First Kiss Diary - Chapter 36

Sure, here’s the text with space between paragraphs:

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Chapter 36 KISSx36

The dressing room suddenly quieted down.

He stopped just five steps away from her, and Ji Ning lifted her head to meet the man’s gaze.

The man’s eyelids were half closed, with shadows at the corners of his eyes, invading the atmosphere unclearly. It was imperceptible when he didn’t release it, but now, in this small space, she felt like she was nailed to the ground by him.

« Not exactly, » she didn’t know how to explain, and it took her a while to blurt out, « It’s just that the reporters love digging pits too much. »

With how much influence he carried, which journalist wouldn’t want to dig up some juicy headlines to send back? So they threw the dilemma at her, and no matter what answer she gave, it wouldn’t be the best.

She didn’t want to consume him outside of variety shows, so she avoided those interviews whenever possible, arranging with the media in advance.

Ji Shiyan leaned against the table and watched her, staring at her flushed ears for a while before speaking slowly.

« Don’t you have anything you want to ask me? »

The girl stood in front of him at the moment, everything seemed normal except for her slightly colored ears. It seemed that for that kiss, only he was tossing and turning, while she remained calm… as if she had just been bitten by a mosquito?

The arrogant son of heaven, Ji Shiyan, couldn’t persuade himself to accept this reality.

And under his gaze, Ji Ning shook her head.

She didn’t feel like she had anything to ask — the things she wanted to ask couldn’t be said, and it wasn’t appropriate to pick out the things she didn’t want to ask. Just treat it like acting, no one finished shooting and then went to ask the male lead why he acted like that.

But after the girl shook her head, she found the man tilting his head and narrowing his eyes, as if he was very dissatisfied with her response.

So Ji Ning could only lower her head and start rummaging through her own question box, and she finally thought of something: « Oh, right. »

« Hmm? » He raised his tone slightly.

She pointed at the ring on his finger resting on the edge of the table, « I’m really curious why you always wear that ring. »

« … »

Ji Shiyan, who had been thinking about the kissing scene all day, frowned at this trivial question, « Just this? »

She pursed her lips, countless words rolling back and forth on her tongue, but in the end, she chose one —

« Just this. »

The man paused for a few seconds, sighed lowly in resignation, and then said, « A few years ago, I accidentally cut my finger during filming, leaving a scar. Afraid of fans noticing it, I just randomly found a ring to cover it up. »

« The scar took over a year to fully heal, but I got used to wearing the ring and got lazy to take it off. »

The ring, which had been given countless special meanings in the rumors, turned out to have such a simple reason behind it that it left people speechless.

Ji Ning lightly exclaimed, « No wonder. »

Fans indeed didn’t want to see their idols get hurt, but men inevitably bumped and bruised during filming, so they had to hide it. And he really hid it well, as no one knew that the ring was to cover up a wound.

Upon hearing her response, the man smiled, « Otherwise, what did you think it was? »

« I didn’t really have any thoughts, » she closed her eyes, « but the marketing accounts often say it’s… »

The man, who had just been a little displeased, inexplicably improved in mood. He looked at her with interest, « Is it a token of love with a girlfriend? »

She nodded.

« They’re all talking nonsense, » the man’s voice faintly rang from the depths of his throat, tilting his head, he looked at her, « You don’t like it? »

Ji Shiyan’s long fingers touched his tail ring, gently shook it twice, and the ring slipped off his finger.

« If you don’t like it, I won’t wear it anymore, » she heard him say.

And she knew she had no right to say whether she liked it or not. In a daze, it seemed like she heard something fall on the table, just as she was about to speak, the door of the dressing room was pushed open.

Zhuo Gong, who came in to get the script, was stunned for two seconds when he saw the scene in front of him, then he smiled and continued, « Why are you all standing? We’re about to start shooting soon. »

« Ningning, the makeup artist is calling for you outside, go touch up your makeup. »

« Okay. »

Ji Ning had just left, and Zhuo Gong was about to follow.

Ji Shiyan maintained his previous posture without moving, tapped the table twice to stop Zhuo Gong, « Haven’t you finished your makeup? Why are you going out again? »

« I haven’t done my hair yet, » Zhuo Gong shrugged, smiling and pointing to the top of his head, « Besides, I still need to go over the script with Ningning. »

The man felt that Zhuo Gong’s two calls of « Ningning » seemed particularly intimate, and as he watched Zhuo Gong turn back again, he said to himself, « Then I’ll go over there first and join her! Brother Shiyan, you can sit inside for now, since you’re not acting with her. You can come out when we start shooting! »

—

Of course, here’s the text with spaces between paragraphs:

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« ――I’m with her; anyway, you’re not acting with her; wait until we start shooting, then you can come. »

Ji Shiyen narrowed his eyes, repeatedly pondering the clear factions in these words. He seemed to be separated from the inside, while Zhuo Gong intimately placed himself and Ji Ning together.

Inexplicably, he felt a sense of provocation.

The afternoon scene was a classic melodramatic play starring the male and female leads.

Ji, the producer, naturally couldn’t wait until filming started to be called. As soon as Ji Ning finished her makeup and started rehearsing with Zhuo Gong, Ji Shiyen had already sat down in his chair.

He saw Ji Ning say something and then turn to leave. Behind her, Zhuo Gong reached out and pulled her into his arms.

Since filming hadn’t started yet, the actions of the two were relatively casual and simple, just going through the motions of the plot.

But the producer Ji’s brow had unknowingly begun to furrow.

Fortunately, the next moment, Ji Ning took a few steps back and, following the plot of the female lead, ruthlessly slapped Zhuo Gong.

The man nodded approvingly.

Hmm, not bad, the emotions are very well portrayed.

After rehearsing several times on her own, Ji Ning noticed Ji Shiyen watching and came over to ask him when filming started, « Was that okay just now? »

« It was. »

After saying that, the producer Ji coldly added, « You could have slapped him harder. »

…

Today’s filming continued until late at night before wrapping up. Some irrelevant crew members had already left, and Ji Shiyen also left early because he had plans for the next day.

Ji Ning was afraid of disturbing Song Yu when she went back to remove her makeup, so she simply removed it in the dressing room. Just as she washed off the makeup remover and wiped her face, she noticed a shiny folded object on the table.

Picking it up, she saw that it was the ring Ji Shiyen had taken off today, with the initials JSY engraved on the inner ring, a custom design as he was the spokesperson for a luxury brand.

After wearing it for so many years, there must be some sentimental attachment to it, right? He wouldn’t deliberately forget it here, would he?

Ji Ning opened WeChat and sent a message to Ji Shiyen: [Did you forget your ring in the dressing room?]

They rarely chatted on WeChat, with only a few sentences and a few voice calls in their chat history.

A few minutes later, the man’s reply came.

[Didn’t forget.]

[I gave it to you.]

Although Ji Ning had bought the same style herself, seeing the words « I gave it to you, » her heart inexplicably fluttered a few times.

Unlike the one she bought, the ring on her hand was one he had worn, carrying his scent and aura, accompanying him to receive awards and witnessing his glory.

And now, he had given it to her.

In fact, Ji Shiyen’s ring was owned by many people, as his popularity and fans’ purchasing power were strong, and everything he endorsed sold out quickly. Ji Ning had learned that the same style had been snapped up by Salt Sister fans the next day she went to the counter, leaving only one, which was too big for her to wear.

But no woman would resist the temptation of « the last one, » especially if it was the same style as her idol’s. In the end, Ji Ning bought a fine silver chain and wore the ring as a necklace.

Salt Sister fans were also very enthusiastic. When the marketing accounts hinted that Ji Shiyen’s ring was related to a romantic relationship, fans flooded the comments section with photos of their own rings: [So my romance with Ji Shiyen was discovered so quickly??]

Thanks to this response, the restocked rings were sold out again.

His ring was everywhere, but only one had been worn by him, lying in her hand at this moment.

Back at the hotel, Ji Ning was still looking at the ring. She hooked the ring onto the tip of her other hand’s finger, gently loosened her grip, and watched as the ring slid down to the fingertip.

The other fingers were either too big or too small, only the ring finger was just right.

She stared at this incredible coincidence, blinking slowly.

――

After filming for more than a week, on the night when Ji Ning and Zhuo Gong didn’t have scenes, the crew arranged for them to host a sub-venue at a prime-time TV station’s evening party.

As long as the male and female leads participated in the event together, it was good publicity.

There were only five programs in the sub-venue, mainly to attract viewers for the live broadcast, so the hosts had to have some popularity.

Hosting the five programs in a row wasn’t difficult, and it wasn’t the main venue anyway. Ji Ning read the script for half an hour before setting off and got a general idea of the situation.

The sub-venue was held in a medium-sized studio, so there shouldn’t be too many audience members. However, because Ji Shiyen had agreed to perform on the program, the sub-venue became even more popular than the main venue. It was said that tickets for the front row had been sold at astronomical prices.

The man who hadn’t sung for a long time had his first stage after his transformation, and whether fans or not, everyone wanted to come and see.

It was strange that just last month, when Ji Ning received the invitation, the program team told her there were only four programs, saying there was one reserved program and they didn’t know if they could invite anyone.

But shortly after Ji Ning and Zhuo Gong were confirmed as hosts, the program team sent a new script, saying that Ji Shiyen was coming.

――He was going to perform, and even Ji Ning, a fan, was extremely surprised when she heard it for the first time.

After his transformation, he hadn’t been on stage again, and she had thought he had already retired. She never expected that such a small evening party would bring him out of seclusion.

What kind of ability did the program team have? What methods did they use to convince him?

Sure enough, as soon as Ji Ning arrived at the venue, she saw that almost the entire audience had Ji Shiyen’s light boards, and there were even some fans holding up double-click signs, and even… there were girls holding up starlight boards.

Did she and Zhuo Gong also have CP fans now?

—

Certainly, here’s the text with spaces between the paragraphs:

The gaze swept around the venue, just as she thought nothing could be more shocking than the enthusiasm of Starry CP fans. Yet, at some point in the venue, she spotted a lemon-yellow light board. It was her support color, with a cute « Ning » character written on it. She had never thought her name could be so beautiful, nor had she felt that her support color complemented her name so well.

As the four preceding acts in the sub-venue maintained typical enthusiasm from the audience, the moment Ji Shixian’s guitar sounded, screams surged three-dimensionally from every angle, resonating through Ji Ning’s microphone. She didn’t envy; she simply thought with contentment, this is the person she likes, deserving all the applause and adoration.

The man sang one of his own English songs, a song that could easily make it into Ji Ning’s top three favorites, as she had boosted it on Weibo many times. Sitting on the steps with his legs half-bent, the guitar under his fingers seemed to come to life anew. His deep voice intertwined with the melody, creating a dreamlike atmosphere. A dream one wouldn’t want to wake up from, a dream impossible to wake up from. But dreams always end.

As the accompaniment concluded, Ji Shixian adjusted his guitar behind him and straightened his microphone. « Good evening. » The audience below responded in unison, his blue light board resembling undulating waves of light. « I know many of you still want to hear me sing again, so here I am. » His gaze seemed to linger somewhere in the darkness below the stage, as he smiled softly, « There will be another chance to sing for you all. »

Ji Ning had no interest in hosting; at this moment, she only wanted to rush to her bed, open the live broadcast, and fervently sing praises to this damn charming man. Why was she wearing such a solemn gown to host? Her voice could be louder than all these people below! It wasn’t until Zhong Gong nudged her that she remembered she still had to say the closing words on stage.

Ji Ning ascended the steps with her long train, gradually moving from darkness to brightness. After reciting her lines, she raised her head and waited for Zhong Gong to speak. However, just as she finished saying, « Did you enjoy tonight’s performances and hosting? » in the moment she lifted her head, she noticed her support area had changed? into red light boards.

Ji Ning initially thought they were still supporting other artists, only realizing later that these red light boards formed a heart shape. The support group for her fan club hadn’t fully formed yet, indicating that this was organized by her fans offline. She had never imagined she would have light boards even when hosting, let alone that they would use such thoughtful gestures to show her support and love. Her nose tingled slightly.

As Ji Shixian had just finished performing and was still on stage, Ji Ning and Zhong Gong stood by his side. After all formalities were said, the three of them descended from the right side of the stage. Ji Shixian and Zhong Gong were walking quickly ahead, but when they reached the steps, they suddenly stopped. Ji Ning, who was following behind, suddenly paused and looked up at them.

She saw the two men heading straight towards her, bending down to lift her train. Her train was quite long, and it was inconvenient to go downstairs in high heels. It wasn’t uncommon for some gentlemanly male artists to offer such help. But… two of them together seemed a bit too much, didn’t it? She didn’t have a ten-meter-long train; one person should suffice, right?

The two « male artists » behind obviously realized something at the same time and stopped simultaneously, facing each other as if silently competing for the position with their eyes. After a few seconds, Ji Shixian suddenly withdrew his hand. With a slight smirk, he modestly stepped aside, « You go ahead. » Zhong Gong smiled and was about to say that, as the accompanying male host, it was more appropriate for him to do it. However, before he could speak, he saw Ji Shixian bend down in front of Ji Ning and extend his arm. « You lift the train, I’ll hold her. »

Zhong Gong: … Damn, I was too careless. As Ji Ning descended the stairs, she heard her fans still cheering. She didn’t know why, but soon, there was an explosive sound from the crowd— « The double-click couple is real! » Almost without pause, the high-decibel response from Starry CP’s support area sounded, « It’s fake! » Hoarse voices exclaimed, « It’s real! » High-spirited voices countered, « It’s fake! »

Through several rounds of this exchange, Ji Ning couldn’t help but smirk and lower her head. She must be crazy to find this battle cute. As a result, the three of them became a hot topic, following Ji Shixian’s stage performance. However, whether it was Ji Shixian and Zhong Gong lifting the train or Ji Shixian holding Ji Ning, the hot topic wasn’t about them. It was about the « double-click Starry » couple.

If one didn’t click into it and see the familiar battle video recorded by fans, Ji Ning would have thought it was a stage endorsement of some kind. The comments section was abuzz:

[To the Starry fans at the scene, stop shouting! Didn’t you see the light boards for Sister Mouse? Double-click slays the whole arena, okay?]
[Speechless, they danced their CP dance right in front of the lead. Can CP fans not overstep their boundaries?]
[Please, Double-click fans, wake up. The majority at the scene are Sea Salt fans.]
[I refuse. I want the whole world to know that double-click is freaking real!]
[Ji Ning’s smirk is so adorable. Who wouldn’t want to lift her skirt for the little sister?]
[I imagined it, the double male leads in a romantic drama, senior actor x sunshine youth. Wait, no, it’s senior actor and sunshine youth fighting for the female lead. Damn, it’s so exciting, I’ll forever love the arena!]

However, regardless of how lively the comments section was, it didn’t have much to do with Ji Ning tonight. Because all evening, she was in her own super topic, repeatedly admiring the picture of her light board. She had light boards now, and she had support. Those who loved her had finally appeared before her in reality.

The next day, she energetically began filming, and in the dressing room, everyone was chatting again. Someone brought up the topic first, saying, « I recently found a great way to relieve stress and temporarily forget about life’s trivial matters – watching CP. »

« Gosh, CP is truly wonderful, it’s like my utopia. »

Zhuo Gong chimed in, « I agree, I have so many CP videos saved on my phone. »

Jiang Sheng leaned over, « You have videos? Let me see. »

After just a casual glance, Jiang Sheng asked, puzzled, « Why are they all of you and Ji Ning? »

Zhuo Gong paused for a moment before replying, « Because the ones of us have better quality, I guess. »

« I can’t believe it, even if they’re of good quality, shouldn’t there be variety? You’re telling me you’re into your own CP with Ji Ning? I’ve never seen anyone ship their own CP before! »

« The quality is really good, I can’t explain it to you, » Zhuo Gong handed his phone to Ji Ning, « Take a look, isn’t it sweetly edited? »

Ji Ning glanced down, the background music was « The Banana Song », a cheerful tune, indeed sweetly edited, using materials released by the production team.

The script of « Here There are Stars » itself is sweet, just splicing a few segments together makes it interesting.

She said very objectively, « The production team only released a little promotional material, and they were able to edit it so sweetly, which is really impressive. »

Being acknowledged by Ji Ning, Zhuo Gong became even more proud. He started promoting videos of himself and Ji Ning to the whole crew, almost posting them on Weibo.

Meanwhile, Ji, the producer, remained silent in his chair.

But when they returned to the hotel that evening after filming, Zhuo Gong suddenly received several messages in a row. Opening them, they were all from Ji Shiyan, and they were all video shares… all of Double Ji?

He carefully read each title:
– [Ji Shiyan X Ji Ning, All the Wishes Come True, HE, Cute Style.]
– [Sweet Montage of the Double Couple, You Can’t Resist the Five Minutes!]
– [One Hundred Seconds to Get Hooked, Showing You the Ten Greatest Scenes of the Double Couple.]

Why would he share these in the middle of the night?

Just as Zhuo Gong was puzzled and seemed to understand something, Ji Shiyan began to slowly retract the shares.

After retracting each video share, Ji Shiyan absentmindedly sent a message: [Sorry, sent it to the wrong person.]

Zhuo Gong: …??