"I know, I'll help you get his autograph, but don't forget what you promised me." Speaking on the phone with Liu Yiyi was her best friend, Zhang Lin. Zhang Lin was a devoted fangirl, deeply in love with Shao Qi, a popular singer from Country T.
"You're the best, Yiyi!" Zhang Lin chirped, practically vibrating with excitement.
Liu Yiyi had planned to buy some daily necessities today. Ever since arriving in Country T, she had been swamped with university registration procedures, apartment hunting, and a hundred other details. With everything finally settled, today was her first free afternoon to stock up on essentials.
She walked into Guangyu Mall, the largest shopping center in Yiqier, the capital of Country T. Spanning twelve floors in total—including two underground levels housing a supermarket and parking, and two rooftop floors filled with renowned restaurants—its vast ground-floor lobby frequently hosted celebrity events.
And as luck would have it, today was one of those days. Shao Qi was right here in the mall, holding a live autograph signing.
As Liu Yiyi talked to Zhang Lin on the phone, the piercing shouts of fans echoed through the earpiece. They were screaming in the language of Country T, a deafening roar that testified to the staggering size of Shao Qi's fan base.
Standing off to the side, Liu Yiyi felt a sharp discomfort in her ears—let alone what a hardcore fangirl like Zhang Lin was going through.
Zhang Lin's radar for anything related to Shao Qi was infallible. The moment she heard her idol's name, she demanded to know why, and then insisted by all that was holy that Liu Yiyi get her an autograph.
Liu Yiyi detested environments like this—stuffy, suffocating, and packed to the gills—yet for her best friend's sake, she found herself joining the massive queue.
Glancing around, Liu Yiyi noticed that the surrounding fans were all clutching Shao Qi merchandise or photos. Her own hands were completely empty of anything related to him, which only added to her growing irritation.
Still, her fingers kept scrolling through her phone, searching for a nearby photo-printing shop. A photograph, she figured, was probably the easiest thing to acquire.
She asked Zhang Lin to send her a digital copy of her favorite picture of the singer. Fortunately, Nuojian Photo Studio was less than three hundred meters away. Following the GPS navigation, she rushed over and had a single photo printed.
Returning to the mall, she joined the back of the line all over again. The queue moved at a glacial pace, a clear testament to Shao Qi's immense popularity. Fortunately, Zhang Lin stayed on the phone, chattering about trivial matters to help ward off the boredom and make the endless wait a little more bearable.
Every few minutes, Zhang Lin would demand to know how close she was to the front. On the other end of the line, Liu Yiyi rolled her eyes, yet still patiently replied, "There are still fewer than fifty people ahead of me. Almost your turn."
In a syrupy, coquettish voice, Zhang Lin pleaded, "Yiyi, please tell Shaoshao to write 'To my dearest Linlin' when he signs it, will you? Pretty please?"
Speechless, Liu Yiyi sighed, "I can ask him for you, but whether he actually writes it or not is entirely up to him."
"Good, good!" Zhang Lin chimed eagerly. "Just asking him for me is already amazing!"
Amidst their conversation, it was finally Liu Yiyi's turn.
She handed over the photograph and offered a polite greeting: "Hello."
Their eyes met. She had always assumed that celebrities were entirely the product of clever packaging and that their photographs were heavily filtered and idealized, but she had to admit—Shao Qi genuinely possessed striking good looks.
With his handsome features, high nose bridge, fair skin, and sharply chiseled browbones, he had an effortlessly captivating official smile. His hair was a natural, un-dyed black, perfectly suited to Eastern aesthetic sensibilities.
Now she finally understood why Zhang Lin was so obsessed with him. She really was a sucker for a pretty face; with looks like this, it was no wonder her friend had stayed loyal for so many years.
Compounding her racing thoughts, she forced herself to stay calm and addressed Shao Qi in the language of Country T, "I have a friend who is a huge fan of yours. Could you write 'To my dearest Linlin' along with your signature?" With that, she delivered Zhang Lin's message and waited for his response.
Shao Qi was presumably well-used to this sort of request. He simply looked at the person standing before him: shoulder-length, dark ink-colored hair with curled ends, a pair of calm, indifferent eyes, pleasant features, and fair, delicate skin. She wasn't tall—visually estimating around 165 centimeters—and was dressed in a black short-sleeved, shorts-and-hoodie athletic tracksuit, with a small pouch slung diagonally across her chest. Unlike the other fans, she lacked the breathless, trembling excitement of someone meeting their idol.
"Sure," he said in the language of Country T, his hand moving smoothly across the photo as he signed it.
At that moment, Zhang Lin was blowing up her phone with frantic text messages, begging Liu Yiyi to start a video call so she could greet Shao Qi face-to-face.
Once again speechless, Liu Yiyi conveyed Zhang Lin's request to Shao Qi in the language of Country T. Receiving an affirmative nod, she switched on the video call and handed her phone to the singer. Since Zhang Lin didn't speak the language of Country T, Liu Yiyi had to keep the phone on speakerphone to act as a live translator.
Gazing at her beloved idol on the screen, Zhang Lin was utterly beside herself. Stammering incoherently, she babbled out her greetings, professing her fervent adoration and praising his songs.
Shao Qi simply smiled as he looked at the screen, replying in the language of Country T to express his thanks.
Glancing at her watch and taking in the restless crowd still waiting behind her, Liu Yiyi stepped in and cut off Zhang Lin's rambling monologue.
She informed Zhang Lin that there were still many people waiting and that signing time was strictly limited, warning her not to disrupt her idol's event. Shao Qi, unable to understand the rapid-fire exchange between the two friends, looked on with a puzzled expression.
Liu Yiyi could only offer him a brief, polite explanation that lingering would hold up the other fans. With a quick word of thanks, she took the signed photograph and turned to step down the less-than-twenty-centimeter-high platform.
Just then, she heard Shao Qi's voice behind her, asking casually in the language of Country T, "Are you a fan of mine?"
With a perplexed, deadpan expression, Liu Yiyi replied, "No, but my friend is a huge fan."
Without breaking her stride, she turned and walked away.
Shao Qi cast a glance at the fast-moving figure in the black athletic tracksuit, unable to help a quiet, amused reflection that his personal charm must have sharply plummeted of late. He even reached up to touch his own handsome cheek before turning back to finish the rest of the signing.