Chapter 9 Private Confessions
After the drama Wen Li and Wen Rou caused, the afternoon activities got canceled entirely. The siblings quit the recording too.
Only after dinner did the director round us up again. He wanted a quick Q&A segment to answer fan questions from the official Weibo.
Director: “Senior Song, when did you find out Teacher Cheng had entered the entertainment industry?”
Song Nanzhou: “About a year ago. The supporting role she played back then got a little popular, so I went through everything she’d ever done.”
Director: “Why didn’t you show up in Teacher Cheng’s life for a whole year?”
Song Nanzhou: “I was scared.”
Director: “Scared of what?”
Song Nanzhou: “That’s something I only want to tell Teacher Cheng in private.”
Director: “Teacher Cheng, what do you think about Senior Song liking you for so long?”
Me: “Lucky.”
Lucky that he’d kept liking me. Lucky that he’d always stood behind me, supporting me.
Director: “Teacher Cheng, you’ve been in the industry four years without much heat and never played a lead. What do you think about that?”
Me: “I’ve always believed gold will shine eventually. Maybe I’ll never blow up, but I have no regrets. Fate favors those who keep trying.”
…
One day after recording wrapped, Song Nanzhou asked to meet.
I showed up.
We walked side by side in the dark, only faint streetlights lighting the path.
“Do you know why I wanted us to shoot that magazine?”
Song Nanzhou asked.
I shook my head.
“I regretted missing your school days. When you wore that uniform, I kept thinking—if only we’d gone to the same university.”
I regretted it deeply. Song Nanzhou’s feelings for me ran deeper than I could ever imagine.
If another version of me had met him in a parallel world, I would never have joked about cutting ties.
“What about that fear you mentioned?” I brought up the question from the show. He’d wanted to tell me privately.
Song Nanzhou sighed. “I was afraid those two years we spent together felt like just playing house to you. Not real.”
“Song Nanzhou.” I cut him off. My eyes were red, but I looked straight at him, wide-eyed and serious. Word by word, I said,
“I was serious about our online relationship. Getting jealous over you was real. Regretting those joking words is real. And… I love you—that’s real too.”
Song Nanzhou leaned down, wrapped me in his arms, and whispered gently in my ear, “I love you too.”