Just as Pei Ruye’s nose touched Huo Ren’s hand, a few knocks came from outside the door.
Uncle Jiang, with his ear pressed against the door, was still listening to the movement: “Huo Huo? Are you asleep?”
Huo Ren almost jumped up in shock, feeling a sense of fear as if he had been caught, even though he hadn’t done anything wrong.
Pei Ruye casually ruffled his hair and got up to open the door for Jiang Shu: “You’re here?”
“Discussing the concert?” Jiang Shu didn’t think too much about it, hanging up his coat as he entered: “Turn on more lights when chatting, aren’t you afraid of falling asleep while talking in such darkness?”
The man said leisurely: “Worst case, I’ll sleep with him.”
“That’s not a bad idea.” Jiang Shu patted Pei Ruye’s shoulder, without thinking too much into it: “You’ve been busy, just finished domestic business and then flew over here.”
Huo Ren still sat on the bed hugging a pillow, listening to the agent and Pei Ruye casually chat, his face burning hot.
He didn’t dare to speak out of guilt.
“Knowing you’re tired, I’ll say a few words and leave.” Uncle Jiang leaned on the small sofa beside, flipping out a small notebook to discuss the schedule for the next few days.
This was a routine briefing between the agent and the team leader, nothing unusual.
What was unusual was that Pei Ruye, after opening the door, calmly sat down next to Huo Ren again.
And even leaned on the pillow in Huo Ren’s arms.
As an old straight man, Jiang Shu has always had complete trust in his team leader and always thought of Pei Ruye and Huo Ren’s relationship as teacher and student, continuing to dutifully discuss the schedule.
Pei Ruye, leaning against the pillow, half-dozed, with Huo Ren’s back stiffening slightly with tremors.
His current posture was practically half-hugging his teacher, the back of his hand falling beside the pillow could feel the light and steady breath.
The agent, sitting directly opposite, was still seriously discussing work.
With a man sleeping in his arms, it was impossible to discuss work properly.
Huo Ren felt like sitting on pins and needles, even thinking that Pei Ruye was deliberately tormenting him.
Can’t he just sit properly!
After Jiang Shu finished discussing the weekly schedule, he habitually asked: “Did I make myself clear?”
The two men on the bed responded one after another.
“Quite clear.” Pei Ruye got up, walked out with Jiang Shu, waving his hand with a smile: “Ren Ren, sweet dreams.”
“Sleep a bit more, I’ll come pick you guys up at 10 tomorrow morning!”
“Um…”
Huo Ren watched them leave with a complex expression.
Not long after, the real roommate, little Chi classmate, finally came back with his card, seeing the team leader still sitting on the bed hugging a pillow.
“Eh, haven’t slept yet?” He glanced over, carefully placing a bouquet of flowers and dolls given by fans: “Your cheeks are very red.”
“I’m not…”
When all six of them returned to the airport, the welcoming crowd was even bigger than before, with men and women holding up light signs, posters, and banners outside the railing, the atmosphere rivaling that of a live concert.
One reason was that it was finally summer vacation, and the other was that after nearly ten days of closed filming, all members of Corona hadn’t updated their Weibo, leaving their fans eagerly waiting.
“Here they come, here they come!”
“Ah ah ah ah, Brother Ren is even cooler, I’m dead!!”
“My baby, Xie Xie, you can’t eat snacks!! Throw away that bag of banana chips in your arms!!”
Many young girls are regulars at picking up, even familiar with all members of Corona.
They had long counted how many bodyguards and assistants the group had, who were substitutes and who were regulars.
Then they quickly snapped photos of another tall man walking side by side with Huo Ren.
“Eh… who is he?” Sister Hamster Ball, while taking photos, exchanged information with other sisters: “He looks… so charismatic, when did SPF promote this guy? Doesn’t seem like a trainee either?”
“A friend from outside the circle?” Another fan site administrator also snapped photos, capturing the adorable smiles of Yao Yao and Chi Chi, and took a shot of the man’s upright back: “He has a great sense of presence, could he be an actor?”
Even though Pei Ruye was wearing sunglasses, his charisma and presence in front of the camera didn’t lose out to any popular newcomer.
—It was the kind of attractiveness that not even a mask and sunglasses could hide.
The girls saw him walking shoulder to shoulder with Huo Ren, occasionally whispering to each other and looking very intimate, which raised many questions in their minds.
His jawline and the proportion of his shoulders to his waist would make him more than suitable to be a model.
But there was no information about him in the entertainment industry…
Who is he? A new talent that SPF plans to promote?
Unfortunately, the photos they took provided too little information, and this topic circulated in small circles for a while. Later, seeing that SPF didn’t offer any explanation, the fans gradually let it go, considering him just a good-looking non-celebrity friend, though feeling it was a bit of a waste.
Finally returning to Shidu, Snowball, having happily eaten its fill, rushed into Chi Ji’s arms as soon as the door opened.
“So good, so good,” Chi Ji smiled as he rubbed its head: “You smell so nice, little baby.”
“This dog is great in every way, doesn’t bark or pee indiscriminately,” Uncle Jiang snorted: “Just eats too much—dog food has become outrageously expensive, even more so than my smoking.”
He had visited the seventeenth floor a few times, and each time Snowball would wait at the door for people, politely nuzzling Jiang Shu’s hand and wagging its tail, waiting for Chi Ji to return.
Mei Shengyao lifted the little white dog high: “Being able to eat is a blessing! Deduct it from my allowance!”
“No need for that, if it turns into a pig by the New Year, we’ll just stew it.”
“Uncle Jiang!!”
With the concert just over a month away, although there were still some endorsements and advertisements to be shot and “The Crown’s Most Wanted” was being rapidly produced and about to be launched, life gradually returned to its previous stable state, with Huo Ren leading the team in physical training and dance rehearsals every day.
Pei Ruye reduced the time he spent instructing them, spending more time in the glass dance studio with his laptop, but still accompanying them from morning till night on the sixteenth floor, occasionally joining in the dance for some exercise.
Huo Ren wasn’t used to this long-missed day-to-day closeness, but still found himself unconsciously sitting next to the man during meetings, even leaning on the table and napping against Pei Ruye’s arm.
The other five understood without saying.
We get it, no need to explain.
The fifth album was named “Role Play,” focusing on breaking each person’s old labels and guiding a comprehensive renewal through music, dance, and image design.
Among the six, Bo Jue, Huo Ren, and Xie Lianyun were seen by fans as having a certain distance, with a cool and detached persona.
Mei Shengyao was sunny and cute, Chi Ji gentle and pure, and Long Jia had the image of a handsome and reliable big brother.
The lead single “Moon Eater” perfectly encapsulated the theme, using multiple transformation effects to give them a demonic transformation, with both the MV and stage design being very eye-catching.
Mortal youths mistakenly drink a handful of spiritual water and transform into moon-eating demons roaming the world at night.
The black, red, and white color scheme led to three kinds of visual effects, dancing in beast bones and demon tails gave off a taboo sense of witchcraft.
Fox tails, cat tails, and feather tails each had their style, the challenge was maintaining balance during rapid spins and falls, balancing strength and speed.
Huo Ren, usually presenting a detached and calm image, with a profound and spiritual appearance, had the air of a leader.
Pei Ruye chose a pure white, slightly curled soft cat tail for him.
And it looked very cute when it flicked during the dance.
Initially, during the MV shoot, Huo Ren was reluctant, feeling far from ‘cute’ or ‘adorable’.
But he couldn’t stand up to the teasing from the other five.
Black fox tails went to Chi Ji and Mei Shengyao, the dazzling red feather tails to Xie Lianyun and Bo Jue, and the character photos came out with a strong vibe.
When the new album was officially released in early February, fans were wiping nosebleeds while watching the MV.
Chi can be so dominant!! The black fox setting is simply meow!!!
Xie Lianyun’s flamboyance is unstoppable! The iceberg and abstinent style can’t compare to this peacock’s thrill!!!
Role swapping is great! The CPs on the forums are all officially mixed up, a little more chaos and they can start fighting!!!
After dancing the same routine five or ten times, one hardly has the energy to feel embarrassed.
In the mornings, it’s physical training; in the afternoons, dance and formation practice; and in the evenings, singing practice under the stern gaze of Teacher Zhong. By the time they return to the 17th floor, only Mei Shengyao has the energy to walk the dog.
Mei Shengyao took Snowball out for a walk, while the other five soaked their feet and applied facial masks in the living room, watching the domestic Golden Wutong Award ceremony on TV.
“And now, I will announce the Best New Asian Artist award…”
Bai Ping smiled at the podium, paused for a few seconds, and said, “Wait a moment, could I ask Ms. Jiang Yanzhi to come up to the stage?”
Huo Ren was applying a hot milk compress to Bo Jue’s bruise when he suddenly heard a commotion and turned to look at the TV.
The others also realized something was wrong and turned their attention to the screen.
It’s over, they couldn’t keep it a secret anymore, trouble was brewing.
Mei Shengyao had been neglected by his mother from a young age, raised single-handedly by Mei Heng like a single father. A big reason for this was as follows:
His mother, Wen Feng, originally competed with Jiang Yanzhi for the same role but missed the opportunity due to her pregnancy, leading to a significant gap between her and her rival. Despite winning numerous awards and having many works to her name, she never achieved legendary status.
Wen Feng always felt that if she hadn’t married and had children, she wouldn’t have ended her career at that point, leaving Mei Shengyao with nothing but indifference and perfunctory treatment.
The child always tried to hide his vulnerable side, repeatedly hurt by that woman, making everyone in the team feel sorry for him.
The problem was, Wen Feng’s excuses and fantasies were wrong from the start.
Her marriage was a joke, her affairs caused a scandal, and it almost became a stumbling block in her child’s career.
“I’m back—” Mei Shengyao said as he entered, “Snowball was so good, even picking up a mineral water bottle from the roadside and putting it in the trash can.”
The five brothers centered around Huo Ren shivered, Xie Lianyun quickly turned off the TV, and incoherently urged everyone, “You’re back, so go to sleep early, ha, it’s not late, not late.”
“Let’s continue watching.” Mei Shengyao glanced at the TV and bent down to release the leash from the little white dog, “Jiang Jue’s family just went public with their relationship, I saw it trending while I was in the elevator.”
Huo Ren observed his expression for a long time before tentatively asking, “Yao Yao, are you okay?”
“Ha?” Mei Shengyao blinked and tilted his head, “I’ve known for a while.”
Everyone: !!!
“You’ve known all along?!”
“We’ve been trying so hard to keep it from you, worrying it would upset you!!”
“Phew… I’m going to pour out the footbath water.”
“Actually, Jiang Jue and his parents all look… very alike.” Mei Shengyao, sitting in the entryway and taking the slippers brought by Snowball, said calmly, “I felt they looked familiar the first time I saw them, so I asked my dad about it.”
Huo Ren was shocked, “He told you right then?”
“Mm-hmm. He’s known for a long time.” Mei Shengyao smiled, “Not telling her was actually to protect her feelings.”
Mei’s grandfather and the director of the audition were actually acquaintances and had inquired about the audition early on.
—There was never an issue of not being able to film because of pregnancy; it was Wen Feng’s lack of understanding of the role, failing to bring out its essence and spirit.
In that era, acting was just acting, and commercial films were not popular yet.
The director spoke the truth, and the production team aimed to win awards and gain fame with this film; there was no turning back from the start.
Upon seeing Mei Shengyao being so nonchalant, Chi Ji rushed over, hugging him tightly without saying a word.
Mei Shengyao nuzzled his neck.
“Chi-ge, the floor is cold, and you’re still barefoot.”
Before they could finish a few sentences, Jiang Shu rushed over, his hand clutching a phone with over a dozen missed calls.
“Yao Yao—did you—did you call her?”
“No.” Mei Shengyao looked sideways, “Didn’t I block her long ago?”
“Sss,” Jiang Shu rubbed his head, stepping in front of Mei Shengyao ready to lock the door, “She almost went mad when she heard the news, she’s bound to come looking.”
“Uncle, no need to lock the door.” The youth said calmly, “If she comes, I’ll personally see her out.”
“It’s too late for regrets now.”