Chapter 15: Copper Flower Love
Away’s official special features included many clips of the members’ daily lives.
Back when they were active, they all lived together. Even without schedules, fans knew they lived in the same villa.
Every month, the studio would release related vlogs, sharing the idols’ daily lives with fans.
It was because Away felt so vibrant; during their time as a group, there were no scandals, and after disbanding, there were no rumors of their careers collapsing.
The rumors of them not being straight, which had been criticized before, also disappeared after same-sex marriage was legalized.
Liu Xichao was low-key; everyone knew his boyfriend was the president of Chengkong Media, but they didn’t see him showing off his love every day like Yao Lixin.
Jiang Shulu was active in the financial industry; half of the people who met him for the first time couldn’t imagine that he once had such a frivolous time.
Not to mention his out-of-the-ordinary long hair style; it’s like they were two different people.
Away started a trend for live boy bands; after disbanding, everyone tried to chase after new groups. But they found that even Chengkong Media itself couldn’t replicate this lineup.
The harder it was to recreate, the more people missed them.
They missed Tang Yue’s grand eighteenth birthday ceremony. The LED screens of Jiang’s buildings at home and abroad were all changed to Tang Yue’s photos. Even the cruise ships and coastal fireworks had Tang Yue’s name, as if to announce to the world to celebrate the young man’s extraordinary coming-of-age ceremony.
Fans celebrated their birthday banquet with the idol, and some even received a hug from this beautiful maknae (youngest), excitedly sharing it on social media.
That was his eighteen-year-old self for the public, an eighteen-year-old Tang Yue who had to perform.
He felt it was just so-so; he wanted to go out and play.
The surprises his brothers had prepared for him were just beginning.
The wish of the top boy band’s maknae on his eighteenth birthday was surprisingly simple. He didn’t like expensive luxury goods, nor did he want the limited-edition sports car Yao Lixin received when he turned eighteen.
He wanted his brothers to accompany him to a late-night street stall.
At that time, Yao Lixin thought he had misheard; the dance lead who grew up overseas exclaimed, “You’re too unambitious.”
Liu Xichao was thinking about which street stall to go to; he wasn’t a local from S City, and he had never been so down-to-earth since his debut on a talent show.
He turned to ask Jiang Shulu.
Everyone’s stage makeup was exaggerated; this time, the makeup artist used peach-colored eyeliner on Jiang Shulu, which is difficult for ordinary people to handle.
This color made Yao Lixin look frivolous, and it didn’t suit Tang Yue’s temperament.
But for some reason, peach color suited Jiang Shulu very well.
So later, there would even be a light pink semi-long hairstyle that followed his platinum blonde long hair, causing the entire audience to scream, making Tang Yue stare blankly at Jiang Shulu during his performance on stage.
Jiang Shulu removed his makeup while pulling Tang Yue over to remove his makeup.
The young man was very suitable for blue, light blue, dark blue, cobalt blue, indigo…
Fans said that Tang Yue was born with a wandering air, possibly thanks to his eyes; his eyelashes were too long; even slightly lowering his eyes could bring a sense of sorrow.
Blue was inherently melancholic, and when Tang Yue’s styling color scheme leaned towards blue, it amplified this feeling.
Tang Yue stumbled when Jiang Shulu pulled him, almost falling into the other’s arms; he couldn’t struggle, so he could only give up.
Jiang Shulu made the decisions for the group.
Tang Yue also knew that without Jiang Shulu, there wouldn’t have been the Away group. He wanted to restrain the ambiguous feeling of being held by the other person, but he couldn’t help blushing when Jiang Shulu removed his lip makeup.
Tang Yue couldn’t speak because the makeup remover was pressed against his lips.
The touch was gentle, accompanied by the warmth of Jiang Shulu’s fingertips; it was about to make Tang Yue speechless.
Jiang Shulu saw his flushed face and chuckled: “Okay, let’s go together.”
That day, the staff also followed. The winter night in the suburbs, the lively night market, the idols, without their stage makeup, were not dressed so flamboyantly, walking through the crowd.
Tang Yue, an extraterrestrial in a sense, had never seen these things before.
The small carts selling oden, the street crane game machines where ten yuan could get you several tries, the small trinkets for ring toss games, shooting balloons to win stuffed toys.
Although the prices were not expensive for them, it felt very novel.
The staff followed discreetly, without using professional equipment.
The video was shot with a mobile phone; occasionally passing through a food area, the lens became hazy from the steam, like a thick fog at night, shrouding the frivolous years.
Tang Yue had a wristband full of ugly dolls his brothers had clipped for him, squatting by the roadside looking at the toys on the stall.
The weather was very cold; many people wore masks, and Tang Yue wore normal-colored contact lenses. The stall owner thought the young man’s eyes were particularly beautiful and asked Tang Yue what he wanted to buy.
Tang Yue didn’t bring any money. In fact, Liu Xichao and Yao Lixin didn’t bring any cash, only Jiang Shulu did.
At that time, the other two went to buy food; only Jiang Shulu was with Tang Yue, and he happened to be on the phone.
Tang Yue didn’t dare to say anything, shook his head, and went to find Liu Xichao, who was ahead playing the crane game.
Jiang Shulu hung up the phone with his mother, glanced at the young man who had walked away, and bought everything Tang Yue had looked at.
Tang Yue was very happy that day; on his way back, he was very excited, taking his watch off and putting it back on again, driving Yao Lixin to despair.
“Is that clicking sound so pleasant?”
Liu Xichao laughed: “Be serious.”
Yao Lixin: “Are you overthinking things?”
Seeing Tang Yue’s lack of reaction, he said, “Forget it, he doesn’t understand anything.”
Tang Yue: “What?”
Yao Lixin: “Aren’t you going to thank the captain? He paid for everything today.”
Tang Yue glanced at Jiang Shulu beside him.
When getting into the car, Tang Yue wanted to sit in the passenger seat, letting Liu Xichao and Jiang Shulu sit together.
But Yao Lixin directly pushed him to the back seat, almost bumping into Jiang Shulu’s arms.
The road was a bit bumpy; even the best car would feel a little shaky.
In the bumpy ride, Tang Yue tried to only lean towards Yao Lixin, not realizing how stiff his movements were.
Jiang Shulu considered himself to have a good temper, but he would occasionally be angered by Tang Yue, such as now.
Jiang Shulu: “No need to thank me.”
Tang Yue: “Then I’ll transfer the money to the captain when I get back.”
Yao Lixin: …
Just say less, Shulu-ge might be driven crazy by you.
Liu Xichao in the front silently ate melon (listened in), and then sent a message to Yao Lixin: I told you not to sit in the back.
Yao Lixin: …
Taking advantage of the next turn, Yao Lixin pretended to casually push, and with the inertia, let Tang Yue bump into Jiang Shulu.
Then he chimed in, “Xiao Yue, why are you so formal? The captain doesn’t need that money. Why don’t you have the captain treat us to drinks when we get back, anyway, you’re eighteen.”
Tang Yue was about to get out of Jiang Shulu’s arms, nervously looking at the front seat, and there was another turn.
Jiang Shulu simply put his arm around him.
“What do you want to drink?”
The young man’s shoulders were broad; it was easy to hold Tang Yue.
In the dim car, Yao Lixin didn’t know, Liu Xichao didn’t know.
Jiang Shulu’s grip on Tang Yue’s waist was a little tight, so tight that Tang Yue had to lean towards Jiang Shulu.
Tang Yue reached out to push Jiang Shulu’s hand away, but he felt the captain’s breath approaching.
Jiang Shulu: “Xiao Yue, I’m sorry. I’m a little tired, can I lean on you for a while?”
Tang Yue glanced at Liu Xichao again; he didn’t know who he was texting with, but he was smiling rather happily.
Tang Yue’s hesitation made Jiang Shulu ask again: “Can’t I?”
His voice sounded very tired, reminding Tang Yue of the times he had seen Jiang Shulu on the phone with his family.
Jiang Shulu would occasionally smoke.
He would casually look out the window during breaks, his slender fingertips holding a thin ladies’ cigarette; he never finished them, as if just one puff was enough to relieve some sadness.
Could the captain also have things he couldn’t handle?
Tang Yue didn’t answer, and Jiang Shulu leaned his head on his shoulder.
Along the way, Tang Yue was thinking about the description of Jiang Shulu’s family background in the original work; unfortunately, Tang Yue’s memory wasn’t very good.
Sometimes, after reading a novel, he couldn’t even remember the protagonist’s name. The plots he could barely remember were either exaggerated descriptions or overly romantic pure love stories that could make people want to fall in love immediately.
This one was a little different because the romance was described as very explicit and violent.
With so much of that kind of content, the mention of Jiang Shulu’s background was glossed over, as if…
It vaguely mentioned that Jiang Shulu also had an unknown past.
Tang Yue thought: Was it a discord with his family? Or was the pressure of being an heir too great?
Their ages weren’t that different, but during the break, only Tang Yue and Jiang Shulu needed to study.
Tang Yue had to catch up on high school courses, and Jiang Shulu had to take double majors.
Yao Lixin and Liu Xichao’s grades were average and didn’t want to do the five years of college entrance exams and three years of mock tests. Every time Tang Yue asked about his studies, the two would unanimously push the youngest to Jiang Shulu.
Their tone was exaggerated praise: Our captain is a top academic bully; he’s definitely better than the teachers hired by the company.
Tang Yue found it hard to refuse, but he had many opportunities to observe Jiang Shulu.
This led him to fall into deep thought on the road, finally dozing off.
In the end, when they got back, Tang Yue was carried out of the car and up the stairs by Jiang Shulu.
The captain nodded; the drinks he ordered were the most expensive.
Yao Lixin wanted to finish them all; Liu Xichao turned on the stereo, Tang Yue, lying on Jiang Shulu’s back, was woken up and mumbled “Oh”.
Later, he wrote in his diary—
On the morning of my eighteenth birthday, I drank a lot of alcohol, so dizzy.
I only remember that I slept very comfortably leaning on the captain’s back.
Was that a dream?
Tang Yue seemed to be dreaming again, back to that day.
Tang Yue, from Planet 9787, only had vague memories of his parents’ loving life.
When going out, there would be a kiss on the cheek, and when coming home, there would be a loud “I’m back”.
Even in an environment where he wasn’t liked, he still lived positively.
Plants on 9787 were very expensive, and flowers were even more expensive.
Food, clothing, shelter, and transportation were nothing to look forward to for ordinary people. Civilians basically relied on nutrient solution to maintain normal physical functions; to eat better, they needed to spend a lot of money, some of which couldn’t even be bought with money.
Even though Planet 9787 was a planet of exile in legend, after a thousand years, there were still classes.
Tang Yue had never seen real flowers before he transmigrated, but flowers could be mechanical.
His father could make a flower out of copper sheets, and finally make a bouquet to give to his mother when she came home from work.
That was Tang Yue’s earliest definition of love.
It was a bouquet of copper flowers, a kiss on the cheek, and “I’m back.”
So that later, when he grew up alone and went through an uneventful adolescence, he still longed for this kind of relationship.
He looked for it in book after book, as a kind of projection and compensation.
In the end, Tang Yue transmigrated, but he was still a supporting character.
It would be fine if he didn’t fall for Jiang Shulu.
But since he knew he liked him, Tang Yue understood that he was destined not to get that bouquet of copper flowers.
He could only relive it repeatedly in his dreams, every time he got close to Jiang Shulu.
If longing could be materialized, his heart should be filled with copper flowers he wanted to give to Jiang Shulu.
In the live broadcast, the drunk Tang Yue looked drowsy.
The cool evening breeze blew on his face; the young man’s face was flushed, and his tightly closed eyelashes were still wet with tears. On camera, he looked like fragile porcelain, enough to make his former fans feel heartache.
The camera angle changed from a close-up to a long shot; Jiang Shulu carried Tang Yue into the yard and put him on the bed.
He went to get water and washed Tang Yue’s face.
[Honestly, Jiang Shulu doesn’t look like a wealthy and powerful CEO at all.]
[Hahahaha, I have contacts and have interacted with Jiang Shulu himself; you guys should wake up! He’s only like this to people he’s close to!!]
[Will this kind of person really not get married?]
[Wow, he doesn’t take care of his future wife as attentively as he takes care of Tang Yue.]
[Even after becoming a father, Tang Yue is still like a child.]
[Can’t the camera in the room zoom in?]
Tang Yue wasn’t very good at drinking; in the group, he only drank on his coming-of-age day, getting completely drunk and only waking up after a whole day of sleep.
The whole group was scolded by their manager for almost being late for filming.
Now Tang Yue was muddled; the heat of the strong alcohol rose, and his neck was covered in a layer of blush, and he unconsciously pulled at his clothes.
Jiang Shulu used cold water to wipe his face; Tang Yue made a comfortable hum, then reached out to grab Jiang Shulu’s hand: “Hot.”
Jiang Shulu: “What?”
Tang Yue opened his eyes with difficulty; his wet eyes reflected Jiang Shulu’s face; he let out a whimper of “Ge” (Brother).
“So hot.”
[F**k, I heard it!!! I’m sorry, I also feel hot.]
[It’s not the first time I’ve heard Tang Yue call someone “Ge”, but this one is so soft! His voice is really nice.]
[Jiang Shulu, can you take it? I couldn’t.]
[A lot of inappropriate things appeared in my mind…]
[Tang Yue’s voice is really so nice! I admire the planner who selected them back then, so amazing. Someone actually released a video of Tang Yue’s junior high school art performance saying that Tang Yue was just so-so! Do you understand what qualitative leap means, geniuses also need to awaken.]
Jiang Shulu removed the towel and softly asked, “Then what should Xiao Yue do?”
He also spoke softly, so soft that even the audience could barely hear him.
Only a wall lamp was on in the bedroom; both Tang Yue and Jiang Shulu’s looks far surpassed ordinary people; from any angle, they looked like photographic works.
Tang Yue subconsciously reached out to pinch Jiang Shulu’s fingers.
Jiang Shulu thought: This is a bad habit, but if he’s pinching my hand, then it’s not bad.
He felt happy in his heart, but his face remained gentle and tender. The next second, he pretended to be cold and pulled his hand away. Tang Yue pouted, seeming a little wronged, “I want to take a shower.”
Jiang Shulu asked softly, “Then should I help you wash?”