Royal Ch.7

Chapter 7: Selling Bromance with Outsiders

Li Man nodded. “Take someone with you.”

It wasn’t surveillance—it was protection.

Yue Zhaolin’s antis had always been aggressive. With a bodyguard, they could use force if necessary to counter violence with violence.

“Alright.”

Yue Zhaolin planned to change into something less conspicuous—his current outfit drew too much attention.

Li Man stopped him. “Zhaolin… for the next month, you don’t need to do extra training.”

When it came to marketing, Xingqiong was in its element. They had it down to a science.

The script had been finalized a month ago, and the promotional plan was already fully mapped out.

As long as Yue Zhaolin didn’t mess up—as long as he stuck to the character the script had created—the whole act would play out exactly as Xingqiong intended.

It was the first time Li Man had ever tried persuading someone this way. “Zhaolin, your ambition is admirable. But the company… puts profit above all else.”

Xingqiong had recruited wave after wave of trainees, and Li Man was sure of one thing: the vast majority of them weren’t serious.

Some had great natural talent. With a bit of packaging, they could pass as idols.

But to them, being an idol wasn’t a respectable profession.

Filming a survival show only took four months. Once they debuted, they all went solo—acting, singing, doing their own thing.

So was it really worth grinding for just four months?

Not really.

It just didn’t make sense.

After all, even those who debuted would eventually have to pivot. As long as their skills were passable for the shows, that was enough—or so the thinking went.

And if not, the fans would coddle them anyway.

Yue Zhaolin was the outlier. He knew he was just a foil—handpicked by the company to play a supporting role. And still, he didn’t slack off.

Li Man had to follow orders from higher up, but she still thought it was a shame.

She gave Yue Zhaolin a clear hint: this time, he could ask the company for compensation. As long as it wasn’t something totally unreasonable, she could negotiate it for him.

Yue Zhaolin paused for a moment. He was surprised—but not entirely. After a couple seconds of thought, he said, “Sister Man, can I get a raise?”

Trainees got a salary too.

“Alright.”

Li Man suddenly remembered something and asked, “How are things with your new roommate? I get the feeling Fu Xunying’s been avoiding you.”

She had noticed something odd about Fu Xunying back in the makeup room. It wasn’t that he was obviously trying to stay away—his avoidance was more subtle.

And it didn’t feel like the aftermath of a fight, either.

Yue Zhaolin thought for a moment and realized Fu Xunying had started acting strangely after the “fanservice class”. He said, “He might be a little… homophobic?”

Very resistant to the whole shipping thing.

Li Man raised an eyebrow. “Hmm?”

After hearing his explanation, Li Man thought something didn’t add up. Shipping was an unavoidable part of survival shows—they had confirmed this with Fu Xunying beforehand.

Once Yue Zhaolin left, Li Man went to talk to Fu Xunying directly.

Of course, she didn’t jump straight to the point. She started by asking how he felt about Yue Zhaolin as a person.

Fu Xunying: “…”

“He’s… alright.”

They shared a dorm room, but Yue Zhaolin never touched his stuff without asking, and never made noise during rest hours.

As far as roommates went, he was pretty decent. Fu Xunying couldn’t bring himself to lie.

So then, what exactly was making him uncomfortable?

Fu Xunying: “…”

It was hard to explain.

The banana handed to him after practice.

The tissue passed over when he choked.

The subtle awareness of personal boundaries—close, but never crossing the line.

All these quiet, natural gestures of “selling bromance” without trying too hard…

They gave Fu Xunying a certain kind of pressure.

To sum it up: it was like selling, but not quite.

Which only made Fu Xunying avoid him more.

Yue Zhaolin had no idea about any of this.

After all, the way “she” interacted with girls was far more familiar and intimate than this. Compared to that, he was already being quite distant with Fu Xunying.

But a misunderstanding had still taken root.

In Fu Xunying’s mind, Yue Zhaolin had already been labeled a genius at selling bromance.

“Achoo—!”

Yue Zhaolin sneezed. He didn’t think much of it. Looking up at the street scene outside the car window, he said to the driver, “Let me off here.”

They were near a plaza. It was the weekend, so the area was livelier than usual—aromas from food stalls mixed with the buzz of music and excited chatter in the air.

Yue Zhaolin spotted a flower shop not far away. Adjusting his mask, he walked over.

“Welcome! Looking for anything in particular?”

A bell chimed as a staff member jogged out to greet him. Despite the long down coat, mask, and cap, this customer had a cool vibe to him.

Noticing Yue Zhaolin was looking at the roses, the clerk offered, “These are Dutch roses—big blooms, full and plush. Feel just like red velvet.”

Under the warm lighting, they looked especially stunning.

Yue Zhaolin nodded and was just about to say something when the music outside abruptly changed, followed by a burst of screaming. He instinctively looked toward the sound.

The clerk asked how many stems he wanted, then added, “There’s a crowd gathering over there—seems like a random dance event.”

These events only played the most popular parts of songs. By the time Yue Zhaolin stepped out of the flower shop, a dozen tracks had already gone by.

Then, after five seconds of silence, a beat dropped—one Yue Zhaolin recognized instantly.

He stopped in his tracks.

It was “Electron Shadow.”

Lots of people knew the choreography for this song. The crowd surged forward, and right in front of Yue Zhaolin, a wide open space was left.

“A beacon in the neon city,

Lost in a flood of data,

A maze of tangled wires,

Luring me deeper within…”

As the lyrics played, Yue Zhaolin locked eyes with someone standing in the front row.

The person looked young—around twenty—with striking features, slightly downturned eyes, and a deep dimple that appeared when he smiled.

He had a head of blond hair that gave him a sunny, golden retriever-like vibe.

He looked harmless, but his dancing told a different story—sharp, cold, and precise, perfectly capturing the edge and chill of “Electron Shadow.”

This guy’s fundamentals are solid, Yue Zhaolin thought instinctively.

Behind him, a whole group was dancing—several of them had even replicated the outfit Yue Zhaolin wore at the music festival. His steps, meant to leave, faltered.

He ended up watching the whole performance before finally turning to leave.

Just as Yue Zhaolin rounded the corner, he suddenly heard hurried footsteps behind him, which put his bodyguard on alert.

“H-Hi!”

A high-pitched voice called out.

The bodyguard assumed it was a sasaeng fan, but it wasn’t—it was the blond dancer Yue Zhaolin had just exchanged glances with during the crowd performance.

The boy’s eyes were bright with excitement, and though his tone was polite, there was a hint of nervousness as well.

“Are you Yue Zhaolin?” he asked. “Actually, I already knew you were… ah, sorry, I’m terrible with words. I’m Cen Chi, a trainee from Lingying Entertainment.”

“I’ve watched your fancams a ton of times, so I recognized you right away. I just wanted to say hi.”

The more Cen Chi spoke, the more he felt like he was just rambling nonsense.

His voice gradually softened. “I hope I’m not bothering you…”

As he listened, Yue Zhaolin couldn’t help wondering—Was his disguise really that bad? Could just anyone recognize him?

Curious, he asked.

Cen Chi scratched his palm nervously. “I’m actually kind of face-blind, but… I don’t know why. I just felt like you were really easy to recognize.”

Yue Zhaolin: “?”

What kind of logic was that?

Just then, another flurry of footsteps echoed from outside. Whoever it was didn’t seem to have noticed this spot yet, but several figures dashed past.

The bodyguard recognized a few familiar faces—sasaengs.

Yue Zhaolin had switched cars multiple times just to get some fresh air today. He hadn’t expected those sasaengs to catch up so quickly.

Realizing what was happening, Cen Chi whispered, “Do you want to give me your hat?”

Yue Zhaolin tilted his head.

“I mean, we’re about the same height, and the hat can cover my hair color. I can help draw them away.”

Faint voices drifted in from outside.

“He has to be here—I saw him holding a bunch of red roses!”

“Just look for the flowers.”

“Xingqiong keeps locking him up in the company like a prisoner. I’ve been stalking for days and got nothing—seriously.”

“Xingqiong’s totally brainwashed him. He won’t even answer my calls!”

The voices got closer.

Cen Chi grew visibly anxious. He clearly wanted Yue Zhaolin’s hat—but didn’t dare speak too loudly in case they were overheard.

“You really want to help me?”

When Yue Zhaolin asked, Cen Chi nodded eagerly. “Mm-hm—huh?!”

Suddenly, a large bouquet of fiery red roses filled his view—and half his sight disappeared under a cap being pulled low over his face.

Yue Zhaolin had placed his baseball cap on Cen Chi’s head, covering most of that bright blond hair.

Through the soft, heavy petals of the extravagant roses, Cen Chi could just make out the shape of Yue Zhaolin’s lips moving:

“Thanks.”

By the time the sasaengs caught sight of the red roses and rushed over, they were stunned to find a completely unfamiliar face.

“Who are you?!”

Cen Chi flashed a grin.

“Get lost.”

…

When Yue Zhaolin returned to the dorm, it was still before 3 PM. The door was slightly ajar, and from the hallway, he could hear Fu Xunying’s voice.

He was on the phone with his family—and it didn’t sound pleasant. Yue Zhaolin didn’t want to overhear something private, so he took a step back and gently pulled the door shut.

Half a minute later, Fu Xunying opened it.

“…Knew it was you.”

He had just had an argument with his parents—got a little worked up and hadn’t realized the door was left open.

If it had been someone else, they might have taken the chance to eavesdrop and pick up some gossip. But Yue Zhaolin? He just quietly closed the door… and stepped away.

Fu Xunying wanted to talk to someone, but when he saw Yue Zhaolin reaching for a towel, he raised an eyebrow.

“You’re showering?”

Yue Zhaolin replied, “Yeah. Got dust on me getting out of the car.”

“Fair enough.”

Fu Xunying could kind of understand.

Their room was laid out a bit like a college dorm, so Yue Zhaolin left his phone on the desk before heading into the bathroom.

Not long after, the phone started to buzz.

Fu Xunying ignored it at first, but the caller was relentless—one call after another. He started to wonder if it might be something urgent.

‘Fine, I’ll pick up.’

‘At least then it’ll stop ringing and give me some peace. I’ll let him know afterward.’

The moment he answered, the voice on the other end immediately launched into a tirade:

“Yue Zhaolin! You finally picked up. Don’t you dare block me again!”

Fu Xunying: …Huh?

Wait, who are you?

“You went to Yuexi Plaza today, didn’t you? I saw you! Why are you avoiding me? Just because I’m a sasaeng doesn’t mean I’m not a real fan!”

‘Well, that’s a self-report.’

‘Definitely a sasaeng.’

Fu Xunying didn’t say a word and was about to hang up when the voice got even more worked up:

“Going to the plaza was one thing, but do you have any idea how long I spent picking out that bouquet of white tea camellias for you?! Why did you buy those red roses instead?!”

“Are you avoiding me on purpose because you hate me?!”

Fu Xunying: “?”

Fu Xunying replied coldly, “You should really get your head checked. Constantly fantasizing like this—it might be a mental issue.”

The sasaeng on the other end was stunned: “?”

Then the call was abruptly cut off.

When Yue Zhaolin stepped out of the bathroom, towel in hand and drying his hair, he heard Fu Xunying ask with uncharacteristic seriousness:

“Yue Zhaolin… are you dating someone?”

Yue Zhaolin: “?”

“Have you been drinking?”

Fu Xunying: “…I don’t drink. And don’t dodge the question—did you give those flowers to someone?”

Because if they were for himself, he clearly didn’t bring them back.

“I did.”

Yue Zhaolin added, “To a guy.”

Fu Xunying’s eyes went wide, as if the clouds had suddenly parted and everything became clear. He was so shocked he practically stammered:

“Does the company know…?”

“A trainee from Lingying Entertainment helped me out,” Yue Zhaolin briefly explained what had happened. “What were you saying earlier?”

Fu Xunying opened and closed his mouth a few times. “A… trainee? Oh?”

That one “oh” was packed with complicated emotions.

His face flushed as if heat had suddenly rushed to it, and he fumbled for something—anything—to say:

“Why are you selling bromance with outsiders? Don’t you know charity starts at home?”

Yue Zhaolin: “Are you mentally ill?”

Even after being insulted, Fu Xunying didn’t get mad. He just mumbled something under his breath, indistinct and rambling.

—

Time passed quietly.

In the chaos of rumors—both real and fabricated—flying around the Starlight super-topic, the Xiufen finally got what they were waiting for:

The release date for the first batch of official profile photos—coming tomorrow.

And in just one week…

The first recording of Starlight begins.

The initial evaluation stage.

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