Idol Chapter 61

This deathly question was just the beginning.

Curiosity-driven baby Huo Ren attempted to ask a few more questions, but Xie Lianyun skillfully changed the topic: “The captain is indeed outstanding, and we all think he would be a perfect marriage candidate—-”

Thirty audience members, including Poison Wei, nodded with their hands supporting their faces.

Mhm, mhm, mhm, no need for the word “men,” we all know you dote on him the most.

And so, they continued with the audience Q&A segment.

“Who in the team has the worst temper?”

The six of them looked around and pointed at each other without hesitation. “Him!”

“Having a bad temper can be divided into different stages,” Bo Jue calmly remarked. “There’s Xie Xie’s morning grumpiness, Mei Shengyao acts like a homeroom teacher when he’s writing songs, and Huo Huo gets stern with people from outside when they cause trouble.”

“The captain can actually get stern—-” a girl in the audience expressed her surprise. “He looks so well-behaved!”

“Well, let me explain,” Long Jia reached out and ruffled Huo Ren’s hair, smoothly diffusing the situation. “We’ve had some extremely rude staff members in the past who brought their friends into the fitting rooms and demanded autographs and photos from us.”

At that time, Xie Lianyun happened to be changing into pants, and Mei Shengyao quickly covered him with a large shirt.

Huo Ren immediately darkened his expression and asked them to leave, his attitude cold and firm.

“Then who has the best temper?” another curious audience member asked.

After contemplating for a moment, all six of them turned their gazes towards Long Jia and Chi Ji.

“Jia Jia indeed has a great temper,” Mei Shengyao sighed. “Sometimes we get late-night calls from overzealous fans, and he’s the one who helps us calm them down.”

But later on, they all became smart and the first thing they did upon entering a hotel was to unplug the landline.

“And Xiao Chi is like a protective shield…” Xie Lianyun chuckled. “He has cooling pads for summer and warmers for winter. He even supervises the captain’s eating schedule since his digestion isn’t great. Recently, Huo Huo’s complexion has improved a lot.”

Huo Ren nodded and imitated the gesture Xun-ge had just made, forming a heart with his hands and pointing it at Chi Ji.

Chi Ji murmured softly, “It’s… nothing, really.”

In reality, the audience had established some unwritten rules before entering the venue.

CP fans were not allowed to ask questions with hidden intentions, and the questions should focus on exploring their individual qualities.

But the conversation kept circling back.

Onstage, it seemed like every individual question somehow turned into a discussion about their teammates. They started teasing each other, and in the process of teasing, they ended up promoting each other as well.

The fans in the audience felt like they were taking an impromptu test on their facial expression management skills.

Chi Ji is really soft and angelic. What kind of cuteness is this born in the Garden of Eden?!

Xie Xie, why does every sentence of yours contain so much information?! The more you explain, the stranger it gets, hey!!!

Huo Huo’s smile is so youthful, I can’t handle it! I want to take it as my phone screensaver!

And then the microphone returned to Huo Ren’s hands.

As he spoke, Xie Lianyun took a breath, and the fans in the audience held their breath simultaneously.

Captain, please, ask a simple question. Otherwise, ask us what day of the week it is or whether it’s raining outside!

“Um… is there, like, a fanfiction about CORONA and the entire group?”

The whole venue fell into silence, and you could hear a pin drop.

“No, there isn’t, absolutely not.” A little girl waved her hand. “Such a thing doesn’t exist.”

Others nodded in unison. “It doesn’t exist, we’ve never heard of it.”

The assistant director next to them understood and said, “There is…” Recommended reading.

Xie Lianyun immediately turned away and refused to look at the screen again.

He’s here, he’s here, he’s here to publicly execute us again.

At the moment the screen lit up, eight fanfiction covers featuring the group members appeared in rotation.

“Third Young Master Long’s Sole Love: The Road of the Alluring CEO Chasing his Wife”

“CORONA’s Exclusive Pet Lover”

“The One and Only Crown: The Runaway Journey of the Dazzling Princess”

“The Demon Lords’ Little Maid”

…

The titles were sizzling hot, accompanied by fan art featuring the six of them and a Mary Sue protagonist.

The fans were suffocating.

Captain, please listen to our explanation!!!

Wasn’t today’s program supposed to revolve around the six of you?!!

Could you please stay away from the fans’ lives a little bit, dear idol—-

“A fanfiction about the whole group?” Bo Jue curiously asked, “Is it one where all six of us take turns dating the female lead?”

“Oh, oh, I’ve read that one—” Chi Ji pointed at the screen. “《Absolute Love Crown: The Cinderella of the Seven Gods》.”

Xie Lianyun gave up participating in the discussion and sat beside, focusing on eating strawberry cookies.

“What is the story about?”

“It’s quite fun. It’s about the female lead, Luo Su Su, who gets into a car accident and travels back in time to ancient times, where she has encounters with seven demon immortals.” Chi Ji pointed at Huo Ren. “The captain’s character is a tyrannical king with the blood of a wolf demon. He only becomes gentle when he meets the female lead.”

Huo Ren: …?

“And Xie Lianyun is a white fox immortal who has been banished to the mortal world because he was caught stealing the chicken soup made by the female lead.”

Xie Lianyun suddenly choked on his cookie. “Cough cough cough!”

Long Jia patted his back and asked curiously, “What about me?”

Chi Ji pondered for a moment. “You seem to be a great khan, riding a white lion and dominating the battlefield.”

“Wait a minute, I have a question,” Mei Shengyao listened attentively. “Why do they take turns dating? Do they have to queue up?”

“Of course not,” Chi Ji smiled mischievously. “The female lead first becomes a substitute for her sister and is selected into the palace. Then she becomes the domineering emperor’s exclusive doting wife. But her sister becomes jealous and plots to make her have a miscarriage. Huo Huo is kept in the dark, and the romantic relationship goes through thirty chapters of torture. The female lead then jumps out of the palace and is picked up by the Little Prince, which is you—”

Mei Shengyao listened with great interest. “Where can I read it? I want to…”

No, you’re not allowed to read it!!

The Gem Sisters were suffocating, they needed oxygen on the spot.

Who on earth came up with this segment?!

Change the channel!! We demand a channel change!!

Bo Jue, who rarely saw Xie Lianyun being defeated, sat up straight and said, “How about reciting a passage on the spot? Each of us takes turns reciting our own lines.”

Long Jia and Xie Lianyun interrupted simultaneously. “No!!”

Assistant Director Qing raised her hand again. “Which one should I read? I’ve bought every book—”

“‘Mr. Huo looked down at the kneeling maid and said in a cold tone, ‘I don’t need a useless woman who can’t even clean shoes.'” Huo Ren touched his chin and continued reading, suddenly hesitating. “‘Unless… you kiss me.'”

…So why does she have to kiss him if the shoes aren’t clean?

“‘Don’t touch her, get lost.'” Mei Shengyao walked out with a riding crop, arrogantly lifting her chin. “‘She’s mine.'” Mei Shengyao held back his laughter and nudged Long Jia. “Jia-ge, it’s your turn.”

Long Jia sighed and read on, giving up on himself.

“‘No sooner said than done, a peerlessly handsome man released his invisibility state and held the soft and delicate girl in his arms.'”

“‘Don’t be afraid, big brother will take you away.'”

The fans were leaning on the table, their shoulders shaking uncontrollably. Half of them were laughing uncontrollably, while the other half had already fallen into a major awkward situation, on the verge of social death.

It’s too embarrassing. Being a Gem is just too embarrassing…

I should be under the TV, not in the TV station… I can’t even change the channel!!

After the recording of the second episode, a group of spectators outside the venue waited for news.

The sisters in the dedicated forum were unusually silent.

[23L]: Can you say something?

[42L]: What’s happening? Why isn’t there any news today? Did members of the Crown start fighting?

[43L]: I heard a rumor today that XLY and MSY got into a fight on set, and the doors were closed.

…

After dozens of floors, the sisters who had been to the recording venue couldn’t hold it in any longer.

[82L]: Can someone cut off the captain’s internet connection?! Today’s show was just ahhhhhhhhh!!!

[83L]: They were all ahhhhhhhhh for real. I was ahhhhhhhhh the entire time!!!

[84L]: My mom asked me why I was screaming in my room. It’s already midnight, but I can’t stop ahhhhhhhhh…

[85L]: Damn, have all of you who’ve been to the recording site turned into groundhogs or something? Can you still speak human language?

There were actually some brave fans who weren’t afraid of death, creating alternate accounts to share behind-the-scenes tidbits from the show.

And then the official CORONA forum exploded internally.

Captain, why did you mention all these deadly questions!!

Please, Ren Ren, stay away from the fans’ lives and don’t understand these strange things!!!

By the way, which book were they reciting? I’m a bit interested and it feels strangely intriguing…

The anonymous board for fan groups quickly piled up with four or five floors of short bursts of information. Soon, the real-name version had moderators coming out to start a one-week limited-time vote:

[What is the hottest CP?!] Let’s give the captain some tape!!

The image attached was a bundle of CORONA members with tape, fittingly appropriate.

The Mountain and Flowing Water pair received the news today as if it were New Year’s and quickly rushed to the large and small groups, urging sisters to edit videos and campaign.

Other groups naturally followed suit, rapidly rallying their sisters to join in and vote.

“Isn’t the video of their duet on their debut enough to make it intriguing?! Under the bright sunshine, the snow, and the fragrant path, high mountains and flowing water express gratitude for knowing each other!!”

“The Twin Genius group provided food today—-this sweet soup, I’m going to drink it a hundred times once the show airs!!”

“We talked about such explosive topics today, and no one CUE’d my Ren-ALL group!! Do you think we don’t have enough food every day when Ren-ALL provides it?!! You’re just relying on the fact that the food ladies didn’t go to the scene (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻”

Xie Lianyun looked at the passionate battle scene on the official app and logged out of the alternate account. He lay sideways on the couch like a salted fish and soaked his feet.

I know too much.

It’s so difficult for me.

After finishing the recording, there was still plenty of time left. Xie Lianyun soaked his feet while Mei Shengyao applied a face mask and worked on editing sheet music.

Xiao Chi finished showering and handed his phone to them, saying, “There are actually… a lot of fan fiction stories about CPs…”

“I don’t want to read them,” Xie Lianyun turned his head. “Don’t click on the Xie-Chi Spring tag. It’s all ghost stories.”

“Huh?”

“Xie-Chi Spring is the name of a poetic form,” Mei Shengyao took Chi Ji’s phone and as soon as he opened it, he saw explicit descriptions: “Hiss—”

“It’s a ghost story,” he closed the page and returned the phone to Chi Ji. “Don’t read it. They portray you in a really miserable way, crying throughout the entire story.”

“…Okay,” Chi Ji felt a bit aggrieved. “Don’t they like me?”

Xie Lianyun calmly hugged a pillow and said, “They like you too much, that’s why they keep creating all these strange things.”

After returning to his room, Huo Ren finally unlocked his phone and secretly checked the relevant tags.

As someone who hadn’t experienced romantic feelings yet, from the age of fifteen to twenty, he was either immersed in studying or working without a break, so he had very few opportunities to come across this kind of information.

In a video, a man rushed into a police station, sounding excited, “Just now, I ate Ren-ALL’s food all night long!”

The police officer was slightly puzzled, “Ren-ALL? Who’s that?”

“It’s not ‘who,’ it’s the most classic CP of CORONA!”

The police officer quickly drew a picture and showed a photo of Bo Jue, looking downcast, wearing a necktie.

“This is Jue-Ren! The number of people is wrong!”

The police officer quickly drew another picture, depicting Huo Ren standing tall in front of five people bowing down during a New Year’s Eve event, with a sinister expression.

“That’s ALL-Ren!! It’s the wrong way around!!”

The police officer flipped the drawing upside down, and the image became a mosaic fan art of Huo Ren being pinned by Xie Lianyun in a corner of the library.

Another police officer took the drawing, made a few quick changes, and added a blushing Chi Ji between Xie Lianyun and Huo Ren.

“Don’t mention Yun-Huo-Chi to me!!! That’s freaking cult stuff!!!”

Huo Ren slammed his phone shut, crawled into bed, and prepared to sleep on time.

He decided not to look at it anymore. It felt too strange.

But five minutes later, he opened the official forum and, hidden under the covers, indulged in campus ABO fanfiction featuring ALL x Huo.

Meanwhile, Bo Jue finished showering and sat in front of the mirror, absent-mindedly blow-drying his hair with his mind temporarily empty.

Long Jia had just finished showering, wearing loose-fitting pajamas that exposed half of his collarbone.

Bo Jue noticed him from behind and called out, “Long Jia—”

“It’s troublesome.” Long Jia walked straight past him without making any eye contact.

Bo Jue stood frozen in place, watching him walk away, and remained seated in front of the mirror for a few seconds.

Then he grumpily returned to his room.

Why bother blow-drying his hair? He could just cut it all off.

As soon as Long Jia left the washroom, he felt uneasy. He wanted to go back and apologize immediately but was afraid of provoking Bo Jue again.

Usually, whenever Bo Jue glanced at him, he would eagerly help with applying essential oils, combing his hair, and providing the complete Long family care package. He would even sing and tell jokes to make him happy.

In their home and the company, Young Master Long could walk with authority, and even Uncle Jiang refrained from making him lose face. But he never showed any temper in front of Bo Jue.

It’s over. Little Bo is completely done with me.

I ignored him even when he called me just now.

After taking a few steps, Young Master Long couldn’t help but turn around. He saw Bo Jue striding towards his bedroom, slamming the door shut with a loud bang and locking it three times.

It took a moment for Young Master Long to realize that something was wrong.

He walked back and forth between the six-panel doors, then caught sight of Xie Lianyun approaching with a basin for foot soaking.

With one glance at Young Master Long’s expression and the only tightly locked door, Xie Lianyun instantly understood everything.

“Long Jia, this won’t do.”

Long Jia whispered, “He’s angry, I have to coax him.”

Xie Lianyun looked at him with a complicated expression. “Are you really a straight guy?”

Long Jia: …?

He stared at Bo Jue’s door for a long time but eventually turned his head back to his own room, burying his face in the pillow and rolling around.

Bo Jue leaned against the door, hearing the sound of the door closing from the opposite side. He grumbled angrily, calling him a stupid idiot, and went back to playing with his phone on the bed.

Then, both of them logged into their alternate accounts and opened the CP-exclusive section of the official forum.

Long-Huo and Long-Bo weren’t considered a highly popular CP, but the love from the small fandom was always deep and passionate. They tirelessly wrote and shared stories for the sake of love.

Long Jia pretended to browse through Long-Ji, Long-ALL, and Long-Yun, skimming through like reading jokes, not taking it seriously.

Then he tucked himself deep into the covers, holding his breath as he read campus fanfiction about Long-Huo.

One was a mischievous and unruly noble school bully, while the other was a serious and aloof artistic student council president.

From playfully teasing each other as desk mates to tender moments by the grand piano, their physical contact was limited, but their personalities and dialogue felt incredibly genuine.

After that, Long Jia felt embarrassed whenever he looked at his phone. His mind replayed the kissing scenes over and over again. He peeked out and sighed in relief before continuing to scroll down.

Then he started following the latest updates of the fandom’s treasure.

Across the hall, Bo Jue curled up on his bed, pillow in hand, with a disdainful expression as he read fanfictions about himself and all of his teammates.

He didn’t read poorly written stories, out-of-character dialogues, or exaggerated character portrayals.

He came across a fanart of the entire group drawn by fans, and his smile gradually softened. His finger slid downward, and next was a picture of himself sitting on Long Jia’s lap, cheeks flushed, with his white shirt slightly undone.

Bo Jue furrowed his brow and stared at the picture for almost half a minute, attempting to criticize the proportions or the shape of the piano.

However, his gaze remained fixed on the way the two characters were passionately kissing.

…Why are tears coming out while kissing? The sitting posture is really strange.

The art was so bad. Block.

But then, his pale finger hovered next to the block button for a while before he clicked follow.

-2-

Huo Ren didn’t pay much attention to his own tangled and passionate love story with any of his teammates. He casually skimmed through a few stories with a playful attitude before exiting.

His feelings for his brothers were pure and steadfast, without any impurities. Even when he came across ship stories, he didn’t take them seriously.

It was already 1 a.m., and the latest CP rankings showed ALL-Ren at the top, followed by High Mountain, Flowing Water, and Long-Ji in third place.

Huo Ren clicked on High Mountain, Flowing Water, which happened to be the hottest fanfiction in the fandom.

The cold-faced pianist was seduced by the flute spirit with long hair, and their affection deepened amidst the lingering sound of strings.

–They were childhood acquaintances, but Bo Jue, as a young boy, had a drowning accident and was lost to the world.

After that, Xie Lianyun lost his smile and played the piano alone, forsaking the path of officialdom.

However, Bo Jue’s lingering soul was captured by the cold jade flute and blessed by the family’s protection, gradually regaining a physical form. However, he had completely lost his memory and no longer remembered any of their childhood memories.

When Xie Lianyun saw his bewildered state again, his heart ached unbearably.

Huo Ren had initially intended to read a few lines and then go to sleep, but unconsciously, he followed along and caught up with the latest chapter.

His mind was filled with Xie Zhiyin from High Mountain, Flowing Water.

The story ended just as Bo Jue was caressing the piano and Xie Lianyun was arranging his hair, with both of them looking up at each other. They were so close that they could almost kiss.

–But there were no further chapters.

For someone who had spent nearly twenty years in a monotonous academic life, it was the first time Huo Ren read an online novel, and it happened to be a fanfiction about his own teammate.

Then, following the enthusiastic recommendations in the fan’s comments, Huo Ren read another short fanfiction about the pairing of the flute spirit and the piano ghost. He even watched the dueling piano scenes between the two characters.

When he lifted his head, it was already 3:30 in the morning, but he still had six hours left to sleep before getting up to record a program.

Huo Ren turned off his phone and rubbed his forehead. He appeared calm on the surface, but his heart was still fluttering with indescribable romantic scenes.

He coughed a few times and went out to get some water. He noticed that the light in the bathroom was on.

Bo Jue’s hair was already dry by the time he finished reading the novel, so he decided to apply some essential oil to his hair before going to bed.

Xie Lianyun finished playing his game and came out to find something to eat. He absentmindedly helped Bo Jue comb his hair, and they chatted casually.

Just as Huo Ren finished reading that particular scene, he unexpectedly witnessed the real-life version of it—-this was simply…

Xie Lianyun understood his expression instantly and said, “Stop! Don’t let your imagination run wild!”

“Huh?” Bo Jue, propping his chin, was half asleep. “What?”

Huo Ren waved his hand and stepped back. “My mistake. Carry on.”

“Captain, if you keep fantasizing, I can show you some steamy scenes about Yun-Ren right now,” Xie Lianyun said expressionlessly. “The kind that would make you moan like a cat.”

“Yun-ge, I’m sorry…”

After finishing pouring water, as he walked back, Long Jia was rubbing his hair and pushing the door open to leave.

Huo Ren almost bumped into him and instinctively asked, “Jia-ge, you’re not asleep either?”

Long Jia helped him stabilize the water cup. “It’s quite late.”

Huo Ren suddenly realized something and lowered his voice. “You’re not… reading a novel, are you?”

Several words were omitted in the middle, and there was no need to say them out loud.

Long Jia’s movements stiffened, and he forced a smile. “What novel? I don’t read novels at all. It’s already so late, and we have class, no, a recording tomorrow. You should go to sleep. I don’t know anything about novels.”

Huo Ren silently observed his expression. “Are you sure you still want to be an actor in the future…”

“Go to sleep already!!”

The next day at mealtime, Xiao Chi and Yao Yao looked well-rested and in good spirits.

“Why does Long-ge look a bit off today, like he’s not feeling well?”

“What’s wrong with the captain? His eyes have been focused on the window…”

Huo Ren lowered his head and stirred his oatmeal. “It’s nothing.”

Long Jia continued to observe Bo Jue’s expression as he cautiously offered him a piece of crispy roasted dragon fish.

“Move away,” Bo Jue said coldly. “Stay away from me.”

Long Jia’s movements paused, and he lowered his head, placing the dragon fish back on his own plate.

Xie Lianyun sighed and pulled his seat between the two of them to create some distance. “Forget it, let’s not argue.”

Bo Jue was still upset from yesterday and took a large portion of Xie Lianyun’s grilled beef with okra right in front of Long Jia, eating it all without any expression.

Xie Lianyun exclaimed, “Dude, if you’re mad, you don’t have to eat from my plate—”

Huo Ren chose to avert his gaze and stared out the window.

He decided not to read novels anymore. Reading too much would damage his brain.

“By the way,” Mei Shengyao curiously asked, “Have you guys read that trending fanfic under the Yun-Ren tag?”

Xie Lianyun was just about to fork a piece of meat when, caught off guard, he lost his grip and the meat, along with the silver fork, rolled three times and fell down.

“In the future… let’s try not to discuss… anything from that forum,” Xie Lianyun pushed his silver-rimmed glasses back into place and grabbed a new fork. “Trust me, it’s not appropriate.”

Huo REn quickly raised his hand. “I promise not to read it.”

“I think it’s quite fun…” Chi Ji murmured softly. “If the captain says not to read it, then I won’t either…”

“Good boy, Xiao Chi,” Xie Lianyun said sternly. “It can affect the team’s relationships.”

---

Author’s Note:
I didn’t expect to encounter the strange psychology of “What on earth am I writing?” even when writing a serious story…