Chapter 92

Chapter 92

The next day, the recording of Friend of the opposite sex.

The morning recording was very routine. It mainly introduced the history of the mountain village and took everyone to visit the old buildings still standing. After Guān Shèngyǔ had a private conversation with An Ye yesterday, he no longer showed the affectionate persona on the program. Qí Wèi said that Huàn Zhòu was gearing up for work, and the people in the industry who usually control public opinion and water armies were as quiet as a graveyard this morning.

There was a sense of an impending storm.

At lunch, Guān Shèngyǔ was absent as usual. However, this time, Diāo Tóng also left, saying she had to take the afternoon off for a shoot. Guān Shèngyǔ and Diāo Tóng would be missing from the afternoon's live broadcast.

Three hours before the live broadcast, Qí Wèi had a half-hour meeting with the production team. When the director entered, his expression wasn’t great, but when he came out, there was a hint of hidden excitement on his face. He called in the agents of Lù Yīfēi, Zhào Pī, and Yáo Ruò. Ten minutes later, they all came out, and the director announced something.

The schedule for the afternoon live broadcast had changed. The original one-hour segment where they sat around the table eating and chatting was deleted, and the interview between friends was extended from one hour to two hours. An Ye and Chí Tuō's segment was moved to the very end.

An Ye glanced at Qí Wèi, who smiled back at her.

One hour before the live broadcast, Diāo Tóng sent a message to An Ye: 【1】

Qí Wèi saw it and laughed. “She’s very smart.”

“She’s probably going to leave Huàn Zhòu as well.” An Ye didn’t reply to the message and locked her screen.

“Now that the financial report for Huàn Zhòu is out, a lot of people want to leave.” Qí Wèi laughed. “If her route didn’t overlap with yours, I would have signed her.”

“She won’t come.” An Ye smiled, very certain. “She can definitely secure a good future for herself.”

Diāo Tóng, being so proud, wouldn’t want to work in a studio that has a similar positioning to hers.

However, with her helping her now, An Ye knew that no matter what happened in the future, Diāo Tóng would always be on her side.

Five minutes before the live broadcast, everyone took their places. This time, they didn’t have to cover their faces. The stylist had Chí Tuō’s already slightly long buzz cut styled into a neat haircut. His face was also powdered with some shadowing, making him uncomfortable as he kept rubbing his face.

"Look at the reflector in front." An Ye whispered to Chí Tuō. "If the light hits your face like this, with this camera angle, without those shadows, you’ll lose all your features."

Chí Tuō whispered, "...You’re talking nonsense because you're too nervous, right?"

"Yeah." An Ye nodded.

When she was nervous, her expression was always calm, so it was hard for people to notice.

But Chí Tuō could tell. When she lowered her head, he could guess what she was thinking.

Chí Tuō moved half a step closer to her, leaning down so he could whisper in her ear. "Don’t be afraid. I’m here."

An Ye looked up at him.

With makeup on, Chí Tuō didn’t smell like powder. His narrow eyes and brows were enhanced with some skin-toned eyeshadow, making them look even deeper.

Now, with his brows curved and looking at her, he was speaking promises she had often heard as a child.

An Ye smiled, her brows also curving up. As the director counted down, "Five, four, three, two, one," she looked toward the camera.

The barrage of comments was flying by quickly. Despite the accident in yesterday's live broadcast, the topic was still very hot, and many people were curious about Number 3’s appearance and why An Ye and Guān Shèngyǔ’s connection kept them at the top of the voting.

So, when the camera panned to An Ye and Chí Tuō, revealing their friends’ relationship, the comments paused for a second, and then flooded the screen so quickly that the faces were barely visible.

[“I’ll bet all my savings, Number 3 is definitely going to debut, probably a new talent signed by Huàn Zhòu.”]【I can understand why Huàn Zhòu signed him with this appearance.】

【Are they having An Ye bring him again? Is An Ye the only one in Huàn Zhòu who can bring in new talent? Qīng Zé still hasn’t fully untied his contract, right?】

【My ‘Chí Jiǔ CP’ is the best! They match so well! Ahhhh!】

【Diāo Tóng isn’t here, and the annoying Number 1 from yesterday isn’t here either. Are Diāo Tóng and Number 1 friends?】

【Number 1, Guān Shèngyǔ, is the president of Huàn Zhòu Film and Investment Company, the second son of the big boss Guān Lí. Diāo Tóng really hooked a big fish.】

【Who hooked who isn’t certain yet, the financial report from Huàn Zhòu this year doesn’t look great.】

【You guys are talking so deep, I feel like the knowledge level of this barrage is on a whole different level from mine.】

【Totally different, +1.】

【Number 3’s face could work on the big screen. Just don’t know how his acting is.】

【Who exactly is Number 3? Did he come from a talent show?】

Qí Wèi was crunching on ice, staring at every single comment and the account numbers behind them.

The sound of keyboards typing filled the studio, the peaceful fish pond that had been quiet all morning started to slowly bubble with activity.

The barrage comments that had previously tied An Ye and Huàn Zhòu together gradually began to change direction.

The variety show followed the usual pattern. After publicly revealing their friendship, the first pair to be guessed, Lù Yīfēi and Xiè Xiǎolíng, started their interviews, followed by others in turn. The interview mode was one-on-one with the respective PD, with some time left for replying to comments. After the stars finished their interviews, their friends were interviewed.

During Lù Yīfēi’s interview, even though his fanbase dominated 80% of the barrage, An Ye and Chí Tuō’s presence in the comments was still strong.

【I remember the preview; wasn’t today’s live supposed to start with the meal and then the interview? Did they change it?】

【...Damn, look at the ‘Chí Jiǔ CP’ super topic.】

【…………】

【Is this true or false? This is hard to judge.】

【There’s no photo, and people are still asking if it’s true or not just because they talked?】

【An Ye, what’s your relationship with Guān Shèngyǔ?】

【An Ye, what’s your relationship with Guān Shèngyǔ?】

【An Ye, what’s your relationship with Guān Shèngyǔ?】

A wave of water army comments flooded the screen.

In front of the camera, An Ye had just been led into the interview room. The host asked her to talk about how she met Chí Tuō.

Standard question, asked to every pair of friends of the opposite sex.

An Ye smiled at the camera.

"We’ve known each other since we were little. When we were 18, he went abroad to study because of family reasons. We reconnected last year when he came back to China."

She gave a detailed answer.

But the barrage continued to flood the screen with comments about Guān Shèngyǔ.The person interviewing her was still her PD, Lǐ. She looked at the brand new set of questions in her hand, and with a calm tone, she continued asking, "In the past couple of days, while following you, I’ve noticed that your relationship with Lawyer Chí is different from your other opposite-sex friends. Your interactions are much more intimate than that of ordinary friends. Is that correct?"

An Ye smiled and nodded. She said, "Yes, we are in a relationship."

The barrage of comments paused for a moment.

Then, the screen flooded with even more comments. In addition to those asking about her and Guān Shèngyǔ, there were countless question marks from curious onlookers.

Lǐ PD looked at An Ye.

She admired her courage and the expression on her face after admitting her relationship.

It seemed like just an ordinary thing— they had known each other since childhood, reconnected after growing up, and then fell in love.

The script in front of her was completely blank. The next nearly hour-long time was entirely for An Ye.

Lǐ PD knew that the livestream’s traffic today would be astonishing, and their show’s popularity would reach new heights. This was certainly good for the show’s overall topic level.

But it wasn’t a win-win situation. If Lǐ PD were An Ye’s manager right now, she would have stopped her.

Sometimes, what people want to know isn’t necessarily the truth, but the image.

During the interview, there was a screen in front of them showing real-time scrolling comments. The gossip online about An Ye and Guān Shèngyǔ had already reached the number one trending topic. At this moment, An Ye announced her relationship with Chí Tuō—unyielding and overly bold. The outcome of broadcasting this interview live was uncertain.

"Actually, calling it a relationship might not be entirely accurate," An Ye’s voice was never particularly crisp and high-pitched. Her voice was more mezzo-soprano, very recognizable. When she spoke in such a way, it made people want to keep listening. "I’ve spent a long time thinking about what kind of relationship I have with him."

"Then I figured it out."

"In this life, everyone has someone they are completely inseparable from. Some people are family, some are lovers, and some are friends. For most people, it's just themselves."

"I used to think that I should only have myself."

"But I didn’t live well on my own."

"I trapped myself."

"I have recurrent hypersomnia. I get too deeply immersed in my roles and can't get out. When the mental pressure is high, I experience strange physical symptoms, like feeling trapped inside a mirror, my whole body stiffening, and repeating lines over and over again."

The speed of the barrage slowed down.

Lǐ PD was shocked, mouth slightly open.

An Ye glanced at the door. Chí Tuō was standing there, looking at her.

Chí Tuō didn’t know she was going to say all of this. The material she sent to the workgroup yesterday was different from what she had privately sent to Qí Wèi.

So right now, the emotions swirling in his eyes were so intense that An Ye didn’t dare look at him.

An Ye turned her gaze back to the camera.

"I once thought this might be my life—shifting through every character, unable to get out and not wanting to get out. For a long time, I truly hated my real life."

The barrage had started to empty.

Huàn Zhòu’s water army suddenly lost direction, waiting for instructions from above.

An Ye’s fans were stunned. They only knew the An Ye behind the screen, and in these ten years, she had rarely shown her true self. The first time she did, she revealed everything.

"In these ten years, I’ve lost a lot.""My mother is afraid to interact with me because of my mental health issues; my manager thinks I won’t make money in the future and wants me to switch careers to live streaming; I only have myself left."

"Then Chí Tuō came back."

"He told me I wasn’t crazy, that I was doing well, and that I was working hard."

"He encouraged me to seek psychological counseling. He pulled me out of the mirror and helped me face myself."

"So, I find it difficult to define the relationship between him and me."

"Chí Tuō is a friend, a family member, a lover, and sometimes, he is me."

So, intimacy is natural.

The barrage started flooding the screen again after a brief pause.

Lǐ PD fell silent for a moment. She and An Ye exchanged a glance, and An Ye nodded at her.

"The comments are saying, ‘Teacher An is going to terminate the contract with Huàn Zhòu?’" Lǐ PD started responding to the barrage questions according to the live broadcast plan.

"I've already terminated the contract," An Ye answered. "This variety show is my last schedule with Huàn Zhòu."

Lǐ PD looked at the backstage updates, paused for a second, and then asked, "What about the rumors online about you and Guān Shèngyǔ? What’s your take on them?"

An Ye smiled.

"Guān Shèngyǔ is Mr. Guān’s son," An Ye said slowly. "And during the five years I was at Huàn Zhòu, I was just a mentally fragile, discarded pawn who could be abandoned at any time, so... how should I view it?"

"If you were discarded, why did you win awards every year?" Lǐ PD continued reading the comments.

An Ye smiled again.

When she smiled, the corners of her eyes curved with a seductive tilt, and her nose slightly wrinkled in the middle.

"I won acting awards," she said, looking at the camera. "Acting awards chosen by different event organizers and national committees."

"Not Huàn Zhòu’s employee excellence award."

【She’s so strong, I love her.】

【True, even though Huàn Zhòu is all-powerful, it can’t control that many awards.】

【Then how did she manage to get so many film resources?】

【...Probably because she’s a Best Actress?】

【Never would’ve guessed, An Ye is such a love-struck brain.】

Even removing the water army, An Ye’s straightforward public announcement and her response to the gossip couldn’t possibly get 100% support.

Huàn Zhòu used hard tactics by throwing money at it, with batches of water army pouring in, pushing messages that were plausible but widely accepted by the public.

So, some people believe, and some don’t.

But overall, it turned out much better than Qí Wèi initially predicted, which was a complete network-wide backlash.

Qí Wèi kept an eye on the online trends and finished off half a pack of cigarettes.

Yesterday morning, An Ye had sought her out alone. She said she wanted to make her mental health condition public."I didn’t make it public before because I thought if it was, the sky would fall," An Ye said. She also wanted to smoke, but for some reason, she didn’t have a lighter that day. She fumbled around for a while but couldn’t find one, then laughed and threw the cigarette away. "Now, it’s fine to make it public."

"There’s nothing to fear anymore," she said. "It’s just a shame for the nights he stayed up for."

Qí Wèi knew who "he" referred to.

She also knew that An Ye’s choice was the right one.

Huàn Zhòu had money and used very underhanded methods—long-term, large-scale wear and tear. The rumors drifted in the gray area, unprovable and impossible to clean up, like disgusting cockroaches in a stinky gutter.

If this matter wasn’t handled well, An Ye would end up carrying some unspeakable labels, like being a rich man’s ex-girlfriend, an adulterer, or ungrateful.

To handle this, An Ye had to bring out even bigger labels to suppress the situation.

And that was her mental health condition.

A female celebrity with Sleeping Beauty Syndrome was enough to bury those ambiguous labels.

So, they secretly prepared a second speech for Chí Tuō. During the live broadcast, they dropped a few big bombshells that dominated most of the hot searches that evening.