Chapter 91

A dejected Tao Nian was dragged to the set by the director to film that crying scene.

Logically, Tao Nian should still be enjoying her vacation, and the director hadn’t scheduled this scene yet. But the director rarely saw the usually sunny Tao Nian looking so downcast and depressed. He knew Tao Nian’s acting relied a bit on her own emotions and didn’t want to miss this rare opportunity, so he insisted on bringing this scene forward.

—Perhaps there was also a hint of kindness, not wanting Tao Nian to be sad alone in her hotel room.

Anyway, Tao Nian was brought to the set, had her makeup done and costume changed, and after much fuss, she had a thoroughly cathartic cry. Happiness might come in many forms, but pain, for the most part, is similar.

The director greatly praised Tao Nian’s performance. It was Zhou Tongyan, however, who walked over with a bit of worry, handed Tao Nian a tissue, and asked: “What’s wrong?”

Tao Nian sniffled and sobbed: “I’m so sad.”

Zhou Tongyan: “What’s wrong?”

Tao Nian wailed: “I’m so sad.”

Zhou Tongyan placed the tissue over Tao Nian’s face and stopped asking.

Tao Nian cried from the set all the way back to the hotel.

Under the camera, she still remembered to cry prettily, but once no one was around, she cried like a human waterfall.

Tao Nian was down for several days. For some reason, she didn’t contact Lin Qianman. Lin Qianman also didn’t take the initiative to contact her. Tao Nian held her phone every day, not knowing what she wanted to do.

The atmosphere online was also a bit subtle. It started when Tao Nian and Lin Qianman were photographed on the snack street, and then said they were “not single” to ward off approaches from passersby. CP fans were going wild, but some “passersby” questioned Tao Nian for dating as an idol, calling it a betrayal of her fans.

It wasn’t necessarily just random passersby. Even before Tao Nian officially started acting, other idols treated her as a rival. And now that she started acting, she was taking a slice of the pie from other actresses. As long as there’s competition, there will be messy situations like this. When Tao Nian’s identity was revealed before, a group of people clamored that it was a carefully orchestrated script. Now, another incident like this just handed leverage to her rivals.

However, before public opinion could fully form, the studio came out to debunk the rumors. And subtly loosened the association with Lin Qianman.

But even so, the anti-fans clung on, their main point being—”You [stolen content]say it’s not true, so it’s not true? Tao Nian herself said she’s ‘not single’!”

There were also anti-fans pretending to be real fans, claiming they spent so much money voting for Tao Nian during Idol 101, and now Tao Nian was dating and demanded a refund. To this kind of behavior, genuine “Sweet Peaches” (Tao Nian’s fans) thought: “…”

You’d be more believable if you asked Tao Nian to reimburse your gym membership for weight loss.

The Sweet Peaches just keenly felt that the studio might be planning something more long-term for Tao Nian, and perhaps wouldn’t let Tao Nian continue to be so unreliable in the future. However, they’ve always been laid-back and chill, unwilling to spend too much money to lower their quality of life, nor willing to waste effort arguing with anti-fans and affecting their mood. So, when the studio planned and debunked rumors, they followed the studio’s lead.

The ones truly sad were the “QianNian” CP fans. One hour, they were celebrating and enjoying their “sugar,” the next, the studio debunked the rumors. At that time, the CP fans were still optimistic. “We understand; after all, their careers are still on the rise, they need to keep it underground~”

Most importantly, Tao Nian’s initial rise to fame wasn’t just due to her personal charm, primarily her enormous appetite and secondary absurdity, but also her CP with Lin Qianman. The manager now deeply regretted not stopping this CP’s development from the beginning. But now Tao Nian had already profited from it. Even knowing that this CP was very detrimental to Tao Nian’s future development, they couldn’t directly cut ties immediately. However, if they didn’t decisively sever all connections, then in the eyes of the CP fans, it meant they were forced to bow to worldly pressures but still loved each other! So, the CP fans initially didn’t feel much of a crisis.

Until the third day. A fan photographed Tao Nian at the airport. Her poor state was visible to the naked eye; dark circles under her eyes, looking as if she had a dark cloud hanging over her head. When fans spoke to her, her reactions were delayed. Then, a few days later, on-set photos were leaked, showing her crying miserably, even after the cameras stopped rolling, she was still curled up in a chair crying by herself. Fans were all worried. The Sweet Peaches worried that something had happened to Tao Nian. But the CP fans, connecting it to the studio’s previous stance, reasonably speculated it was because of Lin Qianman.

Could it really be the end?! The QianNian CP fans anxiously observed. At this point, the ones whose emotions aligned most closely with theirs were surprisingly the “Eels” (Lin Qianman’s fans).

The Eels had previously been quite dissatisfied with the QianNian CP. bailiantales.comHowever, with a deeper understanding of Tao Nian, they also learned of Tao Nian’s sincerity.

Thinking back, Lin Qianman had been in the industry for over a decade without any scandals, and now she was almost twice Tao Nian’s age, still single. Thinking this way, they actually felt a bit sorry for her.

It was hard enough for her to finally meet Tao Nian, like an old tree blossoming — no, no, it was mutual affection, which was also very rare. Fans couldn’t just let her stay single, could they? With this thought, the Eels grew more and more satisfied with Tao Nian.

Tao Nian was also nurtured by Lin Qianman herself, strikingly beautiful, a lovely airhead, with a good personality, a standard little ray of sunshine. And she was deeply devoted to Lin Qianman; there was nothing to fault.

Although the Eels didn’t become CP fans, they were still happy to see this development. Thinking this way for a long time, when they heard Lin Qianman say she was no longer single, they actually felt a bit relieved.

However, before they could even feel relieved for two days, they discovered that Tao Nian had sadly returned to the film set alone. Tao Nian was crying hysterically alone on the set.

??

So Lin Qianman was going to be single again? The Eels and the QianNian CP fans clasped hands, tears in their eyes, unable to believe that all of this had happened within a single week.

Xiao Nan was also extremely worried. He finally caught a glimpse of a clue from Tao Nian’s daily life. Tao Nian’s bad mood seemed to be because of Lin Qianman. Not only because she no longer called Lin Qianman or video chatted with her, constantly wanting to be together. Most importantly, she was truly heartbroken, far more serious than just quietly shedding tears. She had even started binge eating—though her usual appetite was already binge eating for ordinary people. But now she was eating exceptionally much. During filming breaks, she would even absentmindedly eat a small cake. It seemed that only this way could she feel a little happier. In short, Xiao Nan was very worried.

However, thankfully, Zhang Jingyue finally remembered Tao Nian amidst her busy schedule.

A few days ago, she decided to temporarily stop working in the entertainment industry and go back to school, so she had been busy with that. She had taken a year-long leave of absence before, and now with two months left, she wanted to use this time to rest, detach from this environment, and re-adapt to school. Now that everything was settled, she was very happy. Thinking of Tao Nian, she sent her a message: “What are you doing?”

Tao Nian: “Eating.”

Zhang Jingyue sent an emoji.

Tao Nian looked at the ridiculous emoji and suddenly couldn’t help but feel wronged. She typed furiously, telling Zhang Jingyue: “I’m so sad!”

Zhang Jingyue didn’t know why Tao Nian was sad.

The last time she saw Tao Nian, Tao Nian was happily telling her that she was going to find Lin Qianman soon, with a big smile on her face.

The last news she saw of Tao Nian was the trending search that night, with Tao Nian and Lin Qianman on the snack street, sweet and affectionate.

There was no reason for Tao Nian to be sad. Plus, she was quite happy herself, so she cheerfully told Tao Nian: “Don’t be sad!”

If Tao Nian were by her side now, she would definitely jump up and pat Tao Nian’s shoulder. But since Tao Nian wasn’t there, she sent an emoji: “Cheer up! Don’t give yourself negative psychological hints! If you think you’re happy, you’ll become happier and happier! You’re not sad at all right now, you’re going to be the happiest person in the world!”

Tao Nian looked at Zhang Jingyue’s message, trying hard to understand the meaning it contained.

Zhang Jingyue watched the “other party is typing” at the top and quickly typed: “If you’re really unhappy, then I’ll tell you some good news! I’m going back to school this year, so I won’t be your nameless industry friend anymore; I’ll be your promising academic friend!”

Tao Nian’s reply was delayed: “My master says not to deceive myself.”

—Don’t give yourself negative psychological hints; you’re not sad at all right now; you’re going to be the happiest person in the world!

—My master says not to deceive myself.

Zhang Jingyue: “Didn’t I tell you, your master doesn’t look like a good person at all, don’t listen to her? Can I lie to you?”

Tao Nian looked at this message, not caring if Zhang Jingyue could see it through the screen. She shook her head to herself. She sadly told Zhang Jingyue: “But I’m so stupid; I messed everything up.”

“You’re not stupid!” Zhang Jingyue finally realized something was wrong. She asked: “What happened to you?”

Lin Qianman told me not to foolishly believe anyone. But Yueyue is also my good friend. I can tell her, right? Tao Nian was too sad to type. She sent Zhang Jingyue a voice message, her voice weak and disheartened, genuinely sad: “I couldn’t do the ‘boiling frog in warm water’ thing you taught me well. I told Lin Qianman that you told me I like her. She said you were lying to me, she said I don’t like her, and I can’t be with anyone. She likes me, but I can’t ‘lick’ her anymore.”

Zhang Jingyue first transcribed the voice message. After seeing the transcribed text, she couldn’t believe it. She played the voice message again, confirming that Tao Nian had indeed said Lin Qianman rejected her. Her joy about returning to school suddenly wasn’t so strong anymore.

Zhang Jingyue frowned: “How could this happen?!”

She hadn’t wanted Tao Nian to tell Lin Qianman directly back then, not because she thought Lin Qianman had no feelings for Tao Nian.

She just thought that confessions needed an opportune moment, a romantic setting, where a natural confession would be more memorable and suitable as the start of a relationship.

She asked Tao Nian: “When did you say it?”

Tao Nian: “On the third!”

Went to the snack street on the second, confessed on the third, rejected. How could this be? Was it because she was a CP shipper that she thought Sister Lin felt differently about Tao Nian and had feelings too, but in reality, Sister Lin didn’t like Tao Nian at all? No way.

Zhang Jingyue was utterly baffled: “How exactly did you say it then?”

Tao Nian then recounted the situation in more detail. Although it was an unprompted confession without a catalyst, Lin Qianman shouldn’t have had to deny Tao Nian like that, right? Zhang Jingyue couldn’t understand why Lin Qianman rejected Tao Nian; instead, she felt that Lin Qianman must have had a hidden reason.

She speculated: “Did you say something that made her think you weren’t sincere?”

Tao Nian: “I don’t know.”

She then asked: “What should I do?”

Zhang Jingyue was also very confused.

She spoke frankly: “I don’t know. You should just ask Sister Lin directly.”

Tao Nian: “Didn’t you tell me not to ask before?”

Zhang Jingyue: “That’s because Sister Lin wasn’t like this before.”

Tao Nian was so wronged she was on the verge of tears: “Why is she like this? I like her, so is she just going to ignore me for this long?”

Zhang Jingyue’s tone was hesitant: “No, I don’t think so. Ask her. No one can say for sure right now. Anyway, there are two possibilities: either she has some hidden difficulty, or… maybe she just doesn’t like you. But it’s okay! I think—”

Tao Nian was sad: “But I haven’t spoken to her in a week. I’m scared.”

Zhang Jingyue looked around and found an emoji for her: “Don’t be a coward, go for it.”

Tao Nian looked at the emoji, added it to her collection, and opened her chat with Lin Qianman.

The door suddenly knocked. Xiao Nan walked over with a large box: “Your package.”

Xiao Nan was a bit confused: “Huh?” I haven’t bought anything recently.

Xiao Nan placed the box on the table, seemingly thinking for a moment, and said: “It’s from Ms. Lin.”

Tao Nian got out of bed in a daze and looked at the box. Inside were snacks from the snack street; the roasted sweet potatoes were still warm.

Fang Wen felt a slight anticipation when Lin Qianman’s phone vibrated. Mainly, the boss and Tao Nian had some conflict, and after Tao Nian left, the two hadn’t contacted each other. The boss had a grim face every day, and while she didn’t deliberately exploit her employees, it severely impacted their working environment.

Fang Wen was so scared that she very proactively peeled ten pounds of chicken feet, wanting to send boneless chicken feet to Tao Nian to eat.

But for some inexplicable reason, Lin Qianman had someone go to that snack street to buy Tao Nian’s favorite snacks, put them in an insulated box, and had a staff member deliver them to Tao Nian by high-speed rail that very day, but she wouldn’t give Tao Nian the chicken feet she had so painstakingly peeled herself. It was too disheartening.

But calculating the time, it should have arrived. Tao Nian should send Lin Qianman read the original at bailiantales.com a message when she sees it, right? Fang Wen prayed every night for these two to reconcile.

Seeing any movement on Lin Qianman’s phone, she would almost recite all the Eastern and Western gods and angels she knew, begging them to ensure it was a message from Tao Nian. However, for the past few days, it never was.

She secretly confided in Xiao Nan. Xiao Nan also sensed something was off between the two of them.

Fang Wen hinted for him to hint at Tao Nian, to get Tao Nian to contact Lin Qianman. Xiao Nan, in turn, hinted for her to hint at Lin Qianman, to get Lin Qianman to take the initiative to coax Tao Nian.

The two employees dared not provoke their boss’s wrath and could only hope the other person would be brave enough.

Thus, under this hope, neither Tao Nian nor Lin Qianman actively spoke to the other.

So Fang Wen watched Lin Qianman’s face grow gloomier day by day. Occasionally, she might resolve something herself, her expression briefly softening, but it wouldn’t last long before returning to her original angry and irritable state. As time passed, Fang Wen still held onto hope, but was very clear that hope was slim.

Until today, Lin Qianman looked at her sweet potato porridge in the morning, and for some reason, suddenly softened. After Lin Qianman finished a scene, Fang Wen went up to her, holding a jacket and offering warm water. Finally, she handed Lin Qianman her phone: “Someone just sent a message.”

Who would send me a message at this hour? Lin Qianman opened her phone.

It was Tao Nian.

A little bear emoji.

“Testing.”