Wang Yuling was Hou Ming’s agent, so her presence here wasn’t surprising at all. “Hello,” Teng Yi politely responded to her greeting. “Teng Yi, I’ve been waiting for your call,” Wang Yuling smiled. “I didn’t expect you to not contact me at all. It’s quite heartbreaking.” Wang Yuling possessed an angelic face and the distinct allure of a mature woman. When she said those words “quite heartbreaking,” she gently bit her lip, her eyes gleaming with emotion – even Ruan Yu, as a woman, found herself captivated. Teng Yi, however, remained completely unmoved, as if entirely immune to such charm.
“I told you I’m not interested.”
“Are you not interested?” Wang Yuling pointed to Hou Ming on stage, who was surrounded by applause and flowers. “Look at him, admired and respected by thousands. At such a young age, he has fame, money, and status. Don’t you envy that even a little?”
“I only want to do what I love,” Teng Yi remained firm.
“I can let you do what you love. Look at Hou Ming again – you must have heard the songs he just performed on stage. These are all his creations, his preferred style. Have I ever forced him to sing anything he doesn’t like? Never! If you’re willing to join Duo Guo, I guarantee you absolute creative freedom. I won’t stifle your dreams, and what’s more, I can make you even more popular than Hou Ming.”
“My singing isn’t as good as Hou Ming’s.” Ruan Yu had heard Teng Yi sing before, and in truth, he wasn’t necessarily inferior to Hou Ming. She knew this was both his modesty and his way of deflecting.
“You don’t need to be that good at singing,” Wang Yuling countered skillfully. “Among today’s singing and dancing performers, how many are truly accomplished vocalists? You just need to look good while dancing. Fans come with their filters – they’ll magnify your strengths infinitely and turn a blind eye to your weaknesses.”
Teng Yi shook his head: “I’m sorry, but I truly don’t have any such intentions right now.”
“That’s alright, I can wait. You’re still a student, and I understand studies come first.” Wang Yuling spoke while casting a meaningful glance at Ruan Yu. “Besides, young people having a little romance and fun – I understand that too.”
“This isn’t just for fun. I’m serious,” Teng Yi tightened his grip on Ruan Yu’s hand, completely losing patience with Wang Yuling’s casual dismissal. “Sorry, but we need to leave.” With that, Teng Yi led Ruan Yu away.
“Teng Yi!” Wang Yuling called after him, “This is an opportunity countless people would kill for. You’ll regret turning it down!”
Teng Yi didn’t even look back.
Walking beside Teng Yi, Ruan Yu caught a glimpse of Wang Yuling’s incredulous expression from the corner of her eye. Indeed, it was an unbelievable situation. In all her years of working in the entertainment industry, Wang Yuling had never encountered someone like Teng Yi. Usually, boys his age with any decent looks would be quite narcissistic. If they were scouted on the street, regardless of whether the scout was legitimate or whether they had any prior dreams of entering entertainment, some part of their desire would be ignited. Most of these boys would hesitate at first, but once they learned about Duo Guo’s star-making capabilities, they would quickly make contact. Once at the company, they wouldn’t even read the contract carefully before signing away their “life rights.” It was rare to find someone like Teng Yi who had both talent and a clear head.
Teng Yi was an uncut jade. Unfortunately, uncut jade was very difficult to work with.
Ruan Yu followed Teng Yi out of the stadium, leaving the clamor gradually behind. “Do you not regret it?” Ruan Yu looked up at Teng Yi. “I heard Duo Guo is very powerful, and Wang Yuling is one of the top agents in the industry.”
“No regrets.”
“Why?”
“There’s no such thing as free lunch – what you get will always be proportional to what you give.” Teng Yi knew that painting rosy pictures was a typical agent’s tactic. Wang Yuling’s words might sound nice, but once signed with an entertainment company, where was the absolute freedom? Entertainment companies sign artists to make money, not for charity. Moreover, he wasn’t particularly interested in the entertainment industry. Compared to being a celebrity, he preferred being a dancer. At least dancers had freedom of both body and soul, while many celebrities, despite their glamorous appearance, had long lost their true selves.
“You’re one of a kind,” Ruan Yu had barely finished speaking when she saw a group of people walking out of the stadium, with Host Lin Hong at the center.
“Look, Lin Hong!” Teng Yi quickly grabbed Ruan Yu’s wrist. “Come on, let’s get her autograph!” As he spoke, he was already pulling Ruan Yu into a run.
“Can we get it?” Ruan Yu asked excitedly but with a hint of doubt.
“Let’s try!” Lin Hong’s group was heading toward the parking lot, everyone walking briskly, and they quickly disappeared. Teng Yi ran fast, and Ruan Yu wasn’t bad either. They sprinted towards the parking lot at almost competition speed, but even so, they missed the best timing. Lin Hong had already gotten into her van. The black Volkswagen commercial vehicle was slowly driving towards the parking lot exit.
“We’re too late,” Ruan Yu said disappointedly.
“Not necessarily.” Teng Yi had been here before and knew there was a toll booth at the parking lot exit where the driver would have to stop for about thirty seconds to pay.
“Let’s try again!” Ruan Yu wanted to, but her shoelace had inconveniently come undone. Seeing this, Teng Yi released her hand.
“Wait here, I’ll chase after them!” With that, he sprinted away.
The black Volkswagen had already turned the corner, and Teng Yi would need to run even faster than before to have any chance of catching up with Lin Hong’s car. Perhaps a fifty percent chance.
Ruan Yu watched Teng Yi’s retreating figure, panting. With his long legs, he ran just as fast as any sprint champion at a sports meet. His black backpack bounced on his back as he ran, and he seemed to be reaching for something inside it as if he had come prepared.
Soon, Teng Yi also disappeared around the corner. Both were out of sight now.
Ruan Yu crouched down to tie her shoelace, then continued running forward… Just as she turned the corner, she saw Teng Yi coming back empty-handed.
“Couldn’t catch up?” Teng Yi’s expressionless face seemed to confirm it.
“It’s okay, never mind if we couldn’t get it.” Although disappointed, Ruan Yu tried hard to contain it. She had already seen the concert and Lin Hong; she shouldn’t be greedy.
“Ta-da!” Teng Yi suddenly pulled out a signed photo from his bag and presented it to Ruan Yu.
“You got it!” Ruan Yu exclaimed joyfully. In the photo, Lin Hong’s name was clearly visible, and her signature was as elegant and proper as she was.
“Look at the back,” Teng Yi said.
Ruan Yu turned the photo over. On the back, Lin Hong had written a line: “Ruan Yu, may your dreams come true.”
Ruan Yu’s eyes suddenly welled up with tears. So this was how touching it felt to be encouraged by one’s idol.
Seeing her on the verge of tears, Teng Yi reached out and patted her head. “Don’t be like that. I didn’t bring you here to make you cry – I wanted to make you happy.”
“I am happy,” Ruan Yu held Lin Hong’s photo carefully with both hands, treating it like a precious treasure that might melt if held too tightly. “I didn’t expect you could catch up, didn’t expect Lin Hong would actually give an autograph.”
Many celebrities despised fans chasing after their cars and usually ignored such behavior.
When Teng Yi caught up with Lin Hong’s car at the toll booth and knocked on the window, the people inside initially had no intention of responding. Fortunately, Lin Hong’s assistant by the window was a young woman, and when she saw Teng Yi’s face, she couldn’t resist his good looks and instinctively opened the window.
People tend to be especially lenient toward attractive members of the opposite sex.
Teng Yi seized the opportunity, immediately explaining his intention to Lin Hong, and handed over the pre-prepared photo and signing pen. Lin Hong was touched by this young man’s devotion to his girlfriend, so she signed her name as requested and wrote the blessing on the back.
Everything went smoothly.
“Keep this photo between your books from now on,” Teng Yi embraced Ruan Yu, nuzzling her hair with his chin. “Little Fish, I also hope your wishes come true.”
Ruan Yu nodded firmly. “I’ll work hard.”
It was already late when they left the Lantian Stadium, so they decided to stay overnight in J City and return to Liao City early the next morning.
Teng Yi drove around the stadium vicinity, but because Hou Ming’s concert coincided with Valentine’s Day, nearly every hotel was fully booked. Finally, they found a hotel with two double rooms available.
“We’ll take two rooms,” Teng Yi said.
“Two rooms?” The front desk staff glanced at Ruan Yu behind Teng Yi.
“Yes.”
Another young couple entered through the door.
“Are there any rooms available?” the young man asked.
“I’m sorry, sir, but this gentleman just booked the last two rooms,” the front desk staff pointed at Teng Yi.
The couple looked disappointed, seemingly having searched for a while.
Teng Yi showed no reaction, but Ruan Yu suddenly tugged at the back of his shirt.
“Let’s book one room,” she whispered in his ear.
Teng Yi paused for a moment, turned to look at Ruan Yu, and suddenly showed a playful smile: “Are you sure?”
Ruan Yu, blushing, shyly pushed at Teng Yi’s back. He quickly caught her hand and, before she could change her mind, told the front desk staff: “One room, we’ll just take one.”
The other couple immediately brightened up. The young man offered Teng Yi a cigarette in thanks, but Teng Yi declined with a wave of his hand.
The room was on the third floor. After completing check-in, Teng Yi held Ruan Yu’s hand as they walked to the elevator.
Ruan Yu was nervous, her steps stiff.
This wasn’t their first time sleeping in the same room, but Ruan Yu knew today would be different from the last time.
Leaving the elevator, Ruan Yu grew even more nervous.
Teng Yi finally noticed.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
He released his tight grip on her hand as if giving her one last choice: “Little Fish if you want to stay in a separate room, we can find another hotel.”
“No, I don’t want to.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
Teng Yi smiled and swiped the key card to enter the room.
The room was nice, though not luxurious, but clean and bright.
After entering, Ruan Yu wandered around the room to ease her awkwardness, looking for the air conditioner and TV remotes, checking the prices on the instant noodles and mineral water bottles… then she found the protection in the storage basket.
“What are you looking at?” Teng Yi came over.
Ruan Yu was startled and quickly dropped the box, turning to hide it behind her back.
“Nothing. Who should shower first?”
“You go first,” Teng Yi said.
“Oh.”
Ruan Yu mechanically found her backpack and took out her change of clothes. Since they had prepared to stay overnight in J City, they had both brought spare clothes.
In the bathroom, Ruan Yu’s hands trembled as she undressed. After undressing, she looked at herself in the mirror – slim arms, small waist, long legs, fairly fair and delicate skin, no scars or other flaws, just a bit flat-chested… Though she didn’t have a stunning figure, surely she wouldn’t disappoint him?
Self-doubt, then self-affirmation.
Self-affirmation, then self-doubt.
She finished her shower carefully and thoroughly amid this internal struggle.
She put on the hotel’s bathrobe and left the bathroom.
Teng Yi was sitting on the bed watching TV. Ruan Yu glanced at the screen, then looked at him.
“Do you understand Japanese?” Ruan Yu asked.
“What?”
“I asked if you understand Japanese?” she repeated.
“No.”
“Then why are you watching so intently?”
A Japanese drama was playing on TV, without subtitles for some reason.
Teng Yi came to his senses and quickly changed the channel.
Ruan Yu smiled – so he was nervous too.
Teng Yi went to shower. He was quick, and when he came out, he was wearing the hotel’s white bathrobe like Ruan Yu.
Seeing him emerge, Ruan Yu instinctively turned off the TV and sat on the edge of the bed with her hands clasped, head lowered. Teng Yi came over and sat beside her. The mattress sank beneath his weight – they hadn’t done anything yet, but she could already feel his strength.
They sat shoulder to shoulder, awkwardly, neither speaking.
The room was quiet except for the sound of the air conditioner.
After a while, Teng Yi reached over and gently held Ruan Yu’s hand.
“Little Fish, are you sure?” his voice was somewhat hoarse, seeming both restrained and nervous.
Ruan Yu nodded.
She had never been impulsive. Ever since her roommates first discussed intimacy in front of her, she had already decided that if it was Teng Yi, she was willing.
Teng Yi was touched.
He leaned over, held Ruan Yu’s shoulders, and gently laid her stiff body down on the bed. He followed, covering her lips with his, deeply exploring the fragrance of her mouth.
The passionate kiss gradually melted Ruan Yu’s body; she finally wasn’t so stiff anymore.
Teng Yi slowly removed their bathrobes.
Such bare honesty made them both uncomfortable.
Teng Yi pulled up the quilt to cover their bodies.
“Little Fish, I have no experience. If it hurts, tell me.”
“Mm.”
The pain of first intimacy ended amid the girl’s tears and the boy’s uncertainty.
Afterward, they awkwardly held each other, awkwardly opened that square box from the storage basket, and awkwardly explored this unknown yet pleasure-filled world…
Young bodies, full of strength.
In Teng Yi’s embrace, Ruan Yu felt pain, but more than that, she felt his gentleness and consideration.
She had no regrets.
Even at the most painful moment, she had no regrets.
Every day with him felt like living in a beautiful dream. This pain made her feel real, and it made her feel happy.
“Teng Yi, I love you.”
“I love you too.”