Going from "Fanservice" to Reality with My Goddess - Chapter 28

After leaving her uncle’s house, Yu Nianzhe first went to transfer the money.

She had indeed received a lot of care from her uncle’s family since she was a child. If her uncle hadn’t taken her home back then, she might have truly ended up homeless. Furthermore, whether it was Yu Xiaofei or her uncle, they had both been very good to her growing up.

Although Fei’s mom’s character was repulsive, there was no need to completely tear off the face of civility just yet.

Besides, Fei’s mom was telling the truth; she knew everything about Yu Nianzhe’s past inside and out. If she suddenly ran to the media one day to talk nonsense and frame her, it wouldn’t bring any benefits either.

Yu Nianzhe returned to her apartment. She had just changed her clothes and was about to make herself something to eat when Wu Lian called.

Nowadays, whenever Yu Nianzhe saw Wu Lian’s name, her head would ache. Lately, she hadn’t taken on any other dramas aside from this variety show, making her relatively free. She was truly afraid that Wu Lian would arrange another vulgar, melodramatic, and eyesore of a script for her to act in.

Yu Nianzhe took a deep breath and answered the call. “Sister Wu.”

“Little Yu, where are you right now?” Wu Lian’s tone could be described as gentle, which was quite rare.

Yu Nianzhe replied, “I went out this morning to take care of some things and just got home. Is something the matter?”

“Oh, I see,” Wu Lian said. “It’s nothing major. It’s just that the company has an idea and wanted me to ask for your opinion.”

She knew it. How could Wu Lian suddenly speak to her so nicely for no reason?

Yu Nianzhe responded, “What is it? Go ahead.”

Wu Lian said, “It’s like this. Regarding the recent episode of the variety show you participated in with Movie Queen Shen, the company feels that you and Shen Yan coordinated very well, and it has generated a lot of buzz online. They think this is a great opportunity to help you boost your popularity, so they want the two of you to cooperate more in future recordings. But…”

At this point, she paused before continuing, “But considering that if the company steps in to negotiate, Movie Queen Shen might not necessarily agree, so we want you to give it a try. You have such a good relationship with Shen Yan, so it will be much easier than the company approaching her.” Wu Lian thought about it and decided to just speak plainly, “We just want to ask if Movie Queen Shen is willing to do business as an on-screen couple with you? It’s already this hot just from the first episode, so it will definitely get better and better moving forward. This is a win-win situation that benefits both sides. Don’t you agree?”

Yu Nianzhe fell silent for a moment. She hadn’t paid much attention to the online situation since finishing the variety show shoot yesterday, so she was a bit dazed upon suddenly hearing Wu Lian’s words.

What cooperation? What doing business as a couple?

She thought over Wu Lian’s words and slowly processed them.

From what Wu Lian meant, because of this episode of the variety show, her and Shen Yan’s CP (couple shipping) had gone viral?

Yu Nianzhe still found it a bit hard to believe. Right now, she urgently needed to go to Weibo to confirm it.

Without saying much more, she simply replied, “Sister Wu, I’ll go ask Teacher Shen.”

Wu Lian immediately said, “Great, you must have a proper talk with Movie Queen Shen. This is a wonderful opportunity; you have to seize it.”

Yu Nianzhe repeatedly agreed and hung up the phone.

Yu Nianzhe logged onto Weibo to see what the current situation was. As soon as she clicked into the trending searches, she saw #Let’s Travel Together# hanging near the top. Clicking in, everyone was discussing the first episode that aired two days ago, and it was obvious the reception was incredibly good.

She then clicked into the Super Topic page. At first glance, she saw that on the CP chart, “Yan Zhi” (Shen Yan & Yu Nianzhe) was sitting high at the top of the list, its position completely unshakable.

Yu Nianzhe was startled by the sudden sight.

She remembered that the ranking hadn’t been this high before. Was this episode of the variety show really that explosive?

She clicked into the “Yan Zhi” Super Topic and saw countless starved CP fans. The featured posts had everything from images and text to video edits. Yu Nianzhe even saw a set of meme packages about her and Shen Yan, all of which were screenshots from Let’s Travel Together.

One of them was from when they were running a street stall. It was the scene where Shen Yan was being “scolded” for setting prices randomly. The caption underneath read: I’m so cute, how could you have the heart to be fierce to me?

With this text attached, it could be said that it was very un-Shen Yan-like.

But it was very cute.

Yu Nianzhe immediately saved the picture.

There was another one where she was driving a small car with Shen Yan along the road. The caption underneath read: Old married couple, rush forward!

Yu Nianzhe burst out laughing and saved the picture once again.

In addition, there were many other miscellaneous memes. This blogger’s captions were highly expressive. Yu Nianzhe hadn’t felt much while on the scene, but seeing these Photoshopped memes now, she found them both hilarious and cute. Unable to help herself, she saved all of them into her WeChat expression bank.

She browsed through more related data and discussions on Weibo, finally reaching a conclusion: Let’s Travel Together was an absolute hit, and the “Yan Zhi” CP was also an absolute hit.

Furthermore, their momentum had completely overtaken “Cheng Zi Tang,” a genuine real-life couple.

Yu Nianzhe couldn’t help but marvel inwardly; this generation of netizens was truly formidable.

After figuring out the current situation, Yu Nianzhe began to consider the feasibility of approaching Shen Yan to do business as a couple.

To be honest, her heart was a bit tempted.

After all, this was a golden opportunity to close the distance between her and Shen Yan, and to openly have close interactions with her.

If she missed this time, who knew when Movie Queen Shen would participate in a variety show again.

Yu Nianzhe pondered seriously for a long while, and finally decided to talk to Shen Yan to ask what she thought.

She sent a WeChat message to Shen Yan: Teacher Shen, are you free sometime over the next few days? I have something I want to discuss with you.

After sending the message, she held her phone and waited anxiously for the other party’s reply.

Meanwhile, Shen Yan was currently sitting in the living room of her parents’ house, chatting idly.

After making her debut, Shen Yan had moved out to live by herself, only returning to her parents’ house every once in a while to visit them.

At first, it was just casual small talk, but as they conversed, the topic shifted to something Shen Yan could never avoid whenever she chatted with her parents.

Mother Shen asked, “Any new developments lately?”

The face of Yu Nianzhe instantly flashed through Shen Yan’s mind. She shook her head, pretending not to understand her mother’s words. “Yes, I’ve been filming a variety show recently.”

Mother Shen was stunned for a moment. “What made you think of filming a variety show?”

Shen Yan said, “I’ve always been filming dramas before, so I wanted to change flavors this time.”

“That’s quite good. Filming a variety show can also let you relax,” Mother Shen said, before steering back to her previous topic. “Stop playing dumb with me. Are you not clear on what I want to ask?”

Mother Shen was a professor at University A, a prestigious domestic university. She was an easygoing, gentle, and elegant person. One look at Shen Yan made it obvious she took after her mother’s appearance, being an exceptionally graceful beauty.

Shen Yan massaged her temples and said subconsciously, “I’ve been busy lately, no time…”

“You’ve been busy for nearly ten years; it’s time to take a break.” Mother Shen was highly dissatisfied with her daughter’s perfunctory attitude, and couldn’t help but add, “Don’t just assume you’re actually that young just because you look like you’re in your early twenties. Have you never thought about finding a partner?”

Father Shen also chimed in at the right time to bring up his own concern. “When you’re free, come back to the company more often to look around and learn. I won’t leave the family business to anyone else.”

Shen Yan only wanted to pretend she wasn’t there.

Compared to average parents, Father and Mother Shen were both open-minded and casual people who rarely interfered in their daughter’s affairs. This was also why the couple hadn’t raised much of an objection when Shen Yan was bent on entering the entertainment industry back then.

It was just that over the past two years, Father and Mother Shen had clearly been nagging significantly more than before.

On one hand, Father Shen hoped that Shen Yan could reel in her focus in a timely manner, come back to the company to work under him, and inherit the family business in the future. After all, he only had this one daughter, and an outstanding one at that; he couldn’t bear to hand over the industry he had managed for most of his life to someone else.

On the other hand, after so many years, they had never seen Shen Yan bring a partner home, nor had she ever even mentioned one, living all by herself the entire time. It was as if she intended to dedicate her entire life’s energy to the acting industry.

In Father Shen’s words: Even if it’s just a dog, you should raise one to keep you company.

Every time she was asked, Shen Yan would say she was too busy and had no time. If pressed further, she would make things up, saying, “I am waiting for the right person to appear in my life.”

But after so many years, that person had never appeared either.

Shen Yan let out a sigh. “What’s wrong with you two lately? You weren’t like this before.”

Father and Mother Shen exchanged a glance. Mother Shen smiled with a hint of helplessness. “Well, perhaps it’s because we’re getting older, so there are more things to consider.”

Shen Yan immediately said, “Mom, don’t talk nonsense. You and Dad are both very young.”

While the three of them were chatting, the phone Shen Yan had placed on the table vibrated. Shen Yan picked it up to look and saw it was a message sent by Yu Nianzhe—Teacher Shen, are you free sometime over the next few days? I have something I want to discuss with you.

Shen Yan quickly typed a reply: I’m free. When?

The other party’s message followed right after: Tomorrow morning at 9:00 AM, at the Qingyang Juice Bar?

Shen Yan replied with an “OK,” put down her phone, and continued chatting with her parents.

With her mind still lingering on Mother Shen’s urging for her to find a partner, Shen Yan suddenly asked, “What if I brought back a girlfriend?”

Mother Shen froze for a moment, not expecting her daughter to suddenly say this.

She then reacted and said, “A girlfriend is a girlfriend, then. As long as you find an attentive person who understands your heart, what does it matter if they are male or female?”

Father Shen interjected from the side, “By the time you’re old, your mother and I will have long been gone anyway. Who’s going to care about that.”

Mother Shen asked again, “What made you think of mentioning this? Do you already have someone you like?”

Someone she liked naturally existed, but right now things hadn’t even begun to take shape yet. Shen Yan didn’t plan on making it known this early, so she merely said, “No, I was just asking casually.”

After speaking, she immediately shifted the topic to chat about other things.

Mother Shen was still somewhat suspicious, but she didn’t ask further.

A partner was still something one had to find for themselves; as elders, they couldn’t exactly choose for their child.