Reborn, my online friend is the real me.

Su Yu arrived at the company early at 2:30 pm the next day.

He walked into the office, hung his coat on the back of his chair, and opened the window to let in some fresh air.

At exactly three o'clock, there was a knock on the door, neither too loud nor too soft, with a steady rhythm.

Su Yu walked over and opened the door. Liu Yifei stood at the door, wearing a thin white sweater with the neckline slightly open, revealing her collarbone.

Dark blue jeans, white canvas shoes, hair down, no makeup on her face, and natural pink lips.

She was carrying a canvas bag with a round-faced Berlin bear hanging on it, and wearing a Longines watch on her wrist.

The two looked at each other for a second, then simultaneously looked away.

Su Yu turned slightly to the side, tilting his chin towards the room: "Come in."

Liu Yifei walked in and sat down in the chair opposite the desk. She placed her canvas bag on her lap, gripped the straps with both hands, and sat up straight.

Su Yu poured her a glass of water and placed it in front of her; the glass had a cartoon cat printed on it.

Liu Yifei glanced down at the cat, and her lips twitched slightly.

Su Yu walked around behind the desk and sat down, leaning back in his chair. The office remained quiet for a while; the two sat across the desk, neither speaking first.

Liu Yifei looked down at her water glass, while Su Yu looked up at the ceiling.

The silence lasted for about thirty seconds, but it felt like half an hour.

Su Yu cleared his throat and spoke; his voice was a little lower than usual, "Um..."

"Hmm?" Liu Yifei looked up and smiled at Su Yu.

Su Yu moved his chair forward half an inch, rested his elbows on the table, and gave a helpless smile: "Should you go first or should I?"

Looking at his appearance, with his hair sticking up a bit, Liu Yifei suddenly found it a little funny.

The tension she had been feeling the whole way seemed to ease a little at this moment, like a balloon being pricked with a needle, the air slowly, very slowly escaping.

Liu Yifei took the canvas bag off her lap and placed it on the corner of the table. Looking into Su Yu's eyes, she asked, "When did you find out?"

Su Yu leaned back in his chair, put his hands behind his head, and tilted the chair back slightly.

"After you turn on the computer and suspect something, find out the exact date of your birthday in your bathroom."

Liu Yifei frowned slightly. "The bathroom?"

Su Yu put the chair back. "There's a table next to it with a wig and braces inside. Short hair, ear-length, exactly the same as in the photo you sent me. I was thinking at the time, this girl has bad teeth, she needs braces."

He paused, a slight smile playing on his lips. "Later, back in the dorm, lying in bed, the more I thought about it, the more something seemed off. Your wig, your braces, your black-rimmed glasses, your dark foundation—these are the only things that differ between Anxi's photos and Liu Yifei herself. Do you think I'm stupid?"

Liu Yifei bit her lip lightly, stared at Su Yu for two seconds, and said, "When you were criticizing my gums and my childish singing voice before, did you realize that you were the one talking about me?"

Su Yu paused for a moment, then slowly shook his head, his expression as serious as if he were testifying in court.

He raised his right hand, his index and middle fingers together: "I didn't know anything about it. Those were all genuine feelings, from the bottom of my heart."

Liu Yifei grabbed the water glass on the table, pretending to splash it on him. The movement was so quick that the water in the glass sloshed and almost spilled.

Su Yu shrank back, covering his face with his hands, his voice laced with laughter: "No, no, no! That's a cup my sister gave me. She said she brought it all the way from Shanghai; it's a limited edition. You'll have to pay for it if you spill it!"

Liu Yifei put the water glass back, and the bottom of the glass hit the table with a "thud," spilling a few more drops of water.

She glared at Su Yu, but the corners of her mouth were slightly upturned. She tried to hold back, but couldn't help it and laughed.

"Then why didn't you say so sooner? Why did you have to wait until I gave myself away?"

Su Yu picked up his water glass and took a sip. "I was afraid you'd be embarrassed, and I was afraid I'd be embarrassed too. After all, I've been criticizing you for two years, right in front of you, using Anxi's ear. From your gums to your baby voice, from your acting to your lack of realism. Think about it, if you were me, would you have the nerve to say, 'I know you're Liu Yifei'? After saying that, how would you face someone you've been criticizing for two years?"

Liu Yifei looked up at Su Yu, as if she had put something down.

"Su Yu, I'm sorry. I kept it from you for so long."

.......

In mid-to-late April, the film's promotional campaign entered its intensive phase.

China Film Group arranged several programs for Su Yu, Luo Jin, and Liu Yifei to talk about the movie, their roles, and interesting anecdotes from filming.

Su Yu was initially reluctant to go. He felt uncomfortable standing in front of the camera as a behind-the-scenes worker, as if he had lice on his body.

Han Sanping called, "You have to cooperate with the publicity. If you don't go, who will buy the film? Do you expect the audience to find it by following the scent?"

Su Yu had no choice but to go. That afternoon, the three of them participated in a TV interview program at 798.

After the recording ended, the three of them walked out through the side door.

Su Yu walked at the front, Luo Jin in the middle, Liu Yifei at the back, and their assistants following behind.

The corridor was short, ending at a glass door leading to a parking lot.

Su Yu's hand had already touched the doorknob. Suddenly, a group of people poured out from the passageways on both sides of the corridor.

They weren't fans, they were reporters. There were at least seven or eight people carrying video cameras, holding recorders, and carrying still cameras, completely blocking the corridor like a wall of flesh.

Su Yu subconsciously took half a step back, stretched out his left hand, and blocked Liu Yifei's way.

His hand didn't touch her, but his gesture made it clear: stay away.

"Liu Yifei! Someone posted a long article on Tianya Forum listing ten pieces of evidence to claim you underwent sex reassignment surgery as a child! What do you think?"

Su Yu's mind went blank for a moment, as if someone had pressed the pause button.

He turned his head and glanced at Liu Yifei.

Liu Yifei's expression changed from confusion to astonishment, and then from astonishment to something he had never seen before.

It wasn't fear, it wasn't anger, it was the bewilderment of having a bucket of dirty water thrown on you in public on the street before you even had time to react.

She blinked twice, much faster than usual, and her lips moved, but no sound came out.

The reporter pushed forward another step, his recording pen pointing like a dagger at Liu Yifei's face. Another reporter's camera was already shoved against Su Yu's shoulder, the lens almost touching his ear.

The post says your childhood photos and household registration information show...

"Are you fucking an idiot?"

Su Yu's voice wasn't loud, but it cut through the noisy corridor like a knife.

He turned around to face the reporter; his 1.78-meter height made him look like a wall in the corridor.

His eyes were fixed on the reporter, his gaze as sharp as a nail in his face. His left hand remained outstretched behind him, protecting Liu Yifei.

The corridor fell silent instantly. The camera was still rolling, but no one spoke.

Su Yu took a step forward, and the reporter instinctively took a half step back.

Su Yu looked down at the reporter's recording pen, then looked up at his face.

I have a question for you.

The reporter swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down.

Su Yu pointed his finger at the reporter's face, just centimeters from his nose: "Can't you tell if she's a woman or not? Asking such a stupid question, did a donkey kick your brain or squeeze it through a door?"

The air in the corridor seemed to freeze. Luo Jin stood at the back, his mouth slightly agape. Liu Yifei's assistant squeezed up from behind, placing a hand on Liu Yifei's shoulder, but remained frozen in place, like a statue.

Liu Yifei stood behind Su Yu, completely blocked by him, with only half an ear and a strand of hair showing.

The reporters reacted two seconds faster than Su Yu had expected. First, the flashes went off like crazy, as if the entire corridor had been set on fire, and Su Yu had to squint because of the flashes.

Then came the sound of camera shutters, dense and rapid, like machine gun fire.

Su Yu didn't back down, didn't dodge, and didn't raise his hand to cover his face. He stood there, chin slightly raised, like a wall illuminated by a flash of light.

"Director Su, are you saying that Liu Yifei is not a transgender person?" Another reporter squeezed in and shoved the microphone near Su Yu's mouth.

Su Yu turned his head to look at the reporter, his lips twitching. His expression was as if he had seen an alien visiting Earth: "Can't you fucking speak human language? She's a woman, do I need to tell you that? Are you blind just for show?"

The crew members ran over from the other end of the corridor, and two security guards in black suits pushed through the crowd.

A middle-aged man wearing glasses smiled obsequiously as he pushed the reporters backward, but his camera didn't stop; he kept taking pictures.

Su Yu turned around and looked down at Liu Yifei.

Her eyes were slightly red, with a thin layer of water glistening in them, but it didn't overflow. She bit her lip, her chin slightly raised.

She looked at Su Yu, her voice so soft that only he could hear it:

"Su Yu, I'm fine."

Su Yu stared at her for two seconds, then nodded, his voice softening slightly, "Let's go back to the lounge."