Unexpectedly, Pei Qingjian’s new job wasn’t the new movie he had anticipated. Instead, another opportunity arose before filming began—promoting Drunken River Moon.
In March, he would need to join the cast to publicize the film.
“The movie was originally set for a summer release,” Zhou Pengyue explained, “but a scheduling issue opened up a March slot. The platform had no choice but to advance a big production, and after considering options, they picked Drunken River Moon.”
Pei Qingjian nodded. “I see.”
“Yes, it’s actually good,” Zhou Pengyue said, clearly pleased. “Getting Married? is still set for summer. I was worried it might clash with Drunken River Moon, but now the timing works perfectly.”
“And since your film airs first, people will get to know you. If luck’s on your side, you’ll gain some fans; if not, at least they’ll recognize your face. By summer, when Luo Fei’s film releases, your exposure will have grown. With a higher profile, more scripts will be available to you later.”
“Good,” Pei Qingjian listened.
There was still some time before March, so he could rest a bit longer.
At the beginning of March, Lin Xingchen’s company organized annual health check-ups for the employees. Lin Xingchen brought Pei Qingjian along for the new year’s examination. This time, Lin Xingchen’s report was completely normal; even his minor stomach issues had improved significantly thanks to more than half a year of careful dieting.
Pei Qingjian was pleasantly surprised. It seemed Lin Xingchen wouldn’t die of illness anymore—only accidents remained a threat.
But how could one guard against accidents?
Pei Qingjian didn’t know either.
His uncertainty wasn’t just about unexpected accidents; it was also about repaying Lin Xingchen the money he owed.
Director Jiang had already contacted Zhou Pengyue, signed the contract, and finalized the movie project.
However, the pay for movies was much lower than for TV dramas, especially since he was a relatively unknown newcomer in the film industry. After the company took its share, the amount he received would be even less.
Pei Qingjian calculated all the money he had earned from his previous two dramas and from selling luxury goods, adding in the expected pay for finishing the movie. No matter how he totaled it, it still didn’t reach three million.
The card Wen Yuan and Zhou Man had given him had a few tens of thousands of yuan, but he didn’t intend to use it. In a couple of months, on Lin Xingchen’s birthday, he planned to use that money to buy him a gift—returning it to its rightful owner.
So what other options were there?
After thinking it over, Pei Qingjian decided to sell the car the original owner had bought for him, which cost over two million yuan.
The car wasn’t very useful to him. During work, he always took a chauffeured car, and whenever he went out with Lin Xingchen, it was Lin Xingchen who drove. He only drove it occasionally when delivering meals to Lin Xingchen.
Selling it and replacing it with a cheaper car worth a few tens of thousands of yuan made perfect sense.
But Pei Qingjian didn’t know much about selling used cars, so he had to discuss it with Lin Xingchen.
“You want to sell the car?” Lin Xingchen asked, puzzled. “Why?”
“It’s too conspicuous,” Pei Qingjian explained. “It’s red and convertible. I wasn’t famous before, but now that Drunken Jiangyue is about to air, I’ll be back in the public eye. Driving this car would be far too eye-catching—almost like telling paparazzi, ‘I’m here.’ So I want to sell it and buy a cheaper, low-profile car.”
Lin Xingchen thought he had a point. “You don’t have to sell it. If you want something low-profile, you can drive mine.”
“No, no,” Pei Qingjian said. “I want to sell it and buy a cheaper one, so no one will guess it’s mine.”
Lin Xingchen: …
He thought it unnecessary. While price wasn’t always decisive, expensive cars did have their merits.
But Pei Qingjian had made up his mind. Lin Xingchen didn’t want to argue too much. “Alright, fine. I’ll help you sell it. But don’t rush to buy a new car; you can use mine for now.”
“Okay,” Pei Qingjian agreed. He wasn’t in a hurry; after all, he’d be busy working and wouldn’t have much time to deliver meals anyway.
“But you must sell it to someone else,” Pei Qingjian added, worried that Lin Xingchen might keep it in another garage for him.
Lin Xingchen was actually considering doing exactly that: …
“Don’t sell it to Fang Junhao or his group either,” Pei Qingjian said. “Just list it online or transfer it to someone who needs it. Don’t spend extra money or owe anyone favors.”
Seeing Pei Qingjian’s serious expression, Lin Xingchen helplessly agreed. “Alright.”
This eased Pei Qingjian a little. Since he didn’t know the used car market, he left the pricing to Lin Xingchen.
Lin Xingchen ruffled his hair. “Don’t worry, you won’t be shortchanged.”
“It’s fine to take a small loss,” Pei Qingjian said. “Just not too much.”
He calculated that he only needed about a million yuan. The two hundred eighty-thousand-yuan car had only been used for half a year; it should fetch over a million.
To his surprise, Lin Xingchen sold it for two hundred forty thousand yuan.
“Really? That much?” Pei Qingjian exclaimed.
“Yes,” Lin Xingchen said. “The buyer really wanted this car and had barely seen you drive it, so they didn’t haggle.”
Of course, it helped that Lin Xingchen sold it; if it had been Pei Qingjian himself, it wouldn’t have fetched that price.
Pei Qingjian, both delighted and suspicious, asked, “You didn’t hire someone to buy it, did you?”
“Of course not,” Lin Xingchen tapped his head. “How could you doubt me?”
Pei Qingjian laughed. “Alright, alright, I won’t doubt you.”
The problem was solved!
By Lin Xingchen’s birthday in May, he could even buy him a better and more expensive gift.
Pei Qingjian happily hugged Lin Xingchen and planted a kiss on him.
Lin Xingchen embraced him, returning the kiss.
With the money secured, Pei Qingjian felt completely at ease.
Amid this sense of relief, the promotion for Drunken Jiangyue finally began.
On March 9, Drunken Jiangyue officially launched. Four episodes aired on the first day, followed by two episodes per day for a week, then a regular schedule of two episodes per day from Wednesday to Sunday.
This was a common broadcast pattern, paired with standard online promotions like live streams and actor interactions on Weibo.
The first actor livestream was scheduled for the second day of airing.
Initially, Pei Qingjian wasn’t included, but Song Ye suggested adding him, and the platform agreed to accommodate him.
Coincidentally, the episode airing the next day featured Tan Xin, though he was still Qin Yuyu’s bodyguard at the time, so his screen time was limited.
The host of the livestream didn’t recognize him and, seeing his low billing and limited fame, paid no attention to him at first, focusing instead on Song Ye, Zhou Bin, and Qin Zizhen.
But Song Ye clearly didn’t follow the usual order.
The host asked, “Teacher Song, which scene impressed you the most while filming?”
Song Ye: “Probably the scene where Tan Xin dies. At that moment, Kong Mingxiu rushed over desperately, only to witness Tan Xin’s final moments before death. It affected him deeply. Even though later he seemed unchanged, Tan Xin’s death remained the deepest wound in his heart.”
Host: …
Live comments: …
Wait, weren’t we supposed to talk about the female lead? Not Tan Xin!
The host continued, “Which actor on set did you admire the most?”
“Qingjian,” Song Ye said with a smile. “He takes acting seriously and is really adorable. Watching him sometimes reminds me of how I was when I first started acting.”
Host: …
Live comments: …
Why him again?!
The host could do nothing but move on and ask, “And the female lead? This is your first time working with Teacher Qin, right? How was it?”
“Teacher Qin is very professional and hardworking. I’m glad to have had the chance to work with such an actor.”
Host: … Okay, that’s awfully formal.
Seeing no other choice, the host asked Zhou Bin and Qin Zizhen questions instead. After their Q&A, he finally turned to Pei Qingjian: “Qingjian, is this your first historical drama?”
“No,” Pei Qingjian smiled. “I filmed one before, but my performance wasn’t great.”
“Can you talk about your role this time?”
Pei Qingjian nodded and seriously explained his understanding of Tan Xin.
The host nodded lightly. “It seems you really like the character of Tan Xin.”
“Yes,” Pei Qingjian replied firmly. “I’m fortunate to portray his life and hope more people will see him.”
“Earlier, Teacher Song said you were the actor he admired most. How does that feel?”
Pei Qingjian blushed, smiling sheepishly. “I feel… embarrassed, but also honored.”
“To be honest, when I first met Song Ge, I didn’t dare get too close. He’s so famous, and his acting is amazing, so I felt a certain distance. But as we filmed more, I realized Song Ge is genuinely kind! Great temperament, great acting, courteous to everyone, even a junior actor like me. I’m really happy to film this drama and grateful to meet Song Ge.”
This was Pei Qingjian speaking honestly.
From the start to today’s livestream, Song Ye had been very considerate toward him.
Song Ye smiled gently and said, “I’m glad I met you too.”
In that instant, the viewers in the livestream inexplicably shipped them.
“Damn! This is mutual affection written all over!”
—“I’m glad I met you.”
—“I’m glad I met you too.”
It was as clear as a neon sign.
By the end of the livestream, Pei Qingjian was trending.
Kong Mingxiu and Tan Xin already had a fanbase as a couple. Seeing them together in the livestream cut, fans simultaneously shipped their characters in the show and them in real life.
[Ahhh, this is parallel universe Kong and Tan!]
[I didn’t want to ship them, but I’ve never seen Song Ye so obviously like someone.]
[Wasn’t this livestream originally without Qingjian? Song Ge requested it, that’s why he appeared.]
[Yes! Even better to ship now!]
[So sweet, so sweet, overnight they’re the sweetest!]
Pei Qingjian, scrolling Weibo after the livestream: ???
Wait, shouldn’t people be shipping the male and female leads? Why are they shipping me and Song Ye instead?
Overnight, a couple name had even been coined!
The same sentiment was shared by Qin Zizhen’s manager, who, after the sixth episode aired that night where the female lead had her first embrace, bought the trending search for [Song Ye and Qin Zizhen embrace].
Yet it had little effect. In the first six episodes, most interactions were between Qin Zizhen and Zhou Bin. The embrace between Song Ye and her was incidental, and both were courteous in the livestream, so fans didn’t feel it was “sweet.”
Compared to Song Ye’s attitude toward Pei Qingjian, some cheeky fans even merged the two trending topics, shipping double standards.
Pei Qingjian: …
He could only scratch his head, realizing audiences had their own interpretations and choices.
At that time, he didn’t think much of it. But later, as the plot unfolded, Tan Xin gave up assassinating Kong Mingxiu and was saved by him at the brink of death. Overnight, the couple soared to the top of fan discussions. Pei Qingjian had to admit: he and Song Ye’s pairing had inexplicably become popular.
Author’s note:
Lan Zong: ???? Who and who?? Which pairing is popular?
Lan Zong: Do you think this is appropriate?! [angry]
Qingjian: …
Qingjian quietly accepted it.