[Chasing the Wind] -
The product of an obscure little entertainment company panicking and throwing everything at the wall as bankruptcy loomed.
After much effort, the company executives plucked five handsome young men from the crowd. They cared neither about their backgrounds nor their experience. Age was the only requirement, and vibes were everything. They hoped to break through the Korean and Japanese pop scenes and create a homegrown boy group that was truly original and unpolished.
A dance studio barely bigger than a slap, mirrors that wouldn't kill anyone if they fell over, a park pavilion and a “practice room” shared in shifts with the local retirees, and stage outfits bought from a street stall after haggling for a buy-one-get-four-free deal...
Truly homegrown, but still a flop.
Then, one day, a photo of the five boys in blue-and-white Chinese-style school uniforms, running into the wind against the light, went viral online. The phrase “fresh and youthful” trended, and the little-known group finally made a name for itself.
Later, an eagle-eyed viewer spotted a moment with undeniable chemistry in their music video: a gentle senior pulling down a junior who was sitting on a horizontal bar, swinging his legs, and smiling at him fondly.
The “Yuanxiao couple” went viral thanks to one effective second of footage, pulling countless passersby into the fandom on the spot and giving Chasing the Wind a little buzz.
“Yuan” comes from Qi Yuan, the group's second-oldest member. “Xiao” comes from Yin Shixiao, the group's youngest.
Everyone thought the boy who showed up on the first day in a school uniform and canvas shoes was a “poor kid,” but the more they got to know him, the more there was to him.
Including, but not limited to, buying milk tea for everyone at the company, installing brand-new mirrors in the practice room, somehow getting his hands on a full set of top-of-the-line speakers, and paying for a stylist to do the whole group's makeup and hair...
Was he actually a rich young master, the kind who could bankroll the whole group?
And later... later, the group disbanded.
Just before their first anniversary, Chasing the Wind came to an abrupt end.
Mysterious scandals, tangled tax disputes, the company's hasty decision to put them on ice... and all of it was thanks to the “rich young master.”
To be continued.
Five years later, Yin Shixiao returned home in style after graduating early from a prestigious university. But this time, cut off from his family, he really was a poor kid.
The first thing he did after returning was go find his second-oldest brother. “I'm sorry, bro. Can we start over?”
Qi Yuan looked at the handsome man in a trench coat, who was a little taller than him, but couldn't shake the strange feeling that something was off. He looked like... a kid wearing his dad's clothes!
Seriously, all those years and he only grew taller, not more mature. The anger he'd been holding in for so long turned into a laugh. “Go get your other brothers, and then we'll talk.”
Yin Shixiao: “Then what about us...?”
His mission back home wasn't just to chase his dreams. It was also to chase love.
Qi Yuan ruffled his hair. “Still hung up on the Yuanxiao couple?”
Yin Shixiao murmured, “What if it's not Yuanxiao, but Shiqi?”
Talented, bold in love, with an overwhelming younger-boy vibe, the group's main dancer top (Yin Shixiao) x Strong at heart, unknowingly seductive, gentle older-brother type, the group's main vocalist bottom (Qi Yuan)
[Chasing the wind, riding the waves, this homegrown boy band will reach the top!]
P.S.
1. The Yuanxiao couple fans ship them as an older-younger pairing, while Shiqi couple fans ship them as a younger-older pairing. In the end, the younger one wins :D
2. The story is told in chronological order. The first part takes place five years ago, and the second part five years later.
Theme: Dreams never fade.
