Even with numerous doubts in her mind, Gu Qingtong couldn’t control her drowsiness under the influence of the fever. In the car driving along the mountain road, the swaying motion quickly lulled her to sleep.
Unfortunately, besides the overwhelming sensation of being trapped in a paradox between fire and ice, Gu Qingtong couldn’t continue the dream she had before. As Yan Chi drove, she occasionally glanced at Gu Qingtong who was leaning against the window, sleeping.
At this moment, Yan Chi understood that Gu Qingtong fell ill because of her. Even though she shouldn’t have been so impatient, didn’t she manage to suppress her feelings for so long out of fear of scaring Gu Qingtong?
Yan Chi knew she had pushed herself too far. Even though she had long been aware that Gu Qingtong didn’t harbor romantic feelings for her, hearing the truth directly from her mouth felt like an unrelenting flame that threatened to consume her consciousness. It was as if… she feared that Gu Qingtong would never be capable of loving her. Despite being accustomed to controlling everything, as Yan Chi usually did, now she felt an inexplicable powerlessness. She might console herself with patience, but it couldn’t dissolve the growing doubts and paranoia that were overtaking her emotions.
Although she had no idea where these emotions originated from.
Next time, she wouldn’t be like this.
She would patiently wait.
However, Yan Chi didn’t anticipate one thing: her own fever and Gu Qingtong’s repeated bouts of fever had the same underlying cause. Both were ignited by each other, seemingly a punishment for their desires and intimacy.
It silently existed there, waiting for the day when the secret would be uncovered.
This time, Gu Qingtong’s fever was more severe than before. Even though she was wearing a decent amount of clothing, her fingers felt colder than the freezing air around her. Her lips were slightly cracked from the fever, her cheeks were flushed, and the hot breath she exhaled against Yan Chi’s neck was scorching.
Her facial features were also twisted, a result of both discomfort and the unresolved question.
After a brief slumber, Gu Qingtong was awakened by pain. In her hazy vision, she realized she was in a hospital bed.
A nurse was pulling at her wrist to conduct a skin test, and the fine needle went directly into her snow-white wrist.
The pure pain and visual stimulus made Gu Qingtong gasp urgently, her eyes welling up with tears in an instant: “Wuwuwu, it hurts so much…”
Although it was painful, she didn’t dare move, knowing the needle was still in her skin.
She could only stiffen her entire body and wait for it to come out.
The ordeal finally ended, and Gu Qingtong instantly pulled her right hand under the blanket.
During the time waiting for her reaction, the nurse hung the IV bag, which she dreaded, onto the hook.
“I don’t want an injection!”
At this moment, she couldn’t care about anything else. Gu Qingtong only knew how to reject the thing she feared the most with her whole body.
While saying this, she was about to prop herself up with her soft body and escape under the bed.
But a hand that extended from the side grabbed her immediately.
Yan Chi was sitting by the bedside, as if she had a premonition that she would try to escape. Her voice was gentle and soothing to the extreme at this moment: “It’ll be over in a moment, Tongtong, be good.”
“Huh?!” The nurse didn’t expect such a strong reaction to an injection from an adult.
No wonder Yan Chi had just specifically instructed that patients, especially those sensitive to pain, should avoid injections whenever possible.
While she typically didn’t pay much attention to trending gossip, she naturally knew Yan Chi was a celebrity. Seeing Yan Chi being so doting towards Gu Qingtong at this moment, she didn’t think of it in a romantic context. She assumed that Yan Chi was just taking care of a friend or a younger sister.
She enthusiastically said: “It’s alright, I used to work in the pediatric IV room. Yan Chi told me that you’re afraid of pain and asked me to come. Those little babies don’t cry.”
“Wasn’t it enough to take medicine last time? I can take medicine, as long as I don’t get an injection…”
Gu Qingtong looked up with teary eyes, pleadingly gazing at Yan Chi beside her. It seemed as though if Yan Chi gave in, she wouldn’t have to endure this suffering.
Her voice was weak and hoarse, making her seem even more pitiful.
“It’s different this time.”
Yan Chi looked at Gu Qingtong, who was frightened to that extent, feeling heartbroken but also helpless. She could only use her fingertip to wipe away the tear that had fallen from her cheek with a soft sound.
Gu Qingtong’s high fever didn’t subside, and it even triggered some inexplicable inflammations. The fever-reducing medication wasn’t working well either. In order to bring down the fever quickly and prevent further infection, they had to resort to intravenous treatment.
The nurse watched as Yan Chi employed both gentle and firm tactics, managing to restrain the struggling and restless Gu Qingtong. After a brief standoff, realizing that the time had come, the nurse acted swiftly and decisively, moving in to insert the needle.
Feeling the tightness of the strap around her wrist and the cold antiseptic applied to the back of her hand, Gu Qingtong had already started crying out of fear, completely disregarding her appearance.
But with both Yan Chi and the nurse holding down her hand, she couldn’t budge an inch. She was trapped and helpless, unable to do anything but cry.
The more frightened she became, the more she wanted to watch. Despite Yan Chi’s efforts to stop her, she strained to see the nurse inserting the slender needle, releasing droplets of liquid.
If Yan Chi hadn’t held her down, her whole body would have trembled slightly.
Yan Chi’s mildly cool palm covered her eyes, preventing her from looking: “Don’t be afraid, it won’t hurt.”
Not knowing when the pain would arrive, Gu Qingtong became even more anxious. In the arms of the other person, she sobbed and cried, tears streaming down her face.
“You’re really sensitive to pain….the little babies in the pediatric department next door don’t make such a fuss,” the nurse tried to divert Gu Qingtong’s attention, and at that moment, the needle was swiftly inserted.
Gu Qingtong let out a muffled cry as the needle went in, transitioning from fear-induced tears to the sensation of pain.
The injection was a quick procedure, but Gu Qingtong had been crying for a while. After the nurse left, she remained snuggled against Yan Chi’s shirt, feeling wronged.
“I-I never used to get sick before, it’s all because of you…getting injections and taking medicine, wuwuwu,” she complained. In a retaliatory move, she wiped her tears all over Yan Chi’s meticulously neat shirt.
“I told you not to move!”
Last time, one could argue it was a coincidence, but this time Yan Chi couldn’t deny that after being with her, Gu Qingtong inexplicably fell ill.
She could only console her one sentence at a time: “I won’t do it again, I won’t bully Tongtong anymore.”
Neither of them realized that they were each other’s source of sickness.
Once her tears were exhausted, and Gu Qingtong had vented enough, she slowly got up from Yan Chi’s embrace. The upper part of Yan Chi’s shirt was damp, showing signs of her successful retaliation.
She had cried for a long time tonight, her eyes were already red, making her look like a distressed little rabbit.
“Tongtong, go to sleep. I’ll keep an eye on the IV for you. After a good sleep, everything will be better.”
She grabbed a tissue and wiped away the tears on Gu Qingtong’s face, gently rubbing her nose. It was clear that she was tired and sleepy.
But now, Gu Qingtong’s mind was no longer preoccupied with the injection, instead, she recalled the dream she had just had.
She looked at Yan Chi with confusion, finally finding a moment to ask the question that had been on her mind: “Yan Chi…before the marriage alliance between us, have you seen me before?”
At this moment, she couldn’t even be sure if the things in her dream had really happened. The only way to start unraveling this was to ask Yan Chi, the person by her side. After all, telling someone that the world was like a book would sound crazy without any context.
So, Gu Qingtong hesitated for a long time and could only ask in an indirect manner. If the events in her dream had truly occurred, perhaps Yan Chi might also feel familiar with her in some way. And maybe…it was possible that Yan Chi, like herself, had memories from the original novel?
However, this question momentarily froze Yan Chi. While she had indeed seen Gu Qingtong, it had even happened before the secret scheming at the Yan family banquet… it had happened even earlier. But why was Gu Qingtong suddenly asking about this? Had she discovered something that Yan Chi had been deliberately hiding all this time?
“Yes, I have seen you.”
At that moment, Yan Chi wasn’t entirely sure how to proceed. She was afraid that lying might lead to further suspicion from Gu Qingtong, so she decided to tell the truth.
After a moment of silence, she continued, her emotions hidden behind a cloud of uncertainty in her eyes.
Unexpectedly receiving a definite answer, Gu Qingtong immediately pressed for more details: “When? I’ve never heard you mention this before…”
“Three years ago, during the summer, when I was filming in the movie studio. At that time, I didn’t know you were the young miss of the Gu family.”
Yan Chi’s voice was intentionally lowered, as if she was trying to convey the information in a calm and ordinary manner.
Gu Qingtong hadn’t expected to get this kind of answer. Although it didn’t seem related to the dreams she had been having, she was still taken aback. Three years ago, during the summer? In the movie studio?
What Yan Chi said was accurate. There was indeed such an incident. It was during Gu Qingtong’s first year of college, during the summer break. She had worked hard to repeat a year and had been admitted to the Beijing Film Academy. However, after entering her class, she found herself surrounded by child stars or up-and-coming actors and actresses with exceptional talents. In contrast, she felt like she had come from nowhere and had a significant gap to bridge.
They were all receiving invitations for supporting or even leading roles, while she was still being criticized by professors for her formulaic and stereotypical acting, done only to pass exams.
In order to improve her acting skills, she immersed herself in the movie studio for three months. She started from the very basics, playing background roles and stand-ins, portraying countless faceless passerby cannon fodder characters. It was during those three months that her acting abilities grew rapidly. When she started her sophomore year, even her professors in acting classes were amazed by her progress.
At that time, Gu Qingtong had indeed heard about Yan Chi’s visit to the movie studio for location shooting. However, it was only for a brief scene involving a unique building, and the entire crew stayed for just a week. Gu Qingtong hadn’t even seen any casting calls for extras from Yan Chi’s production team. Otherwise, if given the chance, she would have wanted to appear in the same movie as Yan Chi, whom she had been pursuing all along.
But back then, she was just a minor role, a background stand-in…..how could she have caught Yan Chi’s attention and made her remember?
As Yan Chi looked at Gu Qingtong’s increasingly perplexed expression, she knew that Gu Qingtong was recalling the past.
Continuing, Yan Chi explained: “The adjacent filming location to my set was the explosive set for another production, used for filming wartime explosions and air raids. On the day I encountered you, it seemed that there was an issue with the scheduled explosion for that set.”
As Yan Chi mentioned this, Gu Qingtong immediately remembered which scene she was referring to. She had been cast as a student caught in an airstrike for a war-themed movie. In order to create a more realistic and intense scene, they had hired numerous extras to fill the backdrop.
Normally, for this type of scene, the director would give the command to start running, and the timed explosion would happen behind them. Gu Qingtong had reached the next designated spot to wait, and suddenly heard a faint ticking sound coming from the pile of fake explosives nearby. After a moment of confusion, she realized that it was a countdown….to an explosion?
However, it wasn’t supposed to explode at that moment. Looking back, she saw that other extras were resting right next to that pile of explosives. Without hesitation, Gu Qingtong rushed over and tackled a girl of similar age to her, rolling her away from the danger zone.
In that moment, the timed explosive device indeed detonated.
The female extra who had been bumped aside was mostly fine after falling to the ground, experiencing only minor discomfort. On the other hand, Gu Qingtong suffered the most severe impact from the explosion, injuring her shoulder and back.
Indeed, it had been a set accident caused by an oversight of the pyrotechnician who had mistakenly set the wrong timing for the explosion. It had almost led to a major disaster. However, considering the production team’s swift response, sincere apologies, immediate medical attention, and a significant compensation, Gu Qingtong didn’t hold a grudge against the crew.
It was only now that Gu Qingtong realized why Yan Chi had remembered her. Feeling a bit embarrassed, she remarked: “Ah—so you remembered me because of my act of bravery.”
Upon hearing this, Yan Chi’s gaze lowered slightly, seemingly trying to conceal something. Still, she replied in a nonchalant tone: “…..Yes, I heard about it. You got injured while trying to save others.”
As they talked, different images from that day flashed through Yan Chi’s mind. She had actually encountered Gu Qingtong in the medical room at the film studio. Yan Chi had gone there to pick up medication but had entered the wrong room.
The moment she pushed open the partially closed door, she happened to see a young girl sitting on the edge of a bed with teary eyes. The girl’s fair back was exposed, and a nurse was tending to her wounded shoulder. She appeared to be in immense pain, her entire face covered in tears, struggling not to let her sobs escape while biting her lip tightly.
The corners of her eyes, the tip of her nose, and her rosy cheeks combined to create a vibrant picture on her fair and tender face. The faintly colored teardrop mole, now tinged with a shade of red, seemed to almost grasp Yan Chi’s heart.
Although she was just injured, her expression resembled that of someone who had been deeply wronged. Yan Chi had never encountered someone whose tears could touch her heart through tears like that. In over twenty years, it was the first time that she had felt moved merely by the expression of a woman.
However, Yan Chi’s initial reaction to this surge of emotion was not positive. She was someone who remained detached and indifferent to everything, devoid of feelings. Paradoxically, the stronger the emotions, the more she sensed the danger of losing control.
There was even a feeling…
The other person is just a stranger, so why did she feel this restless agitation towards a stranger?
Yan Chi’s reflex was to dispel these feelings. So, in almost an instant after snapping back to reality, she suppressed this inexplicable emotional response, quickly masking it, and left the room.
Perhaps it was because the emotions in Yan Chi’s eyes had been unguarded at that moment, and even her former assistant who trailed beside her felt it. Her curiosity about that woman was not as simple as it seemed.
As they walked back, the assistant casually mentioned that there had been an explosion accident in the adjacent filming crew. One of the injured individuals was a minor extra who had saved others. The assistant also inquired whether Yan Chi wanted her to investigate the identity of that extra.
Being noticed by others for her emotions, Yan Chi’s resistance in her heart grew stronger, so she directly declined.
Little did anyone know that the glimpse she had caught that day, a glimpse that held an indescribable allure, would lead to the persistent feverish episodes that followed, becoming her “condition.”
In one unreal encounter after another, from the first time she saw her silently enduring tears to the increasingly elusive and crimson dreams, Yan Chi’s obsession took root.
Later on, after the television series from the adjacent filming crew aired, Yan Chi even found herself inexplicably compelled to watch it, only to not see the face she had encountered in her dreams.
Yan Chi had opportunities to investigate who “she” really was.
However, after watching that show, Yan Chi realized that her concern for that dream had far surpassed her expectations. She deliberately avoided revisiting it and made the decision to forget everything entirely.
However, that thought persisted until Yan Chi’s encounter with Gu Qingtong at the Yan family banquet.
In that moment when she saw that face, all resistance and prior thoughts seemed utterly defenseless, shattering almost instantly.
On that day, Yan Chi finally learned her name was “Gu Qingtong,” the renowned and willful young miss of the Gu family. She also discovered that she was the promised fiancée of Yan Song, her half-brother from another mother…..
Seeing the countenance she had coveted countless times in her dreams standing so prominently beside her half-brother, all reason was consumed in an instant.
From that moment on, the web had already been woven, a carefully orchestrated plan to draw Gu Qingtong into her orbit.
If initially, Yan Chi had taken Gu Qingtong for her own due to an obsession and the dreams that had afflicted her like an “illness,” now her motivations had changed significantly.
After getting to know and indulging in Gu Qingtong’s every whim, Yan Chi found herself transformed in her presence. Every emotion seemed to be involuntary stirred by Gu Qingtong.
She understood and indulged in all of Gu Qingtong’s little tantrums.
Even more so, she couldn’t pinpoint when it began, but her demands grew increasingly insistent. Whether it was the irresistible urge to draw closer or the desire for a place within Gu Qingtong’s heart.
The reason Yan Chi hesitated to reveal the truth to Gu Qingtong was, of course, rooted in those initial unsavory thoughts and obsessions.
She couldn’t even fathom why, from the very first moment she laid eyes on Gu Qingtong, she found herself repeatedly entangled in an intoxicating fantasy.
The only explanation was that her “illness” was indeed profound.
If she could have cured herself of this affliction, she wouldn’t have painstakingly sketched every detail of Gu Qingtong’s countenance onto paper, resembling a fervent enthusiast who yearned but couldn’t possess.
Yan Chi took a deep breath and looked at Gu Qingtong. At least for now, she hoped these secrets would remain concealed forever.
Gu Qingtong, however, was entirely unaware of Yan Chi’s thoughts. She was simply shocked that Yan Chi had seen her from back then. Three years ago, she was just a college student, yet she had already caught Yan Chi’s attention.
Even if she hadn’t received answers from her dreams, the mysterious workings of fate had brought a sense of joy to Gu Qingtong, relieving her from sickness and anxiety. At the very least, when Yan Chi decided to marry her, it was because she had discovered that she was different from the rumors, someone who stood up for what was right and helped others!
This realization gave Gu Qingtong a small sense of satisfaction, allowing her to believe that perhaps her relationship with Yan Chi wasn’t solely due to good fortune, and that she possessed her own merits.
“Why did you suddenly ask me this?”
Yan Chi observed her expression, knowing that she was happy because of her evasive answer. However, this realization weighed heavily on Yan Chi’s heart, making her feel inadequate in comparison to Gu Qingtong’s innocence.
This question immediately brought Gu Qingtong back from her secret joy, reminding her of the purpose behind her inquiry. Clearly…Yan Chi hadn’t been influenced by those original plot memories.
In the midst of her disappointment, Gu Qingtong began to doubt the authenticity of her dreams, which she couldn’t determine to be true or false. Why did she place so much unwarranted trust in things beyond reality? Perhaps all these dreams were just products of her imagination?
If she truly had the responsibility of awakening her memories, why didn’t the entity manipulating her choose someone much smarter and capable than Yan Chi?
With these thoughts in mind, Gu Qingtong decided to temporarily set aside her fixation on this matter. Regaining her composure, she turned to Yan Chi and expressed another concern that had been on her mind:
“Because I often wonder how someone as ordinary as me could be chosen by you. Why are you treating me, who is merely a business arrangement, so well?…”
As Gu Qingtong spoke, her voice grew softer and softer. She had never before revealed these feelings to Yan Chi. However, since the day Yan Chi proposed their engagement, Gu Qingtong had never forgotten about it. Perhaps the more she felt insecure, the less she dared to bring it up.
Until now, encouraged by Yan Chi’s inadvertent praise and support, she mustered the courage to voice her thoughts. After she finished speaking, Gu Qingtong almost couldn’t bring herself to look at Yan Chi, as if her words had once again highlighted the disparity between them. It was as if the feeling of being unable to catch up, not through her own efforts but through the influence of the other person, was momentarily dissolved.
This was the first time Yan Chi had heard Gu Qingtong confess like this, and she stood frozen in place, her mind momentarily blank. In the next instant, she cupped Gu Qingtong’s face in her hands, allowing her to gaze directly into Gu Qingtong’s eyes. Yan Chi’s voice wavered:
“Is it because you feel unequal to me that you sometimes seem distant and withdrawn?”
Since their marriage alliance began, Yan Chi had often told Gu Qingtong that their relationship was purely for business purposes, going so far as to fabricate stories about needing the Gu family’s support to compete for inheritance rights. She did this out of concern that revealing her true feelings might frighten Gu Qingtong away.
Gu Qingtong naturally accepted Yan Chi’s words without any doubt. At the beginning of their marriage, Gu Qingtong had made it clear that they would each take what they needed and that she wouldn’t interfere with Yan Chi’s life and career.
Yan Chi had intentions towards Gu Qingtong from the start, and Gu Qingtong was aware that, from her perspective, she was just a stranger she had met face-to-face. It was all to secure the shares from Grandfather Gu, and she might not be any different from Yan Song.
Yan Chi had first bound Gu Qingtong to her through the marriage, and only then did she gradually reveal her emotions. Clearly, conveying these feelings to Gu Qingtong had been a very slow process.
But until today, Gu Qingtong had revealed all of this to her in a sudden revelation. Hearing Yan Chi’s question, Gu Qingtong widened her eyes and stared at Yan Chi’s pale irises as if she might be drawn into the emotions they held. Without thinking, she blurted out the truth:
“…I-I feel like being too close to you might trouble and burden you.”
For example, when they participated in the variety show together, Yan Chi would help complete all the tasks. Yan Chi had even faced criticism from others because of their perceived closeness…
There were too many things like that, and as Gu Qingtong thought about them, a slightly embarrassed emotion couldn’t help but appear in her eyes.
“What’s so remarkable about me? I’m just a bit older than you, and I’ve achieved some insignificant accomplishments. You saved Yan Yijia, and you saved that group of extras from the set, almost every time without considering yourself; that’s what’s truly remarkable.”
Yan Chi spoke, gazing deeply into her eyes and saying each word deliberately:
“Tongtong, you’re the most special presence to me. It’s never a matter of inequality.”
At the last moment, Yan Chi didn’t continue. Some words were becoming harder to conceal. Since the time she had stepped out from the Fate Tree, she had nearly been swayed by Gu Qingtong’s words to the point of nearly letting her true feelings slip. But now was clearly too early for that. After all, the person she liked so much was the same slow and dense person who was still grappling with whether they were worthy of this marriage.
Listening to Yan Chi’s unusually formal tone, Gu Qingtong’s face flushed slightly. The most…special presence?
Just this one sentence was enough to fill Gu Qingtong’s small world. She treated those she didn’t care about with complete indifference to their opinions, but when it came to someone like Yan Chi whom she cared about, every word and action could influence her emotions.
At this moment, Gu Qingtong suddenly felt a surge of courage. She had the courage to tell Yan Chi that she was the person she cared about the most.
“Yan Chi, you, you’re actually….the person I care about the most.”
She stumbled through her words, her face turning bright red. By the end, she almost seemed to hold her breath, mustering her courage to finish her sentence. But as soon as she said it, she seemed overwhelmed with embarrassment. She quickly wriggled free from Yan Chi’s grasp, hiding her face in the pillow, not wanting Yan Chi to see her flustered appearance.
“You didn’t hear anything, I… I’m going to sleep!”
Gu Qingtong’s muffled voice came from the pillow, sounding subdued and soft. Yan Chi hadn’t expected to receive such a sweet confession at the end of the night.
Seeing Gu Qingtong, who was too embarrassed to show her face, Yan Chi temporarily suppressed her impulse to kiss her.
After Gu Qingtong settled into the covers, the effects of the medicine and her fever quickly took over, and she fell asleep. Yan Chi, on the other hand, remained by her bedside, staying awake all night.
The serene atmosphere seemed to be quite fitting for calming Yan Chi’s increasingly restless mood. She looked at the small mound under the covers and felt her heart soften even more.
As long as she was patient and waited for the day when the flower would bloom, all the waiting and nurturing would eventually yield results. She was confident that one day, Gu Qingtong would kiss her of her own accord.
❖❖❖❖❖
The next morning.
As the director’s team assembled, only five out of the seven guests showed up.
The guests looked at each other and then turned their gaze to Director Bu.
“Gu Qingtong suddenly had a high fever last night. Yan Chi took her to the hospital down the mountain, so she won’t be able to continue participating in the recording today,” Director Bu revealed the truth.
He had received a call from Yan Chi not long ago, and that was when he learned about their situation. Although he didn’t know the details of what had happened, Director Bu naturally advised them to take a good rest.
When Chu Yu heard this news, she was truly surprised.
Gu Qingtong was perfectly fine when she saw her last night. How did she suddenly get sick?
Having recently been teased about gossip, Chu Yu couldn’t help but jump to various wild speculations again.
Could it be that Yan Chi and Gu Qingtong’s mood was ruined by her and Bai Jin’s intrusion, so they left early to engage in that kind of activity for safety reasons?
“Director, after all, she fell ill during the variety show. Maybe we should pay her a visit,” Bai Jin, as another informed person, suggested.
“Yan Chi said that Gu Qingtong is doing fine now, so there’s no need to trouble everyone,” Director Bu conveyed Yan Chi’s words. Although it was politely phrased as not wanting to trouble everyone, it was evident to everyone that they wanted Gu Qingtong to rest quietly and not be disturbed.
Chu Yu’s expression suddenly became more obvious. They’re not allowing anyone to visit her? It looks like there’s definitely something fishy going on!
Today’s shooting was about revealing the three hidden tasks planned from yesterday and proceeding to the next phase of grouping.
The revelation of the hidden tasks was quite simple. Among them, Gu Qingtong and Yu Xi were paired to play pranks on themselves, while Bai Jin had the task of pranking all the other guests.
Therefore, it quickly came to the grouping stage.
After the show’s previous sneaky grouping tactics, this time everyone remained still. Nobody dared to even glance in the direction of others, fearing they might accidentally get paired up.
“We will be introducing new guests in the next episode, so we’re planning to use a completely new set of rules for grouping. The new guests have missed out on a few episodes due to their recent entry, which puts them at a disadvantage. Therefore, they have the priority to choose their partners for all the pairings.”
Hearing this, everyone expressed their dissatisfaction:
“The new guests are getting such great benefits! Why were we treated so unfairly when we were newcomers?”
Only Bai Jin’s expression subtly changed, clearly indicating that she knew the new guest being introduced in the next episode was Yun Mingxuan, whom she had invited.
After the shooting was over, Bai Jin didn’t leave immediately. Instead, she walked to the front desk alone.
She clearly hadn’t forgotten about what happened before.
“Hello, can I check the bill for the checkout? I’m a guest from the program, the one who booked a lot of rooms for the whole team. My room number is 109, the hot spring single room.”
Since all the rooms were booked by the program, the front desk attendant didn’t know which guest was in room 109. Seeing that Bai Jin was a celebrity, they didn’t doubt her and immediately fetched the bill for her.
The hot spring hotel had a multitude of charges, with several columns for various medicinal bath materials. As expected, among the densely packed rows of charges, one line had been marked with a check. Bai Jin was overly confident; she roughly compared it and quickly confirmed it was that particular line, considering the price was also fitting. She discreetly placed the bill on the table and secretly snapped a picture with her phone.
“Is there any issue with the bill?” the front desk attendant inquired, their voice reaching her.
Bai Jin smiled, shaking her head and returning the items: “No, it’s fine. Thank you.”
After a while, the show’s production team’s financial staff also came to settle the bills. Seeing the bill for room 109, they couldn’t help but mutter: “Hey, why did Teacher Yan and Gu Qingtong buy a bottle of water for over fifty bucks?”
❖❖❖❖❖
When Gu Qingtong was brought back home by Yan Chi, her fever had already subsided. The fever had come quickly and gone just as swiftly, unlike a typical cold that would leave one feeling uncomfortable and coughing. It was as if she had been punished and warned for what she and Yan Chi had done.
On the other hand, Xiao Yan had already urged Yan Chi to head to the filming location. Initially, Yan Chi wanted to decline due to Gu Qingtong’s illness, but she was firmly rejected by Gu Qingtong, who claimed that she couldn’t be a burden.
Watching Yan Chi’s car drive away, Gu Qingtong felt a sense of melancholy. It seemed like she hadn’t received any good opportunities besides this variety show recently. Sister Sun had even said she became famous because of the show, what kind of fame was that? She was just an unemployed person with no work to do. Just as she was pondering this, Sun Xiao’s call came right on schedule.
After asking Gu Qingtong how she suddenly got sick and confirming that she was better, Sun Xiao said: “Since you’re fine, I’ve taken on all those jobs for you!”
“Huh? What jobs?” Gu Qingtong looked bewildered, never having heard sister Sun mention anything about it before.
“What else could it be? Naturally, after the broadcast of ‘Love Game’ the day before yesterday, there was a sudden surge in interest, and everyone wanted your resources. On the first night, your “Silent Gaze” took over the trending topics. And with those scenes you had with Yan Chi on the variety show yesterday, let me tell you, you might not know this, but you’ve already climbed to the top of the CP1Couple Pairing list!
You’ve even become the first female-female CP to reach the top! You’ve beaten xxx…”
As Gu Qingtong’s manager, Sun Xiao had definitely done her homework in advance, mentioning quite a few highly popular celebrity CP from the entertainment industry.
With her limited mental capacity, Gu Qingtong couldn’t process multiple things at once. Only now did she belatedly open Weibo to see what had happened after her livestream from the previous day. She then realized that, despite her efforts to distance herself, the “Silent Gaze” CP fanbase had already amassed fifty thousand fans. Chaos ensued as fans speculated and analyzed every detail of the skiing lesson, capturing each moment frame by frame after the livestream.
“What on earth is this? How come there are rumors that Yan Chi and I are going to participate in a certain magazine cover shoot?” Gu Qingtong frowned as she looked at one of the bloggers who was shamelessly spreading these false claims. She thought, ‘Don’t believe rumors and don’t spread rumors!’ After all, ‘Mousha’ is one of the top five fashion magazines in the country. How could she possibly make any claims about it, let alone being on the cover? These people’s imagination must be so rich to come up with such outrageous claims.
There was an eerie silence from Sun Xiao on the other end of the call. Then she said: “It’s not a rumor, it’s true. I arranged it with Yan Chi’s manager when you were on the variety show yesterday. The contract has already been signed.”
Choking on her own saliva from shock, Gu Qingtong coughed uncontrollably: “A CP shoot with Yan Chi? How could you not tell me about this?!”
Who could have imagined that the main character would find their information within the trending topics for the CP? Sun Xiao sounded quite innocent as she explained: “It’s not like I intentionally kept it from you. It’s just that Yan Chi’s manager suggested that we collaborate freely for promotional purposes. If there are suitable resources, they’ll also recommend them to us. Through those connections, I’ve managed to line up quite a few resources similar to the level of top five magazines for you. Once the travel dates are confirmed, I’ll let you know. You won’t believe it, there are even offers for same-sex films coming in. They want you to play the female lead for the first time.”
In an instant, Gu Qingtong understood almost everything.
Previously, Yan Chi had been quite discreet in her dealings, not really accepting advertising endorsements or various projects.
Now, due to the layer of their “Silent Gaze”, it seemed Yan Chi was more willing to open up. As a result, various opportunities were flooding in.
“Hey hey, this won’t work. I haven’t agreed to anything yet! How can I just ride on Yan Chi’s popularity like this? Wait, no, I’m planning on untangling from her. Going together for events and endorsements, am I out of my mind?”
In Gu Qingtong’s still hoarse voice, there was a sense of urgency.
“You didn’t mention it earlier. I’ve already secured a few of them for you. Backing out now would result in significant breach of contract penalties. Plus, it might offend two other parties simultaneously. Of course, offending the financial backer’s father is a minor issue. If it affects Yan Chi’s side…”
Sun Xiao was intentionally pressing Gu Qingtong’s sore spots.
Gu Qingtong fell silent, feeling helpless: “…Can’t I just participate?”
