Please Dote on Me - Novelbike

Shichui’s home.

It looked very casual, completely lacking the grandeur I imagined a star’s home would possess; it felt like a typical big boy’s place. There were CDs piled up under the TV, and I guessed that at least half of them were his. A guy who narcissistically uses his own songs as his ringtone would definitely put his own CDs in the most prominent spot at home.

An even more prominent location was a cabinet over there, with an empty orange soda bottle resting on it.

This time, I took the initiative to contact him, expressing that I wanted to go to his house.

Just as I was about to take off the scarf wrapped around my neck, the doorbell rang.

I froze… Could this urgent doorbell mean someone important is coming? I hoped no awkward incidents would take place.

Shichui opened the door, and to my surprise, it was Chinei who rushed in.

I was stunned.

With a strong smell of alcohol and an aggressive demeanor, Chinei walked up and slapped my face.

What the hell?

I completely failed to react. My mind was already slow, and a slap only made me feel more like an idiot.

“Chinei Youmi!” Just like in every story, Shichui shouted her name in anger and then stepped in front of me, saying, “Are you out of your mind?”

“That’s right, I am out of my mind! I went crazy because of you. You actually confessed to her on that advertising wall! Because of this woman, you did such a stupid thing. It’s because you’re with her that you won’t answer my calls. What if I was about to die? Would you ignore it too, just to not affect your date? No matter how much slander you’ve dealt with, I can tolerate it, but slander targeting her? I can’t stand it. How much effort have I put in, how hard have I tried to make you forget her, to make sure you two never see each other again? I thought you two would never meet again. But this woman, knowing you’re famous, came all the way from China to Japan without any regard. I love you more than she does, more! I would give everything for you; can she? When you were down, when you wanted to give up your dreams, it was me who was by your side, not her. She only shows up when you’re successful, trying to hold you back from miles away.” Tears streamed down Chinei’s face.

What on earth is going on? Along with my confusion, I felt a surge of anger at being inexplicably slapped by someone.

“Chinei! Please stop talking nonsense! She is definitely not what you imagine her to be. There must be a special reason for her coming to Japan now. No! It’s not what you think! Chinei, I want you to apologize to her right now.”

What a crazy world.

What do they even want? Are they trying to drive me insane? I just want to understand what these two are talking about!

Just a week ago, I was at home talking to a poster of Shichui Mingyan, and now I find myself in his house, watching two stars argue in front of me, while Chinei is emotionally crying and saying strange things.

“The one who should apologize is her! Why is it that you, who should belong to me, are being taken away by her at this moment when she doesn’t even want you anymore?” Chinei stomped her foot, crying, completely losing control.

Belonging to her? I don’t want him? How does she know what I want? Why can Chinei accuse me like this? But more importantly, the truth matters more than my anger.

“Miss Chinei, Shichui is not an object. He doesn’t belong to you, and he doesn’t belong to me either. There’s no such thing as wanting or not wanting. If we’re talking about love, I believe my love for him is no less than yours. Our ways are different; I’m just his fan. I will always support him.” My face still hurt, but I gathered the courage to say this to the stars.

Surely, she wouldn’t want to hit me again? It really hurts.

“Why? Why did you have to show up now?” Chinei choked up, collapsing to the ground. “I-it’s ridiculous that I put in so much effort to separate you two, but why did your appearance so easily change everything?” Then her voice almost turned into a scream: “I hate you! I really, really hate you!”

Seeing the pitiful Chinei in front of me, I felt my hardened heart soften. Fine, I’ll let it go. A slap is just a strange kind of introduction from a star.

But what on earth did I do to provoke her?

However, holding a grudge wouldn’t help. The only option left was to forgive.

Resigned, I squatted down. “Miss Chinei, I don’t know what you’re talking about. I think you might be drunk today? When I’m drunk, I cry just like you. If you want to cry, then let it out; it’ll feel better by tomorrow. Don’t worry about anything; whatever happens is fine with me. I’m going to leave here anyway.”

“Really? Are you going back? Go back to China. You and Mingyan will never be together; he and I should be the couple.” Chinei suddenly grabbed my hand.

“I already told you, I’m going back. I never thought I could be Mingyan’s girlfriend. I will always love him from the perspective of a fan, hoping that he can find his own happiness. If he truly loves you, Miss Chinei, then you two will be happy together.”

I couldn’t tell whether I was speaking from the heart or not. After all, Mingyan was now more than just a big star unrelated to me; he was someone who inexplicably made me feel close.

“Why do you have to show up? You can live your own life, but why come here to disrupt us? Do you know how hard I’ve worked to make Mingyan forget you? Didn’t I already tell you not to wait for him? I told you five years ago not to wait for him, yet you still wouldn’t listen!”

“Five years ago? You mean five years ago… Miss Chinei, what exactly is going on?” I completely didn’t understand what Chinei was talking about.

I felt like my world was completely falling apart. This whole situation was becoming more complicated, and it seemed like the reasons behind everything were getting closer to a clearer truth.

“Chinei, what’s going on?” Mingyan also looked confused and asked, his brow furrowing.

“Yes, I lied. I lied because I loved Mingyan. To make you disappear from Mingyan’s life completely, I told you that he died in a car accident. While he was back home recovering, I threw away every way for you to contact him into the sea. After he recovered, he did try to find you, but you had already moved.” Chinei smiled bitterly. “Ha. But what does that matter? You still came, didn’t you?” As she spoke, her makeup had completely run due to tears, and my own tears couldn’t stop streaming down my face. Some thoughts were bubbling up in my mind, eager to come out, but they seemed trapped, unable to surface, even just a glimpse.

Mingyan was just as stunned as I was as he listened to Chinei’s story.

However, in an instant, it seemed he grasped a certain truth, and his shock quickly shifted to anger.

“Chinei! How could you be so selfish? Did you never think about anyone else?” Tears glistened in Mingyan’s eyes. “Let’s put an end to this once and for all.”

“I know,” Chinei said, wiping her tears and lifting her head to look at Mingyan. “From the moment she appeared, I completely decided to give you up. Despite all these years of desperately chasing after you and loving you deeply, begging for your affection like a beggar, I’ve made the decision to let go from today onward. But Shichui Mingyan, listen to me: I, Chinei Youmi, am not weak. I will rise to greatness, and I will prove to you that I am a hundred times better than her. I will use all my energy and time to make you regret this.”

“Ha. Is this fantasy you’re speaking of really the truth?” Tears flowed down my cheeks like a stream, even as I forced a smile. I felt like the protagonist of this story, yet I was utterly lost in it.

“Qi Yang, you don’t need to put on an act like this. I never expected to receive your or Mingyan’s forgiveness. From the moment I began lying, I decided I would stick to that lie no matter what. Yet, here I am, finally saying it.” Chinei took a deep breath. “I met Shichui in China. His father was sent there for work, and he lived there from a young age. My mother is Chinese, and at that time, my whole family lived in China. Little me loved to follow him around, thinking this big brother could protect me. I admired him deeply and had a crush on him. After Mingyan entered high school and met you, he wouldn’t stop talking about you. To be honest, I secretly followed you two many times. I was so jealous of you. I didn’t know when all of this would end, or when the Mingyan who had been taken away from me would return. After Mingyan’s car accident, he survived, but it triggered a lot of complications and left him very weak. Yet, even in that state, he still wanted to call you. I was filled with jealousy, so I threw away his phone and told you not to wait for him anymore. I said he no longer existed in this world. Not long after that, his family returned to Japan.”

I was left speechless. The story she was recounting clearly had me as the central character, yet it felt completely foreign to me.