Chapter 17
After the second episode aired, the nickname “Consort Ye” went completely viral. The way Yuan Ye had laid on the hammock at that time and had told the editors to emphasize this for him was too amusing. The editors had actually followed his instructions. The whole screen was covered with those two words, circling around Yuan Ye. For a whole segment of the episode, every time Yuan Ye spoke, those two words surrounded him.
The audience were all beside themselves with laughter. They immediately headed to Yuan Ye’s Weibo to comment.
Yuan Ye didn’t have a clue about this. These days, his mood had been extremely calm; his emotions barely fluctuated. He was quite satisfied with his current state and felt very good about himself.
For the fourth episode, they went to a village in Guizhou. Yuan Ye liked the environment, with its mountains and rivers, and the ethnic culture there. Additionally, there were no more arguments between him and Fang Shaoyi. The two of them were incredibly in sync, terrifically harmonious and loving. This was the second to last episode. Each new filming session meant one less remaining.
There was a pretty long period of time before the filming for the last episode. This was because there were difficulties in communication between the production team and their local collaborators in Australia. The props and itinerary hadn’t been prepared, so they kept pushing the time back. If the other side wasn’t finished with preparations, they definitely wouldn’t let them go. However, the times had all been decided ahead of time. Changing them back and forth now would be troublesome to arrange with all the couples. They needed to keep coordinating the filming dates. The production team was stuck in the middle of this, completely stressed out.
Chief director Lin Wei had even posted an update to his own Weibo. He spewed a bunch of random stuff that basically meant work is difficult, n.o.body is easy to please. The onlookers were all waiting to get some gossip. A B-list variety show celebrity he had collaborated with in the past commented under this post and comforted him. Lin Wei even replied: “Not as easy as working with you guys.”
Everyone knew that《In the Times》was reaching the end of its filming period. Because he posted such an implicating Weibo at this time, in addition to gossip promotional accounts misleading the att.i.tude of onlookers, everyone’s fans started fighting. Fang Shaoyi and Chen Ru were ultimately celebrities who were rarely active in the eyes of the audience. Thus, they had less impulsive fans and, consequently, less anti fans. Among them, the fans for Lin Tian and her boyfriend and Cheng Xun and Chi Xing fought the most viciously. They cussed and yelled at each other, to the point that their fight got onto the trending topics list. There was also a small group of fans who scolded Lin Wei for being melodramatic and causing drama like a sissy.
The show’s official Weibo account didn’t post anything, allowing this battle to get bigger. Why would they refuse free publicity? Eventually, the official account and Lin Wei even tried to blur the situation even more: first, they said the two kids, Chi Xing and Cheng Xun, were very modest. The fans on their side obviously became more confident and started announcing that their opposing side had too much drama, which caused the production team to join in. Later on, Lin Wei replied again and said Tian Tian had a high EQ, making their collaboration very pleasant. Now, Lin Tian’s fans started feeling in the right.
These two fangroups fought and fought, all because of the production team’s misleading efforts. They didn’t know if the official crew was purposefully mediating the battle or if they had gotten the wrong people from the start. Or, this was all a ploy by the production team for publicity.
Fang Shaoyi and Yuan Ye looked out a lot for Cheng Xun and Chi Xing in the show. The younger two had also publicly stated that they really liked these two geges. Thus, their fans didn’t point their cannons at each other. Instead, they started complaining about Chen Ru’s wealthy husband. Chen Ru didn’t even have a Weibo account, so let them complain as they wished. She didn’t care at all.
Lin Tian’s fans also slowly started pointing their fingers at Yuan Ye. They said Yuan Ye always went off to do his own things, never partic.i.p.ating in games. They also said that he still faked being better than everyone else even though he was already filming for the show. Fang Shaoyi didn’t speak much either. The two of them weren’t suited for variety shows at all. They said that the no-longer-popular film emperor was filming a show to make easy money, but still acted like a big shot to the production team.
Fang Shaoyi and Yuan Ye’s fans naturally wouldn’t accept this. We normally are more Buddhist, but you’re already in our faces. Do you think we won’t fight you and will actually indulge you?
Because of Lin Wei’s Weibo post and the misleading from gossip promotional accounts, this battle between several different fangroups lasted many, many days.
But they still needed to film the show. The guests’ att.i.tudes didn’t change because of this situation. They all acted like they didn’t know what was going on. When the last episode of filming finally started, everyone joked around, lamenting that this was already the last episode. They wondered if there was going to be a next season.
It was difficult to tell with anyone else, but Yuan Ye truly didn’t know what was going on. He never looked at these things online. The screenshots Ji Xiaotao sent him were only funny things. He wouldn’t send those fights for Yuan Ye to see.
Yuan Ye was still submerged in his own thoughts. It was hard to tell what he was thinking about. His eyes were glued to whatever was outside the window as he remained completely silent.
Fang Shaoyi didn’t bother him either. He was reading the original novel that one of the movies he would be acting in next year was based on. The background was the 60’s and 70’s.
There was a peaceful calm between him and Yuan Ye. The two of them did their own things. It was silent between them, but they were still connected. In others’ eyes, they were a whole.
Later, Yuan Ye suddenly called out to him, “Yi ge.”
Fang Shaoyi made a noise of acknowledgment.
Yuan Ye said, “It’s almost the last episode. We can still film for one week.”
Fang Shaoyi looked up and stared at Yuan Ye. He asked, “So?”
Yuan Ye made eye contact with him, then blinked. He smiled. “So, I almost can’t bear to film.”
The emotion in Fang Shaoyi’s eyes was indecipherable. He had been an actor for so many years; if he didn’t want anyone to be able to read what emotions he was feeling, n.o.body would be able to. He looked straight into Yuan Ye’s eyes and asked, “There are still things you can’t bear to do?”
“Of course,” Yuan Ye answered. “Many.”
From the time of their divorce to right before the beginning of filming, a little over a year had pa.s.sed. The two of them practically hadn’t seen each other in that time. After returning this time, the same thing would probably happen. It might even be for a longer period – years before they could see each other again. Yuan Ye lowered his head and chuckled. He was just about to start speaking when Fang Shaoyi interrupted him.
Fang Shaoyi asked, “Do you feel regretful?”
Yuan Ye looked at him. He smiled and questioned in response, “Do you feel regretful?”
At first, Fang Shaoyi didn’t answer. A while later, the corners of his mouth twitched. He said in a deep voice, “No.”
Yuan Ye s.p.a.ced out. After, he smiled and turned his head back to continue looking out the window. He nodded. “Alright ba.”
He had purposefully added such an utterance to seem funny. But now, he felt like an idiot. Fang Shaoyi observed his side profile for a long time.
Yuan Ye didn’t enjoy plane rides. After such a long flight, he felt like he had no strength in his legs anymore upon getting off of the plane. This time, they had a different director following them around. It wasn’t the little girl from before anymore, but was a tall, st.u.r.dily-built man. The whole way, Yuan Ye barely spoke to him. However, he hadn’t said anything either. He had spent the whole trip either asleep or faking a state of deep thought.
It was three in the afternoon when they exited the airport. Fang Shaoyi held hands with Yuan Ye while walking. They would occasionally appear more intimate in front of the cameras. Thus, Yuan Ye swung his arm and leaned closer to Fang Shaoyi to ask, “Do you feel uncomfortable?”
Fang Shaoyi shook his head.
Yuan Ye said, “Tell me if you do.”
“Un,” Fang Shaoyi answered. “I’m fine here. Don’t remember?”
Yuan Ye smiled. He turned back to look at the cameras, then turned around again to quietly say, “If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have signed the contract for this location.”
n.o.body was particularly alert after getting off the plane. Consequently, they weren’t planning on filming anything important today. They would all just spend a few minutes filming a few shots. However, the second morning, they all needed to wake up early for skydiving.
He and Fang Shaoyi had now gotten used to sleeping in the same bed. After so many episodes of filming, they had done it a lot. At first, they had avoided sleeping together because of their ident.i.ties as ex-husbands. But after enough times, they disregarded that principle. Sometimes, they would even wake up in each other’s arms in the morning. Whoever woke up first would then turn around to the other side as if nothing had happened.
Before it was time to sleep, Yuan Ye sprawled out on the bed. He laid there with his belly up. Fang Shaoyi walked out from the bathroom. Yuan Ye suddenly called him, “Yi ge.”
He always said “Yi ge” “Yi ge” these days. It sometimes gave people an illusion, an illusion that they had always been like this, that nothing had changed. Fang Shaoyi glanced at him. He waited for the other to start speaking.
Yuan Ye hooked his thumbs through the belt loops of his shorts. He pulled them up, then let go. They gently snapped back against his abdomen.
Fang Shaoyi raised an eyebrow.
Yuan Ye blinked. He laughed very unashamedly. After he was done laughing, he sat up and lit a cigarette. With one leg propped up, he tilted his head and looked over suggestively. “It’s the last episode.”
Fang Shaoyi knew he was going to be coquettish again. In response, he only repeated the question he had already asked during the day. “Do you feel regretful?”
Yuan Ye didn’t answer. He just shook his head.
Fang Shaoyi casually threw the towel back into the bathroom. Yuan Ye said, “Skincare.”
Fang Shaoyi shook his head. “Not today.”
A while later, Yuan Ye flipped off the bed with the cigarette still dangling between his teeth. He washed his hands and spat out the b.u.t.t of the cigarette. When he returned, he threw all of Fang Shaoyi’s skincare bottles onto the bed, then sat at the foot of the bed. He gave Fang Shaoyi a meaningful glance before patting his own lap.
Fang Shaoyi stood still in place for two seconds. After, he walked over and silently climbed onto the bed, resting his head on Yuan Ye’s lap.
Yuan Ye’s fingers were very pretty. They were both thin and long. Since the past, Fang Shaoyi had always enjoyed watching Yuan Ye type and write. The tendons in his hands rippled; it was very s.e.xy. At the time, Yuan Ye would seductively say my hands are s.e.xy doing lots of things. I’ll show you tonight.
Yuan Ye himself never used these products. He didn’t need them, because he didn’t need to wear makeup and also wasn’t a celebrity. But he had a pretty solid understanding of the entire procedure. When his fingers made contact with Fang Shaoyi’s face, he chuckled and said, “Teacher Fang’s skin condition hasn’t been that great recently.”
Fang Shaoyi responded with his eyes closed, “Don’t imitate the makeup artist’s speech.”
Yuan Ye used his palms to rub Fang Shaoyi’s face. He laughed lightly. “I’m telling the truth.”
Fang Shaoyi made a noise of acknowledgment. “I’m old now. When I can’t get a good night’s sleep, this is what happens.”
Yuan Ye’s fingers gently pressed the sides of Fang Shaoyi’s eyes, close to his temples. The first time he had helped Fang Shaoyi do skincare, both of them had felt that this was girly behavior. They both wanted to laugh. Now, Yuan Ye was already extremely familiar with how all these things worked. He laughed softly. “Don’t be lazy anymore. See, Jian Xu’s still filming idol dramas. His face seems fine to me.”
“Probably because of all the makeup,” Fang Shaoyi said. “We’re all the same. Who’s better than who?”
Two people: one laying on the other’s lap, one helping the other apply eye cream and essence. They chatted normally, talking about some unrelated, strange topics. This kind of peaceful calm was rare. They very tacitly worked to preserve it.
Later on, there was nothing else to put on Fang Shaoyi’s face. Thus, Yuan Ye gently ma.s.saged his scalp. Fang Shaoyi’s breathing was steady. It seemed that he had fallen asleep.
Yuan Ye gently poked the spot between the other’s brows with his thumb. In his heart, he thought, don’t furrow your eyebrows anymore. There’s a crease here.