His voice was very soft, but it was loud enough for Jiang Chuyi to hear clearly.
She was shocked by these words and let out an unexpected "ah".
"What's wrong?" Zong Ye stopped what he was doing and looked up at her.
“No, it’s just…” In the cramped space, under his serious gaze, Jiang Chuyi nervously wanted to pull her hand back.
"What is it?" he asked.
She couldn't figure it out, and in her hesitation and confusion, she just answered randomly: "I just think you're... too gentle."
Zong Ye looked at her with amusement, "Am I gentle?"
Jiang Chuyi's ears felt hot and her head was spinning. She stammered, "Among the people I've met, she's one of the most gentle ones."
He continued his movements without saying anything. He used water to rub away the traces of toothpaste, and then Zong Ye said with a half smile, "There are times when I am not gentle."
Jiang Chuyi said nothing.
Fortunately, the topic was not continued.
After washing the hem of the clothes, Zongye stood up and said to her, "I'll go find a hair dryer."
Jiang Chuyi stood where she was.
Zong Ye walked to the bed, half-knelt on one knee, reached out and opened the bedside table.
Jiang Chuyi didn't dare to look at things in the bathroom. She could only follow Zong Ye's direction. Suddenly, she found something familiar on the bed behind him.
It was the plush blanket he had once asked for himself.
The pure white bunny blanket looked particularly out of place on the dark bed. It was crumpled into a ball, like a puddle of melted milk, and curled up pitifully beside the pillow.
Jiang Chuyi immediately turned her head back and stared at the floor beneath her feet.
Zongye brought in the hair dryer he found and plugged it into the socket.
She wanted to say she would do it herself, but Zongye had already turned on the hair dryer and started blowing the wet parts of her clothes.
Jiang Chuyi moved slightly.
He slid his thumb down, turned down the wind a notch, and asked, "Too windy?"
She avoided his gaze and said awkwardly, "No, I'll do it myself. It's too much trouble for you."
"It's okay, just blow for two minutes."
Zong Ye continued to blow her clothes.
Seeing Jiang Chuyi coming down from upstairs alone, Ji Kai wondered: "Where is Zong Ye?"
"He said he wanted to take a shower, so I came down first."
Ji Kai pressed the remote control, said "oh", and continued watching the crosstalk.
Chen Xiangliang put the dishes and chopsticks on the table, and said without even looking up, "Don't worry about him, the meal will be ready soon, let's eat first."
Wang Tan: "It's ok, uncle. Let's wait for him. It won't take long for him to take a bath. Zong Ye is the birthday boy today."
Jiang Chuyi wanted to go into the kitchen to help serve the dishes, but was stopped by Chen Xiangliang, "Please sit down. This is your first time here as a guest. What kind of work is there for a young girl? Don't get your clothes dirty again."
Jiang Chuyi had no choice but to sit back at the dining table.
Xin He called in, glanced at Jiang Chuyi, and pulled the chair next to her, "Why did you wash your clothes and make your face red?"
Jiang Chuyi reflexively raised her hand to touch her face, "Is there?"
Xin He was too lazy to say anything more, and said with an expression that seemed to show that she was not doing her best, "Take a look yourself."
"It's probably because it's hot." Jiang Chuyi pretended to be calm, picked up a glass of water and took a sip.
"Hot?" Xin He obviously didn't believe it, sneered, and said coldly, "Could it be that Cheng Zong also forced a kiss on you?"
"puff."
The unswallowed water almost choked Jiang Chuyi to death. She coughed twice and glanced at Xin He softly, "Don't, don't talk nonsense."
"I was just joking, why are you so excited?"
Jiang Chuyi retorted: "I'm not excited, I just got choked."
"Alas." Xin He held his forehead and sighed, "You are almost 30 years old, but you are as innocent as a primary school student."
Zong Ye took a shower and came down from upstairs.
Several people stopped talking and laughing and looked at him.
He changed into a navy blue sweatshirt and grey sweatpants. He was tall and thin, and his skin looked even whiter.
Many people on the Internet use adjectives such as "fishing", "abstinence", and "desire" to evaluate Zong Ye. However, at this moment, a new word popped up in Jiang Chuyi's mind.
Pure.
Walking to the dining table, Zongye glanced at everyone who was looking at him and asked, "Why aren't you eating?"
"If you don't come, how can we dare to eat?" Ji Kai was speechless, "You are a man, do you need to take so long to take a shower? You are so hypocritical!"
Zongye sat down and apologized, "I was delayed in washing my hair."
Chen Xiangliang went to get a bottle of white wine and asked Xin He and Jiang Chuyi, "What would you like to drink?"
"Just drink water." Xin He smiled, "To manage our body shape, we generally don't drink beverages."
Jiang Chuyi also nodded.
Chen Xiangliang understood very well, "It's not easy for you to be a star."
He directed Zongye, poured a glass of white wine for the men at the table, and raised the glass in his hand, "It's not easy to get together on Zongye's birthday. Uncle is happy today, so you can drink with me."
Jiang Chuyi couldn't help but worry when she saw Ji Kai taking the first sip heroically.
She had seen with her own eyes how much these people could drink on New Year's Eve. If they drank so much now, they would probably vomit it out soon.
Faced with a table full of delicious carbohydrates, Jiang Chuyi silently postponed her diet plan for two days.
Zong wasn't bragging, his uncle's cooking skills were indeed very good.
Jiang Chuyi has a light taste and cannot handle spicy food very well, but she became addicted to the plate of fried pork with chili in front of her.
While eating, I was sweating from the spiciness and had to stop to drink some water before continuing eating.
Chen Xiangliang also noticed this scene and couldn't help but smile: "Isn't the fried pork with peppers delicious?"
Jiang Chuyi nodded shyly and wiped the sweat off her face with the back of her hand, "Uncle, your cooking skills are like those of a professional chef."
"I am a professional." Chen Xiangliang smiled, "Zong never told you that we opened a Hunan restaurant at home."
“Hunan cuisine?”
“Yes, I’m from Hunan.”
Jiang Chuyi suddenly realized.
As they were talking, Zongye picked up a box of tissues, walked around half the table, and silently placed it next to her.
She was slightly stunned and said thank you.
After three rounds of drinks, Chen Xiangliang became interested and told them some past events.
Everyone at the table listened in silence.
It turns out that Chen Xiangliang is not Zong Ye's biological uncle. Ten years ago, he came to Shanghai penniless. He set up a stall and sang on the street during the day and slept on a bench in the park at night.
One day, he met a skinny boy in the park. Chen Xiangliang saw that he was young and pitiful, and his clothes were dirty. He took the initiative to ask a few questions, and then he found out that his parents were gone.
Later, Zong followed him and began to live a wandering life, sleeping in the open and eating outside, and for several years he made money by performing on the streets.
Jiang Chuyi's heart was in turmoil and she couldn't help but look at Zong Ye.
His expression didn't change much, and he even smiled slightly.
As Chen Xiangliang continued to speak, Jiang Chuyi suddenly remembered something and said, "I'm quite familiar with the place you're talking about. I went to high school nearby."
Chen Xiangliang: "What a coincidence."
The more she looked at Chen Xiangliang, the clearer some of the memories in her mind became.
The "dirty stuff" about her and Qin Tong probably came out in her senior year of high school. At that time, Jiang Chuyi had just encountered the first low point in her life, and many of her jobs were suspended, so she returned to school to continue her studies.
During that period, she kept to herself and often did not go home after school. She wandered aimlessly on the road alone. Occasionally, when she met a wandering singer playing the guitar, she would stop and listen to a few songs.
Jiang Chuyi said what she remembered and hesitated, "Maybe I saw you guys when I was in high school."
Ji Kai exclaimed, "Is this true? You two are destined to be together?"
Jiang Chuyi shook her head slowly, "I'm not too sure... it's just possible."
Chen Xiangliang smiled: "When you mentioned it, I also felt that you looked familiar. Maybe I really saw you at that time."
Jiang Chuyi: “Ah?”
Chen Xiangliang took another sip of wine and said something to her without any context, "It could be earlier."
After the meal, Chen Xiangliang asked Zong Ye to bring the guitar that was placed in the corner, saying that he wanted to play a few songs for them live.
Wang Tan smiled.
Chen Xiangliang plucked the strings and tested the sound. "You little bastard, do you look down on your uncle? I was the one who taught Zong Ye how to play guitar the first time."
A group of people sat on the sofa. Chen Xiangliang turned off the lights in the restaurant, pulled a chair over, held his guitar, and played a few old love songs from the last era for them, all of which were Liu Ruoying's songs.
When playing the song "Later", Ji Kai became very excited and couldn't help howling along.
"How do you remember me, with a smile or in silence..."
"Over the years, has anyone been able to keep you from being lonely..."
Jiang Chuyi couldn't help laughing, and as she was laughing, she noticed someone was looking at her.
She and Zongye met eyes through several people.
He sat down next to Wang Tan with a hunched back and gently shook the cup in his hand in her direction.
Jiang Chuyi didn't understand what he meant.
She took a few seconds to react, leaned over, picked up the beer bottle on the coffee table, took a sip, and then looked at him uncertainly.
Zongye lowered his eyes and smiled silently. In the dim light, he raised his head and drank the remaining wine in his glass.
*
Knowing that Zong Ye once set up a stall and sang near her high school, Jiang Chuyi found her long-unused computer when she went home for the Spring Festival. She searched through the cloud disk containing photos taken during her high school years, trying to find something.
Unfortunately, after searching for several hours, no traces were found.
In the evening, the family watched the Spring Festival Gala. Wang Woyun scolded Jiang Chuyi: "What are you doing locked in your room all day long? You don't even say a word to your dad when you come back."
Jiang Chuyi was absentmindedly watching the skit on TV, and suddenly asked Jiang Chenglin: "Dad, do you remember when you went to my school in high school, did you see any wandering singers nearby? The kind that played guitar and sang, and brought their children with them."
Jiang Chenglin frowned at her question, "How can I remember something that happened so long ago?"
Jiang Chuyi said "oh" to hide the slight disappointment in her tone: "Okay."
Wang Woyun: "You worry about these things every day. When will you bring a boyfriend home to show your parents?"
Jiang Chuyi felt a headache when she heard this, and quickly said: "I'm busy with work now, there's no rush."
After the skit was over, Jiang Chuyi made an excuse and went back to her room to rest.
Jiang Chuyi didn’t know if it was because of her period, but she felt a little depressed.
She lay down on the bed, hugged her rabbit doll, and thought absentmindedly about her various actions in the past few days, looking through high school photos and seeking confirmation from people around her.
I seem to be a bit neurotic...
Because Ji Kai casually said "it's fate", she wanted to prove that it is possible that she had met Zong Ye in high school.
It doesn't make any difference whether you have seen it or not...
Fortunately, a phone call from her cousin helped her relieve her upset.
As the two were chatting, Jiang Chuyi suddenly heard the sound of fireworks exploding outside the window.
I looked at the time and found that it was already twelve o'clock.
Jiang Chuyi complained to her cousin on the phone: "My neighbors are so bold. Shanghai has such a strict ban on fireworks, but they are not afraid of being arrested by the police."
"It's Chinese New Year, how can we have the festive atmosphere without fireworks? The police officers also want to celebrate the Chinese New Year."
Shan Wanwan responded to her incoherently. Jiang Chuyi heard the clacking sound of typing and knew that she was chatting with someone else.
She also started checking her phone.
After grabbing a few red envelopes in the family group, Jiang Chuyi left.
Several friends sent her messages wishing her a Happy New Year. Jiang Chuyi replied one by one until the end, when she clicked on Zongye's profile picture.
Just after I replied to his message, I heard Shan Wanwan swear.
Jiang Chuyi was puzzled, "What's wrong?"
"Fuck, I'm fighting with Zongye's fans." Shan Wanwan cursed several times, "I posted a Weibo to praise my idol for being the most beautiful, and they all came to KY him. They are really sick, they have serious top cancer, I want to vomit."
Jiang Chuyi remained silent.
Looking at the WeChat chat box, she couldn't help but think that if Dan Wanwan knew that she was chatting with Zong Ye, she would probably come to her house immediately.
Shan Wanwan said angrily, "I don't know what the fans of Bichaji are so proud of. They act like they are superior to others every day and have no aesthetic sense at all. Zong Ye is so popular that people who like him are vulgar! Don't you think so, sister?"
Jiang Chuyi fell silent.
She didn't respond to her cousin, but turned over and thought, yes, there are so many people who like Souya, it's already a common thing.
So even if I accidentally fall in love with him in the future, it would be just something I can't help.
It sounds like it's not something that is so difficult to accept.
*
Because there were problems with the filing of some plots involved in "September Rain", Jiang Chuyi was delayed for more than a month before joining the crew.
This is a modern drama, unlike the costume dramas where actors have to hang on wires, jump into the water or jump off a building. Plus, the filming took place in downtown Xiamen, so Jiang Chuyi's life is pretty comfortable.
I often go buy something to eat after filming and go to the beach to relax with Xin He and a few assistants.
The original novel of "September Rain" has many fans and a large number of passers-by, so it has received good attention. In order to maintain the popularity, the production team also bought some marketing accounts during the filming, pretending to be passers-by taking photos and releasing some high-definition Reuters.
Among these Reuters, the group of scenes featuring Jiang Chuyi and Ren Hanjun's rivalry attracted the most attention.
This scene required a fall on the ground, which was a bit dangerous. But Jiang Chuyi did not use a stunt double and filmed it three times, each time falling hard to the ground.
She supported herself on the ground with one hand, her thin wrist was fragile and easy to break. Jiang Chuyi's expression seemed to be enduring severe pain, biting her lips to make them red. Then, she controlled her expression and slowly turned her head, exposing her delicate face completely to the camera.
In the videotape, she was kneeling on the ground, looking innocent and timid, with tears in her eyes.
Ren Hanjun looked at her for a few seconds and raised his hand to wipe away her tears.
The atmosphere of handsome men and beautiful women is too strong, and the fact that Ren Hanjun's profile in this clip looks very similar to Zong Ye led to even a similar entry #Ren Hanjun Zong Ye#, which accidentally sparked a lot of discussion on Weibo.
A few senior fans in the circle made a few mocking remarks, saying that the clarity of this clip was so terrifying that it was obvious that the production team was deliberately hyping it up.
Apart from the fact that Ren Hanjun was criticized by Zong Ye's fans, most of the comments about Jiang Chuyi were relatively positive. Many praised Jiang Chuyi's acting skills as worthy of a movie star brought up by Qin Tong, and she beat Ren Hanjun in all aspects who couldn't keep up with her.
The most important thing is that Jiang Chuyi seemed so dedicated when she fell down, without any exaggeration, to the extent that all the fans of the film felt pity for her.
In recent years, the domestic entertainment industry has praised celebrities too much, which has aroused many people's rebellious psychology. Especially when compared with South Korea and Thailand, people have to ask "what are you worried about?"
[Oh my god, obscure actors really have no human rights. If they were a bigger star, the fans would have been crying and shouting to the grave of the crew...]
[Please, Ren Hanjun, can you practice your acting skills? What's the point of just having plastic surgery?! Your face has already fallen apart before you're even 30! ]
[Sister, with your acting skills, you should just continue to act in movies... Taking on a role as a supporting role for Toho in a school drama like this is really a waste of your talent. I'm sorry...]
[I hope to give these talented and dedicated actors more good opportunities. My eyes have been tortured enough by those popular young actors.]
[Why are you all cursing? I just feel that... Ren Hanjun and Wanwan Lei Zong are so cute... I have completely been drawn into Zong Ye in this segment...]
[Are you okay, big sister? Can you please let Souya go? These two are a perfect match, they both like to suck my blood, this drama should be ruined! (vomit)]
[Baichaji fans really like to break down defenses. What's wrong with me just wanting to see Zong Yi? Can you kill me? I want to say - Zong Ye only loves Jiang Chu Yi [heart]]
Due to the Wanwan Lei Zong incident, a super topic that had been dry for a long time without any new material became active again.
[Someone must be fidgeting during the concert, hating himself for not being Ren Hanjun's stand-in! ]
[This Reuters post about Chu Yi is in the top three of the trending searches. Xiao Zong must have seen it, right? Is he feeling sorry for his wife? ]
[Don't say any more, the forum master has already figured it out, Zong Ye is already dying of jealousy! ]
[Zong Ye saw Chu Yi crying and another man was wiping her tears. He thought to himself: My wife is so pitiful and cute. I will press her on the bed and make love to her when I get home tonight.]
At the end of May, Xibao’s last tour in Macau ended.
In the lounge, Li Jian told them about the next work plan.
The three sponsors and Star City have already decided on the name of the variety show they will produce, which is called "Shining Stars".
This variety show is an outdoor challenge reality show. The script will set up some game plots, and each episode will have a theme, including team PK. It will be recorded in about five or six times across the country, and is expected to go to Changsha, Xishuangbanna, Guangzhou, Zhengzhou and other places.
Similar to most reality shows, "Shining Stars" shoots two episodes in advance, including a pilot, and then records and broadcasts them simultaneously in the later stage.
While listening to Li Jian, Ji Kai became interested: "It sounds interesting."
Wang Tan was listless. "Is it fun? Recording this kind of reality show is so boring and tiring."
Fu Cheng asked: "When does it start?"
Li Jian: "If nothing unexpected happens, we will go to Beijing to record a pilot film next Wednesday."
After he finished speaking, Li Jian sent them the list of guests to be invited for the variety show.
Zong also took it.
He was not in a very interesting mood, so he just put it on the table and quickly scanned the names of the regular guests.
Two familiar old variety show stars, an actress Feng Miaotong who was inserted by a sponsor, a male artist Xu Jiayu who was newly signed by IM, and a singer from Xingcheng...
As he watched, Zongye suddenly stopped.
He reached out, took the page of paper in front of him, and checked it again.
In the second to last row, three words were clearly written in black on a white background:
— Jiang Chuyi.
(End of this chapter)