Chapter 34: The New Stage

In the Agency, I looked at my phone.

A photo that was going viral on the internet appeared on the screen.

The evening, a sunset silhouette.

She stood by the water, her back to the camera.

The sunlight of the setting sun hit her from the side—it was actually orange lighting, but the effect was basically the same.

From this angle, her entire back was visible.

The shape of her scapulae.

The indentation of her spine.

The curve of her waist.

And—

The bow.

The bow on the side of her high-waisted shorts was particularly striking in the sunset glow.

The white ribbon was tied into a loose knot, its ends swaying gently in the breeze.

The wind had come at just the right time—

Her hair was being blown upward, pink strands dancing in the orange light.

A few stray strands of hair clung to her cheeks, neck, and shoulders.

She tilted her head slightly, revealing her profile.

The shadows of her eyelashes fell across her cheekbones.

Her lips were parted slightly, revealing just a hint of her teeth.

—It was like a painting.

But more importantly:

This person was Alice.

That’s right, Alice’s Swimsuit Photo Book had sold out as soon as it went on sale.

It wasn’t until now, with the official online version going live, that it reached a new climax.

The first time was because of those photos taken by Mayu and Rika.

Since they weren’t from an official perspective, they were somewhat blurry.

Still, they had certainly whetted the netizens’ appetites.

In the comments section:

[FINALLY!!!!]

[The Gemstone Princess’s swimsuit—!!!!]

[I’ve been waiting for an entire week!!]

As for me?

What did Alice’s business have to do with me, Lin Zou?

“Hmm, the photos look quite good,”

I muttered.

***

Break time.

Su Nian was drinking water when she overheard my self-talk.

She immediately leaned over.

“What photos?”

Then she poked her head over and saw the screen.

“Wait, what photos?”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!! It’s Alice—!!!”

“It’s actually a swimsuit photo book!! How come I didn’t know—President, you’re keeping the good stuff to yourself!!”

And then…

then my phone was snatched away by this Husky.

I waited until she had been staring at the screen for a full 3 minutes.

Only then did I raise my hand above my head, straightening my fingers into a blade—

Thwack!

“Ow!!”

After one hand-knife strike, I heartlessly took my phone back.

Su Nian began to wail, a sound I hadn’t heard in a long time.

“President… if you keep hitting me on the head, I’ll turn stupid…”

I resumed scrolling through my phone, my face expressionless.

“You can’t get any stupider.”

That was the truth.

I felt she was already stupid enough; she couldn’t possibly get any worse.

However, this did remind me of something.

I turned around, went back to my room, and brought out a small box.

By the time I returned to the dance studio, Xiao Xi was comforting Su Nian.

As I walked closer, I heard them talking.

“It’s… it’s okay, Sister Su Nian… the President must like you.”

Upon hearing her junior say that, Su Nian immediately stopped feeling bad.

Her expression became radiant.

“Of course! The President must like me the most—”

“Ow!”

I couldn’t help myself and gave her another one.

“Waaaaah… President~~”

Her eyes were welling up with tears.

“Don’t worry, I didn’t hit your head this time.”

That was indeed my mistake.

But it didn’t matter; I hadn’t used much force, and she was durable.

I didn’t want to explain anything else, so I just handed the box to her.

“A new phone. The numbers are all saved. You can figure out the rest yourself.”

I had actually bought it a few days ago, but I had been delaying it because of various things.

Today, her ignorance regarding the currently trending Alice—her favorite—had reminded me.

Su Nian stood there in a daze as she took the box.

“A phone.”

“—Why are you giving this to me?”

I looked at her.

She looked at me back.

In those dark red eyes, the words ‘Am I dreaming?’ were written clearly.

As I expected, she was stupid.

‘I already spent Ten Million, so why care about a little bit of money for a phone?’

But I didn’t say that out loud.

“Because you need one, and you don’t have one.”

“…Oh.”

She lowered her head and opened the box.

Her movements were very slow, as if she were unpacking something extremely fragile.

Xiao Xi leaned in and squatted next to her, her eyes wide.

“Wow… it’s the latest… model!”

“Mhmm… yeah!”

Su Nian took the phone out, holding it in her hands and turning it over and over.

Her expression was like a dog that had suddenly been given a meaty bone—she didn’t know where to start biting.

I turned to walk away.

After taking two steps, a loud shout came from behind me:

“Wait—wait—President—how do I use this—!”

I looked back.

She was holding up the phone with a bewildered expression.

The screen was lit up, showing the initial setup interface.

I walked back.

I took the phone, swiped through the settings in 3 seconds, and handed it back to her.

“There.”

“So… so fast…”

She blinked and looked down at the phone.

And then—

“Eh? This… this is…”

She stared at the screen, her eyes growing wider and wider.

“Alice… Alice’s swimsuit—!”

She held the phone up in front of me.

On the screen was the sunset silhouette photo from earlier.

“Does it look good?”

I asked.

“It looks great—! It looks so good—!”

Her voice was so loud the entire training room vibrated.

Then she began to tap the screen frantically.

“Follow… follow… follow… and this one… follow this one too…”

Xiao Xi watched from the side and asked softly, “Sister Su Nian, what are you doing…”

“Following Alice—! Everything!”

She didn’t even look up.

Her fingers swiped across the screen rapidly.

After 3 minutes.

She looked up and let out a long breath.

“Done… I’ve followed all the accounts…”

Then she looked at the phone, the corners of her mouth curling upward.

“Hehe… Alice’s phone… is in my hands…”

“…It’s on the phone.”

“Ah? Oh… right, the President’s phone… the phone the President gave me… but I can see Alice…”

She lowered her head again and continued scrolling.

Scrolling through comments.

Scrolling through photos.

Scrolling through videos.

As she scrolled, she suddenly stopped.

“This comment… says Alice’s swimsuit… looks so beautiful…”

She read it aloud.

Then she looked up at me.

“President, you think it looks good too, right?”

“…You’ve been looking at it for so long, isn’t that enough?”

I was a bit speechless.

“Hehe, I knew it—”

She lowered her head again and continued scrolling.

I watched the scene.

Xiao Xi was also watching from the side.

The training room was quiet for a few seconds.

The only sound was Su Nian’s fingers swiping across the screen.

Then I spoke.

“Train once you’re done looking.”

“…Eh?”

She looked up.

“Now?”

“Why else would you be here?”

She opened her mouth.

She looked at the phone.

She looked at me.

She looked at the phone.

She looked at me.

“…Oh.”

She placed the phone carefully on a nearby chair.

She stood up.

She walked to the mirror.

Hand up.

Turn.

Static pose.

Hand up.

Turn.

Static pose.

It was the same as before.

But also different.

As she danced, she would suddenly stop and turn her head to glance at the phone.

Then she would turn back and continue dancing.

The fifth time.

The seventh time.

The tenth time.

Sweat slid down from her forehead and dripped onto the floor.

It soaked in, creating a small dark patch.

I leaned against the doorframe and watched her.

Xiao Xi squatted in the corner, clutching her knees, and watched her as well.

The only sounds in the training room were her footsteps and occasional panting.

There was no cheerful voice.

No one said, “Miss Su Nian, you’re very energetic today as well.”

No one was leaning against the wall, holding a black tea cup, quietly watching everything.

I noticed Xiao Xi glance to the side.

That spot.

The spot that felt like it had been there for ten thousand years was empty—no black tea cup.

***

Break time.

Su Nian sat on the floor, gulping water from her bottle.

Then she picked up her phone and started scrolling again.

“Alice posted another update—!”

Her voice echoed through the training room.

No one replied.

Xiao Xi squatted next to her and also took out her own phone—the pink one Chuxue had bought for her.

She swiped a few times, then looked up at her surroundings.

She looked back down at the phone.

Then she looked up again.

And then she spoke.

Her voice was very small, as if she were talking to herself.

“Sister Chuxue… isn’t here today either.”

Silence.

Su Nian’s finger stopped on the screen.

She didn’t look up.

She just stared at the screen, at the Alice update that had just been posted.

A few seconds passed.

“…Yeah.”

Her voice was lower than usual.

Much lower.

Then she put her phone down.

She stood up.

She walked back to the mirror.

“Let’s keep practicing,”

she said.

She wasn’t asking me.

She was telling herself.

I watched her.

Hand up.

Turn.

Static pose.

Hand up.

Turn.

Static pose.

The twelfth time.

The fifteenth time.

The eighteenth time.

Sweat dripped down.

Dripped onto the floor.

Xiao Xi squatted in the corner, looking at the dark mark on the floor.

Then she looked at the empty spot.

Then she lowered her head.

“It feels… a bit empty.”

***

Night.

Training ended.

Su Nian sat on the floor, holding her water bottle and panting.

The phone was placed next to her, its screen lit up.

It was that Alice update.

She looked at it for a long time.

Then she looked up.

“When is she coming back?”

I knew she was asking about Chuxue.

“I don’t know.”

“…Oh.”

She lowered her head.

Xiao Xi walked over and squatted beside her.

“Sister Su Nian…”

“Hmm?”

“…Do you miss Sister Chuxue?”

Su Nian was stunned for a moment.

Then she smiled.

It wasn’t a “hehe” kind of smile.

It was a soft, somewhat helpless smile.

“…A little.”

Xiao Xi nodded.

I leaned against the doorframe.

How many days had it been?

They had already become this dependent on someone else.

I knew this wasn’t good.

“It’s not just her.

One day, I will leave too.”

My tone was very calm.

They looked at me, their eyes trembling like two pitiful cats.

Even so, what I had to say didn’t change—

“You need to get used to it.”

It wasn’t just idols; everyone would eventually face a departure.

I had to tell them in advance.

Having said that, I didn’t linger and walked straight out of the dance studio.

But before I did, I also caught a glimpse of that empty spot.

Click—

Turning the doorknob, I pushed the door open and left.

Outside the window, the city lights were still bright.

In the distance, there was a flow of traffic, red and white, moving slowly along the streets.

I went back to my room.

I sat in my chair and opened my phone.

The private message interface:

[Does Alice not have a performance today?]

[3 days! Even 3 days is so hard to bear!!]

[The venue next time is too small—but I love you~ Alice~~]

[Missing Alice—]

I scrolled down one by one.

I put the phone down.

I looked out the window.

The city’s night view was the same as before.

But I knew that something was different.

Chuxue wasn’t here.

Su Nian would miss her.

Xiao Xi would ask about her.

That empty spot was always there.

Perhaps she would be back in 2 days.

But for Alice—

12 days later.

That was when they would ‘meet’ again.

The first time they would encounter each other on stage.

—”Snow and Gem.”