"What?" Qin Zhao seemed to be texting, answering absentmindedly.
Ji Fei asked with a sly smile, "Isn't today the day Xinyue leaves? Didn't you go to the airport to see her off?"
Without looking up, Qin Zhao replied, "Their flight was at 6 AM. I came back after seeing them off and then called you."
Ji Fei was surprised, "You actually went to see her off?"
During this period, Qin Zhao hadn't openly sought out Chu Xinyue, except for adding a new moon icon after his name on his official Weibo account. He had been focusing solely on executing his plan to shift his work priorities.
But Ji Fei knew he had secretly gone to see Chu Xinyue, though he never dared to show himself.
[Oh, so he went to see her off secretly, and even cowardly used the company's name to upgrade their entire group to first class.]
Qin Zhao rolled his eyes. She already knew, so why ask? Just trying to poke at his heartstrings!
[Then he watched Chu Xinyue's cold demeanor from afar and saw her genuine smile, knowing she was truly happy to leave everything behind. His heart shattered, and he ran to the bathroom to wipe away...]
"Ahem! Are you done yet? Don't try to weasel out of your lessons!" Qin Zhao interrupted.
Qin Zhao: Shut up, you're going to crush my heart into pieces.
[Oh my, he's getting agitated! He must have remembered something heartbreaking. I heard he's going abroad to work behind the scenes, but it's actually because he's afraid Xinyue might see him if he's in the spotlight. He knows she'd be uncomfortable if she found out he followed her. Isn't he overestimating himself, thinking he'll definitely become famous overseas?]
Qin Zhao: ... Damn it, can't this mouth stop? Add more lessons for her!
[But he doesn't really think his silent protection is deeply romantic, does he? If Xinyue eventually discovers he's been clinging on all this time, she probably won't be moved.]
Qin Zhao: ... He's not trying to move anyone, he just... has no other choice. His heart has already left with her. He just wants to live under the same sky, occasionally steal a glance. Otherwise, he doesn't know what to do with himself.
As Qin Zhao was lost in thought, imagining Xinyue getting further and further away from him, he felt a pain in his chest and found it hard to breathe.
At some point, Ji Fei had finished eating and come to his side to call him. She glanced down at his phone screen.
Good grief, it was filled with dense green dialogue boxes.
She accidentally caught sight of a familiar avatar - it was Chu Xinyue's.
Good morning, good afternoon, good night. What did you eat? How did you rest? Is your progress going well? A string of caring messages, along with sharing of personal feelings and outpourings of love.
[This... isn't it still harassment even if they don't meet in person?]
Ji Fei asked incredulously, "There's not a single reply. Is it possible she's blocked you?"
Qin Zhao snapped back to reality and turned off his phone. "It's not hers."
Ji Fei: [I'm not blind, it clearly was... Huh? It really isn't... Oh crap, he's not crazy after all. He created a fake account pretending to be Xinyue and keeps sending messages to himself. Self-entertainment? You're treating it like a diary or memo pad?]
Qin Zhao turned his back to Ji Fei and walked out, his pace quickening, his expression becoming unbearably embarrassed.
He had always been an emotionally exuberant person. Even if he restrained himself from bothering her, he needed an outlet, or else he'd eventually break down and rush to harass Chu Xinyue. He had sworn never to give Chu Xinyue any more uncomfortable memories, so he could only send messages to himself, pretending they were sent.
In reality, the most he dared to do was send holiday greetings in their small group chat. He didn't even dare to contact her privately.
[Sigh, he's just another lovesick fool.]
Qin Zhao: I am not! I'm very clear-headed about what I'm doing! I'm not lovesick at all.
[No, he's not.]
Qin Zhao: See, I told you.
[Lovesick refers to those who actually have a partner. He's more like a devoted admirer. The most humble, invisible kind of admirer.]
Qin Zhao: ... Fine, I'll admire her all I want!
[Maybe when Chu Xinyue gets a partner, he'll only dare to silently wish her well, then cry in secret. It's just... karma, I suppose.]
Qin Zhao: ... I'll cry for you right now if you don't believe me!
Feeling emotionally drained, Qin Zhao led Ji Fei, the walking heartbreaker, to the studio, where they were urgently summoned by Gao Hao.
"What's wrong?" Qin Zhao asked the grim-faced Gao Hao.
Ji Fei sensed it probably had nothing to do with her, so she took the opportunity to sit on the sofa and catch a quick nap. She had gotten up too early.
"Didn't you say to cancel all my work?" Qin Zhao asked.
"Initially, it was to help pave the way for your... ahem, so we specifically asked them to reserve a spot for us. Canceling your group was already quite troublesome. Such a big variety show project wouldn't have agreed if it weren't for the face of Qin Corporation. But who knew the list would still leak? The news that you'll be participating has already spread online to some extent. I guess the Chu family was afraid you'd misunderstand and implicate them, so they've been suppressing the trending topics and emphasizing the news of Chu Xueqi's retirement due to illness, but it hasn't been very effective."
"No, we need to handle this PR issue immediately!" Qin Zhao became anxious too.
Even though he felt that Chu Xinyue, who had gone abroad, was 100% unlikely to see the news, and even if she did, she wouldn't care - he didn't need to narcissistically fantasize - he still couldn't bear the thought of any news linking him with Chu Xueqi being released. What if she saw it... She would definitely find it disgusting.
"Direct PR control will definitely lead to investigation. At times like this, it's better to guide than to block. We should just announce that you're participating, but not with Chu Xueqi," Gao Hao said, his eyes drifting towards someone who was about to fall asleep.
"This is a good opportunity. At most, it'll delay things by two months. It not only helps you say goodbye to the domestic entertainment industry but also gives her a chance to gain exposure. It couldn't be more beneficial."
Gao Hao nodded, satisfied with his crisis management skills.
They were taking two-thirds of the people from this studio with them. Even if they recruited new people, others would look at the future prospects of their artists. So they still needed to give Ji Fei one big exposure.
Ji Fei, half-asleep, shuddered. She had a bad feeling. When she opened her eyes, she saw the two men looking at her, which startled her.
"What? I'm not slacking off. I'm just waiting for instructions," Ji Fei said immediately.
"There's a variety show. We want Qin Zhao to take you along to participate," Gao Hao said, explaining the situation.
Ji Fei blinked, "What variety show?"
Gao Hao answered, "My Acting, Cut!"
"Is that the one that combines acting lessons, popularity competitions between teams, and has a semi-live broadcast format with various task completions?" Ji Fei summarized.
"Yes, it always has a steep rise in popularity during each broadcast period. It could make you famous overnight," Gao Hao coaxed.
"But I don't know how to act yet," Ji Fei said.
"That's why you go in to learn from various seniors. Even picking up one or two points would be immensely beneficial. You'll also get to know many seniors and build a lot of connections," Gao Hao explained.
Gao Hao was genuinely considering Ji Fei's future. If she wanted to occasionally slack off and make some money from time to time, it would be best to enhance her advantage in looks, becoming an actress who could easily do cameos, or occasionally take on variety shows. All of these required popularity.
"Won't I get severely criticized?" Ji Fei asked suspiciously.
"The first few episodes always have complete newcomers. The audience's attitude towards newcomers is generally friendly. Even a little progress will be encouraged. Those who participated in the past have all developed well afterwards. Of course, some chose to take the controversial route and enjoyed the traffic dividends," Gao Hao said. "It all depends on how you choose to present yourself. After all, there's also a live broadcast segment where there's no script. It's hard to put on an act even if you wanted to."
Ji Fei thought for a moment, but still shook her head and refused, "It sounds very tiring. I don't really want to go." Then she said to Qin Zhao, "You made this mess, you deal with it."
Qin Zhao had guessed Ji Fei would refuse. After all, this show was really exhausting to film, not suitable for a laid-back person like Ji Fei.
"I'll do all the hard work," Qin Zhao tried.
Ji Fei: "Please, it's a live broadcast. If I just stand there motionless, won't your fans curse me to death?"
"Both our appearance fees will go to you."
"Have you forgotten? This is the variety show you negotiated for Chu Xueqi, so you're appearing for free, with no appearance fee. I've seen the contract," Ji Fei pointed at the documents Gao Hao had just handed him.
Gao Hao gave a dry laugh.
Qin Zhao said helplessly, "Don't you want to make money? In this industry, popularity is money."
Ji Fei replied, "I do want to make money, but this show would make things escalate too quickly for me."
She wasn't some female protagonist who had traveled through time. How exhausting would that be? Why torture herself trying to be an attention-seeker? She'd much rather be an extra, a background character, a wealthy NPC spectator in this world, content with just watching others' drama unfold. So, staying low-key was just fine.
Qin Zhao was about to give up when suddenly, inspiration struck.
"This show actually has some intense conflicts. The first few episodes were partially live-streamed, so viewers missed out on a lot of juicy scenes. They've missed quite a bit of gossip."
Hmm?
Ji Fei sat up straight, frowning at Qin Zhao. "Really? Is that true?"
"This time, apart from our pair, the other four couples are extremely dramatic."
Ding! Ji Fei's eyes lit up, playing along perfectly, "Oh? Is that so?"
Gao Hao immediately caught on and chimed in, raising his voice:
"A secretly married superstar actor and his former on-screen romantic partner that fans used to ship."
"The top male lead from fantasy wuxia dramas and his ex-girlfriend's current boyfriend!"
"A veteran actor known for loving his wife, paired with the 'Most Beautiful Yang Guifei' who's been blacklisted by the wives of industry bigwigs."
"A rising starlet who just dumped her boyfriend but is now forced to pair up with his mother."
Ji Fei felt a jolt of excitement and waved her hand.
"I'm in!"
[If I don't get to witness this drama firsthand, I'll regret it for the rest of my life!]
