Frivolous - Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Xu Wan walked beside Yu Lanzhou, ready to catch her at any moment.

The instant they were out of public sight, Yu Lanzhou rested her hand on Xu Wan’s arm and said weakly, “To the hospital.”

“Understood.”

The bodyguard brought the car around. Xu Wan helped Yu Lanzhou into the back seat and then took the wheel herself.

They were originally heading to the hospital owned by the Yu Shen Group in Beijing, but Yu Lanzhou tapped the back of the driver’s seat. Xu Wan understood immediately and steered toward a different private hospital they visited occasionally.

“I’m cold.” Yu Lanzhou pulled down the sleeves of her performance outfit, re-covering the scars on her arms. In the dim light, they appeared to be seeping blood.

Xu Wan immediately turned up the heat. “I’m sorry.”

Upon arriving at the hospital, the director was there to receive them, followed by two experts who looked highly prestigious.

Xu Wan stepped forward to explain the medical history and current condition.

Yu Lanzhou didn’t want a crowd around her, so she said, “It’s not severe. One doctor is enough. Director Yan, you may go back.”

Director Yan, knowing her temperament and habits, left with the other professor.

The remaining expert looked to be in his sixties. He examined Yu Lanzhou’s bleeding arm and asked, “What happened? I thought these had already scabbed over?”

Xu Wan answered, “There was a performance. She had to use her arms.”

The expert’s tone carried a hint of pained frustration: “What performance could possibly be more important than your own health?”

Looking at the woman who could summon him with a single phone call, he continued: “So young and so wealthy, yet you don’t cherish it. You have this condition and still don’t take care of your body. I wonder if you’ll even know when you’re at death’s door.”

Xu Wan started to protest such unlucky words, but Yu Lanzhou grabbed her arm, shaking her head to signal it was fine.

The old man continued to grumble: “Have the nurse stop the bleeding, and let’s do a blood transfusion to see. After you’re patched up, rest quietly. Forget about performances.”

“But I have one more,” Yu Lanzhou said composedly, acting as if it were nothing.

“Then perform! Perform, and then come back here. I’ll keep treating you until the day I die,” the expert snapped, his tone sharp.

Yu Lanzhou shook her head slightly with a smile. “Then I’ll be in your care.”

“What?” The expert was so angry he huffed, blew his whiskers, and ignored her, flicking his sleeve as he went to prepare the supplies.

After returning home from the hospital, Yu Lanzhou picked at some food prepared by Nanny Lin. Xu Wan stayed to join her.

Before leaving, Xu Wan looked at Yu Lanzhou’s hollow expression and said, “Teacher Yu, I know where that ‘CP’ stuff came from.”

It wasn’t in the official episodes Yu Lanzhou had watched, nor was it just the few glances she had seen.

Xu Wan observed Yu Lanzhou’s face; seeing that she was indeed listening, she continued: “It’s in the spin-off member content—mostly the behind-the-scenes footage from episodes three and four. It’s actually just basic interaction, it’s nothing.”

She placed an iPad on the table beside Yu Lanzhou, opened to the specific footage. “If you have time, you can watch it. It’s really nothing.”

Once the house was quiet again, Yu Lanzhou clicked play. As the video progressed, she realized what she had overlooked.

The third episode tested the bands’ creative and arrangement abilities. Within three days, nine bands had to use the same melody to create a song with their own unique style. They would then face off, with one band being eliminated.

As the only remaining band with a majority of female members, Ode Band did not slack off. The format of Live Rock Sound was never easy. They went two days and nights without a full night’s sleep. By the third day, they reached a breaking point and returned to the hotel for a short nap.

The hotel rooms provided by the crew were doubles with two twin beds. Because it was a reality show, cameras were installed in the rooms, though they only recorded audio during sleeping hours.

Chen Ran and Su Ping’an shared a room, and both collapsed onto their beds and fell asleep instantly.

Not long after, Su Ping’an heard a few whimpers—the kind of sound someone makes when they are in pain or sick.

She struggled to get up and went to Chen Ran’s bedside. “What’s wrong?”

Chen Ran didn’t speak, and her breathing leveled out again.

Su Ping’an turned on her phone’s flashlight to check on her. Under the light, she saw two large patches of red rash spreading across the delicate skin of Chen Ran’s inner wrists.

She knew Chen Ran was having an allergic reaction again. Perhaps due to the high stress, the rash on her hands and arms had flared up aggressively.

There were only ten hours left until recording, which included time for another rehearsal and a soundcheck.

Su Ping’an didn’t wake Chen Ran. She got dressed and left the room.

She ran to two different pharmacies until she found the medication Chen Ran usually used. Returning, she quietly boiled some water and set it aside. Then, she unscrewed the ointment, pulled Chen Ran’s hand over, and carefully applied it.

Chen Ran was in a daze of sleep, feeling only a cool sensation on her arms. Later, she was gently woken by a soft voice.

It was Su Ping’an.

Su Ping’an handed her the warm water. “Chen Ran, get up and take some medicine before you sleep, okay? Your rash is back.”

Chen Ran sat up, took the water and the pills, and swallowed them. “Thank you.”

“Mhm. Go back to sleep.” Su Ping’an tucked her in.

Two hours later, Su Ping’an got up again to apply more ointment. Two hours after that, Chen Ran got up and bought jianbing guozi (savory crepes) for Su Ping’an and brought them back to the hotel.

During the actual performance, those few glances between the two that Yu Lanzhou had noticed took place.

On the night the third episode finished recording, the producer, Zhou Yunqi, hosted a dinner. Cameras followed them, though the crew knew what could be edited in and what couldn’t.

Chen Ran had just finished performing; with the pressure lifted, she was in a daze and barely touched her food. Su Ping’an used her own chopsticks to put some food on Chen Ran’s plate, the movement looking practiced and natural.

Members from the other bands went to the private booth one by one to toast Zhou Yunqi.

Shi Muyang glanced at Chen Ran. “Shouldn’t our group go give a toast?”

Su Ping’an picked up her glass and stood, saying to Chen Ran, “You stay seated. The three of us will go.”

Chen Ran stood up as well, poured a full glass, and walked ahead of them. “I’m fine.”

Chou Fang and Shi Muyang knew Chen Ran was taking medicine for her rash, but Zhou Yunqi and the audience didn’t. Chen Ran couldn’t exactly lift her clothes in public and say, “Hey, look, I have an allergy, I can’t drink.” So, she really had to drink this glass.

Su Ping’an ran a few steps to stop her, snatched the glass from her hand, and said firmly, “I’ll go talk to them. You know I have a high tolerance. You just stay here and relax, okay?”

Even though Su Ping’an wasn’t much older than her, that final “okay” made Chen Ran feel very safe.

But Chen Ran couldn’t let Su Ping’an take the fall for her. She reached for another glass, but as she was about to walk in, a man’s hand grabbed her and pulled her inside.

It was Liang Liang from Lingfu Band. He pulled her along, saying, “Hey, Chen Ran is here! Boss Zhou, let Chen Ran give you a toast.”

Just as Chen Ran was about to raise her glass and say some polite words, Su Ping’an interrupted, rushing in and once again blocking her.

“Boss Zhou, Chen Ran didn’t know you were hosting today and took some medicine before coming. So, I’ll toast you on her behalf. I’ll use the carafe to show my sincerity.”

The waiter handed her a carafe. Su Ping’an filled it and downed it in one go. “I’ve finished mine; you drink as you like.”

Zhou Yunqi praised her: “Great tolerance! Who says women are inferior to men? Hahahaha!”

The others joined in the laughter.

Su Ping’an set the carafe down and smiled. “Thank you for the compliment, Boss Zhou.”

Her speech and actions were crisp. Several times when Chen Ran tried to interject, Su Ping’an blocked her. She tugged on Chen Ran’s sleeve and whispered, “If you toast him now, my drink was for nothing, and I’ll be labeled a liar for saying you took medicine.”

“Thank you.”

“Between us, why be so polite?”

Back when Su Ping’an was wandering the streets of Beijing alone, it was Chen Ran who had taken her in.

During rehearsals for the fourth episode, time was still tight, so they sometimes just crashed in the sleeping pods provided by the production. One day, when Chen Ran woke up, Su Ping’an in the pod next to her happened to wake up at the same time. They just squinted at each other, shared a look, and smiled.

Chen Ran licked the inside of her upper lip where a small blister had formed. It was a bit painful. She was suffering from “internal heat” again.

After the behind-the-scenes footage for episodes three and four was released, many fan-edits of Chen Ran and Su Ping’an appeared. On a platform that could ship a cartoon sheep with a tragic empress, or Harry Potter with a Qing Dynasty emperor, Chen Ran didn’t even dare search her own name. Perfectly normal interactions, once edited, became incredibly ambiguous.

The “An-Ran” CP shot to the number two spot on the Super Topic rankings.

Chen Ran occasionally searched her name on Weibo using a burner account and found comments like:

• Why does CR feel a bit ‘Ji’ (lesbian)?

• A ‘Tóng’ (WLW) vibe is the best beauty filter for a woman, not to mention CR is already so beautiful.

• Her and SPA… same company, same dorm, familiar habits… I’m dying, they’re so cute.

• CR licked her lips in front of SPA. I definitely don’t lick my lips when I see a friend upon waking up.

• Friends don’t get up every two hours to apply ointment for you either.

Chen Ran never intended to push a “CP.” Under the high pressure of the show, it was only natural for her, Su Ping’an, and even Chou Fang to feel like they were surviving a desperate situation together. This feeling wasn’t fake it was sincere but how could it be love?

Especially since Shi Muyang was also on the team. How disgusting.

But she decided to let things take their natural course and not stop the momentum.

At the end of the episode four footage, in the dressing room, Chou Fang held up a phone in front of Chen Ran. She wanted to record a “World Cup 1-of-2” choice video rapid-fire questions.

Before Chen Ran could react, she asked: “Bai Lingli or Ou Xiaoqin?” (Both are female celebrities).

Chen Ran didn’t know about the “World Cup” trend, but she understood the “pick one” concept. She instinctively chose: “Bai Lingli.”

“Bai Lingli or Kang Man?” “Kang Man.”

“Kang Man or Xu Xuanxuan?” “Kang Man.”

“Kang Man or Su Ping’an?” “Hmm?” Chen Ran raised an eyebrow. “What is this?”

Chou Fang tapped her with an inflatable hammer. “Answer quickly.” “Su Ping’an.”

“Su Ping’an or Shi Muyang?” “Su Ping’an.”

“Su Ping’an or Chou Fang?” “Su Ping’an.”

“Wow, Chen Ran, you answered so certainly and quickly!” Chou Fang hammered her again.

“Because we spend the most time together.”

“Hmph, I don’t accept that explanation.”

Chou Fang threw a curveball: “Su Ping’an or Lu Jia?” (Lu Jia was the host of Live Rock Sound).

“Su Ping’an.”

Watching Chen Ran decisively say “Su Ping’an” on the screen, Yu Lanzhou suddenly felt that she was… quite ordinary.

Chen Ran was quite ordinary.

If that was the case, then there was nothing unique about her.

And her songs would have no effect on her anymore. They would never be able to cure her insomnia again.

Support Frivolous