-2-
OSC awards all have submission deadlines.
To be eligible for the Crown Award, one must release an album by August 20th and hold at least one concert with more than 50,000 attendees by October 20th.
This year, FALSE was also making headlines, not only did all members participate in the popular online drama “Cinderella’s Night” shooting, but their album was also released in March on two fronts, with fans boasting about how many records they broke in terms of online sales and quantity from various aspects, almost ready to snatch the crown and place it on their leader’s head.
The composition of fans has always been complex.
Pure group fans are only interested in the unity and brotherly love among the five members.
There are fans who fancy looks and the ‘boyfriend’ vibe, and CP fans are experts at speculating and magnifying details for sweetness.
Some career-oriented fans are very blind, only chasing the TOP and acknowledging achievements, changing allegiances faster than anyone.
They once followed Corona because Corona was the industry leader, an unparalleled top boy band.
After Corona’s fall from the peak, some people became disheartened and no longer engaged emotionally, while others didn’t stay quiet for long before supporting FALSE, energetically encouraging their ‘brothers’ to win the crown.
In the end, how one chooses to follow is merely satisfying their own inner desires.
It’s not really about the boy band itself.
Huo Ren is very clear about the current situation and has not rested since returning to the country.
He needs to produce an album within three months.
An album with at least twelve songs, shooting three MVs.
Two of the songs can be outsourced to others, one to Xie Lianyun and another to Mei Shengyao.
With only ten songs left, each song had less than ten days to be completed.
He didn’t have many options and had to rush to write songs while also working on the show, essentially besieging himself.
Nowadays, the internet is full of talented individuals, and there are many speculating on the true cause of Chi Ji’s death and watching Huo Ren’s movements.
[Is he aiming for next year’s Crown Award?]
[It’s already May, I think it’s impossible. You can’t judge an album solely made by outsourcing.]
[FALSE has been getting hotter over the years, I heard they even sent several members to master studios for gold-plating, specifically to learn how to create original works. It makes me almost want to switch sides _(:ะทใโ )_]
[If Huo Ren really came back to compete for the crown with them, that hope seems too far-fetched… I’m not optimistic.]
The sound of the piano on the twentieth floor was intermittent, with occasional bursts of frantic playing, followed by a few heavy bangs on the piano.
Hitting the cold, hard, black and white keys with one’s knuckles could hurt for a long time.
At first, Pei Ruye would come to check on him, but later he understood that Huo Ren’s anxiety was too heavy, sometimes needing solitude.
Then, the kitchen gradually began to emit the scent of baking every now and then.
Today, it was muffins again.
Custard-filled muffins with a milk cap.
Gradually, Huo Ren got into the zone, his piano playing stabilizing over time despite the initial instability due to medication and illness, sometimes completing a week’s work in just two or three days.
He continued with psychological therapy, expressing his concerns about progress during video calls with his therapist.
“Is there a possibility,” the therapist suggested gently, “that you don’t actually want this album to be completed so soon?”
“What?”
“It sounds contradictory, but that’s the reality.”
“Many people are reluctant to save money, ostensibly because they always have expenses, but in reality, because they fear, or dislike money.”
Deep down, they believe money is dirty, bad.
This ties back to many deep-seated issues in their hearts.
“Are you saying, I don’t want to finish this album?”
The therapist did not respond immediately, giving him a moment to ponder.
Huo Ren thought deeply for a long time, then said, “Yes.”
“You’re right.”
He sat up straighter, voicing the fear hidden deep in his heart.
“Once the concert day arrives, it’ll just be me alone.”
Huo Ren had witnessed the emptiness of a concert hall after the show many times.
The first concert of Corona, and many times thereafter.
From setting up the venue to taking it all down, the six of them had been part of dozens of frenetic celebrations, always with companions to celebrate and embrace.
Now, he was alone, waiting for thousands to come, for the silence of the arena.
“How am I supposed to move forward alone?”
He could hardly articulate this thought completely.
“…I’ve never faced all this alone before.”
Before, rehearsals involved six people, choreography involved six people, every aspect and interval belonged to six people.
Now, the spotlight that should have been shared among teammates would focus solely on him.
The excessive spotlight felt as if it could corrode flesh and bone, turning the heart into withered coal.
“Huo Ren, there’s a clichรฉ saying,” the therapist said gently, “but it’s very effective.”
“What we fear is always our own imagination.”
Not reality.
Huo Ren looked complicated, “You think reality won’t be so bad.”
“Until you take that step, all your fantasies are just floating bubbles.”
“If you lack courage, my suggestion is to seek out people who give you courage.”
The people who give me courage.
The young man put down his pen and sniffed the air, filled with the light, milky scent of the muffins.
He glanced at the unfinished lyrics on the paper, stood up, and walked into the kitchen.
The man was flipping muffins, not turning around at the sound of footsteps.
“I added seaweed to this batch. If you don’t like it, I’ll make a new batch later.”
Huo Ren didn’t speak, slowly extending his arms to embrace him from behind, burying his face in his back.
“…Teacher.” His voice was muffled, somewhat unclear, “Let me hold you a little longer.”
Pei Ruye let out a soft sigh and reached out to touch his cheek.
Suddenly, his palm felt wet, kissed gently.
This touch, ambiguous in nature, is hard to define as either a flirtatious tease or a daily expression of psychological dependence.
The man’s eyes darkened slightly, opting for silence.
His lover was too exhausted, unlikely to have the spare energy to fall in love with him again at this moment.
Huo Ren rested his cheek against Pei Ruye’s spine, silently observing the other’s reaction.
He yearned to express his feelings.
Teacher, I really like how you take care of me.
Could you touch my face again, please? I want to kiss your hand once more.
He waited quietly for a long time, yet received no response.
Thus, he sighed slightly, feeling a bit gloomy inside.
“I want some cherries.”
Pei Ruye was still immersed in the sensation of the warm and moist breath on his palm just now, he snapped back to reality and nodded, allowing the other to embrace him as he washed another dish of plump and glossy cherries.
Then, he fed them to him by hand.
Doing such a thing always carried a sense of taboo.
The one holding him was a former student, also the one who, in dreams and reality alike, had stirred desires in him too many times to count.
Pure and fragile, yet as resilient as a cold blade.
Even just thinking about it could unsettle the deepest parts of his heart.
Huo Ren did not expect to be fed by hand, tentatively biting into one.
Then, he precisely nibbled at the teacherโs fingertips.
Bright and slightly cool, still dotted with water droplets.
The cherry was sweet, but that was no longer the focus.
โI want more.โ
Pei Ruyeโs throat moved, letting various fanciful thoughts pass through his mind, and silently fed him another.
Huo Ren ate leisurely, like a squirrel holding the cherry pits in his mouth, allowing him to keep feeding endlessly.
Sometimes, he would deliberately hold a fingertip in his mouth and not let go, even going so far as to lick the pad of the finger with the tip of his tongue.
He was teaching himself more without any formal guidance.
It was truly green and enticing.
Pei Ruye also met his gaze for a few seconds, then turned off the stove and scooped the pancakes onto a plate.
“What do you think of those students?” Huo Ren asked, tilting his head.
“A few of them are quite good, both in terms of talent and potential.”
“Who dances the best?”
“Chen Yuanqing has potential; Zhu Xizhi is a bit lacking in experience.”
Huo Ren responded after a while, then buried his head next to his clavicle, unwilling to speak anymore.
“But if you ask who looks the best…” the man slowly said, “I have only officially taken on one student.”
The others were all business collaborations, which didn’t count.
“He is stubborn and too harsh on himself.”
“But every time he dances, he looks so good that I can’t bear to forget it even in my dreams.”
He danced the tie dance, the booming drum dance.
He also danced in the night in front of six bright mirrors with a long lantern in hand, and sometimes he danced alone among the summer winds and scattered flowers, wielding a thirteen-section silver whip.
He is my desire, my only one.
The sweetness kills me!!