Childhood Sweethearts and Warm Wine, You’re in Every Frame and Every Moment

When top-tier star Shen Yichuan announced he was joining a dating reality show, the entire internet exploded. Everyone knew that this three-time Golden Award-winning actor never appeared on variety shows, let alone put himself out there to date. Then the production team released the cast list, and the hashtag #WenYuemianShenYichuanChildhoodSweethearts shot to the top of the trending charts overnight. In front of the cameras, Wen Yuemian clutched her script, her fingertips turning white as she watched the man on the sofa smile with effortless composure. It was him, the ex-boyfriend who had disappeared for three years after saying, “Let’s end things here,” on her twenty-second birthday. He was also the boy next door she had known since they were both in diapers, the one who once promised to protect her for the rest of her life. Now she was a little-known actress no one in the entertainment industry had ever heard of, while he was a top-tier star perched at the very summit of the industry. During their first livestream together, he shielded her from a falling prop and said in a calm, familiar tone, “Still as clumsy as ever.” During a late-night truth-or-dare segment, someone asked if he’d ever had an unforgettable ex. His gaze swept past the crowd and landed on her. He smiled. “Yes. I can’t forget her.” On a beach date, he suddenly wrapped his arms around her from behind, his voice hoarse, as if full of sand. “Mianmian, I’ve regretted it every day for the past three years.” Wen Yuemian did everything she could to avoid the cameras, but when she was attacked by haters one day, she saw him post on Weibo: “The girl I’ve protected all my life isn’t someone anyone else gets to criticize. @WenYuemian” The whole internet was in an uproar: What kind of dating show was this? It was clearly the actor’s live pursuit of his ex! Later, viewers realized that all those seemingly accidental glances and instinctive acts of protection on the show were part of his long-planned approach. After all, from their youth to his rise to fame, his camera had always focused on her alone.