Chapter 34: Delicious Persimmons

Cheng Jinzhi had been a bit sleepy listening to Gou Yu, but now she was laughing wide awake. The commotion resulted in another night without sleep. Xia You dug through the medical kit and applied some medicine to Gou Yu, and only then did she stop yelping. Gou Yu slept on her stomach, not daring to turn over.

“Jinzhi, are you going to the set today?” Xia You also lay on her stomach, propped on her elbows, messaging on her phone.

Cheng Jinzhi applied a hydrating face mask, her head resting on Xia You’s waist. “I’ve got the day off. Can you tutor me?”

“Sure.” Xia You said. “I’ll go home and nap, then bring my notes over.”

“Don’t go back. The bed’s big. Sleep here.” Cheng Jinzhi said. “Or better yet, why don’t you move in with me? I’ve got an extra room sitting empty.”

“Why don’t you invite me?” Gou Yu, half-asleep, still found the energy to “compete.”

“I only have one extra room. If you want, the couch is yours.” Cheng Jinzhi said.

Gou Yu smacked her lips and closed her eyes. “Fine. Give me a key one of these days.”

Cheng Jinzhi naturally knew Gou Yu. Gou Yu regularly angered celebrities; she was using this place as a “safe haven.”

Gou Yu had no energy, so it was just Cheng Jinzhi and Xia You chatting. Cheng Jinzhi had been on set these days, so she and Xia You only chatted online—and with the poor signal, even that was rare.

“The school just voted for campus beauty. Do you know who won?”

“Who bought that press release this time?”

“Did you buy a press release for Rong Si?” Xia You said.

“Rong Si won?”

“Let me tell you, absolutely landslide. Even the vote-rigging runner-up couldn’t beat her.” Xia You said. “I suspect even the security guard at the gate voted for her.”

“She’s pretty popular, huh.”

“‘Popular’ doesn’t even cover it.” Xia You said. “She’s basically the spiritual leader of the freshmen.”

“Where do you get these phrases—some web novel?” Cheng Jinzhi said. “Is your self-positioning the supporting actress who contributes shocked reactions?”

“Don’t you think Rong Si’s persona is exactly the male lead from a web novel?” Xia You said, tilting her head to look at Cheng Jinzhi. “I think you’re the most qualified to speak on that.”

Cheng Jinzhi shot Xia You a look. “You’ve been glued to your phone all night. Having an online romance?”

“Jinzhi, I think I might have caught it from you.”

“I’m not having an online romance.”

“I think I feel… a tiny bit of something… for a woman.” Xia You said, pinching her fingertips.

“Oh my god, your online romance is with a woman?” Cheng Jinzhi pressed the mask to her face, keeping it from falling off in surprise. Her brain rapidly searched: Xia You likes women? No. But then again, in her past life, she and Xia You hadn’t been close enough to talk about romance.

“It’s not an online romance.” Xia You rested her head on the pillow. “Well, it’s about the same. We’ve only met a few times.”

“It does sound like your style, though.” Xia You might be a bit dirty-minded, but she maintained an artistic young girl’s temperament. If letter-writing hadn’t gone out of fashion, she might have had pen pals. “When are you moving in with me?”

“You finally planning to make a move on me?”

“Now that you mention it.” Cheng Jinzhi tore off the mask, her long fingers dancing along Xia You’s spine. “I feel like I’ve discovered my true heart.”

“So tonight…” Xia You also took Cheng Jinzhi’s hand.

“Tonight… in front of Gou Yu, let’s get the deed done.”

“…You two, I’m asleep, not dead, okay?” Gou Yu looked at Cheng Jinzhi and Xia You. “If you two are going to mess around, don’t do it on my body. I’m… allergic to women right now.”

“Ah Gou.” Xia You cupped Gou Yu’s face. “I’ve realized you’re quite pretty. Diva Fu has good taste, picking you out of a crowd of common beauties.”

“Hiss… don’t mention her name. I’m allergic to that too.”

Xia You winked, her artistic air vanishing. “Come on, tell us—does the Diva have good technique?”

“…Have you ever tried an enema?”

“Don’t tell me you’re still a virgin.” The last word, Xia You said with an exaggerated mouth shape.

“You are too!” That seemed to strike a nerve, and Gou Yu started shouting at Xia You.

Cheng Jinzhi understood now, and she also flicked Gou Yu’s face. “So the Diva only rear-ended you, and didn’t…”

“Enough! I’ll have my revenge… hiss…” Gou Yu clutched her rear, face contorted. “Cheng Jinzhi, give me your laptop! I’m going to expose a huge story!”

Cheng Jinzhi, eager for entertainment, quickly grabbed her laptop and handed it over. Gou Yu lay on her stomach on the pillow and started clattering away. In her past life, Cheng Jinzhi had only heard about the Diva’s divorce and separation. She’d never heard that she was bisexual. Rebirth was wonderful—it felt like she was discovering the other side of so many people, including Rong Si.

The next day, when Cheng Jinzhi and Xia You woke, Gou Yu was still typing away in bed. She only got up in the afternoon to go to class with them—seventh and eighth periods. Those were vocal music classes. The professor had something to do and sent a graduate student to substitute. The graduate teaching assistant seemed to adore Diva Fu Xinbai—eight out of ten sentences were about her. In the second period, she even put on a Fu Xinbai concert.

“How can such a perfect person exist… hey, that classmate, class isn’t over…” Before the teaching assistant could finish, Gou Yu charged out of the classroom, murderous.

Looked like a big story was coming. Cheng Jinzhi and Xia You exchanged a glance and quickly took out their phones. They waited and waited until class ended. No story from Gou Yu? Then what had she gone to do?

No reply to messages.

Calls went through unanswered.

Until the third day, when Gou Yu returned, face green. She collapsed onto the sofa in Cheng Jinzhi’s apartment, and before fainting, said one sentence: “I must have my revenge.”

Gou Yu was that fierce? She’d gone to fight Fu Xinbai?

Soon, the final episode of the first season of 《Hi, Lover》 aired. The finale got excellent ratings, with online views breaking twenty million that day. This episode also gave rise to the “Persimmon CP” of Cheng Jinzhi and Rong Si. Before, only a small circle knew. Now plenty of people offline knew. On Weibo, accounts like “Persimmon Station,” “Persimmon Official Website,” and “Delicious Persimmons” sprang up—fan accounts built by CP fans. The biggest had already reached thirty thousand followers and was climbing. The last time something had been this crazy, two popular young actors were being packaged together.

“Uninformed” netizens, seeing these “Persimmons” pop up, were confused. “Everyone’s into persimmons lately?”

Because Rong Si had no Weibo, many fans flooded to the Persimmon official account or Cheng Jinzhi’s Weibo. “Rong Si’s Weibo” even hit trending once. The only user associated with the trending search was Cheng Jinzhi. Many CP fans screenshotted this search result. “Xinqi Weibo knows what’s good.”

Besides Weibo, searches like “Why doesn’t Rong Si have Weibo” and “What’s the relationship between Rong Si and Cheng Jinzhi” also climbed into the top ten.

Some people liked it; inevitably, some disliked it.

“The packaged marketing these days is enough…”

“Cheng Jinzhi’s face is too big. Don’t ride my Baby Rong’s coattails, okay?”

“Can’t understand CP fans. Cheng Jinzhi is genuinely ugly. Aren’t you afraid Rong Si will throw up when she sees her?”

Seeing the negative voices one-sided, passersby couldn’t stand it. “Rong Si’s astroturfers are enough. Does Cheng Jinzhi need to ride a no-name’s coattails?”

“Although I don’t like Cheng Jinzhi’s type, I’m not going to call her ugly with my eyes open.”

Fighting made them famous; fame brought more fighting. The “Persimmon” noise on Weibo spread all the way to Hainei. Hainei Forum was one of the largest forums gathering Chinese people worldwide, with its origins in a casual gossip section. As its moderators matured, Hainei Forum appeared before the public. For example, the former moderator of the “Ghost Stories” section was now a fairly famous screenwriter. Hainei Forum had dozens of sections, with “Entertainment Gossip” and “Ghost Stories” the most famous. Posts in “Entertainment Gossip” had surpassed ten million two years ago, and hot posts’ view counts exceeded one hundred million.

“Don’t know what everyone’s into. That hot ‘Persimmon CP’ lately—my daughter’s obsessed, refreshing endlessly and grinning at her phone all day.” Such a post appeared in the Entertainment Gossip section of Hainei Forum.

“Compared to worrying about your daughter’s celebrity worship, you should worry about her sexual orientation.” Floor two replied decisively.

“Floor two always delivers.”

“Floor two, how does being into a same-sex CP relate to sexual orientation?”

“Same as OP. I don’t get the appeal either. It’s all scripted. Haven’t these people seen people in love before?”

“Reality is already hard enough. What’s wrong with watching some shiny romance? When you watch TV, you also cry and laugh—why take it so seriously? Also, what’s a persimmon?”

The next day, this post made it onto the Entertainment Gossip section’s daily push. A discussion of generational hobbies, pointing at current variety shows—the building reached over three thousand floors, with over a million views.

Variety shows really grew your following. Cheng Jinzhi had experienced it firsthand. Her Weibo followers had just reached two million, half of them bought. After the show aired, three million followers suddenly poured into her Weibo. The trending search “Cheng Jinzhi Gaining Followers” hung in the top five. Not just her Weibo—her studio’s account also gained a hundred thousand. Various fan sites and forums also saw small increases in activity.