When Fu Junyan came to pick me up at the ice rink, I was practicing spinning. My ice dance coach told me that to master this move, I needed to imagine myself as a ballet dancer. I had to maintain good form at all times, both on the ice and in the air. I worked hard to practice, and finally made some progress. Of course, my progress was hit-or-miss. Sometimes I would jump beautifully, other times I would fall flat on the ice with a thud. When I fell, I would close my eyes tightly, looking scared.
Just as I fell again, Fu Junyan was walking in from outside. He passed by rows of seats, looking at me with concern. He paused before walking up and placing his hand on the railing, trying to smile at me. By this time, the ice dance coach had gone home, and I was the only one left on the rink. Thinking about tomorrow’s competition, I rubbed my bottom and pouted at Fu Junyan, saying, “I’ll practice a bit more.” He nodded and just stood there, watching quietly.
I don’t remember how many times I fell, but when I looked up again, Fu Junyan was standing on the ice. He crouched down to look at me, his eyes full of deep emotion. Then he supported my back and rubbed my knee, asking, “Does it hurt? Baobei, can we skip the competition?”
I shook my head at him, just grinning foolishly. Then I didn’t bother getting up, just waved my hands in the air and called out like An’an when she’s being cute: “Hug!” He smiled too, looking at me lovingly. He leaned down to touch my forehead, then picked me up in his arms and carried me off the ice.
He said, “Baobei, let’s go home.” I wrapped my arms around Fu Junyan’s neck, nodding gently in his embrace, and listened to his steady, strong heartbeat over and over as I leaned against his chest.
When we got to the car, Fu Junyan bent down to place me carefully in the passenger seat. As I looked up, I saw a bright red card under the windshield, very eye-catching. I reached out to grab it, but Fu Junyan glanced at me casually and patted my hand, saying, “Baobei, put on your seatbelt first.” I glanced at him, pretending not to hear, and reached for it again. Fu Junyan gave in and unbuckled his own seatbelt to lean over and fasten mine. I took the chance to give him a quick kiss while he was leaning over me.
His eyes deepened, and he gently bit my lip. It didn’t hurt, just felt tingly and sweet.
I took the card and opened it, tapping it lightly. Only then did I see the big “Double Happiness” character on the cover. I mumbled, “Oh, it’s a wedding invitation…” Then I waved it, seeing it was a plain invitation, and asked him curiously, “Fu Junyan, is someone from your company getting married? They even sent you an invitation?” Usually, employees at entertainment companies don’t send invitations to the artists…
Fu Junyan just started the car and glanced at it briefly, saying, “No, it’s Jay’s invitation.”
“Ah!” My hand froze, and I was momentarily stunned. I blinked and opened the invitation. Jay’s wedding invitation was simple – just the time, place, and names. No photos, no message, no fancy design. It couldn’t compare to the lavish celebration from their wedding in my past life.
After a while, Fu Junyan gently called out, “Baobei.”
I was in a daze, but when I saw the road barrier ahead, I quickly leaned forward to get the parking card from the storage box and handed it to Fu Junyan. Then I wrinkled my nose and asked softly, “Fu Junyan, their wedding is tomorrow, but you just got the invitation today?”
“No, I got it two weeks ago. A colleague was keeping it for me. Last time I was busy going home with you and forgot to pick it up. I went by the company to get it today,” Fu Junyan explained patiently as he focused on driving.
“Oh.” I nodded and looked at the invitation again, feeling a bit complicated inside.
“You didn’t get one?” Fu Junyan turned to look at me puzzled during a red light.
I wrinkled my nose and shook my head. When the light turned green and the car started moving again, I realized he couldn’t see my gesture, so I mumbled, “I didn’t get one.”
“If you didn’t, that’s fine. Should I give a gift on your behalf?” he asked.
“You’re going?” I was surprised, not thinking Jay could get him to attend…
“He’s down on his luck now. I won’t help, but I also won’t kick him when he’s down,” Fu Junyan said softly, pressing his lips together. Then he smiled and added, “Besides, their wedding is at noon. I can go sign the book and give a gift, then leave in time to take you to the TV station.” Then he asked again, “Want to give a gift?”
I put the invitation back and sighed, saying, “No.” Without thinking, I said, “They’re just a bitter couple, what’s there to celebrate? Besides, I don’t like Xu Mei. Even giving her a plain steamed bun would be a waste.”
Fu Junyan chuckled and asked, “So how many plain buns should I give?”
“You’d better not give anything. Making money isn’t easy,” I said, tugging at his sleeve playfully.
“Little miser,” he glanced at me fondly, a genuine smile on his lips.
Looking at his bright eyes and handsome profile, then glancing at the bright red invitation, I couldn’t help but sigh softly, “It’s just, I feel bad for Jay.”
The car was quiet for a long while after that.
I leaned back in my seat and closed my eyes before asking softly, “Fu Junyan, do you believe in fate?”
“No,” he answered without hesitation.
“I don’t either,” I smiled.
Hearing this, Fu Junyan kept one hand on the wheel and reached over to cover my hand with his other. It felt warm and safe.
Later, at Jay’s wedding, Fu Junyan really didn’t stay long at the reception. He went in to give a red envelope and came back out shortly after. The car was parked on the street, and I waited quietly in the passenger seat. When Fu Junyan walked out of the hotel, even from a distance, his every move exuded grace and charm. I couldn’t help but stick my head out of the car to wave at him, not caring how it looked. He smiled warmly at me, and suddenly it felt like snow melting and the sun shining brightly.
The next day, this scene was printed in many newspapers. Fu Junyan looked at the photos and just nodded, saying, “Not bad photos.” The headlines were quite varied: “Jay Marries Manager, Fu Junyan and Gu Baobei Attend Together”, “Fame May Fade but Friendship Remains, Junyan and Baobei Show Their Loyalty”, “Fu Junyan and Gu Baobei, A Perfect Pair, Rumored to be Dating”, “Fu Junyan and Gu Baobei Appear Together at Celebrity Wedding”, “Fu Junyan Finishes New Drama, Returns to Find Gu Baobei”. One paper even wrote that an insider revealed Fu Junyan and Gu Baobei had shared meaningful glances at a casting call, hinting at a romantic atmosphere.
The fans of our pairing were overjoyed, saying things like “The young master has finally caught his pufferfish!”, “Make it official! Please make it official!”, “Oh! I finally believe in love again.”, “Date! Please date!” I read all this with my eyebrows twitching, unable to control my reactions.
What does it mean to benefit from someone else’s influence? As long as I performed normally in “Ice Dance Miracle”, not falling or slacking off, and kept improving, the viewers could easily vote me into the top four through online and text voting. At the show, I was also asked about the rumors with Fu Junyan. I just smiled faintly, saying nothing, completely shameless.
Later, when I went home and quietly checked online, I saw that Fu Junyan’s and my official websites and fan forums had crashed due to too many visitors. Our Weibo accounts had also exploded…
Wan Qing called me, almost crying, saying that the company’s phones were ringing off the hook, fans were blocking every exit of the company building, and even her cell phone was about to explode…
This intense reaction made my heart flutter, and I decided to stay off the internet for a while…
Fu Junyan didn’t comment on this, but he was a bit upset about me making it to the top four in “Ice Dance Miracle”. He grumbled pettily, “Do they just want to see this silly pufferfish fall again?” As he spoke, he was rubbing medicine on the bruises on my legs.
I found it funny and said with narrowed eyes, “You’re so petty. How come you throw all your principles out the window when it comes to me? I don’t see you acting like this with An’an.” I pinched his nose and wiggled my leg.
His eyes darkened, and he said in a low voice, “Don’t move.” Then he added gently, “Gu An is still young, with a long road ahead. He needs to walk his own path. But you have me, so what do you need principles for? You being well, that’s the principle.”
You are my principle…
My heart fluttered at his words. I hugged my knees and looked at him closely. Fu Junyan sat beside me, wiping his hands with a tissue. They still had medicine on them. Then he carefully put away the medicine box, closed it, and set it aside.
“Fu Junyan,” I called softly.
“I’m here,” he replied without looking up, his long eyelashes fluttering slightly as he spoke.
“You love me very much, don’t you?” I said, this time using a confident tone.
He didn’t speak, just turned his head to look at me silently. Then he reached out and pulled me into his arms, kissing my lips.
And so, that night, I became his woman, his true love in every sense.
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