Extra 1: A Record of CP Fans’ Collapsing Houses (Part 1)
With the massive success of “Chronicles of the Nine Provinces,” the number of fans in the YuYan CP Super Topic exploded, gaining several million followers and becoming a massive, mysterious organization.
In the original novel, Shen Tinghan and Lin Xiao were already the most popular ship. Now that they were played by An Qingyan and Lu Yuqi, the pairing became even more irresistible. The arrogant king and the foolish beauty—they were already so shippable during the talent show, so weren’t they even more perfect and shippable now?
And so, after “Chronicles of the Nine Provinces” aired, the CP fans celebrated every day as if it were the New Year, embarking on a blissful life of shipping them to death.
Even if it meant staying up all night watching videos, reading fanfiction, and looking at behind-the-scenes clips, even if it meant having dark circles and losing hair every day, they would still shout out that one phrase: The arrogant king and the foolish beauty are real! The YuYan CP is the best!!
You really couldn’t blame them, because they were just too shippable. Not just in the drama, but even more so outside of it. The various behind-the-scenes clips released by the official drama Weibo were explosively sweet!
Hehehe… the production team really knows what we want to see!
The two of them would fool around on set, talking and laughing. They’d read the script together, eat together, and even sleep together… ahem… in the literal sense. Filming was exhausting, so they would often fall asleep on set or in the dressing room.
【Ahhh, when they were eating the crew’s boxed lunches together, the arrogant king would even help YanYan eat the dishes he didn’t like. He’s so considerate to his wife!】 【Can you two lovebirds tone it down a bit? Stop making eyes at each other on set!】 【It’ll be hard to wrap this up if they don’t get married. I’ve already moved the Civil Affairs Bureau here for you!】 【Qiqi is really only good to YanYan. It started back during the talent show. He’s so biased, hahaha!】 【I’m shipping this so hard, so hard! It’s so sweet! I’ve already thought of a name for their son!!】
…
It was an ordinary, dark and windy night. The YuYan girls were, as usual, happily indulging in their daily dose of sugar on various platforms.
Li Qingqing was an ordinary sophomore in college and also a sub-host of the YuYan CP Super Topic. It was eleven at night, and the lights in her dorm were already out. Her three roommates were all doing their own thing while she lay in bed, excitedly shipping her CP.
Holy, holy crap, this fan art drawn by the goddess artist is so lewd! So exciting, so exciting, it’s making my mouth water. YanYan, you charming little devil!
Ooh, today’s fanfiction has been updated too! My god, the author is so amazing. The beautiful, cold, sickly beauty of a prince held hostage x the dark, scheming crown prince. This setup is absolutely perfect, and the steamy scenes are so well-written! It’s making my nose bleed!
Ahhh, the official Weibo updated with more behind-the-scenes clips today! The way Qiqi looks at YanYan is so doting! Hahaha, Duan Ci tried to join in, but they completely ignored him. Please, don’t disturb the little couple, okay?
Li Qingqing was so excited she almost punched her bed!
Sob, our YanYan and Qiqi are just too perfect for each other!
Hey, what’s going on? Why are my WeChat groups blowing up? 99+ messages in just a few seconds. She opened the group chat in confusion, and then she completely froze.
“…”
Just now, a marketing account had broken the news on Weibo.
【SHOCKING! Top Star An Qingyan’s Suspected Relationship Exposed, Kissing a Mysterious Man in a Car!】 【BREAKING! Mysterious Man Suspected to be Gu Corporation’s CEO, Gu Fei!】
It was a video secretly filmed in the underground parking lot of some high-end shopping mall. A young man wearing a mask, suspected to be An Qingyan, and a tall, handsome man came out of an elevator holding hands.
They held hands all the way to the car. The man got into the driver’s seat, and the young man sat in the passenger seat. They leaned in close, and the man took off the young man’s mask, cupped the back of his neck with his palm, and gave him a kiss that lasted several seconds. The gesture was intimate and natural.
Although it was a secretly filmed video, it was clear that the young man was the new top star who had recently exploded in popularity, An Qingyan. And the tall, handsome man bore a strong resemblance to the notoriously low-profile CEO of Gu Corporation, Gu Fei.
The moment the video was released, it captured the attention of the entire internet.
With a loud “BOOM,” the roof of the YuYan girls’ house collapsed. One second they were blissfully shipping their CP, and the next they were being told that the CP they shipped was fake?!
【No! I don’t believe it, I don’t believe it, I don’t believe it!!!】 【This isn’t real, this isn’t real, this isn’t real! The CP I ship is real!!!】 【Sisters, don’t panic! The person in the video just looks like YanYan! YanYan will come out and debunk the rumor soon!】 【Right, right, YanYan will definitely debunk it!】 【Ah, YanYan’s online! He must be about to post on Weibo to debunk the rumor!!】
…
Right! Li Qingqing nodded firmly in the darkness.
YanYan is definitely coming out to debunk the rumor. How could YanYan baby possibly be dating another man? This is too ridiculous. She clutched her phone nervously, holding her breath and constantly refreshing her Weibo feed.
It’s updated! YanYan has updated his Weibo!
Li Qingqing looked at the newly updated post with anticipation.
“…”
“…”
“…”
Smack. The phone fell directly onto her face.
It was followed by a roof-shattering shout: “HOLY SHIT!”
Li Qingqing sat bolt upright, as if jolted from a near-death experience.
Her roommates were startled.
“What’s wrong? What happened? Was that an earthquake?” “Did you get dumped?” “Did the CP you ship become real?” “No!” Li Qingqing’s heart was a river of sorrow. “My house collapsed, wuwuwu!”
Oh, heavens!
How could this be? You’ve got to be kidding me!
@AnQingyan: I’m sorry for hiding this from everyone for so long. The relationship is real. [Image]
The CP fans had waited with bated breath, but what they got wasn’t a rumor-debunking post, but an official announcement. An official announcement!!!
BOOM! Another earth-shattering thunderclap. This time, the very foundation of the YuYan girls’ house collapsed.
YanYan admitted to being in a relationship? And his partner isn’t Lu Yuqi?
It wasn’t hard to tell that the smaller hand in the picture was YanYan’s. Holy crap, doesn’t that mean YanYan’s partner is a man? No girl’s hand would be that big, right?
Wait! They were both wearing matching rings on the middle finger of their left hands. Left hand? Middle finger? Isn’t that an engagement ring?! They’re engaged? And he’s engaged to someone other than Lu Yuqi?
So, YanYan’s fiancé is the CEO of Gu Corporation, Gu Fei? And Gu Fei might, possibly, probably be Lu Yuqi’s cousin?
Before everyone could even react, the official Weibo of Gu Corporation actually forwarded An Qingyan’s announcement post! And with the forward, they even commented with a [heart emoji]?!
【??? What kind of operation is this?】 【LU! YU! QI! YOUR! WIFE! IS! GONE!】 【Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap, am I dreaming? YanYan is engaged? Engaged to some other damn man?】 【Crack… that’s the sound of my heart breaking.】 【The CP I ship is fake? The arrogant king and the foolish beauty ended in BE?】 【Wuwuwu, how could this be? YanYan, if you’re being threatened, just blink.】 【My good friend who was my on-screen CP later became my little cousin-in-law?】
…
Tonight was destined to be a sleepless night for the YuYan girls. The YuYan CP Super Topic was a scene of wailing and howling, a river of tears flooding the mountains.
The “sister-in-law” trope comes to life: My Wife Was Originally My Wife, but Later She Became My Little Cousin-in-Law.
The one sentence that brought tears to the eyes of countless CP girls: The CP I ship isn’t real.
Even if they didn’t want to believe it, they had to accept the facts.
【Although it’s very sad, since this is YanYan’s choice, I will respect him.】 【Sob, I was right in the middle of shipping them, and the next second my house collapsed. This is too tragic, ahhhh!】 【I never thought the CEO of Gu Corp would be so handsome. That figure, those long legs, that devastatingly handsome face… uh, wait, something doesn’t feel right?】 【Something’s not right with me either. Why do I feel like YanYan and Master Gu are also quite shippable?】 【Even so, just from the secretly filmed video, they look so good together.】 【Plus one on the good match! And they’re so sweet, ahhhh! Holding hands, kissing… hehe, a real couple is truly the best!】
Li Qingqing was crying while scrolling through Weibo. When she saw everyone’s comments, she trembled with anger and righteously posted: You people! How could you! Don’t you feel you’re letting Qiqi down?!
【Qiqi, I’m sorry. If you have to blame someone, blame yourself for not stepping up. Your wife got snatched away by someone else, so don’t blame me for jumping ship.】
More and more netizens started to feel that the real couple was very shippable. Their height, their build, their looks—they were a perfect match.
In fact, many netizens didn’t know who Gu Fei was before this, let alone what he looked like. Because Master Gu was very low-profile, never accepted interviews, and never appeared in front of the camera.
Before long, some resourceful netizens managed to dig up a few precious photos of Gu Fei.
In the photos, the man was dressed in an expensive, custom-tailored suit. His hair and clothes were impeccable. He was tall with long legs, broad shoulders, and a narrow waist. And that face was stern and mature, a god-tier level of handsome.
Top-tier, well-behaved beauty from the entertainment industry × cold, mature, handsome business tycoon.
This setup was absolutely perfect. Not even a novel would dare to write it like this!
And so, a large number of netizens immediately fell head over heels into this new ship. Even some of the YuYan CP fans defected. Write the fanfiction! Draw the fan art! Ship it! Ship it to death for me!
【Holy crap, this is amazing! This is the best-looking domineering CEO I’ve ever seen!】 【Who can resist the charm of a mature man? Qiqi, Mommy is sorry!】 【Hey, how can you guys be like this? One second you’re crying over your collapsed house, and the next you’re happily jumping ship. That’s going too far!】 【If the house collapses, we’ll just build a luxurious new villa! Let’s see you collapse that!!】 【Wait for me, sisters who are jumping ship ahead!】 【None of you are sticking to your principles! Wait for me, hey!】 【Lu Yuqi, your wife is gone! Go cry by yourself!】
…
Li Qingqing wiped her tears and repeatedly watched the video filmed by the paparazzi and the photos dug up by netizens. The expression on her face was exceptionally complicated, alternating between sorrow, excitement, and more sorrow.
YanYan and this CEO Gu also seem… quite shippable?
No!
I cannot betray the YuYan CP!
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