01 In the Scene
“I want to wear beautiful clothes and live in a big house. I also want to raise a cat, and a dog!”
The sun shone on the fine sand, glinting under the camera’s lens. The girl’s toes, fair and round, were dotted with a bit of sand, leaving a trail of footprints on the beach.
She cupped her hands around her mouth like a megaphone and shouted at the endless sea, “On sunny days, I’ll walk the dog and buy tanghulu, and everything I eat will be sweet. Before going home, I’ll go to the market to buy a fish, steam it in a pot, and give it to my little cat, watching it eat until only the bones are left.”
“And then?” A gentle voice drifted on the wind, slipping into the girl’s ear.
“And then,” the girl stopped and lowered her hands. She turned around, the sea breeze lifting her hair. Her voice grew quiet, as if speaking to the wind. “And then we- me, the cat, and the dog- we’ll sit on the lounge chairs in the yard and slowly wait for the moon to rise.”
“Cut!”
Jian You stood up from behind the monitor, walkie-talkie in hand. She waved. “That’s a wrap on this take.”
At her command, the entire crew instantly bustled with activity. The boom mic and camera were quickly pulled back amidst the hurried footsteps and the rising murmur of conversation.
“I’m just saying, Yun Chu’s skills are too strong. Getting it in one take every time is really something else!”
“That’s because Director Jian is a good teacher. How can two different kinds of people come out of the same bed?”
“How did they come out of it? Elaborate, please.”
“How did you CP fans sneak onto the set? I’m seriously going to report you if you keep shipping them right in front of them!”
“It’s not me shipping them! Look what Director Jian is doing!”
So, the crew members took a moment from their busy work to glance over at Yun Chu. That one glance was all it took- their eyes lit up as they got high on the ship-
They were filming this scene by the sea. Even with the bright sun, the February sea breeze was chilly. Yun Chu was only wearing a backless dress. She was fine while filming, but the moment they cut, she started shivering.
And their Director Jian, at the first opportunity, grabbed a nearby down jacket, walked over, and draped it over Yun Chu, moving even faster than Yun Chu’s own assistant.
Fortunately, Yun Chu’s assistant had long since gotten used to this in the short span of a month. She never expected the job of draping a coat over Yun Chu to fall to her anyway. She had hot water ready and handed the thermos directly to Yun Chu. Yun Chu thanked her, took a small sip, and smiled at Jian You, fishing for a compliment. “I did pretty well, right?”
Jian You stroked her head. “Yes.”
This scene didn’t seem to require much overt emotion, but the feelings were all internal. The female lead, after getting into university, goes for a walk alone by the sea and makes a wish to the ocean- a wish for the sea, for herself, and for her sister.
Full of ambition, yet lacking in confidence.
Yun Chu handled it perfectly.
“You’ve completely devoured the script,” Jian You said. “It’s not just ‘pretty well,’ it’s absolutely perfect.”
“You’ll make me proud!” Yun Chu brought the cup to Jian You’s lips, then winked slyly. “I’ve devoured the screenwriter, let alone the script.”
Jian You was speechless.
She took a sip of water from Yun Chu’s hand, the tips of her ears turning a little red. She shot Yun Chu a mock glare, but feeling she couldn’t lose, she retorted, “Who devoured whom?”
Yun Chu was speechless.
She blushed.
Jian You had won the round, the corners of her lips turning up.
The assistant standing nearby couldn’t bear to watch: Help! These two have been dating for two months, right? Why do they still blush whenever the other one flirts? I won’t even talk about Yun Chu, but where did the cool and aloof Director Jian from the internet go? Ahhh!
Jia Jian Cheng Chu: Hehe, what do you know about being passionately in love!
02 Off-Screen
【@JiaJianChengChu081218: Going to work together today. I love the seaside most, but I love you more.】
【Holy crap, I actually caught them going to work together!】
【LMAO, they’re on the same crew and they’re dating, yet for CP fans, seeing them go to work together is harder than ascending to heaven.】
【Yun Chu’s makeup was done at the hotel before she came out today.】
【Whose bed she came out of, I won’t say.】
【Sister’s wide-leg pants are so cool! Director Jian- aah- Director Jian-】
【Sweet little Yun Chu uwu】
【Whose CP sleeps in the same bed, goes to work together, works together, gets off work together, and eats together every day? Oh, right, it’s mine, hehehe.】
【A certain sense of pride.】
【Speaking of which, I heard that Yun Chu and Director Jian are sleeping in separate rooms now.】
【??? Where did this gossip come from?】
【Could it be that their sex life isn’t harmonious???】
【I don’t believe it, I don’t believe it!】
【Are they not really dating? Was it just for the show… damn it, my whole life has been a lie QAQ】
【If Jia Jian Cheng Chu is just for business, please surrender quickly and start dating for real. So many people want you to be together.】
【Some people just make up rumors out of thin air, as if they were listening from under Jia Jian Cheng Chu’s bed. Did they tell you themselves? Or did a staff member tell you? If that’s true, I don’t think that staff member should be kept around!】
【I’ve never seen such a dedicated business CP in my life, I’m just saying.】
【You’re paying so much attention to my CP, did yours sink?】
【Even for a young couple, sleeping in separate rooms is normal, right? After all, they haven’t been together for long. Is everyone really that open-minded? You can jump into bed with someone you like right after you get together?】
【You can sleep together innocently without jumping into bed…】
【Have you ever seen a young couple who could lie in the same bed innocently right after they started dating?】
…
Indeed, there were none.
So, on a certain morning when she tried and failed N times to get up due to a sore waist and weak legs, Yun Chu hugged the blanket and stared blankly for five minutes. Finally, with a tuft of hair sticking up, she went to poke the still-sleeping Jian You. Poke, poke, poke, like a cat scratching an itch. It was unclear whether she was trying to wake Jian You up or simply flirting.
In Jian You’s eyes, at least, it was pure flirting.
So, the great Director Jian stretched out a long arm and scooped her into her embrace. With her eyes still closed, she nuzzled Yun Chu’s neck, making Yun Chu suck in a sharp breath and hiss softly. She pushed at her. “It hurts.”
Only then did Jian You open her eyes.
The fabric of Yun Chu’s clothes had been torn clean off by her last night. The exposed skin was covered in marks, evidence of being bitten and kissed. When touched by saliva, it was bound to hurt a little. She touched the spot and asked distractedly, “Does it hurt a lot?”
Yun Chu sounded aggrieved. “It hurts.”
Jian You’s words didn’t match her thoughts. “I’ll be gentler next time.”
Yun Chu huffed softly. “Do you think you have any credibility left with me?”
She then muttered under her breath, “You weren’t born in the year of the dog, so why do you act like one in bed, always biting people!”
Jian You asked, “Then were you born in the year of the cat?”
Yun Chu hummed in confusion.
Jian You: “You love to scratch.”
Yun Chu’s face turned red. She said in a tiny voice, “It’s only because you- you’re too good.”
Her voice got smaller and smaller until it was nearly inaudible. She buried herself in Jian You’s embrace and took a deep breath. Remembering what she had been thinking about earlier, she suggested, “Why don’t we… sleep separately for a while?”
Jian You was silent for a moment, then said, “Okay.”
Her agreement was crisp and decisive.
Yun Chu cupped her face. “Why did you agree so readily? Aren’t you supposed to be unwilling? Then I insist, but you firmly refuse, so we go through this and that, sign a series of agreements, and only then do you reluctantly agree!”
Jian You chuckled. “If I insist on not agreeing, can we sign a series of agreements?”
Yun Chu paused. “You’re so good at picking out the key points!”
Jian You: “Then I insist on not agreeing.”
She pulled Yun Chu into her arms and kissed her earlobe, her voice muffled. “Then let’s go through the ‘this and that’ process first.”
Yun Chu gasped.
Soon, the gasp turned into soft whimpers, rising in pitch, becoming melodious, and finally turning into small sobs. She whimpered, “We can… we can proceed… to the next step now.”
Signing the agreements.
Jian You unhurriedly put on her pajamas and said, “There are too many agreements. I’ll send you a document later.”
Yun Chu’s eyes widened slightly. “Don’t go too far!”
Jian You smiled. “You were the one who said it.”
Yun Chu’s face fell. Then she remembered something else. “When I first suggested it, why did you agree so readily?”
“How could I not agree readily?” Jian You said helplessly. “I’m the director. Don’t I know how many scenes you have to shoot? Your part is about to get heavier. It’s really not good for us to sleep together.”
“What’s not good about it?”
“You can never stop getting handsy with me.”
“…Is it just me?!”
“And me.” Jian You pulled a pajama top over Yun Chu and planted a kiss on her cheek. “We’re always getting handsy with each other, which is very draining. You need to focus on filming.”
Yun Chu thought about how gentle Jian You was. Then she thought about how she had gotten used to sleeping with Jian You, used to their kisses and cuddles before bed. Sleeping alone all of a sudden would be so miserable. The more she thought, the more emo she got. After getting up, she was listless even as she told her assistant to book another room.
The assistant was shocked. “Did you and Director Jian break up?”
Yun Chu glared. “How is that possible! It’s for work!”
The assistant patted her chest, relieved, but then questioned, “Is that possible?”
Yun Chu glared again. “Why wouldn’t it be? Teacher Jian and I both have amazing self-control, okay?”
The assistant: “Okay…”
The first night.
At midnight, Yun Chu crept into Jian You’s room and slipped into her bed. Jian You rolled over and wrapped her in her arms.
The second night.
At one in the morning, Jian You appeared in Yun Chu’s room.
The third night.
At twelve-thirty in the morning, Jian You and Yun Chu ran right into each other in the hotel hallway.
The fourth night.
…
The assistant, who could never figure out which room the two would wake up in each morning: “…”
I’m numb. Just completely numb.
I never want to work with a damn couple again in my life!
03 Daily Life
Sister wrapped filming in early March, officially entering post-production with a scheduled summer release.
Time was tight. As the director, Jian You had to oversee the entire process. Yun Chu, on the other hand, had finished her work there. With her rising popularity, her schedule became increasingly packed, and she was flying around like a trapeze artist.
The long-distance couple received attention from all sides.
【emo, the little couple hasn’t been in the same city for half a month】
【sob sob sob, it’s good to be busy, it’s good to be busy】
【If the Sister crew wasn’t constantly releasing behind-the-scenes footage, I probably wouldn’t have made it through this spring】
【The on-set footage is so sweet! Honestly, Director Jian has always been quite gentle when directing, but it’s a gentle, businesslike coldness. But when she’s explaining scenes to Yun Chu, she’s so, so gentle. There are pink bubbles floating around them, who gets it】
【I live for watching beautiful women fall in love…】
【Just meet up already!】
【Damn! The flight schedule is out! Yun Chu is flying back tomorrow!】
【They better do it for three days and three nights without getting out of bed, okay】
【hehehe】
This pattern of being apart more than together continued until summer vacation. Sister was released. Although it was a niche genre and not a commercial film, Jian You’s storytelling and Yun Chu’s acting were irresistible. More and more interpretations appeared online, attracting an ever-growing audience. Three days after its release, the box office surpassed 500 million.
【Yun Chu’s acting! Holy! Crap!】
【As expected of a professionally trained student from the film academy. I’m serious, this is incredible, best actress level.】
【If Yun Chu doesn’t win Best Actress this year, I’ll be the first to object!】
【I’m also in awe of Jian You’s cinematography. It would be a waste for a director like this not to make movies, right?】
【This story really seems like it’s about Jian You herself… but the protagonist is the younger sister. Is this the life Jian You imagined for her sister? QAQ】
【I think so?】
【At the movie premiere, didn’t a reporter ask? Why did the final scene freeze on the day of the sister’s graduation? Is that considered a happy ending? Because most people’s idea of a happy ending is getting married and having children. What did Jian You say again?】
【Jian You said she didn’t want to bind the protagonist’s future with a conventional happy ending. College graduation is the end of one’s youth and the beginning of one’s life. She could choose to marry and have children, or she could choose to be alone. Either way is fine. That is her happy ending, not something the storyteller can control.】
【I say her perspective is on another level, who agrees and who objects?】
【Actually, when this movie was first in preparation, a lot of people were pessimistic, saying it wouldn’t win awards or have good box office numbers. But Jian You really wanted to film this story, she was incredibly persistent, and in the end, she made it and it did so well! Let me whisper something, I heard that Jian You joined Little Tricks for Love just to get funding for this movie.】
【Holy crap? For real? So this movie brought Jian You both fame and fortune, and she got a wife out of it too?】
【That’s just hearsay, it might not be true.】
【Hahaha, I also heard that Yun Chu had a crush on Jian You for a long time, and to force Jian You to join Little Tricks for Love with her, she said she wouldn’t invest in the movie if Jian You didn’t come.】
【SOS that’s too ridiculous!】
【Confirmation that Yun Chu brought capital into the production hahahahaha】
During the two months the movie was in theaters, Yun Chu and Jian You were together every day. They had to travel to various cities for the promotional tour, often in City A at noon and appearing in City B by evening. It was only during these hectic journeys that they found moments of tenderness and time for quiet conversation.
“Hey, I went to Hai City a couple of days ago, and there were so many flowers there. Let’s go see them once we’re done with this busy period.”
“Okay.”
“We get to shoot a magazine cover together next week. Getting paid to be in love is pretty sweet!”
“It is.”
“But I have to join my new cast soon, and I have to start dieting in October. Let’s have Wen Yi make me more delicious food for now!”
“What do you want to eat? I’ll tell her.”
“I want to eat steamed lamb, steamed bear paw, steamed deer tail, roasted duck, roasted chicken, roasted goose, stewed pork, stewed duck, soy-sauce chicken-”
“Are you reciting a tongue twister?”
“Okay, okay.” Yun Chu laughed, then beckoned for Jian You to lean closer. She whispered in her ear, “I want to eat you.”
A smile appeared in Jian You’s eyes. “Wen Yi can’t make that.”
Yun Chu whined softly, “You make it for me.”
Jian You hummed in agreement. “And you?”
Yun Chu’s face was slightly red, but her words were bold and made one’s heart race. “As for me, you can eat me however you want.”
04 Waiting for You After Class
Yun Chu was even busier in the second half of the year.
This time, she joined the cast of a TV drama. It was a female-led series with many scenes, many lines, and a 35-day shooting schedule. The task was heavy.
Before joining the cast, Yun Chu made a trip to her grandma’s house in Qingyao Alley. Her grandma’s stage play tour hadn’t started yet, so she was enjoying a leisurely retirement at home. According to the neighbors, when Sister was released, her grandma had treated the entire alley to a screening, but when Yun Chu tried to verify this, her grandma flatly denied it.
“What sister? Which sister? Never heard of it!” The old woman, wearing her reading glasses, glanced at her over her newspaper. “Why are you here instead of at your girlfriend’s place?”
Yun Chu wheedled, “Oh, Grandma, I heard from Grandma Qu that the third female lead in your play couldn’t make it and you’re short an actor. What do you think of me?”
“You?” The old woman chuckled. “Someone who plays the main character is going to act as the third female lead in our unpopular, broken-down stage play?”
She emphasized the word “unpopular,” clearly still remembering Yun Chu’s previous “outrageous remark.”
Yun Chu said sheepishly, “What if I’m willing?”
Only then did the old woman realize she was serious. She took off her glasses. “Really?”
Yun Chu nodded emphatically. “Stage plays are great! They test your acting skills and have artistic value. So many actors want to do stage plays but can’t even get a foot in the door. Of course I’m willing to burn myself for the cause of theater!”
“Burn your head!” The old woman took off her glasses. “You want to act, is that it?”
“Mhm, mhm!”
“Go audition.”
“…”
Yun Chu hadn’t intended to use connections anyway. While busy with her other project, she found time to audition and naturally passed. As soon as she finished filming the TV drama, she packed her bags and moved into the theater for rehearsals. Although she was living at Jian You’s house, she left early and came back late, and they barely had time to talk.
On a rare day off, Jian You had to go to the university to teach.
It was an early class, so Jian You moved with particular quietness. She finished her breakfast silently and was about to leave when she turned to see Yun Chu standing at the top of the stairs, yawning. “I want to go too.”
Jian You found it amusing to see her nodding off. “You should get some more sleep. I’ll be back as soon as class is over.”
Yun Chu asked, “What time will you be done?”
Jian You calculated. “Noon.”
Yun Chu opened her arms for a hug. “I want to go with you.”
Her just-woken voice was lazy and languid, the ends of her words tinged with a sticky, coquettish whine. “I haven’t seen you in so long.”
Jian You hugged her. “Didn’t we see each other last night?”
Yun Chu mumbled, “You only left one lamp on. How could I see you clearly?”
Jian You couldn’t win against her. Fortunately, it was winter. She put a hat, mask, and scarf on her, dressing her up like a little pink bunny, and settled her in the front row of the classroom to pretend to sleep before any of the students arrived. But she didn’t expect Yun Chu to be so tired that her pretend sleep turned into real sleep. She slept right through until the end of the last class.
Jian You tapped on the desk, exasperated. “Wipe your drool. Time to get ready for lunch.”
Only then did Yun Chu slowly wake up. She didn’t move from her position slumped over the desk, just lifted her head, looking dazed. “Is class over?”
Jian You: “Does my class make you want to sleep that much?”
Yun Chu blinked slowly, stared at Jian You for a moment, and then smiled. “I’d rather sleep with you.”
Jian You was speechless.
