Time flew by.
Soon, the day of Yuan Yuan’s concert arrived. When Zhang Jin’an and Jiang Siyang met Ge Xianxu again, she seemed even more poised and elegant than she had been just a few days prior.
Since Yuan Yuan’s concert happened to be in Chongqing, Zhang Jin’an invited Zhang Shuyu along.
With half an hour left before the show started, Zhang Jin’an, wearing a hat and a face mask, emerged from the backstage area to wait for Zhang Shuyu in the parking garage. A few minutes later, a black motorcycle made a high-profile entrance into the garage.
Zhang Jin’an heard the loud drone of the engine from a distance. Even though she was wearing a helmet, he knew it was her just by looking at the bike.
Zhang Shuyu rode past him, cut the engine at a nearby parking spot, and swung her leg off the motorcycle. She pulled off her helmet, letting her pale yellow hair cascade down. Taking a comb out of her bag, she began tidying her hair as she walked toward him.
Zhang Jin’an sized her up, and his first words were, "Aren't you cold? Are you wearing your thermals?"
Zhang Shuyu was wearing an open, short black denim jacket over a single white long-sleeved knit shirt. Her legs were covered only by a pair of denim jeans. She looked freezing.
"I am, I am! Don't let the short jacket fool you, it's actually very warm," Zhang Shuyu sighed. "There’s a special kind of cold called 'your family thinks you're cold.' Pan Chengwen just lectured me, and now here you go."
"Anyone who looks at you would think you're cold." Zhang Jin’an pressed the back of his hand against her forehead. "See? Your forehead is icy."
Zhang Shuyu took a step back, clutching her helmet. "That’s... that’s because the helmet was too stuffy, so I flipped the visor up halfway. It was just the wind."
Zhang Jin’an squinted at her. "It better be."
Zhang Shuyu suddenly clapped her hands. "...Oh! The concert is about to start! Let’s go, hurry!"
"Put your helmet in our car first." Zhang Jin’an walked over to their vehicle and popped the trunk.
"You bought a car in Chongqing too?" Zhang Shuyu asked, stunned.
"It’s someone else’s, obviously. Where would I get the money to buy cars everywhere?" Zhang Jin’an said.
Zhang Shuyu narrowed her eyes and mimicked him. "It better be."
Zhang Jin’an tapped her on the head. "Too much talk. Put it in."
Pouting, Zhang Shuyu placed the helmet in the trunk and stepped back to let him close it.
"Are you performing at the Spring Festival Gala this year?" she asked suddenly.
*Thud.*
Zhang Jin’an shut the trunk and replied, "No. I don't have the time for it anyway."
The two headed toward the elevator. Since there weren't many people in the underground garage, they spoke freely.
Zhang Shuyu linked her arm with his and blinked playfully. "Fine then. But you have to come home for Lunar New Year and give your dear little sister a red envelope."
Zhang Jin’an saw right through her. "The last part of that sentence was your real point, wasn't it?"
Refusing to admit it, Zhang Shuyu insisted stubbornly, "How could you say that? We really miss you. It’s just that your little sister’s wallet misses your money."
Zhang Jin’an glanced at her. "Then let it keep missing it."
Zhang Shuyu immediately let go of his arm and let out a huff of feigned anger.
When they reached the backstage area, Yuan Yuan and Ge Xianxu were chatting in the hallway. Zhang Shuyu dashed straight toward them, gushing about how much she loved Yuan Yuan. She presented handmade dolls from her bag to both Yuan Yuan and Ge Xianxu and even showed off her custom-made support fan.
Yuan Yuan praised Zhang Shuyu for being beautiful and talented, making the girl beam with pride.
Afterward, Yuan Yuan called her teammates over. The girls spent several minutes complimenting one another and took a group photo before parting ways.
Zhang Shuyu waved her phone at Zhang Jin’an, who was leaning against the wall, boasting about the photo. "Ah, another successful day of fan-girling. Some people just wouldn't understand."
Zhang Jin’an glanced at her, pulled out his phone, and right under her nose, opened a photo he had taken at Jiang Siyang’s house—a candid shot of Jiang Siyang watching TV.
Zhang Shuyu: "...Damn it."
Just as she was about to snatch the phone, Jiang Siyang walked over.
He was wearing a grey knit sweater over a white shirt, paired with loose blue jeans and white canvas shoes. His bangs were casually swept to one side, revealing his handsome eyes. Zhang Shuyu screamed "It’s my husband in the flesh!" in her head. She scrambled behind Zhang Jin’an, gripping his jacket tightly, not daring to make eye contact with Jiang Siyang.
Zhang Jin’an teased, "Weren't you just acting all tough?"
Zhang Shuyu pursed her lips and smacked his arm, which only made him laugh harder.
"You're back?" Jiang Siyang naturally noticed Zhang Shuyu and reached out with a smile. "Hello, you must be Zhang Shuyu. I'm Jiang Siyang."
Zhang Shuyu: "I... I... I..."
Zhang Jin’an: "She has a stutter."
"Bull!" Zhang Shuyu instinctively smacked Zhang Jin’an again. Only after she did it did she realize Jiang Siyang was watching. She hurriedly took Jiang Siyang’s hand, pretending nothing had happened. "Hello, I’m Zhang Shuyu. Could... could you give me another autograph?"
"Of course."
Zhang Shuyu quickly took off her bag and handed it to Zhang Jin’an. "Hold this for me, Brother."
Zhang Jin’an had no choice but to hold it open for her, sharing a knowing smile with Jiang Siyang.
After rummaging through the bag, she pulled out a book. "Found it."
Zhang Jin’an zipped the bag back up and leaned in. "What’s this?"
"A photo album. The first half is my ultimate bias, and the second half is all Jiang Siyang." Zhang Shuyu flipped through a few pages and looked up at Jiang Siyang. "I took all of these myself."
"They’re very well-taken," Jiang Siyang replied supportively.
Since someone had finally asked about her fan-photography, the floodgates opened. Zhang Shuyu relaxed significantly and began explaining earnestly to Jiang Siyang, "Of course, of course! You have no idea how hard it is for international fans to go to fansigns or fan meetings in Korea. You have to buy so many albums just to get your name on the list, and even then, you might not get picked. Since it’s so hard to get there, you have to take as many good photos as possible."
"True," Jiang Siyang nodded, flipping through a few more photos. "How hard is it to get into their fansigns?"
Zhang Shuyu thought for a moment. "Let’s put it this way: a Korean fan might buy a dozen albums and get in if they're lucky. But for an international fan—excluding the big fansites—an individual fan might get picked with a few hundred albums if they're lucky. If they're unlucky, they won't even see their name after buying a thousand."
"You have to buy that many?"
Jiang Siyang was floored by the numbers. He had assumed it was maybe a dozen at most, not thousands.
Zhang Shuyu laughed. "Of course, one person doesn't usually buy that many alone; one album costs over a hundred yuan. Usually, hundreds of us buy through a fansite master to help them boost their numbers. For example, if I can go to Korea, I’ll act as a purchasing agent for the group members. They get their albums, and I get to go to the fansign and take photos. It’s a win-win."
Jiang Siyang didn't know what to say for a moment, finally settling on, "That sounds very exhausting."
Watching the whole exchange, Zhang Jin’an chuckled. "She calls it 'painful yet blissful.'"
Zhang Shuyu nodded. "Exactly."
Jiang Siyang ended up signing five photos. Zhang Shuyu happily tucked them back into the album and put her bag back on.
"Oh right, there’s one more thing my friends asked me to do." Having said that, Zhang Shuyu placed one hand on Zhang Jin’an’s shoulder and the other on Jiang Siyang’s, speaking with great solemnity. "There are a lot of people who want you two to get married. When do you plan on going public?"
Zhang Jin’an and Jiang Siyang looked at each other and laughed.
"Soon," Zhang Jin’an said.
Once the concert began, they took the seats Yuan Yuan had arranged for them. The girl group JUC2 was already quite famous in the industry, and the 16,000-capacity stadium was packed to the rafters. The entire performance was a visual treat, especially the fan support, which was truly breathtaking. While the girls sang, the fans waved their light sticks in rhythm. All the stadium lights were turned off, leaving only the pink glow of the light sticks as far as the eye could see, looking like scattered starlight descending upon the earth.
Zhang Jin’an captured this magnificent scene with his phone.
Every time he accompanied Zhang Shuyu to a concert, he was moved by this sight. Only those who have been to a concert in person can truly understand the feeling.
After the concert ended, Zhang Shuyu left first. Zhang Jin’an gave her a few parting instructions, though he wasn't sure if she was actually listening; she just kept nodding.
When Zhang Jin’an returned to the hotel, he saw the post Zhang Shuyu had made on Weibo. She had posted photos of the concert and a picture of her with them backstage.
In her excitement, Zhang Shuyu sent Zhang Jin’an a barrage of "AHHHHHHH" messages on WeChat.
Zhang Jin’an replied: "Acting all cool and collected on Weibo, but going on the attack with screams on WeChat."
Zhang Shuyu sent a "?" emoji and stopped replying.
After the concert, Zhang Jin’an became incredibly busy. Because he needed to clear several days for the team-building trip, all the work for those days had to be finished in advance. This resulted in him working around the clock.
The others going on the trip were in the same boat. Every night, Su Zhiyang would wail in the group chat, "A few days of pain for a few days of joy!" to encourage everyone, but no one replied. Aside from Zhang Jin’an and Gu Yirou, no one else could stay up as late as he did. However, Zhang Jin’an and Gu Yirou had a tacit understanding—whenever Su Zhiyang started wailing in the group chat, the two of them were busy playing *Anipop* online with other netizens.
If Su Zhiyang hadn't logged into the game once and caught them, they probably could have kept it up for a long time.
