Meeting you is wonderful
Zuo Jingyou usually manages her Weibo, but doesn’t pay much attention to anything beyond reposting collaborations and business promotions. Her Weibo serves more as a platform for her interaction with her fans.
As a public figure, she’s well aware that she receives various types of evaluations. In order to maintain a positive mindset, she never searches for her own name on social media. As for rumors and announcements, if they’re not blown out of proportion, she usually leaves them to her manager to handle.
This time is no exception.
Shortly after returning to her room and instructing Tong Tong and Wen Wen to change shoes, she received a message from her manager, Kong Tianyi, inquiring about the reason and providing a public relations plan for the recent rumor.
Zuo Jingyou glanced at the message, thought for a moment, and replied to Kong Tianyi: “I’ll clarify on Weibo, and it’ll be fine.”
“Understood.”
After replying to Kong Tianyi’s message, Zuo Jingyou switched to the Weibo interface and quickly posted a Weibo message: “Recently, I went to Vienna with family and a group of female friends. It was a lot of fun.”
In addition to this text explanation, Zuo Jingyou also obtained today’s photos from Zhang Yu and attached a nine-grid of their sightseeing.
However, in these photos, apart from the group photo of Zuo Jingyou and the two girls, most are focused on the scenery. There are a few with Zuo Jingyou, Professor Sun, and Tong Tong, but their faces are mostly cut out, showing only parts of their bodies.
After all, Zuo Jingyou’s fans know that she has always protected her family and never allows them to appear in public to minimize unnecessary disturbances.
Kong Tianyi was very quick, and in no time, the entire internet was flooded with the information. At this moment, many curious onlookers who had been in the dark realized they had been mistaken.
After clearing up the rumor, Zuo Jingyou set her phone aside. At this point, Tong Tong, who had taken off her coat and changed her shoes, rushed over to Zuo Jingyou with an eager smile and said, “Mom, can we take a bath together?”
Zuo Jingyou reached out to pat the child’s head and said, “Sure, go get your pajamas.”
Tong Tong took her small steps and scampered off to find her pajamas. Just as she had removed her socks, Wen Wen also ran over to Zuo Jingyou, eagerly saying, “Auntie, auntie, I want to take a bath with you too!”
Zuo Jingyou reached out to pinch her cheek and said with a smile, “Then you better go find your pajamas too!”
“Alright!” Wen Wen cheered and then rushed towards her younger sister.
Zuo Jingyou watched the two energetic children with a sigh, took off her outer clothing, and, in no time, led them into the bathroom for a delightful bath.
Perhaps the bath was too relaxing; not long after drying their hair, the two children fell into a deep slumber.
Zuo Jingyou sat at the bedside, looking at the two sweetly sleeping children snuggled together. She tucked them in, reached out to gently touch their noses, and then took out her phone to snap a photo, which she sent to Sun Mingrui, who was far away in their home country.
Just then, a knocking sound came from outside the door.
Zuo Jingyou got out of bed, put on slippers, and walked toward the door. After opening the door, she saw Professor Sun, wrapped in a down jacket, standing there, looking somewhat surprised. “Mom? Is there something wrong?”
Professor Sun peeked inside and asked, “Is everything okay… Are those two little rascals asleep?”
Zuo Jingyou nodded and smiled, “Yes, they’re asleep.”
Professor Sun withdrew her gaze, sighed, and said, “They played all day, so it’s normal for them to be asleep.” She then looked at Zuo Jingyou with great affection and said, “Darling, you should go to bed early too. Don’t stay up with your phone, like a night owl; don’t sleep at night and sleep during the day.”
Zuo Jingyou felt somewhat helpless and said, “Mom… I don’t… I had jet lag today!”
Professor Sun gave her a reproachful look and said, “You, you’re mischievous from head to toe.” After scolding her daughter, Professor Sun sighed and asked with a concerned tone, “Are you feeling better now? More comfortable?”
Zuo Jingyou raised her eyebrows, and her smile was very gentle. “Much better, don’t worry about me.”
“Alright, Mom, you should go to bed now. I’m looking forward to you taking me out tomorrow.” Zuo Jingyou placed her hand on Professor Sun’s shoulder, being both affectionate and gently pushing Professor Sun into the adjacent room.
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After saying goodnight to Professor Sun, Zuo Jingyou returned to her own room, preparing to sleep.
However, perhaps due to sleeping too much during the day, she didn’t feel particularly sleepy at the moment. After giving it some thought, she decided to sit up in bed, reached for her phone, and opened WeChat.
Zuo Jingyou felt like she might be genuinely bored, so she sent Kong Tianyi a somewhat irrelevant message: “Tianyi, I heard that I seem to have a lot of same-sex CP (couple pairing)?”
Kong Tianyi replied quickly, “Yes, so what?”
Zuo Jingyou thought for a moment and replied, “Nothing…”
Although she said “nothing,” in no time, Kong Tianyi sent a lengthy text: “In recent years, with the legalization of same-sex marriage, more and more people in the industry are coming out, and same-sex CPs generate more interest than opposite-sex CPs. You’re already divorced now, so if you’re willing to create CPs, you might consider going the same-sex CP route. I think your new movie, with that same-sex teacher-student pair, might be worth exploring.”
Zuo Jingyou replied promptly, “No, you don’t have to create CP for me.” She was an actress and had long passed the stage of needing to maintain popularity.
Kong Tianyi didn’t give up on the idea: “I think it’s possible…”
Before she could finish, Zuo Jingyou promptly said, “I can’t. I need to rest now. Have a good New Year, goodnight.”
Kong Tianyi: “……”
Having been in the entertainment industry for so many years, she had never seen an artist who disliked rumors as much as Zuo Jingyou. Clearly, it was such good publicity, but once it involved emotions, Zuo Jingyou wouldn’t agree no matter what.
Kong Tianyi sighed and just let her be, “Let me have a good New Year. Boss, while you’re out having fun, try not to create too much commotion!”
Who knows how you manage to create a hot search with a rumor when on a trip!
Zuo Jingyou didn’t respond to Kong Tianyi and instead turned to chat with Yin Bai. After hesitating for a while, she sent Yin Bai a message explaining the public relations matter for the day.
Yin Bai was still awake and quickly replied, “As long as it doesn’t affect you, it’s fine.”
Since she couldn’t sleep and it wasn’t too late, Zuo Jingyou decided to continue chatting with Yin Bai. After some thought, she finally found a conversation starter: “By the way, how did you know that I have many same-sex CPs?”
Yin Bai replied, “Oh… well, when I used to search for Xiao Nian on the website, I saw the ‘shipping’ videos of you two.”
Oh… it’s because of Xiao Nian.
Zuo Jingyou leaned against the bedhead, tapping out a message on her phone: “What does ‘shipping’ mean?”
“It means forming a CP,” Yin Bai explained to her.
After explaining it, Yin Bai quickly sent Zuo Jingyou a video link. Zuo Jingyou glanced at the title, something like “Red and White Rose Courtesans,” and thought it must be the ‘shipping’ video of her and Xiao Nian that Yin Bai mentioned.
Zuo Jingyou hesitated to click on it, and then Yin Bai’s message came through: “Take a look, it’s actually edited quite well, and it’s the latest one.”
Seeing her response, Zuo Jingyou put on her headphones and without hesitation, clicked on the video link.
The video featured a montage of Zuo Jingyou’s 《Tianya》 and Xiao Nian’s 《Xiaolou Last Night》 , telling the story of a nightclub singer and a female movie star in the Republican era. The whole video had a fair amount of sensuality.
After watching the entire video earnestly, Zuo Jingyou exited the interface, and at that moment, Yin Bai’s message came in: “How was it? Pretty good, right?”
Zuo Jingyou hesitated for a moment and replied, “Well, it’s not bad. The story is a bit simple, but it’s worth some careful consideration.”
On the other end of the phone, Yin Bai lay in bed, and upon seeing Zuo Jingyou’s response, she smiled and said, “I think so too. Xiao Nian and you both didn’t have formal acting training, but you can immerse yourselves in your roles, so you two are quite compatible. Occasionally, I think it would be great if you could work together. After all, objectively speaking, you’re both very talented actors.”
Zuo Jingyou chuckled, “Really? I also think Xiao Nian is a great actress. When I watched her in 《Da Yu》, I thought that if there’s a chance, I’d love to act alongside her.”
“When Director Gu Minghui was filming 《Little Nightingale》, I even recommended Xiao Nian to him, hoping to play sisters with her. Unfortunately, she was busy at that time, and it didn’t work out.”
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Yin Bai was amazed when she read this series of messages.
Zuo Jingyou had actually considered working with Xiao Nian? She even advocated for a role for Xiao Nian?
She had never imagined that the role was one that Zuo Jingyou had advocated for with Director Gu Minghui!
《Little Nightingale》 was filmed four years ago, and at that time, Xiao Nian had already established herself in the industry. However, Yin Bai still carefully reviewed every role and script she considered for Xiao Nian.
When Yin Bai saw the role invitation from Gu Minghui, she was happy for Xiao Nian. After all, Gu Minghui was a renowned director with a good reputation and box office success.
Xiao Nian was also excited and really wanted to take on the role. However, when Yin Bai saw that the lead role was Zuo Jingyou, and Xiao Nian was cast in a supporting role, she unhesitatingly turned down the role for Xiao Nian. As compensation, that year, Yin Bai arranged for Xiao Nian to star in two major productions as the female lead.
Looking back now, Yin Bai felt that she had been quite unreasonable. Even though Xiao Nian liked that role, she had turned it down for her own sake. While it might have seemed like she was doing it for Xiao Nian’s benefit, in Xiao Nian’s eyes, she could have been seen as a domineering and unreasonable, albeit wealthy, benefactor.
Yin Bai raised her hand, touched the tip of her nose, and replied somewhat regretfully, “That’s indeed quite unfortunate.”
Zuo Jingyou shared the sentiment, but she remained optimistic, saying, “Yes, but it’s okay. There will be more opportunities in the future.”
As the conversation revolved around Xiao Nian, Zuo Jingyou couldn’t help but think about Yin Bai and Xiao Nian’s history.
Zuo Jingyou lowered her gaze and looked at the words “Little Prince” in the top left corner of the chat interface. After a moment of hesitation, she typed out a series of messages: “Are you now… at peace with Xiao Nian?” Being able to bring her up so proactively and without any strange feelings probably meant she had let go.
At peace?
Seeing these two words, Yin Bai lay on her bed, tilted her head to think for a while, and then replied, “I don’t know… it’s not exactly being at peace… but what else can I do if I’m not at peace?”
“I’ve tried my best, but for some things, effort alone isn’t enough.”
Yin Bai had grown up with very few people close to her. Since learning about Xiao Nian’s separation from her, those around her, both openly and in subtle ways, had advised her with sayings like, “There are plenty of fish in the sea, why stick to one flower?” or “Once someone leaves, let them go and never come back.”
Yin Bai hadn’t mentioned this matter to anyone else either. No matter how much bitterness and reluctance she felt, she could only keep it to herself.
She didn’t even have a close confidant with whom she could share her emotions.
After turning eighteen, besides Xiao Nian, only Zuo Jingyou would ask her, “Are you okay?”
Zhang Yu and the others wanted to ask, but given that their relationships weren’t as close as with intimate friends, they ultimately couldn’t bring themselves to ask, nor could they offer more care.
Zuo Jingyou narrowed her eyes, in the darkness, carefully read these two lines again through the dim glow. Between the lines, she sensed Yin Bai’s reluctance.
But as Yin Bai had said, whether she was at peace or not, what difference did it make?
It was merely futile and added to the loneliness.
After a moment of thought, she typed a line and sent it to Yin Bai: “At least you’ve tried, haven’t you?”
At this moment, Zuo Jingyou suddenly thought of that night when she encountered Yin Bai and Xiao Nian arguing in the garden. It seemed that from that day on, she had started to truly get to know Yin Bai as a person.
Even though she had seen Yin Bai many times before, in her impression, the enigmatic Yin Bai was one of the most prominent financial tycoons in the entertainment industry. She was famous for her wealth, generosity, and was rightfully called the “Lavish Princess.”
Every time Zuo Jingyou saw Yin Bai, it was always in various bustling events. The tall, well-dressed young woman, who always wore a serious expression, limped through the crowded and flattering crowd, leaning on a cane.
Despite her seemingly nonconformist behavior, every time she appeared in the crowd, she always exuded an air of arrogance. It was as if she were a proud monarch, surveying her dominion. She would silently extend her long fingers, taking business cards handed over as offerings from countless directors and producers. With an understated remark of “Contact my assistant,” she would then gracefully depart.
While Zuo Jingyou thought Yin Bai was very beautiful, her haughty demeanor had led her to believe that Yin Bai was just a self-important businessperson.
It wasn’t until she witnessed the argument between Xiao Nian and Yin Bai that she realized the apparent arrogance on that person’s face was nothing but a facade for survival.
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That evening, she stood in the corner and witnessed everything.
She saw the person who always appeared with a cold and indifferent demeanor, as impassive as an iceberg, reaching out to hold Xiao Nian with pleading eyes. Overwhelming emotions shattered the icy mask on her face, and her expressions turned to sadness and despair as if an avalanche of emotions surged from within.
In the face of Xiao Nian’s ruthless rejection, Yin Bai, like someone clutching the last straw of hope, kept pleading, saying, “Don’t leave me, don’t leave me…”
To keep Xiao Nian, she was willing to use money, dignity, her own love, and everything she had.
But even so, Xiao Nian did not stay for her.
Xiao Nian shook off her hand, turned and left without a glance back. She left the other person there, like a failure, and yet like a little mermaid princess who had come ashore only to meet her doom, sprawling on the ground, wailing like a child.
The cries at that moment were more sorrowful than many farewells in romantic movies.
It was at this moment that Zuo Jingyou felt that perhaps this “lavish spender” was not actually a haughty ice queen, but rather, a clumsy child who struggled to express herself.
Looking at it now, the qualities hidden behind the icy facade of Yin Bai were truly numerous.
Zuo Jingyou couldn’t help but think that it was a blessing that she didn’t take that step forward that day.
Not missing out on such a good friend was truly a blessing.