Chapter 87
Chapter 87
They spent a week on M Island in the Southern Hemisphere.
The waters around M Island are a vibrant sapphire blue, so blue you can see all sorts of fish swimming in them with the naked eye. The sand is pure white, the coconut palms cast brown shadows, and the red flowers bloom brilliantly.
They learned to surf and snorkel from the locals, and watched indigenous song and dance performances. They soaked up the sun every day, ate freshly caught seafood, and spent every night in passionate embraces.
Skin inevitably gets tanned, but getting plenty of sunshine makes you happy.
Shen Qingyuan sighed, "Heaven must be nothing more than this!"
Ye Chuyang thought she was easily satisfied, "I heard that people here work at most three or four hours a day."
The locals do not engage in production; they live very well thanks to tourism and the island's abundant produce.
Shen Qingyuan blinked, pondered for a moment, and realized that working three or four hours a day wouldn't make her a top-notch orthopedic surgeon. It seemed that going to heaven early wasn't an option.
She squinted, cupped her face in her hands, and stared blankly for a while before taking a sip of coconut juice. "Forget it. I'll just stick to being a doctor."
She looked like some kind of cute little animal when she was in a daze. Ye Chuyang just thought she was adorable, so he pulled her over and kissed her.
Shen Qingyuan's eyes widened in surprise.
Catching her breath, Shen Qingyuan pushed him away and whispered, "Where are all the people on the beach!" Her face flushed red.
He put his arm around her shoulder, smugly saying, "It's okay. I deliberately chose a less-known island; it's not very famous in China."
The beach was mostly frequented by people of Black, White, and mixed races; Asian faces were indeed rare. Several young couples were also seen kissing intimately—this place, like the Garden of Eden, seemed to have allowed couples to rediscover their passion.
Shen Qingyuan: "Ye Chuyang, you seem to really enjoy hugging and cuddling in public!"
Her words were meaningful, and Ye Chuyang was taken aback; she was implying something.
"Yes, I love hugging and cuddling with you."
"I'm afraid it's not just me, is it?" she raised an eyebrow, her tone tinged with jealousy.
Here it comes, this is the reckoning. Ye Chuyang recalled the news from a few days ago, when his promotion with the female lead made it to the trending topics, and the CP fans were obsessed with it.
A large number of die-hard fans also attacked the publicity team, saying they had run out of ideas and only knew how to exploit the lead actors and create a romantic pairing.
He chuckled and said, "It's just a work requirement. We're helpless about it."
Thinking back to when I first debuted, I even did some semi-nude photoshoots. My abs were really well-developed back then.
Shen Qingyuan gave her a reproachful look, clearly unconvinced.
“I told you not to watch the live stream, but you still are.” He laughed. “This is already a condensed version. The original script was even more exaggerated. The agent had to communicate with the production company for a long time before they finally gave in.”
"Oh?" She was intrigued. "What was the original version like?"
"You really want to know? It's embarrassing..." he whispered in her ear, "Let's go back to the hotel."
Ye Chuyang stood up, took her hand, and she was still in a daze. "Hmm?"
"Since Dr. Shen is so eager to know, I have to act it out for you, the uncut version."
Shen Qingyuan glanced at him and chuckled. She wasn't as shy as she used to be.
-
As the vacation was drawing to a close, Ye Chuyang received a call from his company.
Ms. Zhang Jing called personally, and her tone was urgent.
"Ah Yang, don't worry, the company will help handle it. Let's not respond for now, what do you think?"
Ye Chuyang was taken aback. "What happened?"
"You don't know yet?"
He opened his phone and scrolled through the latest entertainment news. Sure enough, his name was trending, at number one.
A photo of him and Shen Qingyuan holding hands is scattered all over social media. They were on the beach of M Island, neither of them wearing masks.
She wasn't photographed domestically, but she was photographed on an unknown island in the Southern Hemisphere. Shen Qingyuan saw the photos too; Ye Chuyang's face was clearly visible, undeniable. The camera captured a profile of her, smiling happily.
Shen Qingyuan looked around, wondering if there were any hidden cameras filming her.
However, it's already been photographed, so there's no use being careful now.
"What should we do?" she asked.
Their profession seems to be quite sensitive about things like dating and marriage. I'm afraid it might cause him trouble.
Ye Chuyang smiled easily, "It's okay. The paparazzi couldn't even get any scandals about me before. The ridiculous claim that I might be a prostitute is just proof of my orientation."
"You're still laughing." Shen Qingyuan was even more nervous than him. "Won't this affect your work reputation or something?"
"It's okay. Actors are people too. They date and get married. Everyone goes through the motions. It's just that they get a lot of attention. It's not a big deal unless it's a scandal or something like that," he said.
Shen Qingyuan's heart pounded, and she went to read the comments under the trending topic.
The major fans are controlling the comments, saying things like "focus on the actress's work and stop interfering in her private life." There are also those criticizing her, saying she's not good enough for their idol.
Someone popped up in the high school WeChat group and asked, "Am I seeing things? It seems like the two old classmates have settled things internally?"
"I think so too..."
The statement was vague and did not name names, but everyone had their doubts.
Song Ting also sent her a separate WeChat message: Shen Qingyuan, what's going on? Are you two going to make it official?
Shen Qingyuan simply threw her phone away, no longer wanting to look at it.
Ye Chuyang was even more excited than her, "They're asking in the classmates' group too, should I reply? Haha!"
He was excited for a moment, then turned around and noticed that Shen Qingyuan's expression was off. "What's wrong? Are you unhappy?"
You'll understand once you think about it.
It took him many years to adapt to life being watched by tens of millions of people. Shen Qingyuan, an ordinary person, suddenly received huge attention, so of course she was apprehensive.
Zhang Jing was more thoughtful than him; during the call, she told Ye Chuyang to comfort his girlfriend. She even suggested they meet up for a meal another day.
Shen Qingyuan: "I don't want to go public. I haven't been at Tan Medical University for long and don't want to attract too much attention."
Her face has been exposed online, and she's really afraid of being recognized by her colleagues.
"Okay, then just ignore them. The company also advised against it; it'll all blow over in a few days." He patted Shen Qingyuan on the back to comfort her. "If anyone asks, just say it's someone who looks similar, not you. Just stick to your guns and deny it!"
Is this even possible? It sounds a bit like playing house.
Shen Qingyuan thought about it and decided it was feasible. It was the reality, and there wasn't a better way. After all, the chances of an ordinary person dating a celebrity were very small; most people dated people within the entertainment industry.
It's just a classmate group... After all, they've met in person, so it's not easy to fool them. Just ignore them.
She sent Song Ting a WeChat message, asking her to keep it a secret for the time being.
The two hurriedly returned to China. Because of the sudden exposure, the trip ended a bit anticlimactically. Overall, though, they were still happy. The only problem was that upon arrival, they split up, taking separate cars, sneaking around like thieves.
-
She returned to work after her vacation. Her colleagues treated her as usual, and Shen Qingyuan was even relieved that they didn't follow celebrities or read gossip news.
When I accompanied the head doctor on outpatient rounds, two girls among the patients in line would occasionally glance at her and whisper to each other.
"It's her?"
"It doesn't look like it at all, not like in the photo."
"I do want to look better."
"Tch, she's still not good enough for my brother."
When it was the two girls' turn, the director asked them what was wrong. One of the girls stammered and said that her neck had been bothering her recently, and she kept glancing at Shen Qingyuan while she was talking.
Shen Qingyuan recorded the patient's condition while calmly looking at the computer screen.
Several patients like this came in, acting suspiciously, more like they were there to see someone than to get medical treatment. Even the head of the department found it suspicious.
"What's going on? There are so many young girls among the patients today, and they're stammering and can't even clearly explain where they feel unwell."
Shen Qingyuan's face stiffened, unsure whether she should say it or not. The presence of these "enthusiastic" fans at Tan Hospital was truly a waste of medical resources.
Moreover, she was horrified that these girls had managed to track her down from just one photo online.
At noon, Song Ting called her, "Shen Qingyuan, you've been doxxed! Your information is all over social media!" Song Ting is a media professional after all, well-informed and very sensitive to current events.
She immediately went online to search, and sure enough, she found information about the hospital where she worked, the university she attended, where she was from, and how she met Ye Chuyang.
"How could this be? How did they know?" Shen Qingyuan felt a chill run down her spine.
"Doxxing is now an industry; as long as it's profitable, people will do it. The problem is that Ye Chuyang is too popular, and his fans all want to know who this 'new sister-in-law' is."
Shen Qingyuan was both amused and exasperated. "No wonder so many strange people came for treatment today."
"This may just be the beginning. More people will be unable to contain their curiosity and will keep coming to seek out the novelty."
Song Ting comforted her: "Actually, there are advantages too. Being photographed together is equivalent to making it official. Ye Chuyang definitely won't dare to cheat now. So many eyes are watching. If he dares to do something reckless, his career will definitely be affected."
Shen Qingyuan smiled bitterly, "This kind of benefit... is meaningless to me."
She hoped that the news would die down and she would be forgotten. Before she got together with Ye Chuyang, she had a vague idea of what this kind of public pressure was like, but when the day actually came and she was in it, she felt helpless and uneasy.
After lunch, she found an anonymous note on her desk that read: "You're not good enough for your brother!"
His tone was childish, yet his manner was aggressive, which was both laughable and exasperating.
She felt annoyed but didn't want to complain to Ye Chuyang. Firstly, he was busy with work; secondly, he didn't want this situation to happen, and he probably couldn't control the so-called fans' personal behavior.
By evening, her personal information had disappeared from fan groups and trending posts on social media, presumably due to being reported and taken down.
Ye Chuyang called, "I just found out from the company that someone leaked your information. Don't worry, I've ordered them to deal with this seriously and will not tolerate it! They're initiating the legal process of filing a lawsuit and reporting it to the police."
She hummed in response, and judging from her reaction, she hadn't just found out.
"Shen Qingyuan, I'm sorry."
"It's okay, you didn't want this either." Her voice was low, as if she was suppressing some kind of emotion.
"Is there any situation at the hospital? Has anyone been harassing you?"
Shen Qingyuan: "It's alright, nothing's wrong at the hospital. Our system doesn't really read entertainment news."
-
The next afternoon, she went to the director's office to deliver some documents and ran into Shan Meng coming out. When she saw Shen Qingyuan, Shan Meng seemed to be in a good mood.
"Shen Qingyuan, I heard your boyfriend is a big star. Congratulations! Once you marry into a wealthy family, you won't have to work as an orthopedic surgeon anymore."
Judging from her expression, she clearly didn't think she was qualified to marry into a wealthy family.
Moreover, ambitious young women these days aren't so keen on marrying into wealthy families anymore. Saying someone should "find a man to marry" is practically an insult implying incompetence.
“Shan Meng,” she called out to Shan Meng, “I will be the best orthopedic surgeon. I hope you will cheer up and compete with me!”
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