The Only Choice - 38

Zhou Fanfan had seen Guan Yuanbai in many moods, but the version of him captured in these photos felt entirely new.

His gaze was simply too tender. Laced with a soft amusement, it held a mix of indulgence and fondness, as if he were looking at someone he cherished deeply.

If this were a picture of two celebrities, Zhou Fanfan would be right there with Qi Qi, shipping them hard, swearing the man was head over heels.

But it wasn't. It was a picture of her and Guan Yuanbai.

So, it had to be just a trick of the camera, a fleeting expression caught at the right moment…

There was no way Guan Yuanbai would ever look at her like that. He didn't have those kinds of feelings for her!

[No unauthorized shipping!]

She typed the message into the group chat and switched over to Weibo. If Liu Liu and the others had those photos, they must have been circulating online.

Sure enough, a quick scroll through the relevant hashtag brought up pictures of her and Guan Yuanbai, along with a flood of comments from netizens.

The original poster was a female fan of Guan Zhiyi.

She had posted the photos with the caption: "So lucky today! Ended up sitting right in front of Guan Yuanbai and Zhou Fanfan. Witnessed them supporting Yiyi firsthand. So. Freaking. Sweet."

Zhou Fanfan had no idea when they had been ‘sweet’. She'd been focused on filming the entire time! They'd barely spoken!

She scrolled through the comments, feeling a mix of bewilderment and acute embarrassment.

[As we all know, Guan Yuanbai has never publicly supported his sister this openly since her debut.]

[Our 'son' is usually pretty aloof, you know.]

[The power of a girlfriend, I guess. She even got him to wear a face sticker. I can just imagine his deadpan expression when she made him hold that light board.]

[What's it like when your girlfriend is your little sister's most devoted fan...]

[LMAO, this feels like a major social death moment for Guan Yuanbai.]

[Social death? I just think it's super sweet!!!]

Sweet? What's so sweet about it?

He hadn't even gone to the concert with her! He was there to see his own favorite singer!

Not that anyone would believe that.

Zhou Fanfan let out a long sigh and quietly clicked on another candid photo, zooming in… Alright, fine. It does look convincing.

—

On the other side of the city, Guan Yuanbai, having stirred up a hornet's nest with his social media post, headed to the shower, utterly unconcerned.

He was in an exceptionally good mood. Because of Zhou Fanfan. Because of their photo together.

After his shower, he propped himself up in bed, dealt with some work on his tablet, and prepared to sleep.

His phone had been on silent. He only glanced at it now before turning in and saw notifications from numerous people.

He'd expected this, of course.

He rarely posted on his private social feed. For him to suddenly share something, especially of the ‘public display affection’ variety, was bound to cause a stir among his circle.

He didn't reply to the messages. Instead, he clicked back to his own post. The likes and comments had already surpassed a hundred.

Elders, business partners, employees… and, of course, his friends. His feed was livelier than it had ever been.

Qi Chengyan: [You actually posted it? Showing off, are we?]

Jiang Suizhou: [Not a bad photo.]

Guan Xi: [I thought my app glitched when I saw this.]

Guan Zhiyi: [My future sister-in-law is so cute!]

Song Li: [?]

Cui Mingzhu (Grandma): [Fanfan looks beautiful. You better treat her well. (Rose)]

Yan Chenghuai: [Why not post the one with Yiyi's sticker on your face?]

Guan Xi replied to Yan Chenghuai: [What face sticker?]

Song Li replied to Guan Xi: [I'll send it to you! Someone just sent it to me!]

Guan Yuanbai's eyes narrowed slightly at that.

Neither he nor Guan Zhiyi had posted that photo. Where had they gotten it?

He returned to his messages and opened the chat with Song Li. Amid a string of text, Song Li had indeed sent two pictures.

He hadn't opened the chat earlier, so he'd missed them.

The photos were of him and Zhou Fanfan in their seats at the venue.

One showed them talking, their heads close. The other showed her filming the stage, while he looked only at her.

From the angle, they were clearly taken by someone else.

He tapped the photo where he was watching her and zoomed in.

After a few seconds, a soft, wry laugh escaped him.

It was unexpected. And a little frustrating.

So, in moments even he wasn't aware of, his affection was this obvious. This impossible to hide.

—

The ‘Yiyi's Wild Stepmoms’ group chat was still blowing up. Qi Qi had somehow salvaged a long screenshot from the depths of Weibo—a short, fictional story about Zhou Fanfan and Guan Yuanbai. Completely made up, but written with saccharine sweetness.

Zhou Fanfan cringed reading it, while the other three in the group hailed the author as a genius.

Eventually, she couldn't take it anymore and muted the chat.

What is all this… She was just a regular fan. Now her fellow fans were writing fanfiction about her.

Well, it was mostly because of Guan Yuanbai. As Guan Zhiyi's brother, he held a significant place in their fandom's heart.

She wondered if he knew about the photos circulating online by now…

Curled up in bed, she hesitated for a moment before deciding to call him. It was better to give him a heads-up, just in case.

[Are you asleep?] She sent a text first.

Guan Yuanbai: [Not yet.]

Reassured, she dialed his number. He picked up almost immediately.

"Hey."

His voice came through the receiver, low and slightly husky.

"Did I wake you up?" she asked.

He sat up in bed, leaning against the headboard, and took a sip of water from the glass on his nightstand. "No. I was just about to sleep, but I'm still awake."

"Oh…"

"What's up?"

"Nothing major." Her voice was muffled, soft from being under the covers. "Did you know someone took pictures of us inside the venue today?"

Instead of answering, he asked, "Are you in bed?"

The question threw her, but she answered honestly. "Yeah, I was about to sleep, but I wanted to ask you first."

He could easily picture her and smiled. "Is the soundproofing in your house not good?"

"Huh? It's fine."

"Then why are you talking to me from under the covers?" His tone was gentle.

"How did you know?"

"I can tell. Isn't it stuffy?"

She poked her head out from under the duvet, taking a breath of fresh air. "Mmm… it's okay."

Influenced by her, Guan Yuanbai also lay back down, settling against his pillow, a lazy weariness washing over him.

"About those photos you mentioned… I've seen them."

"You saw them on Weibo?"

"No. Song Li sent them to me."

"Oh… Well, is that… okay with you?"

He considered it for a moment. "It's fine. It just means putting up with some teasing from Song Li and the others, that's all."

"Ah? Why would they tease you?"

He let out a soft chuckle, his words slow and deliberate. "What do you think?"

The night was deep. The warm bed, the quiet surroundings—everything made the voice coming through the phone sound even more appealing.

Zhou Fanfan suddenly wondered if he was under his covers too. His voice had that same muffled quality, and his tone was different from his daytime voice.

It felt distant and hazy, yet also incredibly close, as if… his lips were right beside her ear.

"Zhou Fanfan?"

"Yeah?"

"You stopped talking."

His voice felt like a fine thread, wrapping around her ear, sending a tingling sensation through her.

She snapped out of it, quickly flipping over and pressing the phone to her other ear. "No… I was just thinking, maybe they find it funny because I put Yiyi's sticker on your face."

"The act itself isn't funny. It's funny because I'm the one doing it." Guan Yuanbai said. "Forget it. Don't mind them. They're just joking around."

Hearing that he wasn't upset, she felt relieved. "Okay, as long as you don't think it's inappropriate. Those photos of you are being shared like crazy within the fandom."

"What about you?"

"Me, what?"

He asked, "That's a photo of me and you being passed around. Are you okay with it?"

"I'm… fine with it, I guess. It happened last time too… But seeing everyone make up wild stories is a little embarrassing sometimes."

Guan Yuanbai asked, "What are they making up this time?"

The memory of those short stories made the temperature under the duvet feel suddenly too high. She sat up, throwing the covers off. "You know fan circles… they like to write little stories. It's all just for fun."

"Oh? Let me see, then."

There was no way she was sending him that stuff! It was pure nonsense!

"I… I can't find it anymore!" She sniffed, her voice deliberately muffled again. "It's not worth looking at anyway…"

Guan Yuanbai was silent for a beat. "Are you embarrassed?"

"...No, I really can't find it."

He chuckled, deciding not to press her further. "Alright. I'll let it slide this time."

'This time'? There won't be a next time!

Zhou Fanfan said, "If there's nothing else, I'll hang up now."

"Okay."

A moment of silence passed. Both realized the other hadn't ended the call.

Zhou Fanfan made a questioning sound.

Guan Yuanbai's voice was warm. "You hang up first. Good night."

"Oh… Good night."

She ended the call.

The screen returned to her wallpaper.

Zhou Fanfan stared at her phone for a while. A soft, warm feeling began to flow slowly through her heart.

The emotion was strange, gentle, yet intensely stimulating. It felt like her heart was being gently kneaded and squeezed. Any lingering sleepiness was now completely gone.

---

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