Yong repeatedly called Zoe, but she didn't pick up any of the calls.
Soon, a message came through on WeChat.
A long string of text, and Zoe didn't even bother to glance at it. She could guess exactly what it was about.
Half an hour later, Lan called Zoe.
"Yong just called me."
"I guessed as much." Zoe sat down on the couch and asked, "What did he say?"
"What else could he say? He just wants me to talk you out of it."
"Does he think a few words will make this go away?" Zoe asked in surprise.
"He knows this won't be settled so easily. I guess he's trying to gauge your reaction—whether you're just upset in the moment or whether you're truly not letting it go. If you just vent a little, he'll be happy to take it and end the matter."
"He's dreaming."
"Then he'll soon come to talk to you about his compensation."
"Fine, let him wait." Zoe sighed. "I really don't want to fly to BJ this afternoon. I just want to rest."
"If you really want to rest, I'll push back the shoot in BJ for you."
"Sigh, they've already set everything up and are waiting for me to go. I can't delay now." Zoe yawned. "I'll take a nap for a bit. I'll talk to you later, see you tonight."
At 7 PM, Zoe met with Lan.
Lan had a pleased and smug look on her face, so it seemed like her discussions had gone well.
Sure enough, during dinner, Lan started talking about "After We Spread the Rumor."
"The concept of this variety show is pretty interesting. It's a topic that hasn't been done before in China, and with the whole Zoe and Song topic, it's bound to explode."
Zoe said, "But, Lan, aren't you worried the rumors about Song and me will just get bigger?"
"Honestly, Zoe, whether spreading rumors is a good or bad thing depends on the perspective. For you, it's definitely more beneficial than harmful. For Song, it's more harmful than beneficial, but at this critical time, he needs some publicity and heat to get the attention of investors, so for him, it's beneficial in the short term." Lan analyzed. "From the company's perspective, your rumors with Song aren't a bad thing. Moreover, I don't believe the company hasn't been quietly pushing this along behind the scenes."
Zoe thought about it for a moment.
In the past two months, because of all the attention from these rumors, she had picked up so much work and brought in so much money for the company.
From the way Yong had been treating her lately, it was obvious that the company didn't want her heat to cool down.
"So how do we record this show?" Zoe asked.
Lan said, "The production team will assign a director and a cameraman to follow you around for three months."
"Three months?" Zoe was shocked. "That long?"
"Yeah," Lan nodded. "This show is mainly about filming your daily life, kind of like revealing what celebrities are like behind the scenes. The key selling point is that kind of drama."
"So you'll be filming parallel lines with Song?"
"Yes, parallel filming. But according to the production team's request, they'll need to capture some moments where you two interact, like having a meal together. Most of the audience will still be watching for the rumors between you and Song."
"Then they'll click on it and get all upset because it's not what they expected, calling it a bait-and-switch." Zoe complained.
Lan shrugged. "What can we do? You and Song aren't actually together, and I've told you both to just date already, but you refused. I can't do anything about it."
"Enough already."
"Isn't that enough? Let me tell you, Song is also in BJ now. Do you want to contact him?" Lan asked.
Zoe hesitated.
"He's in BJ too?"
"Yeah, I saw his manager post on WeChat saying he had work in BJ today."
Zoe remembered she still owed Song a dinner.
She hesitated for a moment, then sent a message to Song: "Are you in BJ?"
Song quickly replied: "Are you here too?"
Zoe: "Yeah."
Song: "Coming to bother me again?"
Zoe: "Coming to assassinate you."
Song's call came in.
"You really can't take a joke." Song complained.
Zoe glanced at Lan, who was sitting across from her with a big smile, and felt speechless.
She decided to step outside to talk to Song.
"What are you doing in BJ?"
"A brand event. What about you?"
"Why would I tell you?"
Song let out a loud, mocking laugh. "You're something."
"Can you meet up tonight?" Zoe asked.
"What do you want? You want to meet up in the middle of the night?" Song said. "You really can't let it go, huh?"
"Why don't you go die?" Zoe bit back.
"Tsk tsk, always cursing me." Song said, "I'll be done here in about an hour, around nine or ten. Where should we meet?"
"Who said I want to meet with you?" Zoe's tone was sarcastic. "I'm just asking if you can come out, I didn't say I'm going out to meet you."
There was a brief silence on Song's end.
"You're ruthless." Song let out a sharp breath. "Fine, I'll hang up now."
"I'll send you the address in a bit." Zoe hung up the phone, not giving Song a chance to criticize her for being inconsistent in her words.
Thinking about it, it was really quite interesting.
Every time she spoke to Song, she couldn't help but tease him, like a little schoolgirl. Zoe knew that she was able to be so relaxed with him, even a bit reckless, and it had something to do with what Lan had said. Zoe had a bit of a soft spot for Song, and she was sure that Song felt something for her too. They both liked each other, but right now, they couldn't be together. If they started dating, it would cause trouble.
So in these repeated interactions, each of them secretly tested the waters, knowing something but not fully acknowledging it, teasing each other with hidden, unspeakable feelings.
Zoe smiled.
Her smile was genuinely beautiful—bright eyes and white teeth, shining like a radiant lake under the sun, sparkling with every glance.
"Are you Zoe?" A timid little girl's voice came from behind her.
Zoe instinctively became alert, putting away her smile and turning around.
A little girl with a ponytail and a small, oval face looked to be a middle schooler.
"You really are Zoe!" Before Zoe could respond, the girl confirmed her identity. "Can I get your autograph?"
Zoe asked, "Are you my fan?"
The girl shook her head and said, "No, I'm not your fan."
"Then why do you want me to sign for you?" Zoe asked.
"Because you're a celebrity." The girl said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
Zoe shook her head. "You're not my fan, so I won't sign. Go study hard."
She patted the girl's head and walked away.
The little girl stood there, baffled, muttering, "So stingy?"