10 Accompanying You

The afternoon recording session began, yet several people remained distracted.

Yi Feichen glanced at Jiang Ranyun, his expression unreadable. Her reaction when he mentioned wedding houses and rings earlier had been peculiar. Was she simply overwhelmed with excitement?

Last night, after their phone call, Yi Feichen had pondered for a long time. Although he couldn't retrieve his past memories, he had carefully considered the future. He was certain that he wanted her in his future. She was an indispensable part of it, and no matter what happened, he would never let her go.

***

As the moon rose and the sun set, the day's work came to an end.

"We'll be heading off now. Thank you, everyone," Jiang Ranyun said to the staff. As she left, she noticed Yi Feichen’s gaze fixed on her, but she ignored it and walked away quickly.

Once inside her car, Jiang Ranyun finally relaxed. She stretched her shoulders and neck, loosening her stiff muscles. On the way back to the Moonlight Garden residential complex, she couldn't help but scroll through her phone.

During the second half of the day, Yi Feichen had been quite well-behaved. He stayed professional during the evening livestream, refraining from saying or doing anything inappropriate. Despite this, they were trending on social media once again.

When answering questions about their drama, she and Yi Feichen had locked eyes a few times—they were just answering questions honestly! Yet, the fans were already losing their minds.

One "sober" fan commented: "I was fine with the subtle crumbs before, but now that they've officially announced it, I want the full feast! I want a state banquet! If nothing else, can’t they just kiss in front of the camera for my sake?"

However, others insisted: "This tension where both sides know exactly what’s happening is the best part! Who agrees, and who disagrees?"

Jiang Ranyun hadn’t usually paid attention to comments from "shippers," knowing that the rumors were baseless. But in the last few days, she had started to find it amusing. These fans didn't just express how cute they looked together; they analyzed their psychology, emotions, and the stories behind their actions with deadly seriousness.

For instance, she once stumbled upon a fan-made video from an awards ceremony. She and Yi Feichen were seated together, with several former co-stars behind them. She turned to chat with them, and during that time, Yi Feichen glanced at her several times.

From that tiny snippet, the fans had added captions: The first look: "My wife is talking to someone else; it's okay, I'll wait." Second look: "Why isn't she done talking yet?" Third look: "You're laughing so happily with them, what does that make me?" Fourth look—just as she finished talking and met his eyes, he offered a polite smile—the caption read: "My wife, you're finally back!"

It was an eye-opener for Jiang Ranyun. Now, her joy in reading these comments came from seeing how much the fans could correctly guess.

She scrolled to a post by a major fan account and couldn't help but sigh; sometimes, extreme over-interpretation is actually extreme intuition. The fan had clipped a moment from the livestream where Yi Feichen, while handing a microphone to the director, leaned over and accidentally brushed Jiang Ranyun’s hand. She had quickly pulled away and shot him a warning glare. When their eyes met, Yi Feichen looked rather innocent.

"Look at sister Yun’s alarmed expression, she seems so afraid that brother Fei will do something on camera. Brother Fei looks innocent, like he just wanted to hand the mic to the director, but then he smiles and his fingers twitch—it's like he’s saying, 'I actually really wanted to hold your hand, but I held back.' There’s every reason to believe that in private, he’s the type to be super clingy and hold hands tightly whenever they’re together!"

It was such a short moment, and it happened so fast... yet the fans had spotted the detail and analyzed it!

It was terrifying.

There was a second part to the post: "I’ve always felt that they might have liked each other before, but they were in a Schrödinger’s ambiguity—not truly together. After *Flying Birds and Green Mountains*, their feelings escalated rapidly, and they officially became a couple. They’re getting more intimate in private, which is why they’re 'slipping up' more often, leading to that 'wife' comment out of nowhere. Hehe."

Many comments below agreed, saying they felt the same way.

It was a pity that while the logic was sound, it was wrong. Reality was often more absurd than human imagination.

As Jiang Ranyun was enjoying the read, Yi Feichen sent a message. It was a collection of photos and descriptions of over a dozen properties.

"If you don't like these, I'll have someone look for more. Or if you don't want to settle in City A, other cities are fine. If it's convenient for work, City S is an option. Or your hometown, Luancheng."

Jiang Ranyun pondered for a moment before replying: "Send me the suitable properties in City S and Luancheng. I'll take a look and choose carefully."

"Okay."

When he had brought it up during the day, she had politely declined, saying, "This is no small matter; you should think it over."

He had replied, "I already have."

Zhao Che had walked out right then, interrupting their conversation, and Jiang Ranyun had seized the chance to stop the discussion. But it was clear that refusal was useless; she had to find another way. She would let him send the information, and she would look at it slowly. By the time she had spent seventy, eighty, or ninety days "looking," Yi Feichen would surely have returned to normal.

***

"Good morning."

A new day began with a morning text from Yi Feichen. He must have been busy looking for houses the night before, as he hadn’t bothered her. Jiang Ranyun enjoyed the rare quiet and carefully read through Wen Shuchan’s script. It was a bit stream-of-consciousness, and one read wasn't enough; she needed to make time to read it a few more times in the coming days.

Jiang Ranyun yawned. She had no work in the morning and slept until nearly ten. She sent a reply back to Yi Feichen and checked her schedule sent by An'an. An'an had even sent a message a few minutes ago reminding her to keep an eye on the time.

Jiang Ranyun had a flight to City C at one in the afternoon; she needed to get ready quickly. Just as she finished washing up, Yi Feichen called.

"Hello," she said. Her mood was good, and having just woken up, her voice was a few shades softer than usual.

Yi Feichen’s heart skipped a beat, and his voice carried a smile: "What’s your schedule like today?"

"I have a variety show to record."

Yi Feichen said, "How long will it take? I don't have any work scheduled today; I can accompany you at any time."

Jiang Ranyun laughed: "You can't. It's in City C."

Yi Feichen paused. A faint memory stirred; the promotional plan for *Flying Birds and Green Mountains* included a press conference, several online and offline livestreams, and a few variety shows.

Some were shows like the one she had filmed a few days ago—a rural life program. They had invited her long ago, but for various reasons, she hadn't gone until now, when the timing aligned with the drama's promotion. That was one type. Then there were the shows specifically tailored for *Flying Birds and Green Mountains*.

City C Satellite TV had a hit variety show called *A Box of Joy*, aired every Saturday night. It had a vast, loyal audience, and many film and television projects went there for promotion. Since it was a special episode, Jiang Ranyun wouldn't be the only one recording.

Yi Feichen pursed his lips and messaged Liao Sheng to ask about the situation. Liao Sheng quickly sent a clear, concise screenshot.

The content was:

Liao Sheng: "There’s a special promotional variety show for *Flying Birds and Green Mountains*—*A Box of Joy* in City C. You turned it down, right?"

Yi Feichen: "Yes."

Yi Feichen: "..."

Liao Sheng was efficient and quickly sent another message: "I asked for you. Four people are going for this recording: Jiang Ranyun, Zhao Che, Xi Yu (the third female lead), and Meng Junqi (the third male lead). The second female lead didn't go due to a scheduling conflict."

Zhao Che.

Looking at the name, Yi Feichen’s brows furrowed slightly.

"Yi Feichen? Are you still there? If not, I'm hanging up," Jiang Ranyun’s voice came through.

"I'm here."

"What was that just now? Don't tell me you were checking flight tickets?"

"Yes..." Yi Feichen lowered his eyes. He was checking them right now.

Jiang Ranyun laughed cryptically: "They’re all sold out, aren't they?"

She had checked earlier; they were all sold out. It was summer vacation, and City C was a popular tourist destination; tickets were usually bought well in advance.

Yi Feichen said, "It doesn't matter."

Jiang Ranyun: "Hmm?"

Yi Feichen said, "I'll be there. I’ve asked Brother Liao to contact *A Box of Joy*. I’ll be participating in tonight’s recording."

Jiang Ranyun: "?"

She hesitated for two seconds before asking, "You never participate in variety shows, do you?"

Yi Feichen smiled: "There's a first time for everything."

Jiang Ranyun really wanted to talk him out of it, because she couldn't imagine how that would go.

She said, "But do you know what kind of show *A Box of Joy* is? Do you know that you have to play... rather childish and silly games during the recording? Like popping balloons, or walking on acupressure mats, or the punishment for losing being having water splashed in your face..."

"I know," Yi Feichen said as if it were a matter of course. "I'll lead you to victory; we won't lose."