Li Wanbai turned over in bed, vaguely hearing footsteps coming from downstairs. Her intuition told her she should get up, but her instinct made her close her eyes again.
In this dazed state, the bedroom door was opened.
[Here it comes, here it comes, finally here! Let me see how ugly Li Wanbai looks without makeup, and see if her fans still have the nerve to boast about her as the face queen!]
[Exactly, always marketing herself as having divine beauty. There are so many good-looking people in the entertainment industry, who does she think she is?]
[The harder the hype, the worse the truth will be when revealed!]
[…]
The barrage flew by like lightning, almost uniformly gloating. The few comments defending Li Wanbai were quickly drowned in the sea of negativity, unable to make even a ripple.
Li Wanbai was unaware of all this. With sleepy eyes, she blurted out, “Yu Baichuan, you’re back?”
Buddy, next time you come back, could you check the time? Who in their right mind comes back so early in the morning?
But aside from that, this guy is pretty impressive, actually able to get up this early.
As soon as she said this, the barrage in the live stream became somewhat laggy.
[No way? Even this is an opportunity to leech?]
[Sis, you just woke up, right? The moment you open your eyes, you’re thinking about riding on someone’s fame. What did our brother ever do to you? Can’t you bloodsuckers just get lost?]
[But, but, they are actually married. Living together is quite normal.]
[Damn, Li Wanbai’s words immediately made me think of me and my boyfriend.]
[You see everything through your own lens, do you have something wrong with your eyes?]
[Can the BaiBai CP just break up already?]
[Haha, can certain Movie Emperor’s fans stop trying to silence everyone everywhere? As a pure bystander, I just think the subconscious reaction is sweet and worth shipping. So what? If you have the guts, come through the screen and kill me!]
[How amusing. Isn’t this just Li Wanbai’s one-woman show? When has our Baichuan ever lived in a place like this? He usually stays in hotels, okay? Li Wanbai, stop leeching!]
[Haha, speechless. Yu Baichuan’s fans, why don’t you go check out the other live stream and see what Yu Baichuan himself has to say?]
In Yu Baichuan’s live stream next door.
The cameraman and the production crew didn’t dare to barge in like they did with Li Wanbai. They waited outside for quite a while, obediently waiting for Yu Baichuan to open the door himself before daring to step into his room.
“Teacher Yu, good morning,” the crew member in charge of guiding the process greeted with a smile.
Yu Baichuan nodded, stepped aside to let them all in, and sat down on a nearby sofa.
The host instinctively glanced around and said with a smile, “Teacher Yu mentioned in a previous interview that you prefer staying in hotel rooms over large villas. I originally thought you were joking, but it turns out it’s true.”
“Hotel rooms are generally closer to filming locations, and the daily rate isn’t high either. After staying in them for so many years, I’ve gotten used to it.”
The host was just making casual conversation and was about to take out the props when a voice suddenly came through his earpiece from the director’s team. He paused his actions and said as if unintentionally, “Teacher Yu has been staying in hotels for so many years.” Everyone knows Teacher Yu is married, so why don’t you live with your wife?”
[Is the production team being this obvious? Why mention that wretched woman in front of Baichuan? Isn’t this deliberately trying to disgust him?]
[Whether Teacher Yu is disgusted or not is unknown, but I’m certainly disgusted.]
[Oho, meanwhile next door someone’s trying to ride the coattails. Yu Baichuan has been living in hotels all these years, stop pretending like he’s been living in the villa the whole time, okay? Who do you think you are? Sorry, but in Yu Baichuan’s world, you simply don’t exist.]
[Doesn’t anyone find this creepy? Yu Baichuan hasn’t lived with her for years, yet she can blurt out his name right after waking up? This clout-chasing is way too obvious. Could it be she’s even chasing clout in her dreams?]
Yu Baichuan remained unaware of what was happening on Li Wanbai’s side. Hearing the host’s question, he paused briefly before nodding: “Work keeps me busy, so we don’t live together. But I visit her whenever I have time – I just went to see her a couple days ago.”
“Teacher Yu visited recently?” The host was taken aback, speaking without thinking.
Unlike the general fans, those within the industry knew to varying degrees that their marital status was quite peculiar, almost distorted.
While outsiders believed Li Wanbai was clinging to Yu Baichuan, industry insiders knew it was actually Yu Baichuan who refused to divorce, unwilling even after Mu Sang entered the picture.
However, since then Yu Baichuan and Li Wanbai had lived separately, with paparazzi not even bothering to stake out the villa anymore.
“Well now, who would have thought,” the host said with a smile, “Teacher Yu, with your honest appearance, actually made a secret visit back home.”
Yu Baichuan glanced at him and said softly, “What do you mean ‘secret visit’? Wanbai is my lawful wife. Me staying in hotels is what’s irregular. I hope when I’m less busy, we can live like a normal married couple.”
[Wow, that’s our Baichuan for you. Even when someone’s clearly riding his coattails and leaching off his fame, he still acknowledges her as his wife.]
[Open your eyes wide and look! When did Yu Baichuan ever say he never lived in that villa? On the contrary, he just went back recently! So Xiaobai might have genuinely reacted instinctively. Stop attributing everything to clout-chasing!]
[Heh, someone’s fan affiliation is showing. Maybe Yu Baichuan was just saving face for her. Would you be happy if he married a wife just to keep her as decoration?]
[I’d rather she be just decoration than a troublesome wife.]
The director team nodded in satisfaction before turning to watch Li Wanbai’s live stream feed.
Li Wanbai’s single remark had nearly crashed the live stream. After collecting herself slightly, she sat up and saw camera equipment stationed at her doorway, giving her a start.
The cameraman seized the opportunity, zooming in to capture Li Wanbai’s stunningly beautiful face on screen.
Even without makeup, even freshly awakened, her features remained flawless.
“Who are you?” Li Wanbai looked bewildered. “Has recording started already?”
[Say what you will, but LWB’s face definitely matches her level of fame.]
[Get some standards, will you… Just look at… look at… look at… okay, I admit, LWB’s face is indeed authoritative.]
[Laughing so hard. Even those who look down on Li Wanbai have to admit her face is truly exceptional.]
[“Is she really bare-faced? Could the production team have tipped her off in advance? Our little Ye Xi always appears completely makeup-free, so why isn’t she going bare-faced?”]
[“LWB might not be anything great, but does that make Ye Xiruo some great beauty? How laughable. I heard Canyang Entertainment plans to groom Ye Xiruo as their top star – what a joke! At least LWB has that face going for her, what does Ye Xiruo have?”]
[“I actually think Ye Xiruo is quite decent – at least she has good character, right?”]
[“What use is good character? This is the entertainment industry, not an ethics class. Just look at that face! I can’t bear to see her bare-faced – waking up with a greasy face, what right does she have to promote herself as some natural water-lily pure body?”]
[“…”]
[“Enough, what’s with all the arguing? Just watch the variety show properly!”]
After posting this comment, the director smiled faintly, concealing his sense of accomplishment.