Chapter Sixty-Five: The Date

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Entertainment Around You Without Pop-ups
Story timeline: November—December 2005
Recommended Song: Show Lo—Gray Space
Statement: This story is purely fictional. Please do not associate it with real people or events. Any resemblance is purely coincidental!

“What? Receiving an award?” Jiang Yihan, still dazed, walked up to the stage.

As he walked down the aisle, Jiang Yihan could see many “Castles” beside him screaming nonstop, and could also see the artists behind him applauding, including Lin Erxiang. Bewildered, Jiang Yihan glanced at the big screen—on it were the words: Annual Best Male Singer—Jiang Yihan.

Jiang Yihan’s mind couldn’t quite process it—Best Male Singer? What did that mean?

Even when he received the trophy from the guest, Jiang Yihan still couldn’t believe it. He picked up the trophy and saw the words “Annual Best Male Singer” clearly inscribed. He gripped it tightly, feeling the hard, glassy surface—a sensation that grounded him in reality. Jiang Yihan looked up; the stage lights were blinding, and the people in the audience were a blur. He could vaguely make out Jiang Ziyi and Kwon Jiyong dancing wildly, surrounded by a crowd of people all joyfully celebrating. Jiang Yihan walked up to the microphone and tentatively asked, “Is it really me?”

The entire venue erupted in screams.

For no reason, Jiang Yihan’s tears began to fall, and the more he cried, the harder he cried. He covered his mouth, trying desperately not to sob aloud. At that moment, a chorus rose from below: “Don’t cry,” “Don’t cry.” Hearing this, Jiang Yihan’s tears only flowed more. He turned away, wiped his tears fiercely, then returned to the microphone and stammered, “Thank you, everyone. Really, thank you all. To all my Castles who love me—I love you, too.”

After that simple thank you, Jiang Yihan could say nothing more; he only knew how to weep.

After running offstage, Jiang Yihan hugged Li Ran and could only cry. Li Ran embraced the speechless, sobbing Jiang Yihan, patting his shoulder to comfort him.

The MKMF Awards Ceremony had come to an end. Popular singers like TVXQ and Kim Jong Kook all received their respective awards and recognition. But the biggest winner was undoubtedly Jiang Yihan. As a rookie who had debuted for just one year, he broke precedent by having MKMF award him the Best Male Singer title—a feat never seen before.

Returning home, Jiang Yihan celebrated all night with Li Yimei, Jiang Ziyi, Kwon Jiyong, and Xu Xian, not sleeping a wink.

After a night of joy, the year-end schedule pressed on just as busily. Rehearsals for the four major award ceremonies continued, and, more importantly, Jiang Yihan began preparing for his new album in November.

The previously composed “Can I Love You?” not only won the recognition of the film crew but also of the company itself. The lead single for his second album was quickly set as this song. If schedules allowed, the company hoped to promote the album and the film at the same time.

For the album’s other songs, Jiang Yihan continued his prolific output. “Don’t Want to Say Goodbye” and “Secretly in Love with You,” both used in the film, were included, as was a newly written “Confession.” As with his previous album, Jiang Yihan composed four out of the ten tracks himself. The other six were selected by the company from nearly two hundred songs. The theme of this album centered around confessions—telling stories of declarations of love. The remaining tracks were “First Love,” “The Girl Next Door,” “Dreaming of You,” “Dazzling Shyness,” “Blushing,” and “Red Tips.”

Jiang Yihan’s musical style remained as varied as ever, with ballads, upbeat songs, and slower numbers, keeping listeners guessing. To ensure the continued popularity and quality of the album, Li Ran brought in two big names: Kim Jaejoong and Lee Hyori. Kim Jaejoong would duet with Jiang Yihan on the film’s song “Secretly in Love with You,” while Lee Hyori would collaborate on the upbeat track “Confession.”

Amidst the busy rehearsals and studio recordings for the award shows, Jiang Yihan almost forgot about his own birthday—and Li Ran’s. It wasn’t until Li Ran mentioned it that Jiang Yihan realized another year had passed. He remembered that it was around this time last year when Li Tong signed him to a contract that changed his entire life for the coming year.

“Hey, the Castles are throwing you a birthday party. Are you going?” Jiang Ziyi asked.

“The Castles are holding a birthday party for me? Really?” Jiang Yihan still wasn’t used to such things. After Jiang Ziyi nodded in confirmation, Jiang Yihan stroked his chin, thought for a moment, and finally decided not to go. “I think I’ll pass.”

“What’s wrong? Do you have a schedule that day?” Jiang Ziyi turned to Li Ran, who shook his head firmly.

“It’s not that,” Jiang Yihan explained, “It’s just that it’s my first birthday here, and I think I’d like to spend it with Yimei.”

“Oh... So you’re finally going to ask Yimei out, huh? That’s great news.” Jiang Ziyi teased, making Jiang Yihan blush bright red.

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“But Lazycat, I think you should still show up at the Castles’ birthday party. It’s only fair to acknowledge the effort they put in,” Li Ran suggested. “How about you go on your date first and show up at the party later? Okay?”

“You’re right, I should consider the Castles, too. Let’s do that—I’ll go out with Yimei first, and when it’s time, I’ll rush back to the party.” Jiang Yihan thought it over and agreed with Li Ran’s suggestion.

When Li Yimei arrived at the arranged meeting place, she didn’t see Jiang Yihan and assumed he hadn’t arrived yet. So she obediently waited for him there.

She knew today was Jiang Yihan’s birthday, but she hadn’t expected that they would spend their first birthday together. Li Yimei couldn’t help feeling a little nervous. She checked her outfit—a black mini skirt, black knee-high boots, a short white down jacket, and a red scarf draped casually around her neck. Li Yimei smiled bashfully. She had spent ages in her room picking out this outfit, and even so, she worried Jiang Yihan wouldn’t notice her effort.

Suddenly, Li Yimei noticed a strange person ahead, holding a large bouquet of roses and a dozen colorful balloons, seemingly waiting for someone. The person’s face was hidden by a black furry trucker hat. Just as Li Yimei wondered about it, the mysterious figure walked toward her, lifted his head, and revealed a broad smile—it was Jiang Yihan.

Li Yimei was stunned. Even after Jiang Yihan handed her the roses and balloons, she still couldn’t believe it.

Jiang Yihan scratched his head awkwardly. “You don’t like it? I wasn’t sure what to do for a date—it was Yiyi’s suggestion, so I bought roses and balloons. Was that not a good idea?”

Li Yimei’s nose tingled, but she smiled happily, shook her head, and buried her face in the roses, inhaling their fragrance deeply.

Seeing Li Yimei smile, Jiang Yihan blushed and said, “Let’s go. We shouldn’t just stand here—there are too many people.” He then fidgeted, debating whether or not to hold her hand, but seeing both of hers full, he awkwardly waved his hand and walked ahead by himself.

Li Yimei stared at Jiang Yihan’s back for a few seconds. Today, he wore a graffiti T-shirt, plaid flannel shirt, and a coffee-colored canvas jacket, paired with dark blue jeans and white sneakers. Li Yimei was entranced, hardly believing she was actually out on a date with him. She giggled to herself and jogged to catch up to him.

Along the way, the gifts in Li Yimei’s hands drew a hundred percent of passersby’s attention. Seeing that Li Yimei was struggling, Jiang Yihan hesitated, then took the balloons from her—only to clumsily let them all float away into the sky.

“Hey, why did you let them all go?” Li Yimei finally reacted as the balloons drifted away.

“You looked like you were having a hard time. Besides, isn’t it beautiful to let the balloons go like that?” Jiang Yihan said, watching them float away.

The colorful balloons scattered across the blue sky, making a lovely scene. People on the street stopped to watch the beautiful moment.

Li Yimei looked at the balloons, then at Jiang Yihan smiling beside her, and laughed happily.

Just as Li Yimei wondered where they were going, Jiang Yihan stopped. She looked around and realized they were at a movie theater.

“Yihan, are we going to see a movie?” Li Yimei asked.

“Yeah, what do you want to watch? You choose,” Jiang Yihan replied.

“I get to choose? Don’t you want to see some war or action film?” Li Yimei asked, a bit worried.

Jiang Yihan smiled. “Why would you think that? Today is our first official date. I picked the place, so it’s only natural for you to pick the movie.”

Looking at his smile, Li Yimei realized that this boy was different from most she had dated before. That thought made her happy, and she nodded.

In the end, Li Yimei chose director Kwak Jae-yong’s film “The Classic” (also known as “Love, So Divine”). Kwak Jae-yong had previously directed the Asian hit “My Sassy Girl,” but this film told a more tragic love story. Released in 2003, it starred Son Ye-jin, Cho Seung-woo, and Jo In-sung.

Jiang Yihan and Li Yimei bought two boxes of popcorn and two colas and entered the theater. The afternoon showing wasn’t crowded, so they picked seats at random and sat down.

From the opening, the film’s beautiful cinematography drew them in. As the story unfolded, both became absorbed, and at one point, their hands reached into the same popcorn box, brushing against each other. Startled, they looked at each other awkwardly. Thankfully, the dim lighting spared them further embarrassment.

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That brief touch broke the ice between them. As the movie progressed, Li Yimei was moved to tears by the tragic love story. Hearing her soft sobs, Jiang Yihan turned, hesitated, and gently rested her head on his shoulder.

Li Yimei leaned against him, still moved by the film, but a gentle warmth and emotion spread through her. Sometimes, the simplest dates are the happiest.

When the movie ended, both felt a bit shy. After a moment’s hesitation, Jiang Yihan reached out and took Li Yimei’s hand. The heat of her palm, the softness of her hand, made his heart race. He led her quickly out of the theater, and Li Yimei gave herself completely to him, following him from the darkness into the bright, sunlit world outside.

Li Yimei had no idea what the next part of the date would be. She simply followed Jiang Yihan, feeling the warmth of his hand, the faint scent of roses beneath her nose, her cheeks burning.

The next stop was Jiang Yihan’s home, much to Li Yimei’s surprise.

At home, it was just the two of them. Jiang Yihan gently pressed her shoulders, guiding her to sit on the sofa, then turned on the TV. “Wait here, I’m going to get things ready.”

“But it’s your birthday today,” Li Yimei protested, grabbing his sleeve before he could go. “Shouldn’t I be the one celebrating for you?”

“But,” Jiang Yihan turned and gave her a smile, “today is also our first date. I just want to do things that will make you smile.”

Seeing his gentle smile, Li Yimei felt reassured. Watching him in the kitchen, busy in an apron, she suddenly realized that happiness might be just that simple—a bouquet of roses, a movie, and the busy figure of someone you love.

After an hour and a half—the time it took for Jiang Yihan to create happiness—a tableful of dishes appeared before Li Yimei. They might have been simple Chinese home-cooked meals, but to her, they shone with a moving brilliance.

As Jiang Yihan took off his apron, Li Yimei acted on a sudden impulse. She leaned over and kissed his cheek, then sat shyly at the table.

The kitchen light cast a warm, hazy glow. The two of them ate, talked, and laughed, and for a moment, the world seemed to stand still.

At the table, Li Yimei gave him her birthday present—a brown handkerchief. She knew Jiang Yihan always sweated a lot after performances and thought he could use it. Jiang Yihan folded the gift carefully and put it straight into his pocket, then looked up and smiled at her.

When Li Ran and Jiang Ziyi returned home, they found Jiang Yihan and Li Yimei at the kitchen sink, washing dishes and playfully splashing water at each other, laughter filling the house.

Since Jiang Yihan still had to attend the birthday party organized by the Castles, it was left to Li Ran to see Li Yimei home, while Jiang Yihan and Jiang Ziyi headed off to the party venue together.

A simple date, a simple afternoon, yet it was filled with boundless pink happiness. For a moment, Li Yimei felt as if the world belonged to her.

Christmas of 2005 soon arrived. Having been together for a year, Jiang Ziyi and Kwon Jiyong planned their own special day. Even more important was the news Kwon Jiyong brought—he was preparing to debut.

He was about to participate in a debut documentary program, where six people would compete, and over the course of half a year, some would be eliminated, with the remaining members forming a group to debut.

Jiang Yihan and the others were all thrilled for Kwon Jiyong—after six long years as a trainee, he was finally about to debut. It was the end of hardship and the beginning of something new.

Speaking of debuts, one couldn’t ignore ABC’s rival, MS Company, or Jiang Yihan’s fellow countryman Han Geng. In early November, MS launched a twelve-member group, Super Junior, with Han Geng as one of the members. Their popularity was rising rapidly, and they had achieved great success. But visa issues remained unresolved, so Han Geng could only occasionally appear on shows, often having to wear a mask on stage. Even so, whenever Jiang Yihan spoke to Han Geng on the phone, he could hear the joy in his friend’s voice—and that was enough to make anyone happy.

Finally, the three major year-end award ceremonies of 2005 ended with Jiang Yihan sweeping the Best Newcomer awards and Kim Jong Kook dominating Best Male Singer.

2006 was just around the corner.