Frivolous - Chapter 14

Chapter 14

The production team released the behind-the-scenes footage for episode five, featuring mini-game interactions between the bands.

The first game was “Identify the Person from the Photo.” The losing team had to drink a large glass of lemon juice.

When the host showed a picture to the Ode Band, the members took turns answering. In the photo facing Chou Fang, Su Ping’an had her pre-fame hairstyle with “eight-character” bangs, showing only a small part of her face.

Chou Fang stared at Chen Ran and drawled the answer: “Su Ping’an.”

Chen Ran’s face flushed slightly, as if she were being teased.

Su Ping’an’s photo was of the Best Actress Qu Bai in her teens; she also answered slowly. After saying “Qu Bai,” she winked her left eye at Chen Ran.

The picture Chen Ran received was of a sheep from Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf: red-and-white checkered horns, two sunflower hairpins, brush-like bangs on the side of the forehead, two braids behind the ears, and a small pink bag.

It was clearly a high-difficulty question, but as the host began the countdown, Chen Ran blurted out: “Hua Yangyang.”

The first love of Slow Goat.

“Correct answer!”

The set erupted in cheers.

Finally, it was Shi Muyang’s turn. The photo was of a real person: a woman in her late twenties or early thirties with short hair and exquisite, sharp features. She looked difficult to get along with and unapproachable.

Shi Muyang clicked his tongue. Who is this? Why does she look so much like Yu Tingzhou, but definitely isn’t her?

Chen Ran and the others stared wide-eyed at Shi Muyang. The host teased, “No hints allowed. Counting down: three, two…”

Shi Muyang slapped his forehead. “Ah! Ah! Yu Jizhi! Yu Jizhi! Our Boss Yu!”

The host joked, “Are you really from Fengjin? You almost didn’t recognize your boss’s boss.”

Chou Fang added the finishing blow: “After the show, Shi Muyang will be fired for stepping into Fengjin with his left foot first.”

Su Ping’an leaned on Chen Ran’s shoulder with a shallow smile, while Chen Ran looked at the photo of Yu Jizhi again, her emotions complex. Before she could look longer, they moved to the next game.

It was the cliché game of passing a Glico chocolate stick using only their lips. The team that passed the fewest would be punished.

Ode’s lineup was Chou Fang, Su Ping’an, Chen Ran, and Shi Muyang.

When Chen Ran saw Su Ping’an turn around with puckered lips, she feared she wouldn’t be able to stop herself from laughing. She pursed her lips tightly and pinched her thigh.

The biscuit was only ten centimeters long. Chen Ran took it with her lips just two centimeters away from Su Ping’an’s. Unexpectedly, Su Ping’an couldn’t hold back a laugh and turned her head slightly; Chen Ran’s lips brushed against Su Ping’an’s cheek.

Su Ping’an’s face turned red.

Another wave of strange, excited cheers broke out.

Actually, since the start of this episode’s recording, the atmosphere of the entire team had shifted. It was as if something were truly going on between Chen Ran and Su Ping’an; whenever they did anything, the others would start hooting and hollering.

The biscuit fell, and Chen Ran leaned down to pick it up. She didn’t stop the teasing.

Friendship is a form of affection, too—couldn’t people “ship” that?

Would Yu Lanzhou watch the show? The main episode or the highlights?

Would she see it? Would she feel even a little bit… uncomfortable?

Would she realize that her feelings for Chen Ran weren’t just pity?

Later, the manager Ge Chao sought Chen Ran out privately. “About the ‘An-Ran’ CP… do you mind? Or should we keep it going? Actually, your brands are tied together now. Many investors want to sign follow-up performances, provided you two don’t have a falling out and cooperate with the promotion.”

“Let’s just keep it this way. It’s fine,” Chen Ran heard herself answer. She was standing on the edge of a cliff, taking a dangerous, life-threatening step of provocation.

On September 16th, Chen Ran sent a message to Yu Lanzhou: Happy Birthday!

No reply.

Is she busy? She replied last time.

Chen Ran sent “Happy Birthday” twice more. Still nothing—like a stone sinking into the sea.

Then she sent: There is a note in the necklace box.

It was a lyric from the new album, naked and transparent: You are my desire.

It was also frivolous.

Yu Lanzhou thought she wouldn’t care, but the expressions and mannerisms Chen Ran showed toward Su Ping’an were no different from how she treated Yu Lanzhou. In fact, her expressions were even more vivid when facing Su Ping’an.

If Chen Ran treated her no differently than anyone else—if Chen Ran didn’t reject this kind of flirtatious, close-contact interaction—then she was far too ordinary.

So ordinary that Yu Lanzhou wanted to retract all her previous tentative advances.

So ordinary that Yu Lanzhou felt her own testing of the girl was somewhat undignified.

Yu Lanzhou said to Xu Wan, “Ask Ge Chao.”

Xu Wan called the manager. A moment later, she had the answer: Chen Ran knew about the CP and was cooperating with it.

Yu Lanzhou found the note Chen Ran mentioned in the necklace box. The moment she saw it, she couldn’t help but feel a surge of nausea. She crumpled the note into a ball and threw it into the trash.

Staring at the clearly expensive necklace she had received from Chen Ran under the light, she opened the side window and, without a second’s hesitation, threw it into the center of the lake outside.

During the rehearsals for the third performance, Yu Lanzhou began to run a fever that came and went.

Xu Wan said anxiously, “Teacher Yu, let me contact the staff to cancel the remaining show.”

Yu Lanzhou raised her slightly reddened eyes, her voice icy. “Cancel?” She shook her head. “No need. We leave immediately after the performance.”

Yu Lanzhou didn’t want her emotions to be as boring and childish as a kindergartner’s, but she didn’t want to stay in Beijing for a single moment longer.

“Is your arm okay?”

Yu Lanzhou looked down at her wrist. The scabs were itching slightly. “It’s fine.”

Half a month later, Yu Lanzhou reached her final performance in Beijing. In attendance were Yu Jizhi, Chairman of the Yu Shen Group, and Yu Tingzhou, Chairman of Fengjin Entertainment. Also present was Professor Zhou Jingting of Tinghang University, the daughter of the Zhou Corporation.

Dozens of famous figures from the business and cultural worlds were there.

Xu Wan whispered, “Teacher Yu, it’s time to go on stage.”

Yu Lanzhou lowered her eyes, and Xu Wan took the shawl from her shoulders.

As she walked out of the tunnel, the spotlight followed her, covering her in a layer of divine light. Yu Lanzhou stepped onto the stage to a wave of thunderous applause.

The performance was a success. After coming off stage, Zhou Jingting, who had been waiting, handed her a bouquet and gave her a hug.

“Call Xu Wan,” Yu Lanzhou said softly, her body going limp as she fell into Zhou Jingting’s arms.

Zhou Jingting threw the flowers aside and caught her. Touching her forehead, she found it covered in cold sweat. Seeing Xu Wan a few paces away, Zhou Jingting waved her over urgently.

Xu Wan frowned, her voice trembling. “I’ll take Teacher Yu to the hospital.”

“Use my car.”

“Jingting,” Yu Lanzhou called her name weakly, tugging at her.

“I know. I’ll handle your aunt; she won’t find out.”

Yu Lanzhou didn’t even have the strength to utter a “Mhm.”

Zhou Jingting asked Xu Wan, “Where is her phone?”

“With me.” Xu Wan pulled the powered-off phone from her bag.

“Give it to her.” Zhou Jingting signaled for Xu Wan to give the phone to her assistant.

Zhou Jingting instructed the assistant: “Take the phone to the Ziguangyuan Restaurant. Do not answer any calls. Come to my house in two hours.”

On the way to the hospital, Zhou Jingting called Yu Jizhi: “Hi Auntie Yu, I’m taking Lanzhou out to dinner tonight. That restaurant is very hard to book, so I brought her over first. I saw you were busy, so I thought I’d give you a call. Sorry about that.”

“It’s fine. I’m at ease with Lanzhou being with you.”

“Yes, Auntie. We have a few friends here too for a gathering. Is it okay if I send Lanzhou back tomorrow?”

“Don’t stay up too late, you young people.”

“Understood, Auntie. Goodbye.”

Zhou Jingting pulled the phone away and waited five seconds for Yu Jizhi to hang up. She sighed and asked Xu Wan, “How did it get this bad?”

“The wound on her arm didn’t heal well before. She’s been rehearsing and staying up late. She had a fever for a while, and it came back before she went on stage.”

Yu Lanzhou’s stress and psychological burden were mounting; the fever seemed inevitable.

“Does Yu Tingzhou know?” “Boss Yu doesn’t know.” “Why?”

Before arriving in Beijing, Yu Lanzhou had told her she would return in a month. Later, for some reason, she added three more performances.

Xu Wan hesitated. This wasn’t a question she could answer. She said with a bitter smile, “Professor Zhou, you should ask Teacher Yu when she wakes up.”

Zhou Jingting looked up. Her eyes met Xu Wan’s in the rearview mirror. Xu Wan lowered her head.

Zhou Jingting rubbed Yu Lanzhou’s shoulder and told the driver: “Don’t wait. Go through it.” There was a red light ahead with few cars.

Xu Wan’s heart jumped as she looked at Zhou Jingting.

Zhou Jingting looked at the unconscious Yu Lanzhou in her arms again and said, “Stop. Don’t go through.”

She couldn’t risk even a one-in-a-million chance of an accident for Yu Lanzhou.

At the hospital, it was the same expert from before. After medication and physical cooling, Yu Lanzhou’s temperature dropped quickly. The wound on her arm was re-sutured.

Zhou Jingting stayed by the bed. When Yu Lanzhou woke up, she gave her a soft smile. Zhou Jingting didn’t scold her; she just asked, “How do you feel?”

“Much better.” “What do you want to eat?” “I’m not sure.” Yu Lanzhou’s thoughts were muddled, and her stomach felt unsettled.

“Then I’ll have someone buy some barley porridge. There’s a place on West Street with non-greasy pancakes. I’ll have them brought here; if you don’t want to eat, they can just sit there.”

“Okay.”

“This time… is it for the person you told me about before?”

Yu Lanzhou unconsciously clutched the bedsheet. It was hard to tell if her hand or the sheet was whiter. She gave a self-deprecating smile and met Zhou Jingting’s concerned gaze. “It’s nothing.”

She was ashamed to mention this undignified attraction to Zhou Jingting. Chen Ran was her disgraceful desire.

Zhou Jingting knew she was lying but only said, “I see. When are you going back to Hanglin?”

“Going back now. No more performances.” Yu Lanzhou’s tone sounded like a burden had been lifted. Or like she had quietly discarded something.

“Okay.” Zhou Jingting touched Yu Lanzhou’s forehead again. “Sleep a bit more. The food will be here soon.” She then called Xu Wan in and went outside to make a call.

When Xu Wan entered, she heard Yu Lanzhou say, “Handle it.”

Xu Wan nodded. “I understand.”

Later, Xu Wan confided in a friend: “I actually shipped them a little at first. But you didn’t see it—Teacher Yu had such a high fever those days and hardly slept. I really… wanted to kill someone.”

After the recording of episode five ended, Chen Ran rushed back to Beijing. Like last time, she ran straight to Yu Lan, wanting to see Yu Lanzhou. It was a visceral longing.

But the facial recognition gate wouldn’t let her through. A familiar security guard asked, “Do you have a work pass?”

“No, but you should recognize me. I’ve been here many times.” “No pass, no entry.”

Chen Ran stood in the vast plaza in front of the Yu Lan Art Hall and called Taozi, hoping she would come get her. No one answered.

“Could you please help me call the HR person inside, Taozi?” “Zhang Tao? she was fired. Didn’t she tell you?”

Chen Ran understood. She shook her head and gave a faint smile. Reaping what I sowed.

“Is Conductor Yu still in Beijing?” “Teacher Yu returned to Hanglin long ago.”

A tide of helplessness surged in her heart. After Yu Lanzhou blocked her, she had nowhere to find her in this vast world.

Perhaps Chen Ran knew how to find her. But she also knew that this time, it wouldn’t be solved by waiting at an office door or saying sweet words.

Maybe if Yu Lanzhou heard the news of her death, she would come to mourn her.

No rush. She wasn’t in a rush.

Chen Ran stayed in Beijing for only one hurried day. The next day, she flew back to Haisheng. The plane rose straight through layers of clouds. The clouds looked incredibly soft and gentle. They had the temptation of making one want to leap into them.

No rush. She wasn’t in a rush.

She hoped Yu Lanzhou could see a little more clearly what this emotion was.

Whether it was really just pity.

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