The Thirteenth Star
Jiang Chuyi sat cross-legged on the sofa and unwrapped the tiramisu.
Seeing this, Little Zhong immediately stopped her, “Sis, you absolutely cannot eat this!”
“Eating it secretly is fine.” Jiang Chuyi didn’t listen to her dissuasion and stubbornly tore open the packaging of the fork, “Don’t tell Sister Ning.”
“It’s not about whether I tell Sis Ning or not…” Little Zhong frowned and sighed, “I bet if you eat it, you’ll definitely regret it when you wake up tomorrow. You’re in the middle of filming!”
“It’s okay.” Jiang Chuyi assured Little Zhong with a smile, “I won’t eat anything else in the next few days, just eggs and fruit.”
Seeing her like this, Little Zhong didn’t know what to say and looked at her sympathetically, “Alright, it’s your birthday after all. As long as you’re happy…”
Jiang Chuyi pretended not to hear the heaviness in her tone and fed herself a small piece.
Perhaps it was because she had abstained from sugar for too long. The moment she ate it, a sense of happiness instantly surged up.
Actually, when she was little, she loved sweets and cookies the most. Later, when she started filming movies, her family gradually forbade her from touching them. So every time her cousin celebrated her birthday, Jiang Chuyi would secretly coax and trick her into getting her cake. Later, when she was a bit older, she was afraid of getting fat herself, so she stopped doing it.
Jiang Chuyi ate slowly and heard Little Zhong exclaim, “There’s something else in this bag.”
She looked up, “What?”
“It’s a Polaroid photo.” Little Zhong took it out and curiously glanced at it.
“What is it? Let me see.” Jiang Chuyi reached out.
Little Zhong handed it to her.
Jiang Chuyi studied it in her hand for a while.
It was an ordinary landscape photo, with only a few lush trees and a blue sky with white clouds. It looked a bit old, and there didn’t seem to be anything special about it.
“It should be a gift from the dessert shop, right?” Jiang Chuyi couldn’t figure it out either.
Little Zhong murmured, “Italians are so meticulous, even the gifted photo paper is laminated.”
Jiang Chuyi picked up the tiramisu again and instructed Little Zhong, “Don’t throw it away, keep it as a memento. Put it in my suitcase.”
Cherishing each bite, Jiang Chuyi ate very slowly.
When she was almost done, she picked up her phone, her thumb sliding up and down the WeChat list. After hesitating for a long time, she clicked on Zong Ye’s avatar frame.
Last time, when Chen Yi found out that she had added Zong Ye on WeChat, she asked her to take a screenshot of his Moments to take a look. Jiang Chuyi later forgot about it.
It was the first time she clicked into his Moments.
The signature that caught her eye was a sentence in English.
“When I appear, the stars tremble for me.”
Jiang Chuyi read it once and felt it was somehow familiar.
After thinking for a few seconds, she remembered.
This was a viral lyric from BloodxGentle’s debut song, which was later used everywhere as a slogan.
Jiang Chuyi had watched this stage performance when she was doing her homework earlier.
Zong Ye was the bassist, but this line was sung by him.
—When I appear, the stars tremble for me.
Unlike his usual speaking voice, Zong Ye’s singing voice was that kind of super sexy bass that could directly numb half of your ear when wearing headphones…
He rarely posted on Moments, mostly just forwarding work promotions, rarely sharing any daily life.
It made her think of herself. Jiang Chuyi was a bit conflicted about whether she should hide those many daily posts about Ruby in her Moments.
Chen Yi also occasionally mentioned to her that when she posted about Ruby, it was very much like those people who had just become mothers and liked to show off their babies in Moments. No matter how she looked at it, she found it cute, but if others saw it too much, they probably found it annoying.
But for a busy person like Zong Ye, who barely had time to sleep, he probably didn’t have the leisure to look through her Moments.
Thinking of this, Jiang Chuyi put her mind at ease.
Jiang Chuyi: “The cake you sent was really delicious. It was so thoughtful of you! Thank you very much.”
The other side didn’t reply for a while, probably busy.
Zong Ye: “I’m glad you liked it. Happy birthday.”
Although the signature on the small card was the BloodxGentle Team, the handwriting looked very much like Zong Ye’s.
After interacting during this time, she found that he was indeed a very tactful person, humble and polite. Whether it was towards her or the staff around him, he never made people feel offended in his words or actions.
No wonder he had such a good reputation in the industry and so many die-hard fans.
Jiang Chuyi felt that her previous misunderstandings about Zong Ye, due to her cousin, were quite substantial.
She looked up Zong Ye’s Baidu page. His official information showed that his birthday was on January 13th.
That was coming up soon.
But by that time, everyone would have returned to China, and they would most likely have become strangers.
Jiang Chuyi opened her phone calendar and set a reminder alarm for the early morning of January 13th.
Even if she couldn’t do more, she at least had to remember to wish him a happy birthday.
*
Because some of BloodxGentle’s schedules were impossible to adjust, they had to take flights to other places to attend events in the middle of filming from time to time. For a currently popular idol group, being able to take a month off to film was already very difficult. Even the IM team came several times, and the director had to speed up the shooting progress.
Jiang Chuyi had been popular before. But her kind of popularity was limited to being remembered for a character.
It wasn’t like BloodxGentle, who were so busy that they were almost working around the clock, even catching flights during breaks in filming.
A few days earlier than expected, their scenes in Italy were basically finished.
The last wrap-up scene was set to be filmed when it was snowing in Beijing.
Two days before Gao Ning learned the news, she flew over specifically to visit the set and accompany Jiang Chuyi back to China.
Jiang Chuyi was puzzled. Gao Ning wasn’t free from her schedule in China either, but she still came all the way here, not afraid of the fatigue.
On the morning of the day they returned to China, Gao Ning got up an hour early, rummaging through her suitcase, carefully selecting an airport outfit for Jiang Chuyi.
This stance gave her the illusion that she had become popular.
Jiang Chuyi sat on the edge of the bed watching, feeling that Gao Ning was being a bit too cautious, and had to remind her, “I don’t even have a proper fan site now. Who would be interested in looking at my airport photos?”
Gao Ning glared at her, “Didn’t you just collaborate with BloodxGentle? Your recent popularity isn’t low either. Everything needs to be prepared in advance.”
“They’re popular in their own right, and I’m obscure in my own right. What’s the connection between the two?” Jiang Chuyi sighed, “Just pick an outfit and don’t waste your energy.”
“Don’t mind me.” Gao Ning buried her head in sorting, tossing another set of clothes on her bed, “Come try this on.”
Jiang Chuyi obediently put on the fourth outfit she tried on today.
Before leaving, Gao Ning thought of something, pulled Jiang Chuyi over, and put a thin silver necklace on her.
After putting it on, Gao Ning looked left and right, then raised her hand to tuck her collar, adjusting it to the effect of the necklace peeking out, before clapping her hands in satisfaction, “Done.”
Jiang Chuyi looked at herself in the full-length mirror, curious, “What necklace is this?”
Gao Ning casually said, “Just wear it obediently.”
…
…
BloodxGentle had already returned to China the night before. Jiang Chuyi and Xin He took a flight back to Shanghai the next day.
After interacting for more than half a month, Xin He became more familiar with her and seemed to have developed some affection. On the way back, she took the initiative to talk to her about some things.
About Fu Cheng and about herself.
Jiang Chuyi liked being a listener. Whenever she listened to others speak, she was always very attentive and would respond at the right time.
As they were chatting, Xin He asked a few questions about her past with Qin Tong.
Although Xin He debuted early like Jiang Chuyi, she had strong backing and was well-protected from rumors. Even if there were malicious rumors, Hua Rui would immediately help her resolve them. She was the kind of person who didn’t have to worry about much.
So Jiang Chuyi didn’t mind opening up old wounds and patiently explaining to her the black material she was slandered with back then.
She started acting when she was a student, and later met Chen Yi in college, but they rarely got together and had their own things to attend to. She didn’t have many true friends in the entertainment industry. Sitting down and opening up to someone she had just met was a bit of a novelty for her.
Over the years, Jiang Chuyi had mingled in various crews and knew quite a few actresses. It was just that the class differences in this circle were very obvious, and most people’s mentality was: I’m more popular than you, so naturally I’m a level above you.
So after filming, when they returned to their normal tracks, there was very little private contact. Others also looked down on her.
Although Xin He had a bad temper, she didn’t seem to look down on her when they interacted.
After getting off the plane, Xin He exchanged WeChat contacts with her.
The temperature in China was already very low. As soon as she got out of the air cabin, Jiang Chuyi shivered from the cold.
Jiang Chuyi was looking down and replying to WeChat messages while walking out of the gate passage.
Xin He finished touching up her makeup, put on her sunglasses, and glanced at her before snorting, “You have quite a lot of friends.”
Jiang Chuyi’s typing paused. She tilted her head and thought for a moment, “Not that many, just a few.”
“Who?”
“Chen Yi…”
As soon as she reported one name, Xin He disdainfully said, “Never heard of her.”
Jiang Chuyi: “…”
Seeing her silence, Xin He asked again, “You have a good relationship? What has she acted in?”
Before interacting with Xin He, Jiang Chuyi had heard some things about her. Rumors said that Xin He was very arrogant and had a haughty personality. Even a straight man like Zhao Guangyu who didn’t care about gossip said she had a severe princess syndrome.
Could it be because of this… that she hadn’t made many friends?
“She hasn’t acted in many dramas, mainly taking on variety shows.” Jiang Chuyi tentatively asked, “But she’s a good person. We plan to meet up for a meal these two days. Do you want to join us?”
Xin He sneered, very puzzled, “Heh, why would I go?”
“I thought you asked about her because you wanted to get to know her.”
Xin He refuted extremely quickly, crossing her arms, “I didn’t think that at all.”
Jiang Chuyi: “Okay then.”
It must be said that Xin He and Fu Cheng were quite a match. Out of three sentences, two could infuriate people.
They walked out of the airport together and were quickly surrounded by rushing fans.
Most of them were Xin He’s.
Around them were excited screams of “Baby, Mama loves you,” “She has lost weight again recently,” and “He He, look at me.”
Xin He didn’t get angry even when she was being pushed at by so many people. She took the flowers and letters, saying very amiably to the fans to be careful.
Someone accidentally bumped into Jiang Chuyi. Xin He frowned slightly and pulled her closer to her side, lowering her voice and ordering, “Be careful.”
The surrounding fans fell silent in unison.
What was going on?
Due to Xin He’s slip-up incident when she accidentally liked a post a while ago, many opposing fans took the opportunity to jump out and mock her for a while as the “Slip-Up Sister.”
As a result, Xin He’s fans had to work hard to counter the attacks for a while.
How come after filming for a while, their relationship seemed to be pretty good…
With the enthusiastic escort of fans, they struggled out of the airport. The shuttle van was parked by the roadside. Just before parting, Xin He suddenly blurted out, “When are you having that meal?”
Jiang Chuyi let out an “ah” sound, “What meal?”
Xin He swiftly took off her sunglasses and glared at her angrily.
After two, three seconds, Jiang Chuyi reacted.
Sigh, she was indeed a tsundere.
Jiang Chuyi held back a smile and deliberately said, “It’s not decided yet.”
“Okay.” Xin He switched expressions, smiling and waving goodbye to the enthusiastic fans in the distance. Before getting in the car, she finally opened her mouth, but her tone seemed very reluctant, “Let me know when it’s decided.”
Jiang Chuyi agreed with a smile, “Alright.”
*
Having been away on a business trip for more than a month without seeing Ruby, Jiang Chuyi was eager to get home.
Returning home, turning on the heating, Jiang Chuyi curled up on the bay window, stroking the bunny’s fluffy head, and only then felt that her exhaustion had been washed away.
After taking a shower, being in a familiar place with the moist scent of aromatherapy wafting out, Jiang Chuyi felt at ease for the first time in a long while. While lying on the bay window to dry her hair, she fell asleep without realizing it.
The next time she was awakened was at noon the next day.
Her phone was going crazy with various message notification sounds.
Jiang Chuyi groggily picked up her phone, just in time to receive a call from her cousin.
She slightly propped herself up, “Hello?”
Dan Wanwan said with deep grief, “Sis, how could you become friends with benefits with Zong Ye on set? Are you muddled!”
Jiang Chuyi was stunned, “What friends with benefits? Who did you hear that from?”
“Do I need to hear it from someone?” Dan Wanwan’s tone was agitated, dropping a shocking thunderbolt—
“You and Zong Ye have been on the top of the hot search for two hours!”
“What?!” Jiang Chuyi’s voice was even more agitated than hers, “What hot search, let me see.”
Jiang Chuyi hung up the phone and immediately clicked on Weibo.
Indeed, as her cousin said, she and Zong Ye’s names were on the top few of the hot search, with a string of several topics.
#Zong Ye’s suspected romance exposed#
#Zong Ye Jiang Chuyi#
#On-set couple#
#BloodxGentle’s house collapsed#
She quickly clicked on one.
The front rows were all marketing accounts, and the posted pictures were all paparazzi shots of her leaving the airport yesterday.
Jiang Chuyi was utterly confused.
Was there something wrong with what she wore yesterday? What did it have to do with Zong Ye? She calmly clicked open and carefully read the Weibo post that had stirred up this storm from top to bottom.
“Yesterday, Little Ice waited at the airport for Xin He and accidentally discovered a low-key dressed woman beside her. Upon closer look, Little Ice found that this woman was none other than the small-time actress Jiang Chuyi, whom Zong Ye had publicly interacted with on Weibo a few days ago. Judging from their seemingly good relationship, based on my years of experience, their relationship is definitely not simple. I went to investigate further, and the more I dug, the more I found.”
Next, he listed some clues from Zong Ye’s past Weibo posts.
For example, Zong Ye basically doesn’t interact with female artists, but he made an exception for Jiang Chuyi for the first time, even showing up in her live stream to personally cheer for her.
Also, when he posts on Weibo, he particularly likes to post at the minutes of 1 and 11.
Moreover, Zong Ye has a special habit. Since his debut, he always posts his New Year’s greetings on the first day of the Lunar New Year, and the first day (chū yī) is a homophone for Chuyi’s name.
There were even some of his past fragmented interviews. Whenever he talked about his ideal type, he was very specific—appearance and height weren’t very important, he preferred girls with a gentle and kind personality, with long black hair, who liked small animals.
Jiang Chuyi, due to filming for many years, especially since most period drama crews in Hengdian had hard requirements, had never dyed her hair. Plus, she was known for loving to raise rabbits.
It was well-known that once the person involved talked about their ideal type very specifically, it meant he already had a crush.
If this wasn’t love… then the most conclusive point was the airport photos from yesterday. The necklace Jiang Chuyi wore around her neck—was the same style that Zong Ye had worn before.
And she wore it very inconspicuously, hidden under her hoodie, as if deliberately concealing something.
Matching outfits and accessories were common in the entertainment industry, but the problem was that this necklace was from a relatively niche German affordable luxury brand called NESSING.
Zong Ye had never posted about it on any social media platform, nor was he a spokesperson for this brand. It was only occasionally captured in paparazzi photos of his private outfits, where the ring he wore on his hand was from this brand.
But he wore it very rarely, and only a few die-hard fans knew about it.
In summary something must have happened between Jiang Chuyi and Zong Ye on set. There are a few possibilities:
First, they have been in an underground relationship for many years. This time, Jiang Chuyi was likely able to hitch a ride with BloodxGentle because of Zong Ye. They are having a public-funded romance.
Second, they became an on-set couple. Jiang Chuyi got a top star and couldn’t control her feelings as a young girl. She wanted to show off the relationship but didn’t dare to, so she secretly wore the same accessory.
The more Jiang Chuyi read, the more shocked and numb she became.
She was deeply in awe of these people’s divergent thinking, imagination, and ability to twist facts.
If she wasn’t the person involved, she would have almost been brainwashed by this long Weibo post.
The moment she saw the necklace, Jiang Chuyi immediately understood the reason behind this. She immediately called Gao Ning.
“What’s with the hot search?”
Gao Ning played dumb, “What do you mean?”
“How could those people possibly have the leisure to notice the necklace on my neck?” Jiang Chuyi was very puzzled. “And only a bit of this necklace was exposed. If you don’t look carefully, you can’t see it at all. If someone hadn’t released information in advance, how could they have dug it out? Did we send out a fluff piece?”
“What else could it be?”
“…”
Jiang Chuyi was instantly sparked with some anger by her matter-of-fact attitude, “What do you mean, what else could it be? It was really you who did it? Can’t you discuss it with me before doing these things?”
“Don’t get agitated, don’t get agitated first!” Gao Ning tried to appease her.
“How can I not get agitated?” Jiang Chuyi sat up with a swoosh and paced back and forth in the room. “Don’t you know that Zong Ye and the others are an idol group? How can they be in a relationship? You know perfectly well about the consequences of their relationships being exposed. By doing this, aren’t you offending the people on IM’s side? This movie hasn’t even been released yet, and there’s already so much drama—”
“Stop, stop, stop.” Gao Ning was baffled by her interrogation and lowered her voice, “The way you’re talking, it’s as if you two are really dating. Wait a moment, let me change to another place to talk to you.”
After a while, the noisy background noise on the other end seemed to quiet down a bit. Gao Ning spoke again, “This matter was indeed an article bought by our side. It would be a waste to not take advantage of this hype! Don’t worry, this matter won’t have much impact on Zong Ye’s side. He’s had so many scandals over the years, and not a single one has been conclusively confirmed. Yours isn’t particularly special either. Moreover, the things we released are very easy to explain, and they’re not very excessive. It also helps to hype up ‘Catching Stars’. Isn’t it killing two birds with one stone? Otherwise, do you think this hot search could stay up for two hours? Are the people on IM’s side vegetarians? They know perfectly well about what’s happening! Something like a matching necklace can at most say that you’re his fan, and it’s very normal for fans to follow their idols and buy the same items.”
“The movie is called ‘Catching Stars’.” Jiang Chuyi pointed out weakly, “Do you know that I’ll be scolded to death by his fans?”
“Let them scold! Let them scold all they want. The important thing is to have hype.” Gao Ning was unconcerned, “I’m telling you, last time when your private account was exposed, wasn’t it fine in the end? And during that period, I received several more script offers for you.”
Jiang Chuyi: “…”
The incident of her private account being exposed last time was indeed an accident, but this time it was completely a deliberate hype. Taking advantage of that accident, they tasted the attention brought by hyping with a top star, and even her management company Kaijun forcibly gained a lot of presence.
Gao Ning’s little flame of wanting to hype up, which had been smoldering, was reignited from the ashes, resulting in today’s drama.
“I’m not criticizing you, but you’re not a newcomer anymore. Can’t you have a better mentality?” After a brief moment of guilt, Gao Ning got more and more excited as she spoke, “Do you know how long we spent looking for these bits and pieces of information and how many nights we stayed up? You think it’s easy for us!? I have to say, the heavens are still willing to favor you. The name Chuyi is really well-chosen! Your rabbit also didn’t live in vain. It really helped us out. You don’t know how excited we were when we found these interviews, to the point of not being able to sleep! Sure enough, girls who love small animals never have too much bad luck!”
As she listened, Jiang Chuyi couldn’t help but speak up, “Then you really went to great lengths.”
“Tsk, as long as you know my good intentions.” Gao Ning chuckled a couple of times, “Don’t worry, at most, by tonight, BloodxGentle’s studio will make a statement, and our side will cooperate with them to clarify. Didn’t you fiercely boost your popularity? Four or five hot searches are up. We didn’t even put down many water army posts! You have to seize opportunities, understand? Maybe this time you’ll be able to turn around from being a has-been. Have some fighting spirit.”
Jiang Chuyi was completely speechless and hung up the phone.
She covered her face and let out a heavy sigh.
With this incident, those people on her WeChat contact list who didn’t chat much and weren’t familiar with her all came back to life one after another, asking her if it was true or false, if she was really dating Zong Ye.
Jiang Chuyi didn’t have the mood to reply at all.
She sat there thinking about what to do, tugged at her hair in frustration, went to wash her face, and picked up her phone again when she came back.
Zong Ye’s side didn’t make any moves and didn’t send her any messages to question her.
Maybe in a few days, he would delete her.
Although Jiang Chuyi wanted to explain, what was the use of sending him messages at this point? It would only make her seem insincere and add to Zong Ye’s anger.
The necklace was worn by her, and the article was released by her team. There were also those absurd time points and interviews… Jiang Chuyi was indeed not innocent in this matter.
Zong Ye probably would be terrified of trusting women for the rest of his life.
*
The development of the incident was indeed as Gao Ning said. Within a few hours, BloodxGentle’s studio issued a stern statement and said they would sue the paparazzi for spreading rumors, along with a classic lawyer’s letter warning. Immediately after, Jiang Chuyi’s management company Kaijun also made a statement.
Fans began to mobilize and clean up the plaza on a large scale, causing a bloody storm for a while.
[IM is really f**king dead. Zong Ye makes so much money for you, and you don’t fight back against the antis. Are you saving it to pay for your own funeral? Huh?! This little thing is on the hot search every day. Zong Ye’s contract expires in two years. Have some f**king sense.]
[Can I ask some passersby from the underworld to stop going crazy? All day long, you only know how to ship Zong Ye’s CPs? I don’t understand how my bro gets pulled into new CPs every day. If you keep shipping, I hope your faves fade into obscurity soon!! Get lost!!!!]
[Kaijun’s abacus beads are almost hitting my face. If your little artist wants to hype, hype with someone of the same level of obscurity. Don’t be shameless when given face!]
[It’s a normal working relationship. Please focus on the movie “Catching Stars”. Don’t spread rumors or brainwashing packages. And please, a certain actress, have some self-respect.]
[I still have the energy to scold Xin He a bit… Jiang Chuyi, this is really… There’s a limit to clout chasing, OK? Where did the flood wash up this seafood from? Too lazy to give her a glance. It’s f**king disgusting. (Spits)]
[When will this bitch die out? Zong Ye is also my boyfriend, thank you!]
Jiang Chuyi’s Weibo was completely occupied. The comment section and real-time chats were all being bombarded.
But these weren’t the most important things anymore.
When interacting with friends, Jiang Chuyi was mostly the type to speak directly. She didn’t want to be hurt and didn’t want to hurt others. She didn’t know what Zong Ye was thinking now, but she had already regarded him as a friend in her heart.
Jiang Chuyi knew the feeling of being used and backstabbed.
After much hesitation, she finally made up her mind. With the mental preparation of being completely disliked by Zong Ye, she sent him one last message.
If Jiang Chuyi had more tact and knew her place, she shouldn’t have bothered Zong Ye at this time.
But she was still a bit greedy, or rather, had a little bit of naivety left. She hoped that by explaining a few more words, she could gain even a little bit of his forgiveness.
She carefully composed this message in her notes app, deliberating over every word.
Just for the greeting, Jiang Chuyi deleted and edited it multiple times. Should it be more formal or casual?
In the end, she decided to go back to the original “Teacher Zong Ye”.
At 1 am, Jiang Chuyi finally sent out this message, which she considered to be somewhat sincere as an apology.
“I’m sorry, Teacher Zong Ye, for causing you trouble again. I hope this incident didn’t have too much impact on you. That necklace was a mistake on my agent’s part. I promise such a thing won’t happen again in the future. If you need any clarification on your end later, I will do my best to cooperate. I’m sorry.”
After sending the message, she stared at the screen, holding her breath for a while, but there was no movement from the other side.
An hour later, finally confirming that she wouldn’t get a reply, Jiang Chuyi tossed her phone aside.
Jiang Chuyi felt it was as expected, but still couldn’t control the surge of sadness in her heart.
Maybe it was too late, or maybe he was busy.
Even if he saw it, it was normal not to reply. The fact that he didn’t delete her was already going above and beyond. She comforted herself this way.
She shouldn’t have hoped that Zong Ye would still pay attention to her in the first place.
…
…
Originally, things should have ended here.
The follow-up development of all this seemed no different from when Zong Ye’s previous scandal broke out.
However, in a little-known corner, someone created a CP supertopic called “Yi Jian Zong Qing”. A bunch of people secretly posted behind the backs of that group of furious anti-fans, and the popularity grew higher and higher.
[Tsk, Zong Ye’s fans are blind and delusional as usual… How come I feel it’s quite real though? = = Although there are suspicions that the actress is clout-chasing, Zong Ye’s eyes looked quite off during that live stream last time…]
[The CP of a top star and a small-time actress feels pretty exciting. Delicious. Any more gossip? I’ll lurk here and wait.]
[Although idols aren’t suitable for dating, I’ll say it first that my values are messed up, but there’s a strange sense of forbidden love. It’s really good for shipping TvT When BloodxGentle disbands, I hope Zong Ye posts an official Weibo announcement.]
[LOL, don’t be ridiculous. Zong Ye’s anti-fans are crazy to an unprecedented degree in the entertainment industry. An official announcement means the actress gets cyberbullied out of the industry.]
[I’m calling it now. There’s definitely something going on between Zong Ye and Jiang Chuyi. Let’s wait and dig this up again in the future]
[To be honest, the New Year’s Day blessing felt so subtle. “Chuyi” on the first day of the year. Sob, I’m hooked. The day I graduate from this dream.]
*
Jiang Chuyi was completely unaware of everything happening in the outside world.
She shut herself in at home for three days, sitting on the sofa watching movies, falling asleep right on the couch when she got sleepy, eating instant noodles whenever she was hungry, completely abandoning her diet management.
Her assistant and Gao Ning each came once in the middle of it. Seeing her like this, they left after a short while. Jiang Chuyi didn’t look at her phone and was too lazy to answer any calls.
Until one noon, the doorbell rang.
Jiang Chuyi sluggishly sat up from the sofa.
After a series of passcode lock button sounds, Chen Yi pushed the door open and entered. She changed her shoes and was carrying a bag of things. After taking just a couple steps, she was stunned by the disheveled Jiang Chuyi. “Big sis, how come you look like a caveman.”
“You’re here.” Jiang Chuyi greeted her weakly and then flopped straight back down, like a dried-up salted fish.
“I sent you messages but you didn’t respond, called but you didn’t answer. What are you doing, isolating yourself?” Chen Yi approached and disdainfully lifted the small blanket covering her. “Can you have some hygiene?”
Jiang Chuyi’s mind was occupied and she wasn’t in the mood to banter with her. “I took a shower.”
Chen Yi put the bag on the coffee table and plopped down next to her. “What’s wrong? Talk to me.”
Jiang Chuyi closed her eyes, turned over, and mumbled, “Nothing much.”
“No way, you just got into a scandal with a top star and you’re already putting on airs with me?”
“Can you stop mocking me?” Jiang Chuyi opened her eyes and turned her head. “How can someone like you have any friends?”
“Ow.” Chen Yi ruffled her hair. Seeing that Jiang Chuyi’s mood was indeed not great, she stopped joking around. “Cheer up. Wasn’t it just people scolding you? It’s not like you haven’t been cursed at before. Who among us can escape that? Think positively. You got a lot of exposure from this. Isn’t that great!”
“It’s not that I’m afraid of being scolded.”
Jiang Chuyi paused, not knowing how to say it to her. “I feel like I let Zong Ye down pretty badly.”
“Let Zong Ye down?” Chen Yi’s pupils shook as she looked at her in surprise. “Is there really something between you two?”
“No, that’s not it!” Jiang Chuyi grew even more depressed as she spoke, finding it a bit hard to say. “I know this thought is quite narcissistic, but I feel like Zong Ye considers me a friend.”
Chen Yi didn’t make a sound, quietly listening to her.
“Although we haven’t known each other for long, I think he’s a pretty good person.” Jiang Chuyi’s voice got quieter and quieter. Thinking of those things, she felt even more uncomfortable. “He took good care of me while filming and even wished me happy birthday. But as soon as I got back to China, I made such a big mess. I don’t know what he thinks of me now…”
“Hold on.” Chen Yi interrupted her. “Instead of thinking so much by yourself, why don’t you just send him a message directly? You two have WeChat, right? Talk it out properly. It’s not that big of a deal.”
Jiang Chuyi lowered her eyes, unable to hide the dejection in her expression. “I sent one. He didn’t reply.”
After a moment of silence, Chen Yi clicked her tongue and immediately changed her tune. “So what if he didn’t reply? It’s not really a big deal. Actually, you and Zong Ye aren’t on the same path to begin with. To put it bluntly, you may consider him a friend, but he might not necessarily see you as one. Maybe he was just being polite.”
Jiang Chuyi wanted to refute but felt Chen Yi wasn’t wrong. Her voice was hoarse. “No, nevermind. You don’t understand.”
“What? Is being friends with Zong Ye a must for you?” Chen Yi didn’t quite understand. “Don’t tell me you can’t do without his friendship?”
This stunned Jiang Chuyi for a moment. She subconsciously said, “That’s not it either…”
“Then that’s it! If Zong Ye doesn’t want to acknowledge you, just pretend you never knew him.” Chen Yi poked her head. “Even if he really dislikes you, he’s a busy person. He doesn’t have time to trip you up. What are you afraid of? You already finished filming that BloodxGentle movie. Is he going to go find the director to replace you?”
“That’s true, but…”
“Alright, alright, don’t say anything else.”
Chen Yi pulled her up from the sofa. “Stop being so melodramatic. Hurry and go take a shower, then forget about all this crap and continue doing what you need to do.”
Jiang Chuyi pointed at the bag Chen Yi placed on the coffee table. “Why did you buy so many ingredients?”
Chen Yi glanced at her. “I made plans with Zhao Guangyu today. We’ll have hotpot at your place later.”
Jiang Chuyi made an “oh” sound and slowly put on her slippers.
After showering, while blow-drying her hair, Jiang Chuyi looked at herself in the mirror and carefully thought over what Chen Yi said.
She herself was indeed being quite strange… Although spreading rumors was very underhanded of her, she seemed to care a bit too much about Zong Ye’s opinion of her.
Jiang Chuyi comforted herself.
If he looks down on her then so be it. It’s not like he’s the only one who does. It’s no big deal. Since she chose to be a celebrity, self-esteem is the least important thing.
When she goes home with her parents to pray at the temple during the New Year, she will sincerely pray for blessings for Zong Ye, wishing him a smooth future career and good health. She’ll consider that barely repaying him a favor…
*
When Jiang Chuyi left her room, the living room was brightly lit. The TV was playing a recently popular variety show, accompanied by familiar laughter. Bursts of fragrance wafted from the kitchen. Chen Yi had already gotten busy.’
Under the dim and warm light, staring at the bubbling soup base on the dining table, Jiang Chuyi felt the depression of the past few days finally disperse a bit.
Before long, Zhao Guangyu arrived as well.
He was the same as always, looking for a charger as soon as he entered the door. He seemed unaware of the recent events and didn’t ask Jiang Chuyi anything.
Skillfully opening a bag of chips, Zhao Guangyu sat on the hanging chair by the floor-to-ceiling window and started playing Honor of Kings.
Jiang Chuyi rolled up her sleeves, deciding to clean up.
“Chuyi, pour me a glass of water!” Zhao Guangyu called out.
Jiang Chuyi was squatting on the floor, changing Ribby’s food. Without turning her head, she said, “Get it yourself. There’s some in the fridge.”
“I’m in the middle of an intense battle!”
Jiang Chuyi sighed helplessly and got a bottle of water to hand to him.
Passing by the sofa, she wiped her hands and picked up her phone, opening WeChat.
Thanks to Chen Yi’s comfort, she had let go of a lot. This time, Jiang Chuyi’s state of mind was much more stable compared to the previous two days.
She scrolled through the message list, replying to work messages from the past couple days one by one.
After finishing the replies, she exited and clicked on the next person.
Until she paused at a certain profile picture.
Jiang Chuyi’s fingers stiffened slightly.
Unexpectedly, when she saw that bright red “4” to the left of Zong Ye’s avatar, Jiang Chuyi’s breathing slowed.
Like a death row inmate preparing to accept the final judgment.
She steeled herself and clicked in.
Wednesday 3:30 AM
Zong Ye: “I was working and only got my phone now. I didn’t see your message.”
Zong Ye: “I just found out about the hot search incident. Don’t take it to heart.”
Wednesday 3:45 AM
Zong Ye: “Are you asleep?”
Thursday 5:24 PM
Zong Ye: “I didn’t know public opinion would have such a big impact on you. My reply to you yesterday was a bit hasty. I should be the one apologizing to you.”
…
…
Jiang Chuyi nervously stared at Zong Ye’s messages, reading them over and over, repeatedly checking to see if there was any sarcasm or disdain in his words.
She looked until she almost couldn’t recognize the meaning of those few characters…
Chen Yi walked past her, carrying some things. “Chuyi, what are you looking at?”
“Huh?” Jiang Chuyi came back to her senses. “Nothing.”
Chen Yi glanced at her suspiciously a few times. “If you’re not busy, go help me wash the vegetables.”
“Wait a bit, I have something to do now.”
Jiang Chuyi clutched her phone and ran back to her bedroom.
She squatted by the bed, gently stroking her chest, feeling her heart rate was a bit high.
For a moment, she was a bit dazed, not knowing how to describe her complex feelings.
Did Zong Ye’s words mean he wasn’t blaming her…? She thought she had mentally prepared herself these past few days, but at this moment, a strange sense of relief after surviving a disaster suddenly emerged—he was even still willing to talk to her properly.
Jiang Chuyi bit her lip, pondered for a while, and replied to him:
“I was too tired these past two days and didn’t really look at my phone. That’s great if you weren’t affected by this incident. Sorry, sorry.”
This time, the other side replied very quickly.
Zong Ye: “Can you voice chat now? It’s not convenient for me to type.”
Jiang Chuyi: “Ah, okay, no problem.”
In the one minute waiting for his call, Jiang Chuyi hugged her legs with both hands, burying her face in her knees, feeling that her heart had never beaten so fast in her life.
With a beep, the call connected. Jiang Chuyi carefully said hello.
There seemed to be the faint sound of wind howling on the other end, as well as the honking of car horns. Zong Ye spoke, “Chuyi?”
Jiang Chuyi made an “mm” sound.
His voice came through the phone, “One sec, let me put on my earphones.”
Jiang Chuyi unconsciously tugged at the edge of her nightgown, her fingers fidgeting randomly, “Are you working?”
“No, I’m driving.”
A familiar teasing voice vaguely came from the other end, “Oh, who is Teacher Zong calling?”
Zong Ye seemed to be in a good mood and laughed lightly, replying, “A friend.”
“Which friend?” Wang Tan’s leisurely laughter grew louder, seemingly getting closer as his voice became much clearer. He casually said, “Let me guess, is it your recent rumored girlfriend? The friend with the surname Jiang?”
Hearing this, Jiang Chuyi felt ashamed and immediately said, “About that… that hot search incident, I’m really sorry. I truly didn’t know that necklace was related to you at the time.”
“It’s alright.” It was quiet for a moment on the other end. “Even if you knew, it wouldn’t matter.”
Jiang Chuyi: “…”
It would have been fine if he didn’t say anything, but now that he did, Jiang Chuyi felt even more guilty.
“Jiang Chuyi? What are you doing!” Zhao Guangyu’s loud voice suddenly rang out. He pulled on the door handle, pushing it open a crack and poking his head in, saying in surprise, “Why are you squatting there?”
He made a move to walk in, “Who are you on the phone with? Didn’t you hear us calling you to eat?”
Jiang Chuyi covered the phone with her leg, looked up, and gestured at him, “You go out first. I’ll be right there.”
When she picked up the phone again and put it to her ear, there was no sound from the other end.
Jiang Chuyi said hello a few times, thinking the signal wasn’t good, repeatedly holding up the phone to check.
Zong Ye suddenly spoke, “Are you at home?”
She answered, “Yes, I’m at home.”
“Is there someone with you?”
“No.”
“I might have misheard. There was someone else’s voice just now.”
“Huh?” Jiang Chuyi hesitated slightly but didn’t hide it, honestly saying, “It’s my friends. They came over to my place for dinner today.”
“I see.” Zong Ye casually asked, “How many people?”
Jiang Chuyi answered, “Two.”
The other end fell silent for a bit.
It seemed like an illusion, but the atmosphere suddenly became a bit heavy. Jiang Chuyi waited quietly, hearing a faint clicking sound coming from the receiver.
It was the crisp sound of a lighter being flicked on.
Perhaps the car window was lowered, as the wind got louder.
Zong Ye seemed to be smoking a cigarette, so his voice wasn’t very clear. “You don’t need to feel guilty about what happened the other day.”
Jiang Chuyi’s heart was pounding as she prepared to continue apologizing, feeling a bit uneasy.
“If you really feel guilty…” Zong Ye was quiet for a moment, then asked, “Why don’t you treat me to a meal?”
