Extra 3
The Wengang Film Festival had been running for nearly two weeks, with several hotels at the Wengang Resort booked for the occasion. Being the inaugural edition, many events and exhibitions didn’t require tickets and were open to tourists for free, resulting in a constant flow of people every day.
Recently, the small town of Wengang had become the new hotspot for paparazzi. With so many celebrities gathered in one place, the probability of encountering a star while walking down the street rivaled that of Hengdian World Studios. Just a few random photos, and they’d have enough material for the month.
At a corner café in the afternoon, sunlight fell upon a few blue-purple flower buds and a stray cat curled up napping. A man and a woman sat near the glass window, attracting curious glances from passersby.
Jiang Chuyi rarely had free time, and now she’d been suddenly notified of a new task. Little Zhong had made a special trip to deliver tomorrow’s exhibition plan, urging her to memorize the procedures quickly.
The person beside her didn’t disturb her, occasionally feeding her fruits and small snacks. Jiang Chuyi was half-sprawled on the table flipping through the planning documents, and when she saw something approaching her mouth from the corner of her eye, she automatically ate it.
As she continued eating, she realized something wasn’t quite right—she seemed to have missed biting several times.
A small piece of translucent white pear hovered near her mouth. Jiang Chuyi tilted her head, making a pre-biting motion, and sure enough, the hand holding the pear moved down slightly.
Her gaze finally shifted from the page.
Zong Ye was wearing Bluetooth earphones and talking on the phone, seeming completely unaware of her.
Jiang Chuyi steadied his hand and took the piece of pear.
Zong Ye paused mid-sentence and glanced at her.
Today he wore thin silver-rimmed glasses, which made him look rather scholarly.
When he finished his call, Jiang Chuyi finally spoke, “You seem to like wearing glasses more and more these days.”
“Don’t you like me wearing glasses?” he asked.
“When did I ever say that?” Jiang Chuyi responded.
Did Zong Ye have mind-reading abilities?
Due to certain private feelings, Jiang Chuyi did indeed have a slight preference for Zong Ye wearing glasses.
Because every time before they kissed, Zong Ye’s gesture of tilting his head to remove his glasses always made her heart race.
Zong Ye leaned close to her ear, “You told me when you were drunk.”
Jiang Chuyi swallowed.
Zong Ye knew this little movement meant she felt guilty. He smiled and pinched her cheek. “Remember now?”
Jiang Chuyi looked out the window, suddenly alert. “Wait.”
He paused. “What’s wrong?”
“I think we’re being photographed.”
…
They had indeed been photographed, and not only that, but the unscrupulous paparazzi had posted it on Weibo.
This wasn’t the first time, though. When Jiang Chuyi saw the news, she was already completely unfazed.
They were often photographed, sometimes by paparazzi, sometimes by passersby. Although Zong Ye had left the entertainment industry, it was as if he hadn’t completely withdrawn. Last summer, Zong Ye accompanied Jiang Chuyi shopping. Even when he was sitting by the window enjoying the air conditioning, with his head lowered looking at promotional leaflets, his profile had been captured by someone’s camera.
The blogger even posted on several platforms trying to identify this “handsome ordinary guy.”
Only later, when someone explained, did people realize this wasn’t some ordinary handsome guy—this was actually Zong Ye.
As time passed, some of Zong Ye’s die-hard fans still couldn’t reconcile with Jiang Chuyi, but most people had made peace with it. Jiang Chuyi always kept a low profile, and when asked about her love life, she would simply say, “My husband is outside the industry,” and leave it at that, never deliberately hyping up their relationship. So whenever similar news appeared, people would calmly wish them well.
Since Zong Ye moved behind the scenes, although he still dealt with the same group of people, he no longer had to go out and “sell his looks.” That handsome face, apart from being good-looking, didn’t seem to have much use anymore.
What was puzzling, however, was that Zong Ye seemed accustomed to the ascetic lifestyle from his celebrity days. Except for necessary occasions, he didn’t smoke or drink, avoided late-night snacks, went to the gym regularly, and strictly managed his physique.
As Lisheng got on track, Zong Ye was busy all day, and inevitably had many business dinners. However, among a group of men who were skilled in eating, drinking, playing, and gradually gaining weight, he always stood out.
Friends occasionally teased him about being too conscious of his idol image.
Besides his close friends, even netizens were surprised—why did Zong Ye always look so good whenever he was photographed? How could these unedited images exude such an attractive aura that put current young celebrities to shame?
Both former fans and those who remained were pleased: Zong Ye was still Zong Ye, never degrading into an ordinary man, the moonlight filter never shattering.
So the forums became lively again, with some discussing Zong Ye’s condition and others enjoying the authentic couple’s daily life.
[Zong Ye… spirit returning… vibrant and in his prime, such a shame he retired from the industry.]
[There’s a reason Teacher Zong’s looks hold up so well. For a sensitive man, when your wife meets so many handsome guys every day, wouldn’t you feel a bit threatened? Just a little puppy afraid of being abandoned, that’s all.]
[I can’t stand it, when you feed her fruit you look like a male servant… your hand is practically poking into her mouth…]
[I’m shocked. In this short fifteen-second video, Zong Ye rubs her ear, pinches her face, and kisses her neck… Is he that impatient? Who wouldn’t say after watching this: he really loves her…]
