Chapter 69: Shattered Worldview p2
Pan Xiang’s questions, spoken a little too quickly, sounded a bit harsh. Mi Hongdou patted Ji Junxin’s back sympathetically. Ji Junxin, however, just smiled good-naturedly. “I rarely read those things. Qiao Rubai said that too much gossip and online comments can affect your mood. I just have to focus on my acting, the PR, the gossip, the public image, that’s what the company is for. I usually just read books, and… I rarely read novels.”
Pan Xiang was surprised: “Qiao Rubai has really spoiled you…”
Ji Junxin smiled. Mi Hongdou retracted her hand, feeling a little gloomy.
“Let’s put Gu Tiansheng aside for now…” Pan Xiang picked up her phone, opened the comments section of the trailer, scrolled, found a new comment, and showed it to Ji Junxin. “Do you know what ‘yuri’ means here?”
[Is this the ending? Is it yuri? So cute!]
Ji Junxin looked at the comment and said uncertainly, “Is it referring to a relationship between two girls? I think I saw it in a movie review before. I’ll have to look it up. Qiao Rubai gave me a lot of movies to watch, but I haven’t had time with all the filming.” She tugged at Mi Hongdou’s sleeve. “Have you seen it? Want to watch it together when we get back?”
Watch a yuri film together? Mi Hongdou was so startled that she almost fell off her chair.
Pan Xiang was equally shocked. Was this the legendary intellectual who only saw art, regardless of gender or sexual orientation? “Wait, do you even know what a relationship between two girls is?” Pan Xiang, adhering to the principle of seeking truth from facts, pressed the issue, refusing to give anyone the benefit of the doubt.
“It’s… a deep bond between two girls? A fourth kind of emotion, beyond family, friendship, and love? A spiritual connection, unspoken understanding, and a willingness to give everything for each other? Best, best, best friends?” Ji Junxin answered seriously. Wait, the more she said it, the more she felt that she and Mi Hongdou could also be considered yuri~
“Oh my god… can you tell me which anime synopsis you read that from? Was it even aware of how cheesy it sounded?” Pan Xiang almost knelt.
“Wait… it does seem like it was from an anime… Qiao Rubai gave me some anime movies to watch, saying I should be more familiar with these ‘moe’ elements.” Ji Junxin tried to remember. “But I only had time to read the synopses, I’ll watch them later when I have time.”
Pan Xiang no longer wanted to play the “gradual revelation” game with this otherworldly creature. She cleared her throat and softened her voice. “Junxin, there are many things in this world, their existence is their justification. Your explanation of yuri, most of it is correct, just one part is wrong…”
Ji Junxin looked at her sincerely, ready to learn.
Mi Hongdou unconsciously clenched her fists. She didn’t want Ji Junxin to know what yuri was. But… she also felt that it would be… good if she knew. These conflicting thoughts battled in her mind, and she couldn’t form an opinion, or rather, she couldn’t speak.
“Yuri isn’t some fourth kind of emotion beyond family, friendship, and love, as described in that cheesy synopsis, it’s just love.” Pan Xiang said in one breath, then, looking at the stunned Ji Junxin, kindly added, “Yes, yuri is love between two girls.”
Pan Xiang had tried to soften her voice, but Ji Junxin still seemed startled.
“I… I need to… use the restroom.” Ji Junxin stammered, bumping into her chair as she stood up. It sounded like a hard knock, but she quickly walked away without a word.
“Did I scare her?” Pan Xiang muttered, watching Ji Junxin’s retreating figure.
“Probably,” Mi Hongdou said, looking in the same direction, a little dazed.
“No…” Pan Xiang refused to admit that she had scared someone while trying to gossip. “I think she’s embarrassed because she just invited you to watch a yuri film together!”
Watch a yuri film together… these words made Mi Hongdou feel like she had been struck by lightning. “But you were the one who brought it up…” Mi Hongdou protested weakly, she didn’t want to be blamed for scaring Ji Junxin away.
“Who knew she didn’t even know what yuri was?” Pan Xiang was also frustrated. “Qiao Rubai should just lock her in a safe, not let her deal with anything, just let her focus on acting. She doesn’t browse Weibo, doesn’t read online posts or novels, doesn’t even gossip, she’s so naive. If someone with ulterior motives appears, they could easily trick her, and then I’ll see Qiao Rubai crying her eyes out!”
Mi Hongdou: “Why would she be crying her eyes out?”
Pan Xiang glared at her. “She just would!”
“Okay…” Mi Hongdou didn’t argue. It was Qiao Rubai, not Ji Junxin. Pan Xiang could make her cry in the mud if she wanted to.
They waited for a long time, but Ji Junxin didn’t return. The crew members, having finished watching the trailer, were dispersing, and it seemed like filming was about to resume. Pan Xiang anxiously looked in the direction Ji Junxin had gone. “Why isn’t she back yet? I still want to gossip about Gu Tiansheng with you, I have to leave soon, I have to go to school tomorrow.”
Mi Hongdou smiled. “I don’t think she’ll be back before Director Pan calls for us.”
“Why?” Pan Xiang looked surprised. “Didn’t she bring any tissues?”
“Pfft… no…” Mi Hongdou pointed in the direction Ji Junxin had gone. “The restroom isn’t that way. I think she’s hiding somewhere. She’ll only come back when filming starts.”
(⊙_⊙) … Pan Xiang was shocked. “It was just a conversation about yuri, why is she so embarrassed? I didn’t expect her to be so… conservative…” After venting her frustration, Pan Xiang calmed down and looked at Mi Hongdou with a mixture of sympathy and amusement.
Mi Hongdou shifted uncomfortably. “If you have something to do, just go. We can gossip about Gu Tiansheng anytime, when you come back next time.” Just leave quickly, Mi Hongdou could feel her face heating up. She had also wanted to escape earlier. She hadn’t expected this topic to be brought up today, and by Pan Xiang. Ji Junxin’s reaction to the word “yuri” was so strong, it seemed she had to be more careful in the future.
“Do you think I’m here just to gossip? I’m risking my life, okay!” Pan Xiang glared at Mi Hongdou, her gaze now normal. “Well, if Ji Junxin isn’t coming back, then forget it. Even if I told her, she would either not understand or run away. I’ll tell you, and you can figure out how to tell her.”
“O… kay…” Mi Hongdou saw that Pan Xiang was determined to tell her. Since there was no escape, she might as well listen. Wait, something seemed off!
“Hmph, and you’re complaining. Don’t come crying to me later.” Pan Xiang raised her chin slightly, her tone educational. “I’ve told you about Gu Tiansheng’s three recent films, what do you think of them?”
What else could she think? Just as Pan Xiang hadn’t finished saying, they had a distinct style… Not just those three, but also this year’s “Promise in Troubled Times,” and next year’s, and the year after’s… His style was later known as “BL films disguised as normal films,” or rather, “pure love films”… attracting countless fans who enjoyed this genre. No explicit romance or passion, but just… subtext… so much subtext that every film sparked discussions and fan fiction. When Pan Xiang summarized “Spy Game,” Mi Hongdou had already remembered Gu Tiansheng… But should she pretend to be clueless? She hesitated. But seeing Pan Xiang’s disappointed expression under her arrogant facade, she couldn’t bear to hurt her further. After all… Ji Junxin’s naiveté had already dealt a blow to Pan Xiang.
“Those three films… I remember many online comments saying that although they were mainstream films, with female leads, there was a lot of room for interpretation, some BL subtext,” Mi Hongdou said slowly.
Pan Xiang’s eyes lit up. “Exactly! Because Gu Tiansheng’s recent films all have this kind of subtext, and he likes to release trailers with plot details, he attracted a large audience who enjoy this kind of BL interpretation before the films were even released. My grandpa is a bit old-fashioned, he doesn’t… approve of this… so, although Gu Tiansheng’s films are mainstream, the audience sees them as BL, and my grandpa thinks Gu Tiansheng is being dishonest, not focusing on making good films, but using these borderline tactics to attract attention. Do you understand?”
Mi Hongdou nodded: “I understand. But we’ll just repost Bao Yueqiao’s statement, we won’t have any other interaction with Gu Tiansheng.”
“No, I mean, Old Pan doesn’t approve of anything that’s not heterosexual. He doesn’t like BL or yuri. Did you see the comments on the trailer? At first, he was smiling, then he became more and more serious. I think he saw those comments. He dislikes Gu Tiansheng’s borderline marketing tactics, and now he’s doing the same, he must be embarrassed and frustrated.” Pan Xiang was getting anxious, she wasn’t even calling him “grandpa” anymore.
Mi Hongdou understood. “But… the trailer is already out, we can’t control the comments. And it’s just a short clip, just me and Ji Junxin, without the emperor or anyone else, that’s why the audience is interpreting it that way. If Director Pan minds it, we can just release another trailer with the emperor, Jiang Lingling, and the others. Besides, it’s a harem drama… having two women in the trailer is normal, the audience is just having fun, when the movie is released, they’ll see the whole story and won’t think that way anymore.” Although discussing the “yuri” interpretation of the trailer with Pan Xiang made Mi Hongdou a little uneasy, she still tried to comfort her.
“No…” Pan Xiang reached out and grabbed Mi Hongdou’s arm. “I think… after they see the whole film… my grandpa might kill me. You and Ji Junxin have to save me…”
Mi Hongdou tried to shake off Pan Xiang’s hand, but couldn’t. “Just tell me what you want to say.”
“I’m trying to!” Pan Xiang bit her lip, released Mi Hongdou’s arm, rolled up her sleeves, and said with a determined expression, “Let me tell you, years ago, Gu Tiansheng made a film called ‘The Wolf Chronicles.’ A naive young girl, after watching it, loved the feeling so much that she wrote a novel and submitted it to Gu Tiansheng. That novel became ‘The Kettle and the Heart,’ then ‘Spy Game.’ Those two novels, they were normal stories, but for some reason, after being adapted into films, they became so… BL! The girl didn’t understand, neither did Gu Tiansheng, but they were just so BL! Do you understand?” Pan Xiang looked at Mi Hongdou with a troubled expression.
Mi Hongdou seemed to understand something, but she didn’t want to understand…
Pan Xiang, after her passionate explanation, seeing Mi Hongdou’s lack of reaction, was frustrated. “Why are you two like this, making me spell it out!”
Mi Hongdou shuddered. If she said “you two” again, she would leave.
Fortunately, Pan Xiang’s outburst was brief, and she quickly returned to normal: “Okay, I’ll tell you. It was me… I wrote the novels for ‘The Kettle and the Heart’ and ‘Spy Game.’ They were normal stories, but I don’t know why the films turned out so BL, you have to believe me!”
Oh… my… god… Mi Hongdou had a bad feeling, but she still nodded. “I believe you…” What good would it do?
Pan Xiang, feeling comforted, said with relief, “Thank you for believing me! I only wrote those two novels, and my grandpa started complaining since Gu Tiansheng’s ‘The Wolf Chronicles.’ When they were filming ‘The Kettle and the Heart’ and ‘Spy Game,’ they asked me to be the screenwriter, but I didn’t dare. This time, Qiao Rubai, for some reason, asked me to revise the script for ‘Imperial Secrets.’ I’ve always wanted to be a screenwriter, so in a moment of weakness, I agreed. I was so scared while revising it. The emperor, Ji Yan, is the male lead, right? And the general who leads his troops on the battlefield, he should be the second male lead. It’s my grandpa who’s directing, so I was very careful, minimizing their scenes, not daring to have them interact too much. Finally, after finishing the revisions, everyone, including my grandpa, said it was good, and I was relieved. But… I might have minimized the male leads’ scenes too much, and as a result, the female leads… took over.” Pan Xiang looked at Mi Hongdou pitifully.
Mi Hongdou looked away. She really didn’t want to know.
Pan Xiang, like a tragic heroine, cupped Mi Hongdou’s face, forcing her to look at her, and pleaded, “Please… please, to save me from being killed by my grandpa, you have to hold back! Don’t let what happened with Gu Tiansheng happen to my grandpa!”
Mi Hongdou was speechless. “Don’t say it like I’m going to kill your grandpa, okay?” Did she force her to write the script? Did she? Mi Hongdou grabbed Pan Xiang’s hand and tried to remove it from her face, but it was as if it was glued there. Her face was starting to hurt.
“You… you…” Ji Junxin, who had appeared at some point, looked at Pan Xiang’s hand on Mi Hongdou’s face, stunned.
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