CSGM - Chapter 151
Chapter 151: Better Than an Official Announcement
Ever since the incident where warring fans were locked in a police station conference room to do physics competition papers, Chu Xi's unconventional methods had become widely known.
Thanks to this rather "terrifying" approach, the solo fans from both sides, who had been bickering endlessly, gradually quieted down.
Now, a new sentiment was spreading through the fan groups and private chats-
They're already together, so what can we do? Respect their decision, wish them well, and just spoil them!
Love is about respect and support, not possession and control.
It seemed another tacitly accepted couple had emerged in the entertainment industry.
Everyone, both inside and outside the industry, knew. Yet, neither Chu Xi nor Ren Zhi refuted it. Instead, their interactions became even more blatant.
Their colleagues who had worked with them were incredibly curious. They seemed surprised, yet at the same time, it felt completely logical.
-We knew something was up with those two for a while now, but when exactly did they get together? Hmm???
The trainees on Idol Training Camp felt as if a great weight had finally been lifted from their hearts.
So Teacher Ren and Teacher Chu really were in that kind of relationship! They had witnessed the ambiguous atmosphere between them for months!
Thinking about it carefully, they would have been more disappointed if that wasn't the nature of their relationship, right?
Many trainees had watched their interactions and had already subconsciously started shipping them, hoping it was real.
And then, it turned out to be real.
Hehe~
On the day of the Qixi Festival, Ren Zhi planned a full date itinerary for them, neatly written in a small notebook-
Play arcade games (Xiao Xi's hobby).
Have dinner at a restaurant.
Watch a movie.
Take a cruise along the coast and listen to violin music.
Go home.
The morning was scheduled for work; the two had a dual cover shoot for a fashion magazine.
The afternoon of arcade games was exhilarating for them both. For dinner, she had booked a private room at a restaurant specializing in Italian and French cuisine, and the atmosphere was sweet and warm.
The movie that evening was a romantic comedy.
For all of these activities, Ren Zhi had booked out the entire venue, ensuring no irrelevant people were around them.
About halfway through the movie, a staff member brought in two small cakes and placed them on the table in front of their home-theater-style seats, calling them viewing desserts.
Although Chu Xi was displeased by the interruption, her dissatisfaction quickly vanished when she saw how nice the cakes looked.
After the staff member left, Chu Xi picked up a small spoon and looked at the smooth, cool surface of the soufflé cake.
"It's dessert. Do you want some, Baby?"
Ren Zhi's eyes remained fixed on the big screen as she shook her head.
"You have it."
Knowing that Ren Zhi was still controlling her sugar intake, a daily routine for all 365 days of the year, Chu Xi scooped up the small fruits on the side for her.
"Then you have this, Baby. Blueberries. Open your mouth."
After feeding her the fruit, Chu Xi began to eat the cake herself. Ren Zhi, leaning back in her seat, glanced at her out of the corner of her eye, a faint smile playing on her lips.
The cake was sweet, silky, and had a delicate texture. But after just a few moments of enjoyment, Chu Xi's taste buds sensed something was off-
She had always possessed a keen sense of observation, able to see the bigger picture from a single clue. As she continued to dig into the cake, she noticed subtle changes in the density and shape of the ingredients inside. She immediately stopped.
Her brow furrowed as her tongue savored the aftertaste of the cake.
Hmm? Is this cake spoiled? I didn't taste anything wrong.
But it seemed like there was an issue with the ingredients. She quickly used her spoon to break the cake apart, intending to see what the problem was. To her surprise, she found a small, transparent plastic box hidden inside.
Inside the box lay a brilliant and exquisitely delicate diamond ring.
Chu Xi: "???"
She took the box out, wiped it clean with a wet wipe, and turned to look at the person beside her.
Ren Zhi was smiling at her.
Chu Xi suddenly understood. She sighed with a smile, "Baby, is this a surprise you prepared for me?"
Ren Zhi glanced at the ring and held out her hand. "This one is mine."
"Eh?"
Chu Xi blinked, took out the ring, and slipped it onto Ren Zhi's waiting ring finger.
"Baby, don't you like the ring I bought for you? Why did you buy one yourself?"
"I love it."
Ren Zhi picked up the base of the other small cake and fed a spoonful to Chu Xi.
After a few large bites from the top, she retrieved an identical small square box from inside.
Chu Xi watched as she took out another ring from the box and took hold of her right hand.
Ren Zhi said, "It's just that you always buy things only for me. Why don't you have your own half?"
As she spoke, she couldn't help but chuckle. "Don't you know that couples are supposed to wear matching rings, Xiao Xi?"
Chu Xi scratched the ends of her hair, looking dazed.
"Now we have our first pair of matching rings." Ren Zhi pushed the new, beautiful ring onto the third knuckle of her ring finger.
"Happy Qixi Festival. I love you."
"Hehe... Happy Qixi Festival, Baby."
That night, both of them posted on Weibo before midnight.
@Chu Xi: 【How to spend the festival? /[Thinking][Image][Image]...[Image]】
She attached a nine-photo grid: arcade tickets, arcade machines and controllers, the restaurant's sign, the private room's interior, movie ticket stubs, a panoramic view of the theater, the night seascape, and a photo of the luxury cruise ship.
@Ren Zhi: 【Had a great time! /[Haha][Image][Image]...[Image]】
This post also had a nine-photo grid: screenshots of the game, a "WIN" message, a table full of dinner dishes, sparkling red wine glasses, a scene from the movie on the big screen, the small dessert cake in her hand, the city lights by the sea, and the band playing on the cruise ship.
Fans and netizens who saw the red dot on their profile pictures clicked in to take a look-
Something seems... off...
Then they looked closer at all the corresponding photos...
So you two were just luring us single people in to slaughter us :)!
This- this- this- this- this, you post about the arcade, I post about the game; you post a picture of the movie theater, I post a picture of the big screen; you post the night view of the sea and the cruise ship, and I also post the surrounding scenery. What's the difference between this and an official announcement!!
Countless single netizens were green with envy.
【How bold! Flaunting your love so openly! Can someone tell me what day it is today? Oh, Qixi Festival. My apologies.】
【You two... have you skipped the official announcement and gone straight to living your sweet life? /[Kneels]】
【Can you please treat us netizens like outsiders?! You're basically shoving a bowl of PDA in my face and forcing me to eat!! /[Crying]/[Crying]】
【Damn it, is this an official announcement? You two really got me.】
【Even though I already knew something was going on between you two, posting these pictures on a day like today is a bit rude to a single person like me, isn't it? /[Smile]】
【Anyone not shipping ChuChu dong Ren is in for a hard time!!! /[Back to School]】
This was practically better than an official announcement.
Even Jin Yuan typed a string of "6"s for her sister-in-law.
-In her understanding of Xixi, there was no way Xixi could pull off such a high-level move on social media.
The flood of comments on the night of the Qixi Festival proved that the number of netizens who blessed Chu Xi and Ren Zhi far exceeded the small minority who strongly opposed them.
Love knows no identity or gender.
As long as something is sweet and warm, why can't it exist in this world?
Seeing Chu Xi, who usually looked down on people with a cool expression, lower her head and smile at Ren Zhi like a big puppy, everyone came to a profound realization.
A love-struck brain and a super brain can coexist!
Even Ren Zhi's solo fans gradually became less critical of Chu Xi.
Who could blame them, when the woman acted so deeply in love in every situation :)
Once they confirmed that Chu Xi was just a love-struck fool who always had Ren Zhi on her mind, and that their careers weren't hindered by their relationship but were actually flourishing with solid achievements, even the career-focused fans had nothing more to say.
It seemed this CP... wasn't so hard to ship after all... and was actually kind of sweet?
Ren Zhi produced a new variety show for which she had bought the rights, operated a cultural company that grew from her studio, and signed a batch of new artists, expanding her territory in the entertainment industry day by day.
Even industry insiders were amazed by her expansion speed and her good fortune of having nearly every investment become a hit.
Chu Xi took on a new movie as the sole female lead. Many paparazzi wanted to stake out the set to get photos of her.
Unfortunately, the film set was heavily guarded, and the paparazzi had no way of secretly photographing her work situation. They only frequently captured photos of Ren Zhi visiting the set, picking Chu Xi up to go home, and the two of them holding hands and laughing on the roadside.
The hashtag #XXXRevealsRenZhiAndChuXiInAGoodRelationship# would periodically appear on Weibo's hot search.
Seeing this, netizens felt reassured.
This December, the drama Jade-Carving Ballad successfully launched on Peach Video.
Opening the Peach Video app, one could see the platform's cover recommendation for the show. An S+-tier drama deserved such prominence!
What outsiders didn't know was that the drama's lead, Chu Xi, was also the master of the Peach Video CEO's daughter. There was no way its promotion would be anything less than top-tier.
As soon as the long-awaited Jade-Carving Ballad premiered, its viewership data shot to the top of Peach Video's hot drama list the very next day.
Today's Peach Video splash screen read: Senior and Junior Sister's grievances entwine, the martial world is overturned. Let's see who will come out on top.
Tomorrow's one-line recommendation for Jade-Carving Ballad was: Have you not heard? Even sworn friends may draw their swords. Senior and Junior Sister love and fight each other.
The drama grew more and more popular, and more and more people started shipping the CP, both in-character and out.
As the drama reached its climax, Peach Video's recommendations for Jade-Carving Ballad gradually started to let loose-
"At the Sea of Hate, Heavenly Oath Peak, Ren Zhi and Chu Xi make a life-and-death wager."
The names had changed from the characters to the real actors, a sign that the social media editor was on the verge of losing it.
"Ren Zhi is too cruel; their sisterly bond is shattered today."
"Chu Xi got stabbed again today, everyone cry for me!"
"Click to see ChuChu dong Ren's alternate universe selves on the verge of a BE!"
Netizens: 【???】
At the drama's grand climax, when all the truths were revealed and the Senior Sister, Xie Mi, played by Ren Zhi, died for good, the editor finally snapped.
"ChuChu dong Ren's alternate universe selves got a BE. I want to die with them."
"I've been emotionally devastated, sob sob sob."
"The ending is too tragic. Please take out the editor to make a nourishing soup for ChuChu dong Ren."
Netizens were laughing and crying at the same time. They agreed that the ending was too tragic!! The scriptwriter and director were too cruel!! But could you believe these were the official episode recommendations written by Peach Video?!
The world had finally been driven mad by the tragedy of Jade-Carving Ballad!
Photos of genuinely invested viewers clutching their tablets, laptops, and TVs while wailing went viral online. "The ending of Jade-Carving Ballad is too tragic" became a hot topic of discussion.
【I don't quite agree with people saying the ending of Jade-Carving Ballad is tragic. Why say that? Wasn't the beginning tragic? Wasn't the middle tragic? Wasn't the later part tragic?? /[Smile]/[Bitter]】
【They had a BE in the drama, so they're not allowed to have one in real life! /[Smile]】
【How about this? The tragedy has taken a toll on my health. I suggest you two compensate me with some sweetness to help me recover @Chu Xi @Ren Zhi】
【Watching them torture each other is worse than killing me!!!】
【I hate it so much. Back when I was young and naive, I cursed them to break up. Now the bullet I fired has finally hit me right between the eyes! /[Bitter]】
【I suggest they retract this ending and replace it with a video of them being forced to kiss.】
【After watching the finale late at night, I was crying my eyes out under the covers. It made my wife suspect that my mistress on the side had died.】
...
The final results for Jade-Carving Ballad broke several records on the streaming platform. The flood of advertisers and sponsors that came in midway through the broadcast made the production team a fortune.
The day after the finale aired, the crew gathered everyone once again for a celebration banquet.
The appearance of a phenomenal hit drama like this almost guaranteed that the production team and lead actors could firmly establish themselves in the industry from then on.
Although Chu Xi and Ren Zhi didn't need this drama to become famous, the broadcast of Jade-Carving Ballad pushed both of their popularities to a new peak.
This was especially true for Chu Xi, whose performance in the drama was a stunning surprise.
In this year's Weibo Queen voting rankings, Chu Xi's numbers had quietly surpassed Ren Zhi's, claiming the number one spot.
After drinking at the celebration banquet, a dizzy Chu Xi was helped home by Ren Zhi.
Lying on the bed, she saw a congratulatory message from Weibo. Her eyes were hazy, and she stared at it with a delayed reaction.
Chu Xi: "...?"
What Queen? What change in ranking? What "keep up the good work"?
She pressed her soft, fluffy hair with one hand and opened Weibo with the other. Her Super Topic was filled with voting information. She randomly clicked on a link in one of the posts to check it out.
Looking at this celebrity ranking list, she saw that Baby was actually second? And she was first, with a crown icon above her profile picture.
Was this reasonable? Chu Xi's eyes widened instantly.
Three minutes later, @Chu Xi posted an original Weibo: 【Stop voting for me! ,... Who is voting for me?? Baby is number one in my heart!】
When she posted this, she only remembered one thing- Baby had said she wanted to always be more famous than others, to be number one.
But after she posted it, netizens just wanted to ask her: Who is Baby??!!!!
You two actually call each other that in private?!
【What's going on? There are even typos in the punctuation? Did you type this with your knees while kneeling on a keyboard? /[Smirk]】
【She's older than you, and you actually call her Baby!!! I... I absolutely love it ahhhhh!!!】
【Is this my compensation for the trauma of Jade-Carving Ballad? Xixi, why are you also acting a little unhinged today? /[LaughCry]】
Although Chu Xi didn't mention any names, it seemed all the netizens tacitly knew who she was referring to, and the answer was unanimously the same.
Ren Zhi had just returned with a cup of hot honey water for her when she got a call from Jin Yuan informing her of what Chu Xi had done. She quickly opened Weibo to take a look.
Ren Zhi: "???"
No wonder Jin Yuan said on the phone that she was drunk.
Ren Zhi sat on the small balcony opposite the bed, turned her phone around, and pointed at the screen for Chu Xi to see, half-amused and half-exasperated.
"Did you just post this? Do you have any idea what you posted?"
Chu Xi held the warm cup of honey water and grinned at her.
Seeing her dazed and silly look, Ren Zhi couldn't help but laugh.
She got up, sat next to her, and patted Chu Xi's head.
"Let people vote for whoever they want. Don't worry about it."
Chu Xi: "Baby, don't be angry... What's mine is yours..."
"I'm not angry. There's no difference between you and me. Would I be jealous of you?" Ren Zhi found it truly amusing.
Even if it were someone else, fortunes turn, and she wouldn't be jealous, let alone of Chu Xi.
Chu Xi: "Then I'll quit Weibo and delete my account. Then you'll be number one."
Ren Zhi: "..." She really had drunk too much. It seemed she didn't understand what she was saying at all.
Ren Zhi had been the annual Weibo Queen for four consecutive years. This year, the position had finally changed. There was a hint of melancholy, but she didn't feel the sense of loss she had expected.
Perhaps, for her, the importance of work and achievements in her heart had unknowingly taken a back seat.
Chu Xi wrapped an arm around her and murmured closely.
"Baby... nothing is more important than you..."
Ren Zhi knew it. Her love-struck brain was acting up again.
She took the cup from Chu Xi's hand, set it aside, and patted her.
"You are too. But from now on, you're not allowed to use your phone after drinking."
"Oh, okay..."
After saying that, Ren Zhi took out her own phone and logged into Weibo.
She had no choice. She sighed in embarrassment.
Chu Xi's influence was now considerable. The number of topics about her on major social networking sites made her a top-tier star. That single Weibo post from just now had garnered over thirty thousand comments in ten minutes.
The number of likes had long surpassed one hundred thousand. This was the kind of traffic that deserved to be called "top-tier."
Unfortunately, this top-tier star was used to doing as she pleased and had no burden of maintaining an image.
She either didn't post on Weibo for long periods, leaving her account to be diligently managed by her company, or she would post unconventional content herself, just like tonight.
That recent post had already been reposted, liked, and commented on to the point of explosion.
Everyone was speculating about the circumstances under which Chu Xi had posted it. Even the few mistyped punctuation marks revealed her panic and unpreparedness.
【Could she be drunk? /[LaughCry]】
In the replies to this comment, many netizens who liked it expressed: This theory is also reasonable! Getting love-struck while drunk is something Chu Xi would totally do!
【What kind of once-in-a-century love-struck fool is she /[Sob]】
【Alright, alright, we'll spoil you. I'll split my votes 50-50 between you and sister-in-law today, okay?】
【You say she's one of the few celebs who actually uses their own account, but she usually never shows up. You say she's living under a rock, but she pops up as soon as there's any news related to Ren Zhi. /[LaughCry]】
【Do you guys think if she posted this while drunk, she'll want to slap herself when she sobers up?】
【@Ren Zhi Sister-in-law, do you know she's making a fool of herself here? /[Kneels]】
Of course, Ren Zhi knew. Ugh... she was shaking her head while pressing her temples.
A minute later, she reposted the Weibo post from her own account.
@Ren Zhi: 【She's drunk, everyone please ignore what she said. Her phone has been confiscated and she's being disciplined /[Smile] //@Chu Xi: Stop voting for me! ,... Who is voting for me?? Baby is number one in my heart!】
The netizens watching the drama unfold were even happier!
【"Baby" has come to claim her, hehehe... /[Licking Screen]】
【I want to ask, are we really allowed to hear these pet names? Will I be silenced tomorrow?】
【Xixi, good luck to you. Drink and be merry today, for tomorrow you'll be kneeling on the keyboard. /[Kneels]】
【I finally understand why Senior Sister always wanted to stab Junior Sister to death in Jade-Carving Ballad. This Junior Sister really causes trouble when she's drunk! /[LaughCry]】
【Is this the real-world extra that's compensating for Jade-Carving Ballad? Sob sob sob, so sweet, so sweet, give me more!! /[Crying]/[Crying]】
Very good. Although everyone knew Chu Xi's post was made while she was drunk, it didn't cause any discomfort at all.
On the contrary, they were very happy to consume this bit of sweetness!
Even though the CP in the drama was too tragic, the real-life ChuChu dong Ren was guaranteed to be sweet! Slurp!
Ren Zhi put her phone down with an amused and embarrassed expression and helped Chu Xi change into her pajamas.
The silk robe clung to her fair, smooth skin. Chu Xi's waist was slender yet powerful; Ren Zhi could always feel the muscles under the curve of her side. But right now, there was a bruise on her abdomen, standing out against the expanse of white skin like a spilled paint palette.
Chu Xi had gotten it from a collision a few days ago while filming her movie. Ren Zhi noticed it hadn't faded for a long time and felt a little worried, so she got some liniment to apply for her.
Chu Xi, draped over her shoulder, hissed and grunted, then couldn't stop laughing. "It tickles, Baby, it tickles so much..."
"Bear with it, be good... I'm putting the medicine on for you."
The cool, sticky, ointment-covered fingers slid across Chu Xi's abs like a kitten's paw gently scratching her heart. She couldn't take it anymore. She leaned forward and pounced, pressing Ren Zhi onto the bed and kissing her fiercely.
The liniment fell to the floor. Ren Zhi was pinned down from the waist up, her lips, teeth, and nose invaded by the sweet taste of honey.
A smile appeared in her eyes. She accepted it gently, then reciprocated the kiss, until their breaths mingled in the long meeting of lips and teeth.
A while later, Chu Xi buried her head in Ren Zhi's chest and fell asleep on top of her.
Ren Zhi gently tapped the tip of her nose with her finger and chuckled, "Fell asleep right after kissing? Who told you to drink so much with such a low tolerance?"
After a moment of silence in the room, a soft voice sounded again.
"Do you know that accepting my matching ring means you're marrying me? I've already found a country where we can get registered..." Amidst a faint chuckle, it seemed Chu Xi was being teased. "You're perfect in every way, except you have no sense of ceremony."
Ren Zhi kissed her beautiful, delicate ear, leaving her voice there where it had turned red-
"Xiao Xi, thank you for giving me your love."
You are a gift from heaven to this world. How fortunate I am that among your countless rays of light, one shines exclusively for me.
Comments
Post a Comment