Chapter 42
In the early hours of the morning, a time when most people were asleep, People Weekly, a publication known for its seriousness and authority, released a piece of news on its official account.
Lu Shenxing was married.
And his spouse was Ji Wei.
The moment they saw the push notification, everyone refused to believe it. They thought People Weekly had stooped low, lamenting the difficult survival of print media.
[Hainanese Chicken Rice]: Is this the same People Weekly from before? Film Emperor Lu and Ji Wei got married… even the tabloids wouldn’t dare to make up something like this.
[Orange Li]: Although physical sales are down now, People Weekly is still an established magazine. There’s no need to seek attention this way, right? Can’t you just do honest journalism?
[Braised Chicken]: Hahahaha, how much is the person behind this account getting paid per month? I give this imagination full marks. It’s a pity you’re not writing novels.
Despite the late hour, the topic of Lu-Wei’s marriage quickly shot to the top of the trending topics, becoming a massive joke. Everyone started imitating the tone of People Weekly, spouting serious-sounding nonsense.
[Observer No. 1]: Everyone, believe me, Lu-Wei really got married. I saw them get their certificate at the Civil Affairs Bureau with my own eyes.
[Project Moon Landing]: I saw it too! I heard from a friend that Film Emperor Lu only went on the variety show because of Ji Wei.
[Suona Demon King]: Hahahahahaha, you guys are killing me. Come and learn from @PeopleWeekly.
It wasn’t until morning that People Weekly released a partial video of the interview, in which Lu Shenxing personally admitted his marital relationship with Ji Wei.
Only then did many people realize with a shock that Film Emperor Lu had really married Ji Wei.
[Observer No. 1]: Oh my god! Are the Lu-Wei CP fans the happiest people right now? Their ship is real! My mind is a complete blank right now. What kind of original BL novel entertainment circle plot is this?
Those who hadn’t seen the video thought he was still joking.
[White Bird]: Hahahahahahahaha, you’ve been saying this all night. If I hadn’t seen the trending topics last night, I might have actually believed you.
[Chant of the Water Dragon]: Whether Lu-Wei got married or not is about to become an IQ test.
[A Wool Blanket]: Definitely not. If they got married, I’d jump up on the spot. Woke up early to watch the live stream of The Forbidden City’s Little Shop.]
But as the interview video spread, everyone belatedly realized that People Weekly hadn’t been lying at all!
Film Emperor Lu and Ji Wei were really married!
Weibo crashed instantly.
Even though it was a Sunday morning, Weibo’s tech guys had to get up and rush to perform maintenance. But too many people were flooding onto the platform, and it took nearly half an hour for Weibo to return to normal.
The trending topics list was firmly occupied by Lu Shenxing and Ji Wei.
#LuWeiMarriage#
#FilmEmperorLuAnnouncesMarriage#
#FilmEmperorLuPeopleWeekly#
***
Netizens were still reeling from the shock. Even lurkers who only read posts without commenting couldn’t help but post on Weibo to express their astonishment. As for the CP fans… they were already holding giveaway lotteries to celebrate with the world.
[Pretending to Have a Name]: Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap! They really got married! When Film Emperor Lu said they were married before, nobody believed him. I really want to go back and slap my past self a couple of times.
[Lu-Wei Please Marry on the Spot]: Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh! I’m so damn happy right now, bursting with joy! Repost to wish Lu-Wei a long and happy life, and I’ll draw a winner for a full set of YSL lipstick! @WeiboLotteryPlatform
[I’m Going to Buy an Orange]: The person above can change their username now. Also, the Lu-Wei CP fans are so rich! My feed is full of giveaways for Birkin bags and Givenchy lipsticks.
Lu Shenxing’s top fans all reposted with their blessings, and the Super Topic was filled with nothing but well wishes. This left many influencer fans perplexed, and they couldn’t help but post to ask why.
[Zhao’s Yueyue]: No offense, just wanted to ask, why is no one unfollowing a top Film Emperor after he announced his marriage? This is heartbreaking for fan girls. If it were my main subject, let alone getting married, even just dating would surely make him a flop that even his own mother wouldn’t recognize.
The comments below were also filled with incomprehension, until a few of Lu Shenxing’s old fans came to answer.
[Carrying Water, Sailing a Boat]: Other people have fan girls, we probably can only be called an audience? Old Lu doesn’t engage with fans at all. We don’t even see a shadow of him all year round. We’re thankful just to be able to see his movies.
[Has Lu Shenxing Posted on Weibo Today]: Adding on, he rarely posts on Weibo either.
[All Nine Provinces Together]: And Ji Wei is also very outstanding. Whether it’s his looks or his education, he’s more than presentable. Should he be looking for an internet-celebrity face at a pub instead? Anyway, I think our big brother got a great deal.
***
The moment Ji Wei woke up, he was bombarded with messages. The class group chat had also exploded. There were simply too many messages, so he could only post a status on his social media.
[Ji Wei]: Can’t reply to everyone in time. Thank you all for your concern and blessings.
He had just walked out of the bedroom when he smelled a fragrant aroma. He walked over to find his idol toasting bread in the toaster. Seeing him, he handed him a slice.
“Thanks.”
Ji Wei took the toast.
“I had an interview yesterday.”
Lu Shenxing turned off the toaster.
“I saw,” Ji Wei couldn’t help but sigh. “So many people asked me about it, I had to post on my social media.”
His idol was so serious about everything he did. In the interview video, he had even mentioned what clothes he was wearing when they first met.
People Weekly had only released half an hour of the interview, but given that level of detail, he couldn’t help but guess that his idol must have talked for seven or eight hours.
Just as he finished his thought, the man opened his phone.
He seemed to be looking at the social media post he had made, and he didn’t say anything for a long time.
Ji Wei ate his toast, recalling the content of his post. It was only about a dozen words; it shouldn’t take this long to read. Was he looking at something else?
“Ji Wei.”
Suddenly, Lu Shenxing called him by his full name.
His idol hadn’t called him that in a long time. Ji Wei’s heart skipped a beat. “What’s wrong?”
“My interview yesterday was eight hours long.”
Ah, he had guessed right.
Ji Wei nodded slightly, indicating that he had heard. “Is there a problem?”
Lu Shenxing held his phone in one hand, while the fingertips of his other hand tapped unconsciously on the wheelchair. “You only posted thirteen words.”
Ji Wei let out an “ah.” In comparison, his post was indeed very perfunctory. However, he hadn’t expected his idol to care about the content of his social media, especially since his idol himself never posted anything.
He thought for a moment and said, “I’ll post a five-hundred-word one after we finish recording the show.”
“I want eight hundred words,”
the man said calmly.
Ji Wei was speechless. …That’s almost a long-form post.
Looking at his idol’s dark eyes, Ji Wei couldn’t bring himself to say no. “Th-then, alright.”
And so, with an 800-word Chinese essay assignment, Ji Wei pushed Lu Shenxing downstairs, where the production team’s car was already waiting.
They got into the car. The makeup artist on board was clearly suppressing her excitement, glancing over at them from time to time, looking like she wanted to ask something but didn’t dare.
The car headed toward Yan City Airport.
As Ji Wei pondered how to write his long-form post, he suddenly heard a makeup artist’s voice, “Film Emperor Lu, did you participate in the variety show because of Ji Wei?”
How could that be possible? Ji Wei thought to himself. At that time, they had only met twice—once for the blind date and once to get their marriage certificate. He had kept his head down the entire time, not daring to look the man in the eye. His idol probably didn’t even remember what he looked like.
However, he heard the man beside him give a soft “mm.”
Even though he knew his idol was just going along with the makeup artist’s words, when Ji Wei heard the answer, his heart couldn’t help but skip a beat, leaping with joy.
The car arrived at Yan City Airport and went through the VIP channel. However, their destination wasn’t St. Lawrence, USA, but…
“The Forbidden Palace?”
After a three-hour flight to Beijing, Ji Wei pushed Lu Shenxing out of the car, and the magnificent Forbidden Palace came into view.
The other guests had also arrived.
The show hadn’t officially started yet, but the live stream had already begun.
[Ahhhhhhhhh, let’s ship, let’s ship!]
[Blessings to Film Emperor Lu and Weiwei!]
[You must have a long and happy life together!]
Ji Wei greeted Old Sir Ma Liqing and then looked around. Zhao Yue and Xiao Chi hadn’t arrived yet. He wanted to thank Zhao Yue in person.
He didn’t have to wait long, however, as Zhao Yue’s car soon arrived.
He walked over to Zhao Yue. “Thanks for what you did the day before yesterday.”
Zhao Yue looked like he hadn’t slept well last night, with dark circles under his eyes. He didn’t respond, just stared at Ji Wei for a moment before slowly asking, “You really married Senior Lu?”
Ji Wei nodded.
Zhao Yue had many questions he wanted to ask, but all that came out was a polite, “How did you two meet?”
Ji Wei was about to open his mouth when Lu Shenxing, who had wheeled himself over at some point, glanced at him faintly.
Being looked at like that…
For some reason, Ji Wei felt a little guilty, even though he had only exchanged a couple of sentences with Zhao Yue. Not even two full sentences.
“We met on a blind date,”
Lu Shenxing said calmly.
The bullet comments were invigorated.
[The main subject is here to hand out candy, everyone catch it!]
[Tsk tsk, Film Emperor Lu will never let Weiwei leave a three-meter radius around him. I can smell the jealousy even through the screen!]
[I’m here! Just keep it coming, don’t worry about stuffing me to death.]
At first, the bullet comments were all “Quick, give us candy, I want to ship,” but later on, they were all “Stop, I’m about to burst.”
This was because Lu Shenxing talked for nearly half an hour. He only stopped when Xiao Chi arrived, and his expression even seemed rather regretful.
[Thank you, Xiao Chi! Why is Film Emperor Lu so talkative today? Zhao Yue couldn’t even get a word in!]
[Friendly reminder to Film Emperor Lu, this kind of public display of affection would get you blocked on social media.]
[Heaven forbid he loves to post on Weibo.]
The camera equipment had a minor issue, so the show hadn’t started yet. Xiao Chi found Zhao Yue’s “I’m at my limit” expression quite strange. He walked over and asked politely, “Senior Zhao, are you alright?”
Zhao Yue shook his head with a complicated expression.
He suppressed his confusion and turned to Ji Wei, congratulating him with a sense of release, “Congratulations on your marriage.”
“Thank you,”
Ji Wei replied shyly.
“But I’m quite curious, how did you and Film Emperor Lu meet?”
[Ah, don’t ask!]
[Silly child, don’t ask!]
[Whatever you do, don’t give Film Emperor Lu an opportunity to show off his affection. He won’t stop!]
“We met on a blind date.”
Lu Shenxing raised an eyebrow, repeating it again without a hint of annoyance.
[Why can’t I block Film Emperor Lu in the stream room?]
[Hahahahahaha, look at Zhao Yue’s expression. He’s completely drained.]
[Why did the reporter from People Weekly have to interview Film Emperor Lu? Couldn’t they just let him have a hidden marriage? Was that so hard?!]
Only when the show started did Lu Shenxing stop his narrative. The other guests all breathed a sigh of relief. Xiao Chi and Zhao Yue exchanged a look of shared suffering, feeling that the other wasn’t so annoying after all.
After listening to it all, Ji Wei thought… he now had material for the 800-word long-form post Lu Shenxing had assigned him. This was all source material.
“Today’s task for everyone is to independently design a cultural and creative product and create a model,” the director said to the guests with a megaphone. “Whether it can be put into production will depend on audience votes.”
“This is Director Lu from the Palace Museum. He will now lead you on a tour of the Forbidden Palace to find design inspiration from the exhibits,” he introduced.
Director Lu didn’t immediately take them on a tour, but first had everyone change into Ming Dynasty attire.
Ji Wei accepted a Shenyi Robe from Director Lu. To be precise, it couldn’t really be considered Ming attire; it originated in the pre-Qin period. It was white with black trim, made with separate pieces for the top and bottom, and was worn directly over his clothes, with a broad white sash tied at the waist.
The others had different styles, and they all changed as well.
[Has the number of viewers in the stream room reached a new high? Director Lu really understands us lookism admirers.]
[Ahhhhhh, everyone looks so good! Old Sir Ma Liqing is very classy too. To be honest, the neighboring show, Great Nation’s Artifacts, already lost on the visuals alone.]
[Frantically taking screenshots.]
Director Lu took out his phone to take a picture. The director thought he was taking a photo of everyone, but he only focused on Ji Wei; his own nephew was blurry in the shot.
[Can you Photoshop A-Xing’s head out? He’s blocking Weiwei.]
[Quick, take more! Money is not an issue. I can introduce you to a composer. I think the show’s BGM is very mediocre.]
[Since A-Xing has gone public, can we go visit our in-laws now?]
[I personally think that’s an excellent idea!]
After the guests had changed their clothes, they toured the Forbidden Palace under Director Lu’s guidance. They first visited the calligraphy and painting section in the Hall of Martial Valor, as calligraphy and painting are important sources of inspiration for the Forbidden Palace’s cultural and creative products.
Ji Wei stood before the Winter Sparrow Painting, a silk painting by Cui Bai of the Northern Song Dynasty, depicting the dynamic and static states of nine sparrows on a withered tree.
He suddenly had an idea.
After visiting all the exhibition areas, everyone came to the workshop and began to draw their drafts. Xiao Chi was at a loss. He watched Ji Wei sketching rapidly on paper and asked curiously, “What are you designing?”
“A notebook,”
Ji Wei said.
The bullet comments were not optimistic.
[The Forbidden Palace has already released several notebooks, right?]
[He’s probably going to use that Winter Sparrow Painting as inspiration? But that painting isn’t very famous. Apart from Old Sir Ma Liqing, his fanbase isn’t as large as the others’. He’ll be at a disadvantage during the audience vote. Zhao Yue chose Along the River During the Qingming Festival.]
[Actually, Ji Wei would be better off choosing A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains. He’s painted it himself before. Otherwise, all his hard work designing it will be for nothing if it can’t be put into production.]
Ji Wei took a stack of A5-sized white paper and first made a few pencil strokes on it. Perhaps feeling dissatisfied, he stood up and asked a staff member, “Excuse me, do you have a graphics tablet here?”
Zhao Yue, who was making a soft ruler based on Along the River During the Qingming Festival, heard Ji Wei’s words and looked up curiously, wondering what he was up to.
[Digital painting? With his skill level, he could have just hand-drawn it, right?]
[Yeah, I also wanted to see Weiwei hand-draw. Computer-drawn art just doesn’t feel as stunning as hand-drawn art.]
[Uh… digital painting isn’t simple either, you know.]
Fortunately, the workshop was fully equipped. Ji Wei sat down at the computer, opened Photoshop, and created a rectangular canvas.
The Forbidden Palace’s exhibits all had high-definition scanned images. He copied the entire Winter Sparrow Painting onto the canvas to serve as the front and back covers of the notebook.
[Weiwei is being a bit lazy this time. Film Emperor Lu is focused on his carving.]
[I personally wouldn’t buy this kind of notebook. It doesn’t feel any different from the color-printed notebooks on the market, and it’s more expensive.]
[I’m quite interested in buying Zhao Yue’s soft ruler. Old Sir Ma Liqing’s cup is also very cute.]
Ji Wei created a new canvas, half the size of the previous one.
He looked at the computer and sighed. He didn’t know if he could finish this amount of work today. He could only speed up. Fortunately, digital painting would save a lot of effort.
He selected a suitable writing brush and began to draw the first sparrow on the withered branch.
[Is this for the inner pages?]
[Weiwei is finally not being lazy! Happy!]
[Holy crap, he’s drawing so fast. Is there really such a rush? They gave us a whole day.]
He finished drawing in less than five minutes, saved it with the number 1, and then began to make subtle adjustments to the sparrow on this inner page.
[It’s already drawn so well, why adjust it? Is this the world of the great masters?]
[Let me secretly say, I think the adjustment is in the wrong place. It doesn’t match the original painting anymore. I’d estimate the sparrow’s position is off by half a centimeter.]
[The curve of the wings also seems wrong. What’s wrong with Weiwei today? Is his hand not feeling right drawing with the computer?]
[He’s probably not used to the tablet since it’s not his usual one. The pressure sensitivity and everything is different. I don’t think Weiwei needs to draw so fast. He would draw better if he slowed down a bit.]
After Ji Wei finished adjusting, he saved the image as number 2 and then continued to adjust it on that basis, repeating the process for the next six hours.
[I don’t get it. What is he doing?]
[There are so many versions of each drawing. The quantity is scaring me. Is he going to pick the best one in the end?]
[I don’t know. Film Emperor Lu’s brush rest is almost done.]
The process was faster than Ji Wei had expected. After drawing all 300 inner pages, he color-printed them, added the cover, and bound it with a stapler.
[Confused. Why did he print them all out?]
[+1, a lot of it seems to be repetitive content.]
[I see Ji Wei has the lowest votes in the audience poll, only 870,000.]
Ji Wei was unaware of the discussion about him in the bullet comments. Because of the thickness of the paper, the stapler didn’t bind it very securely. He took a hammer and tapped on the staples a few times, and only then did the notebook become stable.
Zhao Yue had finished his soft ruler and walked over. “Ji Wei, this notebook of yours is made too crudely.”
“It’s just a prototype. It might still need adjustments.”
Ji Wei opened the first page of the notebook.
[I don’t think any amount of adjustment will… ]
[At most, he could use higher-quality paper.]
[Although Weiwei worked very hard, he really fumbled this time. Let me secretly say, I think everyone else did better than him.]
But in the next second, Ji Wei started flipping through the notebook. Since each page was only slightly different, like an animation, the originally static picture came to life!
A sparrow flew from one branch to another, and the continuous sequence of images formed a complete Winter Sparrow Painting.
Zhao Yue was stunned. He wanted to reach out and feel what was inside Ji Wei’s head. It was just too brilliant.
But he felt a cold gaze from behind him, sensing danger instinctively. He could only say with restraint, “It’s pretty well done.”
Then he turned and returned to his seat.
Meanwhile, the bullet comments were flooding the screen. The viewers who had just been complaining about having no desire to buy it immediately did a 180-degree turn, wishing they could rush to the Forbidden Palace and buy the notebook right out of Ji Wei’s hands.
[Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap! This is such a brilliant move! The notebook is moving! No wonder he chose digital painting. The amount of work to hand-draw this would be immense. It might take ten days to half a month to finish.]
[Ahhhhhhhhh, please, everyone, go vote! I really want to buy this notebook. If I can’t get it, I’ll be depressed for half a month.]
[Going, going! I hate that I didn’t drag my friends to watch the show with me. I’m going to go campaign for votes on my social media right now.]
[As expected of Ji Wei.]
Ji Wei’s vote count began to grow dramatically. It was originally less than a million, but in just one hour, it soared to four million.
Both Weibo and the gossip forums were filled with posts campaigning for votes for The Forbidden City’s Little Shop.
As for the concurrently streaming Great Nation’s Artifacts, it failed to generate any discussion at all. Its fans could only console themselves by saying that The Forbidden City’s Little Shop was a web variety show, and no matter how popular it was, it was only popular among young people. A truly popular variety show had to be suitable for all ages.
Ji Wei, however, was not satisfied with the result. He returned to the computer and made further changes to a few pages before the notebook was officially put into production.
Because the cover design was rather complex, ordinary cover paper couldn’t produce the desired effect, so he had to use specialty paper for printing. He waited for nearly an hour to get the paper.
But the result was excellent. It retained the unique texture of Xuan paper, giving it a simple, soft, and beautiful feel.
He was quite satisfied.
Only then did he close the notebook.
The bullet comments were all spamming “buy, buy, buy.”
[When is the Forbidden Palace going to start production? I can’t wait to buy it! Please put it on the shelves quickly, no need to save me money.]
[Sob sob sob, I’m blown away by Cub Wei. The concept is truly brilliant.]
[Ji Wei’s hand speed is also astonishing. He finished drawing such a thick notebook in less than a day. If it were me, I could probably only draw one page a day. Another day of kneeling before a great master.]
Ji Wei put the notebook away. He saw that Lu Shenxing’s carving beside him was also nearly complete. He had chosen A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains.
However, unlike Zhao Yue who had imprinted the entire Along the River During the Qingming Festival onto a soft ruler, his idol had only selected three mountains from the long scroll. He had carved them into a small, mountain-shaped brush rest from a piece of jade with a greenish-blue top, to be used for holding writing brushes.
Wait, jade?!
[Film Emperor Lu is truly outstanding. That small piece of material he has is of excellent quality, it must be worth at least three or four hundred thousand, right? And he’s just carving it casually. If it were me, my hands would be shaking uncontrollably.]
[And he carved it very well. You can tell at a glance that he’s practiced a lot. Anyone who sees it would say he’s from a wealthy family.]
[It’s beautiful, but very few people use brush rests. Who even uses a writing brush these days?]
[…Did you forget about Weiwei? Belatedly realizing Film Emperor Lu is feeding us public displays of affection again, but I’m quite enjoying it.]
Ji Wei saw the man concentrating on carving the bottom and asked curiously, “Why are you carving the bottom too?”
When the brush rest was placed on a table, the bottom wouldn’t be visible.
“The bottom is a seal.”
Lu Shenxing finished the last stroke, rinsed the brush rest with water, and then wiped it with a cloth. The translucent jade quietly emitted a warm, gentle luster.
“What characters?”
Ji Wei couldn’t help but ask.
He hadn’t expected a brush rest to be combined with a seal. He guessed it might be the characters for A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains or the name of the artist, Wang Ximeng.
“Hold out your hand,”
the man said.
His voice was too bewitching. Ji Wei held out his hand, and in the next moment, the man pressed the seal into his palm.
The cool touch of the jade made him tremble involuntarily. He looked down at his palm, where four characters were imprinted.
—Content in one’s own corner.
He looked up and met the man’s pair of distinct black and white eyes. He suddenly remembered a line from The Erya.
Wei means corner.
The cold touch of the jade still lingered on his palm, just like Lu Shenxing himself. The four words echoed repeatedly in his mind, and his heart began to pound.
Content in one’s…
corner.