Butterflies Fly Over Winter Chapter 4
byChapter 4: Tipping Someone Off
Chu Yiqi thought for a moment and let out a small smile, looking at Xi Ai with eyes full of unspoken meaning.
She didn’t say a word, yet everything was understood.
Caught in that “well, if that’s what you want to think” gaze, Xi Ai suddenly remembered the last time she had assumed at least one of them was watching the road, leading her to feel perfectly safe only using her peripheral vision to navigate.
Then Chu Yiqi had started playing on her phone, and Xi Ai, still stubborn, had thought to herself, “Oh, it’s fine. It’s just a phone. It’s not like we’ll fall and die.”
…
Xi Ai quickly sent the video and put her phone away.
“Fine, I’ll walk. I won’t look.”
It was truly the most pathetic exchange of bickering.
After they returned, they spent some time discussing the schedule for the group variety show live stream and finalizing some of the content they wanted before heading to bed.
The main reason was Su Luojian’s stern lecture: “Don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to. Especially you, Nie Chuiying. How late were you up last night reading novels or writing songs?”
Nie Chuiying lowered her head, her voice as faint as a mosquito’s buzz. “Uh, three o’clock.”
Xi Ai slowly raised her hand to speak. She looked quite well-behaved, but her words were not pleasing at all; she opened with a formal report. “I can testify. She called me at four to ask if the CP she ships is real or fake. Also, Yu Nianxi started scrolling through videos at two-thirty in the morning and liked one of my posts at three-twenty.”
Chu Yiqi stared at her, remained silent for a moment, and then asked calmly, “How do you know?”
The words caught in Xi Ai’s throat. She sputtered for a long time, but looking at Chu Yiqi, she felt her confidence draining away. “I was… I was working. That’s just how it is with international business…”
Of course, Xi Ai couldn’t admit that she had been browsing Chu Yiqi’s Super Topic, thinking the concert videos there weren’t as good as the ones she had recorded herself, and then spent over half an hour watching her own recordings. Then she had hopped over to their CP Super Topic to see the fans discussing whether Chu Yiqi would show up for the group variety show, and finally decided to watch the previous group variety show to help her fall asleep, only to end up wide awake…
How was that any different from binge-watching a show? It had characters and a plot.
In the end, she figured since things had already reached that point, she might as well get up and work, so she just pulled an all-nighter.
The others had been feeling dejected, but hearing Chu Yiqi’s single question deflate Xi Ai’s ego made them suddenly happy.
As they say, there is always someone to keep another in check; every villain meets their match!
Pah! Qiqi wasn’t a villain; she was clearly the best teammate.
Su Luojian was speechless and issued an order to the four of them: “All of you, get to bed! I don’t want to see anyone unable to wake up tomorrow with dark circles under their eyes. Leave your phones in the living room to charge!”
“Oh.”
Xi Ai woke up early the next morning—even though she had pulled an all-nighter the day before, she had slept in very late yesterday.
She didn’t disturb the others after getting up. Instead, she went downstairs and started messaging a certain elderly man who woke up punctually at seven o’clock.
Elder Xi originally didn’t want to reply because Xi Ai was just sending a barrage of emojis. However, after a while, seeing that she had a “if you don’t reply, I won’t stop” attitude, he took a moment to respond.
A moment later, Xi Ai finally got her wish and received a message—
An emoji that said “Dismissed,” accompanied by a short “imperial decree”: I am suspending court for a month; no messaging early in the morning.
Xi Ai looked at it and smiled softly. The next second, she saw a message from Su Luojian.
[Where are the others? You’re the only one up?]
Xi Ai’s smile vanished, and her brows furrowed. She held down the voice message button while pouring oats and said, “Wait, we didn’t install surveillance cameras, did we?”
Su Luojian was silent for a moment before sending a text: “Uh, I forgot to mention. This time we wanted to try letting you guys act naturally, so it wouldn’t feel awkward with staff around. There’s a camera right in front of you. This space is all yours. He Yuan went to go get some things.”
Xi Ai’s expression froze. Her emotions solidified on her face as she silently switched apps to check the live stream.
Luckily, she had washed up and put on light makeup as soon as she got up, rather than sitting there in her pajamas with a face full of morning grumpiness…
There weren’t many people watching yet, so Xi Ai managed to scroll through some of the recent comments.
[Question: Who is our little classmate Ai chatting with?]
[She just smiled, didn’t she?]
[Excuse me? Why are you always so prickly with us?]
Xi Ai stared at that colorful comment, which clearly came from a paying user, and read it aloud before turning the tables. “Wait, me toward you guys? Don’t you all have any self-awareness about how you treat me?”
Xi Ai didn’t stop and read the next one: “Was she scolded by Sister Luo? Impossible. Sister Luo is beautiful and kind, and mainly because I’m sensible and obedient, Sister Luo wouldn’t do that. You guys are just making things up every day.”
Just as Xi Ai was bickering with them, she heard the door open. The next moment, Chu Yiqi, who had just opened her door, heard Xi Ai’s complaint: “What kind of ears do you people have to hear that?”
Chu Yiqi suddenly realized something. There were only two situations where Xi Ai would ramble like that: one was their old way of interacting, and the other was with fans.
She looked at Xi Ai inquisitively. Xi Ai had a very heavy expression and nodded.
Chu Yiqi made a split-second decision to turn around and leave, closing the door behind her. Normally, wearing foundation and lipstick was considered the highest level of courtesy for her teammates, but if the live stream was on…
Then again, what did it matter?
Chu Yiqi thought about it and decided there was no problem with her appearance, so Xi Ai soon received a message: ? You started the live stream?
Chu Yiqi also quickly received Xi Ai’s reply: I am a victim. Withdraw your slander.
Chu Yiqi: …
When Chu Yiqi left her room again, the others were all staring at her—except for Yu Nianxi, who hadn’t come out yet.
“Who are you… trying to outshine?” Shi Yunshan almost walked with her left arm and left leg moving together—it was unclear if it was because she was standing in front of Nie Chuiying’s room while her own was on the second floor, or if she was shocked by the fact that Chu Yiqi had actually brushed her hair.
Chu Yiqi hesitated on whether she should keep them in the dark, but she immediately tossed that thought out of her mind.
Chu Yiqi’s arrival in the living room was delayed by another five minutes.
When Xi Ai looked up this time, she was visibly shocked. She looked at Chu Yiqi and said, “Do you know I told them you went back to sleep?”
Chu Yiqi stared at her, her forehead lined with frustration. “Are you crazy or am I? How about you go instead? I can just say Xi Ai is still sleepwalking.”
At this moment, no one but Xi Ai was looking at the comments; otherwise, they would have seen the CP fans who had been lurking for a long time finally surfacing.
[That familiar flavor is back.]
[As expected, this bickering vibe is addictive.]
[To the person above, do you remember they were like this at the very beginning? Do you remember how things changed after a while?]
Xi Ai glanced at the screen and thought to herself, “Your idol is trying to avoid suspicion with me, yet you’re still shipping us—well, go ahead.”
The previous commenter paused for a moment before preparing a counterattack.
[My CP is the best in the world!]
[The streamer can’t use words like ‘best,’ so you’re saying it for her, right?]
Xi Ai blinked innocently, and this time she truly was innocent.
Chu Yiqi didn’t take the bait. She picked up her phone and suddenly discovered that Xi Ai had actually been very serious about coordinating their stories.
A few minutes ago, Xi Ai had messaged: [Wait a bit before coming out. I lied and said you went back to sleep.]
Chu Yiqi’s face went blank. Xi Ai stood up and began relaying Su Luojian’s instructions while watching Chu Yiqi’s expression. She immediately gave her a provocative look that said, “See? You even wrongly accused me.”
Chu Yiqi cleared her throat and replied to the message: Didn’t see it.
Xi Ai looked at her phone: …?
Oh, she saw it now.
Xi Ai put down her phone.
Meng Yike looked at her phone and saw new comments.
[Are you guys looking at your phones to flame us behind our backs?]
[Be confident, yes they are.]
Meng Yike: …No, we’re not!
Nie Chuiying read a comment: “Why isn’t the youngest up yet? The youngest… hey, how about we don’t tell her? It’ll feel more authentic.”
Xi Ai looked up silently. “You’re just trying to take a jab at me for tipping everyone off, aren’t you?”
Nie Chuiying looked so innocent, but Chu Yiqi decided to chime in as well. “Then don’t change your clothes. It won’t be authentic anymore.”
After saying it, Chu Yiqi suddenly felt like she was backing Xi Ai up. She silently shrank back and stopped talking, even sitting a bit further away from Xi Ai.
“Oh, actually your pajamas look quite good too, it’s just not…”
Nie Chuiying wanted to cover Xi Ai’s mouth halfway through the sentence, but since she was sitting on the floor, she couldn’t get up in time.
Meng Yike quickly tried to make peace. “Don’t mock each other. I don’t see much of a difference between you two.”
Both liked to swap clothes with their partners, and both liked to secretly add the other’s items to their own outfits.
Shi Yunshan: “Hurry up and get Xixi up. Don’t tell her anything else.”
Xi Ai waited until Chu Yiqi sat down before unhesitatingly choosing the spot directly opposite her. Hearing this, she switched apps to message Chu Yiqi: [See, I’m still the one who treats you best, right?]
Chu Yiqi looked up at her, nodded, and secretly gave her a thumbs-up.
[Hi hi hi, you two are plotting behind everyone’s backs again!]
[Hahaha, look at Qiqi, she’s suddenly so dazed. Baby, you’re so cute, so soft…]
[Xi Ai, stop smiling! I really can’t hold my head up in front of their CP fans anymore!]
[I didn’t mean you weren’t soft, Xi Ai.]
Xi Ai: “I’ll smile if I want to!”
After sitting for a while, He Yuan returned, looking slightly shocked. “You guys are up this early?”
“Our schedule has always been this regular.”
“Yeah, right.” He Yuan opened the door to leave again. “Sister Su left a small speaker to cue the process. You have to cook for yourselves, everyone.”
None of them spoke; they just said goodbye to her and then collectively stared at the person on the stairs with mischievous intent.
Xi Ai quickly messaged Chu Yiqi: [Go pull her out?]
Xi Ai acted immediately, but as she passed Chu Yiqi, she hesitated for a moment and didn’t pull her along.
Chu Yiqi looked at the message but ultimately didn’t go over.
On the other side, Shi Yunshan quickly turned and adjusted the camera to face the corner where Yu Nianxi would appear.
The screen rotated, and the comments flashed by rapidly.
[Didn’t you say we couldn’t move the camera?]
[Are you saying you won’t watch?]
[Sorry, I’m already screen recording, hehe.]
[Can someone explain why Xixi is so photogenic even without makeup?]
Xi Ai grabbed the hem of Yu Nianxi’s clothes. Yu Nianxi looked helplessly at the leader, only to find that the leader also looked like she couldn’t help—in reality, she was just enjoying the chaos.
Yu Nianxi got annoyed and started to fight back, grabbing Xi Ai and pulling her back instead.
Chu Yiqi picked up her phone to record, leaning closer to the camera and whispering, “Today’s fable: if you cause trouble for others every day, one day trouble will come for you.”
After a bit of a fuss, Yu Nianxi changed into casual clothes and came out. Meng Yike was about to cue the process herself when she suddenly heard Su Luojian’s voice.
“Long time no see. Let’s start with a greeting. First, a group one, and then… since Xi Ai was the earliest today, she’ll go first.”
Xi Ai: …?
“Huh?”
Seeing trouble fall on Xi Ai, Chu Yiqi suddenly wanted to laugh. She looked at Xi Ai and held it back, merely raising her hand to prop up her head as a cover, pressing her lips together.
Meng Yike said, “Then… look at the camera?”
“One, two, three, eggplant?” Shi Yunshan blinked and followed up naturally.
Xi Ai finally looked at the comments and put down her phone.
[No, sister, you’re as shocking as ever with your words.]
[Do you guys stay up late memorizing memes? You’re making me laugh.]
Meng Yike felt a sense of helplessness that no one could understand. It was only at times like this that she felt that a certain “BE” (Bad Ending) CP was better at talking.
Chu Yiqi and Xi Ai clearly had completely different tones, yet their words were perfectly synchronized: “Then you shout ‘eggplant,’ and we’ll shout ‘For 8’?”
Shi Yunshan: “…”
Shi Yunshan was speechless, and one of the speakers was also speechless—what happened to avoiding suspicion? What was with this useless chemistry?
Chu Yiqi turned her head away as she sat, trying to lower her presence.
[I beg you two, let our Sapling go, hahahaha.]
[Hello, Final Review has officially entered the remarriage circle, please be informed.]
[I’ll say it quietly, I’ve really shipped Yunshan and Xi Ai for a long time.]
[Me too…]
[Let’s be more confident, hold our heads high and say it loud, okay? Our wealthy heiress sisters are a great ship!]
[Exactly, childhood friends, bickering rivals, innocent playmates…]
[Yiqi, stop trying to hide it. The more you avoid suspicion, the better the ship tastes.]
The author has something to say:
For is the first three letters of “forever.” I’ll explain later why it’s 8 and not 6. You can try to guess.