Bian Li couldn’t stand He Yunxing’s intense gaze, so she tilted her head slightly to avoid his eyes and murmured, “You too, Happy New Year.”
He Yunxing raised an eyebrow, but before he could say anything, a head suddenly popped out from behind him. Ning Xuechu grinned and said, “Happy New Year, Xiao Fei Fei! This year, I’m gonna grow taller, and my live broadcasts must—”
He caught himself just in time.
The studio was filled with upbeat music, and the cheers of celebration drowned out the rest of his words.
Bian Li didn’t catch what he said, but she didn’t really care. “Brother Ning, you too—let’s all have fun together. But I’m not a primary school student, so you don’t have to use that baby talk with me.”
After saying that, she nodded toward He Xuyi, who was standing nearby, then turned and ran straight back to her members.
A moment like this—of course, she had to spend it with them.
As Bian Li jogged away, her twin ponytails swung in gentle arcs. Watching her retreating figure, Ning Xuechu turned to He Yunxing with a teasing grin. “So? How’s the effect?”
He Yunxing’s lips remained in a straight line, but his expression was noticeably more relaxed than before.
Leaning back slightly, he stepped into the shadows at the last row and replied, “What do you mean, how’s the effect?”
Ning Xuechu let out a laugh and gave He Yunxing’s shoulder a light punch. “Come on, you’re asking even though you already know. You’re so damn sultry.”
He Yunxing slid one hand into his pocket, his head slightly lowered, thoughts drifting.
He had thought this would be enough. But after just now, he realized—
It really wasn’t.
–
As the countdown neared its final moments, Ruan Xiangyi turned her head, only to find Bian Li missing.
The venue was packed, filled with celebrities greeting one another. If she wasn’t careful, she might be squeezed away in the crowd.
Just as she was about to start searching, Bian Li jogged back on her own.
Ruan Xiangyi was immediately annoyed and nearly grabbed her by the ear. “Bian Xiao Li, you ran off at such a sacred moment?! You’ve been so careless lately!”
As the leader of Gemini, she took these important moments seriously.
Bian Li hesitated. “…Uh, I just went to check the small screen. Came back a little late.”
She definitely wasn’t about to admit she ran into Ace. Even though they were all in the last row, they were positioned completely differently—her group was on the right, while Ace was on the left. And with so many people joining in at the last minute, a thick wall of bodies had formed between them.
No way anyone saw anything.
With that in mind, Bian Li stuck to her story.
But Ruan Xiangyi wasn’t convinced. Watching Bian Li nod and shake her head inconsistently, her eyes darting around, she chuckled. “Something’s been off with you these past two days. You’re hiding something from me, aren’t you? Or…”
She hesitated, narrowing her eyes slightly.
Bian Li, still lost in her thoughts, looked up in confusion. “Huh?”
“…Is it like you said before—you’re really losing your mind?”
Bian Li instantly lunged forward and hooked her arm around Ruan Xiangyi’s neck. “I was joking! You really took it seriously? How could you be like this…”
She clung to Ruan Xiangyi, chattering nonstop, all the while accusing her of not trusting her teammates—her tone so righteous that it was hard to argue back.
Because of Bian Li’s clinginess, even after the New Year’s Eve stage ended, she was still pestering Ruan Xiangyi.
The host had already announced the event’s conclusion, signaling everyone to exit, but Bian Li refused to let go, chirping endlessly in her ear.
No one knew where she found so much to say.
Ruan Xiangyi had no choice but to coax her with sweet words all the way backstage, repeatedly promising that she believed her, until Bian Li finally—finally—let it go.
The massive crowd of artists exited into the hallway before splitting off into dressing rooms and lounges.
Back in their lounge, Ruan Xiangyi collapsed into her seat, glancing over at Bian Li, who had flopped down beside her. She chuckled.
“Alright, I believe you. You haven’t been hiding anything from us. Happy now?”
Then, her smile turned sly. “But seriously, with your crazy attachment skills, I wonder—how’s your future husband gonna survive?”
That one word—husband—hit Bian Li like a lightning strike.
A certain tall figure flashed into her mind before she could stop it.
She thought of He Yunxing—his slightly upturned eyes, the way he could look at someone so deeply it felt impossible to look away.
The memory was lethal.
Bian Li shot up from the sofa as if electrocuted, her voice unconsciously rising in pitch. “—Hey! What husband?! There’s no such thing!”
Ruan Xiangyi glanced at her curiously. “I was just saying it casually. Why are you so sensitive?”
Then, as if suddenly realizing something, she narrowed her eyes. “A woman’s sixth sense is never wrong. You’re in trouble.”
Bian Li scratched her head, rubbed her arms, and finally touched her nose. She scooted all the way to the edge of the sofa, leaning against a pillow like a small, guilty child.
“…No, you’re overthinking it.” She cleared her throat. “And I don’t even have a boyfriend, what husband…”
Her voice got quieter and quieter.
Ruan Xiangyi was about to press further when the door swung open.
Da Xiong walked in, accompanied by an assistant. He had just returned from escorting Ying Xuelai to set—after all, even at the year’s end, Ying Xuelai’s shooting schedule remained tight, with no room for delays.
As soon as he stepped inside, he was met with the sight of two girls slumped over the sofa like they had no bones.
“Get up, get up,” Da Xiong said, knocking his cheering stick against their legs a few times for effect. “Stay awake a little longer. Just two or three interviews left, then you can finally head back to the dorm and sleep. Bear with it.”
Bian Li was the first to groan and struggle to her feet, stretching her wrists.
“Alright, once I survive this hell mode, I can finally start food broadcasting again.”
Ruan Xiangyi refused to get up. Anyway, who knew how long it would take before it was their turn for the interview? She simply lay on her side and took out her phone to scroll through Weibo.
Tonight was New Year’s Eve, and the whole country was celebrating. Countless teenagers were staying up late, camping on Weibo, reading jokes, and watching the New Year’s Eve performances. Fans were also keeping an eye on their idols, collecting HD pictures taken by site fans, and digging into their latest activities right after the live broadcast ended.
Ruan Xiangyi posted a group photo from tonight’s event, along with a shot of fans cheering for them. After carefully scattering heartfelt words here and there, she double-checked everything before finally hitting send. Then, as usual, she went to check the trending searches.
She honestly would have been better off not looking.
The moment she saw the top two trending topics—both exploded—her fingers froze mid-scroll.
She instinctively turned to look at Bian Li, then let out a yelp and jumped straight off the sofa.
Both Bian Li and Da Xiong were startled. Da Xiong immediately started wailing, “Oh my god, my little ancestor, do you know how old I am? An old man like me can’t keep up with you young ones, okay?”
As if that wasn’t enough, he kept grumbling, “Do you even know how high the risk factor for cardiovascular diseases is? If you scare me into a hospital visit, where are you going to find another manager as good as me?”
Normally, Ruan Xiangyi would’ve fired back instantly, but now, she hesitated. Looking at the utterly distressed Da Xiong, she turned back to Bian Li, shoved her phone in her face, and whispered excitedly, “Oh my god! Look at this!”
Bian Li glanced at the screen absentmindedly. The headline read:
[Ning Xuechu and He Yunxing openly flirting on stage!]
Seeing her lack of reaction, Ruan Xiangyi snatched the phone back, tapped on the screen, then handed it over again. “No, you’re looking at the wrong one! Look at the first and second trending topics!”
Bian Li narrowed her eyes and took another look—her heart skipped a beat.
The top two trending searches were both about her and He Yunxing, each stamped with an eye-catching “exploded” in bright red.
[Public display of affection?! Bian Li sat on He Yunxing’s lap!]
[Character collapse?! He Yunxing pulled Bian Li’s ponytails!]
Under normal circumstances, this wouldn’t be a good thing. But the gossip tabloid’s phrasing was just too funny—Bian Li couldn’t help bursting into laughter.
“You still have the nerve to laugh? I think the one openly flirting with He Yunxing is you!” Ruan Xiangyi mock-choked her. “You still want me to believe you? Look at this trending search—it completely exposed you!”
“It was a coincidence! You were there!” Bian Li defended herself, but the more she tried to explain, the guiltier she sounded.
Ruan Xiangyi raised an eyebrow. “I was there?”
She clicked on the first trending topic and held the phone up to Bian Li’s face. The post featured a GIF that had gone so viral the comments section was practically unreadable from the sheer volume of engagement. The lighting in the clip was dim, but it wasn’t hard to make out the silhouettes of two strikingly attractive young idols.
In the looping two-second clip, the girl stumbled slightly as she walked, then fell directly into the arms of the boy next to her.
But the worst part? The GIF kept looping—showing only the part where she “sat on his lap” over and over again, like a never-ending playback of public embarrassment.
“How was I there? Am I invisible to you?” Ruan Xiangyi sighed dramatically.
The second trending topic was even more damning—it wasn’t even a paparazzi shot, but a fan video.
A die-hard Ace fangirl had accidentally caught the moment while recording a live side-angle video. Thinking the interaction was cute, she had simply posted it without much thought. But because the idols involved were at the peak of their popularity, the post skyrocketed after the New Year’s Eve broadcast, reaching the very top of trending searches in no time.
Bian Li pulled out her own phone and scrolled through the comment section.
Most of them were just teasing.
“Damn, the brother has changed his personality. He’s so gentle. He pinched Fei Fei’s chubby cheeks and smiled at her!”
“This expressionless face finally has an expression, but I’m a little jealous.”
“It’s nice being in the same company. Gemini and Ace must be really close after collaborating on that Christmas single, huh?”
There weren’t many angry fans in the comments—just a bit of envy mixed with rationality. The overall sentiment remained stable.
But Bian Li had a gut feeling. This felt like the calm before the storm.
Maybe everyone was staying chill because they hadn’t seen the one about her sitting on He Yunxing’s lap yet.
She exited the post and clicked on the top trending search. Checking the timestamp—sure enough, this one was posted much later, just over ten minutes ago.
The comments were already nearly ten times more than the previous one. Bian Li hesitated, her fingers hovering over the screen, feeling a little nervous about clicking into them.
Gemini had never had any major scandals. The company managed their image well, and they had always kept things professional.
This incident came out of nowhere—no warning, no signs—completely catching her off guard.
She instinctively glanced at Ruan Xiangyi. Just a moment ago, Xiangyi had been teasing her, but now she was staring at her phone screen in silence.
After a brief pause, Bian Li took a deep breath and tapped into the comment section.
[??? Is Bian Li tied to He Yunxing now? Why are they trending all the time?]
[Don’t make things up! I swear, I’m not convinced it’s them yet.]
[Expand! Don’t give this post any more heat, and don’t add to the buzz.]
[How can you tell she’s sitting on his lap? No matter how I look at it, it just looks like he helped her out.]
[Alright, whatever. But at least we can see they have a good relationship. Fans won’t force explanations, and passersby won’t start hating either.]
[Come on, it’s the same for everyone. Our Xing was being affectionate with Ning Gou today too. What does this prove? That our brother is cold on the outside but warm on the inside!]
[This is so weird. I don’t know if it’s real or not, but for some reason, I kinda hope it is. Fei Feii is just impossible to dislike. Okay, whispering here, but… if these two were actually a thing, I wouldn’t mind! Brother Xing and Sister Fei, I kinda ship it!]
That last comment was pinned to the top, and the likes kept climbing.
???
This was definitely not the reaction Bian Li had expected.
Ruan Xiangyi looked at the screen and clicked her tongue. “Tsk tsk, I always knew something was off with you two.”
Bian Li immediately denied it. “Nope, nothing’s off at all.”
“I feel like I just stumbled into a giant CP fan war. Amazing.” Ruan Xiangyi had been ready to console Bian Li, but honestly, the comments were way better than expected.
“Forget that for now. Isn’t it bad if this stays on the hot search?” Bian Li’s worry was written all over her face.
“Of course, but the company will handle it,” Ruan Xiangyi pointed at Da Xiong. “Before that, though, you might want to deal with him first.”
Da Xiong sat there, phone in hand, looking like he had just swallowed a lemon. His face was as dark as the bottom of a burnt pot.
–
Yi Qian Entertainment moved fast.
An hour after the hot search exploded, the PR team released a statement overnight, clarifying that Bian Li and He Yunxing were just close labelmates and that they had simply greeted each other.
With that, most fans let out a sigh of relief.
But some fans… well, they were built different.
After a single night of chaos, an entirely new and unstoppable force had risen—
Bian Li and He Yunxing’s CP fandom.
And just like that, a new fan war silently ignited behind the scenes.
No matter what, this trending topic had sent ripples through the entertainment industry, triggering all sorts of unpredictable consequences.
That very night, Bian Li and He Yunxing both received a call from HQ, summoning them to the CEO’s office first thing in the morning.
Because of this, Bian Li’s scheduled interviews got postponed, and Da Xiong personally escorted her straight to the top floor of Yi Qian.
When she arrived, He Yunxing was already there.
He watched as she walked toward him, sluggish from lack of sleep. Something in his gaze flickered.
Reaching out, He Yunxing gently ruffled her hair like always. “Sorry about this,” he said.
Bian Li looked up at him, momentarily caught off guard. Then, his voice dropped lower, speaking right by her ear.
“When we go in later, just follow my lead. Don’t say anything, just listen to me.”
Bian Li shook her head. “It’s okay.”
She didn’t need him to take all the responsibility. She could handle it too.
Two people who were about to get scolded… and yet, they were both worried about each other.
Inside the office, an impatient voice finally snapped, “Get in here!”
Bian Li followed He Yunxing inside.
As soon as they stepped in, the man in the main seat slowly swiveled his chair around. His deep-set peach blossom eyes were strikingly attractive, but his expression was distant, his attitude casual.
Tapping his fingers on the table, CEO Shen’s lips curved up, but his tone was anything but friendly.
“Feeling bold now, huh?”
“Do you need me to refresh your memory on the love ban clause in your contract?”
As soon as he finished speaking, he slammed a thick stack of papers onto the desk.
Bian Li was about to argue—since when was her boss so quick to assume she was in a relationship?
They weren’t even together!
But just as she looked up, she froze.
This was the first time she had seen CEO Shen in person. She had only ever caught glimpses of his silhouette in media reports.
And now that she saw him up close—
Oh my god… so handsome…
But strangely, even though CEO Shen looked a lot like He Yunxing, there was no fluttering in her chest, no racing heart. It was completely different from the way she reacted to He Yunxing.
At that moment, He Yunxing turned his gaze toward her.
As soon as Bian Li met his eyes, she immediately dropped her head—like a guilty young wife caught in the act.
The pale skin of her neck and the side of her face turned a faint shade of cherry pink.
They were standing close.
So, of course, He Yunxing had heard her quietly whispering about how handsome CEO Shen was.
But looking at how flustered she was now…
His eyes narrowed slightly.
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