Dylan Wang’s phone was about to explode.

Since their first meeting, he was suddenly added in a WeChat group with the other three fourths of F4. Everyday, he would wake up to hundreds of unread messages from last night, mostly Kuan Hong sending memes and Xize sending voice messages of his commentary of Kuan Hong’s memes.

Then three days later, there was another group created, now with Shen Yue in it. All of a sudden, the previous group chat was ignored, and this new group chat, which Shen Yue proudly named “Meteor Rain”, was now the one swarming with messages.

Dylan could barely open the chat without 5 separate messages popping up. Most of which are Kang and Kuan Hong bickering over the pettiest topic, or Xize reprimanding Kang and Kuan Hong for bickering. He noticed Shen Yue was also pretty active in the group chat too. She would send memes if she ever chanced upon one while surfing the internet, which was a lot.

Right now, all of them were called for a photoshoot for Meteor Garden’s initial publicity material. They were told that these pictures will be released during the official introduction of the new Meteor Garden cast.

Of course, that meant everybody was excited to see each other. Kuan Hong was quite ecstatic. He was bombarding the group chat with his silly pictures while in transit. Kang would then send complains about Kuan Hong’s hair, his nose and his annoying face.

“LOL I just left the building, I hope I won’t be late.” Xize informed the others through the group. Dylan sent a meme in response to Xize’s message, which garnered a curse from the boy.

“Where’s Yue? Don’t tell me she’s still asleep LMAO.” asked Kuan Hong. The others sent laughing stickers following Kuan Hong’s message, but Dylan immediately typed.

“LOL she couldn’t be late. Do you think she’s asleep?” Dylan typed. He was already inside his car with his manager, on their way to the venue of the shoot in the busier parts of Shanghai.

“Dunno, until what time were you talking with her last night, bro?” asked Kang.

It was true that Shen Yue and Dylan stayed a little late last night to chat. At first, the three of them together with Kuan Hong was talking about ghost stories and urban legends they had heard. Afterwards, they noticed that Kuan Hong was no longer responding. They figured that he must have fallen asleep and told each other to go to bed too. But Dylan, as the naughty boy he was, interjected something that made Shen Yue freak out.

“Good night, Yue. Don’t turn around, there might be someone standing over your bed right now.”

Shen Yue sent a long voice clip that contained roughly of curses targeted to Dylan and how she couldn’t turn around even if her arm was starting to hurt because she was afraid she’d see someone. This prompted the two of them to bicker for an extended hour in the middle of the night that ended only when Shen Yue no longer replied.

“I hope she wasn’t eaten by the monster beneath her bed. LOL.” Dylan replied. He checked Shen Yue’s profile and saw that she was online six hours ago.

“Who’s got her number? You should probably call her. I’m gonna go get breakfast.” replied Xize before going offline.

“I’ll call her.” responded Kuan Hong to the chat.

After a few minutes, Kuan Hong said that he couldn’t get through her phone.

So Dylan took it upon himself and called Shen Yue’s number. At first he couldn’t get through, but after a few attempts, he finally got a ring.

Shen Yue answered after a few rings. He heard rustling, a thud and a soft groan.

“Ouch.” said Shen Yue’s distant voice, somewhere beyond the line. Dylan’s brows scrunched.

“Hello, Yue?” Dylan called. “Hello? What’s up? What’s happening, are you alright?”

It took a few seconds before Yue responded. This time Dylan knew that she had her phone in hand. “Yah, Di? Oh my god, what time is it?” she demanded, this time with a clear voice.

“Don’t tell me you just woke up?!” said Dylan incredulously.

“Ugh, what the hell. This is your fault, Di. I swear.” Shen Yue cursed, groaning in the process. “What?! It’s already seven?! Oh god, oh god. I gotta go Di. I’m screwed.”

And with that, Shen Yue ended the call. Smiling, Dylan created a voice message to the group chat.

“Sleeping beauty’s awake now.” Dylan laughed, reporting to the other three.

---

Sleeping beauty was a mess when she got to the venue.

Dylan noted that her hair was up but dripping wet. She had zero make up on, but her cheeks were flushed. She was in a loose pink pullover and pants, and she was out of breath.

“Sorry, sorry, I’m late.” She said, bowing madly. “I slept in, I’m so sorry I wouldn’t do it again.”

“Hey, Yue. It’s okay. You’re not even that late.” said the head coordinator of the shoot. “Have you eaten yet? Go eat something first, they’re serving breakfast.”

Shen Yue plopped down between Xize and Dylan, catching her breath. She was sweating profusely and her cheeks were even more crimson than a while ago.

“Oh my god.” she groaned, fanning herself. She pulled her hair tie, making her hair glide above her shoulders. It was still very wet, and Dylan had no other choice but to observe Shen Yue pushing strands of hair away from her face.

“Why don’t you tie it again so it wouldn’t get in the way?” Dylan suggested.

Shen Yue turned her head sharply, and Dylan was met with a very indignant glare from the girl. She pulled her fist up, then started hitting him. Dylan backed and held up his arms in defense.

“This is your fault, dummy!” Shen Yue yelled, hitting him softly on the arm. “You shouldn’t have said that!”

“Hey, it was a joke!” Dylan defended. “It wasn’t my fault you’re scared!”

“Then don’t do it again next time, you big bully!” Shen Yue pinched his side. Dylan screeched in pain.

“Hey that hurt!” Dylan yelled. He pushed Shen Yue’s shoulders, causing her to fall back on the couch.

Shen Yue was about to stand and pounce on Dylan when Xize called. “Hey, hey, idiots. Could you stop that? I’m gonna get a headache watching you two fight.” Xize stood up, stretching. “I’m gonna walk around, any of you coming?”

“I’ll go.” said Kuan Hong. He stood up and rustled Shen Yue’s hair, but jokingly snatched his hand back in disgust. “You have got to blow that dry, little sister.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Shen Yue mocked. She sat down beside Dylan, arms crossed. She pushed his arm and started making silly faces at Dylan.

“Eat your breakfast first, you guys.” Kang said, walking past them. “I’m gonna start preparing.” and he left the two of them to make funny faces at each other.

Dylan wasn’t about to give up the funny faces war she had started. He pulled on both his eyelids and flipped them so the inside was showing. Shen Yue laughed derisively.

“You look like a demon! Oh my god, you can do that? I can’t do that.” she started to pull on her left eyelid, but her fingers got a little too excited and poked her eyes accidentally. “Ouch!” she yelped.

Dylan laughed loudly, clutching his stomach. “You dum-dum. Why did you poke your eye?!”

“It’s not like I did it on purpose!” she said, rubbing her eyes until it was a little red. “I bet my eye’s all red. I hate this day.” she grumbled.

Dylan smiled, then he stood up and stretched his arms over his head. “Come, let’s eat breakfast.” he told Shen Yue. “Good breakfasts make great days.”

Shen Yue laughed. “Who said that?”

“Me, of course.” he said, winking at her.

She smiled and shook her head. Then she stood up, stretched her arms and punched his arm just for the sake of it. “Whatever, Didi. Let’s go get breakfast and dry my ugly hair.”

“Whatever you say, Yueyue.”

---

Didi was instructed to prepare for the individual shoots after breakfast. He did five outfits in a different room while the others shot their individual shots in the other rooms. This amounted to four hours of non-stop camera clicks, outfit-changing and reflectors blinding him. By the time it was lunch, he was exhausted and hungry.

He bolted straight to the lunch buffet, hoping to eat his lunch very heartily, but saw that they were just setting up the food and utensils. Crestfallen, he turned around and started thinking hard if he had stashed food somewhere in his bag.

“Didi!” someone called from his back, he turned and saw Yueyue walking straight to him, clad in a white dress with flared sleeves. Her hair was up in a messy bun, and her usually straight fringe was in a beautiful disarray. The skirt of her dress billowed as she walked towards him, but most of all, she was holding a half-eaten pizza slice.

“Where did you get that?” Didi said, pointing at the pizza.

“This?” Yueyue took a bite, and Didi had to try hard not to stare. “Someone delivered it to my room, didn’t you get yours?”

“No!” he said, annoyed that he didn’t get to eat pizza.

“Do you want some?” Yueyue reached up, offering her pizza to Didi.

Didi looked straight at the pizza. He waited, then chomped a large bite to which Yueyue let out a loud gasp.

“Wow, Di. Are you hungry?” she laughed, then grabbed him by the arm. “Come, I think we still have pizza left in my room.”

When Didi was happily holding two slices of pizza on both hands, he turned to Yueyue who was eating yet another pizza slice.

“Where are the others?” he asked, following the girl who was quickly walking out of the room after seeing him satisfied with the pizza.

“In Xize’s room. They’re shooting the couple shots with Jia Qi.” she opened a door. Upbeat music was blaring pretty loud inside. “They want to eat lunch, so they sent me to see if they’re done preparing yet.”

Inside, Didi saw the others standing behind the photographer. They were all snickering mischievously at the two people in front. Xize was sitting on a stool, while Jia Qi was hugging his shoulders. Jia Qi was smiling at the camera, while Xize was looking at her, looking so happy with the ongoing matters.

He was suddenly reminded that he will do this with Shen Yue later. He took a glimpse at her, and saw that she was slightly laughing while looking at Jia Qi and Xize. She was holding a pizza on one hand, and the other was hovering near . She took another bite, then her fingers for crumbs. Didi immediately looked the other way.

“Di!” Kuan called, noticing him. He approached them and took a playful jab at his shoulders. He seemed a little too happy from all the jeering. “It’s gonna be you and Yueyue next.” he moved his eyebrows suggestively.

But even before Didi could respond, Shen Yue interrupted. “Don’t watch while we’re shooting. I’m gonna ask them to shoo you away.”

“You can’t do that.” Kankan interrupted, appearing over Kuan’s shoulder. “You aren’t the boss here.”

Yueyue stuck out her tongue, then she turned towards Xize and Jia Qi. “Guys, I’m not laughing at you. So don’t laugh at us later.”

“I won’t.” said Jia Qi and Xize at the same time. Their eyes went wide, then Jia Qi pushed Xize’s shoulder gently.

Didi, Kuan and Kankan hooted and clapped.

---

True to her words, Yueyue was able to beg the coordinator to make their shoot a closed one. Kankan and Xize were appalled that she was able to do it.

“Did some magic with your eyes again, didn’t you? One day I’ll poke that out.” said Xize jokingly.

The only problem with a closed shoot was that, aside from the stylists and the photographer, they were the only ones there. The thought made Didi even more nervous than having the others in the background grinning cheekily.

Yueyue appeared to be calm, though. Her hair was still up, and she was wearing another white dress. But this time, it was a halter neck pleated dress with frills on the chest. She looked a little sleepy, but she was smiling and humming along to the sweet music playing in the background.

“Okay. Yue, Dylan, please stand side by side.” the photographer asked them.

Didi stood beside her, showing off his smug smile to the camera.

“You guys look awkward.” commented the photographer. The both of them erupted with laughter.

“It’s an awkward stance!” Yueyue protested, laughing.

“Yeah, let’s have us face to face then we won’t be awkward.” Didi said.

Yueyue looked up at him, then she made a silly face. Didi heard succeeding camera clicks.

“Well that looked weirdly good.” said the photographer. “Just loosen up around each other, okay?”

Yueyue scoffed, then glared at Didi. She assumed her position beside Didi and slightly leaned her head on Didi’s shoulder.

“I think we’ve loosen up around each other too much.” she said, laughing.

Didi jerked his shoulders, causing Yueyue’s head to bump on the sharp point of his shoulder. She yelped in pain, then clutched her temple. Didi started laughing.

“Didi! That hurt!” She slapped his arm.

“Very good you guys!” the photographer praised. “Now, please hold hands.”

Didi lifted his left hand and offered it to Yueyue. She placed her hand on top of his palm and her fingers instantly clung to his.

Didi held her hand. They were both silent, but they were smiling from ear to ear. Didi pulled and played with her hand. He held it close to his chest one time, then pretended to bite it on another. This made Yueyue yelp and snatch her hand back. But Didi was quick to catch it again.

“Don’t do that, Di!” Yueyue reprimanded. Didi just smiled and stuck out his tongue at her.

One of the stylists approached them to show other poses that they needed to do. There were pictures of couples pinching each other’s’ cheek, hugging each other, and linking their pinky fingers.

They did the pinky-finger-linking first. Didi carefully tugged on Yueyue’s pinky finger, then he made a face at the girl.

Then they did the cheek-pinching next. Yueyue looked like she wasn’t quite sure, and even squinted her eyes at Didi to warn him.

“Don’t pinch too hard, Wang He Di.” she said.

“It’s not like I’d claw you.” he laughed. He gingerly held his hand up to her cheek, looking straight to her eyes. He hesitated, then carefully grabbed a few folds of her skin.

It was surprisingly soft to touch. She was now looking towards the camera but Didi focused on his hand, careful not to move it a bit or he could hurt her.

The photographer also asked Yueyue to pinch his cheeks, to which she smiled evilly before carefully reaching up to pinch him.

“Ouch!” Didi yelped. She grabbed it too fast that she squeezed a little too hard. He let go of her cheek to nurse his own.

“Sorry, sorry!” Yueyue said, laughing a little. She tiptoed to see his face, then ran her thumb over his cheek. Didi felt himself shudder. “Does it hurt badly?” she asked, repeatedly caressing his cheek with her thumb.

“Nope.” Didi said shortly, smiling at her. She smiled back.

“Briliiant! You look head-over-heels for each other.” said the photographer. Yueyue suddenly withdrew her hand, and Dylan tried to laugh it off.

“Okay, last round. Can someone bring the chair please?”

One of the stylists nearby pushed a wooden stool chair. Didi tried to help by picking up the stool and placing it between him and Yueyue.

“Dylan, please sit on the stool. Then Yue will sit on your lap.”

Didi stopped, looking at the photographer then to Yueyue. Her eyes were wide at first, then she shook her head slightly before looking at Didi.

“Whatcha waiting for, dummy? Sit down.” She said laughingly, pointing at the stool.

Didi felt his ears heat up when Shen Yue carefully perched herself on his knees. She had her back on him and sitting too far away from his body. Didi wanted to say something, but one of the stylists beat him to it.

“Yue, sit closer to him! You look so awkward.” the stylist laughed.

Yueyue was about to stand when Didi grabbed her by the waist and pulled her closer to his body. “Didi!” she yelped, involuntarily lacing her arms around his neck for balance. She ended up huddled on his chest, eyes closed.

In a spur of emotions, Didi circled his arms around her waist. “Sorry, missy.”

Shen Yue looked at him, then huffed. “Don’t do that!” she punched his chest gently.

Didi just smiled, then guided her to sit closer to him. She was sitting adjacent to his body, so she was facing away from the camera. Didi placed his head on her shoulders.

“Don’t think about anything else, missy. Just get yourself cozy.” he whispered to her ear.

Shen Yue smiled slowly, then rubbed her nose to his cheek.

---

The last hour of their photoshoot was dedicated to a group shot wearing high school uniforms.

They took a lot of time changing because of Didi’s hair. His hair had to be styled like the famous pineapple haircut, which took almost an hour to create.

“How long is that hair gonna take.” Xize groaned. Xize, Kankan and Kuan were all situated in a couch inside Didi’s makeshift dressing room. They were already through with their individual shots, and just waiting for Didi to be done so they could proceed shooting the group photos. Only then they could call it a day.

“Sure Yueyue’s about to finish her shoot. Your hair takes longer to fix than hers.” Kuan commented.

Didi waved his hand. “Her hair is naturally straight and healthy. Mine’s not. Stop complaining.” he rolled his eyes, joking.

“You mean my hair is beautiful?” asked someone by the door. Didi looked in the mirror and saw Yueyue in a high school uniform, standing in the doorway. Her uniform matched theirs, dark gray jacket with a silver pin on their left lapels over white dress shirts. Only that she was wearing a brown plaid skirt. Their neckties don’t match either. Didi’s was red with white stripes like a candy cane. Yueyue’s was orange and black plaid. Kuan had black and white geometric designs. Kankan had a white tie with red and blue stripes. And Xize with a blue tie with little white stripes.

“I mean your hair is dull.” Didi replied to which Yueyue responded with a scowl.

Shen Yue started walking towards the other three. The boys unconsciously made way on the couch so she could sit. Yueyue plopped down between Xize and Kankan. “How long is that gonna take?”

“That’s what we asked.” said Kankan. “Hey, Yue. Have you seen the recent update to FWJ?”

Didi watched the other four talk about the mobile game they were all playing. Xize and Kuan even whipped their phones out to show the new heroes and characters from the game.

Didi looked at himself on the mirror. It’s been forty five minutes since they started fixing his hair. He looked over to the other four, chatting happily on the couch. He sighed, wishing it would be over soon.

When he was finally done with his hair, all five of them immediately went to the room allotted for the shooting. They posed individually, then by groups. They sat on a table and instructed to look like they’re star gazing.

Afterwards, they also took photos with the crew and today’s photographers. Then they were ready to leave.

“I’m so sleepy.” Shen Yue groaned. They were all inside Didi’s makeshift dressing room, waiting for their road managers to pick them up.

Kankan, Kuan and Xize were all sitting on stools, huddled together and peering on Xize’s phone as they played FWJ. Yueyue was laying on the couch, and Didi was sitting on the couch too, near her feet.

“Then sleep.” Didi deadpanned. “There isn’t a ghost watching over you now, anyway.”

Yueyue kicked Didi’s thigh, but then she made herself comfortable on the couch and closed her eyes. Didi waited for a few minutes, before standing up to get her a blanket. He was rummaging through his bag when a head popped on the door.

“Yueyue, come on now we’re going home.” Shen Yue’s manager said.

Yueyue opened her eyes and stretched. Then she stood up to bid the boys goodbye. The next time they would meet would be in two days, the official start of their filming for Meteor Garden.

“Bye guys!” She waved at the other three as she retrieved her phone and bottled water from the couch. The other three said their goodbyes.

“Bye Didi.” Yueyue punched his arm as she walked past.

“Bye, missy.” he smiled, watching her walk out of the door.

Later that day, on his way home, Didi pulled out a blanket from his bag and draped it over his shoulders. Then he dozed off.