Chapter 12 – End of the Livestream
Let's create the last miracle together ba.
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[Hahahahahahahahahaha I'm laughing so hard that my next door neighbor is calling to report me at 3 in the morning]
[Listen and song pei!]
[ABC Xiao Pei is an unfounded rumor!]
[Hahahahaha, xswl, who's going to save me]
Pei Tingsong picked up the pink leopard doll lying on the sofa and swung it to hammer against Ling Yi and Lu Yuan's heads. Finally, he used the leopard's legs to strangle He Ziyan's neck.
[Hahahahahaha the group bully is worthy of being the group bully. One against three!]
[hhhh look at Juexia! He's quietly, and bit by bit, moving further away from the battlefield, hahahaha]
Only after the usual consequence of their group leader stepping in to mediate between them did Kaleido restore its veneer of team harmony and everyone sat back in place. Jiang Miao was half dead with exhaustion as he asked, "What were we doing just now?"
Fang Juexia, who was in charge of being the rational one, looked up and raised his hand, like the only student in the class who was listening, and said, "Answering the fans' questions."
"Oh, yes, yes." Jiang Miao took a deep breath. "Then let's find another one." Cheng Qiang, who was behind him, pointed at the clock, and Jiang Miao immediately understood the cue as he suggested, "This will be the last question. How's this, Juexia will take a screenshot of the barrage, and then Lu Yuan will pick a question from it."
With Fang Juexia's less talkative personality, he basically ended up being a wallflower on any program he was a part of, so Jiang Miao often went out of his way to cue him and give him more camera time.
"Screenshot it, here." Fang Juexia handed his cellphone over to Lu Yuan.
"Okay lei." Lu Yuan carefully went through the screenshot, and suddenly, his eyes brightened and he announced, "I've decided it's you! The ID called [Wild Boy Pei Tingsong]….pfft."
"Hahahahahaha wild boy listen and song!" Ling Yi started laughing so hard that his whole person bent over into Juexia's chest, and then he was gasping for breath even as he continued, "Hahahahaha!"
Juexia also laughed and patted Ling Yi's arm while warning, "You're about to swoon."
[AHHHHHHHH jxgg is so doting!]
[The Nap CP has red hot interactions!!!]
In the face of his Geges' merciless ridicule, Pei Tingsong showed a fake smile and stated, "What's the matter? I think this ID is very cool. Swag."
"Cough," Lu Yuan held back a smile. "This fan is asking if Kaleido has an official name for their fans? Our K fans can't not have an official name ah." He vividly imitated the excited tones their fans usually used.
He Ziyan pulled the pink leopard doll that had been used just now into his hands. "There actually is an official name for the fans."
Jiang Miao nodded and added, "Yes, our boss came up with it himself. Because our group's name is Kaleido, then based on homophony, Boss named our fans Domino."
"Doesn't it sound like a spell?" Ling Yi picked up a small toy hammer to act out a little fairy casting a spell with a wand and waved it around while chanting, "Kaleidomino!"
[Hahaha 01 is really so cuuute, there's nothing in his head]
[You saying it like that even makes me myself feel cuter~]
"This name actually has a profound meaning," Ling Yi explained, before throwing the hammer away. "Everyone knows that there are usually a lot of domino tiles, and all of them are small and very cute ma, just like our fans!"
Lu Yuan shot a disgusted glance at him and said, "What kind of explanation was that ah?"
"What's the matter with it?! Then you explain it!"
[K: Sorry, we really don't know what the name for our fans means.]
[Hahahahahaha, I'm going to be angry! Is our name so unimportant?]
[It's obvious that no one listened during the planning meeting hhhh, but this Domino name is pretty good]
The two of them continued to talk all over each other, while Jiang Miao bumped Fang Juexia's shoulder and said, "Juexia, come explain?"
Only then did Fang Juexia, who had been watching this play silently the entire time, open his mouth and replied, "I actually…also don't remember what the boss said at that time."
Hearing this, Pei Tingsong, who had originally also gotten pulled into the fray with Lu Yuan and the others, also felt amused and laughed.
[Hahahahahaha Juexia is too honest]
"But I really like this name."
Fang Juexia considered his words for a bit before saying, "How to say it…? Dominoes is a team game. I even participated in a domino-toppling competition with a small team when I was still a student. In this competition, participants needed to place these dominoes one by one, one after the other, which is a matter that requires a lot of patience and precision. Finally, just by pushing the first tile, you can make each of the other following tiles fall down one after the other. If even one tile in this train of tiles doesn't fall, then all that remains is a very small probability of success."
He seldom said so many words, so he felt a bit unused to it. He also felt that he had deviated from the main topic a little, so he explained further, "En… In fact, I just think the process of playing this game is very similar to the feelings of our fans. You are all encouraging us and waiting for us with your greatest patience and perseverance. You're just like a series of well-behaved dominoes waiting in your positions. Every single person is indispensable."
While saying all this, Fang Juexia had forgotten to even look at the camera. Whenever he got lost in his thoughts, his eyes would look upwards unconsciously. So, right now, he was being illuminated by the ceiling lamp of the living room, and his eyes and eyebrows appeared incomparably tender.
"Moreover, you guys are also very clear on the fact that a group becoming wildly successful is quite a remote possibility, but even then, everyone still continues to give us their very unselfish love and support to allow us to carry on. En…"
When Fang Juexia had started talking, Pei Tingsong had been disdainful, thinking that he had nothing to say, and so had just started talking some nonsense. But gradually, Fang Juexia's explanation began to resonate with him. He was also acutely aware that Fang Juexia's thoughts had now hit a roadblock, so he opened his mouth and continued his words, "You're right."
Fang Juexia froze for a moment. He had almost never heard Pei Tingsong agree with him before, so this surprised him.
"Juexia Ge is right. Domino-toppling is a game that requires a lot of endurance, and if you're even just a little bit careless, you may fall short of success, and end up facing a field of collapsed tiles. And you will experience collapses like these over and over again. This is a lot like how… you guys know that there will be many setbacks and defeats faced during the development of a group, but you guys still keep accompanying us." He smiled at the camera. "You guys don't give up, but instead pick up the fallen tiles and set them up straight again and again." There was sincere admiration on his face as he uttered, "Respect."
No one could have imagined that Pei Tingsong, who possessed the least sense of belonging to the group, could have ever spoken words like these. In this situation, everyone else around him was a bit stunned. He Ziyan was the first one to reach out with his hand and pat him on the shoulder. "Yes, really thanking everyone so much. Without you guys, we couldn't have held on until now, and you guys are the best!"
Lu Yuan clapped and echoed, "That's right! Dominoes are the best!"
Jiang Miao smiled and added, "I hope that we can keep showing everyone a new view, just like a kaleidoscope, and also hope that all Dominoes can accompany us, one by one, step by step, never stopping."
"Let's create the last miracle together ba."
The livestream ended at 9:30 p.m. After seeing the staff and Cheng Qiang out the door, the six of them played a few games in the dormitory, and had fun until around 11 or 12, when they finally started feeling sleepy. Only then did Pei Tingsong remember that he had not made his bed, nor did he have any bedding to make his bed with right now.
"You're really like you've just come to the countryside, too miserable."
So all he could piece together was that Ling Yi and He Ziyan's bedding had just been changed, with the previous ones not being washed yet, and that Jiang Miao and Lu Yuan's bunkbed was a whole size smaller than theirs, so none of these people's bedding would work.
There was only Fang Juexia's left.
One was not willing to lend it out, and the other wasn't willing to make his bed with it, but there was no other way; after all, Pei Tingsong had to sleep.
Fang Juexia opened the cabinet and took out the sheets that he had changed and laundered to give to Pei Tingsong, along with a new quilt he hadn't used. To be honest, he was a bit of a neat freak, and underneath his still expression, his heart had already become filled with turbulent waves.
What to do, did he really have to lend it to him? He had never shared these kinds of things with others; sharing clothes was already the furthest limit of what he could bear.
What to do now? He could just refuse, but he couldn't let Pei Tingsong sleep in such a manner for a night; he was also so tall, so he couldn't squeeze into someone else's bed….
It would still be better to lend it to him ba. It was just this once, and that was fine, it was no problem.
"Hey." Pei Tingsong crossed his arms over his chest and stared at Fang Juexia. "What are you thinking about?"
He was determinedly clinging to his quilt and sheets, looking like a rabbit protecting its food.
Fang Juexia returned to his senses. He decided that he still had to be a good Gege, so he hesitantly extended his arms out front.
"You…" Fang Juexia was stuck mid-sentence for a long time and didn't know what he should order the other person to do. He was also very clear that it was useless to order the little demon king Pei Tingsong to do anything.
"Thanks la." Pei Tingsong took hold of the sheets and the quilt, wanting to accept them, but the other party still didn't subconsciously let go. So, he pulled at it a bit, and nearly ended up pulling Fang Juexia into his arms.
He was really a strange person. Wasn't it just some sheets and bedding? Instead, he was acting as if it was his life that was required.
However, Pei Tingsong was a young master, who, from a very young age, only had to open his mouth to get food delivered into it, so even if he had the bedding in his hands, he was completely lost on how to make a bed. Fang Juexia watched his performance— where he pulled at the sheet and bent his waist around the bed for 20 minutes, before he couldn't watch anymore, and helplessly offered his aid, "Let me do it ba."
"Okay ah." Pei Tingsong took this aid as a matter of course and acted as a master who only asks others to do things instead of doing them himself. He went around to the other side and opened the window. The night view outside was beautiful, and he leaned half of his body out the window to see the curling vine of wisteria growing at the side of the building. Its green tendrils were all curled up, and it was a rare sign of vitality in the midst of winter.
It seemed to have grown over to this side from the balcony next door.
"It's done."
Hearing Fang Juexia's voice, Pei Tingsong turned around. The bed had been made neatly and tidily, without any wrinkles. The quilt had also been covered into the bed cover, and was even folded into a square tofu block shape, just like how Fang Juexia's was next door.
This guy couldn't actually be some kind of domestic robot ba?
"Thank…"
Before he could finish saying thank you, Fang Juexia turned away stiffly, his indifferent back causing Pei Tingsong's next words to stick in his throat.
The whole bed smelled of Fang Juexia, just like the way his clothes and his closet did. Pei Tingsong, who was wrapped in this soft, cold fragrance, turned his head to look out the window.
It seemed as if he was wrapped in the moonlight.
At the thought that his sheets and quilts were all being used by another person, and were covering him on the top and cushioning him at the bottom, Fang Juexia just couldn't sleep, and kept turning around in his bed like a pancake that just could not be thoroughly cooked.
Separated by a wall, these two people suffered from insomnia together.
As Kaleido's popularity had recently seen a rise, many marketing accounts had already recorded the livestream, with the expectation of finding some explosive moments that would increase their own traffic.
But there were too many explosive moments in that livestream, too many to even count. So in the early hours of the next day, the keywords [Fang Juexia and Pei Tingsong's candy wrapper kiss] directly appeared in the Hot Search list, and its popularity kept climbing. Fans watched as it gradually rose from the bottom of the list to reach second place. The next morning, entries such as [Kaleido crosstalk group] and [Kaleido fans' name] had also appeared on the list.
Fang Juexia had been forced off his original variety show and had thus lost his only daily journey outside. However, his lifestyle habits had always been healthy— which consisted of getting up early in the morning and then running a small circle around the neighborhood before returning to the dormitory. His room had a balcony, which had been empty when he first moved in. Now, it was already full of flowers and plants.
His mother was a person with a very strong sense of life. Their small house in Guangzhou had been decorated by her to be warm and beautiful, with the small garden on the first floor being filled with flowers and plants. When he was a child, he had watered and loosened the soil with his mama. Now that he had grown up, he still had the habit of taking care of his own small garden very seriously.
Plants were as simple as math problems. As long as you followed the rules for their growth and spent ten times the required amount of patience on them, these little guys would reward you with the most beautiful results.
Ling Yi and their group leader had things to do, and so left early in the morning. By the time he returned home from his morning run, Fang Juexia saw Lu Yuan's Gudetama slippers lying by the door, so realised that he had probably gone to dance practice. Thinking that He Ziyan should still be in the dorm, classmate Xiao Fang, after finishing his work in his garden, made two egg salad and bacon sandwiches, and also brewed two cups of coffee.
Only when he walked up to He Ziyan's door did he suddenly remember that Pei Tingsong had also moved back into the dorms.
In order to avoid facing any dangerous elements, Fang Juexia's hand, which was about to knock on the door, stopped in midair. He simply pulled it back, and instead called He Ziyan on his cellphone.
The call was picked up after it rang a few times on the other end. "Juexia? What's the matter?"
His voice didn't sound like he had just woken up. Fang Juexia asked, "Where are you?"
"Oh, Jiang Miao has low blood sugar and doesn't feel good. He sent me a message, so now I've bought some stuff and I'm going to go find him."
Fang Juexia heard the sound of the GPS and realised that he was driving. "Okay ba, then be careful on the way."
"Did you come find me for something?" He Ziyan asked.
"No, just saw that you weren't here, and so was just asking."
After hanging up the call, Fang Juexia held his cellphone and was getting ready to leave. Unexpectedly, the door to He Ziyan's room was suddenly opened. Pei Tingsong, dressed in dark gray pajamas, was now standing in front of him. His hair was ruffled from sleep, and the low pressure of having not gotten enough sleep surrounded him.
Fang Juexia felt a little guilty. He stood still and blinked at him.
"It's not enough for you to stand here when making a phone call, but you also have to block my way…" Pei Tingsong stretched, and when he brought his arms down, he coincidentally patted the brim of Fang Juexia's hat. "If I end up late for school in a bit, are you going to explain it to the professor?"
"Oh, right." Fang Juexia quickly straightened his hat. It was only then that he remembered that this guy was still a college student.
Pei Tingsong quickly washed up; his mouth was parched, so he planned to go to the refrigerator to find something to drink, but when he walked over to the kitchen, he found two breakfasts laid out on the table.
Fang Juexia changed his clothes, came out, and found that Pei Tingsong had already sat down at the table and was eating the breakfast he had originally prepared for his roommate.
Pei Tingsong drank a mouthful of coffee, and contentedly stretched before saying, "So you still count as possessing a bit of conscience, knowing to prepare breakfast for the youngest in the group who has to take morning classes."
Actually, it wasn't made for you—Fang Juexia responded in his heart. But he didn't plan to say it out loud; anyway, this breakfast would become wasted if it just sat there. After washing his hands, he also sat down, finished his share, and then cleaned up without saying a word.
When Xiao Wen called, Fang Juexia pressed the speakerphone button and placed the phone by the kitchen counter.
"Juexia?"
"En, you talk, I'm listening."
"Okay lei, I'll report your guys' itinerary to you," Xiao Wen banged out a lot of words, and then added, "By the way, there is a new event in the next two days. Next Monday night, the Spring Festival party on the CloudTV platform will be livestreamed online. One of their guests dropped out of the program because of illness, so let's go replace them. Everyone needs to practice the main single a bit and then go to rehearsal on Sunday night. There's not even two days left, so it's a bit of a rush."
Fang Juexia let out an "en" and said, "It's just as well that I don't have any personal events recently, so I'll practice it well."
"Who would worry about you ah, mainly it's that group bully…"
Pei Tingsong suddenly appeared behind Fang Juexia and picked up his cellphone, responding, "What group bully? I'm right here, so talk a bit more carefully for me."
Xiao Wen, who was on the other end of the phone, was so scared that he choked on his own saliva. "Cough, cough, cough, Xiao-Xiao Pei, how are you right next to Juexia?"
Fang Juexia's hands were wet, so he couldn't grab his cellphone back at this moment. He didn't expect Xiao Pei to take the initiative to put the cellphone aside and keep talking, "I'm in the dormitory, and so is he, is that not okay?" After saying so, he turned and walked away, as if looking for something, murmuring to himself about keys and so on.
"Oh, right, right, you moved back to the dorms." Xiao Wen pressed his chest and after finishing his report on the events for the next few days, he didn't have anything else to add. "Then you guys get along well ah. I have to go to a meeting, so I'll hang up first. Bye bye!"
Get along well.
These words made Fang Juexia want to laugh.