Part 2
He had the typical features of someone from his hometown. The girls there were pretty and vibrant, and most of the boys were tanned.
But Liu Xichao was an exception. It was as if their genders had been swapped. He had the same vibrancy and gentle eyes, but it was just a facade.
Underneath, he was fierce.
He had a deep desire for material things, a thorough opportunist.
But the atmosphere in Away made Liu Xichao feel like he had a family. Even though Jiang Shulu was a fake person, at least he wasn’t as fake in the dorm.
Yao Lixin was loud and boisterous, the best at getting along with people, making their time together pleasant.
Tang Yue was naive and innocent, but fun to tease, which was relaxing.
Liu Xichao was certain he had never crossed any lines with Jiang Shulu. At most, he would say a few things to liven up the atmosphere on necessary occasions.
It was normal for fans to believe it, since they hadn’t had any private contact. But why did Tang Yue seem to believe it more than the CP fans?
The bonfire crackled. Tang Yue squeezed his fingers, hesitating for a long time before finally saying, “I had a dream a long time ago.”
“You dreamed that Jiang Shulu and I were a couple?” Liu Xichao asked. “Did you secretly read the fanfiction fans wrote?”
“It definitely wasn’t written by a fan,” Tang Yue said.
He left out the part about transmigrating and haltingly described the plot of the book in the form of a dream.
Liu Xichao’s face contorted as he listened. Tang Yue’s voice got quieter and quieter, feeling like Liu Xichao’s fingers were about to knead his own brow into a wrinkle.
“In the dream, I die a horrible death…”
“Okay, stop,” Liu Xichao said.
He took a deep breath, feeling a mix of anger and helplessness.
Tang Yue held his face. “And it all lined up with our activities, I…”
“Did you steal Jiang Shulu’s underwear?”
“Of course not!”
He almost jumped to his feet to argue.
“Then that’s that.”
Even though Tang Yue left out the R-18 content, Liu Xichao still found the plot a little familiar.
He sent a message to Yao Lixin right in front of Tang Yue.
Yao Lixin was still at the card table in his tent, though he had just switched out. He saw Liu Xichao’s questionâ
[Do you remember that famous anti-fan article about me and the Captain? The one the assistant sent you? What was it called again?]
Yao Lixin had a terrible memory for other things, but he remembered this kind of gossip very clearly.
[Something like Please Get Closer to My Heart, the title was so normal. But the inside was incredibly raunchy. It was one thing for me to read it alone, but you actually wanted to join in. Liu Xichao, you’re pretty twisted.]
Tang Yue was a little dazed.
That book couldn’t be found anymore, but you could still find some snippets of people complaining about it.
Liu Xichao handed his phone to Tang Yue. “Is this the plot?”
On it was a large screenshot of a webpage.
âSo ridiculous!! If youâre going to ship Jiang Shulu x Liu Xichao, can you not slander Tang Yue!
âHow could our Tang Yue possibly be a vicious male supporting character!!
âWhat kind of crappy plot is this! I respect everyoneâs right to ship, but this clearly has too much personal bias!!
âOld man on the subway looking at his phone.
Tang Yue stared at the title for a long time.
âPlease Get Closer to My Heart.
It was the one he had read on Planet 9787! How could this be?
Liu Xichao was also in despair. “Originally, it was Yao Lixin who was secretly reading it. I found out, and the writing was just… I couldn’t bear to look at it for long, but I flipped through a few pages.”
Liu Xichao: “Did you secretly read it, so you thought about it during the day and dreamed about it at night?”
“I really dreamed it,” Tang Yue insisted.
Liu Xichao took him for being stubborn. “A prophetic dream, huh? You and this author really have similar minds.”
He poked Tang Yue’s forehead again, like a parent who couldn’t believe his child’s poor performance. “What were you thinking? Don’t you have any idea what you’re like? If you had gotten close to Jiang Shulu during our time in the group, it’s impossible that you wouldn’t have gotten a response.”
“Huh?”
Liu Xichao shrugged. “I think you two were probably in love without knowing it back then.”
The next second, he looked like he had been carrying a black pot for years. “Xiao Yue, I feel like you kind of hate me. I’d rather be with Yao Lixin than Jiang Shulu. He’s such a boring guy.”
Tang Yue was incredibly guilty. “No.”
Then he silently added, “The Captain is a very good person.”
Tang Yue’s heart was still pounding, his entire being in a state of shock.
Liu Xichao rubbed his hair. “Seriously, you should have said something sooner, always keeping it to yourself. This misunderstanding is really too hurtful.”
“I’m sorry.”
He bowed his head and searched for the novel, finding that it had been renamed.
It was written at the end of Away’s second year as a group. Tang Yue didn’t like to read the news online, so he had no way of knowing.
Yao Lixin, who loved to watch the drama and secretly eat melons, wouldn’t have told his youngest brother how vicious his persona was in the anti-fan community.
“I’m going back. You should go back early too,” Liu Xichao said.
He added, “If you have something you’re afraid of in the future, just say it. It’s okay. Even if it’s a real prophecy, that doesn’t mean it can’t be changed.”
After Liu Xichao left, Tang Yue sat for a while longer.
When he returned to the tent, Tang Mian was already asleep.
The tent provided by the production team was quite high-end, and even had a sleep light, enough for Tang Yue to see the expression on the face of Jiang Shulu, who was sleeping with his child in his arms.
He carefully went in, and just as he zipped up the tent, a hand grabbed his.
Tang Yue asked in a small voice, “Is the camera off?”
Jiang Shulu hummed in acknowledgment.
“Where did you go?”
“To see my sister and brother-in-law.”
He thought: And I also discovered the secret of my transmigration.
If it wasn’t a transmigration into a book, then what is the connection between this blue planet and my Planet 9787?
This kind of talk was new coming from Tang Yue. At least, during their time in the group, Jiang Shulu had never heard Tang Yue mention his parents.
The only time was during a break in an outdoor shoot. A reporter asked Tang Yue what he understood about his parents’ love.
It was Qixi Festival, and the festive atmosphere was very strong. The group’s Qixi was also spent with fans, and the video they filmed was also for the fans.
The four of them were single, so the reporter wouldn’t ask any Qixi questions, and instead turned to their parents.
Jiang Shulu didn’t have time to stop this question that hadn’t been discussed beforehand, afraid that Tang Yue would say something shocking again, like the time he asked why there were no holographic games yet during a game endorsement, a serious question.
Besides, parents’ love, for an artist like Tang Yue whose family everyone knew about, was a bit too sensitive.
But Tang Yue didn’t show any sadness. He just held the doll given by the partner, his chin resting on it, and let out an “oh.” “Like a flower.”
Before the reporter could ask why, Tang Yue added, “Very short-lived.”
Tang Yue wasn’t a person who laughed a lot, but he would laugh heartily when watching funny videos of cats and dogs with Yao Lixin or Liu Xichao, his eyes and the corners of his mouthćä¸ (rÇn shĂ ng – tinged with) a thin layer of red from laughing too hard.
It was unknown what this question touched in him, but Tang Yue seemed very cooperative.
The reporter asked again, “What kind of flower is it?”
It was well known that Tang Yue liked flowers, but he didn’t seem to have a fixed favorite. He would smile and accept whatever flowers fans gave him, even a bouquet of reeds, he was very happy.
Even Liu Xichao thought that some bouquets, like broccoli, green onions, and cilantro, were too much, but Tang Yue accepted them all, and was teased by fans for being easy to bribe.
As long as Tang Yue was happy, you could get an autograph at the airport.
“A copper flower,” Tang Yue said.
“Is it the flower of a tung tree?” the reporter asked.
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