Chapter 178: The Meaning of the Red String
It wasn’t technically hard, but the visuals were too smooth.
Not even the young folks in the corner could have missed it.
The guys at the next table had their beer glasses frozen in mid-air.
“Are you guys trying to show off or what?!”
“We’re not even together, you know!”
The dudes were about ready to cry.
It felt like watching a teenage drama where all the characters were living copies of their own youthful dreams but way younger.
Is this the kind of chemistry only teenagers in their late teens have??
“Um… Teacher Moonlight,”
Zhou Xia gathered his courage and raised his hand.
“Is that red ring on your finger something from Teacher Cat?”
“Nope, it’s mine,”
Lin Tian said.
The girls instantly breathed a sigh of relief.
What the heck.
Turns out, Moonlight Teacher just carries one around—probably because he sometimes needs a hair tie or something for his partner, Cat Teacher.
That Moonlight Teacher is such a sweetheart, thinking of these little details!
“It’s a gift from her.”
“????”
Once Lin Tian finished his sentence, there was a sudden frenzy on the table.
A girl gives you a hair tie and you keep it on your finger?!!
This went beyond shocking the thirtysomethings.
Even the trainees blushed to the roots of their hair.
“What do they see in each other?”
“Shhhh, they haven’t announced anything yet. Let’s play dumb and pretend we don’t know.”
“Who knew Moonlight Teacher, a big music star, would get into this kind of couple stuff—it’s kind of cute.”
The trainees whispered among themselves.
Hu Dongdong couldn’t bring herself to talk about her violin dreams anymore; she was too embarrassed. She tried to act natural and returned to her seat.
Then, out of nowhere, someone shouted:
“You two better get together already!”
Farther away, He Zhichen, who was already red-faced from drinking, slammed the table and growled,
Next to him, the director Yang Jie quickly grabbed him, thinking, “How did he get this drunk so fast?”
Every trainee immediately perked up, eager to see what would happen next.
Lin Tian and Gan Yan Yu froze on the spot.
Their faces turned cherry red.
Soon, someone noticed something was off.
If they were actually together, how come their agent hadn’t heard about it?
One girl spoke up,
“Teacher Moonlight, do you know what a girl’s hair tie means?”
Lin Tian’s heart sank as soon as she asked.
He knew exactly what it meant, but Gan Teacher didn’t. By keeping it secret, he got a weird sense of satisfaction too.
Later, when they’re together, he could tease her about it and deepen their bond.
But if she found out before he confessed,
It’d be like a truck blowing its horn right in his face.
With He Zhichen’s reaction and the girl’s question,
Gan Teacher probably realized something was up.
If Gan Teacher found out he knew the meaning of the hair tie, it would be game over for him.
Back in school days, the best confession was when the other person figured it out before you had to say it out loud.
A true confession is more like a victory announcement, not a battle cry.
Any confessing before that is just clowning around.
Even if Gan Yan Yu was oblivious and thought Lin Tian didn’t get the hair tie’s meaning, once others found out, it would mess with Lin Tian’s plans!
After all, Lin Tian and Gan Yan Yu never talked about relationships in front of anyone; they were just plain partners in public.
To talk about this openly would give her the upper hand.
What now?
No matter what he said, he’d lose ground to Gan Yan Yu.
Things were about to get messy.
Let’s play it cool and change the subject.
“Uh…”
Lin Tian started to open his mouth,
“Lin Tian, beer.”
Gan Yan Yu placed her empty beer glass in front of him, pointing,
“It’s done.”
“This is craft beer, how can you drink it so fast?”
Lin Tian couldn’t help but point out.
“Come on, another one,”
Lin Tian immediately stood up, signaling the distant server, and ordered another beer.
This scene also piqued the trainees’ curiosity.
Especially some of the girls who pretended they weren’t used to drinking to look cute.
Yet, Cat Teacher quietly polished off an entire big glass of craft beer.
“Cat Teacher, do you have good drinking skills?” Hu Dongdong asked.
“Nah, I just drink often,” said Gan Yan Yu.
The guys were thrilled.
“Holy cow, Cat Teacher has quite the contrast! Cuter!”
“She’s adorable, but turns out she loves drinking.”
“What the hell is ‘small drink lover’ anyway? Cute girls are small drink lovers and guys are drunks?!”
“…”
Seeing the conversation shift to the topic of Gan Yan Yu drinking, Lin Tian finally exhaled.
Whew, close call there.
d*mn, these dinner meetings can be dangerous, especially with Gan Yan Yu.
Thankfully, today Gan Yan Yu specifically wore a different necklace for the MV sh**t and didn’t wear the one Lin Tian gave her. If people saw the ‘Rain Day’ name, it would’ve been harder to explain.
They lived in their own little world, like prehistoric humans who never stepped out.
People on the outside thought they were already further along, but really, they were still blanksheets.
Moreover,
Lin Tian noticed that after He Zhichen’s shout, everyone believed they weren’t together which made several people more indulgent, like they had tasted sugar.
No way.
If I confess and succeed, aren’t I then ruining the fun for all you guys?
By round three, the directors were wasted and stumbled out of the restaurant supporting each other.
The trainees, restricted from getting too drunk, drank a bit but enough to stay mostly sober.
Everyone parted ways at the restaurant entrance.
Company personnel had company cars and could go straight back. Those who wanted to return could get in, and those who didn’t could do their own thing.
Separating at the door, a bunch of trainees looked sentimental and said goodbye to Lin Tian.
Despite looking like college students, they acted clingier towards him, making Lin Tian feel uncomfortable.
Eventually, he wasn’t used to being treated like a celebrity yet.
Maybe someday when he’s a big star, he won’t feel this weird anymore.
After the last group left, Gan Yan Yu called out to Lin Tian from behind,
“Lin Tian.”
“Huh?”
Lin Tian turned around and saw Gan Yan Yu, her face flushed from drinking.
Though she was prone to showing it, she actually had a high tolerance.
“Now, can you play that song again?” Gan Yan Yu said seriously,
“I want to experience something I’ve never felt before!”
(End of Chapter)
