CH 41

Not long after, #SaltGrainFacePinch# appeared on the hot search list tonight.

Usually, the trending topics bought by the team were quite boring, filled with praise and mostly played by fans. They usually climb to around seventh or eighth place, ensuring exposure without attracting too much criticism. But now, every time she trended, she would to ask her manager if they bought it for her, only to be heartlessly told that they didn't.

But this time, the topic skyrocketed like a monkey. Various marketing accounts reposted it to meet their monthly KPIs. If anyone dared to post negative comments, they would quickly climb to the top three within a few hours.

"We made it? Really made it?"

Wen Li looked at the several staff members outside the camera with a bewildered expression.

"We made it."

Wen Li looked at the screen and saw a barrage of "hahaha" floating by, along with a few proud comments saying, "Do you know how amazing we are?"

She could only mechanically applaud for the fans. "Amazing, amazing. You saved me the money for buying trending topics. Thank you all."

Song Yan didn't expect it to trend so quickly. He was never good at dealing with live stream chat. Wen Li was much better at engaging with the audience, throwing and catching jokes. Most of the time, he just sat beside her and listened.

As soon as he heard from the staff that they were trending, he pressed his lips with one hand. The other hand, which had just touched her face, hung by his side, gently clenched. He looked like an old cadre who didn't understand how Weibo's trending data worked and asked with amusement, "Just pinching her face can make it trend?"

Fans dared to argue with Wen Li because she would "fire back", which was their special way of communicating. But when it came to Song Yan, who didn't rely on fans for a living and solely focused on showcasing his talent through his work, they usually commented with phrases like "handsome brother" or "please post a selfie, brother".

But today, they were treating them equally. Nobody was showing favoritism.

「Just pinching her face made it trend, so can you handle the real deal? It's more than just pinching a face.」

「Song Yan, if you're a man, go and kiss her!」

「Haha, don't you understand why pinching a face can trend, Mr. Song? Don't you have any idea?」

「#SaltGrainKissAttack# is already prepared for you on the trending list. Come on, if you're a real man, kiss her!」

Song Yan glanced back at the barrage of comments that were teasing him and found it quite amusing. He raised an eyebrow and looked at Wen Li.

Wen Li caught his gaze, suppressed her racing heart and the warmth in her body, quickly looked away, and ignored the teasing and flooding comments in the chat. Finally, after delivering the obligatory public service announcement without missing a beat, she completed today's live stream task.

Although the fans were disappointed, it was within their expectations.

Otherwise, how could something as simple as a face pinch trend?

After the live stream ended, the room was in chaos. Staff members were busy tidying up the equipment and the room was filled with various noises and fragments of conversation. People were discussing where to grab a late-night snack nearby, Song Yan was listening to the assistant director explaining the recording schedule for the next day while Wen Li slumped on the couch, playing with her phone.

At that moment, she received a message on WeChat from Qi Sihan.

Qi Sihan:「I saw the trending topic. 」

Qi Sihan:「No wonder your tricycle is slower than our shopping cart.」

Wen Li clicked her tongue, feeling embarrassed, and could only send a scratching head emoji in response.

Qi Sihan sensed her embarrassment from the emoji and comforted her:「And then, a photo of me and Yan Zhun pushing the shopping cart on the street was also captured by the paparazzi. It's even more embarrassing. 」

In the afternoon, Wen Li saw that trending topic.

#TragicInternCoupleQiSihanAndYanZhun#, with a picture of Yan Zhun and Qi Sihan unable to fit into a shopping cart, so they had to push it together on the busy street.

No pain, no gain. Wen Li felt a little better.

Wen Li:「Seeing that you and Yan Zhun are worse off than us makes me feel relieved.」

Wen Li:「Thank you.jpg」

Qi Sihan:「 As long as it comforts you, Sister.」

Qi Sihan:「But I'm a loyal fan, so I'm not the most miserable. The most miserable ones are the CP fans, haha.」

Wen Li:「? What do you mean?」

Qi Sihan immediately sent her a screenshot.

The screenshot was from a popular topic on Weibo, but the source was an entertainment gossip forum.

In the trending Weibo posts, several marketing accounts were criticized by fans, so there were hardly any genuine comments from ordinary users. Some people found it uninteresting and went to the forum to seek validation:

「Feeling the impact of the trending topic. Fans collectively climax over a simple action of pinching someone's face. What a level of enthusiasm.」

0L:「RBT, when I saw the trending topic, I thought the Salt Grain Couple at least embraced each other while pinching their faces, but it turns out they just extended their hands? This kind of innocent gesture is so common among middle and high school students in puppy love, yet it can actually trend? Some CPs in the industry are like wholesale when it comes to distributing sugar, constantly trending without spending a dime. I really don't believe that CP fans spontaneously pushed this trending topic. Are CP fans nowadays so easy to please?」

1L:「Exactly, don't you know that CP fans are the most easily satisfied group in the entire entertainment industry?」

2L:「The pen girl is here. Yes, we are that humble.」

3L:「OP, try to understand. Salt Grain couple just pinched faces and the fans are already preparing for New Year's Eve by reposting lottery promotions on their fan accounts.」

"Pen girl" is the collective term for Salt Grain CP fans. The reason behind this name is simple: they generally believe that the fate of Song Yan and Wen Li started from the pen that suddenly ran out of ink two years ago.

...

18L:「Go check their fan accounts. Their physical contact is all edited with black technology. Other CPs distribute sugar like wholesale, but this couple is constipated in showing affection. They are forced by the official accounts to act like a couple, otherwise, why do they have so many die-hard fans? They are the victims of the official's stinginess in distributing sugar, so they have to produce it themselves.」

55L:「Salt Grain fans who love to eat fake sugar are the most frustrated. Those who enjoy picking sugar with a microscope will find joy in it.」

65L:「I would feel overwhelmed if the CP directly gave me sugar, but when I pick and eat the sugar myself, I enjoy it. = =」

...

155L:「Is there any disagreement that Pen Girl is the most miserable CP fan in the entire internet?」

This forum post was screenshot and shared on Weibo, with most of the comments from marketing accounts laughing it off. Some were confused, saying "I don't quite understand. How can CP fans still support them even in this situation?" Others mentioned, "Can't believe that they have already forgotten that this couple is a well-known contract couple in the industry, aren't they?" In short, there were various attitudes expressed.

The top comment in the popular comments section was from a CP fan.

Salt Grain = Sweet Grain:「I have to admit that today the most exciting thing for us is not Song Yan pinching Wen Li's face, but the silly reaction of the Sanli after being face-pinched, the bashful expression of pretending to be calm while biting their lips, and the face of Beauty who keeps smiling and indulging in her cuteness, ahhh!」

Unfortunately, this delicate statement from the CP fan did not receive much agreement.

「That actually makes it more miserable.」

「Oh my, you have to observe so carefully to taste the sugar, how miserable hahaha.」

「If I want to join the fandom, how much should I spend to buy a suitable microscope?」

Seeing her and Song Yan's CP fans being shamelessly mocked like this, Wen Li felt a complex mix of emotions. She felt like she was a heartless and cold-blooded protagonist who bore great responsibility for the misery of these CP fans.

The staff had almost finished packing up the equipment, but the assistant director was still discussing tomorrow's script with Song Yan.

The script for the show would undergo constant revisions on the day of recording, so the production team had to communicate with the guests constantly.

"I know with Teacher Wen Li's personality it's quite challenging to complete the confession on the football field segment," the assistant director said helplessly, glancing at Wen Li who was sitting on the sofa, holding her phone and lost in thought. He looked at Song Yan with a pleading expression, "Teacher Song, what do you think?"

Song Yan remained calm and nodded, "It's indeed challenging."

The assistant director sighed, "Well, I'll go talk to Director Yan later and see if we can come up with a more interesting segment tonight."

"I hope it's not a problem for you."

The assistant director quickly waved his hand, "It's not a problem. We have to take care of your feelings. We dare not set up too difficult tasks for you. We fear that we might be criticized by the fans later."

After seeing off the assistant director, Song Yan saw Wen Li still sitting on the sofa in a daze, thinking about something. He didn't disturb her and went to freshen up himself.

After finishing his shower, he found her still sitting there, her eyebrows furrowed, looking serious.

"What are you thinking?" Song Yan sat down next to her, reaching out and waving his hand in front of her. "Not planning to sleep tonight?"

Only then did Wen Li come back to her senses and secretly put her phone behind her back.

"En? they already left?"

"They left early," Song Yan chuckled, "Were you in a trance?"

"No," Wen Li pursed her lips, looked around, sounding bewildered, "Did the assistant director leave too? He didn't tell me about any new segment in the script."

Song Yan nodded while drying his hair with a towel, "He told me. That segment wasn't good, so he went to the director to figure something out."

"What segment?"

"A confession."

Wen Li didn't understand. "Confession? What do you mean?"

"Tomorrow we will go to the University of Science and Technology, which you should know. The program invited several couples from the university as a comparison. They have a special ginkgo tree avenue on their campus that's perfect for couples' dates. The confession segment will be held there tomorrow," Song Yan tilted his head and playfully reminded her, "Confession at university, what do you think?"

Wen Li blinked and nodded, "I understand."

Seeing her dumbfounded expression, Song Yan chuckled lightly, "The program knows your personality, so they will be changing it to a regular game segment."

"...Don't make me out to be so melodramatic," Wen Li pouted, looking dissatisfied, "It's just a confession, right? I came from an idol drama background. What's so difficult about confessing? Making up words on the spot is easy."

"Is that so?" Song Yan nodded, "Then, Teacher Wen, why don't you give it a try?"

"..."

Initially, she thought she shouldn't let their CP fans suffer too much. They should do the scenes they were supposed to do as usual. They were already in their twenties, not seventeen or eighteen-year-old girls. Who would appreciate such melodrama? Being melodramatic wouldn't earn her any money.

But then she started being melodramatic again.

When she was acting, she could say all those cheesy lines to her male co-stars without hesitation. Why was it that now, when she wasn't acting, she couldn't even say a word?

Wen Li was truly frustrated with her own stubborn personality.

Song Yan waited for her for a few minutes. It didn't surprise him when he saw that she couldn't utter a single word.

"Alright, go take a shower."

He got up to blow-dry his hair.

However, Wen Li seemed to have made a decision. She grabbed his sleeve, preventing him from getting up.

Song Yan lowered his head and looked at her slender and fair fingers playing with his sleeve, their tips trembling. He didn't understand what she was going to do.

She leaned close to his ear, exhaling cautiously, and said, "I like you."

Song Yan froze, his mind momentarily blank, almost being scattered by her words.

Before his thoughts could recover, even though he knew who she referred to with "you", he still greedily and shamelessly asked, "...Like who?"

"I like you," Wen Li touched her nose, "Teacher Song, Song Yan."

"Don't forget we're going to the university campus to record the show tomorrow."

"Oh," Wen Li nodded, quickly understanding. She pursed her lips, said seriously, "Senior, I like you."

This address, coupled with the confession, had been his fantasy since his high school days.

He didn't react for a while, and the more silent he remained, the more nervous Wen Li felt. The atmosphere was strange, making it difficult to sit still.

Song Yan shifted his gaze, his profile still exquisitely beautiful, but his expression was dull and sluggish. Finally, he moved his lips, covered his forehead, and sighed.

He accused, "You're breaking the rules."

Wen Li was puzzled. He had just mentioned that there would be a confession segment tomorrow, so she wanted to try it out in advance. How could that be considered breaking the rules?

She deflated and said with an annoyed tone, "I originally wanted to do it for the sake of our CP fans. If you think it's breaking the rules, then forget it. Let's go with the flow. After all, even if we don't do it, they won't unfollow us."

Song Yan opened his mouth, his handsome face showing a slight daze, "Do what?"

Wen Li nodded, her face feeling hot. To make herself less awkward, she affirmed loudly, "Yeah, exactly. What else did you think? Anyway, it's not suitable for me."

"I see."

Song Yan smiled.

"I'm going to take a shower."

She got up, walked to the luggage area to get her change of clothes. She then glanced at Song Yan, who was sitting on the couch in a daze. It was her who had been lost in thought earlier, but now it was him.

She reminded him, "Teacher Song, what are you thinking? Quickly blow-dry your hair and go to sleep."

Not long after, the sound of rushing water could be heard from behind the door.

Song Yan rubbed his temples, he had played along a bit too much just now. He hadn't expected the situation to be turned around like this. His heart was still pounding and hadn't calmed down. Disappointment and frustration could be seen in his eyes as he muttered in a low voice, leaning against the couch.

"I think you really do like me."