Chapter 73: World Two [43] Part 2

After donning their hats and Masks and exiting the old Hutong, Shao Qing couldn’t help but exhale a long breath.

“Girlfriend, you seem to be getting more and more popular. They were all trying every trick to get your contact info from me,” Shao Qing remarked, swinging Jing Ke’s hand in hers in wide arcs.

“I won’t have any contact with them whatsoever. Tomorrow, I’ll give them a stern warning to make them back off,” Jing Ke immediately declared.

“That won’t be necessary. I trust you,” Shao Qing said, pausing and tilting her head slightly to look at Jing Ke. “Director Li released those behind-the-scenes clips of you playing the male lead and sparring with me. Lots of people online are saying we’re a perfect match.”

Jing Ke slowed her pace. “That just means they have good judgment. They saw the truth at a glance.”

Shao Qing chuckled, turning her gaze forward again. “What do you think about our growing number of CP fans?”

“It’s… good?” Jing Ke raised an eyebrow, not quite getting Shao Qing’s drift immediately.

“Many are asking about our relationship. Do you think we should give a unified response?” Shao Qing pressed further.

Having learned from past experience, Shao Qing was well-acquainted with Jing Ke’s oblivious tendencies and had mentally prepared herself.

Jing Ke tilted her head, then suddenly understood. “How about I check the Chinese Almanac and pick a relatively auspicious time to go public?”

“We need to check the Almanac for the timing of going public?” Shao Qing arched an eyebrow, the corner of her mouth lifting at the answer.

Her first instinct was to carefully select an auspicious time for the announcement, rather than questioning why to announce it. Jing Ke’s reaction was pretty good, wasn’t it?

“I thought official announcements required careful consideration? I see people choose birthdays, 13:14, or dates like May 20th,” Jing Ke said, her eyes lighting up. “Shao Qing, how about we do it on May 20th at 13:14? It might even coincide with when you finish filming.”

Influenced by Jing Ke’s suggestion, Shao Qing felt her heart stir. It sounded like a pretty good idea.

“Then we’ll keep the netizens in suspense for another month?” Shao Qing said. It was only mid-April; May 20th was a month away.

“Sure. If you haven’t wrapped by then, we can have the Cameraman take a set of couple photos for us,” Jing Ke suggested, her mind drifting to a specific costume Shao Qing wore in “Jianghu Road.” The idea of dressing up as the groom crossed her mind.

Shao Qing knew Jing Ke quite well. Hearing her proactively mention the Cameraman, she quickly guessed her train of thought.

“You mean, give Director Li some more material then? Stage a bride-kidnapping scene?” Shao Qing asked with a laugh, remembering a specific indoor scene where she wore a wedding dress.

At the time, Jing Ke had unusually not been sitting in the rest area. Instead, she stood off to the side with her arms crossed, watching closely as Shao Qing performed a scene opposite the male lead.

The poor male lead, unable to withstand the pressure of being watched by the boss, caused five NGs in a row. Director Li finally had to shoo Jing Ke away before he could successfully complete the scene.

“Why would I need to kidnap the bride? You’re already my girlfriend, my beloved,” Jing Ke corrected. “If anyone was to do the kidnapping, it would be him trying to steal you away from me.”

“But I won’t give him that chance,” she added quickly.

“You’re right, absolutely right.” Shao Qing’s eyes curved into crescents. The faint unease that had surfaced earlier quickly dissipated during their conversation.

So what if more and more people liked Jing Ke? Jing Ke’s love was still for her and her alone. She would only ever choose her.

–

The fourth day of filming went just as smoothly. Shao Qing completed the Third Female Lead’s scenes before nightfall.

Director Hu had initially wanted to gather everyone for a wrap party, but seeing many on set eyeing Jing Ke like predators after prey, she changed the wrap party into a simple but substantial red envelope.

“I won’t delay your return to filming ‘Jianghu Road.’ Once my post-production is finished, I’ll send you a sample copy immediately,” Director Hu said, pressing a thick red envelope into Shao Qing’s hand.

“Alright, thank you, Director Hu. If you need any reshoots later, just give me a call. I can spare a day or two,” Shao Qing replied with a beaming smile, discreetly gauging the weight of the envelope.

So thick! There must be nearly twenty thousand yuan in here?

After smoothly bidding farewell to Director Hu, Jing Ke and Shao Qing took the Little Assistant to sample the capital’s culinary specialities to their hearts’ content. Two of the three returned to the hotel rubbing their bellies.

Embracing the “since we’re here” philosophy, Shao Qing booked their return flight for the afternoon of the day after next. She planned to visit a few iconic scenic spots in Capital City, snapping some satisfactory tourist photos before leaving.

Jing Ke didn’t object to the plan. She simply, after taking a shower and lying on the bed, pulled Shao Qing down beneath her with practiced restraint.

“May I? Tomorrow is a rest day,” Jing Ke murmured, nuzzling Shao Qing’s neck.

Truthfully, Jing Ke quite enjoyed biting and leaving marks on flawless, fair skin. But Shao Qing needed to film, so any marks on her neck would require concealer during shooting, potentially affecting the final result.

“Alright. But me first,” Shao Qing declared, wriggling out from under her and flipping their positions, pressing Jing Ke beneath her instead.

“Okay.” Pinned under the covers, Jing Ke was perfectly obedient.

As always, who was on top or bottom barely mattered. What mattered was the journey to shared bliss.

And, admittedly, a tiny reason was that Jing Ke didn’t want to appear too skilled. She feared highly proficient technique might cause her girlfriend’s jealousy to act up, resulting in her own neck being left completely ringed with hickeys.

–

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Jing Ke and Shao Qing, who would likely roll out of bed around noon, planned to hit the tourist spots this afternoon and tomorrow morning before flying back to Film and Television City to resume filming.

But “barring any unforeseen circumstances” meant circumstances, of course, conspired otherwise.

Capital City was already crowded, and popular tourist spots even more so. Even outside of holidays, it was still a sea of people.

Jing Ke and Shao Qing had done their research and anticipated the crowds, so they didn’t plan to linger long—just snapping some ordinary tourist photos to mark the visit.

Wearing a hat in a photo was normal. Adding a face mask, however, somewhat ruined the aesthetic.

So for the brief few minutes of picture-taking, they removed their Masks, took out a selfie stick, and began posing for half-body shots.

“Qingqing, honey?” At the exact moment the shutter clicked, a tourist carrying a backpack stopped right in front of them, eyes wide with sheer disbelief.

“Hmm?” The overly familiar address caused Shao Qing to instinctively look over, her gaze meeting the barely contained excitement of a fan.

Seeing the young fan’s face flush red with excitement, Shao Qing quickly put her mask back on and placed her index finger over her lips in a shushing gesture.

The little fan was amusingly cooperative, immediately clamping both hands over her own mouth and nodding vigorously.

“Qing… Qingqing! It really is you! Could I get your autograph?” Upon confirming she’d met her idol, the fan belatedly dropped the last part of the address.

Calling her “Qingqing honey” was fine online but felt slightly mortifying in person.

“Of course. I don’t have a pen or paper on me, though,” Shao Qing said, her eyes smiling warmly at her fan.

“I do, I have some! Let me find them!” The fan immediately set her backpack down and began rummaging through it.

Shao Qing waited patiently, not minding at all when the fan produced a slightly crumpled sheet of illustrated paper. She smoothly signed her name.

“What’s your name?” Shao Qing asked, pen poised.

“Little White. Just call me Little White,” the fan replied, too embarrassed to give her real name.

Shao Qing flashed an “OK” sign and quickly wrote a personalized message for Little White.

Only after carefully tucking the autograph into an inner pocket did the fan, Little White, notice Jing Ke standing nearby.

Before Little White could even ask Shao Qing to confirm her identity, her own eyes fell on the ring of hickeys visible on Jing Ke’s neck.

As both a face fan and a CP fan, Little White’s eyes widened dramatically once more. After an audible gulp, she stammered, “Qing… Qingqing, is that, is that Boss Jing?” The excitement in her eyes was practically overflowing.

“Yes. I’m Jing Ke,” Jing Ke admitted frankly, still not having put her mask back on.

Little White couldn’t help but glance at the marks on Jing Ke’s neck again. Her shipping brain gave her tremendous audacity. “Qingqing… what is your relationship with Boss Jing?”

“Mhm, what do you think our relationship is?” Shao Qing was thoroughly amused by the little fan’s reaction. Their relationship status was the one exposed, yet the fan’s face remained the reddest.

“A-Are you, are you lovers? Are you together?” With her shipping brain fully engaged, Little White’s courage seemed limitless.

“We are. But it’s not yet the official time for our public announcement. Could we trouble you to keep our secret for now?” Shao Qing said with a smile.

Little White nodded like a chick pecking at grain, her ponytailed hair bobbing up and down.

“Qingqing, Boss Jing, I’m actually your CP fan too! I’m a longtime fan of ‘Jingqing.’ My level in the Super Topic is over ten!” Little White said, barely containing her excitement, her eyes sparkling brightly.

“Why ‘Jingqing’ and not ‘Shaoke’?” Shao Qing asked, raising an eyebrow.

Little White’s mouth moved faster than her brain. “Well, obviously, because you, Qingqing, seem more like the one on the bottom…”

Realizing what she had just blurted out, Little White’s face turned even redder as she tried desperately to backtrack. “Uh, I mean, ‘Shaoke’ sounds like ‘less to ship,’ whereas ‘Jingqing’ sounds like ‘to the fullest’—obviously, ‘to the fullest’ is way more auspicious!”

“Right! That’s exactly it!” Little White emphasized.