Secrets on Camera

[Complete. Please add my new novel, Your Song on the Evening Breeze, to your reading list. The blurb is below.]

The little-known entertainer Tan Sisi can't sing or dance. She debuted from a survival show in 25th place and began her journey to obscurity.

To make a living, she put her pride aside and threw herself into teasing and pranking male entertainers.

With fans and onlookers eager for the drama, they got Mu Xi, the aloof "nation's dream lover" of the film industry, onto her show.

Everyone waited with bated breath to see the female flirt make the ice-cold beauty squirm, but the show suddenly took a different turn.

She tries to take off his jacket, but he offers to let her undo his tie and unbutton his shirt, showing her his Adam's apple and collarbones.

She bossily tells him to call her "baby," and he does so without hesitation, his voice tender, lingering, and affectionate.

She claims to be his girlfriend in front of his friends. Not only does he openly admit it, he even gets jealous when she talks to his friends for too long.

He doesn't say much, but he always knows how to make her heart race when she least expects it.

She talks a lot, but he flusters her so badly she turns red and can't get a word out.

Fans: This isn't what we came to see! No shipping them for publicity! Stop riding his coattails!

Onlookers: What is this heavenly romance? This is so damn good. I'm joining the fandom!

After the show ends, Sisi pins a Weibo post: "It's all for the show, everyone. Don't take it seriously."

The CP fans are devastated.

Later.

During a livestream, a viewer calls in and asks her again, "Are you and Mu Xi really together?"

Tan Sisi laughs wildly. "We are now."

The over-the-top performance gives all the CP fans collective PTSD. "I don't believe it! It's all for the show!"

After the livestream ends, the atmosphere in the room is intoxicating. He pulls her into his arms, and the two kiss passionately, unable to bear to part.

Tan Sisi pouts and whines, "Baby, they don't believe me."

The man's voice is husky, his breathing ragged as he licks and nips at her ear. "Then how about... we turn on the livestream right now?"

The cameras show the story the world wants to see. Their secret is hidden in the gaps between light and shadow.

1v1/sexual exclusivity/happy ending

Your Song on the Evening Breeze: Li Xiao * Ai Lin

Ai Lin graduates only to find herself unemployed. She sends out hundreds of resumes from home, but never hears back. After several months of searching, she finally lands a job as an entertainer's assistant.

When she finds out the entertainer she'll be working for is the top-tier star she has never liked, she decides to put up with it for the sake of a living.

She signs her employment contract at the agency that day, and that evening she gets a call from her new employer.

His voice is lovely, but his tone is detached. He gives her an address and reminds her not to forget her household registration booklet.

Ai Lin finds this suspicious, so she looks up the address and spends ages staring at her phone, at a loss.

The place she has to report to on her first day of work is... the marriage registration office?

-

The singing-and-dancing superstar Li Xiao is just like his music: wild, cool, and flashy. He's got a top-tier appearance, a perfect voice, and remarkable musical talent. Countless girls are crazy about him.

But in his ten years in the industry, he's repeatedly gone viral for behavior that practically guarantees he'll die alone. He's never believed in love, not even as a child.

So when his family pressures him to marry, he decides to pay someone to handle it.

His requirements for the matchmaker are: well-read, sensible, and, most importantly, someone who respects contracts and will never reveal their marriage of convenience to the public.

But as soon as they've gotten their marriage certificates, his "newlywed wife" turns on him and waves the certificate in his face, brazenly demanding, "Advance me 500,000, or I'll expose you as married!"

-

After taking Li Xiao's money, Ai Lin does her job conscientiously. In front of the Li family, she calls him her husband. The rest of the time, she treats him as her boss. She only wants to get through this unusual "job" peacefully, then take her generous compensation when the contract ends and live her own life.

Until one day, Li Xiao gets completely drunk. They're alone together when he suddenly pins her against the door. His low, seductive voice brushes her ear. "What did you call me?"

Ai Lin: "Hu..."

Before she can finish, he seals her lips with his. After the forceful kiss, he murmurs, "Call me husband."

Ai Lin: ????

Ai Lin: "You're seriously violating the contract! It clearly says that neither party is allowed to develop feelings for the other!"

Li Xiao raises an eyebrow and smiles. "The contract? You were the one who broke the rules first, the day we got our marriage certificates. From that moment on, I considered the agreement void. We're not a couple of convenience, we're..."

"A real married couple."

Theme: Love helps people grow.