"Group Name: Let's Go for a Light Run"
"A sister-in-law isn't scary; a sister-in-law who's possessive is scary."
"She really makes it obvious, doesn't she..."
"Well, let's hope Gao Xiayu's career tanks soon."
"Hey useless, when you go to school tomorrow, can you ask sister-in-law if she'll accept my card? [smile]"
"I'm seriously speechless. Today I wanted to reminisce about the good times and rewatch the 21st time, but I noticed so many details... Gao Xiayu was just playing with his phone at the edge of the frame..."
"..."
"He really deserves to die."
"I'm already being nice by not posting passive-aggressive comments about him on Weibo."
"I straight up asked him on Galexi if he's dating someone, and he read it but didn't reply."
"Legend [thumbs up]"
Yu Xin read the group chat messages, feeling her frustration temporarily dissipate. But after the moment of calm passed, that sense of disappointment came rushing back.
She opened Chen Ya's WeChat. All the content was still there - screenshots of chat conversations and some group photos with friends.
The chat records themselves were innocent enough, just everyday conversations, but her captions had a somewhat flirtatious tone.
Yu Xin was from the neighboring class and had added Chen Ya on WeChat by chance since they were both class monitors.
At first, she didn't think much of Chen Ya's moments posts - they all seemed like normal daily life updates. Even if they hinted at young love, it wasn't her business.
Yu Xin had even liked a few posts before realizing the main character was Gao Xiayu. It wasn't until one time when Chen Ya posted a chat screenshot where the profile picture wasn't fully cropped that Yu Xin discovered Chen Ya's chat partner was Gao Xiayu.
"..."
Once the schadenfreude faded, that sense of betrayal enveloped Yu Xin.
Now she just wanted both Gao Xiayu and Chen Ya to face consequences.
She had saved screenshots of all of Chen Ya's moments, and she was the one who had leaked this information to several fellow fans.
But from what she'd heard, quite a few people already knew about this, some even before she did.
"If she wasn't so eager to show off, I could have tolerated it..."
"So possessive."
"Can't stand it at all. When I follow male celebrities, I treat them like they're my husband."
"I thought it was fake news made up by teammate fans before..."
Yu Xin took the opportunity to ask: "Where did you see this before?"
"Someone posted about it in the Leeks Group, saying there was gossip, and mentioned Gao Xiayu's name in the thread."
"What? There's already a post about it in the Leeks Group?"
"It was a long time ago, got deleted the next morning."
While they were still discussing and tracing the origin, little did they know this information was already spreading in all directions.
Jiang Liuxing nearly had a heart attack when she opened the Leeks Group and saw Gao Xiayu's nickname next to the gossip symbol.
She stood in the hotel hallway clutching her chest, her phone screen showing multiple missed calls.
That afternoon at the hotel, whenever she had a break, she'd gone to the bathroom to call her sister, but none of the calls went through.
The surge of adrenaline made Jiang Liuxing tremble - she couldn't tell if it was from the cold or from anger.
"Jiang Liuxing: @Jiang Juyou aaaaaaah check my message!"
She couldn't help but send another message in the family group chat.
At this moment, Jiang Juyou was standing in the hotel elevator lobby, waiting for the elevator, with Chen Xi and her boyfriend beside her.
"You're looking much better lately, that's good. Getting out and changing your mood helps. Eat more, look how thin you've gotten," Jiang Juyou said while pinching Chen Xi's arm.
Due to malicious pranks from anti-fans, Chen Xi's condition had rapidly deteriorated since then. She couldn't sleep, couldn't eat, and had become terribly thin - her skin seemed to hang directly on her bones.
Given her current condition, the company had cancelled most of her schedules for the year.
Last month, there was a ceremony that was originally going to be cancelled, but Chen Xi felt better and decided to attend. The result was predictable - photos of an emaciated Chen Xi immediately trended on social media, with comments and criticism sending her right back to her previous state.
This music festival invitation came from Jiang Juyou, hoping that seeing more people would help Chen Xi instead of staying home overthinking everything.
While they were talking, Jiang Juyou's phone kept vibrating. She looked up at Chen Xi and said, "You two go ahead, I need to reply to some messages."
Opening her phone, she saw the pinned three-person sister group chat exploding with notifications.
When she opened it, she saw two people frantically tagging her.
"Jiang Liuxing: Aaaaah @Jiang Juyou answer my call!"
"Yes It's Jiang Tang: @Jiang Juyou answer her call!"
"Jiang Liuxing: @Jiang Juyou reply to my message!"
"Yes It's Jiang Tang: It's useless, you know Jiang Juyou has muted the group, you, and me @Jiang Juyou"
"Jiang Liuxing: Dammit, I should've talked less before @Jiang Juyou"
"Yes It's Jiang Tang: You're not talkative, you just ramble. I muted you too, otherwise your 800 messages a day would be unbearable @Jiang Juyou"
Jiang Tang knew nothing about what was happening, but whatever her sister told her to do, she did.
After chatting and tagging for so long, Jiang Juyou finally appeared.
"Jiang Juyou: ?"
Because she was busy, she had turned off notifications for all but the most important apps on her phone, including WeChat. She figured her sisters had her phone number if anything important came up.
But--
"Ah..." Jiang Juyou suddenly realized her new phone had a new SIM card, and she hadn't removed the old one from her previous phone.
"Jiang Liuxing: @Jiang Juyou answer the phone!"
Just as Jiang Juyou was about to type an explanation, Jiang Liuxing's WeChat call came through.
She expected the first words to be an angry questioning, but instead, Jiang Juyou heard, "Sis! Something big happened! Gao Xiayu might be dating someone, and lots of his fans know about it!"
Jiang Juyou, who had been feeling somewhat guilty, immediately furrowed her brows upon hearing this.
"Where did you hear this?" She lowered her voice, glancing down the corridor before pressing the elevator button again.
Jiang Liuxing stood in a dark spot next to a convenience store, gesturing wildly but keeping her voice low, "I heard it on the plane this afternoon. After landing, I started searching his name, from his big fans to their alternate accounts-- never mind, you wouldn't understand."
"Anyway, you need to ask Gao Xiayu what's going on right now. Find out everything, make sure to confirm it."
"And! Stop muting me!"
"Okay." Jiang Juyou's thoughts were so scattered she wasn't sure which part she was responding to.
After hanging up, she looked at the elevator's interior decoration, then at the floor buttons, before messaging Timetrain's manager and Gao Xiayu's assistant to bring him to her room.
-
"Knock knock knock--"
Gao Xiayu, who had been catching up on online classes after finishing today's work, carefully listened again after removing his headphones, confirming there was indeed knocking.
"Teacher, please wait a moment, someone's at my door," Gao Xiayu told his teacher before leaving his seat.
"Who is it?" he asked when still a few meters from the door.
His assistant answered from outside, "It's me. Producer Jiang wants to see you."
Gao Xiayu looked back at his desk, then back at the door, "Right now?"
"Yes."
"Can it wait twenty minutes? I'm still in class, it'll be done in twenty minutes."
"Alright, I'll let Producer Jiang know. Come to my room when you're done."
"Okay!"
Having his attention interrupted during class made it difficult to concentrate again. Gao Xiayu gulped down some ice water to help regain his focus.
In the final twenty minutes, he worked through three problems, arranged the next class time with his teacher, and then started tidying his desk.
While cleaning up, Gao Xiayu muttered, "...Who's causing trouble now?"
The faces of those four people flashed through his mind, with only Pei Luming seeming suspicious.
He quickly messaged Pei Luming, asking if he'd done anything wrong recently.
Leaving his room, he waited outside his assistant's room first, then followed along to Jiang Juyou's room once the assistant came out.
The two of them were discussing as they walked.
"What does Jiang want to see me about?"
"I don't know. She suddenly messaged me to come with you."
"She called you too?"
"Yeah."
Hearing this, Gao Xiayu had a feeling that the ones who made a mistake probably weren't the four of them.
When they arrived at Jiang Juyou's room, their group's manager was already waiting at the door.
Gao Xiayu quickly nodded in greeting.
"Knock on the door," the manager said.
After the knock, a voice from inside quickly responded, "Come in."
Jiang Juyou's assistant opened the door and stepped aside, saying, "Please come in."
Jiang Juyou's room was a small suite. She was sitting in the living room, with two sofas left for them.
Seeing them enter, Jiang Juyou nodded, gesturing for them to sit down.
As soon as Gao Xiayu sat down, Jiang Juyou asked him, "Did you bring your phone?"
Though confused, he nodded and said, "Yes."
The atmosphere was tense, and everyone could tell from Jiang Juyou's expression that this wasn't a simple matter.
Jiang Juyou sat with one leg crossed over the other, her expression serious, "There are rumors circulating online saying that you're dating someone."
Hearing this, Gao Xiayu's eyes widened – it was the first time he'd shown such an expression.
Gao Xiayu couldn't help raising his voice, "I'm not!"
Regarding Gao Xiayu dating, Jiang Juyou didn't quite believe it, but if it were just an ordinary rumor, she didn't think Jiang Liuxing would have been so alarmed.
But since it was Gao Xiayu, she still said—
"I believe you, but some things need to be verified properly."
Without hesitation, Gao Xiayu took out his phone and unlocked it, saying, "I really am not dating anyone."
He opened WeChat to show Jiang Juyou. In his contacts, the pinned chats were several Timetrain-related group chats, followed by family group chats.
Scrolling down, she could only see familiar names – all male artists or trainees who were close to Gao Xiayu.
The three staff members in the room couldn't help but exchange glances at this unexpected scene, confirming each other's expressions.
From their looks, they too had only learned about this after arriving.
The manager clicked his tongue, having seen how companies typically handle artists' dating scandals, but never like this. Usually, they would inquire via WeChat, and respond based on the artist's wishes. This was the first time he'd seen someone called in to be questioned face-to-face, not just questioned but having their phone checked too.
He gained a clearer understanding of Random Entertainment's strict management.
Manager: Almost scared to death.
