The reflections of the two people overlapped on the road.
His mouth was pressed against her ear, and Jiang Chuyi could hardly hold the candy in her hand. "What are you curious about? It's not like I haven't kissed before."
"Really?"
Jiang Chuyi suddenly stood on tiptoe and kissed the corner of his lips, "I was just kidding."
Zongye paused, held her in his arms, bit her earlobe, and coaxed her, "Is that all? No need to kiss me?"
His bass became more and more sinister, making Jiang Chuyi's mind shaky. She could only push him away a little, "Still outside, it will be troublesome if someone sees you."
Zongye sighed and ruffled her hair, "It's okay if someone sees us."
Jiang Chuyi took his hand away, "That won't do. After all, you are a public figure, you still have to pay attention to your image."
The two of them walked hand in hand on the road.
Zongye scratched her palm and asked in a negotiating manner, "Would you like to stay at my house tonight?"
"No, I ran away from home secretly. If I don't go home later, my parents will scold me to death."
After hearing this, Zong Ye smiled and said, "Chu Yi is very obedient."
Jiang Chuyi's face was serious: "Besides, it's New Year's Day, and I don't have anything in my hands right now, so it's not easy for me to go to your uncle's house to wish him a happy new year."
"My uncle doesn't care about that."
Jiang Chuyi was not shaken at all: "We have confirmed our relationship, so we still have to be polite."
"Okay, I'll do as you say."
The two wandered around in the cold wind for a long time, and neither of them was willing to leave.
Wang Woyun called several times to urge him, and Jiang Chuyi quickly clicked on the voice bar in the family group.
Wang Woyun: "If you don't get home before midnight, don't come back tonight. You will have to take a taxi back home by yourself tomorrow. Jiang Chuyi, I'm warning you—"
Jiang Chuyi interrupted the WeChat voice message guiltily.
Zong Ye stood aside and said, "Then I will drive you home?"
Jiang Chuyi was suspicious: "Aren't you drunk? How can you drive?"
Zongye was slightly startled: "I forgot."
After several "restriction orders" were issued, Jiang Chuyi did not dare to delay any longer, and quickly stopped a taxi on the roadside, and urged him: "You should go back quickly, I can take a taxi by myself, and I will send you a message when I get home."
Souya sighed and hugged her, sniffing the scent of her scarf, "I don't want you to leave."
Jiang Chuyi's eyes were full of taxis. She patted him perfunctorily and said, "See you next time."
*
After the New Year, in April, Jiang Chuyi joined the crew of "Qiao Shu".
The story of this movie is set in a small town in the south of the Yangtze River, and the main filming location was in Suzhou.
In pursuit of authenticity, Yu Tong took several actors to a local Buddhist temple to volunteer for half a month before the official filming began, and found a special teacher to train them in dialect.
Both Suzhou and Shanghai belong to Wu dialect. Jiang Chuyi learned it relatively quickly, but it was difficult for another male actor in the crew. He complained every day and said that this dialect was simply incomprehensible.
Because she had to play a depressed patient, Jiang Chuyi followed the advice of professionals and disconnected from the Internet for a while. Apart from reading books and studying scripts, she basically didn't look at her phone every day. The only few times she went on Weibo were to repost and promote her new drama "September Rain".
At the beginning of the new year, the discussion about Xibao has exploded. It is almost transparent whether they will go solo after the tour. It has not been announced whether the members have renewed their contracts with the company. All schedules of each member are until June. As the time is getting closer, the fans of the band are getting anxious and urging the studio every day to give them an announcement for the second half of the year.
BloodXGentle’s last tour is scheduled to be in Shanghai, where they made their debut.
Jiang Chuyi and Yu Tong took a day off, hid it from Zong Ye, and with the help of friends in the circle, they went through a lot of trouble to grab two concert tickets.
On May 20th, subways, buses, the Shanghai Bund, and major shopping districts, all IM's theaters and LED screens were replaced with Xibao's advertisements. The scene was so spectacular that countless passers-by stopped to watch.
Some of the brands and fans endorsed by Zong Ye have personally paved a dense network of venues for him all over the country, and he has enjoyed unlimited glory and unmatched fanfare.
Jiang Chuyi can see him anywhere and at any time when walking on the street.
Stopping in front of a shopping mall, Jiang Chuyi took off her mask, stood under Zong Ye's huge billboard, raised her mobile phone, and took a photo with him.
The concert starts at 7:30 in the evening.
The stadium with a capacity of 10,000 people was filled with noise. Jiang Chuyi and Xiao Zhong sat in the corner of the terraced stands, holding up glow sticks and counting down with all the fans.
5, 4, 3, 2, 1—
At the end of the countdown, dazzling beams of light flashed, and the big screen in the center of the field suddenly went out, and everything fell silent. A few seconds later, the screen went from dark to bright, and a line of numbers 2022.5.20 appeared. Then, the line of numbers began to quickly go backwards, 2021, 2020, 2019... until it went back to a certain month in 2016. With a ding, the whole audience held their breath.
—A documentary of Xibao since his debut began to play.
The four young boys have been sweating in the practice room day and night, from being unknown to being surrounded by flowers today, to their first time on stage, appearing at major award ceremonies, and reaching the highest peak of glory. Countless live performances, thousands of fans cheered for them, accompanied by applause, and countless "Congratulations BloodXGentle", "Congratulations Zong Ye", "Congratulations Fu Cheng", "Congratulations Wang Tan", "Congratulations Ji Kai", these voices of shouting their names over and over again at the top of their lungs overlapped.
Just as the line of black numbers returned to 2022.5.20, the lights in the stadium suddenly lit up, and a "hush" came from somewhere.
As soon as their figures appeared on the center stage, everyone present almost lost control.
"Stop." Several people raised their microphones and pretended to listen. "Please call me?"
—A deafening roar came from the dark audience seats: “BloodXGentle!”
This performance lasted for four hours, and every song and every person's solo was almost sung by the entire audience. This should be the most shocking and exciting concert Jiang Chuyi has ever attended.
She was sitting far away, in a corner that was difficult for the patrol cameras to reach. Her tiny voice and shadow were drowned in the crowd, and she could only watch Souya on the big screen.
He was shining on the stage, the center of everyone's attention. His every smile, frown, lowered eyes, hand raised to hold the headset, every movement could cause loud cheers.
All good things must come to an end. No matter how reluctant you are, there is always a time to end. At the end of the concert, everyone's farewell was simple. Zongye still smiled gently, "I've said thank you. We'll meet again if we're lucky."
It seemed as if he had reached the end of the story.
Jiang Chuyi's eyes suddenly felt sore.
The people around him cried out with tears in their eyes: “No, no.”
Zongye had already bent down and put down the microphone.
After the concert, there was endless emptiness after the grand carnival, and most of the fans in the stadium did not leave.
Many people covered their mouths and cried silently in their seats.
It seems like a grand dream has ended, but countless people don’t want to wake up yet.
Xiao Zhong also burst into tears, "I don't know why, I feel so reluctant to leave."
Jiang Chuyi wiped her tears and said, "Don't cry. It's not like we won't see each other again in the future."
After the Xibao concert ended, late at night, the official Weibo posted a photo of the four members together, "We met by chance in the mountains and rivers, and we will meet again in the future. Please take care of yourself."
Several fan groups that were previously at odds with each other, for the first time ever, became harmonious. The comment section was clean, without a single word of quarreling or comparing with others.
[Tonight makes me feel like I have reconciled with the whole world. I hope they will be fine in the future.]
[I used to say I was beautiful alone, but now I really have to be beautiful alone. I suddenly want to cry TVT]
[Thank you, I have officially announced ptsd for the concert, luckily these people didn't cause any trouble, so I can watch the last performance in peace. I won't curse on a day like today, BloodXGentle will never disband, the eternal king of domestic entertainment]
*
Jiang Chuyi is on the set filming a drama. Once she gets into work, she rarely plays with her phone. She can only set aside a few fixed times a week to call Zong Ye.
The tour is over, but they seem to still have a lot of things to do.
She was basically disconnected from the Internet, so she had little idea of what was happening in the outside world.
A month after the concert, no matter how much fans urged, Soya Studio has not yet released any information about the next schedule.
The career critic cursed back and forth several times, but there was still no result.
Ever since Xibao openly went solo, fans of the "Yi Jian Zong Qing" CP have been in a semi-crazy state. Not only have they occupied half of Bilibili, they have been trying to make their presence felt on various forums every day, asking when Zong Ye and Jiang Chuyi will make an official announcement. Now that the group has disbanded, they don't have to hide it anymore and can just date happily.
The fans of CP, who already had no place to vent their anger, could no longer tolerate it. After bombing the super chat several times without any results, they officially declared war on this group of CP fans, determined to eliminate the largest "cancer gang" on the Internet.
It was originally just a small-scale exchange of insults, but in the end the big fans of both sides got involved, thus starting a century-long feud that will go down in history.
When gods fight, mortals suffer. Even the production crew of "Shining Stars" was dug up and suffered a new round of attacks.
At the beginning, the large number of fans of the only one gained the upper hand, scolding the CP fans for having problems with their brains, relying on some stupid editing to make hard candy, not afraid of knocking out their dentures. The CP fans were not easy to deal with, and they listed various evidences in dissatisfaction. The only one fans quickly fought back, made a 99-page PPT, and set up several anti-black websites to clarify all kinds of "rumors" about Souya.
[I am speechless. People should have some conscience. A nobody has taken advantage of your father's popularity and it's not enough? Is there something wrong? Is there anything wrong? Zong Ye is really pitiful... ]
[Zongsi is forced to be blind, true love is always above everything else, Zong Ye and Jiang Chuyi are a perfect match]
[The final outcome of the CP hype is that the female party abuses the fans to purify them. The future of Jiang Chuyi sucking blood to rise to the top is already foreseen. The CP fans who "Yi Jian Zong Qing" say that it is for the good of both of them, while forcing their heads down. Ask yourself, which one of you has thought about Zong Ye? Huh? Isn't it all for that dirty selfishness? Isn't it all for the perspective of the female party? Can you vote for him? Can you buy him a magazine? Can you guarantee that he won't lose popularity after the relationship is exposed? Can you help him get a box office of 100 million? If not, shut up!]
[To put it bluntly, you guys are just obsessed with TOP cancer. You don't want Zong Ye to date because you're afraid he'll become obscure. It's great to be a top star in the domestic entertainment industry. But are top stars not human? Can't they have someone they like? Isn't it good to respect love and facts? How do you know that we CP fans can't help him increase sales and keep him popular? ]
The matter was getting more and more serious until a well-known paparazzi suddenly released two sets of pictures and joined the war of the century, giving the fans the final blow.
One set of pictures was taken on the day after the Zero Degree Dinner, when a dark figure got into Souya's nanny car, stayed there for half an hour, and then got out again. Another set of pictures was taken a few months ago, near Souya's home, when the two of them were hugging each other intimately on the side of the road.
These materials are very blurry, with mosaics and no frontal faces. One can only vaguely make out the two people's figures, which leaves room for clarification.
Despite this, as soon as the incident came out, the hot searches immediately exploded, public opinion was all over the place, and several entries with #宗也姜初宜# once again topped the list.
The love affair of Xibao Da TOP was revealed, and this big earthquake shocked almost everyone. Marketing accounts started to carry the news, and for a while the whole circle was watching the fun.
Jiang Chuyi, who had been in isolation, also received the news soon.
But she had been mentally prepared, and she had expected that the day of disclosure would not be peaceful. After reading the news, facing Gao Ning's question, Jiang Chuyi just said calmly, "Don't worry about it for now."
CP fans reveled all night, pausing their quarrels and waiting excitedly for the official announcement. On the other hand, Zong Ye's fans went completely crazy and shifted all their anger to Jiang Chuyi.
Various rumors were spread about Jiang Chuyi, and some toxic fans even dug up the negative information about her and Qin Tong in the past and reported it to the radio and television stations, asking them to ban the "bad female artist."
In a short period of time, Jiang Chuyi's real-time square was completely washed by toxic fans, with all kinds of disgusting insults, and all kinds of photoshopped photos of her death and black photos circulated. In addition, all the dramas she participated in were also widely criticized, especially the new drama "September Rain", which dropped below 3.0 overnight, causing the director to post a Weibo post.
@黎鸣: I am old now, but the fans of some popular stars are really eye-opening. Chu Yi is a very good actor and very dedicated. At least her work should not be innocently affected.
Zongye’s studio and a series of fan clubs posted on Weibo to stop the behavior of certain fans and ask them to stop online violence.
The big fans with red V collectively spoke out, barely controlling the comments and asking them to wait for the official to give a final explanation. Most of the fans were still rational, but the attacks of the toxic fans could not be stopped at all, and the situation was completely out of control.
Jiang Chuyi's phone number was somehow leaked, and her phone was shut down due to calls. At the same time, the filming location of "Qiao Shu" was also exposed, and she was harassed by illegitimate fans for several days. After Jiang Chuyi finished filming, she was hit by eggs thrown at her by onlookers from a distance.
She walked forward with her head lowered.
Xiao Zhong protected her while clearing the way and scolding the group of people.
With her hair and clothes covered in mucus, Jiang Chuyi went back to the hotel and took a shower.
Jiang Chuyi was forced to shut down her previous phone and applied for a new phone card. After drying her hair and sitting on the bed, she logged into WeChat and saw many people sending her condolences.
Jiang Chuyi replied carefully to each message.
Chen Yi: "Damn, are you okay? I'm getting so anxious seeing the trending searches, you'd better stay at home and don't go anywhere for the next two days."
Jiang Chuyi: "I don't have anything to do. The director gave me a few days off. It's just right for me to rest for a few days."
Chen Yi: "You still call this okay? I was furious when I saw the trending searches. Are those people seriously ill to harass you on the set?!"
Jiang Chuyi: "Ah? It's trending so soon? I haven't even seen it yet."
Chen Yi: "Don't read it for now, there's not much good to say anyway. But what are you and Souya planning? Are you going to make it official?"
Jiang Chuyi: "Zong also told me before that he planned to wait until the concert was over and then make the official announcement around mid-June. Now that it's revealed a few days earlier, it doesn't make any difference. It should be the day after tomorrow, right?"
Chen Yi: "I advise you not to make it official, just fool around. Look at how crazy those fans are now. If you and Zong Ye really make it official, won't they kill you?"
Jiang Chuyi: "Zong is able to be where he is today, and his fans are also very important. It is not good to lie to them, and there must be an explanation for the matter."
Chen Yi: "Alas, the current social circle is so fucking distorted. It's not illegal for male celebrities to have a relationship. Is it that serious..."
Jiang Chuyi comforted her in return: "It can't be helped. Zong Ye has too much traffic and a lot of attention, so there must be more trouble. Just bear with it and it will pass."
After sending messages to Chen Yi, Jiang Chuyi clicked on Zong Ye's profile picture. During the half day when her phone was shut down, he sent many messages.
Jiang Chuyi called him.
The call was connected quickly.
"Hello? Chu Yi?"
Jiang Chuyi explained: "My phone was turned off just now, so I didn't receive your message. I got a new phone card and will send you the number later."
Zongye was silent for a long time before he said, "I'm sorry, Chuyi."
"Why are you apologizing to me?" Jiang Chuyi suddenly realized, "You also saw the trending search."
His voice slowed down: "Chu Yi, are you tired now?"
Jiang Chuyi is not a heartless person. On the contrary, because of her profession, she is actually very sensitive. Facing the overwhelming scolding and rumors, it is understandable that she will be very sad, sad and wronged. But Jiang Chuyi can adjust her emotions by herself. When she chose to date Zong Ye, she had already anticipated this day. Because she had made enough psychological preparations, she was calm in the face of all the turmoil that happened now.
Jiang Chuyi said casually: "Zong Ye, I'm not that fragile."
Afraid that he would worry, she deliberately asked him in a relaxed tone whether he had thought of the official announcement copy, and whether Weibo would be paralyzed after they made the official announcement.
Zongye chuckled: "I've already thought about it."
Jiang Chuyi was curious: "What are you going to post? I haven't thought about it yet."
"I can't tell you yet."
Jiang Chuyi: "Other people's official announcements were all discussed in advance, but you didn't tell me. Are you planning to make the announcement yourself?"
Zong didn't say anything either.
He changed the subject and said in a serious voice, "Chu Yi, I will resolve the issue of your work being affected as soon as possible."
"It's not a big deal, it's just someone throwing eggs at me." Jiang Chuyi wrinkled his nose and said nonchalantly, "Maybe I threw too many eggs at others when I was playing Landlord, and now the retribution has finally fallen on me."
"If there must be retribution, it will all fall on me."
Jiang Chuyi was silent.
For some reason, after hearing what Souya said, the tense emotions that had been in my heart for many days finally relaxed, and the negative and depressed emotions in my heart slowly emerged.
It seemed that no matter what happened, Zong Ye could unconditionally accept everything about her and take responsibility for everything for her.
She no longer has to pretend to be strong.
Jiang Chuyi blinked back her tears and said, "Don't be sentimental here. I don't blame you for anything. Although I should blame you. Who made you insist on dating me in the first place? You are the one who should be scolded the most."
"It's all my fault." Zongye agreed, "It's my fault."
She said angrily, "Forget it, let them scold me. At worst, I won't act anymore. I will just lie at home every day and wait for you to make money to support me."
"Okay, I'll give you all the money I make in the future."
“I want a pet, too.”
"I'll help you raise it."
"And I need to buy clothes."
"I'll buy it for you."
“I also want to travel.”
"I'll accompany you."
Jiang Chuyi burst into laughter and hugged the pillow tightly, "Zong Ye, actually, after our relationship was exposed, I was a little scared, but when I heard your voice, I felt relieved."
"Don't be afraid." Zong Ye paused and assured her, "These things will be over in two days."
Although she knew very well that once her relationship with Zong Ye was confirmed, the public opinion storm would never be easily calmed down, but Jiang Chuyi was still comforted by him a lot, "I know, I will be strong, you don't have to worry about me."
They talked on the phone for a long time and didn't hang up until late at night.
Jiang Chuyi was lying on the bed, and before her thoughts fell into darkness, she vaguely heard a sentence coming from the phone.
"Chu Yi, I hope you can always be happy and always be able to do what you like."
*
The official announcement was delayed, and the Internet carnival lasted for days and nights. CP fans were cheering for Jiang Chuyi, while they were engaged in a long-lasting war of insults with the toxic fans.
The marketing accounts that were originally riding on the popularity of the news suddenly shut down their microphones, and the paparazzi who had previously posted the photos did not make any follow-up moves. All the negative news about Jiang Chuyi, including all the hot searches about the true or false relationship with Zong Ye, were removed overnight.
An anonymous account posted a message on Douban: "Inside the circle, first-hand information, something big is going to happen tomorrow... something earth-shattering."
[Is Zong Ye and Jiang Chuyi going to make an official announcement?]
[I'm also going to make an official announcement. I don't know why... It was so noisy a few days ago, but now it's suddenly so peaceful, like the calm before the storm...]
[Zong wouldn't be so desperate, right? He would announce it at this critical moment. Does he not want to be a top star anymore? If he dares to make it public, I respect him as a man.]
[I have a feeling that after tomorrow, Yi Jian Zongqing’s CP fans will really bully the domestic entertainment industry… ]
In mid-June, all of Souya's endorsement deals expired.
After completing the termination process, Zong Ye walked out of the meeting room under everyone's silent gaze.
Li Heyin was furious and cursed at IM headquarters for the whole morning.
At the same time, most people still go to work, take buses, and catch subways as usual. Celebrity gossip is just a topic of conversation in their spare time.
A lot of things happen every day, and the hot topics discussed on Weibo change one after another, where there is a sudden rainstorm, where there is a fire, who releases a new song, which boy band debuts...
It rained in Shanghai at noon.
It was also at this ordinary noon when everything was happening as usual that a topic suddenly emerged on the hot search list.
Because of this trending search, countless people flocked to Zong Ye’s Weibo.
However, when they clicked on it, they found that Zong Ye had cleared all his Weibo posts, leaving only the last statement of his withdrawal from the circle:
My love affair is true. I have known her since we were young, and it has been more than ten years. From the beginning to the end, what happened between her and me was what I wanted. I will bear all the consequences. I implore you to stop disturbing her.
I entered the circle by chance, and along the way, I was fortunate to receive flowers, applause, and honors. I am deeply grateful for your love.
But all the beautiful scenery I have seen in my life is still not as good as the rain ten years ago.
It was me who was trapped in that rain.
From now on, he will no longer participate in any activities as an artist and will withdraw from the entertainment industry indefinitely.
Apologies.
Zong Ye/2022.6.15
(End of this chapter)