Li Momo keenly sensed the delicate atmosphere under Ren Qingzhou's Weibo posts.
As an assistant to an artist, she would occasionally check the comments under Ren Qingzhou's and the studio's Weibo posts. Even though Ren Qingzhou aimed to build a career based on his talent, the current environment was what it was. Ultimately, it was a fan-driven economy.
Moreover, reasonably listening to the fans' opinions could help improve the mistakes made by their studio.
So although Ren Qingzhou's Weibo still seemed calm on the surface, Li Momo knew that wasn't the case. She really should have a good talk with Ren Qingzhou about his personal relationship.
Falling for the girl you like is a good thing. In fact, this kind of thing is quite common in the entertainment industry. Stars are also human beings. They need a life and have normal emotional needs.
If a star hasn't been involved in any rumors for a long time, there's no doubt that he might be in a real relationship.
This rule applies to many stars in the entertainment industry. Those who deliberately create on-screen couples might not be in real relationships, and similarly, those who seem calm might be having a secret romance.
However, openly dating at the age of 20-something is tantamount to ruining one's own career.
Neither Ren Qingzhou's agent nor Li Momo would allow him to do such a thing.
Li Momo took a flight to City S without Ren Qingzhou's knowledge.
He was discussing "Xihuan" with Su Tang.
"Xihuan", their pet dog, was taken away by Wei Guo. Although Ren Qingzhou's studio was in Beijing, he often worked in City S. Since his family had no shortage of houses in City S, the studio staff also had a fixed place to stay there. During this period, Wei Guo was staying there.
Since it was inconvenient for Ren Qingzhou to walk the dog, he gave "Xihuan" to Wei Guo.
Previously, when he went to participate in a variety show, he left the dog in a pet store. Wei Guo took "Xihuan" directly from the pet store.
Su Tang hadn't seen "Xihuan" yet, and she was really eager to.
She really liked corgis, those cute little creatures with short legs. She felt her heart would melt from their cuteness.
Ren Qingzhou no longer used a wheelchair at home. He hopped around on one leg every day. Su Tang was very worried that he would fall, but she couldn't stop his dislike for the wheelchair.
As he became more and more proficient at hopping, Wei Guo came less and less frequently. Apart from doing some shopping every day, he hardly ever came.
Being a third wheel is not a good thing. It's big and bright, not popular, and one might easily get their salary deducted.
Although Wei Guo was an honest person, he was very observant.
Su Tang really wanted to see "Xihuan". So, taking advantage of Ren Qingzhou's good mood in the afternoon, she subtly suggested, "Can Wei Guo bring 'Xihuan' with him when he comes today?"
Ren Qingzhou knew she really liked "Xihuan". He had gotten the dog back then to win over the mother of his future child. Now that he had finally won her heart, he had to hold on tight lest she slip away.
But it shouldn't be too much to ask for some benefits through "Xihuan", right?
Ren Qingzhou turned to look at Su Tang. "Kiss me, and I'll agree. How about it?"
If someone else said this, Su Tang would think he was being a hooligan. But unfortunately, there was nothing she could do. Who asked this hooligan to be so good-looking?
Sure enough, it's not scary when a hooligan is educated. It's scary when a hooligan is good-looking.
His bangs were a bit long. When he lowered his head, they slightly blocked his eyes. The afternoon sun was just right, casting a faint halo around him.
Su Tang quickly kissed his cheek and then quickly fled the scene. Before leaving, she didn't forget to remind him again, "Don't forget to ask Wei Guo to bring 'Xihuan'."
Ren Qingzhou was sitting on the balcony chair. The book he had been reading was still lying open on the table in front of him, but at this moment, he found he couldn't read a single page.
Maybe everyone has had such innocent and sweet feelings during their teenage years. But strangely enough, such a move from Su Tang didn't seem out of place. Ren Qingzhou wasn't in his first relationship, but he suddenly felt the beauty of first love.
He immediately sent a message to Wei Guo. "Bring 'Xihuan' with you when you come today."
Unexpectedly, instead of waiting for Wei Guo, an uninvited guest came.
Li Momo stood at the door. She looked at Su Tang who opened the door for her, and then at Ren Qingzhou on the sofa.
It seemed that during the time she was away, the relationship between these two had developed rapidly and was showing a tendency to intensify.
It was obviously not welcome to pour cold water on others at this time. But for the sake of work, she could only sacrifice her own feelings.
Ren Qingzhou was also very confused. No one had informed him that Li Momo would come. He decided to ask himself. "Why did you come to City S?"
Li Momo didn't want to be the bad guy at all. She had a good personal relationship with Ren Qingzhou, and she also really liked Su Tang. However, there was no one else suitable for this task, so she had no choice but to do it.
"I mainly want to talk to you and Sister-in-law." Li Momo was straightforward.
Su Tang was about to avoid the conversation, but unexpectedly, it also involved her. So she had to sit down first.
"I think it's great that you and Sister-in-law are together. But your fans might not think so. After all, you're in your mid-twenties, and you have a sea of girlfriend fans. They might not be able to accept it."
"I've always said that I hope they don't pay too much attention to my personal life. I can't really marry them, right?" Ren Qingzhou felt a headache coming on.
Su Tang felt even more headache. She really understood the psychology of the fan circle. Usually, there were all kinds of fans like mother fans, sister fans, and younger sister fans, but in fact, most of them were girlfriend fans. And there were quite a few of them who would immediately abandon their idol once the idol announced their relationship.
"Now is really not the time to announce our relationship. We've only just established our relationship, and it's not suitable to be exposed to the media like this." Su Tang tactfully put forward her own opinion, which was actually also a way to persuade Ren Qingzhou.
She always liked to leave some leeway in what she said and did. She would never directly say that because she was afraid of affecting his career, they shouldn't go public.
She was willing to make sacrifices for Ren Qingzhou, but she didn't want to talk about these sacrifices all the time, and she didn't want Ren Qingzhou to feel that he owed her.
Since they had decided to be together, they should think about each other's difficulties and make some changes for each other. In Su Tang's mind, this wasn't about who owed who.
But Ren Qingzhou obviously misunderstood her meaning. One of the reasons why Su Tang didn't accept this relationship at first was because Ren Qingzhou was a public figure, while she herself didn't like to be exposed and live in the public eye.
Now that Su Tang said this, Ren Qingzhou only felt that she wasn't confident about their relationship.
This feeling of having already envisioned the rest of his life but finding that the other person didn't even think about the future was not good.
Ren Qingzhou's mood suddenly dropped to the bottom. Everyone's future was like a blueprint, and he even felt that there was no place for him in Su Tang's life blueprint.
"Whatever you want." Although there were a thousand words and a million emotions in his heart, he only replied with three words in the end.
Although Su Tang wasn't as sensitive and delicate as Ren Qingzhou, she had already noticed his low mood.
So she tentatively asked, "Are you unhappy?"
Ren Qingzhou subconsciously shook his head. "No."
He was too used to hiding his emotions in front of others and not easily showing his joys, sorrows, and anger.
The him under the spotlight wasn't really the real him. After all, who could be in a happy mood every day? In life, there were always some unpleasant things.
But what should be conveyed to the fans should be something positive. If he just showed a sad face in front of the camera because he was a little unhappy, he would probably be an unqualified star.
"Okay, actually I'm a little unhappy." If he had to hide his emotions even in front of the person he was closest to, life would seem too tiring.
He also didn't want there to be any gaps between them. He decided to confess his innermost thoughts. "I really want to know if there's a future for us in your heart?"
It turned out that when you really like someone, you will really be insecure. And the most terrifying thing was that she didn't have you in her heart.
Su Tang looked at this man whom she had always looked up to. Once he was a star in the sky that couldn't be reached, but now he belonged to her.
She had always thought he was strong enough, but suddenly she found that he also had a sensitive heart.
She couldn't help but hold his hand. She looked into his eyes seriously and firmly. "Since the moment I decided to be with you, you've become a part of my life. The reason I chose not to go public is because I think it's unfair to your career."
"True, we love each other very much. But we are also complete individuals. Because I love you, I also understand your pursuit of your music career. I don't want to ruin you because of my existence."
"Those who like you regard you as a star in the sky. Although you're out of reach, you shine brightly. Most of the fans' love for their idols is one-sided and selfless. I used to be one of them."
"I'm just luckier than most people. I actually got your love."
"I hope that because of our sincere love for each other, we can become better versions of ourselves, rather than giving up something for the other person. Can you understand my feelings?"
She said these words sincerely and earnestly. Li Momo suddenly understood why Ren Qingzhou liked her in particular. Because she was really different from those other girls.
Which girl didn't want a legitimate identity? Who wanted to always hide behind someone else?
But she was so sober and insightful that she realized everything.
"I'm sorry. I misunderstood your meaning. I should apologize to you." Ren Qingzhou was a little glad that he had just expressed his thoughts instead of letting this misunderstanding deepen and eventually become a gap between them.
"But if I do as you said, isn't it the same as lying to them? I've woven a beautiful illusion for them, but the reality is not like that."
Young male actors in the entertainment industry are used to creating a single persona. After all, girlfriend fans are the main purchasing power. But in fact, there are very few people who remain single for a long time. People in the industry all know who is in a relationship recently and who is together with whom. This is so common that it's no longer a topic.
"Wait until the right time, and then you can announce your relationship. But the premise is that you must discuss it with the studio." Li Momo continued, "You should know that you're not alone. There's a whole team behind you."
Artists can't be willful. The consequence of acting on impulse is often difficult to handle.
Li Momo understood that Ren Qingzhou couldn't not announce his relationship or even hide his marriage. In fact, she also knew in her heart that this was unfair to the girl.
When one's partner is in the materialistic entertainment industry and is likely to encounter all kinds of temptations at any time, the partner often lacks a sense of security.
If one can't even give her a legitimate identity and has to keep her in the dark all the time, that's really not manly. Li Momo looked down on such people from the bottom of her heart.
However, when her own artist really reached this point, she suddenly understood how difficult it was to announce a relationship.
They are held in such high regard because they fulfill most people's fantasies. Although the stars are out of reach, they should also leave some room for people to fantasize. They should maintain a mysterious and beautiful veil.
If one day this veil is suddenly lifted, it's hard to imagine what kind of turmoil there will be.