Moths drawn to a flame

It's like she's always been waiting for revenge on another side of her.

So it was like a premonition all along… Chu Yiqi thought with a self-deprecating laugh, then continued to watch as everything in the dream unfolded according to her memory, like an outsider. In truth, she felt more like a wandering soul that had been separated from its past for a long time, searching for a part of its true self.

Xi Ai asked her, "What are we acting out? Are we meeting our enemies?"

Therefore, many things are set in stone from the very beginning, and everything that follows can only be developed within that framework.

It was as if only Xi Ai approached her at that moment, intentionally or unintentionally telling her that she could choose the second path; and only Xi Ai was able to know the effect Chu Yiqi wanted in that instant.

Or rather, they might think of the same way to break free when they are caught in the vortex.

Xi Ai nodded and said, "But Chu Yiqi, merchants pursue profit. In essence, I am an egoist. What would I get in return for helping you? A future business rival?"

Chu Yiqi turned to look at her. Since no one was around, she asked directly, "So what are your requirements, Miss Xi?"

Xi Ai looked at her, arms crossed, a wisp of lavender hair piled up at the ends, which complemented her skin tone.

After a moment, Xi Ai finally smiled. Despite looking like someone who would ask for some tricky conditions, she simply said, "Simple, we'll collaborate on the lawn concert the day after tomorrow, but it'll be a secret beforehand."

Chu Yiqi said, "Okay, but the filming starts tomorrow."

It's a deal.

Xi Ai and Chu Yiqi went back together, but they didn't talk much after they got back.

It seems that from this moment on, a subtle chemical reaction occurred in their relationship.

The inevitable result of this reaction is that they become entangled and perfectly aligned.

So the timeline shifted to the next day.

Xi Ai was originally standing opposite Chu Yiqi, chatting casually about tomorrow's performance, but when she glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, she saw a few familiar faces, and Xi Ai instantly got into character.

She slightly raised her eyes, and her gaze turned extremely cold.

"Don't block the way, move aside."

Although it was just a passageway, and there was clearly some distance between them, Xi Ai wasn't speaking quietly, so she was certain that the person who had just turned the corner had heard her. She couldn't ignore their expressions, so she could only stare at Chu Yiqi.

Chu Yiqi understood quickly and caught the branch Xi Ai threw out without any trouble, saying, "Could you... do me a favor?"

The exchange of barbs was so intense that the others stood watching from a distance, leaving Xi Ai to continue acting. It was as if, without a director yelling "cut" or a script, she had no choice but to improvise.

"Why should I help you?" Xi Ai chuckled, her meaning ambiguous, then said, "Do I look like someone who's always eager to help others?"

"But..." Whether it was because she wasn't good at crafting lines or it was intentional, Chu Yiqi's speech was always hesitant and stammering, and she would carefully observe Xi Ai's reaction halfway through her sentence. Just like now, when Xi Ai showed the slightest impatience, she shut up.

What a perfect posture of weakness.

Xi Ai suppressed the inappropriate sense of absurdity and amusement, and said nonchalantly, "Yesterday I just happened to overhear it and was afraid of implicating me later. In the end, we are competitors, and I would be happy to have one less."

Chu Yiqi seemed very disappointed, lowered her head, and said very softly, "Mm."

Then Chu Yiqi turned to the side, and Xi Ai's gaze followed him. Then, as if she had just noticed him, she said with some annoyance, "Why is it you again?"

"We, well, we just came over and said we were going over there."

Xi Ai remained noncommittal and randomly chose a direction to walk.

Chu Yiqi stood there for a while, then looked up and took a breath before going to Annala to register for tomorrow's lawn concert.

This isn't part of the official assessment; it's just an activity set up every few days for relaxation and to give us some time to adjust and make predictions before the official competition. It's basically a recreational activity, and coincidentally, the organizers are also hosting a stargazing event tomorrow night, where you might see a shooting star if you're lucky.

"You and Xi Ai?" Anna was surprised, not expecting their friendship to develop so quickly.

She hoped that Chu Yiqi and Xi Ai could get to know each other, so they could learn from each other and complement each other—one lacked courage and decisiveness, while the other was too confident and flamboyant. Although neither was a bad thing, a balance might be better for both of them.

At least, this won't be a bad thing.

Chu Yiqi nodded and said, "But we want to announce only my name first, as a way of hiding a surprise."

Anna didn't think it through. After all, she was a "white person" in the truest sense and wasn't that calculating, so she readily agreed.

Chu Yiqi thanked them and started to leave, but he hadn't gone far when he ran into those same people again. After a tense exchange, Chu Yiqi tried to leave, but one of them blocked his way.

Which way are we going?

"You don't care." Chu Yiqi glanced at her, very lightly, so it sounded like disdain.

"Do you really think someone like Xi Ai would be a good person?"

Chu Yiqi took a half step back, and as if unintentionally, she took her hand out of her coat bag, just as the USB drive fell out. She was a fraction of a second too slow to pick it up, so the USB drive ended up in the tiger's mouth—well, it's hard to say who the tiger is.

She immediately said in a flustered and anxious voice, "Give it back to me!"

"You want it?" The person in front of me gave a rather wicked smile and said, "Go ahead and take it. If you take it, it means you're forcing me to give you the song I composed."

"You are shameless."

Chu Yiqi wasn't very good at acting out emotions, but he insisted on showing this performance to Xi Ai. Even if Xi Ai exhausted all her composure, she would still have to say, "Staying in your comfort zone is truly an unparalleled truth."

I take back the thought I had when I first acted alongside Chu Yiqi: "You really should have played this role; you don't need to be a big star."

Only someone blind would think that.

However, with Xi Ai not around, it was a little easier for Chu Yiqi to keep a straight face, at least he didn't have to worry about the trigger mechanism that made him want to laugh as soon as they made eye contact.

That USB drive was new; it only contained one song, written by Xi Ai, and the original file was on Xi Ai's computer.

When they came up with this wicked idea yesterday, Chu Yiqi casually remarked, "How humane! They even allow you to bring a computer and a USB drive, but they're prohibited from contacting the outside world."

“Of course, since we’re already here, no one would risk violating the rules and withdrawing from the competition by contacting the outside world.” Xi Ai picked out the song they had been choosing for a long time and copied it down.

Chu Yiqi said, "What will we do if they don't use it?"

"It's not important." If this thing is taken away, they won't stop using it.

Chu Yiqi understood somewhat. If they had the same song, then Xi Ai and she would definitely be the victims in the argument. If they didn't have the same song, as long as Chu Yiqi's outcome was better than theirs, they would inevitably try to drag her into it.

If none of them are available, then we still have to get them back.

"But why are they so sure I don't have a computer save file?" If that's the case, then the whole thing loses its meaning.

Did you bring your laptop?

Chu Yiqi shook his head.

Do they know?

You know that, right?

Xi Ai lowered her head, closed the laptop, and said, "That's right, act more convincingly, be more worried and panicked."

"I..." Chu Yiqi looked at Xi Ai, hesitated for a moment, and then told the truth, "I'm not from a professional acting background, how would I know if I look like her?"

"Forget it. You were like this before, so what are you going to do now? Forget I was ever here, forget what we did together."

Chu Yiqi's focus was completely different. She said, "Is this how you use your shady dealings?"

"..."

Xi Ai stopped talking, pushed open the door to the small balcony, went back inside, put down the computer, tossed the USB drive to Chu Yiqi, went to bed, and didn't say another word.

Chu Yiqi didn't know why, but she was in a bit of a hurry to take the USB drive, and as she stood there watching Xi Ai's actions, she suddenly felt like laughing.

Why is it that even when the young lady isn't annoying, she still seems a little strange?

Chu Yiqi remembered what Xi Ai had said on the balcony when they were alone, so she continued to pretend, saying, "I didn't..."

The word "archive" circled around her lips, but then, as if remembering she couldn't reveal it, she stopped herself and said, "Give it back to me now!"

However, trying to cover it up only made things worse, so naturally, Chu Yiqi couldn't get the USB drive back.

"This one is mine, and we'll keep to ourselves. How about that?"

Chu Yiqi stared at them, as if trying to confirm whether it was true or not.

"Don't mention this to anyone, or else..."

Chu Yiqi seemed to have finally made up her mind, and nodded timidly, saying, "Really?"

How many songs are in it?

Three poems.

"Make way quickly." Chu Yiqi hesitated and stepped aside, watching them leave thoughtfully.

He was exceptionally cunning, like a hypocritical villain, showing subtle signs when no one was around, yet he seemed completely unfamiliar with the business.

Xi Ai appeared behind Chu Yiqi without him noticing, and Chu Yiqi almost tripped over himself while walking.

Chu Yiqi glanced at her right shoulder where she had been patted. There was no one there, but she could already smell a faint scent of mugwort. So she turned to her left and asked, "Xi Ai, are you alright?"

"Something came up."

"You'll be alright."

Xi Ai selectively skipped over Chu Yiqi's words and asked, "How did it go?"

"Maybe he believed it." Chu Yiqi shrugged and took his own slice of toast from Xi Ai. Today it was filled with taro mochi.

Xi Ai didn't ask any further questions. This wasn't a setup that had to be done; they could make further arrangements.

The two walked into the practice room, which was only for Group B members. At the moment, only Meng Yike was inside, so the two of them walked in side by side without being too discreet. Then they chose two spots that were far apart and practiced their basic skills on their own for a while.

This concert is just a performance, so they don't need to rehearse anything extra. They put together a song during the day, a song that Xi Ai hadn't written lyrics for yet, and Chu Yiqi wrote lyrics without a score, which was just right.

The next day arrived as promised, and Annala indeed only uttered Chu Yiqi's name.

Chu Yiqi glanced at Xi Ai discreetly, and Xi Ai spoke in a very low voice: "They are not on the list."

"You need to know after hearing this once that it should be used in formal occasions and big events."

"You trust me that much?" Xi Ai replied with a half-smile, her gaze fixed on the stage.

Chu Yiqi: "Actually, I just believe that my eyes aren't blind and my ears aren't deaf."

She glanced at Xi Ai, then unwrapped a piece of candy.

It was one that Xi Ai had given her earlier. For some reason, she hadn't eaten it, but she kept it in her pocket. Even when she changed her clothes, she would still stare at the glass candy wrapper lying on the table and put it back in her pocket.

But when she saw Xi Ai's faint smile, she suddenly felt that she needed something to calm herself down.

Xi Ai looked too calm, like a coral reef, beautiful yet eerie.

Compared to others, I feel guilty and ashamed.

Strangely enough, this was the kind of person Chu Yiqi used to hate the most: a life of smooth sailing, an arrogant and unrestrained personality, whose very name proclaimed that she was loved, always had been, even before she was born.

But now, Chu Yiqi inexplicably wants to get closer.

Like moths drawn to a flame, they should abhor fire due to their biological instinct to seek advantage and avoid harm, yet they still uncontrollably rush towards it.

That's not right.

That's neither appropriate nor right.

Chu Yiqi pursed his lips, reluctantly withdrawing the glimpse of his gaze that had lingered on Xi Ai's profile.

But this scene appears quite different to some people. The light and shadow cast a clear dividing line between the two individuals.

Chu Yiqi's gaze was filled with a mixture of pleading, despair, envy, and ultimately, despair.

After a long while, Chu Yiqi stepped forward and gently tapped the microphone. Then the music started, and her voice, though somewhat distant from the microphone, was ethereal, as if coming from behind a window.

"hiss……"