The Fifty-First Star
Their shadows overlapped on the road.
His mouth was close to her ear, and Jiang Chuyi could barely hold onto her candy, “What’s there to be curious about? It’s not like I haven’t kissed you before.”
“Really?”
Jiang Chuyi suddenly stood on her tiptoes and pecked the corner of his lips, “I’m kidding.”
Zong Ye paused, then pulled her into his arms and nibbled her earlobe, coaxing, “Is that all? Don’t you want to kiss me properly?”
His low voice became increasingly mesmerizing, making Jiang Chuyi feel dizzy. She could only push him away slightly, “We’re still outside. It’ll be troublesome if someone sees us.”
Zong Ye sighed and ruffled her hair, “It doesn’t matter if someone sees.”
Jiang Chuyi took his hand down, “That won’t do. After all, we’re public figures. We need to be mindful of our image.”
They walked hand in hand along the street.
Zong Ye tickled her palm and asked tentatively, “Will you stay over at my place tonight?”
“I can’t. I snuck out from home. If I don’t go back, my parents will kill me.”
Hearing this, Zong Ye smiled, “Chuyi is so obedient.”
Jiang Chuyi’s face turned serious, “Besides, it’s New Year’s, and I didn’t bring anything. It wouldn’t be right to visit your uncle empty-handed.”
“My uncle doesn’t care about that.”
Jiang Chuyi remained unmoved, “We’re in a relationship now. We should still be considerate.”
“Alright, whatever you say.”
They wandered aimlessly in the cold wind for a long time, neither wanting to leave.
Wang Woyun called several times to urge her home. Jiang Chuyi quickly opened a voice message in the family group chat.
Wang Woyun: “If you’re not home by midnight, don’t bother coming back tonight. Tomorrow you can take a taxi back to your hometown by yourself. Jiang Chuyi, I’m warning you—”
Jiang Chuyi guiltily cut off the WeChat voice message.
Zong Ye stood nearby and said, “How about I drive you home?”
Jiang Chuyi looked suspicious, “Didn’t you drink? How can you drive?”
Zong Ye paused briefly, “I forgot.”
With several “orders” issued, Jiang Chuyi didn’t dare delay any longer. She quickly hailed a taxi on the roadside and urged him, “You should go back now. I’ll be fine taking a taxi. I’ll message you when I get home.”
Zong Ye sighed and hugged her, inhaling the scent of her scarf, “I don’t want you to go.”
Jiang Chuyi, her eyes fixed on the taxi, patted him perfunctorily, “See you next time.”
*
After the New Year, in April, Jiang Chuyi joined the cast of “Qiao Shu”.
The story was set in a small town in Jiangnan, with the main filming location in Suzhou.
To pursue authenticity, Yu Tong took several actors to do volunteer work at a local Buddhist temple for half a month before official filming began, and brought in specialized teachers to train them in the local dialect.
Since both Suzhou and Shanghai dialects belong to the Wu language family, Jiang Chuyi learned quickly. However, it was challenging for another male actor in the crew, who complained daily that the dialect was like hieroglyphics.
To portray a character with depression, Jiang Chuyi followed professional advice and disconnected from the internet for a while. Apart from reading books and studying the script, she barely looked at her phone each day. The few times she did go on Weibo were only to repost promotions for the new drama “September Rain”.
At the beginning of the new year, discussions about BloodxGentle grew explosively. Their solo careers after the tour ended were basically an open secret, but whether they would renew contracts with the company hadn’t been announced. All of the members’ schedules only went up to June, and as time drew closer, career fans became increasingly anxious, urging their studios daily to release schedules for the second half of the year.
BloodXGentle’s final tour stop was set in Shanghai, where they had debuted.
Jiang Chuyi took a day off from Yu Tong, and without telling Zong Ye, asked friends in the industry for help to get two concert tickets with great difficulty.
On May 20th, subways, buses, the Shanghai Bund, and various famous commercial districts, as well as all cinemas and LED screens under IM, were covered with BloodxGentle’s advertisements. The spectacular scene attracted countless passersby to stop and look.
Some of Zong Ye’s endorsement brands and fans had arranged a dense series of ground advertisements for him across the country, creating an impressive and unparalleled display.
Walking on the street, Jiang Chuyi could see his image everywhere.
Stopping in front of a shopping mall, Jiang Chuyi took off her mask and stood under Zong Ye’s huge billboard. She raised her phone and took a picture with him.
…
…
The concert started at 7:30 PM.
The stadium of ten thousand people was buzzing with excitement. Jiang Chuyi and Little Zhong sat in a corner of the tiered stands, holding light sticks and counting down with all the fans.
5, 4, 3, 2, 1—
As the countdown ended, dazzling light beams flashed, and the central big screen suddenly went dark. Everything fell silent. A few seconds later, the screen gradually brightened, showing the date 2022.5.20. Then, this date started to rapidly rewind: 2021, 2020, 2019… all the way back to a certain month in 2016. With a ‘ding’, the entire audience held their breath.
— A montage of BloodxGentle’s journey since their debut began to play.
Four young men with fresh faces sweating in the practice room, spending countless days and nights, going from unknown to being surrounded by flowers today. Their first time on stage, at various award ceremonies, reaching the pinnacle of glory. Countless live performances, thousands of fans cheering for them. Accompanied by applause, innumerable “Congratulations BloodXGentle”, “Congratulations Zong Ye”, “Congratulations Fu Cheng”, “Congratulations Wang Tan”, “Congratulations Ji Kai” — these voices calling their names over and over again overlapped and intertwined.
Just as the black numbers returned to 2022.5.20, the stadium lights suddenly came on, and a “shh” came from somewhere.
The moment their figures appeared on the center stage, everyone present nearly lost control.
“Stop.” They raised their microphones, pretending to listen. “Please call me?” [tl: spoken in English]
— The packed audience responded in unison with an ear-splitting: “BloodXGentle!”
Throughout this four-hour performance, almost every song, every solo, was accompanied by the entire audience singing along. This was probably the most heart-stirring and exhilarating concert Jiang Chuyi had ever attended.
She was sitting far away, in a corner that even the roving cameras could barely catch, her small figure submerged in the sea of people. She could only watch Zong Ye on the big screen.
He shone brightly on stage, the focus of all attention. Every smile, every glance, every time he lowered his eyes or adjusted his earpiece, each movement elicited intense cheers.
…
…
All good things must come to an end, no matter how reluctant one might be. As the concert drew to a close, each member’s farewell was simple. Zong Ye still wore that gentle smile, “We’ve said all our thanks. We’ll meet again if fate allows.”
It was as if he had reached the end of the story.
Jiang Chuyi suddenly felt a sting in her eyes.
People around her were crying and shouting, “No, no.”
Zong Ye had already bowed and put down the microphone.
After the concert ended, a grand celebration was followed by endless emptiness. More than half of the fans in the stadium hadn’t left.
Many people covered their mouths, crying silently in their seats.
It was as if a grand dream had ended, but countless people didn’t want to wake up.
Little Zhong was also sobbing uncontrollably, “I don’t know why, but it feels so hard to let go.”
Jiang Chuyi wiped her tears, “Don’t cry. It’s not like we’ll never see them again.”
…
…
After BloodxGentle’s concert ended, late at night, the official Weibo posted a group photo of the four, “Mountains and rivers meet, we’ll meet again in the future. Take care, everyone.”
The fan bases of the members, usually at odds with each other, were extraordinarily harmonious today. The comment section was clean, without a single quarrelsome or competitive remark.
[Tonight made me feel like I’ve reconciled with the whole world. I hope they’ll all be well in the future.]
[We used to chant ‘solo beauty, solo beauty’, and now they’re really going solo. Suddenly I want to cry TVT]
[Thank you, I already have PTSD from concert announcements. Fortunately, these guys didn’t cause any drama, allowing me to watch the last performance peacefully. On a day like this, I won’t curse anyone. BloodXGentle will never disband, they’re forever the kings of Chinese entertainment.]
*
Jiang Chuyi stayed with the film crew, and once she immersed herself in work, she rarely played with her phone. She could only make time to call Zong Ye at fixed times each week.
After the tour ended, they seemed to have many things to deal with.
She was basically disconnected from the internet, so she knew almost nothing about what was happening outside.
A month after the concert ended, despite fans’ urging, Zong Ye’s studio still hadn’t released his upcoming schedule.
Career fans cursed back and forth several times, but there was still no result.
Ever since BloodxGentle openly went solo, the “Yijian Zongqing” CP fans had been in a semi-manic state. They occupied half of Bilibili, and were constantly seeking attention on various forums, speculating about when Zong Ye and Jiang Chuyi would officially announce their relationship. Now that the group had disbanded, they didn’t need to hide anymore and could date openly.
The solo fans, already with nowhere to vent their anger, could no longer tolerate this. After several failed attempts to blow up the super topic, they officially declared war on these CP fans, determined to eliminate the “biggest tumor on the internet”.
What started as small-scale mutual insults escalated when big fans from both sides got involved, initiating a historic flame war for the ages.
When gods fight, mortals suffer. Even the production team of “Shining Stars” had old accounts dug up and suffered a new round of attacks.
At first, the more numerous solo fans had the upper hand, cursing that CP fans had mental problems and were shipping a hard candy based on some stupid edits, asking if they weren’t afraid of chipping their fake teeth. But CP fans weren’t pushovers either, listing various pieces of evidence. Solo fans quickly counter attacked, creating a 99-page PPT presentation and establishing several anti-defamation sites to clarify various “rumors and slander” against Zong Ye.
[I’m speechless. Have some conscience. Isn’t it enough that this no-name celebrity has ridden on your Zong Ye’s coattails for so much attention? What’s the problem? Is there really a problem? Zong Ye is truly pitiful…]
[Zong Ye’s fans are willfully blind. True love is always above everything. Zong Ye and Jiang Chuyi are perfect for each other.]
[The end result of shipping CPs is always the female side exploiting fans. We can already foresee Jiang Chuyi’s bloodsucking rise to fame. “Yijian Zongqing” CP fans say they want the best for both, but they’re forcing it. Ask yourselves, have any of you ever thought about what’s best for Zong Ye? Huh? Aren’t you all just indulging your own selfish desires? Aren’t you all just putting yourselves in the female’s shoes? Can you help him chart? Can you buy his magazines? Can you guarantee his popularity won’t drop if his relationship is revealed? Can you bring him 100 million at the box office? If not, then shut up!]
[In essence, you just have severe TOP cancer. You don’t want Zong Ye to date because you’re afraid he’ll lose popularity. Being a top star in the entertainment industry is glamorous, but aren’t top stars human too? Can’t they have someone they like? Why can’t you respect love and respect facts? How do you know we CP fans can’t help boost his sales and maintain his popularity?]
The situation escalated until a well-known paparazzo suddenly dropped two sets of photos, joining this historic flame war and giving the solo fans the hammer they had been asking for.
One set of photos was from the night of the Zero Degree Banquet, showing a dark figure getting into Zong Ye’s car, staying for half an hour, and then getting out. Another set from a few months ago showed the two embracing intimately on the roadside near Zong Ye’s home.
These materials were all very blurry and pixelated, without clear face shots. Only the figures of the two could be vaguely distinguished, leaving room for clarification.
Despite this, as soon as the news broke, it immediately exploded on Weibo hot searches. Public opinion was in an uproar, with several hashtags related to #ZongYeJiangChuyi# topping the charts again.
The news of BloodxGentle’s top star being in a relationship was an earthquake that shocked almost everyone. Marketing accounts rushed to repost, and suddenly the entire entertainment circle was eating this melon and watching the show.
Jiang Chuyi, who had been isolated from the world, quickly received the news.
However, she was mentally prepared for this and had anticipated that the day of going public wouldn’t be peaceful. After going through these messages, faced with Gao Ning’s inquiries, Jiang Chuyi calmly said, “Let’s not deal with it for now.”
Despite such big news, both parties’ studios remained silent, withstanding wave after wave of pressure, neither offering clarification nor following the usual practice of sending lawyer’s letters to sue the “paparazzi” for spreading rumors.
CP fans celebrated all night, pausing the flame war and excitedly waiting for an official announcement. On the other side, Zong Ye’s toxic solo fans went completely mad, shifting all their attacks onto Jiang Chuyi.
Various rumors about Jiang Chuyi spread. Toxic fans even dug up her old scandals with Qin Tong, reporting them to the Radio and Television Administration to ban this “artist with a bad record”.
In a short time, Jiang Chuyi’s Weibo timeline was completely washed with abuse from toxic fans, with all kinds of unspeakable insults and photoshopped obituary photos and unflattering pictures circulating. Besides this, all the dramas she had participated in were flooded with negative reviews, especially the new drama “September Rain”, whose rating dropped below 3.0 overnight, causing even the director to post on Weibo.
@Li Ming: I’m old now, and some of these traffic stars’ fans are really eye-opening. Chuyi is an excellent and very professional actress. At least her works shouldn’t be innocently affected.
Zong Ye’s studio and a series of support groups posted, trying to stop the behavior of certain fans and asking them to cease cyberbullying.
Verified big fans collectively spoke out, barely managing to control the comments, asking them to wait for the official final explanation. Most solo fans still had some rationality, but the attacks from toxic fans couldn’t be stopped. The situation was completely out of control.
Somehow, Jiang Chuyi’s phone number was leaked, and her phone was bombarded to the point of being shut off. Meanwhile, the filming location of “Qiao Shu” was also exposed, and she was harassed by sasaeng fans for several days in a row. After finishing filming, Jiang Chuyi was hit by eggs thrown by onlookers from afar.
She walked forward with her head down.
Little Zhong protected her while clearing the way and scolding the crowd.
With sticky fluid all over her hair and clothes, Jiang Chuyi returned to the hotel and took a shower.
Jiang Chuyi’s previous phone was forced to shut down, so she got a new SIM card. After drying her hair and sitting on the bed, she logged into WeChat and found many messages of concern.
Jiang Chuyi replied to each one carefully.
Chen Yi: “Damn, are you okay? I was about to die of anxiety when I saw the hot search. You’d better stay put these few days and don’t go anywhere.”
Jiang Chuyi: “I’m fine. The director even gave me a few days off~ It’s a good chance to rest for a few days.”
Chen Yi: “You call this fine? I was furious when I saw the hot search. Are those people sick or what? They even went to harass you on set?!”
Jiang Chuyi: “Huh? It’s on the hot search already? I haven’t even looked yet.”
Chen Yi: “Don’t look for now, there’s hardly any good words anyway. But what are you and Zong Ye planning? Are you still going to make an official announcement?”
Jiang Chuyi: “Zong Ye told me before that he planned to make the official announcement around mid-June after the concert ended. It’s just been leaked a few days early now, so there’s not much difference. It should be the day after tomorrow, right?”
Chen Yi: “I suggest you don’t make an official announcement. Just brush it off. Look at how crazy those fans are now. If you and Zong Ye really announce it officially, won’t they want your life?”
Jiang Chuyi: “Zong Ye’s success today is partly due to his fans. It’s not good to deceive them. Things need to be clarified eventually.”
Chen Yi: “Sigh, the industry is really too abnormal now. It’s not illegal for male celebrities to date, why is it such a big deal…”
Jiang Chuyi comforted her instead: “It can’t be helped. Zong Ye has too much traffic, high attention means more troubles. It’ll pass if we endure it for a while.”
After messaging Chen Yi, Jiang Chuyi clicked on Zong Ye’s avatar. During the half day her phone was out of service, he had sent many messages.
Jiang Chuyi called him.
He answered quickly.
“Hello? Chuyi?”
Jiang Chuyi explained, “My phone was just shut off, so I didn’t receive your messages. I got a new SIM card, I’ll send you the number later.”
Zong Ye was silent for a long time before saying, “I’m sorry, Chuyi.”
“Why are you apologizing to me?” Jiang Chuyi realized, “You’ve seen the hot search news too.”
His voice lowered, “Chuyi, are you very tired now?”
Jiang Chuyi wasn’t an unfeeling person. On the contrary, due to her profession, she was actually very sensitive. Facing the overwhelming insults and rumors, she was understandably upset, hurt, and wronged. But Jiang Chuyi could manage her emotions. When she chose to date Zong Ye, she had already anticipated this day. Because she was mentally prepared, she remained calm in the face of all the current turmoil.
Jiang Chuyi casually said, “Zong Ye, I’m not that fragile.”
Worried he might be concerned, she deliberately asked him in a light tone if he had thought about the official announcement text, and if Weibo would crash when they announced.
Zong Ye chuckled, “I’ve already thought it through.”
Jiang Chuyi was curious, “What are you planning to post? I haven’t figured it out yet.”
“I can’t tell you yet.”
Jiang Chuyi: “Other people discuss their announcements in advance, but you won’t tell me. Don’t tell me you’re planning to announce it yourself?”
Zong Ye remained silent.
He changed the subject, his voice serious, “Chuyi, I’ll resolve the impact on your work as soon as possible.”
“It’s not a big deal, just some people throwing eggs.” Jiang Chuyi wrinkled her nose, her tone nonchalant, “Maybe I threw too many eggs at others while playing cards, and now karma has finally caught up with me.”
“If there must be karma, let it all fall on me.”
Jiang Chuyi fell silent.
For some reason, upon hearing Zong Ye’s words, the emotions she had been suppressing for days finally relaxed. The negative and depressive feelings at the bottom of her heart slowly surfaced.
It seemed that no matter what happened, Zong Ye could unconditionally accept all of her and bear anything for her.
She didn’t have to pretend to be strong anymore.
Jiang Chuyi blinked back her tears and said ungratefully, “Don’t get sentimental here, I’m not blaming you for anything. Although I should blame you, who told you to insist on dating me in the first place, you’re the one who should be cursed the most.”
“It’s all my fault,” Zong Ye agreed, “It’s my mistake.”
She said defiantly, “Fine, let them curse. Worst case, I won’t act anymore. I’ll just lie at home every day, waiting for you to earn money to support me.”
“Okay, all the money I earn in the future will be yours.”
“I want to keep pets too.”
“I’ll help you take care of them.”
“And buy clothes.”
“I’ll help you buy them.”
“And go traveling.”
“I’ll accompany you.”
Jiang Chuyi laughed through her tears, hugging her pillow, “Zong Ye, actually I’ve been a bit scared since our relationship was exposed, but hearing your voice makes me feel at ease.”
“Don’t be afraid.” Zong Ye paused, then promised her, “These things will be over in a couple of days.”
Although she knew well that once their relationship was confirmed, the public opinion storm would definitely not be easily calmed, Jiang Chuyi was still greatly comforted by him. “I understand. I’ll be stronger, don’t worry about me.”
Their call lasted for a long time, not hanging up until late into the night.
Lying in bed, as her thoughts sank into darkness, Jiang Chuyi vaguely heard a sentence from the phone.
“Chuyi, I hope you can always be happy, always be able to do what you like.”
*
As they waited in vain for an official announcement, this internet frenzy continued for several days and nights. CP fans were busy cleaning up Jiang Chuyi’s Weibo square while engaging in a prolonged war of insults with toxic solo fans.
Marketing accounts that had been riding the heat suddenly went silent collectively, as if they had received some news. The paparazzi who had dropped the photos earlier also had no further movement. All negative news about Jiang Chuyi, including all true and false hot searches about her relationship with Zong Ye, were taken down overnight.
An anonymous account posted on Douban: “Industry insider, first-hand information, something big is going to happen tomorrow… something earth-shattering”
[Are Zong Ye and Jiang Chuyi going to make an official announcement?]
[I’m also betting on an official announcement. I don’t know why… It was so chaotic a few days ago, and now it’s suddenly so peaceful. It feels like the calm before the storm…]
[Zong Ye wouldn’t be so reckless, would he? Announcing at this critical moment, does he not want his top star position anymore? If he dares to go public, I’ll respect him as a real man]
[I have a feeling that after tomorrow, the Yijian Zongqing CP fans will really dominate the entertainment industry…]
In mid-June, all of Zong Ye’s endorsement contracts expired.
After completing the contract termination process, Zong Ye walked out of the conference room under everyone’s silent gaze.
Li Heyin was furious, cursing all morning at IM headquarters.
Meanwhile, most people were still going about their daily lives, taking buses and subways. Celebrity gossip was just a topic of casual conversation in their spare time.
Many things happened every day, with Weibo hot topics changing one after another – sudden heavy rain somewhere, a fire outbreak elsewhere, someone releasing a new song, another boy group debuting…
At noon, it rained in Shanghai.
On this ordinary noon when everything was happening as usual, a topic suddenly exploded on the hot search.
Because of this hot search, countless people flocked to Zong Ye’s Weibo.
However, when they clicked in, they found that Zong Ye had cleared all his Weibo posts, leaving only a final retirement statement:
My relationship is real. We’ve known each other since we were young, for over ten years now. Between her and me, from beginning to end, it has always been what I sought and wished for. I will bear all consequences, and I sincerely request that you no longer disturb her.
By chance, I entered this industry, and along the way, I was fortunate to receive flowers, applause, and honors. I deeply thank everyone for their love.
However, in this life of mine, all the splendor I’ve seen still can’t compare to a rainy day ten years ago.
I’ve been trapped in that rain.
From now on, I will no longer participate in any activities as a celebrity and will indefinitely retire from the entertainment industry.
My apologies.
Zong Ye / 2022.6.15
