Gu Qingtong was initially browsing Yan Chi’s fan forum. With Yan Chi’s 15th-anniversary film exhibition approaching, she knew it would take place right after their filming wrapped up. Most of the fans invited to Yan Chi’s exhibition had already been confirmed, and the invitations were said to be on their way.
Regardless of whether they could attend, Yan Chi’s fans were camping out in the forum, hoping to snag an invitation from the big names. Despite having already conspired with Xiao Jun to attend secretly, Gu Qingtong still confirmed with Yan Chi’s studio that they should send her invitation and related items to Yan Yijia’s address, hoping to avoid detection.
This period on set was likely her last bit of leisure. Since rising to fame from the variety show and movie, she had become one of the hottest celebrities recently. Her fanbase was steadily growing, rivaling that of many other popular stars. In the entertainment industry, popularity is paramount, and many collaboration offers had come her way. However, Gu Qingtong had temporarily turned them all down.
During her time on set, she wanted to fully immerse herself in the shooting and honing her acting skills, not rushing into external engagements.
Sun Xiao, although respectful of her decision, had been eagerly lining up a slew of engagements for her to take on once she left the set. Moreover, the side story for “Love Game” was waiting for her and Yan Chi to start shooting once they were out of the set.
After painstaking coordination, it was tentatively decided that after wrapping up the shoot, she would only have one day of rest before she and Yan Chi would need to participate in a live broadcast for the variety show. This broadcast would allow the audience to interact and choose the honeymoon trip route and the activities they would need to complete.
The weekend following this live broadcast would be Yan Chi’s film exhibition. Both she and Yan Chi planned to manage their schedules during that week so they could participate in the honeymoon shoot the following week.
Gu Qingtong had already begun preparing for this. She asked Sun Xiao to keep her weekend free and subtly hinted to Yan Chi that she would be extremely busy running around for various engagements, implying she might not have much time to spend with her. Everything seemed meticulously planned, with no apparent room for mishaps.
Feeling quite pleased with herself, Gu Qingtong set up her plans confidently, unaware of what was about to unfold. As she was thinking about these things and scrolling through the fan forum, two messages suddenly popped up. The notification flashed so quickly that Gu Qingtong only managed to see that the sender appeared to be the assistant director. Seeing this contact immediately put her on high alert, switching her into work mode.
Purely out of reflex, Gu Qingtong switched to alert mode. Although the director was Yuan Jingyu, who personally handled and checked every aspect of her work due to her high standards, it was usually her assistant director who communicated any adjustments to the script or shooting schedule to the actors. The assistant director functioned more like the director’s aide, handling miscellaneous tasks while learning from the master.
This particular assistant director was somewhat aloof and serious, contrasting sharply with the other amiable, often smiling crew members. Gu Qingtong found her a bit intimidating and uncomfortable to interact with. Consequently, whenever she received notifications or instructions from her, Gu Qingtong would become highly attentive and focused.
Steeling herself, Gu Qingtong opened the chat. There were two messages: one was a group chat invitation, and the other was a document. Seeing the document, she immediately assumed it contained revisions or additions to the script. The document was titled “Pregnancy,” which puzzled her since she couldn’t recall any character in “Bai Mei Sheng” being pregnant.
Realizing she needed to study the script carefully, she downloaded the document to review it later without distractions. Then, her eyes moved to the group chat invitation.
“Bai Mei Sheng Acting Appreciation?” Gu Qingtong read the group name aloud, suddenly understanding. It seemed the group was created to enhance their acting skills. This was precisely what she needed!
Although the assistant director appeared aloof, she remembered to recommend this group to Gu Qingtong, revealing her as a genuinely considerate person! However, recalling the numerous times she had been corrected by Director Yuan on set, all under the assistant director’s watchful eye, Gu Qingtong couldn’t help but feel a wave of embarrassment. She thought the invitation might have been a subtle hint for her to improve.
Previously, Gu Qingtong would directly seek out the assistant director to learn from her, so she didn’t hesitate to join the group. The assistant director had given the CP1Couple Pairing fan group such a serious name to avoid suspicion, especially from the two main actresses, who might otherwise notice their fangirling. This had an additional benefit: the group members relished critiquing Gu Qingtong’s “unfamiliar” acting as a pretense to share their observations and enjoy the CP moments, seeing through her denials but never mentioning it outright.
The group wasn’t really about appreciating the acting skills of the “Bai Mei Sheng” cast but was focused on dissecting Gu Qingtong’s performances to find hidden CP moments. The serious name led Gu Qingtong to join the group without hesitation, thinking it was genuinely for professional development. This misunderstanding ironically set the stage for an awkward situation, exemplifying how such social blunder continues to occur.
As soon as Gu Qingtong entered the group chat, she saw new messages popping up continuously. The whole group was quite active. She recognized many of the profile pictures; they were indeed crew members and other actors.
Initially delighted, Gu Qingtong was about to introduce herself, but before she could tap on the dialog box, a newly popped-up message caught her eye, making her hands tremble.
[This morning, I saw Tong Mei getting up for breakfast at the restaurant! Although she sat far away from Teacher Yan, someone who never gets up early unless there’s a scene in the morning is obviously having breakfast for someone’s sake. No need to say more, right~]
[Holy crap, sharp eyes, sister!! Are they dating? They must be dating?! I’ve hit the jackpot again, thanks.]
[Aww, little couples are like this. But getting up early is Tong Mei’s lifelong enemy. I bet in less than three days, Gu Qingtong will give up on coming to the set early like last time. Cherish these two days of spectator time.]
Seeing these three familiar IDs saying these things, Gu Qingtong was so shocked that she stood frozen on the spot. She had seen many similar CP comments in the bullet chats of variety shows and the “Silent Gaze” super topic, so she was quite familiar with them.
It couldn’t help but make Gu Qingtong start to doubt herself. Was she in a “Silent Gaze” CP fan group or in the crew group?! Gu Qingtong immediately opened the group introduction page to confirm, and indeed, it was the crew’s acting appreciation group. Did she open it the wrong way?
This was too strange!
The crucial point was that what they were gossiping about completely matched the real situation. Early this morning, she had indeed decided to accompany Yan Chi for breakfast, hence her early appearance in the restaurant. But even so, she hadn’t really woken up in the morning. It was Yan Chi who coaxed her out of bed and helped her change her clothes, still half-asleep.
Why were they so skilled at this? They seemed to have a complete grasp of her psychology. They even anticipated that she would act nonchalant as if nothing had happened in two days!
But that wasn’t the point. The point was why they were discussing these things! These words were like a beam of light, momentarily clearing the fog in Gu Qingtong’s mind. Suddenly, she recalled the lack of reaction from everyone in the crew regarding the inadvertent interactions between herself and Yan Chi, the fake smiles whenever she was around, and the extraordinary effort they put into cooperating with her in acting out the “I’m not familiar with Teacher Yan” scenes.
Could it be…..the whole crew knew about their relationship, and she was the only one left in the dark?!
But she was still stunned and clueless about what to do next.
Finally, someone amidst the rapid flood of messages in the group chat noticed the notification of a new member joining the group. Moreover, that young actress was Gu Qingtong’s WeChat friend and had the habit of giving people unique nicknames, unlike the assistant directors.
So, when she saw the notification saying “‘Silent Gaze’ fan head invites ‘Gu Qingtong’ to join the group chat,” she was stunned. She clicked on it to confirm three times, finally verifying that the new member was indeed Gu Qingtong herself.
Upon returning to the group chat and seeing the screen full of discussions about “sugar,” her vision blurred, and with trembling hands, she typed out a sentence:
[Has anyone noticed… we have a new member?]
The ‘Silent Gaze’ fan head replied:
[She’s the stage assistant Xiao Zhang I mentioned last time, who’s currently in development with us! Finally, she joined our drama crew’s CP fan group and became one of our family!]
The assistant director happened to be there too. Without even checking who had been added to the group, they explained to everyone.
It wasn’t until this moment that Gu Qingtong finally understood—she had indeed mistakenly entered the ‘Silent Gaze’ CP fan group, rather than a group formed by members of the drama crew. It was probably because the assistant director accidentally sent something intended for Xiao Zhang to herself, leading to this tragic misunderstanding.
Clearly, both sides were trapped in this “social death”; those indulging in the CP discussion felt like dying, while the one being discussed felt utterly mortified. So, should she… should she make a run for it now?
But Gu Qingtong’s sluggish brain hadn’t yet produced any reaction when enthusiastic group members swarmed around her.
[We’re all sisters here, and we’re quite familiar with this Xiao Zhang. We know she’s here for gossip. Everyone eagerly volunteered to introduce themselves:
[Sister! Don’t be shy. I just organized a comprehensive resource pack for G’s ‘Silent Gaze’ content. No matter your XP2experience, you can find everything here. Feel free to share it with your family!]
[Seriously, after experiencing so many CPs, ours still stands out. You can take a look first, and if you’re interested in the pair, you can delve into the real deal. Of course, we might scream and go crazy in the group, but don’t be alarmed!]
[Wait, this doesn’t seem like Xiao Zhang…]
Unable to bear seeing uninformed individuals dance around in front of the main character, the group member who initially alerted everyone about the newcomer couldn’t help but despairingly type out these words.
This sentence abruptly halted the fervent promotion, and suddenly, a sense of unease wafted through the air. Everyone scrambled to check who this new person really was in the message records.
When everyone saw the familiar name “Gu Qingtong,” they all thought, “We’re done for.”
Their real-life CP discussions and countless resources were caught red-handed. What were they going to do?! And they were all colleagues in the industry. From now on, there would be no avoiding each other, making it impossible to cooperate again!
Seeing the whole group fall into silence, Gu Qingtong knew she had been exposed. Realizing she had already reached such a level of “social death,” there was no need to run away anymore. Any future encounters with them would only be more awkward.
Summoning her courage, she decided to clarify whether everyone in the crew knew about her and Yan Chi.
[It seems the assistant director invited the wrong person, sending the group chat meant for Xiao Zhang to me instead. I saw the name and thought it was a discussion group for acting techniques, so I joined…..]
As Gu Qingtong typed out these words, her fingers tingled from the awkwardness.
The assistant director had just returned from checking the message records, obviously fully aware of what had happened. What’s worse, not only had Gu Qingtong joined the group chat, but she had also received those fan fictions. She just didn’t know if they had been seen yet!
She remembered how she always presented herself as serious and reserved in front of Gu Qingtong, and it took her a while to send a teary-eyed cat emoji.
[Teacher Yan and I]
Gu Qingtong hesitated after typing out those words, unsure whether to stubbornly deny everything like before or to probe their opinions, to see just how much everyone in the crew knew.
Because what those CP fans said was too accurate. Not only did they perfectly describe the facts, but they even guessed her inner struggles. This made Gu Qingtong feel incredibly guilty, unable to utter those worn-out words of “I’m not familiar with Teacher Yan” anymore.
Little did she know that one of the three who had just been discussing CPs in front of her, had snapped out of the trance of “social death.”
Thinking, “Even if it’s come to this, it’s worth it!” this bold individual bravely asked Gu Qingtong: [are in a relationship?]
This sentence almost blew up the group chat. It was too direct! Yet, almost everyone awaited Gu Qingtong’s response.
Despite the mounting evidence and some even witnessing Gu Qingtong stealing a kiss from Yan Chi offset, it was a matter of perspective whether it was on the cheek or the lips. From the very beginning, people speculated they were in a flirtatious stage, to now assuming they were already girlfriends, in a committed relationship. But speculation was one thing; getting confirmation from the main character was entirely another.
The other person’s confident tone further flustered Gu Qingtong. Already feeling guilty, she wondered just how much evidence this person had seen of her and Yan Chi’s intimate moments.
But under the watchful eyes of so many people, almost as if they were craning their necks for a response, Gu Qingtong finally knew she couldn’t hide anymore and decided to come clean:
[Regarding me and Teacher Yan, how much do you all know?]
[Not much, really…..it’s just that you,Tong Mei, often show some easily noticed flaws, but we never had the heart to confront you.]
Gu Qingtong gnashed her teeth in impotent rage at this response. Asking this question seemed to unleash the full investigative prowess of the CP enthusiasts, who each recounted the sugar they had discovered before. Gu Qingtong realized, how could this be “not much”? It was clear that they had seen everything!
It wasn’t until one group member accurately described catching her and Yan Chi stealing kisses in private that Gu Qingtong realized just how much they knew. They had even seen the kiss itself? Gu Qingtong felt that these group members were still holding back.
At this point, why bother asking her anymore? It was obvious. They were not only in a relationship but legally married.
Unable to bear it any longer, Gu Qingtong also sent a teary-eyed cat emoji: [Stop it. Teacher Yan and I…..indeed have that kind of relationship.]
For the first time, she publicly came out, albeit forced. But Gu Qingtong couldn’t help but feel something when she saw the flood of “congratulations” and “99s3Chinese internet slang meaning long-lasting” in the group chat.
Suddenly, there was a mysterious sweetness in her heart, as if she had finally received everyone’s blessings. So many people thought that she and Yan Chi were so well-matched. Would they still need to sneak around in the future? Maybe being open wasn’t as scary as she had imagined!
Holding her phone, Gu Qingtong’s cheeks flushed red. Clearly, she felt both embarrassed and happy because of everyone’s cheers and blessings.
In the end, the matter was resolved with Gu Qingtong’s public announcement, a conclusion that resurrected everyone’s social lives.
However, to avoid further embarrassment, Gu Qingtong insisted on leaving the group chat. But after she left, she received a message from the assistant director:
[Um…..the document I sent you was actually meant for Xiao Zhang. It’s a fanfiction about you and Teacher Yan. I’m confessing my guilt about sending it to you. Since today’s image is already beyond repair, I must warn you: if you haven’t seen it yet, please, for the love of all that’s good, do not open it! It might be a bit… shocking…..]
Only after the aftermath of coming out of the closet did Gu Qingtong finally come to her senses, remembering about the document. Suddenly, it dawned on her. Could the name “Pregnancy” be…..Could it be…..some kind of infamous genre?!
Gu Qingtong had only heard of it but had never seen it herself.
She looked at the document, quietly lying in her folder, already downloaded. Her throat moved, swallowing hard.
