From the moment Gu Yue arrived to join the queue, he had attracted a lot of attention. The stir in the line earlier had been caused by him. Although most people lining up for autographs today were girls, it wasn’t as if there were no boys, but the numbers were small, which made his presence quite rare. Gu Yue was tall and handsome, standing out too much; a male fan with his level of looks was naturally an even rarer sight.
The number of autograph slots was limited, and once they were gone, the signing would end. There weren’t many people left in line now, but many fans who had already gotten their autographs hadn’t left; they were waiting in the public area nearby for Jiang Luo to finish his shift. By the time the line reached Gu Yue, the people standing on the perimeter were even more excited than those still queuing.
Jiang Luo was stunned for a full five seconds, his mind going completely blank. There was a chair in front of the table specifically for fans getting autographs, but Jiang Luo didn’t snap out of it until a staff member reminded him, “You can sit here for the signing interaction.”
Gu Yue sat down and placed the poster Qi Xueying had given him on the table.
Jiang Luo was still in a daze. His ability to “act” plummeted, his brain stuttering, unsure of what to say. Seeing the poster, he instinctively reached for a pen to sign it. He kept his eyes lowered, his grip on the pen slightly unnatural.
Gu Yue stared at him, his gaze sweeping lightly over his face. Jiang Luo’s hair and contact lenses were light blue today. He was wearing a studded choker around his neck, several plain hoop earrings in his ears, and a lip ring. A thin silver chain connected the lip ring to one of the hoops on his ear, swaying gently against the side of his face.
Gu Yue remained silent for a moment before speaking naturally: “How long have you been signing? Are you tired?”
Jiang Luo looked up, and the silver chain by his cheek swayed slightly as he moved.
“N-not long,” Jiang Luo looked at him, his breathing slightly irregular. “I’m not tired.”
He had been so relaxed interacting with fans earlier, but for some reason, he suddenly felt strangely constrained—constrained to the point of losing his ability to speak. This rarely happened to him; perhaps the shock of Gu Yue’s sudden appearance was too great, causing his brain to short-circuit.
“I make you nervous?” Gu Yue asked.
Jiang Luo immediately shook his head: “N-no, not nervous.”
“If you’re not nervous, why are you stuttering?”
“I…” Jiang Luo opened his mouth, not knowing what to say. Now he was truly stuttering.
It was the first time Gu Yue had seen him like this, and he found it quite interesting.
After the autograph, there was an interaction segment. Usually, fans had plenty to say to Jiang Luo, but Gu Yue didn’t have much to say. They just sat there looking at each other, the atmosphere strangely subtle. Wanting to see more different reactions from Jiang Luo, Gu Yue took the initiative: “Can we take a photo?”
Jiang Luo was startled for a second, then nodded: “…Sure.”
“A selfie together,” Gu Yue said.
Jiang Luo’s eyes widened, clearly surprised, and he stammered: “Y-yes, sure.”
Gu Yue took out his phone, and Jiang Luo said out of habit: “Uh… let me do it.”
“Okay.” Gu Yue handed him the phone.
Jiang Luo was the one who usually held the phone when taking selfies with fans. He was very familiar with the process and knew which angles were most flattering.
The two turned in the same direction. Gu Yue sat up straight, but the frame couldn’t fit both of them, so Jiang Luo leaned slightly toward him across the table. He caught the faint, pleasant scent coming from Gu Yue, and for no reason, the ear closest to Gu Yue began to burn, slowly turning red.
Gu Yue looked at the lens expressionlessly. Jiang Luo pressed the shutter button, freezing them in the frame.
Gu Yue had no intention of chatting further with Jiang Luo under these circumstances. After the photo was taken, he stood up and left before the interaction time was officially over.
Before the next fan came up, Jiang Luo bowed his head and took a deep breath, quickly adjusting his state.
When Gu Yue emerged from the queuing area, the circle of people outside was watching him, holding up their phones to take pictures. Qi Xueying was behind the crowd, smiling and waving at him. Gu Yue walked over to her and handed her the autographed poster.
Qi Xueying asked with a smile: “You’re fast. Why did you finish so quickly?”
Gu Yue glanced toward Jiang Luo, thinking to himself that if he hadn’t finished, he would have turned into a stuttering mess. He reckoned the guy really had been startled; it was the first time he’d seen him so restrained.
Qi Xueying glanced at the poster in Gu Yue’s hand and joked: “Aren’t you going to keep this poster for yourself? You worked so hard to queue for this signature, you know.”
“Why keep it? It’s not like I can’t see him,” Gu Yue said. “I can see him in person whenever I want.”
“Oh…” Qi Xueying pursed her lips and smiled as she took the poster. “That’s true.”
The signing event didn’t officially end until around five o’clock. Many fans stayed around the booth without dispersing. Jiang Luo stood up and raised his arms to form a giant heart shape, immediately triggering a wave of screams from below.
Jiang Luo knew they probably couldn’t hear what he was saying, given the distance and the noise. He smiled and waved at them, finally bowing deeply to express his gratitude.
As soon as Jiang Luo left the venue, he checked his phone. There were quite a few messages. He clicked on Gu Yue’s profile picture; the last message was from an hour ago, asking which exhibition area he was in.
Jiang Luo typed a reply while walking: I was busy when you messaged me, I didn’t see it.
Only after replying to Gu Yue did he check the others. Cheng Jiashu had sent his location five minutes ago: Waiting for you here, come over when you’re done.
Jiang Luo opened the navigation and said to Jiang Chen: “Let’s go find Brother Jiashu.”
“Okay.” Jiang Chen glanced at him: “Brother, do you know the male fan from earlier?”
Jiang Luo turned to him, and Jiang Chen said: “The tall one in the black clothes.”
Jiang Luo knew he was talking about Gu Yue. He tugged at his earlobe and said: “Is it that obvious?…”
“You couldn’t even speak properly just now…” It was Jiang Chen’s first time seeing his brother like that—so guarded and constrained—”You almost couldn’t even sign your name.”
Jiang Luo laughed and touched his ear: “No way, I signed my name just fine… I was just too surprised. My brain crashed; I never expected him to be there. He isn’t a fan.”
“Is he a friend of yours?” Jiang Chen asked.
“A senior,” Jiang Luo said. “From my school.”
“Oh.”
His phone vibrated. Gu Yue replied: I know.
Jiang Luo immediately asked: Senior, have you already left?
Gu Yue: No.
Jiang Luo: ! Jiang Luo: Are you still at the convention center? Where are you?
Gu Yue: Come to Cheng Jiashu’s location, you’ll see me.
Jiang Luo: !!
Jiang Luo involuntarily quickened his pace. Cheng Jiashu’s location wasn’t far, but along the way, Jiang Luo was recognized by several passing fans, which delayed him a bit. Even if they weren’t fans, many passersby wanted to take photos with him. In the end, he had to put on Jiang Chen’s athletic jacket to cover his cosplay outfit.
There was a large plaza in the central area outside the venue. Crossing it, there were tables and chairs for people to rest. Gu Yue and the others were in that area. He was sitting on a chair, watching from afar as Jiang Luo walked toward him. A boy was walking beside Jiang Luo, talking to him. Jiang Luo was turning his head to talk back, his eyes curved into crescents as he smiled, and he even reached out to pat the other boy on the head.
Jiang Luo was walking toward the coordinates when he suddenly saw Cheng Jiashu stand up and wave at him not far away. He hurried over, but at a glance, he didn’t see Gu Yue. Qi Xueying was sitting next to Cheng Jiashu, and they were all waiting for him.
Gu Yue was behind Cheng Jiashu, who had blocked him from view when he stood up. It wasn’t until Jiang Luo got close that he finally saw him, and their eyes met.
Cheng Jiashu hadn’t talked to Jiang Luo yet today. He walked up and hooked his finger through the silver ring on Jiang Luo’s ear: “All these rings on your ear… this is pretty flamboyant.”
Qi Xueying smiled: “That’s his character design, a punk-rock teen.”
Gu Yue watched them silently, observing as Cheng Jiashu used his finger to flick the earring on Jiang Luo’s ear and the silver chain by his cheek.
Jiang Luo’s gaze remained on Gu Yue as he called out: “Senior.”
Gu Yue responded with a “Hmm” and glanced at Jiang Chen behind him. The boy’s features resembled Jiang Luo’s to some extent, and he was staring at Gu Yue without blinking.
Jiang Luo turned to look at Jiang Chen and introduced him to Gu Yue: “This is my younger brother, Jiang Chen.”
Gu Yue nodded.
Qi Xueying knew Jiang Luo had a brother, but today was her first time meeting him in person. Jiang Luo introduced Gu Yue and Qi Xueying to Jiang Chen, and Jiang Chen politely greeted them: “Nice to meet you.”
After the introductions, Jiang Luo looked at Gu Yue: “Senior… what exactly happened earlier?”
Qi Xueying was smiling beside them. Jiang Luo glanced at her, having already guessed most of it: “Don’t tell me Boss Ying snatched the ticket and made you queue?”
Qi Xueying laughed: “You’re so smart.”
“I knew it.” Jiang Luo smiled. “I couldn’t think of any other possibility.”
Jiang Luo had just pondered it and guessed that must be what happened. What he found puzzling wasn’t that Qi Xueying had asked Gu Yue to help queue, but that Gu Yue would actually agree to do it for her.
“Was it a surprise?” Qi Xueying asked with a smile.
“Surprise is an understatement… I was shocked out of my wits.”
“Well, you were the one who asked Gu to come, weren’t you?” Qi Xueying winked. “He came but couldn’t find you, so I gave him my ticket. Look, you got to see him up close, didn’t you? Isn’t that nice?”
To be honest, when Jiang Luo first invited Gu Yue to the convention, he hadn’t expected the autograph booth to be so crowded. Aside from those in line, there were many onlookers surrounding the area, creating a wall around him that made him invisible from the outside. Also, he had only asked Gu Yue if he would come to see him as a casual comment; after all, his original invitation hadn’t been for the purpose of having Gu Yue watch him, just to see if he was interested in browsing the convention.
Jiang Luo’s fingers, hanging at his side, brushed lightly against his pants. He glanced at Gu Yue and whispered: “I didn’t strictly require him to come see me.”
“Then I wouldn’t know.” Qi Xueying spread her hands. “Gu Yue took the ticket himself, and he stood in that line himself. It was him who wanted to see you, not me forcing him. It has nothing to do with me, oh.”
Cheng Jiashu was completely out of the loop and feeling confused. He had no interest in their small talk and just wanted to eat: “You guys can talk later, can we please go eat first? I’m starving. If I stay hungry any longer, I won’t be able to walk.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Jiang Luo nodded quickly: “My treat today. What do you want to eat?”
“I want hot pot,” Cheng Jiashu said bluntly.
Jiang Luo thought Gu Yue might not like hot pot and suggested: “How about we change it?”
“Why?” Cheng Jiashu asked. “Is there anyone here who doesn’t eat hot pot?”
Jiang Luo glanced at Gu Yue: “Senior, do you eat hot pot?”
“Anything is fine,” Gu Yue said.
“Alright, hot pot it is.”
“Let’s go, let’s go.” Cheng Jiashu grabbed his bag and started walking.
Gu Yue stood up, and as he walked past Jiang Luo, he suddenly asked: “You don’t want me to come see you?”
Jiang Luo’s footsteps faltered, and he turned to look at him.
Oh no.
I said the wrong thing.