Chapter 57
As the plane landed in Gaoqi, the humid sea breeze felt like a freshly dried quilt on my face. Xu Li was wearing a fisherman's hat and a mask, the brim pulled low, revealing only her eyes, which had just woken up.
Tan Yuze pushed the two of them with their luggage, a small strawberry and lemon two-tone pendant dangling from the suitcase handle—a miniature version of last year's "Survivor Day" cake.
Xiao K, Xu Li's personal assistant and part-time bodyguard, kept nagging: "Sis, today's seventeenth trending topic is #XuLiXiamenFilmSetSneakPeek#, and someone in the supertopic has made a meme out of the picture of you yawning when you got off the plane..."
Xu Li: "...Thank them for me, and remember to Photoshop it to look better next time."
The hotel the film crew booked was on Huandao Road, and the balcony overlooked the boardwalk and the waves crashing against the reefs. Nan You stood in the lobby, eating an ice cream, waiting for them.
"You two, if you're ten minutes late, I'll have the producer break your room keys." Tan Yuze pushed his suitcase to his feet: "Upgrade us to an ocean view suite first, otherwise Teacher Xu will quit tomorrow."
Xu Li raised her hand: "Can I boycott the performance?"
Nanyou: "Okay, transfer the penalty to my card first." — The three of them entered the elevator noisily, like they were back in college.
Xu Li's room was 1805, Tan Yuze's was 1806, and Xiao K's was 1804. That night, after filming wrapped, Xiao K secretly posted an A4 sheet of paper on the door of 1805: "Actresses who are filming until 2 a.m., please lock your doors from the inside to prevent someone next door from knocking on your door in the middle of the night to bring you late-night snacks."
The signature included a drawing of a hamster wearing glasses. Ten minutes later, Tan Yuze also posted a note on his door: "Hamster, mind your own business. Someone's only late-night snack is strawberry mini cakes."
Little K walked by, blushed, tore off the note and stuffed it into her pocket—later this picture went viral on the super topic and became the profile picture for the CP super topic.
[Xiamen - Second Month]
In the film, Xu Li plays a folk singer who loses her voice, while Tan Yuze plays the "sound of the waves" that she cannot see. Many scenes were filmed at the old Shapowei Wharf, where Xu Li had to walk barefoot on the mudflats after the tide receded.
Eight takes in one go, and her feet were cut by seashells. After Nanyou yelled "cut," Tan Yuze was the first to rush into the shot, picked her up, and carried her to the shore.
Xu Li protested in a low voice: "The director hasn't said we can leave the frame yet!"
Tan Yuze: "I'm requesting to add a hero-saves-the-damsel-in-distress scene as a bonus scene. Director Nan, will you cut it or not?"
Nanyou rolled her eyes: "Cut it! Cut it into the bonus scene, and give the two of you a separate credit: Thank you, Teacher Tan, for your free romance."
Xiao K was incredibly busy that day. At 5:30 a.m., she delivered an iced Americano to Xu Li; at 9:00 a.m., she squatted in a corner of the set with her laptop, editing photos; at 12:00 p.m., she was fed coconut jelly by Tan Yuze; and at 3:00 p.m., she held up a reflector as a backdrop.
At 11:00 PM, I stood guard in the hotel corridor for the two teachers—because Tan Yuze always stayed in room 1805 under the pretext of "rehearsing his lines," and the hotel's soundproofing was not very good.
In his diary, K wrote: "Today, Teacher Xu's door was finally replaced with an electronic lock. Teacher Tan entered the password 18061806 and successfully unlocked it. I should be under the car, not inside it."
Nanyou's Weibo side account has been exposed.
Latest post: "We finished work at 3 AM, and the guy in room 1805 next door is still playing guitar and singing a completely off-key version of 'The Brightest Star in the Night Sky.' I suspect Tan did it on purpose—giving the song to Xu Li, and then giving Xu Li to our movie. PS: Even if he's off-key, I'm still going to include it in the end credits, because he's my investor."
Fans were laughing hysterically: "Director Nan, just say so if you're into this." The crew moved to Gulangyu Island. At 4 a.m. at Neicuo'ao Wharf, Xu Li was about to film a scene where he jumps into the sea—the character decides to let the "waves" carry him away.
The seawater was icy cold, and Tan Yuze clenched his fists behind the monitor. After Nan You shouted "Action," Xu Li stepped into the waves. Just as the seawater reached her chest, Tan Yuze suddenly rushed out and pulled her back into his arms.
The entire audience was stunned.
Xu Li's eyelashes dripped with tears: "I haven't finished acting yet..." Tan Yuze's voice trembled: "I'm sorry, I got too into character." Nan You was silent for a few seconds, then slammed the walkie-talkie on the ground: "Cut! Save this one, the emotion is too real, use it!"
Later in the final cut, this embrace was edited into the movie poster: —The girl silently sheds tears, and the boy shields her from the entire wave. On the day filming wrapped, the entire crew held a bonfire party on Zengcuo'an Beach.
Little K drank two glasses of plum wine, then hugged Xu Li and cried, "Sister, I'll never ship real-life couples again. Every time I do, I go bald."
Xu Li chuckled and ruffled her hair: "You're allowed to ship us, but only the three of us—me, Tan Yuze, and the therapy dog." The dog barked in agreement.
Nanyou raised his glass: "To the two ancestors who didn't break up our crew in three months, and to myself—I finally turned your publicly funded romance into an art film."
Tan Yuze and Xu Li looked at each other, and as they clinked glasses, the strawberry and lemon pendant shimmered gently in the firelight. On the day they returned to Shanghai, Gaoqi Airport was packed with fans. Xu Li held Tan Yuze's hand and walked confidently through security.
Little K was pushing a luggage cart, with Therapy Dog wearing sunglasses on the back seat. In a video taken by a passerby, Tan Yuze turned his head to brush a stray hair from Xu Lili's ear and whispered, "In the three months in Xiamen, I saved 92 photos of you dozing off."
Xu Li: "I'll buy you a 92-yuan strawberry cake when I get back to Beijing, in exchange for you deleting the picture."
Fans screamed:
"I've found the real deal!"
"Little K, hurry up and publish your book, 'My Daily Life of Shipping Couples on the Front Lines'!"
Little K's lips curled up wildly beneath her mask—she'd even come up with a book title in her notes: "Three Months of Strawberry Lemon Flavor."
How a socially awkward assistant survives a top celebrity's dating scene and becomes incredibly wealthy
As the plane landed at Terminal 3 of the Capital Airport, the Beijing evening breeze, like a knife, instantly sliced away the humid heat of Xiamen. Xu Li pulled her fisherman's hat down even lower, only to find it couldn't block the flashes at all—"Haven't taken any photos in three months, even the paparazzi in the Chinese entertainment industry have gotten thin from hunger," Tan Yuze laughed in her ear.
Little K pushed the luggage cart at breakneck speed, jolting Therapy Dog so much it rolled its eyes back. In the parking lot, Nan You leaned against a beat-up Buick, holding two iced Americanos: "Welcome back, and return the car on the way."
Xu Li: "Director, why are you a day late for work?" Nan You shrugged: "I went to the Gulangyu post office to send you postcards. I wrote a 3,000-word thank-you letter, but it was overweight and got confiscated."
Tan Yuze: "Who was it written for?"
Nan You: "I wrote to the Film Bureau, begging them not to edit my publicly funded romance into a documentary." Back in her apartment, it was 2 a.m. Xu Li finished showering and found that the sand from Xiamen was still hidden behind her ears.
She opened her phone; her WeChat had 99+ messages, the top one coming from an unfamiliar group.
Group owner: Little K
Members: Xu Li, Tan Yuze, Nan You, Therapy Dog (Note: Can't type but can send emoticons)
The latest message is from Nanyou: "The rough cut of the movie is 140 minutes long. Tan Yuze asked me to add a bonus scene - behind-the-scenes footage of his failed attempt to propose to someone on Gulangyu Island."
Xu Li: ? ? ?
Tan Yuze replied immediately: "The attempt failed because the therapy dog took the ring away."
The therapy dog posted a meme: 【Dog's innocent hook.jpg】
The next morning, Xu Li was woken up by the doorbell. Tan Yuze stood outside, wearing a suit jacket over his pajamas, his hair a mess as if he'd just been blown by the sea breeze. He knelt on one knee, holding up a…dog bone-shaped plush toy.
“The ring is inside,” he said. “The therapy dog hid it; I’ve been looking for it for three hours.” Xu Li tore the bone open, and a very thin platinum ring fell out, with the words “Little Li” engraved on the inner band.
Xu Li: "Couldn't you have just bought a proper box?"
Tan Yuze: "The dog says bones are more romantic." The therapy dog wagged its tail behind the door, holding another bone in its mouth with a note that read: "I'd like to be a flower girl, but I want strawberry cake."
The proposal was successful, but it will be kept secret for now.
Little K became the only one in the know, and she wrote a 5,000-word essay overnight: "How to be promoted from assistant to director of the secret service overnight." Nan You sent a red envelope in the group: "Hush money, 250 yuan per person."
Xu Li accepted the red envelope and then bought 250 yuan worth of strawberry-flavored chew sticks for Therapy Dog. The dog ate them until its face turned bright red, like it was drunk.
Three months later, the movie "The Waves Can't Be Heard" was scheduled for release on Qixi Festival (Chinese Valentine's Day).
At the premiere, a giant strawberry and lemon cake was set up at the end of the red carpet. Xu Li wore a very simple white dress with countless tiny silver stars embroidered on the hem—the Milky Way that everyone had photographed for her with flash on the night of filming's wrap party.
Tan Yuze didn't walk the red carpet; he wore a mask and mingled in the audience, holding a therapy dog in his arms. The final scene of the movie freezes on that embrace.
The subtitles slowly rose:
"Dedicated to all those who have cried at night — and to a golden retriever who stole the ring."
The entire audience lit up their phone flashlights, as if they were back at the beach in Xiamen.
Xu Li choked up on stage: "I have no lines in the movie, but at this moment I want to say - thank you for letting me live and bloom."
In the last row of the audience, Tan Yuze took off his mask and mouthed to her, "Go home and eat cake."
The post-credits scene features behind-the-scenes footage of the proposal that Nan You secretly edited: —At four in the morning on Gulangyu Island, a therapy dog carries the ring into the sea, with Tan Yuze chasing after it. —Xu Li, dressed in costume and barefoot on a rock, laughs: "Even a dog is more romantic than you."
Finally, Therapy Dog was bribed by Tan Yuze with a strawberry cake and handed over the ring. The scene froze on Xu Li's silent, tearful eyes, and a line of small text appeared in the subtitles:
“They didn’t say ‘I do,’ but the waves heard them.”
After the premiere, paparazzi somehow obtained the video and posted it online, which quickly went viral and became a trending topic.
#Xu Li Tan Yuze is married#
It topped the trending searches, but many screens remained black.
fan:? ? ?
Solo fans: ???
CP fans: It's like Chinese New Year!
Solo fans: Aren't celebrities forbidden from dating?
A fan named Egg Tart commented: "That's because idols aren't allowed to date. Who said celebrities aren't allowed to date?"
Xu Li woke up to find Tan Yuze frying eggs in the kitchen, his back view as gentle as the sea in Xiamen. The therapy dog lay by the door, guarding a strawberry cake.
Xu Li walked over and hugged him from behind: "Where's the ring?" Tan Yuze handed her the spatula: "Inside the dog's belly."
The therapy dog immediately rolled over, exposing its belly—which, in edible food coloring, read: "Woof! Happy Anniversary!"
Little K's memo update: "Strawberry and lemon flavored married life": "Today's sugar content: Teacher Tan tied an apron for Teacher Xu, and Teacher Xu fed Teacher Tan strawberries."
The therapy dog was singing "The Brightest Star in the Night Sky" off-key next to me. I pretended to water the flowers on the balcony, but actually took a hundred pictures. —And, Director Nan said the sequel is called "The Dog Food Can't Be Heard."
I request to continue serving as the Director of the Bureau of Secrecy; please settle my salary in strawberry cake form.
Later, a small shop called "1806" appeared in Shapowei, Xiamen. The owner was a retired therapy dog who would lie in the doorway sunbathing every day.
The shop only sells two things: strawberry cake and lemon-flavored star-shaped candies.
The sign at the door read: "If you've ever cried at night, come in and have a piece of cake. — A survivor."
The first snow fell on the rooftop of the China World Trade Center Phase 3. Xu Li had just finished recording the voiceover for the documentary "The Waves Cannot Be Heard." She pushed open the door and saw Tan Yuze standing by the glass railing with two glasses of mulled wine.
"Nan You's new script has arrived," he said. Xu Li took the script; the cover had only one sentence—"Even Survivors Have Winter."
This time, Tan Yuze is the executive producer, and Xu Li is the producer. Their company is called "1806 Pictures," and on the day of registration, Therapy Dog pressed its paw into the red clay of the shareholding confirmation document.
Little K became a partner, and his business card read: "Chief Strawberry Cake Tasting Officer & Lifetime Honorary Director of the Secret Service". On the first day of the script reading, an old photo was displayed on the projection screen in the conference room - a year ago, on the night of the wrap party in Xiamen, by the campfire, the shadows of Xu Li, Tan Yuze, Nan You, Little K, and Therapy Dog, five people and a dog, were stretched very long.
Nan You circled the shadow with a laser pointer: "The sequel starts here." In the story outline, the female protagonist is no longer a singer who lost her voice, but the "leader of the anti-fans" in the cyberbullying incident years ago. Her true identity: a 17-year-old high school sophomore.
The film's title, "When the Avalanche," is taken from the phrase "No snowflake is innocent." Tan Yuze said at the meeting, "We're not filming a redemption myth; we're only filming what color the ground is after the snow melts." To find actors, Xu Li and Xiao K secretly went to a juvenile detention center.
Through the glass, they saw the girl who led the photoshopping of the funeral portrait back then. Now 20 years old, she had short hair and an old scar on her wrist. The girl asked, "Aren't you afraid I'll ruin this movie?"
Xu Li pushed a strawberry candy towards him: "I'm afraid, but I'm even more afraid that you'll stop talking."
Before filming began, 1806 Pictures issued a notice stating that "all cast and crew members, regardless of the size of their role, must complete 40 hours of anti-cyberbullying volunteer training."
Training location: Former site of the '1806' shop on Gulangyu Island, Xiamen.
Graduation gift: A steel ring made from black screen bullet comments, engraved on the inside—"I was snow, now I am water." On the first day of training, the therapy dog was promoted to "homeroom teacher."
It has a QR code hanging around its neck. Scanning the code brings up a course schedule: how to identify online trolls, how to get psychological support links in private messages, and how to order a strawberry cake for yourself on a night when you're so angry you want to commit suicide.
On the day the training ended, the girl from the juvenile detention center also came. She didn't get the ring because she hadn't been released from prison yet. Xu Li took off his own ring, broke it in half, and left one half in the girl's palm.
"When you come out, come to the premiere and get the other half from me."
At the film's launch press conference, a reporter asked Xu Li, "Why are you willing to give a chance to someone who once hurt you?"
Xu Li looked down at the audience—the girl's parents were sitting in the last row. The mother was holding a piece of paper that read, "My daughter is not a monster. She just got lost." Xu Li said, "Because lost people also need streetlights, and streetlights once shone on me."
The filming period lasted 87 days, and it didn't snow in Xiamen.
The final scene takes place in an abandoned church on Gulangyu Island. The girl stands in the confessional and says to the camera, "I have cursed many people and killed myself. Today I want to live, not because I am forgiven, but because I am finally allowed to be seen."
The camera zooms out, revealing a therapy dog standing outside the confessional, holding half of a steel ring in its mouth.
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