Chapter 6: Saying One Thing, Meaning Another
Jiang Shulu’s voice wasn’t deep; it was rather clear and bright.
When the group first formed, many people thought Jiang Shulu’s and Tang Yue’s voices sounded similar at first.
Especially in songs with divided left and right vocal parts; it was easy to mistake them for one person’s voice.
But on a second listen, the difference became apparent.
Tang Yue’s voice was slightly ethereal, mirroring his temperament—like snow that would melt instantly upon landing in your palm.
Jiang Shulu’s voice, like his demeanor, was elegant and refined. While gentle, it held a certain authority, making it hard to imagine him showing favoritism. He was kind to all the members, and as the oldest, he would often watch the other three playfully bicker, smiling from the sidelines.
Perhaps because he was raised as an heir from a young age, Jiang Shulu possessed a strong air of authority. This made his gentle smile devoid of any effeminacy, fitting the image of a wealthy heir.
At this moment, Jiang Shulu’s question was soft, his movements as he held the child awkward yet gentle—a perfect contrast to his natural aura. The contradiction was alluring, causing the fans to scream even louder.
Not to mention the comments going wild over this question.
“He’s asking this here?!?”
“LMAO, Jiang Shulu, you’re the captain, so what? You’re just as clueless as we are, hahaha!”
“I find it quite satisfying that he doesn’t know; Tang Yue really doesn’t care about anyone.”
“I’m dying! I need to know who that woman is!!”
The child held by Jiang Shulu subconsciously glanced at Tang Yue, who was walking ahead with his head down.
Tang Yue’s sudden upward gaze was captured by the camera as a result of Jiang Shulu’s question.
The camera caught Tang Yue and Tang Mian making eye contact.
Tang Yue shook his head vigorously, Tang Mian nodded.
“This father-son duo are on the same page!”
“Tang Yue, how old are you? You don’t look like a dad at all!!”
“I feel increasingly melancholic. I’m the same age as Tang Yue, still single, and he’s already a dad, help.”
“It must be a beautiful older sister…”
“It’s hard not to imagine that Tang Yue was left with the child by a beautiful woman—twins, only wanted the daughter, and left the child with Tang Yue?”
“What kind of life has he been living these years?”
Tang Mian: “I don’t have a mother.”
The child’s voice, which had been so cheerful a moment ago, now sounded a little muffled in Jiang Shulu’s ear.
Jiang Shulu felt awkward to ask further; the child was only five years old, after all.
He changed the subject: “Do you live with your dad all the time?”
Tang Mian nodded.
Jiang Shulu: “Did your dad name you?”
The curly-haired child nodded again.
Perhaps because he was too close to Jiang Shulu, or because of the mysterious guidance of their blood relationship, Tang Mian liked to lean against Jiang Shulu.
Even when Jiang Shulu carried him to the rest area, Tang Mian refused to leave his arms.
Yao Lixin finally got his phone back. He looked at Tang Yue, rushed over, and gave him a big hug.
In terms of height, only Jiang Shulu and Yao Lixin were the tallest in the group, but Yao Lixin always kept his hair half-long, giving the impression that he wasn’t as tall as Jiang Shulu.
Tang Yue was completely unprepared to be embraced.
In Away, Jiang Shulu was the oldest, Tang Yue the youngest, Yao Lixin the second oldest, and Liu Xi Chao the third.
Compared to Jiang Shulu, Tang Yue felt Yao Lixin was more like a brother.
Because Yao Lixin was more playful, he would often disobey Jiang Shulu’s arrangements, dragging Tang Yue along.
And he was the first to accept punishment, anyway, the penalty was always extra dance practice, which wasn’t really a punishment for Yao Lixin.
Jiang Shulu held Tang Mian, watching as Tang Yue, initially forced into a hug, eventually reciprocated.
He felt inexplicably annoyed, unaware that he furrowed his brow.
“Wuwuwu so touching!! My dead ship suddenly attacked me!”
“Times have changed. Back then, I thought they were so well-suited, and they might even get married! But Yao Lixin being straight is one thing, but Tang Yue too?! I hate it!”
“I’ll quickly refresh my memory.”
“Hahahaha Jiang Shulu looks so desolate standing there!”
“Holding the child, he suddenly looks like someone witnessing their husband’s affair…”
“Tang Mian, why are you clapping??”
Jiang Shulu asked Tang Mian, “Why are you clapping?”
Tang Mian: “I’m happy, Xiao Yue is happy too.”
He was indeed a little disrespectful, calling his own father “Xiao Yue.”
But the child was just too cute to blame him.
Jiang Shulu asked: “Why wasn’t he happy just now?”
Tang Mian: “I don’t know, but Xiao Yue likes hugs. He’s definitely super happy now.”
“How is this five-year-old so articulate…”
“Looking at my five-year-old nephew, I suddenly feel that the difference between people is too cruel.”
“Omg, this child wouldn’t be a genius baby, fitting the cliché novels Tang Yue used to read, hahaha.”
“I kind of forgot, does Tang Yue like hugs? I remember him being pretty aloof…”
“He loves hugs (except with Jiang Shulu, perhaps), I recommend watching this cut (link), it’s a hug compilation.”
“So harsh, so why doesn’t he cling to Jiang Shulu, it’s so strange!!”
The more Tang Mian said this, the more uncomfortable Jiang Shulu felt. The feeling of being ignored by Tang Yue back in the group resurfaced.
He thought: What does he have against me?
Yao Lixin hugged Tang Yue for a long time, calling him “son” repeatedly, and Tang Yue rejecting him each time.
It irritated Jiang Shulu.
Jiang Shulu: “Are you done hugging?”
He stood two meters away, still holding Tang Mian. He maintained a polite smile, but those who knew him well could tell he was unhappy.
Yao Lixin’s alarm bells went off, realizing he had gotten carried away.
He had been punished by Jiang Shulu many times for doing this.
Tang Yue reacted instinctively. He was afraid of making eye contact with Jiang Shulu, so he lowered his head, as if being scolded.
The comments were filled with laughter, many regretting that Liu Xi Chao couldn’t be there due to scheduling conflicts; he would definitely be enjoying the drama.
Yao Lixin feigned a cough: “The child over there, Tang Yue’s child? What’s his name? Let uncle hold him.”
With his half-long hair, he looked somewhat odd, but his figure wasn’t feminine.
This was Tang Mian’s first time seeing such a man, and he was curious but not averse, just a little shy: “I’m a man, no need for hugs.”
Yao Lixin directly took Tang Mian: “You’re much lighter than my nephew. Tang Yue, how do you take care of children?”
Tang Mian protested loudly: “My dad is very good to me!”
He struggled, but to no avail, being carried away by Yao Lixin to greet his nephew.
Leaving Jiang Shulu and Tang Yue to stare at each other.
There were only a few people in the VIP room, a stark contrast to the fans outside.
The rest area was lit even during the daytime. A crystal chandelier was directly above Tang Yue’s head. The light wasn’t harsh, but soft, wrapping him in a hazy glow.
Like floating dust, allowing Jiang Shulu to clearly hear the sound of the years passing.
Tang Yue seemed to have changed, yet he hadn’t changed at all.
Neither of them spoke, the silence becoming awkward.
Tang Yue nervously clutched his clothes. He called out to the captain in a barely audible voice.
Jiang Shulu: “What are you doing standing there?”
He didn’t realize his voice had softened, a stark contrast to his attitude towards Yao Lixin earlier.
Over the years, many people looking back at Away’s footage could see Jiang Shulu’s affection, his favoritism and excessive worry, all directed at Tang Yue.
Tang Yue said “Ah,” still unable to look up, his bangs covering his eyes, his oversized sweatshirt hiding his slender figure.
Jiang Shulu thought he had gotten thinner than he remembered; the group had worked hard to help him gain some weight.
How did Tang Yue become like this?
What did Tang Mian mean when he said his mother was gone?
Was she dead or had she left?
Had that woman been unkind to him?
How could anyone not be kind to someone like Tang Yue? How could they bear to leave him alone with a child?
But Tang Yue didn’t look twenty-five; he looked like the first time Jiang Shulu saw him in the ICU.
Clear, naive, and panicked.
It shook Jiang Shulu; it had been shaking him for years, the thunder echoing, his realization coming too late.
But now it seemed too late.
Tang Yue: “I…”
He still didn’t dare to look at Jiang Shulu, even though he had dreamt of the past.
For example, Jiang Shulu’s outstretched hand, wrapping a scarf around him.
Easily making Tang Yue, who already liked this atmosphere, want to get closer.
But on the other hand, a voice warned him.
No.
Jiang Shulu belonged to someone else. He had already made a huge mistake and couldn’t make another one.
Tang Yue could only repeatedly tell himself: I have Mian, I’m already very happy.
A cruel form of self-deception.
But before Tang Yue could speak, Jiang Shulu strode over and embraced him.
It wasn’t the enthusiastic hug from Yao Lixin.
Jiang Shulu’s embrace was steady, reliable, and incredibly safe.
The feeling almost made Tang Yue breathless, his eyes inevitably stinging.
The love he had fantasized about in his original world never came, instead, he suffered the bitterness of unrequited love.
Tang Yue closed his eyes, wanting to push Jiang Shulu away, but he was held tighter.
The person being hugged was still as slender as before, but Jiang Shulu had matured a lot.
The man was tall and well-built, his hand on Tang Yue’s head. In the close-up shot, Jiang Shulu’s knuckles were distinct, handsome enough to be a hand model, his other hand holding down Tang Yue’s struggling left hand.
Tang Yue’s hands were as delicate as his face, his fingers too long and slender. In a previous special program, he had once worn women’s clothing and gotten a full set of manicures. Recently, it had been included in a popular video of male celebrities in women’s clothing, going viral.
He stood out among the crowd, making many curious about who he was, triggering another Away revival.
Now, Tang Yue’s hand was forcibly held, the older man now capable of completely subduing him, let alone the aura exuded by Jiang Shulu that always made Tang Yue wake up crying.
Jiang Shulu: “If you won’t come, then I’ll come to you.”
“What’s post-production doing! I’m embarrassed to watch!”
“Does even a live broadcast cut have such a couple vibe?? Help, I missed it back then!”
“I seriously suspect the original poster of the Jiang Shulu x Tang Yue shipper forum infiltrated Chengkong Media…”
“First-timer here, blown away by this…”
“They’re both brotherly hugs, why is there such a huge difference between Jiang Shulu and Yao Lixin???”
“Tang Yue, stop struggling, what’s wrong with a hug… Your other hand is clearly around Jiang Shulu’s waist.”
“Wuwuwu our Xiao Yue is still so contradictory.”
Author’s Note:
“Trivial Knowledge”
Tang Yue is a great driver.
Note: Real cars.
—Learning to Drive—
Liu Xi Chao: Tang Yue, you’re eighteen, you can get your driver’s license!
Yao Lixin: You failed your road test three times, right?
Liu Xi Chao: Then I can wait for Tang Yue to pass his driving test before I take the road test.
Tang Yue, an alien who had transmigrated a year ago, seriously studied the driver’s exam manual, determined to use his experience driving hovercrafts to learn to drive.
In the end, Tang Yue got his license in a month.
Other celebrities who took the driving test at the same time said: (#.#)
Liu Xi Chao: …
Yao Lixin: Genius, Liu Xi Chao, look at him, then look at you!
Liu Xi Chao (stubbornly): I’m taking my time.
Yao Lixin: Why are you calling our maknae a speedster?!
Tang Yue: Second Brother, how long did it take you to get your license?
Yao Lixin (covering his chest): I failed the theory test and practical test once each.
He asked Jiang Shulu who walked past: Captain, how about you?
Liu Xi Chao: Two months?
Tang Yue (painfully understanding): You guys are so familiar!
Jiang Shulu: My uncle told him.
Liu Xi Chao, fearing Jiang Shulu would reveal his inappropriate relationship with the boss, quickly retorted—
What’s so great about being a speedster!!
Tang Yue (instinctively): The captain isn’t a speedster!
Liu Xi Chao: Oh? Proof?
Jiang Shulu: How about this?
Tang Yue: …
I read that in a book!! What am I supposed to say!
Later Tang Yue: (˙ー˙)
Even later Tang Yue: Wowヾ(^▽^)ノ