[Popular, captivating recipient x a reserved, flirtatious aggressive lead]
Recently, a post on a certain social network caused a huge stir online:
Heavens, please give me a perfect CP pairing! I don't ask for much, just a tiny bit...
1. Both the aggressive lead and recipient are Chinese, with no political stance issues.
2. Both are gorgeous and look perfect together, with a noticeable height and build difference and real chemistry.
3. They can be actors, idols, or variety-show personalities, as long as they're competent at their actual jobs and don't switch to unrelated fields.
4. Neither has any obvious scandals, and their exes are dealt with cleanly.
5. They regularly flirt with each other for the fans and respond to their CP fans. They have proper CP fan etiquette.
6. The recipient shouldn't be overly feminine, and the aggressive lead shouldn't be too much of a show-off.
7. There should be tons of fanworks in the fandom, with no fan wars.
8. There should be hardly any solo stans, or they should keep to themselves. CP fans should run the whole fandom.
9. The company shouldn't stir up trouble or mistreat the fans, and it should value both members' future careers and the CP fans' wishes.
10. They can't abandon the CP fans after becoming famous.
Okay, that's all I can think of for now. I know I'm dreaming, but what if it actually happens...
There were tons of replies below, and every single one was pessimistic.
1L: It's 2045 and the poster is still dreaming?
2L: Policies on male-male CPs have eased up in recent years, but the CPs produced by entertainment companies are still as bad as ever...
3L: Several of the points the poster listed are clearly aimed at specific people...
Poster: You see how unlucky I am at shipping CPs now...
4L: I looked at some of the famous ones on the rankings, and all of them have at least one dealbreaker.
5L: Let me know if you find anyone who meets the poster's standards.
6L: Impossible. Male celebrities in the domestic entertainment industry act as if selling their CP too much will turn them gay, so they rush to find a girlfriend to prove their sexuality...
7L, replying to 6L: ...I hate those guys the most. So many fans have been burned by them.
8L: I'll put it this way: the poster won't find anyone they like. If they do, I'll eat my words.
9L: If you eat your words, I'll eat mine too.
10L: Me too...
11L: If all of you are doing it, count me in.
Just as male-male CPs in the domestic entertainment industry were widely regarded as hopeless, a standout pair appeared, as if they had been made to fit every point on that list!
Hehe, poster, wake up and come eat!
Yep, the arrival of "Year After Year, Stars Shine" solved everything!
Two flawless faces, a textbook aggressive lead and recipient pairing, openly flirting with each other on their show, even gazing into each other's eyes like they were shooting webs.
Netizens exclaimed, "This time, it's really different!"
But this hardworking CP was so textbook-perfect that people kept doubting them.
It wasn't until paparazzi caught them going in and out of a hotel together that netizens cried out, "My favorite CP that sells romance is actually a real couple?"
Bonus scene:
The two were still asleep in the hotel's king-size bed when their manager called.
Li Xing slapped Xie Zhuonian across the face, grumbling, "You answer it. It's your fault you wore me out so badly last night. You had to act out those tropes from fanfiction. Did those girls ever consider my physical condition when they wrote it?!"
Xie Zhuonian soothed him good-naturedly, massaging him to help him relax as he took the call. Hearing that, he pushed his luck and asked, "Since you put it that way, I have another explicit web fic saved in my bookmarks. Should we try it sometime?"
Li Xing immediately opened his eyes and covered his butt. "Trying to break into OnlyFans now? Don't even think about it!"
Xie Zhuonian shamelessly replied, "What's the big deal? Our fans would love it."
The manager's furious phone call interrupted their flirting. "What do you mean, OnlyFans? If you don't answer me soon, you'll really have to start doing porn online to pay off your debts!!!"
Theme: Cherish the person in front of you.
