Gu Qingtong woke up because of an urgent phone call from Sun Xiao. She groggily opened her eyes, but before she could answer the call, her eyes instinctively scanned her surroundings.
She noticed that Yan Chi wasn’t by her side, but there was still a lingering warmth where she had been. At that moment, everything from the previous night replayed vividly in her mind. She also instantly recalled her feelings and the determination she had made in her dream.
This was the first time in over twenty years that she had genuinely fallen for someone. Gu Qingtong looked at the creased bed sheets beside her, her face turned red, and she felt her heart racing.
This shyness was different from before, filled with the infinite fantasies and emotions of a young girl. At this moment, Gu Qingtong realized more than ever that she had shared a bed with the person she liked, and it felt so intimate.
So even though Yan Chi wasn’t by her side at the moment, it was enough to fill Gu Qingtong’s mind with countless thoughts. It wasn’t until her phone’s ringtone suddenly stopped that she realized why she had woken up.
She snapped out of her daydream-like state, rubbed her eyes, and crawled over to the phone on the bedside table.
Sun Xiao was obviously not planning to let her off the hook. As soon as she had the phone in her hand, WeChat messages started flooding in.
“What’s going on? So early in the morning?”
Gu Qingtong was clearly unaware of the significant events and turning points that had occurred during her night’s sleep, and she was quite bewildered.
Asian Star Media was a small and unimpressive company, without even its own public relations department, and its response was quite sluggish. It was already late in the morning, and no one seemed to care about their artist until Sun Xiao woke up and discovered the changing trends. She started frantically calling Gu Qingtong to get her out of bed.
[You and Yan Chi got caught on camera! Last night, Yan Chi sent you back, right? The video of you two princess-style carrying was posted online…]
Almost as soon as she read the message, she froze in bed, her mind going blank, with only three words floating through it: Caught on camera?!
Wasn’t this a disaster? How could they expose it just like that?
Suddenly, she remembered the question Yan Chi had asked her yesterday: “If we were caught on camera, would you choose to go public?”
Was Yan Chi referring to this incident?
Gu Qingtong didn’t have time to ponder, nor did she read the subsequent messages from Sun Xiao. Right now, all she wanted was to see what was happening in that video!
However, when she clicked on Weibo’s hot topics, there was no sign of the expected coming-out relationship. Instead, what currently dominated the top trending topic was #Gu Qingtong Saves Falling Fan#?
What was going on?
Gu Qingtong was too afraid to click into it, and her eyes anxiously scanned further down the page, only to find trending topics related to clarifications and legal notices.
Clearly, she and Sun Xiao were late to the party, and everything had already been sorted out, leaving them in a state of urgency.
When she returned to her chat with Sun Xiao, she saw Sun Xiao’s later messages:
[Even though I don’t really understand why, it seems like the crisis has already been resolved. Yan Chi doesn’t appear to have taken any significant action, and you…..it looks like you’ve gained popularity because of this?]
What does “popular” mean…does it mean I’m trending as a rumored lover of Yan Chi?
Gu Qingtong clicked on the trending topic with a mind full of confusion, and after reading for a while, it was actually the summary from the devoted fans of the “Silent Gaze” that helped her understand the ins and outs of the situation.
She learned that paparazzi had captured a video of a princess carrying in the parking lot and posted it online, leading to baseless rumors that she was being kept by Yan Chi. But netizens and certain management figures quickly clarified that it was due to a foot injury.
In a coordinated series of responses, they fiercely fought back against the paparazzi account trying to defame her. The video of her saving someone also went viral and directly made it to the top trending spot, nearly rivaling the coming-out trending topic from the previous night.
Gu Qingtong stared blankly at the video posted on Bing Tang Xue Li’s fan site and the comments from her fans, showering her with affectionate compliments, heartfelt concern, and numerous new followers.
What was this? Turning a crisis into an opportunity? But it was really good…there were really so many people!
Although she had experienced a few moments in the trending topics with Yan Chi before, having everyone’s attention focused solely on her, receiving countless compliments every second, was something Gu Qingtong had never seen before.
Her instinctive response to saving others, as seen when she rescued Yan Yijia and Tan Siying previously, never made her feel particularly remarkable.
Now, seeing everyone enthusiastically praising her, her face had become somewhat flushed. What’s more, her dedication while filming despite her foot injury was brought to light by a certain fan site, and other directors and actors she had worked with also came forward to assist with clarifications.
Tan Siying came forward and mentioned that in the past, Gu Qingtong had saved her when she was still a background actress. She openly admitted that Gu Qingtong had worked even harder than herself in those days, only lacking opportunities. Director Bu also talked for the first time about why he had chosen Gu Qingtong to participate in “Love Game.” He mentioned that Gu Qingtong was his most admired young actress among the current generation.
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These industry professionals had always noticed Gu Qingtong’s diligent efforts over the years, and they could easily recount several instances from the past. Overnight, it seemed that all her habitual behind-the-scenes hard work had been revealed to everyone. However, at the time of doing all this, Gu Qingtong had never thought that the cumulative small steps over days, months, and years had led to such a significant transformation.
After all, at any time, people were moved by those who were sincere and hardworking. Thinking about the origin of all this, her heart had skipped a beat. The initial revelation of her relationship not only had no impact on Yan Chi’s career but also, by relying solely on her personal charm, she had gained the affection of her fans. This result had given her great confidence, resonating with the courage from her dreams.
For the first time, Gu Qingtong realized something: the distance between her and Yan Chi didn’t seem as far as she had imagined. Perhaps she…could really stand by Yan Chi’s side. Whenever she thought of Yan Chi, Gu Qingtong would check her work studio.
That’s when she noticed that, apart from sending legal notices to those rumor-mongering netizens claiming they were in a “sugar mommy” relationship, there hadn’t been any official statements regarding their relationship. The fans had already seen clear evidence and didn’t seem to care about the lack of a statement. After all, it was just a photo of them in a princess carry pose, and the foot injury had already been clarified. There was no need to specially come out and say they weren’t in a romantic relationship.
But Gu Qingtong’s mind began to wander. Yan Chi didn’t deny…was it in preparation for a future public acknowledgment? This was in complete contrast to the speculation Gu Qingtong had made the night before, concluding that they had no intention of revealing their marriage.
The thought of this possibility made Gu Qingtong’s heart race. Everything was stirring up her emotions again, but this time, she didn’t want to keep her feelings hidden. She wanted to convey this newfound genuine affection to Yan Chi and get a response. But how could she do it?
With no prior experience, Gu Qingtong’s mind went completely blank, making her feel like a love novice. A confession….should she confess her feelings? This was the only option that came to her mind.
But in the next moment, she recalled the awkward and sudden confession she had made to Yan Chi earlier when she was trying to play a prank for a task. That memory was clearly not a pleasant one, and she vividly remembered how annoyed Yan Chi had been at the time.
Thinking about this, Gu Qingtong realized that she might get herself into trouble again if she confessed without any warning. Yan Chi might think she was lying!
Everyone knew the story of the boy who cried wolf, and Gu Qingtong deeply regretted her past actions. She wished she could go back and give her naive, past self a good scolding.
Moreover, back then, the reason she couldn’t confess was that she had already started to like Yan Chi. Gu Qingtong tried to imagine the awkward scenarios that might unfold, and it seemed like all the romance would be ruined. This was her first time realizing her feelings for someone and summoning the courage to pursue love. She couldn’t afford to mess up a confession like that!
With all this in mind, Gu Qingtong quickly ruled out the option of a direct confession. She had once again stumbled upon her own knowledge gap: how do you pursue a girl? Especially someone like Yan Chi, a mature and composed big sister?
Gu Qingtong pondered for a while, considering her next move. She decided to search online for advice, but as she started typing “How to pursue an older sister…” she heard the sound of the doorknob turning.
It was Yan Chi! Gu Qingtong was so startled that her phone almost fell onto her lap. She scrambled to retrieve it while nervously glancing in the direction of the door.
As Yan Chi entered the room, she immediately locked eyes with Gu Qingtong, who had the appearance of someone caught red-handed doing something wrong. What kind of secret had her little friend been keeping from her?
There was a hint of something in Yan Chi’s eyes, but it didn’t show on her face. She just looked at Gu Qingtong clutching her phone tightly.
Gu Qingtong had indeed exited the webpage just before Yan Chi came in, and with an attempt to confuse her, she went back to her own trending topic about saving someone.
“I-I can’t believe I’m trending!” Gu Qingtong nervously licked her dry lips, trying to divert Yan Chi’s attention to avoid revealing her own feelings.
After a final glance at the video’s cover, Yan Chi refocused her gaze on Gu Qingtong’s face. She asked: “Do you know everything now? It’s my negligence. When I brought you back home yesterday, I noticed the paparazzi following my car, and I had a hunch that they might have caught us hugging earlier. Although I managed to shake them off later, I never expected them to move so quickly, revealing this late at night and causing you to be subjected to these false rumors.”
Yan Chi’s words landed clearly in Gu Qingtong’s ears, and she raised her head in astonishment. Finally, she understood why Yan Chi had questioned her like that last night. It turned out….that everything was just a misunderstanding on her part.
“No worries! I’ve actually benefited from this misunderstanding. When I saw the lawyer’s letter, I knew they would pay for their actions,” Gu Qingtong said, feeling sweet and relieved now that the misunderstanding had been cleared up.
She continued in her usual manner, having finally let go of the tension and guard in her heart. However, Yan Chi gazed into her eyes with seriousness and a hint of stubbornness, saying one word at a time: “It’s not benefiting from a misunderstanding. Everything you’ve achieved is the well-deserved result of your hard work. It’s long overdue.”
Although Yan Chi had learned about Gu Qingtong’s injury due to saving someone the day before, it was only today, after watching the video that went viral, that she truly saw how Gu Qingtong had saved someone. Watching the unprofessional security personnel by her side, Yan Chi felt that the magazine company had truly lucked out. Gu Qingtong might be a bit of a fool at times, always clingy and persistent, but in crucial moments, she never considered herself. Yan Chi chose not to tell Gu Qingtong about her thoughts.
The reason she received so much attention and love this time, apart from the video and the clarification that evoked empathy, was undoubtedly due to Hua Yan’s subtle behind-the-scenes support. This was why Yan Chi had gotten up early to go to work, personally overseeing everything.
Hearing this, Gu Qingtong was stunned, feeling like her heart was filled with cotton candy. Yan Chi’s affirmation meant more to her than all the praises she had seen online. While in the past, it was encouragement from her pursued idol, today, it was the person she loved, paying attention to her and affirming her, standing unconditionally by her side, and speaking up for her.
Realizing this change, Gu Qingtong’s face flushed, and her heart felt like a deer leaping erratically. She instinctively avoided Yan Chi’s gaze, lowered her eyes, and it seemed like she could even hear her heart beating.
Yan Chi also looked at Gu Qingtong’s rosy cheeks and her shy eyes, and couldn’t help but smile. In the past, Gu Qingtong only blushed because of Yan Chi’s explicit words or actions, but now, why was she becoming even more bashful? Perhaps seeing her like this was just too endearing, and it made Yan Chi reluctant to tease her further.
Yan Chi didn’t say anything more and instead shared the news she had just learned: “Because of this incident, Director Bu just contacted me and asked if we can proceed with the filming for the third episode of the variety show tonight. What do you think?”
She had been so busy during this period, with auditions and shooting, that she had almost forgotten about her commitment to the “Love Game” variety show. The day after the variety show, they were scheduled to film the next episode.
But today, when their video was exposed, even Director Bu stepped in to help clarify the situation. So, it’s no wonder she came to double-check. Gu Qingtong had just been praised by Yan Chi and countless netizens for her professionalism. How could she back down now over such a trivial matter? She forgot about her blushing and heartbeats and eagerly responded: “Of course, no problem! The more some people spread rumors about us, the more I want to attend events and participate in variety shows to show them.”
“Then, I’ll reply to him now, but there will probably be quite a few reporters and paparazzi waiting on the way to the shoot tonight. We might need Sun Xiao to pick you up.” This was their first public appearance together since the recent incident, and this shoot was a transparent, public event. So, it was best not to travel together, right?!
Gu Qingtong also nodded, saying: “Then, I’ll inform Sun Jie1Big Sister Sun as well.”
Yan Chi walked out, but instead of immediately replying to the director, she opened a certain social media platform. The interface was paused on a familiar scene, which happened to be the same video that Gu Qingtong had opened earlier – the one showing her saving someone. Although she had watched the video just now, her attention had been focused on Gu Qingtong in the frame. However, now she noticed something new – the fear and anxiety clearly written on her little friend’s face, as if there was a secret hidden within the video. She watched it again, paying more attention to the surroundings and the people. Just then, she suddenly paused the video, her gaze fixing on the face of the fan whom Gu Qingtong had helped up. Taking a closer look, that face did seem somewhat familiar.
After a moment of thinking, Yan Chi remembered that she had indeed seen this person. It was during the ending of the first shooting for “Love Game.” At that time, Yan Chi and Gu Qingtong were on the stage for a breakfast-feeding mission, and this fan was part of the audience below, observing the shoot. It was obvious that this fan knew Gu Qingtong, as she had even waved to her from a distance. Initially, Yan Chi had thought that this fan was one of Gu Qingtong’s fans. However, she later noticed that the canvas bag she carried was a movie premiere souvenir that only her own fans would have. This didn’t raise much suspicion at the time because there were no rules against her fans knowing Gu Qingtong. Yan Chi didn’t pay much attention to fan circles, and after the variety show ended, she hadn’t thought they would cross paths again.
But now, seeing this fan again and recalling Gu Qingtong’s nervous reaction, Yan Chi couldn’t help but have the urge to dig deeper. The video was posted by the fan who was saved, and Yan Chi, without much thought, clicked on her profile and started scrolling through her posts.
Almost all of her Weibo content consisted of photos from events she attended, interspersed with some retweets. Just as Yan Chi had guessed from the canvas bag, this fan was indeed a fan of hers. There was not a single piece of content related to Gu Qingtong. It made sense because these personal fan accounts dedicated to her as a celebrity wouldn’t post about other stars.
Yan Chi didn’t find any useful information, and was about to exit, but her attention was drawn to a familiar picture. It was one that Xiao Jun had shown her before, a photo taken during a rehearsal for a young actors’ development program. However, she remembered that the photographer wasn’t this person.
This was a repost from “Bing Tang Xue Li,” and Yan Chi’s eyes fell on the Weibo ID. Sure enough, it was “TT,” the name she had inexplicably remembered. Even though it appeared to have no connection to Gu Qingtong, Yan Chi clicked on it because of the familiarity.
Despite hearing the name more than once from Xiao Jun, this was her first time visiting the profile. Yan Chi continued to click into two fans’ profiles and noticed that her actions today were quite different from her usual self. She began to wonder if she was being overly sensitive.
This account was quite different from other fancifully named and decorated fan accounts. It seemed more like a personal account. Yan Chi had seen the profile picture countless times elsewhere, a picture of herself holding a black umbrella, wearing a red evening gown, walking down the red carpet in the rain.
It was from the opening ceremony of a charity film festival. Everything was kept simple, and the rainy weather had made the organizers consider canceling the red carpet. But Yan Chi insisted and walked through the rain with grace.
“Charity film festival,” Yan Chi muttered these words, her eyes narrowing slightly as she remembered. Gu Qingtong had mentioned in an interview with the host that she had first met Yan Chi at a charity film festival.
But even without hearing this information, Yan Chi had already scrolled through Gu Qingtong’s personal Weibo countless times before their union. They hadn’t attended many events together, and it wasn’t difficult to remember them. Subtle connections once they occurred started to grow intricately.
Yan Chi stood quietly in front of the French window, her silhouette appearing as distant and cold as usual. However, her fingers didn’t stop and kept scrolling through her Weibo feed.
All of these posts were images taken by this “TT,” and many of them were pictures even someone like Yan Chi, who usually stayed away from online matters and fan circles, had seen. It wasn’t just about the technical aspects; nearly every picture was infused with the photographer’s emotions and dedication.
She understood all of Yan Chi’s charms and appealing qualities, combined them with the surroundings, and magnified Yan Chi’s beauty to the fullest. Moreover, in her photos, Yan Chi, who was already a beauty, appeared even more distant, often exuding an aura of looking down on the world from a high place. This was why her photos were more captivating than those taken by professional photographers like Hua Yan.
Every event, it all matched perfectly. Even that young actors’ event where they were shooting a rehearsal, clearly because they couldn’t take official photos.
The information she had discovered many days ago now became a crucial piece of the puzzle in Yan Chi’s mind. With all these coincidences….could they still be considered coincidences?
Yan Chi’s expression remained unchanged, but her eyes, focused intently on the unfolding posts in her feed, were already filled with unknown emotions.
The photos continued until the last one, the same red dress image that had been in her profile picture, the same day they had first met. Even though they had come this far, Yan Chi dared not make any conclusions. After all, if it were as she suspected, then Gu Qingtong had been paying attention to her for at least a year, right?
Yan Chi’s lips curled into a bitter smile. This was the very thing she had been waiting for all this time. Her heart was burning, and even her normally cool fingers felt hot, causing her to hesitate as she swiped the screen. Apart from Gu Qingtong, there was no one else who could stir up so many emotions in Yan Chi.
After the photos, the subsequent posts were all text, and just as she had felt when she first entered, it was like a personal account. There were many posts, and Yan Chi patiently scrolled down, not wanting to miss any information.
A young girl had written a lengthy rant in her posts: “I’m about to graduate. My classmates have always been ahead of me since we started school. My hopes of catching up to them in the end have been a failure.
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Fortunately, I won’t starve to death with a meal to eat! After graduation, I have to work even harder for my dreams! I want to become as outstanding as Teacher Yan!”
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“Today, I got criticized by my mentor again. I tried so hard to memorize, but I just can’t seem to do it right. Does Teacher Yan face such difficulties too? I heard she studied at a foreign business school, so she must be really smart, unlike clumsy me. Well, I guess I’ll continue to study, or I’ll embarrass myself again tomorrow!”
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“Ah, ah, ah, for the first time, I got praised! The internship during this summer vacation wasn’t in vain, wuwu! I’ve endured more hardship this summer than in the first half of my life, but it was all worth it! Listening to Teacher Yan’s advice was indeed the right choice!”
Going through each post, the cute expressions of the young girl, her joys and sorrows, seemed to leap off the screen. Every time Yan Chi saw herself in the posts, her heart skipped a beat. Clearly, this young girl had always seen Yan Chi as the idol she chased after.
