I am not alone
Chapter 6, Section 1
In the corridor, in the moonlight, Zhao Yin stood in the light, and my words with a tearful tone hung in the middle.
He was stunned for a moment, and the movement of raising his hand stopped in mid-air, with his fingertips half an inch away from my hair.
"Tell me the truth?" he repeated, his voice low. "Every word I just said is true."
I turned my face away and stared at the wall behind him.
The wallpaper was a bit mottled, revealing the light brown wood grain underneath, just like my messy mood at the moment.
"Zhao Yin," I sniffed, trying to sound normal, "We are public figures."
These words were like a thin needle, gently piercing the middle.
He was silent for a few seconds, then put his hands in his pockets. "I know," he said.
"So..." I was stuck, not knowing how to continue.
I wanted to say "Don't be like this", but I was afraid he would really stop there. I wanted to say "Me too", but my throat seemed to be blocked and I couldn't even breathe.
He suddenly took half a step forward, almost standing in front of me.
The corridor was very narrow, and as he approached, I could smell the faint scent of perfume on him, mixed with a hint of mugwort.
It probably got stuck on me when he was helping me get the basin of water just now.
The smell was clean, like him, yet had a reassuring aggression.
"So what?" He looked down at me, his gaze fixed on the corners of my red eyes. "So I should pretend I didn't see it? Pretend I didn't hear it? Pretend I haven't waited for you backstage at award ceremonies, sat in the back row at your movie premieres, or lingered under every one of your Weibo posts for the past five years?"
Every word is like a pebble, hitting my heart with a thud.
I looked up at him. The emotions in his eyes were very strong, like ink that could not be dissolved. My shadow was reflected in it, small and blank.
"You..." I opened my mouth, "You went to the premiere?"
The premiere of that movie was very quiet, with not many media attending. I didn't even notice who was in the back row.
"Yeah." He nodded, his tone softening. "When you took your curtain call, your tie was askew."
I subconsciously touched my tie, as if I could still feel the panic I felt at that time.
It turned out that there was someone sitting in the back row that day who even saw my crooked tie.
The phone vibrated in my pocket. Maybe Xiao Chen woke up and sent a message in the group.
But I didn't have the heart to look, I just stared at Zhao Yin's eyes. There was a sea there, and I felt like I was about to sink into it.
"Wenxi," he raised his hand, this time not touching my hair, but gently wiping the tears from the corners of my eyes, "Don't rush to answer me, but don't hide, okay?"
I didn't say anything, just nodded.
He finally breathed a sigh of relief. "Go to bed early," he said. "We have a show to record tomorrow."
"The same to you."
I leaned against the door frame, watching his back disappear around the corner of the stairs, then I slowly closed the door, slid down to sit on the ground with my back against the door panel.
I raised my hand and touched the corner of my eye. The warmth from his fingertips was still there. It was very light, but it was so hot that it made me feel uneasy.
It turns out that I haven’t been moving forward alone in these five years.
Chapter 6, Section 2
The next morning, I was woken by Xiao Chen knocking on the door. She called out, "Teacher Wen! Get up! The director said we're going to the beach today!"
I struggled to get up, still feeling a little dizzy.
I hardly slept last night. My mind was full of Zhao Yin’s words, tossing and turning over in my head like a movie.
After washing up and going downstairs, the living room was already very lively.
Zhao Yin sat at the dining table with two bowls of porridge in front of him and two soft-boiled eggs fried to perfection next to them.
He was wearing a white short-sleeved shirt and was looking down at his phone.
Hearing the footsteps, he looked up at me with a natural look, as if nothing had happened last night.
"Awake?" He pushed one of the bowls of porridge towards me. "Eat it quickly. It won't taste good if it gets cold."
"Oh." I walked over and sat down, then picked up the spoon and stirred the porridge.
The porridge was warm and just right for my mouth, with some chopped green onions sprinkled on top, which is how I like it.
Xiao Chen came over with a bowl of milk, sat down next to me, and nudged me with his elbow. "Teacher Wen, have you checked Weibo? #ZhaoYinPrivateAccountLikes# is still trending. The studio responded, saying, 'Private time, no comment.'"
I was stunned for a moment. This response was the same as not saying anything, but it made people think more.
"The fans are going crazy," Xiao Chen said, his voice low, his eyes sparkling. "They're saying this is 'tacit consent' and even dug up that post from your smurf account, 'He knew I cried five years ago.' Now the whole internet is speculating about what's going on between you two."
I picked up my phone and opened Weibo. Sure enough, #Zhao Yin Studio Response# was still at the top of the trending search list. When I clicked on it, it was full of analysis posts. Someone had cut together all the pictures of us together from five years ago to the present, even the blurry passing by backstage at the awards ceremony.
"No comment" is the biggest sweetener! If it were fake, a lawyer's letter would have been sent long ago!
[Five years ago, when Xixi was crying, Brother Yin was nearby! This timeline matches!]
[I now believe in a mutual crush! These two are hiding it too well!]
Did anyone notice the look in Yin Ge's eyes when he was singing yesterday? He wasn't looking at a friend! He was looking at his sweetheart!
The more I looked at it, the more embarrassed I felt. Just as I was about to quit, Zhao Yin suddenly came over to take a look, then reached out and tapped on my phone screen. It was the comment that said "The look in the eyes of a loved one."
"They have good eyesight," he said.
My hand shook and the phone almost fell into the bowl of porridge.
Xiao Chen beside me burst out laughing, and when I glared at him, he pretended to cough to cover it up.
"Brother Yin, Wenxi, you guys are in good shape today."
Jiang Li came over with a plate and joked, "We talked a lot last night, didn't we?"
Zhao Yin didn't look up, just scooped a spoonful of porridge: "We talked about work."
"Oh—work." Jiang Li drawled out her words, clearly unconvinced. But she didn't ask any further questions. She simply picked up a piece of seaweed for both of us and said, "We have to go early to catch seafood today, otherwise there won't be anything good to eat when the tide goes out."
"I understand, Sister Li," I said.
After breakfast, the program crew had prepared the tools, with a small bucket and a shovel for each person.
Zhao Yin walked over to me and took the bucket from my hand naturally: "I'll help you."
"No, I can do it myself." I reached out to grab it.
He dodged sideways and looked at me with raised eyebrows: "Do you want your feet to swell again?"
I remembered that he said "Don't hide" last night, so I had to withdraw my hand in disappointment.
Xiao Chen winked at me and made a "come on" gesture, but I warned him back with my eyes.
On the way to the beach, the sun was shining brightly, shining on the beach, making it golden.
Jiang Li and the male guest were walking in front, chatting happily. They looked back at us from time to time with a hint of teasing in their eyes.
Zhao Yin followed me, carrying two buckets in his hands. He walked slowly, just enough to keep up with my pace.
"Does your foot still hurt?" he asked.
"It doesn't hurt anymore." I kicked the sand under my feet. "I soaked in mugwort water yesterday. It felt so good."
"Yeah." He nodded, "Let's soak again tonight."
"How do you know mugwort water is effective?" I asked curiously.
"I used to sprain my ankle while dancing, so my assistant always had it on hand," he said. "It's milder than safflower oil."
I remembered that he said yesterday that he often got injured while practicing dancing, and I felt a little bad.
"It hurt a lot then... didn't it?"
He was stunned for a moment, probably not expecting me to ask this, then he smiled and said, "I'm used to it."
“Even if you’re used to it, it still hurts,” I whispered.
He turned to look at me.
"It doesn't hurt now," he said.
Chapter 6, Section 3
There were already quite a few people at the beach. The staff of the program team were setting up the camera positions. In the distance, there were a few fishermen collecting their nets and shouting slogans in a very rhythmic voice.
"Today's mission is to go to the beach," the director shouted through a loudspeaker. "Whoever collects the most shells gets to order a special dish tonight!"
"The main dish? Is it lobster?" Jiang Li's eyes lit up.
"That depends on your ability!" said the director with a smile.
Everyone excitedly picked up their tools and headed for the low tide. Zhao Yin placed my bucket on the ground and squatted down to help me roll up my trouser legs.
"Don't go too far, just pick up some nearby," he warned. "Don't go where there are sharp shells."
"I understand." I nodded.
Only then did he pick up the shovel with confidence and walk to the other side.
I looked at his back. He was not walking fast. He looked back at me from time to time to make sure I was not lost before continuing to move forward.
I squatted down and picked up a small conch. Its shell was lavender and very beautiful.
Xiao Chen ran over with a camera, pretending to take pictures of the scenery, but actually pointing the camera at us.
"Teacher Wen," she lowered her voice, "Brother Yin just told the director to move the camera further away, not too close to you."
I was stunned for a moment and looked up at Zhao Yin. He was digging sand not far away with his side face facing me.
"Stop filming," I pushed Xiao Chen's arm, "be careful of getting scolded by the director."
"I know." She ran away with a smile and made an "OK" gesture to me before leaving.
I continued to pick up shells and didn't walk too far, just within Zhao Yin's sight.
He dug in the sand very seriously. Occasionally he would dig up a big shell and hold it up and shake it at me like a child showing off candy.
Looking at him, I suddenly felt at ease, as if all those trending searches, those speculations, and those five years of caution had become less important in the face of this sea.
"Wenxi, look at this!" Zhao Yin suddenly called me.
I ran over and saw that he was holding something the size of a palm, very beautiful.
“Wow, this is beautiful!”
"Here you go." He put the shells in my bucket.
"Thanks."
"You're welcome," he said. "Want to use this as a decoration tonight?"
"Um."
In the distance, Jiang Li held up a large crab and shouted to us, "Look! I caught a crab!"
Zhao Yin looked up, then suddenly reached out and pulled me behind him. "Be careful," he said, "don't get caught."
His hand was on my shoulder, and I could smell the faint scent of sunshine on him.
So this is what it feels like to watch the sea side by side.
(Happy puppy.)
Chapter 6, Section 4
When we went back at noon, my bucket was already full of shells, and Zhao Yin's bucket also had quite a few, mostly beautiful conchs and starfish.
The director smiled and said that the two of us were the "champion combination" and that we could order two main dishes in the evening.
"I want lobster!" Jiang Li said first.
"I want crab!" the male guest shouted.
I looked at Zhao Yin, and he winked at me: "What do you want to eat?"
"It's all right," I said. "Whatever."
"Then add some mango pudding," he said to the director. "Venxi likes it."
Jiang Li said "Oh" and looked at us meaningfully.
My face turned red and I lowered my head to kick the sand under my feet.
When we got back to the B&B, everyone was exhausted and collapsed on the sofa, not wanting to move.
Xiao Chen poured the shells we collected onto the table and began to sort them into different categories, muttering, "This one can be made into a wind chime, this one can be made into a photo frame..."
Zhao Yin sat next to me, his phone pulled out, looking at something. I stole a peek and saw he was searching for "shell ornament tutorials." There was a cute bunny figure on the screen.
"You want to be a rabbit?" I couldn't help asking.
He was startled and quickly turned off the screen of his phone: "Just take a look."
I smiled and didn't expose him.
It turns out that icebergs also have such a lovely side.
(Iceberg! Melt quickly!)
My phone vibrated on the table. It was a reminder from my smurf account. Someone @ed me.
I clicked on it and saw it was the host of the "Xiyouyin" super topic, who had posted a new Weibo post: [Frontline Breaking News! Brother Yin and Brother Xi took care of each other the entire time they were at the beach. Brother Yin even helped Brother Xi roll up his pants! Pictures speak louder than words!]
Below are a few photos, all taken at the beach just now.
There were moments when Zhao Yin helped me roll up my trouser legs, moments when he pulled me behind him, and moments when we squatted together looking at shells. The angles were all good, capturing our interactions clearly.
[Ahhh, that trouser-leg-rolling action! So sweet!]
Yin Ge's possessiveness is so obvious! He pulls Xixi behind him as soon as he sees the crab!
[They look so good together squatting together! Like an old married couple!]
[I'm just waiting for an official announcement! Don't make me kneel down and beg you!]
I scrolled down and saw someone had posted a photo of Zhao Yin holding a shell and smiling at me, with the caption: "Look how happy he is smiling. If this were just an ordinary friend, I'd eat my phone."
Zhao Yin came over at some point and saw this comment as well.
He didn't say anything, but picked up my phone, opened the comment section, and replied using my fake account: "Don't eat your phone, it's hard to digest."
I:"……"
Xiao Chen saw this and almost threw the shell in his hand. "Brother Yin! What are you doing..."
Zhao Yin returned the phone to me and said calmly, "Let me clarify this for you."
I looked at the comments that instantly exploded under that reply and just wanted to find a hole to crawl into.
This is not clarification at all, it's clearly adding fuel to the fire!
【!!! It's Xixi's second account! I'm not seeing things!】
"Don't eat your phone"—that tone is so doting! It must have been Brother Yin who replied!
[Confirmed! They are definitely together! Otherwise, why would they use each other's secondary accounts?!]
[Help! This couple is so good! I'm going crazy!]
I looked up at Zhao Yin, who was drinking water with his head down.
This guy did it on purpose!!
I picked up the pillow and hit him with it. He reached out to catch it, turned to look at me, and the smile in his eyes became even more intense.
"What's wrong?" he asked knowingly.
"You did it on purpose!" I glared at him.
"Yeah." He nodded, admitting it frankly, "You have to let them know that you are not alone."
I was stunned for a moment, and he said, I'm not alone.
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