Extra 4
This story begins when Xiao Nan1Nan-jie, Yu Yao’s manager contacted Qin Fan, wishing to make a CP around Feng Jing and Yu Yao.
In the four years since Feng Jing first started acting, he had always been fairly clean. He had never been in the ‘news’ with any female celebrity. So, Qin Fan’s rejection was within Xiao Nan’s expectations. However, what she did not expect was that not too long after, Qin Fan contacted her to let her know that Meng Xingchuan and Yu Yao could form a CP.
Meng Xingchuan was also a pretty famous celebrity under Qin Fan, and although he was not as big of a deal as Feng Jing… the one who was more famous did not find their Yu Yao good enough. After thinking it through, Xiao Nan agreed to the cooperation. Tian Qin Entertainment had a lot of opportunities, and Qin Fan’s stars had even more. Although he could not compare to Feng Jing, Meng Xingchuan was already better than most.
After agreeing to work together, Xiao Nan was thinking about how to convince her starlet. Yu Yao’s real personality and her persona of an obedient little girl were a few thousand miles apart – it took her a lot of effort initially to convince the other to take on this persona. Now, just thinking about asking her to go make a CP with some male celebrity was headache inducing.
However, what Xiao Nan had never even dreamed of was that upon mentioning this to Yu Yao, she would agree on the spot… with absolutely hesitation.
With her sensitivity as a manager, Xiao Nan had a feeling that this was not as simple as it appeared. “You’re familiar with Meng Xingchuan?”
“Not really,” Yu Yao replied. “We met a few times on sets, and I think he’s not bad.”
As Xiao Nan looked at her in silence, Yu Yao could not hold back her gaze. “Nan-jie, you’re the one who asked me to form a CP with a male celebrity. Why are you surprised?”
“If a person acts abnormally, there must be a reason.”
“I just think you are right. Forming a CP can attract fans and the two of us can share resources. It’s a win-win,” Yu Yao said.
Is that it?
Although there were all kinds of doubts in Xiao Nan’s heart, the matter was still finalized in the end.
After the two sides reached an agreement, the first action was to find marketing numbers to break the news that Yu Yao had been Meng Xingchuan’s goddess. Well, before he had met her in person, this was indeed the case. However, after just one meeting, Meng Xingchuan’s boyish heart was shattered.
When he suddenly saw a bunch of news about himself and Yu Yao on Weibo, even if Meng Xingchuan was a famous second-rate fool of Tian Qin Entertainment, he quickly understood what was going on.
He rushed to Qin Fan’s office in righteous indignation and demanded, “Did you sell me out!”
Without raising his head, Qin Fan asked, “Did you see Weibo?”
“Yes! There’s a ton of news about me and Yu Yao!”
After being in the entertainment industry for so long, these sorts of tricks were clear to Meng Xingchuan. Like today, the news was all over. If the two companies had no knowledge of it in advance, the posts would have been deleted long ago. The proof of compliance of the two companies was in the lack of retaliation against those posts!
“That’s right. This is just a warm-up to see what the reaction is. Next, you’ll go on a variety show together.”
“——” Meng Xingchuan once again experienced Qin Fan’s shamelessness. “Can I refuse?”
“I regret to inform you the answer is no.” As Qin Fan spoke, he rummaged through his desk and pulled out a folder, handing it to him. “It’s perfect that you’re here, this is the plan for that show, make sure to memorise it.”
Meng Xingchuan: “——”
He opened the folder. In large font was written《Celebrity Lovers Plan》.
He knew this show, a season of it had aired the previous year. It was pretty well received and helped get a few celebrities that were out of vogue to start trending again. He had watched an episode, but found it too boring. It was just two celebrities pretending to be in love, travelling together while completing tasks set by the show.
He did not understand what was so great about this kind of variety show, why not watch a regular TV show?
When the first season aired, some netizens wondered about this too. Some fans of the show laughed at them and responded, “Everything in those shows is fake. Here you can see the real side of the celebrities!”
Meng Xingchuan found that the fans were so silly, they were cute. As long as it was in front of a camera, they would never see the true side of any celebrity.
He could not help thinking of Yu Yao again. He had really liked her before and even watched one of her pointless videos on Weibo where she acted cute no less than ten times. But that… that was just some bloody persona!
“After the new year’s, 《Celebrity Lovers》 will start its second season. You and Yu Yao will be the guests that form the couple for the show.”
Meng Xingchuan: “——”
He was quiet for a long time before saying, “Isn’t Yu Yao filming 《Secret》? Will she even have time?”
Qin Fan glanced at him. “This is something for her manager to worry about, not you.”
“——” Meng Xingchuan tried to make one last ditch of an effort. “But, I’m also filming. This show looks like it will take a lot of time, what about the sets?”
“I seem to remember that you’re about to be done filming, so it’s just nice that you can go onto this show.”
Meng Xingchuan: “——”
Corporates really were all blood-sucking devils, leaving him no rest time at all.
He took the plans for 《Celebrity Lovers》 and walked away, despondent. In his heart, he prayed that Yu Yao would not be able to make it.
And yet, in only a few days, 《Secret》 was forced to halt filming when Feng Jing was injured on the sets and fell into a coma.Yu Yao’s schedule opened up, and she could invest herself completely into the variety show.
Meng Xingchuan: “——”2Poor MXC, even the Gods are against him!
❆
On the sets of the show Meng Xingchuan met Yu Yao for the second time. She was wearing a gray jacket with a hat that had a cute rabbit on it. The rest of her outfit consisted of nothing but leggings, a pair of plush loafers, and a medium-length pink down jacket.
If he just took the outfit into consideration, this was the kind of sweet, obedient look he liked.
Filming outside during winter was naturally freezing. Yu Yao drank a mouthful of warm water and took a look at the Meng Xingchuan standing to the side. She curved her lips into a smile and handed her water to the assistant before walking over. “Candid Meng-gege, this is our second meeting.”
Meng Xingchuan: “——”
For some reason, although Yu Yao looked adorable right now, he just found it… scary. She was like a big bad wolf with a knife hidden in her smile.
“I hear we’re going to be a CP this time, please take care of me.”
He coughed and said, “Ah, not really, same for me too.”
❆
For the first episode of 《Celebrity Lovers》 Season 2, a total of eight celebrities were invited to form four CPs. Before filming started, they all needed to draw lots to decide who would partner up for each CP. In fact, this was the biggest lie of the whole show because the pairings were decided way before the actual filming began.
Meng Xingchuan went up to randomly draw one. It really did not matter, since it would become Yu Yao in the end anyway. However, he did not expect to actually get her, though.
Meng Xingchuan: “——”
After getting into their groups, they had to split up to film. In the first episode, to get a good viewership, the production team spent a lot of money to send the four teams to four different Asian countries. Meng Xingchuan and Yu Yao’s team was sent to South Korea.
The team provided a car to take them to the airport with the camera crew filming along.
The other three teams were quick to get into their acts, purposefully behaving like there was something between them. Meng Xingchuan, however, did not do anything for a long time; while Yu Yao was supposed to be a meek and obedient girl, so of course she could not be proactive. After numerous hints from his assistant, Meng Xingchuan finally took out a packet of snacks and gave it to Yu Yao. “Want some chips?”
She turned around, took a look at the offered chips, then asked, “Any cigarettes?”
Meng Xingchuan: “——”
Wait… Yao-jie, we’re still filming, are you trying to break character?
He laughed dryly, opening his pack of chips and handing it to Yu Yao again. “No cigarettes, just chips.”
Yu Yao suddenly laughed. “I just wanted to test if you smoke or not, I do not like smokers.”
Meng Xingchuan: “——”
Yao-jie really was worthy of having acted with Film Emperor Feng – the speed with which she got into her character was simply too fast.
Yu Yao picked up a chip but did not eat, instead calculated the calories on her phone first. “One chip, and all the exercise done today is for naught.” As she spoke, she raised her head and asked Meng Xingchuan, “Do you have a lighter?”
Meng Xingchuan went along. “Another test? Of course not, I really do not smoke.”
As if!3才怪 cái guài: it’d be a wonder if… (following a verb phrase that is usually negative)
Yu Yao said, “No, I just want to show you an experiment to see how many calories there are in a chip. You can light it with a lighter, and it’ll burn.”
“… Why do you want to do that to a chip?” Meng Xingchuan said before eating the chip.
After this segment, his assistant gave him a thumbs up.
Meng Xingchuan felt that this was even more tiring than filming TV shows.
❆
Their filming in South Korea was scheduled to take three days. On the first day, Meng Xingchuan was still eager to work together with them, purposefully putting on a flirtatious act every now and then, teasing Yu Yao. But after Yu Yao managed to take advantage of him a few times without letting it on, he started refusing to put any effort in. He refused to pay attention to his assistant, even when he almost winked his eyes blind.
Having hit a deadend, the assistant reported to Qin Fan the matter at the first chance he could get. After receiving the report, Manager Qin called Meng Xingchuan immediately.
It was almost twelve and the crew was resting. Although they were resting in a home-stay hotel that claimed there were cameras everywhere, the crew told them where the cameras were actually located.
Meng Xingchuan had just finished showering and was taking a breather in a blind spot when he received the call. Seeing the name, he did not want to pick up at all. However, he also knew how serious letting it go to voicemail would be.
“Manager Qin, it’s so late, and you have not slept yet?” he asked in a very flattering manner.
Qin Fan clearly did not like his attitude. “Do you know how much you’re paid to be on this show?”
Meng Xingchuan: “——”
“If you do not perform well on this show, other shows won’t dare hire you easily, is that what you want?”
“——” Meng Xingchuan felt that he still had to try and save himself. “It’s not that I do not want to work with them, it’s just that this show is becoming too much! At first, it’s just drinking the same drink or watching a show together, but there’s going to be hugging and other physical contact! It’s too risqué!”
“… Do you understand that you’re on a dating show?”
“… but, Guo Guo’s couple could go for the ‘bickering couple’ mode, why are we set so differently?”
“It’s of course determined by your individual personas – which of you is capable of sarcasm?”
A cold shiver went down Meng Xingchuan’s spine. “Can I change my persona now?”
“Do you think your IQ is enough for you to handle a sarcastic persona?”
“——”
He thought he could, he’d been facing a daily dose of Qin Fan’s sarcasm, after all. No matter what, he had to have learned some of it by now, no?
After the conversation with Qin Fan, Meng Xingchuan felt even more frustrated. He had no idea why he was so against Yu Yao – when he was filming a television series, he’d still be able to pretend to be a couple with female celebrities he did not like. So why was it that when it concerned Yu Yao, he was unable to be calm?
Just as he was pondering over it, he faintly smelt cigarettes. He tilted his head to look – Yu Yao had walked over at some point and was leaning against the balcony to smoke.
She was wearing very moe and teenage-girl-ish furry pajamas, but her face was expressionless. She had let her hair loose, and because of her pose while smoking, she appeared quite sexy.
Seeing him look over, she tilted her head and looked at him in return. She raised a brow and asked, “You smoke?”
Meng Xingchuan opened his mouth, about to refuse when he heard Yu Yao say, “Do not try to say you do not smoke, is it not fake?”
Meng Xingchuan: “——”
She did not wait for him to react before tossing him a cigarette. Meng Xingchuan caught it and froze.
She suddenly quirked her lips. “Oh, I remember, you don’t have a lighter.”
“——” He was going to say he had one when she waved a hand at him. Confused, he asked, “What?”
“I’ll light your cigarette,” she said.
He felt that he should reject it, but instead found himself lifting his hand. Yu Yao leaned forward and met his cigarette with hers, lighting it.
Meng Xingchuan’s heart heated up for a moment. He pulled his hand back, silently taking a breath.
Yu Yao lightly blew out a smoke ring and asked, “Do you hate me so much?”