That same night.

The hot searches exploded like a string of firecrackers. After all, the ninety-plus minute pilot episode had finished airing just past 9:30 PM—the absolute peak time for surfing the net. The production team’s pre-show marketing had attracted massive traffic, and netizens were exceptionally curious about the guests attending this divorce variety show.

Then, they saw Xie Jinghe’s face.

As a top-tier celebrity who had debuted many years ago, Xie Jinghe had over a hundred million Weibo followers. His fanbase wasn’t just broad in age range; it was incredibly complex: “pure fans” who had followed him since his debut, “hardcore career” fans, “dreamer” fans (who treat him as a romantic partner), casual fans, and the omnipresent “CP” (shipping) fans, among many others.

In other words, Xie Jinghe’s level of public attention was astronomical.

The moment his face appeared on screen, the barrage of comments (danmu) froze instantly. It took several seconds before they surged forward like an invading army, a dense thicket of exclamation marks piling up and obscuring his face. All the audience heard was the production team’s voice-over greeting him:

“Hello, Teacher Xie.”

The hearts of many fans finally died right there.

Within minutes, several related terms landed on the Weibo hot search rankings, sprinting forward at lightning speed. They came in droves, fierce and aggressive, all trailed by bright red [HOT] tags.

#Xie Jinghe Secret Marriage#

#Xie Jinghe Divorce Variety Show#

#Xie Jinghe House Collapsed#

#Shi Linchuan NO1#

#Turns out fairy tales are real#

#I beg you, let that pom-pom go#

Actually, the other two pairs of guests also had their highlights, and they had plenty of attention and related search terms as well, but their overall rankings were lower, and the level of discussion couldn’t yet compete with the show’s final headlining guest.

That night.

The view count for the pilot episode refreshed by the second. The name of this divorce variety show appeared on every platform outside the official site, and the follower count for the show’s live streaming room surged, reaching the goal of ten million followers even before the official start.

The production team took over the entire hot search list, hiding their deep accomplishments behind the scenes.

Xie Jinghe’s fans, however, could not sleep at all.

Although the same-sex marriage law had been in place for over twenty years and was widely accepted by the public, in terms of population base, this orientation was still in the minority. This was especially true in the entertainment industry—a “dream factory”—where a popular star’s relationship was inherently a high-risk, unstable factor.

Setting aside the matter of orientation, just the fact that it was a secret marriage…

In a very short time, Xie Jinghe’s “dreamer” fans and various CP fandoms announced that their “house had collapsed.” Dropping the fandom was the mildest response; some even started back-stabbing him, and many fan-site profile pictures turned black.

The “pure fans” were also having a breakdown. In the chat group for Xie Jinghe’s head fan-club leaders, several senior “fan-heads” stood in silent communion.

【…】

【…】

【Stop spamming ellipses, say something.】

【Say what? I’m busy controlling the comments!】

【Comment control +1. I just posted a few small essays to organize fans in anti-smear campaigns. I’m numb, my hands are shaking while I type. It feels like the whole internet is celebrating Chinese New Year early. Everyone and their grandmother is standing at the door of the Xie fan-camp, cracking sunflower seeds and watching the spectacle.】

【Damn, Luo Chen’s fans are heartless and fast; they’re taking advantage of the chaos to buy anti-fan hot searches!!】

【Is NO1 crazy? Wasn’t it said that Jinghe’s current manager is Pei Yue? I even went to the temple to fulfill a vow, hoping Sister Pei would take good care of our little Xie. The first project he signs after joining NO1 is a divorce variety show—either Pei Yue is crazy or I am [Goodbye][Goodbye]】

【Because the “ex-husband” is the boss of NO1.】

【…】

【…】

【Stop looping back to that! Every time that man is mentioned, you just spam ellipses!! [Going crazy]】

【I can’t help it. Every time I think about Jinghe being secretly married to that man for three years, I…】

【Even though I knew there was a chasm between a celebrity and a fan, I still feel cheated and let down by someone I’ve loved for so many years. Sigh, I don’t know what to say. I’m exhausted, trying to control the comments while feeling so heavy-hearted.】

【The fans are all in a frenzy; it’s hard to organize. I’m numb.】

Just then, the most senior fan-head in the group spoke up.

【Chunming: Attention all members. I haven’t participated in the discussion until now because Jinghe’s assistant contacted me. She said the production team confiscated the guests’ phones, so Jinghe wrote a letter to his fans in advance and asked her to release it at the right time.】

【Chunming: Everyone, please take a look. Jinghe’s handwritten letter [Image]】

【Group owner [Chunming] has enabled all-member silence for 10 minutes.】

The group went silent instantly; no one sent a message.

Ten minutes passed.

Eleven minutes passed.

【It seems to be leaking rain in my room; it’s flooded my phone screen.】

【What a coincidence, my house is leaking too. I’m going to go get some tissues to wipe it off.】

【Xie Jinghe, are you an idiot?? What do you mean by ‘failed my fans’? What do you mean ‘sorry to let you know this way’? And that last line—what do you mean ‘this was a joint decision, please don’t be biased toward me and blame him’? How are you almost thirty and still so incapable of making us worry less! I am going to watch you like a female ghost, forever, forever!!】

【I feel like I can write a few more essays for comment control.】

【I’m going to go pull in some battle-hardened fans to control the comments. Put the secret marriage issue aside for now! Whether they divorce or not doesn’t matter! The main thing is to beat down the haters quickly; we can’t let other fanbases make a mockery of us!】

【Wait, do you mind if I use my side account to team up with CP fans to fight the haters? Their combat power is top-tier.】

【Are you kidding me? Once this show came out, all the drama-fans and RPF (Real Person Fiction) fans ran off. Does Jinghe still even have CP fans? Even if he did, would they have the heart to fight?】

【They do.】

【Before Jinghe terminated his contract with Fu Guang, wasn’t he photographed by paparazzi when he went to NO1 headquarters for negotiations? A few days later, the contract with NO1 was announced. A batch of RPF fans was born then—shipping the “Top Boss x Top Movie Star.” The super-talk page seems to have almost ten thousand followers.】

【Just checked, it’s almost fifty thousand now.】

【Holy cow, seventy thousand.】

【The earliest “Prophet” fans are very active now, and there are many people online in real-time. Also, after the pilot aired, the number of people shipping the CP is still increasing.】

【？？？】

【Title: As everyone knows, toxic-only fans and CP fans only break down when they see the “real sister-in-law” (crossed out), the real brother-in-law. However, the clever and wise Prophet fans have directly shipped the “real husbands.” Who isn’t convinced? This young woman is untalented, but oh so happy! [HOT]】

【Although, this is a divorce show.】

【Doesn’t that make it even more shippable? Three years of secret marriage unknown to all, one morning of divorce heard by the world. This hidden love will eventually be exposed under the light of day. I want everyone to know…】

【We loved!】

【Love is certain; whether it’s “past tense” or not, who knows.】

【Indeed. I only watched Xie Jinghe’s dramas before and had a casual favorable impression, but I turned into a fan immediately after the variety show aired. Male celebrities really age well, and he is quite cute himself. Mainly, his man is also very handsome. That moment when they were both in the Civil Affairs Bureau frame—the atmospheric tension was just too strong.】

【Looking at that atmosphere, it’s hard to say they don’t love each other anymore.】

【And then the two of them just charged headlong into the Civil Affairs Bureau, hilarious.】

【Divorce, you have to run to it.】

【The other two pairs of guests were almost crying when signing the papers. The “dusk” group was a bit more dignified, but visibly miserable. These two are hilarious—arguing like this, it’s clearly a fit of pique. Based on what I know, they usually don’t end up divorcing in this kind of situation.】

【True heartbreak is not about making a scene. FYI.】

【Honestly, I didn’t have much feeling during the first Civil Affairs Bureau segment—I personally don’t like the bickering mode of interaction—until the last three minutes. Yes, the flight scene! It hammered me to the bottom of the pit! I hope they don’t divorce in the end!!】

【Quarreling, cold war, but have to sleep holding each other [Dumbledore shaking head.jpg]】

【The part where he used his hand to block the light, it was just too touching.】

【Yeah, it moved me for a full twenty-eight seconds.】

【Hahahaha that part, if you watch it for one more second, you’ll see the cracks in their act!】

【Touched, but only a little bit.】

【[The Flight 3-Minute Pure Cut Edition.avi]】

【This clip has already exploded out of the bubble. I just saw several edits of it on a short video platform; in a couple of days, I’m afraid all sorts of imitation versions will be out.】

The “viral clip” praised by a swarm of netizens actually didn’t contain any intense plot developments; even half its length was just a quiet scene of two men napping together.

Under the high-definition lens, nothing could be hidden. The editing used techniques like fast-forwarding to condense the footage effectively.

In the plane’s private couple’s cabin, the man in the white cotton jacket sat by the window, while the man in the black suit sat on the other side. Although the two seats were side-by-side, they sat far apart, neither paying the other any mind, presenting a picture of a cold war.

Later, the man in the white jacket took a script out of the backpack on the side shelf and began to read it.

However, not long after.

His head started nodding…

He had fallen asleep.

A moment later, his head—bobbing like a chicken pecking at rice—swayed and suddenly tipped to the side, bumping right onto the shoulder of the man in the black suit. Only his temple made contact, looking as if he might fall off at any moment.

Just then, the man in the black suit suddenly opened his eyes.

It turned out he wasn’t asleep.

A few seconds later, the distance between the two closed a little bit.

Then a little bit more.

The sleeping man seemed to sense something, shifted unconsciously, and rested his head completely on the shoulder of the person next to him. His furrowed brows gradually relaxed…

The man in the black suit just gave a cold, detached glance to the side, then coldly retracted his gaze.

Perhaps because their phones had been heartlessly confiscated by the production team when they boarded the plane, the man seemed bored to the extreme. He inexplicably plucked the script out of the white-jacketed man’s hand, flipped through it a few times in a very sloppy and perfunctory manner, quickly closed it, and put it aside.

Judging by his expression, he was somewhat impatient.

Perhaps because of boredom, or perhaps because of the head on his shoulder.

Just as the production team labeled them—the video was also in “Midday.” The brilliance above the clouds was unstained by dust, illuminating this small space. The pale golden sunlight fell upon the man in the white jacket by the window, casting a halo around his deep chestnut hair.

The hair was newly dyed; the roots were clean.

The tips had a slightly exaggerated curve, curling upward, trembling in the air, inadvertently tickling the neck and chin of the man in the black suit.

It was terribly annoying.

So, the man in the black suit gave a light “tsk.”

He seemed to desperately need to do something to distract himself.

Afterward, the man slowly raised his hand and pinched one of the snowy white fuzzy balls on the collar of the person sleeping beside him. The little ball was about the size of an infant’s fist, the velvet threads dense and soft, spilling somewhat from between his fingers as if wanting to escape.

Like a dandelion being held.

The man pinched it back and forth several times, then got bored.

The next second, he let go of the fuzzy ball he had pinched into a misshapen state, and instead used his index and middle fingers to pluck at the threads on the ball, pulling only two or three at a time.

One pull after another.

Before long, strands of “released” dandelion fuzz were drifting in the air.

By the time the man realized, the previously full and fluffy fuzzy ball was visibly bald in one spot, becoming sparse, depressed, and shriveled in a somewhat pathetic way.

But there was no expression on the man’s face; he just casually tucked the bald fuzzy ball under the collar of the person next to him, as if nothing had happened.

Unbeknownst to him, this was all recorded by the fixed camera opposite them.

Perhaps he knew.

He just didn’t care.

Fortunately, the other fuzzy ball was being sat on by its owner, luckily escaping the disaster.

Clearly, the man was bored again.

He tilted his neck, turning his face to look out the window. The prominence of his Adam’s apple was sexy, and a patch of fluffy chestnut hair rubbed against his jaw.

Outside, the sea of clouds surged, the light so bright it was somewhat blinding.

The man’s gaze gradually lowered, his eyes sweeping to the head buried in the crook of his neck.

The owner of the head was sleeping exceptionally soundly, his breathing even and calm; he shouldn’t be waking up anytime soon. On the top of his head, a strand of hair stood up very high, the tail end curved, sharp and pointed, swaying and swaying.

Like a curved needle.

Or a poisonous stinger on a scorpion’s tail.

Watching it, the man in the black suit suddenly raised one hand, clenching four fingers into a fist, extending only one index finger, moving slowly toward the high-standing hair strand…

Between breaths.

His fingertip was pricked by the tip of the hair.

Next, the image in the video gave people an inexplicable sense of déjà vu.

Just like the story from the Brothers Grimm titled Sleeping Beauty, where the princess falls into a deep sleep after being pricked by a spindle… The man in the black suit had his finger pricked by the curved hair, and that emotionless, cold face suddenly showed a trace of imperceptible fatigue. Soon, his eyelids drooped…

In the end, both men fell asleep.

As they slept, they leaned closer and closer, doing many unconscious little movements.

Intimate, and natural.

It made those in front of the screen unable to help but hold their breath, for fear of waking the two leaning against each other.

【”See you at the beginning,” I want to watch this another billion times.】

【Does the movie star know his man is this cute? In public, he has an aura of “I’m 1.8 meters tall,” resembling a walking iceberg—you’d be frozen a layer deep just by getting near him. His eyes and tone of voice are super arrogant, but result! Result: behind the scenes, he’s plucking fuzz and poking hair tips!!】

【Especially the expression the second he got pricked, I fell over!】

【It made my girl-heart overflow.】

【My heart is all mushy.】

【Is this really a divorce show??】

【According to the car interview clip of these two and the information released by the production team, both of them say it’s a personality clash, so they intend to divorce. Where is the clash? Whether it’s the movie star’s action of pulling at his hat or his man’s action of plucking fuzz and poking tips, it’s six of one, half a dozen of the other, okay!!】

【Are they still in elementary school? Hilarious.】

【I seriously suspect, could they be using public office for private gain?? Planning to do a feint, going on a divorce show to go public and torture the fans simultaneously, then choosing not to divorce. Don’t forget, this show is invested in by NO1. If it explodes, they make a fortune.】

【This analysis sounds very reasonable.】

【Whether it’s true or false, let me ship it first!】

Up to this point, the three-minute video hadn’t even finished playing. The production team’s post-editor added an anime-style clock in the upper-left corner of the video. As the minute hand crossed the half-circle mark, the flight journey drew to an end, and the flight attendant gave a reminder via the broadcast fifteen minutes before landing.

When the broadcast entered its second loop, the two men sleeping in each other’s arms were finally awakened by the noise.

Xie Jinghe was the first to fall asleep, and he was the first to wake up.

At first, he just blinked, his face full of the confusion of having just woken up. As soon as he lifted his head, he discovered that he was on his side, curled up in the arms of the man next to him.

The other party was also holding his waist, one hand resting by his ear.

Upon realizing this, Xie Jinghe’s expression showed a moment of bewilderment and shock, along with some unspeakable, complex emotions. He didn’t break free from the man’s arms immediately; his eyes showed a bit of hesitation and struggle.

Just then.

Shi Linchuan woke up too.

The man in the black suit didn’t move. He closed his eyes and said slowly, “Reluctant to wake up? Could it be you want me to keep holding you?”

Xie Jinghe: “…”

Shi Linchuan: “Hmm? Are you a mute?”

The man had just woken up; his voice was lower and hoarser than usual, sounding exceptionally sexy and full of hormones, making one’s ears itch.

Xie Jinghe couldn’t handle that point the most.

His legs would go weak.

He paused, gritting his teeth, and replied: “Of course not!”

After speaking, he added:

“Don’t be so narcissistic.”

To this, Shi Linchuan only replied with a cold sneer.

It had been a month since they’d last seen each other; this guy didn’t know who he’d learned to talk back from, contradicting every single word.

Xie Jinghe seemed to finally come to his senses. He “whooshed” away from the man’s arms, acted busy patting his pants, then touched his hair, and finally straightened his collar.

Two fuzzy balls fell down.

He looked down and saw that the two balls were different sizes now. One was fluffy and soft, like a fluffy little white cloud puff; the other was sparse and shriveled, looking as if the manufacturer had just pushed it out of chemotherapy.

A bit strange.

Forget it, it’s not a big deal.

What’s important is…

Xie Jinghe couldn’t help but glance at the man sitting quietly. The other party was in a suit and tie, looking distant and indifferent, yet he carried a sense of laziness from having just woken up.

Totally different from the “home-body warm man” of the previous three years.

But very bewitching, making it impossible to take one’s eyes off him.

Never imagined that this glance would cause trouble.

Shi Linchuan immediately gave another cold hum,

“What’s that got to do with me?”

Xie Jinghe was full of confusion: “???”

The next second, the lens cut to an exterior shot.

The plane descended from the clouds.

The video progress bar reached the end, and the screen froze.

【Hahahahahaha!】

【No, who asked you about your clothes??】

【Xie: Secretly taking a peek.】

【Shi: I didn’t do anything!】

【I have now forgotten the handsome look of Boss Shi when he first appeared.】

【Production team, you really are good. I’m already curious about the entire process from when they met to when they divorced. You better not be ungrateful—I want to see the whole process live!】

【You can see it tomorrow, looking forward to it.】

【The official account said the live stream starts at 10:00 AM every morning and closes at 10:00 PM. During the times without a live stream, they will still be followed and filmed, and highlights will be edited and broadcast as behind-the-scenes footage. This includes the live stream clips; both unedited and edited versions will be released, so don’t worry about missing anything.】

【What??? It ends at 10:00 PM?】

【I’m thick-skinned, I’ll say it first: I want to watch them sleep.】

【…】