Filming for Meteor Garden had completed. Angie Chai wanted to do a tribute to the 2001 version of the drama and asked Harlem Yu to sing Qing Fei De Yi like he had in the original iconic last scene.
Dylan and Shen Yue walked together hand in hand down the cordoned-off Shanghai street. Although they were being filmed as Daoming Si and Shancai, they were really just told to act naturally as a couple, similar to how they were given free rein in London.
Seeing the fans lined up outside the rope and barricade made Shen Yue feel nervous. She was not used to being filmed while being watched by fans. Although she tried to stay away from negative comments directed towards her, she was aware of what certain segments of the population were saying. Particularly to those who were obsessed with Didi, she knew that those fans would always find a reason to try to bring his costar down, no matter who she was.
She walked a bit more hesitantly than normal while holding Didi's hand. She looked up at him and noticed that he was looking into her eyes and smiling, radiating warmth from his face like the sun.
She recalled what she had advised him when her fans were upset that Hu Yi Tian was not cast as Daoming Si. You were made for this role, Wang He Di. He was actually not as bothered by the haters as he had a lot of confidence in his abilities and he had even made a video saying as much. However, Shen Yue still felt a sense of responsibility for the disdain directed towards him because they had come from fans of the work she did in A Love So Beautiful. She also knew that there was a large contingent of fans who thought that she and Hu Yi Tian should date in real life. Although she was amused by their desire to want her to be with Hu Yi Tian, she was still too young to be thinking of being in a relationship with anyone. She didn't have the time or mental capacity to devote to being someone's girlfriend.
Of course, she was also not a robot. She could see that she and Didi had something special. She recognized that she was attracted to him, and she sensed that he felt the same way towards her, but she knew instinctually that neither of them would act upon it. This was Didi's first drama. He would go on to do more and better roles. That was her wish for him and for herself.
However, at this moment in time, seeing him look down at her with such affection made her feel like whatever worries she had were insignificant. She beamed directly at him for just an instant. Then suddenly feeling shy, she looked down and continued to walk slowly with him towards Harlem Yu's singing as the cameras followed their progress.
Sneaking a glance at him once again, he caught her looking and he leaned down to tousle her hair.
Out of habit, she smacked him, and just like that, the uneasiness she had felt about being filmed in front of the crowd of fans completely left her thoughts. They walked together to Harlem Yu and ran their lines with him, then began singing with him. They both began clapping their hands, then it was Dylan's turn to be shy as he stuck his hands in his pockets and tapped his foot to the beat as Shen Yue continued to clap her hands.
As he sang along to the lyrics, Didi thought of how the words perfectly applied to him and Shen Yue. He overcame his brief moment of nervousness by being playful with her. He caught her by her shoulders to bring her closer to him. Shen Yue felt a bit confused as they were technically not really in their roles anymore, then remembered that Dylan was treating her as if she was Shancai.
She felt emboldened to pick up the hat lying next to Harlem Yu and to bring it around to the crowd.
As the other F4 members came in to join the group, Dylan motioned for Shen Yue to come back, and she readily complied.
Dylan tried to bring Shen Yue back towards him, but she maneuvered out of his grasp and went to where Darren, Connor, and Caesar were standing. She laughed and called out, "Let's wave our hands."
Didi's eyes followed Shen Yue as all the boys followed her direction and engaged in being silly and waving their hands. As Shen Yue rejoined Dylan, he managed to grab Shen Yue's hand for a brief moment before they both waved Angie Chai over to join the group.
As the song concluded, Dylan playfully grabbed Shen Yue by the shoulders again as she threw up two peace signs and flashed a winning smile to the overhead camera.
After they finished taking pictures with fans, Dylan and Shen Yue found themselves suddenly left alone. Seizing the moment, Dylan looked at Shen Yue with the intensity of Daoming Si. "Shancai, promise you will always remember me."
Shen Yue could not help but to laugh at him. "Dylan, filming is over. There will be no behind-the-scenes footage. You're not Daoming Si anymore." She shook her head at him and chuckled.
Still in character, Dylan continued to stare at her and said fiercely: "I am Daoming Si, and you are Shancai. You must not forget me."
Shen Yue gave in to his insistence: "Daoming Si, I am Dong Shancai, and I will never forget you!"
Dropping his glare, Dylan gave Shen Yue a large smile that crinkled his eyes. He gazed at her for just a moment, then he shoved her so that she lost balance.
"Hey!" she exclaimed. She righted herself and smacked his arm.
"Let's join the others," he said, beaming at her.
She nodded her head and smiled.
They walked side by side towards Xi Ze, KangKang, and Kuan Hong, basking in the comfort of their friendship.
***
She and her husband were eating dim sum when a plate of honey walnut shrimp was passed around.
"No, thank you," she said, letting the server know that they weren't interested.
"Actually, I wouldn't mind getting that," her husband interjected.
"Oh, okay. Excuse me!" she called out to the server. "Sorry, we would like the honey walnut shrimp. Thank you!"
They enjoyed the sweet crispiness of the honey walnut shrimp.
"Hey, this is really good. They put cantaloupe in here. That's odd, but it adds a certain something," she remarked.
"Oh. A certain something? Like the pineapple in the Moon Garden dish from the cooking competition?" her husband smirked.
"How did you know! That's exactly what I was thinking."
"Oh, I know. You made me watch that in the car with you. Not going to forget that." He continued in a falsetto: "'Oh! She put pineapple in the dish! Was it...because of me?'" Her husband batted his eyelashes at her.
She knew he was mocking her, but she loved him anyway.
***
"The world can be a dark and scary place, filled with doubt and uncertainty, but the light will always come. You just need to know where to look."
She affixed the quote to an edited image of Didi and Yueyue softly smiling at each other and posted it to her account.
May this provide you comfort and joy.
