The Whole Country Is Watching Us Get Back Together

The year Guan Chi tore up ECHO's contract and resolutely went solo, Chu Qingwei was his teammate and lover. Leaks, public feuds, smear campaigns, trending-topic attacks, malicious marketing... Chu Qingwei was forced to endure it all.

From then on, the two became strangers.

*

When Guan Chi cornered Chu Qingwei at the Spring Festival Gala's live broadcast and tried to hold his hand, Chu Qingwei had only one thought: It's over.

He was a top-tier star, and the other man was a newly crowned Best Actor. Everyone online knew they were the former teammates who were famous in the entertainment industry for "never wanting to see each other again" and having "completely fallen out."

But an invitation from the national broadcaster forced the former teammates and exes, who had broken up long ago, back onto the stage with their once-popular boy band.

And, at the audience's request, they were singing the song they'd written themselves, the one that had once been a hit everywhere.

It was also the song that had brought them together.

Even more absurdly, Guan Chi had been in a car accident, and his memories were stuck at age twenty, on the night they'd just gotten together, hugging each other and refusing to let go, their lips swollen from kissing.

Chu Qingwei wavered: Should he follow Guan Chi's memories and relive an old dream, or reveal the truth that they'd already broken up? After all, the person who'd once said, "I want to sing with you until the very end," had been the first to let go.

Meanwhile, ECHO's devoted fans (crossed out) CP fans had already gone crazy:

"Hahaha, these two idiots again! They made little old me a CP-shipping criminal on the internet back then, and now they're back to torment us!"

"I don't care anymore, I order you two to get back together right now! Tell us why you broke up! And are you going to your retired teammate Xiao Yuan's birthday party or not?"

"What's wrong with feeding the fans a little? Is it going to kill you two to feed us a little???"

Guan Chi suggested, "Well, what if... we give the fans a little more to help me recover my memories faster?"

Chu Qingwei: "The idea is good, but denied."

Guan Chi didn't lose heart when his idea was rejected. During a break in rehearsal, he leaned over and stole a sip of Chu Qingwei's milk tea through his straw. When the camera swept past, he even deliberately rested his head on Chu Qingwei's shoulder.

So the CP fans who hated following them (crossed out) suddenly realized: Huh? What new fanservice trick are these two idiots pulling now?

"Sis, don't worry. I'm really not going to be fooled by RPS this time! I'll pretend I'm shipping them again, but it's all part of my plan! I'm doing this at my own pace!"

"What do you mean these two idiots have me wrapped around their fingers? I just like spinning in circles!"

"Bestie! This time is really different!"

"They're not real, so I'm the fake one!"

*

The spotlights came on again, and the familiar intro began. Guan Chi whispered in his ear, "Whether I remember or not, when I hear this song, I just know I have to hold on to you."

From a three-person stage to standing side by side as a duo, from passionate to cold and distant, ECHO's songs were still playing. But this time, Guan Chi wouldn't let go of that hand again.

Only Chu Qingwei knew that the day Guan Chi recovered his memories would be the moment this false happy ending came to an end once more. Because the one who had actually asked to break up back then wasn't Guan Chi, but Chu Qingwei himself.

Sing a song once, and it's youth. Sing it a second time, and it's reunion.

*Guan Chi, former boy band member and current actor, x Chu Qingwei, former boy band member and current popular idol

*Rekindled romance, fictional modern setting, no real-life inspiration

Theme: Believe in true love