First Kiss Diary - Chapter 29

For a moment, she even forgot how to breathe. It wasn’t until the man released his hand, ended the embrace, and stepped back half a foot. Ji Ning, flustered and at a loss, dared not meet his gaze, her fingers rubbing her nose as she said, « I… I was talking about the newspaper… you know, the scene from ‘Nameless Crime’ we shot before, where they found the real culprit by tracing footprints in the newspaper… »

« ………………………………… »

The man’s brow furrowed deeper and deeper, finally forming a knot after she finished speaking. She cleared her throat, attempting to salvage the situation, but didn’t know what to say: « But, well, the atmosphere just now, even the hug felt… »

Ji Shiyan turned his head. « Where’s the newspaper? »

The topic shifted, and Ji Ning hurriedly followed suit, pointing her finger. « It’s hanging outside that house. »

He stared at it for a while, perhaps trying to lighten the mood, before turning back. « Props from the previous shoot should have been collected. This might have been left out to weigh something down and got blown away by the wind. »

Ji Ning nodded vigorously. « Yes, you’re right. »

Some time passed, and the boat continued its journey. The glaring sunlight enveloped in a slightly warm breeze passed by. She noticed him shaking his head with a low chuckle, unsure what he found amusing.

« What’s wrong? »

« Nothing. »

« Just feel like… » Ji Shiyan paused and didn’t continue.

Sparse dots of light hit the bow of the boat, shimmering along with the water ripples as they moved away.

After disembarking, the two went to have breakfast at a cozy breakfast shop with a friendly owner.

Ji Ning found it amusing to watch them make dumplings and approached, asking, « Can I try? »

« Sure, let me show you. » The owner handed her some hand sanitizer. « Wash your hands first. »

After washing her hands, Ji Ning took a small piece of dough and followed the owner’s technique to knead it, fill it, and then fold it.

It was her first time making dumplings, and with a skilled master beside her, the ones she made looked childish yet adorable.

Since she couldn’t make the most delicate ones, she decided to make the cutest ones. Ji Ning had an idea, « Can I add some decorations to it? »

The owner indeed had some, taking out molds. « Here, we have pig noses and sheep horns. Choose what you like. »

After half an hour of crafting, she attached pig noses and eyes, as well as a few sheep horns, before finishing her work.

While she was busy, Ji Shiyan didn’t idle either. After ordering breakfast, he made fruit and vegetable juice. When Ji Ning returned to the table, two glasses of juice were already served.

After a while, the dumplings were steamed. As soon as the steamer opened, her peculiar artworks caught her eye.

Ji Ning chuckled. Seeing Ji Shiyan preparing to pick up the ones she made, she hurriedly stopped him. « No, no, no, you eat something else. These are my creations. »

Unexpectedly, he leisurely lifted his chopsticks. « What’s the filling? »

She paused. « Red bean paste or custard, I think. »

« And the others? » He gestured to the more visually appealing ones.

« Meat. »

« I don’t like eating meat in the morning. » He nudged her creation with his chopsticks, calmly eating it.

After about ten minutes, Ji Ning felt it was time to touch up her makeup. The makeup artist said her eyeliner got smudged due to the steam from the dumplings.

When Ji Ning finished her makeup and came out, half of the basket of dumplings was gone.

Not half of hers, not half of the owner’s, but—

All the ones she made were eaten, while the owner’s remained untouched, a kind of « half. »

…

They played for the whole afternoon, wrapping up the day’s shoot.

Just as they finished, Ji Ning received a message saying there was a scene to reshoot for « Here Lies the Stars. » She quickly rushed back by car overnight to shoot a scene in the early morning.

After nearly two weeks of intensive filming on the set, she had to join Ji Shiyan for promotion and filming for the variety show « Burning Fast. »

« Burning Fast » was also a very special program. While other shows were very considerate of the guests, this one was all about challenging them mentally and physically, making it more exhausting than other variety shows.

But because the show was so exciting and popular, with twists and turns throughout, many celebrities were eager to join.

This episode of « Burning Fast » invited four guests, including Ji Ning and Ji Shiyan, the female lead of « Autumn Times, » Fu Xuan, and a popular online actor, Lu Hui.

The five fixed MCs of the show had distinct personalities, with the most popular being the handsome Nie Jianglan. Ji Ning knew Song Yu once had a crush on him.

She was wearing a off-shoulder dress today, and Ji Shiyan frowned when he saw it. « Are you wearing this little? »

« Is this too little? » Ji Ning looked at herself. « It’s quite hot today. »

He looked into the distance expressionlessly and said, « Is that so. »

After a few words, the regular MCs also arrived, and the program recording began.

« Today’s weather is very hot, to let everyone experience what it’s like to work under the scorching sun, our theme today is the experience of surviving in the intense sun. We have prepared four jobs for everyone: driving instructor, courier, delivery driver, and river cleaner. »

River cleaning involves cleaning garbage from the water’s surface, which seems to require a harmony with water unlike the other jobs.

« Everyone just picked up a biscuit, now open it up, and inside is the task you’ve drawn. »

Ji Ning opened the bag and pulled out a piece of paper, she drew the courier task. Ji Shiyan also drew the same.

« Other variety shows might pair up, but here we pair up as well, » the regular MC Kang Nan smiled as he unfolded his paper that said « courier, » « Sorry, I’ll be your third wheel. »

Before Ji Ning could speak, she heard Fu Xuan complaining, « Huh? I’m supposed to clean the river? »

« The program team is ruthless, when a female guest comes, it’s either delivering packages or cleaning the river, so tiring, » Kang Nan shook his head repeatedly.

Fu Xuan turned to Kang Nan, « Nan ge, how about we switch? I’m afraid of water. »

« Afraid of water? What an innovative fear, » Kang Nan was surprised, « You want to switch with me right away? I must tell you in advance that our show doesn’t have easy tasks. What seems easy might be the hardest. »

« It’s okay, as long as I don’t have to clean the river. »

Another MC, Wei Bei, suggested, « Then how about you switch with me? I’m the delivery driver. »

Fu Xuan hesitated for a moment, « But I want to deliver packages, because I often buy things online. »

Ren Xing, who was silent wearing sunglasses, chuckled, « Don’t you often order takeout too? Aren’t they all the same? »

Seeing Fu Xuan being teased by two guests, she turned back to Kang Nan’s side and started to coquettishly say, « Let’s switch, Nan ge. »

« Don’t do this, I can’t handle this— » Kang Nan, a straightforward guy, couldn’t handle this, so he kept backing away, « Let’s switch, let me deliver packages. »

Fu Xuan smiled and blinked, « Okay! »

——

So the courier team became a combination of the two Jis plus Fu Xuan.

At first, Ji Ning didn’t think much about it, but when she went up to distribute the goods and saw Fu Xuan constantly talking to Ji Shiyan, she felt a little clearer in her heart.

Fu Xuan had leaned on Ji Shiyan many times before, and this time she tried so hard to deliver packages, probably because she had her eye on the top star here.

They each received over a hundred parcels, and Fu Xuan complained as soon as she got them, pouting under the scorching sun, « What is this? It doesn’t look fun at all. »

Even Ji Ning, who doesn’t watch variety shows much, knows that there’s nothing fun about being on « Burning Passion, » either you’re mentally tortured or physically suffering.

After sorting the parcels, each person had a motorcycle to deliver them.

Fu Xuan looked at her high heels and stomped her foot, looking at Ji Shiyan, « What should I do, my shoes are hurting me so much. »

She wore high heels instead of sports shoes for a sports-themed show, of course her feet would hurt.

Fu Xuan looked at Ji Shiyan behind her, « Can you carry… »

Ji Ning frowned, realizing that things weren’t simple —— Fu Xuan wouldn’t want Ji Shiyan to carry her, right?

« Ji Shiyan, the hidden married wife outside the circle, » of course, wouldn’t allow such a thing to happen.

So Ji Ning opened her bag and pulled out a green item to hand over.

Fu Xuan was surprised, « What’s this? »

« Foot blister cream, » Ji Ning smiled faintly, « Put this on and it won’t hurt. »

« … »

Fu Xuan choked for a long time, her lips twitching, she couldn’t say the demands she wanted to say, so she could only compromise vaguely, « Okay then. »

The three of them had parcels in different directions, and when Ji Ning and Ji Shiyan were about to set off, they heard Fu Xuan say, « Wait for me, I’m going to change my shoes! »

Although they didn’t know why they had to wait for her when they could have gone ahead, out of politeness they waited for a while.

When Fu Xuan changed her shoes, she also grabbed a piece of paper.

She « seemed to be struggling » to push the motorcycle to Ji Shiyan’s car, « The car is so heavy… you don’t know, I feel particularly uncomfortable today, I just woke up with a low fever, and then I started coughing… »

Perhaps it was because of the heavy pollen, Ji Ning sneezed twice.

Ji Shiyan turned to look at her, « Caught a cold? »

« …I don’t think so, » she rubbed her nose.

« I told you not to dress so lightly. »

« Where is it light? » Ji Ning said, « Aren’t you wearing too much? Aren’t you hot? »

« Not hot. »

After speaking, Ji Shiyan nodded slightly at her, as if bidding farewell, then drove the motorcycle away without even looking back at Fu Xuan, not even sparing a glance.

After a while of riding out, Ji Ning also thought of this problem and turned back to look at the starting point, where Fu Xuan seemed to still be standing there stiffly, her expression unclear.

Throughout the morning, over forty parcels were delivered, encountering many problematic customers along the way. Jining’s mouth was dry, her throat felt like it was on fire, and her limbs were a bit sore. The next delivery was to a building nearby. Jining planned to buy a bottle of water from the vending machine. As she came down after delivering the parcel, she noticed Jishiyi standing in front of the vending machine.

Jishiyi glanced up at her. « Buying water? » Jining asked, tilting her head. « Mm-hmm. » Jishiyi bought two bottles of water, subconsciously unscrewing the cap and handing one to her. Before she could take it, her other hand reached out and grabbed the bottle.

Fuxuan took the water and took a sip. « What are you two doing here? » « Delivering parcels, » Jining replied. Although she knew that Jishiyi unscrewing the bottle cap was just a momentary act of good manners, she still felt a bit strange when her water was suddenly taken away. Fuxuan seemed like she wanted to say something else to Jishiyi, but Jining pointed at her box.

« You have perishable items in there that need to be delivered first, or they might go bad. » « Oh my goodness, » Fuxuan exclaimed, looking at the note on the cap. « I didn’t see that! I need to hurry and deliver them now! » As Fuxuan entered the building, it was obvious that she was a bit annoyed.

« It’s not fun at all. Running around like this, my makeup is ruined, and I’ll probably get scolded even after finishing. » Watching Fuxuan enter the building, Jining left and walked to her car across the street, taking out some sunscreen from her bag. Sunscreen, adhesive bandages, and blister prevention cream were the three essentials she always carried.

She took the umbrella tied to her car and used it to shield herself from the sun, but holding the umbrella made it difficult to apply sunscreen. So, she crouched down and squeezed some sunscreen onto her arm. Black, an area female artists absolutely cannot touch. Before she could apply it, the umbrella was taken away, and Jishiyi squatted down beside her.

« Are you on a secret mission? Hiding like this. » « I’m applying sunscreen, » Jining said after finishing and handed it to him. « Do you want some? » The two of them huddled in this small space, thinking that Fuxuan might appear at any moment and that they probably wouldn’t be able to find them when she did.

Jining felt a slight dryness in her throat and her heartbeat increased slightly. It felt a bit like… having an affair. —Stop, Jining, stop it. Who said anything about having an affair? How dare you blaspheme your idol! After applying sunscreen, they stood up and prepared to leave. Jining touched her motorcycle seat and found it burning hot.

Jishiyi was smarter; he parked his car in a shaded area, so the seat was at a normal temperature. She envied him for a moment and then slightly reproached herself. A man walked over and threw her parcels into his basket. Jining blinked. « What’s going on? » « Get on my bike. I only have three more deliveries left. »

« And then you’ll take me to deliver mine? » « What else? » he said, looking down with a blunt expression. « If you want to stay and get blisters on this seat, I won’t stop you. » Jining touched her seat again and decided against it. Jishiyi got into the front seat and gestured for her to get on.

Jining vaguely saw Fuxuan coming out of the building and squinted. « What about Fuxuan… » The man started the car and left in a hurry. « What about her? » ——For the next few hours, Jining didn’t see Fuxuan at all. At seven o’clock, when everyone gathered to record, Jining saw Fuxuan again.

Fuxuan’s face lacked luster, and she didn’t look too good. According to the staff, she was exhausted. Kang Nan said something to her, and she poked Kang Nan’s ribs. « It’s all your fault. If you hadn’t agreed to switch with me, it would’ve been fine. Delivering parcels is so tiring. I barely ate anything, and I still got scolded. »

« My dear sister, cleaning up is also exhausting, » Kang Nan said innocently, « and didn’t you ask to switch with me at the time? » Fuxuan swung her legs and pouted. « But if you hadn’t agreed, it would’ve been fine. » « Aren’t you feeling dizzy? » Kang Nan was confused.

« If I had switched, you would’ve said I shouldn’t have. If I didn’t switch, you would’ve said I was heartless. » Fuxuan had a helpless look on her face. « Well, there’s nothing I can do. That’s just how girls are. » « Then what am I supposed to do? Just endure it? » « Yep, just endure it. »

After a busy day, everyone found more or fewer shells along the way, which would determine the success or failure later. Before the final decision, everyone had one last chance to collect shells—hidden near a special building in the park. Automatically divided into four groups based on their previous work order, Jining was originally standing with Jishiyi, but as she was earnestly searching for the special building, the gap between her and Jishiyi widened, and Fuxuan slipped in, talking non-stop with Jishiyi.

Jining felt that even as a fan, she wasn’t as dedicated as Fuxuan. Squinting, Jining circled around and came to a conclusion. « The other sculptures have two horns, but this one only has one, so it should be nearby. » « Found it, found it! » Fuxuan turned around and bragged to Jishiyi, « It’s right next to this single-horned one! »

Jining was called so much by her that he got a headache. He bent down to search for a while, but was pushed aside by her repeated calls of « Ji Shixian. » So he simply ran to the other side to pick up some shells.

Shells are divided into real and plastic ones. After picking them up, Jining found a faucet to rinse them clean, separating the real ones to take with him.

Everyone put their shells into bags, then they were randomly shuffled and redistributed according to the order of drawing lots.

Smart people rely on their brains to decide, analyzing which bag might have the most shells; those with lower IQs rely on luck, just picking randomly, in case they get lucky.

After the random draw, there was also the opportunity for private exchanges. Fu Xuan ran to Nie Jianglan and asked, « Can I exchange bags with you? »

Nie Jianglan glanced at her and said bluntly, « No. »

« You’re so smart, if you exchange with me, you can still exchange with others, but if I can’t exchange with you, I can’t continue playing. »

« Then don’t play, » Nie Jianglan said, « This wasn’t a charity program to begin with. »

Fu Xuan was directly angered and went to find Lu Hui, her back looking somewhat hurt.

Seeing this, Ji Shixian inexplicably chuckled, « Being single by ability. »

« Are you talking about him? » Jining pointed to Nie Jianglan.

The man nodded, and Jining continued to educate, « But he’s married. »

―― « Sorry, I’m already married. »

This clarification and Jining’s explanation almost sounded simultaneously. Ji Shixian choked up, glanced at Jining, then at Nie Jianglan who spoke up.

He subtly furrowed his brows, wondering why this person was just like Pei Hanzhou.

Is being married such a big deal? Do you have to flaunt it in front of others?

Not long after, Fu Xuan came over to Ji Shixian with a bag full of shells she had persuaded from Lu Hui.

« Do you like them? Shall I give them all to you? »

Ji Shixian didn’t reply.

Finally, after various card games were distributed, a round of brain-burning analysis and exchanges, in the single-player mode, Fu Xuan forcefully teamed up with Ji Shixian.

The few couldn’t compete with the many, how could one person fight against two? Everyone couldn’t be bothered to argue with Fu Xuan anymore and just said « congratulations » before ending the recording. Although Ji Shixian won, he didn’t even lift his eyelids, and left without taking the final victory gift.

Before and after the broadcast of the episode, Fu Xuan’s team bought countless articles about « #Fu Xuan Ji Shixian#, » seizing the sixth spot on the hot search.

The mouse girl lurking in the CP group was already furious after watching the episode. Not only did the long-awaited Ji Ning and Ji Shixian appear together for only a short time due to Ji Ning finding a new car in the afternoon, they were also openly dismantled by Fu Xuan’s team. Are they dead?！

So, thousands of people finally flooded onto Weibo. The « mysterious force » that had been lurking in the dark appeared with full combat power, cleansing Weibo:

【Damn it, I’ve been waiting for a week for this sweetness, but it’s all ruined by Fu Xuan. Now they’re buying hot search for their declaration? Is the declaration always trying to ride on popularity without being noticed?!!】

【I don’t want to be scolded so I don’t participate in any topics related to Shuangji on Weibo, but now they’ve come down on us, so what’s there to fear? Dare to ask Sister Fuxuan, do you know what « official pairing » means? Quickly take your trending topic and leave me alone!】

【Thinking that Shuangji has no fans so they openly break up CP? Sister Mouse, today I’ll teach you what manners and decency are. It’s strange that you dare to intervene, with eyes wide open, see if you two have any CP vibe when standing together, OK?】

【You guys are not only disgusting, but also disgusting to me! What is this!】

Most of the front rows are dominated by Mouse Girls speaking out, and many passersby who watched the show or came in for other reasons followed suit:

【Can’t stand the attitude of Fuxuan and Kangnan speaking. At first, they floated around crying, saying they couldn’t do it. After switching to delivering packages, they kept saying how tired they were. Jining has so much work but hasn’t said anything. It’s okay to act, but are all girls like this? This girl doesn’t want to be represented by her.】

【Is it interesting to throw yourself at someone? From the red carpet to the movie and then to the variety show, what kind of chaos is this? Wanting fame without wanting to improve your skills, just thinking about how to ride the wave of popularity?】

【Oh my… are those thousands of comments above… fans of Jishiyan and Jining’s CP…?】

【Is it real or fake? Before, they didn’t even have a few hundred check-ins on their super topic, and now suddenly there are so many? Are they hired fans?】

During the protest, Mouse Girls turned into powerful Mouse Sisters:

【Have you ever seen such beautiful hired fans? They’re all genuine! If it weren’t for the bad atmosphere on Weibo, would we have to hide in the group? We’re just too lazy to check in on the super topic. If we did, you’d be scared to death.】

【No CP fans for Shuangji? Sorry, not only are there, there are quite a few, with six nearly full thousand-member groups inviting you to visit.】

【I actually didn’t know I was so humble. Sisters, please invite me to the group. I’ve found my organization and I’m no longer wandering. So touching.】

Just as all the bystanders were shocked that Shuangji couple had so many CP fans, a site called « Yi Yan Wei Ning » suddenly opened, releasing a tic-tac-toe picture, showing them standing together under an umbrella at noon that day.

The picture was well taken, with everything except the two of them blurred, they were close, the sunlight was strong, even their shy smiles were filled with indescribable romance, as if this corner really only had the two of them.

Weibo post: 【In a corner without anyone/there are more romantic secrets】

That Weibo post broke three thousand reposts in ten minutes:
【Gan Lin cooled down this beautiful scene.】
【I don’t allow anyone on my timeline to miss out on such a pleasing handsome man and beautiful woman, I love forever. [Thumbs up]】
【I made this CP real! Shuangji is Rio!】

Jining was called to Weibo by Nuonuo and saw such a grand scene, exited the trending topics, her small homepage still had a few fans of Jishiyan, they were really feeling the love for Shuangji, she was stunned by the scene in front of her.

After a few seconds of blankness, she seemed unable to find the right words to express her emotions, scrolling through the comments: « We actually… have so many CP fans? »

« You’re mistaken, it’s not just these thousands in the comments section, » Nuonuo showed her the few Shuangji couple groups she had just joined, and asked back, « Do you think top stars are joking? »

Jining opened her mouth: « But I… »

« But what? You don’t even know how well-matched you guys are! »

« … »

Unable to continue admiring the wonderful remarks of the Mouse Sisters, Jining saw that it was almost twelve o’clock, hurriedly asked Nuonuo to go back and pack up, she still had a CE ad shoot tomorrow morning.CE is the company that gave her two contracts before, because the attitude of the new person in charge was very good, and the contract was renegotiated by the lawyer given by Jishiyan, so Jining accepted it.This is a luxury line jewelry brand, with a good national reputation, mainly crystal series, designed rings and necklaces are very popular with young girls.Her ad is divided into two parts, one is the theme of a sweet dessert shop with a sweet line, and the other is the theme of a simple and pure flower shop with a simple and pure style.Probably the spokesperson was attracted by her versatile and high-class feeling, so they locked in on her as the spokesperson.The shoot for « Starry Sky » starts at twelve noon tomorrow, she has a morning free, so she allocated it to the ad shoot.

The next day she woke up at four thirty to do her hair and makeup, Jining was so tired that she couldn’t stand it, at five thirty when she arrived at the shooting location, she was still yawning, taking advantage of the hair and makeup time to rest with her eyes closed.

The planner Xiaozhou instructed the newcomer: « Ajia, take this black coffee to Jining. »
Seeing Jining far away on the other side doing makeup, Ajia couldn’t help but hesitate: « Her eyes are closed, what does she need coffee for? Besides, she didn’t ask us for it… or maybe someone who hasn’t slept all night needs coffee even more, there aren’t many cups left. »

After looking at Ajia for a while, Xiaozhou suddenly smiled: « Why are you saying that? Do you have an issue with Jining? »

Although Ajia was a newcomer, she had never resisted any orders given to her before, she didn’t know what happened today, she felt like her feet were glued to the ground and she refused to get close to Jining even an inch.Thinking of « Zhong Fei » as well as the black accounts and scandals that had hit the hot search before, Ajia nodded ambiguously: « I feel… she’s fake. »

Xiaozhou tilted her head: « Hmm? »

« Isn’t it? Always pretending to be very kind to everyone, bowing and thanking everyone every day, but in reality, who knows what she’s really like, I just feel very hypocritical. » How could a normal person always smile and not get angry? Being polite to everyone and even buying things for the staff, isn’t it just for the sake of their image?

Ajia thought she was very insightful, having seen a lot of peeling materials and feeling quite proud.

« Bowing and thanking, isn’t that just basic courtesy? » Xiaozhou asked, holding the coffee, « When you finish work, you also say ‘thank you’ to the teacher, are you also selling an image? »

Ajia was stunned.

Ji Ning’s black account, Xiao Zhou, had seen it. The one called ‘Zhong Fei’ uses various fresh tactics to frame others every day. Apart from casual hookups and messing around with relationships, Ji Ning’s character was also one of the black spots that people loved to talk about.

For example, being dedicated to work but using a stand-in for acting. Although Ji Ning later clarified, many still pretended not to see it. Or when people couldn’t see Ji Ning interacting with other celebrities, they’d say no one wanted to hang out with her, even though Ji Ning’s relationship with Sheng Qiannight and others was always good. Eventually, when there was nothing left to criticize, they’d say Ji Ning was fake, that she was too nice to everyone, and behind her overly perfect façade must lie a hideous character— the logic of black accounts was always baffling, yet there were always people who fell for it.

Thinking about this, Xiao Zhou patted Ajia’s head. ‘Stop reading those black accounts. They’re just paid to manipulate netizens. Besides, those that trended are often manipulated by powerful entities and capital.’

‘Moreover, even if she’s fake, as long as she fulfills her professional duties well and provides positive guidance to her fans and the public, isn’t that much better than those who do all sorts of bad things and still market themselves as genuine?’ Ajia turned her head. ‘Sister, are you a fan of Ji Ning?’

‘Of course not, we’ve only worked together a few times,’ Xiao Zhou said, ‘but I’ve been to one of her affiliated studios.’

So she understood how easy it was to manipulate public sentiment online. Buy a few trending topics, fabricate some unverifiable negative stories, and the scale of public opinion would immediately tilt towards Ji Ning.

Everyone thought Sun He was the instigator of negative rumors about Ji Ning, but it was far from the truth. Sun He bore the visible bad deeds, but the real maliciousness was even harder to detect.

Some people maintain a public image of innocence and charm but engage in activities far more repulsive than mud in private. You wouldn’t even imagine they were capable of such things, yet they were the masterminds behind them.

A part of the cultural zeitgeist seems to still be in a rebellious phase. Some find it difficult to speak highly of what’s good, overly perfect, and positive, while they find negativity, cynicism, and irrationality cool and rebellious.

The opposing team seized on this, magnifying Ji Ning’s flaws to create the concept of ‘pretending,’ and then guiding public opinion. Thus, a flaw that wasn’t even really a flaw was born.

The entertainment industry is like a seesaw. When one star in the same league endures more abuse, their competitors receive less criticism—

It’s just a disgusting whitewashing tactic.

Ajia seemed to understand but still said, ‘Let’s buy some extra coffee.’

Xiao Zhou smiled. ‘Sure, let’s go.’

The coffee shop was a twenty-minute walk away. As they walked and talked, they soon arrived at the coffee shop.

As soon as they entered, Xiao Zhou saw Ji Ning’s assistant and waved. ‘Hey, Nono.’

Nono was holding a phone, seemingly on a video call, and greeted them with a free hand. ‘What are you guys here for?’

‘To buy coffee.’

‘No need, I’ve already placed the order and it’s being packed,’ Nono confirmed, ‘we’re short forty-seven cups, right?’

‘Including all staff?’ Xiao Zhou nodded. ‘Yes, that’s correct.’

Ajia squinted and noticed that Ji Ning seemed to be on the video call with Nono. She whispered, ‘Did Ji Ning ask us to buy?’

‘Of course,’ Xiao Zhou raised an eyebrow, ‘an assistant wouldn’t be this generous.’

‘Then let’s buy something else ourselves,’ Ajia rubbed her stomach, ‘I’m a bit hungry, let’s get two cakes.’

Ji Ning was on a video call with Nono, and Ajia was behind Nono in line to pay. When she snapped back to attention, she saw Nono turning back to speak and noticed the cakes in Ajia’s hands, prompting Nono to ask, ‘Are you together?' »

« Right, the planner and the assistant, » Nono said.

« That cake, let’s split the cost. Buy a bit more for the staff to enjoy, »

« Alright. »

A Jia looked at Nono’s unsurprised expression, feeling a bit surprised herself.

Ji Ning actually invited her, a passerby, to eat? And without any hint from her side? Is this actress a bit too naive?

Just as Ji Ning finished speaking, someone tapped her on the shoulder twice, saying it was raining and they needed to move to a shelter.

Amidst the noisy transition, she casually said to Nono under the new lighting, « It’s raining, did they bring umbrellas? »

« It seems not… Why did it suddenly rain?! It was sunny just now. »

« Are there only two of them? » Ji Ning said naturally as she put on her bracelet, « Let’s give them a ride back in our car. »

« Okay. »

Nono still didn’t think much of it, as it was still a normal operation.

After loading the cake and coffee into the car, Nono poked her head out from the car, « Come on up, we’ll take you back! »

A Jia didn’t expect to be invited for real, looking at Xiao Zhou, « Ji Ning is taking us back in her RV? »

Heavens, what’s with this girl who says what she means and doesn’t beat around the bush.

« Yeah, » Xiao Zhou smiled, putting his arm around A Jia’s shoulder, « So, do you still think she’s fake? »

Indeed, actions speak louder than words.

With no cameras around, Ji Ning not only bought the cake but also offered to take them back because of the rain.

A Jia shook her head, biting her lip, « I’ll never believe that idiotic rumor again. »

She’s genuine; it’s the world that’s fake.

—

After finishing the advertisement shoot, Ji Ning rushed back to the set, filming all afternoon and into the night, wrapping up close to 1 am.

She rubbed her tired eyes, tossed a few bath bombs into the tub, watching the pink and blue fizz explode in the water, feeling a bit relieved. She poured herself a glass of lemon water, preparing to relax with a bath.

She had to wake up early for filming tomorrow.

As she soaked in the water and checked her phone, she noticed the screenwriter for « First Kiss Diary » had messaged her: [Remember what I said before? You and Ji Shiyi are perfect for each other. Look at the preview for the next episode released at 8 pm. I checked and there are so many CP fans now, you two are amazing, really.]

Previously, the top five likes on the program’s Weibo were usually dominated by fans of Haiyan, but now, a few hours after the program’s Weibo update, the top five remained loyal to Ji Shiyi fans, but the seventh was actually CP fans…

And the three factions had even started battling in the comments, setting a new record.

The screenwriter messaged Ji Ning again: [I think it’s almost there. I have an idea.]

Ji Ning: [Hmm?]

[We’re almost at that point. What do you think about filming a kissing scene next time?] the screenwriter « Light Clouds and Gentle Winds » said.

Ji Ning lifted her cup to take a sip, unexpectedly choking on the water, coughing as she leaned against the bathtub.

What about it?

Would anyone refuse to film a kissing scene with their idol?

Although she might get bashed by Haiyan fans on Super Topic… or ruin the scene because she blushes too much…

But at this moment, she was too dizzy from soaking, too unwilling to consider the difficulty and backlash. She just felt that if she had to film a kissing scene sooner or later, it would be a beautiful memory to share it with him for the first time.

She believed he would never disappoint her, so she wouldn’t regret it no matter when she looked back on it.

She replied to the screenwriter seemingly composed: [Whatever you want, after all, I am a professional actress.]

The next second, she switched to the chat with Song Yu, her fingers trembling: [I might have to film a kissing scene with Ji Shiyi!!!]