Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Pei Chuzhi’s girlish heart trembled after a long time.

Unfortunately, the feeling didn’t last long. As the event ended and the two sat back in the car, that slight flutter she had just felt vanished with the wind.

After getting in, Xing Ye answered a phone call. He spoke softly beside her, while Pei Chuzhi took the opportunity to compose her emotions.

She had to admit that in that moment, she truly felt like she was falling in love.

After all, a young and handsome man stepping in to help at a critical moment really did increase favorability.

But this kind of feeling was too common for actors. In industry jargon it was called “getting into the role,” and actors should learn to distinguish drama from reality. If one were too easily controlled by emotions within the scene, it would be very unfavorable for an actor.

By the time Xing Ye put down his phone, Pei Chuzhi had mostly calmed down.

She turned her head and quietly asked, “Will there be press releases today to coordinate the hype?”

Xing Ye replied briefly, “Yes.”

In fact, before the two had even returned home, the related promotional drafts were already being intensely prepared.

It happened to be Saturday. Around noon, marketing accounts gradually began releasing photos of Xing Ye attending the ribbon-cutting event.

There were solo photos of him, as well as paired photos deliberately cropped to remove unrelated people.

In the photos, the two stood side by side. The same color tone of his suit and her dress made them look especially well matched. Both were tall, long-legged, and good-looking young people— even an ordinary glance between them seemed tinged with ambiguity.

The internet trolls arranged by Asia Film quickly arrived:

“Before, seeing Pei Chuzhi get into Xing Ye’s car made me a bit unhappy, but after seeing this set of photos, suddenly the configuration of an arrogant Best Actor and a glamorous young actress isn’t bad?”

“Is the brand sponsor here? If you see this, can you arrange a sequel to the advertisement?”

Xing Ye’s fans arrived a bit later—they had first gone elsewhere to admire their idol’s handsome photos.

When they noticed discordant voices under the marketing posts, they immediately began counterattacking like PTSD sufferers:

“Pei Chuzhi doesn’t even have a representative work—how can she count as a young actress?”

“Why is it her again? Last time Xing Ye helped her save face was already generous. If this press release wasn’t posted by her side, I’ll eat my keyboard.”

“Addicted to riding popularity, huh? What’s wrong with the brand, inviting her to this kind of event?”

As more content was released, different, genuine evaluations finally appeared in the comments:

“??? Am I seeing things? At the end of the ribbon cutting, wasn’t Xing Ye holding Pei Chuzhi’s hand to finish cutting?”

“Girl, you’re not seeing things. Why is this a bit sweet?”

“Hahaha I rewatched it—Pei Chuzhi’s scissors must have gotten stuck, right? She suddenly became kind of cute there, flustered.”

“Does anyone know lip-reading? I really want to know what Xing Ye said to her afterward.”

“And he said it with a smile… I ship it, I ship it.”

Some of Xing Ye’s fans became even angrier.

Many flocked to the brand’s official Weibo, demanding they respect Xing Ye’s treatment as a spokesperson and not let unrelated people benefit from his name.

Unfortunately, the person in charge of the official account had grievances but couldn’t speak out.

He clearly brought her himself, okay! There must be something between these two. If you don’t believe it, look at your big fan accounts quietly staying silent—they definitely received the news in advance!

The official account manager was also a young woman. After being heavily criticized, she decided to go all in and released the interview video from before the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The first few minutes were formulaic commercial compliments between the brand executives and the spokesperson.

One said they were happy to invite Xing Ye as an endorser, the other said he looked forward to deeper cooperation with the brand.

When a reporter asked about a limited-edition model to be launched in the first half of next year, a brand executive invited Xing Ye on the spot to film another advertisement for promotion.

“Okay, no problem.”

Xing Ye turned to the unsuspecting executive, enunciating clearly, “Last time the cooperation was very pleasant. I hope next time we can invite the original advertising team again.”

Netizens who had just finished reading the marketing posts fell into thought one after another:

This “original team”… what does it mean?

As if to clear up their confusion, the brand executive also froze for a moment.

He was a foreigner, casual in speaking style, and immediately joked in halting Mandarin: “Wow, including that hot-bodied young lady?”

“Shut up, you foreigner! Don’t you know my boyfriend hates being linked with other women!”

This was the shout from Xing Ye’s girlfriend fans in that split second.

However, the next moment, Xing Ye’s soft laughter sounded in the video:

“Sure.”

·

As one of the parties at the center of the topic, Pei Chuzhi had grown smarter now.

As the saying goes, once is unfamiliar, twice is familiar. This time she knew she would definitely get scolded, so she didn’t even go on Weibo. She directly had Tang Dong ask company staff to log into her account and post a few promotional photos from the event.

But just because she wasn’t online didn’t mean her good friend wasn’t.

Not long after the promotional drafts were released, Qiao Na, who had just woken up, called: “Zhizhi, you and Xing Ye aren’t actually serious, are you?”

Facing the questioning of her friend and Xing Ye’s fan, Pei Chuzhi couldn’t help feeling nervous.

Guilt also welled up in her heart.

It was an era dominated by marketing. To build a better image and obtain better resources, artists more or less underwent some packaging.

Some people’s height and age were fake; some even had personalities and preferences designed by their companies.

Even just contract couples—she had heard there was more than just her and Xing Ye.

But guiding public opinion was one thing; deceiving people around her in real life was another.

Yet Pei Chuzhi couldn’t deny it.

The contract clearly stated that if she disclosed the truth to unrelated people without authorization, she would have to pay enormous liquidated damages.

So she had no choice but to grip her phone and ask vaguely, “Why do you think so?”

“This is the second time you’ve ridden Xing Ye’s popularity, right.”

Qiao Na spoke quickly, clearly very emotional. “I’ve been his fan for so many years. Do I not know his personality? If he allows the same thing to happen twice, it must be because you two are real.”

Pei Chuzhi apologized to Qiao Na repeatedly in her heart, her voice becoming cautious: “Sorry… will you be angry?”

“Buy me a necklace and I won’t be angry.”

After saying that, Qiao Na couldn’t hold back and burst out laughing. “Oh my god, Zhizhi, you’re too cute. Although there are some younger girlfriend fans in Wildfire who are more radical, most people get warned by veteran fans as soon as they join. If you two really get exposed as dating, everyone wouldn’t react much.”

Pei Chuzhi carried a cup to the kitchen to pour water. Hearing this, she paused. “Warned?”

“You don’t even know? Come on, aren’t you his girlfriend!”

“…”

She indeed was not.

“Didn’t Xing Ye become popular right after debuting? Then once during an interview, the host asked him, ‘Compared to other artists, your career has been very smooth. Do you feel especially uneasy? Do you demand yourself to be cautious in words and actions, and fear that fans might stop loving you one day?’”

“How did he answer?”

Qiao Na cleared her throat, trying to imitate Xing Ye’s indifferent tone: “Not afraid, and there’s no need to be. Who can guarantee they’ll only like one actor for a lifetime? So I think unfollowing or switching fandoms is normal. I wouldn’t deliberately change myself to retain fans. In the future, I’ll just do whatever I should do.”

With Qiao Na’s reminder, Pei Chuzhi finally had some impression.

That interview was quite famous. She remembered the host then asking, “By ‘do whatever you should do,’ do you mean you might soon fall in love or even get married?”

Xing Ye’s answer was very direct: “If I meet the right person, I will.”

Recalling that statement, Pei Chuzhi finally understood the meaning of the so-called “warning.”

It meant that if you wanted to be Xing Ye’s fan, you had to weigh it clearly first—he was a free-spirited boy who loved freedom. Today he might charm you so much you’d live and die for him; tomorrow he might pull a girl along to register their marriage.

Anyway, that’s the kind of person he was. If you couldn’t accept it, then go love another actor.

It had to be said that, as a newcomer who had just debuted at the time, this answer was extremely bold.

Although Xing Ye’s initial positioning was an actor who relied on his works rather than an idol sustained by fans, this personality that clearly wouldn’t be constrained by fans was absolutely the most unique among young actors who now lived cautiously.

Qiao Na was still sighing on the other end of the phone: “I just like this personality of his—so cool. And let me tell you, rather than watching him have scandals with different actresses and being rumored as a playboy, we fans would definitely rather see him with someone he truly likes.”

Pei Chuzhi didn’t dare respond to that.

After all, she wasn’t someone Xing Ye truly liked.

“So don’t worry too much. Anyway, I won’t be angry with you.”

After reassuring her, Qiao Na said cheerfully, “When you have time, help me get his autograph. Love you!”

Pei Chuzhi’s foot slipped, and she nearly fell in the kitchen.

Did she still dare to bring up the autograph with Xing Ye now?

Not even if she were beaten to death.

·

A few days later, when online discussions gradually subsided, Pei Chuzhi went to attend an audition.

It was the script Xing Ye had sent last time, titled “Quietly Falling in Love With You,” a generally sweet urban romance drama.

It told the story of a workplace newcomer from an ordinary background but innocent and pure, who quietly fell in love with a senior colleague in the same company, and after many romantic and fun experiences, they eventually became a couple.

Of course, the role Pei Chuzhi was going to play had nothing to do with this. She was the second female lead, the daughter of the boss of the company where the male and female leads worked.

Her personality was willful and domineering. After taking a fancy to the male lead, she displayed her rich young lady style, openly and secretly causing trouble for the female lead. Unfortunately, the male lead was devoted to the female lead, willing to give up the chance to save twenty years of struggle just to share hardships with her.

Because of this, the second female lead became disheartened. Just as she planned to go abroad to heal, she discovered that the second male lead, her childhood friend, had secretly loved her for a long time.

At the end of the story, of course, both couples obtained their own happiness.

The original author was very skilled at depicting the details of girls in love, so even the initially unpopular second female lead quickly gained readers’ affection after giving up on the male lead.

More importantly, Pei Chuzhi’s appearance almost perfectly matched the second female lead in the original work.

Good figure, beautiful face, and a cool temperament.

Plus, with Asia Film Media backing her, the director team decided on her on the spot.

In early November, the official Weibo of “Quietly Falling in Love With You” released the cast styling photos.

Readers who had been waiting refreshed Weibo constantly. When they saw the actors for the male and female leads, they all expressed satisfaction—they basically matched the imagined feeling.

But when Pei Chuzhi, playing the rich young lady Jiang Nanyan, appeared on Weibo, many people were stunned for quite a while.

The first reaction was: too beautiful.

So beautiful that they began to worry whether the female lead would be overshadowed.

The second reaction was…

Who is this?

After all, “Quietly Falling in Love With You” had been a hugely popular romance last year. Since the news of adaptation spread, almost all suitably aged young actresses in the entertainment industry had been circulated.

The female lead’s setting was a pure and innocent white-flower type, and actresses of that type were easier to find.

But Jiang Nanyan in the original had countless admirers—simply put, a stunning beauty who overwhelmed others. If the actress wasn’t chosen well, the result would be awkward.

But beauties, like geniuses, were scarce resources.

For some reason, among the current generation of young actresses, there were quite a few delicate pretty girls, but very few glamorous great beauties.

Everyone imagined for a long time, and finally discovered tragically that among the new generation of actresses, they couldn’t find anyone who could carry Jiang Nanyan’s character setting.

In the styling photo, Pei Chuzhi had vivid red lips. A black short dress wrapped around her graceful body curves, and the long legs she rested beside the bar stool were white and straight—she looked exactly like Jiang Nanyan stepping out of the book.

But many people couldn’t help raising questions:

Wasn’t this the actress who only gained some fame recently by relying on Xing Ye? Has she acted before? Filmed any dramas? Can she portray the love-and-hate feeling Jiang Nanyan should evoke?

The second photo in the same Weibo post revealed the styling of the second male lead.

When netizens swiped to the next picture, they were once again shocked by how well the actor matched the role.

The reason was simple: the actor playing the second male lead was named Zhong Li. He had only debuted as an actor last year, and currently had a drama airing.

Before announcing his debut, he had been the campus heartthrob of a well-known university.

As the ancients said, “One who is filled with poetry and books naturally exudes elegance.” Zhong Li was practically the spokesperson for that phrase.

His looks in the entertainment industry were only considered fairly good, but his refined, intellectual, noble temperament elevated his image several times over.

Coincidentally, the second male lead Ji Xining in the drama was set as a gentle president with an elegant appearance.

A loyal reader immediately commented: “Ahhh I’m crying so much my neighborhood turned into Venice! The actors for Ji Xining and Jiang Nanyan are both perfect! Thank you, production team, thank you author! Our Xi-Nan CP is amazing!”

This comment quickly gained likes and rose to the top as the most popular comment.

That night, after Pei Chuzhi reposted the official account, she read the script for a while. Half an hour later, when she checked the comments again, her heart skipped a beat, and four words flashed in her mind—my life is over.

Her Weibo seemed to have been…

occupied by Xi-Nan CP fans.

Author’s note: Xing Ye: …I’ve been cuckolded?