Peng Hu looked at Jin Fuxiao with complete devotion, but Jin Fuxiao did not buy it at all, acting as though she had not heard her.
“Fufu.”
Peng Hu called out once more. Seeing the staff members in her peripheral vision reminding her not to reveal the fact that Peng Hu had lost her memory, Jin Fuxiao had no choice but to let out a brief word of agreement.
None of the crew on set had expected these individuals to have such distinct personalities.
After all, this was a live broadcast. Even though they had conducted interviews beforehand and had a basic understanding of the guests’ temperaments, the chemical reaction when they were brought together was delightfully unexpected. Moreover, it was a total feast for the eyes; picking anyone at random from the filled seats would reveal someone strikingly captivating.
Even though the only explicit celebrities were Lou Zimiao and Chao Bei, the remaining non-celebrities were by no means inferior.
Chao Bei and Lu Yuan were bound to bicker right then and there on set. Lou Zimiao kept her eyes glued to Shu Huaidie, yet the latter refused to look back at her.
What Peng Hu said carried no trace of a divorced atmosphere whatsoever, leaving everyone genuinely wondering if they had walked onto the wrong show.
What is with this surreal atmosphere? I am low-key getting excited.
Even though all three couples are divorced, we still have to guess who is genuinely divorced?
Shu Huaidie looks like she is in poor health. Can she really endure so many days of traveling?
Jin Fuxiao avoided looking at Peng Hu, which made Peng Hu stare at her all the more intently. Just as she was about to speak, a woman appeared outside the camera’s frame.
Wu Tou was tall and slender. Even in this city where spring reigned all year round, she was dressed entirely in black, making it hard to tell whether her outer robe was for sun protection or artistic expression.
“We will play everyone’s divorce interviews first.”
“Once the broadcast finishes, we will announce the show’s specific itinerary.”
The viewers could only hear her voice without seeing her person, and fans of the director were already screaming in the live comment stream.
Jin Fuxiao turned toward the source of the sound. A woman whose cheeks were so sunken they appeared hollowed out was wearing photochromic glasses, holding a program card in her withered hands. The name tag on her chest read the two words: Wu Tou.
She looked identical to her photo, and visually, she also seemed like someone who came from a low-yield species, just like Peng Hu.
Where on earth did this group of people come from?
Only now did Jin Fuxiao realize that Peng Hu had never actually told her.
The production team had not given Jin Fuxiao and Wu Tou an opportunity to speak privately either. Jin Fuxiao’s pre-show interview and pilot episode had been filmed by the assistant director, while Wu Tou seemed to have flown to another city specifically to film with Peng Hu.
This made Jin Fuxiao even more bewildered.
These were all individuals who had never once appeared in Peng Hu’s past circle of friends.
As the three divorced couples sat together watching the divorce interviews, Peng Hu sat closer and closer to Jin Fuxiao, asking, “Where is Xiao Qi?”
There had originally been a fair amount of distance between their seats, but her leaning over clearly crossed the boundary of how close normal people should sit. Jin Fuxiao signaled with her eyes for her to look to the side. Seeing that Peng Hu still looked utterly dazed, she could not help but remind her in a quiet voice, “We are live.”
Had she forgotten what they discussed earlier?
Then again, she had amnesia and her brain was not functioning normally, making her even less capable of taking care of herself than the Peng Hu of the past.
Peng Hu let out an understanding sound and sat back down.
The screen inside the room played the reasons for the three couples’ divorces in sequence, starting with how the washed-up idol and her photographer wife ended their marriage. Anyone who followed them online would know the story.
Some people could understand, while others failed to comprehend how such minor issues could lead to arguments, including but not limited to the classic debate over who should carry the heavy water jug.
Peng Hu watched the screen listlessly. The main body of an immortal jellyfish was breathtaking, and her appearance after transforming into a human was equally one in ten thousand.
Some of the online viewers were still dwelling on her gorgeous looks, completely neglecting to watch the reason behind this couple’s divorce.
“The reason for our divorce was very simple: mismatched needs.”
The one speaking in the video was Lu Yuan. Her hair was cut to shoulder length, and her eyes were strikingly bright. As she watched this segment, she was even nodding along.
Peng Hu asked Jin Fuxiao, “Are we a match?”
Wu Tou had indeed instructed her not to let anyone discover her amnesia and had tailored a script specifically for her over the past few days.
Considering that an immortal jellyfish losing its memory was practically equivalent to losing its sanity, Wu Tou did not demand absolute perfection, and even had the producer speak with Jin Fuxiao separately on how to cooperate.
She had simply forgotten to give a special reminder that this was a divorce show, expecting them to at least display a tiny hint of being divorced.
“Watch the video and stop talking.”
Perhaps because work drained most of her energy, Jin Fuxiao only possessed two minutes of patience in her daily life.
This specific figure had been meticulously researched by her secretarial office and was applicable to all kinds of scenarios. They all knew better than to let the boss get bogged down in trivial everyday choices, as it would negatively impact her major decision-making.
Peng Hu knew none of this.
Her memory was stuck in the year she first met Fufu. Everyone said Jin Fuxiao was Fufu, and even if she was slightly different, her scent remained identical, so Peng Hu naturally relied on her.
The other guests on set could not help but cast a few extra glances in their direction. Chao Bei, being quite talkative, remarked, “Are they really divorced? They are practically sitting right on top of each other.”
Shu Huaidie was the youngest among everyone present. She appeared frail and sickly, with her long hair draped over her shoulders. The hair clip she wore was shaped like butterfly wings with a distinct sense of age. Though it looked quite inexpensive, wearing it gave her a nostalgic charm.
Despite being the youngest, she looked the most like someone who had walked right out of a fashion magazine from twenty years ago.
She constantly avoided looking at her ex-wife, but upon hearing Chao Bei’s words, she still offered a polite response, “If Ms. Lu were sitting here, you would probably lean over to talk to her too, would you not?”
Chao Bei went silent.
For a moment, she could not tell if the other woman was friend or foe. How could someone who looked so fragile speak with such sharp edges?
The divorce videos had been recorded separately by the ex-wives, addressing the exact same questions.
By recording Chao Bei and Lu Yuan’s videos separately, the footage could be edited into a split-screen format. The identical questions paired with contrasting answers clearly highlighted the distinct personalities of the two women.
“If you were given a chance to start over, would you still choose to be with her?”
Both Chao Bei and Lu Yuan answered that they would not.
When the playback concluded, the view returned to the inn on set, catching Chao Bei just as she withdrew her subconscious gaze from Lu Yuan.
Lou Zimiao felt deeply moved, while Lu Yuan rested her face in her hand and looked at Lou Zimiao with a look of admiration so intense it was practically tangible. Meanwhile, Shu Huaidie appeared to be comforting Chao Bei.
Jin Fuxiao was busy recalling her own answers, contemplating when during the live stream the company’s commercial would finally pop up.
Only after a while did she realize that Peng Hu, sitting beside her, was silently crying.
She thought her eyes were playing tricks on her, until Lu Yuan passed a tissue over, looking as though she was trying to hold back a smile. “Sister, let her wipe her tears.”
“What is there to cry about? I am doing perfectly fine.”
The guest gets moved before the audience in this paid story-watching experience.
Exactly! What is there to cry about! There is not a single tear-jerking moment here.
Noticing that the tissues were sponsored by her own brand, Jin Fuxiao’s mood improved instantly. She said with a smile, “Why are you crying? Wipe your tears.”
Instead of reaching out her hand, Peng Hu leaned her face forward. “Fufu, wipe them for me.”
Jin Fuxiao threw the tissue right into her face.
Lu Yuan let out a light tsk.
Lou Zimiao wore a look of surprise.
Shu Huaidie looked over as well.
Chao Bei asked in a low voice, “Does this count as assaulting a guest?”
She was still attempting to strike up a conversation with Lu Yuan, but the latter was far too busy enjoying the spectacle to give her a single glance back.
Peng Hu looked drop-dead gorgeous even with an expressionless face. A hair color like hers was impossible to pull off without fair skin, and it required matching eyebrows and eye color to complete the look.
Most people assumed she had dyed it specifically for the show. Even Jin Fuxiao thought her group of relatives owned some styling salon and had dragged all these relatives she did not even recognize to get a collective makeover.
Wu Tou instructed the camera operator to zoom in. Not every marine creature whose original form was beautiful looked good after transforming into a human.
And those who looked beautiful in human form did not necessarily look good in their original state. Creatures like the immortal jellyfish, who were equally stunning inside and out, were far too rare, so she was not going to miss an opportunity like this.
Under the close-up lens, Peng Hu showed no sign of anger. She wiped away her tears and said, “They actually regret meeting each other. That is far too pitiful.”
Chao Bei went silent.
Lu Yuan was stunned.
How can this not count as tacit understanding!
What on earth is there to cry about! What a fake, no matter how good-looking she is, seeing too much of it gets annoying.
Is she really the other board director of Chenhun Group? That cannot be possible, right? Jin Fuxiao looks way more normal.
I thought she was some cold and aloof beauty, but turns out she is like this?
Soon, the second video was played, featuring the divorce interview of Lou Zimiao and Shu Huaidie. The production team sure knew how to drum up drama, using an interview like this to introduce their backgrounds as well.
The previous clip had included footage from Chao Bei’s idol group days, and this video went so far as to revisit the grand scene when Lou Zimiao officially announced her marriage.
However, it could hardly be called a grand award speech disclosure; she had simply announced her married status softly at a certain year-end gala. The flashback clips included moments of her being cornered by reporters asking who her spouse was.
“Someone outside the industry. I love her very much.”
Hearing this sentence played on a divorce show invoked a deeply complex mix of emotions, causing a brief wave of silence to fall over the live comment section.
Peng Hu was crying silently once again. Even Zhou Qi, who was staying with Wu Tou in the crew section, could not help but remark, “Mommy sure knows how to cry.”
Although she was being looked after by Jin Fuxiao’s secretary, she felt much closer to Wu Tou, who was a fellow sea creature. An oblivious crew member even asked if she was Director Wu’s daughter.
Though judging purely from appearance, the executive director probably could not produce such a beautiful child.
Just like Dai Buyu, Wu Tou had met Peng Hu many years ago.
However, back then, she had not been drawn to the story Peng Hu carried. The woman had looked entirely empty, and they had only exchanged a few brief words in the early morning at Peng Port.
Things like asking when she had come ashore.
Wu Tou had come ashore many years earlier than Peng Hu, but because she occasionally dived into the deep ocean to relax, Peng Hu had mistakenly thought that her recent trip was her very first time coming ashore, and had even stuffed money into Wu Tou’s hands.
Eighteen years ago, mobile payment had not yet taken off. Having been led away to work in a fishball factory for three months, the immortal jellyfish had stuffed every bit of her savings into Wu Tou’s hands all at once before vanishing into the port’s morning market.
Even though no contact information was left behind, Wu Tou still occasionally recalled those two thousand yuan that had left her between laughter and tears.
She had remained in constant contact with her species, and the news that an immortal jellyfish had a child with a human had spread far and wide. Initially, she had not been certain if it was the same one she had met back then.
It was only when Dai Buyu contacted her that she confirmed it.
Even after interviewing Peng Hu, she still did not understand this jellyfish very well.
Such creatures possessed no heart and spent their days drifting aimlessly in the sea. Coupled with living for far too long, she always appeared devoid of desires, possessing eyes even more lifeless than a ribbonfish.
Yet a jellyfish without a heart had created a child with a heart.
It was nothing short of a miracle, just as rare as a member of the sea species falling in love with a human.
Cuttlefish were highly intelligent creatures. Wu Tou possessed an average level of intelligence for her species, but unlike other kin, she did not hold a deep hatred for humans.
She was merely curious about human stories, never expecting that sea creatures would have stories with humans as well.
However, this particular story was far too profound.
Wu Tou asked, “Was your Mommy always like this in the past?”
The past she referred to was the time before, when Zhou Qi and Peng Hu were together in the ocean. The unique jellyfish with a heart shook her head back and forth. “She cries whenever she misses Fufu or when her head hurts.”
The little child tilted her head, trying to make out the close-up shot of her Mommy on the monitor screen. “Does crying like this mean she misses Fufu too?”
If Wu Tou were an ordinary human, she might have explained that this was empathy.
However, she was not human, and the entity on the screen was still a giant jellyfish. She had no choice but to remain silent, stuffing a bag of salt-and-pepper sea snails into Zhou Qi’s hands instead.
Can someone please check on Director Peng? She is way too good at crying!
Did I ship the wrong couple?
I can actually understand why she is crying! Things have changed and people are no longer the same, ahhh!
Shu Huaidie did not even cry. She is so calm. For such a passionate celebrity-and-non-celebrity romance, she truly seems to have zero lingering attachment.
Her answer was also ‘would not’. All of you are so ruthless. Then what did meeting each other even count for?
Was it not Lou Zimiao who brought up the divorce? Why did she still choose ‘would’?
Peng Hu had soaked through half a box of tissues with her tears, prompting Jin Fuxiao to say, “Pull yourself together.”
Peng Hu did not sob out loud while crying; her tears simply wet her eyelashes, making her look quite similar to those intimate moments when she was drawn into intense longing by Jin Fuxiao.
Jin Fuxiao did not care in the slightest what she was crying about; she only wanted to make love.
Realizing what she was thinking, Jin Fuxiao nearly suffered a breakdown. She shoved the box of tissues bearing the Chenhun brand logo into Peng Hu’s lap and turned her eyes toward the screen in a flustered panic.
Now it was time for her and Peng Hu’s separate divorce interviews.
The questions were identical: how long had they known each other, how many years had they been married, and how many years had passed since their divorce?
Had they kept in touch during that time?
Some of these questions were quite similar to what Jin Fuxiao had encountered during her divorce consultations.
For example, describing the scene when she met her ex-wife, and whether both sets of parents had consented to the marriage.
The reason for their separation, whether they had attempted to save the marriage, what she believed was the cause of the relationship falling apart, whether they had attempted to communicate, and whether she had felt loved and respected in this relationship.
Replacing the ex-wife with a defendant, the questions were practically identical.
Jin Fuxiao answered in a standard, matter-of-fact manner, keeping her reasons strictly aligned with the facts.
However, Peng Hu’s answers were completely different from hers.
The reason for the separation was that she had something very important to do?
What important thing? I still do not know even now.
Our marriage did not need to be saved?
The reason for the breakdown was actually that she had grown old? When did I ever disdain you for growing old?
Wow, completely different answers.
So going missing for all these years was just to get beauty treatments? Is that not insane?
How could someone write ‘physical communication’ for whether they attempted to communicate?! It is making everyone’s minds go straight to the gutter.
This is a divorce show! Who is confessing to their ex-wife?!