Filming for "Xia Yi's Story" continued for another month, and Yao Kexin finished her scenes. Among the main actors, she was the first to wrap up. Xu Zifan booked a private courtyard-style restaurant for the entire crew to enjoy themselves. The restaurant had several tables set up, and they could even sing karaoke. Everyone had been busy for a month, so it was a rare opportunity to relax, and they all had a great time. It was a very lively place.
Xu Zifan, the director, and several lead actors sat at the main table. Shi Xueman raised her glass and clinked it with Yao Kexin's, saying with a smile, "Congratulations, Kexin! You're finally free. You can rest for a few days and get some rest."
Meng Yuncheng couldn't help but complain, "Do you think everyone can sleep like you? Like a pig. If you ask me, Kexin is so hardworking, she should have some fun and relax completely after filming. What do you say, Brother Fan?"
Xu Zifan put his hand on the back of Yao Kexin's chair and raised his glass in agreement. "We definitely need to go out and have some fun. How can we just work all the time?" He turned to Yao Kexin and said, "I asked Liang Fei to find several tourist destinations. I'll have him send them to you later. Wherever you want to go, we'll go."
Yao Kexin naturally leaned back on his arm, thought for a moment and said, "I think... we should go to a beach abroad. Nobody knows us there, and there are no paparazzi. It should be really nice."
"Then let's go abroad." Xu Zifan made the decision decisively. For him, where to go was just a matter of whether it was closer or farther by plane.
Yao Kexin was a little worried about the company, "It seems like my agent wants to get me advertising jobs..."
Xu Zifan waved his hand, "Don't worry about her. She's never bothered you before. I'll have Liang Fei handle it. Just take a break, relax, and don't think about anything else, okay?"
"OK!" Yao Kexin smiled, clinked glasses with him, and watched him drink the red wine.
Xia Shuangshuang also came. She didn't know why she was there, but when she heard that Xu Zifan was throwing a wrap party for Yao Kexin, she impulsively said she would come too. She had attended friend gatherings with Xu Zifan before, but she always just stayed on the sidelines, laughing, drinking, and talking. Sometimes Xu Zifan would be so engrossed in his fun that he wouldn't even glance at her for half a day, as if she didn't exist. But what was going on now? Xu Zifan spent half the meal watching Yao Kexin, never leaving her side, constantly by her side, even refusing drinks offered to Yao Kexin by others. His protective and attentive manner was almost blinding!
Xu Zifan placed the cup on the table, glanced at Xia Shuangshuang, and smirked at her restrained expression. For a reborn person, mindset is paramount; how can one live a good life if they're constantly unhappy? He was determined to make her unhappy, to return all the pent-up frustrations she had inflicted on the original owner of this body.
The crew had a great time and drank quite a bit. Two minor celebrities took a group photo and posted it on Weibo with a table full of food in the background. However, they accidentally included a blurry shot of the main table in the background. But sharp-eyed netizens spotted Xu Zifan within half an hour, and after comparing him with the other main actors in the drama, it wasn't hard to see that they were all sitting at the main table.
Each of them has a considerable number of fans, and this repost immediately propelled #XuZifanTreatsTodin# to the top of the trending topics. The two minor celebrities were the first to notice this situation. Their Weibo posts were flooded with questions about why Xu Zifan was treating them, where they ate, what they ate, why he was so close to Yao Kexin, whether Xia Shuangshuang had any conflicts with them, and so on. There were even signs of fan wars breaking out, which sobered them up completely!
The two immediately found the assistant director, bowed their heads to admit their mistake, and anxiously asked what to do now. The assistant director found Liang Fei, who had learned to be calm by working with Xu Zifan recently. He glanced at the scene and didn't take it seriously. "You guys continue eating and playing. It's okay. I'll go ask the boss. I'll handle this."
The assistant director and the two young stars breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing his words, their moods relaxed. They thanked him and went to find someone to hang out with. Liang Fei took out his phone, went to Xu Zifan's side, and quietly told him about the situation, showing him the trending topics and comments on his phone. Xu Zifan took the phone, scrolled through it, nudged Yao Kexin with his elbow, and handed the phone to her, saying, "Do you want to take a group photo? Let's celebrate when filming wraps up."
Yao Kexin tucked one side of her hair behind her ear, looked at it carefully for a moment, and then looked at Xu Zifan questioningly, "Is it okay?"
"Sure," Xu Zifan whispered in her ear, "Let's go out and make it public this time. By the time we get back, all that annoying gossip will be over. What do you say?"
Yao Kexin felt the warmth of his breath as he spoke, and her ears slowly turned red. She covered her ears with her hands, turned around to take out her phone to hide her panic, and when she looked up, she had composed herself and said with a smile, "Then let's take the picture. It's my first time playing an important role, so it's worth commemorating, especially since I'm so happy today."
"Alright." Xu Zifan raised his hand and clapped it loudly, saying, "Everyone come over here for a moment, let's take a group photo to remember this. Liang Fei, where are the flowers? And the cake, bring them all up."
Liang Fei nodded, strode out the door, and called a waiter over. The two of them pushed a cart with a beautiful three-tiered cake to the table. Liang Fei took a large bouquet of bright red roses from the bottom of the cart. Xu Zifan took the roses, turned around, and gave them to Yao Kexin, smiling at her, "Congratulations on wrapping up filming."
The people around them cheered and laughed, making Yao Kexin a little lost in the atmosphere. She smiled, accepted the roses, looked at Xu Zifan, and softly said, "Thank you."
The crew members with cameras kept taking pictures of them and everyone else. Xu Zifan and Yao Kexin sat together, and the director and several other lead actors moved over to sit next to them. Xia Shuangshuang, who was originally sitting opposite Xu Zifan, ended up at the very edge of the photo frame after being moved. However, no one made way for her just because she was the female lead; everyone knew she was Xu Zifan's ex. This was a sweet moment for Xu Zifan and Yao Kexin.
It has nothing to do with her.
The other actors and crew members stood huddled behind them, casually tilting their heads, leaning to the side, or even lying on top of each other, all of them laughing heartily. The cameraman took several photos, making sure everyone looked good before showing them to them. Xu Zifan held out his camera to Yao Kexin, who pointed to a photo and smiled, "This one's pretty good."
Xu Zifan returned the camera to the photographer, saying, "Could you please send me this? I'll save the others for Liang Fei later."
"Yes, Young Master Xu."
The photo Yao Kexin chose was the one where she and Xu Zifan were closest to each other, and the one where they smiled the best. A bouquet of roses, due to the angle, seemed to be placed between them. Since they were going to go public with their relationship, a little hint now was most appropriate.
The photographer sent over the photos, and Yao Kexin posted on Weibo: "Filming wrapped! I had a lot of fun filming on set, learned a lot, and made many friends. I hope to have the opportunity to work with you again in the future! [Heart emoji]"
Xu Zifan retweeted her Weibo post in a second: [Congratulations on wrapping up filming! Time to have some fun!]
Others naturally followed suit, forwarding Yao Kexin's Weibo posts.
[Shi Xueman: Eat and sleep more, I'll invite you out to play after filming wraps up!]
[Meng Yuncheng: I'll be finishing filming soon too, let's get together then.]
[Xia Shuangshuang: Congratulations to Kexin on wrapping up filming. Hope we can work together again sometime.]
[Director Wang Kunfa: With your talent, it's only a matter of time before you become famous. When that time comes, you absolutely must come to work with me again.]
Almost everyone in the production crew reposted Yao Kexin's Weibo post, and netizens immediately figured out the key point.
Is Yao Kexin really Xu Zifan's girlfriend? Although they haven't publicly acknowledged it, only this way can she maintain such high popularity!
[Look how close Xu Shao and Yao Kexin are, they're definitely together, I bet a hundred spicy strips!]
[If you say that, then Xiao Chengzi and Manman are standing very close together, does that mean I can get some sweet moments from them?]
Xia Shuangshuang also reposted the Weibo post, but why do I sense an awkwardness in it?
[Me too... Her tone was so official, and the idea of an ex wanting to work with their current partner again... Haha, I don't believe it at all, it's so fake.]
[Our Shuangshuang is magnanimous and doesn't care about these things at all. What nonsense are you talking about? If Shuangshuang doesn't repost, you say she's jealous; if she does repost, you say she's fake. She's so hard to please. What's it to you?]
[Her behavior was already fake; she would have been better off remaining silent to appear more normal. Would you say something like that to your ex-boyfriend's current girlfriend?]
Controversy quickly arose online because of Xia Shuangshuang, but only among a minority. Most people were still discussing Xu Zifan and Yao Kexin. #YaoKexinFilmingWrapped# and #XuZifanYaoKexin# trended on Weibo, while #XuZifanTreatsTodin# gradually faded from the trending list. Many people discussed what works Yao Kexin had done, what was special about her, what she looked like as a child, whether she had undergone plastic surgery, how long she and Xu Zifan had been together, and when they would break up, etc.
Yao Kexin's popularity skyrocketed!
When Xia Shuangshuang got home and saw what was happening online, she was furious. She had been reborn with a cheat-like advantage, and despite her hard work to boost her popularity, she had only gained a few followers. Yao Kexin, on the other hand, became instantly famous because of a rumored relationship with Xu Zifan—and Xu Zifan even helped her achieve that. This was more popular than Xia Shuangshuang had gained through all her hard work and self-promotion when she was with Xu Zifan! In what way was Xia Shuangshuang inferior to Yao Kexin? How come Yao Kexin was so lucky and fortunate?!
That evening, when Xu Zifan escorted Yao Kexin back to her dormitory, he entered her room for the first time. He looked around the small apartment, which was only forty square meters, pulled Yao Kexin to sit on the sofa, and said, "Kexin, have you thought about your future development? What kind of height do you want to reach, and how do you plan to achieve your goals?"
Yao Kexin thought for a moment and said, "I like acting and I also like singing." She leaned back on the sofa, looked up and could see the starry sky outside the window, and said with longing, "I hope... that I can hold a grand concert in the future, with a full house and many people who like to listen to me sing. I also hope to make many good movies, win the Best Actress award, and then collaborate with internationally renowned movie stars to make a good science fiction film."
Yao Kexin turned her head and smiled, "Brother Fan, have you seen the Avengers series? I've watched it several times, and I love every single one of them. Every character and every story is so wonderful. I hope to act in such a film someday and play an important role in it. That would make my life complete!"
As Yao Kexin spoke of her dreams, she seemed to radiate light. Xu Zifan smiled, his eyes softening. "You can do it. Your dreams will definitely come true."