Dating My Drama Queen Girlfriend On A Slow-Paced Variety Show - Chapter 6

For the Music Department and the Artist Promotion Department, Li Yue’s participation in the variety show People in the Late Countryside this June was a matter of utmost importance. Everyone in the company saw her massive potential, the last artist to explode in popularity right at debut was their current biggest “cash cow” teacher.

The single originally scheduled for June was moved up to late May. Yu Bilan even consulted various masters to find the ultimate “auspicious hour” for the release.

Once the hour was set, promotion began immediately. Having finished the song, Li Yue found herself a bit idle. Other than the official promotion after the single went live, she personally edited only her second-ever post on social media. Her first had been: “Hello everyone, I am music creator and singer Li Yue. I hope everyone likes my songs and supports my music, thank you.”

Her second post was much shorter:

Li Yue_Audrey: Please listen.

Three simple words were enough to satisfy her fans’ hunger.

It’s her! That woman! She spoke!

Fans drawn in by Li Yue’s stage performances flooded the music streaming platforms. The staff monitoring the data watched the soaring numbers and the feedback in the comments section. They breathed a sigh of relief, their eyes welling with tears.

Heavens! Huaguan’s Music Department finally has a normal singer! A true star of Huaguan Music! The future of Huaguan Music!

Li Yue didn’t feel much regarding the excitement. The intense words on the screen didn’t cause a ripple in her eyes. She idly refreshed her phone, staring at the quiet message box. Her sneakers tapped the floor as her swivel chair spun her around.

Once. Then again.

“Xiao Yue! Why didn’t you mention that this is your first single? This is your first single since joining Huaguan!” Yu Bilan slapped the glass partition with a loud thwack.

Li Yue offered her usual gentle smile, and Yu Bilan waved her off.

The first single… huh?

This wasn’t the first song Li Yue had written. Songs she had written for TV dramas had been hits before, bringing in plenty of royalties. But even those weren’t her first songs. A specific word like “first” should be reserved for more important moments.

By the second day, the new song climbed to the top of the Strength Chart at a staggering speed. Since the industry regulations enacted a decade ago, faking data was a punishable offense and a severe stain on an artist’s reputation. Reaching the Strength Chart was already a testament to ability, but reaching the top so quickly forced everyone at Huaguan to re-evaluate Li Yue once again.

We knew you were good, but we didn’t know you were THIS good! Ah! The future! The hope!

The Music Department held a celebration party that night. The conference room was filled with “wild monkeys” from the department running around with glitter. Yu Bilan acted as if she were the one who had topped the charts, her chin held high as she enjoyed a massage from the Head of the Artist Management Department.

Suddenly, her phone rang. “Lady” Yu raised a hand to silence the crowd. She answered with a haughty tilt of her head, but the moment the call connected, her back slumped. She hunched over, covering the mic, and said sycophantically: “Eh! Director Liu! It’s me…Ah! Yes! No plans! Really?! Great, great, great! Okay, okay! No problem! Good, good, okay!”

The moment she hung up, Yu Bilan stood tall again. She took a deep breath and shouted: “Where’s Li? Where is my Li?!”

The crowd scrambled, eventually pulling Li Yue who was hiding in a corner eating a banana while watching a variety show out from the sea of glitter and balloons. They pushed her in front of Yu Bilan.

Yu Bilan’s eyes filled with tears: “My Li!”

Li Yue stuffed the banana peel into Yu Bilan’s hand.

No pear (Li), only banana peel.

“It’s fine! Li-God’s banana peel is a good peel!” Yu Bilan sniffed, then sneered like a heroine in a palace drama who had just uncovered a plot: “That little brat Yi Minhua from Yisong Media! Because she released a song on the same day as our Li-God and got crushed, she backed out of the Countryside variety show! She stood Director Liu up at the last minute! Just because she’s in this episode and our Li-God is in the next, she’s afraid of the comparison! In this moment of crisis, our Li-God is needed to save the day! We’re heading to Countryside early!”

The crowd processed this for three seconds before bursting into applause.

Li Yue looked down at the third episode of the show she was currently watching and asked in surprise: “I’m recording early? Episode six?”

Yu Bilan nodded. “When is the recording?” “June 1st, which is…” Yu Bilan checked her phone. “Tomorrow! I’m booking the tickets now! We’re leaving tonight!!”

Li Yue panicked and turned to leave immediately. “Wait for me, I’ll help you pack!” Yu Bilan called out anxiously.

Li Yue stopped and grabbed Yu Bilan’s arm. Heavens! Li-God is so warm! She finally realizes how important I am!

Yu Bilan was moved to tears, until she heard Li-God say: “Take me to the Qingpin Chicken Farm. I haven’t picked up the chicken I ordered, and the coop is still on its way.”

For the first time, the manager felt a loss for words. “Chicken… chicken coop?”

She knew Qingpin Chicken Farm, it was the free-range farm Li Yue’s “girlfriend” liked. But why a coop?

Li Yue searched for her bag, saying urgently: “The balcony windows aren’t sealed, so I can’t let the chickens roam. I had to order a coop, but I didn’t expect to leave so soon.”

“Oh,” Yu Bilan said. “Oh~” She didn’t get it.

But whatever! Li-God could do whatever she wanted now! She was the only person in the Huaguan Music Department to top the Strength Chart! She was the sky over Huaguan Music!

“Everyone, get moving!” Yu Bilan shouted.

The celebration immediately turned into a mobilization meeting. Everyone started stuffing Li Yue’s bag with bananas, apples, and watermelons even a watermelon with a giant scoop already taken out of it.

A look of unprecedented happiness appeared on Li Yue’s face. Her bright eyes were like a lake, rippling with a deep affection that could draw anyone in. It was as if a cloud from heaven had drifted down to say hello. Li Yue curled her lips into a smile and waved: “Friends, I’ll take my leave first.”

She turned and left. The remaining staff stood silent for a moment before letting out a collective roar.

Go safely, Great King!!! We love you, Great King! Have a safe trip!

The tickets were for midnight, and only two were left. Yu Bilan was going, but the assistant the company assigned to Li Yue wasn’t ready to start yet. Before the flight, Yu Bilan and the assistant ran everywhere: picking up chickens, withdrawing cash, buying more chickens with that cash, going home, packing clothes, and packing the chickens.

“This chicken is for soup, but these two are for stir-fry. Vacuum seal them to take along,” Li Yue introduced the chickens seriously. Yu Bilan nodded repeatedly, finally understanding.

She had watched People in the Late Countryside. Guests had to grow their own vegetables and cook. Li-God was planning to conquer everyone with her culinary skills! Being able to cook was good, a woman who could cook knew how to dote on her wife!

Thinking of this, Yu Bilan peeked at the living room. Since Li Yue joined the company, Yu Bilan had been busy, this was her first time in Li Yue’s new home. It was as clean and organized as she imagined, but… there were no traces of a second person living there.

Recalling the lobster and beer from that day, Yu Bilan felt a bit uncertain. She wondered if there had been a change in Li Yue’s love life. After all, Li Yue was famous now, yet she still hadn’t heard a word about the girlfriend. Didn’t she say they’d talk when she had time?

Is it… a topic they can no longer talk about?

It took an hour to get from the dorm to the airport. Yu Bilan and the assistant rested on the sofa for a bit. Li Yue couldn’t stay still, she was busy packing, humming a song as she worked.

On the way to the airport, the assistant drove while Yu Bilan scrolled through her phone. She saw a post with a six figure retweet count and gasped: “Eh! Teacher Li, Teacher Luo retweeted your single!”

Li Yue, who had been resting with her eyes closed, snapped them open and grabbed her phone. On social media, the person she followed silently, the one with the smiling avatar had shared her latest single.

Luo Mingzi is Me: It sounds so good, I love it.

The corners of Li Yue’s mouth curled up. She replied with a flower emoji. Luo Mingzi is Me replied with a heart. Li Yue replied with two flowers. Luo Mingzi is Me replied with two hearts.

“Say something useful!!” From the front seat, Yu Bilan stared at their interaction, frustrated. “This is Luo Mingzi! Heat! Traffic! The Golden Thigh!”

Okay.

Li Yue immediately replied with a hug emoji.

Golden Thigh. Give it a hug.