    Fang Juexia¡¯s face was covered with a completely confused expression. Holding the numbered paper in his hand, he crawled forward and came to the edge of the table. He even supported himself up using the knee in front of him and looked up at Pei Tingsong as he asked, ¡°The bookcase?¡±


    It was only at this time that the two players, who had been engrossed in deciphering their respective puzzles, finally discovered how ambiguous and embarrassing the pose the two of them had ended up in was. Fang Juexia had pretty much tunneled his body in between Pei Tingsong¡¯s knees, and was even looking up at him with a very pure expression at this moment.


    Fortunately, his knitted vest was tightly wrapped around his shirt, otherwise, from this angle, Pei Tingsong would have been able to take in everything with just a glance. All of a sudden, he found himself a little tongue tied. ¡°You-you get out first, go to the bookshelf to see if there are any blue books on the top shelf.¡±


    Fang Juexia let out an ¡°oh¡±, and quickly escaped the confines of the table like an angry little gray mouse. He placed the paper with the numbers on the table for the time being, and rubbed his burning ears. Unbeknownst to him, his knees had grown numb from kneeling, and suddenly, he found himself unable to support his body while standing upright, so he had to lean against the table, and only after he recovered a bit did he quickly walk over to the bookcase.


    Although he really didn¡¯t know how Pei Tingsong had gotten this clue, based on his tone just now, it didn¡¯t seem like he was trying to trick him.


    Fortunately, the bookshelf wasn¡¯t too tall, and Fang Juexia¡¯s height of 1.8m easily helped him in reaching the books on the top shelf. It was only at this time that he discovered a small ukulele on the top shelf.


    So many books, with all five shelves stuffed to the brim¡ª if there was no clue given, they may have had to spend the whole day here. Fang Juexia looked carefully from left to right, his eyes sweeping across each book, before finally finding the one required.


    ¡°The program group is too insidious. The spine of the book is white, but the front and back covers are blue.¡±


    Pei Tingsong, who had successfully cracked the clue, was very excited. ¡°Show me.¡±


    ¡°En.¡± Fang Juexia pulled the book out and opened it. Inside it was a piece of paper with a few big words on its top¡ª Appointment Registration Form.


    There were some names at the bottom of this form.


    ¡°Teacher Yan, Zaozao¡­¡±


    Just as he was reading the names aloud and walking in Pei Tingsong¡¯s direction, a loud sound came from behind him.


    He also heard Pei Tingsong¡¯s incredulous voice¡ª


    ¡°What the heck¡­¡±


    Fang Juexia turned around and witnessed the bookcase behind him slowly move along the left wall with his own eyes, and the white wall that was revealed unexpectedly had a door in it!


    [Congratulations, successfully unlocked.]


    This sound wasn¡¯t coming from their room, but was a cue from the room next door.


    The next second, the door that had suddenly appeared opened, and a long and narrow shadow appeared one step before its owner. When Fang Juexia saw this familiar face, he had to admit that goosebumps broke out all over his body at this moment.


    ¡°Yi? There are two little friends in this room ah.¡± The person who entered was wearing a high school uniform, which consisted of a white shirt and black trousers, and he had a school badge and a name tag pinned to his chest. He laughed and joked, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, being patronized with a handsome little guy, I even forgot to introduce myself.¡±


    He took a step forward, smoothly entering their escape room territory.


    ¡°Hello ya, I¡¯m Xia Xiqing.¡±


    ¡ª


    The author has something to say:


    First of all, Xia Xiqing is the protagonist of the last book (and has a CP). He doesn¡¯t need any extras, and he only appears here in the reality show as a guest.


    [I understand everyone¡¯s mood, but please don¡¯t spam the comments again, so as not to affect the readers who only read FP. Please focus on the plot, focus on the plot. Thank you.]


    For fear that you may feel dizzy when you look at the Greek alphabet, I put the following groups here:


    ¦¡ ¦Á: Alpha


    ¦¢ ¦Â: Beta


    ¦£ ¦Ã: Gamma


    ¦¤ ¦Ä: Delta


    In Escape 2, I will focus more on restoring the reality of a step-by-step escape from the escape room, so that everyone can feel more like they¡¯re playing a game.

 CH 38

    Chapter 38 ¨C Mutual Intrigue


    You kick him out and follow me ba


    Fang Juexia knew that the escape rooms were connected to each other; once they left their room, they could enter the next room at any time, and someone else could also intrude into their escape room at any time. However, he just hadn¡¯t expected that the first unknown player they would actually meet would be Xia Xiqing, the master of the last season of ¡®Escape For Your Life.¡¯


    It wasn¡¯t that Xia Xiqing¡¯s intelligence would definitely rank first among all the players, but rather, his playing style was special and confusing, and he was definitely the best when it came to psychological warfare. No matter what kind of role card he drew, he always played rather villainously.


    ¡°Hello.¡± Fang Juexia bowed respectfully and introduced himself, ¡°I am Fang Juexia.¡± He then remembered the Didi who couldn¡¯t stand up to say hello, so he introduced him as well, ¡°He¡¯s Pei Tingsong, and his feet are cuffed right now, so he can¡¯t get up. Both of us are members of Kaleido, and are the new players in this season.¡±


    ¡°Very good ah.¡± Xia Xiqing nodded with satisfaction. ¡°This season, everyone¡¯s a handsome little Ge.¡±


    Since Fang Juexia had already taken the initiative to speak for him, Pei Tingsong, the one who always took on the rebellious role, just raised his hand as a greeting towards Xia Xiqing, who was still standing near the door.


    ¡°How are you this serious-looking? I like little serious people the most.¡± Xia Xiqing laughed and immediately pulled Fang Juexia into his arms. ¡°I¡¯m not actually a senior, I¡¯m just an artist, don¡¯t be so formal.¡± After saying that, he also patted Fang Juexia¡¯s chest.


    Fang Juexia seldom had such intimate contact with strangers. Even though he had seen Xia Xiqing on TV more than once, he still wasn¡¯t really used to him.


    He glanced at Xia Xiqing¡¯s name tag, on which was written ¡°Zaozao¡±. He couldn¡¯t help but grip the appointment form in his hand tighter.


    ¡°And I¡¯ve known about you for a long time,¡± said Xia Xiqing as he looked into his eyes.


    Fang Juexia became a bit suspicious at this, and his way of expressing his suspicions was also to very directly question, ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Why else?¡± Xia Xiqing was amused by him and explained, ¡°Because you¡¯re attractive ah, I noticed it the first time you entered the Hot Search list. Ah, and the behind the scene posts made by the magazine, along with those videos of the two of you¡ªpeak aesthetic. Has no one ever told you before? The birthmark at the corner of your eye is just like the finishing touch to a painting. I¡¯ve also always wanted to draw you. Do you prefer watercolor or oil paintings? How about I paint a big one for you to hang up?¡±


    ¡°En¡­¡± Just as Fang Juexia was about to respond, he heard the very deliberate sound of someone clearing his throat nearby, which diverted his attention from this big boss.


    ¡°Geges, don¡¯t just focus on chatting away,¡± said Pei Tingsong with a friendly smile on his face, staring at Fang Juexia and then pointing to his leg as he reminded, ¡°Ge, I¡¯m still stuck here.¡±


    ¡°Oh, right.¡± It was only then that remembered that he still had to finish solving the math problem. ¡°I still have a clue that hasn¡¯t been figured out yet.¡± He quickly walked over to the table in front of him, with Xia Xiqing following him slowly. ¡°Don¡¯t fuss, anyway, even if you could walk, you would still be stuck here.¡± Xia Xiqing¡¯s gaze rapidly swept across the room, probably looking at the furnishings, as well as at Fang Juexia¡¯s and Pei Tingsong¡¯s costumes.


    ¡°It seems that Xiao Pei¡¯s designated role is that of a psychologist?¡± Xia Xiqing laughed. ¡°A 19-year-old psychologist¡­¡±


    ¡°20 years old.¡± Pei Tingsong retorted immediately, ¡°Your internet speed must be slow, I have already celebrated a birthday.¡±


    ¡°Really? When did that happen?¡± Xia Xiqing was curious.


    Pei Tingsong raised his eyebrows. ¡°Around the same time you went public with who you were dating ba.¡±


    Just as he finished saying that, he noticed Fang Juexia staring at him, and so, all Pei Tingsong could do was shift his gaze around. But, as soon as Fang Juexia drew close to him, he complained to his Gege in a voice carrying a bit of a grievance, adding a bit of coquettishness as well, ¡°My legs are going numb.¡±


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t even look at him. He just silently lowered his head, unfolded the paper again, and gazed at the numbers on the piece of paper.


    [258£¬321456987£¬12369£¬12369874]


    Xia Xiqing also came over at this time, stopping right next to Fang Juexia. The two people¡¯s arms were close together, and he also bowed his head and asked, ¡°Need help?¡±


    ¡°This sequence should be the clue to unlock the passcode lock of Xiao Pei¡¯s foot cuffs,¡± Fang Juexia explained the situation simply.


    ¡°A sequence.¡± Xia Xiqing looked at the paper and laughed. ¡°Do you study mathematics? So subconsciously¡­. A bunch of numbers set together doesn¡¯t necessarily indicate a sequence.¡±


    Upon hearing this, Fang Juexia felt stunned.


    ¡°The scriptwriter of this program always does all his homework on the players. He goes to the extent of understanding your specialties or your hobbies, even your experiences, and then, using your point of view, he sets the questions, tailoring them to your usual thought patterns.¡± Xia Xiqing deliberately scared them. ¡°It¡¯s very frightening.¡±


    That¡¯s right, he really did fall into his own usual thought patterns as soon as he saw the puzzle.


    Fang Juexia looked at the string of numbers, this time simply looking at them one by one. As a result, he actually discovered certain rules that were there¡ª many of these numbers had 123, 456, or 321 in them.


    So it wasn¡¯t not a sequence of numbers, instead, it was a sequence of hints.


    No wonder they used the Sudoku grid of 9 squares. After realising this, Fang Juexia suddenly marveled at the care the screenwriter had taken; he had probably looked through fan materials carefully and had discovered that one of Fang Juexia¡¯s hobbies was playing Sudoku. Using this kind of grid wasn¡¯t just a hint, it was probably also a way to confuse him.


    ¡°Give me the pen.¡± Fang Juexia didn¡¯t even lift up his head, directly stretching out his hand towards Pei Tingsong, who was on the opposite side. As soon as he said that, a pen was rolled over to him. Fang Juexia picked up the pen and started filling in the numbers in the nine squares printed on the paper.


    123


    456


    789


    Seeing that he was about to start the process of solving the problem, Xia Xiqing, a veteran player, suggested, ¡°Little Serious, you¡¯d better describe your thought process about reaching the solution of this problem out loud, otherwise the audience may not be able to follow your reasoning when this episode is broadcast. It will be troublesome for the program group in the editing stage, and they¡¯ll have to insert subtitles for you then.¡±


    Upon hearing his words, Fang Juexia raised his head to look at him, wearing a cute expression of sudden realization on his face.


    He didn¡¯t like talking, so he had completely forgotten about that point.


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s eyes kept moving back and forth between the faces of the two people opposite him, and he was very unhappy inside. He had spent so much effort coaxing Fang Juexia into forming an alliance with him, but right after they had confirmed their cooperation, a Cheng Yaojin had burst into the scene, and with just a few words, had hooked Fang Juexia over to his side. What exactly was all of this?


    Unfortunately, the party at the center of this issue was completely absorbed in solving the problem and had no time to take into account a certain someone¡¯s mood.


    Fang Juexia held the pen and explained while solving the problem, ¡°The first clue on the paper is 258. In this nine-square grid that I have already drawn out, starting from 2, you can connect 258, thus drawing a vertical line from top to bottom, which actually represents the number 1.¡±


    He then filled out the second of the nine-square grid on the paper. ¡°The second clue is 321456987. If we draw a line like before, based on this order of numbers, we get a 5.¡±


    In the same way, he quickly resolved the remaining two numbers, and ended his explanation with, ¡°Same as above, we get 7 and 0.¡±


    When he heard ¡°same as above¡±, Pei Tingsong laughed. Fang Juexia raised his head and glanced at him.


    Xia Xiqing, who stood next to them and was getting a third-party¡¯s point of view, first glanced at Pei Tingsong, and then looked at Fang Juexia, after which, the corners of his mouth quirked up in a smile filled with an unclear meaning.


    ¡°That¡¯s the answer.¡± Xia Xiqing took a look at the paper. ¡°1570, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Probably,¡± Fang Juexia was someone who was strict and precise with his words. Until the passcode lock was unlocked, he wouldn¡¯t make a firm assertion. ¡°I¡¯ll go try it.¡±


    ¡°You let him bend down himself and try it out bei, with your height, isn¡¯t it uncomfortable for you to tunnel down there?¡± But before Xia Xiqing could finish his sentence, Fang Juexia had already wormed his way down.


    He really was quite straightforward.


    Xia Xiqing scanned the table and found the appointment form that Fang Juexia had randomly placed on it before. It seemed to be a new clue that they should have just discovered. Xia Xiqing thought to himself that this was indeed a new player; only new players would be unaware of how unscrupulously everyone played in a game like this, and it was rare to see someone throw away a clue as soon as he found it, not treating it as taboo at all.


    Xia Xiqing looked at the form and casually asked, ¡°This appointment form¡­ Where did you guys find it?¡± He was just probing, not expecting that anyone would actually randomly answer him.


    So he was surprised when Fang Juexia, who was all the way under the table, still took the time to answer his senior¡¯s question. He honestly explained, ¡°It was in a book on the bookcase.¡±


    ¡°The bookcase?¡± Xia Xiqing raised his head and glanced at the rather spectacular collection of books crammed into the bookcase. ¡°Tch, tch, this twisted program group¡­. You guys didn¡¯t really flip through every single book ba?¡±


    Pei Tingsong knocked on the table with his knuckle, causing Xia Xiqing to turn to look at him.


    He then saw Pei Tingsong point at the ceiling, where some sound was coming from.


    The hypnosis monologue was still sounding, and it had played twice by now; they were afraid it was on an infinite loop.


    When he had entered the room, Xia Xiqing had wanted to ask about it, but had forgotten about this annoying thing as they discussed other things. Now, he stood and listened to it quietly, sensing that something wasn¡¯t quite right. ¡°This is a word puzzle?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Pei Tingsong pushed the notebook in front of him to Xia Xiqing. The complete monologue was written in the notebook, and it was arranged neatly. It looked like Pei Tingsong had deliberately written it out so neatly.


    ¡°The words are pretty good-looking.¡±


    [Now next please, I will hypnotize you


    Your muscles on your body, relax them all


    Then empty the thoughts in your mind and enter into the void.


    Let the top of your mind stretch out into its deepest reaches.


    The outside shelf of the world that created these emotions is where they return to


    Now think of a world where depression and resentment never interfere with you


    Then feel the splendid palace built by your consciousness.


    Climb the bookcase-like steps and go to the deepest place.


    There is the home of the soul in all its tranquility


    Look, the blue sea in the middle of this pure land


    Now a book this is not, don¡¯t be afraid, the rustling chilly wind will never blow here.


    Stretch yourself open and spread out in the warm sunshine to your heart¡¯s content


    Now then, it is time to slowly open the door of your subconscious mind.


    To open up your memory and your true self]


    ¡°Fortunately you thought of writing this narration down, you¡¯re pretty fast at writing. The answer to these kinds of neatly arranged word puzzles is usually hidden in the first or last word of each line¡­¡± Xia Xiqing tried to solve it based on that rule, but found that it didn¡¯t work. ¡°It¡¯s not the first or last letter? It can¡¯t be that it wants you to reverse the whole thing?¡±


    At this moment, Pei Tingsong couldn¡¯t really pay attention to Xia Xiqing¡¯s question, because he had just discovered that Fang Juexia hadn¡¯t made any movement for a long time after getting under the table.


    What was the matter with this guy?


    He bent over and looked down, just to see Fang Juexia sitting on the floor with his legs crossed. He was bent over with his head bowed as he gazed at the paper lying on his leg, seemingly lost in thought.


    Feeling that it was strange, Pei Tingsong stretched out one of his hands and rubbed his hair. ¡°Hey, what are you doing? You¡¯ve already found the answer but you¡¯re not hurrying to enter it in, is it that you can¡¯t bear to let me out ah?¡±


    Fang Juexia raised his head when he heard his voice, and his eyebrows twisted as he said, ¡°It¡¯s not right.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s not right?¡± Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t understand and asked, ¡°The answer isn¡¯t right?¡±


    Upon hearing their conversation, Xia Xiqing also crouched down and added, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t be ah, it¡¯s obvious that this is how number shape questions are solved. Your answer should have no problems. Did you input the code wrong? Do you want to try it again?¡±


    The logic was sound, but the answer really wasn¡¯t right.


    Right in front of them, Fang Juexia input the 1570 number that they had arrived on as the solution, but the lock didn¡¯t loosen at all. No matter how hard he shook it, it remained as motionless as it was before.


    ¡°It¡¯s really not right.¡± Xia Xiqing thought that this was a little inconceivable.


    Fang Juexia thought about why; the method of solving this riddle was already very obvious, but the answer they had gotten was actually wrong.


    ¡°Your guys¡¯ room is much more difficult than mine. When the game started, I, at least, had freedom of movement. It seems that I can finally count as not having gotten the hell script this time round.¡± Xia Xiqing stood up and waved the notebook with the hypnotic sentences in his hand. ¡°Xiao Pei, you haven¡¯t finished explaining. I just looked over it again, and it¡¯s the third word, but why?¡±


    He was really good. Pei Tingsong simply analyzed the previous situations, ¡°Many of the clues in this room are marked with Greek letters. The first clue that hinted at the tool to undo Juexia Ge¡¯s ropes was a wooden card with an ¦Á on it. The second clue that hinted at the location of the key to my handcuffs had ¦Â on it. ¡°


    ¡°En.¡± Xia Xiqing nodded.


    ¡°Before this hypnosis recording started playing, the Greek letter ¦Ã was displayed on the screen on the door. You should know that ¦Ã comes third in the Greek alphabet. In fact, it implies that this so-called acrostic puzzle isn¡¯t using the first word, but the third word.¡±


    Fang Juexia, who was still under the table, heard Pei Tingsong¡¯s explanation and suddenly realized something. He picked up the triangular block that had been lying on the ground and when he turned it around, it looked quite like the Greek letter ¦¤.


    ¡°So that¡¯s how it is, so the third word from top to bottom is¡­. Please on the top shelf of the bookcase the blue book open it up.¡± Xia Xiqing couldn¡¯t help but admire these two little idols who had just joined the show. They were worthy of being the new guests that Jing Yin had searched for so long and so hard.


    Sure enough, they weren¡¯t here to just be vegetarians.


    He looked at the various objects with letters on them spread across the room. ¡°I don¡¯t have any of these marks in my room, Greek letters¡­ It must be because they know that one of you is a philosophy student and the other studied math, so both of you would naturally be sensitive to the Greek alphabet, and therefore they used these. Otherwise, wouldn¡¯t English and Arabic numerals work just fine?¡±


    Everything he said was correct. Since the writers used the Greek alphabet when creating the puzzles, they must have checked their identities quite thoroughly, and knowing that naturally implied some other information as well.


    Information on ¦¤¡­.


    A white light flashed through Fang Juexia¡¯s brain.


    That¡¯s it!


    It really isn¡¯t 1570, that is just the raw initial result.


    After doing a quick calculation in his head, Fang Juexia once again approached Pei Tingsong¡¯s left leg, and ducked down to enter the new answer.


    5£¬9£¬1£¬4


    ¡°Click.¡±


    The lock opened.


    There was still the cuff on the right, and he soon turned the numbers on its passcode lock.


    3£¬1£¬3£¬4


    Right!


    Finally decoded it. Fang Juexia happily pulled on Pei Tingsong¡¯s pant leg and poked half of his head out from under the table, looking just like a child waiting for praise as he declared, ¡°It¡¯s open now.¡±


    Pei Tingsong, who had originally still been talking to Xia Xiqing, looked down after his pant leg was pulled on. Fang Juexia, who was crouched on the ground, pointed to the open foot cuffs, and said again, ¡°I unlocked it.¡±


    Pei Tingsong looked completely surprised. Obviously, he had just told them moments ago that his answer was wrong, but then he managed to unlock them so quickly. He sat back in his chair and held out his hand to Fang Juexia. ¡°You come out first.¡±


    ¡°How fast ah.¡± Xia Xiqing also felt curious. ¡°What was the answer?¡±


    Fang Juexia, using Pei Tingsong¡¯s hand as support, came out from under the table and sighed. ¡°What you guys said just now reminded me of something.¡±


    ¡°What we said?¡± Xia Xiqing looked at Pei Tingsong. ¡°What did we just say?¡±


    ¡°The meaning of the letters. In fact, the problem description for this puzzle wasn¡¯t complete. In addition to the hints given on this paper, there was a hidden condition as well, that is, the Greek letter ¦¤.¡± After saying that, he looked at Xia Xiqing and asked, ¡°Xiqing Ge, what do you think ¦¤ stands for to a person who studies mathematics?¡±


    Xia Xiqing was a little confused at first. His eyes flickered for a bit, but then suddenly he laughed and said two words, ¡°An increment.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Fang Juexia had known that he could respond immediately. ¡°¦¤ means an increment. So the four numbers we got are not the real answer, it is just an initial result that hasn¡¯t been incremented yet.¡±


    Xia Xiqing asked again, ¡°But all we know is that we have to increment, they didn¡¯t give us how much to do so by ah?¡±


    ¡°They actually did.¡± Fang Juexia looked at Pei Tingsong. ¡°Xiao Pei just said that these Greek letters have an order. ¦¤ is the fourth, so the amount we have to increment by is 4.¡±


    Pei Tingsong stood up and moved around a bit. ¡°So 1570 is the initial number, and using this as the base, we add 4 to each digit. Ah, wait a minute, you could also subtract 4 ah.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Fang Juexia¡¯s eyes shone while talking about the way to solve the problem. ¡°I did keep feeling that it was strange before. There are clearly two foot cuffs here, but only one clue was given. This was illogical. If the code to unlock both of the cuffs was the same, it would be too wasteful. The program group for ¡®Escape For Your Life¡¯ wouldn¡¯t do such superfluous things.¡±


    ¡°Then I realized that increments can be added or subtracted. So, one side is 1570, where you add 4 to each digit, and after not carrying any ones over, you take the final digits to get 5914. On the right is the initial four digits minus four, and of course we take the absolute value of each digit, thereby getting 3134. These are the two codes to unlock the cuffs.¡±


    Pei Tingsong liked to look at the expression that would appear on Fang Juexia¡¯s face after he managed to successfully solve a problem; it was the same one that would appear after someone had praised him for his outstanding performance on the stage. He would smile happily, his smile completely bright and sincere; it was totally different from his usual cold appearance. His outer shell melted, revealing his clean and confident personality hidden inside.


    Whenever this happened, all Pei Tingsong wanted to do was praise him and let him know that he was sparkling right now.


    Unfortunately, this time, someone else stole his opportunity to do so first.


    ¡°Really so good, you¡¯re stronger than I thought.¡± Xia Xiqing came to a stand beside Fang Juexia from his original position across the table, and after deliberately lowering his voice, he asked, ¡°Do you want to team up with me? Gege will carry you, and the two of us can definitely win.¡±


    Team up?


    Before Fang Juexia could open his mouth, Pei Tingsong, who had been stretching and moving at the side, immediately dragged Fang Juexia over to him, grabbing his shoulder, and smirking a little at Xia Xiqing as he announced, ¡°Sorry, this guy has already formed an alliance with me.¡±


    ¡°An alliance?¡± Xia Xiqing laughed and threw the notebook in his hand on the table. ¡°Little Didi, alliances on ¡®Escape For Your Life¡¯ are more fragile than paper.¡± Having said that, he looked at Fang Juexia, and while wearing an expression of wanting to see the world plunged into chaos, he instigated, ¡°You kick him out and follow me ba.¡±


    Kick??


    What kind of word was that to use here?


    Although Pei Tingsong was angry, he still had a bit of confidence in the friendship he had just established with Fang Juexia. He held onto his shoulder more tightly and said, ¡°You give up ba, Juexia¡­¡±


    ¡°What conditions do you have?¡± Fang Juexia suddenly opened his mouth and directly interrupted Pei Tingsong¡¯s words.


    Conditions???


    Pei Tingsong reached out and pulled at Fang Juexia¡¯s cheek, in an attempt to force him to turn around to face him. However, who would have known that not only Fang Juexia would not give him any reasonable explanation, but that he would also frown and push his hand away. He even adjusted the glasses on the bridge of his nose before facing Xia Xiqing again.


    ¡°You¡¯re right. If we want to talk about cooperating together, there must be some conditions.¡± Xia Xiqing leaned against the table and made it seem like he was in a very tangled situation. ¡°Hm¡­¡±


    ¡°No ba, Fang Juexia. You¡¯re not really going to believe his words ba?¡± Pei Tingsong couldn¡¯t believe that he was actually seriously considering this proposal. ¡°It can¡¯t be you don¡¯t know how crafty he¡¯s been when playing in the games before?¡±


    Suddenly, Xia Xiqing slapped the table and said, ¡°Alright, the condition is me showing all my cards.¡± He looked at Fang Juexia with a sincere expression as he confessed, ¡°I am the double-faced knight.¡±


    Fang Juexia looked directly into his eyes. Or, in other words, they looked at each other.


    Stress stimulates adrenaline, and, coincidentally, excitement did too.


    He was very clear that Xia Xiqing was lying about his identity.


    In order to not be cheated by him, from the moment Xia Xiqing had walked through that door, Fang Juexia had consciously shown weakness in front of him. For example, he had waited for him to tell him the rules of the number puzzle first, as well as that moment when he had just randomly thrown the appointment form on the table. All of these factors worked to build up the image of him being a naive novice player in Xia Xiqing¡¯s eyes.


    Having watched a lot of episodes from the previous season, Fang Juexia understood the gaming style and intelligence level of the person in front of him. If he showed complete trust in Xia Xiqing and allied with him now, he would look suspicious to him. But because of how he had resolved the unexpected number problem just now, Xia Xiqing had already learned about his strength. At this time, it would be too fake if he pretended to be a newcomer who could only follow suit.


    If he questioned him now and made his doubts about his statement too clear, it was very likely that Xia Xiqing would start to suspect whether he was a player with a special role or not, since otherwise he shouldn¡¯t have so much confidence while asking. It was quite difficult to reach a middle ground, which was a dilemma.


    ¡°How about it?¡± Seeing that he didn¡¯t reply immediately, Xia Xiqing offered another condition. He was wreathed in smiles as he guided him towards his side gently. ¡°Or how about, if you and I team up, I will tell you my camp.¡±


    Fang Juexia¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change as he replied, ¡°To be honest, I don¡¯t really dare to believe anything you say.¡±


    ¡°The player who always blows himself up has blown himself up, and you still don¡¯t believe him?¡± Xia Xiqing raised his eyebrows.


    Fang Juexia nodded. ¡°I only believe in logic. You can try to convince me.¡±


    Xia Xiqing shook his head, and with a smile, said, ¡°You are too cute, really. Of course, I can convince you since I am indeed the knight. Whatever thought process you want to hear in order to be convinced, I can tell you.¡±


    Fang Juexia secretly breathed in relief on the inside, confirming to himself that at least he was playing Tai Chi in the right direction, but it wasn¡¯t long before he heard another voice.


    ¡°What a coincidence,¡± Pei Tingsong stretched. ¡°I¡¯m a knight too. So awkward ah.¡±


    Fang Juexia turned his head to look at him, trying to maintain the doubtful consideration that an ordinary player should have.


    The most awkward person in this situation was him as the real knight.


    But now, he felt too embarrassed to even show his embarrassment.


    ¡°Really?¡± Xia Xiqing stood up with a smile, looked at Pei Tingsong, pursed the corners of his mouth, and the expression on his face was obviously full of questioning as he argued, ¡°Only donning this knight¡¯s role after I said something, your credibility is a bit weak.¡±


    Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t figure out Pei Tingsong¡¯s intentions in standing out at this moment. He completely hadn¡¯t expected this guy to self-detonate his own role as a knight. Although Pei Tingsong¡¯s way of doing things was always very tiger-like and he always managed to catch people unprepared, he was smart enough and very logical, and his ability to wreak confusion on other people¡¯s sense of judgement was no less than that of Xia Xiqing¡¯s.


    That meant that this was also a tactic ba.


    It couldn¡¯t be that he was trying to bluff his way into getting access to information about his and Xia Xiqing¡¯s identity?


    In any case, Fang Juexia had already made his choice; he would lie in wait at the moment. Right now, as an ordinary player, he should feel confused or curious.


    ¡°Then which camp did you choose?¡± Fang Juexia looked at Pei Tingsong.


    Who would have known that Pei Tingsong would tilt his head and smile before stating, ¡°It¡¯s not important which camp I chose. As long as our alliance has not been dissolved, I am your knight.¡±

 CH 39

    Chapter 39 ¨C True Or False


    I see that you, Fang Juexia, are the hardest person in the world


    Fang Juexia was left stunned for a second.


    Clearly, he had been brainstorming just now, calculating the roles the two men in front of him would have, and his own chances of winning, but as soon as he heard Pei Tingsong¡¯s words, his high-speed brain ran into a break.


    Everytime he malfunctioned, it was because of Pei Tingsong.


    ¡°Pa¡ªpa¡ª¡± The sound of clapping interrupted Fang Juexia¡¯s thoughts.


    Xia Xiqing, who was standing to the side, put his hands down and exclaimed, ¡°Are all you boyband people this good at playing?¡±


    Pei Tingsong replied bluntly, ¡°We¡¯re still inferior to the way you play.¡±


    His words made Fang Juexia¡¯s thinking system restart again. That was right, Pei Tingsong was just playing games here. Even though his words resulted in complete confusion for Fang Juexia, in fact, he was no different from Xia Xiqing.


    No, he may also be gearing for some fanservice aspect here.


    He seemed sincere, but in fact, not even half of just one of his words was credible.


    ¡°My knight¡­¡± Fang Juexia turned his face away, lowered his head, and picked up the appointment form he had deliberately left lying on the table. The corners of his mouth rose, and he said, ¡°You say this as if I am the killer who needs the protection of the black knight.¡±


    At the end of his sentence, he raised his head and covered up the short-term panic with his facial expression management skill, which was a basic skill that all idols were required to be very good at. His eyes were both doubtful and calculating as he stared at Pei Tingsong and said, ¡°Just like Xiqing Ge, I don¡¯t quite believe in your identity as a knight. And despite his reasoning, I also can¡¯t just casually believe him either.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s quite obvious that even if I let you guys continue through with your logical persuasions, you still won¡¯t tell me any of the whys or wherefores, and there¡¯s no action you can take or words you can use that will help me verify your reasoning. So, unless you report your own camp to me, no other argument else will hold water.¡±


    Obviously, Xia Xiqing did not choose to directly report his camp.


    After listening to Fang Juexia¡¯s words, Pei Tingsong did not continue with any of his boyish retorts, nor did he start fighting him; instead, he took Fang Juexia¡¯s sudden interrogation quite calmly and replied, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if you don¡¯t believe me. Anyway, at this time, no one can tell if anyone¡¯s words are true or false, but everything has its own order.¡±


    Fang Juexia¡¯s face still maintained a faint smile, and his tone was calm as he said, ¡°It was you who took the initiative first.¡±


    Whether it was Xia Xiqing or Pei Tingsong, even though it seemed that the two fake knights were fighting with each other, in fact, they were more attacking Fang Juexia through subtle insinuations.


    After saying his piece, Fang Juexia looked down at the appointment form, and found ¡®Zaozao¡¯ written on the second line of it. ¡°There have been only two escape rooms, and two knights have already appeared. No one can be sure whether there really is a killer in our midst, who is stirring up the waters. It seems that both of you want to win my support, but all this does is make me more convinced that I shouldn¡¯t act rashly.¡±


    Fang Juexia had made his position clear. Contrary to his expectations, Xia Xiqing laughed after hearing this, making it seem as if the destruction of the alliance between the two boy-band members was already a great harvest for him. ¡°What you said is reasonable.¡± He put his hands in his pockets, and his face was relaxed as he continued, ¡°Either way, we first need to understand the plot, or we need to make our escape a priority, so it¡¯s unnecessary for the three of us to fight like this right now. There should still be some time before the first round of voting, and we can all slowly chat about it when it comes to that.¡±


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly. ¡°Then Xiqing Ge, when you were in that escape room just now, you should have found some clues about the plot ba.¡±


    At this point, everyone basically knew that no one was a slouch here, and hiding things now would just serve to make everyone else suspicious. Xia Xiqing generously pulled out a pamphlet that he had stuffed into the pocket of his school uniform pants. ¡°Actually, I wanted to show you guys this before,¡± he gave Pei Tingsong a look before continuing, ¡°but after seeing him put all his attention on solving those puzzles in order to save you, I forgot.¡±


    He handed out the pamphlet in his hand. ¡°It¡¯s a medical record. The name on it is the same as the nametag on my chest, with only Zaozao written on it. It sounds like it¡¯s a nickname or a pseudonym.¡±


    Fang Juexia took a hold of the medical record and opened it. Recorded inside were the symptoms of mental illness¡ª


    [Name: Zaozao, Gender: Female, Age: 17]


    Pei Tingsong was the first to find a bright spot, and exclaimed, ¡°Hey, the gender written here is of a girl.¡±


    Xia Xiqing took a look and commented, ¡°Is it? I didn¡¯t notice. Probably because they felt I¡¯m not bad-looking, so they gave me a flipped role? Maybe it¡¯s a lousy idea that came from the scriptwriter.¡±


    Fang Juexia¡¯s attention was focused on the medical record, and he said in a soft voice, ¡°The patient was diagnosed with depression on February 10 after displaying symptoms such as a down-cast mood, long-term insomnia and anxiety, mental weakness, fear of social contact and physical contact, and is currently taking¡­¡±


    Just after hearing the beginning, Pei Tingsong¡¯s mouth curled and he remarked, ¡°The character and the person playing her are not alike at all.¡±


    Xia Xiqing said with a smile, ¡°I¡¯m actually especially suitable for this kind of miserable character.¡±


    ¡°The time on this appointment form is March 2, so that is to say, Zaozao probably came to find¡­¡± Fang Juexia looked at Pei Tingsong, who tacitly supplied the name of his identity, ¡°Dr. Tian.¡±


    ¡°Yes, she came to see Dr. Tian for a follow-up visit, or for some other psychotherapy.¡± Fang Juexia looked at Xia Xiqing again and asked, ¡°Xiqing Ge, can we go to your room and take a look?¡±


    ¡°Of course. This room may provide some plot clues about Zaozao.¡± Xia Xiqing turned to lead them over. ¡°I thought it was very strange at the beginning. There are very few decorations in this room, which is quite different from the games in the first season. It looks a little bit shoddy.¡±


    Indeed, as Xia Xiqing had said, the room was unexpectedly simple; the only things that could be called furnishings were a sofa and a small coffee table. On the coffee table was a landline phone, a handbook on mental health, and then there was an oil painting that had been taken down and set on the sofa.


    Seeing Fang Juexia look down at the painting, Xia Xiqing said, ¡°This is Van Gogh¡¯s ¡®Flowering Garden¡¯. I took it down to understand the mystery.¡±


    ¡°Van Gogh¡­¡± Pei Tingsong sat on the sofa and glanced at the room¡¯s wallpaper. It was different from the blue wallpaper in their escape room; it was all pink in here.


    Fang Juexia carefully examined the room and kept feeling that something was off. ¡°In the beginning, I thought that, like the first season, each room would be designed according to the player¡¯s character persona, to show that it was the room where they stayed and lived in. However, now it doesn¡¯t look like that applies here.¡±


    Hearing what he said, Xia Xiqing lifted a schoolbag from the sofa and shook out its contents onto the coffee table. ¡°If you want to find out the player¡¯s persona, there should be the props prepared by the program group for that purpose.¡±


    Spread on the coffee table were two or three brushes, a box of newly bought paint that hadn¡¯t been opened yet, high school textbooks, and a leaflet from an art school. Fang Juexia squatted beside the coffee table, subconsciously sorting out these props into a proper order, and then checking them one by one.


    Pei Tingong leafed through everything for a bit and guessed, ¡°So this character is a 17-year-old female high school student who is currently studying fine arts. She suffers from depression and came to the Dr. Tian¡¯s clinic for medical treatment.¡±


    ¡°Not only that, look at this.¡± Xia Xiqing opened the textbook, and there was a torn-up note that had been pasted back together inside it.


    Fang Juexia took a look at it. It really had been written in a girl¡¯s handwriting, elegant and clean, but it had then been torn to pieces.


    Xia Xiqing picked up the posthumous note and read, ¡°By the time you all see this note, I may have already passed away forever. I tried to love the world in the past, but this world didn¡¯t even give me a trace of warmth. I know that those who have hurt me will not change because of my absence; they will still continue hurting more children. They will violently tear up our bodies and crush our childhood with the authority they wield. But, at the very least, in this last moment, I have to stand up and expose¡­¡±


    His voice suddenly stopped. Pei Tingsong, who had still been reading the art school pamphlet, looked up and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no more.¡± Xia Xiqing put the suicide note down and replied, ¡°She didn¡¯t continue writing after that. When I saw it, it had already become a big pile of fragments, and after I pieced it together, it came out as a complete piece of paper, but the suicide note itself is incomplete.¡±


    Pei Tingsong confirmed this in a glance; it really hadn¡¯t been written completely. ¡°Could it be like this? The girl wanted to commit suicide before, so she wrote a suicide note in advance, but later on, she had other ideas and regretted her decision, so she tore up the suicide note.¡±


    ¡°This logic works.¡± Xia Xiqing put down her suicide note. ¡°I was thinking that in her suicide note, she mentioned ¡®people who hurt her¡¯, as well as ¡®tearing up bodies¡¯ and ¡®crushing childhood¡¯. These words probably imply that she has been hurt in her childhood. Will there be anyone playing the role of the person who hurt her?¡±


    Xia Xiqing¡¯s idea also prompted Fang Juexia to think of something. In the previous season of ¡®Escape For Your Life¡¯, the identity of the killers often corresponded with that of the murderers or perpetrators in the episode plotline. By following this train of thought, they may be able to find the real killer.


    They had found the prop that indicated the identity of the character, but what about this escape room? Was there any metaphor hidden here?


    Fang Juexia looked around and found that the room didn¡¯t even have a bed.


    ¡°Xiqing Ge¡­¡±


    Pei Tingsong, who was sitting to the side, heard Fang Juexia subconsciously call out Xia Xiqing¡¯s name. He even went to the extent of affectionately calling this person Gege, which was completely unlike the cold appearance Fang Juexia donned when dealing with himself. Pei Tingsong felt a bit of a bad taste rise up in his heart. Obviously, these matters could also be discussed with him, but Fang Juexia just kept skipping over him.


    He also couldn¡¯t describe what this feeling was, all he knew was that he felt a little agitated.


    Fang Juexia still continued asking Xia Xiqing, ¡°Many rooms in the first season of Escape were bedrooms or studies. What do you think this room looks like?¡±


    Xia Xiqing listened to his tone and soon noticed something. He looked around carefully before glancing over at the door connecting the room to the clinic. Suddenly, he thought of something. ¡°Do you want to say that this might be a waiting room?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Fang Juexia repeatedly nodded. ¡°It¡¯s just a guess.¡± He held the appointment form in his hand and pointed to Pei Tingsong. ¡°Xiao Pei is the psychologist, Dr. Tian. You are the patient, Zaozao, who came to the clinic after deciding to give up on the idea of suicide. As for why you are in the waiting room¡­¡±


    Pei Tingsong took over this explanation, ¡°Because the person who is consulting with the doctor right now is you.¡± He then read out the name of the first person on the reservation form, ¡°Teacher Yan.¡±


    Fang Juexia nodded. That was the reason why, when they had just clicked on the screen of the gate door, it had prompted a notification saying that their treatment time wasn¡¯t over yet, so they couldn¡¯t leave.


    ¡°I see.¡± Xia Xiqing laughed. ¡°So, in that case, the rest of the players should also be listed here.¡± He read out everyone¡¯s names in turn, ¡°Teacher Yan, Zaozao, Xiao Xi, Zoe. That is to say, there are five players in total this time. One psychologist, and four patients. The teacher and the psychologist were trapped in the clinic together, and the remaining three players have been separated into different waiting rooms.¡±


    ¡°It should be that way, that¡¯s right.¡± Fang Juexia stood up.


    Pei Tingsong, however, leaned back on the sofa as he said, ¡°But right now, we are trapped here, and even if we manage to fumble our way into gaining some clarity on these matters, it¡¯ll be of no use. We should first think about how to get out ba.¡±


    ¡°How about this? Xiao Pei will have a rest on the sofa first,¡± Xia Xiqing winked at Fang Juexia. ¡°While me and Little Serious here will go look around for the way to unlock the door?¡±


    Pei Tingsong immediately sat up straight, just like a little dog bristling up. ¡°That¡¯s no good. What if you guys go out and lock me in, then what will I do?¡±


    Xia Xiqing smiled. ¡°How could we do such a thing?¡±


    ¡°Come on ba, Xiqing Ge.¡± Pei Tingsong pulled up the corners of his mouth. ¡°You guys have done such a thing before, in the first season, and it was even to our senior brother.¡±


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t have any attention to spare on these two people who were fighting each other, because his mind was completely occupied with what Xia Xiqing had just said. He kept muttering to himself in a low voice; every time he was thinking seriously, he would be like this. ¡°There is no lock on that door, and just now, the door prompt announced that my consultation time wasn¡¯t over yet, so I can¡¯t leave¡­¡±


    Wait a minute.


    Only after the previous patient¡¯s consultation time was over would the next patient be allowed into the clinic, and they would have to wait in this waiting room till then.


    He suddenly thought of something. He then raised himself to stand up, but his legs were numb, and all of a sudden, his legs felt a little soft. He uncontrollably started tilting towards the sofa, almost ending up falling on Pei Tingsong¡¯s body. Pei Tingsong hurried to help him, and pulled him to his side before making him sit him down. He said mercilessly, ¡°Your legs get soft too easily.¡±


    Xia Xiqing suddenly laughed, and unexpectedly followed up on Pei Tingsong¡¯s words with, ¡°Yes ah, you haven¡¯t even done anything yet, and your legs have gone soft.¡±


    Pei Tingsong abruptly changed the topic, ¡°By the way, what did you want to say just now that you went and suddenly stood up?¡±


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t notice any problem with the direction of the conversation; his whole person was concentrated on the numbing torture he could feel coming from his legs, and he couldn¡¯t think at all. On the contrary, Pei Tingsong immediately released Fang Juexia¡¯s hand and moved to the other side of the sofa.


    Fang Juexia rubbed his legs, leaned over, and asked, ¡°Xiqing Ge, you said your escape room was relatively simple, so could it be that it has been intentionally set this way by the screenwriter?¡±


    Xia Xiqing squinted, thought for a few seconds, and suddenly got Fang Juexia¡¯s meaning. ¡°You mean to say, they gave me a simple escape room, in the hopes that I will enter your guys¡¯ room early.¡±


    Pei Tingsong also saw the light. ¡°The general logic should be to allocate the players, according to their ability, into rooms with corresponding difficulty. Giving you, such a high-level player, a simple escape room, while completely tying up us newbies, was to ensure that you would definitely enter our room before we left it. Specifically, that you would enter the clinic.¡±


    After arriving at this conclusion, the three people stood up at the same time, with Pei Tingsong instinctively helping Fang Juexia a bit. Fang Juexia raised his head and whispered, ¡°My legs aren¡¯t soft anymore.¡± And then, he walked faster than anyone else.


    Already feeling not soft so quickly, he was so freaking strong.


    I see that you, Fang Juexia, are the hardest person in the world; your legs are hard, and your heart is also hard.


    Pei Tingsong rolled his eyes behind him, but he still followed Fang Juexia. Going through the door connecting the two chambers, they returned to the psychiatrist¡¯s office and stood in front of the black door in that room.


    ¡°I hope we thought right.¡± Fang Juexia clicked on the dark screen. This time, there was no Greek letter flashing on it, and neither did any sound come out of it, indicating that the treatment time wasn¡¯t over yet.


    But at the same time, no new Greek letter or puzzle appeared on it, which was contrary to what the three of them had imagined would be.


    Just when Fang Juexia was feeling confused, a new tone sounded out¡ª


    ¡°Hello, your consultation time is over. Please follow the instructions to find the right exit and leave the clinic.¡±


    Sure enough, it wasn¡¯t that simple.


    Only Pei Tingsong grabbed at the word, ¡°The right exit¡­¡±


    All of a sudden, the speaker in the room let out some noise. It was the signal that cued the narrator¡¯s announcement¡ª


    ¡°Please note that two players have already left their initialization rooms and entered the public area.¡±


    This kind of announcement would undoubtedly increase the other players¡¯ psychological burden. However, Fang Juexia didn¡¯t feel any such thing; in general, the most difficult tasks in the whole game were either to break out of the public area or to restore the plot.


    Xia Xiqing joked, ¡°This room is really difficult, there are a lot of checkpoints, and they¡¯re all scattered around. You guys are very unlucky, you¡¯re fast catching up on my hell dungeon from the second episode of the first season.¡±


    Fang Juexia knew the score in his heart. This room was the psychiatrist¡¯s office, so naturally, its difficulty level would be high. As idols, they were used to being used as fringe decoration in many variety shows. Now it seemed that Escape For Your Life¡¯s program group liked to do just the opposite of that. By giving the two of them the hardest room at the beginning itself, if they solved it, it would make the audience feel like this was a twist; and if they couldn¡¯t solve it, there was still Xia Xiqing who would eventually enter the room to help them.


    While he was thinking that, he saw Xia Xiqing¡¯s eyes being drawn to the painting by the door.


    ¡°Based on past experience, all paintings have puzzles in them.¡± Xia Xiqing tried to take down the painting on the wall, but found it was very much fixed in its place. ¡°The people in the props group have really worked hard.¡±


    Fang Juexia wouldn¡¯t usually pay much attention to the contents of a painting, while on the contrary, Pei Tingsong opened his mouth. ¡°I just wanted to say that the painting technique used in this painting is a little special. There are no outlines of anything, it¡¯s all made up of squares.¡± He consulted Xia Xiqing, ¡°Xiqing Ge, I have to trouble you for a layman¡¯s explanation.¡±


    Xia Xiqing laughed and commented, ¡°You are actually the first person who has taken the initiative to ask me to give a layman¡¯s explanation of a painting on this program.¡±


    Pei Tingsong shrugged. ¡°Philosophy and the Arts can also count as having come from the same place.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re very good at talking.¡± Xia Xiqing looked at the painting and explained, ¡°This is actually a world-famous painting, Peter Mondrian¡¯s ¡®Composition with Red Blue and Yellow¡¯, and you¡¯re not wrong in saying that the painting is made out of squares. What you just mentioned, the missing outline of things, is a characteristic of the classical style, that is, a style inspired by nature. Artists know that nature is beautiful, so they paint nature and people to show beauty. Mondrian¡¯s use of squares in painting is another innovation, that of abstractionism. He tried to explore whether beauty would still exist after all external forms are abandoned.¡±


    Fang Juexia looked at the painting in front of him. Countless horizontal and vertical black lines formed large and small squares, which were filled with colors. He didn¡¯t know if it was because he had been born liking precision and clarity, but such a strict lattice-style painting filled with artistic color was indeed beautiful to his eyes.


    Pei Tingsong nodded. ¡°That is to say, his lattice-style actually deconstructed the world, making horizontal and vertical lines stand in as the essence of the world.¡±


    ¡°It could be understood in that way.¡± Xia Xiqing was a little surprised, not having thought that a boy who had just recently turned 20 would have such a high understanding of art. ¡°This is a kind of artistic pursuit into the essence of the world.¡±


    Strangely, these words happened to touch both Fang Juexia and Pei Tingsong. In common perceptions, philosophy and mathematics were both disciplines that explored the essence of the world. Although they often couldn¡¯t intersect, at this moment, the purpose of their search could actually be represented in a form of artistic expression; it was really too interesting.


    ¡°They¡¯re quite good at choosing paintings. This painting is what Mondrian created while seeking inner peace, which fits with the setting of it being a decoration in a psychiatrist¡¯s office.¡±


    Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t help saying, ¡°Although I have never studied paintings, seeing this reminds me of Pythagoras.¡±


    Xia Xiqing laughed. ¡°That¡¯s true, maybe they¡¯re all geometric monsters ba, but Pythagoras may prefer triangles. If you put a diagonal line down across it, it¡¯s more like¡­¡± He kept talking as he stretched out a finger and drew a line down the painting, but then, he suddenly looked like he had found something. ¡°Huh?¡±


    He put both his palms on the painting and felt the entire picture.


    Pei Tingsong asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    Xia Xiqing didn¡¯t look back, and instead asked them, ¡°Is E the fifth letter in the Greek alphabet?¡±


    Fang Juexia nodded, ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°The last clue is hidden in this lattice painting.¡± Xia Xiqing grabbed Fang Juexia¡¯s hand and put it on the painting. ¡°Touch it. Some of the horizontal and vertical lines on the painting stick out, and the protruding part forms the shape of an E.¡±


    Sure enough, the lines did.


    ¡°Really, this is pretty hard to find.¡± Fang Juexia showed a surprised look and looked back at Pei Tingsong, but the expression on the other party¡¯s face didn¡¯t look so good.


    What was going on with him?


    Xia Xiqing tried to push the protruding line with his fingers, and unexpectedly, the lines creating the shape of the Greek letter ended up being twisted by him.


    All of a sudden, the screen next to the door on their right lit up again, and a small ¦Å appeared on it. At the same time, the picture in front of them suddenly moved!


    Xia Xiqing and Fang Juexia let go and stepped back. He watched the painting split in the middle, just as if it had been cut in two, with one half moving up, while the other half moved down, both halves shifting in different directions. Their movement continued until the upper half of the painting exceeded the height of the right door and the lower half touched the ground, and it was only then that both these halves came to a stop.


    ¡°There¡¯s a rail in this wall.¡± Pei Tingsong felt that such a thing was quite unbelievable, even though he had seen how skilled this show¡¯s props group was in the previous season.


    Under the wallpaper was a sliding rail, and its width was exactly the same as the width of the painting. It seemed that the program group had been waiting for them to discover the riddle in the painting, after which they started the corresponding mechanism.


    The sliding picture frame and guide rail had cut into the blue wallpaper, and as the torn wallpaper swayed, half of it scattered down, revealing a white part hidden under it. They originally thought that this was a wall, but when Xia Xiqing tore off the rest of the wallpaper covering the sliding rail, a brand-new white door was on display in front of them.


    And in that spot, where the picture had just been hanging, was now the same display screen that was on the door to their right.


    Who could believe that there were actually two doors in this escape room?!


    Pei Tingsong understood. ¡°It turns out that this is what that ¡®right door¡¯ meant.¡±


    The two screens lit up at the same time, and a new prompt was issued out simultaneously, ¡°Hello patient, your consultation time is over, and you can leave now.¡±


    The AI lock on the white gate sounded out in an electronic voice, ¡°We are the AI locks of these two gates. Under our specially designed program settings, what one of us says will always be true, and what the other one says will never be true.¡±


    The AI lock on the black door added, ¡°If all of you are asked to directly choose a door, your success rate is only 50%, so you all have the right to ask a question, only one question, for which our answer will only be a yes or no. Please think carefully. Once the wrong choice is made, we will lock both the doors, and you can only try again after an hour passes.¡±


    Two doors, they could only ask one question, with one lock speaking only the truth and one speaking falsehood, and both of them could only answer with a yes or no.


    This was a logic problem.


    Fang Juexia tried to simplify and formalize the question, and quickly tried to deduce it in his mind, but he was a little late.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go?¡±


    ¡°So fast?¡± Xia Xiqing glanced at him. ¡°If you¡¯re wrong, we¡¯ll have to wait for an hour.¡±


    Upon hearing Pei Tingsong¡¯s voice, Fang Juexia gave him a sideways glance. Seeing his expression radiating confidence, he surmised that this person must already have the answer. That made sense, Pei Tingsong was someone who had really studied systematic logic.


    Fang Juexia nodded and chose to believe him.


    Since he wanted to listen to Pei Tingsong¡¯s questions carefully, he observed Pei Tingsong cross his arms across his chest and get ready to open his mouth, but unexpectedly, this guy asked him, ¡°Ge, which door do you like? White or black?¡±


    Upon suddenly being faced with a question, Fang Juexia froze. He didn¡¯t know whether he had short-circuited because of this ¡°Ge¡± or because of his inexplicable question.


    ¡°En¡­¡± Fang Juexia pointed with his finger. ¡°White ba, the new door.¡±


    Xia Xiqing¡¯s eyes jumped back and forth between these two people, with an expression that showed how particularly interesting he found this duo¡¯s interactions. Sure enough, he preferred to observe people¡¯s hearts rather than grapple with such a tortuous problem belonging to the realm of cold logic.


    ¡°Alright.¡± Pei Tingsong stood in front of the white door and raised this valuable question¡ª


    ¡°Excuse me, you guys, will the other AI say that this door is the real exit?¡±

 CH 40

    Chapter 40 ¨C Hidden Door


    My little pet accidentally scratched me


    The next second, after Pei Tingsong posed his question, the AI locks on both the white gate and the black gate answered simultaneously, ¡°No.¡±


    Pei Tingsong stepped back, looked at Fang Juexia, and pointed at the white door. ¡°Then this one is the real exit.¡±


    So that¡¯s how it was. Fang Juexia now understood; he let them answer with each other¡¯s answers, and the AI who only told the truth would answer with the lie that the other AI would say, while the AI who only uttered falsehood must lie about the truthful door¡¯s answer. Both their answers would then be consistent and always contrary to the facts. A positive answer would mean that this door was the false exit, and a negative answer would indicate that this is the real exit. Using this way, you could find the real door by asking only one question.


    ¡°Congratulations, correct answer.¡± With a click, the white door opened out automatically. ¡°Please leave the clinic.¡±


    Xia Xiqing stretched. ¡°Let me see who escaped their rooms?¡±


    Fang Juexia walked out after him. Outside of their room was a small reception hall with elegant furnishings. There was an open door on the left side, and a showcase embedded into the wall on the right, with paintings and medals hanging from it. Directly opposite them was the reception hall¡¯s door, which was marked with the sign of the final exit.


    It seemed that as long as you could get out of this room, the game would be over.


    As soon as he exited, he saw a tall figure¡ªit was Zhou Ziheng, the person he had met on the campus of P University. Right next to him stood their senior brother Shang Sirui, and the two of them seemed to be examining something.


    Hearing Xia Xiqing¡¯s voice, Zhou Ziheng turned his head and smiled at him. ¡°You came out.¡±


    Shang Sirui first saw Xia Xiqing walk out in front. ¡°Xiqing!¡± Soon, he also noticed Pei Tingsong and Fang Juexia, who were following behind Xia Xiqing, and said, ¡°It turns out that you guys were all locked in together ah.¡±


    Fang Juexia nodded, but accidentally glanced and caught sight of Zhou Ziheng tidying up Xia Xiqing¡¯s mic, and then saw Zhou Ziheng take advantage of Shang Sirui¡¯s current posture, which was blocking the camera lens, to embrace Xia Xiqing¡¯s waist for a second. Fang Juexia blinked several times after seeing this, then hastily turned his face, walked quickly towards the sofa, and sat down like a little robot with rusty limbs.


    Noticing his strange behavior, Pei Tingsong, who was behind him, opened his mouth and asked, ¡°Hey, what are you doing?¡±


    Fang Juexia shook his head. ¡°Nothing.¡±


    Pei Tingsong had noticed long ago the direction he had just been looking in, so he also glanced over there, and after understanding the situation immediately, laughed rudely as he sat down with him.


    ¡°Who are you laughing at?¡± Fang Juexia asked him.


    ¡°Who else can I be laughing at but you ah?¡± Pei Tingsong could clearly see that he really didn¡¯t understand the situation and felt even more amused. ¡°You¡¯re not about to tell me that you don¡¯t know the relationship between them ba.¡±


    ¡°I know ah.¡± Fang Juexia showed an ¡®I understand very clearly¡¯ expression while saying this. ¡°Last season, weren¡¯t they just¡­just a CP?¡±


    ¡°CP? How long have you been disconnected from the Internet?¡± Pei Tingsong laughed so hard his stomach hurt, and then he suddenly fell on Fang Juexia¡¯s shoulder. Fang Juexia felt puzzled and tried to push him away, but Pei Tingsong grabbed his wrist and pulled him towards his shoulder instead. His palm was forced to cover the scene of Pei Tingsong¡¯s mouth and his own reddening ears as they met.


    ¡°They are really in love.¡±


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s low voice twisted up a warm air current, and giant waves started shifting under the iceberg.


    In-in love?


    With that, Pei Tingsong tossed Fang Juexia¡¯s hand aside, leaned against the sofa, and looked at him sideways, while wearing a smile on his face the whole time. Fang Juexia¡¯s face was filled with shock, and he also looked like he couldn¡¯t quite dare to believe it. He turned his head and stared at Pei Tingsong with wide eyes, which only served to make Pei Tingsong feel that this was even more interesting.


    ¡°Is what you¡¯re saying true?¡±


    Pei Tingsong stuck up three fingers in an okay gesture.


    Fang Juexia breathed out a deep breath and subconsciously rubbed his neck. He felt that this was unimaginable and asked, ¡°Then¡­ does everyone know?¡±


    ¡°Not necessarily before.¡± Pei Tingsong added with a smile, ¡°Now the entire world should know.¡±


    He complained that Fang Juexia was the very last person to know.


    Fang Juexia frowned slightly. ¡°That¡¯s because I haven¡¯t been online for a very long time.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± Pei Tingsong shrugged. ¡°I mentioned it at the beginning, about Xiqing Ge¡¯s public announcement of his relationship before, but you didn¡¯t notice.¡±


    ¡°I noticed, but I thought you were referring to someone else. I didn¡¯t expect it to be your university senior¡­¡± Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t help but turn his head, wanting to look at them. He didn¡¯t expect that as soon as he turned his head, he would see Xia Xiqing hugging his shoulders from behind the sofa. ¡°Little Serious, how are your ears so red?¡±


    After being rubbed up against just once, Fang Juexia immediately shot up from the sofa. Without saying a word, he looked up to see Zhou Ziheng¡¯s expression.


    Unexpectedly, Zhou Ziheng was also amused and was actually laughing at this. Even so, he preserved his upright image, and walked over to pull Xia Xiqing away. ¡°Alright, don¡¯t tease him anymore.¡±


    No matter how Shang Sirui looked at this scene, he felt it was strange; over on the sofa were two people, and over by his side were another two people, with only him being left all alone. ¡°During the promotions for this season, didn¡¯t they say there were going to be six people? Where is my little companion?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have a little companion,¡± Pei Tingsong mocked, ¡°Single Domination SSR card.¡±


    The two people then started creating an uproar, and Fang Juexia, who felt a bit flustered, wandered around the hall, in an attempt to ease his emotions after finding out this juicy piece of gossip.


    Turning around, he stood in front of the last door alone. This door also didn¡¯t have a lock, instead, having a display screen embedded into it. Just as he was about to touch it, to light up the display, another hand reached out to it first. Looking back, it was Xia Xiqing¡¯s.


    ¡°This kind of door can usually only be opened after all the clues and the plot has been cleared.¡±


    Fang Juexia nodded. The display screen showed what looked like a 6¡Á6 chessboard, with 36 small squares all painted in different colors; it was similar to the painting they had seen in the consultation room before, but each grid here was of the same general size.


    Xia Xiqing saw the question hanging above the grid and read it out loud, ¡°Please select a button from the grid below. Note that if you make a wrong choice, you will need to wait for an hour before making the second choice.¡±


    ¡°Again the same.¡± He raised his eyebrows impatiently. ¡°The answer must be hidden here somewhere. It¡¯s impossible for them to want us to just guess at it randomly.¡±


    Fang Juexia noticed a gray X in the lower right hand corner of the screen, and realised that it wasn¡¯t that noticeable under the white light being emitted by the screen.


    Zhou Ziheng also seemed to have joined the camp of ¡®Poking fun at Shang Sirui¡¯. He was even suggesting that Shang Sirui should pull in the members of his own group to play together with them next time. Just like Pei Tingsong and Fang Juexia, however things turned out, at least his own bandmates would also be there on the ticket.


    Shang Sirui faced off against Zhou Ziheng and Pei Tingsong all on his own, and looked like he was actually having fun. ¡°I¡¯m just not going to, I want to keep my solo character. I won¡¯t have a partner; I¡¯ll be the number one golden bachelor of the entertainment industry.¡±


    Pei Tingsong clapped before putting his palms on Shang Sirui¡¯s head. ¡°Vow to be single x2.¡±


    Just as their argument was heating up, the room was filled with the sound of the program¡¯s announcement voice declaring, ¡°Please note, the last player has escaped from their initialization room.¡±


    ¡°Yi?¡± Shang Sirui looked completely confused.


    Pei Tingsong released Shang Sirui¡¯s head from in-between his hands.


    Zhou Ziheng also frowned and asked, ¡°There are still other doors here?¡±


    Just when everyone was confused, a sound suddenly came from the showcase wall, and a door-shape from the wall was pushed open.


    ¡°So it turns out that this is an invisible door!¡± Shang Sirui clicked his tongue several times and commented, ¡°The props group is really powerful, too rich.¡±


    From the invisible door¡¯s room came a tall girl, wearing a stiff black coat, with a shirt and riding pants inside, a pair of high leather boots on her feet and long hair that trailed over her shoulders, while her eyebrows and eyes carried a heroic air.


    ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Zhai Ying.¡± She lowered her head a little, then raised her head again. ¡°It looks like I¡¯m the last player.¡±


    Shang Sirui felt she looked familiar. ¡°Ah, I know. You¡¯re the leader of Astar¡¯s new girl group, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Zhai Ying nodded.


    Pei Tingsong instinctively looked at Fang Juexia, and noticed that the other party didn¡¯t seem to have any response to this. Fang Juexia also realized that Pei Tingsong was looking at him and understood what he wanted to ask, so he directly shook his head at him, expressing that he didn¡¯t know this person.


    Fang Juexia seldom had contact with the girl group trainees before leaving Astar, but he did pretty much recognize some of them. However, he didn¡¯t really know this Zhai Ying; maybe she only entered Astar after he left, or maybe she was an airborne, like Pei Tingsong.


    He just found it interesting that the resources that Liang Ruo had strenuously worked so hard to grab had, in the end, ended up with his own company¡¯s junior sister. In light of this, Zhai Ying wasn¡¯t someone who would be afraid of the difficulty of the script at all.


    ¡°Now that everyone is here, let¡¯s sit down and check the plot ba.¡± Xia Xiqing took the lead in sitting down in front of the sofa, then he took out the sheet detailing his medical record, and put it on the coffee table. ¡°The three of us have already discussed it briefly before. To save time, I¡¯ll tell everyone about it again, and whatever I miss, Juexia can add in.¡±


    ¡°My room was probably a waiting room. Just now, I asked Sirui and Ziheng, and the structure of the three rooms we were in was the same, but the details weren¡¯t, and these two people¡¯s rooms were interlinked. Anyway, I think they were all waiting rooms. Juexia and Xiao Pei¡¯s initialization room was the consultation room. Xiao Pei is playing the role of a psychologist, and Juexia was the first patient to see the doctor.¡±


    Juexia nodded, and based on his words, took out the appointment form to show everyone. ¡°This is the clue we found in the consultation room. If there¡¯s not something we¡¯re missing, then everyone¡¯s character¡¯s names should be found on it.¡±


    [Reservation form:


    Teacher Yan


    Zaozao


    Zoe


    Xiao Xi]


    Shang Sirui glanced at it and said, ¡°It really has me yi. My character is the lead singer of a band, and his name is Zoe. There was a guitar bag in the room where I started, and there was also a flyer for our band¡¯s performance.¡± Saying that, he took out the leaflet and put it on the coffee table. Pei Tingsong picked it up and looked at it; it had a very obvious underground-band style going on. ¡°FactorX bar, 8:00 p.m., special invitation for the first spring performance of the band ¡®Together¡¯.¡±


    Shang Sirui flipped to another pamphlet and said, ¡°Oh, yes, this is my medical record.¡±


    His medical record was similar to Xia Xiqing¡¯s, with his symptoms noted on it, but his symptoms were different¡ª mainly being manic anxiety, decline in memory, and a certain degree of anorexia.


    Seeing that he had taken out his medical records, Xia Xiqing also took out his own medical records and Zaozao¡¯s suicide note, and gave a general account about them. After that, he looked at Zhou Ziheng and said, ¡°What about yours?¡±


    Zhou Ziheng picked up a schoolbag from the armrest of the sofa. ¡°This is the schoolbag that was in my room. There are some college-level physics and astronomy textbooks, and a note written to me by someone else, about an appointment to go study together tonight with me.¡±


    As soon as he said that, Pei Tingsong immediately chuckled, and then Shang Sirui, while suppressing his smile, went ahead and high-fived Pei Tingsong. Fang Juexia didn¡¯t get it at first, but soon remembered that Zhou Ziheng and Xia Xiqing¡¯s CP name was ZiXi.


    Zhou Ziheng cleared his throat and took out the note. There was indeed such a sentence in the note¡ª


    [Xiao Xi, let¡¯s go study together in classroom 2 tonight ba, same place.]


    ¡°This is my medical record. It seems that my problems aren¡¯t small, I suffer from weak nerves and paranoia.¡±


    Shang Sirui would make use of every opportunity. ¡°It¡¯s what you get for studying quantum mechanics.¡±


    Zhou Ziheng contended, ¡°There is no such thing.¡±


    Shang Sirui also pointed to the paper on top of the textbook. ¡°Oh, yes, this is it. You can see what parallel universes and multi-universes he looks at all day long, and it must be because of reading all this that he grew paranoid.¡±


    Fang Juexia thought out loud, ¡°So one of you is Xiao Xi, the other one is Zoe, but we still have one¡­¡± Then he looked at Zhai Ying, who was the last to escape from the initialization room.


    Zhai Ying said quietly, ¡°I wanted to say something at the start of Xiqing Ge¡¯s speech, but I ended up waiting for you guys to finish talking first.¡± She pointed to the door to her room. ¡°My room isn¡¯t a waiting room. If you guys want to see it, you can go in and have a look. As for my role¡­¡± She glanced at the appointment form. ¡°It¡¯s not that of a patient with an appointment.¡±


    Fang Juexia looked at the now open invisible door, and the room behind it seemed dim and dark. He had originally thought that the script had clearly designated roles, that was, the psychologist and his patients, but now it seems that it wasn¡¯t so simple. The reason why the program group had created the door to her room as invisible must be to indicate the peculiarity of Zhai Ying¡¯s role.


    Zhai Ying took out a letter and put it on the coffee table. ¡°This is the clue I got after unlocking the password for my room. It¡¯s an anonymous letter.¡±


    Xia Xiqing opened the letter and read it out loud, ¡°Hello detective, what I want to ask you to do this time is to find a fugitive. He is steeped in crime and is very good at hiding his identity. All I know is that his last appearance was at the most famous private psychological clinic in the city. Please be sure to find him. Yours truly.¡±


    After this letter was read out loud, all of their previous suppositions were pretty much overturned.


    Shang Sirui sighed and commented, ¡°Wow, a female detective. So cool ah.¡±


    ¡°So, there is still a criminal here,¡± Pei Tingsong said.


    Hearing this point, Shang Sirui clapped his hands. ¡°I said it before ma, the program group always conforms the killers¡¯ identity with murderers and criminals ah, but here, everyone is either a doctor or a patient, and I kept wondering how we could find the killer. Now, this makes some sense.¡±


    Zhou Ziheng said, ¡°This letter points out that the fugitive should be in this clinic, so doesn¡¯t that mean that one of us here is the fugitive?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why Zhai Ying¡¯s room was behind the wall.¡± Pei Tingsong glanced at it. ¡°I think that if we want to get a clear view on the situation now, I¡¯m afraid we¡¯ll have to go to her room to look around again.¡±


    Zhai Ying lifted her hand and concurred, ¡°I agree. Anyway, right now, only my room is different.¡±


    So they decided to first go to the detective¡¯s room to check for clues. Fang Juexia deliberately slowed down his pace; if the room was really short on light, he would need someone to stand in front of him to ensure that no accidents happened.


    As he walked to the door step by step, Fang Juexia confirmed his conjecture from before. The room was indeed very dark, and although there seemed to be a faint light source in the interior, in Fang Juexia¡¯s case, he pretty much couldn¡¯t see anything.


    He heard Shang Sirui¡¯s voice say, ¡°It¡¯s so dark in here, it¡¯s a little scary. How could they let a girl start in this kind of room ah?¡±


    Zhai Ying said lightly, ¡°I am not afraid.¡±


    He also heard Zhou Ziheng¡¯s voice, as he spoke very quietly, ¡°Are you ok? Turn around and go out, when I come out, I¡¯ll tell you what was there.¡±


    ¡°No need, the door is open.¡± Xia Xiqing replied.


    Fang Juexia stood at the door and held the door frame, then took a deep breath. Just as he was about to step in, his shoulder was caught.


    ¡°Don¡¯t stand in the entranceway ah.¡±


    It was Pei Tingsong¡¯s voice.


    He could feel Pei Tingsong¡¯s slow steps approach him, and his foresight enabled him to feel the fluctuating air currents that were disturbed when Pei Tingsong reached out his hand towards him, and his sensitive senses allowed him to clearly feel the strength being put into Pei Tingsong¡¯s grasp on his shoulder¡ªall of this made it seem as if he had grasped his breath instead.


    His heart suddenly calmed down, with every heartbeat moving with the second hand of his internal little clock, and he could hear it loud and clear in the dark.


    ¡°I started right in front of this table.¡± Zhai Ying took the others inside and headed towards the light that looked very weak.


    Shang Sirui was curious. ¡°What mechanism did your room have?¡±


    ¡°A code lock cracked with Morse code,¡± explained Zhai Ying as she opened the drawer, and there was a safe in the drawer. ¡°This safe has a mechanical lock and two passwords. You have to collect the pieces of the puzzle scattered in this room to open it. Once you open it, you¡¯ll find a book inside.¡± She opened the door of the safe, took out a book from it, and put it on the table. ¡°The key to the room was hidden in the book.¡±


    Shang Sirui couldn¡¯t help but sigh emotionally. ¡°This mechanism looks so difficult ah.¡±


    Xia Xiqing¡¯s attention was attracted by the wall the desk rested against. Some notes were pasted on that wall, on which were written the names of all the characters being played by the other players. In the middle of it all were some arrows and lines interconnecting them all.


    With Pei Tingsong¡¯s guidance, Fang Juexia also came to the table. He held the edge of the table and looked at the character relationship diagram displayed on the wall under that faint light.


    Shang Sirui teased them, ¡°You two are practically stuck together, Xiao Pei has changed ah.¡±


    ¡°Have I?¡± Pei Tingsong smiled.


    ¡°When your whole group appears together, you two aren¡¯t actually so sticky. Once you two come out alone though, you keep following after each other like shadows. And you¡¯re even denying it.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because¡­¡± Pei Tingsong thought for a while and said, ¡°We each form one-sixth of our group, but when it¡¯s only the two of us that come out, we become one-half of a group, so of course, we have to take care of each other.¡± Pei Tingsong gripped Fang Juexia¡¯s shoulder and asked, ¡°Right, other half?¡±


    In the dark, Fang Juexia nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    After joking around, they once again focused their attention on the relationship diagram left by the detective.


    ¡°Teacher Yan, high school math teacher,¡± Xia Xiqing went down the line, ¡°is Zaozao¡¯s teacher.¡±


    Zaozao had more than one arrow connected to her, and the other one pointed to Zoe, with the word ¡°fan¡± written on the arrow, thereby describing her relationship with the band¡¯s lead singer.


    ¡°So Zaozao is Zoe¡¯s fan?¡± Shang Sirui, who played Zoe, poked at Xia Xiqing with a big smile. ¡°Little fan.¡±


    Xia Xiqing grinned and looked at the picture again. ¡°The college student studying astronomy is Zaozao¡¯s neighbor, and he was the one who introduced Dr. Tian to Zaozao.¡±


    Fang Juexia stared at all these lines, and realized that the ones who had the most lines surrounding them were Zaozao and Dr. Tian. This high school girl had become one of the key characters in connecting all the other characters, and they were all also patients of Dr. Tian.


    ¡°This picture was left behind by the detective.¡± Zhou Ziheng analyzed, ¡°When we regard this character relationship diagram as one of the clues, we are imperceptibly also accepting the impression of the detective having a positive image. It¡¯s relevant, but we¡¯re still not sure whether the detective character is reliable or not.¡±


    His words acted as a reminder to everyone. Shang Sirui immediately nodded and added, ¡°That¡¯s right, previously, the program group often liked to add this kind of a twist, with the character who looked like a good person finally turning out to be the big boss.¡±


    Pei Tingsong smiled, put his hand on his shoulder, and joked, ¡°Wasn¡¯t that you? Senior brother.¡±


    Shang Sirui was about to hit him, but then he discovered this person was wearing a glove on that hand. Upon seeing that, he remembered that Pei Tingsong had also been wearing gloves during the charity party in Shanghai, so he asked curiously, ¡°Why do you always wear gloves these days? Doesn¡¯t it feel uncomfortable? ¡°


    Hearing this, Fang Juexia¡¯s attention shifted away from the relationship map on the wall. He couldn¡¯t help but listen in on their conversation, fearing that the truth of his drunken behavior would be exposed. Although he knew that that wouldn¡¯t happen; at the very least, Pei Tingsong wouldn¡¯t expose him while they were in front of the camera.


    ¡°Ah, that.¡± Pei Tingsong¡¯s voice was understated as he explained, ¡°My little pet accidentally scratched me and broke the skin on the back of my hand. It looks a bit bad on camera, so the stylist gave me gloves.¡±


    As Fang Juexia listened with one ear, his head lowered unconsciously, and his hand was grasping the edge of the table.


    ¡°Really? Then you have to go to the hospital for an injection.¡± Shang Sirui wanted to pull the glove off. ¡°Shall I see if it¡¯s serious?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not serious. It¡¯s a pretty small wound, and medicine has been applied to it.¡±


    Shang Sirui patted him on the shoulder. ¡°Ah, that¡¯s what pets are like. My friend¡¯s hands always end up scratched whenever he gives his master cat a bath. So fierce, and not obedient at all.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± Pei Tingsong chuckled. ¡°My little master is pretty obedient.¡±

 CH 41

    Chapter 41 ¨C Each With Their Own Idea


    True knights never retreat.


    There was a sudden clattering sound. The conversation between the two of them was interrupted, and when Shang Sirui glanced over, he saw that Fang Juexia had accidentally dropped the book, that they had just taken out of the safe, onto the ground.


    Fang Juexia quickly squatted down and felt around for the book on the ground with his hands. His entire field of vision was plunged into complete darkness, when suddenly, he felt something; however, it wasn¡¯t a book, but rather the texture of a cool leather glove.


    The deprivation of his sense of vision had resulted in his sense of touch growing that much more profound.


    ¡°This book is quite thick.¡± Pei Tingsong composedly picked up the book before he could and glanced at the cover. ¡°North¡­¡± After saying just that word, he used his ungloved warm hand and pulled Fang Juexia up, helping him into standing upright, while complaining out loud at the same time, ¡°Get up bei, or else, in a while, your legs will go soft again.¡±


    Although Fang Juexia looked calm on the surface, these words of Pei Tingsong¡¯s echoed in his heart repeatedly.


    Pei Tingsong placed the book on the table casually and continued to chat with Shang Sirui.


    Zhou Ziheng, Xia Xiqing, and Zhai Ying, who had finished looking at the relationship map on the wall, were still discussing it.


    Due to his habit of thinking rigorously, Zhou Ziheng kept feeling as though this relationship map might not be completely depended upon. Xia Xiqing on the other hand, felt that his resistance to this map was a little too much, and commented, ¡°You are being very strange, if you had gotten the good camp card as usual, you wouldn¡¯t play like this.¡±


    ¡°Of course, this is only my opinion,¡± Zhou Ziheng didn¡¯t concede in the slightest, and argued, ¡°But you can¡¯t always rely on the players¡¯ gaming habits to judge what¡¯s going on; that counts as outside information ba.¡±


    ¡°So,¡± Zhai Ying interrupted them in the middle of their debate, ¡°In your opinion, my role is that of a detective who suddenly burst into the scene. If we proceed to deduce on the basis of a conventional plot line, then this person is a clue provider. However, as Zhou Ziheng said, if these clues do not hold up, then the role of detective could be to create a twist in the plot.¡±


    While speaking, she unbuttoned her overcoat and put one hand into the pockets of her riding pants before continuing, ¡°Then, if we follow this route, is it possible that the most vulnerable looking female high school student could create this kind of dramatic twist? And then there¡¯s the psychiatrist, the most positive looking character. Of course, if the lead singer of a band is involved in a homicide, it may also create a sensation.¡±


    Her logic was clear, and her speech was very organized. After hearing this, Fang Juexia went towards their group and added, ¡°I agree with Zhai Ying. In fact, in addition to all this, the two characters, that of the teacher and the college student, are very easily forgettable because they are not that distinctive, and inconspicuous characters like these are also often linked to twists in the plot. So I think that everyone is, roughly and equally, as suspicious.¡±


    Xia Xiqing nodded, then gave his opinion, ¡°Well founded, and irrefutable. But I would like to ask, if the program group really needed to create such a twist, why did they connect the seemingly vulnerable female high school student with almost everyone else? Doesn¡¯t this make everyone very suspicious of that particular character?¡±


    Zhou Ziheng laughed and used Xia Xiqing¡¯s logic to counterattack, ¡°Maybe it¡¯s because the program group knows that you are the one who is going to perform that character¡¯s role. If they hadn¡¯t made the role a bit dazzling, it wouldn¡¯t match your playing style.¡±


    The others all laughed.


    Pei Tingsong, who was bored, was half lying on the table and flipping the pages of the book on the desk. ¡°I want to see your room.¡±


    Shang Sirui nodded. ¡°Go bei.¡± Then he added, ¡°Do you want me to accompany you?¡±


    Pei Tingsong glanced at Fang Juexia, who, coincidentally, was also looking back at him. However, he wasn¡¯t sure whether Fang Juexia could actually see him or not.


    ¡°Whatever you want,¡± said Pei Tingsong.


    Fang Juexia turned his face away.


    Oh, so it turned out that he could see.


    ¡°I won¡¯t go,¡± said Shang Sirui as he hugged Fang Juexia¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I¡¯ve seen enough, I had to stay there so long that I¡¯ve become traumatized by it now. Go look around yourself, and I¡¯ll stay here. Maybe there are more clues in this room. Right, Juexia?¡±


    ¡°En.¡± Fang Juexia didn¡¯t look at Pei Tingsong again.


    ¡°Alright.¡± Pei Tingsong stopped flipping through the book with his hand, and threw it upside down on the table. ¡°Is there anyone else who wants to go with me?¡±


    Zhou Ziheng turned around and said, ¡°I want to see the clinic.¡± While he said that, his hand rubbed the back of Xia Xiqing¡¯s neck. Xia Xiqing turned around and said, ¡°You go ba, I¡¯ll stay here.¡±


    Pei Tingsong tilted his head at Zhou Ziheng in a gesture that indicated they should go, and the two people left together.


    Xia Xiqing, who had been left behind, carefully sorted through the whole relationship diagram, and then turned over any part of the room that might still contain plot clues, including the mattress in the detective room.


    Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t see clearly, and thus lost the advantage of investigating this room.


    However, he had a keen sense of hearing. In the midst of the noisy discussion and sounds of rummaging that echoed through the room, he heard a very small sound. It was the sound of music playing, but it was very, very light¡ªalmost playing at the minimum possible volume¡ªand was completely submerged by the loud sounds of the room. If it wasn¡¯t because he couldn¡¯t see at all and could only rely on his hearing right now, he would have definitely missed it as well.


    It was like an auditory hallucination, and he had pretty much no way to ensure whether the music was real or not, but the darkness allowed him the initiative to grope around somewhat. Guided by his hearing, he followed the sound bit by bit.


    The edge of the table, the cold wall, the wooden shelf, the single sofa, the soft cushion. The changing feel guided his steps.


    Once he sat on the sofa, Fang Juexia took a deep breath.


    He kept getting closer and closer to the sound of the music, drawing closer and closer to the real source. He reached into the gap in the sofa cushion behind him.


    All of a sudden¡ª


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter with you, Juexia?¡±


    Upon hearing Xia Xiqing¡¯s voice, Fang Juexia composedly withdrew his hand from the cushion and shook his head with a smile. ¡°My waist hasn¡¯t been very good recently. I¡¯ve been practicing dancing to the point where I can¡¯t quite¡­ I can¡¯t quite stand for very long. I wanted to sit down.¡±


    He struggled within his heart for a long time before finally giving a tentative invitation, ¡°You¡­ Would you like to come and have a seat?¡±


    After waiting for a few seconds, he heard Xia Xiqing¡¯s reply, ¡°Forget it, I¡¯m getting uncomfortable being shut up in here, so I¡¯m going out.¡±


    Xia Xiqing left the dark room, and when he was supporting himself against the hidden door, he suddenly noticed that this wall also had a bunch of paintings hanging on it. These paintings seemed to belong to a collection of a series of paintings, all of which are acclaimed masterpieces of the school of abstract art. One of them caught his attention, and it was ¡®The Death of Marat¡¯.


    He gazed at this world-famous painting, only to discover that something was not quite right with it. He reached out and took it down.


    Shang Sirui and Zhai Ying were still looking for clues within the room. Zhai Ying seemed to be a person of few words and didn¡¯t respond much to Shang Sirui. Or maybe it was to avoid arousing any sort of suspicion about a relationship between idols of the opposite sex, but in any case, the two of them didn¡¯t communicate very much. As he sat in the darkness, Fang Juexia pondered for a while, then took out his hand from under the sofa cushion, and gripped the item he had extracted from it tightly. His whole person then leaned on the sofa with his hands on his forehead.


    This small recording pen had a button on it, and when Fang Juexia pressed it, the subtle music stopped suddenly. After three seconds of silence, the small, broken and static crackling sound grew clear.


    It was a girl¡¯s voice¡ª


    ¡°I¡¯m calling in the hope that we can work together. You guys also don¡¯t want to be like this, do you¡­¡±


    ¡°Only by getting rid of him, only by getting rid of him¡­¡±


    Zhou Ziheng first took Pei Tingsong to see Shang Sirui¡¯s room, and it really was very simple. Pei Tingsong sat on the sofa, picked up the guitar, and played it. ¡°The sound isn¡¯t bad.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know much about music.¡± Zhou Ziheng asked, ¡°What kind of guitar is this?¡±


    ¡°Hollow body guitar.¡± Pei Tingsong put the guitar back. As he chatted with Zhou Ziheng about music, they arrived at the psychologist¡¯s room. Zhou Ziheng¡¯s attention was attracted by the big table placed in the middle. ¡°This should have been where all your clues were concentrated ba.¡±


    Pei Tingsong had just come out of the waiting room and now stood in front of the big bookcase, staring at the various books placed in it. He let out an ¡°en¡± and added, ¡°It was pretty difficult. At that time, both of us were wearing hoods, so we couldn¡¯t see, and our hands and feet were all tied up.¡±


    ¡°We were also wearing hoods. The square ones were especially funny,¡± said Zhou Ziheng as he sat down on the chair that Pei Tingsong had started in. While checking whether there was any mechanism on his chair, Zhou Ziheng chatted enthusiastically, ¡°The audience will probably be very amused when they watch it, we¡¯ve all got square heads.¡±


    He heard the sound of a guitar, and looked up to see Pei Tingsong holding a pocket-sized ukulele, strumming its strings and playing a tune.


    Zhou Ziheng raised his eyebrows and expressed his admiration, ¡°The theme song of our film.¡±


    ¡°The program group is really meticulous, they¡¯re all good instruments.¡± Pei Tingsong turned around and returned it back to its original place.


    Just then, they heard the program¡¯s announcement sound out¡ª


    ¡°Players, please note that there is still half an hour before the first public vote for who to execute takes place. Please brainstorm together and discuss the person you suspect most likely to be the killer in the remaining amount of time.¡±


    So fast? Fang Juexia calculated the time. Quite a long period of time had passed, but the program group hadn¡¯t yet made the information about the knight¡¯s camp public. It seemed that they wanted everyone to execute a player first, after which they would announce it.


    The six people came out of the rooms and sat down in the reception hall after this announcement.


    ¡°How do we discuss it?¡± Pei Tingsong bent over and flipped through some of the clues lying on the coffee table, ¡°It seems that we haven¡¯t sorted through too many leads yet, so we can¡¯t just blindly throw someone out now.¡±


    Unexpectedly, his words immediately drew Xia Xiqing¡¯s attack. ¡°Xiao Pei, don¡¯t you want to tell everyone that you jumped out and announced your role of being the knight along with me in the clinic?¡±


    In fact, Fang Juexia had wanted to tell everyone about this matter early on itself, so as to allow them to lock the role of the knight onto these two people. However, he never managed to find a suitable time to disclose it, and found it risky because he had even less of a position to stand on; if he wasn¡¯t careful, he could end up drawing fire upon himself.


    He hadn¡¯t expected Xia Xiqing to be the one who mentioned it first.


    Pei Tingsong kept calm in the face of this emergency. ¡°Yes ah, I almost forgot.¡± He then gave everyone a brief account of what had happened, which was, of course, based on his own standpoint and logic. ¡°Xiqing Ge wanted to pull Juexia Ge into being a part of his team, and so explosively revealed that he was the knight. Coincidentally, he kicked my iron plate, so I jumped out on the spot to expose him and said that I was the real knight instead.¡±


    Xia Xiqing laughed. ¡°To be honest with you ba, I can¡¯t directly be sure that you aren¡¯t the killer wearing knightly clothes, but if you honestly admit that you are not the knight right now, I will continue to believe that you are taking the bullet for the real knight. You choose yourself.¡±


    Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t fear his words at all, instead raising his eyebrows. ¡°Are you implying something about me? Sorry, I don¡¯t understand. True knights never retreat.¡±


    Such a big and wonderful play was being acted out right from the start in front of everyone. Shang Sirui was dazzled by all this and said, ¡°Did the program group get something wrong? This isn¡¯t a double-faced knight, but rather a true and false knight ba.¡±


    Zhou Ziheng observed the two people¡¯s condition and inquired, ¡°What? Is everyone getting ready to get rid of the knight in this round? But right now, the knight¡¯s camp hasn¡¯t been made public yet.¡±


    Zhai Ying had her arms wrapped around her chest as she watched this fun play. ¡°Since the two of them dare to openly take up the gauntlet, their camp is very obvious; they both will state that they are white knights ba.¡±


    Fang Juexia knew that he couldn¡¯t not say anything right now, but he also couldn¡¯t speak casually. The conflict in this round was centered around and between Xia Xiqing and Pei Tingsong, but if he wasn¡¯t careful with his words, things would become more complicated.


    The best route for him to take right now was to just pretend to be a regular player.


    He tried to think from a different angle. If he actually was an ordinary player right now, what would be his highest priority?


    It would still be finding the killer¡¯s identity, that¡¯s right.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think this round should be concerned with the knight¡¯s identity yet. Our opportunity to vote is very precious and is the only method we have by which we can get ahead of the killer, because the killer also has the right to kill a player. Everyone, don¡¯t forget that.¡±


    Xia Xiqing looked at him, and the corners of his mouth carried a smile. ¡°That¡¯s right. But in my opinion, someone who would fight about being the knight with me definitely can¡¯t be holding a good person card.¡±


    You¡¯re the one who¡¯s directly leaping out to fight about being the knight ba, Gege¡ªcomplained Fang Juexia in his heart.


    Pei Tingsong counterattacked, ¡°In my opinion, you¡¯re the same. If it wasn¡¯t for you taking the initiative to reveal your role, I might still be hiding and supporting my camp, not daring to reveal my face yet, but I can¡¯t just stand and watch the killer wear the white knight¡¯s clothes. So I have to stand up and show myself.¡±


    Fang Juexia blinked.


    Pei Tingsong could really talk ah. If he wasn¡¯t the real knight, he would have ended up believing his words.


    The situation was at an impasse for a moment, and everyone remained silent for the next few moments.


    Zhou Ziheng turned it over in his mind and thought that things were not so simple. ¡°I guess the program group won¡¯t expose the knight¡¯s camp at this time. To tell you the truth, I agree with what Juexia said just now, that this round does not concern the knight, but is for voting to oust the killer. However,¡± he shifted to another subject, ¡°I also don¡¯t really believe you two when you say that one is real while the other is fake. Maybe both are fake, and the real knight is still hidden in the darkness.¡±


    Fang Juexia secretly gripped his fingers as he heard Shang Sirui open his mouth and analyze further, ¡°Just now, Xiqing told us that he was the white knight, and then he also told Xiao Pei that ¡®if you are the fake trying to take a bullet for me, you should back down immediately, and I will believe you are a good person. If you don¡¯t, then you are the killer.¡¯ At first glance, this logic makes a lot of sense and seems a lot like how the white knight should think.


    ¡°But do you guys remember what Xiao Pei also mentioned just now? Xiqing revealed his identity specifically to cozy up to Juexia, and that¡¯s a bit strange. The white knight revealing himself at the start itself, wouldn¡¯t that lead to a fatal disaster soon enough? In order for the good people to win, you shouldn¡¯t be using your own role of being the knight in exchange for an alliance ba.¡±


    Shang Sirui¡¯s logic was quite clear, and this was also the point Fang Juexia had thought Xia Xiqing hadn¡¯t gotten right. However, it wouldn¡¯t be appropriate for him to say that, so he felt that Shang Sirui¡¯s statement was very appropriate.


    Zhai Ying continued to add, ¡°There¡¯s another point. Xiqing Ge revealed his identity such a long time ago, and the killer still hasn¡¯t killed him. Isn¡¯t that also very strange? But there¡¯s another even stranger point; if Xiqing Ge belongs to the dark camp, when he pretended to take a shot at Pei Tingsong¡¯s identity, shouldn¡¯t he also have taken action then? No, because up until now, nothing has happened.¡±


    After listening to her, Fang Juexia thought for a moment before inserting his opinion, ¡°The killer might be one of these two people, but I fear we can¡¯t judge whether a player is the killer or not from their performance in the game. Let¡¯s not forget that the killer in ¡®Escape For Your Life¡¯ is always linked to the plotline.¡± Saying that, he paused again and then, according to the manner of thinking of ordinary players, continued, ¡°Of course, the purpose of our vote is to do our utmost to get rid of the killer, so even if I can¡¯t see the entire situation right now, I can choose to vote someone out to ensure that the votes of the people belonging to the good camp will not be wasted.¡±


    His words seemed to gain the approval of all the players there, for everyone nodded.


    At this point in time, if they chose not to vote, then the biggest beneficiary would be the killer, because that person¡¯s chance of getting executed would thus be greatly reduced. So even if you killed a good person by mistake, you had to fight and vote, just for the possibility of actually managing to oust the killer.


    Soon, a voting prompt sounded from the room¡¯s speakers.


    ¡°Players have a total of 30 seconds to vote. Please fill in the name of the player you suspect to be the killer. The countdown starts now.¡±


    Everyone scattered a little farther away from each other and took out the cellphone that the program group had given them to vote with. Fang Juexia walked to the showcase wall with the hidden door and lowered his head as he took out his cellphone. A premonition lingered in his mind, one that had been in the forefront ever since he had come out of that dark room behind the hidden door.


    ¡°Five¡ª¡±


    ¡°Four¡ª¡±


    ¡°Three¡ª¡±


    Fang Juexia typed in a name.


    ¡°Two¡ª¡±


    ¡°One.¡±


    And sent it.


    As he locked the screen, Fang Juexia¡¯s heart was beating really fast. He stuffed his cellphone into his pocket and waited nervously for the program group¡¯s evaluation. The words exchanged between Xia Xiqing and Pei Tingsong when they were fighting to reach the finish were still ringing in their ears, and he couldn¡¯t accurately judge whether his decision was critical or correct.


    ¡°Players, please note that the result of this vote is¡­¡±


    Just as the program group¡¯s announcement rang out again, Fang Juexia¡¯s heart lifted.


    ¡°A tie. We will not execute any of the players, and the game will continue. There is half an hour until the next round of voting, so everyone should seize this time to uncover the identity of the members of the dark camp hidden amongst you, part through the clouds, and successfully escape for your life.¡±


    He let out a breath of relief.


    Raising his head, he internally analyzed the likelihood of who voted for who. As he was thinking about it, Fang Juexia accidentally realized that there seemed to be a picture missing from this wall. The piece of wall revealed by this lacking painting was completely empty, with only an imprint left, which made for a really unfriendly gesture towards obsessive-compulsive patients like him.


    Looking around, he saw that the missing painting was actually placed next to a cabinet near the gate, inside which was a tea set. Fang Juexia went over and picked up the painting. The man painted on it had died in a bathtub, whilst holding a letter and a pen in his hand.


    His obsessive-compulsive disorder forced him to hang the painting back onto its blank position on the wall, while making sure it was straight. Fang Juexia looked at his achievement with satisfaction, but found that the painting deviated a little from its inner frame, showing a little white edge there.


    Too uncomfortable. No matter how he looked at it, he found it uncomfortable.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Xia Xiqing appeared from behind him and placed his hand on his shoulder. ¡°Are you interested in this painting?¡±


    Fang Juexia looked back and smiled at him. He wanted to say that he had just wanted to hang up the painting, but upon seeing Xia Xiqing, he suddenly thought of something.


    The hand that was holding onto the frame began to sweat, and Fang Juexia adjusted his breathing before speaking, ¡°En, although I don¡¯t understand it in particular, I feel that there should be some story behind this painting.¡±


    Xia Xiqing nodded. ¡°You guessed right, you really do possess an artistic sensitivity. This painting shows Marat, an assassinated leader during the French Revolution.¡± He shrugged and complained, ¡°But this is not a very good imitation.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Fang Juexia laughed. ¡°I can¡¯t tell.¡±


    Marat¡­


    A leader.


    He gazed at the picture on the wall and kept feeling that something was off.


    Zhou Ziheng came up and asked, ¡°What are you guys talking about?¡±


    ¡°Art.¡± Xia Xiqing smiled at him.


    Looking at how the two people were drawing closer, Fang Juexia automatically turned away and moved out of that space a little bit, trying not to disturb them. However, as soon as he turned his head, he realized Zhai Ying was standing at his side.


    ¡°Juexia Ge, I heard you studied mathematics.¡±


    Fang Juexia nodded. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    ¡°I found this in the psychologist¡¯s room; it seems to be scratch paper.¡± Zhai Ying handed him the paper in her hand. ¡°Are these formulas meaningful?¡±


    Fang Juexia looked at it carefully. ¡°These formulas are part of a calculus problem. If we have to say that there¡¯s a meaning, then there is probably no other meaning, it¡¯s just an ordinary double integral.¡± Some other sets were also written on one side of the equation.


    ¡°Then is the answer to this question right?¡± Zhai Ying asked.


    Fang Juexia¡¯s attention was drawn back to the calculus problem. ¡°I¡¯ll calculate it.¡± So he took the paper and the pen Zhai Ying handed him as he bent over and used the cabinet where he had just found the painting as a writing desk.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll come back later.¡± Zhai Ying left directly, leaving Fang Juexia alone. He was absorbed in the calculations, and quickly arrived at the same result as on the original scratch paper. Fang Juexia turned to look for Zhai Ying, but almost bumped into another person who had drawn close to him now.


    ¡°Are you stumbling around outside too now?¡±


    His arm was grasped by someone, and Fang Juexia, holding the calculus paper in his hand, looked up, only to see Pei Tingsong¡¯s face.


    His speech had always been filled with multiple hints, one after another, in riddles only the two of them understood.


    Pet, one-sixth, little master¡­


    He was too good at playing word games.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine as long as it doesn¡¯t happen when I dance.¡± Fang Juexia¡¯s tone was calm as he pulled his arm out of his grasp and came to a steady stand. He folded both the  scratch paper and the paper he had calculated on and stuffed them into his pants pocket. However, Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t seem to give up. ¡°You didn¡¯t run into something in there ba?¡± he asked, before putting his hands on his shoulder, turning him over and over again, almost touching him all over his body. ¡°I¡¯ll check.¡±


    Fang Juexia felt that it wasn¡¯t good to be like this in front of the camera, it was a bit too intimate, so he tried to push Pei Tingsong away. As they went back and forth like this, the two of them started to look like two cats entangled together and fighting each other. However, Fang Juexia finally failed to twist around as much as Pei Tingsong, so he stopped struggling and was forced to accept this ¡°inspection¡±.


    ¡°You seem to still have a lot of energy. I heard from Senior Brother that your waist was hurting.¡± Pei Tingsong patted Fang Juexia¡¯s chest. ¡°You¡¯re very lively, I¡¯m relieved.¡±


    With this move, Fang Juexia froze.


    The instigator of this whole thing left the scene and walked towards Shang Sirui. When the two of them got together, it was all jokes and banter again, while Fang Juexia stood still at that spot, not moving at all, as he kept looking at Pei Tingsong¡¯s back.


    He adjusted his breathing, turned around to face this cabinet, which came up to the height of half a person, and then stood there in silence for a very long time.


    Sensing the camera in front of the cabinet twisting and turning to his side, Fang Juexia regained his senses and focused his gaze on the contents of the cabinet. There was an exquisite tea set in it, with a beautiful European style white glazed teapot, and several tea cups, which were arranged in a straight line along the edge of the cabinet.


    But this line¡­ it wasn¡¯t straight enough.


    Obsessive-compulsive disorder made him reach out and adjust the position of the cups until they were all in a straight horizontal line.


    ¡°Alright,¡± Fang Juexia whispered to himself.


    However, the very next moment, he suddenly heard a click, and the drawer that had been locked until now automatically unlocked and opened a bit.


    So this was the way to actually open it?


    Fang Juexia felt a little surprised and drew closer to the tea set to see what was going on with the mechanism here. He found that an X had been drawn on the teapot with a silver pen.


    So that¡¯s how it was. Fang Juexia put the teapot away and opened the drawer.


    Zhou Ziheng and Xia Xiqing, who weren¡¯t far away, also noticed this sound, and turned their heads to look over. They watched Fang Juexia take out a white plaid handkerchief from the inside of the cabinet.


    ¡°Is that a new clue?¡± Zhou Ziheng asked.


    Fang Juexia nodded. ¡°It should be related to the answer required for the display screen on the main escape gate. It¡¯s all a grid.¡± He looked down at the handkerchief in his hands, which was embroidered with a few lines of numbers.


    15.41.23.14.33


    14.24.12


    34.23.14.32.15


    51.24.43.22.55.54


    ¡°Is this the password¡­¡±


    Zhou Ziheng went over and touched the inside of the handkerchief. He felt something, so he picked up the teapot and shook it. There was water in it, which he then poured onto the handkerchief before flattening it out.


    The white plaid handkerchief turned translucent after getting wet, thus revealing a hidden laminated piece of paper inside, and the words on it gradually grew clear.


    ___1__2__3__4__5


    1__q__w__e__r__t


    2__y__u_i/j_o__p


    3__a__s__d__f__g


    4__h__k__l__z__x


    5__c__v__b__n__m


    ¡°This is¡­¡± Fang Juexia thought it felt familiar, thought about it a bit more, and soon, he had the answer.


    ¡°I understand.¡± Zhou Ziheng subconsciously took out his cellphone and wanted to confirm whether he had gotten it right or not. However, it was only after unlocking the phone that he remembered something, and he laughed as he said, ¡°I forgot. This is the program group¡¯s cellphone.¡±


    Fang Juexia also laughed.


    All of a sudden, the program group made an announcement¡ª


    ¡°Attention, everyone,¡±


    ¡°Player Pei Tingsong has died.¡±

 CH 42

    Chapter 42 ¨C No Spoilers


    The winning camp is¡­


    ¡°What?¡± Shang Sirui, with a completely panic-stricken look on his face, looked at Pei Tingsong who wasn¡¯t far away. ¡°Xiao Pei is dead? Why kill Xiao Pei ah?¡±


    Fang Juexia looked over just to see Pei Tingsong laughing as he joked, ¡°This program is really unfriendly towards new people.¡±


    The narration from the program group rang out again¡ª¡±The dead player has lost all rights to speak. Please head to the execution area and wait to leave the room.¡±


    So he stood up and followed the instructions, heading towards the red circle on the floor of the reception hall, which was the only way by which a dead player could leave the escape room.


    Fang Juexia stared at Pei Tingsong, and as if due to some tacit understanding between them, he also looked over at the same time.


    He gave a rare smile, one that seemed to signal that he was admitting defeat as he fell down from the execution area.


    With the floor closing up again, the first player had officially exited the escape room. The remaining people were all immersed in different moods; some were surprised, while others adjusted their thinking after taking this new reality into account.


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s death had come so suddenly that everyone was caught off guard.


    Zhou Ziheng frowned and took a look at the time. ¡°There are only 15 minutes left before the next round of voting to oust the killer.¡±


    Fang Juexia looked at the handkerchief on the cupboard again. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we figure this out first?¡±


    ¡°We can leave it here and figure it out at any time.¡± After saying that, Zhou Ziheng looked at Fang Juexia and said, ¡°You can rest assured, this main gate definitely contains more than just this one simple lock.¡±


    Zhou Ziheng then headed towards the sofa and called everyone to gather around for a discussion before the second round of voting.


    Fang Juexia took one last look, then followed him to the coffee table.


    ¡°Let¡¯s sort out the clues and elements we have in our hands first.¡± Zhou Ziheng seemed to have taken the position of the leader. ¡°In the last round, I believe everyone¡¯s focus was on Xiqing and Xiao Pei, but it¡¯s not realistic to verify everyone¡¯s vote from the last round right now, since after all, the program group has deliberately adopted the anonymous voting method. Both of them survived the voting round, but the killer then killed Xiao Pei. This is very strange, and is worth analyzing.¡±


    Shang Sirui was still shocked by Pei Tingsong¡¯s death. ¡°Wait, let me straighten things out in my head, I¡¯m really confused right now.¡±


    After holding his head for a long time, he suddenly said, ¡°Just before Xiao Pei died, he stood up and said that he wanted to go back to Zhai Ying¡¯s room to take a look, but he died just as he took two steps in that direction. It couldn¡¯t be that there is something in Zhai Ying¡¯s room?¡±


    Zhai Ying said, ¡°What he¡¯s saying, I also heard it, it¡¯s true. At that time, I also wanted to go look again at my room, but I didn¡¯t expect the program to suddenly announce that he was dead. In addition, when Xiqing Ge and Pei Tingsong confronted each other before, they both said that they were white knights. Now that Xiao Pei is dead, is it possible that the killer killed off the one he thought was the real white knight?¡±


    Shang Sirui suddenly looked at Xia Xiqing.


    ¡°Why are you looking at me ma?¡± Xia Xiqing¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change at all, and he even laughed. ¡°Do you think I killed him? If you just think about it a little bit, you¡¯ll know that that¡¯s impossible. How could there be a killer who put on a knight¡¯s clothing and then immediately after that, kill off the person who is jumping out and declaring that they¡¯re the real knight? Now that Xiao Pei has died, everyone will doubt me. Do you think I would use such a trick, one that would inevitably draw fire upon myself?¡±


    Zhou Ziheng laughed as he said, ¡°It¡¯s not impossible.¡±


    Fang Juexia looked at him.


    ¡°Because we all know that you are good at playing this game and wouldn¡¯t use such a trick. However, once you did use it, you could actually clear yourself of all suspicion by making everyone think that it is a cheap trick deliberately orchestrated by someone to frame you.¡±


    Xia Xiqing almost started menacing Zhou Ziheng right then and there, but an announcement from the program group suddenly rang out¡ª


    ¡°Players, please note that we are now announcing the double-faced knight¡¯s chosen camp.¡±


    Hearing this, Fang Juexia quietly unscrewed the water bottle kept near the sofa and drank some water.


    ¡°They chose the dark camp.¡±


    All the players had different expressions after hearing that. Fang Juexia tightened the cap on the water bottle cap, set it on the coffee table, and sighed, ¡°A black knight¡­¡±


    Zhou Ziheng took the lead in analyzing. ¡°In fact, I said before at the start that when Xiqing and Xiao Pei were both jumping out at each other, that I felt that the real knight was off to the sides. Because I believe that regardless of whether they belong to the dark or light camp, the knight wouldn¡¯t reveal their card this easily. Of course, this rule becomes invalid when it comes to Xiqing, because he is a player who likes to explosively reveal himself. That¡¯s the only reason why everyone¡¯s view of the situation was so unclear.¡±


    ¡°Now that the knight¡¯s camp has been revealed, it just adds more evidence towards my idea; the real knight chose a black card, and he knows that his camp will be revealed sooner or later, so he wouldn¡¯t jump out and reveal himself easily. So, in that case, what roles are the two people who did jump out playing? Either they¡¯re an ordinary player who mistakenly thought that the knight was a white knight and jumped out to block a stab for the knight, or they¡¯re the killer.¡±


    After saying that, he looked at Xia Xiqing. ¡°This just verified my previous logic. The first time, you used your identity as a player who explosively reveals himself to let everyone think that you may be the real knight. The second time, you used the assumption that a player belonging to the good camp wouldn¡¯t kill off the only person who had jumped out with the knight identity to clear all suspicion off your head. As for why you killed Xiao Pei? Maybe it was because you really thought that he was a white knight, but I¡¯m more inclined to think that you discovered that Xiao Pei had found evidence that pointed towards your identity.¡±


    His words were forceful and lofty, and the logic he stated was perfectly coherent. After he abruptly stopped speaking, the rest of the players could only consider things according to the pace he had spoken with, and they pretty much didn¡¯t discover any flaws in his reasoning.


    There was a moment of silence, and even Xia Xiqing just smiled.


    Fang Juexia folded his hands in front of him and asked, ¡°According to this reasoning, we really can analyze the situation where both of them had jumped out, and Xiao Pei¡¯s death just now. However, the killer¡¯s identity is linked to the plot. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s good to judge on such things so quickly when the plotline isn¡¯t so clear to us yet.¡±


    ¡°At last, there¡¯s someone who understands.¡± Xia Xiqing laughed grimly. ¡°Being a logical computer is your strong point after all, Zhou Ziheng. Let¡¯s put that aside first, and sort out the plot this time.¡±


    He leaned back against the sofa and pointed to the picture on the display wall. ¡°See the middle painting there? A man who died in a bathtub. This painting is ¡®The Death of Marat¡¯¡ªit shows Marat, a cruel leader of the French Revolution, who was assassinated in a bathtub.¡± Saying this, he smiled and added, ¡°But there is something wrong with this painting.¡±


    ¡°In the original painting¡¯s composition, Marat and the bathtub are on the left side of the picture, but this painting has these things reversed, and they¡¯re on the opposite side. When I saw this painting, I knew that this was a clue the program group had set up. So I took the painting down and found this hidden between the canvas and the frame.¡± He took out a piece of paper, and Fang Juexia recognized it at a glance. It was the same kind of graph paper that was used for the female high school student¡¯s suicide note from before.


    As Fang Juexia had expected, Xia Xiqing had really opened the painting, so there would be a gap there.


    Shang Sirui leaned over and asked, ¡°What¡¯s written on it?¡±


    Xia Xiqing replied, ¡°This is a diary entry written by Zaozao.¡±


    He then read it out, ¡°Help me, I don¡¯t want to be controlled. I feel broken and split, and I¡¯m in great pain. Why didn¡¯t the treatment make any progress, but made me instead sink into the mire and can¡¯t extricate myself. I have a premonition that I¡¯m about to die. The doctor said that all of this is just my fantasy, he said that my neighbor is an old lady, and that there is no college student at all, and he said that that band also doesn¡¯t exist, why does he want to deceive me, no, these are all fake.¡±


    ¡°Xiao Wen Gege from next door said he would help me. He will help tutor me, chat with me, and let me feel that there is still hope in the world. The pain I feel right now is just short-lived, and I just need to relax. I have already bought tickets to go see Together¡¯s concert, and I miss Zoe very much. Teacher Yan, right, Teacher Yan will help me. Dr. Tian said that I¡¯ll get better, and I will. It¡¯s very sunny today, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    He finished reading the diary entry on this piece of paper and put it on the table. ¡°Are you guys still not clear on what is going on now? This whole clinic is filled with hints, like Van Gogh¡¯s paintings; as you all know, Van Gogh suffered from schizophrenia in the end, and there¡¯s also that multiverse stuff in Zhou Ziheng¡¯s school bag, and all the grid problems. All the clues are pointing to Zaozao; all of them are implying that no matter who it is, whether it is Zoe, Teacher Yan, or the big Gege from next door, they¡¯re all actually the secondary personalities that Zaozao created for self-protection after being violated. She was an abused child, who has even attempted suicide once.¡± Xia Xiqing looked at everyone and asked, ¡°Do you really think that she had been set up as the killer by the program team?¡±


    Shang Sirui¡¯s current expression revealed that he had suddenly seen the light. ¡°Then what about the detective? Is the detective another one of her secondary personalities?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡± Xia Xiqing said, ¡°I am leaning towards thinking that the detective is real, but Zaozao can¡¯t be the criminal she¡¯s chasing after.¡±


    ¡°I agree with the plotline of there being a split personality disorder. When I saw the multiverse thing, I had a vague feeling. However,¡± Zhai Ying shook her head before pointing out, ¡°according to this logic, all of you are Zaozao, with the doctor and I being independent people, and if Zaozao isn¡¯t the criminal, then the only option left is the doctor? But the doctor is already dead, and besides, how could a famous doctor like that be a fugitive? That letter also said that the last time they saw the fugitive was when they were in the clinic. It doesn¡¯t make sense no matter how you say it that the doctor is a fugitive. Then if it¡¯s like this, then isn¡¯t no one here a fugitive?¡±


    Fang Juexia, after listening to these words in silence, inevitably had some admiration for her sprout in his heart. All the flaws that he had found before in Xia Xiqing¡¯s reasoning were accurately pointed out by her.


    ¡°No, there is another possibility.¡± Xia Xiqing continued, ¡°The main personality is Zaozao, which doesn¡¯t mean that the fugitive is Zaozao, but that it¡¯s very likely that the crime was committed when a secondary personality was dominating her body, so the fugitive is likely to be a secondary personality.¡±


    ¡°If so, the knight is someone who can both protect Zaozao and persecute Zaozao¡­¡± Fang Juexia laughed before saying, ¡°Then aren¡¯t me and Ziheng the most suspicious characters? After all, Zoe is an idol, and there should be some distance between them ba.¡±


    Shang Sirui quickly brought up the question, ¡°Can¡¯t the detective be an evil detective? It¡¯s possible for the detective to play such an ambiguous role.¡±


    Fang Juexia secretly admired the screenwriter in his heart. He could bury two sides into so many different roles.


    Zhai Ying put forward a point, ¡°I used to like to read European history, and previously, I didn¡¯t know that the painting featured Marat, but after Xiqing Ge pointed it out, I thought of something. Marat was a doctor before the revolution, and he was assassinated by a vengeful girl. So does that mean something?¡±


    Xia Xiqing seemed to have thought of this point a long time ago and quickly countered, ¡°This painting is reversed, so can I also say that it was actually the girl who was killed here?¡±


    Fang Juexia looked them in the eyes, gently scuffed his fingers against the sofa, and then said casually, ¡°Whatever the story is behind this painting, maybe its connection to the plot isn¡¯t that big. What¡¯s important is the letter that was hidden behind it, that¡¯s what I personally think.¡±


    Zhou Ziheng, who had been silent and listening this the entire time, picked up the piece of paper, looked at it, and then opened his mouth to suggest, ¡°All our inferences just now were based on Xiqing¡¯s assumption¡ªhis assumption that Zaozao really is the victim.¡±


    He leaned back on the sofa and continued to analyze, ¡°I accept that the plot centers on multiple personalities or schizophrenia, because there are too many things that don¡¯t make sense. Me, Zaozao, Zoe, and Teacher Yan all know each other, and all of these characters just happen to be patients of Dr. Tian. The probability of that actually happening is too small. The most likely explanation is that all of us are actually just one person, and that¡¯s the only patient.¡±


    ¡°But there is a problem with this hypothesis.¡± Zhou Ziheng looked at Xia Xiqing. ¡°Why is it that Zaozao asking for help definitely clears her of any suspicion of being the killer? A storyline where the one who seems to be the weakest turns out to, in fact, be the big boss at the end¡ªwe¡¯ve all heard this kind of story too many times before. Do you guys know what I felt after listening to that diary entry?¡±


    Having said that, he looked at everyone and pointed to the diary. ¡°You see, clearly, Zaozao had already been told by the doctor that she is schizophrenic, but she still had to go find Zoe, go find Xiao Xi and Teacher Yan. Why? If she wanted to help herself, shouldn¡¯t she accept the result of her diagnosis and be active in getting it treated? Why look for her other personalities? What is her purpose there?¡±


    ¡°If you look at the second sentence of the diary, she feels split and wants to be saved. This shows that she is no longer satisfied with sharing the same body with the other personalities. Only by removing the other personalities can she truly feel saved.¡±


    Zhou Ziheng raised his eyebrows. ¡°There may be more than one victim, but there is only one killer.¡±


    He was implying that the girl Zaozao went to find her other personalities in order to eliminate them all.


    The two men were at loggerheads, diametrically opposed to one another. However, Fang Juexia just stared at the diary that was facing Xia Xiqing; he was sitting on the side of the sofa and could only look at it from the side. Fang Juexia tilted his head, carefully reading out each sentence in his heart. He looked back and reexamined the reversed ¡®The Death of Marat.¡±


    Reversed¡­.


    Shang Sirui was confused. ¡°I think what both of you said is all reasonable. It¡¯s clearly two different sets of logic, but now I feel that both of them work.¡±


    Zhai Ying suddenly thought of the scratch paper she had given Fang Juexia before. ¡°By the way, Juexia Ge, have you solved the double integral problem on the paper from just now?¡±


    ¡°Oh, yes.¡± Fang Juexia also thought of it, so he took out the scratch paper and the paper where he had also calculated out the problem. ¡°I¡¯ve calculated it, and it¡¯s right.¡±


    Just as he took it out, he suddenly realized something and looked at a string of numbers on the scratch paper.


    His heart pounded in his chest.


    Xia Xiqing glanced at it and roughly checked over the calculations. There are also some sets written on the paper, like {1,2,3,4,2,5,2,2,2,2} {3,2,1,1,1,1,1,0,1,1}¡­ There were a lot of these, but he didn¡¯t really pay attention to them. ¡°I thought the killer was Xiao Pei before, but now that I think about it, from the beginning to the end, it wasn¡¯t him who directly and constantly kept shoving me into the dark camp, but rather, that was Zhou Ziheng. Then, when I look at all the cards in my hand, naturally, I will suspect you.¡±


    Zhou Ziheng replied with a smile, ¡°My reasoning has been consistent and coherent from the beginning to the end, without any problems. What¡¯s more, you don¡¯t have ample reasons to deny that you are a killer.¡±


    Fang Juexia thought for a moment, and then said, ¡°I¡¯m still inclined towards thinking that Xiqing Ge isn¡¯t the killer. If he is the killer, then killing Xiao Pei in exchange for trust is very risky. And I¡¯ve always been curious about why, whenever the situation is completely uncertain, Ziheng points to Xiqing Ge. This doesn¡¯t seem like how an ordinary player would play this game, because ordinary players are afraid that if their perspective isn¡¯t made clear, they may misunderstand someone¡¯s identity or draw the killer¡¯s attention towards themselves. ¡°


    ¡°So now you¡¯re standing on Xiqing¡¯s side?¡± Zhou Ziheng laughed. ¡°You don¡¯t speak much while on the field, but almost all of your words are neutral or are secretly protecting him. Can I reasonably suspect that there is some kind of relationship between you two?¡±


    Xia Xiqing suddenly laughed, raised his eyebrows at Zhou Ziheng, and teased in a frivolous tone, ¡°Even if there was a relationship, what do you want to do about it?¡±


    Fang Juexia felt that he was being forced into getting drawn into a bloody battlefield again, which made him feel awkward.


    ¡°I accept all doubts.¡± Saying that, Fang Juexia looked at Zhou Ziheng directly. ¡°I just think that your diametric opposition came on too suddenly, but that doesn¡¯t mean that I¡¯m certain you¡¯re the killer. And there¡¯s still another point, I¡¯m not sure how the killer kills people, whether it¡¯s through using the cellphone or not. I¡¯m just wondering, but when Xiao Pei died, you had just taken out your cellphone, right?¡±


    Zhou Ziheng defended himself, ¡°I just unlocked the screen, and in such a short while, I can¡¯t type out ¡®Pei Tingsong¡¯ and then click send.¡±


    Zhai Ying asked at this time, ¡°But what if you had already opened up the killer¡¯s input screen in advance, and had gone ahead and entered Pei Tingsong¡¯s name? In that case, seeing you holding your cellphone becomes a prepared alibi.¡±


    As time passed, the program group¡¯s narration reappeared.


    ¡°Players, the last round of voting for the killer¡¯s identity will start in 30 seconds, and the executed players will be kicked out. The countdown has begun.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll all regret it if you throw me out,¡± Zhou Ziheng warned.


    Xia Xiqing shrugged, his fingers stroking his chin for a second, and then got up from the sofa.


    The remaining five people also scattered, and Fang Juexia walked a few steps towards the two doors of the clinic. The other people also went towards other doors or walls, everyone keeping their backs to each other as they took out their cellphones.


    Fang Juexia took a deep breath, quickly entered a name, and then, while still pretending to hold the cellphone, stretched his other hand out to the front of his shirt.


    Even at this moment, he could still feel the aftershock he had experienced when Pei Tingsong had patted his chest, and remembered the rustling sound he had heard in his front pocket vividly.


    He took out this piece of paper the same way he had taken out the poem Pei Tingsong had given him when they were at the magazine shoot.


    An English word was written on this piece of paper.


    [Ukulele]


    The ukulele.


    He turned the paper over and saw another line of words on it, the handwriting careless and open.


    He didn¡¯t know why, but just seeing this line made his heart beat violently.


    ¡°Voting time is over. The results will be made public soon.¡±


    Fang Juexia turned back around calmly and stuffed both the piece of paper and cellphone into his pocket as he waited for the moment of sentencing to arrive.


    ¡°In this round of voting, the executed player is¡­¡±


    ¡°Zhou Ziheng. Please go to the execution area by yourself.¡±


    Everyone looked at Zhou Ziheng just to see him as he twisted his eyebrows, after which he shook his head. Without saying a word, he entered the bright red circle.


    After watching him fall down, Fang Juexia glanced at the final gate.


    Xia Xiqing seemed to be very satisfied with the result. ¡°Now that the killer is dead, the program group must give us some information on the black knight.¡±


    Shang Sirui felt a little scared. ¡°Last season, we¡¯d managed to escape before having to execute this many people.¡±


    Zhai Ying glanced at him and asked, ¡°What are you afraid of? It¡¯s not like it¡¯s real.¡±


    Fang Juexia leaned against the door and used it to support his waist as he opened his mouth, ¡°By the way, we¡¯ve been talking about the killer this whole time, so much so that I almost forgot.¡± He pointed to the cabinet by the door and looked at Xia Xiqing as he continued, ¡°Didn¡¯t we see a 36-grid square array on the display screen on that door just now? I just unraveled the drawer mechanism in the cabinet to the side, and there was a plaid handkerchief inside it. Ziheng just put some water on it, and we saw a cipher there.¡±


    He walked over, and the others followed. Xia Xiqing looked down at the square array printed on the handkerchief, and Fang Juexia explained, ¡°There are also numbers on the handkerchief.¡±


    ¡°This is a chessboard cipher.¡± Xia Xiqing said, ¡°There was a period of time when I read a lot of books on decryption, and this is the most classical of classical ciphers.¡±


    ___1__ 2__ 3__ 4__ 5


    1__ q__ w__ e__ r__ t


    2__ y__ u_ i/j_ o__ p


    3__ a__ s__ d__ f__ g


    4__ h__ k__l__z__ x


    5__ c__ v__ b__ n__ m


    ¡°You really found the key clue.¡± Xia Xiqing pointed to the number on the handkerchief and explained, ¡°The first line with 15.41.23.14.33, actually denotes a coordinate. The first number is the row, and the second number is the column, corresponding to the chessboard just now. 15 is t, 41 is h, 23 is i or j, 14 is r, and 33 is d.¡±


    Shang Sirui immediately realized what was going on. ¡°Third! Number three!¡±


    Xia Xiqing nodded, and then went on to explain further. Fang Juexia didn¡¯t speak up, and everyone¡¯s attention was focused on that cipher.


    He walked away in silence. Zhai Ying discovered him, and she turned her head and asked him, ¡°Where are you going, Juexia Ge?¡±


    Fang Juexia looked back with some doubts on his face. ¡°I think it¡¯s very strange that only I don¡¯t have a medical record. Could it be that I haven¡¯t found it yet? I¡¯d like to go back to the clinic, and maybe there¡¯s still a key clue hiding there.¡±


    Xia Xiqing also looked back and thought for a moment. ¡°We really do not have yours.¡±


    ¡°Anyway, the most important thing is to unlock the main gate. I¡¯ll look for it first, and you guys can come over later.¡±


    Shang Sirui said, ¡°The third line is it? I¡¯ll try.¡± Xia Xiqing immediately stopped him and said, ¡°First let¡¯s finish solving it, if we type in the wrong answer, we¡¯ll have to wait an hour!¡±


    Fang Juexia silently entered the clinic by himself. Only after checking to see that no one was following did he walk quickly to the bookshelf and take down the ukulele.


    As he took it down, he noticed that a book had also been pulled out and placed next to the ukulele; it was a book on astronomy. There was a magnifying glass on the book. He had noticed this astronomy book before, but had this magnifying glass also been in the psychiatrist¡¯s room from the start?


    If it was really like this, the ideas in his head would only grow firmer.


    Fang Juexia turned the ukulele over and shook it; there was something inside. He reached into it carefully with his fingers, for fear of making a noise.


    Sweat had even gathered on his forehead.


    Finally, Fang Juexia took out the thing that was inside it, which was a stack of thickly folded paper. He eased the ukulele down and unfolded the paper as he walked into Zaozao¡¯s room.


    The first piece of paper was his medical record, which clearly showed his illness¡ªmanic depression.


    Seeing these words, Fang Juexia¡¯s breath nearly stagnated.


    Manic depression, also known as bipolar disorder.


    Flipping to the second piece of paper, he found that it was a music score for a guitar; however, this score was scribbled on an old newspaper. When he flipped it over, he saw an item in the newspaper that was circled with a pen.


    [At 5:52 this morning, a young man surnamed Tan, wearing a white coat and holding a knife, killed a middle-aged man on Yanghua road. The motive for the murder has not been discovered yet, and the police have stepped in to investigate the whereabouts of the fugitive. At present, according to people familiar with the matter, Mr. Tan was not a doctor. When he was 13 years old, he was sexually assaulted by his neighbor, and it caused quite a sensation at that time. Since then, he has suffered from delusions and multiple personality disorder, and has been receiving treatment in a private clinic in the city¡­]


    5:52


    Wasn¡¯t this the first number puzzle he had solved?


    In the news article, the character ¡®Tan¡¯ had also been marked, and beside it were a few scribbled words¡ª


    [Yan, Xi, Zao, north, Tian, together]


    Fang Juexia suddenly thought of the number set on the previous piece of scratch paper, and abruptly woke up.


    He hurried and flipped to the last piece of paper, which seemed to have been rolled up, with obvious signs of it curling. A few words were written on this piece of paper.


    [A counterattack doesn¡¯t really let you stand up again


    Life is worth admitting your own smallness


    The sand obeys the sea, just like the subordinates obey a lord


    Only by knowing yourself can you obtain true rest


    If you give up early ba, you will always be secondary]


    ¡°Juexia, have you found it? Your medical record.¡±


    As soon as Fang Juexia heard Shang Sirui¡¯s voice, he put the other papers away, held the medical record in his hand, and crouched at the side of the sofa. ¡°Seem to have found it¡­¡±


    Shang Sirui came into the room just in time to see Fang Juexia¡¯s red face as he pulled out a piece of paper from the bottom of the sofa. Fang Juexia stood up and patted the dust off the paper. ¡°It should be this one, no mistake.¡±


    ¡°What does Teacher Yan have?¡±


    Fang Juexia directly handed the medical record over to him.


    ¡°What is manic depression¡­¡±


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t pay any more attention to him and went out by himself. ¡°Have you guys found the answer?¡±


    ¡°En.¡± Zhai Ying turned her head and explained, ¡°It¡¯s the third row and the first column, which solved the square array, but then another problem popped up on the screen. Xiqing Ge just entered the answer, but it wasn¡¯t right. But the good thing here is that if you enter in this answer wrong, you don¡¯t have to wait for another hour before trying again.¡±


    Xia Xiqing had now sat back on the sofa, and was frowning and lowering his head as if deep in thought.


    ¡°What¡¯s the problem?¡± Fang Juexia walked over and clicked on the screen on the door.


    While thinking, Xia Xiqing subconsciously noticed that piece of scratch paper. Just now, when Fang Juexia had taken it out, he had just taken a cursory glance and had matched up the problem-solving process and the answers instead of paying attention to the random handwritten sets on the paper.


    {1£¬2£¬3£¬4£¬2£¬5£¬2£¬2£¬2£¬2} {3£¬2£¬1£¬1£¬1£¬1£¬0£¬1£¬1}


    Generally speaking, a set could not have duplicate elements, and must be unique.


    He counted.


    Fang Juexia stared at the question on the screen and heard Zhai Ying say, ¡°That¡¯s just the problem. Xiqing typed in Xiao Xi and Zaozao just down, but it wasn¡¯t right.¡±


    Two lines in English were displayed on the screen¡ª


    [Who is the main one£¿


    Who are you£¿]


    ¡°I¡¯ll try.¡±


    Xia Xiqing, who had counted out the repeated elements in each set, suddenly realized and murmured, ¡°It¡¯s 6¡­¡±


    Yes, six. Six players with five rooms, with only one room connected to two doors, six square hoods, and the square array on the display screen on the door was also a 6¡Á6 grid.


    All the details came together at once: Shang Sirui¡¯s guitar in the waiting room, the ukulele in the consultation room, Zhou Ziheng¡¯s physics textbook in the waiting room, the astronomy book in the consultation room, the art tools in his room, and the paintings in the consultation room.


    Only two people had started in the clinic, corresponding to one black and one white door, and then the double integral on the scratch paper.


    Xia Xiqing lowered his head, and the reversed painting appeared in his mind. He suddenly remembered something, and then immediately picked up that diary entry again.


    No, it wasn¡¯t.


    The painting was reversed.


    The characters were also reversed.


    So, the diary entry should also be reversed. Diary entries always started with a statement about the weather¡­.


    [It¡¯s very sunny today, isn¡¯t it?


    Dr. Tian said that I¡¯ll get better, and I will.


    Teacher Yan, right, Teacher Yan will help me. I have already bought tickets to see Together¡¯s concert, and I miss Zoe very much. My pain right now is just short-lived, and I just need to relax. Xiao Wen Gege from next door said he would help me; he will help tutor me, chat with me, and let me feel that the world still has hope.


    The doctor said that all of this is just my fantasy, he said that my neighbor is an old lady, and that there is no college student at all, and he said that that band also doesn¡¯t exist, why does he want to deceive me, no, these are all fake.


    I have a premonition that I¡¯m about to die.


    Why didn¡¯t the treatment make any progress, but made me instead sink into the mire and can¡¯t extricate myself.


    I feel broken and split, and I¡¯m in great pain.


    Help me, I don¡¯t want to be controlled.]


    Wrong, all wrong.


    He had just been feeling suspicious about why it had been ¡®the main one¡¯ instead of the ¡®killer¡¯ being asked in the display panel.


    Because the main one was the killer.


    After having inputted his answers, Fang Juexia looked at the questions and answers on the screen.


    Who is the main one£¿ [Dr. Tian]


    Who are you£¿ [Tan Ji]


    ¡°Everyone, please note that the first player of this season has successfully escaped with his life.¡±


    With a bang, the gate opened.


    The first person Fang Juexia saw was Pei Tingsong, who had been standing outside the gate and waiting for a long time. His smile was filled with victory and wild ambition, and underneath the colorful paper streamers and gold sparkles being sprayed by the staff, he opened both his arms and pulled Fang Juexia, who was keyed up to the fullest extent right now, into his arms.


    ¡°You worked hard.¡±


    The narration announced the final result, ¡°The winning camp is¡­¡±


    Closing his eyes, that note hidden inside the ukulele appeared before Fang Juexia¡¯s eyes. On the back of the note were written the last words Pei Tingsong had to say to Fang Juexia after he had quickly peeled off his golden cicada skin to escape a tricky situation.


    [You need to let me win ah, Gege.]


    ¡°The dark camp! Congratulations to Black Knight Fang Juexia, and Killer Pei Tingsong!¡±


    Fang Juexia raised his head and did away with his empty-looking disguise. ¡°Other half.¡± The eyebrows on that naturally cold face were raised right now, and even the red birthmark at the corner of his eye grew fresh and alive as he uttered¡ª


    ¡°We won.¡±

 CH 43

    Chapter 43 ¨C Dinner Party Recap


    You really were his knight.


    After the program recording ended, the production team specially arranged to also film the dinner meeting, in order to create a highlight reel from that footage. After filming for several continuous hours, everyone was hungry, and had been since a long time ago. Originally, the players had planned to have dinner together at a private restaurant after work, but it just so happened that the program group had already arranged it for everyone, so they all partook in a happy meal together.


    ¡°Let¡¯s eat hot pot!¡± As soon as Shang Sirui sat down, he started vibrating happily and asked, ¡°How miserable is the camera Da Ge ah, have you guys eaten yet? Oh, you¡¯ve eaten ah, then I won¡¯t feel sorry for you anymore.¡±


    Xia Xiqing sat down to his right. ¡°If you¡¯re going to feel sorry for someone, feel sorry for yourself ba, silly Sansan.¡±


    Zhou Ziheng sat down next to Xia Xiqing, and seeming very much like a dog running to its master, kneaded his shoulders for a long time. Pei Tingsong sat down on Shang Sirui¡¯s left side, and Fang Juexia also sat down beside him. Zhai Ying, who came in last, went to Zhou Ziheng¡¯s side and sat. Once everyone was seated, they started ordering dishes.


    ¡°Xiao Pei grew up abroad, so can you not really eat spicy food?¡± Xia Xiqing asked.


    Pei Tingsong was pouring water. ¡°I¡¯m alright, I can eat it.¡± After saying that, he suddenly thought of something, and continued, ¡°But Fang Juexia really can¡¯t, so if it¡¯s possible, order half spicy red oil and half tomato soup ba.¡±


    Fang Juexia had originally been setting the tableware in front of him, but upon being cued suddenly, he raised his head and looked at Pei Tingsong.


    Pei Tingsong felt that he was being particularly funny, and as he held back the corner of his mouth from curving into a smile, he teased, ¡°Do you want to eat spicy? Pretty boy.¡±


    Fang Juexia immediately shook his head and told everyone, ¡°I can¡¯t eat any peppers at all. I used to think that I could eat spicy food, but then Ling Yi took me to eat Sichuan food, and it was only then that I discovered that Guangdong spicy food and Sichuan spicy food are not at the same level at all.¡±


    The rest of the people started laughing unceremoniously.


    ¡°Alright, then half tomato and half spicy red oil.¡±


    ¡°Order some alcohol bei. Everyone was so nervous up until now, so let¡¯s all have a drink to relax.¡±


    Pei Tingsong immediately interrupted, ¡°Fang Juexia can¡¯t drink alcohol.¡±


    Xia Xiqing laughed. ¡°How do you know everything?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I can drink it.¡± Fang Juexia looked over and said, ¡°Xiqing Ge, order it ba.¡±


    ¡°Whether or not you can drink, don¡¯t you still know yourself ah?¡± Pei Tingsong sighed, ¡°Anyway, in a bit, you¡¯re not allowed to drink, otherwise you can¡¯t even head back.¡±


    ¡°Then order some juice for Juexia.¡±


    The six people gabbled away as they finished ordering dishes and while waiting for the dishes to be served, chatted with each other. Xia Xiqing knocked on the edge of the table with his chopsticks. ¡°Really, the crew for ¡®Escape For Your Life¡¯ is the most intelligent and meticulous crew I¡¯ve ever seen, it¡¯s too hard for me!¡±


    Zhou Ziheng nodded heavily twice.


    Zhai Ying, in a rare occurrence, followed that up with, ¡°I had known that it would be very difficult when I got on this program. I felt that I had psychologically prepared myself enough for it, but I still didn¡¯t imagine it to be so difficult.¡±


    ¡°It was mainly the plot.¡± Pei Tingsong said, ¡°When I was uncovering the plot while collecting clues, I constantly kept sighing internally.¡±


    Fang Juexia also agreed. He had deviated from the right track several times, nearly turning the entire plot into another story. Fortunately, he was pulled back by the clues they kept finding.


    ¡°Speaking of the plot,¡± Shang Sirui sighed heavily and continued, ¡°Chenchen, Chen Ge, Writer Xu, let us go ba. If it goes on like this, my brain will end up only being used to make hot pot.¡±


    Everyone started laughing.


    ¡°I will vent my anger while he is away.¡± Shang Sirui raised his drink. ¡°I really want to lock our cute Writer Xu in an escape room. Oh, no, even his family member who provided him with all kinds of puzzles has to be locked up. The two of them can be  locked up separately in two different escape rooms, and then I will watch them on the monitor. I¡¯ll watch¡­¡±


    ¡°Hello, here are the fried tofu skin sticks you ordered.¡± A waiter came up and set the plate right in front of Shang Sirui.


    ¡°Thank you, thank you.¡± Shang Sirui didn¡¯t even raise his head before continuing to speak, ¡°What did I just say, oh right, lock them up¡­¡±


    Who knew that instead of leaving, the waiter would actually ask, ¡°Who are you going to lock up?¡±


    ¡°Our screenwriter,¡± Shang Sirui blurted this out, and then realized that something wasn¡¯t right. As soon as he looked up, he saw the waiter take off his hat and smile at him.


    ¡°Chenchen?¡±


    Zhou Ziheng laughed. ¡°As soon as he pushed open the door, I realized who it was. You were the only one naively talking to yourself over there.¡±


    ¡°Eh, just you by yourself?¡± Xia Xiqing looked at the door and inquired, ¡°Where¡¯s my crooked and underhanded nephew?¡±


    Xu Qichen replied, ¡°Ah, he is working overtime. A new version of the game will be launched tomorrow, and he thinks it might take all night to finish.¡±


    This was the first time Fang Juexia had met Writer Xu in-person, and he looked more elegant and smaller than when he had seen him on TV before. He gave off a bookish air and looked like a college student who had not yet left the ivory tower.


    Just as he was thinking that, a pair of chopsticks, waving about in the air, suddenly appeared in front of him. Fang Juexia turned his head and saw Pei Tingsong, who was a real college student. Pei Tingsong pulled back his chopsticks and asked, ¡°What are you looking at?¡±


    Fang Juexia shook his head.


    ¡°Let¡¯s welcome Xu Qichen, the screenwriter for Escape 2, to the highlights dinner party,¡± the director standing behind them all said. ¡°Everyone can eat while recapping things, we¡¯ll edit this footage for a special program and put it on the VIP channel.¡±


    ¡°The director is so good.¡± Xu Qichen said hello to everyone, took off the waiter¡¯s jacket, and sat next to Zhai Ying. ¡°Let me tell you something, I was the narrator for this season.¡± After saying that, he smiled. ¡°The voice changer is too fun.¡±


    Shang Sirui¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Ah! Like I said, at the start, the narration had a really jokey tone, and its style was completely different from the previous season¡¯s narration!¡±


    ¡°So it was like this¡­¡± Fang Juexia belatedly realized. ¡°I even kept thinking, we had previously agreed to the show being revised, so how could the rules be the same as the last season? Later, after that joke, I didn¡¯t feel so nervous.¡±


    Pei Tingsong had just tossed in a piece of tripe into the hot pot, and before he got the time to swirl it around, he had caught sight of how Fang Juexia kept staring at Writer Xu. Unconsciously, he started staring at Fang Juexia.


    ¡°Xiao Pei, your tripe is getting cooked too tough.¡± Shang Sirui helped him by taking out the tripe and putting it into his own mouth.


    Xu Qichen said with a smile, ¡°I asked Yin Jie to let me participate in the filming of the program. I wanted to watch it ma.¡±


    ¡°Let me first make it clear to the audience that the amount of information that each player started out with in this episode was the same. In other words, everyone only knew whether they were ordinary players, the knight, or the killer. No one had the script or any kind of summary regarding the plot. They had to restore the entire plot gradually through the process of solving the puzzles.¡±


    ¡°Next, I¡¯d like to generally talk about the plot line of this episode. In fact, the core clue was the only one that reflected reality, which was that article in the old newspaper. There was only one protagonist of the whole storyline, named Tan Ji. When he was a child, he was sexually assaulted by his neighbor, which caused him great trauma and made him suffer from delusions. At the same time, he also developed a multiple-personality disorder. He imagined himself to be the best psychologist in the city, Dr. Tian, rather than the patient who was being treated, Tan Ji. At the same time, he split his most painful childhood memories to create the character Zaozao.¡±


    ¡°In the same way, all the players were secondary personalities of his. But this particular personality, Zaozao, suffered too much, and was always on the verge of collapsing. She was completely oppressed and controlled by the master personality, that is, the doctor, so she gradually turned to the other personalities for help. There was a telephone recording that recorded her entire plea for help, which was in the recording pen that Juexia found. However, the master personality figured out that she was resisting, so he hypnotized Zaozao into choosing to commit suicide. The hypnosis script was actually an acrostic, suggesting that the doctor had killed Zao. But before Zaozao could finish writing her suicide note, she was already killed by the doctor personality.¡±


    ¡°So it turns out that this is the real story,¡± Shang Sirui sighed. ¡°Really, by just missing a link, the plot becomes completely different. But why was it Tan Ji?¡±


    Xiao Pei said, ¡°Actually, when the appointment form was first found, and I saw the names Teacher Yan, Zaozao, and Xiao Xi, I thought of putting the words together. The character Tan is obviously a surname, and since there is a surname, there definitely has to be a given name. I then checked every room with the purpose of finding this name, which was basically like putting together a jigsaw puzzle.¡±


    ¡°Obviously, Zoe and the detective don¡¯t have Chinese names, so the puzzle pieces must not refer to their names, but instead to something related to them. Zoe¡¯s band is called ¡°Together¡±, and the book inside the safe in the detective¡¯s room only had one word on its cover, North, so that¡¯s ¡®±±¡¯. Take that north, add on the Tian from Dr. Tian, then add in the character for ¡®together¡¯, and you get Ji.¡±


    ¡°This sensitivity of yours, towards words, is really powerful.¡± Xia Xiqing wasn¡¯t stingy with his praise.


    ¡°Just as Xiqing is naturally sensitive to paintings, so is Xiao Pei to writing,¡± Xu Qichen reminded them, ¡°Didn¡¯t you guys notice that all the clues Xiao Pei collected came from word games.¡±


    Fang Juexia had noticed that; Pei Tingsong had found almost all the word puzzles in this episode, whether it was the hypnotic acrostic at the beginning, or the later puzzle involving the given name, or the most important news article puzzle.


    Even his seemingly gag-like nonsense during the program, was a word game he used to hint and pun at things.


    Shang Sirui suddenly slapped the table. ¡°I just remembered, when I was chatting with Xiao Pei in that dark room, he kept reading that book the whole time. Later, he placed the book upside down on the table, making sure the cover was especially on display. You did that on purpose ba.¡±


    Pei Tingsong nodded. ¡°Yes, I wanted to show it to Juexia Ge, but later, I thought that since I had almost collected all of the puzzle pieces, it would be better to give him the answer directly, after collecting them all.¡±


    After saying that, Pei Tingsong saw Fang Juexia accidentally eat some spicy beef, and being anxious to drink some water, he grabbed onto his wine cup. Pei Tingsong hurriedly grasped Fang Juexia¡¯s hand and whispered, ¡°This is my cup.¡±


    ¡°I saw wrong.¡± Fang Juexia pulled his hand away and poured himself a cup of Sprite.


    Xu Qichen continued, ¡°There are still many details in the middle, so let¡¯s chat about it all slowly. Everyone¡¯s performance today was so wonderful; actually, the script is just a skeleton, and what really enriches the entire program is each guest¡¯s individual performance. Different players will play with different styles.¡±


    Xia Xiqing had ordered some alcohol and poured it for himself as he spoke, ¡°Really, this episode was one of the best ones I¡¯ve ever played. Although I didn¡¯t win in the end, winning or losing is really not important at this level.¡±


    ¡°Hahahaha, is it that you didn¡¯t expect that one day, that act of fancily revealing your role would throw you into a pit?!¡± Shang Sirui swished a large piece of tripe through the hot pot as he said, ¡°But seriously, low-end players just see the results, while high-end players look at the process. This time, even me, a low-end player, felt pretty cool.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll give myself this penalty cup for my empiricism.¡± Zhou Ziheng also specially touched Xia Xiqing¡¯s cup to his own before drinking, and then drank all the cup¡¯s contents in one gulp. ¡°But I¡¯m very curious, Xiao Pei, when did you find out that Juexia was the knight?¡±


    Pei Tingsong recalled, ¡°It¡¯s a long story, but when we started off together in the clinic at that time, weren¡¯t we all wearing hoods? As soon as I reached out and touched some metal blocks, I actually found a piece of paper under one of them. I subconsciously felt that there was some problem with that, so I secretly pulled out that piece of paper and hid it on my body. Only then did I go and solve the puzzle of the metal blocks to break open Juexia Ge¡¯s hood.¡±


    Fang Juexia, who had originally been eating vermicelli, heard these words, and his eyes grew bright. He slurped up the vermicelli into his mouth and murmured, ¡°So it was at that time that you got my medical record!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re pretty good at guessing,¡± Pei Tingsong said with a smile. ¡°After the hood was undone, I immediately looked at that piece of paper. It was indeed the teacher¡¯s medical record, and manic depressive disorder, also known as bipolar disorder, was written there. I realized at that moment that Fang Juexia should be the double-faced knight arranged by the program group for this game. I knew that he might choose to be the black knight, so I hid his medical records at that time, because if it were to be seen by Xiqing Ge, Juexia¡¯s knighthood wouldn¡¯t be able to stay concealed any longer.¡±


    Xia Xiqing clicked his tongue and said, ¡°Expended much thought ah, Xiao Pei.¡±


    Unexpectedly, Shang Sirui suddenly exclaimed, ¡°So manic depression is bipolar disorder ah!¡±


    Fang Juexia took a bite of the frozen tofu in the tomato hot pot, and it was so hot it burned his tongue. ¡°I guessed that Senior Brother didn¡¯t know this, so I finally directly handed Teacher Yan¡¯s medical records to him.¡±


    ¡°Ah! Juexia, you!¡±


    ¡°Even if you knew, it¡¯d be too late.¡± Xia Xiqing interposed into their conversation and asked Fang Juexia, ¡°In fact, at that time, you had already sorted through all the evidence and had understood the whole plot, hadn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°En.¡± Fang Juexia looked at Pei Tingsong as he said, ¡°Xiao Pei found the core clue, but he hid it.¡±


    Zhou Ziheng was a little puzzled. ¡°I was there when he went ah. How could I¡­¡± Halfway through saying those words, he suddenly remembered, exclaiming, ¡°I know, when you played the guitar!¡±


    Xu Qichen started laughing first. ¡°I was laughing to death back when I was watching it happen on the monitor. In fact, Ziheng put forth several key questions.¡±


    Zhou Ziheng found it inexplicable. ¡°Really?¡± But as soon as this question came out, he thought about it again and slapped himself on the forehead with great chagrin. ¡°Ah, I¡¯m so stupid. I even asked you what that guitar was.¡±


    Pei Tingsong laughed and carried a slightly childlike air as he explained, ¡°Yes ah, when you asked me, I specifically told you that it was a hollow-body guitar. If you had reached in, you could have felt the newspaper pasted to its inner walls.¡±


    ¡°The article was about the real protagonist Tan, and said that he was suffering from delusions and had multiple-personality disorder. He had been wearing a white coat when he had committed the murder, so it was very obvious that he had deluded himself into thinking that he was a psychologist, that his surname was Tian, and that he was the best psychologist in the city. The other players formed all of his secondary personalities.¡±


    ¡°Was the detective also his secondary personality?¡± Shang Sirui was a little confused.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Zhou Ziheng said, ¡°I sorted it out later, after I was sent backstage. The detective personality was likely a newly split personality. In fact, that letter Zaozao sent her implied that she was already on the verge of collapse, and there was no way to rescue her. Her desperation to be saved made the new personality of a detective appear. That letter that spoke about searching for a fugitive actually reflected Tan Ji¡¯s reality. He himself was the fugitive who had killed people. Is that right, Qichen?¡±


    Xu Qichen gave him a thumbs up. ¡°Very good. In fact, among the various multiple personalities, there are those who know each other, but also some who do not. In this plot, Tan Ji fantasizes that he is Dr. Tian. Thus, as the master personality, his means to control other personalities was through psychological counseling, therefore, all of the other personalities were his patients, and they received treatment from him, even hypnotic treatment. But the detective personality was a new birth, who could be regarded to be the Zaozao personality¡¯s protector, a scenario which also reflected reality to the greatest extent.¡±


    ¡°Now, considering the news article, in almost each and every personality, a trace of reality can be found. The lead singer of the band may represent some of Tan Ji¡¯s childhood dreams, because Zaozao represented his childhood, and she liked Zoe very much¡­¡± Zhai Ying was a little surprised. ¡°Too strong, there was even something hidden in the guitar¡­ No wonder the program group specifically found a hollow body guitar, they¡¯re too meticulous.¡±


    Xu Qichen asked, ¡°Did Xiao Pei find the newspaper when he was playing the guitar? When I was watching the monitor, I heard you specifically say that the sound wasn¡¯t bad.¡±


    Pei Tingsong nodded. ¡°As soon as I played it, I discovered that the guitar¡¯s sound wasn¡¯t right. After all, after having played the guitar for so many years, I do understand it. I guessed then that there was something inside, and when Ziheng Ge went past me, I reached in and took out the clue. ¡°


    Shang Sirui sighed. ¡°Not knowing how to play an instrument then is really¡­ Who would stick their hand into a guitar? The props group is too strong.¡±


    Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t help opening his mouth to say, ¡°There were also many other unreasonable details present, and it seems that the program group included them all intentionally. The appointment time for Teacher Yan to visit the doctor is 5:52, but how can anyone go see a doctor this early in the morning? This implies that all of these things are fake¡ªthat the doctor is fake, and that the patients are also fake. There was also a small hint given by the stylist group, I don¡¯t know if anyone noticed it. Although we all played different roles, we are all wearing the same shirt.¡±


    Shang Sirui looked down at his flowered shirt, then looked up at the others and admired, ¡°Amazing. So in fact, we are all the same person.¡±


    ¡°The program group is really strong.¡± Xia Xiqing recapped the hints they had gathered through the props, ¡°If you think about it, every room, except the doctor¡¯s clinic, actually represents something. For example, the guitar in Shang Sirui¡¯s room corresponds to the ukulele in the consultation room, the textbook in Ziheng¡¯s school bag corresponds to the astronomy books in the consultation room¡¯s bookshelf, the art tools and paintings in Zaozao¡¯s room corresponds with the paintings in the consultation room.¡±


    ¡°And there¡¯s also the magnifying glass, representing the detective,¡± Pei Tingsong added.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Xia Xiqing nodded. ¡°In fact, all this hints that these rooms are just a representation of one of the protagonist¡¯s personalities, and only the consultation room is representative of the master personality, which contains items from all the personalities. It was just that I didn¡¯t notice in the beginning, because I held the preconception that Zaozao was the master personality.¡±


    ¡°Including this was ¡®The Death of Marat¡¯, which, in fact, was also a core clue. Chenchen had even opened up a back door for me, but I was eager to prove my point of view at that time, and thus ignored the secondary deep meaning hidden in the painting, which was¡ª reversal. The painting was reversed, and so the characters who were assassinated within the painting should also be reversed. Similarly, the diary in the painting also has to be read in a reversed order.¡±


    Xu Qichen said, ¡°You finally realized that something wasn¡¯t right, and I was surprised by the extent to which you reacted to that piece. In just half a minute, you overturned all your views for the plot that you had set up before and pulled back to the correct plotline. You¡¯re very strong.¡±


    He set aside his chopsticks. ¡°This time, I can also count as having incorporated Xiqing¡¯s usual play style. I knew that even if Xiqing had a normal role, he would definitely reveal himself as the knight, so I purposefully designated the identity of an ordinary player to him and let him muddle the waters. If Xiqing was the real knight, its effect on the program might not have been so good.¡±


    After that, he looked at Pei Tingsong and said, ¡°Reality proves that that was true. If it had really been Xiqing who was the knight, while Xiao Pei was the killer, then¡ªone person just reveals himself explosively, while the other just stabs himself¡­¡±


    Everyone laughed at this, but Pei Tingsong leaned back on his chair and said with a smile, ¡°No, I only chose to commit suicide after I confirmed that the black knight¡¯s role must be Fang Juexia¡¯s.¡±


    Fang Juexia¡¯s chopsticks paused.


    What did this sentence imply?


    The other people had begun to coax him, led by Xia Xiqing. ¡°Aiya, so you made all your preparations and handed over all the relics, and only then went unflinchingly to your death?¡±


    What relics?


    ¡°Then how did you know that Juexia was definitely a black knight? Even if you had his medical record, he could have been a white knight?¡± Shang Sirui asked.


    Pei Tingsong said with a laugh, ¡°That was impossible. Xiqing Ge jumped out to state that he was a knight and pretended to take on Juexia¡¯s identity. My jumping out at him at the same time contained two purposes: on one hand, it was to make Senior suspect Xiqing Ge, thereby not allowing him to rest easy in the position of the knight. On the other hand, I was also trying to bluff out Juexia Ge¡¯s camp.


    ¡°If you guys think about it, with two fake knights jumping out at each other and also fighting each other before the vote, if the real knight belonged to the light side, it would be absolutely impossible for him to let others claim his knighthood so easily. For the victory of the good camp, he would have to stand up and reveal himself.¡± His expression was completely confident as he stated, ¡°Especially if that knight was Fang Juexia.¡±


    ¡°Yes oh, or the white knight would have to carry the blame for this round.¡±


    Fang Juexia lowered his head a little and listened to Pei Tingsong¡¯s words, but what he thought about was the scene from not long ago, where the other party had stuffed the note into the front of his shirt.


    ¡°I¡¯m very curious, Juexia.¡± Xu Qichen asked, ¡°I didn¡¯t see when you finished the handover in the monitors. How did you know he had hidden a clue in the ukulele?¡±


    Fang Juexia raised his head. ¡°When Pei Tingsong was teasing me by the display wall and kept play-fighting with me, I didn¡¯t take it seriously, since he usually likes to play tricks on me and play-fight like this with me. However, he then left abruptly, but before that, he patted my pocket. At that time, I heard a sound from the pocket at the front of my coat, and it was the sound of paper. So I figured out what was going on, but I kept pretending that I didn¡¯t know and searched for a more appropriate time to look at it.¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s how it is¡­¡± Xu Qichen nodded. ¡°You know, Juexia was actually a bit beyond my imagination. At the beginning, I just thought that he was a person suited to playing as the false prophet and hiding his true identity, so I gave him the role. But in fact, his strongest points were not just math and his skill to remain calm at all times, but also his ability to find opportunities.¡±


    Xia Xiqing also grasped this point. ¡°Yes, yes, I just wanted to say that this Little Serious is too good at distracting people. When I think back, I understand that I really underestimated my opponent. In the beginning, he deliberately accommodated me, and in the end, didn¡¯t Ziheng get ousted through voting? At that time, I thought I had nearly won, and then, Juexia deliberately directed my attention towards the code on the handkerchief in the cabinet and asked me to solve it.¡±


    Juexia was a bit embarrassed and nodded. ¡°At that stage, I really needed time to go find the ukulele, but Xiqing Ge is too smart, and if I directly left the hall, he would definitely find a flaw. So I could only use the chessboard code on the door¡¯s display lock to divert his attention.¡±


    ¡°And the reason you provided was also very strong.¡± Xu Qichen said with a smile, ¡°You said you were going to find your medical record. In fact, if you hadn¡¯t said it, it would have only made Xiqing suspicious.¡±


    Xia Xiqing nodded. ¡°Yes, because you were the only patient without a medical record until then. This was a problem I had been struggling with the entire time. Although you spoke in a sunny way and had made no small moves, that missing medical record kind of remained stuck in my heart the whole time.


    ¡°As long as you were a character belonging to the dark camp, you would naturally want to hide your medical records. Yet, in the end, you just stood up and said it, and even added that you were going to go find it yourself. My suspicions on this matter disappeared just like that, so I then concentrated on solving the chessboard code.¡±


    Zhai Ying shook her head. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s because Juexia Ge looks too kind-hearted, and really doesn¡¯t make people feel suspicious about him. When I got that scratch paper, my first reaction was to go find Juexia Ge.¡± She looked at Fang Juexia and asked, ¡°In fact, at that time, you had already discovered the problem, hadn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Fang Juexia said with a smile and shaking his head. ¡°I was also controlled by my habitual thinking at that time, so I just solved the double integral straightforwardly. In fact, in addition to being a mathematical problem, that set also implied something else.¡±


    Xia Xiqing nodded heavily and regretted his mistakes. ¡°Ah, I was so completely focused on battling it out with Zhou Ziheng at that time. When everyone gathered up the clues, I also just checked the answer for the double integral problem and didn¡¯t notice the set beside it. Then, I went back to the sofa after I had typed the final answer wrong and saw that scratch paper. It was only then that I finally discovered the root of the problem, using this set.¡±


    Zhai Ying curiously asked, ¡°What was wrong with the set?¡±


    Fang Juexia explained, ¡°Set theory states that there can be no repeating elements in a set. But each set on that piece of paper had a repeating element in it. In the extension of set theory, there is a concept called multisets, in which the number of repetitions of an element in a multiset is called multiplicity or repetition, and for all the multisets on the scratch paper, the multiplicity was 6.¡±


    Shang Sirui was surprised. ¡°God, even the set of numbers on a piece of scratch paper implied that there were six personalities.¡±


    ¡°Xiqing was really only a little bit late.¡± Xu Qichen spoke with a smile, ¡°Because Xiqing is a person who can defend his own views very well, and can also find various clues to act as proof for his views, so he does end up falling into the strange circles of the plot.¡±


    Xia Xiqing recognized this. ¡°So that¡¯s why I say I didn¡¯t lose out anything by losing this time; everyone played really well this round. When I finally sat on the sofa, and my mind filled with all the details I couldn¡¯t reconcile together before, that was a really cool feeling, and I¡¯ll remember it for the rest of my life.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t say anymore.¡± Zhou Ziheng was laughing so hard he was nearly dying of breathlessness. ¡°You guys don¡¯t know, but I died, right? After I died, I ran to look at the monitor and met Xiao Pei there. I complained to him at that time, saying that it was over, it was over, Xiqing¡¯s moves were successful again. He played the killer¡¯s role like this, and even then, there were still people voting with him.¡±


    Pei Tingsong leaned back with a smile, and Fang Juexia felt a little worried while watching him. He was afraid that this person would fall back, and his hands subconsciously wanted to protect the back of his chair.


    ¡°Can you guys imagine how hilarious that was?¡± Zhou Ziheng was still laughing to death. ¡°I said, ¡®I¡¯m so angry, Xiqing even plays the killer in a manner as dirty as this, I was just about to carry this round¡¯. Then Xiao Pei patted me on the shoulder,¡± He imitated Xiao Pei¡¯s movements as he narrated what had happened, ¡°¡®Senior, I¡¯m actually the killer.¡¯ You know, I almost dropped dead right there.¡±


    ¡°Hahahahahaha!¡±


    Now Zhou Ziheng was sighing as he continued, ¡°I play Werewolf ah, and this strategy of killing yourself is pretty common in that game. But Escape isn¡¯t the same as Werewolf, because once a werewolf dies, there are still other werewolves left behind to kill people. However, here, once the killer is dead, he¡¯s dead, and his only chance to kill someone was used up on himself. That¡¯s really something few people would dare to do. What¡¯s more, he¡¯s even a newcomer. He¡¯s too tiger-like.¡±


    Pei Tingsong had laughed enough and let out a long breath. ¡°I also count as being a loyal audience member of the previous season, and I¡¯m also very clear on the playing methods of both Senior and Xiqing Ge. As soon as I saw that I had gotten the killer card, and that the program group wouldn¡¯t be providing extra clues this time, I knew that would have to plan ahead of time.¡±


    ¡°When I bluffed out the fact that Juexia was a black knight, it became very clear that the only way I could win was to make Senior and Xiqing Ge oppose each other.¡±


    Then he looked at Zhou Ziheng. ¡°So I had to jump out as the knight, and also had to commit suicide, all so that Senior would grow more suspicious of Xiqing Ge. Only when they were standing on diametrically opposite sides, could Juexia get some room to survive.¡±


    Xia Xiqing couldn¡¯t help clapping for him. ¡°True love. I now count as understanding what it means to say, ¡®As long as our alliance has not been dissolved, I am your knight.¡¯ Program group, director, remember this sentence, and you have to cut it into the trailer, okay? This is the biggest spoiler.¡±


    It was only at his reminder that Fang Juexia belatedly came to realize the meaning of this sentence. For a period of time following this, he was a little distracted. It turned out that every sentence he thought of as either being for fanservice or being a joke was actually a hint from Pei Tingsong.


    ¡°I also want to say that Xiao Pei kept muddying the waters with me the entire way,¡± said Shang Sirui as he grabbed some fat beef with his chopsticks and put it in his own oil dish. ¡°Moreover, he was the first one to die, so he is definitely going to get laughed at by the fans. You guys don¡¯t know, but Xiao Pei is famous for being a game black hole from way before.¡±


    The director couldn¡¯t help interrupting, ¡°Other people were muddying the water for clues, but you were just muddying the waters for real.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be like that ah, director. I may just be paddling along, but I¡¯m very high-leveled at paddling along, okay?¡±


    ¡°Indeed.¡± Zhai Ying analyzed, ¡°If you hadn¡¯t put Ziheng Ge and Xiqing Ge in opposition with each other, it would have become very difficult to win this game. These two immortals represent two completely different ways of playing; it¡¯s hard to trust each other, but it¡¯s easy to kill each other.¡±


    ¡°Once the two logic big bosses were at loggerheads, the rest of us could only passively choose to follow the reasoning laid out by one of them. We never even imagined that there was a third set of logic hidden underneath all of it. At that time, I really thought I had already locked the role of the killer onto one of these two people.¡±


    Xu Qichen said with a smile, ¡°Juexia is actually really kind-hearted. When he saw Ziheng and Xiqing tearing into each other, he also reminded all of you that the reasoning you guys had put forth was all quite right, but that you also shouldn¡¯t forget that the identity of the killer was linked with the plot, and wanted you guys to stop fighting to uncover the whole plot first.¡±


    After that, he couldn¡¯t help praising, ¡°Ziheng¡¯s speech was really the best there. All of his logical reasoning was closely linked, and there really was no flaw at all. If it wasn¡¯t for Xiqing being there, Ziheng would definitely have been able to uncover Juexia¡¯s identity.¡±


    Zhou Ziheng sighed. ¡°Who would have thought that the youngest player on the field would take advantage of both Xiqing¡¯s uncertainty and my logical thinking to create a feint and sow dissension among the ranks.¡±


    The corners of Pei Tingsong¡¯s mouth quirked up. ¡°It was precisely because Senior and Xiqing Ge were strong enough that I was sure that my move of committing suicide would work. They were indispensable to this plan, and if my opponent hadn¡¯t been strong enough, I wouldn¡¯t have used this kind of a wild path of burning all my bridges.¡±


    Saying that, he looked at Fang Juexia and said, ¡°Of course, there was also my knight. If anyone else were my knight in this episode, I probably wouldn¡¯t have killed myself. Because my knight would have to avoid all attention, collect clues secretly, connect with me smoothly, manipulate the voting pattern perfectly each time we voted, and finally seize the opportunity to decrypt all the clues and escape. Only Fang Juexia could do all this.¡±


    Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t deceive himself. They had been trapped in the escape room for several hours, and although they hadn¡¯t stayed together all the time, it seemed that there was an invisible thread that had been binding them together. Hidden under all this deception and intrigue was Pei Tingsong¡¯s unconditional trust in him.


    He looked up and gave Pei Tingsong a smile.


    Fang Juexia then opened his mouth, ¡°In fact, winning this round had a lot to do with luck. At first, I was hesitating between Xiao Pei and Xiqing Ge. Even though Xiao Pei kept hinting at me, I was still wondering whether Xiqing Ge was my companion or not. So when I found the recording, I invited Xiqing Ge over. But he turned me down, which allowed me to give up on the idea that he was the killer.¡±


    Zhai Ying asked again, ¡°But you can¡¯t control the voting ah? If in the first round, Xiqing Ge or Xiao Pei had left, it would have been a mess after that.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t control the voting, but I can calculate it.¡± Fang Juexia said while smiling at her, ¡°During the first round of voting, I still wasn¡¯t sure who the killer was, so neither of the two could leave. At that time, you and Senior Brother doubted Xiqing Ge¡¯s motives, but Senior Brother was more experienced. He knew that he could not use conventional logic when facing Xiqing Ge, and so was always cautious when voting. Therefore, there was an 80% chance he¡¯d abandon his vote.¡±


    ¡°Zhai Ying, when you talked, it seemed as if you wanted to vote for Xiqing Ge, so when I was encouraging everyone to vote, I believed that you would vote for Xiqing Ge. Ziheng¡¯s logic was very stable; he only believed in himself, and didn¡¯t believe that the knight was definitely from among one of them, so it was likely that he would vote for others. Xiqing Ge and Xiao Pei would vote for each other. Then, at that time, calculating all this, there were two votes to oust Xiqing Ge and one vote to oust Xiao Pei, so I voted for Xiao Pei.¡±


    Shang Sirui marveled at this set of assumptions. ¡°I did give up voting at that time. You¡¯re too strong, who would have thought that the black knight would vote for the killer in the first round?¡±


    Fang Juexia looked at Zhou Ziheng and asked, ¡°The person you voted for during the first round was me, right?¡±


    Zhou Ziheng admitted it readily, ¡°You guessed right. The first round, I locked onto you, but you just hid too well. If Xiao Pei hadn¡¯t died later, my attention wouldn¡¯t have entirely been diverted towards Xiqing.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Xiao Pei protected me and caused havoc between you two.¡± Fang Juexia nodded with a smile. ¡°In the second round of voting, I just wanted to get Ziheng kicked out, so I stood with Xiqing. On the one hand, Xiqing now had a little trust in me, and on the other hand, Ziheng was the person who had discovered the chessboard password with me. It¡¯s hard to distract someone¡¯s attention from something they know is there.¡±


    Xu Qichen couldn¡¯t help praising, ¡°In the beginning, when I watched your guys¡¯ interview, I especially liked both of your attitudes and speaking styles, so I asked Yin Jie to invite you onto the program. However, you guys have really exceeded my expectations, that silent tacit understanding you have going with each other is really powerful.¡±


    Everyone ate and chatted, and began to discuss their predictions for the next episode, continuing all the way until the director said from behind the camera, ¡°Everyone¡¯s almost done eating, so I¡¯ll say a few words.¡±


    ¡°We will be donating all the proceeds from this episode to the child protection association, and we are very grateful to the companies and the brand names who have supported us. We very much hope that through this episode, we can stimulate everyone into protecting and caring for the youth, and into paying attention to the issue of preventing children¡¯s sexual abuse, because protecting our children is what protects our future.¡±


    ¡°Great!¡±


    ¡°Well then, everyone has worked hard today. ¡®Escape For Your Life¡¯ season 2, episode 1, has officially completed its filming today!¡±


    Everyone ate and drank well, then added each other on WeChat. Xia Xiqing created a group chat and changed the group chat¡¯s name to¡ª [Today I am again fighting a battle of wits and courage against the program group], and then everyone gathered up their things and prepared to go home.


    When Zhai Ying¡¯s agent came to pick her up in person, he ended up coming face to face with Fang Juexia at the back door of the restaurant, and recognized him.


    ¡°¡­¡­Juexia?¡± The middle-aged man showed a trace of embarrassment as he asked, ¡°You¡¯ve been good recently ba?¡±


    Fang Juexia nodded somewhat emotionlessly and replied, ¡°Very good.¡±


    Zhai Ying looked at the two people, then pulled her family¡¯s agent away, rolled down the window after getting into the car, and said goodbye to Fang Juexia with a smile.


    Fang Juexia waved at her and watched Zhai Ying¡¯s car drive away. His mood right now was somewhat complicated, but he didn¡¯t even have the time to put his hand down before someone hugged him from the back, with two long arms hooking around his neck. ¡°I¡¯m so dizzy ah, Juexia Ge.¡±


    Even after everything, Fang Juexia had still not gotten used to Pei Tingsong calling him Gege, but he did seem to enjoy it a little bit right now.


    ¡°You stopped me from drinking, but you drank so much yourself.¡± Fang Juexia pulled his hands away, and right then, Xiao Wen drove his car over and flashed his headlights at them.


    Supporting Pei Tingsong over to the car, Xiao Wen was also very excited, exclaiming, ¡°I watched this entire episode on the monitors, too strong, it will definitely explode, and our spot on the Hot Search list is reserved!¡±


    Fang Juexia was as calm as ever and didn¡¯t say too much. Up until now, his mind was still constantly recalling all the things that had happened in the escape room.


    Pei Tingsong seemed to have really drunk a lot; his neck had turned red, and his speech had become slower, but he still looked to be quite sober. His drinking tolerance and drunk behavior were much better than his own.


    ¡°Right,¡± Xiao Wen suddenly thought of something and said, ¡°I forgot to tell you guys that today you may have to stay outside. Strong Ge asked me to take you to a hotel.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Fang Juexia didn¡¯t understand and inquired, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with the dormitory?¡±


    ¡°Well, the dormitory¡¯s electronic lock was suddenly attacked today. Fortunately, none of you were there. The company suspects that because you guys are popular now, there may have been some stalker fans or something who did it. It¡¯s still getting fixed right now, and we¡¯re going to replace the lock for you guys. For the sake of this matter, Strong Ge even quarreled with the property management, saying that someone bribed the people on the property. Anyway, it¡¯s urgently getting dealt with right now, so we won¡¯t go back tonight. We¡¯ll find a hotel close to the company, and just use that for tonight.¡±


    There was also no other way to deal with this.


    Fang Juexia was about to answer, but Pei Tingsong snatched the initiative and stated, ¡°I¡¯m not going to stay in a hotel.¡±


    ¡°Then what do you want to do ah, young master?¡±


    ¡°If there¡¯s really a stalker around, then the hotel is even less safe.¡± Pei Tingsong looked at the night view outside the window. ¡°Go to the apartment I used to live in ba.¡±


    Fang Juexia turned his head and looked at him.


    Pei Tingsong, who was half-drunk, grinned and bumped his forehead against Fang Juexia¡¯s. ¡°What, are you afraid ah?¡±


    Fang Juexia covered his forehead, which had been suddenly bumped into, and stared at Pei Tingsong with wide eyes. The colorful neon lights outside the glass window projected onto that handsome face. He was still smiling, leaning against the window on the other side, with Fang Juexia¡¯s face being reflected in his deep pupils.


    ¡°I even killed myself for you, black knight.¡±

 CH 44

    Chapter 44 ¨C Frank And Honest


    You don¡¯t know what you did.


    Xiao Wen drove them to the high-end apartment Pei Tingsong had been renting outside this whole time. Fang Juexia looked out the window, and calculated that they had already known each other for more than two years, but he had never gone to the place where Pei Tingsong lived. Their interactions had only taken place at either the company or during activities, and even when at work, he had displayed an extremely indifferent attitude towards Pei Tingsong, pretending that he simply didn¡¯t exist, that no such person existed in his eyes.


    They had actually managed to maintain such a mutually strained tolerance for a whole two years.


    ¡°We¡¯re here.¡±


    Fang Juexia made a sound of acknowledgement, opened the car door, and got out first. However, for some reason, Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t follow him out. Seeing him behave like this, Fang Juexia bent down and looked inside the car. ¡°Pei Tingsong, we¡¯re here.¡±


    Pei Tingsong raised his head, shook his head once more, and then slowly climbed out of the car. As he got out of the car, his center of gravity became unstable, and he fell against Fang Juexia just like an uprooted tree.


    It was probably the alcohol was kicking in again, and Fang Juexia felt that right now, Pei Tingsong was even more seriously drunk than before.


    ¡°Hey, slow down a bit. Weren¡¯t you talking smoothly just now?¡± Fang Juexia reached out to steady him and called to Xiao Wen for help. The two people helped him to the ground floor of the apartment complex. The lock at the entrance here used facial recognition, but Pei Tingsong seemed to be sleepy, and it seemed that he couldn¡¯t open his eyes. Xiao Wen threw him bodily against Fang Juexia, then pried open Pei Tingsong¡¯s eyelids with both of his hands, and tried to force him to face the camera so that it would recognize him.


    ¡°It hurts.¡± Pei Tingsong¡¯s ¡®Young Master¡¯ temper was aroused, and with a slap, he pushed Xiao Wen away. Fang Juexia had no way left other than to coax him, ¡°You look here for a second, we can only go up after it recognizes you.¡±


    After listening to this, Pei Tingsong turned to face Fang Juexia and even blinked.


    ¡°Not at me.¡± Fang Juexia turned his face to the right with his hand and aimed it at the camera, instructing, ¡°Look here.¡±


    After spending a lot of effort over a long period of time, they finally managed to get upstairs. To Fang Juexia¡¯s surprise, Pei Tingsong¡¯s apartment was much simpler than he had imagined. He had thought that a child like him, one who came from such a well-off family and lived by himself, would live in that kind of high-rise mansion with hundreds of square meters. Reality proved that he was not as extravagant as that. The apartment was indeed beautiful, with floor-to-ceiling windows in the two bedrooms and two living rooms, but the furniture was very sparse, and the living room was almost empty except for a sofa.


    It totally didn¡¯t look like a home.


    ¡°Juexia, you just stay here together with him today ba. This is the change of clothing and toiletries I brought from the dormitory for you. Originally, they were for you to use while at the hotel, but now, it¡¯s perfect, you can still use them here too,¡± said Xiao Wen as he anxiously helped Pei Tingsong to the sofa and sat him down. He checked the time and then added, ¡°I still need to send Lu Yuan to the airport in a bit.¡±


    ¡°Is he going to record a show?¡±


    ¡°Yes ah. I¡¯m going to be late, so I¡¯ll leave now.¡±


    Fang Juexia sent him to the door and said, ¡°Drive carefully.¡±


    Upon closing the door, only the two of them were now present in the apartment. Fang Juexia changed his shoes for slippers, took out another pair of slippers, went to the sofa, and put them on the ground. ¡°You change your shoes, too.¡±


    Pei Tingsong let out an ¡°en¡±. He kicked off his shoes and also took off his coat at the same time. ¡°It¡¯s so hot.¡± With one hand, he dragged his innermost black sweater off his body, threw it on the sofa, and now, with his upper body completely bare, leaned back against the sofa.


    His skin was usually pale, but after drinking, it was suffused with red.


    ¡°You¡¯ll catch a cold.¡± Fang Juexia sighed and brought his coat over to cover him. As soon as he covered him, Pei Tingsong pulled it aside. ¡°It¡¯s really hot.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s hot while wearing the sweater, but wearing the coat won¡¯t make you feel that hot.¡± Fang Juexia pulled him up, helped him put on the coat, and zipped it up. However, Pei Tingsong made a last stubborn move of his own by moving his hand and pulling the zipper all the way down to reveal his abdominal muscles.


    Fang Juexia looked at his figure and thought it was strange. When exactly had Pei Tingsong managed to get fit? He had muscular abs, muscular pecs, and even a mermaid line right under his abs. Fang Juexia danced every day, and yet all he had were only the abs.


    ¡°You¡¯re looking at me.¡± Pei Tingsong tilted his head and blinked at Fang Juexia.


    ¡°No,¡± Fang Juexia stood up and said, ¡°You rest for a bit here, I¡¯ll go to wash up first.¡±


    The bathroom, on the other hand, was very big. Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t really rest easy with a drunk outside, so he could only take a quick shower, wash himself quickly, and then exit the bathroom in the shortest amount of time. He considered washing the clothes he had worn today, even though he had been wearing the clothes provided by the show¡¯s stylist group the entire time they had been filming.


    Tidy things up first ba. Fang Juexia picked up his coat and shook it out. A piece of paper fell out of it and drifted onto Fang Juexia¡¯s slippers.


    He stooped to pick it up, glanced at it, and then stuffed it into the pocket of his pajamas.


    ¡°I¡¯m done with the bathroom.¡± He wiped at his hair and came out, only to find that Pei Tingsong, who had just been on the sofa, was now standing upright, and had pasted both of his hands against the floor-to-ceiling window, seeming as if he was looking out at something.


    Fang Juexia walked over and asked, ¡°Have you sobered up? Go wash up and go to bed early ba.¡±


    Pei Tingsong leaned against the window and nodded, then turned and walked towards the bathroom. Fang Juexia was a little worried and reached out a hand to help steady him, but Pei Tingsong refused it. The tall man, who was nearly 1.9 m, staggered around while walking forward. Fang Juexia, who was watching this, was nearly living in terror, afraid that this person would fall to the ground with his next step.


    However, it seemed that he was worrying too much for no reason. Only after he heard the sound of the bathroom door closing did Fang Juexia feel relieved. He walked around the empty living room and suddenly thought of the problem of how they would sleep that night.


    Fortunately, there were two rooms.


    However, this idea soon proved to just be his naive hypothesis. There were indeed two rooms in the apartment, but there was only one bed. The other bedroom had been turned into a study, with two large bookcases, a desk that doubled as a working station, as well as a guitar, keyboard, and other musical instruments.


    ¡°What to do¡­¡± Fang Juexia had a headache about where he was supposed to sleep tonight, but he also couldn¡¯t help walking into that room. This study contained the most vitality in this apartment.


    No, not vitality. Fang Juexia dismissed this judgment of his in his heart and then revised it.


    It was full of Pei Tingsong.


    He walked in, and realized that the room was filled with the smell of paper books. It was very intriguing; it was plainly a cold city night, but here, he could feel the warm breath of the sun as it dried the pages. There was a mess on the desk, with open books, a thick stack of papers, and various notes spread across it, along with a very brightly colored note propped in front of the lamp with a few big words on it¡ªPlease don¡¯t clean up here.


    Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t help it as the corners of his mouth drew up. He guessed that this apartment should have a cleaning auntie who cleaned it up regularly, otherwise, this young master, who couldn¡¯t even make a bed, probably wouldn¡¯t be able to even keep himself neat and tidy. Just looking at this little note, he could imagine the various scenes¡ª of Pei Tingsong defending his messy desk to death, of him writing out his requirements in a way that clearly showed he had translated them first from English, of him saying ¡®please¡¯ out loud.


    His desk was padded with a piece of paper on which he wrote and drew. There were many repeated words on it, as if he had been practicing calligraphy. Fang Juexia felt a little affectionate towards it; it was just like some scratch paper for literature lovers.


    He sat down to identify what had been written on the paper; it consisted mostly of signatures of Pei Tingsong¡¯s name, along with some scrawled English.


    Some of the words were very interesting and attracted Fang Juexia¡¯s attention.


    [the taste of coffee is coffee-colored, and the taste of cream is soft white.


    add ice, the taste of ice is transparent and colorless.


    after drinking, cold air cuts the throat.


    ice is a diamond lying in the throat.]


    His mind always seemed to be full of fantastic ideas, like a heavenly steed soaring through the skies, while simultaneously being completely unpredictable. Fang Juexia opened up a book and wanted to continue reading, but unexpectedly, that book accidentally fell on the floor. He hurried to pick it up and found a photo that had fallen onto the floor as well, and it seemed to have fallen out of the book.


    In the center of the photo was an old man in a wheelchair, who was wearing a pair of bifocals and had a kind smile. Crouching by the side of the wheelchair was a 13 or 14-year-old, who was hugging a newly born puppy in his arms. He was smiling so widely that his eyes had become curved crescents, and he was full of youthful spirit.


    Pei Tingsong was like a cactus seedling when he was a child; even his thorns were soft. Actually, you couldn¡¯t even call them thorns, they were like the rays of light that peeked through the clouds.


    Fang Juexia placed the photo back into the book, stood up, and suddenly realized that a lot of time had passed since Pei Tingsong had entered the bathroom, but there had been no signs of any sound from that direction at all.


    He couldn¡¯t help but worry; even though it looked like Pei Tingsong seemed to possess all his mental facilities, he had really drank a lot of alcohol. Besides, last time, when he had gotten drunk to the extent of becoming a completely-falling-over drunk, it had been Pei Tingsong who had taken care of him from the beginning to the end, so he needed to return his kindness.


    There was no movement from the bathroom, and not even the sound of a shower emerged from it. Some bad possibilities appeared in Fang Juexia¡¯s mind.


    It couldn¡¯t be that he had fainted ba?


    Right, you couldn¡¯t just casually take a bath after drinking!


    Thinking of this, Fang Juexia rammed himself against the bathroom door. Unexpectedly, the bathroom door wasn¡¯t locked at all, and had just been closed superficially. Ramming into it the way he did, he ended up falling to the floor and almost couldn¡¯t get up.


    ¡°¡­¡­really hurts.¡±


    Fang Juexia frowned and raised his arms. Looking inside, he found that Pei Tingsong was actually taking a bath.


    Bathing was even more dangerous in such a state! Fang Juexia didn¡¯t even have time to care about the pain coursing through his body, and he ran barefoot towards the innermost bathtub. Pei Tingsong¡¯s head was resting against the bathtub, his eyes were closed, and he was completely motionless.


    ¡°Hey, Pei Tingsong, wake up.¡± He patted Pei Tingsong¡¯s face, and only after seeing the other party slowly open his eyes did his heart, that was nearly beating out of his chest, stabilize a bit.


    News headlines about the sudden death of a member of a boy-band trending on the social network sites had just leaped to the forefront of his mind.


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s eyelashes were covered in moist water vapor, and he blinked twice, slowly, before finally focusing on Fang Juexia¡¯s face. The corners of his mouth quirked up, and he smiled as he raised his hand to cover Fang Juexia¡¯s whole face with his palm.


    ¡°What are you doing¡­¡± Fang Juexia held his hand and pulled at his arm, wanting him to sit up. ¡°Quickly come out, you can¡¯t take a bath when you are drunk.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not drunk.¡± Pei Tingsong¡¯s enunciation was much slower than usual. In order to prove that he was not drunk, he actually held onto the edge of the bathtub and stood up.


    Fang Juexia had been crouched beside the bathtub, and Pei Tingsong caught him off guard by standing up so suddenly, so he hurriedly turned his head away. He didn¡¯t know what was wrong with him; everything the other party had, he did as well, so if he did see something, it wouldn¡¯t count as anything.


    But his heart told him, clearly, that there was something.


    ¡°You really¡­¡± Fang Juexia was tongue-tied for a moment, so he could only get up, pull down a bath towel, and wrap Pei Tingsong up with his head turned to the side. ¡°Don¡¯t move.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re so¡­fierce ah.¡± Pei Tingsong talked slowly. He didn¡¯t sound as grumpy and sharp as usual, and even sounded as if he had been a little wronged.


    ¡°You¡¯re the one who didn¡¯t listen first.¡± Fang Juexia finished wrapping him up in a bath towel and took his arm as he led him to the bedroom. ¡°Be careful, don¡¯t run into things.¡±


    Pei Tingsong said slowly, ¡°¡­.I¡ªI¡¯m not stupid.¡±


    After expending great effort, Fang Juexia finally got Pei Tingsong next to the bed. He then took a breath, helped him lie down, and said just to deal with him, ¡°Yes, you are the smartest.¡±


    Who would have known that in the next moment, he would be dragged down by Pei Tingsong and completely pulled right against this person¡¯s body?


    The distance between them shrank suddenly, and even the oxygen around them solidified. Fang Juexia held his breath and stared at the person directly under him.


    His brain was completely blank, unable to give any effective emergency instructions.


    Pei Tingsong suddenly laughed, with his white teeth flashing, while his eyes were full of Fang Juexia.


    ¡°You finally praised me.¡±


    He said this slowly, as his arm slung across the back of Fang Juexia¡¯s waist.


    Fang Juexia was stunned; he had never expected Pei Tingsong to say something like this. He was clearly the most arrogant child in the world, born with both innate talent and confidence.


    ¡°You¡­¡± Fang Juexia wanted to struggle, but ended up being gripped even tighter by Pei Tingsong, so he could only ask in a frank tone, ¡°Do you know who I am? You¡¯ve drunk too much.¡±


    He didn¡¯t know what was wrong with this sentence, but Pei Tingsong actually exerted force to turn around his body in order to press Fang Juexia under his body.


    ¡°You get up, I¡¯m almost out of breath¡­¡±


    ¡°I know who you are.¡± Pei Tingsong¡¯s bangs hung down, covering his deep eyebrows and eyes halfway. ¡°You are Fang Juexia¡­¡±


    He was actually clear about that. Fang Juexia frowned and pushed at him with his hand. ¡°Then you get up, don¡¯t keep pressing on me.¡±


    ¡°You are that damned Fang Juexia¡­¡±


    Damned¡ªthis prefix was really in line with Pei Tingsong¡¯s personality. Fang Juexia knew that he had drunk too much and so didn¡¯t bother arguing over it. He just wanted to wrap this person up with a quilt, close the door, and then he could go and squeeze himself onto the sofa for a night.


    Pei Tingsong was not letting this go at all. He looked as if he was the same as usual, but he still wasn¡¯t quite the same. He mumbled a few vague words in English, then lowered his head and leaned it against Fang Juexia¡¯s clavicle.


    With hot breath being sprayed against his skin, Fang Juexia felt that his chest was being compressed to the point where his heart couldn¡¯t even muster up the strength to beat properly. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m Fang Juexia, that damned Fang Juexia. When you¡¯re done cursing me out, let me go.¡±


    Pei Tingsong was still stuffed against his chest. ¡°You¡­ Do you really admire others?¡±


    Fang Juexia felt this was a rather inexplicable question. ¡°Who?¡±


    ¡°Those people, the screenwriter, Xiqing Ge, and many others¡­¡± Pei Tingsong¡¯s voice was originally low, but it became even deeper when he was drunk.


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t understand why he was suddenly saying things like this, and even less on how it had anything to do with Pei Tingsong. ¡°Yes, they are all very outstanding and very powerful¡­¡±


    ¡°Am I not outstanding?¡± Pei Tingsong suddenly raised his head, and his neck was red. ¡°Wasn¡¯t I powerful today?¡±


    ¡°You¡­¡± Fang Juexia¡¯s heart leaped abruptly. ¡°Of course you are also very outstanding, very powerful.¡±


    The most powerful was you, both brave and resourceful, managing to entangle all the best players on the scene into the plan you weaved all by yourself.


    ¡°But you didn¡¯t praise me at all.¡± Pei Tingsong dropped his head again.


    Fang Juexia was quite surprised; he hadn¡¯t expected Pei Tingsong to be entangled about, or even unhappy with his comments.


    During the course of the game, he had marveled over Pei Tingsong¡¯s ability more than once, but he didn¡¯t know how to say it to him. He could express his praise to others easily, but when faced with Pei Tingsong, it seemed that he would have to muster up a lot of courage just to smile at him.


    Fang Juexia himself could not find the reason for why Pei Tingsong received such differential treatment from him.


    ¡°Do you still think¡­ think I¡¯m biased against you?¡± Pei Tingsong lay against his chest. ¡°I said it before, that I misunderstood you previously. I haven¡¯t thought that way ever since then¡­¡±


    He had never thought that Pei Tingsong would be so frank after getting drunk, which made him feel guilty.


    Fang Juexia took a deep breath before saying, ¡°I didn¡¯t say that. I know you have changed, you said that before.¡±


    ¡°But you don¡¯t trust me, you-you always hide from me¡­¡±


    He really did do that, that was right. After two years of maintaining constant mutual exclusion, he couldn¡¯t completely get rid of this habit of his within a short time and allow Pei Tingsong to break into his safety zone. Even if he had already dismissed his antipathy towards him, keeping a distance from him had become an ingrained defense mechanism when it came to dealing with Pei Tingsong.


    This was so even if he was clear that Pei Tingsong was no longer the Pei Tingsong who had targeted him everywhere in the past. He was no longer overbearing, and even his young and frivolous desire for victory had been used by him as a stepping stone to place at Fang Juexia¡¯s feet.


    Why was it so hard to give up your heart?


    Fang Juexia also wanted to know the answer to that.


    ¡°I used to bully you, and I know you disliked me too,¡± Pei Tingsong paused for a bit before defending himself, ¡°But now, I¡­ now I really want to be-to be friends with you. Can¡¯t you see that? I¡¯m already-already so obvious about it. You¡¯re so good, Fang Juexia. You¡¯re so good¡­¡±


    He kept starting and stopping, talking in a very painstaking manner, but the weight of each of his words was very heavy. One by one, they smashed into Fang Juexia¡¯s heart, creating both deep and shallow pits while releasing a sour and astringent juice.


    ¡°About being a friend, we can be friends.¡± Fang Juexia held his hand out hesitantly and covered Pei Tingsong¡¯s head, which could count as providing some kind of comfort to him. ¡°But I¡¯m not as good as you think I am.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Pei Tingsong raised his head abruptly, and as if thinking hard, started praising, ¡°You¡¯re very good, you¡¯re really good-looking¡­.you¡¯re smart¡­very good-looking¡­¡±


    So he was just good-looking? Fang Juexia didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry.


    ¡°Also, you¡¯re kind, you¡¯re very cool, right, your attitude towards life is cool, and the way you pursue your dreams is also very cool.¡±


    Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t help laughing. ¡°Not as cool as you.¡±


    Whether Pei Tingsong was copying him or just repeating things, Fang Juexia didn¡¯t know, but in short, he kept repeating the words, ¡°Not as cool as you¡­¡±


    He didn¡¯t want to entangle over the question of who was cooler anymore; his hands had already gone numb, and now he just wanted to coax Pei Tingsong up. ¡°I know, you have no prejudices against me now, and you are sorry for what you have done in the past. I forgive you, and I also apologize to you. I used to ignore you and pretend that you didn¡¯t exist, I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    Pei Tingsong kept lying on his stomach and nodded. ¡°Then-then I forgive you too.¡±


    ¡°Alright, then we¡¯ve forgiven each other. Can you get up now?¡±


    Pei Tingsong could still be counted as being obedient, for he raised up half of his body to make room. Yet, before Fang Juexia could get out from under him, he fell down again. ¡°I have no strength.¡±


    God¡­ Fang Juexia was fast running out of ideas.


    Drunk Pei Tingsong was really the same as his family¡¯s dog. He was sticky, you couldn¡¯t get rid of him, and he even had a very hot body temperature.


    ¡°I really wanted to have a Gege before¡­¡± This time, Pei Tingsong lay his head against Fang Juexia¡¯s cheek, and hot air floated over whenever he spoke. Fang Juexia¡¯s pores even resonated with the sound waves made when he opened his mouth.


    The word ¡°Gege¡± was originally very simple, but it had been embedded with too many elusive meanings in Pei Tingsong¡¯s word games. So now, every time Fang Juexia heard that word, his emotions grew complicated.


    Did Pei Tingsong want him to be his Gege?


    But he couldn¡¯t say this out loud¡ª ¡°You can view me as your Gege.¡±


    The person who was pressing on top of him suddenly seemed to realize something, struggled to get up, and then reached out to touch Fang Juexia¡¯s waist. Fang Juexia was a little ticklish, so he dodged it and grabbed his hand. ¡°What are you doing? It tickles.¡±


    Pei Tingsong, whose hand was caught, blinked in confusion, then looked at Fang Juexia and asked, ¡°Doesn¡¯t your waist hurt?¡±


    ¡°We didn¡¯t even do anything, so how can my waist hurt?¡±


    As soon as he blurted this out, Fang Juexia regretted it a little. This sentence was just too ambiguous. Fortunately, Pei Tingsong was really drunk right now, otherwise he would definitely make fun of him by using the worst possible tone to mock his unintentional words.


    But he didn¡¯t expect that Pei Tingsong would instead look completely relieved. ¡°You-you told Senior Brother that your waist hurt, and it was because of dancing¡­ I heard that. I thought it was true, you usually don¡¯t deceive people.¡±


    Fang Juexia suddenly saw the light; no wonder Pei Tingsong had run over to him at that time and had been so handsy, forcing him into a fight, into almost wrestling together.


    It turned out that what he had said at that time was true, and that it was not some kind of implied secret signal. He had really come to confirm whether or not he had a waist injury.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, I¡¯m not hurt.¡±


    Pei Tingsong nodded heavily, his hair tumbling down. However, he then thought of something else and methodically said, ¡°But I got hurt.¡± Saying that, he pointed at the corner of his eye.


    Fang Juexia wanted to laugh and held onto Pei Tingsong¡¯s hand. ¡°It¡¯s this side, you¡¯re pointing the other way.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± He rubbed it and then said loudly, ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± just like a fool.


    Fang Juexia felt that this was too funny, to the extent that he even wanted to record Pei Tingsong¡¯s silly and dazed appearance. Anyway, this guy had done the exact same thing to him before.


    But forget it, a video wasn¡¯t safe, even though they weren¡¯t doing anything.


    Doing? It seemed that this word ¡°do¡± was also very ambiguous. It had already, obviously, caused even his own thoughts to be carried off too far.


    ¡°There¡¯s also this one.¡± At once, Pei Tingsong reached out and brought his hand right in front of Fang Juexia¡¯s face. ¡°This also got hurt.¡±


    A small scab had already formed on the bite mark on his hand, but it had turned a little red after soaking in the bath, and even the hard scab had now become soft.


    Speaking of all this, the injuries at the corner of his eye and the one on his hand were all related to him.


    A little guilt welled up in Fang Juexia¡¯s heart. ¡°Yes, I was the one who bit you, I¡¯m sorry.¡± In order to show his sincerity, he also reached out and rubbed Pei Tingsong¡¯s hand.


    ¡°Yes, you were the one who bit me.¡± Pei Tingsong nodded. Fang Juexia had thought this topic was over, but unexpectedly, Pei Tingsong suddenly grasped Fang Juexia¡¯s chin in his hand, forced him to raise his head, and then bent down. Fang Juexia was caught completely unprepared by this series of actions.


    ¡°Hey!¡±


    Clearly, he had just been so docile, but had suddenly transformed back into a wolf cub.


    What was going on?


    ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    His sensory system was being attacked.


    Everything failed, he could not see or hear anything. He could only feel the soft lips against his throat.


    The lips separated.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to bite it back.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t a playful bite, and it wasn¡¯t on his hand. It was like a hungry predator biting into his prey¡¯s throat, biting so hard that the prey released fresh and warm blood as he waited for his life to drip out little by little, after which it would completely belong to himself.


    As Fang Juexia regained his senses, he violently pushed at him and struggled hard, but his actions only seemed to irritate Pei Tingsong even more. In response, Pei Tingsong gripped his forearms, with his two wrists then converging at the top of his head, and he held Fang Juexia down tightly with his broad, bitten hand.


    He looked down at Fang Juexia, his gaze travelling from his eyes to the red corners of his eyes, all the way to his unique birthmark. It seemed as if he was scrutinizing his prey currently.


    ¡°Pei Tingsong, don¡¯t go crazy while you¡¯re drunk.¡± Fang Juexia¡¯s eyes shifted back to showing stubbornness and fearlessness, which made the delirious Pei Tingsong feel more familiar with him.


    ¡°I¡¯m not drunk.¡± Pei Tingsong was also very stubborn. ¡°You know, have you ever seen yourself drunk? I¡¯m completely not¡­I completely don¡¯t count as being drunk.¡±


    Yes, but he wasn¡¯t that much better.


    Anyway, he was going to regret it when he woke up.


    There was a dull pain at his neck, and Fang Juexia frowned. He was worried about how he would appear on camera in the next few days and how he would explain this to the others. He was still struggling, twisting his arms and his entire body around at the same time.


    Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t let go. He was terrifyingly strong, and he frowned. ¡°Fang Juexia, you¡¯ve made a mess of my bed.¡±


    ¡°You let me go. This is uncomfortable.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t.¡±


    Pei Tingsong was a little unhappy, and he didn¡¯t want to see Fang Juexia¡¯s face, so he lowered his head and gasped for breath. Suddenly, he seemed to find something, and his free hand stretched out to scratch at the sheets. His eyesight was blurry, and his head felt faint, so he had to reach out several times just to pick up a small piece of paper.


    He squinted and tried to make out the words written on the paper.


    But Fang Juexia was faster in seeing the handwritten ¡®ukulele¡¯ facing his side. He suddenly regained his senses; shame haunted him for no good reason, and he wanted to grab this note back, but he couldn¡¯t struggle out of Pei Tingsong¡¯s grasp.


    ¡°Don¡¯t move, I can¡¯t read clearly¡­¡± Pei Tingsong wasn¡¯t happy. He repeatedly read the word for a long time. ¡°Who-who copied my handwriting?¡±


    That is your handwriting, fool.


    ¡°No, no¡­¡± Pei Tingsong¡¯s eyebrows suddenly smoothed out as he said, ¡°This is what I wrote, this is what I wrote to Fang Juexia before I committed suicide¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Fang Juexia already had no strength to resist. ¡°These were your posthumous words, alright ba.¡±


    Pei Tingsong suddenly laughed, as if particularly happy. ¡°I thought you had thrown it away.¡±


    He should have thrown it away; it was just a game prop, and he didn¡¯t know why he had kept it.


    Fang Juexia wanted to change the topic. He didn¡¯t want to talk about this piece of paper any more, and he didn¡¯t want to recall the shock he had experienced when he had seen that word.


    ¡°How are you like this when you get drunk?¡±


    One second, such a straight-shooter that he made people see stars, and the very next second, he was like a madman who wouldn¡¯t let go of anything.


    He couldn¡¯t even coax him into doing anything.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with me?¡± Pei Tingsong pinched the piece of paper and frowned slightly. ¡°I¡¯m much better than you, do you know how-how terrible you are when you are drunk? You made me¡ªmade me sleep with you¡­¡±


    These complaints, which he had heard over and over again, still had the ability to make Fang Juexia feel ashamed. ¡°Don¡¯t say it, I know, I¡¯ve apologized to you.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t know.¡± Pei Tingsong interrupted his words and covered his mouth with the small note in his hand, as if he was sticking a seal on it.


    Fang Juexia¡¯s eyes widened.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know what you did.¡±


    He bent down, and like a beautiful collapsed palace, suddenly fell in front of Fang Juexia¡¯s eyes, and in a flash, everything was shaking.


    ¡°You kissed me that night, Fang Juexia.¡± Pei Tingsong¡¯s voice was very slow and very deep.


    Then he kissed him from across the paper.


    Fang Juexia¡¯s breath stopped suddenly. He was drowning in the ruins; his body couldn¡¯t move, and his mind was completely blank.


    The next moment, these scattered ruins gathered together again, and drew up little by little while rising into the sky. There was a piece of paper separating him from these skimming kisses, and he thus gained some breathing space.


    However, Pei Tingsong, who had been left further away, was dissatisfied with this degree of restoration, so he reached out and ripped off that seal that had only lasted for a moment.


    ¡°That¡¯s not right, it was like this.¡±


    Then, he kissed him for real.

 CH 45

    Chapter 45 ¨C Break The Ice To Warm Up


    What else did I do?


    How did it turn out like this?


    ¡°Wu!¡± Fang Juexia tried his best to break free of the grip Pei Tingsong had on his hands, while simultaneously using all of his strength to push at him, but it didn¡¯t work at all. On the contrary, he ended up driving Pei Tingsong even crazier, to the extent that this person pressed up against him fully, leaving him no breathing space at all.


    He didn¡¯t know if he had really forced Pei Tingsong to kiss him when he had been drunk, and even more, he didn¡¯t know how he had kissed him at that time. But in any case, Pei Tingsong¡¯s kiss was definitely nothing like a dragonfly skimming over water, and the more he resisted, the harder Pei Tingsong went at it. The fires of alcohol and the desire for victory had burned his reason to ashes, and he didn¡¯t even care if Fang Juexia was still pushing at him. He directly grabbed Fang Juexia¡¯s jaw with his hand, and as if he were prying open an iceberg, forced him to open up his firmly closed mouth.


    As an inexperienced beginner, what kind of excellent skills could he have?


    He kissed Fang Juexia with his lips and teeth, kissed him with his bones.


    This fire had ignited an unprecedented desire in the depths of his heart, rendering this mimicry that had sprung up, no longer so simple.


    The sealed glaciers were smashed into helpless ice floes, which were then forced to melt into spring water. The gradually dwindling air supply turned Fang Juexia¡¯s resistance into death throes. His elevated neck seemed to have lost the ability to swallow, and he really became a prey that gradually lost himself.


    No, he couldn¡¯t turn into prey.


    This burst of will restored a moment of clarity to him, and he used the last of his strength to mercilessly bite down.


    The crazy wolf cub was pained, let go, and looked up, only to then severely be slapped by Fang Juexia.


    Late in the night, this slap resounded particularly clearly in the bedroom, so clear that it reverberated repeatedly within Fang Juexia¡¯s confused mind. He had never hit anyone like this with such great strength.


    But he really didn¡¯t want to be a tool that a drunken Pei Tingsong could use to blow off steam.


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s head turned away after he slapped him, with his arms now supporting his body. This blow seemed to have slapped him silly, and with his half dry hair scattered across his face, Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t make out his current expression clearly.


    Fang Juexia wiped at the corners of his mouth with the back of his hand while gasping rapidly for breath. After seeing that Pei Tingsong¡¯s bath towel had also been kicked all over the place by him, he could only lift up the whole quilt to cover up Pei Tingsong¡¯s body.


    He could still taste the blood that had suffused within his mouth, all the way from the back of his teeth to the tip of his tongue, but it wasn¡¯t his blood.


    Originally, a bellyful of fire ready to explode had been festering within him, but now that Pei Tingsong was completely immobile, he couldn¡¯t even direct a single curse word at him. After that slap, the room had become horribly quiet.


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t know what was wrong with him as well. At such a moment, he should just throw up his hands and leave. It was Pei Tingsong who had gone crazy first, so he could just treat this entire incident as having been bitten by a dog.


    If you got bit by a dog, you couldn¡¯t just bite the dog back.


    No mistake.


    He originally wasn¡¯t a person who liked to get entangled in things. Blocking out any person or thing that would affect his mood by just pretending that they didn¡¯t exist or that thing didn¡¯t happen came to him easily. He could maintain his inner peace by employing this method.


    This had always been Fang Juexia¡¯s consistent maxim when it came to dealing with such matters.


    After getting out of the bed, he clamped onto a pillow and carried it away, then opened the wardrobe, found another quilt inside it, and got ready to leave the room. Even if he had to sleep on the sofa, he just didn¡¯t want to be in the same room as this lunatic.


    While holding onto the quilt, as he was leaving the bedroom, having walked no more than two steps, the now hard-hearted Fang Juexia heard a sound, and his steps slowed.


    Pei Tingsong sneezed three times in a row.


    Just a few seconds passed, and Fang Juexia now stood in the corridor as he ransacked his mind to list out all the shortcomings Pei Tingsong possessed that he could find. Pei Tingsong had made fun of him in all kinds of ways these past two years, and then he tried very hard to recall just how indignant he had been, how angry he currently was, and how much he had wanted to beat this madman up.


    Dozens of seconds passed.


    Fang Juexia, who had experienced lots of people and things, still went back to the bedroom, cursing himself out as he headed back.


    He was simply the most contradictory person in the world.


    Pei Tingsong was clearly the most arrogant and immature person he had ever met, and this person possessed countless shortcomings that could pave the way for him to ignore him now. But in the past few seconds, all he had thought of was how Pei Tingsong had helped him get out of trouble; at that crucial, hanging-by-a-thread moment on that stage, Pei Tingsong had followed his lead without any hesitation, he had held his shoulder steady in the dark, and even though he obviously didn¡¯t know how to take care of people, he had even kept his demented drunk self company for a whole night, and then during the escape room game, he had protected him and given his all¡­.


    And just a while ago, he had said over and over again¡ªFang Juexia, you¡¯re so good.


    His so-called hard-heartedness was akin to a paper tiger that could be punctured through with a finger.


    ¡°Pei Tingsong, for the sake of all the times you have taken care of me before, I¡¯ll return the favor. I will do everything possible to help you.¡± He threw the quilt in his hands on the bed, put it on top of Pei Tingsong without any gentleness at all, then bent his head, and struggled to wrap him up with another blanket. At present, he was the world¡¯s most attentive sushi master as he coarsely rolled up a wolf heart and dog lung kimbap.


    Only Pei Tingsong¡¯s head was left sticking out, and the expression on his face looked like he had been completely wronged. His right cheek had been slapped bright red, and the edges of his eyes were red, making it seem that he was about to cry. Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t tell whether he was really sad or had caught a cold, but anyway, he had been sniffling the whole time.


    Fang Juexia was still really angry, so he pressed Pei Tingsong down with both hands. His voice was unusually vicious. ¡°Don¡¯t move. If you end up catching a cold, I really won¡¯t care for you anymore.¡±


    Pei Tingsong was even more aggrieved after hearing this. ¡°My mouth hurts!¡±


    ¡°You deserved it,¡± Fang Juexia glared at him. ¡°You should be thanking God and the heavens right now that I didn¡¯t bite your tongue completely off.¡±


    On hearing him say that, Pei Tingsong¡¯s mouth shriveled. ¡°How can you be so fierce ah?¡±


    ¡°Is this the first time you¡¯ve met me?¡±


    ¡°No¡­¡± He answered the question honestly, and began to mutter again, this time with a bit of a stutter added in, ¡°You can be-be gentle and soft with others, but you¡¯re the fiercest towards me. You don¡¯t¡ªyou don¡¯t even smile at me.¡±


    Fang Juexia glanced at him and was about to speak, but Pei Tingsong seemed particularly afraid of him interrupting his words, and so, didn¡¯t pause for breath before complaining again, ¡°I¡ªyou-you kissed me that day, and I didn¡¯t even lose my temper. I didn¡¯t say a word against you, and I even hugged you to sleep. But you, I just kissed you once, and then you hit me. Even my dad doesn¡¯t dare to hit me, if he ever hit me, I would jump out the window, and I would just drive his car away! I¡¯ll drive to¡­¡±


    Fang Juexia had a terrible headache now, and he covered Pei Tingsong¡¯s mouth with one hand as he sat his whole person on Pei Tingsong who was currently wrapped in a quilt. ¡°Shut up, I don¡¯t want to know where you¡¯re going to drive your father¡¯s car to. You can even go to Las Vegas, and it¡¯ll have nothing to do with me.¡±


    ¡°Wu!¡± Pei Tingsong was obviously not happy. Fang Juexia wasn¡¯t even letting him talk, and the anger from that grew the more he was suppressed, so he opened his mouth to bite him. Yet, as soon as his teeth touched his hand, he closed his mouth again and shook his head in anger.


    ¡°You are really crazy. Don¡¯t drink any more in the future. Actually, neither of us should drink anymore.¡± Fang Juexia took his hand away from his mouth and instead, pressed it on his head. Pei Tingsong sniffled a bit, and pitifully said, ¡°You bit my hand, but I won¡¯t bite back.¡±


    Fang Juexia pulled opened the collar of his shirt and said, ¡°I¡¯ve already let you bite my neck until the skin broke, Young Master, and you still say you won¡¯t bite back.¡±


    Pei Tingsong really didn¡¯t let it go. ¡°Then, since you kissed me, is it not okay for me to kiss you back? I didn¡¯t even hit you, but you still hit me.¡±


    ¡°I just can¡¯t outtalk you.¡±


    ¡°You were originally¡­¡±


    Fang Juexia¡¯s anger reached its limit, and he pointed at his face as he said, ¡°Shut up. I¡¯ll just ask you, did I kiss you that way? No matter how drunk I was, I wouldn¡¯t be like the way you just were, that¡¯s impossible.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s just how you were.¡± Pei Tingsong vigorously raised his head, smacked his lips and gave Fang Juexia¡¯s index finger a kiss. ¡°Just like that.¡±


    Fang Juexia hurriedly pulled his fingers away, and couldn¡¯t help but loudly demand at him, ¡°Who asked you to kiss me again?¡±


    ¡°You asked me, you were the one who asked me!¡± Pei Tingsong seemed to feel that he was the most wronged person in the world, and he was so frantic that he appeared to be an earthworm that couldn¡¯t flip over.


    Fang Juexia had never dealt with this kind of situation in his entire life. His 23 years of interpersonal experience were rendered completely useless when it came to Pei Tingsong, and he was mentally and physically exhausted.


    Taking a deep breath, Fang Juexia decided that he didn¡¯t want to tangle with this person anymore, especially on the matter of who kissed whom and how. He got up from Pei Tingsong¡¯s body and let out a long breath.


    He really was becoming increasingly less and less like himself.


    ¡°Let¡¯s call a truce, alright? Sleep.¡± Fang Juexia picked up the bath towel that had come undone during the struggle, rolled it up diagonally, and tied him up with it. ¡°Don¡¯t you still need to go to class tomorrow? Just behave yourself and fall asleep for me.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to go to class.¡± After saying that, he sneezed again.


    Whether or not you want to go to class, what does that have to do with me?


    Fang Juexia ignored him, grabbed his quilt, and got ready to leave. If they kept tossing around like this, half of his lifetime would be spent on Pei Tingsong.


    But just as he was about to leave, Pei Tingsong called out to him, and started twisting himself up to follow him out.


    It was a terrible scene once again, for he really fell down.


    ¡°Don¡¯t move.¡± Fang Juexia had no other choice but to lie down beside Pei Tingsong, deciding to wait for him to fall asleep before leaving.


    Seeing Fang Juexia turn off the light and lie down next to him, Pei Tingsong finally became quiet, neither quarrelling nor causing anymore trouble. Fang Juexia wrapped a quilt around himself and flipped around to face the wardrobe. He then felt Pei Tingsong scoot forward and lean against his back.


    Fang Juexia said nothing. He couldn¡¯t see anything clearly in the dark, and he also didn¡¯t want to see it clearly. Filming for the whole day had drained him of his energy, and he should have gone to sleep a long time ago. He felt like he was a balloon full of air, and upon meeting Pei Tingsong, that cactus, he had been pricked by his thorns all over the place. Whether he wanted to or not, all the air had leaked out of him, along with his brains, leaving behind only a soft and shriveled body.


    After a while, Pei Tingsong¡¯s voice sounded out behind him again, but it wasn¡¯t as aggrieved and willful as his voice had previously been. Instead, it was deep, carrying a tone of some unexpected and indescribable request.


    ¡°Don¡¯t turn off the lights.¡±


    Fang Juexia felt such a request was inexplicable, and kept his back to Pei Tingsong as he coldly said, ¡°If we don¡¯t turn off the lights, how are we going to sleep?¡±


    After that, he felt Pei Tingsong¡¯s head prop up against the back of his head.


    ¡°If the lights are off, Fang Juexia can¡¯t see.¡±


    It was only at this moment that he found that the kiss had left some aftershocks.


    Once he closed his eyes, he would fall back into that deep and drowning kiss. His heart was drenched, and he couldn¡¯t find a way to escape.


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t turn around, but he did reach out with his hand, circle it back, and pat Pei Tingsong¡¯s head.


    ¡°I can see, sleep ba.¡±


    Pei Tingsong was woken up by his own alarm clock. The class was at 10 a.m., so he had set the alarm for 8:30, but it was vibrating so much that his head hurt. He was still dazed from sleep, and he couldn¡¯t even open his eyes. He wanted to reach out and turn off the alarm clock, but unexpectedly, he couldn¡¯t stretch his arms out at all.


    That was weird. Pei Tingsong frowned, and in the next moment, sensed an arm hang over his side, which then went over him, felt around his pillow for a long time, feeling around and around until it finally grasped his cellphone and directly turned it off.


    He was startled awake in that instant. When he opened his eyes and turned his head, he saw the person lying beside him. Half of his face had shrunken into the quilt, but with the birthmark that was clearly revealed at the corner of his eye, this person could be no one else but Fang Juexia.


    His mental abilities slowly recovered, and he tried to search his memory. He remembered that they had come out of the program group¡¯s dinner party, and then Xiao Wen had sent them back to the dormitory.


    No, the dormitory¡¯s door lock had been attacked, so they should be in his apartment now.


    That was right, that could be the only reason why he and Fang Juexia were sleeping in the same bed.


    All of this was very logical, and Pei Tingsong¡¯s heart settled slightly. Since he was suffering from a hangover, he had a bad headache. Pei Tingsong thought about drinking water, but found that he couldn¡¯t get up at all.


    Only after forcefully raising his head did he discover that he had been completely wrapped up, and had even been tied up tightly with two bath towels that had been knotted together. Forget about getting up, he couldn¡¯t even move an inch.


    No, what had Fang Juexia been thinking? Pei Tingsong cursed in his heart while trying to think up ways to get out of the quilt. As soon as he got one arm out, he noticed that something was wrong.


    Why was he naked?


    Pei Tingsong struggled to pull both of his hands out, scooted his body out of this binding a bit, then untied the bath towel and glanced into the quilt. Only then did he find that he really wasn¡¯t wearing anything.


    How did this end up happening?


    He had a deathly headache, and after Pei Tingsong looked down and around, he realised that his clothes weren¡¯t there anymore. He could only get out of bed while still wrapped in the quilt, open the wardrobe, and find a pair of pajamas to throw on. Suddenly, through the mirror in the wardrobe, he noticed that his right cheek was a little swollen and a little red.


    His tongue hurt a little too. He opened his mouth and saw that his tongue had been bitten.


    Not only that, he also had a wound caused by nails scraping against his skin on his shoulder.


    What was going on?


    Every bone in his body hurt as well.


    He looked back at Fang Juexia, only to see him still sleeping. Pei Tingsong, with a heart full of suspicion, went to the bathroom himself. He took a bath and checked to see whether he had any other wounds. At the same time, he tried to recall what had happened last night, but his mind was in such a mess that no matter how he tried to remember it, he just couldn¡¯t.


    Originally, he had thought that after a hot bath, he would feel more comfortable, but the more he washed his hair, the more he was having difficulty breathing, so he just turned off the water and came out from the shower. Only after exiting the bathroom and going back to the bedroom did he find that there was actually no longer anyone in the bed.


    It couldn¡¯t be that he was still dreaming ba?


    ¡°What are you doing, blocking the way here?¡±


    A familiar cold voice sounded out from behind him, and Pei Tingsong returned to his senses, turning around and moving away.


    Fang Juexia¡¯s hair was messy in the front, and there were still some water droplets on his hands. He placed a cup of hot water at the head of the bed and glanced meaningfully at Pei Tingsong. ¡°There¡¯s nothing in the fridge, so I can¡¯t make any hangover soup. Make do and drink this.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± As soon as Pei Tingsong opened his mouth, he realized that his throat was hoarse, dry, and painful. He coughed a few times and tried to clear his throat, but the more he coughed like this, the harder he kept coughing. He bowed his body and coughed so hard that he found himself unable to even lift his head, so he walked towards the bed, sat down, and reached for the cup of water so as to suppress it.


    Fang Juexia just looked at him, and afraid that Pei Tingsong would end up choking, he picked up the water first. ¡°Drink only when you¡¯re done coughing.¡±


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s face turned red from all the coughing. He looked so pitiful that Fang Juexia could only reach out and pat him on the back. When he got better, he handed him the cup of water. ¡°Drink it slow.¡±


    Watching him gulp down the water, Fang Juexia, who stood at the side, asked, ¡°Do you feel bad anywhere?¡±


    Pei Tingsong put his cup of water down and said in a hoarse voice, ¡°My bones hurt.¡±


    ¡°What else?¡±


    ¡°My tongue hurts too, don¡¯t know what happened¡­¡±


    It seemed like he didn¡¯t remember what had happened last night.


    Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t describe the emotions he was feeling right now.


    It was best if Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t remember the events of last night, that way, neither of them had to feel awkward around each other. If it was really like how Pei Tingsong had said, when he had been drunk before, he really had kissed him. However, after he had woken up, Pei Tingsong hadn¡¯t mentioned a word about any such thing, which showed that he also felt embarrassed and didn¡¯t want to reveal anything.


    Forgetting was easier than anything else.


    But somehow, he felt a bit unreconciled to this.


    The scary thing was that the Fang Juexia of the past had almost nothing to do with the word ¡®unreconciled¡¯. He was not a very emotional person.


    ¡°My eyes are a little sore too¡­¡±


    As soon as he heard Pei Tingsong¡¯s voice, he thought it didn¡¯t sound quite right. Remembering that this person had been naked for a long time yesterday while causing an uproar, and had also been sneezing and having a runny nose, Fang Juexia felt that things weren¡¯t good.


    ¡°How are your eyes hurting?¡± He felt it was strange and patted on a pillow behind Pei Tingsong. ¡°You lie on it. Do you have a thermometer here?¡±


    Pei Tingsong shook his head. ¡°No, I haven¡¯t ever been sick.¡±


    ¡°Then congratulations, you¡¯re sick now.¡± Fang Juexia covered him with a quilt and reached out to touch his forehead, but his hand was too cold. Whichever way he touched him, Pei Tingsong felt hot, and it wasn¡¯t an accurate way to measure his temperature.


    Pei Tingsong stubbornly insisted that he wasn¡¯t sick, and he felt that he would especially have no face if he got sick in front of Fang Juexia. ¡°I¡¯m definitely not¡­¡±


    Before he could finish speaking, Fang Juexia lifted up his bangs and drew his own forehead closer to Pei Tingsong¡¯s.


    The distance between them was suddenly shortened, and with his unfinished words being blocked while still in his throat, Pei Tingsong was left stunned.


    Although it was just a way to measure his temperature, and it was only for a few seconds, this whole action was just like a turning point, his memory igniting with a snap. He remembered what he couldn¡¯t remember no matter how hard he had tried before this moment. The images of those scenes reappeared in front of his eyes in a flash.


    He had kissed Fang Juexia last night.


    The source for the pain on the tip of his tongue had suddenly been uncovered, and it thus became more difficult to ignore. Under the stimulation of this pain, all of his absurd actions reappeared.


    Raising his eyes and looking over, he saw that the skin on Fang Juexia¡¯s Adams¡¯ apple was broken, and the wound was red and clearly visible.


    ¡°You have a fever.¡± Fang Juexia seemed to have known this would happen for a long time and didn¡¯t sound surprised. He raised his hand and tucked him into his quilt. ¡°Do you have any medicine here?¡±


    Pei Tingsong saw the light blue bruise on his wrist, as if it had been gripped tight. He shook his head and croaked out, ¡°No.¡±


    Fang Juexia sat by the bed and stayed silent for a while, before suddenly remembering that he seemed to have prepared some ibuprofen beforehand. Because their events had kept them too busy these days, and the amount of sleep they got daily was only three or four hours, they often had headaches, so he always kept some with him.


    It could count as coming in handy now.


    Pei Tingsong watched Fang Juexia leave the room, reached out his hand to touch his lips, frowned, and thought about last night.


    He seemed to have been like a madman, and had kept entangling with Fang Juexia and talking at him¡­


    But Fang Juexia got up in the morning like nothing had happened.


    Not long after, Fang Juexia came back with a cup of water and a pill in his hand. ¡°Take this, it¡¯ll bring your fever down.¡±


    ¡°What time is it?¡± Pei Tingsong swallowed the pill and asked.


    ¡°Half-past nine.¡±


    Pei Tingsong coughed. ¡°I still have to go to class.¡±


    ¡°You told me last night that you didn¡¯t want to go to class.¡± Fang Juexia took his cellphone and said, ¡°If it¡¯s not an important class, call to ask for leave ba. You won¡¯t be able to get anything out of class if you go in such a state anyway.¡±


    Pei Tingsong thought for a bit and in the end, did as Fang Juexia said. He hadn¡¯t had a good rest for too long now, he had been constantly on edge the whole day yesterday, and then he had drunk alcohol and had been out in the cold last night, so it would be strange if he didn¡¯t fall apart.


    Fang Juexia hadn¡¯t looked at him this entire time, and therefore, Pei Tingsong also couldn¡¯t find a way to tell him that he was sorry. It seemed that if he laid bare this matter, Fang Juexia would just toss his hands up and leave immediately. He didn¡¯t know what the hell had been wrong with him yesterday, saying so much nonsense. It would¡¯ve been fine if he had just forgotten it, but he just had to go and remember it all.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go outside and lie down for a while. If you feel uncomfortable anywhere, call for me.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­¡± Pei Tingsong stopped him, but he didn¡¯t know what to say after he stopped him.


    He felt that his drunken confession last night had been an utter messy failure, and that it would have been better if he had not confessed anything.


    Fang Juexia stopped and looked at him.


    Pei Tingsong held things in for a long time, and finally resigned himself to his own backwardness. ¡°It¡¯s nothing, you go ba. The sofa is uncomfortable, and you can drive my car back to the dorm. The car key is in the second drawer of the porch cabinet.¡±


    Fang Juexia stood there for a while, thinking of the words Pei Tingsong had said when he had been drunk and lying on him last night while causing trouble. Those were all words he would never say when he was sober.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯ll just be outside.¡±


    Pei Tingsong retracted his body into the quilt and turned around. ¡°You go back ba. I can do it myself, I¡¯m 20 years old.¡± These words sounded as if he were angry and thus acting rashly, but Pei Tingsong was serious.


    He heard Fang Juexia¡¯s footsteps move farther and farther away, and his heart sank down with this sound as he closed his eyes.


    If he ever drank again, he would start writing his name backwards from now on.


    Not long after he closed his eyes, the sound of footsteps actually came closer.


    Pei Tingsong wanted to look back, but he didn¡¯t do so until Fang Juexia pulled him over, laid him flat, and then put a folded and twisted wet towel on his forehead.


    ¡°Anyway, I don¡¯t have any work today, so if I went back, I would just sleep. Xiao Wen has gone with Lu Yuan to Changsha and can¡¯t take care of you,¡± said Fang Juexia as he spread out the towel.


    Pei Tingsong closed his eyes and wanted to give up. ¡°I don¡¯t need your care, you go sleep. The sofa outside is uncomfortable, so I¡¯ll go outside, and you sleep here. Anyway, I can¡¯t sleep, and I¡¯m not sleepy at all.¡±


    Fang Juexia held him down. ¡°Pei Tingsong.¡±


    He stopped.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you wanted to be friends with me?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s normal for friends to take care of each other.¡± Fang Juexia took the towel off his forehead, put it into a container of water, soaked it in water, and wrung it dry again. ¡°Understood?¡±


    So he really had said that.


    Pei Tingsong was so humiliated, he didn¡¯t know where to put his face at this moment; he had never thought that he would become like that after drinking alcohol. Upon closing his eyes, he could feel the back of Fang Juexia¡¯s hand that was stuck to his cheek¡ªit was cool. Yes, that¡¯s right. He really wanted to be friends with Fang Juexia. He had already changed, and since a long time ago, he hadn¡¯t worn those colored glasses while looking at him. He was willing to get close to him, admire him, and admit to the charms of his personality.


    He wanted to break through the barriers and become friends with Fang Juexia.


    Obviously, this is what he thought, but Pei Tingsong¡¯s thoughts couldn¡¯t help straying back to the situation of the kiss from last night, remembering that soft touch that he had never felt before.


    Even the shudder of his heart when their lips and tongues had entangled roughly together.


    ¡°I¡­ What else did I do?¡± Pei Tingsong opened his eyes, looked at Fang Juexia and added with a guilty conscience, ¡°I don¡¯t remember.¡±


    Fang Juexia¡¯s face was calm. ¡°You wanted me to praise you. I praised you; you¡¯re very smart and very powerful.¡± Having said that, Fang Juexia looked at him seriously and replied, ¡°I¡¯m not just saying that, Pei Tingsong. You really are very outstanding, I¡¯m just not used to expressing myself to you.¡±


    ¡°You may have forgotten it, so I¡¯ll tell you what I said last night again. I accepted your apology last night, and I know it was sincere.¡± He looked into Pei Tingsong¡¯s eyes, his eyes frank and honest. ¡°I¡¯m also very sorry for the coldness and neglect I¡¯ve shown you in the past two years. I¡¯ll treat you like a friend in the future.¡± He took Pei Tingsong¡¯s hand and shook it, the corners of his mouth slightly raised. ¡°The cold war has officially ended. We will shake hands and make peace.¡±


    Pei Tingsong lowered his eyes and stared at the hand grasped in his. He let go of it very soon, so fast that his warmth didn¡¯t even have the time to be transferred over.


    Fang Juexia repeated his words from last night, telling him everything frankly and directly. He broke the ice while in this sober state very maturely.


    He just left out that kiss.


    Pei Tingsong should be rejoicing. However, his chest felt blocked up for no reason, and his heart was beating feebly; it was probably because of his illness. He was very uncomfortable, so very uncomfortable.


    A cold towel was applied to his forehead several times, and the water soon needed to be changed, so Fang Juexia picked it up and walked to the main bedroom. The more Pei Tingsong thought about it, the more the bad taste in his heart grew. He knew that it would be very embarrassing to lay bare the situation, but with Fang Juexia not talking about it at all, he just felt really bad.


    He had never kissed anyone, had never made out with anyone, and even this so-called first kiss had been not-very-seriously taken away by Fang Juexia.


    He had also never felt like this before, as if his heart had been grasped tightly by something.


    His cellphone vibrated. Pei Tingsong picked it up and saw a message from Ling Yi.


    [The Original M-Dash: Xiao Pei! Are you awake? I want to eat the chocolate you bought last time! That box in Strong Ge¡¯s car, I¡¯ve opened it ah~]


    Pei Tingsong couldn¡¯t even remember when he had bought chocolate, so he had to just deal with it.


    [Kaleido¡¯s Number One Big Boss: You take it ba.]


    Just after pressing send, he thought of something again, so he tried to resist his feverish state and without much energy, typed out a whole bunch of words, then deleted them again. Finally, in just the few seconds left before Fang Juexia came back, he hurriedly clicked send and threw away his cellphone.


    As soon as Ling Yi tore open the package, his cellphone vibrated again.


    [Kaleido¡¯s Number One Big Boss: Let me ask you a question. I have a friend who wants to make friends with another person, so he told him that, and it was pretty good originally, but then he messed up and accidentally, it was really very accidentally, he kissed him briefly, just briefly. Then he was so flustered that he called me and asked me for advice. You know I¡¯ve never done such a stupid thing before, so how can I help him? Yi Ge, you¡¯re a social butterfly who knows everything, so I¡¯m helping him by asking you. Do you think they can still be friends?]


    Sitting in the car, Ling Yi kept chortling away without stopping. Cheng Qiang was startled. ¡°What crazy are you smoking? What¡¯s so funny?¡±


    ¡°Pei Tingsong, that dummy, accidentally kissed a man! Isn¡¯t it funny? Hahahahahaha!¡±

 CH 46

    Chapter 46 ¨C Long Mild Fever


    I know that you want to see him.


    ¡°What did you just say?¡±


    Cheng Qiang nearly directly hit the brakes. ¡°Xiao Pei kissed who?¡±


    ¡°It was an accident, aiya, Xiao Pei isn¡¯t gay.¡± He didn¡¯t have the time to explain too much to his own family¡¯s agent; Ling Yi, who had just gotten first-hand fresh hot melons, directly forwarded a screenshot of Pei Tingsong¡¯s private chat to the groupchat of five people besides Pei Tingsong, which was named¡ª [Weeding out the strong, supporting the weak, boycotting the band tyrant (5)]


    [The Original M-Dash: Forwarded a message]


    [The Original M-Dash: Brothers, I come with a source of happiness!]


    [Your Fire Ge is still Your Fire Ge: IsThisFriendYou¡¯reTalkingAboutYourself.jpg]


    [The Original M-Dash: And the person he kissed is definitely a man, I dare to bet my next life¡¯s height on this! This whole heap of panic in his tone is absolutely from accidentally having kissed a man!]


    [National first-class flower-hand dance performer: Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha a single AF person can¡¯t be picky]


    [The Original M-Dash: Speaking of that, is it true that Xiao Pei has never dated ah? He¡¯s so handsome, it can¡¯t be that he isn¡¯t to people¡¯s tastes abroad?]


    [Your Fire Ge is still Your Fire Ge: How can that be. I¡¯ve chatted with him about it before, he thinks that dating is meaningless and a waste of time. You don¡¯t understand the ideas an adolescent second child carries¡­.]


    [The Original M-Dash: Holy shit, this can¡¯t be the little overlord¡¯s first kiss ba?!]


    [National first-class flower-hand dance performer: Wait, let me stroke my beard here. Xiao Pei has been running around to all kinds of events these days, and wasn¡¯t he still filming ¡®Escape For Your Life¡¯ yesterday? Where did he get the time to meet a friend? And then even kiss them¡­]


    [The Household¡¯s Essential Good Captain: Xiao Wen told me that Xiao Pei and Juexia both slept at Xiao Pei¡¯s apartment last night.]


    [The Original M-Dash: Shit]


    [National first-class flower hand dance performer:???]


    [Your Fire Ge is still Your Fire Ge: wow]


    [The Original M-Dash: It¡¯s over, I should have sent this to the four people group chat¡­ It¡¯s too late to withdraw it now ba.]


    After not receiving Ling Yi¡¯s reply for a long time, Pei Tingsong started to feel that it was a little strange, so, taking advantage of the time during which Fang Juexia went out to cook porridge, he sent another message¡ª


    [Kaleido¡¯s Number One Big Boss: Why are you silent? I¡¯m in a hurry to tell my friend something.]


    He poked him and really got a reply.


    [The Original M-Dash: They can be friends. Friends should just be warm and intimate, and even kissing some more would be fine, don¡¯t worry ah.]


    Really?


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s current expression looked like the meme of the old man in the subway looking at his cellphone. Soon, Fang Juexia came in carrying a bowl of porridge and asked, ¡°Why are you still not resting? Today is your only chance to rest. There is a press conference being held for a new endorsement tomorrow.¡±


    After locking his cellphone, Pei Tingsong pretended that nothing had happened and tried to divert his attention. ¡°Um, your cellphone was just vibrating.¡±


    Fang Juexia let out an ¡°en¡± and sat down beside the bed. It seemed that he didn¡¯t plan to look at his cellphone.


    He picked up the bowl of thick porridge and stirred it with a spoon, making the hot steam from it churn up into a cloud. The gap in the curtains allowed a vertical beam of sunlight into the room, which just fell perfectly on Fang Juexia¡¯s face. His dark brown hair shone with a gold luster, his fine pale skin grew more transparent, and the capillaries in his eyes contained just a touch of cyan, thus seeming like a thread twisting, thin and shallow, with their tail-end hooking onto his red birthmark.


    Pei Tingsong thought of that white eustoma. It had also been exactly like this¡ªwith the sun peeling off its skin, those fresh veins being exposed through the snow-white wound.


    ¡°Eat this while it¡¯s still hot.¡± Fang Juexia handed the bowl to Pei Tingsong and looked up at him.


    Hurriedly turning his head away, Pei Tingsong almost reached for it, but suddenly felt that this scene was wrong. He remembered the idol dramas that Ling Yi watched in the car every time they were traveling to events. When the hero in those shows was ill, the heroine always fed them food spoonful after spoonful, without the hero having to move around at all.


    Seeing him act unruly, a tiny frown appeared on Fang Juexia¡¯s and he asked with a little doubt, ¡°Don¡¯t want to eat?¡±


    Pei Tingsong took a deep breath and then started coughing endlessly. He pulled out all of his acting skills, which surpassed the extent taught in idol school, and pretended to be weak. ¡°I can¡¯t lift my hands¡­¡±


    Fang Juexia felt that was strange. ¡°Is your fever that bad?¡± He placed the bowl on the bedside table and reached for Pei Tingsong¡¯s forehead.


    Pei Tingsong watched him put down the bowl, and felt that everything was deviating from his imagination, but he couldn¡¯t say anything at this point.


    He couldn¡¯t actually directly tell Fang Juexia¡ª¡®If you feed me, I¡¯ll eat it ba.¡¯


    ¡°Logically speaking, your fever should have gone down after taking medicine¡­ and there¡¯s no thermometer here.¡± Fang Juexia¡¯s eyebrows twisted, and he thought for a while before proposing, ¡°Why don¡¯t we still go to the hospital ba? You get up and put on some more clothes, and we¡¯ll go to the hospital.¡±


    Ah?


    ¡°No need, no need, I¡¯m not going to the hospital.¡± Pei Tingsong knew that his illness wasn¡¯t that serious. ¡°I¡¯m already this old, and it¡¯s just a cold, there¡¯s no need to go to the hospital.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter how old you are. Your forehead is completely sweaty.¡± Fang Juexia wanted to drag him up from the bed, but Pei Tingsong was adamant about not going. ¡°I¡¯ll just have something to eat and sleep for a bit, and then I¡¯ll be fine. I really don¡¯t have to go to the hospital.¡±


    After hearing him say this, Fang Juexia had no other options. Thinking about it, he even felt a little guilty; if he hadn¡¯t just wrapped him in a bath towel yesterday, and had made him put on all his clothes properly, perhaps Pei Tingsong wouldn¡¯t have gone as far as falling ill.


    ¡°Then you¡¯d still better eat some of this. Although it doesn¡¯t really taste like anything, there¡¯s nothing else in your apartment besides rice.¡± Fang Juexia stirred the porridge, scooped up a spoonful, and stretched it over towards his mouth. He reflexively continued, ¡°Next time¡­¡±


    Halfway through speaking, Fang Juexia suddenly paused and stopped talking. Even the hand that was stretching the spoon over to the corner of Pei Tingsong¡¯s mouth stopped.


    Next time? What next time? It couldn¡¯t be that he really wanted to cook for Pei Tingsong again?


    Pei Tingsong saw him pause and stop talking, and deliberately prompted him, ¡°What about next time? Will you cook something delicious for me next time? Last time, auntie even asked you to make fried rice for me.¡± The porridge had even been sent right next to his mouth, and Pei Tingsong drew closer to it as soon as he finished talking. However, who would have known that in the next moment, the cellphone that Fang Juexia had abandoned to the side would begin to ring endlessly.


    ¡°Who¡¯s calling me¡­¡± Fang Juexia said to himself as he put the bowl down and went around to the other side of the bed to pick up the cellphone.


    There had been only one millimeter left before he could have swallowed the porridge. Pei Tingsong was so angry that he propped himself up directly and then helped himself to two big mouthfuls of it.


    Realizing that he¡ªPei Tingsong, all-powerful for 20 years, a devil incarnate who feared neither the heavens nor the earth¡ªhad been playing at a push-and-pull game with a bowl of porridge for such a long time, he really felt like he had to die laughing.


    ¡°Awake?¡± Fang Juexia stood by the side of the bed as he took the call. His facial expression seemed to change, and his voice grew much lower. ¡°¡­If grandfather woke up, that¡¯s good. I¡¯ll just¡­ I won¡¯t go ba, so to avoid that upon seeing me, he¡¯ll again¡­¡±


    Pei Tingsong looked at him and kept feeling that this person had worries weighing on his mind.


    ¡°En.¡± Fang Juexia bowed his head as he spoke, ¡°I¡¯m also very busy now, and I can¡¯t head over there. Mom, take good care of him. Tomorrow? There¡¯s work tomorrow too¡­¡±


    He was silent for a while before finally hanging up. With his back to Pei Tingsong, he sat by the bed, and then remembered that his phone had been vibrating because of messages, so he bowed his head to check them. Originally, there really had been many WeChat messages appearing on the lock screen interface, but as soon as he clicked on one of them, they all disappeared, leaving behind only an announcement saying that the group chat had suddenly been deleted.


    ¡°Why did they suddenly delete it¡­¡±


    Pei Tingsong clenched his fist and coughed. He asked in a hoarse voice, ¡°What¡¯s been deleted?¡±


    ¡°A group chat.¡± Remembering that this group chat did not contain Pei Tingsong, Fang Juexia didn¡¯t intend to say anymore, lest he find out that his group members had secretly created a group chat behind his back, and grow more angry at that. ¡°Nothing really.¡±


    ¡°There is something ba?¡± Pei Tingsong asked tentatively, ¡°Auntie was the one who called you just now?¡±


    Fang Juexia nodded, but didn¡¯t say anything more.


    Pei Tingsong remembered that Fang Juexia¡¯s mother had come to Beijing last time because of his grandfather¡¯s illness. Listening to the phone call from just now, it seemed that it was still about that. He sort of knew about the situation, but he didn¡¯t know any specific details about what had happened. However, Fang Juexia¡¯s expression just now seemed to be very sad.


    Due to the environment he had grown up in, Pei Tingsong wasn¡¯t used to expressing his thoughts euphemistically at all. He just went straight to the point and did what he wanted. However, he also knew that Fang Juexia was a person who didn¡¯t want others to interfere in his private affairs; he hadn¡¯t even bothered to explain the situation concerning the hidden rules issue ever before.


    Fang Juexia looked at the porridge that had been touched. ¡°Eat some more? You can only get better quickly by eating.¡±


    Unexpectedly, Pei Tingsong grew so uncomfortable that he dropped his own body askew right next to Fang Juexia¡¯s hand, and his voice sounded so weak that it felt like it could start floating up. ¡°So uncomfortable ah, Fang Juexia¡­ I hurt as soon as I swallow, and all my bones hurt, all over my body.¡±


    ¡°How is it so serious?¡± Fang Juexia frowned, reached out and touched his face, then touched the back of his neck. All of these spots were really hot. ¡°Then what should we do?¡±


    Pei Tingsong looked as if he was about to ascend to the heavens. ¡°I think I¡¯d better go to the hospital ba¡­¡±


    Looking at Pei Tingsong¡¯s sickly appearance, Fang Juexia didn¡¯t even dare to say anything harsh. ¡°Just now when I said we should go to the hospital, you refused to go. Now you feel worse ba?¡± He sighed, got up, and opened the wardrobe while asking, ¡°Do you have a turtleneck, lend me one.¡±


    ¡°Ah? There are some ba¡­ You can look for it.¡±


    He couldn¡¯t think too much about it. As soon as he did, he would end up recalling his own animal behavior of biting Fang Juexia¡¯s Adam¡¯s apple.


    Fang Juexia, with his back to him, rummaged through the wardrobe piece by piece before finding a dark green turtleneck sweater and taking it out. He was only thinking about covering up the wound, and he didn¡¯t have the time to care about anything else, so he just crisply and decisively took off his pajama top.


    At this time, Pei Tingsong, who was lying on the bed and pretending to be dead, looked up. He had just wanted to see which turtleneck Fang Juexia had chosen, but he hadn¡¯t expected a spotless, pale body to collide with his eyes. As Fang Juexia moved to pull the sweater on, his back muscles pulled at the lines of the back of his waist, looking just like a piece of flowing glaze porcelain.


    The mirror in the wardrobe reflected Fang Juexia¡¯s thin waist. His abdominal muscles weren¡¯t lumps, but were instead smooth and flat marks that looked like the character ´¨¡ªpliable, tough, and pale.


    His head flew as he turned his eyes away quickly.


    How could there be a man with such a thin waist?


    ¡°I¡¯m wearing this one.¡± Fang Juexia turned around, pulling at the too big clothes, and looked into his eyes. ¡°It¡¯s fine ba?¡±


    Pei Tingsong raised his eyes and let out an ¡°en.¡±


    Fang Juexia hadn¡¯t expected to hear any good words from him anyway. He picked up his pajamas and was ready to go change his pants, after which he would take him to see a doctor. ¡°After I go back¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll give it to you.¡±


    He stopped and heard Pei Tingsong say from behind him, ¡°It looks really good on you.¡±


    Fang Juexia turned to look at him, but Pei Tingsong turned his back to him and added, ¡°I bought it myself.¡±


    He was always so strange. Fang Juexia told himself to learn to get used to it. Pei Tingsong was just different from other boys, so he didn¡¯t refuse him immediately or say anything like ¡®no need, I will return it to you.¡¯


    ¡°You also need to change your clothes quickly. If you really don¡¯t feel comfortable and don¡¯t want to change, just put on a thicker sweater and wrap yourself up in a thick coat.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Pei Tingsong sat up. His pale face currently carried a stubborn expression that declared that he would never concede. ¡°Cool guys can¡¯t just casually wear anything when going out.¡±


    Fang Juexia finally started laughing from amusement. ¡°Alright, cool guy.¡±


    After hastily tidying up, Fang Juexia, regardless of Pei Tingsong¡¯s strong opposition, wrapped him up in a huge cotton-padded coat. Pei Tingsong was originally tall, and now, he had on a huge cotton-padded coat.


    ¡°I look like a wall.¡±


    He really deserves to be studying literature¡ª thought Fang Juexia as he sighed in his heart. This metaphor was superb.


    ¡°It¡¯s windy outside, so it¡¯s good to wear more.¡± Fang Juexia helped him into the car and went around to the driver¡¯s seat. ¡°Fasten your seat belt.¡±


    He opened up the GPS on his phone and said to himself, ¡°Let me see first, where is the nearest hospital¡­¡±


    ¡°Hey, wait.¡± Pei Tingsong pulled his cellphone away from him and pulled his mask down. ¡°None of the hospitals nearby are good, and there are also so many people there. I don¡¯t want to be photographed. You drive out first, drive out.¡±


    Fang Juexia looked at him, reasoned that the sick person was the most important, and so he did as he said, driving out of their little neighborhood and getting onto the road.


    ¡°Then where do you want to go?¡±


    Pei Tingsong let out a very long ¡°en¡±, with his eyes shifting around and around, and his whole person shrank into his king size cotton-padded coat. Finally, he cleared his throat and said in a super small voice, ¡°I want to go to the hospital your grandfather is being treated at¡­¡±


    Fang Juexia suddenly stopped the car, parking at the side of the road, looked at him, and said nothing.


    Pei Tingsong hurriedly tunneled out of his cotton-padded coat and explained anxiously, ¡°No, um, you see, your grandfather came all the way to Beijing to see a doctor, then the hospital he chose must be very good, right? I¡­¡±


    ¡°So this is why you suddenly wanted to see a doctor.¡± Fang Juexia took a deep breath, and the sunlight outside the car window made him squint his eyes. ¡°You actually don¡¯t feel that bad.¡±


    ¡°I feel bad!¡± Pei Tingsong took Fang Juexia¡¯s hand and put it on his head. ¡°You feel that, it¡¯s still hot. I really feel bad.¡± His words were filled with such urgency that he choked and started to cough violently and endlessly. He coughed untill it felt that his lungs would almost fall out, but he still didn¡¯t let go of his hand.


    Fang Juexia had a cold face, but also possessed a soft heart. Seeing Pei Tingsong cough to this extent, he knew that this person definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to endure work tomorrow. He pulled his hand away, unscrewed the thermos cup he had brought for him, handed it to him, and started the car again. ¡°There will be no next time.¡±


    After taking the cup filled with water, Pei Tingsong, who had coughed until his face turned red, drank some of it. He breathed a bit and then thought that his choking was too timely.


    The hospital that Fang Juexia¡¯s grandfather was staying at wasn¡¯t too far from here, only about a 20 minute drive away. Pei Tingsong was feeling really uncomfortable. It wasn¡¯t as exaggerated as he had been acting it to be, but he did still have a fever. As soon as the car started, he fell asleep with his head tilted down.


    Even in such a short while, he had a dream.


    In his dream, he was back to his childhood days, and was pushing his grandfather¡¯s wheelchair to bask in the sun in the small garden. They read quietly together, and the ivy had already grown green for an entire spring and was about to climb into the back window of his room.


    Then, he suddenly heard someone call out for him. The sunshine in his dream was cut into big pieces by a soft knife, the scene in his field of vision being cut into a bunch of broken shapes. He couldn¡¯t see the person who had entered clearly, but he just felt that the voice was familiar, clear and cold, while also revealing a hint of soft warmth.


    He woke up. As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw the owner of that voice from his dream.


    ¡°Wear your mask securely.¡± Fang Juexia helped him put on his coat, zipped it all the way to the top, and secured his hat. A slightly cool hand extended to the side of his face, the back of the hand then stuck to his cheek to confirm his temperature.


    ¡°We arrived so soon.¡± Pei Tingsong¡¯s voice had become even hoarser. Having just woken up, his whole person felt a bit top-heavy. Even then, he didn¡¯t let Fang Juexia help him up, as if afraid that the other would laugh at him. ¡°I can walk by myself.¡±


    Fang Juexia looked at him, seeming to see a crumbling wall in front of him, and he couldn¡¯t help laughing.


    Pei Tingsong looked around and drew closer to Fang Juexia. ¡°Is this the hospital where your grandfather is?¡±


    Fang Juexia nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s go register ba.¡±


    ¡°Hey, wait.¡± Pei Tingsong grabbed his arm. ¡°You go see your grandfather, it¡¯s fine if I register myself alone.¡±


    Fang Juexia stared at him and didn¡¯t speak. Pei Tingsong said again, ¡°Really, I really can go see a doctor by myself. You go quickly ba. Will he be in the inpatient department?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go register.¡±


    ¡°Why are you acting as a person turning a deaf ear right now? Am I not speaking Chinese?¡± Pei Tingsong caught him and asked, ¡°We already came here, so you¡¯re not really not going to go ba?¡±


    People were coming and going around them, and Fang Juexia was reluctant to attract any notice towards them. He could only drag Pei Tingsong to a place where there were fewer people, then looked into his eyes and said, ¡°He doesn¡¯t want to see me, do you understand what I mean?¡± The early spring wind had scattered Fang Juexia¡¯s bangs across his forehead, revealing the red birthmark at the corner of his eyes.


    Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t expect it to be like this, but Fang Juexia¡¯s eyes were plainly soft, just like water.


    He helped Fang Juexia by pressing down on the brim of his hat to cover his most recognizable mark.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if he wants to see you or not, but I know that you want to see him.¡±


    Fang Juexia just looked at him, the water in his eyes trembling, then suddenly turned his head. The magnolia flowers in the hospital were blooming, cold and white as a pile of snow, but when the spring breeze blew, their stems seemed to soften, trembling with thoughts.


    Finally, he was still dragged to the inpatient department by Pei Tingsong. Based on the room number his mama had sent to his cellphone a long time ago, the two people finally found the exact location. Before, he had sent a lot of money to his mama, and had used his connections with a college classmate to have his grandfather admitted to this private hospital. He had even wanted him to live in the VIP ward, but it didn¡¯t seem to have worked. This was just a very ordinary single room, with a big bright window, from which some swaying magnolia flowers could be seen outside.


    On the bed lay an old man with his head tilted down, as if he had fallen asleep. Fang Juexia¡¯s mother gently took off the bifocals lying on the bridge of his nose and then took away his newspaper.


    Having been tossed around for a long time, Pei Tingsong was now sweating all over. He looked at the situation inside the room through the small window on the door of the room, then turned his head to glance at Fang Juexia¡¯s expression. Seeing that this person¡¯s posture was that of someone who wanted to desert the area in the face of danger, he immediately pushed the door to the room open. His two hands then grasped firmly onto Fang Juexia¡¯s shoulders, and he pushed him forward.


    Fang Juexia¡¯s mother raised her head and was stunned. She suddenly saw her son appear at the door, and then also saw Xiao Pei, whom she hadn¡¯t seen for a long time, tilt his head and smile at her as he mouthed out ¡®auntie.¡¯


    A surprise within a surprise.


    With the situation having come to a head, Fang Juexia could only grit his teeth and walk in. He smiled at his mother, then stood at the side of the bed, looking at his sleeping grandfather.


    His color looked pretty good, and there was a thin tube in his nostril, with a rising and falling chest, and also this slight snore.


    Fang Juexia looked at his mother and asked in a low voice, ¡°Was the operation successful?¡±


    His mother nodded. ¡°It was very good, and he just said he wanted to eat an apple. I didn¡¯t even have time to cut it before he fell asleep while reading the newspaper.¡±


    Pei Tingsong followed Fang Juexia¡¯s example of sitting down and ran to sit beside Mama Fang. Mama Fang looked at him and asked, ¡°Why are you wearing so much, you even have sweat on your forehead. Are you sick?¡±


    Pei Tingsong nodded and answered, ¡°I have a cold.¡± Saying that, he put on his mask and only showed a pair of smiling eyes.


    From outside the window, the shadow of the magnolia tree could be seen reflected on his grandfather¡¯s bed, light and shadow dancing about. Fang Juexia just sat like that quietly, looking at his grandfather without saying a word. The scenario right now was already better than what he had expected. He could visit him so quietly, and his grandfather wouldn¡¯t drive him away in a fit of temper.


    Calculating it through, he had already not seen his grandfather for more than a year. The person sleeping in front of him seemed to have gotten a lot older, with his hair growing gray, and even his eyebrows now contained spots of white. Fang Juexia had never even imagined that this person would gradually grow older. In his memory, this person always seemed to stand upright, solemn and serious. No matter where he stood, it always seemed that he was standing on a three chi platform.


    He picked up the apple and the fruit knife by the bed and began to peel the apple. The sharp blade embedded into the apple¡¯s flesh as it spun forward bit by bit, while the red skin curled down bit by bit, looking like a slide that he had gone on as a child.


    There was a children¡¯s playground in his grandfather¡¯s little neighborhood, which had a red slide. As a child, he would only go there during the winter and summer holidays, and his grandfather would never let him go on the slide, nor would he let him lie by the windowsill to watch. He always said that if Fang Juexia broke his leg that way, there would be a world shaking scene to fight through back home.


    Only if he obediently finished a set of Mathematical Olympiad papers would his grandfather lead him outside with a straight face and play with him for half an hour on the slide. However, he wouldn¡¯t crouch down to catch him like other parents, he would instead always stand with his hands behind his back, watching him climb up and then slide down happily again and again.


    Half an hour¡ªno more, no less. When the time ran out, his grandfather would leave the playground.


    Tiny little Fang Juexia would slide down the slide and run after his grandfather¡¯s back. He would stumble forward until he could reach out and hook onto Grandfather¡¯s  fingers. Then he would pant as his steps slowed down and go home with him.


    The apple peel had fallen across his entire knee, so Fang Juexia picked it up along with the whole apple and set it on the table. He got up to pour a glass of water for him and then went to Pei Tingsong, interrupting the mouthed conversation he was currently having with his own mama.


    ¡°Going now.¡±


    ¡°So fast?¡± Pei Tingsong took a look at Mama Fang. The other party already seemed fully satisfied and content, with a smile on her face, ¡°Go ba.¡± Mama Fang raised her head and told Fang Juexia, ¡°Good boy, you take Xiao Pei to get an infusion.¡±


    Fang Juexia nodded and didn¡¯t say much in return, simply pulling Pei Tingsong out of the room. He was silent the whole way¡ªregistering him, leading him to see a doctor, and then taking him to get an infusion. The private hospital had a good environment, with fewer people here on a weekday than they had thought. They found an infusion room without any people in it and sat there as the IV dripped.


    Even after getting tossed around all morning, Pei Tingsong  remained energetic before his mission was fulfilled. However, as soon as he came out of the inpatient ward, his symptoms grew much worse. He was dizzy, and his eyes grew blurry. When the nurse was using a needle to insert the IV, he glanced at it and felt that that one needle had turned into ten.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be better after the infusion.¡± Fang Juexia sat next to him and patted him on the back whenever he coughed.


    Pei Tingsong leaned against the back of the chair, looked at the transparent liquid medicine in the IV, and then turned to look at him. ¡°I want to eat apples, too.¡±


    Fang Juexia blinked. ¡°Yet, you didn¡¯t say anything just now.¡±


    Their gazes held for ten seconds, then Pei Tingsong laughed. ¡°I¡¯m deceiving you, I don¡¯t want to eat it.¡± He touched his throat with the hand that wasn¡¯t connected to the IV drip. ¡°My throat hurts.¡±


    This action reminded Fang Juexia of his own throat, so he pulled at the collar of his sweater, looked down at the tip of his shoes, then glanced at Pei Tingsong¡¯s long legs, which were acting strangely, constantly being drawn in, then stretched out.


    ¡°You¡­¡± Pei Tingsong finally opened his mouth, his voice in a rare state of uncertainty. ¡°Do you think I¡¯m being a busybody?¡±


    Fang Juexia unscrewed the thermos cup, drank some water, and then tightened it again. The warm water flowed down his irritated throat and warmed his whole body. Speaking truthfully, after seeing his grandfather lying on the hospital bed safe and sound, it seemed that the big stone that had been pressing down on his heart for a long time had finally been removed.


    Pei Tingsong was very eccentric. He didn¡¯t know much about the saying of ¡®not inquiring much into the affairs of people¡¯, and he neither understood nor cared about following such social etiquette. In any case, whatever Pei Tingsong wanted to do must succeed, and he was also the complete opposite of himself.


    But, to some extent, Fang Juexia was a little grateful. Grateful that Pei Tingsong had tried his best to build a step and had dragged him down to meet the person he wanted to see.


    He did not reply to Pei Tingsong¡¯s question from just now, but just looked at the white wall in front of him as he opened his mouth¡ª


    ¡°My grandfather is a very conservative person. My grandmother passed away before I was born, and my mom is his only child.¡±


    Pei Tingsong was a little surprised. He hadn¡¯t expected Fang Juexia to actually tell him about his family.


    ¡°My mom had never left him before she went to university. Later, she went to Guangzhou for college and met my¡­¡± Fang Juexia hesitated before speaking, ¡°My father. Grandfather didn¡¯t allow them to be together, he felt that a dancer like my dad was very unreliable, and he didn¡¯t want my mom to leave him and go so far south. They had a big fight, and then my mom secretly got on a train, left Shandong, and got a marriage license with my dad.¡±


    Pei Tingsong listened quietly. With his background, it was a bit difficult for him to understand this kind of domestic conflict between two generations, but the elopement seemed to be a very romantic thing to him.


    But romance often came at a price.


    ¡°Until I was born, my mom didn¡¯t go back. At first, he didn¡¯t want to see us. My mom told me that she stood at the door and kept calling and calling, but he wouldn¡¯t  answer any of the calls and wouldn¡¯t open the door. Later, when I grew up a bit, he seemed to compromise a little. When I went back, he was willing to see me and even tidied up a small room for me. Occasionally, he would help me with my lessons.¡± Fang Juexia lowered his head as he continued speaking very slowly and in a very low voice, ¡°My grandfather is a math teacher and has taught all his life. He said I was smarter than my mom, sensitive to numbers, and a good sprout.¡±


    The story seemed to be developing in a better direction, but the sense of loss in Fang Juexia¡¯s voice couldn¡¯t be hidden.


    ¡°And then?¡± Pei Tingsong asked.


    Fang Juexia drew in a breath. ¡°Then it was just me and my mom. Grandfather wanted us to come back to stay with him. But¡­¡±


    Pei Tingsong watched his profile.


    ¡°But I also liked dancing, I wanted to dance, so I stayed in Guangzhou to learn dance.¡±


    ¡°He was very disappointed. I was the same kind of person as my dad.¡±


    It was these simple and condensed words that allowed Pei Tingsong to see the miniature of Fang Juexia¡¯s childhood. He seemed to have thousands upon thousands of words in his heart, but these thousands upon thousands of words were all stuck in his throat, and he couldn¡¯t utter any of them.


    ¡°You want to eat an apple?¡± Fang Juexia got up, seemingly ready to go out. ¡°I¡¯ll go buy some for you.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to eat that.¡± Pei Tingsong grabbed his arm, ensuring that he couldn¡¯t leave. ¡°I said I was joking.¡±


    ¡°Okay ba.¡± Fang Juexia sat back and looked at that white wall.


    Suddenly, he was hugged by Pei Tingsong. Crossing across his vision was the transparent IV tube that had gotten involved, and Pei Tingsong¡¯s arms were looped around his neck, embracing him.


    ¡°I feel so bad¡­¡± He had a sore throat, but his tone was soft as he said, ¡°Lend me a hug.¡±


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s head shrank into the hollows of Fang Juexia¡¯s shoulder. He was like a big sick dog right now, rubbing against him while holding him tightly. Fang Juexia didn¡¯t have the heart to push him away, so he convinced himself in his heart that if they were friends, hugging for a bit was very normal ba.


    The little clock in his heart ticked by, matching with the drops of water that dripped down the IV. Drop by drop, they slid into his heart, tickling a bit¡ªjust like a drop of morning dew gathered on the tip of a leaf after the spring rain, falling neatly onto his shoulder.


    ¡°Fang Juexia.¡± The silence lasted for a minute and a half, after which Pei Tingsong once again broke it with his voice.


    Fang Juexia set his own head on top of his head as a response, and while he was at it, also waited for his follow-up. In this bone-to-bone intimacy, Pei Tingsong stuck close to him, and in that warm voice that appeared after a low fever, said, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you won¡¯t have any emotions when dealing with people you don¡¯t care about? There¡¯s always a basis for a temper like that. Your grandfather must be the same as you.¡±


    As he spoke, the warm air from his breath sprayed against the side of Fang Juexia¡¯s neck, carefully moistening the soft sweater.


    ¡°It¡¯s because he loves you that he¡¯s sulking at you.¡±


    Fang Juexia was a little stunned, and the length of the second ticking in the little clock in his heart dragged longer, doubling, or even quadrupling in length at the moment.


    ¡°And you¡¯re not wrong, you¡¯re not wasting your talent at all¡­¡±


    Fang Juexia¡¯s mind was in a whirl, as if he were the one who was sick. Every word being transmitted over from Pei Tingsong¡¯s mouth  left a lengthy shock.


    ¡°You just belong on the stage.¡±

 CH 47

    Chapter 47 ¨C Cloudy To Clear


    Just a pretty face and¡­.


    The dormitory¡¯s door lock was replaced by an electronic lock with facial recognition. The staff tested it several times, and didn¡¯t find any problems with it, so after getting the transfusion in the hospital, Fang Juexia led Pei Tingsong back to the dormitory and let him go back to his room to have a rest.


    The other people hadn¡¯t returned yet, so it was very quiet. Under the dual effects of the medicine and sheer fatigue, Pei Tingsong basically fell asleep just as his head touched the pillow. Fang Juexia left the bedroom after gently closing the door to the room, and went to the kitchen. He opened the refrigerator and looked into it, but didn¡¯t find what he wanted there.


    Wearing a hat and mask, he went downstairs, going towards the nearest supermarket. It was getting dark, and there were many pedestrians on the road, who were heading home as the sunset on their backs. Since their debut, their state of ¡®no one really being curious about them¡¯ had made it so that everyone in their group was used to going out to handle matters by themselves. Whether it was shopping or studying, none of these would attract much attention. Their lives weren¡¯t like the celebrity lifestyle in people¡¯s imaginations, and this lack of attention gave them certain freedom.


    Fang Juexia had, long before, created a list of things to buy in his heart, and thus went straight after his goal after he entered. He was a person who didn¡¯t visit the supermarket a lot, and he would plan everything out in his mind, assigning priorities in order to save time and energy to the greatest possible extent.


    While picking out snow pears, he received a message from his mama. Fang Juexia took out his cellphone and glanced at it.


    [Mama: Your grandfather woke up, and I told him you came to see him. He then asked why we didn¡¯t eat dinner together before you left. Your work is hard, so you need to eat well, understand?]


    Fang Juexia looked at these words. He could almost see the scene in front of his eyes, of what happened after his grandfather woke up. It probably hadn¡¯t been as mild as his mama had said.


    Maybe it had been more like¡ª [Completely thoughtless, not even knowing to leave only after the adult wakes up, and then not even staying for dinner. I think the more he lives, the more he progresses backwards].


    But the gist of it was probably good ba. He couldn¡¯t help thinking of what Pei Tingsong had said to him when he had been attached to the IV. His hand, that had been about to reply to the message, paused, and after that, he directly called her.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Mama Fang obviously didn¡¯t expect him to call her. ¡°It¡¯s good you¡¯re busy la, you don¡¯t have to call back.¡±


    Fang Juexia stood in the snow pear section, surrounded by fruits of all sizes. ¡°I¡¯m in the supermarket right now. Mom, I wanted to ask you, when making tong sui, how do you pick the rock sugar for it ah¡­¡±


    After shopping, he pushed his cart and came to a stand in front of the checkout counter, and started taking out all of the things in the shopping cart one by one.


    ¡°Do you need a shopping bag?¡± The cashier was a young girl.


    Fang Juexia straightened up. ¡°No need, I brought shopping bags.¡± After saying that, he shook out the shopping bag that had been folded into a small square. Maybe it was that the appearance of a 1.8-meter-old handsome Ge with a shopping bag was really a bit funny and bewildering, for the cashier girl couldn¡¯t help but start laughing, while also  at the same time, looking at him more closely.


    Just by looking a bit more closely, she recognized him.


    ¡°Eh?¡± The young girl¡¯s voice was full of surprise as she exclaimed, ¡°You¡¯re Juexia Gege?!¡±


    Fang Juexia reflexively touched the birthmark at the corner of his eye with his hand, and sure enough, it wasn¡¯t completely covered up. He wasn¡¯t good at dealing with this kind of situation, where he had been recognized, so he could only smile, with his eyes that were revealed above the mask curving slightly.


    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s really you!¡± The young girl was so excited that she forgot to scan the items. She sighed emotionally at this face so close to her. ¡°So good-looking ah¡­ By the way, Gege, you got on the Hot Search list today! I didn¡¯t expect I would also bump into you! I¡¯m so happy, this is the happiest day I¡¯ve had since I started working!¡±


    ¡°Hot Search list?¡± Fang Juexia didn¡¯t understand her.


    ¡°Yes ah. Some netizens bumped into you and Xiao Pei when they went to a hospital to see a doctor, I saw this while just surfing the web around noon. I didn¡¯t believe it at first, but in the picture, you were wearing the same clothes you¡¯re wearing now, so it turns out it is true!¡±


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t expect that just him and Pei Tingsong visiting the doctor would warrant getting photographed and then forwarded around on Weibo. Had they already reached this level of fame now?


    ¡°Are you guys sick? Are you alright?¡±


    Fang Juexia shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s just a cold, it¡¯s okay.¡±


    ¡°Gege, you have a really beautiful voice!¡±


    Fang Juexia wasn¡¯t really used to meeting such enthusiastic fans when he went out, and all he could do was thank her constantly before returning to the dormitory with the things he had bought. When he opened the door, he heard some movement. He thought that Pei Tingsong had woken up, but didn¡¯t expect that it was Jiang Miao instead.


    ¡°You¡¯re back?¡± Jiang Miao was busy in the kitchen. ¡°Heard that Xiao Pei fell sick, so when Yiyi and I were on our way back, we bought some takeout for dinner, along with some pork rib soup. They¡¯re all very light dishes, and you haven¡¯t eaten either ba.¡°


    ¡°No wonder it smells so good.¡± Fang Juexia changed his shoes and went over to put his shopping bag down. ¡°I just went out to buy some stuff, and originally I was just planning to randomly make something when I got back.¡±


    Ling Yi, wearing slippers, came out of the bedroom with a bag of Lonely God Potato Twists in his hand. ¡°How long has the little devil been sleeping?¡±


    Fang Juexia calculated and said, ¡°Two hours.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go get him up for dinner!¡±


    Fang Juexia helped the captain dish out the food and set the table. He then sat down, took off his hat, and tasted the soup. It tasted fresh and smooth, with a tiny hint of the lotus root¡¯s sweet aftertaste.


    ¡°You guys got on the Hot Search list today.¡± Jiang Miao sat down and asked, ¡°Did you know?¡±


    He had almost forgotten about that.


    Fang Juexia took out his cellphone and logged into Weibo while telling Jiang Miao about how he had just been recognized at the supermarket. It had been a long time since he had redownloaded the Weibo app, but Fang Juexia pretty much hardly ever opened it. He had already formed the habit of not really using social networks.


    As soon as he logged in, the countless comments and private messages froze his phone again, and it took a long time before he could browse through them. After he clicked on the Hot Search list, he found that number 10 was #Accidentally met Pei Tingsong and Fang Juexia#, and upon clicking on that, he came to the Weibo discussion that that cashier fan had been talking about.


    [@Exploding with luck little cutie: Quickly click on this and someone come and tell me, are these Pei Tingsong and Fang Juexia? They are ba! Their real persons are super tall and super hot, but I dare not go forward. I feel like it¡¯s a little bad to do so in a hospital. But they¡¯re really so, so good-looking ah, both of them are so handsome!]


    There were several pictures below this, which included photos of them lining up to register together, and even photos of them standing outside the hospital. Most of them featured their backs or their side profiles, and they were a bit blurred, but the comments below the post had already exceeded 10,000.


    [@Super Flawless Jeweled Xerophyte: It¡¯s my fresh Juexia Gege! You guys look, on my enlarged photo, there¡¯s a bookmark! Anti-counterfeiting mark!]


    [@Bad Luck Chieftain: Shit, PTS is that tall? It feels like he¡¯s more that 1.9m, why is he so tightly wrapped up ma ah hahahaha]


    [@I got a real one: Wuwuwuwu, I just changed my ID last night, and it¡¯s really too real 555. P.S.: want to know whether the beautiful baby is ill or if it¡¯s Pinot Tree Supreme who is ill. How can can they go see a doctor without any staff with them, it¡¯s too hard for these Geges]


    [@Romance0: Although this obscure group has too many ways to sell rot¡­the people watching all this are also really annoying. Why don¡¯t you just get a high definition camera to shoot them with?]


    [@Heaven will not tolerate K not becoming popular replying to @Romance0: 7L fans won¡¯t even let off passersby who bump into them? No matter how much you mock, your Gege still can¡¯t get on Escape. You know it¡¯s an obscure group, and you¡¯re still deliberately provoking us, our little obscure K is really too honored.]


    [@A carrot: I didn¡¯t get it before, but I don¡¯t know why after looking at these photos I suddenly feel like I¡¯ve been struck in the heart. Accompanying each other to see the doctor is really so cute ah, the two people¡¯s height and faces really pair well.]


    [@Instant noodles and ham: That green sweater on FJX looks really good ah! {Key point! Waiting online for a Leeuwenhoek sister to pick out the brand, want to get the same one}.]


    [@I have to pass level six this year replying to @Instant noodles and ham: I worked really hard searching around for a long time, and it seems that it¡¯s a limited edition from a very small luxury brand. You probably can¡¯t get the same one.]


    [@Has Pinot Tree Supreme grown up today replying to @Instant noodles and ham: This sweater¡­ PTS once seemed to wear a similar one to class, but it was last year¡¯s model. It was highway robbery expensive, 3000 yuan.]


    [@TingJue szd: Shit, after looking at the post above, I seem to have found something extraordinary¡­]


    This sweater was that expensive?


    ¡°Eat ba, Juexia.¡± Jiang Miao grabbed a pork rib for him. As soon as he turned his head, he saw the small and weak Ling Yi piggybacking Pei Tingsong, who was akin to a mountain, and moving step-by-step out of the bedroom. He couldn¡¯t help laughing. ¡°What are you guys playing at? Zhu Bajie carrying his wife on his back?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have a giant baby wife like him!¡± Ling Yi was so tired that he was panting. Fang Juexia put down his cellphone and was ready to go over to help his poor roommate, but as soon as he went over, Pei Tingsong gave up on playing this boring game and stood up. Instead, Fang Juexia, who now had no chance to help, just touched his forehead.


    ¡°No fever now.¡± Fang Juexia was finally at ease.


    After having slept, Pei Tingsong¡¯s whole person had relaxed a lot. He wasn¡¯t as drowsy as he had been during the day, and now sported only a sore throat, which made speaking uncomfortable. ¡°Haven¡¯t had a fever since a long time ago.¡±


    Jiang Miao greeted him and said, ¡°Quickly come and have something to eat. This is from a very famous restaurant recommended by Ling Yi, try it.¡±


    Pei Tingsong sat down next to Fang Juexia. He discovered that he didn¡¯t have a spoon, but he was also too lazy to get up and get one. So, he pretended not to know what was going on and picked up Fang Juexia¡¯s spoon, which was hooked upside down on his plate, and then scooped a mouthful of soup into his mouth.


    ¡°That¡¯s mine.¡± Fang Juexia certainly wasn¡¯t that easy to fool.


    Pei Tingsong glanced at him. ¡°I¡¯m just going to use it. I¡¯m the sick person after all.¡±


    Fang Juexia had been dealing with this all day, so he really had nothing to say. That coquettish act he had put on during the day really was the secondary personality of this brat.


    Ling Yi lowered his voice to imitate Pei Tingsong. After imitating his words, he held his stomach and began to laugh. ¡°He was already a subwoofer, but after catching a cold, his voice has turned into that of a broken gong. I¡¯m going to die of laughter. Pei Tingsong, you sound like my grandfather right now!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have a grandson like you!¡±


    During the meal, Ling Yi and Jiang Miao talked about what had happened during the filming of their program. Ling Yi was very good at describing things, and no matter what it was, as long as he expressed it, it would be really funny. Pei Tingsong and Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t help laughing. However, Pei Tingsong was still ill, and as soon as he laughed, he also started coughing, coughing so badly that his face turned red.


    Fang Juexia looked over at him, feeling a strange heartache, and instinctively wanted to pat him on the back, but he was also afraid of being teased by Ling Yi, so he ended up holding himself back. However, who could have known that while Pei Tingsong was coughing to death, he would catch Fang Juexia¡¯s wrist and place it on his back, while motioning to indicate that he wanted him to pat him on the back.


    ¡°Who else is like you hahahahaha!¡±


    ¡°Juexia is like a handyman.¡±


    Nearly done coughing, Pei Tingsong took a deep breath and turned to smile at Fang Juexia.


    ¡°As a Gege, you have to be more conscientious.¡±


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t know why, but he suddenly recalled the photo he had accidentally seen in Pei Tingsong¡¯s apartment. The face of that carefree child in the picture coincided with the face in front of him now.


    Very intriguing.


    The next day¡¯s event was starting at noon, and so, time was a little tight. Even before dawn, Cheng Qiang ran to the dormitory to act as a human alarm clock. He didn¡¯t even need to think about it to know that all of these people must still be sleeping, especially He Ziyan and Lu Yuan, both of whom had only gotten back to the dorm in the early hours of the morning, and Pei Tingsong, who was sick.


    However, to his surprise, he found that Fang Juexia had actually already gotten up, and not just recently. He was wearing morning running clothes and was standing near the kitchen counter.


    ¡°Don¡¯t make breakfast, Juexia. I¡¯ll get Xiao Wen to buy it for you guys.¡± Cheng Qiang then hurried to wake up the others, leaving behind Fang Juexia¡¯s tardy response, ¡°I¡¯m not actually making breakfast¡­¡±


    Cheng Qiang, with his old mother¡¯s heart, urged the several big boys to get up and tidy up. He then hurried them over to the van like he was herding ducks. Xiao Wen, who was already seated inside the car, handed the purchased breakfast to Jiang Miao. ¡°Split it, and eat some more. Later on, you guys might not get time to eat.¡±


    ¡°I want meat baozi!¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this bok choy baozi ba? Haven¡¯t you woken up, there are green leaves all over it.¡±


    ¡°Give me a cup of soybean milk, please.¡±


    Upon seeing Pei Tingsong reach out his hand, Fang Juexia intercepted the soybean milk Jiang Miao was about to hand to him and put it beside his own seat. Pei Tingsong had on a bewildered expression; he wanted to speak, but his throat was uncomfortable. He was also very muddled from sleep, so he simply widened his eyes and looked at this soybean milk thief, who didn¡¯t have a red face and whose heart wasn¡¯t beating any faster.


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t speak. He quietly took out a thermos from the bag at his feet and stuffed it into Pei Tingsong¡¯s hands. Then, he bent at the waist, looked around for awhile, and finally pulled out the utensil box that had been hidden in the innermost location of the bag, took off its lid, took out a spoon, and handed it to him.


    Upon suddenly grasping a small jar in his arms, Pei Tingsong¡¯s brain short-circuited for a bit, but he still unscrewed the lid, and a fresh and sweet aroma wafted up to his face. He scooped at its contents with the spoon. The early morning sunlight entered through a gap in the car window and shone on the winter pear in the spoon, making it glitter and look translucent, just like rock candy.


    Pei Tingsong turned to look at him. He didn¡¯t know why, but he automatically switched to mouthing the words. ¡°For me?¡±


    Fang Juexia¡¯s pale pupils drifted to the side, and he pursed his lips, not saying anything. He picked up the soybean milk that he had snatched, which was the first time in his life he had done so, held the straw, stabbed it in, and brought it to his mouth.


    That means it¡¯s for me! A small white flower bloomed in Pei Tingsong¡¯s heart, with flower buds swaying under the spring sunlight.


    He had never eaten the tong sui made by Fang Juexia before, not even once. He had only heard of it from his other bandmates before. At that time, he had been quite disdainful, sniffing and saying stuff like ¡°isn¡¯t it just sugar water?¡±


    Yet now, Pei Tingsong had long forgotten what he had been like before, and contentedly scooped a big spoonful into his mouth. After having been boiled for a long time, the winter pear had turned soft, and with a tiny bit of fruit acid mixed with snow fungus soaked in rock sugar, it tasted sweet and moist, and his throat immediately felt much more comfortable.


    It was just that the scraped tip of his tongue hurt a bit when it encountered the hot tong sui, but that didn¡¯t hinder him from eating it at all.


    Lu Yuan was sharp-sighted, so as soon as he looked back, he saw this. ¡°Xiao Pei, what good thing are you hoarding and eating by yourself?!¡±


    ¡°Why is his breakfast in a thermos?¡± Ling Yi was still chewing on a meat baozi as he asked, ¡°Do we not deserve it?¡±


    Xiao Wen thought it was strange. ¡°What? I didn¡¯t buy anything in a thermos ah.¡±


    Pei Tingsong hugged his honey jar and declared, ¡°This is the tong sui Juexia Ge boiled for me. What are you guys trying to grab it for, are you guys sick?¡±


    Ling Yi clicked his tongue for a bit. ¡°Oh, yo, getting sick is really something.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t compare, can¡¯t compare,¡± Lu Yuan repeatedly shook his head. ¡°The little devil¡¯s heart has grown confused from the honey.¡±


    Jiang Miao suddenly understood. ¡°No wonder Juexia went to the supermarket to buy so many winter pears yesterday.¡±


    Even Cheng Qiang, who was driving the car, realized something. ¡°I was just saying why Juexia had gotten up before it was even light outside.¡±


    He Ziyan picked on him while laughing, ¡°Why do I remember someone saying previously that he hated eating sweet things most? Who was that?¡±


    Pei Tingsong cleared his throat. He glanced at Fang Juexia before beginning to white-wash himself. ¡°Who the hell knows? Anyway, I like eating sweets.¡±


    Everyone had gotten up too early, and so after causing a little bit of ruckus, they fell asleep. Pei Tingsong was the only one who couldn¡¯t sleep. He discovered that although the thermos looked big, it was actually kind of small, and he could see its bottom soon, even though he hadn¡¯t eaten  that much. He thought about it, then screwed the lid back on and set the thermos aside.


    Fang Juexia seemed to be very sleepy. Ordinarily, he very seldom slept in the car, but today, just like the others, he couldn¡¯t stay awake. His head nodded up and down, swaying along with the car, giving off a rare silly appearance.


    Everyone had fallen asleep, so Cheng Qiang turned down the car radio¡¯s volume. Pei Tingsong glanced at Fang Juexia several times and felt that this person¡¯s head would soon hit the window.


    He stretched out his hand, grabbed the brim of Fang Juexia¡¯s baseball cap, exerted a bit of effort, and pulled him sideways. Now, Fang Juexia was no longer inclining towards the window, and Pei Tingsong had carefully helped him avoid a collision crisis.


    The privacy film on the window dyed the blue sky outside dark. As they drove through a shady road, the overhanging tree branches cast shadows across Fang Juexia¡¯s gently swaying pale face.


    ¡°¡­¡­ next is the weather. Today¡¯s temperature is 9 ¡æ ~ 14 ¡æ.¡±


    The sound of the radio was reassuring.


    Click.


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s shoulder sank, the red birthmark having finally bumped into the hollows of his shoulder. Pei Tingsong sniffed, and pretended that his reaction time had been eroded due to his cold, pretending that he couldn¡¯t sense that someone had borrowed his shoulder to sleep on, and only turned his head and looked at the opposite window.


    In the darkened world outside the window, a tottering petal finally fell down.


    ¡°¡­¡­ It¡¯s cloudy and clear.¡±


    When the car reached its designated location, they discovered that the stylists had already arrived ahead of time. Kaleido¡¯s new endorsement was for a cellphone brand that boasted high national popularity. Although they were representing only one of its cellphone series, it was still the latest new flagship model that was being pushed by the brand.


    If it had to be said, then the process of winning this endorsement was also very fantastic. The new cellphone models of this series came in six colors and were designed to follow the colorful and fashionable route, so the brand was targeting to hire young and popular idol groups to represent it, in order to match its image with its potential consumer group.


    It had always been that to find a spokesperson, they would get in contact with whoever was popular at the moment. Of course, the top group Seven Luminaries ranked first on their list, since after all, their popularity had been solid for two years. In order to forge a partnership with them, the brand had contacted them many times, but the response from the other side had always been very vague, and no matter how long it dragged on, they just couldn¡¯t finalize an agreement. Even when they could see with their own eyes that the products were about to go online, they still didn¡¯t finalize anything.


    Originally, this kind of thing often happened in the industry, especially with large brokerage companies; most of them were either dissatisfied with the endorsement fee being offered, or thought that the brand¡¯s influence wasn¡¯t enough for their group. Generally speaking, adding a few extra zeros to the deal would get the job done. However, it was exactly during this time that the K group suddenly grew in popularity, and their momentum just became fiercer and fiercer.


    The brand immediately tried to contact that side. Unexpectedly, Star Chart was surprisingly open to persuasion, and after the offer was given, they agreed to it, even saying that they could include an advertising song. Getting such a good deal, the cellphone brand team was naturally overjoyed. Both sides hit it off and finalized the contract within three days. To prepare for the launch of their new product, they were going to invite fans to come in-person, and were also livestreaming the whole process online. On top of all this, they were even going to use these new cellphones to livestream the whole process, showing that they had incorporated many gimmicks into this process.


    In order to cooperate with the brand promotion, Kaleido¡¯s look was also designed on the basis of the colors of the cellphones. Perfectly they had six people, and there were six colors. Fang Juexia wore a loose white sweater with black jeans, his dark brown hair had been textured a bit, with his bangs blown into a heart shape, and he sported a dark purple velvet choker around his neck, which perfectly covered up the injury on his throat. Pei Tingsong wore a loose grape-violet colored sweater, his short black hair had been blow dried upwards, and a purple hippie style sun visor was placed on his head.


    Ling Yi¡¯s hair had been styled so that he had little curls all over, just like a teddy bear. The stylist little Jiejie had then matched him with red jeans, and he looked especially cute. Jiang Miao was given the rare chance to wear a light yellow fleece sweater. It was smooth, and he looked very lovely. Lu Yuan was in a pea-green shirt with white trousers, and he was wearing a pair of half-rimmed glasses. He Ziyan was wearing a bright blue windbreaker, which was very eye-catching.


    As soon as they came on the stage, they were drowned out by the voices of their fans. In the beginning, everyone was calling out the names of individual members, but later, somehow, it turned into a uniform slogan¡ª


    ¡°Kaleido£¡ Kaleido£¡ Kaleido£¡¡±


    ¡°Welcome, welcome, let¡¯s give everyone a grand introduction. Our global spokesperson for our FINO series¡ªKaleido!¡±


    After the six people got into position, they first carried out their usual greeting, then all of them bowed in unison to the audience, following that with a bow towards the live camera. Three whole seconds passed before they straightened up, and then they clapped along with the fans.


    ¡°Today, our Kaleido has taken a lot of care with their look, they really are the best spokesperson for this brand.¡±


    Based on the program schedule, after the host briefly introduced the features of the new flagship model, their latest advertisement would begin playing on the big screen. As each member of the group appeared on the screen, fans below would scream.


    Ling Yi, who was standing to the side, whispered to Jiang Miao, ¡°We spent so many all-nighters taking those pictures that I got all muddled. I didn¡¯t expect the results to still be pretty good.¡±


    Jiang Miao just smiled and didn¡¯t speak.


    ¡°Wow, isn¡¯t this advertisement very handsome ah!¡±


    ¡°Yes¡ª¡±


    The host started the interactive session. First, she demonstrated the cellphone¡¯s photographic capabilities. Then, she let everyone in Kaleido take the color cellphone that corresponded with their style, after which they had to go up to the cellphone that had been affixed to a table, and take a photo using that cellphone¡¯s voice function, even adding a color tone to the picture with this function.


    Fang Juexia wasn¡¯t very good at taking selfies and was afraid of screwing up in this segment. After all, his bandmates had all kinds of cute and cool styles. When it was his turn to step forward, for a moment, he couldn¡¯t think of any good positions, so he just held the cellphone in his hand slantwise in front of his face. The bright white body of the cellphone covered most of his face, revealing only a pair of beautiful eyes and the red birthmark at the corner of his eye.


    The clicked picture was automatically displayed on the big screen. Upon seeing this picture, the fans suddenly started to scream wildly. Fang Juexia didn¡¯t understand what had just happened. He was so confused that he looked around and thought that some mysterious guest had arrived on-stage.


    ¡°AHHHHHHHHHHH A FRESH SELFIE!¡±


    ¡°Juexia Gege¡¯s eyes are so, so attractive!¡±


    Pei Tingsong, who was watching from the side, was about to laugh himself to death, but he started coughing as soon as he laughed. So as he coughed, he pulled Fang Juexia away, and went over to the spot himself. ¡°It¡¯s my turn.¡±


    He stood there, straightened up his collar, covered half of his face with the dark purple cellphone, thereby revealing only one eye. His eye was directed slightly upwards, giving off a completely aggressive feel.


    ¡°Wow¡ª¡±


    There was another burst of screaming. Only after seeing this did Fang Juexia understand that everyone had just been too excited upon seeing the selfies.


    ¡°Okay, next segment!¡±


    All the activities revolved around cellphones, and so naturally, they couldn¡¯t leave out topics like mobile games and apps. The organizer had seven tall stools placed on the stage, and the host sat on the far right to chat with the group members.


    ¡°Our fans must have a lot of questions to ask, so now, I¡¯ll draw one person out. Fans should remember that they can only ask questions related to cellphones.¡± With that, the host cued Pei Tingsong, who was sitting next to her, ¡°Then Tingsong, go up and choose a fan ba.¡±


    ¡°If I pick, then I have to answer, right?¡± Pei Tingsong asked in a hoarse voice. After saying that, he coughed with his back to the camera.


    Ling Yi commented, ¡°Anyway, you answer first, and you don¡¯t have to mind whether we answer or not.¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright, alright.¡± Pei Tingsong looked down at the crowd below that stage. ¡°That girl in the white sweater dress ba, she looks so excited, as if she wants to climb straight up onto the stage.¡±


    ¡°Hahahahaha.¡±


    That girl took the microphone from a staff member, took a moment to calm herself down, and then asked in a loud voice, ¡°Geges, can you disclose the nicknames you have for each other on your cellphones?¡±


    Shit.


    The microphone in Pei Tingsong¡¯s hand almost fell out.


    ¡°Good question.¡± The host looked at Pei Tingsong with a smile as she said, ¡°Then Tingsong will go first? What nicknames have you given the other Geges in your contacts app, we¡¯re all very curious.¡± Saying that, she looked down at the crowd below the stage. ¡°Whose Xiao Pei nickname do you guys want to see the most?¡±


    A roar sounded out from below the stage, one that could even topple the mountains and overturn the seas. ¡°Fang Juexia! Fang Juexia! Fang Juexia! Fang Juexia¡­¡±


    Fang Juexia was also a little curious, so he turned his chair to face Pei Tingsong, who was beside him, and then smiled and raised his eyebrows up at him.


    ¡°Er¡­¡± Pei Tingsong hesitated, only to hear Ling Yi pour oil on the already burning fire from behind him.


    ¡°You need to take out your cellphone and read it out loud!¡±


    He Ziyan turned sideways to look over, and added some embellishments on this entire affair, ¡°Right, otherwise, we¡¯re personally going to take action ah?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that, I just didn¡¯t bring my cellphone up with me.¡±


    Who could have known that as soon as this sentence was uttered, Xiao Wen would come up on-stage with Pei Tingsong¡¯s cellphone, thrust it into his hand, and then quickly slip away.


    They could even do that??


    Under the full view of the public, Pei Tingsong couldn¡¯t cause a fuss and get out of it, no matter how much he wanted to. He only hated the fact that he hadn¡¯t changed that nickname earlier.


    ¡°Alright, our Xiao Pei has opened the famous chat app now. Let¡¯s wait and see what his nickname for Juexia is?¡±


    Pei Tingsong also turned to face Fang Juexia. In fact, he currently had no face with which to face him, but he was afraid that Fang Juexia would peek at the nickname from the side.


    ¡°En¡­The nickname is, Just a pretty face and¡­¡±


    He stuttered these few words , completely not in the style of a rapper at all. But with just these few words, everyone in the crowd down below had begun to scream.


    Fang Juexia¡¯s expression was a little puzzled. He picked up the microphone, and with a little questioning and threatening tone, asked, ¡°And what?¡± He squinted as he added, ¡°Pretty?¡±


    Lu Yuan was so excited that he seemed to look like a cat that had just seen a mouse in a granary. ¡°Just a pretty face and then what?!¡±


    Pei Tingsong had no other choice left, so he simply went for broke, locked the cellphone¡¯s screen, held the cellphone from one end, while using the other end to lift up Fang Juexia¡¯s chin, and with a little flattery in his voice, joked¡ª


    ¡°Just a pretty face and also still pretty~¡±

 CH 48

    Chapter 48 ¨C Falling Into A Cloud


    I want to hire you to be my exclusive dance teacher.


    This action immediately triggered a scream, and cheers almost broke throughout the whole studio. On the other hand, Fang Juexia, who had been flirted with, was calm. He simply leaned back and wrested away the cellphone in Pei Tingsong¡¯s hand.


    The other members, who were watching the excitement, didn¡¯t mind fanning the flames higher. Ling Yi¡¯s little tongue never stopped as it flapped, ¡°So it turns out Pei Tingsong is such a person oh!¡±


    He Ziyan, who was sitting at the end of the seating arrangement, added jokingly, ¡°Just a pretty face and also still pretty¡ªthis is actually the nickname Pei Tingsong gave to one of his bandmates. Can you guys dare to believe it ma?¡±


    Having said that, he pointed the microphone in his hand at the audience below, but who would have known that the fans below would yell loudly in unison, ¡°Dare!¡±


    ¡°You guys really dare to believe anything.¡± Lu Yuan added on, ¡°To tell the truth, I also dare.¡±


    All of the fans below laughed. Jiang Miao looked at the people involved with a smile and put forward a suggestion, ¡°I feel like this way might be more fun. Xiao Pei just made public his nickname for Juexia, so now, let¡¯s take a look at Juexia¡¯s nickname for Xiao Pei, how¡¯s that?¡±


    The little captain was pretty much voicing the heartfelt wishes of the fans below. Before he could even finish his words, they started screaming, and the rest of his sentence was almost drowned out amidst their cheers.


    The host joked, ¡°This is the best artist I¡¯ve ever interviewed. The group leader has already started to help me with the cues.¡±


    Lu Yuan said with a smile, ¡°Captain is a cueing maniac.¡±


    Originally, the hot potato was still with Pei Tingsong, but now it had been thrown into Fang Juexia¡¯s hands.


    Even before Fang Juexia could react to this, he heard the girls below calling out his name in waves. He was still a little confused when he picked up his microphone. ¡°Is it my turn now?¡±


    Ling Yi called out, ¡°Juexia, don¡¯t let me down!¡±


    He Ziyan added, ¡°It¡¯s time to hurt each other.¡±


    Lu Yuan shifted his high stool around. ¡°Melon seeds and peanut snacks are on sale in the front row ah.¡±


    Listening on as his bandmates mercilessly fooled around, Pei Tingsong smiled and shook his head, and then looked at Fang Juexia.


    To be honest, he had created that nickname long back, all because of his prejudices and stereotyping of this person. Thinking about it now, he felt really apologetic towards Fang Juexia.


    However, Pei Tingsong was also very curious about how the person in front of him had nicknamed him. Based on his personality, he probably wouldn¡¯t make something up right now.


    ¡°En¡­¡± Fang Juexia held up the microphone and adjusted the choker on his neck with a smile. ¡°In fact, my nicknames aren¡¯t particularly interesting, so everyone shouldn¡¯t expect too much.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s best if it¡¯s like that.¡± Pei Tingsong nodded with complete satisfaction.


    Ling Yi guessed boldly, ¡°It may be Devil Incarnate Pei Tingsong!¡±


    Lu Yuan interjected, ¡°No, it¡¯s Xiao Pei, Xiao Pei, game loss guaranteed today.¡±


    ¡°It could also be La La La, a Pinot Tree Supreme,¡± He Ziyan said.


    ¡°Hahahahahaha, what¡¯s the matter with this group?!¡±


    ¡°What are they doing, is everyone competing for the spot of the number one slanderer in the group hahahaha?¡±


    However, Jiang Miao said, ¡°Juexia wouldn¡¯t make up such nicknames. I guess it should just be his name?¡±


    Fang Juexia looked at their group leader with a smile. ¡°Pretty much, but a bit more precise.¡± He himself knew that his nicknames weren¡¯t funny, and he didn¡¯t want to arouse everyone¡¯s appetite, so he turned towards the involved party.


    Sensing that Fang Juexia had raised the microphone to speak, Pei Tingsong rubbed his ears and turned around while wearing an expression that showed he was listening intently with both ears.


    Fang Juexia said calmly, ¡°Kaleido Pei Tingsong.¡±


    As soon as these words were uttered, the whole audience burst into laughter, and his bandmates¡¯ laughter was especially exaggerated.


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s face collapsed at a speed visible to the naked eye. He stood up from the high stool and pretended to leave the stage. ¡°Flying solo, flying solo from now on, I¡¯m not doing this anymore.¡±


    Unexpectedly, a fan from below yelled in a super loud voice, ¡°The beautiful baby is still doing it, you can¡¯t not do it!¡±


    ¡°Hahahahahahaha sister is so super loud!¡±


    ¡°Hahahahahahaha!¡±


    But he was just joking, and didn¡¯t take more than two steps forward after standing up before sitting down again. He sat his butt down right next to Fang Juexia, then pulled him over to face him. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you write Star Chart Company Kaleido Maknae Rapper Pei Tingsong?¡±


    Fang Juexia pursed his lips and replied naturally, ¡°It¡¯s not like I¡¯m your Baidu Encyclopedia entry.¡±


    ¡°Hahahahaha!¡±


    ¡°Hahahahahahahahaha, Baidu Encyclopedia entry!¡±


    Lu Yuan was laughing so hard that he nearly fell over. ¡°The little devil king also has this day!¡±


    Pei Tingsong let out a long sigh and faced the fans, complaining, ¡°You guys see, the nickname I gave this guy was full of pretty, but what he actually nicknamed me was just Kaleido Pei Tingsong, isn¡¯t this infuriating?¡±


    He Ziyan clutched at his chest. ¡°Xiao Pei¡¯s heart, all his love was wasted.¡±


    Lu Yuan commented, ¡°Pei Tingsong who only knew about prettiness, Fang Juexia who just feels like they¡¯re colleagues.¡±


    Ling Yi added, ¡°Laying out a banner: Karma Exists.¡±


    ¡°Hahahahahaha!¡±


    ¡°The cross talk group is really quite enough!¡±


    Facing the whole audience¡¯s ridicule, Pei Tingsong could only shake his head repeatedly while saying, ¡°Fang Juexia is heartless.¡±


    Fang Juexia was a little embarrassed by what he had said, but he really did use that nickname for him; he had done the same for everyone.


    Was it a little too hurtful?


    Pondering on it, Fang Juexia didn¡¯t know what else to say, so he poked at Pei Tingsong¡¯s waist with his microphone.


    In the beginning, Pei Tingsong deliberately ignored him and turned his back on him. Later, only when Fang Juexia poked him in the back once again did he turn around, and holding his microphone in his hand, spoke ¡°This segment has made me so sad, I¡¯m requesting for us to proceed directly to the next segment. Cellphone nicknames are the bane of my life.¡±


    The duration of the activity was also limited, and right then, the host had also wanted to bring the audience under control, so she followed Pei Tingsong¡¯s suggestion and commenced with the next segment.


    In fact, on the inside, Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t really not want to continue this segment. He just thought that if they really continued with it, what if Fang Juexia¡¯s nicknames for the others were really good, what then?


    Ling Yi had been Fang Juexia¡¯s roommate since even before they debuted, and usually, both of them were very close and intimate, so his nickname must be Yiyi. His nickname for their group leader must be Miao Ge or Little Captain, but anyway, all of their nicknames would be better than Kaleido Pei Tingsong.


    If it turned out to be like that, then wouldn¡¯t he be left with no face?


    The more Pei Tingsong thought about it, the more his slight discomfort with this matter grew. But after all, their relationship before in the group was there, and it hadn¡¯t even been as good as that between strangers. Fang Juexia using that nickname for him was justifiable; after all, didn¡¯t he himself nickname this person as¡ª Just a pretty face?


    Summing it all up, Pei Tingsong just didn¡¯t want to hear Fang Juexia¡¯s intimate nicknames for others. He had to stop this segment and cut his losses.


    Next, they all chatted about the shooting of the advertisements for the new products, an area that had never been Fang Juexia¡¯s home court. However, he felt that Pei Tingsong spoke very few words here, and his participation wasn¡¯t high. He wondered whether it was because of the issue with the nickname.


    Just by looking at his appearance and daily style, Fang Juexia seemed to be more like the kind of person with a delicate and sensitive mind. Yet, in reality, his way of thinking was simple and direct, and there always existed a barrier between him and the outside world. In many cases, he was more like the straight man of steel that netizens liked to talk about.


    And right now, he discovered that Pei Tingsong, who looked very tiger-like, was actually the one with a delicate and sensitive mind.


    Therefore, Fang Juexia, who had always just regarded nicknames as a search index for his contact list, couldn¡¯t help but wonder if he should change that name to something that was less icy cold.


    Just a pretty face and also still pretty¡­


    To be honest, Fang Juexia was skeptical about this nickname. After all, he was already used to Pei Tingsong¡¯s word games, so maybe, it could be that he had also just made up this nickname for fanservice this time around.


    He began to wonder what Pei Tingsong had really nicknamed him.


    The activity didn¡¯t end until the afternoon. The brand had invested a great deal of money on promotions, coupled with the fact that the livestream¡¯s popularity wasn¡¯t low, and then, adding on K¡¯s fancy group talk and the TingJue CP concentrated fluff moments, it rushed onto the Hot Search list, and became a hot conversation topic.


    The brand was very satisfied with this result and promised Star Chart to increase their advertising and offline publicity ventures with them in the future.


    ¡°You guys will get more and more endorsements in the future.¡± Cheng Qiang was feeling a bit emotional in the midst of his joy. ¡°Ah, I seem to have an old mother¡¯s mentality now, feeling as though the kids I raised, all on my lonesome, are now starting to earn money to support their family. It really wasn¡¯t easy ah.¡±


    However, the six K members were fighting around in the car, and no one heard what he said.


    ¡°Ling Yi, can you stop eating? Your chips have gotten all over my pants!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just going to eat it! Eat it! I¡¯ll even give some to Juexia to make you expire from anger!¡±


    ¡°Thank you¡­..wu, it¡¯s so spicy.¡±


    ¡°Aiya, I forgot this is the Indian ghost pepper flavor.¡±


    ¡°Hahahahahaha, are you a demon? Giving Juexia ghost pepper spiciness!¡±


    ¡°Excuse me, aren¡¯t ghost peppers Mexican?¡±


    Witnessing his boss be completely ignored by his own artists, Xiao Wen, who was sitting in the passenger¡¯s seat, applauded awkwardly for him. ¡°Qiang Ge is right.¡±


    Cheng Qiang, wearing an expression like that of a domineering president, started the car and crooked his neck to point at Xiao Wen. ¡°Fasten your seat belt.¡±


    When they returned to the company, they received more good news. On the basis of the previous pilot livestream episode of the ¡°candy wrapper kiss¡±, and Kaleido¡¯s recent continuous exposure, the view count for the first episode of the group ensemble livestream that came out last weekend on a certain network platform exceeded 5 million on its first day. Although it wasn¡¯t as high as that of many ultra-popular groups, for a group ensemble variety show targeted mainly towards fans that didn¡¯t have any publicity besides the pilot livestream episode, this was already a pretty amazing number.


    Taking advantage of the planning meeting, the boss mentioned details regarding the group ensemble show, ¡°Because the feedback for the first episode was pretty good, the staff analyzed the data, and the most discussed topic was Xiao Pei and Juexia¡¯s CP.¡±


    Chen Zhengyun looked at the two of them. ¡°It seems that our planning direction was still right this time, and we can now see the benefits this CP fanservice brings for the whole group. In fact, the rest of the discussed topics weren¡¯t much different; everyone here is a child with a good sense for variety shows, so keep working hard.¡±


    After saying that, he took out two sets of contracts. ¡°This is the new cooperation contract we got from two other network platforms, and it was only after seeing the view count for the ensemble show and the degree of discussion that took place on the initial network that they came to us. It just so happened that we hadn¡¯t signed an exclusive contract with this particular broadcasting platform in the beginning, so now, our broadcasting channels have also been increased.¡±


    Ling Yi was very surprised. ¡°Really? I thought only fans watched this.¡±


    Cheng Qiang explained, ¡°It¡¯s mainly because you guys had a small fan base at the beginning, so to a certain extent, there was a lot of space for passers-by to enter. Now, you guys are at a turning point, where you are rising in national popularity, and so there will be a large number of passers-by who will want to turn into your fans after watching some of your performances or programs. The ensemble show is just the quickest way for them to get to know all of you.¡±


    ¡°Therefore, the high view count on the ensemble show proves that the attention you all are attracting really has risen very high.¡±


    Fang Juexia could also sense this change. Even if he hardly browsed the Internet, he would get a lot of feedback from his mama and former classmates.


    A few days ago, a college classmate had even sent him a message, saying that all kinds of photos, which had been taken when he was studying, had built their own towering threads in the forum. There were photos of him in class, giving a presentation onstage, participating in the school mathematics competitions, participating in basketball matches, and even photos of him at sports festivals.


    These photos also seemed to have been posted over on Weibo, where they were also widely discussed.


    ¡°Cheng Qiang is right.¡± Chen Zhengyun continued, ¡°Everyone wants to see this variety show, but they also want to understand the real you, which is why we¡¯re planning more episodes. What¡¯s more, this ensemble job bears witness to the process of everyone starting from scratch and growing up. Every hard won job opportunity is being recorded, which then becomes very precious to both the fans and all of you.¡±


    After that, he returned to the main topic of discussion¡ªplanning the album. ¡°Everyone has been working hard these past few days, running to activity after activity, and we haven¡¯t stopped either. Several producers, artists, and I have discussed these demos for several days, and have finally decided on the main song of this album.¡±


    As soon as they heard the main song being mentioned, everyone grew a little excited. Fang Juexia even felt a little nervous; they hadn¡¯t come out with an album for so long that he had forgotten what it was like to record songs in the studio.


    ¡°We decided to use He Ziyan¡¯s demo.¡±


    With that, Ling Yi and Lu Yuan started cheering for He Ziyan, ¡°Yeah!¡±


    Seeing that everyone was so happy, Fang Juexia¡¯s mood also suddenly jumped with joy, but then he heard Chen Zhengyun say, ¡°The arrangement is very distinctive, very much in-line with your guys¡¯ style. However, the composition of the song still needs to be adjusted; there is a lack of melody, especially in the chorus. There are still things to be discussed.¡±


    Speaking of composition¡­.


    Fang Juexia felt as if he had forgotten something, but he couldn¡¯t remember it at this moment. Pei Tingsong, who had originally been spinning his pen, suddenly raised his hand and spoke up, ¡°Boss, I have a suggestion.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re making progress ah.¡± Chen Zhengyun teased, ¡°You even know how to use the word ¡®suggestion¡¯ now.¡±


    No one in the room bothered to stand on ceremony, and everyone started laughing uproariously. A smile even drifted across Fang Juexia¡¯s face as his fingers played with the pocket-sized tea-cup in front of him; it was made of boxwood, and was a part of the boss¡¯ collection.


    Pei Tingsong glared at them and continued, ¡°For the composition part, I want to recommend Juexia Ge.¡±


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t expect Pei Tingsong to suddenly push him out into the spotlight. The wooden cup in his hand fell down in an instant and hit the table with a thud.


    He looked like a little mouse who failed to steal oil, instead running smack dab into kerosene. As he glanced at the boss, he stretched out his hand, snatched the little teacup that had tumbled far away, brought it back, and even patted it gently.


    With a smile on his lips, Chen Zhengyun turned his head and looked at Pei Tingsong. ¡°Why are you suddenly dragging Juexia out?¡±


    Jiang Miao thought about it and said, ¡°Yes ah, why does Xiao Pei know that Juexia can compose music? The rest of us didn¡¯t even know this.¡±


    Lu Yuan commented, ¡°It can¡¯t be one of Xiao Pei¡¯s pranks ba?¡±


    Pei Tingsong picked up the small cup in front of him and pretended to throw it at him. ¡°Am I so idle and bored?¡±


    He Ziyan¡¯s face showed an unclear smile. ¡°Then that is to say, Xiao Pei has heard Juexia¡¯s music? Even I haven¡¯t heard it, hey.¡±


    ¡°Wow, I¡¯m so sad. I¡¯m actually Juexia¡¯s dearest roommate,¡± Ling Yi lay on the table and complained, ¡°Juexia, you already don¡¯t love me anymore.¡±


    Listening to these repeated bombardments from his bandmates, Fang Juexia¡¯s ears turned red, and he kept waving his hand. ¡°No, actually it¡¯s all an accident¡­¡±


    Pei Tingsong interrupted his explanation, ¡°Boss, believe me, Fang Juexia is really very talented.¡±


    Hearing this sentence, Fang Juexia was stunned. All the clarifications he had come up with in his mind were forgotten in that instant.


    He suddenly thought of a phrase¡ªforceful and lofty in speech. Even though he knew that that phrase couldn¡¯t be accurately used here, at this moment, every word Pei Tingsong uttered hit his heart heavily, and every syllable echoed repeatedly within his empty chest.


    He looked at Pei Tingsong, and what was strange was that Pei Tingsong, who had originally been looking at the boss the entire time, seemed to feel something at that very moment. He turned his face, and their eyes, very coincidentally, met the other¡¯s.


    It was always like this. The frequency with which this kept happening was already too high for it to be categorised as just being a coincidence.


    His eyelashes trembled, but Fang Juexia didn¡¯t look away this time.


    Pei Tingsong recalled the swaying snow-white trees outside the hospital upon seeing this.


    Chen Zhengyun shrugged. ¡°Alright. Juexia, when you get back, send me what you wrote, and I¡¯ll listen to it.¡±


    Not expecting the outcome of the meeting to finally be something like this, and also being caught off guard by Pei Tingsong selling him out, all Fang Juexia could do was nod and agree, ¡°Okay.¡±


    If such a thing had happened before, he would have definitely felt resistant inside. Even if he had tightly held this demo in his hands for a whole week, he didn¡¯t really want to take it out, and he also didn¡¯t want to be exposed passively.


    However, he had to admit that hearing Pei Tingsong¡¯s approval and praise was something that made him happy. The amount of happiness he was feeling right now even beat out the amount he usually felt because of most other people¡¯s praise.


    It was just that Fang Juexia hadn¡¯t discovered yet, that in his heart, he had already subconsciously divided people into [Pei Tingsong] and [Others].


    After the meeting, since all six of them were there, everyone started to practice. Singing and dancing was a kind of technical work, and if even a day of practice was missed, people would become a little rusty. Previously, since Kaleido didn¡¯t have much work, they practiced almost every day. The one who was most intense about it was naturally Fang Juexia, and the laziest was Pei Tingsong.


    Lu Yuan had already come up with choreography for a part of the dance using the demo before, and so he took this opportunity to dance it out and show everyone.


    ¡°Wow, that¡¯s cool!¡± Ling Yi clapped like a little seal. ¡°That move just now was so hot!¡±


    ¡°Worthy of being Teacher Yuan.¡± Jiang Miao also started clapping.


    He Ziyan stood with his arms akimbo and sighed, ¡°So difficult ah¡­¡±


    Pei Tingsong was an airborne artist, and he had hardly practiced before, so his dance foundation was much worse than the others. However, he still counted as gifted, and had a good sense of rhythm. Therefore, although he was nowhere near Fang Juexia or Lu Yuan in terms of dancing, he wouldn¡¯t drag them down, and won through sheer stage charm.


    However, the choreography this time was really a little difficult, demanding high intensity and consisting of many shifts. He sat cross-legged on the ground and as he watched, kept scooting closer to Fang Juexia¡¯s side.


    Fang Juexia was completely engrossed in watching the choreography, and completely didn¡¯t notice the appearance of an extra person at his side. He didn¡¯t turn his head until Pei Tingsong bumped into his shoulder.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    The music playing in the practice room was loud, so Pei Tingsong also said in a loud voice, ¡°The dance this time is really difficult.¡±


    So? Fang Juexia didn¡¯t understand his meaning. ¡°It is a bit.¡±


    ¡°So,¡± Pei Tingsong grabbed Fang Juexia and pulled him into his arms. ¡°I want to hire you to be my exclusive dance teacher. Help redeem me and not drag you guys down!¡±


    ¡°You¡­¡± Fang Juexia blinked and replied, ¡°The dance was created by Lu Yuan, you should let him teach you.¡±


    ¡°Tch.¡± Pei Tingsong really couldn¡¯t say anything in reply to Fang Juexia¡¯s one-track mind.


    He copied Fang Juexia and stretched out his legs, even going to the extent of pressing his right leg onto this person¡¯s leg. ¡°Aren¡¯t I Kaleido Pei Tingsong? Don¡¯t forget that I carry the name Kaleido in front of my name. If I can¡¯t dance well, that means Kaleido can¡¯t dance well. If Kaleido can¡¯t dance well, that means you, Fang Juexia, can¡¯t dance well.¡±


    What kind of logic was this?


    If you said it over and over again, it seemed like a tongue twister.


    Fang Juexia knew that Pei Tingsong was still feeling unsettled about the nickname matter, and remembered that he had promised him that he would not be so indifferent towards him. So, he began to weigh on how to best change the nickname.


    How about getting rid of the Kaleido?


    Or calling him Xiao Pei?


    Neither of them seemed very good. Fang Juexia didn¡¯t have any good ideas right now, so he thought that he might as well let Pei Tingsong come up with one himself.


    Pei Tingsong, who had been waiting for his response for a long time, ended up waiting so long that he got tired. He stretched his hands out behind him, while wondering if he had been too deliberately ambiguous and had provoked Fang Juexia again.


    It couldn¡¯t be as far as that ba, it couldn¡¯t be that Fang Juexia really was a little master ah, not being able to speak a single word to him.


    All of a sudden, his ears grew warm, and he heard Fang Juexia¡¯s cool and chilly voice, followed by a warm breath, drift over.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell me ba?¡± The words he blurted out were like a soft and moist cloud as they wrapped around Pei Tingsong while he was lost in fanciful thoughts. ¡°Whatever nickname you like, I can change it to that.¡±


    If you had never fallen into a cloud, you would never know how cold and soft a cloud was.


    Every cloud even contained a light sweetness.


    The huge mirror reflected their appearances. Fang Juexia looked like he was about to lie on his shoulder, and his side profile was as beautiful as a picture, pleasing to both the heart and the eyes.


    [Whatever nickname you like, I can change it to that.] Pei Tingsong practically unpacked these words in his heart, chewing over every letter and syllable, and it felt even better than the taste of the winter pear tong sui.


    However, he restrained the delight that sprouted in him, and wearing the same expression he would usually use when he was teasing him, he turned his head.


    ¡°Let me think ah.¡±


    The distance between the tips of their noses was shortened in a moment, with only 5 cm left.


    With this movement, Fang Juexia¡¯s pale face turned red. A bandage was stuck to his Adam¡¯s apple, and in Pei Tingsong¡¯s eyes, it was like a medal that marked the spoils of war.


    He raised a hand and flicked Fang Juexia¡¯s forehead. ¡°Dream on.¡±


    After saying that, he raised his eyebrows. ¡°Don¡¯t think about being lazy. Until you earnestly want to change my nickname, I just want to be called Kaleido Pei Tingsong.¡±


    They stayed in the practice room until 1:30 in the morning, and since they still had to record the ensemble show the next day, they couldn¡¯t stay too long. Xiao Wen drove them back to the dormitory in the van. Although it was already midnight, there were actually still fans crouched there at the company as they waited for Kaleido. Although there had been fans who had done this in the past, the numbers were quite different, and they wouldn¡¯t stay so late.


    ¡°He Ziyan! Fire Ge, your fur jacket is so good looking! Cool!¡±


    ¡°Miaomiao! Teacher Yuan! I love you guys!¡±


    He Ziyan walked in the very front, waved to these fans in a familiar way, very naturally got into the passenger seat of the van, and rolled down the window. ¡°Hurry home ba, it¡¯s this late, and you guys are still outside. I¡¯m going to be angry ah.¡±


    ¡°Yiyi, look at Mama ba!¡±


    ¡°Lingling! Mama loves you!¡±


    Ling Yi was especially good at extricating himself from awkward situations and waved to everyone with a smile. ¡°Okay, moms. Moms have seen their son ba, so they can go home at ease!¡±


    Lu Yuan ran over and put his arms around his neck, trying to snatch the game machine that Ling Yi had grabbed from him before, which caused Ling Yi to scream madly, ¡°Mama, save me!¡± The two of them bickered and argued as they scrambled to occupy the second row of seats.


    ¡°Hahahaha, Mama can¡¯t save you! Give it to Teacher Yuan!¡±


    Jiang Miao wore a mask and smiled. ¡°Are you cold? It¡¯s very cold ba. Don¡¯t come so late next time.¡±


    ¡°Ahhhhhhhhhh, the little captain is too warm.¡±


    ¡°Three Water, I love you!¡±


    Juexia came out with Jiang Miao. He was wrapped in a big coat, and the hood of his sweater covered most of his face. He half lowered his head and kept bowing to the fans from the moment he exited the building, greeting everyone in a soft voice. Unfortunately, his voice was drowned out by the loud screams of the fans.


    ¡°Juexia!!! Juexia Gege!!!¡±


    ¡°Mama doesn¡¯t want you to bow! Stand up straight for Mama!¡±


    ¡°Our Juexia works so hard, take a hot bath when you get back!¡±


    The last one was of course Kaleido¡¯s group tyrant, Pei Tingsong.


    ¡°Ah, Pinot Tree Supreme, you¡¯re so hot!¡±


    ¡°Pei Tingsong, did you grow taller again?! How are your legs so long?!¡±


    He was about to fall over from sleepiness. It was still very cold during the early spring nights, and the current cold wind made him squint as he listlessly walked at the very back. ¡°Still not going home ah? One look and anyone can tell you guys don¡¯t have enough homework.¡±


    ¡°Hahahahaha!¡±


    ¡°Pinto Tree Supreme, you have no heart! I¡¯m going to stop being your fan! I¡¯m going to climb the fandom wall!¡±


    ¡°You dare.¡± Pei Tingsong put on an expression of trying to find that person, looked up and glanced around. ¡°Whose fandom are you climbing over to?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll climb over to Fang Juexia¡¯s!¡±


    At this time, Fang Juexia, who had been cued, was about to step into the car. Upon hearing his name, he turned around, saw that all of these little girls were laughing, and felt a bit confused.


    Pei Tingsong first glanced at Fang Juexia, then pretended to cold-shoulder the fan who had said that she¡¯d climb the fandom wall. ¡°Go, go, go, go quickly. I must see you in his Weibo comments tomorrow.¡±


    When he finished talking, he stepped into the car and saw that Fang Juexia had already gotten a window seat. He had even opened the window to talk to the fans. ¡°You guys go back quickly, don¡¯t let your parents worry.¡± His voice was not loud, always getting covered up as soon as he opened his mouth, but his expression was serious, and with his eyebrows slightly twisted, he really looked like a worried Gege.


    Pei Tingsong sat next to him and deliberately squeezed next to him at the window to tell the fans, ¡°Quickly go home!¡±


    ¡°Pinot Tree Supreme, shut up!¡±


    ¡°Hey, you guys are fake fans ba?¡±


    When the car started, everyone was tired from practice, and this allowed Xiao Wen to experience a rare moment of quiet. However, he kept feeling that there was something he hadn¡¯t said yet, but he just couldn¡¯t remember it. While waiting for the traffic lights to turn, he flipped through the notes on his cellphone, and it was only then that he remembered about the event Cheng Qiang had told him to arrange, which hadn¡¯t been told to these guys yet.


    ¡°Hey, you guys aren¡¯t asleep yet ba?¡±


    As soon as he asked, Ling Yi and Lu Yuan tacitly began a snoring duet.


    Xiao Wen knew that they were doing it deliberately, and glanced at the rearview mirror as he said, ¡°Isn¡¯t tomorrow the filming for the ensemble show? It¡¯s going to be at an outside location oh.¡±


    All of the six people in the car suddenly woke up. ¡°Outside location?!¡±


    ¡°It must be the Maldives, thanking the company, thanking the boss and Qiang Ge¡­¡±


    ¡°No la.¡± Xiao Wen turned around a corner and said, ¡°Tomorrow is going to be an amusement park special.¡±


    ¡°Wow, an amusement park isn¡¯t bad either ah!¡±


    Pei Tingsong sneered. ¡°You guys are truly humans who are easy to satisfy.¡±


    ¡°Er¡­¡± Xiao Wen hesitated for a moment, and then said, ¡°In fact, to be more accurate, it¡¯s a haunted house special, and the other parts are just extra.¡±


    The roof of the car was almost overturned¡ª


    ¡°Haunted house??!!¡±

 CH 49

    Chapter 49 ¨C Haunted House


    Because you are very cute ah.


    In order to avoid running into too many other guests at the amusement park, the company specially arranged for the shooting of the ensemble show to take place at noon on a weekday. Although this amusement park only occupied a small area and couldn¡¯t be compared to the most famous large amusement parks, it boasted a full set of rides and attractions, and their haunted house was said to be the jewel of the entire place.


    It was a wonderful day, with the sun shining down and making people feel warm all over. As soon as the door of the car opened, all of Kaleido¡¯s six boys scattered in multiple directions, just like when ducks were released from their pen.


    ¡°Wow, that roller coaster is so high ah!¡±


    ¡°I want to ride the pirate ship!¡±


    ¡°Is there that kind of shooting game?¡±


    Fang Juexia calculated it through¡ªit had already been ten years since he had last come to an amusement park. Looking at these facilities, even he felt a bit of yearning. The sun was so bright that people were finding it difficult to even open their eyes, so Fang Juexia stretched out a hand to cover his eyes as he looked at the carousel not far away.


    Sunlight was an efficient tool in generating illusions, and the scene before his eyes took on the tone of an old Polaroid film, one that made him fall into a trance when he shook it out. A seven or eight-year-old boy suddenly appeared on the candy-colored wooden horse, a streak of red at the corner of his eye. At his side were his father and mother, and they turned and turned ah, repeating this circular arc, looking as if they could spin for a lifetime, laugh for a lifetime.


    That seemed to have been the only occasion when his parents had accompanied him to an amusement park together.


    ¡°You like these kinds of things that kids play with ah.¡±


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s voice came from behind him. Fang Juexia turned his head, pulled himself out of his memories, and then shook his head.


    Pei Tingsong turned his head and looked at him as he spoke, ¡°Yet, you were so fascinated while looking at it.¡±


    Fang Juexia wore a white baseball cap, revealing his whole face, looking fresh and comfortable. Pei Tingsong couldn¡¯t help looking at him a few times more. He saw that the tips of Fang Juexia¡¯s pale ears appeared almost translucent in the sunlight, and even the tiny blood capillaries in his earlobes were clearly visible.


    ¡°I came here as a child.¡±


    He noticed that Fang Juexia¡¯s chest heaved while saying this, as if he was taking a deep breath.


    ¡°That¡¯s good. When I was a kid, I never came to this kind of place,¡± Pei Tingsong said casually.


    ¡°Really?¡± Fang Juexia thought that was unbelievable. ¡°Your parents didn¡¯t take you there?¡±


    Pei Tingsong put his hands into his coat pocket and shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t see them more than ten times a year.¡±


    Fang Juexia asked, ¡°At the same time?¡±


    Pei Tingsong shrugged, ¡°Separate. There are even fewer meetings with both of them together.¡±


    His voice was still a little hoarse, and as he said that, he did seem to be a bit pitiful. Fang Juexia wasn¡¯t very good at comforting others; his own situation wasn¡¯t that much better, and moreover, Pei Tingsong, who possessed such a strong character, definitely wouldn¡¯t want to be comforted by an outsider like him who wasn¡¯t in the know.


    So Fang Juexia just raised his head, slightly tilted his face upwards, and smiled at him. ¡°So this is your first time.¡±


    The first time experiencing an amusement park.


    The birthmark at the corner of his eye appeared a little translucent under the sun, now carrying a bit of orange, looking just like a piece of candy.


    ¡°Happy?¡±


    He didn¡¯t know whether this sentence had directly poked his nerves, or if it was because he saw this cold face burst forth with a rare smile, but Pei Tingsong seemed to have been bewitched by it, and really felt a tiny bit of happiness.


    ¡°What¡¯s there to be happy about? It¡¯s not like I¡¯m a kid.¡±


    He turned his head to catch sight of their intertwined shadows, seeming to be closer and more intimate than the people themselves.


    The directing team came out with the cameras, gathered all six of them together to record the beginning segment, explained the entire day¡¯s arrangement, before finally leading everyone to the site of the main activity of the day.


    ¡°Today, for our Kaleido ensemble show horror special, we¡¯ve come to the abandoned medical school in the horror section! This is the most famous haunted house in this amusement park. There are two floors inside and only one traversable route. Everyone can be rest assured that you won¡¯t get lost.¡±


    Ling Yi complained, ¡°Director, do you think I am afraid of getting lost?¡±


    ¡°Hahahaha.¡±


    The haunted house in front of them looked a bit different from the usual pitch-black cave-like haunted houses; it was an old two-story building, which really looked like an abandoned hospital. Big X¡¯s were painted on the walls with red paint, and the plaster on the walls was about to fall off. There were several rusty sign-boards hanging on the top of the gate, written on which was the name of the hospital. Naturally, a hospital had windows, but every window here had already been nailed tight with planks, making its interior airtight.


    Fang Juexia looked up, and although his expression still showed calmness, his heart had long grown unsettled.


    It must be very dark in there ba¡­.


    He had been worried about this matter since last night. There were a pitiful number of light sources in a haunted house, and if someone like him, who suffered from night blindness, entered it, then he would probably be no different from a blind man feeling his path around in there.


    Fang Juexia could already see the scenes where he  bumped around, felt about, crawled, and rolled inside.


    ¡°This looks alright ah,¡± Pei Tingsong declared with an expression of ¡®I¡¯m not afraid at all¡¯. ¡°How frightening can it be?¡±


    ¡°Xiao Pei isn¡¯t very old, but he is very brave,¡± Lu Yuan teased him.


    He Ziyan followed up with, ¡°He himself is a devil, so can he be afraid of ghosts?¡±


    Jiang Miao laughed. ¡°A man even ghosts fear¡ªPei Tingsong.¡±


    The director continued to explain the process, ¡°There are six of you here, so everyone can divide themselves into your own chosen groups.¡±


    ¡°Won¡¯t we finish it off just by walking through it once? And we still have to split into teams.¡± Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t understand what was scary about all this. He turned to his bandmates and asked, ¡°Who is afraid ah?¡±


    Everyone raised their hands in one mass move, and Fang Juexia, upon seeing this, also raised his hand, albeit after half a beat, taking the same stance as everyone.


    This boyband¡¯s group spirit always came from nowhere.


    The director shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s not just simply walking through it oh. This time, in order to increase the difficulty level, we specially put each one of your guys¡¯ chibi dolls in each room, so they total to six dolls. After you guys go in, you have to bring out all of the dolls before you can be declared to have successfully completed this challenge.¡±


    Once this was announced, there was wailing everywhere.


    ¡°How come we also have to get the dolls? What dolls do we have to take out?¡±


    ¡°Who can go in and still stay rational ah?!¡±


    ¡°Director, I don¡¯t want to go in, I really can¡¯t do it¡­¡±


    ¡°Enough,¡± said the director, who had long gotten accustomed to this group¡¯s daily moaning and groaning. She looked just and stern as she ordered, ¡°Now, let¡¯s start forming groups ba.¡±


    As soon as she said that, Ling Yi hugged Juexia¡¯s arm. ¡°I¡¯m going with Juexia! One look and you can tell Juexia isn¡¯t the kind of person who¡¯s afraid of ghosts, so it¡¯s perfectly right to follow him.¡±


    Pei Tingsong glanced at the abandoned hospital. It was pitch-dark, and with Fang Juexia¡¯s night blindness, he¡¯d be completely lost and blind in there.


    ¡°Fang Juexia will go with me.¡± Pei Tingsong stepped forward and dragged him to his side.


    ¡°Why? First come, first served! Aren¡¯t you not afraid of ghosts? And you still want to grab him from me!¡± Ling Yi took Fang Juexia¡¯s hand and asked, ¡°Juexia, who do you say you want to go with?¡±


    Fang Juexia was about to open his mouth, but Pei Tingsong directly pulled him to hide him behind his body. He then stretched out a hand to grab onto Ling Yi¡¯s small head so that he couldn¡¯t get close to the two of them.


    ¡°He will definitely choose me. You give up on this idea forever ba.¡±


    The director promptly interrupted, ¡°How about this ba? Juexia, Ling Yi, and Xiao Pei in one group, while the remaining Ziyan, Lu Yuan, and Xiao Miao will be in another group. We¡¯ll base it on age, that¡¯s okay ba?¡±


    Ling Yi replied, ¡°Objection!¡±


    Pei Tingsong said, ¡°Your objection is overruled.¡±


    After hearing the director¡¯s announcement, Fang Juexia broke away from Pei Tingsong¡¯s clutches, twisted his wrist around a bit, and came out from behind Pei Tingsong¡¯s body.


    In fact, just now, he had almost called out Pei Tingsong¡¯s name. If it were any other activity, he would have been fine partnering with anyone, but there was no light in the haunted house, and Pei Tingsong was the only person here who knew about his night blindness. Overall, it would be more reliable to go in with him.


    ¡°Then first, Xiao Pei¡¯s group.¡±


    Ling Yi gave a start. ¡°We-we¡¯re starting so soon?¡± Saying that, he immediately stuck himself to Juexia just like a magnetic doll. ¡°Juexia, you have to protect me.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll try my best¡­¡± Fang Juexia¡¯s Adam¡¯s apple rolled up and down, and he climbed up the steps of the haunted house with great anxiety.


    Pei Tingsong followed behind the two of them. Ling Yi stretched out a trembling hand and gently pushed open the dusty hospital door. With a squeak, the door opened, and there was a damp air inside of a place that had never been aired out. Pei Tingsong¡¯s throat still hadn¡¯t healed completely, and he coughed as soon as he stepped in.


    Upon hearing him cough, Fang Juexia looked back at him before quickly turning his head forward again.


    The first floor was similar to that of an ordinary hospital, but with the lobby deserted, the chairs against the wall devoid of people, and a semi cylindrical front desk was in the middle. Large red arrow stickers were pasted on the floor, outlining the way for the guests coming in.


    ¡°Where can the dolls be ah¡­¡± As soon as Ling Yi spoke, his voice started to float up.


    Fang Juexia was still calm. ¡°They should be in those places with cameras.¡±


    Following the arrows, the three people slowly moved towards the front desk. Ling Yi was so scared that he was holding onto Fang Juexia¡¯s shoulder, and revealed only half of his head as he hid behind Fang Juexia¡¯s body.


    Fortunately, the main door wasn¡¯t closed, so he could still sort of see.


    Just as Fang Juexia had thought of that, a bang sounded out, and the door moved inwards from the outside to slam shut!


    ¡°Ahhhhh!¡± Ling Yi was so scared that he was actually stomping his feet. ¡°Scared me to death!¡±


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t find it strange to see Ling Yi scared to such a state, but what was strange was that Pei Tingsong actually suddenly hugged his right side. Fang Juexia, wearing a look of complete surprise, turned his head toward Pei Tingsong to look at him. ¡°You¡¯re also afraid ah.¡±


    ¡°Who said that? I¡¯m just trying to protect you.¡±


    Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t see his face clearly at all and didn¡¯t know whether he was really afraid or just pretending. If Pei Tingsong was really scared, then they were really done for. Two scaredy-cats and a blind man, when would they be able to finish the task?


    Ling Yi¡¯s voice shook as he spoke, ¡°It¡¯s too dark here¡­ They don¡¯t have even a single light?¡±


    As soon as he said that, the sound of a strange music box suddenly resounded within the lobby¡ªding ding dong dong¡ª and lingered in the hall. Fang Juexia could count as being quite brave, but even he was affected by this ghastly atmosphere.


    ¡°Ah, this music is really,¡± Pei Tingsong was about to curse, ¡°I even have goosebumps.¡±


    The music suddenly clicked to a stop. Seven or eight lights on the walls of the hospital lobby lit up, emitting a faint yellow light. However, for Juexia, they were basically useless. All of a sudden, a girl¡¯s voice came out of the radio, a thread of eeriness in her sweet voice. ¡°Welcome to the horror medical school¡­ Excuse me, but what is your illness?¡±


    The last word, ¡®illness,¡¯ suddenly turned into a scream, and not far from them, at the vacant front desk, a female ghost with disheveled hair suddenly stood up. She was wearing a nurse¡¯s uniform and a nurse¡¯s hat, her pupils were all white, and her face was covered in blood. She also held a piece of paper in her hands, which she proffered out; it was red all over.


    ¡°AHHHHHHHHHHH!¡±


    The two screams, one high and one low, stacked together. Fang Juexia felt that his ears were about to explode, but he couldn¡¯t see anything clearly. He just felt his left side go empty, for Ling Yi seemed to have let go of his hand and run away. He looked over towards the sound of footsteps. ¡°Ling Yi?¡±


    ¡°Ah, don¡¯t come over! I¡¯m going out, I¡¯m going out. Begging you guys to not come over here¡­¡±


    He really ran away¡­..


    Fang Juexia then thought of Pei Tingsong¡¯s scream just now. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you weren¡¯t afraid?¡±


    Pei Tingsong hadn¡¯t recovered from the fright caused by the ghost nurse yet, and his voice sounded completely weak. ¡°I-I didn¡¯t know that it would be so horrifying before I came in ah! Also, I have never even been to a haunted house before, so how could I have known whether I¡¯d be afraid or not?¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t even know whether you¡¯d be afraid or not, and you stated you weren¡¯t scared of it.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the point of saying that now?¡±


    ¡­.


    The pair of white eyes on the ghost nurse opened wide, as they floated back and forth between these two people. Her hands were already feeling sore from keeping them up, so she couldn¡¯t help but interrupt these two strange but beautiful flowers, ¡°Hey, do you guys want this ah?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t see clearly, so he could only fumble around after stretching out his hand. However, Pei Tingsong grabbed hold of the document with a swish, and then he even bluffed, ¡°You! Do you have any dolls here?¡±


    The ghost nurse Jiejie pulled her wig open and looked down to find a doll. ¡°Here.¡±


    ¡°Thank you¡­¡± Pei Tingsong took the doll and dragged Fang Juexia, who still wanted to bow, into running away, only to hear the ghost nurse Jiejie yell from behind them, ¡°Remember to give this paper to the doctor in Room 202~¡±


    They heard Ling Yi¡¯s screams sound out from a distance, probably from the second floor, with each scream higher than the next.


    ¡°Ling Yi is about to hit the dolphin note.¡± Fang Juexia looked up towards the second floor.


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s usual cool, fast talking routine had disappeared, leaving behind only the attribute of a trembling chatterbox. ¡°Ah, it¡¯s really scary, it¡¯s too scary, why would anyone make such a horrifying place? Are those people who like to have fun in haunted houses all abnormal? They¡¯re all crazy ba¡­¡±


    Fang Juexia, who had practically been hefted up and carried away by him, wondered, ¡°Don¡¯t you study philosophy? And you¡¯re still afraid of ghosts ah. Shouldn¡¯t you be an atheist?¡±


    Following the red arrows, Pei Tingsong, with his long legs shaking, arrived at the stairs located at the rightmost part of the lobby. With every step he made, a light on the wall beside the stairs lit up, and they seemed to be proximity lights. ¡°Who told you that philosophy equals atheism? Early philosophy and religious studies were part of the same school of learning!¡±


    Although he was afraid, he still carefully helped Fang Juexia slowly climb up the stairs one after the other. ¡°Besides, so atheists must be brave ah? What kind of logic is¡­¡±


    Just as they tottered around the corner, from within the midst of the pitch-black darkness, a ghost wearing a patient uniform suddenly stood up. With long fangs and a livid face, he came at them!


    ¡°Fuck! What the f¡­¡­¡±


    Pei Tingsong was so scared that he let out a whirlwind of curses as he threw his entire body against Fang Juexia, pushing him directly against the foot of the wall.


    Since this was for the group ensemble show, they¡¯d have to mute his audio for this episode later. Fang Juexia fumbled around in order to reach out and cover his Didi¡¯s mouth with his hand. ¡°Shh¡­ It¡¯s fake, it¡¯s fake. Your throat isn¡¯t even all better yet, don¡¯t yell.¡±


    ¡°Wu! Doll¡­.Wu!¡±


    Only then did Fang Juexia remember. ¡°Right, right, has the doll been lost?¡± He released his hand, upon which Pei Tingsong also released him. He then felt around for a long time on the ground, and when he found the lost doll, he pulled Fang Juexia up and ran away with him.


    ¡°You¡¯ve worked hard.¡± Fang Juexia sensed where the scare actor was and bowed towards him, but because he couldn¡¯t see, he ended up bowing in the wrong direction.


    A perfectly good guy suddenly bowing to a wall devoid of ghosts¡ª this actually scared the scare actor instead.


    Pei Tingsong tightly held onto Fang Juexia¡¯s hand and dragged him to climb the stairs¡ªdeng deng deng¡ªand he didn¡¯t even dare to turn his head around. The proximity lights continued to light up with the sound of their footsteps, and finally, with great effort, they entered the second floor. Different from the lobby on the first floor, this floor contained a long cross-shaped corridor. There were four rooms in total, some with their doors open, and some with locked doors. The lights on the ceiling were dreadfully dim, and some of them seemed to be broken as they kept flickering non-stop.


    Even before he took a step, Pei Tingsong was so horrified that his scalp felt numb. ¡°Can this background music stop for a while ah, it keeps playing non-stop!¡±


    Fang Juexia, who was holding the document in his hand, kept thinking about what had happened at the front desk. ¡°The girl from just now told us to go up to the second floor to room 202 to find the doctor.¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes.¡± Pei Tingsong gripped Fang Juexia¡¯s shoulder with one hand and moved with crab-like steps to the right side of the corridor, slowly inching forward. ¡°Room 202¡­ 202, this one ba.¡± As soon as he looked up, he saw the metal tag with 202 written on it, and there was also something that looked like blood spattered on it. Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t dare to look at it more closely as he walked to the closed door.


    Fang Juexia also touched the door. Out of habit, he raised his hand and knocked. ¡°Is there anyone there?¡±


    ¡°No one is there, only ghosts!¡± Pei Tingsong grasped the door handle and twisted it.


    A poker-faced Fang Juexia said, ¡°In this world, there are no¡­¡±


    ¡°Ah!!! Holy shit!¡±


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s cursing gave him a violent start. They were caught completely unaware by the ghost standing in front of them as soon as the door was opened. Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t see, so he just walked forward and ran into the scare actor who was playing the ghost.


    ¡°Eh? Sorry, sorry, I ran into you, I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± He stretched out his hand to touch the staff member, and then pulled Pei Tingsong into squeezing past this fake ghost to enter the room. ¡°Don¡¯t just casually curse people out la.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like I meant to!¡± Pei Tingsong felt that every new place they arrived at, part of his soul went missing, but Fang Juexia, throughout all of this, maintained an attitude of being completely fine, not panicking at all. ¡°Fang Juexia, are you a psychopath? You¡¯re not scared at all.¡±


    It¡¯s not like I can even see anything.


    Fang Juexia tightened his grasp on this guide dog, who was constantly on the edge of mania, and walked into the room bit by bit. He tentatively called out, ¡°Doctor?¡±


    Pei Tingsong, holding a doll in one hand and Fang Juexia in the other, tried to keep his spirits up, and looked around the room. The light was dim, and the furnishings looked like those found in an ordinary clinic. A table was placed not far in front of them, and behind the table was a swivel chair, the back of which was facing towards them.


    Just based on intuition, Pei Tingsong knew that whatever was in the chair would be horrifying when it turned around.


    ¡°Warning ahead, warning ahead, warningaheadwarningaheadwarningahead¡­¡±


    Fang Juexia frowned and asked, ¡°Why have you basically started up a barrage?¡±


    Pei Tingsong covered his eyes using the doll in his hand, grabbed the document from Fang Juexia¡¯s hand, and threw it onto the table in front of him.


    ¡°T-take it. Doctor, isn¡¯t this what you w-want?¡±


    Fang Juexia was amused by him. ¡°Pei Tingsong, you¡¯re stuttering.¡±


    That chair swiveled around as expected, but Pei Tingsong kept his sight limited to the area below the doctor¡¯s head. He just saw him collect the document, slowly open a drawer, and take a chibi doll out from it.


    Pei Tingsong took one step forward, stretched his hand, grabbed the doll¡¯s foot, picked it up, and ran out. Upon seeing that ghost standing at the door, he once again started trembling from fright.


    ¡°Are we going now?¡± Fang Juexia felt the door frame and waved at his back. ¡°See you again.¡±


    ¡°Again??¡± Pei Tingsong stuffed the two dolls into Fang Juexia¡¯s hands. ¡°Take them quickly. Stand here and don¡¯t move ah.¡± After that, he swiftly rushed over to the open door opposite this room, tactically executed a quick squint over the room, finally found a doll lying on a shelf full of disgusting specimens, and ran away after grabbing it. The fake corpse sitting inside the room didn¡¯t even get the time to scare him, he simply ended up watching this tall guy dash in and run away with his own eyes.


    Room 203 was an inpatient room with three beds. With their ten fingers tightly clasped together, Pei Tingsong pulled Fang Juexia into the ward, making sure to walk close to the wall. Pei Tingsong looked around to see if there was a doll while continuously chanting, ¡°Don¡¯t mess with me, don¡¯t mess with me, don¡¯t mess with me¡­¡±


    The first two beds were empty, and there were neither any patients nor dolls in them. However, the curtain was pulled around the last bed.


    ¡°Ah, this must be really horrifying. I don¡¯t want to go over there, please don¡¯t scare me, don¡¯t scare me¡­¡± Chattering on like a broken radio, the shivering Pei Tingsong still drew close to the last bed.


    Fang Juexia whispered beside him, ¡°Your hands are shaking so hard ah.¡±


    ¡°I-I¡¯m not¡­¡± Pei Tingsong clenched his teeth and pulled the curtain open. He was so frightened he directly backed up. ¡°AH!!!!!¡±


    ¡°Wow, that¡¯s so good, your voice just hit F5 right now. Is it possible for you to sing high notes too now?¡±


    ¡°Is that the main point?!!¡±


    His guide dog¡¯s fur was about to explode. Fang Juexia held back a smile, and half-holding him while rubbing his back, consoled, ¡°It¡¯s fake, it¡¯s fake, it¡¯s all fake.¡±


    Reclining on the bed was a fake corpse, whose facial features were blurry, and he held a doll in his arms.


    ¡°Ah, I can¡¯t, I can¡¯t,¡± Pei Tingsong stretched out two fingers, lifted the doll¡¯s head, and pulled it out. ¡°Four now, and there are still two left, let¡¯s go quickly.¡±


    The last room was a mortuary, and was lit up with faint green light. As soon as Pei Tingsong opened the door, the ¡°corpses¡± inside, which were a bunch of possessed corpses, sat up one by one. This scared Pei Tingsong so much that his legs went soft, and he fell directly onto the side of the door.


    ¡°Epicurus, Democritus, Lucretius, Spinoza, Hobbes, La Mettrie, Feuerbach, Sartre¡­¡±


    Fang Juexia felt around in the dark and pulled Pei Tingsong up. He felt this action of his was completely inexplicable and asked, ¡°What are you chanting?¡±


    ¡°The great ath¨Catheists in history, bless and protect me, bless and protect me, don¡¯t let them mess with me.¡±


    Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t help laughing. He copied the manner in which Pei Tingsong was chanting and started reciting, ¡°One times one is one, one times two is two, one times three is three, one times four is four¡­¡±


    Probably because of how fear tended to make some people more agile, Pei Tingsong quickly managed to find the last two dolls. ¡°Why is it that you recite the multiplication table all the time?¡±


    ¡°All the time?¡± Fang Juexia didn¡¯t understand. ¡°When else did I recite it?¡±


    Pei Tingsong took his hand and ran out of the mortuary. ¡°When you were drunk, you kept reciting it for the whole night!¡±


    ¡°Really¡­¡±


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t know what had happened; everything was utterly pitch black in here, and he, who couldn¡¯t see anything, could only be dragged to and fro by Pei Tingsong. But, whenever Fang Juexia heard him scream and curse, he didn¡¯t feel like it was scary at all, instead, he just found it very funny.


    ¡°You¡¯re even laughing.¡± After exiting the mortuary and returning to the corridor, Pei Tingsong leaned against the wall and took a deep breath. Finally, this thing could count as being done. After following the arrows to go downstairs, this entire ordeal should be over with.


    ¡°How can you still laugh?¡±


    Fang Juexia, who was holding a pile of dolls, tried very hard to suppress his laughter. ¡°Because you are very cute ah.¡±


    ¡°Cute??¡± As soon as he heard that, Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t feel pleased, and so he feigned a very cool and very powerful look. ¡°Who are you saying is cute?¡±


    However, this haunted house didn¡¯t offer him any breathing room. As soon as he was about to harshly defend himself, a group of people, all of whom had only one leg, actually appeared at the end of the corridor, with all of them dressed in school uniforms and hopping towards them just like jiangshi. All of them held a pen in their hand and their gesture made it seem that they were going to stab the visitors with it.


    Pei Tingsong was so frightened by this that he once again let out a string of English curse words. He thought that these ghosts would all rush over together to frighten him, but unexpectedly, they actually rushed at Fang Juexia. Three or two of them even grabbed his shoulders and arms.


    Fang Juexia, who was forcibly taken away, was still a little confused. ¡°Hey? How come there are so many ah¡­¡±


    ¡°Ah, the dolls are gone.¡± Fang Juexia only had one task in mind.


    Pei Tingsong was scared to death, and his courage had nearly been shattered, but even though he was trembling, he still went forward to push the strange ghost students aside. ¡°Don¡¯t pull him, thank you, thank you¡­. God! Da Jie, your make-up is too scary¡­¡±


    Upon grabbing hold of Fang Juexia¡¯s wrist in the dark, Pei Tingsong¡¯s suspended heart finally fell back down. ¡°Come here.¡± He jerked fiercely, and pulled Fang Juexia back into his arms.


    The ghost students behind them were still trying to perform their crazy siege scene, and so Pei Tingsong was left with only the option of holding Fang Juexia against the wall as he tried to block the ghosts with his back. ¡°Don¡¯t come here, you guys. Quickly go away ba, go.¡±


    Shifting Fang Juexia closer to himself had been done in too much of a hurry, and he had not been able to control either his strength or the distance between them. Pei Tingsong¡¯s head lowered, and he overlooked the last few inches of distance between them, thus accidentally rubbing the side of Fang Juexia¡¯s face.


    In this fleeting moment, his soft lips skimmed past smooth skin and stopped at Fang Juexia¡¯s ear.


    It was dark and chaotic, but Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t feel that at all. His back was against the ice-cold wall, but Pei Tingsong¡¯s chest stuck against him was warm, very warm.


    Their bodies were stuck so close to one another that they were nearly hand in glove. Pei Tingsong¡¯s chest¡¯s undulations, due to agitation, produced a vivid tide in Fang Juexia¡¯s body.


    He could smell the tiny bit of cologne Pei Tingsong was wearing¡ªsea salt mixed with a hint of musk, as wisps of it wafted up, rubbing against the side of Fang Juexia¡¯s face just like its owner. Hot breaths kept puffing right into his ear; these big breaths, enlarged and elongated in the dark, tangled around him like seaweed and kissed him all over his body.


    The office ambush, the horror assault, the weird music being played in a loop, and the ghosts dressed in disguise¡ª all failed before that.


    It wasn¡¯t until this moment that Fang Juexia started to feel shivers.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, it¡¯s okay¡­¡± Pei Tingsong chanted in a low voice, and who knows who he was chanting it to. He tentatively looked back, and only after realizing that all of the ghost students had already disappeared did he let out a breath.


    ¡°They finally left.¡± Pei Tingsong let out a long sigh of relief and looked at Fang Juexia. ¡°Do you still think I¡¯m cute?¡±


    He didn¡¯t know if it was because it was too dark, but Fang Juexia seemed to have been nailed scared into his spot, like a little bunny that didn¡¯t dare to move.


    You could still get scared enough into falling down even without being able to see anything?


    All of a sudden, Pei Tingsong, who was half a step late in realizing that they had been too close to each other before, quickly separated from Fang Juexia and squatted down in a hurry. ¡°A-all the dolls are lost, I¡¯ll go pick them up.¡±


    Fang Juexia leaned against the wall and took a deep breath.


    Right now, he was like a stranded fish that had just been rescued by the tide.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go ba.¡± Pei Tingsong held a stack of dolls in his left arm and held onto Fang Juexia with his right hand. They quickly left the creepy corridor on the second floor, and Pei Tingsong hurried downstairs as fast as he could without making Fang Juexia fall over or trip, and then followed the arrows to find the exit, finally exiting this damned abandoned hospital.


    ¡°Wow!!! They finally came out!¡±


    ¡°Ling Yi, this coward, abandoned you guys and pumped his short little legs to run out the entire way.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re the one with short little legs!¡±


    Jiang Miao came up to the two people and asked, ¡°You guys are alright ba? You guys are very powerful ah, you brought them all out.¡±


    Pei Tingsong hugged the dolls, his soul almost gone. ¡°I will definitely have nightmares tonight.¡±


    The director looked at the time and announced, ¡°29 minutes and 34 seconds, a bit faster than we expected, very good!¡±


    29 minutes 34 seconds. As Fang Juexia chanted this number in his heart, only then did he discover that his internal clock had completely failed.


    Because of Pei Tingsong¡¯s presence, it hadn¡¯t ticked for a single second. It was broken, completely broken.


    It was a small haunted house, but they seemed to have spent a long time walking its confines. The clock in his heart was no longer objective, and no longer could it measure and accumulate time on the basis of the established criteria.


    He Ziyan glanced at the two people¡¯s hands. ¡°And you¡¯re still holding hands.¡±


    These two people were startled at the same time and hastily separated their intertwined hands.


    ¡°The next group is going in! Ziyan, Yuanyuan, and Miaomiao, get ready!¡±


    ¡°Okay¡ª¡±


    Fang Juexia walked a few steps towards the front by himself and crouched down. He didn¡¯t know what lingering fear was still pestering him, for he clearly hadn¡¯t even seen one ghost.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± Pei Tingsong came up to him and also crouched down. ¡°I just walked out in a hurry, did you bump into something? Let me see.¡±


    Fang Juexia shook his head, took off his hat, straightened it out and then put it back on his head. The brim of his hat covered his eyes, and he buried his head into his knees. His fine pale neck stretched out, and as lights shone there, his thin layer of sweat was laid sparklingly bare.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Pei Tingsong crouched in front of him, touched his knee, and stretched his hand to cover Fang Juexia¡¯s exposed neck.


    Fang Juexia said in a muffled voice, ¡°It¡¯s nothing, it¡¯s just¡­¡±


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s palms were covered in damp sweat, and it seemed as if they were pressing on the hot temperature under his skin, imprinting that along with the hallucination of the endless low breaths by his ear directly into his flesh and blood.


    ¡°My legs are a little soft.¡±


    ¡ª


    The author has something to say:


    K Omake:


    After He Ziyan, Lu Yuan, and Jiang Miao enter the haunted house¡ª¡ª


    They meet the little Jiejie at the front desk:


    He Ziyan: ¡°Wow, uniform allure.¡±


    Lu Yuan: ¡°Fire Ge, your tastes are a bit strong¡­¡±


    The little Jiejie hands over the papers:


    Jiang Miao: ¡°You¡¯ve worked hard la~¡±


    Reached the second floor:


    He Ziyan: ¡°Each person, search one room ah.¡±


    Open the door, see a ghost:


    He Ziyan: ¡°Wow¡­¡± Goes around them.


    Lu Yuan enters the specimen room. ¡°Old He, your doll is so ugly.¡±


    Jiang Miao enters the inpatient ward. ¡°There¡¯s a bed here.¡± Pulls open the curtain. ¡°You¡¯ve worked hard la, oh, it¡¯s fake.¡±


    The three of them pull open the door of the mortuary, and all the corpses sit up. All three of them sigh emotionally, ¡°Wow, so cool.¡± They close the door and pull it back open, and the corpses sit up again.


    The three people: ¡°Wow, so cool, do it again!¡±


    Corpses: Are you guys just playing with us?


    Ghost students came up, and they pulled them to do karaoke together.


    ¡°Have you heard our songs before? Kaleido, have you heard of us?¡±


    Ghost students: Confused¡­.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Staff member: It turns out that only the youngest and Cutie 1 in the group are afraid of ghosts.

 CH 50

    Chapter 50 ¨C Romance In The Sky


    Rite of passage.


    After the other three members went in, the three people in the younger group stood outside and didn¡¯t hear even a single scream from the inside. The atmosphere was awkwardly quiet outside the haunted house.


    Ling Yi scratched his head doubtfully. ¡°Why isn¡¯t it scaring them? They didn¡¯t enter the same haunted house as us ba.¡±


    He Ziyan, Lu Yuan, and Jiang Miao came out much faster than they had. The three of them jogged out, each person carrying two dolls in their hands, and they seemed to be panting a bit.


    Pei Tingsong immediately tugged Ling Yi over to witness this. ¡°Aren¡¯t they also panting? They were still scared a little bit, okay.¡±


    Lu Yuan swung his arms around a little. ¡°No ah, we were just dancing around inside.¡±


    ¡°You guys are cynically toxic ba?¡± Ling Yi asked with an incredulous expression.


    ¡°Tch.¡± Pei Tingsong looked completely disdainful, brooding in his heart about how everyone had raised their hand before they had entered the haunted house. ¡°Then when I had asked if anyone was scared of ghosts, how come everyone raised their hands?¡±


    Having stood there the entire time without interrupting, Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t help letting out a laugh when he heard that. He then copied what Pei Tingsong had said before in the haunted house. ¡°None of them had gone in before, so how could they have known if they were scared or not? Only after going in did they realize they weren¡¯t scared.¡±


    ¡°Hahahahaha, yeah.¡±


    Ling Yi was actually feeling very proud of himself. ¡°Only I am an honest child, having a very accurate understanding of myself. Ling Yi, Ling Yi, the inside and the outside all agree.¡±


    Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t continue to struggle with the issue of them raising their hands anymore, for all of his attention was being attracted by Fang Juexia as he stared at his expression of having to work very hard to hold back a smile.


    This guy was actually starting to make jokes about him now?


    He unceremoniously stretched out both of his hands to hold Fang Juexia¡¯s face and vigorously kneaded it. ¡°Your mouth is growing strong now ah, Fang Juexia.¡±


    Normally, since Pei Tingsong often teased him while making moves at him, Fang Juexia should have become long used to it. However, he didn¡¯t know why, but when Pei Tingsong touched him now, Fang Juexia didn¡¯t feel right. His heart started beating very fast, and even his fingers felt numb.


    ¡°Let go of me.¡± He pushed Pei Tingsong aside, looking as if he had received an electric shock, and retreated back several steps.


    Fang Juexia¡¯s skin was too thin, and as soon as it was rubbed, it turned red and hot. Seeing him like this, Pei Tingsong was left stunned for a second. All of a sudden, he found that his senses also seemed to have developed the freedom to choose whether to let the sensation last or not; it turned out that not every feeling would disappear at the same time, just like how the smooth and soft feeling of his fingers rubbing against the other party¡¯s skin hadn¡¯t dispersed up to now.


    For Fang Juexia, his senses instead remained still.


    Shaking the hands that had already come down, Pei Tingsong coughed several times, took a bottle of water from a staff member¡¯s hand, and applied a bit of strength to unscrew the tight bottle cap, with his palms even growing red from the force he used. Yet, the sensation left from when he touched Fang Juexia¡¯s cheek still stubbornly refused to leave.


    Thinking of this, he suddenly wanted to tease Fang Juexia by pranking him. Probably because he had lost so much face in the haunted house, he was eager to find something to make up for it. So Pei Tingsong walked over to him while carrying the water bottle, calling out his name. Fang Juexia raised his hand, the redness in his cheeks having halfway faded. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°I also don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on.¡± Pei Tingsong¡¯s acting was quite real, his entire face showing doubt as he continued, ¡°For the past two days, my tongue keeps hurting. Before, I thought it was because I had a cold and it was inflamed, but now, even though my cold is much better, the tip of my tongue somehow keeps hurting more and more.¡±


    Although Fang Juexia didn¡¯t have many expressions, he also wasn¡¯t really a person who could pretend, so as soon as he heard Pei Tingsong¡¯s words, his face changed a bit.


    ¡°Help me look, did the skin break? It even hurts when I drink water.¡± Saying that, he put the water bottle down on the ground, opened his mouth, and slightly stretched out his tongue. Fang Juexia stared at the tip of his tongue, and there really was an obvious wound there. Pei Tingsong saw him reflexively shrinking away and raised a hand to pull him back. ¡°You¡¯re so far away, and you can see ah, your eyes are just that good?¡±


    Fang Juexia blinked quickly and licked his dry lips. ¡°It looks like¡­it looks like there¡¯s a small wound, an ulcer. It¡¯ll probably take a few more days to get better.¡±


    ¡°An ulcer?¡± Pei Tingsong purposefully emphasized these words, in order to aggravate a certain someone¡¯s guilt. He then frowned and complained, ¡°What to do? It hurts a lot ah, I can¡¯t even eat any food. How could I have bitten my own tongue?¡±


    Fang Juexia¡¯s eyes drifted away to the side, his guilty conscience clearly written on his face. ¡°Drink more water and eat more fruits and vegetables. It¡¯ll get better very soon, it¡¯s not very serious.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Pei Tingsong stared at him. He couldn¡¯t imagine how this person had hardened his heart to both bite and hit him. He was particularly curious about what Fang Juexia¡¯s expression and mood must have been like at that time. ¡°Don¡¯t you have a small medicine box? Is there any medication to treat ulcers in it?¡±


    ¡°There is.¡± Fang Juexia finally took the initiative to open his mouth, saying, ¡°After we go back, I¡¯ll spray a little for you, and it should stop the pain.¡±


    Pei Tingsong laughed innocently. ¡°Then thank you Ge, la.¡±


    Fang Juexia whispered ¡®no problem¡¯, then picked up the water bottle, which was on the ground, in a hurry, unscrewed it, and took a drink.


    ¡°That¡¯s my bottle.¡±


    He nearly spit it out, but he held back in time, and so his cheeks bulged.


    ¡°You drink ah, it¡¯s okay.¡± Pei Tingsong felt that he had pretty much found the most interesting thing to do in the world, which was teasing Fang Juexia. Watching as he swallowed awkwardly, he went ahead and added another sentence.


    ¡°You still mind that with me ah.¡±


    After all the haunted house specials were recorded, the director announced the results, ¡°The elder group here¡­¡±


    He Ziyan and Lu Yuan objected in a united voice, ¡°What elder group ah?!¡±


    Jiang Miao smiled. ¡°Only I am an elder, oh well.¡±


    The other two were still not satisfied. ¡°Director, we¡¯re still fresh meat, okay?¡±


    ¡°Okay, okay, okay, you¡¯re not the elder group, not the elder group.¡± The director immediately changed her words. ¡°The senior citizens group took 18 minutes and 23 seconds, and even sang a song while inside.¡±


    Ling Yi laughed loudly. ¡°Hahaha, the senior citizens group!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s so funny? You lost, okay?¡± Pei Tingsong pressed down on Ling Yi¡¯s head, which, because of the laughter, was trembling, making his hair look like flowers fluttering chaotically. When he turned his head, he saw that Fang Juexia was also laughing with his head half-lowered, and so the corners of his mouth rose up.


    Fang Juexia looked good when he laughed, but he just didn¡¯t laugh often.


    ¡°Then is it time to punish the younger group?¡±


    ¡°Yes ah, we¡¯re waiting for that.¡±


    The director group took out a lottery box, within which were many lots of rolled up paper. Pei Tingsong had a headache as soon as he saw this. ¡°No way ba, we have to draw lots again? Can you guys come up with some new trick ah?¡±


    A staff member, who didn¡¯t appear on camera, said from behind the screen, ¡°How about we do a spinning wheel next time? Let Xiao Pei spin it around with a whir himself.¡± The rest of the people all laughed. Pei Tingsong always had bad luck, and so this time, he simply didn¡¯t even reach his hand out. He just raised his chin to Ling Yi a few times. ¡°You, go and draw.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Ling Yi swung his two sleeves around, protesting, ¡°If I draw something bad, won¡¯t you just throw the blame on me? I¡¯m not going to do such a stupid thing.¡±


    In the end, Fang Juexia was the only one from the losing younger team who was willing to take this blame. He held the lottery box and shook it without saying anything, shaking it very seriously at that. This action of his made him look a little silly, and Pei Tingsong couldn¡¯t help but complain, ¡°What are you doing? It¡¯s really like you¡¯re drawing lots.¡±


    Fang Juexia glanced at him, and his light brown pupils were very bright under the sun. With just a glance, he turned back, shook the box, and while wearing a completely calm expression, imitated Pei Tingsong¡¯s famous scene from within the haunted house¡ª ¡°Great atheists in history ah, bless me to draw a good lot ba.¡°


    All the people on scene laughed at that, and the director also fanned the flames. ¡°Later, remember to add a subtitle. This sentence from now on will be called the ¡®Haunted House Paradox¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Hahahahahaha.¡±


    However, sadly, Fang Juexia, whose full attention was concentrated on poking fun at others, didn¡¯t expect that he would once again throw himself into a pit. As soon as he unfolded the paper he drew from the lottery, a smear of darkness appeared before his eyes.


    He hadn¡¯t really been infected by Pei Tingsong¡¯s bad luck ba?


    ¡°Juexia, read out the contents of the punishment.¡± The director reminded him.


    Fang Juexia¡¯s voice became a little weak as he said, ¡°Bungee jumping¡­¡±


    He Ziyan let out a meaningful ¡°wow¡± and said, ¡°A warrior¡¯s game.¡±


    Lu Yuan was also excited. ¡°Hurry up, I want to see your guys¡¯ leap of faith!¡±


    ¡°Juexia is very good at drawing ah. Bungee jumping is also a major attraction of the park, coming second only to the haunted house.¡± The director said, ¡°The total height of the bungee jumping here is only 25 meters. In fact, it¡¯s not very high.¡±


    25 meters still wasn¡¯t high¡­. Fang Juexia converted this specific figure into the image of the actual height in his heart, and as soon as he thought about it, his legs started to feel soft. He had been a bit afraid of heights since he was a child, and even though he didn¡¯t have a serious fear of heights, he still didn¡¯t even dare to touch high-altitude events. He hadn¡¯t expected that after hiding away from it thousands and tens of thousands of times, he wouldn¡¯t be able to hide from this disaster this time. And of course, it just had to be this doomed activity of bungee jumping.


    Aware of Fang Juexia¡¯s renewed silence, Pei Tingsong bumped his shoulder against his. ¡°Are you afraid ah?¡±


    He had thought that Fang Juexia would struggle a bit, but he hadn¡¯t expected him to raise his head, and with a completely serious expression, nod twice. Unexpectedly, he was very honest.


    Pei Tingsong was amused by his appearance and laughed. ¡°Weren¡¯t you laughing at me quite happily just now? I thought you feared nothing in this life,¡± he teased, but upon seeing that Fang Juexia looked very nervous now, he put on a comforting look. ¡°It¡¯s okay, it¡¯s much faster than the haunted house. You just go up and then, with a whoosh, jump down, and it¡¯s over really fast. You see, even Ling Yi isn¡¯t afraid.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean, even I¡¯m not afraid?¡± Ling Yi stared at him, and then became abuzz with excitement. ¡°My favorite thing is high-altitude projects.¡±


    God. Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t understand this spirit of pursuing excitement. However, if he was willing to bet, then he had to be willing to lose, and since they were also recording it for the ensemble show, it wouldn¡¯t be good if he deserted the field of battle. The big group moved from the haunted house attraction to the bungee jumping area. The number of tourists in the park had increased by now, and many people started to follow them and take pictures. In order to save time and to distract these followers, the production team split into two groups. The winning group of three people went to go shoot their part, and another group followed the three bungee jumpers.


    They took the elevator to the top. As soon as the door opened, the strong wind made his coat puff up. Fang Juexia zipped himself up, experiencing the strong stimulation of being at a great height in just a glance. They were way too high up, so high that the whole amusement park¡¯s landscape was laid out before their eyes. The bungee jumping platform also just had to be built with completely tempered glass, and it had been cleaned very well, with not even a single thing obstructing one¡¯s view, and so every step was completely terrifying.


    As soon as they came out of the elevator, Ling Yi excitedly went to go find and chat with the coach. Fang Juexia only dared to take small step after small step as he exited it.


    Only after seeing these hesitant steps did Pei Tingsong realize how scared Fang Juexia was, so he carelessly grasped his shoulder and leaned against him.


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t push him away; standing at such a height, he didn¡¯t dare to move. What¡¯s more, Pei Tingsong¡¯s action was very effective. Having someone close to him in this high up place let Fang Juexia¡¯s heart feel a little calmer, since he now had the assurance that there was something he could at least lean on.


    ¡°You¡¯re really not afraid at all.¡± He opened his mouth and said, while his eyes were still aimed down.


    Pei Tingsong nodded. ¡°With regards to bungee jumping, I¡¯ve done 100 or 200 meter ones, so compared with that, this is all child¡¯s play. I¡¯ve also done extreme skiing, rappelling, low altitude skydiving, and surfing. I can do all these extreme sports, and I like them very much,¡± he said all this with great familiarity and with a smile. ¡°By the way, I can also fly a plane, the kind you need a license for.¡±


    ¡°Really powerful.¡±


    How could such a person be afraid of ghosts? Too strange. Fang Juexia¡¯s attention had been diverted a little, but when he looked at the empty space below his face, his heart still palpitated.


    ¡°Don¡¯t look down there.¡± Pei Tingsong moved Fang Juexia¡¯s face to face himself. ¡°You clearly know you¡¯re scared, but you still look.¡±


    Fang Juexia nervously swallowed. ¡°Weren¡¯t you the same in the haunted house¡­.clearly, you were scared, but you still continued with the task.¡±


    Pei Tingsong couldn¡¯t help laughing. Fang Juexia really had the face to say that, without even thinking who he had really done all that for.


    He found that when people started getting along with each other, they could really change and influence each other. This guy in front of him hadn¡¯t learnt anything good from him, instead learning all this bad stuff; he had stolen his entire temper, and if they didn¡¯t mention anything else, he was at least becoming increasingly smooth at talking back at people.


    A staff member came forward to help Pei Tingsong put on the protective gear, and it was only then that he released Fang Juexia¡¯s hand. ¡°Then you just learn from me bei. Anyway, I know no matter how scared you are, you will still jump.¡± Then he turned and asked the staff member to help him fix his belt and rope.


    ¡°You know again,¡± Fang Juexia said this, but his tone was not rhetorical. It was very light and very calm, seemingly lighter than the wind on the high platform, but somehow it still floated into Pei Tingsong¡¯s ears.


    Pei Tingsong, who was just one step away from leaping off, stood still on the edge, then suddenly turned back and laughed at him. ¡°Yeah, I just know. Because you are Fang Juexia.¡±


    These words pierced through some unknown part of Fang Juexia¡¯s heart, making him feel both a bit sour and numb, while also making him a little happy. However, he didn¡¯t want to think too much about the meaning of that. He had noticed himself spending too much time and energy every day studying each word Pei Tingsong said to him. It was really strange, and it really wasn¡¯t in line with his straightforward logic for life.


    Maybe it has nothing to do with him at all; it might just be his neurotransmitters being stimulated by the high altitude.


    The staff member put a GoPro helmet on Pei Tingsong¡¯s head and started the camera. Fang Juexia didn¡¯t really dare to watch the scene of the moment he jumped down. He thought it would be frightening, and could only hold the pole and half turn around, as he listened to Ling Yi and other staff members count down in unison.


    His heart pounded heavily for those last three moments, and then he heard Ling Yi¡¯s cheers.


    His shoulders gradually relaxed, and Fang Juexia took a deep breath, then gave a long exhale, but his tension was undiminished. Soon it was Ling Yi¡¯s turn. He rushed over and hugged Fang Juexia tightly. Only then did he stand on the edge of the platform and say, ¡°Juexia, watch me! I¡¯m going to jump!¡±


    Fang Juexia¡¯s face turned a bit pale, but he still turned around, and attempted to smile at Ling Yi. ¡°Good luck.¡±


    Ling Yi happily blew him a kiss, and then he loudly started the countdown, ¡°Three! Two! One!¡± At the moment he leaped, he was still shouting, ¡°The younger group is the most handsome, long live Kaleido and Dominoes¡ª¡±


    Now, only he was left on the high, tall platform. Fang Juexia could hardly feel the existence of his legs at this point. He wanted to crouch down, but the floor was also transparent. He felt numb all over, and his palms were soaked in cold sweat.


    ¡°Is Juexia OK? Would you like to give it a try?¡± The staff member took his arm and consoled him, ¡°It¡¯s not necessary to punish him la. Anyway, two people have already jumped.¡±


    Another staff member also nodded and said, ¡°Yes ah, if he¡¯s really scared of heights, he¡¯s probably really uncomfortable.¡±


    In fact, to be honest, since they had already come all the way up here, Fang Juexia really wanted to give it a go. He had always thought that if he tried bungee jumping, his threshold for tolerating heights could be raised a little bit.


    ¡°I can try,¡± he finally said, taking off his hat and handing it to the staff member. Then he called out to the coach. ¡°Troubling you to please help me put on my armor, thank you.¡±


    ¡°The little handsome Ge has a lot of courage ma.¡± The coach was a cheerful middle-aged man, and he reassured Fang Juexia, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, our safety measures are very much in place. You just take a deep breath, close your eyes, fall back, and it¡¯ll be over. It¡¯s very simple.¡±


    However, Fang Juexia didn¡¯t hear a single word of this as he concentrated on dragging himself little by little over to the edge of the jumping platform, and his legs felt so soft that he could hardly stand, only being able to pull on the coach¡¯s arm. Forget about even looking down, his eyes were tightly shut, and he didn¡¯t dare to open them.


    The coach pulled the belt and patted Fang Juexia on the shoulder twice after confirming that it was safe. ¡°Good luck, little handsome Ge. One jump gives you great popularity, and two jumps give you a great fortune.¡±


    Once would be enough, it would be over soon.


    He even imagined the sensation of weightlessness in his mind in advance, just to prepare himself to be able to endure it better later.


    He wasn¡¯t afraid, he wasn¡¯t afraid at all.


    Don¡¯t be scared, don¡¯t be scared, don¡¯t be scared¡­


    ¡°Prepare yourself ah, I¡¯m going to start the countdown. Three¡ª¡±


    The countdown was suddenly interrupted. ¡°Eh? Why have you come back?¡±


    Come back? What coming back?


    He heard the coach laugh, and then also pat his arm as he said, ¡°You see, what I said is right ba, someone really wanted to come back to jump a second time.¡±


    The strong wind had disturbed Fang Juexia¡¯s soft hair, making him look like a miserable small animal. He hesitated, frowning, and slowly opened his eyes. In his shaking field of vision appeared Pei Tingsong, who walked on the transparent glass floor step by step, with the spring sunshine making his smile seem lazy.


    ¡°You¡¯re really about to jump ah.¡± He looked at Fang Juexia, who was already dressed to go, and his eyes were full of smiles.


    Fang Juexia, who had been long rendered unable of speech, only nodded his head slightly, making himself appear even more pitiful. He didn¡¯t know what Pei Tingsong wanted to do by coming up here; did he want to witness his first bungee jumping experience? Or did it count as being more of an experience if he stood here and watched this joke? He thought a lot in his head, and his pupils swayed with his thoughts.


    The more Pei Tingsong looked, the cuter he thought Fang Juexia was. He also saw him quietly holding the coach¡¯s arm and unconsciously raised his eyebrows.


    ¡°He¡¯s afraid of heights.¡± Pei Tingsong walked over to the coach and said to the staff, ¡°I¡¯ll join him, and we¡¯ll do a two-person jump.¡±


    This sentence came suddenly, and no one could have imagined it. Fang Juexia also looked at him, without saying a word. Pei Tingsong directly reached out and pulled him back, joking, ¡°What are you looking at me for, are you moved ah? If you¡¯re moved, cry a bit for me to see.¡±


    ¡°What are you doing back here?¡± Fang Juexia¡¯s voice carried his usual cold tone as soon as he opened his mouth, but his hand had already transferred from the coach¡¯s arm to Pei Tingsong¡¯s wrist, and he held him tightly, as if subconsciously, he was looking for a more familiar and comfortable sense of security.


    ¡°It was really refreshing jumping down, and I want to do it again.¡± The coach helped them put on the two-person protective gear. Pei Tingsong raised his hand and neatened Fang Juexia¡¯s hair, which had been disturbed by the wind. His tone was much softer as he said, ¡°By the way, I¡¯ll help you get through this heavenly tribulation.¡±


    ¡°Heavenly tribulation.¡± Fang Juexia repeated these two words in a low voice. He was surprised; this child who had grown up abroad somehow had learned all these strange and eccentric things. However, these words were also quite appropriate right now; this really seemed to be a rather big disaster in his twenty plus years of life, and the danger level put it in the top three.


    With this in mind, he glanced at Pei Tingsong again.


    This guy¡¯s danger level was high, too. He was really too panicked at the moment, so much so that he was picking any path he could find to escape, which led him to solving one danger by relying on another.


    The staff member was about to place the helmets on them when they discovered that the last GoPro was broken and couldn¡¯t record any footage. ¡°Should we wait a bit? Wait for them to bring up the previous one.¡±


    ¡°Juexia after great effort made all his mental preparations, and who knows if he¡¯ll dare to go if we wait. How about we just don¡¯t record his perspective?¡± Another staff member contacted someone at the bottom of the attraction with a walkie talkie, telling them that they would only take the perspective of the jump from the top, and they discussed to just to take the perspective of Pei Tingsong jumping down, while someone else recorded from the bottom for Fang Juexia.


    The coach fixed the rope and confirmed it again. ¡°Okay, we¡¯re ready. Two little handsome Ge, you can double jump now. Shall I give you a countdown?¡±


    Pei Tingsong shook his head, said thank you, and then pulled on Fang Juexia¡¯s arm to get him to move forward bit by bit. The wind on the platform became stronger and stronger, wheeling around in midair. The cold air held them tight, and the clear blue sky almost seemed as if it were within reach. Amidst the roaring wind, Fang Juexia heard Pei Tingsong¡¯s voice. He told him to close his eyes, so he really closed his eyes.


    He had never done anything too crazy in his life. Even when pursuing his dream, he made sure to follow his own rules and procedures that he controlled, thus making steady progress step by step. Stability gave him a sense of security. Being derailed, revelry, and loss of control¡ªthese were all the sorts of dangerous factors Fang Juexia had tried to avoid for his 20 plus years of life.


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you a story ba.¡±


    ¡°A story?¡± Fang Juexia listened to his voice and raised his head.


    ¡°En.¡± Pei Tingsong stood on the platform, turned his back onto the high altitude he was about to fall into, faced Fang Juexia who had closed his eyes, stretched out his arm, and pulled him into his arms. ¡°Did you know? It¡¯s said that bungee jumping originated in Vanuatu, a country in the South Pacific archipelago. People there believe that only those who have undergone the high altitude test count as adults. So, hundreds of years ago, the men of their tribe would tie their legs with vines, then jump from a wooden tower more than 30 meters high, and stop with a shh no more than 10 centimeters above the ground.¡±


    ¡°And then?¡± Fang Juexia, who still had his eyes closed, asked.


    ¡°And then¡­¡± Pei Tingsong lowered his head to confirm that he had already stepped onto the edge, and half of his foot was hanging in midair. He continued, ¡°The villagers would hold a big bonfire party for him to celebrate his determination and courage. They viewed this high fall as a great rite of passage.¡±


    At the end of this story, he put his arms around Fang Juexia and fell back. Without the tension created by the countdown, everything came too quickly, and utterly without warning. Fang Juexia¡¯s heart almost came to a sudden halt; he was hugged and then fell into a storm, a complete vortex of weightlessness.


    So it turned out¡ªa real fall was like this. Every crevice of his body was penetrated by the galloping wind, and his soul smashed into the empty sky. Fear, hesitation, and timidity were all swept away by the wind, and from instinct, that one-way hug turned into a tight mutual hug. Both of their body temperatures were hot, and their heartbeats also collided together, striking directly into each other¡¯s chests. These senses were all telling Fang Juexia that he was not alone.


    He fell while being hugged, completely safe and free.


    ¡°Would you like to open your eyes?¡±


    The roaring wind was like a howling alarm, but it couldn¡¯t stop his voice. Fang Juexia tried to open his eyes. The inverted view that came into his vision was too intriguing¡ªhe saw the whole world spinning up into the sky, and also saw Pei Tingsong close at hand. Their gazes met in the wild wind, and Pei Tingsong¡¯s eyes were laughing, his dark pupils reflecting the open sky, and his own face as well. It was just like in the story; they fell through and hung in the air with courage and determination.


    When the alarm finally stopped, Pei Tingsong drew closer to Fang Juexia¡¯s ear¡ª


    ¡°You¡¯re an adult now, Gege.¡±

 CH 51

    Chapter 51 ¨C Vertigo Aftereffects


    How to write love song lyrics.


    This high altitude test made Fang Juexia feel confused. He untied the rope and returned his feet to the ground. His steps didn¡¯t feel quite right, with each step feeling as if he was still stepping in the clouds, moving up and down, deep and shallow.


    ¡°How are you now?¡± Pei Tingsong walked up to him in a few steps and asked, ¡°Are you less scared now?¡±


    Scared.


    After this experience, he had finally managed to calculate  the magnitude of all these dangers. There was nothing that could compare to Pei Tingsong, he was the biggest and most uncontrollable risk.


    ¡°Much better,¡± Fang Juexia looked at the shadow on the ground and answered.


    He only had a vague memory of the latter part of the trip to the amusement park, half of his soul seeming to still be hanging in the air 20 meters away for that whole duration. Later on, no matter what they played or did, he only seemed to be vaguely participating. Even the director joked that they seemed to have badly scared Fang Juexia out of his mind. Later, more and more fans had come to watch them, so they had to finish the shoot ahead of time.


    After a day of playing, and then even getting to end work early, everyone was especially happy. Lu Yuan went to the company to meet with the choreographer, and He Ziyan also went with him to discuss the arrangement of the music. Jiang Miao¡¯s little sister was about to celebrate her birthday, so he pulled in Ling Yi, who was always good at handling people, to accompany him in buying gifts and ordering a cake for a surprise party.


    Fang Juexia¡¯s plan was to go back to the dormitory to take a bath, rest for an hour, and then go to the company¡¯s practice room to practice dancing. However, when he came out of the bathroom, he realised that he and Pei Tingsong were once again the only ones left in the dormitory. The other party was just like him, he had also just taken a bath, and was wearing a set of white cotton pajamas as he took out a bottle of ice water from the refrigerator and gulped it down.


    He wasn¡¯t completely over his cold, yet he was already wearing so little.


    However, Fang Juexia didn¡¯t utter these kinds of nagging words, because it didn¡¯t seem to have anything to do with him. He closed the bathroom door and headed straight back to his bedroom. He helped Ling Yi by picking up a Minion doll that had fallen onto the floor and put it on the table before going to bed.


    The orange light of dusk climbed from the balcony to his dark blue quilt. He set an alarm and retracted his body into his quilt. The remnant sensations of the high altitude activity¡ªthat kind of feeling that the heavens and earth were spinning around¡ª only became more obvious when he closed his eyes. He was very uncomfortable, so he turned over and lay on his stomach, burying his head in the pillow in an attempt to reduce that feeling of weightlessness and vertigo, but it had little effect.


    [You¡¯re an adult now, Gege.]


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s voice repeatedly echoed in his ears, and his heartbeat was unsettled, just like the man who carried seven buckets up the hill, but then eight down the hill, and he found it hard to sleep peacefully.


    Suddenly, he heard footsteps, and when Fang Juexia turned his head, he saw a pair of long legs by his bed. He was a little startled, and somehow subconsciously pulled up his quilt to cover his head.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Pei Tingsong wanted to pull his quilt down. ¡°I thought you were sleeping.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to sleep,¡± Fang Juexia said in a muffled voice.


    ¡°Have you forgotten what you promised me?¡±


    Right. He had really forgotten about it. He was all messed up by bungee jumping and the so-called rite of passage.


    Fang Juexia was afraid to face Pei Tingsong, but every time he tossed and turned restlessly, Pei Tingsong would simply appear in front of him again, and he always possessed a strong reason to trouble him in his hands, making him unable to avoid him.


    He gave up struggling and let Pei Tingsong pull the quilt away. Half-squinting, he saw Pei Tingsong and the medicine box he was carrying.


    He was actually becoming more and more delicate nowadays; before, when he had been actually wounded, with blood seeping out of the wound, he had still struggled against Fang Juexia and wouldn¡¯t let him wrap his wound up.


    Forget it, anyway, however anyone put it, since he was the one who had bit him, he had to carry some of the responsibility. Fang Juexia lifted the quilt and sat cross-legged on the bed. He took the medicine box and opened it to rummage around it in order to find the powder for oral ulcers. He tried his best to imitate the calm posture of a doctor as he instructed, ¡°You sit down.¡±


    Pei Tingsong sat by the bed, and then discovered that a patch of Fang Juexia¡¯s hair had curled up, making him look a bit silly.


    ¡°You¡¯re sleeping now, so you won¡¯t sleep at night?¡±


    He found it. Fang Juexia took out the box of powder and shook it. ¡°I¡¯ll sleep for a while and then go to the practice room. I won¡¯t come back at night.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not afraid to break your waist if you practice like this day after day ah?¡±


    ¡°I already have a waist injury.¡± Fang Juexia spoke of it as if commenting on nice weather. He took out a long and thin cotton swab and dipped it in the powder.


    But upon hearing that, a bad taste formed in Pei Tingsong¡¯s mouth. He had clearly been interacting with Fang Juexia for two years now, and he hadn¡¯t even known about his waist injury. He glanced at Fang Juexia¡¯s waist, and with no rhyme or reason, he suddenly recalled what Fang Juexia had looked like when changing in his apartment before. Pei Tingsong flung his eyes open and said, ¡°Then you need even more rest.¡±


    ¡°Everyone wants to rest. But for things like dancing, even a  day¡¯s rest will make your body lag behind for a day. People who rest too much will become rusty and turn stupid onstage.¡± He drew closer. ¡°Stick your tongue out.¡±


    Pei Tingsong did so. Afraid of blocking the light, Fang Juexia tilted his head to get closer, his eyes fixed on the little white spot at the tip of Pei Tingsong¡¯s tongue ¡ª the root of all evil. Fang Juexia¡¯s mood turned a bit strange when he thought about how this little white spot was caused by his own teeth. He couldn¡¯t really describe it.


    He shouldn¡¯t think deeply about it, he was afraid of revisiting the night of that incident.


    The cotton swab dipped in that powder was dabbed on that spot very lightly and slowly. Seeing the tip of his tongue shrinking back, Fang Juexia raised his eyes and observed Pei Tingsong¡¯s expression, asking, ¡°Does it hurt?¡±


    Pei Tingsong pulled back the tip of his tongue and looked blankly at the person in front of him. He felt like he had made a wrong decision. He had plainly intended on teasing Fang Juexia with this, but right now, the one feeling unsettled was actually himself. After seeing Fang Juexia lying on the bed, he had instinctively lightened his steps, and when he heard that Fang Juexia had a waist injury, he started to feel guilty and worried.


    When he saw Fang Juexia raise his eyes, his heart started to pound. Dusk had made his eyelashes half translucent, and they seemed to be flickering slightly.


    Whatever had been applied to his tongue wasn¡¯t some panacea, but just a peaceful butterfly. It paused for a bit, before fluttering away again.


    ¡°Does it hurt?¡± Fang Juexia asked again.


    Pei Tingsong blinked in confusion. ¡°A little bit.¡±


    ¡°Endure it ba.¡±


    He could only stretch his tongue out once again, and his eyes fell on this face that was so close to him. Whenever Fang Juexia was serious, his eyebrows would twist slightly inward, his lips would open slightly, and he could see the moisture inside his mouth. That could count as being a place familiar to him, after all, he¡¯d been in there once before.


    Pei Tingsong felt that he should just endure it, so he tried to divert his attention.


    The tip of his tongue was being stimulated by the powder, like a slight, thin needle pricking at his heart. He gradually started to fall in love with this slight pain; the scent of shower gel on Fang Juexia¡¯s body smelled very nice, clean and comfortable, similar to that of anesthesia.


    Even though he had witnessed many open and free friendships, Pei Tingsong also knew that there should be no kissing between friends, let alone deep kisses. Being a friend should be simple and natural, with conversations and chatting, understanding each other¡¯s preferences and lifestyles, and sharing in each other¡¯s joys and pains. There would be no burdens while communicating, and when hugging, it would be like you were holding your right hand with your left hand. That was a friend.


    But alcohol had taken its turns in capturing their minds, and they had shared surprise kiss after surprise kiss, these kisses stacking up on top of each other. It seemed that from the beginning, this friendship wasn¡¯t pure.


    Yet, he truly felt that Fang Juexia was good, and really wanted to establish a friendship with him.


    His eyes floated back, and Pei Tingsong accidentally saw the neckline of Fang Juexia¡¯s pajamas slip down, revealing to his view a field of snow-white skin that he could see completely clearly. He drew the tip of his tongue back into his mouth and coughed violently a few times after turning his head.


    ¡°Your throat doesn¡¯t feel good?¡± Fang Juexia asked.


    Pei Tingsong straightened himself in a rather unnatural manner, while also helped Fang Juexia¡¯s shoulder go up. ¡°Don¡¯t always slouch, isn¡¯t your waist sore?¡±


    Fang Juexia also sat up straight and asked with a flat tone, ¡°What are you always caring about my waist for?¡±


    ¡°Who cares about your waist?¡± Pei Tingsong¡¯s didn¡¯t accept this, and even his voice grew loud.


    This person¡¯s clothes were too loose, and he just had to look down to see everything clearly. Also, when he changed clothes, he didn¡¯t know that he should duck away, and he also always looked at others with those kinds of eyes, completely unaware of what effect they had on the onlooker.


    Listing down Fang Juexia¡¯s many sins, Pei Tingsong seemed to have discovered a way to vent. Right, it was all his fault. If, at the very beginning, Fang Juexia hadn¡¯t gotten drunk and hadn¡¯t kissed him, he wouldn¡¯t have returned the favor while being drunk himself. Without the interference of this entanglement of lips and tongues, he wouldn¡¯t be twisting himself into knots over the purity of their friendship.


    Clearly, he had been unfettered since he was a child and had never cared about anything, but now, he had to start worrying over these little things.


    It was all Fang Juexia¡¯s fault.


    ¡°Done.¡± The person who had started it all, and who didn¡¯t know anything, gently created a breeze with his palm to help Pei Tingsong relieve the pain at the tip of his tongue. ¡°Drink more water and take some vitamins.¡± After saying that, he lowered his head to find the bottles of vitamin B and vitamin C tablets in the box, and then stuffed them into Pei Tingsong¡¯s hand along with the powder.


    He didn¡¯t want to apply the medicine himself; he still wanted Fang Juexia to apply it for him.


    ¡°This medicine is applied three times a day, and if your tongue hurts badly, you can also apply it some more.¡±


    But with what standpoint would he demand that? They were all adults.


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    Upon hearing Pei Tingsong utter that ¡®okay¡¯, Fang Juexia was a little surprised. It was rare that he was so obedient.


    ¡°Go to sleep ba.¡± Pei Tingsong stood up and took the medicine box away, but then heard Fang Juexia say from behind, ¡°I also can¡¯t seem to sleep very well. I feel dizzy, and it¡¯s hard for me to close my eyes.¡±


    Pei Tingsong replied, ¡°It may be because of the after-effects of your fear of heights, you may dream of being high up when you sleep, and it will feel even more uncomfortable at that time. Don¡¯t go to sleep for now, find something relaxing to do.¡±


    After saying that, he left. Fang Juexia¡¯s room suddenly became empty, so he simply got up, went to the balcony, picked up a watering can, and watered his flowers and plants. He had bought a cactus at a roadside stand a long time ago, and it wasn¡¯t a ball cactus type, but a long one. He squatted down and plucked some thorns from the cactus.


    He had seldom watered it before and had never cared about it. Fang Juexia raised the watering can and sprinkled a bit of water on it, not daring to give it too much.


    Do something relaxing.


    Fang Juexia took out his Sudoku book and sat on the lazyboy placed in the balcony. This way of calming and concentrating his mind had once been 100% effective. However, this time, as he held his pen, those numbers gradually started to shake and jump around in the empty space.


    Could it be that he was too tired recently?


    He closed his eyes and opened them again. His eyes scanned the first row and first column, trying to figure out the answer. Yet, he kept being distracted unconsciously, his soul spiraling out of control just like in a sudden fall.


    When he came back to his senses, what had been written in the book wasn¡¯t a number, but a person¡¯s name.


    Pei Tingsong went back to his room and turned on his computer. He wanted to finish writing the lyrics he hadn¡¯t finished before, but as soon as he opened it, he saw his fjx folder. He couldn¡¯t help but click on it again, and wore headphones to listen to Fang Juexia¡¯s ballad demo once again.


    He had never written lyrics for a love song, and he always felt disinclined to write them. Most love song lyrics were boring in his eyes. Two or three hackneyed and stereotypical lines would get chewed over repeatedly, and there was no essence left in the song, just dregs.


    But this song was a love song ba.


    Even if it wasn¡¯t a love song, he could hear a love song-like feeling from it.


    Pei Tingsong held his pen and quietly listened to Fang Juexia¡¯s voice. The scene of him laughing suddenly appeared in front of his eyes, as he said to him in the sunny amusement park, ¡®This is your first time, are you happy?¡¯


    The sounds of the piano and humming flowed slowly, subconsciously controlling the pen in Pei Tingsong¡¯s hand, and it made rustling sounds as it wrote on the paper¡ª


    [A dreamlike amusement park with thousands of lights in view


    Wooden horses chasing each other, an old dream coming true


    Bundled into admission is the sunlight


    Helping me give the corner of his eye a love bite]

 CH 52

    Chapter 52 ¨C True Love¡¯s Chance


    I don¡¯t believe in love.


    He finished writing it subconsciously, but when he regained his senses and looked over it, the words he had written stung him harshly. What was it? Why did he write this?


    Pei Tingsong crossed out the last sentence and scratched it out many times. Later, he simply tore that page from the notebook, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it onto a corner of the table.


    From beyond his earphones, he suddenly heard the sound of something breaking outside the window. He stood up and looked out, and saw that there was a figure wandering around on the balcony next door. Fearing that Fang Juexia was bumping around into things again, Pei Tingsong put down his things and went over there, even knocking on the door twice this time.


    ¡°What are you doing? Making such big movements.¡± He deliberately made himself sound like he was complaining, ¡°Terribly noisy.¡±


    Walking over, he saw Fang Juexia cleaning up the fragments on the ground. Pei Tingsong was startled again before he quickly pulled him away. ¡°Hey, don¡¯t use your hands ah.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, the edges of this flowerpot aren¡¯t very sharp.¡± Fang Juexia threw the last piece of clay fragment into the trash can. Only then did Pei Tingsong discover that the flowerpot he had broken had held a cactus in it.


    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± He squatted down and pointed to the fallen cactus. ¡°Retaliation ah?¡±


    ¡°Your imagination sure is rich.¡± Fang Juexia swept the soil together and transferred it all into a spare flowerpot, but he didn¡¯t really know where to start with this cactus. So he started to instruct Pei Tingsong, ¡°Lift this up.¡±


    ¡°Why me ah?¡±


    ¡°Birds of a feather flock together.¡± Fang Juexia poked a hole in the soil and said, ¡°Put it here.¡±


    Pei Tingsong pinched a long thorn at the top of the cactus with two of his fingers, and it wobbled into the hole dug by Fang Juexia.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been working on these plants this whole time ah.¡± Pei Tingsong glanced at the Sudoku book Fang Juexia had left on the lazyboy, but what was strange was that there were no numbers written on it, though there did seem to be a line of words written instead.


    ¡°En. And you?¡± Fang Juexia used his body to block his gaze as he started to pack the soil with both hands. ¡°What were you doing just now?¡±


    ¡°Me?¡± Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t expect that the topic would shift back onto him and hesitated. Fang Juexia didn¡¯t plan to wait for him to give an answer, instead standing up and closing that Sudoku book. Unexpectedly, he suddenly heard Pei Tingsong say from behind him, ¡°I want to fill in the lyrics for your demo.¡±


    Feeling uncertain, Fang Juexia turned his head and saw Pei Tingsong sitting cross-legged on the ground as he continued, ¡°But I¡¯ve never been in love, I don¡¯t know how to write lyrics for a love song.¡±


    This was the first time that he learned from Pei Tingsong himself that he had never been in love, and it made quite an impact. Fang Juexia sat back on the lazyboy and was silent for a while. ¡°That song is not necessarily a love song.¡±


    Pei Tingsong raised his head and looked at him. Fang Juexia hugged the Sudoku book to his chest and spoke quietly, ¡°After all, based on what you said, I also shouldn¡¯t be able to write love songs.¡±


    By that he meant¡­ He had also never been in love? Pei Tingsong sort of couldn¡¯t believe it; very few girls would not like Fang Juexia¡¯s appearance during his school days, and his personality was warm, aside from those instances when he was dealing with Pei Tingsong and acted a bit cold.


    Pei Tingsong couldn¡¯t help questioning, ¡°Is that really true¡­ I don¡¯t believe there were no girls chasing you at your school.¡±


    ¡°There were. But I didn¡¯t have any time at all.¡± Fang Juexia¡¯s expression was very frank, and he leaned back. ¡°I started to learn dancing at a very early age. I was very tired every day, but I also had to study hard, and I had to go to the dance studio immediately after school. Later, as you know, my dream of being a dancer failed. Who knew that on the way to school, I would be discovered by one of Astar¡¯s talent scouts and thus became a trainee. At that time, I was also studying and practicing at the same time. I worked hard every day, and I didn¡¯t even have any time to get enough sleep, so how could I have any energy left for puppy love?¡±


    ¡°So you want to date, but you don¡¯t have time to?¡± Pei Tingsong reasoned, but he still thought that this conclusion wasn¡¯t right. ¡°If you really met someone you liked, you wouldn¡¯t say you couldn¡¯t squeeze out some time to spend with them.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to.¡±


    Fang Juexia¡¯s answer came out of the blue, short and firm. Pei Tingsong accidentally pricked himself on one of the soft thorns of the cactus, and the thorn sank into his flesh.


    He hesitated, but then still asked, ¡°Why?¡±


    A pink and orange cloud was floating in the sky. Fang Juexia stared at it without moving. ¡°Because¡­¡±


    He hesitated and didn¡¯t know how to tell Pei Tingsong, or whether to tell him at all. Fang Juexia really abhorred the sensation of conducting self-introspection; opening himself up even once ran the risk of there being an emotional breach.


    It was really terrible to lose control. He was afraid that he would become the kind of person who would lose control.


    Pei Tingsong noticed something, so he changed the topic himself. ¡°In fact, I also don¡¯t want to.¡± He then added, ¡°At least, I haven¡¯t wanted to before. I read a psychological paper once that had the sentence, ¡®Children¡¯s emotional enlightenment is the reflection of their parents¡¯ feelings.¡¯ As for me, I haven¡¯t really seen or been around my parents since I was a child. It was only when I grew up a bit more that I realized that they didn¡¯t get married out of love.¡±


    Hearing this, Fang Juexia turned around, curling up on the lazyboy as he looked at Pei Tingsong. ¡°Then why did they get married?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s pretty ironic actually. My mother¡¯s ancestors were the first generation of overseas Chinese immigrants, and they were also very rich while in China. After they immigrated, they did business in the United States for many years. Her family was huge, and counted as what they call ¡®old money.¡¯ My grandfather was the youngest and only son of his generation, but he really had no talent for business and also had no interest in it. When he was young, his businesses always failed, and several of his companies went out of business.¡±


    Several companies. Fang Juexia thought¡ªSure enough they¡¯re rich to easily bear that cost.


    ¡°I felt it was like that. Your grandfather¡­¡± He paused after speaking halfway. He had originally wanted to say that his grandfather looked like an urbane gentleman, but in the first place, he had accidentally seen that photo.


    ¡°What about my grandfather?¡±


    Fang Juexia lay across the sofa and shook his head. ¡°I feel like he should be like you ba.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s much better than me. He had great literary talents, and although his businesses failed, he wrote very good books. He published novels and poetry anthologies under a pseudonym. Later, he didn¡¯t want to do any business and just wanted to live his romantic life.¡± Pei Tingsong took a deep breath. ¡°My mom was his only child, so she was used to being like a princess; besides having a pretty face, she couldn¡¯t really do anything else. The elders of the family felt that their commercial businesses couldn¡¯t just collapse like that, so they chose a ¡®new money¡¯ man to marry her.¡±


    ¡°My grandfather told me that he was very opposed to that decision at that time. It would be very painful for two people who didn¡¯t love each other to be together, and that turned out to be true. Before giving birth to me, they were still reluctantly living together, but after giving birth to me, my mom just started travelling all over the world, enjoying and living the extravagant life she likes. My dad became busy making money, even though he already has so much that we still wouldn¡¯t be able to use it up by our next lifetime.¡±


    Fang Juexia could hardly imagine what it was like to grow up in such a family.


    ¡°Then, if you haven¡¯t seen your parents since you were a child, you don¡¯t miss them?¡±


    Pei Tingsong smiled. ¡°I¡¯ve already forgotten what it¡¯s like to miss my parents.¡± He continued, ¡°I couldn¡¯t stay at home by myself, so my grandfather came to live with me.¡±


    ¡°I later fell in love with hip-hop and thought it was the most effective carrier for emotions in the world. After that, I had even less of a heart to waste myself in constantly fruitless relationships; I just wanted to find an outlet and express myself.¡±


    Fang Juexia finally understood why Pei Tingsong was so contradictory. Like his grandfather, he found himself placed in an inappropriate mold, but his choice when facing this was to resist fiercely¡ªagainst his parents who had never accompanied him, against the golden cage he was enclosed in¡ªand to pursue what he really liked, regardless of the cost. All of a sudden, he felt like hugging this person. However, he knew that this impulse came from an overflow of his sympathy, and Pei Tingsong might end up cold-shouldering him, so he just sat up, not daring to go forward.


    He now knew the reason why Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t believe in love. How could someone believe in something they¡¯ve never seen?


    Pei Tingsong shook his hands and said in a relaxed tone, ¡°In fact, many famous philosophers remained unmarried all their lives. Plato, Descartes, Spinoza, Kant, Schopenhauer, Sartre¡­. You can¡¯t even count all of them.¡± Then he seemed to have thought of some pretty good argument, so he added, ¡°Do you know the poet Lermontov? He said something before¡ª ¡®I crave for sadness, against my bliss and love, in truth; They sank my mind in idle gladness.¡¯¡±


    This was a very novel and realistic statement.


    Fang Juexia repeated what he had just said in his heart and seemed to feel that recounting his memory was really not such a big deal. Although Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t ask, he still chose to open himself up; he didn¡¯t want to be the only listener in such a situation.


    ¡°Have I¡­.never mentioned my father?¡±


    Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t expect that Fang Juexia would actually say anything. He had already realized that the word ¡®father¡¯ was like an obstacle to Fang Juexia. Every time he spoke, he would habitually avoid using that word.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Fang Juexia put his hands on his knees. ¡°He was a very talented dancer before. My mom loved him very much, and they loved each other very much. Just as I told you last time, they were desperate to be together no matter what.¡±


    When it was told like that, it sounded just like a fairy tale love story, or one that was found in poetry. However, Pei Tingsong already knew this one¡¯s ending.


    ¡°Later on, they had me, and our family was very happy. Recalling it now, I feel like it is no exaggeration at all to describe my childhood with the word ¡®happiness¡¯. I used to be a child who grew up with love as well.¡± Fang Juexia¡¯s eyes floated towards the last glimmer of light that lit up the sky in the distance, and his Adam¡¯s apple rolled. ¡°I¡¯ve spoken about the matters that happened later  before, how I found out that I had night blindness and then failed to get chosen. This didn¡¯t actually count as being a big blow to our family, but then my father, he got a very good chance, a chance that allowed him to basically change his life.¡±


    Fang Juexia looked at him. ¡°A very famous ballet asked him to play the leading role. He practiced for this ballet for a full four months. I also looked forward to the opening performance every day during that period, counting the days as I went to school, just waiting for that day. I remember it very clearly; at that time, I was lying on my desk and drawing the last X on the calendar when the phone rang, and after hearing just a few sentences, my mom slipped down the wall and sat down on the ground.¡±


    He tried to describe it to Pei Tingsong, gesticulating with both hands. ¡°The ending move at the end of the ballet was a falling action, in which the lead dancer would fall back into a net. At my dad¡¯s last rehearsal before the opening of the show, everything went perfectly, and he finally ran off the stage to fall down, but that net hadn¡¯t been fixed properly.¡± Fang Juexia¡¯s tone didn¡¯t contain many fluctuations as he said this, it was rather simple and straightforward, as if he was stating a matter completely unrelated to himself. ¡°He fell down from the height of a few meters and broke his leg.¡±


    Pei Tingsong looked at Fang Juexia, trying to find a trace of sadness on his face, so that he could offer words of comfort. But Fang Juexia was too calm, not even showing a slight frown.


    ¡°Not only did he miss the best opportunity and what would have been the highlight of his career, he also couldn¡¯t continue to dance after that. That leg left a lot of problems, basically spelling the end of his career.¡±


    ¡°And then? Did he change careers?¡±


    Fang Juexia pulled at his sleeve, feeling a little cold. ¡°And then¡­ and then, he drank and smoked a lot every day. He smoked right at home, and when my mom told him that it was bad for children, he didn¡¯t care. They quarreled every day, most of the time over me. Once, he got drunk and even told me that I would be a loser just like him in the future. He had been jerked around by the heavens, and I had not been born with the qualifications to dance on a stage.¡±


    Fang Juexia¡¯s voice finally trembled. He sniffed and continued, ¡°I became very afraid to see him, and afraid of seeing alcohol at home. He once had a quarrel with my mom, and he couldn¡¯t help but hit her. When he sobered up, he held her and cried at the same time. It¡¯s very contradictory, right? That people could actually turn out to be like this.¡± Saying that, he looked at Pei Tingsong and smiled, before shaking his head.


    ¡°My mom still loved him very much, and kept hoping that he would pull himself together. But it didn¡¯t work. He tried again and again, failed again and again, and even started getting involved in illegal drugs. One day, when I came home from school, I found that all the valuable electrical appliances in the house were missing. I thought it was a thief, so I checked what else was missing.¡± Fang Juexia poked the tips of his slippers with his index finger and then buried his head in his arms. ¡°I saw that all of his clothes in the closet were missing. He never came back after that.¡±


    ¡°Love is truly very fragile and has a short shelf life. Sometimes you can¡¯t wait for it to change, and even a single straw can crush it. ¡± Fang Juexia was so calm right now that he seemed like an outsider to the whole story. ¡°My mom is still waiting for him even now. She¡¯s not willing to move, so she stays in that small house in Guangzhou. When she¡¯s free, she can look at the door for an entire day. Just for those few short years of happiness, she ended up paying with pain for the rest of her life.¡±


    Pei Tingsong got up, went to crouch in front of Fang Juexia, reached out, and rubbed the top of his head.


    ¡°The story I¡¯m telling is very ordinary ba, it¡¯s not as grand as you were looking forward to.¡±


    The beginning of happiness in love stories were all very similar: the lovers burned at each other¡¯s touch, their souls and bodies collided together, they hated that they couldn¡¯t live a lifetime in a second and end their lives in a kiss. However, the final chapters of the tragedies were all different from each other, and they ended grandly, with a sense of ceremony. The thing that tragedies most feared was there being no drama at all, leaving only a sloppy ending.


    Pei Tingsong now understood why Fang Juexia always closed himself off and managed his emotions like a machine; it was because he felt that he had no other choice.


    He had spent so many years not only groping in the dark, but had also taken his father as a mirror, one that could only reflect failure. He hid this mirror in his heart and glanced at it from time to time in order to restrain himself.


    Pei Tingsong gently rubbed his head, his voice low and gentle as he said, ¡°So that¡¯s why you don¡¯t believe in love, because you¡¯ve lived through a failed case.¡±


    Fang Juexia belatedly felt afraid. He had even cut open the deepest part of himself in front of Pei Tingsong, and had revealed his fragile center. He seemed to have not only said it for Pei Tingsong to hear, but also for himself.


    ¡ªDon¡¯t just casually fall into a relationship.


    Fang Juexia poked his finger into the ground, and after lowering his head, drew a line as he said to Pei Tingsong and to himself, ¡°You can give many examples of rational numbers, but it¡¯s impossible to recite them all, right?¡±


    Pei Tingsong nodded. ¡°En.¡±


    ¡°But you know what? Given a number axis, you can take any point, and the probability that the selected point is a rational number is zero.¡±


    Fang Juexia raised his head, and his cool eyes reflected the now completely darkened sky.


    ¡°That is the so-called ¡®true love.¡¯¡±


    ¡ª


    The author has something to say:


    [On why the probability of getting a rational number from any point on the number axis is zero.]


    First we have to clarify what zero means.


    This problem is a measure theory problem, which uses logic to estimate zero. It is very difficult for me to explain a mathematical problem in an easy way, because that wouldn¡¯t be rigorous. I suggest that everyone search for it, and there is a lot of theoretical analysis and discussions about this topic. Measure theory is a problem of functional analysis, and children of the mathematics department should have learned it before.


    Let¡¯s make it clear that an event with zero probability is not equal to an impossible event. This is a probability problem, and you can also search for specific proofs and theories on it.


    Finally, they have become completely honest with each other and have taken a big step forward. TingJue will now begin to heal each other.


    They are both in love for the first time, and they are a little different from other children, so they will be a little slower, but they will be more desperate and uncaring about personal danger when they are really in love. [Although ZC didn¡¯t save the manuscript, the memos on her cellphone are full of their conversations after falling in love¡­.]

 CH 53

    Chapter 53 ¨C New Album Preparation


    You will have to admit it one day.


    Pei Tingsong understood Fang Juexia¡¯s words in less than an instant.


    The vast majority of people in this world kept searching for true love in a vast sea of people, having been lulled into mistakenly believing that they could definitely fall in love with someone for a lifetime by stories. Every single one of them thought that what they would obtain would be honey that wouldn¡¯t dilute over their lifetime, but in reality, most of their love stories were like poor quality cans that would soon expire. As the poisonous industrial chemicals were consumed one mouthful at a time, the sweet delusions would eventually dissipate, leaving behind only painful after-effects. These after-effects would last for at least months, at most years, or maybe even for an entire lifetime.


    No one could deny the existence of rational numbers, but when compared with the densely packed irrational numbers, those sparse points were rarer than shooting stars.


    He suddenly became curious, so he didn¡¯t think deeply before opening his mouth.


    ¡°If, and I¡¯m just coming up with a hypothesis here,¡± Pei Tingsong asked, looking straight into Fang Juexia¡¯s eyes, ¡°If you really fell in love with someone someday, what would you do?¡±


    Fang Juexia met his gaze in silence, and his eyes flickered uncontrollably. He had been left stumped by this question. It seemed that pretty much as soon as he had started to comprehend things, he had excluded this question from his life plans. He had never thought about the possibility of falling in love with anyone, let alone making deductions about how his heart might feel when or if that happened.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± He finally stuck to the facts. ¡°This hypothesis is meaningless. People are a collection of complex physiological mechanisms, and you can hardly control one of your own nerves, let alone¡­¡±


    Let alone trying to control the emotions that surged when you fell in love with someone.


    He didn¡¯t finish the rest of his sentence; he didn¡¯t know why, but in front of Pei Tingsong, he couldn¡¯t say it all out loud, and so, he simply swallowed his next words. He shrugged, then threw this problem back. ¡°What about you?¡±


    ¡°Me?¡± Pei Tingsong thought for a while before answering, ¡°Although I haven¡¯t seen any true love, and also don¡¯t really want to aspire towards any such thing, if it really appears¡­¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t hide from it.¡± He raised his eyebrows. ¡°Even if I ended up choosing an irrational number, it wouldn¡¯t matter, for I would still treat it as a rational number. It¡¯s a little idealistic, but I believe that some things can be transformed by my will.¡±


    Fang Juexia admired his pluck. These kinds of words, if they came from other people, would be quite a bit like moths heading toward a flame, but when Pei Tingsong uttered them, somehow, they felt completely different.


    ¡°So, your mother is also like this, using her own will to wait. At least in her heart, what she is still holding onto is a rational number. Her love is still not dead.¡±


    Fang Juexia had to acknowledge that statement. Buried deep in his mother¡¯s heart was the belief that that person would always come back. However, Fang Juexia didn¡¯t believe it. ¡°But you can see from her example that the overwhelming majority of people suffer from failed love, and you haven¡¯t even seen a successful example with your own eyes. Aren¡¯t you afraid of stepping straight into failure?¡±


    Facing Fang Juexia¡¯s question, Pei Tingsong looked very relaxed. ¡°I¡¯m not afraid of failure, and moreover, I¡¯m even not afraid of low probability and scarcity. On the contrary, I like it a lot.¡±


    Word by word, he stated boldly and frankly, ¡°What I want is the rarest thing.¡±


    Fang Juexia was left speechless. They were both the fruit of failed families, but while one indulged only in freedom, the other precisely dodged mistakes; they held opposite ideals while also carrying extreme attitudes towards love. But even so, Fang Juexia had to admit that he was convinced by Pei Tingsong¡¯s words.


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s cellphone suddenly rang, interrupting this debate of their views on love. After he picked it up, he simply replied with a few sentences and hung up.


    ¡°The boss asked us to go to the company to finish the main song together.¡± He got up and stretched. Fang Juexia also stood up, placed the cactus in a safe corner, picked up a spray can, sprayed some water onto it, observed it closely, and then sprayed a little more. He seemed to have discovered something by accident, and with a little surprise coloring his tone, he said to himself, ¡°Is it going to bloom?¡±


    Pei Tingsong looked at him squatting on the ground and seriously pulling on the top of the cactus, and couldn¡¯t help laughing again.


    ¡°Fang Juexia, you are someone who is living with your grandfather¡¯s shell draped over you.¡±


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t understand his meaning. He turned around and looked over at Pei Tingsong, still holding the small spray can in his hand.


    ¡°Your father is a man who regards art as his life, and your mom is someone who is heedless of danger when it¡¯s for love. Don¡¯t you stress science? The power of genes is very powerful, and you are the child of these two people.¡± Pei Tingsong put his hands in his pockets and said with a smile, ¡°So, in your bones, you are actually also a romantic.¡±


    ¡°You will have to admit it one day.¡±


    Saying that, Pei Tingsong left, leaving Fang Juexia alone on the balcony. He remained stunned for a minute and then turned to stare at the cactus.


    Romantic¡ªthis word was pretty much like a hyperbola to him.


    When they hurried to the company, they found that Boss Chen Zhengyun was also there. He had already heard Fang Juexia¡¯s lyric-free demo in advance and kept heaping praise on it, especially after discovering that Fang Juexia was naturally sensitive to melody. To a large extent, composing music was a job that only those with inborn talent could do. It was difficult for some people, no matter how hard they studied musical theory, to write a catchy melody with highlights.


    ¡°We¡¯ve been developing you in the dance track this entire time, and even thought this way was particularly correct. Now it seems that the company came really close to missing out on a treasure.¡± Chen Zhengyun himself used to be a singer-songwriter. Before he had started the company, he had already transformed himself into an excellent producer who had written a lot of songs. He was unstinting in his effusive praise for Fang Juexia¡¯s talent. ¡°Since it¡¯s the main song, we still hope that it will be a song where its performance becomes a more important factor than the melody itself, but also that it will be easy to sing, so that people can remember it after just hearing it once.¡±


    Another company composer used the guitar to play their modified main song for them to hear.


    ¡°This counts as the third version, we have been discussing it for several hours already. Ziyan came back and helped us modify it.¡±


    Pei Tingsong sat on one side. ¡°After changing it too much, it¡¯s easy for your ears to go numb, and you can¡¯t tell if it¡¯s good or bad anymore.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why I called you guys here.¡± Chen Zhengyun began to needle him again, ¡°How about you, how are the lyrics? Have you pinned down the concept for this song?¡±


    Pei Tingsong told the truth, ¡°My mind¡¯s in a bit of a mess right now. This song is a bit of a mix, and there are many concepts that it can incorporate. It¡¯s very hard for me to figure out a core¡­¡±


    Just then, the door opened again, and Jiang Miao and Ling Yi entered. ¡°You¡¯re all here la.¡±


    ¡°I came late.¡± Jiang Miao moved a chair and sat down. Chen Zhengyun said that it was no problem, then added, ¡°Xiao Miao, I asked them to bring over your guzheng.¡±


    Everyone began to discuss things again, but Fang Juexia was still recalling the music that had just been played by the composer. He split the melody apartin his mind, part by part, and even tone by tone.


    While the others were still discussing, Fang Juexia sat in front of an electronic keyboard, played a very simple chord, then tried humming the composer¡¯s melody from just now, but every time, he ended up getting stuck in the middle. He tried again and found that it was still the same.


    Pei Tingsong also discovered that he was trying to do something alone, so he sneaked over and sat next to him. ¡°Do you have an idea?¡±


    ¡°I think what you said just now is right,¡± Fang Juexia said as he put both his hands on the black and white keys. ¡°Our melody is too full, and not smooth. In fact, that¡¯s totally unnecessary, and its spark can be created with the musical arrangement. If the melody is too full, it¡¯s easy for people to feel confused when listening to it and be unable to remember the tune.¡±


    He tried cutting off part of the melody, then hummed, and it immediately sounded a lot better. Pei Tingsong nodded. ¡°But like this, the strong feeling of the song will be reduced.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Fang Juexia was very sure and explained, ¡°Because right now I¡¯m just playing the simplest chords for you, but the musical arrangement is the soul of dance music. The point of the melody is for essence, not for volume; a good musical arrangement can fully reflect the arrangement, rhythm, and artistic conception of a song.¡±


    Looking at his serious appearance, Pei Tingsong suddenly felt that Fang Juexia was particularly good-looking.


    As he played, Fang Juexia suddenly remembered the famous Pipa song, ¡®Ambush On All Sides¡¯ that Jiang Miao had played last night when he was practicing his guzheng. At that time, he had even run over specifically to listen to it. The sweeping strings, in the very beginning, were full of murderous spirit, somewhat creating the scenario of an empty city using one song to push back thousands of troops.


    A melody appeared in his mind, and after Pei Tingsong heard only a few parts, his attention was completely drawn towards it. ¡°This is nice. The changes in tone are all connected, and it gives off a strong Chinese feel.¡±


    Fang Juexia smiled and used the electronic keyboard to play some more music. Soon, other people were also drawn over, and Chen Zhengyun looked at him and asked, ¡°Is this what you just wrote?¡±


    His hand stopped, and Fang Juexia noted the score down before telling everyone his own thoughts, ¡°We have been adding things to the melody this entire time until now, only making it more complicated. Maybe it¡¯s because I haven¡¯t been involved in the creation of the previous compositions this whole time, and because I just listened to the demo of this composition right now that I can count as having the point of view of a pure listener. After listening to the piano composition played by Sir just now, I found that, in fact, we have added too much into the melody. It¡¯s hard to hear the different things in the highly complex arrangement, but we can discover that by playing it on just the piano alone.¡±


    He tried to play the chorus of the song. ¡°With good dance music, even with the simplest chords, it can sound very good unplugged, and that is the underlying main melody. I tried playing it just now, and found that there were many redundant parts to this piece. Cutting some of them out and adding catchy melodies will make it much better.¡±


    Listening to the part he had just played, Pei Tingsong suddenly thought of something and asked Jiang Miao, ¡°Miao Ge, can you play a guzheng part?¡±


    Upon hearing him say this, Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t help but be a bit surprised. Before he even had to say it, Pei Tingsong had already understood what he had been thinking; it was kind of incredible.


    Jiang Miao sat down beside the guzheng with a smile, and stuck his fingers in place. ¡°Play what?¡±


    ¡°Just sweep the strings, I¡¯ll come in as you play.¡± Fang Juexia also put his hands on the piano keys, waiting for Jiang Miao¡¯s signal. Jiang Miao lowered his head halfway down, his fingertips gathered slightly, and then, as his wrist shook, a sound swept out, just like a murderous wind.


    This was exactly the effect that Fang Juexia wanted. When Jiang Miao swept out the second tone, the sound of the electric keyboard came in to replace the chorus, and Fang Juexia hummed the changes he had made to the tune. He Ziyan soon realized the kind of style he wanted and took out an electronic drum pad to drum out the rhythm.


    This whole cooperation was very simple and thrown together, but it produced an amazing blend of music. Fang Juexia continued, ¡°Before, only the elements were given out, but there was no main concept, which made it feel very chaotic. But yesterday, I heard Miao Ge practicing with Pipa music, and the first few chords and strings of ¡®Ambush On All Sides¡¯ are very murderous. I was thinking that our song this time can be based on the concept of a warrior.¡±


    He was usually quiet, but when he talked about his understanding of music and the stage, his eyes filled with light. ¡°Like ancient marching drums and formations, as well as sword dancing, these all have the same origin as song and dance performances. We can take the concept of a warrior, use a strong rhythm and an aggressive arrangement to create a composition weighed with a sense of sorrow and conviction, and I believe we can integrate this well into the effect we wanted before.¡±


    He Ziyan was suddenly inspired and used his MIDI to pick out an electronic sound, which was very similar to the sound of a sword. He said to Jiang Miao, ¡°You sweep the strings again.¡±


    The MIDI¡¯s imitation sword sound integrated with the guzheng¡¯s sweeping strings, just like swordsmen fighting.


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s a good concept.¡± Chen Zhengyun also said, ¡°When the time comes, we can put in a sample of real sword sounds and put it together with the electronic sounds, to give it a sense of interlacing with virtual reality. Then, the feel should be closer to that of the glint and flash of cold steel.¡±


    Pei Tingsong was suddenly inspired. He seemed to have seen the scene from ¡®Ambush On All Sides¡¯, of being forced to stand and fight, so he became engrossed in writing down a few lines, getting the key notes down.


    The whole room of people stayed up all night for the sake of the song, and none of them felt tired at all. Later, Lu Yuan came, and they sorted out the melody for the whole song. Pei Tingsong pretty much dished out the first version of the lyrics for the song right then and there, and so they simply moved to the studio to record the demo along with the words.


    By the time they came out of the studio, daylight was already out in full. The six boys collapsed on the sofa of the recording studio, head to head; Chen Zhengyun teased that they looked like a litter of puppies. Fang Juexia felt lucky; although they hadn¡¯t made their debut in a large company with rich resources, they had more freedom to create here.


    ¡°We¡¯ll work hard these next few days to complete the musical arrangement as well. Everyone should practice well, and we¡¯ll strive for the month after next, no, we¡¯ll send out the notice next month itself.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re finally going to have a second album!¡± Ling Yi excitedly bit on He Ziyan¡¯s coat and was slapped away by him with the comment, ¡°You really are a Chihuahua.¡±


    Kaleido¡¯s popularity was increasing day by day, and more and more work, events included, was also coming in. However, in order to prepare for the second album, the company pushed off a lot of these business activities. Except for some variety shows and endorsements that had been signed prior to this, they didn¡¯t arrange any other work for the group, all so that they could concentrate on practicing. After all, Kaleido was a boy-band, and while popularity and exposure were important, the song and stage were still the foundation of any boy-band. Only by handing over a satisfactory answer using this foundation could they prevent the popularity they had now from becoming a bubble that could burst at a touch.


    While creating the songs, they had also started a new round of style planning and MV planning. Star Chart paid a lot of money to invite a stage costume designer to specially design clothing for the six of them to use during the MV filming and the stage performances. In the past, the company had been too poor to spend much money on styling, but now that Kaleido was making money, that money would be used wisely.


    Due to his regular studies, Pei Tingsong had never dyed his hair since their debut. However, the concept of the album this time was very aggressive, one which tallied best with Pei Tingsong, and dyeing the hair was a powerful tool to attract attention. The planner and stylist came up with many schemes. His original hair color was too black, so they first bleached his hair and then dyed it silver-white.


    Getting hair dyed was a pretty tedious process. Pei Tingsong had been studying and practicing the songs at the same time, so it was quite hard on him already. On top of that, he couldn¡¯t even sleep in on the weekend, getting pulled up early in order to get his hair bleached. He was so sleepy that he fell asleep several times during the process, and felt hungry when he woke up.


    ¡°So sleepy ah.¡± The hair colorist couldn¡¯t help laughing.


    ¡°Too sleepy.¡± When Pei Tingsong saw the plan they had designed, he thought of something, and he asked the hair colorist, ¡°What color is Juexia¡¯s hair this time?¡±


    ¡°Juexia ah, he may be dyed black this time.¡±


    Black hair. Pei Tingsong imagined it¡ªFang Juexia¡¯s skin was pale, the color of his eyes was light, and his hair was already brown. However, he gave off a very strong distant feel, and his temperament was too cold. The company had wanted to make him seem more friendly to make it easier to suck up fans, so had always had his hair dyed dark brown. Now, upon switching to black hair, the contrast with his skin color would grow stronger, and he should look even more colder.


    ¡°Then when is he going to get it dyed?¡±


    ¡°He may be in a little later, anyway, he doesn¡¯t have to get his hair bleached. The ones with unusual colors go first, to try out the colors, and after you¡¯re done, it¡¯ll be Ling Yi¡¯s turn.¡±


    He had thought Fang Juexia would come here today. Pei Tingsong thought for a bit, then took out his cellphone and opened WeChat.


    Just as he completed an hour of dance practice in the practice room, Fang Juexia¡¯s cellphone rang. He picked it up and saw that it was Pei Tingsong.


    [Guide Dog: Where are you? What are you doing? I¡¯m starving.]


    What did this count as? Did he want him to deliver food? Fang Juexia thought about it and deliberately pretended not to understand.


    [Just a pretty face and also still pretty: Practice room, dancing. Order takeout if you¡¯re hungry.]


    After sending that message, Fang Juexia felt very happy. He leaned his head against the wall and gently tapped against it. The little clock in his heart ticked ten times, and then his cellphone vibrated again.


    [Guide Dog: Hello, I¡¯d like to have one fried crab roe and one scallion oil noodles with less oil.]


    He even sent over a ¡®please, please¡¯ emoticon.


    Fang Juexia looked at the time, picked up his clothes, stood up, and left the practice room. There was a snack bar located below their company that had been in business for more than ten years, and their small steamed buns and pan fried buns were unique. When people in the company ordered from them, they often ordered ten baskets at a time to be delivered upstairs. Fang Juexia also had the owner¡¯s phone number saved in his cellphone, but he still went downstairs himself, wearing a hat and mask to buy it in person.


    He didn¡¯t know why he did so, he probably just wanted to go for a walk.


    ¡°Yi? Juexia, you haven¡¯t been here in a long time ah. What do you want to eat?¡± The owner was a very warm-hearted middle-aged man, with a little bit of a Shanghai feel to him, and was especially kind.


    Fang Juexia ordered what Pei Tingsong wanted, then added a cup of soybean milk. ¡°Troubling you to please pack it up for me.¡±


    ¡°Okay, okay, no chili sauce for the pan fried buns, right?¡± The owner was familiar with his tastes.


    ¡°I do want some.¡± Fang Juexia immediately said, ¡°Some chili sauce.¡±


    The owner¡¯s busy hands stopped. ¡°Yo, starting to eat spicy things la?¡±


    ¡°No¡­¡± Fang Juexia said with a smile, ¡°For the child in our group.¡±


    ¡°Oh ~¡± the owner also smiled. ¡°You guys all have really good relationships, just like brothers.¡± As he said that, he had already finished packing all the snacks, and handed them to Juexia. ¡°Come again next time ah.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, boss.¡±


    It was strange; Pei Tingsong had originally been terribly sleepy, but after he sent the message to Fang Juexia, he felt so energetic that he couldn¡¯t even fall asleep after closing his eyes. He looked at himself in the mirror, and feeling completely bored, started to hum.


    ¡°What song is this?¡± The hair colorist checked how his hair color was fading and said casually, ¡°It actually sounds very nice.¡±


    Only then did Pei Tingsong realize that what he was humming subconsciously was the song written by Fang Juexia.


    ¡°Just randomly humming¡­¡±


    He had almost leaked Fang Juexia¡¯s song for him.


    Just when he was feeling guilty, a pale hand appeared in front of him, holding a takeout box and setting it on the table in front of him. Pei Tingsong raised his head in surprise and saw Fang Juexia, who was completely wrapped up, with only his eyes and birthmark showing.


    ¡°It¡¯s no use covering up so tightly.¡±


    He could recognize him just by his hands.


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t understand his meaning. ¡°Why is it of no use?¡±


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s next words changed as they came out of his mouth. ¡°I mean, what¡¯s the use of not covering that birthmark? Is there a second person in this world with such a birthmark?¡±


    That sounded pretty reasonable. Fang Juexia looked in the mirror and touched the birthmark at the corner of his eyes. Then he thought of something, turned to him, and said, ¡°Eat quickly, it won¡¯t be good when it gets cold.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m really starving.¡± He grabbed a pan fried bun, took a bite, and asked in a muffled tone, ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to eat?¡±


    ¡°I had breakfast.¡± Fang Juexia didn¡¯t even sit down. Pei Tingsong suspected that he might have really come here just to give him something, and maybe he was about to leave.


    ¡°You eat some more.¡± Pei Tingsong used the excuse of body management to make Fang Juexia eat as well. Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t beat him, and could only sit next to him and eat a pan fried bun.


    Fang Juexia was very refined when eating, licking his lips every time he took a bite. The more Pei Tingsong observed him, the more he felt that Fang Juexia was different from many of the boys he had met, though he couldn¡¯t exactly pinpoint what was different.


    After eating a whole pan fried bun, Fang Juexia cleaned his hands with a napkin. Noticing that Pei Tingsong had been staring at him the entire time, he felt strange, and asked, ¡°What are you doing staring at me?¡±


    ¡°Nothing.¡± Pei Tingsong shifted his gaze away and quickly changed the topic. ¡°My scalp hurts a bit.¡± As soon as he raised his hand, his wrist was gripped by Fang Juexia.


    ¡°Don¡¯t scratch.¡± Fang Juexia said, ¡°Bleaching your hair does hurt your scalp a bit, so don¡¯t get the bleaching cream on your hands.¡±


    Pei Tingsong kind of liked the feeling of being minded by Fang Juexia. He also didn¡¯t know why that was so; plainly speaking, he was the kind of person who would want to go west when he was told to go east by others.


    ¡°But my scalp just really doesn¡¯t feel good.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± Fang Juexia lowered his head and pinched Pei Tingsong¡¯s forearm. Pei Tingsong hadn¡¯t been expecting that at all. ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°This way, you¡¯re distracted.¡± Fang Juexia pinched again, then raised his head and laughed at him.


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s gaze moved from his smiling eyes to the corners of his mouth, as well as the lips he had just licked lightly. However, the other party soon became immersed in continuing this pinching game and didn¡¯t notice Pei Tingsong¡¯s dazed eyes.


    The hair colorist, who was scrolling through his cellphone, suddenly laughed. ¡°Hey, the episode of your amusement park ensemble show has come out. Haunted house special.¡±


    His voice suddenly pulled Pei Tingsong out of his thoughts, while also making Fang Juexia let go of Pei Tingsong¡¯s hand, for he turned his head and asked, ¡°So fast? I didn¡¯t even see it.¡±


    ¡°You guys are all on the Hot Search. Quickly, go have a look!¡±


    Fang Juexia took out his cellphone, logged into his rarely used Weibo account, and saw a familiar name as soon as he entered the Hot Search list.


    ¡°Number two and number three on the Hot Search list is you, eh.¡±


    Upon hearing the end of Fang Juexia¡¯s words and his cute tone, Pei Tingsong was rather proud, and felt especially good. So he cleared his throat, and while wearing a look of being a frequent caller on the Hot Search List. ¡°Really? How did I get on the Hot Search again?¡±


    ¡°En.¡± Fang Juexia showed him his cellphone, his face filled with the desire to share. ¡°Look.¡±


    Pei Tingsong, deliberately, only shot a glance at it, but in the end, his eyebrows were the ones that ended shooting up.


    #Pei Tingsong Haunted House#


    #Pei Tingscared#

 CH 54

    Chapter 54 ¨C Ideal Type


    Lots of Weibo and barrage comments, don¡¯t like, don¡¯t read


    After seeing the Hot Search list, Pei Tingsong¡¯s face suddenly collapsed. He snatched Fang Juexia¡¯s cellphone and opened up the Hot Search list. The screen full of ¡®hahaha¡¯s¡¯ almost flew out right into his face.


    [@Eating grapes without spitting out the grape skin: Hahahahahahahahahahaha (takes a breath) hahahahahahaha]


    [@Source of happiness Kaleido: It¡¯ll be hard for Little Ge in the next episode hahahahahaha, PTS has a really fragrant mouth when he¡¯s scared of ghosts, the whole way he¡¯s like, ¡°Ahhh!! Beep¡ªBeep¡ª¡± Hahahaha]


    [@Angel brand roasted chicken wings: Hahaha, so afraid that he starts reciting the names of atheists hahaha, what a peculiar instinctual reaction]


    [@Has Kaleido become explosively popular today: The comparison video next door is even funnier! The whole group really only has 01 and the little devil prince who are afraid of ghosts, jxgg¡¯s situation is too difficult]


    [@The CP I ship is the most real in the world: I laughed when I watched it for the first time, but I found it sweet when I watched it for the second time ah. He¡¯s so afraid, but he¡¯s holding Gege¡¯s hand the entire time, not like some people who go in, shriek, and just leave hahaha]


    [@I¡¯m still studying hard today: How is this group so silly ah?! The little Gege wearing the hat is really polite, but did he bow at the wall on purpose to scare the ghost x]


    [@Today I¡¯m still a deaf girl: Ahhhhhhhhhhhh did you all watch this episode¡¯s preview at the very end? High energy ah, there are two people bungee jumping while hugging each other, and looking at the clothes, it¡¯s our TingJue!!! I¡¯m going to defend the next episode to death!]


    [@Hahahaleido: What makes a bass rapper sing in falsetto? It¡¯s fear.]


    ¡°No way, is it that funny?¡± He looked at Fang Juexia with an expression of complete bewilderment.


    The hair colorist little Ge laughed loudly. ¡°Very funny ah, hahaha, I started laughing so hard that even wrinkles appeared on my face!¡±


    ¡°What to do?¡± Fang Juexia took back his cellphone with a smile. ¡°Your persona has collapsed.¡±


    ¡°Do you think it¡¯s too late to spend money to get rid of this Hot Search entry?¡±


    Fang Juexia looked at him and laughed again.


    Seeing his persona of being the main aggressor in the group collapse so quickly, Pei Tingsong¡¯s whole person turned absent-minded and dazed. The hairdresser blow-dried and trimmed his hair, and the final silvery effect was quite good. ¡°Wow, all of a sudden, there¡¯s a bit of a manga feel to you.¡±


    Fang Juexia looked at him from the side and also thought that he was good-looking. Pei Tingsong originally had pale skin and well-defined facial features, and now, with his hair dyed silver, he gave off more of a mixed-blood feel. He would definitely be very eye-catching on the stage.


    The hairdresser poked Pei Tingsong¡¯s forehead. ¡°Your hair was very stiff before, and just now, I was worried whether dyeing you like this would make your hair completely frizzy. Now, it seems to be okay.¡±


    Would his hair soften a little after bleaching? Fang Juexia was curious and reached out to touch a lock. Who knew that Pei Tingsong would notice. He had thought that the little devil king would reach out to slap his hand away, so Fang Juexia reflexively started to pull his hand back while ducking away from his reach, but before he could even try to do so, Pei Tingsong caught his wrist. He just held onto Fang Juexia¡¯s hand like that and guided it to the top of his head.


    Fang Juexia froze and heard Pei Tingsong say with a laugh, ¡°If you¡¯re going to rub it, then rub it well.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Fang Juexia stretched out his fingers in a very well-behaved fashion and rubbed his hair twice. It was really soft and felt nice to touch.


    Pei Tingsong asked, ¡°Do I look good with my hair dyed this color?¡±


    Fang Juexia nodded, removed his hand, and also shifted his gaze away while seriously replying, ¡°You look good.¡±


    In order to cover up his new hair color, Pei Tingsong left the salon wearing a baseball cap, along with the hood of his white hoodie drawn up, for double protection. The two of them headed back to the company by car, where they recorded songs with the other members. Once they started recording, the session ended up lasting through the afternoon.


    These days, besides dancing, they would record songs, and they pretty much lived at the company. Fortunately, since everyone¡¯s voices were in good condition today, the recordings sounded very good. In addition, the period of time until their comeback had been amply arranged this time, so everything was in order, and there was no need to rush their work. The company didn¡¯t want their throats to get too fatigued, so they let them head back early to rest.


    Cheng Qiang sent them back to the dormitory. ¡°The previous door lock for the dormitory was attacked, and we suspect that it was because the address got exposed on the group ensemble livestream in previous episodes, which attracted stalker fans. We¡¯re already investigating the issue. Safety comes first, so the company has removed the camera in the dormitory, and the group ensemble show from now on may focus more on shooting at outside locations.¡±


    ¡°They removed it ah.¡± Ling Yi was elated. ¡°Before they took it down, I didn¡¯t even dare to sneakily eat things! I was afraid I¡¯d be filmed.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re still eating! You guys will have to sing soon, and I¡¯ll have to report your weight daily to the higher-ups.¡± Cheng Qiang knocked on his head. ¡°You guys rest ba, the livestream will start in a while, at seven o¡¯clock. You¡¯re on the Hot Search list right now, so we can¡¯t just waste the traffic.¡±


    ¡°Okay¡ª¡±


    Fang Juexia had gotten up at six that morning, and now he was so sleepy that he couldn¡¯t even keep his eyes open. He refused Ling Yi¡¯s invitation to watch a movie, instead going straight to bed and falling asleep. Pei Tingsong watched the cooking competition between Jiang Miao and Lu Yuan in the kitchen for a bit before leaving with a slice of watermelon to stroll to the sofa and ask Ling Yi, ¡°Where¡¯s your roommate?¡±


    ¡°He fell asleep,¡± replied Ling Yi, staring at the screen, not looking back at all. ¡°Went to sleep as soon as we got back, too tired ba.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go take a look.¡±


    ¡°What are you doing going to look at someone sleeping ah, pervert?¡± Ling Yi glanced at him and said, ¡°You little white-haired devil, you¡¯ve been sticking close to our Juexia every day recently¡­ don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know.¡±


    Pei Tingsong was like a dog whose tail had been stepped on. ¡°Who¡¯s sticking close to him every day?¡± He turned around and made to leave. However, after taking not even two steps, he stopped and threw the watermelon rind in the garbage can beside the sofa, while adding a retort, ¡°Weirdo.¡±


    Pei Tingsong went back to his room and slammed the door shut.


    ¡°So angry, who provoked you?¡± He Ziyan took out a mini-broom to sweep the floor, just like a community master.


    ¡°No one.¡± Pei Tingsong pretended that nothing had happened and went back to his desk, where he randomly flipped open a book. He Ziyan brought the broom over to his side, helping him sweep the area around as he said, ¡°Pei Small Six, I¡¯m sweeping away all these paper balls in this corner for you ah.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Just after Pei Tingsong uttered that, he acted as though he had received a sudden electric shock, and then immediately rescued a paper ball that he had forgotten in the corner from being swept away by He Ziyan. ¡°This one I still want.¡±


    ¡°What ah, why are you this nervous?¡± He Ziyan smelled the scent of gossip. ¡°Show Ge? It can¡¯t be a smutty little poem you wrote ba?¡±


    ¡°No, they¡¯re lyrics¡­¡± Pei Tingsong¡¯s heart felt weak; if these lyrics were seen by He Ziyan, then this misunderstanding would grow much larger.


    However, He Ziyan really didn¡¯t let this go, placing the broom in his hands next to his bed. ¡°Lyrics? What lyrics am I not allowed to see?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re just¡­¡± Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t know what to say, when the door suddenly opened, and Lu Yuan howled from outside, ¡°Come out to eat!¡±


    ¡°Right away!¡± He Ziyan answered, before winking at Pei Tingsong and teasing, ¡°Do you have a girl you like at school?¡±


    ¡°How can that be?!¡±


    ¡°Then what else are you getting so worked up about?¡± He Ziyan sat down beside his bed. ¡°Xiao Pei, you and Juexia are the only two remaining members of our group who have been solo since birth, yes? Now you want to abandon your Juexia Ge and open up your own house ah.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t,¡± Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t know how to explain it to him. ¡°I really haven¡¯t started dating anyone.¡±


    ¡°I know you haven¡¯t, if you really had, it¡¯s not something your face can hide.¡± He Ziyan looked at him for a while before speaking, ¡°I just feel like you¡¯ve been strange recently, you always randomly start giggling by yourself.¡±


    What ah? Exactly where and when did he start randomly giggling?


    Pei Tingsong recalled his past behaviour carefully, but he was completely lost on the kind abnormal behavior he had displayed previously. He Ziyan patted his shoulder. ¡°It¡¯s okay, don¡¯t think about it, go out and eat ba. Oh, right, we¡¯re going to livestream in a bit, so remember to find a wool hat to hide your new hair color.¡±


    Knowing that Fang Juexia was asleep, Jiang Miao specially left a sandwich for him and didn¡¯t wake him up. In order to manage their body weight, none of them could eat too much, and their menu was full of light and healthy fitness meals.


    Fang Juexia slept in a daze and had a dream. In his dream, he was back at the small house, where he had grown up. He was back in the South, where the walls were all wet, and the certificates stuck to them had also gotten wet, with the corner of one such certificate gradually curling off. He went over and tried to stick the certificate back onto the wall, but he couldn¡¯t reach it.


    He had changed back into a child.


    Leaving the bedroom, Fang Juexia caught sight of the food on the table that had gone cold. He felt a little hungry, but he couldn¡¯t stomach anything right now, for he smelled the smell he feared very much¡ªthe smell of alcohol that was too thick to disperse. Hesitating to step out, he left the kitchen and walked step by step towards the room that frightened him. The smell of alcohol grew stronger and stronger as he got closer, making it difficult for him to breathe.


    The quarrel happening currently in the room was clear and audible. Through the crack in the door, he saw his mother get grabbed by her hair and then shoved to the ground. His heart suddenly seized, and he fiercely pushed the door open, and waiting for him was an ashtray that hit him.


    The moment the glass ashtray smashed into him, it turned into a gray fog before his eyes.


    ¡°Get the fuck out! Everyone get the fuck out!¡±


    A hand stretched out from the thick fog and grabbed his collar. ¡°You look at the birthmark on your face, how ugly it is, you can¡¯t be the lead, you know? You¡¯re just like Dad, you won¡¯t be able to succeed all your life!¡±


    Can¡¯t I succeed¡­.


    The hand pushed him away, and he fell to the ground. When he stood up, darkness surrounded him all over. Only a spotlight hit his small, thin body, illuminating it from top to bottom. He was pushed onto the stage to be displayed like an inferior and incomplete exhibit.


    His father¡¯s hysterical voice sounded from all directions, deafening him, and he had nowhere to hide.


    ¡°What¡¯s the use of going blind as soon as you get onto a stage? A cripple on-stage! Do you know what a cripple is?¡±


    ¡°Look at me, your dad! This is what a cripple is!¡±


    ¡°There will come a day when you turn into me, do you know that?! You¡¯ll turn into trash just like me.¡±


    The last light also went out completely. Fang Juexia covered his ears in desperation and shook his head frantically. He didn¡¯t want to be the person his father was talking about, didn¡¯t want to become the second him.


    He wanted to dance, he wanted to be the center of the stage. Fang Juexia stood up and kept practicing in the dark. He fell down, crawled up, and started again. He fell down again and again, until he simply couldn¡¯t stand up ever again. From the beginning to the end, all he had was darkness and injuries.


    A cripple.


    Trash.


    A person born to fail.


    Could this be his life?


    His breathing grew more and more rapid, and Fang Juexia wanted to find an exit; he didn¡¯t want to be trapped here any longer. He had to admit that even after so many years, he still hadn¡¯t gotten used to it, and that he was still afraid of the dark.


    [ I know no matter how scared you are, you will still jump. ]


    Suddenly, Fang Juexia heard a familiar voice. He looked back, but there was no one behind him.


    Who was it?


    Why do you know that?


    [I just know.]


    [Because you are Fang Juexia.]


    He suddenly woke up from his dream, like resuscitation after drowning.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter with you?¡±


    That familiar voice from the dream appeared again. Fang Juexia opened his eyes and looked at the source of the voice.


    Pei Tingsong placed the sandwich on the cupboard at the head of the bed and touched Fang Juexia¡¯s forehead. ¡°What¡¯s the matter with you? You¡¯re covered in cold sweat. Were you dreaming of bungee jumping again?¡±


    Fang Juexia¡¯s inflamed nerves finally relaxed. He shook his head, then nodded once, before retracting  into his quilt. ¡°I had a not-so-good dream.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve been sleeping for nearly two hours, aren¡¯t you hungry now ah.¡±


    Fang Juexia once again shook his head, covering his face with the quilt. Only now did he feel his heart pounding; it was fine to dream of past events, but he had even heard Pei Tingsong¡¯s voice in his dream. And then, as soon as he woke up, the person from his dream appeared in front of him. This kind of experience made it difficult for him to open his mouth or face Pei Tingsong.


    Clearly, he had good intentions in coming here to give him the sandwich, but forget about being thanked, it seemed that he wasn¡¯t even going to get a look from Fang Juexia. Pei Tingsong¡¯s heart felt small and tight. ¡°Then I¡¯m leaving, when you wake up, you eat it yourself.¡±


    He said he would go, but Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t actually leave at all. Looking at how Fang Juexia seemed to be just now, he was still a little worried. His feet remained stuck to the ground, he couldn¡¯t move a single step. He just stood by the bed, unmoving, as he looked at him.


    Not long after, Ling Yi and He Ziyan ran in with their cellphones in their hands.


    ¡°We started the livestream!¡± Ling Yi suddenly fell on the bed and hugged Juexia from across the quilt. ¡°Ah, my baby Juexia! Are you awake?¡±


    Seeing Ling Yi pounce on him like a wolf, the barrage immediately boiled up.


    [AHHHHHHHH JUEXIA!!!]


    [The Roommate line is too sweet!]


    [jxgg nestling in that quilt is really too cute ah!]


    [Why is Pei Tingscared in Gege¡¯s room? What are you doing?]


    [Hahahahahaha, Pei Tingscared! Sisters give full marks for current affairs!]


    Pei Tingsong grew even angrier as soon as he saw Ling Yi behave like this, and so directly pulled him away. ¡°Get off, you¡¯re pinning him.¡±


    Ling Yi refused, ¡°Juexia didn¡¯t even say anything to me, so what are you saying? I¡¯m not pinning him, this is called a hug!¡± Saying that, he became more unbridled and directly lifted up Fang Juexia¡¯s quilt to wiggle inside it. ¡°Wow, it¡¯s so warm in this quilt.¡±


    He really was something. Pei Tingsong opened up the other end of the quilt and also wormed his body in, as if he was demonstrating a move.


    [Hahahaha, Pei Tingscared, how are you not scared now? So willing to fight]


    [Doing that is not allowed, I¡¯m the only one who is Gege¡¯s number one I vow]


    Suddenly, there were two more people on the bed, and the quilt was being pulled from side to side. Fang Juexia, who had nearly fallen asleep again, looked muddled. He peeked his head out and blinked, and then saw He Ziyan sitting by the bed with his phone pointed at him.


    ¡°Are you making a video?¡± Fang Juexia asked dazedly. Ling Yi hugged his back inside the quilt as he exclaimed, ¡°We¡¯re livestreaming!¡±


    ¡°Livestreaming¡­¡± Fang Juexia¡¯s mind was confused, and he soon shrank back into the quilt. His view inside the quilt was very narrow and dark, and his eyes blinked slowly. He seemed to be able to see a person lying in front of him. He didn¡¯t know what was going on, but seized by an odd impulse, he stuck out his hand and poked this person, and whatever it was that he poked, it felt hard.


    He happened to have poked some abs.


    His hand was caught suddenly, and Fang Juexia instantly realized what was going on. This was Pei Tingsong; besides that person, no one else would grab him like this. He immediately pulled his hand out of his grasp and hid at the other end of the bed.


    ¡°Juexia, you¡¯re going to squeeze me out!¡±


    Upon seeing that he was hiding from him, Pei Tingsong grew even more unhappy. He pulled Fang Juexia over in one move and stuck up right against him. ¡°You¡¯re about to squeeze him out, didn¡¯t you hear?¡± With that, he fished Fang Juexia up. ¡°Don¡¯t cover your head when you sleep, your breathing will get blocked.¡±


    [AHHHHHHHH XIAO PEI IS SO GONG!]


    [As long as there are no ghosts! Pei Tingsong is still the number one gong in K!]


    He didn¡¯t know if it was just a psychological effect, but Fang Juexia¡¯s breathing really was a bit blocked. Fortunately, Ling Yi quickly changed the topic and began to read the questions appearing in the barrage.


    ¡°Ah, the ensemble show¡¯s preview,¡± Ling Yi clapped his hands as he explained, ¡°Because we went on a lot of rides in the amusement park this time, there was a lot of material, so we cut it into two episodes. The key point is that next episode, I, K¡¯s number one big boss, am bungee jumping! Super exciting, you must remember to go watch it!¡±


    He Ziyan added, ¡°Only those people who lost went bungee jumping. We later went to play bumper cars.¡±


    [I like bumper cars, too!]


    [It turns out bungee jumping is a punishment ah! Ahhhhhh, I¡¯m so looking forward to the next episode!]


    [I watched the haunted house special while eating, and I didn¡¯t think it would be so funny when I started it! I even spat out my food and almost got beaten up by my mom]


    [jxgg is still dazed, so cute]


    After they chatted for a while, Fang Juexia suddenly felt a little hungry, so he turned to Pei Tingsong and gave him a meaningful glance, wanting him to help him bring the sandwich over. Pei Tingsong raised his eyebrows, with an expression of ¡®beg me¡¯. Fang Juexia reached into the quilt and pinched his arm.


    Pei Tingsong stared at him and even more didn¡¯t want to help him get it. Seeing him be like this, Fang Juexia could only soften his stance by rubbing his fingers twice on the spot he had just pinched. Only then did Pei Tingsong let the matter drop, and handed him the sandwich lying on the bedside table.


    Pei Tingsong really was like a little dog; if you pet him, he¡¯ll be nice and obedient and listen to you. Fang Juexia took a bite of the sandwich on the plate, and Pei Tingsong put the plate in front of him to avoid crumbs falling down onto the bed.


    [Hahahaha, Ling Yi is so funny]


    [Ah, what are these two slyly doing?! So cloying!]


    [PTS¡¯ expression just now, so sweet!]


    [CP fans, don¡¯t dance in front of the actual people involved, okay]


    [Fire Ge was so hot when he got up close just now! I want to slide on the bridge of Fire Ge¡¯s nose!]


    [Why haven¡¯t Miaomiao and Yuanyuan come yet ah?]


    [Question, question! Geges, what is your ideal type like?]


    ¡°Ideal type?¡± Ling Yi saw this question in a glance. ¡°The ideal type as in the type you like?¡± He turned to look at He Ziyan and asked, ¡°Can we say this, Fire Ge?¡±


    ¡°Why not? Do you like men ah?¡±


    [Hahahahahahahahahahaha He Ziyan is awesome!]


    [Hahahahahahahaha, Fire Ge is just your Fire Ge!]


    [Hahahaha, do you like men]


    [01 is suddenly out of the closet]


    ¡°Go to the side.¡± Ling Yi stretched out a foot, kicked He Ziyan, then solemnly cleared his throat before answering, ¡°My ideal type¡­. Let me think ah. Because I¡¯m from Sichuan, and all the girls there are fair and clear-skinned, I prefer the fair and clear-skinned, small and lovely type.¡±


    ¡°He Ziyan, it¡¯s your turn!¡± He clenched his fist and put it in front of He Ziyan like he was holding a microphone, then asked, ¡°Please tell us, what¡¯s your ideal type?¡±


    [It¡¯s uniform allure]


    [Hahahahaha ah hahaha, enough uniform allure! My whole head is full of ghost nurse Jiejie!]


    ¡°The type I like is the kind-hearted type.¡±


    As soon as he finished saying that, Pei Tingsong clicked his tongue and retorted, ¡°Quit that. I¡¯m kind-hearted, so do you like me?¡±


    He Ziyan immediately followed that up with¡ª ¡°I like you ah!¡±


    [Hahahahahahaha why is the main gong seducing the other main gong?!]


    [All the melons in this group have a myriad of relationships, PTS and FJX, HZY and PTS]


    Fang Juexia took a bite of the sandwich and asked more specifically, ¡°What about the appearance?¡±


    He Ziyan looked at the camera. ¡°I don¡¯t ask for much, as long as they¡¯re beautiful, and best would be if they have long, straight black hair and long legs.¡±


    [That¡¯s called not asking for much????]


    [Ge??? You¡¯re making fun of me??]


    [Alright, next.]


    Ling Yi clenched his fist and put it in front of Fang Juexia¡¯s mouth. ¡°Four Ge, your turn.¡±


    ¡°Me?¡± This was the first time Fang Juexia had ever faced this type of question. Let alone an ideal type, he had never even imagined what he would be like in love.


    Ling Yi started to rescue him from siege. ¡°Please note that this is not a still picture.¡±


    Surprisingly, Pei Tingsong realized that he cared about Fang Juexia¡¯s answer. He was just curious about what kind of answer this guy, who avoided falling in love, would state, and what kind of person he would like.


    After hesitating for a long time, Fang Juexia finally said, ¡°En¡­. I might like confident people ba.¡±


    [I¡¯m confident ah, Ge! Look at me! My ID is Fang Juexia¡¯s only wife online, see how confident I am!]


    [Hahaha, enough sisters!]


    ¡°Just the kind of person who can do very well in their field of expertise. I find such people very attractive.¡±


    He Ziyan couldn¡¯t help teasing, ¡°Juexia¡¯s description here doesn¡¯t sound like that of a girl, but more like that of a big boss.¡±


    [Big boss in women¡¯s clothes??]


    [Hahahahahahaha what is going on with the barrage for this group¡¯s livestream!]


    Fang Juexia felt that he had also gone a bit off track in his answer, and he was even beginning to suspect that he hadn¡¯t woken up properly and was talking nonsense. In order to not cause any misunderstandings, he went ahead and casually added some descriptions, ¡°Just, appearance isn¡¯t particularly important to me. Someone who looks nice when smiling, and is gentle and cute, it¡¯s all very good. I¡¯m not very picky.¡±


    Gentle and cute. These two words ran into Pei Tingsong¡¯s heart like two bees buzzing around here and there, stinging painfully. He thought it over and over again, and thought that that was as different from him as the heavens are to the earth.


    No, wait, why was he comparing himself to that description?


    ¡°What about Xiao Pei?¡±


    Pei Tingsong was still distracted, but Fang Juexia pulled on his sleeve, and he realized what was going on. ¡°It¡¯s my turn now?¡±


    What kind of person was his ideal type?


    He was still immersed in the impact of Fang Juexia¡¯s answer just now, and was a little out of state. ¡°Similar to Fire Ge ba, I haven¡¯t thought about it.¡±


    ¡°This guy, and you were actually saying stuff about me?¡±


    ¡°What did I say about you? Did I say you like people in uniforms?¡±


    Fang Juexia lowered his head and saw the half remaining sandwich gripped in his hand. For no reason at all, he recalled the description of He Ziyan¡¯s ideal: beautiful, long and straight black hair, long legs. He thought about it, and a girl who fit all these requirements actually appeared in front of him. He couldn¡¯t see her face clearly, but when she stood beside Pei Tingsong, they seemed to be very well-matched.


    It was so sour.


    He chewed the pickles in the sandwich, and the stimulation of his taste buds poked at his heart.


    Seeing him frown, Pei Tingsong reached out and gave him a glass of water. ¡°Here.¡±


    Fang Juexia took a look, shook his head, and forced himself to swallow the pickle that he didn¡¯t like one bit. He didn¡¯t know what the matter with him was, but he didn¡¯t want to drink the water Pei Tingsong was offering. Pei Tingsong suddenly lifted up the quilt and left without saying a word. Ling Yi and He Ziyan didn¡¯t know what was going on, and after glancing over, they simply continued to livestream and chat with the fans about other things.


    With the bedside becoming suddenly empty. Fang Juexia also didn¡¯t speak any more; he felt that he had eaten in a bit too much of a hurry just now, and the food stuffed in his esophagus didn¡¯t seem like it would go down, so his heart also felt blocked, while he felt bad. He lowered his head and patted himself on the chest.


    Just a little while later, a well-defined hand appeared in front of him, holding a glass of sweet orange juice.


    When he looked up, he saw Pei Tingsong awkwardly raise his hand and tug at the brim of his woolen cap as he handed the cup directly into Fang Juexia¡¯s hand. ¡°If you don¡¯t want plain boiled water, this one should be good ba.¡±


    The glass that was in his hand was cold and icy, with glistening golden fruit juice wobbling around in its interior.


    ¡°It¡¯s sweet, quickly drink it ba.¡±

 CH 55

    Chapter 55 ¨C Attack In The Dark


    Have you had enough fun?


    The author has something to say:


    For the trailer¡¯s BGM, you can listen to Missio¡¯s ¡°Dizzy¡°, which is also suitable for the atmosphere of this chapter.


    ¡ª


    This act, of Pei Tingsong giving Fang Juexia orange juice, undoubtedly caused the entire livestream room to detonate.


    [AHHHHHHHHH WHAT DID I JUST HEAR? Xiao Pei said something about sweet?]


    [omg really so doting (covers mouth)]


    [AHHHHHHHHHHH WHAT DID I SEE!!!]


    [The main players started dancing on my head!!!!]


    [PTS: handsome appearance and kind heart with no cueing required]


    [AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH THE SPECIAL POLICE ARE GOING TO GET ME!]


    [FJX is loved by everyone, I¡¯m carrying him away]


    [AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH]


    Both of the two involved parties had yet to become aware of this current situation. Fang Juexia, who had thought that Pei Tingsong had lost his temper with him, was a little surprised to see the orange juice. He took a sip of the juice, and sure enough, it was really sweet. His strange symptoms disappeared in an instant, as if this juice was more effective than even a panacea. He didn¡¯t finish it though, and just as he was about to put it aside, Pei Tingsong intercepted him to take hold of the cup, and then drank the remaining juice.


    Ling Yi stared at the barrage on the screen and said, ¡°What questions do you guys still want to ask?¡± Just then, all of them suddenly heard the door open.


    ¡°The trailer for the first episode of ¡®Escape For Your Life¡¯ has come out!¡± Lu Yuan carried a laptop and came in with Jiang Miao as he added, ¡°Freshly out, let¡¯s watch it together?¡±


    ¡°Ah, it finally came out!¡± Ling Yi was excited and rubbed his hands together. ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for a long time now, Escape is so slow.¡±


    Lu Yuan put his laptop in the middle of the bed and turned on the speaker. ¡°Of course, you think it¡¯s our ensemble show ah, just randomly cut the footage together and then you can broadcast it.¡±


    Jiang Miao immediately said, ¡°Hey, it¡¯s wrong to say that ah, speaking as if the production team for our ensemble show doesn¡¯t take a lot of care.¡± Saying that, he specially looked at Pei Tingsong and said, ¡°Little Ge had such a hard time last episode ah, getting fatigued to death just censoring out Xiao Pei.¡±


    Fang Juexia immediately laughed and glanced at Pei Tingsong.


    ¡°Water Ge,¡± Pei Tingsong rolled his eyes. ¡°You really are my Ge.¡±


    [Hahahahahahaha even Miaomiao is starting to complain about Pei Tingscared!]


    [He¡¯s finished, the group tyrant¡¯s position is crumbling down]


    He Ziyan adjusted the livestream camera on his cellphone and announced, ¡°Hello everyone, it¡¯s time for a ¡®Escape For Your Life¡¯ trailer reaction video! If you want to watch it with us, you can go to Weibo and click play on the preview yourself.¡±


    [Okay!! Order received!! ]


    [It¡¯s time to cut an expression pack from this video! Good luck, sisters!]


    Jiang Miao told Lu Yuan, ¡°Turn the brightness a little higher, and also turn the volume up a bit.¡±


    ¡°Done.¡±


    ¡°Shh, it¡¯s started.¡±


    At the beginning of the trailer, in the middle of the dark, was a TV, broadcasting the news, but there seemed to be something wrong with it. The TV screen kept flashing, to the point that the images on it couldn¡¯t be seen clearly. Fang Juexia listened carefully to the sound being played in the background, and there seemed to be a faint sound, like that of the buzz of an alarm.


    The image playing on the TV was suddenly interrupted, and the once dark screen turned into a complete snowy white screen, which was flickering constantly.


    Ling Yi rubbed his arm and said, ¡°Wow, the beginning here gives off a bit of a horror film feel.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it a suspense show though?¡± Lu Yuan remarked.


    A voice-over appeared, and its content was from the anonymous letter Zhai Ying had received.


    [Hello detective, what I want to ask you to do this time is to find a fugitive. He is steeped in crime and is very good at hiding his identity¡­.]


    Jiang Miao frowned. ¡°So it is a homicide case again this time as well?¡±


    ¡°It feels like it is!¡± Ling Yi rubbed his chin as he declared, ¡°Let me see who the killer is this time. Don¡¯t be caught by this famous detective, Kaleido¡¯s Ling Yi.¡±


    The trailer¡¯s point of view kept moving forward, showing that the camera was getting closer and closer to the TV, until the snowy screen dominated the entire screen. Suddenly, this snowy image twisted into a whirlpool of black and white, making everyone dizzy. The voice-over suddenly disappeared, and a pocket watch started to swing back and forth on the screen. The background sound appeared once again, and this time, it could be heard clearly that it was a steady male voice, systematically chanting out the words for the hypnosis.


    As it swung back and forth, the chain of the pocket watch suddenly broke. The scene transitioned into the moment a pair of pale hands, holding a small blade, managed to make the last cut to separate a rope.


    ¡°Those were Juexia¡¯s hands ba?!¡± Ling Yi looked back and winked at Fang Juexia, to which, Fang Juexia only winked back in response.


    The scene of cutting the rope quickly changed to the scene of a pair of handcuffs being unlocked. The sound of the hypnosis stopped suddenly, and another voice appeared¡ª


    [I have a premonition that I¡¯m about to die.]


    The view switched to the execution area for when a player was eliminated. The bright red circle on the floor indicated a player¡¯s departure, and the voice of the program group¡¯s narrator appeared¡ª


    [Player XXX has died.]


    However, Pei Tingsong¡¯s name had been removed from the audio by the program group. Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t help but sigh in his heart; the program group had actually edited the audio from when Xia Xiqing was reading Zaozao¡¯s diary into the scene of Pei Tingsong¡¯s execution, thus creating a disturbance amongst the audience.


    Lu Yuan was suddenly excited. ¡°Who died? Did the person who discovered the killer¡¯s identity die, so he had had that premonition?¡±


    Pei Tingsong smiled. ¡°God knows.¡±


    Everyone¡¯s attention turned back to the trailer again. At this late moment, the BGM finally rolled in¡ª the drums were strong, the rhythm not fast at all¡ªcontaining a bit of a depraved and morbid feel to it. Close-up shots of all the six guests¡¯ faces flashed by one by one, each clip appearing on a drum beat. The last clip that appeared stayed on the screen, and it was of Zhou Ziheng¡¯s face as he raised his eyebrows and stated, ¡°There may be more than one victim, but there is only one killer.¡±


    The screen changed with the beat, and before each new person appeared, a black screen would appear first.


    Xia Xiqing asked, ¡°Do you think I killed him?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Shang Sirui shrugged. ¡°I want to keep my solo character. I don¡¯t have a partner.¡±


    Zhai Ying¡¯s action of squinting looked very alpha as she questioned, ¡°Did the killer kill off the one he thought was the real white knight?¡±


    Then, the scene transitioned again, this time to show Pei Tingsong and Fang Juexia, who were handcuffed and bound, as they confronted each other from the opposite ends of a table. The corners of Pei Tingsong¡¯s mouth angled upwards, and he asked, ¡°Did you draw the killer?¡±


    Fang Juexia raised an eyebrow. ¡°Yes ah, you¡¯re with the killer in the very first game. How do you feel about that?¡±


    The handcuffed Pei Tingsong leaned forward, and lying half-prostrated across the table, looked at Fang Juexia with both eyes, making a pitiful and innocent expression. ¡°I¡¯m especially scared.¡±


    Right after saying that, he started to smile, and soon burst out laughing.


    Ling Yi couldn¡¯t help but turn on the mic. ¡°Wow, Pei Tingsong, your laugh right here is so scary ah! Like a psycho murderer.¡±


    Once again, the screen went completely dark, and the background music paused, as if leaving behind a breath in that moment. A metallic-sounding narration appeared next, filled with tension¡ª


    [Attention, players¡ª]


    The screen lit up, and the music started up again. What appeared was the scene of Xia Xiqing walking out of a room, but the camera didn¡¯t show his face.


    [This season will introduce a new character for all players¡ª the double-faced knight.]


    Two cards appeared on the screen, displayed on the surface of a cellphone, one representing the white knight of light, the other representing the black knight of darkness. This shot soon transitioned into another scene¡ªmoving-grid paintings on the wall, torn wallpaper, and black and white doors.


    Xia Xiqing laughed into the camera. ¡°I am the double-faced knight.¡±


    ¡°What a coincidence.¡± Pei Tingsong raised his eyebrows. ¡°So am I.¡±


    Fang Juexia raised his eyebrows, hints of doubt visible in his eyes, the birthmark at the corner of his eye clear. ¡°Then which camp did you choose?¡±


    In the next shot, the final door slammed open, and a line appeared under the backlit exit¡ªthe double-faced knight has escaped with his life.


    Even if there was no image, Pei Tingsong¡¯s low voice was particularly clear as he declared¡ª


    ¡°It¡¯s not important which camp I chose.¡±


    ¡°As long as our alliance has not been dissolved, I am your knight.¡±


    At the end of the trailer, there was a whistle from the BGM, carrying with it a sense of suspense.


    ¡°Worthy of ¡®Escape For Your Life¡¯!¡± The six people all clapped together.


    ¡°Our old four and six had a lot of scenes ah, one look and you can tell they¡¯re cannon fodder characters.¡±


    ¡°Hahahaha, it¡¯s true.¡±


    Banter was banter, but Fang Juexia had to admit that the producers for ¡®Escape For Your Life¡¯ could really play. Every trailer of theirs had enough of a suspenseful feel to it, and the atmosphere it created was also first-class. However, there were no spoilers revealed at all, and anyone who didn¡¯t end up running with the wrong idea from this trailer was pretty good. On top of that, this time, they had departed from normal practice, not even bothering to hide the killer at all, simply showing him off directly for everyone to see. They were really bold.


    ¡°I know what¡¯s going on!¡± Ling Yi fiddled with the nonexistent Detective Conan bow-tie in front of his neck. ¡°Xiao Pei is the knight! Right, right?¡± He said this and immediately shook Fang Juexia¡¯s arm. ¡°If I guessed right, blink.¡±


    Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t help laughing. ¡°I can¡¯t tell you ah, we¡¯re still livestreaming.¡±


    Ling Yi took the plunge. ¡°Off! Turn it off now!¡±


    Immediately, the barrage wasn¡¯t okay with that.


    [Hey, hey, hey, a certain someone, pay a bit more attention!]


    [Turn off the livestream???? 01, you look at Mama¡¯s face and say that again?]


    [Are we so unimportant?]


    Jiang Miao seriously analyzed, ¡°I feel that the game this time is very complicated. The first half of the game focuses on the killer, and I thought there would be only one special role, that of the killer, like in the first season. But I didn¡¯t expect that in the second half of the trailer, a double-faced knight would suddenly appear. It looks really exciting.¡±


    Fang Juexia recalled how he had trembled due to nerves while filming, and it had been really exciting.


    Lu Yuan started to tremble. ¡°I even got goosebumps from the way Xiao Pei was laughing.¡±


    ¡°According to the way in which the program group did this before,¡± He Ziyan said, ¡°the more villain-like you look, the less likely you are to be the villain, so that¡¯s just a feint. So Xiao Pei¡¯s character is definitely on the side of good.¡±


    Ling Yi reached over to Fang Juexia and began to shake his arm again, asking once again, ¡°Right? If it¡¯s right, blink!¡±


    Pei Tingsong raised his hand and made a gesture of zipping up his mouth, and then stretched his hand over to Fang Juexia¡¯s mouth and zipped it for him.


    [Hahahahahahaha silent as the grave Pinot Tree Supreme]


    [Fortunately, the program team didn¡¯t invite 01, otherwise, with him like this, he would start up a livestream to reveal spoilers right after filming]


    [I think Fire Ge¡¯s analysis is reasonable ah. The program group made Xiao Pei look like a villain, but maybe he was the one who was killed by the killer!]


    [Juexia Gege¡¯s styling looks so good (Key mistake! Juexia baby¡¯s elegant and refined glasses look is so good!]


    [Ah, broadcast faster ba! One week is too hard!]


    The previous disturbance about the selection of guests for the show had already made Escape 2 eye-catching, and it became popular before filming even started. With the trailer finally being released, coupled with the strong return of the original team and a new hot CP, it naturally became a hot topic of discussion.


    When the guest lineup had been officially announced, the newly added idols had been criticized by most netizens the entire time, and there had been long article after long article about how this new season was going to become an unworthy sequel to the stellar first season. However, after seeing Pei Tingsong and Fang Juexia face off at the same table, the public opinion changed a lot.


    [@Has Escape For Your Life Broadcast today: AHHHHHHH MY ESCAPE!! The quiet bb little Ge wearing glasses really looks good, I¡¯m really fragrant again]


    [@223333: Shit, where did the escape crew find so many immortals? The handsome Ge in handcuffs, that part where he said he was scared and then started laughing, I just made up an entire story about a psycho serial killer in my head.]


    [@Today¡¯s words haven¡¯t been memorized yet: Suddenly get the CP feel for PTS and FJX! Sick and pampered younger gong x calm and refined shou, really good match! No wonder they went from the Arctic Circle to being a red hot CP!]


    [@ New Year¡¯s cake is not sticky: Wow, this trailer is longer than the one before. With the news broadcast in front combined with the letter to the detective begging for help, I feel that this is also like last season¡¯s ¡°homicide¡± model. The killer should also be related to the murderer in the plot. Does the combination of the pocket watch and recitation mean there¡¯s hypnosis? And the new knight role is so cool ah! Can be black or white, very worthwhile! However, according to the program group¡¯s usual routine, I feel that the more exaggerated people are in the trailer, when it comes to the actual drama, they will all be people on the good side. Don¡¯t dare to make random bets, drumming on my bowl and waiting for next Friday!]


    [@Cherry flavored Coca Cola: FJX is really darn good-looking ah. When seeing his face, I can¡¯t even pay attention to what he¡¯s saying¡­ Astar really let this kind of face go, I really don¡¯t understand]


    [@You are a Didi replying to @Cherry flavored Coca Cola: Super agree! Fang Juexia¡¯s temperament is excellent. He plainly gives off a cold sense of great distance, but when he speaks and frowns, I feel that he is seducing me! I know I¡¯m crazy, fans lightly flame me¡­]


    [@DizzyDaisy: They all say Escape picks guests based on intelligence, but why is it that the more I look at it, the more


    I feel like it¡¯s based on face? Every single one looks better than the last, the new little Jiejie also looks really cool, and she¡¯s my new husband!]


    [@Never pursuing stars again: No way, I just came out of the other Hot Search topic, and now, seeing PTS act so gong, I feel like he¡¯s going off-script. You¡¯re so gong, so what ghosts are you afraid of ah, Didi?]


    [@To have Pinot you have to plant Pinot Tree Supremes replying to @Never pursuing stars again: Hahahahaha, k*ll them all and exec*te them immediately!]


    With the silly ensemble show that went beyond their fan circle, combined with the trailer and blessing of a very popular variety show, Kaleido once again boarded the Hot Search list. The follower count for the group¡¯s official Weibo and the group members¡¯ individual Weibos all grew rapidly, and the warm-up for the new album in the ensemble group show also came in handy. More and more people began to pay attention to their new album.


    Coincidentally, at this same time, Astar¡¯s Seven Luminaries had also just made their comeback. Yesterday, they had already started up on their stage performances. The major forums had already opened threads to discuss the achievements of the two groups¡¯ comebacks. However, most of them still thought that 7L and K weren¡¯t of the same order of magnitude at all, and so their achievements could not be said to be equal.


    Star Chart and all the members of Kaleido knew better than anyone else how important this comeback truly was; this was a watershed moment, which could decide whether they would go up or down. With their popularity being so high now, if they had good results, there would definitely be a big batch of new fans, and it wasn¡¯t impossible for them to soar after that. However, if they fell down on their faces and got stepped on, they would be ridiculed to the center of the earth and beaten back into their original state.


    Originally, entertainment networks didn¡¯t have any singing programs, but due to the increasing demand for idol groups and the growing demand for stage performances, major video platforms began to produce their own singing programs. In the past two years, such shows had seen stable audience numbers, but after all, its history was short, and these were capital platforms that relied on money. The waters here were very deep, so it was difficult to achieve fairness and justice.


    When Kaleido had first debuted, they originally could have had a month of playtime, but because of the hidden rules rumors, they were boycotted by anti-fans. Their playtime was then reduced to one week, and they could only perform one main song. Their second mini album didn¡¯t make much of a splash, Star Chart not having enough money to manage everything. They could only give way to the platform compressing opportunities and making room for other groups.


    The entertainment industry was very realistic, and right now, Kaleido was on fire. Even before the new album was even released, there were already platforms contacting them and inquiring about their comeback performance schedule in advance in order to cooperate with them.


    Fang Juexia had always stayed out of the business of the fickle emotions of the entertainment circle. He was like a through and through outsider, having nothing to do with anything aside from singing and dancing. Every day, besides practicing with his bandmates, he would spend time recording, and the whole group¡¯s time was arranged in such a way that they were completely packed.


    In the dressing room, he changed into a loose white cotton and linen shirt and black trousers with wide legs. As Fang Juexia closed the cabinet, he received a WeChat message from Liang Ruo. Even from before that charity party, a long time had passed since Liang Ruo had messaged non-stop to contact him like he used to way back before. Originally, Fang Juexia had thought that Liang Ruo had given up, and so he hadn¡¯t expected to receive another message.


    He opened it and looked at it.


    [Astar Liang Ruo: Juexia, I don¡¯t mean to badger you. I have something very important to tell you, and when you have time, call me, it¡¯s really very important.]


    Fang Juexia swiped left to delete the message after reading it and followed everyone into the practice room.


    In order to make their group dance look as neat as knives chopping down in unison, Star Chart had specially found two choreographers from within the company, and had put one in the front and the other in the back, in order to thoroughly grasp everyone¡¯s details, thus striving to achieve the best overall effect they could create through endless practice.


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s rest ba, and continue in the evening.¡± The choreographer clapped his hands and said, ¡°You guys can eat something. By the way, Juexia.¡±


    Having been called out, Fang Juexia raised his head, even as sweat dripped into his eyes.


    The choreographer came over and said, ¡°You¡¯ve been practicing a little too hard recently. I know you¡¯re a hardworking child, but if you go on like this, I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll get injured again, and you won¡¯t be able to handle all the performances later.¡±


    Fang Juexia nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll be more careful.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be too nervous, there are still two weeks until we shoot the MV, and there is plenty of time.¡± The teacher patted him on the shoulder, praising, ¡°And you¡¯ve already done a great job.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Teacher.¡±


    As soon as the choreographer left, Lu Yuan yelled for everyone to go eat. Fang Juexia had no appetite, so he let them go first.


    He was the only one left in the practice room. Fang Juexia lifted the hem of his shirt and wiped his sweat, looking at himself in the mirror. Maybe the WeChat message from just now had reminded him of his practice sessions at Astar before. The people who had debuted as Seven Luminaries had all been people who had once worked hard in the same practice room with him. The competition in big companies was 100 times more severe than that seen in small companies, and every day before his debut, he had been on tenterhooks about his chances of survival. At that time, he had pretty much gotten used to even sleeping in the practice room.


    The previous songs and dances, he had already gotten them down pat. Even now, he believed that he could complete the whole performance of those songs without even a single mistake. But now, everything was new, and it felt like he was starting all over again. He had to practice the way he did before, all the way until there was not even the slightest possibility of making any mistakes at all, and only then could he be rest assured to go onstage and perform.


    With this in mind, Fang Juexia started the music again, stood in front of the mirror, untied the black tie he was wearing, took it off, then blindfolded himself with it, tying it into a knot behind his head.


    He had returned to the familiar darkness again.


    Here was the preset stage, and every move was strictly controlled by him to be within the predetermined distance, and he nailed down where his position in the group was. In the dark, his five bandmates appeared one by one and gathered together to form the complete group dance. Even a little error in distance could cause mistakes on the stage, and a single mistake may result in an unimaginable chain reaction. He couldn¡¯t afford to gamble, so he could only practice repeatedly to minimize his failure rate.


    After practicing the group dance blindfolded, Fang Juexia connected his cellphone with the stereo and prepared to practice the dance break in the middle of the song, which he would need to perform alone. He took off his shoes and stepped barefoot on the floor of the practice room.


    The choreography for this part had been composed by him and a Chinese classical dance teacher. It incorporated the dance style of Chinese classical dance, and contrasted with the strong choreography used for the chorus part of the song. Every movement was big and open, being extremely flexible but also very tough, in order to look just like floating clouds and flowing water. For the sake of stage effect, they had added a lot of difficult movements. Although he had missed his childhood dream, Fang Juexia, having been trained in the essentials of Chinese classical dance, hadn¡¯t lost the skill even after so many years, and could still execute these movements very easily.


    Taking a deep breath, he threw himself forward, as if to explore the sea, then jumped up again, repeating the motion twice. He raised his legs, drew his upper body back, soared up like a swallow, and then fell back steadily. Moving alongside the sounds of the piano, Fang Juexia¡¯s right leg remained steady on the ground alone, his left leg lifted up high at the side, almost forming a vertical line with his right leg, perfectly completing the final fixed-point action of raising and controlling his leg.


    His hearing became particularly sensitive in the dark, and he seemed to hear a click while the music was changing.


    ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡±


    Were they back?


    Feeling suspicious, Fang Juexia slowly lowered his raised leg, put his hands behind him, and undid his blindfold. However, as soon as he took it off, he found that something was wrong.


    The light in the practice room had been turned off, and nothing could be seen.


    Before he could react, the invader in the dark forced his hands behind him quickly, pushed him all the way to the mirror, and pressed down on his shoulders, forcing his whole person to stick to the cold mirror. A warm and dangerous body temperature came up to cling right against him from the back. Since he had just finished dancing, Fang Juexia had not yet had the time to adjust his breathing, and his chest heaved violently, while his toes caught on the cold floor unconsciously.


    A light laugh sounded out through the darkness, and Fang Juexia instantly saw through the situation. ¡°Pei Tingsong.¡±


    He let out a slight sigh. ¡°Have you had enough fun?¡±


    The other side seemed to wait for a while before finally letting go, saying lazily, ¡°You¡¯re really boring.¡±


    Fang Juexia turned around and leaned back against the mirror. ¡°You¡¯re not boring at all, while others were dancing, you turned off the lights and came to plunder.¡±


    Pei Tingsong just smiled, but didn¡¯t say anything in reply. He had just gone out to buy something to eat, and in passing, had also bought some for Fang Juexia. Who would have known that as soon as he came upstairs, he would see Fang Juexia blindfolded as he practiced dancing. He looked really good when dancing, and his body was just like a cloud, especially during that moment at the end, when he had raised his leg, and his loose trouser leg had slid down along his straight and pale leg. He was too pretty.


    This was the first time Pei Tingsong had seen him practice in this manner. He couldn¡¯t control his evil thoughts and wanted to play a prank on him.


    ¡°Turn on the light.¡± Fang Juexia sat down against the mirror.


    ¡°No.¡±


    He knew that Pei Tingsong wouldn¡¯t be so well-behaved and obedient. Fang Juexia wanted to see the time, so he said, ¡°Then bring me my cellphone.¡±


    Pei Tingsong turned on his cellphone flashlight, went to the stereo, took hold of his cellphone, then came back to squat in front of Fang Juexia, ordering, ¡°Beg me.¡±


    The cellphone¡¯s flashlight shone on his face. After intense exercise, his red skin was soaked with hot sweat, and his birthmark looked as if it was about to melt. Fang Juexia, who had just stopped his dance practice, was full of lazy energy from head to toe, so he just raised his eyes and stretched out his hand towards him.


    Seeing him like this, Pei Tingsong actually felt reluctant to refuse, so he handed his cellphone to him. Sitting in front of him, he asked, ¡°What¡¯s the name of that move, that one where you took off into the sky just now? It¡¯s really beautiful.¡±


    As soon as the topic of dancing was raised, a faint smile appeared on Fang Juexia¡¯s face. He picked up his tie from the ground and put it around his neck, whispering, ¡°Swallow style purple gold crown.¡±


    Nice name, too. Pei Tingsong¡¯s gaze followed Fang Juexia¡¯s hand as it fell onto his open shirt collar, and then, he looked away. ¡°Blindfolded like that and dancing, you¡¯re not afraid something might happen?¡±


    ¡°What can happen?¡± Fang Juexia looked down at his cellphone and replied slowly, ¡°The floor of the practice room is so flat, it¡¯s not like I can trip and fall.¡±


    That wasn¡¯t the ¡®something¡¯ he meant to imply.


    ¡°Just like what I just did, turning off the lights and knocking you out. You would have no room to fight back.¡±


    The corners of Fang Juexia¡¯s mouth hooked up, and without lifting  up his head, he retorted, ¡°Besides you, who else would do something like this to me?¡±


    He wasn¡¯t sure what nerve these words poked, but Pei Tingsong felt two different things at the same time¡ª he was at ease, while also finding it hard to endure. This kind of contradictory mood had started to appear rather frequently in recent days, and it would constantly pull at him, holding onto his heart.


    He swiveled his neck a few times and incidentally distracted himself by telling Fang Juexia, ¡°Eat something. I brought you a salad.¡±


    Fang Juexia took a deep breath. His whole person slid down against the mirror like a soft snake as he ended up leaning on the floor and propping his head on his extended arms. ¡°I¡¯m so tired, I don¡¯t have the strength. Let¡¯s talk about it later ba.¡±


    Looking at him lying like this, for reasons unknown to him, Pei Tingsong¡¯s ears actually started to get hot. He stood up, went to pick up the salad he had bought, and then came over to grab Fang Juexia¡¯s cellphone away from him.


    ¡°Eat it quickly. This young master specifically went to go buy it for you, and if you don¡¯t eat it, I¡¯m going to start cursing.¡±


    Fang Juexia wasn¡¯t the Fang Juexia from before, the one who would hide from him and pretend he was empty air, and hadn¡¯t been so for a long time now. When he heard this, he laughed. He lay on his side and looked up at Pei Tingsong. ¡°Go ahead and curse.¡±

 CH 56

    Chapter 56 ¨C The Point Of No Return


    What was so urgent ah


    Really¡­ Pei Tingsong thought that his temper had been too good recently, and he had spoiled Fang Juexia until he ended up like this. Just as he was about to speak, the cellphone in his hand vibrated. He glanced at the lock screen and saw the words [Astar Liang Ruo].


    Within a split second, his mood plummeted down to reach the bottom of a valley, while an inexplicable angry heat rose up within him internally. Pei Tingsong wasn¡¯t a good-natured person, and when he thought about how Fang Juexia had just asked him to bring over his cellphone, maybe it was because he had wanted to chat with Liang Ruo. Seeing him get involved with that person like this made Pei Tingsong¡¯s chest grow stuffier and stuffier. However, he still held back and didn¡¯t want to lose his temper at Fang Juexia, and he also had no standpoint to justify losing his temper. So, he just placed the cellphone, with its screen upside down, on the ground, pulled Fang Juexia up and stuffed the salad box into his arms.


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t count as being someone with a sensitive personality, but even he could almost immediately feel that Pei Tingsong wasn¡¯t happy. He couldn¡¯t explain why; he just thought that Pei Tingsong should retort back, but instead, he was so stuffy and silent, and the atmosphere seemed to have turned a bit wrong as well.


    Yet, if Pei Tingsong was really angry, his reaction should be much greater than just this.


    Very strange. Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t grasp the reason behind it, and he didn¡¯t want to expose this right now, so he opened the salad box instead and ate a few mouthfuls, after which he saw the cucumber slices there. He had long disliked cucumbers, and that sandwich from a few days ago had left him with some trauma over pickles, so he used his fork and moved all of the cucumber slices to a corner of the box, then ate the other vegetables and chicken breast pieces.


    Pei Tingsong saw this series of small actions. He had originally been sulky, but now, he kind of wanted to laugh. ¡°Hey, how old are you, that you¡¯re still picking through your food? I¡¯m two years younger than you, and I don¡¯t even pick through it.¡±


    Fang Juexia placed the fork on the side of the box and emphasized while mumbling, ¡°Three years younger.¡±


    ¡°Two and a half.¡± Pei Tingsong picked up his fork and ate all the cucumber slices he had just picked out.


    In Fang Juexia¡¯s opinion, sharing food with another person was a very ambiguous thing, especially if one ate the food that the other person didn¡¯t like. Because when he was very young, he had seen his dad also be this way¡ª he would eat the celery that his mama didn¡¯t like while telling her not to be picky.


    Seeing that he was in a daze, Pei Tingsong knocked on the side of the box with his fork. ¡°What are you thinking about? You¡¯re so engrossed.¡±


    Fang Juexia returned to his senses and said, ¡°Nothing, just that I don¡¯t think you¡¯re behaving like a young master at all right now. People who didn¡¯t know better would think the company has wronged you and isn¡¯t giving you any food.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m adhering to the fine tradition of not wasting things and not being picky about food. That¡¯s why I could grow to be 1.9 meters, and you could only grow to a height of 1.8 meters.¡±


    ¡°You got taller again?¡±


    Pei Tingsong was even a little proud. ¡°Just measured yesterday, exactly 190.¡± Saying that, he got up and went to the door, to turn on the light in the practice room.


    ¡°Kaleido has no room for such a big Buddha like you.¡± Fang Juexia picked up his cellphone from the ground. He just wanted to glance at the time when he saw Liang Ruo¡¯s name displayed on his lock screen.


    He had no feelings towards Liang Ruo and theoretically, he also didn¡¯t believe him when he said he had important matters to discuss with him. After all, there was almost no intersection between them now, except for unequal competition. If it was about what happened in the past, he had already distanced himself from that issue a long time ago, and didn¡¯t want to look back anymore.


    All of their other bandmates also came back, and Fang Juexia was actually glad that they hadn¡¯t returned any earlier and caught him alone with Pei Tingsong, with the lights off.


    No, why was he afraid of that? He didn¡¯t do anything wrong.


    Fang Juexia realized that recently, he was always falling into this contradictory mire woven between logic and emotion. Rationally, he had never done anything that would produce any apologetic feelings, shame, or guilt, but these emotions kept surging up nonetheless.


    Especially guilt.


    In the middle of the night, they were brought to the studio in order to complete the recording of the last song of the whole album. It was a hard-earned achievement, and Cheng Qiang sighed, ¡°Finally finished it. You¡¯ve all worked hard, go back and take a hot bath, and we¡¯ll have a meeting at 10 o¡¯clock tomorrow morning. Xiao Wen will pick you guys up, so don¡¯t sleep too late.¡±


    Just as he said that, another round of wailing emerged¡ª


    ¡°Another meeting ah.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve gotten so numb to meetings recently. As soon as Boss speaks, I start feeling sleepy.¡±


    ¡°Alright, you guys,¡± Cheng Qiang sent them out of the studio with the final words, ¡°Tomorrow¡¯s meeting is to discuss the styling and MV design, it probably shouldn¡¯t be too long. Anyway, even if you guys didn¡¯t have a meeting, you would still have to get up early to practice. At least while having a meeting, you can also have a bit of a rest.¡±


    By the time they returned to the dormitory, Fang Juexia¡¯s cellphone already had no power left. He went back to his room and charged it.


    ¡°Yiyi, are you taking a bath?¡±


    Ling Yi, who was already lying on his bed, said, ¡°You go first ba, I¡¯ll scroll through Weibo for a while.¡±


    Fang Juexia let out an ¡°en¡±, found a medicinal plaster in his desk drawer, and took a clean set of pajamas from the wardrobe before going to the main bathroom.


    He took a quick bath and put on his pants. Injuries were inevitable while training, and recently, the intensity of their training had increased. Although he had made sure to rest well and stretch properly, things would still happen. Fang Juexia took off his top, pressed the back of his slightly sore waist, and tore off the cover on the plaster while aiming it at his injury through the mirror. However, it was really a little hard to look at the mirror in this manner, and his head was twisted around until it was sore.


    He was about to twist his hand around to reach his back when the bathroom door suddenly opened. He thought it was Ling Yi who was entering, but when he looked up, he saw Pei Tingsong instead.


    The other party seemed to be a bit surprised. ¡°The door wasn¡¯t locked, so I thought nobody¡­¡±


    Fang Juexia blinked a few times before standing up straight with the plaster still in his hand. ¡°Oh, I¡­ I wanted to stick this on.¡±


    Sure enough, those strange, illogical emotions sprang up in his heart once again.


    Pei Tingsong scratched his head while grabbing the door handle, neither leaving nor staying. Thinking of the awkward posture Fang Juexia had been in when he had pushed the door open just now, he simply offered, ¡°I¡¯ll help you.¡±


    He came over just like that and stretched his hand out to take the plaster. Fang Juexia didn¡¯t even have the time to refuse anything.


    ¡°Where do you want to stick it?¡±


    Fang Juexia turned his back to him and thought of the scene when Pei Tingsong had played a prank on him in the practice room in the afternoon. He twisted his hand around to the back of his waist, pressed above the curve of his waist on the right with his fingers, and released it again. ¡°Here¡­¡±


    His skin was dazzlingly pale under the strong light of the bathroom, and there were also water droplets rolling down his back. That illusion of the tug of war in the practice room appeared here again, and Pei Tingsong¡¯s breathing grew tight. He pulled out a towel to dry the residual water on Fang Juexia¡¯s waist for him. His index finger and middle finger pressed together to then poke against Fang Juexia¡¯s waist a few times. ¡°Here?¡±


    ¡°A little to the right.¡±


    ¡°Here?¡±


    ¡°En.¡±


    Pei Tingsong felt that something wasn¡¯t quite right with him; his heart had started beating faster and faster, and his thoughts were completely disorganized. But it wasn¡¯t like he hadn¡¯t seen Fang Juexia without a top on before; he had even held him in his arms for an entire night and hadn¡¯t thought anything of it at that time.


    So, what was going on right now?


    He stuck the plaster he held in his hand onto that spot, smoothed it out with his fingers, and then, with his head half lowered, he said, ¡°Okay, done.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Fang Juexia reached out and rubbed it, then picked up his pajamas and put them on, buttoning it with his back towards Pei Tingsong, only turning around after he was done. ¡°Do you want to take a bath?¡±


    ¡°En.¡± Pei Tingsong kind of had no way to look at Fang Juexia directly right now. He knew that he was being very strange like this, and he felt feverish, so he could only divert his attention. ¡°Is your waist okay, why do you need to stick that on? Has your waist injury been acting up again?¡±


    Fang Juexia wiped his hair with a towel. ¡°No. I¡¯m just a little sore. That wasn¡¯t a pain killer, that was just medicine to relieve soreness.¡±


    ¡°Then that¡¯s good¡­¡±


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t speak any longer, instead making room for him and closed the bathroom door behind him. However, Pei Tingsong remained standing in the same place for a while, waiting for his mind to reach a peaceful state before he locked the door. He reached out a hand to take off his top, and the light in the bathroom made him fidgety. When he was mixing around in the underground rap scene, he had seen many people try to stick close to him as they showed off their lust and desire openly, but he had felt nothing at the time, and had even kind of detested this low-level animal instinct.


    Pei Tingsong was a paradox; he seemed very worldly, but in fact, he didn¡¯t count as being someone who had transcended beyond the boundaries of this world, or even someone who had been out and about in society for very long. He was like a dragon¡¯s reverse scale stuck at the border, a thorn, someone who didn¡¯t listen to advice and refused to obey. He looked like a rich second generation, but in fact, he was just a piece of white paper. A very stubborn piece of paper that couldn¡¯t be lit easily, but once a spark started burning, there would be no turning back.


    The water dripped down, and the bathroom was full of hot steam. As he washed, the image of Fang Juexia standing right here and taking a bath appeared in his mind. Pei Tingsong turned the water tap to cold and hastily finished up.


    Fang Juexia returned to his room and saw a message from Liang Ruo, along with four missed calls as well. He didn¡¯t know why Liang Ruo was being so persistent and was hesitating on whether to reply or not when a new message popped up on his WeChat.


    [Guide Dog: If you have a sore waist, you can pad it with a small pillow while you sleep.]


    Pei Tingsong lay on his bed and was flipping the pages of his book when his cellphone finally vibrated.


    [Just a pretty face but also pretty: I don¡¯t have a small pillow.]


    This Fang Juexia was really more terrible than any straight man of steel. Pei Tingsong put down his book and turned his head to look around. There were two pillows on his bed, one big and one small. The big one was for him to prop himself up against the bed, and the small one was from the bay window of his apartment. Now, he used it to sleep on.


    He picked up the pillow and got ready to go out, but then he thought that if he went out like this, He Ziyan would see. Pei Tingsong sat on the bed and thought about it, then stood by the window and turned his head to look at the balcony next door.


    Fang Juexia had just spread out his quilt when he heard a click. He suddenly turned around, for it seemed as if something had hit the balcony. Walking over to see what it was, he saw a black backpack, which had impartially hit the cactus, leaving it all crooked now.


    He straightened the cactus with a gardening hoe and said to himself slowly, ¡°What was so urgent ah?¡± Only after finishing up with that task did he go to deal with the unknown black bag. As soon as he opened it, he found that it was a small white pillow. Fang Juexia walked to the left side of the balcony with the small pillow, and looking at the window next door, uttered thank you in a low voice. He hadn¡¯t expected a hand to extend out of the window and give two cool waves in reply.


    With a small pillow supporting his waist, Fang Juexia had a good night¡¯s sleep. However, the other person separated by a wall, kept tossing and turning all night, dreaming about Fang Juexia¡¯s appearance when dancing, his bright and clean back, and the way he used to walk and laugh with others the whole time.


    ¡°Wow, Xiao Pei, why does your face look like you¡¯ve spent the whole night indulging in carnal desires? Could it be¡­.wu!¡± Before Ling Yi could finish speaking, Pei Tingsong, who was sitting beside him, covered his mouth. ¡°Laozi didn¡¯t sleep well, don¡¯t mess with me.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± He Ziyan had recently grown more and more in love with teasing him, ¡°Xiao Pei didn¡¯t sleep well, and his own roommate didn¡¯t know. It was Gege who wasn¡¯t good, Gege recently hasn¡¯t taken care of you properly, it¡¯s all Gege¡¯s fault.¡±


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s eyelids drooped, and he was full of world weariness.


    Chen Zhengyun came into the meeting with people from the planning department. ¡°Morning, it¡¯s been tiring recently ba?¡±


    ¡°Tired to death~¡±


    ¡°It will be a bit tiring in the earlier stages, and it will become a lot easier after recording finishes.¡± Chen Zhengyun motioned to the planning director, then gave a brief account of his recent work to the six members of Kaleido . ¡°Our expected comeback launch date is April 5, so we still have more than two weeks to go. Yesterday, we confirmed the shooting site of the MV and just signed the contract. In a moment, Director Zhang will tell you about the conceptual design of the MV, and the stylist group will arrive in half an hour.¡±


    ¡°The focus of this work is still on practicing the main song. We will start shooting the MV next Monday, so for the next few days, everyone should rest well and strive to be in their best condition for the shoot.¡± With that, he also gave Ling Yi a special look. ¡°Recently, everyone¡¯s weight control has been very effective. I¡¯ve seen all the numbers, and it¡¯s good.¡±


    Ling Yi shook his head with pride.


    Cheng Qiang checked the schedule. ¡°At present, it¡¯s arranged like this¡ªThe first notice will be released early morning on the 26th, and then each member will release a notice day by day. On the 2nd, the whole MV will be released, and then an entirely exclusive sales channel will be opened on the music platform. The 4th will be a mini fan meeting for your new album, and on that same day will be your first live performance of your main song. At the same time, the scene of your singing will be recorded, which the singing program will broadcast on the 5th.¡±


    This arrangement already counted as being very humane, not too packed nor too slow, and giving them enough time to practice.


    Pei Tingsong asked, ¡°If all the songs and the MV are made public at the same time, will it reduce traffic on both sites?¡±


    Chen Zhengyun replied, ¡°We are still discussing this point. Maybe, we will release the main song first at the end of March. We have to see when¡­¡±


    Before he could finish his words, the door of the conference room was suddenly opened, and a staff member burst in with a look of panic and called out, ¡°President Chen!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter? You¡¯re so flustered.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s bad, Ka-Kaleido¡¯s album¡¯s demo was leaked, and now, it has spread all over the Internet!¡±

 CH 57

    Chapter 57 ¨C A Massive Rock Falls Down


    It¡¯s my duty to tell you


    In a split second, the meeting room fell into an uproar.


    Fang Juexia frowned, took out his cellphone, logged into Weibo, searched for [Kaleido new album], and found that everyone was really discussing the leaked song in real time. He felt his scalp go numb and just couldn¡¯t bring himself to believe that such a thing had happened.


    Chen Zhengyun¡¯s brow was locked in a frown. ¡°When did you discover this? On which platform, and have you contacted that platform yet?¡±


    The staff member placed the laptop in front of Chen Zhengyun. ¡°We just checked it, but we are unable to trace it back to its original source now. However, what we do know for sure is that at 9:47 a.m., a big marketing account released the song in the form of a video. Just now we found the company this marketing account belongs to, and then we paid to talk with them. Now, that video has already been deleted, but many people have already downloaded it through that account, and now it¡¯s continuously spreading. In addition, the other party is claiming that he wasn¡¯t the one who started it, and that he had just forwarded this video.¡±


    He Ziyan had also found the video. ¡°B station also already has it, and its popularity is still very high. It might even make it onto the homepage.¡±


    Fang Juexia listened to the video for a bit. This was the second version of the early demo; the lyrics were still in English, and it was the previous composer¡¯s version.


    Cheng Qiang felt this very strange. ¡°We have been strictly confidential from the beginning to the end, and the composers we cooperated with are also recognized as people with very high professional ethics within the industry. How could our song get leaked?¡±


    Fang Juexia said, ¡°The leaked song is the demo from before, not the final studio version. Fortunately, this means we can exclude the recording technicians, composer, and the recording management department from any suspicion, and our list of suspects can be narrowed down to the staff members who were selected to modify the demo in the early stages.¡±


    Jiang Miao also nodded, adding, ¡°That¡¯s right. If we think about it calmly, we just finished recording the last song yesterday. If the person who leaked the song had enough power, they should have been able to directly leak the full version of our main song, which would have had a greater impact on us.¡±


    Ling Yi was a little worried. ¡°What should we do now? Although this demo isn¡¯t the finished song, it getting released ahead of time completely disrupts our plan, and the number of people who will buy the album and listen to the whole official song will also decrease.¡±


    Chen Zhengyun thought about it and then instructed Cheng Qiang, ¡°Contact each platform hosting this video, and tell them they have to remove this copyright-infringement demo off of their shelves as soon as possible. Next, two announcements must be made, along with sending out a lawyer¡¯s notice. One will be posted in Kaleido¡¯s official Weibo, and the other will be posted on Star Chart¡¯s company Weibo, both emphasizing the illegal status of the leaked song. Inform the big fanclubs and stations, and call on the fans to report and boycott the leaked song, and to not be a second disseminator.¡±


    This was already the fastest reaction they could execute. Yet, because of how rapidly the Internet was changing nowadays, it was hard for one to even imagine how fast information spread. Let alone the fact that the release of this leaked song had obviously been well thought out and prepared beforehand. More than a dozen marketing accounts had released the demo at the same time, all listed with tags that Kaleido still had trending on the Hot Search list. Upon deleting one, another one popped up, and there was an unending stream of the video on all the major platforms.


    Chen Zhengyun pinched his own Jingming acupoint, lowered his head, and said in a deep voice, ¡°It¡¯s because they saw you were going to become explosively popular, so they deliberately tried to prevent this explosion before the comeback even happened and strike a blow against everyone¡¯s music chart numbers.¡±


    Pei Tingsong spun the pen in his hand, and he seemed to be especially carefree in this crowd of despondent faces. ¡°If they want to leak, then leak it bei. If they set their mind on doing this, we can¡¯t hide from it. Maybe it will get on the Hot Search list later, and frankly, no matter how fast we move, we can¡¯t kill all the cockroaches.¡±


    Cheng Qiang motioned for him to shut up. ¡°Xiao Pei, don¡¯t be sarcastic right now¡­¡±


    ¡°What he meant was that we might as well flip the tables.¡± Fang Juexia looked at Chen Zhengyun and suggested, ¡°Xiao Pei is right. Since the other party¡¯s hands have already stretched all the way into our company to steal a song, they are determined to let this demo spread. They will definitely buy a spot on the Hot Search list to build momentum. We might as well take advantage of this and inflame it a bit to let more people know that we are going to release songs soon.¡±


    He Ziyan shook his head. ¡°But it¡¯s too risky to proceed like this. If you follow the normal process, it¡¯s better to not exceed five days from the day of the song release to release the MV, so as to continue the popularity. In this case, when we do release the notice of our comeback and the MV at the beginning of April, we will have, by then, passed the peak of our freshness and popularity, and no passers-by will go to see it.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Fang Juexia¡¯s face was calm, but his next words were astonishing, ¡°So we must make our comeback ahead of time.¡±


    Chen Zhengyun looked at Fang Juexia in silence. This child had already announced to everyone what he wanted to say, but couldn¡¯t bear to utter. In this Internet era, the success of a song was not only due to its excellent quality, but also due to its careful publicity, especially so for idol music, which only possessed a small potential of gathering an audience of passers-by. Thus, the first day the publicity started was regarded as the beginning of a song¡¯s life. And a leaked song meant that the life cycle of this song was rapidly shortened, even leading to its premature death.


    A lot of leaked songs were abandoned in the end.


    However, they couldn¡¯t just casually give up. This song was these children¡¯s heart¡¯s blood, and their best chance at changing their fortunes. The only option left to them was to change the schedule and the publicity period in order to try and save the album from ending up with a reduced life cycle as much as possible.


    This also meant that the originally abundant half a month of prep time would now be compressed to only three or four days. Kaleido would have to hurry and shoot the MV regardless of whether it was day or night, and the whole company would have to work desperately together to ensure that the comeback took place before the popularity died off.


    ¡°Inform the people in the public relations department to urgently deal with the audio source of the leaked song, and that its transmission must be minimized. People in the stylist group don¡¯t have to come to the meeting, decide all the clothing styles before 5 p.m., and we¡¯ll start shooting the MV at 8 p.m.¡±


    Chen Zhengyun¡¯s eyes swept over the boys present at the meeting. ¡°It¡¯s 10:35 a.m now., and you¡¯ll have to be in the styling room at 4:00 p.m., so the hours in-between are the last hours you¡¯ll have to rest. I hope everyone will have a good sleep, because a tough battle is what¡¯s waiting for all of you ahead. Although we are not a powerful company, no matter what happens, Star Chart will always be your backer.¡±


    When they came out of the meeting room, everyone¡¯s mood was a bit unstable. Even Cheng Qiang wanted to start cursing, but in order not to affect them, he only picked out good things to say, comforting them that it was free publicity and so on when they were in the car. He sent the six people back to the dormitory and rushed back to the company to deal with the urgent affairs.


    Fang Juexia had kept silent since he had gotten into the car. He turned on his cellphone and stared at the previous day¡¯s missed call.


    Of course, the people who leaked the song knew that Kaleido¡¯s only way to save themselves was to push their comeback to an earlier date. However, once they made their comeback early, they would inevitably run into Seven Luminaries. There was no doubt that, at least for the moment, the number of their fans couldn¡¯t be compared at all. If you hit a stone with an egg, the beneficiary could only be the stone.


    Astar might have even prepared the press release by now.


    Combined with Liang Ruo¡¯s abnormality in recent days, Fang Juexia became even more convinced that his judgment was correct. As soon as Cheng Qiang left, he went to the balcony and dialed Liang Ruo¡¯s number.


    The other party seemed to have guessed that he would call, for his tone carried a little regret in his greeting. ¡°Juexia, you are finally willing to contact me.¡±


    ¡°Make the long story short, tell me who did it.¡±


    The other side laughed as he asked, ¡°Don¡¯t you regret it? If you had come to me earlier, things may have played out differently.¡±


    This sentence violently stabbed into Fang Juexia¡¯s sore spot. As a lump formed in his throat, he heard Liang Ruo give an address.


    ¡°I have evidence that can help you ferret out that person responsible for this in my hand. Although your company isn¡¯t big, it¡¯s been badly battered right now, and the possibility of you guys figuring out the leaker¡¯s identity is too small. If you still want to find that bad egg, come find me. By the way, don¡¯t bring your cellphone. I don¡¯t want to hurt myself while helping you.¡±


    Pei Tingsong completely couldn¡¯t sleep after everything that had happened. He recalled all of what he had seen and heard in the company these past few days, trying to figure out if there had been any suspicious people or things.


    But somehow, he suddenly recalled the message from Liang Ruo that he had seen in Fang Juexia¡¯s cellphone.


    When he went to Fang Juexia¡¯s room, he only saw Ling Yi there, who was getting ready to rest. ¡°Where¡¯s Juexia?¡±


    ¡°He just went out and said he¡¯s going downstairs to buy something.¡±


    ¡°When did he leave?¡±


    Ling Yi thought for a bit. ¡°It¡¯s been a while ba.¡±


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s heart sank, and he asked, ¡°Do you have Liang Ruo¡¯s contact information?¡±


    ¡°Liang Ruo?¡± Ling Yi frowned. ¡°You¡¯re talking about 7L¡¯s Liang Ruo?¡±


    ¡°Who else?¡±


    Ling Yi sat up and said, ¡°I don¡¯t have it, but I can ask some friends. What do you want it for¡­¡± Before he could finish talking, Pei Tingsong left, tossing behind the sentence, ¡°Send it to me when you find it.¡±


    Pei Tingsong went downstairs, and sure enough, saw that Fang Juexia¡¯s car had disappeared. He got into his own car, and he had just started it up when he received the number from social butterfly Ling Yi. He put on his earphones and was about to dial it when he paused, and finally changed to calling Fang Juexia¡¯s number.


    No one answered the phone the entire time. Pei Tingsong called again after he drove out, and the one who answered the phone was actually Ling Yi. ¡°He didn¡¯t take his cellphone with him when he went downstairs.¡±


    Pei Tingsong totally didn¡¯t believe the excuse that he had gone downstairs to buy things. He parked his car on the side of the road. He originally wanted to call his older sister, but after thinking about it, he gave up and dialed Liang Ruo. He called three times before someone finally answered.


    Liang Ruo was in the hotel suite he had booked for the past two days, waiting for Fang Juexia. A strange number kept calling him, and he finally answered, ¡°Hello? Who is it?¡±


    ¡°Pei Tingsong.¡± The other party went straight to the point, and his tone wasn¡¯t good. Liang Ruo was surprised for a moment, thought about it and then felt it was no surprise, asking, ¡°You¡¯re looking for me?¡±


    ¡°Who the hell is looking for you, where¡¯s Fang Juexia? Did you call him away?¡±


    Liang Ruo laughed. ¡°You got to the bottom of the matter so quickly, he wasn¡¯t such a person before ah.¡±


    Pei Tingsong hated hearing Liang Ruo talk about the past the most; he had never been part of Fang Juexia¡¯s past.


    ¡°Be more well-behaved and tell me where you guys are. Don¡¯t force me to find someone to search for you.¡±


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯m afraid of you, who made you a young master? You can force me to death just by moving your fingers around a bit.¡± Liang Ruo generously gave him the address. ¡°I also have to thank you for coming to me instead of directly using your great capital background to kill me, this ant.¡±


    Just then, there was a knock on the door. Liang Ruo¡¯s voice carried a smile as he said, ¡°Aiya, Juexia is here.¡±


    ¡°You!¡±


    Liang Ruo didn¡¯t end the call, but put his cellphone into the pocket of his bathrobe as he went to open the door.


    Sure enough, it was Fang Juexia who stood outside the door. His face was cold, and it seemed that he did not even want to step inside the room. ¡°Give me the things, and I won¡¯t tell anyone it was you.¡±


    ¡°You come inside.¡± Liang Ruo pulled at him, and Fang Juexia lifted his hand to push him away before entering by himself.


    ¡°I know you won¡¯t tell anyone it was me, and I know you don¡¯t have a cellphone with you right now.¡± Liang Ruo closed the door. ¡°I understand you so well.¡±


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t want to hear all this from him, and his patience was already running out. ¡°Don¡¯t waste your time on useless matters.¡±


    ¡°What useless matters?¡± Liang Ruo sat on the sofa and said, ¡°Juexia, it¡¯s not only your time that is precious. My time is very precious, too. Do you know how many paparazzi have their eyes pinned on me? In order to have a good talk with you, I booked this room many days in advance and kept trying to get in contact with you, but you didn¡¯t even bother replying with a word. ¡°


    Fang Juexia looked away from him and stood in the same place without saying a word.


    Liang Ruo also stood up. ¡°I¡¯m not asking for much. Just stand here and listen to what I want to say, and I¡¯ll give it to you.¡±


    ¡°Speak.¡±


    Liang Ruo seemed to have drunk a bit of alcohol, for his whole face was red. He took a deep breath. ¡°I like you. Since a long time ago, when we were still trainees, I have liked you.¡± Upon seeing Fang Juexia frown at this, Liang Ruo laughed. ¡°You didn¡¯t know ba. There are too many things you don¡¯t know. Back then, how badly I wanted to debut with you ah, every single day, I dreamed of standing on the stage with you. Yes, I wasn¡¯t qualified; forget about being compared with you, I couldn¡¯t even compare against many other trainees. Even if you comforted me and encouraged me, I knew I couldn¡¯t debut.¡±


    ¡°I was so anxious that I could hardly stand it. Then guess what?¡± He shrugged as he spoke, ¡°President Jin said that he could help me and wanted me to come find him. I didn¡¯t know what he meant by help at that time, I wholeheartedly just wanted to debut with you, so I went.¡±


    Then Liang Ruo began to laugh bitterly. ¡°Only when I woke up lying on his bed did I know how he helped me.¡±


    Fang Juexia was a bit startled. Back then, he hadn¡¯t asked Liang Ruo much about how those things had happened.


    ¡°I was very scared. But President Jin told me that I would definitely be able to make my debut. So, for this opportunity, I sold myself. But I don¡¯t know why other people knew about it, and you also knew about it.¡± Liang Ruo suddenly shed some tears, and he hastily wiped them away. ¡°As soon as I knew you knew, I felt like I was finished. I didn¡¯t dare to face you, and even more so, I didn¡¯t expect that you would go up to the senior management and make a report because of me, and stand up for me.¡±


    At that time, the president of Astar was not surnamed Jin. Fang Juexia just couldn¡¯t stand the higher-ups treating trainees this way. Almost everyone thought that this matter had nothing to do with them personally, and felt that as long as the fire didn¡¯t burn themselves, they could bear with it. But Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t. He knew that the harder he pushed on this issue, the easier he would be to break, but he couldn¡¯t give up his ¡®self¡¯ for this so-called future.


    ¡°I know when you went to make the report. I went to President Jin, and I kept pleading with him. You don¡¯t know what he did to me, but I endured all of it, because he told me that as long as I was obedient, he would let you debut smoothly, just that they wouldn¡¯t promote you that much anymore.¡± Liang Ruo¡¯s eyes grew more and more red as he continued, ¡°But I didn¡¯t expect you to leave by yourself.¡±


    He laughed, his voice shaking a bit. ¡°I¡¯ve tried to find you so many times after that, just because I wanted to explain it all to you. But you, you didn¡¯t seem to care at all.¡±


    Fang Juexia was a person who could quickly and completely remove himself from any relationship or emotion; this was a skill he had learned from spending his childhood in the dark. But in other people¡¯s eyes, he appeared to be too cold when he was like this.


    ¡°It was only later that I found out that when you weren¡¯t around, there was no point in me debuting ah. Everyone already knew that I had sold my body to get to the top. Even if they had all signed a confidentiality agreement, when we came away from the cameras, all of them sneered at me and made innuendos about me, and I didn¡¯t even have a way to keep on living in the dormitory. Since everyone thought I advanced this way, I just became a demon, and decided that no one else should try to feel good either.¡±


    Liang Ruo let out a breath. ¡°I said a bit too much right now. Just a few days ago, President Jin was drunk, and only then did I find out he wanted to prevent you guys from becoming popular. I knew that if I told you guys about this matter in advance, I might be finished. I hesitated for several days, and still decided that I wanted to tell you.¡±


    He took out a USB flash drive from his pocket. ¡°There are some recordings here; I took advantage of when he was sleeping to record his WeChat voice messages. Originally, there should have been screenshots as well, but if I sent those to you, I might really end up dying. There are some people mentioned in the voice messages, and you should be able to figure them out.¡±


    Fang Juexia held the USB that was given to him, and his mood turned complicated. He didn¡¯t know what to say. He had pretty much nearly forgotten all those minor details of what had happened that year, but he had never regretted leaving the company. After he had stood up on this issue, no one had helped him, and although Liang Ruo seemed to have silently accepted the hidden rules situation, all the dirty water had been poured on Fang Juexia instead. Fang Juexia had also gritted his teeth and endured, not even trying to explain it clearly, because he knew that once he explained it, Liang Ruo would be torn to pieces.


    This was already hitting the bottom line of his tolerance about that situation.


    ¡°Alright.¡± Liang Ruo laughed and stated, ¡°I finally told you all these things. I¡¯ve been afraid to say it out loud for two years, and I also didn¡¯t know how to say it to you. Don¡¯t worry, me confessing to you was because it had grown too uncomfortable for me to hold it all in, but I don¡¯t need any response from you. You are too good, and I don¡¯t deserve you.¡±


    He stepped closer. ¡°I¡¯m not a good person, but I¡¯m not as bad as everyone thinks I am. Juexia, thank you.¡±


    Fang Juexia finally opened his mouth. ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything.¡±


    ¡°You have. You have helped me a lot, and you are the best and the kindest person in the world. In the future, there shouldn¡¯t be any more opportunities where our paths cross in the future.¡± Liang Ruo stretched out his hand. ¡°Can you hold me one last time? Just like before.¡±


    Looking at Liang Ruo¡¯s red eyes, Fang Juexia found that he couldn¡¯t harden his heart in the end. He reached out and hugged him for a short while.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    A satisfied smile appeared on Liang Ruo¡¯s face. He took a look at the time, went to the door, and opened it. Fang Juexia thought this action was strange, but when he looked in that direction, he discovered that Pei Tingsong was standing outside the door, wearing a hat and mask, his eyes indifferent.


    He was a little surprised. ¡°Pei Tingsong¡­¡±


    ¡°I told him the address.¡± Liang Ruo looked at Pei Tingsong, took out his cellphone from his bathrobe pocket and ended the call. ¡°It¡¯s over. I¡¯m giving you your one-sixth back.¡±


    Only then did Fang Juexia realize that Pei Tingsong had heard the entire conversation between the two of them. His heart suddenly seized, and even though he clearly knew that he hadn¡¯t done anything, he still felt flustered.


    Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t lose his temper; on the contrary, he appeared to be very calm. He went to Fang Juexia, grabbed his wrist, and pulled him out of the room and the hotel. He didn¡¯t speak the entire way to the car, which only served to make Fang Juexia feel even more uncomfortable.


    When they got to the underground parking lot, Fang Juexia tried to get out of his grasp. ¡°My car is over there.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re taking my car back, let Xiao Wen drive your car back later.¡± Then he opened the front passenger¡¯s door and directed Fang Juexia to get in. After that, he walked around and got into the car himself, wearing a cold expression as he said, ¡°Fasten your seat belt.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter with you?¡± Fang Juexia didn¡¯t move and  just turned his head to look at him.


    Pei Tingsong saw that he wasn¡¯t moving, so he leaned over to help him fasten his seatbelt, after which he prepared to start the car. However, Fang Juexia pulled the key out. ¡°You¡¯re in an upset mood right now, and it¡¯s not safe to drive like that.¡± He didn¡¯t understand what had actually happened to Pei Tingsong and what part of everything Liang Ruo had just said in the call right now had provoked him. ¡°Why are you angry?¡±


    Pei Tingsong leaned back against the driver¡¯s seat. He was extremely irritated on the inside, and so he pulled off his mask as he stated, ¡°I¡¯m not angry.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re angry.¡± Fang Juexia¡¯s tone was definite on this. However, he just couldn¡¯t figure out what was going on. ¡°If you¡¯re dissatisfied with anything, just say it, it¡¯s okay even if you want to mock me or curse me out like you used to.¡±


    Pei Tingsong let out a bitter laugh and then looked at him. ¡°Fang Juexia, do you really think I¡¯ll become my past self again?¡±


    Fang Juexia was stunned. On seeing Pei Tingsong¡¯s eyes, his heart ached inexplicably.


    Pei Tingsong looked down, then looked up at him again. ¡°I¡¯m not feeling right, right now. Even I don¡¯t know what¡¯s fucking wrong with me. I¡¯m just especially angry, especially¡­¡± He couldn¡¯t go on. After a pause, he let out a breath. ¡°You came to find him alone, not even bringing your cellphone with you; did you just not worry that something would happen to you? You trust him that much?¡±


    Fang Juexia was dumbstruck, and he tried to explain, ¡°No, I was¡­¡±


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me in advance? Do you know how hard it was for me to find this place? Do you know that the entire way here, I was so afraid that something would happen to you, I was almost about to ask my Jie for a favor, and my hands kept shaking the whole time I was driving. Why, why didn¡¯t you¡­¡± Pei Tingsong¡¯s smile looked rather bleak. ¡°Am I so unworthy of your trust?¡±


    This sentence somehow pierced straight through Fang Juexia¡¯s heart. He felt very bad; plainly speaking, he was a person who didn¡¯t like to explain things, but now, because of Pei Tingsong¡¯s tumultuous emotions, he desperately searched his mind to come up with the appropriate words to explain the situation. ¡°No, Pei Tingsong, listen to me, I had just come out of the meeting, and I was very tense. The moment I confirmed that this matter had something to do with Astar, my first reaction was to go deal with it, and you know, I just have that kind of personality, I¡¯m¡­¡±


    He found that every word he uttered sounded so lifeless, so he couldn¡¯t keep going on. He just didn¡¯t want to make Pei Tingsong sad. As he kept talking, Fang Juexia¡¯s own voice began to shake. ¡°Can you¡­.not think that way?¡±


    Hearing him like this, Pei Tingsong suddenly couldn¡¯t get angry anymore. He buried his head into his arms and lay on top of the steering wheel, feeling like a shameless madman. He had just heard a confession that had nothing to do with him, and without any warning, he had an emotional breakdown. He just didn¡¯t expect to hear that Liang Ruo really liked Fang Juexia, and it was even that kind of like.


    How could he like Fang Juexia?


    Why could the likes of Liang Ruo even like him?


    With these thoughts in his mind, he just silently kept listening to every word of the other party¡¯s sincere confession, listened to their past, and the hug at the end, not able to do anything about it all¡ªhe was just like a bystander who had nothing to do with this matter. He had, with great care, piled up so many beautiful memory fragments related to Fang Juexia, continuously gathering more and more, making it seem as if they could keep on like this, holding their ¡°friendship¡± up high and never falling down.


    But when he heard Liang Ruo¡¯s words, he suddenly realized that he was the stupidest fool in the world. He had directed and acted out this so-called pure friendship, endured the small torture brought by Fang Juexia¡¯s proximity, and he hadn¡¯t even known what he really wanted.


    The beautiful fragments that he had saved up in his heart had also, one by one, left a wound there. For so many days, his attitude blowing hot and cold, his mood that kept getting tugged around, his heartbeat being affected by every one of Fang Juexia¡¯s words and deeds, his torment caused by trying to control his desires, his insomnia, his shame and resentment, his anxiety¡ª all of these had deepened and grown overstocked, and it was only now that he finally discovered the source.


    Seeing him remain silent this entire time, Fang Juexia¡¯s heart was left hanging in the air. He wondered if Pei Tingsong had misunderstood his relationship with Liang Ruo. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to hear that when I came over here. As I have already said before, I haven¡¯t cared about these past matters for a long time now. Even if I heard some details I didn¡¯t know about the past today, they won¡¯t change anything.¡±


    At this point, Fang Juexia felt that he had really gone crazy. He hadn¡¯t even wanted to explain to anyone that the rumors about him and hidden rules were unfounded, but here, he actually spoke so much nonsense and did so many illogical things with Pei Tingsong. All of a sudden, he felt that he didn¡¯t want to struggle any longer. He just wanted to get out of the car and get some air, so he lowered his head and undid his seat belt.


    With a click, the strap was released. However, at this very moment, his hand was grabbed by Pei Tingsong.


    ¡°Don¡¯t go.¡± Pei Tingsong covered his head. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, you didn¡¯t do anything wrong. There¡¯s no need to explain all this to me. It¡¯s me who was wrong, I just went off on you.¡±


    This was already the second time that he had heard Pei Tingsong formally apologize to him. It seems that this child, who was born rebellious, was always apologizing to him.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t go off on me.¡± Fang Juexia corrected his words and held his hand instead. ¡°You¡¯re just sulking.¡±


    ¡°I exploded at you in my heart, it¡¯s just that you don¡¯t know about it.¡± Pei Tingsong said in a muffled voice, ¡°So, I still have to say, I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    With that, Pei Tingsong raised his head and looked at him, then continued, ¡°There¡¯s something else too. If I say it now, you may think I¡¯m crazy or have experienced too much excitement recently. That¡¯s alright, because I also just understood it in the past three minutes. I don¡¯t want to hide and tuck myself in and pretend that I can¡¯t see things clearly even now.¡±


    This all was too absurd. Waking up to a realisation at any other time would have been fine, but he just had to choose this moment. Their group was suffering from the biggest attack so far, a tough battle was imminent, everyone was firmly stretched tight, and this was a moment where even a straw landing on a heap could cause a collapse.


    Pei Tingsong had moved the rock that had been lying across his heart.


    Looking at Fang Juexia¡¯s penetrating eyes, Pei Tingsong let out a ¡°fuck¡±, rubbed his face, looked up at him again, and said, ¡°Fang Juexia, every word I¡¯m going to say after this is serious. You have to believe that I¡¯m not joking or pranking you, okay?¡±


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t know what he was going to say, but he still nodded.


    Pei Tingsong sincerely confessed, ¡°I, Pei Tingsong, chose a point on the number axis today. It wasn¡¯t chosen arbitrarily, it was a very serious decision. I don¡¯t know if he¡¯s rational or irrational, and to be honest, I don¡¯t care. But it¡¯s my duty to tell you.¡±


    He raised the hand that Fang Juexia was holding. ¡°This is that chosen point.¡±

 CH 58

    Chapter 58 ¨C Follow Up A Victory With A Hot Pursuit


    Give me a chance.


    Fang Juexia was stunned. His strong and stable logic system was defeated at this moment and lost all its operational power.


    His eyes shifted from their clasped hands to Pei Tingsong¡¯s face. Choosing a point¡ªhe couldn¡¯t understand the meaning of this more clearly. There was no other person in the world who could comprehend the meaning of this phrase better than him, because this was originally what he had said to Pei Tingsong, describing his closed and negative view of love, and how he did not believe that people could really find true love.


    But just now, Pei Tingsong had reconstructed his own words.


    Too straightforward, even more straightforward than the three words, ¡®I love you.¡¯


    Fang Juexia opened his mouth, but couldn¡¯t speak. He seemed to have lost his ability of speech.


    ¡°I¡¯m not asking you to give a response now,¡± Pei Tingsong said seriously, ¡°and I know that whatever you say now would be a rejection towards me. In fact, you don¡¯t have to care too much about it. You can take what I said today to be some kind of self introduction.¡±


    ¡°When I say ¡®I like you¡¯, it really is no different from when I say ¡®My name is Pei Tingsong, and I¡¯m 20 years old¡¯. There¡¯s no difference, it¡¯s all self-expression.¡±


    Too many things had happened today that Fang Juexia hadn¡¯t expected. He hadn¡¯t expected Pei Tingsong to come and find him, he hadn¡¯t expected Pei Tingsong to be angry, and even more so, he hadn¡¯t expected Pei Tingsong to use his own rational number theory that refuted true love, as a way to express his feelings.


    Similarly, he hadn¡¯t expected that when the three words ¡°I like you¡± fell onto his ears, his heart would jump and start beating really fast, as if it had gone crazy. Clearly, not that long ago, he had heard the same three words being uttered by another person, but at that time, he had still felt normal and even steady.


    Suddenly, Fang Juexia realized that he was still holding onto Pei Tingsong¡¯s hand, and so he hurriedly let go. ¡°But, you said you weren¡¯t gay before.¡±


    Pei Tingsong actually wasn¡¯t abashed at all about what he had said before with such certainty. ¡°People¡¯s self-awareness also needs to undergo a process in order to develop, doesn¡¯t it? When I was sure I wasn¡¯t gay, I didn¡¯t like you yet. Now I can firmly refute the me of that time, because I have strong arguments against him now.¡±


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t know how to deal with this. As this person¡¯s undisguised gaze and confession just fell onto his eyes and ears, it felt as if magma was flowing through his whole body. His throat was hot, his chest was hot, and so were his ears.


    He had never met such a person in his 23 years of life. This person wasn¡¯t afraid of anything, and he could even criticize his past self logically and fairly.


    Fang Juexia looked up at him. ¡°Then why tell me now?¡± But as soon as these words came out, he thought of how Pei Tingsong had told him to believe him before his confession, so he added, ¡°I¡¯m not questioning your attitude, and I also don¡¯t think you¡¯re doing this on a whim.¡±


    His hand being released was within Pei Tingsong¡¯s expectations, and being asked for the reason behind his words fit completely with Fang Juexia¡¯s style of doing things.


    Pei Tingsong replied without any reservations, ¡°Can you imagine? I¡¯m someone who hates lying the most, but I was deceiving myself every day, telling myself that my mood and actions were just out of friendship. In fact, from the very beginning, this friendship was false. I not only deceived myself, but also deceived you. It¡¯s unfair for you to have to accompany me in such an act, and I don¡¯t want to continue to get close to you by using our so-called friendship.¡±


    These words were like an alarm bell, striking against Fang Juexia¡¯s heart. All those emotions of his that tended to appear so frequently these days, contrary to his logic, seemed to resonate with this statement.


    ¡°What¡¯s more, in this next period of time to come, we will be facing very difficult matters and will be badly battered. I don¡¯t want you to feel that you are carrying anything; you should know that I am your comrade-in-arms and the most special one. I¡¯m the comrade-in-arms who likes you. I¡¯ll accompany you in charging forward and shattering the enemy lines, and I¡¯ll also protect you unconditionally.¡±


    He spread everything out, without any disguise or decoration, for Fang Juexia to see. Knowing that Fang Juexia believed in logic, he explained the logic behind all his actions and didn¡¯t let him overthink matters.


    ¡°Also,¡± Pei Tingsong continued to confess, ¡°the reason why I just lost my temper was because I was jealous of Liang Ruo. I was afraid of losing you, and I was afraid that you would be moved by him. Although I know that you can¡¯t be moved by just two or three sentences, but as long as there was even the smallest possibility, I was afraid.¡±


    He laughed. ¡°And I know that if I didn¡¯t express my feelings for you, you wouldn¡¯t be able to understand why I was angry right now. You could only reflect on yourself about whether you had done something wrong. The scene just now was very touch and go, and even if we reconciled, you would continue to blame yourself. I can¡¯t endure you being like this, just like I couldn¡¯t bear to hear your explanation just now.¡±


    He couldn¡¯t bear to hear his explanation.


    Fang Juexia¡¯s nose stung a little. He didn¡¯t know how long it had been since he had felt like this.


    Pei Tingsong looked at him with clear eyes. ¡°Losing my temper was because of reasons of my own, and I had to tell you that.¡±


    Every word of his was a straight ball, without any beautiful ambiguous words, and no word games or any other implications in them. Fang Juexia knew that this was something only Pei Tingsong could do.


    It was just like in that ¡®Escape For Your Life¡¯ escape room episode, where when Pei Tingsong had first found the medical record and immediately confirmed his role as the knight, he had, in the next few minutes, quickly formulated a plan, taking each step after that with determination and boldness.


    That was Pei Tingsong.


    But Fang Juexia was confused. He didn¡¯t know whether he should respond right now, or even what he should respond with. All these things had come on too quickly, and he seemed to have been thrust back into the role of cautious Black Knight now, where he was unable to see his heart clearly, while also being afraid of taking the wrong step. In just one day, he had received two confessions, and both even came from someone of the same sex¡ªit was more dramatic than a TV series.


    What puzzled him the most was why, when he had heard Liang Ruo¡¯s confession, he had felt nothing but slight surprise, but in the face of Pei Tingsong¡¯s confession, even thinking felt like it had become so very difficult.


    Fang Juexia repaired his broken down thought process with great difficulty and tried to say, ¡°I¡­ I haven¡¯t yet¡­¡±


    Pei Tingsong interrupted him, ¡°Don¡¯t say it. At least, not now.¡± He lay on the steering wheel again, looking as if he had changed back to what a 20-year-old boy should look like. ¡°What I just did, maybe you think it¡¯s pretty bold, but I¡¯m actually really afraid of being rejected by you. I know you must be confused right now, in fact, I am too. I¡¯ve never been like this before, this is the first time.¡±


    He turned his head and faced Fang Juexia. ¡°Teacher Fang, don¡¯t collect all the tests so fast, give me a chance.¡±


    From under the brim of his hat, his eyes shone brightly. ¡°Let me pursue you a bit, okay?¡±


    This was the first time Pei Tingsong had called him that, and Fang Juexia¡¯s ears turned bright red, with his person following that in a stammer, ¡°P-pursue me?¡±


    ¡°Otherwise? Who made me like you?¡± Pei Tingsong was not shy at all, and the more he talked, the smoother he became. ¡°You know what kind of a person I am. As long as I want something, it¡¯ll inevitably be mine.¡±


    ¡°I-I¡¯d better drive back by myself ba¡­¡± Fang Juexia tried to open the door and get out of the car, but Pei Tingsong grabbed his arm and threw his own words back at him, ¡°You¡¯re in an upset mood right now, so it¡¯s not safe for you to drive.¡± He finished saying that, and even raised an eyebrow at Fang Juexia as he added, ¡°How was that? I¡¯m a good student ba.¡±


    ¡°You¡­¡± Fang Juexia was left tongue-tied, and even now, he once again came to the realization that he had no way to deal with Pei Tingsong.


    Taking the car key back from Fang Juexia, Pei Tingsong told him to fasten his seat belt, but Fang Juexia was still in a daze, frozen and not speaking.


    ¡°Hey, do you want me to help you?¡± Pei Tingsong tilted his head and looked at him.


    Fang Juexia immediately reacted and pulled the safety belt buckle.


    ¡°Okay, returning home.¡±


    Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t speak any more along the way. Fang Juexia could feel that he was deliberately leaving him with room to organize his thoughts. His small internal clock had broken down, so this journey back to their dorm seemed to go by so fast that they had already arrived before he had time to think through everything.


    The defense system he had worked on perfecting so hard for 23 years had been attacked just like that, and it was tethering on the point of collapse. Sure enough, Pei Tingsong was the biggest crisis of his life.


    His hand went into his pocket and bumped into the USB drive, and Fang Juexia¡¯s heart seized again. From the moment he had gotten hold of this evidence, his whole person had fallen into thoughts of self-blame. However, after being hit by Pei Tingsong¡¯s unexpected confession, he had almost forgotten about this matter.


    It was already half past one when they got back to the dormitory, and everything was really quiet inside; everyone should be resting in their own rooms. Fang Juexia supported himself on the cabinet by the entrance as he stood with his back to Pei Tingsong.


    ¡°You¡¯re still worried about the matter with the leaked song,¡± Pei Tingsong directly declared.


    Fang Juexia turned around and hung his head in front of him. ¡°I¡¯m a person who seldom thinks about what-ifs, and I don¡¯t regret any of the things that happened in the past. But today¡­¡±


    ¡°You regret that you didn¡¯t respond to Liang Ruo a bit earlier.¡±


    Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t deny these words from Pei Tingsong. He looked at a very vague stain on the tip of his canvas shoe and didn¡¯t speak.


    ¡°Do you know? Liang Ruo wanted to help you, and even though I don¡¯t like him very much, I admire the courage he had shown this time. He didn¡¯t hang up my call and let me listen to the whole thing, which also shows that he had already resigned himself to the situation and didn¡¯t want us to have a misunderstanding. Liang Ruo¡¯s original intention in doing this and his execution of it were all good. However, Juexia, even if you had replied back to him three days ago and had gotten hold of this evidence, could we really have avoided this unexpected calamity?¡±


    Pei Tingsong continued, ¡°You are so smart that I don¡¯t need to say these words. Even if we had gotten the evidence in advance, they already had the song. If they wanted to leak it, sooner or later, they would still do so. They could sacrifice the people who stole the music and throw them away, that person would just be like capital to be used. If Astar really wanted to compete maliciously, no matter how many days we knew about it in advance, we couldn¡¯t have stopped it.¡±


    Fang Juexia certainly knew that, but he was too used to carrying everything by himself. He was already used to tracing the root of his mistakes back to himself. It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t know the despicable means of competition in the entertainment industry. Even if Astar didn¡¯t do anything, Kaleido had become a thorn in the eyes of many people. They could avoid some bad things for today, but it would be very hard to avoid everyone who was targeting them. Becoming popular itself was the original sin.


    Pei Tingsong threw the car key onto the cabinet by the entrance and said to him, ¡°Don¡¯t blame yourself for an unstoppable stab in the back, you didn¡¯t do anything wrong.¡±


    Hearing this, Fang Juexia¡¯s whole person relaxed, as if a heavy weight had been lifted from his mind. He still hung his head, but his body swayed back and forth. As he kept swaying, his head lowered to lean against the front of Pei Tingsong¡¯s shoulder, and he took in a deep breath.


    Seeing him like this, Pei Tingsong couldn¡¯t help raising his hand, pausing for a moment, then setting it down by his own side again. He coughed quietly and said in a low voice, ¡°Hey, leaning against a man who has just confessed to you, aren¡¯t you too unguarded?¡±


    Fang Juexia immediately raised his head, leaned back against the entrance cabinet, and looked directly at him with that pair of beautiful eyes.


    Unexpectedly, Pei Tingsong smiled back at him, specially switched to a British accent and told him in an affected tone, and in English, ¡°Obviously though, I am a gentleman.¡±


    Being teased by him like that caused Fang Juexia to accidentally let out a laugh.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be happy too soon.¡± Pei Tingsong said, ¡°Because you have more important things to do now, and I am very clear on the current situation, so I have chosen to be a gentleman. But don¡¯t forget what you said yourself, my bottom line lies in the third quadrant.¡±


    Fang Juexia, who was smiling, choked at this declaration. He quickly changed his shoes and headed for his room like a refugee. He only let out a breath when he closed the door.


    Ling Yi was wearing a frog eye-mask and sleeping sprawled across his bed with a little Minion in his arms. Fang Juexia went over to cover him with the quilt before sitting on his own bed.


    He tried his best to drive Pei Tingsong out of his mind, calmed down a bit, and then took out the recording to listen to it once. The voice really belonged to President Jin, and he did sound pretty drunk.


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t doubt the authenticity of the recording. The reason why he was willing to go to Liang Ruo without his cellphone was that he understood him clearly and knew that he didn¡¯t have a bad nature. Liang Ruo didn¡¯t even check whether he really had his cellphone with him and pretty much didn¡¯t care if Pei Tingsong recorded the call before he revealed the entire story. He must have really wanted to make a break with the past.


    The recording mentioned the names of several people. Fang Juexia had a vague impression of them, but he wasn¡¯t very familiar with them; they weren¡¯t staff members he often came into contact with. He pondered over it, then called Chen Zhengyun. He was probably busy handling matters and only picked up the phone after a long time. Fang Juexia made a long story short and just said that he had gotten very reliable evidence, but he couldn¡¯t say who had given it to him. He could only report the names of the people involved in the incident to him.


    Back when Fang Juexia had left Astar and come to Star Chart, Chen Zhengyun had inquired about his whole situation in private and had talked with Fang Juexia about it. He knew the reason behind Fang Juexia falling out with his former company, and knew that there were many secrets involved in it. The entertainment industry was full of secrets, a fact which he understood clearly.


    ¡°Understood, I¡¯ll send someone to privately check these people. In fact, I guessed it was AS. They can¡¯t be held accountable for this kind of matter on the surface, and the company is also responsible for having been negligent.¡± Chen Zhengyun comforted him by saying, ¡°Misfortune and fortune all depend on one another, so don¡¯t be too nervous. Have a good rest and leave the rest to the company.¡±


    Ending the call, Fang Juexia put down the USB, placed it in the corner of a drawer, then lay on his bed, looking at the texture on the ceiling.


    For him, there was no difference between gay or straight love. Love was love, and was something that he didn¡¯t trust and found to be a contradiction.


    But even with that being so clear to him, he still couldn¡¯t make up his mind and decisively reject Pei Tingsong, while also warning him not to get close.


    He was too confused. Fang Juexia closed his eyes and recited multiplication tables in his heart.


    When he opened his eyes again, he found Ling Yi lying on his bed and snoring. Fang Juexia had been awakened by this little snore, and he rubbed his eyes vaguely before taking a look at the time. It was 3:30.


    ¡°Yiyi.¡± He pushed Ling Yi¡¯s shoulder and sat up. ¡°Why are you on my bed?¡±


    Ling Yi suddenly woke up. ¡°Juexia get up.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m already up.¡±


    ¡°Oh, yes, yes, yes.¡± Ling Yi got up from his bed and let out a giant yawn. ¡°Just now, my alarm clock rang, and as soon as I opened my eyes, I came over to see you while half-asleep, because I wanted to wake you up. Yet, after calling out to you twice, I just fell asleep on your bed.¡± Saying that, he got off the bed and stretched. ¡°I¡¯ll go and see the rest of them.¡±


    Fang Juexia folded his quilt before leaving his room. Seeing that everyone was already sitting at the table, he was surprised. ¡°Miao Ge, you didn¡¯t sleep? Why did you even cook food?¡±


    Jiang Miao, who was dividing up chopsticks, looked up at him. ¡°No ah, I didn¡¯t make this. When I woke up, it was on the table. I don¡¯t know who ordered this takeout.¡±


    ¡°Me.¡± Pei Tingsong came out of the bathroom. ¡°It was just delivered, and it¡¯s still hot. All of us have just slept but we didn¡¯t eat any lunch ba, so let¡¯s eat more and it¡¯ll be easier to work in the evening.¡±


    Ling Yi rushed up to give Pei Tingsong a bear hug. ¡°Thank you President Pei for feeding us!¡±


    Only after Fang Juexia went over did he discover that Pei Tingsong had ordered a lot of Cantonese dim sum, as well as scallop shrimp porridge and steamed sliced fish porridge.


    ¡°En! This chicken feet is delicious ah.¡±


    Lu Yuan ate a mouthful of tripe stew and commented, ¡°Strange, strange, what Xiao Pei actually ordered today was dim sum, not pizza.¡±


    He Ziyan said with a smile, ¡°Maybe he received a call for Chinese food in his dreams.¡±


    Pei Tingsong retorted, ¡°I just wanted to eat dim sum, is that not okay ah?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s good.¡± Jiang Miao gave each of them a bowl of porridge with a smile. When he handed one to Fang Juexia, he asked, ¡°How is it, is what Xiao Pei ordered authentic?¡±


    Fang Juexia nodded. ¡°It¡¯s quite delicious, I haven¡¯t eaten these in a long time.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± senior foodie Ling Yi turned the logo of the restaurant on the box around as he observed, ¡°This place is pretty expensive. I¡¯ve only dined in the restaurant before, I didn¡¯t know you could order takeout from here.¡±


    Everyone chatted idly with each other as they ate. It seemed that after waking up, they had all tacitly agreed to filter out the leaked song incident in the morning from their conversations. No one talked about it or even mentioned it, all of them wholeheartedly only thinking about their upcoming shoot that night.


    After drinking a bowl of warm porridge, Fang Juexia felt much more comfortable from head to toe. No matter when he ate it, his hometown food had the wonderful effect of calming his mood. It seemed that what he had eaten wasn¡¯t food, but rather a sense of familiarity.


    To him, familiarity meant stability.


    Xiao Wen was quite punctual in picking them up. On the way, he comforted them by saying that the company had dealt with the situation in a timely manner. The scope of the leaked song wasn¡¯t as large as they had imagined, so they shouldn¡¯t worry too much about it. As soon as the six people got out of the car, they went straight to the studio, and their first set of make-up took several hours to finish. Their costume was an improved black military uniform, with similar styles but different details for each member. It would match with the first set they had, with red being the main color in that one.


    The ensemble show cameraman had also come to shoot and record the whole filming process. When he caught Pei Tingsong, who had already finished getting his make-up and hair ready, he asked him if he liked his make-up look and hairstyle this time. Pei Tingsong grabbed the camera lens and waved in reply, ¡°It¡¯s very good.¡±


    ¡°Which part is your favorite?¡±


    ¡°Favorite¡­¡± Pei Tingsong walked to the big mirror, and the camera followed him. Unexpectedly, he suddenly sat next to Fang Juexia, who was getting his hair done. ¡°My favorite is this part.¡± Then he pointed at Fang Juexia¡¯s birthmark.


    ¡°What?¡± Fang Juexia had just finished asking when he  saw the camera through the mirror, and then he understood.


    The makeup artist had gone out and used a fine lip liner along the lines of that birthmark to draw out a more complex red pattern, which made it look like the spiraling tail feathers of a phoenix. Paired with a military cap, there was an abstinent aesthetic beauty to Fang Juexia.


    After finishing up the makeup and hair of the last member, they finally entered the filming location. Fortunately, the director they had invited was a good friend of Boss Chen Zhengyun, and was also a famous music video director in the industry. He had deigned to do a favor for an old friend and started work for this music video early, setting up an emergency shoot.


    This wasn¡¯t the first time they had shot an MV, but it was the first time they¡¯d filmed one with such a high intensity. From 8:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m., after changing two studios, they finally moved to an outside location. Then, after filming from early morning to the afternoon, they only finished at sunset, which is when they went to the green screen shed to make up some shots. These six people worked non-stop for a full 25 hours, dancing that single dance they didn¡¯t know how many times, and at the end, found that they almost couldn¡¯t even lift their arms up.


    ¡°You¡¯ve worked hard.¡± After finishing up the filming, they bowed to all the staff members one by one. They were so sleepy that they could hardly say anything else. The cameraman in the studio asked them how they felt, and all of them were confused. The group leader, Jiang Miao, strongly tried to keep his spirits up and said something, and then Lu Yuan made a joke, and it was only after that that the group¡¯s spirits started to rise up, and then everyone chimed in.


    ¡°What did Juexia think of how the shoot turned out?¡±


    Fang Juexia smiled at the camera. ¡°The outside location is very beautiful, and in previous MVs, we had very few shots taken on outside locations. The Chinese style setting in the interior studio was also very cool. I hope everyone will like this MV.¡±


    ¡°Tired?¡±


    He nodded honestly and smiled again as he added, ¡°But very happy.¡±


    However, they didn¡¯t have much time to sleep; their comeback launch date had been moved up, which meant that the company needed to release all kinds of promotional photos and videos immediately. The six of them took turns getting half an hour¡¯s worth of sleep in the company car. When they got out of the car, they discovered that there were fans everywhere outside the company building. There were also some substitute photographers and media outlets mixed in with fans, and being afraid of exposing their hair color, each of them got out of the car with a coat over their head, wrapped up very tightly.


    ¡°Juexia Gege!!!¡±


    ¡°Xiao Pei! Pei Tingsong!¡±


    ¡°Ling Yi, look at Mama! Ling Yi, you¡¯re the hottest!¡±


    ¡°He Ziyan, good luck!¡±


    ¡°Lu Yuan! Jiang Miao!¡±


    ¡°Good luck Kaleido! Dominoes will never accept defeat!¡±


    Back at the company, they changed into a new style, shot three promotional videos for the app, and then waited for the portraits for the music album to be shot.


    The first photo studio for the portraits was a dark one. When everyone was getting their portrait taken here, a light would be cast specifically onto their right eye, and the surrounding background would be relatively dimmed. For normal people, this environment would be just a dim one, but for Fang Juexia, it was like someone had turned off all the lights. After the first portrait was done, and as soon as Ling Yi took over, Fang Juexia wanted to see how his picture had turned out. He wanted to head to the side of the monitor, but everything in his sight was very blurred. He slowed down and walked forward bit by bit.


    He could hear the photographer¡¯s voice getting closer and closer to him, and used that to judge which direction to go in.


    However, what he didn¡¯t know was that while he was getting closer to his destination, he was also nearing a stair step. As he took a careful step forward, his foot actually stepped on empty air.


    His body lost its balance instantly, and his center of gravity tilted forward. Fang Juexia¡¯s heart was violently startled, but unconsciously, he found himself falling into an embrace. The familiar smell of sea salt and musk wrapped around him, both unexpected and safe.


    ¡°That was you taking the initiative.¡±


    Fang Juexia¡¯s guide dog had changed. Instead of coming to his side immediately and helping him to where he wanted to go, he stood in front of an established trap instead, calmly waiting for him to walk through a flat area, holding his spot at that unknown stair step in front of him as he moved closer and closer to it.


    Thus throwing himself into his arms.

 CH 59

    Chapter 59 ¨C Casting The Bow Aside When All The Birds Are Gone


    Giving you a reward


    ¡°Juexia, what¡¯s wrong?¡±


    From a few steps away, the assistant photographer who saw the scene asked, ¡°Are you ok?¡±


    Pei Tingsong held Fang Juexia and stood up. ¡°It¡¯s alright. He¡¯s too tired. He hasn¡¯t slept for a long time, and now he doesn¡¯t even have the strength to go down the stairs.¡± Saying that, he turned his head back and looked at Fang Juexia. ¡°Right?¡±


    Fang Juexia quickly distanced himself from Pei Tingsong a bit and then followed along with his ready-built excuse, opening his mouth to agree, ¡°En, I¡¯m a little dizzy.¡±


    Pei Tingsong let out a light laugh, and Fang Juexia knew that he had done this on purpose; perhaps early on he had been standing and watching at the side just for this, just waiting for him to take the bait. When he thought about it, he felt that he had been duped, and found that he simply couldn¡¯t swallow this down. He then pretended he couldn¡¯t see anything and stepped on Pei Tingsong¡¯s foot.


    Seeing the smiling face suddenly change into one of surprise, Fang Juexia finally felt the amusement behind teasing others.


    ¡°It¡¯s a mistake, I miscalculated.¡±


    Hearing Pei Tingsong¡¯s inexplicable words, Fang Juexia looked up and asked, ¡°What?¡±


    Pei Tingsong pointed at his feet, with the corners of his mouth quirking up as he tried hard to look serious. ¡°I should have worn AJs today, you stepped on me in vain.¡±


    There were few boys who didn¡¯t know the meme of [Can I step on your AJs and kiss you], and Fang Juexia was no exception. His face turned red again, and he could only pretend that he didn¡¯t understand. ¡°Crazy.¡±


    ¡°Yo, even cursing people out now.¡± Pei Tingsong laughed and teased, ¡°This is you just blindly playing with me and tossing me away, you know.¡±


    The photo assistant, who kindly brought them two hot mochas, overheard a few of their words, and asked with a smile, ¡°What are you guys talking about?¡±


    Fang Juexia took the coffee awkwardly and explained, ¡°Nothing, Pei Tingsong hopes that our sales can be a little greater this time.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Pei Tingsong added on quickly, ¡°I hope there will be less fans playing around with us and more fans truly in love with us in this world.¡±


    The assistant little Jiejie also nodded. ¡°I¡¯m a true fan, and keep waiting for your new album¡¯s purchase link every day.¡±


    The topic had gotten completely distorted. Fang Juexia lowered his head to drink the coffee and quietly quit this conversation where the people conversing were actually talking about two entirely different things.


    The toll continuous work took on the body was huge, but these six people were very professional and still maintained their expressiveness. Even the photographers who had been part of collaborations many times couldn¡¯t help praising them in front of Cheng Qiang, ¡°They have really improved a lot and become more and more professional.¡±


    Cheng Qiang was overcome with emotion upon hearing this. ¡°It¡¯s too difficult for these ones in my family. Now, I¡¯m not even asking for them to be wildly popular or successful, but I hope that things will go more smoothly for them in the future. ¡°


    ¡°They will, there is no gold that does not shine.¡±


    After the studio photoshoot finished, they were rushed to an outside location, so they slept for a bit in the car on the way, then got up and immediately went to get their hair and makeup done.


    The concept of this album was ¡°war¡±, and the company¡¯s original plan for the outside location shooting was to take everyone to Xinjiang for the shoot, but all their plans had been disrupted by the leaked song. Everything had been moved up, and there was no time to fly so far to get that particular view, so they could only find the nearest desert park.


    This batch of major publicity pictures were different from the modern military uniform style photos that had been taken in the dark indoor studio. The stylists had taken inspiration from the warrior swordsmen of the past to design costumes with an archaic style. Everyone¡¯s make-up and hair were fashioned to imitate an ancient style, and they were made to look like a team of swordsmen who had been ambushed and were forced to fight to survive.


    The wind was very strong at this outdoor shooting location. Fang Juexia had to borrow a white silk scarf from the stylist to cover his face, and then he ran to the monitor to watch Pei Tingsong¡¯s shoot.


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s style looked very evil. He was dressed from head to toe in a very ominous black, even his forehead was wrapped with a cloth that was two fingers wide, and on his right cheek was a battle wound drawn on by the stylist.


    He crouched on the yellow sand, a shining saber hoisted on his shoulder, and raised his chin, while holding a strand of straw at the corner of his mouth. His expression was restrained, but his ¡®always looking down upon others¡¯ eyes were, at present, full of emotion, ostentatiousness, along with radiating off a murderous aura.


    ¡°This white hair gives off a good feeling.¡± Ling Yi couldn¡¯t help sighing, ¡°Xiao Pei can go act in something, yi.¡±


    Fang Juexia felt the same way in his heart, but if Pei Tingsong was really asked to go and act in something, he would definitely feel that doing that would be akin to ignoring his own proper occupation. After all, if you told this guy to go East, he would definitely head West.


    Ling Yi chattered and chattered on, then turned his head to look at Fang Juexia, and his eyes were full of surprise as he exclaimed, ¡°Juexia, doing you up like that makes for a really good look! It goes so well with your white clothes.¡±


    After completing Pei Tingsong¡¯s photography session, the group of photographers turned around to see where the chattering sounds were coming from, and when they saw Fang Juexia, their eyes lit up. ¡°This veil is worn well. We¡¯ll have to take a few shots of it like that later too.¡±


    ¡°Ah?¡± Fang Juexia looked awkwardly at the stylist and explained, ¡°This is Cindy Jie¡¯s silk scarf, I¡¯m just using it to block out the sand.¡±


    ¡°Juexia, don¡¯t worry about it!¡± The stylist Cindy yelled from behind him. ¡°It¡¯s a great honor for this silk scarf to appear on camera draped on a celestial!¡±


    ¡°Celestial hahahahahaha, Cindy Jie is too funny.¡±


    Pei Tingsong finished his part and came over. ¡°This evil wind is blowing so hard that the sand is flying into my throat.¡± Saying that, he began to cough wildly.


    He Ziyan started up his mocking mode. ¡°A famed swordsman succumbs to tuberculosis.¡±


    ¡°Cough, cough, cough¡­cough, cough!¡± Pei Tingsong coughed while drawing closer to Fang Juexia, who thought that he was coming to lay his head on his shoulder, but didn¡¯t expect Pei Tingsong to just stand in front of him and cough non-stop.


    Fang Juexia wanted to say something, but he also thought it was a little funny. Pei Tingsong was behaving just like a child like this, a child pretending to be wronged and pitiful, standing right in front of an adult, begging for a hug. He was completely stunned; this guy really had no bottom line. He was very resourceful and flexible, and did not care about disgracing himself at all.


    ¡°Juexia, we¡¯re starting!¡±


    ¡°Okay, heading over.¡± Fang Juexia answered, and then got ready to leave. As soon as he took a step forward, he caught sight of Pei Tingsong¡¯s completely aggrieved face. He was too lazy to cough any more, and just kept looking at him.


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t look back at him. His naturally cold face didn¡¯t fluctuate too much, though a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. ¡°Coming.¡±


    He patted Pei Tingsong on the back twice quickly and lightly before he left.


    Pei Tingsong froze for a moment, then turned around and looked at Fang Juexia¡¯s figure walk away, with his white clothes fluttering, and suddenly felt like he had completely come back to life.


    Fang Juexia¡¯s individual photography session featured him on a horse. Although he had never ridden a horse before, this horse was surprisingly easy to ride. He couldn¡¯t even be described as gentle so much as having no temper at all. As long as he was fed some grass and his head was rubbed, he would become extremely obedient and would carry him motionlessly.


    ¡°Juexia, pull the bow string wider¡­ a bit wider than that.¡±


    This was the first time he had used a real bow and arrow, so he felt that something wasn¡¯t quite right. ¡°Like this?¡±


    Pei Tingsong was squatting on the ground drinking soda water. However, upon seeing this scene through the monitor, he suddenly stood up, and put his soda water aside, while threatening Ling Yi not to drink it secretly. Then, clapping his hands, he went straight over to Fang Juexia, saying, ¡°Mr. Jiang, wait a minute, I¡¯ll teach him.¡±


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t expect Pei Tingsong to also know archery. He thought that since he was already talking about teaching him, it must not be false, so he was ready to dismount the horse in order to let Pei Tingsong guide him. Unexpectedly, Pei Tingsong stopped him. ¡°Don¡¯t come down.¡±


    With that, he stepped on the stirrup, flipped over, and sat firmly behind Fang Juexia. Fang Juexia was a little surprised and looked back at him, asking, ¡°You can ride?¡±


    ¡°In my middle school, I even won second place in the youth equestrian club, in my whole school.¡± Pei Tingsong raised his eyebrows, encircled his arms around Fang Juexia from the back, then supported the hand that was on the bow. ¡°And I was also the champion in the archery club.¡±


    Upon suddenly being hugged by him from behind, Fang Juexia¡¯s heart seemed to stop beating, his ears started buzzing, and all he could do was stare frozenly at the scene in front of him.


    ¡°Put this hand here and raise it a little bit more.¡± Pei Tingsong drew an arrow from the quiver behind him and rubbed the arrow. ¡°The props group is pretty good ah.¡±


    ¡°Would you like to try shooting one?¡± Pei Tingsong¡¯s voice was in a rare state of being very patient and gentle. He guided Fang Juexia¡¯s hands personally as he fully drew the bow, aimed all around for a bit before finally locking onto his target¡ª a big stone not too far away that had a strange shape.


    His voice lingered in his ears as he instructed, ¡°I¡¯ll count three, two, one, and then you¡¯ll let go, okay?¡±


    Fang Juexia nodded. Pei Tingsong¡¯s low voice as it counted down overlapped with the heartbeats in his chest, creating a very powerful emotional pulse resonance.


    Just as his nerves were stretched taut, Fang Juexia released the string from his hand, and the arrow flew like the wind, accurately hitting the stone, and after the collision, fell to the ground.


    A staff member clapped and said, ¡°Powerful. Juexia is naturally talented at everything ah.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you praise me?¡± The corners of Pei Tingsong¡¯s mouth carried a smile, and he put his chin on Fang Juexia¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Teacher Fang, how did I teach?¡±


    ¡°Get down quickly.¡± Fang Juexia didn¡¯t dare to even look back. ¡°I have to get on with the photoshoot.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I¡¯m just a tool man,¡± Pei Tingsong sighed. Since the order had been given, he couldn¡¯t not follow it. ¡°It¡¯s really just like killing the donkey as soon as he leaves the millstone, or tearing down the bridge after crossing it, or casting the bow aside when all the birds are gone, or killing and stewing the hounds after the hares are caught¡­.¡±


    Flipping over and dismounting, Pei Tingsong patted his clothes. Suddenly, a pale hand stretched out in front of his eyes. As soon as he looked up, he saw Fang Juexia, who was slightly bent over. His face was veiled, but his eyes were smiling.


    The thing he handed over to him was a fruit candy wrapped in cellophane. Pei Tingsong¡¯s expression brightened, and he threw the candy up in the air before catching it firmly. ¡°Where did you hide all of that ah?¡±


    Fang Juexia pointed to his belt. ¡°Just two, giving you one as a reward.¡±


    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s start shooting the first batch!¡±


    Pei Tingsong left the center of the picture, went back to the rest canopy set up beside the monitor, and sat down next to his other group members. He held the candy in his hand, reluctant to open it. The sunlight slanted into the canopy, making the candy wrapper glitter.


    His mood at the moment was exuberant. When this word appeared in his mind, Pei Tingsong was once again impressed by the appropriateness and delicacy present in Chinese vocabulary.


    It was completely true that his chest was now stuffed full with a hundred little skylarks, dancing and fluttering about.


    ¡°Xiao Pei, quickly look at what I just shot!¡± Ling Yi ran over to share his photographic masterpiece with him. On the screen of his cellphone was the shot of when Pei Tingsong had encircled Fang Juexia with his arms while they were riding on a horse and pulling a bow. ¡°Didn¡¯t I take a super beautiful picture?!¡±


    Lu Yuan¡¯s head also drew closer. ¡°Wow, if this was posted online, there would definitely be a lot of CP fans writing Wuxia AU.¡±


    Pei Tingsong asked suspiciously, ¡°What¡¯s an AU?¡±


    ¡°Come, let me give you a good talk as a senior fellow literary researcher.¡± Lu Yuan took him by the shoulder. ¡°AU means that the setting I wrote is different from that of the original. For example, with you two ah, you¡¯re actually idols, but if someone wrote a doujinshi about you two with a Wuxia background, featuring both of you as swordsmen, then that would be a Wuxia AU.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I understand¡­¡± Ling Yi had now learned just enough to perform. ¡°Then I want a rich AU!¡±


    He Ziyan, who was resting on one side, was so amused by him that he started laughing. ¡°Ge will write you a beggars¡¯ group AU.¡±


    ¡°Hahahaha.¡±


    Fang Juexia sat on the horse and focused on his photoshoot, completely unaware of what his bandmates were discussing.


    The photographer stood on an elevated platform, and the camera lens captured the top to bottom view. Fang Juexia¡¯s upper body was leaning back, nearly lying on the horse¡¯s back. The white gauze was lifted by the wind, and his face appeared hazy. Only one eye directly faced the lens, and a wisp of long hair, that was lifted by the wind, fell right on the birthmark at the corner of his eye.


    ¡°This one could even be a cover shot for a big magazine.¡± The photographer was quite satisfied and took the camera over to his assistant. ¡°Look, this one must be put inside the album.¡±


    The several big boys waiting in the rest canopy were still horsing around, but Pei Tingsong¡¯s gaze never left Fang Juexia from the beginning to the end.


    He kept watching from a distance when after the shoot, Fang Juexia, who was lying on the horse¡¯s back, pulled at the reins, raised his waist, and returned to a sitting position. His flexible waist was just like a soft whip, striking at Pei Tingsong¡¯s heart in that moment.


    After the publicity photos were all taken, the group rushed back to the dormitory to sleep. However, they could only sleep for four hours at most, before they were scheduled to take part in the recording of a singing program. Due to the leaked song, Kaleido could only compress their time as much as possible and desperately work, while at the same time, the disturbance about the leaked song online hadn¡¯t even stopped for a day.


    After the lawyer¡¯s notice was sent out on the first day of the incident, Star Chart had announced Kaleido¡¯s early comeback date on their official platform, while also releasing the first wave of the advance publicity photos they had shot, which included six pictures with over-exposed close-ups of the six people¡¯s eyes. The caption was as simple as the date¡ª3.23.


    The fans who had already been waiting for a long time excitedly left comments below the official Weibo post. Kaleido had not made a comeback for a year already, so as soon as this simple notice was released, the number of forwards for this post quickly flew past 100,000.


    [@siilu: AHHHHHHHHH MY LITTLE OBSCURE K HAS FINALLY STOPPED STAYING AT HOME AND PICKING AT THEIR TOENAILS!!!]


    [@Is Kaleido making a comeback today: Making a comeback!!!!]


    [@TingJue is real: Wuwuwuwu, these six eyes are so beautiful! Even with just the eyes, I can recognize them all clearly! I miss you guys so much!]


    [@Heaven will not tolerate K not becoming popular: God, I nearly started crying when I saw this Weibo post.]


    However, there seemed to be a problem. Some fans had gone to Cheng Qiang¡¯s official Weibo and asked about the date of Kaleido¡¯s comeback before. At that time, Cheng Qiang¡¯s reply had stated early April. This screenshot soon spread and was seen by more and more fans, and their hearts ached sorely.


    [@Nearly cancelled K also has to be pasted well today: It¡¯s really difficult for my K. Clearly, they were supposed to back their comeback in early April, now they¡¯re forced to adjust it to March 23 because of the leaked song. I can¡¯t imagine how the Geges have been living these days, I¡¯m afraid they can¡¯t even sleep every day. They waited a whole year to release an album and ran into such a bad situation.]


    [@Fairies just spit out fragrance: The dog that leaked the song deserves de*th]


    [@A tiny Domino: My heart is aching for all the Geges, this time we must all give them the best numbers!]


    Kaleido¡¯s sudden rise to popularity had already attracted the attention of many groups; if it had just been a sudden rise in popularity, then that would have been fine, but there was also a hot shot CP in this group, with its number of fans increasing every day. This kind of popularity power really made people¡¯s eyes turn red with jealousy. The marketing accounts and anti-accounts from everywhere rained down upon them one after another, stirring things up, and everyone wanted to take advantage of the chaos to pull at their hind legs and make them stumble.


    The fastest and darkest part of the drama was the anonymous area. Kaleido, this group that had appeared from a small company and had since grown ascendant, had the least voices in the forums. Plainly speaking, this new release date of their album going ahead of schedule would inevitably make them run into Seven Luminaries, and Fang Juexia, a key figure of the group, also shared a subtle relationship with Seven Luminaries. Several long threads were all discussing the result of the collision between the two groups.


    [In this 7L vs. K big battle, who does everyone think is going to win? Confirm ah.]


    [Is the owner of this thread kidding me? 7L has only released their album for a week, and the sales volume of their digital albums has already exceeded one million. The number of listens for the main song reached the number two rank in the 30-day listens list already, and the number one song on that list is one that was released in early March, so according to this trend, it will be toppled soon. Not to mention the number of hits on their MV, why don¡¯t you go look at Bilibili? It only took three hours for it to reach the top of the music section. I won¡¯t talk about the company, so as not to have people accuse me of bullying others. Even K¡¯s song has been leaked, and don¡¯t tell me that it doesn¡¯t matter since the leaked song is a demo, it matters a whole lot. When the whole song comes out, it¡¯ll be good if it¡¯s able to get into the top ten listens within 30 days.]


    [7L ba, I was originally looking forward to a fight between K and 7L this time, but now, the song has been leaked. Besides, 7L¡¯s new album has been strategized really well this time, and they have achieved quite good numbers. Even though it¡¯s not very special, but that doesn¡¯t affect the fact that it¡¯s just popular ah.]


    [Is this kind of thread interesting? I really can¡¯t understand why K is so desperate to get their comeback out now? Do they want to die early and reincarnate early? To tell you the truth, I haven¡¯t seen any precedent of a song that was leaked becoming popular afterwards, the big guys¡¯, whose songs leaked, all abandoned them directly. Maybe Star Chart can¡¯t afford new music ba.]


    [You¡¯ve all bought 7L, to the point that I really want to not buy it¡­]


    [These are the facts ba, it¡¯s all been unfair from the beginning. The resources and publicity that big companies have are different, and they¡¯re also willing to spend more. At the beginning, K definitely wanted to avoid 7L, so they chose to make their comeback in early April. Now, they have no backups, so they have to make their comeback ahead of time, just like an egg striking against a rock. K is always so unlucky, every time they think they can ascend, they end up kicking an iron plate.]


    [FJX is just fated to never become super popular ba¡­]


    Before the formal confrontation between these groups took place, the direction the wind was blowing online was almost all the same, with everyone declaring that Kaleido¡¯s album this time would, for sure, fail. However, Star Chart¡¯s public relations team was also guiding public opinion. Although Kaleido¡¯s popularity had already improved, it still wasn¡¯t as good as that of Seven Luminaries, so now that people had already tied them together, they simply took advantage and let them link the two groups together even further, in order to let more passers-by know that Kaleido was also going to release an album and fight against Seven Luminaries.


    Despite the constant struggle happening on various social platforms, the company didn¡¯t permit its members to look at them, so that they would devote themselves entirely to the new album.


    After a few hours¡¯ rest, they were called up to participate in the song performing program ¡°Music Live House¡± on the CloudTV platform early in the morning. This would be the first live performance of their new album, and it was very important.


    ¡°Too snobbish.¡±


    As he waited for the hairdresser to put in his hair extensions, Fang Juexia heard Cheng Qiang swearing, and was curious. ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Qiang Ge?¡±


    Cheng Qiang put his cellphone in his pocket. ¡°Back when they knew we were going to release a new album and found us for a collaboration event, they took the initiative themselves to offer to shoot a comeback backstage video of you guys and put it on both CloudTV and their Weibo. Now they¡¯re great, telling us their staff has a scheduling problem, and that they can¡¯t shoot it, so there will only be that one live performance.¡±


    So it was like that.


    Fang Juexia had known for a long time that relationships in this circle ran hot and cold. At the beginning, everyone had thought that he would definitely make his debut with Seven Luminaries, and that he would be officially promoted by the company, so everyone came to him and flattered him, as if everyone were his friends. But as soon as he left Astar, these ¡°friends¡± disappeared overnight and became deathly silent characters resting in his contact list.


    He said comfortingly, ¡°It¡¯s okay, didn¡¯t we bring our ensemble show cameraman anyway? It¡¯s all the same no matter who films it.¡±


    ¡°Yes ah, Qiang Ge.¡± Ling Yi also added, ¡°Look at me. I¡¯ll raise my voice and sing you a song for free.¡±


    Cheng Qiang laughed. ¡°Come on, you can sing on the stage in a bit ba, don¡¯t break your voice singing for me.¡±


    After listening to Cheng Qiang¡¯s words, Fang Juexia kept feeling empty, as if he was missing something. He looked around the room through the mirror, and then realized they were missing Pei Tingsong. If he was here, he would definitely be full of fire, and maybe he would change the lyrics once they went on-stage again.


    Where did he go?


    Speak of the devil and he will come; a knock sounded from the rest area door, and Jiang Miao got up to open it. He saw Pei Tingsong coming in with a pile of things and saying, ¡°Quickly help me with this.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter with Xiao Pei recently?¡± Lu Yuan took the coffee from him as he questioned, ¡°How can you be so sensible? Have you been possessed by some angel?¡±


    As he looked into the mirror, Fang Juexia heard the stylist say, ¡°Juexia, your hair extensions are good, go have a rest first, and I¡¯ll do Ling Yi¡¯s hair.¡±


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ve troubled you.¡±


    He got up, and wrapped in his black military costume, went to the couch and sat down. Pei Tingsong distributed coffee and cake to everyone. ¡°Okay, you guys take it ba. There¡¯s sugar in that package ah, and if you want to add it, add it yourself.¡± After he finished distributing everything, he also came to sit down on the sofa next to Fang Juexia.


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t get any coffee or cake, and he was empty-handed. He glanced at Pei Tingsong, who was sitting beside him. The other side looked at him and smiled at him. ¡°What are you looking at me for?¡±


    ¡°Nothing.¡± Fang Juexia turned his head back.


    Pei Tingsong stared at the ensemble show cameraman, and when he turned around to go film Ling Yi, he quietly took out a small dark green bag and put it in front of Fang Juexia. Inside this bag was a Venetian latte with milk and no sugar, a small, exquisite, and beautiful cake, and a small thermos cup.


    Seeing him like this, Fang Juexia didn¡¯t understand. He couldn¡¯t get why Pei Tingsong hadn¡¯t given it to him a moment ago, and why he had to hand it over to him secretly now.


    ¡°Eat it quickly ah.¡± Pei Tingsong opened the cake box for him, put a fork in it, and pushed it in front of him. ¡°It¡¯s super delicious, trust me.¡±


    The little cake had well-organized layers, and looked delicate and beautiful. Fang Juexia had gotten up early in the morning and hadn¡¯t eaten anything, so he was also a little hungry. In their group, it had always been tradition that everyone would eat the stuff, which someone had bought, together, so he had gotten used to that a long time ago. However, now that it was Pei Tingsong giving him cake, he actually felt a little bit unaccustomed to it, so he kept hesitating and not moving.


    ¡°You¡¯re 23 years old, it can¡¯t be that you want me to feed you?¡±


    As soon as he said this, Fang Juexia immediately moved and took a bite of the cake. He had always liked sweet food, and the cake was just right.


    Seeing that his eyes had lit up, Pei Tingsong was very satisfied. ¡°Delicious ba?¡±


    ¡°En.¡± Fang Juexia looked at him. ¡°What kind of cake is this?¡±


    ¡°Tiramisu.¡± Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t answer in Chinese, but in Italian.


    Fang Juexia wasn¡¯t too particular about desserts, but tiramisu was such a classic dessert that everyone knew about it, so as soon as Pei Tingsong mentioned it, of course he knew what it was. However, he just had to say its name in Italian, which made what he ate seem to be less of a cake and more of an ambiguous and warm heart.


    He guiltily drank some coffee to cover up his expression, put down his fork, took out his cellphone, and sent Pei Tingsong a message. His tone was serious as he clattered away on the keyboard.


    [Just a pretty face and also pretty: You need to be a little more restrained.]


    But just after sending that message, Fang Juexia thought again about whether he had been too fierce. He hesitantly typed out a few words with his fingers, then deleted them as he reconsidered the wording.


    Before he could send it out, Pei Tingsong¡¯s reply to his message had already arrived.


    [Guide Dog: Understood, Teacher Fang.]


    Seeing that he was being so obedient, Fang Juexia felt even more ashamed.


    [Just a pretty face and also pretty: Thank you for your cake. Why did you give it to me secretly, like a thief?]


    Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t seem to see that he was still messaging. He was busy unscrewing the thermos cup and putting it in front of Fang Juexia. He glanced at it, and its contents seemed to consist of snow pear slices. They were cut into big and small pieces, and the sweet smell wafted up to his face.


    Fang Juexia¡¯s heart suddenly softened. He had never thought that Pei Tingsong would actually stew tongsui for him.


    His cellphone vibrated. He picked it up and saw the latest message.


    [Guide Dog: Because I only bought it for you; I picked it out very seriously. If the others knew, they would scold me to death.]


    And then another message came right after¡ª


    [Guide Dog: Teacher Fang, I¡¯m so good, you can take me away ba.]

 CH 60

    Chapter 60 ¨C Promotional Performance


    Listen to me break through the line with one song, fool


    Fang Juexia went absent-minded as he thought of the time he had gone to the pet adoption site as a child. At that time, he had originally wanted to take a cute little dog home, so as soon as he had entered, he had headed straight for the Pomeranians.


    What he didn¡¯t expect was a little husky to stand at his side, its blue eyes staring fixedly at him, clutching non-stop at the cage and sticking out his little tongue. As soon as Fang Juexia came near, it started to joyfully thrash around, hating that it couldn¡¯t bite open the cage and jump into his arms.


    At that time, Fang Juexia had suddenly felt his heart soften. He gave up on the plan that he had prepared for a long time, took this little guy away, and because of his small black abacus bead-like eyebrows, he gave him the name Little Abacus.


    If Little Abacus had back then turned into a dog yao and could talk, he should have said the same thing when he was hopping around back then¡ªtake me away ba, take me away ba.


    Two heavy knocks suddenly sounded on the lounge¡¯s door.


    ¡°Kaleido!¡± A staff member wearing a headset pushed open the door and half leaned into the room. ¡°Stand by, there are still three more before you guys are on.¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡± Cheng Qiang answered just as the last member, Ling Yi¡¯s, styling was also completed. ¡°All of you should have your earpieces on ba, we¡¯ve tried them all at the company, so they should be okay. There also should be no problem with the sound system of the singing program. Don¡¯t worry about the numbers, anyway, we¡¯re here to perform. It¡¯s most important that you all enjoy the stage.¡±


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t get any time to reply to Pei Tingsong¡¯s words. During the time it took for them to adjust the earpieces, he glanced over at him, just to see the corners of Pei Tingsong¡¯s mouth quirk up at him.


    Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t seem to strongly need any response, he just expressed himself directly and enthusiastically, just like he did normally. Fang Juexia had to admit that he had never encountered such a person in his life before.


    People will be afraid of the unknown, but they will also be inevitably attracted by the unknown.


    They were arranged to wait outside the passageway connecting the stage and the rest area, where many people were coming and going. Ling Yi took in all kinds of deep breaths and patted his chest, back, and arms like an old man in the park. ¡°What to do, I haven¡¯t been on a singing show for a long time. I¡¯m a little nervous.¡±


    Lu Yuan hugged him. ¡°Isn¡¯t it just a dress rehearsal? There¡¯s nothing to be nervous about.¡±


    Jiang Miao said with a smile, ¡°Yes ah, the situation this time can¡¯t be worse than that of the charity party last time, when the stereo got scrapped, and didn¡¯t we survive that incident?¡±


    In order to ease the atmosphere, the ensemble show¡¯s cameraman asked them some styling related questions while carrying his camera.


    ¡°This make-up is very special, what do you guys think of it?¡±


    ¡°So cool.¡± He Ziyan drew close to the camera, and his dyed red hair with slight curls scattered in front of the forehead. ¡°See this wound on my cheekbone? Isn¡¯t it really lifelike? The stylist did these for us, and it¡¯s called¡­¡± He thought for a moment, which was when Lu Yuan picked the conversation up, ¡°War wound makeup!¡±


    ¡°Right, there is an abrasion on my cheekbone and a cut under my eyebrow. Everyone, please rest assured that we didn¡¯t get into a fight, this is all make-up.¡±


    Ling Yi giggled. ¡°I¡¯m the only one whose wounds came from a fight.¡±


    Fang Juexia abruptly added, ¡°The group doesn¡¯t have any evidence of that.¡±


    ¡°Hahahahaha!¡±


    ¡°Ling Yi, forget it,¡± He Ziyan pressed his head down. ¡°If you jump up, you can fight with my ankles.¡±


    Jiang Miao continued to explain into the camera. ¡°Our styling is more bold this time round; I might be the only one who is more conservative and whose hair was dyed dark brown, because the stylist thinks that I need to match with the image of a guzheng. My war wounds are mainly the wound at the corner of the mouth and the one on my hand, which may be featured later.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Lu Yuan asked deliberately.


    ¡°Confidential.¡± Jiang Miao smiled and walked over to stand in front of Pei Tingsong, who was adjusting his ear piece. Pei Tingsong faced the camera with one side of his profile, and raised his eyebrow.


    ¡°Xiao Pei¡¯s hair color is the most eye-catching of us all this time. It¡¯s platinum, and he¡¯s also wearing cosmetic contact lenses.¡±


    Pei Tingsong took the initiative to look directly into the camera lens. His left eye was a very transparent blue, but his right eye was blood red. Like He Ziyan, he had a wound near his cheekbone, and coupled with white hair and his three-dimensional facial features, he made quite an eye-catching figure.


    After introducing their youngest member, Jiang Miao pulled Ling Yi over again. ¡°Ling Yi¡¯s hair was dyed gray blue this time. I feel like it¡¯s very suitable, because Ling Yi is very pale. Teacher Yuan has pencil gray hair color, also very cool.¡±


    Ling Yi nodded. ¡°I especially like our military uniform this time. There are several sets, and aren¡¯t they handsome?¡± He turned around in a circle. ¡°This uniform is all black, and also has a kind of chain medal epaulet at the top of it. It¡¯s more of a European design style type, but the stylists have also designed some more costumes in the Chinese style, which will be worn in future promotional performances.¡±


    The cameraman specially asked, ¡°How come with your six military uniforms, some are short and some are long?¡±


    Ling Yi looked down and said, ¡°Yes ah, me, Miaoxiao, and Teacher Yuan all have short ones, while Fire Ge, Xiao Pei, and Juexia all have longer ones, basically like overcoats.¡±


    The cameraman turned to Fang Juexia and stated, ¡°Juexia¡¯s coat is actually the longest.¡±


    Fang Juexia smiled. ¡°Because there are some small surprises.¡±


    ¡°Juexia also has hair extensions!¡± Ling Yi walked up to him and pointed to his styled hair behind him. ¡°You see, he dyed his hair black just so we could add black hair extensions and then tie it all up into a high ponytail. It¡¯s very similar to the way ancient young master swordsmen wore it, right?¡±


    Pei Tingsong looked at him. As he had thought, the contrast between his black hair and cold white skin tone had become more obvious, making Fang Juexia¡¯s temperament seem even colder. With those ¡®wounds¡¯ on his neck and cheek, and the red drawing by his birthmark, this whole person exuded a temperament that was extremely cool and elegant.


    ¡°Will you be putting in hair extensions and taking them out every time?¡±


    Fang Juexia shook his head. ¡°No, while we¡¯re carrying out promotions and performing, I will be keeping my hair long.¡±


    ¡°How do you feel about that?¡±


    ¡°Just¡­¡± Fang Juexia laughed and replied, ¡°I¡¯ve never had such long hair before, and it even becomes a little heavy when I tie it up. I just feel like girls are very powerful; it should be hard work for them to do their hair every day, so I feel the same way now.¡±


    Ling Yi was a little surprised. ¡°What a strange perspective.¡±


    Fang Juexia insisted, ¡°It¡¯s really not easy. I had to wear high heels once because of a punishment game, and found that it¡¯s really hard for girls. Our society pays too much attention to girls¡¯ appearance, and even if it¡¯s imperceptible, it¡¯s still a kind of pressure ba. I hope that everyone can live a more free and comfortable life.¡±


    Just then, a staff member, with a sign hanging around their neck and standing at the other end of the corridor, waved to them, ¡°There are still two more performances to go, Kaleido, enter.¡±


    As instructed, they entered the backstage waiting area through the passageway. The light wasn¡¯t strong here, though there were many people. As soon as they stepped in, Fang Juexia felt someone grab his arm, then pull him two steps to the right, which made him stick close to a person¡¯s arm.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to start working.¡± Pei Tingsong¡¯s voice contained a smile.


    His guide dog work? Fang Juexia lowered his eyes, and the corners of his mouth quirked up slightly.


    Coincidentally, the ones performing on the stage right now was Seven Luminaries. Although he couldn¡¯t see the stage, Fang Juexia had already heard the comeback song they were currently singing before, and could also hear Liang Ruo¡¯s voice. They were singing half-live and half-lip synching, with the sound of the parts being lip-synched being very obvious. Even two years after their debut, Seven Luminaries¡¯ live performances continued to, as always, garner criticism online. On average, they weren¡¯t especially good at lip-synching, and when their state wasn¡¯t good, they would have more obvious accidents onstage. But in most people¡¯s minds, idols themselves were just inferior singers, and besides Star Chart, there were few other companies that would focus on their artists¡¯ singing skills, focusing instead on stage performance expressiveness.


    Kaleido counted as an exception. In addition to the super high-performing double lead singers, the singing skills of the other members were also quite steady. Even Lu Yuan, who had, in the beginning, entered the company bearing the identity of a dance champion, had, under Chen Zhengyun¡¯s instruction, trained his singing skills to a level that was very laudable.


    However, individual strength was one factor, but if one had no capital to pave the way, it was as rare as the hair of a phoenix or the horns of a giraffe to use strength alone to forge a path of flowers forward in this industry.


    ¡°Does anyone want to go to the bathroom?¡± Ling Yi suddenly wanted to go to the bathroom, but no one else wanted to. He grabbed Fang Juexia¡¯s arm. ¡°Juexia, will you accompany me?¡±


    ¡°Ah?¡± Without waiting for him to refuse, Ling Yi started running forward, dragging him along. The bathroom wasn¡¯t that far from the backstage, they just had to go through a dark passageway. Being forcefully dragged to the bathroom door by Ling Yi, Fang Juexia didn¡¯t know if he should laugh or cry, so all he did was speak through the bathroom door, ¡°I¡¯ll wait for you outside.¡±


    He stood at the edge of the dark passageway, looking down and recalling lyrics. The shadows of the passageway shrouded him in darkness, and he wasn¡¯t eye-catching. Two staff members, who were waiting in the wings, moved the stage props to the backstage area and leaned to a side to take a break. They didn¡¯t notice Fang Juexia¡¯s existence.


    They also didn¡¯t notice that they had lost a foam letter while moving the props. It was about the size of a book and had fallen by Fang Juexia¡¯s feet. They listened to Seven Luminaries¡¯ song and started to chat.


    ¡°Just listening to Seven Luminaries¡¯ performance is really not good, you really have to see the people.¡±


    ¡°That can¡¯t compete with the fact that they have so many fans ah. Hey, do you think Kaleido¡¯s comeback this time will be a loss? I¡¯ve just glanced through it, and their new song was already released in the early hours, at 12 am, but the number of clicks they¡¯ve gotten is far fewer than Seven Luminaries. It¡¯s been almost six hours ba, and they still only have 20,000 favorites on the music platform.¡±


    ¡°20,000 isn¡¯t bad, this 20,000 must be the result they managed to get after acting pitiful to their fans. What die-hard fans did they have before ah?¡±


    ¡°But Seven Luminaries¡¯ main song already has 120,000 favorites! And it¡¯s still climbing up, while Kaleido¡¯s, in comparison, is just small change. Besides, there are no passers-by who would favorite this kind of main song sung by idols.¡±


    ¡°How can they compare with Seven Luminaries ah, just looking at their number of fans, can we compare them? Yes, Fang Juexia and Pei Tingsong are very popular recently, but fans who joined because of this are more or less just fans playing around ah, would they really buy your albums just because they like your CP ah? The music platform depends mainly on potential passers-by audiences for the songs, and whoever¡¯s album can go beyond this circle, is whoever¡¯s album that can sell more. On top of that, Kaleido¡¯s demo was even leaked, so like hell they can sell, they can¡¯t be saved.¡±


    ¡°Also, speaking of Fang Juexia, he¡¯s so good-looking, and his talent is on an entirely different level, but how can he be so unlucky?¡±


    ¡°Who the hell knows¡­¡±


    The person who started answering was left stunned, because the person they were just talking about, Fang Juexia, appeared in front of them at this moment and handed over their foam letter A.


    ¡°Your prop.¡±


    Fang Juexia was tall, and he was born with a cold face that radiated a strong sense of distance. In addition, his voice was also cold, which always gave people the feeling that he was hard to approach. These two people who just happened to be flapping their gums behind his back now felt guilty.


    However, Fang Juexia actually didn¡¯t take their discussion to heart. He had just wanted to give this prop back to them, so he had slowly stepped forward and drawn closer, based on the sound of their voices.


    The other person¡¯s face was very surprised. He pulled on his colleague¡¯s sleeve and whispered, ¡°Pei¡­.Pei Tingsong.¡±


    Pei Tingsong? Fang Juexia was just about to turn around when his shoulder was caught hold of.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been looking for you for a long time, and of course you¡¯re here acting as a lost and found for others ah.¡±


    Fang Juexia was about to speak when he suddenly heard another voice. It was a woman with an impressive voice, and she called out the names of the two people directly. ¡°Are working hours for you guys to rest and flap your gums?¡±


    ¡°Chief-chief director.¡±


    When Fang Juexia turned around, a stage light shone on that spot and perfectly hit the lady in a blue suit. She looked very capable and experienced.


    So this turned out to be MLH¡¯s program director.


    ¡°If the entire props group followed the work attitude you two have, I feel like none of them should work any more.¡± She reprimanded them and sent them away. Ling Yi also came out of the bathroom at this time and ran around looking for them. He soon saw them and ran towards them.


    Unexpectedly, the female director actually apologized to them.


    ¡°This circle is just like that. However, I¡¯m very optimistic about the stage performance you guys will display. I was in the director¡¯s studio at the charity party last time, and the scene of how you guys rescued that performance is still fresh in my memory.¡± Saying that, she then looked at Fang Juexia. ¡°Especially you, no wonder you are the core of the team.¡±


    Fang Juexia dropped his eyes and thanked her. Then came a call for them from a staff member through their earpieces, so they said goodbye to the director and joined the others.


    If it wasn¡¯t for the two staff members chatting with each other, Fang Juexia would not have known the number of hits their music had received so far. The company intentionally didn¡¯t want to tell any of the group members, presumably because they were also worried that it would affect their first live performance.


    However, Fang Juexia was precisely the opposite of this. After hearing those harsh words, he seemed to have become more able to integrate himself into the song, and into the stage itself.


    Because Kaleido¡¯s current situation now perfectly coincided with this song.


    ¡°Lights in place!¡±


    ¡°Number one in position!¡±


    ¡°Number two in position!¡±


    The voice of the staff members came in one after another.


    Kaleido¡¯s background stage setting was very special. On the stage wall behind them were military orders written in calligraphy, along with many weapons, and situated right in the middle of all this was a red drum with its drum face facing forward. Half a meter in front of the drum was a black sandalwood guzheng, which was Jiang Miao¡¯s own guzheng. On each side of the stage were three battle flags that had their six names written in calligraphy on them.


    All the members stood in a line on the stage, with Ling Yi at the front. Jiang Miao made a gesture towards the director¡¯s studio. ¡°Kaleido in position.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± All the lights on the stage switched off, and the last call came from the director¡¯s studio, ¡°Kaleido¡¯s Break Through recording begins!¡±


    As the accompaniment music began, a sample of Chinese opera beats sounded out, and a jinghu began to play the first melody. In the center of the stage, an odd number of lights turned on, and the camera panned from top to bottom. When the camera focused on their faces, Ling Yi shook his wrist to snap open a folding fan, and his Beijing Opera Aria began.


    ¡°Hearing the pounding of the golden drums send the corners trembling, my ambitions to break through the gates of heaven are sent flying.¡± He held a red folding fan in his hand and only fanned it twice. ¡°Why bother talking about the clown King Shan, with one sword, I can block millions of soldiers and send them all running!¡°


    The last few words were high pitched and sweet, with the lingering notes at the end full of charm. This opening shocked the hundreds in the audience; everyone looked at each other, not expecting to actually hear such an opening on an idol stage.


    ¡°Holy crap, this is Beijing Opera ah?! Too awesome!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve even got goosebumps!¡±


    ¡°This is Lady Mu Guiying Takes Command, is K¡¯s lead singer that strong?¡±


    ¡°This is the song that leaked ba.¡±


    Kaleido¡¯s fans started their crazy support mode, shouting out the names of all the group members one by one in tune with the intervals of the accompaniment.


    The accompaniment was still in the beginning beats of the Beijing Opera music, and then a clear flute sound shot through, acting like some kind of signal. Ling Yi closed the folding fan and threw it into the air.


    There was a command from the director¡¯s studio¡ª


    [Number one, follow the camera up, Number two get ready¡ª]


    When the camera panned down, the single line formation maintained by the six people was already no more, as they had separated. Jiang Miao stepped forward and sang in a long-drawn out voice, ¡°The yellow sand everywhere lifts the blood mist sown, break through the formation to vie for the throne.¡°


    Fang Juexia went next, coming to stand in the center of the group. His long hair, tied up high, floated with his actions, appearing free and easy, cool and ethereal, perfectly creating the opening atmosphere. ¡°All my ways forward have been blown, all that is left is to wait for your ambush to be thrown.¡°


    The sound of the drum began to appear in the accompaniment, and their presence gradually turned majestic. Under the drum¡¯s rhythm, the whole group danced together, and the consistency of their movements was amazing. The rhythm grew stronger and stronger, and the climax ushered in the variation of a guzheng, which, with three strums, gave the feeling of thousands of troops crossing over.


    Ling Yi walked forward. ¡°One stone creates a thousand ripples, and two fingers create tens of thousands of sounds. Escape by the moon at night, march through snow covered grounds.¡±


    [Number three!]


    In the middle of the camera, Lu Yuan executed a forward somersault to reach the center of the stage, which attracted the audience¡¯s cheers again. The most outstanding thing was that, during this somersault, his mic was completely on, and his voice didn¡¯t shake at all. ¡°It¡¯s life or death with our backs to the water, burn all the bridges to slaughter the qilin. Behead Yama alone with a grin, with our bloody flags and banners fluttering within.¡±


    The delicate drumbeats brought the atmosphere to its peak, and the impact presented by the image of the knife-life group dance being executed by the six of them was extremely strong. In the accompaniment, every sweep of the guzheng strings seemed to carry a very murderous air.


    He Ziyan walked to the very front under the sound of a flute. The choreographed hand movements combined into a technique of twirling a sword around. When he finished, he grabbed his headset and began to rap, ¡°Hiding my abilities and biding my time so, I¡¯ve been waiting for this battle since long ago. Be careful if your morals don¡¯t match up below, or every last square inch will be a mess yo.¡°


    The choreography during the rap part was relatively casual, and He Ziyan swung his open military coat backwards, half crouched down to be the focus of the camera, and sneered, ¡°Just be a wordless vase, and mess around less with real voices in place. I admit my besieged base, but let¡¯s see you after karma¡¯s grace!¡°


    Standing up, He Ziyan shook his head to the rhythm that got faster and faster, and retreated from the edge of the stage step by step. ¡°A thousand troops and horses have driven the six of us to a desperate place, but believe it or not, I¡¯ll go my own way and slaughter a bloody road out of this space. Whether a hero wins or loses in this face, success or failure depends on just this race.¡± At last, he performed a gentleman¡¯s bow and ended his part. ¡°Thank you so much for making your secrets known, in the future I¡¯ll have prestige that¡¯s far blown.¡±


    This part was clearly talking about the situation of the leaked song, and the eyes of the fans of other groups grew large. They didn¡¯t expect that the lyrics of this ¡°Break Through¡± song would be so targeted.


    As the song started to transition, the sharp sound of a blade being unsheathed appeared in the accompaniment. Ling Yi walked forward and sang in a high voice, ¡°A new generation has already arrived, that you dare not admit nor claim.¡°


    He Ziyan¡¯s melodic rap cushioned him from behind, ¡°Whoever surrenders is whoever agrees for a naked blade to pierce through your body and name.¡°


    Fang Juexia¡¯s transition aria came next. From the edge of the stage, he crossed past four people, stood on the C position, and started to really dance on the fly right there and then.


    [Number 1, move over! Cut over to Number 4 showing the face!]


    Fang Juexia¡¯s military coat was the only one that was tightly fastened and had a completely abstinent air. He turned his cheek and sang in a high penetrating voice, ¡°Please hurry up and line up by my sword for death to claim.¡°


    Just as the last note sounded, Pei Tingsong suddenly appeared in the camera¡¯s frame, grabbed Fang Juexia¡¯s collar in one move, and their side profiles were suddenly positioned close to each other. ¡°Don¡¯t blink or blame, ten steps and a person will be dead and maimed.¡°


    Fang Juexia pushed him away and disdainfully raised up his left eyebrow.


    This on-stage choreographed interaction immediately aroused a huge scream from the audience, and dozens of fans called out in an exaggerated way akin to that of hundreds of people calling out, nearly covering the sound of the accompaniment.


    Five people walked to form a circle, and standing in the center of the circle, Lu Yuan raised his wrists, the white bandages wrapped around his wrists swinging. ¡°Wait and watch me¡ª¡±


    Every single move of the rest of the group members was controlled by him, it was as if he had reins tied to their bodies. Six voices raised, entering a chorus¡ª


    [Feel free to question bloodless battles from dirty hidden rules


    A night escape to fight against the false world to see who creates god and fools


    No matter what you hear or argue, just say that heroes don¡¯t have origins or jewels]


    The rhythm of the accompaniment grew faster and faster. Everyone knelt down, only leaving Jiang Miao standing upright, who sang, ¡°Don¡¯t ask about the future, you ghoul.¡°


    The whole group got up, and at the moment when the rhythm became so dense that it seemed it was about to rush to the climax of the song, the next beat suddenly turned out to be empty.


    Fang Juexia, who had moved to the C position, raised his hand and positioned his fingers into the shape of a gun. In the close-up, he reached up to his temple¡ª


    ¡°Listen to me break through the line with one song, fool.¡°


    The most explosive electronic sound drop in the entire song appeared, and the strong rhythm caused the entire audience to boil up. The real sampled sounds of swords swinging overlapped and interlaced with the sharp electronic sounds, creating a sense of space where the glint and flash of cold steel could be felt clearly.


    This part of the dance had  large and interwoven movements, but each action of theirs accurately stuck to the rhythm laid out by the electric sounds, and the whole section was performed very powerfully. The atmosphere in the whole studio reached a new high, seeming just like the scene found at a music festival. At the end of the section when the music dropped, all the members sang again in unison, ¡°Listen to me break through the line with one song, fool.¡°


    Once again, the formation changed into a long line. With the plucking of guzheng, everyone tilted away from the line, going left to right, revealing Pei Tingsong at the very end. At some point, he had come to a stand in front of the red taiko drum, and with the accompaniment, he beat the taiko drum hard to signal the start of the battle again.


    Flipping the drumstick in his hand around, Pei Tingsong flipped over the guzheng and came to the front. He shook his military coat open and began to rap, ¡°In this world here, with open and hidden fights that scare, there are knives hidden in smiles everywhere. When we wait for advice there, getting evil insidious tasks isn¡¯t rare.¡°


    Fang Juexia thought that this time Pei Tingsong wouldn¡¯t change the lyrics on the spot, but he was still too naive. This idea had swayed in his mind for less than a second before he heard Pei Tingsong¡¯s second creation.


    ¡°The unpolished leaked song is out of tune beware, how do you like the lyrics here? If it wasn¡¯t full of ridicule and despair, how would you know I¡¯m the crane screaming in the marsh air.¡± Pei Tingsong¡¯s steps were full of gangster spirit, and he picked up the folding fan from the ground, opened it abruptly, and fanned himself.


    ¡°Heart festering with a jealousy flare, there¡¯s still no medicine for this evil affair. The original lone forces cut a wound with due care, and drank the hot blood to live immortal and fair.¡°


    These changed lyrics were so sharp that they seemed to hate the fact that they couldn¡¯t directly pierce Astar¡¯s lungs. Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t say a single dirty word, but he still gave them absolute hell, and Fang Juexia really had to admire that.


    He held the folded fan like a knife and ferociously sliced it across his chest. Pei Tingsong¡¯s face showed a morbid smile, and he wiped at the corner of his mouth. ¡°But I was born an irritable bear, so I¡¯ll bite back if you dare.¡± At last, he turned his back and randomly threw out the folding fan. ¡°The sound of the guzheng unsheathes the sharp sword with a flare, to lift up your heads and break the heavens bare.¡°


    This rap was so deadly that it almost shocked the entire audience.


    ¡°Shit, Pei Tingsong is too real!¡±


    ¡°He nearly started naming names¡­¡±


    The musical arrangement changed again, and with the sound of horses neighing, the lead singers stepped forward again. The coordination of the dance for the song was very orderly, and their aura grew even stronger than during the first chorus. The fans below were also more vocal in their support, and when this mixed in with the war-like sounds of the accompaniment, it had the feel of delight and the unrestrained nature of people fighting their way out of a siege.


    [Feel free to question bloodless battles from dirty hidden rules


    A night escape to fight against the false world to see who creates god and fools


    No matter what you hear or argue, just say that heroes don¡¯t have origins or jewels


    Don¡¯t ask about the future, you ghoul


    Listen to me break through the line with one song, fool]


    They thought there would be another techno drop here, but didn¡¯t expect the background sounds to suddenly quiet down. All that was left was the sound of the military drum, one beat after another resounding continuously. All of a sudden, the stage went completely dark; there was no light, and only the drumbeats continued.


    When the lights lit up again, the guzheng sounded, but it wasn¡¯t the one pre-recorded into the accompaniment, but a real performance. There were only two spotlights, and only two people left on the stage. One spotlight was on Jiang Miao, sitting in front of guzheng. The other was on Fang Juexia, who stood alone with his back to the stage.


    His military overcoat had already been taken off, and all he was wearing now was a moon white wide sleeved hanfu. The audience below were surprised by this unexpected choreography.


    ¡°My God!!!¡±


    ¡°Ah, this look!! Amazing!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s Fang Juexia?¡±


    With Jiang Miao¡¯s guzheng music accompanying him, Fang Juexia began his solo dance. He raised his arms and lifted his legs, his movements as light as clouds. The string sounds were steadily getting faster, and he threw himself forward, as if jumping in to explore the sea, then jumped up again, repeating the motion twice. The amazing difficulty of the swallow style purple gold crown dance made the audience scream.


    After several rolling cloud bridges, Fang Juexia came to the guzheng, lowered his hand, picked up a long sword from the stand, and danced with it, looking as elegant as an immortal.


    Not good.


    Fang Juexia felt that his waist was being jerked around by some force, and upon looking down, he saw that the mic box fixed on the back of his waist had fallen off, just hanging by a thread in the air. His expression didn¡¯t change as he temporarily altered his choreography. He turned while lifting his leg up at its knee and grasped at the black cord. He shook his wrist around, and the mic box seemed to toss around in the air for an eternity before it was firmly caught by Fang Juexia.


    It was a long process to him, but it appeared as just a flash for the audience. Few people discovered how amazingly Fang Juexia had saved his solo performance.


    He hid his hand holding the mic box behind his back and danced with the sword in his right hand. His waist was as flexible as the soft sword in his hand, and when the sound of the guzheng gradually fell, he stabbed the long sword in front, stood on one leg, raised his left leg up high, and stood in the center of the stage like a crane.


    With the movement of a few sweeping strings, the guzheng¡¯s music started to change. Once everyone returned to the stage, Jiang Miao covered the chair he had just been sitting on, and the group gathered to hide behind Fang Juexia. Lu Yuan opened his mouth and began the transitional bridge. ¡°Close your eyes, and listen to the sounds of the fighting that goes up to the skies. I¡¯m sure this time I won¡¯t be confined to difficult cries.¡°


    Ling Yi followed after, his high pitched voice very penetrating. ¡°There is no shortcut on the road to this famed prize, I believe only in me and never in fate¡¯s reprise.¡°


    The chorus reappeared. Lu Yuan, who was the main dancer, stood in the C position. Everyone was in an arrow shaped formation, and Fang Juexia was right behind him.


    [Feel free to question bloodless battles from dirty hidden rules


    A night escape to fight against the false world to see who creates god and fools


    No matter what you hear or argue, just say that heroes don¡¯t have origins or jewels


    Don¡¯t ask about the future, you ghoul


    Listen to me break through the line with one song, fool]


    The last intense EDM drop pushed the atmosphere in the entire studio to the very top. It made it seem that they weren¡¯t recording for a song show at all, but more like the scene of a Kaleido concert. Everyone¡¯s senses were mobilized, and they moved with the music until the end of the fire.


    The rhythm slowed down, and the six people walked back towards the stage. The accompaniment changed to become the part from the beginning again, where the strings were plucked and the Beijing Opera sounds of the guzheng were played, while the background sound had faint wind and sounds of snow whistling mixed in.


    With the sound of the flute, Pei Tingsong took a black military overcoat in his hand, and as the cold sound of the strings shivering were heard, he put it on Fang Juexia¡¯s shoulders. Fang Juexia walked neither fast nor slow towards the old fashioned chair in front of the guzheng and picked up the long sword that had just been laid atop the guzheng. The others also began to circle around toward the chair, displaying their ending movements.


    Jiang Miao¡¯s voice was mild and gentle as he sang, ¡°The yellow sand everywhere lifts the blood mist sown, break through the formation to vie for the throne.¡°


    Pei Tingsong stood behind the chair, his eyes filled with violence. Fang Juexia turned to sit in the chair and leaned into it lazily. After wiping the blade with his fingers, he threw the sword indifferently to the ground in front of him and sang the last sentence of the whole song¡ª


    ¡°All my ways forward have been blown, all that is left is to wait for your ambush to be thrown.¡°


    ¡ª


    The author has something to say:


    Our K is going to go out of the circle again with their live performance.


    Super super super long stretch of text warning, it¡¯s the  whole song lyrics, garbage words, and there¡¯s still time for you to close this ah~


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Break Through


    Composition: XXX / Fang Juexia / xxx


    Lyrics: Pei Tingsong / Fang Juexia


    Arrangement: He Ziyan / xxx / xxx / Fang Juexia


    Guzheng performance: Jiang Miao


    The right of final interpretation: Zhichu


    (Excerpt from the opening aria of Beijing Opera Lady Mu Guiying Takes Command)


    (Opening of Beijing Opera)


    Ling Yi: Hearing the pounding of the golden drums send the corners trembling, my ambitions to break through the gates of heaven are sent flying. Why bother talking about the clown King Shan, with one sword, I can block millions of soldiers and send them all running!


    (variation of Guzheng)


    Jiang Miao: The yellow sand everywhere lifts the blood mist sown


    Jiang Miao: Break through the formation to vie for the throne


    Juexia: All my ways forward have been blown,


    Juexia: All that is left is to wait for your ambush to be thrown


    (Guzheng sweeps strings, military drum sound)


    Ling Yi: One stone creates a thousand ripples/ And two fingers create tens of thousands of sounds.


    Ling Yi: Escape by the moon at night/ March through snow covered grounds.


    Lu Yuan: It¡¯s life or death with our backs to the water/ Burn all the bridges to slaughter the qilin.


    Lu Yuan: Behead Yama alone with a grin/with our bloody flags and banners fluttering within.


    (Rap, Ling Yi harmony)


    He Ziyan: Hiding my abilities and biding my time so/ I¡¯ve been waiting for this battle since long ago.


    Be careful if your morals don¡¯t match up below/Or every last square inch will be a mess yo.


    Just be a wordless vase/And mess around less with real voices in place.


    I admit my besieged base/ But let¡¯s see you after karma¡¯s grace


    A thousand troops and horses have driven the six of us to a desperate place/ But believe it or not, I¡¯ll go my own way and slaughter a bloody road out of this space.


    Whether a hero wins or loses in this face/Success or failure depends on just this race.


    Thank you so much for making your secrets known/ In the future I¡¯ll have prestige that¡¯s far blown.


    Ling Yi: A new generation has already arrived that you dare not admit nor claim.


    He Ziyan: (Don¡¯t blink or blame/Ten steps and a person will be dead and maimed)


    Juexia: Please hurry up and line up by my sword for death to claim


    Pei Tingsong: (Whoever surrenders is whoever agrees for a naked blade to pierce through your body and name)


    Lu Yuan: Wait and watch me


    Everyone: Feel free to question bloodless battles from dirty hidden rules


    Everyone: A night escape to fight against the false world to see who creates god and fools


    Everyone: No matter what you hear or argue, just say that heroes don¡¯t have origins or jewels


    Jiang Miao: Don¡¯t ask about the future, you ghoul


    Juexia: Listen to me break through the line with one song, fool


    £Ûdrop£Ý


    Everyone: Listen to me break through the line with one song, fool


    [drop]


    (Rap, Juexia harmony)


    Pei Tingsong:


    In this world here/With open and hidden fights that scare/ There are knives hidden in smiles everywhere.


    When we wait for advice there/Getting evil insidious tasks isn¡¯t rare.


    The unpolished leaked song is out of tune beware/How do you like the lyrics here?


    If it wasn¡¯t full of ridicule and despair/ How would you know I¡¯m the crane screaming in the marsh air.


    Heart festering with a jealousy flare/There¡¯s still no medicine for this evil affair.


    The original lone forces cut a wound with due care/And drank the hot blood to live immortal and fair.


    But I was born an irritable bear/So I¡¯ll bite back if you dare.


    The sound of the guzheng unsheathes the sharp sword with a flare/To lift up your heads and break the heavens bare.


    Jiang Miao: One stone creates a thousand ripples/ And two fingers create tens of thousands of sounds.


    Jiang Miao: Escape by the moon at night/ March through snow covered grounds.


    Juexia: It¡¯s life or death with our backs to the water/ Burn all the bridges to slaughter the qilin.


    Juexia: Behead Yama alone with a grin/With our bloody flags and banners fluttering within.


    Juexia: A new generation has already arrived that you dare not admit or claim.


    Pei Tingsong: (Don¡¯t blink or blame/Ten steps and a person will be dead and maimed)


    Ling Yi: Please hurry up and line up by my sword for death to claim


    He Ziyan: (Whoever surrenders is whoever agrees for a naked blade to pierce through your body and name)


    Jiang Miao: Wait and watch me


    Everyone: Feel free to question bloodless battles from dirty hidden rules


    Everyone: A night escape to fight against the false world to see who creates god and fools


    Everyone: No matter what you hear or argue, just say that heroes don¡¯t have origins or jewels


    Lu Yuan: Don¡¯t ask about the future, you ghoul


    Ling Yi: Listen to me break through the line with one song, fool


    £Ûdrop£Ý


    Everyone: Listen to me break through the line with one song, fool


    £Ûdrop£Ý


    Ling Yi & Juexia: Listen to me/Listen to me/ Break through the line with one song, fool


    (high pitch)


    Jiang Miao: The yellow sand everywhere lifts the blood mist sown


    Jiang Miao: Break through the formation to vie for the throne


    Juexia: All my ways forward have been blown,


    Juexia: All that is left is to wait for your ambush to be thrown


    (The first and last two paragraphs were composed by Juexia, so he is the composer of both the song and the chorus.)


    (I deleted two sentences in the aria Lady Mu Guiying Takes Command, based on how long it would take and the lyrics, but in fact, the whole passage is very wonderful.)

 CH 61

    Chapter 61 ¨C Fight Against The Trend


    Lots of online comments, don¡¯t like don¡¯t read


    ¡°Okay! Kaleido¡¯s Break Through recording is over! Hard work everyone.¡±


    After hearing the director¡¯s voice, the six people relaxed, stood in a row, and bowed deeply towards the audience. Their names were being called out in every direction of the stage, the voices of the audience seeming to rush towards them in waves.


    Fang Juexia was standing in the very center, and as he bowed, his nose actually stung a bit, even despite him keeping up his usual calm and controlled self. The cold reception that they had received ever since their debut, and the sadness that they had experienced at wanting to perform but having no stage to do so¡ªclearly, all these were feelings that he had long gotten used to, but standing on the stage to perform and promote their song after a whole year made all these feelings come rushing back up again.


    Despite the popularity he had gained in recent days, which had never had before, and even gaining new fans who liked them, as far as Fang Juexia was concerned, being able to win everyone¡¯s applause while on the stage was the thing that he really loved.


    When they left the stage, they all bowed to the different staff members they encountered on the way, saying ¡°hard work everyone¡± to each person. Even Pei Tingsong, who had disdained to do something like this before, had been subtly influenced to do so. He supported Fang Juexia in walking through the dark by the sash around his waist, all the way until they came to the brightly lit passageway.


    ¡°We¡¯re clocking out! We¡¯re clocking out!¡± Ling Yi was extremely happy as he exclaimed, ¡°We¡¯re off work at last!¡±


    Lu Yuan also followed him in swaying around, and the two people inexplicably went from walking normally into jumping around like zombies. ¡°Suddenly, I want to eat sea worm dumplings, I¡¯m starving.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s order take out later ba!¡±


    ¡°Okay ah!¡±


    Seeing his bandmates being so cute, Fang Juexia¡¯s mood calmed down a little. Once they were back in the lounge, as soon as the door closed, Fang Juexia suddenly felt that his overcoat, which had been hanging over him, get taken away. A hand grabbed his waist and moved him back and forth, and when he turned his head, he saw that the culprit was Pei Tingsong.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    ¡°Are you all right?¡± Pei Tingsong checked carefully and said, ¡± I just saw your mic box fall from the side of the stage, it didn¡¯t pull at your waist ba?¡±


    Fang Juexia¡¯s eyes immediately widened a bit, and in a rare instance, his words sped up as he asked a little nervously, ¡°You saw that? Was it very obvious? What to do? Maybe everyone saw it, this belt doesn¡¯t really fix the mic box in place, and it gets thrown around as soon as I execute any big movements.¡± He sighed and added, ¡°After practicing for so long, I still slipped up.¡±


    As soon as he said that, Pei Tingsong took hold of his face with both of his hands, and then proceeded to squeeze his face out of shape. ¡°What are you talking about ah, I asked if there was something wrong with your waist, and you tell me you slipped up instead.¡±


    Fang Juexia froze for a moment, and then broke away from his hands, and rubbed his face. ¡°My waist is fine, that mic box isn¡¯t heavy.¡± He didn¡¯t look at Pei Tingsong directly, but added in a low voice, ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡±


    Jiang Miao heard what Fang Juexia had said just now, and came over to pinch his shoulder. ¡°Juexia, that didn¡¯t count as you slipping up at all, that¡¯s called rescuing the performance. I was right behind you playing the guzheng, and I was really scared when I saw it, but you were really handsome when you flipped over that mic box. And by the reaction below the stage, it shouldn¡¯t have been noticed by many people.¡± With that, he purposefully glanced over at Pei Tingsong. ¡°It was just Xiao Pei, I guess his eyes don¡¯t blink at all.¡±


    In the past, Pei Tingsong would definitely have been in a hurry to refute that statement, but now he shamelessly admitted it straightforwardly, ¡°That¡¯s true, how could I blink with you guys performing like that?¡±


    Fang Juexia was a little embarrassed, so he looked down and didn¡¯t talk any further.


    Cheng Qiang came in through the door and hugged them one by one. ¡°Too great, you guys were too great! Worthy of being my puppies! While watching, I nearly turned into an old man with tears streaming down my cheeks.¡±


    Lu Yuan started laughing after being hugged. ¡°Strong Ge has become more and more educated recently.¡±


    ¡°What nonsense!¡± Cheng Qiang pulled Pei Tingsong in and hugged him, then pointed at him, chiding, ¡°You ah, you changed your lyrics again.¡±


    Pei Tingsong shrugged. ¡°That was just what I wrote last night. It was too late to add it to the studio version, but I thought it was too much of a pity, and that I should sing it anyway.¡±


    When it came to the topic of changing the lyrics, Fang Juexia thought of a point, and couldn¡¯t wait to say, ¡°Just now, Xiao Pei said some lyrics of ¡®The original lone forces cut a wound with due care¡¯, and then it¡¯s¡­¡±


    ¡°And drank the hot blood to live immortal and fair,¡± Pei Tingsong took over.


    ¡°Yes!¡± Fang Juexia¡¯s expression was full of praise. ¡°Those words were too wonderful, it was really great.¡±


    Pei Tingsong hadn¡¯t not heard praise from others before; he had actually heard too much of it, and there had also been all kinds of exaggerations. One simple sentence of ¡®it was really great¡¯ didn¡¯t count as much, but as long as it was uttered by Fang Juexia, he felt that it was better than anything. He had never been so happy.


    Fang Juexia continued to elaborate on his idea, ¡°Our choreography was based on the original lyrics, but since the live version has been changed, I think we can change our actions to match the lyrics in our next performance.¡± Then, he made a motion of digging out his heart and said, ¡°What do you guys think?¡±


    Lu Yuan clapped. ¡°This is good, six people depicting the scene together should make a great impact. When we get back, let¡¯s arrange it!¡±


    Watching them start a discussion centered around the stage again, Cheng Qiang felt emotional. These children had just finished a very difficult performance, but even after descending from the stage, they actually didn¡¯t take the time to relax as if having survived a disaster, and they also didn¡¯t go to fuss over their comeback album¡¯s numbers and ranking. Instead, they wholeheartedly focused on the stage and on their performance, just thinking about how to make their performance even more brilliant.


    They deserved a better future.


    Thinking of this, Cheng Qiang clapped his hands and said, ¡°I¡¯ve already greeted the program team, and we won¡¯t be participating in the award ceremony that¡¯ll happen in a bit. Anyway, we¡¯re not candidates, so it¡¯s meaningless to waste time here.¡±


    ¡°After this, there is a fan meeting being hosted for the new album, and that will be entirely livestreamed, so nothing can go wrong there. Go back first and rest, have a meal, and then practice all the programs you will perform at the meeting, especially each of your solos.¡±


    When they exited MLH¡¯s studio, they discovered that fans had surrounded the building from the outside. All of these fans were holding Klein blue fan signs and kaleidoscope lights. As soon as they saw Cheng Qiang coming out of the studio, they began to scream. The group members lined up in a straight line as they came out, and their path forward was very narrow since everyone was crowding in.


    ¡°Good luck Kaleido!!¡±


    ¡°Juexia!! How are you this good looking, Juexia!¡±


    ¡°Xiao Pei, look at Mama ba! He Ziyan is such a hot Ge!¡±


    ¡°Miaomiao! Captain Miao is the greatest! You¡¯re the best group leader!¡±


    ¡°Ling Yi! Ling Yi, your blue hair looks so good! Teacher Yuan, you¡¯re too hot!¡±


    Many fans were very emotional, and the difficulty of this comeback worried them more than anyone else.


    Fang Juexia, who was being pushed around by the crowd, saw a girl crying noisily in front of him. His heart squeezed, and he pulled out a package of tissues from his coat pocket; he had just drawn one out when he had been wiping away his sweat moments ago. Taking advantage of being pushed to the front, Fang Juexia reached out and handed the tissue packet to the girl. His face, which had been completely expressionless up until now, smiled, and his voice was gentle as he asked, ¡°What are you crying for ah?¡°


    This move made the fans all around them scream. Pei Tingsong protected him as they walked forward. ¡°As soon as you gave out those tissues, I knew that if it were me, I would be able to cry all night to get those.¡± The fans who heard him started to laugh again.


    ¡°You are¡­¡± Fang Juexia didn¡¯t know what to say about him, so after speaking half a sentence, he stopped talking. When everyone got in the car, Jiang Miao rolled down the window and said to the fans with a smile, ¡°Go back quickly ba. Remember to watch our meeting livestream oh.¡±


    Suddenly, a girl¡¯s voice appeared from the crowd; it was very loud and penetrating. ¡°Our little obscure K is the most powerful!¡±


    Ling Yi¡¯s head poked out of the window. ¡°Wow, you have such a good voice. You should be the lead singer instead of me.¡±


    ¡°Hahahahaha!¡±


    Due to the sharp contraction in their comeback launch date, the individual member previews that had been shot previously, were all mainly broadcast in the morning, and the MV was posted at 9 p.m. Although the MV was shot in a hurry, with everyone working tirelessly to hurry the work along, the overall effect and expressiveness of the MV were all very strong.


    Fans forwarded it over and over again and didn¡¯t even sleep. They played the MV repeatedly on CloudTV and several other video platforms to increase the playback counts for their idols. Although this wasn¡¯t enough to let Kaleido parachute onto the Top Songs board, it was still already a big improvement over their past numbers.


    After Kaleido¡¯s journey of how they were even able to participate in filming the song program was revealed, the heated rampant online debate over K¡¯s comeback running into that of Seven Luminaries¡¯ grew even more heated. Most of the netizens took on the attitude of watching a good show while getting to taunt people at the same time, while the better ones showed a sympathetic attitude towards K who came from such a small company. The uglier sounding ones though, dared to say anything and everything, such as that this group that was selling rot was just getting what they deserved, that they were overstepping their ability, and some even believed that Star Chart and Kaleido had leaked the song themselves to create speculation online in order to improve the popularity of their comeback.


    If the whole Kaleido was up to the chin in the entire Internet¡¯s violent words, then in the very center of this violence was Fang Juexia. As before, it was still Fang Juexia. There were many anti threads about Fang Juexia in the anonymous forums, and many people, whose eyes had turned red from how Fang Juexia had continuously managed to get and stay onto the Hot Search list, while also getting onto big variety shows, took advantage of this opportunity to trample him to death.


    [I hope you know that FJX can never really become popular, hyped up genius characters always backfire, okay? There are so many people who are good-looking and talented, and what¡¯s the use? Big popularity depends on fate.]


    [Who says that it was a loss for Astar not to let FJX debut? Fortunately he didn¡¯t debut with 7L, okay? A bad luck magnet doesn¡¯t deceive me, whoever gets involved in him will have bad luck.]


    [If they like hype so much, maybe the leaked song was also deliberate hype]


    [As long as FJX doesn¡¯t quit the group, obscure K will always be dead hehe]


    These kinds of comments had been popping up endlessly within the whole fan circle environment, and Fang Juexia had already accepted it. He just disconnected from the Internet and pretended nothing was going on. He took every stage he got to perform on as the last one and tried his very best to successfully complete the performance, while not caring about the rest in the least.


    It was just that no one thought that Kaleido, who had been trampled to the point that it was left nearly unable to fight back, began to actually rebound when the ¡®Music live house¡¯ was broadcast.


    When it was broadcast, the cover photo for the MLH push notification on CloudTV¡¯s homepage was still that of the top group Seven Luminaries, and the banner was also theirs, all in order to make them as widely acclaimed as possible. Although this program was a comprehensive network program, its viewership had always been very high, and it also boasted of a considerable audience.


    There were 16 performances in the whole program, as well as the subsequent awards part and the encore stage. 16 groups or individual singers would have corresponding direct videos, which were linked in the relevant sidebar of the song playing program, and then sorted in real time based on the number of views. For group performances, a camera followed each member around during their performance and recorded the performance of his or her whole song.


    At the beginning, no one really noticed it, and it was only after the broadcast that Fang Juexia¡¯s performance soundlessly shot to the number one most viewed direct video on that day that the trend of them bottoming out and then rebounding first appeared.


    At 10 p.m., after the song program was broadcasted, a verified Weibo account who specially commented on livestreams and had millions of followers, actually posted up the direct video of Fang Juexia¡¯s ¡°Break Through¡±.


    [@King MO of watching performances: As you guys know, I usually don¡¯t pay much attention to the direct videos of song programs. I always thought that no one would watch the direct videos of idols except the fans, but Fang Juexia¡¯s direct video has the highest view count for this episode of MLH. It¡¯s eight times ahead of the rest after only five hours, with a view count of more than 150,000, while the second place has just broken 20,000. I was curious, so I went in to have a look, and after I discovered the reason, and it¡¯s not too much of a boast to describe it as an immortal saving the show. I dare say that with this level of appearance, singing skills, stage expression, and adaptability, he¡¯s right up there at the ceiling of all idols. (You can not agree with this, but you can only argue about it after watching the whole direct video) PS this is Kaleido¡¯s ¡®Break Through¡¯]


    In addition to sharing high-quality music and excellent stage performances from home and abroad, this blogger¡¯s daily activity was to critique and attack local performances. Most of their fans were passers-by in the music circle, and it wasn¡¯t long before this Weibo post was published that it became popular.


    [@Study hard and make progress every day: Holy crap, King MO actually posted a direct video of an idol, they¡¯re breaking into the real world.]


    [@My San also didn¡¯t make a comeback today: Ah, it¡¯s pretty much great minds think alike! As soon as I finished watching the performance of the junior group on CloudTV, I saw the direct video posted by Lord Mo. Fang Juexia is just too amazing in this performance, his aura is so obvious, so right in front of you, and the dance break¡¯s classical dance is so beautiful. I strongly recommend everyone to take a look at K¡¯s full performance, kneeling here and selling them!]


    [@ Bobbi Doll: Are there any sisters who can tell me, did the mic box drop at the 2:43 timestamp? This way of dealing with that is really awesome, I went back to watch it several times. I thought that he was actually tossing some kind of weapon around x it¡¯s really the first time anyone has saved a show so beautifully.]


    [@Sleiyoujh: Have I seen this person on the Hot Search list before? His voice is very special ah. It¡¯s plainly a cold voice, but because it resonates well, and is both full and special, I can¡¯t really describe it, how annoying! And this singing skill, if it¡¯s all live singing, it¡¯s too strong. It¡¯s such a high-energy choreography, but he¡¯s not out of breath at all, and his high pitch is very stable.]


    [@Beautiful Fine Jewelike Xeriscape replying to @Sleiyoujh: It was live singing oh, and by the way, his name is Fang Juexia, Kaleido¡¯s ace. This song was also created by the whole Kaleido group; it¡¯s their own original work, including the choreography oh.]


    [@To be a person means to have a dog: The tune of this song is a little familiar ah, is it the song that got leaked a few days ago? The demo totally can¡¯t compare with the completed song at all ah, looking at this version, the post production is too strong.]


    [@No one wants to see your nonsense: Cold popular knowledge: Fang Juexia was a very popular trainee before he even debuted, and he was known as an overkill pick. However, he changed companies, and there was also some talk about hidden rules. People talked, but anyway, I don¡¯t believe it. With this ability, if there really was some owner in the background, wouldn¡¯t he be blazingly popular ah? He certainly offended someone to have been so miserable this whole time. Although I¡¯m not a fan of idols, I really like this Ge¡¯s direct video.]


    [@Small Blueberry Cheesecake: I¡¯m a classical Chinese dancer, and with one look at his solo part, I can tell he has a foundation ah. He saved the show with barely a trace, and no matter whether the main camera was on him or not, his expression and state never relaxed, and he didn¡¯t make even a single superfluous little action. His hair was stuck all over him because of sweat, but he didn¡¯t even raise his hand to draw it back. He¡¯s very professional. Great stage attitude.]


    [@Just telling the truth: I really want to work hard to try to analyze how excellent this performance is just like the other sisters, but I¡¯m too superficial. I¡¯m just staring at this little Gege¡¯s face the entire time, it¡¯s so beautiful¡­]


    Soon, the forwards on this direct video Weibo post broke through 30,000, and the entries of #Fang Juexia¡¯s direct video# and #Fang Juexia saved the show# climbed up the Hot Search list bit by bit, all under just the spontaneous power of the masses. With this sort of network effect, more and more people went to CloudTV to watch Fang Juexia¡¯s direct video and the whole group¡¯s performance video.


    Many entertainment bloggers and marketing accounts seized on this hot topic, creating cuts of the highlights of Fang Juexia¡¯s performance¡ªsuch as him saving the show, him and Pei Tingsong colliding together as part of the choreography, and the killing segment, where he gestured a gun with his hand, which was just before the movie segment, and then the final ending segment. All of these were turned into gifs and then posted on Weibo. More and more people saw and discussed them, and even many passers-by who never watched idol singing programs were attracted by these gifs.


    Under this joint effect, the full version of Kaleido¡¯s performance also climbed onto the Hot Search list, and even got itself reposted on major social platforms. A Chinese classical music performance mixed with electronic dance music was something unprecedented in boybands, and unexpectedly became the most popular performance that had come out of the idol circle through MLH in recent years. By the next day, all of the group¡¯s six members¡¯ direct videos had reached the top of the CloudTV¡¯s direct video list. Fang Juexia was still the highest, leading by leaps and bounds, while second place was Pei Tingsong.


    If they said it was Fang Juexia¡¯s attitude of being a new force that made him capable of changing the situation that led them on a counterattack out of the circle, then Pei Tingsong was the bomb that continued the counterattack¡¯s momentum and made their popularity explode.


    Observant people had already noticed that his rap part was different from the lyrics of the main song that had first been officially released, so they made a comparison video. Most netizens liked sharp, incisive, and conflicting things, and marvelously, Pei Tingsong was just such a person, especially when it came to his lyrics.


    [@Homeless Tortoise: I¡¯m inclined to think that the lyrics of this live version was a rap freshly written by Pei Tingsong after the leaked song incident. Pretty much every word is cutting¡ª¡±Heart festering with a jealousy flare, there¡¯s still no medicine for this evil affair. The original lone forces cut a wound with due care, and drink the hot blood to live immortal and fair.¡± You guys judge, it¡¯s starkly mocking and damning the malicious behavior caused by the leaked song. Only when I went to listen to the song did I discover that the lyrics of all the songs were basically written by him alone. I sincerely suggest everyone listen to it, but that part is only in the live performance.]


    [@User 1234567: I almost started yelling out in front of my mom when I watched the program! He¡¯s so haughty! That last line of ¡°to lift up your heads and break the heavens bare¡± really shocked me. The whole song is full of murderous spirit, everyone must listen to it!]


    [@Words fail to convey meaning: Finally someone said something about the lyrics of this new song! I saw the push notification yesterday and listened to it casually, but it¡¯s really excellent ah, they¡¯re just too much of a dark horse. My favorite was the ending, it has a very soothing melody with the words, ¡°All my ways forward have been blown, all that is left is to wait for your ambush to be thrown.¡± It gives off the feeling that after slaughtering everywhere, just calmly putting your sword back in its sheath.]


    [@The beautiful Fine Jewelike Xeriscape of Putuo Temple Site: The lyrics and the music in the final part of the main song were Fang Juexia¡¯s oh, and the middle part was Xiao Pei¡¯s. In fact, both of their two styles are very different; Pei Tingsong is very straightforward and bloodthirsty, very much with a rapper¡¯s boldness, while Juexia¡¯s lyric is very similar to his Buddhist style. ¡°Anyway, I¡¯ve been forced with no ways to go, so you guys can ambush me casually ba. I¡¯m not afraid at all.¡±]


    [@Crying for nearly cancelled K today again: Let¡¯s have a look at the whole stage ba. In addition to the two beautiful aces who saved the show and created the lyrics, there¡¯s also the super lead singer Ling Yi at the beginning with the Beijing opera, group leader Jiang Miao playing the guzheng, rapper, musical arranger, and DJ He Ziyan, and the choreographer of the whole song, our main dancer, Lu Yuan. Our K may not be popular, but they are really treasure boys ah. This song has been created with painstaking effort from each of them. It¡¯s really worth it to listen to it every three minutes!]


    [@Severe procrastination critical patient: Didn¡¯t they say Pei Tingsong grew up abroad? Why is his Chinese ability so strong?]


    [@Has Pinot Tree Supreme grown up today? Replying to @Severe procrastination critical patient: He has been bilingual since he was a child, and he likes Chinese traditional culture very much. They¡¯ve said all this during the livestream.]


    @Listening to songs makes people intelligent: ¡°Just be a wordless vase, and mess around less with real voices in place. I admit my besieged base, but let¡¯s see you after karma¡¯s grace.¡± ¡ªaren¡¯t these words really fragrant? Mocking professional idols and speaking frankly about the attacks and oppression they have received all this time. The leaked song incident almost drove them into a corner ba. No wonder everyone says that Pei Tingsong is especially tiger-like.]


    With the song becoming more and more popular, several well-known music bloggers pulled out the leaked demo that had spread all over the Internet and compared it with the live completed version of the song.


    [@Uncle A doesn¡¯t play around with music: Since yesterday, many fans have asked me to listen to Kaleido¡¯s new song, ¡°Break Through¡±. I have said before that a leaked song would greatly impact the life of a song, and it can be said to be a heavy blow to the original song. But now I have to say that that¡¯s not so certain with this leaked demo. This song, ¡°Break Through¡± is an example of this exception. In fact, when I heard the demo, I was skeptical. The arrangement was very chaotic and the melody was too full. You just managed to create one emotion when suddenly, it changed to another arrangement and atmosphere; it was definitely not a successful work.


    But I was very surprised at this finished product, which cut off a lot of the melodies, which many producers won¡¯t do because they can¡¯t bear to part with it. The Beijing opera by the lead singer set the tune immediately, and the sense of arrangement is very good. After listening to it, you get the sensation of having witnessed a battle fought to life or death. It is said that this song was made by the members of K themselves. Giving a suggestion to the brokerage company: let them write their own songs in the future ba.]


    The analysis and essays of music bloggers soon attracted a large number of music lovers online. It seemed like a small group, but these people were actually heavy users of online music apps. Star Chart took advantage of this opportunity to talk about promotions on the opening screen of music apps and homepages, attracting passers-by¡¯s eyes. Under this dual effect, by 10 pm the next day, after ¡°Break Through¡± was broadcast, it climbed from a rank in the few hundreds range to the second place at the speed of light, directly pushing Seven Luminaries¡¯ song to third place.


    And seeing which way the wind was blowing online, CloudTV changed the cover of their MLH program to Kaleido¡¯s ¡°Break Through¡±, and also changed the banner: ¡°Kaleido¡¯s strong comeback and word-of-mouth counterattack.¡± Fang Juexia¡¯s direct video also broke MLH¡¯s direct video record by reaching beyond one million views the fastest ever, achieving fame with victory within a single battle.


    This matter of bucking the trend came on too fast. Just like how Kaleido had been forced to make their comeback early in the beginning, this backlash of popularity came on just as quickly, and all because of that first action of saving the show. The small mic box, like a butterfly flapping its wings, triggered a subversive tsunami within the whole network in just two days.


    The contribution of each member in this song ¡°Break Through¡±, from its melody, arrangement, choreography, stage design, and to everyone¡¯s stage expression, won them the praise of most netizens.


    Plainly this had been the worst of the worst start, but in the end, it was a very successful counter-attack. The reality of the situation and the lyrics coincided perfectly, and it really became a fight against the trend.


    The electronic sales volume of Kaleido¡¯s new album soon caught up with that of Seven Luminaries, which possessed a huge fan base, and most of these sales were attributed to passers-by. Many people predicted that with such an increase, it would soon surpass Seven Luminaries.


    In order to control the public opinion, Cheng Qiang observed the way the wind was blowing online the entire time. During the process, he only screenshotted one comment and saved it in his photo album.


    [After watching the whole process, going from the leaked song to this instance of bucking against the trend, I learned that no matter what happens, the strength and enthusiasm of creation will never be buried. What I¡¯m very moved by is that, from these boys who were not favored by anyone, I can see what is called ¡°originality never dies¡±.]


    At this time, Fang Juexia, who was at the center of the storm, was urged by Ling Yi to login into his Weibo. He had just come back from having finished recording the third song and was resting in the dorms. Because of his fear of having his phone get stuck under the deluge of Weibo notifications every time after he logged into Weibo after a long while,, he simply let Xiao Wen login into his account every day now. This way, if one day he used Weibo himself, it wouldn¡¯t collapse as soon as he opened it.


    He received a lot of comments, most of which were from fans¡¯, who were calling him an immortal and using other  such flowery words. Sliding his fingers and scrolling through, he saw a fan with a special ID.


    [@Has Pinot Tree Supreme been bent today: Juexia Gege, how can you sing so well ah! Today is my birthday, and I want to hear you sing a Cantonese song. Really, really want to, no matter, now I¡¯m going to make a wish here, although I know you definitely won¡¯t see this¡­.]


    Cantonese songs.


    Fang Juexia thought about it. Since his debut, he had never sung any Cantonese songs, whether it had been on a variety show or on a livestream. Plainly it was his own dialect, but he hadn¡¯t even sung a song in it once.


    Anyway, there would be solo performances by each member at the face-to-face meeting tomorrow. He had originally chosen an English song, but it would be better to change it to a Cantonese one. When he thought of it, he sent a WeChat message to Cheng Qiang. The company had always been flexible and had said beforehand that if he wanted to change it, it could be changed.


    So Fang Juexia sat down on the bed and opened his Cantonese songs list, ready to find a familiar song to practice for a bit.


    All of a sudden, he heard the sound of the guitar, playing a very familiar melody.


    Fang Juexia was given a start; wasn¡¯t this the song he had written?


    His fingers accidentally clicked on a song randomly, and a Cantonese ballad automatically started playing. Fang Juexia took off his earphones and went to the balcony. Sure enough, the sound of the guitar came from next door. Fang Juexia turned around, ready to go to the room on the opposite side. He wanted to ask Pei Tingsong why he was playing his song in the dormitory, when he suddenly stopped in his steps, realising that he didn¡¯t want Ling Yi and He Ziyan to get involved in this. He then spent two seconds calming down and opened up WeChat.


    [Just a pretty face and also pretty: Are you playing the song I wrote?]


    After a while, he received a reply.


    [Guide Dog: Ah, I forgot you were at home too. I wrote the lyrics, so I played a section to try it out. Do you want to see my lyrics?]


    This was a bit beyond Fang Juexia¡¯s expectations. Before he could reply, the other party sent another message.


    [Even if it¡¯s a one in ten thousand chance


    You have to try


    The spark of a flint before falling


    Is enough for me to be happy until death]


    He didn¡¯t know why, but even though there were only four short lines, it made Fang Juexia¡¯s heart seize, and he felt as if he could see all the pores on his body shudder for an instant.


    The lyrics of the Cantonese song playing randomly in his earphones flowed out, and they realistically and straightforwardly beat on Fang Juexia¡¯s heart, telling him to stay where he was, and that there was no way for him to escape.


    His phone vibrated again, but this time it was Cheng Qiang.


    [Qiang Ge: By the way, I just forgot to ask you, did you choose a song? I¡¯ll go report it.]


    Fang Juexia sat back on his bed, clicked on the lyrics of the song currently playing using the music app¡¯s interface, and looked at them very carefully while listening to it again, despite the fact that it was a Cantonese song he was clearly very familiar with.


    Finally, he input the name of this ballad into the chat box and clicked send.

 CH 62

    Chapter 62 ¨C Idol Spirit


    Please recognize Kaleido¡¯s identity as that of idol singers.


    Those four lines of lyrics persistently lingered in his heart throughout that night, embracing Fang Juexia into a dream.


    He dreamt that he was a tree growing in a spot squeezed between cliffs and rocks. The growth process was painful, with the stones grinding against him and the cracks squeezing him, but for half a age, he was soaked in the clouds, until he was left paralyzed and nearly insensible.


    In his daze, a dazzling bolt of lightning struck his trunk, so he became shaky and unstable, and he just wanted to go along with the flow and fall down.


    But what was there after falling? There was an abyss underneath. How could the lightning, that was making its getaway, accompany the dead branches and leaves trapped at the bottom of the valley? Perhaps he could still hold onto the phantom that this silver flash left behind and continue to dream of clouds and fog coiling around him, before burning himself up in a flash of fire against dry wood, inevitably turning into ashes for the rest of his life.


    For some reason, Fang Juexia suddenly opened his eyes. He looked at the endless darkness in front of him and inhaled deep breaths. After waking up, he sat up in his bed, lost in a daze, for nearly half an hour. His mind slowly started to become clear, with every detail of his dream reappearing vividly, and the sensation of being completely engulfed in fire, burning, still didn¡¯t completely disappear.


    Fang Juexia knew that this dream was a metaphor for what was going on in his heart. He was afraid that the lightning was just playing around in life, casually causing a disaster. The tree on the cliff had no feet and had no place to hide.


    Kaleido continued to record programs as before once the early hours of the morning dawned. In addition to CloudTV¡¯s MLH, there were two other appearances on singing and variety shows on different platforms.


    It was also very realistic. Since they had gotten famous out of the entertainment circle because of their live performance, they were given a lot of preferential treatment when they took part in filming. Another platform directly shifted Kaleido into a bigger rest area, and also made a special trip to record a highlights reel for them, which was then uploaded on their video website so as to attract fans to watch the show.


    Kaleido¡¯s six members were still as modest as ever, bowing to every staff member on every set.


    After the direct videos broke out of the entertainment circle, a well-known uploader on a video website made a special reaction video while watching the first performance of ¡°Break Through¡±, and this reaction video¡¯s title was¡ª [Leaked song means abandon the song? Idols have no real ability? Let¡¯s all watch the immortal live show that slapped the entire Internet¡¯s face!]


    This video soon appeared on the website¡¯s home page because of its super high view count and favorites. Kaleido¡¯s wonderful performance and the uploader¡¯s witty and magical reactions were all very eye-catching, and it parachuted directly into the first place in its category. The popularity of this video also set off a wave of reaction  videos of Kaleido live stage performance on the platform, with many uploaders following suit. In addition to the performances of this comeback, there were many buried treasure performances from the past that hadn¡¯t been discovered before, and digging these up allowed more and more people to discover the true strength of this boyband.


    Not only that, but ¡°Break Through¡± also quietly grew popular in the music area, becoming a popular cover track for many cover singers. With these derivative works that achieved a win-win popularity, more and more people started to like ¡°Break Through¡±, a song that had nearly died due to its leaked version. Some sign of this song couldn¡¯t not appear in the popular searches of the major music sites, and the song¡¯s numbers on these music sites improved by leaps and bounds, tossing Seven Luminaries¡¯ song far behind as it came to rank first.


    There were great ups and downs taking place online, but Fang Juexia was still that very Fang Juexia, stable and quiet. Only when they were on stage would he shed his hard shell and release his powerful energy.


    It was already ten o¡¯clock in the morning by the time they got finished with work at the song program, and the fan face-to-face meeting was arranged to start at two o¡¯clock that afternoon, in a small venue that could hold 1000 people. Kaleido hurriedly took the time to change their outfits before rushing from the program¡¯s filming venue to the venue assigned for the fan meeting about the new album.


    Ling Yi and Lu Yuan were chatting in the car. Fang Juexia looked at Lu Yuan, who was always funny and was looking over at the countless fans gathered around the building they had been filming in. He then said something like this¡ª


    ¡°So this is what it¡¯s like to be popular.¡±


    All of a sudden, Fang Juexia felt very sad. Not for himself, but for the whole group. Every one of them did not fit the parameters of a so-called ¡®orthodox idol¡¯. Some of them had missed being the champion of a talent show because of some shady insider plotting, even though they should have become a trainee in the singing department. Some of them had lost everything after they had won the championship. Some of them had a classical music background but had to choose another path to raise their younger sister. Some of them were the kind of music creators who had worked at street bars and nightclubs, but still loved music with all their heart. And some of them were rebellious, thorny birds who had broken free of one cage only to be thrown into another.


    Fate had gathered them together, and had allowed him, who had been branded with the label of being a failure at birth, to gain the company of such a group of companions, who supported each other in maturing together.


    Ling Yi¡¯s head leaned against the window. ¡°I also have a slightly unreal feeling, and I¡¯m a little confused. Maybe I¡¯ve already gotten used to our previous state ba. From having no one watching us to having so many people supporting us, it¡¯s a bit awkward.¡±


    Fang Juexia smiled at them and gave a rare speech, ¡°Popularity is just a parabola, rising and then right after, declining, and whether something is popular or not is always a process. But the work and the stage are eternal, right?¡±


    Ling Yi nodded heavily, the rims of his eyes a little red, and he wiped his eyes and said, ¡°Juexia, you¡¯re like an adult right now.¡±


    ¡°Hahahahaha, he already was, okay?¡±


    ¡°Only Xiao Pei is not an adult.¡±


    ¡°Hey, why are you always bringing me up? I¡¯m 20 now!¡±


    In order to reward the fans standing below the stage and those who were waiting on the livestream, the starting performance had all the members in ancient costumes, and their colors were a very unified red. Before the official performance of ¡°Break Through¡±, there was also a one and a half minute long dance intro. Everyone¡¯s eyes were covered with two finger-width wide strips of long red gauze, which were tied behind their heads and fluttered with their movements. The music for this performance had been composed by He Ziyan, a traditional style electronic music. The dance had been choreographed by Lu Yuan, and it combined the characteristics of Chinese dance and hip-hop dance, and was both cool and sassy.


    At the end of the opening, everyone stepped down and changed their clothes. Other non main tracks from their album kept playing on the stage. When they stepped onto the stage again, everyone¡¯s clothes had been changed to K¡¯s support group color, Klein Blue. Pei Tingsong¡¯s white hair was matched with a blue sports hair band, while his blue sweater and white capris carried a refreshing sporty air. Fang Juexia¡¯s hair was tied into a low ponytail, leaving a wisp of hair that trailed down to his jawline. He wore a blue sweater with white trousers and a pair of silver glasses.


    The fans were more enthusiastic than before, and had been shouting for Kaleido the entire while they had been off-stage, and once they got on stage again, these fans yelled even harder. The host couldn¡¯t even interrupt them.


    It was still Jiang Miao who spoke first, ¡°Why don¡¯t you let us say something first?¡±


    The fans below the stage were immediately amused into laughing, and the atmosphere changed from the enthusiastic calls to something more relaxed.


    The host took the opportunity to get to the point. ¡°First of all, congratulations to our Kaleido for releasing their new album ¡®Break Through¡¯ and doing a formal comeback. After a year spent developing this album, what are all of your feelings on it?¡±


    Jiang Miao, the official spokesman, took the question and said, ¡°Of course, we are very excited. In fact, the planning process of the album was quite difficult, and this time, every one of our members participated in the production of this album, especially for the main song. This was actually a very risky thing; our role changed from being the performer who performs the song to the performer who creates the song. This change has brought great pressure on us and the companies that support us.¡±


    Fang Juexia listened carefully to the captain¡¯s words, and suddenly thought of their first meeting, the one that had taken place after the airport video had come out of the entertainment circle. It was right at that time that he and Pei Tingsong, without any prior consultation, had both brought up the idea of allowing them to participate in the production of the album. Now, when he thought back on it, they, in that situation, really were like newborn calves not being afraid of tigers. He didn¡¯t know where they got their self-confidence and determination from, and they hadn¡¯t even thought about the consequences of failure; they had just wanted to try and do it themselves.


    ¡°There are really very few idol groups that can create their own works. Maybe it is because of that that this song ¡®Break Through¡¯ can get such a big response.¡± The host then asked the second question, ¡°Then was there anything interesting that happened in the creation process of this album? Can you share it with your fans?¡±


    ¡°Interesting things¡­¡± Jiang Miao took a look at Ling Yi, and their tacit understanding made Ling Yi pick up the microphone quickly. ¡°Ah, I¡¯ve thought of one. At the beginning of ¡®Break Through¡¯, what I¡¯m singing is a part from the Beijing Opera Lady Mu Guiying Takes Command. In fact, this idea was put forward by the team leader at the meeting a year ago, but I hadn¡¯t actually sung an opera before.¡±


    The fans below laughed, and Ling Yi said, ¡°What are you laughing at? Do you think I¡¯m especially suitable for opera?¡± Joking around, he added, ¡°Back then, we found a Beijing Opera teacher for me to study with for a while. Of course, the company paid for it. If you sing opera, you have to sing every day ma, so I sang in the dorms every day.¡±


    As his bandmate, Fang Juexia picked up the microphone at this time. ¡°Let me say for you ba. Ling Yi was singing that day, and after singing two sentences, from the other end of the balcony, far away, an uncle¡¯s voice drifted over, and he was also singing. We were shocked at that time, and then later, we searched for the lyrics the uncle was singing and found that he was singing The Generals of the Yang Family.¡±


    The host said with a smile, ¡°So you guys were singing opera across the air, weren¡¯t you?¡±


    Lu Yuan complained, ¡°Mu Guiying vs. the Yang generals.¡±


    Ling Yi added, ¡°But I hope no one mentions me below the posts of actual Beijing opera artists. I¡¯m just putting on airs, and I can¡¯t be regarded as an opera singer. Mentioning my name will only display some ignorance and will end up causing embarrassment to you guys, so don¡¯t make me feel too ashamed either.¡±


    Jiang Miao nodded. ¡°Yes, we must respect other people¡¯s works, and only in this way can we earn respect.¡±


    He Ziyan also chimed in, ¡°Talking about creation, actually, we were stuck on the main song¡¯s arrangement for a long time. We had made about three or four different versions of the arrangement ba, and the composer and I had gone numb from listening to it. Later, Juexia changed the arrangement and wrote the melody for the opening and closing of the main song.¡± He told the fans below, ¡°The main point is, we didn¡¯t even know Juexia could compose songs before.¡±


    ¡°Wow!¡±


    ¡°Juexia Gege is awesome!¡±


    Fang Juexia was originally the kind of person who would get embarrassed when people praised him, so he was already a little embarrassed right now, but then Lu Yuan just had to go ahead and add, ¡°And it was Xiao Pei who said that Juexia was good at writing melodies, and it was only then that the rest of us found out.¡±


    There was another uproar from below the stage, and Pei Tingsong could only explain, ¡°I found out by accident.¡±


    By accident? Fang Juexia glanced at him. Clearly, he had known that he had written a song before he had even opened the USB flash drive, so how could he have the face to say it was by accident right now?


    ¡°But Juexia Ge really is so talented.¡± Pei Tingsong looked at him and commented, ¡°He broke all my prior understanding of talented people.¡±


    This evaluation was so high that Fang Juexia¡¯s cheeks had started to burn red. He even forgot to hold up his microphone and just turned his head towards Pei Tingsong and said, ¡°You are more talented.¡±


    At this time, Ling Yi interjected and joked, ¡°It¡¯s started, the segment of fanservice mutual praise.¡±


    Everyone laughed again with them. After asking a few more questions, the host announced the sales volume of their new album so far. In just two and a half short days, the sales volume of the digital album had exceeded 400,000, which was completely already like a vertical line for a progress line compared to how the 60,000 of their total sales volume from their debut album and the 100,000 from their mini album.


    ¡°What¡¯s more impressive is, let¡¯s take a look at the trend of the song numbers and sales.¡± The host gestured at the fans below to look at the line graph on the big screen. ¡°It was relatively flat at the beginning, and then it suddenly increased at this point to reach terrible heights, and this upward trend has continued this entire time. The turning point was when our K had their first promotional live performance broadcast. ¡°


    The host then asked the group members, ¡°Your performance has attracted a lot of passers-by. The song ¡®Break Through¡¯ is now the new popular BGM on short video websites, and it has also received a lot of praise. People generally think that you all have already surpassed the level of idols, and that it¡¯s even a bit of a waste to call you singers idols. What do you think of these voices?¡±


    Several members said a lot, and in general, said that they were grateful for the praise of netizens and that they would show an even better side to everyone, but they didn¡¯t go too deep into such a topic.


    Fang Juexia had always been a member who didn¡¯t speak very much. Unless he was cued to, he hardly took the initiative to speak, but this time, he couldn¡¯t help himself from answering¡ª


    ¡°It¡¯s an encouragement to us, of course. However, what I want to say is that the word ¡®idol¡¯ was very positive in the beginning, but because of some practical reasons, it has now been colored more negatively. It¡¯s good to be affirmed, but we really are idols ah, and based on our performance style, this description is very accurate. Seeing that some people don¡¯t want to use such a word as ¡®idol¡¯ to describe us, my personal response is, please recognize Kaleido¡¯s identity as that of idol singers.¡±


    His eyes were very sincere. ¡°In fact, the profession of being an idol isn¡¯t some kind of disgrace, and its existence must be valuable. I really enjoy being an idol and expressing myself on-stage. Rather than being excluded from the idol category, our dream is more that when everyone sees the word ¡®idol¡¯, they will think of us.¡±


    The applause below the stage grew more and more enthusiastic, and it was not just out of everyone in the audience loving Fang Juexia. These girls had also suffered from prejudice, and just because their idol was an idol, they were usually thrust into the bottom layer of the online social hierarchy. Even if there were many excellent people in their group, it was useless, and  such prejudice would last forever.


    Upon hearing Fang Juexia¡¯s words, Pei Tingsong felt ashamed. He was proud, but not arrogant, and was brave enough to admit his initial mistakes.


    In the beginning, when he had just arrived at this company, he had an attitude of passive resistance when it came to engaging with this profession. Like many people with blinkers on, he had a prejudice against idols, believing that idols weren¡¯t as good as singers or hip-hop artists.


    He thought that these people were just singing empty songs given to them by others and dancing like beautiful puppets. He disdained to put his dream into such an empty and superficial form.


    But the facts had proved him wrong, and the Fang Juexia in front of him was the most vivid counterattack against this prejudice.


    From him, Pei Tingsong had gradually discovered the real form of an idol, which was a nearly perfect external form wrapped around a tenacious core.


    Fang Juexia wasn¡¯t pursuing a dream, and he had had no smooth road or a bright vision. All he had from the beginning to the end was the label of ¡°a mistake¡±, and had faced attack, slander, darkness and loneliness. Even so, he still approached the stage step by step, feeling his way forward, crawling forward, and then running forward.


    Everyone had explored all kinds of spirit, with there being the hip-hop spirit, rock and roll spirit¡­ But no one had thought that maybe idols also had a spirit.


    And Fang Juexia was the very projection of that idol spirit.

 CH 63

    Chapter 63 ¨C Fearing Being Bewitched


    He was afraid that spring was short-lived.


    The author has something to say:


    In the article, Juexia¡¯s cover song is Faye Wong¡¯s ¡°Bewitchment¡°, which is a song I love very much. I hope every comment you send out comes from the appreciation of the music itself. Please respect the work itself. Thank you.


    ¡ª


    Under Fang Juexia¡¯s influence, Pei Tingsong had really started to love this idol identity, and had really integrated into the Kaleido group. He no longer felt the strain of his different identities clashing together, and he no longer thought that being a hip-hop artist was the only possible manifestation of his dream.


    He remembered what Fang Juexia had said to him when they were still clashing against each other like water and fire.


    [Dreams are the sort of things that can¡¯t be divided into high or low, but only realized or unrealized.]


    Its forms were diverse, but the unchanging core was the truth.


    He also had to admit that it was really wonderful to express himself on stage, especially with such a group of loving bandmates standing beside him.


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Pei Tingsong raised his microphone. ¡°Now I can proudly declare to myself and to everyone else that I am a member of an idol group and am an idol.¡±


    The host gave them a look of approval. He nodded and smiled, and then told the fans, ¡°I have to reveal a little something to everyone. In fact, I am also a person they got to come at the last minute to save the show. You guys know that stars have schedules, but hosts do so as well. Originally, this meetup was going to be held in early April, and the schedule had been decided very early on. Then, suddenly, a staff member from Star Chart called me several times and asked if I could come in early, which was actually very difficult, because I was already scheduled to be at another activity tonight, but after I heard the ins and outs of the situation, I immediately agreed.


    ¡°It¡¯s very hard for everyone to imagine how these boys have spent these past few days. They don¡¯t even have time to eat or sleep, and they had to try their utmost to present this completed album to you and everyone.¡± The host said with a smile, ¡°So let¡¯s give Kaleido a little applause, OK?¡±


    The fans below the stage used their greatest enthusiasm to give back to them, and many girls even cried. He Ziyan and Lu Yuan once again came to the rescue by joking around, thereby dragging the atmosphere back up. The six people performed the album¡¯s second main hit song for everyone, which was a very light style dance music.


    They also showed a highlight and gag reel taken of them when they were filming their MV. This video started with Jiang Miao playing the guzheng. The cameraman asked him if the ebony guzheng was expensive, and Jiang Miao raised his head and laughed, replying that it was a bit expensive.


    Jiang Miao, sitting on the stage, watched and looked at the video, then picked up the microphone. ¡°This was the first guzheng that I saved money to buy after my debut. It took me a long time to save enough money to buy it.¡±


    The fans below yelled his name, and Lu Yuan said with a smile, ¡°Miao Ge takes care to maintain this guzheng every morning, it¡¯s like his treasured baby.¡±


    Soon, the image on the screen changed, and they came to the desert park. He Ziyan pointed at the big screen with a smile and asked, ¡°Does this look very much like a desert?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s actually a desert park,¡± Ling Yi pretended to be angry, complaining, ¡°Hmph, we didn¡¯t get to go to Xinjiang like we planned.¡±


    The highlight reel showed He Ziyan and Lu Yuan fighting each other with two fake swords in the middle of the desert. Originally, their handsomeness was enough to prompt the fans into screaming, but suddenly, when Ling Yi was heard shouting madly from outside the picture, everyone couldn¡¯t help but start laughing.


    ¡°Ling Yi,¡± He Ziyan pressed his head. ¡°Time-out warning.¡±


    ¡°Hahahahaha!¡±


    While laughing, Pei Tingsong¡¯s highlight reel appeared on the big screen, the one showing him doing the promotional photo shoot for the album, which immediately triggered screams from below.


    ¡°Ah, Xiao Pei! Xiao Pei is so hot!¡±


    ¡°Oh, my God, how is Pinot Tree Supreme this hot?¡±


    Pei Tingsong shamelessly accepted the praise, then turned around halfway while stretching out a hand to make a gesture for them to quiet down, ¡°Alright, alright, I know I¡¯m very hot.¡±


    Who knew that suddenly the screams would grow louder, nearly overturning the roof of the hall. Only then did Pei Tingsong turn his head to look at the scene currently on the screen, which was him half-embracing Fang Juexia while performing archery on the horse. There was also a line printed below ¡ª this picture was taken by a staff member¡¯s cellphone.


    Fang Juexia, who was shocked by the screams, turned around to see the scene of Pei Tingsong teaching him archery from another perspective. He fell into a trance after seeing that, uneasily licked his lips, then turned his head away, just to exactly collide with Pei Tingsong¡¯s gaze.


    He saw the light and shadows on Pei Tingsong¡¯s face, and the corner of his mouth that was quirked up.


    The tide boiling around them were actually unaware of the truth. As he fell into this frothy whirlpool, Fang Juexia became more and more aware that he could only be a performer on the stage; he wasn¡¯t a good actor. Clearly, this was a play being staged for everyone, and both sides were standing beside each other either for their own or the group¡¯s interests, and even if they were standing shoulder to shoulder, their hearts were so very far away. Thus, they had to camouflage themselves, had to appear to be hand in glove with each other, and at worst, had to look like a pair of bros who had never been estranged.


    However, by the end of performing this play, who had actually entered this play.


    Fang Juexia was really confused.


    When the highlight reel on the screen ended, the host told the fans who were still excited, ¡°Kaleido recorded a lot of wonderful highlight clips and gags in the process of preparing the album. This was only a small part, and the rest of it can be seen by everyone on the ensemble show.¡±


    Lu Yuan couldn¡¯t help but give him a thumb¡¯s up. ¡°The host is too on track.¡±


    The host laughed. ¡°Okay, so next is the performance time. For this meetup for the new album that they have been working on for a year, each of the six members of Kaleido have specially prepared solo performances for you all. Taking the lead, the first one to bring us a performance is Captain Jiang Miao, who will play ¡®Spring on Snow Mountain¡¯ for everyone.¡±


    Everyone exited the stage together, and the closer they got to the backstage, the darker the area became. Pei Tingsong was originally walking behind Fang Juexia, but he deliberately quickened his pace to come to position in front of him, with his back very close to him. In this way, he could help Fang Juexia by leading the way.


    Only when they had completely left the stage and couldn¡¯t see anything below it anymore did Pei Tingsong grab his arm. He had changed. Originally, he could recklessly act out intimate scenes in front of the audience, but now that he knew he really liked Fang Juexia, he felt guilty about this dazzling fanservice play. He would rather hide it from public view than treat it more carefully and sincerely.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine.¡± Fang Juexia said in a low voice, ¡°You¡¯re being a little obvious like this.¡±


    ¡°Obvious about what?¡± Pei Tingsong leaned close to his ear. ¡°Obvious that I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll fall, or obvious that I like you?¡±


    Fang Juexia¡¯s heart beat so fast it felt like it was flying, but he still stared straight right back at him, looking a little surprised and also a little angry. Pei Tingsong thought he looked cute like this, but he didn¡¯t dare to engage with him anymore. He could only just adjust the proper limits of his speech and say, ¡°I¡¯m kidding.¡±


    But Fang Juexia wasn¡¯t angry, and he didn¡¯t feel angry. Listening to the song being played on the stage, he felt like he was some kind of hibernating and dormant creature living in the snow, his rigid body wrapped in cold scales. This was the norm for him, and it conformed with the rules. Yet now, before the snow could melt away, he had changed first.


    He couldn¡¯t change, he had to be that cold-blooded animal, otherwise, how could he continue living?


    Spring was short-lived.


    He was afraid that spring was short-lived.


    The sounds of the guzheng were like melting snow, and the strings vibrated slightly as they were teased. Pei Tingsong quietly changed the topic. ¡°You¡¯re going to be on stage soon? I heard you changed your song.¡±


    ¡°En.¡± Fang Juexia¡¯s eyes drifted down, and he looked at the floor, at the boundary of shadows between the stage and the backstage.


    ¡°What song did you switch to?¡± Pei Tingsong asked.


    Fang Juexia lowered his head and only upon seeing that several staff members had moved a white piano to the corner of the stage did he say, ¡°You¡¯ll hear it soon.¡±


    The strings of the guzheng fell on the last note, and amidst the cheers, the host called out Fang Juexia¡¯s name.


    ¡°Then I¡­ will pretend that you¡¯re singing it for me.¡± Right before Fang Juexia stepped onto the stage, Pei Tingsong whispered such a sentence to him.


    Fang Juexia inhaled deeply, then walked towards the stage without looking back. He sat in front of the piano, adjusted the microphone, looked at the fans, and his voice was gentle as he spoke, ¡°I heard you guys really wanted to hear me sing a Cantonese song.¡±


    ¡°Ahhhhhhhhhhh!¡±


    ¡°A Cantonese song!! It¡¯s really a Cantonese song!¡±


    Listening to the cries of the fans, Fang Juexia smiled, placed his slender fingers on top of the piano keys, and drew in a deep breath.


    ¡°This song, ¡®Bewitchment¡¯, is for you all.¡±


    The sound of the piano was as gentle as water, and Fang Juexia lowered his head slightly, getting close to the microphone. ¡°Don¡¯t call me too grateful to you, the color of this medicine is exquisite beyond compare.¡± His voice was still special, but had been infected with more emotions than usual, and now, he no longer was someone who broke away to tell someone else¡¯s story. ¡°Don¡¯t let me taste this fare, numb with pleasure through.¡±


    Fang Juexia was an established skilled singer, but this was the first time everyone had heard him sing a Cantonese song. It was just that it wasn¡¯t clear to everyone that he wasn¡¯t using any skills to sing this song, for this wasn¡¯t him singing a song, it was practically his own inner monologue.


    Last night¡¯s coincidence had allowed this song to pop up, and every word beat against his heart.


    ¡°Why move me? It¡¯s hard for me to get used to, and waiting for me is minimal pain.¡± The ending note, held for a long moment, trembled a bit, carrying within it a fragility that Fang Juexia had never had before. Every time he sang a line, it was like he was asking him.


    ¡°Fear what? Fearing loving someone. Holding on to my emotions, always sensitive when I receive a gift.


    ¡°Fear what? Fearing getting used to risking everything to love someone. But I don¡¯t know how to go on, so that after this vacation it¡¯ll become true.¡±


    Hearing this, Pei Tingsong, who was standing at the side of the stage, was stunned.


    The accompaniment music started to play on the stage, and Fang Juexia took the microphone off the stand, stood up, left the piano, and walked to the center of the stage, closer to the fans. His voice was shaking a bit, which was very abnormal for him, a professional idol who had been training for many years.


    Fang Juexia adjusted his breath, then opened his mouth and began to sing the song again.


    Pei Tingsong had heard this song before. He liked to study  lyrics, and he had listened to many famous Chinese works, among which ¡®Bewitchment¡¯ was also one. When he heard Fang Juexia sing, ¡°Afraid of getting used to risking everything to love someone,¡± his first reaction was heartache.


    He knew how hard it was for Fang Juexia to accept a relationship. Fang Juexia lived by rules, and refusing love was one of the rules he abided by.


    What a struggle it was to overthrow the rules established by oneself.


    ¡°Fear what? Fearing being bewitched. Holding on to my emotions, have to be careful, afraid of losing my heart.¡±


    Standing in the center of the stage, Fang Juexia really peeled off his shell for the first time, and it was not the shell that resisted the outside world, but the one that was wrapped around all his emotions.


    ¡°Love what?¡±


    He pierced himself, letting his emotions flow out into the song, ¡°Love makes me dare to repay too many people.


    ¡°But I don¡¯t know how to escape with my life.¡±

 CH 64

    Chapter 64 ¨C The Withered Branch¡¯s Spring


    Do you like me or do you not like me?


    At the end of the whole song, Fang Juexia let out a breath.


    In his thought process, when someone expressed love for him, he had to repay it by expressing gratitude, and giving a response. Pei Tingsong was the only exception. Fang Juexia knew that he should respond, but he was also afraid of responding. At least by singing this song out loud, it could count as being a kind of answer.


    He was just like a bee that had fallen into a honeypot and was now completely wrapped up in sweet honey, and was now both happy and frightened. Emotionally, he had sampled and tasted an unprecedented delicacy, but his intellect warned him about the possibility of drowning.


    Pei Tingsong and He Ziyan¡¯s performance followed his, so after he finished singing his song, they didn¡¯t even have time for a hug. This was just their job. Fang Juexia even felt guilty; this was the first time that he had indulged in his own selfish motives while working and had expressed his private emotions in front of so many people. He shouldn¡¯t have done it, but he had inevitably fallen into doing so.


    He had fallen into a spring day, one that he had never seen before, and he tried to get it to keep him. But it seemed very likely that he wouldn¡¯t even be able to keep his own pool of snow.


    Ling Yi half lay on his shoulder. ¡°I feel like Xiao Pei isn¡¯t quite in the right state ah.¡±


    Strictly speaking, this performance didn¡¯t count as being a solo performance, but He Ziyan and Pei Tingsong had combined their acts, one acting as the DJ, and the other as the rapper.


    Lu Yuan also chimed in, ¡°I too think so, he¡¯s usually more explosive. I can¡¯t say what¡¯s wrong today, but other people can¡¯t tell, so it¡¯s fine.¡±


    Jiang Miao took a look at Fang Juexia, then at the people on the stage.


    ¡°Everyone has been tired recently, it¡¯s impossible to be in a good state all the time.¡± Jiang Miao patted Fang Juexia on the shoulder. ¡°After we get through the promotional performances, we¡¯ll be good.¡±


    Fang Juexia¡¯s eyes drifted towards the people on stage just like that. He was a little confused, and kept wondering if Pei Tingsong had understood the meaning of his song, and if that was why he was feeling a bit frustrated on-stage right now. However, Fang Juexia didn¡¯t want him to be like that. He liked Pei Tingsong¡¯s confidence and magnanimity, and he wanted Pei Tingsong to be like that forever.


    ¡°Thank you, He Ziyan and Pei Tingsong. Everyone, please give them the warmest applause! Who¡¯s next?¡±


    Amidst the voice of the host, Pei Tingsong stepped down from the stage and approached Fang Juexia step by step. To be honest, Fang Juexia was very uneasy, and he had even imagined many embarrassing scenarios for this situation in his mind. However, Pei Tingsong just came to a stand beside him, standing with him side by side, maintaining only a distance of about 15 cm between them. Only after Ling Yi went on-stage did he speak in a low voice.


    ¡°I¡¯m a little tired, and I don¡¯t even have anything to lean on here.¡±


    Fang Juexia was puzzled by his sudden statement and turned his face to look at him. Pei Tingsong also turned his head. ¡°Can I hold you for a bit?¡±


    It was like this every time; clearly, the person who needed to be held was himself, but Pei Tingsong would come up with a good excuse and regain the initiative, efficiently taking charge. He looked fiercely aggressive, but after his confession, even physical contact between them had been reduced as much as possible, unless Fang Juexia¡¯s consent was sought beforehand. Pei Tingsong had expressed himself straight-forwardly and actively, but his actions gave Fang Juexia enough respect.


    Only after realising that things were just like this did Fang Juexia understand that he had no way to hide.


    The silence between them allowed time to stretch as if in slow-motion, prolonging everything, and making every minute miserable. From the first time that he had confirmed that he liked Fang Juexia, Pei Tingsong had already anticipated the difficulty of the pursuit. Wasn¡¯t it just like his risky escapades in ¡®Escape For Your Life,¡¯ didn¡¯t he already know that he would probably fail? Of course he knew that, but there was always a slight chance of success.


    Without waiting for Fang Juexia¡¯s answer, he wanted to go ahead and say ¡®forget it¡¯. He hung his head down and prepared to give him some room while he went to find someone else to talk to, but at the next moment, Fang Juexia turned to face him.


    ¡°I¡­¡± Fang Juexia was a little embarrassed. ¡°I¡¯m too thin. It shouldn¡¯t feel very comfortable holding me.¡±


    Pei Tingsong suddenly came back to life. He saw the uneasy expression on Fang Juexia¡¯s face and his arms that were stuck somewhere between stretching out and not stretching out, and he felt that he was the happiest person in the whole world at this moment.


    Having gained Fang Juexia¡¯s permission, he immediately hugged him and put his chin on his shoulder, acting completely like a satisfied large dog. Fang Juexia liked the feeling of Pei Tingsong pressing his weight onto himself; it sort of exuded the feeling of being depended on and trusted.


    ¡°Who says it¡¯s uncomfortable? You were deceiving me.¡±


    Pei Tingsong buried his head and tightened his arms. ¡°Clearly, it¡¯s very comfortable.¡±


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t know what to say. He turned his head to see He Ziyan laughing at this.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter with Xiao Pei? He¡¯s so weak after singing only one whole song ah,¡± He Ziyan continued joking, ¡°20 years old, and he¡¯s still a big spoiled child who wants a cuddle.¡±


    Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t look up, simply raising up a hand in He Ziyan¡¯s direction and sticking out a middle finger.


    Fang Juexia raised his hand and rubbed his back. They communicated with each other in silence and completed their conversation with a simple hug. It had taken him too much courage to sing that song, and it had made him directly face the uneasiness and disquiet that existed in his heart, but right now, his heart seemed to have calmed down and restored its equilibrium in Pei Tingsong¡¯s arms.


    As the ending of this meetup neared, the six members went on-stage together and sang a non-main song from their debut album, which was a very happy song. They were also forced to start providing cute fanservice. Each one of them was wearing a hairband with plush ears on top. Fang Juexia¡¯s ears were rabbit ears while Pei Tingsong¡¯s were gray wolf ears. They carried a small basket containing some small gifts in their hands. These were some little doll versions of the Kaleido members, some snacks, and official printed song lyrics cards.


    While singing, everyone scattered the gifts in the small basket into the crowd. The scene suddenly became noisy, and all the fans in the front row grew very excited. Lu Yuan and Ling Yi, in particular, skipped around the whole place, shaking hands with the fans in the front row nearest to the stage.


    After he finished singing his part, Fang Juexia adjusted his earpiece and looked at the fans in the back row. He then picked out the soft dolls from his small basket and went as far to the edge of the stage as possible, trying hard to throw the small dolls further away so that the fans in the back row could get them.


    ¡°Ahhhhhhhh! Juexia Gege!¡±


    ¡°Juexia Gege, look at me! Here!¡±


    A lot of hands stretched out towards the edge of the stage, and Fang Juexia instinctually took a step back. After throwing all the dolls out, he crouched down and sprinkled the candy gently to the front rows.


    ¡°Juexia Gege!!¡±


    ¡°I also want some!¡±


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s eyes couldn¡¯t leave Fang Juexia. While rapping out his part, he walked over to Fang Juexia. Coincidentally, with the end of this rap came the harmony part between them, with one high and one low. Fang Juexia¡¯s basket had already been emptied out by this time, but the fans were like a flock of hungry little birds. Even if he turned the basket upside down, they still kept calling out his name. Fang Juexia looked back and saw Pei Tingsong behind him, so he wanted to take some things from his basket.


    Looking at the way Fang Juexia was crouched near the edge and stretching out his hands, Pei Tingsong thought that he was so cute that he was about to die from it. However, just at this time, he saw a pair of hands grab Fang Juexia¡¯s arm and violently drag him down, catching him completely off guard.


    Those didn¡¯t look like a girl¡¯s hands.


    Fang Juexia was shocked and started to fall back. Pei Tingsong hurried up and pulled Fang Juexia back towards the stage. However, at that same moment, those surprise-attacking hands released Fang Juexia to go and grasp at Pei Tingsong¡¯s elbow. Pei Tingsong¡¯s center of gravity was already tilting forward when he rushed over, and so, with this, he directly fell off the stage.


    ¡°Ah!¡±


    ¡°Pei Tingsong fell down!¡±


    ¡°My God!¡±


    The scene below the stage burst into an uproar, and Fang Juexia, who had already been shocked, upon seeing Pei Tingsong fall down, felt as if his brain had exploded with a buzzing sound.


    How could this happen¡­


    Without thinking about it, Fang Juexia directly jumped off the stage. ¡°You guys get out of the way a bit! Don¡¯t step on him.¡± He used his own body to protect Pei Tingsong, and was pushed into half-kneeling on the ground. The backs of his hands, which were on the ground, were stepped on several times in the confusion, but he couldn¡¯t feel it at all.


    His mind was just full of Pei Tingsong.


    The security guards came from both ends of the stage to separate the fans from them. Although the height of this stage wasn¡¯t that high, Pei Tingsong had fallen down due to an external force and had landed pretty hard. The other members also immediately rushed over, but were stopped by the security and staff members. A big incident had already occured, and the other artists couldn¡¯t encounter any more accidents.


    The ringing in Fang Juexia¡¯s ears continued; he couldn¡¯t hear anything at all, as if he had fallen into the deep sea. He couldn¡¯t control his eyes, and they burned and felt sore. He whispered Pei Tingsong¡¯s name in the noisy stadium, over and over again.


    The one who should have fallen was clearly himself, not Pei Tingsong.


    Pei Tingsong hadn¡¯t lost consciousness, and he also put his head on Fang Juexia¡¯s leg, as if to stop him from worrying anymore. The event was suspended after this accident took place, and Pei Tingsong was rushed to the hospital, with all of the group members going with him.


    Fang Juexia¡¯s hands kept trembling the entire time he spent sitting in the car. He had seen that Pei Tingsong¡¯s forehead and cheekbones were bruised from the fall, his wound had been bleeding, his eyebrows had been furrowed tight, and his forehead had been sweating. Just thinking about it made Fang Juexia feel pained, and his heart was currently hanging in midair, bumping and colliding against his chest back and forth.


    If only he hadn¡¯t gotten close to the edge of the stage, if only Pei Tingsong hadn¡¯t reached out and pulled him back.


    If he had been the one to fall, Fang Juexia actually wouldn¡¯t be this upset.


    As if seeing his worry, Pei Tingsong stretched out a hand, shook Fang Juexia¡¯s hand, and put up a smiling face.


    Seeing his weak smile made Fang Juexia feel even worse. His nose stung, and his eyes were sore.


    His self-protection mechanisms had, early on, made him learn that he should not look at any external evaluations of him, nor take any of it to heart. But now, Fang Juexia actually thought back to those anonymous people cursing him out, commenting that he was a disaster magnet, and that anyone who came near him would become unlucky.


    Logically thinking, these kinds of words, which were full of flaws and had no scientific basis, were worthless of being analyzed by him. However, after seeing Pei Tingsong get injured on his behalf, Fang Juexia, for the very first time, truly grew afraid that the other people¡¯s cursing words had really come true.


    When they got to the hospital, Cheng Qiang answered the phone, and his face grew grim. After hanging up, he told them, ¡°This situation isn¡¯t quite right. Originally, we thought it was a stage accident caused because of the fans¡¯ excitement, but now it doesn¡¯t look like that. The security guard who had been closest to the two of them reported to their venue director that he saw that the person who dragged Xiao Pei down wasn¡¯t a fan.¡±


    Fang Juexia immediately added, ¡°It wasn¡¯t a girl. They were very strong, and they were very violent when taking action; it should be a man.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re going to check the surveillance now, and with a little effort, they will definitely find them.¡± Cheng Qiang was very angry and cursed several times. ¡°We must send this grandson to prison, he intended to harm him, I¡¯m not even going to sue him!¡±


    ¡°Was it an anti-fan?¡± Ling Yi guessed.


    He Ziyan had some doubts. ¡°The tickets for the meetup weren¡¯t given out casually; all the people there bought the album and then got the ticket through a lottery, so the chances of that happening aren¡¯t high.¡±


    Pei Tingsong was sent in to get examined, and they had to wait outside for the results.


    Ling Yi was a little bit afraid. ¡°I was also on the edge of the stage just now¡­¡±


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t understand; there had been so many people and the other members had also been at the edge of the stage at the time, but only his hand was grabbed, and it seemed premeditated. If Pei Tingsong hadn¡¯t appeared at that time, he would have been the one who had fallen down just now. If that person had taken any other further actions after that, he might have even gotten seriously injured.


    It couldn¡¯t still be Astar?


    ¡°I feel like they came for me.¡± Fang Juexia explained the situation to Cheng Qiang. After hearing this, Cheng Qiang pondered for a while. ¡°It¡¯s very possible it was vicious competition. The means within this circle are very dirty; a little actor I used to know had just gotten popular when, while filming a movie, someone did something and broke his leg and hand. The golden time for signing a contract on the film was gone just like that, and then he faded away quietly after that.¡±


    Jiang Miao sighed. ¡°I actually thought it was a stalker fan.¡±


    ¡°All of it will happen.¡± Cheng Qiang gave them a shot of reality. ¡°Before, you weren¡¯t popular enough, and many things were still very simple. Now that you are popular, the people and things you meet will all become more complicated. Stalker fans, antis, all kinds of slanders, traps, and even fanatical fans won¡¯t be absent from your lives. The company will do its best to protect you guys, and you guys should also protect yourselves. Learn to keep your distance.¡±


    Cheng Qiang kept getting calls one after another. Due to the livestream, the news about the stage accident quickly fermented online, and the entry titled ¡®Pei Tingsong falls from the stage¡¯ soon appeared on the Hot Search list. He had to immediately arrange for people to keep an eye on public opinion to avoid anyone from seizing a pretext to distort the situation. The Internet was so absurd; even if you were the victim, after going through the sewage online, you could end up becoming the target of public criticism, and there would be no way left to talk your way out of it at that point.


    ¡°The company has just already transferred some personnel over. Security isn¡¯t a trivial matter, and we will arrange more than six bodyguards in the future, with each person having at least one security personnel to protect them.¡±


    The doctor who did the examination opened the door and came out to communicate with Cheng Qiang. ¡°The patient has contusions on his forehead, cheekbones, elbows, and knees. He has sustained a mild concussion from the impact and needs rest. More troublesome is the patient¡¯s carpal bone fracture on his left wrist; it may have occurred when he was trying to support himself with his wrists when he fell, and it¡¯s more serious, so  we need to do a minor operation.¡±


    An operation.


    Fang Juexia was not as calm as usual after hearing this. ¡°Then how long will it take to get better? Will it affect the use of his hands in the future?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± the doctor repeated, ¡°It¡¯s a minor operation. It will just take about three to four weeks to recover from it.¡±


    After a quick explanation, the doctor began to prepare for the operation. There were very few people in the private hospital, and all of them waited in the waiting room. The accident had happened so suddenly, and Cheng Qiang¡¯s workload had also increased suddenly. After repeatedly checking the official Weibo announcement, he arranged for someone to post it. After receiving a phone call, he stood up and said to the members, ¡°Xiao Wen has come with the newly arranged security personnel, and they¡¯re just downstairs. For today, let¡¯s all go back and have a good rest. I¡¯ll coordinate with CloudTV about tomorrow morning¡¯s performance, and we¡¯ll push it back by a day.¡±


    Everyone stood up, but Fang Juexia didn¡¯t move. He raised his head. ¡°Qiang Ge, I¡¯ll stay ba. You have so many things to deal with, you go back to the company first.¡±


    Cheng Qiang was not at ease. ¡°That won¡¯t work, you have to go back to rest now.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t rest well now.¡± Fang Juexia looked at him and said, ¡°Xiao Pei was dragged down because he came to save me.¡±


    Cheng Qiang knew Fang Juexia¡¯s character very well, and was clearly aware that he was a child who liked to take all responsibilities onto his shoulders. ¡°I can let you stay, but I will arrange for several staff members to wait for you guys outside. Let them know if you need help, but don¡¯t blame yourself.¡±


    Ling Yi also couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°Yes ah, Juexia, it¡¯s not like this is something you did.¡±


    The other members came to comfort him, and Fang Juexia smiled. ¡°I know. You guys go back quickly ba, and rest early. If anything happens, I¡¯ll call you as soon as I can.¡±


    No one could out-stubborn him, so Cheng Qiang had to arrange for a few people to come over and stand guard outside the waiting room. After they all left, the room was quiet.


    Fang Juexia sat on the sofa in silence, waiting for the operation to end. The hands of the clock in his heart turned around and around, ticking away, allowing him to gradually recover his calm. But no matter how calm he got, as long as he closed his eyes, that moment of Pei Tingsong falling off the stage, with the bustling crowd and the scattered candy all over the ground, would always appear.


    Objectively the operation didn¡¯t take a very long time, but in Fang Juexia¡¯s mind, it seemed that a long, long time had passed by before the door of the waiting room was finally opened and a nurse came to inform him, ¡°The patient¡¯s operation has been completed, and he has now been transferred to a single ward.¡±


    ¡°Is he all right?¡± Fang Juexia stood up.


    ¡°He¡¯s fine, but he has a cast on his hand, so it may not be very easy to move around.¡±


    Fang Juexia let out a breath and followed the nurse to the single room located in the VIP suite. Pei Tingsong lay quietly in a bed with his eyes closed.


    ¡°Is he in a stupor?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± The nurse replied, ¡°The operation was performed under only local anesthesia, but he seemed very tired and fell asleep.¡±


    Fang Juexia nodded and sat beside the bed.


    ¡°The patient may have a headache and tinnitus after waking up, and these are all after-effects of a minor concussion. If there are any other symptoms, please call us.¡±


    ¡°Yes, thank you.¡±


    The nurse closed the door, and the room immediately grew quiet. Fang Juexia looked at Pei Tingsong, who was asleep. The wound on his face was wrapped in gauze and his left wrist was in a cast.


    He was already this old, but this was the first time his heart had ached for someone like this. Fang Juexia even started to suspect whether he and Pei Tingsong were fated to always live in conflict; almost all injuries that Pei Tingsong had suffered, be it big and small, were caused by him. He thought of how after his solo performance, Pei Tingsong had even acted coquettish and he had let him hold him, and now Pei Tingsong was suddenly injured and lying in bed.


    How painful a fracture must be ah.


    Contemplating all this made Fang Juexia¡¯s nose sting. He stretched out his hand and rubbed the plaster on Pei Tingsong¡¯s wrist. His fingertips slowly moved forward along the plaster and touched the back half of his hand that was exposed under the plaster. The raised joints of his fingers gently covered Pei Tingsong¡¯s hand.


    His fingertips rubbed against the warm skin, and unconsciously, their fingers intertwined together.


    His heart was aching and tightening all over.


    It turned out that he likes this person so much.


    His intertwined fingers started to retract from the grasp, but before they could, they were caught by the clenched hand, retaining and buckling down on the ten fingers that had almost escaped.


    He was awake?


    Fang Juexia got up and looked at Pei Tingsong. He saw that Pei Tingsong¡¯s eyes were still closed, but the corners of his mouth had quirked up. He was pretending to be asleep, but he wasn¡¯t succeeding at it at all.


    ¡°You¡¯re awake.¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    Fang Juexia was not in the mood to joke with him. ¡°Are you okay? Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere? Does your head really hurt? Do you want me to call the doctor?¡±


    ¡°You are being so frantic that people who didn¡¯t know what was going on would think that I¡¯ve been seriously injured.¡± Pei Tingsong opened his eyes and laughed at him. ¡°I¡¯m okay, just a little dizzy. I want to sit up.¡±


    Fang Juexia hurried to help him adjust the bed so that he could lean against the pillows. He clearly had a lot to say, but when he saw Pei Tingsong really awake, he couldn¡¯t utter a word. Pei Tingsong just looked at him being like this, and being watched by him like this made Fang Juexia lower his eyes. His throat was blocked for a long time before he said with difficulty, ¡°Tomorrow¡­. we don¡¯t have to go singing tomorrow morning. It¡¯s been delayed by a day.¡±


    As soon as he said that, he regretted it. There were clearly so many other things he could have said, why did he have to just choose this particular sentence? Even at this time, he was actually still talking about work, just like a fool.


    Suddenly he heard a soft laugh. Pei Tingsong¡¯s voice was very gentle when he asked, ¡°Did this really scare you?¡±


    Fang Juexia raised his eyes. As soon as he met his gaze, he looked away again, curled his lips, and didn¡¯t say anything again.


    Pei Tingsong spoke up, looking out for himself, ¡°Guess what? When I had just fallen asleep now, I dreamt that you sang for me again. It was that song you sang during the day. I heard it again, it¡¯s really nice.¡±


    Saying that, he then looked at Fang Juexia and asked, ¡°You sang that song for me, right?¡±


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t deny it, tacitly agreeing with him.


    Maybe, he didn¡¯t sing it just for Pei Tingsong, but also for himself.


    ¡°Did I scare you?¡± He asked the question again, but this time, he added himself as a subject to it.


    Fang Juexia was not a person who was used to scrutinizing other people¡¯s words, but with Pei Tingsong, he could quickly realize the emotions conveyed through subtle details.


    ¡°No.¡±


    Pei Tingsong smiled. ¡°At first, I thought that love was the same as many other things. As long as I want it, I would definitely be able to obtain it. To tell you the truth, I¡¯m also afraid that my pursuit will cause trouble for you. Whenever I say a single word, I¡¯ll also repeatedly struggle to control myself to stay within the bounds of propriety.¡±


    He looked at Fang Juexia. ¡°I can¡¯t help it, this is also the first time I¡¯ve ever liked someone.¡±


    Fang Juexia suddenly felt uncomfortable. Sometimes, because of Pei Tingsong¡¯s boldness and bravery, he would forget that this person was actually a boy younger than himself. This boy had carelessly dug his heart out and had shown it to him, but he didn¡¯t even have the courage to look at it. He just hid inside his shell and calculated the probability of failure.


    ¡°I know,¡± Pei Tingsong continued, ¡°I don¡¯t seem to be a person who can give off a sense of safety. But I hope you understand that I am pursuing you this way because I am just such a person, not because it¡¯s some frivolous quick decision on my part.¡±


    ¡°I have never questioned your sincerity.¡± Fang Juexia looked down. ¡°Never.¡±


    ¡°Then raise your head and look at me.¡±


    Fang Juexia raised his head and looked at him.


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s face was pale, but his pupils were very bright. ¡°Fang Juexia, the world is really rotten. Disaster, war, disease, unrest, verbal violence, and endless harm and suffering keep plaguing people. Everything around us is absurd and fragile. I¡¯m an out-and-out rebel against this philosophy, and I despise trying to integrate with this society. Yes, the rules of life in this society force us to converge, and only by keeping the same values and behavior as most people can we live a better life. But I hate this kind of life.


    ¡°I only believe in myself, and I want to break away from all the rules to find my ¡®self¡¯. So I¡¯m arrogant, I¡¯m overbearing, and I only have myself and the so-called freedom I want to pursue in my eyes.


    ¡°But now, I find that it turns out that I also have something that I want to draw close to and converge with.¡± He looked at Fang Juexia. ¡°It¡¯s you. I want to be close to you, to understand your values, your outlook on life, and to be a gentle and powerful person like you.¡±


    Fang Juexia was a little dazed. He could only look into Pei Tingsong¡¯s eyes and see the light trembling within them.


    ¡°But I¡¯m not as good as you think.¡±


    ¡°You are.¡± Pei Tingsong retorted without any scruples, ¡°You just don¡¯t know how good you are. As long as you smile at me, I can refute myself, and in fact, will believe that this world can be saved. You¡¯re so good that you made a rebel give up on his resistance.¡±


    He took Fang Juexia¡¯s hand in his right hand and said, ¡°You are the first person who has ever moved my heart. If you don¡¯t have any feelings for me at all, I can be like most of the other useless people in this world, liking someone without uttering a word. I can also hide from and avoid you and be an ordinary bandmate with you just like Ling Yi and them. But you obviously also like me, and I can¡¯t just let you go like that.¡±


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s tone was so firm, firm to the point that Fang Juexia had no strength left at all to refute him. He had to admit that Pei Tingsong was right. He was afraid; he was afraid that he would plunge head-first into it, but then in the end, he would be the only one left. He was afraid that he really was a hopeless romantic, just like his mother, and would become a withered grass who would spend his whole life awaiting that one short spring.


    He issued a final resistance on his part. ¡°We might not have a good ending.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want an ending, I want right now.¡± Pei Tingsong held his hand tightly. ¡°People who are born will all die, and all of our endings are death. But because it is just like that, do you give up on life? I don¡¯t want to lose my long cherished goal simply because of some value of calculated probability of failure, I want to live every heart-stopping moment of it.


    ¡°You just need to tell me, do you like me or do you not like me?¡±


    Fang Juexia¡¯s reason once again activated his protection mechanisms. He should refuse and keep silent; he had countless plans to protect himself and provide the tiniest bit of space for the two of them to turn back.


    He really did have all these.


    But Fang Juexia raised his head and looked straight into Pei Tingsong¡¯s eyes, his whole being like a withered branch that was about to be broken.


    ¡°I like you.¡±


    Only upon breaking the moment did he find the last bit of his vigor.


    ¡°Pei Tingsong, I like you.¡±

 CH 65

    Chapter 65 ¨C Arguing Over Little Details


    How can I like you so much ah?


    He finally admitted it in the end, and the moment he spoke, Fang Juexia seemed to have made the most rebellious decision he had ever made in his life. Yet, he was saved by this. For so many days, the push and pull of infatuation and shrinking away had almost torn him apart. He had immersed himself in a glacier of logic, but his heart had just wanted to jump into the boiling molten lava that was Pei Tingsong¡¯s crazy love.


    Everything will eventually come to an end, and it was still the heart that gets the final say.


    Pei Tingsong almost thought that he had heard wrong; he had thought that no matter how long he waited, he wouldn¡¯t get an answer. The heap of nonsense he had just blurted out even made him feel ashamed; it had been complete nonsense with no order at all, but then he had actually gotten an answer.


    Doubt followed the second after the initial ecstasy. He was afraid that Fang Juexia would follow this up with a ¡°but¡±, as if this was just another form of rejection. So he couldn¡¯t help asking, ¡°You¡­are you telling the truth?¡±


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t expect suspicion. ¡°Of course.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t make a mistake? It¡¯s not because I got hurt, and you feel bad for me and want to coax me, or because you just have friendly feelings towards me¡­¡±


    ¡°Pei Tingsong.¡± Fang Juexia once again called out his whole name, and in a tone both sincere and serious stated, ¡°Although I have no experience, I am an adult capable of independent thought. Sympathy, goodwill, curiosity, friendship, gratitude, and the like; these emotions are not so difficult for me to classify. I have separated them very clearly, and when it comes to you¡­¡±


    I just like you.


    These remaining four words were swallowed back at the critical moment. Fang Juexia suddenly felt that he had also been affected by this person, since he seemed to have also become so direct.


    ¡°Summing it all up, what I just said is true,¡± Fang Juexia added in a low voice, dropping his eyes downwards, ¡°And I even said it twice.¡±


    Saying that he liked him twice, confessing and then confirming again.


    Hearing this, Pei Tingsong nearly lost his head from the ecstasy that erupted within him. He hated that he couldn¡¯t just directly jump onto Fang Juexia, for as soon as he moved a little bit, Fang Juexia pushed him back down onto the bed. ¡°Don¡¯t move around.¡±


    Pei Tingsong was a little aggrieved. ¡°You even admitted that you like me, so can¡¯t you hold me?¡±


    This question being asked immediately pinpointed a blind area in Fang Juexia¡¯s knowledge. It had already cost him all his courage to utter the affections that he had been hiding, and now it became even more difficult for him to just face Pei Tingsong. ¡°Then¡ª then do I need to hug you right after saying it? And you are injured, you have to be careful.¡±


    ¡°What kind of injury is this?¡± Pei Tingsong, in order to show off how sturdy he was, raised his hand and began to shake it back and forth. ¡°You see, it¡¯s completely fine. I¡¯m really good, hiss¡­¡±


    It really hurt after the anesthetic wore off.


    Seeing him like this, Fang Juexia grew distressed again. ¡°I already said that you shouldn¡¯t move around.¡± He didn¡¯t  dare to touch his hand, just gingerly holding the part of his hand peeking out of the cast. ¡°Does it hurt?¡±


    ¡°Not bad.¡± Upon seeing how Fang Juexia¡¯s eyebrows had completely twisted, Pei Tingsong stretched out his other hand and smoothed his brow. ¡°It was just a little bit just now, it doesn¡¯t hurt anymore.¡±


    ¡°The doctor said it would take four weeks for you to recover.¡± Fang Juexia sighed.


    Listening to his sigh, Pei Tingsong sighed as well. ¡°I regret it.¡±


    What did he regret? Fang Juexia looked up at him, a little uneasy. Seeing that he had turned his body around, and seemed to be looking everywhere for something on the bed, he felt that the situation had turned strange again. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    ¡°Where¡¯s my cell phone? Just now, I should have recorded it when you said you liked me, so you can¡¯t deny it later.¡±


    So it turned out he regretted that. Fang Juexia was relieved and grumbled in a low voice, ¡°I¡¯m not drunk right now.¡±


    Every move of Fang Juexia¡¯s under Pei Tingsong¡¯s gaze became awfully adorable to him.


    The phone in his pants pocket suddenly vibrated, and Fang Juexia took it out in a hurry to pick up the incoming call. When he saw the words ¡°Cheng Qiang¡±, he grew even more flustered. His behavior right now was exactly like that of a high school student who had been caught by his parents while on a puppy love date.


    ¡°Hello¡­¡± Fang Juexia glanced at a corner of the room and said, ¡°En, he¡¯s good.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, let the staff go back first. The hospital is quite safe.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take care of Xiao Pei in the hospital ba, even if I went back, I wouldn¡¯t be able to sleep.¡± He dropped his eyes. ¡°En, bye bye.¡±


    When he hung up, Fang Juexia¡¯s heartbeat still hadn¡¯t recovered. He pressed the lock screen, took a deep breath, and looked up just to see Pei Tingsong say, ¡°I¡¯m not Xiao Pei.¡±


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t understand, so he just kept looking at him.


    Pei Tingsong once again stressed, ¡°I¡¯m not Xiao Pei now, I¡¯m your boyfriend.¡±


    This word fell into Fang Juexia¡¯s ears and burned his ears until they felt hot. ¡°Boy¡­¡± He couldn¡¯t even say it.


    ¡°Yes ah.¡± Pei Tingsong, as if afraid of him running away, grabbed his hand and declared, ¡°I like you, pursued you, and you also like me back. We should go out, just like all the other people who love each other do.¡± His thumb rubbed against the back of Fang Juexia¡¯s hand as he continued, ¡°It can¡¯t be that you don¡¯t want to associate with me?¡±


    Pei Tingsong was really the most straightforward person he had ever met. Clearly, this love would be unspeakable in many people¡¯s eyes, but with him, there wasn¡¯t even a shadow of an obstacle. His enthusiasm was so rampant that Fang Juexia had no room to parry him.


    ¡°I¡ª¡± Fang Juexia no longer wanted to be overcautious and indecisive, and compared to Pei Tingsong, he seemed to be the most entangled person in the world, but his voice was much smaller because of his lack of confidence. ¡°¡­.I¡¯m willing.¡±


    Pei Tingsong, who had achieved his goal, moved forward and asked, ¡°You¡¯re actually still afraid of me, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Fang Juexia looked at him and shook his head.


    ¡°Really?¡± Pei Tingsong came closer. His eyes, that looked very childish when smiling, stared at him silently. He shifted his hand, which was holding Fang Juexia¡¯s hand, upwards, stopping when he came to hold his arm instead. ¡°How about this?¡±


    Fang Juexia unconsciously held his breath. It seemed as if a cup of sour and sweet lemon soda had been overturned in the air, and its sweet bubbles floated between them.


    He shook his head again.


    As the distance between them shrunk further, Pei Tingsong moved forward again, and the position of his hand changed once again, going from Fang Juexia¡¯s arm to the side of his waist.


    The sweet bubbles in the air couldn¡¯t help Fang Juexia resist at all, they were scattered everywhere by Pei Tingsong¡¯s insatiable advance. Fang Juexia was trying very hard to maintain his last barrier of calmness. He was already a rational adult, and Pei Tingsong wasn¡¯t some dreadful monster; there was nothing to be afraid of. He couldn¡¯t lose his composure just because of such a small thing.


    ¡°Not afraid.¡±


    The corner of Pei Tingsong¡¯s mouth hooked up. ¡°Really?¡± He put some force into his right hand, his palm pressing into the back of Fang Juexia¡¯s waist, and drew Fang Juexia¡¯s upper body into his own direction. The gap between them was compressed to the shortest possible distance.


    He rubbed the tip of his nose against Fang Juexia¡¯s and asked in a low voice, ¡°How about this?¡±


    Fang Juexia¡¯s heart was about to leap out. He found that his reason had already been stripped out of his body, and he was unable to control his breath and his body, for everything was being led by Pei Tingsong. Clearly, this wasn¡¯t the first time he had been so close to him; there had been occasions where he had been even closer.


    His brain failed, and Fang Juexia subconsciously closed his eyes.


    Seeing that he had consciously closed his eyes, Pei Tingsong¡¯s heart was about to melt. He held back his smile and teased, ¡°You can only get this far ah?¡±


    Upon being teased by him, Fang Juexia opened his eyes in a hurry. ¡°I¡¯m not afraid.¡± Then he asked, ¡°If I close my eyes, that means I¡¯m scared?¡±


    The tip of his nose brushed against that of the other¡¯s nose. ¡°Otherwise what then?¡± Pei Tingsong asked softly, ¡°It can¡¯t be that you closed your eyes because you want me to kiss you?¡±


    Fang Juexia was left speechless. On the surface, he still looked like that beautiful little ice floe, but the wavering water within his eyes gave him away. Pei Tingsong knew that he was wavering and melting.


    ¡°Juexia, can I kiss you?¡±


    His breathing was completely disordered, and his whole being was only one step away from a complete breakdown. As long as Pei Tingsong leaned down and kissed him, maybe in the next second, he would fall apart and become a pile of scrap metal.


    Fang Juexia closed his eyes again in the midst of this suffocation, and squeezed them shut tight.


    But this last fatal blow didn¡¯t fall on the lips as he had imagined it would, but rather on the corner of his eye. Pei Tingsong¡¯s lips gently pressed against his red birthmark, the mark that distinguished him from anyone and everyone else in the world.


    Now, it was finally branded with Pei Tingsong¡¯s warmth.


    It was just a light kiss, and Fang Juexia didn¡¯t actually fall apart, melting into Pei Tingsong¡¯s arms. That hand that had pulled them both close patted his back, then gently rubbed his hair on the back of his head.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid of me.¡± Pei Tingsong held him tightly with one hand and promised, ¡°I will cherish you.¡±


    Hearing these words, Fang Juexia¡¯s eyes, for some reason, started to sting. He raised his hand and hugged Pei Tingsong, embracing him as he would a lover.


    Pei Tingsong let out a quiet laugh. ¡°Did you know? I fantasized for a long time that if I could win you, and you were willing to be with me, of where I would kiss you for the first time. I thought for a long time and found that when that time really came, I still wanted to kiss your birthmark.¡±


    This was a mark unique to only him in the whole world, and Pei Tingsong treasured the sense of having it all for his own.


    Fang Juexia wondered, ¡°Why did you want this?¡±


    ¡°This is our first kiss ah.¡±


    Fang Juexia¡¯s character caused him to only pay attention to the facts. ¡°But previously you were also¡­¡± Thinking of the muddleheaded things he had done when he was drunk, Fang Juexia felt a little too embarrassed to go on.


    As expected though, as soon as Pei Tingsong heard that, he released Fang Juexia from his hold and started up his taunting mode. ¡°You still remember ah, I thought you had forgotten all of that. You¡¯d better remember this for me for a lifetime: that I, Pei Tingsong, had my first kiss forcibly taken away by you, Fang Juexia, after you got drunk. That was my first kiss, you know? First kiss! That was a boy¡¯s first kiss since the period he had grown up from a baby to someone with a clear sense of self!¡±


    The more he said, the more energetic he became, and his words were nearly an indictment. Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t help fighting back. ¡°You¡¯re not much better. You got drunk and also forcibly kissed me before, and¡­¡±


    ¡°And what?¡± Pei Tingsong asked intentionally.


    Fang Juexia licked the corners of his mouth and swallowed the words ¡°french-kissed¡± before continuing, ¡°Anyway, no one owes anyone now, and it¡¯s very fair.¡±


    ¡°Fang Juexia, you¡¯d better maintain this standard of fairness and justice forever. As long as I kiss you, you must return it. You can¡¯t let a single debt fall behind.¡±


    Then he raised his right hand and started calculating, ¡°Look, you kissed me when you were drunk, and I kissed you when I was drunk, so that¡¯s even. But don¡¯t forget, I also kissed you from across the candy wrapper when I passed it to you, and then I kissed you once from across the piece of paper when I was drunk¡­¡±


    ¡°You remember it all!¡± Fang Juexia realized with a start that he had been deceived. He pointed his index finger at Pei Tingsong, who just grabbed it and pulled it over, kissing his fingertips then. ¡°Shh, I¡¯m counting.¡± Pei Tingsong continued, ¡°I just also kissed your birthmark. Oh, right,¡± he shook Fang Juexia¡¯s fingertips and added, ¡°And this one. Calculating it all out, I¡¯ve kissed you four extra times, so quickly return them.¡±


    Fang Juexia, a mathematics student who was extremely sensitive to numbers, was actually defeated in the calculation of such units. The account of one kiss after another that leaped out of Pei Tingsong¡¯s mouth made him feel very flustered.


    He thought of what Pei Tingsong had said when he had hugged him just now, and it was as if he had grasped a life-saving straw. ¡°You just said you would cherish me.¡±


    When this sentence was said by him, it inexplicably gained a kind of coquettish feel to it. Pei Tingsong¡¯s heart softened into a complete muddle, but he still had the cheek to say, ¡°Yes ah. I¡¯m going to cherish you, but don¡¯t you have to cherish me as well ah?¡±


    He gently kneaded Fang Juexia¡¯s hand. ¡°You should count every penny and pay me back for all the times I bullied you.¡±


    Currently, Fang Juexia looked like a frozen small animal, not moving at all, simply staring at him with bright eyes. Pei Tingsong thought he was cute no matter how he looked at him, and his thesaurus of adjectives collapsed, with only the word ¡°cute¡± rolling and echoing around in his brain.


    ¡°Alright.¡± He didn¡¯t intend to continue to tease him, for fear that Fang Juexia would be teased into never answering him again. ¡°I don¡¯t¡­¡±


    As soon as he said these few words, Pei Tingsong¡¯s hand was pulled up by Fang Juexia, with his index finger being held by him as it was pulled towards his mouth. Fang Juexia gave it a small peck and released it.


    ¡°I returned one.¡± Fang Juexia was always very serious when he spoke, and this time was the same, carrying out a very sincere retaliation.


    Pei Tingsong froze; he hadn¡¯t expected his jokes to be taken seriously. While he was still in a daze, Fang Juexia drew closer again. His face carried a heroically righteous expression on it, as if he had prepared himself ideologically enough, and finally, he gently kissed his eyes.


    ¡°I¡¯ve also returned this one.¡± Fang Juexia backed away a great deal. ¡°That¡¯ll be all for now.¡±


    Pei Tingsong caught his hand. ¡°Why did you kiss my eye, didn¡¯t I kiss the corner of your eye?¡±


    The corners of Fang Juexia¡¯s mouth raised raised, and he pointed at the area under his eye as he said, ¡°You have a very small mole there.¡±


    And he had discovered it a long time ago.


    As soon as the answer was given, Pei Tingsong leaned back on the bed and pulled up the quilt to cover his face. His whole person leaned to one side, and his feet even kept pedaling around inside the quilt.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± The injury on his hand was constantly on Fang Juexia¡¯s mind. ¡°Be careful, don¡¯t bump your hand.¡± After he finished saying that, he tried to drag Pei Tingsong¡¯s quilt down. ¡°Why are you covering your head? Lie down quickly and have a good rest.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m hopeless.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s hopeless?¡± Fang Juexia said hastily, ¡°You just have a small injury.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s really hopeless, I¡¯m finished,¡± Pei Tingsong¡¯s voice came out from the quilt, sounding all stuffy, ¡°Fang Juexia, how can I like you so much ah?¡±


    Only after 20 years of being the devil incarnate did he now come to understand the saying that ¡®everything has its vanquisher.¡¯


    God must have known that Pei Tingsong wasn¡¯t easy to push around; he couldn¡¯t go with him, and even worse, he couldn¡¯t go against him, so he pinched and formed a little person precisely according to his preferences and breathed into him a bit of an ethereal air. This little person then knocked Pei Tingsong down, and after entrancing him until he was thoroughly confused, then he obediently subdued him.


    Ever since he had confessed to Pei Tingsong, Fang Juexia had found that all the social rules he had followed over the course of so many years had failed. He didn¡¯t even know how to talk to Pei Tingsong anymore. Looking at him hiding in the quilt like this, Fang Juexia could only rub his back and try to think of a way to coax him out, ¡°You mind your hand, come out first.¡± Saying that, he also tried the solution of threatening, ¡°Otherwise I¡¯ll leave and go back to the dormitory.¡±


    ¡°No way.¡± Pei Tingsong immediately lifted up the quilt. ¡°How could there be anyone like this, throwing their boyfriend in the hospital ward alone on the very first day they start to date? Fang Juexia, you¡¯re still heartless.¡±


    ¡°Then lie down, and I¡¯ll keep you company.¡± Fang Juexia tucked in the quilt for him. ¡°You even fell asleep while they were doing the operation, so I¡¯m sure you¡¯re very tired. Get some rest early. You¡¯ll be able to leave the hospital tomorrow once they have finished examining you.¡±


    ¡°Then what about you?¡±


    Fang Juexia looked out the door. ¡°There is a sofa in the waiting area outside the suite, and I will go out of the room when you fall asleep. Making do with it for one night will be fine, I¡¯ve even slept on the floor of the practice room.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not okay, you can¡¯t leave.¡± Pei Tingsong moved to one side of the bed and offered, ¡°You come up and sleep with me.¡±


    Fang Juexia immediately started blushing. ¡°How is that okay?¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡± Pei Tingsong asked, ¡°Do you need me to count the number of times we¡¯ve slept together in the same bed?¡± He raised his left hand. ¡°If you refuse me, I¡¯ll hit the wall.¡±


    Fang Juexia was helpless. ¡°How old are you?¡±


    ¡°20 years and a month, not at the legal age for marriage, but definitely an adult.¡± Pei Tingsong raised his eyebrows, and with an arrogant expression, questioned, ¡°Do you have any doubts?¡±


    He couldn¡¯t talk him out of it, and he was also worried that the little devil would really do something like that, with complete disregard for his own safety, so Fang Juexia had to give up his resistance and lower his bed down. He thought he¡¯d just deal with him first, and then when Pei Tingsong fell asleep, he would go out quietly and have the best of both worlds.


    Fortunately, the bed didn¡¯t count as being small and was big enough for two people to squeeze into. However, as soon as he got in, Pei Tingsong said, ¡°I¡¯m going to fall down. As expected, this bed can only contain one person.¡±


    ¡°What to do? Should I just get out ba?¡±


    ¡°Like this.¡± Pei Tingsong hugged him tightly to his chest. Their chests were pressed together, their hearts crashing together. He heard Pei Tingsong¡¯s deep voice resounding through their intimately close bodies. ¡°You sleep in my arms, and I sleep in the bed, so that way, it only counts as one person sleeping here.¡±


    What kind of a weird calculation was this?


    Worried about him putting pressure on his hand, Fang Juexia asked him to lie on his back, while he lay on his side. However, Pei Tingsong kept wanting to stretch out his right hand and hug him. Seeing no other way out, Fang Juexia just had to let him hug him. And upon seeing his injured wrist, Fang Juexia still felt frightened, and he knew he couldn¡¯t experience such a thing again.


    ¡°In the future, you can¡¯t come running over to save me so recklessly.¡±


    After hearing what he said, Pei Tingsong only laughed. ¡°Do you think I can control myself?¡±


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t want to hear this. ¡°Promise me first.¡±


    ¡°Okay, okay, okay, I promise you.¡± Pei Tingsong kissed his forehead. ¡°I won¡¯t be like this in the future, okay?¡±


    He¡¯d been kissed again.


    He didn¡¯t know what was going on, maybe Pei Tingsong¡¯s arithmetic had brainwashed him too well, for Fang Juexia had subconsciously formed the habit of counting his kisses.


    ¡°En.¡± He pretended to be very sleepy, closed his eyes, and shrank into Pei Tingsong¡¯s arms. Clearly, he had said he was just going to deal with his request, then go away, but after really being embraced by him, Fang Juexia had long forgotten his original intention.


    He already couldn¡¯t remember when this boy, three years younger than him, had captured his heart. Thinking back through everything, in a backwards process like image correction, his mind brought up every single moment he had interacted with Pei Tingsong, but even so, this system that had never failed before still could not trace back to the root of the mistake.


    There were only innumerable moving moments.


    The two people lying in the same hospital bed were isolated from the world. They didn¡¯t know that this meetup had caused a tsunami in the online world again. First of all, during the livestream, Kaleido¡¯s interview had gone viral. In particular, Fang Juexia¡¯s answer to the question on whether they should be called idols had aroused a heated discussion online. The word ¡°idol¡± itself was full of controversy, and in addition to the controversy over Fang Juexia himself, it was debated for a long time.


    [@Bolognese sauce noodles with ice: Suddenly moved by FJX.]


    [@Baozi who likes to eat meat: It¡¯s still only because he has the strength that he has the courage to say this ba. When I randomly saw his magazine interview, back then he had said that idols were the embodiment of dreams. Although I don¡¯t know much about his experiences, I feel that he is really a person with his own ideas.]


    [@Beautiful appearance, good hearted, small public official: He really possesses a face such as to represent all idols, what kind of great, glorious, and correct image are you trying to create, you¡¯re not afraid of your own persona collapsing?]


    Just as their popularity kept rising, the sudden stage accident pushed this contradiction to its highest level.


    After the accident, the livestream was suddenly stopped, but many people had still witnessed part of the situation at that time through the livestream. In the beginning, the rumor that spread was that fans had pulled Pei Tingsong off the stage, causing him to be injured. Many netizens, including fans who didn¡¯t show up, started to voice blame. The topic of #Pei Tingsong has been injured# exploded directly.


    Not long after the incident, the venue issued an official notice, saying that the accident was not caused by any design defects on the stage itself or the negligence of the security personnel on scene, but rather by human beings. It would fully cooperate with the investigation to find the perpetrators.


    As for the Star Chart, after Pei Tingsong¡¯s physical condition diagnosis was complete, they also issued an announcement to clear up the situation, and finally also said they would hold the perpetrators accountable.


    These two announcements clearly defined the accident as a malicious and deliberate attack. Conspiracy theories were the most popular thing online, and everyone ¡°made suggestions¡± in order to explore the truth under the surface. Some people guessed it was the same malicious competitors as those who had been responsible for the leaked song before, while others said it was anti-fans taking action, and everyone had their own opinions.


    However, this incident also propelled Kaleido into becoming a member of the ¡°Beautiful, strong, and miserable¡± league. As soon as they became popular, one tragedy after another occurred, and there were who knows how many people behind all of these incidents. Most netizens expressed their heartache after learning about Pei Tingsong¡¯s injury and hoped that he could recover as soon as possible.


    As luck would have it, the premiere for the second season of ¡®Escape For Your Life¡¯ was scheduled for that night. It was 10 p.m. by the time the broadcast ended, and the topic of #TingJue CP Escape# shot up on the Hot Search list at the speed of a rocket. Scanning the Hot Search list, half of the top ten searches were all related to Kaleido.


    Those netizens who didn¡¯t listen to music, didn¡¯t watch performances, and didn¡¯t care about the previous incident with the leaked song, finally came to know the two of them because of ¡®Escape¡¯. The scene one chanced upon when clicking into #TingJue CP Escape# was basically witnessing a large scale transfer of fans.


    [@Wolves001: WTFWTFWTF, this is the first time in Escape history that the killer won ba!? I was completely led around by my own thoughts this entire time, and I even bet with my partner that the killer was either XXQ or ZZH. I didn¡¯t expect that the killer would stab himself!! Pei Tingsong, you¡¯re too awesome! How can you put on such a good show as a rookie?! Shit! And Fang Juexia! Number one hook in the nation! From today on, you guys are going to be what I hang up on my wall!]


    [@Wolves001: Wuwuwuwu just saw the Hot Search below, and PTS was actually injured! That son of a bitch who deserves to be stabbed with a thousand knives pulled FJX and pulled PTS down! I¡¯m so angry! Holy crap, flipping over all your ancestors¡¯ headstones, you dare to touch my idols!]


    [@Exclamation point: Me before watching Escape: The program team has gone crazy ba, finding two members of a boyband to come in, do they just think that the guests are too smart, and they need to lower the average IQ? [Disdain.JPG] Me after watching Escape: Delicious! Pei Tingsong is an immortal killer! What kind of immortal beauty is Fang Juexia?! Can you see if I¡¯m still there? I¡¯ve disappeared!]


    [@eeeeeEe: I was really deceived by PTS! I was deceived by the killer for the first time in this program! And Fang Juexia, I really have to surrender to the way he solved that question. Maybe he¡¯s too good-looking, but I didn¡¯t doubt him from the very beginning. P.S. I just heard the news of Pei Tingsong¡¯s injury, blessing the big handsome Ge to get better soon. I still want to see you guys in episode 2. Dogs that deliberately hurt people must be brought to justice ah!]


    [@Has the second season of Escape been broadcast: ¡®Escape For Your Life¡¯ is also famous for being a big place for making godly (boy) (or girl) friends. Those who questioned the guest selection of the program group before, do your faces hurt?]


    [@Woderfuldays: I didn¡¯t fall into the pit with the airport video, I didn¡¯t fall into the pit when there was that ensemble show with some kind of candy wrapper kiss, I also didn¡¯t with the magazine cover, and I didn¡¯t with those gifs that were released for the comeback a few days ago. I never thought that with ¡°Escape For Your Life¡±, I would fall into the pit! How is TingJue this good to ship?! The fairy tale of, ¡®when everyone was doubting each other, only we trusted each other¡¯ is too sweet! When FJX finally escaped and hugged PTS, I even got goosebumps!]


    [@ I love Escape: PTS and FJX really go well together [covering my mouth, after watching the program, I found the super TingJue link a little bit into my research, and when I clicked it¡­ There was a kind of feeling of being a mouse who had been hungry for half a lifetime and then suddenly falling into a sea of food. How is this me doing a CP, this is the CP doing me, okay?!]


    [@Today is also a day to ship my CP: Wuwuwuwu just saw the highlight reel, and FJX is too cute. Hengheng said that this problem couldn¡¯t be brute-forced, and that there must be clues. XQGG also said, ¡°Isn¡¯t this nonsense, who can brute force this ah?¡± Yet in the end, Fang Juexia weakly raised his hand behind him, and he also gave an answer, which was actually right! Two high level players were stunned! It¡¯s a pity that this part wasn¡¯t in the broadcast episode, FJX is both powerful and cute, and I like him so much. Fang Juexia, human calculator, and Fang Juexia, a beautiful baby! I¡¯m going to go watch his performance 55555]


    [@Study hard and make progress every day: Before watching the program: You can¡¯t escape my piercing eyes, and I¡¯ll see what kind of goods you guys really are! After watching the program: Yingyingying our TingJue are permanent guests ba! Right ba! Begging Escape Daddy, let them go on every season, okay?]


    [@Bringing a prophet: I¡¯ve heard that CPs who have been on Escape are generally, with high probability, and most likely to be¡­. Shh.]

 CH 66

    Chapter 66 ¨C Sow The Wind And Reap The Whirlwind


    I¡¯m the official partner, understand?


    As a satellite TV variety show with a super high reputation, the popularity of the first episode of ¡®Escape For Your Life¡¯ successfully propelled Fang Juexia and Pei Tingsong to national recognition. At the very least, Fang Juexia and Pei Tingsong, with their wonderful performance in the program, had managed to successfully enter into the mainstream audiences¡¯ field of vision, coming out of the relatively small idol circle. With the endless stream of clips circulating on the major video sites, together with the consistent essays, analysis, and shilling from Escape fans, more and more people kept discovering how strong these two new guests were.


    A major verified account published a long article analyzing all the experiences of Kaleido¡¯s major accidents and the ways they had saved the day in their comeback performances, and ended with stating the key points to their popularity as a positive example. The most popular comment to the post was below it¡ª


    [@Eating tang yuan for Chinese New Year: If StarChart can play the TingJue CP card, they¡¯re already halfway there to winning. As soon as the airport video showed up, it started planning for fanservice and paved the way with various resources for the CP. They comprehensively developed fluff to draw in fans, then they got on the magazine, and after that, also got into Escape; and even though none of these steps looked conspicuous, it was all ready in anticipation. The two people also strived hard, and are attractive, and strong. When they¡¯re apart from each other, they may be able to balance each other out, but when they¡¯re combined, they¡¯re just too good at this. They belong to the typical and super standard ¡°leading man¡± trope in their group, responsible for being eye-catching. If the other members are also awesome enough, then the whole group can retain their fans. It is obvious that the strength of the whole Kaleido group is there, so it is inevitable that their comeback would explode through word of mouth. I can responsibly say that once this group is popular, it will be popular for a long time.]


    All kinds of accidents happened to this small group in just one week, and it was nearly like a roller coaster, making people feel frightened when they went to sort it all out. However, it is precisely because of this too bumpy experience of Kaleido¡¯s that their comeback had taken on a life as being some kind of tragic legend. More and more people paid attention to this album for various reasons, and on music platforms, ¡°Break Through¡± ranked first in streams for 30 continuous days, with the sales of their digital album also seeing a rise.


    Fang Juexia, the dark horse of the direct videos, who took the lead by a landslide, became the fastest idol to gain one million views through three comeback performances in a row. Pei Tingsong¡¯s rap clips also garnered amazing viewer counts and barrage comments on another video website, ranking first in the entertainment area. Within a few days, the number of Weibo fans these two people had nearly doubled, with more than 100 fan stations being created, and countless more CP stations. Discussions about their CP were ranked at a distant first, being widely discussed everywhere. Each member¡¯s popularity was rising like a rocket, and a countless number of fans were being drawn in.


    Kaleido had become a fandom possessing thousands of fans, and it was being discussed everywhere; with fans discussing their albums, their strengths, and the silly things the group members did. Digging up Kaleido¡¯s history had already become a large spontaneous activity. After a period of research, it was found that each member¡¯s history contained a completely different tragic aspect, and ¡®The most pitiful boy-band¡¯ soon became a synonym for Kaleido.


    Strong groups may not be able to draw in fans continuously, but when it came to a strong and pitiful group, their rate of drawing in fans doubled.


    But these exaggerated figures were unknown to both of the main parties involved. Before light even dawned in the sky, Fang Juexia woke up; he hadn¡¯t slept well all night. It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t feel comfortable, but that he was very uneasy and often woke up. Then, whenever he saw Pei Tingsong lying beside him, he would feel more at ease and would put his head against his shoulder and fall asleep again. This happened quite a few times before he finally got up at six o¡¯clock in the morning, getting off the bed with very light movements. After washing up, he sat down on the bed, at Pei Tingsong¡¯s side.


    Supporting his chin on the palm of his hand, Fang Juexia lay on his stomach, looking at Pei Tingsong in front of him without moving. He thought it was inconceivable; the word ¡°lover¡± was a word he would almost never even think about in the past, but such a person suddenly appeared, and it was even the person Fang Juexia thought was the most unlikely one to occupy such a position.


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s appearance while sleeping was very well-behaved, and he didn¡¯t look grumpy at all. Looking at the wound on his face, Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t help but feel distressed. He reached out and touched his cheek gently, then pushed aside the drooping bangs on his forehead.


    How was the bridge of his nose so high?


    He couldn¡¯t help but tap his finger on the bridge of his nose, then sliding his finger down the line of it, up to the place where it sank in, and then right to the edge of the peak of his lips, which he rubbed against lightly.


    All of a sudden, Pei Tingsong, who had clearly still been soundly asleep, stretched out his right hand, grabbed Fang Juexia¡¯s hand, pulled it over and kissed it all over, from the palm to the tips of his fingers.


    ¡°You woke up?¡± Fang Juexia hurriedly withdrew his hand. ¡°You even pretended to be asleep.¡±


    Pei Tingsong rubbed his eyes and said, ¡°As soon as you got up, I woke up, I don¡¯t know why.¡± He turned over to face Fang Juexia. ¡°I had a dream that lasted all night.¡±


    Fang Juexia gave him the warm water on the table while asking, ¡°What dream?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡± Pei Tingsong gulped down a big mouthful of water, handed the cup back to him, and then raised Fang Juexia¡¯s chin a bit. ¡°I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll scare you, so I won¡¯t say anything.¡± After that, he got down from the bed and walked to the bathroom while supporting his left hand.


    Fang Juexia was left stunned for a few seconds, and then, when he suddenly realized what had been said, he felt that he had been teased again. ¡°Pei Tingsong!¡±


    Pei Tingsong, standing in the bathroom, stuck his head out with a toothbrush in his mouth. His hair was a mess, and he was smiling at Fang Juexia like a child.


    He just couldn¡¯t be angry with him or even refuse him.


    Fang Juexia buried his head into the quilt on the hospital bed.


    When the doctor on-duty came, they checked and confirmed that there were no problems left from the operation. After that, they went through the discharge procedures. The company¡¯s car was arranged to wait at the side door of the private hospital, and the two of them were armed to the teeth in clothing to avoid the flow of people. Once they were in the car, Xiao Wen happily told them the ratings of the first episode of Escape and the latest numbers for the new album. Fang Juexia was very happy; compared to his own rising popularity, the thing that was most worth being proud of was that their songs would be heard by so many people.


    ¡°By the way, there will be an autograph session tomorrow afternoon,¡± said Xiao Wen, turning the steering wheel. ¡°The boss said Xiao Pei does not need to attend and that he can keep resting in the dormitory.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go.¡± Pei Tingsong¡¯s right hand supported his left. ¡°Why should I not go? It¡¯s not the hand that I write with that I hurt.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re afraid you¡¯ll get tired ya. At that time, it will be very tiring to keep signing, and there will also be many people. What should we do if you keep bumping against things?¡±


    Pei Tingsong took a look at Fang Juexia. Fang Juexia also glanced at him, and then quickly looked away.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m going. I¡¯m not some kind of fragile person who will break as soon as I get bumped into.¡± Pei Tingsong was very obstinate. ¡°I have to go to school in the afternoon today to give a presentation. I have to arrive at two o¡¯clock in the afternoon, so Xiao Wen, if you don¡¯t have anything else to do then, just send me there.¡±


    Fang Juexia thought this was unbelievable. ¡°You¡¯re giving a presentation? Are you ready for it?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve already read all the literature. A few days ago, I would read a little every time we returned to the dorms.¡± Pei Tingsong shrugged and said, ¡°It¡¯s a presentation ma, I¡¯ll just improvise, and it¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    He really did embody the style of a rapper.


    As soon as they arrived at the company, they were called into the office by Cheng Qiang. Cheng Qiang had also been very busy these past few days, to the point that he slept directly in the company itself. His office was a complete mess, and Fang Juexia just wanted to clean it up for him upon seeing it.


    ¡°The response to this episode of Escape was much better than what we expected, and because we also didn¡¯t expect for so many incidents to break out at the same time, we are a bit overwhelmed for the moment. But you two have really given me so much face.¡±


    Pei Tingsong listened and lightly tapped the plaster of his left hand with his uninjured right hand in a kind of beat. Fang Juexia, however, just stared focusedly at the crooked papers on the desk, not listening to any word of Cheng Qiang¡¯s at all.


    ¡°Anyway, after Escape¡¯s premiere, a heap of brands, program groups, and platforms have come to find you guys; they all want to cooperate with us.¡± Cheng Qiang took out an electronic file as he explained the details, ¡°The hip-hop program that Xiao Pei mentioned before has also approached us, but because they are still in the planning stages for their program, they¡¯ve just sent over a greeting first. By the way, there is also a variety show with the highest national popularity, which has invited the whole group to their stage. It fits perfectly into the album promotion period, so we¡¯ve made room for it in our schedule and are getting ready to record this variety show as soon as possible.


    ¡°Juexia, you¡¯ve been invited to several music and dance programs, as well as for roles in some dramas. I¡¯ll send them over to you when I get back, and you guys can check them out for yourselves.¡±


    Acting¡­.


    Fang Juexia automatically asked, ¡°Can I act like this?¡± Then he pointed to his birthmark.


    Cheng Qiang was about to open his mouth when he heard Pei Tingsong vent with a bad tone, ¡°What the hell are you talking about?!¡±


    ¡°Hey, Xiao Pei, don¡¯t¡­¡± Cheng Qiang hurriedly intervened, to keep the peace.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you know you look so good? And you¡¯re still like ¡®can I act like this¡¯? You¡¯re much better looking than all those actors added together. Your self-awareness is too fuzzy, you say something irritating every day.¡±


    Facing such rapid bombardment from Pei Tingsong, Fang Juexia was completely overwhelmed. However, Cheng Qiang couldn¡¯t help laughing as he teased, ¡°You¡¯re still not apologizing to our maknae, look, he¡¯s angry.¡±


    Fang Juexia could only reach out and rub Pei Tingsong¡¯s shoulder, consoling, ¡°Don¡¯t be angry, don¡¯t be angry.¡± He then explained, ¡°I meant that I have a birthmark, and so can¡¯t act in a drama.¡±


    Pei Tingsong grew irritated again and said, ¡°You¡¯re just good-looking. Your entire body, from your head to your toes and to your birthmark, everything is all good-looking.¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright, alright, good-looking, good-looking.¡±


    Who dared to fight against this little devil?


    ¡°Oh, right. I almost forgot about the big thing because of you guys tossing me around,¡± Cheng Qiang suddenly remembered and told them, ¡°The person who pulled at you guys was caught. Originally, according to the normal legal proceedings, this person would have run around for a while, and after we caught them, you guys would have to go to the police station to give your side of things and have the injury identified. The whole process is very complicated, and maybe he would have to be detained for more than ten days and pay for the meals.¡±


    That¡¯s right. Even if the person he injured was a celebrity, the legal treatment was almost the same. Fang Juexia had thought that maybe the person who had been hired by whoever was behind the scene was someone who didn¡¯t fear going to the police station; they had been given a lot of money, and as long as he could hurt them, it would count as a victory.


    ¡°But where do you guys think we caught him?¡±


    Hearing him talk like this, Pei Tingsong immediately understood that things weren¡¯t so simple. ¡°It can¡¯t be at the company building ba?¡±


    ¡°How did you know?!¡± Cheng Qiang was surprised, but he quickly stuck his index finger in the air again and pointed. ¡°Worthy of having a blood relation, you guys really have your methods.¡±


    Fang Juexia was a little confused. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°I told Xiao Wen to go pick you guys up with my car this morning. Yet, as a result, Xiao Wen was given a scare.¡± Cheng Qiang explained, ¡°Isn¡¯t my car parked in the underground garage below the company? When he went there, he found a man lying on the ground near the car door and so he immediately called me. I went to take a look, and good god, that person had been beaten so heavily that I couldn¡¯t recognize his battered up face. He had been tied with his hands behind his back and had been thrown next to my car.¡±


    ¡°Beaten up by someone¡­¡± Fang Juexia subconsciously looked at Pei Tingsong, but who knew that Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t even need to think about it before guessing directly, ¡°My Jie, right?¡±


    Cheng Qiang nodded and said, ¡°She¡¯s really vicious when she takes action. I had to find four big guys to carry him away. He also had a recorder on him, and inside it was his confession.¡± He pushed the recorder forward and pressed play. ¡°You guys listen.¡±


    He confessed to all of it, and it was pretty much like what Fang Juexia had thought. The mastermind behind this was exactly that Astar official surnamed Jin, and he had captured this ruined gambler, paying him 50,000 yuan to find a chance to cripple Fang Juexia.


    The interrogator in the recording was a calm man who repeated the other person¡¯s words, ¡°Cripple?¡±


    That man¡¯s voice trembled. ¡°Yes, they said it would be best to blind him or break his legs, so that he couldn¡¯t sing or dance for the rest of his life. I just wanted to get him to fall off the stage, but who would have known that I wouldn¡¯t succeed? There were too many people at that time, and when I tried again, I found that I had pulled the wrong person.¡±


    Pei Tingsong laughed scornfully. Coincidentally, another scornful laugh also sounded out from the recording at the same time, and it was a woman¡¯s voice. She spoke in English and told someone to take the man down.


    Cheng Qiang put the recording pen away. ¡°Our Star Chart is a small company, and this kind of recording can only be used as a means of insurance, but we can¡¯t place it online. To tell you the truth, if Juexia had really gotten injured this time, this kind of thing would probably happen again many times again in the future, because Juexia really has nothing and no one backing him. As long as others have the will, it¡¯s really hard to defend against covert attacks.¡±


    He started to smile as kept talking, ¡°But who would have known that this bastard actually ended up pulling the wrong person? No matter how much Astar swaggers around, it¡¯s still just an entertainment company, and now, it has kicked a big plutocrat¡¯s iron plate. Tch, retribution always comes. Ms. Pei called Boss early in the morning and talked with him for an hour. She probably won¡¯t just let Jin Xiangcheng go this time, you guys wait ba. Tomorrow, AS¡¯s stock will fall.¡±


    He also showed Pei Tingsong the photos he had taken on his cellphone. ¡°Look at how much he was beaten up, it¡¯s very satisfying.¡±


    Pei Tingsong glanced at it with a frown. ¡°Tch, protecting me now, what took her so long?¡±


    The corners of Fang Juexia¡¯s mouth drew up. ¡°You talk about your own Jie that way ah.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the truth ah.¡± Saying that, Pei Tingsong raised his eyebrows. ¡°Is she really scary?¡±


    Fang Juexia also started laughing. ¡°You siblings are both scary, the big devil and the little devil.¡±


    Pei Tingsong thought about it, but he didn¡¯t refute it. ¡°That¡¯s right, I¡¯d do the same thing if this matter was left to me.¡±


    ¡°By the way, Ms. Pei has hired a nurse for you, and they¡¯ll arrive soon. She has asked you to go back to the apartment for this period of time and to stop working. The nurse will take care of you 24 hours a day.¡±


    Rest was a must. However, Fang Juexia thought that in that case, he wouldn¡¯t be able to see Pei Tingsong.


    ¡°Nope,¡± Pei Tingsong said with an expression that indicated he would do whatever he wanted, and leaned against the back of a chair as he stated, ¡°I¡¯m going to work, and I¡¯m going to school. I¡¯m a young man who loves his job and works hard.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t control a big Buddha like you. You go back and tell Ms. Pei that.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Strong Ge,¡± Pei Tingsong raised his right hand and stretched it out, leaning it against Fang Juexia¡¯s shoulder. ¡°How many times have I listened to her since I was born? She doesn¡¯t believe that I¡¯ll just obediently stay there, she¡¯s just saying that. It¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    When they came out of Cheng Qiang¡¯s office, they met the other members, who were in the practice room. Since Pei Tingsong thought that they would have to perform on-stage soon, he adjusted his movements to fit the current situation.


    ¡°If it¡¯s not okay, you can just sit down ba; it¡¯ll be fine if you just sing your part while standing on the side.¡± Jiang Miao looked at him and felt a strange heartache. ¡°Your body is the most important thing, and if a serious collision takes place on-stage, what are we going to do?¡±


    ¡°It looks so ugly with one person missing.¡± Pei Tingsong vetoed his proposal. ¡°I¡¯ll get used to it after practicing for a bit. It¡¯s actually easier for me to do it when missing a hand.¡±


    ¡°Tch, tch, tch.¡± Ling Yi couldn¡¯t believe it. ¡°Is this still our little devil paddling along? He¡¯s working harder and harder; people who didn¡¯t know what was going on would think that you and Juexia had exchanged souls.¡±


    Fang Juexia, who was sitting on the floor changing his shoes, was already in a good mood, and upon being amused by this, he simply leaned against Ling Yi and asked, ¡°Then should I start to slack off now?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    As soon as Pei Tingsong saw Fang Juexia leaning against Ling Yi, he started to get angry. ¡°What yes?¡± He took a few steps forward and pulled Fang Juexia over, after which he forced himself into the middle of the two men, relying on the fact that since he was hurt, no one would dare to touch him.


    ¡°You little bastard, you just know how to steal Juexia from me!¡±


    ¡°Do I need to steal him from you?¡± Pei Tingsong said, ¡°I¡¯m the official partner, understand? It¡¯s the kind of official partner where they held a meeting for several hours just for our CP.¡±


    Ling Yi wiped his face since he couldn¡¯t win an argument against him, then he pulled someone else into it. ¡°Lu Yuan, he has spit all over me.¡±


    Lu Yuan was wise enough to protect himself and pushed He Ziyan out. ¡°If you quarrel with a rapper, you should ask another rapper for help.¡±


    He Ziyan shrugged. ¡°Who¡¯s a rapper? Excuse me, I¡¯m a bar DJ. What record would you like me to spin today?¡±


    ¡°No one is helping me!¡±


    ¡°Give up ba, M-dash.¡±


    Fang Juexia was relieved to see everyone making a lot of noise together. Although he was a quiet bystander most of the time, as long as the six of them were together, it was as if they didn¡¯t need to be afraid of anything.


    After all, back during the times they couldn¡¯t touch the sun, they could at least touch each other¡¯s hands.


    In the afternoon, Pei Tingsong went to school to give his presentation, and the other five spent the afternoon in the practice room. Jiang Miao, He Ziyan, and Ling Yi had another event scheduled in the evening, so that left only Lu Yuan and Fang Juexia behind. The two of them found another song to practice dancing to during that time, and coincidentally, Xiao Wen, who thought their performance was really handsome, was also there. He recorded it on his cellphone.


    Fang Juexia stopped and sent a WeChat message to Pei Tingsong.


    [Just a pretty face and also pretty: Is it over? I¡¯ll pick you up in my car ba.]


    Lu Yuan watched the video and liked it very much. ¡°It¡¯s very hot, Xiao Wen is pretty good at filming. Juexia, I¡¯m going to post it to Weibo ah.¡±


    Fang Juexia had been waiting for a message on his phone the entire time, and he didn¡¯t even really register what Lu Yuan had said before he replied, ¡°En.¡±


    [@Kaleido Lu Yuan: The main dance line¡¯s everyday [cool] [cool]]


    In the video, two people were dancing in urban style, one of whom had super control over all his movements, while the other moved like flowing water. They had two completely different performance styles, but both of them were equally eye-catching. The fans excitedly liked the two main dancers, and the forwards and comments on this post grew quickly.


    [@Domino #1: AHHHHHHHH FJX IS THRUSTING HIS HIPS I¡¯M DYIIIING! PLEASE TAKE MY LIFE AWAY!]


    [@This is my cancelled K: I¡¯ll praise Teacher Yuan¡¯s control ten thousand times! Jxgg is really too beautiful. Dancing along with long legs, he¡¯s both cold and sexy.]


    [@domino 111: AHHHHHHH WHAT DID I SCROLL TO?! Grandpa, the dance blogger you follow has forwarded your post!]


    Lu Yuan scrolled through Weibo with great interest, and said, ¡°They¡¯re asking if we can dance this again at the autograph event tomorrow?¡±


    Fang Juexia nodded. ¡°We can ah.¡±


    Xiao Wen sat cross-legged on the ground, and was holding his feet as he agreed, ¡°It¡¯s so great ah, the autograph event is a fan benefit event. I need to choose a good-looking mask, or I will be embarrassed upon being photographed tomorrow.¡±


    After Fang Juexia suffered through a long wait, his cellphone finally vibrated.


    [Injured Guide Dog: It just finished, I¡¯m so tired¡­When I saw your message, I had already booked a cab. I finally managed to see you attain such a high awareness, knowing that you should pick up your boyfriend, but I missed the opportunity. When I get back, we must make up for it.]


    Make up for it¡­. How were they going to make that up?


    His phone vibrated again.


    [Injured Guide Dog: Miss me?]


    Upon seeing this question, Fang Juexia felt a little embarrassed even though he was just reading these words from across the screen, and he gripped his cellphone to type a line of words, which he ended up deleting once, and before he could type anything else, a new message had already jumped into the chatbox.


    [Injured Guide Dog: Let me say it first, I miss you so much.]


    Fang Juexia¡¯s fingers stopped.


    He couldn¡¯t beat him at all.


    ¡°Juexia? What are you up to?¡±


    Fang Juexia had just typed out a heart, and ended up accidentally sending it when Xiao Wen asked him this question. ¡°Ah? Nothing, it¡¯s getting late, I want to go back to the dorm.¡±


    ¡°You go back first ba. Just now, Beizi asked me to help pull him around later,¡± Lu Yuan said.


    So Fang Juexia, escorted by security personnel, went back to the dormitory. Before he left the company, he ordered Pei Tingsong¡¯s favorite food, pizza, which was delivered right when he got home. Pei Tingsong was writing something in his bedroom with his headphones on, so he didn¡¯t notice Fang Juexia¡¯s return until the person appeared behind him and touched his shoulder.


    As soon as he turned his head and saw Fang Juexia, Pei Tingsong, who was sitting in a swivel chair, spun around and threw his arms around his waist, exclaiming, ¡°You¡¯ve finally come back.¡±


    Fang Juexia wasn¡¯t used to his intimate gestures, but he was also afraid of bumping into his injured hand when pushing him away, so he simply let him do what he wanted. ¡°Be careful with your wrist.¡±


    Obviously, Pei Tingsong had already regarded his injury as some kind of gold medal. His face rubbed against Fang Juexia¡¯s stomach, and his teeth bit into the upper and lower hem of his shirt. He raised his eyes towards Fang Juexia, as if to show off to him on purpose.


    ¡°Hey, what are you doing?¡± Fang Juexia reached out and pushed his forehead, but Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t let go. He even separated his legs, dragging Fang Juexia between them, and then caught his legs with his thighs, making it impossible for him to escape.


    He relaxed his mouth, looked at Fang Juexia, and raised his eyebrows.¡±Lower your head, I have something to say to you.¡±


    Fang Juexia thought about it and followed his words. He didn¡¯t expect Pei Tingsong to stretch up to him, kiss him on the mouth, and then lean back contentedly to say, ¡°You¡¯re so easy to trick.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s you who go too far.¡± Fang Juexia was angry and wanted to leave, but Pei Tingsong grabbed his arm pitifully. ¡°I¡¯m kidding, I really have something to say to you.¡±


    Fang Juexia stopped to look down at him, with an expression of ¡®I¡¯m waiting to see what you have to say.¡¯


    Pei Tingsong looked at him and said, ¡°I¡¯m so tired, I want to take a bath.¡±


    ¡°Go ah. I¡¯ve ordered pizza for you, and you can take a bath when you¡¯re done eating.¡±


    After listening to him, Pei Tingsong pretended to be weak and carefully raised his left hand, which was in a cast, using his right hand. He didn¡¯t say another word, he just looked at Fang Juexia pitifully.


    Oh right ah.


    Fang Juexia had just been concerned about earning face and had forgotten all about Pei Tingsong¡¯s injury. Forget about taking a bath, it would be very difficult for him to just wash his hair.


    ¡°Then what should you do? How about you just don¡¯t take a bath today?¡±


    ¡°No, I can¡¯t stand it.¡± Pei Tingsong was too lazy to continue hinting at things, and came straight to the point. ¡°Help me wash up ba.¡±


    Fang Juexia suddenly thought of the scene when Pei Tingsong had been drunk and had run off to take a bath. He suddenly felt a little embarrassed. ¡°Help? How can I help ah¡­¡±


    Pei Tingsong grew very irritated when he heard that. ¡°Aren¡¯t you very good at taking care of people? Why is it as soon as it comes to your boyfriend, you don¡¯t know how ah?¡±


    Fang Juexia was still not used to the word ¡®boyfriend¡¯. He thought of what he had heard in the office last afternoon. ¡°You should have agreed to your Jie and gone to live in your apartment; the 24-hour nurse could be dispatched whenever, and they¡¯d do whatever you wanted.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want a nurse, I just want you. You can just help me wash my hair ba, I don¡¯t need your help in taking a bath. I¡¯ll give you a small bench to sit on, and you definitely won¡¯t be tired.¡±


    ¡°Ge,¡± Pei Tingsong tugged his hand around and pleaded, ¡°Juexia Gege, take pity on me ba.¡±

 CH 67

    Chapter 67 ¨C Immoral Competition


    Did I win


    Clearly, Pei Tingsong had still been an arrogant and grumpy young master before this, but for some reason, now, he was more obedient than anyone. He looked just like a big dog, just missing a wagging tail.


    Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t convince himself to refuse Pei Tingsong no matter what, so he could only be cajoled by him into the bathroom.


    Pei Tingsong said that he would set out a small stool, and he really did set out one. He put it next to the bathtub, and then also gave him a thick cushion to place on the seat, out of fear that he¡¯d be uncomfortable. ¡°See, isn¡¯t this perfect?¡±


    What perfect ah? Fang Juexia started filling the bathtub with hot water without saying a word. He caught a glimpse of a box of bath bombs on the shelf, so he took one out and threw it into the water. The small bath bomb melted, and milky-white bubbles, tinged with a little light blue, quickly started floating in the bathtub. A soft vanilla nutmeg fragrance mixed with a very light sea salt scent also made itself known.


    ¡°So many bubbles?¡± Pei Tingsong teased him deliberately, ¡°It couldn¡¯t be that you¡¯re afraid of seeing something, so you just filled it up with bubbles? Out of sight, out of mind ba.¡±


    Fang Juexia hadn¡¯t thought of that when he threw it in, he had just thought it would feel nice. He hadn¡¯t thought that Pei Tingsong would misinterpret it so much, so he naturally explained, ¡°No, I didn¡¯t think that far.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true, you¡¯ve seen pretty much everything already.¡±


    Pei Tingsong wanted to continue speaking, but Fang Juexia quickly covered his mouth. ¡°Are you going to take a bath or not?¡±


    ¡°Wu,¡± Pei Tingsong nodded, and then he kissed Fang Juexia¡¯s palm. Fang Juexia removed his hand from his mouth and gave him a look. ¡°Then hurry up.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t convenient to move around with a cast. Before he was discharged from hospital, he had been wearing a very loose sweater with wide cuffs, so his left hand was propped up and then his sleeves were rolled up. Putting it on had already been very hard work, and taking it off now would also be a difficult task. Fang Juexia stood behind him, untied the sling for him first, and then carefully took off his sweater. Initially, Fang Juexia had felt awkward, but now, his heart just remained suspended in mid-air, for he was afraid of bumping Pei Tingsong¡¯s hand into something, so he didn¡¯t have the time to feel embarrassed.


    ¡°It¡¯s too hard.¡± Upon finally getting his top off, Pei Tingsong let out a long sigh of. As soon as he leaned over, he wanted to use Fang Juexia as his support. ¡°My situation is too difficult.¡±


    Fang Juexia used his hand to hold him steady. ¡°Don¡¯t move around randomly.¡±


    ¡°My pants are still left ah.¡± Pei Tingsong grabbed his hand and put it on his waist. ¡°I can¡¯t just take a bath in jeans ba.¡±


    He was right. Fang Juexia had no way out, and when he put his fingers on the metal buttons there, everything felt hot. The temperature in the bathroom was very high, hot and humid, making people unable to take any breaths.


    It was clearly still spring, but it seemed as if he had fallen into a hot and humid summer.


    Fang Juexia turned his head and looked at the bubbles on the edge of the bathtub. They dangled there, and as each small bubble burst, each tooth of the tight metal zipper loosened, opening with the slow sound of it being pulled down.


    The light of the bathroom was shining on Fang Juexia, covering him with a clean halo. His long hair was pulled behind his ears, and his exposed ears had turned a hot red, along with all of his neck that was exposed at his collar.


    How could he blush so easily, how was he going to survive later?


    The corners of Pei Tingsong¡¯s mouth rose slightly, and he tilted his head to see Fang Juexia¡¯s turned away face. ¡°Gege, lift up your head and look at me bei.¡±


    Fang Juexia held his breath and looked straight up at him, and for no reason, seemed to carry a kind of heroic air about him as he did this.


    Pei Tingsong finally couldn¡¯t help laughing and knocked his own forehead against this person¡¯s. ¡°I want to eat ice cream.¡±


    ¡°Now?¡± Fang Juexia¡¯s eyes and brow were full of doubts.


    ¡°Yes ah.¡± Pei Tingsong supported his arm with his right hand and turned him around. ¡°Help me get it.¡±


    ¡°Is there ice cream in the dorm?¡±


    ¡°I just bought it.¡± Pei Tingsong said, ¡°Go quickly.¡±


    Having been ordered out of the bathroom rather inexplicably, Fang Juexia opened the freezer, took out a tub of vanilla Haagen Dazs ice cream from the inside, found a spoon, and walked back, only to encounter a burst of hot steam enveloping him when he opened the bathroom door. Fang Juexia entered and locked the bathroom door, only to realise that Pei Tingsong had already gotten into the bathtub by himself, with his injured hand hanging on the edge of the bathtub against the wall. When Pei Tingsong heard movement, he lazily tilted his head and looked at him.


    As soon as he saw Fang Juexia, he smiled. He looked especially attractive when he smiled.


    ¡°I randomly picked a flavor.¡± Fang Juexia walked over and sat on the small stool arranged by Pei Tingsong. ¡°Why did you buy so much?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you like it?¡±


    Fang Juexia had to use a bit of effort to pry off the lid of the ice cream tub. When he heard this, he was a little surprised, and cold air suddenly blew onto his face.


    ¡°How did you know?¡± The ice cream had frozen solid. Fang Juexia held the spoon and tried to dig into it, but he couldn¡¯t get into it at all. ¡°I don¡¯t seem to have said anything about that before.¡±


    ¡°When I was giving the presentation this afternoon, the girls in the back row of the auditorium were talking about you. As soon as they took a break, they¡¯d start chatting about you.¡± Pei Tingsong was afraid that Fang Juexia¡¯s hands would become cold, so he took the ice cream tub from his hands, put it on the bathtub shelf attached to the wall, and then held his fingertips in his hands. ¡°They started with discussing your astrological sign, then ended up talking about your hobbies and interests. They also dug up a post taken when you were your college¡¯s campus idol, and said that because you love having ice cream in the summer, a girl had bought a whole trunk of ice cream cones for you, in order to chase you, but you just split them later with your class.¡±


    As he recounted all this, Pei Tingsong grew unhappy. ¡°Tch, wanting to entice you away with just a trunk of ice cream cones ah, dream on. Someone actually thought up of such a stupid way to pursue their crush.¡±


    Fang Juexia was so amused by him that he started laughing. ¡°Then with you buying this much Haagen Dazs, does that make you more powerful than her?¡±


    Pei Tingsong drew closer. ¡°If Haagen Dazs isn¡¯t powerful enough, I¡¯m powerful ah.¡±


    ¡°Where do you get your confidence from ah?¡± Fang Juexia looked both helpless and doting as he smiled.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you like confident people?¡± Pei Tingsong stated it as a matter of course, ¡°I was forced to be confident.¡±


    He was so full of false reasoning. Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t withstand all this, so handed the spoon to him. ¡°Wait for the ice cream to melt a bit before eating it.¡±


    Pei Tingsong took the spoon with a smile in his eyes. ¡°I know, that is just what I will do.¡±


    He didn¡¯t know if it was due to his subtle influence, but Fang Juexia, who had always had straightforward thoughts before, could now actually understand the double meaning contained in Pei Tingsong¡¯s words instantly.


    Eat after it melts a bit.


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t know what he would melt into. After he had met Pei Tingsong, he had started to realise that he didn¡¯t really know anything about himself. This was very frightening, and it really wasn¡¯t in line with the logic of his once adjustable and controllable behavior.


    But the unknown was really too fascinating.


    Fear and attraction to the unknown was probably a bug naturally added when human beings were created ba.


    ¡°What happened here?¡±


    Fang Juexia returned to his senses and saw Pei Tingsong holding the back of his hand, with his brow all wrinkled. ¡°How are there so many bruises here?¡±


    The bony joints on the back of his hand were a little blue and purple, and it wasn¡¯t that obvious. Fang Juexia explained, ¡°When you fell down, I also jumped down. There were too many people, and it was a mess, so my hand got stepped on a few times.¡±


    Pei Tingsong was extremely distressed. He gently kissed the little bruises, especially lightly.


    ¡°When there are many people in the future, protect yourself first.¡± He raised his head and looked at Fang Juexia.


    However many more times such a thing happened, Fang Juexia would still jump down to get to him. But if he said that, Pei Tingsong wouldn¡¯t let the matter drop. In order to coax him first, Fang Juexia could only nod and agree, ¡°Understood. I¡¯ll wash your hair.¡±


    He moved the stool to the side of the bathtub, where Pei Tingsong¡¯s head was, and poured warm water on it carefully. ¡°Too hot?¡±


    ¡°Not too hot.¡±


    After squeezing some shampoo into his hands and rubbing his hands together, Fang Juexia placed his hands on Pei Tingsong¡¯s head and rubbed it gently. Looking at his silvery white hair, Fang Juexia laughed. ¡°You had this on top of your head while doing your presentation today, didn¡¯t the teacher say anything to you?¡±


    ¡°I was wearing a hat.¡± Pei Tingsong said, ¡°The teacher did say something to me ah, they said that I presented especially well. And there were a lot of girls taking pictures of me, I saw them all.¡±


    ¡°Because you are very handsome.¡± Fang Juexia¡¯s tone was calm and direct, as if he was making a factual statement. ¡°This hair color also looks very good, it¡¯s like that of a cartoon character I liked before.¡±


    Pei Tingsong tilted his head back and looked up at him. ¡°So do I look better or does he look better?¡±


    ¡°Hm¡­¡± Fang Juexia¡¯s eyes drifted up, and it seemed as if he was seriously contemplating this matter. Pei Tingsong wasn¡¯t satisfied, feeling that he should have blurted out the answer ¡®you¡¯, so he scooped up a little water in his hand from the bathtub and splashed it on Fang Juexia. Fang Juexia smiled while ducking, teasing him, ¡°You, you look better.¡±


    Perfunctory.


    Pei Tingsong suddenly started squinting with one of his eyes. ¡°Ah, I got it in my eyes, it really hurts.¡±


    ¡°You reap what you sow.¡± Fang Juexia pulled his own clean face-towel towards himself and then pushed away the hand that Pei Tingsong wanted to use to rub his eye. ¡°I¡¯ll wipe it for you, don¡¯t move.¡±


    He leaned his upper body forward and drew close to Pei Tingsong. His fingers gently pressed against his upper eyelid while the index finger of his other hand poked gently through the towel, asking, ¡°Is it better?¡±


    Suddenly, a hand gripped the back of his neck tight, after which, Pei Tingsong raised his head, kissed him on the forehead and then released him while saying, ¡°It¡¯s good now.¡±


    Fang Juexia straightened up and covered his forehead without knowing why he did so. ¡°You tricked me again?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Pei Tingsong looked up at him and said with a smile, ¡°I really just got something into my eyes.¡±


    The always-so-passive Fang Juexia complained a little in his heart before warning him, ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to move, I¡¯m going to rinse you off now.¡±


    ¡°Can you count all of them now? How many do I owe you now, little math genius?¡±


    He was talking about the number of kisses, and Fang Juexia certainly knew it clearly, but he acted as if he couldn¡¯t hear him. The little clock in his heart had now turned into a small account book, and the number jumped out on its own.


    ¡°Who says I am keeping count?¡±


    Hot water flowed between his fingertips and Pei Tingsong¡¯s hair, and the bubbles couldn¡¯t remain forever. Fang Juexia¡¯s eyes couldn¡¯t help but peek over. Pei Tingsong had closed his eyes, and both sets of his eyelashes were very long and dense, with the lines of his face that were both sharp yet still carried a youthful feel being a very rare feature. As his eyes kept drifting lower, what entered his view were the very muscular lines of Pei Tingsong¡¯s body that were half-submerged in foam.


    ¡°Done rinsing.¡± Fang Juexia wiped his face with the towel and said, ¡°I¡¯m leaving, and you shouldn¡¯t soak for too long.¡±


    ¡°No way.¡± Pei Tingsong sat up all of a sudden. When he flipped his wet hair back, he splashed Fang Juexia thoroughly with water. ¡°Don¡¯t go ah.¡± Then he picked up the tub of ice cream and said, ¡°This can be eaten now. You just sit here, have some ice cream, and stay with me for a while longer.¡±


    Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t out-stubborn him. ¡°In a moment, everyone else will be back.¡±


    ¡°They won¡¯t be that fast,¡± Pei Tingsong said, holding the ice cream tub. ¡°What¡¯s more, what are you afraid of with them coming back, we aren¡¯t doing anything.¡± The hot steam in the bathroom wafted around, and when the spoon dug into the ice cream, it had already gone soft, so it went in easy. He scooped up a little, ate some himself first, then scooped up a bigger spoonful and offered it to the side, in Fang Juexia¡¯s mouth¡¯s direction.


    They really hadn¡¯t done anything.


    He had just helped Pei Tingsong take a bath, listened to him talk, and stayed for ice cream.


    Fang Juexia wasn¡¯t used to being fed, especially by the youngest person in the group. This feeling of being taken care of was subtle. The ice cream had already reached his mouth, so he could just open his lips and eat it. Milky white ice cream sprinkled on his lips, softly sticking there.


    When Pei Tingsong looked at him, a fever started burning in his heart, and he put the ice cream aside and said, ¡°You still have some on your mouth.¡±


    Fang Juexia reflexively reached out to touch it. ¡°Where?¡±


    ¡°Here.¡± Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t point out where with his hand, instead drawing forward the moment his voice fell and licking the melted cream off his lips.


    Stunned, Fang Juexia watched him withdraw away from him with his own eyes, then saw him toss his wet hair with his hand and smile at him.


    ¡°So sweet.¡±


    His body ignited in a flash, and his blood boiled up under the dazzling light of the bathroom. The scene from just now replayed repeatedly in Fang Juexia¡¯s mind, and his heart beat so fast that it was really close to jumping out of his chest.


    He couldn¡¯t stand this sudden attack of Pei Tingsong¡¯s. Every single time, it would mercilessly strike his heart, without leaving any time to apply first aid.


    ¡°Eat it yourself ba.¡± Fang Juexia was ready to get up, but Pei Tingsong pulled at his wrist and said, ¡°You want to run away just like that? I haven¡¯t even done anything yet.¡±


    It seemed that running away was also very humiliating, making it seem as though he was the kind of person who couldn¡¯t bear to be teased. Fang Juexia thought to there, and the stubbornness in his bones reasserted itself a bit, so he looked at Pei Tingsong and said in as confident a tone as he could muster, ¡°Then what else do you want to do?¡±


    ¡°There are so many things I want to do, and they¡¯ll have to be ticked off one by one.¡± Pei Tingsong rubbed his wrist, feeling Fang Juexia¡¯s protruding bones that were covered with a thin layer of skin. Rubbing his thumb against it gave a special feel, which was accompanied by a kind of thin, rich youthful kind of sexiness.


    ¡°You also know, this is the first time I¡¯ve ever dated anyone. Both parties are novices, so we have to start everything from the beginning and learn slowly.¡± Pei Tingsong raised his eyebrows and approached him under the sound of rushing water. His injured hand was on the edge of the bathtub, and his body was covered in beads of water that glittered under the warm light of the bathroom. ¡°Aren¡¯t you very good at practicing? Why don¡¯t we practice kissing?¡±


    Practice kissing?


    Fang Juexia¡¯s whole body was thrown into turmoil, and his brain exploded with a buzz. He didn¡¯t know how Pei Tingsong had the face to utter these words so naturally. He was too different from himself, and he couldn¡¯t explain the logic of his behavior at all.


    The other side continued his victorious pursuit. ¡°If you don¡¯t say anything, I¡¯ll take it as you agreeing.¡±


    ¡°Pei Tingsong.¡± Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t say anything harsh, so he could only call out his full name.


    ¡°Here.¡± Pei Tingsong smiled for a bit, then continued with his proposal; it was justified, well founded, and naturally unfolded. ¡°See, you are three years older than me. You¡¯re a Gege, and naturally you understand more than me. So, will you teach me how to kiss?¡±


    ¡°Me?¡± Fang Juexia had a lump in his throat. He also had no experience in this area. Could this kind of thing really also be classified based on age?


    ¡°¡­¡­ I haven¡¯t kissed before, I don¡¯t know how,¡± Fang Juexia pursed his lips and answered.


    ¡°That¡¯s true, you are also a novice. Then what should we do?¡± Pei Tingsong purposefully sighed. Suddenly, he seemed to think of something. ¡°Hey, how about we compete ba? One person at a time, and we¡¯ll see who is better. Whoever is better will be the one to teach the other.¡±


    Fang Juexia¡¯s ears were completely red. ¡°How can this be compared?¡±


    Kissing competition, just hearing about it made it sound ridiculous.


    Pei Tingsong was actually very serious, and his whole being was filled with energy. ¡°Since there is no third person, we can only judge each other. How¡¯s this, we¡¯ll each go once, and you go first.¡± With that, he drew close to Fang Juexia, coming to a stop right in front of him, and seemed to be waiting for something.


    ¡°I won¡¯t compete,¡± Fang Juexia retained the last bit of his clear-headedness and refused. ¡°There¡¯s no use in winning anyway.¡±


    ¡°Whoever said that?¡± Pei Tingsong tempted him, ¡°If you win, I¡¯ll listen to whatever you say. Okay, Gege?¡±


    This obviously wasn¡¯t some kind of worthy chip to play, no matter how he calculated it. Fang Juexia, a person who only relied on rational judgment and strategic decision-making for everything, had grown dizzy ever since he had met Pei Tingsong, and his logic and whatever else had all long been cast to the winds. Especially when hearing him call out ¡°Gege¡±, he would become someone barely hanging on for his life.


    ¡°¡­just one round,¡± Fang Juexia replied as his eyes drifted down.


    ¡°Alright, just one round.¡± Pei Tingsong laughed contentedly. ¡°One round to decide the outcome. You first.¡±


    After hesitating for a few seconds, Fang Juexia felt that his breathing had grown even more ragged, but since he was several years older than Pei Tingsong, he shouldn¡¯t be completely helpless like this. Thinking in this way, he put his hand over Pei Tingsong¡¯s eyes and summoned up the courage to draw their faces close together and stick his lips against his.


    He knew this was nothing and wouldn¡¯t rank in the kissing hierarchy at all. So he tried his best to search for relevant pictures in his brain, but his knowledge in this area was really too poor, so even if he had tried his best, he just barely tasted Pei Tingsong. A gentle bite was already his limit.


    This bite was Fang Juexia¡¯s limit, but in Pei Tingsong¡¯s perception, it was totally a seduction, a simple and clumsy seduction.


    ¡°That¡¯s it, I¡¯m done.¡± Fang Juexia left him with hot cheeks and pulled back his hand.


    ¡°Alright.¡± Pei Tingsong cracked his neck and said, ¡°Player No. 2, Pei Tingsong is ready.¡±


    Fang Juexia was far, far away from him, and like a small animal hearing the footsteps of a hunter, was completely on guard. Pei Tingsong wanted to laugh. ¡°Hey, for the sake of injured Player No. 2, can you get closer and make things more convenient?¡±


    Only after listening to him say this did Fang Juexia draw a bit closer. ¡°I forgot.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡± Saying that, Pei Tingsong stretched out his right hand to hold the back of his neck, and his whole person leaned up against Fang Juexia, kissing him while carrying the damp and hot water on his body, respecting his opponent¡¯s offensive posture. The carefully set trap turned slippery and soft at this moment. Prying into the depths, reaching into depths that he had never breached before, cleaning up all the oxygen there that could be plundered, leaving the other person with no chance for resistance.


    They didn¡¯t know whether it was a coincidence or some kind of punishment from God for their immorality, but a sound came from the outside. It was the sound of the dormitory door closing. His hearing had become extremely sensitive at this moment, and Fang Juexia could hear these sounds clearly through the bathroom door. He heard the sound of Lu Yuan placing the key on the porch cabinet at the door, and then the sounds of him changing his shoes and walking in.


    Not good. He tried to push Pei Tingsong away and interrupt this absurd and unfair competition.


    However, it was of no use at all. He was just a prey jumping into a trap.


    ¡°No one here?¡±


    Through the door and the wall, Lu Yuan¡¯s voice grew clearer and clearer. ¡°Are you in your room, Xiao Pei?¡±


    The person in question was hiding in the bathroom and was totally incapable of responding.


    The voice outside the door changed into an uncertain monologue, ¡°It can¡¯t be that he¡¯s wearing headphones again ba¡­Weird, where¡¯d my cellphone charger go¡­¡±


    Fang Juexia¡¯s hands were powerless against Pei Tingsong¡¯s chest. Originally, he had wanted to push him away, but in the end, it turned into a hesitant embrace. He had been softly hooked and then stirred, and now like a whirlpool, he was being pulled down. The more he struggled, the deeper he sank.


    As their hearts beat together, the remaining aroma of the ice cream drifted through their wet exchange.


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s hand gently rubbed the soft tendon on the back of Fang Juexia¡¯s neck. He also didn¡¯t know why, but it seemed as if that was the only muscle still propping him up, so when Pei Tingsong kneaded it, Fang Juexia felt his whole person soften.


    The ice cream melted on his lips, and he melted into Pei Tingsong¡¯s arms.


    His sensitive nerves relaxed, then became paralyzed in the process of their entanglement, and they were about to reach the critical point, where he would end up losing all his wits. Yet, all of a sudden, Lu Yuan¡¯s voice came near again, this time sounding out from very close, almost as if it was right outside the door.


    ¡°It¡¯s really hot.¡±


    When the door lock on the bathroom turned, Fang Juexia woke up suddenly. The fear of being caught made him struggle ceaselessly, and he desperately wanted to push Pei Tingsong¡¯s shoulder away, but such an action was completely futile. This devil incarnate, who was impervious to reason or advice, feared no one.


    ¡°Strange ah, is there anyone inside?¡±


    ¡°Xiao Pei?¡±


    This sound was magnified by the humidity, magnified by atmosphere, and lingered in his ears, creating a double-layered attack with the tactile sensations. This attack grew more and more intense, and Fang Juexia felt just like a character in a game. His health bar went down, shortening, and shortening again, and was at the moment right before it would go zero.


    He was saved.


    Pei Tingsong let go, with his hand on the back of his neck falling on his back. He turned towards the door and spoke to the voice outside as if nothing had happened, ¡°Yuan Ge, I¡¯m in the bath.¡±


    ¡°I was just talking about how I couldn¡¯t find you anywhere.¡± Lu Yuan, who was outside, said, ¡°Is your hand okay?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, don¡¯t worry ba.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good, call me if you need something ah. I¡¯ll go play a game.¡±


    When the last sentence in this exchange finished, Lu Yuan¡¯s footsteps also grew further and further away. It was really too dangerous to be separated by only one door. Fang Juexia¡¯s hand slid down, holding the wet edge of the bathtub as he gasped for breath. His mind was dizzy, and the oxygen in the bathroom was thin. This kind of feeling, where his heart continued to beat crazily, didn¡¯t fade away.


    Pei Tingsong embraced Fang Juexia, smiling at him, and rubbed the corner of his mouth with his thumb.


    ¡°Did I win, Gege?¡±


    In his eyes was a fire that had not yet been extinguished, burning wild in the wet rainy season.


    Fang Juexia tried very hard to restore his breathing to its usual speed. His forehead was damp and hot, and he couldn¡¯t tell whether it was from sweat or water vapor. He directly skipped the topic of winning or losing because this was an unfair competition in the first place.


    ¡°Scared?¡± Pei Tingsong lowered his head and pulled away the hair sticking to the side of his face.


    ¡°We were nearly discovered,¡± Fang Juexia let out a breath and whispered.


    ¡°It¡¯s only exciting like that.¡± Pei Tingsong raised his eyebrows. ¡°Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s like we¡¯re having a clandestine love affair?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± He replied with the opposite answer, then tried to wriggle out of this embarrassing description by pretending to find fault with him, so he asked him, ¡°Are you really in love for the first time?¡±


    Pei Tingsong liked seeing Fang Juexia interrogate him like this, with his voice carrying a little bit of willful temper. Normally Fang Juexia had none of this, and no one had ever seen it.


    ¡°Why do you ask like that? You don¡¯t believe me?¡±


    Fang Juexia looked up at him. ¡°Because you don¡¯t seem like a novice at all.¡± He deliberately grasped his neck and said, ¡°Talk, where did you learn that?¡±


    ¡°Do I even have to learn that?¡± The corners of Pei Tingsong¡¯s mouth rose, and he put his arms around Fang Juexia¡¯s waist to draw him in closer.


    ¡°I graduated the moment I saw you.¡±

 CH 68

    Chapter 68 ¨C Direct Shot To The Heart


    The number of votes is right!


    Fang Juexia realized that he could not win against Pei Tingsong at all.


    This guy was both cunning and confident. He wasn¡¯t afraid of anything, and he was a naturally talented kind of competitor.


    ¡°Really amazing.¡± Fang Juexia pushed him away, pulled the towel over, and threw it on his face. He turned his back and then whispered, ¡°Do you want me to give you a diploma?¡±


    Pei Tingsong wiped his hair. ¡°Oh right.¡± He came out of the bathtub, wrapped himself in a bath towel, and hugged Fang Juexia from behind. ¡°Forget it, I¡¯m going to apply for the master¡¯s and doctoral studies.¡±


    The more he talked, the higher his spirits became. Fang Juexia elbowed him once, then remembered that Lu Yuan was right outside. ¡°How can I get out later? Every time he plays games, he does so in the living room.¡±


    Pei Tingsong, holding his ice cream, went to the drying section of the bathroom, turned on the hair dryer, and started to blow-dry his hair. At the same time, he cracked open the bathroom door a bit, glanced over, then turned his head back and told Fang Juexia, ¡°He¡¯s really in the living room.¡±


    Sure enough, Fang Juexia knew them all too well.


    ¡°I know what to do.¡± Pei Tingsong drew close to his ear and whispered his idea to him. Fang Juexia felt that currently, he really was like a high schooler who was dating and was trying not to get caught in the act by their guardian, but he had no choice but to do so.


    Pei Tingsong turned off the hair dryer, cleared his throat, opened the bathroom door, and called out, ¡°Yuan Ge.¡±


    ¡°Hey!¡± Lu Yuan stretched his neck over, but his eyes were still pinned on the screen as he asked, ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Um, help me get a bathrobe, I forgot to bring one in. After soaking for a long time, I came out and found it was cold outside.¡± Pei Tingsong poked half of his body out the bathroom door. ¡°It¡¯s in my closet, on the far right, the dark gray one.¡±


    ¡°One minute ah, just one minute, will go immediately.¡± Lu Yuan had already stood up, but his head was still hanging as he concentrated on the final melee, all the way until the game ended. ¡°Got it.¡± He ran down the bedroom corridor without even putting on his slippers.


    Fang Juexia, hiding behind Pei Tingsong, seized the opportunity to go out.


    ¡°Hey, wait!¡±


    Upon seeing Lu Yuan come back, Pei Tingsong quickly and agilely blocked Fang Juexia. ¡°What?¡±


    Lu Yuan scratched his head and asked, ¡°What did you just say? Get what?¡±


    Pei Tingsong was in a good mood, and so found this amusing. People who were playing games were really no different from deaf people. ¡°Bathrobe, a dark gray bathrobe, it¡¯s right there in my closet.¡±


    ¡°Oh, right, right, right, ugh, my brain.¡± Lu Yuan turned around and said, ¡°Wait there, don¡¯t come out ah. Otherwise you¡¯ll catch a cold in a bit.¡±


    Hearing his voice fade away, Fang Juexia hurried out of the bathroom and sneaked into the living room like a thief. As soon as he got to the entranceway, he heard Lu Yuan¡¯s voice. He was so scared that his shoulders trembled, and he quickly stuck himself against the wall.


    ¡°Why can¡¯t I find it ah?¡±


    Pei Tingsong broke out in a cold sweat and said, ¡°You can just grab any one ba.¡±


    ¡°Ah, found it.¡±


    After he heard this, Fang Juexia immediately ran to the main entrance, opened the door, and slipped out. With his back against the door, Fang Juexia breathed a long sigh of relief.


    He had finally managed to escape; this was even more exciting than when they were filming ¡®Escape For Your Life.¡¯


    Fang Juexia looked down and saw the slippers he was wearing. He didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry; he really was too miserable. Originally, he was going to take a few moments to calm his heart down outside, but he didn¡¯t expect to see the up symbol on the display screen of the entrance elevator not far away.


    Someone was coming back?


    A pincer attack was converging, and Fang Juexia didn¡¯t dare to stay at that spot any longer. He quickly opened the door using the facial recognition lock, pushing it open and entering as if nothing had happened.


    Fortunately, Lu Yuan wasn¡¯t at the main entrance, otherwise it would have been awkward to catch sight of Fang Juexia in his slippers.


    ¡°Who¡¯s back?¡±


    Hearing Lu Yuan¡¯s voice, Fang Juexia answered, ¡°Me.¡± His heart felt weak as he walked into the living room, and he just happened to see Lu Yuan come out of the bedroom with a white bathrobe in his hand. ¡°Juexia, didn¡¯t you go home earlier than me? How come you¡¯re only back now?¡±


    Watching him carry the bathrobe to the main bathroom, Fang Juexia explained, ¡°I¡­ I went out again later.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Lu Yuan, who had accomplished his mission, went around and returned to his position, soon flopping back onto the sofa. But then, for some reason he flipped over again, just like a carp jumping out of the river, and stared at Fang Juexia. ¡°Why are you so damp, is it raining outside?¡±


    Only at this time did Fang Juexia discover that his top was already completely stuck to his body, and his hair was dripping with water and sticking to his face. He wasn¡¯t a person who lied very often, so when he opened his mouth, he started to stammer, ¡°Ah, because, I just¡­¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re sweating like this after you run, and you¡¯re still not going to take a bath ah.¡± Pei Tingsong put on his bathrobe and came out of the bathroom. He glanced at Fang Juexia and then threw the tie of the bathrobe in his hand over onto Lu Yuan. ¡°Yuan Ge, help me tie it up.¡±


    Seeing Pei Tingsong break his siege, Fang Juexia hurriedly went down the ladder he had brought and escaped the situation. ¡°Right, I have to take a bath, I¡¯m sweating all over.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re so awesome ah, Xiao Pei. You¡¯re all hurt, but you can still undo and take off all your clothes on your own?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, otherwise how could I get on ¡®Escape For Your Life¡¯?¡±


    Coincidentally, it was then that the rest of the people came back, and the dormitory grew noisy. Fang Juexia stood alone in the bathroom and helped Pei Tingsong by putting all of his changed clothes into the washing machine. He also took off his half wet shirt and threw it in.


    He didn¡¯t know why, but just seeing their clothes fall in the same place made Fang Juexia¡¯s imagination run wild, with his face going red and his heart leaping.


    So it turned out that love was this kind of feeling.


    After taking a bath, Fang Juexia was pulled by Ling Yi into playing a game. Although he seldom played games on weekdays, he was actually a very good player at this type of game and often carried his teammates. After all, he had good technique, excellent psychological quality, and high concentration, which was a kind of playing method that aimed very few cruel words towards one¡¯s own teammates.


    Ling Yi kicked his legs excitedly. ¡°Juexia, we¡¯re going to eat chicken in this match again!¡±


    Fang Juexia, who was wearing earphones, didn¡¯t speak, let alone relax his vigilance.


    He Ziyan opened up a beverage can and sat down beside Ling Yi. ¡°Again? How many matches have you guys won?¡±


    Ling Yi proudly twisted around a bit. ¡°Two, isn¡¯t it awesome?¡±


    ¡°Juexia really is 6, last time when we said that we¡¯d livestream it for the fans, he wouldn¡¯t even let us.¡± Lu Yuan said, ¡°How nice it would be to have a livestream for fans to enjoy ah.¡±


    When Fang Juexia was gaming, he would be too focused and didn¡¯t really listen to what they were saying, nor did he respond. He felt that there seemed to be footsteps approaching him. Just as he was turning to check, he suddenly heard Pei Tingsong¡¯s voice.


    ¡°Really? So strong? Let me also have a look.¡±


    As soon as he got close, Fang Juexia smelled the same shampoo aroma on him as the one he had. Pei Tingsong sat next to him, placing his chin on his shoulder.


    Fang Juexia¡¯s heart suddenly grew chaotic for a few seconds. Because of this, he was surprise-attacked and shot at by the only remaining group of enemies. Upon seeing the green liquid splashing on the screen, Fang Juexia immediately reacted and hid behind a tree. After finding the right position, he counter-attacked and killed one of the enemies quickly.


    ¡°Wow, really great.¡±


    The heat of his breath as he spoke sprayed onto Fang Juexia¡¯s ear, making his heart feel flustered. He dodged a bit from the proximity and said, ¡°Go over there a bit, don¡¯t let your hand bump into me.¡±


    Because of you, I almost ended up dying.


    When the last person showed themselves, Fang Juexia directly knocked them down, then finally let Ling Yi make a few shots to earn a kill.


    ¡°Yay!¡± Ling Yi was so happy that he threw his cellphone away, hugged Juexia, and then peppered him with a lot of kisses on his head as he exclaimed, ¡°Juexia, you are my God!¡±


    Upon suddenly receiving so many kisses, Fang Juexia¡¯s first reaction was to actually look at Pei Tingsong while wearing an expression of complete confusion.


    Pei Tingsong felt that his head had turned a glowing green, as green as that box lying in the grass that the enemy player had turned into after dying in the game. He pulled Ling Yi away with one hand. ¡°Step aside, why are you kissing and hugging every single day?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter? You¡¯re not happy ah! You¡¯re homophobic ah!¡±


    With such a big pot getting smashed onto his head, Pei Tingsong¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Who¡¯s homophobic ah! Who are you saying is homophobic?!¡±


    The two little children started to attack each other, and besides Fang Juexia, who was still stuck between them and trying to awkwardly mediate, the other guys who had already gotten used to this a long time, had already formed a team to play a new match.


    ¡°Hey, my Yuan, you go over there a bit further.¡±


    ¡°Three Water, hand me those chips.¡±


    ¡°This flavor? Or this one?¡±


    Pei Tingsong pressed Ling Yi¡¯s head, but his mouth was still blaring, ¡°I¡¯m telling you, being homophobic is like being deeply closeted!¡±


    ¡°You can say I¡¯m deeply closeted, you can¡¯t say I¡¯m homophobic.¡±


    As soon as these words were uttered, the rest of the members all stopped moving their hands around and turned their heads towards Pei Tingsong in unison.


    Fang Juexia just wanted to quit this group conversation at that very moment.


    The next morning, they went to MLH to record a new promotional performance. This time, they were dressed in a set of white Tang jackets, which gave the feel of being martial arts practitioners in the Republic of China era. Pei Tingsong¡¯s sling matched along with  the style unexpectedly well, and also because of him performing with his injury, the fans on scene were also more enthusiastic.


    Originally, when he was singing ¡°Ten steps and a person will be dead and maimed¡±, Pei Tingsong¡¯s dance move was to grab Fang Juexia¡¯s collar, and then the two of them would suddenly draw close together, but because he was injured now, Fang Juexia changed from being passive in this killing action¡¯s part, instead now moving forward to take the initiative. He held the folding fan as he moved forward, swept Pei Tingsong¡¯s arm with the back end of the fan, and then finally used it to lift up his chin.


    This new move caused the supporting fans below to grow excited and start screaming, and the tension between the two of them was magnified as it collided heavily on the stage. Chasing Kaleido would produce more little surprises than when chasing other boy-bands. You would just never know how many adaptations and improvisations this group would incorporate when singing live. Just like the implied meaning behind the word Kaleido when it was being founded, this boy-band was indeed like a kaleidoscope, always shifting and changing.


    Kaleido¡¯s experience in just one week could be described as being the stuff of an Internet legend. Before, almost all the first places of the major song playing programs had been completely dominated by Seven Luminaries, which had already become a normal situation for this ¡°heavenly group¡±. Yet, just a week later, these six boys, who weren¡¯t even worthy of counting as being Seven Luminaries¡¯ opponent in everyone¡¯s eyes, were now prime candidates for the award, with millions of people waiting anxiously for the host to announce the result.


    From the corner of his eye, Fang Juexia could see Liang Ruo standing not far away. He stood at the corner with his group and looked over at him once before looking away.


    He couldn¡¯t describe what kind of feeling this was, and Fang Juexia¡¯s feelings at this moment were complicated. Finally, he could also compete openly with his friends, those who had once practiced and struggled together with him, without having to bear any of the prejudice or burdens imposed by the aura of the past.


    He had really waited for this day for too long.


    ¡°This season¡¯s first place, for Music Live Hall, will either be Seven Luminaries or Kaleido! Now I¡¯d like to announce the achievements of these two groups!¡±


    This was the first time they¡¯d been in the running to win. Ling Yi was too nervous to look, but Lu Yuan read all of it seriously. ¡°Wow, our numbers are that strong?¡±


    There wasn¡¯t much of a difference between the two sides in terms of the sales volume for their albums. Because Kaleido had more passers-by who bought their album, in terms of sales, they had a big advantage. The playback numbers for ¡°Break Through¡± was twice that of Seven Luminaries¡¯ new album. Combining the total score of these two items put Kaleido far ahead.


    ¡°Finally, let¡¯s take a look at the voting section!¡± This section depended on die-hard fans. The number of fans Seven Luminaries possessed was always their strong point, and that was also why they would almost always win first place in these music playing programs. With this vote, they still had room to stage a comeback.


    As the host¡¯s voice dropped, two numbers appeared on the big screen ¡ª 89,987 votes for Seven Luminaries and 87,092 votes for Kaleido.


    ¡°Congratulations Kaleido!¡±


    Everyone had guessed that the result might be in favor of Kaleido, but no one had thought that K would attain so many votes, to the point where they could actually nearly reach the same number of votes as Seven Luminaries, who had debuted as a first tier group.


    Even Fang Juexia didn¡¯t think that they actually turned out to have gained so many fans with this comeback.


    Seeing that the six members of K were a little stunned, the host quickly handed the trophy and microphone to Jiang Miao. ¡°Congratulations to all of you!¡±


    Compared with many big prizes, this small, little trophy didn¡¯t count as anything at all. Some singers and groups could get seven or eight or even ten of these during their album¡¯s promotional period. However, this was a very hard-fought win for Kaleido, who had never won first place for anything before. It also meant a new start.


    Jiang Miao¡¯s eyes stung a bit, and he didn¡¯t know what was happening to him, but it felt like all their experiences from the past two years were playing back in reverse order in front of his eyes. However, he still maintained the attitude that a group leader should have. ¡°Thank you very much to every Domino who supports us, and thank you President Chen and our agent, Qiang Ge, for never giving up on us. Thank you to all the staff who have devoted themselves to this album. Thank you.¡±


    Standing in a corner backstage, Cheng Qiang¡¯s nose also started stinging while listening to this. It wasn¡¯t so much that they hadn¡¯t given up on these six children as much as they had never given up on themselves.


    Jiang Miao finished talking and handed the microphone to Fang Juexia, who seldom spoke. When he got the microphone, Fang Juexia didn¡¯t know what to say for a moment. After thinking about it, he said, ¡°Thank you everyone, you¡¯ve all worked hard during this period of time.¡± He saw all the fans below start crying, and not only thought that they were cute, but also felt a bit distressed for them. ¡°Don¡¯t cry ah.¡±


    The fans below cried and shouted, ¡°Even Ling Yi is crying!¡±


    As soon as Fang Juexia turned his head back, he saw Ling Yi sniffling his cries, even as he tried to hide behind He Ziyan. Lu Yuan dragged him out again and said, ¡°Aren¡¯t you losing face?¡±


    The microphone was transferred from Fang Juexia¡¯s hand to Pei Tingsong. ¡°I¡¯m not fit to speak on official occasions.¡±


    These opening words made everyone laugh, and he continued, ¡°We¡¯re very happy to get this award. It¡¯s the first time that the six of us have won an award, and it¡¯s a much happier event than I imagined. Thank you all for letting us continue standing on the stage. Maybe we are not the most perfect idols in everyone¡¯s hearts, but we will try our best to better ourselves.¡± Saying that, he deliberately pretended to be angry and teased, ¡°Ling Yi, stop crying, you¡¯re being so loud that I can¡¯t even stir up any emotions.¡±


    ¡°Hahahahaha!¡±


    Finally, Ling Yi was caught by the others. Lu Yuan put the microphone to his mouth as a public punishment. He was crying so hard he was sniffling and hiccupping, and his speech was completely muffled, ¡°Tha-thank you¡­hic, everyone.¡±


    He Ziyan joked, ¡°Sorry guys, Ling Yi is too full from breakfast.¡± As soon as he released his hand, Ling Yi quickly moved away from the microphone and fell into Fang Juexia¡¯s arms, and Fang Juexia then rubbed his hair.


    Winning for the first time in a promotional performance made these several people cry and laugh. Other singers and groups present on the stage came to congratulate them one after another, including Seven Luminaries. Liang Ruo walked towards Fang Juexia and held out a hand. ¡°Congratulations.¡±


    He is much thinner than before; perhaps their comeback had also been very tiring.


    Fang Juexia gave a friendly smile, briefly held his hand, and then released it. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    The accompaniment for ¡°Break Through¡± was played again on the stage, and then it was encore time. Only the six K members were left on the stage, and they played a rock-paper-scissors game while singing in a carefree fashion. Whoever lost in the game had to do a plank on the ground. The injured Pei Tingsong squatted beside them, keeping time and rapping, and the scene was very funny.


    After the filming, the six people immediately changed their clothes to a different style and rushed to the autograph event.


    Autograph events were almost one of the most desired activities for fans. They could get close to their favorite idols, line up in turn, and everyone had the opportunity to shake hands and chat with their idol, or even have more interaction than that. After the autograph session, there would be a long period of chatting and playing some games, which were all benefits that were usually unavailable.


    Star Chart sorted out the album purchasers from those who bought the most to the least, and then the top 1000 were selected to draw lots. The 500 lucky winners would then be able to participate in the autograph event.


    Kaleido¡¯s autograph events originally had always seen very sparse attendance. Not many fans had come when they had debuted, and later, when they had released their second mini album, they hadn¡¯t held an autograph event at all. So this comeback¡¯s autograph event was something their fans had been waiting a whole two years for.


    With the increase in fans, Star Chart was afraid of accidents, so it had changed the autograph venue from a semi outdoors venue to an interior one, and they had also added more security personnel, especially around Pei Tingsong.


    When the six of them appeared in the stadium, the screams were mixed with the clicking sound of camera shutters, and looking out across the venue, one could see that it was all station Jies holding SLR cameras.


    Jiang Miao looked around and said, ¡°Let¡¯s greet everyone first. One, two, three¡­¡±


    ¡°Hello everyone, we¡¯re Kaleido!¡± The six people bowed together, then straightened up and waved to everyone.


    The style for the autograph event was more comfortable and casual. Pei Tingsong was looking very American, with a black hair band, a wide white T-shirt, a blue jersey on top of that, and baggy pants with limited-edition AJs to finish it off. Fang Juexia¡¯s long hair was tied behind his head in a low pony-tail. His upper body was wrapped in a white shirt with a lead gray sweater on top, and his lower body was covered with light blue jeans that had holes in them.


    Based on their official positions, the six people sat from left to right in front of a long signing table, and wearing a particularly cool mask made of shiny laser fabric, Xiao Wen gave them a heap of signature pens, dividing them up between the six people like he was dividing up snacks for kindergarten children.


    ¡°Hey, Xiao Pei, you have just one hand, what are you doing taking so many?¡±


    Ling Yi sarcastically taunted, ¡°Hahahaha, that¡¯s right ah. One hand and still taking so much.¡±


    Pei Tingsong leaned over Fang Juexia and threw a small paper ball at Ling Yi. ¡°Shut up.¡±


    ¡°Enough, are you guys children?¡± Fang Juexia pressed on Pei Tingsong¡¯s shoulder, and really seemed a bit like a teacher.


    The songs from the ¡°Break Through¡± album were playing in the stadium, and Cheng Qiang picked up the microphone to announce, ¡°Thank you everyone, for coming to Kaleido¡¯s autograph event. Next, please come to the stage in the order arranged by the staff.¡±


    The first one who came up was a male fan, with red hair, and two strands of glittering lady earrings. When he came up to He Ziyan, his two small feet came together, and he jumped up and down excitedly.


    ¡°Ziyan Ge, I¡¯m your super diehard fan!¡±


    He Ziyan had just gulped a mouthful of a drink and almost spat it out because he saw the big T-shirt on the boy¡¯s body, which bore a photoshopped ¡°group picture¡± of him and the boy.


    ¡°Holy crap,¡± He Ziyan couldn¡¯t help saying to Lu Yuan beside him, ¡°I actually have a male fan!¡±


    Lu Yuan was already nearly dying from laughter. He autographed things for his fans while saying, ¡°Isn¡¯t it ma, and you guys even have the same hair color.¡±


    ¡°I dyed it for Ziyan Ge.¡± The male fan¡¯s whole face was completely red. ¡°I really especially like you! This is my gift to you, Ziyan Ge! And a letter I wrote to you!¡±


    ¡°Wow, thank you, I¡¯ll have a good look at it.¡±


    ¡°Congratulations to you guys for getting first place! Finally, our little obscure K ranked!¡±


    ¡°You guys already know that so soon ah.¡±


    This wasn¡¯t a unique event, and everything had its counterpart. A rare male fan appeared over on He Ziyan¡¯s side, sandwiched in the middle of a large group of girls, who were all burning with ardor and confessing. On Fang Juexia¡¯s side, another one appeared, one who went straight up to him.


    Fang Juexia, who had signed autographs for several girls in succession, now was already using a much gentler voice. ¡°Hello, would you like to¡­¡±


    Before he could finish talking, a bunch of roses were proffered over to him. Fang Juexia looked up in surprise and saw a tall boy. He sort of didn¡¯t know what was going on. ¡°This is?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s for you, I really like you very much!¡±


    Pei Tingsong saw this, and the pen in his hand fell on the table. The fan in front of him shyly pushed the album over and requested, ¡°Xiao Pei, please sign here for me.¡±


    ¡°Thank you¡­¡± Fang Juexia also seldom saw any male fans, so he felt a bit at loss. He reached for his bouquet and put it to one side. ¡°It¡¯s very beautiful, thank you.¡± He kept the smile on his face. ¡°Do you have any special requirements for the autograph?¡±


    This male fan, who looked like a very upright young man, declared, ¡°Yes, my name is Youwei, the Youwei in ¡®young and promising¡¯, and I also want Juexia to write a sentence¡ª¡®Happy 20th birthday Youwei, love you.¡¯ Um, and it would be perfect if you would also draw me a heart after that.¡±


    Love you???


    When Pei Tingsong heard this sentence, his pen directly slipped from his hand to draw out a straight line on the album. Looking up at the female fan in front of him awkwardly, Pei Tingsong explained, ¡°I¡¯m sorry ah, I only have one hand, and it¡¯s a bit unstable. It¡¯s alright, watch, I¡¯ll draw you an arrow through the heart.¡±


    Saying that, he really did draw it. The line was changed into an arrow and a big heart was drawn in the middle.


    Pei Tingsong turned the album over to his fan and said, ¡°Look, this arrow piercing the heart that I drew, doesn¡¯t it look up to standard?¡±


    The cute little fan immediately started to clap like a seal. ¡°Standard! Looks nice!¡±


    Fang Juexia, who was seated right next to him, still felt it a bit strange after signing it. ¡°Do you want to add a surname? Will it seem a bit strange just to write Youwei?¡±


    ¡°No need.¡± The male fan¡¯s face was wreathed in smiles, his whole being brimming with happiness as he said, ¡°This way seems more intimate.¡±


    Intimate¡­


    Pei Tingsong handed the album back to his fan with a genial smile stuck to his face. She didn¡¯t know why, but the fan kept feeling that he was off, and she felt a bit numb when he smiled. ¡°Thank you, Xiao Pei. Xiao Pei, you need to keep fighting oh. Get better soon.¡±


    Pei Tingsong raised his uninjured hand and waved at her. ¡°Okay, I¡¯m very good¡­¡±


    The male fan took the album from Fang Juexia¡¯s hand, not even being able to hide the smile on his face. Once he shook hands with Fang Juexia, he wouldn¡¯t even let go. Pei Tingsong leaned against the back of his chair and coughed.


    Ling Yi leaned over and glanced at Pei Tingsong.


    ¡°My throat feels really bad. This weather is really too dry.¡± Pei Tingsong insincerely explained, then took the opportunity to grab the Wangzai milk in front of Fang Juexia, unwrapped the straw with one hand, and poked it into the box.


    The male fan, who had just loosened his hand, spoke up, ¡°Thank you Juexia, Juexia, you¡¯re so good!¡±


    Of course he¡¯s good, what do we need you to say that for?


    He couldn¡¯t poke the straw into the hole of the box at his first try, so he aligned it again.


    ¡°Juexia, I love you!¡±


    Squelch, the straw once again slipped to the side. Pei Tingsong angrily threw the straw to the side.


    No, were all male fans so flippant now?!


    Fang Juexia kept nodding his thanks and watched the boy reluctantly move away from his seat towards Pei Tingsong¡¯s seat.


    Forget it, forget it. Pei Tingsong straightened up and took up his pen to sign. Whatever the case, he was also an idol, so how can he be angry with his fans? Even if you were angry, you still needed to keep autographing smoothly for fans. He was, after all, the good-tempered gentleman, Xiao Pei. Keeping it real was one thing, but for fans, they should still obediently perform fanservice.


    As a result, Pei Tingsong, who had managed to sort out his mental state, raised his face and gave a fake smile to the die-hard male fan who had just come from Fang Juexia¡¯s seat. ¡°Hello, what do you want me to sign?¡±


    Who would have known that that male fan would turn cool in a second. ¡°Oh no need, I just wanted Juexia¡¯s autograph.¡±


    ¡ª


    The author has something to say:


    [The number of votes is right. If you look at the original text carefully, the award is from the total score of the three parts (playbacks, album sales, and fan vote). Kaleido and Seven Luminaries had close album sales, close vote counts, but K had more playbacks. ]


    Describing the autograph event is just for fun, and stopping here is just to be funny. Next chapter will still be the autograph session. Don¡¯t take it seriously, don¡¯t take it seriously, don¡¯t take it seriously, and don¡¯t bring up stuff in real life, let¡¯s count it as me begging you guys.


    Kaleido autograph session is also known as ¡°Major CP fancily giving out fluff & Kaleido cross talk conference¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    The following is a furtive conversation between TingJue CP station sisters:


    ¡°Juexia really looks so good. Wuwuwu, today I also shed tears for Juexia¡¯s beauty.¡±


    ¡°Ahhhhhhhh, quickly look, is Xiao Pei mad, look at his terrifying smile!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s really breaking the rules to give red roses at an autograph event. Xiao Pei, learn from others!¡±


    ¡°That Wangzai milk is too innocent ba. Some vinegar kings really take these little things to get angry oh, tchtchtch¡­¡±


    ¡°Really jealous over there, so, so sour.¡±


    ¡°Ah, that male fan skipped Xiao Pei! Hahahaha what kind of scene of bloody slaughter is this?¡±


    ¡°My eyes turn red when I see my love rival!¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re making up such a long story, talking as if it was real.¡±


    ¡°Yes, hahaha, fake, fake, it¡¯s all fake.¡±

 CH 69

    Chapter 69 ¨C The Secret In The Flowers


    Supernatural event happening at the Kaleido autograph event


    ¡°What,¡± Pei Tingsong threw up both hands, and his face was full of disbelief as he asked, ¡°Seriously?¡±


    But that male fan very soon burst into laughter before replying, ¡°Nonono, just joking! Please autograph for me, troubling you.¡± He also bowed.


    He just knew it.


    Pei Tingsong pulled at the hair band on his forehead. ¡°Alright ba. Seeing as we¡¯re both 20 now, I¡¯ll write ¡®Forever twenty¡¯ ba.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, thank you,¡± The male fan quickly added, ¡°But Juexia said in an interview before that his ideal type was a more mature person, so I think I still need to grow up more quickly.¡±


    Pei Tingsong had just written out an ¡°F¡±, and he nearly ended up turning it into ¡°Fuck.¡±


    As soon as he heard this, Fang Juexia roused himself and raised his head. First, he looked at that upright young man who was wearing a completely sunny expression. Then he glanced at Pei Tingsong, who was on the verge of losing control of his facial expression. Finally, he quickly turned his head to Ling Yi, who was watching the show, and asked in a low voice, ¡°When did I say that?¡±


    Ling Yi also whispered, ¡°How do I know when you made such a thing up¡­¡±


    ¡°Fine.¡± The smile on Pei Tingsong¡¯s face grew more and more kind. ¡°Then I¡¯ll wish you an early maturity.¡± When he signed the album, the strength he used was extraordinary. The sound of his pen scratching against the album sounded scary, but Pei Tingsong still presented the signed album back with a smile. ¡°Here you go.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± The male fan took hold of the album and put it in his bag, then he held onto Pei Tingsong¡¯s hand with both hands with an expression that showed complete earnestness.


    Heh, he still knows to be distressed for a wounded member ah. It seemed that this fan still had a conscience.


    Pei Tingsong took the lead and said, ¡°No need to wish me better soon¡­¡±


    ¡°Please take good care of our Juexia!¡± The male fan held Pei Tingsong¡¯s hand tightly and cut off his speech with this request.


    No? Wait a minute¡­.


    Whose?


    Our Juexia???


    Fang Juexia, watching all this from the side, felt both awkward and amused, so he could only bury his head in autographing things for his little fans. Ling Yi was pulling the fans in front of him to watch the show together, laughing joyfully.


    The veins in Pei Tingsong¡¯s forehead were about to pop out, but fortunately, his hair band covered him up. ¡°What are you talking about¡­¡±


    ¡°Although I know you guys are just doing fanservice!¡± The male fan continued, ¡°But please take more care of our Juexia! Our Juexia really has a difficult time!¡± With that, he released his hand and bowed again to Pei Tingsong, who hadn¡¯t yet pulled his hand back.


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s head started aching while listening to this. ¡°Wait¡­¡±


    Fanservice???


    Laozi is real! The absolute real thing!


    ¡°This is a physical rehabilitation tool I bought for you, as well as some nutritional supplements for calcium.¡± The male fan took each of these items out of his bag, marketing them just like a pyramid-scheme salesman. ¡°I heard that boys over 190m tall actually have weaker constitutions, so you need to supplement your nutrition.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not weak at all!¡±


    This was totally questioning his physical strength! This was basically a personal insult!


    Looking at how close his family¡¯s little wolf dog was to jumping over the wall, Fang Juexia immediately came out to clean up the scene. ¡°Thank you for your gift, I will urge Xiao Pei to take it.¡±


    As soon as the male fan saw Fang Juexia talking, his face once again showed a shy smile as he replied, ¡°Thank you Juexia, I will find another chance to see you!¡±


    Fang Juexia humbly bowed his head and smiled. ¡°Okay, thank you very much for your support.¡±


    After great effort, they managed to send this die-hard male fan off, and then Ling Yi opened his mouth, activating his gossip mode again. ¡°Tall but weak, he¡¯s talking about the group bully who usually fights against both the heavens and the earth. I¡¯ll sing a song for you today called, ¡®You also have such a day.¡¯¡±


    Pei Tingsong picked up one of the plushie bolas on the table and pointed it at Ling Yi. ¡°Shut up! I¡¯m not weak at all.¡±


    Lu Yuan handed the album in his hands to his fans using both his hands and said, ¡°Yes, Xiao Pei has a great body, it¡¯s really delicious.¡±


    ¡°Respect, Yuan Ge,¡± Pei Tingsong saluted him.


    Lu Yuan returned the salute and continued, ¡°It¡¯s just really a bit weak. He even needs someone to get him a bathrobe after he takes a bath.¡±


    All the fans standing at the side laughed.


    ¡°Hahahahaha!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s impossible to do this job anymore.¡±


    Fang Juexia patted him on the back, looked at him, and smiled. From the fans¡¯ point of view below the stage, this smile was just like that of a Gege¡¯s doting smile towards the maknae. Then, he noticed that Pei Tingsong wanted to drink Wangzai milk that was in front of him, so he inserted the straw for him, and pushed it over to him. ¡°Drink ba.¡±


    ¡°Sure enough, the fans are like their idol.¡±


    Fang Juexia frowned suspiciously.


    ¡°You¡¯re all heartless.¡± Pei Tingsong picked up the straw and took a sip, and felt as if he had gone back to the terrible period when he had drunk Wangzai milk every day a year and a half ago.


    ¡°Too sweet.¡± He frowned and put the milk down.


    In a natural manner, Fang Juexia picked up the box of Wangzai milk and took a sip of it. ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡±


    The CP fans below saw the two people drinking from the same box of milk together, and it was so sweet that they just wanted to faint right then and there.


    Another new fan came up, wearing a T-shirt that looked like something a fan station had created. There were two small cartoon figures on it, one with blue hair, the other with long black and styled hair, and there were three big letters above the little people¡ªNap.


    ¡°Ling Yi! Do you remember me, Yiyi?!¡±


    This little girl was very enthusiastic. ¡°I¡¯m the stationmaster for the Nap CP station!¡± She said this, then looked at Fang Juexia who was at Ling Yi¡¯s side and asked, ¡°Juexia, do you still remember me?¡±


    To be honest, Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t remember faces very well, so he thought about it carefully. However, since she had mentioned the Nap CP station, Fang Juexia guessed that she should be a big CP fan of his and Ling Yi¡¯s ship, so he nodded. ¡°Hello.¡±


    The Nap stationmaster grew excited. ¡°Ahhhhhhh, I¡¯m so happy!¡±


    Ling Yi also imitated her appearance to cry out, ¡°Ahhhhhhh, I¡¯m so happy!¡± Then he reached out and high-fived the girl.


    ¡°I¡¯ve brought you guys some of the things made by our CP station, there are dolls! And our photobook!¡± The stationmaster worked hard to rummage through her Minion backpack.


    Ling Yi stared at her backpack. ¡°Your bag there looks really good!¡±


    ¡°Right ba, I¡¯ve got one for you, too!¡± She found the dolls and photobooks, as well as the Minion backpack and Minion Polaroid camera she bought for Ling Yi, and offered them up. ¡°These are all for you.¡±


    ¡°Thank you! I really like it!¡±


    Ling Yi wrote her requested words for the CP station on her album, and the station master put it away contentedly before shifting over to Fang Juexia¡¯s side. ¡°Juexia Gege, I bought you a new type of game console. It has Sudoku games and many difficult number puzzle games, which you can play before you go to bed.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Fang Juexia liked his present very much and took a few more glances at the box as he took it over.


    ¡°And there¡¯s also this, one photobook each for you and Ling Yi.¡±


    Fang Juexia accepted all the gifts she gave him one by one. He kept thanking her, and then signed everything based on her requirements.


    ¡°Ah, I have one last little request.¡±


    Fang Juexia put the cap of his pen back on. ¡°Alright, tell us.¡±


    Ms. Stationmaster grabbed her backpack strap. ¡°Can Juexia and Ling Yi raise their hands together to make a heart?¡±


    Ling Yi put down his signature pen. ¡°Of course we can la!¡± Saying that, he raised his left hand and bent it into the shape of half a heart, obediently leaning his body against Fang Juexia¡¯s shoulder.


    In the past, Fang Juexia didn¡¯t have any mental burdens when doing CP fanservice, but now, as long as he was doing fanservice for other CPs, he kept getting this chilly feeling emanating from behind him.


    Sure enough, as soon as he turned his head, he saw Pei Tingsong, who had finished autographing something, throw a genial smile in his direction.


    Fang Juexia pretended that he didn¡¯t see him. He quickly made a heart with Ling Yi and waved at the exiting cute Nap stationmaster.


    Turning his head and seeing Ling Yi show off the CP dolls everywhere, Pei Tingsong felt that it really wasn¡¯t to his taste.


    What about the TingJue CP station? Didn¡¯t they say that their CP was trending? That it was the number one most talked about CP?


    Fake, it was all fake!


    Just as he was cursing out his own family¡¯s disappointing CP fans, unexpectedly, a loli with short hair came up, and there were several big words written on her coat ¡ª¡®TingJue girl¡¯¡ª on a background of blue skies overhead.


    Pei Tingsong, who had just wilted away, immediately grew energized.


    ¡°Hello, Juexia!¡± The loli with short hair had a little cartoon TingJue sticker stuck on her face. Fang Juexia looked up, thought it was very cute, and praised, ¡°This sticker is very cute.¡±


    ¡°Really?!¡± The loli with short hair was so excited that she took out all the remaining stickers from her pocket. ¡°Here, mama, pei,¡± the little girl immediately corrected her words and said, ¡°I-I¡¯ll give all this to you!¡±


    Fang Juexia put the stickers away with a smile. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°And mine?¡± Pei Tingsong inserted his tilted head and demanded, ¡°I want some too.¡±


    ¡°Go back and share with Juexia ba.¡± The girl also deliberately added a sentence, ¡°Juexia gets first pick.¡±


    Based on what?


    Pei Tingsong was perplexed; were his CP fans not even partial towards him?!


    ¡°I¡¯m the stationmaster of the ¡®Snow Imprisoned In Spring¡¯ CP station. We¡¯ve prepared too many gifts for you, so we¡¯ve delivered them all over to Star Chart by car. We wanted to give these few to you guys personally.¡± The little head of the station first handed Fang Juexia the bouquet in her hand. Inside it were baby¡¯s breath, white eustoma, peonies, and white roses. They were all tied up with pearlescent paper and tied with light gray ribbons.


    ¡°Wow, that is so pretty,¡± Ling Yi added. ¡°It¡¯s like a wedding bouquet.¡±


    It really was a bit like that. Fang Juexia really liked the color combination of the flowers. He thanked her twice and put the flowers on the table.


    The stationmaster took out a spectacle box, opened it, and handed a pair of special glasses, with gold chains on them, to Juexia. What was special was that there was a very delicate white flower on the left lens of the glasses.


    ¡°It¡¯s a white eustoma made from resin, and we specially made it for you,¡± she specifically explained.


    Pei Tingsong thought that that flower was beautiful and suited Fang Juexia very well. ¡°It¡¯s really beautiful. Can you wear it to show it to them?¡±


    Fang Juexia nodded and put on the glasses. His left eye was covered by the eustoma, leaving only one eye on display. Immediately after, the rapid-fire clicking sound of shutters came from below the stage.


    ¡°Too beautiful!¡± The stationmaster excitedly began to dig into her bag again. Seeing the beautiful glasses Fang Juexia got, Pei Tingsong naturally had higher expectations for his gift.


    ¡°This is what we¡¯re giving Xiao Pei!¡±


    As soon as she took it out, Pei Tingsong¡¯s little expectant face collapsed. What he saw was a long string of Hawaiian style ornaments, with each ornament being a fist-sized cactus doll. The expression of each cactus was different; some were angry to the point that their eyebrows were nearly vertical, while some were cool and had sunglasses on.


    The stationmaster eagerly hung it on Pei Tingsong¡¯s neck. ¡°We specially made this, and the cactuses there can be taken off oh.¡±


    Pei Tingsong pinched the small green cactus, then pulled a bit on their soft thorns.


    Fang Juexia glanced at these little dolls, and his originally cold face suddenly filled with life, with his eyes brimming with affection. ¡°I¡¯m also raising a cactus, but it¡¯s the long, thin kind.¡±


    On hearing this, the loli with short hair suddenly burst out with a crowing sound, and turned her head to her sisters standing below, making an exaggerated expression excitedly, and even stamping her feet. This startled Fang Juexia to the point that he thought he had said something wrong, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    The stationmaster¡¯s voice floated up, ¡°Nothing, nothing, just feel that the cactus Juexia Gege is raising is very cute.¡±


    Alright ba. Pei Tingsong thought of the cactus that Fang Juexia was raising on the balcony, and he pinched the cactus doll a few more times. The more he looked at it, the more pleasing it actually seemed to the eye. ¡°It¡¯s very cute, thank you la.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome! And there¡¯s this one.¡± The stationmaster took out a hairband and wanted to force Pei Tingsong to wear it. The security personnel standing next to Pei Tingsong moved to stop her, but Pei Tingsong held out his hand and stopped him. ¡°It¡¯s okay, you can let her help me put it on ba. It¡¯s not convenient for me with one hand.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Xiao Pei!¡± The stationmaster put the hairband on him. On one side was a small soft cotton eustoma flower, and on the other side was a little cactus doll.


    ¡°Does it look good?¡± Pei Tingsong turned to Fang Juexia after wearing it.


    Fang Juexia stretched his hand and adjusted his bangs for him. ¡°Very cute.¡±


    Pei Tingsong was very satisfied, and even modeled a lot of cool poses for the station Jies carrying their SLR cameras below.


    The CP station Jie told them what she wanted them to sign, and then painstakingly exhorted them, ¡°Juexia Gege and Xiao Pei must take good care of their bodies, and must not get hurt again. We are all worried about your guys¡¯ health.¡±


    Pei Tingsong signed naturally and unrestrainedly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, look, doesn¡¯t it look quite handsome even though I¡¯m signing with one hand.¡±


    Fang Juexia also laughed and added, ¡°You guys must also take care of yourselves.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Juexia Gege, then I¡¯ll go la.¡±


    ¡°Hey, wait a minute¡­¡± Pei Tingsong thought¡ªHow come their CP fans just don¡¯t try much, not even knowing to have the two of them make a heart gesture?


    He winked at the small stationmaster, and the small stationmaster who failed to understand his thought process also winked back at him.


    Tch. Pei Tingsong made a heart gesture at her to remind her.


    ¡°Xiao Pei, I love you, too!¡± The stationmaster then gestured back with a heart too.


    Really¡­


    Pei Tingsong gave up, ¡°Um, the two of us, let¡¯s make a heart ba.¡±


    He elbowed Fang Juexia a few times and forcefully pulled him in to do fanservice. Of course, Fang Juexia wouldn¡¯t refuse. He was just worried about Pei Tingsong¡¯s hand, so even while they were making a heart, his empty right hand was supporting Pei Tingsong¡¯s hand in a sling.


    Only after listening to the clicks of the shutter and the excited screams of the fans did Pei Tingsong finally feel at ease.


    In the middle of the autograph session, they took a break, and the staff gave them some snacks and drinks, and also prepared some snacks for the fans below the stage.


    He Ziyan opened a bag of potato chips, took the microphone, and said to the fans below, ¡°OK, it¡¯s time for the elementary school sports meeting.¡±


    Ling Yi quickly got his point. ¡°When I was a child, every sports meeting was a snack meeting. Everyone brought a small bag of snacks to those events, and everyone traded and ate.¡±


    Jiang Miao joked, ¡°That must be Yiyi¡¯s favorite school activity.¡±


    ¡°Hahahaha!¡±


    Lu Yuan tore open a bag of Mimi prawn crackers. ¡°Now I want to eat big spicy slices. But I can¡¯t, with so many cameras pointed at us, I can¡¯t lose the dignity of the beautiful main dancer.¡±


    Ling Yi clicked his tongue. ¡°Really shameless enough.¡±


    These four people chatted enthusiastically, while Fang Juexia and Pei Tingsong were on the far right of the long table, living in another dimension.


    ¡°I¡¯ll stick a sticker on for you ba.¡± Fang Juexia poked Pei Tingsong¡¯s plaster with the tip of his finger and suggested, ¡°I¡¯ll stick it here.¡±


    ¡°Then you choose a good-looking sticker.¡±


    The two of them buried their heads into the task and picked for a long time. Fang Juexia stuck the stickers they picked out one by one onto his fingers. Then, based on Pei Tingsong¡¯s request, he carefully stuck them on the plaster, forming a big letter P.


    Pei Tingsong, now wearing a satisfied expression, showed off the stickers on his plaster to the people below the stage, with the little doll on his head swinging back and forth.


    On the other side, Ling Yi, who was tired from doing crosstalk with Lu Yuan, looked back, and saw that Juexia¡¯s chair had traveled to who knows where. Clearly, when they had arrived on stage, the staff members had spaced the chairs apart evenly, but now, there was enough space between him and Juexia to even insert another chair there.


    Just like the heart of its master.


    Ling Yi joked into the microphone, ¡°So it turns out that Kaleido has a seventh member?¡± Then he stretched his hand and sketched out a figure in the gigantic space between him and Fang Juexia. ¡°See, friends, here he is.¡±


    The fans below the stage laughed, ¡°Hahahahahaha!¡±


    Jiang Miao added, ¡°This is the emperor member.¡±


    He Ziyan also joined in, ¡°What kind of supernatural event is happening at the Kaleido autograph event?¡±


    Lu Yuan tilted his stool and looked to the right. ¡°Not as handsome as I am, the appraisal is over.¡±


    Only then did Fang Juexia realize that he was the one being complained about, so he tried to shift his seat back to the right a bit, while explaining, ¡°I was just putting stickers on him.¡±


    ¡°No, don¡¯t move over. It won¡¯t be good if you squash the legs of our hidden member.¡± Ling Yi made a show of being sad and kept talking, ¡°Don¡¯t explain, explanation is a cover-up. In this situation, I can¡¯t help but sing a song for this scene.¡±


    Saying this, he really started singing, ¡°I¡¯m sitting on your left today, it¡¯s just like we¡¯re separated by the Milky Way~¡±


    ¡°Hahahahahaha drama queen Ling Yi!¡±


    ¡°Hahahahaha!¡±


    Fang Juexia could only helplessly smile and move the chair when Ling Yi wasn¡¯t paying attention. He also didn¡¯t know what was going on, but he couldn¡¯t help but keep getting closer to Pei Tingsong.


    The fans below the stage yelled his name, ¡°Juexia Gege! Can Juexia wear those glasses?! We want to take a picture of you!¡±


    Fang Juexia responded to every request. Once again, he put on the eustoma glasses that his fans had given him. With his scholarly style and long softly-black hair, he looked beautiful and refined.


    The station Jies went crazy to capture his beauty with their cameras, and then he heard some fans from the other side shouting, ¡°Juexia Gege! Can you hold the bouquet ah?!¡±


    ¡°Yes! The bouquet is pretty!¡±


    Pei Tingsong laughed while complaining, ¡°Like a model.¡±


    ¡°Is this okay?¡± Fang Juexia picked up the bouquet based on their requests and smiled at the cameras below. He wasn¡¯t a person who would really fawn on his fans, or it could be said, who would really try to curry favor with fans.


    Compared to the many celebrities who interacted with fans by treating them like ¡°girlfriends¡±, Fang Juexia seemed to maintain more of a sense of distance. His Weibo pretty much didn¡¯t do any fanservice, and he usually wouldn¡¯t say things like ¡®love you guys¡¯ and so on. Adding on his naturally cold face, many people had misunderstandings about him, and there were even a lot of anti-fans who slandered him by saying that he had a cold face, never looked happy, and was very cold towards his fans.


    But only his real fans knew that while Fang Juexia wasn¡¯t good at expressing himself, he would sincerely express his thanks over and over again. He¡¯d help up fans who fell over at the airport and would hand tissues to the crying fans. He would truly care about them and act as if they were all in an equal friendship.


    After the photos were taken, Fang Juexia lowered his head to neaten up the flowers in the bouquet. He then heard Pei Tingsong at his side complaining in a low voice, saying that clearly, even though these were their CP fans, they hadn¡¯t given him a bouquet.


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t look up and started laughing. ¡°Do you like flowers?¡±


    Pei Tingsong said honestly, ¡°That¡¯s not it.¡±


    The table blocked Fang Juexia¡¯s movements from the fans¡¯ view. Pei Tingsong continued to interact with the fans below, but if the fans said East, he¡¯d go West. The fans asked him to pick up the toy gun on the table to pose with for pictures, but he picked up the toy katana.


    Just when he was fighting with his fans happily, suddenly Pei Tingsong felt his elbow being touched. He turned his head and saw a bunch of small flowers entangled with ribbons in front of him.


    ¡°For you,¡± Fang Juexia said in a low voice.


    He had picked out every single eustoma from the bouquet, creating a snow white bunch of flowers, and was offering it to Pei Tingsong.


    Veiled love was hidden in every single eustoma, and only they knew about it, or else the whole world would know.


    Pei Tingsong blankly took the bunch of flowers and looked at Fang Juexia. One of his eyes was blocked by the eustoma blossom on his glasses, while the other was bright, reflecting his face.


    How could there be such a well-behaved, such a lovely person in this world?


    He really wanted to kiss him.


    Really wanted to.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Pei Tingsong picked up his own bouquet and did all kinds of poses with it for fans to take pictures of.


    At this time, the staff came to them and handed them microphones. Fang Juexia took it and turned on the switch. As soon as he turned it on, Ling Yi brought him a sandwich. ¡°Do you want to eat, Juexia?¡±


    Fang Juexia nodded, put the microphone on the table, and turned to unpack the sandwich.


    The people on his right were still performing group crosstalk, and Pei Tingsong only cared about showing off the bouquet of eustoma that Fang Juexia had tied for him, not building on the tone of his bandmates at all.


    Fang Juexia hadn¡¯t eaten much this whole morning, and he hadn¡¯t had much time to eat at noon either. He was really a little hungry, but as soon as he took a bite of the sandwich, he felt that there was something in it. After a careful inspection, it turned out that it was pickles again. Whether it was fresh cucumbers or pickles, Fang Juexia didn¡¯t like them very much. He put the sandwich that he had taken a bite of back into the box, as he didn¡¯t want to eat it any more.


    Pei Tingsong seized on this little action again. He picked up the sandwich, picked out the pickles, and ate them by himself. He also complained, ¡°Pickles are so good ah, and yet you don¡¯t eat them.¡±


    Unexpectedly, this sentence was amplified and broadcast directly through the microphone in front of them, and the whole venue heard it.


    Fang Juexia¡¯s whole body was petrified, not moving a muscle at all, and only his eyes were left spinning.


    His bandmates to the left all showed embarrassed expressions of having to close the closet door. He Ziyan let out a ¡°wow¡± again, and then group leader Jiang Miao directly and subconsciously saved the show by intervening, ¡°Ah, is Juexia being picky again? That¡¯s why our Juexia is so thin, the whole group knows he¡¯s picky.¡±


    Listening to the embarrassed laugh of their leader, Ling Yi, who hadn¡¯t recovered his senses, questioned, ¡°How could I not have known this?¡±


    Lu Yuan leaned across Jiang Miao and attacked him, ¡°Because you only know how to eat.¡±


    Pei Tingsong hadn¡¯t thought that the microphone was on, but turning it off now would make things look even more suspicious. He picked up the microphone and was ready to say something, but unexpectedly, a fan below suddenly yelled, being even louder than his voice.


    ¡°Pei Tingsong, didn¡¯t you say you don¡¯t like pickles?¡±


    ¡°Your voice is really loud ah¡­¡± Pei Tingsong took the microphone and inquired, ¡°When did I say that?¡±


    The fan who was talking to him continued to shout, ¡°During the interview for the pair cover for the magazine! The rapid-fire Q&A session! You said that you like eating cheeseburgers best, with no pickles!¡±


    The following fans below all let out a, ¡°Wow¡­¡± There was also a small group of CP fans covering their mouths and screaming within their midst.


    He Ziyan¡¯s expression was as if he was watching a good show. ¡°This Meimei is really capable, with a loud voice and also a good memory.¡±


    Ling Yi looked at the pickles in his own sandwich and sighed, ¡°Alas, after so many years of pickiness and disgust, all for naught.¡±


    Only after hearing what the fan said did Fang Juexia remember. He carefully recalled the interview from back then, and Pei Tingsong truly did seem to have answered in this way at that time.


    So, in fact, he also didn¡¯t like pickles¡­


    But every time, Pei Tingsong would pick out the pickles he didn¡¯t like to eat while lecturing him on how being picky was a bad habit.


    ¡°So, I¡¯m not allowed to like them now?¡± Pei Tingsong continued to argue for himself through the microphone, ¡°I didn¡¯t think it was delicious at the time of the interview. Later, after I ate them several times, I thought they tasted really good now, is that not okay ah?¡±


    Another girl from below the stage yelled, ¡°Really flip-flopping!!¡±


    ¡ª


    The author has something to say:


    Nap CP doesn¡¯t imply an order, in Juexia and Ling Yi¡¯s CP, he¡¯s the gong (why am I explaining this??)


    In fact, Juexia has always been in the gong group! 180cm cold beauty gong!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    After the on-the-spot TingJue CP fans posted the photo previews and video clips to Weibo:


    @Snow Imprisoned in Spring CP station: [picture] [picture] [picture]


    [Ahhhhhh, our Juexia¡¯s fairy beauty is being properly put on display today too 555]


    [My God, this photo with glasses is so beautiful! Immortal station, immortal picture! Mama fan deteriorating!]


    [The cactuses on Xiao Pei are too cute ba!]


    @TingJue Feast CP station: Every eustoma bestowed upon you. [picture] [picture]


    [Shit! The eustoma is the flower that represents Juexia ah. He took apart the bouquet sent by the Imprisoned Snow station and picked out each eustoma to give to Xiao Pei. Isn¡¯t that ¡°giving myself to you?¡± kswlkswlkswl]


    [AHHHHHHHHH WHAT KIND OF HEAVEN SHAKING FLUFF IS ¡®GIVING MYSELF TO YOU¡¯ AH! Wuwuwuwu, what kind of peerless, cold but sweet little idol is our Juexia ah!]


    [I¡¯m surprised, Fine Jewelike Xeriscape looks so cold, but how can he be so sweet? It¡¯s like ice cream and pastries, too sweet.]


    [Who doesn¡¯t want to fall in love with the beautiful Fine Jewelike Xeriscape wuwuwuwu?]


    Snow Imprisoned in Spring CP station: Postscript is here la. When we gave the cactus doll to Xiao Pei, Juexia said that he also was raising a cactus oh~ A long and thin cactus.


    [AHHHHH ISN¡¯T THAT! [covers mouth]]


    [The cactus that Fine Jewelike Xeriscape is raising, isn¡¯t it just Xiao Pei?!!!]


    [Begging you, troubling the posters to not dance in front of the CP fans wwww]


    Eustoma With Thorns station: Didn¡¯t someone say they didn¡¯t eat pickles? [Video]


    [So TingJue completely doesn¡¯t like eating pickles? God, I need oxygen¡­.]


    [Hahahaha, is Ling Yi really a member of our organization? Does he keep the closet door shut with his main account while eating fluff with his side account ah?]


    [PTS is awesome, is there another wolfdog born on New Year¡¯s that¡¯s sweeter than Pinot Tree Supreme?]


    [Eating pickles he doesn¡¯t like for Gege, it¡¯s too real¡­.]

 CH 70

    Chapter 70 ¨C Born Interesting


    Always have a preference towards


    Pei Tingsong shrugged. ¡°Growth is the process of one¡¯s self-awareness continuously evolving. That¡¯s why no one can escape flip-flopping sometimes.¡±


    After hearing him say that, the fans below the stage found that they actually couldn¡¯t refute it.


    They didn¡¯t know if he was flip-flopping for Fang Juexia, but everyone knew about his pickiness problem.


    It was a little cold in the venue, and a staff member brought Pei Tingsong a sweater to drape over himself. Unexpectedly, just then, the background music for the autograph event started to play their debut song ¡®Kaleido¡¯, and it was even the live recorded version. Just when the staff were ready to cut the song, all the fans below the stage began to sing along with the chorus. Ling Yi also picked up the microphone and said, ¡°Don¡¯t cut it, don¡¯t cut it.¡±


    Lu Yuan was in high spirits and moved his body with everyone¡¯s voice. ¡°The war song of our early days has come.¡±


    ¡°You guys sing too well ba.¡± Jiang Miao gave the audience below a thumbs-up.


    The fans even sang He Ziyan¡¯s rap accurately, which surprised all six of them. Fang Juexia, who was a bit surprised, even began to clap after a while to help them keep their rhythm. Unlike Ling Yi, who could sing funny songs anytime and anywhere, he seldom sang during informal occasions. However, being in this kind of environment also infected him.


    Ling Yi held a microphone and sang the chorus along with everyone, ¡°Fight! Fight! Fight! Enjoy falling in the wild wind. Fight! Fight! Fight! You will remember me after the storm¡ª¡±


    At the moment Pei Tingsong¡¯s famous impromptu rap was about to commence, Fang Juexia, who was concealed in this warm atmosphere, kept following, going from singing the chorus to rapping.


    Seeing Fang Juexia shake his head and sing his part, Pei Tingsong felt it was especially cute, so he put the microphone in his hand close to Fang Juexia¡¯s mouth, and thus the cool lead singer¡¯s rap debut was exposed to everyone.


    ¡°From this competitive auction show, haters aren¡¯t qualified to raise their hands, yo¡­¡±


    As soon as Fang Juexia¡¯s voice reverberated throughout the venue, he was startled, and then retreated to just sitting and blinking like a frightened small animal.


    ¡°Woo!¡± He Ziyan was the first to egg him on, ¡°Continue!¡±


    Pei Tingsong raised his eyebrows at him, and all of the fans below were also screaming. The lead singer Fang Juexia could only follow the rhythm and force himself to rap, ¡°¡­.all my money rising tall. I am rich, oh I am fresh. Your little¡­¡­¡± When getting to the ¡®bitches¡¯ part, Fang Juexia automatically switched it to, ¡°angels love me so.¡±


    When he heard the word ¡®angels¡¯, Pei Tingsong smiled and shook his head.


    Lu Yuan started to laugh. ¡°Hahahaha, even bringing in your own clean-up!¡±


    Jiang Miao said, ¡°Improvisation is Kaleido¡¯s family tradition.¡±


    Fang Juexia grew more energetic as he kept singing. He pulled the microphone directly out of Pei Tingsong¡¯s hand and finished the last few sentences with a very rare speed. ¡°Fakers have all been kicked away by me. Please, when picking opponents your standards are too carefree.


    Next stop is my universe, you have one second to escape and curse.¡±


    ¡°Wow, so strong!¡±


    ¡°Juexia is super good!¡±


    Ling Yi maintained the dignity of a lead singer and didn¡¯t miss a single word of his own part. When the song arrived at Fang Juexia¡¯s part, he went for ¡®an eye for an eye¡¯ action and put the microphone in front of Pei Tingsong¡¯s mouth, who was completely unprepared for such a thing. So Pei Tingsong, a rapper, then began to sing passively while wearing a very complicated expression, ¡°The soul has been burning, scorching with desire, and at this moment, it bursts into flames roaring.¡±


    After he sang this bit, Fang Juexia immediately took back the microphone and carried on rapping Pei Tingsong¡¯s part. He also raised his eyebrows at him for a moment. ¡°Say hello to my ego.¡±


    This manner, together with this sentence, was quite provocative. However, Pei Tingsong liked it very much. He liked the lively Fang Juexia who could be both shy and childish, and who would also do things he had never done before under everyone¡¯s encouragement.


    Ling Yi didn¡¯t even stand up when he sang the last three high notes, just sitting there and laughing as he finished singing. This unexpected live debut song had been sung into a mess by them for its whole duration, but their fans were super satisfied.


    He Ziyan joked, ¡°Next time when Juexia solos, he can just rap ba. That would be a real ace.¡±


    Fang Juexia was consistent in only realizing things after the fact. He had been very happy while singing, but he felt a little embarrassed afterwards, so he kept waving his hands. Jiang Miao also started teasing, ¡°Which lead singer doesn¡¯t dream of rapping?¡±


    Ling Yi put both hands on his own face. ¡°I don¡¯t.¡±


    Jiang Miao broke in that moment. ¡°Yiyi, are you just in charge of cutting out the ground from under my feet?


    ¡°Hahahahaha!¡±


    Pei Tingsong leaned against his chair and quietly looked at Fang Juexia. His cool shell had suddenly been taken off, and in fact, he was a boy who would feel at a loss when he was being joked about. When he got excited, he would sing the part that didn¡¯t belong to him, and because he was too embarrassed to curse people out, he would change the lyrics from ¡°bitch¡± to ¡°angel.¡±


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t notice Pei Tingsong¡¯s gaze, but occasionally, when he turned his head, he saw something. Jiang Miao then suddenly cued him, so he turned back to continue talking with them, but as soon as that conversation finished, Fang Juexia turned around again, just like a dedicated little robot, and confirmed to himself that he had an unfinished task on his mind. So, he reached out and grabbed the drawstrings hanging on the hood of Pei Tingsong¡¯s sweater with both hands. One was long while the other was short, and it was extremely asymmetric.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Pei Tingsong looked at him. However, Fang Juexia, who had obsessive-compulsive disorder, didn¡¯t have time to reply to him at all. Instead, he stared at the two little strings and pulled at them again and again, trying to get them to the same length.


    Yet, the more the cords were pulled on, the longer they got, and Pei Tingsong could even feel the hoodie behind him start to close tightly. However, he couldn¡¯t help it; if he didn¡¯t satisfy Fang Juexia¡¯s obsessive-compulsive disorder, there¡¯d be more trouble.


    So he indulged him until Fang Juexia pinched the two cords together and compared them accurately. He didn¡¯t give up until they were about the same length. ¡°Done.¡±


    Seeing that he was satisfied, Pei Tingsong thanked him. He then turned his head to see his hood all shrunken up behind him.


    It didn¡¯t seem to have had much of a beautification effect in the end.


    Many of Fang Juexia¡¯s small details and actions may not be regarded as bright points by others. To put it bluntly, they were just trivial actions driven by human character and emotions. However, Pei Tingsong thought these were cute.


    In the past, he was used to standing in the position of having nothing in his heart, and so he idealized cutting out and judging other people¡¯s desires, while believing that people who couldn¡¯t balance the scales within their heart were just making a fuss over nothing.


    However, once he placed a person in his heart, Pei Tingsong finally realized that the perfect impartiality that people imagined was actually really difficult, very difficult, because now he had a preference for Fang Juexia all the time.


    In the middle of the break, everyone ate, drank, and played some games. The relationship between Kaleido and their fans had always been very much like that between friends. They joked with each other and fought a bit with each other. These six people were all very principled people. Even if they had always been very obscure since their debut, they seldom held events where they had in-depth communication with a few fans. After all, they just wanted to make music.


    At the end of their half-time break, Kaleido once again resumed signing autographs for the remaining half. The fans were all varied, which was quite eye-opening for them. The atmosphere remained happy all the way until the end, when Fang Juexia welcomed a somewhat special fan, who was also the last one in the line in front of him.


    This was a girl in plain clothes, around 16 or 17 years old. She hadn¡¯t brought anything, and she wasn¡¯t as emotional or enthusiastic as the other fans. On the contrary, she seemed very reserved, even a little timid.


    ¡°Juexia Gege, troubling you to autograph this for me ba.¡± Her voice was also very low, very light, and it was immediately drowned out by the noisy venue. Fang Juexia excused himself, then drew closer and asked, ¡°What¡¯s your name, and what would you like me to sign?¡±


    The girl lowered her head and replied, ¡°Xiao Qi, the Qi with a wang radical beside it. Could you sign¡­ ¡®Good luck¡¯, that¡¯s enough.¡±


    Her request was also very simple, but Fang Juexia saw that her mood wasn¡¯t right, so he wrote a ¡®Xiao Qi¡¯ before he stopped writing. He wasn¡¯t a person who often showed concern, but since she had appeared in front of him, Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t just ignore her.


    ¡°If you¡¯re not in a hurry, can you chat with me a bit?¡± Fang Juexia smiled. ¡°I feel like you¡¯re a little down.¡±


    He didn¡¯t know what was going on with that girl, but suddenly, after hearing this, she burst into tears. One by one, transparent tears fell on the back of her hand on the table. Fang Juexia immediately drew out some tissues and handed them to her. He heard her say ¡®thank you¡¯, and then she said to him, ¡°Juexia Gege, I¡¯m so tired.¡± She sniffled. ¡°Before I came here, I had a quarrel with my parents. They said¡­ said I¡¯m a freak, that I wear earphones every day and don¡¯t say a word. They said that I¡¯m like a mute, and not like other people¡¯s children, who are cheerful and likeable. They always say this to me every day.¡±


    Fang Juexia listened in silence and patted her on the arm. Pei Tingsong and Ling Yi, who had finished giving their autographs, also noticed this. Ling Yi gave her a box of milk that hadn¡¯t been drunk yet and comforted her. Pei Tingsong wasn¡¯t very good at comforting people, so he just asked, ¡°Every day?¡±


    The girl nodded. ¡°En, because I¡¯m introverted, and I don¡¯t know how to get along with other people. Sometimes I also really want to talk as much as a cheerful child, but I can¡¯t. Mama always disdains me and thinks I¡¯m very shameful. Especially when there are many adults around us, they will scold me by saying that if they had given birth to a mute, at least that would be more likeable than me.¡±


    She raised her hand to wipe at her tears. ¡°I know I¡¯m very unlikeable and very boring, but I¡¯m just such a person ah. Aren¡¯t they my closest people? Why are they still like this to me¡­¡±


    Pei Tingsong immediately thought of Fang Juexia. His father was disabled and drunk when he was in middle school, and he would also let off steam like this and totally disparage Fang Juexia¡¯s entire being. What Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t know was that there were many such parents, and it was too easy for them to disparage a child.


    Fang Juexia was as calm as he ever was. He drew out another tissue and handed it to the girl. ¡°Did you know? I also have a very quiet personality, so I¡¯ve experienced pretty much what you experienced, with many people telling me that I¡¯m unsociable and solitary. The stereotype in our society is that being cheerful is better than being introverted, so every child should be taught to have a lively personality.¡± He said softly, ¡°But it¡¯s not actually true. Many times, being an introvert is just what someone¡¯s natural personality is, and they were born that way. For example, with you, listening to music gives you more comfort and security than communicating with others, right?¡±


    The girl nodded. ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Having a quiet personality is like a chip that solidified in your body when you were born, and it¡¯s very hard to change. Since it¡¯s very hard, then don¡¯t try to change, just be an introvert. Don¡¯t pay attention to other people¡¯s disapproval, let alone disavow yourself because of others. There are all kinds of people in the world; no character should be completely denied, and being an introvert doesn¡¯t mean that you¡¯re boring.¡±


    Pei Tingsong listened silently from the side and didn¡¯t speak. It was undeniable that he had also once held such prejudices against Fang Juexia, who was too quiet. He had complained that he was like wood, never reacting to anything. It turned out that Fang Juexia thought this way; he was not forced to lose his voice, in fact, he was being himself.


    The girl didn¡¯t continue to bow her head any more, but looked at Fang Juexia with tears in her eyes. There was still a trace of timidity in her eyes.


    Fang Juexia wasn¡¯t very good at encouraging others. He could only give logical examples from his familiar fields to the best of his ability. ¡°Let me give you an example ba. Some mathematicians have tried to divide all natural numbers into interesting numbers and uninteresting numbers. Of course, the definition of ¡®interesting¡¯ is very subjective. For example, prime numbers are very interesting, and numbers with repeating digits are very interesting. In a word, as long as a number has a distinguishing trait, then it will be included in the set of interesting numbers. But later, the problem turned into a loose paradox ¡ª all natural numbers are interesting.¡±


    The girl sank into this explanation, and asked a bit doubtfully, ¡°Why ah?¡±


    Ling Yi also felt curious. ¡°Yeah, why? There must be some numbers that have no distinguishing characteristics ba.¡±


    Fang Juexia laughed. ¡°Let¡¯s use the counter argument here for a bit. If there is a set of uninteresting natural numbers, then there must be a minimum uninteresting number within this set?¡±


    Pei Tingsong immediately understood and laughed. ¡°¡®The smallest uninteresting number¡¯, this already counts as being a special characteristic.¡±


    Fang Juexia was a bit surprised. ¡°Yes.¡± He looked at the girl again and said, ¡°This leads to a contradiction: the smallest uninteresting number actually does have something interesting about it. So,¡± he continued, bowing his head and autographing next to the girl¡¯s name, ¡°don¡¯t doubt whether you¡¯re boring or likeable. You just need to be yourself.¡±


    After he finished signing, Fang Juexia handed the album to her. ¡°You have to maintain self-confidence, you understand?¡±


    The girl was greatly encouraged. She nodded and revealed a smile. ¡°Thank you, Juexia Gege, thank you.¡±


    Fang Juexia shook his head and watched her leave.


    Cheng Qiang picked up the microphone and said, ¡°We¡¯re very happy that everyone could come to Kaleido¡¯s autograph event. It will be over soon, so please everyone, gather your things, make sure not to lose them.¡±


    Everyone felt regretful about the ending, and the other group members were saying goodbye to their fans and making as much noise as possible. Only Fang Juexia waved to the fans standing below in silence, with a smile on his face.


    Pei Tingsong found that his prejudices were constantly being reversed by Fang Juexia, which was a very interesting process. He had thought that he already understood this person well enough, but he didn¡¯t. Fang Juexia seemed unsociable and reticent, but in fact, he was a person with a strong heart. Living with the disparagement of others since childhood, but still always continuing to believe in himself.


    It was really cool.


    ¡°What did you sign for her?¡± Finally, Pei Tingsong couldn¡¯t help asking.


    Fang Juexia¡¯s eyes were clear, and he laughed.


    ¡°Be like me, and be an interesting minimum uninteresting number ba.¡±


    ¡ª


    The author has something to say:


    I hope everyone can get rid of self doubt~


    (Some friends have questioned and said, would someone really talk like that to an idol during an autograph event? Yes, and many do. In fact, idols have strong moral encouragement for fans, and it¡¯s normal for fans when seeing them to be cared for and for them to pour out their woes to them. If you guys go check, you will know that such things often happen. It¡¯s not the so-called ¡°unreasonable and deliberate¡±, there are many similar incidents.


    Looking at the comments for this chapter, we can see that there are a lot of ¡°stereotypes¡± about introverted personalities, so everyone all thinks that it¡¯s okay to pour chicken soup on them or preach at them, because as long as we encourage people who need encouragement, nothing else matters. In addition, please don¡¯t always pull my other book out for comparison. There is no comparability between different ideas.)

 CH 71

    Chapter 71 ¨C The Proposition Is You


    If there are two people, it can¡¯t count as missing out on each other.


    Looking at Fang Juexia¡¯s clean eyes, the corners of Pei Tingsong¡¯s mouth rose and he couldn¡¯t help stretching out a hand to rub his head. The expression on his face was a little cocky but also a little childish. ¡°Then I¡¯ll be the second smallest uninteresting natural number ba.¡±


    ¡°Then you¡¯ll be a little more uninteresting than me.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t care, anyway, I¡¯ll be right after you.¡±


    Pei Tingsong had, with much care, chosen this specific point on the infinite number axis, but what he hadn¡¯t expected was how beautiful this point truly was.


    After the autograph event ended, the six people from Kaleido got into the van and prepared to return to the company. Xiao Wen sat in the driver¡¯s seat and closed the car door, thereby shutting out the clamoring sound of the fans. ¡°Originally, there should have been a special chauffeur today, but his child is sick, and he asked for leave, so I¡¯ll drive for one last trip today!¡±


    ¡°Ah, is our chauffeur Xiao Wen going to be laid off~¡± Ling Yi hugged his neck from behind.


    ¡°Then, we¡¯ll have to switch to a big car ya,¡± He Ziyan said.


    Xiao Wen was a little surprised. ¡°How did you know that?¡±


    Lu Yuan laughed at his cute dazed look. ¡°There¡¯s one more driver, and then, if Strong Ge squeezes in as well, there won¡¯t be enough room ah.¡±


    ¡°Oh, yes, yes.¡± Xiao Wen got rid of Ling Yi¡¯s clutch around his neck and started the car when Cheng Qiang entered the car.


    Ever since Pei Tingsong had gotten injured, Fang Juexia was always on tenterhooks, afraid of Pei Tingsong¡¯s arm getting bumped around. They waved goodbye to their fans, drove out a little, and then got on the road. Fang Juexia kept paying attention to the road conditions and occasionally observed Xiao Wen.


    He noticed that Xiao Wen kept glancing in the rearview mirror rather frequently.


    ¡°Xiao Wen, what¡¯s the matter?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m seeing it wrong.¡± Xiao Wen frowned and said, ¡°I always feel that there is a car following us.¡±


    Cheng Qiang became alert, opened the window, and looked back. ¡°The black Volkswagen?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Xiao Wen felt strange. ¡°When I came out on the road, from the beginning, it was behind me. And we¡¯ve passed several intersections now, but it¡¯s actually still there.¡±


    Fang Juexia instinctively felt that there was something wrong with this situation. After he ruled out the few possibilities that were too far from the mark, he tried to guess, ¡°Is it a stalker fan?¡±


    Stalker fans were a very special group. Although they were called ¡®fans¡¯, their actions actually went beyond the scope of what fans should do. They would go to the extent of obtaining stars¡¯ private numbers through improper means, crazily making harassing phone calls, or even indulging in terrible acts such as chasing and following cars, tracking them all the way to their hotels, or even installing pinhole cameras in places.


    Cheng Qiang closed the car window. ¡°Should be. Let¡¯s take another route back to the company ba. If they¡¯re still following, then most likely, they are stalker fans.¡±


    The good atmosphere in the car suddenly cooled down, and Ling Yi sighed, ¡°It¡¯s a stalker fan again¡­¡±


    Jiang Miao rubbed his head in an attempt to comfort him.


    Last year, Ling Yi had to change his phone number several times due to a stalker fan¡¯s harassment. They would call him every day, and if he didn¡¯t answer the phone, he would receive innumerable abusive messages, and even if he blacklisted them, they¡¯d just get a new number and start the cycle again. At that time, Ling Yi was under great pressure, but he couldn¡¯t come up with any good solutions to deal with it, so he just had to hide.


    Clearly, they kept yelling out ¡°Gege, Gege¡±, but they still did things that ordinary people couldn¡¯t bear.


    Xiao Wen slowed down the car. At this time, they couldn¡¯t try to get rid of these people by speeding up, that would only make things more dangerous.


    ¡°Fortunately, we don¡¯t have another event to rush to today.¡± He detoured from their usual route further, but the black Volkswagen still remained behind them, seeming just like a spirit that couldn¡¯t be shaken off.


    Pei Tingsong thought of something. ¡°Last time I went back to school to go to class, someone followed me, but I didn¡¯t worry about it.¡±


    Cheng Qiang was a little agitated and wanted to smoke, but he couldn¡¯t do it now. ¡°It must have been a stalker fan. When you go to school in the future, we will arrange for people to protect you on the way.¡±


    He Ziyan shook his head and said, ¡°The security personnel can¡¯t follow you in when you have class, it¡¯s very troublesome.¡±


    After detouring by a big circle to get back to the company, they quickly got out of the car. Unsurprisingly, the people in the car who had been following them before also got out. They were also young girls, and they ran to them and tried to attract their attention.


    ¡°Juexia! Can you autograph some things for us?!¡±


    ¡°Ziyan! Miaomiao!¡±


    ¡°Pei Tingsong! Wait a minute! Don¡¯t go in yet ah!¡±


    Cheng Qiang had already contacted the company¡¯s staff long ago, and as soon as they got out of the car, the staff came out to surround Kaleido, separating the stalker fans from them and protecting them as they entered the company.


    Even as he entered the doors of the company, Fang Juexia could still hear the voices from outside. They hadn¡¯t succeeded, so they had already changed from their previous flattering mindset to loud abusive curses, filled with all kinds of ugly words.


    Humans were really complicated.


    After entering the company, they held a simple meeting in Cheng Qiang¡¯s office, mainly talking about some of their recent events and the new resources that had come their way.


    ¡°Recently, our reality show situation is the same as before. Xiao Pei and Juexia¡¯s ¡®Escape¡¯ will continue to be filmed, and everyone else¡¯s permanent guest spots are the same. Right, Yuanyuan, that supervisor for that hip-hop dance competition has already settled on you. The first episode will be recorded next Friday, so adjust your state now.¡±


    Lu Yuan made an ¡°okay¡± gesture. ¡°Luckyyy.¡±


    ¡°Does Miaomiao want to try acting?¡± Cheng Qiang sat down and said, ¡°There is a cutting-edge director, and although he is not well-known, the quality of his films are good. Recently, he wants to make a film related to music, in which the main character plays the guzheng. We arranged for you to audition.¡±


    Ling Yi was more excited than Jiang Miao at this. ¡°Wow! A movie. Oooh.¡±


    Jiang Miao nodded. In fact, it was only because his younger sister was a big fan of movies that Jiang Miao wanted to try acting.


    ¡°And then, this Wednesday, we¡¯ve inserted an event into your schedules, which is to take part in the filming of ¡®Happy Friday¡¯. The whole group will take part in it to promote the new album.¡±


    ¡°Scared me,¡± Pei Tingsong complained, ¡°I thought we were really going to be doing ¡®Happy Comedian¡¯ for a second.¡±


    ¡°Hahahahaha!¡±


    Fang Juexia also couldn¡¯t help laughing as he imagined the scene in his heart¡ª Six people standing in front of a red curtain, wearing Chinese style long frocks and pants. If they really went to that kind of event to perform cross talk, the other members would probably gabble away, but all he could probably do was just stand aside and play out the beat with bamboo clappers.


    But his beat would definitely be very accurate, because his small clock was very punctual, and he was also a little master with clappers.


    ¡°Even if you guys wanted to go, we can¡¯t get such resources. ¡®Happy Friday¡¯ is one of the most popular variety shows in the country, and I would like to remind you all that the special guests this time are just the six of you. All of you perform well and don¡¯t be wallflowers.¡±


    Everyone looked at Fang Juexia, and Fang Juexia helplessly said, ¡°With all of you there, I will talk more.¡±


    ¡°When it¡¯s time for the show to air, you guys will probably gain another wave of fans.¡± Cheng Qiang sighed and continued, ¡°Getting more fans is a good thing, but there are also many problems that come with it. Today¡¯s stalker fans still count as being moderate, but the more popular you guys get, the more troublesome things will get in the future, and the more people will target you. The company will do its best to protect its artists, but you guys can¡¯t take it lightly either, understand?¡±


    The six people nodded as if they were children who had been lectured.


    ¡°Alright, you guys go do what you need to do ba, I¡¯ll go have a cigarette.¡±


    After the meeting, Ling Yi was called out for a get-together by his best friend from college. Jiang Miao also went to accompany his younger sister, who he hadn¡¯t seen for a long time, to go shopping. Fang Juexia was originally going to stay in the company to practice, but He Ziyan and Lu Yuan pulled him to go play basketball with them. Since Pei Tingsong was injured and couldn¡¯t play, Fang Juexia wanted to refuse, but he didn¡¯t expect Pei Tingsong to speak in the same tone as the other two people and was determined to take part in outdoor sports. Unable to out-stubborn them, Fang Juexia could only set aside his practice plans and accompany them to play ball.


    Fortunately, by the time they left the company, that group of stalker fans were already no longer there. They went back to the dormitory by car, where there was an open-air basketball court. However, since the occupancy rate of this community was very low, there were few residents staying there, and even fewer people playing basketball. After putting on some loose clothes, these big boys went down to play ball in high spirits. There weren¡¯t enough people to have a match, so they just played around.


    Pei Tingsong had a talent for all kinds of sports, and basketball was no exception. Even if he had hurt one of his hands right now, he still dribbled and shot smoothly with one hand.


    Fang Juexia had been a member of the school basketball team since he had entered middle school, and he had also been on the basketball team when he was a university student. Every game back then had drawn in a lot of onlookers. After receiving the ball from Pei Tingsong, Fang Juexiaa raised his hands from behind the three-point line, and the ball entered the basket.


    ¡°Juexia¡¯s hands are so steady ah.¡± Lu Yuan sighed, ¡°So extremely accurate.¡±


    ¡°He has a good psychological quality.¡± He Ziyan bent over to tie his shoelaces with a smile. ¡°You try making a free throw when everyone in an entire gym is calling out your name, that pressure is so great.¡±


    Pei Tingsong was standing in the same place, dribbling with one hand. When he heard this, he was puzzled. ¡°What do you mean the entire gym is calling out whose name?¡±


    He Ziyan stood up, beckoned to Pei Tingsong, who then passed the ball to him. ¡°You don¡¯t know ah, Juexia was the campus idol when he was in college, and he was a member of the school¡¯s basketball team. There was a video of him playing a match in school when he was 20. That entire place was crying out ah, all for Fang Juexia.¡±


    Lu Yuan began to imitate the scene, pitching his voice up and making all kinds of shouts.


    Fang Juexia had just unscrewed a bottle of water and taken a sip. He nearly spat it out, saying, ¡°It wasn¡¯t so exaggerated.¡±


    Saying that, he made a shot, and when the ball fell through the basket, Lu Yuan took it. ¡°You¡¯ve even got the guts to say it wasn¡¯t that exaggerated, I watched it, okay? They yelled out even more exaggeratedly than I just did. I¡¯m amazed Xiao Pei actually still hasn¡¯t seen it.¡±


    He Ziyan joked, ¡°Makes sense, how could the him from before have gone online to watch Juexia¡¯s videos?¡±


    Upon getting his sore spot stabbed, Pei Tingsong, who was broken in body, was ready in spirit to fight with He Ziyan. He Ziyan was afraid of causing problems with his injured hand, so he could only put on an act of not having the guts to provoke him. The two of them kicked up a fuss, and then after a while, they separated again. Lu Yuan went up to go play with He Ziyan while Pei Tingsong stepped out and sat next to Fang Juexia, who was sitting outside the court.


    ¡°Drink some water?¡± Fang Juexia looked up at him and handed him some water.


    Pei Tingsong took the bottle of water but didn¡¯t open it. He was silent for a moment, looking at the two players not far away.


    ¡°Does your hand hurt?¡± Fang Juexia asked.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s pretty good.¡±


    Fang Juexia nodded with satisfaction and turned his head. He continued to watch the people on the court playing, and seemed very immersed in it. Suddenly, he heard Pei Tingsong¡¯s voice by his ear.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s a pity.¡±


    As he turned his head, the colors of the fading dusk fell on Fang Juexia¡¯s gentle face. ¡°What¡¯s a pity?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just a pity for me.¡± Pei Tingsong straightened his long legs and said, ¡°Plainly speaking, I already met you two years ago, but because of my own prejudices, I always kept a distance. I feel that I have missed a lot.¡±


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s youthful spirit was most obvious whenever he showed his weaknesses. At this time, Fang Juexia could clearly see that Pei Tingsong was indeed a few years younger than him, and a peculiar feeling of wanting to dote on this boy in front of him welled up inside him.


    ¡°If we have to define it, we both missed each other ba. However, if there are two people, we can¡¯t count it as missing out on each other. If we have the same ideas and the same mentality, we can always find those lost memories together.¡±


    Fang Juexia thought of himself from before, and he also thought it was very interesting. ¡°You were haughty towards me, and I was more like the person who held some prejudices against you. At that time, I thought, was this a spoiled young master who had come here? I especially didn¡¯t want to acknowledge you at that time, I thought it was a waste of time to do so.¡±


    As he talked, he started to laugh, ¡°And you were also an airborne member at that time. You came in like it was nothing, but it had taken me so long to even have a difficult debut. No matter how I thought about it, I would feel a little emotional. Only later did I discover that you are much better than I expected, though still a little bit odious.¡±


    He made a gesture to show how little, then looked at Pei Tingsong, reaching out and adjusting his slightly crooked hair band. ¡°But genius has a special license.¡±


    Seeing him like this, Pei Tingsong thought of his own childhood. Because it was so lonely, he had really envied his peers who had elder brothers. They had someone to accompany them to play games, play ball, and swim with them.


    He became even greedier. He didn¡¯t think of the missed past two years any longer, instead thinking that it would have been better if he had known Fang Juexia since his childhood. He was such an angular stone, but maybe if he had been wrapped in tenderness, he could have become a real pearl.


    Suddenly, he thought of that small detail from the autograph event, and Pei Tingsong asked, ¡°Hey, do you really like mature people?¡± Just having said that, he specially added two words, ¡°Before now.¡±


    Fang Juexia bent his leg and placed it on the steps they were sitting on, winding his arms around his knees and leaning his head against them. Upon hearing Pei Tingsong¡¯s sudden question, he was stunned at first, then looked at him sideways. A soft smile appeared on this usually cold face. ¡°What do you think?¡±


    Pei Tingsong went by the facts and said, ¡°I hope it¡¯s false. But if it¡¯s true, I¡¯ll work hard to become more mature.¡±


    Fang Juexia¡¯s eyebrows and eyes gently bent, and then he shook his head. ¡°No need.¡±


    He Ziyan called out to Fang Juexia from a distance. He raised his head and caught the ball the other person had thrown over so rashly. ¡°Be careful ah, there¡¯s a wounded person here.¡± Saying that, he stood up and prepared to walk towards Lu Yuan and He Ziyan. However, before he left, he stood under the disappearing light from the sky and said to Pei Tingsong, ¡°I didn¡¯t know what kind of person I liked before. In order to deal with the question, I very casually stated some conditions. In fact, they were all false propositions. But now¡­¡±


    Fang Juexia glanced at Pei Tingsong and very slightly raised his eyebrows.


    ¡°You are the proposition itself. If you really want to know the conditions, use yourself to derive them ba.¡±

 CH 72

    Chapter 72 ¨C Hard Being Alone


    Not fully prepared yet


    Pei Tingsong was left standing there, pondering the sentence Fang Juexia had left behind for him within his heart. Each syllable was disassembled, fluttering around in his chest like a butterfly revolving around his heart.


    He had never liked a person so much before.


    Pei Tingsong, who had been immersed in the reveries of humanities since childhood, always had a big ego because he was good at playing with words. Only after meeting Fang Juexia did he really see a new world. A world totally different from that seen through a cage.


    Because only after the proposition appeared did the conditions for ¡°liking someone¡± appear.


    Fang Juexia was actually the one who was a romantic at heart, a born poet.


    He satisfied all of one¡¯s fantasies about first love.


    He Ziyan and Lu Yuan hadn¡¯t played enough even by the time they got back to the dormitory, so they occupied the gaming console in the living room and put on VR glasses to play duo. Fang Juexia helped Pei Tingsong remove his sling; his hand was much better, and it wasn¡¯t as inconvenient as before.


    ¡°I¡¯ll just casually take a shower myself.¡±


    Fang Juexia was actually a little surprised. ¡°You don¡¯t need me to help you?¡±


    He had just finished playing basketball, and his pale face was flushed red after all the exercise. Under the light of the bathroom, it looked like a ripe, juicy peach, with every tiny hair becoming translucent. When he spoke, his red lips opened slightly and moved vividly, and Pei Tingsong could vaguely see the tip of his tongue hidden inside.


    ¡°If you really helped me,¡± Pei Tingsong¡¯s gaze unconsciously fixed on his lips, and he lowered his head slightly to draw closer to Fang Juexia, ¡°it might not be something that can be resolved just by casually taking a shower.¡±


    Maybe it was because he had spoken a lot during the day, but Pei Tingsong¡¯s voice sounded a little hoarse.


    What did that mean?


    Fang Juexia was already used to pondering on the implications behind Pei Tingsong¡¯s words. Before, it was okay, but if he did it again now, it seemed that he would very easily fall into R-rated territory. He licked his lips subconsciously, then curled in his lower lip and puckered it a few times. This was his habitual little action that happened whenever he was embarrassed, but it made Pei Tingsong¡¯s heart even more itchy.


    Outside the bathroom, a fierce battle situation was being waged, where their bandmates were playing games, and kept talking back and forth, with their in-game situation seeming urgent. Just beyond a door, the situation inside seemed to be somewhat similar.


    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you talking now?¡± Pei Tingsong moved a step closer, and Fang Juexia subconsciously stepped back, backing up just like that into the cold tiles of the bathroom wall.


    He had been coerced into falling into a tango with no escape.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t need any help, I¡¯ll leave first.¡±


    Seeing him forced this far, Pei Tingsong let out a light laugh, which pulled Fang Juexia¡¯s heart, that was preparing to escape, back. Not long ago, his emotions towards this boy were closer to tender affection, but once he started taking the initiative again, he seemed to return to the Fang Juexia who couldn¡¯t resist him.


    Pei Tingsong encircled him between the wall and his body, bracing up the small space and asking, ¡°Are you thinking right now that this proposition is established, but you don¡¯t like all the conditions?¡±


    Pei Tingsong sort of said this as a joke, but these were really his inner thoughts. He sometimes worried that his too-straightforward heart would frighten Fang Juexia away. Fang Juexia was so gentle, so introverted, maybe he wouldn¡¯t be able to accept such overly frank desire.


    Which is why most of the time he would choose to hide.


    Fang Juexia, who had originally still been hesitating over whether to take the initiative or not, raised his head when he heard this sentence. His eyes were open and decisive. ¡°No, it¡¯s all the conditions.¡±


    Pei Tingsong stiffened for a moment.


    Fang Juexia was even more honest than he had imagined he would be. ¡°I may not be fully prepared, but I like them all.¡±


    Looking at him being so honest, Pei Tingsong¡¯s face showed an expression of surrender. How could there be someone who grasped his soul so well, on one hand confessing that he wasn¡¯t ready yet, and on the other hand, saying that he liked all of him, that too with such pure and clean expression?


    While arousing your desire to destroy, it also aroused your desire to protect.


    ¡°Okay ba, then I¡¯ll just give you one kiss in advance.¡±


    With that, Pei Tingsong pressed onto Fang Juexia¡¯s lips and stretched out a hand to draw him into his chest, pressing him tight. The compressed air seemed to have turned into some kind of glue, causing them to stick to each other. All of their love hovered on the edge of the cliff, and after they jumped down, all they would see was an abyss of lust and desire.


    Fang Juexia raised his head slightly and didn¡¯t resist. He even indulged himself in it a little more than before, raising his hand and gently hugging Pei Tingsong¡¯s waist. At this moment, Pei Tingsong pried open his soft lips and delved deep into them.


    His hand crept up under Fang Juexia¡¯s shirt, going inside to press against the back of his waist, thereby tightening the embrace. The tip of his tongue was soft, and so was his waist. Fang Juexia¡¯s skin was now covered in a thin layer of sweat, which made Pei Tingsong¡¯s palm heat up. As a result, he grew even more feverish, every vein pumping blood starting to burn, heating up uncontrollably as these fuzzy boundaries blended into each other.


    Not quite melted ice cream was the sweetest, being both moist and soft, and then melting with just a tiny sip, permeating in every corner of one¡¯s mouth. It flowed down the throat with one¡¯s saliva and buried itself in the body.


    One kiss could fill an entire outer shell.


    Pei Tingsong had a clear perception of himself and knew his willpower¡¯s bottom line, so he didn¡¯t continue with this and let go of Fang Juexia.


    Spring retreated from the cold winter, dragging with it just a trace of melted snow.


    At last, Pei Tingsong pressed a long kiss to Fang Juexia¡¯s lips, and then he reluctantly lowered his head and placed his forehead against the hollow of Fang Juexia¡¯s shoulder. He really liked Fang Juexia, he liked him so much that he didn¡¯t want to leave him with any speck of regret towards his first experience with love. The best thing was that everything went smoothly in stages, and the two of them were deeply attracted and attached to each other. The best thing would be that no matter how he thought back on this much later on in his life, everything would still look just as wonderful.


    It was because he had already missed so much and had started so badly that he was desperate to do well in every step afterwards.


    But his deep-rooted bad habits were clamoring once again, egging him on to possess, to ravage, to wreck Fang Juexia under his body.


    Love just made people contradictory.


    ¡°I¡¯ll inoculate you first.¡± Pei Tingsong¡¯s voice was still a little hoarse, and his tone was childish as he whispered, ¡°Some of the implied conditions may be more exciting than you imagined; they¡¯re very frightening, very bad.¡±


    Fang Juexia had not completely pulled away from the lingering kiss just now. His chest was slightly undulating, and his legs were soft, but when he heard Pei Tingsong¡¯s half-menacing words, he couldn¡¯t help laughing.


    ¡°I¡¯m not as fragile as you think.¡± Saying that, he turned his head, kissed the top of Pei Tingsong¡¯s hair, and said in a low voice, ¡°What¡¯s more, I¡¯ve been seeing your bad side for a long time.¡±


    Just then, the sound of a door closing came from outside, followed up by Ling Yi¡¯s voice. Fang Juexia grew a bit alert, and Pei Tingsong also stopped leaning against him, half-pushing him out. ¡°You go to the next room to take a bath ba.¡±


    Fang Juexia was about to leave from this push, but before leaving the bathroom, he quickly turned around and kissed Pei Tingsong¡¯s chin.


    Then he left briskly, flying away like a little skylark.


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s heart also left with him. He himself went back into the bathroom, where he poured over the Neo Confucianism of the Song and Ming Dynasties and then Kantian moral philosophies in turn, and accompanied by the cold water from the shower, he finally managed to extinguish the fire that Fang Juexia had lit.


    The theory of eliminating human desire couldn¡¯t actually eliminate human desire. Being a 20-year-old male was really suffering.


    The days sped by due to their busy schedule, and in the blink of an eye, it was time for the whole group to record a variety show.


    This variety show was already an old satellite TV variety show that boasted of high national popularity, with there being many families who spent their Fridays watching it on TV. One could imagine how difficult it was to obtain this job, and one should also remember that before, Seven Luminaries variety show debut happened with ¡°Happy Friday¡±. After being broadcasted on this show, they gained countless fans and smoothly and easily became popular. But for the Kaleido from before, they hadn¡¯t even dared to imagine attaining such resources.


    The filming location wasn¡¯t in Beijing, so they flew one night in advance and stayed in the hotel arranged by the program team. In view of Pei Tingsong¡¯s hand injury, they went directly through the VIP terminal at the airport. Cheng Qiang worried that things would be hard for him, so he took special care of him when he divided up the rooms. ¡°Jiang Miao and Lu Yuan, Ziyan and Ling Yi, take your room cards, and Fang Juexia will live alone.¡±


    Ling Yi flipped the room card around in his hand. ¡°Yi? Juexia¡¯s staying by himself? Very refreshing ah.¡±


    Fang Juexia also didn¡¯t expect something like this. He took hold of the room card and asked Cheng Qiang, ¡°Then what about Xiao Pei?¡±


    ¡°Xiao Pei will stay with me,¡± said Cheng Qiang, patting Pei Tingsong on the shoulder with a big-hearted, kind expression on his face. ¡°If anything comes up, I can take care of you.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want that.¡± Pei Tingsong grumbled, ¡°You can¡¯t even take care of yourself, and you want to take care of me.¡±


    Cheng Qiang rolled his eyes. ¡°Then who do you want to go with, your guys¡¯ group leader should be fine at least ba? He¡¯s basically become the group mother.¡±


    Jiang Miao laughed awkwardly and refused, ¡°I can¡¯t. My arms have been a little sore from practicing the guzheng recently, so how about¡­¡± He pushed Fang Juexia over to Pei Tingsong, suggesting, ¡°It should still be Fang Juexia ba.¡±


    Of course, Fang Juexia was willing to take care of Pei Tingsong, and it wasn¡¯t the first time they had stayed in a hotel together, so it should be fine. Also, it would be a very nice feeling to have the first person you see in the morning be the person you like.


    But Pei Tingsong refused, ¡°Forget it, I¡¯ll just go with Qiang Ge ba. I was just kidding around just now.¡±


    ¡°You little brat, no one can clean you up.¡±


    Fang Juexia was a little confused; he didn¡¯t expect his little fantasy to be extinguished just like that. They went to the elevator, and Pei Tingsong was beside him. His right arm rubbed against Fang Juexia¡¯s left arm, swinging back and forth, and the backs of their hands rubbed against one another from time to time.


    ¡°Sleep on your own ba,¡± Pei Tingsong said in a low voice. ¡°Sleeping by yourself will be more comfortable for you.¡±


    ¡°En.¡± Fang Juexia nodded and went to the very back of the elevator with him. Cheng Qiang and Jiang Miao exhorted them about the filming process for the show, and blocked them from the front. As the elevator rose up, Fang Juexia lowered his eyes and caught a glimpse of Pei Tingsong¡¯s right half-folded cuff, so he reached over, unfolded the cuff, and pulled it down.


    The feeling of Fang Juexia¡¯s fingers touching his wrist was very strange, like something scratching at his heart. Pei Tingsong drew in a breath silently, holding back the thought of taking the opportunity to hold hands.


    In order to be in better shape for the filming session, they didn¡¯t stay up too late and went ahead and rested. Fang Juexia had almost never stayed alone in a hotel before. Most of the time, he would room with Ling Yi, and occasionally, he would also switch and stay with someone else. To be honest, him being alone suited his personality more. Quiet and lonely spaces were actually a kind of comfort zone for him.


    He opened his suitcase, took out the clothes he¡¯d change into after washing up, washed up, then blow-dried his hair, and finally sat on the bed to reply to his unanswered messages. He called his mother, and all these tasks were carried out in an orderly fashion. One by one they were finished, and then it was time to rest.


    It was very strange; plainly, this was a rare occasion where he got time to be alone, but Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t really fall asleep. He lay in bed, tossing and turning, and looked out of the hotel window at the moonlight.


    He didn¡¯t say it in the lobby of the hotel, nor did he say it when they were in the elevator. Yet, at this moment, Fang Juexia had to admit that he had kind of wanted to share the same room with Pei Tingsong.


    He was very smart and had guessed why Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t choose to stay in the same room as him. But this reason, on the contrary, made him more perturbed, and also made him experience some kind of ambiguous reverie in the middle of the night.


    Fang Juexia sat up, took the laptop he had brought with him, and went back to bed with his quilt neatly covering him. His fingers lingered indecisively on the keyboard, and his eyes rested on the blank search bar.


    He was a good student and had received a good physiological education, but boys with boys had never appeared in his scope of studies. So, he thought that maybe he should learn a bit.


    In another room right across the hall, Cheng Qiang helped Pei Tingsong remove the sling from his body, and then helped him take off his coat.


    ¡°When will the cast on my hand be removed?¡± Pei Tingsong asked.


    Cheng Qiang used great effort to help a guy taller than him take off his shirt. He recalled what the doctor had said before and rehashed, ¡°Last time, the doctor said that for a hand or wrist fracture, the cast can be removed in about two weeks. But to understand the particulars, we still need to go to the hospital and get an X-Ray taken to see how much it has healed up. When we go back to Beijing, I¡¯ll take you again for a follow-up visit ba.¡±


    Pei Tingsong nodded, sat back on the bed, stared at the heavy cast on his hand, and sighed. In the beginning, he had thought it was good to be injured, since he could use it to coerce Fang Juexia into taking care of him, but now, he felt that it had become increasingly cumbersome and was affecting his performance.


    ¡°Hey right, have you received Miss Pei¡¯s email?¡±


    Pei Tingsong found that even more funny. ¡°I never read emails. If President Pei still has her Didi in mind, she can call me.¡±


    This brother-sister pair was really too much. Cheng Qiang sat down and said, ¡°You really are blood related siblings, both of you more stubborn than the one before, trapping me in the middle and pressing me until I¡¯m not worthy of being called a human. Every time you ignore her, she sends me an email. Every time I see her English name, I start trembling with fear.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care about that, and she can¡¯t control me,¡± said Pei Tingsong and lay down on his back.


    Cheng Qiang shook his head. ¡°I find that it¡¯s that way too, who can control you?¡±


    ¡°Who¡­¡± Pei Tingsong looked at the snow-white ceiling, his head full of Fang Juexia¡¯s face.


    When he was a child, he had thought it absurd when his grandfather had read ¡®Journey to the West¡¯ to him. In the beginning of the story, it had described the Monkey King as such a fierce character that he was omnipotent in both the heavens and the earth; if he didn¡¯t want to die, then he wouldn¡¯t die, and in the spheres of the heavens, if he wanted to fight, then he would fight. But later on, he was actually held down by one hand for an entire 500 years.


    Pei Tingsong thought about it now, and he didn¡¯t find it absurd anymore. It was written very realistically.


    He was also being held down with one hand, one that wrapped around him very gently, incapable of turning over under its influence, and also incapable of escaping it no matter what.


    The night passed the same as it usually did, but everyone¡¯s sleep was not the same. He Ziyan got up early in the morning and complained that Ling Yi kept waking him up at night with his constant sleep-talking. He even pulled Fang Juexia into the conversation by asking him how he usually put up with it.


    Ling Yi defended himself, ¡°It was just last night! I was too tired from the flight!¡±


    Hearing the two words ¡°last night¡±, Fang Juexia thought of his own ¡°research and study¡± and said a little guiltily, ¡°Yes ah¡­. Usually, Ling Yi doesn¡¯t talk in his sleep.¡±


    These few people kept the car noisy while Fang Juexia looked out of the window. The weather here was more like that of the South, and the slightly cool air was moist.


    In many cities, spring was the same as it was here, composed of endless rain, but spring in Beijing was filled with clouds of white drifting about the sky. Once the flying and dancing poplar seed pods stopped roaming about, spring would also soon be over.


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t like poplar seed pods in the past; they  would make his nose uncomfortable and even affect his vocal cords, which wasn¡¯t good for stage performances. However, after falling in love with spring, these soft white things also seemed to be lovely, the love that he had for spring extending towards them. He didn¡¯t find them annoying any more, and he was even willing to wear masks to stay around them for a while longer.


    Let Spring stay a little longer.


    As they approached the satellite TV station building where the filming would take place, Fang Juexia suddenly received a message from Pei Tingsong¡ª


    [Injured Guide Dog: I missed you last night.]


    Just these five words stirred Fang Juexia¡¯s heart into a mess. Clearly speaking, Pei Tingsong was sitting next to him, and maybe he was even watching him open and read the message, but he was so quiet that Fang Juexia¡¯s heart beat wildly.


    He decided not to reply.


    Watching as Fang Juexia put his cellphone back in his pocket, and everyone got ready to get out of the car, Pei Tingsong felt a little disappointed. He had thought that Fang Juexia would take the opportunity to reply to him.


    ¡°Xiao Wen already called them and informed them of our arrival.¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡±


    Pei Tingsong also got ready to get up. At this moment, Fang Juexia held his hand and drew close to his ear, to whisper amidst the confines of the noisy car¡ª


    ¡°I didn¡¯t miss you.¡±


    After holding on for just a short while, he let go again. The six boys jumped out of the car one by one like boiling tangyuan. Pei Tingsong followed behind Fang Juexia, his heart also stuck to this person.


    The public¡¯s acceptance of long hair wasn¡¯t high, so Star Chart¡¯s stylist had specially cut off all the hair Fang Juexia had grown out before the show, and had then styled it to make for a more refreshing look.


    When filming for the variety show, they switched to using the program group¡¯s stylist, who styled them in a fashion more in line with the public. The style of the six people this time went the big boy route, and there would be no problems with that.


    Pei Tingsong wore a dark blue suede baseball cap on his head, showing off his fine and well-defined features. He was also wearing a loose avocado green jacket, with his sling still draped around it. Fang Juexia was wearing a simple black t-shirt slightly tucked into his waist and loose camouflage jeans underneath it. The hairstylist blow-dried his bangs so that they had a curve, revealing his smooth forehead and superior features.


    Ling Yi went with the consistent cute Didi route, wearing a purple tracksuit and with his hair permed into teddy bear curls. Jiang Miao, the group leader, wore a loose striped shirt with dark gray jeans and a long black ribbon around his neck. He Ziyan was given a perm by the stylist, getting a slag man¡¯s tin-foil perm, and wore a lake blue coat with long black sports pants. Lu Yuan was styled into giving off a rare calm look, coupled with a white t-shirt and brown trousers. When the lead dancer pair stood together, they just looked like yin and yang.


    Before the show officially started filming this episode, the boys met the host team and bowed in greeting. Chen Mo, the lead host, was the most famous entertainment host in the circle. He had a high status but was friendly. Because of the previous live audio incident, he had always carried a very good impression of Kaleido.


    ¡°You guys have really gotten especially popular recently. The satellite TV building has been encircled by all your fans from the outside, and they¡¯re all waiting below my Weibo as well, everyone begging me to please take care of you guys.¡±


    Cheng Qiang said with a smile, ¡°We really do need to be taken care of by Mr. Chen.¡±


    Only when the director informed them that filming was about to begin did they wrap up their conversation. The several hosts went on stage first, and after a little warm up intro, Kaleido, who were standing backstage, heard the host¡¯s voice¡ª


    ¡°Let¡¯s give our warmest applause to welcome today¡¯s special guests, the super popular boyband¡ªKaleido!¡±


    The fans¡¯ cheers surged like a wave. The six Kaleido members went onto the stage as per the staff¡¯s instructions, and then began their opening performance, which was joined into the intro part of ¡®Break Through.¡¯ Kaleido¡¯s performance was as explosive as ever, and soon gave the stage performance a concert-like atmosphere. The fans under the stage held up their support banners, and the chorus being sung by the entire venue was a very spectacular view.


    At the end of the song, the six of them got up from their ending poses and gathered at the center of the stage. Chen Mo brought the other hosts onto the stage, while making sure Kaleido stood in the middle.


    ¡°Wow, I finally saw the performance of ¡®Break Through.¡¯¡±


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s more shocking than I thought. No wonder it has managed to sweep up all the major music websites until now.¡±


    Chen Mo leaned forward, looked at Jiang Miao, and asked, ¡°Then let¡¯s ask Kaleido to greet our long-awaited audience below?¡±


    Jiang Miao nodded, looked left and right at the other members, and then whispered, ¡°One, two, three.¡±


    The six people raised their hands together, their right hands making a ¡®K.¡¯ ¡°Hello everyone, we are Kaleido!¡±


    Another burst of cheers came from below the stage. Their fans hadn¡¯t had such an opportunity in a long time, and their expectations and thoughts all turned into shouts. From the screams in the beginning, they all turned into a chant of ¡°Kaleido, Kaleido¡­¡± This was the real embodiment of popularity.


    Chen Mo took the microphone and said, ¡°Today we are very happy to invite Kaleido to take part in the recording of this episode of ¡®Happy Friday.¡¯ I heard that they made a special trip for our program group, thank you guys very much.¡±


    Jiang Miao shook his head. ¡°No, no.¡±


    Ling Yi also shook his head. ¡°No, no, we are not very busy.¡±


    Below the stage, a fan yelled, ¡°They really were very idle before!¡±


    He Ziyan picked up the microphone and said, ¡°I can immediately tell that that¡¯s an old fan.¡±


    The fans all laughed. The hostess thought it was particularly interesting and commented, ¡°I find that your group isn¡¯t shy with strangers at all.¡±


    Chen Mo also asked, ¡°Yes ah, how come if they say you were idle before, they just have to be an old fan?¡±


    Pei Tingsong took over. ¡°This kind of loving each other and stabbing each other is all done by old fans; new fans all go¡ªwhatever Gege does is good.¡±


    There was another burst of laughter from below.


    ¡°We really did used to be pretty idle, we didn¡¯t have a lot of activities.¡± As soon as Lu Yuan¡¯s turn came up, he took the lead in selling out his bandmates. He pointed to Fang Juexia beside him and said, ¡°For example, Juexia, he was so idle that he went to test for a teacher¡¯s qualification certificate.¡±


    ¡°Hahahahahahaha!¡±


    Chen Mo was a little surprised. ¡°Really? What subject did you test for? Was it for junior high or senior high?¡±


    Having been cued so animatedly, and on top of that, even on such a topic, Fang Juexia was a bit embarrassed. ¡°¡­.High school mathematics. I studied mathematics in University. At that time, we really didn¡¯t have many activities, and everyone was taking the exam, so I also went along and got a certificate.¡±


    Ling Yi added, ¡°He was at Beijing Normal University.¡±


    Another host joked, ¡°So what Juexia was thinking was that if they couldn¡¯t get popular, he would go back to teach, right?¡±


    ¡°Hahahaha!¡±


    ¡°Gege, go back and coach me on the five-three study method!¡±


    Pei Tingsong saw that his ears had turned red, and teased with the microphone in his hand, ¡°Who doesn¡¯t want to be taught by Teacher Fang?¡±

 CH 73

    Chapter 73 ¨C Payback With Own Coin


    It was Gege going easy on me


    With just this sentence, the screams that came from the fans were enough to almost overturn the entire studio. Even Cheng Qiang, who was backstage, felt that it was frightening when he heard it; he was afraid that Kaleido¡¯s fans were mostly made up of TingJue CP fans.


    ¡°Do online classes, Teacher Fang!¡±


    ¡°Ahhahahaha, livestream math lessons ba, Teacher Fang!¡±


    Seeing everyone coax him in this manner, Fang Juexia became even more embarrassed. Because he wasn¡¯t good at expressing himself in variety shows, when he went on one by himself, he tended to be silent, but whenever he had his bandmates with him, he would subconsciously rely on them. So he held the microphone in his hand and began to glance left and right, pleading for help from his bandmates.


    His eyes met Pei Tingsong¡¯s, who then quickly picked up the microphone. ¡°But if Juexia Ge really went to teach now, maybe the students in his class wouldn¡¯t do very well.¡±


    Host Chen Mo said with a smile, ¡°Yes, they probably all attend class just to admire the beauty of the teacher.¡±


    The hostess then asked, ¡°In other words, Juexia is the face of the group?¡±


    Finally, the topic of discussion was pulled back to the group. Fang Juexia held the microphone in both hands and nodded.


    Jiang Miao then introduced him, ¡°Not just that, Juexia is the face, one of our lead singers, and a lead dancer of the group as well.¡±


    ¡°Wow, really an all-rounder.¡± This gave the host the cue to start with the introduction segment. ¡°Then let¡¯s introduce the other members of our K ba.¡± His hand stretched in He Ziyan¡¯s direction, suggesting, ¡°Ziyan, start us off?¡±


    He Ziyan nodded and freely introduced his name and age. ¡°I¡¯m the secondary rapper who can arrange music and play electronic music in the group, while also being #2 of the number group.¡±


    ¡°Number group?¡± The host asked.


    Ling Yi immediately jumped out and explained, ¡°I¡¯m Ling Yi, Ziyan is Two Fire, Miao Ge is Three Water, so the fans grouped the three of us into a name¡ª ¡®the number group¡¯! I¡¯m #1 of the number group.¡±


    Chen Mo smoothed things out with, ¡°This group really is a little too much.¡±


    ¡°Hahahahaha!¡±


    Lu Yuan then introduced himself, going in order after He Ziyan, ¡°Hello, everyone, I¡¯m Lu Yuan. Thanks to Teacher Fang, everyone calls me Teacher Yuan. I¡¯m also a lead dancer for the group.¡±


    The hostess interjected, ¡°They say that Teacher Yuan basically put together the entire choreography for ¡®Break Through¡¯?¡±


    The members nodded one after another, while Lu Yuan put on a modest look while on the stage. ¡°No, no, we all put forward suggestions. Juexia¡¯s solo part was created by him and a classical dance teacher.¡±


    The host praised, ¡°That¡¯s excellent, too.¡±


    Jiang Miao also briefly introduced himself, ¡°I¡¯m a secondary lead singer, secondary lead dancer, and the group leader. Before joining K, I spent my entire time learning to play the guzheng.¡±


    The host said to the audience, ¡°In a bit, let¡¯s ask Jiang Miao to play a guzheng section for us, okay?¡±


    ¡°Okay!!¡±


    It now came to Ling Yi. ¡°Hello everyone, I¡¯m Ling Yi, the group¡¯s lead singer and tenor, also everyone¡¯s class clown and doted on group favorite!¡±


    Pei Tingsong deliberately put on a cold face. ¡°Who dotes on you?¡±


    ¡°Hahahahaha!¡±


    He Ziyan also deliberately teased him, ¡°He¡¯s the doted on group favorite in his dreams.¡±


    Suddenly, Fang Juexia¡¯s face also seemed to carry an expression of sudden realization. ¡°No wonder he talks in his sleep ah.¡±


    The fans laughed as a group. ¡°Hahahahaha, what¡¯s with the gong bunch of this group?¡±


    Ling Yi gave Fang Juexia a wronged look, and Fang Juexia rubbed his head. ¡°You¡¯re the doted on group favorite, you¡¯re the doted on group favorite.¡±


    Seeing Fang Juexia dote on Ling Yi, Pei Tingsong felt uncomfortable, but was unable to say anything presently. He took half a step back unconsciously.


    A hawk-eyed female fan near the stage laughed loudly and shouted, ¡°Hahaha, look at Pinot Tree Supreme¡¯s tactical retreat!¡±


    It was now Fang Juexia¡¯s turn to introduce himself. ¡°Just now, actually the captain has already said it all for me. My name is Fang Juexia, en.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± Pei Tingsong looked at him, sighed, then began his introduction. ¡°Hello, everyone, I¡¯m Pei Tingsong, the lyricist and rapper of the group. I¡¯m also the youngest member in the group, the group¡¯s maknae.¡±


    ¡°Pei Tingsong is only 20 years old, right?¡±


    Pei Tingsong nodded to the host. ¡°But I¡¯m the tallest. I¡¯m announcing my latest height to everyone right now: I am now a full 1.9 meters.¡± With that, he flashed up the three numbers for 190 with his hands.


    Once he said that, besides the neutral smile that was on Fang Juexia¡¯s face, all the other members of the group began to hiss.


    ¡°Here comes the beat-box group again!¡±


    Kaleido possessed a strong sense for comedy, and the members were also very close to each other, so there was no need to create any program effects deliberately, and even the hosts were much more relaxed.


    After everyone introduced themselves, the host invited the members to perform their talents one by one. Jiang Miao played the guzheng, He Ziyan had brought a whole set of equipment to play electronic music on-site, Ling Yi showed off a short high pitch to display his virtuosity, and Pei Tingsong rapped out a very difficult English rap song, doing it astonishingly fast.


    Lu Yuan and Fang Juexia performed the duet that they hadn¡¯t gotten to at the autograph event on this stage, and Pei Tingsong saw this dance for the first time. At present, their group was still inclined to dancing in a strong style, especially when it came to the choreography, where the movements were fast and had large-scale cooperation. Besides Fang Juexia¡¯s classical dance, he seldom saw Fang Juexia dance sexy-style dances.


    The beat of this song was strong, but the rhythm wasn¡¯t fast, and mixed into this was the sound of a match being struck and then blown out.


    The waist of his loose jeans was a little big. When dancing, it would slide down, and the edge of his shirt wouldn¡¯t cover the exposed part, thereby revealing a pale, thin waist. The shape of his muscles as they rippled and tightened could faintly be seen.


    His eyes fell on Fang Juexia¡¯s face. His expression didn¡¯t show the slightest trace of seduction, it was as cold as usual. He just licked the corners of his lips unconsciously when he changed his movements, the tip of his tongue showing for a moment, then hiding away.


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s attention was drawn to the lyrics.


    [Lips meet teeth and tongue, my heart skips eight beats at once.]


    Following the music, Fang Juexia executed two slow and continuous waves. His black T-shirt was wrapped around his narrow waist, and this move made it look like an endless undulating tide in the night.


    Right then, this line came out of the song just then:


    [We all been found guilty in the court of aorta.]


    In the court of inflated desire, you and I have both been found guilty.


    Those faintly jittering arteries and the boiling blood in their bodies was the evidence.


    Finally, as soon as the hip-thrust action appeared, all of the fans below screamed. When dancing, Fang Juexia was completely open and free, not afraid of expressing himself or being constrained by his introverted personality. But once the music stopped, he changed back into his shy personality.


    ¡°Wow! Let¡¯s give Lu Yuan and Juexia a little applause, alright?¡±


    Fang Juexia was sweating. He went back to Pei Tingsong¡¯s side and took the microphone from him. Pei Tingsong lowered his head and drew close to his ear to whisper, ¡°Gege, your waist is so flexible.¡±


    That low voice, full of magnetic bass, burst by his ear, and it was like Fang Juexia¡¯s whole body had been shocked with electricity, causing him to restlessly lick his lower lip.


    After getting along for a long time, he had almost forgotten what a terrible unstable factor Pei Tingsong was.


    This program conducted mainly indoor games, and after the brief self introduction and talent show, the host announced, ¡°Then let¡¯s start our game segment next!¡±


    The staff brought up a mat that pretty much covered about half of the stage. The host introduced the rules of the game, ¡°The first game is a blindfolded match. Just now, Kaleido drew lots and divided themselves into groups. Ziyan, Juexia and Ling Yi are the blue team, while the remaining Xiao Pei, Miaomiao, and Xiao Yuan are the red team. Next, our red and blue teams will send out one person each.¡±


    Chen Mo took out a small balloon as he continued explaining, ¡°We will tie balloons to your waist, with a balloon on each side, front and back. If they both pop, you will be eliminated, and someone else from your team will switch with you to keep competing; any contestant on your team who hasn¡¯t been eliminated during the round can play the next round as well. However, please note that you guys will be blindfolded the entire time.¡±


    He Ziyan squatted on the ground and pressed the mat in front of him. ¡°No wonder you brought this big and thick mat. I¡¯m afraid that we¡¯ll play and play and end up wrestling each other.¡±


    ¡°Probably even scarier than wrestling.¡±


    Lu Yuan raised his hand. ¡°It¡¯s not fair ah, our strongest player is injured.¡±


    The host said, ¡°Xiao Pei can choose not to play and give his chance to his other teammates.¡±


    Fang Juexia was most worried about Pei Tingsong. Even though he had checked and made sure that Pei Tingsong¡¯s fracture was actually a minor injury, and he was also young, so his healing speed was fast, Fang Juexia still felt afraid that he would get hurt or that he would feel uncomfortable, even if the person himself always said it didn¡¯t hurt at all.


    ¡°You¡¯d better not go up ba.¡± Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t help but dissuade him.


    Pei Tingsong smiled. ¡°But I want to go up ah.¡±


    Lu Yuan suggested, ¡°Then what if he¡¯s not blindfolded?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, after getting my hand put in a cast, I¡¯m not afraid of it getting bumped. It¡¯s hard to hurt my hand when it¡¯s covered with the cast.¡± Pei Tingsong explained, ¡°This is actually a pretty minor injury, and the cast is going to be taken off soon. I can be blindfolded, and also, there are so many cushions in here.¡±


    The program team had known about one of their members being injured before, so they had specially invited a medical team. Now, this team went on stage to reinforce Pei Tingsong, wrapping his left arm in a crash pad and fixing it to the front of his chest.


    ¡°Then, since Xiao Pei is down one arm, he can also have one less balloon.¡±


    ¡°Every master just has one arm.¡± Ling Yi patted him on the shoulder.


    Lu Yuan laughed and remarked, ¡°You¡¯re implying he¡¯s Yang Guo, I have proof.¡±


    Ling Yi immediately turned to Pei Tingsong and said, ¡°Guo¡¯er, Guoer, you need to fight on!¡±


    After the preparatory work was done, Chen Mo looked at the teams on both sides and asked, ¡°Okay, now the red and blue teams can send out their first contestant. Who wants to take the lead?¡±


    Fang Juexia, who had been silent the entire time before, suddenly took the initiative and told He Ziyan and Ling Yi, ¡°Why don¡¯t I go ba?¡±


    Pei Tingsong knew the game¡¯s ending as soon as he read the rules. As the only person on the field who knew that only Fang Juexia with his night blindness could be his opponent, this maknae was very excited.


    Upon seeing Fang Juexia show this much initiative, his two teammates were naturally happy. ¡°Okay ah, then our group¡¯s Juexia will be the first to go up!¡±


    Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t plan on being the first one. He wanted Fang Juexia to have a good time for a bit, so he poured oil on fire and let Lu Yuan be the first one. The staff fixed the balloons on their waists, after which Fang Juexia and Lu Yuan put on black goggles, took off their shoes, and were helped to two far corners by their teammates.


    After they got on the mat, they walked forward carefully.


    The other members and hosts sat cross-legged on the ground to watch the battle, and sometimes used their voices to interfere with the contestants¡¯ sense of direction and actions.


    Ling Yi waved at the blindfolded Lu Yuan. ¡°Lu Yuan, I¡¯m here!¡±


    ¡°Hahahaha!¡±


    Suddenly falling into darkness would make people lose their sense of direction, but for Fang Juexia, memorizing his location had already become his routine, and the dark was even more familiar to him than the light. After hearing Ling Yi¡¯s voice, he soon had a basic prediction in his heart.


    Logically, the rest of their teams and the hosts should be roughly located in front of the blindfolded people, and there shouldn¡¯t have been any big changes in that since the game started. A huge blank mat appeared in front of Fang Juexia¡¯s eyes, with four corners, and his bandmates seated on the long edge. His sense of distance and direction provided by his hearing had already let him roughly realize his position on this mat.


    Ling Yi continued to tease Lu Yuan, ¡°Lu Yuan Gege, you¡¯re the hottest, you are my little loser!¡±


    Lu Yuan was also amused by him into laughing and saying, ¡°You shut up ba.¡±


    Just as Lu Yuan made a sound, Fang Juexia instantly reacted and changed his position. He turned his head, shifted the direction of his body, extended out, and was perfectly able to point in the exact direction where Lu Yuan was.


    Jiang Miao whispered, ¡°Juexia is so powerful.¡±


    Pei Tingsong bent his knees and kept his eyes pinned on Fang Juexia¡¯s every move.


    Blindfolded, he was so smart he seemed like a beautiful cheetah, and easily found the trail of his prey.


    Lu Yuan hadn¡¯t completely entered into his game state, and only cared about quipping with the interfering factor, Ling Yi. He totally hadn¡¯t discovered that his opponent had already quietly approached his vicinity. The fans below the stage kept as quiet as possible as they could, following the hints given by the hosts, and many fans also covered their small mouths.


    They watched as Fang Juexia moved forward step by step, seeming to have a clear picture of the whole scene in his heart, and each stride forward had the exact same distance.


    Soon, there was only half a meter of distance left between them. Fang Juexia stopped, wanting to judge his position a bit. He Ziyan saw his intention, so he deliberately teased Lu Yuan into talking.


    ¡°Yuanzi, Yuan¡¯er~¡±


    Seeing that his teammate didn¡¯t know his opponent was right in front of him, Jiang Miao immediately reminded him, ¡°Cheer up ah, Lu Yuan. Quickly, get ready to fight.¡±


    ¡°Fight what ah, I don¡¯t even know where Juexia is?¡±


    As soon as he finished saying that, a hand had already reached out and touched his chest. Lu Yuan was startled and reflexively stepped back. Fang Juexia had guessed that he would step back, so he simply slammed into him and knocked him down. The small balloon behind Lu Yuan popped as he was crushed into the ground, and in the dark, Fang Juexia felt for the balloon in front of him and squeezed it energetically.


    The balloon attached to Lu Yuan¡¯s front also exploded.


    In just a short period of time, Fang Juexia had taken first blood while keeping himself completely undamaged.


    ¡°Wow!!!¡±


    ¡°Juexia Gege is so explosively hot!¡±


    The host exclaimed, ¡°Juexia is really strong, and in this round, blue team wins!¡± The staff helped him up, and instead of removing his blindfold, they directly took him to a corner of the mat, this one different from where he was at the beginning of the game.


    ¡°We won¡¯t directly say the name of the next red team contestant. In a bit, the audience and the other members  shouldn¡¯t call out their names to disturb Juexia.¡±


    This was a real obstacle for Fang Juexia.


    Because in his mind, his opponents were only divided into two categories ¨C Pei Tingsong and the others.


    As long as it wasn¡¯t Pei Tingsong, he could attack with all his strength and fight a quick battle to force a quick outcome. But if it was Pei Tingsong, he would worry about his injured hand and would be much more restrained.


    He could only first try to classify it all out.


    Fang Juexia stood in the same place, listening as everyone started to kick up a new round of fuss.


    ¡°He¡¯s up, he¡¯s up, red team is up.¡±


    He listened to the sounds and found his position in the same way he had just done before. After that battle, his next opponent must be clear that if he made any noise, he would be found, so Fang Juexia also changed his tactics and prepared to head directly to the center of the mat and listen for any sounds from his opponent.


    He fumbled forward boldly, holding out his hands to keep his balance. Walking on a cushion gave the feeling of walking on froth, and it was very easy to fall down.


    Ling Yi was still persistent in provoking the enemy. ¡°Red team, are you scared?¡±


    Fang Juexia had already followed the sound to come to the center of the mat at this time, and he focused entirely on listening for sounds.


    ¡°He won¡¯t make any noise, don¡¯t worry ba.¡± Lu Yuan, who had already failed once, talked with his previously gained experience.


    Ling Yi scorned him, ¡°Who said that? If he loves me, he¡¯ll make a noise!¡±


    Suddenly, in the midst of this noisy quarrel, Fang Juexia heard a laugh. It couldn¡¯t be more familiar to him, and it was very brief, coming from very near him, just behind him, not too far away.


    ¡°Pei Tingsong?¡± Fang Juexia tried to turn around.


    Everyone in the audience was shocked. Many people waved their hands at Fang Juexia, because in their eyes, the blindfolded Fang Juexia not only correctly identified his opponent¡¯s position, but also called out his name directly.


    Pei Tingsong was just behind him, only one meter away from him.


    The host was also surprised and couldn¡¯t help asking, ¡°Is Juexia¡¯s eye mask fake?¡±


    ¡°Did he just casually guess Xiao Pei?¡±


    Jiang Miao sent a message to his teammate. ¡°Don¡¯t talk ah, he¡¯s already close to you.¡±


    He just wanted to let him get close.


    The corners of Pei Tingsong¡¯s mouth rose, and he stood in the same spot, calling out Fang Juexia¡¯s name in a deep voice. These three words let Fang Juexia confirm that his previous judgment was correct.


    The identification was finished, but what was his next step going to be?


    Was he really going to take action against Pei Tingsong?


    Shrouded in darkness, Pei Tingsong¡¯s hearing and sensitivity weren¡¯t as good as Fang Juexia¡¯s, but he could still judge whether someone was near him from the sensation of the mat collapsing and rising. So he crouched down and put his palm on the mat.


    For every step Fang Juexia took, the cushion would collapse a bit and then recover, but the closer he got, the degree of collapse could be felt by his palm more obviously. Plus, there was also the rustling sound of Fang Juexia¡¯s pants.


    Pei Tingsong had the pleasure of paying back someone with their own coin.


    One step.


    He was still one step away.


    Fang Juexia stretched his arm and felt it was a bit strange. According to his calculations just now, he should have already arrived at that spot, but he couldn¡¯t touch Pei Tingsong. It couldn¡¯t be that he had changed his position without making a sound already.


    If that was the case, there still should have been a sound though.


    The collapsing of the floor mat was very obvious to the palm of his hand. Just then, Pei Tingsong resolutely stretched out his right hand and accurately grasped Fang Juexia¡¯s ankle.


    Oh, no. Fang Juexia knew that he had missed a step.


    The strength of this surprise attack pulled him to the ground. Fang Juexia tried to resist and keep the balloon behind him from popping. However, he couldn¡¯t retrieve enough of his strength to do that, and before he knew it, his entangled legs were already being pressed down.


    He could feel Pei Tingsong sitting on his leg, his weight pressing on him, his right hand touching his body and fumbling upwards, just like how Fang Juexia fumbled around for a direction in the dark, passing his knee, thigh, hip bone, and lean waist.


    The audience below the stage couldn¡¯t help screaming, with everything on-stage having reached the white hot stage.


    The blindfolded Pei Tingsong felt Fang Juexia¡¯s hand pushing and struggling against him. The blue balloon fixed to the front of his waist trembled pitifully in the lingering sensations of the violent impact.


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s hand had already touched his waist. Fang Juexia didn¡¯t know whether he was doing it on purpose or not, but he could even feel the touch of his fingertips rubbing against his skin, which made his pores shiver in the middle of this duel of victory or defeat.


    He still had a chance to fight back. Fang Juexia tried to keep his upper body turned somewhat sideways to make room for the balloon behind him. He tried to reach out to find the balloon at the front of Pei Tingsong¡¯s waist. He touched it at his first try, but he soon realized that Pei Tingsong had found the balloon tied to his front, so he quickly withdrew his hand to protect his own balloon.


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s back exuded sweat, and he didn¡¯t know why he was feeling so hot. The balloon that he had nearly grasped was covered by Fang Juexia¡¯s slender fingers again. Pei Tingsong had no patience to keep inching forward like this; his palm covered the back of Fang Juexia¡¯s hand, wrapped around his hand and squeezed the balloon until it burst.


    After a perfect assault, Pei Tingsong was in a happy mood and imitated the sound of the pop to Fang Juexia, ¡°Boom.¡±


    Fully provocative. Only the shreds of the balloon were left in Fang Juexia¡¯s hands. He was incited and struggled away from Pei Tingsong¡¯s hands, ready to grab the balloon on Pei Tingsong¡¯s waist.


    Pei Tingsong guessed his next step, and went from sitting on him to straddling on him, kneeling on the outside of his thighs. He used one left hand to check Fang Juexia, so he grabbed one of Fang Juexia¡¯s wrists, lifted his arm to the mat, and pressed it with his kneeling leg. He also fumbled around and quickly found Fang Juexia¡¯s other hand, lifting it up and using his hand to press it down.


    ¡°Don¡¯t move.¡±


    Fang Juexia, who had just lost a balloon, was nailed by him to the ground.


    ¡°You are too cunning.¡± Fang Juexia gritted his teeth. His voice came out a bit strenuous, but it sounded sexy to Pei Tingsong.


    ¡°Am I cunning?¡± Pei Tingsong pressed his wrist hard and said, ¡°I have one life, and you also have one life left, but you have two hands, while I only have one.¡±


    His body was hot and dry, and his low voice was panting because of the intense exercise.


    ¡°Gege, go easy on me.¡±


    Having both his arms pulled apart by Pei Tingsong, Fang Juexia¡¯s whole body was lifted from half-lying there to just laying flat. The balloon behind him was in danger, and the smooth rubber and soft foam air cushion rubbed against each other to make a dangerous sound.


    This was his last balloon.


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s strength was great, and since Fang Juexia also couldn¡¯t go all out as he did in the face of other opponents, he could only seek ways to protect himself first.


    So he arched his waist as much as possible to make room for the balloon, thus presenting a beautiful arced waist line.


    Fang Juexia, who had lost his head with ideas of victory and defeat, naturally did not know how attractive this action of his was.


    In the dark, Pei Tingsong seemed to have already seen through Fang Juexia¡¯s presence; his state, his posture, his blindfolded face, and as he breathed hard, his slightly opened lips¡ª everything was in front of his eyes.


    His hearing had become more sensitive, and he could even hear Fang Juexia¡¯s gasps as they wormed into his ears and made them itch.


    He finally understood how Fang Juexia could simulate having sight in the dark. He felt exactly the same as him now.


    Screams and cheers sounded from below the stage, and it was very noisy. Pei Tingsong was reluctant to keep pressing down Fang Juexia¡¯s hand the entire time and got ready to initiate a quick battle to force a decision.


    At the moment he released Fang Juexia¡¯s wrist, Pei Tingsong¡¯s arm rubbed against the floor mat, passed under the arched waist carrying some heat from the recent friction, and grabbed the innocent balloon and looped around Fang Juexia¡¯s waist.


    The arm tightened, the palm exerted force, and in this half embrace that had appeared in a flash, Fang Juexia heard the sound of something bursting.


    The air filled sphere on his back disappeared in an instant. There was now no barrier between his hand and Fang Juexia¡¯s waist, and they stuck close together. Pei Tingsong¡¯s last attack had fulfilled his mission, and the weight of the whole person also hit Fang Juexia¡¯s body.


    Winning or losing was meaningless at that moment. Fang Juexia¡¯s heart beat wildly as he was being held tightly.


    Game over. Huge cheers broke out from the audience, and Pei Tingsong rose up from his embrace.


    He should have known long ago what Pei Tingsong was like when playing games. He is so good at laying things out and would make use of everything that could be used. Utilizing Fang Juexia¡¯s own sensitive hearing against him, he deliberately lured him to fall into the trap step by step, and then attacked.


    The host spoke a lot, but Fang Juexia didn¡¯t hear it very clearly. He pushed the blindfold up a bit to look in front of him, and the first thing he saw was Pei Tingsong¡¯s face. Pei Tingsong pulled off his blindfold with one hand, threw it to the ground, and then extended his hand towards Fang Juexia.


    Fang Juexia gasped for breath and raised his hand feebly, letting him hold it to let himself be pulled up from the ground by him. Although Pei Tingsong¡¯s face seemed to be as usual, Fang Juexia was still a little worried. He raised his hand and touched Pei Tingsong¡¯s hand. Pei Tingsong very quickly understood, shook his head, and rubbed Juexia¡¯s arm for a bit.


    ¡°Are you alright, Xiao Pei?¡± The host came forward and asked attentively.


    Pei Tingsong shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m okay, but I can only play one round. Let¡¯s change the players for the next round ba.¡±


    ¡°I was even stressfully sweating for them.¡±


    ¡°Xiao Pei is so powerful. This match was really wonderful.¡±


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s hair was so sweaty that it stuck to his face. He wiped at it, and modestly said, ¡°Not really,¡± a statement that didn¡¯t even come close to his nature. He looked at Fang Juexia, the corners of his mouth hooking up. ¡°It was Juexia Ge going easy on me.¡±


    With that, he grabbed Fang Juexia¡¯s hand and pressed it on the red balloon at the front of his waist. He held his hand and crushed the balloon without any hesitation.


    Fang Juexia was stunned. It had all happened too fast, and he didn¡¯t even get any time to react. He just saw Pei Tingsong look at him, and with a childish smile on his face, speak in a low voice¡ª


    ¡°My last life, I give it to you.¡±

 CH 74

    Chapter 74 ¨C Stimulating Game


    Adult development


    Fang Juexia pulled his hand back, holding back the corner of his mouth that wanted to quirk up.


    New teammates entered the game, and the two of them also separated, one going back to the red team, one towards the blue team, with the hosts standing in between them.


    As soon as Ling Yi went on, Fang Juexia came to He Ziyan, who raised his head and reached out to him for a high-five. After that, Fang Juexia sat down and looked at his hand. His palm was still red from the impact left after Pei Tingsong¡¯s balloon burst. He turned it over and looked at the back of his hand, which was also a little red.


    It was a trace left from Pei Tingsong¡¯s hold.


    The residual trembling-like sensation still hadn¡¯t completely disappeared from his pores, just like the shrieking sounds that were coming from below the stage. Clearly, even though the two of them had been blindfolded, it was almost as though Fang Juexia could actually see it. He could even describe Pei Tingsong¡¯s appearance, including the way he had pressed into him to stop his struggles.


    He didn¡¯t have the heart to watch the later rounds, although they seemed very interesting, for everyone was laughing. Only when the host announced that the game was over and that the blue team had won did Fang Juexia come to know that Ling Yi had actually burst the captain¡¯s balloons first. He stood up with everyone, and Ling Yi, who had removed his blindfold, ran like the wind to hug him and He Ziyan.


    ¡°We won la!¡±


    ¡°Really powerful, I didn¡¯t even go up.¡±


    Fang Juexia also hugged Ling Yi back, patting him on the back. ¡°Really good, really good.¡±


    The losing side needed to be punished, and even Pei Tingsong, who had recouped a round, was no exception to this. Previous experience had taught everyone that Pei Tingsong¡¯s luck was very poor. His teammates were afraid that he would draw some novel punishment, so they took the lead in blindly drawing their punishment. This result could count as being normal: they had to do push-ups while singing their part in ¡®Break Through¡¯ for one and a half minutes.


    Push-ups¡­


    Fang Juexia glanced to his left. Pei Tingsong still had a plaster cast, and it definitely wouldn¡¯t be easy for him to do push-ups.


    ¡°How about Xiao Pei just doesn¡¯t do it?¡± The host was still very worried about his hand injury.


    Pei Tingsong followed his teammates. ¡°It¡¯s fine, I¡¯ve been working out this whole time.¡±


    He Ziyan suggested, ¡°We¡¯re afraid you won¡¯t be able to hold up when pressing to the ground, so how about doing sit-ups? It¡¯s also a bit easier.¡±


    The punishment was soon changed, and Pei Tingsong now needed a partner who would hold his feet down. All the fans below the stage were shouting out Fang Juexia¡¯s name, and the host also couldn¡¯t refuse them. ¡°Then Juexia will help?¡±


    Fang Juexia nodded and went to Pei Tingsong, who had already laid flat on the mat and bent his legs, held his ankles, looked at Pei Tingsong¡¯s left hand, and said in a soft voice, ¡°Be careful.¡±


    This sentence once again triggered revelry from the countless fans below. Clearly, it was just a common concern, but they associated too much meaning to it.


    Pei Tingsong made an ¡°okay¡± gesture, then put his uninjured hand around the back of his neck. After the host called out, ¡°Punishment begins¡±, he began to do sit-ups.


    He maintained the habit of exercising all year long, so Pei Tingsong was very relaxed while doing this. Before, in order to play the game on the stage, he had taken off his big avocado green jacket and only wore a white T-shirt now. Every time he sat up, his clothes would pull up a little. From Fang Juexia¡¯s perspective, Pei Tingsong¡¯s abdominal muscles were completely visible.


    This was different from the other ordinary times. Pei Tingsong¡¯s abs, under the effect of the sit-ups, looked fresh and alive as they became covered with a thin layer of sweat, and as they contracted and then relaxed, they seemed to be carrying a certain unspeakable frequency, and his sunken mermaid line embedded at the edge of the waist of his jeans, continued to extend down¡­.


    Fang Juexia tried to look away. He didn¡¯t know what he was feeling guilty about, the hot and dry heat remaining behind from the blindfolded game was too stubborn, and it lasted for a long time.


    As a rapper, Pei Tingsong¡¯s breath had always been very stable. Even while doing sit-ups, his breathing flowed outstandingly, he was just gasping a bit more than usual this time. Those gasps, mixed with the sound of his breathing, were inexplicably sexy.


    ¡°Okay! Time¡¯s up!¡±


    At last it was done. Fang Juexia had never felt that a minute and a half could be so long; a blunt knife like that rubbing against his heart was really hard to bear. He loosened the grip his hands had and stood up in front of Pei Tingsong, who also got up soon and leaned on him while saying, ¡°So tired ah.¡±


    This guy took the opportunity to blow into his ear, and Fang Juexia trembled all over.


    He was doing it on purpose.


    After the game segment ended, the host chatted with them about the concept of the new album, its creation process, and the difficulties encountered during the process. During this segment, they also played a video clip of the members hurrying to shoot the MV without taking breaks for eating or sleeping.


    In the first second, the boys were showing a strong expression in front of the camera. In the next second, the six boys were so sleepy that they fell asleep leaning against the wall, head to head. When a cameraman asked Fang Juexia about how many hours it had been since they had slept, he said 24 vaguely, then shook his head, saying that that wasn¡¯t right, it was actually 25. He was still dressed in a classical dance costume, and had a high ponytail, but his eyes were half-closed. He then showed an embarrassed smile because he had remembered the wrong number.


    The fans below the stage saw this scene and felt incomparable tender love for these K boys. At the end of the video, they were shown riding six horses in the desert park.


    In the background was Jiang Miao¡¯s voice as he said, ¡°We¡¯re about to make a comeback, quickly make a wish, Ling Yi.¡±


    Ling Yi yelled, ¡°I wish that this album can recover its investment! Don¡¯t let our boss lose money any longer!¡±


    Laughter from several other members appeared.


    ¡°Hahahaha, that¡¯s too simple ba.¡±


    ¡°Then let¡¯s make a little more money and let the boss take us to the Maldives!¡±


    ¡°Tch, no taste.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re the one with no taste, stupid Xiao Pei!¡±


    In the video, they were urging their horses forward. It was originally meant to be a very cool picture, however, unexpectedly, Lu Yuan¡¯s horse turned its head and started to trot in the opposite direction, everyone started laughing. That was the end of the video.


    All of K¡¯s little gags and videos exuded a very happy atmosphere, and this one was no exception. It seemed that they had never once shown a slumped mood in front of the camera. For example, Fang Juexia was even very embarrassed when his weary appearance was caught on camera.


    Being an idol was a profession where the person had to deliver light and warmth, and these six had always followed this principle.


    The fans standing under the stage couldn¡¯t help but shed a few tears when they saw the scene of the six people sleeping against the wall, as well as during Ling Yi¡¯s last simple wish.


    When the video ended, Chen Mo also sighed and spoke, ¡°Our little K faced a lot of difficulties during their comeback this time, but fortunately, they got past it all. I always think that the great thing about boy-bands is that although there are many troubles and difficulties we encounter in this life, and that we always have to grit their teeth to get through it all, and most of the time we are all alone, but no matter how hard it is, you all at least have each other, which is the most precious thing.¡±


    Another host adjusted the atmosphere by remarking, ¡°It¡¯s suddenly gotten quite sentimental, I even find myself welling up in tears.¡±


    Lu Yuan immediately nodded. ¡°Me too, I was just thinking, what to do, how do I quietly wipe away my tears and not look shameful?¡±


    Ling Yi immediately unmasked him. ¡°Tch, you were sniffling just now.¡±


    The fans below broke down again and laughed.


    Fang Juexia was still immersed in the end of the video, and suddenly asked, ¡°So have we made enough money to go to the Maldives this time yet?¡±


    ¡°Hahahahaha what¡¯s with this Ge?!¡±


    ¡°Hahahaha, what a persistent group.¡±


    After filming half of the program, the host led everyone to start a new game segment. ¡°The following game is a very classic one.¡±


    Kaleido was arranged in front of the long table according to their official positions. There were six screens on the side of the table facing the audience. There was nothing on the screen for the time being, but the audience had already pretty much guessed what the game was.


    Chen Mo said with a smile, ¡°That¡¯s right, next is our ¡®Guess Which One of Us in Undercover¡¯ segment! First of all, let¡¯s talk about the rules of the game. At the start of the game, each member of our small K will draw a card, in which there will be one undercover and one blank slate card. The undercover card will be different from that of everyone else¡¯s, while the blank slate card is blank and has nothing written on it. Everyone will speak in order and describe their cards. At the end of each round, you have to vote for who you think has the blank slate card or is the undercover person. As long as you manage to pick out all the blank slates and undercover people, you¡¯ll win the game.¡±


    Pei Tingsong asked, ¡°Is there an undercover person and a blank slate in every round?¡±


    ¡°Not necessarily oh.¡± The host said, ¡°If there is one, there will only be one of each; there may also be a situation where there is no undercover person, and only a blank slate in that round, or one where there is no blank slate card, only an undercover person.¡±


    The members all nodded, and the game began.


    ¡°Okay, you guys can check your cards, and be careful not to let others see it oh.¡± The host told the audience below, ¡°Everyone must remain quiet, don¡¯t disturb our small K.¡±


    The six members carefully picked up the cards on the table, their movements cautious. The screens facing the audience in front of each of their tables had already displayed their cards at the same time.


    He Ziyan: Watching a horror film


    Lu Yuan: Watching a horror film


    Jiang Miao: Watching a horror film


    Ling Yi: Haunted House Adventure


    Fang Juexia: Watching a horror film


    Pei Tingsong: Blank slate


    The members began to clamor once they confirmed their cards.


    ¡°Wow~¡±


    ¡°Exciting.¡±


    ¡°Very exciting.¡±


    Fang Juexia saw the card in his hand and very soon began to search for descriptors in his mind. Only Pei Tingsong, who had gotten the blank slate, upon hearing all his Geges say it was exciting, could pretend as if he was seeing something and make a meaningful expression.


    The fans below the stage covered their small mouths and laughed secretly. After seeing the members finish confirming their cards, the host pointed to He Ziyan. ¡°Let¡¯s start from Ziyan ba.¡±


    He Ziyan leaned half of his body against the table before describing, ¡°Hmm¡­ This is an activity that is very psychologically taxing.¡±


    Next was Lu Yuan. ¡°I feel like it¡¯s not something suitable for children to do.¡±


    The fans below the stage started laughing.


    Jiang Miao went on to describe, ¡°The ones from Japan are more famous.¡±


    The host inserted a few words here, ¡°Why do I feel like this is developing more and more in the wrong direction?¡±


    ¡°Hahahahaha adult development!¡±


    Japanese? Ling Yi was a little confused, but he thought that the Japanese haunted houses were really famous, so he confidently and boldly described his part, ¡°Anyway, I don¡¯t like them, and I feel like I can¡¯t do them.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha, you can¡¯t do them!¡±


    Fang Juexia was also amused by him. He put aside all of the descriptions he had thought of originally and glanced at Pei Tingsong as he said, ¡°Xiao Pei may also not be able to¡­¡±


    ¡°Hahahahahahaha!¡±


    Pei Tingsong couldn¡¯t make heads or tails out of these words, he wondered what they were all really talking about. One second, it¡¯s not suitable for children, the next second it¡¯s that Japanese ones are famous, and then the next second, saying he can¡¯t do it.


    ¡°If you¡¯re going to describe it, just describe it, don¡¯t imply things about your bandmates.¡±


    He had no clue, so he could only start deriving things from the very person who went first. He thought of He Ziyan talking about psychological quality, which linked his thoughts to Fang Juexia, who had the best psychological quality among all of them, and so he threw it back.


    Pei Tingsong forced himself to be calm, coughed, and gambled, ¡°It¡¯s easier for Juexia Ge to do this.¡±


    In fact, he completely didn¡¯t know what he was doing, there was just a lot of smutty garbage in his head right now.


    ¡°Oh ~¡± the host nodded and declared, ¡°Then you guys can start voting now.¡±


    He Ziyan and Lu Yuan both pointed at Jiang Miao, while Ling Yi pointed at Pei Tingsong. Fang Juexia didn¡¯t know who to point to for a moment, then thought of how Pei Tingsonng had brought him up. He felt it was a little suspicious, so he pointed at Pei Tingsong.


    As a blank slate, in order to protect himself, Pei Tingsong pointed at Jiang Miao.


    The captain argued for himself, ¡°The Japanese ones are just very famous ah.¡±


    Lu Yuan took the microphone and added, ¡°European and American ones are also quite¡­¡±


    ¡°Hahahahahaha!¡±


    He Ziyan shrugged. ¡°Can¡¯t make them domestically anyway.¡±


    Fang Juexia¡¯s face showed a mysterious smile.


    Pei Tingsong suspected that they were talking about porn, but he had no evidence.

 CH 75

    Chapter 75 ¨C Moonlight Metaphor


    Substitution method


    Pei Tingsong was stunned, but he had to get it all together, otherwise he might be discovered to be the blank slate who was just chatting at cross-purposes.


    What Japanese, European, and American products, it couldn¡¯t really be about watching porn ba?


    Couldn¡¯t be ba? Could this even be broadcast then?


    ¡°Vote again.¡±


    He Ziyan, Lu Yuan, and Pei Tingsong still voted for the group leader. Even the fence-sitter Ling Yi changed his vote, and Jiang Miao was voted out of the game with four votes.


    ¡°Then Miaomiao will be eliminated. Miaomiao, come here.¡± The host pulled on Jiang Miao¡¯s arm and warned, ¡°Don¡¯t expose everything oh.¡±


    As soon as Jiang Miao saw everyone¡¯s cards, he laughed. ¡°Alright ba, good luck everyone.¡±


    ¡°Okay, the game goes on. It¡¯s still He Ziyan who will start.¡±


    However, He Ziyan said with a smile, ¡°This time, the last person should talk first ba.¡±


    Fang Juexia also took a look at Pei Tingsong. Pei Tingsong knew that if he refused at this time, he would attract more suspicion.


    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll talk first.¡±


    No matter whether they were watching porn or not, since all of their descriptions were so close to that topic, there should be some similarities. Pei Tingsong gambled and said, ¡°This is an activity that needs to be completed with the eyes.¡±


    His other four bandmates nodded meaningfully and then turned to Fang Juexia.


    He passed?


    Fang Juexia described, ¡°En¡­. This activity can be done by one person or with multiple people, and if there are more people, the kind of popular atmosphere generated will be different.¡±


    After hearing Fang Juexia¡¯s words, Pei Tingsong¡¯s heart ended up with even more question marks.


    It couldn¡¯t really be about doing something smutty?


    Pei Tingsong was perplexed. How could he not do it, and to top it all, it was even Fang Juexia saying that he couldn¡¯t do it!


    From their prior descriptions, Ling Yi faintly felt that the people beside him didn¡¯t quite have the same thing as him. What European, American, Japanese, what was the difference between haunted houses from different countries? However, thankfully he at least had a card with something on it; in this kind of game, the undercover card should be similar to the normal cards.


    ¡°En¡­¡± Ling Yi thought for a moment before speaking, ¡°I feel like ah, this kind of activity may-may make people kind of nervous.¡±


    When it came to Lu Yuan, he was concise and clear with his words, ¡°It makes people cry out.¡±


    ¡°Hahahahahaha!¡±


    ¡°This group is poisonous!¡±


    By now, Pei Tingsong¡¯s head was already filled with some strange images he couldn¡¯t get rid of.


    He Ziyan cleared his throat and added, ¡°It has a better feel when it is done in the dead of the night.¡±


    Host Chen Mo couldn¡¯t hold back, ¡°I used to watch this game and sweat for the people with the undercover and blank slate cards, but now I¡¯m sweating for our program.¡±


    Another host also tried hard to suppress their smile. ¡°It¡¯s really curious what route this game has taken oh.¡±


    ¡°Hahahahaha!¡±


    The hostess said, ¡°Then you guys vote now ba.¡±


    He Ziyan voted for Ling Yi. ¡°Ling Yi seems to just be keeping his head above the water ah. He said that doing this activity would make you nervous, but I said in the first round that it would require a good psychological quality. It feels like Ling Yi is guessing.¡±


    However, Fang Juexia voted for Lu Yuan. ¡°I feel like for the last two rounds, Yuanyuan has been a bit, how to put it, his descriptions tend to be a little¡­¡±


    ¡°What did I say?¡± Lu Yuan asked.


    He Ziyan said with a smile, ¡°It¡¯s not suitable for children, and then you said that people will cry out.¡± After that, he also felt it was a little strange. ¡°No, the more I think about it, the wronger it seems¡­¡±


    Fang Juexia, who had succeeded in finding someone sympathetic to his view, agreed, ¡°Right ba, it¡¯s really strange.¡±


    He Ziyan nodded. ¡°I won¡¯t cry out.¡±


    Fang Juexia followed suit and added, ¡°I won¡¯t either.¡±


    ¡°Hahahahahahaha!¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Lu Yuan suddenly grew excited and defended himself, ¡°You guys don¡¯t really think I have¡­¡± He paused, and his next first two words were uttered very heavily, ¡°That kind of card ba.¡±


    His words immediately caused Pei Tingsong to sober up; the kind of card Lu Yuan was talking about was the one he was thinking of incorrectly, and it was very obvious that the cards He Ziyan and Fang Juexia held weren¡¯t of that kind.


    Then what was it? Something you watch with your eyes, the Japanese, European, and American ones are very famous, they can¡¯t be made in China, one person can do it, with multiple people you have a different atmosphere, and it can be done in the dead of the night.


    The main point was, he, Pei Tingsong, couldn¡¯t do it.


    That was too comical, he hadn¡¯t met anything he couldn¡¯t do before. Alright ba, besides the haunted house from last time.


    Haunted?


    Pei Tingsong saw the light; so it was horror movies!


    This group of people really went too far, nearly causing him, this blank slate, to change colors.


    Pei Tingsong, who was now confident that he had probably guessed the right answer, began to stir up the flames, just like a king who had gone through untold hardships to find the password to his main account for the game, and started making a clear, resonated, and genuine analysis out loud, ¡°This kind of game is generally difficult in front of the players who have the blank slate card, because that person wouldn¡¯t know how to describe it. I think Yuan Ge may have the undercover card, and he¡¯s just stirring things up.¡±


    Ling Yi felt that he was in grave danger. He had just escaped from He Ziyan¡¯s tiger mouth, so he quickly conformed to Pei Tingsong¡¯s idea. ¡°I also feel like that, ever since Yuanyuan started speaking, we¡¯ve gone a bit off-track.¡±


    Their captain standing at the side internally thought¡ªdidn¡¯t it start going off-track with me?


    As a result, the remaining five members of K happily and laughingly all voted for Lu Yuan.


    The host coughed. ¡°The game continues.¡±


    Ling Yi made an exaggerated ¡°ahhh¡± sound, complaining, ¡°Still have to continue ah.¡±


    ¡°He Ziyan, start describing ba.¡±


    He Ziyan stood up straight while holding the microphone and spoke, ¡°Arriving to this point, it¡¯s hard to describe ah, without saying it directly.¡± He thought about it, then said a keyword, ¡°Please put XX on the public screen.¡±


    ¡°Hahahaha, automatic silencing.¡±


    Hearing this, Ling Yi felt that He Ziyan¡¯s card was similar to his own. He couldn¡¯t help thinking, it couldn¡¯t be that he wasn¡¯t the undercover person? It couldn¡¯t be that Two Fire had just followed the description on other people¡¯s cards before?


    He described carefully, ¡°En¡­. Because of this, Xiao Pei went on the Hot Search list.¡±


    Once this sentence was said, everyone understood what the undercover card was. Fang Juexia¡¯s face was calm. ¡°It hasn¡¯t appeared in our ensemble show, but there are similar sections.¡±


    Pei Tingsong now knew that Ling Yi¡¯s card said ¡®haunted house.¡¯ Then when he heard Fang Juexia¡¯s statement, he became even more sure that the rest of these people had ¡®horror movie¡¯ on their cards, so he said very naturally and grandly, ¡°You can¡¯t really enter this activity to experience it, although sometimes it is more immersive.¡±


    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s start voting!¡±


    Obviously, everyone voted for Ling Yi, who had exposed himself but didn¡¯t know it. Ling Yi felt very wronged, but he didn¡¯t know how to say it, so he cried, ¡°You¡¯re all bullying me!¡±


    Pei Tingsong let out a hehe inside. I fear that the one being bullied is me, not you.


    There were only three people left on the field, but the game still wasn¡¯t over yet. He Ziyan took the microphone and said, ¡°It¡¯s very obvious ah, it must be Xiao Pei. He also just happens to be the last one to go.¡±


    Pei Tingsong had already said that the person with the blank slate card wasn¡¯t amongst the people who went first, so now, if he voted for He Ziyan, he would be going against his previous logic. ¡°I¡¯m confused, I don¡¯t know who to vote for now. If you guys think it¡¯s me, that¡¯s fine, but I¡¯ve made it very clear that this activity can¡¯t really be experienced.¡±


    He Ziyan stared him in the eye, a little suspicious. He tried  to recall what Fang Juexia had said in the first two rounds; those words had seemed a bit vague. In the first round, he had just gone along with what others were saying. In the second round, he had said one person could do it, but so could multiple people.


    Fang Juexia actually began to argue for Pei Tingsong at this time, ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s Xiao Pei, because when I said he couldn¡¯t do it, he didn¡¯t protest.¡±


    ¡°Hahahahahaha, no way to protest!¡±


    ¡°Pei Tingsong can¡¯t do it! Hahahaha!¡±


    Pei Tingsong could only climb along this ladder. ¡°I just can¡¯t do it ah, no problem, and I especially can¡¯t do it.¡± He looked at Fang Juexia and said, ¡°Believe me.¡±


    Fang Juexia carefully smoothed out his thoughts about the two people¡¯s words in his mind again. No matter how he thought about it, He Ziyan couldn¡¯t be the blank slate. As he was the first person to speak, even the probability that he was the undercover person was low. Although Pei Tingsong¡¯s words were also logical, he still chose to believe in the basic rules of the game. ¡°I¡¯ll still vote for Xiao Pei ba.¡±


    Pei Tingsong was stunned. ¡°Hey, no, you just said it wasn¡¯t me, how did it still boomerang back?¡±


    Fang Juexia¡¯s changing of votes made He Ziyan suspicious again. He thought that since he had just helped argue for Xiao Pei in order to get his vote, now he couldn¡¯t vote for the first person to speak, so he simply changed his vote.


    So He Ziyan also boomeranged around. ¡°I¡¯m voting for Fang Juexia.¡±


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s head was filled with question marks. These double boomerangs made his head spin, but he was the blank slate ah, and if he wanted to win this time, of course he would have to follow suit while voting.


    What did love count as? Pei Tingsong pointed at Fang Juexia. ¡°I vote Juexia out.¡±


    The audience below the stage had been amused into laughing until their sides were splitting by these members, and especially more so when they were exposed to this last scene of TingJue loving each other and killing each other.


    ¡°Okay.¡± The host tried his best to maintain his composure. ¡°We¡¯re announcing now¡ª¡±


    The background music started up.


    ¡°The blank slate wins!¡±


    He Ziyan immediately realized that he had changed his vote to the wrong person.


    ¡°I just knew it,¡± Fang Juexia slapped his hand on the table twice. Originally, he didn¡¯t have much desire to win or lose, but clearly, by the end of the game, he had figured out who the blank slate was, and success had only been one step away from him.


    Thinking about this, Fang Juexia felt a little annoyed, and so he turned to Pei Tingsong and kicked him a few times. Although his tone didn¡¯t fluctuate greatly, his words were very cute. ¡°Liar, you even voted for me.¡±


    Pei Tingsong ducked from Fang Juexia and was overjoyed. ¡°I was stunned by you two in the end, okay? You were in-fighting within yourselves.¡±


    He Ziyan raised his hand and admitted, ¡°Blame me, blame me, my fault, I overthought things in the end.¡±


    The other members came back onstage and said, ¡°Are you guys going to be just like that and let the blank slate win? You¡¯re even someone who has been on a famous high IQ escape room game.¡±


    Fang Juexia insisted on his own view, ¡°If he had gone with my vote, we would have won.¡± Saying that, he felt very angry again and wanted to hammer Pei Tingsong. However, then he thought of his injured left hand and held back, clenching his fist in mid-air.


    ¡°Can¡¯t do anything about it, who let me be too smart?¡± Pei Tingsong cheekily grabbed Fang Juexia¡¯s wrist, dragged it down, and held his hand under the table.


    The host couldn¡¯t help but add, ¡°This was the first time we¡¯ve had so many ups and downs in the history of our program while playing ¡®Who is Undercover¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Yes, it repeatedly kept jumping too close to the censorship line.¡±


    Lu Yuan asked Pei Tingsong, ¡°Child Xiao Pei, did you have many question marks around your head at the beginning?¡±


    The captain¡¯s habitual worry rose up. ¡°I¡¯m so worried that after this episode gets broadcast, Xiao Pei will get onto the Hot Search List because he can¡¯t do it.¡±


    ¡°Hahahahaha!¡±


    They happily ended the ¡®Who is Undercover¡¯ game, after which K sang a non-main song from the new album, and then played the games of lyrical solitaire and pictionary the program group had prepared. The filming of the show lasted for five hours, from noon to evening, and the fans were very reluctant to leave when it ended.


    When they got off work, it was just in time for dinner. Chen Mo was a very good person, and he had, early on, asked his assistant to make a reservation at a very famous private cuisine restaurant. Along with the host team, he invited the whole Kaleido group to have dinner and taste the local specialties. People in this city had a more spicy palate, and so Fang Juexia¡¯s light Cantonese palate made him sweat when eating it.


    It was hard to avoid drinking alcohol when eating at such a gathering. Before Fang Juexia could explain himself, Pei Tingsong took the lead. ¡°Juexia Ge can¡¯t drink alcohol.¡±


    ¡°Oh, like that, then what about Xiao Pei?¡±


    ¡°I also don¡¯t like drinking too much, I¡¯ll just drink plain water.¡±


    He had managed to avoid the problem of alcohol, but now he still had to avoid the problem of all the spicy food. Fang Juexia chose what he could eat from all the dishes on the table. He thought that the chilis in the stir-fried meat wouldn¡¯t be that spicy, but he didn¡¯t expect it to be mid-grade level spiciness.


    His tongue was burning like it was on fire, and in that moment, he hurriedly took hold of the wrong cup, and drank some of Ling Yi¡¯s baijiu.


    ¡°Wu.¡±


    Chen Mo looked at him. ¡°Juexia, what¡¯s wrong? Is it really spicy?¡±


    Pei Tingsong quickly handed water to him. ¡°Slow down.¡± Then he replied in Fang Juexia¡¯s stead, ¡°He¡¯s from Guangzhou, he can¡¯t eat spicy food.¡±


    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s like that. Then you eat some dim sum ba. This one is made of glutinous rice, and it¡¯s very delicious.¡±


    Pei Tingsong took advantage of the situation and put a piece of dim sum in Fang Juexia¡¯s bowl. He also served him a bowl of milk-white fish soup, which he aired out before putting aside.


    He didn¡¯t really know how to do such sorts of considerate things, almost burning himself when he was serving him soup, just like a child.


    But Fang Juexia liked these little things very much.


    After the meal, Chen Mo spoke a lot with them. Being able to get the advice of an elder from within the circle, one who could be all things to all men, was a very rare opportunity.


    ¡°You guys are rookies, and there¡¯s still a long way to go ahead, but you guys have the strength, and you will definitely have a good future.¡± Chen Mo said, ¡°It¡¯s just that this circle is also very complicated, and you should be careful with every step you take. I¡¯ve heard a bit about your leaked song issue from before, and it may happen again in the future. You should be ready at all times.¡±


    Jiang Miao nodded. ¡°Thank you, Mr. Chen.¡±


    The weather had changed a bit when they came out after dinner. Fang Juexia was just wearing a thin black short sleeved shirt. As soon as he came outside, he let out a small sneeze. Just as he wrapped his arms around himself, a jacket was placed over his body.


    It was the green cardigan that Pei Tingsong had originally been wearing.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯m not cold.¡± Fang Juexia wanted to take it off and give it back to him, but Pei Tingsong deliberately pretended to be fierce and stared at him as he insisted, ¡°Put it on.¡±


    While the others were saying goodbye, he whispered into Fang Juexia¡¯s ear, ¡°Be good.¡±


    Fang Juexia completely lost the ability to refuse him with that, even though he had never seemed to possess such an ability in the first place.


    It was already ten o¡¯clock in the evening by the time they returned to the hotel. Cheng Qiang promised them that they could stay in the city for an extra day and use it as a free day. After spending a whole day bustling around and filming, they were all tired, so they retired to their rooms early.


    Cheng Qiang had been busy running up and down all day, and he had overseen their whole filming process for the program, so he was already half dead with fatigue. After returning to the room, he helped Xiao Pei take a bath and change his clothes. He looked at his watch when it was almost eleven o¡¯clock, so he took a shower casually, climbed into bed, and turned off the light. ¡°Go to bed early.¡±


    Pei Tingsong, who was lying under the quilt, soon heard their agent snoring away. However, he was in high spirits and couldn¡¯t fall asleep. Like a slideshow, the things that had happened during the day started to scroll across his mind, but in the end, he got stuck on the scene where Fang Juexia was dancing. He had twisted his waist so attractively, looking like water flowing in the night.


    He liked everything that flowed.


    Fang Juexia opened the door of his room alone. He was a slight germaphobe, so the first thing he did upon entering the room was take a bath. The hot steam in the bathroom made him dizzy, and the more he washed, the dizzier he became. So, he soon turned off the water, put on clean pajamas and came out from the bathroom with the steam following him, and after walking a few steps, he just fell on the soft white bed.


    As soon as he turned his head, Fang Juexia remembered the scene where Pei Tingsong had been pressed on top of him during the day. He didn¡¯t know why, but he just couldn¡¯t stop thinking about it.


    A room with only one person was very quiet. The sound of the clock ticked and skipped, and integrated with the little clock in his heart. As it kept ticking, it made him a little flustered.


    Fang Juexia tilted his head and looked out the window. Only a full moon was hanging in the dark sky, bright white and glowing.


    He didn¡¯t know if that one mouthful of alcohol played a role, but as he looked at it, Fang Juexia felt that the black sky was like his black clothes from today, and the slanting moon was like a round hole, exactly the size of a heart.


    In this way, Fang Juexia regarded himself as a mathematical problem and applied the substitution method once. The equivalent substitution was that his heart had been dug away, and his dark chest was only left with a glowing hole.


    Sure enough.


    His outstretched arm touched the green outerwear lying beside the bed. Fang Juexia lifted it up, curled his fingers around it, and covered his face with it. Even though he was clearly addicted to cleanliness, he started fantasizing about this dirty used piece of clothing.


    This was Pei Tingsong¡¯s clothing, and it smelled of Pei Tingsong.


    Fang Juexia closed his eyes and sniffed.


    It seemed to contain the smell of his own heart.


    This statement was really ridiculous, very illogical, and a totally unrealistic fantasy.


    He seemed to be becoming more and more like Pei Tingsong.


    The sound of vibration pulled him back from the edge of his fantasy. Fang Juexia opened his eyes, his heart beating wildly. With a hint of secretive guilt lingering, he set aside the clothing, reached for his cellphone by his pillow, and checked his messages.


    [A Constant Truth: Are you asleep?]


    It really was like that¡ªwhatever he was thinking of would actually arrive. Fang Juexia adjusted his breathing before replying that he hadn¡¯t slept yet.


    Holding his cellphone, he suddenly started looking forward to things a bit. Very soon, his phone vibrated again.


    [A Constant Truth: The moonlight above my bed isn¡¯t good-looking. I want to see the moonlight from your bed.]

 CH 76

    Chapter 76 ¨C Boiling Moonlight


    Park in wb-or in other words, the smut will only be revealed with raws receipts!


    As the lonely bedside lamp glowed yellow, Fang Juexia stared at this line of words on the screen, and they covered his blank brain.


    He wanted to give an answer to this, but his fingers had turned stiff, and every word that he could reply with seemed wrong. As he sat in a daze for a long time, a knock sounded on the door.


    He had come unasked, just like the moon always did.


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t overthink it. He put down his cellphone and walked to the entranceway of his room barefoot. He didn¡¯t even have time to turn on the light there, instead, he just felt his way across the wall all the way to the door.


    ¡°Who is it?¡±


    From across the door, he heard Pei Tingsong¡¯s voice, with a hint of boyish delight in his low voice, ¡°Me ah, who else could it be?¡±


    Everything was dark in front of Fang Juexia¡¯s eyes. He fumbled around until he grasped the door knob, but he suddenly hesitated, and his bare toes subconsciously grasped the floor.


    ¡°It¡¯s so late, you¡¯re still not sleeping?¡±


    All of a sudden, he heard a thump, the sound of Pei Tingsong pressing his forehead against the door.


    ¡°I missed you.¡± He was very quiet, the sound pretty much tunneling through the crack in the door.


    Fang Juexia was loath to refuse him, so he opened the door.


    In the dark, his waist was embraced by an arm. When the door closed, he stumbled forward as he was taken along and pressed against the wall of the entryway. Behind him was the cold wall, and in front of him a warm chest.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you miss me?¡± Pei Tingsong lowered his head and closed his lips tightly around Fang Juexia¡¯s earlobe.


    There seemed to be some particles in his hoarse voice, grinding and scraping at Fang Juexia¡¯s heart. It was so itchy. Fang Juexia turned his head and let out a quiet ¡®en.¡¯


    Of course he had missed him.


    He had missed him so much that he had even started fantasizing about Pei Tingsong¡¯s clothes just now. Fang Juexia was a little embarrassed, so he reached out to push him away, felt his way along the wall and walked to a spot with some light. In an unnatural manner, he picked up the cardigan on the bed and put it on the sofa. He then went ahead and sat on the sofa, right under the window, with one leg bent up, and his arm around his knee.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you want to see the moon? Look ba.¡±


    Pei Tingsong walked inside the room with a smile, looking at Fang Juexia all the while, who was wearing a set of pure white short-sleeved pajamas, with his two snow-white long legs exposed. His whole body was covered in the moonlight streaming in through the window, like a snow-white flower blooming at night. Perfectly clean and beautiful.


    He walked over to Fang Juexia and sat cross-legged on the carpet in front of him. He held onto Fang Juexia¡¯s ankle and his pale foot as he asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t you cold? Walking barefoot on the ground, are you a kid?¡±


    Fang Juexia wasn¡¯t quite pleased to be called a kid by a real kid. He tried to pull his leg out of Pei Tingsong¡¯s grasp, but the other person exerted a little effort, not letting him succeed in his attempt. So Fang Juexia¡¯s only other option was to lift his other leg, place its heel on Pei Tingsong¡¯s shoulder, and push him off.


    Only because he wasn¡¯t wearing a sling around his neck, and his injured hand had been set down, did Fang Juexia dare to use some strength this way.


    ¡°Your temper is really getting worse and worse.¡± Although he said so, the tone he used was so gentle. He then turned his head and kissed the foot lying on his shoulder. Under the moonlight, he kissed all the way up from his ankle to his foot, cherishing him deeply.


    Fang Juexia was a little flustered and wanted to pull his leg back, but Pei Tingsong pulled on his wrist instead, and he fell into his arms, hugged with his arm against his back.


    ¡°Pei Tingsong, what are you doing?¡± Fang Juexia struggled to get out of his grasp again, but Pei Tingsong pulled his parted legs around his waist, while his arms also wrapped around the back of his neck.


    ¡°Nothing,¡± said Pei Tingsong as he supported and carried Fang Juexia to the bed. Then he leaned over to put him on the bed, before pressing himself onto him. ¡°Looking at the moonlight.¡± Then he kissed Fang Juexia on the cheek. ¡°The moonlight on your body.¡±


    The tip of his nose rubbed against Fang Juexia¡¯s face, and Pei Tingsong¡¯s voice was hoarse as he explained, ¡°Your face is a little hot, it feels very nice to kiss.¡±


    Each of his words left Fang Juexia  at a loss. He was rubbed until his face started to itch, and he half-narrowed his eyes before scolding, ¡°Don¡¯t talk anymore.¡±


    ¡°How can I do that? I¡¯m a rapper after all.¡± Pei Tingsong laughed and continued, ¡°Kissing me is the only way to shut me up, want to try?¡±


    His invitation was very straightforward. Fang Juexia blinked once, then as if he had made up his mind, kissed him.


    When their lips touched each other, they seemed to have a magical power. The desire pervading through each of their bodies finally connected together, and just like their entangled breaths, their youthful hormones and lust intertwined. They heated up the cool moonlight, and then wrapped it around their bodies, so they weren¡¯t afraid of the cold.


    Fang Juexia liked kissing and the feeling of the tip of Pei Tingsong¡¯s tongue prying in, letting in the fragrance of mint as it licked the soft and fragile mucous membrane, and rubbed against the smooth and sharp tip of a tooth. As this part of their bodies entangled, Pei Tingsong¡¯s hand reached into  the hem of Fang Juexia¡¯s clothes, pressed his soft back, and went up little by little against the grooves of his spine. His smooth skin was groped by Pei Tingsong¡¯s palm until it grew hot.


    It was always quiet this late at night, and the wet sounds that overflowed from their intertwined lips echoed in their ears, like a circuitous tide of emotions, and this reprisal aggravated Fang Juexia¡¯s desire.


    The lack of vision, not enough oxygen, and the little alcohol he had consumed made Fang Juexia hallucinate. The scenes of Pei Tingsong chasing victory during the game earlier, of putting his coat over his face, and of his overwhelming kiss at the moment¡ª  all three scenes mixed together, and with each layer, his desire only increased.


    The tip of Pei Tingsong¡¯s tongue stirred into Fang Juexia¡¯s kiss. He liked to kiss deeply and then separate to look at Fang Juexia. His lover, when lost in the throes of lust, was the most beautiful; his lips were slightly open, panting out hot breaths, and his eyes were covered with a lustrous liquid veneer.


    Pei Tingsong kissed his birthmark again, rubbed his skin with his fingertips, and asked in a deep voice, ¡°How can you be this attractive, hm?¡± He couldn¡¯t help kissing him again, at the freshest and liveliest part of his body.


    Fang Juexia panted lightly. His hands were on Pe Tingsong¡¯s back as he hugged him, and he didn¡¯t say anything, but he also reached his hands into Pei Tingsong¡¯s cotton pajamas, to stick his palms against Pei Tingsong¡¯s skin. This gesture was too obvious a sign of sentimental attachment.


    ¡°If you¡¯re like this, I won¡¯t be able to hold back anymore.¡± Pei Tingsong kissed his forehead, eyes, and the tip of his nose.


    Fang Juexia caressed his spine, stuck out the tip of his tongue, and licked the corner of his lip. ¡°Won¡¯t be able to hold back what?¡±


    His voice usually possessed a very strong sense of coolness. However, when he gasped to speak now, it carried instead the taboo flavor of forced ravishment, which made it easier for people to have the desire to wreck him.


    ¡°Won¡¯t be able to hold back from bullying you.¡± Pei Tingsong poked the tip of his tongue in again, pried his teeth open, and went back to that moist and warm place. It seemed that he wanted to remember every detail of Fang Juexia¡¯s mouth, for he licked and kissed every place so meticulously, winding his tongue deep inside, and hanging on without letting go. His hand also traveled from the back around to the front, his palm caressing upwards. Fang Juexia was even more sensitive than he had imagined, his body already starting to quiver from just these actions.


    ¡°Wu¡­¡±


    Pei Tingsong and Fang Juexia separated, a silver strand of saliva between them, glowing under the moonlight.


    ¡°Are you afraid?¡±


    Fang Juexia was left dizzy from his kiss; this was his first time, so he still wasn¡¯t used to the direct impact lust had on him. However, he shouldn¡¯t be afraid, he had clearly already searched for information on this. So he shook his head, his pair of clear eyes looking directly at Pei Tingsong. ¡°I checked online, about stuff related to this¡­¡±


    Pei Tingsong was stunned at first, and then laughed, but he soon explained himself, ¡°I¡¯m not laughing at you, I just think you¡¯re too cute.¡±


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t I have checked it?¡± Fang Juexia thought it was very logical and explained, ¡°You have to learn the unknown in order for it to become known.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right, it¡¯s wise to prepare for these lessons in advance.¡± Pei Tingsong lowered his head, and the tips of their noses touched intimately. ¡°Teacher Fang, you teach me ba.¡±


    This title was too shameful, and Fang Juexia¡¯s face suddenly went red. ¡°I¡ªhow can I teach?¡±


    Pei Tingsong kissed the soft skin under his ears. ¡°You can teach me however you like. Anyway, I¡¯m a pure virginal boy.¡±


    Thisreally was being too shamelessly boastful.


    Fang Juexia¡¯s Adam¡¯s apple bobbed up and down, and he licked his lower lip. He didn¡¯t know how to teach something like this; he only knew that right now they were unprepared and couldn¡¯t do it. ¡°We can¡¯t do it yet¡­¡±


    ¡°Do it?¡± Pei Tingsong gently kissed the side of his neck while playing dumb. ¡°Do what? Make love?¡±


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t expect him to be so straightforward. He was stunned, and his eyes even widened. Pei Tingsong raised his head and just happened to see his expression. He thought Fang Juexia was too cute and continued to tease him, ¡°So you want to make love with me ah.¡±


    These two words continuously poked at Fang Juexia¡¯s heart. He wanted to deny it, because it was too direct, but to deny it would be a lie.


    He could only repeat, ¡°We can¡¯t do it yet¡­ We haven¡¯t done any preparations, and your hand is still injured.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll go slowly, there¡¯s no need to go all the way at once.¡± Pei Tingsong¡¯s injured hand was bent at his elbow, and he hadn¡¯t pressed its whole weight onto his body. Instead, he just carefully kissed Fang Juexia¡¯s lips, but didn¡¯t go into a deeper and more thorough kiss. With his other hand, he began to undo the buttons of Fang Juexia¡¯s pajamas, one by one.


    Not going all the way at once¡­what did that mean?


    His kisses had left Fang Juexia so hot and dry, and his reason was in danger of being torn apart by his hormones. His hand feebly held onto Pei Tingsong¡¯s hand, but it could not stop his movements. He felt like a popsicle whose packaging had been torn open, which made him uneasy, and he was worried that his taste was too mediocre, and that Pei Tingsong wouldn¡¯t like this flavor.


    What he didn¡¯t know was that Pei Tingsong was crazy for him.


    **Smut goes here, buy the raws to see!**


    That night was a piece of quietly burning metal, with glass windows that blocked out everything. They couldn¡¯t hear the sound of the cars driving on the road or even the slight hum of the neon lights, all they could hear was each other¡¯s voices.


    Fang Juexia seemed indifferent, but in fact, hidden in his heart were many people and various things he liked. His mother, his strict grandfather, the flowers and greenery growing on the balcony, especially that once neglected cactus, his favorite dance, Little Abacus who pestered and was always unwilling to part from him, his dreams, and finally, his bandmates who went all out with him.


    One of his bandmates in particular.


    The darkness and silence were like a magnifying glass, stretching out all the details, so that last ending moment was also stretched out. He was so spent that he had almost no strength to even turn over. Pei Tingsong hugged him from behind, encircling him like a big dog, uttering all kinds of honey-sweet words.


    As if that wasn¡¯t enough, he was turned over to face him, held in his arms, and then repeatedly kissed, until their brains were numb, until even Pei Tingsong seemed unable to say a word.


    It seemed that they were able to live just by kissing.


    One night was fine, one lifetime was also fine.


    Their diminished physical strength brought about a good night¡¯s sleep. They nestled close to each other, providing each other with the greatest sense of security. Fang Juexia, who had never slept in, woke up for a moment due to his biological clock in the morning. Upon seeing Pei Tingsong¡¯s quiet sleeping face, he felt at ease, so he relaxed and curled back into his arms, kissed his hand and arm gently, and went to sleep again.


    When he next woke up, it was from being awakened by the sound of a vibration. Pei Tingsong vaguely stretched out his arm to find the source of the vibration, and finally touched his cellphone. He had left it on the bedside table when he had taken off his clothes last night.


    He worked hard to open his eyes and saw that it was actually Cheng Qiang calling. His head felt faint, and he couldn¡¯t think of an excuse at the moment, so he just hung up.


    ¡°Who ah¡­¡± Fang Juexia shrank into the quilt, feeling very lazy, and even his words sounded soft.


    ¡°Qiang Ge.¡±


    As soon as he finished speaking, the vibration came again, but this time it was from another place. By now, Pei Tingsong had woken up a lot, so he searched for it¡¯s source for a while before finally finding Fang Juexia¡¯s cellphone under the pillow. It was still Cheng Qiang.


    Fang Juexia guessed it right when he saw Pei Tingsong¡¯s expression. His sleepiness suddenly disappeared  and he carefully took the phone from Pei Tingsong¡¯s hand, then cleared his throat, only picking up after that. ¡°Hello?¡±


    ¡°Juexia? Where are you ah?¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± Fang Juexia replied honestly, ¡°I¡¯m at the hotel, I haven¡¯t got up yet.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s ten o¡¯clock, and you¡¯re still not up yet?¡±


    ¡°Um well, I took a bit of a chill yesterday and had a headache. I didn¡¯t sleep well at night, so I slept a little more in the morning.¡±


    Cheng Qiang let out an ¡°oh¡± and said, ¡°You¡¯re alright now ba?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, I may have just not gotten enough rest.¡±


    ¡°I thought you also went out, and I wanted to ask you if you have seen Xiao Pei. That little brat, as soon as I opened my eyes, he had disappeared, and I don¡¯t know where he has gone.¡±


    With a guilty heart, Fang Juexia looked at Pei Tingsong, who was beside him. When Pei Tingsong saw him looking at himself, he even deliberately drew close and kissed him, then was pushed away by Fang Juexia. ¡°En¡­. I haven¡¯t seen him either.¡±


    As soon as he lied, his heart started to beat wildly.


    ¡°Alright ba, I¡¯ll ask some of the others. Yesterday, Ziyan said they were going to climb about, so maybe he¡¯s with them.¡±


    Fang Juexia was afraid of giving the game away, so he said, ¡°I think maybe Xiao Pei went out to have fun by himself. He already likes to come and go freely, and climbing mountains¡­. He probably doesn¡¯t like that kind of sport either.¡± Then he added, ¡°He¡¯s already 20, don¡¯t worry, Qiang Ge. You¡¯ve also been tired recently, so take a day off ba.¡±


    The other side let out an ¡°en¡± before saying, ¡°Alright ba, then if you¡¯re tired, sleep some more, and I¡¯ll call them first.¡±


    ¡°Okay, then I¡¯m going to sleep.¡±


    Finally having gotten away with it, Fang Juexia fell on the bed, his expression like that of a child who had stolen and eaten the forbidden fruit from his parents. ¡°Fortunately¡­¡±


    Pei Tingsong drew closer to kiss him. ¡°Teacher Fang, you have even learned to deceive people.¡±


    As soon as he heard this title, he blushed. ¡°I haven¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°You haven¡¯t deceived anyone?¡± Pei Tingsong laughed. ¡°That¡¯s true. I really don¡¯t like sports like climbing mountains, I like¡­.wu¡­.¡±


    Before he could say his flirty words, Fang Juexia had covered his mouth.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to sleep, stop talking. Shut up, shut up.¡± Fang Juexia was short on breath and curled into the bed like a little loach fish, making it seem that he could be isolated from the world as long as he curled inside. But the more he was like this, the cuter Pei Tingsong thought he was. He got an urge to make some trouble with him, so he tickled and pulled at the quilt, just not letting him rest. He kicked up such a fuss in the bed with him that Fang Juexia started to laugh in a muffled fashion into the quilt.


    The two people, who were tossing around in bed, suddenly heard a knock on the door. In a flash, they turned into two little hamsters who had been shocked, synchronously stopping, frozen in place.


    Cheng Qiang¡¯s voice sounded out.


    ¡°Juexia? It¡¯s me. You haven¡¯t fallen asleep, have you? It¡¯s really such a coincidence, I received an endorsement contract just after I finished talking on the phone with you. The brand merchant is anxious for a reply, so I¡¯ll discuss it quickly with you and go back when we¡¯re done.¡±


    Such a coincidence, too much of a coincidence.


    Pei Tingsong and Fang Juexia looked at each other, then frantically looked around the room.


    ¡°Fuck.¡±


    Where could they hide a 1.9 meter tall boy?

 CH 77

    Chapter 77 ¨C Daytime Dream


    You are my reward.


    Qiang Ge had really arrived too quickly.


    It was so true that you couldn¡¯t do bad things; as soon as you do bad things, you¡¯ll get caught.


    Fang Juexia quickly put on his pajamas, nearly buttoning the buttons into the wrong holes. While his hands were trembling, he swore in his heart that he would never buy pajamas with buttons in the future.


    There was no big closet in this hotel suite, and the bed was also a solid bed, with no space under it. The sofa also didn¡¯t look like it could hide someone under it.


    The balcony¡­.


    No, no, the balcony was windy, and it was too cold.


    Fang Juexia¡¯s thoughts went in circles, and he could only push Pei Tingsong to the bathroom.


    ¡°You lock the door,¡± whispered Fang Juexia, and then wanted to run, but Pei Tingsong grabbed him and said, ¡°Hey, hey, my clothes.¡±


    ¡°Oh yes, wait a sec.¡±


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s pajamas were all over the place. Fang Juexia quickly picked them up, pulled open the bathroom door, and stuffed them into his hand. The knocking sound continued, and flustered Fang Juexia to the point that he could only exhort Pei Tingsong again, ¡°Don¡¯t make any noise ah.¡±


    He didn¡¯t know whether he was too guilty or what, but he kept feeling like there were too many traces of last night¡¯s activities in the room, so he opened all the windows.


    Although the hotel room itself had its own air purification system, he was still not at ease. He took out a bottle of cologne from his suitcase, sprayed it around several times, then used his hands to wave it around.


    ¡°Juexia? Have you fallen asleep again?¡±


    Fang Juexia took a deep breath, put on his slippers, ran to the entrance way, worked hard to brew up a yawn, put on a sleepy look with his eyes half-closed, and only then did he open the door.


    ¡°My little ancestor oh, you finally opened the door. I thought I wouldn¡¯t be able to wake you up again.¡± Cheng Qiang walked into the room with his laptop. ¡°How are you? Do you still feel bad?¡±


    Fang Juexia shook his head and with a guilty heart, closed the door, after which he glanced at the closed bathroom door. ¡°¡­.I feel much better.¡± He walked two steps forward and led Cheng Qiang to the end of the sofa. ¡°Ge, would you like to sit down and drink some water?¡±


    ¡°No, no, when I just got up, I downed a big cup of water,¡± said Cheng Qiang as he put his laptop on the coffee table. He seemed to sense that something was wrong, so he stretched his neck out and frowned. ¡°How is the smell in your room¡­¡±


    It couldn¡¯t be that he had figured it out ba? Fang Juexia gripped the leg of his pants nervously.


    ¡°¡­¡­so sweet ah.¡± After that, Cheng Qiang sneezed. ¡°Did you spray perfume all around?¡±


    Fang Juexia was relieved. ¡°Ah¡­. Yes, as soon as I came in yesterday, I felt that the room smelled a little strange. It smelt a bit like cigarettes, so I sprayed some cologne.¡±


    Cheng Qiang turned his head and looked around. ¡°I feel like you can also be too much; your windows are all open, and your balcony door is open. Weren¡¯t you cold when sleeping at night ah?¡± Saying that, he grew worried and got up to close the window in front of the sofa for him.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, it¡¯s not very cold.¡± Saying that, Fang Juexia sat down next to him, wanting to quickly resolve the issue with the advertisement endorsement, so that he could get this great Buddha to go away as hastily as possible. ¡°Qiang Ge, what endorsement were you talking about?¡±


    ¡°Oh, right, right, I almost forgot the most urgent business.¡± Cheng Qiang pushed the laptop screen in front of him and explained, ¡°This sports brand wants you and Xiao Pei to do an endorsement.¡± As soon as he said that, he grew angry. ¡°Don¡¯t even know where that guy is, he just did a disappearing act on me so early in the morning. Really, no one can control him.¡±


    Fang Juexia cleared his throat. ¡°It¡¯s alright, let¡¯s discuss it first ba.¡±


    Cheng Qiang sighed and continued, ¡°In fact, this counts as an emergency. They had found a top-line actor first, but didn¡¯t seem to be able to reach an agreement in the end, and at the critical point of their new product¡¯s launch, their partnership collapsed. Now, they are anxious to confirm some spokespersons for their new product. You two have been popular recently, and have been blessed with appearances in several popular variety shows, so you guys are in hot demand. They contacted me early in the morning and sent me several e-mails. Even before I got to see them, they called me again.¡±


    Fang Juexia always trusted Cheng Qiang and had no habit of criticizing his work. ¡°Ge, do you think it¡¯s okay after looking at it? If it¡¯s okay, then I have no objections. You go ahead and confirm with them.¡±


    ¡°I think it¡¯s pretty good. It¡¯s a top-line sports brand and their spokespersons have all grown popular, becoming new generation idols. Although the contract is only to become the spokespersons for one series, it¡¯s still pretty good. They have never found any members from boybands to be their products¡¯ spokespersons before. Moreover, the other side said that if it sells well, they¡¯ll consider letting the whole group be spokespersons for the next season¡¯s new products, which is a series aimed at young people.¡±


    Hearing about the entire group getting to do an endorsement, Fang Juexia was even more satisfied. ¡°Alright ah, I¡¯m okay with it.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Cheng Qiang wanted to say something else, but the computer dinged, and it was the sound of an email arriving. ¡°Hey, they sent us the electronic version of the contract for us to confirm, let me have a look.¡±


    Fang Juexia let out an ¡°en¡±, turned his head to glance at the bathroom, and then turned around again. ¡°You¡¯re not going to ask Xiao Pei?¡±


    Cheng Qiang looked at the contract seriously. ¡°What do you want to ask him for?¡±


    ¡°Confirm the working hours, endorsement fee, and so on.¡±


    ¡°Come on, such a small endorsement fee is not enough for the little devil to even buy a good watch.¡± Cheng Qiang raised his head and started acting out an impromptu imitation show, saying, ¡°Xiao Pei, I have this so-and-so job, do you want to do it?¡± After asking that, he turned to the other side and copied Pei Tingsong¡¯s hangdog expression as he said, ¡°Not going, don¡¯t want to do, don¡¯t care.¡±


    The cellphone in Fang Juexia¡¯s pocket vibrated twice. As soon as he took it out, he found that it was Pei Tingsong.


    [A Constant Truth: It¡¯s foul play to speak ill of people behind their backs!]


    Wasn¡¯t this the truth though?


    Just as he was about to reply, Cheng Qiang turned his head and looked at him. Fang Juexia quickly gripped his cellphone, fearing that the message had been seen, but fortunately, he hadn¡¯t seen anything. Cheng Qiang just shook his head. ¡°If I ask, he¡¯ll say he doesn¡¯t want to do it, so I¡¯m too lazy to go ask him. I¡¯ll just go and sign the contract at that time, and it¡¯ll be fine. Which other time wasn¡¯t like that?¡±


    Fang Juexia could already almost imagine Pei Tingsong¡¯s expression of complete refusal, and the corners of his mouth couldn¡¯t help but quirk up.


    Cheng Qiang glimpsed it and was very proud of himself. ¡°Oh, very good ah, I can actually amuse you into smiling today.¡±


    Fang Juexia cleared his throat when he realized that his emotions were becoming more and more obvious. ¡°No, I was just thinking that you work really hard, managing us.¡±


    ¡°I make do ba, I¡¯m just enjoying the feeling of being a father of infants ahead of time.¡± After reading the contract, Cheng Qiang said, ¡°Okay, there¡¯s no problem. Wait to sign it ba, I¡¯ll confirm some details later.¡±


    Fang Juexia nodded smartly. ¡°En.¡±


    The endorsement had been confirmed, and the contract had been read, so his work should be done ba.


    ¡°Are you still sleepy? If you¡¯re still tired, sleep some more. I also need to go back and catch up on some sleep too, these days have been so tiring, and then I have to go out later to talk with the TV station here.¡± Cheng Qiang yawned. ¡°By the way, Ling Yi and the rest went to climb mountains. They said that they may go for a stroll through the streets to eat some stuff tonight. After sleeping enough, if you want to go out, go talk to them; it¡¯ll be better if everyone is together.¡±


    Fang Juexia agreed and said, ¡°I¡¯ll rest some more, my head still feels a little dizzy.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Cheng Qiang picked up his laptop and stood up, ready to leave. Fang Juexia closely followed behind him, wanting to send him away as soon as possible. Although his visit hadn¡¯t started off well, being very threatening for them, it fortunately hadn¡¯t turned out dangerous.


    Just as he was about to approach the entranceway, Cheng Qiang stopped, turned around, looked at Fang Juexia, pointed to his mouth, and said, ¡°Juexia, has your body been a bit inflamed recently? Look, your mouth is red and a little swollen. What¡¯s the matter? Do you need some herbal tea to clear away the inflammation and swelling?¡±


    Fang Juexia¡¯s ears grew hot. He licked his lips and tried to explain awkwardly, ¡°Maybe that¡¯s the case ba¡­ Yes, yesterday¡¯s private cuisine was too spicy. I had a stomach ache after eating it and felt a bit inflamed. It¡¯s fine, I¡¯ll drink more water later. Once I drink some water, it¡¯ll be fine¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes, drink more water.¡± Cheng Qiang turned around, and was just a few steps away from the door when he suddenly turned back. ¡°Hey, speaking of that, I drank a little too much water.¡± He put the laptop in Fang Juexia¡¯s hands and said, ¡°Let me borrow your bathroom ah.¡±


    ¡°Hey, hey, Ge! Not possible.¡± Fang Juexia ran to the bathroom door quickly to block the door, blinking continuously.


    Cheng Qiang wondered, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    ¡°Um¡­¡± Fang Juexia swallowed. ¡°¡­.It¡¯s broken. The toilet can¡¯t flush, it can¡¯t be used.¡±


    He felt that he was too resourceful, and was becoming increasingly more capable in making up lies.


    ¡°Really?¡± Cheng Qiang stopped. ¡°Alright ba, then I¡¯m going back ba, fortunately, I can still hold it in.¡± Saying that, he took the laptop from Fang Juexia¡¯s hands and said, ¡°You remember to call the front desk for repairs ah.¡±


    As he walked out, Cheng Qiang complained, ¡°It¡¯s such an expensive hotel, but the facilities are actually so poor.¡±


    ¡°Bye bye, Qiang Ge.¡± Fang Juexia poked his head out through the door frame, staying that way until Cheng Qiang had walked around the corner, and no one was there anymore. Only then was he completely relieved. He quickly closed the door, slipped down it to sit on the ground while still against it, and then took a long breath.


    He had followed the rules for so many years, but now he was doing all these exciting things with Pei Tingsong.


    After hearing nothing for a while, Pei Tingsong quietly cracked open the bathroom door a sliver, and glanced around before coming out. He saw Fang Juexia sitting on the floor. ¡°He¡¯s gone?¡±


    ¡°En, finally he left.¡± Saying that, Fang Juexia sighed again.


    Pei Tingsong squatted in front of him and rubbed Fang Juexia¡¯s head just like he was petting a cat, while praising him, ¡°How can you be so smart? You even managed to deceive him about all this, so amazing.¡±


    It was clearly a compliment, but Fang Juexia felt that he was kind of making fun of him, so he slapped his hand away and went to the bathroom to clean up.


    He was really becoming more and more like a cat. Pei Tingsong followed right behind him, squeezing in front of him and brushing his teeth with him. Fang Juexia remained silent on the surface, brushing quietly, but his heart was fluttering away.


    Waking up in the same bed with the person you like and then washing up, shoulder to shoulder¡ª this kind of scene was so warm that it almost seemed unreal, appearing to be things that only happen in romance movies.


    However, Pei Tingsong was much noisier than those leading characters in movies. One minute, he was arguing that since he has an injured hand, Fang Juexia should help him wash his face, and then the next minute, he wanted him to help him shave.


    This continued until Fang Juexia told him with a serious expression, ¡°You are really childish.¡± It was only then that Pei Tingsong stopped doing this, stopping fairly quickly, and washing and drying his face by himself obediently.


    Fang Juexia thought of a question he had seen on Zhihu ¡ª What was the experience of falling in love with a boy younger than yourself like?


    At that time, he had only glanced at it in a hurry, and he didn¡¯t know how the front page, which was full of mathematics related problems, could end up generating such a life-oriented problem, and he had slipped away directly.


    Now that he thought about it, he seemed to be able to reply to that question anonymously.


    Fang Juexia¡¯s face was pale and pure, and with some drops of water hanging there, he looked like a person made of glutinous rice. After brushing his teeth, his lips had turned redder, probably due to the stimulation brought by mint. Pei Tingsong stared at him for a while, recalled what he had just heard Cheng Qiang say while he was in the bathroom, that his lips were too red, so he couldn¡¯t help teasing him.


    ¡°Your lips are really red ah.¡±


    As soon as he said that, Fang Juexia turned his head and glared at him. Although he didn¡¯t speak, his face was covered in the words ¡®it¡¯s all your fault¡¯. After glaring at him, he headed straight out of the bathroom.


    Pei Tingsong couldn¡¯t hold down the corners of his mouth from curving up. He walked out to pull the curtains open, before throwing Fang Juexia onto the bed again. ¡°I feel like you didn¡¯t study mathematics, instead you studied how to suddenly turn hostile.¡±


    Fang Juexia took his hand and pushed him. ¡°What nonsense are you saying?¡±


    ¡°You were so obedient last night, going along with whatever I said, but as soon as you woke up today, you turned hostile and didn¡¯t recognize me. I really am too pitiful.¡±


    Completely shameless. Fang Juexia¡¯s mind was filled with these two words, so he pushed Pei Tingsong even harder, but he still couldn¡¯t push him off. Instead, in fact, he was dragged into bed. As soon as the quilt was lifted up, it fell against their bodies like drifting clouds, covering their heads. The sunlight penetrated through the cloth and fiber, weaving a warm color filter.


    They were face to face with each other, forehead against forehead. Fang Juexia¡¯s heart was beating wildly. He thought Pei Tingsong was going to do something, and he had almost closed his eyes subconsciously, but then he suddenly heard Pei Tingsong whisper, ¡°I had a dream last night.¡±


    ¡°A dream?¡± Fang Juexia looked at him.


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s eyes and eyebrows were relaxed. Plainly speaking, he had very aggressive features, but his eyes were very gentle. ¡°En. I dreamt that I took you back home to meet my grandfather. He seemed to know you were coming, so he had even cooked for us himself.¡± Pei Tingsong grimaced. ¡°He¡¯s a terrible cook. You know, he¡¯s the kind of person who has never suffered, so his cooking is a disaster.¡±


    Fang Juexia wanted to laugh and say, ¡®aren¡¯t you the same¡¯, but he thought again, and realized that Pei Tingsong may really have suffered a lot. He was after all a young master who had leapt out of the window, ran away from home, and then was captured and pulled back.


    ¡°He made a dish for you that looked very¡­.messy, a quinoa and smoked salmon salad, and a Wellington steak, something that he has never made successfully, but you actually seemed to relish eating it!¡±


    He had a look of disbelief on his face, letting out a habitual ¡®unbelievable¡¯ from his mouth while frowning, then he laughed again, looking as if he were really describing something that had actually happened. Fang Juexia was so fascinated listening to all this that he drew closer to him, to the point that he was nearly sticking to the tip of his nose. ¡°And then?¡±


    ¡°And then, he liked you very much, and he said over and over again,¡± Pei Tingsong imitated his grandfather by putting on an old man¡¯s accent, ¡°¡®You¡¯re so cute.¡¯ When you praised his dishes as tasty, he was so surprised and kept saying, ¡®Really?¡¯. We were laughing so hard, it was a really happy scene ah, and he even let go of his cane.¡±


    Fang Juexia was engrossed and also started laughing, as if he had really gone to the place where Pei Tingsong had grown up and met the only relative who had once accompanied him, the old man who had taken him to see the world and had given him humanistic nourishment and spiritual support.


    He laughed and laughed, but his eyes started to sting. He had heard a long time ago that Pei Tingsong¡¯s grandfather had passed away, and that information came from other people.


    So, in fact, they were already people in two completely separate worlds. He couldn¡¯t see that old man, he couldn¡¯t see him hurrying around and being clumsy in the kitchen with Pei Tingsong, he wouldn¡¯t be able to see his eager-for-praise expression.


    Only in a dream could they realize this incomplete dream.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Pei Tingsong stared at Fang Juexia¡¯s pupils and asked, ¡°Are you going to cry?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Fang Juexia¡¯s eyes widened, and his eyes were covered in a layer of liquid, looking as beautiful as glass beads, but he tried to hold them back and not let them fall as he refused, ¡°I¡¯m not.¡±


    Pei Tingsong laughed. It was really strange, this person was clearly so strong, sometimes even to the point of being hard-hearted, but he would actually be flooded with emotion simply because of a dream.


    He had once really thought that Fang Juexia was cold and hard, without emotions or expressions, indifferent to everything, which included even his own matters, completely cold and stubborn, and totally unlike a living person. But he was so wrong.


    Fang Juexia wasn¡¯t ice. He was naive, intelligent, and had the most gentle and romantic soul in the world. It was in order to maintain and preserve such a soft self that he had created such a hard icy outer layer.


    Pei Tingsong raised his chin and kissed Fang Juexia¡¯s eyes. ¡°He also told you a story, a story that he had told me before.¡±


    ¡°What story?¡± Fang Juexia was curious.


    ¡°He showed you a collection of poems he had shown me before. He said that he had written them for a girl who he had secretly been in love with when he was young. He said that he really regretted that he didn¡¯t really pursue her, but just secretly wrote poems. Poems can¡¯t grow feet and run over by themselves to recite themselves to their object, so did he just write them for God to see? So his first love just died in its sleep like that.¡±


    Fang Juexia¡¯s focus was a little strange. ¡°That poetry collection, can I see it later?¡±


    Pei Tingsong laughed. ¡°That is not the main point ba, child Fang Juexia.¡±


    Fang Juexia frowned again when he heard the word ¡®child¡¯, but he thought that he had gotten the point wrong or it might be because of a difference in their thought process, so he sincerely asked, ¡°Then what¡¯s the main point?¡±


    ¡°When he told me this story before, it was to tell me that we must be brave. Only brave people can get the most precious reward.¡±


    Saying that, he kissed Fang Juexia¡¯s birthmark. ¡°The little old man was right. You are my reward.¡±


    Fang Juexia just smiled, not saying anything more. At this time, he seemed to have lost his ability to express anything using words, only being able to respond with actions. So he hugged Pei Tingsong and pressed his body against his within the stuffy quilt.


    ¡°Now I¡¯m a little worried.¡± Pei Tingsong held him and sighed.


    ¡°What are you worried about?¡± Fang Juexia was puzzled by the sudden change in his words.


    ¡°My grandfather in heaven is expressing that he is very satisfied with the reward I got, and even gave me a dream about it.¡± After that, he was not sure whether the word he used was right or not. ¡°A dream where a ghost comes to make a request.¡±


    Fang Juexia nodded, ¡°En.¡± No, why did he nod?


    Without waiting for him to figure it out, Pei Tingsong continued, ¡°But your grandfather, one look and you can tell he¡¯s not a person easy to deal with. What to do, will he point a gun at me?¡±


    Fang Juexia let out a long hum then said, ¡°The possibility is very low. After all, he doesn¡¯t have a gun.¡±


    ¡°That was an exaggeration!¡± Pei Tingsong sighed again before saying, ¡°He must think that this reward is very inferior, no, he may think that I am God¡¯s punishment for you.¡±


    Fang Juexia suddenly laughed and felt it was very appropriate. So he put his arms around Pei Tingsong¡¯s neck and said, ¡°If it¡¯s a punishment, it¡¯s a punishment ba. I like punishment.¡±


    Pei Tingsong quickly grasped this sentence, being a master of words as he was. ¡°You¡¯re the one who just said that. So it turns out, you like punishment play, very powerful.¡±


    ¡°What ah¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve already seen the moon, but can I also see the sun, Gege?¡±


    ¡°Shut up, don¡¯t talk anymore, shut up.¡±


    The two people fussed around in bed for a few hours, like any other ordinary lovers in this world, exchanging intimate physical closeness for inner peace, and even this lazily lingering in bed seemed very interesting. When they were hungry, they got the hotel food delivered to their room, and watched Pei Tingsong¡¯s favorite Nordic literary art films while eating.


    Fang Juexia clearly wasn¡¯t a person who liked to kill time. For his 20 and more years of life up until now, he had been racing against the clock, and every single minute of it had been very tense. But right now, he felt relaxed, and had fallen in love with this feeling of wasting time. As long as Pei Tingsong was by his side, even if he was narrating the stories of various philosophers and their romantic histories, he found it all interesting.


    When Pei Tingsong was talking about the love and hatred that existed between Schopenhauer and his mother, Fang Juexia¡¯s cellphone started vibrating non-stop. Ling Yi was calling, they had come down from the mountain and were getting ready to go strolling around the city to eat local snacks, and he wanted Fang Juexia to come with.


    ¡°Going?¡±


    Pei Tingsong stretched and ate the last cracker. ¡°Let¡¯s go, ba.¡±


    However, Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t dare to go back to his own room. He rifled through Fang Juexia¡¯s suitcase and found a loose milk-coffee colored long sleeve shirt and loose black sports pants to put on. ¡°It actually looks pretty good.¡±


    Fang Juexia, who had just changed his clothes and was now wearing a black hoodie, turned around to praise him seriously, ¡°Looks good.¡±


    ¡°What about shoes?¡± Pei Tingsong stretched out his feet and said, ¡°My feet are bigger than yours.¡±


    Fang Juexia¡¯s eyes brightened as he clenched his left hand and knocked it against the palm of his right. ¡°I brought a pair of sneakers that are a little big this time. I have started to like to wear big shoes recently.¡±


    ¡°You did it on purpose ba, just wanting me to wear your clothes? Schemer.¡±


    Fang Juexia put on his socks with a completely unfeeling expression. ¡°You can also go out in hotel slippers.¡±


    They both then put on hats. Fang Juexia was wearing a baseball cap, with the hood of his hoodie covering it, and then put on a mask, so his face was almost entirely covered. As soon as they exited the hotel, they hailed a taxi, got in, and went to the place that Ling Yi had arranged. The roads twisted and turned, and it was a very hard place to find, so it had turned dark by the time they got there.


    It was a street that was neither too long nor too wide. Both sides were filled with stalls and facades, the people passing by were all talking in the local dialect, the food was steaming hot, and the warm lights made everything look delicious.


    Meeting up with their bandmates was like meeting up with triad members. Each one was more tightly bundled up than the next one, and they were also flashing each other strange and weird signals.


    Lu Yuan had his back turned to He Ziyan and said, ¡°No. 2, No. 2, is No. 2 still there?¡±


    He Ziyan pulled at his own collar. ¡°Reporting in, we have found Kaleidoscope No. 4 and Kaleidoscope No. 6, over.¡±


    Pei Tingsong slapped his paw on He Ziyan¡¯s face. ¡°What silly scene are you guys making?¡±


    Lu Yuan immediately showed a frightened expression. ¡°There¡¯s a mole, terminating the transaction.¡±


    ¡°Hahahahahaha!¡±


    Ling Yi, who was a foodie, had utilised an online strategy to find the most authentic food here. Although most of it Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t eat, the milk tea was very good. He tried a little bit from everyone¡¯s order, and all the dishes were actually very good.


    They wanted to happily snack the entire way, but they hadn¡¯t expected to be recognized by the fans they ran into. After all, it was already rare to see a handsome guy out on the street, let alone six of them; they were just too eye-catching. The fans didn¡¯t dare to disturb them casually, and only after repeated confirmation became sure it was Kaleido.


    They didn¡¯t dare to go up to ask for autographs, so they only took pictures secretly. At first, they were taking pictures secretly, but then Pei Tingsong just had to crouch on the street at that time as he sucked at the last pearls stuck in his milk tea like a complete youth. Fang Juexia was standing beside him, wearing headphones while eating a slice of watermelon to relieve the spiciness from the previous dishes, and had twisted his head to chat with Ling Yi, who was eating roast beef tallow.


    The fans were standing across the street, across a pedestrian walkway, and some were even hiding behind an electrical pole. Unexpectedly, Pei Tingsong, their target, actually discovered them. He raised his eyes, which were filled with a fiendish spirit, then pointed at them. Just as the fans¡¯ hearts had reached their throats, Pei Tingsong made a cutting motion across his throat with his hand.


    ¡°Gege, we¡¯re wrong!¡± The fans begged for mercy.


    Pei Tingsong naturally leaned against Fang Juexia¡¯s leg. ¡°100,000 per picture, time to collect.¡±


    Who knew another fan would say, ¡°God, you¡¯re so cheap.¡±

 CH 78

    Chapter 78 ¨C Nighttime Fireworks


    I want to preserve my own nature


    Listening to the fans tell them about the fireworks there were to watch from across the street got Ling Yi suddenly excited. ¡°Really? Do they look nice?¡±


    ¡°Very nice!¡±


    So the six big boys went to the riverside to see the fireworks, but found more people there than they had thought there would be. They were within a shoulder-rubbing distance from everyone else, and wherever they stood, they would find themselves soon besieged by another group of people.


    ¡°If we stay here any longer, it¡¯s not going to be us watching fireworks.¡± Lu Yuan held a lollipop in his mouth. ¡°It may become everyone watching us.¡±


    ¡°Is there no a place with a little less people?¡± He Ziyan turned his head to search for such a spot.


    Jiang Miao opened up both hands. ¡°I think it¡¯s a bit risky. We¡¯d better withdraw as soon as possible, since it won¡¯t be good if we attract fans over here, gathering a crowd around us later.¡±


    Ling Yi was holding onto the captain¡¯s arm and groaning. Pei Tingsong looked at the river in the distance, knocked his shoulder against Fang Juexia¡¯s, and asked in a low voice, ¡°Do you want to see the fireworks?¡±


    The tightly wrapped-up Fang Juexia raised his head, only showing a pair of beautiful eyes. Pei Tingsong immediately understood his intention after just two blinks of his eyes.


    ¡°Okay.¡± Pei Tingsong gripped his shoulder and then released it. ¡°Wait for me here.¡±


    The others were still wondering what was going on, but unexpectedly, Pei Tingsong returned after not too long.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go and see the fireworks.¡± He pulled on the sleeve of Fang Juexia¡¯s sweater.


    Ling Yi was doubtful. ¡°Where are we going ah?¡±


    Finally, they were brought in front of a big ocean liner.


    Lu Yuan whistled and walked in. He asked casually, ¡°How many people are in here?¡±


    ¡°No one. I booked the whole thing.¡± Pei Tingsong pulled on Fang Juexia¡¯s sleeve. ¡°Didn¡¯t you guys want to see the fireworks?¡±


    He Ziyan put his hands behind his back, looking like an old cadre member, and repeatedly shook his head. ¡°Look at this extravagance.¡±


    Ling Yi asked, ¡°Did you use that 100,000 from just now to book it?¡±


    ¡°Hahahahaha!¡±


    Nighttime by the river was very beautiful, but for Fang Juexia, everything in his vision was still very hazy. Pei Tingsong quietly led him forward, step-by-step up the stairs, being both careful and considerate. They boarded the deck of the cruise ship with less than three minutes to go before the fireworks would bloom. The six people leaned shoulder to shoulder on the railing and looked up.


    ¡°Is it about to start?¡±


    ¡°Yes ba, we¡¯re so close at this angle ah.¡±


    ¡°Right ah, we should be right below it when it explodes.¡±


    Pei Tingsong leaned against Fang Juexia. The backs of their hands rubbed against each other, their skin pressing together before separating again. Secretively, in the dark and right by their bandmates¡¯ side, they were hiding their hearts, which were about to stick close together.


    They heard the countdown from another boat full of tourists not far away.


    Fang Juexia subconsciously accompanied them in counting down¡ª three, two, one.


    The night sky was originally silent and dark, until a flame shot up into the sky. With a bang, fireworks suddenly appeared and covered all of the originally dim sky; they were a cold white color, short and gorgeous, just like meteors gathered together. Fang Juexia suddenly discovered that when seen from a distance or across a screen, fireworks lost some of their vitality. Only when you were really immersed in the scene and watching it personally could you feel the brilliance that was emitted when the fireworks blossomed.


    Each piece of scattered shining white flowing fire hung in the air as it drifted down, seeming as if it would flow down into the midst of the audience, and ignite them all in a blaze in this carnival; but it didn¡¯t, and these sparks simply disappeared mid-journey.


    The fireworks in the air were engulfed by the night, and the fireworks reflected on the river were engulfed by the ripples.


    The new ones replaced the old ones before they disappeared. The echo of the bursting fireworks  penetrated one¡¯s body, and the vibrating sound wave overlapped with one¡¯s heartbeat and pounded against the chest.


    That was the last sound the fireworks made before their lives ended.


    ¡°Wow! So pretty!¡± Ling Yi pointed to the sky. ¡°Look at that one, doesn¡¯t it look like the shape of an ear of wheat?


    ¡°No, I need to make a wish, make a wish quickly.¡±


    ¡°Are you a little girl? You¡¯re even going to make a wish.¡±


    Ling Yi didn¡¯t care. ¡°I just need to. Bless my parents with good health, and let me never get fat no matter how much I eat.¡±


    Jiang Miao also said with a smile, ¡°Then bless our Kaleido so things go more smoothly in the future.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Ling Yi said again, ¡°Bless us, bless us to make a lot of money to go to the Maldives for a holiday this year!¡±


    His words left Pei Tingsong speechless. ¡°You are so persistent. How¡¯s this ba? This young master will take you there.¡±


    He Ziyan and Lu Yuan began to coax Ling Yi, but he really showed his backbone on this issue. ¡°No way, I just want the company to pay me to go!¡±


    ¡°Whatever you want.¡±


    Ling Yi showed an appreciative expression again as he suggested, ¡°Although, you can take me to Dubai.¡±


    ¡°Tch, dream on.¡±


    ¡°Juexia,¡± Ling Yi called out his name over the sound of the fireworks, and asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to make a wish?¡±


    ¡°Me?¡± Fang Jue had been engrossed in watching the show, but after being asked this by Ling Yi, he hesitated.


    A wish¡­.


    When he thought of this word, the first name that appeared in his mind was actually Pei Tingsong.


    It was too incredible, the fact that he would actually want to make a wish related to him.


    Fang Juexia said with a smile, ¡°I wish that everyone¡¯s wishes will all come true.¡±


    ¡°Look, what kind of human angel is this?¡±


    His bandmates joked around, but Fang Juexia¡¯s hand stretched out from his long sleeve, groped along the length of the railing, and finally found Pei Tingsong¡¯s hand.


    While everyone was fascinated by the bright fireworks, he quietly grasped Pei Tingsong¡¯s hand.


    Pei Tingsong, who was still bickering with Ling Yi, was suddenly stunned. He then turned his head to see Fang Juexia¡¯s eyes, which were filled with fireworks as his head was still turned towards the sky.


    He also gripped Fang Juexia¡¯s hand in return, holding on tightly.


    Apart from the fireworks, no one else witnessed this secret tryst.


    More and more fireworks shot into the sky and lit up the whole night. Fang Juexia, who kept looking up the whole while, felt like a child, both excited and thrilled. Maybe it was because he had never seen fireworks this close up before.


    Or perhaps he had never seen such a resplendent darkness.


    A fireworks display was composed of innumerable fleeting objects superimposed on top of each other, but even if it was superimposed again and again, the whole thing was short-lived. The night grew calm once again, making it seem as if those magnificent blooms had never happened.


    Even after it was over, everyone was still a little lost in reverie, and no one wanted to leave, so they just remained on the cruise ship as it sailed along, chatting and watching the night scene together.


    It had been a long time since they had had such an opportunity. They were all tossed into different activities every day, and they ended their days with all their energy exhausted. When they woke up the next day, they repeated this routine again, so it was very difficult for them to gather together for a chat like this.


    Jiang Miao told them the plot of the script he had been recently reading over, and Lu Yuan talked about the gossip in the hip-hop dance show he was taking part in. Fang Juexia listened silently, occasionally inserting a word or two in.


    The river had grown calm again, and it gave him an inexplicable sense of familiarity. When he lived in Guangzhou, he had been on cruise ships several times. He lay on the railing, closed his eyes, and felt the moist wind, and it was as if he had returned to his hometown.


    ¡°Sleepy?¡±


    Upon suddenly hearing Pei Tingsong¡¯s voice, Fang Juexia opened his eyes and shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m just¡­. a little homesick.¡±


    This was the first time Pei Tingsong had heard Fang Juexia say that he was homesick. He put his hands on the railing and asked, ¡°Because of the boat?¡±


    Fang Juexia nodded. ¡°There are night markets, roadside stalls, and all kinds of snacks here. It¡¯s strange that when I was in Beijing, I wasn¡¯t homesick, but now, when I come to another such lively city, I start missing home.¡± He turned around and leaned back against the railing as he continued, ¡°The food in Guangzhou is very delicious. Whenever I was hungry after school, I would go to the roadside stall to buy fried rice noodles and winter-melon tea. It was a very old shop, and the proprietress would pack it all into plastic bags and stick a straw in the tea to drink with.¡±


    He gestured as he talked, looking at Pei Tingsong from time to time. He seemed afraid that Pei Tingsong wouldn¡¯t believe it and stressed again, ¡°That drink was really good.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Pei Tingsong put on a show of working hard to imagine it as he said to him, ¡°But I can¡¯t imagine what it tastes like.¡±


    Fang Juexia was a little discouraged; he felt that his ability to express things wasn¡¯t good enough.


    Unexpectedly, Pei Tingsong then said, ¡°You¡¯ll have to take me there to drink it in person, seems that it¡¯s only then that I will know how good it is.¡± He then began to count with his fingers, listing, ¡°And there¡¯s also your school, the food stalls you like to eat at, the paths you often walked, I want to go see all of them.¡±


    Fang Juexia glanced at Ling Yi, who was not far away, and was looking up at the sky, before saying to him, ¡°I didn¡¯t say I would take you back.¡±


    ¡°You will.¡± Pei Tingsong¡¯s tone was firm, as if it would definitely happen.


    Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t help laughing as he said, ¡°You speak with such confidence every time, as if you think your judgment will never be wrong.¡±


    ¡°No ah, I was born confident, but I¡¯m also clear that my judgment is often wrong.¡± Then Pei Tingsong explained, ¡°For example, with you, I have made mistakes again and again.¡±


    Fang Juexia took off his mask and said, ¡°Such as with the hidden rules situation?¡±


    Pei Tingsong openly laughed. ¡°In fact, since a long time ago, I was skeptical towards that rumor, and to tell you the truth, I didn¡¯t care that much about it.¡±


    ¡°But you still targeted me so much at that time,¡± Fang Juexia leaned closer to him, his posture declaring that he was bringing him to account, and he continued, ¡°And you always held the hidden rules situation against me.¡±


    Pei Tingsong raised his hands in surrender. ¡°I don¡¯t mean to defend myself.¡± He shrugged. ¡°You may not believe it when I say it, but I was a little angry that you wouldn¡¯t fight back at first. A rumor like that floating around the company, sometimes even getting gossiped about right in front of you, so why didn¡¯t you ever bother to explain? It was like you were cut off from the world and indifferent to everything.¡±


    Fang Juexia suddenly understood.


    Sure enough, what Pei Tingsong really cared about weren¡¯t the rumors themselves, but his attitude towards them. This was very in-line with Pei Tingsong¡¯s personality, because he was a person born to rebel. If there was any injustice or anything that did not conform with his point of view, he would overthrow it without any scruple. A hot-blooded person naturally couldn¡¯t stand a cold-blooded and indifferent person.


    ¡°But later, after I got to know you more, and then once I learned the truth from Liang Ruo, it was only then I realized that your attitude was because you wanted to help him hide this matter.¡±


    Pei Tingsong shook his head and sighed. ¡°You treat outsiders more gently than you treat yourself. Clearly you almost lost your bright future because of him, and yet you still wanted to protect his reputation.¡±


    Fang Juexia instead replied, ¡°I wasn¡¯t protecting him, I was protecting myself.¡±


    This statement made Pei Tingsong uncertain. ¡°Protecting yourself?¡±


    Fang Juexia bowed his head and said with a smile, ¡°This circle is too complicated. Ever since my trainee days, I knew that talent, on its own, rarely determined anything. I¡¯ve seen all kinds of ways people have gotten to the top, all kinds of deals being made. Many people who weren¡¯t good enough to be singing and dancing artists could still make their debut as long as they were willing to change and exchange part of themselves. In that chaotic environment, the most difficult thing was not how to fight for a good future, nor was it not how to become an artist, but rather, how not to be affected by all this.


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t for the sake of my own future bring to light and fight about Liang Ruo¡¯s matter, get involved, or clarify my situation, because I knew he was also a victim in this. I couldn¡¯t do such things. So the only thing I could explain was that I didn¡¯t do any of that.¡±


    Pei Tingsong suddenly felt that he had gone back in time, to when he had first seen Fang Juexia. He was just like a straight, withered branch, stubborn and tough, and would rather break cleanly than be changed.


    Maybe it was because he had seen his father¡¯s good appearance when he was a child, a dancer who had been prosperous and growing steadily in his career and who had loved his wife and his life. Yet, he had also witnessed him go crazy because of his failure, then become another person, losing his original self entirely. That was why Fang Juexia had formed such laws of life.


    ¡°From childhood to adulthood, we receive all kinds of education. Many people teach us what we should strive for, what we should achieve, and what we should work hard for. However, few will tell us what you should preserve. But what I want to do is to just preserve my own nature, nothing else.¡±


    Fang Juexia looked at him. ¡°I used to think it was easy, but as I grew up, I found it to be more complicated and difficult than I had thought. Human beings are such a complex polyhedron, and every face or even point are seemingly able to be brought out and represent a person. This is an external evaluation, one-sided and one-dimensional.¡± Fang Juexia shook his head slightly, refuting this practice. ¡°But I know that the part of self that I want to preserve is the only thing that can truly represent me.¡±


    He knew that he had said a lot of things that may seem strange in other people¡¯s eyes. All this had been deeply buried in his heart, and he had never said it to anyone before. Seeing Pei Tingsong look at him with a kind of complicated gaze, Fang Juexia frowned, and felt a little strange. ¡°Why are you looking at me like that? Did I say something wrong?¡±


    Pei Tingsong chuckled and prefaced with, ¡°I know that everyone¡¯s knowledge bank is different, so the person I¡¯m going to talk about next is someone you probably don¡¯t know. He was a philosopher who lived in the 16th century. His name was Spinoza.¡±


    ¡°Spinoza¡­¡± Fang Juexia said the name again, before expressing that he wasn¡¯t familiar with him.


    ¡°His greatest achievement was to reconcile and unify the three categories of opposing ethics.¡± At this point, Pei Tingsong saw Fang Juexia¡¯s puzzled expression. ¡°Got off topic. To put it simply, he once wrote such a sentence in his book Ethics: ¡®Everything, in so far as it is in itself, endeavours to persist in its own being, and the self that things strive to preserve is exactly the true essence of that thing.¡±


    Hearing these words in the black of the night left Fang Juexia slightly stunned.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it wonderful?¡± Pei Tingsong looked at him and slightly raised his eyebrows. ¡°So, when I heard you say what you did just now, suddenly there was a kind of¡­. Across time and space, it¡¯s very mysterious to see Spinoza¡¯s philosophical pursuit reappear in you, but that really is the case.¡±


    This was one of his favorite philosophers. He had calmly and self sustainably confronted the tragic fate of his life and never admitted defeat.


    ¡°Just now, I was very touched. You have never read his books or studied his theoretical systems, but you have naturally lived like this. At that moment, I was thinking that thoughts really can just exist in a kind of mysterious void-like space, ridding themselves of both body and time to achieve some kind of collision and resonance.¡±


    Fang Juexia was actually also a rebel. Unlike Pei Tingsong, he revolted subconsciously, just to protect himself.


    After listening to Pei Tingsong¡¯s words, Fang Juexia had an indescribable feeling. On the one hand, he thought that it was intriguing, but on the other hand, he thought that Pei Tingsong was perhaps just being partial to him, and would only say this because of that. He was an ordinary person who wasn¡¯t proficient in philosophy at all, but Pei Tingsong¡¯s description had also made him curious. ¡°Then¡­ What kind of person was Spinoza?¡±


    ¡°How to describe him?¡± Pei Tingsong thought seriously before answering, ¡°He was a man who was proficient in mathematics, so he pretty much used mathematical techniques to study philosophy. He was extremely restrained and advocated rationality. You don¡¯t even know how he lived. He spent most of his time in his room doing research and didn¡¯t see anyone for days.¡±


    Fang Juexia asked again, ¡°Then did he have any income?¡±


    ¡°Speaking of this, it was even more amazing,¡± Pei Tingsong said as he grabbed his hand and played with it. ¡°He was originally a teacher, but later he changed to grinding lenses for work. He was skilled at it, but he didn¡¯t really try to sell them. Every year, he would accurately calculate how many lenses he needed to grind just to meet his basic living and research costs, and he would recalculate it again every quarter, and he lived extremely accurately.¡±


    Saying that, Pei Tingsong laughed. ¡°You¡¯re really like him.¡±


    Fang Juexia thought about it and found it very interesting. Although Pei Tingsong was teasing him, he was still teasing him using a great philosopher, so he was in fact totally exalting Fang Juexia. ¡°You shut up, I can¡¯t be that.¡±


    Pei Tingsong spoke from the bottom of his heart, ¡°You can be anything.¡± He was very happy, because he had come to understand Fang Juexia a little more, as if he was now a little closer to his soul. Facing such a small, closed off ice-cube, this was a great leap indeed.


    Ling Yi ran back to show off the dialect he had just learned. ¡°Does it sound like them, Juexia? Did I learn it right?¡±


    Fang Juexia was about to nod when Pei Tingsong took the lead and snarked, ¡°How does it sound like them? Everything you learn sounds like the Chengdu dialect.¡±


    ¡°You! I just speak the Chengdu dialect, so what¡¯s the matter? A melon-like you can¡¯t even learn it, tch.¡±


    With that, Ling Yi ran away. Pei Tingsong looked at Fang Juexia with a confused expression and said, ¡°He just cursed me out ba? He cursed me, right?¡±


    Fang Juexia played dumb. ¡°Really? I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°It must be. That little whelp.¡± Pei Tingsong rolled up his sleeves and was about to chase Ling Yi, but he was stopped by Fang Juexia. ¡°Who told you to tell him that the dialect he learned doesn¡¯t sound right?¡±


    ¡°But it was that way.¡± The irritable little overlord let out a long sigh. ¡°Alright, I won¡¯t lower myself to the same level as this single loveless dog.¡±


    Hearing his words, Fang Juexia immediately kicked him. ¡°Shh.¡±


    Pei Tingsong chuckled and acted as if he was begging for mercy, and then soon remembered something. ¡°By the way, you haven¡¯t talked to me in your dialect. I want to hear you speak in Cantonese.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I sing in it last time?¡± Fang Juexia pulled at his own hood twice.


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t count. Can¡¯t you say a sentence to me?¡±


    Fang Juexia excused himself, saying that he didn¡¯t know what to say, and he was adamant on not saying anything. Pei Tingsong kept fussing at him, and also playfully threatened him, pretending that he would jump off the rail.


    ¡°Jump then. I can¡¯t see anything, but I¡¯ll at least hear the sound of you falling into the water.¡± Fang Juexia smiled at him.


    ¡°Too cruel.¡±


    By the time they had played around enough, the cruise ship had also pulled into the harbor. They disembarked one by one, stepping on the ground, away from the river.


    Pei Tingsong, like a big boss, pulled everyone in from left to right in a hug. ¡°Had a good time, Geges?¡±


    ¡°Great time, thank you, group bully!¡±


    ¡°Then when you guys go back, take turns washing my clothes for me!¡±


    ¡°What did you say? The wind is too strong, can¡¯t hear a thing.¡±


    Fang Juexia, who was walking behind everyone, laughed as he stepped into their shadows. It was only when they scattered after the joke that he came up to Pei Tingsong, who was about to catch up with him. ¡°Wait.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Pei Tingsong obeyed him and stopped.


    Fang Juexia put his hands in his pockets and drew close to his ear. An unfamiliar language, in a voice softer than the dim light of the night, sounded¡ª


    ¡°bb, I fancy you as all get out.¡±


    ¡ª


    The author has something to say:


    Translation: ¡°Baby, I like you so much ah.¡±


    bb has that kind of feeling, of coaxing children and coaxing one¡¯s love object, and it¡¯s a very intimate kind of address. You can search Guangdong boys saying it, and it¡¯s very Sue-ish.


    Talking a bit more about Spinoza. If you are interested, you can listen to it as a story. Why does Pei Tingsong say that he revolted against his miserable life? Because Spinoza was a Jew, and he came from a merchant family, he was a child of a wealthy family. He studied religion and history with great talent and gradually headed down the road of philosophical studies. Because of his religious background, he considered many issues related to religion and philosophy, and also questioned some religious teachings at that time.


    When he was 23 years old, he was arraigned by the Jewish church. It was said that he spread heresy. He was not willing to pretend to cater to them, so he was excommunicated and accepted expulsion. His father drove him away, and his older sister tried to cheat him out of his inheritance. He was almost assassinated with a dagger by a devout theological student when he was walking on the road, because he had violated their religious doctrine. Later, he rented an attic outside Amsterdam, going from his original comfortable existence to becoming fatigued and isolated.


    However, many people admired him, and some even wanted to give him all their inheritance, which Spinoza refused.


    At that time, Spinoza¡¯s research was very dangerous. How dangerous was it? He had to finish his writing quietly and not publish it, otherwise his life would be in danger. He gave the landlord a key and asked them to help publish his  books after he died.


    His life is also very legendary. If you are interested, you can search it~

 CH 79

    Chapter 79 ¨C Two Way Protection


    Just like a debater.


    Hearing this, Pei Tingsong was stunned. By the time he returned to his senses, Fang Juexia had already rejoined everyone else, leaving him behind.


    What did that sentence mean?


    He felt as if he had been hit dizzy by a piece of candy, but before he could even peel it open and taste it carefully, the candy disappeared.


    He hurried to catch up, and the entire way back to the hotel, Pei Tingsong kept asking Fang Juexia about that sentence¡¯s meaning. However, Fang Juexia was being purposefully mysterious, for he just kept smiling without talking.


    Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t give up the entire way back to the hotel. He sent out one WeChat message after another, and Fang Juexia¡¯s cellphone sounded like a broken alarm clock, ringing nonstop.


    Under this repeated bombardment, Fang Juexia surrendered and sent him a message.


    [Moonlight: It just means ¡®I like you.¡¯]


    He said it again.


    Pretty much only a second passed before the other side replied.


    [A Constant Truth: Really?! [CoveringMyChest.JPG]]


    [A Constant Truth: [LaunchingHearts.JPG]  [LaunchingHearts.JPG] [LaunchingHearts.JPG]]


    [A Constant Truth: Then what did the thing at the start, that sounded like ¡®b¡¯ mean?]


    [A Constant Truth: Begging you Ge, tell me quickly ba]


    Seeing this, Fang Juexia wanted to laugh. In Cantonese context, the word ¡®bb¡¯ was too intimate. He didn¡¯t want to just touch on it lightly when explaining it to him, so he found a popular video of a Guangdong girl coaxing her two-year-old little brother online and forwarded it to Pei Tingsong.


    After sending the video, Fang Juexia fell on the bed, his head suddenly filled with thoughts of that famous poet Pei Tingsong had talked about before, who had said that¡ª¡¯love and happiness make me lose my mind and focus.¡¯ He felt that he deeply felt the true meaning of this sentence; love had not only sapped his focus, but had also pretty much changed his person.


    In the past, he had been so emotionally withered that he was like a dehydrated vegetable. Even if he was immersed in an environment full of friendship and love, he couldn¡¯t be filled with a fresh and lively appearance. He was just a damp, swollen but lifeless, instant vegetable.


    But Pei Tingsong had completely brought him back to life, and had made him willing to express himself, express his love for another person.


    So it turned out that in love, there were no matters that were hard to speak of.


    His cellphone vibrated again.


    [A Constant Truth: bb means little baby?!]


    [A Constant Truth: Baby? babe£¿£¿]


    Seeing his question marks, Fang Juexia could almost imagine Pei Tingsong¡¯s current expression. He added fuel to the fire and replied with¡ª


    [Moonlight: It could be understood that way.]


    There was no reply from the other party after that. Fang Juexia didn¡¯t think much about it at the beginning. During his bath though, he suddenly wondered whether a boy would feel frustrated at being called bb, and whether that made it seem like he was treating him too much like a child.


    His cellphone vibrated again just as he stepped out of the bathroom.


    [A Constant Truth: Since you called me bb, then Gege should care more deeply for me in the future.]


    ¡°Really shameless,¡± Fang Juexia whispered to himself as he faced the screen.


    He had taken advantage this one time, and Pei Tingsong actually just wrestled that advantage back.


    Staring at this line of words, and especially at the second half of the sentence, Fang Juexia¡¯s heart couldn¡¯t help but beat faster. He just couldn¡¯t think too deeply into Pei Tingsong¡¯s words, they were just so thinly veiled that they weren¡¯t even really thinly veiled implications anymore.


    His heart felt itchy, and it was as if a bud was breaking through the ground.


    Spring made people restless.


    It was raining when they flew back to Beijing. A damp Beijing was very rare, and since spring was almost over, it had finally rained. Driving back to the Third Ring Road from the airport, they were again chased by stalker fans. There were many cars on the road, it was raining, and the big van was ferrying eight people, which was very dangerous in itself. The stalker fans had also bribed the taxi-driver to drive right behind their van, which resulted in them nearly running into them several times.


    In the end, Cheng Qiang couldn¡¯t bear it anymore. After entering the city, he found a suitable spot on the side of the road and got the driver to park the car, and the stalker fans chasing after them also stopped the car behind theirs.


    He knew that stalker fans weren¡¯t easy to provoke, and there was no lack of people inflamed with passion among them. If he was careless, this incident could even be published with a false account of the true facts, so he just stood on the side of the road and gave them good advice.


    ¡°You guys are all very young, and you¡¯re also young girls, so don¡¯t do such dangerous things. You even dare to follow the van on the airport expressway, aren¡¯t you afraid of causing an accident?¡±


    However, the stalker fans inside the taxi completely ignored his words. ¡°We just want to see them!¡±


    ¡°You already saw them ah, they didn¡¯t take the VIP route. Didn¡¯t you already see them at the airport meetup? Let¡¯s not talk about anything else, but it¡¯s really dangerous to chase a car. We have a car full of people, and so do you guys, and it¡¯s raining. Do you really want to have a traffic accident?¡±


    Then Cheng Qiang patted on the driver¡¯s window as he requested, ¡°Please roll down the window.¡±


    The driver didn¡¯t move at all.


    Cheng Qiang lowered his head and used his cellphone to record the taxi¡¯s information. ¡°I¡¯ve already noted down your license plate number. If you continue to chase this car, we can only call the police.¡±


    Even after saying all that, as soon as Cheng Qiang turned his head, he heard the several girls in the car curse behind him, which was quite ugly. He didn¡¯t care about it and simply went back to the passenger seat, telling the driver to drive.


    Being popular was troublesome, all sorts of evil spirits would appear.


    Ling Yi looked in the rearview mirror, and saw that that car was still in the same place. As they pulled farther and farther away, he felt a little relieved, and then he thought of something else and couldn¡¯t help saying, ¡°Did you guys know? Recently, Seven Luminaries¡¯ third oldest member found that he had a tracker installed on him.¡±


    ¡°Holy crap, really?¡± Lu Yuan heard it, and his hair stood on end.


    Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t help asking, ¡°Where did they hide it?¡± He thought about the things that people can carry. The cellphone wasn¡¯t likely, so it had to be¡­ ¡°It couldn¡¯t be his watch?¡±


    ¡°You really guessed it.¡± Ling Yi sighed. ¡°He received gifts from fans for his birthday before, and there was a watch in them, and it had actually been modified.¡±


    Cheng Qiang shook his head. ¡°We can¡¯t accept any more presents; we won¡¯t accept any more presents from the fan stations anymore. The company has discussed this matter several times in the past two days, and more and more people are also waiting to chase after your car, so if it keeps going on like this, we won¡¯t be able to manage it anymore.¡±


    ¡°Ugh, what is all this ah?¡±


    ¡°When you get popular, it¡¯s just like this, nothing we can do.¡±


    As soon as they got back, the members started their own work. Fang Juexia and Pei Tingsong signed a brand contract, agreed on a time to shoot the advertisement, and then went to record ¡°Escape For Your Life¡±.


    Apart from their staggered-out events, Kaleido¡¯s promotional singing performances lasted only two weeks. Singing shows could certainly make songs more popular, but they really consumed too much of the artists¡¯ energy. They had to get up at three or four o¡¯clock in the morning every day, line up to get their makeup and hair done, rush to the filming site, wait for the filming to start, and once they were done with the hectic filming, half the day would have already passed. Adding on their other events to all this, they didn¡¯t even have time to sleep.


    Star Chart wasn¡¯t a company that pressured its artists, so it didn¡¯t extend the promotional performance time because of the popularity of ¡®Break Through¡¯. As Boss Chen Zhengyun said, as long as every performance was wonderful enough, the numbers weren¡¯t so important.


    It was a massively great thing for the six Kaleido members when the promotional performances ended. During their last performance, their happiness was written on their faces, and they were also teased by the fans, who said, ¡°Whatever you do, you shirk, but you¡¯re number one when it comes to getting out of work.¡± What was better than ending their promotional performances was that since ¡®Break Through¡¯ had won first place at MLH, they had gone on to win nine consecutive titles in one fell swoop, having already broken their own record. What¡¯s more, this result was obtained after clashing with Seven Luminaries¡¯ comeback.


    In this competition, which was unfair from the beginning, Kaleido had still turned the tables using their own abilities, while also loudly slapping those super anti-fans who had mocked them before. The upsurge in their new album¡¯s popularity not only made K go from being a small, obscure group to a famous boy-band, but also doubled the popularity of Kaleido¡¯s ensemble show. The number of hits on each episode was constantly rising, and the numbers themselves were making actual records.


    Beauty was just a stepping stone; ability was the only thing that would make people confident enough to become their fans.


    On the day of Pei Tingsong¡¯s follow-up visit with the doctor, Cheng Qiang came to the dormitory early in the morning and ran into Fang Juexia, who had just finished his jog, in the elevator.


    ¡°There are no events today, what are you planning to do?¡±


    Hearing Cheng Qiang¡¯s question, Fang Juexia didn¡¯t think much about it. ¡°Going to the company to practice. I haven¡¯t danced for a long time. Then I¡¯ll have another vocal class ba.¡±


    ¡°You work too hard. Young people also need to relax occasionally. When artists are under such great pressure, they often meet up with their friends when they have nothing to do, making plans to go sing and go shopping.¡± Cheng Qiang advised, but he also knew that Fang Juexia wasn¡¯t the kind of character who would integrate into a group. ¡°At least, you can sleep at home and watch some movies. Don¡¯t be so tense, how tiring is that ah.¡±


    Fang Juexia smiled. ¡°It¡¯s alright, Qiang Ge. I¡¯ll come back to have a rest after practicing for a while.¡±


    Cheng Qiang just nodded. He didn¡¯t know if it was his delusion, but he felt that Fang Juexia¡¯s expressions had been more abundant recently. ¡°Alright. Hey, by the way, Xiao Pei hasn¡¯t got up yet ba?¡±


    Fang Juexia shook his head. ¡°No, he fell asleep late last night.¡±


    Hearing this, Cheng Qiang didn¡¯t think anything of it at first, but when he looked back and reviewed the sentence again, it felt a bit strange. No ah, it¡¯s not like they were roommates.


    ¡°How did you know he fell asleep late last night?¡±


    Fang Juexia was immediately stumped by this question. Of course, he couldn¡¯t say that Pei Tingsong was still sending him messages at 1 a.m. last night.


    The elevator doors opened, and Fang Juexia pulled out an excuse, ¡°I guessed it, he said he would stay up late studying, it¡¯s almost midterms.¡±


    Only then did Cheng Qiang let out an ¡°oh¡±, following with, ¡°You don¡¯t say. Although Xiao Pei has a bad temper, a strange personality, and comes with a heap of small problems, like liking to be arrogant, or saying he won¡¯t do this or that everyday, he actually studies very seriously.¡±


    Fang Juexia thought that there were too many things after the ¡°although.¡±


    Sure enough, when Cheng Qiang burst in, Pei Tingsong still had his head buried in the pillows as he slept. Fang Juexia made them each a cup of coffee and put them on the table, listening to Cheng Qiang¡¯s voice from inside the room urging Pei Tingsong to get up.


    Pei Tingsong came out with his head full of resentment. After washing up, he spiritlessly sat down at the table and was about to drink the coffee Fang Juexia had poured. However, Fang Juexia, who was standing by the table, kicked his stool, and told him with his eyes to eat the bread first.


    ¡°Eat quickly, we¡¯ll go to the hospital after eating. We¡¯ve already made an appointment with the doctor, and if you don¡¯t hurry up and get there, they¡¯ll say you¡¯re playing at being some big-name.¡±


    Pei Tingsong chewed on the bread as he replied, ¡°Say it bei, after removing the cast, I¡¯m not just playing at being a big-name, I¡¯m going to be playing with a big knife.¡±


    Fang Juexia laughed out loud.


    Just as Cheng Qiang had gotten everything ready and was about to leave, his phone rang. After he picked it up, he listened to the other side for a long time before saying, ¡°Okay, alright, then I¡¯ll see if I can hurry over there.¡±


    Seeing his imposing look, Fang Juexia asked what had happened. Cheng Qiang said, ¡°Jiang Miao passed his audition, and now the producer wants to make an appointment to talk things over with him.¡±


    Pei Tingsong slapped the table, exclaiming, ¡°He passed? That¡¯s so great, we can¡¯t do without an agent at this time ah! My Miao Ge can¡¯t be thrown in a pit, go quickly, A-Strong.¡± Saying that, he hugged Fang Juexia¡¯s waist and said, ¡°Juexia Ge will accompany me to the follow-up visit.¡±


    ¡°Ah?¡± Fang Juexia wanted to push him away, but he couldn¡¯t even budge him. As soon as he raised his eyes, he saw Cheng Qiang¡¯s pleading look. ¡°Juexia, are you okay with that? I¡¯ll call Xiao Wen later and ask him to drive you, he can do the errand work.¡±


    ¡°¡­alright.¡±


    He actually really wanted to go with Pei Tingsong, but he still had to put on an expression of reluctance right now.


    Pei Tingsong, whose attitude was full of a refusal to cooperate, changed into joy as soon as he switched people, and he even sent Cheng Qiang away with a smile. Fang changed clothes, came out, and helped Pei Tingsong put on his coat. ¡°I hope the bone inside has fixed itself now.¡±


    Pei Tingsong suddenly changed his attitude. ¡°Why? What are your intentions towards me?¡±


    ¡°I have no intentions towards children.¡± Pulling up his coat¡¯s zipper, Fang Juexia patted his forehead.


    Although there was Xiao Wen, this third wheel, tagging along with them, Pei Tingsong was still in a good mood. They went to the hospital, got an X-Ray taken, and met the attending doctor from before, who did a careful examination.


    ¡°The bones are healing well.¡± The doctor pushed his glasses up. ¡°There may be a little pain after the removal of the cast, which is normal. There will be some symptoms similar to soft tissue contracture after the muscles being fixated for such a long time. After this, still be careful, don¡¯t overuse your arm or carry heavy objects.¡±


    Fang Juexia was still worried. He asked a lot of questions and took note of all the dos and don¡¯ts in his mind. When they came out of the hospital, Xiao Wen couldn¡¯t help praising, ¡°Juexia, you¡¯re too attentive. There¡¯s nothing for me to do, you asked and clarified everything so clearly.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± Pei Tingsong gripped Fang Juexia¡¯s shoulder with his newly freed left hand. ¡°Juexia, care about me more ah.¡±


    ¡°You be careful.¡±


    Xiao Wen took the initiative to go to the driver¡¯s seat. ¡°Back to the dormitory?¡±


    Pei Tingsong immediately said, ¡°No, make a trip to the school first. I have some forms I need to get stamped, and I have to go myself.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    Their drive to the school took a while, for the road was jammed for half an hour. Pei Tingsong hadn¡¯t slept enough, so he fell asleep on Fang Juexia¡¯s shoulder. Fang Juexia noticed Xiao Wen staring continuously at the rearview mirror, and that made him a little suspicious. After all, there had been too many such similar incidents recently.


    ¡°Xiao Wen, what are you looking at?¡±


    Xiao Wen frowned. ¡°I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s me being too paranoid, but I keep feeling that there¡¯s a car following us.¡± However, he felt that that conjecture was strange again. ¡°But reasonably speaking, that shouldn¡¯t be the case ah. How could they have known the time for Xiao Pei¡¯s follow-up visit? And we came in so early, so how would they know that?¡±


    The sound of the car horn outside almost woke Pei Tingsong up, and he rubbed his head against Fang Juexia¡¯s shoulder. While Xiao Wen wasn¡¯t paying attention to the rearview mirror, Fang Juexia quietly pinched his fingertips in a little soothing gesture.


    He also thought it strange; it couldn¡¯t be that there was a stalker fan squatting at the entrance of their dormitory?


    The traffic finally turned smooth, and Xiao Wen continued to drive forward. After another intersection, he saw the suspicious vehicle still behind them. ¡°They must be following us.¡±


    ¡°It may be that there¡¯s a stalker fan squatting outside our dormitory. I heard Ling Yi mention before that some stalker fans can crouch outside the community for a whole night, and that they even install cameras at the door of the dormitory.¡±


    ¡°Too scary.¡± Xiao Wen got goosebumps when he heard that. ¡°When we get back, I¡¯ll tell Qiang Ge to check the elevator outside the dormitory. Although it¡¯s the entrance elevator, and the security of the community is tight, it¡¯s not airtight. We can¡¯t ensure that some pervert won¡¯t get in and do something bad.¡±


    When the car finally stopped at the school gate, Fang Juexia woke Pei Tingsong up and handed him a hat and a mask. Sure enough, just as he was ready to get out of the car, a group of strange stalker fans encircled it, and they kept yelling ¡®Pei Tingsong!¡¯ over and over, as if afraid that people around wouldn¡¯t recognize him.


    Pei Tingsong frowned and was too lazy to care about them. He took his bag from the car and prepared to leave. Fang Juexia was a little worried and looked out of the car window.


    ¡°They¡¯re really so annoying, do they just have nothing else to do all day?¡± Xiao Wen complained, ¡°Originally I said to bring bodyguards, but then I thought that it would be a bit exaggerated. I would have called several people over if I had known earlier.¡±


    ¡°If we bring bodyguards into the school, we¡¯ll get scolded.¡± Fang Juexia saw that they were surrounding Pei Tingsong more and more closely, and he was also getting a bit irritated. ¡°They shouldn¡¯t be able to enter ba.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Based on the previous situation, they can get in. They¡¯ve gotten some documents, and they have already entered several times. Even Xiao Pei¡¯s classmates have been harassed.¡±


    Looking at Pei Tingsong surrounded by them, Fang Juexia was a little worried. Pei Tingsong had a straight-forward temper, and it was very hard for him to restrain it. Fang Juexia wasn¡¯t at ease with him by himself.


    He glanced at Xiao Wen and gave up his little thought. Even Qiang Ge couldn¡¯t hold Pei Tingsong back, let alone Xiao Wen.


    Without thinking any more, Fang Juexia opened the door, put on his baseball cap, and went out.


    ¡°Hey! Juexia, you¡­¡±


    ¡°Wait for me in the car.¡±


    From across the windshield, Xiao Wen stared at Fang Juexia¡¯s back in surprise. Clearly speaking, if he had encountered stalker fans before, he would avoid them if he could, so how come he was being so bold right now?


    Pei Tingsong, who was annoyed by this group of stalker fans, was about to start cursing up a storm. Unexpectedly, someone pulled on him. He was about to turn around and start cursing them out when he saw Fang Juexia¡¯s face.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go with you.¡±


    Fang Juexia blocked him out from the left. These stalker fans seemed to be chasing only Pei Tingsong, and they were very dissatisfied with Fang Juexia¡¯s sudden appearance. One of them even cursed him out directly, saying that he stuck himself to Pei Tingsong as a publicity stunt and that he was only doing this to cook up some popularity.


    Fang Juexia said nothing, but his eyes were very cold. Pei Tingsong was so angry that he wanted to flame back, but Fang Juexia stopped him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t talk.¡±


    After Fang Juexia pulled Pei Tingsong to quickly walk to the school and showed his ID to the security guard, Pei Tingsong said directly to the security guard, ¡°Please stop the people behind me. They are not students here, they are people following me. You can check their IDs.¡±


    So the stalker fans behind them were stopped by the security, and without any scruples, they unleashed a torrent of abuse right outside the school gates.


    Pei Tingsong pulled Fang Juexia to enter while raising his right hand high, his middle finger sticking out to the group of madmen behind him.


    Fang Juexia pulled his hand down. ¡°I was just afraid that if you were by yourself, you¡¯d get inflamed with emotion while dealing with them, and that¡¯s why I came with you.¡±


    Pei Tingsong lowered his head, directly unlocked his cellphone, opened up Weibo, and talked with him while typing up a post. Without looking at it again, he directly posted it.


    [@Kaleido Pei Tingsong: Today Pei Tingsong is also abusing stalker fans. [MiddleFinger.JPG]]


    After posting it, he felt great. He threw his cellphone into his pocket. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. Every time I come to school, I get into a mutual cursing session with them. Whatever, they can follow me in, I¡¯m not weak.¡±


    ¡°Then how was it that you so kindly let the security guard stop them this time?¡±


    Pei Tingsong directed him towards a path with relatively few people. ¡°It¡¯s fine when it¡¯s just me, but I can¡¯t bear to hear you being cursed out.¡±


    Fang Juexia laughed.


    They really were the same people.


    ¡°What does this count as?¡± Fang Juexia glanced at him and teased him deliberately, ¡°When I was getting cursed out the most fiercely, you were still an eternally single person.¡±


    ¡°Fang Juexia, your mouth is really getting more and more powerful.¡± Pei Tingsong applauded him. ¡°Just like a debater.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for the compliment.¡±


    As he followed Pei Tingsong in to finish up his paperwork, Fang Juexia felt a little listless. Regretting that he hadn¡¯t made a cup of coffee for himself in the morning, he then bought himself a cup of American style coffee from the coffee vending machine on the first floor of the office building.


    The girl in line behind him seemed to recognize him, but she hesitated and didn¡¯t dare to speak. Finally, when Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t locate the dispenser for the cup lid, she bravely stood out and pointed to the side. ¡°Juexia Gege, it¡¯s over there.¡±


    ¡°Ah, thank you.¡± Only then did Fang Juexia realize that he had already been recognized. He was a little embarrassed and thanked her again.


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome! I just saw Pei Tingsong¡¯s Weibo post, and I was so angry, but now I¡¯m happy seeing you!¡±


    ¡°Weibo post?¡± Fang Juexia didn¡¯t understand. He saw Pei Tingsong heading towards him after finishing up the paperwork.


    ¡°Yes ah, he¡¯s on the Hot Search list. Flaming stalker fans, super cool.¡±


    ¡ª


    The author has something to say:


    The world¡¯s middle finger, Pei Tingsong


    Pei Tingsong has more fierce Weibo posts.


    I¡¯ll write out the complete Pei Tingsong¡¯s tiger-like incident log later ba.

 CH 80

    Chapter 80 ¨C Hard Core Operations


    Online and cursing people out


    ¡°What?¡±


    Fang Juexia looked at Pei Tingsong, who was walking towards him with a [what are you doing] expression, and Pei Tingsong returned a [what did I do wrong] expression at him.


    The little P University fan, who had just happened to bump into them, kept looking back and forth between the two of them, and her imagination mode was switched on.


    Oh my god, with absolutely no virtue or ability, I can watch TingJue exchange flirty glances from so close a distance ah.


    Too real, it¡¯s really too real.


    I would rather believe that the Yellow River has no water than that TingJue isn¡¯t a real thing.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t understand what was going on. He thought the little girl who looked so well-behaved was also a stalker fan, so he asked her, ¡°Are you¡­you¡¯re not following my Ge around ba?¡±


    My Ge!!!


    The girl, who had just been questioned, totally didn¡¯t hear any other words; for her, only the two words ¡®my Ge¡¯ existed, and she immediately covered her chest as her face turned red.


    Life had never been so happy before.


    ¡°No,¡± Fang Juexia immediately denied, ¡°She¡¯s a student who was lined up behind me to buy coffee.¡± He immediately shifted the topic back to Pei Tingsong as he asked, ¡°Did you post something on Weibo?¡± Then he thought that he might as well see it with his own eyes, so he logged into his Weibo account, that was about to gather dust while cooped up in a corner, opened his home page, scrolled through it, and found the post that Pei Tingsong had just published.


    As soon as he looked at it, he saw it for what it really was¡ª a mass of negativity.


    ¡°What you posted was really too direct.¡± Fang Juexia shook his head. He had even directly used the word ¡®abuse¡¯ and had stuck his middle finger out. If this hadn¡¯t started trending on the Hot Search List, it would have been strange.


    With the corners of his lips hooking up disdainfully, Pei Tingsong said, ¡°What does that count as? I nearly ended up posting that stalker fans should go die.¡±


    The little girl began to clap loudly, just like a little seal.


    Fang Juexia sighed. Forget it, how could he expect to control this person ah? Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t mind at all. He took the coffee cup from Fang Juexia¡¯s hand, took a sip, and frowned like a connoisseur. ¡°This coffee is really bad.¡±


    The girl was surprised again.


    In-indirect kiss!?!


    Fang Juexia¡¯s cellphone had vibrated several times. They were all messages from Cheng Qiang, and he knew what their content was without even opening them. It was all just a terrible headache.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go ba, let¡¯s go. I¡¯m hungry, let¡¯s go get something to eat.¡± Pei Tingsong pulled at Fang Juexia, who was quite close to malfunctioning, and got him to leave the small coffee vending machine. The only person left behind was that cute little fan, who had pink bubbles floating all over her, seeing off her favorite CP.


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s height made him very eye-catching on campus. He didn¡¯t care, but he was worried that Fang Juexia would find it awkward, so he tried his best to take him through paths less traversed by crowds.


    In fact, he was enjoying this moment very much. He was just like an ordinary student right now, one who was guiding the person he liked around his campus, bringing him along to eat in the school canteen, and then making plans to study and write papers at the school cafe.


    It was like a campus romance.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take you to a place that offers simple meals that I often eat at.¡± Saying that, Pei Tingsong led Fang Juexia to a small coffee shop, the customer clientele of which was mostly overseas students, from all sorts of countries.


    He picked a booth in the corner, ordered some sandwiches and pasta, and then chatted face to face with Fang Juexia.


    Fang Juexia felt an inexplicable sense of security here. Maybe it was because everyone around them were students who were either concentrating on their studies or chatting away, and there weren¡¯t that many eyes on them. Or maybe it was because Pei Tingsong was sitting just opposite him, but all in all, his entire person felt very relaxed.


    ¡°When I first came here, I wasn¡¯t very used to how classes were conducted in China. So sometimes, I would head off to a coffee shop alone to study, and then I ended up coming here more often.¡± Pei Tingsong picked up a sandwich and gave it to Fang Juexia, saying, ¡°I often order this.¡±


    ¡°En.¡± Fang Juexia took a bite and thought it was pretty good. ¡°It¡¯s delicious.¡±


    At the next table, there were two Korean girls who were studying math. They had used pens to pin up their hair, and when they encountered a hard problem, they would use the pens to scratch their heads. They spoke Chinese and Korean mixed together, like¡ª ¡°Ah, another one. Calculated it wrong, it¡¯s wrong again.¡±


    Fang Juexia thought they were very cute. Thinking back to when he had still been a student, he turned to Pei Tingsong and said, ¡°I actually came to P University to attend classes once before, but I didn¡¯t have time to eat at that time for I had to leave in a hurry after class, so I never got the chance to explore this place thoroughly.¡±


    Pei Tingsong was a little surprised. ¡°Really?¡± He calculated for a bit. ¡°It would have been two or three years ago?¡±


    Fang Juexia nodded, turning his fork on the plate and curling up a mass of pasta. ¡°At that time, I came with some of my classmates, and I even got to know some of the P University professors.¡±


    Pei Tingsong suddenly felt that it was a pity. If only he had returned to China at that time and had gotten to meet Fang Juexia, how good would that have been ah? They could have even been like normal students, and could have made plans to study together in the library.


    He was a person who usually didn¡¯t look back to the past, who always pressed forward boldly, his steps never faltering. But nowadays, from time to time, he would think about the past.


    All because he liked him too much, and every time he thought about how he hadn¡¯t participated in some part of Fang Juexia¡¯s life, he would find it regretful.


    It was pretty silly, and Pei Tingsong knew that.


    Fang Juexia, who was eating his pasta, suddenly seemed to have thought of something, and then he began to laugh.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Pei Tingsong looked at him from across the table and asked, ¡°You¡¯re laughing so happily.¡±


    Fang Juexia shook his head and didn¡¯t really seem to want to say.


    ¡°Tell me ah, make me happy, too.¡±


    Only after letting Pei Tingsong kick up a fuss for a bit did Fang Juexia finally begin, ¡°Okay ba, I just suddenly thought, if I transmigrated back to the past right now, back to my high school years, I may try my best and work hard, take part in some math competitions or something, all to try and fight my way into P University. Although my grandfather hoped that I would go to Beijing Normal University, if¡­¡±


    His eyes turned away from Pei Tingsong, shifting away with some embarrassment. ¡°If I knew at that time that you would come here in the future, I might have changed my plans.¡±


    Pei Tingsong, who had just given up on this what-if, was hit hard by Fang Juexia¡¯s words at this moment.


    He knew that imagining what-ifs about the past was the most useless thing in the world, but when the two what-ifs met unexpectedly, they turned into a mutual hunger.


    It was already the happiest thing in the world to know that the person you like also wanted to have met you earlier.


    Maybe that¡¯s how they spent their time in a parallel universe. They weren¡¯t shining idols on the stage there, and they got to know one another in the most ordinary of circumstances. Maybe they would also have some pride, and show some prejudice at the beginning, after all, they were two people who were as different from each other as the North and South. But in the end, as before, with every instance they spent communicating with each other, they would gradually become the other¡¯s most intimate person.


    No matter how many times over, Pei Tingsong would always come to admire Fang Juexia¡¯s strength and transparency, and Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t stay indifferent to the most passionate and romantic person in the world.


    This was the only constant story in the many different parallel universes.


    Fang Juexia¡¯s cellphone vibrated, and he looked at it.


    [A Constant Truth: I really like you so much, to the point that I have no words.]


    The corners of Fang Juexia¡¯s mouth couldn¡¯t help rising, but he didn¡¯t look at Pei Tingsong on purpose, and just stared down at the menu.


    Originally, he had thought that Pei Tingsong would return to the company with him after touring around the campus. Unfortunately, halfway through, a professor stuck himself in and called Pei Tingsong over to discuss an issue regarding publishing papers. Pei Tingsong also couldn¡¯t let Xiao Wen wait outside for too long, so he let Fang Juexia go back first, saying that once he finished up, he would return to the company.


    By the time Fang Juexia left, Pei Tingsong¡¯s stalker fans had also already left.


    ¡°Juexia, Juexia.¡± As soon as Xiao Wen saw him come out, he stuck his head out of the car window and waved at him.


    Fang Juexia got into the passenger seat and handed Xiao Wen the sandwich and coffee he had specifically bought for him. ¡°Have something to eat ba. I thought you would have slept for a while.¡±


    ¡°It just so happens I was just starting to get hungry, thank you, Juexia! I originally wanted to get some sleep,¡± Xiao Wen took a bite of the sandwich as he narrated, ¡°Yet in the end, in the end¡­ Xiao Pei ah. He sent me a WeChat message saying that I should take a picture of those stalker fans at the gate and then send it to him.¡±


    A picture?


    Fang Juexia felt that such a request was a little off. ¡°What does he want to do?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, I took it for him anyway.¡± As he said that, Xiao Wen also grew very angry. ¡°Those women were still fighting with the security guard outside. I was so scared, I almost called the police. I really don¡¯t understand, what are they doing following around people every single day ah?¡± He thought of something else. ¡°Right, Juexia, Qiang Ge said that he had already asked someone to install monitoring devices in the elevator, the entrance of the elevator, and outside the door of your dormitory. Then, he put the monitoring screen for these cameras in your guys¡¯ living room, so you guys can check it at any point in time.¡±


    He took a sip of coffee. ¡°Qiang Ge said if worst comes to worst, you guys can just move to another dormitory, switching to another place.¡±


    Fang Juexia sighed. ¡°If we change places, those stalker fans will grow even more pleased with themselves. They will think we are hiding because we are afraid of them.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Xiao Wen rolled up one of his sleeves to show off his small thin arms. ¡°Really, every time I see them, I want to land a heavy punch on them.¡±


    The more Fang Juexia thought about it, the more he felt that he should discuss with Pei Tingsong whatever he wanted to do when he got back to the company.


    Xiao Wen drove him back to the company. On the way, Fang Juexia received a message from Ling Yi saying that he had gotten a new TV theme song, and it was even for a TV drama starring an actress he especially liked. Fang Juexia was also happy and congratulated him.


    After they arrived at the parking lot, Xiao Wen parked the car, and then the two people headed up together. Their underground parking lot was empty, and it was a long walk to the office elevator. Xiao Wen had a lively character, and the entire time, he chatted about his recent work with Fang Juexia. They were all trivial matters, and he usually had no one to talk to about them. However, Fang Juexia was very gentle and could also give him practical suggestions, so he liked chatting with Fang Juexia very much.


    ¡°So you¡¯re still training the new people?¡±


    Xiao Wen sighed. ¡°No other way ah. Qiang Ge said that there would be less manpower available to us in the near future. Who would have thought that I could be a senior one day?¡±


    Fang Juexia laughed. ¡°You were already very reliable.¡± After he said that though, he suddenly felt that something was wrong. He turned his head and looked around, but didn¡¯t see anything. He then turned back once again, and it was still as empty as ever behind him.


    Xiao Wen was very happy to hear his praise. He didn¡¯t turn around, instead continuing to talk about his little matters. ¡°In fact, it¡¯s alright ah. It¡¯s just that there¡¯s a new person who can¡¯t remember what I said and often makes some very low-level mistakes. I know it¡¯s not good to say that about people, but really, you know, Juexia, he almost took the wrong document from my desk last time. I had already told him before, you can¡¯t just randomly move anything off my desk.¡±


    ¡°Really¡­¡± Internally, Fang Juexia kept feeling that something was off, so he just replied back with a few words, and then couldn¡¯t help looking behind him again.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Xiao Wen finally discovered that something wasn¡¯t quite right with him.


    Fang Juexia shook his head before entering the elevator with him. The elevator door closed slowly, and only then did he say, ¡°I keep feeling like someone is following me.¡±


    ¡°Really? It can¡¯t be paparazzi or stalker fans ba?!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Fang Juexia frowned and suggested, ¡°Maybe all the recent stuff with the stalker fans has left my nerves on edge.¡±


    As he said that, Xiao Wen¡¯s scalp also turned a bit numb. ¡°I hope it¡¯s just paparazzi, and not anyone too bad. I really worry about you guys every day.¡±


    Xiao Wen had followed them ever since their debut. At that time, he had just graduated from university, and because of Kaleido¡¯s lack of popularity, he had suffered a lot when he went out to work, having to watch a lot of people roll their eyes at him. In Fang Juexia¡¯s eyes, Xiao Wen and Cheng Qiang were already almost relatives.


    He pinched Xiao Wen¡¯s shoulder. ¡°It¡¯s okay, there will always be a way.¡±


    Once in the company, they saw Cheng Qiang, who was in a mess as he answered calls on three different cellphones. Fang Juexia felt a little distressed watching him, but he also knew that this matter was because of Pei Tingsong¡¯s Weibo post, and finding the situation a little funny, he simply stood in front of him for a while.


    After finishing his calls, Cheng Qiang shook his head at Fang Juexia, complaining, ¡°How can he be so fierce? Tell me, how can he be so tiger-like?!¡±


    ¡°Maybe he was a little tiger in his last life,¡± Fang Juexia shrugged and replied, ¡°He got used to being the king of the mountain, and now looks down upon everyone.¡±


    ¡°The key is that those stalker fans tend to go to the extreme.¡± Cheng Qiang was still worried.


    Fang Juexia thought about it. ¡°Qiang Ge, we¡¯re not quite thinking the right way. I thought about it today, and in fact, Xiao Pei¡¯s actions are not necessarily impulsive. He is making his own calculations, and as you know, he is not a person who depends on his fans to eat, not to mention the kind of fans that are stalker fans.¡±


    Cheng Qiang suddenly understood what he was saying. ¡°Do you mean that Xiao Pei wants to sort them all out by himself?¡±


    ¡°Maybe ba.¡± Fang Juexia was just guessing. ¡°Countering one evil with another evil can sometimes be a good method.¡±


    ¡°Whatever¡­ Anyway, I¡¯m really tired today. I originally wanted to spend some money to have the topic dropped from the Hot Search list, but that little brat simply wouldn¡¯t hear of it, nor would he delete the Weibo post. As a result, some influencer accounts started creating a whole thread about him in the forums, before we can even get a handle on this situation.¡±


    ¡°What forum?¡± Fang Juexia realized the answer to his own question all of a sudden. ¡°Oh, Pei Tingsong¡¯s tiger-like incident log.¡±


    ¡°You even know about that!¡±


    Fang Juexia laughed. ¡°When Ling Yi was eating melons, he showed it to me.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m speechless. They¡¯ve even given him a nickname online now, some ¡®the world¡¯s middle-finger, Pei Tingsong¡¯, and ¡®walking silencer, Pei Tingsong, the evil tiger of the world.¡¯¡±


    Fang Juexia thought about it. ¡°It¡¯s all very appropriate.¡±


    Cheng Qiang was left completely speechless. Sure enough, what brotherhood that only comes out of fanservice, and he had thought they had really become good friends.


    ¡°Alright ba, of the two of you, one¡¯s stubborn while the other is fierce, it¡¯s too hard for me.¡± Cheng Qiang was about to leave, but then turned back to remind him, ¡°Hey, by the way, we need to shoot advertisements during the weekend, so adjust your state accordingly.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    He practiced in the practice room until the evening, when Ling Yi also came in to dance, who told him as soon as he entered the door, ¡°Juexia, have you seen Xiao Pei¡¯s Weibo post? It¡¯s too powerful.¡±


    Fang Juexia wiped away his sweat and drank some water. ¡°Saw it, he posted it right when he was in front of me at that time, I didn¡¯t even know at that time.¡±


    ¡°Yi?¡± Ling Yi was puzzled at first, and then quickly realized. ¡°No, he posted another one. You certainly didn¡¯t see the new one.¡± He knew Fang Juexia never looked at his cellphone when he was practicing.


    Really?


    Fang Juexia walked to the wall, picked up his cellphone, sat down, opened Weibo, and only refreshed his homepage once before he came across Pei Tingsong¡¯s Weibo post.


    [@Kaleido Pei Tingsong: To tell the truth, the way you guys keep cursing out my bandmates and my agent on the Internet every single day, I can treat it as if I haven¡¯t seen it. Whatever you guys curse, we¡¯re still together and will even go to Maldives together. Are you angry yet?


    But what do you want to do when you chase after our cars like crazy people and even get in front of me, just to curse my bandmates out in front of me? Do you want to tell me, ¡°Ah, Pei Tingsong, look at how much I like you ah, I can curse people out just like you¡±? Learn something, okay, I only curse out those who deserve it, such as you guys. I also love reading, so why don¡¯t I see you guys bringing papers in with you and having me help you read the English abstracts ah?]


    ¡°Pfft,¡± Fang Juexia directly started laughing.


    Ling Yi immediately said, ¡°Right, right, Xiao Pei is really awesome. I¡¯ve never seen such an awesome idol in my life. I even want to sign up for his class and learn how to curse people out from him.¡±


    ¡°Forget it ba.¡± Fang Juexia¡¯s smile did not subside. ¡°Once you learn it, you will have no place to display it. He himself isn¡¯t afraid of the heavens or the earth.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true, his family is so rich and powerful that no one dares to touch him, so he¡¯s completely emboldened. Right,¡± Ling Yi pointed at his screen and added,¡± you see, he also replied to the poison fan¡¯s comment.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    Sure enough, the first comment below the post was just that.


    [@Pinot Tree Supreme¡¯s Real Girlfriend: No, what the hell are you talking about? Didn¡¯t everyone get into a catfight just for you? It can¡¯t be that we went to quarrel with people for ourselves? You¡¯re really good at fucking cooling down your fans¡¯ hearts ah. Do you know how many resources and fans you will lose after you say these words? You have to speak and act cautiously in the entertainment industry, do you fucking understand? Don¡¯t think you¡¯re so awesome when you have just gotten popular, don¡¯t think you¡¯re some kind of big shot!]


    [@Kaleido Pei Tingsong replying to @Pinot Tree Supreme¡¯s Real Girlfriend: First, I¡¯m speaking in Chinese. Second, you are quarreling for yourself. Throw the blame on me less, I get annoyed as soon as I see you guys flame my bandmates. Third, stop trying to represent all fans here, do you even match with that? Fourth, what resources do I need? I am a resource myself. If I¡¯m going to lose fans, then you guys should leave quickly, it¡¯ll be healthier when you¡¯re all washed away. While we¡¯re at it, you¡¯re new here ba. You didn¡¯t know that I cursed people out even more fiercely when I wasn¡¯t popular ah. So what if I¡¯m popular? Did I get popular just based on you? This young master got popular based on his own strength and brains.]


    In addition, he replied with another message.


    [@Kaleido Pei Tingsong replying to @Pinot Tree Supreme¡¯s Real Girlfriend: Change your ID for me, I don¡¯t need girlfriend fans. You can only dream of being my girlfriend.]


    He¡¯s too harsh¡­


    Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t help sighing. He knew that the fans below would take control of the comments, so he specially clicked on the Hot Search List to see it in real time. He thought that there would be a lot of people openly cursing him out, but the situation was actually totally different from what he had imagined.


    [@Paperheart: Holy shit, PTS is too amazing¡­]


    [@Low class Appearance Con: Shit, I¡¯m going to become a fan. I never thought there would be such a brave star as PTS. It was already enough to be proud about just with that post flaming stalker fans, but this reply is really full of hard-core scolding. He¡¯s really not afraid of losing fans ah, and as far as I know, he is one of the tops of the group? Respect, Pei Ge]


    [@Little Seven Little Seven replying to @Low class Appearance Con: This Ge really doesn¡¯t care. What he did before is no better than what he¡¯s doing now. Before, because he was too angry with brainless fans, the company confiscated his account and didn¡¯t let him post anything. So, he later opened up a livestream to curse them out, and the company realised they couldn¡¯t control him, so they gave him back his account.]


    [@Low class Appearance Con replying to @Little Seven Little Seven: Shit??? Opening up a livestream? How is he so strong?]


    [@Little Seven Little Seven replying to @Low class Appearance Con: Well, he doesn¡¯t care about those crazy fans at all. After all, he got into the entertainment circle to amuse himself. He was originally devoted to the underground hip-hop circle. Those crazy fans want to mind him, but of course, that doesn¡¯t go over too well. Also, just one of his watches is worth millions of yuan, his family lives in Atherton, and the whole family is also very famous. Previously, all the posts about his family history were completely deleted, and the accounts that posted about it were all suspended. Just by judging such a situation for a bit, you will know, how would a regular little idol dare to do any of this?]


    [@Low class Appearance Con replying to @Little Seven Little Seven: I¡¯m going to go after him! Pursuing this kind of idol is like reading a book where the protagonist levels up smoothly!]


    [@Big astronaut detective: Worthy of being the number one fierce tiger (1) in the entertainment circle. Every time I watch PTS flame back, I feel good from head to toe and know that I will be reincarnated really well ah]


    [@Who doesn¡¯t like to eat lychee: He¡¯s too awesome, flaming back a poison fan¡­ The plot I dreamed about actually appeared in real life, new fandom here I come!]


    [@bukubuku: Worthy of having grown up abroad. This style is just like an European and American star¡¯s ah.]


    [@Karen landed safely: How is he this fiercely explosive today? Let me make a bold guess, the cursed out bandmate he mentioned couldn¡¯t be FJX ba (just a fan casually opening up a hole in her brain, don¡¯t come curse me. If you curse me, your idol will curse you)]


    [@You are the April day in the world: PTS probably expressed many internal thoughts that stars dare not say ba. Some fans are really crazy. The Seven Luminaries¡¯ tracker incident a while ago was also frightening, but AS actually did nothing. Old Three¡¯s Weibo was circumspect, not having the guts to say even a single more brutal word. It¡¯s too hard, next time, are such fans going to install a pinhole camera?]


    [@EVA1234: No, how can he say that to fans?]


    [@PTS just won¡¯t ripen replying to @EVA1234: No, actually, he looks very fierce, but he is very good to real fans. A fan in high school was very scared because she had a small tumor. She wrote a long article about it, but didn¡¯t even dare @ him, but other fans then tagged him. As a result, he actually forwarded it and secretly went to see the girl. Knowing that she was from a single parent family, he arranged for her to go to the best cancer hospital and paid the full medical expenses for her treatment. In fact, he is very kind-hearted, it¡¯s just that some fans are so terrible and do some weird stalker actions under the banner of love. He¡¯s been saying this ever since he debuted.]


    Fang Juexia still had an impression of that incident. He Ziyan had said that Pei Tingsong had subsidized a high school student, but he hadn¡¯t thought much of it at that time. He had just felt that the young master was rich and energetic. Only later did he know that he was biased against him. The high school student had been seriously ill and had no money for treatment. He had decided to help without telling anyone about it. If it wasn¡¯t for that child who had later insisted on posting about it on Weibo, no one would know about it.


    Pei Tingsong, this person, had a sharp contrast in attitudes, all black or white, without any grey areas.


    It was at that time that Fang Juexia had also changed his attitude towards him, coming to understand that Pei Tingsong¡¯s nature wasn¡¯t bad. However, Fang Juexia¡¯s cognition and positioning of himself at that time were also very accurate. He was a person who had been assigned to the black area, and he would never get any kind looks from him.


    Now that he thought about it, life really had great ups and downs and then ups and downs again.


    Who would have expected that the person in his black area would one day become his boyfriend?


    #Pei Tingsong curses out stalker fans# and #the world¡¯s middle-finger, Pei Tingsong# had exploded on the Hot Search List, reaching the level where the entire Internet was eating melons and watching its development.


    Seeing this, Fang Juexia thought that ¡®really, they were finished this time.¡¯ The company didn¡¯t have enough money to drag something like this off the Hot Search list, how expensive would doing that be ah?


    There were all kinds of comments in the Hot Search list entries. Most of them were surprised, and many people even became fans because of Pei Tingsong¡¯s straightforwardness.


    Of course, there were always some Li Zhongkes or keyboard warriors, who kept pointing at Pei Tingsong¡¯s reckless behavior. They attempted to control him using very traditional Chinese thinking, wanting him to learn patience and teaching him to be cautious.


    In this way, the Li Zhongkes didn¡¯t care about how they were treated, they just wanted to teach people how to behave. They even swarmed into Pei Tingsong¡¯s Weibo to educate him online. They thought they were the good kind of medicine, one that tasted bitter, and expected Pei Tingsong to listen and change after being scolded. Some people even mocked Pei Tingsong with his experience of growing up abroad, telling him that Chinese was not used to curse people out. To be a star was to learn to shut up, and he deserved it.


    ¡°These speeches are so mesmerizing, I feel like they¡¯re also really good at cursing people out in Chinese?¡± Ling Yi scrolled down, getting more obsessed the further he read, and then became so angry that he returned to Pei Tingsong¡¯s post about not cursing out his bandmates to give him a like.


    ¡°Juexia, you also go like it. I think Lu Yuan and He Ziyan have already done so.¡±


    Fang Juexia let out an ¡°oh¡± and then went back to his home page, accidentally refreshing it. Unexpectedly, Pei Tingsong¡¯s latest Weibo post appeared on his screen, which was just a picture with no additional text in the message. The picture consisted of a few lines of his handwritten English.


    [@Kaleido Pei Tingsong: shared a picture]


    [We live in a fucking insane time£¬man


    when you stalked by some shit£¬you must shut the fuck up


    when you tryna say something real£¬people just blah-blah-blah


    They say you gotta watch for what you saying baby


    OMG£¬ you are in trouble!


    guess what


    I AM THE REAL TROUBLE ]


    He didn¡¯t know why, but just looking at this picture made Fang Juexia feel that there was a voice in his head, as if Pei Tingsong was freestyling there.


    He didn¡¯t expect a translation to pop up in the hot comments after just a short period of time.


    [@Learn English with Pinot Tree Supreme: We live in a ** crazy age. When you are stalked by some **, you have to ** shut up and bear with it. When you want to say something real ba, critics go blablabla then say something about watching what you say. Later, they¡¯ll say god, you¡¯re in trouble! Guess what? Laozi is the real trouble.]


    Fang Juexia smiled.


    ¡°It really is a soulful translation.¡±


    Ling Yi looked at him in surprise. ¡°God, Juexia, I actually thought you really wouldn¡¯t support him being this fierce.¡±


    Fang Juexia looked back at him peacefully. ¡°I support him ah. Whatever he does, I support him.¡±

 CH 81

    Chapter 81 ¨C Mean Comment Counterattack


    Just collecting human samples


    ¡°Yi?¡±


    Looking at Fang Juexia, who had gone back to continue dancing, Ling Yi kept feeling that there was something off, but he couldn¡¯t quite tell what, so he relayed the events that had just happened to the small eating-fluff group chat.


    [Kaleido¡¯s No.1 Big Boss: Anybody there?]


    [Your Fire Ge is Still Your Fire Ge: With no 1s or 0s, the whole world is very peaceful and doesn¡¯t need heroes.]


    [National First Class Flower Hand Dance Performer: Lyrical rhyme x2]


    [The Household¡¯s Essential Good Captain: What¡¯s up¡ª]


    [Kaleido¡¯s No.1 Big Boss: I just showed Juexia Xiao Pei¡¯s Weibo post. He kept looking at it, and he was actually so engrossed in it that he started smiling, did you guys know?! He actually smiled while reading it!]


    [National First Class Flower Hand Dance Performer: Was it like this smile? [FakeSmileBoy.JPG]


    [Kaleido¡¯s No.1 Big Boss: No! It was a sincere smile. I even asked him, I said, ¡°Juexia, shouldn¡¯t you especially not support Xiao Pei being so fierce?¡± You guys guess what he replied with?]


    [Your Fire Ge is Still Your Fire Ge: He said, ¡°If I were a DJ, would you love me?¡±]


    [National First Class Flower Hand Dance Performer: Hahahahahahaha!]


    [Kaleido¡¯s No.1 Big Boss: Aiya, no! He said, ¡°Whatever he does, I will support him.¡± Say, has Juexia been bodily possessed by a ghost? How could he have become so¡­.so¡­. Aiya, I can¡¯t find the adjective.]


    [The Household¡¯s Essential Good Captain: Doting.]


    [National First Class Flower Hand Dance Performer: Yi~]


    [National First Class Flower Hand Dance Performer: He might not be bodily possessed by a ghost, but someone who is scared of ghosts might be all over his body (/s)]


    [Your Fire Ge is Still Your Fire Ge: Already screenshotted.]


    [The Household¡¯s Essential Good Captain: Alright, you guys, take it easy, draw back a bit from shipping your bandmates¡¯ CP]


    Seeing the captain say something so serious, Ling Yi became a little bit afraid, not expecting his next sentence to be:


    [The Household¡¯s Essential Good Captain: Don¡¯t start dancing around before the fans do.]


    So it turns out that was what the captain was afraid of??


    Pei Tingsong stayed high on the Hot Search List for two whole days. His speech, in one breath, had pretty much torn off the mask of calmness the entertainment industry habitually maintained on the surface. Unexpectedly, he also garnered a lot of support with this dispute.


    With regards to how more and more entertainment stars chose to remain ¡°silent¡±, there were many netizens who had already been accumulating a lot of dissatisfaction with it from long ago. In this day and age, because saying something could get you sentenced to death, public figures had gotten into the habit of wearing masks of silence, always only uttering exquisitely decorated words that would contain absolutely no errors. For as long as they lived, they would maintain an act and never express their own views.


    Pei Tingsong was like a living person who broke this puppet mask. He had no scruples in breaking this tacit rule and expressing himself in a pointed and emotional way.


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s fans were very good at dealing with people. While some especially fierce words were still making their way onto the Hot Search List, Pei Tingsong¡¯s fans took advantage of this popularity to post a lot of clips of him from the ensemble show, especially those from when he was in the haunted house.


    [@Under the Pinot Tree Supreme, you and I: We sincerely invite you to watch the great transformation of #The World¡¯s Middle Finger, Pei Tingsong# and #The World¡¯s Silencer# [share video]]


    Everyone rushed in with their mics open, ready to argue, but after they clicked on it and came face-to-face with the rapper who was scared of ghosts and whose voice kept getting more and more high-pitched, this gap moe made a lot of netizens turn into his fans.


    [@Pfft pfft pfft, swallowing down saliva: Hahahahaha, you¡¯re telling me that this is the Pei Tingsong who turned on his mic to curse people out???]


    [@Leopard zebra little cutie: The World¡¯s Middle Finger persona is fake! [dog head]]


    [@ 123 wooden man: Hahahahahaha I can¡¯t even match this to him cursing out people on Weibo (P.S. The two boys are ¡¢¡¢matched)]


    [@Diiidi: Getting away from the main point, this Ge sounds so nice talking in English ah, his accent is great]


    With Pei Tingsong reaching this degree of popularity, a small company like Star Chart knew that they couldn¡¯t control it at all. All they could do was just try their best to guide public opinion and not be used by others. However, no one dared to really attack Pei Tingsong.


    Originally, Cheng Qiang was very worried that the sports brand from before would drop the deal due to Pei Tingsong opening his mic. When the news had broken out on the Hot Search List, he had called the brand merchant specially, in order to disclose all the details of the story in advance. Unexpectedly, not only was the other side not in any negative mood, they were also very satisfied.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t the response online very good? It fits perfectly, our series also focuses on this kind of young and flamboyant style. Pei Tingsong is very consistent with our style, and there¡¯s also Fang Juexia. One of them is calm while the other is flamboyant, and there¡¯s contrast there. They can represent two different types of young people, it¡¯s very good.¡±


    Cheng Qiang was relieved. Being the agent of a ticking time bomb really wasn¡¯t easy.


    On the day of the advertisement¡¯s shooting, Cheng Qiang drove them to the filming location. Fang Juexia got in the car and looked out of the window. The parasol tree in the boulevard had, at some point, already grown to cover up half of the sky. Busy people lacked perception of time, and just so imperceptibly, summer was on the brink of arriving.


    ¡°At the end of today¡¯s work, you guys can take a break for a while. After that, there will be some more fragmentary events.¡± Cheng Qiang started the car. ¡°Boss means to strive to release a mini-album for you guys in the summer.¡±


    ¡°Are we going to the Maldives or not?¡± Pei Tingsong asked.


    Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t help but start to laugh. ¡°Have you become Ling Yi¡¯s spokesman now?¡±


    ¡°Shh, shh, shh.¡± Cheng Qiang put on his seat belt and said, ¡°The last episode for the ensemble show will be in the Maldives, and we¡¯re only filming for the first two days. You guys can have fun however you like the days after, we won¡¯t follow you to film it.¡±


    ¡°Really? So cool.¡± Pei Tingsong took advantage of the situation to hug Fang Juexia¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°Then I want to stay in the same room as Juexia Ge.¡±


    Cheng Qiang glared at him. ¡°You dislike me, don¡¯t you? I haven¡¯t even settled accounts with you for up and vanishing that other day!¡±


    At the mention of this matter, Fang Juexia felt embarrassed and looked out of the window.


    Pei Tingsong was cheeky and said with a smile, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? How old am I, and you¡¯re still dispatching people to follow me around every day ah.¡±


    Speaking of this, Fang Juexia thought of something.


    ¡°By the way, I keep feeling a little strange lately.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s strange?¡± Cheng Qiang drove out of the neighborhood.


    Pei Tingsong loosened his hold on his shoulder and sat down by himself, looking at Fang Juexia¡¯s face. He just saw his brow slightly furrow. ¡°I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m being neurotic. I keep feeling that someone has been following me recently, but when I look back, there¡¯s no one there.¡±


    Hearing him say that he was being neurotic, Pei Tingsong immediately said, ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate a human¡¯s ability to predict danger. Sometimes it¡¯s very accurate, and this doesn¡¯t count as some sort of neurosis.¡± Having said that, he was also a little fidgety and continued, ¡°The recent stalker fans have really been a little disgusting, they must have also followed you.¡±


    ¡°Do you feel it at the dorm?¡± Cheng Qiang asked.


    Fang Juexia shook his head. ¡°Just on the way back to the dormitory, or near the company. And it¡¯s just been there for the past two days, I didn¡¯t have a feeling like that before.¡±


    ¡°After the advertisement is done, rest well in the dormitory for a few days, or go out to have fun.¡± Cheng Qiang said, ¡°For the time being, don¡¯t come regularly to the company anymore. You should rest anyway, you¡¯ve been working continuously for too long.¡±


    Looking at Fang Juexia nodding calmly, Pei Tingsong wanted to hug him.


    He was clearly not afraid of the heavens or the earth, but now it seemed that he really had a weakness. If someone even lightly touched it, he would be miserable.


    The theme of the ad being shot was ¡°Publicize the True Self¡±. What they needed to show off were the new summer products of the brand¡¯s youth series. They would need to shoot four versions of the TV ad, as well as shoot photos for a full series of print ads. Of course, this also included some gags and material videos for the publicity period.


    As soon as they arrived at the filming location, Cheng Qiang met the marketing director he had met before. The other party waved to them from a distance. When he greeted them, he was very warm. ¡°You arrived so early, the roads weren¡¯t jammed ba?¡±


    ¡°Wasn¡¯t that just us being afraid of being stuck on the second ring road? I simply hauled them both up early in the morning to avoid that.¡±


    The director said with a smile, ¡°Right, I have something to discuss with you guys. The publicity video we agreed on was a quick survey, which meant some quick Q&A with you guys. Later, our higher-ups said that this seemed to be the same as that magazine shoot from before, and they hoped we could change it. Our marketing team held a meeting all night, and combining things with some hot current events, came up with a new plan. You guys look, if it¡¯s acceptable, we¡¯ll just¡­¡±


    He handed them the plan, one for each of them. Fang Juexia looked down and flipped through it, and the first line of small words attracted his attention ¡ª read mean comments and give a response.


    ¡°Of course, this isn¡¯t something acceptable to every star, so it is only one of our plans. There¡¯s a little game ¡®never have I ever¡¯ in the back, which can be used as an alternative.¡±


    As soon as he saw ¡°mean comments¡±, Cheng Qiang looked at Fang Juexia. He knew that Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t care, but Fang Juexia had suffered too much online abuse before.


    Fang Juexia turned the page and looked up. He saw Cheng Qiang looking at himself, so he laughed. ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Qiang Ge?¡±


    ¡°Ah, nothing, do you think it¡¯s okay?¡±


    He also didn¡¯t know why, but it felt to him that Fang Juexia had already gotten rid of the source for his sensitive feelings by now. It was probably that his frame of mind was different now, and he was much more mature than before.


    ¡°I can do it.¡± Saying that, he looked at Pei Tingsong. ¡°It¡¯s not just me here ah.¡±


    If Pei Tingsong said he wasn¡¯t worried inside, he¡¯d be lying, but he also knew that if Fang Juexia really didn¡¯t like it, he would refuse outright. He wasn¡¯t a man to swallow his anger. On the contrary, he was very brave.


    ¡°Alright ah, let¡¯s do it together.¡±


    Seeing that they had readily agreed, the marketing director was relieved that the scheme he had worked on all night had not been abandoned. He explained, ¡°In fact, we have screened all these mean comments, and there are no extreme ones. If you guys still aren¡¯t at ease, we can show them to you first.¡±


    Fang Juexia said with a smile, ¡°That¡¯s not necessary. If we do it that way, there won¡¯t be any surprise when we read it again.¡±


    The marketing director was a bit surprised to hear him say that.


    He had expected Fang Juexia, who had been harassed by online abuse before, to resolutely reject this proposal. Unexpectedly, he was so easy to convince, and also agreed to cooperate so smoothly.


    Throughout the process of filming the advertisement, Fang Juexia and Pei Tingsong changed into six sets of the new products, with their venue changing again and again as  they filmed from morning to dusk. The whole team was very professional, and the stylists matched the series of clothes and shoes they wore based on their two distinct personal characteristics, all in order to maximize and highlight them.


    The photographer constantly praised the two people¡¯s expressiveness, even giving a high evaluation of ¡°no wasted film¡±. However, Fang Juexia was as always, bowing and thanking everyone for their hard work.


    Even if there were many people holding him up now, he would not forget the contemptuous looks they had suffered on their path here. As long as he remembered it, he would feel like his feet were still firmly planted on the ground, not floating up in the air, still in this world.


    ¡°Done! And there¡¯s still the last publicity video, the two of you have worked hard.¡±


    Fang Juexia was wearing a lake blue tracksuit jacket over a raglan short-sleeved T-shirt on top, which had the words ¡®Feel Me¡¯ on the front, and lake blue shorts and light blue shoes below.


    From the distance, he looked like a tall dawn redwood, beautiful, precious, and full of vitality.


    Pei Tingsong looked at him from behind, not being able to even move his eyes away. The loose fabric of the shorts swayed in the wind, enclosing a pair of pale long legs that almost glowed, the tight muscles of which were evenly spread across as they tightened and loosened with his every movement.


    Fang Juexia¡¯s ankles were particularly beautiful, with slightly convex sides, round anklebones, and thin ankles that could be grasped, and when his heel pulled upward, he gave off the feel of being a teenager.


    ¡°The two of you sit in front of this camera here, right.¡±


    In the absence of a host, they had to control the scene by themselves. The staff put the comment cards on the table in front of them, a small stack in front of each of them. The cards were black, with comments from antis written on them, one comment per card.


    Fang Juexia picked up a card and announced the opening lines to the camera with no expression on his face. ¡°Reading the mean comments challenge, start.¡±


    Pei Tingsong bumped his shoulder. ¡°Hey, you manage your expression a bit.¡±


    Fang Juexia turned to look at him and rubbed his cheeks. ¡°Do I have too much expression?¡±


    Pei Tingsong took the card in his hand and swatted his chin with it a bit. ¡°I mean, please have more expression. Otherwise, I¡¯ll feel sorry for the anti-fans who wrote these comments. They, after all, really, seriously hate us.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Fang Juexia looked down at the card and frowned very hard to show that he was paying attention. Pei Tingsong rubbed his head. ¡°You¡¯re really obedient.¡±


    Fang Juexia glared at him and removed his hand .


    Pei Tingsong almost couldn¡¯t help laughing. Really, he has more of a temper towards me than towards the anti fans.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go first.¡± He picked up the first black card and read, ¡°Am I the only one who thinks Pei Tingsong is really stupid?¡±


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t know why, but when he heard him read it, he thought it was funny and couldn¡¯t help laughing out loud.


    ¡°Look at your reaction. People who don¡¯t know would think you wrote it.¡±


    The smile on Fang Juexia¡¯s face didn¡¯t recede. ¡°Yes ah, real evidence within the group.¡±


    Pei Tingsong threw the card aside and replied, ¡°Right, it¡¯s only you. You are electricity, you are light, you are the only garbage, woo.¡± Then he complained, ¡°That¡¯s it? That¡¯s it? Let¡¯s have something that is actually fierce ba. ¡°


    Fang Juexia took out one. His voice didn¡¯t change much, and he even sounded like a robot reading a manuscript.


    ¡°Fang Juexia is so fond of hyping his good-at-math persona. Why is he an idol ah, the entertainment industry doesn¡¯t need high intelligence. If you don¡¯t always pretend to be a math teacher, do you feel bad?¡±


    After reading it, he seriously thought about it before giving a response, ¡°In fact, I really have a teacher¡¯s qualification certificate. If we didn¡¯t get popular, I was preparing to return to my hometown to teach.¡± After saying that, he didn¡¯t lose heart and gave a thumb¡¯s up towards the camera. ¡°You¡¯re a great prophet.¡±


    Pei Tingsong was amused by his family¡¯s beautiful baby. He looks down at the black card in his hand with a smile. No, he needed to steady himself.


    After clearing his throat, Pei Tingsong continued, ¡°I really don¡¯t know how PTS this garbage debuted? Don¡¯t you just have some money? He¡¯s already the second generation of a wealthy family, why come harm the entertainment industry ah? Go and inherit your family property ah.¡±


    Pei Tingsong took the card and knocked it on the table. ¡°Since the netizens are so happy to answer their own questions, there¡¯s nothing for me to say. But I don¡¯t have ¡®some¡¯ money.¡± He tossed the card. ¡°I have boatloads of money.¡±


    He was terrifying. Fang Juexia shook his head, drew out a mean comment card and read it out easily.


    ¡°Fang Juexia is the artist I¡¯ve seen with the least amount of variety. He¡¯s dull and boring and doesn¡¯t even feel like a human being. He¡¯s just like an assembly line commodity without a soul. For a period of time, I suspected that he was mute, and I couldn¡¯t understand why someone would like this kind of icy cold idol?¡±


    A bellyful of anger blazed within Pei Tingsong with these words. The people online didn¡¯t understand Fang Juexia at all; they just evaluated him from their own imaginary point of view, and it was subjective and full of prejudice.


    Fang Juexia put down the card with both hands and thought seriously for a while. ¡°Why do people like me?


    ¡°From the analysis of the comments online, most of them tend to have one answer: because I look pretty attractive.¡±


    That was the truth.


    Hearing this, Pei Tingsong started laughing, his anger from before swept away. Fang Juexia was just Fang Juexia. It would be best if he was the only one in the world to see this person¡¯s so good and so fresh side, so that he could have one less enemy and keep it all for himself.


    With this in mind, Pei Tingsong drew out a new one. ¡°I¡¯m most annoyed by Pei Tingsong, this kind of irascible celebrity. What straightforward is he pretending to be, it¡¯s like he can¡¯t curse people out without using dirty words. However much money you earn is how much you have to suffer, understood? Who made you want to be a celebrity, you make so much money as a celebrity, so will you die if you have a little less privacy ah.¡±


    These words were really quite ugly, and Fang Juexia knew Pei Tingsong too well. Just as he was ready to stick up his middle finger, Fang Juexia grasped his finger, pulled it to his side, and held on to it tightly.


    With his middle finger taken prisoner, Pei Tingsong felt that his performance had been limited. He pulled twice, but Fang Juexia didn¡¯t release it. He could only give it up, let him continue holding it, click his tongue twice, and then repeat a sentence from the mean comment¡¯s text. ¡±¡­However much money you earn is how much you have to suffer.¡± He raised an eyebrow. ¡°I was born with so much money that I can¡¯t spend it in several lifetimes. What ¡®suffer¡¯?


    ¡°And your logic is more confusing than the relationship diagram for Aquaman¡¯s fishing grounds.¡±


    Fang Juexia looked at him and asked seriously, ¡°What is Aquaman?¡±


    ¡°Aquaman is a superhero, and his super power is fishery management.¡± Pei Tingsong also put on a serious look when telling him that.


    Really? Fang Juexia, a young man who was usually offline, kept feeling as though this explanation was strange.


    After saying that, Pei Tingsong continued, ¡°People like you who have nothing to do but talk a lot of nonsense every day and think that everyone in the world is drunk but you alone are sober, are essentially pessimistic and defective logical thinkers. You use your narrow ideas to create the illusion of self consistency that aids you in meeting your own emotional needs.


    ¡°Because of your failures in life, you can¡¯t establish good social relationships, and you can¡¯t get positive emotional feedback in life, so you need to vent your negative emotions. You also try to find a reasonable excuse for your venting, so you point the finger at people online, especially at stars, because stars can¡¯t bite back like dogs biting dogs back. You may not be beneficial to society even if you live on. Read some more books ba. Reading will never create garbage.¡±


    Hearing his tirade, where he managed to curse people out without using any dirty words, Fang Juexia¡¯s first reaction was actually to patch up his logic by saying, ¡°No, he¡¯s useful to society.¡±


    Pei Tingsong looked at him with an ¡®excuse me¡¯ expression, but unexpectedly, Fang Juexia continued solemnly, ¡°It¡¯s useful as a sample of the diversity of human thinking. The sample has the value of being observed and providing a conclusion.¡±


    People¡¯s social activities in this life were just for the sake of collecting human samples.


    Pfft. Pei Tingsong chuckled.


    This guy was so smartly cute even when adding on knives.


    Fang Juexia picked up another one and read it out loud, ¡°The entertainment industry now is filled with so many evil-doers; are the former anti-materials about the hidden rules washed clean so quickly? Every generation is worse than the next.¡±


    When Pei Tingsong heard the words ¡°hidden rules¡±, he felt as though they pierced his ears. He really didn¡¯t feel good, but unexpectedly, Fang Juexia remained calm. He still held onto Pei Tingsong¡¯s middle finger in one hand as he held the card in his other hand and tapped it on the table.


    ¡°I¡¯ve explained it before, and I can explain it again. The hidden rules issue is a rumor. Please bear in mind that no matter what evil mask you¡¯re wearing online, everyone is human and cannot escape legal responsibility.¡±


    The staff in the back were a little surprised. Everyone said that Pei Tingsong was a tough master, but unexpectedly, Fang Juexia, who looked gentle and didn¡¯t speak much, could also be so direct.


    Today, Fang Juexia also finally discovered that he had already matured. In the past, he used to treat these malicious lingering rumors by staying far away from them, just like he would in the case of allergens. But now, he could already accept the possibility of being disliked.


    In front of the camera, he put down the card and added, ¡°I¡¯ve already remembered your ID. I¡¯ll give it to the legal department of the company in five minutes.¡±

 CH 82

    Chapter 82 ¨C Ordinary Two Points


    Catching and drowning everyone inside


    At the end of the segment, the marketing director asked again if they needed to cut off some of his more extreme words, but Fang Juexia shook his head.


    ¡°Since I have chosen to go ahead with this segment, I was ready to cause controversy.¡±


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t want to hide any more. Acting as if those negative voices didn¡¯t exist was an effective way to manage his emotions, but when they really appeared in front of him, he was willing to face them head-on as well.


    He had to admit that Pei Tingsong¡¯s indomitable attitude had really influenced him. In the past, in order to preserve himself, he hadn¡¯t spoken out at all, so that he wouldn¡¯t drag any others down into the water for the sake of his future. However, preserving himself and defending himself were the same thing, and no matter how many times he was stabbed in the spine, he would continue refuting the rumors. Fake was fake, and even if no one believed it, even if the cost of refuting those rumors was high, he had to say it.


    Not shirking away was also a kind of resistance.


    That night, before going to sleep, he received a message from Pei Tingsong:


    [A Constant Truth: I¡¯m very honored to collect you, such a precious sample.]


    Fang Juexia smiled. He always thought himself to be a more low profile person. He didn¡¯t know what part of him could be praised as precious as Pei Tingsong said, so he replied¡ª


    [Moonlight: I¡¯m just a part of the normal distribution, the most common and the most ordinary sample.]


    Pei Tingsong did not agree.


    This world was very crazy, with there being angry people everywhere who took pleasure in attacking others, and the puppets who followed their every step. Anger and violence churned into black water, becoming a torrent impossible to fight against, catching and drowning everyone inside. Someone like Fang Juexia, a mature and logical rebel, was as rare as a real heresy. He leaned on a crutch as he waded against the torrent with his every step firm but also trembling within its depths.


    Pei Tingsong knew that Fang Juexia wouldn¡¯t easily accept the evaluation he gave him. No matter how much he praised him, Fang Juexia, who was born in negativity, never believed in praise, believing only in his too-sober view of himself.


    So, he changed his strategy and didn¡¯t try to persuade him any further.


    [A Constant Truth: Then I also want to be the most common sample, located right next to you. We are two juxtaposed points on the peak of the curve.]


    They were very small points, but they could face the truth and hypocrisy of the world together.


    [Moonlight: Okay ah.]


    Stars were very busy, especially stars belonging to small companies. They needed to sacrifice their rest time in order to maintain their exposure, so this break they got was a very hard-earned one for them. Although they still had to continue the job by recording their fixed variety shows, it didn¡¯t really count as being a tight schedule.


    Fang Juexia and Pei Tingsong made plans to go to the practice room to write a song for the new mini album. As they passed by the snack shop downstairs, they bought a lot of stuff that everyone liked to eat and packaged it to-go. Fang Juexia let Pei Tingsong help him carry the bags to the practice room for He Ziyan and the rest. He also took a few of the bags, preparing to give them to Xiao Wen; lately, he had also been working really hard.


    When he got out of the elevator and came to the staff department on the fifth floor, he found that there weren¡¯t many people working overtime at night. The light at Xiao Wen¡¯s desk was still on, and seeing this made Fang Juexia relieved because he was afraid that he might not catch Xiao Wen for he had left for a meeting.


    But only when he neared Xiao Wen¡¯s desk did he realize that Xiao Wen was not there. Instead, it was a fresh-faced girl who didn¡¯t look very old.


    Fang Juexia had a good memory and soon recalled the new person Xiao Wen had complained about.


    His eyes swept across the top of the desk, and his attention soon focused on a silver USB stuck into the computer.


    ¡°Are you the new assistant?¡± Fang Juexia¡¯s voice was calm and composed, but the new person, who had just been called, actually panicked. She bounced up from Xiao Wen¡¯s seat, making the papers land all over the floor. She immediately crouched down and tidied up in a hurry, apologizing constantly.


    Fang Juexia placed the food they had bought on Xiao Wen¡¯s desk and crouched down to help her neaten things up. ¡°Why are you this nervous?¡± He looked at her intern nameplate, which had Wang Lu written on it.


    ¡°Yes¡­. I¡¯m rather timid,¡± Wang Lu explained.


    ¡°You can¡¯t be timid in this business, you have to get used to walking around at night.¡± Fang Juexia looked down to collect the documents and found that most of them were schedules of the Kaleido members, combined with Xiao Wen¡¯s work notes.


    Even after hearing Fang Juexia¡¯s words, the girl could hardly speak up.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid.¡± Fang Juexia stood up, put the documents on Xiao Wen¡¯s desk, and said, ¡°Oh, by the way, just reminding you, Xiao Wen really doesn¡¯t like other people sitting in his seat. I think the company also assigns interns their own desks, so it¡¯d be better if you used yours in the future ba.¡±


    Finally, he swept the table with another look, and noticed that the USB in the computer had disappeared.


    These actions were really suspicious. For so many days, they had all been followed by stalker fans in turn, which meant that there had to be a source leaking of information. If this new assistant was really responsible for this, he must let Cheng Qiang know.


    Fang Juexia walked to the practice room while pondering on this. At the door, he met Pei Tingsong, who was looking down at his cellphone. His expression didn¡¯t seem very good, as if something had happened. He lightened his footsteps, but Pei Tingsong still noticed him.


    ¡°You gave it to Xiao Wen?¡± Pei Tingsong raised his head, and his expression of displeasure disappeared completely when he saw him. ¡°As soon as I took the food in, they ate it all. I left you a bowl of preserved egg and lean meat porridge.¡±


    Fang Juexia nodded. He wanted to tell Cheng Qiang about this matter first, but now he thought of something else.


    ¡°Have you been looking into the matter regarding the stalker fans recently?¡± He got straight to the point, not beating around the bush at all.


    Pei Tingsong laughed. ¡°Why is it I can¡¯t hide anything from you, how did you guess it?¡±


    ¡°I heard Xiao Wen say that you asked him to take pictures of some of the stalker fans.¡± More than that, he always felt that Pei Tingsong was not a person who would only fight back online. He wouldn¡¯t suffer grievances or tolerate any sand in his eyes, so naturally, he would try to find a way to make the other party suffer.


    Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t deny it. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve found someone to investigate them. They¡¯ll just give them a little lesson, let them know that they can be held legally responsible for what they do.¡±


    He continued, ¡°These people, most of them come from rich families, and they¡¯re bored to the point of weirdness that they start feeling like they can come into close contact with celebrities. I have to let them know that their behavior will affect their families. If I can¡¯t control them, there¡¯s still their parents, and even the police if that¡¯s not enough.¡±


    Fortunately, he didn¡¯t really use violence to control violence. Fang Juexia had also somewhat guessed his way of fighting back, so he let out a breath before telling Pei Tingsong about what he had just seen at Xiao Wen¡¯s workstation.


    ¡°When investigating this intern assistant, we should be able to ferret out a lot of things.¡±


    Pei Tingsong was quite satisfied. Right then and there, he passed on the information about the intern assistant to the people he had arranged to investigate the matter, asking them to investigate her. They would only get more in fees, not less.


    ¡°We¡¯ll tell Qiang Ge about this assistant in a few days. These next few days, don¡¯t make a move, I¡¯ll wait for the net to be drawn in.¡±


    As soon as they entered the practice room, they heard the other members gossiping while practicing dance steps.


    ¡°I heard that As¡¯ stock has been falling recently.¡±


    ¡°No way ba, you didn¡¯t buy shares in our rival company ba, Ling Yi?¡±


    ¡°How can I have that kind of spare money ah? I just heard from my friends that the top management of Astar has changed again, don¡¯t know if it¡¯s true or not.¡±


    The group leader saw the last two people come in and clapped his hands. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s practice together ba. Isn¡¯t there a song that still needs to be written later?¡±


    ¡°Okay¡ª¡±


    Who knew if Pei Tingsong¡¯s warning was really effective, but over the next few days, the members ran into fewer stalker fans, and there were no more ¡°regular visitors¡± downstairs. Both their supporting fans and more loosely affiliated fans called for a boycott of stalker fans online, and because of their voices, the fans were resolute and clear-cut.


    Although it was difficult to put an end to such things, that didn¡¯t mean that they should be ignored or that they must be treated like this. Even if it was just an online dispute, as long as the subject was discussed, it could wake some people up. They needed to find the source of these participants, and at the same time, let everyone know that this kind of abnormal behavior should be subjected to moral criticism.


    There was nothing wrong with defending one¡¯s own rights.


    Under Cheng Qiang¡¯s investigation, the new person was discovered to be a habitual stalker. This time, she had even organized a whole group, and had taken the role of being the leader for the group. She had hidden herself in Star Chart and had sold everyone¡¯s personal information, which included not only Kaleido¡¯s, but also their senior brothers and sisters.


    Seeing the dismissal notice, a rock in Fang Juexia¡¯s heart was also laid to rest.


    Finally, he could let himself rest easy.


    One day, he discovered that the double petaled jasmine on the balcony had sprouted a bud. It was like a baby tooth, a small one, and it was hidden amongst the green branches and leaves very well.


    It was not until this moment that he realized that summer had really arrived.


    Summer was the season to be a little lazy. After all, Spring had started its nap and had now gone to sleep, and it wouldn¡¯t wake up again until next year.


    Fang Juexia wasn¡¯t a person who would go out when he didn¡¯t have work to do. The other members were playing video games in the living room, while he stayed in his room to read the Roots of Romanticism that he had borrowed from Pei Tingsong before. Back then when he had borrowed it, he had never had enough time to read it entirely, so he had just read a bit. Now when he was reading it, he found himself in a different mood than before. Previously, he had just wanted to understand Pei Tingsong better, but now he wanted to learn more about himself from reading this book.


    Was he really a romantic? Fang Juexia always doubted that.


    This book was full of discourses and expressions from the subjects of humanities and social sciences. It wasn¡¯t especially friendly towards someone with Fang Juexia¡¯s scientific background, but fortunately, the text was written well and was very interesting, so he read every word carefully, stopping to think about the content from time to time, with new views appearing in his mind. But as he kept reading, he saw a sentence underlined by Pei Tingsong.


    [¡°When it comes to the word ¡®freedom,¡¯¡± Fichte said, ¡°my heart immediately opens wide and blooms, and when it comes to the word ¡®necessity¡¯, my heart begins to spasm painfully.¡±]


    The main point wasn¡¯t him underlining this, but rather his annotation in English: Fichte, you are another me.


    ¡°Necessity¡± was also circled by him, and there was another line of illegible English written there. Fang Juexia could only read one or two sentences, and the letters FJX were written there. That probably meant, this is Fang Juexia, always saying ¡®obviously¡¯ and ¡®may as well¡¯, always taking necessity as the truth.


    This should be an annotation made by Pei Tingsong while reading a long time ago. After all, the ink from the pen looked a little faded.


    Fang Juexia found it interesting that Pei Tingsong would have cared about the way he talked so much even back then. It was a great honor for him to be recorded in these annotations by this young master, for his habitual ¡°mathematical¡± way of speaking.


    He found a pencil and wrote a sentence on the side.


    [When FJX refers to freedom, his heart will also blossom. Because the acquisition of freedom is a necessity.]

 CH 83

    Chapter 83 ¨C Yearning Agreement


    He would always remember


    Pei Tingsong found that he had nothing to do and felt even more bored to death. Since he was worried recently, simply reading books wasn¡¯t very effective in meeting his needs, which was why he had secretly ordered a Sudoku book online, for he wanted to learn Fang Juexia¡¯s unique emotion management method.


    However, just as he got started, he found himself confused and unfocused. At one point, he even wanted to go online to find a tutorial, but unfortunately, his sneaky actions were discovered by He Ziyan.


    ¡°Oh, Sudoku, little philosopher.¡± He Ziyan was holding the Haagen Dazs ice cream he had bought in his hand, and his headphones were hanging from around his neck.


    Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t know what he was feeling guilty of, but he covered the Sudoku book with his hand. ¡°Aren¡¯t you writing songs? How come you spend hours writing, but then suddenly start going out to fish?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t change the subject.¡± He Ziyan teased him intentionally, ¡°Come, Gege will have a look, how many have you filled out?¡±


    ¡°Get up, don¡¯t sit on my bed.¡±


    ¡°Wow, not only did you learn Sudoku, but also how to maintain cleanliness as well.¡± He Ziyan grew more energetic the more he teased, and next, he opened the window to shout at the balcony next door, ¡°Teacher Fang, quickly come here and help with some Sudoku.¡±


    In this way, everyone learned that Pei Tingsong was attempting to do a Sudoku puzzle. With the attitude of holding a broken pot that he was about to throw down again, Pei Tingsong went to Fang Juexia¡¯s room with his Sudoku book. Ling Yi wasn¡¯t there, so it was just the two of them.


    Fang Juexia had heard what He Ziyan had announced a long time ago. When he turned around to greet Pei Tingsong, his face carried a smile. ¡°You are doing Sudoku ah.¡± With a smile, he picked up the book in his hand and showed it to Pei Tingsong. ¡°I¡¯m reading this.¡±


    With this, he seemed to be expressing to Pei Tingsong: You see, I¡¯m doing the same silly thing as you.


    His previously slumped down mood was swept away by Fang Juexia¡¯s open and lovely expression. Pei Tingsong put the Sudoku book on the table, and then laid down on Fang Juexia¡¯s bed, looking at him with his eyes as he requested, ¡°Teacher Fang, teach me.¡±


    ¡°How are there any students who, when begging for help, would immediately lay on their teacher¡¯s bed as soon as they arrive.¡±


    Pei Tingsong raised his eyebrows. ¡°I¡¯m just such a student.¡±


    Fang Juexia choked. Fearing that Pei Tingsong would continue to tease him on this topic, he could only compromise with himself. ¡°Alright, alright, alright, I¡¯ll teach you.¡±


    Pei Tingsong, who was still a student, had dyed his silver hair back to a low-key dark brown. Anyway, they were past the publicity period, and he looked a lot more obedient like this.


    Fang Juexia pulled him up, took a stool, and made him sit properly. One by one, he taught him some of his own tips about how to fill in the Sudoku boxes, explaining things such as explicit number pairs, explicit arrays, and unique solutions, etc. He explained every single one of these very thoroughly.


    He was very patient and spoke in a gentle voice. He really felt a bit like a teacher. From time to time, he would ask him, ¡°Do you understand this? It¡¯s not actually that hard.¡±


    Pei Tingsong nodded. Only now had he come to know that Sudoku also contained so many tips and techniques. It also wasn¡¯t that boring when Fang Juexia explained them. On the contrary, he would analyze these techniques and link them back to logic. No wonder many mathematicians in history also carried the title of being philosophers.


    He looked at Fang Juexia¡¯s serious side profile, unable to help himself from drawing closer.


    Pei Tingsong wondered if it would be a little blasphemous to kiss him at this time.


    But he really wanted to kiss him.


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s thoughts were disturbed by the sudden vibration that came from his cellphone. He looked down and saw that it was his older sister calling, a person who never contacted him in such a proper manner usually.


    A few days ago, it had been his living-the-high-life mother who had called ten times a day, as if she had finally remembered that she had given birth to a son in her life. Yet, Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t tend to her at all, just skimming through the messages she had sent.


    Her concern for him was false, but her personal interest was true.


    Finally, it was now his Jie¡¯s turn. Pei Tingsong knew that her purpose was most likely against that of their mother¡¯s. Although this Jiejie, who was seven years older than him, was usually cold and proud, she at least regarded him as a real person.


    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you picking up?¡± Fang Juexia asked.


    Pei Tingsong thought about it. ¡°It¡¯s my Jie. If she calls, it¡¯s definitely not for anything good.¡±


    Fang Juexia knew that his family situation was complicated, and he didn¡¯t want to intervene, but he also saw that Pei Tingsong wasn¡¯t exactly rejecting the idea of picking up the call. It was more like he was playing at throwing a childish temper, so Fang Juexia pushed. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s something big, take the call ba.¡±


    After listening to him say that, Pei Tingsong pursed his lips and picked up the phone. He put on his earphones and stood up, heading out towards the balcony. He crouched in front of the whole green garden raised by Fang Juexia and started talking in English. He reached out to play with the little hibiscus that had grown into a pink cloud in front of him.


    Fang Juexia sat quietly at the table and continued to read that book he hadn¡¯t finished yet. He didn¡¯t know whether he had been born with a keen sense of hearing or he was too attentive towards Pei Tingsong, but Fang Juexia could detect every small change in his tone.


    He felt that there was some conflict going on.


    The call didn¡¯t last very long. Pei Tingsong hung up and kept squatting on the balcony. His eyes moved from the little hibiscus to the blue leadwort, and finally fell on the most humble cactus.


    He pulled the cactus¡¯ pot out of the corner and put it in front of him, staring at it in silence.


    Fang Juexia went over to him, squatted down beside him, and pretended to make a fuss over something normal. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with my cactus, how are the thorns wilting?¡±


    ¡°Alright, you.¡± Pei Tingsong knew that he was teasing him and so directly told him, ¡°Just now my Jie said that that new British boyfriend of my mom¡¯s is a publisher. He¡¯s beating around the bush and wants my mom to give him the copyright to all of my grandfather¡¯s works.¡±


    Although he said it very simply, Fang Juexia understood the gravity of this matter. ¡°How is that okay? If the other party is not reliable, what will we do? That¡¯s your grandfather¡¯s hard work.¡±


    ¡°She can¡¯t make that decision, because in my grandfather¡¯s will, I am the legal heir to all his works.¡± At this point, Pei Tingsong couldn¡¯t help remembering the scene of his grandfather¡¯s death.


    It had been very chaotic. Everyone¡¯s profit-seeking heart had been exposed in front of a lonely tombstone. He was in the most confused period of his age at only 15 years old. The whole experience had been brutal and manic, pushing his world to the opposite end.


    He hadn¡¯t wanted an inheritance, he had just wanted his grandfather to live again. Yes, that desire was ridiculous.


    Pei Tingsong picked up the small watering-can and poured a little water on the cactus. ¡°Just a few days ago, she came to make trouble with me every day, calling me, sending me messages, sending me e-mails, and even said that she would come to see me personally. I ignored her, so she went to my Jie¡¯s place to make trouble. She might have gone crazy.¡±


    ¡°My Jie asked me to take a trip back, break off her idea completely, and sort out the copyrights that have not been managed before, so that my grandfather could also rest at ease.¡±


    Fang Juexia¡¯s brain suddenly slowed down, and he slowly took the watering-can from his hand.


    It couldn¡¯t be watered anymore, it¡¯d ruin his little cactus.


    ¡°So you¡¯re going back to the U.S., right?¡±


    Pei Tingsong nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll leave after the recording tomorrow. The matter should be handled within a few days.¡± He rubbed Fang Juexia¡¯s head. ¡°Do you want to come with me?¡±


    Even though Fang Juexia really wanted to see the place where Pei Tingsong had grown up, he did not want to do so with such an opportunity. He needed to give Pei Tingsong some space of his own, and not render him unable to deal with his family¡¯s affairs and disputes properly because he was concerned about him.


    ¡°Next time.¡± Fang Juexia smiled at him, saying, ¡°I want to go when you have no burdens, just like in your dream.¡±


    Although he could no longer see the old man, at least it wouldn¡¯t be at an occasion when Pei Tingsong was in a tight corner.


    Pei Tingsong tilted his head and thought about it. The corner of his mouth curved up, and he asked, ¡°Then will Teacher Fang take me back to Guangzhou?¡±


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t speak, instead he stuck out his pinkie finger towards him.


    Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t directly stretch out his finger to hook into it. Instead, he took a look behind him, then pulled Fang Juexia over to give him a kiss on his pinkie finger.


    ¡°Wanted to kiss you just now.¡± He whispered in a low voice, and only then did he hook his finger through Fang Juexia¡¯s, thus reaching an agreement.


    Pei Tingsong left the next night, after he finished recording for the variety show. It was a private trip, so it wasn¡¯t convenient for Fang Juexia to see him off. He just returned the Roots of Romanticism back to him before he left, so that he could look at it when he was bored on the plane.


    He didn¡¯t know if Pei Tingsong would see the annotation he had secretly written, but this feeling was very good. It seemed that he was chatting with the Pei Tingsong of the past, and it was like the surprise of finding an Easter egg.


    Back when he and Pei Tingsong hadn¡¯t started doing official fanservice together, besides the work that they had to finish together, he would hardly see him at any other time, and he also didn¡¯t feel anything about it. He spent every day as before, and every day went by very impersonally.


    After Pei Tingsong moved back, they were together almost every day, with all the other members. Now, just a few days after Pei Tingsong left, Fang Juexia found it hard. He wanted to contact him and wanted to know about his condition on the other side of the ocean, whether people had been giving him a hard time, and whether or not he was eating well.


    Who would give someone like Pei Tingsong a hard time? This worry of his was a bit superfluous.


    Later, when he thought about it carefully, he understood that what all this ¡®whether or not¡¯ was, clearly, he just missed him.


    The time difference was very big, but Pei Tingsong still called him in the morning and at night. Most of the time, Fang Juexia was still in his quilt, having either not gotten up yet or having not fallen asleep yet. After listening to Pei Tingsong for a while, he felt even more that he either couldn¡¯t get up or couldn¡¯t sleep.


    In order to replenish himself a bit, Fang Juexia resumed his training-devil pace, and practiced dancing along with learning vocal music and lyrical writing every day. Today, when he came in, there were two trainees dancing in the practice room. They were a little afraid of him and moved aside as soon as they saw Fang Juexia.


    Am I that scary? Fang Juexia began to reflect on whether he was too cold in his daily life. At the same time, he also casually watched the little trainees dance. One child fell to the ground and tried to get up smoothly, but he couldn¡¯t get up after several times.


    ¡°You¡¯re not putting in enough power here.¡± Fang Juexia stepped forward and taught him himself, ¡°Your core should be tight. If you¡¯re loose here, you can¡¯t get up.¡±


    The little trainee was flattered. He didn¡¯t expect that the senior of the company who was so popular now would be so approachable. Clearly, he seldom even smiled.


    Fang Juexia had worked too hard as a trainee. He had made all kinds of mistakes and had summed up his experience, so he had more knowledge to give when teaching others.


    ¡°Right, you need to practice control. Otherwise, the fixed point won¡¯t look good.


    ¡°Very good. This turn was more stable than just now.¡±


    These few people unconsciously spent a night in the practice room. It was already very late, and the two children wanted to invite Fang Juexia to eat with them, but he refused, ¡°How can I make you guys treat me?¡±


    There was no one on the road any more. Watching as the two children left the company from below, Fang Juexia turned to go to the underground parking lot, preparing to drive back to the dormitory.


    The lights in the parking lot were not bright. The pale white lights directly hit the gray concrete floor, and it was dead silent. Fang Juexia squinted in the direction of his car. Night blindness affected his vision quite a lot, and it took him a great amount of effort before he managed to find his car. Just as he was about to open the door, he suddenly heard the sound of footsteps.


    That sense of being followed, which he hadn¡¯t felt for a long time now, reappeared.


    His heart jumped up. Even though his senses were so sensitive, before he got the time to turn around, he was hit hard by someone from behind and slammed into the wall. The back of his waist was in severe pain, and his forehead directly banged against the white wall. For a moment, his head was dizzy, his eyesight dimmed, and his brain filled with fog.


    This couldn¡¯t be a stalker fan.


    Fang Juexia¡¯s hands were propped up against the ground, and his brow was wrinkled in pain. At this instant, he vaguely saw a shadow on the wall. It was that of a human figure, who was holding a slender thing in his hand, about to hit him with it again. Fang Juexia skilfully dodged to one side, his instinct making him move faster, after which he turned around.


    Dang¡ªa steel rod fell to the ground and rolled to his feet.


    To his surprise, another tall person appeared behind him. He crisply and decisively subdued the man who had just attacked Fang Juexia from behind, who was about to knock him unconscious with a steel stick, and he pressed this attacker against the car.


    ¡°Hello, Mr. Fang. In order to avoid misunderstandings, I¡¯ll explain to you first.¡± The tall man said, ¡°I¡¯m the bodyguard arranged by Young Master Pei to accompany you. I¡¯m also the one he entrusted to investigate the issue of you being followed.¡±


    Upon hearing Pei Tingsong¡¯s name, Fang Juexia finally felt relieved. His throat was dry and hoarse, containing a trace of the taste of blood.


    ¡°This person has been following you for a long time. He kept lingering by your car just now and has now finally been caught. I¡¯m very sorry that he still managed to hurt you a little.¡±


    Fang Juexia supported the back of his waist and stood up. ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡±


    Fortunately, Pei Tingsong had found someone to follow him, otherwise he didn¡¯t dare to imagine what would happen after that; he hadn¡¯t expected anyone to be so vicious.


    ¡°Look, do you recognize this person?¡± With that, the private bodyguard twisted the ruffian¡¯s arms and pulled them over to face Fang Juexia.


    Fang Juexia had poor eyesight, so he tried to get closer by taking a step forward.


    ¡°Let go of me!¡±


    Hearing this voice, he halted in his steps. His whole person was frozen in place and could not move.


    He also managed to see that person¡¯s face. This person was much older and as thin as a rake, but he still recognized him.


    ¡°I told you to let go of me, don¡¯t you understand human words? I¡¯m his dad! See if you dare to touch me!¡±


    Throughout his entire life, Fang Juexia would never forget how this person had pointed at his face and the birthmark on his face.


    As he said with complete certainty¡ª you were born to be a failure.

 CH 84

    Chapter 84 ¨C Heart Cocoon Unravelling


    We are also the Ship of Theseus


    Trigger warning: Child and Emotional Abuse


    Fang Juexia hadn¡¯t never imagined the scene of meeting him again. He was cold-hearted, but he still had fantasies.


    He had imagined that one day, when he was busy, he would receive a phone call from his mother telling him that his ¡°father¡± had returned. Her wait would then finally be rewarded, so every time he received a phone call from his mother, his mood would turn very complicated, being somewhat expectant and also somewhat fearful.


    He had also imagined that maybe his father would hide within the audience at a future concert. Although Fang Juexia would not be able to see him clearly, maybe he would be down there, listening to him sing and watching him dance.


    Then, Fang Juexia would think in his heart: Dad, you see, I¡¯m not a failure. Even if I can¡¯t see clearly, even if I have a birthmark on my face, I can have a stage.


    So many fantasies were shattered at this moment.


    Fang Juexia had never even dreamed that it would be such a miserable reunion.


    It turned out that the person who had been following him for so many days was not a stalker fan, or a member of the paparazzi, or even a member of his former company that deliberately wanted to pull him down. It was his father.


    His great father, who knew he suffered from night blindness, had come up to him in the dark underground parking lot while holding a steel rod and brandishing it at the back of his waist.


    The back of his waist faintly ached, and the pain and shock had emptied Fang Juexia¡¯s mind of all thoughts.


    He looked at the face in front of him in silence, and it was already far different than the face in his memory. At last, he turned his head coldly and told the private bodyguard, ¡°Please deal with this according to Pei Tingsong¡¯s instructions ba.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± That person¡¯s professionalism was very high, and without uttering any further words, he immediately readied himself to take this vicious and unrestrained ruffian away, when, unexpectedly, this thin middle-aged man suddenly burst with strength and started struggling desperately, shouting out aloud, ¡°You conscienceless thing! You don¡¯t even recognize your own father!¡±


    He used extremely ugly words to curse, vomiting all kinds of dirty words. This ruffian possessed no logic, no rules, and was no different from a madman. Fang Juexia didn¡¯t want to listen to him at all, but by the end, the ruffian had even started cursing out his mother.


    So, Fang Juexia stopped in the middle of turning around, his back freezing for a second. He walked forward, stopped in front of the long steel rod, bent down to pick it up, then turned around and walked towards the madman.


    When he came to a stand in front of him, Fang Juexia took out his cellphone from his pocket, turned on his flashlight, and aimed it at his aged face.


    ¡°Fang Ping, you¡¯ve been taking drugs, haven¡¯t you?¡± It was clearly an interrogative sentence, but his tone was clear and he wore a calm look, as if he were stating a fact that had nothing to do with him.


    The person in front of him seemed to be stunned for a moment, but he couldn¡¯t control his emotions at all. The muscles of his face were twitching, and he looked extremely strange.


    Fang Juexia nodded and confirmed his judgment. ¡°You¡¯re addicted to drugs.¡±


    Back when Fang Ping had first become addicted to drugs, Fang Juexia had thought that he could be saved. It was said on TV that people could be rehabilitated even if they made a mistake and became addicts, and he had believed it.


    Even if this person had decided to disappear from their life later, Fang Juexia kept fantasizing that maybe one day, Fang Ping would turn over a new leaf.


    But as time went by, and as Fang Juexia became more and more rational, he also grew clear on the fact that going completely clean was something that had a very small probability. Most people just made mistakes again and again, never rehabilitating properly. Drug addicts were even more akin to desperate criminals willing to swindle and deceive everyone around them, and they could and would do anything.


    As Fang Juexia stood in front of him, he realised that he was already taller than Fang Ping. This period of abandonment had pushed him into growing up quickly, and now, when he looked at this man again, he discovered that this person had turned so desperate and incapable, just like a shriveled body drained of all human spirit.


    Suddenly, Fang Juexia raised the steel rod. At that moment, he saw Fang Ping¡¯s shoulders tremble.


    He gave a very light sneer. ¡°Isn¡¯t this what you wanted to do to me just now?¡±


    His eyes fell on Fang Ping¡¯s lame leg. Fang Juexia lowered the rod and lightly tapped that leg. Then, without any ups-and-downs in his voice, he asked, ¡°Or did you want to break my leg, to be like you?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t!¡± Fang Ping¡¯s body kept trembling, and every word out of his mouth seemed to fall unsteadily. ¡°I didn¡¯t, I just-I just wanted to knock you out¡­¡±


    ¡°Knock me out.¡± Fang Juexia repeated his words, then continued, ¡°And then what, kidnapping? Blackmail? Get a lot of money to buy all the drugs you¡¯ve dreamed of?¡±


    Fang Ping didn¡¯t speak any more. He also could hardly speak any more, and his trembling legs couldn¡¯t hold him steady. All he could do was let himself be dragged along by the bodyguard, as if he was a dummy sewn out of rags and cotton.


    The bodyguard opened his mouth to speak. ¡°Mr. Fang, the young master has arranged a place, and told me that if I caught someone, to lock them up there and wait for him to come back.¡± He looked at Fang Ping¡¯s state, which made him unsuitable to linger around here. ¡°How about, I¡¯ll take him there, and you go back to rest first.¡±


    People could come by here at any time, Pei Tingsong had indeed thought things through very thoroughly.


    ¡°No need to tell Pei Tingsong,¡± Fang Juexia said with a dismal smile. ¡°He already has enough trouble to deal with.¡±


    Compared with each other, neither of them was better off.


    Fang Ping had now fallen into an unconscious state as he came down from his high and was soon taken away by the private bodyguard. Fang Juexia decided to go with him. When Fang Ping woke up, he would interrogate him again. He must find out the whole story.


    The steel rod in his hand was heavy. Fang Juexia looked down at it. It was so long and heavy that if he had been hit on the head with it, he feared he wouldn¡¯t have just passed out.


    It seemed as if he was anticipating that sort of dull pain.


    Throwing the steel rod into the trunk, Fang Juexia sorted out his mood. He was very clear that he couldn¡¯t drive in such a state, he would definitely end up getting into an accident. So he got into the private bodyguard¡¯s car and left the underground parking lot below the company with him.


    All the way to their destination, Fang Juexia sat in the passenger seat, with his mind in a whirl as he listened to the bound Fang Ping struggling and yelling. He felt a little unreal right now, like this was a dogblood drama, one that was very ugly and very tormenting.


    The skin on his forehead broke and began to bleed, and the blood tickled a bit as it trickled down to his eyelids. He raised his hand and wiped it off with the back of his hand, continuously looking ahead. He had, plainly, already cultivated himself into a stone, but it turned out that that stone could still feel hurt.


    The private bodyguard took him to an apartment, threw the tied-up Fang Ping into one of the rooms, and tied him to a single bed, binding him just like one would a beast.


    ¡°Mr. Fang, you can rest for a while. Please call me whenever you need me, I will watch over him.¡±


    Like a puppet, Fang Juexia opened his mouth, and with his throat filled with a dull voice, replied, ¡°Thank you.¡± All he wanted right now was a glass of water.


    After getting a cup of water, he very stubbornly didn¡¯t go to rest. Instead, he came to the room where Fang Ping was locked up, sat at a table less than three meters away from him, and looked at him silently.


    His throat was dry and itchy. He turned on only the bedside lamp because he didn¡¯t want to see too clearly.


    All night long, Fang Juexia kept listening to Fang Ping¡¯s screams and roars, like a bystander without any emotions. The kind of loss of control of mind and spirit caused by the illicit drugs was fully and bloodily performed right in front of him. The sheets were torn apart as Fang Ping thrashed and struggled, while his mouth frothed. Under the blessings of his night blindness, this scene blurred, and it seemed much like he was watching someone being burnt alive from a distance; a living man melting into the flames of sin, turning into carbon, ash, and a pool of stinking stagnant water.


    Finally being reunited after these many years of separation, but it had all been saved up just for this nightmare.


    Looking at this scene, an untimely set of pictures flashed in Fang Juexia¡¯s mind. They were all of Fang Ping¡¯s high spirited appearance on the stage more than ten years ago as he danced to ¡°Crazy Song¡± and ¡°Immortal Story¡± with a beautiful posture, enchanting everyone. With every lift of his legs, his toes were taut straight, and this tight straightness was his pride.


    During those years, his little self had often looked up at Fang Ping¡¯s figure from below the stage, not even daring to blink out of fear of missing every wonderful moment of his father¡¯s performance.


    He was a dance maniac, and was only alive when he danced. When he was able to dance, he was so good that he could nourish Fang Juexia with endless love and feelings, letting him feel a warm father¡¯s love, letting him appreciate the charm of the stage, and letting him nourish the greatest fantasy about the stage.


    Fang Juexia, who had only been about four or five years old, had looked up at his father in the training room and had heard him utter all kinds of heroic words and ambitions.


    [Dad will definitely be the brightest one on the stage in the future. At that time, you will be able to spot Dad at a glance.]


    This was clearly the first person to teach him what a dream was.


    Fang Juexia coldly looked at the man who was already gone crazy in front of him. Suddenly, he felt a fit of nausea. He wanted to vomit, but there was nothing that would come up, so he was only left with the option of drinking water continuously. The cold water ran down his esophagus, and he felt cold all over.


    The sky brightened, and the night faded from black to dark blue, before finally disappearing. The bound Fang Ping seemed to have survived his withdrawal symptoms for now and had fainted. Fang Juexia stood by the window and quietly looked out at the street that had come back to life. People, looking as small as ants, walked on the road.


    Ants were very easily trampled to death, so their dreams were even more fragile.


    His cellphone vibrated several times. It was Ling Yi calling to ask him why he hadn¡¯t returned to the dormitory to sleep. Fang Juexia typed slowly, and he didn¡¯t know what he had replied with.


    Fang Ping¡¯s voice came from behind him again. His throat was already hoarse, and he was begging Fang Juexia to let him go. He seemed to be very sincerely sorry for his actions and was talking tearfully¡ª


    ¡°I was wrong, child. I really didn¡¯t want to hurt you. I just wanted to talk to you, but I can¡¯t control myself¡­


    ¡°Really, Dad feels so bad, I¡¯m close to death, you know?


    ¡°Dad knows that you are promising now, and that you-you¡¯re successful, and you can help Dad, right?


    ¡°For so many years, Dad has missed you very much too ah.¡±


    Dad.


    That was a far-flung word.


    Fang Juexia¡¯s emotions were pulling at his reason. Even though he was disgusted by Fang Ping while sympathizing with him emotionally, his reason was still analyzing the truth behind this person¡¯s words, sentence by sentence.


    He didn¡¯t want to hurt him, but in the end, he had carried an iron rod along to find him.


    He missed him very much, but he hadn¡¯t returned home for so many years, and just as he had gotten popular, he had started to miss him.


    Fang Juexia turned his back to him and still looked out of the window. His back was straight like a tree, and every word he uttered was objective and cold. He was more like an interrogator than a son. ¡°When did you start following me? Does anyone else know about your return?¡±


    Fang Ping, in a hoarse voice, rushed to answer the second question, ¡°No, really, there¡¯s no one.¡±


    ¡°Answer me, when did you start following me?¡± Fang Juexia repeated his question in a cold and detached manner.


    ¡°Late April¡­ I-I, in order to meet you, I spent the last of my money to come to Beijing. Originally, Dad wanted to go back to Guangzhou, but I wanted to see you, child, I¡­¡±


    ¡°What drugs did you take before you came here?¡± Fang Juexia was somewhat relieved to hear that he had not been back to Guangzhou, and he directly interrupted his emotional plea, ¡°What did you plan to do to me? What did you want from me?¡±


    Fang Ping gasped. His whole voice sounded insubstantial, just like that of someone who was seriously ill. ¡°I¡­. I don¡¯t remember, Juexia¡­¡±


    ¡°You remember.¡± Hearing him say his name felt harsh on Fang Juexia¡¯s ears, so he exposed his lie. ¡°Talk, what were you going to do to me?¡±


    His voice was too cold.


    ¡°I just want to knock you out, because I haven¡¯t been able to find a chance to talk to you alone. I just want to talk to you, to ask you to help me, to help your father!¡±


    Fang Juexia sneered.


    ¡°Don¡¯t lie. Do you know what you look like after taking drugs? Have you ever looked in the mirror? If you had swung that rod down, who knows if I would even be able to stand up in front of you after that. Help? How could a corpse help you?¡±


    His questions came out faster and faster, like bullets strafing out.


    ¡°Have you contacted my company and agent? What about other companies? Who else did you contact? Speak!¡±


    Fang Ping¡¯s mouth stuttered, his facial muscles trembled, and he simply couldn¡¯t keep up with Fang Juexia¡¯s pace.


    He had gotten addicted to drugs again. The time he had spent sober was like the last radiance of the sun, a very short amount of time. As soon as he smoked, the body that had struggled to rise up collapsed down again, as his nerves were bitten by maggots. He could say anything and curse out anyone.


    Right now, none of Fang Ping¡¯s past goodness existed in Fang Juexia¡¯s mind.


    He remembered Fang Ping¡¯s fury at the hospital when he had learned that he might be disabled for life. He remembered his father¡¯s drunkenness as he had his son as a defective commodity. Fang Ping had casually picked up a chair and smashed it onto Fang Juexia¡¯s back, and his whole spine had turned black and blue. In the summer, when he wore the poor quality white shirt of his school uniform, you could faintly see the bruises.


    It had seemed as if his clothes were dirty.


    Fang Ping began to curse him out again. Fang Juexia was unable to distinguish whether the real him was the person who was in the throes of addiction, or was it when he was sober.


    ¡°Garbage¡±, ¡°Loser¡±, ¡°No one will like something like you!¡±


    ¡°Waste¡±, ¡°Defect¡±, ¡°Not worthy of standing on a stage¡±, ¡°For what reason should you succeed?¡±


    These words were very familiar. Fang Juexia dimly went back to his childhood, when he had been afraid of his father coming back home reeking of alcohol every day. He would dodge the beer bottles that would hit his head at any time, but he hadn¡¯t been able to avoid the ashtray that hit him. It just steadily shattered at his feet, and his toes had bled constantly.


    Because of this, he couldn¡¯t practice dancing. His feet hurt so much that he couldn¡¯t stand, and when asked by the teacher, he could only lie.


    He had said it was his own fault.


    Why couldn¡¯t the positive of human experience offset the negative part of it?


    The beautiful childhood he had really experienced, and the subsequent shattering that came with it¡¯s collapse, one good and one bad, one positive and one negative, they added up to zero, as if he had never had anything. This was too ideal a situation, while the reality of it was only the doubling of pain upon gaining and then losing something.


    After struggling desperately, Fang Ping stopped again. He went back and forth just like that, with impermanent fits of madness. When he woke up, he¡¯d start up with his hysterical abuse and screams, and when he passed out, he left him in a terrible silence.


    Currently, Fang Juexia was like a clean piano lid that was constantly getting stained with dust, filth, and dirty fingerprints.


    His waist felt very painful, and he couldn¡¯t stand any more. He could only sit on the ground holding his knees as he quietly stared out of the window. The door of the room would open occasionally, and the bodyguard who obeyed Pei Tingsong would deliver food and water to him, but Fang Juexia didn¡¯t even have the strength to thank him.


    He didn¡¯t dare to close his eyes. As long as he closed his eyes, he could see the original Fang Ping, the Fang Ping who shone with light, the one who was gentle and considerate. He was afraid of recognizing this mad person as him, and was afraid that he would be too soft-hearted.


    The sky returned to darkness, the clouds turned gray, thunder and lightning resounded and suddenly, rain started falling heavily, with the smell of soil pouring into Fang Juexia¡¯s nose. He felt nauseous again, so while supporting himself against the wall, he stood up and went to the bathroom. However, what took place was just dry-heaving again; he bent down and retched fiercely, as if he wanted to vomit all his internal organs, but nothing came out.


    Within the mirror, his forehead was bruised and swollen, and there was a scab forming on his broken skin. Fang Juexia went as far as to find it lucky that he didn¡¯t have any jobs lined up recently, otherwise, how would he be able to go on stage and face the camera? As soon as this thought appeared, Fang Juexia felt scared. He had clearly spent so many years affirming to himself that the birthmark on his face was not a flaw of an inferior product, but as soon as this person appeared in his life, those nightmares also reappeared.


    Those seeds of self doubt that had been left buried in his blood and bones by his own father had only remained dormant for a while.


    Fang Juexia no longer looked into the mirror. He tried to drive out those negative emotions with his reason, but his whole body was trembling slightly. He needed Sudoku, he needed reason, only with that could he calm down. As long as he could solve some problems and turn his brain around, he should get better.


    Anxiety climbed into his heart, and Fang Juexia became more and more disoriented.


    When he came out of the bathroom, he heard the sound of a door closing, and as he followed the sound, he looked up to catch sight of a half-wet person.


    A hallucination?


    How was it that it seemed to be Pei Tingsong?


    As Pei Tingsong looked at Fang Juexia, his heart suddenly ached. Fang Juexia was as pale as a dried-out flower that was stubbornly keeping its original shape, but even a single touch would dissolve it into powder right now. The light in his eyes was completely extinguished, as if he couldn¡¯t see him.


    He walked up quickly, called out, ¡°Juexia¡±, and wanted to hold him in his arms. But when he was one step away, he saw Fang Juexia¡¯s lowered eyes, and so he stopped. It seemed that he was afraid that this hug would seem too hasty, and could end up making Fang Juexia even more upset.


    So Pei Tingsong became hesitant and wanted to retrieve his stretched-out hand back.


    Fang Juexia slowly raised his hand and touched Pei Tingsong¡¯s chest. It was hot and had a heartbeat.


    ¡°You¡¯re back.¡± Only after confirming that it was not an illusion did he say this sentence, acting like a person to whom nothing had happened to recently, one who was just waiting for his lover to return home.


    He even tried to say the words that he had prepared long ago, and his voice was very calm. ¡°¡­How are things going over there? Did your mom give up?¡±


    Pei Tingsong took his hand and looked at the wound on his face. He was both angry and sad, and his heart was wedged with distress. He didn¡¯t answer Fang Juexia¡¯s question. ¡°I rushed back as soon as I heard the news.


    ¡°He hit you, didn¡¯t he? Today, I must break his¡­¡±


    Fang Juexia shook his head feebly. ¡°He didn¡¯t succeed.¡± He was afraid Pei Tingsong would worry and repeated, ¡°I¡¯m fine, I¡¯m pretty good.¡±


    Naturally, Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t believe him.


    He had already learned from the bodyguard that Fang Juexia hadn¡¯t closed his eyes all night, and had watched Fang Ping go crazy for the entire night. He didn¡¯t dare even imagine Fang Juexia¡¯s mood at the moment. He just wanted to coax him and take him far away from this scum.


    ¡°Juexia, will you go back with me first?¡± His voice was very light, and he raised his hand to touch Fang Juexia¡¯s cheek. ¡°Let¡¯s rest and sleep for a bit. I¡¯ll have professionals deal with this matter, don¡¯t worry about it.¡±


    ¡°Sleep?¡± Fang Juexia seemed to have only heard a few words, and his eyes were confused. He shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t want to sleep here, it¡¯s too dirty.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± Pei Tingsong rubbed his hand. ¡°Let¡¯s go back, go back to my place, okay?¡±


    Fang Juexia nodded slightly.


    In order to facilitate an interrogation, Pei Tingsong had directly arranged a suite in his high-end apartment building. This made it very easy to go back to his place, but it was very difficult to placate Fang Juexia.


    Fang Juexia was dizzy and uncomfortable. As soon as he entered the apartment, he unconsciously walked to the empty living room. The muggy air left behind by the rain rushed into his nose, clogging up his breath and thoughts, making him uncomfortable, rendering him unable of rational thought. Even Pei Tingsong¡¯s voice seemed to come from a distance, travelling through the patter of the rain, sounding very vague and very powerless.


    He felt his hand being pulled by Pei Tingsong, felt himself being taken by him towards a room, and all the while he was in a sensitive and slow state.


    He said he wanted to take a bath. Pei Tingsong wasn¡¯t at ease with this but couldn¡¯t dissuade him. He could only agree and start running hot water into the bathtub. Fang Juexia took off his top with his back to him, and covering the back of his waist was one giant bruise.


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s fists clenched up tight.


    Hot water saved his life as it melted the ice frozen on him little by little. Fang Juexia leaned on one side of the bathtub, staring up at the ceiling, which allowed Pei Tingsong to carefully clean the wound on his forehead. When taking a bath, Fang Juexia didn¡¯t say a word, as if he was thinking about something, or was just in a daze.


    The only time he spoke was when he told Pei Tingsong to leave. He wanted to wash up by himself.


    Pei Tingsong could only go out and leave a set of clothes out for him to change into after the bath. He was guarding the closed bathroom door from outside, his heart hanging.


    He regretted returning to the United States at this time, regretted that he hadn¡¯t been with Fang Juexia from the first moment of this encounter. But he also was very clear on the fact that even if he was here, what could he have done.


    He would have just ended up watching Fang Juexia¡¯s nightmare happen again with his own eyes, that¡¯s all.


    This person had been willing to be with him only after overcoming all difficulties. Pei Tingsong had finally, with great difficulty, convinced him to try and see, and had persuaded him to come out of the shadows to leave behind the distrust of love created by his own father, and to fall into his own arms.


    Now, would he regret it?


    When the bathroom door opened, Fang Juexia came out barefoot wearing Pei Tingsong¡¯s pajamas. He came to Pei Tingsong¡¯s bed carrying hot and humid water vapor around himself. He very deliberately lay on the bed and didn¡¯t let Pei Tingsong urge him any more.


    ¡°Then you rest.¡± Pei Tingsong tucked him in, lowered his eyes and lowered his voice. ¡°Call me if you need anything.¡±


    Just as he was about to turn around, Fang Juexia sat up and grabbed his hand, his eyes turning red.


    ¡°You¡¯re back, but you haven¡¯t hugged me yet.¡±


    At the moment he heard that, Pei Tingsong suddenly realized that he really was an asshole. He kept saying that he liked Fang Juexia, but he had no confidence in him.


    He was too worried about whether he could keep his favor, being fragile to the point where if he heard Fang Juexia say one ¡°no¡±, he would collapse.


    Pei Tingsong held Fang Juexia in his arms. His nose stung, and he tried to hold back his tears. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t understand his apology, so he didn¡¯t respond. He just raised his hand and hugged him back, saying with a gentle voice, ¡°You also didn¡¯t answer my question, how are things over there?¡±


    Pei Tingsong shook his head, rubbed the back of his neck, and kissed the top of his hair. ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Fang Juexia shrank in his arms and closed his eyes.


    They were just two injured animals, and when they bled, their temperatures lowered, so they had no choice but to embrace each other and survive by using each other¡¯s warmth.


    Fang Juexia was used to managing his emotions year in and year out, and he was used to overpowering his sensibility with reason, so he couldn¡¯t even be hysterical when he was in pain. All of his bloody and mangled memories and emotions were always separated from him by a piece of ground glass, so they never came in complete or direct contact with his reality.


    ¡°You know, sometimes I feel like I¡¯m very dark, too. When I knew that the man who followed and attacked me in the parking lot was him, guess what my first reaction was?¡±


    Fang Juexia tried to keep his voice steady. ¡°I wanted my mom to come here immediately and see for herself what kind of person she has been waiting for for so many years.¡±


    Pei Tingsong could hear the despair in his heart.


    ¡°I stayed with him all night, listening to him go crazy, listening to him curse out me and my mom. Every time, after a while, that idea would pop up in my heart. I even wanted to record him being like this, or take a picture of the steel rod he was going to smash into my head, and send it all to my mom, so that she can wake up a bit and end her fantasy once and for all.¡±


    His emotions, which had been fermenting all this time, finally ripened in Pei Tingsong¡¯s arms and was now on the verge of erupting.


    ¡°Every time I wanted to do this, I thought of my mom sitting at the table looking at the door. No matter how sad she was, her face was always full of hope. Just like¡­¡±


    Just like she was waiting for spring every year.


    He didn¡¯t know what would happen to her if he told her that there would be no spring in the days to come.


    Thinking of this, Fang Juexia¡¯s tears finally poured down, one big drop falling after another, like stones that couldn¡¯t bear their weight anymore, so they rolled down the iceberg.


    This was Pei Tingsong¡¯s first time really seeing Fang Juexia cry ever since he had met him. He wasn¡¯t crying for himself, but for his mother¡¯s lost love. A once happily-ever-after story had eventually become a shackle leading to a life-long probation.


    But even if it was a probation, Fang Juexia still couldn¡¯t bear to break his mother¡¯s fantasy.


    Probation was at least better than immediate execution.


    Pei Tingsong stroked Fang Juexia¡¯s cheek and gently kissed away the tears on his face.


    Fang Juexia looked at him. ¡°What do you say? Letting her continue waiting for a lover who already no longer exists, isn¡¯t that¡­isn¡¯t that cruel?¡±


    ¡°We won¡¯t tell her, we won¡¯t say anything to her.¡± Pei Tingsong touched his forehead and said, ¡°I will send him to the place where he should go. I won¡¯t let him appear in front of you again, and I won¡¯t let him hurt you again.¡±


    For the first time, he had learned to love someone. For the first time, he had desires of soul and flesh. For the first time, he had learned to give up his resistance, and it was also the first time that he tasted what it was like to feel heartache for others.


    But while he would rather not have such an experience, he also wanted to make Fang Juexia feel better.


    ¡°He wasn¡¯t like that in the past; he also had times when he protected me.¡±


    Fang Juexia¡¯s body trembled in his arms. ¡°He also used to be like this, hugging me and taking me to the training room so that I could watch him practice basic skills and watch him dance. My mama said that when I was a few months old, I cried a lot. I had to be held by someone every day before I would fall asleep, so he stayed up all night, holding me in his arms and humming his dance music to me. He also boasted that I was the most good-looking child in the world, and he would watch me all night when I had a fever. On the waters of the Pearl River, on that cruise ship, he would let me sit on his shoulders as the river wind blew all around me.¡±


    These were not fake memories, he really had experienced a father¡¯s love once.


    ¡°Before he fell down, before I knew about my night-blindness, he said¡­¡±


    He took a deep breath. ¡°He said my mama and I were the people he loved the most, and he said I was his pride.


    ¡°But in fact, compared to his own pride, I¡¯m nothing, right?¡±


    Pei Tingsong stroked his hair. ¡°No, Fang Juexia, you are the best and most precious person in the world.


    ¡°You have to remember that failure, alcohol, and drugs, these things have all long corrupted him. He is no longer a normal person. No matter what spiteful words he says, they¡¯re all wrong. Don¡¯t listen to them.¡±


    That¡¯s right. Fang Juexia recited Pei Tingsong¡¯s words in his heart.


    He wasn¡¯t a normal person, and all the ¡°missing you¡± he had uttered were lies.


    Reuniting after many years apart, Fang Ping still gave him nothing but bruises and wounds.


    Fang Juexia lay down in Pei Tingsong¡¯s arms and felt his hands caressing his hair and back.


    Pei Tingsong could feel Fang Juexia¡¯s inner turmoil. It was very mysterious, but he could just feel it. He had been unable to make a decision for so many years, which was why he was suffering so much now. And whenever he saw his father again and suffered from his abuse again, Fang Juexia would be in a lot of personal pain.


    ¡°Is your heart still troubled? Your father when you were a child, versus the him you met now.¡±


    Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t deny it.


    He had continuously persuaded himself, just like his mother, that the man in front of him now wasn¡¯t the person he had been before. The best choice was to let him fend for himself. However, his heart was still in a lot of pain, especially when dreaming of the past, dreaming of when he had been held in his father¡¯s arms and had seen the stage for the first time.


    Every time he woke up, his face was wet with tears.


    Pei Tingsong understood his silence. ¡°Everyone in this world is changing all the time, because of various reasons and under various circumstances. Even if we accept this kind of change, it is very difficult to judge whether this person is still the original one or not.¡±


    Speaking of this, he rubbed Fang Juexia¡¯s cheek and asked softly, ¡°Have you ever heard the story of The Ship of Theseus?¡±


    Fang Juexia shook his head as he reigned in his emotions. ¡°It¡¯s another philosophical paradox?¡±


    ¡°You guessed it.¡± Pei Tingsong held his hand. ¡°This is a very old thought experiment. Suppose there is a ship, and as long as people keep repairing and replacing its parts, it can always keep sailing. Whenever any part of the deck rots, or any part of the canvas is damaged, it will be replaced with a new one. In this way, hundreds of years later, the Ship of Theseus will no longer have any of its original parts. Then, is it still the original one?¡±


    Fang Juexia considered it, and two answers debated in his mind. With the continuous replacement of parts and renewal of the ship, it had already lost any parts belonging to the past, and then everything of the past ship.


    But all of these were gradually lost, and it had not been changed directly into a new ship. It was still called Theseus, and still sailed like before on the seas all the time.


    After serious consideration, Fang Juexia opened his mouth and tried to give his own answer, ¡°This question depends on how we define this ship, right?¡±


    Pei Tingsong nodded and got closer. The tip of his nose touched Fang Juexia¡¯s. ¡°Juexia, do you remember? You actually already have a definition.


    ¡°You said that the essence of a person is the self he tries the hardest to preserve.¡±


    Fang Juexia nodded, and tears brimmed up in his eyes, as he awakened to the truth after his painful struggle.


    Fang Ping had long ago lost the self he had once tried so hard to preserve.


    He tried to tell Pei Tingsong his answer, ¡°So¡­ He¡¯s already not the him from before.¡±


    He was also no longer that father who had once whole-heartedly loved him.


    Pei Tingsong knew this kind of pain because he had also experienced it. It was really hard to admit that his parents didn¡¯t love him, but illusory delusions would only hurt him.


    ¡°Just let the ship from the past stay in your heart. It has no material form, it will always exist and never change.¡±


    The tears he had held back fell once again. Yes, in any case, he had to admit that his father, the one from before, had long disappeared, and he had actually disappeared from the moment when he could no longer stand up after falling on the stage.


    That fall had smashed his ¡®self¡¯ completely, so much so that he couldn¡¯t save it at all.


    It was really hard for Fang Juexia to admit to himself that he was no longer loved. For so many years, he had been avoiding it and had been unwilling to face it, so much so that his father who loved him in the past and this madman now overlapped into a single shadow, which caused him to be more afraid when he walked in the already frightening darkness.


    He was afraid that he would lose control and be swallowed up by this shadow, so he would try his best to keep his senses about him and remain clear-headed at every moment. This kind of fear made him reject being loved by others while also refusing to love others.


    Because he didn¡¯t want to create any more nightmares for himself.


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s face was close at hand, and they were right next to each other. Fang Juexia finally came out of that paranoid ¡°clear-headedness¡±, and really woke up this time.


    He admitted that he was wrong.


    When surrounded by malice, he subconsciously thought that what he needed was a Sudoku book, in order to roughly divert his attention and emotions through logical reasoning. Only now did he discover how crude this form of emotional distraction was.


    He just needed love, that was all.


    Fang Juexia never thought that the cocoon he had woven to shield himself from his pain for so many years would be so easily untied by Pei Tingsong. Even just a few moments ago, he had almost subconsciously pushed Pei Tingsong away. He thought he could digest this disaster himself.


    It suddenly occurred to him that when he had just laid on the bed, Pei Tingsong¡¯s eyes had looked lost. It seemed that he had wanted to leave Fang Juexia quietly alone.


    Fang Juexia changed his perspective. Maybe, Pei Tingsong was afraid that after seeing Fang Ping¡¯s bleak appearance, he would regret throwing himself into a love affair with him ba.


    If it was the him from before, he might have done so. Because he was too scared.


    ¡°Tingsong.¡± Fang Juexia spoke softly and called out his name, ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Pei Tingsong smiled and felt that his heartache had been relieved a lot. It should be him who should  thank Fang Juexia, since he was the one who had saved him.


    ¡°I know there are many, many failed cases in the world.¡± Fang Juexia raised his hand and lightly put it on Pei Tingsong¡¯s cheek. The rain outside the window seemed to have grown a bit softer, and the sound also grew softer.


    ¡°But I have never doubted the existence of true love.¡± Fang Juexia¡¯s eyes were firm, and his eyebrows were raised. It was as if he was saying¡ª Look, Fang Juexia is once again talking about that ¡°existence¡± that makes your head hurt.


    And Pei Tingsong¡¯s heart indeed convulsed because of his ¡°existence¡±.


    ¡°Besides, I¡¯m also changing. I¡¯m also trying to calculate the probability of success right now, really.¡± Fang Juexia knew that his head was a bit muddled right now, but he hoped that Pei Tingsong could understand his heart. ¡°So don¡¯t be afraid that I will give up, I¡¯m not a coward.¡±


    ¡°En, I know you¡¯re very brave.¡± Pei Tingsong kissed him on the tip of his nose extremely gently. ¡°It was me who was worried about losing your favor, I¡¯m the one who¡¯s changed.¡±


    In the past, Pei Tingsong was confident about everything, and it seemed that there was no place he could not go to or anything he couldn¡¯t do in the world. He could easily step into many forests and live all the kinds of life he wanted to. He was free and fearless.


    Until he fell in love with Fang Juexia.


    His perversity was wrapped by Fang Juexia¡¯s tenderness, and he finally realized what it was like to be afraid of losing something. Now, he was already rendered incapable of fighting for the probability of success on every little thing, and he had begun to think about the consequences of failure.


    Pei Tingsong was really very scared that Fang Juexia would one day tell him¡ªI picked the wrong point, and you are still an irrational number.


    Even though he had clearly just cried, Fang Juexia looked at Pei Tingsong¡¯s upset face right now and smiled unconsciously. It was his first smile ever since he had laid eyes on Fang Ping.


    ¡°We¡¯re becoming more and more alike, how strange.¡±


    Looking at him was like looking at himself, the opposition and unity of symbiosis caught in a mirror image.


    Pei Tingsong hugged him tightly and kissed the side of his neck.


    ¡°It¡¯s not strange. We are two Ships of Theseus sailing on the sea. We met by accident and became afraid of separating, so you gave me your parts, and I gave you my parts. We are no longer what we used to be.


    ¡°We became each other.¡±

 CH 85

    Chapter 85 ¨C Wreckage In The Sea


    I love you very much


    This was a wonderful sentence.


    Fang Juexia, who was being hugged by him, could almost imagine that picture when he closed his eyes. He could even smell the scent of salty water and damp wood.


    Nestled in the hollow of Pei Tingsong¡¯s shoulder, in a way that displayed his full reliance on him, he sniffed and asked softly, ¡°But we haven¡¯t replaced our parts with new parts. Even with all the changes, there are parts that are still old, so we may not be able to sail for hundreds of years.¡±


    ¡°Do you want to become an immortal?¡± Pei Tingsong¡¯s voice finally had a smile in it, and he gently touched Fang Juexia¡¯s back with the palm of his hand. Clearly, he was the younger one, he was still behaving like a person coaxing a child. ¡°Old parts are old parts, and we can rot together. Maybe on a calm day, we will sink to the bottom of the sea together and become two sets of remains, just like how dead whales sink slowly¡­¡±


    Fang Juexia¡¯s nose stung again. ¡°I like the end of this story.¡±


    Pei Tingsong smiled at him. ¡°I like it, too.¡±


    Maybe one day, some people would dive into the deep sea and discover their existence. They would then uncover the story of how they used to ride the wind and waves side by side together, and they may even realize that every inch of the rotten parts on them actually came from each other.


    Two completely different Ships of Theseus became each other¡¯s remains and were eventually buried at sea forever.


    Fang Juexia knew that it might have been a very stupid and risky thing to choose to explain himself just as he had accepted the complete breakdown of his fantasies, but he had really wanted Pei Tingsong to know.


    Without Pei Tingsong, Fang Juexia could not imagine his own state at this time.


    He would have definitely been swallowed by the darkness.


    ¡°I love you.¡± He let go and looked into Pei Tingsong¡¯s eyes. ¡°I love you very much, Pei Tingsong.¡±


    Pei Tingsong was stunned.


    This was the first time he had heard Fang Juexia solemnly say the word ¡®love¡¯ to him. He had always thought that they were still at the ¡®like¡¯ phase, especially Fang Juexia. He had never dared to ask for too much emotion from this person; he knew it was very hard for him. Therefore, Pei Tingsong was always afraid of crossing that boundary, was always afraid that his own too-strong feelings would force him into a retreat.


    But Fang Juexia was so brave that he even took the lead to say these words first.


    Fang Juexia¡¯s eyes were clear, and although there were wounds on his face, he still looked so beautiful. The red birthmark at the corner of his eye was even more beautiful than any flower¡¯s petals. Pei Tingsong couldn¡¯t help kissing there as he whispered, ¡°I love you, too. I love you even more than you can imagine.¡±


    Pei Tingsong had read countless books, and there were all kinds of love in these books. He had tasted them all, but those words had never become real emotions. Words were just words, and they only lived on paper. It wasn¡¯t until he met Fang Juexia that he realized that he could love someone like this.


    And in loving this rebel, he would automatically become his armor.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Fang Juexia took the initiative to press against him and kiss his lips, then quickly released him, his eyes soft and open.


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s eyes also stung. In order to hide his emotions, he smiled again, looking a bit childish. ¡°You really, I¡¯ve even imagined the scene of me telling you ¡®I love you¡¯ first many times. It should have been especially romantic, but you beat me to it.¡±


    This sudden ¡°accusation¡± made Fang Juexia a little confused. ¡°That¡­. You didn¡¯t discuss that with me ah.¡±


    Discuss?


    Pei Tingsong felt this was even more funny. How could this guy be this serious? ¡°It¡¯s more than that, I have never seen you cry before, and I thought that when you would cry in front of me for the first time, it would be because of me.¡± He lowered his head and bit the tip of Fang Juexia¡¯s nose. ¡°Yet as a result, this idea has also been dashed to pieces.¡±


    Thinking that he had been shedding tears the entire time just now, Fang Juexia was a little embarrassed. He lowered his eyes and muttered, ¡°What¡¯s so good about crying¡­¡±


    ¡°Of course it¡¯s good.¡± Pei Tingsong gently kissed his eyebrows and eyes. ¡°You also look good when you cry. You look good doing anything.¡±


    Young people¡¯s love was always reckless, they eagerly proffered it up in front of you, for fear that you would turn a blind eye.


    Pei Tingsong frowned slightly again. ¡°But if you really do cry, I will feel very bad. My chest gets especially painful, and I¡¯m not afraid of your jokes, I have never felt so bad before. When I received the message from the bodyguard and knew that it was your father who was following you around, my hands started shaking. Even with such hot weather, I still trembled.¡± Pei Tingsong took a deep breath and continued, ¡°And San Francisco is so far away from Beijing ah.¡±


    His words were full of complaints, and the ending sound was a childish whine. Fang Juexia could almost imagine how frantic this irascible guy must have gotten at the time, and couldn¡¯t help laughing.


    Pei Tingsong was still immersed in recounting his own emotions. ¡°I was really both scared and suffering, scared that upon my return, you would be in despair because of your father¡¯s situation, and scared that you suddenly wouldn¡¯t want me anymore.¡±


    Fang Juexia hugged him and rubbed from the back of his neck to the back of his waist, just as if he were comforting a big dog. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t do that.¡±


    ¡°En.¡± Pei Tingsong said to him, ¡°I won¡¯t let you face it alone. I also won¡¯t let him show up in front of you again.¡± He looked at Fang Juexia solemnly. ¡°When you were taking a bath, I already had him sent to a compulsory drug treatment center. To be honest, I really hate that I can¡¯t kill him and have him disappear from the world, but I know that if you were given the choice, you wouldn¡¯t want to do that.¡±


    Fang Juexia looked at him in silence, and his eyes had already given him a positive reply.


    A rehabilitation center was indeed the best destination. He had already accepted the fact that Fang Ping was no longer his father, but he still wanted to give him a chance to be a person.


    ¡°If he really can be rehabilitated, it depends on his nature. If he can¡¯t be rehabilitated, then he will stay there for the rest of his life, so as to prevent him from doing anything more extreme.¡±


    Pei Tingsong finished talking and lightly put his hand on the back of Fang Juexia¡¯s waist. ¡°Does it hurt?¡±


    Fang Juexia said it didn¡¯t hurt, but Pei Tingsong wore an expression of disbelief, so he whispered, ¡°It¡¯s a little bit painful, but it didn¡¯t harm my bones, so it will be okay soon.¡±


    Even if that person really gave Fang Juexia life, and had been warm towards him when he was young, Pei Tingsong just couldn¡¯t accept him hurting the person he liked the most in such a way.


    It seemed that his senses no longer belonged to him, but had all already been transferred over from Fang Juexia. If Fang Juexia cried, his heart would ache. If Fang Juexia got hurt, he would hurt even more.


    ¡°Never again.¡± Pei Tingsong gently stroked his bruise and said, ¡°Don¡¯t cry anymore either, whenever you cry, my heart feels like it¡¯s about to break.¡±


    Fang Juexia nodded, and the corners of his mouth rose slightly.


    ¡°It¡¯s better when you smile.¡± He flicked the strands of hair on Fang Juexia¡¯s forehead. ¡°Our Juexia looks so good when he smiles.¡±


    Fang Juexia had never felt so lucky. This word had always stayed far away from his life, so he kept on walking forward, constantly convincing himself that there must be an exit ahead, and that all his efforts would definitely receive a response.


    He still didn¡¯t know if there would be a response at the exit ahead, but he had met Pei Tingsong en route.


    This was the luckiest thing that had ever happened to him.


    The tip of his nose was a little itchy. Fang Juexia rubbed it against Pei Tingsong¡¯s chin, then slowly opened his mouth, ¡°It¡¯s already the 15th today. You¡¯ve been gone for six days.¡± Then he glanced up at the clock on the wall and said, ¡°The calculation isn¡¯t very accurate, but if you calculate based on the present time, you have been gone for six days and ten hours.¡±


    It had really been too long, so long that by this point, his little internal clock had broken down. A second in reality hated the fact that it couldn¡¯t last for a minute in his heart.


    But Pei Tingsong had come back before the first thunderstorm of the summer.


    And just in time too, so he didn¡¯t get drenched in the rain.


    ¡°Did you miss me?¡±


    Hearing his low voice, Fang Juexia nodded slightly. ¡°En.¡± Then he added, ¡°And I worried about you every day.¡±


    Fang Juexia had never seen what a real rich family looked like, he had only seen their portrayal on TV; it seemed that they were all complicated and full of conspiracies. Fang Juexia disliked complicated things, and he was also afraid that Pei Tingsong would be bullied by some crafty guys, that his mother would say many things that would hurt him, and that Pei Tingsong wouldn¡¯t be able to control his emotions and get fooled by others.


    These days, his heart had been in a wretched state, and he hadn¡¯t been able to do anything well. He had been as sickly as a seedling that lacked water.


    ¡°I was just afraid of you being worried. It¡¯s not enough to call you every day ah.¡±


    Fang Juexia leaned into Pei Tingsong¡¯s arms sweetly. ¡°Only when I see you can I feel at ease. I was afraid that you¡¯d deceive me and say that you¡¯re doing quite well, when in fact, you¡¯re not fine at all. You¡¯re stuck listening to your mother¡¯s nonsense, and you would get angry with her.¡±


    What he said was exactly what had really happened, which made Pei Tingsong want to laugh.


    ¡°Juexia.¡±


    Fang Juexia liked to hear Pei Tingsong call him this way. Although other people also called him by this name, Pei Tingsong seldom did. Every time these two syllables came out of his mouth, Fang Juexia felt cared for. Pei Tingsong¡¯s palms were dry and broad, and they felt really good as they stroked against his cheek. ¡°This time when I went back and saw my mother, guess what my first reaction was?¡±


    Fang Juexia shook his head. He couldn¡¯t imagine that scene, and even if he imagined something, he didn¡¯t dare to say it out loud.


    ¡°So it turns out, she looks like this ah.¡±


    Fang Juexia¡¯s hand grasped the fabric at Pei Tingsong¡¯s waist and held it tightly.


    ¡ªHe couldn¡¯t even remember what his own mother looked like.


    ¡°Like what?¡± Fang Juexia asked, closing his eyes.


    ¡°How to say¡­¡± Pei Tingsong tried to describe her, ¡°She was wearing a red sleeveless dress with a string of black pearls around her neck. They were very big pearls, but they couldn¡¯t cover the lines on her neck, yet her face was flat without any wrinkles and was bulging a bit, which was different from when I had seen her when I was a child. She was a lot uglier.¡±


    He was very straightforward, describing his mother as if she was a middle-aged woman who was a stranger to him.


    ¡°As soon as she saw me, she opened her arms to hug me and called out, ¡®Song¡¯, as if we were a very close mother and son pair. But I already don¡¯t remember how old I was when I last saw her.¡±


    Fang Juexia was a bit distressed. ¡°Then when you were a child, didn¡¯t you miss your mother?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s only when you have a mother that you will miss your mother,¡± Pei Tingsong replied.


    Fang Juexia mulled over this sentence repeatedly in his heart, and it seemed especially bitter.


    ¡°I remember when I was four years old ba, she made a rare visit. It was my grandfather¡¯s birthday, and on that day, she was wearing a black dress and standing beside a very tall man, one of her boyfriends. My grandfather asked me to go up to her and greet her. I went over there, but I didn¡¯t say anything, just kept looking up at her. ¡°


    Just by listening to him, a picture had already started to appear in front of Fang Juexia¡¯s eyes. When he thought about such a small child, he felt that he must have been very well-behaved and very pitiful.


    ¡°Her boyfriend was French and spoke with a strong accent.¡± Pei Tingsong could still imitate his awkward tone, ¡°Who is this little guy?¡±


    ¡°¡®Oh, this is my nephew,¡¯ my mom said.¡± Pei Tingsong laughed. ¡°So, at that time, I said hello to that man in French, and then went back to my grandfather.¡±


    Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t imagine a mother who wouldn¡¯t even acknowledge her own child. He became very angry suddenly, despite the fact that he very rarely got angry. ¡°How could she be like this to you? It¡¯s too much.¡±


    He spoke those last three words very heavily, and Pei Tingsong thought it was a little cute. He raised his hand and rubbed at Fang Juexia¡¯s furrowed eyebrows.


    Sensing that his face was a little cold, Pei Tingsong turned up the air conditioner two degrees higher and held his hand. ¡°She explained it later, in front of my grandfather. She said that she really loved the man, but he didn¡¯t like children very much. So, in order not to cause trouble, she had just said that.¡±


    To her, it was just a harmless little lie.


    ¡°When you think about it that way, she hasn¡¯t actually changed.¡±


    For her, he had been and would always be a tool she could take out to please others at any time.


    Fang Juexia raised his head and gently pressed a kiss on his chin to comfort him. Pei Tingsong actually wasn¡¯t so sad; this memory had long become a painless one, and didn¡¯t really bother him anymore.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know, as soon as she saw me this time, she said that she missed me. I told her to stop acting and said, ¡®I know you just wanted to take away the legacy that my grandfather left me.¡¯ She replied, ¡®No, baby, you misunderstood. He¡¯s just re-publishing the works, he won¡¯t really steal your stuff. Mama still loves you.¡¯¡±


    He imitated his mother¡¯s tone, speaking with an affectionate feel and saying intimate words. Then slowly, the expression on Pei Tingsong¡¯s face cooled down and gradually became impassive.


    ¡°You see, in order to achieve her goal, she can utter an out-and-out lie.¡± Pei Tingsong laughed. ¡°People are people. The title of parents can¡¯t make them great, and they can even turn around and tarnish the title instead.¡±


    Fang Juexia, unwilling to see him sad, stroked his back. He didn¡¯t know what he should say, and it seemed that saying anything was useless. Pei Tingsong had never felt a father¡¯s love or mother¡¯s love; this wasn¡¯t something difficult for ordinary children to obtain, but he had never had them for even a moment.


    He thought that, fortunately, Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t grow up in China, and he wasn¡¯t required to write essays like ¡°My Father¡± or ¡°My Mother¡± in every composition class, or even read them in public.


    He could even imagine such a scene in front of him. A tiny Pei Tingsong holding a blank paper in his little hands, with only the title scribbled on it, and nothing else.


    How could such a young child naturally accept the fact that he was not loved by his parents and then turn around and comfort him?


    Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t help it as a few tears fell down again.


    It was dark outside the window, the rain had stopped  a long time back, and a thread of red twilight twinkled in the gray sky. Pei Tingsong looked up and felt that the light was very similar to the birthmark on Fang Juexia¡¯s face.


    Only when he looked down at his lover did he discover that he was crying again.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter? I¡¯m fine, really.¡± Pei Tingsong kissed his birthmark and his eyes. His lips were stained with tears as he pecked his lips twice. ¡°I¡¯m not sad at all. So this time when I went back, it was just to take care of business. I¡¯m an adult now, and I¡¯ve arranged all of my inheritance. She has no way to take anything from me now. My Jie also prevented her from contacting me and threatened her that if she harassed me or her again, her boyfriend¡¯s publishing business would not be able to go on well.¡±


    ¡°Your Jiejie is very kind to you.¡± Fang Juexia rubbed his eyes and said, ¡°She helps you every time. You have to be nicer to her in the future.¡±


    Pei Tingsong laughed. ¡°You¡¯re right, everything you said is right.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re very similar. You¡¯re all a little strange, but you¡¯re both kind people.¡±


    ¡°You clearly haven¡¯t even met her.¡±


    Fang Juexia opened his eyes a little, and with a little bit of a grumble in his voice, insisted, ¡°But I know.¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright, you know. You know everything.¡± Pei Tingsong smiled helplessly, but then heard Fang Juexia say to him¡ª


    ¡°Pei Tingsong, you also look very good when you smile.¡±


    This was the first time Fang Juexia had praised him as good-looking. Pei Tingsong first thought that Fang Juexia was being very cute and wanted to laugh. He also felt that it was strange; sometimes when he looked at Fang Juexia, it was like he was looking at a child, when clearly, this was a person who was already this old and older than himself. But sometimes, he felt that he also became a child in Fang Juexia¡¯s eyes, because he always showed a magnanimous and doting smile towards him.


    Without waiting for his reply, Fang Juexia then said, ¡°I love you very much, and I will make up a lot of love to you, which will be more than your mom and dad¡¯s love added up, okay?¡±


    His voice was so soft, and his words were childish. How could one add, subtract, multiply, and divide love?


    But Pei Tingsong knew that he was sincere. Fang Juexia was the person who loved to calculate things in this world the most. What he calculated must be correct, and it would be more than the affection of all the other people all summed up.


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    Fang Juexia lay in his arms and said that he still wanted to hear about his childhood. Pei Tingsong chose some pleasant things to talk about, for example, when he went fishing for rainbow trout by the lake with his grandfather, and then how the fish was put into the pool and died. Also, for example, when he messed up his Jie¡¯s birthday party and also stole her first car.


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t speak too much during this; he was tired and soon fell asleep, breathing heavily, his chest rising and falling slowly. Yet, his hand still held onto Pei Tingsong¡¯s clothes, his tight grip not loosening at all.


    Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t continue, just looking at Fang Juexia¡¯s sleeping face quietly.


    Clearly, he was also a person who hadn¡¯t gotten much affection, but he was whole-heartedly thinking about making it up for him.


    Really, he was a strange person.


    Only once Fang Juexia was sound asleep did Pei Tingsong get up and leave the room with his cellphone. He went to the living room and made a phone call to the private bodyguard from before to confirm the progress of the matter. He continuously kept feeling ill at ease, and arranged for several more people to keep an eye on this issue. After that, he called Cheng Qiang and told him that he had already returned, but he had caught the flu. He also said that Fang Juexia had agreed to take care of him and that he might not return to the dormitory these next few days for fear of infecting others.


    Cheng Qiang also very rarely got to rest, and he didn¡¯t probe too much, just telling him to take good care of himself. Pei Tingsong nodded in response, hung up the phone, took a bath, changed into clean clothes before going back to bed and falling asleep while holding onto Fang Juexia, who loved to be clean the most.


    He finally fell asleep, and then even had a dream.


    In his dream, he had become short and small, and was wearing a very expensive but uncomfortable little suit. The dream was full of people, and they were all dancing and eating. A sense of familiarity drifted forward; he had returned to the day of his grandfather¡¯s birthday.


    Pei Tingsong tried to find his grandfather¡¯s whereabouts, but when he raised his foot, he saw a beautiful woman calling out his name, and also calling him ¡®baby¡¯. Very disgusted by this, he ran in the other direction, running out of the house. It was dark outside, and he ran to the garden full of yellow roses and hid behind the bushes.


    This scene overlapped with his memory.


    He remembered that he had just hid here in the bushes all alone, thinking about the difference between a nephew and a son, until a servant had found him and taken him back.


    There was a sound in the grass. The little Pei Tingsong in the dream was a little on guard, and he wanted to know whether it was a squirrel or the servant looking for him.


    But as soon as he looked up, he saw a beautiful child, who was taller than him and was wearing the most common clothes, but he was very good-looking, with a pink birthmark at the corner of his eye. It seemed that he couldn¡¯t see, so he stretched his arm out to fumble forward, slowly arriving at his side step-by-step.


    He couldn¡¯t see, but he still managed to find the hiding Pei Tingsong.


    Only after he drew closer did Pei Tingsong discover that his left leg was in a plaster cast, he was on crutches, and his arm was bruised.


    ¡°Did you come to wish my grandfather a happy birthday, too?¡± Pei Tingsong asked.


    The child shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m here for you.¡±


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s eyes brightened. ¡°You want to be friends with me, don¡¯t you?¡±


    He nodded. ¡°En.¡±


    ¡°How old are you?¡± Pei Tingsong answered first for himself, ¡°I¡¯m four years old this year.¡±


    ¡°Seven years old.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re older than me, I have to call you Gege.¡± Pei Tingsong said, ¡°You¡¯re hurt.¡±


    He nodded. ¡°I didn¡¯t know that I couldn¡¯t see, so I fell down. Later, the doctor told me that I can¡¯t see anything when it¡¯s dark.¡±


    ¡°But you still came to find me.¡± Little Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t understand. ¡°Your leg is broken, and it¡¯s so dark, but you still came to find me.¡±


    Unexpectedly, that beautiful Gege turned to smile at him. ¡°I wanted to come.


    ¡°I promised to make it up to you.¡±

 CH 86

    Chapter 86 ¨C Ordinary Love


    Warm dependence


    When Pei Tingsong woke up and unexpectedly found that he had shed some tears, he felt very disgraced. They had changed their sleeping posture when asleep, and had gone from embracing each other face to face, to him embracing Fang Juexia from behind, with one of his arms stretched under his neck.


    They were like two inseparable petals in a bud, stuck tightly close together.


    Fang Juexia was still sleeping heavily, so Pei Tingsong gently pulled out his embrace, making sure not to wake him up. After getting out of bed, Pei Tingsong wiped at the little damp spot on his pillow. After a while, he just turned the pillow over and hid it, pretending that nothing happened.


    He was hungry, for he couldn¡¯t eat anything on the plane while returning, but the apartment was as empty of food as his stomach, so he changed his clothes, put on his hat and mask, and went downstairs by himself. After sleeping for two or three hours, as the evening dusk transitioned into night, he realized that all the supermarkets were closed now, so he had to go to the convenience store to buy something.


    Pei Tingsong had grown up with almost no idea of how to take care of others; it had always been other people who took care of him. Some people took care of him because they loved him, such as his grandfather, while others took care of him because it was their job.


    But as soon as he stepped into the convenience store, his head was filled with thoughts of Fang Juexia. When he went to the snack area, he thought¡ª what does Fang Juexia like to eat? He seems to like candy. So he picked out many kinds of candy, especially the fast-selling candy with a ¡®Hot¡¯ note stuck on it, and tossed them all into his basket.


    And there was also Wangzai Milk, which he used to feel was cloying as soon as it was mentioned, and which he now basically picked as soon as he saw it.


    There were no fresh fruits and vegetables in the convenience store, so Pei Tingsong could only buy some salad and oden. When checking out, the cashier said, ¡°You can take a look at our summer limited edition oh, it¡¯s a coffee smoothie, very delicious.¡±


    ¡°If I drink coffee at night, I can¡¯t sleep ba,¡± Pei Tingsong replied casually.


    ¡°Ah¡­that¡¯s true.¡± The cashier laughed awkwardly and continued billing the items. However, Pei Tingsong suddenly spoke up, ¡°I want two cups, please help me fill them.¡±


    He didn¡¯t even know what the time was when he had woken up, and he definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to sleep anymore.


    He came out from the convenience store carrying a big bag of snacks, and noticed that the store next door was a florist. He had never realized that there was a florist here even though clearly, he had lived here for so long.


    The proprietress was arranging flowers inside the store. Her careful and serious appearance reminded him of Fang Juexia; he would squat on his small balcony every day, and sometimes stayed there all afternoon. He obviously loved to be clean, but for the sake of his little flowers, he would tolerate getting his hands often covered in dirt, and he would then often wash them for more than ten minutes.


    After seeing the tall boy stand at the door for a long time, the proprietress couldn¡¯t help asking, ¡°Do you want to buy flowers?¡±


    Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t have this idea at first, but he nodded once he saw that there seemed to be a eustoma in the middle of the bouquet that the proprietress was holding.


    ¡°What do you want to buy? Do you need a recommendation?¡± The proprietress was a middle-aged woman who spoke quietly. She asked him questions while tidying up the arrangement in her hands. ¡°Is it a gift?¡±


    She didn¡¯t look like someone who would recognize him, or maybe Pei Tingsong was really wrapped up too well.


    ¡°En.¡± Pei Tingsong came in and stared at that arrangement.


    ¡°One look, and I can tell it¡¯s for your girlfriend. How about roses? This season¡¯s roses and pink dahlias are very beautiful, oh, and jasmine.¡±


    Pei Tingsong shook his head and pointed. ¡°I want this one, the white eustoma, a big bunch of them.¡±


    ¡°You like this one ah.¡± The proprietress gladly took out some fresh eustoma. Only when it got to the point that she almost couldn¡¯t hold onto them anymore did Pei Tingsong say it was enough.


    ¡°This flower is very good, beautiful, and has a strong vitality. It can continue blooming for more than ten days when it is put into the water. It¡¯s not delicate at all.¡±


    It really was beautiful and not delicate; it was Fang Juexia.


    ¡°I¡¯ll tie a bow around it for you, your girlfriend will love it.¡±


    Pei Tingsong, who had already paid, stopped the proprietress¡¯ actions mid-way. ¡°No need, just like this ba. My boyfriend can do it when I get back.¡±


    With that, he walked away carrying a big bunch of eustoma that could bury him, leaving behind a confused proprietress who still hadn¡¯t processed everything, wondering whether it was a boyfriend or a girlfriend.


    There was also an old woman selling vegetables on the street, and she was sitting on the ground. There weren¡¯t many vegetables left, with only a few tomatoes, sponge gourds, and some leftover vegetables now available. Pei Tingsong originally walked past her, but then he turned around and bought all the old woman¡¯s vegetables while also urging her to go home quickly.


    By the time he got in the elevator, Pei Tingsong was exhausted. He put everything on the floor of the elevator except the bunch of flowers, which he continued to hold onto seriously.


    Once back home, he put everything down, then changed into his slippers before heading straight to the bedroom. Sure enough, Fang Juexia was still sleeping, but when he heard the sound of movement, he seemed to wake up. He raised his head with his eyes half-open, looking like a baby chick falling in the clouds, indistinct.


    In a trance, Pei Tingsong forgot that he and Fang Juexia were bandmates in a boyband, and forgot the dazzling stage and spotlight that their lives circled around. Right now, they were just like the most ordinary couple in the city, living and falling in love in an ordinary way, and their daily life was filled with fireworks.


    ¡°Woke up?¡± Pei Tingsong went over and lay down in front of him. He gave him a kiss on his left cheek and then another kiss on his right cheek. Fang Juexia snorted, stretched out his arms lazily, made a small circle in the air, and lastly put his hands on Pei Tingsong¡¯s shoulders. Pei Tingsong had brought back a slight smell of rain mixed with the smell of sage on his clothes, very summer-like.


    ¡°You went out.¡± He rubbed his eyes. ¡°Where did you go?¡±


    ¡°Just went downstairs and bought some stuff.¡± Pei Tingsong liked seeing this appearance of his, when he had just woken up. After he covered himself in the quilt for a while, he became especially soft, and his face turned a bit pink.


    Fang Juexia wasn¡¯t used to staying in bed, so after talking a bit, he got up. As soon as he came out of the bedroom, he saw the flowers on the table and the big heap of things Pei Tingsong had bought. He knew that Pei Tingsong was a young master, but he still couldn¡¯t help laughing at him. ¡°Why buy so many flowers? There aren¡¯t even enough vases for you to put them in.¡±


    ¡°How is there no place to put them?¡± Pei Tingsong opened a wine cabinet in the kitchen, and it was filled with clean and beautiful glasses. He took them out one by one huffily. ¡°They can be put in all of these, I have plenty of glasses to put flowers in.¡±


    Fang Juexia laughed at his childishness. Pei Tingsong still wasn¡¯t done. ¡°And if that¡¯s not enough, there¡¯s a pond.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s also a swimming pool, right?¡± Fang Juexia thought of Pei Tingsong¡¯s story before they had slept, the one about killing the fish in the swimming pool.


    ¡°Anyway, I can afford these flowers, and they¡¯re all my flowers.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Fang Juexia lengthened out the last syllable of this word, making it especially gentle. He saw the vegetables that Pei Tingsong had bought, and none of them were very pretty. Some of them had already withered and he didn¡¯t know why he had bought them. But he didn¡¯t rebuke him, instead started washing them all while saying, ¡°I¡¯ll make a vegetable soup ba.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Pei Tingsong began to fiddle with his flowers. He separated them one by one and shook them a few times. All the buds on the branch were quivering, dripping with water and releasing no aroma, looking very beautiful and pure.


    Fang Juexia already knew how to cook, and his actions were quick and efficient. He sliced the tomatoes and sponge gourds, put them in a pot, added a spoonful of salt, and finally put the washed leftover vegetables in. Unfortunately, there were no eggs, otherwise the soup would become more fragrant.


    Hot soup, smoothies, oden, and salad. They were eating strangely and casually, but both people actually found the things they were eating delicious. Fang Juexia left the smoothie for last, and when he took a sip of the half melted smoothie, his teeth chattered from the cold.


    ¡°It¡¯s a very good drink.¡± He smiled, and his lips, that had turned red from the cold, were more beautiful than the roses at the florist.


    After dinner, Pei Tingsong took the initiative to wash the dishes. In a hurry, he almost broke one, but he managed to save it. Fang Juexia was sitting at the big dining table pruning the eustoma, and almost used up all the glasses he could use.


    He put the flowers in all the places he could put them, such as the dining table, under the corner of the sofa, on the porch cabinet, in the study, the bedside table in the bedroom, and even in the bathroom. The house was full of eustoma, and the empty house looked like it had come somewhat alive.


    Pei Tingsong told him that he had lied to Cheng Qiang by telling him that he was sick and wanted him to stay with him to rest for two days. Fang Juexia agreed, and thought it was very interesting. ¡°Then we also can¡¯t go anywhere. There are too many eyes outside, and staying inside the apartment is the safest. It¡¯s like we¡¯re a little couple hiding after eloping.¡±


    Pei Tingsong liked this description.


    They wanted to watch Lu Yuan¡¯s variety show for a bit after eating, but there wasn¡¯t a TV in the apartment. Pei Tingsong found a projector in his study. ¡°How about watching a movie?¡±


    Fang Juexia said yes, but he doubted whether he would be able to see it clearly. He stretched out his waist and looked through the bag to find a raspberry flavored lollipop, tore off the wrapping paper, and stuffed it into his mouth. He sat cross-legged on the sofa as he watched Pei Tingsong fiddle with the projector that he obviously didn¡¯t use very often.


    Pei Tingsong finally got it right, and an image was projected onto the empty white wall. ¡°Can you see?¡±


    The projection effect was very good and very bright, so Fang Juexia nodded with the candy in his mouth. ¡°It¡¯s good. What movie is this?¡±


    ¡°Kill Your Darlings.¡± Every time Pei Tingsong spoke in English, his ending notes always sounded especially good. That kind of chest resonance, it always made Fang Juexia feel limp and numb whenever he heard it.


    The title made the movie sound like an art film, or a murder themed suspense film. Fang Juexia beckoned to Pei Tingsong and patted the sofa twice, indicating that he should come over quickly.


    ¡°Right away, I¡¯ll get us something to drink first.¡±


    He pulled out the last two glasses in his apartment, took out a bottle of Bailey¡¯s Irish Cream from the wine cabinet, and mixed it with half a glass of Wangzai Milk before sipping it. The sweetness doubled like this, and Fang Juexia would like it.


    For himself, he poured half a glass of rum with half a glass of coke. Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t have a large alcohol tolerance, but he still drank a little occasionally. When he was half-drunk and wrote, his mind would be filled with even more fantastical imagination.


    After he got back to the sofa, they sat shoulder to shoulder. As they watched the movie, Fang Juexia ended up being not so quiet. This was a movie about literature, poetry and the ¡°Beat Generation¡±, so there were many things Fang Juexia didn¡¯t understand. Whenever the hero with a beautiful face read a poem, he would look sideways at Pei Tingsong.


    ¡°This is Henry Miller¡¯s Tropic of Cancer,¡± Pei Tingsong would kiss him every time he finished saying something, ¡°He is also one of the Beat Generation, the prophet of sexual liberation. In my study, I still have his Rosy Crucifixion trilogy, and they¡¯re all erotic novels.¡±


    ¡°Sexual liberation¡­¡± Fang Juexia repeated these words in a low voice, and because he still had some candy in his mouth, the words had a slightly cloying feel to it.


    He and Pei Tingsong had received completely different educations and had been raised in completely different environments, so he could never be like him, he could never utter words about sex and eroticism casually like him. His tone was weak and contained no confidence. ¡°No wonder there was the word ¡®cock¡¯ in his poems¡­¡±


    Hearing this, Pei Tingsong laughed and teased him with the line he had spoken in the hotel last time. ¡°Gege, how do you say ¡®cock¡¯ in Chinese?¡±


    Fang Juexia¡¯s face suddenly turned red. Originally, he was half lying on him, but now he turned to sit upright.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± he lied.


    Pei Tingsong started laughing, but didn¡¯t continue to tease him, and they immersed themselves in the plot again. Fang Juexia watched it silently, occasionally sighing tonelessly, and then spoke in the manner of stating the truth, ¡°Alan really likes Lucian.¡±


    ¡°Why do you say that?¡± Pei Tingsong took a sip of his coke and rum, and handed Fang Juexia the mixture he had made for him.


    Fang Juexia took a big gulp. At first, he didn¡¯t even taste the alcohol in it, and he just thought it was chocolate milk which tasted very sweet. He said to Pei Tingsong, ¡°Look at his eyes when he looks at him. No matter what Lucian says or does, he looks at him like that.¡±


    Saying it like that, it was an interesting description.


    ¡°You are so smart.¡± Pei Tingsong tapped his chin and made him face himself. The projected light cast a layer of illusion on his three-dimensional facial features, making them look rather like a bust. His speech was also more pleasant than Lucian in the film, and it enthralled people.


    ¡°Then should you have figured out that I like you early on?¡± Pei Tingsong looked into his eyes, the light in his eyes like a turbulent lake. ¡°I look at you like that too.¡±


    The candy in his mouth had melted by a third.


    The raspberry flavor and chocolate taste of the drink made Fang Juexia intoxicated.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t figure it out,¡± Fang Juexia replied honestly.


    On the projection screen, Lucian fell onto Allen¡¯s leg, holding the fingers he had reached out to touch his cheek. On the sofa, Pei Tingsong held out his hand, grasped the white slender lollipop stick extending from Fang Juexia¡¯s lips, pinched it, and rotated it.


    A sweet raspberry planet, spinning slowly in a wet and soft universe.


    The just-born ambiguous nebula flowed into the throat and ignited in his stomach.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    Because he also looked at Pei Tingsong like that, so how could he have discovered it? His heart and eyes had long been full of Pei Tingsong.


    Fang Juexia answered with this within his heart, and then bit at the shrinking lollipop in his mouth.


    Love is blind, because the lovers could only see their passion for each other.


    The planet exploded, and his mouth was full of debris. His tongue needed to be saved, so Pei Tingsong came at just the right moment. He held his waist and gave him a complicated kiss under the play of light and shadows.


    He thought of the lines that were uttered not so long ago, when Allen had said that ¡®it¡¯s complicated¡¯.


    Lucian had replied, ¡°Great, I love complicated.¡±


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t like it. He liked simple things that could be solved with the use of logic. The only complex thing he liked was Pei Tingsong, and everything related to Pei Tingsong.


    Simple couldn¡¯t cover him, and Pei Tingsong was attractive because of his complexity.


    Rum, sweet saliva, coke bubbles, folded oral lining, raspberry and Irish Baileys, tiny taste buds at the tip of the tongue, milk, and smooth teeth.


    The candy fragments were pushed around by them, and gradually lost their attacking power, melting into a round shape, sticking to their lips and tongue as their breaths grew deeper and deeper.


    The lines of poetry being recited in the movie were too suitable as background sound right now.


    [Be careful, you are not in Wonderland.


    I¡¯ve heard the strange madness long growing in your soul.


    But you are fortunate in your ignorance, in your isolation.


    You who have suffered, find where love hides.


    Give, share, lose


    ¡ªlest we die, unbloomed.]


    Fang Juexia was in Wonderland, and he couldn¡¯t hear anything. Unconsciously, he lay down on the sofa, like a burnt out white candle. His long thin white legs knocked into the glass on the floor, which led to the eustoma falling and water flowing to the floor.


    His head began to grow dizzy, and there was an indistinct halo in front of his eyes. Half a glass of Irish Bailey had some effect; he felt hot all over, but he wasn¡¯t drunk, he was still sober.


    Pei Tingsong took off his black coat between kisses, just as he had torn open the candy wrapper just now. But they clearly still had candy in their mouths, and it was too much to hold.


    Pei Tingsong seemed to be outlining the shape of his lips, gliding along the subtle curve and small and exquisite bow they formed.


    Every part of the inner part of their mouths was bared open with no reservations, and Fang Juexia began to lose the ability to swallow. He could only accept and accept this invasion passively.


    This kiss was too long, to the point that the candy had melted. Fang Juexia was also about to melt on the sofa.


    The dissolved candy and saliva were mixed together and dripped down. They were shining under the sunlight shining in the movie, and made for an image more beautiful than the Milky Way.


    Their hot hands turned unsteady, and every place they stuck was left stained with their heat.


    The rescue was temporarily suspended. Pei Tingsong retreated back a little and looked at Fang Juexia from a distance.


    That kind of pure white beauty set against the colors of the night¡ªit was a kind of defilement to describe it using the words ¡°beguiling and exotic.¡±


    ¡°Are you not going to watch it anymore?¡± Fang Juexia was talking about the movie. He lay on the sofa, and with soft eyes, continued, ¡°We¡¯ve only seen half of it.¡±


    Pei Tingsong leaned down and licked the sugar from the corner of Fang Juexia¡¯s mouth, like an animal.


    ¡°The second half isn¡¯t that good.¡±


    Poetry doesn¡¯t lie.


    Yes, Pei Tingsong was so infatuated that his soul now contained a peculiar madness within itself.


    ¡°Alright ba, then we won¡¯t watch anymore.¡±


    (5000 words as a gift)


    Quick preview of the translated smut (NSFW warning):


    ¡°Really?¡± Pei Tingsong maliciously rubbed Fang Juexia¡¯s cock. When he heard him squeak, he smiled. ¡°Our Juexia drank a lot of water, so what should we do? I can¡¯t just pull out.¡±


    ¡°You can, Tingsong,¡± Fang Juexia revealed a pleading expression that was too beautiful. ¡°Just for a moment.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t leave you for even a second.¡± Pei Tingsong ruthlessly said some sweet nothings before picking up his lover, and with his legs wrapped around his waist, carried him to the bathroom. With every step, he thrust in and out of his body, going even deeper than the last one.


    He was Fang Juexia¡¯s only fulcrum, the sword that would kill him, but also his life-saving straw.

 CH 87

    Chapter 87 ¨C Love Scandal Mess


    This chapter contains Weibo comments, don¡¯t like, don¡¯t read


    When Fang Juexia woke up, he felt that even his skeleton had been rattled loose.


    Dazed, he opened his eyes and stared at the white ceiling like he had lost his soul. Only after three minutes did he start to  gradually recover his memory.


    Memories¡­that were especially hard to look back on.


    ¡°You¡¯re awake?¡± Pei Tingsong had woken up earlier than he had and had been hugging Fang Juexia, who was still asleep, as if he was holding a treasure made of jade. When he kissed him, he did so extremely lightly, afraid of waking him up. He wanted to wait for Fang Juexia to wake up naturally after getting enough sleep.


    Fang Juexia, who had just recovered his memory, felt his face turn red as soon as it was rubbed against once. He reached out to push against Pei Tingsong¡¯s chest, trying to push him away. ¡°Let go, don¡¯t stick to me.¡±


    ¡°How come you¡¯re like this every time?¡± Pei Tingsong¡¯s tone even sounded aggrieved. ¡°It can¡¯t be you¡¯ve forgotten everything ah?¡±


    Fang Juexia of course hadn¡¯t forgotten anything, he remembered it all very clearly. But without saying a word, he arched up and rolled all the quilts onto himself. His eyes drifted, landing on Pei Tingsong lying at the side, who was not covered up at all. His ears grew hot, so he pulled out a little corner of the quilt and placed it on Pei Tingsong.


    He needed to stay away from the source of danger.


    Pei Tingsong tugged at that corner of the quilt and pulled him into his arms. He hugged him from across the quilt and purposefully let out a long sigh in his ear, ¡°Fang Juexia, I¡¯m dirty.¡±


    This enthusiasm to suck up after already having taken advantage! Fang Juexia choked with resentment and wanted to hit someone.


    ¡°If you¡¯re dirty, then just take a bath,¡± Fang Juexia said with red ears as he used his elbow to fight against his grasp, while also kicking out his feet in the quilt, looking just like a little fish that had been caught. Pei Tingsong thought it was cute, so he kissed and cuddled him. ¡°You wash me; I even washed you last night, so you have to return it to me.¡±


    Fang Juexia¡¯s words came out more and more frantically. ¡°What return? Are you a primary school student borrowing an eraser?¡±


    ¡°Whether or not I¡¯m a primary school student, don¡¯t you know best ah.¡± Pei Tingsong¡¯s hands looped around him tight, and he began to sigh deeply again. ¡°What to do, I¡¯m no longer a pure Xiao Pei. My precious first time has been snatched away by you, and also the second and third time, so you need to take responsibility for me.¡±


    Who was responsible for who ah? Fang Juexia flipped over in anger, ready to knock his head. As soon as he lifted his hand, Pei Tingsong caught him. He raised an eyebrow and added, ¡°Otherwise, I will cling to you for the rest of my life.¡±


    Fang Juexia¡¯s heart was beating violently. I may really be this guy¡¯s for keeps, until death do us part.


    ¡°You were already dead set on clinging to me.¡± After he said that, he pursed his red lips.


    Pei Tingsong kissed the corner of his eye, then hugged him tightly, stuffing his chin into the hollow of Fang Juexia¡¯s shoulder, then rubbing against his neck like a doggy. ¡°I like you too much too.¡±


    He was like this a lot, talking to him as if he were a child. Fang Juexia usually responded to him with actions, because he wasn¡¯t very good with words. However, right now, his hands were trapped in the quilt, and he couldn¡¯t hug Pei Tingsong back.


    So, he hesitated for a moment before whispering in his ear, ¡°Me too.¡±


    If he didn¡¯t like him, how could he compromise so easily?


    Pei Tingsong laughed in satisfaction, released his arms, and prepared to lift up the quilt. ¡°Let me see the number of times you¡¯ve been bitten by insects?¡±


    ¡°No, take your hands away.¡±


    ¡°Just taking a look ma, just a look!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­ Give me back the quilt.¡±


    ¡°Oh god.¡±


    The sunlight diffused through the white curtain, and covered the lovers¡¯ skin like running water.


    Every part of love in summer was warm, like sunlight that never cooled.


    Fang Juexia and Pei Tingsong spent the next few days carefully and cherishingly, just like tasting a limited edition ice cream.


    Although they couldn¡¯t walk hand-in-hand in a beautiful boulevard like ordinary lovers, or have a candlelight dinner together in restaurants where tables were hard to reserve, they could cook and stew soup while standing side by side. Fang Juexia would prop himself up against Pei Tingsong as he recited poems and narrated novels, while he would teach Pei Tingsong the skills for quick calculation. They watched movies, kissed, read books, and indulged in even longer kisses.


    They were trapped in the high-rise apartment for three days, and enjoyed a romance hard to come by for that limited period of time. They were both restrained and free.


    However, there would always be an end to their two-person vacation. Xiao Wen came to pick them up on the first day they were supposed to report back to the company. He had heard that Pei Tingsong had the flu, so Xiao Wen stupidly brought a lot of medicine. Pei Tingsong and Fang Juexia glanced at each other and almost couldn¡¯t hide their smiles. Fang Juexia took hold of the medicine for him, and they then got in the car. Pei Tingsong, who hadn¡¯t gone online for a long time reflexively started cursing as soon as he refreshed Weibo.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Fang Juexia drew closer to see.


    ¡°Fire Ge is on the Hot Search list, they say he¡¯s dating someone. What the hell is this?¡±


    Xiao Wen was so startled that he couldn¡¯t fasten his seat belt. ¡°What?!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll click on it and have a look first.¡± Pei Tingsong clicked on the [He Ziyan¡¯s Love] entry on the Hot Search list. He Ziyan was not like TingJue where the CP fans dominated. His boyfriend power counted as being the highest in the whole group, and many of his fans were girlfriend fans. After seeing this entry on the Hot Search list, they were sure to explode.


    The first line in the Hot Search entry was a Weibo post by an influencer account. It had been posted a few minutes ago: [He Ziyan, a member of Kaleido, a popular boy-band, is suspected to have been photographed while on a date with his girlfriend. The two staged a sweet ¡°cradling the head and going in for the kill of the heart¡± at the entrance of a KTV.]


    There were also four pictures, which had been taken at night, and they were all very fuzzy.


    ¡°Is this him?¡± Fang Juexia opened the picture for Pei Tingsong. There was a girl with long black hair, wearing a small blue French-style dress and a mask. He Ziyan was very easy to recognize. Although his head was turned to the side and he was wearing a hat, someone who interacted with him every day would be able to recognize him. The first two pictures showed him reaching for the girl¡¯s head, while the second two showed them standing side by side.


    There were a lot of fans in the comment area, but there were also a lot of netizens talking about it in the real-time search as well. Many people had already emotionally criticized He Ziyan for dating someone while on the rise in his career and then having been photographed doing it.


    Idols dating had always been a controversial issue. Kaleido was a group that had only recently become heavily discussed, with the popularity of almost every member seeing a significant rise, and nowadays, there were also variety shows being aired that featured them. Once this kind of love news was released, it triggered a great rise in public opinion on online platforms. Almost everyone believed that this was real proof, but their attitudes were different. Many fans in the entertainment circle felt that this was very serious behavior, but there were also many people who said that Kaleido wasn¡¯t a group that had relied on its fans to rise; they had become popular in the circle several times solely on the basis of their own abilities. Fans of sheer ability thought that he shouldn¡¯t be criticized in this manner.


    For a time, many different opinions were being bandied about, and the ¡®collapsed house¡¯ news spread quickly, with great influence.


    Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t quite believe it and sent a message to He Ziyan. ¡°No way ba, Fire Ge definitely wouldn¡¯t go so far as to secretly date someone ah.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to call Qiang Ge.¡± Xiao Wen didn¡¯t start the car.


    The more Fang Juexia looked at the image, the more he felt it was off. ¡°Why does this dress look so familiar?¡± He thought about it carefully, and finally recalled something. ¡°Wait a minute, this is the present I sent Miao Ge¡¯s little sister for her birthday last year.¡±


    ¡°Ah?¡± Pei Tingsong took a closer look. ¡°It seems that¡¯s really Jiang Yao.¡± He looked at Fang Juexia and inquired, ¡°Fire Ge can¡¯t date Xiao Yao ba, didn¡¯t she just become an adult?¡±


    Fang Juexia¡¯s gut feeling told him that that was just impossible.


    Their cellphones soon vibrated, and it was the Kaleido group chat.


    [Sexy Teacher Yuan Doing the Flower Hand Dance: What¡¯s the matter ah? I saw a group of hip-hop dance instructors eating melons and excitedly rushed over to take a look, only to see that the house that collapsed was actually my own?? [picture] [picture]]


    [Your Fire Ge: Someone is trying to screw me over ba? This was the celebration on the day that Xiao Yao¡¯s college entrance examination finished ah. Three Water and Yiyi are also there, so how did she become my secret girlfriend?]


    [The Original M-Dash: Yeah, clearly, I¡¯m here, too ah! Do I not pair well?!!]


    [Sexy Teacher Yuan Doing the Flower Hand Dance: Clearly, even though it was a four person scandal, you can never even get named.]


    [Water Water Water: These rumor mongers are too much, not even high school students are off limits.]


    ¡°Miao Ge must be very angry,¡± Fang Juexia sighed. ¡°His own little sister getting dragged out to smear his bandmate.¡±


    Pei Tingsong let out a curse, ¡°If it was me, I¡¯d explode and open up my mic.¡±


    Xiao Wen immediately stopped him. ¡°Don¡¯t, don¡¯t, don¡¯t, little ancestor, let¡¯s go back to the company first. These kinds of baseless accusations showing up one by one, it shows that you guys are really popular. My K is real popular!¡±


    Fortunately, on the evening of the party, the members present had taken several group photos as a memento. At the time, they had thought that they couldn¡¯t post them online, but now these very pictures had turned into evidence. Star Chart¡¯s reaction speed was as fast as ever, and after drafting a clarification statement, they immediately made a Weibo post to clarify the identity of the girl in the photo.


    He Ziyan also immediately made a Weibo post.


    [@Kaleido He Ziyan: Four people get-together to celebrate Miao Ge¡¯s own little sister finishing up her college entrance examinations. You guys aren¡¯t satisfied with making up my life experiences, and now also want to help arrange a girlfriend for me, right? Then I¡¯m going to go by your guys¡¯ will and get married online ah.]


    His Weibo post was accompanied by several group photos featuring all the four people from that evening, and Meimei Jiang Yao¡¯s face was always covered with a sticker. Pretty much immediately, Jiang Miao also forwarded this post.


    [@Kaleido Jiang Miao: Sorry for taking up public resources, but the girl in the group photo and the popular secret dating photo is my biological little sister. All the friends who are familiar with me should know that I have a little sister who is a few years younger than me. Because she is still a student, I always pay attention to protecting my little sister¡¯s privacy, and I also hope that the media can give her some space. The child was very happy after the test, and we celebrated a bit, not expecting to cause such a big storm out of it, very sorry for that.]


    Jiang Miao¡¯s words were neither humble nor overbearing, and he also posted a group photo taken with his little sister at school during the day, from when she had finished her exam, and their clothing was exactly the same as the night photos. No one who had been an old fan for many years didn¡¯t know the existence of this little sister. Jiang Miao even had nicknames and labels like ¡°Little sister con¡± and ¡°his Meimei is his only weakness.¡± After learning that the so-called ¡°girlfriend¡± was the little sister of the group leader, the fans started to fight back.


    Only now did the netizens realize that what they had eaten was a fake melon, so most of them scattered like birds and animals in a forest. There were also many people who came up with the conspiracy theory that there was a rival company making trouble for them. They cursed out the paparazzi, and also cursed out the trend of generating fake news seen so often in the entertainment industry.


    However, there weren¡¯t many netizens, those who had opened up and cursed people out because of this ¡®love discussion¡¯, who apologized for their own behavior. Their faces had been slapped, but they pretended that nothing had happened. Some people even argued that it wasn¡¯t impossible to fall in love with a bandmate¡¯s little sister, and then added on the label of self-speculation and fanservice.


    These gossip elements didn¡¯t need to be clarified or given explanations for, they were only keen on watching the collapse of high-rise buildings and the collapse of big edifices. On the contrary, if they didn¡¯t collapse, they would boo and hiss.


    But even so, false news still needed to be clarified. Ling Yi, one of the people involved in the event, forwarded He Ziyan¡¯s Weibo post immediately.


    [@Kaleido Ling Yi: I was the one who booked the KTV, so why am I not worthy of gossip and scandal?]


    The group of fans below the post began to laugh at the neglected Ling Yi.


    [@Obscure K¡¯s Always Shou Ling Yi: Reflect on why you¡¯re not suited for a girlfriend ba hhh]


    Lu Yuan also forwarded Ling Yi¡¯s Weibo post.


    [@Kaleido Lu Yuan: I was with the program group, just got off the plane, thank you¡­. Wait, why didn¡¯t you invite me? I could have just not gone to film the program! //@Kaleido Ling Yi: I was the one who booked the KTV, so why am I not worthy of gossip and scandal?]


    As a cross-talking boyband, Kaleido¡¯s team spirit was hard to explain. Usually, they always argued back and forth and quarreled with each other without trying to be polite in public. However, whenever something happened, they would all start to protect each other on their own.


    As soon as Fang Juexia entered the company, he went to the piano room to practice playing the piano and composing songs. He also received a WeChat message from Cheng Qiang and heard that the company had paid to remove this news item from the Hot Search list, so he took out his cellphone to check the latest situation. Plainly he hadn¡¯t made any Weibo posts in a long time, but as soon as he got to He Ziyan¡¯s Weibo, he immediately left a message below it.


    [@Kaleido Fang Juexia: If there was a party, why didn¡¯t you bring me along? Meimei¡¯s dress is even from me.]


    His serious comment was soon pushed to the top by fans.


    [@Did Kaleido win a prize today: Grandma, the advertisement blogger you followed has commented!!!]


    [@6A Grade Fancy Jeweled Xeriscape: AHHHHHH JUEXIA GEGE! How are you so cute ah, so seriously saying that people didn¡¯t take you along]


    [@Did Fang Juexia make a post today: Shit, this dress is actually from FJX, I¡¯m jealous.]


    [@Deaf fan dispersing: I want to buy the same dress, then rounding it up, the beautiful baby will have given me the dress!]


    [@TingJue girl¡¯s head is brushing the sky: AHHHHHH IT¡¯S A HOT AND FRESH JXGG! The tone is too cute ba.]


    Fang Juexia refreshed the page, and unexpectedly, saw Pei Tingsong¡¯s comment. In such a short period of time, it had already been pushed to the position right under his comment.


    [@Kaleido Pei Tingsong: Why didn¡¯t you bring me to the party? Meimei also isn¡¯t wearing the shoes I gave her.]


    Fang Juexia laughed when he saw it.


    This person was really strange. He had to imitate him even when he was commenting. Was he a copy-cat?


    There was no need to wait for Fang Juexia to say this, for his fans spoke out first.


    [@You and me under the Pinot Tree Supreme: Are you a copytree? How is it that you¡¯re copying everything from your Ge?]


    [@Eustoma blooming on a cactus: Shit, one of you gave a dress while the other gave some shoes, I¡¯m going to die of jealousy! This girl has really reincarnated as a king, her biological Gege is Jiang Miao, and there¡¯s five handsome Ge as her friendly Gege. They give gifts and have parties, the first gossip boyfriend in her life is He Ziyan, what kind of Mary Sue heroine in a romantic drama is this¡­.]


    [@TingJue is real: I just don¡¯t understand, during the college examinations, Teacher Yuan was elsewhere filming a program, and it¡¯s normal that he wouldn¡¯t have gone. PTS and FJX should have both been in Beijing though ah, so why didn¡¯t the two of them go¡­.]


    [@I dare not say that TingJue is real replying to @TingJue is real: Sister, careful, he¡¯s going to curse you wwww]


    [@ Putuo Temple Site¡¯s Fine Jeweled Xeriscape replying to  @TingJue is real: Don¡¯t ask, if you ask, K won¡¯t be peaceful]


    Right, what did the two of them do the night of the college entrance examination?


    Fang Juexia exited the app to check the date, then immediately closed Weibo with red ears.


    They didn¡¯t do anything, nothing at all.


    In the evening, the company specially held a meeting to discuss this. Recently, there had been a lot of intangible on-goings, and although this trouble was normal for a boyband in the rising popularity stage, Cheng Qiang still reminded them one by one.


    ¡°Someone must have posted this slander this time deliberately, and there are a lot of such things in the circle. Some time ago, there was also a small flower who was explosively revealed to have secretly married, and it was also news that people in the circle deliberately released.¡±


    Ling Yi clicked his tongue a few times. ¡°Really odious.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what being popular is, can¡¯t do anything about it. Our Star Chart is also a music company, and in fact, the atmosphere here is especially relaxed. Besides Shang Sirui, all your senior brothers have basically dated people before. The company has no ban on dating, but you need to be aware of one thing.¡± Cheng Qiang knocked on the table in the conference room. ¡°You need to let me know. At the very, very latest, you need to let me know once the feelings have stabilized, and only then can I be ready.¡±


    ¡°Understood¡ª¡±


    Lu Yuan asked, ¡°Does the company pair people up? I can¡¯t even meet a woman right now.¡±


    Ling Yi shook his hand. ¡°Me too, I¡¯ve only met Xiao Yao recently. If this goes on, I¡¯m going to fall in love within the group ah!¡±


    Fang Juexia¡¯s whole body froze as soon as he heard this. Pei Tingsong was as thick-skinned as ever though; even though this had pricked him right there, he acted like someone who had nothing to do with the matter and snarked at Ling Yi, ¡°You want to fall in love within the group, but who wants you ah?¡±


    ¡°Of course it¡¯s Juexia,¡± Ling Yi lay across Fang Juexia¡¯s body. ¡°After all, I¡¯m an appearance con.¡±


    Fang Juexia guiltily cooperated with him with a smile, but his eyes unconsciously glanced at Pei Tingsong, who was sitting diagonally opposite him. The two of them looked at each other, and the corners of Pei Tingsong¡¯s mouth curled up in a smile.


    Quickly retrieving his gaze, he realised that Ling Yi was still chattering-on next to his ear. He didn¡¯t know why, but Fang Juexia discovered that in the midst of his embarrassment, he also felt a little happy, as if this secret love brought him not only sweetness, but also excitement.


    Every day he was with Pei Tingsong, he was breaking the rules.


    Secretly enjoying themselves, having a clandestine love affair, eating the forbidden fruit.


    These were not clean phrases, and they had all fallen upon him now, but Fang Juexia had actually begun to enjoy this uncleanness.


    Cheng Qiang explained something about the summer album and arranged their music selection and recording. Fang Juexia was in a daze the whole time. At the end of the meeting, only when his name was called out by Cheng Qiang did he return to his senses.


    ¡°En?¡± Fang Juexia looked at him.


    ¡°I asked if the demo you gave us to listen to last time, you could put it in the summer album this time,¡± Cheng Qiang said.


    So it turned out to be this.


    Fang Juexia nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll speed up the production, but I might not be able to do it very well. It¡¯s also my first attempt at composing music.¡±


    ¡°Alright, anyway, the company¡¯s principle is to prioritize using your original song.¡±


    At the end of the meeting, the six people found an empty vocal-training room to discuss the summer album, and returned to the dormitory at 11 p.m. On the way back, Jiang Miao was concerned about Pei Tingsong¡¯s cold. Pei Tingsong happened to get a call, and after a careless glance, he picked it up. Fang Juexia felt as if something was going on with him; when he answered the phone, he looked serious and didn¡¯t speak. He just uttered a lot of ¡°en¡¯s¡± before finally saying, ¡°Send it to me and I¡¯ll have a look.¡±


    What had happened this time? Fang Juexia was a little suspicious.


    Failing at cueing Xiao Pei into a discussion, the topic turned to He Ziyan, who had experienced great ups and downs within a single day.


    ¡°It¡¯s actually pretty interesting to think about it now.¡± He Ziyan said, ¡°I also count as having tested out the waters of love in advance, but I didn¡¯t expect that netizens would respond with such a huge reaction that even my former two girlfriends picked it out.¡±


    ¡°Yes ah,¡± Lu Yuan teased him, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you didn¡¯t even have your first girlfriend¡¯s WeChat? Netizens are really scary.¡±


    Listening to their discussion, Fang Juexia felt faintly uneasy inside.


    Even though he liked this kind of secret love, he knew that with Pei Tingsong¡¯s personality, he must want to be open about it someday, and be just like the other lovers in the entertainment industry.


    But he didn¡¯t want his relationship to affect the group. No matter how he looked at it, there was no good time to expose it in the short-term.


    Maybe in another three to five years, when their respective careers were all mature¡­.


    As he thought of this, Fang Juexia also couldn¡¯t help thinking if¡ª


    Would they still be together then?


    Forever.


    This word was like a trap for everyone in love in the world. Fang Juexia thought that he was calm enough and brave enough, but even he couldn¡¯t avoid human nature.


    He was expecting [forever], an event with such small probability, to happen to him.


    After having enough fun in the living room, everyone went back to their rooms. Fang Juexia entered his and opened the glass door of the balcony, and the jasmine-flavored wind blew in on the summer night. His cellphone vibrated, and it was Pei Tingsong.


    [One Constant Truth: Are you scared?]


    Scared?


    Scared of what?


    Ling Yi tidied up the new Minion figure he had just bought and hummed, ¡°I will always remember the wind in summer¡­¡±


    Fang Juexia typed out a line of words. Before sending it, he deleted the second half of the paragraph and edited it.


    [Moonlight: I¡¯m not afraid of being exposed, but if one day, everyone finds out, I hope it¡¯s because we made it public on our own.]


    Staring at this line of words, he thought of the original sentence that had existed in the chat-box for just three seconds.


    [I¡¯m not afraid of being exposed, I¡¯m just afraid the shelf life of this relationship will be shorter than I think.]


    Before the time was ripe, and if the tasting period of this candy had already ended, it would then become meaningless to peel off the candy wrapper and show it to the world.


    When it came to the nature of worrying about losing favor, Pei Tingsong had really inherited it from him.


    After a while, Fang Juexia¡¯s cellphone vibrated again.


    [One Constant Truth: That¡¯s for sure, with what we¡¯re playing at, we should be able to stab ourselves. I hate that I can¡¯t let everyone know that you belong to me now, and that no one can take you away from me. How can I let others take the lead? That would be slapping the face of me, Pei Tingsong, and I won¡¯t do it.]


    Really?


    The corners of Fang Juexia¡¯s lips quirked up into a smile, and he suddenly thought of a certain person¡¯s black history.


    [Moonlight: Little friend, it seems that your face has been slapped this entire time.]


    [Moonlight: ¡°Why would anyone want to top you ah? I can¡¯t imagine the way you look in bed at all.¡±]


    [Moonlight: ¡°Do these people have a thing for ice or wood?¡±]


    [Moonlight: ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I don¡¯t desire your body.¡±]


    [Moonlight: ¡°I¡¯m not gay.¡±]


    [Moonlight: Does it hurt?]


    Pei Tingsong just watched as these messages jumped out one by one, just like little goldfish jumping out of a fish tank.


    Fang Juexia, a person who seldom sent so many messages, could still overwhelm Pei Tingsong a bit with this barrage. Pei Tingsong could only stare at the screen and say to himself, ¡°No¡­. Why are all these old accounts being dug up?¡±


    He Ziyan happened to hear him just then. ¡°Old accounts? What old accounts? Oh, right! You brat, you still owe me money for charging up your game that time!¡±


    ¡°What ah¡­.you¡¯re plundering a house on fire!¡±


    ¡°What ¡®plundering a house on fire¡¯? I am Fire.¡±

 CH 88

    Chapter 88 ¨C Ambiguous Undercurrent


    Doomed to defeat


    After setting the date for the release of the summer album for July, Kaleido grew busy making the mini-album at the company every day.


    Compared with regular albums, mini-albums only included one main song and three non-main songs, and this time, the main song had been bought by the company from a composer abroad, and one of the three non-main songs was to be the one Fang Juexia had created before.


    After all, it was a follow-up mini-album, so there wasn¡¯t as much pressure, so everyone was relatively relaxed. Their attitude while participating in the production of the mini-album was one purely of playing around at music. Summer was a season filled to the brim with sunshine and romance, so the style of the music was also positioned in this way this time. Compared with their previous albums, which had been full of strong feelings, this album¡¯s requirements were towards adding more elements concerning love.


    This was why Chen Zhengyun, the producer and boss, was not as at ease for Pei Tingsong to write the lyrics of all the songs as he had done before.


    ¡°Xiao Pei¡¯s lyrical style is too intense, it¡¯s not gentle enough.¡± Chen Zhengyun discussed at the meeting, ¡°This time, we need to have the feeling of summer love.¡±


    Fang Juexia, who had never raised any objections during meetings, quietly refuted this statement in his heart. Pei Tingsong could actually be very gentle; he could coax a person, even read poems to him, and also buy flowers and candy for him.


    He was the most qualified person in the world to refute this statement.


    Others could only see the thorns present all over Pei Tingsong, only Fang Juexia can feel his soft heart.


    ¡°How am I not gentle?¡± Pei Tingsong was not satisfied with this evaluation, so he directly slapped the table in the meeting room and challenged the boss as usual.


    Everyone burst out laughing. ¡°Do you call that gentleness?¡±


    He Ziyan said with a smile, ¡°Other people may write love songs with ¡®I love you, you love me¡¯ or something, but when it comes to Xiao Pei, he directly mentions you stepping into the skies and breaking the heavens.¡±


    Ling Yi called out, ¡°Bros, spam the barrage with the word ¡®fear¡¯!¡±


    Lu Yuan rubbed his chin. ¡°The fierce man is gentle, hahahaha!¡±


    Jiang Miao, who had never involved himself in any group snarking activities, also glanced at Pei Tingsong and said, ¡°Maybe after Xiao Pei dates a bit, he can write lyrics with more of a love song atmosphere.¡±


    Pei Tingsong extremely wanted to refute them. ¡°No, you guys¡­¡±


    Fang Juexia pursed his mouth and cleared his throat. His expression was like that of a little hamster with a bulging mouth; his cheek pouches were filled with secrets.


    Alright ba. Pei Tingsong gave up. He decided not to be just a giant of language; he needed to prove that he could really write love songs with his actions.


    ¡°You guys wait. I definitely can do it.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± He Ziyan teased him, ¡°Is there ever a time when Xiao Pei can¡¯t do it?¡±


    Pei Tingsong was too lazy to mind them. He held the pen in his fingers and spun it skillfully. Chen Zhengyun showed them all the selected songs one by one, and everyone discussed the appropriate arrangement styles.


    Fang Juexia looked up seriously and listened carefully. Suddenly, he felt something touch his leg. He lowered his head doubtfully, only to see that it was actually a foot in a purple AJ, which had stretched out to his leg. He had just come out of the practice room and was still wearing loose dancing slacks. The tip of that AJ covered foot had already lifted up his slacks to lightly poked against the skin of his leg twice.


    As soon as he looked up, Fang Juexia saw Pei Tingsong¡¯s head tilted towards him. His eyes were deep, and he was still twirling the pen in his hand.


    He was probably blaming him for not speaking up for him, thought Fang Juexia.


    He pulled his legs back, not accepting Pei Tingsong¡¯s covert blame.


    ¡°We have also been discussing cooperating with some of this year¡¯s summer dramas, and it is possible that one of the non-main songs will be used as an interlude in an episode of a TV series.¡±


    Cheng Qiang was still talking, and Fang Juexia tried to concentrate and listen carefully, but there was something that kept distracting him. As soon as he retreated, Pei Tingsong would draw closer.


    Pei Tingsong liked to play with fire, and without any blushing or fast-beating heart, teased him in front of so many people.


    ¡°So, we have to speed up the pace soon. After making the demo, we have to send it to the drama department, so that they can choose the songs.¡±


    However, Fang Juexia had never been a little white bunny who would let himself be bullied by others. When dealing with Pei Tingsong, his temper was especially large.


    There was a clattering sound, and Fang Juexia¡¯s pen fell to the ground beside his elbow. He apologized in a soft voice and bent down to pick it up. He reached for the pen that hadn¡¯t been capped in the first place, directly grabbed the leg that Pei Tingsong had stretched out, and quickly drew an X on his exposed ankle.


    Then he quietly sat up and put his pen on the table.


    No one discovered the ambiguous undercurrent flowing under the table, and there was no evidence besides that little X.


    Although everyone had teased Pei Tingsong at the meeting, after the demo of the main song was given to them, it only took Pei Tingsong two days to complete writing lyrics for it, which was much faster than what the other lyricists, arranged by the company, managed to achieve during the same period. Chen Zhengyun carefully compared the two sets of lyrics; Pei Tingsong¡¯s lyrics were both more vivid and poetic. It wasn¡¯t simply a grab bag of assembly line lyrics where no matter what you¡¯re singing back and forth, it¡¯s always just ¡®you love me and I love you¡±.


    With the main song decided, the six people from Kaleido entered the studio to record. They had learned from their previous experience, and this time, they were very careful in keeping the demo and the completed song absolutely safe, for fear that another accident like the previous one would occur.


    During this period, Star Chart and Kaleido¡¯s official Weibo also released a notice on Weibo. Although they didn¡¯t even post a picture of the album, with the message containing just the words ¡°coming soon¡±, the excited mood of fans on seeing this was hard to express, and forwards and comments soon soared.


    Everyone had guessed that with the popularity and lasting power of ¡°Break Through¡±, Star Chart would definitely strike while the iron is hot and release a follow-up album, but they hadn¡¯t expected it to come so soon.


    Halfway through this period, Fang Juexia and Pei Tingsong also went back to film ¡®Escape For Your Life¡¯, and the popularity of the program grew increasingly higher and higher with each episode, and after the broadcast every Saturday, you would find the TingJue CP trending on the Hot Search list.


    As a result, the program group¡¯s budget also increased. They directly built a small planetarium for a new episode. After filming, the several guests got together to eat as usual. After eating, the ZiXi pair, who had things to do, left first, but Shang Sirui insisted on going to a KTV, so the rest of them continued their evening activities.


    ¡°Hey, we have to take a group photo this time, make a preemptive strike ah.¡± Shang Sirui joked about He Ziyan¡¯s scandal from last time, ¡°Or else suddenly they¡¯ll say I have a girlfriend.¡±


    Zhai Ying replied with a smile, ¡°Dream on.¡±


    Pei Tingsong teased, ¡°Fire Ge has received many scripts for idol dramas nowadays, a blessing found within misfortune.¡±


    They began to chat as they played around. All of these people were willing to talk, and they¡¯d more or less have something to say about themselves in every get-together they had. Fang Juexia was always a member of the audience at such occasions, but he hadn¡¯t expected Zhai Ying to talk about Astar¡¯s matters at this particular gathering.


    She first mentioned that their group¡¯s comeback had been delayed, and only after Shang Sirui asked why did the rest of them find out about the big conflict at the upper levels of Astar, and how there were two factions pulling at each other.


    Although Fang Juexia was no longer in Astar, he had heard about most of this when he was still a trainee. Astar had originally made its fortune in the early days by relying on several popular singers and groups. One of them, Li Luo, a veteran national singer, had also become one of Astar¡¯s shareholders. However, the boss at the time had supported Jin Xiangcheng when he was retiring to a higher supervisory position, thus making him the new boss. However, Jin Xiangcheng¡¯s means of doing things were more low, and even though he managed to promote many popular groups through his own methods, he also ended up making many enemies.


    He remembered that Ling Yi had casually mentioned the fall in Astar¡¯s stock. Apart from Pei Tingsong¡¯s older sister causing difficulties, it must have something to do with the high-level infighting.


    Pei Tingsong asked casually, ¡°Why should high-level infighting delay your guys¡¯ comeback?¡±


    Zhai Ying took a sip of beer. ¡°Because we are a group designed by President Li.¡±


    Fang Juexia asked, ¡°Li Luo?¡±


    ¡°Yes. There is also another more key problem.¡± She shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m Li Luo¡¯s sister-in-law. In other words, he¡¯s my brother-in-law.¡±


    Shang Sirui suddenly realized. ¡°Oh! No wonder you could debut after only having trained for such a short time!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m very strong myself, okay? Or do you think being the ace in a girl group is so easy?¡±


    It was only then Fang Juexia realized that Zhai Ying was actually an airborne; no wonder he hadn¡¯t seen her when he had left. And even though she knew that he and Astar, who had been friendly once, now hated each other, she didn¡¯t care about it all that much; everything made sense now.


    She must also not be pleased with Jin Xiangcheng.


    Fang Juexia said, ¡°Based on Jin Xiangcheng¡¯s style, he will not let you guys stage a comeback until he has established his position. You doing well is tantamount to fueling President Li¡¯s prestige within the company. Besides, your group¡¯s popularity is so high, so the numbers shouldn¡¯t be bad.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m hoping we don¡¯t do a comeback, I¡¯m afraid that he¡¯ll deliberately give us bad songs. He¡¯s already done something like that before, which greatly damaged our group¡¯s vitality.¡± Zhai Ying sighed and spoke, ¡°After all, we¡¯re not like you guys, who create your own songs.¡±


    Fang Juexia smiled. ¡°We are a small company, so we have no other way.¡±


    After the gathering, they all left separately. Fang Juexia was still thinking about Astar on his way back to the company. Back when he had entered Astar, one of his interviewers had been Li Luo, and it could be said that Li Luo was the one who had led him into Astar. During his trainee period, Li Luo had also helped him a lot, which was why everyone thought that he would be able to debut with a new boy-band soon.


    That was until Jin Xiangcheng snatched the planning and execution of ¡°Seven Luminaries¡± from Li Luo.


    Things were hard to predict; he was already no longer a member of Astar, but such open and secret struggles still hadn¡¯t stopped.


    However, Fang Juexia kept getting a bad feeling about it, and he was even worried about Liang Ruo. Although he had already said that he would not be involved with anything concerning Liang Ruo in the future, he still didn¡¯t want that person to become the victim in a struggle of interests.


    Or, in other words, he didn¡¯t want anyone to be a victim.


    Besides completing their personal events, their daily job was to come to the company to prepare for the album. Although there was no need to do promotional shows, future fan meetups and variety shows would still require a stage. Therefore, Fang Juexia and Lu Yuan started choreographing, and this time their style was more natural. After grinding out choreography details all afternoon, Lu Yuan was half-starved and dragged Fang Jjuexia to go eat.


    Thinking that Pei Tingsong was still writing lyrics in his small studio, Fang Juexia was absent-minded the whole time he ate, and then Qiang Ge called Lu Yuan away.


    ¡°Take your time eating ah. I¡¯ll go first.¡±


    ¡°En.¡± Watching Lu Yuan leave, Fang Juexia put down his chopsticks, packed a shrimp seed noodle dish and mung bean ice drink, then went directly to go find Pei Tingsong.


    The studio where he usually wrote lyrics was next to the piano room, opposite the vocal music room, and it used to be a small exercise room. In the beginning, Star Chart had only occupied the first floor of this large office building, and resources were scarce, so even such a small room had been equipped with mirrors. Later, with gradual development, Star Chart took over all the five floors, which meant that there were more training rooms, and pretty much everyone stopped using that small room, so it gradually became a storage room.


    The little demon king had quarreled fiercely with Chen Zhengyun, saying that he had to have a place to write his own things, and only then did they arrange that one room for him.


    Fang Juexia exited the elevator with the food he had packed. It was actually his first time coming to Pei Tingsong¡¯s small studio.


    When he got to the door, Fang Juexia hesitated again. He knocked on the door, but got no response, though he could hear the sound of an electronic piano from inside.


    Could he not hear him? Fang Juexia raised his hand to knock on the door again, but suddenly the door opened, and his hand was left hanging there in the empty air.


    ¡°You came?¡± Pei Tingsong took his raised hand and pulled him in. His expression had changed very quickly; he had originally looked impatient at being disturbed, but when he saw that it was Fang Juexia who had come, he immediately showed a childish smile. His face changed faster than the time it took to turn the pages of a book.


    ¡°If I told you to go eat, you wouldn¡¯t go.¡± Fang Juexia carefully pushed the door closed behind him and handed Pei Tingsong the food he was carrying. ¡°I just went to go eat, so I brought you some.¡±


    The room was really not that big, but it had everything inside. The wall on the left side of the entrance had a row of desks and musical instruments. On the right side was the original large mirror, and the floor was carpeted, with several lazy-boy sofas placed around. This kind of environment was very consistent with Pei Tingsong¡¯s American style of leisure.


    Seeing that Fang Juexia had even remembered to bring him food, Pei Tingsong happily took hold of the bag, then cradled his waist and gave him a kiss on the cheek. ¡°You¡¯re being so good to me.¡± He wore a cream white short sleeve shirt with a pair of glasses, and his hair was tamed, so he really did give off more of a college student feel right now.


    Fang Juexia pushed against his chest. ¡°Don¡¯t¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the surveillance in here has been removed by me.¡± Pei Tingsong said casually while picking Fang Juexia up and seating him down on his desk. He then put his own hands on the table, surrounding him.


    Fang Juexia¡¯s heart jumped up violently. The temperature of the air conditioner in the small room was clearly very low, but he still felt hot. ¡°What are you doing dismantling the surveillance?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not comfortable with surveillance here, and I can¡¯t concentrate on my work.¡± The corners of Pei Tingsong¡¯s mouth quirked up, and he took off his glasses with one hand. ¡°But now it seems that I am very prescient.¡±


    After that, he kissed Fang Juexia. There was absolutely nowhere for Fang Juexia to duck in order to avoid it, so he took a bite in revenge, but because he was reluctant to use his whole strength, he ended up causing the opposite effect. Pei Tingsong pretty much felt that this was flirting.


    Just like the X he had drawn on his ankle.


    Fang Juexia¡¯s teasing was always unconscious, so much so that even he wouldn¡¯t discover it himself.


    The hot kiss made Fang Juexia dizzy, and he couldn¡¯t see anything besides Pei Tingsong¡¯s handsome eyes. He started mistakenly sucking in air, and his reason became intermittent. He wandered between resistance and obedience, all his thoughts covered in hot fog.


    He thought that Pei Tingsong¡¯s clothes were so white and so clean.


    Clean.


    This gave him a tenable reason.


    ¡°Don¡¯t¡­ I¡¯ve danced, and I¡¯m dirty, I¡¯ll dirty your clothes.¡±


    Pei Tingsong chuckled and separated from him for a short time, but his eyes were still staring at those moist shiny spots on his lips. ¡°How many times have I dirtied you? It¡¯s the perfect time for you to return the favor.¡±


    After having gotten physical, Pei Tingsong used more dirty talk than before. Originally, Fang Juexia had thought that he was a guy with no lower limit. Now he thought that he might be lower than the lower limit he had imagined before.


    This short pause allowed Fang Juexia to look up, but as soon as he looked up, he saw a row of mirrors on the opposite wall, and reflected on them were his red neck and ears, making his heart pound against his chest.


    ¡°The noodles will get cold in a bit.¡± Fang Juexia pushed him away and came down from the table. His movements showed his hurry, and he brought down a lot of Pei Tingsong¡¯s manuscripts with him, all of which floated to the ground like snowflakes.


    When Pei Tingsong saw him crouch down to pick it up, he wanted to pull him back. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that, it¡¯s all scratch paper, I already don¡¯t want them. Come and sit down, keep me company while I eat.¡±


    Fang Juexia wasn¡¯t willing. ¡°You eat first, I feel uncomfortable with all of this all over the floor.¡±


    Alright ba, who let his family¡¯s little white flower have obsessive-compulsive disorder? However, Pei Tingsong also didn¡¯t bother listening to him, squatting down to pick it all up with him. Fang Juexia collected all of the scratch paper, and afraid that Pei Tingsong would make trouble and not eat well, he took the stack of paper and went to the lazyboy sofa in the corner. Rather than have Pei Tingsong continue what they were doing before, he forcefully changed the topic. ¡°Is this the scratch paper for the lyrics?¡±


    ¡°Not all of them ba, some of them were just written in a daze while practicing calligraphy.¡± In fact, he didn¡¯t have much of an appetite, so he stuck a straw into the mung bean smoothie, and started drinking with the cup in his left hand while casually playing a few notes on the electronic piano with his right hand.


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t have the habit of looking through other people¡¯s manuscripts, but he simply felt that the words on the top-most sheet were good-looking. Line by line, each one of them was beautiful, and the handwriting was flowing and coherent. At first glance, it looked to be the product of abundant inspiration. It didn¡¯t look like some lyrical scratch paper, but on the contrary, more like a modern poem.


    So he read it silently in his heart.


    [Love turns man into a contradiction of stupidity


    Head all confused, happy in degeneration, like me


    Want to use the safest hug in the world


    To wrap your fragile bones and dreams


    Sleep well ba, I¡¯m a loyal night watchman


    Your smoothly beating heart is in my hands


    And the whole world is in my hands


    But I thought again, in the unguarded middle of your night


    On your soft shoreline


    To start up the most dangerous campaign


    Burn up a whole night¡¯s worth of the smoke of gunpowder


    Doomed to defeat, I will put the last bullet


    Into your body]

 CH 89

    Chapter 89 ¨C Green Waves


    First love is the night trip owed to each other.


    ¡°Drink some?¡± Pei Tingsong crouched down next to him and stuck the mung bean smoothie towards the corner of Fang Juexia¡¯s mouth.


    Only then did Fang Juexia regain his senses, after which he set the papers to one side with a hua sound. His beautiful eyes were wide open as he looked at Pei Tingsong.


    Seeing him like this, Pei Tingsong laughed. ¡°What¡¯s the matter with you? Did you see something just now?¡±


    Fang Juexia shook his head. ¡°No.¡± Even though he said no, his face burned. His mind was full of Pei Tingsong¡¯s free and easy words¡ª every line, every word.


    Having too good of a memory was a bad thing.


    As the corners of Pei Tingsong¡¯s mouth quirked up, he put down the smoothie before extending both of his arms and setting them down on the sofa, then he leaned forward to encircle Fang Juexia within the lazyboy sofa. Fang Juexia felt a little flustered; he leaned back unconsciously, nearly falling into empty space and bumping against the wall, but Pei Tingsong caught the back of his head with his palm in time.


    ¡°Be careful.¡±


    Fang Juexia had completely fallen into his arms now.


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s palm slipped slowly down from the back of his head, grasping the pale back of his neck. Fang Juexia liked to wear casual shirts, and there were many such similar styled shirts hanging in his wardrobe. They looked very common when they were just hanging there, but became so clean and beautiful when they were worn by him.


    He couldn¡¯t help lowering his head.


    Fang Juexia thought he was going to kiss him, so he reflexively closed his eyes, but soon realized that Pei Tingsong went much lower than he thought, for he had bitten the top button of his white shirt instead.


    He unbuttoned Fang Juexia¡¯s clothes with his mouth and kissed the clavicle hidden inside. Then he looked up again, smiling childishly and kissing him on the lips.


    ¡°You read what I wrote?¡± Pei Tingsong asked.


    Fang Juexia nodded and said, ¡°Just one page.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s just that one anyway, the rest are all useless.¡± Pei Tingsong was open and natural. He took Fang Juexia¡¯s hand and put it on his waist, so that their posture would change into them embracing each other. ¡°You are so nervous. Do you think I will do something to you?¡±


    He didn¡¯t know why he was nervous, but he became like this every time, even though he really did like Pei Tingsong.


    ¡°Desire and sex are both natural things, just like love.¡± Pei Tingsong said, ¡°There are still a lot of books in my bookcase in the dorm. Whenever I miss you, I start writing some stuff, especially in the evening.¡±


    Desire was the derivative of love, and the imagination in the poet¡¯s dream.


    ¡°Do you want to read them?¡±


    Fang Juexia¡¯s ears had turned completely red. He just kept looking at Pei Tingsong, unable to utter a word in reply. All because he could not deny that the moment he read Pei Tingsong¡¯s poem, his heart had fluttered.


    Who could refuse a poet¡¯s display of love?


    ¡°Next time ba,¡± Pei Tingsong kissed his side profile and his ear, softly whispering, ¡°Next time I¡¯ll read it out loud to you.¡±


    Clearly, he had just said ¡®next time¡¯, but the image that appeared in Fang Juexia¡¯s mind was that of a completely dark night. Was that the power of language? He, who had always kept himself detached and without desire, had now gradually begun loosening the net that confined him, peeling off his hard shell, and bit by bit, accepting the instinct of love and desire. It was so much like melting.


    The winter snow imprisoned by spring would become spring water one day ba.


    As Pei Tingsong was softly kissing Fang Juexia, his cellphone, which was in his pocket, vibrated. He frowned at this interruption and took it out to see that it was Cheng Qiang calling, so he could only pick it up.


    ¡°Hello, Qiang Ge.¡± Pei Tingsong put on earphones while still holding Fang Juexia¡¯s face in his hand as he rubbed his lower lip with his thumb, his eyes full of him. ¡°Really? It¡¯s already settled then, did you tell Juexia?¡±


    Upon hearing his name, Fang Juexia opened his eyes wider and tilted his head while looking at him. His appearance was so lovely that Pei Tingsong drew closer and kissed the corner of his eye.


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll tell him ba. I¡¯ll let him come to my workshop later.¡±


    When he heard Pei Tingsong lying, Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t help but laugh. He bit the area around Pei Tingsong¡¯s thumb, making some kind of show of force. He also deliberately drew closer to Pei Tingsong¡¯s face, demonstrating that he was already in the workshop. Pei Tingsong couldn¡¯t help laughing and avoided him. Finally, Fang Juexia¡¯s face, that was already in his grasp, came ever so close.


    A bit of a temper rose, and Fang Juexia deliberately kissed him, blocking his mouth.


    Pei Tingsong was stunned for a moment. Cheng Qiang, on the other end of the call, heard him stop talking midway and asked him what happened. Pei Tingsong drew back a little bit. ¡°Nothing, I was drinking some water.¡±


    Drinking water? Fang Juexia raised his eyebrows and pulled his cheek. Pei Tingsong was dealing with his agent on one end of the call while rubbing Fang Juexia¡¯s back on the other end to make him behave.


    ¡°Understood. I¡¯m writing lyrics right now, so I won¡¯t keep talking with you ah. In a moment, he¡¯ll come.¡±


    He hurriedly hung up the call. Fang Juexia knew that the time for pranks was over and wanted to slip away quickly, but Pei Tingsong grabbed his waist and pressed him into the carpet, pretending to be fierce and threatening. ¡°You are really getting stronger and stronger now. Do you not believe that I will punish you right here on the floor?¡±


    Fang Juexia replied seriously, with a smile, ¡°You were the one who lied first, aren¡¯t you someone who wants to keep it real?¡±


    Pei Tingsong immediately released him. ¡°Okay ah, I¡¯m going to come out of the closet to Qiang Ge right now.¡±


    ¡°Hey, hey, hey.¡± Fang Juexia gave up and softened, hugging his arm and getting up. ¡°What did Qiang Ge want with me just now? Is there something going on?¡±


    Only after Pei Tingsong sat down properly did he take a sip of the mung bean smoothie he had just placed on the ground. The ice had melted completely, and the sweetness pricked his throat.


    ¡°He just said that there is a very good drama team coming to cooperate with us. The popular drama from last winter belongs to their company, and their summer one is a campus drama. After the producer heard the four songs of our demo, he very quickly took a fancy to yours.¡±


    Fang Juexia sort of couldn¡¯t believe it. ¡°My song?¡±


    ¡°Yes, yours.¡± Pei Tingsong rubbed his face. ¡°You¡¯re really good, a popular group took a fancy to you all of a sudden.¡±


    ¡°But there are no lyrics yet,¡± No matter how he thought about it, Fang Juexia found it inconceivable. ¡°The main song has to at least have lyrics.¡±


    ¡°They said they like this style, it¡¯s very special; the melody is an earworm and will definitely be popular. For the theme song of a TV drama, the best thing is for it to conform to the style of the script.¡± As he said that, Pei Tingsong had already received the synopsis and the style description of the story that Cheng Qiang had just sent, as well as some TV drama materials. He turned on the computer to check.


    Fang Juexia drew close to see the name of the TV drama.  ¡°¡®Green Waves¡¯, it sounds like a literary film¡¯s name, but it¡¯s actually a campus drama.¡±


    The drama had a touch of mystery. It started with a series of stories about a suicide incident in a high school. The heroine was a good friend of the girl who had committed suicide, and after the girl died, she transferred to her friend¡¯s high school and met the secret love written about in her good friend¡¯s diary¡ªthe male protagonist. In the process of searching for the truth about her friend¡¯s death, they revealed that her good friend¡¯s campus life for the past two years had been full of suffering and pain from being bullied.


    At the end of the story, it turned out that the female lead was actually the girl who had committed suicide. After her death, she was reborn as a person who did not exist in the world ¨C the ¡°perfect friend¡± that she had desperately wished and hoped for.


    ¡°It¡¯s a great story.¡± Fang Juexia inexplicably found himself  really looking forward to it. Thinking that his song could become one of the interludes in such a drama, he felt a sense of encouragement.


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s said that it was written by a gold medal screenwriter.¡± Pei Tingsong opened another document. ¡°Here are some script fragments. The crew said that they already have the theme song for the beginning of the TV series, and they want to match your song to the love parts. The romance between the male and female leads is relatively light, and this kind of melody, which is not too sweet but very emotional, is very suitable.¡±


    Fang Juexia looked at the key words in the style description: summer, first love, keep at arm¡¯s length, green and unripe, clean.


    ¡°It feels like the lyrics are a little hard to write.¡±


    Pei Tingsong agreed. ¡°If they let me write it by myself, it may be simpler. It¡¯s like I¡¯ve suddenly got assigned a topic for a composition.¡± He thought of something. ¡°What was on your mind back when you wrote this song?¡±


    The sudden question caught Fang Juexia somewhat off guard. He thought carefully. ¡°It seems¡­I didn¡¯t think of anything.¡±


    ¡°You weren¡¯t thinking about anything while writing it? How is that possible?¡±


    ¡°Really, I just wanted to write some melodies, and I already had some in my mind.¡± Fang Juexia himself didn¡¯t feel that was very convincing, so he simply said, ¡°Leibniz even said that music is the unconscious operation of mathematics in the soul.¡±


    Pei Tingsong was amused by him. ¡°Alright ba, I¡¯ll just not expect to get any inspiration from you. I¡¯ll turn it over and over in my mind myself ba.¡±


    Seeing that he had begun to read the materials again, Fang Juexia also read them from his side and repeated the words, ¡°First love¡­. Summer, a summer song. ¡°


    Pei Tingsong suddenly noticed a sentence in the outline, which said that the hero actually also secretly loved the female lead. He thought, maybe he could write from the male lead¡¯s perspective.


    So he lay down on the table and asked Fang Juexia, ¡°When you see the words ¡®summer¡¯, ¡®first love¡¯, and the rest of these words, what picture appears in your mind?¡±


    Fang Juexia¡¯s thoughts on these words weren¡¯t very clear. Middle school was already a bit far away from him, and what¡¯s more, his life had always been a fixed line. Looking back on his youth, most of it was filled with training.


    But if they were talking about first love, then for him, that must be connected to Pei Tingsong.


    He could recall every detail related to Pei Tingsong: the first time they met, the first time they quarreled, the first time he saw him smile, the first time he heard him apologize.


    The fall under the elevator, the confession in the dark corridor, the first time he heard him say that his birthmark was beautiful.


    The shadows of the amusement park, the embrace when falling from the sky, the soft dusk on the balcony¡­.


    They were all vivid in his mind.


    ¡°First love is all the memories you gave me.¡± Fang Juexia leaned on the table like him, and they looked at each other, ¡°The dusk where we chatted about what true love was, the big, bright sun at the amusement park, the fireworks you showed me, the movies we watched when hiding in the hotel and your apartment, and the shady road where we want to walk hand in hand but can¡¯t.


    ¡°As for summer¡­¡± Fang Juexia showed a smile, thinking of his saddest days, thinking of Pei Tingsong worn out by the journey and rushing back, but not daring to hold him.


    ¡°Summer is the rain you didn¡¯t let me get drenched in.¡±


    Looking at his clear eyes, Pei Tingsong¡¯s heart was thickly filled with a stinging and swelling sensation.


    For him, first love was an open and bright date that they gave to each other.


    Suddenly inspired, Pei Tingsong quickly kissed Fang Juexia. ¡°I know, I have an idea.¡±


    ¡°So fast?¡± Fang Juexia was very happy inside and thought that he was going to get to work now. ¡°Then I won¡¯t disturb you, I¡¯ll go back to dance.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t,¡± Pei Tingsong grabbed his wrist and insisted on keeping him by his side. ¡°You keep me company. I have many books, and you can read and keep me company for a while. It¡¯ll be very fast.¡±


    Fang Juexia felt that was strange, but Pei Tingsong was always so strange, especially when he was writing.


    ¡°Then you don¡¯t need me to help you?¡± Fang Juexia pointed to the electronic piano. ¡°I can help play that melody for you.¡±


    Pei Tingsong took out his pen and paper and set his comfortable swivel chair aside for Fang Juexia. He pulled out a chair from under the workbench and sat down on it. ¡°You¡¯re helping me just by staying with me.¡±


    Okay ba, Fang Juexia happily replied inside.


    Still afraid of disturbing him, he sat quietly as he took in everything on his desk carefully. There were all kinds of pens in the pen holder, some desk lamps with peculiar shapes, many stacked books, notebooks, notes, and a pile of recording equipment. There was even a microtonal sampler in there. Fang Juexia only remembered that it was very expensive and could be used to record some sounds that were difficult to record. He had heard He Ziyan talk about it before, but no one could buy it.


    It turned out that Pei Tingsong had one; when he went back, he needed to tell He Ziyan that there was no need to buy one now.


    Fang Juexia picked up Poems by Tsvetaeva on the desk, and started reading it in silence, quietly keeping Pei Tingsong company by his side, waiting for him to write the lyrics.


    Thinking of Fang Juexia¡¯s words, Pei Tingsong followed his inspiration down its path and wrote. Every part of the melody was covered with words in his mind and gradually became more concrete, like a slow motion image appearing frame by frame, like a fragment of a story.


    It only took 20 minutes for him to write out all the lyrics. Pei Tingsong took the piece of paper and looked over it again and again, humming the tune in his heart and matching the words up to it.


    ¡°Done.¡± It was only when he got out of the mood created by writing the lyrics that he discovered that Fang Juexia had fallen asleep nestled in his swivel chair. The poetry collection was spread out over his stomach, his chest was slightly undulating under his white shirt, and his breathing was steady.


    Pei Tingsong finally believed that there were certain kinds of people in this world who were born to be the muses of others.


    Back during the time when he had constantly been struggling against things, he had thought that only being a cynic was grand.


    But if Fang Juexia was here, his muse was here, and now Pei Tingsong only wanted to be a small-scale third rate artist.


    The workload for the mini-album was light, and Kaleido was always highly efficient when it came to creating music, so the preparatory work was completed soon. However, the producer for ¡°Green Waves¡± put forth a request for a Fang Juexia solo version of ¡°Night Trip¡± to be part of the OST.


    This was also very common. Generally, a group song wouldn¡¯t be picked as the theme song for a drama, because the point of BGM itself was to let the audience enter the situation in a better way and ensure that they get absorbed by the emotions of the scene, and the frequent change of singers in a group song would likely fracture the audience¡¯s emotional foray into the scene. Star Chart expressed their understanding, and then specifically let Fang Juexia record a solo version. Pei Tingsong even proposed that he wanted to arrange the song again.


    The producers of the drama production team saw this sincerity, and repeatedly expressed their gratitude.


    After recording the song, Kaleido went to Qingdao specially to shoot the MV for the main song. Qingdao was green and very beautiful in summer. The picture of the six people running along the shady road of the Eight Great Passes, looking back and laughing together, was finally selected for the cover of the album ¡°Last Summer¡°.


    Later, they heard that there would be many singers and popular groups releasing new albums in July. Out of fear of running into that, Star Chart finally chose to release the mini-album early. On June 20, it released its first wave of the main song.


    The main song ¡°Last Summer¡± had a lively style, full of the summer feel and catchy. The first day¡¯s playback numbers broke ¡°Break Through¡±¡¯s record. Many people came to listen to it just because of the good reputation the last album had garnered.


    However, Kaleido¡¯s comeback this time didn¡¯t include many promotional performances, and so it lost out on a lot of exposure. Coupled with the achievements and staying power of the last album really being too large, it became very difficult for this one mini-album to surpass it all at once. For Kaleido, this was just a summer reward they had created for their fans, but for many people who were staring at their achievements, this undoubtedly became ammunition for mockery by their anti-fans.


    The audience numbers and amount of discussion for the mini-album were not as good as they had been for ¡°Break Through¡±, so these antis began to play up the theory of ¡°they¡¯ve exhausted all of their tricks¡±. The album sales were high, so they just said that mini-albums were cheap, with ten such albums being worth one of a main album, so there was no value there.


    But Kaleido and Star Chart didn¡¯t care about that very much. In order to promote the album, they participated in some more events, taking part in some reality shows and radio programs. The six members, who worked every day, simply didn¡¯t have the time to care about such stuff.


    The whole situation changed a few days later. Just as Pei Tingsong and Fang Juexia had guessed before, ¡°Green Waves¡± really stood out from the many other idol dramas of mediocre quality, and soon became the top hot summer drama series.


    The drama¡¯s cinematography contained quite a lot of the cold tones found in the Japanese style of shooting, while the plot of the drama caught everyone¡¯s heart. Almost everyone was pursuing the drama online, and popular posts centered around ¡°Green Waves¡± emerged one after another. In addition, the episode with the highest rating was the one in which the male lead realized he loved the female lead: the two people, who rode bicycles to visit witnesses, met a group of children carrying fragrant flowers on the beach while on their way back to school; the flowers were tiny but beautiful.


    This scene was filmed very beautifully, and the youthful internal troubles being able to be seen with just a glance. The BGM for this scene was coincidentally Fang Juexia¡¯s solo version of ¡°Night Trip¡±. The fusion between the music and the video was extremely wonderful, and in one move, this scene became the most famous scene out of the entire drama.


    Suddenly, this song that was composed and sung by Fang Juexia, and the lyrics for which were written by Pei Tingsong, entered the trending list for popular songs on major music platforms, and its playback numbers rose sharply. With the popularity of the drama, this song became the first pop song to go out of the entertainment circle in the summer, and its ranking exploded. All over the Internet were cover songs of this song, with snippets from this song becoming popular BGM for short video apps.


    The popularity of love songs was always higher than that of dance music. With this song being used in more popular videos, it not only saw a growth in its own popularity, but this also had an unexpected impact on the original version sung by six people. Together with ¡®Last Summer¡¯, the whole summer mini-album leaped into the rankings, and its sales broke through the barrier again.


    Because the songs were so popular, MLH¡¯s promotional singing program specially invited Kaleido to their studio to record a six person version of ¡°Night Trip¡± for a special stage episode.


    For the TingJue CP fans, this song was even more special. Precisely because this was Pei Tingsong and Fang Juexia¡¯s first cooperative piece.


    In order to celebrate the song breaking all these records, many TingJue CP stations also created a variety of corresponding peripheral items, and the TingJue God station named ¡®Snow Imprisoned in Spring¡¯ sent an even more meaningful gift.


    [@Snow Imprisoned in Spring CP station: In order to celebrate the success of our Geges¡¯ first cooperation, we specially contacted the Green Waves drama group, and after obtaining permission, we made two sets of summer school uniforms from the TV series (P1), including name-plates printed with the names of Pei Tingsong and Fang Juexia (P2). Two lines of lyrics have been embroidered to the front of the two white shirts, with one line per shirt. Placing them together, it becomes complete (P3 details). Hoping Geges will like this special gift. We will always miss every night trip from when we were young.]


    On the day of the radio program, after the group members heard they could wear their own clothes, Fang Juexia put on the white shirt made by the Snow Imprisoned in Spring station, but he didn¡¯t wear the nameplate. He thought that no one would find out because he really had too many white shirts.


    Like Pei Tingsong, he had become a person who liked to ¡°carry around contraband goods¡±.


    The atmosphere while recording the radio program was very good. The host and the six people of Kaleido chatted like they were old friends chatting about the past; they also drank soda while talking about music and the past of their youths.


    They sang an acapella version of ¡°Last Summer¡± live on the program, which was different from the original dance music style, for it was very gentle.


    After the main song was sung, the host cued into the audience interaction segment, randomly selecting some questions from the radio messages and posing them to Kaleido.


    ¡°Friend with the ID ¡®Forever Domino¡¯ says, ¡®I especially like the feel when Kaleido writes their own songs. This time, the style is very different from the previous album, and I like it a lot. I want to ask, do Geges have any creative stories to share?¡±


    He Ziyan said, ¡°First of all, thanking this fan. In fact, the song production of this album allowed us to play with a more creative space than that with the last two albums. Besides the composer of the main song being a producer from overseas, the other non-main songs were all works of our members, such as Juexia¡¯s ¡°Night Trip¡±, Miaomiao¡¯s ¡°Daydream¡±, and my ¡°Swimming Across this Sea¡±, and the lyrics for these were as always, written by our Xiao Pei.¡±


    Lu Yuan nodded. ¡°Xiao Pei made a big breakthrough this time. At the beginning, all of us were doubting whether he could even write love songs.¡±


    Pei Tingsong spread his hands. ¡°Using actions to prove myself.¡±


    Jiang Miao said, ¡°The arrangement of the solo version of ¡®Night Trip¡¯ was also completed by Xiao Pei. They say that there are many little details in it.¡±


    ¡°Oh, really?¡± The host asked, ¡°Can you be specific?¡±


    ¡°Specific¡­¡± Pei Tingsong took a look at Fang Juexia and said, ¡°There¡¯s a bit of a difference in the drumline between the solo version and six-person version of ¡®Night Trip,¡¯ everyone can listen to it. Little friends with sharp ears may find some small Easter eggs.¡±


    Ling Yi teased, ¡°Tch, tch, selling some suspense.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s OK. If you guys can¡¯t hear it, you guys can ask him at the autograph session.¡±


    ¡°Hahahaha.¡±


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s glance in his direction before answering made Fang Juexia feel strange. Unconsciously, he became lost in thought. He began to think about the difference between the two versions.


    It seemed that the drumline in the solo version was a bit simpler.


    But was that all?


    The host continued, ¡°Audience member with ID ¡®Two Fire is my little baby¡¯¡­¡±


    Before he could finish reading, Ling Yi couldn¡¯t hold back his laugh, and then everyone began to laugh.


    ¡°What are you laughing at? Can¡¯t I be a little baby?¡± He Ziyan raised his eyebrow. ¡°Let me listen to what they said.¡±


    The host continued, ¡°She said, ¡®Two Fire Ge, I¡¯m a senior high school student in Year Three who has just finished college entrance examinations. Now it¡¯s time to declare a major, and I have a major I really like in my heart, but my family has other ideas; they think another major has more prospects. Now I¡¯m so confused ah, and I want to hear Gege¡¯s thoughts?¡±


    Fang Juexia said with a smile, ¡°This is a tough problem.¡±


    ¡°Yes ah, I thought you wanted me to tell a joke.¡± He Ziyan spoke seriously after finishing his joke, ¡°In fact, I guess your confusion isn¡¯t about the fact that you can¡¯t make a choice, but that you don¡¯t want to give up the decision you already have made in your heart.¡±


    Fang Juexia also agreed with his statement. Oftentimes, when people said things were very hard and they were very hesitant about it, it was because, in fact, they had long ago made up their minds.


    ¡°If you already have the answer in your heart, you must work hard to try it out. Even if you fail in the end, you will not regret it. If you listen to others and choose the direction you don¡¯t like, it¡¯ll be very hard to stick to it. Looking back, it may become the most regretful thing in your life.¡±


    Then He Ziyan laughed again. ¡°This is my very casual and irresponsible suggestion ah. Everyone will find themselves being confused during this period of time. For the past 20 or so years, I have been confused the whole time, and I had no family to help make decisions for me, but I have also gotten through that time. Don¡¯t be afraid; bravely going to do things is the only way.¡±


    No family.


    Hearing him lightly sketch out his past, Fang Juexia felt a little distressed. He didn¡¯t know much more about He Ziyan¡¯s youth than these fans did. He Ziyan didn¡¯t talk about it often, and normally, he was always joking around, like he had no worries.


    But Fang Juexia also knew that no one would really be devoid of any worries in life.


    The host sighed. ¡°Everyone¡¯s youth, every youth¡¯s summer, maybe there are many stories ba. Only by moving forward will there be a bright future.¡±


    He continued, ¡°Audience member with ID ¡®Green Light of Summer Years¡¯ said, ¡®Hello, I¡¯m a fan of Kaleido and also a fan of the drama ¡®Green Waves.¡¯ Today is my birthday, and I¡¯d like to ask Juexia Gege to sing ¡®Night Trip¡¯, is that okay?¡¯¡±


    When Fang Juexia heard this, he asked, ¡°By myself?¡±


    Jiang Miao turned his head and gestured to him. ¡°Go ahead ba. Ling Yi sang his OST last time.¡±


    ¡°Yes ah.¡± Ling Yi saw a guitar to the side and suggested, ¡°How about Xiao Pei goes along ba, he can play the guitar.¡±


    So they hastility started up an acoustic solo version of ¡°Night Trip¡±. Pei Tingsong took the guitar, plucked the strings and looked at Fang Juexia.


    Fang Juexia nodded. The sound of the guitar was very gloomy, and suddenly, the atmosphere in the studio turned into one of several people sitting around on the grass while listening to music.


    ¡°Your window under the scorching sun, go there


    Bicycles circling the tree lined road where


    When you have time, the back seat is shining fair


    Dusk is no different affair


    The light shining on you and your hair


    Just becomes different, I swear.¡±


    His voice was very special; it was cold, but when singing such a love song, it contained a more subtle and hard to describe feel to it, which made it different from when others sang the song.


    Originally, it started off with a somewhat sad melody, piled with green and romantic words, but it gradually became a lot gentler.


    Pei Tingsong played the guitar and occasionally looked up at him. When their gazes connected, they smiled.


    ¡°Stay away from other people¡¯s eyes here


    Wandering around an abandoned amusement park where


    The sunburn on your cheekbones there


    Is as beautiful as a kiss with due care


    Do you like fireworks


    I hope that¡¯s the case here.¡±


    Back when Fang Juexia had written this song, he had only relied on his pure musical talent and instinct to create it. The melody was very good, but there was no soul to support it from beginning to end, not until Pei Tingsong filled it with lyrics. Only then did it become complete.


    ¡°The heat burns the moon fair


    Shining debris falling into the waves¡¯ lair


    Sweat is always transparent, wet and white and bare


    Crying cicadas cover up desire here


    Flowers eat the sunshine of July air


    The fragrance of your neck weaves a net of dreams rare.¡±


    As he sang, Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t help but think of when he had woken up in that small workshop and gotten the lyrics, and how his heart had sped up.


    ¡°Really? Will it rain tonight?


    I¡¯m beginning to hate the rain


    Cycling home will drench your shirt, right?


    The coastline is overgrown with green algae, like my wishful thoughts of you


    Flowers suddenly bloom, want to kiss your heart, nowhere to hide from view.¡±


    Pei Tingsong was playing the guitar while singing the harmony for Fang Juexia in his own low voice, perfectly integrating into the song. In the solo version of the OST, the harmony was also sung by him.


    ¡°Wait? Let the day go dark again, I plea


    I¡¯m starting to like the night


    Will darkness make you try to rely on me?


    Don¡¯t want the heat wave to end, why can¡¯t July stretch out of sight


    When we hold hands, my chest is hot, and I¡¯m holding pure white light.¡±


    All the things they had experienced together, all those memories that were vivid in their minds, they were all cut into countless fragmented metaphors by Pei Tingsong and inserted into the song, like a chaotic jigsaw puzzle. Putting it all together, it seemed to have nothing to do with them, and only seemed to be a story about first love. Besides them, no one else could trace the origin of this song back to its source.


    ¡°If asked who you are going on a date with tonight


    Answer with a smile, it¡¯s the moon lit bright


    You blame me for being good at lying, alright


    I say summer is so long and a delight.¡±


    Nobody knew, but everybody sang along.

 CH 90

    Chapter 90 ¨C Youthful Matters Of Heart


    Only in the real world can I meet you


    At the end of the song, Fang Juexia uttered ¡®happy birthday¡¯ in a soft voice, and his bandmates followed suit, congratulating the friend who had requested the song.


    Pei Tingsong put down his guitar, opened up the water bottle next to him, and handed it to Fang Juexia. Fang Juexia took it naturally and after taking a small sip, handed it back to him. Pei Tingsong blocked this action with his wrist, urging him to take another sip in a low voice.


    Only then did Fang Juexia take another mouthful before putting the water bottle on the table.


    The host continued to read the messages being sent by the audience. ¡°A listener with the ID ¡®Peanut Smoothie¡¯ asked, ¡®I want to ask the little group leader what his deepest summer memory is?¡¯¡±


    Pei Tingsong grabbed the water bottle, took a big gulp himself, and then screwed the bottle shut.


    Jiang Miao, who had been named, spoke into the microphone, ¡°Thank you for asking.¡±


    His deepest summer memory.


    He thought about it, and his eyes turned soft. ¡°My deepest memory should be the scene of eating watermelon with my little sister. We grew up in my uncle¡¯s house, so it was a bit different from other children¡­.¡±


    He hesitated for a moment, and then laughed. ¡°I remember, back during my first year of junior high, I came back from studying one night, and since the school was a little far away from where we lived, it was already very late by the time I got home. However, it turned out that my little sister hadn¡¯t slept yet. Instead, she quietly snuck out of her bed with a bowl in her arms and came into my room.


    ¡°The watermelon in the bowl was the portion she had saved for me after dinner, instead of eating it herself. However, she was too young to know that when the weather was hot, watermelon had to be kept in the refrigerator, so the portion she had for me had already gotten a bit stale. But in order to make her happy, I still ate it. We sat facing each other on the bed, and she laughed at me and told me that she had dug out the seeds and buried them in the flowerpot. Then, while eating, when I found another seed, she became very angry and said the watermelon was insidious.¡±


    Fang Juexia looked at Jiang Miao. He was very seldom emotional, but unlike Fang Juexia¡¯s cold and introverted self, Jiang Miao was always steady and self-sustaining. He would take the overall situation into consideration and protect every member; this was already his nature, carved straight into his bones.


    But, in fact, he had suffered a lot in his youth ba.


    After saying that, Jiang Miao laughed and looked at the host. ¡°I feel like that is the best watermelon I¡¯ve ever eaten.¡±


    Fang Juexia, who didn¡¯t like talking much, suddenly spoke up, ¡°If Miao Ge and I had known each other when we were at school, we would have been good friends.¡±


    Jiang Miao looked at him and said with a smile, ¡°Yes, we would have been classmates with the best relationship.¡±


    These words weren¡¯t false.


    Back when the group had first been formed, he and Jiang Miao were the first members to have been finalized before the group¡¯s debut. At that time, they often had meals together, and he had gotten to know a lot about Jiang Miao¡¯s past through their conversations. If Jiang Miao had not been forced to, he might not have made a debut in an idol group at all.


    Fang Juexia knew that back then, in order to raise his little sister, Jiang Miao had done a lot of things, such as working some jobs, working as an anchor, playing guzheng for people in livestreams, and that he had also received a lot of contemptuous looks and bad comments. The environment he had grown up in had caused him to mature earlier than others, and had allowed him to become a person who can protect others.


    But he had also been just a teenager at that time.


    He Ziyan patted Jiang Miao on the shoulder and said, ¡°As Yao Mei¡¯s gossip boyfriend, I want to clarify that this Meimei has been silly since she was a child. In a way, she is very similar to her big brother.¡±


    Ling Yi laughed and said, ¡°Yao Mei is now in her rebellious phase, be careful or else she¡¯ll hit you.¡±


    He Ziyan retorted back, ¡°What am I afraid of? There are too many people undergoing their rebellious phase around me. I even share a room in the dorm with the rebellious child.¡±


    Pei Tingsong hit him with the little doll in his hand. ¡°How much do you owe me for my appearance?¡±


    Everyone laughed and created a fuss while talking as usual.


    The host then threw the question to Lu Yuan, who was sitting right beside him. ¡°Is there anything profound that Lu Yuan remembers about summer?¡±


    ¡°Summer¡­¡± Lu Yuan looked up at the ceiling and said, ¡°I won a prize a few years ago during the summer. At that time, I was still very young and didn¡¯t really understand everything that was going on, and so the subsequent developments caught me like a runaway horse, with nothing being under my control at all.¡±


    After saying that, he laughed a bit. ¡°When you feel like you¡¯ve won everything, and then you lose everything at the same time and become all alone, that feeling was a very hard thing for me to accept. I was depressed for a long time after that. It was only when I came to Kaleido through a strange combination of circumstances that I discovered that God is actually fair. He takes things away from you, but as long as you don¡¯t give up, he will give you better stuff in return.¡±


    This was a very frank remark, and Lu Yuan didn¡¯t launch an attack against his former bros who had kicked him out of the dance group with this topic. He also didn¡¯t indulge himself in past glories. He had reached the point where he could recall his youth peacefully.


    ¡°Now that I think about it, I actually miss that summer of the competition a lot. There were so many people working hard together, chasing dreams together. I¡¯m now a judge, and when I go to watch the contestants compete, it¡¯s like I¡¯m looking at myself from back then. So I tell all of them¡ª ¡®The result isn¡¯t actually what¡¯s important, what¡¯s truly important is every moment you are in.¡¯¡±


    It was rare for Lu Yuan to not indulge in crosstalk or crack jokes on purpose. On the contrary, he was very serious as he recalled the events of that summer.


    ¡°So what that summer taught me was that people are very easily separated. Sometimes, it¡¯s because no one did anything wrong, but as we keep walking, we just separate from each other. So, we must cherish everyone who is still around us.¡±


    Fate was a huge wave, and human beings were tiny existences in front of such waves. They could only be pushed forth, either in the form of groups, or even scattered individually.


    These six people with different personalities were the kind who were pushed together.


    The host agreed with him very much. ¡°Very emotional ah, this segment.¡±


    Ling Yi also said with a smile, ¡°How come today¡¯s program isn¡¯t much like Kaleido at all?¡±


    Pei Tingsong said, ¡°Every time we accidentally fall into an emotional segment, we quickly try to retreat, so it¡¯s still very much Kaleido.¡±


    ¡°Hahahaha.¡±


    The host continued, ¡°The audience member with the id ¡®It¡¯s a long time until Pinot Tree is full-grown¡¯¡­¡±


    Ling Yi started laughing out loud. ¡°I can sing this audience member¡¯s ID.¡±


    Fang Juexia looked at Pei Tingsong beside him. ¡°They must be looking for you.¡±


    Pei Tingsong shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m the king of nicknames.¡±


    The host was also amused. ¡°The audience member said, ¡°Xiao Pei was only 17 years old when he joined Kaleido. He had been living abroad all the way before that, and I¡¯d like to know what his original thought process had been when he had to come to Kaleido?¡±


    After listening to this question, Fang Juexia first started sweating. Pei Tingsong hadn¡¯t joined a boyband voluntarily; in fact, to tell the truth, Fang Juexia was the only one in the entire group who had wanted to be an idol from the beginning to the end.


    Pei Tingsong was an accident within accidents.


    ¡°When I first arrived, Kaleido had actually already been formed.¡± Pei Tingsong spoke directly, without thinking much about it. ¡°All their plans had been formulated to fit a five person group, and the configuration was very complete; they already had the lead dancer, lead singer, rapper, and face of the group. My joining them was quite sudden at that time, and it also caused a lot of trouble for everyone. The choreographed main dance, which should have been in a line shape, and the main song for the debut, both of them fell through unexpectedly, and we had to change to a new one.¡±


    This was the first time that the rest of Kaleido had heard Pei Tingsong apologize for how he had originally parachuted in. Everyone was a little surprised.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not like that,¡± Ling Yi said. ¡°When we heard a new Didi was coming, we were really happy. We just didn¡¯t expect this Didi to be so tall¡­¡±


    ¡°Hahahaha.¡±


    Pei Tingsong also laughed. ¡°My original thought process about this was actually not good; I had a lot of prejudices, and using the words ¡®young and frivolous¡¯ to describe my attitude back then would be too nice. At that time, my definition of dreams was very narrow, and I put up a lot of self-righteous resistance. After my family member, who loved me the most, passed away, I felt like a lonely bird in a cage; I wanted to fly out, but I just couldn¡¯t.


    ¡°When I was a teenager, I went to the underground rap scene. You know, the environment there was very chaotic and crazy.¡± He shook his head slightly. ¡°So later, my Jie came to find me and scolded me.¡±


    He Ziyan was startled. ¡°There are actually people who dare to scold you ah.¡±


    Lu Yuan laughed. ¡°Hahahaha, what¡¯s the matter? Can¡¯t you let people express their feelings?¡±


    Fang Juexia looked at Pei Tingsong. ¡°What did she say?¡±


    ¡°She said that for people like me, dreams already no longer counted as being a luxury, and that it was my own arrogance trapping me. She wanted me to see the real world.¡±


    To try and pursue your dreams like an ordinary person.


    Jiang Miao¡¯s tone was mild. ¡°Although this sounds a little harsh, it really was good for you.¡±


    The entertainment circle was an extreme miniature of a small world, a petri dish filled with good and evil. Pei Tingsong was a cynical idealist, who, whilst embracing his own rebellious view of the truth, had fallen from the sky into the ups and downs of this small world.


    ¡°Maybe ba.¡± Pei Tingsong shrugged. ¡°But even she may have not imagined that I would be so lucky.¡±


    It was originally a trial to ¡°see the world¡±, but he ended up falling into this group, which contained these kind and brave people.


    Falling right in front of Fang Juexia.


    Fang Juexia turned his head and asked him, ¡°How is the real world?¡±


    Pei Tingsong smiled and nodded. ¡°Very good.¡±


    Only in the real world can I meet you, so no matter how hard it is, it¡¯s good.


    The radio program was being broadcast in real time, and the program team also edited and put together a special version with video, publishing it on their website. That night, several members of Kaleido went onto the Hot Search list, with tags like #Jiang Miao¡¯s Family#, #Lu Yuan¡¯s Championship#, and #Acoustic Version of ¡®Night Trip¡¯# trending.


    In the eyes of most netizens, the Kaleido group had many inherent labels, such as ¡°strong abilities¡±, ¡°not like a boyband¡±, ¡°crosstalk group¡±, and so on. They were always said to be beautiful, strong, and pitiful, and even though they were called unlucky, they rarely came out to talk about their pasts themselves. If it hadn¡¯t been for the fact that the theme of this program was [Summer Youth], they might not have recalled their past in public.


    This program also allowed more people to understand the past experiences of the members, thereby letting them see not only what they were like when performing on stage, but rather the real Kaleido.


    [@Need to be an upright person: After listening to some of their clips and then listening to the songs, I¡¯m feeling very emotional. Every one of us can¡¯t return to a certain summer, and when we were young, we always thought that we were the world. However, it was only when we kept going forward that we realized that the world was so big and we were so small.]


    [@7788 is not 6: This group really moves people, P.S. ¡°Night Trip¡± is really wonderful, FJX¡¯s voice is amazing.]


    [@Is it raining today: Before, whenever Kaleido was mentioned, I only thought about FJX and PTS, but after listening to this radio program, I¡¯ve suddenly fallen in love with the leader of the group. How gentle ah.]


    [@Online waiting for a boyfriend: I used to watch Lu Yuan¡¯s performance in that competition, but after the competition finished, a lot of things happened, and so there was no follow-up. Later, I saw him in Kaleido, and I was very surprised. Sure enough, some people are destined to succeed.]


    [@Never shipping RPS again: Has my CP brain worked against me again? Why do I feel that the atmosphere when PTS and FJX were singing ¡®Night Trip¡¯ was especially subtle ah? Is it this song being a filter? I¡¯m plainly not their CPF ah!]


    [@Lolololololo replying to @Never shipping RPS again: I also think so¡­. (whisper, only-fans Jiejies, don¡¯t flame me, my idol can flame better than you)]


    [@Hidden secret: The previous ¡°Break Through¡± gave off a tragic feel of them fighting with their backs against the water, but seeing these boys singing while chatting on the radio, gently comforting the audience, and sharing their stories, I got the feeling like they were just my friends, seated next to me, so I felt a lot closer to them. I have to admit that I learned about this group only after listening to ¡°Night Trip¡±. In the beginning, I couldn¡¯t imagine that this was a boyband song, but now after watching this program, my thoughts have undergone a lot of changes. I hope they will get better and better and have more good works.]


    The effect of the song ¡°Night Trip¡± on the audience was very successful in driving the whole album of ¡°Last Summer¡± into popularity, as it attracted many music lovers who weren¡¯t so sure about the usual boyband style. Originally, they had created this summer mini-album with the core idea of creating more niche music. They hadn¡¯t intended for it to make it to the Hot Search list, so they had played around with many new styles and types of music arrangement, giving it a more experimental feel overall.


    However, this new attempt was widely praised by music critics, while also breaking their inherent impression of the music created by boybands.


    [@Verified Little Fish chats about music: After listening to Kaleido¡¯s ¡®Last Summer,¡¯ even though there are only four songs in the whole album, the contents are very rich. The lyrics are all good, and Pei Tingsong finally broke through his previous works this time, changing from a rebellious boy to a gentle narrator; it was very surprising.


    The level of arrangement in the main song is very rich, and the atmosphere created by the drum set is very strong. In particular, there is a sound that is very similar to the sound of dulcimer, it sounds especially fresh. The piano cover in the chorus part gives off the feeling of the rainy season in summer. Seeing that He Ziyan completed the music arrangement independently, you have to praise him for the great progress he has made.


    About the European electronic style ¡®Daydream,¡¯ its psychedelic arrangement and lyrics fit its daydreaming mood very well, especially the part that loops. And there¡¯s ¡®Swim Across the Sea¡¯ that comes off with a bit of a country music style; it¡¯s very rare for a boyband to try this style. The guitar is good, and it captures the hot feeling of summer well. The whole song is like a picture, with the country, the ocean, endless sun, and sunburnt shoulders.


    Finally, I have already praised ¡®Night Trip.¡¯ Fang Juexia¡¯s talent for composing music has gone beyond many people¡¯s expectations. This kind of sensitivity and creativity in the melody is very vital. Compared with the six-person version, I think the solo version has more soul, and while the arrangement is very depressing and addictive, this is the trade-off between two very good versions.


    Generally speaking, this is an album that you can listen to without any prejudices. It can be said that after Kaleido came out with ¡®Break Through¡¯, an excellent work from a standard boyband group, they came out with their own high-leveled answer. I appreciate their attitude towards creating original music and believe that there will be even better works from them in the future.]


    Having gotten a lot of good reviews from professional music critics, this album became the summer¡¯s dark horse. From the public¡¯s point of view, the most difficult thing for a boyband was to have a national track that managed to get out of the circle. Including ¡°Break Through¡± as well, Kaleido currently boasted of two masterpieces. After its initial burst of popularity, it now showed off a stable fan-base, and the saying that they were ¡°a flash in the plan¡± collapsed in on itself.


    What¡¯s more, with Kaleido being this kind of boyband that was in charge of their creative works, as long as they kept creating such songs, they did not have to fear a decline in popularity.


    Cheng Qiang walked into the dressing room and clapped his hands. ¡°After a while, the new album¡¯s face-to-face meetup will be over, and we will directly have a celebration banquet.¡±


    ¡°Yeah!¡±


    ¡°What are we eating, what are we eating?¡±


    ¡°Ling Yi, you just know how to eat.¡±


    ¡°Barbecue ba, Qiang Ge.¡± He Ziyan leaned back on the chair and projected a pleading look at Cheng Qiang.


    ¡°Alright ah.¡± Cheng Qiang crossed his arms over his chest. ¡°They can, but you eat less. You¡¯re going to be filming a drama soon, so you have to do a good job with weight management.¡±


    ¡°Hahahahaha!¡±


    Pei Tingsong had already finished his make-up and hair, and had been scrolling through Weibo on the sofa for a long time now. Fang Juexia also took a seat beside him after getting his hair blown out. Since only the two of them were on the sofa, Fang Juexia nudged Pei Tingsong¡¯s foot with his own.


    After looking down, Pei Tingsong raised his eyes again, looked at Fang Juexia, and praised, ¡°Today¡¯s hairstyle looks really good.¡±


    I didn¡¯t come here to ask for your praise, Fang Juexia said in his heart.


    ¡°Are you scrolling through Weibo?¡±


    Pei Tingsong nodded, thought of something, and then drew especially close to his ear to tell him, ¡°The thing with you wearing the ¡®Snow Imprisoned in Spring¡¯ station shirt, they picked it out.¡±


    ¡°What??¡± Fang Juexia¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°How can that be?¡±


    ¡°What do you think?¡± Pei Tingsong couldn¡¯t help laughing as he explained, ¡°CP fans all carry around a microscope to find fluff with. They can even start licking up fluff from the tip of a knife, and you¡¯re fighting with them.¡±


    Fang Juexia still couldn¡¯t understand how he had been found out. ¡°But I didn¡¯t even wear the nameplate ah. That shirt was similar to all my other white shirts, and I even took some out to compare before wearing it. How did they find out?¡±


    ¡°Look.¡± Pei Tingsong handed him his cellphone. On the screen was a Weibo post made by a TingJue girl.


    [@Helping TingJue keep the closet door shut every day: Sisters! Beautiful Baby at the radio station was absolutely wearing the clothes sent by @Snow Imprisoned in Spring CP station! Look at the picture I screenshotted, it¡¯s a close-up of Baby singing. The embroidery at the front are clearly words! I used PS to process it, and I can see some clear words in P2, and there¡¯s the word ¡®summer¡¯ there! (today is another day when I don¡¯t fulfill my ID¡¯s duty) [picture] [picture]]


    Fang Juexia clicked open the picture and enlarged it.


    God, it was actually true; he had thought they wouldn¡¯t be able to see it clearly.


    He couldn¡¯t help scrolling through the comments.


    [@When I¡¯m deaf, I¡¯m happy: My God, I never thought that this amazing giant fluff would be given by our beautiful eustoma. Who would dare to believe it¡­.]


    Why can¡¯t you believe it? Fang Juexia was puzzled.


    [@Ordinary TingJue girl: It¡¯s really the white shirt embroidered with the sentence, ¡°I say summer is so long and a delight¡±! God, I love FJX forever, the beautiful baby is so brave!]


    [@TJSZD: This is really a two-way relationship¡­.How can I be getting done by TingJue?]


    [@The Fine Jeweled Xeriscape around the Pinot Tree Supreme: So sweet, wuwuwu, the compilation of the radio fluff spots next door adds up to 15 minutes, sisters, go watch it! When the wolf cub played the guitar, he looked at Juexia Gege 17 times. There were too many small movements, and they are completely a warm, in love xql ah!]


    Was-was it so obvious?


    Fang Juexia felt some guilt, as if he had been caught doing something bad. He put the cellphone into Pei Tingsong¡¯s hand and said, ¡°Not reading anymore.¡±


    ¡°Read enough ah?¡±


    Fang Juexia thought that his own contraband goods had been so obviously caught, but Pei Tingsong¡¯s weren¡¯t.


    Because he was too cunning.


    Wait. Fang Juexia suddenly thought of something. ¡°How did you know that they had discovered the shirt?¡±


    Pei Tingsong was stunned upon being interrogated so suddenly. ¡°That¡­¡±


    When the last person¡¯s styling was finished, Cheng Qiang urged them to prepare for the meetup. Pei Tingsong used this as a pretext to duck away, but was caught by Fang Juexia, who stood up at the same time. ¡°Talk.¡±


    ¡°I-I just follow some CP stations.¡±


    ¡°Follow?¡± Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t believe his own ears. ¡°Are you crazy?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Pei Tingsong explained immediately, ¡°My side account is following them.¡±


    Fang Juexia felt this was even more unbelievable. ¡°You even have a side account? Are you not afraid of people digging it out?¡±


    ¡°What do I have to be afraid of?¡± Pei Tingsong shrugged, grabbed his wrist, and walked through the dark passageway of the dressing room. ¡°I never curse out people in my side account, only in my main account.¡±


    Who did it like that?


    Fang Juesha expressionlessly put forth an illogical request. ¡°Show me your side account.¡±


    ¡°That won¡¯t do.¡± Then Pei Tingsong called out to Xiao Wen and transferred his cellphone to their assistant on the grounds that the meetup was about to start.


    Cunning. He was really cunning.


    The venue of this meetup was a little different from those held before. Star Chart had reserved a large cafe with many green plants spread about, a large projection screen was set as the center of the stage, and it was like a music salon. Not many fans had been invited, but the whole event was being livestreamed so that all the other fans could see it.


    The six of them were all dressed in very simple summer clothes, and they came down from the second floor to greet their fans. The fans tried hard to control their screams as they waved at them.


    Sitting on the six high stools in front of the projection screen, according to their official positions, Ling Yi, who had gotten the microphone, said, ¡°There is no host today.¡±


    He Ziyan said, ¡°Maybe the company has finally realized that it¡¯s a waste of money to invite a host for us.¡±


    ¡°Hahahahaha!¡±


    Jiang Miao looked to the members seated on the left and right to him. ¡°Let¡¯s say hello to the fans first ba, one, two, three¡­¡±


    ¡°Hello, everyone! We are Kaleido!¡±


    The fans, who were just a few meters apart from them, also followed them to make the K gesture.


    Jiang Miao, as the official spokesman, continued after greeting, ¡°First of all, thank you all very much for your support for ¡®Last Summer.¡¯ We have also received many excellent comments.¡±


    One fan yelled, ¡°You¡¯ve been nominated for the BMA!¡± BMA stood for the Best Music Awards. At present, it was the most authoritative music award ceremony in the Chinese-speaking circles, and included many categories of awards.


    ¡°Really?¡± Ling Yi asked without thinking.


    ¡°Hahahaha, what¡¯s the matter with you guys?¡±


    Lu Yuan was also a little confused. ¡°No, we really don¡¯t know. Qiang Ge also didn¡¯t say anything ah.¡±


    Not far away, Cheng Qiang stood up and expressed that he also didn¡¯t know about this.


    ¡°The list just came out!¡± That particular fan raised their cell phone with a smile.


    Only then did the six of them nod, and then Ling Yi suddenly turned to hold Fang Juexia¡¯s hand. ¡°Congratulations, congratulations.¡± He turned to the other side and shook Lu Yuan¡¯s hand. ¡°Congratulations, congratulations.¡±


    ¡°Congratulations to you too, congratulations to you too.¡± The stage suddenly turned into a strange scene where six people were congratulating each other.


    ¡°Enough, we¡¯re acting as if we got the real prize.¡± Pei Tingsong said disdainfully. ¡°Hopefully anti-fans won¡¯t start mocking us online about getting an award on loan.¡±


    The fans laughed loudly. ¡°Pei Tingsong, how can you be so practiced!¡±


    ¡°Practiced to the point that people feel distressed!¡±


    ¡°Hahahaha!¡±


    After causing enough of a fuss, Jiang Miao returned to the main topic again. ¡°Then our first song today is still our main song ¡®Last Summer.¡¯¡± He turned to the music conductor behind him and said, ¡°Teachers can all start now.¡±


    The music started, and the six of them sang the main song while seated on high stools in this cafe filled with a summer atmosphere. Then, the scene from ¡°Green Waves¡± with ¡°Night Trip¡± playing as BGM was shown on the screen, and the six people watched it with relish.


    Fang Juexia watched the short clip. The male and female leads, dressed in school uniforms, stopped riding their bikes and walked across the lawn. The accompaniment was right in their ears at this moment, and it created a youthful, heart pounding atmosphere. He couldn¡¯t help thinking of what Pei Tingsong had said about the accompaniment on the radio program.


    The drumming in this version was really different from the six-person version. It wasn¡¯t as complicated, but the rhythm was a bit special.


    Vaguely realising something, Fang Juexia didn¡¯t take up his microphone, and drew close to Pei Tingsong¡¯s ear. ¡°The rhythm of this drum is very special.¡±


    Pei Tingsong turned his chair so that he could face Fang Juexia with a smile. ¡°You can hear that?¡±


    Fang Juexia looked into his eyes. ¡°What drum is it?¡±


    On the screen, the backs of two hands were shown close to each other as they kept brushing against one another and then separating, with fingertips restlessly moving, wanting to grasp each other in the desire to hold hands under the moonlight.


    ¡°The afternoon I wrote the lyrics, when you fell asleep¡­¡± His voice was light and slow, and every word was fatally matched with the drumbeat being played out in the accompaniment. In full view of the public, he confessed to the moonlight.


    ¡°I sampled your heartbeat.¡±

 CH 91

    Chapter 91 -Daytime Sleepwalking


    You are my daydream


    Fang Juexia suddenly froze.


    Heartbeat.


    That afternoon when he had been pulled into the workshop, he had taken a very careful look at the sampler on Pei Tingsong¡¯s desk. Unexpectedly, it had actually been used on himself.


    The background music of ¡°Night Trip¡± was still ringing in his ears. Every ¡°drumbeat¡± that had been arranged by Pei Tingsong corresponded to the restless heart in his chest beat by beat; it was amazing. This was his melody, the rhythm of his heart, and line after line of hidden meaning being narrated by Pei Tingsong¡¯s lyrics.


    His heart beat and the drum beat synchronized, both beating with full vitality.


    Their song was alive, as was their love.


    This was the first time Fang Juexia found himself at a loss on what was best to do because of having been taken too seriously, and he did not know what his next course of action should be.


    At the end of the song, the fans gathered around and started clapping, thus awakening Fang Juexia from his indulgence.


    Ling Yi took the microphone and asked, ¡°Sounds nice ba? You guys all chase the show?¡±


    ¡°We chase it!¡±


    ¡°Our members have begun to try the drama route.¡± Lu Yuan took over the conversation and said, ¡°Both Miao Ge and Fire Ge are starting to step into new fields.¡±


    Jiang Miao smiled and waved his hand. He Ziyan said straightforwardly, ¡°Not quite worthy of that yet.¡±


    ¡°Worthy!¡± the fans yelled.


    Pei Tingsong picked up the microphone. ¡°How can it sound so much like you¡¯re cursing someone out?¡±


    ¡°Hahaha!¡±


    Fang Juexia also picked up the microphone, but he was talking to everyone seriously, ¡°This is the first time Miao Ge is participating in a film shoot. I heard that there was a lot asked of him during the audition, but he managed to pass it smoothly. Let¡¯s give Miao Ge a little applause.¡±


    The fans applauded with great cooperation.


    Jiang Miao immediately explained, ¡°Actually, there wasn¡¯t. Because the theme of the film is about music, they needed someone who could play the guzheng.¡±


    Lu Yuan added, ¡°Didn¡¯t they also need someone with a good appearance and clean temperament? Three Water is especially suitable to play that kind of male college student, the pure male college student.¡±


    ¡°Hahahaha!¡±


    Fang Juexia said very seriously, ¡°Ziyan will join the drama group the day after tomorrow, so let¡¯s give Ziyan a little applause too.¡±


    He Ziyan laughed. ¡°Juexia is a ruthless applause cueing machine today.¡±


    ¡°Hahahahaha!¡±


    But Fang Juexia still remained very serious. ¡°It¡¯s your first time, so we have to encourage you well. Your very first acting role is in a big urban drama production.¡±


    Pei Tingsong was amused by the way Fang Juexia was cheering on his teammates wholeheartedly, so he picked up the microphone and asked him, ¡°Why doesn¡¯t Juexia Ge go act, with him being so attractive, it¡¯s a bit of a waste for him not to act.¡±


    The fans¡¯ wishes were even stronger than his, and they agreed excitedly, ¡°Yes ah!¡±


    ¡°We want to see Juexia Ge act!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s too wasteful not to show this face in an idol drama!¡±


    Fang Juexia had never been very good at facing sudden enthusiasm. ¡°En¡­ I feel like I may not be very good at it, and on my face¡­¡±


    ¡°Stop it.¡± Pei Tingsong directly cut off his words. He asked first, ¡°Do you guys think the birthmark on Juexia¡¯s face looks good?¡±


    After that, he stretched the microphone out towards the audience, and the fans close by yelled in unison, ¡°Looks good¡ª¡±


    The other members also joined in, ¡°It looks so good ah.¡±


    ¡°Like a flower petal.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the finishing touch to a painting, okay?¡±


    Ling Yi nodded. ¡°Yes ah, when I saw Juexia for the first time, holy shit ya, I was so shocked at that time. How could there be such a beautiful boy ah?¡±


    Jiang Miao said with a smile, ¡°So that¡¯s why you proposed to live in the same room as Juexia.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Ling Yi didn¡¯t hide it. ¡°I¡¯m just such an appearance dog. When I came to know about the dormitory arrangements, I immediately told Qiang Ge that my first choice was Juexia, followed by Jiang Miao.¡±


    Lu Yuan first deliberately let out a ¡°ohho¡± sound, and He Ziyan soon followed his example, ¡°Ohho!¡±


    Fang Juexia, who didn¡¯t know the inside story behind the dormitory room arrangements, was a little surprised. ¡°You took the initiative? I thought rooms were randomly assigned.¡±


    Pei Tingsong suddenly reached out and pulled him. ¡°Hey, that¡¯s not fair, someone walked through different channels ah. I¡¯m applying for redistribution of the dorm rooms, and we¡¯re drawing lots.¡±


    ¡°Come on ba, you.¡± He Ziyan mercilessly complained, ¡°Don¡¯t you remember how unlucky your hands are? Go along obediently with Ge ba, Gege won¡¯t treat you unfairly.¡±


    ¡°Tch.¡±


    Fang Juexia suddenly remembered the topic of acting they were discussing just now, so he flipped the question onto Pei Tingsong. ¡°Why don¡¯t you go act?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t want to.¡± Pei Tingsong simply refused. This reminded He Ziyan of a particularly funny past event, and he said, ¡°I¡¯m going to start digging through old accounts ah.¡±


    Ling Yi, who had just taken a mouthful of ice mocha, realized what He Ziyan wanted to do, so he rushed to add on, ¡°I know! Xiao Pei¡¯s dark history!¡±


    How does everyone know? Fang Juexia still found it a bit inexplicable.


    However, that he didn¡¯t know things about Pei Tingsong was true, for in the past, he had avoided him, so naturally, he wouldn¡¯t know his dark history.


    Pei Tingsong quickly realized what was going on. ¡°Hey, don¡¯t be like that, you can¡¯t say nonsense about that!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. Anyway, our group has lost its image long ago.¡± He Ziyan began to tell the fans, ¡°You guys may not know that Xiao Pei has already made his debut on screen a while back.¡±


    The fans were really very surprised. ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°In what?¡±


    Ling Yi scrambled to say, ¡°Last year, an idol drama crew came to find Qiang Ge and said that they wanted Xiao Pei to act in their show.¡±


    Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t want Ling Yi to talk any further, so he tried to go around Fang Juexia in order to cover up Ling Yi¡¯s mouth. However, Fang Juexia wanted to listen, so he caught Pei Tingsong¡¯s hand and didn¡¯t let him do anything to stop Ling Yi from talking.


    Ling Yi went over to the captain¡¯s side and hid behind him as he continued, ¡°It seemed that back then, Xiao Pei had just fought with the anti-fans online for 300 rounds. He was in a bad mood, and it seemed that something else had also happened. Anyway, he was in a flammable and explosive state, and as soon as he received Qiang Ge¡¯s message, he directly refused. No, that¡¯s too abstract,¡± Saying that, he signalled He Ziyan, ¡°Let¡¯s act it out. I¡¯m Qiang Ge, and you¡¯re Xiao Pei. ¡°


    Pei Tingsong still persistently tried to stop them. ¡°I¡¯m going to start cursing people out ah.¡±


    Ling Yi wiped his face, and in a moment, he had become Cheng Qiang. He further lowered his voice as he imitated, ¡°Xiao Pei, go act.¡±


    He Ziyan pulled a long face. ¡°Act like hell, you horse.¡± Then he immediately explained it. ¡°It was using the little horse in the emojis.¡±


    Fans below the stage burst out laughing. ¡°Grumpy Pinot Tree Supreme!¡±


    Fang Juexia was very surprised by this reply. He grasped Pei Tingsong with both hands, while staring at him with a very shocked expression.


    ¡°They already said it all. I was really mad at the time.¡± Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t have a microphone, so he just explained to him in a low voice.


    ¡°This wasn¡¯t the most urgent thing, friends, the key was¡ª¡± Lu Yuan also added, ¡°Qiang Ge finally actually managed to fulfill Xiao Pei¡¯s wish.¡±


    Jiang Miao narrated the end of the story, ¡°He escorted Xiao Pei to dub an animated film called ¡®The Kingdom of Fantasy Animals,¡¯ and he voiced a horse.¡±


    ¡°Hahahahahaha!¡±


    ¡°Going to watch it tonight!¡±


    Fang Juexia chuckled and started laughing to the point where he let go of the person he had grasped in his hands. His whole person bent over, and he just couldn¡¯t sit still.


    Pei Tingsong was helpless as his dark history was being revealed, but his hands still instinctively protected Fang Juexia out of fear that his family¡¯s little white flower would fall off his seat from laughing so hard.


    He Ziyan summed it all up. ¡°So, in fact, in terms of acting, Xiao Pei is our senior.¡±


    Pei Tingsong copied Fang Juexia¡¯s catchphrase, which he frequently used when he was with him, ¡°Shut up.¡±


    Under this sort of relaxed atmosphere, they cooperated with the music conductor to sing ¡°Swim Across the Sea¡±, then interacted with the fans in the livestream, and also chatted about things that had happened during the creation and song-writing process.


    Pei Tingsong, who was holding a grudge against He Ziyan for exposing his dark history, turned on his tip-off mode and said that He Ziyan, his roommate, would get inspired while taking a bath, and would then come running out wrapped in just a bath towel. He Ziyan also retaliated by saying that he had complained that Pei Tingsong¡¯s initial version of ¡®Night Trip¡¯ was completely incomprehensible.


    ¡°Hahahaha, hurting each other!¡±


    ¡°Ling Yi luckily managed to dodge the crisis.¡±


    Time passed quickly. After drawing a round of prizes, they watched the previously recorded behind-the-scenes gag clips that took place while making the summer album with their fans, and with this, the activities for the meet-up were almost over.


    Jiang Miao picked up the microphone and said, ¡°Time really does fly ah, there are still ten minutes to go before  we¡¯re done. We¡¯re going to sing the last song from ¡®Last Summer¡¯ for you guys.¡±


    ¡°So fast ah, I can¡¯t bear it.¡±


    ¡°The last one?¡±


    ¡°This song is one that I wrote, and it¡¯s very suitable to listen to on such a summer afternoon.¡± Out of habit, he cued Fang Juexia, who usually spoke less on such occasions, ¡°Juexia, what¡¯s this song called?¡±


    Fang Juexia was a little bit slow, and it was only after he looked at the small card in his hand that he faced the audience and straightened his arms out like a host as he announced, ¡°Daydream!¡±


    The fans cheered, ¡°It¡¯s my daydreaming treasure!¡±


    Lu Yuan turned in his chair and said briskly, ¡°We hope everyone¡¯s daydreams can all be realized!¡±


    The conductor behind them started to play the background music, and everyone started singing into their microphones while still seated on the stools. With no electronic music present, the song sounded less psychedelic, and appeared more gentle and fresh.


    ¡°The first time I kissed you, all day my head was faint and unscrewed, and the whole universe sleepwalked with me askew.¡± After the second part of the song was sung, Fang Juexia¡¯s microphone suddenly seemed to have a problem, it had stopped emitting sound. He lowered his head and slapped it a few times with his hand before he turned to look at Cheng Qiang, who was standing not far behind them.


    It was originally Pei Tingsong¡¯s turn to rap next, yet, his attention was attracted by Fang Juexia, who was slapping at his microphone. He didn¡¯t think much about it before stuffing his microphone into Fang Juexia¡¯s hands and taking the broken microphone from his hands to examine it.


    Fang Juexia was startled by his action and glanced at him. He stuffed the mic back into his hands and whispered, ¡°You¡¯re about to sing.¡±


    Only after realizing that he had already missed a beat did Pei Tingsong react. He quickly picked up the microphone, and the other members around him started choking with laughter, which was how the fans came to realize  that Pei Tingsong was entering the song at the wrong spot.


    Unexpectedly, Pei Tingsong directly started rapping with a more laid back flow, but the lyrics he was rapping were different from the CD version, it was like he was rapping freestyle.


    Because he had forgotten the original lyrics.


    ¡°Almost the whole world knows my regard, why haven¡¯t you responded because you think I have no temper to guard. A heart of forgetting words and getting stuck, the wrong beat and a mess of plans, dreamy dreamy baby, why you make me crazy.¡±


    Fang Juexia¡¯s heart had just been dangling there, but after hearing Pei Tingsong quickly save the scene without leaving behind any trace, he let out a breath of relief. He had to admire the strength of Pei Tingsong¡¯s improvisation in his heart; even the flow was different from the original.


    He felt a pat on his back, and when Fang Juexia turned around, he saw Cheng Qiang, who then handed him a new microphone. He nodded and took hold of the microphone, then harmonized with Pei Tingsong¡¯s rap. ¡°You are my daydream, daydream.¡±


    The combination of this cold and clear humming and Pei Tingsong¡¯s low-pitched rap made it feel like the sound had gained multiple layers, and Pei Tingsong grew smoother and smoother.


    ¡°Promise to make my bad habits far and few, all in exchange for the unique you. The sun is dense during summer¡¯s afternoon, and the cafes are busy like a monsoon. Want to take you, change you into a star true, and then hide you in my palm to accrue. When it¡¯s sunny or rainy through, Bailey¡¯s cream will always bring a good mood too. Don¡¯t listen to all the hearsay, just 3, 2, 1, come into my arms, bae.¡±


    ¡°You are my daydream, daydream.¡±


    As he sang on, Pei Tingsong heard a nearly imperceptible smile in Fang Juexia¡¯s voice. The corners of his mouth drew up slightly, and he sang the last sentence.


    ¡°You are the secret in my dreams, you know, that I have publicly announced millions of times long ago.¡±

 CH 92

    You can rely on us.¡±


    This sudden direct fastball hit Fang Juexia¡¯s heart.


    He totally hadn¡¯t expected Pei Tingsong¡¯s freestyle to end with such a sentence, one that was so grand and straightforward, while being veiled as well.


    His heart was stuffed so full, and the caffeine he had just taken now seemed to be causing him some trouble.


    In any case, it seemed that he couldn¡¯t escape from Pei Tingsong¡¯s palm.


    When the cafe¡¯s music salon session ended at 5:30 p.m., Kaleido returned to the second floor as they waited for the fans to leave under the staff¡¯s arrangements. The six big boys leaned on the window glass and waved to the fans who were going home. Ling Yi even went as far as opening the window and shouting to them, ¡°Be careful on the way back.¡± It was as if they were not idols, but ordinary friends, who had invited everyone to come over and be a guest, sing songs, and have a heart-to-heart chat.


    The sky had turned dark by the time they left. Cheng Qiang kept his promise and took his six cubs to a high-priced Japanese style barbecue shop.


    ¡°Wow, Qiang Ge is upping the ante today.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great, I¡¯m going to eat a super large amount of Wagyu beef today!¡±


    They settled down in the private room that had been booked for them a long time ago; it had a long table and seven tatami mats. Jiang Miao, Lu Yuan, and He Ziyan sat in a row, while Pei Tingsong, Fang Juexia, and Ling Yi sat across from them. Xiao Wen took a seat at the innermost end, and Cheng Qiang took a cushion and sat at the outermost end. ¡°The throne is left to me. You guys start ordering ba. Originally, Boss was going to come too, but then he got pulled into a meeting with your senior brothers, so he¡¯ll probably be late. Let¡¯s just first start celebrating within our little group.¡±


    ¡°Qiang Ge, I¡¯ll save you some money.¡± As he said that, Ling Yi grabbed the menu and started ordering dishes as if he hadn¡¯t eaten meat for hundreds of years. Cheng Qiang¡¯s eyes widened as he looked on.


    ¡°Order some alcohol ba.¡± Lu Yuan yelled, ¡°I haven¡¯t had alcohol for a long time, I¡¯m coveting it a little.¡±


    ¡°Go ahead, order, order, let¡¯s have fun today, everybody have a drink.¡±


    As the dishes were being brought out slowly, Cheng Qiang poured a glass of alcohol for himself and then let the six of them fill up their glasses. ¡°Come, come, come, we also haven¡¯t had dinner together in a long time. Let¡¯s have a drink first.¡±


    Pei Tingsong was really worried about Fang Juexia¡¯s alcohol tolerance, so he didn¡¯t pour him anything too strong, just pouring a glass of strawberry alcohol for him; after glancing at it, he saw that its alcoholic content wasn¡¯t high, so decided that it should be okay. He also knew that he wasn¡¯t very good at drinking either, so he also didn¡¯t pour anything too strong for himself.


    ¡°This tastes really good.¡± After the toast, Fang Juexia turned his head while holding the small cup as he said this to Pei Tingsong.


    Pei Tingsong put a dumpling on his plate. ¡°Drink less, you won¡¯t be able to eat in a while otherwise.¡±


    Cheng Qiang emotionally slapped the table. ¡°We have experienced a lot during this past half year. But things also slowly got better and better, which means that hard work will definitely have results.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Xiao Wen was the most supportive of this statement.


    Lu Yuan said, ¡°We don¡¯t just work hard ba.¡±


    He Ziyan laughed and said, ¡°We are also hot ah!¡±


    ¡°Hahahahaha, so shameless.¡± Ling Yi laughed while eating meat.


    Cheng Qiang pulled the topic back. ¡°Today¡¯s celebration, although it¡¯s very small, is all people from our own family. But there are many good things to celebrate. The first is our ¡®Last Summer,¡¯ the #1 song for this month! Clap!¡±


    Everybody put down their chopsticks and clapped.


    Fang Juexia was still slow by half a beat. ¡°We¡¯re first?¡±


    Pei Tingsong laughed. ¡°You still have no wifi ne.¡±


    ¡°And the second good thing, which you all already know about¡­ Congratulations to Kaleido for being nominated by the BMA! I have looked at the list, and we have four nominations in total, which has already broken the records for a boyband!¡±


    ¡°Wow!¡± This piece of information obviously made Kaleido more happy than the news about the song just now. Although it was just a nomination, it was already a very, very big affirmation for a male idol group.


    Especially for these music-loving boys.


    ¡°My God, then we can take part in the awards show at the end of the year?¡±


    ¡°So excited, I¡¯m going to start writing my acceptance speech now.¡±


    ¡°Remember this for me ah, young man: the first person you have to thank is the agent,¡± Cheng Qiang pointed to himself and said.


    Jiang Miao poured another glass of alcohol for Cheng Qiang, and as if deliberately reminding him, dragged the topic back, ¡°Qiang Ge, what¡¯s the third one?¡±


    ¡°The third thing is¡ª¡± Cheng Qiang clapped his hands in the direction of the door to the private room, and then sat back on the tatami mat wearing an ¡®it¡¯s handled¡¯ expression on his face. Yet, as a result, the other seven people had to wait quite a while with him, making the atmosphere suddenly turn embarrassing.


    ¡°Yi?¡± Cheng Qiang stood up and opened the door. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you guys hear my signal?¡±


    ¡°Oh, oh, oh, I¡¯m sorry.¡± The waiter entered the room with a very exquisite cake in his hand.


    ¡°The third good thing is¡ª It¡¯s our Juexia¡¯s birthday la.¡± Cheng Qiang sat down again before continuing, ¡°Although it¡¯s not today, tomorrow night, Ling Yi and Lu Yuan have other events, and I have to go with them. We won¡¯t be able to get together tomorrow night, so let¡¯s celebrate it together today.¡±


    As soon as he finished talking, Ling Yi clapped his hands and led everyone in singing the happy birthday song. Pei Tingsong took the birthday cap from the waiter¡¯s hand and put it on Fang Juexia¡¯s head, as if he was putting on a small crown.


    Fang Juexia hadn¡¯t thought about this at all. Recently, he had been very busy with the new album, the publicity events, and other various activities. He had long forgotten his own birthday.


    It turned out though that everyone else had remembered it.


    ¡°Happy Birthday to Juexia in advance!¡±


    Ling Yi quickly took the opportunity to say, ¡°The birthday gift I bought for you has already been put on your bedside table la!¡±


    Lu Yuan nodded. ¡°Me too. I already prepared it in advance.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Fang Juexia¡¯s always quiet face contained a bit of a delighted expression right now. He wasn¡¯t very good at expressing himself, so he poured a glass of pink strawberry alcohol for himself, toasted everyone, and kept saying ¡®thank you.¡¯


    Everyone chatted while eating, discussing topics ranging from their personal life to gossip in the entertainment industry. It was a great pleasure to eat melons; one moment, the conversation consisted about which two actors had developed real feelings for each other while being part of a drama, and the next moment, it was about the power struggle of big companies.


    Jiang Miao was a person who worried about others more, so he kept using the small tongs to help everyone roast the meat, and also ordered a new wave of dishes after everyone had eaten nearly everything on the table. Later, they began to play the finger-guessing game and the drinking wager game.


    By the time all the meat had been consumed, the alcohol had gone a bit to Cheng Qiang¡¯s head, and his face had turned red. Although he had started late, when it came to dispensing soulful chicken soup to everyone, he showed concern for each and every one. At last, he took the glass that kept swaying back and forth and bumped it against Fang Juexia¡¯s glass. Like an old father, he advised him, ¡°Juexia ah, you should remember this, if you have something going on, you should rely on us more, you know? Don¡¯t carry everything by yourself, that¡¯s so hard ah.¡±


    The effect of cup after cup of downed strawberry alcohol had accumulated, and Fang Juexia was also a bit dizzy. As soon as he nodded, his head felt even more dizzy. ¡°En¡­¡±


    ¡°Yeah, Juexia.¡± He Ziyan said, ¡°Although we are not particularly reliable ba¡­¡±


    Ling Yi made a preemptive strike. ¡°Who said that? I¡¯m reliable.¡±


    Jiang Miao looked at him with a smile. ¡°But we are your bandmates. So if you have a very hard time, you can rely on each of us.¡±


    Pei Tingsong agreed with this very much. He tilted his head on Fang Juexia¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    With Pei Tingsong leaning on him like that, Fang Juexia¡¯s whole person completely slanted over, and the half a cup of strawberry alcohol that he was still holding in his hand spilled all over Ling Yi.


    ¡°Hey, hey, hey!¡±


    He Ziyan craned his neck over. ¡°He seems to be drunk¡­¡±


    Lu Yuan frowned. ¡°That¡¯s too fast.¡±


    Pei Tingsong quickly pulled Fang Juexia up. Looking at the table, he noticed that Fang Juexia had drunk almost two-thirds of the bottle of strawberry alcohol. ¡°No, how can you drink so fiercely ah?¡±


    Fang Juexia was already showing the symptoms of being drunk,  giggling away. ¡°Barbecue¨Cwas a little salty¡­ This one is¡­ sweet.¡±


    Finished.


    At that moment, Pei Tingsong went back to the day they had drunk with Shang Sirui at the hotel, and now, when he recalled those memories, his hand started to throb.


    As soon as Fang Juexia drank, he became a child, one who would say anything and dare to do anything. He had to find a way to take him away, all to prevent him from saying something that he would regret when he got up tomorrow.


    ¡°Qiang Ge, your phone.¡± Jiang Miao grabbed Cheng Qiang¡¯s arm.


    ¡°Oh, oh, phone,¡± Cheng Qiang sat upright and picked up his cellphone. Seeing that it was Chen Zhengyun calling, he happily answered, ¡°Boss, we¡¯re still here, nearly done eating.¡±


    ¡°Ah, you booked that. Okay, okay, I¡¯ll bring them over right away.¡±


    After he hung up, Cheng Qiang ate another vinegar boiled peanut. ¡°Well, the boss and the rest of them just finished on that side. He has booked a KTV luxury room for you guys, and your senior brothers will also be there. Everyone can have fun together and won¡¯t need to go back to the dormitory tonight.¡±


    ¡°Yes! I want to play with Sansan!¡±


    ¡°Finally this time, a place for me to shine!¡±


    Fang Juexia was in a daze, but upon hearing ¡®KTV¡¯, he grew a little excited. ¡°Sing? Are we going to sing? ¡± He stuttered a bit, and spoke vaguely like a child, ¡°I-I can sing.¡±


    ¡°We know you can sing.¡± Pei Tingsong supported him up. ¡°Are you dizzy? Do you feel bad?¡±


    Fang Juexia wanted to say that he wasn¡¯t dizzy, but when he shook his head and felt the dizziness come on again, he became confused about whether he was dizzy or not, so he just hummed twice.


    What does a hum mean ah? Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t know whether he should laugh or cry at this.


    ¡°Come on ba, let¡¯s go.¡±


    After tidying up a bit, they called for a taxi as they prepared to go downstairs. Pei Tingsong helped Fang Juexia all the way down the stairs, and it was as if he was holding up a little white snake with no feet. Fang Juexia walked askew, tottering back and forth.


    ¡°Qiang Ge, he¡¯s too drunk. Getting over there will be an ordeal, and maybe in a little bit, he¡¯ll start feeling bad.¡±


    Cheng Qiang, who had also drunk a bit too much, rubbed his new buzzcut. ¡°Really? Ah, then-then¡­.¡±


    Pei Tingsong pulled Fang Juexia into his arms and let him lean against him. ¡°I¡¯ll take him back ba.¡±


    Jiang Miao asked him, ¡°Then, you also won¡¯t go?¡±


    ¡°I happen to not feel well, too.¡± Pei Tingsong just randomly came up with a reason. Who could have known that this reason would then be heard by the drunk Fang Juexia. ¡°Don¡¯t feel well? Where do you not feel well, let me see¡­.burp.¡±


    After drinking alcohol, his voice had become affectedly sweet, and he had stuck himself onto Pei Tingsong without any scruples, holding his arm like a clingy kitten.


    ¡°Stop for a while ba, ancestor.¡± Pei Tingsong tugged at him while feeling the closet door crumbling.


    ¡°You¡¯re so fierce.¡± Fang Juexia suddenly turned angry, and blushed while speaking in an aggrieved tone, ¡°You don¡¯t like¡­¡±


    Pei Tingsong immediately covered his mouth. ¡°I¡¯m wrong, I¡¯m wrong.¡±


    I like you, I especially like you.


    Pei Tingsong sweated for his broken closet door.


    Ling Yi, standing to one side, was a little surprised. ¡°It turns out that Juexia turns into this when he¡¯s drunk ah¡­¡±


    Lu Yuan clicked his tongue. ¡°When you¡¯re drunk, you even start kissing people, you¡¯re not much better.¡±


    The taxi, which had been hailed in advance, arrived late. Cheng Qiang mumbled  a few words to Pei Tingsong and sat down inside. Pei Tingsong, who half-held Fang Juexia, nodded, while that silly guy in his arms stretched his arms to obediently say bye-bye to them. After a while, their taxi also came. Pei Tingsong had to exert a lot of effort before he managed to drag Fang Juexia inside, and the entire way back, Fang Juexia kept mumbling that he was going to throw up, but also saying that he wanted a hug.


    Fortunately, the taxi driver was a middle-aged uncle, who did not know or suspect their identities.


    It was so hard to take care of a drunk person, and Pei Tingsong finally managed to drag him home. Only the two of them were left in the dormitory. Fang Juexia sat on the little stool at the entryway, clamoring that he was dizzy. Pei Tingsong squatted to help him take off his canvas shoes, and then put them away. Every time Fang Juexia got drunk, their identities seemed to switch as well; Pei Tingsong became the Gege, and Fang Juexia became the childish Didi.


    He did enjoy this switch occasionally.


    ¡°Sleepy, I want to sleep.¡± Fang Juexia rubbed his eyes.


    ¡°You want to sleep now ah?¡±


    ¡°I want to sleep!¡±


    ¡°Okay, okay, okay.¡± Pei Tingsong couldn¡¯t outstubborn him. Knowing this guy¡¯s drunken temper, he simply picked him up, carried him into his room, and put him on his bed, which was always clean and had no wrinkles.


    ¡°Sleep, our Juexia wants to sleep.¡± As he coaxed him, he spread out the quilt for Fang Juexia, ¡°I¡¯ll get the towel wet to wipe your face with.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t go.¡± Fang Juexia seemed to be biting down on every word very hard. He grasped his arm, and his strength grew. ¡°Don¡¯t go, I like you, you keep me company.¡±


    Pei Tingsong froze beside the bed.


    Fang Juexia¡¯s face had turned red, his hands were hot, and he was smiling in a very silly, yet very beautiful way. ¡°I want¡­.want¡­¡±


    Pei Tingsong bent over and touched his forehead. ¡°What do you want?¡±


    ¡°You!¡± His eyes were very bright under the lamp at the head of the bed, looking just like the stars. He even opened up the quilt obediently and pulled Pei Tingsong into it. ¡°You sleep with me, okay?¡±


    After having already received such an invitation, Pei Tingsong felt that if he didn¡¯t agree, he would be Liu Xiahui.


    ¡°Then¡­. If I dirty your bed,¡± He lay down and rubbed his face against Fang Juexia¡¯s cheek as he continued asking, ¡°would you mind?¡±


    Fang Juexia kissed his lips, and then hiccuped childishly. His response was upright and logical.


    ¡°You¡¯ve already dirtied me, and I-I didn¡¯t blame you then ah.¡±


    ¡ª


    Juurensha: Ohohohohho, the return of drunk FJX! So cute! And also, I¡¯m so curious, who did you kiss, Ling Yi???? Was it Lu Yuan????

 CH 93

    Park in weavi, which means that this translation is what is in JJWXC, and if you want the translated smut, send me the raw receipts!


    Pei Tingsong was shocked; he pretty much felt that Fang Juexia was teasingly flirting with him, even though he was clearly displaying a childlike temper right now.


    ¡°When did I get you dirty?¡± He asked boldly.


    ¡°You just did, just now, when you leaned on me, you¡¯re so heavy,¡± Fang Juexia¡¯s words came out a bit incoherently. He grabbed the hem of his clothes dyed with pink strawberry alcohol and pulled it up to show him. ¡°You see, here, it¡¯s dirty here.¡±


    So it was this¡­.


    ¡°Then¡­ take off your dirty clothes?¡± Pei Tingsong lifted the hem of his shirt further, helping Fang Juexia to take off his T-shirt, and talked as if coaxing a child, ¡°If the clothes are dirty, we just won¡¯t wear them anymore.¡±


    Fang Juexia went along with his words and very angrily balled up his top before throwing it on the ground. ¡°Not wearing them.¡± After that, he looked down at himself. He didn¡¯t lift his head up even after a long time had passed, seemingly wearing a very serious expression.


    ¡°What are you looking at?¡± Pei Tingsong felt he was being very strange, so he went over.


    He saw Fang Juexia staring wide-eyed at the love bite on his chest; it was a little purple.


    But Fang Juexia didn¡¯t think it was a love bite, and even thought that he had gotten that spot dirty, so he let out a questioning hum, and then rubbed it with his fingers. He rubbed it very hard, and after doing so a few times, it turned red. ¡°This-this is also dirty.¡±


    Looking at him like this, Pei Tingsong thought that it was both funny and cute. He even raised his hands to admit frankly, ¡°This is also me getting you dirty.¡±


    ¡°What to do?¡± Fang Juexia curled up his mouth, and his beautiful eyes were very innocent. ¡°It¡¯s so dirty ah, I can¡¯t wipe it clean¡­¡±


    ¡°It can be wiped clean, don¡¯t be afraid.¡± Pei Tingsong gently patted Fang Juexia, then attempted to placate him by kissing his lips. ¡°Who said it¡¯s so dirty? Our Juexia is the cleanest.¡±


    Kissing was an effective way of relieving emotions.


    Pecking, and then pecking again just wasn¡¯t enough. All Fang Juexia kept thinking was how it wasn¡¯t enough. ¡°Still need to kiss.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Pei Tingsong kissed him as he wished.


    It was an aggressive kiss, the tip of his tongue prying open the shell of his mouth and going into the softest and deepest part to entangle with Fang Juexia¡¯s wet and soft tongue. The flavor of strawberry and alcohol tasted so sweet that he felt faint.


    When you loved someone to the point that they were difficult to give up, even a kiss was bewitching.


    Fang Juexia was kissed until he grew soft, and he keened vaguely like a small animal. His mind had turned very young, and school-aged kids were the best at imitating, so he mirrored Pei Tingsong, kissing and licking him back. The hot and humid tongues entangled with each other, and they kissed until the moans and wet sounds came one after another, just like waves in an ocean.


    Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t plan to let him off so easily, so he forcefully parted and said, ¡°That¡¯s enough.¡±


    ¡°Not enough!¡± Fang Juexia suddenly hugged him, turned over, and pressed Pei Tingsong down, forcibly demanding a kiss. Pei Tingsong was a bit overwhelmed by his enthusiasm, ¡°Be good, wait a minute.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t want to wait!¡± Fang Juexia lowered his head and kissed him. Pei Tingsong could only follow his wishes and devour his tongue and lips until they were soft and swollen. He kissed him until he fell against him and became a pool of melted strawberry smoothie, leaving only syrup sticking to his chest.


    It was too hot, they were about to burn up.


    The bedside lamp shone on his snow-white skin, and it glowed with light. It seemed that what he was holding was not a body thirsty for love, but a piece of hot moonlight.


    Moonlight was cold, but it also belonged to the night, and adding on muffled erotic moans, it was even more beautiful.


    He suddenly thought of song lyrics, thought of that line of [flowers eating the July sunshine]. Was he the flower, he wasn¡¯t just eating sunshine.


    But also his lover¡¯s body.


    The moon was a hole in the black night sky, and so was he. He was a lollipop with the white stick removed. His sparkling and crystal-clear body was empty, with just a small hole left. So he asked Pei Tingsong to come in and compensate him as if restoring something to its rightful owner.


    Only then could this candy come alive and melt.


    Melt into the dark night.


    (Buy the raws to gain access to the uncut scene! Quick preview of the translated smut below (NSFW warning):)


    Click to read


    After they finished, Pei Tingsong¡¯s cellphone coincidentally started ringing at the same time. It was the alarm he had set, at one minute to twelve in the morning, as a reminder for him to not forget to wish Fang Juexia a ¡®Happy Birthday¡¯ at the very first second of his birthday.


    Originally, it was a very good plan; just like any teenage boy, he would be able to convey his best wishes to the person he liked right at that time.


    But now, the person he liked was in his arms, in a completely blind drunk state, and he had even made him cry. Pei Tingsong patted Fang Juexia on the back and coaxed him, ¡°Baby, happy birthday, you¡¯re another year older now.¡±


    Fang Juexia¡¯s eyelids were a bit swollen. When he looked up at him, he had already stopped trembling, but he was still stuttering a bit in his response, ¡°Birth-birthday, it¡¯s my birthday.¡±


    ¡°Yes, your birthday.¡± Pei Tingsong kissed his birthmark, ¡°Thank you for coming to this world and letting me meet you.¡±


    ¡°Then-then you are my present?¡± Fang Juexia looked at him and pursed his lips.


    Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t expect him to say so, and actually felt a bit panicked. ¡°Really? Can I count as being a gift?¡±


    ¡°You can.¡± Fang Juexia nodded seriously. ¡°Because I like you, you-you are better than any other gift.¡±


    When he held Fang Juexia, it felt like he was holding the entire world.


    No, it was better than the entire world.


    Fang Juexia was so tired that he fell asleep after being coaxed for just a little while. Only once he was in a deep enough sleep did Pei TIngsong get up gently and bring hot water over to help clean him. He was as careful as he would be with the most precious piece of porcelain. When he was pretty much done, he picked him up and carried him to his room, so as to sleep in his own clean bed.


    The smell of Pei Tingsong¡¯s blankets made Fang Juexia feel very much at ease. Without much struggle, he adapted to the new dream cocoon he had been placed in, leaving the responsibility of cleaning everything, and of washing all the sheets, on Pei Tingsong.


    The young master, who had once had to rely on Fang Juexia to even make his bed, was already very good at taking care of people now.


    After finding Fang Juexia¡¯s new bedding and laying it out properly, Pei Tingsong felt really tired to even move his favorite baby back, so he went straight back to his room and tunneled into the quilt that had been warmed up by Fang Juexia.


    He came up with a lot of lies to be used to deal with the questions his bandmates would throw at him tomorrow. Anyway, Fang Juexia was already drunk, so everything could just be pushed onto him.


    The little moon, who didn¡¯t know that all the blame had been pushed onto him, sensed Pei Tingsong entering the quilt, so he turned over and obediently hugged him. The two people leaned against each other, falling deeply into their dreams.


    Pei Tingsong had overestimated his bandmates¡¯ self-control; when he woke up, there was no one in the dormitory. He guessed that they had gotten too drunk to even walk and had all just slept in the luxury booth.


    Eight o¡¯clock in the morning, the perfect time to go back to sleep, but Pei Tingsong still got up.


    He had more important things to do than sleep.


    It was only at noon that Fang Juexia, who was very tired, groggily woke up. He was surprised; clearly, when he was sleeping, he had felt that he was being held, so how could he wake up alone in bed now?


    It must have been a dream ba.


    After a while, he noticed that the pattern on the sheets was unfamiliar; he was on Pei Tingsong¡¯s bed. At first, he was a little confused, and then Fang Juexia remembered everything. His face couldn¡¯t help but grow hot as his hands went numb, and he hurriedly got out of bed.


    This time, his waist felt particularly sore, to the point that Fang Juexia felt bad even when walking, so he walked out slowly in his slippers.


    ¡°Pei Tingsong?¡±


    No one responded to him. The dormitory seemed empty, and Pei Tingsong was also not there. He called again, but no one answered.


    His bedsheets were drying on the balcony of the living room, and no one else would do that besides Pei Tingsong. Maybe he wasn¡¯t here because he had gone to buy something at this time, or he had been called away by Qiang Ge. Fang Juexia decided to wash up first.


    So, Fang Juexia went back to his room. As soon as he pushed open the door, the balcony¡¯s curtain was stirred by the wind. The huge white curtain fluttered and a lush verdant scent poured in, covering Fang Juexia¡¯s face.


    His cellphone vibrated a few times. Fang Juexia walked over and saw a lot of birthday wishes, the names of familiar people and unfamiliar people all rushing and swarming on that small screen.


    Fang Juexia replied to each one with a ¡°thank you¡±, then finally, saw Xiao Wen¡¯s WeChat message.


    [Xiao Wen: Juexia! Happy birthday! By the way, Qiang Ge wants you to post a line on Weibo, just saying thank you to everyone is fine!]


    He replied with an ¡®okay,¡¯ then logged onto Weibo. They said that just saying thank you to everyone was fine, so he really did just post a line saying ¡®Thank you everyone.¡¯ After posting it, he wanted to quit, but his finger slipped unconsciously and he ended up refreshing the home page.


    Unexpectedly, he saw that a media account that he had followed a while back had posted a message about its anniversary.


    [@One Sniff Platform: Today is June 26, International Anti-Drugs Day. Cherish life and stay away from drugs.]


    Fang Juexia stared at this short sentence, carefully looking at it for a long time, then clicked to open the picture attached below, before closing it soon.


    This coincidence seemed to be predestined by the heavens.


    But now, at least, he would no longer be like what he was in the past, when he felt that those two words were so harsh and chilling. Some irony concerning this would always exist, but it wasn¡¯t impossible to face anymore.


    [@Kaleido Fang Juexia: Forwarded a Weibo post.]


    This was the first time he had forwarded something he had wanted to forward without being urged by his agent.


    He would always remember it.


    The room felt stuffy and a little stifling to him. Fang Juexia was used to opening up the curtains in the daytime for ventilation, so he did the same this time too. But when he opened the curtains, he was stunned.


    His little garden was full of snow-white eustoma. On the jasmine branches, gardenias, spider plants, geraniums, and pansies, wherever his eye fell, it all looked like snow.


    There was a eustoma blooming even on that bolt upright cactus.


    Fang Juexia picked them up one by one, finally harvesting a whole bunch of snow colored flowers. The last one was leaning against the cactus, and he squatted down to catch sight of a bow on the cactus pot, signifying a small gift.


    Only at this time did he discover that there was a big dark blue box behind the cactus; this big box was hidden amidst the flowers and plants. He moved the cactus to retrieve the box and then opened the lid, finding a white notebook inside.


    Fang Juexia opened it up and saw the words ¡®Happy Birthday¡¯ written on the first page; it was the handwriting he was most familiar with, in beautiful and open strokes. Upon flipping further through, he realised that every page was filled with Pei Tingsong¡¯s handwriting. Page after page, they were all poems he had written.


    He had said it before¡ªhe would give him everything.


    Fang Juexia¡¯s heart was suddenly full, and he didn¡¯t even dare to read it carefully, so he closed the book. He thought of that afternoon in the hotel before, when Pei Tingsong had told him his grandfather¡¯s story. He said that his grandfather had written a whole book of fruitless love poems.


    Now, Pei Tingsong has done the same thing; he had really put all the words and sentences written for him together and had given them to him as a gift. Inside this notebook was his talent, his nighttime yearning and desire.


    There was a small box under the notebook, which contained a small USB drive. Fang Juexia recognized it as his own USB drive, the one that he had stored his demo on, and which had been taken away by Pei Tingsong.


    Feeling that it was a little strange, Fang Juexia took it out, went to the table, put the flowers and the poetry collection on the table, turned on the computer, and opened the folder on the USB drive.


    There was something there named [to: FJX]


    This was a video. It seemed that the video had been filmed quite a few years ago. At the beginning, it showed a two or three-year-old child sitting in the garden. The sunshine was very strong and shone down on him until he squinted his eyes.


    Fang Juexia heard an old voice calling him Xiao Song. The child turned his head back, raised his little fist, called out ¡°Grandpa,¡± as he began to smile until his eyes curved, looking as lovely as a crescent moon.


    So this was Pei Tingsong when he was a child. Seeing this scene, Fang Juexia¡¯s heart was about to melt. He unconsciously drew closer to the screen and looked at the child.


    It was as if he was now involved in his past.


    As soft music played in the background, he saw the house Pei Tingsong had lived in as a child. It was very beautiful. He saw the swimming pool where he said he had drowned rainbow trout, and he also watched him trample on the withered branches in the winter while letting out childish laughter. In midsummer, he rode on his grandfather¡¯s neck and stretched his little hand to pick apricots.


    Once he grasped it, it was all sunshine.


    All the time Pei Tingsong felt that Fang Juexia had missed, he had sorted them out to place here.


    Fang Juexia¡¯s heart crumbled into small pieces, as if that child had stepped on the top of his heart, and the pieces then softly fell apart. Lost in a trance, he could actually hear his heart beating, the sound coming not from his chest, but from his ears. The background music changed, his sampled heartbeat an extra track now.


    He watched Pei Tingsong growing up bit by bit, gradually going from a very young child to a teenager. Every moment of change had been recorded and stored in this video; however, the words he had cut out and added here were repeated.


    Each of these words was ¡°I love you,¡± with every sentence reflecting off a heartbeat.


    There was when he was a child, sweetly saying ¡°love you,¡± probably to his grandfather. There were also some words he had said after a prank, where he had put on an affected tone, and was deliberately trying to be funny, and there were also some moments when he was sad, when he was wronged, and when he unconsciously recited things when he was reading.


    The end of the video featured him as a teenager, and he was lying in front of a white sickbed, his shoulder blades propping up his empty shirt. He was sobbing, gripping the sheets with his fingers and saying the last ¡°I love you.¡±


    The screen suddenly turned black, leaving only the heartbeat in the background resonating with Fang Juexia.


    It was only now that Fang Juexia discovered that he was actually in tears.


    ¡°I love you.¡± He suddenly heard a confession, in a voice completely different from the previous one. It was not the voice of a young child, nor was it the voice of a vulnerable and confused teenager, but rather, it was the voice of the mature him, the one Fang Juexia was familiar with.


    He said ¡°I love you¡± in a low and gentle way, over and over again in the dark.


    This situation reminded Fang Juexia of his darkness, both safe and warmth. Every ¡°love¡± collided with his heart beat, and his nose sting even more.


    His subconsciously always running internal clock told Fang Juexia that Pei Tingsong had said ¡°I love you¡± a total of 22 times.


    The screen suddenly lit up, and Pei Tingsong¡¯s smiling face appeared in front of his eyes. He was so beautiful that he should be loved by everyone.


    But his eyes only looked at him, with the most honest and passionate love.


    ¡°Juexia, Happy 23rd Birthday.¡±


    Finally, he said it for the 23rd time.


    ¡°I love you.¡±

 CH 94

    Chapter 94 ¨C Eventful Times


    Suddenly, Fang Juexia heard the ¡®Happy Birthday¡¯ song being sung out loud, and turned his head to see Pei Tingsong standing behind him with a tray in his hand, with his right hand blocking the wind from blowing out the candle on the tray.


    Even though Fang Juexia laughed at this sight, it was clear that his eyes were still filled with tears. He felt that this scene was too comical and was at a loss on what was going on; clearly, he hadn¡¯t liked to cry before.


    As Pei Tingsong sang the last verse of the song, he put the tray on the table, and its contents were revealed¡ªthere were longevity noodles and a small cupcake with red velvet strawberry cream, which had a small candle stuck into it, its slender flame fluttering in the wind.


    ¡°I baked this cupcake. It was my first time making it, and the big chiffon cake really drove me crazy, so I could only make cupcakes. However, having just one on a big tray looks better, so don¡¯t dislike it.¡± After that, Pei Tingsong pointed to the bowl of noodles. ¡°These noodles were also made by me. You can eat them however you want, anyway, it¡¯s just to make things happy.¡±


    Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t help but laugh.


    These words didn¡¯t sound at all like someone who studied philosophy.


    When did he make these noodles? It couldn¡¯t have been made just during the time he entered his room?


    Pei Tingsong had really gone to great lengths.


    ¡°Quickly eat it, if it sticks together after a bit, it will become harder to eat.¡± Pei Tingsong picked up the chopsticks and handed them to Fang Juexia, but unexpectedly, Fang Juexia hugged him instead.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± He heard Fang Juexia say softly.


    It was cool around his neck, maybe because his tears were falling down. Pei Tingsong¡¯s heart creased a bit, seeming as if it had been grasped by something.


    Clearly, he wasn¡¯t a gentle person, but after meeting Fang Juexia, he hated that he couldn¡¯t offer up the entire world to him. Even if he knew that he was crying because he was happy, he was still reluctant to see those tears.


    ¡°In front of me, you don¡¯t need to do any emotional management at all. You can cry if you want, and laugh if you want.¡± Pei Tingsong patted him on the back. ¡°But when you cry, I still feel a little sad.¡±


    Fang Juexia nodded, sniffled, and said thank you again.


    ¡°Don¡¯t say thank you to me,¡± Pei Tingsong replied.


    So Fang Juexia, with his head buried in the side of Pei Tingsong¡¯s neck, kissed the side of his neck again. ¡°I love you.¡±


    He could do nothing else but this.


    It was true that his cake had been baked so-so, and his noodles were tasteless, but Fang Juexia still found it all delicious.


    Listening to him complain about his sore waist, Pei Tingsong reached out and rubbed his waist while watching him eat. ¡°You¡¯re so hungry ah, I still have a pile of cupcakes over there. I¡¯ll get you two more?¡±


    Fang Juexia said, ¡°It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve eaten such a small birthday cake. I can finish it in one bite.¡±


    Pei Tingsong increasingly felt that he had spoiled Fang Juexia into developing a temper. ¡°You¡¯re still not satisfied ba, if you¡¯re still not satisfied, next time I¡¯ll¡­¡±


    Fang Juexia blinked and asked, ¡°Do what next time? Never make it for me again?¡±


    Pei Tingsong began to smile, reached out with a hand and wiped the icing at the corner of his mouth. ¡°Next time, I¡¯ll make a big, super big one, okay ba, Gege.¡±


    Fang Juexia nodded contentedly, and then taking advantage of the fact that their bandmates were still not back, furtively kissed him again.


    They watched the video again, and Fang Juexia kept pausing it. He kept asking after every picture¡ªwhere was this, who took it, what happened at that time, and why was he so happy. He never tired of asking questions like this, and Pei Tingsong never tired of answering them.


    With this, it was almost like Fang Juexia had really participated in Pei Tingsong¡¯s past.


    This was the best gift he had ever received.


    After getting together with Pei Tingsong, he felt that he had returned to his childhood, to those days when he was very small and very easily satisfied. Life, at that time, hadn¡¯t been filled with the pressure of running after something and the fear of being alone, or the mechanical practice day after day, or the avoidance of risks and mistakes.


    He was no longer the person who would clench his teeth and keep moving forward in the darkness. Now, there was someone holding his hand, so he could enjoy the moment instead of being forced by time to keep moving forward.


    People were not born unfeeling stalks of grass or trees.


    Fang Juexia was also not a dead branch.


    After all, he now wanted to revive and bloom for the sake of spring.


    July was green, and the biggest winner in the whole of July was also the drama ¡°Green Waves.¡± Both of the two leading actors gained a super large amount of popularity because of their roles in the drama, and the hashtag #Green Waves Finale# exploded directly on the Hot Search list.


    In the last episode, when the female lead found the diary buried under the jacaranda tree, she realized that she herself was the ¡°perfect friend¡± that she had created after her mental breakdown. As her memory rushed back, her silent and deep love for the male lead drowned her completely, like waves rushing over her head. When she woke up again, she found herself lying on the hospital bed, and she had been reborn to the time before her suicide. Originally, she thought that everything since then had been just a dream, but then the male lead came to visit her with a jacaranda flower in his hand. The name he called out was the name of the girl from the illusion, not the original name of the her who had committed suicide. The female lead finally shed tears.


    Everything they had gone through hadn¡¯t been forgotten, and the series finale ended abruptly.


    At both the two climaxes in the last episode, the BGM ¡°Night Trip¡± was played, especially so when they met in the ward at the end. With the superb acting skills of the lead actors, the effect was extraordinary.


    After the finale, a lot of hot discussion appeared online, and ¡°Night Trip¡± once again found itself on the Hot Search list, this time being praised as a divine song.


    [@weareyoung: As soon as the prelude of ¡®Night Trip¡¯ appeared during the finale, my tears started pouring out directly. This wasn¡¯t a dream ah, everything you guys have experienced was real.]


    [@Oranges and Bananas: I broke out with goosebumps at the part with the diary, it¡¯s too strong. ¡®Night Trip¡¯ appearing at that moment must always remain a famous scene, it¡¯s really amazing.]


    [@Real name Amwaying Green Waves: FJX¡¯s cold voice is so infectious, full of youthful regret ah. After hearing the lyrics of ¡°summer is so long and a delight¡± with the male lead finally saying, ¡°You said before that you would accompany me again before the end of the summer to see the sea, do you still want to go?¡±, my tears directly started falling down.]


    When the crew of ¡°Green Waves¡± went on a variety show, they specially invited Fang Juexia as well. However, Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t attend the show because of a scheduling conflict, so he recorded a video with Pei Tingsong, the other creator of the song. During the recording of the program, the staff played that video on the big screen.


    When these two people appeared in the same frame, it almost detonated the scene, with the audience screams almost covering up the voice of the host, thus being a panoramic view of the popularity these boys now had.


    However, only after watching this program did Fang Juexia realize that the original screenwriter for ¡°Green Waves¡± was Editor Xu from ¡®Escape,¡¯ which came as a real surprise to him.


    With a divine song such as ¡°Night Trip¡±, Fang Juexia and Pei Tingsong had successfully become new stars in the field of music creation. They were the two aces of a popular boyband, and they had also joined the popular variety show ¡°Escape For Your Life¡±, so their popularity now ranked at the top amongst young male artists, and there were numerous brands extending olive branches to them, while many music programs were also extending invitations to them.


    However, Fang Juexia had always believed that most of his success this time was due to luck, so he refused a lot of such business activities and devoted himself to studying composition. He also went to the United States several times with Pei Tingsong to study.


    Although Kaleido¡¯s summer album ¡°Last Summer¡± hadn¡¯t participated in the filmed promotional performances category, it still won first place seven times whenever a live vote wasn¡¯t happening at the scene, all because of its growing ranking and high album sales. For a boyband to have produced two big hit albums within half a year, it was pretty much a miracle.


    He Ziyan joined the drama group, Ling Yi took part in a new music competition program, and Lu Yuan had been a mentor on a hip-hop program the entire time. Each Kaleido member¡¯s personal activities were in full swing, and the dormitories that used to be crowded were now empty.


    For Kaleido, this summer was pretty much a good harvest season. Perhaps because of this, time passed faster for them. Busy people often don¡¯t feel the passage of time, and one day, they realized that the summer heat had disappeared, and the air that drifted by their arms carried a hint of coolness. Only then did they realize that autumn was already here.


    After studying composition in a systematic manner, Fang Juexia had made rapid progress, and he had gathered a lot of good demos on hand. He was getting more and more comfortable with creating music, and had started to enjoy playing around with music. Sometimes, he and Pei Tingsong could spend a whole day in his small workshop.


    Originally, everything was going for the better, but that soon proved itself to be just a dream. Zhai Ying, who was filming ¡°Escape For Your Life¡± with them, found herself mired up to her chin in negative news. First, rumors about her being an airborne member due to her background circulated around, and then, rumors about her sexual orientation made their rounds. The girl group she was a part of had been unable to make a comeback for a long time, and with news of their comeback being put out repeatedly, only to be proved false again and again was not good for her. The fans had already had a lot of speculation, and now, the appearance of this negative news affected the impression of passers-by online.


    But with so many episodes having been filmed, they had already become very good friends, and Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t be more clear about Zhai Ying¡¯s personality. It was just that there were few onlookers online who thought independently; most of them were just there to eat melons, and followed suit in yelling and attacking. It didn¡¯t matter whether things were really like this; as long as they were able to vent their emotions, they would consciously benefit.


    After a few days, the rumors had developed to the point of ¡°Zhai Ying quits ¡®Escape For Your Life.¡¯¡± Even after such a long time experiencing rumors flying around, Zhai Ying had never made a sound, but this time, she posted a photo on Weibo. It was a photo of her with the door of the final exit taken after filming the first episode. Many people guessed that it meant that she wouldn¡¯t quit the show.


    Pei Tingsong was the one who told Fang Juexia about this Weibo post.


    At that moment, Fang Juexia didn¡¯t know whether it was out of his friendship with Zhai Ying, or whether he remembered Li Luo¡¯s kindness to him in the beginning days when he was at Astar, but he unexpectedly got the idea to stand up for Zhai Ying. This may not be much for many people, but for Fang Juexia, who had always stayed away from the Internet due to the cyber-violence he had experienced before, this was something he would have hardly done in the past.


    But he still did it this time.


    Fang Juexia actively logged into his account and forwarded Zhai Ying¡¯s Weibo post.


    [@Kaleido Fang Juexia: The scariest thing in the world ¨C Escape¡¯s main door. (Next episode, please also take me along for the group photo)]


    He was the first person in the circle to forward Zhai Ying¡¯s Weibo post, and he didn¡¯t even tell her about it in advance. Following him, Pei Tingsong also forwarded Fang Juexia¡¯s Weibo post.


    [@Kaleido Pei Tingsong: And there¡¯s also me, who by the way, is refuting the person on the right. The scariest thing is the ¡°mental arithmetic brute force cracker¡± on the right / / @Kaleido Fang Juexia: The scariest thing in the world ¨C Escape¡¯s main door. (Next episode, please also take me along for the group photo)]


    After discovering that her Weibo post had been forwarded, Zhai Ying immediately sent Fang Juexia a WeChat message, saying that he plainly should not have gotten involved in this.


    Fang Juexia just replied with the line¡ª ¡®it was necessary¡¯.


    Following them, the whole crew forwarded Zhai Ying¡¯s Weibo post one by one, until finally, even the screenwriter Xu Qichen appeared.


    [@Xu Qichen: Happy, it turns out that the scariest thing in your mind isn¡¯t me ah.]


    In this way, the rumor about Zhai Ying leaving the show collapsed in on itself, and the group spirit displayed by the ¡°Escape For Your Life¡± program group was praised by many people.


    When their bandmates learned about this matter, they even started joking that Fang Juexia was becoming more and more like Pei Tingsong.


    However, Pei Tingsong knew that Fang Juexia must have had other considerations when he did this. After all, he wasn¡¯t an impulsive person.


    There was nothing new under the sun, and there were too many melons to eat and too many scandals to expose in the entertainment circle every day, but what Fang Juexia hadn¡¯t expected was that this time, the rumors would fall on his own family¡¯s bandmate, He Ziyan. The news released the same day He Ziyan returned to Beijing after wrapping up filming.


    They were just celebrating He Ziyan wrapping up filming in the restaurant, with all of them eating happily, when Cheng Qiang went out to answer the phone. It was only after that that everyone came to know what had happened online.


    There was an Internet rumor about He Ziyan¡¯s family that had spread from the anonymous forums to the more formal forums, the source of which could not be verified. It was revealed that his mother was a public servant who had embezzled money, and she was in the public security division, so the netizens from before couldn¡¯t reveal his past, because there were people backing him.


    The expos¨¦ was very descriptive, saying that he had a bad relationship with his family, and that when he was young, he was very rebellious, always fighting and making trouble. He even dropped out of school because he couldn¡¯t get along with his family, and ran away from home to come to the entertainment industry.


    He Ziyan¡¯s tainted family was constantly emphasized between the lines in this piece, with there being vague statements and certain nodding and winking. The water army that had been bought also magnified the corruption, arousing the malice of public opinion even further.


    ¡°What trash has all been written here? It¡¯s groundless.¡± Lu Yuan was so angry that he broke his chopsticks. ¡°People even believe this kind of thing that doesn¡¯t even come with a picture. Just saying that I know someone¡¯s someone¡¯s someone¡¯s friend, that counts as an expos¨¦?¡±


    After reading the piece, Pei Tingsong also thought it was ridiculous. ¡°As soon as someone opens their mouth, someone will believe whatever they say.¡±


    Fang Juexia felt that the other party was being especially malicious; they didn¡¯t make up this rumor sooner or later, but made it blow up right after He Ziyan had finished filming.


    Ling Yi was beside himself with anger. ¡°It can¡¯t be Astar again ba.¡±


    With the previous incident concerning the leaked song, coupled with several altercations after, Astar was the foe that they dreaded the most.


    Fang Juexia, who had an old feud with Astar, shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t think so, this timing is very strange. Ziyan¡¯s recent popularity is high, but the highest peak should have been when the official publicity for the drama started. They didn¡¯t release any rumors at that time, and they also didn¡¯t release any rumors when the drama was about to start filming. Instead, they deliberately waited until the drama finished filming to release the rumors¡­.¡±


    As he said this, he looked at He Ziyan. ¡°The purpose I can come up with is that they probably want to stigmatize the actors. After all, the rumor created this time is very sensitive and special; it¡¯s very easy for it to go out of the circle, and it¡¯s very likely that netizens who don¡¯t know the truth will follow suit and boycott the drama. If it really got to that point, if the filming side wants to protect the drama, it may replace Ziyan, but public opinion will still greatly hurt the audience numbers for this drama. If they still keep Ziyan, the drama will basically gain an abandoned status.¡±


    Pei Tingsong nodded. ¡°Once the accusation is really established, no matter what they do, it¡¯s both the actor and cast who will be getting harmed. So the source of rumor, in my opinion, is probably the financiers who have a competitive relationship with the drama team.¡±


    This analysis was chilling.


    Cheng Qiang¡¯s brain was spinning fast, and he contacted several reliable people well-versed in public relations in his circle. However, he also felt very uncomfortable; in order to avoid rumors to this extent, they had to actually call in the public relations department.


    At the dining table, He Ziyan, who hadn¡¯t spoken from start to finish, suddenly laughed. ¡°This move is really cruel.¡±


    He was right, it was really cruel. Fang Juexia thought corruption wasn¡¯t a matter that ordinary netizens could investigate and figure out the truth behind. The sensitivity of this kind of incident provided too much convenience for Internet rumors; if they couldn¡¯t figure out the truth, the words ¡®sensitive matter¡¯ could always be pushed out in justification.


    In addition, many people were curious about He Ziyan¡¯s private life. He had never mentioned his parents, and he had experienced many things. It was mysterious before, but now that the card of ¡®mother¡¯ had been shuffled forward as his big background and everything had been exposed, it made everything seem logical. These coincidences were particularly applicable in this play, which this rumor-maker had deliberately created.


    In fact, the group members also didn¡¯t know about He Ziyan¡¯s family. Although they had a close relationship, each of them had left enough boundaries for each other. Everyone had the right to keep secrets, but sometimes asking was also a kind of concern.


    But, at this time, Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t help thinking that no matter what kind of family environment He Ziyan had come from, unless he possessed a background like Pei Tingsong¡¯s, there was no possibility of peacefully handling such rumors.


    This was because even if you simply reveal your own family, and then involve your parents as well, there will still be people who wouldn¡¯t believe it.


    ¡°But with this issue, they could also count as having a flaw in their plan.¡±


    He Ziyan suddenly opened his mouth, and his words confused everyone.


    Fang Juexia looked up at him to see that he picked up the cup, and was tilting his head back to take a gulp of alcohol. He then smiled broadly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, everyone. I have a way to clarify this.¡±


    He said this in such a sure manner, but Fang Juexia felt it even more strange. Although he didn¡¯t know He Ziyan¡¯s family, after being together so long, he had pretty much felt He Ziyan¡¯s indifference towards this matter. Maybe it was because he was the same as himself, or maybe he was the same as Pei Tingsong, and he maintained almost no contact with his family.


    Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t help saying, ¡°Ziyan, wait a minute. If it¡¯s all made clear, the people in your family¡­¡±


    ¡°I have no family.¡± He Ziyan said with a smile, ¡°I am an orphan.¡±


    This sentence stunned everyone in the private room.


    He had kept silent about the subject of family to his bandmates, and saying that they didn¡¯t secretly guess at his situation was impossible, but no one had ever thought that the truth was like this.


    He had said that he had no family to help him choose as if he had been talking about the weather. It wasn¡¯t that he was indifferent to his family, but that he really had no family.


    Generally speaking, they were similar, and Jiang Miao, whose parents had died early, gave him a complicated look.


    Ling Yi couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°Fire Ge, then back then you¡­¡±


    He Ziyan¡¯s face looked as relaxed as usual, as if he was talking about something not related to himself. ¡°Back then, I grew up in a welfare home; in fact, it was an orphanage. I had been there for as long as I can remember, and I had no father or mother, only the auntie and the dean of the welfare home. In fact, it was very good in the beginning. We could still attend school in the welfare home, there were young volunteers who helped teach us, and you could leave if someone adopted you. But I couldn¡¯t bear to leave the dean, so I never left.


    ¡°Later, when the dean fell ill, the welfare home couldn¡¯t manage its finances and collapsed. I was 14 years old then, and I was adopted by a family. But because the father of that family often beat me, I ran away.¡±


    Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t imagine He Ziyan¡¯s life at that time. He had no father or mother, the welfare home in which he had lived disappeared, and he was abused by his adoptive father. Finally, he had to run away and start living on his own that early on in life.


    Lu Yuan, who was sitting beside He Ziyan, simply grabbed his shoulder, without saying anything.


    He Ziyan¡¯s fingers gently and slowly drew circles on the table, and with his eyes still lowered, he spoke in a voice that was still very calm, ¡°Later, I went to work secretly; restaurants, bars, I did a lot of jobs. I liked music, so I earned money every day to save money, so that I could buy the musical instruments I wanted to buy. Sometimes I would sing in the bar for a whole week, singing all night long.¡±


    Then he looked up and laughed. ¡°It¡¯s been a long time. Now when you want me to recall it, I can¡¯t remember many things.¡±


    Seeing the smile on his face, Fang Juexia heart stung a bit. He Ziyan, who always clowned around, could actually smile like this.


    ¡°It¡¯s all in the past.¡± Cheng Qiang remembered that when he was recruited into the company, He Ziyan didn¡¯t ask if he would be able to make a debut. He had just asked him if the company would arrange courses in vocal music and composition for him?


    When Cheng Qiang replied yes, he came.


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s all stuff that happened a long time ago, you guys shouldn¡¯t worry about it.¡± He Ziyan raised his eyebrows and said, ¡°Fortunately, at that time, because I was reluctant to give it up, I kept the certificates from the welfare home. Those can be used as proof for clarification. Yes, they made use of something that was difficult to clarify to deal with me, because they felt that no matter what family I was from, as long as I didn¡¯t have a powerful background, it would be very difficult for me to get out of this mess, but I¡¯m really sorry.¡±


    He Ziyan smiled. ¡°I really don¡¯t have a family.¡±

 CH 95

    Chapter 95 ¨C Constant Turmoil


    ¡°Fire Ge.¡± Ling Yi ran over and hugged He Ziyan¡¯s neck from behind. ¡°Don¡¯t say it like that, I¡¯m so sad.¡±


    ¡°Hey, hey, you¡¯re gripping me too tight.¡± He Ziyan laughed, and when he turned his head to see Ling Yi crying again, he found it both funny and pitiful. ¡°You really are a cry-baby, crying whenever you meet anything. Just don¡¯t get any snot on me.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just very sad.¡± Ling Yi¡¯s mouth was pursed, and his tears were still dripping down, one big drop after another. Lu Yuan was the same, gulping down cup after cup of alcohol after hearing this, both angry and sad. ¡°They must think you will explode in popularity after this drama, and want to prevent that from happening. Last time, it was gossip about an affair, this time, it¡¯s about family, they¡¯re too disgusting.¡±


    Fang Juexia understood them being in such a mood. Lu Yuan and Ling Yi came from happy families, and even more, Ling Yi was a child who had been spoiled as he was growing up. When he thought of He Ziyan¡¯s life, he would definitely compare it with his own, and would be very sympathetic.


    On the contrary, Jiang Miao, Pei Tingsong, and him, the three of them seemed very silent; they wanted to comfort He Ziyan, but couldn¡¯t think of any words to comfort him with. Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t help but glance at Pei Tingsong, only to see him looking down, his eyelashes casting long shadows under the booth¡¯s light, making him imagine the clouds that floated in the sky during midsummer, and how the shadows of those clouds would also appear on the ground.


    Jiang Miao had been very silent from the beginning; he was always calm, but he was also the most comforting person in their group. Fang Juexia looked at his thin shoulders; he had worked too hard after his drama had started filming, and he seemed to have shrunk a bit.


    It was also strange to think that there were several children from unhappy families in their group. It seemed like a coincidence, but it was just that real.


    Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t help recalling how, when he was a child, his teacher always said that the adjective in front of the word ¡®family¡¯ should be ¡°happy¡± and ¡°blessed¡±, and so he would look forward to such a ¡®happy¡¯ family, mistakenly thinking that everyone¡¯s family was a happy family.


    Now, it seemed that everyone was aware of only the changes they personally went through in life, while there were how many broken families that really existed around everyone.


    They couldn¡¯t continue eating their celebratory meal anymore, so Cheng Qiang arranged for people to send the members back to their dormitories, while asking Jiang Miao to comfort He Ziyan a bit before he rushed back to the company to work overtime.


    On the way from the parking lot to the dormitory elevator, the  people in front talked noisily, while Fang Juexia and Jiang Miao walked behind.


    ¡°Miao Ge,¡± Fang Juexia took the initiative to ask, ¡°have you known about this for a long time?¡± In fact, his tone made it clear that he wasn¡¯t asking a question, and that he was just verifying his own answer.


    Jiang Miao also smiled. ¡°Yes.¡±


    His eyes moved to He Ziyan who was walking in front of him. ¡°When I first entered the company, the company arranged for us to live together. He asked me why I cared for my younger sister so much, and I confessed that my parents had died together in the plane crash, leaving just the two of us to grow up together with relatives, which is why I can¡¯t help but take care of her.¡± He took a breath. ¡°Later, he told me about his matters. With everyone comparing their miseries together, and then both looking after each other, life didn¡¯t seem so miserable anymore.¡±


    Fang Juexia had guessed something similar.


    After listening to Jiang Miao¡¯s words, the idea that he should confess to them also popped up in Fang Juexia¡¯s mind, that he should tell them about everything that he had gone through, from his nightmarish father to the darkness that he had dealt with for so many years.


    But looking at the heaviness on Jiang Miao¡¯s face, he felt that now was not a good time. He didn¡¯t want his experience to cloud over other people¡¯s worries.


    They were similar, both covered with a mature shell. If they took it off, what one may find hidden inside may still be a child who couldn¡¯t grow up or run away. No matter how much time passed, that child would always be hiding inside.


    No one could erase the existence of this child, and the best way to deal with him was to maintain a peaceful coexistence with him.


    From not too far away, Ling Yi waved at them, who were behind him, and yelled, ¡°Hurry up ya, the elevator is closing.¡±


    ¡°The definition of family is sometimes very narrow.¡± Fang Juexia suddenly opened his mouth again, and sounded as if he were making some kind of mathematical conjecture or judgment.


    Jiang Miao, who had already walked forward quickly, turned back upon hearing Fang Juexia and looked at him with complicated eyes. He looked at his thin shoulders and the rare fire in his always cold eyes right now.


    ¡°We are family, too.¡± He said seriously.


    .


    Cheng Qiang went back to the company and dealt with this matter while restraining his anger. The mess last time, the one about the dating gossip, could be said to simply be a common routine in the circle, but the rumors this time were just low-down and the worst.


    Originally, with this type of gossip creating an uproar, Star Chart and the public relations team would have found it difficult to reduce the impact of such rumors, because no matter how they tried to explain and clarify it, no one could really speak about sensitive matters, moreso with it termed as corruption. Some people would say it was an issue with the public security system, while others would say it involved the financial affairs of an enterprise; in a word, the moment the rumor first came out, then no matter what, anyone could say that the upper authorities weren¡¯t allowed to make the entire matter public, and could seize to distort the matter using that pretext.


    Even if He Ziyan¡¯s real parents were pulled out, it couldn¡¯t guarantee that the other side wouldn¡¯t go along with this and say that what they spread about was false. Most people just wanted to believe in whatever story they wanted to see.


    Who could have known that the reason He Ziyan had always been evasive and unclear was because he really had no parents.


    Cheng Qiang felt very powerless. In order to clarify the rumors, these boys had to reveal their scars, but if they didn¡¯t clarify the matter, then He Ziyan¡¯s efforts up until now would have been in vain.


    This was probably something that had to be endured on the climb up to the top.


    Star Chart¡¯s clarification plan was executed very quickly; the relevant documents were listed one by one, which included all the certificates that He Ziyan had given them, the old documents from the orphanage, and the collective account of the work he had done as an adult. There were all kinds of documents, and all of them together proved that He Ziyan did not belong to any family.


    Along with this announcement, Star Chart posted a strongly-worded message, using very serious words for the first time in order to express their anger. The fans and many other deceived netizens also expressed anger at the rumor after this clarification was released.


    [@melody: It¡¯s too much, forcing people to take out their identity as an orphan in order to clarify the matter.]


    [@I also like Kaleido today: The rumormaker is dead, I¡¯m so distressed over my Fire Ge 55555. He¡¯s so happy every day, and you can¡¯t tell at all]


    [@pinkoh: Ah¡­so it turns out it¡¯s like this¡­before, when watching their ensemble show, I felt like everyone mentioned their family, and only HZY didn¡¯t. I thought back then that he had a bad relationship with his family, but I never imagined he was an abandoned child. This rumormaker really deserves to die.]


    Although they had to wash their dirty linen in public, this matter was finally dealt with. The drama crew, after communicating with Star Chart, also published a Weibo post protecting their actors, calling on ¡°the ill-intentioned people¡± to compete fairly.


    Nobody thought that this malicious rumor would end with such a sob. The furor of the matter lasted for three or four days, and many people clamoured that everyone needed to resist the bad atmosphere created by rumor-mongering in the entertainment circle. This made a big splash, making it seem as if the netizens would really start to resist it.


    But Fang Juexia knew better than anyone that once the next rumor appeared, many people would step into it again like before, eat the melons they felt were sweet, and would become the anonymous accomplices carrying those rumors forward.


    Perhaps it had gone on for too long, or maybe because He Ziyan was really not good at showing weakness, but even if the members were drinking and chatting together, he would still laugh like he was used to and joke about his previous terrible matters.


    ¡°If these things happened to others, they might have already talked about it tearfully in a reality TV show several times,¡± Pei Tingsong said sharply.


    He Ziyan shook his head. ¡°That¡¯s not okay, my complaints can¡¯t destroy my image as a silly head gong.¡±


    Lu Yuan laughed. ¡°Hahahahaha, is that even a good reputation?¡±


    Pei Tingsong was unconvinced. ¡°I approve the part in the front, but you are not the head gong.¡±


    Fang Juexia glanced at him and asked calmly, ¡°Is the head gong position decided on our childishness level?¡±


    Ling Yi laughed until his stomach hurt. ¡°Hahahahaha, what¡¯s going on with your guys¡¯ gong group?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t talk about it, what gong or shou ah?¡± Jiang Miao stopped them. ¡°Fortunately, there is no camera filming right now, otherwise everyone would know that you guys are secretly reading gay stories.¡±


    Under the arrangement of the company and the program team, He Ziyan went to Ling Yi¡¯s music program as a guest to help the singers. As soon as people got busy, things turned around quickly.


    However, Fang Juexia still felt a little uneasy. In the past, he had thought that rumors would only be about himself, but he didn¡¯t expect that they would also involve family members. Work went on, as did the right and wrong in the entertainment industry. Today, it was about his bandmate, and the next day it was about his family. He didn¡¯t know if it was because he had been in the circle for too long, but Fang Juexia kept thinking of himself while looking at other¡¯s experiences.


    It was like being forced to swallow bowls of white rice mixed with fish bones; they already didn¡¯t want to consume it, and then, they also had to protect against the spines inside the bowl, wondering if one day, it would scratch their throats.


    But there was no other way; when they weren¡¯t popular, everything was calm and still, but now that they had gotten popular, none of these things could be stopped.


    Kaleido had risen faster than any of them could imagine, having spent two years dormant before exploding in popularity this year. The two gold lettered signs of ¡®strength¡¯ and ¡®originality¡¯ tagged on them made them unique among boybands. They had even jumped over the transformation process most idol groups had to go through by leaving their own position and name in the music world.


    The biggest fear among boybands was uneven popularity among members. Now, in addition to their two top members, the other members were also blooming in other fields. All of the members boasted of a very stable popularity, and long-term development was not a problem for any of them.


    There were too many dramas looking for Fang Juexia, all offering the lead male lead role to him, but he didn¡¯t care about acting, and he didn¡¯t really like doing variety shows either. It was even more difficult to arrange these things for Pei Tingsong. However, even though their exposure rate was not greater than that of their bandmates, their popularity grew higher day by day, especially when it came to their CP fans. It was completely unprecedented, with the power of any one of their CP fan stations being enough to topple any of that of the only-fan stations of Kaleido.


    Star Chart didn¡¯t force them to work, but they were constantly invited to do advertisements, and the fashion circle also favored them. One magazine cover after the other invited them, and later, even a blue-blooded luxury brand extended an olive branch to them, arranging for them to come see one of their shows. Fang Juexia listened to the company¡¯s arrangement and agreed. Gradually, their modeling clothes changed from before, and the clothes for shooting the single person covers were also specially sponsored by the brand.


    The rumors online changed even faster. Since they had changed to adapt a high luxury brand style, many gossip forums had already begun to discuss it. Many posts and threads had been created on these forums, saying that Fang Juexia had found a new financier with a strong background and great strength, which allowed him to face absolutely no problems on his climb to the top. The rumors were suspended once before being reposted, which made Xiao Wen so angry that he kept losing his temper in the car every day.


    ¡°Where is this financier? If you had a financier, would you still have to work so hard?¡±


    When Fang Juexia heard him say this, he just felt that these rumors were of a rather ordinary fare. He had become very popular too quickly in a short amount of time. Even before, when he was not popular, there had been all sorts of rumors, and even now, there were constant disturbances, so it was useless for him to worry about them. ¡°Are there few of these kinds of rumors? This kind of news can¡¯t cause any big disturbances, don¡¯t worry about it.¡±


    Unexpectedly, Pei Tingsong, who was sitting next to him, joined in on the excitement.


    [A Constant Truth: I¡¯m the original financier; I¡¯m rich, have a good background, am protecting you, and I¡¯m even handsome.]


    Reading this message made Fang Juexia feel that it was both infuriating and funny.


    [Moonlight: Shameless.]


    Seeing this word, Pei Tingsong began to laugh.


    [A Constant Truth: Gege, just this much is shameless? You¡¯ve been with me for so long, and your temper is getting bigger and bigger, but your face hasn¡¯t become thicker at all.]


    [A Constant Truth: I have many shameless things to do with you.]


    Fang Juexia blushed as he read these words, so he turned his face and looked straight ahead without looking at him. But just as he did this, the cellphone in his hand vibrated again. Xiao Wen, who was in the passenger seat, thought it was strange. ¡°Whose cellphone is it that keeps vibrating?¡±


    He had to look down and read the incoming message.


    [A Constant Truth: You¡¯re not allowed to hide, I¡¯m really going to bully you in earnest.]


    This guy was really¡­. Fang Juexia puffed himself up, turned his face to look at him, and glared at him.


    As soon as their eyes met, Pei Tingsong smiled at him. His smile was so childish, with his eyes curving into crescents, and he even mouthed at him silently, ¡°You are so cute.¡±


    He really couldn¡¯t do anything to him, it was hard to even pretend to be angry with him. Only after Fang Juexia took a deep breath, turned his head, and looked out of the window, did he manage to hide the smile on his face.


    The sweet-scented osmanthus blossoms on the side of the road fell to the ground in milky yellow dots, all fragments of autumn. As the wind swirled, their fragrance wafted through the window.


    So sweet.


    Cheng Qiang found them for a meeting; the others hadn¡¯t arrived yet, only Fang Juexia and Pei Tingsong had come in early, so he first explained the recent brand endorsement to them. ¡°The brand merchants really like your popularity and reputation at present, but in order to be safe, they are planning to give you guys only the title of style ambassador first, and then they¡¯ll wait until the new year to promote you guys to spokespersons officially. By then, the cover-shoot for your guys¡¯ magazine should also be quite complete.¡±


    Fang Juexia only nodded, not speaking.


    Pei Tingsong leaned back on the chair and said lazily, ¡°Isn¡¯t it just about picking a new face? But they¡¯re dragging it on this much.¡±


    ¡°You got something good, and you¡¯re still showing off your cleverness, not even thinking about how long you¡¯ve been popular for?¡± Cheng Qiang told the assistants to put the papers away properly, and then warned, ¡°Be very careful right now, especially you, Xiao Pei, don¡¯t quarrel online, be a bit more steady, and don¡¯t make trouble. In the blink of an eye, it¡¯ll be the end of the year, then the release of your winter album, and all sorts of major parties and awards ceremonies will be held. By then, we¡¯ll be so busy, we¡¯ll never be done. Now, keep a low profile for me, understand?¡±


    Fang Juexia nodded obediently and even pressed Pei Tingsong¡¯s head down to make him nod along with him as well.


    It was just at this time that Ling Yi pushed open the door and came in. ¡°Your baby Ling Yi has arrived!¡±


    Pei Tingsong pretended to be deaf and dumb. ¡°Who? Who¡¯s a 1?¡±


    ¡°You little brat Xiao Pei.¡± Ling Yi pinched his neck from behind and shook it desperately. ¡°Have you been infected by your CP fans to become deaf like this?¡±


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t get the joke and asked, ¡°What does that mean?¡±


    He Ziyan came in with Ling Yi. ¡°Just now, we used our side accounts to scroll through Weibo, and saw that your guys¡¯ only-fans and CP fans had started to quarrel. Good god, they were flaming to the point that that¡¯s what you call it¡ª a murky sky over a dark earth with neither the sun nor moon giving off any light.¡±


    Pei Tingsong kicked him with his foot. ¡°Are you narrating a book?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve discovered my hidden skill.¡± He Ziyan sat next to him and continued, ¡°It¡¯s normal for fans to tear into each other every day, but it¡¯s too exciting when your fans quarrel. Isn¡¯t your CP called TingJue? So, it¡¯s all blue skies over the TingJue girls¡¯ heads and because you two interact too much, they¡¯ve become more publicized. Then they were cursed out by the only-fans; it¡¯s fine if they just curse them out ba, but they even gave the CP fans a bad nickname.¡±


    Fang Juexia, who hardly ever surfed online, was a little surprised. ¡°Even fans have bad nicknames?¡±


    ¡°Yes ah! What did they call them, do you know? ¡± Ling Yi tried to hold back his laughter. ¡°Deaf girls! Hahahahahahaha!¡±


    De-deaf?


    He Ziyan repeatedly sighed. ¡°It¡¯s really a pun, just too wonderful. It¡¯s not only related to TingJue, but also criticizes and curses out the CP fans as being deaf and dumb, not waking up no matter how they¡¯re yelled at, taking the fake to be real.¡±


    Saying that, Fang Juexia unavoidably felt a bit guilty; after all, they really were real, and were just pretending to be fake while switching in something real.


    Pei Tingsong clicked his tongue. ¡°People can call them whatever they want, but they even came up with a bad nickname.¡±


    ¡°You think it¡¯s only-fans giving CP fans names ah, isn¡¯t it all the same flipped around.¡± Ling Yi was like someone who was enumerating a family¡¯s valuables when regarding his bandmates¡¯ fan circles. ¡°Look, don¡¯t you have the nickname Putuo Temple Site from before? Your only-fans always call themselves believers, and they¡¯re saying that the believers are willing to be vegetarian all their lives in exchange for the deaf girls being able to hear and see clearly.¡±


    Fang Juexia accidentally laughed, then opened up a bottle of water in order to suppress it.


    Ling Yi added, ¡°Yet, as a result, the TingJue girls hit back, saying that they were afraid that the believers at Putuo Temple Site weren¡¯t all nuns.¡±


    He Ziyan started laughing hard. ¡°Hey, hey, I saw another one. Because Juexia¡¯s full name can be abbreviated as Hairline, the CP fans say that Juexia¡¯s poisonous only-fans are girls with receding hairlines, that is, bald girls. Putuo Temple Site nuns paired with bald girls, even your poisonous only-fans match perfectly, no wonder they quarrel every day.


    ¡°If they quarrel, that¡¯s nothing much, but Sansan also taught me a phrase: I curse you, and you curse me, and my two Gege sleep together, you¡¯ll see.¡±


    Fang Juexia almost choked on his own saliva.


    With the two of them mocking it, even the quarrel became funny.


    Cheng Qiang, however, had a headache. ¡°Be careful with your side accounts for me, you better keep your masks on tightly. Some time ago, a little flower¡¯s mask fell off, and even her love affair was accidentally exposed, and there was so much uproar over it.¡±


    ¡°Understood¡ª¡±


    Onceall the people arrived, the meeting shifted into business mode. Cheng Qiang collected and explained all the work they had done since the beginning of the year; there was a whole heap of stuff, and everyone grew sleepy just listening to it. Just when Ling Yi was bored enough to start secretly playing Xiao Xiao Le under the table, Cheng Qiang finally changed the topic.


    ¡°Another more important matter is about your tour.¡±


    The six people came to life in a flash.


    ¡°A tour???¡±


    ¡°Are we going to have a concert?¡±


    ¡°When? Where is the first performance? Beijing?¡±


    Cheng Qiang moved his hands up and down in the air to suppress them a bit. ¡°Calm down, okay? It¡¯s like you guys have never had a concert before.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve never had one ah!¡±


    Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t help laughing. He thought it would be a long time before they could have their own concert, but he didn¡¯t expect that this day would come faster than he had expected.


    Cheng Qiang explained, ¡°There are many things to prepare for a concert, such as determining the concept, selecting the venue and doing the paperwork for it, negotiating for sponsors, designing the special effects, re-choreographing, and rehearsing¡­ It¡¯ll probably take more than half a year. Most of your fans are still students, so we have preliminarily determined that it will be during summer vacation next year.¡±


    ¡°So long ah.¡± Ling Yi pulled a pillow into his arms and complained, ¡°There¡¯s more than half a year left.¡±


    Jiang Miao said with a smile, ¡°It¡¯s very good. This way, the winter album will also have been released, and with two regular albums plus three mini albums, plus each member¡¯s solo, we will certainly have enough repertoire for the concert.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Cheng Qiang sat down and said, ¡°You can also invite your senior brothers to be your guest.¡±


    Normally, Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t pay much attention in meetings, but he raised his hand this time. ¡°Question, will one of the concert venues be Guangzhou?¡±


    Fang Juexia was stunned and looked at him immediately.


    Lu Yuan first took over. ¡°There must be some held there ba, the first tier cities of Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou must all be there ah.¡±


    ¡°I also want to go to Guangzhou,¡± said Ling Yi, happily rocking back and forth, looking like an electric sunflower toy bought from a roadside stand. ¡°The food in Guangzhou is delicious.¡±


    Cheng Qiang nodded. ¡°As long as nothing unexpected happens, there should be some held there. The company¡¯s current idea is to hold ten concerts in China first, and then concerts abroad will be determined later.¡±


    He Ziyan couldn¡¯t help but complain, ¡°Small obscure K can actually do an overseas concert?¡±


    ¡°Hahahaha!¡±


    By the time the meeting ended, it was evening. Cheng Qiang urged them to go back, while he had to deal with some mail in the company. The weather had gotten colder, but the weather in Beijing was always unpredictable. The weather during daytime was still the cool and crisp autumn weather, but as soon as it got dark, the wind started whistling. Fang Juexia only wore a sweater over his shirt, and looking from behind, his gaunt shoulders stood out with their thinness, and his pale ankles were also thin.


    After two steps, Pei Tingsong grabbed him and said, ¡°Accompany me to the workshop to get something.¡±


    Fang Juexia found this gesture inexplicable. ¡°Now?¡±


    ¡°En.¡±


    He said he wanted to get something, so Fang Juexia would certainly go with him. After opening the door, Fang Juexia stood outside and waited. Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t turn on the light; he simply took down a dark brown windbreaker coat from the back of the swivel chair, then pulled Fang Juexia in, closed the door, put the windbreaker on his shoulders, took his arm, and helped him put his arms into the sleeves before buttoning it up. He tied up the belt of the jacket, all the while thinking that Fang Juexia¡¯s waist was very thin.


    Looking down at Gege¡¯s waist for a while, Pei Tingsong loosened it up again. ¡°Don¡¯t fasten it.¡±


    Fang Juexia¡¯s face was smiling. With no lights on, the room was shrouded in darkness, and only the moonlight outside the window was shining on his face. It was like a layer of frost covering a gentle ice beauty.


    Pei Tingsong couldn¡¯t help but lower his head and pull his belt until he was pulled into his embrace. Fang Juexia, who couldn¡¯t see clearly, could only sense the gentle smell of sea salt as it wrapped around him. Hot and humid kisses fell down like rain, his teeth were pried open, and his tongue was hooked out. As they entangled together, his hands moved unconsciously up, as they always did in this situation, and he grasped the fabric of Pei Tingsong¡¯s coat.


    With just a kiss, he felt the taste of love all the way from the inside to outside.


    ¡°It¡¯s cold outside,¡± Pei Tingsong said with his forehead lowered.


    Fang Juexia let out a soft ¡°en¡±, and then heard him volunteering, ¡°I¡¯ll help you warm up.¡±


    And he did so by grinding up against Fang Juexia in the dark, while his heavy breathing pressed him into retreating. As soon as he retreated a bit, Pei Tingsong attacked, and just like that, he stumbled step by step until he had no space to retreat to, for his back was now against the door. As Pei Tingsong went from his lips to the side of his neck, to his collarbone under his shirt, Fang Juexia panted a few times, his face hot, and only then did he stop.


    After finishing kissing him, Pei Tingsong was still a little unhappy. He straightened Fang Juexia¡¯s collar. ¡°You see how little you wear, your lips and face are cold.¡±


    ¡°Only the sick would feel hot,¡± Fang Juexia quibbled.


    Pei Tingsong pinched the tip of his chin. ¡°Then are you not embarrassed right now, are you sick?¡±


    Indeed, it was worse than being sick.


    Fang Juexia was hot all over, but he couldn¡¯t get anything good out of quarelling with him, so he could only switch the topic, ¡°What did you want to get?¡±


    Pei Tingsong pulled him out. ¡°It¡¯s on you, little one.¡±


    On hearing this address, Fang Juexia felt as if his heart had been scratched by a cat¡¯s paw. He said solemnly, ¡°If you can¡¯t calculate our ages, I¡¯ll tell you. I¡¯m three years older than you, I¡¯m your Ge.¡±


    ¡°To be precise, it¡¯s two and a half years.¡±


    The two of them snarked at each other as they walked down the corridor and actually bumped into Cheng Qiang, who came out of the office in a hurry. He was just removing his cellphone from his ear, it was clear that he must have just ended a phone call.


    Pei Tingsong felt it was strange and called out, ¡°Qiang Ge.¡± Only then did Cheng Qiang turn back. ¡°Why are you guys still here? Perfect, Juexia, there¡¯s something I have to discuss with you?¡±


    What was the matter now?


    Fang Juexia had a bad feeling and didn¡¯t speak. He simply  looked up at him.


    When Cheng Qiang walked over, he hesitated when he saw Pei Tingsong. Fang Juexia was calm and said, ¡°It¡¯s okay, Ge. You say it directly ba.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s your father¡¯s matter.¡± Cheng Qiang originally only knew that Fang Juexia was from a single parent family, but he didn¡¯t know about the specific situation of his father, so he talked about it as if carrying the idea that this could all just be a rumor. ¡°I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s true, but an anonymous e-mail was sent to us, saying that they have evidence of your father taking drugs. Now they are asking us for fees to not report it publically, and if we don¡¯t give it to them, they will find another company to reveal the matter to.¡±


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s face suddenly grew cold. ¡°How much is it?¡±


    ¡°Seven digits.¡± Cheng Qiang frowned and looked at the real person who was involved. ¡°The company can also pay this¡­¡±


    A smile appeared on Fang Juexia¡¯s mouth. His voice was very light, containing no emotions, but he interrupted Cheng Qiang for the very first time¡ª


    ¡°Dream on.¡±

 CH 96

    Chapter 96 ¨C If You Throw Enough Mud, Some Of It Will Stick


    Fang Juexia clenched his fists tightly, his emotions surging up as soon as he heard about this matter, almost drowning him.


    But he soon became rational. When he looked up at Cheng Qiang, a trace of regret appeared in his heart.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Qiang Ge. I kept trying to prepare to confess this entire matter to you, but this entire time, I haven¡¯t found a suitable opportunity to do so.¡±


    Cheng Qiang was really surprised to see this news at first, but the recent storms had honed his endurance. He pulled them into the office, made them sit down, and then said, ¡°It¡¯s also very hard for you to speak on this private matter, and right now, they still haven¡¯t directly exposed us, so there is still room for us to maneuver. Let¡¯s hold off the other side first; the company has to discuss such a large PR expense required to suppress this news, so the other party shouldn¡¯t announce it immediately.¡±


    ¡°Qiang Ge,¡± Pei Tingsong said, ¡°send me that anonymous email, and I¡¯ll have someone investigate it.¡±


    Cheng Qiang nodded. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll contact the PR team.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll come along with you,¡± Pei Tingsong said as he lowered his head to send a message. ¡°If we¡¯re going to invite a PR team, I¡¯ll invite the most expensive and best PR team. There¡¯s been pile after pile of garbage appearing recently, and I¡¯ve wanted to clean them up for a long time now.¡±


    Cheng Qiang sighed and looked at Fang Juexia. ¡°Juexia, now that things have already come to this stage, I hope you can tell me all about it.¡±


    Fang Juexia¡¯s inner struggle was not because he was unwilling to talk about it, but that facing up to his father¡¯s ugliness was too painful. However, right now, he had no other choice.


    He took a deep breath and looked at Cheng Qiang, trying to find the most calm and objective words to describe his past.


    ¡°My father used to be a promising dancer, but he was disabled by a stage accident, and his career was ruined. Later, he became a drunk, unleashed domestic abuse on us, and became addicted to drugs. He abandoned my mother and me ten years ago, leaving with all the money from our family. Not long ago, I saw him again. He had been a drug addict for many years, and the first time we met again, he tried to knock me out, kidnap me, and bring me away in exchange for drug money. Later, we sent him to the rehab center. I thought it would be over after that, but didn¡¯t expect that¡­¡±


    Throughout the whole narration, he spoke clearly, without any emotions, while also omitting the details. It seemed as if he was just repeating something that had nothing to do with him. However, Cheng Qiang, who was listening to it, only felt that every word of his was weeping with blood. He couldn¡¯t imagine how these things were something that a father could do to his own son at all.


    Knock out, kidnap, exchange for money.


    These were all real experiences Fang Juexia had undergone that they didn¡¯t know anything about. From the first day that Cheng Qiang had taken over Kaleido, the one he had loved the most was the child in front of him. Plainly everything about him was the best, but because he was taciturn and afraid of making mistakes, he lived every single day as if he were on a highwire.


    He couldn¡¯t help gripping Fang Juexia¡¯s shoulder after listening to this, but Fang Juexia just shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯m just very sorry that I didn¡¯t tell you guys about it back when he appeared. Now, with everything happening, it¡¯s all become so frantic.¡±


    Cheng Qiang said with a bitter smile, ¡°Even if you had told us back then, it wouldn¡¯t have been that useful. If someone really wants to connect a father who is addicted to drugs with his son, even if we had started preparing way back during your guys¡¯ debut, we would have no way to cut our losses.¡±


    Debut.


    Upon hearing that word, Fang Juexia just felt that his throat was completely dry and hoarse, and that his face seemed to be covered in a thicket of tens of thousands of icy cold needles.


    He was born with a birthmark on his face, and also had night blindness, an illness that made him completely unsuitable for performing on a dark stage, and on top of all of this, he was even carrying the ticking time bomb of having a drug addict for a father.


    He was such a person, such a him.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Fang Juexia raised his head, his eyes red, and murmured, ¡°In fact, I shouldn¡¯t have debuted at all¡­¡±


    Pei Tingsong immediately took his hand. ¡°What are you talking about? Fang Juexia, I¡¯m going to repeat myself, you were born to belong on the stage. If even you aren¡¯t suitable for it, no one is.¡±


    He was such a precious person, how could he aggrieve himself like this?


    Cheng Qiang knew that it was his words that caused this change in mood in Fang Juexia, and he was filled with guilt. ¡°No, Juexia, you did nothing wrong in this entire matter. If it wasn¡¯t for you, Kaleido wouldn¡¯t be where it is today, do you understand? In fact, it¡¯s not like there isn¡¯t a solution to this matter, worst comes to worst, we¡¯ll just shut them up with the PR fee they¡¯re demanding, and the big matter will become smaller¡­¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    Fang Juexia tried hard to calm himself down a little more and analyzed the whole matter to Cheng Qiang. ¡°Since they dare to blackmail us, they will do so a second time. After all, there are still hidden dangers in whitewashing things and presenting a false peace. With such a big story, they will not stop just for the sake of seven million. If I get more popular in the future than I am now, they will only threaten me again and again, taking it as a weakness.¡±


    Fang Juexia¡¯s eyes were firm. ¡°But I didn¡¯t do anything wrong, I¡¯m also a victim. So, in regards to my father taking drugs, we have to talk about it, and it has to be me who says something about it.¡±


    This path he was talking about was a desperate move.


    Cheng Qiang¡¯s first reaction was to completely disagree. ¡°How can we do that? If you really say something, do you know how many of our opponents and antis are going to take this and cause trouble? They may even stigmatize you as an addict as well.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± As soon as Fang Juexia had become aware of this matter, all the possible slander had already appeared in his mind. He was more familiar with the taste of dirty splashed water than anyone else.


    Those years of slander were like a stain on his body; no matter how much he wiped at it, he couldn¡¯t wipe it all off. Those malicious rumors had pretty much become scars on his body that hurt when he touched them. No matter how much he explained, how he made every effort to clarify the rumors, all he got in exchange was just more spit and abuse.


    At first, he didn¡¯t really understand why this was happening; why didn¡¯t people want to believe the truth? Then, slowly and gradually, he got used to the malice of this circle. Most of the time, there was no reason behind it. Truth was the least valuable thing in this industry.


    As a result, Fang Juexia¡¯s heart also cooled bit by bit. He no longer argued fearlessly, and for his response, could only give the best stage performance each time.


    He had been living with these repulsive scars ever since then.


    ¡°There¡¯s no other way. The only thing I can do is scrape the poison off of the bone.¡±


    He didn¡¯t want to go on like this any more; he was going to thoroughly gouge out all those dormant sores.


    Fang Juexia told them, while telling himself this too, ¡°If this secret is kept the entire time, no one knows what will happen in the future. I have no way to make this time bomb any more uncontrollable. As for the accusation of whether I am a drug addict or not, we can get a drug test done and put it online as proof.¡±


    As Cheng Qiang was considering it, he heard Pei Tingsong speak, ¡°Already arranged a PR team, it¡¯s the most famous one in the circle.¡±


    ¡°How much was it?¡± Fang Juexia asked.


    ¡°You guys don¡¯t have to worry about that.¡± Pei Tingsong continued, ¡°They are ready for a video conference to be held any time now, to put forward strategy and discuss response plans. However, the other side gave us the same advice that Juexia did.¡± He looked at Cheng Qiang. ¡°They also think that we need to make the first move with this matter.¡±


    Kaleido was the first group that Cheng Qiang had officially led and managed. He had endured all sorts of storms with Kaleido, so when he encountered such things, his first reaction was always to be relatively conservative.


    ¡°I see. Let¡¯s do some overtime now, and I¡¯ll call the company¡¯s PR department to come over and inform the necessary departments as well.¡±


    ¡°En.¡±


    It hadn¡¯t been long since the situation with He Ziyan, and now it was the group¡¯s official ace¡¯s turn. The company attached great importance to it, and even Chen Zhengyun, who had just returned from a business trip, rushed back to the company. The PR team held a meeting with Fang Juexia for a full hour, and after understanding everything, they gave a general outline on how to handle this issue.


    Via video call, the person-in-charge said, ¡°In fact, Mr. Fang¡¯s idea is right. First of all, we should make the truth public before the other party can expose it, so as to avoid having the other party call all the shots with this explosive story. If we take the initiative to let Mr. Fang make it public, and then arrange for articles and guide public opinion, we can shift the focus of the incident from ¡®the father of a talked-about star is a drug addict¡¯ to ¡®biological family tragedy, frequent exposure of privacy, and a second blow.¡¯ In this way, we can minimize our losses.¡±


    The subject of the matter being discussed was sitting at the table. The moonlight that lit the early hours before dawn shone against his back, and his whole person was shadowed by it. Pei Tingsong¡¯s heart kept aching as he looked at him. In the past, he may have already been flaming back online, but now he knew that that was not a mature way to deal with this situation. He also wanted to grow up and protect the person he loved the most.


    While everyone here was talking about this and expressing their own views and strategy, Fang Juexia, who was in the center of the vortex, remained silent. He only listened, not uttering a single word, seemingly thinking about something.


    After a long time, when the PR team had already started to contact writers and other public opinion forces, he said, ¡°There¡¯s one more matter.¡±


    Cheng Qiang looked at him suspiciously, while Chen Zhengyun called a halt to the meeting directly. ¡°Speak.¡±


    ¡°From the beginning, I have been wondering if this matter was my father¡¯s doing, because he already has a previous record of extortion.¡± Here, Fang Juexia shook his head. ¡°But I think the possibility of that is very low, because he is now in the drug rehabilitation center, isolated from the outside world. But this matter, besides myself, my mother, and Xiao Pei, who helped me deal with it some time ago, no one else should know about it. So how on earth did someone unearth this matter? This is the point I find very perplexing.¡±


    This was also what Pei Tingsong kept turning over and over again in his mind. Clearly, he had put Fang Ping in the most strictly controlled rehab center, and then had also sent people to watch him all day. He was completely isolated from the outside world, so there was no chance for him to get out and make any more trouble.


    ¡°When I met him, and he extorted me, I asked him, and he didn¡¯t admit to contacting any company or media, but I doubt that now.¡± Fang Juexia¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly. ¡°He said that in order to come to Beijing to find me, he used up all the money he had. This is strange because I had already been followed for nearly a week before the day of the attempted kidnapping. During that week, what did he rely on to maintain himself, and especially with a long-term drug habit, how could he last so long by himself?¡±


    Pei Tingsong also had thought about this question before. ¡°Do you suspect that he already met with some other people before you? These people got some information from him and gave him money to maintain his habit.¡±


    Fang Juexia nodded. ¡°I guess it was like that. When he¡¯s caught in the thrall of his addiction, he can hardly be regarded as a human being. As long as anyone would give him some money to exchange for drugs, he could do anything. Whether it is selling my relationship to him or selling anything else, he could do any of that.¡±


    Chen Zhengyun, who had been listening to him in silence, suddenly grasped the key point. ¡°Anything else?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Fang Juexia looked at him. ¡°That¡¯s what I needed to add. Boss, there¡¯s one thing I¡¯ve been hiding from all of you.¡±


    Under the conference table, his hands clenched tightly and his knuckles turned completely white, but on the surface, he was still the calm Fang Juexia. ¡°I have congenital night blindness. In dim light, my vision will become extremely impaired, even close to total blindness.¡±


    Pei Tingsong was stunned. He didn¡¯t expect that Fang Juexia would reveal this matter at the same time as this. This was basically him declaring to everyone here the biggest secret he had been carrying on his own for so many years. His forbearance and prudence, and those many years of painstaking practice, had now all dissolved into foam.


    Cheng Qiang couldn¡¯t believe it. ¡°Night blindness? Then when you are onstage¡­¡±


    Fang Juexia said lightly, ¡°When the light isn¡¯t bright enough, I can¡¯t see and can only dance based on the intuition I trained. But on most stages, there¡¯s plenty of light.¡± After that, he looked at them with dim eyes and apologized again, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯ve kept this from everyone.¡±


    Chen Zhengyun, wearing a solemn look, put his hand on the table. He was really surprised, but when he thought about it again, all the unreasonable details of the past were now becoming clear. He thought of when he had seen this child for the first time; clearly, he possessed a natural gift, and he was born to do this job, but even then, his whole person carried a sense of burden. His thin shoulders were always heavy, but he wouldn¡¯t speak about it, and he practiced every day. Even before he debuted, he slept on the floor of the practice room for many days in a row.


    Now, he finally knew why.


    ¡°It¡¯s not your fault.¡± Chen Zhengyun smiled. ¡°Fortunately you managed to hide this, otherwise we would have missed out on a genius.¡±


    Fang Juexia had never, even a little bit, felt wronged for himself due to his own matters, but Chen Zhengyun¡¯s words made his nose sting for a moment.


    Every day since his debut, and before every performance, Fang Juexia would have trouble sleeping and eating. Even in his dreams, he would dream that he had made a mistake or had even fallen on the dim stage, thus implicating the whole group. His dreams were filled with him being criticized by everyone.


    [Why did you want to debut? You¡¯re completely not suited to dance on a stage, you know!]


    [Fang Juexia, look at yourself. You were born as a person who would make mistakes on the stage.]


    [What¡¯s the use of practice?! No matter how much you practice, you can¡¯t not make a mistake!]


    [You want to drag everyone into the water with you, right?]


    ¡°Yes,¡± Cheng Qiang chimed in, ¡°The rest of them aren¡¯t here right now, but if they were, they would definitely all thank you. Juexia, you are Kaleido¡¯s backbone, do you understand?¡±


    Fang Juexia tried hard to make himself smile and nodded his head hard to accept their approval. ¡°This point may also become a threat used by others to attack me. I¡¯m guessing he has already told others, so I fear I have no choice but to also make this public.¡±


    The PR team was silent for a moment. ¡°That¡¯s fine, it¡¯s not a big problem. Genetic diseases are categorised as private information, and yours doesn¡¯t cause any harm to others. Besides, you¡¯ve never made any mistakes over the years.¡±


    Never.


    Fang Juexia gritted his teeth and nodded.


    Pei Tingsong felt powerless and helpless. He had clearly tried his best to help Fang Juexia avoid suffering through this, but it couldn¡¯t be avoided at all. These nightmares, which had been lingering around for so many years, had now broken out in a flash, and were growing into a giant beast that would nearly devour Fang Juexia, and there was nowhere to hide.


    Right after he revealed this matter, the person-in-charge of monitoring public opinion in the PR team said, ¡°Mr. Fang, your worry isn¡¯t unfounded. There really is someone who has started to spread rumors about it.¡±


    The other side had sent out screenshots of the revelations, although the contents were vague.


    [Recently, the new top celebrity FJX has a big melon, guarantee it¡¯s true. A person who is very close to him revealed this story, and you will all know who it is later. He has a disease that has been hidden for a long time, and it¡¯s the kind that will affect his future. I¡¯m waiting for you guys to dig the grave.]


    The messages below the post were obviously stirring up trouble, describing the matter in a more malicious way.


    [Disease? What disease can affect his future?]


    [It can¡¯t possibly be AIDS¡­.]


    [Saying it like that, maybe it really is. There is finally evidence on those rumors about hidden rules that have drifted around; this proof that will arrive soon is too fierce.]


    [AIDS wtf, then their entire group are¡­.tch, tch, tch your circle is really messy]


    [I just knew that the previous hidden rules rumor wasn¡¯t groundless. Otherwise, why does everyone say that FJX was involved with that, and no one else is mentioned? Just because you¡¯re beautiful, you can be self-conceited?]


    ¡°Are these people really all sick? Are they really not afraid that we¡¯ll drag each of them out and sue them?¡± Cheng Qiang was furious. ¡°Contact the moderator now!¡±


    Pei Tingsong looked at Fang Juexia, just to see him look coldly at the vicious remarks being projected on the screen, without displaying any emotional fluctuations.


    Habit was a terrible thing.


    But he really had gotten used to it.


    Even if a rumor saying that Fang Juexia had committed suicide in the dorms circulated around today, he wouldn¡¯t experinece much fluctuation in his mood.


    The PR team explained, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, now that we know it¡¯s night blindness, it can all be clarified by presenting relevant medical records and certificates. I believe Mr. Fang has all these.¡±


    Fang Juexia nodded. He gave them all the evidence he could find, and even asked, ¡°Do you need me to have a comprehensive physical examination?¡±


    Hearing these words, a sharp, piercing pain stung Pei Tingsong¡¯s heart.


    The mood of the people in the PR team also turned very complicated. They had experienced too many things within this entertainment industry, such as cheating couples, couples who seemed to get along in public but were starkly divided in private, and even more exaggerated and bloody gossip. Professionalism allowed them to smooth things out and leave their employer with a decent face.


    But now, the person standing in front of them was clearly a clean boy, but he had to scrape his own hands clean, hating he couldn¡¯t tear off his own skin to show them whether the flesh and blood under it was as black and dirty as the world said it was.


    If you throw enough mud, some of it will stick, and eventually, even his bones would be melted down and destroyed one by one.


    ¡°Before I post on Weibo, I need to let my mama know.¡± Fang Juexia tried to calm himself and got up to leave the meeting room.


    As soon as he left, Pei Tingsong stood up and told Cheng Qiang, ¡°I¡¯ll accompany him.¡±


    Cheng Qiang nodded and watched Pei Tingsong chase after him.


    Fang Juexia¡¯s back was very thin, and in the dimly lit corridor, it looked like a withered leaf. He walked to the corner of the stairs and stopped, his hand, which held the cellphone, trembling unconsciously.


    Pei Tingsong, who had followed him, came to a stand in front of him and held his trembling wrist. ¡°Juexia, don¡¯t be afraid. I¡¯m here.¡± What he didn¡¯t realize was that his voice was also trembling involuntarily.


    It was already 2:30 in the morning, and no one picked up for a long time. Fang Juexia lowered his head and kept hitting the ¡®call¡¯ button after every failed call. Transparent tears fell on his hands, his screen, and his vision grew more and more blurry.


    He had held back his tears for the entire night, but in the end, they still finally flowed out when it came to his mother.


    ¡°What to do¡­¡± Fang Juexia, who kept extremely calm at any given time, finally showed weakness in front of his lover. ¡°Pei Tingsong, what do I do¡­ I still have to tell her, but I¡­¡±


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s heart felt like it was being gripped hard. He seemed to have returned to that rainy night during the summer again, as he watched his already black-and-blue lover approaching the abyss once again with his own eyes.


    Anyway, this time, he had to hug him first.


    Pei Tingsong pulled Fang Juexia into his arms and said in a gentle voice, ¡°Juexia, come here.¡±


    He suddenly felt that Fang Juexia had grown thin again. This person, who was obviously several years older than himself, was now akin to a child in his eyes. He looked so small, and so distressing. Even when stroking his shoulder, he didn¡¯t dare to use any force. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you didn¡¯t want your mama to wait for her whole lifetime?


    ¡°Suffering long-term pain isn¡¯t better than suffering short-term pain. Even if you hide it for a while, what will you do in the future?¡±


    Fang Juexia buried his head and listened to Pei Tingsong¡¯s question, every sentence buckling onto his closed-off heart.


    ¡°It can¡¯t be that you want her to travel to the end of her life alone, still guarding her heart for the person who won¡¯t come back?¡±


    Obviously, he was holding the bad ending of this fairy tale in his hands, but he had never dared to tell his mama until now.


    He was too afraid to disappoint his mama.


    Fang Juexia cried silently on Pei Tingsong¡¯s shoulder. All the pain, grievances, and fear he had, he gave them all to Pei Tingsong. He knew that it was unfair; he should be stronger and bear everything himself.


    But at this moment, in the whole world, he only wanted to rest on Pei Tingsong¡¯s shoulder.


    Even if it was for just a minute.


    ¡°You know,¡± Pei Tingsong gently stroked his back, ¡°for your mama, the most important thing isn¡¯t her dead love, but you.¡±


    The cellphone he was holding began to vibrate, and it was his mama calling back at 2:30 in the morning. Fang Juexia struggled out of Pei Tingsong¡¯s arms, wiped away his tears, and forced all of his emotions down before he dared to pick up the call.


    At the other end of the call, his mother¡¯s voice was anxious and worried. Fang Juexia had been making a living outside for many years, and no matter what happened, he had gritted his teeth and carried it through. He had never called her at such a late time before.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, baby? Juexia, are you sick? Mama¡¯s already awake now.¡±


    Fang Juexia held back a sob. ¡°Mom, a lot of stuff has happened, and I have to use the PR team to deal with it. There is one thing I have to tell you.¡± He continued, a frown forming on his face. ¡°In June, Dad came to see me.¡±


    ¡°What¡­¡± Mama Fang¡¯s voice grew faint, ¡°You-why didn¡¯t you say anything about that before?¡±


    ¡°Because¡­ Because the day we met, he was still addicted to drugs.¡± Fang Juexia desperately tried to hold his emotions back, but the truth was just that bloody. ¡°He was holding an iron rod, and was ready to knock me out and then kidnap me, all because he didn¡¯t have money to continue sourcing drugs at that time. But, fortunately, a bodyguard stopped him, and he failed. After that, we took him to a rehab center.¡±


    It suddenly quietened down on the other end, and Fang Juexia¡¯s chest was aching a lot this whole while.


    ¡°Now, someone is trying to blackmail us about this, and I have to¡ªmake it public myself.¡± He knew that every word of his was piercing through his mother¡¯s heart, but he had no choice. He also fervently hoped for all this to just be a nightmare.


    How he wished he didn¡¯t have such a father, that he didn¡¯t have this disease that had tormented him for more than ten years, and that he didn¡¯t have any of this dirty water splashed on him, which he couldn¡¯t wash or wipe off of himself.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll see it in the news, so¡­ So I can only tell you in advance.


    ¡°Mom, I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    Sorry that I finally¡­.


    Broke your dream with my own hands.

 CH 97

    Chapter 97 ¨C Turn Back The Storm


    Translated by juurensha


    Edited by Noks


    Lots of Weibo comments, don¡¯t like, don¡¯t read


    At this moment, Fang Juexia felt like his mother was sitting in that ever-familiar chair right in front of him.


    And that door, which had never been locked, had collapsed in an instant.


    With no sound coming from the other end of the call, Fang Juexia began to regret it. Maybe he shouldn¡¯t have said everything so directly; he should have at least waited until he returned home and was beside her. He had just confessed everything, but how long would it take his mama to really accept everything, and how would she sleep tonight?


    ¡°Mom¡­¡± Fang Juexia called out again.


    Finally, a sound came from the opposite side. It sounded like a sigh, a very weak one.


    ¡°I see.¡± Mama Fang was trying to put on a good face; after so many years, putting on a good face had become a part of her life. Even if they both, mother and son, had really been abandoned, and she knew she must raise her son by herself, she had still never shown any pain in front of Fang Juexia. She was always smiling.


    But, at this moment, when she came to know the harm her own husband had inflicted on her son, her tears finally burst out. ¡°It¡¯s Mama who is wrong, Juexia. It¡¯s Mama who is sorry to you.¡±


    Hearing his mama cry, Fang Juexia grew even sadder. ¡°No, Mom, you are the best mama in the world. You didn¡¯t do anything wrong. I just didn¡¯t want someone else telling you about this matter.¡±


    ¡°I know, don¡¯t worry about me.¡± Mama Fang tried her best to stop her tears from flowing. ¡°Mama knows now. You must remember, you are always Mama¡¯s most important person. No matter what happens, you must protect yourself. Mama is old now, and no longer has the ability to continue protecting you.¡±


    Fang Juexia gripped his cellphone and crouched down along the wall. He had never been a child who was good at expressing his love. Rather, he was like a wanderer who returned home after many years; the more he cared, the less easy it would be for him to say it.


    Pei Tingsong also crouched down and touched his hair gently.


    ¡°I love you, Mama.


    ¡°You still have me.¡±


    He finally said it out loud, while sobbing like a child.


    ¡°In the future¡­you can wait for me to come home, okay?¡±


    As Pei Tingsong watched all this, he experienced and understood what it meant when people said that the love for the person also extended to everything related to him. He didn¡¯t understand maternal love, nor did he understand paternal love; he had read many literary works praising this feeling, and had learned about the natural dependence human beings would form for their mother in the process of human growth. However, up until now, these were only recorded words and subjects for him to consider.


    But after witnessing his most beloved Fang Juexia trying his best to protect his family¡ª


    He felt it deeper than any words.


    After the meeting that lasted all night long, everyone started to move. This was a tough battle to fight; the stain left on him from his father was real, and the fact that he was also an addict was something that netizens would easily get most disgusted by. It was very easy for the narrative online to diverge from their plans, so everyone had to be 110% energetic when executing it.


    Fang Juexia even brought out the steel rod that he had specially preserved before as part of the evidence.


    ¡°But¡­¡± Cheng Qiang was a little worried, ¡°Is this not enough evidence to show that his father had abandoned his wife and child?¡±


    This was also what Fang Juexia was most worried about.


    But what he didn¡¯t expect was to receive a certain email from his mother at 5:30 that morning.


    [Juexia, Mama thought about it a lot, and understands the seriousness of this matter. It¡¯s true that Mama has been deceiving herself all these years, but you will always be the person Mama loves best and the child I want to protect no matter what. These are the medical records from when Mama went to the hospital to be treated after getting beaten, all the procedural forms and certificates I¡¯ve filled out over the years when filing missing persons reports, the accounts I sorted out after he took everything away, and the injury photos taken at that time, including yours and mine. Originally, I wanted to wait for him to wake up and then would let him have a look at these, but now I¡¯m afraid that day won¡¯t come.


    I don¡¯t need you to be too strong. Mama just wants to wait for you to come home safely and happily.]


    Fang Juexia sat in front of the laptop and one by one, opened the attachments sent by his mother. The memories these past bits and pieces encapsulated bubbled up in an instant, and he felt as if his entire being was in a state of dissociation. His body was in pain, but his soul was still analyzing these memories rationally.


    He even pointed to a bloody wound in one of the photos and described it to Pei Tingsong, ¡°Look at this. I remember I was only as tall as the table at the time, and I had hid in the corner. After he left, I pulled Mama up and wanted to take her to see a doctor.¡± His profile didn¡¯t have a very pained expression, he was just staring blankly at the screen. ¡°She covered her head with clothes, I led her, and we spent the night in the emergency room.


    ¡°The nurses and aunties in the emergency room started to recognize me later on.¡± Fang Juexia turned his face to look at Pei Tingsong and even laughed. ¡°She said I was really handsome, the most beautiful boy she had ever seen.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t look anymore.¡± Pei Tingsong closed the screen and said, ¡°Let them go handle this.¡±


    Fang Juexia nodded. ¡°It¡¯s alright, I already can peacefully remember all this now.¡±


    He was far stronger than Pei Tingsong had imagined.


    The PR team made the decision to not purposely suppress this news. In order to resolve these matters thoroughly, they didn¡¯t delete the initial post that revealed the news, but they also didn¡¯t let it develop. In the later stages of the initial post, they arranged for people to come out and point out that the mention of ¡°AIDS¡± was strange. With one person saying it was suspicious, everyone started thinking that, suspecting that it was an action taken by anti-fans, so the direction of the thread began to tilt, and the focus of the debate went from guessing the disease to whether someone was maliciously slandering Fang Juexia.


    At the same time, they arranged for a lot of accounts to publish some very poor and inconsistent smear-posts, then spread them online, with some of them even saying that Fang Juexia was terminally ill. Simultaneously, they bribed a few big verified accounts to leak the news ahead of time.


    [@Are you gossiping: Guaranteed, top class F¡¯s father has an extremely bad criminal record, and it should have already been dug up. When that happens, someone will definitely end up blackmailing him using this matter, so you guys just wait to eat the melons.]


    [@Melon field manufacturing machine: There are some rumors that a high face value, top-class idol¡¯s father abandoned his wife and son. Now that his son is popular, he has come back and is extorting him by demanding sky-high alimony. It¡¯s another real dog blood drama in the world.]


    These melons were quickly transported to other places, and there were rumors flying all over the place, especially amongst the many people in the fan circles; they all knew at least a little something about it.


    Although it wasn¡¯t that different from the facts, the PR team deliberately blurred the truth about the drug addiction, in order to make Fang Juexia¡¯s self disclosure more impactful. On the other hand, they still hadn¡¯t discovered the dark hand manipulating this matter from behind yet. The unwritten rules of turmoil within the circle made it clear that one should not shove the other companies directly on the table, but first impressions were also very important, and therefore, Fang Juexia¡¯s image as a victim had to first appear in public view.


    So, they put the father who caused this whole issue on the opposite side.


    Fang Juexia struggled with this issue. If he was the only one who would be affected, maybe he would give up on using this PR strategy. But he wasn¡¯t just Fang Juexia, he was also Kaleido¡¯s Fang Juexia. Behind him were five bandmates who were sharing his hardships.


    He had too much to shoulder.


    The team quickly arranged drafts that were to be published on the major official accounts and the marketing Weibos, all to ensure that they would be the ones with the subsequent initiative, and thereby control public opinion. Every draft was completed by a dedicated copywriter, while Fang Juexia¡¯s clarification post was solely written by himself, and the team only helped in polishing and modifying it.


    By the time the post was finalized, it was already 11:00 A.M. Fang Juexia, who had not slept all night, sat at his desk and copied out the clarification post onto a piece of paper by hand, then took a good photo of it and posted it to Weibo.


    [@Kaleido Fang Juexia: shared pictures]


    [I¡¯m very sorry to take up a little bit of everyone¡¯s time. Here, I have a few things to confess to all of you.


    First of all, my father is a drug addict, and has been one for many years. When I was a child, my father¡¯s future was ruined, and his temperament changed greatly. At first, he drank too much and often beat and cursed my mother and me. Later, he became addicted to drugs and changed completely. We suffered from domestic violence and his drug abuse for five years. On the eve of my 13th birthday, he took away the small amount of savings that we had to live on, along with all valuable things from our house, and left us.


    Ten years later, not too long ago, he reappeared, followed me with a steel rod, and attempted to kidnap me. Fearing that he would do more harm to me and my family, we admitted him into a rehab center. His appearance was surprising, and it really frightened me. The drugs had already corroded his humanity away, and the encounter completely drained me. Not long ago, our company received a blackmail notice: if we didn¡¯t agree to their terms, they would expose the fact that my biological father is actually a drug addict. But I thought, that was the truth anyway, and I don¡¯t have to bother other people to speak for me, I¡¯ll do it myself. He is him, and I am me. I appreciate that he has given me life, but ever since I came home ten years ago and saw that our house was nearly empty, there has been no father-son relationship between us.


    Moreover, I would like to make public the so-called ¡°unmentionable disease¡± circulating online. I have congenital night blindness, with low dark vision, and the possibility of it being cured is very low. My childhood dream was to be a dancer, but night blindness made me lose this possibility forever. The psychological trauma left by this incident made me passively conceal it, and since the stages for singers and idol groups contained both darkness and light, it gave me a sliver of hope. It was just that a person who has a great chance of becoming blind onstage is not qualified to make a debut in any entertainment company. So, I hid the fact of my night blindness, and used endless practice to try to ensure that no mistakes occur.


    About the online rumors concerning other diseases, including the long-term ¡°hidden rules¡± rumors, my company and I will take the corresponding legal measures to protect our reputation. It¡¯s my disease, I don¡¯t deny it. It¡¯s the same as the birthmark on my face, it has been a part of me since I was born. But with regards to labels that don¡¯t belong to me, please do not stick them on me. Otherwise, I will take these labels and send them back to you with legal summons.]


    This handwritten letter didn¡¯t contain any great emotional exaggeration, the tone was neither humble nor overbearing, and the handwriting was very strong. However, all the people who read all of it, whether they were fans who sincerely supported him or passers-by who were indifferent to him, were all shocked.


    Who would have thought that today¡¯s most popular male artist had been born into such a biological family. What was more unexpected was that he himself would stand up and make it all public.


    In addition to the handwritten letter in the first picture, the pictures following it were those of all the relevant evidence. The second picture was an old picture of Fang Juexia, when he was still a little child. The corner of his eye had his birthmark, and the corner of his mouth was bleeding. The photos were objective and indifferent, showing all the dangers that a child belonging to a failed biological family would encounter, such as bloody toes, bruises on his arms and back, and the traces of stitches left on his mother¡¯s head. Fang Juexia published all the certificates his mother had given him online, including the medical records from the doctor.


    As long as it didn¡¯t hurt the people beside him, Fang Juexia was willing to have everyone gather around and stare at him.


    He was willing to use his own wounds to meet everyone¡¯s desire to pry.


    Drug abuse, domestic violence, kidnapping, extortion, top class popularity¡­. These words, which were full of sharp contradictions, caught everyone¡¯s attention in a very short time. #Fang Juexia¡¯s handwritten letter# also exploded directly on the Hot Search list, attracting the attention of the entire Internet, sparking large discussions.


    [@Black sugar pearl milk tea: Shit¡­ Stalking, kidnapping, domestic violence, are these things a fucking biological father would do?!]


    [@90¡¯s steamwave: I didn¡¯t expect it to be this powerful when I clicked open the Hot Search topic¡­.So FJX¡¯s father is addicted to drugs, is a domestic abuser, abandons his wife and son, and now he comes back to blackmail his now successful son?! Why doesn¡¯t he go die ah?! I¡¯m so angry with this kind of scum father that I¡¯m about to faint from across the screen!]


    [@brokenheart: I didn¡¯t expect it to be like this when I saw astar¡¯s childhood photo on the Hot Search list. He¡¯s so small and thin, I feel so sad when seeing his wounds¡­.]


    [@Garbage transfer station replying to @brokenheart: Who knows if this picture is real, maybe they just found a ¡°little actor¡±, drew some red on him to imitate the birthmark, and then added some special makeup to create the wound. What does this even count as? He could be trying to whitewash himself. His own father takes drugs, how could the son still be a good person?]


    [@I¡¯m going to k*ll you, you pig replying to Garbage transfer station: Your name is Garbage transfer station. What kind of good garbage can you be?]


    [@What time are you sleeping today replying to @Garbage transfer station: You¡¯re going too far. One look and you can tell that this is FJX when he was small, how could there be a child who looks so much like him? It¡¯s not a big problem to lack empathy for other people¡¯s sufferings, but if you have to spit and maliciously slander when you see a tragic experience, then you really are heartless.]


    [@The first sweetheart in the galaxy: Reading the part with ¡°Not long ago, our company received a blackmail notice¡­¡± My hair really stood on end at that part. So some people who knew about this pain tried to use it to threaten a popular star. They¡¯re all completely without conscience ba]


    [@Beautiful baby Fine Jeweled Xerophyte: I¡¯m so sad, everyone might not know, Fang Juexia never uses Weibo, but he made a post on his birthday a while ago. And, at the same time, he also forwarded a post about it being global anti-drug day. At that time, we didn¡¯t know why. Now seeing all this¡­. I really can¡¯t imagine how he grew up. It¡¯s so hard.]


    [@Domino never gives up: God, night blindness. Then during the many stage performances before, Gege pretty much couldn¡¯t see anything, but he actually made no mistakes. How long did Gege have to practice to achieve this level ah? No wonder his hearing was so sensitive whenever he got on any blindfolded segment of a show, he was already used to it. God, thinking about it now, there are a lot of little details that match up. Juexia had it too hard.]


    [@Keep kind: Before it was HZY revealing himself to be an orphan, now it¡¯s FJX. K is really one of the most pitiful boy-bands in history. Is this circle really so rotten that they have to blow up their own privacy to prove their innocence?]


    [@I¡¯m going to read four books this month: I didn¡¯t like FJX very much before, feeling that his personality was a little too quiet and not likeable. Now I feel very sorry. After seeing all this, I know how this kind of family leaves a great impact on its children. My father would lose his temper and beat others when he is drunk. Ah well, I may not hate him, but I hate myself who is similar to him.]


    [@playplayplayy: That last sentence was very tough. He didn¡¯t say anything about a legal notice, but directly pulled out a legal summons. With this, I also believe him. At least he¡¯s taking the gloves off and starting to use real legal weapons. ]


    [@Egg fried rice goes along with Yakult: The fan circle is pretty speechless about him hiding his night blindness, and then he also didn¡¯t tell his company about his father¡¯s drug addiction ba. It¡¯s also irresponsible of him to conceal so much explosive news to make a debut nonetheless.]


    [@XUZNWDH2 replying to @Egg fried rice goes along with Yakult: Although you know all the exceptions, you can¡¯t just blindly use them. What, if a father is a drug addict, his son can¡¯t be a normal person? What kind of unspeakable disease is night blindness? After entering the company, would it harm everyone? Gonna say something unpleasant, since he knew that he had night blindness and he still had to get onstage, even if he fell down, fell off the stage, or died from a fall, all this would only harm the person himself. And you are too naive, this kind of public company couldn¡¯t not know about these things. As you know, he was born to be an idol and born belonging onstage, while you, with your arguing for the sake of arguing, were born to belong in a parking lot.]


    While the debate continued, Star Chart¡¯s official Weibo also announced that it would take measures to protect its artists, and that it had already sued several Weibo accounts who had spread such rumors. With the relevant legal documents posted, their tough attitude was already reflected.


    All fans forwarded it, supporting the company in protecting its artists. Some online articles arranged by the PR team were also published one after another. The first one was an article written from an anti-fan¡¯s point of view, which diverted attention to a contradictory issue in this mess¡ª whether children should expose their fathers for their own sake. In the article, they tried their best to promote filial piety and paternity, beautified the ¡°domestic violence¡± behavior, and ignored the drug abuse. Mentioning all these matters in this way was simply stepping on a mine that existed, that of ¡°people¡¯s will¡± on Weibo, and soon, it attracted many forwards from netizens, with almost all of them cursing it out. In the end, angry netizens even deleted this long Weibo article.


    The appearance of this article dragged netizens who didn¡¯t originally support Fang Juexia into the discussion, all because they disliked drug abuse, domestic abuse, and extreme patriarchy even more than Fang Juexia.


    Later, the PR team continued to publish other articles through multiple big verified online accounts or on the public official account. Most of them took a more rational view in analyzing this event, publishing articles on biological families, referring to a popularized science account about the consequences of drug abuse, and digging up old information from the entertainment circle, by splicing together Fang Juexia¡¯s past performances in variety shows and his performances on the dark stage. It was like a behind-the-scenes video, and it was full of stuff the audience loved to watch most.


    By evening, public opinion was also at its hottest, the netizens had already broken down the very shocking big contradiction into many small contradictions, dispersing into striking the hearts of different groups. Although everyone knew it was Fang Juexia¡¯s melon, no matter from what angle, he was the real victim here. So there would be different people who sympathized with him from different angles.


    At ten o¡¯clock in the evening, Pei Tingsong posted on Weibo, but changed his old style of temper tantrums and only uttered one line.


    [@Kaleido Pei Tingsong: There is no so-called domestic violence, only intentional injury. Crime is crime.]


    This Weibo post was quickly posted on the Hot Search list, and was forwarded and supported by many netizens. Soon after, the several other members of Kaleido also forwarded Pei Tingsong and Fang Juexia¡¯s posts.


    [@Give me some small dried fish: The best thing about K is that every time a member is in trouble, the rest of them will voice support like bros. It¡¯s not embroidering flowers on brocade, it¡¯s sending charcoal in a blizzard. I hope Juexia Gege can get through this.]


    The appearance of his bandmates¡¯ support also divided the center of public opinion. In addition to them, there were also some other stars, such as Zhai Ying, who Fang Juexia had supported before, their senior brothers, their friends who had cooperated with them, and even their Star Chart colleagues who didn¡¯t really have that close a relationship with them now also supporting Fang Juexia.


    Whether it was out of sincerity or enthusiasm, everyone stood up against domestic violence and drug abuse. This all reflected public opinion, and it also made things develop in a better direction.


    Such supportive comments also began to boom in this scuffle of public opinion, and many opponents and anti-fans also entered the fray. They attributed his almost-debut experience in Astar to the ¡®hidden rules¡¯ rumors, and distorted facts by saying that the reason he left Astar was because he had been kicked out, because Astar knew his family situation and the big boss had abandoned him.


    The PR team wrestled with the hidden rules theory. In order to solve this rumor more thoroughly, they found Fang Juexia and hoped that he could tell what had happened in Astar at that time. Fang Juexia hesitated again and again and finally gave a reply clarifying that the hidden rules situation was just a rumor, and that there was no need to replay the whole thing.


    Up to now, he still didn¡¯t want to publicize Liang Ruo¡¯s past of being drugged and raped, and then having the entire situation buried, just in order to dissociate himself from this rumor. Even if he didn¡¯t name names, it would be easy for everyone to pick it out.


    It was too easy to destroy a person.


    The PR team had no other way but to suppress such untrue statements as far as possible, but it was tough to use legal measures; the entire process took too long, and the damage to the stars would have already been done. However, if Fang Juexia was unwilling to talk about it, they couldn¡¯t force him to, and at least on the matter of his biological father being addicted to drugs, they had controlled the public opinion to absolutely gain the upper hand.


    The person in the center of the whirlpool, Fang Juexia, didn¡¯t really care about the development of public opinion, and also couldn¡¯t really sleep. He still worked according to the previous schedule in the daytime, and when night came, Pei Tingsong took him to his small workshop. On the lazyboy sofa, Pei Tingsong held him for two hours so that he would sleep.


    When he woke up, Pei Tingsong¡¯s cellphone rang. Jiang Miao and the rest had come over with some food. The entire group would have to shoot an ad for a TV station later, so Fang Juexia also got up. They found an empty dance studio and all of them sat down on the floor to eat, just like what they did before their debut.


    Fang Juexia¡¯s whole person looked a little haggard, and he had sunken eyes. His eyelids were thin to the point they were nearly transparent, and they showed his blue blood vessels. The bags beneath his eyes also looked dark, filled with red blood vessels.


    Ling Yi took a bowl of porridge, stirred it with a spoon, and handed it to him. ¡°Juexia, you eat some more. This shrimp porridge is very delicious, there¡¯s lots of shrimp in it.¡±


    Fang Juexia said ¡®thank you¡¯ in a soft voice and took a bite. ¡°En, it¡¯s delicious.¡±


    His bandmates didn¡¯t utter any words showing their deep concern, and they tacitly chose to stick to their usual mode of getting along with each other. Fang Juexia was very grateful to them; what he was most afraid of was sudden and overwhelming concern.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± He put the porridge down and looked at everyone. ¡°I¡¯m very sorry I kept it from you guys for so long.¡±


    Lu Yuan put down his chopsticks and spoke straightforwardly, ¡°What sorry, are we bros or not?¡±


    ¡°Juexia, you remember on your birthday, everyone said that we hoped that you would rely on us more in the future.¡± He Ziyan looked at him. ¡°You should remember these words. These aren¡¯t some polite words of just ¡®I¡¯ll support you¡¯, we would only say these words because we¡¯ve known for a long time that you¡¯ve had a lot on your shoulders.¡±


    Jiang Miao, who was sitting beside him, gave him a shrimp dumpling. ¡°Yes ah, you forgot, last time you even told me that we are family.¡±


    ¡°Really! Did Juexia really say that?¡± Ling Yi put down his bowl and immediately hugged him. ¡°Juexia, I really super-like you, the kind where I think of you as my own biological Gege. We¡¯re family, right?¡± Ling Yi babbled away, and even started crying at his own words.


    Fang Juexia even had to wipe his tears away at this. ¡°We are, don¡¯t cry ah.¡±


    Ling Yi sniffed hard. ¡°En!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re sniffling so much, I can¡¯t even eat my noodles,¡± Pei Tingsong complained.


    ¡°Juexia, you look at him!¡±


    Jiang Miao brushed Fang Juexia¡¯s bangs and murmured, ¡°Your hair is long again, you¡¯ll have to get it fixed by the stylist in a bit ba.¡±


    Fang Juexia held his chopsticks tightly, his knuckles turning white.


    He once thought that he was full of misfortune, with every step of his heading towards the tragic end that was failure, so he tried his best to live properly. Even in the dark, he still wanted to live ¡°correctly¡±.


    For a long time, he thought that he would always be alone trapped in the darkness.


    But that was his biggest mistake.


    Everything in the world had to maintain a relative balance: love and hate, beauty and ugliness, success and failure, misfortune and luck. He really did have a tragic life; he had had to tear at his old wounds with his own hands, and every step of his was bloody. But he had gotten an even more precious treasure in return.


    Looking up, Fang Juexia looked at his playful bandmates, and a smile appeared on his face.


    They were the great fortune of his life.


    ¡ª


    The author has something to say:


    The hidden rules rumors will be cleared up.


    ¡ª


    Juurensha: Found family!!!!! Kaleido Forever!


    Noks: The catharsis this chapter brings¡­ I love Kaleido!!!!

 CH 98

    Chapter 98 ¨C Low Tide Ebbing Away


    Juurensha  POSTED ON September 29, 2021  No Comment


    Translated by juurensha


    Edited by Noks


    He liked after the rain.


    With this kind of thing happening, it was difficult to calm down public opinion within a short while. The PR team that Pei Tingsong had invited followed up at all times to make sure no new problems cropped up unexpectedly.


    Unexpectedly, the number of endorsements Fang Juexia had now grown uncountable. Many anti-fans organized groups to go and make trouble on the brands¡¯ official Weibos, demanding that they replace such a ¡°tainted artist¡±. However, this behavior also caused many online passers-by to be disappointed with them. In the eyes of the public, the stain that Fang Juexia¡¯s father bore was one that couldn¡¯t be grafted onto him; this had also been the root of his many-years-long miserable life. Although he had many anti-fans, it was impossible for them to number more than the supportive passers-by or his already colossal number of fans.


    The scene that the anti-fans were looking forward to watching never happened.


    On the second day after the letter was published, Fang Juexia went along with his business as before, behaving like someone who didn¡¯t have anything going on. He shot an advertisement based on a previous agreement. Although the brand had told him that he could postpone the shoot, he knew that the preparation of an advertisement shoot required the team to start preparing for more than a whole day beforehand, and he would not drag others down like this.


    Everyone on set was quite professional, showing no real difference from a regular day. Xiao Wen followed Fang Juexia the entire time. Fang Juexia was also as usual, gentle and silent, but dedicated enough as well.


    The makeup artist doing his makeup specifically consoled him, ¡°Today¡¯s shoot was quite smooth.¡±


    Fang Juexia showed a smile. ¡°Yes ah, it went smoother than I thought it would.¡±


    ¡°What about your other members, are they all working today?¡±


    Fang Juexia nodded. ¡°En, there¡¯s also one at school.¡±


    ¡°Then, when you get back, rest up early oh.¡±


    ¡°Okay, I will.¡±


    It was only when Fang Juexia came out of the building where the shoot was taking place that he discovered the large number of journalists that had gathered outside the door as their cameras flashed frantically.


    ¡°Fang Juexia, troubling you to spare us a few words?¡±


    ¡°Did you not know about your father¡¯s drug addiction this entire time? Have you ever seen him take drugs with your own eyes?!¡±


    ¡°Recently, Astar¡¯s stock has fallen sharply, and it¡¯s said that there have been some shifts in their upper-level management. All of these goings-on, Fang Juexia, do you know about it? Are you not a pawn that has been pushed out to block this big melon?¡±


    ¡°Some people have questioned that you have fabricated the night blindness you wrote about in your letter. What do you think about that?¡±


    ¡°Fang Juexia, have you seen the AIDS rumor online? Can you explain a bit as to why there is such a rumor floating around?¡±


    Fang Juexia, wearing a mask and glasses, was almost completely surrounded by bodyguards. He managed to squeeze out of the horde of locust-like journalists to finally reach the van parked outside.


    The moment the door closed, Fang Juexia finally let out a breath.


    Various hands and lenses were stuck to the windows, looking just like a monster¡¯s tentacles, and they were so close that they couldn¡¯t be thrown off no matter how they tried.


    Xiao Wen, who was sitting in the front passenger¡¯s seat, turned around and handed him a bottle of water. ¡°Juexia, going back to the company or to the dormitory?¡±


    Fang Juexia took the bottle of water, but didn¡¯t drink it. ¡°They¡¯re both fine.¡±


    His cellphone vibrated, and he opened it up to see a message from Zhai Ying.


    [Zhai Ying: Juexia, I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll be worried, so I¡¯m reporting it to you first. Your trainee videos were published online by me, and my brother-in-law transferred  them over to me on my request.]


    Trainee videos?


    Filled with doubt, Fang Juexia opened up Weibo. Cheng Qiang¡¯s call came at the same time, and he picked it up.


    ¡°Hello, Juexia? What¡¯s with that monthly Astar review video?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, I¡¯m still watching it.¡± Fang Juexia opened Weibo, and there was an entry of #Fang Juexia trainee video# on the Hot Search list. He clicked on it and took a look; many influencer accounts had posted the video, with the title of [Fang Juexia trainee monthly review video, super strong ability!]


    ¡°It seems like it¡¯s¡­ it¡¯s something Zhai Ying did.¡± Fang Juexia replied to Cheng Qiang, ¡°I don¡¯t know what exactly though.¡±


    ¡°Zhai Ying?¡± After a pause, Cheng Qiang suddenly realized, ¡°She¡¯s helping you.¡±


    It really was a collection of videos from his trainee period. Astar used to conduct a group assessment of the trainees once a month, and they would grade them. Trainees who got a lower grade three times in a row may need to leave the company.


    And Fang Juexia was the only trainee who maintained an A grade for two consecutive years, while his overall ranking had always been first place.


    Although he was only a teenager in the videos, still being a green youth, his singing and dancing skills had already surpassed those of too many active idols and singers. It wasn¡¯t too much to call him the ¡°ceiling.¡±


    This video was the proof of why Fang Juexia had been called Astar¡¯s trump card back then.


    Due to the recent public discussion, there were many comments on the video.


    [@Tottering meteor: WTF, the high note at the very beginning shocked me¡­.he actually didn¡¯t make his debut at Astar??]


    [@Just 998 just 998: I finally understand why they say that Fang Juexia is the ceiling for idols. His looks and ability as a trainee were indisputable ah, the standard pitiful beauty script.]


    [@Today I¡¯m also going to go dundundun: Holy crap, that last scene was amazing, the only person in the company to get an A for two years in a row ah, that¡¯s a real trump card. How could he have become an abandoned card?]


    [@I, 3, am still a widowed king today replying to @Today I¡¯m also going to go dundundun: Who knows, anyway, with this extent, if there was really a big boss behind him, he would have been popular to the point of overturning the skies, why would he have been obscure since his debut?]


    [@Time is running out: Holy shit, I also want to chase FJX, I already look up to strength.]


    ¡°The release of this video has suppressed a lot of the public talk about the hidden rules rumor. Now, a lot of people online are cursing Astar for their lack of vision, which is also interesting,¡± said Cheng Qiang from the other end, ¡°Astar is in a mess now ba. They say a storm is brewing over there.¡±


    ¡°En.¡± Fang Juexia could probably guess what was happening.


    The direction of public opinion was always changing, faster than the time it took to flip pages of a book. Fang Juexia already didn¡¯t have much interest in these matters, but he was sincerely thankful to Zhai Ying for doing this to help him at this time, so he replied very seriously to her on WeChat, thanking her for coming forward.


    After driving for a long time, the road was a bit jammed. Fang Juexia hadn¡¯t slept in too long, but he didn¡¯t feel sleepy. His eyes just felt a bit sore, so he closed his eyes and leaned his head against the window. In a trance, he heard Xiao Wen answer the phone and say something, but he already didn¡¯t have any attention to spare for that.


    When he closed his eyes, Fang Juexia thought of Pei Tingsong and the feeling of lying on the bed with their heads against each other, as he listened to him talk or tell stories that he had never heard before. Pei Tingsong had never said a single comforting sentence, but each of his sentences had nonetheless comforted him.


    Every moment he spent with Pei Tingsong was well stored in a hidden niche by Fang Juexia. He was like a child who secretly collected beautiful candy wrappers. Every time he got one, he would lay it flat and put it in a place only he knew about.


    Then, whenever he was sad, he could take it out for a look, and he could even smell a bit of that sweet scent. This would then make him happy, it was just as easy as that.


    He didn¡¯t even need the person who gave him the candy to be around him all the time.


    ¡°We¡¯re here, Juexia.¡±


    Xiao Wen¡¯s voice was very light, probably because he thought that Fang Juexia had fallen asleep. Fang Juexia opened his eyes, but the moment he opened the door, he realized that they weren¡¯t at the company, nor was it the residential area where the dormitory was located.


    It was the parking lot of the condominium that Pei Tingsong had lived in before.


    Fang Juexia turned and asked Xiao Wen. ¡°How did we come here?¡±


    ¡°Just now, Xiao Pei called me and said he had something he wanted to find you for. Perfectly, since your work was done, we drove directly over.¡±


    Something to find him for?


    Fang Juexia was a little confused and said that he would go up with Xiao Wen, but he didn¡¯t expect Xiao Wen to get back into the car. ¡°Juexia, they just announced that there¡¯s a meeting, so I have to go back. If I¡¯m late, Qiang Ge will scold me. I¡¯ll have the chauffeur come back to pick you up later.¡±


    ¡°No need.¡± Fang Juexia shook his head. ¡°I can take a taxi back.¡±


    After Xiao Wen left, Fang Juexia headed upstairs while dialing Pei Tingsong. The first time, he got a busy signal, and the call only connected when he called again for the second time. However, just as the call connected, Pei Tingsong was already opening the door.


    ¡°You¡¯re here?¡± Pei Tingsong, with a smile on his face, stretched out his hand and pulled Fang Juexia in. He turned around and busily went to the shoe cabinet to get slippers. As soon as he bent down, Fang Juexia saw the admission ticket for an exam stuck in his pants pocket.


    ¡°You¡¯re done with your test?¡± Fang Juexia asked.


    ¡°En, the questions were simple, I came out half an hour early.¡± Pei Tingsong put his slippers in front of him and was about to crouch down to untie his shoelaces for him. Suddenly, as if he had remembered something, he stood up and whispered to him, ¡°You should change them yourself first ah.¡±


    Fang Juexia felt that this was strange, but he couldn¡¯t exactly pinpoint what was strange. He just felt that Pei Tingsong was flustered and travel-worn. He changed his shoes and followed him from the front porch to the living room, where he smelled some soup being stewed.


    ¡°Auntie, Juexia Ge is back.¡±


    Auntie??


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t react immediately, but unexpectedly, in the next second, his mother appeared in front of him. She didn¡¯t even take off the apron she had on, directly rushing up and hugging him.


    ¡°Juexia, you¡¯re back.¡±


    Fang Juexia, who was being hugged by his mama, opened his eyes wide. This was like a dream. He looked blankly at Pei Tingsong who was standing beside him, smiling at him, and then even pulling on his arms to get him to hug Mama Fang back.


    ¡°Mom¡­¡± Feeling his mother¡¯s shoulders shaking, Fang Juexia hugged her tightly and patted her on the back. ¡°How did you suddenly come here? I didn¡¯t even know about it.¡±


    Mama Fang let go, raised her head, wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, and said with a smile to her son, ¡°It was Xiao Pei who specially invited me to Beijing. He said a lot of things.¡± Mama Fang also looked at Pei Tingsong and said, ¡°Mama also missed you very much. I didn¡¯t want to wait for you at home like before, I wanted to come see you.¡±


    Fang Juexia¡¯s nose stung.


    Every single day since the letter was published, he hadn¡¯t been able to sleep, not because he was afraid of the public opinion attacks online, nor because he was worried about his uncertain future, but because he was afraid of his mother being all alone in Guangzhou. Just thinking of her sitting at home, witnessing her wait over these more than ten years turn into ash with her own eyes, and then having to watch the overwhelming news about him, with every line filled with exaggeration and unfounded slander, what would she think, and how sad would she be?


    Would she not be able to eat or be able to sleep?


    But Fang Juexia was always timid when facing his mother. He didn¡¯t know the best way to take care of this and clean up their family, which had already been broken up like this.


    But, Pei Tingsong had gone ahead and done it for him.


    He always knew what Fang Juexia dreaded the most and what he needed the most.


    ¡°Mama has stewed some chicken and fish maw soup for you, and I added safflower, scallops, and sea cucumber. It¡¯s very nourishing.¡± At this point, Mama Fang frantically went to go watch the stove again. ¡°Hey, wait a minute, let me check the stove. Take a seat first. Xiao Pei also just picked me up from the airport, both of you take a rest ah.¡±


    Fang Juexia watched as his mother plunged back into the kitchen, even throwing him to Pei Tingsong. He felt helpless, but also wanted to laugh. Pei Tingsong turned his head and took a peek. When he was sure that Mama Fang was no longer there, he quickly kissed the corner of Fang Juexia¡¯s eye.


    Witnessing this bold move, Fang Juexia¡¯s heart was about to leap out of his chest. He twisted Pei Tingsong¡¯s arm and went to the sofa by himself to sit down. Pei Tingsong also sat down next to him, laughed at him and did not speak.


    ¡°How come you didn¡¯t tell me?¡± Fang Juexia turned his face and questioned him.


    Pei Tingsong clicked his tongue. ¡°No, who, when preparing a surprise, would inform you in advance ah? Do you think this is 11/11, where before the event, the merchants all start crazily texting you¡ª ¡®Everyone, quickly come in ah, there¡¯s a surprise at the start itself.¡¯¡±


    What kind of weird metaphor was this?


    ¡°How did you find my mother? Do you have her contact information?¡±


    ¡°No ah, I asked someone to find it for me,¡± Pei Tingsong said in a matter of fact way.


    He was actually also a little afraid that Fang Juexia would blame him for overdoing things. After all, he had fought against everything by himself so far, seeming as if he never needed anybody¡¯s help. However, Pei Tingsong really felt very sad. He lay in bed every day, thinking of the phone call Fang Juexia had made standing at the corner of the stairs that day, thinking of how he had cried in his arms, when he was so afraid of making his mother sad


    Pei Tingsong just felt that he had to do something. He couldn¡¯t bear for Fang Juexia to be sad, and he couldn¡¯t bear for him to worry, even suffering this way for one extra day was too much.


    So he made a quick decision to find Mama Fang¡¯s contact information and tell her that Fang Juexia actually really missed her and needed her company.


    Mama Fang was also having trouble sleeping and eating at home. She checked the online news every day, but she didn¡¯t dare to go find her son. Mother and son obviously had the same thoughts in their hearts, but neither one spoke first. As soon as she heard Pei Tingsong describe her son¡¯s situation, she took the flight he had arranged and flew to Beijing at the first possible moment.


    It was true that when it came to their lover, one would become hot-blooded, but Pei Tingsong found that he would actually also get worried, whether he had acted just for his own desires. After all, he was quick to make decisions, and doing whatever needed to be done was a part of his innate personality, but Fang Juexia wasn¡¯t that kind of person at all.


    Doubt at Fang Juexia¡¯s reaction surged up. Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t want to overthink it and immediately changed the topic, ¡°Let me tell you, today¡¯s essay topic ah¡­¡±


    Halfway through his sentence, he noticed his hand on the sofa being covered by another pale hand. Fang Juexia drew closer, his eyes gentle, his tone soft, and he said in a quiet voice, ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Pei Tingsong was stunned,all of his previous words cast out of his mind at this moment.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± It was Fang Juexia¡¯s habit to always repeat himself if what he was saying were important words. The warmth in the palm of his hand transferred over, and the smile on his face was the most real one Pei Tingsong had seen in many days. This was no longer a disguised ¡°I¡¯m fine¡±, but a real Fang Juexia smile.


    ¡°Seeing Mama here, I¡¯m so happy.¡± Fang Juexia¡¯s fingers gently twined with Pei Tingsong¡¯s fingers, and his eyes had turned a little red.


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s heart immediately clenched. He held Fang Juexia¡¯s face in both hands and threatened him in a low voice, ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to cry.¡±


    Fang Juexia¡¯s cheeks were squeezed out of shape by him, and he sniffled a bit. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you like watching me cry?¡±


    Just during certain times¡­ Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t say that out loud, and upon hearing Mama Fang come out, he immediately let go and stood up nervously.


    ¡°Xiao Pei ah, do you have any small stove type things here?¡±


    ¡°Stove?¡± Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t know what she was talking about, and he searched around the apartment like a headless fly. Fang Juexia knew the state of his home better than he did. ¡°There isn¡¯t one, Mom, don¡¯t prepare for a hotpot, let¡¯s just drink soup and eat the dishes ba.¡±


    Pei Tingsong was surprised. ¡°How did you know what your mom wanted to do? I didn¡¯t even understand.¡±


    ¡°Nonsense, I¡¯m her son ah,¡± Fang Juexia whispered.


    They helped Mama Fang serve the dishes and set out the bowls and chopsticks, after which they sat down and partook in the good meal that Fang Juexia¡¯s mama had made. After everything that had happened in the recent days, Fang Juexia could never eat much, but with his mama here, he ate more than usual and drank an extra bowl of soup.


    This was Pei Tingsong¡¯s second time having dinner and chatting with them, experiencing the ordinary daily life that every family had. But this time, Pei Tingsong had something else he was looking forward to. If one day, he confessed everything to this mother, would she accept him as tenderly and enthusiastically as she did now?


    After dinner, Pei Tingsong helped Mama Fang put the bowls back in the kitchen. Standing at the table, Fang Juexia thought of something and took out his cellphone. ¡°Mom, I still have to book you a hotel.¡±


    ¡°No need!¡± Pei Tingsong shouted towards the outside, ¡°I¡¯ve arranged everything, it¡¯s next door.¡±


    ¡°Next door?¡± Fang Juexia went to the kitchen and saw two people, who looked more like mother and son, washing dishes side by side. ¡°How can you make this apartment complex feel like a hotel every time?¡±


    ¡°Ah, that one, rented it.¡± Pei Tingsong came up with a reason.


    ¡°Xiao Pei was very attentive, he prepared everything for me early on.¡± After washing the last bowl, Mama Fang turned to Juexia and said, ¡°He said that living here will be convenient and also safe. There might be reporters at the hotel, Mama didn¡¯t even think of that at first. And here, you can also live with Mama.¡±


    Fang Juexia nodded. ¡°En.¡±


    After finishing washing the dishes, Pei Tingsong came out of the kitchen and was caught by Fang Juexia again. ¡°You could rent it as soon as you wanted to? And it¡¯s even next door?¡±


    Pei Tingsong laughed guilty. ¡°You are so smart.¡±


    Fang Juexia stared at him without moving, and without saying a word. Upon being watched like this, Pei Tingsong felt that he had no other way; he wanted to hug him, but he couldn¡¯t do so right now, so he could only draw closer and confess to him in a low voice, ¡°Actually¡­.This entire building is all mine.¡±


    Sure enough.


    Fang Juexia remembered that when he had first come here, Pei Tingsong had said that he was different from other rich young masters, that he was rich but only lived in two bedrooms.


    It was him being too naive.


    Coincidentally, all the other members had events to attend recently, so he would have been the only one living in the dorms anyway. Fang Juexia could now stay here with his mother for a few more days. While they were eating, Pei Tingsong had already arranged for someone to clean up the apartment next door. When he took his mother over, as soon as they walked into the living room, Fang Juexia saw a big bouquet of white eustoma on the coffee table.


    The corners of his mouth couldn¡¯t help rising up.


    Being surrounded by events and flashing lights, it had been a long time since Fang Juexia had lived such a life. He was now being taken care of by his mama, listening as she gossiped about her daily life at home and her neighbors, the students she couldn¡¯t teach no matter how much she tried, and the troublemakers in her class.


    Just listening to her made Fang Juexia feel very safe.


    He closed his eyes and felt himself lying under the full strength of the daylight.


    There was no darkness, just warmth everywhere.


    The outside world was stormy, and Fang Juexia, the one suffering at the center of the storm, in his mother¡¯s company, slept as the orange sunset at dusk escaped from the horizon.


    This time, dreams also let him be at peace, not disturbing him.


    The period of low tide was like the rainy season. When it came, it seemed to suffocate the whole population, leaving them completely breathless. His life these past few days had been filled with cold rain, and he was not able to breathe at all.


    But the sunny day that came after the rain was so beautiful, with the bright blue sky that shone after a disaster and the smell of grass filling the air.


    He had always liked the scenery d after it rained, and for that reason alone, he could endure the heavy rain.


    He slept until 12:30 in the night. For some reason, Fang Juexia suddenly woke up and felt thirsty. He got up from the bed and went to the room next door. Seeing his mother sleeping deeply, he quietly closed the door and went to the living room.


    He opened the refrigerator and took out a bottle of water, but before he could unscrew it, Fang Juexia stopped moving.


    His arm hung in mid-air for a few seconds, then lowered.


    Pei Tingsong was sitting in his study, reading some articles when he suddenly heard the doorbell ring, and after checking the time, found it very strange. It was only when he came to the door and saw the monitor screen that he realized Fang Juexia in his pajamas was outside.


    His mood ignited, becoming just like a sky lantern about to take off.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    Fang Juexia stepped into his home. Although his tone was still as lukewarm as usual, he had a smile on his face. ¡°Thirsty, want to drink some water.¡±


    It was like he was being flirty.


    Pei Tingsong shut the door as he stepped closer. He looked very refined with glasses, but when he raised his eyebrow, the air of a young master seemed to surround him. ¡°You just want to drink some water?¡±


    ¡°En.¡± Fang Juexia looked at him, his eyes absolutely sincere.


    ¡°Okay.¡± Pei Tingsong turned around and left, and soon came back with a cup of sweet orange juice. It was Fang Juexia¡¯s favorite juice, and it was in the frosted blue mug Pei Tingsong always used.


    ¡°Drink it ba.¡± Pei Tingsong handed it to him.


    Fang Juexia lightly said ¡®thank you,¡¯ then he took it with both hands and gulped it down. Afterwards, he raised his head and asked solemnly, ¡°Is it because I just woke up? I feel like the juice tastes a little strange.¡±


    Pei Tingsong raised his eyebrows and didn¡¯t speak. He took hold of the mug to have a look. Fang Juexia had drunk all the juice in one gulp.


    He really was thirsty; it tasted funny but he still drank it all.


    ¡°What taste?¡± Pei Tingsong, who was very curious, was about to go and pour himself another cup to try, to see if he bought the wrong brand. Unexpectedly, his hand was held at this moment. As soon as he turned his head, Fang Juexia held him by the shoulder and kissed him.


    The taste of orange juice entered with his soft tongue, just like moonlight breaking in at 12:30, tasting both sweet and cold, yet not icey, but still carrying an ice-cream-like thrill as it melted in his hot and humid mouth, brewing up a sweet heartbeat.


    This kiss was very short, but it was the first time Fang Juexia had taken the initiative.


    He retreated to a safe distance, looked at Pei Tingsong, and asked calmly, ¡°Did you taste it?¡±


    Pei Tingsong stood in a daze and nodded when he heard the question, still holding the same empty mug in his hand.


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll go back.¡± Fang Juexia blinked. ¡°Good night.¡±


    He should have been an even more decisive thief.


    After his bad act of stealing his heart, he was seizing the next moments to slip away. If he stayed too long, there would be too many reluctant-to-part emotions that would arise, and his final result would be to get caught.


    Fang Juexia was bodily picked up by Pei Tingsong, and there was no place to run after that. He was thrown onto the bed and then pressed down under Pei Tingsong, while his heart beat like a real criminal¡¯s, as guilt and desire intertwined.


    ¡°You¡¯re really getting stronger and stronger these days.¡± Pei Tingsong¡¯s dark pupils reflected his face.


    He knew to come find him as soon as he woke up, and he had even learned how to flirt.


    The corners of Fang Juexia¡¯s lips carried a smile, and he accepted Pei Tingsong¡¯s insincere praise. ¡°I was influenced through close association.¡±


    Moonlight fell across the gap of the curtain, spying on the lovers who melted into each other, before finally falling on the glasses abandoned on the bedside table and casting a mottled light.


    Early morning was always the most vulnerable time for Fang Juexia. It was at this time that he needed a tight embrace, and he needed blazing love the most.


    Everything he needed, Pei Tingsong had.


    Fang Juexia was the coastline at night, being repeatedly soaked by the rising and ebbing tides.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± He hugged Pei Tingsong and repeated.


    This kind of thanks would seem a polite gesture to many people, like it was just etiquette, but Pei Tingsong understood what it truly was¡ª love.


    Because he also felt like this, being grateful day after day, grateful for the fact that Fang Juexia had appeared in his life.


    Fearing that his mother would wake up too early, Fang Juexia didn¡¯t stay too long. He took a shower at 3 a.m., then came out and went into Pei Tingsong¡¯s closet to pull out some clothes to change into.


    Pei Tingsong sat beside the bed with a resentful face, and pulled at Fang Juexia¡¯s sleeve while complaining, ¡°Living in my house, wearing my clothes, and sleeping with me, then running off after sleeping.¡±


    Fang Juexia held back a smile and didn¡¯t quibble with him, instead turning his head back to kiss his lips. ¡°See you tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°See you.¡± Pei Tingsong finally pulled at his hand and kissed the back of it.


    Over the next two days, as long as he finished his work, Fang Juexia would go back to the apartment early to accompany his mama, making snacks and stewing soup with her. Pei Tingsong was afraid that she would be bored, so he took advantage of Fang Juexia¡¯s absences to take her sight-seeing at P University. Anyway, it was also a must-see tourist spot in Beijing.


    Public opinion online continued to ferment, but Fang Juexia, one of the main parties involved, was already no longer anxious about it. Even if he closed his eyes, he knew how those people would curse him out and talk nonsense about him. These were all known, so he was no longer afraid.


    On the day when the six of them were doing a magazine shoot together, Fang Juexia had just appeared in the studio when he heard a female photo assistant say something to the person standing next to her¡ª


    ¡°God, is that true? There have been too many melons recently.¡±


    Fang Juexia just felt weary at heart upon hearing this, but unexpectedly, the next sentence made his heart come to a sudden stop.


    ¡°When I was just scrolling through, I thought I misread it at first. Liang Ruo is actually leaving Seven Luminaries!¡±


    ¡ª


    Juurensha: !!! The truth finally comes out??! And hahaha, flirty FJX is the best!

 CH 99

    Thank you for not changing


    What?


    Leaving the group¡­


    After so many days, Fang Juexia had thought that his endurance capacity was already very high, but now, upon hearing this sudden news, he found himself as surprised as ever. He couldn¡¯t understand Ling Ruo¡¯s motives for doing so at all.


    Guessing that Liang Ruo would have also made a Weibo post, Fang Juexia didn¡¯t overthink it and went directly to search for it. He didn¡¯t expect that the Hot Search list that he had occupied for the last so many days had already switched people. The first entry on the list was now #Liang Ruo leaves the group#.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Pei Tingsong, who was standing beside him, soon noticed that Fang Juexia wasn¡¯t looking quite right. ¡°What happened?¡±


    Fang Juexia clicked open the Hot Search entry, and sure enough, saw that Liang Ruo had published a new Weibo post very recently. It was a video, and there were already 50,000 comments under it.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know why¡­¡± He looked up at Pei Tingsong. ¡°Liang Ruo made a Weibo post announcing that he has left his group.¡±


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s face also took on  a completely shocked expression at this. ¡°What is he doing?¡±


    While they were waiting for the stylists, they clicked on the video to watch it. Liang Ruo looked into the camera lens with a face devoid of makeup, wearing a simple white T-shirt as he sat with a table in front of him, and at the very beginning of the video, smiled and said hello.


    ¡°Hello everyone, I¡¯m Liang Ruo. Today, I¡¯d like to talk about something that I haven¡¯t been able to talk about this entire time, which may have a certain impact on everyone. First of all, I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    Upon seeing Liang Ruo¡¯s brilliant appearance as the leader of a top group, Fang Juexia was about to forget about the fact that he had no makeup on.


    The way he looked at the camera right now inexplicably reminded Fang Juexia of when he was a trainee.


    ¡°The first thing is, I¡¯m leaving the Seven Luminaries group. Here, I¡¯d like to say sorry to my fans and bandmates. I can¡¯t move ahead with everyone any longer.¡±


    He stood up and made a deep bow. Then he looked up again. ¡°Maybe Astar will still bring a lawsuit against me, but it doesn¡¯t matter. I have already been considering this decision for a long time, and there are also reasons why I have to do it.


    ¡°During my trainee period, when I was 18 years old, I was drugged and raped by Jin Xiangcheng, a senior manager at Astar. Since then, I have never been able to get rid of the control this senior manager had on me. Of course, I also got a chance to make a debut, an opportunity that originally didn¡¯t belong to me. As we all know, the strongest trainee in Astar¡¯s reserves at that time was Fang Juexia. After he learned about this matter, he helped me by talking to the other high-level officials there, hoping to get some justice for me. But as you all know, what did we count as?¡±


    There was a bitter smile on his face. ¡°That was when Jin Xiangcheng was at the peak of his power, and we couldn¡¯t do anything. Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t accept it, so he left Astar. While I, for various reasons, couldn¡¯t leave.¡±


    Liang Ruo¡¯s face was very pale. ¡°However, if I had left back then, the end result would perhaps have been much worse. But, every single day after my debut was a painful ordeal for me. I have been taking depression medication for a long time, and I have attempted suicide twice. However, I was rescued both times, after which I continued to be abused and violated. At one time, I was very afraid of this matter being known and talked about, because I knew that many people would stigmatize me, so I didn¡¯t dare to stand up. But now, I¡¯ve thought it through.¡±


    In the video, Liang Ruo was seen adjusting his mood before he took out a laptop. ¡°I want to expose the true face of this entertainment giant. Many of the things that Jin Xiangcheng has done to me, I have preserved evidence of. Obviously, I¡¯m not the only victim.¡±


    With that, he clicked his mouse, and the laptop immediately amplified and played several other processed sounds, which were recordings of many other people, and included both boys¡¯ and girls¡¯ voices.


    ¡°These are the trainees in the company who have been sexually harassed or abused by Jin Xiangcheng before. When I was collecting evidence, they came forward to provide me with recordings and other relevant evidence. The youngest one is only 15 years old,¡± Liang Ruo paused. ¡°Thanking them for their bravery. They are all braver than me.


    ¡°I will submit all the evidence to the police, and I believe that there will be results soon. This is far from Jin Xiangcheng¡¯s only criminal behavior; at present, all the other criminal evidence I have in my hands has also already been handed over to the police and the prosecutor¡¯s office. It was only after all this was done that I recorded this video.¡±


    Liang Ruo continued to explain, ¡°In order to avoid unreasonable speculation, let me first explain that the other members of Seven Luminaries did not suffer from any special experiences; each of them debuted on the merits of his own true ability. Apart from Jin Xiangcheng, Astar is still a very good and large entertainment company; it was just that this person hoodwinked the public and almost destroyed the entire Astar. Thanking the company for cultivating me, and for all their help. I hope everyone can continue to support Seven Luminaries and the other artists of the company. They are very good and hardworking people.


    ¡°I¡¯m not only quitting Seven Luminaries at this time, but am also quitting the entire entertainment industry.¡± Liang Ruo easily showed a smile. ¡°For the rest of my life, I want to live for myself and do what I want to do.


    ¡°Finally, I thank my friends for their protection in the past. I¡¯ve made you shoulder two years worth of curses because I was too timid.¡±


    Liang Ruo lowered his head and said in a soft voice, ¡°Sorry.¡±


    The video stopped abruptly.


    After watching this video, Fang Juexia¡¯s mood was difficult to describe. He knew that at the final part, Liang Ruo had been apologizing to him, but in fact, he didn¡¯t really need Liang Ruo¡¯s apology. No matter what Fang Juexia had encountered for the past two years, he had volunteered for it.


    Despite Pei Tingsong never having liked Liang Ruo, his first reaction after watching the video was worry. ¡°I am actually a little concerned about his personal safety right now.¡±


    However, Fang Juexia shook his head. ¡°Liang Ruo is a smart person. If there was no possibility of a full-body retreat, he would not come out at this time.¡±


    This sentence reminded Pei Tingsong: Liang Ruo being able to collect so much evidence and record a video while he was still involved in the hidden rules situation, and then he had also, throughout the entire video, separated Jin Xiangcheng from Astar, and specially protected his bandmates who he didn¡¯t actually have a good relationship with.


    He wasn¡¯t just one person, but had fallen into another camp, thus becoming a platoon.


    ¡°Li Luo helped him.¡±


    Fang Juexia nodded. ¡°I guess so, otherwise, just the contract would become a difficult lawsuit, and he wouldn¡¯t be able to leave just because he wanted to.¡±


    As Liang Ruo himself had said, he wasn¡¯t some kind of good person, but he was by no means heinous. With Li Luo¡¯s desire to completely destroy Jin Xiangcheng, he successfully achieved his wish of leaving Seven Luminaries and Astar. Using one big backer to crush another, this was exactly something Liang Ruo would do.


    But he was still a little sad, especially looking at the evidence that so many trainees had been violated by Jin Xiangcheng.


    After the shoot finished, everyone around them was discussing Liang Ruo in the car. Compared with Fang Juexia¡¯s father¡¯s drug abuse and domestic violence, a popular member of a first-line boyband having suffered from sexual abuse from a company¡¯s top level management for a long time, then leaving the group and throwing out all this real evidence¡ªsuch a hot sex scandal was obviously more eye-catching. What¡¯s more, there were countless relationships between the central figures of these two events, which made it even more intriguing.


    Fang Juexia, who had been slandered for a long time with the hidden rules situation, turned out to be innocent. As a two-year ace-level trainee, he had left Astar because he couldn¡¯t stand the higher-ups getting away with sexual assault.


    It took two or three years to really piece together the entire story, and now it was finally being spread around with great relish by everyone online.


    The truth being brought to daylight, face-slapping and a counterattack¡ªthis was the kind of story everyone loved to see.


    [@Blank page: Shit¡­ this is actually a linked melon??? FJX is too miserable, a pitiful beauty, miserable twice over, forced to take the blame, Jin Xiangcheng should die ba! He even makes moves on 15 year old kids!]


    [@Red bean niangao and meatball soup: Liang Ruo is also very miserable ba. Being forced for so long, and even trying to commit suicide twice. I¡¯m very worried about Liang Ruo¡¯s safety now. I hope he will be happy in the future]


    [@Surreal camouflage replying to @Red bean niangao and meatball soup: At the start, it may really have been forced. Maybe later though, it became more about using his body as capital to advance ba. Saying it clearly, what actually happened, everyone probably knew, but now that he dares to reveal his face and say all this, I¡¯m afraid that Jin Xiangcheng is going to collapse, and LR himself should have found a new backer ba.]


    [@Memeryl replying to @Surreal camouflage: It¡¯s not necessary to think so badly of everyone. It was already really hard for him to stand up and tell what happened back then, and also collect evidence for the police and make it public to everyone]


    [@I¡¯ve been clocking in for a long time today: Thinking carefully, I fear deeply that with Astar¡¯s top management being like this, the people below¡­.]


    [@ Meiyou: FJX is the most innocent person in the whole matter ba, leaving the company because he couldn¡¯t associate himself with people like that, and then not only having his accusations denied but also turned on him. FJX is really pitiful, he has been carrying the blame for so many years without saying a word.]


    [@My 7L will shine forever: Everyone, please don¡¯t also blame the other members. All of them are innocent, and I hope everything will be fine for Liang Ruo in the future.]


    [@Who said that I like you: I feel that the video is very informative, and there are many hints¡­. But after watching it, my first reaction was that FJX is a fucking real man (.]


    [@Winter is left for you: They must thoroughly investigate this Jin Xiangcheng matter! Who knows how many underage trainees and artists have been violated by him? It wouldn¡¯t be a pity for these trash big bosses to die!]


    [@Kiss under the starry sky: I saw a melon about As having some infighting a few days ago. Now it seems to be true¡­. They¡¯re finally fighting out in the open]


    Opinions varied online.


    Facts were cut into many pieces, allowing everyone to selectively see them, and everyone also selectively believed what they wanted to believe. In the end, everything was rendered far from its original appearance.


    Even Fang Juexia, who was at the center of the incident, could only get a glimpse, let alone ordinary people far away from across a screen.


    He had long been ready to entangle with this hidden rules rumor for the rest of his life, because this was his own choice, and he had never complained to anyone about it. However, he hadn¡¯t expected that Liang Ruo would use such a method, where good and bad were burned alike, just to return his innocence back to him.


    His bandmates, on the other hand, were happy. After finishing their work and returning to the dormitory, Ling Yi even planned to celebrate. ¡°It¡¯s great, our Juexia has finally gotten rid of this rumor. Before, every time I saw it, I really would half-die from sheer anger.¡±


    He Ziyan also sighed. ¡°All sufferings have their rewards ah.¡±


    ¡°I really didn¡¯t expect that there would be so many victims.¡± Jiang Miao shook his head. ¡°He must be arrested ah.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯ll definitely be arrested, it¡¯s already become such an uproar, and it¡¯s that disgusting. Have you guys seen the Hot Search list online? It¡¯s pretty much full of people boiling over with discontent.¡± Lu Yuan jumped on the sofa. ¡°And there are also other melons being implicated; they say that there is a big tiger behind the one surnamed Jin. That tiger fell from power not long ago, and now that they have evidence directly against the one surnamed Jin, even God can¡¯t save him.¡±


    ¡°Holy crap, really?¡±


    ¡°So the other evidence Liang Ruo mentioned also includes that?¡±


    Everyone was very heated over this topic, but Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t say much; he just looked at Fang Juexia silently. He knew him better than anyone else, and knew that at this time, Fang Juexia would never feel relieved because he had been let off. If so, he wouldn¡¯t have helped Liang Ruo hide what had happened from the start.


    He must be feeling burdened right now.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go and pour something to drink. Juexia, you come help me for a bit.¡± Pei Tingsong pulled Fang Juexia over to the kitchen and opened the door to the refrigerator. As he took juice and beer out of the fridge, he said, ¡°You give him a call ba.¡±


    Fang Juexia, who had just taken two cans of beer from him, didn¡¯t expect him to say this. He looked up with great surprise. ¡°Ah?¡±


    Pei Tingsong raised his elbow to close the refrigerator door, turned around, and his expression was slightly uncomfortable. ¡°Although, from the standpoint of a love rival, I¡¯m very reluctant to let you talk to Liang Ruo. I¡¯m very annoyed at the thought that he likes you and has liked you for so long.¡±


    He began to talk childishly again, but in the middle of his speech, his expression grew more restrained.


    Pei Tingsong looked at Fang Juexia, and with his eyes directing sincere encouragement towards him, continued in a low voice, ¡°But you¡¯d still better go ba. Otherwise, you¡¯ll feel uncomfortable inside. Rather than a love rival or whatever, I don¡¯t want you to carry any burdens towards him even more.¡±


    ¡®Maybe that was also what Liang Ruo had planned,¡¯ Pei complained darkly in his heart.


    ¡°Anyway, he can¡¯t compare to me.¡± Pei Tingsong took out a few cups with a smile. ¡°I still have this much confidence.¡±


    Fang Juexia laughed because of his frankness and even stuck a frozen beer can against the side of Pei Tingsong¡¯s neck. ¡°What are you thinking about every day ah?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s freezing.¡± Pei Tingsong¡¯s neck was frozen so much by him that he had to duck to the side before directly taking the beer can away from him. He said with a smile, ¡°What am I thinking? I¡¯m thinking about when my moon can be a bit fuller ah.¡±


    Lu Yuan, who had walked over to get snacks, overheard them. ¡°What are you guys talking about? What is this about the moon being full or not, isn¡¯t it just the 15th today?¡±


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change and he continued with his words, ¡°Who knows? Hey, help me take some of these over, I can¡¯t grab any more.¡±


    Looking at his back, Fang Juexia¡¯s heart lightened a lot.


    Pei Tingsong was always like this, seeing straight through his tight nerves at a glance, and then enveloping him within the most straightforward and pure emotions to warm his rigid body. His tenderness was different from everyone else¡¯s; he didn¡¯t show it with a certain form or posture, but rather with a softness of consciousness, a complete understanding.


    Was he full yet?


    Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t help but ask himself.


    He had to admit, Pei Tingsong had completely seen through him. In the past two years, he had always felt the reason that he could completely let go was because he could accept the state of the other party owing him, and it was only then that he could cut off all contact. However, if that was suddenly changed, he would not only feel that this wasn¡¯t fair, but would even have a burden on his shoulders.


    It was very strange, but that was just the kind of person he was.


    Looking at his noisy bandmates, Fang Juexia finally entered his room, went to his small balcony, lowered his head, and dialed Liang Ruo¡¯s number.


    This was the first time that Fang Juexia had actively sought him out on his own after he left Astar all those years ago.


    The call was picked up after only a few rings. Liang Ruo took the lead and called out his name from the other end of the call. The last tones of his voice carried a bit of surprise and doubt. ¡°Juexia.¡±


    ¡°En.¡± Fang Juexia asked calmly, ¡°You¡¯re really planning on leaving Seven Luminaries?¡±


    Liang Ruo was silent for two seconds. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve decided on that long ago. Hey, do you think I came out at this time to block the limelight and refute the rumors for you? No la, I recorded this video half a month ago, but it took a bit of time to submit the evidence and negotiate everything. I didn¡¯t expect something like this to happen to you at that time. ¡°


    Then he said to himself, ¡°Although, I really did feel bad when I saw you having problems over there. So, this video of mine was sent out directly, a little ahead of schedule.¡± He laughed. ¡°You don¡¯t think I¡¯m flattering you now ah?¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t. Thank you,¡± Fang Juexia said lightly.


    On the other end of the phone, Liang Ruo restrained his joking tone a bit. ¡°It¡¯s me who should be thanking you. For nearly three years, you¡¯ve been shielding me this entire time. Like a turtle hiding in its shell, I was afraid to do anything, and then I even went ahead and said I liked you, I¡¯m really tricky ba.¡±


    In fact, he hoped to hear Fang Juexia say ¡®yes,¡¯ and he hoped to hear Fang Juexia complain about him a bit. If it was like that, then the distance between them would be reduced.


    But Fang Juexia had never shown any emotion in front of him, and this time was the same. ¡°I did it voluntarily.¡±


    Liang Ruo had known it would be like this.


    How could Fang Juexia link his own motivation to his behavior?


    ¡°This time, my actions were voluntary as well, Juexia.¡± Liang Ruo maintained a smile in his voice. ¡°Do you know? I used to think naively that since you were willing to protect my reputation after you left Astar, you had to have some feelings for me ne. Otherwise, how could you rather let others slander you rather than give me up?¡±


    He had really anaesthetized himself like this.


    ¡°But later, I gradually understood that it wasn¡¯t because you were still friends with me; it was just because you are Fang Juexia, and you don¡¯t want to change yourself.¡±


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t know how to respond. He looked at the spider-plant on the balcony; the green leaves were curled up, and the tips had turned yellow.


    ¡°Thank you for not changing.¡± Liang Ruo continued, ¡°Otherwise, I would not have had the courage to stand up today. It took me nearly three years to learn a little from you back then.¡±


    When they were trainees together, Liang Ruo had a poor foundation and didn¡¯t know anyone, but when he went to the practice room, Fang Juexia was always there. One day, he finally mustered his courage and asked Fang Juexia to teach him.


    Many times, no matter how patiently Fang Juexia taught him, he couldn¡¯t figure it out.


    Later on, he lost this only friend of his.


    Fang Juexia heard what he said, and his heart stung a bit. ¡°Let bygones be bygones ba. After this¡­.what are your plans?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry la, I¡¯ve earned enough retirement money in recent years, and I¡¯ve gotten a lot of money from Director Li¡¯s side. Speaking of that, you probably guessed that ba.¡±


    ¡°En, I pretty much guessed it.¡± Since the day that Zhai Ying was able to get his monthly review videos so smoothly, Fang Juexia had already known. ¡°Li Luo wants to completely gouge out Jin Xiangcheng, and this really is a good way of doing it. Although it will have an impact on Astar, it¡¯s better to recover slowly than to watch it rot away.¡±


    ¡°Yes ah, it¡¯s a fight between big bosses. It¡¯s fine if I¡¯m just a chess piece, if you can give me back my freedom, then I¡¯ll willingly be a pawn.¡± Liang Ruo stated it very easily, ¡°I¡¯ve stayed in this circle long enough. I¡¯m not as talented or as capable as you are, and my bandmates are always targeting me, so it¡¯s no fun hanging around anyway. When everything has been settled, I¡¯ll travel around the world and emigrate to places where no one knows me. Like I told you before, I¡¯ll open up a small coffee shop, and that will be quite nice. As for Jin Xiangcheng¡­¡±


    Liang Ruo sneered on the other end of the phone. ¡°The crimes he committed are even heavier than you think; just a few of them will be enough for him to stay in prison for a lifetime. All these years of me being a dog have really not been in vain, now I¡¯ve finally gotten the chance to bite back.¡±


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t care about the charges against Jin Xiangcheng. He knew that this man had no bottom line, and now that he had fallen to this end, it could count as various forces uniting to come against him.


    ¡°No matter what happens, you need to take care of yourself.¡± After thinking for a long time, he could only come up with this sentence.


    But Liang Ruo was already very happy on hearing this. ¡°I will. Don¡¯t worry, a villain like me often lives longer. I will definitely live longer than Jin Xiangcheng.¡±


    Only when he said that did Fang Juexia feel relieved. Liang Ruo¡¯s nature wasn¡¯t bad, and he also knew that not everyone or everything in the world could be black or white; everyone was just being pushed along.


    At least Liang Ruo had woken up and looked back.


    ¡°Hey, Juexia, about you calling me, does Pei Tingsong know?¡± Liang Ruo asked deliberately, ¡°He won¡¯t be angry ba?¡±


    Thinking of Pei Tingsong, the corners of Fang Juexia¡¯s mouth raised slightly, and he explained in detail, ¡°No, he was the one who advised me to contact you.¡±


    Liang Ruo sighed at the other end of the phone. ¡°Okay ba, okay ba. I should have known earlier.¡±


    ¡°Known what?¡± Fang Juexia was puzzled.


    I should have known earlier that you would like someone like this.


    ¡°Nothing,¡± Liang Ruo said with a smile, ¡°I won¡¯t take up your time anymore, big star, I have to go see the prosecution.¡±


    ¡°En.¡± Fang Juexia dropped his eyes; it was time to say goodbye. This was a person who had participated in his weary youth, an old friend who had gone his separate way, then walked around and now shaken hands with him to make peace, but it was now the end of this separation.


    Everything was predestined.


    Hearing a knock on the door, Fang Juexia looked back to see Pei Tingsong standing at the door. The other party spoke to him in a low voice while gesticulating, asking if he wanted to eat pizza or not.


    Fang Juexia nodded gently and said one last sentence to Liang Ruo before hanging up the phone.


    ¡°I hope I can go to your cafe for coffee one day.¡±


    There was a sudden silence at the other end. Only after several seconds passed did Liang Ruo open his mouth again. His voice was trembling, and it was so obvious that he couldn¡¯t disguise it.


    ¡°Alright ah, drinks are free for you, drink as much as you want.¡± He cried and laughed at the same time, and after sniffling, added¡ª


    ¡°But if you bring Pei Tingsong along, you have to tip me double.¡±


    ¡ª


    Juurensha: Liang Ruo¡¯s situation was pretty tough¡­.glad he finally gets to leave though.

 CH 100

    Chapter 100 ¨C Typhoon Passing By


    Translated by juurensha


    Edited by Noks


    The paradise of idealists


    The night Liang Ruo left the group, Astar¡¯s official Weibo made a post.


    The contents were very long, but generally speaking, there were three main points: having an attitude check towards high-level sexual assault cases and promising to cooperate with the investigation; peacefully terminating Liang Ruo¡¯s contract and giving him their blessings; rectifying the company atmosphere and providing Astar with a bright future.


    Although a lot of people cursed them out, the good thing was that their attitude was correct and voicing this was timely. Prior to this, netizens were still worried about Liang Ruo¡¯s contract, but after seeing how Astar had directly terminated it, they felt that this counted as a good deed carried out by the company.


    With something like this happening, it was inevitable that some people would call the accounts into question and abuse them, but there were also many voices who didn¡¯t want to implicate the whole company because of one high level executive. In addition to making a statement, Astar had also set up an anti-sexual abuse foundation within the entertainment circle, with a 24-hour consultation phoneline to provide financial and legal aid to all those in need. This move dragged back up the netizens¡¯ impression and reduced the amount of harsh criticism that was being hurled on the company and its artists.


    Also, that very night, Fang Juexia received a call from Li Luo. He didn¡¯t expect Li Luo to have the time to call him during Astar¡¯s PR emergency.


    ¡°Director Li, hello.¡±


    Fang Juexia was still that same Fang Juexia, the one who had appeared during the trainee audition back then¡ª he was calm to the extreme, with no fluctuations in his tone at all. When everyone else had been timid and hesitant to show off their talents back then, Fang Juexia could just stand there and shine.


    ¡°My call right now is one that has come very late,¡± Li Luo said with a little guilt. ¡°To speak frankly, I didn¡¯t have the ability to uphold justice at the beginning, and let this thing drag on for so long. I may never be able to make up for the subsequent damage done to you.¡±


    After listening to him, Fang Juexia thought of the situation back then, when he had, hot-bloodedly, run all the way to knock on Li Luo¡¯s office door.


    Back then, he had been too naive; he had thought that anybody would have the right to punish a higher-level executive for committing the crime of sexual abuse, and that everyone would clearly know right from wrong. But even if they knew that, so what? The criminal was the one in power, and could blot out the skies with one hand, which meant that no one had the right to punish him. Even Li Luo could only remain silent at that time.


    Fang Juexia had studied mathematics; mathematics was the paradise of idealists, and he was one of them. He was used to facing the logical world as constructed by mathematics, which was simple, direct, and clear-cut. Everything could be put forth out in the open, submitted to reason and verification, and the result couldn¡¯t appear right but in fact be wrong. Once proved, a theorem would then be classified as absolutely correct.


    But these weren¡¯t numbers or theorems, these were people.


    In this complex human world, how many things could be deemed ¡°absolutely correct¡±?


    ¡°No, Director Li,¡± said Fang Juexia, following it up with a magnanimous laugh, ¡°I was the one who was too idealistic. I very much appreciate you promoting me and helping me; this I will never forget. Astar is where I started, and although it wasn¡¯t suitable for me, I hope it will be better in the future.¡±


    Li Luo also laughed, his voice carrying some regret. ¡°If I had enough power at that time to save you guys, maybe your star path would be completely different. By now, you should have been the person who would have taken Seven Luminaries all the way up to the top ba.¡±


    Fang Juexia had indeed been one of the reserved members for Seven Luminaries.


    He had stood in the front in every evaluation, calmly accepting the praise heaped on him by all the teachers. A after A was stuck onto him, and he was held up on the altar of the company. Big entertainment companies had so many trainees that it was impossible for all of them to debut. Fang Juexia was the only one who stood out as a surety for a debut with a new boy-band in everyone¡¯s eyes, especially with his two years of trainee experience at Astar,.


    But the more it was like that, the more dramatic fate became.


    ¡°But I¡¯m a member of Kaleido now.¡± Fang Juexia was neither humble nor arrogant. ¡°Moreover, I¡¯m not the person who can lead a group to the top. On the contrary, I¡¯ve learned a lot from everyone around me now, and every step along the way, we have walked side-by-side.


    ¡°In a way, I prefer the present state.¡±


    Li Luo said no more. He knew that from the day this stubborn boy had left Astar without any hesitation, their fates would never intersect again. In fact, that so-called gratitude for his help as a superior didn¡¯t count as much; Fang Juexia, this kind of person, would shine everywhere. What¡¯s more, his two years in Astar had simply brought the boy more long-term slander and hostile doubt.


    Yet, this boy was still grateful for everything in the past, and it was not because he was that tolerant or that generous¡ª


    It was because he never wanted to change himself.


    Fang Juexia was still that idealistic advocate, but he had now found a paradise more suitable for him.


    ¡°Then, I wish you a better future.¡±


    On the third day after Liang Ruo¡¯s withdrawal from the group, Jin Xiangcheng was also arrested on the basis of multiple criminal evidence provided against him. A lot of netizens who were following this matter closely the entire time felt that such an outcome was very much in line with the will of the people, but this issue didn¡¯t just end completely with this.


    This wasn¡¯t the only case of sexual abuse in the entertainment industry, nor was Astar the only entertainment company to have such a thing happen. The whole circle was full of ¡°hidden rules¡±, and there were few rebels like Fang Juexia. For the sake of their dreams of stardom, many artists were trapped and became victims through coercion and intimidation.


    Compared to men, there were even more female victims. They had no right to speak, no popular position or fame in the circle, and were constrained by the pressures of public opinion and the power of the big bosses, so they could only bear it silently. After Liang Ruo revealed his story, he became a model for people to follow, and a number of artists also spoke out; most of them were not very popular actors, and they shared their similar though not exactly the same experiences.


    Besides the entertainment circle, where the issue of sexual abuse had been exposed in front of the public eye, there were other more common industries that also started to speak up with a different tone. Gradually #Anti-sexual abuse in industries# became a hot topic. There were still people who kept trampling on the hearts of the victims, uttering irrelevant sarcastic words, and there were still some others who were just going with the flow.


    But there were also people thinking about it, and some who were considering it seriously, and this was progress.


    Everyone didn¡¯t know if this kind of topic would disappear as the tide of public opinion subsided, but at least for this moment, its existence was seen by more and more people.


    Just because no one had stood up in the past didn¡¯t mean that this kind of behavior was reasonable. No resistance didn¡¯t mean that they were correct. Now anti-harassment voices had appeared, becoming a kind of wake-up call. There were many Liang Ruos in this circle, and even more Liang Ruos who had not been saved and were still struggling in a sea of misery.


    Those who were forced to lose themselves also had the right to recover themselves again.


    This autumn, it seemed as if a typhoon had passed through Fang Juexia¡¯s life. Many of the things he had carefully maintained were destroyed, and although he had survived safely through it, he was still left with ruins and remnants of buildings everywhere. Fortunately, he was patient enough and willing to rebuild bit by bit. He also believed that everything would eventually progress in the right direction.


    His mother accompanied him for a week and a half before she left to go back to teach the children. She simply couldn¡¯t stay too long. On the day she left Beijing, Fang Juexia and Pei Tingsong both went to the airport to see her off. With tears in her eyes, Mama Fang was reluctant to leave her son.


    ¡°Before, it was always you who would leave Mama and go to other places.¡± She wiped away her tears. ¡°Now it¡¯s time for Mama to go, and I¡¯m still not really used to it.¡±


    Fang Juexia hugged her. ¡°I¡¯ll come to visit you very soon. Be careful at home, and if anything happens, let me know.¡±


    Before leaving, Mama Fang also hugged Pei Tingsong, and thanked him, after which, just like the first time, she repeatedly reminded Fang Juexia to take care of his Didi.


    But Fang Juexia¡¯s mood had long changed from what it was back then. If they were really talking about taking care of someone, he was actually the one being taken care of.


    Watching Mama Fang leave, Pei Tingsong stuck his hands into his pockets. ¡°I thought that when Auntie was here, she would want to see your dad. Originally, I had already prepared for it, and if she said anything, I would arrange it.¡±


    ¡°She wouldn¡¯t.¡± Fang Juexia shook his head and looked at the sky outside the huge floor-to-ceiling windows of the airport. ¡°When she gave me all the evidence, she had already given up her heart.¡±


    After spending all these years lost in obsession, his mother could now also see things more clearly.


    What she loved wasn¡¯t the person, but all those beautiful memories.


    Just like the Fang Juexia from before, both of them had struggled repeatedly for the sake of the once beautiful Fang Ping who wasn¡¯t physically gone, but was already lost.


    Time passed very quickly, and the smell of winter gradually appeared in the air. It was dry and cold, and the moment it went up the nose, the person¡¯s whole being would feel refreshed.


    Not wanting to give people the impression that he was trying to snatch the spotlight, Fang Juexia deliberately waited for some time. He waited until him revealing his family matter and his secret illness had gradually faded away in everyone¡¯s memory, and only then did he privately set up two charitable foundations¡ªone for genetic disease research and the other for blind children.


    He entrusted the establishment of the blind children¡¯s fund to a very reliable charity organization, and when the other party also proposed to invite him to be the spokesman for the organization, Fang Juexia refused. He also didn¡¯t use his own name to establish the fund; after thinking about it, he used his grandfather¡¯s name.


    If there was such a thing as blessings in the world, he hoped to give them all to his grandfather.


    Ling Yi won second place in the singing competition program he participated in, which also made everyone see the strength of a boyband¡¯s lead singer, breaking through the usual prejudices the audience had. He Ziyan¡¯s TV drama¡¯s broadcast also went smoothly; after the first four episodes were released, the review websites gave it a good score of 8.7 points. Although he was the second male lead, his character was the most perfect, without any bugs, and adding on the more loving filter passers-by had after his life experiences had been picked all over online, his popularity soared.


    Zhai Ying, who had never been able to make a comeback, was finally released from the freezer after the change in Astar¡¯s higher-level management, and she released a new album with her bandmates, which garnered quite a large response. Although filming for ¡°Escape¡± was done, everyone of the participants still possessed a ¡°team spirit¡± and all helped Zhai Ying, who had been stuck in a blank period for a long time, promote the album.


    Fang Juexia wasn¡¯t an exception, and he logged into Weibo before a meeting to forward Zhai Ying¡¯s post.


    [@Kaleido Fang Juexia: Finally getting a comeback, congratulations!]


    Ling Yi complained as soon as he saw this. ¡°Juexia, with the relationship between you and Xiao Ying being so good, and the frequency of your interactions with her on Weibo catching up to how much you have with us, are you not afraid that your girlfriend fans will get angry?¡±


    ¡°Does he still have girlfriends fans?¡± Lu Yuan said with a laugh, ¡°When he was interviewed last time, someone asked him what kind of girls he liked, and he said solemnly, ¡®Shouldn¡¯t you ask me what kind of people I like?¡¯ With just that sentence, all his girlfriend fans ran clean away ba. Some people say that ¡®Escape For Your Life¡¯ is poisonous and should be renamed ¡®Escape From Wanchai Pier.¡¯¡±


    ¡°Hahahahaha!¡±


    Fang Juexia was a little embarrassed, but all he could say was, ¡°They won¡¯t, the fans all know we¡¯re just friends.¡±


    It was true that as he said, his fans didn¡¯t care about the interaction between their idol and another member of a girl¡¯s group, but they caught onto a different point.


    [@The best Fine Jewelike Xerophyte in the world: If you¡¯re good friends, you should dance your good friend¡¯s dance!]


    [@My Hairline is very good: Congratulations on the comeback! The new album¡¯s main song sounds really good! Some people shouldn¡¯t just follow their friends¡¯ Weibo ah, they also should do the dance and sing the song¡ªthat would mean you¡¯re real bros!]


    [@Juexia Gege¡¯s little birthmark: Girl group dance! Girl group dance! Girl group dance!]


    [@Did Fang Juexia do a girl group dance today: Gege, look, I even changed my ID for you. ]


    [@ Fang Juexia¡¯s biological little sister outside the circle: My God, you see how beautiful the choreography this time is, how spirited and how beautiful, don¡¯t you feel moved, Fine Jeweled Xerophyte? Feeling moved at heart isn¡¯t as good as really moving! P.S.: Can I borrow Zhai Jie¡¯s promotional singing costume?]


    This unfolded¡­.


    Who would have thought that there would be no fans who would mind this at all? All of them were eager to see the main person they stanned dance a girl group¡¯s dance. Seeing this request blot out the skies online, Fang Juexia could only play dead. Anyway, he had given up going online, so even if he was asked, he would just say he knew nothing about it.


    Pei Tingsong, on the other hand, scrolled through his comments enthusiastically. Originally, he had just been surfing around with his side account, but when he accidentally saw Fang Juexia and Zhai Ying¡¯s CP clips, he was beside himself with anger. He went back to his main account, wanting to generously help promote Zhai Ying¡¯s new album, but when he went below, into his own family¡¯s little white flower¡¯s Weibo, he unprecedentedly discovered that he shared some resonance with his wife¡¯s girlfriend fans. He hadn¡¯t expected everyone to actually open up a new road and beg Fang Juexia to dance a girl group¡¯s dance.


    This was a good idea ah! Just like that, these fans opened up a new window in Pei Tingsong¡¯s heart, and his field of vision grew wider. Why hadn¡¯t he thought of it before?


    Once he accepted this idea, his mind was full of images of Fang Juexia dancing a girl group dance.


    He already couldn¡¯t satisfy himself with just reading these comments; he even went ahead and searched for [Fang Juexia girl group dance] on Weibo.


    One world, one wish.


    The main purpose of Cheng Qiang¡¯s meeting this day was to discuss the final plans for the end of the year. ¡°The recording work for the winter album has been basically completed, and the company has scheduled to release it at Christmas for now. It¡¯s the end of the year, so everyone will be even more busy; there will be four or five award ceremonies and parties on various platforms to attend, so all of your conditions need to be adjusted accordingly for me. Although you don¡¯t rely on your faces to eat, if your faces are nice, that will also be your bonus. Right, next month, Miaomiao¡¯s film will premiere at a film festival, and everyone will attend.¡±


    ¡°Yes! We¡¯re going to see Miaomiao¡¯s movie!¡±


    Jiang Miao covered his heart. ¡°I¡¯m so nervous.¡±


    ¡°Recently, everyone has been working very hard. I think almost all of your personal events are nearly done ba, the competitions are over, the programs have been recorded, and the dramas have premiered¡­¡± Cheng Qiang checked over these items, and these all were really finished, and perfectly, they had all ended together. ¡°That¡¯s very good, everyone can take a few days off.¡±


    On hearing about an impending vacation, Ling Yi immediately raised his hand. ¡°Asking a question!¡±


    Lu Yuan was spirited enough to play along with him. ¡°Two words!¡±


    Pei Tingsong rolled his eyes. ¡°Here we go again, they¡¯re going to ask about the Maldives again.¡±


    Ling Yi tossed the blame right back at him. ¡°I didn¡¯t! It wasn¡¯t me! It was Xiao Pei!¡±


    Seeing him taking the blame, Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t help but laugh.


    ¡°Speaking of this,¡± Cheng Qiang put a document on the desk. ¡°President Chen¡¯s friend opened a luxury hot spring resort, just around Beijing. Two days ago, President Chen asked me to ask you guys if you wanted to go.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll go! Of course, we¡¯ll go!¡± Ling Yi asked in a low voice, ¡°Then what about the Maldives?¡±


    Cheng Qiang sighed. ¡°We¡¯re going there too, I already told you that we¡¯re going there to record the ensemble show.¡± After saying that, he arranged for the group to go to the resort. ¡°Then you guys will leave tomorrow for the resort. There are few people there, it¡¯s quiet, and you guys can rest for two days and work hard for me when you come back.¡±


    Jiang Miao asked, ¡°Then what about you, Qiang Ge?¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t go, I¡¯ll let Xiao Wen follow you guys. If something comes up, please contact me.¡±


    He Ziyan, who had been quietly scrolling through Weibo without saying a word, suddenly spoke up, ¡°Holy crap!¡± The other members all turned their heads. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    ¡°Xiao Pei.¡± He Ziyan raised his cellphone and said, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you switch accounts while eating melons ah? Your hand slipped, and you didn¡¯t even notice you liked something ah.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Pei Tingsong froze, then thought of the things he had just browsed, and felt weak all over, so he immediately took out his cellphone to search through his likes.


    ¡°Really ah!¡± As soon as Ling Yi saw what Pei Tingsong had liked, he started tossing out inhumane mockery ¡°You sanctimonious looking person!¡±


    Jiang Miao felt that this was a little strange. ¡°You couldn¡¯t have liked something that was cursing out your bandmates ba.¡±


    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t ba, my young master.¡± Cheng Qiang nearly grew frantic. ¡°Don¡¯t mess around with me ah, as soon as I see the word ¡®PR¡¯ now, I want to puke. If you¡¯re still going to be like this, I¡¯m going to take away your accounts and suspend them!¡±


    ¡°Aiya, it¡¯s not that¡± Lu Yuan, who had already checked Weibo, clicked his tongue a few times before looking at Fang Juexia, who was still in the dark. ¡°Juexia, you treat him as a bandmate, while he treats you as¡­¡±


    By now, Pei Tingsong had grown so frantic he started cursing, ¡°What complete nonsense, shut up for me, or else I¡¯ll break your leg, you see!¡±


    He Ziyan was watching the uproar, and didn¡¯t mind adding flames to the fire. ¡°Oho. He¡¯s frantic, he¡¯s frantic, he¡¯s so frantic, he¡¯s started rhyming.¡±


    Only then did Fang Juexia, with a confused look on his face, take out his cellphone and open Pei Tingsong¡¯s liked posts list. What everyone was talking about turned out to be a Weibo post with thousands of comments, posted by an account with thousands of fans.


    [@Beautiful baby is delicate and pitiful: Based on the Little Beauty¡¯s recommendation, I went to watch Zhai Jie¡¯s new album¡¯s song, and the choreography, respect. The wave and hip twists during the chorus really can¡¯t suit our Little Beauty more. Who says a cold face can¡¯t be sexy? Clearly he doesn¡¯t want to dance it, but he has to. His lips are stubbornly pursed in a line, his ears as red as if they had been bitten, his eyes lowered, not wanting to look at the camera, but the birthmark at the corner of his eyes draws you in anyway. The neckline of his loose white shirt is spread out, revealing a small section of his clavicle. As soon as the light hits him, the lines of his waist are on full display, and as soon as he thrusts his hips, our hearts and livers start trembling.


    If the daily beauty value of Pretty Baby is ten, then the forced-to-be seductive Pretty Baby¡¯s beauty value will be ten times more than that. Who doesn¡¯t want to see the holy beauty red with lust? So sisters, quickly go leave some messages! If you guys don¡¯t kick up a fuss, and if I don¡¯t kick up a fuss, then when will Fine Jewelike Xerophyte dance like this?! If you push, and I urge, Fine Jewlike Xerophyte will be more beautiful tomorrow than today!]


    ¡°Pei Tingsong¡­¡± Fang Juexia put his cellphone on the table, startling Pei Tingsong into trembling.


    ¡°What were you looking at when you were scrolling through Weibo?¡±


    ¡ª


    The author has something to say:


    It¡¯s almost over. There should be a few chapters left.


    If you have anything you want to see in the extras, you can leave a message for me these next few days, and I will try to satisfy everyone as much as possible


    (The extras will still focus on TingJue and Kaleido as much as possible. If there are crossovers, I might write them somewhere else by themselves, so the Werewolf  and Escape won¡¯t be written. The four books are all my sons, and I don¡¯t know who I should let win.)


    ¡ª


    Juurensha: Ahahahahaha, busted! Great entry though! (As for the sort of MeToo movement going on up there¡­I¡¯m glad it¡¯s happening in the chapter, but I feel like the other Astar execs also should have been held accountable for knowing what was happening and staying silent for so long. Like it¡¯s good Li Luo got it out in the open I guess, but would he have done it if it wasn¡¯t part of his power play? Idk)

 CH 101

    Chapter 101 ¨C Hot Spring Resort


    Pei Tingsong immediately defended himself regarding the matter. ¡°It¡¯s not like that! My hand really did just accidentally slip!¡±


    Ling Yi didn¡¯t believe him, and slyly drew closer. ¡°You were on your main account here yi, can your hand really slip and land on a fan¡¯s Weibo ah?¡±


    ¡°There is only one truth.¡± Lu Yuan mercilessly tore away the facade. ¡°Xiao Pei was following certain keywords.¡±


    ¡°Keywords¡­¡± Jiang Miao play-acted with them, asking innocently, ¡°It couldn¡¯t be [Juexia girl group dance]?¡±


    ¡°Tch, tch, tch.¡± He Ziyan stretched out his index finger and pointed at Pei Tingsong a few times. ¡°My bandmate is actually a clay figurine type fan.¡±


    By now, Fang Juexia already had no face left to face everyone and could only use his eyes to gouge at Pei Tingsong. This Weibo post had been written so explicitly, and his hand had actually slipped and liked it.


    It couldn¡¯t be that he also wanted to see him dance a girl group dance?


    What was with all this ah?


    Usually, when Fang Juexia wasn¡¯t happy, he would be just like a little bodhisattva who had a cold face but was actually warm-hearted. However, this incident had made him really angry, and even Pei Tingsong, who was usually the one with the big temper, could only quickly admit his inferiority. He stretched out one of his legs under the table to touch Fang Juexia¡¯s toes. Unfortunately, the other party was still angry and shrank back.


    ¡°Don¡¯t do such messy things next time.¡± Cheng Qiang also began to scold him, ¡°Fortunately it wasn¡¯t a post cursing out your bandmates or other whatever messy melons, or else this like would have gone on the Hot Search list. Every time I see your guys¡¯ names on the Hot Search list name, I get scared.¡±


    Like an abiding henchman, Ling Yi immediately nodded and agreed, ¡°Yeah, please remember to use a side account when scrolling through Weibo!¡±


    ¡°What side account?¡± Cheng Qiang used the documents in his hand to swat Ling Yi¡¯s head. ¡°Last time I said to not create side accounts. Sooner or later, it¡¯ll be dug out, and once it¡¯s dug out, it¡¯ll create another pile of crap.¡±


    Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t give up. ¡°My side account is completely clean, and I guarantee that there is nothing to dig up.¡±


    Ling Yi whispered a complaint, ¡°Like hell I believe you.¡±


    ¡°Alright, everyone be more well-behaved ba. I don¡¯t want to go through those days again, when, in a blink of an eye, I find you all in the headlines one after another again.¡± After saying a few more final words, Cheng Qiang ended the meeting and asked the driver to drive them back to the dormitory.


    As soon as they got in the car, Fang Juexia switched seats with Jiang Miao, to sit beside the window, not willing to be next to Pei Tingsong at all. Pei Tingsong hinted at him quite a few times, but it was all useless, and Jiang Miao, who was sandwiched between the two, could only smile.


    Although Pei Tingsong had cancelled his like, since even He Ziyan had managed to find the slip of his hand, and quite a long period of time had passed, it had been discovered by TingJue girls wearing microscopes long ago.


    [@I¡¯m just deaf, what about it: Shit, Pinot Tree Supreme, calm down a bit¡­.]


    [@TingJue is real: Don¡¯t know why, but the like being cancelled was too much like the feeling of PTS protesting his innocence to me. A slip of the hand means that he already had that search pulled up ah.]


    [@How do I merit doing TingJue: Sisters, after cramming my mouth with fluff, my heart is growing weak]


    [@Fine Jeweled Xeriscape of the Pinot Tree Supreme replying to @How do I merit doing TingJue: Me too¡­ No, no, no (waking myself up) if anyone asks, it¡¯s just band friendship, if anyone asks, it¡¯s just Pei Tingsong liking clay figurine fans.]


    [@Has TingJue gone public today: No, I¡¯m a bit afraid when looking at my ID now, I even want to change it. PTS is too fierce, I haven¡¯t really shipped something xx ba¡­]


    It wasn¡¯t only the TingJue girls online who were addicted to fluff, but even the Kaleido four-person group chat that was bustling with activity.


    [National first-class flower hand dance performing artist: The slip of the hand means something]


    [Kaleido¡¯s number one boss: What something?]


    [Your Fire Ge is still your Fire Ge: I even suspect he did it on purpose. Is Pei Tingsong hinting at something to us?]


    [Kaleido¡¯s number one boss: Hinting what? Let me hear it!]


    [The Household¡¯s Essential Good Captain: You guys don¡¯t messily say stuff ah, I¡¯m stuck between the two of them, and I don¡¯t even dare to read your guys¡¯ messages.]


    [Your Fire Ge is still your Fire Ge: Is Juexia really angry? He shouldn¡¯t be ah, I would actually think it¡¯s normal if Juexia wasn¡¯t this angry¡­. ]


    On seeing He Ziyan¡¯s message, Jiang Miao turned his head and confirmed Fang Juexia¡¯s state. He was wearing headphones, had his eyes closed, and was resting; although he looked like nothing had happened, his lips were slightly pressed together, and it was obvious that he wasn¡¯t in a relaxed state with just a glance. Then, Jiang Miao turned his head to the other side, and saw Pei Tingsong propped against the window, holding his cellphone, with his hand flying quickly as he typed, never pausing.


    [The Household¡¯s Essential Good Captain: I feel like he¡¯s still angry. Juexia¡¯s WeChat has been vibrating nonstop, but he hasn¡¯t even glanced at it.]


    [Kaleido¡¯s number one boss: Why shouldn¡¯t he be angry? What¡¯s wrong with being angry?]


    [National first-class flower hand dance performing artist: Ling Yi, are you dumb ah? When have you ever seen Juexia really angry at us? Him being angry isn¡¯t normal, understand? Let¡¯s say it was you today, and your fans begged you to dance a girl group dance, and I accidentally liked that post, you would get frantic at me, right?]


    [Kaleido¡¯s number one boss: Frantic ah, I¡¯d have to drag you in to dance with me!]


    [National first-class flower hand dance performing artist: ¡­.]


    When they finally got back to the dormitory, Fang Juexia slipped into his own room as soon as they entered. Ling Yi also slipped in. ¡°Juexia ah, let¡¯s pack our luggage together ba.¡±


    Fang Juexia took off his coat and took out his cellphone; the screen was covered with WeChat prompts, 20 prompts folded on top of each other, all of which were sent by Pei Tingsong. He didn¡¯t bother to read them, instead agreed with Ling Yi¡¯s proposal, and the two of them began to organize things for the hot spring resort trip tomorrow. Ling Yi had a childish personality, and although he said that they would organize their luggage, half of what he packed was food and stuff for fun. When half of their luggage was packed, He Ziyan called Ling Yi outside to play games for a bit.


    ¡°Coming, coming.¡± Ling Yi quickly sorted everything out and closed his suitcase. ¡°I¡¯m going la.¡±


    ¡°En.¡± Fang Juexia took out a black sweater from the closet, laid it on the bed, and folded it seriously. He didn¡¯t know why, but when he saw this sweater, he was immediately reminded of the time when he was doing the magazine shoot with Pei Tingsong. They had shot on the snowy grounds for a long time, and his hands had frozen. At that time, even though Pei Tingsong clearly didn¡¯t like him, he had still taken his hands and put them into the pockets of his big coat.


    He fell into a reverie without realizing it, then a pile of clothes suddenly fell on his bed. After Fang Juexia returned to his senses, he straightened up and saw Pei Tingsong standing next to him, with his hand outstretched; he hadn¡¯t retracted it after throwing out these clothes on the bed.


    ¡°What are you doing ma?¡± Fang Juexia¡¯s brow wrinkled. ¡°Who let you come in?¡±


    ¡°Still angry with me ah.¡± Pei Tingsong came closer and tried to hug him, but as soon as he reached for him, Fang Juexia pushed him away. Fang Juexia then glared at him, looking like a frantic rabbit. The red color at the corner of his eyes made him look beautiful even in this angry state. ¡°What are you doing here? You messed up my bed, too.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve messed up more than that,¡± Pei Tingsong whispered.


    Fang Juexia gritted his back teeth. ¡°Pei Tingsong¡­¡±


    ¡°I really know I was wrong. I admit I searched for it, but I didn¡¯t want to like it¡­¡± Pei Tingsong tentatively pulled at Fang Juexia¡¯s sleeve, pulling his sweater sleeve long. ¡°My suitcase is broken, and I don¡¯t have anywhere to put my clothes. Can I put it in with your luggage?¡± After that, he immediately added, ¡°Of course, I¡¯ll carry the luggage. I¡¯ll be your valet the entire time.¡±


    Fang Juexia pursed his lips. ¡°It¡¯s really broken?¡±


    ¡°Really, would you like to go and check? The wheel fell off.¡±


    His eyes caught a glimpse of the pile of clothes Pei Tingsong had brought, which included the brown windbreaker he had worn before. Fang Juexia also didn¡¯t know what was wrong with him; every time he wanted to be angry, Pei Tingsong¡¯s good sides would appear on their own in his head, and then he didn¡¯t even have the heart to be angry anymore.


    ¡°Just going for two days, you don¡¯t need to bring so many clothes,¡± Fang Juexia said in a sullen voice.


    Hearing his words, Pei Tingsong knew that he had already succeeded halfway, and his tone couldn¡¯t help cheering up. ¡°I wanted you to help me choose, and I¡¯ll take whichever ones you tell me to take.¡±


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t say a word, but he had already started to sort through the clothes on the bed. Pei Tingsong was beside himself with joy. While watching Fang Juexia seriously fold clothes, he remembered some books he had read before. Every time the husband went on a trip, the wife would organize and pack his luggage, and every time that happened, the husband would always be very happy. Previously, he had felt that sort of happiness was strange; it was just someone sorting out luggage; when the nanny packed his luggage for him, he didn¡¯t feel anything at all. Sometimes he even wanted to say that this was such a little matter, and he didn¡¯t want to trouble others to do it for him.


    But now, as he watched Fang Juexia fold his clothes beautifully one by one and put them into his small silver suitcase and stick them intimately together with his own clothes, the feeling this scene bought him was too amazing.


    Happiness sometimes would come inexplicably.


    As Fang Juexia bowed his head to sort out the clothes, what came to his face was the familiar smell of sea salt, which was very nice, and which was the smell of Pei Tingsong. He was thinking about matching his shirts with his pants, but he got a little embarrassed when he picked up Pei Tingsong¡¯s underwear, and his ears started to become hot again. He folded it casually and stuffed it to the side of the suitcase. But who would have known that at this time, Pei Tingsong would also crouch down right next to him, and suddenly ask without any rhyme or reason, ¡°Can you call me husband once?¡±


    There was a splat sound, and Fang Juexia was no longer crouching, but was actually sitting on the ground. He turned his head and frowned at Pei Tingsong. He looked at him with a look of witnessing a fool act up. ¡°What¡¯s the matter with you?¡±


    ¡°Just call me that once, I just want to hear it now.¡± Pei Tingsong wanted to satisfy the fantasy in his mind, and pulled at Fang Juexia¡¯s arm. ¡°Anyway, it¡¯s not like you haven¡¯t called me that before.¡±


    He clearly had problems.


    Fang Juexia wanted to stand up directly, but Pei Tingsong, who had already seen through his moves, pulled his hand, brought him over to the edge of the bed, and hugged him around his waist in broad daylight, his hands even stretching into his sweater. Fang Juexia twisted to avoid him, lowered his voice, and threatened, ¡°Ling Yi will come in in a bit.¡±


    ¡°If he comes in, then he comes in,¡± Pei Tingsong stated very stubbornly. He had a very special appearance; when he was happy and laughing, he was always full of youthful spirit, but once he got a little tough, he would have a strong oppressive air about him. ¡°You can¡¯t go until you call me that.¡±


    ¡°Dream on.¡± Fang Juexia was also not willing to show any weakness, and so grabbed his hands, wanting to pull  them away from his waist. Pei Tingsong was the best at combining hard tactics with soft tactics, and he also knew that his family¡¯s little white flower could be persuaded by reason but not by force, so he immediately switched gears to act flirty. ¡°Call me that once ma, I just want to hear it now.¡± Putting aside his flirtiness, Pei Tingsong even sat down in front of him, folded his legs and arms to encircle Fang Juexia, and taking advantage of no one else being there, smacked a kiss on his lips. ¡°Begging you.¡±


    When he remembered how Pei Tingsong¡¯s catchphrase to him was pretty much, ¡°beg me¡±, Fang Juexia¡¯s heart was filled with the pleasure of seeing how karma had turned around. His chin raised slightly. ¡°Call you what?¡±


    ¡°Husband ah.¡±


    ¡°Hey,¡± Fang Juexia replied quickly, and his face was filled with a happy little expression of having taken advantage of him. He couldn¡¯t hide his sweet smile.


    ¡°Really, you¡­¡± Pei Tingsong stretched out his hand to pinch his face, but he couldn¡¯t bear to use strength, so he pinched it gently. ¡°Don¡¯t play dumb, quickly call me that.¡±


    Fang Juexia held back his smile, let out an ¡°oh¡±, and looked at Pei Tingsong with his beautiful eyes. ¡°Didi.¡± Then, seeing Pei Tingsong¡¯s sudden change in expression, he started laughing again, laughing until his head was thrown back.


    Although Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t succeed, as he watched Fang Juexia laugh so sweetly, he felt very happy in his heart because he knew that no one else could see such a lovely smile except him. Fang Juexia had never laughed like this in front of others.


    ¡°You are too good at being perverse, you think I can¡¯t do anything to you ba. Okay, you wait¡­¡± Pei Tingsong began to tickle the side of his waist. Fang Juexia was very ticklish, and ducked away as soon as he started, laughing like a child.


    ¡°Are you going to say it? Are you going to say it?¡±


    Fang Juexia had ducked away so much that he was lying on the ground, but he was still stubborn. ¡°Say what, Didi? You¡¯re a Didi.¡±


    As the two people were fussing away, they suddenly heard some movement from outside. Ling Yi was coming back, calling out Juexia¡¯s name. Pei Tingsong quickly pulled him up and sat down on the floor himself. Fang Juexia¡¯s face was red with laughter, looking like a juicy peach, and his birthmark was even redder.


    Just before Ling Yi came, Pei Tingsong couldn¡¯t help but put down his last fierce words. ¡°There will definitely be a time when you beg to say it.¡±


    ¡°What are you guys doing?¡± Ling Yi held half a popsicle in his hand and handed the other half to Fang Juexia. Fang Juexia shook his head. ¡°Too icy.¡±


    Pei Tingsong took the other half away, stood up, and walked out. ¡°My suitcase is broken, so I put my clothes in Juexia¡¯s suitcase.¡±


    Ling Yi thought of something and ran after him. ¡°Xiao Pei, they said you bought a new game console. Can you lend it to me to play for two days? Is it waterproof, will it break if it falls into the hot springs¡­¡±


    Closing the suitcase, Fang Juexia thought of Pei Tingsong¡¯s last words, and he couldn¡¯t help the many images that appeared in his mind. The glass door of the balcony wasn¡¯t closed, and a gust of wind blew in with it the aroma of red irises, which filled the space until it made him dizzy. He stood up for just a bit before falling onto his bed, his body laid out on the clothes that Pei Tingsong hadn¡¯t taken away. Burying his head there, he found himself surrounded by Pei Tingsong¡¯s smell.


    It felt like it was time to tell the other members about their relationship.


    But Fang Juexia was a little worried; he didn¡¯t know whether they would accept it.


    However, he had already concealed several things before and hadn¡¯t told them to everyone, so he didn¡¯t want to continue hiding this matter from them. No matter what the final result was, it was reasonable to be frank with your family.


    The next morning, Xiao Wen came to pick them up with the driver. The destination was quite far away, and the time spent on the road wasn¡¯t short. Everyone was noisy at first, but fell asleep after they ran out of energy to kick up a fuss anymore. It was only after arriving at their destination that they woke up one by one.


    As soon as they got out of the car, several uniformed staff members came to pick them up. The leading staff member was dressed in a slim suit and displayed a refined and courteous manner as he took them into the resort. It was different from Fang Juexia¡¯s imagination; he had thought it would be a large expanse of magnificent buildings, so he hadn¡¯t expected the scenery to be this beautiful; they were surrounded by green trees and verdant distant mountains all around. It didn¡¯t feel like a hot spring resort at all. The entrance wasn¡¯t covered by a grand gate, but by a huge ancient ginkgo tree. The ground beside it was golden with fallen leaves, and there was a path on the side. There were only a few words on the sign there, and they had been all hand carved.


    Fang Juexia looked around and couldn¡¯t help saying, ¡°The scenery here is so beautiful.¡±


    The person leading them said with a smile, ¡°We¡¯re on a large area of flat land constructed between two mountains and a lake. On the basis of preserving the original landscape, we have built some buildings, and the hot springs inside are all natural hot springs, which are very suitable for recuperation and rest.¡±


    This was probably the reason why there were so many hot springs here. Looking out into the distance, there was a vast white mist, ethereal in the mountain scenery. In addition to the greens and yellows, the shade of the trees closer by was also mixed with a lot of warm red, probably maple leaves.


    No wonder the boss had said it was a good place. Sure enough, it was nice, both private and beautiful. It looked like a mountain view from the outside, and it was only upon entering it that you would come to know that it was a hidden but beautiful place.


    Lu Yuan happily joked, ¡°This place is beautiful ah. It¡¯s like we¡¯re here to cultivate into becoming immortals.¡±


    ¡°The air is so good oh.¡± Ling Yi suddenly took in a breath of fresh air. ¡°I feel better all over.¡±


    The staff escorted them all the way in. The path they took was filled with rich scenery, overlapping rockeries, and every tree seemed to have been carefully designed. Even Pei Tingsong, who was used to seeing good places and was always nitpicky, affirmed, ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡±


    ¡°We have a lot of entertainment here. In addition to watching movies, singing, and playing golf, you can also ride horses, climb, have a picnic, and feed the peacocks.¡± Then the staff member laughed again. ¡°Of course, please be rest assured that we have an appointment system here. For the next two days, you guys are the only guests we are serving, so you can all be at ease and relax and enjoy to your heart¡¯s content. Our confidentiality and privacy are very good.¡±


    ¡°Boss is really awesome this time.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s so great, finally, there¡¯s no need to hide around and we can just play.¡± Ling Yi was already itching to try things. ¡°I want to have fun with all the entertainment!¡±


    The person leading them looked at his watch and motioned for the other staff members to leave with their luggage. He told Fang Juexia and the rest himself, ¡°It¡¯s already lunch time now. We¡¯ve prepared special private meals for you. Please come with us.¡±


    They were taken to a golden ginkgo forest and walked along a stone path laid with stones as big as goose eggs. At the end of the path was a simple and elegantly carved pavilion. This was where they had lunch. The windowsills were very big, and as they sat inside and looked out, gingko leaves drifted around on the autumn breeze.


    As soon as they were seated, a waiter in white served a plate of cold dishes, chopped blanched purslane mixed with smoked ham dice. The bottom of the dish was padded with shredded Manchurian wild rice simmered in chicken soup.


    ¡°They really took a lot of pains.¡± Jiang Miao said, ¡°Just with this cold dish, we¡¯ll have eaten all the flavors of autumn.¡±


    Let alone Pei Tingsong, someone who had grown up eating Western style food, not being able to recognize it,  even Ling Yi couldn¡¯t recognize it. ¡°What¡¯s this vegetable? The leaves are very round and kind of cute.¡±


    ¡°Purslane, it¡¯s a kind of wild vegetable, it¡¯s good for your health.¡± Jiang Miao scooped a small spoon for everyone. Fang Juexia tasted a bit, and that bite was filled with the fragrance of mountains and fields, with the Manchurian wild rice being chewy; sure enough, it was delicious.


    The second dish also came out, and it was Fang Juexia¡¯s favorite course, soup. He reached out and uncovered the lid to release a clear and soft aroma.


    The waiter who served the dish explained, ¡°This is the soup stock created with ginkgo, ginseng, and Sanhuang chicken. The grouper fillets were cut into pieces and then rolled up. You can eat the fish while it¡¯s hot, and then drink the soup after eating the fish.¡±


    He Ziyan fished out some fish fillets. ¡°Too exquisite.¡±


    Lu Yuan tried the fish, which was fresh and tender. ¡°That privately cooked food we ate last time was also very exquisite, but they specialize in cooking. It¡¯s really rare for a hot spring club to be able to do so well.¡±


    Other dishes came out one after another, each of them being a seasonal delicacy. These six boys were usually busy with their work and always ate irregularly, sometimes not even eating for the sake of body management. All of their stomachs were not in a good condition, especially Fang Juexia, who often suffered from stomach aches.


    Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t have the time to care about eating. He scooped out a bowl of soup and stirred it carefully with a small porcelain spoon to cool it for Fang Juexia. He didn¡¯t care whether there was anyone else around him and just placed it directly in front of Fang Juexia. Fang Juexia turned his head, looked at him, and was about to remind him, but he had already been caught by the others.


    ¡°Well, well, the maknae only has one Gege in his eyes ah.¡± Lu Yuan took his chopsticks and knocked on the edge of the bowl.


    ¡°Only Pretty Gege,¡± He Ziyan joked while holding his chopsticks, ¡°Anyone who isn¡¯t pretty isn¡¯t a Gege.¡±


    ¡ª


    The author has something to say:


    I feel like I¡¯m writing a food novel.


    The next chapter may go to weavi. You should prepare for it yourself.


    ¡ª


    Juurensha: The resort sounds so nice! And ahahahaha guys, you know what that means for the next chapter right?  it¡¯s snunsu time again. Buy the raws guys!


    And let me just address prettylucky675 from Novelupdates: when I decided to implement this thing about buying the raws for smut, I knew it wasn¡¯t going to be popular. But guess what? You¡¯re getting this entire translation for free, besides the smut. This is exactly what is on jjwxc, and honestly, I didn¡¯t have to go find and translate the smut at all if I didn¡¯t want to. I work full-time, and I do this translation in my spare time as a hobby, and guess what, it takes hours to translate, research, edit, and then post chapters. I don¡¯t get paid for this, and no one is entitled to anything about this translation. Did the author ask me to do this? Of course not, but what author is going to say no to more people buying her stuff. And yes, I understand people not being able to use certain Chinese apps/not trusting them, but in that case, just don¡¯t use them. For example, I would love to be able to buy episodes on Maoer, but I don¡¯t have an Apple phone, and I don¡¯t trust Alipay with my passport information, so I can¡¯t buy anything off of Maoer, and I just accept it. Again, you¡¯re not entitled to anything here. Honestly, this kind of thing is very discouraging towards all fan translators. If you don¡¯t like what I¡¯m doing, you¡¯re free to stop reading this translation.


    Noks: For those who have a problem with not being able to access the edited smut chapters without buying the raws (the money for which goes completely to the author), understand, it¡¯s just the smut you don¡¯t have access to here, you are getting the rest of the story for free. That¡¯s like a total of five half-chapters out of a 120 that you¡¯re not getting access to. Yes, I know that smut is a huge pull of danmei stories like these, of why we read them, but this story is beautiful even without the smut. Contributing to the author for writing such a beautiful story is not something that will take much, and if you don¡¯t want to or are unable to do so, it¡¯s okay, you don¡¯t have to, there is no one forcing you to. Just please remember, fan translators like Juurensha do what they do because they want to share such stories with a wider audience, so don¡¯t downplay all the effort that has been put into translating and editing the story simply because you can¡¯t access the smut.

 CH 102

    Park in Weavi (which you guys know means, send in the raws for smut!)


    Facing his bandmates¡¯ ridicule, Pei Tingsong showed no change in expression, nor did he display any alarm. He simply raised his eyebrows. ¡°It¡¯s still Fire Ge who knows the score.¡±


    Even though he said that, in order not to make Fang Juexia feel embarrassed, he still spooned out a bowl of soup for everyone one by one, giving a rare performance of being a good Didi.


    The dishes were both fresh and varied, and these guys, who were used to just casually solving the problem of meals at work, now got a rare chance to enjoy and savor their meal. They ate while chatting, and this meal lasted a long time.


    They had agreed to ride horses in the afternoon, so the staff took them back to their respective rooms first. The living area was large, with a hot spring villa allotted to each of the six people. In each courtyard was a private spring that was surrounded by rocks, gingko trees, and cinnamon trees, both private and beautiful.


    After changing into the equestrian clothes provided by the staff, the six people came out of the living area and rode a park car to the riding area. Pei Tingsong was someone who had been seriously involved with the equestrian club in his past, so he was familiar with everything. After choosing a horse that looked pleasing to his eye, he flipped over, got on the horse, and pulled on its reins to make it take a few steps forward.


    Fang Juexia looked at him from below and saw that he was dressed from head to toe in beige equestrian clothes. Under his helmet, his eyebrows were straight and handsome, and he was riding the horse with ease. They were flying across the track, with wind even blowing across his body.


    Such an image was really pleasing to the eye.


    Although the environment was good, in the end, it wasn¡¯t a professional equestrian club, so there were not enough horses. Jiang Miao, who had always been a little afraid of large animals, withdrew from participating in this activity and simply sat under the umbrella to watch them have fun. Although he had come into contact with horses during the last shoot for the ¡®Break Through¡¯ album, it was still different from this kind of galloping around on them. Fang Juexia was also a little afraid, and he also took a break with Jiang Miao.


    ¡°Really scary.¡± Jiang Miao picked up the juice bottles on the table, unscrewed one of them and gave it to Fang Juexia, while keeping the other bottle for himself. ¡°Drink something.¡±


    Fang Juexia thought of Jiang Miao filming for the movie, and the corners of his mouth rose slightly. ¡°Miao Ge, if they want to shoot you wearing an ancient costume and riding a horse, what will you do?¡±


    Jiang Miao was stumped by this. He paused while drinking the juice. ¡°En¡­if it¡¯s for a film, no way around it, I¡¯ll just have to grit my teeth and get through it.¡±


    Fang Juexia could see that he really liked acting. Last time, when they had visited the set, he had stood by the monitor near the camera and watched him act, and it had been very emotional.


    ¡°You are so dedicated, there will definitely be more acting opportunities in the future,¡± Fang Juexia said.


    Jiang Miao put down the glass bottle. ¡°Then what about you? Once the group activities reach a certain level, and you can develop your own career freely, what do you want to do?¡±


    Fang Juexia thought seriously about it for a while. ¡°It¡¯ll still be singing and dancing ba, and being a song composer is also good. I just love the stage.¡± Then he looked at Jiang Miao again, and stated with clear eyes, ¡°But I still like being with you guys. If someone has a particular job, then they can go do it, and then when they come back, the six of us can be a complete group and stand on the stage again. Ten years from now, I still want it to be like this.¡±


    He had unknowingly given voice to the words in his heart, and after he stretched his legs out very comfortably while still leaning against the chair, he murmured, ¡°Don¡¯t know if anyone will still be listening to our songs then¡­¡±


    Ling Yi, who was ten meters away, couldn¡¯t control his horse, so the instructor had to go up and ride with him, but even then, he kept shouting, ¡°Ahhh, my butt hurts so much!¡± The other three, who were still on their horses, all stopped to watch and joke about him. Fang Juexia sat on the chair and also couldn¡¯t help laughing.


    Jiang Miao looked at Fang Juexia silently. That face that always looked indifferent to others, became very soft when he laughed.


    ¡°Juexia, you have changed a lot this year.¡±


    Hearing these words, Fang Juexia¡¯s smile receded a bit, and he looked back at their leader, his eyes revealing a slight surprise at this.


    ¡°Actually, it¡¯s not ¡®changed.¡¯¡± Jiang Miao laughed. ¡°I should say that you have finally taken off your guard.¡±


    Jiang Miao was a gentle observer, which Fang Juexia had known for a long time. He didn¡¯t deny it; this year, he had really put down a lot of things that he could not put down in the past, and had learned to let go, while also learning to embrace things.


    ¡°En.¡± Fang Juexia looked at Pei Tingsong, who was galloping in the distance. ¡°People are objects in motion that affect each other.¡±


    Jiang Miao followed his gaze down, and the corner of his mouth quirked up into a smile. ¡°Yes ah.¡±


    ¡°But how can ten years be enough? We have so many ten years ahead of us.¡±


    Fang Juexia turned his head back, smiled at him, and sipped a small sip of sweet apricot juice.


    ¡°I¡¯ll teach you guys?¡± After three laps, Pei Tingsong pulled on the reins to slow down to a trot in front of Fang Juexia and Jiang Miao. ¡°Miao Ge, are you coming?¡±


    Just seeing the horse come over made Jiang Miao reflexively lean back, clearing wanting to hide. ¡°How about no? You can carry Juexia to ride two laps ba.¡±


    Seeing him so afraid, Pei Tingsong also didn¡¯t try to force him, and just pulled Fang Juexia onto the horse, circling him within his arms from behind to hold him. There not being enough horses was a good excuse, since this was the only way he could ride the same horse as Fang Juexia. At first, Fang Juexia was still a bit scared, but gradually, he adapted to the rhythm.


    ¡°Is it fun, Gege?¡± Pei Tingsong lowered his head slightly, drawing close to Fang Juexia¡¯s ear. As the roaring wind and Pei Tingsong¡¯s low voice both came slamming in, they rammed into his heart, and his back was pressed hot against his chest. Fang Juexia tried his best to keep his eyes open, adjust his breath, and focus all his attention on the galloping horse.


    ¡°You not saying anything means it¡¯s not fun enough.¡± Pei Tingsong decided how to interpret Fang Juexia¡¯s silence on his own. He then tugged on the reins, turned the direction of the horse¡¯s head, changed the route, and galloped straight towards a barrier with railings. With the wind coming straight at him, Fang Juexia pretty much couldn¡¯t open his eyes. His heart jumped sharply, the danger ticking up his adrenaline levels, and he instinctively stuck closer to Pei Tingsong¡¯s chest.


    ¡°Afraid?¡± Pei Tingsong encircled him in a hug and pressed Fang Juexia down with him, pretty much sticking against the horse¡¯s back.


    He didn¡¯t know whether he had become addicted to competing with Pei Tingsong or whether his trust for him had surged up, but although originally he had been afraid, Fang Juexia really wasn¡¯t that afraid anymore. The railing was right in front of him, and their distance from it was constantly decreasing. Fang Juexia opened his eyes and looked at the bumpy and shrinking distance. Pei Tingsong wrapped himself around his body safely, and they became one.


    The moment it jumped, the horse underneath them leaned back. Fang Juexia, held by Pei Tingsong, soared into the air, his heart having also been hurled up. It was so dangerous that Fang Juexia believed that the horse must have stopped for a split second.


    In a flash, Pei Tingsong, while still pressing him down, kissed the side of his ear, and the ambiguity generated by this danger had a more direct effect than any hormones. The horse¡¯s hooves landed on the ground, and they had safely crossed the obstacle and returned to land. Fang Juexia¡¯s uneasy heart also fell back, thumping fiercely in his chest.


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s fingers tightened the reins, and the horse he had tamed slowed down gradually, transitioning  from galloping to walking. ¡°When jumping in the air, the senses enlarge, and there¡¯s an illusion of your life being in balance, just like with bungee jumping.¡±


    It really was his life being held in balance, especially for people like him who had no prior experience with such things. Fang Juexia¡¯s heart didn¡¯t slow down with the sound of the horse¡¯s hoofbeats, and his breathing was still rapid. He couldn¡¯t tell whether the bungee jumping from before had been more dangerous or whether he had felt more frightened hanging at that mid-air moment just now.


    Absentmindedly, he heard Pei Tingsong say in his usual casual tone, ¡°Calculating it this way, I also count as having held you while dying twice now.¡±


    These words were not auspicious. Fang Juexia, a staunch materialist, still became worried and turned to reprimand him, ¡°Don¡¯t say that.¡±


    Seeing his expression so serious and lovely, Pei Tingsong only wanted to kiss him, but he still managed to hold back as he quirked up the corner of his mouth and pretended to be naive. ¡°Say what? Dying?¡±


    ¡°You¡­¡± Children can¡¯t be taught. Fang Juexia was too lazy to talk about it anymore, so he just turned his head as he tried to get off the horse.


    ¡°What are you afraid of? Are you afraid of me dying?¡± Pei Tingsong restrained him from moving and whispered, ¡°I even want to die in your arms every night.¡±


    Hooligan.


    Fang Juexia pushed him away, and unafraid of whether he would fall or not, he directly jumped off the horse just like that. He Ziyan and Lu Yuan, who were shoulder to shoulder as they sat on their horses, stood there watching the show.


    ¡°What did Xiao Pei do to Juexia this time?¡±


    He Ziyan shook his head with a smile. ¡°Aiya, I didn¡¯t expect that the little iceberg would turn into a puffed up angry balloon one day.¡±


    ¡°My butt really hurts ah! I don¡¯t want to ride anymore!¡± Poor Ling Yi was still riding the horse with his short legs, but no one helped him.


    By the time they had enough fun, and the sun had also had enough fun, and was dragging its last rays to hide among the edges and corners of the far away mountains. The light stayed for a very short time in late autumn, and the day turned dark quickly. The wind was cool, and here couldn¡¯t be a better time to soak in the hot springs than at night. After a long afternoon in the equestrian field, Fang Juexia didn¡¯t want to go into the hot spring like this, so they all agreed to go back to take a shower before soaking in the hot springs.


    The six people¡¯s villas were close together, but the courtyards were different. There were some paths stuck in the middle, and there was some distance between them. Everyone entered noisily, and one by one, they slipped into their own villa. Fang Juexia¡¯s villa was in the innermost location, against a lake, and after waving goodbye to everyone, he was the only one left. All of a sudden, it became very quiet around him.


    He had a strong sense of purpose, and he didn¡¯t even look at his bedroom or its surroundings before heading straight into the bathroom. However, no matter how quick his actions, he still couldn¡¯t catch up with the curtain of dusk that was rushing down. By the time he turned off the shower, darkness had spread outside the window.


    When the sound of water stopped, a knock sounded from outside. Fang Juexia stood barefoot on the black tiles, took out the bathrobe folded on the shelf, and draped it over his body. After opening the bathroom door, Fang Juexia stepped into a pair of slippers, wrapped his bathrobe around him, and walked along the corridor that was near the private spring. The small bridge had lanterns hanging from the eaves, and he could barely see anything. Stepping on the gingko leaves lying near the entrance, he opened the door.


    Standing outside the wooden door, besides Pei Tingsong, there was no one else. He was dressed in an inky black bathrobe, and his hair was half-dried, tossed into a loose and casual style. He was like the ginkgo trees outside the door, containing the intriguing atmosphere of being between a youth and a mature man.


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t speak and was pretty much not surprised. He just raised his hand to pull his wet hair back, thus revealing his bright and snow-white forehead.


    He was so beautiful that Pei Tingsong couldn¡¯t move his eyes away. The moon-white bathrobe was loose on his body, revealing a long snow-white neck. The curve of his lips was very subtle, and a drop of water at the tip of his wet hair fell onto his shoulder and spread out into a tiny little shadow.


    The glow from the paper lanterns fell on Fang Juexia, and there was a nearly imperceptible tenderness in his cold and distant eyes. He was more beautiful than an eustoma about to bloom under the moon.


    Looking at this scene, Pei Tingsong¡¯s heart trembled. He was just afraid that he would remember such a beautiful image for the rest of his life.


    ¡°Missed you.¡± Pei Tingsong stepped forward and wanted to hug him. However, Fang Juexia took a step back, only to step on a dead branch, thus letting out a clear and crisp sound.


    ¡°Not while we¡¯re outside,¡± Fang Juexia said in a soft voice.


    This actually wasn¡¯t some kind of a hint; he was just worried that someone would see them hugging. But to Pei Tingsong, these words changed their meaning into being a direct invitation. He caught hold of Fang Juexia¡¯s wrist, pulled him all the way back into the wooden corridor, stretched out his hand, and pushed open a door to a room that Fang Juexia had never entered.


    The room that was tranquil after soaking in the colors of the night, now saw new ripples spread from Pei Tingsong¡¯s charge into it. Fang Juexia¡¯s vision was filled with darkness, and the hand holding his wrist served as his one and only guide.


    ¡°Turn on the light, Pei Tingsong.¡±


    ¡°Not turning it on.¡± Pei Tingsong held him in his arms and hugged him tightly. The two bodies finally stuck to each other, with only their two bathrobes separating them.


    He couldn¡¯t see, but a hand on his cheek lifted his face up, and then warm lips fell upon him, bringing a kiss that could drag him down into the abyss.


    ¡°Wu¡­.¡±


    The soft and fragile inner walls of his mouth were ravaged, and the tip of Pei Tingsong¡¯s tongue touched the back of his teeth. Fang Juexia was most afraid of these kinds of sudden kisses, the kind that stole his soul away in a brief moment. Having his defenses broken through and being entered made his legs below start to feel soft, and he turned into a long willow, about to fall straight into the pond. Pei Tingsong forced him, step-by-step, in the midst of that irresistible kiss, to walk deeper into the room.


    The huge floor-to-ceiling windows were sprinkled with dots of light, all of them falling onto Fang Juexia. No one could see this; even Fang Juexia himself couldn¡¯t see how beautiful he looked at this moment; the whole image was only reflected in Pei Tingsong¡¯s eyes.


    He was born with this body that could only be seen from afar and shouldn¡¯t be offended. The more it was like this, the more Pei Tingsong wanted to offend him and dally with him.


    As the kiss deepened, Fang Juexia, who couldn¡¯t see anything, could only bear it. The empty room made him feel unsafe. As they kissed, he took a step back, and felt something behind him, which left him with a faint sense of something to rely on in the midst of his trance. However, this sense was really too fragile; it was just a screen. Once he leaned on it, he started to fall backwards.


    The tips of their tongues crisscrossed, the tips of their toes overlapped, and hormones danced in the dark. Desire was an invisible disease, and only a kiss was needed for it to invade a body.


    His sensitive sense of hearing caught some liquid sounds, like the sound made by fingertips as they pricked overripe peaches. Fang Juexia already had no attention to spare towards his breath and heartbeat. He held his head up and was supported upright by Pei Tingsong, and just when his reason was about to break, he suddenly heard some sound from outside. It was Ling Yi and Lu Yuan.


    ¡°Juexia¡¯s yard is really nice oh.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t they all nearly the same?¡± Lu Yuan couldn¡¯t see any difference. ¡°I¡¯m hungry, can we soak and eat at the same time later?¡±


    ¡°Probably ba.¡± As soon as Ling Yi walked into the corridor, he called out Juexia¡¯s name, then felt that something was off. ¡°Why aren¡¯t the lights on?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Lu Yuan also felt that it was strange. ¡°It¡¯s so dark, can he even see?¡± The door wasn¡¯t locked, so Lu Yuan pushed it open. The room was also shrouded in complete darkness, causing Ling Yi to fumble around until he found the light switch by the door. He switched it on, only to find the big room empty of people.


    ¡°Really not here yi.¡± Ling Yi¡¯s attention was attracted by the floor-to-ceiling window. ¡°Wow, this room¡¯s view is also wonderful, the entire thing has a lake view.¡±


    ¡°Sure enough, we should have drawn lots.¡± Lu Yuan felt some regret at this moment. As soon as he glanced over, he saw a tilted screen, so he went over to that end and wanted to set it up straight.


    The sound of his footsteps grew closer, with the screen only being a few steps away from the closet. Fang Juexia hiding in the closet, found his heart beating fast.


    ¡°How did this screen fall over?¡± Through the thin wooden doors of the closet, the voice of his bandmate seemed to step on his heart. It was as if they would open the door the very next moment, just like they had on the day of the first livestream, only this time it would be no different from catching two people having a clandestine affair.


    Pei Tingsong enjoyed this kind of excitement and wanted to kiss him, but Fang Juexia covered his mouth and didn¡¯t let go no matter what. All Pei Tingsong could do then was carefully kiss the back of his hand and trace the shape of his fingers with his tongue.


    ¡°Juexia¡¯s bed is different from mine, I want to try it out.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t mess things up for him.¡±


    Fang Juexia completely didn¡¯t care about his bed at the moment. Pei Tingsong, who couldn¡¯t kiss him, found a new source of fun and lowered his head to engulf his earlobe. This little piece, that was soft and glutinous, could be readily sipped at. The sound of deep breathing spread into his ears, frightening Fang Juexia even more. Could they hear it? And if they could, then what?


    (a few thousand words as a gift)


    And a little NSFW preview here


    Hiding right under his bandmates¡¯ noses to steal kisses made him tremble even more than spreading out and doing naughty things in broad daylight.


    Pei Tingsong just gave him too many thrills.


    ¡ª


    Juurensha: Welpppp hopefully they can soak together with their bandmates in the hot springs later! Also this definitely isn¡¯t what happened, but a funny thing I thought of would be if Ling Yi hung up the call and turned to Lu Yuan and was like, ¡°Yep, they¡¯re fucking, it¡¯s going to take a while.¡±

 CH 103

    Chapter 103 ¨C Broken Closet Door


    Pei Tingsong especially liked the process of cleaning up with Fang Juexia in his arms afterwards. He also found giving him a bath a pleasure.


    During this kind of time, Fang Juexia was totally dependent on him.


    ¡°Waist is sore.¡± Fang Juexia was lying on the inner side, at the edge of the bathtub, and his voice was very light and lazy, giving Pei Tingsong the illusion of being flirted with.


    ¡°I was a little too fierce just now.¡±


    ¡°You even know that ah.¡± Fang Juexia looked up at him. His eyelashes were long, and under the bathroom¡¯s light, every single lash stood out distinctly. He possessed a face that made people want to both violate him and protect him, which was also the reason why Pei Tingsong was always so contradictory.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry ah.¡± Right now, he was like a big dog who had made a mistake, and was pleading for forgiveness from his master. He sat obediently by the bathtub and wiped his hair.


    Fang Juexia grabbed his hand. ¡°I didn¡¯t say that I didn¡¯t like it¡­¡± As he spoke, he happened to see the tiny mark on Pei Tingsong¡¯s hand, the one he had left after the drunken bite. The scab had fallen off long ago, but there were still some light traces left. When he thought of how Pei Tingsong had been forced to take care of him when he hadn¡¯t even liked him yet, he found it very cute, so he couldn¡¯t help kissing him.


    ¡°Really?¡± Pei Tingsong¡¯s eyes brightened. ¡°That means you like it!¡±


    Of course, he liked it. Otherwise, how could he let himself be grasped and pinched that tightly?


    Fang Juexia actually felt a little embarrassed when being questioned by him like this. He changed his tone and said that he didn¡¯t know, and that Pei Tingsong was not allowed to ask anymore. Pei Tingsong knew that he was shy, so he didn¡¯t continue to tease him. ¡°How about going to the hot springs now?¡± Pei Tingsong brushed away the bangs on Fang Juexia¡¯s forehead and kissed him on the cheek. Only after Fang Juexia nodded did he pick him up.


    In the beginning, Fang Juexia wasn¡¯t used to being carried to other places by Pei Tingsong. Their age gap caused him to maintain the stubborn dignity of being an elder brother in some respects, but now, he had gotten used to being taken care of, and he even kind of enjoyed it.


    The waters of the hot spring in the courtyard were milky white, dense with hot steam, and very warm, and once a body was immersed in it, it felt that every inch of one¡¯s muscles would stretch on and on.


    ¡°So nice.¡± Pei Tingsong leaned on the edge of the hot spring and propped his head on a bluestone slab. ¡°I¡¯ll also get a hot spring made at home in the future. After it¡¯s done¡­¡±


    Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t bear to hear the rest of it, so he put his hand over Pei Tingsong¡¯s mouth and said, ¡°Shut up, do you think you can just say you want a hot spring and then get one? It¡¯s not like the swimming pool you used to kill fish in.¡±


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s covered mouth quirked up into a silly smile. He kissed Fang Juexia¡¯s soft palm several times, and then stretched out his hand to pull Fang Juexia into his arms. The two people in the pool shared a lingering kiss, and then hugged each other, chest against chest, face to face. Pei Tingsong¡¯s hand started massaging Fang Juexia¡¯s waist underwater.


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t know why, but he always got a sense of security when he stuck against Pei Tingsong. He really liked this feeling, so he went further, putting his chin on Pei Tingsong¡¯s shoulder, leaning his whole body against him, and closed his eyes.


    ¡°Have you lost weight again?¡± Pei Tingsong¡¯s massage technique was gentle, and his voice was even gentler. ¡°It¡¯s all because of everything that happened before.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Fang Juexia tilted his head and spoke with his lips pressed against the side of his neck. ¡°I¡¯ve always been like this.¡±


    Pei Tingsong retorted, ¡°Who said that? Can¡¯t I tell if you got skinnier or not by just feeling you a bit? You¡¯re a lot lighter, I don¡¯t even feel anything when I pick you up.¡±


    Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t help laughing and joked, ¡°Don¡¯t brag¡­¡± As soon as he said that, Pei Tingsong pressed a sore spot, and his last few words changed in tone, now a little soft. ¡°¡­.It¡¯s really sore here.¡±


    That voice carried Pei Tingsong¡¯s soul away. Carrying a beauty in his arms made it really difficult for him to do his job.


    He had to be an emotionless massage tool.


    ¡°Does it feel good like this?¡± Pei Tingsong asked.


    ¡°En¡­¡± Fang Juexia hugged him lazily, behaving like a boneless koala soaking in a hot spring. ¡°Have you trained how to do this? So professional.¡±


    It obviously should be. Since he had learned that Fang Juexia¡¯s waist wasn¡¯t good, he had searched online for massage videos every day and practiced his massage technique using a pillow many times, until it had reached this level. He had been afraid that he would cause Fang Juexia to feel bad otherwise.


    ¡°No, you have to train for this? Geniuses don¡¯t have to train,¡± Pei Tingsong said.


    Soaking in the waters of the hot spring, Fang Juexia grew softer and softer, just like a sticky rice cake soaking in red bean soup. He was in a lazy trance, and was very sleepy. He heard Pei Tingsong say that when he had seen him in the evening, he was so beautiful, looking just like a person in a drawing. Fang Juexia wanted to refute him, but he was too lazy to talk, so he just kept listening with a smile. Pei Tingsong¡¯s voice, which was very deep, stuck against his chest, as every word of his resonated within him.


    ¡°I used to like that kind of high-tech and simple interior design style, the kind with black, white, and gray tones, and I always felt that less is more. Today, when I saw you standing at the gate of the courtyard, I suddenly realized that that style wasn¡¯t good at all.¡± Pei Tingsong gently stroked his back. ¡°Only the most beautiful place is worthy of you. If one day, we retire and get to live a retired life ahead of time, I will invite the best designer to decorate our house beautifully, filling it with all kinds of plants.¡±


    He looked up at the huge ginkgo tree beside the hot spring pool. ¡°Ginkgo looks nice, maples are also good, also camellia, oh yes, and the kind of rose on a vine that crawls all over a wall, and it¡¯d be best if we also had a field of eustoma¡­¡±


    Fang Juexia faintly smiled, in a very drowsy way.


    Do you want to open a greenhouse, silly boy?


    ¡°I can imagine you standing amidst the flowers right now.¡± Pei Tingsong grew distracted, going silent for a while. An autumn wind rose, and a few ginkgo leaves fell off their branches, one of them randomly falling onto Fang Juexia¡¯s snow-white shoulder.


    Only upon seeing this did Pei Tingsong return to his senses, then gently remove the leaf off his shoulder, while laughing at himself.


    ¡°Can you imagine? I even used to hate flowers.¡±


    Fang Juexia, who was too tired by now, fell asleep in his arms. Only after not getting a response for a long while did Pei Tingsong realize that this guy had already drifted off.


    ¡°You can even fall asleep like this ah.¡±


    Fearing that he would catch a chill, Pei Tingsong hurriedly carried him out, wrapped him in a bath towel, went into the room, put him on the bed, covered him with a quilt, and let him sleep soundly.


    There was a faint flowery scent coming from the head of the bed. Pei Tingsong turned on the light, only to discover that there was a special pot of flowers with dark red petals arranged there. He didn¡¯t know why, but one of the best flowers had fallen outside the pot. Pei Tingsong picked it up in his hand, twirled it around with his fingers, then sniffed it.


    Finally, he pinned it next to Fang Juexia¡¯s ear.


    When asleep, Fang Juexia had a kind of peaceful beauty. The crimson petals set off the soft birthmark at the corner of his eyes.


    He was so beautiful that Pei Tingsong couldn¡¯t help but secretly take a picture.


    Although the other party hadn¡¯t listened closely to his future blueprint for their house, Pei Tingsong was still very satisfied. In the past, he had no sense of the word ¡®home.¡¯ Ever since his grandfather had passed away, he had always regarded ¡®home¡¯ as a cage.


    But now, Pei Tingsong was eager to share a home with the person in front of him.


    He loved him even more than he had thought.


    Only upon waking up did Fang Juexia realize that he was in bed. The light at the head of the bed was on, and there was a glass of water at the bedside table. This was Pei Tingsong¡¯s habit.


    He reached his hand out of the quilt, then lazily drew back and called out to Pei Tingsong. With that, he scrunched himself up in the quilt again, only to suddenly find a dark red flower beside the pillow.


    It wasn¡¯t long before the other party came over, adorned in the black bathrobe he had been wearing when he had come over to his villa. ¡°Awake?¡± He reached out and touched Fang Juexia¡¯s warm face.


    ¡°How long did I sleep for?¡± Fang Juexia looked like a cat as he squinted his eyes.


    ¡°Two hours. It¡¯s eleven o¡¯clock now.¡± Pei Tingsong brought the glass of water from the bedside table to his mouth.


    Fang Juexia held the glass to drink the water and showed him the flower he had found.


    ¡°Is it pretty?¡± Pei Tingsong pointed to the potted plant on the bedside table. ¡°This¡ªI don¡¯t know what flower it is.¡±


    ¡°Camellia.¡± His mama had planted camellias before, and it was very easy to recognize this flower. The type with this color was even more special. Fang Juexia handed the glass back to him. ¡°This variety seems to be¡­¡± Thinking about it, he suddenly laughed and said, ¡°What a coincidence ah.¡±


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s expression showed a little confusion.


    ¡°Black Knight.¡± Fang Juexia stuck the flower into the neckline of Pei Tingsong¡¯s bathrobe and said with a smile, ¡°An unusual variety.¡±


    Black Knight. Pei Tingsong repeated the name several times in his heart.


    The reason why people were so reluctant to part from life was because there were so many kinds of beautiful coincidences hidden within it.


    ¡°I¡¯ve decided, and not discussing the rest now, but Fang Juexia and Pei Tingsong¡¯s house must have black knights and white eustomas. These two cannot be missed.¡± As he announced his decision childishly, he took out the flower, put it on the table, and rubbed Fang Juexia¡¯s hair. The switch between boy and man was always instantaneous. ¡°Perfect timing, I just ordered some food. Get up and eat something.¡±


    After drinking the water, Fang Juexia rolled himself up in the quilt, turned his back to him, and said, ¡°I still want to sleep.¡±


    ¡°Eat first.¡± Pei Tingsong got up and left. When he heard some movement, Fang Juexia turned his head to quietly glance over. It turned out that Pei Tingsong had gotten a small table and put it on the bed.


    The dishes were also very exquisite. All were in small dishes, and there were about six or seven of them.


    ¡°Quickly eat ba.¡±


    Taking the chopsticks he handed over, Fang Juexia suddenly discovered that there was a red mark on his hand, it seemed as if he had been scalded. ¡°What¡¯s going on here?¡± He took the chopsticks and pointed at it, ¡°Did you get scalded? Did you flush it with cold water?¡±


    ¡°Oh, just now¡­¡± Pei Tingsong couldn¡¯t think of a good excuse within this short time, so he simply said, ¡°Originally, I was cooking noodles for you, and I got splashed by the noodle soup a bit. But I didn¡¯t think I made the noodles very well, so I ordered a meal, and it came very quickly.¡±


    Staring at the small red mark, Fang Juexia suddenly insisted, ¡°But I want to eat noodles.¡±


    ¡°Ah?¡±


    Fang Juexia nodded at him. ¡°I just really want to eat noodles. Go and help me carry them in.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re really not good, and there are so many delicious things here.¡±


    ¡°But I want to eat them ah. Quickly go, quickly go, don¡¯t burn your hand this time.¡±


    Unable to out-stubborn him, Pei Tingsong had no choice but to mutter and carry into the room his failed work, ¡°Eat less of this, eat more of the dishes.¡±


    Fang Juexia¡¯s appetite wasn¡¯t very good, but he found these noodles to be especially delicious. Pei Tingsong kept putting food from some of the dishes into his bowl for him to eat with the noodles.


    ¡°The noodles you cooked are very delicious.¡± Fang Juexia said seriously, ¡°The ones you made during my birthday were also very delicious. Will you cook them again for me in the future?¡±


    Pei Tingsong chuckled.


    He really was a good Gege.


    As Fang Juexia was eating, his cellphone vibrated again. Pei Tingsong glanced at him. ¡°Your roommate is here again. This guy is really sticky.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re even drinking Yiyi¡¯s vinegar?¡± The corners of Fang Juexia¡¯s mouth quirked up, and he looked at the message.


    ¡°Who said I was drinking vinegar?¡± Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t admit it. ¡°His vinegar is apple vinegar at best. Drinking it as a drink is boring.¡±


    What kind of messy metaphor was this? Fang Juexia put down his cellphone. ¡°He said they were playing games in Lu Yuan¡¯s room and asked us if we wanted to come over.¡±


    Pei Tingsong could see through Fang Juexia¡¯s thoughts in a glance, and knew that he sort of wanted to go. He used the meal as an exchange offer, as if he were coaxing a child. ¡°We¡¯ll go after you finish this egg soup.¡±


    By the time he finished the egg soup, it was even later at night. Fortunately, Pei Tingsong¡¯s stuff was all in Fang Juexia¡¯s suitcase. Both of them changed into more solid clothes and went over to Lu Yuan¡¯s place. As soon as they entered the yard, they heard laughter. There was a little breeze in Lu Yuan¡¯s room. When they pulled open the door, Fang Juexia almost didn¡¯t recognize Ling Yi; his face had been painted into that of a calico cat.


    ¡°How did you turn into this?¡± Fang Juexia reached out and rubbed his face twice, but he couldn¡¯t rub it off. He even got some on his own hand.


    ¡°They¡¯re bullying me!¡± Ling Yi rushed into Fang Juexia¡¯s arms, to which Pei Tingsong retaliated by dragging him away by holding his collar.


    Lu Yuan, sitting cross-legged on the ground, raised his neck and said, ¡°You guys be careful ah, this guy has just had a drink. Be careful of him wildly kissing people.¡±


    ¡°Did I kiss you?¡± Ling Yi retorted with a red face, ¡°I just drank a little.¡±


    Lu Yuan snorted. ¡°Have you not kissed enough people? Your mouth is like a sucker, and you¡¯ve drunk enough to turn your neck completely red.¡±


    He Ziyan mercilessly sized up the situation. ¡°Be careful, if you get photographed, they¡¯ll say you¡¯ve been messing around with someone.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Laozi will die in a frameup.¡±


    Fang Juexia rubbed his neck reflexively, lowered his head, and glanced over his body, examining whether there were obvious traces with a guilty heart.


    ¡°Come and sit down ah.¡± Jiang Miao pulled over two tatami cushions and asked casually, ¡°Is the movie over?¡±


    ¡°Ah? En¡­¡±


    Lu Yuan also chimed in, ¡°Just now, Ling Yi and I went to pick you up since we were afraid you wouldn¡¯t be able to come over once it was dark. We didn¡¯t expect you to have gone to the cinema.¡± But then he suddenly remembered something, ¡°Wait a minute, when we went over there at six o¡¯clock, your cellphone was still on the bed. How come when we called you later, you were at the cinema?¡±


    This bad lie was unravelling in front of his face, making Fang Juexia have the urge to expose everything himself at this very moment.


    He might as well just expose everything himself.


    ¡°Actually¡­¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re stupid ah.¡± Ling Yi pushed Lu Yuan directly onto He Ziyan. ¡°It was definitely that he didn¡¯t take his cellphone, so he went back to get it bei. How can you do without your cellphone ah?¡±


    Pei Tingsong almost started laughing.


    Ling Yi really was a fucking immortal bandmate.


    He Ziyan secretly opened a bag of bugle chips brought over by Ling Yi. ¡°What movie did you guys go see?¡±


    Fang Juexia froze. He glanced at Pei Tingsong, and after thinking that he wouldn¡¯t say anything, randomly thought of one.


    ¡°Pulp Fiction.¡± / ¡°La La Land.¡±


    They both replied simultaneously, but they possessed no tacit understanding when it came to their answer.


    Sure enough, their lie was yet again exposed. Looking at the subtle expressions of his bandmates, Fang Juexia¡¯s smile froze on his face.


    What to do? How should he explain?


    ¡°Ah!¡± Ling Yi, half-drunk, clapped his hand like a little seal. ¡°So it turns out you guys weren¡¯t in the same theater ah. I thought you watched a movie together.¡±


    Pei Tingsong was surprised by Ling Yi¡¯s ability to mend the holes in his own brain.


    The other people didn¡¯t poke holes in this, so Fang Juexia  could only laugh and conveniently change the topic. ¡°What were you guys playing just now? Is it fun?¡±


    Jiang Miao pushed the cards next to his hand aside. ¡°They were playing ¡®Fight the Landlord,¡¯ but Ling Yi kept losing, so he won¡¯t let us play it anymore. We were just getting ready to play Truth and Dare when you guys came over.¡±


    He Ziyan stretched. ¡°Yeah, we haven¡¯t played that in a long time.¡±


    In the past, when they had just debuted, they were very obscure and didn¡¯t have much work to do, so they often chatted and played until midnight on weekends, their time spent just like the boys in a college male dormitory would.


    ¡°Then we¡¯ll spin a bottle ba, it¡¯s simple and convenient.¡± Lu Yuan took out an empty bottle and put it on the ground. He called everyone to sit in a circle around it and prepared to spin the bottle. ¡°Here we go ah.¡±


    The first spin, the bottle stopped while pointing at He Ziyan, and he chose the truth. Lu Yuan pushed over the two punishment boxes that had been prepared beforehand, one for truth and the other for dare, and inside each were four pieces of paper written by all of them. He Ziyan drew out a slip and read, ¡°Your love orientation is¡­¡±


    He didn¡¯t quite understand it, and thought it was about sexual orientation. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m pansexual.¡±


    ¡°What messy things are you talking about?¡± This slip had been penned by Lu Yuan. ¡°What I meant was your orientation when you are in love, just what kind of person you like.¡±


    ¡°Jackpot.¡± Pei Tingsong raised his eyebrows. ¡°You¡¯re explosively revealing your own orientation, we should start up a livestream.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s what it meant ah.¡± He Ziyan then casually said, ¡°Someone good-looking, with long legs, and a considerate and caring personality.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re so boring.¡± Pei Tingsong said, ¡°If we didn¡¯t know better, all of us would think you were recording something for a program.¡±


    ¡°What, you want to listen to my orientation in bed ah?¡±


    Fang Juexia¡¯s ears were red.


    Pei Tingsong clicked his tongue. ¡°Who wants to know your orientation in bed, pervert.¡±


    ¡°Definitely not as perverted as you,¡± He Ziyan snarked back.


    ¡°Cough.¡± Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t help clearing his throat. He saw everyone looking at him, and so spoke with a hollow laugh, ¡°The bugle chips are a little salty¡­¡±


    Coincidentally, during the second round, the bottle spun and stopped to point at Fang Juexia. He was entangled for a while, ready to choose dare, but Ling Yi, who was propped on his shoulder, said there were many perverted things in the dare box, so he changed his words and said ¡®truth.¡¯


    He drew one out, held it in front of him to look at it, and his face immediately turned red.


    ¡°Let me see what it is?¡± Jiang Miao took the slip from his hand and chuckled. ¡°This must have been written by Ziyan ¨C how old were you when you had your first sexual experience?¡±


    ¡°Oops.¡± Lu Yuan immediately began to coax, looking at Fang Juexia¡¯s red ears, ¡°Juexia, you shouldn¡¯t have still never done that ba¡­¡±


    Why can¡¯t he just go along with Lu Yuan¡¯s words and lie ba?


    ¡°Don¡¯t try to lie ah!¡± Ling Yi pointed to the crotch of his pants. ¡°If you lie, your nose will grow longer!¡±


    ¡°Where exactly is your nose ah?¡± Pei Tingsong slapped his hand aside and started sweating for Fang Juexia. However, he still felt that Fang Juexia would definitely not say anything. His skin was thinner than the skin of a peach.


    ¡°En¡­¡± Fang Juexia squeezed out a few words from between his teeth, ¡°22 years old¡­¡±


    ¡°Damn!¡± Lu Yuan¡¯s mouth opened wide in surprise, ¡°He-he actually¡ª?¡±


    ¡°Wow, and isn¡¯t that not too long ago?¡± He Ziyan tutted a few times and exchanged a look with Jiang Miao. ¡°An experience with yourself doesn¡¯t count ah.¡±


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t say a word. His whole person was akin to a small kettle that was boiling over.


    Ling Yi was so surprised that he fell back, and then, when he got up again, he burst out, ¡°With who ah?! Juexia, you! Which girl did you do it with?!¡±


    ¡°Hey, it doesn¡¯t come with follow-up questions ah.¡± Pei Tingsong, a demon who protected his wife, moved to urge Lu Yuan to continue spinning the bottle.


    The third round resulted in Lu Yuan¡¯s turn. He immediately drew from the truth box. As a result, the question was, ¡°When was your last kiss?¡±


    ¡°Shit.¡± He threw the note away. ¡°Half an hour ago, Ling Yi kissed me.¡±


    ¡°Hahahahahaha!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s so terrible.¡±


    ¡°How glorious it is to be kissed by me ah!¡±


    Lu Yuan pushed Ling Yi away and continued to spin the bottle. As soon as he released his hand, the glass bottle spun quickly and continued spinning for a long time. Ling Yi couldn¡¯t help swearing, ¡°Why did you spin it so hard ah? My eyes are starting to blur.¡±


    Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t help laughing. Unexpectedly, Ling Yi stretched out his hand and pressed it against the bottle, with the bottle pointing right at Pei Tingsong.


    ¡°Holy crap, you did that on purpose ba?¡± Pei Tingsong almost stood up to beat him. ¡°It doesn¡¯t count.¡±


    Ling Yi really didn¡¯t let it go. ¡°Why doesn¡¯t it count?!¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t reason with you, a drunk.¡± Pei Tingsong looked at the others. ¡°It can¡¯t count ah.¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright, alright.¡± The group bully and a drunk, the lesser of the two evils had to be opposed. Lu Yuan pulled Ling Yi¡¯s hand away. ¡°Xiao Pei, spin it yourself. I¡¯ll hold down his hand for you, so that should be good ba.¡±


    Pei Tingsong was satisfied only after this was done, and then he smartly spun the bottle. The bottle spun around quickly, with Ling Yi crazily chanting Pei Tingsong¡¯s name all the while. They didn¡¯t know if it was because his idea was too persistent, but this bottle actually wobbled to a stop¡­.once again pointing at Pei Tingsong.


    ¡°This is too weird!¡±


    Fang Juexia, who was holding a pillow, laughed to the point he was about to bury his head down into it. He Ziyan, with his fingers stuck into the bugle chips, pointed at him with his ¡°claws,¡± and said, ¡°You¡¯d better accept your fate, maknae.¡±


    Jiang Miao didn¡¯t help him either. ¡°Truth or dare?¡±


    Although all of Pei Tingsong¡¯s hopes had been dashed, he thought that while truth might still trip him up, choosing dare would come with the condition of none of his secrets being revealed, so he said with an extremely uncooperative expression, ¡°Dare.¡± Then he obediently drew out a piece of paper from the box handed to him by their group leader before angrily throwing it at He Ziyan.


    ¡°Let me see what Xiao Pei drew ah.¡± He Ziyan narrowed his eyes and said with much disappointment, ¡°Oh, it¡¯s not very exciting.¡± After that, he unfolded the note, put it on the ground, and read out the contents aloud. ¡°Show everyone the last picture you took on your phone.¡±


    Fuck.


    Pei Tingsong knew that his hands were unlucky, but he hadn¡¯t expected them to be this unlucky.


    Five pairs of eyes bored into him, and Pei Tingsong¡¯s Adam¡¯s apple bobbed.


    ¡°No way ba, you¡¯re dawdling so much over a picture.¡± Lu Yuan took the small note to swat at him. ¡°It can¡¯t be a nude of you ba.¡±


    Ling Yi and He Ziyan followed suit in coaxing him. Fang Juexia faintly felt that something was off, and he started to have some misgivings.


    It couldn¡¯t be that Pei Tingsong had secretly taken a nude picture of him ba¡­


    Finished, finished, definitely don¡¯t be that.


    Under their provocation, Pei Tingsong could only take out his cellphone, and then he scrolled to the second to last picture, prepared to cheat, and then took it out to give them a look at falsehood. ¡°Here, I took a picture of the horse.¡±


    Yet, as a result, Ling Yi snatched away his cellphone. Pei Tingsong quickly reached out to grab it back, and after shoving it around, the cellphone eventually fell to the ground. The last picture displayed on the screen was the picture he had taken not long ago.


    Camellias and Fang Juexia¡¯s sleeping face.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    There was an awkward silence.


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t know what possessed him, but he pressed his pillow against the cellphone in an instant, acting just like a pervert who sought to kill in a moment of desperation in a TV drama, suffocating an innocent victim with their pillow.


    One picture gave rise to different ideas in the minds of all six boys, and none of them uttered a word.


    Finally, Ling Yi broke the silence. ¡°Burp.¡± He pointed to the cellphone under the pillow. ¡°Who is that person ah, how-how does he look that much like Juexia ah?¡±


    Fang Juexia understood for the first time in his life what it felt like to die of shame and indignation.


    Lu Yuan only felt his head ache. He held his head in his hands and said, ¡°Wait a minute, let me straighten things out a bit, I feel faint.¡± He looked at Pei Tingsong and asked, ¡°So the last picture on your cellphone is of Juexia sleeping¡­.Why? No, what¡¯s going on?! Shit, it¡¯s true! I¡¯m not dreaming?? Who¡¯s going to pinch me!¡±


    This night, which continuously saw gaping holes being created in their story, finally wiped out the last of Fang Juexia¡¯s fight.


    ¡°The truth.¡± He picked up the ramune bottle and pointed it at himself. Then he simply raised it up like a microphone and said, ¡°You guys¡­¡± Fang Juexia swallowed a few times. ¡°Don¡¯t pass out from shock after hearing this, if anyone can¡¯t accept it, you can just say it directly, that¡¯s fine.¡±


    Pei Tingsong was stunned. He felt that his werewolf bandmate was about to explosively reveal himself, and he felt a bit flustered. ¡°Hey, no, you¡­¡±


    ¡°Xiao Pei and I are in love.¡± Fang Juexia dropped his eyes and finally said what he had been holding back for a long time.


    Once again, everyone fell into a silence.


    This was terrible, they definitely couldn¡¯t accept it. Fang Juexia¡¯s fingers gripped the glass bottle tightly.


    Of course, if anyone else had been saying it, who would be able to accept it ah? His bandmates, with whom he lived day and night, were carrying out a secret love affair under his very nose¡ªif it was him, he also wouldn¡¯t be able to accept it ah.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay¡­¡± Fang Juexia said in a low voice, ¡°To begin with, we were the ones in the wrong regarding this matter. From the beginning, we¡¯ve kept it a secret¡­¡±


    ¡°Holy shit! I won!¡± He Ziyan jumped up, and the bugle chips on his fingers fell off. He excitedly kicked Lu Yuan¡¯s shoulder with his foot. ¡°Hurry up, hurry up, 100 yuan, take it out, if you¡¯re willing to bet, you¡¯re willing to lose!¡±


    His reaction was already enough to surprise Fang Juexia, yet, as a result, Ling Yi let out a ¡°wah¡± cry, which made him and Pei Tingsong tremble simultaneously.


    ¡°Wuwuwu, Juexia! How could you really let yourself be picked up by him?! How can you¡­.Burp! Ah, wuwuwuwu¡­¡±


    He Ziyan threw a pillow at Ling Yi¡¯s head. ¡°You also need to give me money, hurry up!¡±


    After getting hit by the pillow, Ling Yi forgot to cry and started hiccuping instead, but then began crying again while groping around for his phone, while imitating an AI¡¯s voice. ¡°Alipay payment made, 100 yuan.¡±


    ¡°No, wait.¡± This chaotic scene of coming out of the closet was completely unlike what he had imagined, and so Pei Tingsong grabbed at He Ziyan¡¯s calf. ¡°What are you guys doing?¡±


    ¡°Just some time ago, you two would often stick together. We originally thought it was just to sell fanservice as a CP, but then, you two couldn¡¯t even be separated in private, and you both even went to your apartment together, so I thought something was off.¡± He Ziyan sat down. ¡°So, we made a bet then. Lu Yuan and Ling Yi said that you guys were just friends, and it couldn¡¯t possibly be real. Three Water and I thought it was possible; even if it was impossible now, it was possible in the future, and then we all made a bet bei.¡±


    After that, he took another bite of his ¡°manicure¡± and said sarcastically, ¡°Your closet door is even crispier than my bugle chips, it shatters at just a touch.¡±


    Lu Yuan wiped at the corners of his eyes, while wearing an old mother¡¯s expression on his face. ¡°200 yuan exchanged for something real, I feel at ease handing this money over.¡±


    After listening to the story behind everything, Pei Tingsong¡¯s first reaction was¡ª ¡°No, I¡¯m only worth 100 yuan?¡±


    ¡°Is that the main point¡­¡± Fang Juexia, who had mustered up all of his courage to confess, only wanted to go offline upon seeing the situation taking place in this casino.


    ¡°Yes ah, the main point is, we won.¡± Jiang Miao reminded  everyone with a smile, ¡°There¡¯s also my share, don¡¯t forget to give it.¡±


    ¡°Miao Ge, how can you take the lead in gambling?¡± Pei Tingsong couldn¡¯t believe his own eyes.


    Jiang Miao contentedly received the WeChat red envelopes. ¡°How can you call a guaranteed win situation, gambling?¡±


    ¡°I give up, what kind of group is this?¡±


    The maknae had started dating their group¡¯s face behind the other four Gege¡¯s backs, while the remaining four gambled over whether the fanservice was real or fake behind the two little lovers¡¯ backs.


    Ling Yi was still immersed in the sadness of losing his beautiful roommate and was still crying while getting ready to snuggle into Fang Juexia¡¯s arms. Pei Tingsong immediately pulled him away. ¡°Laozi has endured you for a long time, and now, even after you know, you still dare to hold him?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just going to hold him! You little brute, you¡¯ve stolen my Juexia away!¡±


    Fang Juexia awkwardly wiped Ling Yi¡¯s tears away, but then Pei Tingsong pulled the tissue out of his hand and threw it at Ling Yi¡¯s head instead. ¡°You¡¯re the brute.¡±


    Lu Yuan suddenly had a flash of inspiration. He slapped his forehead and said, ¡°Fuck.¡±


    He pulled over the lamp at the table, aimed it at the suspects Fang Juexia and Pei Tingsong, and opened the four-person joint trial mode.


    ¡°So what exactly were you guys doing when you were gone?¡±


    ¡ª


    The author has something to say:


    Yuanyuan, listen to Mama, don¡¯t ask. Mama¡¯s afraid you can¡¯t stand this blow.


    ¡ª


    Juurensha: !!!!!! I love everyone¡¯s reactions here! (Also, is it WaterFire crumbs for me that Fire Ge is pan and his type kind of sounds like Miaomiao????) But this bettttt omg I love it so much.


    Noks: God, this chapter and the next are absolutely hilarious! PTS¡¯ reaction on only being worth 100 yuan is a gem, and I bet Ling Yi will be even more of a cockblocker now that he knows!!! And Juu, WaterFire is totally real, you¡¯re not imagining it! It has to be!

 CH 104

    Chapter 104 ¨C Award Performance


    Who made you fall in love with the hunt


    How did the topic still come back to this?


    ¡°We¡­¡± At this moment, Fang Juexia hated that he couldn¡¯t just directly run into a wall and die, and even the possibility of biting his tongue to commit suicide appeared in his mind.


    Ling Yi started to cooperate with Lu Yuan and pointed the ramune bottle at Pei Tingsong. ¡°Right! Honestly disclose everything!¡±


    Pei Tingsong grabbed the bottle from his hands. ¡°Disclose your head ah.¡± Then he looked at Lu Yuan. ¡°No ba, you really want to hear it ah?¡±


    Lu Yuan covered his heart with one hand and supported himself against the lamp with the other. His expression was one that displayed fearlessness in the pursuit of justice, but he also swallowed once before saying, ¡°You may as well say it, Gege can withstand it.¡±


    Glancing at He Ziyan and Jiang Miao, only to see them both wearing a smiling expression while remaining mute, with the intention of watching a good show, Pei Tingsong raised his eyebrows and said, ¡°Then I¡¯ll really say it. Do you need a detailed description?¡±


    Lu Yuan slapped his thigh. ¡°Hurry up!¡±


    Glancing at Fang Juexia¡¯s red neck and his expression showing that his soul was seconds away from leaving his body, Pei Tingsong knew that he was embarrassed and didn¡¯t want to say this in front of so many people, so he just laughed and pulled his family¡¯s baby Gege into his arms. ¡°Dream on ba. What kind of messy things go through your mind every single day? Already told you, we didn¡¯t do anything.¡±


    Fang Juexia had thought that he was really about to say it, so when he was pulled over and hugged by his shoulders, he was left stunned.


    ¡°No way.¡± Lu Yuan pointed to Pei Tingsong. ¡°You two couldn¡¯t even confess to watching the same movie just now, you must be bluffing us.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Pei Tingsong shrugged. ¡°We didn¡¯t go to the cinema. With such a big garden, isn¡¯t it enough just to walk around and take a look at it ah?¡±


    Ling Yi stammered and asked, ¡°Then-then why didn¡¯t you guys go-go with us to the hot springs?¡±


    ¡°You even have to ask why?¡± Pei Tingsong tilted his head. ¡°Because I don¡¯t want you guys to see my boyfriend without clothes on.¡± Then he pulled Fang Juexia¡¯s collar up to his chin. ¡°Not even a little bit.¡±


    Fang Juexia slapped his hand away and glared at him to shut him up.


    ¡°Anyway, since everything is out in the open now, let¡¯s make it clear again.¡± Pei Tingsong pointed at everyone one by one with the soda bottle. ¡°In the future, you all are not allowed to do fanservice for your guys¡¯ and Fang Juexia¡¯s CPs. From now on, all of them have a BE.¡±


    ¡°Ho, how overbearing.¡± He Ziyan hugged his right knee while shaking his head. ¡°Dreaming of the Boxer Protocols.¡±


    ¡°Why ah?¡± Ling Yi wasn¡¯t happy, ¡°Before your guys¡¯ TingJue, mine and Juexia¡¯s CP was very popular!¡± Then he tried to grab Fang Juexia¡¯s hand and started to act crazy drunk again. ¡°Juexia, you don¡¯t go with him, okay? I¡¯ll sing to support you!¡±


    ¡°Get to the side.¡± Pei Tingsong directly broke Ling Yi¡¯s grasp. ¡°I can support him without even singing.¡±


    ¡°Hey, hey, hey,¡± Lu Yuan cleared his throat. ¡°Although I ship TingJue, whatever you say, you shouldn¡¯t talk about money. The already poor youth will feel like they¡¯re also being called out.¡±


    He Ziyan raised his noble hand, which was still adorned with bugle chips, like a big boss at the auction. ¡°Plus one.¡±


    Ling Yi let out a belch, and forgetting what he had said before and who had said what, just followed suit. ¡°Plus one.¡±


    Fang Juexia really couldn¡¯t watch any more of this, so he broke free of Pei Tingsong¡¯s arms and whispered, ¡°Don¡¯t fuss anymore.¡±


    ¡°Okay, okay, okay.¡± Pei Tingsong, of course, indulged him. ¡°That question is done ah.¡±


    Jiang Miao, who hadn¡¯t been involved in this chaos the whole time, now opened his mouth, ¡°It¡¯s done so quickly? Why don¡¯t you tell us how you two fell in love?¡± He asked with a smile, ¡°Like¡­ Who chased who? When did you two get together?¡±


    Lu Yuan immediately applauded. ¡°The group leader deserves to be the group leader!¡±


    Ling Yi also clapped. ¡°Okay!¡±


    Pei Tingsong turned his head and asked his wife, ¡°Can we tell them that?¡±


    Fang Juexia immediately turned his head away. ¡°What are you asking me for?¡±


    That meant he could talk about it. Pei Tingsong understood it and spoke frankly, ¡°I chased him. When did we get together¡­ That day when I fell off the stage and hurt my hand, and he went to the hospital to take care of me, that¡¯s the day we got together.¡±


    After listening, Jiang Miao stretched out his hand to He Ziyan, who was leaning against the floor with his hand supporting him as he listened to the story. ¡°I won. Give me money.¡±


    The remaining four people were at a loss as they looked at He Ziyan sigh while transferring money to the group leader.


    ¡°What?¡± Pei Tingsong was puzzled. ¡°How many more bets did you guys make?¡±


    It may number even more than the amount of group chats they had created in private.


    Jiang Miao, who received the red envelope, was satisfied. ¡°No ah, we both thought you guys were really dating, but we had some differences about exactly when it started. He Ziyan said that it was around Juexia¡¯s birthday. I said it was earlier, and so I won.¡± Then he looked at Juexia and deliberately laughed. ¡°But I didn¡¯t expect it to have been so early ah. I thought that Juexia would give it some time and think a lot before accepting.¡±


    After listening to what he said, Fang Juexia¡¯s face turned red, and he froze for a while, before burying himself in eating potato chips, munching away like a hamster.


    ¡°So when exactly did you find out that you liked Juexia?  Didn¡¯t you tell me seriously before that you thought love was very boring? When did you confess?¡± Lying on the ground, He Ziyan used his feet to step on Pei Tingsong a few times. He was dissatisfied with losing, so he was going to beat the subject to death to get to the bottom of things.


    Suddenly He Ziyan thought of something, and it dawned on him. ¡°Ah, I know. This guy, you didn¡¯t take advantage of your injury ba, and then played the sympathy card to make the kind Juexia have no choice but to reluctantly agree, right?¡±


    Pei Tingsong rolled his eyes, and was just about  to say ¡®What bullshit are you talking about?¡¯ when unexpectedly, someone else intervened first.


    ¡°No,¡± Fang Juexia, who had been off-line this whole time, actually came out to retort at this time, ¡°I wasn¡¯t reluctant. I only agreed because I liked him.¡±


    This straight ball left the several young men in the room confused. The confusion was soon followed by another round of excitement though.


    ¡°Wow oh!!¡±


    ¡°No way, no way, I can¡¯t hear anymore.¡±


    Lu Yuan stuffed a puffed potato chip into his mouth. ¡°Shit, I was raised on dog food.¡±


    ¡°No¡­.I mean¡­¡± In the end, Fang Juexia stopped talking and subconsciously glanced at Pei Tingsong.


    Being able to hear Fang Juexia publicly announce that he liked him, Pei Tingsong thought that using the words ¡°treading on air¡± wasn¡¯t an exaggeration to describe how he was feeling right now. He felt that he had already reached the highlight of his whole life. Once a person started feeling proud, they werewould become willing to say anything, and would beere very pleased with themselves. ¡°Did you guys see that? Blindly guessing will get you slapped in the face.¡± Then he began to recall, ¡°When did I find out that I liked Juexia? ¡­The day we found out about the leaked song, I got prodded by Liang Ruo and figured it out.¡±


    Ling Yi¡¯s little brain wasn¡¯t enough to process all this. He hugged his head and said painfully, ¡°Liang Ruo?! Why does Liang Ruo have a part in this drama?! Wait, this plot-why does this plot seem so familiar?¡±


    ¡°Because you were the one who gave me Liang Ruo¡¯s number,¡± Pei Tingsong reminded him.


    ¡°Yes!¡± Ling Yi slapped his forehead, ¡°My God! So I-I-I¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes, you¡¯re the confession middleman.¡± Pei Tingsong ignored the little fool who found that he had been the one to almost mastermind the plot, and continued, ¡°Liang Ruo asked Juexia out, to talk privately. I called Liang Ruo when I was looking for Juexia, but he didn¡¯t hang up during their entire conversation, so I heard him confessing to Juexia. At that time, I grew infuriated; I didn¡¯t know what I was angry about, just that I was very angry.¡±


    Jiang Miao could almost imagine what their maknae¡¯s reaction must have been at that time. ¡°So it turns out that someone made an example, while also puncturing the paper in your windows.¡±


    ¡°Anyway, I discovered that, oh, my feelings for this person were probably in another form, besides friendship ah.¡± Pei Tingsong suddenly turned serious. ¡°So after I picked him up, I confessed to him.¡±


    ¡°Shit, that efficiency.¡± He Ziyan sincerely applauded him. ¡°Pei Tingsong, you¡¯re too smooth.¡±


    Lu Yuan was surprised. ¡°So Juexia agreed just like that?¡±


    Fang Juexia immediately shook his head. ¡°No, I-I didn¡¯t agree at that time.¡±


    Jiang Miao asked again, ¡°Then, how did you feel about him back then ah? Did you refuse Xiao Pei just like you refused Liang Ruo?¡±


    Of course not, Fang Juexia said in his heart.


    ¡°It¡¯s not the same. When I heard Liang Ruo confess to me, I was just a little surprised, because I didn¡¯t feel that way about him at all.¡± Fang Juexia lowered his eyes and spoke slowly, ¡°Later, when I heard Pei Tingsong talk, I was just¡­ just really confused and startled, but¡ªbut there was actually a little bit, so I couldn¡¯t say no.¡± He frowned, and then gave Jiang Miao a weak smile. ¡°I was too confused and had no way to think at the time. He begged me not to turn him down too quickly, so I didn¡¯t turn him down right there and then.¡±


    Ling Yi rubbed his eyes. ¡°Juexia, it¡¯s too easy to persuade you.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that he¡¯s easy to persuade.¡± Jiang Miao¡¯s face carried an expression of seeing through everything, and he cleverly grasped the key point. ¡°Juexia, when you were talking about Liang Ruo just now, you directly used the expression ¡®didn¡¯t feel that way about him at all.¡¯ But when it came to Xiao Pei¡¯s confession, you began to speak incoherently. Clearly, since you are the most logical person I know; you must have liked Xiao Pei a little at that time, but it was just that you didn¡¯t know it.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Fang Juexia was a little embarrassed at being seen through at a glance. He hugged his knees and said in a low voice, ¡°Maybe ba¡­¡±


    But he suddenly sat up straight again, turned to look at Pei Tingsong beside him, and said in annoyance, ¡°But why is it that I¡¯m always admitting that I like you ah?¡±


    Pei Tingsong laughed and tapped Fang Juexia¡¯s chin. ¡°You guys see, this guy¡¯s temper only gets scattered on me.¡±


    Critical hit.


    He Ziyan covered his ears. ¡°No more, no more, it¡¯s as if I¡¯m torturing myself.¡±


    ¡°I can still go on! Please continue!¡±


    ¡°Why did I tell Pei Tingsong Liang Ruo¡¯s phone number at that time ah?! I-I hate it!¡±


    Their bandmates were undergoing a nervous breakdown, but Pei Tingsong was still concerned with Fang Juexia¡¯s question just now. ¡°Why do you think they discovered our relationship?¡±


    Fang Juexia blinked.


    Why¡­.


    Pei Tingsong flicked his forehead and said in a low voice, ¡°This matter of me liking you¡ªis there anyone who can¡¯t see it, Fang Juexia?¡±


    He didn¡¯t know why, but Fang Juexia¡¯s heart suddenly, and chaotically, leaped up.


    Sure enough, it was hard for him to keep himself steady whenever he was at Pei Tingsong¡¯s side.


    Young boys were the worst at hiding matters of the heart, and the most difficult matter of the heart to hide was liking someone.


    Knowing that Fang Juexia was thin-skinned and wouldn¡¯t be able to stand being questioned the entire time, Pei Tingsong protected him by changing the topic and forced them to continue playing Truth and Dare. Fortunately, their bad luck had passed. For the next several rounds, they both escaped being picked, but it was Ling Yi who was the most miserable. He got several dares in a row, and in the last one, he directly drew¡ª[Call Qiang Ge to say that he was pregnant with his child]. Everyone was half-drunk while battling him, and they forced Ling Yi to really call him.


    Cheng Qiang had already fallen asleep on his side. The phone rang and woke him up, and when he picked up the call, it turned out that it was actually Ling Yi crying and saying that he had a baby.


    The other people held Ling Yi down, all the while holding their breaths as they waited for Cheng Qiang¡¯s response. Unexpectedly, after a few seconds of silence, he actually directly hung up.


    ¡°Du¨Cdu¡ªdu¨C¡±


    After listening to this busy tone, everyone let go of Ling Yi.


    ¡°It¡¯s over. Ling Yi is out of favor, no one even cares about him when he¡¯s pregnant with a baby.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re the one pregnant with a baby!¡±


    Fang Juexia held back a smile. ¡°Qiang Ge probably thinks he is dreaming. He will definitely call back after seeing the call log tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Hahahahahahahahaha, yes!¡±


    Jiang Miao suddenly thought of something. ¡°By the way, when are you guys going to tell Qiang Ge ah?¡±


    ¡°Depends on Juexia ba.¡± Pei Tingsong said, ¡°I listen to him about everything.¡±


    He Ziyan sneered. ¡°You devil incarnate, even you have a day when you listen to other people. It¡¯s true that everything has something that can vanquish it.¡±


    Fang Juexia thought about it. ¡°I was originally planning on confessing it during this period, but I was a little worried. Although Qiang Ge said that it¡¯s fine if we fall in love, he probably didn¡¯t think we¡¯d fall in love within the group ba.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s also something he facilitated.¡± Lu Yuan shook his head. ¡°In fact, if you don¡¯t tell him, that¡¯s also okay. How can love within the group be found out ah? If anyone asks, it¡¯s fanservice.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll help you guys hold down the closet door!¡± Ling Yi wore an expression of taking serious responsibilities onto his shoulders.


    Pei Tingsong said on purpose, ¡°Just you ah, come on ba, as long as you don¡¯t take a megaphone to publicize it everywhere, I¡¯ll be thanking God every day.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll never do that this time!¡± Ling Yi was very serious. After getting drunk, he became pretty silly, and so he swore in a loud voice, ¡°I can, I can do it!¡±


    ¡°Okay you,¡± consoled Lu Yuan as he munched on sunflower seeds, ¡°Don¡¯t scare the baby in your womb.¡±


    ¡°Hahahahaha!¡±


    The six people stayed in Lu Yuan¡¯s villa until three or four o¡¯clock in the morning. Ling Yi was the first one to fall asleep. Originally, all six of them were still playing cards, and only when it was his turn to play a card did they find that this guy had already fallen asleep on the floor. Lu Yuan dragged him to bed, covered him with a quilt, and continued chatting and drinking with the rest of the group. Fang Juexia was someone who would get drunk as soon as he took a sip, and the alcohol being passed around this time was pretty strong, so he passed out before they could even give him the opportunity to be in a drunken state. By this time, it wasn¡¯t early anymore, so the rest of them were also ready to go to bed.


    Pei Tingsong, who hadn¡¯t drunk much, carried Fang Juexia to another room. He didn¡¯t know why, but by now, Fang Juexia was a bit more sober again. He held his neck, and body entangled with his, kept asking Pei Tingsong whether he liked him or not. Pei Tingsong replied obediently.


    ¡°If you like me, you have to tell me a story.¡±


    ¡°Okay ah.¡± Pei Tingsong held Fang Juexia in his arms, patting him on the back while telling him a story featuring Lily and Little Abacus. He narrated the story until Fang Juexia fell asleep, and then he also fell asleep.


    The next day, everyone slept until noon, and then in the afternoon, they went to feed the peacocks. Ling Yi didn¡¯t listen to advice and wore a fancy jacket with metallic fabric, which attracted several male peacocks¡¯ attention, and they chased him while spreading out and displaying their tail feathers. This scene was photographed by Lu Yuan and posted on Weibo. From then on, Ling Yi gained an additional nickname  ¡°Peacock on Earth¡±, bestowed on him by the fans.


    After leaving the hot spring resort, Kaleido was once again engaged in the busy work of a boyband. Publicizing their love affair within the group didn¡¯t change things much¡ªPei Tingsong just forced Ling Yi to switch rooms every day, but Ling Yi absolutely refused to do so and acted as a third wheel every time. As soon as he saw Pei Tingsong slipping into his room, he would slip in with him, squeezing in right next to the little couple.


    The end of the year was the busiest time in the entertainment circle, with award ceremonies, film festivals, and many platforms¡¯ year-end parties being held at this point. When group shots were taken on the red carpet, everyone was competing against each other in looks and fashion. In the past, Kaleido had been unknown at these year-end events. Let alone performing on stage, they couldn¡¯t even get a single ticket to attend these functions.


    But now it was different. This year, Kaleido¡¯s popularity was almost unmatched, and it was the absolute focus of this year. In addition, their popularity was built on the foundation of their strength and talent; that was something that would usually last for a long time, so everyone was willing to get closer to them to make things more convenient in the future. Even the film festival had invited them to participate. However, Jiang Miao and the film crew walked down the red carpet together, so the remaining five had to enter from elsewhere.


    Before they entered the venue, they had specially rehearsed a new opening line. This time, there was no group leader shouting ¡°one, two, three.¡± Instead, it was Ling Yi who introduced them, and his loud voice gave everyone a feeling that there was an MC on the scene.


    ¡°Hello, everyone! We are¡ª the five oil bottles Jiang Miao¡¯s dragging around!¡±


    Even their hand gesture had turned into them stretching out five fingers.


    The venue was full of laughter. This line was also released online and forwarded out of the circle. #Kaleido crosstalk boy band# went on the Hot Search List again, and their previous classic jokes also went with them, counting as disguised promotion for the film. Originally, this film was just a niche art film, but because there was a member of a popular boy-band participating in it, the box office on the first day exceeded 100 million. Even the director made a Weibo post thanking the actors and the audience.


    The film reviews were gradually released, and perhaps because his role both fit him well and was tragic, the comments online on Jiang Miao¡¯s testing the acting waters for the first time were all pretty good, and praise for his ability was constantly spreading by word-of-mouth. Some people even predicted that Jiang Miao would be nominated for best newcomer or best supporting actor.


    As soon as the film festival was over, the rest of the functions were composed of award ceremonies densely packed together. Kaleido had a high degree of attention focused on them, for within one year, they had released two explosively popular albums, which then almost swept all the major music award ceremonies.


    ¡°There are so many invitations recently that I can¡¯t even pick through them. Several of them are even at the same time.¡± Cheng Qiang took advantage of the fact that they had finished shooting the winter album¡¯s main song¡¯s MV to casually discuss about these events on the set. ¡°But one of them is running into the same time as the BMA, so we won¡¯t go to that one. BMA is the most prestigious one, and even if we don¡¯t win any prizes in the end, you guys have to participate.¡±


    As soon as they talked about BMA, Ling Yi became excited. ¡°Begging here, let¡¯s win one ba, let¡¯s be lucky once ba.¡°


    Pei Tingsong said, ¡°No, on the day the official nomination list came out, our anti posts just exploded. I almost started directly cursing people out on Weibo.¡±


    Fang Juexia thought of something and turned to look at him. ¡°Didn¡¯t you already curse them out?¡±


    ¡°Yi? Is that right?¡± Pei Tingsong blinked, as if he was searching through his memory. ¡°Aiya, I¡¯ve cursed too many people out, I don¡¯t remember anymore.¡±


    Cheng Qiang sighed. ¡°All of you can¡¯t be so discouraged ah. If you can really win an award at BMA, you guys will have become really big.¡±


    According to Star Chart¡¯s plan, , a mini winter album, would be released on Christmas Day, on December 25, which was also the anniversary of Kaleido¡¯s debut. Coincidentally, the BMA award ceremony this year was also arranged to be held on Christmas Day. For their debut performance on the BMA stage, and to also give fans a special performance for their anniversary, Kaleido remixed ¡°Break Through¡± and ¡°Last Summer¡±, and also prepared for the first performance of the main song of the winter album.


    Ever since the official announcement that Kaleido would attend BMA, their fans had been leaving messages on the official Weibo every day. Because the cries were too loud and Kaleido¡¯s performances had always been brilliant, BMA specially extended their performance time. So they, in turn, specially arranged an intro with members going out to perform in pairs. He Ziyan acted as a DJ and cooperated with Ling Yi to perform the non-main song ¡°Ice War¡±, Jiang Miao and Lu Yuan danced together, while Pei Tingsong and Fang Juexia went on-stage together to perform and sing ¡°Hunt.¡±


    The award ceremony was broadcast live from the moment many singers and groups started walking on the red carpet. The opening performance was done by the Seven Luminaries without the retired Liang Ruo. Fang Juexia, who was listening backstage, couldn¡¯t help sighing.


    ¡°Are you cold?¡± Pei Tingsong took off his coat and put it on Fang Juexia. Fang Juexia¡¯s performance outfit was very thin; it was some kind of a European medieval style white shirt, covered with a black cloak.


    Fang Juexia shook his head and whispered, ¡°I¡¯m a little nervous.¡±


    Today, the makeup he was sporting was very special. In order to match the style of ¡®Hunt¡¯, a bloodstain had been drawn specially on his lips, and his eyeliner had also been hooked up in an alluring fashion. Saying such adorable words with such a face, he gave off a strange, but cute feeling.


    Pei Tingsong stretched out his hand, which was encased in a glove. ¡°You can bite it, and once you bite it, you won¡¯t be nervous anymore.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re the vampire today, okay?¡± Fang Juexia was talking about Pei Tingsong¡¯s make-up and hair, but he was also used to wanting to take off the glove as soon as he saw it; he didn¡¯t know what kind of Pavlovian reaction this was. However, he simply pulled at it before he was stopped by Pei Tingsong. ¡°Don¡¯t fuss, we¡¯re going to be on stage soon.¡±


    Okay ba, Fang Juexia let him off in his heart.


    Time always flew by backstage, and all of a sudden, it was their turn. When the lights dimmed, and the stage had gone completely dark, the six of them entered the stage through the lift. He Ziyan and Ling Yi were on the far left of the stage, Jiang Miao and Lu Yuan were on the far right, and Pei Tingsong and Fang Juexia were in the middle.


    The music started, and the spotlight on the left lit up first. As soon as Ling Yi¡¯s voice appeared, the fans below the stage started screaming.


    Fang Juexia was shrouded by darkness the whole time as he listened to his bandmates¡¯ performance. Pei Tingsong held his wrist, and only when he heard the staff preparing to cut over to them did he let go and step away.


    The middle spotlight lit up. However, before they even started, there were shrieks already coming towards them like waves. Pei Tingsong walked out holding the mic. This time, instead of his usual machine-gun rap, he started out with a slower rhythm, which was accompanied by music that gave off a complete ceremonial feel, with even a sick and delicate feeling mixed into it.


    ¡°The heat that from my fingertips flows is in exile from the mountains on your back down low.¡°


    His hand pulled open his collar, and he chanted, ¡°Your trembling pores are biting me tightly and not letting me go, whose nerve endings have gone crazy with vertigo. Your blood vessels are boiling hot aglow, magma¡¯s sweet fragrance overflows. You say you want me, you want me to let go.¡°


    His words sped up with the beat, and he raised his eyebrows. ¡°Let out whose blood to cover my desire to lie low. With one look, you can dig out my heart solo.¡±


    Holding out his index finger and moving it in a circle, the corners of Pei Tingsong¡¯s mouth rose. ¡°Keep you high, round and round. Grinding out a curve isn¡¯t abstract enough, how can animal instinct lie off the cuff, no matter how pure it is, it¡¯ll all get defiled and I¡¯ll call your bluff.¡±


    As the music changed, another spotlight in the middle lit up, and Fang Juexia, who was wearing a black cloak, appeared, and began the hook part.


    ¡°You¡¯re going to burn away your blood for me.¡±


    Fang Juexia was linked to the idea of abstinence in many people¡¯s hearts. Even his singing was ethereal, one that never fell to earth. He seldom used this kind of psychedelic singing with controlled breathing, so his every last note hooked people in, making him a skilled enchanter of souls.


    ¡°Obliterate away with a kiss for me.¡±


    ¡°Exhaust yourself for me.¡±


    ¡°Destroy yourself in my body.¡±


    He lifted his hand to his shoulder and pushed down the hood of his black cloak to show his full face.


    ¡°Who made you fall in love with the hunt, you devotee.¡±


    The music changed again. The remix followed after He Ziyan and Ling Yi¡¯s ¡®Ice War¡¯ at the beginning, and Pei Tingsong began to chant the English intro in his magnetic voice, which were also the intro lyrics for the beginning of ¡°Ice War¡±, but had been adapted to fit a medieval style by them.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be your wicked resistor.¡±


    [ÎÒ»á³ÉΪÄ㼬ÊÖ?µÄ·´¿¹Õß?¡£]


    Fang Juexia used a coloratura singing technique to chant and harmonize with Pei Tingsong. It was like a Biblical chant, floating across like a banished immortal. It was completely different from his previous seductive singing style.


    ¡°your unbroken martyr.¡±


    [Äã¼á²»¿É´ÝµÄѳµÀÕß?¡£]


    ¡°your faithful warrior.¡±


    [ÄãÖҳϵÄսʿ¡£]


    Pei Tingsong was originally walking forward step by step, but suddenly he stopped, turned around, and looked at Fang Juexia, who was walking towards him. ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Ain¡¯t your innocent younger lover.¡±


    [²»£¬ÎҲŲ»Òª×öÄãÌìÕæÎÞаµÄÄêÇá°®ÈË ]


    Under the lens of the camera, Pei Tingsong, having just finished a hunt, met Fang Juexia on a dirty path. He then grasped Gege¡¯s chin.


    ¡°I¡¯m your fucking dirty master.¡±


    [ÎÒÒª×öÄãÏÂÁ÷ÖÁ¼«µÄÓµÓÐÕß?. ]


    ¡ª


    The author has something to say:


    I haven¡¯t written complete lyrics for these two songs, so I won¡¯t put them here la.


    BTW, male singers can sing coloratura (you can search for it), but strictly speaking, there is no coloratura tenor in professional vocal music classification, only coloratura soprano, corresponding to falsetto tenor. But the coloratura in the article is the popular meaning, which refers to a gorgeous and flexible high difficulty singing in Bel canto. In reality, many tenors are good at this skill. It is convenient for us to understand what kind of falsetto is in this chapter.


    ¡ª


    Juurensha: Again, liberty taken with the meaning of the lyrics to preserve a rhyme scheme, but it¡¯s more or less all there! And hahahaha, WaterFire having their own private bet (And of course Miaomiao always being the winner)

 CH 105

    Chapter 105 ¨C Award Presentation


    This scene made the fans below the stage boil over.


    Fang Juexia lifted his eyes and raised his eyebrows. The red at the corner of his eye mixed with the pride in his eyes, catalyzing a wonderful chemical reaction.


    After he let Fang Juexia go, the corners of Pei Tingsong¡¯s mouth rose, and he walked to Fang Juexia¡¯s side once again. In the midst of the boiling uproar of cheers, the remaining four members came to the center of the stage from different directions. All the lights were on, and the stage setting looked especially grand as the six people gathered together to group up.


    BMA¡¯s annual awards ceremony was one of the most important events in the entire music industry. No matter whether it was the sound effects or the stage set-up, they were all top-class in the industry. This was the first time that Kaleido had been on such a grand stage since their debut.


    They first performed their new winter album song ¡°Xmas & U¡±. The style of this song was different from that of their second album or their summer album, it had more of a wintery feel to it, and it was dance music mixed with the style of blues jazz. All six members of Kaleido used live mics, and their ability was head and shoulders above the rest. After singing one song, they immediately followed it up with the remixed versions of ¡°Break Through¡± and ¡°Last Summer¡±. There was completely no chance to breathe at all.


    The completely new arrangement revitalised the explosively popular song ¡°Break Through.¡± Kaleido¡¯s charm lay in the strength and appeal of their performances. As long as they stood on the stage, no matter how large the stage was, they would manage to get the atmosphere pumping, changing that stage into a concert arena, one dedicated just to their group. The audience below would unconsciously start to follow them in waving their arms, clapping their hands, or even singing the chorus.


    The solo part of the dance break in the middle of ¡°Break Through¡± remained, but this time, the music for this part was no longer a pure guzheng solo, but rather newly remixed electronic music. The dance also wasn¡¯t the same classical dance they had shown during the promotional performances, but a new group dance with all six people.


    After the music changed, Fang Juexia removed the long black scarf tied to his sleeve, placed it in front of his eyes, and tied it behind his head.


    Ever since people had found out about his hidden night blindness disease, many netizens wanted to know how he had practiced so as to not make any mistakes. Many people also questioned him, saying that he only had a slight degree of night blindness and was deliberately exaggerating the facts in order to hype himself up by pretending that he really couldn¡¯t see anything on the dark stage.


    Actions spoke louder than words.


    Fang Juexia decided to dance blindfolded on the BMA stage.


    If this decision had been put in front of him a year ago, he would not have not done it no matter what. It was too risky to make such a decision, one which possessed such a high likelihood of failure on such a high-profile stage.


    But he was already no longer the Fang Juexia from back then.


    His action of blindfolding himself once again triggered cheers and screams from all corners of the venue; no one had thought they would get to witness such a special segment.


    His vision had gone completely dark now; there was no stage and no bandmates. Fang Juexia eliminated the sound of the cheers coming at him like waves, focusing all of his attention on the music.


    He closed his eyes under the black cloth and returned to the familiar practice room.


    All of his bandmates¡¯ clothes were drenched with sweat. They were talking and shouting Fang Juexia¡¯s name.


    ¡°Do you remember my spot? Don¡¯t bump into me oh.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t bother Juexia la.¡°


    Each person¡¯s complete face gradually emerged, and soon, his memory began to project images. Ling Yi, Lu Yuan, He Ziyan, Jiang Miao¡­


    ¡°He definitely will not make any mistakes.¡±


    And Pei Tingsong, who had been standing beside him the entire time.


    His heart calmed down in a flash. On-stage, it seemed as if the blindfolded Fang Juexia was completely able to see things normally. Every movement of his was very accurate, and his control and explosive power were amazing. Even when it came to the complicated movements of the six people, he could work with them and complete his moves without making any mistakes.


    At first, the cheers underneath consisted mostly of, ¡®Kaleido,¡¯ but gradually, more and more people started shouting for Fang Juexia, with each cheer louder than the next.


    He used facts to prove to everyone that even if he couldn¡¯t see anything, he was still the center of the stage.


    This lasted until the last measure of the dance break came, when Pei Tingsong, who had by now walked to stand behind him, stretched out his hand and took off the black scarf in a flash. During the following rap, he walked around in front of Fang Juexia, and looked right at the camera, with that scarf stuffed into his front pocket. Kaleido then did their usual thing, with the gangster-like maknae leading his Geges to walk to the extension of the stage.The six people wore six different colors, and perfectly, there were also six extensions. Everyone sang the last chorus together.


    ¡°Listen to me break through the line with one song, fool.¡±


    After they sang this line, a more shocking electro acoustic drop than in the original song burst out, and the whole stage was turned into a disco.


    When they were about to finish, they came back to the middle of the stage from all the different sides. Fang Juexia stood in C position, with the gorgeous lights shining down on him, making even the sweat on his forehead shine. As he rotated around in the center, he pulled out the black scarf from the front of Pei Tingsong¡¯s suit. Just after Captain Jiang Miao finished singing his part, the camera aimed at Fang Juexia¡¯s face.


    ¡°All my ways forward have been blown,¡±


    He raised his hand and wiped at the ¡°bloodstain¡± at the corner of his mouth with the long black scarf. His sweaty wet hair gave off an inexplicably sexy feel, but his eyes were cold. When his finger released, the scarf fluttered down.


    ¡°All that is left is to wait for your ambush to be thrown.¡±


    Everything that fell down was Fang Juexia¡¯s dark past.


    In the camera, the corner of his mouth rose.


    The future would only be bright.


    The entire audience below was impressed with this fluid and lucid set; even if many of the audience weren¡¯t fans of Kaleido, their ability was enough to convince anyone.


    As soon as they got off the stage, the six cool boys, who had been so cool and alpha onstage, now returned back to their original forms. Cheng Qiang had been trembling for them backstage, and as soon as he saw them coming back in good condition, his heart that had just been hanging there in suspense finally came to a rest. ¡°You guys were so great, especially great. Even while listening backstage, goosebumps kept directly popping out of my body.¡±


    Ling Yi fiercely hugged Cheng Qiang and said that he was so nervous just now, he nearly cried. ¡°Finally we can focus on watching other people¡¯s performances!¡±


    He Ziyan moved his neck around like an old man. ¡°I almost twisted my neck just now, really scared me.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha, who told you to sleep in the car the entire time?!¡±


    Fang Juexia just let out a long breath. He felt that he was happy all over; even if they didn¡¯t win any awards today, he thought it was worth it. At least he had finally dared to show everyone how he had practiced alone in the dark for so many years.


    After taking the water from Xiao Wen¡¯s hand, Pei Tingsong unscrewed the bottle cap and handed it to Fang Juexia. ¡°Drink some water.¡±


    Fang Juexia let out an ¡°en.¡± After taking the water, he didn¡¯t immediately drink it. Instead, he looked up at Pei Tingsong¡¯s eyes, wearing an expression so sincere that it was a little cute.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°What for?¡± Taking care of Fang Juexia had already become a subconscious action for him, and being suddenly thanked made Pei Tingsong feel a little unaccustomed to it. ¡°Isn¡¯t it just a bottle of water?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Fang Juexia said to him with a smile, ¡°I¡¯m talking about your proposal before, to let me perform blindfolded.¡±


    At that time, it had been Pei Tingsong who had proposed it to Cheng Qiang and Chen Zhengyun at the meeting. Prior to that, Fang Juexia had never thought of doing so, but he heard Pei Tingsong say that he really could do it and that he wouldn¡¯t make mistakes, and then he had also heard the other members give him their complete trust.


    So when Chen Zhengyun confirmed it with him, on whether he wanted to adopt this plan, Fang Juexia gave a confident and positive answer for the first time¡ª


    No problem. I can do it.


    ¡°That ah.¡± Pei Tingsong laughed. ¡°You should thank yourself.¡±


    Thank yourself for your persistence and efforts over the years.


    After that, he covered up this slightly heavy topic with a joke. ¡°Besides, I just satisfied a little special hobby of mine¡­¡±


    Fang Juexia was drinking a mouthful of water at this moment, and choked upon hearing his words. The quiet and adorably clever expression from just now suddenly changed, and with the water still in his mouth, he angrily pushed him. ¡°Wuwu!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m a hooligan.¡± Pei Tingsong, who could fully understand Fang Juexia¡¯s scolding, just laughed shamelessly.


    After changing into more formal suits as quickly as possible, Kaleido came from the backstage to the celebrity audience seated below the stage, coming to a stop at their seats. Other singers had already started performing onstage now. They only had to watch two acts before the award segment started. One award after another was issued, and several groups were happy while several other groups were sad.


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t really care whether Kaleido would win an award here. He was used to minimizing his psychological expectations and increasing his initiative when doing anything. Only in this way could he accept frustration more calmly, treating it as a temporary setback, and have a sense of surprise for the results.


    Kaleido had been nominated for four categories this time: Best Composition of the Year for ¡°Last Summer,¡± Best Lyrics of the Year for ¡°Break Through,¡± Best Album of the Year for ¡°Last Summer,¡± and Best Group of the Year. With their number of nominations, they ranked third in the entire audience and first among idol groups. This was a very high starting point for them, since they had been shortlisted for the BMA for the very first time.


    After waiting for a long time, they finally arrived at the first award that included them¡ª the Best Composition of the Year.


    ¡°This award really brings together a lot of excellent composers, and some of these songs are the works of quite famous foreign producers.¡± The award presenter held the envelope with the results. ¡°Let¡¯s see which works were shortlisted first ba.¡±


    The clips appeared one by one on the big screen, with the MV of ¡°Last Summer¡± also mixed into them. When it appeared, the fans on the scene let out a huge cheer.


    He Ziyan was very nervous, but he wouldn¡¯t show his nervousness. Ling Yi couldn¡¯t be considered calm anymore, for he had even begun to shake his legs around. Jiang Miao pressed his knee and gently reminded him to look at the camera and smile.


    After looking at the other nominated works, Fang Juexia had already made a very objective judgment in his mind. So, when the award presenter said the name of another work, he wasn¡¯t too surprised. He only told He Ziyan, ¡°It¡¯s alright, getting nominated already proves that you are very strong, and you still have a lot of room for improvement.¡±


    He Ziyan nodded his head, and there was no expression of disappointment on his face. On the contrary, he laughed very easily. ¡°Of course.¡±


    Soon, their second nominated award, Album of the Year, was presented, but unfortunately, they lost again.


    Fang Juexia¡¯s mood was very stable, for he had guessed that it would be like this. The winner was a solo female singer with deep experience in the music world. Her whole album had been created by gathering the highest level producers at home and abroad, so it would be hard to explain if she didn¡¯t win the award.


    Although their ¡°Last Summer¡± had also earned very good reviews, it was a self-produced and self-sold mini album with only four songs. It wasn¡¯t unfair for them to lose to such a singer.


    Two awards in a row had passed them by, and Ling Yi was a little disappointed. ¡°It can¡¯t be that we won¡¯t be able to get on stage all night ba.¡±


    To which Lu Yuan said, ¡°That would be good. I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll start bawling as soon as you get on stage, it¡¯d be too embarrassing.¡±


    Pei Tingsong also nodded. ¡°Seconded.¡±


    As the camera swept past them, the six people smiled again.


    After several awards were presented, two performances were shown, interspersed in the middle, with Zhai Ying¡¯s group making an appearance in one of them. Interestingly, they also seemed to have made new musical arrangements, by mixing in several hot singles of some big popular groups, and then cueing up the chorus of Kaleido¡¯s ¡°Last Summer.¡±


    Kaleido, who was sitting below the stage, naturally followed them in doing the dance movements with great enthusiasm. Before Zhai Ying¡¯s comeback, Fang Juexia had seen their MV, and he had learned all the iconic dance moves that were in the middle of their song. Although he was sitting in the audience, he still cooperated with those on-stage by doing the hand movements.


    ¡°You dance it really well ma.¡± Pei Tingsong tilted his head and drew closer to tease him, ¡°You can go on stage.¡±


    Fang Juexia glanced at him and ignored him.


    ¡°If I win the lyric award, you¡¯ll dance this dance for me, okay?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s talk about it after you get it ba.¡± Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t hide how the corners of his mouth drew up.


    All of this was being recorded by a fan station sister, who was focused on photographing these two.


    The award ceremony started again, and the host went on stage to introduce the next award.


    ¡°Next up is a very important award.¡±


    ¡°Yes, and a heavyweight award, of course, must have a heavyweight guest presenter.¡± The hostess laughed and built up suspense.


    The male host went along with her and said, ¡°His name is really impressive in our Chinese music world.¡±


    ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be just the Chinese music world now,¡± the hostess said with a smile. ¡°It should be the business world. Come, let¡¯s welcome the award presenter¡ª Li Luo! Welcome President Li!¡±


    It actually turned out to be him. This really surprised Fang Juexia a little.


    Li Luo was wearing a trim white suit, and his face wasn¡¯t much different from those days when he had been most popular; it was just a bit more mature and cooler than before. He walked to the mic stand with a smile and said, ¡°Good evening, everyone. I¡¯m Li Luo, long time no see.¡±


    There were cheers and applause below the stage, with the Astar artist area being especially loud.


    ¡°It¡¯s a great honor to be invited to the BMA as an award presenter. It was also here, ten years ago, that I won the first important award in my life, so I can understand everyone¡¯s feelings right now. You¡¯re all very nervous ba.¡±


    Everybody laughed.


    Fang Juexia also smiled while looking down. After exchanging some greetings, Li Luo took the envelope from the host¡¯s hand and glanced at the front. ¡°The award I¡¯m going to present to everyone today is¡ª¡±


    ¡°Best Group of the Year.¡±


    Huge cheers broke out immediately underneath the stage, especially from those fans who had been waiting for this for a long time. Unlike many not-as-authoritative awards, BMA didn¡¯t distinguish between genders when it came to groups, and the winners of this award were always bands, few of which were idol boy-bands or girl groups.


    ¡°Now, let¡¯s see which groups were shortlisted?¡±


    The big screen started to show clips from the MVs of each of the nominated groups. There were a total of four groups¡ª two bands, one combined male and female chorus group, and Kaleido was the last one to appear on -screen.


    When Kaleido appeared on-screen, the fans¡¯ cheers instantly boiled over, and the screams lasted for a long time.


    He Ziyan had already started a new round of betting with Lu Yuan. Fang Juexia, afraid that Ling Yi would grow nervous, quietly stretched out his hand and patted him on the back of his hand. However, Ling Yi grabbed him instead, and his grip was especially tight, while he also held onto their captain with the other hand. It seemed that as long as he grabbed the two calmest people in the group, he wouldn¡¯t be so nervous.


    Looking at Fang Juexia beside him, who was still relieving Ling Yi¡¯s nervousness, Pei Tingsong leaned towards him and drew close to his ear. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you nervous at all?¡±


    Fang Juexia looked at him, but then heard Pei Tingsong add, ¡°With you so calm, I have no room left to perform.¡±


    What ah? He couldn¡¯t help laughing. Just as he wanted to say something, he heard a voice coming from the stage which pulled his attention back.


    ¡°Well then¡­¡±


    Li Luo, on the stage, opened the envelope and smiled at the audience. ¡°The one who won the award of Best Group of the Year is¡ª¡±


    After a three second pause, he looked in Fang Juexia¡¯s direction and said, ¡°Kaleido, congratulations!¡±


    The loudest cheers of the whole night broke out throughout the entire venue. It was a historic moment¡ª BMA¡¯s Best Group Award being awarded to a male idol group.


    Fang Juexia was still a little confused after hearing the name of their group. All night long, he had held onto the idea that they wouldn¡¯t be going onstage. He hadn¡¯t imagined that what they had been waiting for was such an important award. Pei Tingsong, who was sitting on the outermost seat, took the lead in standing up. Fang Juexia and their other bandmates followed after him, and they walked from the audience area to the stage together.


    He heard Ling Yi encourage himself in a low voice from behind him, ¡°I can¡¯t cry, I can¡¯t cry, I definitely can¡¯t cry¡­¡±


    Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t help laughing out loud.


    Such a short road of just ten or so meters was covered with red carpet, and with every step he took, he would recall the past days.


    The dreariness of their debut, then all six of them trying their best to perform on one small commercial stage after the next.


    Everyone laughing together, staying up all night in the practice room, writing and recording songs together.


    Getting through all large and small difficulties together.


    This crystal-clear past in front of his eyes now overlapped with the reality blooming in front of him, and Fang Juexia and his bandmates stood together on the stage that they had once thought was out of reach, in front of the talent scout who had recruited him.


    Li Luo handed the trophy to group leader Jiang Miao with a smile, then hugged the six of them one by one. Finally, when he hugged Fang Juexia, he whispered a word of congratulations to him.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Fang Juexia replied to him, then turned around and faced the audience with the rest of their group, using their usual way of greeting as the opening line, ¡°Hello everyone, we are Kaleido!¡±


    Ling Yi was still crying, the kind of crying where he just couldn¡¯t stop, but his position was next to their group leader, who was going to speak, so he knew he would definitely be photographed. Even though he found it disgraceful, he still had to hide behind Fang Juexia.


    Jiang Miao held the microphone, and his face still maintained the usual calm of a group leader, but his words were not as official as before. ¡°In fact, we didn¡¯t expect to win this award. Especially after seeing the shortlist, where we saw so many excellent band seniors and excellent creative groups, so at that time, we felt that being shortlisted with these senior artists was already the luckiest thing to happen to us.¡±


    The other shortlisted bands also took the lead in clapping for them here. Jiang Miao looked down at the trophy in his hand. ¡°Because we can compete with excellent people, this trophy has become extremely valuable to us. Kaleido is not only the six of us, but also the crystallization of many other people. We would like to thank the Star Chart company, our boss President Chen Zhengyun, our best agent Qiang Ge, and also Xiao Wen, and all the Dominos who have given us courage and confidence this entire time. This trophy belongs to all of you.¡±


    Then he made a deep bow, and the other five members bowed together with him. When he straightened up, Jiang Miao handed the microphone to Fang Juexia, but he was unprepared, while the crying Ling Yi was still hiding behind him.


    Seeing the microphone and camera transfer over, Ling Yi, like a little mouse who saw the light turn on, quickly hid behind Jiang Miao this time.


    Fang Juexia thought for a moment and said into the microphone, ¡°Thank you very much to BMA¡¯s judging panel for giving the Best Group of the Year to us.¡±


    He used the quickest time to organize his own language, but his tone was calm, and his attitude was neither humble nor overbearing. ¡°This year was a very special year for our entire group. From being ignored to being able to stand here, there was a turning point in-between this, and that was when each and every one of our members transformed from a singer to a creator.


    ¡°Music is precise and free, full of rules and yet ever-changing, and it is the smoothest medium to connect consciousness and matter. It is also a small world that we are willing to explore for our entire lifetime. This occasion is definitely a beginning, one that will make our future steps more sure and give us more courage to face the future.¡±


    Pei Tingsong, with one hand behind his back, stood beside Fang Juexia with a complete gentleman-like attitude. Just as in his first interview with the magazine, every feeling that Fang Juexia talked about pierced his heart. He was sober, rational, but also full of romantic idealism.


    ¡°Thank you everyone, and thank you, music and dreams.¡±


    With that, they all bowed again. Taking advantage of all of them bending over, Lu Yuan passed a paper towel stuffed in his trouser pocket to Ling Yi through Jiang Miao, so that he could wipe his face.


    When they straightened up, the host said with a smile, ¡°Congratulations Kaleido. So with this award, does the company have any activities planned in celebration?¡±


    Fang Juexia handed the microphone to Ling Yi. Ling Yi¡¯s face was red from crying, and he didn¡¯t want to take the microphone, but he didn¡¯t have time to refuse. ¡°En¡­ I don¡¯t know.¡±


    The audience laughed below.


    ¡°No ba, there should be,¡± Ling Yi sniffled, sounding especially sincere. ¡°Qiang Ge told us just now that we were going to help him move after this is over, and we¡¯d eat after we finished helping him move.¡±


    This really was the most pitiful Best of the Year boy-band in history.


    ¡ª


    The author has something to say:


    (There¡¯s still another award. P.S: They won¡¯t come out in public at the award ceremony. This is the rising period for the group, and it¡¯s also the top award ceremony, so it¡¯d be unrealistic for them to come out here. They¡¯ll come out to the public in the extras.)


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªA long lost omake¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    During the livestream of the awards ceremony, the Weibos of the Kaleido fan circles:


    [@Kaleido¡¯s First Chinese Station: Today¡¯s intro and performance are really amazing! [Video]]


    [AAAAHHAHHHH GEGES! Our nearly cancelled K is a perfect match for this stage!]


    [Shit, all live singing, this ability is too strong, they¡¯re worthy of being the group I stan!]


    [Wuwuwuwuwuwu, our Juexia Gege is dancing blindfolded! Both beautiful and strong!]


    [#Blindfold# is booked for the Hot Search List, not a single misstep, he¡¯s really too strong! Just asking who else is like this in the entire entertainment circle??]


    [Xiao Pei¡¯s vampire makeup is so hot ah, my God! Three Water and Yuanyuan¡¯s duet is also very strong]


    [Whether or not they get an award, that performance is worth it, really]


    [@Snow Imprisoned in Spring: There¡¯s a little friend who pretended not to understand the request for a girl group dance who is very happily dancing below the stage. Pinot Tree Supreme is even biting his ear, so please tell your Ge to dance it for us la [Video]]


    [5555 is there anyone more lovely than Beautiful Baby?]


    [If I were Pinot Tree Supreme, I would just directly grab Gege¡¯s swaying hands. What can I do if he¡¯s so cute?!]


    [Holy shit, did you see Juexia¡¯s glance at Pinot Tree Supreme, that rebuking look¡­]


    [Alright ba, TingJue is coming to screw with me again. Isn¡¯t it enough for me to eat this dog food?]


    [Yi? At 1 minute and 21 seconds, when Xiao Pei raised his hand, what¡¯s that black thing on his hand? Did he draw it on?]


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Award ceremony begins:


    When not winning any award ¡ª Calm and generous Dominos


    [It¡¯s okay, it¡¯s okay, getting nominated is already good!]


    [It¡¯s alright! Our nearly cancelled K will still have opportunities in the future!]


    [Congratulations senior artists! All senior artists are wonderful la!]


    After winning an award¡ªMadness


    [AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH]


    ¡ª


    Juurensha: They definitely deserved that award, I¡¯m so proud of them! And I¡¯m proud of FJX being able to show off his dance skills!


    Noks: All their hard work has paid off! Especially FJX, that blindfolded dance, and that courage! He really is awesome!


    And some lovely fanart by ykr623 of devil PTS and angel FJX!

 CH 106

    Chapter 106 ¨C The Best Is Together


    I hope my little wish can come true.


    Under Ling Yi¡¯s guidance, the camera quickly turned towards the wronged Cheng Qiang, who ¡°treated artists harshly.¡± Unable to figure out if he should laugh or cry at this moment, Cheng Qiang immediately said that they were going to have a party after the event.


    Having stopped crying on-stage now, Ling Yi took the microphone and spoke, while still sniffling a bit, ¡°Then-then you¡¯re the one who said it ah.¡±


    Everyone laughed again.


    As soon as Ling Yi finished his words, he stretched out his hand and gave the microphone to Lu Yuan, who hadn¡¯t expected this. ¡°I can also talk?¡±


    The host laughed. ¡°Everyone can talk ah, isn¡¯t this the group award ma?¡±


    Lu Yuan said with a smile, ¡°I haven¡¯t won an award for a long time, thank you all very much. As a matter of fact, how could I, back when I had just been set aside and then debuted, imagine that I would stand on this stage one day? So maybe that¡¯s what a dream is ba; no matter what reality is, as long as you follow your dream and work hard, you will surely reach a place you couldn¡¯t even imagine in the beginning.¡±


    He passed the microphone to He Ziyan, at which point the host also chimed in, ¡°In fact, Ziyan was also nominated for the best composer award, right? Isn¡¯t it a bit of a pity you didn¡¯t win?¡±


    He Ziyan replied modestly, ¡°No, no, I¡¯m a novice who has just switched to composing, and I don¡¯t even have any prior training, so I¡¯m already very lucky just to be nominated. In fact, getting the group award is more fun than winning my own.¡± He restrained from cracking his usual jokes, and there was a sincere smile on his face. ¡°It is my greatest honor to have a family that people can be so proud of.¡±


    On hearing his words, the audience applauded, and many fans, who were holding lanterns, shed tears.


    ¡°Okay, then congratulations again to our Kaleido for winning the Group of the Year award!¡±


    The six members held hands and bowed deeply to everyone again. This scene was captured on film by many fans, and it was the brightest moment these six boys had experienced so far.


    The fans were the people who knew them best. Not everyone knew the criticism, cold reception, and repeated blows these six people had suffered along the way to here, but all of their fans had made note of it in their hearts. They had watched Kaleido blaze a trail through a thorny path filled with brambles, go from being a small group that had been ridiculed by tens of thousands of people when they had debuted to reach their present status today, step-by-step. They had watched as these six people faced defeat, only to crawl up again, cover each other¡¯s wounds, and then continue fighting.


    And they knew better than anyone that Kaleido deserved the glory of this moment.


    Once they returned to their seats, the artists and friends all around them turned their heads, clapping and congratulating them. It was only then that Fang Juexia, who was in a trance, understood that the feeling of having won an award was a reality.


    This heavy golden trophy held different meanings for each of the six people. At least, for Fang Juexia, it meant an open door, signifying that his long dark corridor had come to an end.


    Beyond the door stood his five bandmates, as well as the colorful kaleidoscope of the whole wide world.


    After the award for Best Group of the Year, they entered the section for the smaller awards. After the awards for Best Song in a Dialect and Best Folk Song were presented, another award for creation was ushered-in¡ªthe Best Lyrics of the Year award.


    The award presenter was an influential American music producer, both at home and abroad. He was straightforward and generous, not speaking too much when he came onstage and directly announcing the nominees.


    He Ziyan, seated on the far left, started clapping. ¡°Here it comes, here it comes, here comes Xiao Pei.¡±


    ¡°God bless me, let me win for once.¡± Lu Yuan began to worship Bodhisattvas.


    Ling Yi grabbed Jiang Miao¡¯s arm. ¡°I¡¯m so nervous that I want to go to the bathroom, Miao Ge.¡±


    ¡°Bear with it ba.¡± Jiang Miao couldn¡¯t laugh or cry; he felt like he was taking care of children.


    Fang Juexia, who had been quite calm all night, suddenly felt his heart beat faster, especially when he saw ¡°Break Through¡± appear on the big screen, with the three characters that signified Pei Tingsong appearing in its lyricist column. Clearly, he could maintain his calm even during the announcement for such a major award as the Best Group of the Year, but now he couldn¡¯t control his nervous tension.


    Four songs had been nominated, and the other three were all ballads, mainly love songs. However, they were all written by senior writers in the lyrics circle, and one of them had already won the Best Lyrics of the Year award twice before. Pei Tingsong was the one with the lowest qualifications on the list.


    But when it came to lyrical patterns and artistic conception, ¡°Break Through¡± wouldn¡¯t lose there.


    If only he can win the award¡­ Fang Juexia prayed silently in his heart.


    However, the finalist himself seemed much more calm. Prior to this, Pei Tingsong hadn¡¯t paid any attention to the list of nominees. This was the first time he had seen it, and his reaction was especially genuine. ¡°The lyrics of this song are very good¡­. Ah, this one is also good. I have it in my playlist¡­¡±


    Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t help grabbing his sleeve and turning his head to him, his words like those to comfort a child during a competition. ¡°It¡¯s okay, it¡¯s our first time being nominated for this.¡± Then he added, ¡°Don¡¯t be nervous ah.¡±


    It was like he was saying it out loud for himself to hear.


    Pei Tingsong looked at him and smiled. That smile was like a high school boyparticipating in a school sporting event. He could tell at a glance that Fang Juexia was the one who was actually really nervous, so he deliberately said, ¡°No, I¡¯m very afraid now, what should I do? Feel my chest.¡± Then he took Fang Juexia¡¯s hand and put it on his chest. Fang Juexia really believed him, and when he stuck his palm against him, he felt that his heart was beating very fast.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. Anyway, we¡¯re still¡­¡±


    What they didn¡¯t expect was for that award presenter, who wasn¡¯t following the guidelines or order to the event, to announce the result directly, ¡°The winner is¡ªPei Tingsong!¡±


    Amidst boiling cheers, the camera swiveled towards the caught off-guard Pei Tingsong. Both of them were a little confused, and Pei Tingsong was still holding Fang Juexia¡¯s hand against his chest. This shot made the fans more excited, as if it wasn¡¯t the winner¡¯s shot, but the NBA¡¯s live ¡°kiss cam¡± ¡ªwhere whoever appeared on the big screen would have to kiss the person sitting beside them.


    They remained frozen that way for about a second or two before Fang Juexia suddenly realized what was going on and quickly pulled his hand out from under Pei Tingsong¡¯s hand, his neck flushed.


    How was this an award ceremony? This was practically catching two people having an affair.


    Although Pei Tingsong was also a little confused, he quickly shifted states, and stood up with a rather gentlemanly smile, while motioning to his bandmates. ¡°Come up with me ba.¡±


    The others shook their heads and waved their hands, encouraging Pei Tingsong to go up by himself. He didn¡¯t have any other way, so the group¡¯s maknae could only walk onto the stage alone. Wearing a tailored black suit, he wasn¡¯t the same as he usually was, an outstanding temperament always surrounded him, but there was much more maturity in him right now.


    After receiving the trophy, Pei Tingsong hugged the award presenter. The other side also laughed and joked to him, ¡°Let¡¯s work together next time.¡± Pei Tingsong also communicated with him in English, ¡°It¡¯d be my pleasure.¡±


    Standing in front of the mic stand, Pei Tingsong held the trophy in his left hand and put his right hand behind him. After a pause of about a second, he laughed. ¡°I¡¯m a little happy, because I just made a small bet while seated, and now, I have won.¡± He looked in Fang Juexia¡¯s direction and laughed very childishly. ¡°I hope my little wish can come true.¡±


    Hearing Pei Tingsong make such a puzzling remark aimed at him on such an important occasion, Fang Juexia pursed his lips, trying to ease his embarrassment. Fortunately, everyone else didn¡¯t know what Pei Tingsong was talking about, otherwise the camera would have turned to him again, and his red face would be shown to everyone.


    If he had known earlier that Pei Tingsong would really win the prize, he would have simply refused.


    ¡°In fact, I really didn¡¯t prepare an acceptance speech, because the finalists are all major senior lyricists, each one of them very excellent. I only came here with the mindset of viewing some performances. But I¡¯m good at talking freely, so I¡¯ll just give a casual speech, and everyone can just casually hear me out.


    ¡°All of the songs that were nominated are songs that I really personally like. They are all worthy of deliberation and are very much made up of valuable lyrics. Maybe finally selecting me was more about giving encouragement to new people ba. What¡¯s more, the song ¡°Break Through¡± is about an original musician¡¯s attitude of breaking through a siege when in a surrounded environment, and not being afraid of challenges. Therefore, this honor belongs to all original artists, and also belongs to every lyricist in the industry.¡±


    These words were very sincere, without having too much of a pretense of modesty. The camera was aimed at the other finalists, and the senior lyricists all smiled and clapped, showing their support and encouragement for the newborn calf.


    Pei Tingsong looked down at the trophy in his hand. ¡°In fact, this trophy should belong to the whole Kaleido. It is my bandmates who formed the core of my inspiration and creation, and let me have something to write about. But they don¡¯t want to come up, maybe because they¡¯re afraid that Ling Yi will cry until he gets dehydrated ba.¡±


    The people underneath the stage started laughing again, and the camera focused on Ling Yi. Ling Yi shook his head very calmly, expressing that he really hadn¡¯t started crying again.


    The corners of Pei Tingsong¡¯s mouth drew up. ¡°Speaking of that, I also want to thank the people who ¡®helped¡¯ leak our song, it¡¯s only because of you that I could write ¡®Break Through.¡¯ After all, anger is also a source of inspiration.¡±


    This remark was too straightforward, and people hadn¡¯t expected this 20-year-old boy, even while standing on the BMA stage, to still be this cutting. However, leaking a song was very shameful and malicious competitive behavior in the music industry, and after hearing Pei Tingsong¡¯s frankness about it, everyone couldn¡¯t help applauding him.


    ¡°But in fact, the best words of this song, in my heart personally, were those written by my bandmate Fang Juexia.¡± Through the fresh flowers and the red carpet, he looked at Fang Juexia with gentle eyes. ¡°If simple anger was the core of the whole song, it would be too intense. It was the addition of his words that harmonized and unified all the emotions, allowing the song to achieve the balance of artistic conception, and even adding a bit of indifference that exists in life to it.


    ¡°He¡¯s really a very talented musician.¡±


    Fang Juexia smiled modestly into the camera lens and put his hands together.


    Looking away from his lover, Pei Tingsong continued, ¡°As everyone knows, I study philosophy. My sage predecessor Aristotle said, ¡®Dignity does not consist in possessing honors, but in the consciousness that we deserve them.¡¯¡±


    This sentence being uttered here couldn¡¯t help but make people feel that it was very arrogant, but when Pei Tingsong said it, it seemed fitting¡ªbecause he was worthy.


    When he looked down below the stage, his handsome brow wasn¡¯t filled with pride, but his self-confidence was a light that would never fade away.


    ¡°Therefore, the thing I am most honored about isn¡¯t being able to stand here, but that I could stand here and defend my dignity with originality.¡± With that, he gently put his right hand, which had never been shown this entire time, on his chest and bowed. ¡°Thank you everyone.¡±


    A close-up of him appeared on the big screen. Ling Yi, sitting on one side, suddenly exclaimed, ¡°Yi? Is that a tattoo on Xiao Pei¡¯s hand?¡±


    Lu Yuan also saw it. ¡°Yeah, isn¡¯t this the place where he was injured last time? He said a kitten had bit him.¡±


    It was only at this time that the somewhat slow Fang Juexia discovered that on Pei Tingsong¡¯s hand, which was on his chest, there was a black arc right at the place where the thumb met the palm of the hand.


    No, it wasn¡¯t so much an arc as the outline of bite marks.


    No wonder Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t let him take his gloves off, and when he was on-stage, he had kept his hand behind his back. All these details could now be traced back to this.


    Only at the last moment of glory did Pei Tingsong put Fang Juexia¡¯s bite on his heart to express his gratitude. That was the modesty he had learned from Fang Juexia, and it contained all his love.


    At this moment, Fang Juexia¡¯s fingertips were paralyzed, and the grand award ceremony around him turned into a melting oil painting. The colors were mottled and flowed down, but only his heart kept floating, moving towards Pei Tingsong.


    Everything around him had been muted, and he seemed to fall into an illusory night blindness, with nothing to see, everything shrouded in an all black background. Only Pei Tingsong was lit up, as he smiled and walked towards him step by step.


    When he sat down, he handed the trophy he had won to Fang Juexia. In the midst of his warmth, he carried a trace of childish censure as he said, ¡°How good it would have been to go up together.


    ¡°We would have looked so good standing up there together.¡±


    Together.


    This word was familiar to Fang Juexia, who had grown up speaking Cantonese, and it was full of romance. In that moment, when Pei Tingsong had blurted it out, he seemed to have already been standing up there with his lover.


    Like establishing two poles¡ªthe white eustoma grandiflorum and the black knight camilla.


    They were the best match for each other.


    When he showed Ling Yi the trophy in his hand, Fang Juexia¡¯s eyes weren¡¯t on the glory he had won, but on Pei Tingsong¡¯s right hand. ¡°When did you get a tattoo? And you even hid it from me.¡±


    ¡°The day before yesterday. Actually, I wanted to show it to you once this was over.¡± Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t cover things up and told him openly, ¡°One of my classmates tattooed his grandmother¡¯s picture on his chest. I thought it was very cool, and I also wanted a tattoo. Did you know? The tattoo artist was a Ukrainian, and his work is very good, but he speaks very poor English. As a genius who is proficient in Chinese, English, and Spanish, I had to resort to body language to communicate with him. By the way, he said that tattoos represent clan marks in primitive tribes, and also signify reaching adulthood¡­.¡±


    Pei Tingsong was like a child, and kept telling Fang Jueixa about his experience, but before he could finish his story of the Ukrainian tattoo artist, Fang Juexia started asking questions.


    ¡°Why did you tattoo this?¡± He once again commented on his unconscious drunken behavior. ¡°It¡¯s not cool at all.¡±


    ¡°I think it¡¯s very cool.¡± Pei Tingsong looked at his hand. The singer on-stage was singing a very emotional ballad, and so he drew closer to Fang Juexia. ¡°Lower your head.¡±


    Following his instructions, Fang Juexia lowered his head and saw Pei Tingsong tilt his left foot to his side, slightly pulling up his pants and exposing his ankle. Fang Juexia was stunned; it turned out, there was also a tattoo on his ankle¡ª a black X.


    At that time, when they were in a meeting, he had hid under the table and used a marker to play a prank on Pei Tingsong.


    His heart softened, completely melting into this idea that his young lover had worked so hard to hide. ¡°How-how can you also get that tattooed¡­¡±


    The corners of Pei Tingsong¡¯s mouth drew up, and he drew close to him and said in a soft voice, ¡°Because I want to preserve all the marks you give me.¡±


    He smiled and touched the bite mark on his hand. That had been from him giving the tattoo artist a picture of his scabs from before, and it had been precisely redrawn from the original image. The tattooing process was very painful, and had made him recall the feeling of being bitten by Fang Juexia, that night when he was alone with him for the first time.


    ¡°You were born with a beautiful birthmark. This is a gift from God to let everyone who has seen you recognize you at a glance.¡± He moved Fang Juexia¡¯s bangs aside, revealing the light red mark. ¡°My skin is very mediocre, with nothing special. Fortunately, I can still carve the marks you gave me, anyway¡­¡±


    Below the show, the lights in the audience were always dimmed. Within that dim field of vision, Pei Tingsong¡¯s eyes were really distinct, and what was flashing in his eyes was the greatest loyalty this young boy possessed.


    ¡°I just want you to recognize me.¡±


    ¡ª


    Juurensha: Our PTS has grown so much! He¡¯s so romantic now!

 CH 107

    Chapter 107 ¨C Highest Level Of Praise


    Hearing this, Fang Juexia¡¯s nose stung.


    Having been born with such a birthmark had led him to hearing too many beautified legends, such as that it was a mark from heaven, and after reincarnating, it would be the marker that would let the relatives or partners from your last life remember you, no matter what you turned into. However, Fang Juexia was a total atheist, a person who only ever believed in science, ever since he was a child. When he came across these kinds of words, he could only regard it as a superstitious legend.


    It was already hard to predict a person¡¯s present life, so how could anyone place their trust in an afterlife?


    What¡¯s more, he had once very much hated this wrong mark that had made him miss out on his dreams of performing on a stage.


    But his naive and stubborn lover, who, even if he had no natural birthmarks, still wanted to carve one out to match his own birthmark. This way of doing difficult things no matter what really fit Pei Tingsong¡¯s personality.


    But thinking of what he had said before, Fang Juexia still couldn¡¯t help laughing. He even stretched out his index finger and chucked his chin, imitating Pei Tingsong¡¯s past actions. ¡°What nonsense, how is your skin mediocre?¡±


    Pei Tingsong also laughed with him. ¡°Mediocrity is always relative. I¡¯m glad to be inferior to you on this point.¡±


    Knowing he couldn¡¯t outtalk this guy, he only smiled in response. ¡°Anyway, you are the best at quibbling.¡± Fang Juexia lowered his head and hands, sliding his fingertips gently down the ¡°scar¡± on Pei Tingsong¡¯s hand. ¡°Did it hurt more when I bit you or when you got the tattoo?¡±


    Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t even think about it. ¡°Neither hurt.¡±


    ¡°Liar.¡± When Fang Juexia looked up at him, he looked at him with the same look as when he had blamed him for saving him on the stage before. ¡°The skin here is so thin, it must have hurt.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, even the scabs have fallen off, I don¡¯t feel anything there anymore.¡± Pei Tingsong even deliberately rubbed that spot, demonstrating that it really didn¡¯t hurt.


    ¡°Then how will you explain this?¡± Fang Juexia asked, ¡°Qiang Ge and the media, they will all ask about it.¡±


    Pei Tingsong shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ll just say I wanted to get a tattoo. After all, who can control me?¡±


    He really didn¡¯t fear the heavens or the earth, he hadn¡¯t changed at all. Fang Juexia looked down at the scar, and thought of that night, how he and Pei Tingsong had gotten through it with Fang Juexia drunk. Although he had no memory of it, based on his alcohol tolerance and drunken behavior, that night, this young master should have suffered a lot.


    But Pei Tingsong also didn¡¯t behave that well while drunk, and hadn¡¯t he also gone to a lot of trouble to take care of him? Fang Juexia rebutted himself in his heart.


    Thinking of something, Fang Juexia raised his head, rubbed his throat, and then drew close to Pei Tingsong¡¯s ear. ¡°Should I get a tattoo here? This is where you bit me.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not okay.¡± Pei Tingsong directly moved his hand down. He didn¡¯t want his baby to run out to get a tattoo; when he got pricked by the needle, Pei Tingsong wouldn¡¯t even have the time to get distressed. ¡°Having your birthmark at the corner of your eye is enough, that¡¯s the most special one.¡±


    The live broadcast of the awards ceremony only finished at 11 p.m., but this big music event that everyone watched had already aroused lively discussion all over the Internet. Many big verified Weibos had followed the award results in realtime and published it online.


    Originally, the three awards most paid attention to in the BMA awards ceremony were the Best Male Singer of the Year, the Best Female Singer of the year, and the Best Group of the Year, and since the Best Group award would usually be given to a band, it held a more niche audience. But this time, the Group Award was given to a popular boy-band, which could be said to be a very hot topic, so Kaleido once again appeared on the Hot Search list.


    [@Can you lend me a lighter: It¡¯s really amazing that a boy-band can get nominated for four awards and win two at the BMA.]


    [@You are very beautiful: When I saw that Kaleido was nominated for Best Group, I made a bet with my friend. At that time, I thought I would have to pay him, after all, Kaleido has only had two popular albums, and even if they were solo singers, they wouldn¡¯t have great chances. Within a year, at the speed of light, they¡¯ve become more and more popular. K really has been chosen by the heavens.]


    [@You¡¯re thinking about peaches to eat: BMA is getting worse and worse¡­]


    [@456 come with me replying to @You¡¯re thinking about peaches to eat: Change your profile picture first, then talk about BMA ba. After all, your bias can¡¯t win at this level for their entire life.]


    [@Goldfish brain can¡¯t be saved replying to @You¡¯re thinking about peaches to eat: I think they are totally worthy of it ah. There were more than ten live performances there, and K was definitely in the top three, and the bands who were also nominated were just alright ba. Oh, if you¡¯re a hipster, pretend I didn¡¯t say that, but your profile picture also looks to be of an idol, so why do you bother your own family?]


    [@Not a fish: Pei Tingsong¡¯s acceptance speech was very awesome, proud but not crazy. He spoke casually and skillfully, no wonder he can write such good lyrics. Sure enough, P College professionally churns out unmatched geniuses in the same profession.]


    [@WWW replying to @Not a fish: Yes, yes, yes, Fang Juexia¡¯s acceptance speech was also very good, it didn¡¯t sound like it was impromptu at all. I feel that both of them are idols with their own ideas, it¡¯s very rare. Maybe it¡¯s because they all went to college ba [dog head]]


    [@Lilychou: Before, I even bet they could win Album of the Year, but it seems that the BMAs were more balanced. After all, in the year-end selection of several other music platforms, if the Song of the Year wasn¡¯t ¡°Break Through¡± then it was ¡°Night Trip¡±, so how is everyone else supposed to compete?]


    [@Smarui: They¡¯ve become gods, they¡¯ve become gods. Once you win a Best of the Year, you¡¯re not at the same level as other groups. I envy K fans everyday]


    [@Dududu laugh: I¡¯m going to say I¡¯m going to become a fan of that crybaby¡­so cute ah]


    [@Is it wrong for me to like handsome guys: I found that this group are all pretty cool, and they have strong abilities]


    [@We¡¯re not compatible, thank you: Although Star Chart is small, at least it¡¯s serious about music and has good judgment when choosing artists. They don¡¯t follow the capitalist line of killing the chicken to get the eggs. I¡¯m always a bit relieved to see that there are still some boy-bands that are seriously engaged in creative work; at least not everyone is only concerned about the numbers while neglecting the quality of the work. I hope that there will be more and more groups like this. Don¡¯t let original music die, okay.]


    While everyone was talking about Kaleido winning the BMA Best Group award and the Best Lyric award, TingJue fans were busy pressing down on the closet door, because Pei Tingsong and Fang Juexia had displayed many fluffy moments during the awards ceremony that they nearly exploded. The once-in-a-century scene when Pei Tingsong¡¯s award was announced alone attracted a large number of passers-by.


    [PTS and FJX are a good match ah], [They can¡¯t really be dating ba, this atmosphere is too real], [Shit, I¡¯m bewitched, what kind of God¡¯s Favored Son x Beautiful Wife pairing is this, it¡¯s too real, it¡¯s too real]¡ªthese kinds of words emerged endlessly, increasing more and more. At first, the TingJue girls were still very proud, but soon they started growing more and more flustered, and eventually even began to doubt themselves and life.


    But this topic was really too blazingly popular, with even big verified entertainment Weibos producing a collection of fluffy moments, taking the lead in shipping them. This forced the CP fans to press down on the closet door everywhere for the sake of these two completely unaware biases.


    [@As long as you ship then ship fast: Today¡¯s BMA was really wonderful, I finally understood why the TingJue CP was so hot. You guys can have a look at this collection, it¡¯s amazing. P1 is PTS holding FJX¡¯s chin during the performance, be sure to watch the video! P2 is an official BMA camera shot! And it¡¯s the scene when Pei Tingsong¡¯s award was announced, and as a result, we caught a shot of Fang Juexia¡¯s hand on his chest [swoon]. P3 is the scene where Pei Tingsong mentions Fang Juexia during his acceptance speech. The following pictures are all of Pei Tingsong and Fang Juexia madly whispering into each other¡¯s ears while seated in the audience. Fang Juexia also rubbed Pei Tingsong¡¯s hand with his index finger (this slow-mo gif is so yearning). Thank you Star Chart, thank you K, I¡¯ve never done such a real CP before, I¡¯m falling straight into the pit, going immediately deaf now!]


    [@The Fine Jeweled Xeriscape around the Pinot Tree Supreme: In fact, they just have a very deep working relationship.]


    [@Today I am also a deaf girl: Um, that¡¯s all just stage design, stagecraft.]


    [@Can¡¯t cure deafness: It¡¯s just choreography. If you ask, it¡¯s Teacher Yuan¡¯s fault! (Sorry, Teacher Yuan)]


    [@Shipping TingJue is shipping Bros: The lyrics are actually just Pinot Tree Supreme¡¯s usual storm, don¡¯t take it seriously¡­]


    [@SSSStkl: This comment hahahahahaha, are all TingJue girls so timid?]


    [@TingJue is fake: The most bewitching thing about this group is that each pairing looks very real, but they are all just doing fanservice. We all know it very well, and if you ask, it¡¯s all showing love and respect as good brothers should.]


    [@Didn¡¯t get to eat red bean slushie today either: P6, that photo, Fang Juexia¡¯s eyes really are¡­.ordinary male friends don¡¯t look at each other like that ba, that look is too affectionate.]


    [@Has your TingJue recovered replying to @Didn¡¯t get to eat red bean slushie today either: No, no, no, our Juexia Gege even looks at dogs like this. Besides, the venue is so dark so he¡¯s actually blind (not)]


    TingJue girls on Weibo gingerly shipped them while making sure to hold the closet door closed. On Kaleido¡¯s side, they had already started their livestream a long time ago. After all, this December 25 marked their third anniversary since their debut.


    As soon as the six of them finished with the BMA event, they went to Cheng Qiang¡¯s new home, but instead of being forced to work, they ordered a lot of midnight snacks, sat on the floor, since Cheng Qiang¡¯s home was so brand new that he didn¡¯t even have a sofa, and started the livestream. Although it was very sudden, as soon as the livestream started, the screen froze.


    ¡°This is too laggy.¡± Ling Yi was so frantic that his legs were vibrating, and he pushed Lu Yuan to hand him the box of fried chicken wings. ¡°It¡¯s so crowded, so why don¡¯t I have a piece of fried chicken first?¡± Saying this, he took out a fragrant wing from the box, and had just stuffed it into his mouth when the livestream suddenly cleared up.


    Lu Yuan clapped and then pointed the camera at Ling Yi. ¡°Okay, please enjoy the first segment of this Kaleido livestream¡ªBig Transformation: Chicken Bones. Friends, Ling Yi has already stuffed the chicken wing into his mouth, so let¡¯s see how he turns it all around and spits out a whole chicken bone for us¡­¡±


    Without waiting for him to finish talking, Ling Yi beat and kicked at him, before seizing Lu Yuan¡¯s phone, which was livestreaming, and handing it to Fang Juexia. Originally, he had wanted to happily watch the show, but when a cellphone suddenly drew close, Fang Juexia¡¯s beautiful face, bare of any makeup, appeared on the screen amidst his bandmates¡¯ fight.


    [AHHHHHHH JUEXIA GEGE IS TOO ATTRACTIVE BA!]


    [My God, that bare face is really too beautiful! That little birthmark is super cute]


    [Come on, screenshot! I¡¯m in a daze ah!]


    [Mama, I¡¯ve seen an angel wuwuwuwwuwuwuwu]


    ¡°Ling Yi, don¡¯t pull him into the battlefield.¡±


    [Ahhhhhh, that¡¯s Pinot Tree Supreme¡¯s voice!]


    [This sentence is too doting ba!]


    [Pinot Tree Supreme is actually wearing that ¡®Melt for you¡¯ sweater! It¡¯s the same clothes he wore when he moved back to the dormitory for the first livestream! And it¡¯s Juexia Gege¡¯s!]


    [When TingJue girls have nommed on fluff so much and reach 200 pounds, no Pinot Tree will be innocent]


    Finally, the cellphone was taken away by Pei Tingsong, and he handed it to Jiang Miao. The group leader set up a tripod and pointed the camera at the six of them. ¡°Say hello to the fans ba.¡±


    ¡°Wu¡ª¡± Ling Yi quickly turned his head to hide from the camera and spat out the bone. ¡°I¡¯m good now.¡±


    Only then did the six people perform their official opening. ¡°Hello, everyone, we are Kaleido!¡±


    After they finished saying that, everyone started clapping away. He Ziyan looked up at the clock and said, ¡°Speaking of that, there¡¯s less than half an hour left before the anniversary of our debut.¡±


    Jiang Miao nodded. ¡°Yes, so we will probably livestream for one and a half hours ba. Staying up too late isn¡¯t good for everyone¡¯s health.¡±


    [It doesn¡¯t matter, I¡¯m very weak anyway!!!]


    [Congratulations on winning the awards, Geges! Happy third anniversary!]


    ¡°Yeah yi,¡± Lu Yuan suddenly thought of something. ¡°Today¡¯s our third anniversary, if I had remembered earlier, I would have mentioned it during the acceptance speech.¡± After that, he also pointed the coke bottle at himself and made a sensational gesture. ¡°In fact, today is the third anniversary of our Kaleido¡¯s debut, and being able to get some affirmation on this special day really means so much to us.¡±


    Pei Tingsong raised his foot to kick him, and directly kicked Lu Yuan out of view of the camera. ¡°You are too fake like that.¡±


    [hahahahaha the group tyrant is online and kicking people out]


    [Fake Yuanyuan has been kicked out of the groupchat hahahaha]


    He Ziyan suddenly chimed in earnestly, ¡°Time flies, three years have passed in a blink of an eye. When I remember the days Xiao Pei first arrived¡­¡± He raised his hand and compared it a bit. ¡°He was only this tall.¡±


    Pei Tingsong was quite dissatisfied with the height He Ziyan was showing. ¡°Am I a potted plant, being that short?¡± As soon as he finished talking, Fang Juexia didn¡¯t know what was going on, but he did turn to look at Ling Yi.


    Ling Yi immediately grew frantic. ¡°Who are you calling a potted plant?!¡±


    [Hahahahaha!]


    [I clicked on a crosstalk livestream again]


    [Hahahahahaha, Teacher Fang turning his head is too sage!]


    Jiang Miao hurried to comfort Ling Yi. ¡°Our Yiyi is much taller than a potted plant.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Ling Yi angrily took a bite of the fried chicken.


    [Hahahaha What kind of good words are that, M-Dash??]


    ¡°A bit more seriously.¡± Jiang Miao got back to business, ¡°First of all, we want to wish the Dominoes a Merry Christmas. I don¡¯t know if you guys have received any Christmas gifts.¡±


    The barrage crazily spammed that they hadn¡¯t and wanted them to send each of them one. Jiang Miao smiled and cued Fang Juexia. ¡°Juexia will send a gift!¡±


    Fang Juexia was sipping almond milk with great relish when he was suddenly called on to give gifts. He almost choked and patted himself in confusion. ¡°I¡­ Where¡¯s my cellphone?¡±


    Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t understand. ¡°What do you want your cellphone for?¡±


    ¡°To send red envelopes ya.¡± Fang Juexia looked completely serious.


    [Hahahahaha, Juexia Gege is really too sincere ba]


    [Dominoes¡¯ black material: Asking your own family¡¯s Gege for money during festivities.]


    Pei Tingsong was so amused by him, he started laughing. He suppressed the instinct to squeeze his cheek in front of the livestreaming camera. ¡°Sing a ¡®Wish You a Merry Christmas¡¯ song ba.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. This cellphone is Qiang Ge¡¯s backup phone, use it to send red envelopes ba.¡±


    [Hahahahaha Qiang Ge:???]


    Fang Juexua sat on the ground with his legs crossed, and very seriously sang the song ¡®Wish You a Merry Christmas¡¯ to their fans. Ling Yi harmonized with him from the side, and although it was very short, the two singers¡¯ singing was moving enough.


    [Fairy in the Human World, Fang Juexia! Peacock of the Human world, Ling Yiyi!]


    ¡°Aiya, you guys don¡¯t mention peacocks anymore, cut it out!¡±


    [Hahahaha!]


    Lu Yuan also deliberately teased him. ¡°Everyone type the word ¡®peacock¡¯ into the public channel!¡± He finally begged for mercy after being hammered by Ling Yi¡¯s fans.


    [My nearly cancelled K really is poor. They don¡¯t even have a decent celebration after winning at the BMA, just eating takeout on a bare floor, too pitiful, too pitiful.]


    Fang Juexia saw this line in the barrage and laughed, but also explained, ¡°This isn¡¯t just a bare floor, this is Qiang Ge¡¯s new home. We stopped by for a housewarming party. There will be a celebration party, and it¡¯ll be at the company tomorrow, with all of us.¡±


    [Kaleido¡¯s main business is doing cross talk, and their side business is moving bricks, hahaha]


    [What¡¯s that on Pinot Tree Supreme¡¯s hand ah, is it a tattoo?]


    ¡°Hey, they¡¯re asking you.¡± He Ziyan grabbed Pei Tingsong¡¯s hand. ¡°The fans asked, ¡®What is this?¡¯¡±


    Pei Tingsong openly admitted, ¡°It¡¯s a tattoo bei, it¡¯s new.¡±


    [It¡¯s really a tattoo???]


    [It¡¯s so special ah, what¡¯s its meaning?]


    Fang Juexia stared at the barrage silently, some misgivings stirring in his heart. He didn¡¯t know what this guy would say.


    ¡°En¡­¡± Pei Tingsong displayed his hand to the camera, ¡°It¡¯s just a bite mark.¡±


    He actually said it so straightforwardly. Fang Juexia¡¯s heart started beating a little faster. Clearly, he had only drunk almond milk, but his mind was being manipulated by non-existent alcohol.


    Ling Yi suddenly thought of something and started bragging, wearing an expression of having received the script for this beforehand. ¡°I know!¡±


    Fang Juexia¡¯s heart immediately hung in mid-air, waiting for Ling Yi¡¯s follow-up.


    ¡°Sansan once told me that when you filmed the first Escape episode, you had told him that you were bitten by your own family¡¯s little master! Is that it?¡±


    It was okay, it was okay.


    ¡°No¡­¡± Lu Yuan frowned. ¡°When did Pei Tingsong get a cat?¡±


    The atmosphere suddenly turned very awkward.


    Jiang Miao, who was the first to respond, immediately started his support mode. ¡°He had one in his apartment before, have you forgotten?¡±


    He Ziyan also chimed in. ¡°Right, right, I¡¯ve even seen it before. It¡¯s very beautiful, completely snow-white.¡±


    Lu Yuan also realized what was going on now, and immediately shifted to an expression of ¡®having seen the light.¡¯ ¡°Oh, right, right, I almost forgot. Xiao Pei is hiding a cat in a golden boudoir. ¡°


    [Wow, Xiao Pei is also a cat slave!]


    [When is cat-owner Pinot Tree Supreme going to show a picture of the cat?!]


    Seeing all these ups and downs, Fang Juexia really started sweating for himself and Pei Tingsong.


    It seemed that they had to buy a cat to straighten out their lie.


    Everyone ate, had fun, and very soon, changed the topic. Because it was Christmas and their anniversary, the six people decided to let the fans wish for things that they would do. It would be a triple reward for Christmas, their anniversary, and winning the award.


    The fans wanted to listen to the acapella version of ¡°Hunt¡±, so the six boys simply sang a bunch of songs in a row, in the acapella style. The barrage then wanted a girl group dance, and Fang Juexia knew that he couldn¡¯t avoid it, so he said, ¡°I can promise you guys a dance, but I have to learn it first, otherwise I won¡¯t look good when dancing it.¡±


    [Beautiful Baby looks good dancing anything!]


    [How do you have any dances you don¡¯t look good dancing?! Look at your face!]


    [Juexia Gege¡¯s most doting fan!]


    [Want to see the six people practicing a girl group dance!]


    ¡°There¡¯s still half an hour left,¡± Jiang Miao said, looking at the barrage. ¡°What else do you guys want to see? Quickly say it oh, I¡¯m about to take a screenshot.¡±


    Who knew that the screenshot would cut to this request:


    [Miao Ge, look at me! I want to see nicknames! Fire Ge and Miao Ge in a group, Yiyi and Yuanyuan in a group, and Pinot Tree Supreme and Juexia Gege together.]


    ¡°Wow¡­¡± Lu Yuan was holding a French fry in his mouth. ¡°It¡¯s time for all our affections to be broken down.¡±


    [This sister¡¯s thought process and mine are too identical ba!]


    ¡°Okay?¡± Jiang Miao asked everyone.


    Fang Juexia hesitated a bit, but his saying ¡®no¡¯ to this would seem even more strange. He didn¡¯t need to give a reason behind the nickname, and if worst came to worst, he could just make up a few words.


    Besides¡­.


    He was also a little curious about what Pei Tingsong¡¯s nickname for him was.


    It couldn¡¯t still be ¡®Just a pretty face, and also still pretty¡¯ ba.


    ¡°Since no one is disagreeing, let¡¯s start ba.¡± As the group leader, Jiang Miao first took out his cellphone, opened up his chat with He Ziyan, and then covered up the actual contents before showing it in front of the camera, ¡°The nickname I gave Ziyan is actually a little flame emoticon la, isn¡¯t it very cute.¡±


    He Ziyan also took out his cellphone. ¡°The nickname I gave Miao Ge is¡­¡± He accidentally laughed.¡±Hey, I think it¡¯s a little easy to misunderstand.¡±


    ¡°What ah?¡± As soon as Ling Yi came to look at it, he also laughed. ¡°Hahahaha, why did you nickname him the Group Wife ah?! You pervert!¡±


    ¡°No!¡± He Ziyan immediately argued for himself, ¡°It¡¯s because when I was filming outside some time ago, and then he was also filming, and he kept reminding me that I needed to put on sunscreen ah and that I needed to eat, and later, he even came to visit me on set ma. So, when I was scrolling through Weibo, I saw a fan call Three Water ¡®Group Wife,¡¯ and I thought it was particularly appropriate, so I nicknamed him this way.¡±


    [Wow~~~~]


    [This ¡®wife¡¯ word is true, tchtchtch]


    [Group wife group wife group wife]


    ¡°It¡¯s my turn!¡± Ling Yi couldn¡¯t wait to show his nickname for Lu Yuan. ¡°The nickname I gave Lu Yuan is Round Melon.¡± He also explained, ¡°Because in the Sichuan dialect, melon means silly.¡±


    ¡°What a coincidence ah,¡± Lu Yuan picked up his cellphone, ¡°What I gave Ling Yi was the nickname Hanhan, because in the national online context, Hanhan means a fool.¡±


    ¡°Hahahahaha!¡±


    [What kind of MelonHan team are you hahahaha!]


    [It¡¯s TingJue¡¯s turn, it¡¯s TingJue¡¯s turn!]


    Fang Juexia glanced at Pei Tingsong and said softly, ¡°You go first.¡± Pei Tingsong teased him deliberately, ¡°What if you don¡¯t tell me when I¡¯m finished?¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t do that.¡± Fang Juexia¡¯s expression was very serious, but Pei Tingsong had already raised his hand. ¡°Rock, paper, scissors.¡±


    [Are you two primary school students, so cute]


    [This smoky purple sweater looks really good on Pei Tingsong, but it hasn¡¯t been returned to Gege for nearly a year now!]


    Fang Juexia held out his hand for rock-paper-scissors, and then lost to Pei Tingsong, so he just had to resign himself to his fate. However, he couldn¡¯t find his cellphone after searching for a long time, so he could only tell everyone directly, ¡°The nickname I gave him is ¡®One Constant Truth.¡¯¡±


    [What¡¯s with that??]


    He then explained, ¡°In fact, it¡¯s a tautology in a proposition. To put it simply, it¡¯s the proposition of eternal truth.¡±


    [Wow, I suddenly feel it¡¯s a little romantic¡­]


    Hearing this nickname, Pei Tingsong was surprised. After pondering it over a bit, he felt a little emotional. It was probably only Fang Juexia who could come up with a nickname like that ba.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Pei Tingsong lightly bumped their shoulders together.


    How could he explain the true meaning directly in front of the livestream camera?


    Fang Juexia hesitated for a moment before giving an official answer, ¡°Because you are very confident. No matter what happens, you will stick to your own ideas and live like you¡¯re a ¡®one constant truth.¡¯¡±


    Pei Tingsong let out a meaningful ¡°oh¡±; he had received Fang Juexia¡¯s message directed at him, and so didn¡¯t continue to ask.


    Ling Yi urged, ¡°It¡¯s your turn now.¡±


    ¡°Mine ah.¡± Pei Tingsong took out his cellphone, showed it, and then put it on the floor. ¡°The nickname I gave Fang Juexia was ¡®Moonlight.¡¯¡±


    [Wow, these two people are just a fresh breath of air in the crosstalking boyband]


    [Moonlight wuwuwuwuwu, as in white moonlight?]


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t have to ask why to know Pei Tingsong¡¯s meaning behind it. In a second, he thought of that night at the hotel, when Pei Tingsong had said he wanted to see the moonlight.


    Almond milk trembled in his stomach, making him feel as if he had swallowed butterflies. The sweet taste was making them crazily flutter their wings.


    Fang Juexia¡¯s fingers moved along the ground to touch Pei Tingsong¡¯s cellphone, which he then picked up, only to type a line in the chatbox before quietly putting it next to Pei Tingsong¡¯s hand.


    This was a secret message transmitted tacitly between the two people. Pei Tingsong took hold of the phone and glanced at it as if nothing had happened.


    [You asked me before what type I like, and that you could change into that.]


    [I don¡¯t know what type I like, I only know that I like you.]


    [Therefore, the proposition ¡°you¡± is already always true. No matter what the component or condition is, the truth value of the statement will always be true. No matter what kind of type you are classified into, it will not change the fact that I like you.]


    Ling Yi poked Pei Tingsong with his finger. ¡°Why did you call him Moonlight?¡±


    ¡°Do I even need to explain that?¡± He locked the screen, raised his head, and the corners of his mouth drew up.


    ¡°Because Moonlight is the highest level of praise.¡±


    ¡ª


    Juurensha: Waaaaaah they¡¯re both so romantic! (Also¨Cmore WaterFire crumbs????)


    Noks: I got butterflies from all the romance in this chapter¡­

 CH 108

    Chapter 108 ¨C Premiere Concert Of The Tour


    Juurensha  POSTED ON November 3, 2021  No Comment


    Translated by juurensha


    Edited by Noks


    Say hello to my EGO


    Winning awards at the BMA unquestionably made Kaleido the biggest winner this winter.


    The early exposure of the main song from their winter album, which they had performed at the awards ceremony, led this album to win 13 consecutive titles during the flurry of competitions at the end of the year. The sales volume also climbed up, breaking the previous boy-band sales record, which was set by Kaleido themselves.


    The six boys didn¡¯t have any time to rest at all, immediately throwing themselves into the long and slow concert preparation. The first concert was originally planned to be held in Beijing, but due to problems in finalising the venue, the first concert was then scheduled to be held in Guangzhou on June 3. During the preparatory period of half a year, Kaleido came up with completely new arrangements for each song, and also invited a world-class dance stylist team and an accompanying dancer team to participate with them. Each member devoted himself to the process while also jointly executing the other various plans drafted for Kaleido¡¯s first concert. Star Chart also specially arranged for a film crew to film them, not only filming the process of how they started planning their tour from scratch, but also to capture the blood, sweat, and tears of this group of boys.


    Fang Juexia had started imagining the day of their concert since long ago, but he hadn¡¯t expected that the day would arrive so quickly. Sometimes, when he fell asleep after practicing in the rehearsal room and woke up, he felt that everything was a dream.


    In the midst of the preparations for the concert, something happened. In order to practice for the concert, Fang Juexia, who was almost living in seclusion by now, was urged by Cheng Qiang to conduct a single-person livestream in the practice room. He wasn¡¯t very good at telling jokes, so he just asked his fans to tell him about the things that had happened to them recently.


    The barrage sped past very quickly, but he still managed to notice a specific message from a person, which stated that he was very sad and felt that his heart was being pulled around in suffering every day.


    That person¡¯s ID consisted of just a string of numbers, but Fang Juexia¡¯s memory was most sensitive towards numbers.


    ¡°Why are you sad? If you can, please let me know exactly what happened,¡± Fang Juexia said to the screen seriously, ¡°I¡¯m not very good at joking around and making people happy, but I¡¯m a qualified listener.¡±


    Yet, in the two-hour livestream, that ID made up of a string of numbers never appeared again. Fang Juexia remembered this incident for a long time and told Pei Tingsong about it. Pei Tingsong could only comfort him by saying that maybe that fan had just been in a bad mood that day.


    Two weeks later, a letter was sent to Star Chart, and it was written by the fan behind the ID of numbers in the livestream. The fan was a middle school student with gender dysphoria; their sex was male, but they identified as female. She wrote in the letter that she had discovered that she was different from the boys around her when she was very young; she didn¡¯t like basketball, but she liked dancing, singing, skirts, long hair, and makeup. But in order not to be different, she tried very hard to imitate other boys and get rid of the ¡°sissy¡± label. She thought she could live a bit easier that way.


    But it didn¡¯t work that way; as she grew more and more aware of herself, she found herself increasingly unable to stand the fake persona she had created.


    At the end of the letter, she wrote¡ª


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if Juexia Gege will read what I have written, but I very much appreciate having a listener who will let me know that it¡¯s not time to give up yet.¡±


    After reading this letter, Fang Juexia didn¡¯t fall asleep that whole night.


    The next day, he composed a song, and tried to write lyrics for the first time. When he showed the song to Pei Tingsong, he just said with a smile, ¡°You should sing it to them at the concert. It¡¯s not just for that child, it¡¯s also for yourself and for everyone else.¡±


    At the end of April, Star Chart and Kaleido¡¯s official Weibo officially announced the news of the tour online and released a poster of the six people¡¯s backs. At the top of the poster was written ¡°Ego,¡± which was the theme of the concert.


    Since June 3, when the news that the tour would start in Guangzhou was released, the fans had been itching to go grab tickets for the concert. Who would have known that the tickets would be sold out in a second, and even Star Chart¡¯s own employees wouldn¡¯t manage to grab any.


    Fang Juexia wrote back to the child with gender dysphoria, and attached a concert ticket with his letter.


    Well into summer, the cicadas cried and clamored. Guangzhou¡¯s summer didn¡¯t have the kind of heat that ignited people, it was more a hot steam that enveloped this green city.


    ¡°Hot.¡± Pei Tingsong leaned against Fang Juexia, whose skin remained cool in the summer, so rubbing against him felt really good.


    Fang Juexia was wearing a mask, an especially roomy white T-shirt, white shorts, and a Klein Blue fisherman¡¯s hat, which was covering his whole face. When he looked up, only his eyes could be shown. He stared at him, but he didn¡¯t push Pei Tingsong away.


    ¡°Who told you to wear black? As soon as the sun shines on you, of course you would get hot,¡± Ling Yi complained beside him.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with black?¡± Pei Tingsong bickered with him, ¡°At least it doesn¡¯t attract peacocks over.¡±


    ¡°Juexia, see!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to look at him either.¡±


    ¡°Wow.¡±


    ¡°The life of a cold-shouldered Pinot Tree Supreme~¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t fuss, or else it¡¯ll get photographed by the fans in a bit.¡±


    After arriving at Guangzhou, none of the six people wasted time in going to the hotel, instead heading straight to the concert venue to rehearse until 11 p.m.


    ¡°Is this light okay, Juexia?¡± Cheng Qiang repeatedly confirmed the brightness of the stage lighting with him.


    Fang Juexia nodded. ¡°Yes, I can see.¡±


    In order to make sure that Fang Juexia wouldn¡¯t fall down from the stage and get hurt, Star Chart had spent a lot of money on lighting design, to keep his field of vision as clear as possible every second he was onstage. Cheng Qiang and Chen Zhengyun both hoped that starting with this stage, Fang Juexia could reduce the amount of practice he did, but he was already used to that kind of practice. Even if the stage was bright enough, he still wanted to put in twice as much practice time as the others like before.


    On the morning of the concert, it rained. Fang Juexia was worried that the fans would get wet on their way, but fortunately, the rain stopped at 10 o¡¯clock, with the weather also cooling down a bit. They had also paid and arranged for emergency aid out of their own pockets, preparing iced milk tea and ice cream for each fan, as well as wet wipes printed with their cartoon images; each fan could get one when they came in to get their tickets checked at 3 p.m.


    Everyone showed off their gifts on Weibo one after another, which attracted a lot of admiration.


    More than 10,000 fans entered the concert venue, where giant screens hung above the stage, two in each direction, so that the performance on the stage could be seen clearly.


    The second surprise was a Klein Blue kaleidoscope lamp present on every fan¡¯s seat. After everyone sat down, they felt very excited and restless. While these fans were reviewing their support plan, they were also waiting for Kaleido to appear. There were still 15 minutes to go before the appointed start time, but to the surprise of all the fans, Kaleido¡¯s faces suddenly appeared on the big screen, completely bare and devoid of makeup.


    Standing in the very middle, Fang Juexia adjusted the camera and said with a smile, ¡°Hello ah, everyone should have already all sat down in the stadium now ba.¡±


    The whole crowd was instantly ignited, and the screams almost drowned out the sound coming from the big screen.


    On the screen, Ling Yi squeezed over to Fang Juexia¡¯s side, hugged his neck, and said, ¡°Hi! Did you guys eat the ice cream we bought? I just ate the same one oh.¡°


    ¡°You ate two, okay?¡± Pei Tingsong sat on the other side of Fang Juexia and put his hand up on him naturally. ¡°You¡¯re not afraid of getting a stomach ache in a little bit when we go on stage?¡±


    The fans in the stadium couldn¡¯t help screaming when they saw this scene.


    ¡°Don¡¯t always scold Ling Yi.¡± Fang Juexia turned the camera to show He Ziyan and Lu Yuan, who were at the side and doing handstands. ¡°What are you guys doing?¡±


    Upon seeing the abs of the handstanding duo, the venue boiled over in a blink of the eye.


    Jiang Miao appeared with a glass of water. ¡°They bet against me, saying that the rain wouldn¡¯t stop before 12 o¡¯clock. They lost, so now they¡¯re doing handstands.¡±


    Fang Juexia crouched on the ground with a smile, and the camera was aimed at their faces, which had gone red from maintaining the handstand. He solemnly admonished, ¡°Don¡¯t casually bet against the group leader, he is the god of gambling.¡±


    The alarm on the cellphone lying on the ground started ringing, and the two handstanding people finally pulled themselves upright. He Ziyan went directly to the sofa and spread out against Pei Tingsong.


    ¡°Hey!¡± Pei Tingsong, who was being squashed, was very dissatisfied, but Lu Yuan also followed and squashed himself on top of He Ziyan. ¡°Come and play Jenga!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m coming!¡± Ling Yi specially stepped back to perform a run up and with a smack, jumped onto Lu Yuan.


    ¡°All of you get up!¡±


    Fang Juexia and Jiang Miao sat on the floor in front of the sofa, holding the camera and chatting.


    ¡°What time does it start?¡±


    ¡°At six, you can take a nap first.¡±


    Ling Yi, having turned the tables on the group tyrant, was so happy that he hated that he wasn¡¯t a 200 pound child. ¡°Great, I¡¯m going to sleep right here!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­ You guys just wait.¡±


    The pile of indistinct people in the back argued and kicked up a fuss, but Fang Juexia looked at his watch and then held up his index finger. ¡°Shh, it¡¯s time to start the countdown.¡±


    Staring at his wrist, he called out accurately, ¡°Ten¡ª¡±


    The six people on the screen started to shout, ¡°Nine¡ª¡±


    All the fans in the audience followed and yelled, ¡°Eight!¡±


    Pei Tingsong, who was being squashed at the bottom, held up his hand weakly and obstinately made a number with his hand. ¡°Seven¡ª¡±


    ¡°Six¡ª¡±


    All of a sudden, the screen went black, with a countdown appearing, which started to tick, counting down as the six boys¡¯ voices called out.


    ¡°Three¡ª¡±


    At the corners of the stage, something seemed to sparkle.


    ¡°Two¡ª¡±


    Blue flames also erupted into the space, one after another.


    ¡°One!¡±


    The flames went out in a flash.


    On the dark stage, a loudspeaker-like voice sounded out, with a monologue that everyone in the audience was familiar with.


    ¡°Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to flight Kaleido. Next station is¡­¡­¡±


    All the fans yelled out¡ª ¡°Future!!¡±


    The sound of the loudspeaker suddenly turned into an electronic sound of something diffusing away in circles, and a line from the lyrics of their song leaped over as it was projected onto the middle of the stage.


    ¡°Say hello to my EGO.¡±


    Six spotlights suddenly shone down from high above. Six boys jumped down from the stage lift to land steadily on the stage. They appeared in front of their fans who had been waiting for them for a long time already, and as all the lights came on, their faces appeared on the big screen. The opening song was their debut song ¡°Kaleido.¡± After being remixed, the drums were even more shocking, exploding the whole scene in an instant.


    Especially the chorus part, where the whole audience sang along, giving it the atmosphere of being a war song.


    ¡°We gonna fight! Fight! Fight!


    With the face in the mirror


    Yes we¡¯ll fight! Fight! Fight!¡±


    The light coming off the kaleidoscopic lamps was very strong, and the huge auditorium seemed to weave a dreamy Klein Blue ocean. The fans¡¯ chorus was so powerful that it almost drowned out Kaleido¡¯s voices. Every single person was immersed in the music and the lights, even though this was just the first song.


    ¡°Never flinch, standing shoulder to shoulder


    Fight! Fight! Fight!


    Enjoy falling in the wild wind


    Fight! Fight! Fight!


    You will remember me after the storm.¡±


    At the end, Fang Juexia¡¯s clear soprano voice steadily held the note long, bringing this war song-like atmosphere to an end.


    ¡°Just born for passion.¡±


    With all this emotion in the air, many fans below the stage already couldn¡¯t help but shed tears after listening to this song. A year and a half ago, Kaleido had persisted in singing this song to the end onstage even with the sound failure, something which had made many people get to know them.


    Now, they finally could have their own concerts.


    Following the opening song were three songs in succession, all of which were from their first album. There weren¡¯t any breaks between the songs, and Kaleido just finished singing and dancing the first four songs in that manner before finally getting the opportunity to stop and chat.


    After performing for more than ten minutes in a row, their faces were all covered with sweat. Jiang Miao took the water and paper towels from the staff and handed them to everyone separately.


    ¡°Hello everyone ah.¡± He Ziyan wiped the sweat dripping down on his forehead with a paper towel. ¡°It¡¯s so hot ah.¡±


    The fans watching the stage immediately took the opportunity and yelled in unison for him to take off his clothes.


    He Ziyan listened for a while, but it was Fang Juexia who helped the fans convey their wish clearly, ¡°They want you to take off your clothes.¡±


    Hearing this, He Ziyan¡¯s eyes suddenly widened, but he still didn¡¯t forget to joke around. ¡°So scared, being thanked until I fall.¡±


    ¡°Hahahaha!¡±


    Pei Tingsong drank his fill of water before passing the water bottle to Fang Juexia. After taking it, as Fang Juexia directly took a sip from it, the fans suddenly and unexpectedly started to scream.


    Jiang Miao began to chat with them. ¡°Thank you everyone for coming to our first concert. It¡¯s been three and a half years since we debuted, and finally getting to tour, it¡¯s just really exciting.¡±


    ¡°We also feel that way!¡±


    Hearing the voices of the fans, Jiang Miao laughed. ¡°None of us could sleep last night, and we suffered from collective insomnia.¡±


    Lu Yuan nodded. ¡°And we played ¡®Fight the Landlord¡¯ at the hotel.¡±


    The fans shouted from below the stage. ¡°Who won the most?¡±


    ¡°Me.¡± Xiao Pei proudly raised his hand and shamelessly praised himself, ¡°Powerful people do everything powerfully.¡±


    Ling Yi directly cut out the ground from under his feet. ¡°That¡¯s because at first Juexia was practicing and hadn¡¯t joined in. After he came, he kept watching Xiao Pei play, and then he counted cards for him!¡±


    There was another loud scream from below the stage.


    Lu Yuan said with a smile, ¡°By the way, we have learned a few Cantonese words from Juexia.¡±


    After that, they began to introduce themselves one by one in very poor Cantonese, just like a little comedic sketch. Every time they said a sentence, Fang Juexia would have to correct them.


    Pei Tingsong said to himself, ¡°if we go on like this, we will really receive the notice from the real comedians.¡±


    ¡°Hahahaha!¡±


    ¡°Okay, so we¡¯ll be singing a quieter song next.¡± The lift behind them appeared again, this time holding a huge white piano, and a staff member also brought a wooden guitar on-stage. Jiang Miao built up some suspense. ¡°You guys, guess which song it is?¡±


    Lu Yuan immediately gave a hint, pointing out into the distance. ¡°It¡¯s gone dark outside.¡±


    The fans immediately understood. ¡°Night Trip!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Four of the boys spread out to the four extensions on the stage that went deep into the fans. Fang Juexia walked to the piano alone, while Pei Tingsong, who took hold of the guitar, sat on the stage with it. He adjusted the strings and looked back at Fang Juexia.


    The two men began the accompaniment in tacit agreement.


    The solo version of ¡°Night Trip¡± was like two-way secret love that continued to draw closer, while the six person version was more like two people in love with each other, holding each other¡¯s hands while having fun by the sea on a summer night.


    ¡°The coastline is overgrown with green algae, like my wishful thoughts of you.


    Flowers suddenly bloom, want to kiss your heart, nowhere to hide from view.¡±


    When Fang Juexia, sitting at the piano, sang these two lines, fireworks suddenly appeared in the night sky. Although they were only a projection, they were very lifelike, and it seemed that the audience and the six boys singing on the stage were really at a fireworks show on a summer night.


    The fans looked up at the fireworks and the beautiful faces of the six people on the screen. Every blast of fireworks resounded in their hearts, and every second had been carefully prepared by these boys. The fans tacitly sang the chorus back to these six boys, to return this precious regard, all the way  until the fireworks gradually disappeared, and until Pei Tingsong, who was strumming the guitar, gently sang the last verse.


    ¡°You blame me for being good at lying, alright, I say summer is so long and a delight.¡±


    Summer was here.


    They hoped it would last a bit longer.


    After ¡°Night Trip,¡± the six people went backstage to change their outfits. On the big screens, the behind-the-scenes preparation process for their concert started to play. There were scenes of several of the boys discussing the new remixes, and scenes of them practicing all night in the dance studio and then sleeping on the floor.


    Every shot was a picture that the fans wanted to treasure.


    At the end of the behind-the-scenes highlights, Ling Yi, wearing a white suit, appeared on an ever-rising platform. This was his solo moment. Everyone was free to choose anything for their solo, so he had chosen one of his favorite English songs.


    Ling Yi¡¯s voice was very penetrating, especially when singing in treble. As he rose higher and higher, a projection of a blue whale surrounded him, making him look like a little prince in a fairy tale. At the end of the song, the huge whale shattered and transformed into countless spots of light.


    The fans couldn¡¯t help reaching out to touch the light.


    ¡°Thank you everyone.¡± Ling Yi stood on the stage and chatted with them. ¡°The theme of our concert this time is ego, otherwise known as confidence, right?¡±


    ¡°Right!¡±


    ¡°This song says, don¡¯t be afraid to face your true self, and believe in your own power, which actually also means just that.¡± Ling Yi leaned against the railing with a smile. ¡°Don¡¯t just watch me being silly and happy every day, in fact, I have also had times where I was very confused. During that time, I often listened to this song, which gave me a lot of strength. So, I hoped to sing this song myself, to give all of you some strength as well.¡±


    He chatted with everyone about his previous singing competition as he descended from the lift step-by-step, and then suddenly, he seemed to have gotten some inspiration. ¡°You see, I was like this back then. After you win some kind of glory, you may be trapped on a high lift, unable to leave and unable to go any further. So you have to learn how to get down first.


    ¡°Only by returning to your point of origin and finding yourself can you go out to the wider world.¡±


    After that, Ling Yi went back to his old self. ¡°Ah, I¡¯m so philosophical ah, I should go study philosophy.¡±


    The fans were completely amused into laughter again.


    ¡°Whose solo is next?¡± Ling Yi was building up suspense, and he heard the names of the five other members chaotically yelled out. He was about to say it when he heard a large scream.


    He looked back, only to see that Lu Yuan had already appeared. Ling Yi was so angry that he immediately complained, ¡°Hey, what¡¯s the matter with you, there¡¯s no tacit understanding at all. I haven¡¯t even finished my speech yet.¡±


    ¡°You talk too much.¡± Lu Yuan raised his chin at him. ¡°Look, there¡¯s the exit, go ba.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re chasing me off.¡± Ling Yi shrunk his mouth and said, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll go.¡± After that, he really went over to the lift and pretended to wipe away his tears as he waved to everyone.


    Lu Yuan¡¯s solo was a dance that he had spent over a week choreographing, and he incorporated 15 backup dancers into it. It combined many kinds of dances, and its effect on-stage was quite gorgeous. After the dance, he announced some good news to everyone: the dance company that he and several other choreographers had founded would soon be holding its first public performance, and after that, it would begin to participate in competitions all over the world.


    ¡°This is the most basic wish in my heart. I¡¯ve been going around and around, and I have finally realized it.


    ¡°It¡¯s my ego!¡±


    The fans under the stage were really happy for him, and echoed this sentence loudly with him.


    After two solo performances, the whole group gathered on the stage again, singing and dancing ¡°Ice War,¡± ¡°Hunt,¡± and ¡°Xmas.¡± Then, the others left, and Jiang Miao took off his coat to reveal a wide-sleeved robe inside. He sat in the center of the stage made ethereal through dry ice, and played the guzheng piece, ¡°General¡¯s Order¡± for his solo. The awe-inspiring sound of the guzheng built the atmosphere layer by layer, until it reached the highest level.


    Under the spotlight, Jiang Miao¡¯s slender hand raised, and the last note sounded. Another two spotlights appeared on the stage, one on the left and one on the right, illuminating He Ziyan and Pei Tingsong. The stage lights became a blaze of color at that moment, with silver and blue light interlacing, constantly flashing to the rhythm that He Ziyan had set.


    Through a holographic projection, blue lyrics with a three-dimensional effect appeared above the stage, the visual effect bursting into view.


    Pei Tingsong appeared, and accompanied by He Ziyan¡¯s electro music, he covered a remix of ¡°Rap God¡± and ¡°Lose Yourself,¡± and finally showed off his amazing rapping speed through this concert. At the fastest parts, even the projected lyrics couldn¡¯t change fast enough to keep up with his speed of rapping.


    The two most gong members in the group worked together to blow up the entire scene as usual.


    At the end of their performance, all the fans in the audience were shouting their names. After they exited, all four platforms went dark, and the screen above had also gone dark.


    The fans discussed things as they waited for their next pleasant surprise. ¡°Is it going to be Juexia¡¯s solo?¡±


    ¡°It seems to be!¡±


    The screen lit up again, showing Jiang Miao as he removed his fake nails for playing the guzheng, one by one. His voice also appeared¡ª


    ¡°They said, you have no money, so you shouldn¡¯t go learn this useless thing. No one listens to guzheng now.¡±


    The image changed into Lu Yuan dancing in the practice room.


    ¡°They said that you should go become a choreographer. It¡¯s too much of a waste to join a boyband, or is it because you just want to make some quick money ah?¡±


    Next to appear on the screen was Ling Yi as he took vocal lessons, practicing high notes again and again.


    ¡°They said that your conditions are really ordinary, and you have no talent, and singing won¡¯t let you put food on the table.¡±


    The image changed again, this time with He Ziyan sitting in front of a drum pad.


    ¡°They said you should make up a presentable family background.¡±


    Under the stage, there were already some fans on the verge of crying, and then Pei Tingsong¡¯s face appeared on the big screen. He casually scratched his head.


    ¡°They told me not to dream of being a hip-hop singer, but to learn to be a mature adult like them.¡± The corners of Pei Tingsong¡¯s mouth rose. ¡°I said to them, ¡®fuck off.¡¯¡±


    The voices of the five people overlapped, and then,there were many, many other voices in the recording. With the use of the projector, these words appeared above the stage in the form of seals of white paper and black words. They stacked in layers and stole away everyone¡¯s breath.


    [Don¡¯t do this, don¡¯t become like that. You are very ugly, you are very ordinary, you should be like so-and-so and be a more likable person.]


    [You need to grow up, you need to mature, you need to change yourself.]


    [As this kind of person, you really make me feel sick.]


    [You need to learn to shut up and be patient.]


    [Why don¡¯t you just go die ah!]


    [How do you deserve to talk about dreams ah? You don¡¯t deserve it.]


    [You are so annoying.]


    [You don¡¯t matter at all.]


    When the stage lit up, Fang Juexia was sitting in the center, holding a guitar. His gentle smile appeared on the big screen, and after adjusting the mic stand, he said, ¡°There are a lot of voices in this world, right?¡±


    The fans cheered for him, their voices pouring in like waves.


    ¡°I grew up amidst these voices, too.¡± Fang Juexia casually plucked at the strings with his hand, his cold voice very suitable for narrating. ¡°As you all know, I was born with many conditions that were contrary to the dream I wanted to pursue.


    ¡°So everyone stopped me from pursuing my dream because they thought it was impossible. Being born and then living within the word ¡®impossible,¡¯ I spent a long time practicing to be a normal person, to adapt to the dark and to avoid making mistakes.


    ¡°So I got into the habit of avoiding mistakes. For this reason, I lost the ability to feel this world and locked myself in a small dark room like a calculator. As long as I could achieve this impossible dream, I could give up anything.¡±


    The fingers on the strings stopped, and Fang Juexia laughed at himself. ¡°But human beings are social animals.


    ¡°Living in this society is like running a shop.¡±


    As he spoke, the projection began to change into cartoonish shops, each next to each other.


    Fang Juexia continued, ¡°In order to be able to do business smoothly, we try our best. The simplest thing to do is to of course compare: the opposite store isn¡¯t bad, so we should try our best to decorate our store similar to others, so that we at least meet the normal standards. In order to make more people like it, we need to change our popular products and even stay open 24 hours a day.¡±


    All of a sudden, this remark pierced many fans¡¯ hearts.


    Holding onto the kaleidoscope lamp, with millions of spots of lights all over them, it seemed as though each of these spots was a struggling store.


    Fang Juexia continued pleasantly, ¡°But what we don¡¯t know is that the store opposite us is actually the same. He also will compare himself and change himself day by day, observing all the other stores next to him, and running his business in imitation of them.¡± At this point, he looked into the camera, and his eyes were like spring water. ¡°So in the end, who is the correct and proper example?


    ¡°No one knows, it¡¯s a paradox. A paradox about running a business.¡±


    Fang Juexia bowed his head and laughed. ¡°In the end, we become similar; we converge, and every shop on this street becomes pretty much the same. It¡¯s the same with all the people in this society, because at least like this, we can still keep operating, still keep living on.


    ¡°Some time ago, I received a letter from a small struggling shop. She was about to be unable to keep operating, so she told me her story. I was very moved by it, so I wrote back to her after writing this song. This is what I said¡ª¡±


    Fang Juexia looked at the camera and said softly, ¡°Hello, I also went through this when I was young; in order to be the same as others, I kept correcting any deviations and reducing errors in order to get closer to the correct example while still preserving my self. All because I was afraid of making mistakes, and because I knew that this world didn¡¯t tolerate any faults. If I even made a mistake once, I would then have to shutter the whole business.


    ¡°Now I just want to say¡ª Who cares?¡± He laughed, his eyes and his birthmark connecting on the same line, looking as beautiful as a crescent moon.


    ¡°Going out of business is fine, and staying in operation is also fine, but either way, I don¡¯t just want to chase after what is right and proper anymore.¡± He bowed his head, played the prelude on the guitar in his arms, the minor key soothing and warm, and said the last sentence, ¡°I want to be the weirdest shop.¡±


    ¡°Today¡¯s sign isn¡¯t hung straight


    They don¡¯t say welcome, but they do give a hug at the gate


    It¡¯s dark inside, be careful you don¡¯t step on a butterfly and fall on the crate


    No need to turn on the light, fireflies always light up early and wait.¡±


    Fang Juexia sang softly and occasionally looked up at everyone with a smile of relief on his face.


    ¡°Thank you every guest for coming in


    But any recommendations are just for you to pin


    If you don¡¯t like it, you can visit the next door inn


    Not operating today is fine and will cause no chagrin.¡±


    Many people wearing big mascot costumes, with there being even koala and giraffe costumes, suddenly appeared on the stage. They carried small baskets with candy and walked around awkwardly.


    ¡°Gentle people will receive gifts posthaste


    Children are always welcome here in this place


    It¡¯s so weird that it doesn¡¯t make sense


    But this is myself with no pretense.¡±


    In the midst of Fang Juexia¡¯s warm singing, they scattered the colorful candy down below, giving them to all of the fans.


    ¡°Misclassification is also a lot of fun


    Searching shelves will find surprising treasures for one


    Error marks have special significance to be spun


    Who says trademarks have to be cookie-cutter and done.¡±


    A lot of stars suddenly appeared in the night sky, and in the middle of the stage, a small shop appeared, which even had its sign askew. Fang Juexia, holding a guitar, seemed to be sitting in front of the shop. All the little animals came back to surround him.


    ¡°Why is this shop so strange


    How can you be loved by everyone with no change.¡±


    Fang Juexia pressed the strings with his hand, raised his eyes, and sang the last lines.


    ¡°But as said by my most frequent guest


    He likes the real me best.¡±


    The author has something to say:


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªLyrics warning¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ¡°Strange Store¡±


    Composition: Fang Juexia


    Lyrics: Fang Juexia


    Arrangement: Pei Tingsong


    The right of final interpretation: Zhichu


    Today¡¯s sign isn¡¯t hung straight


    They don¡¯t say welcome, but they do give a hug at the gate


    It¡¯s dark inside, be careful you don¡¯t step on a butterfly and fall on the crate


    No need to turn on the light, fireflies always light up early and wait.


    Thank you every guest for coming in


    But any recommendations are just for you to pin


    If you don¡¯t like it, you can visit the next door inn


    Not operating today is fine and will cause no chagrin.


    Gentle people will receive gifts posthaste


    Children are always welcome here in this place


    It¡¯s so weird that it doesn¡¯t make sense


    But this is myself with no pretense.


    Misclassification is also a lot of fun


    Searching shelves will find surprising treasures for one


    Error marks have special significance to be spun


    Who says trademarks have to be cookie-cutter and done.


    Thank you every guest for coming in


    But any recommendations are just for you to pin


    If you don¡¯t like it, you can visit the next door inn


    Not operating today is fine and will cause no chagrin.


    Gentle people will receive gifts posthaste


    Children are always welcome here in this place


    It¡¯s so weird that it doesn¡¯t make sense


    But this is myself with no pretense.


    Why is this shop so strange


    How can you be loved by everyone with no change


    But as said by my most frequent guest


    He likes the real me best.


    ¡ª


    Juurensha: One last song! Very sweet, I like this one a lot! (As before, took some liberties in order to preserve the rhyme scheme, but essentially, it¡¯s the same meaning)


    Noks: I think FJX has talent when it comes to lyrics as well. These were really beautiful ones. Juu, awesome job translating them!

 CH 109

    Chapter 109 ¨C Self Introduction (End Of Main Story)


    It¡¯s time to daydream.


    After he finished singing the song, Fang Juexia looked up to see that many fans below the stage were crying.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be sad.¡± He held his guitar. ¡°You¡¯re all the cutest little shops.¡±


    With that, Fang Juexia stood up, raised his hand, and threw out his guitar pick. ¡°Sending this to you guys ba.¡±


    There was a scream from under the stage. Fang Juexia, who had already turned his head and was walking towards the center of the stage, stopped and faced the audience again. ¡°Be careful ah.¡±


    More fans wanted to hear him say more, because he hardly talked normally. ¡°Sum things up! Sum things up!¡±


    But Fang Juexia, who heard everyone yelling, just laughed awkwardly, ¡°Today¡¯s share of the speech quota has been already used up, there¡¯s no way to continue operating.¡±


    ¡°Hahahaha!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to go down and change my clothes.¡± The spotlight always remained in front of Fang Juexia, showing him the path to the lift. ¡°You guys watch the video first, and wait for us.¡±


    ¡°Okay!!¡±


    As the lift slowly lowered him down, a new behind-the-scenes highlight reel appeared on the big screen¡ª the scene of all six boys singing together.


    ¡°How about this beat?¡± He Ziyan sat in front of the console, playing the electronic keyboard.


    Pei Tingsong shook his head to the beat. ¡°Great.¡±


    ¡°How about adding this drumbeat?¡±


    ¡°This drumbeat is a little¡­¡±


    Fang Juexia, who was nestled on the sofa, raised his hand and followed the beat to hum out a melody along the lines of the rhythm, humming and directly entering the chorus, ¡°Dalalalala¡­.Listen to me break through the line with one song, fool.¡±


    On hearing this line being sung, the whole audience boiled up. After screaming, everyone was shouting the name of the war song 2.0.


    ¡°Break Through! Break Through! Break Through! Break Through¡­¡±


    On the screen, He Ziyan, who had finished rearranging the drop part, finally stood up and walked towards the middle of the sofa on which Fang Juexia and Pei Tingsong had collapsed. He unlocked his cellphone to confirm the time for the camera.


    ¡°At half past five in the morning, it¡¯s finally finished.¡±


    Looking up at the ceiling, Pei Tingsong vaguely murmured a few words. He Ziyan tilted his knee to poke Fang Juexia, whose eyes were closed, and who was still humming the melody. When he was interrupted by He Ziyan, he said, ¡°It¡¯s okay, he¡¯s just so tired he¡¯s started talking in Spanish.¡±


    The camera shook and suddenly, the lens was facing the ceiling, but their voices could still be heard.


    He Ziyan asked, ¡°Will rapping the rap part in ¡®Break Through¡¯ in Spanish burn the mouth?¡±


    ¡°I want to hear it,¡± Fang Juexia said.


    It ended with Pei Tingsong sighing.


    On the darkened stage, many beams of red light appeared, sweeping from top to bottom right at the edge of the stage. The fans were thrilled to know that the show was about to begin. A bunch of white overhead lights shone in the middle of the stage, illuminating the red drum placed right in the center. Pei Tingsong, dressed all in red and holding a drumstick with a long red band tied to its end, appeared with his back facing everyone.


    ¡°Dong¡ª¡±


    The first drumbeat sounded, and the reverberations of this sound spread throughout the large stadium, adding to the already built-up suspense.


    With the next beat, a new circle lit up on the stage, and more than 100 backup dancers appeared, all of them wearing armor and holding shields. The ones who had gathered into a square formation raised their shields and then moved around to form the word¡ª ¡®Break Through¡¯.


    At the last drum beat, the sound of hammers echoed out.


    Ling Yi¡¯s Beijing Opera prelude appeared suddenly¡ª ¡°Hearing the pound of the golden drums send the corners trembling, my ambitions to break through the gates of heaven are sent flying.¡°


    Pei Tingsong turned around, and he was wearing a ghost mask on his face.


    ¡°Why bother talking about the clown King Shan, with one sword, I can block millions of soldiers and send them all running!¡°


    He moved away from the drum, step-by-step, and those soldiers spread out to fan towards both sides. Finally, the five other youths in red appeared in the center of the stage, each wearing a ghost mask.


    The music started, the hundreds of soldier backup dancers made it seem like a real battlefield, and with the sound effects of swords clashing in the background accompanied by a hologram of a dessert battlefield being projected, the six people danced together in formation, breaking through the encirclement and creating a bloody path forward.


    This was the most magnificent performance of ¡°Break Through.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t ask about the future, you ghoul. Listen to me break through the line with one song, fool!¡°


    The drop appeared, and the lights in the entire arena turned Klein Blue. Under the strong rhythm of the electro sound, all the fans¡¯ adrenaline throughout the entire venue rose, and it was turned into another open-air disco scene.


    The solo part had been switched for the six person dance during the BMAs, but this time, it came with a new change. Each member was holding a sword as they executed a sword dance within the formation, while the outlying backup dancers  also performed the group dance. The image this created was shocking.


    The choreography for the last chorus had also been changed, for the sword dance continued until Fang Juexia sang the last lines of the whole song.


    ¡°All my ways forward have been blown. All that is left is to wait for your ambush to be thrown.¡±


    The six people sheathed their swords into their scabbards, took off their masks, and looked at the audience with a smile.


    The audience cheered their names, as if they were really welcoming triumphant young warriors.


    After finishing, they kept the costumes on while they chatted with their fans. ¡°Was the performance super cool this time?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    Lu Yuan turned around and held out his hand to the backup dancers. ¡°First, let¡¯s thank our backup dancer team! You¡¯ve worked hard, teachers!¡±


    The six of them turned around and bowed deeply towards the backup dancers.


    The hundred dancers also bowed to them and left the stage while laughing.


    ¡°They truly worked really, really hard. They wore such thick costumes to dance for us in such hot weather.¡± Jiang Miao held the microphone and said, ¡°Without them, this performance would not have looked so cool.¡±


    Ling Yi nodded, pulled at his collar, and fanned himself. ¡°It really is so hot.¡±


    The fans below the stage began to tease them again. ¡°Take off your clothes! Take off your clothes!¡±


    ¡°You guys said it ah.¡± He Ziyan teased them back intentionally, ¡°Then we¡¯re taking them off ah.¡±


    Lu Yuan began to fake-grasp at his hand to try and stop him. ¡°Ge, Fire Ge, don¡¯t do this, it¡¯s not good.¡±


    Pei Tingsong clicked his tongue and said, ¡°Let him take it off.¡±


    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m taking it off.¡± He Ziyan did what he said and took off his clothes. The screams of fans hadn¡¯t even climbed up before they turned into jeers.


    Because under his hanfu, he was still wearing a blue short-sleeved shirt and a pair of jeans.


    ¡°Liar!¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t lie to you guys ah.¡± He Ziyan said, ¡°You guys just said for us to take off our clothes, but didn¡¯t say what we must be like after taking them off ah.¡±


    ¡°This is called playing a trick.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fighting with Dominoes every day.¡±


    Fang Juexia also took off his own costume and put it on the ground. Along the way, he gathered up the costumes everyone else had taken off and set them to the side.


    They chatted with the audience for a while, sitting on the stage and singing some ballads from their albums, and the atmosphere gradually eased down. The last song was ¡°Swimming Across the Sea¡±. The projection technology on site wrapped the whole stage in blue, making it seem as if they were playing the guitar and singing in a cube made up of condensed sea water.


    Pictures and videos from their childhood suddenly appeared on the big screen, and each one of them was a very cute child. The production team had also noted their names and ages on each image, so, whenever a cute child appeared, the fans would scream.


    ¡°Swim across the sea, we¡¯ll be better children, you¡¯ll see.¡±


    At the end of the last line, the projected sea water dissipated, and now, half an hour was left until the end of the concert.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to start the lottery now. We¡¯ll draw a lucky fan to come on the stage to interact with us.¡±


    As soon as Jiang Miao said that, the loudest scream exploded from the audience.


    ¡°Wow, it¡¯s another game to test everyone¡¯s luck.¡±


    Fang Juexia suddenly joked, ¡°Then Xiao Pei can¡¯t participate.¡±


    ¡°Hahahahaha!¡±


    Pei Tingsong tilted his head and looked at him with a smile. ¡°Since you¡¯ve said that, now I have to participate.¡± With that, he walked to the extension platforms joining the stage, and Ling Yi and Lu Yuan couldn¡¯t stop him in time. Fang Juexia was a little surprised. ¡°You really want to go down ah?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Pei Tingsong descended from the stage, and escorted by several bodyguards, he headed deep into the fans¡¯ seats, causing a series of screams. ¡°I¡¯m going to be a lucky boy for once today.¡± Then he told the lighting engineer, ¡°Don¡¯t put a spotlight on me, let me be an ordinary audience member.¡±


    ¡°Pei Tingsong is such a melon every day,¡± Ling Yi complained.


    ¡°Hahahaha!¡±


    Fang Juexia looked at Jiang Miao, but the captain said, ¡°It¡¯s okay, the bodyguard will follow.¡± Then Jiang Miao started the process. ¡°Originally, we were going to choose a lucky fan, but now that Xiao Pei has gone down, in order to increase his chances of winning, let¡¯s choose two ba.¡±


    ¡°Who will be the first to draw?¡±


    Lu Yuan raised his hand. ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡±


    So, the cameraperson¡¯s lens began to sweep all over the audience, and fleeting faces appeared on the big screen, all of them fans. Lu Yuan covered his eyes with his hands and stood on the stage.


    ¡°You can stop now, Teacher Yuan.¡±


    ¡°No, I have to wait a little longer. I always think I¡¯ll manage to get Pei Tingsong. Cameraman, you can run after you get Pei Tingsong, you know?¡±


    ¡°Hahahahaha!¡±


    Thinking it was nearly done, Lu Yuan finally said, ¡°Stop!¡±


    The audience screamed, and the big screen showed a little boy waving a kaleidoscope.


    ¡°Wow, it¡¯s a child yi!¡± Ling Yi smiled very happily, ¡°So cute.¡±


    Jiang Miao said sweetly, ¡°Your mama can come up too, that¡¯s fine.¡±


    Unexpectedly, the child refused to be followed by his mother, and he headed for the stage like a little adult. Every fan along the way laughed at him and touched his head. The little guy walked to the edge of the stage and wanted to climb up by himself, but he was too small and couldn¡¯t even touch the edge of the stage. Finally, he was carried up by Lu Yuan.


    ¡°Here comes our little lucky guy.¡± Lu Yuan put him on the ground, and everyone crouched down to talk to him.


    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± With that, Ling Yi put the microphone towards his mouth.


    The little boy¡¯s face also had a blue K sticker stuck to it. He used his left hand to count on his right hand and said childishly, ¡°My name is Qiqi.¡± Then he added his age, ¡°I¡¯m five years old this year.¡±


    He Ziyan copied his voice, ¡°I¡¯m 25 years old this year.¡±


    Jiang Miao joked, ¡°He¡¯ll have to call you uncle.¡±


    They didn¡¯t expect Qiqi to really open his mouth and call him ¡®uncle.¡¯


    ¡°He¡¯s better than me at picking up a joke,¡± Fang Juexia said with a smile.


    Ling Yi rubbed his head. ¡°Are you our little fan?¡±


    Qiqi nodded. ¡°So is my mother, and so is my Jiejie.¡±


    Lu Yuan simply sat down on the stage floor, and the staff came up from the side of the stage to hand him a piece of Klein Blue Paper and a pen.


    ¡°Qiqi, Gege¡¯s going to ask you a question.¡± Lu Yuan asked, ¡°Have you ever thought about what kind of person you will become when you grow up ah?¡±


    Qiqi let out a long ¡°en.¡± It was especially cute, and everyone in the audience began to laugh.


    He Ziyan said, ¡°That means he¡¯s thinking about it now.¡±


    ¡°Hahahaha.¡±


    ¡°I want, I want¡­¡± Qiqi opened his mouth, but he seemed to hesitate. Fang Juexia thought he was cute, so he encouraged him with a smile, ¡°It¡¯s alright, you can say whatever you want.¡±


    Qiqi stretched out his hands to the sky and started to flap them. ¡°Just the type-the type where you fly in the sky, and then you can fly a plane¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± Ling Yi understood. ¡°A pilot ah.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Qiqi nodded heavily.


    ¡°That¡¯s cool.¡± He Ziyan gave him a thumb¡¯s up. ¡°You are the coolest kid here.¡±


    At this time, Lu Yuan handed him a piece of paper, which he showed to all the fans through the camera, ¡°Then Qiqi, look, let¡¯s make an agreement, okay. Gege will help you write a sentence¡ªQiqi will become a pilot in the future.¡±


    Qiqi nodded. ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Will you write your name down there?¡±


    Under Lu Yuan¡¯s encouragement, the child conscientiously wrote down his name stroke by stroke on the piece of paper. Finally, Lu Yuan folded the piece of paper into a paper plane and gave it to Qiqi.


    ¡°You can definitely be the person you want to be in the future, so keep fighting oh.¡±


    Having made this agreement, Qiqi returned to his mother¡¯s side.


    The Kaleido members onstage waved at him.


    ¡°Alright, is it time for our second lucky audience member now?¡±


    ¡°As always, up until now, there is no Pei.¡±


    ¡°Hahahahahaha!¡±


    Jiang Miao looked at Fang Juexia. ¡°This time, let¡¯s let Juexia go ba.¡±


    Fang Juexia nodded and stood in their middle, covering his eyes. On hearing everyone say, ¡°start¡±, he silently counted ten seconds in his heart.


    The fans seemed to be screaming this entire time, making all kinds of sounds, but he was still as undisturbed as ever as he counted calmly.


    ¡­.3, 2, 1.


    ¡°Stop.¡±


    Even Fang Juexia, who had always been indifferent, couldn¡¯t wait to see the lucky fan he had drawn. But when he opened his eyes and looked at the big screen¡ª


    He was stunned.


    The person on the screen was his grandfather.


    No one had told him about this in advance. Fang Juexia even thought that this was just a video recording, but his grandfather¡¯s background really reflected the scene of the concert.


    He turned blankly and looked below the stage, looking into the scattered sea of blue light, trying hard to search for his figure.


    A spotlight shone down and accurately lit up the person he was searching for. Right now, his vision wasn¡¯t clear, he couldn¡¯t see anything clearly; everything was as hazy as if a dream.


    The other members took the microphone and said, ¡°Let¡¯s invite our lucky fan onto the stage ba.¡±


    Under the spotlight, Pei Tingsong could be seen helping Fang Juexia¡¯s grandfather step out of the audience, walk to the stage, and then come step by step along the long stage extension, all the way over to Fang Juexia.


    Their figures grew clearer and clearer, but Fang Juexia¡¯s vision was still blurred.


    It wasn¡¯t until his grandfather really came to a stand in front of him that tears finally started falling down.


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t want to cry at all, especially in front of his grandfather. How badly he always hoped to be a strong enough child in front of him, someone who could carry on and endure everything on his own, someone who could realize his Arabian Nights-like dreams¡­


    He didn¡¯t want to disappoint him.


    His grandfather took the microphone from Pei Tingsong, his face still as serious as it was all those years ago. He looked at Fang Juexia, who was choking and unable to utter a single word, as he stood in front of him, so he became the first to open his mouth and say, ¡°You should ask me, have you ever thought about what kind of person you will become?¡±


    Fang Juexia, who was still in a state of surprise, was somewhat stunned upon being asked this question. When he saw Pei Tingsong smile at him from his grandfather¡¯s side, he nodded his head and asked the way Lu Yuan had asked the child before, ¡°You¡­ What kind of person are you going to be?¡±


    ¡°During the summer 24 years ago, the best child in the world was born.¡± His grandfather looked at him, his eyes nearly imperceptibly gentle. ¡°I will name him Juexia, and I¡¯ll be his grandfather. ¡°


    Tears gushed out again, and Fang Juexia¡¯s hand, which was holding the microphone, hung down. He lowered his head, and his shoulders trembled. All the fans in the audience were shouting his name and crying alongside him.


    Fang Juexia was a person who would continue walking on one path until it turned dark; he seldom dreamed, or at least, he had never dreamed of this. He had never thought that they would have their own concert one day, and he had, even more so, never imagined that his grandfather would appear at his concert one day.


    ¡°I¡¯m not very good at talking, and I know you are the same too.¡± His grandfather patted Fang Juexia on the shoulder. ¡°There are some things that I¡¯ve wanted to tell you since long ago, but I found them very hard to say.¡±


    He cared about this child more than anyone else, but he could only watch his TV program alone in his empty old house. Even though he was worried that this child wouldn¡¯t be able to see and would fall down from the stage, he still always used the ugliest words to make him give up on this unreachable dream of his. He was afraid that this child would come to grief and suffer, but he still couldn¡¯t make a phone call to ask after him.


    But when this child was born, he was the happiest one there.


    Finally, he swept the weeping Fang Juexia into his embrace.


    ¡°Juexia, you have always been Grandfather¡¯s pride, and you will always be.¡±


    Mama Fang, who was sitting amidst the audience, was also shedding tears. This once broken family was now, bit by bit, being repaired through love and dreams. They were all slowly recovering the things they had lost.


    The other Kaleido members also greeted Grandfather one by one. The staff brought up a chair for Grandfather, and then they sang ¡°Last Summer¡± together, while surrounding grandfather.


    The summer of his birth, the summer of nurturing dreams, the summer of their debut, the summer of reunions and liberation, and now the summer of rallying together.


    Each such summer was memorable.


    ¡°Be careful, Grandfather.¡± Ling Yi stole Pei Tingsong¡¯s job and helped him down with a sweet smile.


    Grandfather turned his head back and waved to them. ¡°Come to my house and have a meal ah, everyone together.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    Time went by, and soon there were only six minutes left before the end of the concert.


    ¡°It¡¯s going so fast ah.¡± Jiang Miao looked at the time. ¡°It feels like it just started, but it¡¯s almost over.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t end it!¡± The fans below the stage yelled.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± Jiang Miao said with a smile. ¡°We still have another song.¡±


    Six huge luminous ¡°clouds¡± were pushed onto the stage by the staff, and the Kaleido members stood on them one by one, now looking as if they were all standing on a mass of snow-white clouds.


    ¡°For the last song, we have revised some lyrics, to allow everyone to sing along with us.¡±


    ¡°Can anyone guess what the song is?¡±


    The fans yelled from below, several song names getting mixed in.


    ¡°Juexia, give them some hints.¡±


    Having received his signal, Fang Juexia picked up the microphone and sang, ¡°You are my¡­¡±


    The fans immediately guessed the correct answer¡ª ¡°Daydream!!!¡±


    ¡°Yes! The last song is Daydream!¡±


    Pei Tingsong took the microphone and said, ¡°We are all always growing up, but growing up doesn¡¯t mean losing the right to dream. Even if it¡¯s a daydream that many people feel contemptuous of, how would you know what it¡¯s like if you don¡¯t try to dream about it?


    ¡°So let¡¯s make our own daydream together today ba.¡±


    The lyrics were projected onto the stage, each line in a handwritten font.


    And as they stood in the luminous clouds, they were also slowly suspended above the stadium, passing over the heads of many fans. Fang Juexia was afraid of heights, so he was suspended at a much lower height than the other members.


    This light song was especially suitable for a sing-along. In the midst of the song, many cloud balloons were released all over the venue. They were huge, one coming out after another, and very quickly, the night sky over the venue was covered by the clouds of the day.


    This scene was so beautiful that it was amazing, and everyone couldn¡¯t help but look up at those clouds.


    ¡°I know there must be something falling from the sky, like a summer shower passing by.¡°


    The moment they sang this sentence, there was a sound of something bursting in the sky, and all the cloud balloons popped. All of a sudden, blue paper rained down from the sky, like tens of thousands of butterflies spinning and dancing, filling the whole venue and the heart of each and every fan.


    There had never been a glorious moment such as this.


    It was like it really was a daydream.


    The six boys stopped singing, and spoke into the microphone, ¡°Now each of you has a piece of blue paper printed with the word K. The kaleidoscope lamp in your hand can actually be opened, and there is a pen in it.¡±


    ¡°Take it out, and let¡¯s write our daydream together.¡±


    ¡°What will we become in ten years?¡±


    ¡°What kind of life are we going to live?¡±


    While his bandmates were talking, Fang Juexia gently sang them a harmony, but the lyrics had changed from ¡°You are my daydream,¡± to ¡°It¡¯s time to daydream.¡±


    The fans below the stage bowed their heads one after another, and with Kaleido¡¯s encouragement, wrote down their daydreams for life, for themselves, and for the future ten years later.


    Even Kaleido, hanging up in the air, seriously wrote down their expectations for ten years from now.


    ¡°I¡¯m done la.¡± Ling Yi raised his hand. ¡°Who else has finished writing? Turn on your light and let me see.¡±


    The stars lit up one by one.


    Pei Tingsong asked, ¡°Can you guys make a paper airplane?¡±


    The whole audience said in unison, ¡°Yes!!¡±


    ¡°Good. Then we¡¯ll make paper airplanes together, and after we call out ¡®three, two, one,¡¯ you¡¯ll toss your paper plane into flight with your daydream written on it towards the stage, okay?¡±


    After everyone agreed, each of them began to fold paper airplanes. Fang Juexia also lowered his head and seriously folded his blue paper. He had only written one line about the future¡ª


    [Still Kaleido, still in love with Pei Tingsong.]


    What he didn¡¯t know was that on another cloud, his great-minds-think-alike-lover had unconsciously made the same decision as him, his scribbled English penning down a sincere future.


    [Forever K, forever fjx.]


    The suspended clouds then moved back towards the stage and landed. Once the six of them returned to the stage, He Ziyan said into the microphone, ¡°Hold up the paper airplane in your hands and let¡¯s have a look!¡±


    The stage lights spread over the whole audience. Fang Juexia looked out into the distance, to see each person holding their hands up high, holding their dreams within their hands.


    ¡°Very good.¡± Jiang Miao also raised his hand and showed his work. ¡°Then we¡¯re ready to start the countdown, get ready¡ª¡±


    ¡°Three¡ª¡±


    ¡°Two¡ª¡±


    ¡°One!¡±


    In the last second, Fang Juexia saw a whole sky of paper airplanes flying towards them, racing through the light shining through the dust, all of them carrying daydreams, drawing arcs of dreams in the night.


    Their dream was the stage.


    Everyone¡¯s dreams flew towards their stage.


    ¡°It¡¯s really beautiful.¡± Seeing this scene, Ling Yi couldn¡¯t help shedding a few tears.


    ¡°Hey, how come you¡¯re crying again?¡± Lu Yuan laughed.


    ¡°I just really wanted to cry ma.¡± He crouched down and gathered a big pile of paper airplanes into his arms. ¡°We have so many daydreams, we are so rich oh.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a good sentence ah.¡± Pei Tingsong expressed admiration towards him for the first time.


    ¡°I just said I could study philosophy ah!¡±


    Jiang Miao said with a smile, ¡°Thank you everyone for writing down your expectations for the future, and we hope that you will always remember the you on that piece of paper.¡±


    ¡°We have one last little event.¡± Saying that, He Ziyan couldn¡¯t help but complain, ¡°We really have done a lot of teenage girl things ah.¡±


    ¡°Hahahahaha!¡±


    The staff gave them six kaleidoscope support lamps, just like the ones the fans under the stage held.


    ¡°In fact, this was specially designed by us, with a built-in small program inside.¡± Pointing to a small raised button on the kaleidoscope, Jiang Miao explained, ¡°Do you see this switch? It¡¯s no use pressing it by yourself.¡±


    Fang Juexia nodded. ¡°There are 15,000 spectators here. Counting us, there are 15,006 kaleidoscopes. If we all press down on the button together, something special will happen.¡±


    ¡°So now we¡¯re making sure that no one just skipped out in the middle of the concert ba,¡± said Pei Tingsong as he started laughing. ¡°If you see a kaleidoscope without a master, troubling you guys to please press it.¡±


    ¡°Hahahahaha!¡±


    ¡°Are you ready?¡±


    The countdown appeared on the big screen, and all the people below the stage shouted together until it hit zero.


    ¡°Press!¡±


    A huge kaleidoscope projection suddenly appeared in the sky, magnificent colors weaving dream-like shapes in the night sky, gorgeous and incomparable, like tens of thousands of overlapping flowers, but also like layer after layer of interlaced butterfly wings.


    ¡°It¡¯s really beautiful.¡±


    Everyone looked up at this beautiful kaleidoscope and marveled at its beauty.


    Fang Juexia said, ¡°Remember, each and every one of you is very important.¡±


    He repeated, ¡°Tell yourself that you are very important.¡±


    Under the magnificent kaleidoscope, it all came to an end.


    ¡°Finally, I want to thank everyone for coming to our concert,¡± He Ziyan said gently. ¡°In fact, we were very nervous and made a lot of preparations. We hope you guys aren¡¯t disappointed.¡±


    ¡°No!¡±


    ¡°Then that¡¯s good,¡± Ling Yi sniffled, wiping his tears away. ¡°How is it over so soon?¡±


    Yes ah. Fang Juexia kept staring at this kaleidoscopic dream.


    So fast, and it was going to be over now.


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget that the theme of our tour is ego.¡± Pei Tingsong said with a smile, ¡°Ego represents the self. Maybe it¡¯s not what we all depend upon for survival, but it¡¯s the core that distinguishes us from others. Maybe you¡¯ve already found it by now and you already understand its existence, and maybe you haven¡¯t found it yet, but that¡¯s all okay, because you will find it one day.


    ¡°When you meet your true self, please make sure to protect it well, because that is protecting the purest and most authentic you.¡±


    ¡°So¡ª¡± He went to Fang Juexia¡¯s side, stood in a row with his other bandmates, the six people side by side. ¡°When we finish, we won¡¯t say goodbye. Instead, we should solemnly introduce ourselves to each other.¡±


    Fang Juexia nodded. ¡°This is an introduction of your ¡®self¡¯ ten years from now.¡±


    Lu Yuan said with a smile, ¡°We hope to meet again in ten years, and we hope we can say the same thing to each other.¡±


    A line of words appeared on the big screen, and Jiang Miao pointed at it. ¡°This time, you guys go first, okay?¡±


    Tens of thousands of fans, under this countdown, issued out a chorus of shouts for the last time, following the words on the screen. It wasn¡¯t a farewell, but a self-introduction. Their voices were waves of a June summer night, carrying shocking vitality and surging energy.


    It was love, it was a dream, it was a passion that would never die.


    ¡°Hello, we are Dominoes! We are us!¡±


    The six big boys stood in front of them. ¡°Three, two, one¡­¡±


    They all made a ¡°K¡± gesture, their smiling faces covered in sweat as they shone in the light.


    Like the first time, and like every time¡ª


    ¡°Hello everyone, we are Kaleido!¡±


    ¡ª


    The author has something to say:


    This is the end of the main story, and there will be some extras, which, if there are no accidents, will also be slice-of-life.


    When I finished writing the last scene, I was moved and felt that I had made some progress, because if this was the summer when I started writing in 2018, I shouldn¡¯t have had enough feelings and emotions to write out Fang Juexia and Pei Tingsong, and I couldn¡¯t have written Kaleido¡¯s complete story or the so-called ¡°Fanservice Paradox¡± story well, but now I can barely do it, so thank you for all the experience. If these people and stories could touch you for a moment, that¡¯s really so great. That¡¯s what I¡¯m most satisfied with.


    I have the habit of writing postscripts, but I¡¯d better wait until the end of the extras to write a complete postscript ba. It¡¯s still not the complete end now.


    It¡¯s really meaningful to finish the text on May 4, because the last two chapters are in line with this day. I wish you all a happy youth day, and hope to become better people together ba.


    See you later in the extras.


    ¡ª


    Juurensha: !!!! This ending was so perfect! (Although I am really glad there¡¯s extras!) The extras are still about FJX and PTS, and it goes into their future lives together.


    Noks: What an amazing ending!!! And thank god (and the author!!) for the extras. I simply can¡¯t bear to leave these characters yet.


    If you can, please support the author by buying the raws (and gain access to translated smut! ). Here is a guide on how to buy them, and it¡¯s not super difficult! Also there¡¯s the traditional physical novel open for pre-orders here! You will probably have to use a forwarding service to purchase them, I¡¯m also struggling along there with CssBuy and now a Taiwan shipping service because CssBuy isn¡¯t working.

 CH 110

    Chapter 110 ¨C Extra 1: The Road Home


    I want to be wrong once.


    On the night of the end of the tour at Guangzhou, Star Chart booked a famous local restaurant, where they held a grand congratulatory banquet, with all the staff members participating in it.


    The concert that they had been preparing for over half a year had finally been experienced by the fans, and had achieved better results than expected. By the end, the many staff members who were watching it backstage even started crying. Even Cheng Qiang, who had always played the role of an old father, felt his nose sting when he heard their self-introduction, making him feel as if he had returned to the first day of their debut.


    ¡°First of all, congratulations to us for successfully completing the first stage of our Ego tour!¡± Cheng Qiang announced with a lot of emotion as he stood in the middle of the dining hall holding a microphone.


    Fang Juexia was standing to the side and chatting with Jiang Miao, and when he turned, he saw a bottle of champagne on the table, so he picked it up and looked at its brand. Unexpectedly, Ling Yi saw this series of actions and piped up, ¡°Juexia, show it to me!¡±


    So, Fang Juexia handed the bottle of champagne over to Ling Yi, who was really excited by it. ¡°I¡¯ve never actually opened champagne before, no one ever let me open it.¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t either,¡± Fang Juexia said truthfully.


    Pei Tingsong brought a glass of lemon soda for Fang Juexia as he reminded, ¡°Drink more water.¡± With a glance, he saw Ling Yi fiddling with the champagne. ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°How can this just pop out ah?¡± Ling Yi was in doubt.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be done in a few shakes,¡± said Pei Tingsong quite casually, but he hadn¡¯t expected that Ling Yi would shake it to death, pretty much putting the strength of his whole body into this.


    ¡°Everyone has worked really hard! Today, we will just enjoy¡­¡±


    Pop¡ª


    The cork got pushed out, and champagne burst out wildly, the bubbles and white foam streaming out and pouring all over Agent Cheng Qiang, who was still in the middle of his speech. On seeing this scene, Fang Juexia nearly spat out his lemonade.


    Pei Tingsong was stunned for a second before he started laughing, laughing until he had to crouch down and even hug Fang Juexia¡¯s leg.


    Cheng Qiang, who had been sprayed into bewilderment, turned to face Ling Yi, who was steadying the bottom of the champagne bottle against his stomach at that moment. ¡°What the hell are you doing?¡±


    Ling Yi awkwardly put the bottle of champagne on the floor before trying to scuttle and escape the crime scene like a small crab, but he was seized by Lu Yuan and He Ziyan and carried back. ¡°You even want to run ah?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re really quite good, you aimed directly at Qiang Ge.¡±


    ¡°Aiya, I didn¡¯t expect to spray so much¡­¡±


    ¡°Hahahahaha!¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright, everyone have fun on their own ba.¡± Cheng Qiang himself also couldn¡¯t help laughing.


    Everyone chatted and ate. The whole restaurant¡¯s first floor was full of Star Chart people, and it wasn¡¯t so much a celebration banquet as a party. The lights were gorgeous, and everyone drank, chatted, and relaxed to the music. Although the atmosphere was very good, Fang Juexia already found it difficult to be at ease in such large gatherings, let alone when he had other plans. When the restaurant music started to play ¡°Night Trip¡±, he drew close to Pei Tingsong¡¯s ear.


    ¡°Let¡¯s sneak away ba.¡±


    Romantics certainly wouldn¡¯t refuse a perfect elopement.


    It was already 12:30 a.m. by the time they ran out of the restaurant, but Guangzhou nights usually didn¡¯t die down until very late. The heat wave diffusing around the city was like the smoke and fire raging on a connecting road, unable to find an exit. Donning masks and hats, the two people got into a randomly hailed taxi as they broke away from the party and drove towards a bigger party, one which belonged to the whole city.


    Their driver was a middle-aged man in his 40s and 50s, and he was very enthusiastic. As soon as they got in the car, he used Mandarin, coloured with an obvious Cantonese accent, to ask, ¡°Came to Guangzhou to have fun?¡±


    Fang Juexia smiled and answered in Cantonese, ¡°No, I¡¯m from Guangzhou.¡± Then he gave an address.


    The driver was a little surprised. Looking at Pei Tingsong in the rearview mirror, he also changed from speaking awkward Mandarin to Cantonese. ¡°Is this handsome guy the same?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s not, he¡¯s keeping me company on this trip back home.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I was just saying ma, he¡¯s so tall ah. At a glance, I saw you two standing on the side of the road, both handsome and tall.¡± The driver joked, ¡°People who didn¡¯t know better would think you¡¯re celebrities.¡±


    Actually, they really were celebrities.


    Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t understand what was being said, so he drew closer and asked Fang Juexia, who laughed before telling him, ¡°He¡¯s praising you for being both tall and handsome, and thinks you can be a star.¡±


    ¡°Driver Da Ge, you have great potential to be a star scout,¡± quipped Pei Tingsong.


    ¡°Hahahahahaha, right? Guangzhou is very fun, and there¡¯s lots of delicious things¡­¡±


    Fang Juexia felt very at ease as he listened to the two of them chat. He looked out of the car window, at the glass reflecting the city¡¯s neon colors, flashing by like the kaleidoscope over the concert.


    After passing through a bustling commercial street, the light outside gradually grew dimmer, and the darkness of the night gradually recovered. Only upon entering the old city did Fang Juexia really get the feeling that he had come home.


    They said goodbye to the enthusiastic driver, opened the door, and soaked in the heat again.


    The streets here were much quieter, with some doors already covered by a gray metal security shutter. The rest were all kinds of snack shops and nightclubs. They were all lit up in red and yellow lights, and their signs shone bright; they were the most vital cells in this sleeping city.


    ¡°Where is this?¡± Pei Tingsong wanted to hold hands, but he held back and instead, chose the second best thing by throwing an arm around Fang Juexia¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°The back door of my high school.¡± Fang Juexia pointed to the shade behind a wall. ¡°Do you see that over there? That¡¯s my high school.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Pei Tingsong stopped and looked. ¡°I want to go inside.¡±


    Fang Juexia walked away from the hand on his shoulder with a smile, then turned to face him while taking two steps backwards. ¡°Can¡¯t do that, I¡¯m a good student, and I don¡¯t know how to flip over the wall.¡±


    His smiling eyes were terribly attractive. Pei Tingsong grabbed his wrist. ¡°You are already thinking of flipping over the wall, and you still say you are a good student?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s just because you¡¯ve corrupted me.¡± Fang Juexia shook the wrist that had been grasped, escaped its grip, and then turned his back on him to continue walking in front.


    Wearing a clean white T-shirt, he walked along the streets of the Lingnan styled old city, with square stone slabs embedded in the road, like a huge mosaic art covering the whole city. Banyan trees extended their crowns over the road above, colorful signs and neon lights wantonly spread their glow through the night, but none of it dyed Fang Juexia¡¯s back. He was always clean, always snow-white.


    This time, Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t stand shoulder to shoulder with him like always. Instead, he fell back a few steps and walked slowly, looking at Fang Juexia¡¯s lean back.


    The appearance of the person in front of him gradually changed. He grew a bit shorter and thinner, like a willow tree; his clothes changed from a white T-shirt to a school uniform, but the walking posture remained unchanged, his every step still tall and straight.


    At that time, he should have been the boy of many girls¡¯ dreams.


    Pei Tingsong unconsciously smiled, as if he had been like this before, accompanying Fang Juexia on his way home from studying late at night.


    As they walked, the person in front of him turned his head back, and the illusion turned back to reality. ¡°Come on ah,¡± he urged.


    ¡°En.¡± Pei Tingsong walked quickly to reach Fang Juexia¡¯s side.


    Fang Juexia led him around a street, before turning into another one, and then finally stopped in front of a small shop. On the bright sign were the words ¡®Granny Cheng¡¯s Steamed Rice Noodles Shop.¡¯ The architecture of this row of buildings along the street was also very special; whether you went up and looked down or looked up from down below, the windows were open, and there were many flowers and plants blooming there. The fragrance of jasmine could be smelt just from standing below.


    ¡°I used to come here to eat after school.¡± There was no one else in the shop, so Fang Juexia took him by the arm and went in. ¡°It¡¯s so easy to get hungry while at school.¡±


    The owner of the shop had already changed; she was no longer the kindly granny from Fang Juexia¡¯s youth, but instead, a middle-aged woman. Perhaps she was that person¡¯s daughter. ¡°Come and have some tong sui ah.¡±


    Fang Juexia answered her with a smile and ordered some food. Then he came back to sit beside Pei Tingsong.


    Pei Tingsong looked up at him. ¡°This building is very special.¡±


    There was no air conditioning in the shop. The ceiling fan was whirring and rotating, dispersing the almost semi-solidified moist air and spinning out a transparent swirl of heat.


    Fang Juexia was a bit surprised to hear him say this, but Pei Tingsong had always been someone good at observing the world.


    ¡°This is a Cantonese style tong lau,¡± explained Fang Juexia as he poured him a glass of water. ¡°Its earliest history¡­ It should all go back to the end of the Qing Dynasty. It was built by Zhang Zhidong, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi at that time.¡±


    Pei Tingsong nodded and looked at the tong lau across the street through the door. ¡°I like this kind of building, it¡¯s a living history book. There are also these trees, which are different from those in other cities¡­¡± He tried to find a suitable adjective. ¡°They¡¯re very free, they give a feeling that they are enjoying themselves as they stretch out and grow.¡±


    ¡°Those are banyan trees, and many of them are over 100 years old. There used to be more, but the more they cut down, the less there were, and they all became tall buildings instead.¡± Fang Juexia looked outside, a little distracted. ¡°Guangzhou used to be a city growing in the midst of banyan trees.¡±


    This sentence was very interesting. Through Fang Juexia¡¯s words, the city was suddenly filled with green vitality.


    The owner came over with two bowls of tong sui and put them on the table. When she smiled, she looked very kind. ¡°Have two bowls of tong sui first.¡±


    One was a bowl of sweet potato tong sui, and the other a bowl of sugarcane and water chestnut tong sui. Although Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t like eating sweets, this kind of tong sui was unexpectedly very fresh and sweet. When he drank it cold, his hot and dry five internal organs all felt as if they were being moistened, and the summer heat was half-dispelled.


    Fang Juexia loved this dish a lot, and every sip of it made him feel like he was back in his youth.


    Pei Tingsong looked at him and thought that he looked very cute when he ate, so he absent-mindedly said, ¡°You¡¯re a child who grew up soaked in tong sui.¡±


    Thinking about this carefully, there was nothing wrong with this statement, so Fang Juexia didn¡¯t refute it.


    The owner then brought out two portions of steamed rice noodles fresh from the oven, one with fresh shrimp and one with beef, and both had gooey eggs added to them. The translucent skin of the rice noodles was as thin as cicada wings, and the color of the beef, fresh shrimp, and golden yolks of the eggs shone through. After being placed on the table, the food was still trembling and jiggling slightly.


    ¡°Try it and see if it¡¯s different from the ones in Beijing.¡±


    Pei Tingsong grabbed a hold of it with his chopsticks, but the rice noodles were too slippery to hold onto, so he had to use a spoon to finally get a bite. The rice noodle skin was both smooth and durable, the beef was soft and tender, and the Cantonese soy sauce mixed in had a slightly sweet taste. It was fresh, tender, and smooth, and it really was delicious.


    ¡°So good. It¡¯s much better than what I ate when I was a child.¡±


    Fang Juexia laughed. ¡°You, young master, are really easy to raise. You like an 11 yuan portion of rice noodles so much as this.¡±


    Pei Tingsong said solemnly, ¡°Value is relative. With you sitting here to eat with me, an 11 yuan portion of rice noodles can beat out a Michelin 3-star meal.¡±


    Everything was relative.


    Back then, the rice noodles were also very delicious, but it seemed that this time having come back to have them with Pei Tingsong, they had become even more delicious.


    Two people were much better than one.


    When they were full, they left the shop. Fang Juexia led Pei Tingsong around, even though clearly, he was the one who couldn¡¯t see properly right now.


    The street lights were dim in the early morning hours, and Pei Tingsong was afraid that Fang Juexia would fall over with his unclear vision. He wanted to help him, but was refused.


    Only when they walked onto the old street, that Fang Juexia had trodden on countless times when he was young, would he show some habits, such as leaning against the wall while he was walking, supporting himself against the wall subconsciously with his hands, or making every step almost equidistant, and when striding forward and stepping down, the sole of his shoes would rub a bit against the ground.


    As they kept walking, he suddenly stopped, touched the wall, and in a doubtful tone, said, ¡°There was a gap here before, was it filled up?¡±


    Pei Tingsong suddenly felt a bit sad.


    So it turned out that the Fang Juexia of the past had used all senses besides sight to remember his way home. The smells on the road, the chirps of insects in the banyan trees, the gaps in the wall, the shape of the pavement stones, which ones were loose and which ones were crooked and stuck up ¡ª It was all these feelings that brought him home.


    ¡°May I lead you by the hand?¡± Pei Tingsong asked softly.


    Fang Juexia turned his head to glance at him. Although he couldn¡¯t really see him, he still laughed. ¡°Yes, there¡¯s no one around now.¡±


    Pei Tingsong carefully took Fang Juexia¡¯s hand. The humid air and the heat distorted everything, distorting even time and space itself. It seemed at that moment that Pei Tingsong was leading the 16 year-old Fang Juexia, who was afraid, back home in the dark.


    ¡°You¡¯re really brave.¡± Pei Tingsong was a person who wasn¡¯t stingy with praise, especially when it came to Fang Juexia.


    Fang Juexia just laughed, not saying a word. Under the moonlight, they walked through the long street hand-in-hand, soaking in the rising and falling waves created by the calls of the cicadas. As their distance from home shortened, Fang Juexia suddenly said, ¡°I feel like it¡¯s going to rain.¡±


    ¡°Really? How do you know?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just a hunch.¡± Fang Juexia said, ¡°My premonitions are often very accurate though.¡±


    So they quickened their pace and entered an old neighborhood filled with trees. There were few street lights here, but Fang Juexia possessed his memory. At last, he stopped under a huge banyan tree, whose shadow was darker than the night.


    ¡°You live in a tree?¡± Pei Tingsong joked.


    Fang Juexia told him to shut up as usual. He raised his hand towards the bark, followed the rough texture upwards, and felt around for a big hole in the tree. His pale hand stretched out, seemingly looking for something.


    ¡°Do you need me to help?¡± Pei Tingsong asked.


    ¡°I found it.¡± Fang Juexia¡¯s expression was very surprised. ¡°It¡¯s actually still there, it¡¯s already been ten years.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± Pei Tingsong drew close to him. Under the moonlight, Fang Juexia¡¯s palm opened, and in it was a round walnut.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been hiding a walnut for ten years?¡±


    Listening to Pei Tingsong¡¯s disbelieving tone, Fang Juexia chuckled. He exerted some effort to open the walnut shell, took out a rolled-up note from within it, and handed it to Pei Tingsong.


    ¡°I remember that day I was¡­beaten by Fang Ping. I was very sad and afraid, so I wrote this down and hid it in the hole of the tree downstairs.¡± Fang Juexia laughed. ¡°I was afraid it would be found, so I even hid it within a walnut shell and glued it shut. I didn¡¯t expect no one to have found it even after this long.¡± His tone seemed to be conveying¡ª ¡®I¡¯m very smart ba.¡¯


    He very carefully spread open the note, and only when he faced the moonlight did Pei Tingsong see the words written on it.


    [I can¡¯t become a bad person, I¡¯m going to stand on the stage, and I can¡¯t fall off.]


    Through these words, Pei Tingsong suddenly saw the him of that time.


    He also finally understood why Fang Juexia had proposed the idea of letting everyone write down what they would be like ten years later at the end of the concert.


    Fang Juexia raised his face, a light in his eyes, and said, ¡°The me from ten years ago, I¡¯m giving him to you.¡±


    Pei Tingsong held the note, pulled him into his arms, and kissed him on the forehead under the dark tree.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Thank you for growing up so strong that you were able to meet me who was so late.


    The rain came, and while Fang Juexia¡¯s hunch wasn¡¯t wrong at all, he just hadn¡¯t expected the rain to be so heavy. In a flash, it diluted the sticky humid air, allowing the smell of dirt to permeate their surroundings. Pei Tingsong¡¯s first reaction was to store the note properly. They then got ready to run away, laughing tacitly as they ran in the dark.


    Ever since he had gotten together with Pei Tingsong, Fang Juexia had imagined many kinds of emotions when bringing him back home with him, but plans couldn¡¯t keep up with changes. He hadn¡¯t imagined that they¡¯d return home in such a mess.


    His mother, who had already been resting for a long time, got up in the middle of the night to open the door for him. With sleepy eyes, she looked at the two children drenched in water and found it very funny. ¡°How are you guys this good at picking a time?¡±


    After calling them in, Mama Fang wasn¡¯t sleepy anymore and urged them to go take a hot bath. Fang Juexia let Pei Tingsong go first, while he took a towel and went into the kitchen to stand beside his mama, who was brewing ginger tea.


    ¡°Is Grandfather asleep?¡±


    ¡°En, he was originally waiting for you to come back, not even going back to his room while dozing off as he watched the TV. After he got the call saying that you guys were having a celebration banquet, he went in by himself.¡± Mama Fang put the ginger slices into the soup pot and stirred them. ¡°If he knew you guys were coming, he would have been very happy for tomorrow morning.¡±


    Thinking of the scene that had happened on the stage, Fang Juexia asked, ¡°Was it Xiao Pei who asked you guys to come? No one told me.¡±


    ¡°Yes ah, he made a special trip to the hospital to persuade your grandfather. At first, I was worried, but I didn¡¯t expect them to have a good chat. Xiao Pei told him that you really missed him, and that you hoped very much that he could appear at the concert. In fact ah, your grandfather also very much wanted to go. But while neither of you could take off your masks, on the contrary, Xiao Pei dared to say anything. Later, after he left, your grandfather secretly told me that he was relieved to see that you had such a good bandmate.¡± Then Mama Fang added, ¡°I think so, too.¡±


    Fang Juexia wiped his wet hair, brought the towel down, and tightened his grip on it.


    ¡°Actually¡­¡± His Adam¡¯s apple rolled. ¡°Mom, he¡¯s not just my bandmate.¡±


    Mama Fang stopped stirring the ginger tea, but the spiralling liquid still kept spinning. She didn¡¯t look at Fang Juexia as she asked, unexpectedly very calmly, ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°I love him very much, and so does he.¡± Fang Juexia tried to describe their relationship in the most precise way. ¡°We are lovers.¡±


    His heart beat uneasily as the cicadas in his brain screamed, saying that he was being hasty, saying that he should not disclose his not-yet-steady relationship in front of his mother. Love was fragile, and his mama knew that best.


    ¡°Actually, I could see it.¡± Mama Fang reached out and put two yellow rock sugars into the pot, speaking in a calm voice, ¡°I guessed about your relationship with each other. Xiao Pei is too devoted to you, and he doesn¡¯t seem like an ordinary friend. And then there¡¯s the way he looks at you, and the way you look at him, it can¡¯t be hidden.¡±


    That was true. There was no way to hide when you liked someone, especially in front of your mother.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to hide it from you.¡±


    Mama Fang turned off the stove and looked at him. ¡°Juexia, I didn¡¯t think you were an impulsive child. After all, you¡¯ve seen¡­¡± She choked. ¡°You¡¯ve seen Mama like this, it¡¯s very unwise to devote yourself to a relationship so wholeheartedly.¡±


    ¡°This isn¡¯t impulsive.¡± Fang Juexia argued for his love, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s because of everything I have seen since I was a child that I very much resisted the idea of love before him. I had even decided that I would not have any such true love my whole life.¡±


    Hearing Fang Juexia say such words, Mama Fang¡¯s heart was full of guilt. This was the last thing she wanted to see, but there was no other way; her failed love and marriage had subtly changed this child like this, turning him taciturn and somewhat disengaged.


    ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for Pei Tingsong, I might not have been able to change for all my life.¡±


    Mama Fang sighed silently. ¡°I¡¯m not against it, I¡¯m just afraid you¡¯ll get hurt.¡± With this sentence, she felt that she had become her father from back then, standing on the opposing side because she feared her child would get hurt. This feeling was too contradictory and complicated. Back then, how could she not have believed that she had met her true love, but she had failed, failed to the point that they were left bloody and mutilated, inside and out. So now, she couldn¡¯t help saying, ¡°Have you ever thought that this might be a wrong decision?¡±


    Pei Tingsong came out of the bathroom and called out Fang Juexia¡¯s name in a low voice. He then heard sounds of conversation coming from the kitchen, so he approached, getting ready to call out to him to take a bath.


    ¡°Then I want to be wrong once.¡±


    Hearing this, he stopped in his steps.


    Fang Juexia¡¯s eyes were very stubborn, but every sentence he uttered was logical. ¡°Because I have lived through a failed case, I always felt that I wouldn¡¯t succeed either. But after meeting him, I didn¡¯t want to live like that any more. Even if in the end, we don¡¯t have a good result, I will try again. Ten years from now, 20 years from now, looking back on today, at least the Fang Juexia of back then followed his heart and made a choice without hesitating or turning back.¡±


    There were tears in his eyes, which he refused to shed.


    ¡°Even if it¡¯s wrong, it¡¯s right.¡±


    Mama Fang looked at her son standing in front of her as if she was seeing him for the first time. It was very strange, but this was no longer the Fang Juexia who had been so stubborn in his pursuit of correctness that he hadn¡¯t seemed like an ordinary child.


    In his face, she finally saw a shadow of herself from the past.


    Mama Fang didn¡¯t speak. She turned around and used a spoon to ladle the ginger tea into a bowl. It was glistening yellow as it rippled under the kitchen lights.


    ¡°Carry it out and let Xiao Pei drink it while it¡¯s hot, so that he does not catch a cold. Summer colds feel really bad.¡±


    ¡°Mom¡­¡±


    ¡°Then, let¡¯s try.¡± Mama Fang solemnly handed the ginger tea to him and laughed with tears flowing down her cheeks.


    ¡°You¡¯re luckier than Mama, you definitely won¡¯t be wrong.¡±


    ¡ª


    The author has something to say:


    I am not from Guangzhou originally, but I tried my best to write down the local conditions and customs I felt in Guangzhou. If there is anything that doesn¡¯t feel quite right, please forgive me~


    ¡ª


    Juurensha: !!! He came out to his mom, and it was really sweet! I¡¯m so happy for them!


    Noks: Both Mama Fang and FJX are brave souls. It takes a lot to walk out and conquer the shadows left by a traumatizing past, and they both have done that here.


    If you can, please support the author by buying the raws (and gain access to translated smut! ). Here is a guide on how to buy them, and it¡¯s not super difficult! Also there¡¯s the traditional physical novel open for pre-orders here! You will probably have to use a forwarding service to purchase them, I¡¯m also struggling along there with CssBuy and now a Taiwan shipping service because CssBuy isn¡¯t working.

 CH 111

    Chapter 111 ¨C Extra 2: The Real And Fake Side Accounts


    You¡¯re so cute ah.


    Pei Tingsong had never thought that there would be a day where he would get a new family.


    In fact, he had never even imagined coming out to Fang Juexia¡¯s family; this had seemed utterly impossible because of Fang Juexia¡¯s introverted personality and also because of the special characteristics of his family. Yet, what he didn¡¯t expect was for Fang Juexia to actually lay bare all his cards on the first day he brought him back home, and he did that without even planning to tell him about it.


    Throughout the whole coming-out process, Fang Juexia bravely shielded Pei Tingsong, and just like a real Gege, took all the motivations and responsibilities onto himself, as if he was the leader in this relationship.


    However, Pei Tingsong knew that this wasn¡¯t true. He himself was the one who instigated Fang Juexia first, but in order for his family to not blame Pei Tingsong, Fang Juexia would rather take on the role of being the bad gege who had corrupted the youngest member of their group.


    Perhaps when he had decided to reveal everything,  Fang Juexia had also been carrying the worst case scenario in his mind.


    So Pei Tingsong also pretended to be unaware of the situation and went back to Fang Juexia¡¯s room alone. That night, he hugged Fang Juexia from behind and couldn¡¯t sleep no matter what.


    It was only then that he discovered how frightening it was to have the best person in the world. He, who had never been afraid of anything, was now suddenly very afraid of losing him.


    On the night they departed Guangzhou, rushing to Shanghai for the next leg of the concert, when Pei Tingsong was organizing his luggage, he found a letter written by Mama Fang, which had secretly been put into the inner pocket of his coat.


    [Tingsong, Juexia told Auntie everything about the two of you, and I don¡¯t think he has discussed it with you. Also because of his grandfather¡¯s physical problems, I advised him not to tell his grandfather for the time being. I will lead Grandfather towards this slowly; he¡¯s an elderly man and may not be able to immediately accept things that aren¡¯t part of his conceptions already. I hope you understand.


    Actually, I had already noticed your feelings before. I know Juexia very well, he is a child who pursues efficiency and results. People have limited energy, so many times, he has saved on showing expressions and communicating, and he lives in his own world. He¡¯s not very good at showing weakness, and even if he is hurt, he will just internalize all his feelings.


    But later, when I went to Beijing, and spent those days interacting with you guys, I could see it. Although he deliberately tried to restrain himself, as long as you appeared, his gaze would fall on you immediately, and he¡¯d start to revolve around you, his eyes smiling so softly whenever he looked at you. A person¡¯s eyes can¡¯t deceive anyone.


    I know you like him very much too. Everything you have done for him, and everything you have given to our family, I have seen it. But I believe you also know that Auntie is a person who has suffered, so on watching my child walk the same path as me, my heart will always start beating fast. I know that if I were to ask you for anything, it will seem a bit unreasonable. But the only wish Auntie has in this life is that Juexia can be different from me; I don¡¯t want to let Juexia taste the bitterness we went through ever again.


    If it¡¯s possible, Auntie hopes that the two of you can love each other for a long time.


    I know you are unfamiliar with the word ¡®mother,¡¯ and you may have some resistance to it, so Auntie won¡¯t easily say the words ¡°please treat me as your mom.¡± But in Auntie¡¯s heart, you are already part of our family.


    Take care of yourself, and when you two have time to come back, Auntie will cook soup and wait for the two of you.]


    Pei Tingsong would always remember how he felt after reading this letter.


    One day two weeks later, Mama Fang also received a long reply in the mail. When she saw the last sentence, she couldn¡¯t help her smile.


    [Mom, I promise you that I will give him a spring that will not wither.]


    After traveling to ten or so cities, the Kaleido tour, which had lasted for more than two months, ended in Hangzhou. They saw many different summers in many different cities.


    The tour had sapped them of a lot of energy, so after returning to Beijing, the company gave them all a few days off, and didn¡¯t arrange any events. When the time came to be lazy, Pei Tingsong made off with Fang Juexia, heading to his own condo. Although the dormitory was also very good, it wasn¡¯t as convenient as their two-person world.


    In the past, the condo had been occupied only by himself, so it was rather empty. With Fang Juexia here now though, he always wanted to buy things that he liked and he bought a lot of new furniture, so the small house became more and more like a home. They read books, watched movies, cuddled together for long naps, and woke up confused together.


    ¡°Are you done?¡± Pei Tingsong leaned on the newly bought sofa and tuned the Internet TV. ¡°Is there a new episode of the variety show Ling Yi is a guest on?¡±


    ¡°There was a new episode yesterday.¡± Fang Juexia closed the refrigerator door.


    Unable to find the program for now, Pei Tingsong simply went to the kitchen.


    ¡°Be careful when you cut things.¡± He stretched out his hand to prop himself against the kitchen counter, and then watched Fang Juexia cut the fruit seriously, as if he was doing something very important.


    Pei Tingsong took advantage of his inattention and stuck some red-flesh dragonfruit that Fang Juexia had just cut into his mouth.


    Who could have known that even without lifting his head, Fang Juexia would directly tear through his sneaky action. ¡°No stealing bites.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t.¡± Pei Tingsong denied it directly.


    Fang Juexia raised his head, gripped his chin in his hand and pulled it down. ¡°You didn¡¯t prepare a draft before you lied, even your tongue is red.¡±


    Unexpectedly, just as Fang Juexia finished talking, his waist was held, the distance between them suddenly shrank, and in a flash, Pei Tingsong¡¯s fresh and sweet kiss was shared with him. After a brief entanglement of the tips of their tongues, he stepped back and laughed like a child who had succeeded in pulling off a prank.


    ¡°Now you¡¯ve also eaten it, so you¡¯re not qualified to talk about me.¡±


    ¡°What did I eat?¡±


    ¡°You ate me~¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­ Pei Tingsong, do you think the knife in my hand is very bright?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m wrong. I¡¯m wrong.¡± Pei Tingsong laughed, took the fruit knife from Fang Juexia¡¯s hand, and put it away. Then he picked his baby up and let him sit on the island in the middle of the kitchen. He drew closer, put his arms around his waist, and said, ¡°Knives can¡¯t be played with casually, play with me instead ba.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s fun about playing with you?¡± Fang Juexia pretended to be fierce and pinched his neck, but he couldn¡¯t help laughing. Finally, he put his hands around Pei Tingsong¡¯s neck and looked at him with his beautiful eyes. The corners of his eyes were clear, melted snow water with warm light shimmering inside.


    Pei Tingsong suddenly thought of the letter written by Mama Fang, and of what she had said about Fang Juexia¡¯s eyes on him, and his heart immediately softened. So he drew closer and gave him a light kiss. Their lips were right against each other, and it lasted for two seconds before he let go.


    However, when he let go, Fang Juexia kissed him again. His hand held the back of Pei Tingsong¡¯s head, and the tip of his tongue went in, all of his movements exploratory. He closed his eyes and intimately felt for his tongue in the dark, feeling Pei Tingsong¡¯s smooth teeth instead.


    Moist and scarlet described a tropical fruit, and also described their kiss.


    Pei Tingsong had been born a bit of a stubborn beast, and whenever he kissed, he always instinctively bit Fang Juexia¡¯s lips. When he bit his lips this time, he could feel Fang Juexia let out a very soft noise; it was like he was asking him to stop but also, at the same time, an alluring sound of encouragement.


    ¡°Wu¡­¡±


    His hand supported the back of Fang Juexia¡¯s head, placing him down on the island in the middle of the kitchen, his teeth then proceeded downwards, and he bit open the top button of Fang Juexia¡¯s pajamas.


    But what they wanted to happen didn¡¯t happen.


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s cellphone rang at this moment. He didn¡¯t even look at it before hanging up the call, but it didn¡¯t take long for it to ring again.


    ¡°Pick it up,¡± Fang Juexia, who was lying on the island, propped his arms under him to get up, gasping, ¡°In case it¡¯s an emergency.¡±


    ¡°Alright ba.¡± Pei Tingsong let out a long sigh before he took hold of his cellphone, and after he saw Qiang Ge¡¯s name on the screen, he answered the call. ¡°Hello, Qiang Ge.¡±


    Fang Juexia, who was suddenly freed, kept sitting on the island, swinging his legs. He reached to take out a eustoma flower, that had just blossomed, from the vase on the table and rubbed the back of Pei Tingsong¡¯s neck with the flower.


    ¡°What? Side account?¡± Pei Tingsong¡¯s tone changed greatly, full of disbelief. ¡°How can that be?¡±


    Side account?


    Fang Juexia¡¯s hand stopped, the flower stuck at Pei Tingsong¡¯s neck not moving.


    It couldn¡¯t be that Pei Tingsong¡¯s side account had been dug up?


    Even he hadn¡¯t seen it yet.


    Thinking of that, Fang Juexia, who had never been that gossipy, suddenly became curious, so he kicked off his slippers, took out his cellphone from his pocket, opened up Weibo, and searched for the keyword [Pei Tingsong side account], clicking open the first related popular item.


    [@Is there no gossip anymore: Netizens suspected to have dug up Pei Tingsong¡¯s side account. The tone inside is a bit like an angry young man ah, attacking the heavens, the earth, and the air. It¡¯s very Pei Tingsong. However, some of the photos shared seem to imply a secret love affair. It can¡¯t be that another celebrity is going to be revealed to be secretly dating?]


    Fang Juexia felt quite guilty on reading this, so he clicked directly on the screenshot. The ID of the side account was ¡®Platonic Spiritual Love,¡± and the first screenshot showed some lyrics from an English rap song that was about girls. There was also a photo of a ring, the caption under the post consisting of only three emojis, a boy, a girl, and in the middle of them, a ring.


    This wasn¡¯t right ba.


    Pei Tingsong had also hung up the phone at this time, and he was so angry that he didn¡¯t even bother to talk to Fang Juexia as he directly opened up Weibo.


    ¡°This side account was forged by someone else ba.¡± Fang Juexia obediently put his chin on his shoulder. Pei Tingsong¡¯s first reaction was to turn his head to kiss Fang Juexia, only focusing on his cellphone after that. ¡°Of course, I¡¯m so angry, they even made such a lame fake account for me.¡±


    Looking as Pei Tingsong¡¯s fingers flew over the keyboard, Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t help laughing and kissed his ear. ¡°Don¡¯t be angry with them la.¡±


    [@Kaleido Pei Tingsong: WTF? @Platonic Spiritual Love, this vulgar fake account has nothing to do with me, and they even wanted to make up an anonymous girlfriend for me. My entrance fee needs to be sent immediately to Star Chart, thank you. In addition, I¡¯ll return good for evil by helping explain to you that the idea that Plato¡¯s view of love was equal to ¡°spiritual love¡± was a definition put forward by the 15th century Italian philosopher Marsilio Ficino, and that was only his interpretation. In fact, anyone who has read ¡°Symposium¡± and who knows more about Greek philosophers knows that Platonic love is about the feelings between men. (Come on ah, if you argue with me, we can bring up Schopenhauer). Your ID is ¡®Platonic Love¡¯, but in the caption you¡¯re talking about secretly dating a girl. Even the formation of contradictions should be consistent, this is basic logic.


    Besides, I always use my main account to curse out people. Otherwise, who am I cursing them out for ah, how boring.]


    ¡°Tch, tch.¡± Fang Juexia¡¯s chin rested against Pei Tingsong shoulder as he looked at the cellphone screen in his hands, then tilted his head to look at him. ¡°As soon as you post this Weibo post, you¡¯ll get on the Hot Search list again.¡±


    Not only that, it may also go on the ¡®Tigerish incident¡¯ log.


    ¡°If I get on it, then I get on it.¡±


    Seeing his grumpy appearance, Fang Juexia poked his cheek with his finger. ¡°I haven¡¯t even seen your side account yet. It won¡¯t really be dug up ba.¡± Thinking of the content released by that fake account, Fang Juexia suddenly wanted to ask Pei Tingsong if his side account had anything related to him, but he didn¡¯t ask in the end. It was because he didn¡¯t know whether he hoped that there would be something there or that there wouldn¡¯t be anything there.


    ¡°Absolutely not.¡± Pei Tingsong was very sure.


    Really? But Fang Juexia had a bad feeling about that now.


    ¡°This fake is too garbage.¡± Clearly, he had already refuted it on Weibo, but Pei Tingsong was still angrily muttering, ¡°People who don¡¯t know better would think I¡¯m this lame.¡±


    What kind of thought process was this?


    Fang Juexia blurted out, ¡°You¡¯re so cute ah.¡±


    He always found it uncomfortable when praised as cute by Fang Juexia, so Pei Tingsong turned around to tickle him. ¡°Who are you saying is cute, who are you saying is cute¡­¡±


    ¡°So ticklish, don¡¯t touch me, Pei Tingsong!¡± Fang Juexia was ticklish and directly slipped down from the table. Pei Tingsong chased him to the living room and then pressed him down on the sofa.


    Fang Juexia was tossed around by him until he was short on breath and feeling a bit flustered. He panted a bit, his hand continuously pushing against his arm. ¡°Get up, you¡¯re so heavy ah.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like it¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve pressed down on you, but now you think I¡¯m too heavy.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­ Shut up.¡±


    So Pei Tingsong really shut up, but also made Fang Juexia shut up at the same time. In early autumn, the air was slightly dry, and their skin that was stuck together grew moist as they rubbed against each other.


    ¡°I like this new sofa.¡± Pei Tingsong¡¯s voice contained moist steam, which heated Fang Juexia¡¯s ears. The heat flowed down the artery at his neck, and as he lost his strength, he was flipped over and pressed down. ¡°You look so good when you¡¯re lying on it.¡±


    Their lips were open, moist breaths and saliva gushing out, as the dark gray sofa got wet and dark, just like how falling rain stains a concrete floor.


    Under Pei Tingsong, Fang Juexia returned to that summer night thunderstorm.


    It was muggy, humid, and sticky, with the air filled with the smell of earth.


    Finally, Fang Juexia was too tired to move. He was lying in a daze in Pei Tingsong¡¯s embrace and mumbled, ¡°We still haven¡¯t eaten the fruit yet.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m full, I¡¯m looking down on the fruit.¡± Pei Tingsong shamelessly boasted before getting elbowed by Fang Juexia.


    ¡°Teacher Fang, you can¡¯t always use corporal punishment on students.¡±


    ¡°That didn¡¯t count.¡± Fang Juexia grabbed his wrist and bit him gently. ¡°That does.¡± Then he kissed him again, and said in a rare coquettish tone, ¡°I¡¯m hungry, I want to eat noodles.¡±


    ¡°Okay ah, that¡¯s perfect because I have just bought some thick soup base, and if we use that, the noodles will be flavorful.¡± Pei Tingsong got up from the sofa, but instead of going directly to the kitchen, he went to the bathroom, drew a hot bath in the bathtub, and then turned back to pick up Fang Juexia, who was too lazy to move.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Targeted delivery.¡±


    After finishing his job of putting his family¡¯s little white flower into the bath, Pei Tingsong went to the kitchen to prepare dinner. Fang Juexia was soaking in the bathtub, and remembering Pei Tingsong¡¯s Weibo posts, he stretched out his arm to reach for his cellphone.


    Sure enough, #Pei Tingsong¡¯s response to the side account# was already trending on the Hot Search list, and when he clicked on it, there were various threads discussing it.


    [@BEbemei: Hahahaha huffy Xiao Pei fighting against counterfeiting online!]


    [@Oolala, what are you saying: Was hoping to eat some melons when clicking on it, but then got lectured at, what kind of experience is this?]


    [@Robot himself: But his last sentence, let¡¯s judge, let¡¯s judge precisely, does it mean ¡°I do have a side account, but it¡¯s not this vulgar, and I don¡¯t need a side account to curse people out¡±?]


    [@I also didn¡¯t study well today replying to @Robot himself: I think you¡¯ve got the truth]


    It really was true, but in the short term, the netizens shouldn¡¯t be able to dig it up. Fang Juexia was about to click on the next Weibo entry when his cellphone suddenly vibrated several times and continuously. It was a WeChat groupchat.


    Fang Juexia quit Weibo and opened up WeChat. Unexpectedly, it was their six person groupchat.


    [The Original M-Dash: oh no oh no oh no oh no]


    [Your Fire Ge: What did you mess up this time?]


    [The Original M-Dash: How do you know that!!!]


    [The Original M-Dash: Don¡¯t I have an episode in a variety show? During the program, I was playing with my cellphone while I was eating, and as a result, I was photographed. Using such a blurry screenshot, they still somehow managed to dig up my Weibo side account! Wuwuwuwwuwuwwu]


    It was really strange, were all of them in conflict with side accounts today?


    Fang Juexia replied: If there¡¯s nothing strange in your side account, it should be fine.


    There was a pause at the other end, as if that person was thinking about something else. After a while, Ling Yi sent another message.


    [The Original M-Dash: I don¡¯t have anything strange in my Weibo side account la¡­.If we have to say there¡¯s anything¡­.]


    [The Original M-Dash: I followed Xiao Pei¡¯s side account¡­]


    What??


    Fang Juexia sat up in the bathtub.


    [The Original M-Dash: Actually, I just quickly unfollowed him, but it¡¯s already been screenshotted¡­.]


    He also sent an emoticon of a person kneeling with their head on the ground in apology.


    [Your Fire Ge: AHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!]


    [Your Fire Ge: @Kaleido¡¯s Only Big Boss Maknae, laugh and live.]


    ¡ª


    Juurensha: Mama Fang¡¯s letter to PTS was so sweet! I¡¯m so happy they get to be a family! And hahaha, let¡¯s see what¡¯s on PTS¡¯ real side account!


    Noks: Ling Yi is truly great at getting PTS into trouble! Hahahaha, he is just so adorable!


    If you can, please support the author by buying the raws (and gain access to translated smut! ). Here is a guide on how to buy them, and it¡¯s not super difficult! Also there¡¯s the traditional physical novel open for pre-orders here! You will probably have to use a forwarding service to purchase them, I¡¯m also struggling along there with CssBuy and now a Taiwan shipping service because CssBuy isn¡¯t working.

 CH 112

    Chapter 112 ¨C Extra 3: The Real And Fake Side Accounts Part 2


    Moon of my soul


    Seated in the bathtub, Fang Juexia hesitated over whether to break the news to Pei Tingsong first, or to sneak a look at his side account instead.


    Since even Ling Yi had followed it, there shouldn¡¯t be anything in the side account he couldn¡¯t look at ba.


    The group chat continued to ping, for Lu Yuan and Jiang Miao seemed to have also seen the conversation.


    [Sexy Teacher Yuan doing Flower Hand Dance Online: Shit, fortunately, when Ling Yi stole my spicy strips and ate them the day before yesterday, I got so angry that I unfriended and blacklisted Ling Yi! I¡¯m so wise, please call me a prophet! I¡¯m afraid that even in his dreams, Xiao Pei wouldn¡¯t have imagined he¡¯d be unmasked by Ling Yi hahahaha, mutual pit babies, mutual pit babies, one vine and two melons maybe]


    [Water Water Water: Yiyi, actually if you hadn¡¯t unfollowed it, probably no one would know that it was Xiao Pei¡¯s side account.]


    [The Original M-Dash: I was frantic and forgot ma 5555]


    [Sexy Teacher Yuan doing Flower Hand Dance Online: I bought you a Japanese katana on Taobao. You¡¯re welcome.]


    [The Original M-Dash: It¡¯s too late to even commit seppuku, I¡¯m dead, don¡¯t miss me guys. Wuwuwwuwuwu, I only managed to wear him down into following me back last week¡­.because I heard he had more fans than me.]


    [Your Fire Ge: My side account only has clothes sellers following me, so that¡¯s why you won¡¯t follow me?? Let¡¯s break up ba, Ling Yi]


    [The Original M-Dash: It¡¯s not like that Fire Ge! I¡¯m not like that! You guys must help me stop Xiao Pei ah, or our group will make the headlines.]


    [Water Water Water: Why isn¡¯t the maknae saying a word, it can¡¯t be that he¡¯s already driving over there to find you ba?]


    [The Original M-Dash: [Tearful ¡¤ JPG] [Tearful ¡¤ JPG] [Tearful ¡¤ JPG]]


    Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t stop laughing as he lay in the bathtub, but then he went and specially searched for Ling Yi¡¯s side account, and as expected, he quickly found a Weibo post by a fan with a screenshot attached, showing the Weibo account that Ling Yi had followed. Following this vine to its source, Fang Juexia also finally discovered Pei Tingsong¡¯s side account.


    ¡°This ID¡­¡±


    [The Moon of Entelecheia]


    It gave off a very mysterious feeling. Fang Juexia knew that this was something beyond his knowledge, but just seeing the word ¡®moon¡¯ at the end made his heart palpitate strangely.


    Being with a person who was good at word games, it was akin to talking in code every day.


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s introduction was even more interesting¡ª  ¡®A book blogger without a marketing company.¡¯


    Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t help laughing after seeing this. He could probably guess the kind of experiences Pei Tingsong¡¯s side account had undergone. This account actually had a few hundred followers, and Fang Juexia clicked on the first chronological post. It had actually been made around the time their group had debuted. As he kept flipping forward, he realized that most of the ones from before were in English, with some containing book extracts, while others were some articles written by Pei Tingsong himself. He didn¡¯t write a lot, and basically published only two or three times a week.


    [@The Moon of Entelecheia: ¡°On the contrary, the illusion of eternal life appears in the image of human beings that are easy to be destroyed, while the solid beauty of the Golden Pavilion reveals the possibility of destruction.¡± ¡ª¡ªYukio Mishima


    #You will only have the desire to destroy things of beauty#]


    [@ The Moon of Entelecheia: ¡°The aesthetic phenomenon is fundamentally simple: if someone simply possesses the capacity to see a living game going on continually and to live all the time surrounded by hordes of ghosts, then the man is a poet; if someone simply feels the urge to change himself and to speak out from other bodies and souls, then that person is a dramatist.¡± ¡ª¡ªNietzsche]


    These excerpts and the tag #Belonging to his small feelings# made Fang Juexia feel that this was very real. This was the true Pei Tingsong, who, just like when he was reading a book, would underline things and make his own little comments on it. He was serious enough to be a little cute.


    [@The Moon of Entelecheia: I¡¯d like to change my introduction to ¡°People who don¡¯t know geometry aren¡¯t allowed in.¡±]


    Someone had actually commented below.


    [@Fluttering Wings: Why can¡¯t people who don¡¯t know geometry come in?]


    He didn¡¯t expect that Pei Tingsong would actually reply.


    [@The Moon of Entelecheia replying to @Fluttering Wings: This was a sentence written by Plato on the gate of his Academy, it¡¯s just a joke.]


    These were all posts from a Pei Tingsong who had not yet broken the ice with Fang Juexia. At that time, they didn¡¯t even utter a word to each other, but now that Fang Juexia¡¯s entire heart liked him, and even though he didn¡¯t know what part of this he liked, when he saw this reply of his, he felt that this person appeared in front of him vividly.


    At first, these small book extracts seemed to have accumulated some followers for him, and there were even some followers who would comment below. However, Pei Tingsong was a child who wanted to express himself, so he gradually made his own voice known, especially when it concerned the news.


    [@The Moon of Entelecheia: Using non-human logic to construct a gender opposition ¡°person,¡± is neither fit for men or for women, so gender is just a means to stand in line to get into a camp.


    #People don¡¯t need other creatures to step into their matters#]


    [@Sophy: Excuse me, are you a boy? Not trying to fight with you, it¡¯s just pure curiosity. Reading the stuff before, I think you should be a boy, but I feel that few boys would speak from such a perspective.]


    [@The Moon of Entelecheia replying to @Sophy: I¡¯m human.]


    Seeing this sentence, Fang Juexia laughed. He had never been interested in anyone¡¯s social media accounts, but unexpectedly, he also had a time when he got engrossed in scrolling through someone else¡¯s Weibo, to the extent that he didn¡¯t even feel the water in the bathtub cooling.


    [@The Moon of Entelecheia: There have actually been several private messages asking me to sign with a company to become a book publicity account. I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m not short on money. And I¡¯m going to change my intro to ¡°A book blogger without a marketing company.¡± [picture] [picture]]


    So it was around this time ah. Fang Juexia looked at the date, and it was during their summer vacation one year after their debut. They didn¡¯t have much work then, and at that time Pei Tingsong should have been¡­.


    He actually couldn¡¯t think of what Pei Tingsong had been doing back then.


    His heart felt a bit distressed. Fang Juexia reflexively pursed his lips and continued scrolling on.


    [@The Moon of Entelecheia: Symbolization was originally logic¡¯s great invention, but now it has been generalized to be used in every place by people without any thought, thus cutting off any channels for deeper thinking.


    People are used to using narrow-minded views and hearsay to make empirical judgments. People who study philosophy must be staid and aloof, while those who study engineering are slovenly and unsociable. In fact, philosophers can be aristocrats, refugees, teachers, sex worshippers, lunatics, homosexuals, women, they can be anyone.


    After all, people can be anyone.]


    [@The Moon of Entelecheia: ¡°It is not true that suffering ennobles the character; happiness does that sometimes, but suffering, for the most part, makes men petty and vindictive.¡± ¡ª¡ªMaugham


    #When getting entangled with silly critics, it¡¯s very effective to recite these lines#


    #I¡¯m very happy, I¡¯m very noble, you¡¯re bitter, and you don¡¯t deserve me#]


    Reading this, Fang Juexia laughed again.


    Clearly, even though Pei Tingsong was immensely talented and quick when it came to learning and thinking, he still preserved a childish, naughty, and stubborn youthful innocence.


    He was really cute.


    As he kept scrolling down, he saw many of Pei Tingsong¡¯s complaints about his studies.


    [@The Moon of Entelecheia: I would rather read a hundred books than read a literary criticism¡­.]


    [@The Moon of Entelecheia: I must be the foreign student in my class who loves studying the most.]


    Wasn¡¯t that right ma?


    [@The Moon of Entelecheia: In this era, the people who talk about sex are either antiques or impotent. The former is difficult to change, and the latter is even more difficult to change (place your hope in medicine ba)]


    Worthy of being Pei Tingsong ah. When Fang Juexia read this, he felt that it really reflected his style, but he was also afraid that if this account of his was really dug up, it would be used by antis to write articles about.


    But thinking about it again, when had Pei Tingsong ever given antis a glance?


    His fingers kept scrolling down, and now he actually saw several Weibo posts that were Pei Tingsong feeling uncomfortable and jumping out to admit unnamed criticism.


    [@The Moon of Entelecheia: I just can¡¯t understand people who don¡¯t express themselves. Do they think it¡¯s a virtue to swallow down and bear humiliation? Or do they really care nothing of the world? So cold that they¡¯re indifferent people are, sure enough, my least favorite type.]


    Fang Juexia heard the arrow pierce his chest.


    So saying it like this, he really hadn¡¯t lied. Pei Tingsong had disliked him not because of the gossip and public opinion that surrounded him, but because of his indifferent attitude.


    [@The Moon of Entelecheia: A hateful person having a hateful face is best, it¡¯s no burden to hate them. But when you have the opposite situation in both cases, both situations will make you feel very uncomfortable.]


    Did this count as praising him for his good looks?


    [@The Moon of Entelecheia: The ancient Greeks¡¯ love of beautiful youth is really¡­


    #Fine, who doesn¡¯t like beautiful bodies? It¡¯s just that it¡¯s better to have a passionate soul#


    #Late night nonsense#]


    Passionate. Fang Juexia flicked his eyes away, thinking about Pei Tingsong¡¯s icy attitude towards him at that time. He was afraid that the word ¡°passionate¡± couldn¡¯t come near him at all.


    [@The Moon of Entelecheia: I actually finished watching a math documentary! And I see passion!]


    This was after he saw the Fermat¡¯s Theorem documentary Fang Juexia had recommended?


    Upon seeing Pei Tingsong gradually change from disliking him, Fang Juexia¡¯s mood became strange and wonderful.


    As he continued to read, he suddenly saw a special day. Fang Juexia had a great talent for remembering numbers like dates, so he very soon recalled that this was the day their group had taken part in their senior brothers¡¯ concert as guests, and it was also the night when he had gotten drunk at the hotel and bitten Pei Tingsong.


    At three in the morning.


    Fang Juexia thought about how he must have fallen asleep in Pei Tingsong¡¯s arms at that time, but Pei Tingsong hadn¡¯t fallen asleep yet. He had even posted an excerpt from Voltaire¡¯s letters, the contents being:


    [I am very eager to see you and talk to you. Whether you think you are a masterpiece created by God or just a product of necessity, you can¡¯t deny that you are a piece of eternity. No matter what you are, you are a very valuable part of the world that I don¡¯t know.]


    Seeing this, Fang Juexia¡¯s eyes suddenly started stinging. At that time, he had confessed about his night blindness and told him that his birthmark was a wrong mark. But Pei Tingsong rejected that notion, telling him that it was very beautiful instead.


    Back then, he had pretty much felt that Pei Tingsong was just comforting him out of a flood of sympathy. Only when he saw this passage did he really understand; Pei Tingsong had been truly sincere at that time. Although he didn¡¯t understand Fang Juexia¡¯s inner world, he still regarded him as a very valuable part of this world.


    Later, they had gotten busy, and updates on Pei Tingsong¡¯s Weibo came much less often. Sometimes, he wouldn¡¯t even post anything after one or two weeks.


    [@The Moon of Entelecheia: Why didn¡¯t I discover before that flowers are such beautiful metaphors?]


    The following comments all comprised of things like ¡°your style has changed a lot¡±, but Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t reply to a single one.


    Then later, the day when they made their comeback¡ª


    [@The Moon of Entelecheia: ¡°In the first place, Eros is a poet, and he is also the source of poetry in others, which he could not be if he were not himself a poet. And at the


    touch of him every one becomes a poet, even though he had no music in him before.¡± ¡ª¡ªThe Symposium


    #Agathon, you¡¯re right#]


    So that¡¯s why he could write poetry so well? He really could, in any case, find some words spoken by his predecessors to showcase his own point of view.


    [@The Moon of Entelecheia: !! I am the happiest person on earth today!! Even with a broken hand!!!]


    God.


    This was from when he had agreed to be with him.


    When did he even get the time to sneakily make a Weibo post ah?


    [@The Moon of Entelecheia: I¡¯m already a good-for-nothing garbage who saps my own spirits by seeking out pleasures. I¡¯m sorry, Mr. Lermontov, I still can¡¯t follow your advice.]


    Too cute. Fang Juexia already couldn¡¯t keep track of the number of times he had sighed in his heart.


    When he saw that there were comments on a certain post, he couldn¡¯t help but click on them.


    [@3diny: Eh? Why did you change your name? Wasn¡¯t it Entelecheia before? Why is it The Moon of Entelecheia now?]


    So, originally, his ID wasn¡¯t this name.


    Sadly, Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t reply.


    [@: Kiss = Killing me so softly.]


    All of a sudden, this sentence caught Fang Juexia¡¯s heart.


    ¡°Child Fang Juexia, you can¡¯t have soaked for so long that you fell asleep in there ba?¡±


    Pei Tingsong pushed open the door, completely startling Fang Juexia, who wasn¡¯t holding onto his cellphone tight, and so it directly fell into the bathtub. He quickly reached for it, and then turned to face Pei Tingsong with his wet cellphone. His expression was aggrieved, and he wasn¡¯t in complete control of himself when he let out a small mournful sound reminiscent of that of a little animal.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter with you? Are you only three years old?¡± Pei Tingsong smiled, crouched in front of him, picked up his wet cellphone, shook it, and put it to one side. ¡°Fortunately, it¡¯s waterproof.¡± As soon as he reached in and realized the bath water had gone cold, Pei Tingsong¡¯s expression immediately changed. ¡°It¡¯s already this cool and you¡¯re still soaking in it. Next time you take a bath, you¡¯re not allowed to play with your cellphone.¡±


    After scolding him, he looked at Fang Juexia and felt that the expression he was looking at him with was odd. He was smiling, but was also being especially obedient. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± He rubbed the bridge of Fang Juexia¡¯s nose. ¡°You¡¯ve soaked until you¡¯ve gone silly ah.¡±


    The next second, Fang Juexia put his pale arms around his neck, kissed the tip of Pei Tingsong¡¯s ear, and whispered in his ear¡ª


    ¡°Killing me so softly.¡±


    Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t realize what was going on at first, then he suddenly turned his head, and now nose to nose, with his eyes wide open, he stuttered, ¡°You¡ªhow do you¡­¡±


    Fang Juexia tilted his head and gave him a kiss on his lip, smiling with a rare expression of schadenfreude on his face.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been unmasked, Entelecheia.¡±


    Pei Tingsong was completely stunned.


    After a brief period of consternation, his first reaction was of disbelief. ¡°No way, my account can¡¯t be dug out.¡± After that, he looked at Fang Juexia and asked, ¡°How can this happen? Why did even you see it? Who dug it up, a netizen?¡±


    ¡°En¡­¡± Fang Juexia¡¯s eyes flicked away. ¡°To be exact, you were dragged under the water.¡± He reached out to take the bathrobe and put it on his body as he came out of the bathtub. ¡°You can go take a look at the WeChat groupchat, but you have to promise me that you won¡¯t be angry.¡±


    But sure enough, this guarantee was completely useless.


    Sitting in front of the dining table, Fang Juexia was about to reach for chopsticks. Under Pei Tingsong¡¯s heavy fist, the poor chopsticks bounced up high and then clattered down again.


    ¡°He¡¯s really worthy of being my bandmate ah!¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t your hand hurt ah? You hit it so hard.¡± Fang Juexia supported himself against the table as he pulled at Pei Tingsong¡¯s wrist.


    ¡°Ling Yi¡­¡±


    For the first time in his life, Fang Juexia experienced what real gnashing of teeth in anger was.


    Pei Tingsong threw his cellphone on the table, and his whole person was almost about to explode. ¡°When I told him not to follow me, he just had to follow me. When he shouldn¡¯t have unfollowed me, he actually unfollowed me? That¡¯s good, in the afternoon, I was still slapping other people¡¯s faces, and in the evening, I got unmasked myself. People¡¯s lives are really full of ups and downs.¡±


    ¡°Aiya, it¡¯s already like this now.¡± Fang Juexia went around and rubbed his back like he was petting a doggy. ¡°Ling Yi knows he¡¯s wrong, and Qiang Ge is probably cursing him out right now.¡±


    ¡°He should get cursed out, he even dares to log on to his side account and scroll through Weibo while still on the program set.¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes, yes, he should get cursed out.¡± Fang Juexia rubbed Pei Tingsong¡¯s face, then sat directly on his legs by straddling him. ¡°But you are so cute ah.¡±


    At first, Pei Tingsong was especially angry, but now, upon being suddenly praised by Fang Juexia so sweetly, he also started feeling a bit embarrassed. ¡°What-what ah, what the hell are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°I said you¡¯re cute ah.¡± Fang Juexia seriously repeated again, ¡°Everything you wrote in your side account was very interesting. Even if other people find out about it, they will all just feel that ¡®ah, Pei Tingsong is not only a small firecracker, but he also has a lot of ideas and is especially cute.¡¯¡±


    Pei Tingsong turned his face away awkwardly. ¡°Only you would have such a silly feeling.¡±


    Fang Juexia pulled his face over and asked inflexibly, ¡°Why would only I feel that way?¡±


    Why was he this earnest?


    Fang Juexia asked again, ¡°Is it because I like you?¡±


    This was just too straightforward. Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t know how to fight against this at this moment. ¡°You¡­¡±


    ¡°Logically, it makes sense, but it¡¯s not that.¡± Fang Juexia seriously pinched his face. ¡°Even someone who doesn¡¯t like you as much as I do would think you were cute after reading this.¡±


    A series of straight fastballs came at him, just like a pea shooter shooting out hearts. Pei Tingsong was bludgeoned to the point he couldn¡¯t resist, and even ended up losing his breath.


    Fang Juexia was the one who was the cutest ba.


    ¡°Then how much do you like me?¡± Pei Tingsong asked.


    Fang Juexia thought about it carefully. ¡°En¡­. Probably, it¡¯s to the point that when I saw you say that you dislike me on Weibo, but you also said that you liked my appearance, I wasn¡¯t angry, instead, I was actually a little happy.¡±


    That was really too frank a reply.


    ¡°That was all stuff from a long time ago,¡± Pei Tingsong¡¯s first reaction was to apologize to him. ¡°Now I think that it wasn¡¯t dislike at all, at most, I found you difficult to get along with.¡±


    ¡°Your self-awareness is very clear ma, Classmate Xiao Pei.¡± Fang Juexia smiled at him. ¡°I know, so I don¡¯t feel sad at all.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Pei Tingsong put his arms around Fang Juexia¡¯s waist and kissed his cheek again. Only after doing that did he think of dinner. ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about it now and hurry up and eat the noodles. They¡¯re all going to lump together soon.¡±


    ¡°Then you¡¯re not angry now, are you?¡±


    How can I be angry with you?


    ¡°I¡¯m not angry.¡±


    Even a decade later, it wouldn¡¯t be too late to explosively hammer down Ling Yi.


    Fang Juexia obediently went back to his seat to have  noodles. As soon as he sat down, he thought of how Pei Tingsong had said that no one but him would feel like that, but he didn¡¯t think so and wanted to see what others had said after his account had been dug up.


    ¡°Where¡¯s my cell phone?¡±


    ¡°You still want to play with your cellphone ah?¡± Pei Tingsong replied to Cheng Qiang¡¯s message. ¡°I¡¯ll blow dry it dry for you later.¡±


    ¡°Then can I use yours?¡± Fang Juexia winked at him.


    Pei Tingsong had no way of resisting that.


    ¡°Then can you guarantee to finish off this bowl of noodles in ten minutes?¡±


    Fang Juexia quickly nodded twice.


    ¡°Here you are, here you are.¡± He pushed his cellphone over.


    Fang Juexia, who had gotten a cellphone, happily opened up Weibo and carefully searched for relevant content. Sure enough, there were thousands of comments underneath the Weibo post that had dug up Pei Tingsong¡¯s side account¡¯s ID.


    [@Sawasdee K: Seriously, if it wasn¡¯t for Ling Yi¡¯s moves, I really wouldn¡¯t suspect that this account belongs to someone¡­ I would just think that this is a private book blogger.]


    [@K ka ka ka K: Who would have thought we¡¯d get two birds with one stone??? This group is really poisonous, always displaying team spirit in inexplicable places.]


    [@Fans of BMA¡¯s Best Group: RIP Ling Yi, it¡¯s over.]


    [@rapgodpts: He¡¯s really even more outstanding than I thought, and he¡¯s so funny when his poisonous tongue starts up. PS: CP fans don¡¯t diverge from the topic too much. When he broke his hand, ¡°Break Through¡± had just exploded, and can¡¯t the lyricist hot Ge just be happy for a bit ah, but no, he just has to have something to do with your family¡¯s Gege.]


    Actually¡­ It really had something to do with him¡ª Fang Juexia replied quietly to this friend in his heart.


    [@Original M-Dash¡¯s Meimei Comma replying to @Sawasdee K: nsdd, those moves were too awesome. I¡¯m even suspecting whether or not Yiyi has a grudge against Pinot Tree Supreme hahahaha, and he really wanted to tell us ¡®this is our maknae¡¯s side account!¡¯]


    [@Don¡¯t spit out grape skin when eating grapes: His true main account, he¡¯s a Zuan boy, and in his side account, he¡¯s just living a quiet, peaceful life. However, this child with a poisonous tongue is really wonderful. His three views are so righteous, he¡¯s completely to my taste]


    [@Forever daydream ride: To be honest, Pinot Tree Supreme hasn¡¯t admitted it ba, is everyone so certain?]


    [@Six nearly cancelled K replying to @Forever daydream ride: Ling Yi has already revealed the evidence, there¡¯s an 80% chance it¡¯s him, and these book excerpts or whatever are quite PTS. He also said he¡¯s a foreign student, so that all matches up.]


    [@Deaf group fan: Has no one discovered that besides book excerpts and daily thoughts, he frequently mentioned a ¡°him¡± ah. (Seriously, I¡¯m afraid to dig this out, I don¡¯t think Pinot Tree Supreme will admit it)]


    [@Eustoma Night Trip replying to @Deaf group fan: I also¡­ As I keep reading, I¡¯m going deaf¡­]


    What was with this description? Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t help laughing. He continued to laugh for quite a while, and when he raised his eyes, he saw Pei Tingsong staring at him. He quickly took a bite of noodles and said, ¡°Delicious,¡± after which he started reading again.


    [@The Fine Jeweled Xeriscape around the Pinot Tree Supreme replying to @Eustoma Night Trip: +1, reading and reading on, my ears have started buzzing, my heart is beating fast, and I may be sick.]


    [@Kaleido¡¯s Little Domino: With ¡°moon¡± in the ID, I really don¡¯t want to think of ¡°moonlight¡±, but I can¡¯t control myself¡­ So what is Entelecheia? Is it a person¡¯s name?]


    Seeing this, Fang Juexia also grew curious. In order to get a reply as soon as possible, he obediently took a big mouthful, then raised his head and asked vaguely, ¡°Why did you give yourself the ID of Entelecheia?¡±


    Pei Tingsong stirred his chopsticks in his bowl, hesitated for a few seconds, and then replied¡ª


    ¡°Entelechia is the transliteration of the ancient Greek word ¡®entelechia,¡¯ and also one of Aristotle¡¯s philosophical terms. Its original meaning is an actualization of a certain purpose or potential. In Aristotle¡¯s understanding of biology, a very important concept was ¡®form,¡¯ which was different from the existing form. This form represents the essence of things.¡±


    Pei Tingsong realized he was making it a bit complicated, so he scratched his head. ¡°To put it simply, he thought that the soul was the ¡®form¡¯ of a creature, and named it entelechia.¡±


    Fang Juexia was good at learning, and he bit at his chopsticks, trying to understand this complex concept. ¡°That is to say, entelechia refers to the soul?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s how I used it. It¡¯s very narrow-minded, but its original meaning is very rich. ¡°


    The soul¡­.


    ¡°Then why did you call it Entelechia at the beginning, and then added¡­¡±


    Before he could finish the question, an answer already appeared in Fang Juexia¡¯s heart. On the contrary, it now seemed that his question was particularly straightforward, and even a little haughty and arrogant, so he stopped.


    But he didn¡¯t expect that after Pei Tingsong took a bite of noodles, he would answer him in a muffled voice with his head lowered.


    ¡°Is it not obvious enough?


    ¡°It used to be an empty soul, but later it found a moon.¡±


    ¡ª


    The author has something to say:


    They won¡¯t make their relationship public during their ascension period, there will be a special time when they make themselves public.


    Did everyone have wrong expectations for the side account hhhh Pei Tingsong never set up a character, do you guys remember hhhh He just likes to keep real and read books ah


    ¡ª


    Juurensha: Soooooo many references! It¡¯s very cool though, and that was a fun extra! (Ling Yi is so dead though :DDD)


    Noks: Can¡¯t wait to see how Ling Yi gets his comeuppance for this!!!


    If you can, please support the author by buying the raws (and gain access to translated smut! ). Here is a guide on how to buy them, and it¡¯s not super difficult! Also there¡¯s the traditional physical novel open for pre-orders here! You will probably have to use a forwarding service to purchase them, I¡¯m also struggling along there with CssBuy and now a Taiwan shipping service because CssBuy isn¡¯t working.


    And there¡¯s an official audio drama now!

 CH 113

    Chapter 113 ¨C Extra 4: Tiger-Like Incident Log


    Juurensha  POSTED ON November 19, 2021  2 Comments


    Translated by juurensha


    Edited by Noks


    Forum Style, don¡¯t like don¡¯t read


    [Main Topic: Pei Tingsong¡ª Special thread of tiger-like incidents: Recording what this number one tiger in the entertainment industry has done]


    Rt


    No.0 ¡î¡î¡îLZ|Comment¡î¡î¡î


    All of Pei Tingsong¡¯s tiger-like incidents from Weibo and others will be recorded chronologically as far as possible, and will be updated all the time in the future


    No.1¡î¡î¡îLZ|Comment¡î¡î¡î


    This thread is the only special thread for tiger-like incidents, I hope you know!!


    No.2¡î¡î¡îLZ|Comment¡î¡î¡î


    Get an account! Drumming on a bowl and waiting! This Ge is my source of happiness recently


    No.3¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Camped here +1


    No.4¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Finally, someone has built a special thread. His tiger-like force is so powerful, I take a screenshot of his Weibo every day to show it to my sisters hahaha


    No.5¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    You guys dare to build a Pei Tingsong thread, do you think you have too many accounts? Many of the threads about him have been suspended before, you guys even dare to mess with royalty?


    No.6¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    The young master of the pure record thread won¡¯t mind, he might even read it himself. He said he was ¡°watching you guys¡± during a livestream hahahaha


    No.7¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    [Tiger-like Incident] The second week after obscure K debuted, they appeared on a variety show on a music app platform (link below). At the 3 minutes and 21 seconds mark, the host asked, ¡°There will be a lot of comments online, and there may also be some extreme voices. How do you guys view that?¡± The other obscure K members¡¯ answers counted as normal, but when it got to your Pei Ge, ¡°People who aren¡¯t as strong as me have no right to curse me out.¡± After the host heard that, he was stunned for a while, then he awkwardly laughed. ¡°Then how do you know if the other party online is strong?¡± Tiger Pei said naturally, ¡°I don¡¯t need to know. Anyway, they¡¯re not as strong as I am.¡±


    The expressions of his bandmates were very dramatic.


    No.8 ¡î¡î¡îLZ|Comment¡î¡î¡î


    [Video]


    No.9 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Hahahahahahahaha he¡¯s really awesome


    No.10 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    This Ge really dares to say anything ah, the host is all confused, encountering the biggest crisis in his career.


    No.11 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    This is how disgusting a person who lacks social support and uses poisonous methods is. After he has spent another two years in the entertainment industry, we¡¯ll know that he¡¯s just another rich second generation. He really thinks he¡¯s some kind of son of heaven


    No.12 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Srds, if the family history of our tiger that was dug up last time is true, then he really is a son of heaven, not just a simple rich second generation


    No.13 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Indeed, how many people can afford to live in a house in Atherton? Go and have a look ba


    No.14 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    [Tiger-like Incident] Pei Tingsong was photographed driving a Mercedes-Benz to get to class at P University. Those people who secretly took the picture put them online and had people curse him out for showing off his wealth. This Ge, on the third day, then drove a Zenvo TS1. (Just now, I searched for this sports car, and I saw that the number of these two cars produced were limited to 15 in the world, for 12 million yuan)


    No.15 ¡î¡î¡îLZ|Comment¡î¡î¡î


    Shit, it¡¯s really good to be rich, I also want to show off my riches once.


    No.16 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Originally I wanted to mock him when I clicked on this, but now I can¡¯t even open my mouth. I feel a bitter taste of hatred for the rich


    No.17 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    You scold me for showing off my wealth, I¡¯ll really show something for you to see. Pei Tingsong, the entertainment industry is really something to have you in it.


    No.18 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    However, I still think his Mercedes looks a bit better. The fluorescent color of the Zenvo TS1 is too high-profile, am I really the only one who feels like it¡¯s ugly?


    No.19 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    That¡¯s what a super sportscar is like ah. It¡¯s even more high-profile in real life than in the photos. The sound of the engine is very loud when driving it


    No.20 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    This money worshipping girl wants to do Pei Tingsong a little bit. This Didi is really rich, would you please take me as a sugar baby?


    No.21 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    No, I just don¡¯t understand. If he has so much money, what does he want to do in the entertainment industry ah? Is he really pursuing his dream ah? Creating these kinds of self-inflicted wounds, he doesn¡¯t seem like he wants to be part of the entertainment business ah.


    No.22 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    [Tiger-like Incident] Sun Danfu, a music copier who has a criminal record for plagiarism, copied the lyrics of a song written by Pei Tingsong in the United States before his debut. As a result, he discovered it and directly @ him on Weibo and tore into him publicly.


    [@Kaleido Pei Tingsong: @ Musician Sun Danfu, the English rap lyrics in your ¡°original song¡± ¡®Show Time¡¯ that you released yesterday were copied from my song ¡®Jet¡¯ that was released in the United States two years ago. Take it down, apologize, and pay up (and also refund me the five yuan I paid for this terrible song). Hurry up.]


    No.75 ¡î¡î¡îLZ|XComment¡î¡î¡î


    Shit five yuan hahahahahaha


    No.76 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Hahahahahaha I¡¯ve eaten this melon before. Sun pretends to be dead and doesn¡¯t respond. As a result, your Tiger directly started a livestream to call Sun¡¯s company, with a  lawyer sitting right next to him. Terribly funny, thread owner, quickly move the video over here!


    No.78 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Shit, a real tiger


    No.82 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Who can say he¡¯s not a tiger after watching this?


    No.100 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    To tell you the truth, he is not acclimatized to the environment of our entertainment industry, where silence is golden. A banana, who grew up in Europe and America, then ran over here won¡¯t work.


    No.108 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Srds, he¡¯s really not a banana. When he was on Instagram flaming about racial discrimination and unloading it with both barrells blazing, no one could beat him. I don¡¯t even know how many songs he wrote against those dissing songs that discriminate against Asian Americans.


    No.109 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Silence is golden? Don¡¯t give your entertainment industry so much credit.


    No.113 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    [Tiger-like Incident] Adding onto the above plagiarism incident, the recording of the livestream where Pei Tingsong calls Sun¡¯s company has been posted. Sun Danfu took the song down and apologized to Little Tiger publicly. Little Tiger also forwarded it, but there was no forgiveness. How can our Little Tiger Pei forgive others?


    No.131 ¡î¡î¡îLZ|XComment¡î¡î¡î


    [@Musician Sun Danfu: I¡¯m very sorry for the serious infringement upon [email protected] Pei Tingsong. It¡¯s a mistake I made in a moment of confusion, and I immediately dealt with it. I sincerely apologize again. I also urge everyone to monitor me so that I never commit such a crime again and support original music!]


    No.132 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    [@Kaleido Pei Tingsong: Don¡¯t call me Mr. Pei. You¡¯re 30, and I¡¯m just 18.]


    No.153 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    [Shit, hahahahaha, I¡¯m just 18 hahahahahahaha, what kind of genius is Pei Tingsong at attacking people??]


    No.160 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Why is your Tiger so funny?


    No.165 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Tiger Pei is really awesome, this is the first time that Sun admitted to plagiarizing something


    No.187 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    This Sun Danfu is funny enough, he even said ¡°immediately.¡± Tiger Pei immediately called your company on his livestream, okay, and the company was too scared to even pick up the call. If it wasn¡¯t for Xiao Pei¡¯s hot temper, I¡¯m sure Sun Danfu wouldn¡¯t have admitted it even if he kicked the iron plate.


    No.199 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    [Tiger-like Incident] On May 17, the same day as International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia, Pei Tingsong posted an Anti-Homophobia slogan with a picture of a rainbow, but it was deleted by the platform. Later, your Tiger posted it again, and added a sentence (try deleting this again). That post is still there¡­


    No.201 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Respect.


    No.206 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    I¡¯ve been laughing all the way until now hahaha, this post is so amazing, I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m going to do Pei now.


    No.210 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Is he the first star to speak out ah? No, wait, he can¡¯t be gay himself ba.


    No.215 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    I feel like he¡¯s pansexual, he looks like it, and he grew up abroad. However, based on his personality, if he was, he would have come out of the closet at the beginning, he wouldn¡¯t have hesitated to hide it at all ba


    No.219 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    He is the golden melon of his group ah. Don¡¯t think that he¡¯s young, he¡¯s the most gong in the group. He wasn¡¯t an adult when he first arrived, but now he¡¯s 1.9m, completely gangster


    No.223 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    The entertainment industry is full of golden melons ba, it¡¯s just that the little wolfdog character is popular right now, but he¡¯s more exaggerated than a little wolf dog


    No.234 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    How can your Tiger be a wolf dog? Demoted, demoted and humiliated


    No.245 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    [Tiger-like Incident] P University put up a list of scholarships for international students, and your Tiger got the highest amount. He was scolded by anti-fans for relying on his connections, and several long threads were then made, mocking him for two days. After that, Pei Tingsong published a Weibo post throwing up screenshots of his papers and transcripts to slap the anti-fans¡¯ faces.


    No.366 ¡î¡î¡îLZ|XComment¡î¡î¡î


    [@Kaleido Pei Tingsong: Can you guys understand these papers? ]


    No.374 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    I¡¯m a bit admiring, if my idol was this steely, they wouldn¡¯t have been slandered for so long. Sigh, the softer people are, the easier they are to be bullied


    No.380 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    You can admire him, but if you don¡¯t have any capital or confidence, you really wouldn¡¯t dare to be like him, it¡¯s not a matter of softness. This person was born with a smoothly leveling-up script and is basically just having fun in the entertainment industry. How can you compare with him? And even if he¡¯s so steely, doesn¡¯t he still have a pile of anti-fans, that¡¯s just what the entertainment industry is like


    No.390 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    People like him can¡¯t be popular. The entertainment industry doesn¡¯t look at whether you have money or not, or whether you¡¯re good at your studies or not, and there are so many hot people who never became popular. Pei Tingsong¡¯s type just doesn¡¯t have a super popular fate, okay


    No.391 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Seconding this, he really can¡¯t be popular, the entertainment industry doesn¡¯t like this kind of aggressive character at all. Just treat it as something funny to watch, that¡¯s it


    No.392 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    [Tiger-like Incident] Obscure K had a rare chance to participate in a bigger commercial performance. When they came out after performing, they were interviewed by the media. A gossip site asked about the relationship between Astar¡¯s senior management and Fang Juexia. Before Fang Juexia could say anything, Pei Tingsong directly turned on his mic and said, ¡°Are you mentally ill?¡± (video below)


    No.402 ¡î¡î¡îLZ|XComment¡î¡î¡î


    Shit, I¡¯m actually shipping it! Am I crazy??


    No.403 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Shipping those two? I¡¯m a K fan, and I¡¯m advising you not to. These two are the ones who are on the worst terms in the group. You can see that during any occasion, they pretty much have zero communication. They say that Pei Tingsong got in a fight with him when he was brought in as an airborne , and it was a real fight with them hitting each other, many old fans know about it. They also say that they don¡¯t get along to the point that Pei Tingsong doesn¡¯t even want to live in the dormitory. Fang Juexia is also the type who would take one look at him and then would take a detour.


    No.404 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    No, his relationship with Fang is really fascinating. Every time, he acts as though the other party doesn¡¯t exist, however, he¡¯s helped Fang Juexia speak out regarding the hidden rules situation more than once. It can¡¯t be that he¡¯s secretly pining away for Fang ba?


    No.406 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Hahahahahaha secretly pining away? These words have no fate with your Tiger. I¡¯d even believe it if you said he was keeping Fang as a sugar baby, but secretly pining away isn¡¯t possible.


    No.408 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Are you mentally ill hahahaha? After PTS said that, all his bandmates were shocked, especially the captain, whose  expression clearly displayed that he wanted to save the scene. Out of the entire group, only FJX had no expression (his face is really d*mn good-looking, I can just eat up cold and sarcastic faces, if there weren¡¯t all his dark history, that¡¯d be nice. As soon as I think of his dark history, I can¡¯t eat anymore)


    No.412 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    They¡¯re a good match, they¡¯re really a good match. @Star Chart, let the two of them do fanservice ba, it can change your fate, believe me


    No.418 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    The more I read this thread, the more I feel that the thread owner is actually a loyal fan pretending to be a rebel, or else why is it that the more I read, the more I feel myself being drawn in? (Maybe it¡¯s because I really like this kind of person and there¡¯s too few of them in the entertainment industry)


    No.419 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    This is the charm of Tiger-like incidents hahahaha


    No.421 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    [Tiger-like Incident] After he helped Fang attack the gossip reporter, he was slandered by several forums as a whole for several days. Finally, they spread rumors about his family (they say it was about his grandfather). Pei Tingsong directly opened up Weibo on September 12 and made six posts against anti-fans in succession. He attacked them until 10 p.m, after which he suddenly stopped posting things on Weibo. Just when everyone thought that he had given up, this guy started up an Instagram livestream, and said that Star Chart had taken away his Weibo account, so he was going to continue cursing people out on his Instagram livestream instead. (Screenshots and videos below)


    No.450 ¡î¡î¡îLZ|Comment¡î¡î¡î


    Such perseverance ah


    No.462 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    So he just has a crazy beauty character ba, why do people like this kind of crazy beauty now ah?


    No.463 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    He¡¯s really not a crazy beauty, I specifically went to watch the livestream recording. Some of the anti-fans cursed him out so disgustingly, directly cursing out his dead grandfather. He was so angry that he directly started freestyling diss tracks, and having a rap-off with the anti-fans. To be honest, he was very strong


    No.464 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    This Ge is very talented, a machine gun like mouth to the max. It¡¯s just that he¡¯s very young ba, he may not be so steely when he¡¯s a few years older


    No.470 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Doesn¡¯t he have a side account? Now I¡¯m curious about what¡¯s in his side account, is it cursing out people every day too?


    No.473 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Please remember Tiger Pei¡¯s famous saying: If I don¡¯t use my main account to curse people out, then who am I cursing them out for to see?


    No.474 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Although I also don¡¯t like him very much, I¡¯ve changed my opinion during this livestream. When this guy battled, he used all the real skills of the hip-hop circle, it wasn¡¯t just opening up his mouth and flaming, all his rhymes and internal rhythms were so smooth, it¡¯s insane, his professional ability is really strong. He¡¯s a bit of a waste in a boyband.


    No.475 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    He¡¯s a waste in obscure K, okay? Obscure K can¡¯t make a turnaround for their entire lifetime, 01 and the main dancer are the double-cooked meat of the talent show genre, the leader is the type who can¡¯t become popular at a glance, he has no personality, HZY can bring in some girlfriend fans ba, but that¡¯s it, PTS is too crazy, and Fang Juexia is the only one who has a tiny bit of explosive power, but it¡¯s a pity that the hidden rules situation has turned him into returned goods.


    No.480 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    K also, they, with great effort, got FJX who was born to be an idol, but he has all this anti-material all over him, and then they have an awesome rapper, but he has this kind of personality, so unlucky


    No.481 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Hahaha, leaky obscure group Kaleido, wanting to compete with 7L next door every day. It¡¯s really the difference between porcelain and the moon.


    No.490 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    These godly posts really go well with meals, thread owner update!


    No.491 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Camping for an update, recently just pointing at Pei Tingsong and living


    No.493 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Every day, I read the Tiger-like Incident Log, and my depression and worries go far away from me (in fact, I kind of envy him for his personality, that is, he can say whatever he wants. How can most people dare to do this in their lives? It¡¯s good to have confidence.)


    No.496 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Shit, have you guys watched the airport video? The one where Tiger Pei pressed down on FJX at the airport and patted his face with his ticket. Holy shit, that sexual tension, it¡¯s really amazing. Many people have forwarded it


    No.501 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    This video had gone out of the circle ba, there are even people forwarding it on my homepage


    No.503 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    You have to call a spade a spade, the two of them look really good together. In particular, FJX¡¯s cold, proud indifference is especially suitable with Tiger Pei¡¯s young master appearance; it completely fits the personalities from those old abusive stories. If you don¡¯t believe me, change the airplane tickets to a check, and you will be able to feel it. It¡¯s like the kind of forced love between a rich and powerful president and a white moonlight


    No.510 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    It¡¯s the original danmei type, but I don¡¯t want to nom this group, it¡¯s top cancer


    No.513 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Star ChartStarChartStarChartStarChart, fanservicefanservicefanservicefanservice


    No.520 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Fjx killed me when he held the ticket in his mouth. He¡¯s really so hot ah, he¡¯s completely my type


    No.521¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    If you¡¯re going to discuss CPs, turn left and go next door ba, this is the tiger-like incident thread. Please don¡¯t dirty this land, thank you!


    No.526 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Some CPFs are so funny, the two of them are like the arctic circle, so haven¡¯t you seen the world? Isn¡¯t it just an airport video, but they¡¯re acting so excited, as if it was an earth-shattering piece of fluff, bumpkin


    No.527 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    [Tiger-like Incident] Here it comes, fresh and hot Little Tiger Pei made a Weibo post cursing out the deputy director of a variety show. The owner of the next door thread says that this guy is the deputy director of a satellite TV program, and it seems that he has a record of keeping sugar babies.


    No.536 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    [Kaleido Pei Tingsong: Some deputy directors of some variety shows really don¡¯t have any shame, they really think they can cover the sky with their hands ah, open up your eyes and look at the world ba, old man]


    No.537 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Who is he cursing out? Begging for a class representative, thank you


    No.538 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Next door dug it up, Pei has never recorded any variety shows, and it¡¯s about that satellite TV variety show that Fang participated in. And when he made the post, Fang had just resigned from that show. Basically, the evidence points to that assistant director


    No.539 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    That deputy director has an extremely bad reputation. Before, someone said that his wife took her children to catch him in while he was having his affair, and he had gotten a room with a 38th line idol and was discovered. The little idol was even beaten on the bed by his wife, too cruel.


    No.540 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    So is Star Chart going to have PTS and FJX sell fanservice? Begging you guys, do it faster, don¡¯t you see that this couple is really popular? It¡¯s more popular than your entire group, okay?


    No.541 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    The previous sister is so persistent. I¡¯ve been watching you post stuff this entire time, you should give Star Chart a call


    No.546 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    It¡¯s disgusting ah, that deputy director Yang. (P.S. if you call, do a livestream okay, sister hahahaha)


    No.548 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    It can¡¯t be ba, another guy had his eye on FJX? What kind of ¡°everyone loves me¡± Mary Sue script is this?


    No.549 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Let¡¯s call a spade a spade, with FJX¡¯s appearance, if it was me, I would also want to sleep with him (or be slept with)


    No.550 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    What¡¯s happened to this thread,  no one is making a big deal about Tiger Pei? This is too true love, directly opening up for FJX yi, such a big piece of fluff


    No.552 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    He did it more than once, okay? Anyway, I can¡¯t understand the relationship between him and Fang, it feels especially strange


    No.556 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    The two of them just don¡¯t get along, Fang never looks him in the eye


    No.559 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Neither of them acknowledge each other ba, when they go on shows, only the two of them don¡¯t talk to each other. They are the coldest CP in the group, they rely on fans writing stories about them to solidify their CP


    No.562 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Then why does he want to help FJX and speak up for him?


    No.563 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Which one of your eyes saw him talking for Fang? Didn¡¯t he just curse out the deputy director as shameless?


    No.564 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Shit, did you guys see obscure K on CloudTV¡¯s Spring Festival Gala? I feel like obscure K is going to get hot


    No.565 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Laughing to death, obscure K will forever be obscure, hope you know


    No.568 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    That live audio accident was intentional ba, there¡¯s reasonable doubt. Otherwise, how come it only went bad for obscure K, and everyone else was fine? It can¡¯t be that the audio system is possessed?


    No.578 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Previous poster didn¡¯t watch the gala ba, the audio for the singer after K also had problems, okay. I can¡¯t even watch the daily slandering of my obscure K anymore, some people really come here with their mouths open


    No.579 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    K has real ability, the whole group¡¯s singing and dancing doesn¡¯t have a single person dragging their back leg, it¡¯s just that they¡¯re a bit short on luck. As we all know, becoming really popular in the entertainment industry relies on luck


    No.580 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    As long as FJX is there, they won¡¯t get popular, give up ba, K fan, quickly run away!


    No.582 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    [Tiger-like Incident] On Weibo, someone took a picture of Pei Tingsong from before his plastic surgery and exposed that he had spent a lot of money on plastic surgery. Later, the discussion brewed up to the point that a doctor from a plastic surgery hospital (has a previous record of hyping things) also came out to analyze Pei Tingsong¡¯s face and said that there had been work done on his nose and chin. Pei Tingsong made a Weibo post in response (the key point was that he dumped photos of himself from birth to the age of 19, some from every year of his life)


    No.600 ¡î¡î¡îLZ|Comment¡î¡î¡î


    [Kaleido Pei Tingsong: @Plastic Surgeon Dr. Zhang Xingmei, I¡¯ve already contacted a lawyer, wait for your day in court ba. By the way, let¡¯s let you guys see what the real Pei Tingsong looked like when he was a child. Don¡¯t pile on all this hellish stuff on my head, I really think some people¡¯s eyes should be operated on.


    No.601¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Shit, he was so handsome when he was five, I¡¯m good with this Didi!


    No.602 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    No one noticed that the background of his photos when he was a child was like that of an American manor. He¡¯s really a noble, I believe it


    No.603 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    How many times have we said that his family is old money, but some people still don¡¯t believe it.


    No.604 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    This Ge is a real young master Ge, he¡¯s lived in luxury since he was a child. At the age of 12, he can take photos in a sports car and have his own swimming pool. Comparing people really angers people to death, Tiger Son can really reincarnate.


    No.610 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    He looks a bit like a girl when he was little hahahahaha


    No.612 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    So is Pei Tingsong mixed blood or not ah? Why do I feel like he looks especially mixed in some photos


    No.613 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    They say that his ancestors were mixed. It seems that the previous generations had white blood ba


    No.619 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Alright, it¡¯s pure and natural hot Ge, next


    No.628 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Shouldn¡¯t FJX be the one most suitable to be revealed to have had plastic surgery done? His face is the most fake, isn¡¯t it?


    No.629 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Poisonous, can you not bring up Fang Juexia ah, if you want to read tiger-like incidents, just read tiger-like incidents okay.  Crazy, bringing up other people every single day


    No.630 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    FJX must have gotten a whitening injection, how can there be a man this pale? And that birthmark on his face, I think it¡¯s also a tattoo. He got a beautiful tattoo and then even put on the character of having a birthmark¡­


    No.632 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Diverging from the topic again, who¡¯s setting up a character of having a birthmark ah? Are you trying to be funny?


    No.633 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    People diverging from the topic should go die


    No.634 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    People diverging from the topic should go die


    No.635 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    People diverging from the topic should go die


    No.636 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Thread owner, refresh!


    No.637 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Shit, Pei Tingsong and Fang Juexia are on the covers of one of the five major magazines


    No.638 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Next door already made a post about it, there¡¯s no need to come over here to make waves about it ba. Being like this makes people really speechless, okay?


    No.640 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    They¡¯re really going to start fanservice for this CP, who dares to believe it


    No.645 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Star Chart is finally enlightened, quick, quick, quick, quickly go do TingJue, TingJue is a good stock!!


    No.649 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    My ass it¡¯s been enlightened, no doubt such fake fanservice will die. If this kind of industrial saccharine CP can get popular, I¡¯ll do a handstand while having diarrhea


    No.650 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Why is this not updating?


    No.660 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    I feel that Tiger Pei has sheathed his sword a lot recently ah. He doesn¡¯t post much on Weibo anymore, there used to be a post a week before. Is it because no one dares to provoke him?


    No.663 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Maybe it¡¯s because he¡¯s gotten a bit popular, so he doesn¡¯t dare to just chaotically mess up ba


    No.664 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Hahahahaha Tiger, are you afraid? How can you be afraid!!


    No.666 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Shit, is the Escape melon true or not? Are the two of them going onto Escape?


    No.700 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    No ba, don¡¯t smash up your own brand ah, Escape, I don¡¯t want to see idols on Escape ah


    No.701 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Star Chart played a very good game of chess ah, getting the resources of ¡®Escape from Wan Chai Pier, ¡¯ the CP will get a ¡°real¡± buff when they go on, and they¡¯ll definitely suck in a lot of fans


    No.706 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Wake up ba, FJX¡¯s anti materials can¡¯t absorb CPF¡¯s, they don¡¯t have anything explosive at all, what are you dreaming of? You are just hoping for FJX to find a new rich boss to take him to fly ba


    No.707 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Wasn¡¯t Escape given to Seven Luminaries¡¯ LR? LR has been licking at this cake for so long, and they¡¯ve left LR alone for a long time ah


    No.708 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    I can accept Seven Luminaries going on, at least their status fits in there, what does Kaleido count as? It¡¯s enough for Star Chart to just send in SSR from before, sending in another pair, what relationship do Star Chart and Jiang Yin have ah?


    No.709 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Even plain people can get on Escape, when have they ever looked at status¡­.


    No.712 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    [Tiger-like Incident] A fresh new Tiger Incident has emerged. After Liang Ruo posted a crying face on Instagram, suggesting that the Escape group had replaced him, the Escape program group released their official guest announcement. When the Seven Luminaries and K fans were flaming each other the most viciously, Pei Tingsong posted a photo on Weibo, taking a picture of his open hand, with all four fingers except the middle finger painted black using the Photoshop graffiti brush (screenshot below)


    No.800 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Shit hahahaha, when flaming, no one is as tiger-like as you


    No.801 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    LR is still too tender hahahaha


    No.802¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    This middle finger is very clear, hahahahaha


    No.803 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    No one is being pure-minded, everyone is just thinking that Pei¡¯s character is just too funny, not willing to suffer any wrongs at all


    No.806 ¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    I have a feeling that the two of them will get very popular after going on Escape. After all, one of them is from P University (although he is a foreign student), and the other is from Beijing Normal University. Studying mathematics definitely corresponds to Escape ah, deciphering mathematics is the main challenge in Escape


    No.810¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Camping out for a fresh tiger


    No.815¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Also camping together for new updates


    No.820¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    The first episode has come out, and the response is really face slapping, TingJue is really going to explode. Boyband CPs have finally put out one that can explode on the national level


    No.880¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Taking out a loan for an explosion, what a joke


    No.890¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    No updates for a long time, missing Tiger


    No.900¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Obscure K is making a comeback ba, probably Tiger doesn¡¯t have time to make messy posts now, and their song also leaked. Probably, they¡¯re all badly battered right now.


    No.916¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Having the song leaked really is kind of pitiful, now I really believe that nearly cancelled K is a miserable group, just full of misery


    No.918¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Calling the thread owner!!! Thread owner quickly come here! Tiger Pei changed the lyrics during the MLH promotional performance today! Especially, especially tiger-like!


    No.918¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    I¡¯ll post the words for the thread owner, no need for thanks!


    [In this world here/With open and hidden fights that scare/ There are knives hidden in smiles everywhere.


    When we wait for advice there/Getting evil insidious tasks isn¡¯t rare.


    The unpolished leaked song is out of tune beware/How do you like the lyrics here?


    If it wasn¡¯t full of ridicule and despair/ How would you know I¡¯m the crane screaming in the marsh air.


    Heart festering with a jealousy flare/There¡¯s still no medicine for this evil affair.


    The original lone forces cut a wound with due care/And drink the hot blood to live immortal and fair.


    But I was born an irritable bear/So I¡¯ll bite back if you dare.]


    No.981¡î¡î¡î==Helping Thread Owner Post|Comment¡î¡î¡î


    Respect, worthy of Tiger Ge! These lyrics are too awesome


    No.990¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    It¡¯s really amazing to raise your head and tear down the heavens. Looking around the whole entertainment circle, is there anyone else who dares to write lyrics like this?


    No.992¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    If you don¡¯t get out of the mountain easily, a whole bunch of tigers will arrive in the mountains


    No.1010¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    All the lyrics are very tiger-like. To be honest, PTS is very talented ba. There are many details to be savored in this song


    No.1012¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Watching the performance, I was drawn in by FJX and PTS, and the opening Beijing opera aria was also very awesome


    No.1023¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Tigger is really good at writing lyrics ah. I used to think he could only write in English, and isn¡¯t he an ABC? Why is Chinese also so strong?


    No.1036¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    His Chinese is very good, it seems that he has been bilingual since he was a child, and his grandfather was a famous writer. Before, in the next door thread, someone gossipped about his older sister, and she¡¯s the real awesome one, the kind who took over the whole business empire. It¡¯s been revealed before that it was his Jie who brought him back to China, but she didn¡¯t help him get any resources besides giving him money. Therefore, no one cared that Pei Tingsong kept being obscure, but he did have enough money. I saw the photo of his Jie in a news post before, and she¡¯s very good looking, a tall 1.7m person. Unfortunately, I didn¡¯t save the photo at that time. I¡¯m very angry


    No.1039¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Still no updates, Tiger, what¡¯s the matter with you? Why aren¡¯t you attacking people on Weibo now! I just live to point at you attacking people


    No.1060¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Because of love (not)


    No.1061¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Tiger, come back quickly~ I need your tiger spirit to ward off evil spirits!


    No.1062¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Shit, did you guys see that stalker fan stuff? I bet that today Tiger is going to make a Weibo post. He was blocked by a stalker fan at the school gate today, and FJX was also there, and they say he was right next to him


    No.1360¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    If FJX was there, then he has to make a Weibo post (Although I don¡¯t know why, that¡¯s the rule)


    No.1361¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    [Tiger-like Incident] Fresh Tiger here!!! He made several posts in a row ah, I¡¯m too excited


    No.1560 ¡î¡î¡îLZ|Comment¡î¡î¡î


    [@Kaleido Pei Tingsong: Today Pei Tingsong is also abusing stalker fans. [MiddleFinger.JPG]


    No.1566¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    [@Kaleido Pei Tingsong: To tell the truth, when you guys are cursing out my bandmates and my agent online every single day, I can treat it as if I haven¡¯t seen it. Whatever you guys curse, we¡¯re still together and will even go to Maldives together. Are you angry?


    No.1567¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    But what do you want to do when you chase after our cars like crazy people and even get in front of me and curse out my bandmates in front of me? Do you want to tell me, ¡°Ah, Pei Tingsong, look at how much I like you ah, I can curse out people just like you¡±? Learn something, okay, I only curse out those who deserve it, like you guys do. I also love reading, so why don¡¯t I see you guys bringing in papers and having me help you read English abstracts ah?]


    No.1568¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    [@Kaleido Pei Tingsong£ºShared a picture]


    [We live in a fucking insane time£¬man


    when you stalked by some shit£¬you must shut the fucking up


    when you tryna say something real£¬people just blah-blah-blah


    They say you gotta watch for what you saying baby


    OMG£¬ you are in trouble!


    Guess what


    I AM THE REAL TROUBLE ]


    No.1569¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Familiar taste, Tiger Pei is awesome!!


    No.1700¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Shit, he¡¯s so fierce this time ah. It¡¯s tiger-like enough to fight against stalker fans, but after attacking the stalker fans who cursed out his bandmates as poison, someone online scolded him for being an anti who grew up abroad and who doesn¡¯t deserve to use Chinese to curse people out, so he just cursed him out in English hahahahaha


    No.1710¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Sure enough, if FJX is there, PTS has to make a Weibo post. This law has made me directly deaf.


    No.1712¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Directly deaf hahahahaha. However, they say that it was only because the stalker fan cursed out FJX that Tiger Pei got angry. The stalker fan¡¯s side even released videos, cursing out FJX as xxx and for holding back the group. As a result, Pei Tingsong grew frantic and directly gave them the middle finger and asked the security guard at the school gate to stop them outside.


    No.1713¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Holy shit, it¡¯s really true love. I declare deafness to be OTP


    No.1714¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    However, Pei Tingsong¡¯s character now is not as tiger-like as before. He was a teenager who had a mouthful of curses at 18, and now he feels much better (except for when it involves FJX, he jumps up more. The more I say, the more and more deaf I feel. No, how can I be deaf?)


    No.1715¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    It¡¯s true. When their group¡¯s HZY was being gossipped about, he followed FJX to make jokes on Weibo and didn¡¯t curse people out. It feels like his personality has improved a lot, if it had happened before, he¡¯d probably have directly opened up the mic and started cursing people out.


    No.1760¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Don¡¯t mention it. When HZY revealed himself that he was an orphan, PTS only made a rational Weibo post chiding everyone eating this melon. What he said was quite right, some people really don¡¯t know what to say, and this kind of privacy is also important, and you¡¯re really not accumulating some virtue for yourselves


    No.1770¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Nearly cancelled K is hot now, he doesn¡¯t dare to make trouble like before


    No.1781¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    I really think that Tiger Pei and FJX are having an affair. When you compare how he looked at FJX in the early days, and how his eyes are totally different when he looks at FJX now, it gives off the feeling of being tamed.


    No.1789¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    The word ¡®tamed¡¯ is really wonderful!!! It¡¯s exactly what I wanted to say!!


    No.1800¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    CPF scram out of this dedicated thread ba. Fake fake fake, all fake. FJX has already run away with a rich boss!


    No.1810¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    You¡¯re talking as if FJX would really get together with someone who used to target him. It¡¯s not like FJX is stupid, can the people above behave when speaking, okay?


    No.1812¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Will this thread never get updated?


    No.1900¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    I¡¯ve been waiting for a long time today, but since the thread owner hasn¡¯t posted it, I will post it for the thread owner ba. Some time ago, a pedophilia website was dug out, but the news about it was suppressed. Tiger Pei forwarded a lot of news about it, especially a Weibo post made by a victim¡¯s mother. He was following it the entire time, yet as a result, he was scolded by antifans for just trying to rub some popularity onto himself, and they got pretty ugly with their words.


    Later, Pei Tingsong seemed to have contacted the mother, and spent a lot of money to hire an expensive lawyer to sue the opposing party. This was from a Weibo post made by that child¡¯s mother, so it should be true


    No.1920¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Pei Tingsong is quite real, actually. Although many people say that he¡¯s crazy, I would rather watch him be like this than read a celebrity¡¯s Weibo that just puts out ads every day


    No.1930¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    I was also following that pedo thing! When I scrolled to his Weibo, I was really excited (who would have thought that I was his antifan before?). I saw that he was the only one who made a sound about it. However, FJX, who hasn¡¯t made a Weibo post in a long time, then specially came out to like his post (they really are not separating their families)


    No.1941¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    They¡¯re really hardworking with their fanservice ah, they even try to rub off some popularity together with this kind of thing


    No.1953¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Rub off some popularity? Do you need to pay so much out of your own pocket for a lawyer to rub off some popularity?


    No.1963¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    I¡¯m really going to wither away if Tiger never makes another Weibo post


    No.1990¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    I feel like he¡¯s really dating someone now, his whole state isn¡¯t quite right, and his lyrics also give that feeling. They used to be very angry before, but now it¡¯s totally the feeling of a little boy in love, and Tiger is definitely the one doing the subject! Maybe because he¡¯s been doing his partner, he¡¯s been a bit more restrained, or, after falling in love, Star Chart confiscated his Weibo again


    No.2001¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    I believe he¡¯s dating, It¡¯s impossible for them to confiscate his Weibo account hahahahaha, no one can confiscate the account from your Tiger¡¯s hands


    No.2002¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Doesn¡¯t he have a side account? If he¡¯s not posting on his main account, let me see the side account, alright ah (although I think he may not have a side account, he even curses people out on his main account)


    No.2010¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    [Tiger-like Incident] Here I am! Pei Tingsong took part in a livestream for the summer album, and the host joked that FJX looked like a girl, and it was a pity he was a boy. FJX only smiled and didn¡¯t reply, but! Pei Tingong started to attack again and again and again. ¡°He¡¯s only good-looking, can¡¯t boys be beautiful? What kind of rule is that? I think the word ¡®beautiful¡¯ is gender neutral.¡± (The video is already underneath)


    [Video]


    No.2051¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Shit, it¡¯s here again, the FJX Tiger Law


    No.2052¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Baojuan! Baojuan, what¡¯s wrong with my ears! I can¡¯t hear any more!


    No.2063¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Tiger has really changed, now he¡¯s tender even when attacking people!!! (I also agree with what he said, beautiful is gender neutral)


    No.2067¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    TingJue is really too good at fanservice, completely and fully capturing the hearts of people who ship CPs. Has Star Chart¡¯s CP planning based itself entirely around the TingJue CP? Why does it feel like every step is based on the TingJue CPFs?


    No.2069¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    What about that sister who was going to do a handstand while having diarrhea before? Hahaha, you have been nailed to the pole of shame by your Tiger!


    No.2078¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Have you guys noticed the expressions of the other members? It all seems a bit strange. Hhh Shit, it can¡¯t be that they¡¯re really deaf ba? Escape From Wan Chai Wharf is really poisonous!


    No.2090¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Another day without Tiger Pei


    No.2169¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Tiger, your Weibo has fallen into dust. What are you doing every day?


    No.2179¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    [Tiger-like Incident] Here it comes, here it comes. In the Kaleido livestream, there was an anti-fan who said in the barrage [FJX scram, get further away from Pei Tingsong!] Pei Tingsong and Fang Juexia saw that comment, so Fang Juexia was about to move a little bit away, but Pei Tingsong grabbed his arm and directly pulled him towards himself, to the extent that they were now sticking together, and then said to the screen, ¡°Who do you want to scram? You scram first ba.¡± (The recording has been pinned below)


    [Video]


    No.2361¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    After waiting for a week, I thought I could wait for Tiger¡¯s own Weibo post, didn¡¯t expect this, didn¡¯t expect this


    No.2362¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Sure enough, FJX Law doesn¡¯t deceive me!


    No.2363¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Now deaf, do not disturb


    No.2376¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    I saw this livestream! Tiger Pei is so Sue, his action of pulling in FJX has directly deafened me. It¡¯s too real, no matter what, I¡¯m going to ship TingJue


    No.2463¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Hahahahahaha what kind of move is deafening someone?


    No.2536¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    There¡¯s been more than one livestream like this ah, Little Tiger Pei did another especially tiger-ish thing after that. When they were reading out each other¡¯s nicknames ma, PTS and FJX were in the same group. FJX¡¯s nickname for him was ¡®One Constant Truth¡¯ (he also explained a bit, although I think it¡¯s a little far-fetched, I always think he¡¯s hiding something), but then, Tiger Pei¡¯s nickname for FJX turned out to be Moonlight! Later, his bandmates told him to explain it, and he actually said, because moonlight is the highest level of praise.


    It¡¯s really tiger-like without any cover. I was shocked while watching it, is the closet door even still there?


    No.2636¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Shit, he can even do that? What is ¡®moonlight is the highest level of praise¡¯ ah!!


    No.2639¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Why can¡¯t I hear anything, what are you guys talking about?


    No.2646¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Did no one add his acceptance speech from the BMA? That¡¯s real tiger-like ah, he won the award and directly thanked the person who ¡°helped leak our songs.¡± Without him, there would be no BT lyrics, and he would not have won the award. It¡¯s too real.


    No.2691¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Yes, yes, yes, and he also said that a person¡¯s dignity does not lie in the fact that he has won an honor, but in the fact that he is worthy of such an honor. Dare I ask, is there a second person in the entertainment industry who would utter such an acceptance speech?


    No.2692¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Ah, I also think the acceptance speech is super tiger-like, but I¡¯ve been looking at his tattoo on his hand that entire day. He didn¡¯t even cover it with a glove.


    No.2736¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    That seems to be a new tattoo, he said during the livestream that it¡¯s a tattoo of the wound from when his family¡¯s kitten bit him


    No.2769¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Tigers can actually raise cats???? Iron man, tender heart?


    No.2780¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    No, that X at his ankle also appeared at the same time, and that can¡¯t be from a cat ba


    No.2960¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    I don¡¯t think Little Tiger will lie. If he says it¡¯s a cat, it should be a cat ba


    No.2962¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    [Tiger-like Incident] Here I am again!!! Your favorite Tiger Pei has finally made a Weibo post! Fighting online against fake accounts! By the way, he also explained Platonic love (screenshot has also been posted). He¡¯s really the first real artist to fight against counterfeiting, it¡¯s so funny.


    No.3012¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Shit, I really thought that was his side account! Well done, really!


    No.3013¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    How can that be? Little Tiger has said that he never uses his side account to curse people out. One look at that and you can tell it¡¯s fake and shoddy, and the ID is super low class ah. They deliberately wanted to use his philosophy major character, but in the end, it turned out to be nothing at all


    No.3014¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    They just wanted to create gossip about an affair for him ba. There are a whole pile of messy love posts in there, one glance and you can tell they wanted to later rake him over the coals for a love affair


    No.3015¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Trying this with Pei Tingsong, are they stupid ah? He is sure to crack down on counterfeit goods ah, so who is so stupid?


    No.3016¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Shit, counterattack!!!! K¡¯s 01¡¯s side account was dug up by a Leeuwenhoek, guaranteed during the program!! As soon as it was dug up, he unfollowed an account, but it was screenshotted! It¡¯s a private book Weibo, some people say it¡¯s Tiger¡¯s side account.


    No.3068¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Why does 01 always make such a thing happen? (I¡¯ve kind of been angered into laughter hhhh)


    No.3069¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    On a program and using his side account to scroll through Weibo, the Original M-Dash is really a werewolf, this group is really amazing!


    No.3079¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Tiger¡¯s side account? Is that true or not ah?


    No.3087¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    [A Book blogger who doesn¡¯t have a marketing company], this brief introduction is very PTS, combined with a screenshot of a private chat sent to this account before where the marketing company is asking him to sign himself as a marketing account. Makes me laugh to death


    No.3096¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Hahahaha a marketing company wanted to sign Pei Tingsong as a marketing account! This is the funniest joke I¡¯ve ever heard today!


    No.3169¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Call a spade a spade, Tiger is really cultured, it makes me feel ashamed while reading it


    No.3260¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Kind of drawn in as a fan, what¡¯s the matter, did 01 release this on purpose?


    No.3365¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Shit, The Moon of Entelecheia, TingJue evidence, I kicked the transparent closet door today


    No.3465¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Hahahahahahahahahaha I can imagine what Pei Tingsong¡¯s mood is right now. As soon as Laozi finished his vacation, you reveal all my stuff


    No.3523¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    The ups and downs of this matter of side accounts hahahaha, Little Tiger Pei, why don¡¯t you come out to scold 01!!


    No.3621¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Holy shit, I went through the contents of the side account carefully. He can¡¯t really be dating FJX ba? That line about being the happiest person in the world was right after he saved Fang Juexia on the stage ah. TingJue fics don¡¯t deceive me, what everyone wrote was that after PTS saved FJX, FJX accepted PTS¡¯ confession¡­. It can¡¯t be what actually happened ba?


    No.3668¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    TingJue fics are very poisonous, many prophets there.


    No.3669¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Then who knows if he isn¡¯t deliberately doing CP stuff? He¡¯s so good at doing CPs on his own, besides, it¡¯s very strange that he got unmasked. In the beginning, he was fighting a fake side account, yet as a result, his real side account was revealed through his bandmates. The small probability of this can only make me think that they¡¯re just trying to build hype


    No.3672¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    This hype takes too much effort. His side account was used before they debuted, I think it¡¯s his daily life side account ba


    No.3690¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    [Tiger-like Incident] Here we go again again again! Xiao Pei admitted that it was his side account.


    [@Kaleido Pei Tingsong: @Kaleido Ling Yi, can you stop scrolling through Weibo next time you go on a program? Can you not use your side account when scrolling through Weibo? Can your side account not follow me? Can you not unfollow me after you were dug up? Can you?]


    [@Kaleido Ling Yi: Cancancancancan]


    No.3762¡î¡î¡îLZ|XComment¡î¡î¡î


    Hahaha, oh my god, this group is really addictive! Sooner or later, I will be killed by this comedy K


    No.3786¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    How are they this funny?!


    No.3865¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    I give up, these five questions hahahaha


    No.3869¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    He admitted it!! He actually admitted it!! Worthy of being Tiger Pei, he dares to do it and be it.


    No.3900¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    This account is really good, it¡¯s very quiet and peaceful ah. I almost forgot that Tiger Ge studies philosophy. How can you be said to be well-read without showing it off?


    No.4001¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Shit 01 is really a dog hahahahaha


    No.4002¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    There¡¯s a screenshot, and it seems that this side account has followed Snow Imprisoned in Spring Station (the biggest TingJue fan station) before, and then it unfollowed it. The TingJue circle has gone crazy.


    No.4009¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    If it was me, I¡¯d be crazy too ah. At first, the account was called Entelecheia, and then it was called The Moon of Entelecheia. During the livestream, he said that FJX¡¯s nickname was Moonlight, and the lyrics of ¡°Night Trip¡± also compared the subject of the song to the moon


    No.4016¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Who thought that even within a single person thread, I could go deaf??


    No.4019¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    At first, I was really worried that he would kill 01 hahahahaha, looks like he hasn¡¯t (maybe he was stopped by FJX)


    No.4026¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    01¡¯s side account is also super funny ah. There are all kinds of silly videos in it. Does he not have anything else to do all day?


    [@ I dream of becoming a big boss: I want to eat fried chicken today, but I don¡¯t want to buy it myself, because I¡¯m afraid Q Ge will scold me again. I have to let others order it. So I told 66 that my roommate wanted to eat fried chicken, and then 66 ordered it!! And he ordered the most expensive one!! Happy, my roommate is the best handyman in the world~]


    This ¡°roommate¡± should be FJX, 66 should be #6 PTS, shit, it¡¯s so sweet


    No.4365¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Shit, what kind of boyfriend of the century is 66?


    No.4369¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Hahahahaha, Fang Juexia, you are the best handyman in the world


    No.4496¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    01 is now deleting Weibo entries like crazy, alas, it¡¯s another day to be deaf


    No.4511¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    Guys, go quickly to Original M-Dash¡¯s screenshot, he  even said in his side account that 66 tried to use threats and bribery to get him to change roommates hahahaha


    No.4536¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    He also said that his roommate would make breakfast for 66 every morning, but he doesn¡¯t get a share out of it yingyingying


    (I¡¯m going to be killed by laughter from Original M-Dash¡¯s posts, this is actually a shipping Weibo)


    No.4569¡î¡î¡î==|XXXComment¡î¡î¡î


    This thread has gone off topic, no, this thread has gone deaf.


    ¡­¡­


    ¡ª


    Juurensha: ¡­.so that was super long, but parts of it were really funny! (Hahahaha, Ling Yi¡¯s antics always crack me up)

 CH 114

    Livestream, don¡¯t like, don¡¯t read


    The first season of the Kaleido ensemble show ended before the comeback of their summer album ¡°Last Summer.¡± When recording the last episode, they mentioned that they were going to give their fans a surprise in return, and everyone always kept this in mind. First, Lu Yuan recorded a surprise livestream; he heard that a fan was learning to dance at the dance studio he had founded, so he made the excuse that her teacher had taken sick leave and replaced her. He wore a mask and hat and taught for ten full minutes; fortunately, at that point, the fan realized it was Lu Yuan himself.


    The others also fulfilled the agreement one by one and made their own surprise attacks. Only Fang Juexia was left in the end.


    He was constantly worried about what to do for a surprise, because he wasn¡¯t a person who was good at making surprises. Until one day, Fang Juexia received a letter with a hand-made scrapbook from a loyal fan named Jiajia. The scrapbook contained photos and information on Fang Juexia collected from when he had still been a trainee. Flipping forward a bit, it was pretty much a history of Fang Juexia¡¯s growth over these past few years.


    In the letter, Jiajia wrote that she had begun to like Fang Juexia before he had even officially debuted, and had liked him ever since. At the same time, she also confided the story of her life to Fang Juexia.


    [I feel like I¡¯ve always been in a mess recently. When my graduation thesis defense was approaching, my father and mother divorced, and it created a great amount of fuss and trouble. My grandmother went to the hospital, and I also missed my offer for further study due to a mistake and grew anxious. When I started looking for jobs, I ran into walls everywhere. On my saddest day, I cried alone in the neighborhood for a long time and then dried my tears before I dared to go home. I don¡¯t think anything good will happen in my life anymore.]


    Seeing this, Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t help thinking of himself. It was hard for people to get out of this mood once sunk into it, especially young people who had just entered into society. People went through a vicious cycle and were finally engulfed by negative emotions.


    So he decided to make something ¡°good¡± happen in this girl¡¯s terrible life.


    After the surprise had been planned, the staff sent her a reply using Star Chart¡¯s name. The letter said that she had won a prize for buying the album and had been drawn to get Star Chart¡¯s autograph gift pack activity. When the time came, a Star Chart staff member would specially come to give her her gift.


    Jiajia, who had received this letter, happily wrote another letter in reply. Her words were full of happiness, although she didn¡¯t know that the staff member would be Fang Juexia himself.


    The day before the surprise, Fang Juexia suddenly felt nervous. After all, he hadn¡¯t had contact with fans or people he was unfamiliar with on his own for a long time, and also, he didn¡¯t have the kind of personality that was good at lightening up the mood of a place.


    So he pulled in Pei Tingsong as a friendly guest to accompany him for the entire journey.


    ¡°What time is the appointment?¡± Pei Tingsong was so sleepy that he couldn¡¯t open his eyes. He sat at the table and drank coffee slowly. Fang Juexia took off his apron and put it on the back of his chair. ¡°10. En, there¡¯s still¡­.one and a half hours.¡± He glanced at the living room clock, his eyes narrowed slightly. This little motion was very cute in Pei Tingsong¡¯s eyes, so he couldn¡¯t help reaching out and rubbing Fang Juexia¡¯s lowered arm.


    Who knew that Ling Yi, who had just come out of the bathroom, would see this. ¡°Tch, tch, tch¡­¡±


    Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t say a word and directly drew over the pillow on the chair and threw it at Ling Yi, hitting him right in the middle of his head.


    ¡°Juexia, he hit me¡­ ¡± Ling Yi had been hit by the pillow until his mouth shriveled up.


    Fang Juexia bit into his sandwich slowly and hit Pei Tingsong with his free hand.


    ¡°It¡¯s OK, it doesn¡¯t hurt.¡± Pei Tingsong grabbed Fang Juexia¡¯s hand in return and sipped his cup of coffee. ¡°Juexia hitting me is a joke between young couples, me hitting Ling Yi is justice on the behalf of the heavens.¡±


    Ling Yi was so angry that he walked over and grabbed his sandwich, then ran to Lu Yuan¡¯s room and quickly locked it.


    Seeing this scene, Fang Juexia could only resist laughing and slipped away with an excuse, ¡°I¡¯m going to change my clothes, you should also hurry up.¡±


    After changing into a low-key black hoodie and jeans, and finding a lead-gray baseball cap, Fang Juexia tidied himself up in front of the mirror. Just as Cheng Qiang called to urge him to turn on the livestream, Fang Juexia took out his cellphone and directly started up the livestream.


    At the beginning, it was a bit laggy. Fang Juexia adjusted his lighting angle and asked, ¡°Can you see me?¡±


    At the very start of this stream it was a close-up of his face, and the fans were very excited, even though they didn¡¯t know that this livestream was a surprise vinegar bomb.


    [AHHHHHH JUEXIA GEGE!!! JUEXIA GEGE IS SO HOT! ]


    [Amazing Sue-like! Worthy of being the big face of the group!]


    [Quickly let me kiss the birthmark!]


    Fang Juexia put his cellphone far away on his desk¡¯s shelf. He then took out a mask from the drawer, and silently lowered his head while facing the screen to put it on.


    [What a silent livestream, hahahaha]


    [Gege, you forgot to say hello la]


    [Okay, after the main film, this is a simple mask wearing tutorial]


    [Wuwuwuwumei the beauty has been sealed away]


    [So is Juexia Gege going out?]


    Fang Juexia took back his cellphone and looked at the barrage. Only then did he realize that he didn¡¯t speak. ¡°Oh, yes, I¡¯m going out today.¡± He thought that he hadn¡¯t said much, so Fang Juexia added, ¡°Did everyone have breakfast?¡±


    [I had it!!! ]


    [I ate xiaolongbao and glutinous rice wine dumplings! ]


    He stood up, took his backpack from the chair, put it on his back, and was about to go out. Suddenly the door opened, and Pei Tingsong, who was standing at the door, looked inside, ¡°Little friend Fang, why are you so slow ah? Do you want me to help you dress?¡±


    Fang Juexia was frightened, and he immediately went to the place where Pei Tingsong could see him, pointed at his cellphone, and mouthed at him¨CI¡¯m livestreaming.


    Pei Tingsong suddenly realized what was going on, and only then knew that he had just said something he shouldn¡¯t have said.


    But it was too late, the barrage had already gone crazy.


    [woc that was Pinot Tree Supreme¡¯s voice just now ba! Right? ]


    [That was definitely Xiao Pei¡¯s voice!!!! ]


    [Shit, did he just call Juexia Gege, ¡®Little Friend Fang¡¯??? Is that what you call each other at home? You said it was Juexia Ge! ]


    [Gone deaf, gone deaf, gone deaf]


    [He also said that he would dress Juexia Gege¡­.Really gone deaf]


    Fang Juexia looked at the screen full of deafness, didn¡¯t know how to explain, and could only quickly change the topic. ¡°I feel like the weather is good today.¡±


    [The tactic of talking about the weather]


    When he came to Pei Tingsong¡¯s side, only then did he discover that he and Pei Tingsong had amazingly picked the same top. ¡°How are you also wearing a black hoodie?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know ah, I just randomly grabbed something.¡±


    [Couple outfit!!!]


    [This ¡°how are you also¡± is very spirited. Do normal boys care about wearing the same color clothes as others? Teacher Fang, what are you feeling guilty about?]


    [I have a hunch that I will be completely deaf after watching this livestream]


    [CPFs get out, okay, this is FJX¡¯s livestream]


    [The owner of the livestream is taking his Didi with him, Only-fans are the ones who should leave so they won¡¯t get completely pissed off by their master]


    Pei Tingsong naturally took the backpack off of Fang Juexia¡¯s shoulder and carried it on his own back. They left the dormitory and went to the parking lot. Fang Juexia was afraid of exposing their address the entire way there, so the entire time, the cellphone was pointed at their feet.


    [It¡¯s so cute ah hahaha, this perspective]


    ¡°I¡¯ll drive?¡± Fang Juexia went to the car, lifted up his head, and asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ll do it ba.¡± Pei Tingsong went around and opened the door of the front passenger¡¯s seat for him, then went to the driver¡¯s seat by himself.


    [Wuwuwuwuwu, opening up the car door for him, so Sue oh]


    [Yi, when did this bag run over to Xiao Pei¡¯s back]


    [Hahahaha, in Juexia Gege¡¯s livestream, Xiao Pei is a handyman]


    After getting in the car, Fang Juexia began to respond to messages in the livestream from fans, ¡°Oh, I didn¡¯t turn on a beauty filter, how do you turn it on?¡±


    [Hahahaha, old man Teacher Fang]


    [Don¡¯t turn it on, you¡¯re already super beautiful]


    Pei Tingsong subconsciously had already formed the habit of helping Fang Juexia put his seat belt on, so he didn¡¯t even remind him, before just leaning over to pull his seat belt on for him.


    Fang Juexia suddenly reacted; they were too close while in front of the camera.


    ¡°I-I¡¯ll do it myself.¡± He guiltily grabbed Pei Tingsong¡¯s wrist, and his ears were a little hot. Clearly, they hadn¡¯t done anything, but he was actually embarrassed at this time.


    Pei Tingsong, who was used to taking care of Gege, also remembered that they were still livestreaming and tried hard to get around this odd action. ¡°Ah, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s convenient for you to carry your cellphone, so I¡¯ll take it for you, and you can do your seatbelt yourself.¡± Then he held the cellphone for Fang Juexia, with the camera aimed at Fang Juexia.


    [Ooh ooh ooh ooh, I like this perspective, the angle of boyfriends in the car (hey, why boyfriends)]


    [The atmosphere between these two is a little strange]


    [It¡¯s real, I¡¯m getting faintly deaf]


    [Is the Pinot Tree Supreme helping Gege fasten his seatbelt still Tiger Pei?]


    [Hahahaha Tiger Pei warning!]


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Fang Juexia took back his cellphone and continued his very unskilled live broadcast. Pei Tingsong drove the car out and got on the road. Suddenly, the light came in and scattered across Fang Juexia¡¯s face through the glass window. Even the slightly blue blood vessels on his upper eyelids were faintly visible.


    [Juexia Gege is too beautiful 5555]


    ¡°Do you want some music?¡± Pei Tingsong asked.


    Fang Juexia nodded and saw that someone in the barrage said they wanted to see Pei Tingsong, so he raised his eyes and looked at Pei Tingsong, with a smile on his lips. ¡°They want to see you.¡±


    Although it sounded very much like he was soliciting his opinion on the matter, Fang Juexia had already quietly switched the camera to the back camera, and the screen flipped to showing Pei Tingsong, with his hat on backwards and one hand on the wheel. Pei Tingsong had no idea of this. ¡°They can see me as soon as they ask ah. First they need to give me 100,000 yuan.¡±


    [Hahahaha, Cheap Pei, dream on! I¡¯ve already seen you! ]


    [100,000 yuan, hahaha]


    [Driving with one hand on the wheel, so Sue]


    ¡°Is 100,000 yuan a little expensive?¡± Fang Juexia leaned on the back of the passenger seat, holding his cellphone in a serious manner, pretending to be filming himself. ¡°Your appearance fee is too high.¡±


    ¡°Because I¡¯m very noble.¡± Pei Tingsong looked at the road and confirmed that there was nothing wrong before he looked back at Fang Juexia. He only glanced at Fang Juexia and realized that something was off. ¡°Are you filming me?¡±


    [Hahahaha caught]


    ¡°No ah,¡± Fang Juexia immediately clicked on the screen and turned the camera back to the front camera. ¡°I¡¯m filming myself.¡±


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s expression was still a little suspicious, ¡°Okay ba.¡± He turned and continued to look ahead. ¡°You¡¯re not going to tell everyone what we have planned today?¡± As soon as he finished saying that, he coughed a few times and cleared his throat again. ¡°Who are you going to see later?¡±


    ¡°Oh, yes.¡± Fang Juexia took a bottle of water from the back seat, put his cellphone on his leg, talking to them while twisting the bottle cap, then picked up his cellphone to point at his face. ¡°Today is actually a surprise. Do you guys remember Teacher Yuan and all the other¡¯s surprises? It¡¯s my turn now.¡±


    [Ah, so it turns out it¡¯s this!!! Jealous!!! ]


    [My god, we can only watch Juexia Gege surprise someone else 555, and it¡¯s the kind of double surprise with Xiao Pei also coming along]


    [So jealous]


    [Juexia Gege, you¡¯ve opened the water bottle and forgotten to drink it la. You¡¯ve been holding it in your hand for a long time now]


    When the car stopped to wait for the red light, Pei Tingsong sang along two rap lines. Unexpectedly, Fang Juexia gave him the water that he had been holding for a long time without saying anything. Pei Tingsong took a big gulp and handed it back.


    Fang Juexia was someone who didn¡¯t really like drinking water, so he shook his head directly at Pei Tingsong. After seeing Pei Tingsong¡¯s half threatening eyes, he had to take a sip and quickly screwed on the bottle cap.


    This back and forth, although there was no dialogue, Fang Juexia¡¯s expression and actions revealed too much information.


    [I declare that I am that bottle of water]


    [So it¡¯s just because Pinot Tree Supreme coughed just now when he was talking that JXGG took out the water? ]


    [Wuwuwwuwu, this legendary co-worker relationship, and they¡¯ve waited for this red light for such a long time]


    [The more you guys don¡¯t talk, the more deaf I grow]


    The whole screen was filled with ¡°deaf¡± again, and Fang Juexia didn¡¯t even know what he did. Clearly whenever he livestreamed with Ling Yi, it wouldn¡¯t get this exaggerated after Ling Yi hugged him.


    ¡°We¡¯re almost there. Look over there, do you think she¡¯s the one standing at the gate of that neighborhood?¡± Pei Tingsong pulled over.


    Through the windshield, he saw a girl in an off-white knitted skirt standing at the entrance of the neighborhood, as if waiting for someone.


    ¡°She might be? ¡± Fang Juexia took out the cellphone Cheng Qiang gave to his ¡°staff¡± last night and dialed Jiajia¡¯s number. Sure enough, the girl nearby took out her cellphone and picked up the call.


    Fang Juexia turned on the speakerphone, and the barrage grew excited. He deliberately lowered his voice, trying his best to play an unfeeling staff member. ¡°Hello, are you Jiajia? I¡¯m Star Chart¡¯s Xiao Chen, yes, we¡¯ve talked before. I¡¯m outside your neighborhood right now. Right, okay, then I¡¯ll get out and pick you up.¡±


    [AHHHHHH I¡¯M SO JEALOUS! ]


    [I also want Juexia Gege to get out of the car to pick me up wuwuwuwuwwu, also his lowered voice is so Sue ah]


    After hanging up the call, Pei Tingsong reached out to take over Fang Juexia¡¯s phone that was livestreaming. ¡°I¡¯ll take it for you and film you from this perspective ba.¡±


    ¡°En, then I¡¯ll get out. Don¡¯t film her face at first.¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± Pei Tingsong reached out his hand to tidy the collar of his hoodie. ¡°Go ahead ba, be careful.¡±


    Fang Juexia was still a little nervous. After waving to the camera and everyone, he lowered the brim of his hat and walked to the lucky fan.


    Pei Tingsong watched Fang Juexia¡¯s back then glanced at the barrage.


    [I¡¯m jealous, I¡¯m jealous, I¡¯m jealous, what kind of idol drama plot is this]


    [Xiao Pei: I should be under the car, not in the car.]


    Seeing this comment, Pei Tingsong reflexively clicked his tongue.


    [Hahahaha, it¡¯s Xiao Pei who let out a displeased ¡°tch¡± sound]


    [Hahahahahahaha sour Pinot Tree Supreme is sour with all of us]


    ¡°It¡¯s just you guys that are sour, okay?¡± Pei Tingsong was well-behaved and held the cellphone up according to Gege¡¯s instructions, pointed at Fang Juexia and the girl. ¡°What do I have to be sour about.


    ¡°I¡¯ll bet you guys that he¡¯ll be recognized in 30 seconds.¡±


    [Hahaha, the gambling addiction of nearly cancelled K is really serious]


    [Here we go again, betting again]


    [I don¡¯t think he¡¯ll be recognized, Juexia Gege is already wrapped up so tightly]


    On the screen, Fang Juexia took out all the big gift bags in his backpack to give to the girl, and there was also his handwritten letter in it. But no matter how he dressed, he still couldn¡¯t deceive an old fan. As soon as he said a word, he was recognized. The girl jumped excitedly in place several times.


    ¡°You guys see, what did I say?¡± With that, Pei Tingsong looked at Fang Juexia outside the windshield and said softly, ¡°One look and you can tell it¡¯s him ah.¡±


    [Shit, this sentence makes me deaf]


    [AHHHHHH I¡¯M COVERING UP MY LITTLE EARS!!!]


    On the screen, that girl was still very excited, and directly rushed up, hugged Fang Juexia, running into him so hard that he had to fall back a step.


    Fang Juexia¡¯s first reaction was to look back in the direction of the car.


    [It¡¯s no use looking at me! Fang Juexia, I¡¯m going to break up with you for a second!]


    [Wuwuwuwu, quickly come coax me, I¡¯m so sour that I¡¯m crying! ]


    [I¡¯m just going to grab my Juexia Gege back now!]


    All of a sudden, everyone at the other end of the screen heard the sound of a car door opening, then it slamming shut, and the camera moved forward with the footsteps.


    [Shit hahahaha, Pinot Tree Supreme has moved!]


    [He¡¯s frantic, he¡¯s jealous, I¡¯m deaf]


    [Wow, at this speed, I feel what it¡¯s like to walk with two big long legs for the first time.]


    Pei Tingsong came forward with a smile on his face and gently stretched out his hand to pull away the girl. ¡°Surprise!¡± But the camera was still aimed at Fang Juexia.


    [Hahahahaha, why does Juexia subconsciously have the look of waiting for a cue]


    [It¡¯s too weird, it¡¯s really too weird]


    [He says surprise, but his hand is pulling the sister away, worthy of being Mama¡¯s Little Tiger]


    The girl was obviously startled by Pei Tingsong. She hadn¡¯t expected that another one would appear, and she asked excitedly if she could shake hands with him. Pei Tingsong stretched out his free hand. ¡°Sure ah.¡±


    [This person just want to shake hands with you, hahaha]


    [The sister suddenly became rational]


    ¡°I hope your life will get better and better, and everything will go well.¡± Fang Juexia reached out his hand with a smile and patted the girl lightly on the shoulder. ¡°There will be a lot of good things happening. You have to keep fighting.¡±


    At her request, the two people took pictures with her and said goodbye at the gate of the neighborhood.


    After completing the task, Fang Juexia was very happy. Pei Tingsong filmed him with his cellphone. ¡°Should you say something?¡±


    Fang Juexia clapped his hands, copying how other people clapped when a scene of a movie finished filming. ¡°Today¡¯s surprise ambush, complete!¡±


    Pei Tingsong also really gave him face and clapped his wrist with his free hand. ¡°Awesome!¡±


    [Pinot Tree Supreme, you¡¯re making me dizzy!!! ]


    [Congratulations!!! Successfully completed!! (although I¡¯m still sour)]


    [Are you going to end the livestream? No ba, it hasn¡¯t gone on for that long?]


    ¡°They want the livestream to end.¡± Pei Tingsong deliberately fabricated.


    ¡°Ah?¡± Fang Juexia really believed him. He pulled the mask down with his hand and drew closer to the camera. ¡°You guys don¡¯t want to watch anymore?¡±


    [It¡¯s not like that!!!!!!]


    [I¡¯m going to kill Pinot Tree Supreme!!! ]


    ¡°I¡¯m kidding.¡± Pei Tingsong tugged Fang Juexia over, pulled him over to his side, embraced his shoulder, and then threw his cellphone to him. Fang Juexia turned the front camera on and saw many fans urging him to stay.


    ¡°You tricked me again.¡± Fang Juexia turned to stare at him.


    Pei Tingsong shrugged and said solemnly, ¡°Fang Juexia is the purest boy I have ever seen.¡±


    Fang Juexia directly moved his hand and pushed at his cheek. ¡°Shut up.¡±


    [wow]


    [Gone deaf, gone deaf, gone deaf]


    [This livestream has directly turned into an ear clinic]


    [Is that wow up there from Fire Ge?]


    [Tch tch tch, sometimes he says ¡®boy¡¯ and sometimes he says ¡®little friend,¡¯ I really don¡¯t know who is the Gege and who is the Didi?]


    [I really love hearing Juexia Gege say shut up]


    ¡°I¡¯m wrong, I¡¯m wrong,¡± Pei Tingsong said with a smile. He raised the hand that held his shoulder and pressed Fang Juexia¡¯s baseball cap on his head. ¡°I¡¯ll treat you to something delicious, let¡¯s do an eating livestream.¡±


    ¡°What are we eating?¡± Fang Juexia turned his head to ask.


    ¡°We¡¯re eating¡­ Whatever you want to eat, let¡¯s get in the car first ba. ¡°


    [I found that as long as there is a Pinot Tree Supreme next to FJX, he won¡¯t look at the camera at all, we can only see his side profile]


    [Too real]


    Pei Tingsong drove Fang Juexia to a secluded high-end Japanese restaurant and selected the most private room. The waiter also very knowledgeably brought over a shelf for them to set the cellphone on so it wouldn¡¯t affect their meal.


    [Ah, this place is super expensive. I¡¯ve seen the restaurant before, worthy of Young Master Pei]


    After ordering, they began to chat. For the convenience of them both appearing on camera, they sat side by side. Fang Juexia took down his mask and put his hat on backwards show his clean whole face.


    Pei Tingsong had been staring at him the whole time, and he couldn¡¯t hold back the corners of his lips turning into a smile. ¡°You¡¯re copying me.¡±


    Fang Juexia frowned. ¡°You¡¯re quite shameless.¡±


    ¡°Wow, you¡¯re quite capable ah, you even learned to say ¡®quite shameless.¡¯¡± Pei Tingsong immediately covered his chest and poured out his grievances on camera. ¡°See, friends, in fact, the Kaleido group bully isn¡¯t me at all,¡± he pointed to Fang Juexia. ¡°It¡¯s this one.¡±


    [According to the Kaleido food chain, that¡¯s right, PTS subdues the whole group, and FJX subdues PTS]


    ¡°Have I ever bullied you?¡± Fang Juexia turned his head to look at him. His always cold face took on a bit more well-loved and arrogant look, which made him very lovely.


    ¡°Well¡­¡± Pei Tingsong flicked his eyes around and thought hard.


    ¡°You have to think so long about it?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s none, there¡¯s none.¡± Pei Tingsong licked his lips. ¡°It¡¯s all me bullying people, how can anyone dare to bully me?¡±


    [Hahahahaha tactic lick lips]


    [I can watch the two of them talk and eat like this all day long]


    The dishes came out one after another, including yakitori, sukiyaki, and some sashimi. Fang Juexia¡¯s eating habits were very good, he chewed very slowly, and one mouthful of food could last a long time. Pei Tingsong also kept putting vegetables and beef into his bowl nonstop, piling up a mountain in his small bowl.


    ¡°Can you eat this cucumber?¡± Pei Tingsong frowned at the pile of cucumber slices left in his bowl.


    Fang Juexia only paid attention to the barrage and didn¡¯t pay attention to him at all, only letting out an ¡°oh,¡± but also not moving his chopsticks.


    Pei Tingsong could only cook other vegetables for him. ¡°Do you know? You¡¯re just like the kind of bird I couldn¡¯t keep alive when I was a child. It¡¯s very hard to get them to eat, and you feed them a little and then it runs away.¡±


    [What¡¯s with this description, hahaha]


    Hearing this, Fang Juexia also frowned and looked at him. ¡°Do you mean you can¡¯t keep me alive?¡±


    [Hahahahaha giving yourself a killer problem]


    ¡°I said you eat too little.¡± Pei Tingsong gave him another big helping of meat with his chopsticks.


    [Really, I more and more don¡¯t know who the Gege is anymore]


    [Juexia, Juexia! Look at me! Have you ever read the Tiger-Like Incident Log!!]


    Staring at the screen, Fang Juexia suddenly saw this line, and then ate the meat in his mouth at a speed never seen before. ¡°Ah, that, Ling Yi showed it to me.¡±


    [It¡¯s 01 again!]


    [It¡¯s him, it¡¯s him! Our good friend Little Ling Yi!]


    Saying that, Fang Juexia covered his mouth with his palm and whispered, ¡°But is that thread still there? The one I saw that time was updated to¡­. ¡± He thought about it and said in a lower voice, ¡°I think it was to that plastic surgery incident.¡±


    [Hahahahaha, this desire for survival]


    [Quickly go through it!! It¡¯s still being updated!! It¡¯s even gotten to his side account!]


    ¡°Ah?¡±


    Pei Tingsong wondered, ¡°What are you muttering about ah?¡±


    Fang Juexia looked at him and couldn¡¯t help laughing. ¡°Your side account matter was posted to your Tiger-like Incident Log.¡±


    ¡°I know ah, I saw it.¡± Pei Tingsong poured a glass of water, and said with a smile on his face but not in his eyes. ¡°Speaking of that, I want to beat Ling Yi into calling 110.¡±


    [AHAHAHAHAHA]


    [¡°My roommate is the best handyman in the world!¡±]


    ¡°Handyman?¡± Fang Juexia didn¡¯t get this joke. ¡°Who is the handyman?¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright, eat quickly.¡± Pei Tingsong immediately changed the topic, ¡°It¡¯s gone cold ah.¡±


    Fang Juexia looked at the sashimi and said in a matter-of-fact way, ¡°It was cold in the first place.¡±


    Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t speak. He supported himself on the table with his elbow, dragged his palm down the side of his face, stared at Fang Juexia, and even raised an eyebrow.


    [Wow, this eyebrow raise is so alpha oh.]


    [Alpha coaxing Omega to eat]


    [Calling a spade a spade, I think JXGG is very beta]


    Fang Juexia ate the vegetables in the bowl, pointed to the screen, and slowly asked, ¡°What is beta?¡±


    Pei Tingsong frowned and looked at the screen. He probably understood what was going on, and he opened his mouth and said, ¡°Just that Shuke Beta show.¡±


    ¡°Ah?¡±


    [Shit hahahahaha Shuke Beta]


    [You just fool your Ge like this hahaha]


    Pei Tingsong glanced at him and opened the peach mousse cake box in front of him. ¡°Haven¡¯t you seen it? I grew up in America and even I know about it. ¡± And then he sang, ¡°Shuke Shuke Shuke, Shuke who flies the plane.¡± Then he was too lazy to sing any more, ¡°Just a couple of little mice, and Beta is the one who drives the tank.¡±


    [Hahahahaha complete look of seriousness while spouting nonsense]


    ¡°Oh, I remember it now.¡± Fang Juexia looked at the screen again with a puzzled face, ¡°Am I like a little mouse?¡±


    Pei Tingsong rubbed his head. ¡°You¡¯re especially like one.¡±


    [Hahaha, I¡¯m going to laugh to death from PTS, he must know!! ]


    [He rubs his head too naturally]


    [JXGG has already relaxed. He was so awkward in the morning, but now he¡¯s so relaxed and isn¡¯t acting. This is the power of colleagues]


    [So JXGG, a lot of people in the Tiger-like Incident Log said that you two were not compatible. Is that true?]


    As more and more people asked similar questions, Fang Juexia even put down his melon mousse and explained seriously, ¡°The two of us, how to say, we didn¡¯t really have a very close relationship at the beginning.¡± Saying that he looked over at Pei Tingsong. ¡°And he didn¡¯t live in the dormitory at that time. It¡¯s still mainly because of me, I don¡¯t like to talk very much, and I look a little cold when I don¡¯t make expressions. Maybe it made everyone have a bit of a¡­ ¡°


    Misunderstanding. But Fang Juexia knew that it was not a misunderstanding at all, and he didn¡¯t know how to explain it, so he just patted Pei Tingsong¡¯s thigh and threw the hot potato at him. ¡°You say it.¡±


    ¡°Say what?¡± Pei Tingsong looked at him, raised his hand to wipe the cream off on the corner of his mouth, and said in a very low voice, ¡°You¡¯ve gotten stuff on your face.¡±


    [AHHHHHHH EXPLAIN WHAT I¡¯M DEAF IT¡¯S OVER]


    ¡°En?¡± Fang Juexia wiped himself with a napkin and forgot what he was doing in the beginning. On the contrary, Pei Tingsong continued, ¡°In the early days, we did have a little misunderstanding, but the misunderstanding has long been resolved.¡±


    Fang Juexia took a look at the screen, and the entire screen was spammed with questions like [Then are you best friends now?]. He also felt a little guilty and almost knocked over the fruit bowl.


    ¡°Good friends?¡± Pei Tingsong stared at the words on the screen, read them out loud, and then shook his head. ¡°No, Fang Juexia isn¡¯t my good friend.¡±


    Fang Juexia also glanced at him and deliberately said, ¡°You¡¯re not my good friend either.¡±


    ¡°Then that¡¯s great.¡± Pei Tingsong made a high-five gesture, but Fang Juexia didn¡¯t cooperate at all, so he just pulled Fang Juexia¡¯s hand up to make him give him a high five.


    [Wow, this atmosphere is really¡­. ]


    [I don¡¯t even dare to say I¡¯m deaf now]


    After their palms pressed together, they lowered them down. Under the table where they couldn¡¯t see, Pei Tingsong held Fang Juexia¡¯s hand and clasped his fingers.


    ¡°I¡¯m full.¡± Fang Juexia finished the last bite of his dessert and showed the empty box to everyone. ¡°And that¡¯s all for today¡¯s livestream ba.¡±


    [Wuwuwuwwu are you going to turn it off? I haven¡¯t watched enough yet]


    [Gege goodbye 5555]


    Pei Tingsong raised his eyebrow beside him. ¡°Bye.¡±


    Fang Juexia raised his hand and turned off the livestream. He took the cellphone off the shelf and put it on the table, then stretched a bit and directly fell onto Pei Tingsong.


    Pei Tingsong was a little surprised by this action. He rubbed his hair and said, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Tired from eating? ¡°


    Fang Juexia looked around the room.


    ¡°There¡¯s no cameras here.¡± Pei Tingsong told him directly, ¡°I¡¯ve been here many times.¡±


    Hearing this, Fang Juexia only then set his heart down, stretched his arms around Pei Tingsong¡¯s neck, and rubbed against the tip of his nose. Then he buried his head into the side of his neck. ¡°Missed you.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t I right here?¡± Pei Tingsong lowered his head and kissed the top of his head.


    It wasn¡¯t missing him like that.


    Fang Juexia raised his head again and laughed. ¡°I¡¯m so tired from pretending ah. I¡¯ll never livestream with you alone again. ¡°


    Pei Tingsong couldn¡¯t help but peck Fang Juexia¡¯s soft lips. Realizing a bit late, he asked, ¡°Why don¡¯t you want to livestream with me?¡±


    Fang Juexia loosened his arms around his neck and sat upright a little. Sometimes he was surprisingly straightforward, his tone even carrying a bit of a complaint about himself.


    ¡°I just can¡¯t hold myself back. I want to look at you. As soon as you get close, I want to hold you and kiss you. Now I¡¯ve completely changed into¡­¡±


    Without waiting for him to finish, the straight ball he hit was blocked by Pei Tingsong¡¯s kiss, a cream mousse kiss.


    At the end of the kiss, Pei Tingsong looked at Fang Juexia, who was a little absent-minded. He laughed and made up for his unfinished words.


    ¡°It¡¯s so good, you¡¯ve changed into becoming more and more like me.¡±

 CH 115

    Boat Race


    At the end of the year after the tour, the company scheduled a formal meeting to design their third comeback album. After the tour and finishing up their short vacation, Kaleido devoted themselves completely to the production of their new album.


    It took four months for the preparatory work to be completed, and the release and promotional performances were scheduled for the end of November.


    ¡°The rest of the time is for post production.¡± At the last meeting for the third album, Cheng Qiang said to six overworked young people, ¡°As for you guys, there is still one more thing you need to do.¡±


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s unhappiness was written on his face. ¡°There¡¯s still more ah.¡±


    ¡°So, is this the last thing on the to-do list?¡± Jiang Miao leaned back in his chair. ¡°That¡¯s great, we can have a rest after we finish it.¡±


    Lu Yuan closed his eyes and gave Jiang Miao a big thumbs up. ¡°Worthy of Water Ge, you can enjoy yourself even in adversity.¡±


    Fang Juexia, who hadn¡¯t closed his eyes for 30 or so hours in a row, only felt that his eyes stung. He blinked hard several times, waiting quietly for Cheng Qiang¡¯s follow-up.


    ¡°I already can¡¯t go on anymore.¡± Ling Yi listlessly shook his head and lay on the table. ¡°I don¡¯t want to do anything now.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Cheng Qiang turned his chair around. ¡°Then what about the Maldives?¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± Ling Yi sat up straight in his chair, like a Chihuahua that was too excited, ¡°The Maldives?!¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you not want to do anything now?¡± He Ziyan, sitting next to him, reached for his chair armrest to spin him around and around, as if teasing a child. ¡°Let¡¯s have little Ling Yi stay at home and wait for Geges to come back ba.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t, I¡¯m going!¡± Ling Yi pushed away He Ziyan. ¡°Qiang Ge, I was wrong.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t let him go.¡± Pei Tingsong spun his pen. ¡°Whatever he does, doesn¡¯t work. He¡¯s number one at making a mess of things.¡±


    Ling Yi immediately retorted, ¡°You¡¯re the one who whatever you do, doesn¡¯t work. You¡¯re number one at holding grudges.¡±


    ¡°Alright, you guys.¡± Cheng Qiang continued, ¡°This time with the Maldives was actually prepared for the second season of the ensemble show. The Maldives part should be cut into the first two episodes.¡±


    Thinking that there would be a camera following them around, Fang Juexia was a bit disappointed. ¡°So it¡¯s also for work.¡±


    ¡°Not completely, our company also wanted to give you guys a holiday.¡± Cheng Qiang explained, ¡°The first two days we will follow you around and film, and due to the shoot, it may be a bit more intensive. The following few days, the staff will leave the island, and you guys can have fun on the island for the remaining five days.¡±


    ¡°Yeah!¡±


    So, Kaleido finally started their journey to Maldives that they had wanted so badly. Thinking of how they wanted to film them packing up their suitcases, Fang Juexia remembered Pei Tingsong¡¯s broken suitcase and ordered a new suitcase online the evening that they knew their itinerary. The suitcase was the same model as his, but in a different color. Pei Tingsong, when he got the suitcase, was so happy that he hugged Fang Juexia and kissed him again and again.


    ¡°How are you being so much like a little kid¡­¡± Fang Juexia, seeing him so excited, was now actually a bit embarrassed. ¡°Isn¡¯t it just a suitcase?¡±


    ¡°Who said that?¡± Pei Tingsong rolled his suitcase around. ¡°This is the first couple¡¯s item you¡¯ve bought for me yi.¡±


    When he said this, Fang Juexia¡¯s ears went red. ¡°What-what couple¡¯s item ah, it¡¯s just the same model.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a couple¡¯s model!¡±


    ¡°Shut up.¡±


    The Maldives were an archipelagic country composed of thousands of islands, both big and small. When the plane arrived in Mal¨¦, the capital of the Maldives, it was 11:00 a.m. Everyone then transferred to a speedboat and set out from Mal¨¦ to their final destination, JV island.


    Everyone was incredibly excited, especially Ling Yi, who was bouncing around like a child. Fang Juexia quietly looked at the blue sea and blue sky outside the glass window of the speedboat. His fatigue from the long-distance flight faded away the moment he saw the blue sea. The crystal clear mint-green and blue lagoon surrounded the tree lined island, which when looked at from a distance, made people feel relaxed and happy.


    All of a sudden, his shoulder sank. It was Pei Tingsong leaning his head against his shoulder, and Fang Juexia felt his heart grow tight. He was about to remind him that they were still filming, but he heard Pei Tingsong rub his temples and say with his very poor acting skills, ¡°Ah, I¡¯m so dizzy ah, I¡¯m a little seasick.¡±


    They had only been on the boat for a few minutes¡­


    Fang Juexia supported him and feigned ignorance, and he even reached out a hand to rub his head while continuing to watch the landscape.


    After arriving at JV Island, the shooting team asked the six of them to stand by the beach and record the opening. The director was also the female director from the first season of the ensemble show.


    ¡°Welcome everyone to the Maldives¡¯ JV island¡­¡±


    He Ziyan blocked the sun with his hand and said with a laugh to the others, ¡°Look at what Xi Jie said, it¡¯s just like this island is hers.¡±


    ¡°Hahahaha!¡±


    The female director, who was joked about, pretended to go cold. ¡°Okay, Two Fire will live on the beach tonight.¡±


    ¡°Hey, hey, hey, I¡¯m wrong, Xi Jie!¡± He Ziyan, a 1.8 m big guy, fell to his knees with a flop, startling Fang Juexia, who had been in a trance this entire time, into coming back to his senses. The staff on the scene were laughing like crazy.


    Lu Yuan shook his head. ¡°Two Fire has launched K¡¯s essential skill¡ª¡ªkneeling down and begging for mercy.¡±


    Pei Tingsong shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s not necessary, it¡¯s really not necessary.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s pretty good to live on the beach, you can see the stars.¡± Jiang Miao smiled.


    Seeing Two Fire kneeling on the ground, Ling Yi had the whim to ride on his back. Unexpectedly, He Ziyan¡¯s black short-sleeved shirt had been warmed too hot by the sun, so hot that Ling Yi slipped back down again, covered his burnt crotch, and hid behind Fang Juexia while wailing.


    ¡°Are you here to be funny, M-Dash?¡± Pei Tingsong pulled him out from behind Fang Juexia.


    Director Xi Jie clapped her hands. ¡°Okay, talking seriously now. We¡¯ll start here for the first episode of this season¡¯s ensemble show. Although it¡¯s a resort here, in order to add a little interest, many items within it, including the villas where you guys will be staying for the next few days, will be obtained through special ways.¡±


    Pei Tingsong immediately raised his hand and said, ¡°No drawing lots.¡±


    ¡°Hahahahahaha!¡±


    Lu Yuan applauded. ¡°As soon as he opens his mouth, he¡¯s a bad luck magnet.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we won¡¯t use the simple method of drawing lots this time.¡± The staff on the island appeared to help them move out six small boats. The director pointed to the red buoy not far away. ¡°See that buoy? That buoy has some Klein Blue flags stuck in it. You guys will set out while rowing your boat at the same time, and we will determine the order you guys get to pick things during this trip based on the order in which you arrive at the buoy and pull up the flags. ¡°


    ¡°Ah this, Xiao Pei already knows how to row the boat ah, it¡¯s not fair.¡±


    ¡°Forget it, forget it, Xiao Pei has been unlucky for such a long time.¡±


    ¡°What are you guys implying?!¡±


    Under the arrangement of the staff, each of them put on a life jacket and sat down in a boat. It was Fang Juexia¡¯s first time rowing a boat, and when he took the oars from the staff, it felt a little strange.


    ¡°I will definitely be number one.¡± Pei Tingsong, on the far left, said, ¡°I¡¯ll choose a water-side villa then.¡±


    Jiang Miao was a little afraid of water. ¡°I want to stay in a beach villa, I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t sleep at all on the sea.¡±


    The water-side villa was a villa completely on the sea. Outside the floor-to-ceiling glass windows was the boundless sea with first-class landscape. This was opposed to the beach villas built on the beach. Setting it up like this, the production team would definitely give the winner the priority when choosing which villa to stay in.


    ¡°Xiao Pei, let me tell you,¡± Lu Yuan recounted his experience, ¡°never set up a flag. If you set up a flag, you can¡¯t get the flag.¡±


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s not like you¡¯ve been unlucky for just a day or two, gaming black hole.¡± He Ziyan nodded.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, I will definitely defeat the gaming black hole this time,¡± Ling Yi declared war on him and also poked Fang Juexia¡¯s oar with his oar. ¡°Which one do you want to sleep in, Juexia?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine with anything ah.¡± Fang Juexia had never been picky, but when thinking of Pei Tingsong¡¯s luck, he felt a bit unsure.


    What if, as they were saying, Xiao Pei¡¯s luck was so bad that he didn¡¯t get first place, then what? In just a few seconds, Fang Juexia thought of all kinds of results after they rowed the boats.


    As soon as he heard the whistling of the director group, he immediately looked up and looked ahead.


    ¡°Get ready¨Cgo!¡±


    The six people set out at the same time, and at first the distance between them wasn¡¯t big. However, Pei Tingsong had experience with kayaking, so he was more skillful when rowing the boat. It was Ling Yi however, who started to go in circles soon after he started rowing. Lu Yuan, He Ziyan, and Jiang Miao weren¡¯t far apart, and Pei Tingsong was gradually opening up some distance between them.


    Although Fang Juexia had never rowed a boat before, this kind of movement was very easy for him to analyze. Before he set out, he knew the direction the water was flowing and the angle the oars swung at. After spending a minute adapting to it, he became very smooth at it. Holding the two oars, dipping them into the water alternately, he rowed forward with no distractions, just rushing forward to the little blue flag that was growing clearer and clearer.


    ¡°Wow, Juexia is now going to be even with Tingsong!¡±


    ¡°How powerful!¡±


    The distance to the buoy was getting smaller and smaller, and the distance between Fang Juexia and Pei Tingsong was nearly negligible, but Fang Juexia didn¡¯t know that, with his entire heart just set on that last goal.


    The little blue flags were right in front of him. The bows of the two ships passed the red buoy at almost the same time. Pei Tingsong reflexively looked over in Fang Juexia¡¯s direction, confirmed the distance between him and the buoy, and extended his hand at the same time.


    Fang Juexia stretched his arm, pulled, and raised the blue flag, which was his goal from beginning to end.


    ¡°Juexia is first!¡±


    ¡°Xiao Pei got it, too!¡±


    The two of them were almost a second apart.


    Pei Tingsong smiled, waved the flag, and then rowed to Fang Juexia¡¯s side. ¡°Why did you work so hard this time?¡±


    ¡°Did I?¡± Fang Juexia was so tired that he put down the oars in his hand and only then suddenly realized that they were so heavy. ¡°I really am tired.¡± He looked at Pei Tingsong, raised his face slightly, pursed his lips, and laughed at him. ¡°You¡¯re so good ah, if I had known earlier, I wouldn¡¯t have had to work so hard¡­¡±


    The sea breeze was very strong, and Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t hear the second half of his sentence clearly. ¡°What did you say?¡±


    Fang Juexia shook his head and changed his words to, ¡°Is kayaking more tiring?¡±


    When he shook his hair under the sun, his hair swung fluffily. It was so cute and made Pei Tingsong think of Lily. He thoroughly enjoyed this carelessly coquettish posture. He had thought that he was a man with a strong desire for victory, but now, his desire for victory couldn¡¯t even compare to a single strand of Fang Juexia¡¯s hair.


    Pei Tingsong nodded. ¡°I¡¯m not as good as you, being able to row so fast your first time. And I think your route was a completely straight line. ¡°


    You were looking at me the entire time, no wonder you lost. A little pleasure appeared in Fang Juexia¡¯s heart, just like the floating clouds in the sky.


    ¡°What are you laughing at?¡± Pei Tingsong waved the little flag.


    Fang Juexia shook his head with a smile and didn¡¯t speak.


    The remaining He Ziyan, Lu Yuan, and Jiang Miao also arrived one after another, taking away their small flag. Only Ling Yi was left, still turning around in circles at the start. ¡°Aiya, I¡¯m already dizzy, go forward ah!¡±


    Everyone was beside themselves with laughter, and finally, Lu Yuan pulled out his flag for him and said, ¡°The game is over!¡±¡¯


    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s announce the results.¡± Everyone returned to the beach, and the director read out the order based on their records. ¡°First place is Juexia, second is Xiao Pei, and then it¡¯s Yuanyuan, Ziyan, and Miaomiao, and last is Ling Yi, who didn¡¯t even row a meter.¡±


    ¡°Can that part get cut?¡± Ling Yi pretended to wipe away tears.


    Pei Tingsong suddenly said, ¡°I agree.¡±


    Ling Yi was surprised. ¡°Pei Tingsong is finally acting human!¡±


    Pei Tingsong continued, ¡°Cut it out and turn it into a promotional video.¡±


    ¡°Hahahaha!¡±


    ¡°Now let¡¯s start with the first item, choosing a villa!¡± The director group took out three promotional signs, on which were pictures of three villas. ¡°To make it easier to shoot, we¡¯ll still be doing two people per villa. There is the luxury water-side villa, the luxury beach villa, and the sub-luxury beach villa. ¡°


    ¡°This word is very smart.¡± Lu Yuan complained


    ¡°So, in the order of the rowing task, you can choose your villa and your roommate.¡±


    Ling Yi wanted to cry without tears. He knelt down beside Fang Juexia and hugged his thigh. ¡°Juexia! Save your child ba.¡±


    Lu Yuan shook his head again. ¡°Here we go again, Kaleido traditional performance.¡±


    Fang Juexia pulled him up. ¡°You scared me.¡±


    ¡°Juexia, you are the best,¡± Ling Yi shriveled up his mouth. ¡°We¡¯ve even been roommates for many years.¡±


    He Ziyan began to joke around. ¡°Fill in the blank, my roommate is the best in the world at¡­¡±


    ¡°Being a handyman.¡± Jiang Miao and Lu Yuan said with one voice.


    ¡°Okay, now starting from first place. Juexia, come out first and stand in front of the sign with the villa that you want to choose. ¡°


    Fang Juexia nodded, held his small flag, and walked to the luxury water-side house without any suspense.


    ¡°Okay, the luxury water house has its owner.¡± The director asked, ¡°Who do you want to choose as your roommate?¡±


    Everyone started to crazily point at themselves, except for Jiang Miao, who didn¡¯t really want to live in the water-side villa. It was a good opportunity for them to have Fang Juexia take first place, because as everyone knew, based on Fang Juexia¡¯s personality, he wouldn¡¯t deliberately choose Pei Tingsong in front of the camera. No matter what, he had to avoid suspicion, and he definitely would avoid suspicion, so this meant that everyone had a chance.


    Even Pei Tingsong himself felt this way; his face was already stormy, and he had no interest about who Fang Juexia was going to choose.


    Fang Juexia looked at his enthusiastically jumping bandmates and said to the camera, ¡°Pei Tingsong.¡±


    Pei Tingsong, who was called by name, was stunned, and his face was full of disbelief.


    The other people were a little surprised, but soon managed their expressions for the sake of their bandmates¡¯ love affair, and deliberately clowned around by ¡°boxing¡± with sand.


    Lu Yuan clicked his tongue and said, ¡°Isn¡¯t this infuriating? Number one picked number two.¡±


    But Jiang Miao said, ¡°It¡¯s a good thing ah, second place¡¯s choice is now directly given to the third place.¡±


    ¡°Right yi.¡±


    The director announced, ¡°Okay, then Xiao Pei and Juexia are one group. Third place Yuanyuan, you can choose your villa and roommate.¡±


    Lu Yuan trotted over to the luxury beach villa. ¡°I choose¡­¡± he turned his head to look at the director group. ¡°Can I live by myself?¡±


    ¡°Hahahaha!¡±


    ¡°No!¡±


    Ling Yi pinned the small flag behind his ear, which made him look fancy and attracted Lu Yuan¡¯s attention. ¡°Yuan Ge, look at me! You are the hottest person in the world! I¡¯ll be your horse and kill chickens for you, choose me ba! When I sleep, I don¡¯t grind my teeth, I don¡¯t snore, and my sleeping position is also really good! ¡°


    ¡°Who wants to share a bed with you ah?¡± He said that, but Lu Yuan still finally chose Ling Yi. ¡°I¡¯ll pick him ba, the child is pitiful.¡±


    ¡°Yes! Luxury beach house is still luxury!¡±


    ¡°Okay, then Ziyan and Miaomiao who are left will go to the sub-luxury beach villa.¡±


    He Ziyan pulled out a pair of sunglasses from who-knew- where and put them on himself. ¡°As the Geges in the group, of course, we should let our Didis have the nice things.¡±


    Ling Yi fell on the ground and pretended to throw up.


    ¡°Pregnant with your second child ah, congratulations, congratulations.¡±


    ¡°Screw you!¡±


    The selected people moved over to their partner and signboard based on the arrangement. Pei Tingsong also walked towards Fang Juexia and stood with him. He was still a little surprised; he had tried his best to win first place mainly because he had wanted to choose Fang Juexia to live with him, since in his opinion, if he didn¡¯t take the initiative, they definitely wouldn¡¯t be staying together.


    At this time, the director asked, ¡°How did Juexia make his choice?¡±


    Fang Juexia probably didn¡¯t think that he would be asked about this and froze for a second, but he soon gave his own reasoning.


    ¡°Because during our first ensemble show livestream when we played the passing-the-candy-wrapper-around game, clearly Xiao Pei was very good at it, and he even caught the candy wrapper that was falling down, but because I lost, he was also punished with me. And he is really unlucky, often losing because of strange luck.¡±


    As he said this, he laughed. His smile was very open, which was totally different from the first season of their ensemble show.


    ¡°So I really wanted¡­ To satisfy his wishes. ¡°

 CH 116

    The number one sexy girl group in the entertainment industry


    After the villas were selected, the production team followed the three small teams to their respective villas to capture their reaction scene on seeing the villas for the first time.


    Since entering the group, Fang Juexia hadn¡¯t taken any decent holidays, and the little bit of free time he had was used to either supplement his sleep in the dormitory or to go home to keep his mother company. So when he saw the water-side villa on the sea, he found it a little bit novel, and also finally understood why Pei Tingsong had wanted to win this villa.


    The most beautiful thing in Maldives was the crystal clear mint-green and blue lagoon, which seemed so clear that it could clean out all bad moods. The water-side villa was suspended above the lagoon, facing the endless sea.


    Fang Juexia followed Pei Tingsong up to the water-side villa and walked in. Glass walls surrounded the first floor master bedroom, and when you opened the glass door to go out, an infinity pool stretched out in front of you. Visually, it seemed as if it almost connected with the sea.


    ¡°It¡¯s so beautiful.¡± Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t help sighing.


    ¡°It¡¯s very nice.¡± Pei Tingsong embraced his shoulder, not using any pose of being the group bully in front of Fang Juexia. ¡°Thank you, Gege.¡±


    Fang Juexia turned his head and smiled, then suddenly thought of something. ¡°I just saw something like a slide outside.¡± Saying that, he went to the first floor to look at it clearly. ¡°What is that?¡±


    Pei Tingsong walked slowly behind him. ¡°It¡¯s a slide so you can slide from upstairs straight into the sea.¡±


    Fang Juexia raised his hand to block out the sun and looked up. It turned out that the balcony outside the bedroom on the second floor was connected with the slide around the house.


    ¡°Ling Yi will definitely like this.¡± The sun was too bright, and Fang Juexia spoke to Pei Tingsong in a sure tone as he walked into the room, ¡°He will come over to play.¡±


    Unexpectedly, Pei Tingsong threw out the sentence, ¡°You just know him so well.¡±


    His tone was obviously too sour; Fang Juexia wanted to tease him, but he noticed the camera following him, so it wasn¡¯t really good for him to speak clearly now. As soon as he entered the bedroom, he discovered a transparent glass floor. Through the floor, he could directly see the lagoon below. ¡°Look, this one is also transparent.¡± Fang Juexia squatted to look down, and in a serious tone, said, ¡°It¡¯s a little high.¡±


    Pei Tingsong, who had just still been jealous, couldn¡¯t help laughing when he saw how Fang Juexia¡¯s eyebrows were twisting together. He squatted down next to him and looked down. ¡°Does this count as high ah? It¡¯s just a meter or two ba.¡±


    ¡°Wow, there are turtles!¡± Fang Juexia suddenly slapped Pei Tingsong¡¯s back twice, exclaiming in a rare childlike tone.


    ¡°Really.¡± Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t really look at the turtle, instead turning to look at Fang Juexia¡¯s side profile next to him.


    ¡°This turtle crawls really slowly.¡± Fang Juexia hugged his knees and stared at the slow sea creature below. The sunlight shone through the side glass door, turning his thin eyelids transparent. His red birthmark reminded Pei Tingsong of a cherry embedded in a fruit jelly.


    How was he so lovely?


    ¡°At last it crawled away.¡± Fang Juexia breathed a sigh of relief for the turtle, and some thoughts appeared in his mind. ¡°Say, subjective time for it should also be very slow ba.¡±


    This was an interesting point of view. Pei Tingsong hugged his knee and thought about it. ¡°It should be, otherwise the turtle should be very anxious every day, to the point that his anxiety will cause him problems.¡±


    On hearing these words, Fang Juexia suddenly burst out laughing, his white teeth flashing. ¡°I¡¯ve also thought about a turtle¡¯s sense of time.¡±


    Slowing down a bit, and then becoming even slower¡ª


    He could then stay together with Pei Tingsong for even longer.


    ¡°Speaking of time, in a blink of an eye, we¡¯re already filming the second season of our group¡¯s ensemble show,¡± Pei Tingsong said, holding his fist and pointing it as a microphone towards Fang Juexia¡¯s mouth. ¡°Classmate Fang Juexia, how do you feel about it?¡±


    ¡°I feel like¡­¡± Fang Juexia thought about it seriously, then looked at the camera in front of him and answered, ¡°Our company has finally made some money.¡±


    The cameraman was amused by his words and laughed.


    ¡°That¡¯s it ah?¡± Pei Tingsong reached out his hand and rubbed his hair.


    Fang Juexia neatened up his hair that had just been messed up. ¡°We had to film the first episode of the first season in the dorm, but now we can even come to the Maldives. Doesn¡¯t that mean we made money?¡±


    Pei Tingsong pulled the ¡°microphone¡± back and expressed his feelings directly to the camera.


    ¡°Fang Juexia is the most sincere child under the heavens.¡±


    Fang Juexia frowned on hearing this. When he looked around the room, he noticed the big bed. He reached out and pressed it, and it was quite soft. ¡°I thought there would be a water bed in a water-side villa.¡±


    As soon as he heard this, Pei Tingsong directly covered his mouth.


    ¡°Wu?¡± Fang Juexia looked up at him and blinked. He was completely unaware of what he had said wrong.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go upstairs and have a look ba.¡± Pei Tingsong suppressed his joy.


    The two of them took the filming crew to tour around the villa, and Pei Tingsong had pretty much scoped out the locations of all the fixed cameras in the villa. Towards noon, the six people gathered again and went to the island restaurant for lunch. After having their lively lunch filmed, the afternoon¡¯s schedule focused on an offshore segment.


    ¡°Miao Ge, come play on the jet skis with us ah!¡± Lu Yuan yelled and screamed while on the sea, as excited as a high school student.


    Jiang Miao was expressionless and shook his head. ¡°I can¡¯t swim. What if I fall into the sea? I¡¯d die.¡±


    Fang Juexia walked over to Jiang Miao¡¯s side. He had already sat behind Pei Tingsong on the jet ski to play for a round, and after seeing Jiang Miao remain so calm even when he was scared, he actually kind of wanted to laugh. ¡°Miao Ge, there¡¯s an instructor behind us, so there shouldn¡¯t be any big problems. I just tried it, and you won¡¯t fall down. Would you like to sit behind one of them and try?¡±


    ¡°No, just playing in the water by the beach is okay.¡± Jiang Miao looked at He Ziyan, Lu Yuan, and Pei Tingsong, who were riding on jet skis in the distance and flipping up into the air. ¡°It¡¯s too fast, I¡¯m really scared.¡±


    That was true; persuading others to overcome their fear and try what they dared not do could sometimes become a kind of pressure. Fang Juexia gave up on the idea of encouraging him to go, handing Jiang Miao some of the candy he had in his pocket instead. ¡°This one¡¯s very tasty.¡±


    Jiang Miao put down the thing he was holding and took the candy from Fang Juexia¡¯s hand.


    ¡°What are you holding?¡± Fang Juexia looked down at the small bottle he had put on the ground.


    ¡°He Ziyan¡¯s sunscreen.¡± Jiang Miao took the candy wrapper off and ruthlessly complained, ¡°Who would think that the darkest one in our entire group is actually the most diligent about putting on sunscreen?¡±


    ¡°Pfft.¡±


    Ling Yi ran over. ¡°There¡¯s manta-rays over there yi! Do you guys want to go feed them together?¡±


    ¡°Okay ah.¡±


    ¡°Miao Ge, you already have three waters in your name, but you¡¯re actually so scared of water ah.¡±


    Jiang Miao asked, ¡°Your name is Ling Yi, but are you a 1?¡±


    Fang Juexia laughed so hard he ended up throwing his head back.


    Although it was an ensemble show, it still followed the same format as the first season, with the cameras just filming what these six boys did. The production team also didn¡¯t deliberately write a script for them to act out in order to get more people to watch; everyone just focused on carrying out all the fun activities in the first two days to make it easy to gather material. Kaleido¡¯s members also had a sense of variety, and just simply recording them was actually more interesting.


    IThe next day, in the afternoon, they went fishing with the local staff and returned with a full load, eating and playing with the tuna they had caught. The knowledge  that they would soon finish work and could spend their vacation time at their own discretion caused the mood of the six people to grow more and more excited.


    ¡°Everyone is nearly done eating ba.¡± The director stood behind the camera, with a couple of the staff members moving over a board with a cartoon drawing on it in front of them. It featured six girls dressed in different styles of swimsuits, some tall and sexy, some pure and gentle, and some sporty and cute.


    Seeing the drawing, Pei Tingsong raised his eyebrows. ¡°What are you guys doing? Letting us choose a paper person? Do I look like that much of an otaku?¡±


    ¡°If he won¡¯t, I will!¡± Lu Yuan raised his hand. ¡°Give them all to me.¡±


    Ling Yi looked at Lu Yuan with disgust and scolded, ¡°Pervert.¡±


    Fang Juexia stared at the drawing. He kept feeling that something was off, but he wasn¡¯t able to pinpoint exactly what was off.


    Jiang Miao rubbed his chin with his hand. ¡°Is choosing one of these related to the kind of game that will be played in the last segment? There should be no water games ba.¡±


    The director continued, ¡°Good guess, we are letting you pick. Please note that your choice will determine what your last segment is like, and we will be broadcasting it by using it as our preview livestream for the ensemble show. So everyone, please be careful, it¡¯s better to choose based on your own orientation and preferences.¡±


    ¡°This again, it¡¯s like drawing lots again, and it¡¯s a livestream again.¡± As an old doom magnet, Pei Tingsong had already given up on all kinds of the lottery games.


    Orientation¡­. Fang Juexia remained silent, glancing from the far left to the far right of the drawing, and then back.


    Finally, he secretly glanced at Pei Tingsong who had given up on struggling.


    His orientation wasn¡¯t there at all ah.


    ¡°Then¡­. Let¡¯s start with Xiao Pei ba.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to pick.¡± Pei Tingsong leaned lazily on the chair, put on his sunglasses and closed his eyes, showing no intention of cooperating here. ¡°My orientation isn¡¯t drawn on there.¡±


    After hearing this, Fang Juexia tried very hard to control his facial expression to ensure he wouldn¡¯t laugh out loud.


    Ling Yi whispered, ¡°Come on, it¡¯s plainly because you¡¯re too unlucky and don¡¯t dare to pick.¡±


    Pei Tingsong still maintained his posture of having leisurely retired, but did point his middle finger in Ling Yi¡¯s direction.


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll pick ah.¡± He Ziyan pointed at the drawing. ¡°The second one from the left, the beautiful Jiejie in the red bikini.¡±


    ¡°Nice ah, big curly blonde hair.¡± Lu Yuan immediately chose the one he liked. ¡°Then I¡¯m going to pick the Jiejie wearing the navy blue one-piece sports bathing suit with the ponytail!¡±


    Seeing that everyone was so active, Ling Yi went directly up to the board and said, ¡°Then I¡¯ll pick this one in the pink polka-dotted skirt! She¡¯s about the same size as me, and she has my favorite kind of short hair.¡±


    There weren¡¯t many options left. Jiang Miao took a look and chose the girl with braided hair who was wearing a light blue one-piece swimsuit. ¡°This one ba, she feels more safe.¡±


    ¡°What safe? Hahaha.¡±


    Fang Juexia looked at the remaining two choices; one was tall and sexy, wearing a black swimdress with a plunging V neckline and sported big curly hair, while the other was a pretty and innocent girl with long straight black hair, and she was wearing a two-piece white swimsuit, the upper part a ruffled bikini, the lower part a skirt.


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll pick the one in white.¡±


    This sentence poked He Ziyan into laughter. ¡°¡®The one,¡¯ hahaha, Juexia is really too serious.¡±


    ¡°So the scum lady with big curly hair belongs to Xiao Pei.¡± Lu Yuan applauded, ¡°Congratulations, congratulations.¡±


    When everyone finished choosing, the director Jiejie, who had a fascinated smile on her face, said, ¡°Remember the girl group dance you guys rehearsed in the company¡¯s practice room?¡±


    Senior citizen Pei Tingsong suddenly sat up, and his sunglasses fell all the way down to the bridge of his nose. ¡°No way ba, what the hell are you guys doing?¡±


    He Ziyan also started getting an inkling of the idea here. ¡°Wait a minute, so the choice just now was actually¡­¡±


    The staff turned the board around, and behind each cartoon girl hung the swimsuit they were wearing in the picture.


    Lu Yuan¡¯s face was immediately filled with question marks.


    Fang Juexia finally figured out what was off too late.


    Only Ling Yi still remained confused, not being able to figure it out. ¡°No, using swimsuits to fool us ah, I thought there would be real people.¡±


    Jiang Miao was about to be defeated by Ling Yi¡¯s brain circuits. ¡°You are the person ah.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡±


    As soon as he heard they were going to crossdress, how could Pei Tingsong, an imposing tiger-like 1, bear it? He slapped the table and stood up, ready to revolt. Yet, he suddenly caught a glimpse of the white swimsuit Fang Juexia had picked; the sea wind blew it up, and the little skirt and lace ties floated up.


    Very good, he had been seduced.


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s explosive reaction had long been expected by the production group. After all, it was impossible for the little devil to listen to them, so, in order to persuade him, they had already prepared a list of top ten reasons for him to participate in this segment. ¡°Xiao Pei, calm down first and listen to us¡­¡±


    ¡°Not necessary.¡±


    Fang Juexia unscrewed the water bottle, took a sip of water, puffed out his cheeks, and closed the lid. He then saw Pei Tingsong wave his hand. ¡°I think the swimsuit concept is very creative.¡±


    He nearly spat out that mouthful of water.


    The rest of them all turned their heads to look at Pei Tingsong with question marks on their faces.


    ¡°Have you been possessed, Pei Tingsong?¡±


    ¡°No ah.¡± Pei Tingsong carelessly sat down and twirled his sunglasses in his hands. ¡°It¡¯s just very¡ªvery interesting ah. Anyway, we¡¯ve all even rehearsed the girl group dance, isn¡¯t it that crossdressing is just being added? It¡¯s so good ah, that way the stage is complete.¡±


    Jiang Miao squinted at him. ¡°What is making a rapper stammer?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not wearing it! If someone has to wear it, then Xiao Pei can wear it by himself.¡±


    Pei Tingsong pressed down on Ling Yi¡¯s head. ¡°None. Of. You. Think. Of. Escaping.¡±


    Fang Juexia reached for Pei Tingsong¡¯s arm and shook it. Although he didn¡¯t say a word, his face was full of the words¡ª ¡°Wake Up¡±.


    Lu Yuan shook his head. ¡°Even Teacher Fang has started panicking.¡±


    Forget Fang Juexia, even the production team was left stunned on the spot, unable to figure out the tune Pei Tingsong was now singing. However, no matter what, it was a good thing that the most difficult thorn at their side had turned his coat, for as long as he agreed, the rest of the little brothers would be easy to deal with. The production team brought out the strong demands of the big fans to move them with emotion and reason, and finally managed to half-coax them into the dressing room.


    The atmosphere of the whole Kaleido group had always been relaxed and silly; they were famous for not having an idol¡¯s sense of distance. Previously, the fans had begged for the girl group dance number as a gift, and so they had gone ahead and really trained for such a number in the practice room. Although crossdressing may sound strange at first, everyone in the group possessed a high degree of acceptance for such things.


    The production team had brought along several stylists to take charge of the crossdressing, but since the room was a little small, Jiang Miao and Fang Juexia went to get changed in a small room by themselves, while the remaining four gathered in a larger room.


    ¡°In fact, I don¡¯t hate cross-dressing. Really, I think trying it once in a while is quite fresh,¡± He Ziyan said, as he sat in front of the dressing table and allowed the hairdresser to adjust his long blond hair. While talking, he then raised his arm to show his biceps. ¡°I¡¯m just afraid of scaring the fans.¡±


    When Lu Yuan, who was beside him, saw him posing like that, he laughed so hard that his wig nearly fell off. ¡°You are the legendary King Kong Barbie!¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t say, Fire Ge is dark enough to be an African-American,¡± Pei Tingsong looked over and complained.


    ¡°It¡¯s just you who is pale.¡±


    Lu Yuan took a look at Xiao Pei in the mirror and said, ¡°Xiao Pei doesn¡¯t seem to be as clashing, Two Fire is too much of a beefcake guy hahahaha.¡±


    This was true. Although Pei Tingsong¡¯s facial features were well-defined, they weren¡¯t the extremely masculine kind. With the right makeup, a black wavy wig, and a red lipstick buff applied, he really did look a bit like a domineering Jie.


    ¡°Do you guys think Xiao Pei looks like the Jiejie in that scum woman meme?¡± Ling Yi made a gesture of smoking, while giving off an impression of blurred eyes somehow as well. ¡°Scum woman with cigarettes, boundless power and assets.¡±


    Lu Yuan quickly picked up the joke and flipped his fake ponytail in a coquettish way. ¡°Bye-bye is bye-bye, the next one will be a more obedient guy.¡±


    Pei Tingsong frowned and waited for the stylist to get his clothes. ¡°What are you guys reading online every day¡­¡±


    While he was complaining, they heard a knock on the door, and the clown group of four looked up at the door reflected in the mirror. They then actually saw a real beauty wearing a white two-piece swimming suit with a skirt.


    ¡°Wow¡­¡± Lu Yuan and Ling Yi let out a sound of admiration at the same time.


    He looked really good. Fang Juexia had delicate facial features, a thin figure, and really pale and cool skin. When he crossdressed, he gave off almost no sense of things clashing. He had tried wearing long straight black hair before, and although this time, it was a wig paired with a lace headband, it could be confused to be real hair. The two-piece swimsuit just perfectly showed off his slender waist and long legs. His flesh and bones were in even balance, and his temperament was also wonderful.


    ¡°It¡¯s very strange ba¡­¡± Fang Juexia¡¯s expression was uneasy, his hand unconsciously pulling down the skirt of his swimsuit, and then, when he raised his eyes, he happened to meet Pei Tingsong¡¯s gaze through the mirror. He didn¡¯t know why, but he became more nervous, and his palms started sweating.


    ¡°It¡¯s really good-looking!¡± Ling Yi stretched out his foot and kicked Pei Tingsong¡¯s chair. ¡°Right, Xiao Pei?¡±


    ¡°En¡­¡± Pei Tingsong was experiencing a rare instance of stammering, with his ears burning and his face going quite hot. ¡°Very good-looking.¡±


    It was too strange¡ªhe was already this old, but this was his first time he didn¡¯t dare to look at a person, even though it was the person he liked the most.


    Hearing the word ¡°good-looking,¡± Fang Juexia felt a little happy inside. He came over, pulled up a stool, and sat down beside Pei Tingsong. He drew closer and said, ¡°Your lipstick is very red ah.¡±


    Don¡¯t get so close ah.


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s heart started beating really fast, beating like a drum within his chest.


    Although Fang Juexia didn¡¯t have much expression on his face, he always used a sort of innocent tone when asking, ¡°Why won¡¯t you look at me? Is it very ugly?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Pei Tingsong turned his head, following his words to look at him. ¡°Aren¡¯t I¡­.looking at you now?¡±


    Ling Yi sneakily glanced in the mirror, and when he found the right opportunity, he crazily stepped on Pei Tingsong¡¯s foot and said, ¡°Ha! This damn Xiao Pei has gone shy!¡±


    Hearing the word ¡°shy,¡± Pei Tingsong¡¯s fur immediately exploded. ¡°What the hell are you talking about?!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re just embarrassed~ You are!¡±


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s temple throbbed, and he was about to press Ling Yi to the ground and hammer him. Unfortunately, he was immediately held back by Fang Juexia, so when he stretched out his hand, he only caught Ling Yi¡¯s wig.


    ¡°Ah, he made my hair fall off!¡±


    Lu Yuan and He Ziyan only cared about joking around. ¡°You deserve it, hahaha.¡±


    The director urged the six ¡°beautiful girls¡± to finish changing quickly and finally rushed them out to the beach, as if she were herding ducks, where they came out to the beautiful scenery of a splendid sunset.


    Fang Juexia had never seen such a beautiful sunset. Every cloud was saturated in orange-pink sunlight, and the blue-water lagoon also seemed to have bits of gold scattered on it. He looked up, completely immersed in it all, and didn¡¯t even notice Pei Tingsong photographing his side profile in the sunset as he stood at his side.


    Pei Tingsong not only took a photo, but he also made a post in his side account.


    [@The Moon of Entelecheia: The official gossiped-about girlfriend. [picture]]


    ¡°Did you photograph me?¡± Fang Juexia realized it when he saw him holding a mobile phone.


    ¡°No ah,¡± Pei Tingsong stubbornly refused to admit it and threw his cell phone over to the staff. ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything.¡±


    At the director¡¯s urging, the six people stood in line, with their backs to the camera.


    ¡°Relax a bit, don¡¯t be too restrained.¡± The cinematographer reminded them.


    ¡°With them? You even want them to relax?¡± The director shook her head. ¡°If they really relaxed, they could do a crosstalk segment for you while dressed in female swimsuits.¡±


    ¡°Hahahahaha!¡±


    At this time, Jiang Miao still didn¡¯t forget to display his leadership spirit as the group leader. ¡°Now that we have all crossdressed, our movements should be a bit softer and more gentle, so strive for that and get through it.¡±


    ¡°Understood¡ª¡±


    The song they had practiced was a new song released by Zhai Ying¡¯s girl group. The overall style of the dance was sexy, but it wasn¡¯t especially difficult. When they had practiced it before, they had agreed that they would only shoot a practice room version. Unexpectedly, they had landed in a trap, walking step by step into the abyss of being big bosses who crossdressed.


    ¡°I¡¯m so beautiful.¡± He Ziyan looked down at his shadow on the beach. ¡°Look at my hair, this profile.¡±


    Pei Tingsong rolled his eyes. ¡°You can shut up ba, scum man.¡±


    Fang Juexia was still embarrassed. He never thought that he would actually crossdress one day, and that as soon as he did, it would even be at the level of wearing swimsuits, and on top of that, he still had to dance¡­


    The director yelled from a distance, ¡°Stand by, the livestream can start.¡±


    The staff started the livestream, and fans soon poured in.


    [I¡¯m here I¡¯m here I¡¯m here!]


    [Preview livestream for the ensemble show!!! Is the second season coming??]


    [Hey? What is this? A beach?]


    [Am I in the wrong livestream? How is it a swimsuit party?? Has Kaleido¡¯s livestream account been hacked??]


    Just as fans were getting confused, the music started. Fang Juexia, who had been embarrassed just a second ago, turned back into a dancing machine as soon as he heard the music. He didn¡¯t have time to care about the crossdressing, he simply turned around on the beat, with a slightly stiff smile on his face, overlapped his hands in front of his face like butterflies, and moved his slender fingers.


    [Holy shit!!!!!! C position beauty, who are you!!!!!]


    [Fuck fuck fuck, is this Juexia Gege?!! He¡¯s too beautiful!!!]


    [A white swimsuit, what kind of lovely beautiful baby is Fang Juexia?! I¡¯m about to shoot!]


    [Holy shit, the six big bosses crossdressing?? Xiao Pei is actually unexpectedly very beautiful yi!]


    Fang Juexia¡¯s years of demanding practice had already allowed him to engrave his dedication on the stage into his bones. Even if it was a funny twist, he still took it seriously.


    Ling Yi walked to the front, exchanged positions with Fang Juexia, and then winked at the camera.


    [AHHHH LING YI! From now on, you are Mama¡¯s Ling Yiyi!]


    [I love this wink, and the short hair is really too cute, our Ling Yi]


    [Lip synching girl group KaleidoBlossom! The beautiful girl group KaleidoBlossom!]


    Ling Yi accepted his cross-dressing identity especially freely, being as coquettish and affectedly sweet as required. Compared to him, Fang Juexia was pretty much a goddess standing on top of an icy mountain. He clearly was dancing the same dance, but emanated an immortal air that couldn¡¯t be polluted from head to toe.


    Jiang Miao also stepped forward, stood in the C position, and led the whole group into doing two continuous waves together. This action was too sexy, immediately triggering a field of exclamations in the barrage.


    [What kind of warm big Jiejie is Shuishui ah!]


    [AHHHHH I¡¯VE DIED!]


    [Juexia¡¯s waist! I¡¯m in¡­]


    Pei Tingsong had wanted to crossdress just to see Fang Juexia wear a swimsuit. However, after he put on the swimsuit himself, he found that his dancing was always off. Whichever way they moved, their lower halves always stuck out; girl-group dances utilised hip movements the most, and as they continued to dance, he felt so uncomfortable that he didn¡¯t want to dance anymore. He hid behind and forced He Ziyan to paddle along.


    In fact, He Ziyan wasn¡¯t paddling along. He was seriously ¡°showing off¡± his sexiness, but the harder he tried, the funnier he looked. Wearing a red bikini and doing a wave made his eight-pack abs shine in the sunset.


    [Hey, can the two of you in the not-gong group focus on doing fanservice ah! How about you not dance the sexy dance as if a tiger were coming down from the mountain, okay?]


    [What kind of muscular spice girl is He Ziyan hahahahaha!]


    [Xiao Pei actually has pecs! More obvious than mine! It¡¯s nice to have pecs ah]


    In the first part of the chorus, Lu Yuan walked to the middle. As soon as he flipped his ponytail, he flicked it directly into Ling Yi¡¯s face, to the point where Ling Yi yelled out loud. However, poor Ling Yi could only cover his face and continue to perform fanservice tenaciously. Yet, as a result of this, he stepped on He Ziyan¡¯s foot again, which caused He Ziyan¡¯s twists to change while dancing, turning his movements into a yangko dance instead.


    [This dance style is getting more and more sketchy¡­.]


    [Hahaha, I can¡¯t laugh any more, He Ziyan, you nearly broke your leg]


    [Only Juexia and Miaomiao are still beautifully doing fanservice for us. What kind of demonic ghosts are the four behind them hahahaha]


    [This damn heartbeat]


    The six people turned around, their left leg pulled away to the side, their fingers brushed up, their toes made a half circle on the ground, then they turned around and lay down on the ground, executing more sexy dance moves while lying on the floor.


    Fang Juexia¡¯s expression was cool. Although it was a very alluring dance move, it didn¡¯t seem explicit when he did it, it even felt pure, tinted with a little sense of taboo. Everyone got up from the ground, neatly turned around, turned around halfway with their backs to the camera, put their hands on their hips, and twisted their hips to the music. This action was too sexy, especially when the back of Fang Juexia¡¯s waist was exposed. When his waist sank down, the groove of his spine looked especially beautiful.


    [wowwow I¡¯m expiring]


    [It¡¯s so exciting, the number one sexy girl group in the entertainment industry, KaleidoBlossom!]


    In the last part, the six people grouped up into two lines, one in front of the other. Jiang Miao, Fang Juexia, and Ling Yi stood in front, while He Ziyan, Pei Tingsong, and Lu Yuan stood behind them, with very intimate dance movements passed between each pair.


    The barrage had already gone crazy.


    [AAAAAHHHH SOME YURI IS GOOD!]


    [They¡¯re so good, they¡¯re so good! I¡¯ve never been so excited when watching real girl groups before]


    [What kind of pairing of gong-like beautiful and rich flower x pure ascetic little white flower are Pei Tingsong and Fang Juexia ah]


    [What kind of immortal shipping is this!]


    Finally, they were more scared than hurt as they reached the end of the song, and the six of them turned around and walked towards the sunset step by step. Finally, they all turned their heads back neatly and gasped for breath as they danced the ending movements.


    [Lip-synching girl group KaleidoBlossom! Fierce girl coming down the mountain, KaleidoBlossom!]

 CH 117

    Chapter 117 ¨C Extra 8: Maldives Part


    Most easily coaxed little devil


    ¡°Cut!¡±


    On hearing the director¡¯s voice, the six people finally ended their affected performance. Ling Yi directly fell down on the beach, and Lu Yuan flipped his ponytail with pride. Jiang Miao¡¯s braids had gotten loose, and he tried to braid them back by himself.


    As soon as the music stopped, Fang Juexia¡¯s sense of shame soared up to the sky. He didn¡¯t know whether it was from the dancing or from being dressed in this outfit, but his face was now even hotter than the sand underneath his feet.


    The other people who had finished dancing seemed quite excited. He Ziyan, the muscled spice girl, pulled Pei Tingsong up, who was feeling so hot under his big wavy wig that he was doubting life, and ran to the camera, where he said, ¡°Come, come, come, let¡¯s have Song Mei say hello to everyone.¡±


    [Hahahaha Song Mei!]


    [Song Mei is too beautiful!]


    Pei Tingsong, wearing an expression completely not suited to fanservice, looked at He Ziyan. ¡°Huohuo Jie, your makeup has melted, it¡¯s so weird-looking, it¡¯s scary.¡±


    ¡°Yi, really? Did my mascara melt?¡± He Ziyan looked everywhere for a mirror. ¡°Jie, do you have a small mirror?¡±


    [Hahahahahaha touching up makeup, really a good girl]


    [Where did the stylists find these swimsuits hahaha]


    ¡°Our stylists really put in a lot of time and energy into this,¡± He Ziyan explained, ¡°Although it¡¯s a bikini, to make sure we wouldn¡¯t flash anything while dancing, there¡¯s a skirt below.¡± Saying that, he spun around and showed off his skirt. ¡°Maybe it was tailor-made, because as soon as we picked them, they gave it to us.¡±


    Pei Tingsong rolled his eyes. ¡°Who could fit into it besides you ah, so wouldn¡¯t they have to just give it to you?¡±


    Jiang Miao also walked over with his newly-tied braids, and waved at the camera with a warm expression. ¡°Everyone should remember to watch the second season of our ensemble show ah.¡±


    [I¡¯m looking forward to it every day! Season Two: Our new girl group KaleidoBlossom is going to debut!]


    [AHHHHHH I JUST DISCOVERED THAT THE ¡°official gossiped about girlfriend¡± IN PTS¡¯ SIDE ACCOUNT IS JXGG!]


    Upon seeing this line in the barrage, Pei Tingsong couldn¡¯t keep the corners of his mouth from rising, even with the camera on him. ¡°You only figured it out now ah.¡±


    [Deaf, deaf, deaf]


    [Juexia looks really good ah. From a distance, he looks like a big female beauty ah, worthy of being the face!]


    Fang Juexia was looking at Ling Yi in front of him, and suddenly discovered something crawling on his swimsuit, so he drew close to him, putting his hand on his shoulder. ¡°Ling Yi, don¡¯t move. There is something behind your neck.¡±


    ¡°Ah?¡± Ling Yi was so scared that he twisted his neck to look straight back, but he couldn¡¯t catch sight of anything. ¡°What is it?¡±


    The top half of Ling Yi¡¯s swimsuit was the halter-top type, and the lace ties were tied around his neck. The stylist  Jiejie had also specially tied it into a beautiful little bow just for him.


    ¡°It¡¯s a baby crab.¡± Fang Juexia observed it carefully and as he spoke, stretched out his hand to help him remove the little creature. But as soon as his fingers clamped around the crab, Ling Yi was so scared that he ran away. ¡°Ahhh, crab?! What if he pinches my skin, what then?!¡±


    Obviously, running off like that, something big had to happen.


    Fang Juexia¡¯s hand was holding the little crab, and the pincers of the little crab had been grasped around the lace ties behind Ling Yi¡¯s neck.


    So, Ling Yi¡¯s little bow was undone just like that, and with his top no longer supported now, it directly flipped down, showing off his entire chest.


    Pei Tingsong, who was staring at the barrage on the livestream, almost laughed his wig off when he saw this scene. ¡°Hahahahahaha! Ling Yi, you silly!¡±


    [Shit, Song Mei, your subwoofer burst of laughter scared me]


    [Hahahahahahaha, Ling Yiyi, you¡¯ve flashed us!!!]


    [I¡¯ve seen it all! You¡¯re going to marry me!]


    ¡°Ah!¡± Ling Yi immediately covered his chest, really acting it out. His steps filled with a girl¡¯s shame and indignation, he trotted all the way to hide behind Jiang Miao. Only Fang Juexia, with his hand still raised, and the innocent crab in his hand, were left at this awkward scene.


    Fang Juexia looked at Ling Yi and then at the baby crab. Finally, he put the poor little thing back on the beach and walked to stand behind Pei Tingsong. He had wanted to avoid the camera but was immediately dragged to the front by Pei Tingsong. ¡°You still haven¡¯t said hello to everyone yet.¡±


    Unable to hide, Fang Juexia could only smile awkwardly. ¡°Hello everyone.¡± After saying that, he went to stand behind the group leader, wanting to stay away from the camera and hoping that the livestream would end soon.


    [Amazing, amazing, this face is real]


    [The highest level of beauty can sure enough really blur gender]


    [I kind of want to buy the swimsuit Juexia is wearing, but I¡¯m not as pale or thin as he is 555]


    [I want to buy this face]


    Since he had finished dancing, his long hair was now sticking to his face, which was very uncomfortable. Pei Tingsong saw him frown, so he stretched out his hand and patiently tidied it up for him. This scene took place only at a small corner of the livestream camera, but the TingJue girls nibbled on it until they fainted.


    This livestream was just meant to be a little taste, so after a small chat about their plans for the new season of the ensemble show and their new album, the group said goodbye to their fans. After the livestream ended, the work of the production team was almost over. Kaleido purposefully stayed dressed in the women¡¯s clothing as they said goodbye to the staff, and the atmosphere was very joyous.


    As night fell, the six of them finally gained their freedom as they watched the staff leave the island in a speedboat. Pei Tingsong immediately ran over to Fang Juexia¡¯s side and cuddled and embraced him.


    ¡°Yes! Finally, we can rest!¡±


    ¡°I need to take a bath, I need to sleep, these days of water sports have even made my heart fragile.¡±


    Ling Yi grabbed Fang Juexia¡¯s arm and clamored for him to come tour his beach villa. ¡°I have an L-shaped swimming pool, the kind that goes around the house!¡±


    ¡°Go away,¡± said Pei Tingsong, trying to tear Ling Yi away. ¡°Don¡¯t think about abducting my wife every day.¡±


    Hearing the word ¡°wife¡±, Fang Juexia suddenly felt embarrassed and straightened his neck to push at Pei Tingsong. ¡°What nonsense are you talking about¡­¡±


    In such a manner, all of them were pulled to Ling Yi and Lu Yuan¡¯s luxury beach villa. Pei Tingsong just wanted to be alone with Fang Juexia in their two-person world; for the past two days, there had been cameras everywhere they had gone, and so they had had to sleep separately, with one person on the first floor and the other on the second, which nearly left him with insomnia.


    Now, as soon as the outsiders had left, Fang Juexia had been stolen away by Ling Yi, who was impervious to the obvious situation here.


    ¡°Look at our swimming pool!¡± Ling Yi brought everyone to his L-shaped swimming pool while Lu Yuan sighed loudly. ¡°Don¡¯t be shameful, who goes to the Maldives like you with a suitcase full of inflatable little ducks ah?¡°


    It was true. When Fang Juexia saw the little yellow ducks floating in the swimming pool, he chuckled. Reflexively, he found Pei Tingsong. ¡°Xiao Pei, look¡­¡±


    Only when he looked back did he see that Pei Tingsong was leaning against a wall, and his face had the word ¡°unhappy¡± written clearly across it. Fang Juexia went over and pulled his arm. ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Do you not feel good?¡±


    Pei Tingsong let out a half-dying ¡°en¡± sound, his eyelids drooping. ¡°Don¡¯t feel good.¡±


    ¡°Where do you not feel good?¡± Fang Juexia reached out to touch his forehead. ¡°Do you have a bit of heatstroke?¡±


    That wasn¡¯t the issue.


    ¡°En, maybe.¡± Pei Tingsong slipped down the steps. ¡°I want to sleep.¡±


    ¡°Then you head back ba.¡± Lu Yuan crouched next to the pool and laughed at the two of them. ¡°Juexia can stay and play cards with us.¡±


    Everyone else laughed along with him, making Pei Tingsong so angry that he came close to having smoke come off of him.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go back to rest with him ba.¡± Fang Juexia touched his forehead again, moving to his neck next. It felt a little hot, so he couldn¡¯t help but worry about it. ¡°You guys play first. When he gets a bit better, then we¡¯ll come over ba.¡±


    Looking at Fang Juexia¡¯s back as he pulled Pei Tingsong and left, He Ziyan affectedly wrung out his long golden hair and sighed, ¡°Once you go, you won¡¯t come back.¡±


    The pure Ling Yi was still playing with his own pool of little yellow ducks. When Lu Yuan and Jiang Miao heard He Ziyan¡¯s words, they began to laugh.


    ¡°Come, come, come, let¡¯s play cards.¡±


    ¡°Everything in the Maldives is good, just that there is no mahjong.¡±


    ¡­¡­


    On their way back to the water-side villa, Fang Juexia suddenly remembered what the fans had said in the barrage just a while back, about something to do with Pei Tingsong¡¯s side account. He wondered if this guy had posted something again. So he logged in, expecting to search for this post in his side account, but didn¡¯t expect to instead see #Pei Tingsong¡¯s official gossiped about girlfriend# on the Hot Search list, and so was surprised.


    ¡°What is this¡­¡±


    Pei Tingsong, who was walking next to him, stopped when he heard him. ¡°What?¡±


    Fang Juexia, who had clicked on the link, saw a screenshot of Pei Tingsong¡¯s side account, which contained the photo Pei Tingsong had taken of him while he was crossdressed. He couldn¡¯t help but feel a little anxious. ¡°Why did you take a picture of me ah? And you even posted it on Weibo.¡± Saying that, he took another look, and as his cheeks started burning, his words came out in a bit of a stutter. ¡°And¡­and what are you saying about this ¡®gossiped about girlfriend¡¯¡­.who¡¯s your girlfriend ah?¡±


    Pei Tingsong also hadn¡¯t expected this post to get on the Hot Search list, but since it was already there, it was there, so he could only put on an expression of a dead pig not afraid of boiling water. ¡°Just joking around ma. What, you¡¯re not willing ah?¡±


    Willing about what? Willing to be his girlfriend?


    A humid sea breeze blew on the beach at night, and the delicate white sand had by now also lost the heat from the day. Fang Juexia stood frozen there, speechless.


    ¡°Not talking again.¡± Pei Tingsong thought of what had happened just now and felt aggrieved. He thought that this guy really was made of ice. ¡°Isn¡¯t it just a picture?¡±


    ¡°Then you delete it.¡± It was embarrassing enough for Fang Juexia to crossdress, now he was also on the Hot Search list. Just thinking about it, his scalp went numb.


    ¡°I¡¯ll delete it in a bit.¡± Pei Tingsong turned around, and there were just a few steps left before they¡¯d reach the water-side villa. He went that way by himself. ¡°Don¡¯t you want to go play with them? You go back ba.¡±


    Only after this did Fang Juexia realize that Pei Tingsong was truly angry. He was a bit confused, and kept staring at Pei Tingsong¡¯s back while frozen in place for a bit, but within ten seconds, he reacted and hurried after him, entering the water-side villa together.


    ¡°Pei Tingsong, Xiao Pei?¡± Fang Juexia followed him into the room, trotted over two steps, hurried to stop him before he could enter the bathroom, and looked up at him. ¡°You¡¯re angry.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± Pei Tingsong himself knew that getting unhappy over such a small matter made him seem like an especially petty and extremely jealous man, so he didn¡¯t want to admit to it.


    ¡°You are.¡± Fang Juexia stretched out his arms and held the door frames on both sides to prevent him from entering.


    Seeing him like this, kind of like a child, Pei Tingsong didn¡¯t even have the attention to be angry anymore. ¡°Am not.¡±


    ¡°You are.¡±


    He really couldn¡¯t out-stubborn him, so Pei Tingsong had no choice but to admit it. ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right, I am.¡± He mentally prepared himself and put on a posture of talking things through properly with Fang Juexia. This time, he had to stand firm, be a little fierce, and say everything he wanted to say. ¡°Fang Juexia, do you know¡­¡±


    Unexpectedly, before Pei Tingsong could say anything more, Fang Juexia immediately hugged him. He hugged him tightly, buried his head in his shoulder, and gave him a kiss on the side of his neck. His always cool young voice suddenly became a bit sticky. ¡°Don¡¯t be angry, en?¡±


    The last note of the ¡°en¡± lilted up coquettishly, just like the aggrieved hum of a small animal lying on one¡¯s chest.


    This was the first time that Fang Juexia had taken the initiative to throw himself into his arms and deliberately act coquettish.


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s heart was knocked down in an instant.


    What angry or not, what talking things through properly? Now, he couldn¡¯t even control the corner of his mouth that crazily kept trying to rise up.


    Oh no, oh no, clearly he himself was so good at flirting, how could he be flirted with just like that?


    Not hearing a response from Pei Tingsong, Fang Juexia looked up at him again. As soon as he looked up, Pei Tingsong managed his expression, restrained the smile he couldn¡¯t hide, and coughed.


    Seeing Pei Tingsong¡¯s face go cold, Fang Juexia pursed his lips, and then, looking as if he had had to summon up a lot of courage, took the initiative to draw closer and kiss him.


    This was pretty much a K.O.


    Pei Tingsong, who had just been thinking that [only I think about Fang Juexia, but Fang Juexia doesn¡¯t like me at all, he doesn¡¯t think about me at all and doesn¡¯t take the initiative to follow me into a two-person world], lost all reason at this point, and crouched down while covering his face.


    Seeing him crouch down like that made Fang Juexia a little jittery, and he thought that he had done something wrong. ¡°Xiao Pei¡­¡±


    Just as he was about to ask, Pei Tingsong, who was crouched on the ground, changed positions to lay down on the ground, while his legs started alternately pedaling in the air. His face was now covered in a silly and happy smile.


    Fang Juexia couldn¡¯t help laughing when he saw Pei Tingsong like this, and crouched down on the ground to pull his hand up and pinch it a bit.


    He really was the world¡¯s most easily coaxed little devil.


    This kind of feedback filled Fang Juexia with great confidence. Originally, he was extremely passive during social interactions, and he was like that with anyone. But seeing this level of happiness from Pei Tingsong in response to his taking the initiative to just kiss him once, Fang Juexia¡¯s heart also floated up a bit.


    So Fang Juexia leaned down and gave him another kiss on his cheek. ¡°Ah, there¡¯s lipstick.¡±


    Pei Tingsong died again.


    Fang Juexia kept kissing him again and again like that, kissing him until Pei Tingsong¡¯s entire face was covered in lipstick, and only then did he stop.


    Pei Tingsong wriggled around on the floor like an earthworm sprinkled with fluff.


    ¡°It¡¯s all over your face now, let me help you take off your makeup ba.¡± Fang Juexia pulled Pei Tingsong, who had been supplemented with too much fluff, up, and then brought out the makeup remover from the bathroom to help him remove his makeup.


    He had never helped anyone take off their makeup before.


    Pei Tingsong happily enjoyed this kind of treatment, having long forgotten about everything he was angry about. If emotions could be visualized, then he would be covered in pink bubbles right now.


    Fang Juexia half-knelt on the ground and gently rubbed at the lipstick he had left on his face with a makeup remover cotton pad. He suddenly recalled the incident that they had nearly quarreled over, so he went ahead to explain first, ¡°I¡ªit was actually because, crossdressing, I felt a bit embarrassed, so when I saw you posting on Weibo, I¡­ But I¡¯m not actually unhappy. I was actually very happy when I saw it.


    ¡°It¡¯s the same when you call me ¡®wife¡¯, or when you say I¡¯m your ¡®gossiped about girlfriend,¡¯ it¡¯s all because I¡¯m too thin skinned.¡± Fang Juexia pursed his lips and honestly admitted, ¡°I actually really like it¡­¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Pei Tingsong raised his eyebrows.


    Fang Juexia nodded seriously, and then quickly added, ¡°But you can¡¯t call me that too often, it¡¯s better if you just call me that when there¡¯s only the two of us.¡±


    After hearing him say that, Pei Tingsong thought he was cute again and also became reluctant to be harsh with him. When he looked down and saw Fang Juexia kneeling on the ground, he was even more reluctant to do so, and so directly stood up and pulled him up as well. He sat on the chair and let Fang Juexia sit in his lap. Then he apologized in a muffled voice, ¡°Sorry, I just lost my temper at you.¡±


    ¡°No ah,¡± Fang Juexia gently took off his false eyelashes. ¡°Can that even be called losing your temper ah, you just lost your temper at yourself.¡± He put a cotton pad over Pei Tingsong¡¯s eyelids. ¡°But I want to know a bit about why you were angry. It¡¯s not out of pure curiosity, it must be that I did something, and only then did you become unhappy. You tell me this time, and it won¡¯t happen the next time.¡±


    His tone was very serious as he stated this, because his internal error correction chain mechanism came into play again, but Pei Tingsong still didn¡¯t want to say it directly. He felt it was a little humiliating.


    ¡°Aiya, it¡¯s nothing.¡± He attempted to fool him by acting coquettish with him.


    ¡°Tell me ba.¡± Fang Juexia also used his coquettish mode in return.


    There was no other way; Pei Tingsong simply exposed all of it. Anyway, he had already left himself with no face to speak of in front of Fang Juexia long ago. ¡°I want to stick to you every day, and I earnestly wish I could be around you 24 hours a day, but I felt that you are not like me at all. Originally, I wanted to be alone with you after the filming was done, but as a result, you ran off with Ling Yi after he just spoke a few words. Don¡¯t you miss me? I miss you so, so much.¡±


    Hearing him complain as though he was pouring out a pile of beans caused Fang Juexia¡¯s hand to stop moving.


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s eyes couldn¡¯t open with the makeup remover on them, and he was afraid that what he had said would make Fang Juexia feel sad, so he stretched out his hands and embraced him around his waist. Just as he was about to say something, he heard Fang Juexia¡¯s voice¡ª


    ¡°No, I miss you very much.¡±


    Fang Juexia put down the already mottled cotton pad, wetted a new one, and covered Pei Tingsong¡¯s lips with it. ¡°Even at three o¡¯clock in the morning last night, I couldn¡¯t fall asleep, because I missed you. There was a camera, so I couldn¡¯t come down to look for you. I wanted to send you a message, but I was afraid I¡¯d wake you up.¡±


    Pei Tingsong was stunned by this confession, and with great difficulty, opened his eyes. He could blurrily see Fang Juexia¡¯s red face.


    It turned out that when he was unable to sleep, Fang Juexia had also been the same.


    His tone softened. ¡°If you missed me, why didn¡¯t you tell me?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t really know how to express myself,¡± Fang Juexia¡¯s expression was very serious, making him look like a cute and clever student. ¡°But I will change slowly, and I can also be very active.¡±


    Hearing this, Pei Tingsong laughed and rubbed the back of his waist to relax him.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Fang Juexia shook his head and suddenly found that he had said a lot of things that he couldn¡¯t have said to anyone else. A bit slow on the uptake, he blushed and just silently helped Pei Tingsong remove the last of the lipstick. He gently wiped his soft lips with the cotton pad in his hand, and from under the red lipstick, his familiar lip color was gradually revealed.


    Staring at him, his heart beat faster and faster, his Adam¡¯s apple rolled up and down, and Fang Juexia fell into a strange impulse.


    He wanted to kiss him.


    So he really did just that.


    It wasn¡¯t like the coquettish and playful kisses from just now, but a kiss that came from him summoning up his courage to stick his lips against his, after which he closed his eyes and recalled the sensation he felt when Pei Tingsong had taken the initiative to kiss him countless times before. His tongue unsteadily stretched inwards, like a hesitant fish lost in the warm tide, one that was only able to feel the undulating waves as it chased the other fish in the wet softness.


    His movements were particularly choppy, but it was this choppiness that caused Pei Tingsong¡¯s entire body to burn up. His swimsuit was now so tight that he felt uncomfortable all over, so he held Fang Juexia¡¯s butt and picked him up, walked from the living room to the innermost bedroom, and put him on his own bed.


    ¡°Don¡¯t¡­¡± Fang Juexia hadn¡¯t taken a bath yet, and he was still covered in sand, so he stood up quickly and said, ¡°I¡¯ll get your bed dirty.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine, we¡¯ll sleep upstairs tonight.¡± Pei Tingsong stood by the bed, took off his tight bathing suit, threw it aside with his long haired wig, and put his arms around the back of Fang Juexia¡¯s waist. ¡°I very much like you taking the initiative.¡±


    This sudden confession made Fang Juexia¡¯s heart jump, and he didn¡¯t even dare to look down. He could only stick himself against Pei Tingsong¡¯s chest, close his eyes, raise his head, and kiss him. The tongue that he had taken the initiative to stretch out was engulfed by Pei Tingsong, and they entangled with each other wetly and hotly. The more they kissed, the more flustered Fang Juexia grew, the more empty he felt, as if he needed to be filled with something.


    The waves rolled in one by one outside the floor-to-ceiling window, blanketing the sound of kissing and gasping. Fang Juexia¡¯s legs and stomach had gone a little soft, and when he was pushed by Pei Tingsong, he fell on the bed, gasping.


    In addition to the floor-to-ceiling window facing the sea, a mirror hung on the wall facing the bed. When Fang Juexia turned his head, he saw himself still dressed in a woman¡¯s swimsuit. In that moment, shame hit him and drowned him.


    The seascape was tranquil outside the landing window, bearing silent witness. The mirror in front of him reflected himself, and so another pair of eyes stared back at him.

 CH 118

    Chapter 118 ¨C Extra 9: Going Public With Their Romance


    Derivative Life Curve.


    Time was always subjective.


    Fang Juexia finally recognized this point. In the past, due to hoping that the painful times would not be prolonged, he had formed the habit of counting silently in his heart. But gradually, he discovered that his little clock was only a prop that he had used to avoid pain. Once he was surrounded by happiness, he didn¡¯t need to remind himself of the passing of time second after second.


    In a flash, the six of them had walked through many places side by side. From that cold, rustling winter when they had been stopped outside the red carpet, to the endless red carpet after red carpet, to the different but still similar awards ceremonies, they had won all kinds of awards and received all kinds of praise. They had taken a different path from the idol groups in the past, and by utilising their own strength and talent, held their position at the top. The storm never stopped, but their status was hard to shake.


    In a flash, eight years had passed since Kaleido¡¯s debut.


    At the beginning of the year, Jiang Miao won the best actor award for his role as a fugitive wanted criminal, becoming the best developed idol who had transitioned successfully into an actor. He Ziyan had also starred in several hot T.V. series in a row, and had become known as one of the few young male actors who could support an audience and turn a series popular within the T.V. drama circle.


    Ling Yi had devoted himself to his beloved musical career, while also becoming a regular MC on a national variety show, doing what he loved most. Lu Yuan¡¯s dance troupe, after experiencing years of polishing under his leadership, had now become a first-class dance troupe in China and had won numerous global awards.


    Pei Tingsong had taken part in a hip-hop competition three years ago, and had won second place in the program with his own ability. With this, he had managed to completely rid the public of the prejudice that as a member of a boyband, he shouldn¡¯t be called a rapper. His two solo albums that were released later also caused great reverberations, and he was publicly acknowledged as a popular rapper. Fang Juexia, who had always been the most popular in the group, had focused on creating original music for the last few years. With his talent for controlling melodies, and releasing one solo album after another, he had successfully transformed from a boyband artist to an original singer and dancer, and had even held his own personal concert. The guest for both the first and last performances in that concert was Pei Tingsong.


    He had wanted to own a stage since he was a child, so he kept burning non-stop, harnessing the brilliance of his own life on the stage.


    Everyone in the group was heading along their predestined tracks. At the beginning, they had come to Kaleido for various reasons, and by chance, had become each other¡¯s bandmates. They had condensed their different goals into one common goal and advanced together side-by-side. Later, they slowly dispersed onto their own tracks and revisited the past only to bring to life the dreams that they had thought impossible before.


    Kaleido¡¯s dream was composed of six completely different yet converging dreams. In the end, six different lights would shine from Kaleido¡¯s kaleidoscope.


    Not only were their own trajectories changing, but the trajectory of their environment was also gradually changing. Under the great efforts put in by people, equality and fearlessness in love came to be accepted by more and more people. Eventually, the long-awaited day when same-sex marriage was declared legal arrived.


    The day before the bill was enacted into law, the six members of Kaleido decided to do something very meaningful. On the day that the law would come into force, a Pride parade and festival would be held. All of them had convinced Cheng Qiang to let them participate as ordinary supporters rather than as stars.


    Cheng Qiang agreed to this, but he also had Fang Juexia remain behind in his office to have a chat with him.


    Fang Juexia sat opposite him and looked at the pot of asparagus on Cheng Qiang¡¯s desk. It was well raised; this gift that Fang Juexia had given Cheng Qiang when the group had debuted.


    Cheng Qiang poured him a glass of water, and Fang Juexia had already guessed what Cheng Qiang was probably going to say.


    In fact, as early as when they were filming the second season of the group ensemble show, Fang Juexia had already confessed about his relationship with Pei Tingsong to Cheng Qiang. He still remembered Cheng Qiang¡¯s reaction back then; he had been holding a lighter to light a cigarette, but couldn¡¯t get the lighter to ignite. Finally, he tucked the cigarette behind his ear and said to him¡ª


    ¡°Calculating it all out, it was actually me who pushed you onto him.¡±


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t expect his first reaction to be that. He laughed and said, ¡°Yes ah, so you can¡¯t object.¡±


    Cheng Qiang didn¡¯t object; he was such a nervous workaholic that he had even faintly suspected it a few times. When Fang Juexia asked him why he had suspected it, he just said, ¡°Do you know how much you have changed since you guys started promoting fanservice for your CP? You have pretty much been like a different person altogether.¡±


    A different person.


    Fang Juexia lowered his eyes. At that moment, he could remember what he had been like when he had first debuted at 20 years old. He was so silent then that he couldn¡¯t say a word except for when it came to his self introduction, his mind was filled with practice, practice, and more practice, and he didn¡¯t have any hopes for the future at that time. He only pursued stability and was afraid of the possibility of losing control.


    But now, he was no longer that person from before.


    Even Cheng Qiang had commented ¡°Saying this as a colleague, being with Xiao Pei is a thorny matter for you. No one knows what will happen in the future, and if you are exposed, or if you guys break up, it would all become very troublesome. But really, from the perspective of a Gege and a friend, I¡¯m happy for you.¡±


    Having been at Fang Juexia¡¯s side for so many years, Cheng Qiang loved him the most out of the entire group.


    ¡°After getting together with him, you have become more like what you should have been. That alone is worth it.¡±


    After that, Cheng Qiang didn¡¯t say any more. He simply threw away his bad lighter and patted Fang Juexia on the shoulder, telling him to be careful and to wait for an opportunity to come out, and to let the company prepare for it beforehand.


    Since then, five years had passed just like that.


    ¡°President Chen has agreed to let you guys participate in the Pride festival.¡±


    Cheng Qiang¡¯s words pulled him back from his trip down memory lane. Fang Juexia nodded. ¡°President Chen didn¡¯t say anything?¡±


    Cheng Qiang shook his head. ¡°He respects your guys¡¯ ideas.¡± After that, he leaned against his chair, slapped the table twice, and said, ¡°Speaking of that, are you two planning on coming out? You¡¯ve already been together for around six years now.¡±


    He didn¡¯t expect Cheng Qiang to get to the point so quickly, but even if he was surprised, Fang Juexia didn¡¯t refute his suggestion. ¡°In fact, I always wanted to come out. It¡¯s not because by coming out we would no longer have to hide, but that we would become an example.¡±


    Seeing the doubts on Cheng Qiang¡¯s face, he explained, ¡°There are many people who, for various reasons, lack the courage to disclose their sexuality, and some even hide it for a lifetime. I hope that my coming out could allow these friends to gain more courage in facing themselves. ¡°


    With that, Fang Juexia let out a self-deprecating laugh. ¡°That sounded really pretentious, so I will only utter that to you.


    ¡°And more than that, I have enough courage now to hold hands with him and stand together under the sun. So then, why don¡¯t I be a bit more honest?¡±


    Cheng Qiang had always felt that if one day they really came out, it would definitely be Pei Tingsong¡¯s doing. It had been so long, and Pei Tingsong had still managed to keep this secret relationship under covers, so however he thought about it, it should have been Fang Juexia who had been the steadying factor. Now it seemed that he had thought wrong, and that it was actually the reverse situation.


    Cheng Qiang laughed. ¡°Did you know? Before I came to talk to you about it, I actually first went to find Xiao Pei. I talked to him for a long time, going on and on, and then I asked him, with your fierce personality, how come you¡¯ve never had the inclination to not be able to stand it anymore and make everything public one fine day? What do you guess he replied with?¡±


    Fang Juexia had some answers in his heart, but he wasn¡¯t sure, so he shook his head. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°He told me that he wished to make everything about you two public everyday, that he wanted to let the world know that you belonged to him, but every single time he had such an idea, he restrained himself. Whenever such an impulse popped up in him, he would start to consider all the consequences and difficulties you guys would have to face after coming out, the pressure the group would face, whether you guys could bear it¡­ In particular, it was you specifically, he simply couldn¡¯t bear to let you face all that.¡±


    Cheng Qiang repeated Pei Tingsong¡¯s words, and he couldn¡¯t help laughing. He knocked his finger on the desk. ¡°Can you imagine it? Pei Tingsong actually taking the consequences into consideration before doing something? Actually worrying about whether what he said or did would have a bad impact, and actually being able to restrain himself from impulsively expressing something¡­¡±


    As he spoke on about this, Cheng Qiang let out a long breath. ¡°This child has also changed.¡± He looked up and pointed at Fang Juexia. ¡°The two of you, it¡¯s like you¡¯ve switched.¡±


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t know why, even though Cheng Qiang had just conveyed Pei Tingsong¡¯s words, his mind filled with an image of Pei Tingsong sitting here in distress, enumerating the various possible scenes from the future with Cheng Qiang. Then his nose suddenly stung a bit.


    Even with his eyes closed, he could imagine the expression on Pei Tingsong¡¯s face when not being able to bear to do something.


    ¡°Yes ah,¡± Fang Juexia looked up and said with an open smile. ¡°We have all changed.¡±


    So it turned out that not only could love make a person try to be braver, but it could also let a person learn restraint.


    Getting up from his chair, Fang Juexia pointed to the potted plant before he left. ¡°This asparagus has grown so big, it¡¯s time to change its pot.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but I don¡¯t know how to do it. What if I mess around, and it dies?¡±


    Fang Juexia laughed. ¡°Then I¡¯ll take some time to help you change flowerpots ba.¡±


    The same-sex marriage law was the most talked-about topic online currently, and the Pride march was also the biggest popular commemoration event of its kind. Both the number of participants and the degree of discussion about it online were very high.


    The Kaleido members had publicly expressed their support for LGBT groups on many occasions, but this time, since it was a spontaneous popular event, they didn¡¯t want to publicize themselves too much. So, on the day of the parade, all six of them dressed in a low-key manner, wearing the same white T-shirt as many other people, with a rainbow on their chest.


    They painted a rainbow on their cheeks as well, and wearing hats and masks, mingled with the crowd. Ling Yi was even holding the sign that he had made, which said¡ª ¡®Love is love.¡¯


    That day, the weather was very nice; the sky was so blue that even the clouds looked soft as they floated around like creamy ornaments. The early summer sun was full, and the world, bathed in bright and fresh light, seemed to be soaked in translucent lemonade.


    Under this blue sky billowed rainbow flags, the wonderful colors mixing together, as the summer wind blew them to their full length, blowing them into fluttering loudly, appearing gorgeous and full of hope for life.


    The people in the crowd weren¡¯t all the same. There were young people who were so open they were nearly exhibitionists, ordinary introverted college students, heterosexual couples who were showing their support, groups of people marginalized due to their sexuality who were bravely standing up to express themselves, and elderly parents who were supporting their children. All kinds of people gathered together and wore the same clothes to create a rainbow, one which becomes the summer¡¯s most special scenery.


    During the parade, people¡¯s attention was focused on the celebration and revelry. There were many lovers in the crowd, boys with boys, boys with girls, girls with girls. They embraced and kissed each other fearlessly under the sun, just like every couple worthy of being blessed in the world.


    Amongst the many happy ordinary lovers, Fang Juexia and Pei Tingsong were not paid attention to, so they held each other¡¯s hands.


    But it was still too conspicuous to have all six of them grouped together. Later, they decided to split up, and Fang Juexia and Pei Tingsong walked off together. There were many young girls in the crowd, and gradually, their gazes started to reflexively land on them. Many of these girls had already recognized them, even taking photos and posting them on Weibo.


    ¡°I saw someone taking pictures of us.¡± Pei Tingsong held Fang Juexia¡¯s shoulder and waved the small flag Fang Juexia had stuck in his hand.


    Fang Juexia glanced at him and threw all the blame on him. ¡°It¡¯s because you are too tall and conspicuous.¡±


    Pei Tingsong pinched Fang Juexia¡¯s face with the hand that held his shoulder. ¡°This Gege, do you think that 1.8m isn¡¯t eye-catching? How much better can it be than 1.9m?¡±


    Fang Juexia could only hate the fact that he was wearing a mask, or else he may have already bitten someone¡¯s hand by now.


    Lu Yuan, who was walking beside them, joked, ¡°A 1.9m embracing a 1.8m is the most eye-catching.¡±


    Fang Juexia was amused into laughter by him, when he heard Pei Tingsong say, ¡°It¡¯s not, the most eye-catching feature is the giant, nearly 1.8m third wheel that¡¯s following along.¡±


    ¡°Hey, I should have followed Two Fire and the rest, it¡¯s really a case of eating until you¡¯re way too full when walking along with you two.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re the ones who made you full, don¡¯t put down your bowl and curse out your mother.¡±


    ¡°This guy, your mouth is really¡­¡±


    Following the crowd as it moved forward while joking around, they ushered in the most exciting moment of the parade: when everyone followed the route to gather in the center of the square, where they waited in front of the big screen on the square for the news broadcast of the bill as it was turned into law.


    Only when he stood in the crowd did Fang Juexia realize his own insignificance. He could hardly hear the announcement made by that man in a suit on the screen; what he heard were the calls and screams of everyone in the crowd. All of a sudden, many streamers appeared in the sky, flying freely.


    With a bang, Fang Juexia instinctively raised his head and saw rainbow colored smoke spreading out in the blue sky above the crowd.


    He held Pei Tingsong¡¯s hand tightly, and it was like the first time they had held hands, uneasy, but still reluctant to let go.


    The various lovers around them began to embrace in the midst of this grand revelry, and Fang Juexia, who wanted to say something, suddenly found himself tongue-tied.


    Pei Tingsong grasped his shoulder and turned him around. It was noisy all around them, and everyone was immersed in joy. He took off his mask and drew closer to Fang Juexia to say, ¡°I have been waiting for a memorable day this entire time to give you the gift I prepared three years ago.¡±


    Confusion arose in Fang Juexia¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Do you remember what I said when I first confessed to you?¡± The next moment, Pei Tingsong took his hand in the midst of the noisy crowd. ¡°I very carefully selected a point on that number axis. At that time, I thought that as long as this point could accept me, I would be the happiest person in the world. But gradually, I became more and more greedy.¡±


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s eyes were very bright, and his pupils reflected the colorful crowd surrounding Fang Juexia¡¯s clean face.


    ¡°Now, I want to circle this point and let him belong to me forever.¡±


    With that, he opened his hand, and in his palm lay two platinum diamond rings, shining with silvery light. Pei Tingsong picked up one of them and gave the other one to him. He was so nervous that his hands were shaking, out of fear that he would drop the ring.


    ¡°God, I definitely couldn¡¯t have imagined this before, that one day I would say such tacky words, and that I¡¯ve been looking forward to this day for three years now.¡±


    Fang Juexia wanted to laugh, and he also wanted to cry. At this moment, Pei Tingsong, who was already 26 years old, smiled like a child.


    Pei Tingsong held his hand, and his smile turned calmer and more solemn. He took a deep breath and exhaled very hard. He was more nervous now than the moment before he went onstage.


    ¡°Mr. Fang Juexia, are you willing to be together forever with Pei Tingsong in another form?¡±


    Not ¡®to marry me,¡¯ but ¡®to be together forever.¡¯ Fang Juexia liked this expression, but he made a little joke while picking up the ring from his hand. ¡°Another form¡­.like what?¡±


    ¡°Like¡­¡± Pei Tingsong laughed. ¡°My love, my husband, whatever you like is fine.¡±


    ¡°I only like you,¡± said Fang Juexia as he dropped his eyes. He accidentally caught a glimpse of the pattern on the inner circle of the ring; it was a small boat.


    ¡°I drew that, but it¡¯s just that I¡¯m not good at drawing, so I had to practice for a long time.¡± Pei Tingsong was very honest. ¡°My ability is limited, and the material isn¡¯t right, but my family¡¯s Theseus is actually very beautiful.¡±


    Fang Juexia showed a smile, gave him his ring finger, and nodded very solemnly. He only uttered two words after that, which were the two words that Pei Tingsong had most wanted to hear, and the ones that he was the most nervous for, ¡°I do.¡±


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s expression was so relieved that he couldn¡¯t hide it at all. His hands even shook when they exchanged rings.


    ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to take it back; I will not be your little boyfriend in the future.¡± Pei Tingsong pulled him into his arms. ¡°I¡¯m your fiance now.¡±


    Fang Juexia also hugged him and nodded in his embrace. They were buried in the midst of the happy crowd, wrapped in ribbons and rainbow light, ordinary and jumping for joy. He faintly felt Pei Tingsong gently kiss him on the top of his hair, and he knew that this was the action that Pei Tingsong dared to do only after repeatedly restraining himself again and again.


    So he let go of the hug, wanting to give Pei Tingsong something even more.


    Standing slightly on tiptoe, Fang Juexia wrapped his arms around his neck. ¡°I love you, Pei Tingsong.¡±


    Amidst the bustling crowd and the rainbow roaming the sky, he smiled as he kissed him.


    This kiss was completely out of Pei Tingsong¡¯s expectations. He was even stunned for a second before he embraced Fang Juexia tightly and kissed him back deeply. After the kiss, he picked Fang Juexia up and twirled him around several times.


    What worldly eyes, what star status, what did he care about that?


    From today on, they were no longer what they used to be.


    Let alone the other people who recognized them, even Lu Yuan, who was standing to the side, couldn¡¯t help taking a picture of this moment with his cellphone. He was completely indulging in the experience of eating fluff from a first-person perspective. After the parade ended, the six of them gathered together again and sneaked out of the crowd to celebrate the success of their maknae¡¯s marriage proposal in the restaurant that Jiang Miao had reserved a long time ago.


    ¡°We should have been seen by a lot of people.¡± When the appetizers arrived, Ling Yi said casually, ¡°I saw a boy taking a picture of me.¡±


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s purely because he thought you were very cute hahahaha.¡±


    They had guessed that they would be discovered participating in the event before, but in fact, the six of them were discovered earlier than they had thought, and had already caused an uproar online.


    Kaleido, who was already a top group, showing up in the crowd would already be enough for netizens to talk about, not to mention the kiss shared by Pei Tingsong and Fang Juexia at the end of the revelry.


    After the photos and videos from passers-by¡¯s perspectives were posted, Weibo collapsed. Star Chart¡¯s phone had already exploded, even though they had already prepared in advance.


    Under the efforts of the programmers in frantically repairing things, Weibo barely managed to go online again, where the fanservice started up again. Obviously, #Fang Juexia and Pei Tingsong¡¯s kiss# was worthy of being at the top of the Hot Search list. Its popularity was terrifying, with the page becoming laggy as soon as someone scrolled through it. The Weibo post that had first released the video had already been forwarded 130,000 times and had 140,000 comments.


    Over the years, even though the TingJue CP wasn¡¯t known to everyone nationally, anyone who had ever gotten involved with boybands knew that this pair was so widely read about that even their CP fans had to help press against the closet door every day, and that it was an insurmountable mountain in the CP world. However, most passers-by had already assumed that ¡°they¡¯re just doing fanservice¡± and seldom really thought about it. So when they saw this kissing video, the public was shocked, but they also had some unexpected feelings.


    CP fans didn¡¯t suffer less of an impact than anyone else. When several big fan stations forwarded this video, the TingJue girls went crazy.


    [@TingJue is real: It¡¯s like a dream when I¡¯m looking at my ID now, I¡¯ve really had many similar dreams to this!]


    [@Follow me straight into deafness: I don¡¯t even dare to say I¡¯m deaf, I¡¯ve already gone crazy, okay!]


    [@Liking TingJue all my life: Wuwuwuwuwuwu, I directly started crying when I watched this video, I¡¯m definitely not alone in this!]


    However, there were still a lot of people who insisted that ¡°they hadn¡¯t admitted it publicly,¡± and so it didn¡¯t count. The discussion mounted, and more and more voices chimed in. Just in time when the media workers got off work, Pei Tingsong went on Weibo and went through all the Weibo posts made by those who had photographed them kissing to select the most beautiful one, then posted it on his Weibo.


    [@Kaleido Pei Tingsong: I stole the picture, but the person in the picture is mine [picture]]


    Just as he made his Weibo post, Fang Juexia also posted a photo on his Weibo. It was from five years ago, when they were on a Maldives beach. Fang Juexia had written FJX & PTS on the white beach with his finger, encircled it with a heart, and put a white eustoma there.


    [@Kaleido Fang Juexia: [shared a picture]]


    These two Weibo posts almost caused Weibo to collapse again. The number one entry on the Hot Search list changed from #Fang Juexia and Pei Tingsong¡¯s kiss# to #Fang Juexia and Pei Tingsong go public#. This was a first for any boyband, with a member officially announcing that there was a lover, and that lover was his own bandmate.


    Their other bandmates also weren¡¯t idle. These two posts were tossed back and forth, with someone here saying a few words of blessings, and someone there clamoring for all of them to chip in for the wedding present. Ling Yi directly posted a long string of crying emoticons on his side account, saying that he was reluctant to give up his roommate, for which he was then teased by netizens with the words¡ª ¡®What you¡¯re reluctant to give up is the best handyman in the world.¡¯


    The popularity of the going public was very high. For several days in a row, they remained on the Hot Search list. After collapsing, their CP fans finally reached the top of the food chain overnight. At last, they could swagger around as they arranged all their fluffy moments from the start of their fanservice, edit them into videos, and arrange them into long threads.


    One big-name CP fan even said on their Weibo that they couldn¡¯t help but shed tears while sorting out the past. It turned out that there had been this many traces of tenderness and sweetness right in front of them.


    On the third day after they went public, Fang Juexia participated in the publicity event for his third solo album as he would do normally, an event which lasted for two hours. Now, he could already be on his own when it came to such events.


    While playing a game similar to ¡®Truth and Dare,¡¯ he drew a small dare.


    ¡°Please make public a WeChat name you once used.¡±


    Fang Juexia thought about it. ¡°That¡¯s actually very interesting. People have always been interested in my previous WeChat name.¡±


    The host raised his eyebrow with interest. ¡°Is that right? What is it?¡±


    ¡°Non-differential life, or ²»?¿Éµ¼ÈËÉú.¡± Fang Juexia explained further, ¡°I¡¯ve used this name since I was in high school, and it¡¯s the online ID that has been with me for the longest time.¡±


    ¡°Why did you come up with such a name?¡±


    Fang Juexia smiled calmly. ¡°Many people should know about this, but I once made everything about my family public. My father¡¯s change was a turning point in my life, which made my life suddenly go from being a smooth curve into a line going straight downwards. That point was very sharp and spanned a long time in my life, so I couldn¡¯t let it go.


    ¡°In math, when it comes to curves, the left and right derivatives of a distinct corner are not equal, and they are not differentiable, so I came up with this name as a warning for myself.¡±


    The host nodded thoughtfully, then showed a smile of some gratification. ¡°So, you¡¯ve already changed it now, right?¡±


    Fang Juexia nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    The interview reached its end, and the atmosphere throughout had always been pretty good. Finally, and Fang Juexia had actually guessed that it would be like this, the host inevitably raised a question about love. After all, this was the first public appearance of one of the parties since the official announcement. No matter which media outlet it was, they should all want to seize this rare opportunity.


    ¡°Because you, Juexia, recently disclosed your love affair with one of your bandmates, everyone was very shocked. Of course, there were many well-wishers for you guys as well, and we would like to know what you thought about this relationship, or is there anything you can share with us about this relationship?¡±


    Cheng Qiang, who was standing to the side, was a little helpless and wanted to help him block the question, but Fang Juexia directly shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s okay, Qiang Ge.


    ¡°About this relationship¡­. Let me think, I haven¡¯t prepared at all for this.¡± In front of the camera, his face, which had always been calm, and even a little cold, showed a very gentle smile. At this moment, the host sitting opposite him really felt that this smile was this person¡¯s sincere smile, and not something being put out for fanservice.


    A moment later, Fang Juexia started to speak again, ¡°I thought of the question just now, the one about my WeChat name; speaking of this, it really has something to do with my love life.¡±


    ¡°Oh? So it¡¯s because of love that you changed your WeChat name?¡± The host made a little joke to liven up the atmosphere. ¡°It can¡¯t be that you changed it to something differentiable?¡±


    Fang Juexia laughed out loud, a little childish. ¡°You guessed right.¡± Seated in the chair, he fell into the calm expression that he only wore when he was thinking. ¡°Friends who have studied derivatives should know that there are several kinds of points that are non-differentiable.¡±


    He guessed that when Pei Tingsong saw his next words, he might laughingly complain that he was being Teacher Fang. Because of this, the corners of Fang Juexia¡¯s mouth raised slightly.


    He stretched his hand to point out an example. ¡°Like the distinct corner I just mentioned, or another example is¡­ a discontinuous point, that is, a curve that suddenly breaks away at a certain point, that point is also non-differentiable, as it makes the curve non-continuous. Another such example is undefined points, such as those with a zero denominator or points with infinite derivatives, these are all non-differentiable points.¡±


    The host nodded. ¡°I more or less understand¡­¡±


    Fang Juexia looked at him and said, ¡°You must feel that this is all very strange right now, what mess am I talking about, what does it have to do with today¡¯s question?¡±


    The host laughed.


    ¡°In fact, I have always thought that mathematics towers over the logical world, but it can also be used to build real-world rules, even in the most complex, difficult life. These non-differentiable points are like all the different frustrations and imperfections we encounter in life. We all want the curves of our lives to be smooth, continuous, and without regrets, but that¡¯s too difficult.¡±


    Fang Juexia¡¯s voice held a bit of a sigh in it, but soon, there was a brighter light in his eyes.


    As he thought, he tried hard to organize his words. He spoke slowly and seemed more gentle. ¡°But I was very lucky that that person just appeared. He softened the sharpest scars in my life, filled the holes and gaps in the curve of my life, let me summon up the courage to define the emotions that I had avoided and even felt unworthy of defining before, and also reversed the infinite darkness that had once enveloped me.¡±


    He looked down, chuckled, and lovingly said his lover¡¯s name. ¡°Because of Pei Tingsong, the curve of my life has become continuous and smooth, and it also became worth looking forward to.¡±


    These words really moved people, and even the host¡¯s face was full of sincere happiness. ¡°It¡¯s really precious to have this kind of person who can change you.¡±


    Hearing this, Fang Juexia nodded in approval. ¡°I have always thought that the most precious things in this world are dreams and love. But I seem to be a little luckier, because my lover is my bandmate who works side by side with me and accompanies me in realizing my dream.


    ¡°The two have overlapped. For me, this is the best result.¡±


    ¡ª


    The author has something to say:


    As long as nothing unexpected happens, it¡¯ll finish tomorrow~ (I¡¯ll see if I can finish writing it)


    Writing today¡¯s chapter made me a little tearful hhhh


    I may really have a constitution of an overflow of tears, I¡¯ve cried many times writing Little Paradox hh


    ¡ª


    Juurensha: Spoilers: Zhichu did not finish writing by the next chapter because as you can see, we have a total of 120 chapters! But I really enjoyed this timeskip, and PTS¡¯ proposal was so sweet! And the two of them really have changed a lot, I¡¯m proud of them!


    Noks: Ohhhhh¡­ that¡¯s an awesome proposal, and an even more awesome coming out scene. And I just love how FJX describes his feelings for PTS in the end¡­

 CH 119

    Chapter 119 ¨C After Going Public


    TingJue girls nomming on fluff afterwards


    Ever since they went public, the discussion about it online continued non-stop. Naturally, there were many voices that didn¡¯t support them, however, both Fang Juexia and Pei Tingsong had already gotten rid of the shackles of public opinion that idols had to bear. More importantly, they relied on themselves rather than their fans in every step they took. Their lives were their own, and completely independent.


    There were also many people congratulating them, especially about how their brave voices were encouraging many LGBT groups and also, of course, winning their support.


    However, there was also a magical sequel after their coming out¡ª ¡°Escape For Your Life¡± and ¡°Shang Sirui¡± had also appeared on the Hot Search list. At first glance, they had nothing to do with each other, but looking at it more closely, they actually did.


    [@123 wood person: This program ¡®Escape For Your Life¡¯ is poisonous ba]


    [@S small refrigerator: Do you want your CP to come true? Get them on ¡®Escape For Your Life¡¯ ba.]


    [@Crispy rice spicy peanuts: ¡°Escape¡± for other guests is: ¡°High Level Blind Dates¡±, but for SSR, it¡¯s: ¡°Escape From Wanzai Pier¡±]


    [@Whose little eyes didn¡¯t look at me: Hahahahaha Shang Sirui! It¡¯s you again!]


    [@Watermelon is missing a piece: Every time there is a real CP in the entertainment industry, Shang Sirui will get on the Hot Search list. This may be fate ba]


    In addition to the discussion, Matchmaker Shang Sirui reaction pictures began to circulate online. After several rounds of jokes, the actual person finally appeared and posted.


    [@HighFive Shang Sirui: Let me see who is the poor little widowed king? Ha, it¡¯s me. Always me. [Goodbye] I¡¯m kidding, bros, let¡¯s put ¡°well-suited to be matched¡± on the public screen!]


    As soon as this Weibo post was released, it pushed the wave of this joke to its peak. Several different CP fans, Shang Sirui¡¯s own fans, and melon eating netizens hurried over to laugh at him.


    [@TingJue is real: Hahahahahaha it¡¯s you again!]


    [@I have an SSR: How is our Sansan not well-suited to be matched? Why does sweet love never reach our Sansan?!]


    [@Escape will always be renewed: When I watched the second season, I thought there would be something between Zhai Ying Jie and Sansan, but I didn¡¯t expect that Zhai Ying Jie would also do a CP with a beautiful Memei from her own girl group. The pitiful one is still Sansan]


    [@Has 01¡¯s side account made a Weibo post yet: Sansan, don¡¯t cry, you still have Yiyi, Numbers sisters making art, this family will never fall apart!]


    ¡­.


    The popularity of the love affair within the top group didn¡¯t subside, and a few days later, Fang Juexia¡¯s interview with the music website was also broadcast as scheduled. The first response from one of the participants of this love affair of course had to immediately land on the Hot Search list, where it quickly exploded.


    It wasn¡¯t just the video; his confession was screenshotted and turned into a growth chart, which was then forwarded and praised by countless people. In the eyes of the public, Fang Juexia, who was brimming with talent and had experienced various ups and downs, had always been a taciturn person and seldom expressed what he thought in his heart. Therefore, no one had ever imagined that he would make such a confession.


    [@K is in the safe zone: God, I bet others that PTS would be the first one to respond to all this, but I didn¡¯t expect it to be FJX. He has always been a legendary immortal who loses his language ability after doing self introductions (whispering bby)]


    [@Run away with me: He¡¯s so gentle ah, I really want to fall in love with him.]


    [@Self esteem shredder: I don¡¯t know why, but when I see his expression where he is thinking deeply and tries hard to express himself, I just want to cry oh. What kind of immortal love for an immortal Gege is this wuwuwuwu]


    [@An emotionless hahaha demon: After careful consideration of what he said, I feel that it was very sincere. It was something that only FJX could have said. I feel that he and PTS have changed a lot together. Sure enough, good love will make people better ah.]


    For outsiders, they didn¡¯t understand the personal experience of this person or their story in this scene. What they could see was Fang Juexia¡¯s deep and sincere confession, and they were moved by just that. But the TingJue girls knew what every word he said meant.


    After the confession event, the TingJue girls had begun to sort out the details of their relationship from the past few years, not just to make a collection of fluffy moments, but to let more people understand that these two boys really loved each other, and so that there wouldn¡¯t be any people who would feel this relationship came out of nowhere.


    A big CP fan made and released a video with the title of ¡°How TingJue fell in love with each other¡± overnight, which was quickly forwarded out of the circle and also reposted by many parties. Jiang Miao saw this video on Weibo and specially shared it with Fang Juexia on WeChat.


    [Water Water Water: Look, the two of you in other people¡¯s eyes.]


    The thumbnail image for the video was the candy-wrapper kiss from the first season of their ensemble show livestream. Now, when he looked at it again, he actually got the feeling that he was looking at a different world. After staring at the cover image for a long time, Fang Juexia clicked to play it.


    At the beginning of the video, Fang Juexia¡¯s words from the interview not long ago were cut into a background narrative that played in the dark.


    ¡°¡­because of Pei Tingsong, the curve of my life has become continuous and smooth, and it has also become worth looking forward to.¡±


    The BGM started, and a scene appeared with it. It was the video from when Fang Juexia and Pei Tingsong had been filmed by other fans at an airport, but it wasn¡¯t just the part where Pei TIngsong patted the airplane ticket against his face. It turned out that this video that had once rocketed them beyond the entertainment circle, had a part before this scene that had always been cut out.


    And in that previous part, Pei Tingsong was clowning around in front of He Ziyan, but his gaze didn¡¯t focus on the person who was talking to him, rather, from time to time he would keep glancing to the side. He subconsciously looked again and again at Fang Juexia, who was silent as he leaned against the wall.


    A caption appeared at the bottom of the video.


    [In the five minutes prior to any interaction with him, Pei Tingsong looked in Fang Juexia¡¯s direction 13 times.]


    Fang Juexia, despite being one of the parties involved back then, had no idea about this. So, it turned out that before Pei Tingsong had approached him, he had hesitated for so long, hesitated for as long as 13 times.


    The scene switched, and it was from a period before they had even started doing the fanservice, of when Pei Tingsong had helped Fang Juexia attack unscrupulous reporters in public, with the words that he had written in his side account. What he disliked wasn¡¯t all the rumors about Fang Juexia, but rather Fang Juexia¡¯s apathy and indifference.


    The two of them awkwardly turning their heads away from each other after their eyes met, their cold standoff amidst their other happy bandmates, and the way that they couldn¡¯t hide how they were ignoring each other on stage¡ªall these scenes weren¡¯t tossed out by their CP fans, but instead, edited together.


    The screen went black, and a line of hand-written words appeared.


    [Actually, we all knew that they didn¡¯t get along so well at the beginning, and pretty much had the worst start. But that didn¡¯t affect these two sincere people in getting to know and love each other.]


    The black screen lit up, and it turned into the highlight reel of the interview where they had shot the two-person cover of ¡°Spring and Winter.¡± Fang Juexia and Pei Tingsong expressed their own opinions, and their eyes seemed a bit more understanding and moved. Even in the quick Q&A session, they started laughing and kidding around.


    [¡®Fermat¡¯s Theorem¡¯ and ¡®The Roots of Romanticism¡¯ finally intersect.]


    Seeing this sentence, Fang Juexia felt his eyes sting.


    Next was their interaction below the stage at the charity gala, where they whispered into each other¡¯s ears, chatted, then Pei Tingsong forced Fang Juexia to put on his glove for him, and teased him with the recording. They shared headphones and listened to the recording together.


    The scenes from ¡®Escape For Your Life¡¯ also appeared, the screen splitting in two. Fang Juexia and Pei Tingsong, who got their cards, looked up at the same time, worked hard in different rooms, and carefully watched each other every time they voted.


    The video included all kinds of Pei Tingsong¡¯s suggestive actions and words, his expression when he let out a breath after he had finished collecting the clues and gave them all to Fang Juexia, and the moment after his ¡°suicide¡± when he fell down the elimination hole¡ª Fang Juexia quietly clenched his fist.


    Finally, at the end, Fang Juexia, who had opened the final door, was embraced by Pei Tingsong. He said that they had won, but the background narration featured Pei Tingsong¡¯s voice¡ª ¡°It¡¯s not important which camp I choose. As long as our alliance has not been dissolved, I am your knight.¡±


    The hand-written words appeared again.


    [He really didn¡¯t lie. He always tried hard to be Gege¡¯s knight.]


    This image shifted into a series of quick clips. Fang Juexia being dragged off the stage, and Pei Tingsong risking himself saving him; Fang Juexia so tired in the ensemble show that he fell asleep against the wall, and Pei Tingsong who, under the pretext of having worked hard, sat beside him and let him lean on his shoulder; Fang Juexia¡¯s waist injury acting up again, and Pei Tingsong being the one to support him from behind in the airport, never leaving his side; the bungee jumping in the ensemble show where he jumped with Fang Juexia in his arms; Fang Juexia being attacked by only-fans and stalker fans, with Pei Tingsong counter-attacking them. In the midst of these scenes were some from fan meet-ups, and some of chance encounters, one of which was taken when Fang Juexia had accompanied Pei Tingsong to leave the dormitory after the Fang Ping incident.


    [But love is never one way.]


    The BGM turned into softer music. The perspective on the screen changed, and scene after scene, it showed Fang Juexia¡¯s eyes when looking at Pei Tingsong. He was so different from his usual indifferent self, his eyes full of gentle light. Next on the screen appeared scenes of him getting photographed when accompanying Pei Tingsong to see a doctor, of him making a midnight snack for him on the ensemble show in the middle of the night and chatting with him all night, of him protecting his arm carefully when he was injured, of him playing the game blindfolded but still caring about his injury, of the eustoma bouquet he had created for him during the autograph event, and of how every time during his solo livestreams he saw something in the barrage about Pei Tingsong, he would laugh.


    [Even Fang Juexia, a silent person, can¡¯t hide his liking for a certain someone.]


    Halfway through, the background music suddenly turned into ¡°Night Trip,¡± with subtitles accompanying it¡ª


    [When this song first appeared, we were all surprised at how this eccentric and rebellious boy could write such gentle words. Now it seems that everything was a clue.]


    ¡°Dusk is no different affair. The light shining on you and your hair, just becomes different, I swear.¡±


    When these words were sung, the image changed to that of dusk at the amusement park in the ensemble show. Fang Juexia and Ling Yi were talking, while Pei Tingsong stood behind and looked at him with a smile. Even he hadn¡¯t noticed it.


    ¡°Do you like fireworks? I hope that¡¯s the case here.¡±


    On the screen, there were now photographs from when fans had bumped into them, of Kaleido after they had finished watching the fireworks by the river. Pei Tingsong had Fang Juexia in his arms, and he was wearing Fang Juexia¡¯s clothes.


    ¡°I¡¯m starting to like the night, will darkness make you try to rely on me?¡±


    When this sentence appeared, the clips sped up, and they were of the countless times Fang Juexia was being led by Pei Tingsong in the dark, Pei Tingsong¡¯s habitual action of turning on the light in the group ensemble show, the many times he led him backstage, grabbing his wrist tightly in dark venues, supporting his waist when getting down from the stage, and Fang Juexia getting used to him being behind him and reaching out a hand to grab the corner of his clothes on his own.


    These images alternated with the images of Fang Juexia groping alone in the dark in the past when Pei Tingsong hadn¡¯t been there, displaying a most tearful contrast.


    The scenes of them holding hands again and again were edited together, and if they were unable to hold hands. Pei Tingsong would grip Fang Juexia¡¯s wrist tightly. No matter where they were, he would immediately find that pale arm, pull it up, and take him away.


    The lyrics playing in the background were also very appropriate.


    ¡°When we hold hands, my chest is hot, and I¡¯m holding pure white light.¡±


    The image suddenly turned into the noisy livestream from when Kaleido had won the awards. When they were asked about WeChat nicknames, he frankly said ¡®Moonlight,¡¯ while Fang Juexia then said ¡®One Constant Truth.¡¯


    The background lyrics were perfectly synced to sing¡ª


    ¡°If asked who you are going on a date with tonight, answer with a smile, it¡¯s the moon lit bright.¡°


    When asked why he nicknamed him ¡®Moonlight¡¯ during the livestream, Pei Tingsong only said one sentence¡ª


    ¡°Because Moonlight is the highest level of praise.¡±


    A subtitle appeared¡ª


    [Moonlight and One Constant Truth, white eustoma and black knight camillas, winter snow and spring sunlight, night blindness and leading, these are all Fang Juexia and Pei Tingsong.]


    At the end of the video, there were countless moments of when they had called out each other¡¯s names. There were times when they were smiling, joking, tired, anxiously shouting out, their mentions of each other when they won awards:  ¡°Gege¡±, ¡°Juexia Ge¡±, ¡°Juexia¡±, as well as ¡°Xiao Pei¡±, ¡°Pei Tingsong¡±, and ¡°Tingsong¡±. These intertwined voices encompassed the years they had gone through together.


    The final image of the video was of them exchanging rings under the rainbow and kissing in full view of the public.


    The BGM ended, and the last words were from Pei Tingsong¡¯s freestyle at the coffee salon before¡ª


    ¡°You are the secret in my dreams, you know, that I have publicly announced millions of times long ago.¡°


    By the end of the video, Fang Juexia¡¯s eyes had turned red.


    Just then, Pei Tingsong came back from exercising. Hearing noise, Fang Juexia raised his head, saw him, stretched out his arms, and hugged him while seated on the sofa. Pei Tingsong rubbed his hair, then crouched down and kissed the tip of his nose. ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Your eyes are as red as a little bunny¡¯s.¡±


    ¡°I watched a video, and it was a little touching.¡± Fang Juexia took a deep breath before opening the comment section to see everyone¡¯s crosstalk and jokes, so as to ease his flooding emotions.


    ¡°What video? Something the fans made?¡±


    Fang Juexia didn¡¯t look up, but leaned against him out of habit. ¡°You are so smart.¡± Looking at the comments, Fang Juexia saw that the screen was full of crying emoticons.


    He came here expecting these little girls to make him laugh, but didn¡¯t expect them to have cried more than him.


    Finally, from the most popular comments, he dug up a long one.


    [@Always love TingJue: This is all the TingJue we have seen, and maybe it¡¯s just a tiny bit of their love, the tip of the iceberg, while also being a part of a whole. We used to secretly dream about plots where the fake became real, but that was more to convince ourselves that you guys were just doing fanservice, and were just bandmates fighting side by side. In our narrow expectations, being real was too difficult, and friendship was more likely to last forever. But you guys are too brave, far braver than us.


    Thank you guys for being a dream come true.]


    ¡ª


    The author has something to say:


    When they came out, they had all become very senior members of the industry, and their personal careers had developed very well. They hadn¡¯t been just a rising boyband in a long time, and it was also after same sex marriage became legal. Moreover, the number of CP fans of the two people was huge, so everyone doesn¡¯t have to insert this situation into real life. What¡¯s more, I always avoid writing bad comments in my writing. I also wrote ¡°there were a lot of voices that didn¡¯t support them¡±, but I didn¡¯t make it clear. It¡¯s a good day, so why should I write those spiteful comments that will ruin the fun? Anyway, TingJue is real.


    I¡¯ve also opened up an extras pit, take a look at my column [Extra Collection]. Don¡¯t be sad la, after this is done, maybe I¡¯ll still write in the extras pit every once in a while. This TingJue girl will never graduate!


    ¡ª


    Juurensha: It was a nice video! And guys, if you see an extra in the collection she mentions that you want translated, let me know! (I have a hard time navigating Weibo, so someone will have to help me with that, sorry guys)


    Noks: I can understand why those fangirls had tears in their eyes¡­ It is a very moving video, especially for those who have followed this entire journey¡­


    If you can, please support the author by buying the raws (and gain access to translated smut! ). Here is a guide on how to buy them, and it¡¯s not super difficult! Also there¡¯s the traditional physical novel open for pre-orders here! You will probably have to use a forwarding service to purchase them, I¡¯m also struggling along there with CssBuy and now a Taiwan shipping service because CssBuy isn¡¯t working.

 CH 120

    Chapter 120 ¨C Never Apart [The End]


    Forever Kaleido!


    Ever since their debut, Kaleido had upheld the tradition of traveling together at least once a year. No matter how busy their schedule was, as long as there was a rest period, they would definitely travel together.


    Half a year after TingJue came out, the six of them figured out a good time and set out to northern Europe together, wanting to have a good time traveling around several small Northern European countries.


    After the publicity period of his new album, which was released after their coming out, Fang Juexia seemed to have made a godly disappearance. Although Pei Tingsong still had activities, the two of them rarely appeared in public at the same time. The fans howled day and night, writing letters in ¡°blood¡± every day on Weibo, hoping that the young couple could show off their love in public.


    Although Fang Juexia didn¡¯t look at Weibo, Ling Yi enthusiastically interacted with fans every day, and his side account was even full of TingJue girls pitifully asking for help. Because of that, Ling Yi also couldn¡¯t bear to read any more and reminded Fang Juexia every day.


    Finally, taking advantage of this opportunity where six people were traveling, Fang Juexia started up a livestream.


    The day these anxiously longing fans had been waiting for finally arrived, but because there were too many people who were too excited, the livestream screen immediately froze. Fang Juexia fiddled with it for a long time, but finally, he had to put his cellphone on a shelf facing the bed as he stood in front of the big mirror in the hotel room to straighten out his clothes.


    Pei Tingsong, who had already changed his clothes, came out just in time to see Fang Juexia raising his hand to wrap a scarf around himself. He thought that the livestream hadn¡¯t started yet, so he directly picked up Fang Juexia, walked a few steps and fell on the bed, pressing himself on top of Fang Juexia.


    ¡°Give me a kiss.¡± Pei Tingsong lowered his head and drew close, but unexpectedly, Fang Juexia quickly pulled the scarf up to cover his lips. His hand was too fast, and the soft scarf separated him from Pei Tingsong¡¯s kiss.


    Pei Tingsong frowned and looked up. ¡°What¡¯s the matter? You¡¯re not even letting me kiss you.¡± Saying that, he forced the scarf open, held Fang Juexia¡¯s face with both hands, and directly kissed him.


    ¡°Wu! Wu¡­¡± Fang Juexia¡¯s hand slapped Pei Tingsong¡¯s shoulder, and he struggled desperately. Pei Tingsong easily pried his teeth open and went deep into his mouth, electrifying him into numbness.


    ¡°No¡­ wu¡­ livestream¡­¡±


    Only upon hearing that word did Pei Tingsong suddenly realize something. He stopped his actions immediately, and blinked up close at Fang Juexia.


    It was too late. The livestream had already gone crazy a long time ago.


    [AHHHHHHHHHHHHH HUGGING HIM AND THEN TOSSING HIM ONTO THE BED AND THEN FORCEFULLY KISSING HIM IS TOO SUE!!!!]


    [Shit, shit, shit, a bed scene as soon as it started!!! Gone deaf, deaf, deaf!]


    [I¡¯m not deaf! I just heard the moist sound of French kissing!]


    [Goddamn, I¡¯m covering my mouth in front of my cellphone, screaming silently, wuwuwwuwuwuwu, who will save me?]


    [JXGG, why did you stop him? I¡¯m not short on this kind of popularity, you guys can continue for me!!]


    ¡°Live¡­stream?¡± Pei Tingsong, wearing a confused expression, was still lying on Fang Juexia and holding onto his face.


    Fang Juexia, his heart like ashes, nodded.


    They quickly got up from the bed. And then, Pei Tingsong started clearing his throat non-stop, acting as if it had encountered a big problem. Fang Juexia, with a red face, silently walked to the bedside table and picked up his cellphone. When he saw [Gone deaf, gone deaf] filling the barrage screen, he was so embarrassed that he directly shoved his cellphone into Pei Tingsong¡¯s hand. He didn¡¯t want to do anything else now; he just wanted to find a crack in the ground and squeeze into it.


    Pei Tingsong took hold of the hot potato and let out a few hollow laughs. ¡°That was a livestream accident, let¡¯s treat it as if nothing happened.¡±


    [You¡¯re lying! We all saw it!]


    [WOC Juexia Gege¡¯s mouth has gone red from Wolf Cub kissing him]


    ¡°His mouth was already originally very red,¡± Pei Tingsong defended himself. Fang Juexia had already worn the scarf properly standing in front of the mirror, and handed Pei Tingsong another scarf, one which they had bought in a handicraft shop located on the street on the first day that they had arrived in Sweden.


    Pei Tingsong held the selfie stick in his right hand, reflexively extended his left hand, but before he took the scarf, he deliberately said, ¡°I¡¯m livestreaming now, it¡¯s inconvenient. I¡¯ll put it on later ba.¡±


    Fang Juexia, who was holding the scarf, took a look at it, and, as expected, took the initiative in helping him put it on. He also seriously tied it into a knot.


    [I¡¯m deaf, I¡¯m deaf, I¡¯m really going to be deaf]


    [So sweet, what sweet angel is our beautiful baby?]


    ¡°We¡¯re going out now. Come here.¡± Pei Tingsong held Fang Juexia contentedly. He held the cellphone at a far out distance, so that the screen could just perfectly fit the two of them. Leaving the hotel, they walked in the winter sun. The streets here were very exotic, and Pei Tingsong and Fang Juexia walked side by side. With such a background, the image became ridiculously beautiful.


    ¡°Ah.¡± Fang Juexia stopped suddenly, felt around his pocket, and then took off his backpack to check for something.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    [Why does JXGG never grow up, he¡¯s just like how he was when he debuted. With no makeup on, he looks both milky and well-behaved.]


    [How cute ah, Juexia, today is another day I want to give PTS a green hat]


    Fang Juexia raised his head, stretched out his hand, and solemnly replied, ¡°I forgot to wear gloves.¡±


    Pei Tingsong burst out laughing. ¡°I thought it was something serious.¡± He gave Fang Juexia the selfie stick, and bit at the fingers of his own leather glove to pull it off. With the tattoo on his hand now exposed, Pei Tingsong pulled on Fang Juexia¡¯s hand, wanting to help him wear the glove. ¡°This may be a bit big for you.¡±


    ¡°If I put it on, what will you wear?¡± Fang Juexia struggled against Pei Tingsong¡¯s grip on his hand, not wanting to wear his glove, but he couldn¡¯t shake himself off. He was a little nervous, so he grabbed his hand in return.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Pei Tingsong laughed for a while. ¡°Your teeth are itching again, and you want to bite me again ah.¡±


    This unintentional remark suddenly ignited the barrage in the livestream.


    [What?? What did I just hear??]


    [What to bite me again? So that bite mark was really caused by JXGG!]


    [I just knew it!!! Holy shit, I guessed it this entire time, but I didn¡¯t expect it to be true! I said that that bite mark didn¡¯t look like it was from a kitten no matter how you looked at it!]


    [I remember their previous description, their bandmates said it was from a little cat raised by Pinot Tree Supreme. Completely snow-white, um¡­ To some extent, it¡¯s true]


    [AHHHHH THIS AMAZING GIANT FLUFF OF MANY YEARS¡¯ STANDING, PTS, you are so good!]


    The two people, who had busied themselves with gloves were completely unaware of the leak. After putting on the glove, Fang Juexia squinted at the barrage, and suddenly discovered something. His eyes went round, and he slapped Pei Tingsong on his arm.


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s expression was confused, and he mouthed out¡ª [What¡¯s wrong?]


    [Hahahahaha, JXGG is too cute]


    [He¡¯s really reacting too late Fang Juexia]


    Pei Tingsong soon realized what was going on, and began to laugh after covering his mouth. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to, really didn¡¯t mean to.¡± Saying that, he went to fawn on and cuddle Fang Juexia. ¡°Gege.¡±


    [Aiyayayaya, it¡¯s time to be coquettish again]


    [I haven¡¯t heard Pinot Tree Supreme call out ¡°Gege¡± for a long time, wuwuwuwuwu]


    The two people stood by the side of the road, waiting for a taxi. Fang Juexia wanted to quickly pass by this thorny topic, so he talked about other topics with his fans, ¡°Fire Ge and the rest of them are still at the hotel. They played cards until very late into the night yesterday, and now they are still sleeping in. They haven¡¯t even eaten lunch.¡±


    Some fans asked them if they had come out for a date. Pei Tingsong said, ¡°Yes ya,¡± with a brilliant smile on his face. Fang Juexia chuckled and shook his head. ¡°In fact, we came out to meet a friend, who we haven¡¯t seen in a very long time. I also thought that since I haven¡¯t seen everyone in a long time, I should start a livestream to chat with everyone. ¡°


    ¡°Did you guys miss us?¡± Pei Tingsong raised his eyebrows.


    [Missed you guys so much wuwuwwuwu]


    [Our Xiao Pei is really getting more and more handsome]


    When the cab they had booked arrived, Fang Juexia and Pei Tingsong got into it and chatted with the driver in English for a while. The driver even asked them if they were Asian models, to which Fang Juexia replied with a smile that they were not. The driver then said they were very good-looking.


    [The driver is so discerning!]


    [Hahaha, wherever Xiao Pei goes, everyone says he looks like a model.]


    As they chatted with their fans, they soon arrived at their destination. They got out of the car, walked along the street to the corner, to a nicely-decorated coffee shop there. A string of snow-white wind chimes hung at the door, and Fang Juexia, who was walking in front, pushed the door open. The wind chimes swung and made a pleasant sound.


    Pei Tingsong followed behind Fang Juexia. ¡°We had a chat with this person first, and he really wanted to say hello to everyone. We originally wanted to find a restaurant to eat at, because Fang Juexia kept saying he was hungry, but since this person also said he was coming, we came directly to this coffee shop. I hope the food here won¡¯t be too bad.¡±


    [Why do I feel like Xiao Pei¡¯s tone is a little sour?]


    [Hahaha, saying this ¡°this person¡± again and again is really very sour]


    ¡°Who¡¯s sour¡­¡± Pei Tingsong anxiously started to retort, but as soon as he looked up, he saw Fang Juexia being warmly hugged by a familiar figure, and his expression collapsed at the speed of light. ¡°Alright ba, I¡¯m sour.¡± He didn¡¯t forget to switch the screen to the back camera, so that the fans in the livestream could watch the ongoing scene with him.


    [Yi???? Isn¡¯t that Liang Ruo!!!]


    [God, I¡¯ve got goosebumps!]


    [It¡¯s really Liang Ruo! Wuwuwu, it turns out that Juexia Gege¡¯s friend is Liang Ruo]


    In the camera, Liang Ruo, who was finished hugging Juexia, caught sight of Pei Tingsong from a distance, whose first reaction was to smile and then to point his middle finger up at him.


    [Hahahahaha Pei Tingsong, you have this kind of day too]


    [Hahaha, Pei¡¯s standard greeting]


    ¡°Tch.¡± Pei Tingsong had a [do you think I¡¯ll be angry] expression on his face, and he had also stuck up his middle finger. Liang Ruo laughed and waved to him. ¡°Come over quickly ah.¡±


    This was their first face-to-face chat, while also being the first time Liang Ruo had made an appearance in the public eye ever since he had left the entertainment circle. Knowing that they were livestreaming, Liang Ruo specially spoke to the fans, ¡°Long time no see, I¡¯m Liang Ruo.¡± After saying that, he looked at Fang Juexia. ¡°It¡¯s a little strange, saying hello to your guys¡¯ fans.¡±


    Pei Tingsong deliberately said, ¡°Isn¡¯t it, you used to be a fan of the opposing party.¡±


    [Hahahahaha, it¡¯s fine! We are also very surprised!]


    [Have you been alright!]


    [Liang Ruo also hasn¡¯t changed much ah, that¡¯s good]


    They sat around a small wooden table next to a fireplace, with two Samoyed dogs lazing around nearby. Liang Ruo brought them each a cup of coffee and many of their signature snacks. ¡°Try it, this one¡¯s very delicious. I don¡¯t get tired of eating it every day. ¡°


    Fang Juexia pulled him to sit with a smile. ¡°Stop busying yourself, sit down ba.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Just as Liang Ruo sat down, he suddenly remembered something else. ¡°Ah, I¡¯ll go tell Carl, he doesn¡¯t know you guys are coming.¡±


    As soon as he left, Pei Tingsong immediately squeezed next to Fang Juexia, leaned his head against Gege¡¯s shoulder, and raised his coffee to the camera. ¡°Do you guys know? I paid four times the price for this cup of coffee.¡±


    [Hahahahaha what enmity is this?]


    Fang Juexia smiled and patted Pei Tingsong on the head, but Pei Tingsong grabbed his hand and kissed it. The barrage immediately started boiling over.


    [Wuwuwuwu, this dog food is so delicious!]


    ¡°Don¡¯t be like this¡­¡± Fang Juexia clenched Pei Tingsong¡¯s hand and glanced at the other people in the coffee shop. ¡°There are still many people here.¡±


    ¡°What are you afraid of? We¡¯re already engaged.¡± Pei Tingsong deliberately took Fang Juexia¡¯s face and gave him one kiss, soon followed by another. The other guests around them began to look at the young Asian male couple, with some even laughing and whistling.


    Fang Juexia started blushing, his pale cheeks about to turn into the same color as the birthmark at the corner of his eye. Pei Tingsong, however, started bragging more, embracing Fang Juexia¡¯s shoulder as he announced to the people whistling around them, ¡°He is my love.¡±


    [AHHHHHHHH MY LOVE, WORTHY OF TIGER!]


    [AAAAAH, hurry up and give me some insulin and a hearing aid! I¡¯m both dizzy and deaf right now!]


    The bearded man at the next table wasn¡¯t stingy with his praise of Fang Juexia. ¡°Your lover is very good-looking, he¡¯s the most beautiful Asian boy I have ever seen.¡± Pei Tingsong easily thanked him, and by the way, showed off his ring. ¡°We¡¯re already engaged, I am his fiance.¡±


    Fang Juexia instinctively wanted to cover Pei Tingsong¡¯s mouth, but Pei Tingsong grabbed his hand first and kissed his wrist.


    [It¡¯s really a top show, gone deaf, gone deaf]


    [Now I finally know why these two people don¡¯t show off their love. Based on the way Pei Tingsong shows off, we would all die of the sweetness]


    Before long, Liang Ruo came back with a tall man with blonde hair and blue eyes. They sat down together, looking very close. Fang Juexia soon understood that this person might be Liang Ruo¡¯s current partner. Liang Ruo had already revealed through phone calls that he had found a home, and that his partner loved him very much, and had helped heal his pain.


    ¡°This coffee shop is so warm ah.¡± Fang Juexia looked around. ¡°As soon as we came in, there was a happy feeling to it.¡±


    ¡°Right?¡± Liang Ruo also looked at him and said, ¡°Every small decoration here was made by me. Look at that mural, the cross-stitched one. That¡¯s a piece I embroidered for several months, isn¡¯t that really cool? And now I¡¯ve learned how to bake potatoes. They¡¯re delicious, and Carl really likes to eat them¡­¡±


    Fang Juexia looked at Liang Ruo, saw the sincere and happy smile on his face, and his heart finally came to rest. His previous worries and concerns were finally dispelled after really meeting this person.


    It was too good, everyone was happy in the end.


    They chatted about food and then about life; Liang Ruo shared his interesting stories with them, and Fang Juexia and Pei Tingsong also spoke a lot.


    ¡°Hey, right, Carl used to be a guitarist in a band,¡± Liang Ruo proudly urged his lover to bring over two guitars and casually hand one to Pei Tingsong. ¡°Let¡¯s sing ba, I haven¡¯t sung for a long time.¡±


    Hearing Liang Ruo say this sentence, Fang Juexia seemed to have returned to that time when they practiced together many years ago.


    He nodded. Carl and Pei Tingsong improvised a tune with the guitars, and then sang a very classic old English song.


    [I don¡¯t know why, but I kind of feel like crying]


    [It¡¯s so warm, I feel so happy. I also want to have my own cafe]


    After finishing one song, they sang another, and the other guests in the coffee shop couldn¡¯t help clapping for them. They then turned off the livestream, drank coffee and beer, and talked about their past dreams and their lives today. Time passed quickly, and darkness came early in northern Europe. At dusk, Fang Juexia received a call from Jiang Miao.


    ¡°We have to go, Miao Ge and the rest have already set off.¡± Fang Juexia patted Liang Ruo on the shoulder. ¡°We¡¯ll see you guys tomorrow.¡±


    Although reluctant to let him go, Liang Ruo nodded. ¡°Are you guys going out to have fun together?¡±


    ¡°En, we¡¯re going to see the aurora.¡±


    The reason why they chose to come to northern Europe for this trip was because Ling Yi had mentioned by chance that he really wanted to see the aurora. It happened that Fang Juexia also knew about Liang Ruo opening a cafe in Sweden, so it all clicked together, and everyone agreed on the destination as soon as possible.


    He Ziyan had driven a rented RV to pick them up when they came out of the coffee shop. At last, the six of them met up. Jiang Miao, seated in the front passenger seat, used the map and travel guide to give him directions when driving from the small town to the aurora viewing spot. Winter in northern Europe was very cold, and the six people were fully armed against this cold, wrapped in thick down jackets and wearing down hats.


    ¡°I just checked the website again, and it said that it might appear at 12 pm.¡± Saying that, Ling Yi began to wriggle around in the car. ¡°So exciting ya.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡± Lu Yuan took out a pair of gloves from his bag and handed them to Fang Juexia. ¡°Xiao Pei said you forgot to take gloves with you when you went out, so we bought another pair.¡±


    Fang Juexia split the pair of gloves, putting one of them on Pei Tingsong. ¡°Are we camping today?¡±


    ¡°No camping.¡± He Ziyan said while driving, ¡°We¡¯ve already switched to an RV, and Xiao Pei was the one who rented it. He said it¡¯s too cold to camp, and that we¡¯ll go camping at a beautiful place next time.¡±


    Fang Juexia looked at Pei Tingsong, who put on the gloves, then rubbed Fang Juexia¡¯s head, and said in a soft voice, ¡°If we camp, your waist can¡¯t stand it.¡±


    ¡°Alright ba.¡±


    Everyone was bored in the car, so Ling Yi started up a large-scale Kaleido livestream, wanting to wait for the aurora with their fans. As soon as the livestream started, they also launched Kaleido¡¯s traditional art of crosstalk.


    By the time they arrived at their destination, they were a little hungry, so they simply did a food livestream with everyone in the RV. Ling Yi ate 40 meatballs in one breath, and he was so full that he couldn¡¯t get up from the seat, looking just like a tortoise who couldn¡¯t turn over.


    Fang Juexia sat in front of the cellphone responsible for livestreaming, slowly peeling the skin of a baked potato, occasionally looking up at the screen.


    [So the theme of this livestream is: Beautiful baby peeling potatoes]


    [Hahahahahahaha too cute, Juexia]


    All of a sudden, he saw a user named Chloe Pei give gifts in their livestream equivalent to 5 million RMB all in one go. He was so startled that he froze and stared at it for a long time, all the way until Pei Tingsong came over and asked him whether the potatoes were delicious, and only then did he come back to his senses.


    [Shit, what kind of local tyrant fan is this]


    [Holy shit, holy shit, taking a screenshot, this is the closest I¡¯ve ever been to a rich person!]


    ¡°I haven¡¯t eaten it yet,¡± he said, turning to Pei Tingsong and telling him about the gift just now. Pei Tingsong was rendered nearly speechless. ¡°Who was that ah, this upstart, do they think I¡¯m really poor?¡±


    Fang Juezia didn¡¯t know who the real person was, so he had to recite the ID to him. He didn¡¯t expect Pei Tingsong to turn his head on hearing it. ¡°Chloe?¡±


    Fang Juexua nodded. ¡°Do you know them?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s my Jie¡­¡± Pei Tingsong sighed and began to speak in English to the screen. He asked her to stop and said that he wasn¡¯t short of money.


    [Shit! I thought it was a new rich person, but I didn¡¯t expect it to be a family member 5555]


    [President Bully¡¯s Jiejie has appeared! Jiejie, I love you!]


    It was getting late, and they sat around in thick coats, waiting for the aurora to appear. Everyone started chatting while He Ziyan and Jiang Miao set up the photography equipment, and Lu Yuan and Ling Yi kept maintaining a non-stop two-person livestream, making a lot of noise.


    Pei Tingsong made Fang Juexia a cup of hot chocolate, covered him with a thick blanket, and then sat next to him to chat, their presence taking up a small corner of the livestream screen.


    He lowered his voice and said to Fang Juexia, ¡°Fang Ping¡¯s rehab has been successful. He¡¯s left the facility, but I wasn¡¯t at ease, so I found someone to follow him. However, he seems to have changed. As soon as he came out, he found a job instead of returning to Guangzhou.¡±


    Fang Juexia let out a gentle ¡°en¡±, sipped the hot chocolate, and looked up at the night sky.


    Pei Tingsong stared for a long moment at Fang Juexia¡¯s side profile. Every time he saw him silent, he would think of the summer when he had returned to Beijing from San Francisco, and remember the Fang Juexia who had been waiting for a hug at that time.


    ¡°Juexia.¡±


    Hearing Pei Tingsong calling his name, Fang Juexia turned around, let out a light ¡°en,¡± and asked what was going on.


    Pei Tingsong asked in a low voice, ¡°Have you thought that if that accident hadn¡¯t taken place, your life would have been happier?¡±


    After all, he was a person so afraid of making mistakes, so he must want to avoid all the mistakes that had happened in the past, as long as there was a possibility to do so.


    Fang Juexia said with a smile, ¡°I thought about it when I was a child, and I often thought about it even after. All the way until we debuted, I would have similar dreams, but I didn¡¯t think about it later on.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    Looking at Pei Tingsong¡¯s doubtful expression, Fang Juexia leaned against him, and smiled especially sweetly. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you a story. When I was in the sixth grade of elementary school, I was originally selected as an excellent student to participate in an event held by the Municipal Education Bureau, and I was supposed to make a speech on behalf of my school.¡±


    Pei Tingsong kissed the top of his hair. ¡°Our Juexia Gege is so strong ah.¡±


    Fang Juexia let out an ¡°en¡± and continued, ¡°I prepared for that speech for a week. Who knew that later, I actually came down with a high fever and could hardly speak, so the school replaced me with another student.¡±


    He let out a long sigh. ¡°I was very depressed at that time.¡±


    ¡°Poor little Juexia.¡± Pei Tingsong hugged him. ¡°And then?¡±


    ¡°And then, because I couldn¡¯t take part in the event, I could only go to the weekend math Olympiad class as usual that morning. I always took a shortcut through a park, and as luck would have it, that day, I met a pregnant auntie. I saw that she couldn¡¯t stand any longer and was about to collapse, and that there was no one else around.¡± In a rare moment, Fang Juexia was lively while telling him this story, and he sounded very childish, almost as if he had really gone back to that day. ¡°I was so scared. I helped her over to the grass, and then ran all over the place with my backpack on my back. Finally, I found an adult who helped me to call 120, and we all went to the hospital together.¡±


    Pei Tingsong hugged him, listening to the story carefully, and patted him lightly on the shoulder. ¡°You were really a kind child.¡±


    Fang Juexia continued, ¡°I didn¡¯t go to my class, instead waiting in the hospital for a long time. Later, Auntie gave birth to a baby.¡± He was a bit excited and pushed himself out of Pei Tingsong¡¯s arms with bright eyes. ¡°Did you know? It was the first time I had ever touched a baby¡¯s hand, and it was very soft. She held my thumb tightly, looked at me, and laughed. It was an amazing feeling. And Auntie said that without me, this baby might not have been born.¡±


    When he finished telling his story, his appearance once again grew gentle.


    ¡°Whenever I feel regret over something, I simply take this memory out and think about it.¡± He leaned against Pei Tingsong¡¯s shoulder again.


    ¡°In fact, we are all a collection of experiences. One by one, things happen in a sequence, all of which shapes us into the people we are now. If any of these links were changed, I may not be who I am now.


    ¡°I can¡¯t stop bad things from happening, and I can¡¯t stop regrets from welling up. However, I always feel that there is an invisible order of conservation churning away in this world, and that there may be a gift hidden behind all the regret. If you think about it that way, regret really can¡¯t be considered as regret anymore. The me standing in front of a microphone with my speech in my backpack definitely couldn¡¯t have reached to touch a baby¡¯s hand, could I?¡±


    Looking at Fang Juexia¡¯s gentle face at night, Pei Tingsong seemed to see the firm and tenacious heart residing in him. He thought¡ª This is the person he loves most, and this is the most precious part of his lover.


    So he laughed. ¡°You¡¯re right, only the you who missed that speech could guard the birth of that small life.¡±


    Fang Juexia nodded. ¡°So I won¡¯t think about what-ifs; the events of the past have made me who I am now, and if I have any regrets, they are all worth it.¡± Then he looked at Pei Tingsong, showing a satisfied smile as he uttered, ¡°Because I have you.


    ¡°You are the gift that, under this invisible order of conservation, I got in exchange for my regrets.¡±


    Without all his suffering, without all that waiting alone and fumbling around in the darkness, he might not have met Pei Tingsong.


    If so, Fang Juexia would rather not think about a smoother life.


    Pei Tingsong¡¯s nose suddenly stung, but he didn¡¯t want to admit it no matter what, so he turned his face to control himself. Fang Juexia asked him what the matter was, and he only said that it was too cold to the point that his nose hurt.


    ¡°Ah! The aurora!¡±


    Ling Yi¡¯s loud cry almost reverberated across the entire snowy plain.


    ¡°Wow, it really is! Have a good look!¡± Lu Yuan quickly adjusted the angle of the livestreaming cellphone to allow the fans to watch the aurora with them.


    Pei Tingsong also raised his head, and the beautiful blue-green arc appeared in the deep night, intertwining and then separating layer by layer. The originally endless darkness was stained with a mysterious and wonderful brilliance.


    Night blindness caused Fang Juexia to be unable to see clearly. As the aurora grew brighter and brighter, he only felt that the darkness in front of him seemed to have become covered with a layer of illusory and beautiful light silk, like a veil. All of a sudden, he thought of the fireworks they had seen together and the kaleidoscopic night sky. Just like this moment, these were all the scenes of the most beautiful darkness he had ever seen.


    Ling Yi yelled, ¡°Juexia! Is it pretty? Can you see it?¡±


    Fang Juexia nodded with a smile. ¡°Very beautiful.¡±


    [It¡¯s really beautiful ah. This is my first time seeing the aurora, it should be more beautiful seeing it in person ba]


    [Such a rare scene, Geges, quickly make a wish ah!]


    [Hahahahahaha, make a wish for everything]


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Lu Yuan put down his snacks. ¡°Let¡¯s make a wish together ba.¡±


    This proposal was unanimously approved by everyone, but they wanted to make one big wish instead of each making their own small wishes. After a round of discussion, Jiang Miao asked, ¡°Are we wishing in silence?¡±


    Pei Tingsong objected, ¡°Let¡¯s all wish together, how can it come true if we don¡¯t shout it out?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Ling Yi stood to form a rare united front with him. ¡°The louder we shout, the more sincere our hearts are!¡±


    ¡°Okay~¡±


    The six of them stood in the light of the beautiful and rare aurora, in front of the fans in the livestream, just like every time they stood on the stage, and they had even positioned themselves in that habitual way. Jiang Miao looked around, then out of habit, counted, ¡°One, two, three¡­¡±


    This time, they didn¡¯t introduce themselves. The six young people, who were maturing with time, yelled at the aurora in unison¡ª


    ¡°Forever Kaleido! Forever Dominoes£¡¡±


    Their voices reverberated in the night, and then they laughed carefreely, like youths who would never grow up. After reluctantly saying goodbye to the fans, Jiang Miao stepped forward to end the livestream, while his Didis behind him were still interacting noisily.


    ¡°If you bully me again, I¡¯ll go fly solo!¡±


    Pei Tingsong disagreed. ¡°Fly solo ah, I see where your little arms and legs can fly you to.¡±


    Ling Yi habitually called for reinforcements. ¡°Juexia, look at him, he¡¯s pulling at my head again!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t pick on Ling Yi.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± He Ziyan added some details, ¡°If you pull anymore, he won¡¯t be able to grow to 175 cm.¡±


    Lu Yuan found the little fried dough twists he hadn¡¯t finished eating and walked over to Pei Tingsong and Fang Juexia. ¡°Hey, right, have you guys chosen your wedding invitations yet? I saw a very nice one two days ago, let me tell you¡­¡±


    Jiang Miao quickly turned his head. ¡°Lu Yuan! Shh¡ª¡±


    ¡°Hey, what¡¯s the matter?¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t turned off the livestream yet¡­¡±


    ¡ª


    The author has something to say:


    This time it¡¯s really over. Writing from winter to summer, thank you guys for accompanying Little Paradox for so long and accompanying me through an especially difficult period. Thanking everyone very much.


    Although I didn¡¯t complete the 100,000 character extras target given by the organization, I still wrote 70,000 characters. Because Little Paradox has already been signed to be published physically (there¡¯s a simplified version with the meat deleted and a special simplified version without deletion), so there will be new extras, and I opened an extras collection pit (P.S.: A Werewolf game extra has been updated! The target has been reached!)


    The next piece will be ¡°Lovely Allergen¡± (the title still in flux). It¡¯s the pseudo-sibling story that I¡¯ve always wanted to write, and interested friends can go read it~ However, because my back fasciitis has been a bit serious during this time, I may have to take a rest for a while to write this story. After a specific time is determined, I will make an official page and also post up a Weibo notice. By the way, you can review after having finished reading. If you can, I hope friends who liked Little Paradox can help review. Thank you.


    It¡¯s postscript time again.


    In fact, writing this piece was not the original plan. Many readers know that Little Paradox was actually ¡°cutting in line.¡± At that time, I just happened to have an idea to write a story about a boyband, and coincidentally everyone wanted to read it, and it ended up like this. Only afterwards did I discover that I had dug a big pit for myself. Because for me, creating a pair of protagonists is already a lot of effort, let alone a whole group. A boyband isn¡¯t that simple; if you say they¡¯re a boyband, then they have to have personalities, characteristics, their own works, and their own strengths. So I¡¯ve done a lot of homework in writing this story, not wanting ¡°boyband¡± to just be a background characteristic of the piece.


    So I asked myself, what kind of boyband would make you want to pursue them? With this idea in mind, I wrote Kaleido. In fact, everyone knows that all the members in nearly-cancelled K are very idealistic, and the Star Chart company is also an idealistic brokerage company. Because I am a very idealistic person, I hope that at least in a book, a group like nearly-cancelled K could rely on their own strength to achieve success and that people in love can be together no matter what; those are my simple wishes.


    Although my ability is limited, I am very serious about writing. For both Kaleido and Little Paradox, I put in my greatest effort. So I both accept and thank you for all the results and your comments. At least now, when I look back, I feel that it¡¯s incredible, because each of them lives in my heart, and I felt sincerely reluctant to part at the end and shed tears for them.


    In fact, when I wrote Fang Juexia, I set him as being very introverted at the beginning. I remember at the beginning of the series, many people asked if Juexia had some psychological problems, because he was too closed off and silent. In fact, this was what I wanted to express¡ª that not loving to express himself didn¡¯t mean that he wasn¡¯t ¡°normal.¡± This was my original intention in writing Juexia, and I sincerely admire everyone who takes dreams seriously. Fang Juexia¡¯s ability to remain unmoved by external things and his strong and tenacious pursuit of his dreams are all things I find very hard to achieve. That¡¯s why I wrote it, and to give myself an idealized benchmark ba.


    Relatively speaking, Pei Tingsong is more extroverted, but being extroverted doesn¡¯t mean he doesn¡¯t have introspective moments. I spent a lot of time shaping his introspections, hoping that he would seem like a good-thinking child in your guys¡¯ eyes. If Juexia¡¯s keyword is ¡°persistence,¡± then Pei Tingsong¡¯s may be ¡°brave.¡± He is good at expressing himself and also dares to openly express himself. Whether it¡¯s thoughts on life or insisting on being himself, he can speak frankly, do things bravely, and make quick decisions. That¡¯s very difficult, and I also really admire his ability to execute things and self-confidence.


    These two people seem to be opposite, but in fact they are unified, so later, Juexia becomes brave, and Xiao Pei grows more gentle and persistent. What they have in common is that they both insist on being themselves and are not willing to give in to reality and change their natures. They are both rebels, but in different ways and means. I used to think that it was great to be able to change the world, but as I grew up, I found that when you face the voices of the entire world, it¡¯s already great to not change yourself. I can¡¯t be so persistent and brave in this matter.


    I¡¯ve also tried a new way to write the romance plot. In the past, I used to let the protagonists get together at the end of the story, but because I was trying out new characters (such as Xiao Pei and Juexia), I also tried out a more direct romance plotline to let them get together in the middle of the story. It was quite risky; many readers will not continue to read when they see the confirmation of the relationship. But the key to Little Paradox¡¯s emotional plotline wasn¡¯t how they got together, but how they communicated and loved each other after they got together. I personally liked this change; it¡¯s a wonderful growth for two people who loved each other to influence each other and become more and more like each other.


    In the process of communication, it is hard to avoid two different kinds of thinking colliding. The two kinds of thinking that Xiao Pei and Juexia have are not liberal arts vs. science, but their thoughts that came with the professional mannerisms they learned, because what a person spends a lot of time learning will affect everything.


    At this point, I would like to say a few more words. Seriously, I¡¯ve never thought of using my online novels to popularize any subject, that isn¡¯t my goal. Take Xiao Pei for  example, he¡¯s a person who loves reading and thinking, so he must have a reserve of relevant knowledge. It¡¯s not that I¡¯m deliberately showing off, but I can¡¯t let a character be OOC. For example, when I write Wei Huan, I won¡¯t let him say anything too high level, because he is a jock (kidding). Of course, if you don¡¯t like this style of writing, I also understand; it¡¯s an online novel in the first place, and you all want to read and relax and don¡¯t want to be preached to and advertised to. But I didn¡¯t want to preach to or advertise to anyone, I just wanted to shape the character. That was my only purpose, even though it is very vulgar.


    So, when you like this part of the content, it¡¯s because you like to absorb new knowledge. If you like this kind of expression, you don¡¯t have to attribute it to me. Don¡¯t think that the author knows everything, there¡¯s no one who knows everything. I know my own ignorance and can¡¯t bear to carry this undeserved reputation. I feel very ashamed whenever I see this kind of comment.


    In order to create a complete role, I had to learn what he had learned. I wanted to make him come to life as much as possible, that¡¯s all. Don¡¯t praise me too much, and don¡¯t add a literary filter to the author. I¡¯m ordinary and mediocre, and I can¡¯t bear your high expectations, so I hope you can separate the book from the author, and not beautify the book or me too much. A lot of times, people¡¯s high literary expectations for the text will instead turn me more timid and fearful of disappointing people in the process of creation, but I do try my best every time.


    When I was writing Little Paradox, too many people compared Renshe with it (in fact, it has completely different ideas and themes), which greatly killed my desire to write. So I hope that when Little Paradox is over, it will not be compared with any other books, and it will not be placed too high on a pedestal, it is just itself.


    Every story of mine has an original intention that I want to express through it. This one was originally ¡°dreams,¡± but later, because of a change of mentality, I integrated ¡°self¡± into it as well. In fact, I know that there is no need to make such a chicken soup theme, it¡¯s just recreational reading. But I am a person who finds it easy to fall into confusion, anxiety, and self doubt, so I can understand the negative emotions of many friends at present.


    Words can be used to communicate across space, and I think that it is particularly meaningful if people who see them can be encouraged even a little. In the comments section, I saw many ¡°small shops¡± working hard. I am deeply moved by all of you. It¡¯s hard for me to be encouraged by anyone, and I know it¡¯s not easy to be encouraged, so I feel more comforted and full of strength than ever when I see you saying ¡°I was comforted to the point that I was encouraged¡±. In fact, I¡¯m the shop opposite you. Seeing that you can continue your own business, and self, I also have the courage to be myself.


    I have spoken a lot of nonsense, but thank you all for reading this and for all your tolerance, thank you for accompanying me through this special series period. I¡¯ll always be the shop opposite you. No matter what happens, we¡¯ll stay in business, okay?


    Finally, I¡¯d like to take Fang Juexia, Pei Tingsong, Ling Yi, Lu Yuan, Jiang Miao, and He Ziyan to make a final bow to you (now Xiao Pei doesn¡¯t need anyone to press his head down anymore). Thank you for your love for them, your support for Little Paradox, and for accompanying this story from the beginning to the end. Their story won¡¯t end, it¡¯s just a new beginning.


    Forever Kaleido.


    I¡¯ll see you in the next story.


    ¡ª¡ªMay 15, 2020, ChuChu


    ¡ª


    Juurensha: It¡¯s done!!!! (Barring any new extras I can find¨Cwhen the Taiwanese version comes out, I will definitely try to translate that extra and post it here then) So I¡¯m kind of emotional too, it was a very long and good novel, and I really enjoyed watching FJX and PTS fall in love and grow together! I hope all of you enjoyed it as well! I really enjoyed everyone¡¯s comments (thank you to everyone who helped me translate some of those poems), thank you to everyone who bought the raws (128 people and counting!), and thank you Noks for editing this monster for me as well! Forever Dominoes!


    Our next project (with some old friends coming to help us out) will be Want to Ascend, then Fall in Love, so if you¡¯re interested in a heavenly dao big boss and a demonic cultivator emperor forced to work together and falling in love (with comedy and knives), then stick around on Peach Pits to check it out! We¡¯ll be translating from the beginning, so we¡¯ll be doing a few mass releases before settling into a biweekly schedule.


    Noks: It¡¯s over¡­It was a vibrant, lovable and hilarious (sometimes tearful) journey, which has come to an end here. It¡¯s time to say goodbye to Kaleido, to FJX and PTS (until the story is picked up for a re-read anyways) and to all the readers who accompanied us throughout. I thoroughly enjoyed editing this story (possibly being more fun than just reading it), and thank you Juu for such a marvelous translation! It¡¯s time to move on to other BL pastures for now, but remember: Once a Domino, always a Domino, even if it¡¯s just a virtual and fictional Domino!


    If you can, please support the author by buying the raws (and gain access to translated smut! ). Here is a guide on how to buy them, and it¡¯s not super difficult! Also there¡¯s the traditional physical novel open for pre-orders here! You will probably have to use a forwarding service to purchase them, I¡¯m also struggling along there with CssBuy and now a Taiwan shipping service because CssBuy isn¡¯t working.