Qi Ke had never been an impulsive person. Though she acted freely, she also knew where to draw the line.
For instance, her satisfying confrontation with Sister Fei was because she wouldn’t let last night’s incident blow up and turn Song Yushi into the subject of tabloid news, at the mercy of netizens’ gossip and speculation. Nor would she ever give that greasy Qian Fei a chance to recover.
As far as she was concerned, the man was already socially dead.
Song Yushi trusted Qi Ke on this.
Sure enough, the internet remained calm. No one issued any press releases; there wasn’t even a single ambiguous rumor.
At the start of the script reading, however, the director announced that Qian Fei had withdrawn from the drama due to health reasons. The others had long found him disagreeable and didn’t even feign regret. After the meeting concluded, the director asked Song Yushi to stay behind for a chat, mainly to apologize for the previous night’s incident.
When Song Yushi emerged from the conference room, Qi Ke was already gone.
Seeing her, Xiao Nan rushed forward, draped a down jacket over her shoulders, and handed her a thermos. She wanted to offer comfort but was afraid of saying the wrong thing. “Boss…”
“I’m fine.” Song Yushi took a sip of hot water. “It’s… really nothing.”
Mainly because she hadn’t been at a disadvantage at all.
Thinking about how Qian Fei had been beaten up by her and then dealt with by Qi Ke last night, Song Yushi couldn’t help but lower her head and smile. Xiao Nan mumbled, “Boss, how can you still be smiling?”
Seeing her reaction, Song Yushi found it odd. “How much do you know about what happened last night?”
“Just what Sister Fei told me. She said I wasn’t watching over you properly, and you were almost… taken advantage of.” Xiao Nan was on the verge of tears as she spoke. “When I got back, you were already asleep. If Teacher Qi hadn’t told me you were okay, I would’ve found a rooftop and jumped.”
Song Yushi beckoned her over.
Xiao Nan leaned in.
Song Yushi briefly recounted the events of the previous night, and Xiao Nan’s eyes began to sparkle. “Teacher Qi is so cool!!!”
Song Yushi, who had also beaten someone up but received no praise: “…?”
Song Yushi stepped into the elevator. As it descended smoothly, she remained silent for a moment before she couldn’t help but ask Xiao Nan, “Are you a CP fan of me and Qi Ke?”
Xiao Nan let out a small “ah” before admitting, “Yes.” She quickly added, “I just ship you two casually, I don’t take it for real! Boss, please don’t tell…”
But Song Yushi simply nodded to herself. “Oh, so you’re a biased shipper.”
Xiao Nan: “?”
Song Yushi pointed out sternly, “You didn’t praise me just now.”
Xiao Nan: “??”
Song Yushi: “I’ve looked it up. CP fans who only praise one half of the couple are biased shippers.”
Xiao Nan: “???”
Boss, when did you get so into surfing the web! Can you please not learn such weird things!!
Trying to make up for it, Xiao Nan showered Song Yushi with all kinds of effusive praise on the way to the airport. It was so over-the-top that even the driver couldn’t take it anymore and kept shooting her sidelong glances. Xiao Nan, who knew the driver well, glared back. “What are you looking at? Never seen an employee brown-nosing before?”
The driver grunted in sincere agreement. “Just from listening to you, I’d honestly think you were a sasaeng fan.”
Xiao Nan: “…”
Xiao Nan decisively changed the subject. “After we get to Ao City tonight, we need to go for a fitting for tomorrow’s photoshoot. The theme for this magazine cover is ‘Discovering a Different Kind of Beauty,’ and the outfits are a school uniform, a wedding dress, and a suit.”
As she spoke, Xiao Nan snuck a glance at Song Yushi, who was gazing out the window in a daze with her chin propped on one hand. She merely nodded, showing no other reaction.
It was the driver who grunted, “That combination of words sounds awfully familiar.”
Xiao Nan: “…”
She could already imagine the spectacle on the day the magazine was released. It was bound to hit the trending topics, top the Super Topic charts, and drive thousands of fans into a shipping frenzy as they all flipped through the pages of a love story that progressed from school uniforms to a wedding dress and a suit.
On the day of the photoshoot.
Since there could be no leaks from the set, the CP fansites could only express their excitement through text, telling fellow fans to get their “wedding gift money” ready. The CP fans were teased into a state of unbearable anticipation, making all sorts of guesses in the Super Topic, until—
【Fuck! @Time Magazine just leaked four photos! Everybody, click and look at them now!】
【I’m dead, every set is absolutely stunning! The school uniform is so innocent, the wedding dress is gorgeous, and the suit is so handsome!!】
【Qi Ke looks so handsome in a suit, ahhh! How can someone with long hair be so beautiful and cool at the same time? And damn it, it’s in black and white! She’s even reaching her hand out to the camera. The sense of immersion is too strong; I’m already preparing my dowry.】
【Yushi is too beautiful in her wedding dress, wuwuwu! Wife! I’m driving my Maserati over to pick you up right now!】
【To be honest, in these three sets of photos, I’ve truly come to appreciate the different kinds of female beauty. The vibrant energy of youth, the dashing charisma of a suit, and the gentle beauty of a wedding dress. It’s absolutely stunning. Qi Ke and Song Yushi are absolutely stunning. (tpltpl)】
When the magazine photos were leaked, the entire internet went into a shipping frenzy, just as Xiao Nan had predicted. But there were exceptions, like fans who shipped Qi Ke with other people. Among them, the fans of the Qi Ke and Zhong Yi pairing were the sourest. Their passive-aggressive comments angered the Qi Yu CP fans, who couldn’t resist arguing back.
As a result, in the early hours of that morning, Zhong Yi’s fans all received a notification at the same time.
【Your darling Zhong Yi has liked a Weibo post from @QiYuGetsMarriedToday. The post reads: “But I had already planned for her to be in the rest of my life.” The accompanying images were two of Qi Yu’s wedding photos.】
For a moment, the Qi Ke and Zhong Yi CP fans fell silent, the Qi Yu CP fans were moved to tears, and Zhong Yi’s own fans roared with laughter. “Our Zhong Yi is so cute! Is she really shipping a CP online? Is she that hooked?”
A moment later, Zhong Yi posted on Weibo: “Sorry, my hand slipped.”
Netizens enthusiastically completed her sentence: “Sorry, my hand slipped. But this CP is so good to ship [manual doge].”
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