The night after Jiang Yue's live stream, the one that ended with her legendary mic drop line "Nice try, thief" the world was still buzzing. Her poem had gone viral again, hashtags spinning endlessly on Weibo and Twitter.
But Jiang Yue wasn't basking in it. She was exhausted. Her nerves were still frayed, her head still ringing with adrenaline from the plagiarism scandal.
"You," Fang Zixuan announced dramatically the next evening, barging into her temporary office at the publishing house, "need karaoke."
Jiang Yue blinked at him. "I need sleep."
"Nope," Zixuan declared, grabbing her wrist like an overenthusiastic kidnapper. "Sleep is boring. Singing with your new family is destiny."
"My what?"
Xu Jianyu appeared behind him, adjusting his glasses with all the seriousness of a lawyer about to read someone their rights. "He means us. We're taking you out."
"Us?" Jiang Yue's gaze slid past them, straight into Qin Yuze, who was leaning against the doorway, arms crossed, face blank.
"Don't look at me," Yuze muttered in his deep, steady voice. "They dragged me into this too."
From behind them came a cheerful, familiar voice: "And me!" Tessa poked her head in, grinning like she'd been planning this all week. "I need this more than you do, babe."
Before Jiang Yue could protest again, another voice cut smoothly through the room.
"You're going," Lu zhenkia said.
Zhenkia was leaning casually in the corner, as though he'd been there the whole time watching the chaos unfold. His gaze landed on Jiang Yue, firm yet gentle. "You've been burning yourself out. A change of pace will help."
Jiang Yue's mouth opened, closed. Arguing with Fang Zixuan was easy. Arguing with Lu Shenyang? That was a lost cause.
"…Fine," she muttered.
The karaoke bar was private, sleek, and spacious and naturally. Zixuan had rented out the best suite, complete with leather couches, flashing neon lights, and an absurdly long drinks menu.
"This," Zixuan declared, tossing himself onto the couch like a king on a throne, "is the cure to all stress."
"I highly doubt that," Jianyu muttered, loosening his tie before sitting down beside him.
Yuze simply took the farthest corner seat, phone in hand, already hacking into something, or maybe just checking stocks.
Jiang Yue and Tessa sat together, their drinks delivered within minutes.
The first song came up: Zixuan's choice.
It was rap. Loud, fast, ridiculous rap.
Zixuan grabbed the mic and launched into it like he'd been waiting for this moment his whole life. His words stumbled here and there, but his energy was Explosive. He danced around the room, sunglasses somehow appearing out of nowhere, pointing at each person dramatically.
At one point, he rapped directly at Jiang Yue:
"Poet queen with the vibe, bringing healing worldwide "
She choked on her drink. "Oh my God."
Tessa cheered, Jianyu looked like he regretted his entire existence., Yuze didn't even blink.
By the time Zixuan finished, he threw the mic in the air and caught it with a bow. "You're welcome."
"No one asked," Jianyu deadpanned.
"That's slander."
Next up was Qin Yuze.
Somehow, the stoic hacker had chosen a Kpop song.
When the beat dropped, no one breathed. Because Yuze, tall, calm, deadly serious Yuze actually started singing. And not badly. His deep voice contrasted hilariously with the upbeat rhythm.
Tessa slapped the table in laughter. "This is gold. Pure gold."
Even Jiang Yue was clutching her sides, tears in her eyes. "I can't believe this."
Yuze ignored them all, finishing the song with military precision before calmly setting the mic down. "Done."
The room exploded in applause.
"You're officially my bias," Tessa declared.
"I don't know what that means," Yuze muttered, sipping his water.
Then came Xu Jianyu's turn.
Unlike the others, Jianyu didn't joke, didn't banter. He simply stood, selected his song, and let the music begin.
A soft, aching ballad. His voice wasn't professional, but it carried weight. Every word sounded like he'd lived it, like heartbreak woven into melody.
By the end, the room was quiet.
Even Zixuan was silent.
"That," Jiang Yue murmured, "hurt in places I didn't know I had."
Jianyu sat down without a word, but his eyes flickered to her, just once, almost protectively before he looked away again.
Tessa's turn broke the heaviness.
She picked Sam Smith's How Do You Sleep.
Her voice cracked on the chorus, the pain was obviously real. Her cheating ex had left the wounds were still raw and that was only because no matter how strong she was, love still exited in her when they were together, As she sang
"Baby, how do you sleep when you lie to me?
All that fear and all that pressure…"
Her hands trembled. Her eyes shimmered.
By the time the chorus repeated, she wasn't just singing. She was confessing.
The song ended with her lowering the mic, tears streaking her face.
Silence. Then Jiang Yue pulled her into a hug.
"You're loyal and violent," Jiang Yue whispered with a shaky laugh, "but you're also stronger than anyone I know."
Tessa choked on a laugh through her tears. "Damn right."
Li zhenkia sitting quietly until now, leaned in to Jiang Yue and whispered, "I see why she's your best friend."
Jiang Yue smiled softly. "Yep she's loyal and violent, my tessa"
Then it was Jiang Yue's turn.
She picked another Sam Smith song called Fire on Fire.
From the first note, the atmosphere shifted. Her voice was smooth, trembling only slightly, carrying her entire soul into the lyrics. She sang not to the room, not to the screen, but to Li Zhenkai
Her eyes never left his.
And for once, he didn't look away.
The lyrics wrapped around them, an unspoken confession burning between every word. The others blurred into background noise, between them there was just her voice, his gaze and the fire in the room.
When she got to the chorus it was electric as if she was telling him clearly I feel you and it's us against the world, there was sincerity brewing in her eyes as the chorus spilled from her lips.
When the song ended, the silence was deafening.
Then Zixuan broke it with a loud clap. "Okay, okay, that's it, get married already."
Jiang Yue flushed scarlet. "Shut up!"
But Life Zhenkai's gaze lingered. Longer than it should have.
Finally, unexpectedly he stood up and surprised everyone
"I'll sing one," he said.
Everyone froze.
"Wait," Zixuan blurted, "you? Sing?"
Zhenkia ignored him, selecting a song without hesitation. The opening notes filled the room: Minefields by Faouzia and John Legend.
And when he sang
It was raw. Vulnerable. Not perfect, but deep, aching, powerful. The lyrics about love, danger and trust every word carried the weight of things he couldn't say aloud.
Halfway through, Jiang Yue realized her hands were trembling. Because he wasn't just singing. He was telling her something.
When the chorus swelled, his gaze locked with hers again, unwavering.
Her chest tightened painfully.
When the song ended, the silence was heavier than before.
No jokes this time. No laughter.
Just unspoken tension so thick it could shatter glass.
Zixuan finally coughed. "Okay, wow. Didn't know we were holding a confession concert."
Jianyu gave him a look sharp enough to kill.
Yuze sipped his water. "Noted. He's serious."
Tessa grinned through her tears. "Oh, he's doomed. Completely doomed."
Jiang Yue couldn't move. Couldn't breathe. Because Li Zhenkai had sat back down like nothing had happened but his eyes, still lingering on her, told her everything.
And she wasn't sure she was ready for it or was she ready.
The night dragged on with more laughter, more songs, more playful chaos. But the current between them remained, an electric thread tying them together, stronger than ever.
And Jiang Yue, for all her poetry, found herself speechless.
Because for once, the man who rarely spoke had sung, and somehow, that said more than words ever could.