Favor [Entertainment Industry]

[Flirty idol x Cool, aloof actress]

1.

At twenty-two, Xia Zhiyi shot to fame at a young age, rising from the lowest-ranked trainee to the center of her girl group. She broke the rules and climbed to the top.

But the instant the spotlight went dark, she fell from a three-meter-high lift platform.

When the doctor announced that she wouldn't be able to dance for at least a year, the internet buzzed with speculation, her teammates hurried to divide up her opportunities, and her company plotted how to squeeze every last bit of value out of her. Then she heard a knock at the door.

"Big Sis brought fruit!"

Wen Cancan rolled her wheelchair through the door, with Wen Ruxu following behind her helplessly.

The young, award-winning actress sat beside the bed, eyes lowered as she peeled an apple. Its peel curled around her pale fingers, the blade cut into the crisp, tender flesh, and juice trickled along her knuckles before dripping into her palm.

Xia Zhiyi stared at the drop of juice as it slowly slid toward the woman's snow-white wrist, her expression inscrutable.

She swallowed the feelings that had not changed in six years. At the scholarship ceremony for students from poor families that year, Wen Ruxu had handed her financial aid with those same hands, sculpted like jade.

She knew all too well how she felt about Wen Ruxu, from the admiration of her youth to the inescapable infatuation that followed. In that moment, Xia Zhiyi almost held her breath, her fingertips tightening and wrinkling the bedsheet.

2.

Everyone said Wen Ruxu was cool and reserved, difficult to approach.

At twenty-eight, she had won all three major awards and was an acclaimed actress with a grand slam.

Her face was cool and restrained, like a carefully sculpted work of art, with gentle eyes and a distant smile.

But no one knew the pain she carried in her heart. She had vowed to spend her life atoning for losing her younger sister.

After searching for more than ten years, she had finally found her, only for her sister to spend all day slumped in a wheelchair, refusing to do anything. Now she even wanted to move into the hospital to keep her idol company.

Wen Cancan sat in her wheelchair and earnestly covered her chest. "Big Sis, my heart condition is acting up again."

Wen Ruxu: "... I thought it was your legs that were the problem."

On the balcony not far away, Xia Zhiyi rested one hand on the wheelchair armrest and leaned back slightly to bask in the sun. Her eyes were half closed, her profile softened and made almost sacred by the halo of light.

Wen Ruxu glanced at her, gently rubbing her fingertips against her palm. Her voice was calm. "You go back first. Big Sis has something to discuss with Miss Xia."

Wen Cancan: "..."

I brought you here to help me follow my idol, not to chase a wife of your own, okay?

3.

[Entertainment News Flash! Are Wen Ruxu and Xia Zhiyi's Romance Rumors True?]

In the video, Xia Zhiyi emerged from a side gate of an upscale residential complex wearing a mask. She walked briskly, dressed in obviously oversized clothes with the sleeves rolled up, and carrying a small bag.

A few minutes later, Wen Ruxu strolled out in a light-colored trench coat, her head bowed as she adjusted her scarf.

The comment section exploded:

-- [I'm losing it. Xia Zhiyi is wearing Wen Ruxu's own clothes. No doubt about it...]

-- [Two fandoms united, I'm shipping them so hard!!!]

-- [Heaven has answered my prayers. My ship has finally become real!]

In no time, fans of both women, ship fans, and passersby flooded the trending page to watch the drama unfold.

Yet the two people at the center of it all remained as silent as ever.

It wasn't until the next day that the media caught Xia Zhiyi at the airport.

With one hand in her pocket, she strolled lazily through the crowd. When reporters surrounded her, she merely turned her head slightly and smiled.

"Zhiyi, there are rumors that you and Actress Wen fell in love while filming together. Is that true?"

Xia Zhiyi took off her sunglasses, her eyes curving into a smile. Her voice was casual. "Hmm?"

The reporter pressed on. "Then were you wearing Wen Ruxu's clothes yesterday?"

She gave the camera an amused look, paused for a second, then said softly:

"Can't I wear my wife's clothes?"

Reporter: "???"

Netizens: "???"

Ship fans losing their minds: "Aaaaaaaaaah!!!"

Theme: Growing through adversity and breaking out of one's cocoon through perseverance.