The content of the fifth episode of The Shape of Love was simple. Everyone gathered for a beach barbecue. The final episode of every season was always a party where everyone could relax together and celebrate the end of filming.
What looked like nothing more than a fun gathering held a different meaning for Xu Tang.
Because Zong Xuan had given him a matching couple’s ring.
They were both wearing it now.
Zong Xuan had bought the rings after they earned money for lunch that day. Using the excuse of going to the restroom, he slipped into a luxury jewelry store in the mall. He hadn’t told Xu Tang anything. Instead, on the afternoon of filming this episode, Xie Shaoqian made a special trip to pick up the custom-ordered rings.
When Xu Tang received the ring, his eyes turned red once again.
No one else knew the reason. They simply assumed it was an ordinary gift between lovers, so everyone joined in teasing them.
Blushing, Xu Tang put the ring on his own finger before slipping the matching one onto Zong Xuan’s.
“You know,” Chen Tina said with a smile, “other than your wedding photos, I don’t think I’ve ever seen either of you wearing your wedding rings.”
It wasn’t an unusual question. Plenty of celebrities didn’t wear their wedding rings all the time even after getting married, so Chen Tina was simply curious and meant nothing by it.
Zong Xuan smiled calmly.
“The wedding rings have diamonds that are too large, so they’re inconvenient to wear every day. We figured we’d buy something simpler that’s easier to keep on.”
Men’s diamond rings could be made with very large stones nowadays. Even though their marriage had been arranged, Zong Xuan hadn’t cut any corners with the wedding, including the rings.
After the wedding, however, he had never worn his again, and neither had Xu Tang.
Actually, Xu Tang had worn his for a while.
But after seeing that Zong Xuan never wore his, he gradually lost interest as well. Wearing it alone only seemed to remind him over and over again that his love had been one-sided.
It felt meaningless.
“That’s true,” Chen Tina nodded. “Especially since you’re filming all the time. A big ring would be really inconvenient.”
“Yeah.” Zong Xuan smiled. “But I always wanted to wear something matching with Tangtang. We happened to pass the mall that day and saw this pair of rings, so I quietly went in and bought them.”
The matching rings had been displayed together in the showcase. They were part of the brand’s newest collection that season, and thanks to the exchange rate, they were cheaper than buying them back home. Since he liked the design anyway, he had placed the order.
Sitting on the sofa, Xu Tang raised his hand and looked at the ring on his finger.
Although the design was simple, Zong Xuan was wearing the matching one.
That thought alone made the corners of his lips lift unconsciously.
The moment Zong Xuan came downstairs after finishing a phone call, he saw Xu Tang sitting there with his hand raised, grinning foolishly.
A glance at the television immediately told him why.
Walking over, he reached out and took Xu Tang’s hand.
Xu Tang looked up at him with a smile.
Zong Xuan leaned down and kissed him before sitting beside him, wrapping an arm around his shoulders as they watched the show together.
Even without saying a word, they could both feel the other’s overflowing love.
Just as He Xin had predicted, less than a week after the fifth episode aired, Yu Lun and Aya officially announced their breakup.
The reason they gave was that they were both too busy and didn’t have enough time together, so they had naturally drifted apart.
People who had already suspected they were a fake couple became even more convinced.
The production team also came under fire, with many accusing them of knowingly casting a fake couple and calling it an obvious example of industry manipulation.
So far, however, no one involved had responded.
It seemed everyone was simply waiting for the controversy to die down.
“How long do you think this will last?” Xu Tang asked.
“It depends on how everyone reacts,” Zong Xuan replied. “If the major media outlets don’t weigh in, the smaller ones won’t be able to make much of it. Once another hot topic comes along, people will move on. But if the mainstream media starts covering it, then it’ll probably be impossible to avoid giving an explanation.”
Three days later, the story was still trending.
Then a Weibo post from a small gossip magazine pushed the entire incident back into the spotlight.
Yu Lun and Aya Broke Up… Because of Him!
Yu Lun and Aya’s breakup has saddened countless fans. After all, on The Shape of Love, the two appeared incredibly affectionate and became the model relationship many young couples admired.
Yet they suddenly broke up.
After extensive investigation, we’ve discovered the real reason—it was him!
Compared to this man, Yu Lun simply can’t compete. It’s only natural that Aya would pursue true love instead.
The accompanying photo showed Aya hugging Zong Xuan from behind.
The picture had been taken in a grove by the beach at sunset. The lighting was dim, making it impossible to see their expressions clearly, but they were definitely wearing the same outfits from the fifth episode.
The moment Xu Tang saw the photo, he frowned.
His boyfriend…
What right did someone else have to hug him?
Of course, Xu Tang trusted Zong Xuan.
He simply couldn’t figure out how the picture had been taken. Judging by the distance, it clearly hadn’t come from the official filming crew.
Kang Duo called almost immediately.
“What happened?”
“I have no idea,” Xu Tang answered calmly. “But Zong Xuan was with me the whole time.”
“He never left you?”
Xu Tang thought carefully.
“He disappeared for about ten minutes to secretly meet Shaoqian and pick up the rings.”
Kang Duo sighed.
“That Aya sure knows how to pick her timing.”
Xu Tang was puzzled.
“What does she gain from this?”
Whether it was stirring up gossip or creating headlines, there had to be something in it for her.
What benefit was there in creating a scandal with Zong Xuan?
“You don’t understand.” Kang Duo had been in the industry for years and knew far more about what went on behind the scenes. “Some people build publicity by creating a good image. Others just want publicity, period. They don’t care whether it’s praise or hate because they can always clean up their image later.”
“There are plenty of people like that. As long as they don’t completely destroy themselves, once they become popular and establish themselves, they’ll simply reinvent their public image. Haven’t plenty of mistresses successfully become the official partner and then rehabilitated their reputation afterward?”
“No matter how Aya came across on The Shape of Love, the show introduced her to a much larger audience. That alone was already a win.”
“Now she’s creating another scandal with Zong Xuan. Even if it’s fake, it’ll push her popularity to a whole new level. She’s not chasing a good reputation.”
“She’s chasing traffic.”
“Scandals can always be cleared up later. Manufacturing buzz has always been her team’s strategy.”
Listening to Kang Duo’s analysis, Xu Tang found it very reasonable.
In today’s entertainment industry, exposure was everything.
Exposure meant traffic.
Traffic meant money.
It was one of the biggest reasons young idols’ market value had skyrocketed.
“Look at how biased that Weibo post is toward Aya. They even praised her relationship with Yu Lun. It’s obvious her team paid for it.”
“And since she’s a woman while Zong Xuan’s a man, he can’t exactly go around bullying her. So she’s simply borrowing his fame. Whether the scandal succeeds or fails, it’ll definitely generate far more attention than The Shape of Love, considering how massive Zong Xuan’s fanbase is.”
“Then later she’ll clear things up, claim it was all a misunderstanding, and walk away with all the publicity.”
Kang Duo sneered.
“I’m not saying she’s smart. Personally, I think it’s stupid.”
“But she’s got guts.”
“Most people wouldn’t dare pull something like this.”
Xu Tang could only shake his head.
Sometimes this industry really didn’t resemble the one he thought he knew.
“All right, I get it. I’ll talk to Zong Xuan when he gets back and see what he wants to do.”
“Okay.” Kang Duo added, “If you’re upset, go ahead and post something online. Don’t worry about it. When the other side has no shame, being too polite only encourages them to push further.”
“Got it.”
After hanging up, Xu Tang browsed through Weibo again.
Most people simply wanted Zong Xuan to explain what had happened and whether he had betrayed Xu Tang.
Others were already condemning Aya for shamelessly chasing a married man.
After thinking for a while, Xu Tang posted only four words:
I believe him.
Zong Xuan had never mentioned the incident to him.
Objectively speaking, Xu Tang had every right to question him.
But looking back at the entire filming process, Zong Xuan had barely interacted with Aya at all.
They hadn’t known each other beforehand, either.
Was he really supposed to believe that, surrounded by cameras and people for several days, Zong Xuan had somehow carried on an affair with Aya while acting affectionate with him?
Not because he thought too highly of Zong Xuan.
Nor because his imagination lacked creativity.
It simply wasn’t possible.
They had barely even spoken to each other.
And suddenly they were embracing?
Give me a break.
Comments flooded in almost immediately.
Tangtang, Zong Xuan still needs to explain things. Otherwise everyone will keep misunderstanding.
Tangtang, I believe Zong Xuan too!
Aya vs. Xu Tang? Xu Tang wins by a mile!
Am I the only one who thinks the back hug is suspicious? Wouldn’t lovers normally hug face-to-face?
Agreed. It looks more like someone suddenly grabbed him from behind.
Doesn’t everyone already know Aya’s reputation? I trust Zong Xuan.
Don’t be sad, Tangtang. It has to be fake. If they could fake an entire relationship with Yu Lun, staging a publicity stunt like this would be easy.
…
Seeing that most fans remained rational, Xu Tang finally relaxed.
Just as he was about to refresh Weibo one last time before taking an afternoon nap, he noticed that Zong Xuan had updated his account.
I’ve got something I’d really like to say right now.
Fine, maybe you idiots don’t know whether I like men or women. I can let that slide.
But if you don’t even know who I like, are you all brain-dead?
Although he had cursed people out, Xu Tang couldn’t help smiling.
His trust hadn’t been misplaced.
Zong Xuan’s fans immediately grabbed their “weapons” and charged into the online battlefield.
Any random nobody thinks they can ride Best Actor Zong’s popularity? Idiots!
LOL, I knew Xuan would never betray Tangtang!
Seriously, Zong Xuan and Xu Tang are so solid, yet people still try to glue themselves onto him. Look how badly this backfired. Serves them right!
Even if the report was false, shouldn’t Zong Xuan avoid insulting people?
Where’d the person upstairs come from? They dragged him through the mud, and he’s not allowed to curse back?
Exactly! That’s just how Xuan is. I love how straightforward he is!
People who post garbage like that deserve to be cursed.
I really want to know how that photo was taken.
Zong Xuan, stay happy with Tangtang forever!
…
By the time Zong Xuan came home, it was already evening.
Xu Tang was in the kitchen reheating dinner.
Seeing him come in, he smiled.
“Go change your clothes. Dinner’s almost ready.”
Instead of going upstairs, Zong Xuan walked into the kitchen and hugged him.
“I’m sorry.”
“I forgot to tell you about it.”
“That day, after giving you the ring, the atmosphere was just so perfect. I figured I’d explain everything a few days later.”
“But after we got back, work got so busy that I completely forgot.”
Xu Tang smiled, unconcerned.
“It’s fine. I know now.”
“Go change. I’m hungry.”
“Okay.”
Seeing that Xu Tang truly wasn’t upset, Zong Xuan finally relaxed.
He rubbed his cheek against Xu Tang’s before heading upstairs.
That very night, Zong Xuan Studio released a video.
In it, Zong Xuan met Xie Shaoqian in the grove, where Xie handed him the rings.
As Zong Xuan walked back, Xie followed several yards behind, secretly recording the entire exchange at Zong Xuan’s request.
Unexpectedly, before they even left the grove, Aya suddenly rushed out from the side and wrapped her arms around Zong Xuan from behind.
The now-famous photograph captured that exact instant.
Zong Xuan reacted immediately.
Grabbing her arm, he forcefully tore her off and flung her away.
“What the hell is this?!”
Aya stumbled several steps and nearly fell.
Only then did Zong Xuan recognize her.
Frowning, he asked,
“What are you doing? Are you crazy?”
With tears in her voice, Aya cried,
“Zong Xuan! Please save me! The assistant director wants to sleep with me!”
Zong Xuan raised an eyebrow and looked around.
He didn’t see anyone.
“Where’s your manager?”
“I… I don’t know…”
She looked around nervously.
Just then, a woman came running over.
The moment she spotted Aya, she said irritably,
“Where did you run off to? We were in the middle of filming! What are you doing disappearing like that?”
“Sis… I… I…”
Aya burst into tears.
Zong Xuan glanced at the two women without saying another word.
Then he simply left with Xie Shaoqian.
After watching the video, Xu Tang asked in surprise,
“They didn’t notice Shaoqian was recording?”
“I don’t think so.” Zong Xuan laughed. “Didn’t you miss it too? Shaoqian recorded the whole thing, and you never realized it.”
Thinking back, Xu Tang remembered that Xie had indeed been standing beside one of the cameras that day.
He had assumed Xie was just texting someone.
He’d never imagined he was recording video.
Zong Xuan sneered.
“Those two women couldn’t act their way out of a paper bag.”
“I knew they were putting on a show.”
“But since I knew Shaoqian was filming everything, I didn’t say anything.”
“It’s one thing to catch someone else’s scheme.”
“I’m not about to drag myself into it too.”
“I never expected Aya to accuse the assistant director of trying to cast-couch her,” Xu Tang said.
“This is going to get messy.”
Making up any other excuse would have been one thing.
But by saying that, she had practically thrown the assistant director under the bus while exposing one of the entertainment industry’s most sensitive issues.
No one could possibly step forward and take the blame for him.
And assistant directors weren’t powerless either.
They had connections.
Aya was definitely in for a rough time.
Besides the assistant director, the one with the biggest headache would probably be Aya’s wealthy backer.
Would he protect his friend…
Or his artist?
That was the question.
The moment the video was released, the internet exploded.
Only someone as influential as Zong Xuan could have done something like this.
Anyone else would have had to think twice.
Xu Tang’s evaluation of the whole incident was simple:
Famous enough to do whatever he wants.
The result of that recklessness was immediate.
Within moments, hashtags like #AyaVictimOfCastingCouch, #CastingCouchOrPremeditatedScheme, #AssistantDirector, and #AyaPastScandals all shot onto the trending charts.
No one cared about the photo of Aya hugging Zong Xuan anymore.
Anyone who watched the video could clearly see that it had been deliberately photographed to create a misleading impression.
It had absolutely nothing to do with Zong Xuan.
This time, Aya truly became the “main character.”
Criticism and pressure poured in from every direction.
As for whether she enjoyed being the leading lady…
Only she knew.
While the internet remained in chaos, life for Xu Tang and Zong Xuan returned to normal after the brief disturbance.
The revised screenplay finally arrived.
After reading it, Xu Tang found that neither the main plot nor the side stories had changed.
The writers had simply added more events to make the characters’ thoughts and actions more believable.
The writing itself had also improved.
Even just a few lines were enough to vividly establish a character’s personality.
To ensure the movie had enough funding for high-quality production, Zong Xuan Studio also invested.
After hearing the news from Kang Duo that his younger brother was finally making a movie, Xu Zhou immediately invested as well under the Huayan Group’s name.
Those two investments alone were enough to cover most of the production costs.
When Zong Yi heard about the project, he informed the rest of the Zong family.
They also wanted to invest.
But Zong Xuan declined.
“If every investor is one of our own relatives,” he said, “people will think Tangtang isn’t talented enough to attract outside investment.”
The family reluctantly gave up, only telling him to ask if he ever needed anything.
Zong Xuan couldn’t help grumbling.
When he had been making movies back then, why hadn’t anyone in the family offered to invest?
Forget bringing money into the production.
No one had even asked.
Whether he actually needed it was beside the point.
The important thing was that the offer had never existed.
One day, while Xu Tang was at home memorizing his script, He Xin called.
“Come on, come on! I’ve got some juicy gossip to share!”
He sounded incredibly excited.
“What is it?”
Setting the script aside, Xu Tang stretched out comfortably on the sofa in the home theater while listening.
“Young Master Sun from Xinye got shipped overseas by his dad.”
“He even cut off his allowance. The kid only gets enough money to eat.”
“His father told him to study properly. If he can’t graduate, he doesn’t have to come back.”
“Why?” Xu Tang asked in surprise.
“They’ve spoiled him for years. Why start disciplining him now?”
“It’s because of Yu Lun.”
“After his performance on The Shape of Love, everyone focused their criticism on Aya, but Yu Lun didn’t escape unscathed.”
“People still suspect they were a fake couple.”
“He already lost a huge number of fans after revealing his relationship.”
“The remaining fans are now wavering because of this fake-couple controversy.”
“His popularity never took off.”
“And this time, everything Young Master Sun did—pulling strings, spending money—was done using his father’s name.”
“Mr. Sun had originally been patient because he was waiting for Yu Lun to become famous so he could use him as the company’s spokesperson.”
“But now he got absolutely nothing in return.”
“It’d be stranger if he didn’t lose his temper.”
Now that Young Master Sun had been sent abroad, he had no way of influencing things back home.
Besides, there were plenty of attractive people overseas.
There was no reason for him to stay obsessed with Yu Lun.
After all, Yu Lun had effectively “contributed” to his exile.
If he didn’t resent Yu Lun, that was already saying something.
No one should expect him to keep supporting him.
“Any news from Yu Lun’s side?” Xu Tang asked.
“Nothing for now.”
“What can he do in his current situation?”
“Even if he wants to find a new backer, he’ll have to wait until the online controversy dies down.”
“All right. Got it.”
Then Xu Tang remembered something.
“Kang Jie said your show’s airing next week.”
“Yep.”
He Xin laughed.
“After the recording, let’s go eat something really good.”
“Deal.”
“I’ll see you then.”