Chapter 21
Chapter 21
A sudden burst of force inevitably involves the use of the lower back. Only after Ye Chuyang withdrew his arm did he realize his lower back was aching slightly again. His cool demeanor lasted only three seconds, as expected.
He instinctively reached out to help.
"Your back hurts again. Did you twist it just now?" Shen Qingyuan noticed immediately.
"It's nothing," Ye Chuyang said lazily, putting his hands back on his lap.
Shen Qingyuan felt a little guilty. "Let's stop for a bit, shall I give you a massage?"
"Let's go back and press it again; it's quite inconvenient here."
Ye Chuyang suddenly blushed. It was too embarrassing to lift up her clothes and grope her like that in public. Such private activities were better suited to be done in private.
Recalling the scenes of each physical therapy and massage, Ye Chuyang suddenly felt a little hot; the night breeze on West Lake was very dry.
Considering that Ye Chuyang is a public figure, it's best not to make any big moves to avoid attracting attention from passersby. Shen Qingyuan agreed.
Running from south to north, the Su Causeway was almost at its end, and Xiao Chao still hadn't contacted them. God bless him!
Shen Qingyuan: "Should we wait for Xiao Chao in a bit?"
Ye Chuyang was hoping he wouldn't be there. "Never mind, no need to wait for him. Let's keep going. I remember the Broken Bridge is over there." He pointed east. "When you come to West Lake, you can't miss the Broken Bridge."
Shen Qingyuan smiled helplessly and followed. Mr. Ye, despite his disability, was determined and had a great love for playing. Anyway, he was in an electric wheelchair, so it didn't strain his legs. She must have walked 20,000 steps today.
-
The Broken Bridge is actually just an ordinary stone arch bridge. First, cross the Bai Causeway and head northeast.
The Broken Bridge is famous because of its connection to the legend of the White Snake. This is where the White Snake and Xu Xian fell in love at first sight. It's a must-visit spot for couples.
Many couples were taking selfies on the bridge. There were also people cosplaying as the White Snake, dressed in white with her signature large butterfly bun.
"When I was little, I even dressed up as the White Snake, wearing a mosquito net over my body." Ye Chuyang looked around excitedly. "Dr. Chen, how about we take a picture together?"
Shen Qingyuan: "..."
Everyone else taking photos is a couple, why are you joining in?
"Forget it, it's too dark to see clearly anyway," Shen Qingyuan politely declined.
Ye Chuyang had already taken his phone out of his pocket and opened the camera. "It's okay, my camera has a night mode."
"..."
"Hurry up, hurry up!" Ye Chuyang made a peace sign at the camera and took a selfie first. "Dr. Chen, could you do me the honor?"
There was really nothing she could do with him, so Shen Qingyuan slowly walked over and squatted down.
Ye Chuyang pressed the shutter.
-
After taking the photos, Ye Chuyang put away her phone with satisfaction. The two continued walking.
This time they didn't go too far. Xiao Chao called to ask where they were.
Ye Chuyang was in a good mood and, unusually, showed concern for his employee, saying, "If you're not feeling well, why don't you go back to the hotel first? Dr. Chen and I will stroll around for a while longer and then take a taxi back."
Shen Qingyuan felt her feet were a little swollen, so she simply sat on the bridge to enjoy the breeze. During the day, the sun had baked the stones until they were warm, and they were still warm to the touch, which felt quite comfortable against her bottom.
I felt so comfortable that I didn't want to get up and keep walking.
Hearing Ye Chuyang say into his phone that he wanted to shop around a little longer, Shen Qingyuan really wanted to pull him off the wheelchair immediately and sit in it herself.
Xiao Chao seemed to sense a slight professional crisis and immediately swore, "I'm all better, Brother Yang, completely better! I'm as energetic as ever again, a real hero! You guys wait there, I'm coming right now!"
Twenty minutes later, Xiao Chao came running over. Ye Chuyang suddenly felt that they had seen enough and decided to go back and rest early.
-
That evening, after returning to the hotel, Ye Chuyang updated her Weibo:
A night stroll along West Lake was wonderful, the scenery was beautiful, and I had a great time! The place where I took photos is the spot where Xu Xian and Bai Suzhen met. Can you guess where it is? Also, since we're in such a romantic place, I wish all lovers in the world a happy ending! [heart][heart]
It seems she's in a really good mood, even designing such a silly question.
The comments section quickly filled with stick figures' remarks:
"West Lake!! Broken Bridge!! God, I'm at West Lake tonight. How many glances must we have exchanged in our past lives to barely brush past each other in this one? Su Liao, I'm increasingly convinced that we are destined to be together!"
"Hangzhou fans are in luck! Is it too late to meet Su Liao if I go to Hangzhou now? I'm booking tickets right away!!"
"May all lovers in the world be united in the end! Liao Liao has a great love for all!"
"Wait a minute, does this 'lovers under the sky' include Su Liao too? Why do I smell a hint of romance? The thought that my crush might have a girlfriend is heartbreaking. Could they be subtly showing off their love? The Broken Bridge isn't really a place for couples to go alone~"
Immediately, matchsticks (users) began spontaneously controlling the comments under this post:
"Please, I often go to the Broken Bridge alone."
"Is there no cost to spreading rumors? Just because of a sentence 'true love will eventually be united,' you can conjure up all this and feel heartbroken. Haters, get out of here."
...
Later, Su Liao became a trending topic. Social media and short video platforms were buzzing with activity, and Hangzhou became the top search term on several major travel apps.
Hangzhou's cultural and tourism sector absolutely owes a debt of gratitude to Su Liao.
-
They set off back to Hengdian at noon the next day. Shen Qingyuan had indeed wanted to visit Lingyin Temple, and going in the morning would have been fine. However, she had walked too much the night before and was exhausted, so she didn't bother going.
On her way back to Hengdian, Shen Qingyuan received a phone call.
It's Song Ting.
"Shen Qingyuan, have you forgotten about me? How come you've been gone for so many days without even calling me once?" Song Ting came in aggressively, acting coquettishly and throwing a tantrum.
"You still have something to say?" Shen Qingyuan recalled that Song Ting stood her up on the day she was supposed to see her off, and even had Fang Zhou come to see her off, catching her off guard. "You were the one who said you would come to see me off, and what happened?"
Song Ting chuckled, "Isn't this all for your sake, so you can have someone deliver the gifts? Fang Zhou is happy to help, and I've gained a favor—it's a win-win-win situation."
Shen Qingyuan detected an unusual coquettishness in her tone, unlike the usual Song Ting.
"What, did the blind date go well?"
"How did you know!" Song Ting exclaimed. "Wait a minute, don't change the subject. Tell me quickly, what's it like working for our old classmate!"
Shen Qingyuan turned her head and glanced at the back seat. Ye Chuyang was lying across the back seat, resting with his eyes closed. She wondered if he had fallen asleep.
Even though she wasn't on speakerphone, she was still worried about sound leakage from the phone, so she mumbled, "It's alright, nothing special."
Bored on the long bus ride, Shen Qingyuan really wanted to chat with Song Ting a bit more, even though the current situation wasn't very convenient.
She turned her head slightly to discreetly observe the expression of the person in the back seat.
Nothing has changed; he probably really fell asleep.
Song Ting's voice was full of excitement, and she giggled twice, "I don't believe it! With your past relationship, if you two get back together, won't it be like sparks flying, a raging fire? Tsk tsk~"
"It seems the journalists urgently need to improve their standards. What are they talking about?" Shen Qingyuan said, both amused and exasperated.
Song Ting shouted, "If you're going to talk about me, just talk about me. Don't drag the reporters into it. I can only speak for myself."
"If there's nothing else, I'm hanging up!" Shen Qingyuan dismissed him, not even wanting to inquire about Song Ting's blind date.
"Wait, wait," Song Ting said urgently, "Okay, let's get down to business! I'm going to Hangzhou on a business trip the day after tomorrow, and I saw Ye Chuyang trending on social media, and she's also in Hangzhou. What a coincidence! I was thinking maybe we could meet up. Tell me, what do you want to eat? I'll bring you some local specialties from your hometown."
Shen Qingyuan said, "It's too late, they've already left Hangzhou."
"Back to Hengdian?"
"Um."
Song Ting sighed in disappointment, then suddenly became excited and said, "Hangzhou and Hengdian don't seem that far apart. Let me see, if we finish early, I'll go to Hengdian for a visit. I've never been to Hengdian before. I can also ask Ye Chuyang to visit the set, which will be enough for me to brag about for a year. By the way, is Ye Chuyang next to you? Give him the phone, I'll say hello to my old classmate."
When it comes to thick skin, Shen Qingyuan only admires Song Ting. She never seems to be shy or timid, always charging ahead without a care in the world.
Journalism is inherently a job that demands a lot of initiative. Journalists need that kind of drive; otherwise, they won't be able to get the interviewees to talk.
"Uh..." Shen Qingyuan said in a low voice, "It's not very convenient, is it? He's asleep."
Xiao Chao glanced at the passenger side of the car as he drove, looking somewhat surprised.
Song Ting became even more excited, because she caught a key word: "sleep," and lowered her voice cheekily, "Wow, Shen Qingyuan, your relationship is... to this extent?"
"In the car." Shen Qingyuan had an urge to strangle Song Ting.
At this moment, the person in the back seat grunted, as if waking up, then sat up, stretched, and mumbled sleepily, "Xiao Chao, where are we? How much longer?"
Song Ting, with her sharp ears, immediately recognized her old classmate's voice. "She's awake! Come on, Shen Qingyuan, could you please give my big star classmate the phone?"
Helpless, Shen Qingyuan covered the microphone and turned to Ye Chuyang, saying, "Um... Song Ting wants to say hello to you, is that alright?" To prevent the big star from forgetting this old classmate, she added, "High school classmate."
Ye Chuyang said "Oh," and took the phone.
The two chatted for five or six minutes, laughing and talking. Judging from Ye Chuyang's reaction, he didn't seem to be a complete stranger to Song Ting.
After finishing the call, Ye Chuyang returned the phone to Shen Qingyuan.
Ye Chuyang said, "Song Ting said she wanted to come to Hengdian to visit me on set, and of course I welcome her."
"You and Song Ting are quite close. Have you kept in touch all these years since graduation?" Shen Qingyuan suddenly asked curiously. In fact, she and Song Ting had kept in touch all these years since high school graduation. She knew that Song Ting had more or less contact with most of her high school classmates, except for Ye Chuyang.
After ten years of no contact, how did our friendship become so strong after just one class reunion?
“We just met at the class reunion,” Ye Chuyang said, seemingly implying something. “With the kind of friendship we have from our youth, even if we haven’t been in touch for many years, it’s actually very easy to reconnect when we meet.”
Shen Qingyuan simply said "oh" and didn't say anything more.
Xiao Chao seemed to have suddenly discovered a new continent, "Brother Yang, Sister Chen, did you know each other before?"
Ye Chuyang said lazily, "High school classmate."
Shen Qingyuan thought that Xiao Chao knew about this relationship all along, which was why he had been so enthusiastic towards her. She didn't expect that Ye Chuyang hadn't revealed anything at all.
Well, it seems there's no need to introduce it.
"No wonder! I felt there was something strange about the atmosphere between you two, both familiar and unfamiliar. Turns out you're old classmates!" Xiao Chao said excitedly, then suddenly remembered something. "Yang-ge, why didn't you say so sooner? I was still secretly observing and testing Sister Chen before, and I didn't completely consider her one of my own!"
"..."
Shen Qingyuan was completely unaware of it.
"Since you two are old classmates, there's nothing more to say. From now on, Sister Chen is one of us!" Xiao Chao patted his chest, making the final decision.
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