Interlocking fingers
"Okay, okay."
After Chu Yiqi finished speaking, he did not continue to attack Xi Ai, but instead said indirectly, "Shall we all appreciate Teacher Xi Ai's very, very standard dance?"
Xi Ai smiled and poked Chu Yiqi's arm a few times, but Chu Yiqi didn't react much, only steadying Xi Ai's wrist.
The hot milk tea was tilted, but barely didn't spill.
"Am I some kind of leftovers? The weather is so hot and cold all the time." Nie Chuiying was practically hanging on Shi Yunshan's arm.
Chu Yiqi and Xi Ai had both changed their clothes and looked up at the door one after the other.
Chu Yiqi straightened his cuffs and said slowly, "If you still prefer to work in the sun this afternoon."
Almost at the same time, Xi Ai said, "Your third skill still has a cooldown."
...
After the opening chorus, Xi Ai and Chu Yiqi shared the stage.
Backstage, Chu Yiqi extended his hand to Xi Ai, his voice, tinged with a smile, lingered in her ear, unnoticed by Xi Ai: "May I have this dance?"
“Of course.” Xi Ai looked at her, remained silent for a moment, then reached out and placed her hand in Chu Yiqi’s hand.
When the silver ornaments came together, Xi Ai and Chu Yiqi went up on stage together.
A long-awaited reunion.
Xi Ai grabbed Chu Yiqi's hand, but then took the initiative and pulled Chu Yiqi to the center of the stage.
So the duet dance that had been missed over the past two years was made up for at this moment.
Xi Ai finally understood why she felt a little lonely when she looked out from the audience.
So, during the interlude, when they looked at each other, Xi Ai blinked, suppressing the tears welling up in her eyes.
Xi Ai suddenly remembered that during the rapid-fire Q&A session not long ago, she wrote without hesitation that they had never met in the past two years.
But that's not the case at all.
At almost every Chu Yiqi concert, Xi Ai watched the entire show from a very inconspicuous spot.
On one occasion when Chu Yiqi sang a song they had sung together, he sang along, but only once.
Back then, Xi Ai felt that Chu Yiqi's choreography was always a little strange.
She clearly loved performing difficult moves, yet she always seemed to be holding something back, as if something was missing. At the time, Xi Ai thought it was just her imagination; she felt a sense of loneliness because she wanted to be closer to the action.
It wasn't until Chu Yiqi took her hand again that Xi Ai belatedly realized that Chu Yiqi's choreography had always been for two people.
Xi Ai paused briefly, but took it upon herself to change a seemingly unimportant stage detail—she grasped Chu Yiqi's hand in return, and the rest of the scene unfolded naturally.
The backup dancers who were originally absent took control of the stage at this moment.
As the lights went out, Xi Ai still held Chu Yiqi's hand and ran off the stage, patting the audience's hands as they walked to their rest area.
The next match is between Chu Yiqi and Yu Nianxi.
So Xi Ai sat calmly in the audience, but at the same time saw two scenes that gradually overlapped.
Another scene comes from several years ago.
On New Year's Eve, the northern part of the city is always covered in snow.
For 8 participated in the New Year's Eve concert, but Xi Ai was still "filming in another city" and therefore did not appear on stage.
As the cheers from the audience gradually subsided, Chu Yiqi began to sing the first line of lyrics.
For some reason, Yu Nianxi felt like laughing as she held the microphone. Chu Yiqi immediately noticed and gave Yu Nianxi a subtle glare.
Yu Nianxi immediately straightened up, put on her standard business smile, and smoothly completed the lyric relay.
But history always repeats itself. After the two sang a few verses, as they approached the chorus, Chu Yiqi drifted backstage, and the corners of his mouth inexplicably curved a little more.
Yu Nianxi was speechless for a moment, but she also felt like laughing—she really wanted to laugh.
Perhaps this is what it means to "laugh at the thought of what you're doing."
Chu Yiqi could barely suppress the smile on her face as she diligently sang the chorus and performed the dance moves.
Perhaps he was a little nervous doing this for the first time, so his eyes kept glancing backstage. Finally, he managed to pull his attention back by staring at Meng Yike's almost speechless expression below the stage.
Chu Yiqi finally finished singing and went offstage with Yu Nianxi, then lingered backstage for a while.
Xi Ai was waiting backstage early, looking at Chu Yiqi with a smug expression, and said, "See how well I cooperated?"
Chu Yiqi felt helpless, but quickly ran over and pulled Xi Ai away.
"I always feel that your voice is a bit loud."
Xi Ai feigned innocence: "I specifically turned the microphone volume down."
Chu Yiqi didn't dwell on it much. He put his hands inside Xi Ai's wool coat to warm them and said, "Then will you come with us later?"
"Probably," Xi Ai said, changing the subject jokingly, "Do you want to go with someone else?"
Chu Yiqi left, still holding Xi Ai's hand, and said, "That's not true."
Yu Nianxi crossed her arms, remained silent for a moment, and said, "Sisters, do we really have to say this here?"
Chu Yiqi and Xi Ai looked at each other and quickly pulled each other to walk outside. Then, suddenly remembering something, they stopped. Chu Yiqi stared at Xi Ai and asked, "You don't have a seat, do you?"
Xi Ai realized what was happening and said, "Oh, then I'll walk to the side and wait for you outside. I can also return a call while I'm at it, so I won't be easily spotted."
"Okay, then you might have to leave a little earlier later."
"Bye-Bye."
"Make sure you're covered up properly, Teacher Xi," Chu Yiqi jokingly reminded her, then stood to the side with Yu Nianxi, watching Xi Ai leave.
"No offense to you two, but that's really scary."
Chu Yiqi smiled and said, "It's alright. Anyway, it's not public, so it doesn't matter whether anyone can tell the difference or not."
As long as she's happy.
Chu Yiqi didn't tell Yu Nianxi that it was actually Yu Nianxi who brought it up with Xi Ai.
It's hard to pinpoint her exact motivation. Perhaps she just wanted to reassure Xi Ai and make her current stance clear. She didn't want to continue being timid and hesitant, thus damaging their relationship.
Xi Ai finished the video conference just as the event was about to end. She was about to send a message to Chu Yiqi when she saw a row of people wrapped in down jackets and quickly ran out.
Xi Ai quickly opened the car door, took out a hand warmer from her pocket, and handed it to Chu Yiqi.
Yu Nianxi, confident that she had leverage over Xi Ai and Chu Yiqi, stretched out her hand: "Xi Ai, I'm reporting you for discriminatory treatment!"
Xi Ai shrugged: "What preferential treatment? Have I?"
“Sis!”
"Why--"
Seeing that Xi Ai was about to incite the entire team's anger, Chu Yiqi quickly waved to Xi Ai: "Okay, come on up."
"Okay."
Xi Ai slipped over to Chu Yiqi in two steps, quickly grabbing several hand warmers and handing them to the others.
But without exception, they were all different from Chu Yiqi's.
Only Chu Yiqi's hand warmer has a little butterfly on it.
It was late, so everyone was feeling drowsy. Fang Bingjian was driving, and Su Luojian quickly fell asleep.
The group of people quietly sat together, talking in hushed tones or playing on their phones.
Yu Nianxi, not knowing what she had seen, quietly nudged Xi Ai and said, "Look, look!"
Xi Ai took the phone, and her pretty face fell.
"What is that?"
Yu Nianxi's phone screen displayed a video showing Chu Yiqi on stage laughing uncontrollably, forcing Yu Nianxi to raise her voice to cover it up.
Chu Yiqi glanced at it, seemingly wanting to laugh, but ultimately bit her lip and swallowed it back.
"Actually, the main problem is that I wanted to laugh a little too softly during this part, but you responded perfectly."
Xi Ai let out a heavy sigh, unsure whether she should be thankful or if there were some CP fans with good hearing.
[Can anyone tell me why this voice sounds familiar?]
[No, can someone tell me what the latest picture means? (image)]
Xi Ai changed her account, found the Weibo post, and clicked on the picture. It was taken just before they got on the bus. It was a bit blurry, but Xi Ai's figure was circled.
This picture quickly gained many followers.
[Given the shapes of today's 17, 1k, saplings, vegetable garden, and milkshake, and matching them one by one; knowing that Sister Luo is watching nearby; and knowing that Xi Ai is filming "out of town"; then who is the extra?]
[I don't know, but it's definitely not 12 (fingers)]
As for what happened next, it didn't really concern Xi Ai, and she didn't have time to think about it.
—A microphone was handed to him, and then the surprise scene unfolded.
Xi Ai took the microphone and mingled with the campfire not far away. Amidst the constant crackling of sparks in her ears, she finished singing the second half of the song.
Each time their voices overlapped, Xi Ai was always able to gaze at Chu Yiqi from afar.
It seems that they need to confirm each other's presence in order to overcome stage fright.
"Would you like to come with me?" Xi Ai took off her in-ear monitor, then extended a hand to Chu Yiqi and asked, "Would you like to dance with me?"
"It's truly my honor."
The temperature that night was just right, and the atmosphere was so inviting that they could ignore all other factors when making every decision and only consider their true feelings.
So Xi Ai took Chu Yiqi's hand, and instead of following the proper etiquette, they intertwined their fingers and blended into the crowd.
"No, you go first..."
Xi Ai was momentarily stunned and made a mistake in her movements. Chu Yiqi tried to correct her, but found that he had also been led astray and could not get it right no matter how he tried to change it. He had no choice but to stop in time to cut his losses.
So the two of them stood there, stunned, and could only passively follow the footsteps of the person next to them.
After a few beats, Chu Yiqi finally got the rhythm right and told Xi Ai in a low voice, "I beg you, just follow me and don't try anything new."
"You're being really subtle with your insults. I was just mimicking the movements." Xi Ai honestly followed Chu Yiqi's movements and heard Chu Yiqi laugh after hearing her rebuttal.
"I have never seen anyone who, instead of using the steps, kicks over the stairs."
Xi Ai replied, "If you insist on interpreting this as giving me a way out, then I'm truly sorry."
"Shall we go to the night running track later?" Xi Ai was quiet for a moment, then turned around again, only to find Chu Yiqi staring at her intently.
The person next to me had half of their face warmed by the campfire, giving them a complexion that was different from their usual makeup. Even their usually calm and gentle eyes seemed to hold a hint of affection.
The way he looked at Xi Ai was particularly affectionate, a look that Xi Ai often displayed, especially when she was watching Chu Yiqi from the audience at concerts.
"OK."
"The way you look at me always makes me feel like you're really easy to talk to."
"When have I ever been unpleasant to you?"
After he finished speaking, the two of them fell into a deep silence, as if a suspenseful plot had been triggered.
When else would it be difficult to talk to someone?
Of course, it was when Chu Yiqi broke up with her.
After a brief moment of avoidance, when their eyes met again, Xi Ai simply changed the subject, saying, "When you were telling me what filling to make zongzi (sticky rice dumplings)."
"I'll say it again, the ham is awful."
"Yunnan ham is different from regular ham. Yunnan ham tastes better."
Perhaps because he had sipped some wine in the afternoon, Chu Yiqi's attention was easily diverted. He childishly and fiercely shook off Xi Ai's hand and said, "None of them taste good!"
"You're talking nonsense!"
"Can we please stop bringing up this awful topic?" Meng Yike appeared behind the two of them without them noticing and spoke softly.
Chu Yiqi was stunned and shook off Xi Ai, who turned around in surprise.
"It's all your fault!" Chu Yiqi completely withdrew from the dance group and glared fiercely at Xi Ai.
"Was it my fault?"
"Still blaming each other!" Meng Yike laughed. "Do you even remember what you were saying just two sentences ago?"
Xi Ai and Chu Yiqi stared at each other, took a breath, hesitated to speak, and were unwilling to give up.
It's not that they couldn't say it, it's just that for a moment neither of them could react, as if their memories were fragmented.
Xi Ai was the first to come to her senses, and said unreasonably, "Forgot, I was definitely praising Teacher Chu, and she turned the tables on me."
"See that? Essential skills for a good actor!"
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