TSBDRA 45: The Official Account Shipping the CP?

Chi Siyuan and Xu Xishuang posted on Weibo one after the other, responding quickly and clearing up the latest rumor in no time.

In Chi Siyuan’s Weibo photo, he was in costume, standing with other lead actors, along with the director and screenwriter Song Yao. It was a group shot from the day filming began.

In Xu Xishuang’s Weibo photo, he was wearing a hoodie, with the modern set faintly visible in the background. It was a solo picture with a timestamp showing it was taken that very evening.

Unless someone was completely clueless, it was clear that Chi Siyuan was filming a period drama, while Xu Xishuang was shooting a modern one—they had nothing to do with each other. They weren’t even filming in the same part of Hengdian. With Song Yao’s post as further evidence, the rumor of Xu Xishuang visiting Chi Siyuan on set collapsed on its own.

CP fans of Chi Siyuan and Xu Xishuang were visibly disappointed. Yan Yao smirked and smugly used her alt account to mock the netizens who had previously criticized her.

Shortly after Xu Xishuang posted on Weibo, Yan Yushan went back to filming. Cheng Tianwen was chatting with Qu Yue and Luo Huai. Judging from their expressions, Xu Xishuang figured it might take longer to wrap up tonight.

Since he wasn’t needed for the remaining scenes, Xu Xishuang originally planned to return to the hotel early. But the little sun stove had warmed him up so much that he was feeling lazy and didn’t want to move. He pulled half his face into his jacket and zoned out, staring at Yan Yushan through the camera lens.

He kept thinking about Yan Yushan’s earlier question—whether he liked Yan Yao. Remembering the concern in Yan Yushan’s eyes, he couldn’t understand where that worry was coming from.

Did he look straight?

What confused him even more was why Yan Yushan didn’t seem to care about the trending rumor involving him and Chi Siyuan. Was it because Yan Yushan knew there was nothing between them and that Xu Xishuang wouldn’t go visit Chi Siyuan, so he wasn’t bothered? Or…

Or was it because Yan Yushan and Chi Siyuan hadn’t yet developed the romance that happened in the original novel, so Yan Yushan didn’t care who Chi Siyuan had rumors with?

It was probably the latter, Xu Xishuang thought, lowering his gaze. After all, in the novel, Yan Yushan was a very jealous character. Even later on, when Chi Siyuan worked with other male actors, Yan Yushan would get jealous and throw tantrums that lasted several chapters.

The warmth from the stove was too comforting. Xu Xishuang unknowingly dozed off, and when he woke up, it was already the next morning.

He got off the hotel bed, reached for the phone on his nightstand, and figured Yan Yushan must have brought him back last night. Still, he needed to confirm it.

After unlocking his phone, he saw messages from two people on WeChat.

Xu Xishuang paused and first opened Yan Yushan’s message, sent the night before.

Yan Yushan: “You were sleeping soundly, so I didn’t wake you. I told Director Cheng and took you back to the hotel first.”

Yan Yushan: “I only took off your coat. Didn’t change your clothes.”

Seeing this, Xu Xishuang looked down and realized he was still wearing yesterday’s beige hoodie and pants—not his usual blue pajamas.

Changing into pajamas was a bit too intimate. Yan Yushan’s approach made perfect sense. Xu Xishuang tapped on the keyboard and replied, “Thank you.”

After replying to Yan Yushan, Xu Xishuang switched back to the message screen and opened the one from Yan Yao, sent just moments ago that morning.

Yan Yao: “Go look at Weibo—you went viral!!”

Yan Yao: “[Weibo repost]”

Yan Yao: “(Little dinosaur screaming)(flower-throwing emoji guy)”

Xu Xishuang had reached the bathroom door. He opened it, went in, squeezed some toothpaste, and started brushing his teeth while clicking the Weibo link Yan Yao sent.

He was a bit fuzzy on the concept of “going viral.” Before transmigrating into the novel, he had filmed an idol drama where he played the senior that the female lead admired. His character stills became wildly popular, and people compared him to other actors who had played similar roles, dubbing him the “National Senior”—a dream material staple.

Back then, his Weibo followers had skyrocketed. But after he announced his retirement from the industry, his follower count stopped growing, although many people who hadn’t even watched his drama still used his photos as avatars.

Nowadays, “going viral” seems easy. As long as someone had a little popularity, they could be considered viral. While brushing his teeth, Xu Xishuang thought about the photo he posted last night. He didn’t think it was anything special and casually checked the post Yan Yao had shared.

【Yes! That’s exactly the look you give to trash! Ahhh I’m exploding!! (picture)】

The original post featured the photo he casually took last night. Xu Xishuang stared at the phrase “the look you give to trash” and blinked, completely puzzled by the poster’s excitement. He scrolled down into the comments, hoping for answers.

But after reading them, he was even more confused.

【It’s that teenage assassin vibe (gesturing) like killing people is as casual as taking out the trash. Emotionally detached, extremely strong but emotionally fragile. Since he lacks faith, he’ll become completely lost if he meets someone with strong convictions (heart emoji)】

【Teacher, I tried so hard to stop you from leaving the fandom. Please, I’m begging, just say a little more, aaahh!】

【I’m a perv, I admit it. I just wanna see him emotionally break down, eyes red, curled up into a ball, preferably after being battle-damaged. Crying and asking himself if he was wrong all along hehe】

【Even better if he has cat ears. Add some self-harm. Thanks. PS: I’m not a perv, just have weird tastes (shy emoji)]】

【Something that didn’t exist just stood up. Thanks. Already grateful.】

【Waaah can someone’s mommy draw this? I’m begging, I need fanart (pleading emoji)】

【I saw someone already drew it—link to their Weibo here~】

Xu Xishuang frowned slightly and clicked into the linked Weibo.

The artist was a very popular illustrator who had drawn many famous anime fanarts and had original works too. Their post had gone up early this morning. The drawing showed a boy standing in ruins, covered in wounds but with an icy, arrogant gaze. Blood dripped from his twin blades—it was unclear whether it was his or his enemies’.

The artist noted that the inspiration came from the photo Xu Xishuang posted last night.

The comments were flooded with fans, all screaming things like “Thank you, Mommy!” and “This is delicious!”. The post had already been shared tens of thousands of times. Other big-name artists were joining in to create follow-up illustrations, some wanted to write short stories, and even cosplayers were lining up to recreate the character.

Normally, this fan art circle avoided anything tied to real-life celebrities and disliked crossing into the 3D world. But Xu Xishuang was different. He had the kind of face that looked computer-generated—just a few lines and you’d have a perfect manga character. Even if an artist didn’t follow his exact features, his aura alone was enough to captivate many in the community.

Plus, after he exposed Tang Min’s dark side, people had developed a strong positive impression of him, and their tolerance for him increased. Many new fans had started following him, and his follower count surged again.

Xu Xishuang Googled some of the unfamiliar jargon to understand what kind of “going viral” this was.

He returned to his messages and replied to Yan Yao: “Saw it.”

Yan Yao must have been holding her phone the whole time and replied instantly: “You’re that calm about it?”

Xu Xishuang didn’t think his reaction was strange, since he didn’t really understand all of this. He asked, “What kind of reaction should I have?”

On the other end, Yan Yao was momentarily stumped. She couldn’t say exactly what kind of reaction he should have had but this calmness felt oddly practiced. Xu Xishuang had never gone viral like this before… or was it that he was just indifferent to fame and fortune?

Yan Yao replied: “Never mind, congrats on gaining more popularity.”

Xu Xishuang: “Thank you.”

After turning off his phone, Xu Xishuang finished washing up, changed clothes, had the breakfast Xiao Wang brought over, grabbed his bag, and headed to the set.

Yan Yushan had a heavy filming schedule these days and didn’t have time to eat with him. He was already on set having lunch with staff. By the time Xu Xishuang arrived, Yan Yushan had already wrapped his first scene.

Yan Yushan was looking at his phone when he saw Xu Xishuang’s reply. He was just about to text back “no need to thank me” when he noticed Xu Xishuang walking onto the set. He quickly put his phone away and walked over.

“Did you sleep well last night?” Yan Yushan asked.

Xu Xishuang nodded, “Mm.”

Then he walked toward the row of chairs by the heater, sat down, tucked his hands into his sleeves, and looked like he didn’t want to talk.

Yan Yushan froze briefly, then quickly composed himself. Judging from Xu Xishuang’s recent behavior, he figured Xu Xishuang might be going through an emotionally unstable period.

Recalling Dr. Xu’s advice, he decided not to push the conversation at this moment. He stood still for a while, then messaged Xiao Wang to make something sweet for Xu Xishuang.

Xu Xishuang was aware his mood was a little off. After thinking for a bit, he decided it was because he didn’t get to hear a story from Yan Yushan last night—or rather, because he didn’t get to sleep in his comfy pajamas.

Yan Yushan had gone off to film again. Xu Xishuang stayed seated, and when Xiao Wang came over, he reached out to take the thermos.

Inside was red bean glutinous rice ball soup with double sugar.

The rice balls were soft and chewy. Xu Xishuang slowly finished half the bowl and asked Xiao Wang, “Is there more?”

“No,” Xiao Wang replied, “Yan-ge said one bowl only.”

Hearing that it was from Yan Yushan, Xu Xishuang stared at the little white rice balls in the soup for a few seconds before finishing the rest. His mood improved for no reason. Just then, the crew’s PR lead arrived from the other side.

“What’s that? Smells amazing.”

Xiao Wang quickly answered, “Red bean glutinous rice soup. All gone.”

The PR lead was just making conversation. He had come to discuss work with Xu Xishuang. “Teacher Xu, the photo you posted last night got a lot of traction. The official stills and promo shots are ready, and we’d like to release them now while you’re trending to take advantage of the momentum. Is that okay?”

“Sure,” Xu Xishuang nodded. “I wouldn’t even call it riding the wave.”

“You’re too modest,” the PR lead laughed. “I’ll go have the team post them. See you later.”

After the PR team left, Xu Xishuang sat for a while until Director Cheng called him over to shoot his scene.

They were filming the finale today. Filming was never done in order—it depended on many factors. Director Cheng felt today was ideal for the ending and told the makeup artist, “There’s a post-credit scene too, but that’s for later. It’s just a solo scene for you.”

Xu Xishuang hummed in acknowledgment.

For the ending, all the main cast needed to be present. Yan Yushan’s character, Yan Zheng, was returning to the Special Operations Bureau with Qu Yue as Wang Meng and Luo Huai as Song Youwei. They reported the mission to their superior, Lu Qingyu—played by Yan Yao—then swore an oath to capture the now-exposed Chen Muzhou and end the darkness hanging over City A.

Xu Xishuang watched from the side, seeing Yan Yao pat Yan Yushan’s shoulder kindly while delivering a line of encouragement from the script. He thought of how, in real life, Yan Yao acted like a mouse in front of a cat when facing Yan Yushan and couldn’t help but smile.

Acting was truly magical. It lets people become someone entirely different, experience another life, and tell a new story for the audience.

Xu Xishuang didn’t dislike this feeling. In fact, he thought he might enjoy it.

The Special Operations Bureau scene was completed. The cast had to shoot next on a road outside the film city. The crew had already secured a stretch of road in advance to film the chase scene.

That area was remote and didn’t see much traffic. With proper permissions, closing off that road wouldn’t affect much but they had to finish shooting the entire sequence today. If not, they would have to reapply for permission tomorrow.

Xu Xishuang got into the black car used in the scene. The driver was a veteran with over ten years of stunt-driving experience and had worked on many action sequences, ensuring Xu Xishuang’s safety.

Qu Yue and Luo Huai sat in the police car behind, holding prop guns. Yan Yushan opened the car’s sunroof and mounted a gun on it, aiming at the black car ahead.

Sitting beside Xu Xishuang was another experienced supporting actor. He readied his own prop gun, watching Yan Yushan through the rear windshield, waiting for Director Cheng’s cue.

Cheng Tianwen shouted, “Everyone ready? Action!”

Xu Xishuang was in character now. He sat in the backseat, expression cold. A camera rigged to the passenger seat captured his face directly.

This scene showed Chen Muzhou on the run. His identity had just been exposed by Yan Zheng. He didn’t have time to pack anything before being intercepted by the Special Operations Bureau.

That meant he had to abandon everything he had built over the years in City A. Already in a bad mood and seeing the person sent to arrest him was the “foolish” cop Yan Zheng only made things worse. A sense of losing control overwhelmed him.

The chase began. Cars sped along the highway. Yan Zheng fired a shot that shattered the rear windshield of the black vehicle. Chen Muzhou ducked, and his subordinate returned fire immediately.

The police car behind was relentless. As Chen Muzhou’s rage grew, he ignored his subordinate’s warnings, grabbed the gun beside him, and, risking being sniped, turned and fired at Yan Zheng before the latter could shoot.

Yan Zheng’s pupils contracted sharply. His sixth sense kicked in—he tilted his head just in time to avoid being shot in the face.

The bullet grazed Yan Zheng’s cheek, leaving a bloody line. That was when he realized how wrong he had been about Chen Muzhou—he wasn’t just a powerless mastermind. He had the strength of two grown men, lightning-fast reflexes, and marksmanship equal to Yan Zheng’s own.

Yan Zheng’s heart sank. He knew this time, he absolutely couldn’t let Chen Muzhou escape. He told Song Youwei to speed up. He and Wang Meng, in the passenger seat, started shooting together to force the black car to stop.

Reinforcements arrived. Finally, the black car couldn’t hold out. Whether someone had shot the driver or not, it suddenly veered off the road and headed straight for a nearby river.

Yan Zheng was shocked. He ordered Song Youwei to stop the car, grabbed his gun, and jumped out to check but he couldn’t stop the black vehicle from plunging into the river. He could only watch helplessly as it exploded.

He dove to the ground, dodging falling debris, eyes wide, scanning the water for Chen Muzhou. Injured, he used his right hand to pull out the radio and called for the recovery team, demanding they find Chen Muzhou whether dead or alive.

But he was destined to be disappointed.

They couldn’t film a real explosion—not just for safety, but to avoid environmental damage. After careful consideration, Director Cheng decided to use VFX for that scene.

Xu Xishuang had already exited the black car before it veered off course. The remaining shots were all from Yan Zheng’s point of view and didn’t need Chen Muzhou’s reaction.

The crane camera followed Yan Yushan’s movement smoothly as he ran. Xu Xishuang stood beside Director Cheng, sipping water, watching Yan Yushan on the monitor as they decided whether to reshoot the take.

That scene was redone once and followed by countless retakes of smaller segments. They filmed from morning until afternoon. Everyone was drained except for the ever-energetic Yan Yushan and Xu Xishuang, who had mostly been sitting and resting.

Xu Xishuang had finished all his scenes. Yan Yushan still needed to coordinate with the recovery team actors, learning that they couldn’t find Chen Muzhou’s body.

Xu Xishuang sat in the back rest area. Yan Yao, who had also finished her scenes, snuck over and sat beside him.

He gave her a glance, already used to her antics. “What is it?”

Yan Yao immediately launched into it. “The crew just posted all the photos. The cast lineup is officially announced. CP fans of YanXu are celebrating like crazy! Hahaha!”

She realized she was being too loud, quickly covered her mouth, and whispered, “When we first got those stills, I thought they looked ugly. But after editing, they’re actually really good! You have to check Weibo—everyone in the comments is praising you.”

So Xu Xishuang pulled out his phone, opened Weibo, searched for the crew’s official account, followed it, and started checking the newly released photos.

Each actor’s character photo had a matching background. Warm tones for the “good guys” like Yan Yushan’s group, and cool tones for the “villains,” led by Xu Xishuang.

With their costumes and props, fans could easily guess what their characters did on the surface.

【This is a crime drama, right? It has to be a crime drama?!】

【Go Yan-ge! Big hit! Number one ratings!】

【Yan-ge is so handsome! Xu Xishuang is so beautiful! Yan Yao is so cute! Even the newcomers look great!】

【Xu Xishuang is obviously the main villain, right? That pic from yesterday totally fits his role—no wonder it went viral.】

【Legendary pic! That’s a god-tier shot in my fandom!!】

【Wifey is playing a language teacher? Hehe, I’d totally listen if Xishuang-wifey gave a lecture! She’s mine! Draw your swords, everyone!】

【A good actor can embody a role’s soul with just one photo. Not like some trash actors who need the original novel and fans’ long essays to explain what the hell they’re even doing. PS: if you’re offended, you’re probably guilty.】

【The brave soul above, I love your comment. But remember to turn off your DMs. Also, Xu Xishuang really is god-level in terms of looks.】

As Xu Xishuang scrolled, the official Weibo posted another batch of drama stills.

One photo showed Yan Yushan, Qu Yue, Luo Huai, and Yan Yao at the Special Operations Bureau in a serious meeting—everyone looked righteous and intense. The contrasting photo showed Xu Xishuang discussing a crime plan with his underlings. There were guns, money, and cigarettes on the table, the lighting was dark—it clearly screamed “villain.”

Then there were two stills of Xu Xishuang and Yan Yushan in scenes together. One showed their first encounter of brushing past each other, one with a cold expression, the other with determined eyes. The other was the bookstore interrogation scene. It was a direct stare-down, one calm and warm, the other composed and forceful.

If the previous batch of character stills had relatively balanced fan reactions, the comment section under this new post was completely taken over by CP fans.

【CP fans eating GOOD!! Thank you, dear official account!】

【Bro, the official account is literally shipping them now? Four stills, and two are double shots of Yan Yushan and Xu Xishuang?! Might as well announce their wedding 】

【Classic good-vs-evil CP! I’m shipping this HARD.】

【So, like… is Yan Yushan gonna handcuff Xu Xishuang to the bed and—cough, punish him? (blushing face) Any writers out there? The kids are hungry.】

【Truly brilliant. Yesterday Xu Xishuang had a scandal with Chi Siyuan, and today the crew drops pics of him and Yan Yushan. The message couldn’t be clearer. Get the ball rolling, people! YanXu is the real deal!!】

【Hi, I just fell down next to the flowerbed by People’s Road No. 2 Plaza. I can’t feel my legs. I need to see a bed scene of Yan Yushan and Xu Xishuang to get back on my feet.】

Xu Xishuang: ……

“CP fans these days,” he said, expression complicated, “are they all this wild?”

Yan Yao looked up from her phone. “This is nothing. Just wait till you see the external links—uh, I mean, I’m busy arguing with the XuChi CP fans. Hmph, they don’t understand love at all.”

She was already preparing edits in her head, just waiting for the show to air. She was going to crush the rival CP fandom with one video.

“Oh right,” Yan Yao suddenly remembered “Oh right,” Yan Yao suddenly remembered something. “Yan-ge’s birthday is coming up. Quick—tell me, what birthday gift did you get him?”

Xu Xishuang froze.

Seeing his reaction, Yan Yao’s eyes widened. She spoke in a tone like her house had just collapsed. “Don’t tell me… you don’t even know when Yan Yushan’s birthday is?”

Xu Xishuang, under her intense gaze, looked a little guilty. “…I don’t.”