Qiao Sixiao frowned:
"Why go there? There are so many people, aren't you afraid of being recognized?"
"It's rare that we get to go out together, I want to take you somewhere nice to eat, Qiao Sixiao. Don't you dare say you don't?"
"That's funny. It's not that I don't dare, I just don't want to trend online too frequently, or people might think we're deliberately hyping things up."
Qiao Sixiao's worries were not without reason. While the overly hyped up cp topics gave them exposure online, it also brought doubts, with some believing they were just trying too hard to hype up things that weren't real.
But Qin Wei didn't think it was real to begin with.
Qin Wei didn't care about that. One couldn't always let public opinion restrict what they do in life:
"Let them hype it up if they want, we'll just treat it as a limited time duo, after the show ends we'll just part ways, let the fans cherish it while it lasts."
Qiao Sixiao didn't reply, but followed Qin Wei's navigation towards the shopping district.
Qin Wei used her phone to look for good restaurants nearby, and they finally decided on one beside a shopping mall. Unsurprisingly, they were recognized as soon as they entered.
But what surprised Qiao Sixiao was that while people did take out their phones to take pictures, so far no one had come up to speak with them.
Qin Wei tried to mimic Qiao Sixiao's way of speaking:
"Most people are very well-behaved, they won't disturb your private outing. Qiao Sixiao, you probably haven't gone out shopping in a while right?"
But the online trends and cp threads blew up:
[OMG I saw Qin Wei and Qiao Sixiao out eating, just the two of them!! With pictorial evidence! [See attached pic]]
[Wow I saw them too! I didn't have the heart to disturb them, afraid it would ruin the atmosphere.]
[Me too!! Just stood by the side watching, afraid to startle them, then they'd stop hyping things up in the future.]
[It's not hype! Neither had their assistants with them! It was a private outing! But we shouldn't disturb them, that's right.]
...
The meal and shopping went pleasantly, Qiao Sixiao even generously gifted Qin Wei a Cartier brooch, saying it was to return the favor for the scarf Qin Wei gifted previously.
[My husband and I were at Cartier picking out a diamond ring, then we ran into Qin Wei and Qiao Sixiao!!]
[They've started looking at diamond rings already??]
[??]
[No, they only bought a brooch in the end.]
...
After a day of hanging out, when Qin Wei felt they were finally getting along, Qiao Sixiao suddenly asked:
"Have you considered the new drama?"
Qin Wei casually replied:
"Probably not, I'll be returning to school soon."
Qiao Sixiao didn't give up:
"Take another look at the novel, I think it really suits you."
"I passed the novel to Youyou already."
"Your junior?"
Qiao Sixiao suddenly hit the brakes and looked angrily at Qin Wei.
Qin Wei nodded:
"It wasn't meant to be confidential..."
"Get out of the car."
Qin Wei: "?"
Seeing that Qiao Sixiao was genuinely angry, Qin Wei still tried to explain:
"I can't take on the role, and she just wanted to take a look, it was just a published book, not meant to be secret..."
"Get out of the car."
Qin Wei was exasperated and opened the door to exit.
"Wait."
Qiao Sixiao called her back,
"Leave the stuff I bought behind."
She's denying everything just like that?
Qin Wei obediently left the stuff behind and got out of the car.
Qiao Sixiao hit the gas and was gone in a flash.
Leaving Qin Wei standing by the roadside, still not understanding what had set her off.
It sure was nice having your own car, not like her, now she had to take a taxi to get home.
Looks like getting a car needed to be put on her agenda too.
...
The production team was also keeping tabs on the online hype and news surrounding each contestant at all times. They did not miss the social media buzz about Qin and Qiao's private outing for meals and shopping.
During a meeting, the director even used it as an example:
"The audience's tastes are very hard to gauge nowadays, it's getting harder and harder for us doing these shows too. That's why we can't miss any trending topics, like the Qin-Qiao cp case for example. Since the audience likes it, we have to take it seriously, that's how we ensure good viewership and ratings..."
...
The production team had booked flight tickets with seats together for their trip, specifically getting adjoining ones for the two of them. But when they got to the airport, the team was told separately by them:
"Don't make us sit together, refusing to hype things up, refusing to appear in the same frame!"
The staff were all shocked speechless, scratching their heads wondering what to do, and looked pleadingly at the director.
While Qin Wei seemed uncooperative on the surface, she was very easy to intimidate, yelling at her twice was the best way to get her to cooperate.
But Qiao Sixiao was different. While she was just a contestant, she was not actually controlled by the production team. Things she didn't want to cooperate with, they really could not force her. That's how it had been, and still was now.
The director looked meaningfully at Sun Tiantian, seemingly telling her with his gaze:
"Swap seats with Qin Wei."
Sun Tiantian suddenly took out an eye mask and put it on.
"I'll switch with senior sister."
Youyou voluntarily got up and gave her seat to Qin Wei.
It was a small matter after all, and was quickly settled.
Deeming it safe, Sun Tiantian removed her eye mask and saw Qin Wei seated beside her. She heaved a sigh of relief and whispered:
"What happened? How did you two fall out? Weren't you two still going on a private date for meals and shopping for diamonds...I mean, stuff, yesterday?"
Qin Wei whispered to Sun Tiantian that Qiao Sixiao could switch attitudes faster than turning pages in a book. One wrong word and she'd tossed Qin Wei by the roadside before driving off herself.
"Why though?"
Sun Tiantian didn't get it and desperately needed a reasonable explanation.
After all, she shipped the Qin-Qiao cp too.
"Over some small matter."
Qin Wei said, sneaking a peek at Qiao Sixiao, then in an even smaller voice told Sun Tiantian:
"She gave me a book which I read and passed to Youyou. Miss Qiao asked and I just told her the truth, didn't expect her to be so petty...tsk tsk."
"Wow Youyou's really asking for trouble, you two really know how to vex Miss Qiao."
Sun Tiantian was so annoyed her mouth corners were twitching. She didn't expect the cp she genuinely shipped to just end like that. (bad ending)
Youyou sat in her seat, stealing glances at Qin Wei's side every now and then.
Qiao Sixiao noticed a couple of times, following her line of sight to see Qin Wei fast asleep.
In the end, she still couldn't resist asking:
"What are you looking at?"
Youyou pointed at Qin Wei:
"Looking at senior sister."
Qiao Sixiao regretted asking.
"Sun Tiantian and I made a bet on whether senior sister can sleep through the entire flight until we land."
Youyou continued saying on her own and took out her phone to message Sun Tiantian:
"Awake yet?"
Tiantian replied:
"Nope, I'm sure you'll lose."
It's nice being on a plane with WiFi huh.
......
The first thing they did after landing was to hand in their phones.
But the production team wasn't completely heartless. They gave each person a basic phone that could still communicate, and also gave each person a DSLR camera plus recording equipment.
They said for the field trip they had to immerse themselves in nature without the distraction of the Internet, and professional cameras could better capture beautiful moments to remember the journey by.
With the rising popularity of the competition, they also got more sponsors, one of which was this DSLR brand that wanted the publicity, so they gave each contestant a camera.
While it was annoying having their phones taken away, suddenly receiving a $3000+ camera as a gift made that annoyance seem not so bad after all.
