The Only Choice - 36

The study room was quiet, the silence broken only by the faint rustle of turning pages.

Zhou Fanfan stared at the message on her screen, dumbstruck. It felt like… like stumbling upon a hidden village after a long trek through winding mountains.

The group chat was still buzzing with worries about the upcoming gala, everyone anxious that the fan-recorded videos from this event might turn out poorly.

Reading this, Zhou Fanfan felt a spark of excitement ignite in her chest.

[Can I really have it?]

Guan Yuanbai: [I only need one ticket. The other one would just go to waste otherwise. If you want it, it's yours.]

Of course, she didn't want it to go to waste! If she had it, she could record high-quality videos for all the fans. Without another moment's hesitation, she replied: [I want it!]

Then she added: [Thank you! And please thank Xiao Wu for me too!]

Guan Yuanbai: [Sure.]

A thrill began to bubble inside her, mixed with a flicker of curiosity. [You said you only need one. Are you going to listen to the performances too?]

Guan Yuanbai: [There's a singer I quite like performing.]

Zhou Fanfan: [Oh? Who?]

Guan Yuanbai: [Zhang Luo.]

She knew of him. A veteran singer who'd been hugely popular over a decade ago.

Zhou Fanfan: [Oh! I know him. He has a great voice. I didn't know you were a fan.]

Guan Yuanbai: [Mhm.]

Zhou Fanfan: [Which of his songs do you like?]

Talking about idols easily captivated her. For a moment, she completely forgot about the profound embarrassment of her tearful breakdown in front of him just days before.

She launched into an enthusiastic discussion about the singer's music. Sure, she'd been in elementary school during his peak, but that didn't stop her from liking a few of his songs even now.

By the end of their chat, when Guan Yuanbai suggested they go together, Zhou Fanfan had no objections. They settled on a time.

Two days flew by, and the Spring Melody Gala arrived.

That evening, Guan Yuanbai picked her up at her house, and they drove to the venue together.

They hadn't seen each other in days. After the incident at her mother's birthday party, he'd probably sensed her low spirits and hadn't mentioned their ‘hundred meals’ deal. Zhou Fanfan, feeling relieved, hadn't visited his house since.

But meeting now wasn't awkward. As soon as she got into the car, she noticed the music playing, a deep cut from that old singer, Zhang Luo, the one they'd discussed.

She'd been in his car before, but he hadn't been playing sentimental ballads like this back then… or maybe he just hadn't queued them up.

The song instantly gave her an opening. "I like this one too," she said, settling in. "It's so underrated, though."

The truth was, Guan Yuanbai had no idea which songs were popular or obscure. He'd just downloaded the entire discography and listened to it all.

"Have you eaten?" he asked after a few minutes of music talk.

Zhou Fanfan nodded. "A little. I was too excited to eat much."

He smiled. "We can grab something to take inside, then."

"It's fine, I'm not really hungry."

He started the car, and soon they arrived at the stadium hosting the night's performance.

With half an hour until the show started, the area outside was already packed. Clusters of fans wore glowing headbands, their faces or hands adorned with tributes to their respective idols.

Zhou Fanfan, having come straight over, hadn't prepared any fan gear. But she knew Guan Zhiyi's fans would have a booth handing out supplies. She scanned the crowd and quickly spotted it.

She started toward it, then suddenly remembered the man beside her.

"What is it?" Guan Yuanbai asked, noticing her stare.

"Does Zhang Luo have any fan merch?" she asked. "Do you need to check if his fan club is handing anything out?"

Guan Yuanbai's brow furrowed slightly as he deciphered her meaning. "...No idea. I don't need any."

Right, Zhou Fanfan thought. A veteran singer like Zhang Luo probably had an older fanbase, not the type to organize flashy, on-site support like the newer idols.

"Okay, then I'm just going to grab some stuff for Yiyi."

She headed in that direction, but after a few steps, she noticed Guan Yuanbai following her. She immediately spun around and held out a hand to stop him. "You can't come!"

Guan Yuanbai: "..."

Zhou Fanfan: "Any semi-dedicated Yiyi fan would recognize your face."

"And?"

"And… to avoid causing a scene, you should wait here. Don't worry, I'll be right back!"

Before he could stop her, she darted off into the crowd.

Ten minutes later, she returned, arms laden with loot: a light board, headbands, stickers, and two small fans printed with Guan Zhiyi's face.

"Hold this for me," she said, piling everything into Guan Yuanbai's arms. She pulled a small mirror from her bag. "Let me just put these on."

She peeled off a sticker and pressed the round, cartoonified face of Guan Zhiyi onto her cheek. There were extras. She glanced at Guan Yuanbai and grinned. "There's more."

Guan Yuanbai looked wary. "What?"

"I got two sets with our tickets. Since you're not cheering for Zhang Luo, you can support Yiyi instead."

Guan Yuanbai: "..."

"How about one on the cheek?" Zhou Fanfan suggested.

This is insane.

His first thought was a resounding refusal. There was no way he was doing something so ridiculous. But as he looked down and met her excited, hopeful eyes, he remembered how utterly heartbroken she had looked crying in front of him…

He wanted her to stay just like this.

So, maybe he was insane. Mentally scoffing at himself, he leaned down slightly, bending at the waist.

"...Whatever."

Her eyes lit up. She immediately peeled off a sticker and reached up to apply it to his cheek.

The sticker wasn't large, but it was prone to tiny wrinkles if not applied carefully. Zhou Fanfan focused, pressing down one edge and smoothing over the surface with her fingertip, which also meant she was smoothing it against his skin.

So soft…

Her lips pressed together unconsciously. Her gaze drifted from the sticker to the skin around it.

She was rarely this close to him. Looking this carefully, she realized his skin was flawless—pale, smooth, and fine. She was almost jealous that a man could have such good skin. Without thinking, she gave his cheek a little pat. The moment she did it, she froze, snatching her hand back to look at him.

She found him watching her, his eyes under strong brows calm, deep, and focused, catching the light.

Her heart gave a funny little jolt. A sudden flutter of panic.

"Y-Your skin is really good," she blurted out, immediately wanting to bite her tongue. She offered an awkward smile. "...I mean, it's on."

Guan Yuanbai slowly straightened up. Seeing her slightly flushed face, he said, "Applying a sticker, or copping a feel?"

Her eyes snapped up to his. "I was not!"

Seeing the faint, amused glint in his eyes, she realized he was teasing her. Flustered, she muttered, "I wasn't copping a feel…"

Guan Yuanbai gave a soft chuckle, seeming pleased. "It's about time. Let's head in."

Relieved he was dropping the subject, she nodded. "Okay."

The audience was beginning to file into the stadium.

Their seats were in Section A, Row 6, Seats 12 and 13. They had just settled in when the performances began.

Zhang Luo was on early in the lineup. When he appeared, Zhou Fanfan immediately nudged Guan Yuanbai. "He's on."

Guan Yuanbai, however, remained composed, showing no particular excitement. I guess that's how people from his generation show their fandom, Zhou Fanfan mused.

The love is all internal!

Guan Zhiyi's performance was scheduled much later. With a long stretch of acts to get through first, Zhou Fanfan busied herself checking her recording equipment.

"Have something to eat." A few pieces of candy appeared in her line of sight, offered by the man beside her.

She blinked. "Where did you get candy?"

"While you were collecting all that… stuff, I bought some water and grabbed a few snacks."

He'd been carrying her camera gear earlier, so she hadn't noticed the small bag of snacks he'd picked up.

It was perfect, she hadn't eaten much for dinner and was starting to feel hungry. "My stomach was actually just starting to rumble."

"Heard it."

She looked at him, startled, only to see his deadpan expression. "Kidding. Go on, eat."

Of course! she thought. With all this noise, there was no way he could have heard that!

She unwrapped two milk candies and popped them into her mouth.

Roughly half an hour later, it was finally almost time for Guan Zhiyi! She was next.

Zhou Fanfan set up her camera, ready to capture a super high-definition fancam for the other fans. Once everything was prepared, she switched on her light board.

There was an unspoken understanding among fans: they kept their boards dark during other performers' sets, only lighting them up proudly when their own idol took the stage.

But since she needed both hands free to operate the camera, she couldn't hold the board. She had to enlist Guan Yuanbai's help.

Guan Yuanbai looked at the glaringly bright character "YI". The contempt in his eyes was practically palpable, threatening to spill over and fill the entire venue.

But after Zhou Fanfan's repeated, pleading requests, he finally took the offending object in his hand.

"..."

Right then, similar lights flickered on in seats not far away. Tickets were scattered, so when lights appeared, fans instinctively looked around to spot their fellow supporters.

As luck would have it, two girls sitting right in front of Zhou Fanfan and Guan Yuanbai had also just lit up their Guan Zhiyi boards. While fiddling with them, they noticed the same light from the row behind and turned to look.

Spotting a fellow fan, they were initially happy… until their eyes traveled up and landed on the incredibly handsome guy holding the board.

The first girl's friendly greeting died in her throat.

Holy crap, he's hot! There's a super handsome guy among the Yiyi fans?!

Trying to contain her excitement, she turned back and nudged her friend. "A seriously hot guy. One of us."

The other girl immediately glanced back, expecting just a good-looking fan. But the moment she saw his face, her eyes widened comically, and she whipped back around.

"Well?! Handsome, right?"

"Oh my god… you don't recognize him? Well, you are new to the fandom."

"Huh?"

The more seasoned fan was practically vibrating with excitement. "That's Guan Yuanbai! Yiyi's brother! Her actual brother!"

The newer fan was stunned. She'd heard the name but didn't know what he looked like. She'd just thought he was really attractive.

What were the odds? Her first time in the VIP section for her idol, and she ends up next to the idol's own brother!!

"Their family bond is so strong! Does he often come to support his sister's performances?"

The veteran fan paused. "I've never heard of that… he's never been spotted at live events before…"

"Then we're just incredibly lucky today!!! He's holding a light board and he's got Yiyi's cartoon sticker on his face! It's so cute!"

The veteran fan blinked, finding this even more bizarre. She couldn't help but sneak another glance back…

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Author's Note:

Guan Yuanbai: The most absurd situation I have ever experienced.

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