Deeply in Love [Showbiz] - Chapter 6

Nan Zhiyao marveled at the fact that Producer Li Zong was a absolute madman.

With her being blacklisted and smeared across the entire internet, he actually dared to invite her to be a permanent guest on his show?

“Take it, take it, take it—yes!” Shen Jiaye had already asked and answered her own question in her excitement. “Think about it! This is basically dating your wife on the public’s dime. Are you really not going?”

The phrase “dating on the public’s dime” truly tempted Nan Zhiyao, but what if Bai Lian didn’t like it? She still had to ask for Bai Lian’s opinion first.

“It’s already past four o’clock. You need to prepare quickly. I’ll call a car to send you backstage in a bit.” Shen Jiaye looked at the daydreaming Nan Zhiyao with a look of helplessness. “We can’t arrange a professional outfit this late… so you’ll have to bring one of your own?”

Shen Jiaye muttered, “The haute couture you buy yourself is more expensive than what most of those female stars wear anyway. Pick a good one—the flashiest one! Show them all up!”

Shen Jiaye felt that being this specific manager was incredibly relaxing. She didn’t have to fight for resources, worry about clothing, or even monitor post-production. Why? Because Nan Zhiyao was too good-looking; even her raw, unedited photos were top-tier.

This damn capitalist heiress—she was mesmerizing.

She had a premonition that Nan Zhiyao’s brilliance would soon be impossible to hide. As for the current “black materials”… once people got to know Nan Zhiyao better, how could they possibly keep hating her?

“The ring—remember to take it off for me.” Shen Jiaye poked her finger. “The Starlight Gala will be live-streamed from the red carpet onwards. Countless eyes will be watching. Don’t let anything slip, or the news of you two being married will cause the entire entertainment industry to collapse.”

“I know.” Nan Zhiyao looked at her hand again and again, the joy in her eyes impossible to conceal. She selected a white, backless gown from her walk-in closet. It was a new haute couture piece for the year that she hadn’t had a chance to wear yet. The white gauze was embellished entirely with real diamonds, currently priced at 600,000 yuan.

Shen Jiaye helped her pack the dress. When Nan Zhiyao followed her downstairs, she was still reluctant to take off the ring. Shen Jiaye pulled her into the nanny van and urged her: “Alright, alright, stop looking at it. Is it going to sprout flowers? Let’s go!”

Nan Zhiyao stared at her quiet phone screen, turning the lock screen on and off. She had added Bai Lian as a friend on WeChat when they went to register, but they hadn’t exchanged a single word yet.

She pondered what kind of opening line she should use with Bai Lian.

Hello?

No, that’s too distant. How could she use such a clunky greeting with her idol?

How about—

Nan Zhiyao’s fingers began to tap on the screen. When she typed out those two words, she couldn’t help but laugh herself.

The phone suddenly vibrated. As if she knew exactly how Nan Zhiyao was feeling, Bai Lian actually sent her a message at that very moment.

Bai Lian: Are you on your way?

Nan Zhiyao’s hand shook, and she accidentally sent the text she had already typed into the chat box but hadn’t meant to send yet.

Bai Lian received it instantly.

Nan Zhiyao: Hello (Formal).

Note: In Chinese, she used “您好” (Nín hǎo) instead of the casual “你好” (Nǐ hǎo).

“Xiao Bai, what are you looking at so intently?” Lu Yi had already finished her makeup. Bored, she saw Bai Lian staring at her phone and smiling, and couldn’t help but try to lean over to see.

Bai Lian pulled the phone back and suppressed the corners of her mouth that were involuntarily curling up. “Stop it.”

“It’s definitely the ‘Little Sister-in-Law.’ Look at Bai Bai’s little expression.” Wu Yueming, sporting dyed pale-gold hair, sat in her seat munching on an apple, her cheeks bulging. “When are you going to let us meet her? We’ve seen her several times at events, but Bai Bai never lets me go up to say hello… as if we’d eat her or something.”

The two had been friends with Bai Lian for four years, from their trainee days until now; they knew her inside and out. Bai Lian hadn’t hidden her feelings from them, so knowing that she and Nan Zhiyao had registered their marriage today, both Lu Yi and Wu Yueming were happy for her.

They were also a bit curious about Nan Zhiyao. What kind of person could make Bai Lian so captivated?

This was their private dressing room, and since there were no staff around, they spoke freely.

“Yue-yue, you don’t understand. Xiao Bai is just being stingy, afraid we’ll get a single extra look at her wife.” Lu Yi snorted, teasing Bai Lian. “I bet she wishes she could stand next to Little Nan-nan every single day. When other female stars want a little ‘hype’ scandal with you, you dodge them like a monkey, but you don’t do a thing about the rumors with Nan Zhiyao. What’s the matter—henpecked already?”

“Watch your mouth.” Bai Lian shot Lu Yi a look, but her eyes were soft, without a hint of actual blame.

She hadn’t replied to Nan Zhiyao yet. The other side had gone silent, but the top of the chat indicated “Typing…”

No words came through for a long time. Bai Lian could almost visualize Nan Zhiyao’s conflicted and regretful expression.

It was just… deathly cute.

“I’ve sent over the things you wanted for Little Sister-in-Law, and the makeup artist is arranged.” Wu Yueming kicked her legs in exclamation. “It’s the first time I’ve seen Bai Bai take care of someone like this. When she heard the staff hadn’t arranged a makeup artist for our Little Sister-in-Law, her face went so dark the staff member’s face turned white.”

Geng Pan had contacted the event organizers immediately after Nan Zhiyao mentioned terminating her contract to cancel her spot, so naturally, there would be no makeup artist. As for the Nan family later applying pressure behind the scenes and scaring the organizers half to death, there was no need to mention that.

Their manager, Cheng Jian, came to knock on the door, saying they were preparing to head to the inner hall. Bai Lian responded and typed out her reply.

Bai Lian: No rush.

The other side was clearly waiting for her, replying instantly: Coming, coming! I’ll be there soon!

Even though the message was sent, the status still showed “Typing…”

What on earth was this girl trying to say?

“Actually, I think Little Sister-in-Law is a really interesting person. Those messy ‘black materials’ online are so strange; our fans shouldn’t be that aggressive,” Wu Yueming said, finishing the last bite of her apple and propping her face in her hands. “I bet someone at Chuangyi is intentionally targeting her. Haven’t we met her backstage before? I saw her being polite to everyone. Where did the ‘diva behavior’ rumors come from? On the other hand, that ‘Top Sister’ at Chuangyi—Jiang-what’s-her-name?—she’s the one who’s incredibly arrogant.”

“What did you call her?” Bai Lian asked abruptly.

“Huh?” Wu Yueming was taken aback. Bai Lian’s expression was calm, yet for some reason, she felt a shiver of nervousness. She whispered, “Just… called her ‘Little Sister-in-Law’.”

Is that wrong?

Wu Yueming usually felt Bai Lian was like an older sister. Since she felt Bai Lian was the “top” one in the relationship, she naturally called Nan Zhiyao “Little Sister-in-Law.”

Wait—

Holy crap, could it be that Bai Bai is the ‘bottom’ one?!

Wu Yueming’s expression turned terrified in a second.

At that moment, several messages flooded into Bai Lian’s phone all at once—Nan Zhiyao had sent them in a flurry.

Nan Zhiyao: I need to explain!

Nan Zhiyao: It’s about that…

Nan Zhiyao: ‘您好’ (Hello-Formal)

Nan Zhiyao: I didn’t mean it like that! Ahhhh! I didn’t mean it like this either.

Nan Zhiyao: It’s just that the word ‘您’ (Nín)… if you break it apart (Top: 你/You, Bottom: 心/Heart)…

Nan Zhiyao: It means ‘putting You on my Heart.’

Nan Zhiyao: Wait, no, I didn’t mean that… I just wanted to express my greetings.

Nan Zhiyao: QAQ Bai Lian, did you see that? You didn’t see anything.

The girl quickly retracted the previous message, then followed up with:

Nan Zhiyao: I’ve arrived. See you in a bit.

This time, Bai Lian’s smile was truly irrepressible; she seemed to be glowing.

“Bai Bai, don’t scare me. You don’t like me calling her Little Sister-in-Law? I won’t do it anymore.” Wu Yueming took a sharp breath, seeing Bai Lian alternate between being expressionless and smiling.

Bai Lian: “Say it louder.”

Wu Yueming: “…?”

“When you see her and call her that, say it louder.” Bai Lian gripped her phone, laughing under her breath. “It’s good. It’s very fitting.”

Thinking about how embarrassed the girl would be upon hearing that title, Bai Lian couldn’t control the delight in her heart.

Wu Yueming: “???”

I’m still young, why am I being stuffed with dog food like this? Bai Bai, you’re no longer my good parent.