Chapter 103 – Unmasking

Shen Fubai spent New Year’s Eve at the Jiang family home. He had grown accustomed to spending reunion nights alone after so many years on his own. Sister Li and Xiao Lin returned to their families, leaving him to watch the Spring Festival Gala and snack in his spacious house.

This seemed to be his first genuine Chinese New Year.

Father Jiang, Mother Jiang, Jiang Yuan, Yang Yingying, Heng Heng, and him. The six of them didn’t make up a boisterously large family gathering, but it was rare to have such a human touch. Mother Jiang and Yang Yingying cooked a feast themselves, filling the dining table with steaming dishes. The aroma was enticing, making everyone’s mouths water.

Outside the window, fireworks illuminated the sky, while the TV played the 20-year edition of the Spring Festival Gala.

The family laughed and chatted, enjoying each other’s company. Shen Fubai held his chopsticks, focused on eating his rice. Jiang Heng peeled a shrimp, dipped it in vinegar, and placed it in his bowl. “Why are you only eating rice and not vegetables?”

Mother Jiang warmly invited him, “Come, come, eat more. Don’t tell me you find the food that Yingying and I cooked unsatisfactory.”

Shen Fubai looked up. “Ah, no.” He took a bite of the translucent shrimp meat, showing a look of amazement. “Who made this shrimp? It’s delicious.”

“It was Yingying,” Jiang Yuan said proudly.

Shen Fubai smiled and continued eating, this time less reserved.

What was there to be polite about with family?

When it was past midnight, Jiang Heng said to him, “Fubai, Happy New Year.”

Shen Fubai smiled. “Happy together.”

“Mr. Jiang,” he curved his lips. “Please guide me through the rest of my life.”

When they first met on set, he had intended to say, “Please guide me from now on,” but he had accidentally said this phrase instead.

It wasn’t really a slip of the tongue, just speaking what was truly in his heart.

Jiang Heng clasped his hand, his brows softening, as he spoke the words he had wanted to say but never voiced.

“Alright.”

After the New Year, on a certain day in the cozy Candy House, Jiang Heng sat on the sofa watching TV. Shen Fubai lay on Jiang Heng’s lap, playing on his phone with headphones plugged into his ears, watching videos.

Jiang Heng told him to take care of his eyes, but Shen Fubai was engrossed in the video, responding, “It’s fine, I’ll just watch for a bit.”

As he watched, Shen Fubai suddenly burst out laughing.

Jiang Heng asked helplessly, “What’s so funny?”

“Look, look, every netizen on Bilibili is a genius. You can find all sorts of divine edits here.” Shen Fubai sat up, unplugging his headphones and turning on the speaker. “Check this out.”

Jiang Heng muted the TV with the remote and watched the video with Shen Fubai.

After “Pear Blossoms” ended, due to the tragic conclusion leaving the audience unsatisfied, many HE (Happy Ending) fan-edits of the two main characters appeared online. Besides the official pairing, there were also many unconventional pairings that fans had created for their own enjoyment, such as Yu Tang x Green Peony, Yu Tang x Lisheng, Yu Tang x Shen Nian, and even Chu Yu x Shen Nian.

However, the most popular was still the official pairing. They were simply meant for each other, and given how disappointing their ending in the drama was, people couldn’t resist giving them a happy resolution.

The video began with the sound of rain dripping from the eaves. A thunderclap echoed in the sky, and the handsome young man inside the house jolted awake, sitting up abruptly from his dream.

He was alone in the darkness, trembling slightly in fear.

At this point, music started to play, the background music being “Fubai” sung by Shen Fubai.

The following scenes were snippets taken from the drama. Yu Tang sang on the balcony, painted his eyebrows lazily in front of the mirror, threw his water sleeve around Chu Yu’s waist, and was pulled into Chu Yu’s embrace…

They embraced and kissed in the alley, entwined under the lamplight. They enjoyed spring flowers, autumn moons, summer insects, winter snow, eaves, and flower-bright moon-round moments.

The video editor had skillfully avoided the heart-wrenching parts of the drama, focusing only on the sweet daily interactions between the two, which indeed seemed sweet enough to kill. The bullet comments on the video were filled with exclamations of sweetness.

When night fell and thunder sounded outside again, Yu Tang involuntarily shivered, soon finding himself enveloped in a warm embrace.

“Don’t be afraid,” Chu Yu whispered soothingly. “I’m here.”

Yu Tang shrank back, snuggling into his arms and resting his head on his chest. “Young Master, will you always be here? I’m always worried that when I wake up one day, you won’t be here, and I’ll be alone again.”

Chu Yu replied softly, “I’m here, accompanying you in this life and the next.”

The screen darkened.

The music stopped.

Jiang Heng thought the video had ended, but the progress bar showed otherwise. In the three seconds of black screen, a series of questions floated across the bullet comments.

Bullet Comments:

Is it over?

Black screen??

The progress bar tells me things aren’t that simple.

Don’t leave after the first watch, there’s a surprise later.

Three seconds later, the screen lit up again.

Music resumed, this time “The Wedding March.”

…This was actually the wedding ring commercial they had shot.

The advertisement had been released half a month ago, and predictably, the Everlasting Love CP fanbase went crazy, shouting, “I don’t care, Heng Wine is real” “This is an announcement, wuuu, don’t remind me it’s an ad” “These two really suit each other, ahhhh, I’m dead.”

Now, this advertisement was incorporated into the video edit. In the holy church, the two exchanged rings and then shared a kiss.

When the well-dressed youth grabbed the chin of another youth and kissed him, the video created a blurred image, overlapping the scene with the one from a century ago where the general gently kissed the opera singer.

Then came Jiang Heng’s voice—

“See, I’ve come for you in this life.”

This line wasn’t from “Pear Blossoms,” but rather from Jiang Heng’s debut work, “Waiting for Light,” where the protagonist reads a book under a lamp. The original context involved the two protagonists’ tragic end in a previous life, leaving them hopeless, but in this life, they found each other again to spend their lives together, symbolizing that hope could be found everywhere.

This line fit perfectly here.

The bullet comments went wild.

Bullet Comments:

Divine video editor! Divine edit!

Sisters, see you at the beginning.

I don’t care, I declare this is the true grand finale of “Pear Blossoms.” They must be living happily in some world, together without experiencing so much sorrow.

I wish this were true. These two were really regrettable in the drama.

It’s killing me with sweetness. The more painful the drama was, the sweeter the edit became.

Don’t remind me of the drama, shut up!

…

Shen Fubai closed his phone, chuckling. “It’s hard on them, being tortured by the drama and desperately seeking sugar. Once we announce our relationship, won’t they all flood our Weibo accounts screaming?” Shen Fubai pondered. “I wonder if there would be hundreds of thousands of comments in five minutes…”

Jiang Heng said, “There might not be a single one.”

Shen Fubai: “Huh? Do you mean we’re going to be has-beens? Have a little confidence in our popularity.”

Jiang Heng replied, “Because at that time, Weibo will crash.”

Shen Fubai: “…Okay, seems you’re very confident.”

“But speaking of which, when should we announce it?” Shen Fubai fell into deep thought. “We must choose a lucky day…”

Jiang Heng suggested, “How about tomorrow?”

Shen Fubai checked the almanac. “No, tomorrow is inauspicious, it’s taboo for marriage.”

Jiang Heng changed his mind. “Then tonight.”

Shen Fubai continued checking the almanac. “Wait until after the movie ‘Paradise’ is released.”

As a Lunar New Year film, “Paradise” would be released soon. With Hollywood’s quality guarantee and Shen Fubai’s participation, there was no worry about box office success.

Jiang Heng smiled. “So it’s settled then.” He couldn’t wait to announce to the world the name of his boyfriend.

—Hey, do you see that exceptionally good-looking young man? One meter eighty tall, twenty-three years old, his singing is a bit off-key but his dancing is beautiful, he can act too, foodie attributes, super cute.

He’s my boyfriend, you can’t have him.

February 22nd, 2020, “Paradise” was simultaneously released in North America and China.

On opening day, the cinemas were packed, every screening was sold out, and the screening rate was shockingly high. Shen Fubai and Jiang Heng also disguised themselves and contributed two tickets to the box office.

While waiting for the screening, Shen Fubai took a photo of their movie tickets and posted it on his alternate Weibo account with the caption, “Went to the cinema with my boyfriend.”

To protect their privacy, he censored the seat numbers and showed the location as a cinema in Beijing.

Shen Fubai typed the Weibo post at lightning speed, and Jiang Heng asked, “Chatting with someone?”

“Not really. Since we rarely go out to watch movies, let’s take a photo and show off on WeChat Moments.”

Jiang Heng agreed and also took a photo, censored it, and uploaded it to his alternate Weibo account. To prove he was really at the cinema, he included the location.

It was an alternate account, so there was no fear of being discovered.

After both posted their Weibo updates, they turned off their phones and entered the theater.

They had booked seats in the last row to avoid being recognized and causing unnecessary trouble.

As the movie began, everyone put on their 3D glasses, immersing themselves in the fantastic journey.

In the azure sea, mermaids swam toward the surface. The moment they broke the water, their enchanting faces like sea demons elicited soft gasps from the girls in the audience: “So handsome!”

“I recognize him! Xavier, the guy who danced against Fubai, I followed him because of that video…” a girl whispered to her friend.

Xavier’s sapphire eyes stared straight into the screen, seemingly piercing into everyone’s hearts. Then the mermaid turned and dove back into the water, its tail creating ripples.

…

The movie progressed, reaching the part where the merman Wells sought help from the elves in the Forest of Elves.

The merman, who had been away from the sea for a long time, showed signs of dehydration. He hadn’t found the elves deep in the forest but did discover a nearly dried-up spring in the woods. The merman eagerly squatted down to drink, but an arrow shot beside him, causing him to freeze.

The brown-haired elf, with wings as thin as cicada wings, flew down from a tree. His emerald eyes were pure as jade, his face extremely handsome. “A human?”

Elves loved peace and were friendly, but they harbored no affection for humans who had deforested their land.

Wells recoiled from the arrow, falling into the spring. His legs touched the water, transforming into a fish tail.

The elf was stunned, lowering his hostility. “Merfolk, why are you not in the sea, coming to the Forest of Elves?”

Wells: “…Can you pull me up first?”

The elf folded his wings, stepped onto the ground, and helped the merman up. Away from the water, the fish tail transformed back into legs.

The winged elf looked down, holding the hand of the beauty with a fish tail. Both had exceptional appearances, making this scene incredibly beautiful.

The entire movie was visually stunning, but one of the most breathtaking moments was undoubtedly the appearance of the Eastern merman.

Following ethereal singing, a stunning beauty with black hair and eyes emerged from a luxurious pearl shell. His delicate earlobe bore a blue-to-transparent gradient fish fin, his fair skin draped in a light, thin mermaid silk. Pearls and gems adorned his clothes, and below his soft waist, a beautiful pale blue mermaid tail sparkled with scales and fluorescence.

He lifted his gaze, his eyes shimmering like peach blossoms in full bloom.

Mermaids were far beyond the limits of human beauty.

If one hadn’t seen Shen Fubai in the studio with his legs tightly wrapped in green screen material, wriggling like a caterpillar, and singing horribly off-key, this scene would indeed be the epitome of beauty.

Unfortunately, Jiang Heng had seen it.

But even so, he still found it beautiful.

He loved his beloved’s beauty, admired by the world, and also loved his ungainly appearance that he disregarded.

After the movie ended, people continued discussing its content as they left. Despite being a mere five-minute extra, Shen Fubai was frequently mentioned. It seemed that being good-looking really allowed one to get away with anything.

Jiang Heng asked Shen Fubai if he wanted a drink, Shen Fubai agreed, and Jiang Heng went to the vending machine to buy two.

Shen Fubai waited in place, checking his Weibo messages.

Huh?

Two hours ago…Amber had also posted a Weibo update.

Amber included a picture of a censored movie ticket and wrote: Watching a movie with my boyfriend, happy.

The location was a cinema in Beijing.

Were they in the same cinema right now?

Shen Fubai remembered that during a previous chat, Amber had mentioned living in Beijing. However, since Beijing was vast and he was a celebrity, he hadn’t entertained the idea of meeting in person.

But now that they were so close. Two hours, Amber was likely watching “Paradise,” and the movie had just ended. There was still time for a meeting.

Having known each other for half a year, Shen Fubai was somewhat tempted. He recalled that Amber was a fan, and discovering that the net pal he had chatted with for half a year was his idol would surely be a pleasant surprise.

With this in mind, Shen Fubai sent a message to Amber.

Did Wine Get Heng’s Attention Today: Amber, you’re also watching a movie?

Jiang Heng had just inserted coins into the vending machine and bought two watermelon-flavored sodas when his pocket vibrated.

Jiang Heng glanced at it, hmm, female net friend.

Seeing the word “also,” Jiang Heng checked Wine’s Weibo and found that they were currently in the same cinema.

Sure enough, the other party suggested meeting in person.

Both were with their respective boyfriends, so there wouldn’t be any misunderstandings. Jiang Heng hesitated for a moment and agreed.

He occasionally surprised fans by dropping by, and since they were in the same place now, meeting wasn’t a problem.

Did Wine Get Heng’s Attention Today: Great! I’m at the popcorn stand near the cinema entrance, wearing black.

That was exactly where he had come from. Fubai was still waiting there.

Jiang Heng replied with an okay and turned to walk toward the popcorn stand. Shen Fubai saw him and took the watermelon soda from Jiang Heng’s hand. “Heng Heng, don’t leave yet, I’m waiting for someone.”

Jiang Heng said, “Coincidentally, I’m also going to meet a friend.”

“In that case…you go find your friend first, I’ll wait here. Once you find them, we’ll contact each other by phone.” Shen Fubai thought for a moment.

Jiang Heng nodded, searching the crowd for a girl dressed in black, especially those in a couple.

The target range was too broad, and he hadn’t locked onto anyone yet.

Suddenly, Jiang Heng saw a couple, the girl wearing a black dress. His eyes brightened, and he followed them, but upon reaching the cinema entrance, he wasn’t sure. Wine should be waiting for him, not walking out of the cinema without stopping.

Not her.

Jiang Heng frowned, stopped, and sent a message to Wine.

Amber: I didn’t see you.

Did Wine Get Heng’s Attention Today: I’m wearing all black! At the popcorn stand, how could you not see me…Forget it, where are you now? I’ll come find you.

Amber: I’m at the cinema entrance, wearing white.

On the other side, Shen Fubai received the message and started moving toward the cinema entrance.

There were a few girls in white dresses…

But girls in white with their boyfriends…

There weren’t any!

Shen Fubai didn’t see his net friend but did see Jiang Heng.

“Haven’t you found your person yet?” Shen Fubai patted his shoulder.

Jiang Heng nodded. “Haven’t you waited for your person either?”

“Yes, the other party must be directionally challenged. Even such an obvious spot couldn’t be found. I’ll go find them.” Shen Fubai walked in another direction. “I’ll continue looking, see you later.”

“Okay.” Jiang Heng bid him farewell and then lowered his head, seeing Wine’s new message.

Did Wine Get Heng’s Attention Today: I didn’t find you either…What are you wearing today? Be specific.

Amber: White top, jeans, sneakers.

Shen Fubai: “…”

This outfit was too common, easily found among several people in the crowd. Jeans and sneakers matched his own outfit, even coordinating with Heng Heng’s.

Did Wine Get Heng’s Attention Today: Otherwise, you should find me…

Amber: Okay, where are you?

Shen Fubai looked at where he had arrived, next to KFC.

Did Wine Get Heng’s Attention Today: I’m at the KFC entrance. Black top, also jeans and sneakers.

So she wasn’t wearing a black dress. Jiang Heng found an excuse for not finding her earlier.

This time, he would definitely find her.

Then Jiang Heng arrived at KFC, didn’t see the female net friend, only Shen Fubai.

…Was this the fate between couples? Destiny ties a thousand-mile-long thread?

“Hey, we ran into each other again, haven’t found them yet?” Shen Fubai noticed Jiang Heng was alone.

Jiang Heng sighed. “Yes. It seems you haven’t either.”

“What’s going on? Our targets vanished into thin air, but we keep bumping into each other.” Shen Fubai chuckled. “Well, I’ll go look again.”

…

The third, fourth, fifth times.

Neither found the mysterious net friend, only frequently encountering their own boyfriends.

Until the sixth time, they met again in front of the women’s restroom, looking at each other, feeling utterly helpless.

Considering the other party was female, they agreed to meet at the women’s restroom entrance. After all, restrooms were the most distinctive landmarks, impossible to miss.

It made them seem like perverts.

Unexpectedly, they still hadn’t found the person. They suspected the other party was playing tricks on them.

The exhausted duo bent over, one supporting his knees while catching his breath, the other pacing with a furrowed brow.

Shen Fubai’s patience wore thin, and he straightened up, using voice input to urgently say, “I’m at the women’s restroom entrance! Black clothes, jeans, sneakers, holding a bottle of watermelon soda! There are only two people at the restroom entrance, easy to recognize!”

Beside him, Jiang Heng suddenly stiffened.

Jiang Heng looked at Shen Fubai in disbelief.

Black top, jeans, sneakers.

Perfect, it matched Wine’s description.

Just the gender was a bit off.

Wine…Wine had never said he was female…

Jiang Heng hesitantly called out, “Wine?”

Shen Fubai’s hand trembled, and his phone dropped to the ground with a “pa” sound.

He turned his head mechanically, his expression indescribable.

“…Amber?”