"There is no next time."
Dylan's face, which a second earlier was smiling and carefree, changed in an instant.
As he sat across from Shen Yue over the hot pot, he was only thinking that filming would soon be over, and he would no longer be able to work with her. This experience would be one he would remember forever, the friendship he had with Xi Ze, Guan Hong, KangKang, and the other cast members, his first acting experience, and his first love. He had finally admitted to himself that he liked Shen Yue, but he knew that if he were to begin a relationship, it would go nowhere.
Didi respected Shen Yue's strength and dedication to acting. She had already taught him quite a bit about the profession, even beyond the technical aspects, such as talking with fans and dealing with haters. He couldn't care less about people who criticized him, but he saw how they affected her. He wished he could protect her, but he also knew he didn't give her the nickname Strong Strong for her physical strength alone. He would miss her when filming ended. He used these feelings during the scene.
Gazing at Shen Yue as Shancai through the steam of the hot pot, he became Daoming Si. Her brave smile made him feel like a brick was in the pit of his stomach and as if he could not breathe.
He bowed his head and lifted the glass of iced tea to his lips. He watched Shancai eating and gazed at her affectionately even as he felt the prickling behind his eyes.
"I care about her so much." He was no longer acting.
***
Shen Yue saw the negative messages about her and felt sick to her stomach. Why do these people have so much hate in their hearts? Can't they just see that I am trying to do my job? I am living my own life, why do they need to get involved in mine?
She sighed. Then she steeled herself and focused on the task at hand. Later, she saw the support that the Mooncakes gave her, and it took away the pain from earlier as if it had never existed at all.
***
"I cannot believe the ending." She tried to make sense of the last two episodes of Meteor Garden.
"What? What happened?" her husband asked.
"Well, I looked online, and there were a few different lines of thoughts. Some people think the main characters died after the hunger strike. Some people think it's a dream. Some people accept that the ending is the way it is portrayed and believe it's a happy ending. It's basically open to interpretation, but the ending is so odd. The mom leaves the company and goes on a journey to find herself. It's so unrealistic!"
"I hate when they do that. Such a cop out! They should just commit," her husband declared.
"Exactly!"
"You know, the ending could be that when someone is so rigid and controlling and stifles someone's freedom, that the only way to show dissent is to starve yourself because at that point, that is the only thing you can control."
"Yes," she agreed. "The only way to have a better future when under such constraints is to escape into your own mind, into fantasy."
"I bet that's what they're trying to say."
"You might be right. You know, they use the song 'River' throughout the whole series, and there's this weird dance sequence to it at the end. The last line of the song is 'shut your mouth and run me like a river.' That may be why no one has mentioned this yet. They're saying, 'Shut your mouth.' Guess I shouldn't say anything on the internet about this!"
"Yeah, that would be a bad idea. Hey, what should we have for lunch?"
"I have a craving for hot pot," she said.
"Hot pot it is!"
***
She sent out a quote from Sun Tzu to her followers as an oblique reminder to ignore the negativity: "The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting."
***
February 13, 2020
This part has been updated.
