As a notorious poker face, Shi Guanghua's expressions were indeed difficult to interpret, easily leading to misunderstandings. When Chu Yueyi first met him, she couldn't read his attitude at all, but gradually became adept at it as they grew familiar.
Some people could read deeper meaning into his expressions, while others thought it was over-interpretation. Even among the Moonlight Scientists, there were differing opinions, and not everyone could accurately grasp his intentions.
Xiao Cai: "No need to over-analyze everything, right? I do ship them, but this kind of ambiguous response is hard to swallow as evidence. Besides, he hasn't been active on social media for a while."
Weld My Door Shut: "Xiao Cai, you're a bit naive. His inactivity is exactly why we need to analyze, silly."
Xiao Cai: "?"
Romeo is Mute: "Go review the timeline from the advanced class, identify the turning point when he stopped being active, then look at the interviews again. You'll see improvement."
Your Moonlight Instructor: "After wrapping up, Chu was filming 'Living with Spring' for months, during which Shi was most active online. After returning to Beijing, Shi became less active on social media, but they had intense interactions during the live-streamed gala (remember when they sat close?). We suspect they were in an ambiguous period or early stages of dating then."
Your Moonlight Instructor: "On July 16th, Shi's birthday, he posted food pics on Instagram (including seafood). Chu's company team made some adjustments, with her taking over Weibo management. She sent him birthday wishes from the set during the day (first online interaction after wrapping up, she used to play dead on Weibo before). She wasn't seen on set that evening (previously there were after-work photos, but none that day), very likely she went to Shi's studio for dinner."
Teacher's Little Assistant: "Fun fact: Chu's new movie set and Shi's studio are both on the east side, a short drive apart."
Your Moonlight Instructor: "After the birthday, filming continued. Chu temporarily left to promote 'Living with Spring'. Chu and RQY followed each other on Weibo, leading to the trending topic 'Chu Yueyi has chemistry with everyone'. Shi posted on Weibo at 11:09 that day, seemingly to mark his territory. This was a crucial turning point - Shi's last public flirting online. Their relationship clearly changed, either becoming official or closer, and they went completely underground."
Your Moonlight Instructor: "The movie wrapped up, 'Living with Spring' aired, and they stopped appearing together or flirting online. Apart from Shi Guanghua avoiding reporters' questions, there are some details they've each revealed. These small hints are optional to interpret, and will be supplemented by our enthusiastic little assistant."
Teacher's Little Assistant: "1. Shi's studio reached a music strategic cooperation with a company. A popular shounen manga book appeared in the corner of a group photo. Shi once said in a music variety show interview that he doesn't watch anime, but we know from the dating show that he uses the studio alone, while Chu's home bookshelf is full of manga."
Teacher's Little Assistant: "2. In a behind-the-scenes clip from the movie, the sound director was showing off a new machine to Chu. She thoughtfully said it looked familiar, but he was surprised, saying it had just been released and required pre-ordering, and most film crews wouldn't use it except top-tier music production teams. She fell into an awkward silence."
Teacher's Little Assistant: "3. In another behind-the-scenes clip, the main cast was chatting while Chu played piano in the background. She casually played a bit of 'Two-Faced Muse' (you need to isolate the piano sound from voices to hear it, thanks to our music department analysts). Given her musical skills shown in the dating show, she either learned this piece deliberately or someone taught her."
Teacher's Little Assistant: "4. Shi's studio is composing for a famous director's film, their first venture into film scoring (they only did theme songs before). The film's producer shares a name with the director of Chu's student film, rumored to be the same alumnus who's now a high-level executive at a platform."
Teacher's Little Assistant: "5. After Shi stopped flirting publicly, he often posts food photos on Instagram (used to be landscapes), showing off his cooking skills. When Chu was asked about ordering takeout in an interview, she said she occasionally eats takeout at home, but we know from the dating show that she's not good at cooking and lives alone (based on Chu's dad's attitude). In previous interviews, she only mentioned takeout."
Xiaoxiao: "You've been spoiled by Shi's public flirting. Most celebrities reveal details subtly, being too obvious means it's not real. Now it's clearly unusual, you need a detective's patience to investigate."
Xiao Cai: "Oh, I get it now, teacher! Looking at Shi's expressions again, I can totally see it!!"
Moonlight Date: "Strongly against digging so deep. I seriously suspect there are counter-intelligence people in the science club. After the advanced class released the timeline last time, Chu didn't reveal any details for a long time. Feels like she used our internal materials to patch up loopholes."
Big Hoo Pressure: "Sounds like something she'd do. We Sherlock her, she counter-investigates. All the brains in that family are hers."
92845: "Does this mean she might have a secret account among us?"
In the company, Chu Yueyi was startled to see the Moonlight Scientists' speculations. She carefully exited the page, making sure she wouldn't accidentally switch between her main and alt accounts, like a cautious and clever high-level spy, erasing all browsing history.
After getting together with Shi Guanghua, she still occasionally checked the Moonlight Science Club. On one hand, she relied on the Moonlight Scientists to keep up with Shi Guanghua's activities - he didn't have dedicated fans, but she could use CP fans as informants. On the other hand, she used the Moonlight Science Club's materials to cover her own slip-ups. People tend to accidentally tell the truth and reveal details during interviews, sometimes without even realizing it. After a few slip-ups, her interview skills improved significantly, making it harder to expose any flaws.
Chu Yueyi couldn't understand why these netizens were so sharp. They seemed to have figured out her and Shi Guanghua's personalities completely, even coming up with ideas about her counter-intelligence that were uncannily close to the truth.
Of course, she also used them to dig deep into Shi Guanghua's recent situation, especially convenient when she couldn't see him during filming. It satisfied her Scorpio-like desire to pry. Shi Guanghua would report honestly, but digging for herself felt different.
Zou Qian was right after all - Chu Yueyi's partner couldn't hide anything from her. She simply chose not to point it out, having privately investigated everything clearly. Fortunately, Shi Guanghua had never tried to hide anything.
Chu Yueyi put away her phone and stretched in her chair, waiting for Li You in her office. Since her business had been split off, her manager had become even busier, though the development results were quite good.
After the two factions separated, Chu Yueyi starred in a well-known New Year's film, while the TV drama "Living with Spring" had strong viewership after airing, currently in its rising phase of word-of-mouth popularity. If her film performs well at the box office during Spring Festival, she'll basically be unstoppable in the company. Although she can't be called the top actress of the company, she can dominate among her peers.
The top actress in Chu Yueyi's company is an international award-winning actress who no longer acts, having achieved grand slam achievements in the past, naturally incomparable. Chu Yueyi is now just a young money-maker, though of course her acting skills are exquisite. Now that she finally has fame, she's being placed high hopes on by the top leadership.
In the past six months or so, Chu Yueyi has barely encountered Manager Zhang, partly because she's been too busy working to come to the company, and partly because Li You deliberately kept them apart. Reportedly, the boy group wasn't developing well, and the company was considering disbanding them, putting Manager Zhang under great pressure.
Bored of waiting in the office, Chu Yueyi decided to take a stroll and chat with some colleagues.
One side of the hallway had bright floor-to-ceiling windows like slits, providing light and a view of the company's side entrance. As Chu Yueyi passed by, intending to look for Li You, she glimpsed figures at the side entrance and stopped in her tracks.
Standing on a high floor of the company building, with the window narrow as a crack, people on the ground couldn't see her. The side entrance was prepared for artists, leading to the underground parking lot or out of the company.
A man and a woman were hugging and laughing on the path, heading towards the underground parking lot, presumably planning to leave the company secretly by car.
Chu Yueyi watched the scene with interest, her keen deductive skills already analyzing rapidly. The company had more women than men, and the man's silhouette exuded a distinguished air, likely an artist, but the lack of a car to pick him up indicated his status wasn't high.
The male artist was clearly in a relationship with the woman, tugging and pulling at each other, but it was unclear who he was. Chu Yueyi couldn't recognize him, proving his lack of influence.
Of course, it wasn't a crime for company artists to date, but male artists were obviously more special, just as Chu Yueyi had reprimanded Zou Qian. Even Zou Qian didn't dare say his ability matched his popularity, let alone an unknown small-time celebrity. Losing female fans basically meant retiring from the industry.
This was one point Chu Yueyi was incredibly grateful for. Before meeting Shi Guanghua, she hadn't relied on other means for exposure, despite enduring many difficult years, but the achievements she gained were worthy of her conscience. She dared to subtly speak up for him in front of his dedicated fans because she believed herself to be blameless.
In the corridor, Li You walked back and noticed Chu Yueyi by the window. She asked curiously, "Why are you out here?"
Chu Yueyi sighed, "I think I just witnessed a romance between two of our company's artists."
Li You was startled, "What? Who? Let me see."
The man and woman had already disappeared into the underground parking lot, leaving no trace on the ground level.
Chu Yueyi said, "I couldn't recognize them clearly. I think the man was from a boy group, but I'm not sure about the woman."
Chu Yueyi had a vague impression of the male actors in the company but couldn't recall the new faces in the boy group.
Li You exclaimed, "Are they crazy? They're really taking advantage of the situation. No wonder they can't make progress. Doesn't anyone manage them over there?"
As a manager, Li You's thoughts were naturally conservative. She wouldn't even advocate for Chu Yueyi, who had acting skills and talent, to go public with a relationship, let alone a mediocre boy group member.
"I'll mention it later. Being in an idol group and dating? If they don't want to work, they should just say so," Li You frowned, then suddenly realized, "Oh, I almost forgot, that group is about to be disbanded anyway."
The company's boy group was likely to be restructured, with Dong Yan and a few others who might still have a chance staying, while the rest would be let go.
Chu Yueyi didn't respond. This matter didn't concern her, and Li You would at most just remind her colleague responsible for the boy group.
She wasn't interested in commenting on the love affairs of boy group members. Instead, she was contemplating how to maintain her own perfect secret relationship. If it were her, she would never use the ground-level route. She and Shi Guanghua would go straight from the elevator to the underground parking lot, leaving no chance of being caught.
It wasn't that she thought her relationship with Shi Guanghua was something to hide, but she was simply used to outsmarting the Moonlight Scientists, so she instinctively came up with strategies to prevent them from finding any evidence. She was once again engaging in her counter-surveillance mindset.
Her subtle habits even extended to their home life.
Inside the house, Shi Guanghua placed a plate of steamed prawns on the table. He instinctively took a photo, recording their daily meal together. Seeing this, Chu Yueyi waited for him to finish taking the first picture, then picked up the plate of bright red prawns and curled up in a small corner.
Shi Guanghua: "?"
Shi Guanghua: "I'm not going to fight you for them." He was allergic to seafood and wouldn't eat the prawns anyway.
Chu Yueyi urged, "Take another picture without the prawns. If you want to post one, use the one without prawns."
Shi Guanghua looked curious: "Why?"
Chu Yueyi snickered: "I will never let them find even a grain of sugar."
Chu Yueyi thought to herself: Still want to compete with me? I'm the modern-day Sherlock Holmes.
"..." Shi Guanghua faced her mischievous expression, not knowing who she intended to outwit. He figured she probably just wanted to tease others.
Shi Guanghua noticed she had a small quirk. She was measured in her interactions with unfamiliar people, but she liked to tease those close to her, often making playful remarks. She just had a bit of a naughty streak. In the past, she would often tease him, deliberately leaving him speechless, and then sweetly comfort him, deriving endless pleasure from it.
In the past, when Chu Yueyi's emotions were affected by Shi Guanghua on a show, she would eagerly try to counteract him, achieving a psychological balance by believing she could also disrupt him.
Now that high-level CP fans had guessed her true feelings, she wanted to retaliate. She wouldn't let them have it easy, not leaving even a grain of sugar. She wanted to meet Shi Guanghua frequently but not let out a hint of it, starving the Moonlight Scientists.
She might be a little devil.
Shi Guanghua didn't mind Chu Yueyi's little antics. He didn't think there was anything wrong with her being secretive, nor would he force her to go public. As long as their relationship was stable, that was enough. He could feel her care, so he didn't need any other proof.
After dinner, the two sat in the living room watching a movie. The plot happened to show a wife confronting her husband, demanding to check his phone and asking why he had changed his password, while the husband evaded the questions.
Shi Guanghua pondered for a few seconds, then suddenly remembered something and said pointedly, "You've never asked for my phone password."
Cheng's girlfriend would often call to check on him, but Chu Yueyi seemed to never make unreasonable demands, almost too understanding to be true.
Chu Yueyi, who was intently watching the movie, casually replied, "I don't need to ask for your password, I can guess it easily."
Shi Guanghua turned to look at her: "?"
Chu Yueyi realized her slip and blinked innocently, quickly adding with a smile, "But I promise I've never sneaked a look!"
She could already guess the boring content of Shi Guanghua's phone, so she naturally had no interest in unlocking it to peek.
Shi Guanghua said calmly, "It's okay, you can look openly if you want."
Chu Yueyi nodded obediently, "Okay, actually, I can even guess your payment password."
Shi Guanghua: "...That's impossible, right?"
Chu Yueyi rattled off three sets of numbers, then asked casually in response to Shi Guanghua's shocked expression, "You use these for all your passwords, right?"
She only needed to know the house door password and obtain some of Shi Guanghua's information to deduce his password-setting logic. She could then extrapolate and crack them all, with the only difference being the number of digits.
Shi Guanghua was greatly shocked. He had just wanted to say that Chu Yueyi never checked up on him, intending to tease her a bit, but who knew that she didn't need to check – her little brain was just too smart, seeing right through him.
Feeling a mix of emotions, Shi Guanghua lowered his gaze and said hesitantly, "I'll change my passwords soon."
Chu Yueyi understood immediately and asked directly, "Are you going to use me as your password?"
"..."
"Your thought process is too easy to guess. Even if you change your passwords, it won't help."
"..."
Chu Yueyi could already imagine his approach to changing passwords, probably just rearranging his commonly used numbers and adding some of her information. Looking at the speechless Shi Guanghua, she curiously asked, "Aren't you packing today?"
Shi Guanghua was puzzled, "Why should I pack?"
Chu Yueyi thought he had forgotten and reminded him, "Isn't your studio going on a business trip?"
She had seen online that Shi Guanghua's company had a music collaboration with a certain platform, and the travel list should include Shi Guanghua. The Moonlight Scientists had posted related news.
"I'm not going with them. Yesterday, I asked Cheng to..." Shi Guanghua wanted to spend a couple more days with her, and the event wasn't very important, so he said he would stay at the home base. Before he could finish, he suddenly hesitated and raised an eyebrow, "I don't think I told you about this?"
Originally, he was on the list, but when she suddenly got two days off, he had a word with Cheng without mentioning it to her.
Chu Yueyi was startled. She widened her eyes and said lightly, "You must have told me and forgotten."
Shi Guanghua stared at her intently and said firmly, "Impossible."
He wouldn't have mentioned it to avoid burdening her, and she didn't have a habit of inquiring about his schedule.
Chu Yueyi felt uneasy under his gaze, but her face remained calm. She didn't know why he was so quick to react today when in the past it was easy to gloss over such things.
"Did you plant a spy on me?" Shi Guanghua looked at the nervous little detective, barely holding back a smile, and casually added, "Or do you have some strange hobby?"
He had thought she didn't care, but it turned out she was investigating him more thoroughly than anyone. Now he actually felt pleased.
He almost laughed at her antics. She usually seemed so calm and composed, appearing to handle emotions effortlessly, but in private, she was digging deep into his news. No one would have guessed she had this side to her.
Chu Yueyi, irritated and embarrassed by his provocation, said word by word, "You're the one with strange hobbies."
Why couldn't she shake off the label of being eccentric?
He always seemed to think she had bizarre quirks!
Chu Yueyi patiently tried to rationalize, attempting to justify her behavior: "I didn't plant any spies. It's just that your life is so simple, I don't need to pay special attention to understand..."
Shi Guanghua listened to her serious nonsense, nodded in agreement, and then directly picked her up and walked towards the bedroom, saying good-naturedly, "Mm-hmm, Professor Chu is right, but I also want to learn how to understand."
Chu Yueyi noticed the change of room and immediately asked alertly, "Learn what?"
Before long, she had no heart to ask questions anymore. Due to her espionage activities being exposed, she was subjected to on-the-spot punishment and forced to engage in lessons on espionage and counter-espionage!