Dating My Drama Queen Girlfriend On A Slow-Paced Variety Show - Chapter 18

Before they could even make it back to the farmhouse, the two heard singing from a distance. Li Yue paused in her tracks and suddenly sighed. Although she knew this scene would happen, actually facing it made her sigh again.

Luo Mingzi grabbed her arm and laughed heartily, saying, “What’s wrong? It sounds great! I love it!”

Li Yue glanced at her and said slowly, “Tonight, I’m inviting you to watch Rose Romance with me…” Before she could finish the title, Luo Mingzi jumped up, clinging to Li Yue and frantically covering her mouth while shaking her, screaming, “Don’t say it! I was wrong!”

If full defensive power was a ten, Li Yue reached up to ruffle Luo Mingzi’s hair, the corners of her mouth curving up as she thought: Teacher Luo is only a 0.1.

Teacher Luo, at 0.1, leaned against Li Yue’s shoulder and wiped away mock tears. She sniffled and looked up into Li Yue’s eyes. Li Yue had beautiful eyes; when they first met, they were like a stormy night sky in summer, silent and dark. Now that the heavy rain had passed, they left behind a clear, bright starlit sky. She wanted to gaze at that starlight forever and do nothing else.

Luo Mingzi felt her cheeks heat up and whispered, “I’ve thought about it… it’s not completely impossible.”

Li Yue raised an eyebrow, looking at Luo Mingzi in surprise. She pulled Luo Mingzi close by the shoulder, leaning down to whisper in her ear, “Really? That brave?” Her low, gentle voice made half of Luo Mingzi’s body go soft. It had been a long time since she had been held in Li Yue’s arms like this, her ears burned, and her heart raced.

Because it’s your invitation! If it gets too much, I’ll just hide under the covers! Luo Mingzi began planning which pajamas to wear tonight when the two heard a sudden cough.

Li Yue and Luo Mingzi looked up simultaneously.

Su Pei, the great manager herself, stood by the roadside with an expressionless face and her arms crossed. She pulled out one hand, index and middle fingers pressed together, pointed them at the two of them, and then “swish” snapped them apart.

Li Yue: “…”

She forgot about the cameras.

She released her hold on Luo Mingzi and took a step back. Standing next to Su Pei was Yu Bilan, whose mouth was hanging open. She stared wide-eyed at Li Yue, then at Luo Mingzi, back at Luo Mingzi, and then at Li Yue again.

“Hiss…” Her eyes were as wide as an owl’s as she murmured, “Our Goddess Li has a girlfriend.”

Su Pei said, “Heh.”

Yu Bilan said, “Goddess Li’s girlfriend is also in the industry.”

Su Pei: “Heheh.”

Yu Bilan: “Goddess Li and her girlfriend have been together for a long time.”

Su Pei: “Heheheh.”

Based on the known conditions: Li Yue and Luo Mingzi were alumni and appeared to be close friends. Luo Mingzi was not only in the industry but was a “cash cow” level starlet who had just returned from abroad two months ago.

So, was the probability of Li Yue cheating higher, or…

“Hiss!!!” Yu Bilan suddenly clutched her heart and stared at Su Pei.

Su Pei coldly reached out and shut Yu Bilan’s mouth for her. She said, “I’m going to talk to Director Liu. That bit just now gets cut.”

Yu Bilan bowed and scraped. “Yes, ma’am. You work so hard. Safe travels, Great One Su.”

Li Yue caught up with Luo Mingzi. Luo Mingzi practically had the words “unhappy” printed on her back, her expression icy. Li Yue bent down to pick up the green onions that had fallen out of Luo Mingzi’s basket. As she handed them back, she whispered, “Don’t be angry.”

“We’ll watch a movie together tonight.”

The tiny flame of anger in Luo Mingzi’s heart vanished with a poof, and a different kind of flame sparked up. She struggled to keep her lips from curling into too wide a smile and whispered, “Do we sleep together after watching it?”

Li Yue nodded.

Luo Mingzi practically skipped. What was anger? She didn’t even know how to spell the word! She swayed happily as she walked, green onions falling all over the ground again. Li Yue patiently picked them up.

“Xiao Yue and Mingzi are back.” Wu Xuezhen saw them enter and hurried over to take the basket, but she fell silent upon seeing the contents.

Li Yue explained with a smile, “We only needed the green onions.”

Pi Dajun came out of the kitchen and said in surprise, “You needed onions? I remember seeing onions in the groceries you bought this morning!”

Oh?

Li Yue said calmly, “Then I must have remembered incorrectly.”

“It must be Dajun who remembered wrong. With his memory, he forgets things the moment he says them!” Wu Xuezhen waved him off, telling him to get back to work. Pi Dajun muttered “Did I remember wrong?” as he went inside. Wu Xuezhen patted Li Yue and whispered, “He just doesn’t understand romance.”

Li Yue pursed her lips and smiled. “Thank you.”

The TV screen was looping a compilation of Li Yue’s performances. Her stages on Because of You were all covers, including two very famous songs that Wu Xuezhen and her husband hummed along to.

Li Yue brought out the vegetables for dinner and sat on a small stool Luo Mingzi had brought over. The two sat head to head, washing vegetables together.

Summer had arrived, and the days were growing longer. The gentle singing filled the small courtyard. Even the crew members didn’t want to speak, afraid of breaking the tranquility.

You Yang returned from returning kitchenware, panting as he carried a large watermelon gifted by a villager. He spotted the two washing vegetables by the sink. His eyes lit up and his energy returned; he set the melon on the table and sidled over to the sink.

Luo Mingzi, who was washing vegetables under Li Yue’s guidance, immediately shot him a look. “What do you want?”

“Washing vegetables? Let me help,” You Yang offered eagerly.

Showing uncalled for kindness, there must be a catch!

Luo Mingzi snorted. “We don’t need you. Li Yue and I are enough. Go do something else.”

“There’s nothing else to do. I’ll help.” As You Yang spoke, he pinched two leaves from the basin. The leaves had somehow gone through an ordeal, they were wrinkled and had holes in them, looking like tattered clothes.

Before he could comment, Luo Mingzi warned, “I washed those.”

“You washed them well! Beautifully! So clean!” You Yang’s shocked expression vanished instantly, replaced by frantic flattery for Teacher Luo. Pi Dajun, who was watering flowers nearby, laughed and exposed him: “This kid wants to ask you to teach him how to sing.”

“Who, me?” Luo Mingzi asked knowingly.

You Yang: “…”

Li Yue chuckled softly and said gently, “I’ve only just debuted. I’m not qualified to teach Teacher You.”

You Yang immediately replied, “Don’t! Call me Xiao Yang! Or Xiao You!”

He explained, “It’s not about how long you’ve been in the industry, it’s the gap in skill. I never studied singing before. After I debuted through a survival show, the company hired teachers, but I’ve been too busy with schedules to attend many classes.”

His main plan was to transition from idol to singer, and he wanted to put in the effort so anti-fans wouldn’t keep mocking him as the “King of Auto-Tune.”

Li Yue thought for a moment and said, “But I’m leaving tomorrow.” And if You Yang was too busy for professional teachers, would he have time for her?

You Yang replied instantly, “It’s fine! We have a long break after this album!” (Mostly due to internal company issues.) He then looked at the director and made a “cut” gesture. Director Liu nodded.

While Li Yue was still considering, Wu Xuezhen walked over and said with a smile, “Xiao Yue, why don’t you teach Xiao Yang? You can teach me and Dajun too. I want to be able to sing as beautifully as you.”

Luo Mingzi looked up proudly, as if she were the one being praised. “It’s actually talent!” Wu Xuezhen immediately reached out to pinch Luo Mingzi’s face in mock protest.

“Alright. If the three of you think highly of me and trust me to teach, then I will,” Li Yue agreed.

Luo Mingzi flicked a vegetable leaf and said playfully, “You have to pay tuition!”

“I will!” You Yang shouted. “Anything!”

Wu Xuezhen and Pi Dajun also agreed, grandly telling Li Yue to name her price.

Li Yue lowered her head and smiled, lifting the leaves into a wooden bowl. Water droplets fell from the bright green leaves. Li Yue watched them and said casually, “No need for tuition. However, I do have a thought or a request. If I teach the three of you to sing, could you teach Teacher Luo how to act?”

Clatter. The leaf in Luo Mingzi’s hand fell to the ground. She whipped her head around to look at Li Yue, her expression blank.

Wu Xuezhen paused for a second before laughing heartily. “Good, good! I’ve been wanting to take on a student for a long time!”

Luo Mingzi’s face turned bright red. She knew Wu Xuezhen was helping smooth things over. Seeing Li Yue carry the vegetables into the kitchen, she immediately followed and squeezed in beside her. She turned off both their microphones and whispered, “Idiot.”

She was being scolded.

Li Yue didn’t mind. She pulled out a kitchen knife to check the edge and said softly, “Who’s the idiot?”

Luo Mingzi had clearly joined this variety show specifically for Wu Xuezhen and Pi Dajun, yet she hadn’t dared to open her mouth. Since Li Yue was only there for one episode, if anyone was going to be criticized for being “bold,” it might as well be her.

She was the one asking Wu Xuezhen and Pi Dajun to be Luo Mingzi’s mentors.

And one more thing.

Snap. Li Yue cut off the roots of the greens. Her voice was very light.

“That guest in the second episode… she talked about you?”

“What did she say that made you afraid to talk back?”

“Luo Mingzi, what was our agreement?”

Luo Mingzi’s voice trembled. She looked into Li Yue’s eyes and said softly, “No secrets.”

Li Yue put down the knife and stood tall. She lowered her gaze, her peaceful smile vanishing, replaced by a calm coldness. She pinched Luo Mingzi’s chin and tilted it slightly. “Speak.”

Luo Mingzi’s eyes turned red instantly. She instinctively grabbed Li Yue’s clothes and stared intently into her eyes. She tilted her head back, her voice like flowing water.

“Don’t be angry. I’ll tell you everything.”

“But before that… kiss me first.”