Li Chu really enjoyed the feeling of the variety show she was currently filming. Each episode featured five regular guests and three flying guests. Sometimes, they couldn’t find three flying guests, but the program team wasn’t worried about having one more or one less.
They traveled slowly through small island towns and wandered through the red-tiled and green-bricked ancient towns of Jiangnan. The director and planners had taken the concept of “slow variety” to the extreme.
Although the guests sometimes had to endure hardships, like pricking their fingers while learning embroidery, getting blisters while trying stone painting, shivering in houses without heating or air conditioning, and saying hello to the rats and cockroaches scurrying around their rooms, there were plenty of laughs and tears, and the show was full of human touch. Li Chu didn’t know what others thought, but she enjoyed it.
The invited guests all seemed to have pleasant personalities. Although some of them acted differently off-camera, they were dedicated to maintaining their on-screen personas, which Li Chu found acceptable.
However, she couldn’t always check her phone while filming, so she often had delays in replying to Ning Manqing’s messages. This was probably the downside of celebrities dating. As a result, Li Chu, who didn’t like taking selfies, had to take them every few days and send them to her girlfriend, who was miles away, to ease their longing for each other.
Li Chu didn’t need to see Ning Manqing’s selfies. She had bought a box of Cloud Mist Tea and brewed it every day. The aroma was perfectly safe; she didn’t have to worry about it acting up.
Li Chu took a sip of tea and looked at the tea leaves in the glass bottle, apologizing for the wicked thoughts she had projected onto them.
This time, the filming location was in an ethnic minority settlement where the signal and internet connection were poor. When Li Chu first arrived, she couldn’t even send messages.
It wasn’t until the next morning that her assistant informed her that she was trending.
Li Chu’s heart skipped a beat. Her first reaction was, “Could it be that our relationship has been exposed?”
But after this instinctive reaction, she knew it definitely wasn’t. Qian Duoduo’s expression was beaming; it must be good news.
“Sister, that film you shot after the New Year, the one with the demon, where you were the main character for the first two episodes, it aired. The ratings are really good, and you’re trending! It’s organic too, though the tag is a bit strange.”
Qian Duoduo’s words reminded Li Chu of the urban light comedy she had filmed, the one where she experienced all sorts of ways to die. The series wasn’t long and had a lighthearted tone, focusing on the romantic interactions between the main characters while sweetly resolving some incidents. Therefore, the filming time wasn’t very long.
This year, the New Year was at the end of February. After attending some promotional events, Li Chu joined the production team and filmed for about a week.
After finishing this, Li Chu joined the historical idol drama crew to play Man Ying. During the break, she attended more promotional events. After wrapping up filming, she learned about Ning Manqing’s accident and went to see her.
They officially got together in April, and then Li Chu joined the travel variety show. The show had aired two episodes, and she was currently filming the fourth.
According to the timeline, it had been more than three months, or less than four, since she left the light comedy crew. The production team had been quite fast in completing filming, editing, submitting for review, and broadcasting.
Li Chu asked curiously, “What tag?”
“Li Chu, space, tragic.”
“…Someone who didn’t know better would think something happened to me. Which genius came up with that tag?”
“I was startled when I saw it too, because you were right next to me, and nothing earth-shattering seemed to have happened… Sister, why are you suddenly looking at me like that?” Qian Duoduo looked at Li Chu, whose smile had suddenly become affectionate, and shuddered.
Li Chu chuckled inwardly, her expression returning to normal. “Nothing. Go on, continue.”
“I clicked on it and realized it was out of sympathy for the character you played. I have to say, the character you played was really tragic, too tragic.” Qian Duoduo still remembered witnessing the heartbreaking process on set. The demon Zhen, played by Li Chu, was truly unforgettable.
Li Chu nodded in agreement. “Unrequited love can indeed be very painful.”
Zhen died on the way to see her beloved. Repeated regressions, repeated deaths, and in the end, the person she was waiting for never agreed to meet her.
Love was really hard to force. Sometimes it wasn’t about not being good enough, but simply a lack of feeling.
Li Chu recalled the heartache she felt when she immersed herself in Zhen’s role and quickly picked up her teacup, taking a deep breath of the Cloud Mist Tea’s aroma.
It was truly wonderful. She felt better immediately.
Qian Duoduo was still feeling sad, and the empathetic netizens were crying a river online.
@DooDooDooHungry: Who was the jerk who told me this drama was super sweet? The main CP is sweet, yes, but I’m almost blind from crying over Zhen. Her love is so bleak. Other people’s secret crushes at least have a bit of color, but hers, let alone blooming, is like a seed buried deep underground by a shovel, without even a chance to sprout. Li Chu’s acting is so good!
@SweetLiWorldNumberOne: I heard my baby was in it, so I immediately rushed to watch. After three episodes, my heart is cold. Baby, you have this idol drama face, can you act in something remotely sweet?
@MyYiYi: Thanks, I felt personally attacked after watching this. This story is totally me. Although I haven’t died a thousand deaths, I can relate to the feeling of trying hard to go to an appointment, to see someone, but ending up waiting for nothing. But Zhen is still stronger than me, a lowly human. Maybe she knew that person wouldn’t show up, so she was calm. I hope I can be like that too. I’ve decided to look at Chu Chu Zi’s stunning beauty every day to heal!
The drama had only aired three episodes, and the main characters only accounted for 30% of the discussion topics. The remaining 70% was almost all about Li Chu.
They discussed the tragic fate of her character, and aside from the character, they mostly praised Li Chu’s beauty and acting skills.
@SweetPearSuperDelicious: Seriously, our sister is too amazing! I initially got into her because of Han Tao in the variety show, but after following her closely, I discovered that she has improved so much since her debut. Every character she plays is so different, and before she acts them, you can’t imagine her face could pull it off!
@LiZi’sGirlfriendOutsideTheCircle: It’s so heartbreaking, truly heartbreaking. I put myself in the shoes of the person Sister was trying to meet. I advise everyone not to do that, or you’ll want to slap yourself.
@EvenIfImAnOWantToSleepWithLiLi: Don’t be sad, everyone. I’m already comforting Li Li [shy]
@SweetLi ZiOnMyHeart: How much alcohol did the person above consume? Your ID is also very dangerous. The hatred of polygamy is irreconcilable. Draw your swords!
…………
Li Chu didn’t take this matter too seriously. She was reading new scripts. Tang Congnan had given her several scripts to choose from, and she was picking one.
Two days after the trending topic subsided, she suddenly noticed a significant increase in the number of CP fans she shared with Ning Manqing.
As for how she knew this, it was, of course, because she would sneak into the super topic with her alternate account.
She had to admit that these Qing Li fans were very productive. Some of the baseless rumors they created hit Li Chu right in the face, and some of the comics and pictures were quite good. Li Chu would browse them from time to time and enjoy reading her own fanfiction.
She quickly found the reason for the rapid growth in CP fans: a fan-made video edit.
@CryingForBeautifulLoveAgain: I finally have enough material! The new material gave me so much inspiration. I worked hard for two days to finish this. The past and present lives of Zhen and the beauty, everyone come and ship them!
Li Chu recognized this ID. She had seen it last year when she first gained popularity from the variety show. This person seemed to have already been a CP fan back then. They had even posted, saying they wanted to edit a video of her and Ning Manqing, but hadn’t done so because there wasn’t enough footage of her acting.
Since there was no one else in the room, Li Chu didn’t use headphones and clicked on the video.
She had to say, this editor was really skilled. They had taken some of the characters she had played, especially the scenes of Zhen’s unrequited love, and interwoven them with Ning Manqing’s other dramas, creating a densely edited video with various angle changes.
It told a story of past and present lives. In the first life, one was a female bandit, and the other was a courtesan. The courtesan died at the hands of the female bandit.
In the second life, they met in modern times. One was Zhen, the demon who died on her way to a meeting, and the other was a career woman with a serious illness.
The video also included clips from Li Chu and Ning Manqing’s variety show appearances, making it seem like they were having a conversation, like they were in love.
Zhen said, “I haven’t seen her yet. I can’t die like this.”
The career woman said, “It seems I’ll have to miss this appointment.”
It created a narrative of mutual longing, but due to unfortunate circumstances, they couldn’t meet.
The third life depicted clips from the variety show and interviews. They were both female celebrities, secretly in love in a place unknown to others. This part of the edit even used the previous gossip reports about them having dinner together.
Li Chu was shocked after watching it, especially the last part, which was completely true.
She couldn’t help but open the comments section, reading the CP fans’ comments to calm down and remind herself that their relationship hadn’t been exposed yet!
@SleepingWithQingQing: I didn’t get the appeal of this CP before, but now I’m completely sold! I ship them, I ship them, okay?!
@IHaveAQingLiTree: Leaving with a satisfied heart. The frustration I felt just now has suddenly disappeared. Sisters are truly meant to be together!
@GooGooGooGoo: Hello, the Civil Affairs Bureau is here. When are you two getting married?
@TaoTao’sOfficialGirlfriend: We’re shipping the real deal!
Li Chu was immediately drawn to the ID of the fourth most liked comment because the name was too familiar. She couldn’t help but click on it.
At first, Li Chu thought this person was a fan of a celebrity whose nickname was “Tao Tao” or whose name contained “Tao.” But after clicking on their Weibo profile, she found that this person was her fan and also her CP fan.
Almost all of their Weibo posts were related to her, either likes or reposts, with no personal sharing, like a robot dedicated to following stars and shipping couples.
But this name… If this Tao Tao referred to her, only one person in the world would call her that.
Li Chu wanted to immediately call her girlfriend and ask, but hesitated as she was about to press the call button. What if she was wrong, or what if Ning Manqing didn’t admit it? The chances were high.
Li Chu thought for a moment and returned to TaoTao’sOfficialGirlfriend’s Weibo profile, clicking the follow button.
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