30 ☪ Hot Romance 30
◎Eating everything just keeps me nutritionally balanced◎
“Ding ding—”
When the QQ notification sound rang, Su Yicen didn’t react at first; he didn’t realize the sound came from his phone.
The vibration alert that arrived a moment after the sound trembled in his pocket. He rarely blanked out for a second, the color in his dark eyes deepening.
His fingertips lightly tapped the paper draft in front of him, his tone not like a command.
“I still have something to do. You all go ahead with this plan first…”
The department directors left after receiving their orders, and the office immediately fell quiet.
Su Yicen took out his phone. The moment the screen lit up, his eyes instinctively shifted to the QQ icon.
Sure enough, a prominent red dot marked with the number ‘1’ appeared in the upper right corner of the QQ icon.
QQ 【New friend: Invincible Beautiful Girl requests to add you as a friend】
Su Yicen furrowed his brows slightly. His fingertips trembled unconsciously as they hovered over the screen, hesitating to tap.
Actually, the answer in his heart was clear. He’d only given this account to Song Chan.
This friend request had made him wait too long—from initial anticipation that gradually turned into habit.
Su Yicen feared missing Song Chan’s friend request, so every time he changed phones, he downloaded QQ and logged into this account.
But things didn’t go as planned. This account had never received even one friend add notification.
His finger tapped the icon. In the blue-and-white chat interface, the red dot next to ‘Contacts’ stood out especially.
He hadn’t opened this app in a long time. Looking at the nicknames and avatars, it felt like he was conversing with his ten-year-old self—thoughts that the current him saw through at a glance.
The nickname with the letter ‘c’ wasn’t for acting cool or aloof; it was an intentional hint, a little secret from his youth.
Because ‘c’ stood for Chan as well as Cen.
Looking at the ‘Invincible Beautiful Girl’ friend request in new friends, Su Yicen’s furrowed brows relaxed. He tapped through without hesitation.
Ten years later, Song Chan had kept that note. Su Yicen felt a bit surprised, but the surprise was quickly overshadowed by joy.
This friend request, delayed by ten years, had finally arrived—the one he’d been waiting for.
—
In the blink of an eye, mid-June had passed. Two more days, and it would be June 22nd.
As their birthdays approached, the #Chanyi Mianmian# Super Topic buzzed with activity again.
The few remaining #Chanyi Mianmian# CP fans belatedly realized the two mains shared a birthday. Seizing the highlight, CP fans went wild with marketing, photoshopping atmospheric joint photos of the pair.
Chan Yi Mian Mian 99: 【Chanchan 26, Cen Cen 27, still the same day birthday—talented man and beautiful woman, a match made in heaven!】
Er Shi San Pinch: 【What! They share the same birthday! Shipping first as respect (starry eyes)】
Such a Big Cat: 【Shipping it, shipping it! Chanchan and Cen Cen have the same birthday!】
Irrelevant Netizen: 【Your two mains personally debunked it. BE to the max—wake up. Eating too much expired candy gives you diarrhea. Don’t ship everything.】
Such a Big Cat: 【Sister, watch your words. Even diarrhea’s worth it. Eating everything just keeps me nutritionally balanced.】
Song Chan couldn’t understand what was so shippable about a shared birthday. But in the #Chanyi Mianmian# Super Topic, CP fans shipped with fervor.
She could only watch helplessly as the #Chanyi Mianmian# Super Topic lit up again. Though the heat couldn’t match its peak, CP fans marketed the expired candy masterfully, drawing in passersby.
With the 20th Anniversary Issue release imminent, ZE headquarters had confirmed a ZE Fashion 20th Anniversary Charity Gala in early July.
Not only would Su Yicen, the 20th Anniversary Issue cover star, attend, but many artists who’d collaborated with ZE—or wanted to—would show up too.
The planning department conservatively estimated at least half the entertainment circle’s artists would grace the 20th Anniversary Charity Gala.
As the main person in charge of the 20th Anniversary Issue project, Song Chan not only had to attend the gala but was assigned by Lin Jinhe to represent ZE Fashion.
She’d walk the red carpet like the stars and deliver the closing speech.
Song Chan understood Lin Jinhe wanted to thrust her fully into the public eye, adding real weight to the ‘well-known’ in her profile’s ‘well-known fashion editor.’
But Song Chan knew accepting this meant exposing herself even more transparently to the public.
And the charity gala fell right after her and Su Yicen’s birthdays.
Song Chan worried fans would clash over birthday hype—especially before the ZE Fashion 20th Anniversary Charity Gala’s guest announcement.
But things often went against wishes. What she feared came to pass.
Even avoiding the spotlight by not logging into her work Weibo these days, on their birthday, the three-way fan war she dreaded erupted.
It started with Su Yicen’s fan birthday live stream.
The fan birthday event was an itinerary Su Yicen had locked in last year.
With many fans wanting to celebrate with him, Su Yicen aimed to satisfy as many as possible. But all fans attending was impossible.
His studio ran a Weibo lottery, randomly picking 500 lucky fans. It covered travel, lodging, and all expenses to Hangbei for the birthday event.
Fans unable to attend could watch and interact via live stream.
That morning as Su Yicen left, he’d reminded her to watch his birthday live. But he’d upset her last night; her anger lingered, so she ignored him.
Plus, with the charity gala’s closing speech looming, she truly had no time.
Her slender fingers raked through her hair; two more strands fell.
She sighed. At this rate, she’d need to research the best hair growth serum first.
Temporarily shoving aside the computer and nagging work, Song Chan grabbed her phone. She wanted a sweet short drama to unwind her tense mind.
She opened a video app. The splash screen featured that familiar man.
His deep affection seemed to pierce the screen, landing on her.
Below: handwritten large characters.
【Happy Birthday, Su Yicen】
Two seconds later, it jumped to the home page. The first pushed video was Su Yicen’s ongoing birthday live.
Giving the screen no face, Song Chan tapped exit decisively.
She tried another video app—same thing. This time, his poster was slightly less grating.
But it didn’t slow her exit tap.
Su Yicen popped up on splash screens repeatedly; Song Chan even wondered if her phone glitched.
She’d underestimated his top idol traffic.
His birthday was a nationwide celebration. Every connected phone seemed to know it was his day.
Unable to escape, Song Chan resigned and tapped in.
By the time she tuned in, the birthday live was halfway done—just as the fan rep wheeled out the cake to confess to Su Yicen.
Song Chan didn’t get idol stanning. Why develop intense feelings for a handsome stranger?
She grabbed a can of cola, watching blankly as the teary-eyed fan fanned her red face, holding back sobs, confessing to her legal spouse on screen.
“Brother, I’m your four-year fan. Every birthday, I bought a cake alone at home to celebrate with you. This year, I finally…”
She fought her emotions, but sobs hit. Onlooker fans empathized, urging her on.
Su Yicen listened quietly beside her, gaze fixed. He grabbed a tissue, bent to hand it over—his cool tone rarely this gentle.
“Don’t rush. Take your time. I’m listening.”
His deep, soft voice plus his earnest wait sparked screams below. The chat flooded with ‘ah…’
Trembling lips parted; she met his eyes, then choked out:
“Brother, I really… like you so much…”
“Brother, I love you. Stay hot, make more great works…”
Su Yicen smiled faintly, nodded seriously, promising her and the fans—with precise restraint.
“Thanks for your love—and everyone’s. I’ll keep pushing.”
Every ‘like’ answered, every promise kept. He truly valued his fans.
Song Chan noted it inwardly, popping the cola tab casually. The live venue erupted in full sing-along for Su Yicen’s birthday.
“Happy birthday to you—”
“Happy birthday to you—”
“Happy birthday to you—…”
The camera swept 500 fans: varied looks, accents, cities, lives—united by the stage star.
They thrilled together, cheered, celebrated him. Song Chan froze; suddenly, she got idol stanning.
Only before their idol were they truly themselves.
It freed them from work intrigue, family nitpicks, life’s weights.
Full of joy, they came for the idol who never betrayed, never ditched—always teary, always upbeat.
Moved, Song Chan’s eyes misted. But the twisting comments yanked her back.
Chan Yi Mian Mian I Super Ship It: 【Why’s Cen Cen always singing ‘Happy birthday to you’?】
Black Snow Princess and Eight Tall Guys: 【Real! I saw it too!】
Round Pearl Smooth Lips Little Red Lip: 【To you? Who’s you?】
Weld Chan Yi Mian Mian to Bed: 【Chanchan, duh! Song Chan’s birthday too—same day.】
Song Chan eyed the comments, listened closely: Su Yicen sang ‘Happy birthday to you’ throughout.
Before her brain caught up, the camera cut to him—deep black eyes locking the lens.
Word by word: “Happy birthday to you…”
Voice faded into screams and dying music.
Camera gone from his eyes, yet Song Chan drowned in their hot, steadfast depth—mood unrested.
Her heart hammered wildly.
Previous bits? Coincidence. This? She knew: that line was for her.
His birthday live—yet he celebrated hers.
Shy tingles raced her body. Post-confession, he’d grown direct.
But this bold-subtle move? First time.
Excitement hit; then dread. That scene? Terrifying.
Hundreds of thousands watched live; 500+ on site.
CP fans nailed his hinting lyrics.
Chan Yi Mian Mian I Super Ship It: 【Aaaah! Told you ‘to you’! Close-up shows Cen Cen singing ‘Happy birthday to you’!】
Weld Chan Yi Mian Mian to Bed: 【Shipped! Shipped! To Chanchan for sure!】
Screaming CP fans multiplied. #Chanyi Mianmian# shippers flooded Su Yicen’s birthday live from everywhere—for a group party.
The originally great comment atmosphere turned utterly hostile all because some people inexplicably started shipping CP.
Su Yicen’s solo fans finally couldn’t hold back anymore and began hurling curses at the CP fans.
Solo Love Cen Cen: 【Chan Yi Mian Mian CP fans, get out of the live stream! This is our brother’s birthday live—don’t come over to stir things up.】
Su Yicen’s Little Tail: 【Where are the admins? Are the live stream admins just eating rice? Hurry up and ban and clean out these vermin!】
Su Yicen Circle-Exterior Girlfriend: 【All you CP fans, fuck off! Barging into someone’s birthday live like this—you’re all so damn cheap. Have you grown a heart from all that CP shipping?】
Song Chan’s name kept getting mentioned, so a bunch of her fans showed up too, forced to join the flame war to defend her.
The live stream comments veered further and further off track. Solo fans fiercely protected their favorites, CP fans shipped away relentlessly regardless, and passersby came to eat melon and watch the drama.
This farce of a flame war didn’t end even after the live stream wrapped up—it just shifted over to Weibo.
She watched the hot search terms climb higher and higher. The top ten spots were almost entirely filled with Su Yicen and her name.
Song Chan sighed helplessly. A live stream flame war watched by nearly a million people? That was unprecedented in all of Domestic Entertainment.
She opened WeChat, meaning to talk to Su Yicen about it, only to see him acting like nothing had happened as he sent over two messages.
Next-Door Neighbor: 【Did you watch the live?】
Below it was a voice message. Song Chan tapped to play it.
Su Yicen’s voice came through, low and rich, as he sang the lyrics slowly and gently.
“Happy birthday to you~”
The drawn-out final note faded away. He paused for half a second, then his light, teasing call slipped out.
“Wifey—”