“Has the livestream started yet?”

After finishing a long day of work, Orange Peel eagerly opened the MiiSound Awards stream. Fortunately, it had only just begun.

For the past half year, Orange Peel had followed all of Gu Yi’s variety shows and music performances religiously. As the year drew to a close, her company’s workload intensified, and there were a few times she barely made it in time to tune in.

Thankfully, her fan group friends constantly updated Gu Yi’s activities in real time. Even if she couldn’t watch the show live, she could at least save a few stunning pictures of him to her gallery.

Before the broadcast began, the fan group had already buzzed with speculation. Orange Peel scrolled to the top of the chat, reading through the fawning praise of Gu Yi with a smile creeping across her face.

She’d saved so many pictures lately that her phone’s memory was almost full.

[“Will the CROWN boys get a stage tonight?”]

[“I hope so, but after following seven years of MiiSound Awards, you never know. Getting invited doesn’t always mean you get to perform.”]

[“Hehehe, I’d be perfectly happy if the camera just sweeps past Teacher Gu for a second!”]

Right after someone said that, the screen cut—landing briefly on CROWN.

[“Ahhhhh so handsome! Casual look today!”]

[“Teacher Gu and Xie Xingjia waved together—like baby seals!”]

The MiiSound Awards had a lighter, more relaxed vibe compared to other music ceremonies. Gu Yi and his teammates were dressed in grey casualwear, matching the aesthetic of their new song Black and Gray.

They probably never imagined fans would compare them to seals.

With the awards being so easy-going, the stage was even more uninhibited. The first few rock songs whipped the atmosphere into a frenzy—Savage, their own rock track, was intense too, but they couldn’t quite match the energy of the band currently onstage.

[“Green Deer Band’s Gallop and Run—I LOVE those!!”]

Yang Ting and Liu Junyuan talked animatedly about the performers on stage. These weren’t chart-toppers, but among music lovers, they were already cult favorites.

Gu Yi had first heard of Green Deer Band through the blogger Broken Strings.

Since Battle of the Stars, Broken Strings had been recommending top-tier live performances. After CROWN debuted, all four songs from Summer Bloom had been featured on the blog. Thanks to Broken Strings’ homepage, Gu Yi had discovered many unfamiliar but impressive artists.

“Teacher Gu!”

Yang Ting reached across Ji Chi to tap Gu Yi on the shoulder. The downside of a six-member group was logistics—too many for cards, too few for football, and sitting in a row at award shows made chatting difficult.

Of course, compared to ten-member groups like Timee, CROWN still had it easy.

Gu Yi looked up. Yang Ting mouthed the words: “Swamp Band!”

Swamp Band was Gu Yi’s latest obsession. They had a nihilistic style, with songs like Quagmire and Killer Instinct. He didn’t even know why, but whenever he hit a block while writing his thesis, listening to them made everything click.

One day, Yang Ting had shown him the band’s backstory—all four members were top-tier science students from elite universities, claiming they’d “grasped the true meaning of death” while still in college.

Gu Yi had laughed at the time, thinking, Maybe they’re here to save humanity. Since they already understand death, the rest of us don’t have to.

Despite their eerie vibe, Swamp Band’s music was genuinely good. There was something uniquely personal in their strange sound. At first, the melodies seemed ordinary, but the more you listened, the more addictive they became.

The band didn’t move much on stage, but their fans were bouncing off the walls.

Then the camera cut to Gu Yi’s face, and the chat exploded:

[“Teacher Gu is mouthing along to Quagmire—I’m SHOOK!”]

[“That song is the anthem of lazy slackers. Totally unfit for someone as hardcore as him!”]

[“Please, Teacher Gu, don’t get infected by their bad habits.”]

[“+1. He’s not even my bias, but watching him pull mine into this study-grind spiral is PAINFUL.”]

After an hour of performances, CROWN’s members felt less like attendees of an award show and more like fans at a live gig. They had nearly forgotten they might perform too.

As a fan, Orange Peel had been excited for CROWN’s stage, but after getting caught up in the show, it had completely slipped her mind.

Then the screen flashed—“Next Up”—and CROWN’s name appeared a second later.

“Please welcome: CROWN!”

The members glanced at each other. “Are we going up?”

Of course they were.

[“Ahhhhhh they’re on!!!”]

They had prepared thoroughly for the MiiSound stage.

With guitars and basses strapped on, and the piano already set up at the venue, they stepped onto the stage. The idol gloss vanished in an instant.

This moment wasn’t about beauty. It was about laying their souls bare.

A smooth piano intro began—and sharp-eared fans immediately realized:

[“This isn’t any of the Summer Bloom tracks!”]

[“It’s a new song!!”]

CROWN had been performing songs from their Summer Bloom EP all season, and fans assumed the same would happen tonight.

But this—this was something brand new.

“In a world of black and gray, falls the white snow.”

It was the familiar harmony of Liu Junyuan and Gu Yi. On Summer Bloom and Crown, the duo had worked together before—Liu’s voice was crisp without being shrill, while Gu Yi’s tone here was especially gentle. By lowering their voices, Gu Yi’s warmth seemed to envelop Liu’s clarity.

[“So beautiful!”]

[“Their vocal skills keep evolving!”]

Then Liu stepped back. The guitar joined the piano. Next was a duet: Gu Yi and Xie Xingjia.

Black and Gray was a soft yet deep track, in contrast to the energetic tone of the Summer Bloom EP. The members had experimented a lot to master it.

Xie Xingjia, usually a high note specialist, dialed it down, letting the richness in his voice resonate—like a cello merging with Gu Yi’s warm tone, weaving an intricate yet clear soundscape.

[“It’s better than I expected!”]

[“Not an explosive song—more like calm waters concealing waves. Mysterious, uncertain.”]

[“I love this style!”]

To fans, Summer Bloom was already legendary. But Black and Gray, unveiled here at MiiSound, hinted at a whole new dimension of what CROWN could become.

[“They’re insanely talented. No way they fall short of anyone else on this stage.”]

[“When’s the new album? Black and Gray is totally from the next one, right?”]

[“Did no one notice? Song composed by Liu Junyuan. Lyrics: all CROWN members!”]

When that last line appeared in the live chat, fans were stunned.

CROWN was a temporary project group formed through a survival show. Before them, both Timee and TiX had fizzled. When Jiangshi TV announced CROWN, they claimed this group would “forge a brand-new path.”

Fans were skeptical.

Temporary groups? No matter the format, it all boiled down to one thing—money grab.

Most fans just hoped their own idols would survive the contract period without scandal or dragging the team down. Keeping their buzz from the show was a bonus.

But now, barely six months in, CROWN had far exceeded everyone’s expectations.

Sure, some members were more popular than others—but even the least-followed member was widely known in the idol scene.

Gu Yi had starred in Sun Youming’s film. Liu Junyuan had composed Black and Gray. And this performance showcased the fruit of their collective effort.

No one was phoning it in. No one had declined in skill.

Tonight, CROWN burned bright.

Through music, they delivered a performance blazing with passion.

[“I LOVE IT!”]

When the MiiSound invite was first announced, doubts had swirled around them.

Even though Summer Bloom broke records and their stage performances were among the best in idol-dom, many thought they’d be outclassed here.

But with Black and Gray, they didn’t need to prove anything.

The performance said it all.

Two hours into the awards, the CROWN members knew they hadn’t been the best—yet stepping off stage, they were certain: they had done justice to the song.

—

The award segment followed. Competition for the five trophies was fierce. Best Singer and Best Composer were stacked with industry heavyweights. For Best Singer, MiiSound traditionally spotlighted a newcomer.

But “newcomer” here only meant new to the public—these artists were already masters in their own lanes.

When the Best Song of the Year nominees flashed on screen, the camera caught six identical stunned expressions.

Nominee: Summer Bloom – CROWN.

[“Dead. Did y’all measure those expressions with a ruler?”]

[“Congrats on the nomination!!”]

Fans wanted to laugh—CROWN’s members had really started to look alike.

Gu Yi nudged Ji Chi. “I didn’t imagine that, right?”

“Guess…not?”

Gu Yi blinked in disbelief.

The MiiSound Awards were one of the most prestigious in the music industry. Even a nomination meant: Summer Bloom was considered one of the best songs of the year.

They hadn’t written it themselves. But it was still undeniably their song.

It didn’t win. But the nomination was surprise enough.

“Awesome,” Gu Yi high-fived Ji Chi and the others. “We’re awesome.”

—

CROWN hit the trending list again.

Black and Gray exploded online. Fans screamed for the new album. The official Weibo account tried to stay cool, but under the pressure of thousands of impatient comments, finally replied: “Soon, soon.”

[“Daily reminder check-in.”]

The admin posted adorable photos with a pouty caption: [“Let the kids have a peaceful New Year, please!”]

[“Even a donkey in a production team doesn’t rest this much—get to work!”]

[“Forget the album. At least give us some photoshoots or magazine spreads!”]

The admin replied: [“Well…we might have something. What if it’s the members’ projects?”]

The baby-faced fans said [“Anything is fine,”] but the veteran fans had learned to bargain: [“We need a sample first.”]

—But it was already too late.

The admin shamelessly dropped the latest cover and table of contents of The Chemist magazine.

[“You wanted magazine covers? Here you go.”]

Fans: [“…”]

[“LET THE KIDS HAVE A PEACEFUL NEW YEAR!”]

[“Reflect it! Reverse it!”]

One fan working on their thesis chuckled bitterly: “Why wouldn’t it count as a cover? Being featured in The Chemist? That’s insane.”

While The Chemist was higher-end than Chemistry and Life, fans were already desensitized after the last shock. They were used to the chaos now.

Some even suspected Yang Ting was secretly running the admin account. Only someone bold enough to spam lion emojis would dare drop The Chemist as a “magazine spread.”

Utterly insane.

Yang Ting: “That’s not fair. Don’t they know I faint at the sight of chemistry?”

He even considered posting a selfie to clear his name.

Gu Yi was currently absorbed in The Chemist. As his teammate, Yang Ting wanted to stay as far away as possible.

“Teacher Gu, stop being such a scholar,” Yang Ting sighed. “If you keep this up, how am I supposed to face my parents?”

Yang Ting was finally building a name for himself, but to his parents, CROWN still didn’t count as a real job. Actually—none of them did. Only Gu Yi, who knew how to pass civil service exams, got a pass.

“I’m just reading for a bit.”

Yang Ting leaned in. “Teacher Gu, maybe you should get a chemistry degree. If you’re really interested, you could do research.”

Gu Yi paused. “Isn’t it too late?”

“We only have one album to prep before June. A Letter on My Desk won’t release before summer either. We’ve got time.”

Gu Yi: “It feels like a challenge.”

But the more he thought about it…the more tempting it seemed.

Just over six months ago, he was still a PhD student. He hadn’t forgotten everything yet.

Gu Yi had heard many suggestions about further study—Director Sun Youming wanted him to study film, Liu Junyuan thought music school suited him. But maybe it was habit from his previous life—Gu Yi just couldn’t picture himself in another field.

“…Maybe I should give it a shot?”

“Give it a shot. It’s never too late to take the college entrance exam.”