CHAPTER 14: WAN GOD FAN CLUB

It was a summer evening. The rain had just stopped, leaving the air refreshingly cool and clean.

A few street vendors were setting up in the distance, the old sycamore trees casting gentle shade, while cicadas chirped softly in the background.

Shu Jia walked beside Zhou Dang, close enough to catch the faint, clean citrus scent on him.

“Zhou Dang,” she finally gathered her courage and called his name softly.

He lowered his head to look at her.

“It’s just…” Shu Jia struggled to find the right words. “I think you really need to rest more.”

She finally voiced the concern in her heart. “You always look so tired… Playing professionally must be exhausting, right?”

“I’m used to it.” Zhou Dang’s tone was calm as his gaze swept over her expression. “It felt tiring when I was younger. Now, not so much.”

Hearing that, Shu Jia suddenly remembered — he started playing professionally at just fifteen…

“How much do you usually sleep every day?” she asked, worried.

“Depends. A few hours, give or take.”

He said it so casually, like it was nothing.

But Shu Jia’s expression instantly changed.

“Y-you can’t do that,” she said, pausing before repeating more firmly, “You really can’t. That’s terrible for your health.”

Zhou Dang stayed silent.

Realizing she might sound too nosy, Shu Jia hesitated and stammered, “I… I mean…”

Suddenly, he leaned slightly closer, cutting her off: “Your earrings. Why aren’t you wearing them?”

Shu Jia had been ready to say more, but his sudden question made her mind go completely blank.

“I… I’ll wear them now.” She fumbled, blushing. “They’re in my pocket.”

Zhou Dang stopped walking and waited for her.

The street was alive with the sounds of traffic, voices, and chirping insects. The evening breeze stirred the hem of her chiffon skirt, brushing against her ankles.

Shu Jia pulled out her little star-shaped earrings, tilting her head slightly as she searched for the tiny holes in her earlobes.

Zhou Dang watched her closely, his gaze sharp yet tinged with curiosity.

Given his height, his presence naturally felt dominant — especially as he leaned down toward her.

Under that pressure, Shu Jia’s hands trembled slightly.

Her lips pressed tightly together, her entire expression focused on one thing: not blushing.

“O-okay… done.” Shu Jia mumbled shyly. “Let’s go.”

Zhou Dang lazily glanced at her twice.

The more time Shu Jia spent with him, the more he reminded her of the cat her grandma used to keep when she was little.

At first, it was distant, cold, and completely dismissive of strangers — arrogant and untouchable.

But once you earned its trust, you’d discover it actually loved being pampered. Craved affection. Wanted to be held, stroked, and coddled.

And when it was being loved, it would cling to you endlessly, soft and needy.

“Zhou Dang, my place is just up ahead.” Shu Jia stopped, afraid of wasting his time. “You should head back and rest early.”

He stopped walking too.

“When are you guys going to Suzhou for the finals?” Shu Jia wasn’t ready to say goodbye yet, so she found an excuse to keep talking.

“Next week,” he replied after a brief thought.

“You need to rest well,” Shu Jia reminded him again, biting her lip before blurting out, “Drink some milk before bed, try not to stay up all night, and… make sure you eat a proper breakfast.”

Perhaps all forms of liking were the same — greedy and hard to hide, yet sweet and fulfilling at the same time.

She kept talking about little, unimportant things, but never dared to say the words that mattered most.

Zhou Dang, for once, listened patiently, matching her unhurried pace.

The night air was cool, and her voice was soft.

Shu Jia hugged her arms, gently rubbing her forearm as she lowered her gaze and whispered, “Thanks for walking me home. You should get back to the base early too.”

“These desserts won’t keep past tomorrow,” she reminded him one last time. “Don’t eat them if they spoil, okay?”

He nodded.

“Then… I’ll go.”

“Wait.”

Zhou Dang stopped her.

Shu Jia turned back. “What is it?”

He shrugged off his jacket and tossed it into her arms, his tone lazy: “Wear it.”

By the time Shu Jia got home, draped in his obviously oversized jacket, she still hadn’t recovered.

Her mind kept replaying the image of Zhou Dang walking away in his white T-shirt, his back slowly fading into the distance.

She collapsed onto the sofa, surrounded by his clean, refreshing scent, and stared blankly at the ceiling.

She felt doomed.

Because liking someone this much… was exhausting.

A WeChat notification chimed on her phone.

It was a message from Xiao Du, along with several photos.

Some were of Shu Jia, hair loose, wearing an apron under the warm golden shop lights. Others were secretly taken shots of her with Zhou Dang.

Shu Jia quietly saved the pictures of the two of them together.

Then she picked out a few photos of herself making cakes and casually posted on Weibo:

@Zhanyu-Shu Dandan (V)： Today was a good day.

She didn’t think much of it afterward. Taking off Zhou Dang’s jacket, she carefully folded it, then headed to shower.

When she came back and refreshed Weibo, she was stunned by the flood of reposts and comments.

She only had about 100k followers, and half of them were probably fake bot accounts.

But now, her comment section was exploding:

【Wan God Fan Club】
【Checking in from the fan tour ✌️】
【Question is — Shu Dan, will you marry our Wan??】
【Wan, you’re officially offending millions of female fans @WR WAN】
【ggbond just said on his livestream that you and our Wan are dating — can’t believe it】
【Wow, girl, do you know how insanely gorgeous you are?】
【My god, how did an 18th-tier streamer snag WAN GOD??】
【Never thought Wan was actually like this… so much for the ‘cold, untouchable’ persona】
【Wan, it’s over between us /bye /bye /bye】
【Why is my husband liking her posts??】
【Wan’s wife is here, crying】
【This is too much, I’m going to sob】
【Prepare yourselves, a tidal wave of jealous fangirls incoming】
【Hello?? Does no one care that BEAST’s hearts are breaking right now??】

…..

Shu Jia was completely baffled, not knowing what had happened in such a short span of time. She scrolled for a while before finally piecing together the source of it all.

Her Weibo post had actually been reposted by GGBond’s main account:

@WR GGbond: Dang said he was really happy today [doge]
//@Zhanyu – Shu Dandan (V): Today was a really happy day.

But what really sent the fans into a frenzy was—

Wan God had actually liked her Weibo!?!

You had to know, Wan almost never posted. His Weibo was clean and sparse, with only a handful of reposted official announcements.

So now, for him to randomly like some internet celebrity’s post—what the hell was going on?!?

Female fans went wild, entire tour groups of onlookers rushed in to the battlefield.

Shu Jia didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

She had to admit, the sheer number of Zhou Dang’s fangirls was terrifying—it almost crashed her phone completely.

Jiang Yuyu even went so far as to call her directly.

“Are you with Zhou Dang?” Jiang Yuyu went straight to the point. “Weibo’s about to blow up, my whole feed is plastered with you two.”

Shu Jia was helpless. “No, nothing like that.”

“You two might as well just get together already.” Jiang Yuyu mocked. “Honestly, Zhou Dang always gave off that old-cadre vibe, and now the second he dates, the whole city knows about it. He’s practically announcing it to the world.”

“Really, no. I’m just as confused as you are.” Shu Jia didn’t know how to explain. “Right now, we’re just friends.”

“Right now, sure. But what about later?” Jiang Yuyu pressed.

Shu Jia fell silent for a long while before finally saying:

“…Later, I’ll just have to slowly chase after him.”

She sighed, giving up on hiding it, and admitted to her best friend, “I do like him. So please, don’t stir things up for me.”

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Author’s Note:
Just letting you know I’m still alive orz. Holidays start Jan 8 T.T. Thank you to the little angels who threw thunder at this crappy author! And thank you to all the baby angels who comment on every chapter—love you all!