Expired Sweetness on the Clock [Showbiz]

■ Showbiz | Reunion After Years Apart | Bittersweet | Breaking Up and Getting Back Together | Secret Crush

■ From brothers to lovers

#Goodbye, Friends II Has Premiered#

#Rival Reunion Becomes Reality#

#A Rare Sight in Chinese Entertainment#

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Goodbye, Friends II premiered without any promotion.

A crowd of spectators flooded the livestream, waiting for the guests to start fighting.

A male entertainer with golden curls stepped off the bus, leaving every viewer stunned.

[Holy crap! The show really got him? Could his friend be...]

[No way. Those two fell out ages ago.]

[Gay freaks, get lost. Stop using my fave for clout. Chi is filming right now. No official announcement, no discussion.]

The camera turned to the award-winning actor everyone insisted would never appear on the show. He flashed the sour-faced entertainer an ingratiating smile. "Let me carry your luggage."

The comments section crashed on the spot:

[Did my dead ship just come back to life?]

[In this lifetime, I actually get to see them together again?]

[Are they really serving us expired sugar now?!]

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Lu Xiao and Jiang Chi were both trainees on National Idol. They supported each other throughout the competition and called each other family.

Their fans were losing their minds: How the hell was this ordinary friendship?

On debut night, the two took first and second place and debuted together. Their fan community hit number one.

Everyone thought their once-in-a-lifetime friendship would last, but just a few years later, they went their separate ways.

Lu Xiao left showbiz and moved abroad, while Jiang Chi turned to acting.

Six years after leaving the entertainment industry, Lu Xiao decided to return to China and make a comeback.

When he saw the now-famous Actor Jiang on the same show, he thought it would be better for both of them to keep their distance. But Jiang had abandoned his usual gentle, refined image and clung to him like a dog-skin plaster, backing him into a corner with nowhere to retreat.

A shameless straight man loves to flirt under the pretext of brotherhood. Lu Xiao didn't want to be led around by the nose again and become a target of online abuse.

He kept his despicable, unrequited feelings buried deep inside, only for the other man to suddenly demand, "Why are you being so distant with me?"

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Halfway through the filming of Goodbye, Friends II, the show's popularity kept climbing.

Every day, viewers camped out in the livestream and played detective.

[Didn't they say they were sleeping in separate rooms? Why are they sneaking out of the same room?]

[That's a hickey on the actor's neck, right?!]

[I declare this the most epic public relationship announcement ever. The actor fell first!]

[Please, can someone bring the marriage bureau over here right now?]

[What was that breathy sound just now? Show us what happened in the bathroom!]

#Livestream Shut Down in Seconds#

#Production Team Writing an Apology All Night#

#What Can This Godforsaken Show Even Air Now#

[Goodbye, friends?]

[Are they getting back together, or skipping straight to the wild stuff...?]

When the picture returned, the production team had pinned a desperate statement: "The blackout in some segments was caused by technical issues, not inappropriate behavior by any of our guests."

Underneath, a line of tiny text gradually appeared:

[Tonight at eight, on Banana TV.

They said they came to say goodbye.

But one of them clearly came to repeat the past.]

-- Coming soon: The Fake Sweetheart Lodging at a Streamer's Home. Please add it to your library 🧡 --

[Short-tempered straight male news anchor (bottom) x top-tier female-impersonator star (top)]

[Marriage Before Love | Gender Deception | Straight Man Falls Hard | Silly, Sweet Romance]

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Shen Ke is a prime-time news anchor. Impeccably dressed on camera and steady-voiced, he's been named "The News Face Viewers Trust Most" for three years running.

No one knows he has a temper disorder.

Every day, once the broadcast ends and he gets home, all the stress he's been bottling up finally explodes.

He smashes things, slams doors, and yells at empty air. The echoes of his voice fill the villa year-round.

Then, three years ago, someone named Ji Huaian came to stay at his house.

His grandfather had arranged their childhood betrothal. "Be nice to him."

Shen Ke was irritated. He didn't want to get married, and when they met, he was going to tell that country bumpkin, "Stay away from me."

But when they met, the other guy had his hair tied up in little buns and rosy cheeks. He seemed sweet and obedient.

Shen Ke froze. He couldn't get a word out, struggling to suppress the urge to touch his cheeks.

The other guy seemed afraid of him and didn't talk much.

When Shen Ke was angry, he called him "Little Mute."

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Ji Huaian's sister broke her leg and faced a ruinous penalty for breaching her contract. He took her place in a girl group competition in the capital and stayed with his grandfather's old comrade-in-arms.

He and his sister were identical twins. He was used to using a falsetto at the radio station, and his natural camera presence made him flawlessly sweet onstage.

The first time Ji Huaian met Shen Ke, the man seemed wild and dangerous, so he wanted to keep his distance.

Then he caught Shen Ke falling ill and carried him to the hospital. Half-conscious, Shen Ke put an arm around his neck and mumbled, "Do girl group members really have that much strength?"

Ji Huaian felt a little sympathy for this man who used a cold, fierce exterior to protect himself. It was as if he had glimpsed the oppression in Shen Ke's life.

Shen Ke could be fierce, but after losing his temper, he would awkwardly buy Ji Huaian gifts. Ji Huaian knew he simply couldn't control himself.

He was a good person. He wouldn't have stood up for Ji Huaian when he was being bullied otherwise. Shen Ke even spent money supporting him, becoming the number one fan.

But after spending all that money, he went right back to being fierce.

Their days passed in an awkward yet heated rhythm.

For three years, Ji Huaian played the sweet girl with downcast eyes. Then, on the eve of his sister's return, he took off his wig during the group's anniversary livestream and smiled calmly at the camera, makeup-free. "I'm sorry. I'm a man."

The nation's comments exploded. The trending topics went wild.

And Shen Ke, in the studio during prime-time news, stared at the script on his teleprompter and lost his voice for the first time in front of the entire country.

For a full seven seconds.

That day, he had been planning to confess.

It was the girl group's third anniversary, and he wanted to make up for the formal ceremony he'd owed Ji Huaian for three years.

The gift box was still in his car, the livestream shutdown chime still rang in his ears, and he clutched his phone, his mind filled with one thought: I spent three years throwing money at the center spot, and it was a man?

When he got home, Shen Ke was ready to demand an explanation, but Ji Huaian snatched the flowers from his trunk. "Are these for me?"

Shen Ke was furious. "Of course not!" But then he saw the table laden with food and couldn't resist.

"You still want to be my wife?" Shen Ke asked through a mouthful of ribs.

Theme: Getting back up after a fall is not so hard.