Chapter 65
The concert started on time.
As soon as Jiang Ruzhi came on stage, she was as full of life as ever, a real stage-bomber. It was hard to tell if she had been coaxed back into a good mood, or if she was thinking of the tens of thousands of fans waiting below and didn’t want to disappoint them.
Xu Ling was quite worried about Jiang Jiang’s state, but hearing that her singing was not affected at all, she didn’t know whether to praise her professionalism or to admire Sister Tan’s ability to soothe Jiang Jiang’s feathers.
The atmosphere in the audience was particularly good. Although she sang many songs from her new album, everyone was already very familiar with them. They sang along when they were supposed to, getting extremely hyped up, making it feel as if the hearts of the tens of thousands of people in the venue were connected.
Last time, Xu Ling had deliberately tried not to pay attention to the detached Qin Cong’an, who was not invested in the performance. But this time, she paid attention to her, not wanting her to feel bored.
Her idol was important, but her girlfriend was more important.
Qin Cong’an had never liked listening to music. Listening to music would make her indulge in her own emotions, which was too scary. But reading books, watching movies, and watching plays would allow her to immerse herself in others’ stories and detach from her own world.
Last year, sitting in the audience, she had had to listen to the music, but she was more concerned with what Xu Ling was thinking when she heard these songs.
At this moment, she was finally a little immersed in the music. In the love-filled songs, she thought of the happy times she had had with Xu Ling. In the somewhat sad melodies, she also thought of the days they had been apart.
This feeling didn’t seem so bad. It was as if this was the moment when she, as Qin Cong’an, was truly alive.
Xu Ling would look over from time to time. In the dim light, her face was cute, her eyes filled with a bit of curiosity and concern. When she saw her looking over, she would give a playful smile, making you want to pinch her cheeks.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a large patch of purple light sticks behind them, like a sea of lavender, very beautiful, swaying to the rhythm of the music.
Qin Cong’an took Xu Ling’s hand and also started to sway. There was no particular reason; it just felt right.
Xu Ling was startled for a moment but quickly started to sway along. In such a beautiful song, to be connected was the most normal thing in the world.
She heard a familiar intro. It was the song that had made Xu Ling cry so sadly last year, about parting, the song that Jiang Ruzhi had said she had written after listening to a friend who had broken up complain for a whole night.
Qin Cong’an paid attention to Xu Ling’s reaction. She saw the corners of her mouth turn down, and she looked like she was about to cry again, but in the end, she didn’t.
Progress. To cover the memory of one relationship is to start a new one. This was scientifically based. The brain was an organ that was always forgetting. If you kept ruminating, it would be hard to forget. But new memories would naturally replace the past.
It seemed that after being with her, Xu Ling had at least been able to create deep memories that were enough to cover the good or painful past.
Qin Cong’an squeezed Xu Ling’s hand a little tighter. Xu Ling turned her head to look over and gave her a smile that seemed a little relieved.
It was a good thing that they had gotten back together after parting. Now, when Xu Ling listened to this song, she was only a little affected by the sad melody and Jiang Jiang’s moving voice, and wouldn’t substitute herself into it. More than that, she was grateful that they hadn’t missed each other.
During the mid-show interaction, Jiang Ruzhi asked on stage, “Are there any couples here together?”
Countless people in the audience raised their hands. On the big screen, the camera panned over the audience, starting from the VIP seats and moving back.
Xu Ling and Qin Cong’an, who were holding hands, were thus projected onto the big screen. It was almost just a flash, but many people saw it and screamed.
At first, Xu Ling didn’t notice. It was only when she heard everyone scream that she realized and was so scared she was about to pull her hand back, but Qin Cong’an held on and didn’t let go. The camera had already moved on.
The director really wanted to cut the camera back, but he didn’t dare. It landed on a very enthusiastic-looking couple in the back row.
“Are there any songs you want to hear?” Jiang Ruzhi asked the couple.
Xu Ling was still in a state of shock. Although that scene had passed quickly, many people must have been recording it. It must have been captured. If that frame were to be screenshotted, it would be interesting.
And it was inevitable. Many people had recorded this scene.
After the concert, besides the trending topic of how many tens of thousands of people Jiang Ruzhi’s concert had mobilized, another trending topic was blatantly Qin Cong’an and Xu Ling holding hands at Jiang Ruzhi’s concert.
Yi Huai was bombarded by various media outlets in the middle of the night, asking what was going on with Xu Ling and Qin Cong’an. She answered uniformly, “Just friends.”
She gave no further response. Anyway, there was no concrete evidence. She just had to deny it to the death.
The usually very active AnLing CP fans were a little low-key this time. Even the most-liked comment was that this was just to warm up for the release of She and Her and the Knife.
She and Her and the Knife was released on the Xian Guo video platform as scheduled. Many people bought a membership and started to watch it for the first or Nth time.
Chang Ning was a very meticulous director. Every frame of the picture was designed, not a single second of the shot was wasted. It was very suitable for watching multiple times to catch the details.
After the release, there was indeed a period of time when Xu Ling and Qin Cong’an were not seen in the same frame. Whether online or offline, it was very quiet.
The variety show that Xu Ling had signed on for a season started to air.
This variety show was an outdoor game show that introduced natural scenery to the audience and had them play games designed using the local special terrain or culture. It was suitable for all audiences and was a family-friendly program.
From the first episode, there were signs of pushing the Xu Ling and Ming Yao CP. Every time, no matter what they said, no matter why they glanced at each other, the special effects would start to bubble with pink. The editing was also very good at splicing things together, cutting shots of the two of them not smiling at each other together, making the audience think that the two of them were always looking at each other and smiling.
The two of them were also often grouped together. The other members would always have a playful look on their faces and would very sensibly let them be in a group.
Under the careful promotion of all parties, the LingYao CP successfully gained popularity. On top of that, with the previous off-screen groundwork, many people who weren’t very active online and just liked to see beautiful women and handsome men in the same frame already believed that they were a real couple in the industry. Even if they weren’t, they were at least in an ambiguous stage.
The number of people who shipped heterosexual CPs was larger, and they felt that this was much more real than the same-sex ones. Many new people had entered the pit. Besides being tied together, the popularity of both of them also rose.
The flying guest for the sixth episode was Qin Cong’an.
[I don’t know which genius planned to have Xu Ling’s two big hot CPs on the same show.]
[The problem is that your An actually came. This is her first time on this kind of variety show, right?]
[I was originally a high and cold flower, with no intention of appearing on a variety show. But my wife loves to fool around. V me 50 to hear my plan to catch her.]
Just seeing the three of them, Qin Cong’an, Xu Ling, and Ming Yao, sitting in the same car in the next episode’s preview, the discussion exploded.
Not to mention that the program team had chosen a segment where the three of them didn’t say a word, and the atmosphere seemed very suffocating, making people exclaim, [Fight! Fight!]
However, everyone knew that it was very likely just the program team knowing what the audience wanted to see and deliberately cutting out such a meaningful segment to attract everyone to watch the next episode.
However, when the full episode was released, everyone found that the program team had indeed done it on purpose, but it wasn’t the kind of “actually harmonious, just happened to not be talking here” kind of intentional. Instead, apart from this segment where the three of them were in the same frame, Ming Yao was alone for the rest of the time, and there was no way to create a love triangle.
The game in this episode required all the guests to run around and chat with the local residents to get some clues to kill a monster from a local legend.
After the group of three got out of the car and got their task, they were chased by a monster played by a staff member and were scattered.
After Xu Ling successfully escaped, she thought of finding Qin Cong’an. After all, Xu Ling had recorded a few episodes and knew a little about the program team’s tricks. It was Qin Cong’an’s first time, and also her first time on this kind of variety show. She definitely wasn’t as experienced as her.
When the CP fans saw that Xu Ling was only thinking about Qin Cong’an and didn’t care about Ming Yao’s life or death, and that she had smiled so sweetly after finding Qin Cong’an, they immediately started to scream and eat.
However, this was just the appetizer.
The main course was the scene where the two of them ran into a monster again and hid face to face in a short and narrow old house.
Xu Ling’s legs were too long, and she couldn’t stand up straight. Her knees were pressed against the wall behind Qin Cong’an, a posture where she was completely encircling Qin Cong’an with her legs.
Qin Cong’an was too hot from running and was sweating a lot. In this place where the sun couldn’t reach, she had unzipped her sun-protective jacket and was fanning herself with a corner of it. They were so close that she would occasionally touch the person opposite her.
The first time Xu Ling was touched, she glanced down and quickly averted her gaze, looking at the camera uncomfortably, her expression very tense.
When this scene was shown, the comments were all screams:
[I allow you to do it here!]
[Ling Yu even looked at the camera. What is she trying to do? If there was no camera, she would have kissed her, right??]
[I’m dying of laughter. The two of them don’t even dare to look at each other. Why is it so ambiguous? I’ve replayed it several times and only then did I realize there were no pink bubbles.]
[What is Sister Qin’s hand doing????]
Qin Cong’an’s hand on the inside was resting on the base of Xu Ling’s thigh.
[???]
[Everyone, don’t overthink it. The kind-hearted older sister saw that the younger sister was too tired in this position and was just helping her with some support.]
[Yes, yes, yes. After all, our 00’s stamina is a bit poor, so she needs her sister’s help /shy]
After the main course was finished, there was still dessert.
After the two of them successfully got the clue and killed the monster with the weapon, they were about to gather with the main group. On the way back, in a beautiful natural scenery, there was a large tree with a swing made of vines hanging from a thick branch.
“I want to play!” Xu Ling said to Qin Cong’an as soon as she saw it.
Qin Cong’an nodded, and Xu Ling ran over. She also followed, standing on the side and behind, helping to push and take pictures.
[MVP settlement screen, I’m hallucinating Yuxi eating ice cream and going home after killing someone.]
[This shot is so beautiful. It feels like I can get a glimpse of how the little couple usually interacts. So sweet and reassuring.]
[Isn’t this much better than LingYao? AnLing 99.]
Besides these obvious candies, the CP fans also dug up many detailed candies, such as their hands subconsciously holding and then letting go, and in the corner of the dinner scene at night, seeing Xu Ling applying medicine to Qin Cong’an’s mosquito bites.
After this episode was broadcast, Qin Cong’an saw that the popularity of the AnLing CP had surpassed the other CPs, and her eyebrows only raised slightly.
It should be so.
“In a good mood?” Gao Quan asked, looking at Qin Cong’an.
“It’s okay.”
“Have you read all the scripts? Not a single one is satisfactory?” Gao Quan started to talk about work. In the past, after Qin Cong’an wrapped up a production, she would join the next one within a month. She always adjusted very quickly, but this time, it had been almost half a year, and she still had no intention of joining a new production.
Qin Cong’an crossed her legs and shook her head. “I still want to rest for a bit.”
“That’s good too.” Of course, there should be a balance between work and rest, but Gao Quan still felt it was a bit abnormal. “Are you still not out of the single mother role?”
“It has nothing to do with the role. It’s just that I want to experience my own emotions more now.”
“Oh? What emotions?” Gao Quan asked knowingly. Of course, she knew about Qin Cong’an and Xu Ling. Although Qin Cong’an hadn’t said anything, being in love was like a cough; you couldn’t hide it.
The emotions of the honeymoon phase, full of heady excitement, the unexpected discovery of her own clingy nature, and even wanting to go with Xu Ling to participate in variety shows.
Not just as a flying guest for one episode, but also wanting to appear in front of the camera with her again.
Qin Cong’an didn’t answer, just showed a smile. Her phone vibrated twice. It was a message from Xu Ling.
Lemon: [Change of plans. You can’t come to my house tomorrow /cry. The roommate I told you about before is coming back to the country and wants to come to my house to watch a movie. And a few other friends are also coming to play /celebrate.]
The corners of Qin Cong’an’s mouth drooped a little. She didn’t reply, pretending not to have seen it.
“I’m leaving,” Qin Cong’an said, standing up.
“Wait,” Gao Quan stopped her, opened a cabinet, and took out a bag. “The red wine that Xie Jing brought back from his trip to France.”
“Mhm.” Qin Cong’an took it, left the studio, and drove to Xu Ling’s house.
She was actually humming a song in the car. Her mood wasn’t bad, even though seeing Xu Ling’s message had produced other, negative emotions besides excitement. This was definitely not a lack of trust. It was just that she also wanted to meet Xu Ling’s former roommate.
