Dating Show Side Character, Getting Rich by Roasting People
Chapter 85: Secretly Happy Again
“Cheers!”
After the show, the whole Mayfly Party band invited Chu Ling out for a late-night snack.
It was a kind of half celebration, to mark the success of their first live performance.
“This really feels perfect,” the keyboardist said, excitement in his voice. “I almost cried during the final bow.”
The bassist chuckled. “Pathetic. We’re still aiming for bigger stages. This is only the first step. Next, we go on a national tour.”
“A national tour!”
“Yes!”
The keyboardist slammed his hand on the table. “Tonight, I’m drinking until I can’t stand it anymore! Fill them up, everyone!”
Sheng Yi held his cup and laughed along. He never imagined that one day, his dream would feel this close.
Of course, he hadn’t reached it entirely honorably. Promotion, selling an image, reality shows—he had done everything he could.
But who cared?
He had brought his band this far.
Chu Ling noticed that everyone’s cup was filled with alcohol, except Sheng Yi, who had juice.
“So you can resist drinking in this kind of situation?” Chu Ling laughed.
Just as she said that, she saw the drummer about to pour juice for her and waved him off. “I’m fine, pour me some alcohol. He can’t drink, but I can.”
In truth, Chu Ling had only met Sheng Yi’s bandmates briefly before. Their last meeting was before she and Sheng Yi had gotten together.
Because they weren’t very familiar with her, everyone had been polite and distant at first, of course not pouring alcohol for a girl.
Hearing her say that, everyone except Sheng Yi froze for a moment.
“That’s not really appropriate,” the drummer hesitated. “You’re a girl.”
“And?” Chu Ling raised an eyebrow. “Do you not trust my drinking or my character?”
Sheng Yi knew she truly loved drinking, so he laughed and said, “Just pour it for her. It's nice to have someone in the family who can drink.”
The other three booed in unison.
“Do you still have any shame?”
The keyboardist looked disdainful. “So you’re letting a girl drink in your place? Aren’t you embarrassed?”
“Oh, jealous?” Sheng Yi shot back. “If you’re jealous, you can find one yourself. Too bad, I can’t guess who here hasn’t found someone yet. Definitely not me.”
The keyboardist: “.....” He really deserves a beating.
This was said by other teammates as a joke to laugh at Sheng Yi. Never thought the tables would turn and Sheng Yi would now be the one showing off.
“You are too ungrateful!” the keyboardist grumbled.
Sheng Yi raised an eyebrow, his expression clearly saying, “So what?”
The noisy, playful atmosphere only made their camaraderie feel stronger.
Chu Ling, laughing at all the teasing, pointed at Sheng Yi. “So you guys know why he never drinks? Is it really just to protect his voice?”
Sheng Yi replied first. “Yeah.”
“That’s only a small part of it,” the bassist added with a grin. “Honestly, big singers drink plenty, and this band’s lead singer? How often does he even have singing occasions to worry about?”
“I know!”
The keyboardist jumped in to spill the truth. “The real reason is, this guy can’t handle alcohol at all. Back when he used to get drunk, he’d go completely wild, so over time we just stopped letting him drink. Otherwise, who knows what he’d do—”
Sheng Yi interrupted. “Hey!”
Chu Ling propped her chin on her hand and looked at him.
Sheng Yi rubbed his nose. “Now that you know the truth, don’t you feel… a little embarrassed?”
“Hmm…”
Chu Ling looked him in the eyes. “Honestly, I think it’s kind of cute.”
“You’re right. It’s enough to have one person in the group who can drink.”
Chu Ling swirled her glass and raised an eyebrow. “Anyway, I love drinking.”
Taking advantage of the celebration, Chu Ling quickly started getting to know the other band members as well.
Sheng Yi’s bandmates were about his age, and though they teased each other constantly, they were actually really fun and easygoing.
“Oh, I’m curious.”
By the end of the night, Chu Ling asked, “Your band… why is it called Mayfly Party? Was it random or does it have some meaning?”
“It’s not anything too deep,” Sheng Yi said. “Mayfly are born and die in a day, but even with just one day, they live it to the fullest.”
“Exactly, just like today! We had the best time ever!”
The keyboardist, already a little tipsy, grinned. “In the future, we’ll play in bigger venues, party until we’re old, party until we die!”
The others, all drunk, cheered loudly along.
Sheng Yi’s eyes were clear, yet he said, “That day will come.”
Chu Ling looked at him.
The same person who had once told her that dreams can’t feed you, that talking about them is meaningless, actually took his own dreams seriously.
For reality, he had put aside slogans and moved forward step by step in the most ordinary ways.
But he never forgot.
Chu Ling really liked this side of Sheng Yi.
—
The celebration ended, and the others were nearly out of it from drinking.
In the end, Sheng Yi took care of everyone, sending them home one by one in taxis.
Chu Ling asked, “They’re really okay, right?”
“They’re always like this. They won’t die.”
Sheng Yi asked Chu Ling, “And you? Are you feeling okay?”
Chu Ling had had her share of drinks too.
She looked fine now, speaking clearly, unlike his embarrassing teammates who were already rambling nonsense, but her cheeks were a little flushed.
She smiled and said, “See? I’m standing steady. Totally fine.”
Sheng Yi bent slightly, looking at her for a moment. “Wait here, I’ll go to the convenience store.”
He came back quickly, handing her a drink.
Chu Ling looked puzzled. “What’s this?”
“Water-soluble C,” Sheng Yi said. “It helps with hangovers.”
“I’m not drunk,” Chu Ling said, hands on her hips, smiling. “Come on, my tolerance is way higher than you think. Back when I went to drinking parties, I could get everyone under the table while I stayed fine.”
She tilted her chin. “Impressive, right?”
Although not drunk, her voice was a little softer than usual, and the ending tones of her words were cute and sticky.
Sheng Yi felt a flutter in his chest and praised her naturally. “Impressive.”
“But alcohol is real,” he said. “No matter how much you can drink, too much will make you feel off the next day. Just take a little.”
“Alright,” Chu Ling said. She twisted the cap open and took a couple of sips. The taste seemed to settle in her mouth, and she actually felt a bit better.
She reached out and held Sheng Yi’s arm. “Okay, let’s go home.”
Two days before the performance, Sheng Yi had gone to practice with his bandmates. Chu Ling had spent those days handling other work, keeping tonight free for his show.
Absence makes the heart grow fonder. Just holding hands on the ride home, after a few days apart, made their emotions nearly impossible to contain.
But they held back, worried about paparazzi following them.
They managed to wait until they got home and closed the door.
The moment Chu Ling turned around, Sheng Yi had his arms around her waist and kissed her.
Pressed against the entrance, Chu Ling stood on her toes and looped her arms around his neck, tilting her head up to kiss him back.
All their pent-up emotions surged toward each other.
The little alcohol she had drunk made Chu Ling more passionate than usual.
Sheng Yi normally didn’t drink and didn’t like the taste of alcohol. But Chu Ling’s faint scent mixed with the wine was intoxicating, making his heart burn.
Their kissing had improved over the months of dating practice. Now they could kiss longer without feeling suffocated, though doing so still made their legs go weak.
Chu Ling couldn’t stay on her feet and ended up falling back onto the bed, continuing the kiss.
The moonlight was just right, and so was their mood.
Chu Ling’s hair spilled across the pillow. Her fingers fiddled with Sheng Yi’s shirt buttons as she whispered, “In the drawer.”
Sheng Yi asked, “What?”
Chu Ling replied, “You’ll see for yourself.”
He reached out and opened the drawer, feeling his fingers tremble slightly.
“You can pick whichever one you like,” Chu Ling said.
Sheng Yi loosened his hold on her a little, hesitating. “You’ve been drinking, are you sure—”
“I’m not drunk,” Chu Ling said flatly.
She remembered the teasing words she’d said when she first saw him. Bending her knees, she nudged him lightly and asked again, “Of course, if you have any issues, that’s a different story.”
She added, “Don’t worry, I won’t mind.”
Sheng Yi paused for three seconds, then asked, “Do you want to take that back?”
“Huh?”
He bent down, kissing her harder this time than before. “You’ll find out soon enough whether I have a problem.”
Chu Ling admitted her words were meant to provoke him a little.
She didn’t expect Sheng Yi to actually take the bait.
For the rest of the night, Sheng Yi used his own actions to prove to Chu Ling that he was indeed fine.
It was just that he'd been so tolerant for the past twenty years, so much so that Chu Ling began to wonder if he'd gone mad.
At her breaking point, she finally couldn't help but curse him intermittently.
Sheng Yi always thought Chu Ling was adorable.
Whether she was taking the initiative or being passive, scolding him or pinching him, she was always cute.
And, in his opinion, she even sounded pretty when she scolded him.
No wonder the fans loved it—he liked it too.
Maybe he had a little bit of a masochistic streak. Getting scolded by her actually felt kind of… good.
…
Chu Ling slept in until noon the next day.
When she opened her eyes, she cleared her throat and realized her throat was really dry.
...It was obvious that she had scolded a lot last night.
“Awake?”
Sheng Yi noticed her stirring and woke up as well. He brushed her cheek and asked, “How do you feel? Want something to eat?”
Chu Ling yawned. “Yeah.”
He kissed her again and then got up to make something to eat.
Chu Ling lay in bed a little longer before finally getting up.
The floor was a complete mess.
She picked up a couple of her clothes, and then noticed a small receipt on the floor.
It must have fallen out of Sheng Yi’s pocket.
At first, she was going to throw it away, but she glanced at it and realized that besides buying her drink at the convenience store, Sheng Yi had also bought something else.
She froze for a moment. Then she picked up Sheng Yi’s jacket and felt inside the pocket. When she touched the object, she stared at it silently for two seconds.
“..…”
When Sheng Yi came in, she tossed it to him. “What were you pretending to be at the beginning last night? I almost thought you really had a problem.”
Sheng Yi took it and glanced at it, smiling.
Even though she sounded annoyed, he clearly enjoyed it. “And now? Still have doubts?”
Chu Ling rolled her eyes. “Do I dare?”
Fortunately, her stamina was decent, thanks to all the exercise she had done before. Otherwise, she had no idea how she would have survived last night.
“You’re such a dog,” she muttered quietly.
“Am I?”
Sheng Yi touched the bite marks on his shoulder. “I don’t think I was the one biting last night.”
Chu Ling: “.….”
“I bought it last night thinking I’d save it for… later,” he said with a light chuckle. “Though I overestimated myself. I’m not that gentlemanly.”
Chu Ling: “…Okay, that’s enough.”
After the chaos of last night, Chu Ling decided to spend the day resting at home.
While eating, she scrolled through her phone and saw a discussion thread.
Title:【Sheng Yi acting so dominant, they can’t be just a contract couple】
【Yesterday at Sheng Yi’s band live, I think I spotted someone in the second-floor VIP box. Looked a lot like Chu Ling [image.jpg] Can anyone help me identify?】
【That’s definitely Chu Ling! Even with all the coverage, her figure is recognizable.】
【I was wondering why 11 was always looking upstairs and interacting, and I even asked my friend who was upstairs! Turns out it was my sister-in-law, so that's all right.】
【Did anyone hear the new song live yesterday? Sorry for being a shipper, but I feel like it was written by 11 for 00.】
【Obviously! The band rarely writes love songs, and this is clearly inspired by the lead singer falling in love… Totally a confession song.】
【So yesterday, 00 was at the show, specifically to hear 11’s new song written for her, right?】
【This couple is too cute! I’m dying from how cute they are!】
【Sneaky happiness again, you little lovebirds!】
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