Chapter 34 He's someone whose smile makes me...
"Wang Peiyang: Welcome everyone to Moonlight Island! Let's touch the penguins together from afar! [Images] ×9"
Comment: Just wondering, is the middle part a couple's photo template? [winking emoji]
Louzhonglou replied—
"Oh my god, I can't take it anymore, this CPF guy is just too brave~ hahahaha."
"All fans of the same thread should give this post a thumbs up!"
"Are CP fans sick? Why are they sticking their noses up here? Can't they just enjoy their own little world?"
"I'm so annoyed by these freeloaders, get out of here."
"Xiao Pei has done so many good deeds, she and Tong Xinyuan are such a perfect match!"
"Stop arguing, everyone, and come together to support the original poster."
"Is Wang Peiyang alright? Why did he post a photo of Fang Xin and Jing Yitong together? [smile]"
"I will protect this innocent Xiao Pei!"
"Report! Those who share the same views have formed a united front! The two anti-black websites have started to join forces to promote the poster! Hahaha!"
"Hang in there, OP!"
"I'm dying of laughter. Is this a conspiracy by the production team to shift the battle between the solo fans of the two groups to the couple fans?"
"In the end, it was the CP fans who shouldered everything [tears]"
In just one hour, more than 10,000 replies had been generated in the comments section, but Fang Xin Gu didn't dare to open them at all, given the terrifying number of folded replies.
Who would have thought that Wang Peiyang would post a photo of himself and Jing Yitong!
Fang Xin hid under the covers in anguish. He knew that he couldn't blame Wang Peiyang for this; he hadn't asked which photo it was before agreeing to it without asking.
Moreover, he could understand Wang Peiyang's intentions. After all, Wang Peiyang had always mistakenly believed that he and Jing Yitong had a past grudge, so he always wanted to repair their relationship.
Ultimately, it's his own fault. In the first few days of filming, he treated Jing Yitong coldly, causing everyone to misunderstand their relationship.
But everyone thought that he and Jing Yitong had a past conflict, so where did these CP fans come from?
As an artist who started out as an idol, he is quite familiar with these fan circle disputes. He also knows that many artist teams will deliberately guide the public opinion and create CP (couple pairing) hype. However, Chengfeng Entertainment does not take this kind of unorthodox approach. Presumably, Jing Yitong's side is the same. Therefore, the CP fans of him and Jing Yitong have grown wildly.
Sometimes I really want to know what these CP fans are shipping...
And what will Jing Yitong think of their relationship?
However, when Jing Yitong talked to Yan Tu about their CP fans that day, he didn't seem to have any aversion to it.
That's true. Creating a CP (couple pairing) is something that should be kept within the family. If you have to create a CP, it's better to do it with this person than with someone you don't know well, at least they won't betray each other.
In the darkness, Fang Xin's thoughts were a little out of control. He wandered off into random thoughts for a while before gradually drifting off to sleep.
The next morning, the recording of "The World Is So Big" proceeded as usual. In the afternoon, after the Affogato arrived in the waters near Gudil Island, they boarded the speedboat again to go ashore.
The snowstorm was even worse today, with snowflakes swirling in the cold wind. The world was shrouded in a gray haze, but that couldn't dampen everyone's good spirits, except for Wang Peiyang, who looked gloomy.
When they got ashore, he followed closely behind Fang Xingu, like a child who had made a mistake and dared not speak.
Fang Xin had been followed by him all day and was a little helpless: "I told you I'm not angry."
Wang Peiyang didn't expect that his Weibo post would attract so many fans with different tastes. He was afraid of upsetting Fang Xingu and Jing Yitong—who wants to be in a relationship with someone they hate?
Wang Peiyang: "Or should I delete that Weibo post, or delete that top comment?"
Fang Xingu thought to himself, "Isn't this just making things worse?" He said, "It's okay, really, there's no need. Let the fans say whatever they want... And why are you following me instead of Teacher Jing?"
Wang Peiyang stammered, "I feel like you're easier to talk to than Brother Jing."
Fang Xingu thought to himself, "That's not right. Anyone else would think that Jing Yitong is much more easygoing and easier to get along with than him. Why is it the other way around with Wang Peiyang?"
However, Fang Xingu wasn't angry with him about this, so he simply told Wang Peiyang the truth: "Don't worry, my relationship with Teacher Jing isn't as bad as you think. We get along fine."
Wang Peiyang looked suspicious, clearly not believing Fang Xingu's words, and only thinking that Fang Xingu was comforting him: "Really? But you didn't let me call you Teacher Fang before, saying it was too formal, but you still call him 'Teacher Jing' now."
Fang Xingu was at a loss for words. If he didn't call Jing Yitong "Teacher Jing," what should he call him? Should he call him "Brother Jing" along with Wang Peiyang?
...That's too unfamiliar. I'm afraid Jing Yitong wouldn't be able to accept it. He'd probably have to reveal his identity on the spot if he heard it.
It would be better to call each other "teacher".
Seeing that Wang Peiyang seemed unconvincing, Fang Xin simply gave up and stopped trying to explain.
After visiting the museums on Gudul Island, they finally arrived near the Penguin Post Office. The post office had black walls and a red door, a color combination that made the building stand out in this snowy world.
White-browed penguins were everywhere on the snow, and they were not afraid of people at all. They chased and played in front of the post office. Several blue-eyed cormorants were on the sea. They had deep blue eyes and their feathers were black and white, just like the penguins.
In this natural world, humankind is the uninvited guest.
The group walked toward the Penguin Post Office, located near Port Lockray. In the early 20th century, this place was a harbor where whaling ships docked. Now it has been transformed into a research station and has opened a small post office, where staff are recruited by the trust fund to work every year.
But the job is not as easy as one might imagine. The four staff members have to send tens of thousands of letters around the world over a period of more than four months. In addition, they also have to complete tasks such as repairing the cottage and protecting cultural relics. Moreover, there are no days off or internet access.
So when they saw the seven helpers arrive, the four staff members were overjoyed and enthusiastically introduced the small post office to them. The group listened attentively, but disagreements arose only when the work was assigned at the end.
Next, they will split into three groups. The first group will stay in the post office to greet tourists and host a lecture. The second group will go outside to repair the house. The third group will help monitor the penguin population.
Except for the first group, the other two groups need to be outdoors, but in such a blizzard, no one wants to stay indoors.
Meng Hui suggested, "The first group needs to interact with the tourists, so we definitely need to leave a few people who speak well. Xin Gu and Yi Tong, why don't you stay?"
Fang Xingu didn't want to go to the first group either. He declined, saying, "The weather outside is too bad. Let the girls stay indoors."
Li Wenyu hurriedly refused: "No need, no need. I'm young, I should go out and experience some hardship!"
The second oldest, Luo Da, reacted quickly: "Young people these days have it tough. Let's leave these kinds of hard jobs outside to us old folks."
Jing Yitong found it amusing: "You guys can even make it sound so clear-headed and unconventional that you don't want to stay at the post office."
Four pairs of eyes turned to him at once. Fang Xing glanced at him and asked, "Or will you stay?"
Luo Da thought about it and felt it made perfect sense: "I think it's a good idea! Yi Tong speaks fluent English, is the perfect age among the seven of us, and is a boy, he's practically the chosen one!"
Jing Yitong, who was suddenly pushed forward, was stunned: "So it's my fault for being too talkative, huh..."
"Hahaha."
Jing Yitong had no choice but to raise his hand and say, "Fine, I'll stay, but my group needs two more people. Who's going to do it?"
Naturally, no one volunteered to step forward, so the remaining six people had to play a guessing game, ultimately leaving Li Wenyu and Wang Peiyang for Jing Yitong.
Fang Xin was assigned to work with Meng Hui to repair the house. In reality, the repair work was just shoveling snow. The heavy snow of the past two days had left a thick layer of snow on the roof of the post office. If it wasn't cleared in time, it would put pressure on the roof's load-bearing capacity, and the snow could easily fall on tourists.
The two followed the staff to get snow removal tools and went outside. The wind was strong, so Fang Xin put on goggles and a hat, and turned up the collar of his windbreaker to block the wind.
The wind and snow blurred their vision, and the wind cut their faces like knives. Fang Xin had to raise his voice a little to ask Meng Hui, "Sister Hui, do you regret it at all? Do you think it would have been better to stay in the post office?"
Meng Hui waved his hand with a smile, his tone still carrying a hint of eagerness: "How could that be? This is much more interesting than staying in the post office. I'm from the South, and I've never shoveled snow before."
Fang Xingu looked at the snow piled up on the roof: "Me too. Can the two of us from the south manage to shovel the snow down smoothly?"
The house looked quite tall, and Fang Xingu was looking up at it, gesturing with the snow removal tools in his hands, when Meng Hui suddenly asked, "You and Yitong..."
Upon hearing this, Fang Xingu thought that Meng Hui had also misunderstood his relationship with Jing Yitong, so he explained again, "Teacher Jing and I actually have a pretty good relationship, really."
Meng Hui observed his expression carefully for a while, then suddenly chuckled softly: "Good, it's good that you're all alright, saves me from worrying."
Fang Xingu was confused by her laughter, but at least Meng Hui seemed willing to believe him, which made Fang Xingu feel a little more at ease.
The two southerners were extremely enthusiastic about shoveling snow. Although the weather was terrible, they were well-equipped and didn't feel cold. In fact, they even felt warm after working hard.
In the end, because the snow removal tools were of limited length, the snow in the middle of the roof had not been shoveled off. Fang Xin simply climbed onto the roof and worked with Meng Hui to shovel the snow off the roof.
After clearing the snow, it was already six o'clock in the evening. Fang Xingu and Meng Hui put down their tools and returned to the Penguin Post Office together. At that time, a small lecture was being held in the post office. Fang Xingu came in alone through the back door and sat down in the last row.
As the lecture drew to a close, Jing Yitong, standing behind the podium, was delivering his closing remarks in fluent English. He had a charming and casual smile on his face. Despite not having rehearsed, he could speak fluently about topics related to the Antarctic Treaty, climate change, and wildlife conservation without even looking at a script.
Sitting in the audience, Fang Xingu stared intently at him. Even though the indoor lighting wasn't bright, Jing Yitong himself was dazzling enough, drawing Fang Xingu's gaze to him.
Just looking at Jing Yitong's spirited appearance, Fang Xingu couldn't help but smile, and even his heart beat faster for him—no matter when or how many times, he would be moved by Jing Yitong like this.
At a certain moment, Jing Yitong and Fang Xingu's eyes met. When their eyes met, Jing Yitong was stunned for a moment, as if he did not expect Fang Xingu to appear here. But then he smiled more in Fang Xingu's direction, and the rhythm of his hosting was not disrupted at all.
After a lecture ended, Jing Yitong pushed through the crowd to find Fang Xingu: "When did you come back? I didn't even see you come in."
"Just now, a few minutes ago."
Jing Yitong asked expectantly, "How was it? Did I do a good job?"
Fang Xingu blinked, too embarrassed to admit that she had been so focused on looking at his face that she hadn't paid any attention to what he was saying, so she could only force herself to praise him, "Very good."
Jing Yitong was satisfied and smiled as she went with him to meet the rest of the production team.
At this point, all three groups had successfully completed their tasks.
Yan Tu said, "Congratulations everyone! You all did an excellent job on today's three tasks, especially the first group. The tourists gave it rave reviews. Let's give a round of applause to the three teachers in the first group!"
Li Wenyu and Wang Peiyang modestly replied, "No, no, we're just there to make up the numbers. The only real contributor is Brother Jing."
Yan Tu patted Jing Yitong on the shoulder: "Teacher Jing, please give us your thoughts."
Everyone cheered enthusiastically: "Great!"
Jing Yitong gestured with his hand: "Thank you very much, everyone, but I have already received the praise I wanted the most."
The group didn't understand and asked in confusion, "'The compliment you want most'? What does that mean?"
Jing Yitong glanced at Fang Xingu without leaving a trace, then said mysteriously, "It's a secret."
"Tch, boring."
Yan Tu's devilish voice rang out again: "Here comes the interesting part. You thought your work was over for today? No, tonight you also have to sort out the hundreds of letters that the post office received today."
Rhoda wailed, "I protest! Do you know how much penguin poop I cleaned up today?!"
Liang Jiyan also said with a hint of resentment, "That's right, I should have just stayed at the post office."
Rhoda: "I'm too tired to participate in the following activities, you guys go ahead."
Li Wenyu mocked them mercilessly: "Hahaha, who told you not to want to stay at the post office today? Xiao Pei and I had so much fun being Jing Ge's accessories today."
Wang Peiyang suddenly raised his hand and shouted, "Report! I'm reporting Brother Da and Sister Jiyan for violating the tourism declaration!"
Everyone was stunned for a moment before realizing what Luo Da and Liang Jiyan had just said. They had only been complaining a little, but Wang Peiyang had caught them red-handed, and a burst of mocking laughter filled the room.
Liang Jiyan laughed in exasperation: "Xiao Pei, is this all you do all day long?"
Luo Da was even more eager to fight: "You little Pei, just you wait, don't let me catch you!"
Wang Peiyang chuckled and ran after Yan Tu.
Despite the commotion, the work still had to be done. Today, Penguin Post received 537 letters. However, this post office does not actually provide regular postal services. The seven staff members simply processed the letters, bundled them, and weighed them. In a few days, they would be handed over to an expedition ship to be transported to the Falkland Islands. After that, the letters would enter the normal mailing process and be sent to destinations around the world.
After tidying up, looking at the stack of letters on the table, Wang Peiyang felt exhausted. He asked curiously, "Did everyone write letters and send them out themselves?"
Meng Hui then remembered that there was such a thing: "You know, I was so busy that I forgot. I was originally planning to send a letter home, from Antarctica, it would be such a memorable gift... Okay, I need to write one right away."
"I want one too!"
Half a minute later, everyone took out postcards or letter paper to write something and send it home. Rhoda scratched his head: "The last time I wrote a letter was back in high school when I wrote a love letter. Back then, it was popular to write love letters to girls to confess your feelings."
“It’s still popular now; love letters are something that never go out of style,” Li Wenyu said, glancing at Fang Xingu, who was staring blankly at a pen, and asked, “Senior, did you write any love letters when you were in school?”
Fang Xingu answered directly: "I haven't written it."
In his twenty-odd years of life, he has only ever loved one person, Jing Yitong. He has secretly loved her for so many years but has never had the courage to say it, let alone write her any love letters.
Feeling awkward, Li Wenyu turned to Jing Yitong and asked, "Brother Jing, did you write any during your student days?"
"Hmm?" Jing Yitong looked up and tapped the table with the tip of his pen. "Love letter? I've never written one."
Meng Hui laughed and said, "Back when they were in school, they probably didn't even have time to receive love letters, let alone have the mind to write them."
The group started teasing each other, and Li Wenyu pressed, "You've never written love letters, but you must have had someone you liked! Jing-ge, tell me honestly, have you ever liked anyone?"
Jing Yitong hesitated for a moment, and finally answered with a slightly embarrassed expression: "Yes, I definitely have."
Upon hearing this, Fang Xingu froze, his heart pounding wildly, and even his tongue felt numb and bitter.
Who was the person Jing Yitong had a crush on during her student days?
Could it be someone he knows? Could it be a mutual friend?
Could it be...him?
Fang Xingu knew he shouldn't have such expectations and fantasies, but perhaps because Jing Yitong's attitude had been ambiguous lately, he was always caught up in such speculations and couldn't extricate himself.
Fang Xingu, who had been tormented by unrequited love for seven years, did not dare to look up at this moment. His Adam's apple bobbed, afraid that others would notice his abnormality, and also afraid that he would lose his composure because he could not hear the answer he wanted from Jing Yitong.
Li Wenyu, who was in the room, became even more curious: "Wow, what kind of person is she? If you can't tell me her name, at least give me a brief description!"
As Jing Yitong pondered this, his gaze involuntarily fell upon Fang Xingu, who was still lost in thought, holding a pen.
He remained silent for so long, yet Fang Xingu didn't even spare him a glance. Did Fang Xingu have absolutely no interest in who the person he liked was?
Jing Yitong felt somewhat helpless, but just looking at Fang Xingu's back, he couldn't help but recall Fang Xingu's smiling face as he looked at him.
Fang Xin was not a person who smiled often, but when he did smile, his expression was so captivating.
Jing Yitong was lost in his memories. He slowly said, "Him... he's the kind of person whose smile can make me lose my mind."
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Author's Note: Subtitle Team's Thoughts: Forget about love, is anyone going to care about my life or death? Someone tell me, should the subtitles say "he" (male) or "she" (female) for this "ta"? [Clown]
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