She debuted after having a child with a celestial being.

Liu Yifei slowly stepped back half an inch, her forehead touching his, her breathing a little unsteady.

Then she reverted to her identity as Zhao Pan'er, buried her face in the crook of his neck, and whispered as if afraid the wind would carry it away: "From now on... you are not allowed to come back injured again."

Xiao He hugged her tightly, resting his chin on the top of her head: "Yes, ma'am, my dear sister."

"Cut." Yang Yang's voice finally came from behind the monitor. Her voice was steady, but a beat slower than usual. "This take... is excellent. Keep it."

Jane Zhang slowly put down her phone.

Tang Yan peeked out from behind the screen, glanced at her phone, then at the two people on set, opened her mouth, and her voice, unusually trembling, said, "This...this is acting?"

"Have you ever seen anyone act with their fingers curled up like that?"

Zhang Liangying pointed to Liu Yifei's hand on Xiao He's shoulder on the phone screen.

"See that? From the moment she initiated the kiss until it ended, that hand never let go. Not gripping, but pressing. The fingers were slightly curled, as if confirming something. Was this acting?"

Shu Chang put down the cookies she was holding, leaned closer to look at the screen, and whispered, "Feifei has been making this expression a lot since we started recording 'Mohe Dance Hall' last year. Every time Xiao He is there, she has this expression. It was like this when we were recording the song, and it was like this on the day we shot the cover. I don't think she's acting... she's fallen in love."

Zhang Liangying lowered her voice to a whisper: "Did you guys see that moment before she looked up? Her eyelashes were trembling; that was clearly a reaction of being moved."

Tang Yan stared at the screen for a long time, then locked her phone, stood up, and called out to the center of the set, "Feifei, come here!"

Liu Yifei was still standing by the bed when she heard the shout and turned around.

Xiao He was helping her straighten her earring, which had been askew when she got up. He gently flicked the plain silver pendant with his finger before withdrawing his hand.

When she walked over, her cheeks were still slightly flushed, and she was reciting her lines, but her voice was still a little hoarse.

"Why are you three staring at me?"

Tang Yan showed her her phone screen: "Look at this yourself, this is your expression just now. Does this look like you're filming a movie? When other people film kissing scenes, they're playing a character who is loved, but you're actually experiencing love yourself."

Tang Yan opened the video and watched it from when Zhao Pan'er said "But I want to say" until the kiss ended, then pressed pause.

In the still frame, Liu Yifei's fingers are tightly curled around Xiao He's costume shoulder.

"Wait a minute, how long did you film? Did you film the whole thing?" Liu Yifei looked at herself on her phone screen, her face turning even redder.

Zhang Liangying leaned back in her folding chair, raised a finger, and spoke in a low voice, but every word carried the tone of a professional musician's commentary: "From the preparation before the lines, to the kiss, to you stepping back, to him burying his face in your neck—a full two minutes. Director Yang just said that this scene will be added with establishing shots and music in post-production. But don't worry, the version we filmed has no background music at all, just pure vocals. It will be preserved forever."

"What do you mean by 'permanently saved'? You deleted it." Liu Yifei put her phone into her pocket.

Tang Yan took out another spare phone from her pocket and waved it: "Too late. I have a backup here. If all else fails, Shu Chang has a backup version on her phone."

Liu Yifei turned to look at Tang Yan, still holding Zhang Liangying's phone: "So all three of you took pictures?"

Shu Chang, holding her thermos, spoke slowly and deliberately: "We're here for professional observation. Observation requires taking notes. And of course, these notes must be preserved completely."

Tang Yan added from the side: "A collector's edition. You can play it on a loop as the opening video for your wedding: 'Actress Liu Yifei's first famous kissing scene, pure vocals without background music, high fidelity.'"

"If you keep playing this, I'll smash my phone."

Liu Yifei reached out to grab Tang Yan's spare phone, but Tang Yan dodged to the side and went behind Zhang Liangying.

"Don't smash it! Don't smash it!"

Zhang Liangying reached out and gently pressed Liu Yifei's wrist, then looked up at her.

"Yifei, we're serious. You were trembling when he looked up at you just now. I watched your duet in the recording studio the other day, and I know how you recorded those takes time and time again. But today's scene isn't a song recording; it's you and him face to face, without microphones or glass. Do you think we're here to gossip?"

She looked up at Liu Yifei.

"We want to hear the truth from you. What exactly is the relationship between the two of you now?"

Liu Yifei stood there, the phone still in her hand, the screen now dark.

"We...are together."

She handed the phone back to Tang Yan, her voice soft but steady.

"He started developing feelings for me the first time he came to my house, that's what he said." She glanced sideways at Xiao He, who was still talking to Director Yang on the other side of the set. "Are you satisfied now?"

Without saying a word, Tang Yan opened her arms and pulled her into her embrace.

Jane Zhang clapped softly beside her.

Shu Chang placed the water glass on the coffee table, her voice so soft it was as if she were afraid of disturbing something: "Feifei, you finally said it."

"I've been holding it in for over half a year." Zhang Liangying emphasized, holding up a finger. "That day in the recording studio, I asked you if you were in a relationship, and you said no. Later at the Jasmine Restaurant, I asked you if you were Xiao He, and you still didn't admit it. Today... today you finally gave us an explanation."

"It's not that I don't admit it. I... I don't understand it myself. I can't say when we went from being siblings to lovers. My heart would race every time he got close to me, but I told myself it was because of the age difference, that he was too much younger than me. Later I realized it wouldn't work, and it just wouldn't work."

"Alright, alright, stop explaining. Explaining means you're attracted to someone."

Tang Yan released her embrace and pinched the back of her hand with a smile.

Liu Yifei slapped her hand away and grabbed Tang Yan's arm instead. Tang Yan screamed and ran backward, knocking over a powder brush on the makeup chair next to her.

The entire set heard it.

Zhang Liangying leaned back in her folding chair, watching Liu Yifei chase Tang Yan across the film set, and couldn't help but laugh along.

She's known Liu Yifei for over a decade, from Little Dragon Girl to Mulan, from being ridiculed online as box office poison to now returning to television with Zhao Pan'er. She's watched her friend grow step by step to where she is today. And right now, Liu Yifei is chasing after her best friend on set, playfully teasing her, looking most relaxed and happy.

Near the stage steps in the distance, several people finally caught Tang Yan.

Liu Yifei pressed down on her shoulder and reached for her phone: "Delete it, delete it now."

Tang Yan held her phone up very high. Although she wasn't much taller than Liu Yifei, she managed to hold it up by using the height of the steps next to her.

Zhang Liangying leaned back in her folding chair, watching them chase each other, and slowly added, "I also made a backup of mine, but we can discuss the terms. You'll treat us to dinner next time. You'll delete one phone for each meal you treat us to, and we'll clear everything out after three meals."

"This is extortion!"

"It's not extortion, it's legitimate evidence collection. Director Yang just said that this scene was filmed with two cameras. She has another version on her end," Shu Chang added slowly, holding her thermos.

Liu Yifei pointed at the three of them, from Tang Yan to Zhang Liangying and then to Shu Chang, until she herself couldn't hold back her laughter and squatted down on the ground, unable to straighten up.

Xiao He walked over from the monitor and stood at the edge of the crowd, looking down at her who was squatting on the ground.

"Sister Sisi, what are you laughing at?"

Liu Yifei looked up at him, her cheeks still flushed, her eyes sparkling: "They...they filmed everything. They recorded a two-minute video, and they're still negotiating with me. Don't you think they're going too far?"

Xiao He glanced at Zhang Liangying.

Jane Zhang gave him a thumbs up and said softly, "You're a great little brother."

Tang Yan added from the side, "Don't take it to heart, little brother He. We're not just filming you; we're mainly filming how Fei Fei took the initiative to kiss you."

Xiao He remained calm and composed: "Beautiful moments are worth recording."

"you……"

Liu Yifei stood up and reached out to pinch his arm.

Xiao He took a half step back, and she chased after him.

The two chased each other from the film set to the playback monitor. Yang Yang turned around and looked at the scene, picked up his thermos and took a sip, and said only a few words to the staff next to him: "Adjust the lights... get ready for the next scene."

When she caught up with him to the steps, she finally caught him, raised her hand and gently punched his back, then lost her balance and was about to fall.

Xiao He turned around and pulled her into his arms, smiling as he said, "Sister Feifei, haven't you had enough kisses yet?"

"Give me a kiss, give me a kiss..."

Behind them, Jane Zhang held up her phone and winked at Shu Chang and Tang Yan, and everyone started shouting.

Tang Yan snapped a few photos, then teased, "Shu Chang, do you remember when Fei Fei was drinking at the Jasmine Restaurant last winter? She said she wanted to retire from the entertainment industry and go abroad alone. Now... she's chasing after He Didi, and He Didi is catching her in his arms. She doesn't have to go abroad alone anymore."

"I remember." Shu Chang looked at the two people in the sunset, her voice soft. "Back then, she said, 'Who in the entire entertainment industry is worthy of marrying me, Liu Yifei?' Now, the answer to that question seems to be right before my eyes."

Zhang Liangying jokingly asked, "Feifei, are you still going abroad alone now?"

"You...you've gone too far..."

Liu Yifei broke free from Xiao He's embrace and chased after her girlfriends, showering them with playful punches.

"Murder! Help! Cover up the evidence..."

Tang Yan ran while shouting.