At the live recording of the “Youth With You” debut night, Ding Yuxi sat awkwardly among a chattering crowd of fangirls.
He was grateful that he had dressed discreetly today, wearing a mask and cap, so even if he accidentally appeared on camera in the audience, no one would recognize him.
Yes, Ding Yuxi felt a bit guilty, afraid that Ding Jiaxin would find out that he actually dared to attend the live show of her “rival’s” talent competition, and even served as a fan site operator for her “rival.”
Four songs were performed on debut night. Ding Yuxi keenly sensed that the mood was not great both on and off stage.
Perhaps because this was a show where contestants fought fiercely for popularity to debut, the trainees had already formed friendships in this little utopia. After tonight, whether they debuted or not, it meant they would inevitably drift apart.
Ding Yuxi put down his camera and quietly absorbed the surging emotions flowing between the contestants on stage and the audience below.
As the debut rankings were announced one by one, the fans of trainees who hadn’t made the cut around Ding Yuxi were already sobbing.
Yu Shuxin on stage today was in low spirits. She could maintain her sweet smile while singing and dancing, but while waiting on stage, she kept managing her expression, looking like she might burst into tears at any moment.
Finally, the results were announced. Yu Shuxin placed second.
The girls who debuted gave their speeches and walked to their designated debut seats.
With a “bang,” sparkling confetti exploded on stage, drifting through the studio.
Amidst the falling confetti, Ding Yuxi raised his camera, clicking the shutter repeatedly, focusing on Yu Shuxin as a single crystal tear fell.
Her eyes sparkled, filled with reluctance to leave the show, yet she let only one restrained, reserved tear fall. That tear was the condensation of all her emotions, frozen forever in that small frame.
Ding Yuxi sat in front of his computer, admiring his masterpiece for a while, then color-graded it, added the caption “water droplet (emoji),” and posted it to the account “silence | Yu Shuxin.”
Many people couldn’t sleep after watching the debut night live stream. His photo, with perfect composition and overwhelming emotional expression, quickly shot to the top of Yu Shuxin’s trending feed.
One comment in the replies had been liked over ten thousand times.
“The second Shuxin’s tear fell, did she hear my prayer for her brilliant career?”
…
Ding Yuxi took the iced Americano Yu Shuxin handed him and said calmly, “Thank you, Teacher Yu. Pleasure working with you.”
Yu Shuxin looked straight into his calm, unruffled eyes and flashed an even sweeter smile: “Thank you too, Teacher Silence, for the photos. You’re really amazing at capturing moments—they’re so beautiful. I had the photos printed and signed them. I’ll bring them to you in a bit.”
He was surprised she remembered him. They had only met briefly at the airport over half a year ago, yet she knew he was Silence.
A faint smile appeared on his face: “You’re welcome.”
Yu Shuxin looked at his reddening ear tips and secretly gave herself a mental victory cheer. Her fan-charming tactic was a huge success—had she just charmed Ding Jiaxin’s fan into becoming hers?
She wasn’t someone with an exceptionally good memory, but she made an effort to remember every fan she’d ever met. Because she knew that for her, it was just a fleeting encounter, but for the fans, that single meeting was something they’d anticipated and rehearsed countless times in their hearts, and would replay over and over again in their minds afterward.
She treasured the love her fans gave her.
So even though Yu Shuxin knew that Ding Yuxi took photos of her at the airport just to be polite and considerate, he still took them seriously and even created a dedicated fan account to post the pictures.
He even came to the finale night to photograph her.
Yu Shuxin felt that Ding Yuxi was truly a kind person. There weren’t many people besides her fans who would treat her with such sincerity, so she didn’t hesitate to show him kindness in return.
…
Ding Yuxi had very little interaction with Yu Shuxin on set. Filming a TV drama usually involved splitting into several units that advanced the shooting schedule simultaneously.
As an assistant director, Ding Yuxi was already capable of leading his own unit. He handled more of the scenes featuring the second male and female leads.
Sometimes, when his unit wasn’t shooting, he’d go to Unit One to assist Director Zhang Yu. Director Zhang was from Taiwan and had been in the industry for twenty years.
People born in the 90s had basically grown up watching his dramas—The Bad Girl, Summer Days… So Ding Yuxi picked up quite a few filming techniques while assisting him.
Director Zhang’s visual language had a fresh, light aesthetic that suited this drama called Moonlight Waltz perfectly. The imagery was clean and beautiful, and he was great at building the romantic atmosphere between the leads.
While following Unit One to film the male and female leads, Ding Yuxi discovered that Yu Shuxin was an actress with her own ideas.
Most audiences’ impression of Yu Shuxin came from Youth and You, seeing her as a clingy idol. But Ding Yuxi’s first impression of her came from Freshman Year, when she was an auditing student who would go all out to land a role.
Unfortunately, the person she’d competed against for that role was Ding Yuxi’s cousin, Ding Jiaxin—and Yu Shuxin had gotten the standout part.
Some trainees had even stirred the pot, saying, “If Yu exists, why Ding?” After the show wrapped, Ding Jiaxin called Ding Yuxi and cried her heart out.
Ding Yuxi doted on his younger cousin, and his impression of Yu Shuxin soured considerably because of it.
Though as a director-in-training, he personally admired actors who bravely fought for their roles.
That was just how the entertainment industry worked—good resources and good roles were limited. If you didn’t compete, didn’t fight, and stayed aloof like a serene chrysanthemum, no role was going to fall from the sky into your lap.
When filming the kissing scenes, Yu Shuxin didn’t seem particularly shy. She treated it purely as part of the job.
She even took the initiative to coach Zhouchuan on kissing technique: “Don’t press too close. If you press too close, they won’t be able to capture our lips.”
Zhouchuan looked at her soft, plump, rosy lips, touched his own mouth, and nodded—but his expression was like he was lost in a fog, his mind drifting somewhere far away.
Director Zhang couldn’t help but laugh at the comical sight of the two of them completely out of sync.
“Hey, Xiao Chuan, just listen to Xinxin. Looser framing really does look better.”
Yu Shuxin beamed at Director Zhang. “Thank you, Director Zhang. Let’s do another take and see how it looks.”
Ding Yuxi added another note to his impression of Yu Shuxin: professional.
During breaks in filming, Yu Shuxin would hand out snacks to the crew. She carried an unusually large stash of snacks with her every day, ready to feed anyone who came near.
Yu Shuxin said, “Filming is so tiring. If anyone gets hungry, you can come to me for snacks to recharge your energy!”
She was always surrounded by lively chatter and laughter.
Ding Yuxi was at the monitor, reviewing the previous take to check for any flaws. If there were problems, they would need to reshoot.
“Director Ding, are you hungry? I have some little cakes here~”
A clear, bright voice sounded from behind him.