misfortune
bite--
The robot barista approached: "Sir, your private time has ended. Would you like to extend it? The customer who just left said he would cover the cost of the extension."
"No, no need," Fang Chengyin replied.
He still wanted to hide himself in the crowd and think amidst the noise.
When they were young, Fang Bokang once told him that not long after he and Song Zixin started dating, Song Zixin got fed up with the stalker fans who were always following them, so she decisively announced their relationship during the peak of her career. After that, the two became even more unrestrained in public.
Faced with backlash from fans and netizens, Song Zixin said: "Love is about expressing love, not just talking about it. I can kiss you if I want to, and what others think has nothing to do with me."
Fang Bokang said he was terrified by her, so at that time there were more people attacking Song Zixin than attacking him, saying things like "a beautiful flower stuck in cow dung", "unworthy of her position", "immoral", and so on.
“I was really scared at the time, afraid that your mother’s career would be ruined because of it. But on the other hand, I was also happy. Who else would treat me so well? I’ll never have another like this in my life.”
This will never happen again in my lifetime.
This sentence became Fang Chengyin's rule for dating. He thought it was the minimum requirement for being instantly attracted to someone. However, more than ten years have passed, and he has never met anyone who could give him that sense of certainty that he could not live without them.
Fang Chengyin walked out of the coffee shop and went home.
Song Zixin wasn't in the living room; she was probably in the study. She had recently received a new script where she would play the female lead, but not the main character, and not even the lead role.
The film is adapted from the classic BL novel "Singing," telling the story of two male protagonists who meet and fall in love after graduation, only to be forced to separate due to societal pressures. The male protagonist, Zhou Nanjue, gets married, and Song Zixin plays his wife, Yang Luoni. She believes they are a loving couple but is actually a "gay wife," even witnessing her husband sleeping with his ex-boyfriend. This experience awakens her to the truth, leading her to a more correct view of homosexuality and transforming her into a new woman of that era.
The old-fashioned novel wasn't long, and Fang Chengyin finished it in one night. He didn't feel anything about the explicit scenes; from beginning to end, he only cared about how these developments would affect Yang Luoni, played by Song Zixin. The moment he closed the reading interface, Fang Chengyin's face darkened.
To put it bluntly, Yang Luoni is a tragic character in this novel. She endures the torment of betrayal alone until she finds peace, and then goes on to help a gay couple. In the novel, her purpose is simply to serve as a tool for the gay relationship.
The novel itself is very popular. Because of its old-fashioned genre, many readers criticize its outdated ideas. However, because of the author's good writing and vivid character portrayals, many readers support the love between the two male protagonists.
So no matter how times change, every time this novel is mentioned, it sparks a series of online flame wars.
Song Zixin's casting in this movie has left fans extremely disappointed.
Throughout the entertainment industry, Song Zixin has gone from being known as "the nation's first love" to "the nation's daughter," then "the nation's goddess," and finally "a new woman of the times" and "a national treasure-level actress." Even her every interview and speech has broadened the horizons of her female fans regarding life.
At the height of her career, she chose to retire to focus on her family. A new term emerged in the entertainment industry to describe her: "颓女" (颓女, meaning decadent woman), a derogatory term used to describe her. People mocked her, saying she was nothing more than a tragic woman from the lower rungs of society.
So when she decided to make a comeback, those who had criticized her, those who had to bow to life but also became despondent women, felt they had hope.
To some extent, Song Zixin is a trendsetter for modern women's thinking, and her fans are closely watching every step she takes after her comeback.
Now, her choice to star in "Singing" and the fact that the production team emphasizes that they will respect the original plot, coupled with her character being forgiven by a wife of a gay man, already signals her failure.
Fans are furious:
"Although films and TV series with LGBTQ+ themes have occupied the main market, most of them are poorly made and are like artificial sweeteners. Although Xinbao chose a realistic theme with value for discussion, the women in the novel do not fight to the end for being wives of gay men, but instead generously and mindlessly give way to the two despicable men, which is truly a tragedy for women."
"In this era, BL novels and wives of gay men simply cannot coexist. When writers put pen to paper, they focus more on male-male romance, and female characters are merely tools. If wives of gay men win, it will be a case of the guest taking the place of the host, and male-male romance will lose its luster. Not only will they not make money, but they will also be drowned in the spittle of readers. Who would pity wives of gay men in BL novels?"
Rumors circulated that Song Zixin was confirmed to star in the film, and the fans' protests never ceased. However, she remained unmoved, and her only response was a single sentence: "Bringing a character to life has always been my belief. Please look forward to the film's release."
This time, not only were fans greatly disappointed, but even female bystanders couldn't help but make sarcastic remarks: "Song Zixin's era is long gone. In today's film and television industry, which is full of internet celebrities, she can no longer compete with those female stars who are just pretty faces who can act cute and come up with endless jokes to please fans. She could just admit that she is no longer dazzling, so why make women in the whole society suffer humiliation along with her? Song Zixin's influence in the international film industry is still there. When she took on 'Singing', the LGBT community abroad was grinning from ear to ear."
Based on feedback from netizens, she shouldn't have taken the role.
One netizen astutely observed: "This is actually her true purpose; she wants to reclaim her era. If the moment her comeback announcement was made, people expected an inspirational image of a full-time woman rising again, and she achieved that. It's just that the murder case coincidentally stole all the attention, but things always happen by chance. Someone pointed out that the suspect was her husband, and she became the target of public criticism. To suppress those doubts, she chose a controversial script, and this time, she gained all the attention. Perhaps people scoff at negative publicity, but for an actress, especially a national treasure-level actress who has been out of the spotlight for many years, only publicity can bring her back to where she was. Investors have already seen her value, and I'm certain that in these past few days of escalating negative publicity, she has already received multiple scripts, all of which will be leading roles in major female-centric dramas. Never underestimate people's ability to recognize Song Zixin."
Fang Chengyin couldn't see all of this dialectically. Before, he only knew that he was an outstanding actress, which allowed him to stand tall on campus and be admired by many. But now he knew about the several near-death sacrifices Song Zixin had made in her acting career.
So no matter what decision she makes, he will always stand unconditionally on the side of his family.
Even though this song "Singing Out" and the song "Falling" that flashed through my mind are basically the same as her past experiences.
"Yinyin." Song Zixin came downstairs. Today she had her hair in a French braid, and her skin was fair, making her look like a young girl. "Why are you back? Don't you have class today?"
Fang Chengyin: "I don't have class tonight, so I'd like to have dinner with you."
Song Zixin smiled and said to the kitchen, "Aunt Li, dinner is ready."
Fang Chengyin then smelled the aroma of food. He must have been so engrossed that he hadn't even noticed there was another person in the house.
It's really hard to believe that Song Zixin hired a housekeeper.
"Chicken soup is here!"
Aunt Li is quite old, but she doesn't look miserable. On the contrary, she is optimistic and cheerful, and she doesn't show any signs of fatigue typical of women from the lower class.
After all the food was served, Aunt Li went home. Song Zixin said that she had a daughter preparing for the college entrance examination and wanted to have dinner with her every night.
"It seems to be Yanyang No.1 Middle School, your alma mater."
Fang Chengyin always thought that Song Zixin didn't even know the school he had attended. Because of his status, Fang Bokang's assistant had always gone to the parent-teacher conferences on his behalf since he was a child. After high school, he became unwilling to do so, so many people thought he was an orphan and looked at him with pity.
Song Zixin and Fang Bokang never asked about his grades. They would only tell him to be careful, to find his parents if he encountered school bullying, and that studying was for his own benefit.
He only asked Song Zixin whether it was suitable for him to go to Hongruisi when she was filling out her college application; otherwise, he never mentioned the name of the school.
Seeing that he had his head down, Song Zixin asked, "What? Do you know Aunt Li's daughter?"
Fang Chengyin shook his head: "I don't know him."
"So, who was that boy waiting for you at the door last Saturday?"
He thought Song Zixin hadn't seen Liu Jinyi, but he didn't expect that she had been paying attention to his life all along.
Fang Chengyin felt a lump in his throat and quickly smiled, saying, "A junior from Yanyang No.1 High School came to ask me a question."
Song Zixin said thoughtfully, "I see."
Just then, entertainment news was playing in the living room, reporting on the public opinion surrounding Song Zixin's appearance on "Singing".
Both remained silent for a while before Song Zixin suddenly asked, "Yinyin, do you know anything about homosexuality?"
Homosexuality?
Fang Chengyin was momentarily dazed. He said he didn't understand, but he had personally witnessed several same-sex kisses; he said he understood, but he didn't even know why same-sex people are attracted to each other, so he shook his head.
"Then how about this?"
Song Zixin picked up the remote and turned on a Thai drama. The two main characters in the drama were so affectionate, their eyes were only on each other, how familiar they seemed.
But why, just as the distance between them gradually closed to zero, and their lips were about to touch, Fang Chengyin abruptly turned his head away, feeling nauseous.
Song Zixin then switched to another channel, where innocent and carefree animals were preparing food for the coming winter.
"Have some." Song Zixin ladled a bowl of pumpkin soup for him, and after watching him swallow it, she asked, "Why do you feel nauseous?"
Yeah, why is that? I've clearly seen Jiang Lie and Yu Zhuo kiss right in front of me, and I've even been forcibly kissed by Jiang Zhi twice myself, so why don't I feel disgusted? But in the TV series, with its beautiful color palette and the actors' superb acting, I can't accept it at all?
"I...I don't know."
A hint of surprise flashed across Song Zixin's usually calm face, but it quickly disappeared. She was always good at hiding her emotions: "Actually, there's nothing wrong with being the same sex."
Fang Chengyin looked up at her. This was not unexpected. Song Zixin had been working in the entertainment industry for many years. Although she had never been involved in same-sex themes, she must have been familiar with market trends, especially since she had just taken on a same-sex script.
"What would Yinyin do if she encountered this in real life?"
What to do? Fang Chengyin hadn't thought about it deeply yet. He only knew that he wanted to hit Jiang Zhi hard, but his anger wasn't about his liking for men. It was because Jiang Zhi would constantly belittle him as a prostitute. He was angry about Jiang Zhi's moral failings.
But he always seemed to respect Jiang Lie and Yu Zhuojin. Even when he saw the two of them kissing passionately, he didn't feel that it was an eyesore.
"It should be respect, respecting other people's likes and dislikes. But Mom, I don't know why I'm like this? In real life, you don't feel disgusted like you did just now when you see me."
Song Zixin laughed: "Perhaps the two actors' acting skills were not up to par, or the characters they portrayed were not a good match."
"Is that so?" Fang Chengyin asked, half-confused.
"Does Yinyin know that the incidence of diseases is high among homosexuals? AIDS."
"I know... but it can be avoided by taking proper safety precautions."
In his view, people who engage in promiscuous behavior are, to some extent, invisible pathogens that will drag pure people into the mire.
Therefore, he disliked Jiang Zhi for not cherishing himself and for taking advantage of others.
Song Zixin suddenly became serious. "Yinyin, I don't object to you learning about these things, but I don't want your partner to be of the same sex."
Fang Chengyin looked at her somewhat flustered. Although he didn't even have any thoughts of being in a relationship at the moment, he had noticed something was wrong with himself when he saw Jiang Zhi's bare upper body on the day she had a fever.
“In a small circle, there are only a few people, and one pathogen is enough to destroy it. It’s their own fault. But in the end, the person by their side is not the one they love or the one they hang out with, because those people have long since avoided them. Only their poor family is left to clean up the mess.” Song Zixin picked up her chopsticks again. “Yinyin, I hope you can be healthy.”
Does Mom have some misunderstanding about same-sex relationships?
He regretted it as soon as he said it. In fact, Song Zixin did not mean to discriminate against homosexuals in her words. She was just revealing the huge hidden dangers of blind love and hoped that he could see the most fundamental harm of homosexuality.
Now that he was saying this, it would be no different from the people who were attacking her online, so he quickly added, "Mom, I'm sorry."
Song Zixin did show disbelief at those words, but then smiled calmly: "Then how should I understand this group?"
Fang Chengyin remained silent.
Song Zixin waited patiently for his answer.
Fang Chengyin was still mired in self-blame for adding insult to injury to Song Zixin, and even the corners of his eyes were uncontrollably red.
Song Zixin reached out and stroked Yinyin's arm. "Yinyin, Mom doesn't discriminate against homosexuals. It's just that the information Mom encountered wasn't about the beautiful love stories popular today, but about the ravages of disease. The beauty of those ravages couldn't be concealed. In Mom's generation, people associated homosexuality with AIDS, and would run away at the mere mention of AIDS because it was incurable. Mom came from that era, so it's understandable that I'm overly concerned about this topic, but I'll try to understand. Mom also hopes you'll be more vigilant about homosexuality and not blindly dismiss its potential dangers like the masses do. Adults used to laugh at the decline of the novel market, but at least they understood the health risks associated with most gay men's promiscuity. Now, perhaps because it's declined so drastically, adults have become desensitized and tired of warning minors about the potential health risks, and their vigilance has gradually faded. Mom brought this up just to tell you this."
Fang Chengyin nodded, raised his hand and covered Song Zixin's hand, holding it in his palm as he did when they were children, before letting go a few seconds later.
Song Zixin: "As long as the baby is healthy and happy, the father will be happy too."
Fang Chengyin paused for a moment. Song Zixin hadn't mentioned Fang Bokang to him for a long time. He couldn't help but think of what Yang Yuzan had said earlier: that asking Song Zixin would make it clear.
But how could I bring myself to say it? Song Zixin was already being verbally and physically attacked; how could I possibly kick her while she was down?
It would be better to ask Liu Desheng directly. If he and Yang Yu agreed to send over the memory card, it means that the two of them did not discuss it and each had their own ulterior motives.
So he simply said to Song Zixin, "I will, you don't need to worry."
Song Zixin smiled and said, "That's good."
Before he could even take a few bites of his meal, Fang Chengyin received a message—it was that person's personalized message notification sound.
"Mom, please eat slowly. Leave the bowl there for now, I'll clean it up in a bit."
"Okay, go ahead."
She watched Fang Chengyin's retreating figure as he quickly went upstairs, her eyes deep and unfathomable.
Fang Chengyin quickly locked the door and opened the message:
Tomorrow is the deadline.
Are you really not going to answer my question?
Fang Chengyin leaned wearily against the wall.
beep beep—
Another message arrived:
Are you so excited for the big gift I'm going to give you?
Fang Chengyin still did not intend to reply.
This time, it was the other party who couldn't hold back anymore, which means that regardless of whether I take action or not, he will do what he wants to do.
"Do you really not care?"
"Can you really afford the price?"
Yes, there are no grand gifts. So, what can such a fierce and menacing person give to others but harm?
So he replied, "Why would I want to know?"
The other party said, "Out of curiosity, I'll ask one more time before the deadline—what's the most painful way to die, and also the most satisfying?"
Fang Chengyin didn't reply; he didn't know either. The most wicked thought he'd ever had since birth was to let the excessive workload die.
"Okay, I know your answer. I'll send you a big gift tomorrow. I'm still very grateful that you didn't install any cameras when you went to my place."
It's not that we don't want to install it, it's just that it's simply not feasible to install it there.
That building is dilapidated; if it's to be renovated, the entire structure needs to be altered.
A knock came at the door, and Song Zixin asked from outside, "Yinyin, what happened?"
Ever since the window-smashing incident, Song Zixin had been especially worried about him. She was already used to similar threatening phone calls, but Fang Chengyin was different; this was the first time she had encountered such a thing.
Fang Chengyin also sensed Song Zixin's worry and opened the door, making up a story: "My roommate forgot her keys... but I don't want to go back, I want to stay with you."
How's your relationship with your roommate?
"He's annoying, I don't like him, but we can barely get along."
Song Zixin smiled and said, "I'll help if I can. After all, it's never a bad thing to get along with people when you're away from home."
Fang Chengyin almost blurted out that he had locked me out, but luckily he was used to only sharing good news with Song Zixin and not bad news.
"Let him reflect on his actions for a few minutes and give me a long lecture before I go back."
Song Zixin smiled and went back to her room for a nap.
Unexpectedly, the conversation drifted to Cao Cao, who then sent a message: "Could you come to the orchard and lend a hand?"
Fang Chengyin: "???"
Jiang Zhi: "Image.jpg"
Jiang Zhi: "I fell from the tree and hurt my leg."
The picture is blurry; his hands might be shaking from the pain.
Fang Chengyin said helplessly, "Go now, let the others take a look first."
No, there were other people there, so why did you go alone?
As Fang Chengyin walked out, he came to a conclusion: no one else was living with him! If his leg really became lame, he would have to take care of it himself, wouldn't that be a huge hassle?!
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