Chapter 35: Amusement Park Theme (Part 1)
As December approached, the short autumn season was coming to an end.
Even in southern cities, the temperature had already dropped to around ten degrees Celsius, and people on the streets had changed into clothes suitable for the season.
On a busy street, an orange-haired girl held a phone in her left hand while holding the hand of a blue-haired girl with her right.
Both of them were wearing matching pink double-breasted dresses, warm white stockings, and beige snow boots. They looked cozy and well-prepared for the cold weather.
The orange-haired girl occasionally looked down at her phone and then glanced around, as if she was unfamiliar with the area.
"Classmate An, are we there yet?" the blue-haired girl asked.
"Don't rush. We're almost there. It should be somewhere nearby."
The orange-haired girl replied while checking her phone.
The two girls were none other than An Ran'er and Li Nuo.
Today was Monday. Because they needed to work on the new album and film music videos, both of them had taken leave from school.
For An Ran'er, getting permission was easy.
She had transferred to Nanqin High School as a music-specialty student, had excellent grades, and the school already knew she was an idol. So when she requested ten days off for a performance-related reason, the school approved it almost immediately.
Things were not so easy for Li Nuo.
At first, he used illness as an excuse when asking his homeroom teacher for leave. His teacher initially approved it.
However, when the teacher heard that he wanted ten whole days off, she immediately asked what serious illness he had and even wanted to visit him.
That scared Li Nuo badly.
If his teacher actually came to visit, everything would be exposed.
Fortunately, he managed to make up another excuse, claiming he had a contagious disease and that visitors were not convenient.
Although he did not like lying, he really had no other choice.
After wandering around for quite a while, they finally arrived at the location marked on the map.
Senyu Amusement Park.
"We're here."
An Ran'er compared the address on her phone with the amusement park in front of them and confirmed it.
"This is where we're filming the music video?"
Li Nuo stared blankly at the amusement park.
"Yep. This should be the place."
After confirming the location, An Ran'er called Yu Haoshen.
"Beep... Beep... Beep..."
After a few rings, the call connected.
"Hello, Ran'er? Have you arrived?"
"Yes. We're at the address you gave us. Senyu Amusement Park. This is the right place, isn't it?"
"Yes, that's right. Wait there for a moment. I'll be there soon."
"Okay."
After hanging up, An Ran'er turned to Li Nuo.
"He said we should wait here. He'll be here soon."
"Oh..."
Li Nuo stood at the amusement park entrance with his hands in his pockets. Looking around at the unfamiliar surroundings, he felt confused.
Why did they have to come all the way to a neighboring town just to film a music video?
There was already an amusement park near where they lived. There seemed to be no reason to travel this far.
He turned to look at An Ran'er, who was busy looking at her phone.
Seeing that she was wearing exactly the same outfit as him, his face became slightly red.
Does this count as matching couple clothes? He wondered.
Then he quickly shook his head.
"What kind of couple outfit has both people wearing skirts? It's more like matching best-friend outfits."
Li Nuo absentmindedly watched the people walking up and down the street.
He noticed that most girls were wearing all kinds of stockings.
If he were his old self, he would probably think those girls cared more about fashion than keeping warm.
But things were different now.
Today was the first time he had been forced to wear girls' stockings, and he was surprised to discover how warm they actually were.
His first impression was that they were no worse than the thermal pants he used to wear under his trousers.
In fact, they were even more comfortable.
They kept you warm and looked nice at the same time.
No wonder so many girls preferred stockings in winter instead of wearing thick pants with thermal underwear underneath.
Still, no matter how good they were, they were girls' clothing.
He was a boy.
There was no way he would become addicted to something like this.
Thermal pants suited him better.
At least, that was what Li Nuo told himself.
Less than five minutes later, a man walked toward them.
He was wearing a brown trench coat over a white turtleneck sweater.
A pair of gold-rimmed glasses sat on his face, and his slightly narrowed eyes formed gentle crescents.
It was their manager, Yu Haoshen.
When Yu Haoshen saw their matching outfits, he paused for a moment before smiling.
"You two seem very close."
Hearing that, Li Nuo lowered his head and blushed slightly. He knew exactly what Yu Haoshen meant. After all, he and An Ran'er were dressed exactly the same.
An Ran'er, however, did not seem bothered at all. Instead, she asked, "So the music video will be filmed here?"
She pointed at the amusement park.
"That's right."
Yu Haoshen glanced at Li Nuo and continued,
"The theme of the new album is an amusement park."
"Why?" An Ran'er asked.
"I decided that after listening to the songs and lyrics Miss Li Nuan sent me last night."
The moment he heard that, Li Nuo immediately became curious.
"My songs and lyrics decided it? Why?"
"How should I put it..."
Yu Haoshen thought for a moment.
"Your compositions are actually quite good. But the lyrics are still very immature, and some of them..."
He suddenly stopped, unsure whether he should continue.
"Just say it, Brother Haoshen."
Li Nuo genuinely wanted to know what others thought about his work.
If the problem was only that the lyrics were immature, he could accept that.
"Alright, then I'll be honest."
Yu Haoshen smiled awkwardly.
"Some of the songs and lyrics feel a little too... anime-like. It's hard to explain, but they feel like the kind of fantasies that middle-school boys would have."
"Pfft—"
Even An Ran'er could not help laughing.
"Sorry, sorry. Don't mind me. Please continue."
"Too anime-like..."
Hearing that description, Li Nuo immediately remembered his middle-school years.
That had definitely been his most embarrassing phase.
Back then, after watching countless anime series, he often imagined himself as an anime protagonist in real life.
He would say all sorts of dramatic lines that made him cringe whenever he remembered them now.
Naturally, the songs he wrote during that period also contained a lot of those chuunibyou-style fantasies.
At the time, however, he had thought they were incredibly touching. Just as he felt his embarrassment meter reaching its limit, Yu Haoshen continued.
"That doesn't mean they're completely unacceptable. In fact, I think some of the lyrics about friendship and love are quite good. They make listeners feel the songwriter's longing for friendship and romance."
"Longing for friendship and romance?"
"Exactly. Because the songs revolve around three main elements. Youth, friendship, and love. I thought about it carefully. And in the end, I felt that an amusement park would be the most suitable theme for all of them."