Was it a dream?
When she woke up the next morning, Yun Chu touched her forehead, her fingers sliding down the bridge of her nose to her lips. The stuffy heat in the room had made them a little dry. After a light lick, they glistened with moisture. She stared blankly at a certain spot, thinking, That kiss was just a dream, right?
How could Jian You possibly kiss her while sober?
She shook away the messy thoughts in her head and only then did she notice that the balcony curtain was half-open. On the gently swaying swing, Jian You was sitting, looking at the scenery.
She was still wearing yesterday’s down jacket, and her makeup-free face looked youthful. On the small table beside her was a cup of tea, with wisps of steam rising from it, only to be scattered by the wind in an instant. Seemingly sensing Yun Chu’s gaze, Jian You’s expression paused slightly, and she turned her head to the side.
Yun Chu got out of bed. “Teacher Jian, good morning!”
“Morning.” Jian You retracted her gaze. In her peripheral vision, she saw Yun Chu slip on a down jacket and push open the balcony door to come out. The calves exposed beneath the hem of her skirt flinched in the cold air. Her brow furrowed slightly. “Teacher and his wife have gone to class. Breakfast is downstairs. Go eat first.”
Yun Chu let out a sound of dismay, her face falling. “Did I get up too late?”
“…” Jian You said, “No. What are your plans for today?”
“Today? Isn’t the live broadcast soon? I want to go to the recording location first. I don’t want to go back to Yunzhou City and then come back again, it’s too much trouble.” Yun Chu also pulled up a stool and sat next to Jian You.
She asked her, “What are you looking at?”
Jian You: “I want to get an establishing shot here.”
This villa district, where every inch of land was worth its weight in gold, was an oasis of tranquility amidst the hustle and bustle, and the view was excellent. Jian You wanted to capture a shot for each of the four seasons, and now she was just missing winter. Unfortunately, the weather was bad today, so she couldn’t capture the right atmosphere and had to give up on the idea.
Jian You took a sip of tea and suddenly said, “I’ll take you.”
Yun Chu’s eyes lit up, but then, as if remembering something, the corners of her mouth drooped. She said, “Maybe you shouldn’t.” She rested her head on the table and said, “It would be bad if we were photographed.”
“How would it be bad?”
“It’s just… I’m afraid of the negative impact.”
“What’s there to be afraid of?” Jian You placed her cup on the table and pushed it toward Yun Chu. The still-warm cup pressed against the back of her hand, which was red from the cold. She said, “The two of us are supposed to be dating on the show anyway.”
Yun Chu: “!”
Jian You: “Yes, you’re the main CP in my script.”
Yun Chu: “!!”
Jian You: “You’re not willing?”
Yun Chu: “It’s not that…”
Jian You suddenly had a realization. “You actually want to date for real on the show, don’t you?”
Yun Chu: “I…”
“It’s okay,” Jian You said. “You don’t have a script, so just follow your heart. You don’t have to worry about me.”
“My heart is with Teacher Jian-” Yun Chu blurted out. When Jian You looked over, her heart sank again. She added, “No, I mean, I’m a celebrity, so it’s not good for me to be in a relationship. That’s why I wasn’t planning on it. Creating a CP with Teacher Jian…” She pressed her lips together and said, “is all benefit and no harm to me.”
Words spoken against her heart.
Yun Chu thought, I’m lying. It’s a very clever lie. Attributing all their interactions, both on the show and in private, to the script and personal gain. She and Jian You could both walk away clean, with no one having invested any real feelings.
It was good. It would be even better if she actually thought that way.
Jian You was silent for a moment, then said, “Okay, so let me take you.”
Yun Chu froze for a second.
How did they circle all the way back to this topic!
“How about this,” Jian You came up with another idea. “I have to write my script, and it doesn’t matter where I do it. This will also save us from making two trips.”
“…Okay.”
Jian You wanted to continue studying the composition, while Yun Chu went to wash up, ran downstairs to eat breakfast, and listened to the morning news while she ate, messaging Zhou Zhitao to tell her everything that had happened over the past two days.
Zhou Zhitao: Wow
Yun Chu: ?
Zhou Zhitao: Why don’t you just confess?
Yun Chu: 【hanging.jpg】
Zhou Zhitao: Based on my experience, you should take the initiative [fist]
Yun Chu: Your experience?
Zhou Zhitao: Yeah, take the initiative to dress up beautifully and wait for romance to strike.
Yun Chu: …
Yun Chu: Then I’ll find a chance to tell her.
Zhou Zhitao: Mmm!
Yun Chu: How should I say it…
Zhou Zhitao: Just say, “Do you remember sleeping with me? You have to take responsibility.”
Yun Chu: And then I’ll be kicked out by Teacher Jian.
Zhou Zhitao: …
Yun Chu: My wife is just that fierce.
Zhou Zhitao: Piss off.
Yun Chu: Pissing off.
Yun Chu agonized all morning but couldn’t come up with a solution. Meanwhile, the internet was abuzz with the official announcement of all the observation guests for Little Tricks for Love. The observation guests were mostly big names, and the engagement on the official Weibo account was skyrocketing.
【Crying, the observation guests really include Qi Ke QAQ】
【Qi Ke said that after watching the full episode, she already discovered a real couple? No way? How could someone find a partner in the first episode of a dating show!】
【Shipping Jia Jian Cheng Chu on credit, hehe!】
【I trust Qi Ke’s intuition. She said before that even before she started dating her wife Song Yushi, she had a gut feeling Song Yushi liked her, and she wasn’t wrong. There’s definitely a little couple.】
【Qi Ke is so beautiful ahhhhhhh】
【Song Yushi commented on her post! Hahahaha, she asked her to spoil which couple it is because she doesn’t want to ship the wrong CP, hahahahahahahaha】
【Who’s going to compensate me for the CPs I shipped wrong back in the day…】
【Give me some real couple sweetness, I’m dying from the sweetness, I’m dying.】
【How can you use back channels! Can you secretly tell me too! I don’t want to ship the wrong CP ahhh!】
【Everyone, listen to me. I ship the wrong CP every single time. Wait until you see who I’m shipping, and then you can all ship the opposite. You definitely won’t be wrong.】
【Link – “Is this Jian You and Yun Chu????”】
While discussions were raging on social media, a post quietly appeared.
On a certain forum, the original post contained a photo. It wasn’t very clear, and it was taken from a distance, but one could clearly make out Yun Chu and Jian You walking together on a country road.
【??? The scalpers said the recording for the second episode was moved up, but it’s still supposed to be after Christmas.】
【No way… is this a secret date?】
【Are they re-shooting something? Otherwise, why would they come back early?】
【I don’t get some of these little couples.】
【Never thought Jian You would be so love-struck. Running off to the countryside in this freezing weather is really something else.】
【I just went and checked Yun Chu’s schedule. She arrived in Bei City yesterday for a magazine cover shoot, and then she met up with Jian You? They hit it off and came here for an early honeymoon?】
【………… I don’t get it. The princess does whatever she wants.】
【To Jian You’s fans, the show is about to air. Stop being stubborn and come ship this real couple with us.】
【I heard Yun Chu was cast as the female lead in Jian You’s new movie. Looks like sleeping her way to the top works. Plus all the press releases. Even I, the OP, can smell the astroturfing. Otherwise, how could they just happen to be photographed in such a remote place? Who would believe there isn’t a PR team behind this? All I can say is, Jian You, run! Don’t let some D-lister drag your reputation down. It’s not worth it.】
【I’m telling you, Floor 97, you have some kind of persecution complex. I’ll say it again, Yun Chu was an outstanding graduate from the acting department. She may not be famous, but her professional skills are top-notch. Do you even know what a “pearl gathering dust” is!】
【Yun Chu’s fans really get ahead of themselves with a little praise. She’s been signed for so many years without getting famous, she should really reflect on herself.】
…
At the recording location.
The staff members were momentarily stunned to see Yun Chu and Jian You appear at the door. Jian You pushed her suitcase inside and asked, “I told the director. Did he not inform you?”
“He did!” a staff member said hurriedly. “We just didn’t expect you so soon.”
The production team had rented this place for half a year. During that time, they would film other things here, but they generally wouldn’t touch the guests’ rooms. The active area was limited to the living room and the yard. Right now, a hit variety show from some other network was being filmed inside.
A game of Werewolf was reaching its climax. Yun Chu and Jian You passed between the camera operators, trying their best not to disturb the people filming the show. But inevitably, someone with sharp eyes spotted Jian You and exclaimed, “Director Jian?”
The person who spoke was a senior in the entertainment industry. He had once acted in one of Jian You’s films and had won Best Supporting Actor for the role. Although they hadn’t had a chance to work together again due to scheduling conflicts, they were still fairly familiar with each other.
As soon as he spoke, all eyes turned in their direction.
Yun Chu: “Teacher Jian, they’re calling you. I’ll go on ahead.”
Jian You: “?”
She grabbed Yun Chu’s wrist and walked into the camera’s view. “Teacher Zhao, long time no see.”
“What brings you here?” Teacher Zhao asked.
“The variety show I’m on is having a live-streamed press conference, so I came over early,” Jian You explained. She glanced around. “Since you’re filming a show, I won’t disturb you.”
Although she had interrupted the filming, the director had no objections to this unexpected crossover and the traffic it would bring. She was eager for Jian You to chat with the guests a bit longer to create some promotional buzz. Unfortunately, Jian You had no intention of staying long. To avoid being put on the spot, she didn’t even go back to her own room, instead following Yun Chu upstairs to the second floor.
The second floor was quiet at the moment, with even the cameras removed, forming a sharp contrast with the commotion downstairs.
Yun Chu’s room was still exactly as she had left it. She hung her coat in the closet and flopped onto the bed, saying, “Teacher Jian, you can write your script now.”
Jian You sat down at the desk and asked casually, “And you?”
Yun Chu: “I’ll supervise you!”
Jian You: “…”
The words had barely left her mouth when Yun Chu suddenly exclaimed and sat up. “The preview for the first episode is out! Come and see.”
Jian You came over to sit with her.
Previews, of course, were meant to be as eye-catching as possible, so they always contained parts taken out of context. For example, it highlighted Wen Xi and Meng Zhaozhao both sending texts to Jian You at the same time, along with their exchange of glances. Another example was Yun Chu running toward Jian You in the field while Jian You filmed her with a camera. After they returned, Meng Zhaozhao was shown looking at Yun Chu with displeasure.
Yun Chu: “…Why does this edit make it look like Meng Zhaozhao hates me?”
Jian You paused for a moment. “That’s the magic of editing.”
Yun Chu scrolled through the comments.
【Is Jian You’s character archetype the “universally adored” type? Why do so many people like her?】
【Jian You doesn’t have a “universally adored” archetype, she just is universally adored, thank you. If it were me, I’d like her too.】
【I see it now. The little couple Qi Ke mentioned is Zhu Wan’er and Pei Wan. The two of them aren’t involved in that big love square at all, just sweetly asking each other out. Fine.】
【Who says? I think Pei Wan is quite interested in Yun Chu. I support the CEO and the 18th-tier actress!】
【Who did Jian You send her text to that night? This is very important to me…】
【I don’t know who Jian You sent hers to, but Yun Chu definitely sent hers to Jian You. Her affection (sucking up), hehe, is practically overflowing, okay? Her desire to create a CP couldn’t be more obvious. If she didn’t send it to Jian You, I’ll do a handstand while playing basketball!】
【I’ll eat my computer.】
【I’ll eat my family’s TV.】
【Hehe, I’ll stew myself in an iron pot!】
Yun Chu: “…”
She took a screenshot.
Jian You: “What are you doing?”
Yun Chu: “Getting ready to watch him stew himself in an iron pot.”
Jian You: “…”
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