After Appearing On A Marriage Reality Show, The Top Star Cried and Says She Doesn't Want a Divorce - Chapter 26

“Why do you even think that way?”

“Because your actions make me feel that way,” Yan Mengyi said, her eyes welling up. “If you wanted to break up with me, you could have just said so.”

“If I’m not mistaken, you were the one who brought up divorce. I didn’t want to, but I wanted to make you happy, to satisfy you.”

“It’s clear you’ve already distanced yourself from this relationship,” Yan Mengyi said. “I treasure everything you’ve given me, but your behavior just now made me feel utterly ridiculous.”

“What do you mean?”

“I was thinking about the jade you gave me, but you asked if I still have it?” Yan Mengyi said. “Did you want me to throw it away? It was the first gift you ever gave me.”

“I didn’t…” Realizing her tone was too harsh, and surprised by how their understanding of the same event had diverged so greatly, Li Tang ran her fingers through her hair. “What I meant was… I was still a student back then, with hardly any money. The jade wasn’t of good quality, and seeing you treasure it so much… it makes me feel terrible.”

A long silence followed.

It was like throwing a punch that landed on cotton.

Both were trying to express their love for each other, but in their own ways.

But it was as if their gears had rusted, unable to mesh, unable to function normally. Even their usual closeness felt stiff, the air between them thickening like iron.

“I’m sorry. I’m just burning myself out.”

“Get some sleep. We have to get up early tomorrow.”

“Mm.”

The two lay in bed. Li Tang wrapped her arms around Yan Mengyi from behind, telling her to rest her head on her arm.

It was an intimate gesture, as if trying to prove there was nothing wrong between them.

The bed was large, but they only occupied a small corner of it.

But sleeping so close was uncomfortable. Yan Mengyi could feel Li Tang’s arm going numb.

So she scooted over. “It’s a bit hot. Could you move over a little?”

Half-awake, Li Tang obediently shifted to the other side of the bed, turning her back to Yan Mengyi.

Yan Mengyi thought to herself, The distance between us now is probably as wide as the Milky Way.

And in that Milky Way, there are falling stars.

She tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

Yan Mengyi picked up her phone and glanced at it. Surprisingly, there was a WeChat message.

Afraid the light would wake Li Tang, she quietly glanced back.

Li Tang’s body rose and fell steadily. She was asleep.

How fortunate, Yan Mengyi thought with a bitter smile. She knew her problem all too well: she was burning herself out.

Perhaps it would have been better to openly share her worries and anxieties with Li Tang.

But every time her unease and anxiety swarmed like butterflies, she remembered that every call Li Tang took could be worth millions in contracts. She grew timid, afraid of interrupting her “important business.”

Back and forth, with so much timidity and so many missed opportunities, she seemed to have removed herself entirely from Li Tang’s list of “important business.”

[Sister Xiao Yi, I haven’t seen you post any new videos on Xiaohongshu lately. Is everything okay?] Little Hairpin Maker, a member of the Handicraft Group, sent her a private message.

Her emotions were already teetering on the brink.

This late-night message of concern detonated her composure.

Yan Mengyi’s tears flooded forth.

[I’ve been traveling with my wife lately, so I haven’t been updating.]

Yan Mengyi believed she had concealed her emotions well.

But she didn’t realize that for those who paid close attention to her, the signs were already there.

The person on the other end of the message, seeing this “appropriate” update sent so late at night, had already sensed something was wrong.

[“Xiao Yi, did she upset you?”]

The person opened Yan Mengyi’s collection on Xiaohongshu.

Yan Mengyi had only saved one article, published seven years ago.

How many times had she read that article in these past seven years?

******

The guests were all asleep, but the director was still awake.

Mo Zhenyi gathered the writing team to brainstorm story angles they could develop from the guests.

“Why Jiang Zhou split up and what happened to Zhou Qiutong—those are two angles I think we can really dig into.”

“Exactly. Jiang Banxia has never publicly addressed this on any platform, and even though she’s usually so carefree, she actually choked up a little when we brought it up. If we can uncover the truth, it’ll be a huge bombshell.”

“We should also investigate Pei Nalian more deeply.”

“Doesn’t she seem too competitive and too guarded? Our show is all about showing the human side of celebrities, but she insists on maintaining this flawless facade. She’s like a flower without a scent.”

“I used to watch her vlogs with Jin Youshu, and I always thought she was the dominant one in the relationship, with Youshu orbiting around her like a planet. But after observing her up close, that doesn’t seem to be the case.”

“How so?”

“Jin Youshu’s core is actually very stable. The love she gives comes from her heart. But Pei Nalian is more like an empty vessel, needing something to prop up her confidence. She needs fame, money, praise, to be the center of attention, and to maintain control over Jin Youshu. For someone like her, I think her childhood experiences should be the focus of attention.”

“Here we go again. You always try to drag everything back to family background.”

“But that’s the truth. Pei Nalian’s behavior is proof of a childhood lacking love and attention.”

Seeing the writers locked in endless debate, Mo Zhenyi brought the discussion to a halt:

“Let’s focus on Pei Nalian’s conflict with the other trainees first. Her former company has been making headlines lately, so we can ride that wave of publicity.”

“Alright, let’s go with that for now.”

“Li Tang and Yan Mengyi make such a good pair. I almost feel bad about breaking them up.”

“Yan Mengyi looks like a high school girl—clear and fragile. But so far, I haven’t seen anything worth digging into. She’s just a canary who was pampered after graduation.”

“From what I’ve seen of Li Tang so far, there seem to be two potential landmines: one is her overly frequent chats with Hua Jingyan, and the other is her apparent lack of conversation with Yan Mengyi.”

“But I think these two issues can be combined into one question: Does true love come from similarity or complementarity?”

“I don’t think that’s all. I have a strong feeling that Li Tang is deliberately avoiding talking about her high school years.”

“You’re right, now that you mention it, it does seem a bit strange. To marry right after graduation, they must have a deep emotional foundation. But if it’s a sweet love story, why wouldn’t she share it?”

“There’s a shadowed area in their marriage that can’t be touched. Though I can’t be certain, my reasonable guess is that there was a third party involved in their relationship,” Mo Zhenyi said.

“Where should we start investigating?”

“We don’t need to start anything. Once the first episode airs, I’m sure netizens will come forward to point out the key details for us.”

“Director, you’re a genius! With our tight budget, you’ve figured out how to make netizens work for us for free.”

“It’s not about exploiting their labor for free. Our program only becomes complete when netizens fill in the gaps we haven’t explored. Making them feel like they’re part of the production process is my ultimate goal.”

“So that’s how it is.”

“Thank you all for your hard work today. Get some rest—tomorrow we’ll need to wake up even earlier than the guests!”

Mo Zhenyi returned to her room, but sleep eluded her. She felt as if she had been born to do this. The excitement of creating a hit show made her tremble, a fiery passion burning in her eyes. She would fuel this flame with her very soul, determined to make the world see her.

Unable to sleep, Mo Zhenyi scrolled through the social media accounts of the guests. Yan Mengyi was undoubtedly the most mysterious, having provided no social media accounts.

But Mo Zhenyi had saved Yan Mengyi’s phone number. While browsing Little Red Book recommendations, she saw “People You May Know” and immediately recognized Yan Mengyi from the profile picture even a silhouette was enough.

Yan Mengyi made handmade crafts, primarily hairpins, and shared her techniques on the platform.

From Mo Zhenyi’s layman’s perspective, the crafts were exceptionally well-made. Though lacking in exposure, her fan engagement was strong, each post garnered likes and comments roughly equal to her follower count.

Yan Mengyi’s saved content list contained only one item.

It was quite thought-provoking.

What to Do When Your Girlfriend Doesn’t Text First? Does Lack of Initiative Mean Lack of Interest?

This article, published seven years ago, had relatively few comments and only 17 saves.

Mo Zhenyi saved the article, planning to read it carefully later to gain insight into Yan Mengyi’s mental world.

But the moment Mo Zhenyi clicked “Save,” the save count jumped to 19.

It was an old post with little popularity, and the system rarely provided traffic for content like this.

Could someone else have found this article through Yan Mengyi’s profile?

Was it you? The third party in Li Tang and Yan Mengyi’s relationship?

Mo Zhenyi read the article carefully.

[Initiative doesn’t equal interest, and lack of initiative doesn’t mean disinterest.

For example, ISTP types have almost no desire to share their feelings and rarely seek emotional connections. When they do initiate conversation, it’s always with an agenda: they might be trying to understand your personality, or they might have physical intentions. If the conversation suddenly fizzles out after a while, it could mean they’ve decided your personalities aren’t compatible, or they’ve achieved their goal…

Whatever the case, don’t be upset. Adults don’t have fixed preferences; only fleeting feelings. A year or two is just a blink in life.]

******

[Hot Comment 1: If she doesn’t take the initiative, it means she doesn’t like me. I don’t care what kind of personality she has. If she doesn’t like me, she needs to disappear from my world.]

[Hot Comment 2: You don’t understand. I’ve looked it up—her zodiac sign is just like this: slow to warm up and shy. Anyway, don’t worry about it. I have my own rhythm. I’m just pretending to be utterly smitten with her. <small clown emoji>]

[Hot Comment 3: I’m carefree with people I don’t like, but with someone I really care about, I can’t even bring myself to look them in the eye.]

[Hot Comment 4: We all know the truth, but we all think we’re the exception.]

*****

Mo Zhenyi: I was just browsing the internet. Why does it feel like I’ve been shot in the knee? Can I just unplug my camera…? No, that’s just her personality—she’s slow to warm up. It’s not that she doesn’t like me, and I don’t really like her either. I was just playing along… Okay, I’m the clown.

Yes, I just thought I was the exception.

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