Life after debut was both blissful and torturous for the five of them. Having debuted while still students, they had to balance their studies with maintaining their online presence, leaving almost no personal time. Except for the few hours at school, they spent the rest of their time together.
Another week of music show promotions had passed, marking their fourth week. By now, they had officially debuted for a month. During yesterday's performance, fans surprised them with a small celebration for their one-month debut anniversary. During the livestream, they even pushed a cake prepared by the company, celebrating this mini-birthday with their fans.
This month had been incredibly dreamlike for them, still feeling somewhat unreal. Every morning, they would wake up and have to confirm that they had indeed debuted.
Today was Saturday, with only an afternoon fan signing event scheduled. Yesterday, their manager told them they could sleep in, and Gao Xiayu embraced this wonderful prospect as he went to bed. However, just after 7 AM, he heard Pei Luming's voice in his room.
"Xiayu ge~"
"Are you up~"
Pei Luming was at the door, calling out to Gao Xiayu in a barely audible whisper, his voice as annoying as a puppy scratching at the door.
Awakened, Gao Xiayu stared at the ceiling and let out a long sigh. Outside, Pei Luming continued. He reached for his phone on the bedside table and checked the time - it was just past 7 AM.
"Hah--" Gao Xiayu felt a headache coming on, then rolled out of bed to open the door for Pei Luming.
Pei Luming was sitting on the hallway floor, laptop in hand, working on his homework. He was about to go bother Yao Shuo when Gao Xiayu's door suddenly opened.
"Eh?" Pei Luming perked up happily and stood up with his laptop.
Gao Xiayu simply opened the door for him, then returned to the living room to pour himself a glass of water.
His actions made it clear that Pei Luming often came to disturb him like this.
Just as Pei Luming entered, barely having time to close the door, the doors of the other three members opened as well. He turned back and asked, "Why are you all up so early too?"
Chi Qiao, wearing a t-shirt and holding a towel and water bottle, replied, "Going to the gym."
"I know you and Ye Xing are going, but why are you going too?" The last part was directed at Yao Shuo. During training, Yao Shuo was always the one to minimize movement if possible, never going to the gym unless absolutely necessary. Today was indeed unusual.
Yao Shuo: "..."
Gao Xiayu, now fully awake after drinking water, called out to Pei Luming, "You might as well put your stuff down and change. Moving around will help reduce the swelling."
"I'm not swollen!" Pei Luming protested.
"You are," Ye Xing said, grabbing Pei Luming and leading him towards his room.
At just past 7 AM on a weekend, the company was practically empty, but the gym was quite busy.
When Chi Qiao and the others went down, Sang Mo was already there, walking on an incline, his forehead and body covered in sweat. He raised a hand in greeting when he saw them arrive.
After they arrived, Chi Qiao also got on a treadmill to start his cardio. Seeing this, Pei Luming gave them both a thumbs up, "You two are really hardcore."
To the outside world, it seemed that the five members of Timetrain no longer interacted much with Sang Mo and Chen Wu, but in reality, they saw each other every day - at the practice room, in the gym, and sometimes Sang Mo and Chen Wu would come up to chat with them.
Gao Xiayu didn't rush to warm up, instead walking over to Sang Mo. While stretching his wrists, he asked, "I heard the company is preparing a boy group. Have you been notified?"
Hearing this, the others also looked over with interest.
Sang Mo, catching his breath, slowed down the treadmill before replying, "...We've heard rumors, but nothing specific yet. Recently though, they've had us start learning about acting."
Pei Luming perked up at the keyword, suddenly straightening his posture, "We've been learning about acting recently too!" He reflected on the content of their classes, "It's an art beyond my comprehension."
"Alright, if there's any concrete news, I'll let you know first thing," Gao Xiayu said, still concerned for the two of them. He then walked to the open space in front to warm up. Seeing Pei Luming sitting on the ground without moving, he kicked him lightly, "Get up quickly, with your appetite you need to move around more!"
Sang Mo, getting off the treadmill, wiped his sweat and said, "I'm done with my workout, heading back now."
"Okay, bye!" all five responded in unison.
Having just mentioned acting, Sang Mo remembered the "homework" assigned yesterday. A staff member had given him a story booklet, saying it was for the next class and asked him to familiarize himself with it beforehand.
The booklet was different from the scripts he'd seen before. Rather than a script, it was more like a storybook, telling a tale set in a small town with elements of horror and suspense.
Being somewhat timid, he hadn't finished reading it even after two days.
While waiting for the elevator, the dim elevator lobby reminded him of the content in the story, causing Sang Mo to shiver involuntarily.
After working out for over an hour in the early morning, everyone's faces had slimmed down, even Pei Luming's, who had stubbornly insisted he wasn't swollen.
The fan signing event was scheduled for 1 PM. After finishing their meal around 10 AM, they started their makeup and styling.
Unlike previous private fan signings, this event was being held on the first floor of the Galaxy Building. In addition to the selected fans, others could also watch from the venue.
Even before lunchtime, the Galaxy Building was swarming with fans, with people even filling the upper floors.
Both Liu Yue, the big spender, and Zhou Keke, the lucky one, had been selected for this fan signing. Jiang Liuxing, who wasn't brave enough for big bets, didn't get a spot, so she had arrived early with her camera to secure a good position on the upper floor. She had rushed in as soon as the doors opened at 10 AM.
She had been waiting all this time, not even daring to eat for fear of losing her spot. It wasn't until Liu Yue and Zhou Keke brought her a burger just before entering that she ate something.
As she ate, she thought fiercely, "I'll show you rich people and lucky ones!"
As it neared 1 PM, the selected fans were guided to their seats by staff. The entire first floor open area was cordoned off with barriers, with eager fans standing in a circle outside.
Everyone was watching the entrance, waiting for their appearance, but the first commotion came from upstairs.
"Woah, ahhhh--"
After a brief disturbance, screams erupted from the fifth floor. Everyone downstairs looked up as the crowd parted. Under the protection of security and staff, the five members descended on the escalator.
People had imagined many scenarios for their arrival, but no one expected them to come down from the fifth floor.
As the five rode the escalator down, the venue erupted with screams and the sound of camera shutters. Even though she had attended many events, Jiang Liuxing had never heard such a loud shutter sound before.
It was like a sudden downpour, the shutter sounds almost drowning out the screams.
It felt as if all the fan site masters in the entertainment industry had gathered, with the entire upper floor filled with professional cameras aimed at the seating area.
This was their first public fan signing and their first close interaction with so many fans since their debut. Not only were the fans excited, but even the five members found it amazing.
A fan signing event of this scale was also a first in the country, with the number of attendees once again proving Timetrain's current popularity domestically. If the Galaxy Building's indoor space wasn't limited, there would likely have been even more people - the streets outside were already nearly full.
The event's hashtags quickly trended on social media. While some netizens complained about how frequently they appeared on hot searches, they still had to admit that the group was indeed very popular.
Professionally trained, having gone through two rounds of fierce competition, with good looks and undeniable skills not just visible to fans, plus high-quality music albums, it was hard for the public not to pay attention to them.
Even before their debut, that preview clip had become a popular audio on TikTok. After their debut, even more people were seen dancing like them in neighborhoods, squares, and on streets.
Timetrain's explosive popularity was simply the trend of the times.
At the venue, Zhou Keke took several deep breaths, trying hard to suppress her nervousness.
Although she had been to a few music show recordings, this was the first time she would be face-to-face at such a close distance. Zhou Keke anxiously tugged at the wristband on her wrist, waiting for the staff's signal.
Her turn was relatively early, and it was her time to go on stage just a few minutes after the event started.
Zhou Keke held the album, carefully checking one last time that each member's page was turned correctly before going up.
Chi Qiao was first, sitting at the very edge. Seeing a fan approach, he gestured with his hand, inviting her to sit down.
Zhou Keke's legs went weak before she even got close. Her voice trembled like a little lamb's bleat, "Hello..."
"Hello, hello. Is this your first time at a signing event?" Chi Qiao took the album, flipped to his own page, and interacted with her while signing.
Zhou Keke covered her mouth and nodded, her heart racing.
As Chi Qiao finished signing his name, he tilted his head, "But I feel like you look familiar, like I've seen you a few times." He looked up again to confirm, "Hmm, I'm sure I've seen you somewhere."
The little lamb bleated, "Oh... I've been... I've been to a few music show recordings."
"That's it! I knew you looked familiar! You came yesterday too, right? The sister wearing the green sweater in the front row yesterday!" Chi Qiao exclaimed excitedly, quickly recalling that memory.
At this moment, Zhou Keke was completely struck. She covered her mouth and started whimpering, "Yes..."
He looked down at the note, which had her name written on it, "Hot Cocoa!"
Chi Qiao had read out her nickname.
Miss Hot Cocoa could only whimper and nod at this point, unable to react in any other way.
She felt like she could die of happiness today. She never knew being a fan could bring such joy.
Zhou Keke: I want to relive this day forever!
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