Chapter 14: Who’s Not Wearing Clothes?

The next day.

When Yu Huaili got up to wash, Duan Qiong came over with wet hair and a bare upper body to borrow a hairdryer.

“A hairdryer… it should be in the washroom in the living room. I don’t have one on my side either.” Yu Huaili gargled some mouthwash, then said, “Did you forget?”

“Mm, I forgot.” Duan Qiong answered calmly, but his feet seemed to have taken root in the washroom floor, refusing to move.

Yu Huaili met Duan Qiong’s eyes in the mirror for two seconds, raised a puzzled brow, and said, “Something else?”

Duan Qiong: …

Yu Huaili liked watching those thirst-trap short videos of shirtless men, right?

Was his physique worse than those guys’?

Under Yu Huaili’s baffled gaze, Duan Qiong finally spoke. “There is something. After you went to bed in the early hours, I posted a Weibo.”

Ah… Was that such a big deal?

The plot didn’t even cover what Solaron-X members posted as their first Weibo, so clearly this shouldn’t be anything worth discussing.

Yu Huaili blinked, waiting for Duan Qiong to get to the point.

Duan Qiong said, “I didn’t expect it to cause some strange reactions—about you and me.”

“Huh?” Yu Huaili was taken aback. “Bro, what did you post? Why would it cause a reaction about you and me?”

Duan Qiong thought it over carefully, then said with certainty, “I didn’t post anything.”

Yeah, right.

Yu Huaili wiped his face, unlocked his phone, and glanced at the hot search list himself.

Meanwhile, the Solaron-X team, who had already picked out copy and photos and were about to have the members post uniformly on Weibo, could only watch as #Yu Huaili Duan Qiong# shot to the number one spot on the hot searches.

They tapped it open. The reason it had hit the hot search was a Weibo Duan Qiong had posted last night.

[Duan Qiong: Midnight snack [image]]

The photo only showed a bland bowl of egg-fried rice, already most of it eaten. At first glance, the team really couldn’t see what it had to do with Yu Huaili, or why it deserved to be linked to a joint tag for the two of them.

But when they scrolled down and read two more posts from marketing accounts, they nearly saw double.

Those high-traffic marketing accounts had reposted a post from another platform.

【[iYu-Duan] In a corner nobody pays attention to, Duan Qiong’s first Weibo is already sneakily selling this round of Yu-Duan…】

[Can’t sleep in the dead of night, so I’m here to vent my speculation. Pure speculation… disclaimer attached, don’t come crying to me if you get caught in the crossfire.

Here’s the thing, bros… when idol boy groups like Solaron-X open their accounts, don’t they usually all post their first Weibo at the same time and milk that group-bonding angle? I thought Yu Huaili posting first was the team pushing him out to steady the ship (after all, last night’s Pear fans’ rights-protection campaign dragged Solaron-X up the hot search rankings again, orz). I figured none of the other members would post anymore…

(Insert tangential note, unrelated to the main topic. I just feel like the Solaron-X team really can’t read the room. I get that they were probably assigned orders by their master, so they need to promote the new member parachuted in from above. But right now, the member from Solaron-X who’s actually generating the most buzz is Yu Huaili… If they drag Yu Huaili into a forced CP while also stepping on him, it’ll only rally sympathy for him and turn him into a martyr. Anyway, all the group fans I know have become Yu Huaili solo fans…)

But I didn’t expect Duan Qiong to still post one in the dead of night, following his man’s lead…

[image]

At first glance it’s just half a bowl of plain, unappetizing egg-fried rice, but with my twenty years of CP-shipping experience, I really feel like something’s off…

As widely un-known, anyone who’s followed Duan Qiong since his trainee days knows that Duan Qiong NEVER eats midnight snacks… But that certain pear really did get harshly criticized by the posture coach multiple times for eating too much. (Sorry, Teacher Yu, I brought it up again.)

So Brother Duan’s first Weibo post being this… is it because of a genetic mutation, or did Brother Duan’s mouth just get greedy…? He just HAD to get up at 4am to eat a bowl of egg-fried rice that looks completely unappetizing?

The more the OP thought about it, the more wrong it felt, so I carefully stared at the photo Brother Duan posted for a long time…

Heaven never lets a hardworking CP fan down—I really did find something good, bros…

Please direct your attention to the spoon the OP has magnified dozens of times (image)

Friends, can you tell that there’s actually a blurry human figure reflected on this spotlessly clean spoon…?

Can’t see it? No problem, the OP thoughtfully circled it for you… Although it’s hard to make out, you can vaguely see silver earrings reflected in the spoon. The OP rushed to find today’s Solaron-X off-duty photos…

Yes, please look at Solaron-X’s event photos from today. There’s only one person wearing silver earrings. [image]

So who exactly was eating midnight snacks with Brother Duan? Let’s invite him out, shall we? @Yu Huaili

Ah, but at this point someone’s definitely going to ask: OP, OP, Yu-Duan are roommates, it’s totally normal to eat midnight snacks together. Isn’t the candy you’re shipping way too hard? Aren’t you afraid of breaking your teeth?

That’s when the OP answers: Not afraid ^ ^

Because Duan Qiong only loves Yu Huaili, and Yu Huaili only loves Duan Qiong… Get it? It’s EXCLUSIVE love!

Besides the spotless spoon that reflects a person, there are also the spotless chopsticks beside Brother Duan’s hand.

Why is Duan Qiong’s egg-fried rice already half-eaten… but his chopsticks are still perfectly clean?? Is Brother Duan, who’s obsessed with cleanliness, eating with his hands?

Definitely not.

The only possibility is that the pear sitting across from him deliberately left half for Brother Duan.

Not confirmed. Pure fabrication.

But I just want to say: you two little lovebirds, can you stop showing off…?]

[1L: Yes, we Sister Yu-Duan types eat this good.]

[2L: Aiyo, two good babies… How does Brother Duan’s cleanliness just vanish in front of Bad Pear?]

[3L: Actually, I think the OP is trying to say Brother Duan ate the leftovers.]

[OP reply: That’s right ^ ^]

[4L: Brother Duan: Eat Bad Pear’s leftovers? Well, that’s delicious.]

[5L: You’ve already swapped saliva, so what’s a little leftover?]

[6L: Bad Pear, do you know? In this whole world, only mom, dad, and Duan Qiong will eat your leftovers.]

[7L: Sounds crazy, but I feel like the OP saw straight through to the truth.]

[8L: I’ve followed Duan Qiong for so long, and I really can’t picture him eating midnight snacks either… but if it’s with Bad Pear, it makes perfect sense.]

…

[141L: OP, your post got reposted by a marketing account. It’s blowing up.]

[OP reply: If the solo fan sisters come after me, I’m running first and you guys cover my retreat (solidarity)]

…

[1332L: I have megalophobia, and I’m terrified of OP’s giant effing stupidity.]

[1333L: Blah blah blah, what are you even saying? I copied it into Pinduoduo and nothing responded. Do you need me to chop you with a knife?]

[1334L: I’ve always said Yu-Duan shippers are animals who fabricate rumors, and nobody believed me. Believe it now?]

[1335L: You write like this and your account’s rising—but what about your parents?]

[1336L: OP doesn’t have those, bro. Guaranteed none.]

[1337L: All I see in this whole post is a pitiful pear who did absolutely nothing and got slandered for no reason.]

[1338L: That fandom is like ringworm—once you get infected, you can’t shake it off. Please let Yu Huaili go.]

[1339L: …And let Duan Qiong go too, okay? Duan Qiong is already avoiding suspicion this much, and he STILL gets slandered?]

[1340L: Duan Qiong did nothing wrong. He just shared a bit of his daily life with fans and this is how it gets twisted.]

…

When the team called Sister Chen to tell her, Sister Chen was quite calm about the whole thing.

“Fans catching wind from a shadow is just free publicity.” Sister Chen pressed her temple. “You don’t need to do much. Just keep an eye on the direction of public opinion. And you don’t need to prepare templates for the other two anymore—let them post whatever they want.”

After a pause, Sister Chen added, “But this time, everything has to be reviewed before it’s approved to go out.”

The assistant acknowledged. Sister Chen stubbed her cigarette into the ashtray, squinted, and called Duan Qiong.

No one answered.

Sister Chen thought for a moment with her eyes closed, then called Yu Huaili.

Picked up instantly.

“Yu Huaili.” Sister Chen poured herself a glass of water. “Have you seen today’s hot search?”

Yu Huaili’s voice sounded a little muffled. “Just saw it. What’s up, Sister Chen?”

“Okay, good, just so you know. It’s not a big deal.” Sister Chen asked again, “Where’s Duan Qiong? Is he next to you?”

Yu Huaili exchanged a look with Duan Qiong. Duan Qiong gave a slight nod, and Yu Huaili blinked, then told the truth. “Mm, he’s right next to me.”

“Turn on the camera,” Sister Chen said. “I need to have a proper word with him.”

Yu Huaili turned his head and silently swept his gaze up and down Duan Qiong’s current state of shameless disregard for male virtue.

Duan Qiong froze. His abs tightened instinctively.

Yu Huaili covered the mic and said to Duan Qiong, “Go put on some clothes.”

Duan Qiong: “…”

He took Yu Huaili’s phone and said into it without missing a beat, “Not wearing clothes. Can’t turn on the camera.”

Sister Chen: …

Sister Chen: “…………”

The water in Sister Chen’s mouth nearly sprayed out.

Wait, wait. There was a more serious problem than the hot search now.

“Duan Qiong—is it YOU who’s not wearing clothes? Or is it Yu Huaili? Or are you BOTH not wearing clothes???”

The always-composed Sister Chen’s voice nearly cracked as she raised her volume. “Did you two drink together last night? Or… are you two just waking up? Why aren’t you wearing clothes?”

“Sis.” Yu Huaili said, “It’s just that Duan Qiong washed his hair and isn’t wearing a shirt. My clothes are still fully on my body.”

Sister Chen: …

She let out a long breath of relief. “I have to go see a reality show director this morning. I’ll come deal with you two later.”

“Aiya.” Innocently implicated, Yu Huaili sold out this male-virtue-defying Protagonist Top without hesitation. “Don’t scold me. This is all Duan Qiong’s fault.”

The Weibo was Duan Qiong’s own post. The clothes were Duan Qiong’s own removal. The words were Duan Qiong’s own words. What did that have to do with him, a pure and innocent good man?

“Mm.” Duan Qiong smiled. “It’s all my fault. It has nothing to do with Yu Huaili.”

Sister Chen was speechless. Before hanging up, she left him with one line: “Fine. Duan Qiong, you wait right there for me to come back and interrogate you.”

After the call ended, the washroom fell silent for two seconds.

Seeing that Yu Huaili wasn’t saying anything, Duan Qiong asked in a low voice, “Why did Sister Chen just ask if we drank last night?”

Yu Huaili: …

You literally said you weren’t wearing clothes. Of course Sister Chen was afraid of one thing leading to another.

“No idea.” Yu Huaili pushed Duan Qiong. “Bro, go blow-dry your hair first. And don’t forget to put on a shirt.”

Duan Qiong’s lips moved.

He seemed to want to say something, then stopped himself. Stopped, then wanted to speak again.

“Bad Pear.” Duan Qiong couldn’t help but ask in a low voice, “…Is my body not good enough?”

“It’s pretty good. Just slightly worse than mine.” Yu Huaili urged him. “Alright, go put your clothes on already.”

Duan Qiong: …

Yu Huaili’s short video feed had already been adjusted so he no longer saw muscle men. Duan Qiong thought—he himself was a man with muscles too. He wasn’t afraid of being seen. And besides, he’d seen Yu Huaili’s body before…

As friends, he thought, there was nothing wrong with letting Yu Huaili take a look at his.

But.

Duan Qiong thought anxiously:

What was he supposed to do? Yu Huaili hadn’t even looked.