Just as Liang Yan had said, once the wrap party ended, he and Qiao Qi never saw each other again. They didn’t chat on WeChat, didn’t like each other’s Moments posts — because they’d blocked each other.
Aside from occasionally getting name-checked by a host during an interview, the two of them acted as if they’d never known each other at all.
News traveled faster within the industry than outside it. No sooner had Qiao Qi left the set of Misty Cloud Mansion than she started receiving offers from numerous companies, along with plenty of script proposals in her inbox.
Including quite a few variety show and reality TV offers.
Variety shows and reality TV had been popular for years now. Compared to joining a production, appearing on a reality show tended to make you more recognizable to the public and brought money in faster too.
After all, a short production could take three or four months, and a long one nearly half a year — exposure mattered a great deal to performers.
That day, while Qiao Qi was still weighing what to schedule next, she received a message from Director Cheng, saying there was an interview in a couple of days to promote Misty Cloud Mansion.
As the lead, Qiao Qi was naturally expected to attend. Thinking of Liang Yan, she asked tentatively, “Is everyone going to be there?”
Director Cheng didn’t hide anything. “All the leads will be there.”
Oh. So Liang Yan would be there too.
Speaking of which, Qiao Qi’s memory of Liang Yan had more or less stopped at the night she’d gotten drunk. She remembered rambling on and on to him.
She hadn’t actually lost all her senses to the alcohol — it was more that, aided by a little drink, all those years of pent-up emotion had suddenly found an outlet.
She’d thought it was supposed to be him pouring his troubles out to her; instead, in the end, it was her who ended up playing the pitiful one.
And playing it with real, heartfelt sincerity, too.
Fortunately, the two of them had tacitly agreed afterward to never bring it up again.
And they’d completely avoided each other on their main accounts since.
Thinking about this, Qiao Qi couldn’t help but feel irritated all over again.
Did he really have zero thoughts whatsoever about someone called “Qiao Qi”?
The more she thought about it, the angrier she got, and she went to go bother her secret account.
7: It’s raining, again! 7: So annoying! 7: Get out here and take your scolding!
Liangou: …here I am. Liangou: [Socialist Well-Behaved.jpg]
Four words and a sticker, and Qiao Qi’s anger dissolved by more than half. She hated how spineless she was about it, but there was nothing to be done — in the end, she just fumed pointlessly.
7: Come where! 7: I don’t see you!
Liangou: Right here, though! Liangou: Right in front of you! Liangou: Your little treasure, ripe for the taking!
7: Pfft. 7: Don’t see a thing. 7: Let’s break up. 7: No more online dating. 7: Can’t see you, can’t touch you, no point. 7: 886.
Liangou: … Liangou: Here we go again? Liangou: A breakup a month, eight hundred times — even flirting doesn’t work like this!
Shameless.
Who’s flirting.
Liangou: Where are you, anyway. Liangou: It’s raining there, right? Liangou: Not a cloud in the sky over Hu City. Totally clear.
7: I’m actually not in Hu City right now.
With the production wrapped, Qiao Qi no longer needed to stay in Hu City. She’d earned a substantial paycheck and used it to move into a more comfortable place. It was still far from downtown, but the conditions were far better than before.
Besides, she personally didn’t see the point in spending more money renting somewhere in the city center.
Over this past month, aside from moving, she’d also been visiting the orphanage regularly, occasionally flying back to Hu City to check on Maiya, and confirming the timing of the next surgery with Tong Shuqu.
But usually she flew in and out on the same day.
Still, she remembered Liang Yan also had a break in his schedule right now — why was he in Hu City?
7: You’re still in Hu City?
Liangou: Childhood friend just had a baby. Liangou: Came to crash the celebration drinks. Liangou: Prayers on the side.
7: …
Her gut told her nothing decent would come out of that dog’s mouth.
Liangou: Let my godson call out to my son.
7: …You’re really into favoring boys, huh?
Liangou: …
[System: Liangou recalled a message]
Liangou: Let my godson call out to my daughter.
7: You’re really into favoring girls now?
Liangou: …Let my godson call out to my child.
7: Why aren’t you recalling that one?
Liangou: …………
Liangou: Is it your time of the month?
7: ? 7: My period just ended less than a week ago. And you said you’d always remember my dates and remind me a week ahead to drink brown sugar water. 7: That’s how you remember it? 7: Ha.
Liangou: … Liangou: I’m sorry! Liangou: Kowtowing! Liangou: [Facing-the-Wall-in-Reflection.jpg]
Two minutes later, a notification popped up on Qiao Qi’s phone: [Someone you follow, @LiangYan, just posted a new Weibo update]
Qiao Qi tapped in out of habit and saw that Liang Yan had posted:
@LiangYanV: Ha.
Qiao Qi: “?”
Who’s he being sarcastic at?
Qiao Qi was planning to settle this score with Liang Yan in person during the interview in a few days, but before the two of them even got the chance to meet, a wave had already stirred up on Weibo.
It turned out that a photo of Liang Yan walking Qiao Qi back to her room that night had been caught by someone. Though the photo was blurry, just like last time, it was blurry in exactly the right way to make what had been an entirely innocent situation look ambiguous and entangled.
Public opinion couldn’t quite settle on a side, because Misty Cloud Mansion had already generated considerable buzz — the show hadn’t even aired yet and was already trending — and the shipping fans of Liang Yan and Qiao Qi as a couple had swept up quite a following of their own.
Now that the scandal had broken, the shipping fans and the solo fans went to war, and remarkably, at a glance, neither side seemed to be winning.
Cheng Yueming: Might be because Young Master Liang usually claps back at fans without mercy, so all his girlfriend-fans have already left.
Guo Lingling: We’re all mom-fans here, thank you very much.
Wu Shuang: …(I’ll just quietly lurk without saying anything)
Qiao Qi: “…”
Why does the group chat feel even livelier than Weibo itself?
Is watching drama up close really that fun?
Qiao Qi was thoroughly unhappy about it. She swiped out of WeChat and over to Weibo, which remained just as lively as ever, and the comments under Liang Yan’s latest post were especially vivid.
After all, that post had already been rather suggestive to begin with.
[…I’m done, I’m done, converting to mom-fan, converting to mom-fan]
[? Does our Young Master Liang actually have girlfriend-fans?]
[Not gonna lie, I used to be one, then I got the chance to see him in person once, went home and converted to mom-fan on the spot, because there’s no way in hell I’m good enough for him :)]
[Never been a girlfriend-fan, because I know where I stand hehehe]
[No hierarchy among fan types, no noble or lowly kind, thank you]
That was the discussion happening outside the scandal itself.
[Aaaaaaaah, waving the flag high!]
[Push, push, push! This ship better be real!!]
[Told you guys ages ago! That “ha” from Young Master Liang is obviously about him getting an earful from his girlfriend!]
[That’s right! That’s the one! @QiaoQi]
[Holy crap hahahaha, person up there’s got big balls, dancing right in front of the actual person, I’m dead]
That was the crowd enjoying the show, the more chaos the better.
Qiao Qi scrolled further, watching as major gossip accounts started reposting the story too, clearly stoking the topic hotter and hotter. And then, right as public sentiment started turning negative—
[Ugh… how many rounds of this is it now?]
[This “Seven” person who suddenly popped up — is there really no background there?]
[Has Young Master Liang ever had a scandal with anyone before?]
[Wow]
[The director is Cheng Yuzhi, and Cheng Yuzhi and Young Master Liang are close friends in private]
[Oh, so they’re just hyping each other up, then]
[…Ugh, so annoying, it was giving off good vibes at first, now it’s just being blindly stirred up for no reason]
Qiao Qi felt she was genuinely blameless in all this — she didn’t even have any memory of the moment captured in those trending photos. Still, she had to admit that seeing Liang Yan carry her into the room had actually surprised her somewhat.
Because she’d always assumed Liang Yan would just haul her in bluntly and roughly.
So, thinking it over, Qiao Qi decided to reach out to Liang Yan directly to talk it through. But before she could even switch over to WeChat, another notification popped up at the top of her screen:
[Someone you follow, @LiangYan, just posted a new Weibo update]
Qiao Qi: “…?”
Somehow, inexplicably, she felt a little uneasy.
Qiao Qi pressed her lips together and, after several seconds, finally tapped the notification, which took her straight to Liang Yan’s latest post.
@LiangYanV: Knock it off.
The comment section erupted into chaos.
[AAAAAAAAAAAH, WHAT MOM-FAN, TO HELL WITH THAT, I’M GOING TO BE A GIRLFRIEND-FAN!]
[AAAAAAAAAAAH I’M DEAD I’M DEAD I’VE DIED A HUNDRED TIMES OVER!!]
[I JUST DID A FULL SET OF MILITARY DRILLS IN BED!!!]
…Everyone seemed to have completely forgotten what the original post had even been about.
Liang Yan himself apparently noticed things had gone off the rails too, and posted a follow-up in his own comment section:
[That’s about enough. How many times have I said my dating criteria don’t include people in the industry? Can you all please pay attention?]
Qiao Qi: “…Oh.”
Just then, another message notification came through on her phone.
Liang Yan had messaged her on WeChat.
[Teacher Qiao, mind cooperating on a clarification post on Weibo?]
Qiao Qi laughed coldly.
You call this “cooperating”?
You call this “acting first, reporting later,” don’t you?!
That “not in the industry” line — who exactly does it think it’s fooling!
Author’s Note: All right. Goodnight. As for Liang Yan — rest in peace, sir.