Star Podcast was the largest media company in the entertainment industry. Their team had scheduled the interview for 11:30, and the Solaron-X team arrived about twenty minutes early.
But time was still tight. After they arrived, Sister Chen had no time to reconfirm the interview content and flow with the Star Podcast host.
Standing offstage watching the four in the camera frame, Sister Chen narrowed her eyes, thinking: Star Podcast shouldn’t just throw out random questions or ad-lib the flow for hype, right…
On stage, after watching Solaron-X’s four members take their seats one by one, the host warmly exchanged a few pleasantries with them: “Welcome to Light & Shadow Blog, Solaron-X. Coming straight after Debut Night—you must be exhausted.”
The members replied in unison with “Not at all.”
The host smiled. “Then take a moment to prepare, and we’ll officially begin the interview.”
As the team leader, Duan Qiong accepted the microphone handed over by the staff first. He gave the host a slight nod, signaling they were ready.
The host closed her script and asked, “I see your team name is Solaron-X. Solar means the sun. We see the sun every day when we look up—does the name Solaron-X carry that same meaning?”
A faint smile hung at the corner of Duan Qiong’s mouth. He nodded. “Yes. For every member of Solaron-X, the stage is like the sun—scorching hot. At the same time, we hope that in the days to come, Solaron-X can shine and radiate like the sun.”
“I believe that in time, Solaron-X will certainly achieve that, since Solaron-X’s strength is formidable.” The host smiled. “Not only was Debut Night met with rave reviews, but Solaron-X’s new album title track is also catchy and broke listening records in no time. Will Solaron-X continue exploring this musical style in the future, or try different ones?”
Xi Xingheng smiled and said, “We’ll try different styles and genres. After all, Solaron-X has infinite possibilities and won’t be limited to just one style.”
The host was highly professional. She raised a few moderate questions at a steady pace, and the Solaron-X members answered smoothly.
Moreover, throughout the interview, the host didn’t forget to praise the Solaron-X members generously. The on-site atmosphere was extremely harmonious.
“I can see that each member of Solaron-X has a very distinct personality.” The host blinked and smiled. “Privately, is there any talk of who gets along better with whom?”
“No.” Jiang Qing answered. “We all get along well.”
“Yes, there’s no one in the team who gets along better with anyone else.” Xi Xingheng curved his lips. “But since Yu Huaili is the youngest in the group, as the oldest, I’ll take a bit more care of him.”
Hearing this, Yu Huaili turned his head and met Xi Xingheng’s gaze for two seconds, blinking lightly.
Huh? Wait… were they already queerbaiting again?
But, protagonist bottom, aren’t you queerbaiting with the wrong person!
Xi Xingheng also smiled and blinked at Yu Huaili. Withdrawing his gaze, he briefly locked eyes with Duan Qiong.
“Mm.” Yu Huaili nodded, playing along. “When I first met Brother Xingheng, I thought he seemed very aloof. But after spending time with him, I’ve found that Brother Xingheng is truly a good person. He takes great care of me in daily life.”
Seeing Duan Qiong set down his microphone and not answer the question, the host considerately prompted him: “What about the team leader?”
Duan Qiong said, “Nothing special. My relationship with my friends has always been good.”
Ah, what friends… was that what she was asking?
The host smiled and asked another question: “If you had to describe each member as a small animal, what would you say each of you is?”
Duan Qiong, who happened to still be holding his microphone, spoke up: “Because the members’ personalities are too distinct, it’s actually hard to choose.”
…Why had this Duan Qiong suddenly become a bit hard to handle?
The host made a mental tsk but kept her voice gentle: “Then can the team leader choose one member to talk about?”
Duan Qiong hesitated for two seconds, glanced at Yu Huaili, and said, “Yu Huaili, I suppose… I think he’s a lot like a puppy.”
The host smiled, then turned to Yu Huaili: “And what about you, Little Li? What animal do you think the other members are like?”
Suddenly put on the spot, Yu Huaili picked up the microphone resting on his leg and glanced at Sister Chen offstage, who was frantically gesturing at Xi Xingheng.
…So she wanted him to queerbait with the protagonist bottom to the very end.
Yu Huaili tilted his head. “Does it have to be an animal? Then I think Brother Xingheng gives me the feeling of a white peacock. Mm… Brother Duan is like a snake, and Brother Jiang Qing is like a bird.”
The host said, “What do Xingheng and Jiang Qing think?”
“My thoughts are similar to Duan Qiong’s and Yu Huaili’s.” Xi Xingheng smiled. “I also think Yu Huaili is like a puppy, because his canine teeth are very sharp. Duan Qiong gives me the feeling of a snake too. And Jiang Qing… is a lot like a dolphin.”
Jiang Qing casually named a few animals as well.
After hearing each member’s answers, the host followed the script with a few more questions before moving to the final segment.
“Lastly, we’ve randomly selected a few comments from the Star Podcast comment section, and we’ll have the four members of Solaron-X answer them.”
The moment these words came out, Sister Chen’s brow furrowed. She immediately went to find the chief director.
There had been no such segment in the script they’d agreed upon!
Although this interactive model was common for Star Podcast, those questions were randomly picked from the comments. What if they picked questions that couldn’t be answered or shouldn’t be answered? What then?
But by the time Sister Chen found the chief director, the segment had already begun.
“Okay, comments, stop. Let’s take a look—first, we’ve drawn netizen [Yu Huaili You Are My Brother], whose question is: [Bro, when you open your social media account tomorrow, can you post a nine-grid photo set?] So, Little Li, can you grant this fan’s wish?”
Yu Huaili curved his eyes. “Of course.”
The host nodded and laughed. “Let’s continue… Comments, stop. This netizen [All Worries Gone]’s question is…”
The on-stage interaction continued. Offstage, Sister Chen’s brow was furrowed so tightly it could crush a hundred flies.
She asked the chief director indignantly, “Why didn’t you tell us when you added this segment? What if something happens?”
The director let out a dismissive “Aiya, don’t worry, it won’t.” “All these hundreds of comments rolling on the big screen were handpicked by the staff. Normally, there won’t be any prob—”
Before the chief director could finish his sentence, both he and Sister Chen heard the host’s voice hesitate slightly.
“The last netizen is Yu-Duan, please stop making lo—”
As the host read out this netizen’s name, everyone present also saw the question this person had asked—[Yu-Duan Stop Making Love I’m Scared]: “Asking Brother Duan: how long, how long-lasting, how big is Bad Pear, and how many times a night? (crooking finger)”
Of course Duan Qiong saw it too, but for some reason, he didn’t dare turn his head to look at Yu Huaili’s reaction.
He just picked up the microphone, then put it down. Then picked it up again, and put it down again.
How was he supposed to answer that?
He didn’t know.
The host, who’d realized something was wrong mid-read at “lo,” frowned and turned to the staff member rolling the comments: “What’s going on? Cut it.”
The staff member was dumbfounded too. He nodded and frantically started rolling new comments.
But seeing such a comment lingering on the big screen, Sister Chen’s face turned green with anger. “These are the comments you reviewed? Do you have CP shippers on your staff?!”
The director furrowed his brow too, coughing awkwardly. “It might have slipped in by accident… It’s fine, we’ll cut it out.”
The comments on the big screen stopped rolling.
The host looked at the questioner’s name and content for two seconds, and only seeing that it was a normal comment did she begin to read: “Alright, let’s look at the last netizen [Duan Qiong Stop Drinking Pear Juice]’s question: [Does Brother Duan prefer orange juice, tangerine juice, or…?]”
Duan Qiong: …
For some reason, he felt both the user’s name and the question held a hidden meaning.
Duan Qiong subconsciously glanced at Yu Huaili, then picked up the microphone. “They’re all fine. I don’t have a particular favorite drink.”
After Duan Qiong answered, the big screen went dark. The host smiled at the camera. “Alright, that brings our interview to a close. Thank you to Solaron-X for their answers…”
By the time the interview ended, it was already the early hours of the next day. Sister Chen still looked upset, head down as her fingers pounded away on her phone.
The elevator was dead silent, broken only by the clicking of Sister Chen’s manicured nails on her screen.
“Bad Pear.” Xi Xingheng looked down at Yu Huaili leaning against the corner of the elevator, imitating his posture. “Why did you think I’m like a peacock? And a white one at that… I don’t think I’d fan my tail.”
Yu Huaili casually leaned against Xi Xingheng, yawning. “No idea.”
Xi Xingheng let out an inexplicable laugh. He was about to say something when Duan Qiong pulled at Yu Huaili’s arm. “Sleepy? Or tired?”
Yu Huaili straightened up a little, dragging out his voice in a whiny drawl: “Both tired and sleepy.”
Recently, he’d been averaging maybe three hours of sleep a day.
Looking at the faint red veins in Yu Huaili’s eyes, Duan Qiong steadied his arm: “Once we get to the car, sleep a little.”
Yu Huaili nodded. Looking up, he saw Duan Qiong’s hesitant expression and raised an eyebrow. “Bro, is there something else you want to say?”
Duan Qiong was silent for two seconds. Seeing that Yu Huaili seemed to have completely shrugged off that comment from the interview, he pressed his lips together slightly. “Nothing.”
When the elevator doors opened, they had just stepped out of Star Podcast’s building when they saw that a huge crowd of fans was still waiting for them on both sides of the exit.
“Baby!! Bad Pear! Please, please, can you accept letters?”
“Husband, you worked hard today!!”
“Duan Qiong, this is for you…”
“Husband, husband, look over here.”
…
There were too many people nearby, and Yu Huaili’s pace involuntarily slowed.
He accepted all the letters the fans handed him, curving his eyes at a fan holding a Polaroid, hoping for a signature: “Sorry, the company doesn’t allow signatures right now. Mm, I’ll remember. If you come to see me again in the future, I’ll sign for you…”
A fan handed him a small bag of gifts. Yu Huaili shook his head. “Keep these for yourselves—I don’t accept them. Letters are fine… Is this a keychain? You made it yourself… Alright, I’ll take it. Thank you for your hard work.”
“Okay, I’m off work now. You should head home early—it’s too late, be careful.”
When he got into the car sent by the company, Yu Huaili rolled down the window again, waving and saying goodbye a few times.
Meanwhile, his live stream comments were about to explode.
