Chapter 34

Chapter 34

Pei Chuzhi felt so embarrassed she wanted to crawl into a hole.

She wasn’t incapable of tying a tie. In middle school, their uniform—regardless of gender—was a white shirt paired with a dark green striped tie. Every morning before leaving the house, she could tie it neatly and beautifully.

But she had overlooked one thing: tying it on herself and tying it on someone else were two completely different matters.

From a different angle, those thin strips of fabric simply refused to obey.

The silence grew so thick it was almost suffocating. She felt a bit like throwing caution to the wind—maybe just walk away and pretend nothing happened.

A faint trace of amusement flickered through Xing Ye’s eyes.

As the curve of his lips deepened, the smile in his eyes grew richer until, finally, it burst into unrestrained laughter.

When he laughed, the messy strands of hair on his forehead fell forward, slightly covering his brows and eyes.

“Is it really that funny?” Pei Chuzhi felt even less confident under his laughter.

Xing Ye glanced at her: “What have you been thinking about all day? Trying to flirt with me, with skills like yours…”

Pei Chuzhi stared at him intently.

The rest of his sentence suddenly stuck in his throat.

With skills like yours… it seemed she didn’t need to do anything special at all to effortlessly steal his gaze.

Xing Ye paused, then his voice came out low and muffled: “Don’t bother trying to flirt with me. Just stay like this.”

“Just like this?”

Pei Chuzhi was still a little unwilling—this made her look so unprofessional.

Xing Ye smiled and said nothing more. His dark eyes fixed on Pei Chuzhi.

He raised his hand, letting it hover in the air for a moment before finally bending his index finger and thumb, pressing them lightly against her smooth forehead.

He gave her a gentle flick.

“Mhm, this is perfect.”

The well-defined knuckles seemed to flick straight into Pei Chuzhi’s heart, making her freeze for a second.

·

More than ten minutes later, the staff notified the two actors to take their positions.

The filming location was an abandoned highway—rare in a flat city like Yancheng—with noticeably undulating slopes.

Pei Chuzhi’s task was to pretend her car had broken down, then walk forward along the steep incline with swaying, alluring steps. When Xing Ye drove past in that high-performance sports car, she would lean against a utility pole, wave at him, exchange suggestive glances, then get in his car and drive off into the distance.

The plot of a commercial wasn’t like a drama; most of the time, it only needed to convey a certain mood. Compared to logical storytelling, it relied far more on the camera creating the right atmosphere.

To capture the most beautiful shots, Pei Chuzhi had no choice but to walk up and down the asphalt road again and again in those high heels.

Xing Ye waited on the side, growing somewhat impatient.

Those high heels only looked pretty—they were utterly impractical for actual walking. He bet Pei Chuzhi’s feet were already starting to hurt.

Perhaps because his expression grew colder and colder, the director finally announced: “OK, that take is good.”

Everyone moved smoothly on to the next step. Few dared speak.

They had noticed Xing Ye seemed to be in a bad mood. Though he hadn’t said a single word from beginning to end, his tightly pressed lips and indifferent expression clearly communicated: “Can you hurry up and shoot?”

Pei Chuzhi finally got a few minutes to rest. She walked over and sat beside Xing Ye, took the water cup Xu Lei handed her, drank a sip, then turned to him: “Why the long face? Tired of waiting and throwing a tantrum?”

Nearby staff exchanged glances, all thinking Pei Chuzhi had guts—daring to speak to Xing Ye like that.

“Was I pulling a long face?” Xing Ye was taken aback. “I’m just sitting here—what tantrum?”

Pei Chuzhi propped her chin and tilted her head: “Not anymore. Maybe it’s because you weren’t smiling, so you looked a bit fierce. Didn’t you notice everyone stopped talking?”

Xing Ye paused, then turned to the others: “Sorry, I spaced out just now.”

His tone was sincere and polite.

Everyone was flattered and gave awkward laughs. No one dared actually say “It’s fine, we don’t mind.”

His status was right there—big shot. If he threw a tantrum, so what? Wasn’t he entitled to?

Xing Ye rubbed his brow bone, glanced toward Pei Chuzhi as if seeking her approval, and asked: “Should we buy them coffee?”

He wasn’t the brainless type of celebrity—he knew some misunderstandings were better cleared up.

Pei Chuzhi: “Sure?”

“Mm.”

The onlookers: “…………”

Bro, what’s wrong with you? Where’s that arrogant vibe you usually have outside?

And if you’re buying coffee, just buy it—why ask Pei Chuzhi? Is she managing your accounts or something?

Xing Ye’s eyes stayed locked on Pei Chuzhi, completely unaware of the turmoil in everyone else’s minds.

He didn’t look back: “Xiao Zhou, ask what everyone wants… Xiao Zhou?”

“Yeah—”

Xiao Zhou squeezed out from the crowd, hurriedly stuffing his phone into his pocket. “What? Oh, coffee, right? Okay, I’ll go ask now.”

“Wait.” Xing Ye stopped him, frowning. “What were you looking at?”

Pei Chuzhi caught the sudden drop in his voice, laced with faint menace.

She unconsciously sat up straighter, her gaze darting between the big-shot actor and his little assistant.

Xiao Zhou scratched his head, hesitated for a few seconds, then finally handed over his phone and said quietly, “Ye-ge, you guys just got secretly filmed.”

·

On a certain gossip forum, a post uploaded half an hour earlier already had the “hot” symbol attached to its title.

The video was clearly shot on someone’s phone—background voices faintly discussing shooting procedures could be heard.

At the center of the video were Pei Chuzhi and Xing Ye standing outside the nanny van.

It started with her untying his tie, went to him laughing openly in front of her, and finally froze on the moment he flicked her forehead with his finger.

Original post: [My hands are literally shaking—absolute first-hand scoop! If this isn’t them dating, I’ll livestream drinking a whole case of white snake grass water! Trust me, friends—the live effect is way more explosive than what the phone captured. I swear I saw pink bubbles floating all around them.]

First comment: […shocked my whole family. There were a few seconds I really thought Xing Ye was about to kiss her. It’s genuinely sweet—no faking.]

The second half of that sentence received massive agreement.

As the video spread to Weibo, more and more people began to face a possibility they hadn’t dared acknowledge before—Xing Ye, who had stood high and untouchable since debut, might actually have fallen this time.

Even some of the most aggressive fans who had previously cursed Pei Chuzhi for riding on his popularity now half-helplessly, half-resignedly @-ed Xing Ye:

[Gege, just give us a straight answer. If you acknowledge her, I’ll acknowledge her too.]

As for the long-suffering Coconut Juice CP fans who had once been outnumbered, they were now dancing wildly in the super topic. Some even started a giveaway, claiming they’d draw prizes the moment the two went official.

Just as the hashtag #XingYePeiChuzhiDatingRumors# soared to the top of hot search, Song Shiqing slammed his car door and hurried toward Xing Ye’s house.

The moment he walked in, he cut straight to the point: “Give me a straight answer—are you dating her?”

Xing Ye looked up, tone flat: “No.”

“Then what’s with the video? All acting?”

Song Shiqing tossed his suit jacket aside and sat across from him. “You two didn’t know people were secretly filming, so you were putting on a show for ghosts? Xing Ye, don’t treat me like an idiot. Who was it that said back then he wouldn’t let a fake relationship turn real?”

Xing Ye took a deep breath: “Really not.”

He tossed his phone over, gesturing for Song Shiqing to look carefully. “The little girl went crazy today and insisted on tying my tie. She fumbled for ages and couldn’t do it. Isn’t that hilarious? So I laughed.”

Song Shiqing had rushed over and only skimmed the video once.

Now he took the phone, opened it, and watched at 0.5x speed several times. He confirmed the sequence of events really did match Xing Ye’s description.

But the problem was…

“Your state is off.” Song Shiqing almost shoved the phone in his face. “How many years have I known you? I’ve never seen you look like that in front of any girl. That last move—reaching out—do you know what netizens are calling it?”

Xing Ye fell silent.

Song Shiqing: “Want me to repeat it for you? …Forget it, too cringy for me to say.”

He rubbed his temples, forcing the CP fanfiction out of his mind, and lowered his voice: “Also—you lost your temper on set today?”

Xing Ye’s gaze darkened.

After learning they’d been secretly filmed, he had indeed lost his temper—seriously.

Not because of the intimate interaction between him and Pei Chuzhi being captured, but because once the video leaked, according to the brand’s high standards and strict requirements, the ad styling was prematurely exposed. They would definitely refuse to continue with this concept.

All the work would have to be reshot.

He had watched with his own eyes as Pei Chuzhi walked back and forth on the asphalt in those dangerously high heels for over half an hour just for a few seconds of footage—only for all her effort to be wasted in an instant.

She hadn’t complained once, but he felt deeply uncomfortable about it.

So he spoke to the advertising company representative in a very serious tone for several minutes, demanding they immediately identify and deal with whoever had done the secret filming.

This wasn’t even unreasonable—even if he hadn’t said anything, they would have handled it themselves.

Later they found out the person who shot the video was a new intern. Realizing the huge trouble they’d caused, the intern became timid and stammering when brought before them, apologizing over and over.

The brand rep’s face was extremely ugly. They explicitly demanded the production team bear all losses.

And from beginning to end, Xing Ye said only one word to the girl:

“Get out.”

Song Shiqing had caught his weak spot and pressed the advantage: “So you really do like her. No wonder you kept delaying the announcement—you were afraid she’d get flamed, afraid she’d be labeled ‘Xing Ye’s girlfriend’ and never shake it off, afraid it would hurt her career?”

Xing Ye pressed his lips tightly together, clearly reluctant to answer these questions.

His voice came out hoarse: “What exactly are you trying to say?”

“Talk to Huaxing immediately—we need to announce it as soon as possible.” Song Shiqing said, “With this kind of accident, any further delay will damage your reputation.”

Xing Ye’s image since debut had always been straightforward and responsible.

All the previous interactions could still be vaguely explained away as “good relationship” or “show effect.” But this video felt like a nailed-down declaration—even a blind person could see there was something there.

If he didn’t step forward and acknowledge it at a time like this, Song Shiqing could already imagine the kind of dirty water that would be thrown at Xing Ye:

Irresponsible, coward, useless when it actually matters.

Song Shiqing pushed up his glasses: “You want to protect her as much as possible—I get it. But as your manager, I won’t allow my artist’s reputation to be harmed.”

Xing Ye thought for a moment, then finally nodded: “Fine.”

·

The commercial shoot was postponed. The next day at noon, Pei Chuzhi headed to the airport to record the third episode of Who Is the Killer.

Before boarding, she received a message from Tang Dong reminding her to prepare for the announcement with Xing Ye tomorrow—Saturday night.

Pei Chuzhi replied with a simple “Okay.”

As the plane climbed into the blue sky, she silently recited Xing Ye’s name in her heart and realized she really wasn’t that nervous anymore.

The unexpected happened midway through the recording.

Pei Chuzhi was unlucky this time—she was the first voted out.

She sat alone in the rest room for a while, then pulled out her phone, switched to her alt account, and went into Xing Ye’s super topic to see how everyone was reacting.

The storm from yesterday had only intensified.

But the situation was actually better than she had expected.

Perhaps because Xing Ye had already set expectations early in his debut—telling everyone he would definitely date when the time was right—the fans in the super topic were relatively stable emotionally.

[After thinking it over carefully… this sister-in-law is actually pretty okay? Young, pretty, no major scandals, clean little miss. Yeah she’s not famous, but if he likes her, that’s fine.]

[Anyway, if it’s not her it’ll be someone else. Let Ye-ge date if he wants. Fans still going crazy should wake up—he’s never lived for us.]

[Same as always: if he acknowledges her, I acknowledge her. Staying silent until the announcement.]

Pei Chuzhi felt as if she had swallowed a calming pill. Her finger hovered over the screen, then gently tapped into the chat window with Xing Ye.

It still held the messages they exchanged before recording:

Xing Ye: [Nervous?]

Pei Chuzhi: [Not really right now. I’ve got you, so I’m not afraid.]

Xing Ye: [Mm. Remember—post on Weibo tomorrow then go offline immediately. The company will handle PR afterward. Don’t worry.]

Pei Chuzhi: [Okay.]

Her eyes curved into crescents as she looked at the screen.

Pei Chuzhi smiled and put away her phone, suddenly feeling—despite any storm outside—that someone would keep her safe.

When Tong Yang entered the rest room, she immediately saw Pei Chuzhi smiling happily.

“Jiji-jie, are you guys about to go official?”

The little girl bounced over and sat beside her, swinging her legs. “I bet Weibo crashes tomorrow.”

Pei Chuzhi curved her lips: “Why do I feel like you’re just here for the drama?”

Tong Yang was about to admit it when her phone suddenly vibrated urgently.

Pei Chuzhi answered: “Brother Tang?”

Tang Dong’s voice was more anxious than she had ever heard: “Uninstall Weibo right now! Do not look at it! Don’t answer any calls from strangers—only people you know!”

He was practically shouting. Even Tong Yang next to her froze.

Pei Chuzhi asked blankly: “What happened?”

“Someone dropped your black material.”

A certain gossip marketing account on Weibo had just posted a long image a few minutes earlier:

[Can’t stand it anymore—here’s some dirt on Pei Chuzhi. She is absolutely not some innocent sister-in-law.

Pei Chuzhi may be obscure as hell, but people in our area know her family pretty well. They used to have money, so she was especially arrogant in school—dated enough guys to field a soccer team, and she led bullying against classmates. Campus bullying is exactly people like her. I was shocked when I heard she became an actress—no moral threshold for celebrities these days?

Her whole family is trash. A few years ago her dad’s company went bankrupt and owed a ton of money—still hasn’t repaid a cent. Creditors are going crazy, yet they still let their daughter live comfortably in Yancheng studying acting. Where do you think that money comes from? Anyone who understands, understands.

Anyway, a family of trash. Xing Ye and his fans, wake up—don’t let her scam you.]

The moment the exposé dropped, Pei Chuzhi’s Weibo was flooded.

Author’s note: Today’s update isn’t short, right?

Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or sent nutrient solution between 2019-12-13 21:21:41 ~ 2019-12-14 21:03:21~

Thanks for the nutrient solution: A Gui 30 bottles; Zhang Mo 6 bottles; 40628068 4 bottles; Qing Xiao 3 bottles; Black Sister, Taxis 2 bottles; Hahahaha Husky, Jia Bao ovo 1 bottle each;

Thank you so much for your support—I’ll keep working hard!