Chapter 21

The next episode was about to be recorded, and in the rehearsal room, after one run-through, the instructor’s brow still hadn’t relaxed.

As the team leader, Lin Yuewei naturally spoke up first and suggested that they stay and keep polishing it. No one complained; they each took a sip of water and went right back to rehearsing.

The moon hung high overhead, spilling its light through the classroom windows. By then, only Lin Yuewei and the contestant who kept getting stuck at the same point were still there. Her sweet, clueless roommate had volunteered to keep Lin Yuewei company and was now snoring in the corner under Lin Yuewei’s jacket.

Lin Yuewei’s voice rang clear and steady through the empty room. “Let’s try again.”

The contestant, who had been holding them back, looked a little guilty. “I can practice on my own; you don’t have to...”

Lin Yuewei cut her off gently. “How are you supposed to practice without someone to run lines with? Hmm?”

The contestant hesitated for a moment, then nodded. “Thank you.”

“We’re a team,” Lin Yuewei said. “Come on, give me five.”

The two of them high-fived. The sharp smack of it woke the roommate in the corner. She wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth and sat bolt upright, utterly dazed, then cried out in panic, “What happened? What happened?”

Lin Yuewei and the contestant burst out laughing.

After a moment of confusion, the roommate pounced over and roughhoused with the two of them for a while. Then all three went to wash their faces and shake off the drowsiness before continuing to run lines.

***

Downstairs, the fans had gone from standing to squatting, from squatting to sitting, then back to standing again. Their feet and the concrete beneath them had practically fused together. Over the past eight hours, Lin Yuewei, her roommate, and this struggling contestant had been watched by fan supporters and station accounts as one trainee after another passed by on the way home. One wave after another of fans and front-line followers had left as well, all staring longingly at that door in the distance. Some had already gone home because they couldn’t hold out any longer, but more were still stubbornly standing there, waiting. Some had traveled here from far away just to catch a glimpse of their little idol.

Even with her good stamina, Gu Yanqiu couldn’t stand seven or eight hours without reacting at all. Her feet had long since gone numb. She had even deliberately worn high heels today; because she was tall, she had chosen and chosen before buying a lower pair, otherwise she truly would have been unable to stand there at all. Gu Yanqiu held her prayer beads in one hand and gritted her teeth, resisting the urge to rest a hand on the secretary’s shoulder.

She bent slightly without making a sound. Heaven knew her back was almost as sore as her legs and was close to giving out.

If the secretary were given another chance, he would definitely travel back three days and beat himself to death for suggesting they come here to wait for the trainees to get off work. Forget Gu Yanqiu; even as a grown man, his own back was aching and his body was breaking down. Quite a few nearby fans were sitting on the ground with hand banners in their arms, the glow from their phone screens shimmering beneath the streetlights and casting a row of utterly dead-eyed “ghosts.”

Gu Yanqiu cared a great deal about her image and absolutely could not bring herself to do the same; she could only grit her teeth and hold on.

After asking his girlfriend for permission and explaining that special situations called for special handling, the secretary had finally gotten approval not to keep vigil. He had originally joined the fun and taken photos of a few people, but his girlfriend happened to ship a pair of CPs and was frankly a little obsessed. That pair just so happened to be the current hot CP of Lin Yuewei and the roommate she came and went with. When she heard that the two of them were still upstairs and hadn’t come down, she went even more insane, insisting that he had to bring back fresh material for her to enjoy. So the secretary’s request took quite a while to negotiate, and after much effort, he finally got it done.

He put away his phone and said to Gu Yanqiu, who was already standing so stiffly she looked like she’d turned to stone, “Xiao Gu, how about we head back? We can still buy tickets home now. Even if we leave tomorrow morning, you should rest tonight; otherwise you won’t have any energy.”

He glanced again at the classroom window, where the light had remained on the whole time, still unable to figure out where exactly the person he was waiting for was. He did, however, think privately about the rumors online; they had made it sound so convincing that Lin Yuewei had gotten ahead purely on looks and was the laziest one among all the contestants. Only after coming to the scene did he realize that even after midnight, she was still working hard upstairs.

Every idol had a few “station accounts”; these were fan-run organizations, mostly unofficial, responsible for support activities in daily life and for posting pretty photos on Weibo for other fans to drool over. Among them, the people who tracked the idol at events, organized and participated in offline activities, were called front-line fans. Although the station accounts for these contestants on Actor Trainees were still in the early stages of development and their support efforts were not yet polished, their hearts for their little idols were pure and obvious to heaven and earth; these front-line fans in particular were practically staking out territory with everything they had. While asking around earlier, the secretary had heard of one Lin Yuewei front-line fan who once waited from the first morning of the first day all the way until the second night. Because of a mismatch in information, Lin Yuewei had been arranged by the production team to go shoot an ad, left by car through another exit, and only came back much later.

The secretary also learned from Lin Yuewei’s front-line fans that Lin Yuewei was nearly always one of the latest to get off work and one of the earliest to go back in. That showed just how severe the online smearing and distortion of facts had been. Front-line fans knew the little idol’s movements best; when they spoke about the online abuse that flung accusations around without distinguishing right from wrong, their eyes even turned red with emotion. The secretary had to dig out tissues from his pocket to comfort them.

“Wait a little longer,” Gu Yanqiu said.

In the past eight hours, this was not the first time the secretary had heard that answer from her. Before, he had thought Gu Yanqiu was being considerate of him and had been deeply moved. Later, he discovered that wasn’t it at all; Gu Yanqiu was as stubborn as anything, and she simply wanted to wait herself.

But the secretary was unwilling to believe it, because in his impression, Gu Yanqiu wasn’t the type to chase stars. She didn’t even care about any news that wasn’t financial. At this point, there was no reason left; whether he believed it or not, he had to. Gu Yanqiu’s attitude was resolute: today, she would definitely wait for one of the ones who hadn’t come out yet after work, or perhaps all of them?

The secretary grumbled inwardly and glanced again at the gift bag in Gu Yanqiu’s hand. This was probably meant for one specific person, wasn’t it?

The hour hand on the clock in the practice room moved from twelve to two. Lin Yuewei shook the fog out of her head and yawned. She lifted the thermos beside her and took a sip of water, just in time to hear her roommate shouting excitedly, “Done.”

Turning around, she saw that the two people rehearsing opposite them had both collapsed from exhaustion.

“Got it?” Lin Yuewei asked.

The two women, lying stiff as corpses on the floor, turned their hands over. Thumbs up.

Seeing that both of them had their eyes closed, Lin Yuewei hurriedly grabbed one in each hand and hauled them up. She looked slender and delicate, but she was surprisingly strong; the lines of muscle in her arms were faintly visible, smooth and beautiful.

The two of them were forcibly dragged to their feet, their eyelids fighting to stay open as Lin Yuewei led them out, one on each side. “Off work, off work. Go back and sleep.”

Lin Yuewei turned off the lights in the classroom, then swung back around, hooked an arm under her roommate’s, and dragged her away.

A classroom upstairs suddenly went dark. The fans below lazily lifted their eyes, too exhausted to spare another glance. They had been worn down by this back-and-forth too many times already; disappointment had come too many times. Better not to hope at all. Only when the actual idol appeared right in front of them would they come back to life in full.

Gu Yanqiu’s heart skipped a beat. She stared straight at that window.

“They’re coming down.”

The secretary blinked. “Huh?”

Did she have clairvoyance or something?

Gu Yanqiu moved her stiff limbs, clenched and loosened her fist, and used it to pound at her lower back. She tidied the hair that had been blown into disarray all night by the night wind, and in ten seconds flat had cleaned herself up into a polished, proper figure.

The secretary was dumbstruck. An entire row of barrage comments flashed through his mind: “Oh no, this is what it feels like when Little Gu is falling in love.” He just didn’t know who exactly had caught her eye.

Gu Yanqiu’s intuition was right. Three minutes later, the long-waiting, silent crowd of fans suddenly erupted in cheers as three people came walking toward them. Lin Yuewei, her CP roommate, and another contestant were walking side by side, hand in hand.

The front-line fans and casual fans alike went wild. Like wolves seeing sheep, they swarmed forward crazily. Naturally, the always composed Gu Yanqiu would not squeeze in with them. In just two or three seconds, she had been pushed to the very edge of the crowd, unable to see even a strand of Lin Yuewei’s hair except through the gaps.

“..."

The secretary advised her, “Xiao Gu, why don’t you push your way in too? It’s dark anyway; nobody can see you.”

Gu Yanqiu lifted her eyes to look at him; one brow moved slightly, and a trace of struggle flickered in her eyes.

The secretary encouraged her with his gaze: Go on.

Gu Yanqiu looked at the packed crowd ahead of them and shook her head. It wasn’t a question of whether she would be seen; it was that she herself couldn’t do something like that.

“The three of us are leaving tomorrow anyway. Maybe this is your only chance to visit her,” the secretary said.

Gu Yanqiu still said nothing, only shook her head again.

“She’s about to go,” he said.

He didn’t know which one exactly, but from Gu Yanqiu’s reaction, it had to be one of those three; most likely Lin Yuewei, since she was the best-looking one there. Who didn’t like good-looking people? If his girlfriend back home didn’t get jealous, the secretary would be chasing stars too.

He gave her a heavy dose of medicine. “You still haven’t given her your gift.”

That medicine worked. Gu Yanqiu suddenly shoved the bag into his hands.

“???”

What kind of daring move was this???

Before the secretary could even react, Gu Yanqiu said in a low voice, unable to defend herself, “Help me give it to Lin Xiao... Yuewei.”

“..."

Lin Xiao...? What kind of address was that? Lin Xiaowei? Tsk; he hadn’t expected President Gu to be this kind of President Gu. When it came to being mushy, she wasn’t losing to anyone at all.

With his orders in hand, the secretary began his heroic push into the crowd. Gu Yanqiu had specifically chosen someone solid, thinking she might need to do some physical work later. The secretary was 183 centimeters tall, lean but not skinny, and liked working out; he was a decent-looking young guy. Jostling his way through the crowd, he finally managed to squeeze into the inner ring.

Lin Yuewei had been heavily criticized online, but her popularity from the first three episodes had already built a solid foundation. If the show didn’t deliberately edit her badly, her current popularity was far beyond third place. Even so, Lin Yuewei’s fans made up a large portion of the people who stayed behind to wait. Since she hadn’t debuted yet and the production team had no rule against accepting fan gifts, she had been showered with gifts all the way home every day. After being blacklisted online, her fans had only become more hyped and insane; flowers, gifts, and all sorts of things kept coming nonstop. Lin Yuewei had been rehearsing for so long and was already exhausted. She forced herself to stay alert and deal with the fans, bending slightly as she accepted each gift and thanked them. The assistant sister behind her took the gifts from her hands and held them.

“Lin Yuewei.”

At the sound of her name, Lin Yuewei turned and saw a fresh-faced young man. He handed a bag to her and said something, but the noise around them was too chaotic; people were shouting her name, asking if she was okay, asking about her preferences, saying all sorts of things. She hadn’t caught what he said and simply thanked him.

Having successfully completed Gu Yanqiu’s assignment, the secretary didn’t forget the instructions from his girlfriend either and quickly pulled out his phone, snapping photo after photo. All of the shots were aimed at Lin Yuewei and her roommate. This was his first time seeing her in person. She had long limbs, but a face so small it was no bigger than a palm, as if she had been born to enter the entertainment industry. She looked a million times prettier than on TV.

Some people were pushing their cameras so close they were practically pressed to the little idol’s face, seriously affecting them. The staff had been working hard all along to maintain order, and Lin Yuewei protected the two people beside her while gently reminding everyone to pay attention to safety.

The secretary, who wasn’t even a fan, felt himself melting from her voice and broke into a silly grin. How could there be such a wonderful person?

The three of them entered the hotel where they were staying, and the fans outside waved after them reluctantly.

“Yuewei, get some good rest.”

“Go for it!”

“We love you!”

“Mom loves you!”

With one hand raised to record video, the secretary was infected by the atmosphere around him and waved back too, shouting, “Dad loves you too!”

That drew startled and amused looks from the people around him. The secretary hurriedly shrank back into the corner.

At last, all three had gone into the elevator, and the fans quieted down, chatting in twos and threes about the material they had just captured. The secretary was still immersed in Lin Yuewei’s devastating beauty, savoring it carefully. Only then did he remember the real matter and sprinted toward the hotel entrance.

Gu Yanqiu was still waiting outside.

“I’m here.”

But a voice stopped him midstep. The secretary turned and saw that Gu Yanqiu had somehow followed him in as well; naturally, she had stayed far away from the crowd.

Gu Yanqiu had already put away her phone while he was distracted and now said lightly, “Did you give her the gift?”

The secretary nodded. “I did; I even said it was from President Gu.”

Gu Yanqiu frowned, and her expression seemed a little displeased.

The secretary said, “I said your full name.”

Gu Yanqiu’s brow still remained slightly furrowed. “Forget it. Let’s go back.”

The secretary scratched his head, not understanding what exactly she was upset about.

Gu Yanqiu had come simply to see Lin Yuewei once. She hadn’t expected Lin Yuewei to see her, and she didn’t even want Lin Yuewei to discover she had come at all, lest it cause her trouble. Liking Lin Yuewei was her own business; it wasn’t necessary for Lin Yuewei to know. Better if she didn’t know.

She merely wanted to keep this feeling of liking her to herself. After all, the current Gu Yanqiu still didn’t have the capital to protect her; who knew what kind of accident might happen in the future.

She hadn’t expected the secretary to reveal her name when giving the gift. What would Lin Yuewei think? Would she once again feel “self-important” and assume Gu Yanqiu liked her? But did she know that her “self-important” assumption was no longer self-important at all?

Gu Yanqiu let out a soft breath. Her speculations here were meaningless. She couldn’t contact Lin Yuewei, and she didn’t really want to contact her either. Even if they did get in touch, what could the two of them possibly say?

Gu Yanqiu’s gaze fell on the road beside them, which looked especially lonely now that the excitement had passed. Her features were full of coldness, yet the depths of her eyes held a trace of almost imperceptible melancholy.

The secretary followed behind her step for step.

Gu Yanqiu got into the back seat of the car and finally managed to ease her stiff lower back a little. The secretary did a full set of middle-school broadcast calisthenics outside, then climbed into the driver’s seat and started the car. Neon lights flashed past the window. Gu Yanqiu closed her eyes and called the secretary’s name. “Lin Zhi.”

The secretary shared the same surname as Lin Yuewei. When Gu Yanqiu said those two words, her voice unconsciously softened; it was almost gentle, scaring Lin Zhi half to death. Luckily, he kept a steady grip on the wheel, and the car didn’t make a leap in place.

Lin Zhi, half frightened to death, said, “What is it, Xiao Gu?” His heart thudded. He did have a girlfriend, okay? He was faithful to death, steadfast and unwavering. It was late at night now, the roads were deserted, and if Gu Yanqiu wanted to do something, he would never, ever yield even if killed!

How could Gu Yanqiu possibly know the mess of thoughts in his head? She only asked coolly, “Didn’t you take photos and videos just now?”

So that was it. Lin Zhi let out a breath of relief and said, “I did.”

Gu Yanqiu: “Send me a copy.”

Lin Zhi: “Okay.”

The car fell silent.

After driving a little farther, Lin Zhi asked, “Xiao Gu, I have something I don’t know whether I should...”

Gu Yanqiu had dressed too lightly today. There had been a light rain in the first half of the night, and she had gotten a bit wet. The cold might have gotten into her body; her head was starting to ache. She pinched the bridge of her nose, too impatient to hear him ramble, and cut him off. “Say it.”

“Alright.” Lin Zhi said, “I’m a straight guy when it comes to taking photos; only my girlfriend doesn’t mind. If you want to see better photos of Lin Yuewei, you can check her station accounts.”

“What’s a station account?”

“It’s a Weibo account that follows her around specifically to take pretty pictures,” Lin Zhi explained in the simplest, clearest terms he could.

“A station account?”

“Right.”

“Do you know which ones?”

At that, Lin Zhi had to show off a little. He said proudly, “I don’t, but my girlfriend does. She’s saved a bunch of beautiful pictures; I can send them to you later. Oh, right; do you ship CPs?”

Gu Yanqiu asked, “What’s a CP?”

Lin Zhi went silent.

How was he supposed to explain that to a straight-up steel-straight guy like him?

He hesitated for just a few seconds, then looked up at the rearview mirror. Gu Yanqiu had her eyes closed, resting; she looked tired. So he simply shut his mouth and let her rest properly.

CPs or whatever; what mattered more than health? They had plenty of time to slowly learn about that later.

***

Gu Yanqiu took a thermometer out of her suitcase. Her temperature showed a slight fever. She poured a pot of water, leaning her back against the hotel room desk as she stared absentmindedly at the electric kettle, which was hissing steam.

The kettle automatically switched off. She poured the water into the clean cup she had set aside, let it cool until it was a little less hot, then drank a large cup of warm water and kept going, drinking three cups in a row.

Her phone on the desk kept buzzing with notifications. She picked it up and saw that Lin Zhi had gotten Lin Yuewei’s photos from his girlfriend and sent them over; there were well over a hundred of them.

The corners of Gu Yanqiu’s mouth lifted slightly, and the lines of her face softened all at once. She sat down and slowly flipped backward through them one by one.

***

Lin Yuewei first sent the contestant who had been with them back to the dorm, then dragged her roommate back to their own room. The other two were already fast asleep, their snores rising and falling in overlapping waves. The two of them tiptoed in and turned on a wall lamp.

Having dragged two people around the whole way, Lin Yuewei was practically falling apart. She was both exhausted and sleepy; during her shower, she nearly dozed off and had to force herself to stay awake while mechanically rinsing off with drooping eyelids.

The sweet, clueless roommate was a night owl, and she had obsessive-compulsive tendencies: gifts received that day had to be opened that very day. Of course, that also had a lot to do with the fact that the number of gifts she currently received wasn’t very high. If she had gifts every day the way Lin Yuewei did, there would be no way she could open them all in time. But ever since she started being shipped in CPs, her popularity had risen day by day, though the number of gifts still remained within her ability to handle.

She finished opening all her own gifts and still wasn’t sleepy, so her eyes drifted to the pile of Lin Yuewei’s gifts. Lin Yuewei was too busy to manage them, so most of the gifts had been opened by her. Right then, Lin Yuewei had just finished washing up and come out. The roommate asked her quietly, “Want me to open them for you?”

Lin Yuewei could not have wanted that more. “Go ahead, go ahead. You’re not going to shower?”

“I’ll go after I’m done opening these.”

The roommate opened them one by one while Lin Yuewei watched in a daze, half asleep. Gifts from others should at least be looked over as a matter of courtesy; on that point, she and Gu Yanqiu were the same.

“Ah.” The roommate suddenly covered her mouth and laughed. “This plush toy is so cute.”

Lin Yuewei looked over and saw that it was a rabbit plushie, only the size of a palm, with such a vivid and adorable little face that it looked almost alive. She frowned. She didn’t think she had ever said in public that she liked rabbits?

The roommate said, “There’s also a card. The handwriting is really pretty.”

Lin Yuewei’s heart lurched hard. She immediately snatched the card out of her hands.

Author’s note:

President Gu [looks calm on the surface but is actually suffering like hell]: I’m someone with idol baggage; I can’t squeeze in with everyone else.

Today’s lucky draw: leave a comment and I’ll give you a little rabbit as a token of affection.

The first gift; can it be called a token of affection?

Guess what’s written on the card~