1. cold winter

Xiao Zhan is on his way to a concert to which he has been invited. Actually, he didn't want to go, he never liked the screaming of the fans around him and apart from that, he doesn't even know the musician. He had often read something about him, but he was not interested. They just aren't in the same artist business and idols, well, he never thought much of them.

According to Xiao Zhan, idols are nothing more than poor souls who are pressured by their agencies into making statements and doing things that they otherwise would never say or do. They have no opinion of their own and no private life. They can't decide anything on their own and need approval from management and the agency for everything. For him, they are nothing more than a product, which is sold in every possible way, just to pull the money out of the fans' pockets.

And now, of all things, Zhan has to go to a concert of just such an idol today. Unfortunately, he had thoughtlessly agreed when his best friend Ella asked him if he would accompany her. If only he had asked her beforehand what kind of concert it was.

For days, everyone in town has been excited and plastering the city with all kinds of pictures of the young idol Wang Yibo. His promotional videos have been running across the screens, and fans have been sending him messages via lettering that then runs along houses.

And at almost every single picture, Ella stopped to take a picture of the pictures, screens or lettering. "You do know we're having a cold winter right? I'm just saying, because for every picture you lower the window shade and all the cold draws in here." Said Zhan, as Ella spotted another picture she really needed to photograph.

"Why are you so grumpy today ZhanZhan?" She asked, confused.

"I'm not grumpy. I just had no idea you were going to drag me to that Wang Yibo's concert. Do you realize how many kids will be there screaming? I already have a headache, what will it be like later? And besides, I wanted to work on my painting some more."

"Oh come on Zhan. This is one night. And if you really have such a bad headache, I'll just give you a pain killer. It's not like I ask you for anything very often. And besides, you promised me a long time ago."

"Yes, yes, I know, I know. And promises should be kept, blah blah blah we've been through all that today. And yesterday and also the day before. You don't have to repeat yourself, I get it."

"What do you have against Yibo, anyway?"

"Nothing at all. I just don't like idols."

"He's not like other idols, though. And did you know that his big brother is his manager and always makes sure he has enough free time?"

"Well, he can't have that much free time. Look at this, we've been standing here for 10 minutes now and this is the, I don't know how many commercials with him that are playing across the screen. And there are no repeats so far. Plus, the internet is full of his stuff. I can't even go on my social media without him being at least in the top three topics."

"It's not that much."

"Ella, open your eyes for a minute. He made a movie, now he's the lead in a series, has a show where he co-hosts. Helps coach on a dance show. Has different gigs singing or dancing or both. Does commercials and is a model. Oh and he also races motorcycles in between. He flies from one place to another, has not even had a day off in the last few months. So how well can his brother manage him?"

"Wow Zhan, for not liking him, you know a lot about him."

"Like I said, even the internet is full of him. No matter where I am, on the street, in the gallery, in the supermarket, in the drugstore, in the pharmacy, on the Internet, and even on TV, radio and newspapers. Everything is full of him. It really makes you feel persecuted."

"Well, they just want to make sure everyone knows Yibo."

"That shouldn't be a problem. You stumble across him everywhere."

"Oh Zhan, I think you need a boyfriend again. Maybe then you'll be in a little better mood than you've been in the last few weeks. Mhhh, maybe Yibo could be something for you?"

"You're crazy! What am I supposed to do with a young guy like him? I'd see him maybe once a year with his schedule. No thanks. And besides, I don't need a new boyfriend. I'm doing just fine without a guy."

"But you've been single for four years. And your last relationship wasn't really long either, was it? I mean, what was it, three months?"

"And even that was too much, believe me. I still have a hatred for him. Imagine when I met him, I said I didn't want kissing right away, and certainly not sex. You know I want to save that for someone special that I'm sure about. And he kept trying to kiss me and even tried to get me into bed by trying to get me drunk."

"I know Zhan. The only question is, when are you going to have all of this? You're 28 years old now, you've never been kissed, and sex, well, there hasn't been any of that either."

"So what? I'm just like that. I don't want to waste my first kiss on just anyone. Besides, that wasn't even our topic. Oh, and if we're planning on getting to this concert on time, you should move on slowly."

"Oh right. We only have a half hour until the doors open."

"I hope we don't have to stand outside that long. You'll freeze your ass off in this cold."

"True enough. And they said the winter was going to be mild this year."

"We have -12°C now, so mild is different for me. Hopefully your car will start later. Not that we have to call a breakdown service like the day before yesterday."

"Don't even start me with that. My insurance company called me yesterday and they said they wouldn't pay for roadside assistance because my car is so old and I've known my car has problems when it's cold. But I've only had the car since this summer, how was I supposed to know?"

"I don't know. I told you ages ago, finally get another car. You keep having problems with it."

"Mmm, my dad and I are going to look for some good used cars next month. Unfortunately, I don't have as much money as you to buy a new car like you did."

"Oh yeah my great new car. And where is that right now? Mhhh? That's right, in the auto repair shop, because of a software error. The whole stupid thing wouldn't even start because of that bug and the best part is, it takes up to two weeks to replace all the software."

"Why are they replacing the entire software? All they need to do is fix the bug."

"Yeah, I thought so too. But then they found out that the software doesn't even fit my car model. How does that work? Better not ask me. I'm pissed off. Today, just to get to the gallery, I had to take a bus, the subway, and a cab. And the same shit back again."

"Why didn't you take the bus through? Or took a cab right away?"

"The bus was overcrowded and doesn't go all the way there. So, I looked for a cab. But, I couldn't find one because of rush hour. Then I took the subway, but it doesn't go close enough to the gallery either. And then I found a cab after all, but I still had to walk two miles because the cab suddenly broke down. On the way back, I wanted to take a cab all the way home, but the driver told me we would surely end up in a traffic jam. So he drove me to the subway station and then I had to take the bus again. I was fed up."

"Oh God, I can well imagine how annoying that was for you. And then I'm dragging you to an idol's concert today, too."

"Yeah right."

"Well, maybe it won't be as bad as you think. And we're not exactly close to the stage either, unfortunately. The seats for it were super expensive and sold out immediately. Imagine, when tickets went on sale, they were all sold out in 23 seconds. Luckily, I was quick enough."

"Twenty-three seconds? Wow."

"Yeah right? And the site crashed several times because of that stampede. I just kept clicking F5 over and over until I got lucky. It was only seconds, but they seemed like hours."

"Mhm I see."

"Well, when your paintings are exhibited, it's almost the same. It's getting harder and harder to get the tickets for your exhibitions, too."

"Maybe. But you always get a ticket from me anyway, so it can't matter to you." Zhan pointed to the parking lot in front of them and the very long line of waiting fans outside the entrance to the concert hall. "Damn, I knew it." He muttered, demonstratively pulling his jacket higher.

"What the hell is this crap? That's a lot more people than there were tickets for in the first place." Replied Ella.

"Sure, did you forget about the box office sale?"

"Fuck. I didn't think about it at all."

"What am I supposed to say to that now?" Zhan rolled his eyes in annoyance, got out of the car, and immediately began to freeze. The temperature at that moment was -14°C and it was going to get even colder. If it were up to him, he would now prefer to be at home and in his studio with a hot cup of tea, continuing to work on his new painting. But instead, he's here in the cold, about to go to a concert he doesn't feel like going to, and all because Ella is his best friend and he would do anything for her to see her happy.

Because Ella and he, have been best friends since kindergarten. Ever since she pulled a yellow shovel for kids, over his head after he told her her shoes were ugly. They both cried and in the end, after they made up, they became best friends. And, Zhan was very sure of it, they will remain best friends forever.