Zhi Yao was originally unaware of this matter until a few minutes later, when Sister Su's deadly text messages appeared once again!
[Sister Su: Oh my god!! Did the OTP I shipped actually become real??]
[Sister Su: Zhi Yao, how could you betray me after I treated you like a little sister, no, a precious daughter! Tell me the truth - have you and Pei Chiyao been together all along? Spill it!]
[Sister Su: I've noticed something off about you two for a long time, very off! Every time Pei Chiyao looks at you, his gaze is like molten silk, who would believe he doesn't like you?]
She is a level 10 VIP in the YaoYao OTP fan club! The fans there have dug up evidence long ago - whenever Pei Chiyao attends other events, no matter if it's men or women, young or old, human or animal, his gaze is indifferent, as if they don't exist. Only Zhi Yao...
Tsk tsk tsk, the eyes never lie about a person's heart, you know?! They've scrutinized Pei Chiyao's eyes with a tenfold magnifying glass - the way he looks at Zhi Yao is filled with love!
Never thought today would be the day Pei Chiyao finally lost his cool for his ladylove and went public.
Sister Su kept sending a barrage of messages.
[Sister Su: Whether it's 6 or God Yao 6, we don't care if he loses fans! Zhi Yao, you're so blessed!]
Zhi Yao stared at Sister Su's deadly text messages in complete confusion, unable to make sense of it.
She replied, and Sister Su responded almost instantly.
[Sister Su: Girl, couldn't you just surf the web like normal people? Quick, check Weibo!]
Zhi Yao immediately opened Weibo, and was dumbfounded at what she saw!
Her Weibo had been swarmed...
By Pei Chiyao's fans.
Some were forcing Zhi Yao to deny the relationship, while others had resigned themselves to the fact, telling Zhi Yao to take good care of Pei Chiyao.
Saying Pei Chiyao should hurry and film more, his back isn't doing so well...
But Zhi Yao thought... his back seemed perfectly fine!!
When she nervously clicked on Pei Chiyao's page and saw the Weibo post he made, Zhi Yao nearly fainted!
Had Pei Chiyao been hacked too??? Huh???
She immediately rushed back to her room.
"Pei Chiyao, have you gone mad!"
Zhi Yao stared at Pei Chiyao in utter shock, not even daring to approach him.
Older Brother Sun had warned her before - her relationship with Pei Chiyao must never be exposed, as it would deal a devastating blow to her budding career and also affect Pei Chiyao.
People would say she resorted to underhanded means to climb to the top... in short, all sorts of vicious rumors would spread!
Zhi Yao wasn't too concerned about her own career - she had simply wanted to satisfy her acting itch by starring in The Legend of the Fox Demon, and was already content.
What she truly worried about was Pei Chiyao.
She had seen how adored he was... she couldn't bear the thought of him becoming disliked because of her.
"Yao Yao, come here." Pei Chiyao sat on the pink sofa in Zhi Yao's room, yet his presence seemed perfectly natural, like a prince in a princess's castle waiting to welcome her.
Zhi Yao was nearly in tears, standing rooted to the spot in a seeming display of defiance, refusing to approach him.
Pei Chiyao sighed helplessly, then got up and embraced the sulking girl. "What's wrong? What's wrong? Why the sadness again?"
He thought she would be overjoyed.
Pei Chiyao had long grown weary of all this sneaking around. Eventually, someone would capture photos of him and Zhi Yao together, and he didn't want to deny it...
His Zhi Yao was destined to shine brightly in the entertainment industry. As time went on, more and more people would covet her.
He couldn't take it anymore - he had to acknowledge it now, had to tell the whole world that Zhi Yao belonged to him.
Zhi Yao sobbed, unable to speak for a long while.
Pei Chiyao patiently comforted her. "Why the tears? Do I seem so unworthy? Are you that reluctant to let others know about our relationship?"
His tone carried a hint of dejection.
Zhi Yao even noticed Pei Chiyao's embrace stiffening slightly.
"No no, that's not it!" She was too flustered to even cry, hastily hugging his waist. "I'm just worried about you... your fans surely don't want you with me."
"So what?" Pei Chiyao wasn't bothered at all. "I'll be retiring from the industry soon anyway."
He had already decided to retire when he first met Zhi Yao.
The Legend of the Fox Demon was his final drama in the entertainment industry.
But now, Pei Chiyao had decided to hold off for a while.
He needed to leverage his connections in the industry to pave the way for Zhi Yao.
"Don't cry anymore." He gently kissed her eyes. "Yao Yao, as long as you love me, that's all that matters..."
He didn't care about anyone else.
Zhi Yao gazed at Pei Chiyao in a daze, still processing everything.
Her brain had completely short-circuited, and she had no idea what to do.
"If you enjoy acting, I'll gather all the resources in the industry and lay them at your feet - we can act whatever roles you desire. But if one day you grow tired of it, we can retire immediately. By my side, you can do whatever you want." Pei Chiyao had those resources.
As for the vicious rumors, they would dissipate soon enough.
The little lady hid in Pei Chiyao's embrace, nervously asking, "Then what about tomorrow's event... are we still going?"
"Why wouldn't we go? Did we do something unforgivable?" He countered.
Zhi Yao felt a bit light-headed. She had originally come to persuade Pei Chiyao to delete his Weibo post and clarify the situation, but why did she now feel like he had convinced her instead?!
Pei Chiyao confiscated Zhi Yao's phone, not allowing her to continue reading the negative comments online.
With the Ling family's efforts, those negative comments were quickly purged.
Older Brother Sun's team also promptly found the source of the internet trolls - it was a competing drama that had aired alongside The Legend of the Fox Demon last night. The two episodes that aired had an unprecedentedly high viewership, causing the rival production to feel threatened, hence resorting to such despicable tactics.
The studio didn't go easy on them, immediately issuing a legal letter.
But now, no one cared whether it was The Legend of the Fox Demon or not - everyone was truly concerned about Pei Chiyao and Zhi Yao's relationship.
And the next evening, The Legend of the Fox Demon's viewership ratings directly smashed records!
Everyone wanted to see what kind of newcomer had managed to capture the heart of the entertainment industry's untouchable gem, Pei Chiyao!
Then...
The #ZhiYaoBeauty# hashtag trended on Weibo overnight.
No beauty-lover could resist Zhi Yao's looks.
...
Zhi Yao was oblivious to all this.
She had been too anxious the previous night to sleep, constantly tossing and turning in Pei Chiyao's embrace, thoroughly vexing him.
So he tormented her for half the night...
