Bound In A Loop Of Fate

Miss Li regarded Fu Yuan's worries with the same calmness she upheld to all things, her exhaustion magically gone with Fu Yuan's smack.

"Don't worry, we'll meet the deadline. We're not that slow, and everyone here is a genius."

Fu Yuan laughed at this and nodded in acceptance.

However, Gu Wei flinched at the words Miss Li had innocently used, hiding his reaction with a sip from his straw, his hand tightening on the bottle.

Slow.

Miss Li's compliment was washed away completely by that one word she'd used in her sentence, which now seemed to be hunting Gu Wei after that disturbing dream he'd had.

"Okay okay. I'll put my faith in you. I also knew there were many things wrong with the script. That's why I brought Gu Wei to the team. He has hawk eyes for everything, and I knew Li Fan would feel at least a bit of guilt when he brings it up."

Fu Yuan said, draping a hand over the chair, her arms stretched out behind Gu Wei.

She was in a different outfit this time, a fitted black jumpsuit with zippers in all parts.

Its arms were cut short at the shoulders with long zippers stretching out from the seams to converge at her wrist.

It gave the jumpsuit a quirky arm, and the clothing was styled in the form of a suit, so her collars were pressed and shaped.

Paired with a signature belt, Fu Yuan Jie always added a belt to every outfit she donned, which followed the theme and resembled a zip.

She looked every inch like the actress she was.

In answer to Fu Yuan's compliment of him, Gu Wei continued his sipping, but with a smile and the slightest pink on his cheeks.

It wasn't every day one got complimented by the bias of their life, and Gu Wei let it sink in as much as it could.

Fu Yuan Jie Jie picked him, she picked him.

Rolling her eyes at her employer, Miss Li glanced at the blushing Gu Wei, then proceeded to roll her eyes again.

"Maybe the two of you should do everything together then. This show of fan, idol love is oppressing us."

Grinning till almost all her teeth were showing, Fu Yuan crossed her legs.

"If you can't take what you're seeing, you know where the exit is."

Miss Li grunted, and Director JJ and the others grumbled. Gu Wei's face grew hotter.

Why were they conveying it like the fan-idol relationship was something indiscreet? Seriously…

Fu Yuan took pleasure in their reaction and leaned back next to Gu Wei contentedly.

She tilted her head to the side, her head almost brushing Gu Wei's, who choked on his drink as the space between them shrunk.

His Jie Jie was so… free.

"There's nothing to worry about, though. Gu Wei here has a girlfriend, and I don't touch people who are taken."

Fu Yuan stated, as fact-like as one could hear.

Gu Wei, who had been recovering from his choking, choked once again, this time more seriously.

Fu Yuan sat up and patted him on the back with a worried frown.

Gu Wei choked further at the contact, and he coughed as everything went into the wrong pipe at the same time.

Air wasn't airing, drink wasn't drinking.

It was so serious that the others grew alert, and Miss Li handed him a tissue. SB eyed Fu Yuan patting.

"Maybe let up a little, Yuan-ah, I think you're making it worse."

"Oh…" Fu Yuan retracted her hand and Gu Wei's coughing miraculously stopped.

Fu Yuan raised an eyebrow, "I made it worse uh?"

Clearing his throat to set his pipes right, Gu Wei breathed deeply and replied to Fu Yuan's previous statement.

"I-I… ahem, I don't have a girlfriend."

Seven eyebrows were raised in perfect unison at his comment.

Fu Yuan twisted in her seat to face him, and Gu Wei unconsciously shifted further in his so she wouldn't fall off.

"You don't? But what about that girl? I-Ahhh… It's my mistake, I assumed too fast. My apologies, Gu Wei-ah."

Eyes almost popping off at Fu Yuan, not because she was apologizing, but because she had called his name in such a familiar manner.

Gu Wei couldn't believe his ears or process it for a moment.

Unbothered by anything, Fu Yuan continued.

"It's good you don't have one. You can join us all in our futile search and wallow. Was she a friend then?"

This was asked as nonchalantly as she could muster, and Fu Yuan searched Gu Wei's face for any form of hesitation or expression.

She had to be sure she wasn't a home-wrecker.

Surprisingly, their eyes met in Fu Yuan's search, and Gu Wei quickly ducked his head, scratching at his head self-consciously as he mumbled.

"Uhh yeah, yes… A friend."

Heart thumping at the cute fan on her side who couldn't look her in the eye without blushing, Fu Yuan nodded at his answer and twisted back to her normal pose.

So, he doesn't have a girlfriend? Good.

Satisfied with the answer, Fu Yuan turned her attention to the other people and struck up a random chat.

This actress was indeed a mood maker.

She took a photo of Miss Li's legs in Crocs, earned a glare, and told HB to put something on. The sight of his abs was distracting her.

Fu Yuan went around commenting on everything, even complimenting SB on how beautiful she was without her glasses till the woman turned the color of tomatoes.

All the while, Fu Yuan was fiddling with Gu Wei's hair at his nape.

At first, he'd thought it was a mistake and had shifted slightly forward in his seat. The fiddling continued.

Gu Wei twisted his head this way and that, it followed. He leaned away again, it was still there.

Not sure how he was going to convey his worries to the person causing them, Gu Wei suffered for the duration of Fu Yuan teasing the team.

Eyes looking straight at his drink ever since she'd arrived, face set in a resting expression in the hopes that the blood rushing to his face would calm its travel, Gu Wei sat still and let his Jie Jie play with his hair.

He tried to think of it as idol service.

Fu Yuan suddenly lit up and straightened. Her hand slid off Gu Wei's neck, and he sighed.

"We should go karaoke!"

The actress exclaimed, eyes shining bright as she smiled cheerfully at the wary group of people.

Dread filled Gu Wei at the thought of karaoke.

The lyrics were either too fast or the words too jumbled and complicated, and Gu Wei steered clear of anything that showed his shortcomings, and this was no exception.

But it seemed Fu Yuan had made up her mind and dragged them out the way she'd dragged Gu Wei yesterday.

Gu Wei commented that he couldn't sing on the way to the car, and Fu Yuan entwined her hands with his and said simply.

"That's okay. Those who don't want to sing can cheer. I'll sing for all of us."

Gu Wei's admiration for his Jie Jie grew two feet taller, and he let her drag him without restraint. He would let her drag him anywhere.

They rode in two cars.

Gu Wei, Fu Yuan, SB, and HB in Fu Yuan's, Director JJ, JC, and JP in Miss Li's.

Fu Yuan warmed up her vocals with a small private karaoke in the car, and SB joined in with much convincing.

Gu Wei tried his cheering role and clapped along.

By the time they were in the karaoke booth, one wide enough to fit all of them, Fu Yuan's voice was at an ear-splitting volume, and Miss Li was ad-libbing for her.

SB was the second-best singer, and she switched mics with Fu Yuan. Even going as far as to perform a duet that almost sprang a tear from Gu Wei's eyes.

His Jie Jie's voice was just so perfect.

Happily, Gu Wei wasn't asked to sing a single song, and he used his energy and voice to cheer like Fu Yuan had advised, shaking the tambourine to the beat and clapping when needed.

HB, JC, and JP joined at some point and rapped. Gu Wei cringed throughout. It wasn't their voices that made him cringe, but their flow.

They talked gibberish for more than half of the song, and even when they got it right, they just didn't get it right.

Director JJ snatched the mic from the horrid triplets at some point and showed them how it was done.

Director JJ's voice was deep, and it reverberated through the room in perfect frequencies.

Fu Yuan convinced the Director to sing a ballad with her, and they killed it so well that Gu Wei forgot to cheer for the last half of the performance.

Fu Yuan's flawless, light feminine voice blended perfectly with Director JJ's deep rumble, and Gu Wei was reborn as a fan again.

This time, of Fu Yuan's singing.

Dropping on the other side of the long couch her die-hard fan was actively cheering on, Fu Yuan proudly looked around her handiwork as Miss Li and SB engaged in a fierce voice battle.

Everyone was relaxed and free around each other, unlike how uptight it had been a few hours ago.

This was better than the slimy forlorn faces she'd come upon in the cafeteria.

Fu Yuan nibbled on a few chips they had bought to snack on, spreading her arms in the same pose Gu Wei had suffered through.

Her legs were crossed gracefully, air flowing over the edge of the couch as the vents blew a special draft her way.

Gu Wei, arms still shaking the tambourine in his hand, leaned towards the godly figure and said loudly over the blaring music.

"You should sing!"

His face was set in a lazy smile and his fringe had bounced up and down so much it stuck at all sides.

So cute.

Fu Yuan nodded at his words and gazed absentmindedly at the singing duel going on.

"I know, right?! I should release an album one day. Maybe you guys will like it."

Gu Wei nodded frantically, "Yes, yes we will. We love everything Fu Yuan Jie does."

Switching her gaze to the enthusiastic fan, Fu Yuan slid farther into Gu Wei's side of the couch and bumped her shoulder with his.

Promising to make music one day. If not for her fans, then for Gu Wei.

The boy was full to the brim with the day's stack of Fu Yuan's idleness, and with the added mention of a unique promise, became a balloon and floated off the chair in weightless bliss.