After Our Divorce, I Still Wore Your Jacket - Chap 17
After the second episode aired, the name “Wild Concubine” became incredibly popular.
At the time, Yuan Ye was lying on a hammock reading a book, and even instructed the editors to highlight his scenes. They followed his request, and the words “Wild Concubine” flew across the screen, circling around Yuan Ye. Whenever he spoke, the words would follow him.
The audience found it hilarious and flooded Yuan Ye’s Weibo with comments and messages.
However, Yuan Ye was completely unaware of all this. Lately, he had been feeling very calm and content, with no emotional fluctuations. He was quite satisfied with this state of mind and felt really good about himself.
In the fourth episode, they went to a village in Guizhou. Yuan Ye loved the mountains, rivers, and ethnic culture there. And there were no more clashes between him and Fang Shaoyi. The two of them were in perfect harmony and full of love. This was the second to last episode, and every recording completed was one less to go.
The last episode was recorded after a long break. The communication between the production team and the local partner in Australia was not smooth, and the props and itinerary were not arranged. The time kept getting delayed. If things were not sorted out on the other end, they would not be able to go.
But the time was already set, and it was difficult to coordinate with the guests. The production team was in a bind.
The lead director Lin Wei even posted a Weibo on his personal account, rambling on about how difficult the job is and how no one is easy to work with. The onlookers were eagerly waiting for more juicy details. Some B-list variety show stars who had worked with him before left comments to comfort him, to which Lin Wei replied, “It’s not as easy as with you guys.”
Everyone knows that the show is in its final stages of filming. At this time, he came out and criticized it, causing marketing accounts and fans to start arguing. However, since both Fang Shaoyi and Chen Ru are not always active in front of the audience, there are fewer impulsive fans and therefore fewer haters.
The real drama is between fans of the Lin Tian pair and Cheng Xun and Chi Xing, who are constantly arguing and even made it to the trending topics. There is also a small group of people who are criticizing Lin Wei for being too dramatic and causing trouble.
The official account of the program group remained silent, allowing the conflict to escalate. How could they let the free hype die down?
Later, the official account and Lin Wei even made peace a few times. They first said that Chi Xing and Cheng Xun, the two young contestants, were very humble, which boosted the confidence of their fans. Then, the fans on this side began to say that the opposing side had too many problems, which caused trouble for the production team.
Later, Lin Wei responded to the comments, saying that Lin Tian had high emotional intelligence and they had a pleasant cooperation. Lin Tian’s fans also joined the fray.
The fans on both sides bickered with each other and caused the production team to step back. It was unclear whether the officials deliberately mediated the conflict or if they had misidentified the parties involved from the beginning. It was also possible that the production team created this situation intentionally for the sake of generating hype.
In the show, Fang Shaoyi and Yuan Ye took good care of Cheng Xun and Chi Xing, the two little kids. The two of them also openly expressed their fondness for their two older brothers. As a result, their fans didn’t focus their attacks on them, but instead began targeting Chen Ru’s wealthy husband. Chen Ru didn’t even have a Weibo account, so she didn’t care about the criticism.
Gradually, Lin Tian’s fans also began directing their criticism towards Yuan Ye, saying that he always played by himself and didn’t participate in the games. They also accused him of acting high and mighty even though he had already agreed to participating in the show. Fang Shaoyi, on the other hand, didn’t speak enough for them. The two of them were simply not suited for variety shows, and the washed-up film emperor was only doing it for the money.
Naturally, Fang Shaoyi and Yuan Ye’s fans were not going to take this lying down. Normally, they’re peaceful, but if you mess with them, they won’t just sit back and let you get away with it!
Because of Lin Wei’s Weibo post, along with some marketing accounts intentionally stirring up trouble, several groups of fans engaged in a never-ending battle that lasted for several days.
However, the show still had to be recorded, and the guests didn’t seem to be affected by the situation at all, as if they were completely unaware of what was going on. Finally, the last episode was recorded, and everyone was laughing and joking around, feeling nostalgic that this was the final episode and wondering if there would be another season.
As for others, it’s hard to say, but Yuan Ye was truly unaware. He never goes online to look at those things. The screenshots that Ji Xiaotao shows him are always something fun, and how could he possibly be interested in all this back-and-forth drama?
Yuan Ye was still lost in his own thoughts, staring out the small window without saying a word. Fang Shaoyi didn’t disturb him, holding a book and reading. It was the original work for an adaptation he would be filming next year, set in the background of the 1960s and 1970s.
Between him and Yuan Ye, there was a peaceful tranquility. They were both doing their own things, and although they were silent, they were always connected. In the eyes of others, they were a whole.
Later, Yuan Ye suddenly called out to him, “Brother Yi.”
Fang Shaoyi responded, “Mm.”
Yuan Ye said, “It’s the last episode, we can still record for one more week.”
Fang Shaoyi looked up at him, gazing at Yuan Ye and asked, “So?”
Yuan Ye met his gaze, then blinked and smiled, “So, I’m a little reluctant to stop recording.”
Fang Shaoyi’s emotions were inscrutable. After years of acting, if he didn’t want anyone to see through his emotions, then no one would be able to tell. He looked into Yuan Ye’s eyes and asked, “Do you still have things you’re reluctant about?”
“Yes,” Yuan Ye replied, “many things.”
It had been over a year since their divorce and they had hardly seen each other until now. They would likely continue to be apart for even longer, perhaps years without seeing each other. Yuan Ye smiled and was about to speak when Fang Shaoyi interrupted.
“Do you regret it?” Fang Shaoyi asked.
Yuan Ye looked at him, smiled, and asked, “Do you regret it?”
Fang Shaoyi remained silent at first, then after a moment, the corners of his mouth went down and he said in a deep voice, “No, I don’t regret it.”
The expression in Yuan Ye’s eyes flickered, then he smiled and turned his head back to continue looking out the window. He nodded and said, “Okay.”
He intentionally acted silly and used that tone, like a fool. Fang Shaoyi watched his profile for a long time.
Yuan Ye didn’t like flying and after such a long flight, he felt his legs were weak. This time, they had a new assistant director with them, not the previous girl, but a tall and strong guy. Yuan Ye didn’t talk to him much during the trip, but he also didn’t talk much in general, either sleeping or pondering.
They left the airport at around 3pm. Fang Shaoyi was holding Yuan Ye’s hand as they walked, occasionally appearing more intimate in front of the camera. Yuan Ye then shook his wrist and leaned in to ask Fang Shaoyi, “Are you feeling uncomfortable?”
Fang Shaoyi shook his head.
Yuan Ye said, “If you feel uncomfortable, tell me.”
“Mm,” Fang Shaoyi said, “There are no issues on my side. Don’t you remember?”
Yuan Ye smiled, turned to look at the camera, then whispered, “If I didn’t remember, I wouldn’t have signed on my side.”
Everyone was in low spirits when they got off the plane, so they didn’t plan to film much that day. They each took some time to film a few shots and called it a day. However, they had to wake up early the next day to go skydiving.
He and Fang Shaoyi had already adapted to sharing a bed, and they had slept together many times during the filming of several episodes. At first, they avoided sleeping together because of their status as ex-husbands, but after sleeping together so many times, they stopped caring about that little bit of decency. Sometimes, they even woke up in each other’s arms and whoever woke up first would just casually move to the side.
One night, Yuan Ye lay on the bed with his belly exposed while Fang Shaoyi came out of the bathroom. Suddenly, Yuan Ye called out to him, “Brother Yi.”
He called him “Brother Yi” every day, and sometimes it gave people the impression that they had never changed. Fang Shaoyi looked at him and waited for him to speak.
Yuan Ye pulled on the waistband of his shorts, tightened it, and then loosened it, lightly hitting his stomach with a soft “pop.”
Fang Shaoyi raised an eyebrow.
Yuan Ye blinked and smiled shamelessly, looking at him with a flirtatious tilt of his head, “This is the last episode.”
Fang Shaoyi knew he was being difficult again, so he asked him the same question from earlier in the day, “Do you regret it?”
Yuan Ye didn’t answer, just shook his head.
Fang Shaoyi threw the towel back into the bathroom and Yuan Ye said, “Wipe your face.”
Fang Shaoyi shook his head, “No need.”
After a while, Yuan Ye flipped off the bed with his cigarette in hand, washed his hands, and spat out the butt. When he came out, he threw all the bottles and jars that Fang Shaoyi needed to use onto the bed, sat at the foot of the bed, gave Fang Shaoyi a look, and patted his own leg.
Fang Shaoyi stood still for two seconds before walking over and silently lying down on the bed, resting his head on Yuan Ye’s leg.
Yuan Ye’s fingers were very beautiful, long and slender. Fang Shaoyi used to say that he loved watching Yuan Ye type and write, the tendons in his hands moving up and down looked especially sexy. Yuan Ye, being mischievous, said that his hands were often sexy, and he would show Fang Shaoyi exactly how tonight.
Yuan Ye never used these products himself, he didn’t need to. He didn’t need to wear makeup, nor was he a celebrity. But he was quite knowledgeable about the process, and when his fingers touched Fang Shaoyi’s face, he laughed and said, “Fang-laoshi, your skin hasn’t been doing well lately.”
Fang Shaoyi closed his eyes and said, “Don’t talk like a makeup artist.”
Yuan Ye rubbed Fang Shaoyi’s face with his palm and smiled lightly, “I’m serious.”
Fang Shaoyi let out a grunt, “Getting old, can’t sleep well and became like this.”
Yuan Ye’s fingers lightly pressed on both sides of his eyes, near the temples. The first time he wiped Fang Shaoyi’s face, they both felt it was a bit too feminine and couldn’t help but laugh. Now, Yuan Ye was so skilled at it that he chuckled, “Don’t be lazy in the future. Look at Jian Xu, he’s still acting in idol dramas. His face looks pretty good.”
“Makeup can cover it up,” Fang Shaoyi said, “It’s all the same. Who’s better than who?”
The two of them lay together, one on top of the other’s legs, applying eye cream and essence to each other. They chatted about all sorts of strange and unrelated topics, enjoying the rare peace and comfort. They both understood not to disturb this tranquility.
Later, when there was nothing left to apply on his face, Yuan Ye gently pressed on Fang Shaoyi’s scalp. Fang Shaoyi’s breathing became steady, as if he had fallen asleep.
Yuan Ye lightly tapped his thumb on the center of his eyebrows and thought to himself, ‘Don’t frown anymore, there’s a wrinkle here.’
