Idol Chapter 86

Qi Lin lived on the tenth floor and usually interacted with Corona in a friendly manner. Their busy schedules and individual dormitories at the company’s residence led to fewer interactions in person, but they often met at TV stations or studios.

In September of that year, Qi Lin began his freshman year at the drama school, reducing his workload and spending most of his time in the university dormitory. The company dormitory remained empty and was cleaned by a housekeeping service every week.

One day, Huo Ren went there to borrow a textbook. As he entered the password to open the door, he heard faint rustling sounds. Something was not right.

Celebrity encounters with overzealous fans and stalkers were not uncommon. They faced situations like fans chasing their cars, waiting at hotels, or even booking the same flights. Preventing such incidents proved challenging as fans often found ways to bypass security measures.

When Corona stayed in hotels, their first action was to unplug the phone lines, and they never answered the door if someone knocked late at night.

Huo Ren became alert and immediately called the security to come upstairs. Four people with recording devices entered the dormitory to investigate.

The living room, kitchen, and music room were empty. The bedroom and study were locked, and normal people wouldn’t be able to open them.

Huo Ren noticed the bathroom and gestured for the security to check. When they entered the bathroom, they were startled to find a girl hiding in the bathtub.

The girl was wrapped in Qi Lin’s bath towel and insisted that she was his girlfriend.

Naturally, the incident was reported, and measures were taken. Locks were changed, security patrols were increased, and safety measures were confirmed.

However, both Uncle Jiang and Qi Lin’s manager, Fan Yun, reviewed all the surveillance footage, but there were no traces of the girl’s entry or exit.

… Could this girl have superhuman abilities to shrink her body?

Huo Ren also felt that something was amiss. He immediately returned to the seventeenth floor, and along with Long Jia, they thoroughly searched the entire apartment, turning it into a suspenseful escape room-like experience.

Then, they found food residue inside a bathroom cabinet.

Normal people wouldn’t hide in such a place to eat. They quickly arranged for an infrared detection device to be brought in and thoroughly scanned the apartment, including the ceilings and supporting beams.

Finally, they found another girl hidden in the ventilation ducts in the ceiling. She had been there for three days, with compressed biscuits and a waste bag by her side.

“At that moment, we were indeed shocked,” Huo Ren said, looking at the live broadcast camera with helplessness. “We spend our days at home, chatting and relaxing, and we never thought that someone would be eavesdropping and spying on us from above. It’s a very uncomfortable feeling.”

To be precise, the sasaeng fan nearly fell onto Bo Jue and was pushed away forcefully by Long Jia and Xie Lianyun. Their efforts were not gentle.

“Why did you have to resort to violence?” the sasaeng fan protested, but before the foul-smelling and eerie intruder could say more, the security personnel swiftly covered her mouth and removed her.

The real-time viewers in the live broadcast exceeded six million, and the barrage of comments was so dense that it was almost impossible to read.

[??????????]

[Could it be a mental health issue?]

[She climbed up to the seventeenth floor through the ventilation ducts? What kind of horror story is this…?]

[Sasaengs are not fans! I hope all sasaengs stay 500 meters away from everyone!!!]

SPF had trained a large number of outstanding artists, and they were reluctant to outsource security to other companies. Last year, they even added a biometric recognition system. Security personnel, maintenance workers, advertisers’ representatives, and all sorts of odd characters were apprehended almost every month. After this incident, they temporarily added anti-theft nets to all ducts, and even the sewer system was sealed off completely.

—Every possible entry point was secured.

By the time the live broadcast ended, their hashtag was already trending at the top on Weibo. They hurriedly left the studio and headed to the airport, leaving behind these matters for now.

After a month-long vacation, they had accumulated a lot of work to catch up on. Getting a full night’s sleep would be a luxury.

Huo Ren noticed that Bo Jue had not slept and gently tapped his hand, calling him quietly, “Jue-ge.”

Long Jia, who was sitting next to them, opened his eyes and looked curiously in their direction.

“This is our business task,” Huo Ren said as he handed them both a document. He remained composed. “We should stick to the original plan.”

In the past three months, #ShuangRen# (Double Blade) had successfully topped the CP charts four times, and although their popularity had gradually waned, #Long-Jue# and #HighMountainFlowingWater(Xie-Jue)# had experienced a revival in popularity, and the number of content creators and fan artists had only increased.

Even though Corona was on vacation in September, the pre-recorded advertisements and variety shows were airing one after another, ensuring that their exposure remained consistent.

Furthermore, the moment when Long Jia helped Huo Ren carry his violin case and was accidentally photographed by reporters had ignited a new wave of enthusiasm among CP fans, who treated this vacation as their honeymoon.

Bo Jue sat between Huo Ren and Long Jia, sensing that something was a bit off about the atmosphere. After reading the document, he didn’t immediately respond. Instead, he glanced at Long Jia.

Long Jia was smiling while engrossed in his phone, avoiding eye contact with Bo Jue.

“Well,” Bo Jue nodded, “only three tasks?”

He recalled that when Mei-Ren (Plum Blade) was operational, they had five tasks.

“Three tasks are sufficient, and the timeframes should be spread out to take it slow,” Huo Ren replied.

Huo Ren was already accustomed to these rhythms, and he felt relaxed.

The first task was a semi-casual interaction with fans.

Coincidentally, the neighboring province’s television station was recording a special program for male idols and had scheduled an appointment with Corona. Fans had arrived at both the airport and the TV station five to six hours in advance, with their support lights sparkling like a river of gold in broad daylight.

The six of them briskly walked out of the VIP channel, waving and greeting the enthusiastic fans behind the barriers. They all wore stylish matching outfits with long coats and boots.

“Jue-ge,” Huo Ren suddenly called out.

“Your shoelace is untied.”

Without hesitation, Bo Jue stopped in his tracks, and Huo Ren, without any concern for discretion, squatted down and helped his brother retie his shoelaces.

The moment Huo Ren bent down, the entire scene erupted in screams and howls, and the flashlights popped like fireworks.

Bo Jue hadn’t expected Huo Ren to go to this extent. For a moment, his face displayed a mix of surprise and nervousness, giving him a genuine and youthful appearance.

“I… I can do it myself.”

“It’s already tied,” Huo Ren said with a faint smile. “I didn’t want you to trip. Let’s go.”

In just fifteen seconds, the other members didn’t find this unusual at all. After the two of them reunited with the group and continued walking, they quickly disappeared from the public’s view.

The fans who had witnessed the entire interaction up close were in a daze, even though their cameras were constantly snapping pictures. Their brains seemed to have temporarily crashed.

What did my eyes just witness???

Did he really help Bo Jue tie his shoelaces so openly???

Corona had entered the television station to begin recording the program, and both the audience inside and outside the studio were in an uproar.

Could it be??? Isn’t this… love???

Within moments, marketing accounts on Weibo began sharing the footage, and gifs and videos of Huo Ren tying Bo Jue’s shoelaces were quickly circulating.

@KiwiXiaoBlei: OMG, I can’t handle this anymore! That “Jue-ge” he said was so sweet! If this isn’t my Ren-ge’s choice for love, I’m ready to deliver a wedding dress, a Bible, and a priest’s three-piece set right now!!

@PreciousGemSistersLiverProtectionCenter: He’s so straightforward that I feel like it’s not just a teammate relationship. Third brother is waiting so obediently for him to tie it up! Just a verbal refusal would have sufficed! How long have they known each other to be this skilled?!

@DidLongBoGetMarriedToday: My roommate asked me why I suddenly burst into tears. Damn, they became a couple so quickly, like a tornado! tat

The #RenJue# (Love Blade) fandom had never been considered cold on the official forum, but it wasn’t as dominant as some of the other CP pairs. They tended to be quite laid-back most of the time.

Today, RenJue had suddenly celebrated the New Year, and fans even thought that the gifs were edited by someone else.

“Those aren’t fake pictures!! OMG, sisters, wake up! Ren-Jue just showed off his boyfriend skills to the whole world!!”

“The Long-Jue and Yun-Jue fans next door are desperately denying that it’s just a teammate thing, hahaha! Our Ren-Jue is the real deal!”

“Ren-Jue, let’s go for the top today!!!”

Huo Ren being the group’s favorite was an open secret, and the other brothers didn’t hide it. Their historical interviews were filled with sugar, enough to make fans swoon daily.

Today, Huo Ren’s half-kneeling figure beside Bo Jue was circulating like wildfire without any help from SPF’s public relations. A large number of old fans dug up their past interactions and moments.

All that was left was to storm the TV station and demand they play the wedding march and “You Are the Wind, I Am the Sand” for them.

He taught him piano, and he watched over the scar on his eyebrow as it healed. They had been both friends and teacher-student since joining the group, and even his usual arrogance would soften in front of him.

Younger brother, teacher-student relationship, puppy love, beautiful long-haired maiden… There were just too many elements at play.

Soon, the old CP fans stepped up their game and presented irrefutable evidence of their relationship.

On New Year’s Eve, Huo Ren emerged from the crowd, and it was Bo Jue who reached out and led him back to the stage.

The RenJue fandom had already celebrated New Year’s Eve with them, hand in hand.

[245l]: I’m going to suffocate from all this excitement! What blinded me and made me ship LongJue? SPF has no right to forbid them from dating; this is love!!!

[422l]: Maybe LongJue helped with carrying luggage and cheered Bo Jue up daily… were all just smoke screens? He has always spoiled RenRen the most. Could he have known about their relationship all along?

[510l]: Is the person above some kind of prophet?! After thinking about it, it totally makes sense. The daily bickering between LongJue is just standard male bonding, right? Where else could such a direct action come from? Let me see some fanfiction about them taking down the wall together, sisters!

Meanwhile, Corona had finished their stage performance and gradually returned to the dressing room.

“What happened with you two just now?” Xie Lianyun casually removed the glitter from Huo Ren’s hair. “Does this shoelace have remote control functionality or something?”

“It was just a coincidence,” Huo Ren said with a smile, letting him smooth his hair. “I happened to notice it, so I helped out.”

Xie Lianyun paused for a few seconds, feeling like his radar was once again thrown into chaos.

“So, have you been secretly in love with him?”

“Bro,” Huo Ren said casually, “if it were you today, I would’ve done the same.”

“Don’t you dare flirt with me,” Xie Lianyun breathed deeply, rubbing his eyes. “I’m definitely a straight guy.”

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There should be another update today.
Finding a quiet place to write has been quite challenging… It’s a struggle.