As soon as the video was released, it went viral almost instantly.
[@Let’s eat hot pot tonight: Wow, fjx’s makeup and hairstyle are amazing! This concept is so cool!]
[@I’m just jealous of your body: It seems like when they stole the cover, they didn’t say it was Lin Mo who took the photo.]
[@I’m the Single Champion of the Year: I declare that this year’s top magazine makeup look has arrived, and it’s already trending in the Bilibili beauty community.]
[@Another Day of Slacking Off: The ending was so perfect! Was that fjx or pts?]
[@Chit-Chat and Gossip: Haha, I was right to bet against it. And Lin Mo is awesome!]
[@Putuo Temple Abbot: Damn, Grapevine, you’re only 19 years old! Your mom won’t allow you to be so lustful!]
[@YOyo: Although, the quality of this issue is too unstable, isn’t it? I still remember vividly how last month, a certain fan base criticized it for being half-hearted. They’re really good at playing both sides.]
[@Retiring Drum First-Class Player replies to @YOyo: Magazines need to make a living too. Look at how fast these two are gaining followers. As long as the cover is well-shot, sales won’t be a problem.]
[@Highly Raising the Banner of Hearing: Ahhhhh I can’t think straight anymore, I really can’t handle this. How did they shoot it so well? Both of them are so good-looking, and their voices are so pleasant to listen to. Why are there such perfect people in the world? I’m starting to ramble, waaahhhhh.]
[@7654321: Non-fan, this concept is really powerful. Many scenes are subtle hints, but the opening sequence of “imprisoning” already makes it clear—the core theme is imprisonment. Taking these lines from Neruda’s poem and pairing them with the video completely changes the atmosphere, with intense sexual tension. The final lines of Paul’s poem are truly soul-stirring. But is the Spanish narration by Pei Tingsong? (Just asking because the Spanish pronunciation is spot-on.) And Fang Juexia’s icy voice is truly impressive; I’ll never forget that tone after hearing it once.]
[@Grapes Are Ripe replies to @7654321: Exactly, I also think it’s about imprisonment. And judging from the materials released so far, one of them is in the snow, and the other is in a place full of flowers. Plus, the initial low chant of “winter” and the later appearance of “spring” likely represent winter and spring, respectively.]
[@Absolutely Beautiful Scenery replies to @7654321: What a divine description of the ice-cold voice! I’m ashamed to say I’m not as good as a bystander, but I’ll give you a thumbs-up anyway!]
[@Happy Little Editor Anna: I was very lucky to participate in the shoot, and both of them were amazing! This time, almost all of the planning was done by them, and we discussed it together. It was a completely new work experience. During the outdoor shoot, Jue Xia was so cold she couldn’t speak, but she just lay down in the snow and stayed there for three hours. Plus, she ordered hot Ovaltine and pizza for all the outdoor crew—she’s an angel! [Highlight: The narration here was voiced by Xiao Pei and Jue Xia themselves, the poems were selected by Xiao Pei—he’s amazing!] They’re both incredibly talented. I hope the cover and interview can be shared with everyone soon.]
[@Tingjue Bu Hong Tianli Nanrong Reply to @Happy Little Editor Anna: Thank you, Editor Sister! What a treasure of a guy Tingjue is! Planning, filming, and voice acting all in one—so talented!]
[@Please Turn Off the Lights Reply @Happy Little Editor Anna: Wow, it’s really Pei Tingsong and Fang Juexia doing the voice acting? Their voices match so well.]
[@NeverBetheSame: Wearing so little and shooting for three hours in the snow is truly admirable. So dedicated.]
[@I Only Love Beauties: Holy crap, isn’t this an official CP-themed video? I’ve already imagined ten thousand words of heartbreaking fan fiction. And Lin Mo, the top wedding photographer in the industry, didn’t disappoint me.]
[@I Love You in Silence: Oh my god, it’s the poetry of Neruda and Paul! This video is so well-made that even I, a complete stranger, am feeling tempted!]
[@Nothing to Say: FJX’s face is just too beautiful. It’s so beautiful that you can ignore his scandals. No wonder he’s currently the most popular person on the internet. There’s no one else like him in the Chinese entertainment industry.]
[@If I Keep Shipping RPS, I’ll Kill Myself: I didn’t ship them when they took a photo of his face at the airport, and I didn’t ship them when the sugar paper kiss went viral. But today, seeing this video, I’m convinced. I’ll ship it, I’ll ship it—is that okay?]
[@Did my CP release some sweetness?: I’m so jealous, so jealous, so jealous! Why can someone else’s CP go from being unknown to the hottest CP overnight, with the main characters releasing sweetness?! I’m really jealous! Lin Mo teacher, take a look at my CP!]
The stylist was helping Fang Juexia blow-dry his hair. He was engrossed in reading the comments when suddenly his phone vibrated.
[kaleido-Pei Tingsong: [Cactus emoji] ]
[kaleido-Pei Tingsong: Reposted on Weibo ]
Only then did he remember this, and when he slowly opened the repost list, he found that Pei Tingsong had already reposted it.
[@Pei Tingsong: Imprisoning winter.]
He’s pretty good at copying homework.
Their reposts quickly attracted a large wave of fans, and the heat continued to rise.
[@Putuo Temple’s Beautiful Scenery: Ah, even the copy is so fitting!]
[@Hearing is Real: The two ACEs are so stylish! These two lines are so meaningful! I can already imagine their voices in my head.]
[@Beautiful and Kind Little Princess: Xs, it’s just the staff’s copywriting.]
[@Fang Juexia, the Beauty of the Era: Ahhhhh, Juexia Mom is here! Snow Fairy, look at Mom!]
…
The commercial shoot lasted nearly five hours. The attitude of the advertisers and production team toward them was completely different from before—more sponsorships, better styling, and even mistakes during filming weren’t scolded. This industry is very pragmatic; those who have experienced cold treatment see things more clearly.
“Thank you for your hard work, Caledo! It was a pleasure collaborating with you!”
After finishing work, they boarded the van. Xiao Wen briefly reported on the upcoming schedule, but spoke hesitantly. “By the way, there’s a charity gala in a few days, and you’ve been invited. Of course, there are also some other groups…”
Other groups? Fang Juexia quickly sensed something was off and was about to ask, but Xiao Wen continued, “HighFive is going too.”
“Hey, the seniors are going too!” Ling Yi perked up immediately.
This statement caused a stir in the car. Although Xingtu was poor, it took music seriously and cultivated artists, so the relationships among the artists in the company were quite good, especially with the senior group HighFive, who had always looked out for them during their trainee days.
They used to stream live twice a month, but recently they had been too busy and hadn’t streamed live since the welcome party. During the car ride, Jiang Miao logged into the group’s official live-streaming account. Due to the recent buzz, the live-streaming room nearly crashed again.
“Good evening,” Jiang Miao, sitting in the front seat, held up a selfie stick. “We’ve just finished work. Can you see us?” He turned to the driver’s seat and asked, “Xiao Wen, can you turn on the lights again for us?”
[Ah ah ah ah ah, brothers, I’m here!]
[I can see you! It’s your beauty that’s lighting up my night!]
“Pfft,” Ling Yi was successfully amused, “What kind of high-level flattery is this, haha? Am I the light bulb here?” His voice was a bit hoarse, and he coughed a few times, “We recorded songs all morning today, so my voice is hoarse now.”
[01 Brother, your OST is trending on the download charts again!! 01 You’re awesome!]
He Ziyan: “Duck-brand light bulb.”
[Feeling sorry for Yi Yi]
[Hahaha, Fire Brother is always the one to crack jokes]
[11 Being stuck between a few CPs every time really gives me that light bulb feeling hhhh]
Fang Juexia sat at the back and, for some reason, felt a piece of candy on the seat cushion. He stared at it carefully under the dim interior light for a while.
“…Dabaitu?” Just as he confirmed it, Pei Tingsong, sitting next to him, snatched it away, peeled it open at lightning speed, and popped it into his mouth.
Fang Juexia didn’t even have time to react, his hand still clutching the candy.
Pei Tingsong stuck his tongue out at him and pulled his furry fisherman’s hat down over his eyes.
Fang Juexia blinked in confusion. He felt like his life had turned into a collection of Pei Tingsong’s confusing behavior. He put his hand down, completely unaware that the comments were already boiling over.
[Did little Pei just steal Juexia’s candy?]
[What’s wrong with that brat Pei Tingsong? Hahahaha, this is hilarious!]
[You never eat candy normally, do you? Is everything in your brother’s hands delicious?]
[Grapevine, you’re killing me! You’re so cool in the magazine, why are you acting like a little kid now?]
[Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Jiang Miao was chatting with fans in front. He and He Ziyan have always been the best at controlling the tone and pace in the team, speaking with ease. Ling Yi and Lu Yuan are naturally funny, so they usually get the most variety show opportunities. Fang Juexia doesn’t like to express himself, and Pei Tingsong is lazy and unmotivated. The two most popular members in the team attract fans purely based on their looks and stage performances. Of course, their CP has now become the main source of their popularity.
“When will the group variety show air? The first episode of the group variety show should be released this weekend, but it depends on the efficiency of our post-production team. After the New Year, everyone has been a bit lazy, haha.” Jiang Miao answered the fan’s question, “Actually, I think this group variety show is quite meaningful.”
He Ziyan quickly caught on to his meaning, “Right, everyone might have already guessed, but our new album is also on the agenda.”
[Ah ah ah ah new album!]
Ling Yi and Lu Yuan silently made drumming motions in the back row at the same time, accompanied by sound effects.
[The mouth-drumming troupe is back!]
Fang Juexia made a closing gesture at the back, “Close.” However, this time the situation wasn’t as easy to control. After the first attempt failed, he coughed again, pretended nothing had happened, and tried again.
[Hahaha, our little conductor Juexia~]
[Teacher Fang: I’m so tired, I can’t control the little crazy kids at home.]
[Coughing while checking expressions is so cute!]
“So,” He Ziyan regained his composure and continued, “many of the production processes for this new album will also appear in the group variety show, except for some parts that can’t be broadcast.”
The comments quickly went wild.
[What can’t be broadcast! Let me see!]
[I want to see the parts that can’t be broadcast! No editing allowed!]
[It’s not about the traffic! Star Map Entertainment! Caledo! Play it for me!]
Pei Tingsong patted He Ziyan on the shoulder, “I’m asking you, what parts can’t be broadcast?”
Lu Yuan followed suit, patting his other shoulder, “Yeah, what can’t be aired?”
Watching the comments scroll by faster and faster, He Ziyan explained helplessly, “What I meant by ‘can’t be aired’ refers to the confidential parts of the new album, like the choreography for the songs, after all, we want to surprise you all.”
Jiang Miao suppressed a smile and nodded, “Yeah, we’ll all be involved this time, and we hope everyone can witness the birth of this album!”
They chatted casually for a while during the live stream. The traffic was a bit congested, so a few people started playing the “no expression” challenge game.
“Wait!” Ling Yi raised his hand, “Jue Xia is the best at keeping a straight face. We have to exclude him from this game!”
Fang Juexia heard that he was being excluded and rubbed his face, “It’s okay, I’m not expressionless.”
[Ahahahahahaha Fang Juexia, why are you so cute!]
[fjx really takes everything so seriously]
Lu Yuan comforted him, “You’re not expressionless, you just don’t have enough表情包 in your collection.”
Regardless, they still excluded Fang Juexia, making him the referee and the one to draw the lottery tickets. Though it wasn’t a major task, he still took it seriously, holding a pair of small pieces of paper with everyone’s names written on them in his hands for a while before passing them to everyone.
“Xiao Pei goes first!” Ling Yi said.
He Ziyan said, “It’s time to show off your real skills.”
Pei Tingsong snorted and snatched a note from Fang Juexia’s hand.
Thanks to Fang Juexia’s strong memory, he knew immediately that something was wrong.
“What is it? Let me see!” Ling Yi snatched the note from his hand and suddenly let out a squirrel-like scream, “Ah!!”
“Eat a lemon!!!”
“Is that okay?” Pei Tingsong was desperate.
Lu Yuan: “Come on, come on, let’s start the live chat! Pei is eating a lemon, everyone, double-click 666!”
Ling Yi shook his head, “If the feelings are deep, drink it all in one gulp! If the feelings are shallow, just lick it!”
Jiang Miao felt a little sorry for him, “I’ll find you the thinnest slice…”
He Ziyan snatched it away, “No way, I bought the lemons, so I get to choose!”
“Why are you everywhere?” Pei Tingsong was furious.
Fang Juexia raised his hand, “Is there a punishment?”
Pei Tingsong covered his mouth.
“Mmm…”
[Hahahaha, every game session is when the underdogs turn the tables and bully the group leader!]
[Covering his mouth like that is so cool~]
“Let go of Jue Xia!” Ling Yi pulled hard and rescued Fang Juexia.
Jiang Miao laughed and said, “Alright, the winner gets a reward, and the loser doesn’t get punished.” He added, “So that Xiao Pei doesn’t have any trauma.”
Lu Yuan: “Whose? Dad will take you to get rid of it!”
[Hahahahahahahaha, you’re crazy!]
After a chaotic flurry of squabbling in the car, the game officially began. He Ziyan deliberately picked a thick slice of lemon for him, “Come on, a real man never wrinkles his brow when eating lemon.”
Under heavy coercion, Pei Tingsong put the lemon in his mouth, and the result was obvious.
He couldn’t be a real man.
[Hahahahahaha, that twisted expression!]
[Why aren’t you taking a screenshot yet?]
[This is me being jealous·jpg]
[Jue Xia Guang couldn’t help but frown while watching from the side, hahaha]
Pei Tingsong scowled and frantically searched his body for something. Fang Juexia realized what was happening and kindly handed him a piece of paper, telling him to spit out the lemon.
Ling Yi clapped his hands: “Okay, Pei Tingsong failed the challenge!”
Fang Juexia, who had completed his task, started goofing off. He leaned forward, staring intently at the small phone screen in front of him, trying to see what everyone was saying.
[Little Pei, you looked so cool when you were eating cherries, but why did you turn into a comedian when you switched to lemons? hhh]
[Hahaha, the main character’s image was ruined by the lemon!]
Seeing this, Fang Juexia couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
Pei Tingsong turned his head toward him, originally intending to look fierce, but the sourness of the lemon made him ask, “What are you laughing at?”
Fang Juexia suppressed his smile. This time, he didn’t shake his head and say nothing like he usually did. Instead, he looked at him and said, “I’m laughing at you.”
“What’s so funny?” Pei Tingsong pulled his hat down a little lower, looking like a rebellious teenager trying to be cool. Fang Juexia turned his head to look out the window, but the scene from the promotional video kept popping into his mind because of the comment that had made him laugh earlier.
He suddenly turned his head, moved away from Pei Tingsong, and asked in a low voice, “When did you record the audio?”
Pei Tingsong glanced at him, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing…” Fang Juexia hesitated for a moment, then asked, “How do you know Spanish?”
“What are you two whispering about behind my back?” Lu Yuan, who had lost the game of holding back laughter first, turned to look at the two of them.
Fang Juexia felt like he had been caught doing something wrong and panicked for a moment, “Ah? Nothing…”
“Juexia asked me why I’m so good at Spanish.” Pei Tingsong seemed to have gotten excited, sitting up straight and shaking his collar.
[Ah ah ah ah ah ah, sugar is coming!]
[Little Pei, you smug kid!]
[What a cute and adorable expression of pride! The youngest is truly amazing!]
Who asked that? Fang Juexia looked innocent, but this was too much embellishment.
Ling Yi held his hand up like a microphone in front of Pei Tingsong, “Then tell us why?”
Pei Tingsong cleared his throat and said in English, “Because I’m a genius.”
A chorus of boos filled the car.
[kaleido-Pei Tingsong: The nanny who took care of me when I was a child was of Mexican descent.]
[kaleido-Pei Tingsong: When no one else was home, I would secretly speak Spanish with her.]
[kaleido-Pei Tingsong: Got it?]
The car jolted suddenly, tugging at Fang Juexia’s heart. He stared at the three messages, hesitating to move his fingers.
By the time He Ziyan defeated everyone to become the ultimate expressionless challenge champion, Pei Tingsong, who was watching the competition, finally felt the dull vibration of his phone.
[Useless except for being pretty: I can’t imagine what you looked like when you were little.]
He couldn’t help but laugh. After holding it in for so long, he finally said it.
The CP fans on the live chat were sharp-eyed, staring at the two people who seemed to have nothing in common.
[Since the game started, Jue Xia has been looking at his phone. Is the phone more fun than his teammates? Hahaha]
[Teacher Fang might be watching the live stream on his phone]
[Ahhhhh, Erhuo is the best!]
[Teacher Yuan is too cute! Hahahaha, I can’t stop laughing]
[Xiao Pei also looked at his phone just now and laughed!]
[Ahhhhh, could Xiao Pei and Jue Xia be secretly chatting!!! Kswl!]
[CP fans, tone it down a bit, you’re getting on the main characters’ nerves…]
[Ahhhhh, I don’t care, I’m going to ship them first!]
The members were having so much fun that they didn’t really pay attention to the comments. By the time they looked closely, the jokes about playing with their phones had already scrolled past. However, the two’s “unusual” behavior in the team game couldn’t help but be magnified by the observant girls, who imagined a whole drama, wrote it up as a short essay, and spread it as gossip.
However, even the girls who were so into it didn’t know that it was indeed true.
Since Jue Xia hadn’t participated, Ling Yi pulled him over, “It’s still blocked, let’s stream a little longer, Jue Xia should come and play too!”
Lu Yuan clapped his hands, “We haven’t played that in a long time, two people wearing headphones, one describing and one guessing!”
“Let’s play that!” Ling Yi nodded wildly, “Come on, let’s draw lots.”
Pei Tingsong suddenly spoke up, “Stop drawing lots, or I’ll start hitting people.” He cleared his throat, “I’ll be in a group with Fang Juexia.”
He Ziyan let out a magnetic “Wow.”
[This “Wow” is so full of spirit, hahaha!]
Jiang Miao laughed, “That’s fine. Anyway, Xiao Pei was the first to be eliminated, so it’s perfect for the two of them to be together. Come on, put on the headphones.”
Lu Yuan and Ling Yi contributed their noise-canceling headphones, selected dance music at high volume, and tested to ensure no external sounds were audible before fitting them on the two.
[I want to see Erhuo write the hint board!!!]
[Seconded!]
“I’ll grant your wish.” “ He Ziyan took out his phone, ”But considering our classmate Pei Tingsong’s game black hole constitution, I don’t feel comfortable making it too difficult.” After saying that, he typed a word, handed it to Pei Tingsong to take a look, then raised it up for the live stream.
It said “rapper.”
[Ah, this is so easy! Er Huo is going easy on us!]
[Erhuo going easy sounds so weird, hahaha]
Fang Juexia nodded seriously and answered quickly, “Soft hair!”
“Because of soft hair!” Fang Juexia gave his answer firmly once again.
[Hahaha, this guy is always so serious when he’s joking!]
Pei Tingsong gave up. This question was harder than he had imagined. He tried to explain it in Chinese, “Hip-hop, hip-hop…” He tried his best to make his mouth movements as obvious as possible.
Fang Juexia looked confused, “Yi ya? Teeth cleaning!” He showed a rare excited expression on his face and quickly looked at He Ziyan and Jiang Miao, “Teeth cleaning! Did I get it right?”
Seeing his confident expression, Pei Tingsong also thought they had succeeded. “Yes!” He reached out to high-five him, but was stopped by Lu Yuan. “Hey hey hey, what’s with the high-five?”
[What kind of beautiful idiot is Scenic Line?]
[Seriously, this pair is called “hearing” because they have poor hearing, right? x]
He Ziyan gave him a thumbs-down, shattering Fang Juexia’s little dream. Fang Juexia immediately puckered his lips, and his joy vanished.
Pei Tingsong knew he hadn’t guessed correctly, and his competitive spirit urged him to try again, “Hehe!”
“Huh? What?” Fang Juexia struggled to make out his exaggerated expression.
Ling started to cause trouble, “The girls of Ali Mountain are as beautiful as paintings~”
Pei Tingsong took a deep breath and pointed at himself, “I, I am what…” Before he could finish saying the word “responsibility,” he was quickly interrupted by Fang Juexia, who thought he was an expert at lip reading.
“Who am I, Mom?”
[Hahahahahah, I’m your mom!]
[Hahahahahahah, what kind of misheard word is that!]
[Damn it, I’m about to start a passionate speech! I love stepmother literature!]
Pei Tingsong was so anxious he felt like he might pass out at any moment. “Hip-hop!” He opened his mouth as wide as he could, “Hip-hop—” Then he pounded his chest with the intensity of someone in distress, “Hip-hop! What am I? What is Pei Tingsong?”
[He’s panicking, he’s panicking, he’s panicking, he’s panicking!]
Just as he was confused, Pei Tingsong frantically pointed at himself, giving him the final hint.
“I get it!”
Fang Juexia suddenly understood, smiling at everyone, his face radiating the joy of about to hand in his exam paper.
“Amen, a grapevine~”
He even sang it out loud.
Author’s Note: Card Group Mini-Theater:
Question: What is the group name for the four-person group?
Before the auditory CP operation: Group name [Lajiawei · Stable Peace Elite (4)]
After the auditory CP operation: Group name [Real Men Support Their Teammates’ CP (4)]
