Chapter 35: Drunk

“Fall in love, on this summer’s Qixi, loving every second of you, you say, why do you always smile at me, your beauty, how should I tell you, let summer quietly tell you, it’s the best arrangement in the world, your arrival…”

In the MV, the most eye-catching was Cheng Jinzhi and Rong Si in the recording studio. Cheng Jinzhi pressed against Rong Si, dancing with her arms around Rong Si’s neck, then in the latter half being caught by Rong Si. In the shot, Rong Si seemed to whisper something in Cheng Jinzhi’s ear; Cheng Jinzhi’s ears turned red, and she stopped moving. A second ago she’d been dancing a sexy, enticing number; the next, clasped in Rong Si’s arms, she’d become a meek “little animal.” The fan account “Delicious Persimmons,” which had broken thirty thousand followers, used a screenshot from the MV as its avatar: Rong Si embracing Cheng Jinzhi from behind, Cheng Jinzhi with her head lowered as if shy. The avatar had been photoshopped, adding bunny ears to both Rong Si and Cheng Jinzhi, and extra blush to Cheng Jinzhi. The two in the same frame looked especially pink.

Some netizen dug up a gossip blogger’s videos of Rong Si’s military training. The gossip blogger was named “Paparazzi Yu,” and the video had been uploaded last September. The video had tagged Rong Si with “Tibetan Mastiff, oh.” Marketing accounts searching the “Tibetan Mastiff, oh” tag found that this blogger had uploaded at least five videos of Rong Si. Three were from military training; the most popular was a competition where Rong Si moved with lightning agility, vaulting over a military vehicle barehanded. Another video, also extremely popular, was of Rong Si and Cheng Jinzhi together. In it, Cheng Jinzhi looked tired, her head resting on Rong Si’s back, while Rong Si, reading a document, reached back with a long arm to rub Cheng Jinzhi’s head. Then Cheng Jinzhi said something; Rong Si curled her lips, seeming to smile.

“The Mastiff’s smile is illegal.”

“The head-pat is bad enough… and then the smile… it kills…”

“Don’t call her Mastiff! She’s clearly a goddess!”

With Rong Si’s popularity surging, these marketing accounts put out Gou Yu’s footage.

“So skilled. That body is definitely trained.”

“And they didn’t credit the original poster. Marketing accounts, explode already, okay? Filming isn’t easy. Original post: Paparazzi Yu.”

“What can you say about someone this good-looking who works harder than you? ‘Mom, I want to marry her!'”

“Official pages are killing the fan content: Delicious Persimmons, Persimmon Supply Station, Persimmon Official Website”

“Delicious Persimmons” quickly photoshopped a new avatar, swapping the “bunny ears” for dog ears on Rong Si and cat ears on Cheng Jinzhi. They also made the avatar into a pair of couple avatars and released them. “Watermark-free, go get ’em, Little Persimmons.”

“Oh my god so cute! Speed praised! Taking it!”

“First time not wanting to be a harem. I just want them to be together…”

“They’re definitely dating. Let’s keep it low-key, hoping they won’t be disturbed.”

After wrapping her scenes, Cheng Jinzhi came off set and posted a “good night” Weibo with a nightscape photo. When she got out of the shower and opened Weibo, the top liked comments were no longer telling her off.

“Working so hard. Go to sleep early, Cheng Meow Meow.”

Meow Meow?

“Wrapping up is great~ now you can hold #Rong Si# baby and sleep.”

They weren’t even asking her to make Rong Si open a Weibo?

“Feel bad for you. I’ll always support you. I’m late, but I’ll never leave again, my Miss Cheng.”

???

She’d only been on set for two days. Why had her fans’ style changed so completely? Cheng Jinzhi felt she’d been made into a masochist by all the insults. Now that her fans had changed their tune, she felt flattered and unsettled.

DC saw the marketing accounts boosting Rong Si and thought he’d leech some heat for Cheng Jinzhi too, providing many marketing accounts with Cheng Jinzhi videos.

“Everyone not scolding Miss Cheng has made Miss Cheng a little lost.” A marketing account uploaded the videos DC provided. One video had noisy audio, seeming to be a fan pick-up at the airport; Cheng Jinzhi came out of the terminal wearing a mask. Seeing the fans, she took it off, surprise visible on her face as she walked over. “You’re here for me? Thank you… I love the flowers… I love them all…”

The manager came over, and Cheng Jinzhi put her mask back on and left. As she left, the fan recording followed her. “Teacher Cheng, you look so tired.”

“Filmed for three days straight, my brain…” She made a circle near her head with her finger. “A little fuzzy…”

Cheng Jinzhi’s nose and mouth were hidden behind the mask, her voice muffled.

“So sorry. Please take care of yourself!” The fan’s voice was young. “You seemed so surprised to see us.”

“Seeing you guys scared me. I thought you didn’t like me and had come to the airport to protest…”

“Your tone sounds a bit sad.”

“Does it? How…”

Some of these videos were taken by the manager, some by fans. Cheng Jinzhi’s fans had been scattered before, but these days’ heat had gathered them, with more and more fan leaders of various sizes forming. A manager would usually proactively contact these fan leaders, give out benefits, and fans would feed back resources.

Cheng Jinzhi’s followers were rising just by looking at them, only “saturating” temporarily at six million.

Rong Si’s interviews also became frequent—everyone was very interested in her. Rong Si had no interactive platform, so fans could only see her on entertainment channels. “When will Miss Rong open a platform? Your fans are dying to interact with you.”

“I don’t use my phone much. Maybe when I graduate and work demands it, I’ll open one.”

“Fans will miss you. What should they do?”

“Miss Cheng seems to like playing with her phone quite a bit. Everyone can ask her. I’ll see and reply to everyone.”

“Miss Rong, you’re so ‘close’ with Miss Cheng. What do you usually call her?” The reporter shifted to Cheng Jinzhi.

Watching this interview, Cheng Jinzhi pinched her ear. The reporter’s question brought her back to that year when Rong Si called her “Master” in bed.

“I don’t usually call her anything.”

“Oh~ when your eyes meet, you don’t need to call her anything.” The reporter said suggestively.

《Beauty of Rivers and Mountains》 was expected to air in the summer. A weekly series, four episodes a week, filmed while airing. Half had been shot already; if post-production caught up, the first four episodes should air by the end of July. Online, there were already many fan-made derivative works. The most popular was “Persimmon Supply Station” ‘s 《Becoming Infatuated》, which edited together the promos of 《Beauty of Rivers and Mountains》 and 《Girls’ Fortress》, presenting them as a tale of two lifetimes of love. The official Weibo of 《Beauty of Rivers and Mountains》 even reposted it. “[crying] Both are bad endings.”

The official Weibo of 《Beauty of Rivers and Mountains》 loved emoticons and acting cute. When Cheng Jinzhi posted, it would repost and comment. Many people, including Cheng Jinzhi, thought it was run by a few girls. Later they learned it was run by the film crew’s forty-something married male planner.

Before 《Beauty of Rivers and Mountains》 even aired, its official Weibo had already become internet-famous and a “fangirl” of Cheng Jinzhi and Rong Si.

Before exam week, Cheng Jinzhi and Rong Si just wrapped up their scenes. The final scene was a kissing scene. In the original novel, it was Little Prince Bai Qian drunk, biting the meat from the Eldest Princess’s mouth. When Cheng Jinzhi read the original, she’d thought this segment would be cut. Unexpectedly, the script kept it. Cheng Jinzhi looked at the script, then asked the director, “Director Wang, wouldn’t this kissing scene make Bai Qian look too feminine?”

“That’s why I’m looking forward to Miss Cheng’s performance.”

“Alright, I’ll try.”

“Wait a moment, Miss Cheng.” Before filming, Director Wang had someone bring baijiu. “Take a sip first.”

“Mm…” Cheng Jinzhi only intended to take a shallow sip.

Wang Zhang held the bottle bottom and tipped it upward. Cheng Jinzhi was forced to take a big gulp.

“How is it?”

“Not bad.”

“This bottle won’t work. Assistant director, get a higher proof one.”

“…”

Under Wang Zhang’s watchful eye, Cheng Jinzhi drank several throat-burning “bombs.” “Director… is that enough?”

“A little more.”

“Director… I’m getting dizzy.”

“Mm, that’s right.” Wang Zhang pushed Cheng Jinzhi’s back. “You can start.”

The liquor burned her throat, then her stomach. After a few steps, Cheng Jinzhi felt top-heavy. God damn it, this was “blackout wine”!

“Action!”

“Don’t snatch… the meat…” Cheng Jinzhi wrapped her arms around Rong Si’s neck, forcing her spirit up.

Cheng Jinzhi opened her mouth to snatch the meat Rong Si was holding between her lips.

Tearing off a tiny bit of the meat in Rong Si’s mouth, Cheng Jinzhi mechanically chewed twice. So dizzy—she felt like she was barely holding on through sheer professionalism.

Rong Si held the boneless Cheng Jinzhi, gripping her shoulder. Cheng Jinzhi began to whimper softly. Seeing Cheng Jinzhi’s flushed face, Rong Si felt something tug at her heart—like that time in the pool, when Cheng Jinzhi had teasingly sat on her. Her kiss chased forward. Holding the back of Cheng Jinzhi’s head, she kissed her lips.

This scene didn’t require tongue either. But Cheng Jinzhi seemed genuinely drunk, unable to breathe, so she poked out her tongue.

The moment Cheng Jinzhi’s tongue swept Rong Si’s lips, Rong Si’s pressed together.

Rong Si wouldn’t let her kiss? Cheng Jinzhi wrapped her arms around Rong Si’s shoulders instead, pried open her teeth, and instantly took control.

When the director called “cut,” Cheng Jinzhi collapsed into Rong Si’s neck. Rong Si looked at the Cheng Jinzhi in her arms, let out a breath, and picked her up. “Director Wang, Miss Cheng is drunk. I’ll take her back.”

“Alright.”

Rong Si had originally planned to toss Cheng Jinzhi into the car and have Ah Wei take her back. But seeing how drunk she was, she couldn’t bear to. She carried her into the car. Cheng Jinzhi had only drunk a bit—it was probably exhaustion that had made her so dizzy.

“Rong Si…” Cheng Jinzhi curled up in Rong Si’s arms, murmuring, her voice carrying a pained, tearful quality. “I don’t want this body anymore. It’s so tired…”