The Lead Singer Has Been Plotting This for a Long Time

Shen Xu, the face and lead vocalist of the popular band Eclipse, is every bit as distant and aloof as his name suggests. He's known throughout the industry as an icy beauty.

Zhong Qingyu, the bassist, is the band's little ray of sunshine: talented, cheerful, and so slow to catch on when it comes to romance that he's practically a block of wood.

To boost their popularity, the company orders the two of them to promote themselves as a couple.

Little Zhong lets out a wail. "Promote us as a couple? With Brother Xu? I don't know how!"

Shen Xu accepts the assignment calmly. "Just follow my lead."

So in front of the cameras, Shen Xu hands him water, wipes away his sweat, and picks up his cues with flawless chemistry.

Off camera, Shen Xu feeds him, smooths his hair, and quietly stakes his claim, taking care of him in every possible way.

Little Zhong gradually gets used to it: used to Shen Xu's closeness, used to his care, used to instinctively searching for him in a crowd.

Until an accident onstage, when Shen Xu unhesitatingly takes off his own expensive microphone and hands it to him. Under everyone's gaze, they share the same mic.

In that moment, the deafening cheers fade away. Zhong Qingyu can hear only his own uncontrolled heartbeat.

It dawns on him, belatedly: could he be the only one who thought this was just for show?

And Shen Xu, who seemed to be going along with it passively, had already laid a gentle trap and been waiting for him to fall into it for ages.

--Bonus Scene--

After the celebration banquet, Zhong Qingyu corners him in the lounge and asks, eyes red, "Shen Xu, when is this couple promotion of ours... going to end?"

Shen Xu gazes at him, no longer hiding the surging love in his eyes. "With you, I've never been pretending."

We said we'd only pretend to be a couple, so why are you taking it seriously?#

The icy lead singer is a master of seduction, and the sunshine boy's life is one long setup.#

How to spoil your bandmate until he becomes your boyfriend.#

We made it real!#

Blurb archived: 2025/11/12

A few ramblings: It's all written before posting again! Who understands the joy of having the whole story finished in advance!!!

Editing this story was such a headache. I came up with the plot while I was at work. Whenever work got boring, I'd rest my chin on my hand and think about what to write in the next chapter. I wrote whatever I felt like, exactly as it came to me, so the transitions between chapters always ended up making sudden turns at the beginning of the next one. Sigh. I usually outline what happens in each chapter, how the relationship develops, and where to add conflict and tension. But when I get home after work, get settled, and open my writing software, my mind goes completely blank. In short: I still haven't written enough.

All right, all right, that's it, haha!

While posting the story chapter by chapter, I also made a beastfolk-world bonus story by hand. I love it so much, so much, so much! Next, I'll edit the story again and again. It should take about a week. If you're reading, you can wait until after New Year's, delete your downloaded file, and reload the chapters to see the changes!

Mwah mwah mwah, love you all!

Note added 2025/12/19

Reader's Guide:

1. One-on-one romance, happy ending, each other's first love, emotionally and physically exclusive.

2. The seme spoils the uke. No angst at all, sweetness overload. No refunds if you get a toothache.

3. The plot follows the band's growth and the development of their relationship, with a slow, steady pace and a long period of romantic tension.

4. No contrived misunderstandings or love rivals, just sweet romance and building their careers.

Theme: We said we'd only pretend to be a couple, so why are you taking it seriously?