Chapter 32

Chapter 32

That afternoon, the recording of the first episode of Who Is the Murderer officially ended.

Unlike when they arrived in one business van together, when leaving everyone followed their own schedules, getting into different vehicles and heading to different destinations.

After one recording, everyone got along well, especially the four resident hosts who would meet frequently this year. When parting, they all smiled and agreed to see each other next episode.

Pei Chuzhi was hugged by Tong Yang for quite a while before she let go. Only after the little girl reluctantly got into her car did Pei Chuzhi notice a black sedan parked by the roadside for a long time.

The rear window was half open, revealing Xing Ye’s deep-set eyes.

A very good-looking eye shape, though the way his eyelids drooped made him look a bit irritable.

Pei Chuzhi walked to the car and raised her hand to knock on the window.

Xing Ye slowly lifted his eyes. Although he held nothing in his hands, he somehow conveyed the feeling of “I’m focusing on my phone and not deliberately waiting for anyone.”

“Thank you for these past two days.” Pei Chuzhi bent down outside the window, smiling sincerely. “I saw your upcoming schedule is quite busy. Um… take care of your health, don’t overwork yourself.”

Ever since that cameo incident, Xing Ye would occasionally send her his schedule.

At first Pei Chuzhi treated it as due diligence for a contract couple, but over time she inevitably paid a bit more attention.

Xing Ye sat calmly: “Don’t forget Director Bai’s film. When you go home, remember to read the script more.”

Pei Chuzhi: “I won’t forget.”

She noticed the driver in the front frequently checking the time and decided to end the conversation. “Then I won’t delay you. Next episode we’ll…”

Xing Ye met her eyes.

“Oh right, you won’t come next episode.”

Pei Chuzhi didn’t notice the disappointment in her tone, and even her smile became a bit forced.

Probably because the script they got this episode was too special, she subconsciously looked forward to collaborating with Xing Ye again. But she forgot that Xing Ye was only a guest star and wouldn’t appear every recording like the others.

Although he eventually signed a two-episode contract with the program team, based on the currently released recording information, when she would see him again on set was still an undecided unknown.

Xing Ye looked at her dejected face and suddenly curved his lips: “Yeah, I won’t come. Will you miss me?”

Pei Chuzhi looked into his eyes, as if bewitched, her heart stirring slightly: “I will.”

“As long as you will.”

Xing Ye seemed to receive a solemn promise, and the irritation of parting wasn’t so serious anymore. He smiled happily and, before the driver urged him, left one last sentence: “Think about me more in the future, and hug other people less.”

Before he finished speaking, the window slowly rose, and the driver who had waited for a long time stepped on the accelerator.

Leaving Pei Chuzhi standing in place: “???”

·

After returning to Yan City, the weather gradually warmed day by day.

Pei Chuzhi entered seclusion mode, concentrating on studying the script and pondering the role at home. Aside from taking three days to record the second episode of Who Is the Murderer, she refused all social activities.

Tang Dong knew she was preparing for Bai Ruxu’s new film and, under pressure, rejected all meaningless filming offers and events.

He understood better than anyone that an artist like Pei Chuzhi, who had talent and composure, would definitely not be a flash in the pan as long as she was given the right opportunity.

Pei Chuzhi was extremely grateful for Tang Dong’s support and became even more serious about reading the script.

As a result, once she became serious, she completely forgot the passage of dates.

If Xu Lei hadn’t specifically stayed one evening, she would have even forgotten about the broadcast of the first episode of Who Is the Murderer.

Xu Lei was also very particular about ritual. Even though Pei Chuzhi repeatedly emphasized this episode wasn’t horror-themed, she still deliberately turned off the lights, drew the curtains tight, and insisted on watching the episode with Pei Chuzhi in pitch darkness.

The two girls each held a pillow and sat on the carpet.

The glow from the laptop reflected anticipation in their eyes.

At exactly eight in the evening, the video platform updated the new season of Who Is the Murderer on time.

After pressing the play button, Pei Chuzhi realized she had underestimated the program team’s post-production level.

The sunny day during filming had been processed into a gloomy, eerie scene, and even Sister Wang’s exaggerated lines when opening the door gained a strange feeling within this atmosphere.

When Sister Wang’s corpse was discovered, a thunderclap exploded. Together with the horror music and the slowly flowing viscous blood on the screen, it made Pei Chuzhi tighten her grip on the pillow in her arms.

The blood gradually congealed into twisted characters.

— “The Lake Center Guesthouse Murder Case.”

Xu Lei’s teeth chattered: “C-c-can we turn the light, o-o-on?”

Pei Chuzhi got up solemnly to press the switch. When she sat back down, she recalled Sister Wang’s earlier makeup effect and couldn’t help feeling grateful that Xing Ye had spoken up against the program team at the time; otherwise the show might not have aired due to how scary it was.

Xu Lei clung tightly to Pei Chuzhi. After a while she asked, “Zhizhi, can I hold you while watching?”

“…Go ahead, just don’t strangle me.”

Pei Chuzhi felt helpless. Did she look that reassuring?

Xu Lei immediately abandoned the pillow, wrapped both arms around Pei Chuzhi, and almost burrowed into her artist’s arms.

After only a few minutes of calm, she couldn’t help saying again, “I have something to say, though I don’t know if I should.”

Pei Chuzhi joked, “Then don’t say it.”

Xu Lei’s voice was full of envy: “Now I understand why men like women with good figures. Really—curvy in all the right places, it feels top-tier.”

Pei Chuzhi froze. Turning her head, she realized Xu Lei’s gaze was fixed on her chest.

The thin fabric of her nightdress rose and fell along her body’s curves, and the skin revealed at the neckline was strikingly pale.

She wasn’t the self-absorbed type. For this scene she had long grown used to seeing, she normally wouldn’t have any thoughts at all.

But Xu Lei’s sudden comment unexpectedly made her recall that day in the villa, when Xing Ye’s low, hoarse voice said, “You’re really comfortable to hold.”

At the time she had only felt a little embarrassed.

Now, thinking back…

A scene from the video that had just played flashed before Pei Chuzhi’s eyes.

When they discovered Sister Wang’s body, had Xing Ye hugged her?

And earlier, when they were secretly photographed in the garage, hadn’t he held her especially tightly?

A nameless fire suddenly surged in Pei Chuzhi’s heart, spreading blush across her cheeks.

Xu Lei was still seriously evaluating: “When you get the chance to walk the red carpet in the future, you must choose that kind of dress that shows your figure. Trust me, Zhizhi. With your fair skin, beautiful face, big chest, and slim waist, wearing those, you’ll definitely outshine everyone!”

“I won’t wear them!” Pei Chuzhi pushed her away, buried her face in the pillow, and even her exposed ears turned red.

The more she thought, the angrier she got. In the end she gritted her teeth and cursed, “Dog man! Shameless!”

Xu Lei: “……”

Curse him if you want, but why did you suddenly change my gender?

·

For the next hour or so, Xu Lei finally immersed herself in the atmosphere of deduction and didn’t say anything else.

Unfortunately, Pei Chuzhi’s heart could no longer calm down. Whenever she saw herself interacting with Xing Ye on the screen, she would bite her lips shyly, unable to look directly.

After the final round of voting ended, Xu Lei stared wide-eyed in disbelief and couldn’t speak for a long time.

Meanwhile, the audience comments in the bullet screen were much bolder:

[Holy— I’m shocked.]

[So thrilling! I kept calling Xing Ye stupid earlier, who knew he fooled everyone!]

[Am I too CP-brained? At the start of the second round everyone suspected Brother Ye, yet he endured it without defending himself? If this isn’t love, what is?]

[Quietly saying this—Xing Ye is really wild. He completely risked his life just to protect Zhizhi.]

[Am I the only one who sympathizes with Xie Yiqian?]

[Sympathy +1]

[I can’t bear to rewatch his eyes when he was eliminated. At that moment his worldview must have collapsed.]

[Wuwuwu I’m Teacher Xie’s fan, now I’m a bit angry and a bit excited…]

[Sis I get you. Those two are really… so scummy, but so shippable.]

Not long after the program aired, in the related search pages for Who Is the Murderer, almost half the people were discussing this reversed ending.

Some of Xing Ye’s girlfriend fans couldn’t sit still and came out to state: [It’s just program effect. Some people please don’t take the chance to ride the hype.]

However, the masses’ eyes are sharp. As the first episode’s click rate got higher and higher, someone even wrote a small essay about Xing Ye and Pei Chuzhi’s performance.

The author first analyzed Xing Ye’s various protections of Pei Chuzhi in the program, then pointed out that this behavior was definitely not one-sided fawning.

Because during the second round of discussion, if Pei Chuzhi hadn’t turned the tide, Xing Ye would very likely have been voted out.

Not to mention at the final moment, when the two raised their hands and pointed in tacit understanding, directly raising their chemistry and synchronization to one hundred percent.

[In summary, the other artists were all killing each other, only they were in love.]

This short and powerful conclusion was quickly copied to the end of the program video, with colorful bullet comments uniformly covering everyone’s view.

Just two hours later, #XingYePeiChuzhi# parachuted onto the trending searches.

In an instant, Pei Chuzhi’s Weibo follower count kept increasing.

The intense reaction online far exceeded Pei Chuzhi’s expectations. After confirming again and again that the company definitely hadn’t arranged paid commenters this time, she fell into confusion of “I don’t quite understand this world.”

In the end Xu Lei explained to her: “Because you hit everyone’s sweet spot. Nowadays celebrities all follow rules; people actually wanted a bad-but-thrilling CP long ago. The market’s been empty for so long—don’t you and Teacher Xing just carve out your own territory?”

Pei Chuzhi nodded half-understandingly, thinking that perhaps more than half the credit should go to Xing Ye.

If not for his one-of-a-kind willfulness in the entertainment circle, the chemistry between them definitely wouldn’t have been so direct and strong.

Her phone still had a message Tang Dong sent a few minutes ago.

Since the two sides began cooperating to hype the CP, this was the best effect so far.

It wasn’t one riding the other’s popularity, but both showing it together until everyone was convinced.

Tang Dong was so excited he sent several messages in a row:

[I secretly followed your CP super topic! The CP fans are all celebrating!]

[Joining this variety show was indeed right. In such a short time, several friends already came asking about you.]

[I reckon at this pace, once the TV drama airs, you’ll definitely become popular like riding a rocket.]

Pei Chuzhi stared at the screen, trying to imagine the beautiful blueprint Tang Dong described.

But today, for some reason, the outside world was lively and noisy, yet her heart was quieter than before.

A subtle emptiness swept over her.

As if what she was watching was a movie whose plot she already knew.

The grander the scene, the lonelier the truth.

She moved her fingers and opened the chat window with Xing Ye: [Did you see the online discussions?]

After more than ten minutes, Xing Ye called back.

He seemed to be attending some banquet, with scattered voices and the light clinking of tableware around him.

His tone was calm: “Is the reaction good?”

“Pretty good. Brother Tang is thrilled,” Pei Chuzhi waved to Xu Lei who was about to leave. After closing the door, she stopped in the entryway. “But I suddenly feel a bit worried.”

Xing Ye’s voice sank slightly: “Worried about what?”

Pei Chuzhi hesitated.

She thought what she was worried about might be being seen through—that this was only hype. Or perhaps something happening midway causing public opinion to reverse. Or even more, she feared her own progress wouldn’t be fast enough, slowing Xing Ye’s pace.

Xing Ye seemed to guess her random thoughts.

He didn’t speak immediately, but walked alone to the empty terrace.

The wind from the tall building whistled past.

“Zhizhi.” He softly called her nickname in the wind.

The static in the phone grew louder.

Pei Chuzhi covered her other ear, afraid of missing what he would say next.

She heard Xing Ye say in a low voice: “I’ll teach you a small method.”

“What method?”

“Next time you feel pressure, just recite my name in your heart. Then you’ll realize…”

Xing Ye’s laughter was blown by the wind, bold and unrestrained. “With me here, you don’t need to be afraid of anything.”

Author’s note: Thanks to the little angels who threw overlord tickets or irrigated nutrient solution during 2019-12-11 20:59:58~2019-12-12 20:55:28~

Thanks to the little angels who irrigated nutrient solution: Jiabao ovo, Ripple, 1 bottle each;

Thank you very much for everyone’s support, I will continue to work hard!