Chương 43: Known Yet Unknown
"It HURTS!"
A girls voice rang out in the practice room.
"Oh my god... I feel like dying..."
Qiu Yue couldn't even cry because of the way her entire body hurt.
This whole practicing dance while also exercising hurt way too much!
It felt like all the muscles in her body were on fire and anytime she tried to stand, or even get up it felt like all the energy in her body has been sucked out.
She gingerly turned her head to look at her watch trying to minimize the pain. As expected it was past midnight. Great! Now who would help her?
Just as she was thinking of calling Yao Yan, the door to the practice room opened and Qiao Feng entered. Looking at him one would think it was morning and that he had just woken up.
"Why do you look so fresh?! Ugh ouch that hurt..."
Qiu Yue had jerked her arms to point at him and now she could only cry without tears.
"I work nights all the time. Especially since your debut is coming up soon. As most people... underestimate you it makes my a work a bit... harder."
Though he said it like that, Qiu Yue still winced. So that meant while she'd been whining he'd been working just as or maybe been harder than her?
"Come on. Sleeping on the floor, you'll catch a cold this way."
He walked up to her barely able to hide his smile. Looking at her on the floor just lying there comfortably, he remembered a picture of a cat just lazing around.
If Qiu Yue had heard his thoughts she'd definitely get angry. Who was lazing around? She literally couldn't move alright?
He quietly sat down next to her. Taking a break at times was also important.
Qiu Yue didn't even bother to get up, just turning on her side to face him.
"Why don't you go to sleep?"
Something about that question tugged deeply at Qiao Feng and he didn't reply immediately.
Seeing him fall silent Qiu Yue felt that perhaps she had asked him something he didn't want to talk about with her.
"...you don't have to tell me if you don't want to. Sorry if I, uhm, was intrusive."
Qiao Feng turned to look at her with a rueful smile and was instantly struck by how familiar this seemed to him. Just her sleeping on her side, looking up at him, as everyone in the world was asleep and only the two of them seemed to exist.
...what the hell was he thinking about?
He lightly shook his head deciding to throw away those thoughts.
"I'm not sure really. Sleep doesn't come to me so easily, it's hard for me to relax."
"Hmm~"
Qiu Yue stole a long look at Qiao Feng and then let out a small laugh.
"Yeah it's the opposite for me. I can sleep whenever I want, wherever I want! Isn't that great?"
Qiao Feng's lips twitched at her happiness over such a superpower but he shook his head helplessly.
"Why'd you start exercising by the way? You never did that before-"
"What?"
Qiu Yue suddenly jerked her head to look him with her eyes wide with shock.
"So I did this... all for nothing?!"
Qiu Yue suddenly looked like she truly wanted to cry a river.
"...."
Qiao Feng truly felt staying silent was the best thing to do. Nothing good came by coming between the relationship between a girl and exercise. Ever.
Qiao Feng coughed lightly and spoke trying to change the subject.
"I know you choose the songs for the album already, have you also chosen the title track?"
"Mhm, I chose one yeah."
"I think I have a suggestion for that song that I'd like you to listen to."
"Hmm? Really? Alright let's go listen to it then!"
"Now?"
Qiao Feng was a bit surprised, it was about to be 1 in the morning!
"Not like we're doing anything!"
Qiao Feng shrugged and said okay walking to the door when a sheepish voice spoke from behind him.
"This... I think you'll have to help me..?"
.....
Qiu Yue looked around the recording room as Qiao Feng sat her down in one of the chairs. She truly couldn't get over this place, it looked so cool! Like in those movies she had seen!
Qiao Feng smiled softly as he watched Qiu Yue marvel at everything with visible delight in her eyes.
"Right! Remember that video I posted of you singing in the park?"
"Oh yeah, I heard that blew up. Huh, I guess celebrity parents aren't completely useless. Brother forwarded it too didn't he?"
"Yes. So did a few of the artists from our company and many notable ones in the industry. It wasn't because of your parents name, not at first anyway. Who knows where those fans got that information."
Qiao Feng hadn't released it with any information just secretly pulling strings to get the video to spread as much as possible. And it had. That wasn't surprising, seeing that Qiu Yue was a talent he considered a diamond, a once-in-a-lifetime talent. It was a given she would become popular. The video was forwarded on weibo by almost everyone.
"Can I see the comments?"
Comments? Qiao Feng's lips curled into a mischievous smile.
Instead of the video he pulled up the latest articles and her account side by side. (Ah~ the wonders of modern technology.)
"Mystery Singer in the park video is actually the King and Queen's daughter?"
"Mystery Singer's identity? Controversial. The Talent? Guaranteed!"
"Struck by the emotions! Say many listeners."
"Ascension of a fairy? A New Star is born!"
Qiu Yue raised both her eyebrows at those headlines. Woah, these people weren't embarrassed to write such blatantly embellished articles? Clearly the agency had also given them enough warning against any negative publicity. It made sense, she was debuting too fast, any bad publicity right now could taint her career and her life for ever.
She switched to the comments of her account under the video post.
LoveToReadNovels: Her voice and her eyes! They're both so clear and beautiful!!
Fairi110: Amazing. Crying so hard. BYE.
christeasss: who is she and please tell me how she would like her eggs cooked in the morning~
red_fox17: I STAN WHAT'S HER NAME
Bunny_gray: previous poster I think I recognize her, isn't she Xiang Qiu Yue? The king and queen's spoilt daughter????
Jeee867: thanks but no thanks, instead let's stream Gingko! That's my tea!!!!
Tsukirabbit: Idk who she is but I love her?!? I wanna marry her voice!
Jinkx_sha: okay guys, enough drooling, but can we talk about the lyrics and emotions? I FELT THAT.
taelovestata: +200 But I'm still licking the screen!!
YelenaY: honestly, her voice gives me hope. Thank you for existing and giving out your voice.
Qiu Yue's eyes softened and she couldn't stop herself from laughing while reading these comments. Even the one that wanted to rally others to stream another idol group was so cute, it reminded her of a factory manager for no reason at all.
They also filled her with a renewed sense of purpose. So what if she couldn't move right now?! As soon as the hangover of this exercise session wore off she'd get right back to work!
Qiao Feng really couldn't understand what was going on in Qiu Yue's mind at times, or perhaps he understood her well enough to know that he certainly didn't know how to know what she was thinking about.
So instead he decided to bring the conversation back to the track.
"Right, so for this song, I feel like if the first paragraph was sung by another person, the effect of the song would be better? This way we show the story of two people."
"You think so?"
"This song... it's important to me. It's the one I want- no, the one I need to sing. I just don't know if-"
Qiu Yue's eyebrows furrowed as she thought about it. Yes he could be right but this song... she really didn't want to share it with anyone. She didn't know if she could.
And right then-
"Imagine a world without me
Say you're falling apart"
Her eyes flickered as she heard him sing the first two lines. There he was, just holding the sheets and singing them like she'd rehearsed.
Qiao Feng's voice was deeper and darker than she had thought and yet there was velvety feel to it. You could feel it and yet it was so soft.
"Let's pretend you've missed me for a while
Wouldn't you say you were lonely and love was breaking your heart?
Put on your Sunday best and fake a smile"
Her breath caught in her throat as she took in his words.
Why...? Why did they feel so familiar?
It was almost as if-
Almost as if the one standing there was him.
Huo Zi Feng.
Even she didn't know when tears had started trickling down her cheeks, only when she felt someone wipe them away gently did she snap out of it.
Qiao Feng was kneeling in front of her with eyes filled with concern.
"Did I- I'm sorry. I shouldn't have suggested anything."
His voice was soft as though he didn't want to startle her.
"N-no... it wasn't that. I just - I felt... like..."
What could she tell him? That the one person she loved had died and she ran away from it to another world? That that song had, or perhaps his singing had reminded her of him?
She quickly brushed away the rest of the tears and smiled weakly at him.
"No, no. it sounded beautiful. I think you were right. In fact I think instead of hiring someone... you should sing it..."
Qiu Yue looked at him hopefully as she said the last part. Obviously if he'd chosen to be a manager despite knowing his many talents without any pressure, familial or such, perhaps he hadn't wanted anyone to know? But she couldn't imagine letting anyone else sing this.
Not anymore, not once she had heard it in his voice.
Qiao Feng was left at a loss without any words. He truly hadn't wanted to step into the show part of this business. And yet how could he say no to a gaze like that? He sighed helplessly.
"Let me think about it."
He couldn't commit just yet. So he gave her the next best answer.
"Come on, I think it's time for you to go home, it's late and we have tv appearances set up for this week."
Qiu Yue knew that what she had been asking for had been a bit too impulsive, so she just smiled helplessly.
"I don't think I can walk home... I mean it's really close but my legs are, well they certainly can't right now haha..."
Qiu Yue really wandered what madness had made her do all those exercises, and now look?! She had to tell him she couldn't even walk home...
'Someone please kill me...'
"...."
Qiao Feng was also speechless.
"I don't have my car right now, a friend borrowed it. Why don't you stay at the agency's dorm for today? I'll take you until there."
Although Xiang Qiu Yue normally stayed at her own apartment nearby, she was also allotted a dorm.
"Oh yeah, I don't mind anywhere!"
Only when they'd packed all the equipment up and reached the ground floor did Qiu Yue realize a major problem.
"Company dorm is surely closer but it isn't close enough for me to walk to, and you don't have your car so... how exactly...?"
Qiao Feng gave her a light smile and then got bent down with his back towards her.
"Come on I'll carry you there, it's really close."
Qiu Yue opened her mouth to say something but she couldn't find words that made sense so she shut up.
After hesitating for an eternity she grimaced knowing that this was probably the only way. This or bicycles, but bicycles would require one of them to rent one and that meant risking being seen by others. One couldn't underestimate Qiu Yue's current delicate image, one wrong move and it could all fall apart.
She gingerly and hesitantly placed her hands around his neck as if hugging him close, her body went tense, her muscles pulled tight.
Honestly even breathing was hard because it felt like he'd be able to hear it, in fact she felt like no matter what she did, it would bother him because of how close they were.
So she just stayed silent. Very still, tense and silent.
Qiao Feng's lips curled into a mischievous smile. He could feel exactly how tense she was right now, and he also knew that she probably wouldn't say anything.
So he got up and started to walk quietly. She truly was so light he couldn't understand how she didn't blow away every time the wind blew too strong.
At first he had thought that person was very interesting. She had so many different emotions and everything she thought reflected in her eyes without any distortion. It seemed like she was very outspoken and straight-forward but she also put that much thought into her words to avoid hurting others. And yet this person, for some reason, was very sad.
She tried to be happier. She tried to be cheerful but he knew that inside, she was still just as broken as the day he had seen her crying in the rain.
At first it was all just to make sure she would be his idol. The one he wanted to make sure would be the best of best. And yet every day that went by, just talking to her, trying to convince her, it annoyed him. Who could have left her like this? Even he couldn't understand why he felt this way. Why he felt irritated when he saw her just staring at that ring she wore around her neck on her necklace. The sadness that hit him when he heard her sing, no he hasn't lost anyone. His parents were well, so were his grandparents. Sure, he didn't have many friends but that was by choice and the ones he did have were all fine.
He just couldn't understand her pain. And yet, he could feel it, so raw it tugged at his heart in a way he simply couldn't comprehend.
No one has ever said no to him, but to her he didn't exist at all. Sure she was nice to him, she was nice to everyone. But her eyes seemed to always search for that one person.
And now her arms were around his neck, her body pressed against his back. Her hands felt soft and the gentle scent of vanilla that followed her made him want to never let go.
Taking a route that was seldom used by others, he started to walk towards the dormitory, of course it wasn't to make this journey longer by a few seconds...
"It's very blue today."
"Uh?"
His voice, when he spoke Qiu Yue felt his chest rumble and that had surprised her.
She looked up and stared and the sky. Really, it was so blue. Not the dark of the night sky, not the sky blue that painted it in the day but rather this shade of cerulean blue.
"It really is..."
She wondered what it is but all of a sudden the tension in her just melted away and then she closed her eyes, leaning her head on his shoulder, just resting.
....
Dream Entertainment company was just known as one of the best without reason. Even though Qiu Yue rarely stayed there, her room was kept clean and well-maintained.
Qiao Feng gently called out to Qiu Yue to open the door because it felt like she had fallen asleep. But despite almost passing out in Qiao Feng's back, she hadn't in the end. Qiu Yue took the card and swiped it before mumbling something and laying her head back down on his shoulder.
He laid her down in her bed and pulled a blanket over her before taking a moment and just looking at her. She didn't even seem to register him, as she turned to her side in the comfort of a bed, pulling the blanket closer and curling up into a comfortable position.
Unknowingly a smile crept onto his face and he sighed before walking out to the living room.
"Going back now seems like it wouldn't make much difference..."
After all she had a tv appearance tomorrow and he needed to wake her up for that. Since he had to come back here in the morning anyway, he laid down on the sofa and closed his eyes intending to rest for a few minutes.
And thus, he didn't even realize it, but he had already fallen asleep.
Both of them slept apart, and yet joined by a bond that is familiar to both and yet not known.
SUY NGHĨ CỦA NGƯỜI SÁNG TẠO 
Qiu_Yue
Qiu_Yue E/N: WolfQueen here! According to the author this arc will move fast. Only a few more chapters left to finish it (like 7 or so, yeah. Cuz that's a few.)
Anyways, omg I always love these parts of stories T^T Ah Yue, darling keep working hard!
A/N: wasn't going to type one but THIS IS A HUGE CHAPTER.
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