After dinner.
Shen Yuzhou leaned back in his chair, rubbed his stomach, and burped. Cheng Yanqiu glanced at him, and he quickly covered his mouth.
Lin Yanru stood up to clear the dishes, and Ji Shiyu got up too. Together, they stacked the dishes and carried them into the kitchen.
Jiang Wantang picked up the cloth on the table and wiped the tabletop.
Once she finished, she left the cloth beside the sink and returned to the chair by the window.
Shen Yuzhou got up, made two laps around the living room, then sat down again.
After sitting for a while, he stood up again. "I'm so bored."
They had finished all their tasks for the day, so there really was nothing to do now.
Cheng Yanqiu was replying to messages on her phone and didn't even look up. "Weren't you just saying you were tired?"
Shen Yuzhou crouched on the sofa, hugging his knees. "Being tired and being bored are two different things."
He thought for a moment, jumped off the sofa, and ran into his room to rummage around before coming out with an empty water bottle.
The bottle was clear plastic, with its cap screwed tight. He set it on the table.
"Let's play truth or dare," he said.
Cheng Yanqiu looked up at him. Lin Yanru came out of the kitchen, dried her hands, and glanced at the bottle. "Let's see if the others want to play."
Ji Shiyu stood in the kitchen doorway, still holding a cloth. "I'm up for it."
Jiang Wantang nodded too. "Sure."
Shen Yuzhou looked around at them, then at Qiguan Yuan.
Qiguan Yuan sat beside Pei Yubai, looking down at his phone.
He had opened his own livestream, which showed the living room where the guests were gathered.
He saw himself sitting on the sofa with his head lowered, silver hair falling beside his face.
The viewer count in the upper-right corner showed a full 2.4 million.
Bullet comments streamed from right to left, so fast and densely packed that he couldn't make out what each one said.
Shen Yuzhou hesitated, but spoke up anyway. "Brother Yuan, do you want to join us?"
Qiguan Yuan raised his head, glanced at him, then at the bottle on the table. "You guys play."
Then he lifted his phone, turning the screen toward himself. "I'll watch this."
Qiguan Yuan leaned back against the sofa and raised his phone a little higher.
The comments were still flying past at an astonishing speed. He saw plenty of people calling his name. Some called him "Yuanyuan," some "Mr. Qiguan," and some "gorgeous."
[Yuanyuan, look at me! Look at me!]
[He looked! He looked!]
Qiguan Yuan brought the phone a little closer and saw a comment:
[Yuanyuan, could you smile?]
The corner of his mouth moved. Smiling, he asked, "Do I look good?"
[Aaaaaah! Yes! Yes! So good I could die!]
[Yuanyuan! Yuanyuan! You're so beautiful I could die!]
[Washing powder~ Look at me! Look at me!]
[Ah! Yuanyuan! You're seducing me again!]
Shen Yuzhou put the bottle in the center of the coffee table, and the others sat around it.
Shen Yuzhou sat on one side, Cheng Yanqiu and Lin Yanru on another, and Ji Shiyu and Jiang Wantang on another. Pei Yubai sat alone on one side.
Shen Yuzhou gave the bottle a spin. It turned twice, slowed, and stopped with its mouth pointing at Lin Yanru and its base pointing at Shen Yuzhou himself.
"Sister Lin!" Shen Yuzhou grew excited.
"Truth or dare?" he asked.
Lin Yanru answered, "Truth."
Shen Yuzhou thought for a moment. "Tell us a secret outsiders don't know. About yourself."
Lin Yanru leaned back in her chair and thought for a while.
Everyone watched her. Qiguan Yuan also lifted his head from his phone screen and glanced at her.
"I like shipping couples," Lin Yanru said.
Shen Yuzhou froze for a moment. "That's it?"
Lin Yanru smiled. "I get pretty crazy about shipping, but I like real couples. The ones who are actually together, not doing it for publicity. Those are my favorites. Seeing them makes me really happy."
As she spoke, her gaze passed over everyone present, one face at a time, pausing when she reached Qiguan Yuan.
Qiguan Yuan was watching her. She smiled and looked away.
This time, Lin Yanru spun the bottle.
It turned several times, slowed, and stopped with its mouth pointing at Ji Shiyu and its base pointing at Cheng Yanqiu.
"Brother Ji! Sister Cheng, you ask!" Shen Yuzhou called excitedly from the side.
Cheng Yanqiu put down her phone and looked at Ji Shiyu. "Truth or dare?"
Ji Shiyu was silent for a few seconds. "Truth."
Cheng Yanqiu thought for a moment, then asked, "Do you have any regrets, Teacher Ji? You have to tell us what the regret is."
Ji Shiyu sat with both hands resting on his knees. His fingers curled slightly, then relaxed.
He didn't answer immediately. The living room fell quiet.
Qiguan Yuan also turned his head toward Ji Shiyu.
After a while, Ji Shiyu spoke. "My regret is giving up someone who loved me very, very much."
He paused and took a deep breath. "I once had a partner I loved deeply. Before I became famous, she was always there with me, encouraging me. You could say that without her, Ji Shiyu the singer would never have existed."
He paused, his voice a little lower than before. "Later, we separated for certain reasons. It's been five years now. What I regret most is how easily I gave her up back then. I didn't fight for her or ask her to stay. I just gave her up."
After he finished, the living room stayed quiet for several seconds. In those seconds, the bullet comments exploded.
Qiguan Yuan looked down at his phone. The comments raced across the screen so quickly that he could barely make out what any of them said.
[Ji Shiyu had a girlfriend?]
[6]
[Five years ago?]
[He kept that well hidden.]
[This isn't a publicity stunt, is it?]
The moment Ji Shiyu said that, the livestream's bullet comments exploded.
Even Cheng Yanqiu, who had asked the question, was startled. She wanted to say something to smooth things over.
Because she knew that after Ji Shiyu said that, it was hard to imagine how chaotic the livestream must have become.
Whatever else, Ji Shiyu had once been an immensely popular singer. As far as the public knew, he had always been single. With this sudden revelation of a partner, the livestream was definitely anything but peaceful now.
And that was indeed the case. Qiguan Yuan watched the comments on his phone scroll rapidly.
There were shocked fans of other celebrities, spectators there for the gossip, heartbroken fans, fans hurling abuse, and casual viewers who had just arrived and were asking everywhere what had happened.
Watching the jumble of comments in his own livestream, Qiguan Yuan's expression didn't change. He placed a finger against his lips. "Shh."
It wasn't loud, but it was clear. Because he was close, the sound seemed to pour straight into everyone's ears.
The comments instantly slowed.
In an instant, the chaos was gone.
Qiguan Yuan watched the comments still scrolling across the screen and added, "Only quiet viewers are good little children. Are you?"
After a brief silence, comments filled the screen.
[YES!!!]
Row after row of exclamation marks and a whole screen of neatly aligned "yes" replies.
Qiguan Yuan watched the screen and narrowed his eyes. "Good~" His voice rose slightly at the end, carrying a hint of languor.
The comments went completely wild.
[Yuanyuan, I'm good!]
[I'm so well-behaved!]
[I'm a good little child!]
A few discordant comments still drifted past now and then, but the others quickly buried them.
[Stop causing trouble!]
[Go argue in another livestream, not here! Our Yuanyuan doesn't like it!]
[This isn't a place for you to run wild! No fighting allowed!]
The fans took it upon themselves to maintain harmony in the livestream.
Then, after snapping back at those irrational fans, they went back to posting rows of [Well-behaved].
It shocked a casual viewer into posting:
[A massive dog-training session!]
Qiguan Yuan stopped looking at those discordant comments and raised his head to look at Ji Shiyu.
Ji Shiyu had finished speaking and was leaning back in his chair, holding a cup of water. He hadn't drunk any of it, though he had been holding it for a long time.
Jiang Wantang had her head lowered. Her expression was hard to see, and there was no telling what she was thinking.
Qiguan Yuan's gaze passed between him and Jiang Wantang, who sat silently with her head lowered. Then he said, "Clinging to the past will only let down the present and the rest of your life."
Ji Shiyu looked at him and opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, Cheng Yanqiu cut in. "All right, all right, Teacher Ji has answered. Let's keep going."
She spoke a little faster than usual, and Shen Yuzhou chimed in. "Right! Let's keep going!"
He reached out to spin the bottle, moving so quickly that it whirled around several times before wobbling to a stop, its mouth pointing at Pei Yubai and its base at Lin Yanru.
Lin Yanru's eyes lit up.
She put down her cup and rested her clasped hands on the table, looking at Pei Yubai. "Yubai, will you choose dare?"
Pei Yubai glanced at her, then at the bottle on the table, then back at her. "Sure."
Lin Yanru smiled. It wasn't her usual smile. Normally, her smile was gentle. Now, there wasn't a trace of ladylike grace to her. She looked... a little perverted.
Her eyes sparkled. "Then pick anyone here and have them kiss you. Anywhere is fine."
Pei Yubai fell silent.
The living room went quiet for a second. Shen Yuzhou opened his mouth without making a sound.
Cheng Yanqiu held her cup, forgetting to drink. Lin Yanru smiled happily.
The others were shocked too.
Were they going that far?
Qiguan Yuan laughed.
It was quiet and brief, like a breath escaping his throat.
Pei Yubai turned to look at Qiguan Yuan.
Qiguan Yuan sat on the sofa with his long legs stretched out, leaning back casually. He held it, its screen still lit, but he wasn't looking at it.
Right then, he was watching Pei Yubai, his head tilted slightly. "Do you need my help, Pei Yubai?"
Pei Yubai's ears were already completely red.
He nodded.
Qiguan Yuan extended his hand, pressed his index and middle fingers together, and curled them toward himself. "Come here."
Pei Yubai stood up the very next moment and walked over to Qiguan Yuan.
They were very close, so close that Pei Yubai's leg touched Qiguan Yuan's knee.
Qiguan Yuan sat while Pei Yubai stood. Qiguan Yuan looked up at him. "Bend down."
Pei Yubai bent at the waist.
He bent very low, until his face was almost level with Qiguan Yuan's.
Less than a fist's width separated them. Qiguan Yuan raised his hand and caught Pei Yubai's collar.
His fingers were long, with well-defined joints and neatly trimmed nails. Holding the collar, he tugged Pei Yubai a little lower.
The tug wasn't hard; the force was just right. Pei Yubai leaned forward slightly, and the hair over his forehead fell, brushing Qiguan Yuan's forehead.
A cool, soft sensation touched his forehead, like a leaf blown down by the wind landing just so on his skin, lingering for a moment, then leaving.