The dormitory door lock had been replaced with a facial recognition electronic lock. The staff tested it several times and found no issues. After returning from the hospital where he had received an IV drip, Fang Juexia drove Pei Tingsong back to the dormitory and told him to go back to his room to rest.
The others hadn’t returned yet, and it was very quiet. Under the combined effects of the medication and fatigue, Pei Tingsong fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. Gently closing his door, Fang Juexia left the bedroom and went to the kitchen, opening the refrigerator to take a look, but there was nothing he wanted.
Putting on his hat and mask, he went downstairs to the nearest supermarket. The sky was growing dark, and people were walking home with the evening glow on their backs. Having been ignored since their debut, everyone in the group had grown accustomed to going out on their own to run errands, whether it was shopping or studying, without attracting much attention. Unlike the celebrity life they had imagined, they were free because of the lack of attention.
Fang Juexia had already made a list in his mind, and upon entering, he headed straight for his target. He wasn’t someone who liked to browse in supermarkets. He planned everything in his mind, prioritizing tasks to save as much time and energy as possible.
While picking out pears, he received a message from his mother and glanced at it.
[Mom: Your grandfather has woken up. I told him you were coming to see him. He asked why you didn’t stay for dinner before going home. You work hard, so make sure you eat well, okay?”]
Fang Juexia read the message. He could almost picture the scene after his grandfather woke up, and it probably wasn’t as gentle as his mother described.
Perhaps it was more like, “You’re so inconsiderate, not even waiting for the adults to wake up before leaving, and not staying for dinner. I think he’s getting worse as he gets older.”
But the main idea was probably good, he thought, remembering what Pei Tingsong had said to him when he was getting an IV. His hand, which had been about to reply to the message, paused, and then he called back directly.
“What’s wrong?” Fang’s mother clearly hadn’t expected him to call back. “Just do what you need to do. You don’t need to call back.”
Fang Juexia stood in the Sydney district, surrounded by fruits of all sizes. “I’m at the supermarket now. Mom, I want to ask you, how do you choose rock sugar for sugar water…”
After buying everything, he pushed the cart out and stood at the checkout counter, taking the items out of the shopping cart one by one.
“Do you need a shopping bag?” ” The cashier was a young girl.
Fang Juexia straightened up, “No, I have a shopping bag.” He unfolded the shopping bag, which had been folded into a small square. Perhaps the sight of a 6-foot-tall handsome guy holding a shopping bag was a bit comical and out of place, so the young cashier couldn’t help but laugh and looked at him a few more times.
It was just those few glances that made her recognize him.
“Eh?” The young woman’s tone was full of surprise. “You’re Brother Juexia!?”
Fang Juexia instinctively touched the birthmark at the corner of his eye. Sure enough, he hadn’t covered it well. He wasn’t good at handling situations where he was recognized, so he could only smile, his eyes slightly curved beneath his mask.
“It really is you!” The young girl was so excited she forgot to scan the QR code, staring at his face up close and exclaiming, “You’re so handsome… By the way, Brother, you’re trending on Weibo today! I never thought I’d run into you! I’m so happy, this is the happiest day since I started working!”
“Trending?” Fang Juexia didn’t understand what she meant.
“Yes. A netizen saw you and Pei Tingsong at a hospital while getting treatment. I saw it while goofing off at lunchtime. At first, I didn’t believe it, but you were wearing the same clothes in the picture, so it must be true!”
Fang Juexia didn’t expect that just him and Pei Tingsong going to see a doctor could be photographed and posted on Weibo. Had they really reached this level of fame?
“Are you sick? Are you okay?”
Fang Juexia shook his head. “Just a cold. I’m fine.”
“Brother, your voice is so nice!”
Encountering such enthusiastic fans outside, Fang Juexia was still a bit unaccustomed to it. He could only keep saying thank you and then took the things he had bought back to the dormitory. When he opened the door and heard the noise, he thought it was Pei Tingsong waking up, but it turned out to be Jiang Miao.
“You’re back?” Jiang Miao was busy in the kitchen. “I heard that Little Pei is sick, so Yi Yi and I packed dinner and pork rib soup on the way back. They’re all light dishes. You haven’t eaten yet, have you?”
“No wonder it smells so good.” Fang Juexia changed his shoes and walked over, putting down the shopping bag. “I just went out to buy some things. I was planning to make something simple when I got back.”
Ling Yi came out of the bedroom in his slippers, holding a bag of Langwei Xian. “How long has the little devil been asleep?”
Fang Juexia calculated, “Two hours.”
“I’ll go wake him up to eat!”
Helping the captain plate the food and set the tableware, Fang Juexia sat down, took off his hat, and tasted a spoonful of soup. The flavor was fresh and smooth, with a hint of sweetness—the taste of lotus root.
“You guys are trending today.” Jiang Miao sat down, “Did you know?”
I almost forgot.
Fang Juexia took out his phone, logged into Weibo, and told Jiang Miao about being recognized earlier. He had downloaded Weibo a long time ago, but he had hardly opened it a few times. He had already developed the habit of not using social media.
As soon as he logged in, there were countless comments and private messages, and it took a while for the page to load. After clicking on the trending topics, the tenth one was #Chance Encounter with Pei Tingsong and Fang Juexia#, which led to the Weibo post mentioned by the cashier fan earlier.
[@Lucky Little Cutie: Someone please tell me if this is Pei Tingsong and Fang Juexia? Yes, right? They’re super tall and super handsome in real life, but I didn’t dare to approach them because it felt a bit inappropriate in a hospital. But they’re really good-looking, both of them!]
There were several photos attached below, including one of them queuing up to register together and another of them standing outside the hospital. Most of the photos were of their backs or profiles, and some were a bit blurry, but the comments had already exceeded 10,000.
[@Super Scenic View: It’s my fresh-faced Juexia brother! Look, I zoomed in on the screenshot and there’s a birthmark! A counterfeit-proof mark!]
[@Non-Chief Ball: Holy crap, is the PTs that high? He must be at least 1.9 meters tall. Why is he wrapped up so tightly? Hahaha]
[@I Got the Real Deal: Waaah, I just changed my ID last night, it’s so real 555. PS: I wonder if the pretty baby is sick or the grapevine is sick. Why aren’t there any staff members with them when they go to the hospital? The brothers are working so hard.]
[@Romance0: Although, the fan service from the group is way too much… It’s so annoying to watch. Might as well just go for high-definition staged photos.]
[@If the group isn’t popular, it’s against the laws of nature: Reply to @Romance0: Even casual encounters with fans aren’t spared? Mocking your brother won’t get you out of trouble. Knowing it’s a struggling group yet still trying to cash in—our little struggling group is truly honored.]
[@One Carrot: I didn’t get it before, but for some reason these few pictures suddenly hit me. Going to the hospital together is so cute, and their heights and looks are so well-matched.]
[@Instant Noodles with Ham: The green sweater fjx is wearing is so cute! [Wrong focus! Waiting online for the Leeuwenhoek sisters to reveal the brand so I can get the same one.]
[@Must Pass Level 6 This Year Reply to @Instant Noodles with Ham: I tried really hard to find it, but it seems to be a limited edition from a very niche luxury brand. I guess I won’t be able to get the same one.]
[@Has the grapevine grown today? Reply to @Instant Noodles with Ham: This sweater… PTS wore something similar to class once, but it was last year’s model and super expensive, three thousand dollars.]
[@Auditory SZD: Damn, after reading the above thread, I feel like I’ve discovered something big…]
Is this outfit that expensive?
“Let’s eat, Juexia.” Jiang Miao picked up a piece of pork rib for him, then turned around and saw the frail and helpless Ling Yi carrying the mountain-like Pei Tingsong step by step toward the bedroom, and couldn’t help but laugh, “What are you two acting out? Zhu Bajie carrying his wife?”
“I don’t have such a giant baby wife!” Ling Yi was panting from exhaustion. Fang Juexia put down his phone and prepared to help his poor roommate, but just as he walked over, Pei Tingsong gave up the pointless game and stood up on his own, leaving Fang Juexia with no opportunity to help. He could only touch his forehead.
Pei Tingsong had slept for a while and felt much better, no longer as groggy as he had been during the day. However, his throat still hurt, and speaking was uncomfortable. “I haven’t had a fever for a long time.”
Jiang Miao called out, “Come and eat something. This is a very famous restaurant recommended by Ling Yi. Try it.”
Pei Tingsong sat down next to Fang Juexia, realized he didn’t have a spoon, but was too lazy to get up and get one, so he pretended not to notice and picked up the spoon Fang Juexia had placed upside down on the edge of the plate, scooped a spoonful of soup, and put it in his mouth.
“That’s mine,” Fang Juexia wasn’t so easily fooled.
Pei Tingsong glanced at him, “I need it. I’m a patient.”
Fang Juexia was speechless. The spoiled brat from earlier was indeed just this mischievous child’s alter ego.
Ling Yi imitated Pei Tingsong in a low voice, then held his stomach and laughed, “He’s always had a deep voice, but when he catches a cold, it turns into a broken gong. It’s hilarious. Pei Tingsong, your voice sounds like my grandfather now!”
“I don’t have a grandson like you!”
During dinner, Ling Yi and Jiang Miao chatted about the things they encountered while recording the show. Ling Yi had an extraordinary ability to describe things, and no matter what he talked about, it became hilarious. Pei Tingsong and Fang Juexia listened, unable to suppress their laughter. But Pei Tingsong was sick, and every time he laughed, he coughed. When he coughed severely, his face turned red.
Fang Juexia felt sorry for him and instinctively wanted to pat his back, but he was afraid Ling Yi would tease him, so he held back. Little did he know that Pei Tingsong, coughing so hard he was about to die, grabbed his wrist and pulled it around to his back, manually asking his to help him pat his back.
“How can you be like this, hahaha!”
“Juexia is like a tool.”
After coughing it out, Pei Tingsong took a deep breath and turned to smile at Fang Juexia.
“As an older brother, you should be more considerate.”
For some reason, Fang Juexia suddenly thought of the photo he had accidentally seen in the apartment, the carefree child in it overlapping with the face in front of him.
It was strange.
However, to his surprise, Fang Juexia was already awake, and not just recently. He was wearing his morning run clothes and standing at the kitchen counter.
“Juexia, don’t make breakfast. I had Xiao Wen buy something for you all.” Cheng Qiang said before hurrying off to wake the others, leaving Fang Juexia’s sluggish response behind him. “I wasn’t actually making breakfast…”
Cheng Qiang, with the heart of a mother, urged the young men to get up and get ready, herding them like ducks into the nanny car. Xiao Wen was already in the car, handing the purchased breakfast to Jiang Miao, “Share it. Eat more now; you might not have time to eat later.”
“I want a meat bun!”
“This is a vegetable bun, right? Did you not wake up yet? There are green leaves stuck on top.”
“Give me a cup of soy milk, please.”
When Pei Tingsong reached out, Fang Juexia intercepted the soy milk Jiang Miao was handing him and placed it next to his own seat. Pei Tingsong looked puzzled, wanting to speak but his throat felt sore, and he was still groggy from sleep, so he stared wide-eyed at this unabashed soy milk interloper.
Fang Juexia didn’t say anything. He quietly took a thermos from the bag at his feet and handed it to Pei Tingsong. Then he bent over and searched for a while before finally finding the cutlery box hidden at the bottom. He opened the lid, took out the spoon inside, and handed it to him.
Suddenly, there was a small jar in his arms. Pei Tingsong’s mind went blank for a moment, but he still unscrewed the lid, and a sweet fragrance wafted toward him. He scooped some with the spoon. The morning sunlight streamed through the cracks in the car window, illuminating the snow-white pear in the spoon, crystal clear and translucent, like a piece of rock sugar.
Pei Tingsong turned his head to look at him, and without knowing how, he automatically switched to lip reading, “For me?”
Fang Juexia’s light-colored pupils glanced elsewhere, and he pursed his lips without saying anything. He picked up the soy milk he had stolen for the first time in his life, held the straw, poked a hole in it with a snap, and brought it to his lips.
This means it’s for me! A little white flower bloomed in Pei Tingsong’s heart, swaying in the spring sunshine.
He had never tasted Fang Juexia’s sugar water before, not even once. He had only heard about it from other teammates before, and at the time, he had been quite dismissive, snorting and saying, “It’s just sugar water.”
But now, Pei Tingsong had long forgotten his previous attitude. He satisfiedly scooped a large spoonful into his mouth. The snow pears, simmered for a long time, had become tender, with a hint of fruit acidity, mixed with silver ear fungus soaked in rock sugar. The taste was sweet and refreshing, and his throat felt much more comfortable.
The only thing was that the tip of his tongue, which was slightly injured, felt a bit sore from the sugar water, but it didn’t bother him at all.
Lu Yuan, with his sharp eyes, turned around and saw it immediately, “Little Pei, what are you eating all by yourself!?”
“Why is his breakfast in a thermos?” Ling Yi said, still chewing on the meat bun. “Don’t we deserve one too?”
Xiao Wen was puzzled. “What? I didn’t buy one with a thermos.”
Pei Tingsong hugged his honey jar, “This is the sugar water that Jue Xia made for me. Why are you all fighting over it? Are you sick?”
Ling Yi snorted, “Oh, being sick is really something.”
“No comparison, no comparison,” Lu Yuan shook his head repeatedly, “The little devil has been sweetened by honey.”
Jiang Miao suddenly understood, “No wonder Jue Xia bought so many pears at the supermarket yesterday.”
Even Cheng Qiang, who was driving, realized, “I was wondering why Jue Xia got up so early today.”
He Ziyan laughed and exposed the truth, “I seem to remember someone saying that they hated sweet things the most. Who was it?”
Pei Tingsong cleared his throat, glanced at Fang Juexia, and began to distance himself, “Who knows? Anyway, I like sweet things.”
Everyone had woken up too early, so after a while of chatting, they fell back asleep. Only Pei Tingsong couldn’t sleep. He noticed that the thermos flask, though it looked big, was actually quite small—it would be empty after just a few sips. He thought for a moment, screwed the lid back on, and set the thermos flask aside.
Fang Juexia seemed very tired. He rarely slept in the car, but today, like the others, he couldn’t hold on any longer. His head bobbed back and forth with the swaying of the car, giving him a rare air of silliness.
Everyone was asleep, so Cheng Qiang turned down the volume of the car radio. Pei Tingsong glanced at Fang Juexia several times, feeling that his head was about to hit the window glass.
He reached out, grabbed the brim of Fang Juexia’s baseball cap, and pulled him away from the window, carefully helping him avoid a collision.
The privacy film on the window turned the blue sky a deep color. As they drove through a tree-lined road, the shadows of branches sprouting new buds fell on Fang Juexia’s pale, gently swaying profile.
“…Next, the weather report: today’s temperature: 9°C to 14°C.”
The voice on the radio was reassuring.
Click.
His shoulder sank, and the red birthmark finally collided with his shoulder socket. Pei Tingsong sniffed, pretending his reaction time had been impaired by a cold, pretending not to feel someone borrowing his shoulder, and instead turned his head to look out the opposite window.
In the dark world outside the window, a petal that had been teetering on the edge finally fell.
“…Cloudy turning to sunny.”
The car arrived at the designated location, where the stylist had already arrived early. Kaleido’s new endorsement was for a highly popular mobile phone brand. Although it was only one of the series, it was the brand’s most aggressively promoted flagship new model recently.
The process of securing the endorsement was quite surreal. The new model in this series comes in six colors, following a vibrant and fashionable design, so the brand targeted young, popular idol groups, which align well with their positioning.
When it comes to finding brand ambassadors, it’s all about who’s popular. The top choice was naturally the supergroup Seven Stars, as their popularity over the past two years has been undeniable. The brand made multiple attempts to secure a collaboration, but the group’s responses were vague, and the project remained undecided. With the product launch looming, the deal was still unresolved.
Such situations are common in the industry, especially with large talent agencies, which often object to endorsement fees or deem the brand insufficiently prominent. Typically, additional incentives can resolve the issue. However, during these negotiations, the group suddenly surged in popularity, with momentum growing increasingly strong.
The brand immediately reached out again, and surprisingly, the agency was surprisingly accommodating, agreeing to the terms after discussing the price and even offering to produce an advertising song for them. With such a favorable outcome, the smartphone brand was naturally overjoyed. Both sides reached an agreement swiftly, finalizing the contract in three days. They organized the new product launch event, inviting fans offline and streaming the entire event online using their new smartphone for multi-camera live streaming, creating a significant buzz.
To align with the brand’s promotional efforts, the members of Kaleido’s outfits were designed to match the phone’s colors, with each member wearing a different color. Fang Juexia wore a white, loose-fitting sweater paired with black jeans. His dark brown hair had some texture, with his bangs styled into a heart shape. He wore a dark purple velvet choker around his neck, which conveniently covered the scar on his Adam’s apple. Pei Tingsong wore a grape-purple loose hoodie, with his black short hair styled, and a purple hippie-style sun visor on his head.
Ling Yi had his hair curled into small curls, resembling a teddy bear, and the stylist had paired him with a red denim jacket, making him look particularly cute. Jiang Miao rarely wore a duck-yellow fleece hoodie, with his hair combed neatly, looking very well-behaved. Lu Yuan wore a pea-green shirt paired with white trousers, and wore a pair of half-frame glasses. He Ziyan wore a bright blue trench coat, standing out prominently.
As soon as they took the stage, they were drowned out by the fans’ voices. At first, everyone was shouting their own names, but eventually, it turned into a unified chant.
“Kaleido! Kaleido! Kaleido!”
“Welcome, welcome! Let me introduce to you all the global ambassadors of our FINO Kaleido series—Kaleido!”
After the six of them took their positions, they began their usual greeting routine, then bowed together toward the audience and the live stream camera, holding the bow for three seconds before straightening up and clapping along with the fans.
“Kaleido really put a lot of effort into their outfits today; they’re truly the best ambassadors.”
Following the script, the host briefly introduced the features of the new flagship model, then the large screen began playing their latest advertisement. Every time a person appeared on the screen, the fans below screamed in excitement.
Standing to the side, Ling Yi whispered to Jiang Miao, “We stayed up all night filming a few days ago, and I didn’t expect the results to be so good.”
Jiang Miao just smiled and didn’t say anything.
“Wow, this commercial is so cool!”
“Yes—”
The host began the interactive segment, first demonstrating the phone’s camera performance. Everyone from Kaleido took their corresponding colored phones, walked to the phones fixed on the table, and used the voice function to take photos and even adjust the colors.
Fang Juexia wasn’t very good at selfies and was afraid of messing up this segment. After all, his teammates had all sorts of cute and cool styles. When it was his turn to step forward, he couldn’t think of a good pose, so he held the phone at an angle in front of his face. The bright white body of the phone covered most of his face, leaving only his beautiful eyes and the red birthmark at the corner of his eye visible.
The photo was automatically transmitted to the large screen, and upon seeing it, the fans suddenly began to scream wildly. Fang Juexia hadn’t yet figured out what was happening, feeling completely dazed as he looked around, thinking some mysterious guest had appeared.
“Ah ah ah ah ah, a fresh selfie!”
“Juexia Brother, your eyes are so beautiful!”
Pei Tingsong was laughing so hard he could barely stand it, but every time he laughed, he coughed. So he coughed his way over, pulling Fang Juexia aside, and said, “It’s my turn.”
He stood there, adjusting his collar, then used his dark purple phone to cover half his face, leaving only one eye exposed. His eyes glanced upward slightly, exuding a confident aura.
“Wow—”
Another round of cheers erupted below. Fang Juexia finally realized that everyone was just too excited about the selfie.
“Our fans must have a lot of questions they want to ask. Let’s pick one now. Fans, remember, you can only ask questions related to mobile phones.” After saying that, the host gestured to Pei Tingsong beside him, “Let’s have Ting Song pick a fan.”
“If I choose, do I have to answer?” Pei Tingsong asked in a hoarse voice, then turned away from the camera and coughed a few times.
“Alright, alright.” Pei Tingsong looked down at the audience, “The girl in the white fur dress, she’s so excited she’s about to climb up here.”
“Hahaha.”
The girl took the microphone from the staff, calmed herself down, and asked loudly, “Can you guys reveal how you’ve labeled each other’s phones?”
Damn.
Pei Tingsong almost dropped the microphone in his hand.
“Good question.” The host smiled at Pei Tingsong, “Shall we start with Ting Song? How do you label the other brothers in your chat app? We’re really curious.” She then looked down at the audience, “Who do you most want to see Pei label?”
A deafening chorus erupted from the audience, “Fang Juexia! Fang Juexia! Fang Juexia! Fang Juexia…”
Fang Juexia was also curious, so he turned his chair to face Pei Tingsong beside him and raised his eyebrows at him with a smile.
“Um…” Pei Tingsong hesitated, hearing Ling Yi egging him on from behind.
“Take out your phone and read it aloud!”
He Ziyan leaned over and added fuel to the fire, “Right, or else we’ll take matters into our own hands!”
“No, I didn’t bring my phone up here.”
As soon as he said that, Xiao Wen took his phone and rushed up to the stage, shoving it into Pei Tingsong’s confused hands before quickly slipping away.
Is this even possible?
Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Pei Tingsong couldn’t even try to blend in. He regretted not changing his notes earlier.
“Alright, our little Pei has now opened a well-known instant messaging app. Let’s see what his note for Juexia is!”
He stammered out a few words, completely unlike the style of a rapper. However, just those few words were enough to send the crowd into a frenzy.
Fang Juexia looked puzzled, picked up the microphone, and asked in a tone laced with questioning and threat, “Besides what?” He narrowed his eyes, “Pretty?”
Lu Yuan was excited like a mouse seeing a grain silo, “Besides being pretty, then what!”
Author’s Note: Stylist: Why do these two always have mysterious wounds? It’s really tough on me.
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