Dating My Drama Queen Girlfriend On A Slow-Paced Variety Show - Chapter 25

[Have you guys seen the video of the Outer Ring Bridge going viral on short video sites? Heavens, it’s so thrilling!]

[Are you talking about the video where that band is performing passionately on the shore to cheer on the people crossing the Hengjiang River? That event has absolutely exploded! It’s everywhere on short video apps, filmed from all sorts of bystander perspectives!]

[It looks like they were filming something. I saw someone analyze it and say the equipment used was all professional grade.]

[Recording a variety show? It looks pretty blurry, though. Surely they aren’t doing this just for clout?]

[Friend, if you say that, you clearly haven’t heard the band’s performance! It was incredible! My God! I swear I haven’t heard a band performance that got my blood pumping like that in ten years! They’ll definitely be a hit if they officially debut! They might be filming an MV or something.]

[I can vouch for that! I was on the bridge at the time! The traffic jam was so bad I’d lost my temper, but as soon as the singing started, everyone around me rolled down their windows. At first, some people were honking, but then the whole bridge went silent just to listen to the lead singer!]

[So what exactly were they doing? Has anyone identified the band? I want to hear the song!]

[No band has claimed it yet, but there are photos! The band sang three times, packed up, got in a car, and went to the other side of the river to pick people up.]

[Several yachts were following behind them, it was so intense!]

[A friend of mine who studies music looked at the photos. They said the drum kit in the band costs 320,000, the bass is 190,000, the guitar is 160,000, and the guitar in the lead singer’s arms? A Veronica Pink Swan limited edition, 1.63 million. /Smile]

[????]

[How much??]

[Heavens! 1.63 million! People who heard it live must feel like they suddenly struck it rich! It was like hearing celestial music! At that moment, I wished I could jump off the bridge and swim with them!]

[So why were they performing while people crossed the river? What’s the story? I saw photos taken from the shore after the performance, the band members put on masks and hats and got into a car. You can’t recognize them!]

[Breaking News, Huaguan has claimed it! The band is the Owl Band from Huaguan’s Music Department! The ones crossing the river are also signed musicians from Huaguan. The lead singer! Yes, that lead singer holding the 1.63 million guitar is Li Yue, who debuted on Because of You! The same Li Yue whose lyrical stage performances have been going viral lately, the one praised as “drifting clouds in the sky, white snow on high mountains”!!]

[Who??]

[What? Impossible! How could our Li Yue be a lead singer for a band! She’s so aloof! So elegant!]

[Holy crap, Li Yue confirmed it! She reposted the company’s official announcement. Inspiration Explosion? What kind of variety show is this? Where is it airing?]

Li Yue, draped in a bath towel, wiped her face as she looked at the trending topics.

Occupying the top spots were still Luo Mingzi’s trending tags. Her own name was squeezed into the middle of a bunch of “Luo Mingzi” tags. Li Yue curled her lips into a smile, took a screenshot, and then clicked into her own profile. Below the Huaguan promotional post she had just shared, there were already tens of thousands of comments, many of them just question marks and expressions of shock.

Li Yue randomly selected a comment asking about the show’s content and air time.

She replied earnestly: It’s a variety show where I discuss music with friends from the Music Department. We want to show everyone the process of a song’s journey from the birth of an inspiration to creation and performance. Considering the content might be a bit dry, we thought no platform would buy it, so everything from filming to editing was done by internal company staff. If it can’t be listed on a platform, we’ll release it on our own social media.

Li Yue then tagged several people from the Music Department. Only then did they shyly appear under Li Yue’s post to greet everyone, offering “electronic bananas” as a peace offering. The follower counts of the eight members began to climb visibly.

The comments section became even more lively.

One fan said: “Yueyue, when you said ‘the content might be a bit dry and no platform would buy it,’ did you mean the kind of ‘dry’ that hits the top trending lists on every short video app during the first episode’s recording?”

“The focus is on music creation, but crossing a river? CROSSING A RIVER??”

“I still haven’t figured out the connection between the birth of a song and crossing a river…”

Li Yue edited a separate new post to formally introduce Inspiration Explosion and its cast members, saying she would strive to have the show meet everyone as soon as possible and that the songs from each episode would be uploaded to music platforms after airing.

At that moment, someone popped up from behind, leaning their weight on Li Yue with their chin resting on her head. They grabbed Li Yue’s hand to see what she was editing. Pressed down, Li Yue’s head dropped toward her chest, and her towel covered half her face.

Luo Mingzi said, “No way, you’re being too formal. You need to be more friendly!”

“Post another photo. You need to do some ‘fan service’!”

Li Yue kept her head down and said, “Will Teacher Luo please enlighten me?”

Luo Mingzi chuckled, took out her own phone to pick and choose, and sent a photo to Li Yue’s phone. Maintaining her position of leaning on Li Yue, she helped her post the update.

Li Yue_Audrey: I had a super happy time playing with friends in “Inspiration Explosion”! I really want to meet you all soon! Also, if the songs from each episode are successfully born, they’ll be uploaded to music platforms for you to listen to~ Please look forward to it!

The post was accompanied by three photos. The first was under the overpass at dusk, a blue-toned sky, a cement-colored bridge, and the streetlights on the riverbank creating a blurred background. The four band members were performing in the hazy night. While the other three had their own distinct styles, the lead singer in the center had a hat pulled low and a mask pulled down to her chin. She held her guitar, head slightly tilted back, her eyes had shed their usual gentleness, replaced by a sharp, piercing intensity.

The second photo was a profile shot. The lead singer had a lollipop in her mouth, leaning over to pack her guitar into its bag. Her spine traced a slender arc, and her downcast eyes were as calm as still water.

The third was a group photo. Four drenched people were grinning at the camera, flashing peace signs. In the middle was the director, looking like he was about to cry. Others surrounded the four who had successfully crossed the river, making all sorts of gestures at the camera, someone was even holding up a banana.

Luo Mingzi stood right next to Li Yue, blocking her completely from the side. She had her hands behind her back and her head tilted, looking as if she were leaning on Li Yue’s shoulder.

Within a minute of the post going up, a sea of question marks flooded the comments section.

“Who are you?”

“I swear on my hair, there is no way Li Yue posted this herself!”

“Li Yue… I know you want to show us a different side of you, but this isn’t necessary. Being this cute all of a sudden is actually kind of terrifying!”

“Ghostwritten! It’s definitely ghostwritten! Most of Li Yue’s previous updates were posted by the company. This is definitely not her!”

“The photos are so beautiful, sob… please post more photos like this in the future, do some proper business! I’m begging you!”

Luo Mingzi cheered: “They’re saying my photos look great! Though I have to admit, you’re 99% of the reason they look good.”

Li Yue raised her hand, glanced at the phone while holding Luo Mingzi’s wrist, and said, “They’re praising you for being cute.”

“That is 100% a fact,” Luo Mingzi said proudly. “And I’m not even being modest.”

Li Yue accepted the lesson: “Indeed.”

As the two were humbly divvying up the credit, Li Yue’s phone rang. The caller ID showed “Manager Su.” Luo Mingzi declined the call in a split second.

Li Yue fell silent, realizing why Su Pei’s call had come through to her. She asked, “Have you considered that she already knows where we’re staying?”

Luo Mingzi: “…”

She looked down at the phone and hurriedly dialed back.

It was picked up instantly.

Manager Su’s stern voice came through: “I’m already on my way.”

Luo Mingzi: “No!!”

“I wasn’t caught at all! I was hidden perfectly! Even my fans didn’t realize I was in there!” Luo Mingzi protested. “Don’t come!”

“We’re on our honeymoon!”

The sound of a car parking came through the phone, proving that Manager Su was a woman of her word.

Luo Mingzi asked warily: “You aren’t already downstairs, are you?”

“I’m downstairs at the company,” Su Pei said. “Give the phone to Li Yue.”

Luo Mingzi turned on the speakerphone.

Li Yue folded her bath towel, draped it over her lap, and offered a calm greeting. Sitting in her car, Su Pei sighed and asked, “Do you know that Mu Lin Sen is trying to suppress the trending topics? They are in contact with the crew of Late Village, but Director Liu is standing firm and refuses to touch any of your content.”

Luo Mingzi held the phone, circling around from the side with a smile: “The teaser is already out. If my baby isn’t in the next episode, wouldn’t that ruin their reputation?”

Li Yue asked, “They couldn’t suppress the trending searches?”

Speaking of this, Su Pei couldn’t help but curl her lips into a smile. “Old school enterprises really don’t understand the entertainment industry. The more they try to throw money at it to bury the topic, the more the fans think it’s true. They think Huaguan is paying to remove the search terms, so they discuss it even more fervently. It would have been better to just act like nothing happened, it would have calmed down after two days. Instead, it’s still hanging up there. And then you made your big move today, they’re probably fuming and about to double down.”

“Mhm,” Li Yue said. “The trending topics should come down now.”

If Luo Mingzi’s name kept hanging up there, there was no telling what might happen.

Luo Mingzi reached out and ruffled Li Yue’s hair, flashing a bright smile. “It’s fine, I’m used to being scolded.”

Li Yue raised an eyebrow and draped the towel over Luo Mingzi’s head.

Su Pei laughed: “Your idea was excellent. You’ve given everyone in the Music Department a massive lift. Whether they can truly take off depends on their follow-up performance. I imagine every major platform is scrambling to contact Huaguan right now, wanting to snap up your variety show. But there’s no rush; it won’t be too late to sell it after the next episode is released.”

“We should sell it for at least ten times the original budget,” Luo Mingzi said. “Maybe more.”

This was an area Li Yue didn’t understand, and she never interfered in things outside her expertise.

“Alright, I just wanted to touch base with you. You can continue your honeymoon until at least noon tomorrow,” Su Pei said ruthlessly. “Tomorrow afternoon, you’re flying to the capital to see your teachers. And you know that even if you aren’t filming a drama, you can’t escape the ads, endorsements, and magazine shoots. Understand?”

Luo Mingzi collapsed onto the sofa in grief, weeping and denouncing the heartless capitalists. She had already created so much value for the company, yet they still wanted to squeeze her! It was outrageous!

Li Yue patted Luo Mingzi’s head. Before the words “I’ll go with you” could leave her mouth, Manager Su said: “Li Yue has to be busy too, right? Before the next episode of Late Village airs, you two stay away from each other. If you’re caught in the same frame again, I don’t mind helping Yu Bilan share some of her workload.”

“…Goodnight,” Li Yue said.

Su Pei smiled slightly: “Goodnight. Enjoy your honeymoon.”

After hanging up, the two looked at each other.

Luo Mingzi’s eyes immediately drooped, and she whimpered, “We have to separate again tomorrow.”

So?

Li Yue opened her arms with a slight smile. When Luo Mingzi lunged forward, she caught the fragrant, freshly showered girl in a hug and walked toward the bedroom.

To enjoy.