Yunjun Ye’s confusion magnified continuously as she turned it over in her mind.
She would frequently find herself staring blankly in Angie’s direction.
Fortunately, Angie merely assumed she was still deep in thought about her performance and constructing scenes in her mind, never paying it any extra mind.
Initially, whenever Yunjun Ye looked at the gentle, water-like Angie, she would always marvel at how supernatural Angie’s acting skills truly were making it feel as though she genuinely were her devoted, lifelong partner.
Living inside that kind of doting gaze from Angie was truly a form of enjoyment.
Gradually, this feeling extended from within the scenes to the outside world. Because apart from returning home separately, running other professional engagements, or sleeping at night, the two of them spent almost all their time togethereating, doing makeup, filming, and reviewing scripts at night, practically living side-by-side day in and day out.
Yunjun Ye felt she could no longer distinguish between Angie-in-character and Angie in real life.
Thus, she naturally began to wonder whether married couples in ordinary life could also get along in the same manner as she and Angie did.
Take Angie and her husband, Mai Jianhua, for instance.
Or take herself and her boyfriend, Guo Nianhong, with whom she had not yet discussed marriage.
She honestly wasn’t quite sure.
Recalling the five years since she and Guo Nianhong had confirmed their relationship, she herself had never possessed such a gentle, water-like temperament; they had always lived a passionate, straightforward life defined by laughter, scolding, and doing whatever they pleased.
Guo Nianhong’s pampering seemed to have existed too, yet it felt fundamentally different.
It was that typical male style of emotional care and lifestyle pampering born of a man’s own assumptions like when she was unhappy, Guo Nianhong would pull her hand, ask for the reason, and then satisfy every demand she made; or when she fell ill, Guo Nianhong would rush over overnight to stay and take care of her.
Yet through all of this, Yunjun Ye always felt an underlying shadow of a father doting on his children.
In contrast, the doting affection Angie offered under the studio lights, within the drama, and in everyday life could transmit straight to the soul through her eyes and reach the deepest corners of the spirit through minor details of daily living. Yunjun Ye felt that certain missing corners within her heart were slowly being filled and perfected.
The warm water and paper napkins before and after meals, the solicitous inquiries on the way back from wrapping up work, the pastries and hot drinks on the transport van during the commute, the small fan and cooling breeze in the resting area, the gaze and faint smile when frolicking with others, the helpless smile and tolerance when being teased by herself every single instance grew increasingly vivid in Yunjun Ye’s mind.
Suddenly, she found herself envying Angie’s husband, Mai Jianhua, who could stand hand-in-hand with her in real life, enjoying such meticulous care alongside a gaze capable of making one forget the passage of time.
“Have you heard? They opened the set up for media visitation.”
“I heard about it. People are already doing interviews outside.”
“The promotional campaign is starting already; our show’s viewership ratings are definitely going to be fantastic.”
…
Having just wrapped up a scene, Yunjun Ye stepped into the lounge and overheard several crew members engaged in a lively, chaotic discussion.
“What interviews?” Yunjun Ye asked off-handedly.
“Our production crew opened the set up for media interviews! Teacher Yu, haven’t they interviewed you yet?” makeup artist Xiao Yang asked in surprise.
“Why should they have necessarily interviewed me?” Yunjun Ye found it slightly amusing.
“Teacher Angie was dragged away a long time ago.” As one of the main leads, not being interviewed was indeed somewhat peculiar.
“Is that so?” No wonder she hadn’t seen Angie anywhere on set or in the dressing room.
“Teacher Angie is usually so gentle; I wonder if she’ll be able to handle those sly reporters and their tricky questions?” someone remarked unintentionally.
The words struck a chord deep within Yunjun Ye. Recalling the media reports concerning Angie she had seen in the past, questions regarding her artistic works were rare; coverage almost exclusively revolved around gossip surrounding her personal life. Her brow instantly furrowed.
After a brief pause, Yunjun Ye laid down her script and strode out the door.
On the open ground outside the studio, Angie was surrounded tightly in the center by a crowd holding microphones and hoisting cameras, jostling and pushing in the bustling throng.
Gone was Angie’s customary composure and serenity; her brows were slightly knitted, though she still maintained a professional smile.
As Yunjun Ye drew closer, she clearly overheard the reporters’ probing inquiries.
“There are widespread rumors that you divorced your ex-husband because you developed genuine feelings while acting with your co-star at the time. Is that true? Would you care to share it with the general public?”
“And furthermore, people are saying your current husband, Mai Jianhua, is a third wheel who stole his way up. Do you need to issue a public denial?”
Before Angie could reply, Yunjun Ye strode forward in a brisk stride.
“Excuse me, are you only interviewing Teacher Angie? Am I really that unpopular?” Yunjun Ye squeezed in beside Angie, snatched the microphone from her hand, and interjected smoothly.
Seeing Yunjun Ye step right up to her, Angie let out a grateful smile, a heavy burden lifting from her heart.
Some reporters had spotted Yunjun Ye emerging moments earlier and hadn’t yet managed to walk over, only to find her marching right up to them.
“How could we possibly leave you out?” a reporter joked, taking the cue from Yunjun Ye, clearly far more fascinated by this award-winning actress.
“I’d like to ask Teacher Yu, why did you choose to take on a cross-dressing role?”
“To challenge myself, I suppose. As an actor, the point is to try different roles and different lives. Besides, playing a male character is an opportunity most actresses probably never get in a lifetime,” Yunjun Ye responded to the media with her usual effortless poise, though she fundamentally loathed dealing with them.
“Many people dream of breaking into the big screen and securing a foothold in the film industry, yet you’ve transitioned directly from the silver screen to the small screen. Don’t you feel that lowers your status?”
“Why would anyone consider it lowering their status? Whether film or television, they are simply different mediums of expression. For an actor, performing is the core foundation; the medium through which it reaches the audience isn’t really that important, is it?”
“Teacher Angie, you haven’t answered my previous question yet.”
The speaker was evidently an entertainment gossip reporter entirely uninterested in such upright, orthodox topics, stubbornly attempting to drag everyone’s focus back onto Angie’s scandalous lore.
“That’s right, Teacher Angie. People are saying your husband Mai Jianhua is a third wheel who replaced your ex. Do you need to clear the air?”
“I heard your ex-husband subjected you to domestic abuse. Is that true?”
Facing the string of vicious, cutting questions, the color drained from Angie’s face, and she tightly bit down on her lower lip.
These tabloid reporters were no different from a swarm of blowflies.
Forget about Angie; even Yunjun Ye’s brows knitted tightly together. She could palpably sense Angie’s present vulnerability and helplessness.
Quietly reaching out, Yunjun Ye grabbed Angie’s hand and squeezed it tightly, transferring strength to one another just as they did in the scenes.
“Do you really need to ask questions like this? Is this how professional journalists behave?” Yunjun Ye raised her voice slightly.
The reporters turned their curious gazes toward her in unison.
“Does Teacher Yu happen to know some insider secrets?”
“That’s all ancient history from the distant past. Reporting on it now has no novelty value can’t you guys come up with something fresh?” Yunjun Ye deflected with a smooth counter-parry.
“Something fresh? Why don’t Teacher Yu directly leak something to us then?”
“Isn’t something fresh precisely the project we are currently filming?” Yunjun Ye smoothly looped the conversation right back to the drama.
Clearly, everyone present lacked enthusiasm for that topic.
“The two of us are playing a romantic couple, isn’t that fresh enough?”
“Ah, right. A same-sex romance pairing! Could you both answer how you managed to immerse yourselves in the characters?”
“Are there hugging and kissing scenes? When you embrace, is it a sisterly hug or a marital embrace?”
“Teacher Yu, aren’t you afraid of generating these kinds of scandalous rumors?”
The reporters clamored over one another once more with questions, as if the news value of same-sex rumors had galvanized them like flies catching the scent of rotting meat.
Angie’s brow knitted even deeper. Involuntarily, she leaned a fraction closer to Yunjun Ye while intensifying the pressure of her grip in return.
Sensing Angie’s reaction and underlying tension, Yunjun Ye turned her head, offered Angie a reassuring, comforting smile, and then pivoted back to face the press corps.
“We are both professional actors. Once the cameras roll, we become the characters living within the story. As for what kind of embrace it is well, once the show airs, won’t you all find out by watching it yourselves?”
“Aren’t the two of you genuinely afraid of being romantically linked in rumors?”
“If Teacher Angie were to be linked in a scandal with me, I’d welcome it with open arms, such an absolute beauty, hahaha.” Yunjun Ye broke into laughter first.
Several reporters were swayed into chuckling along.
“Alright, alright. Why don’t you interview some of the other cast members instead? We still have to rush our next scenes, otherwise we’ll be pulling all-nighters. Let me share a little secret with you all our director is terribly fierce,” Yunjun Ye timely cut off the conversation, flashing an exaggerated, frightened expression.
Right on cue, as the words left her mouth, she spotted the very same “terribly fierce” Director Yin Yongquan being escorted toward them by members of the publicity team.
Catching sight of this, Yunjun Ye stuck out her tongue in mock relief, casually handed the microphone back to a nearby reporter, grabbed Angie, and plowed straight through the crowd, hurrying swiftly back into the studio and leaving behind a cluster of bewildered reporters staring at one another in mutual astonishment.
Inside the dressing room, Yunjun Ye cleared out everyone present, shut the door securely, and gazed with deep concern at Angie’s slightly pale complexion.
“How are you feeling? Are you alright?”
“I’m fine,” Angie replied after a long moment in a subdued tone, devoid of its usual everyday softness.
“Drink some warm water first to warm up; your hands have been ice cold the entire time.” Yunjun Ye poured a cup of freshly boiled water and offered it to Angie.
Hesitating for a beat, Angie accepted it. “Thank you!”
Yunjun Ye offered no further words, remaining quietly by Angie’s side. This was a facet of Angie she had never witnessed since first crossing paths with her vulnerable and helpless. Although Angie uttered nothing of her inner turmoil, seeing her standing all alone and cornered amidst a pack of wolf-like reporters naturally stirred an overwhelming urge to protect her.
That person who was ordinarily forever gentle, patient, brave, and resilient made it far too easy for people to overlook the fact that she was, at her core, simply a woman in need of protection, possessing a woman’s innate fragility.
“When you said those things just now, did you consider the consequences?” Angie took a few sips of warm water, her color recovering slightly, before raising the question.
“You mean the rumors?” Yunjun Ye stared straight at Angie.
“Mhm!” Angie nodded.
“Do you really think rumors about the two of us could ever gain any real traction?” Yunjun Ye countered.
“Personally, I don’t care. Throughout my journey, they’ve never stopped. But you’re different you’ve practically never had negative press before,” Angie expressed with genuine worry.
“Since everyone knows they’re just groundless rumors, what real impact could they have? Didn’t the media run similar same-sex rumors about me not long after I first debuted? Besides, I don’t care about things like that,” Yunjun Ye remarked nonchalantly, concluding with a soft, comforting smile directed at Angie. “I just hope it doesn’t cause any trouble for you.”
Finishing her sentence, Yunjun Ye offered Angie an assuring, tender smile.
Angie didn’t respond. She had indeed caught wind of Yunjun Ye’s past same-sex rumors; those had essentially been fabricated out of thin air by tabloids, centering around a companion who frequently traveled everywhere as a trio alongside Yunjun Ye and Guo Nianhong—something anyone with eyes could immediately distinguish as false.
“Do you need to go back and rest for a bit?” Yunjun Ye inquired with lingering concern for Angie’s physical state.