Didi was playing a video game while on a break during the filming for Ever Night 2. All of a sudden, he saw a notification that he was getting a call.
His face broke out into a big grin as he picked up.
"Shen Yue, hello," he said sweetly.
"Hi Didi," she said, surprised, but pleased, that he had answered her call. "I was just going to leave you a voice message."
He wandered away to a more private area of the set. "It's good to talk to you in real time," he said huskily.
Shen Yue flushed beet red. Wang He Di! "How much time do you have to talk?" she asked.
"We're on break right now, so we have about 15 minutes before we start to film. What are you up to?"
"I have a photoshoot later today, but that's it for now. Hey, is Song Yi Ren doing ok?"
"Ey? Yeah, she's ok, why do you ask?"
"I think she may be going through the same thing I went through while filming Meteor Garden. There has been a lot of...negative press, and I know it can be hurtful."
He smiled gently. That's his Shen Yue, always concerned about others. "Do you want to talk to her?"
"Yes! Can I?"
"Sure. Let me get her." He looked around the set, saw Song Yi Ren, and bellowed, "Song Yi Ren!"
She looked over at him quizzically and then made her way over. "What's up?" she asked.
"Shen Yue wants to talk to you," he replied.
"Oh, ok," she said, taking Didi's phone.
"Shen Yue?"
"Hi Song Yi Ren. I just wanted to check in on you. Are you doing ok?"
Song Yi Ren thought to herself, Ah, she must have heard about all the chatter about me on Weibo.
"Yes, I am ok. I wasn't doing too well over the last couple of days, but I've been trying to ignore the hate."
"Oh, good. You know, I went through the same thing for Meteor Garden. Try not to read about yourself on the internet. Also, remember that for every negative comment, there are a thousand times more positive ones."
"Mmm," Song Yiren nodded and smiled. "Thanks, Yueyue."
"Of course. Take care of yourself, ok?"
"Right. You, too! I'll give the phone back to Didi now."
Song Yiren handed the phone to Dylan and smiled and waved goodbye to him before heading in the direction of the other cast members.
Didi brought the phone up to his ear and heard Shen Yue humming and singing Ni Yao De Ai. He smiled. He loved her singing.
"Didi?" she said softly.
"I'm here," he said.
"Wah! Why didn't you say anything?"
"You know I love hearing you sing."
She blushed prettily and smiled. "Your singing has been getting better, too."
"No, you mean my rapping."
"No, your singing," she insisted. "Your duet with Song Yiren is going to sound incredible."
"Now, now," he laughed modestly. "That's enough." She could still make him feel embarrassed with her praise. "You know that my favorite duet will always be 'Love Confession.'"
"It's mine, too," she said softly. "I—" she was about to say she missed him, she loved him, she wished she was there with him, but he interrupted her.
"Don't say it," he said gently. "I will see you soon."
"Mmm," she said, as she nodded and smiled. "See you soon."
***
There was a thread about when people first started stanning Yueyue and Didi. Most people were introduced to Didi through Meteor Garden, and then after seeing him in Super Idol and discovering how real he was, they were smitten. She was part of that camp.
For Yueyue, it was different. She explained to her husband about how Shen Yue was on a variety show, and she was asked to pretend that she was getting pictures taken. They told her to do a "hot" pose, and she used her hands to put glasses over her face. She was asked to do a variety of other poses, and her responses were very cute. She also informed her husband that Shen Yue was smart. She had skipped a few classes and scored the highest in her province on a college entrance exam. She admired that.
She wanted them to be together in real life. She wasn't sure if they were, but she liked to imagine the two of them side by side.
***
Everyone fangirls in her own way. Some write, some tweet, some post, some draw, some make videos, some translate, some interpret. The thread that they have in common is that they create, and in so doing, they keep hope alive.
She noticed that the newest fan fiction writer was not updating as frequently. She voted in silent support to encourage her.
She saw a post that denigrated Song Yiren. She sent out a tweet: "Let's respect Didi's other costars. Even if we want Didi and Yueyue to be together, we also want Didi's and Yueyue's individual projects to do well. We know how hurtful it was for Shen Yue to be bashed. Let's not spread that hate to anyone else."
She knew that in shipping Shen Yue and Dylan, she was also a stan of them both, and was a representative of what that meant.
