"Xuanxuan?"
A deep, pleasant male voice sounded through the live stream, carrying a faint hint of familiarity.
Before Xie Zhiyan could say another word, Ning Yuxuan quickly cut in, her words tumbling out in a rapid-fire explanation: "I’m recording a show right now, and I need your help answering a question. If you get it right, I can pass this challenge."
There was a brief pause on the other end of the line before he replied, "Alright."
Ning Yuxuan had spoken so fast that Xie Zhiyan barely got a chance to say much.
But the live audience had already picked up on his identity almost instantly.
[Is that CEO Xie’s voice? It sounds just like him!]
[I think it is! Even though the phone distorts the tone a bit, it’s definitely Xie Zhiyan.]
Some viewers also caught the way he addressed her.
[Am I hearing things, or… did CEO Xie just call her Xuanxuan??]
[Wasn’t it Yuxuan? That’s how he’s been referring to her all along.]
[No no, I heard Xuanxuan too! Ugh, I wish I’d recorded it—why can’t this livestream have instant replays?!]
Whenever Xie Zhiyan used Ning Yuxuan’s childhood nickname, the first "Xuan" was spoken softly, and combined with the slight distortion from the phone call, it was hard to discern clearly.
The debate raged on in the live chat—was it "Yuxuan" or "Xuanxuan"?
The shippers were adamant it was the latter, while others insisted it was just a misheard "Yuxuan" due to the muffled pronunciation.
But soon, the conversation between the two stole everyone’s attention.
Ning Yuxuan: "I’ll read the question, and you just answer directly. The question is: What are all the film and TV projects I’ve appeared in?"
Xie Zhiyan: "Does unreleased work count?"
Ning Yuxuan: "…No!"
She had briefly mentioned her cameo in Director Zhang Tai’s Tides of Fate during their phone call in Jiangcheng that night, but she hadn’t expected him to remember.
Xie Zhiyan’s voice remained steady. "Then it’s two. In chronological order, The Story of If and My Crystal Lover."
On screen, the staff signaled that the answer was correct.
Ning Yuxuan’s earpiece also confirmed the challenge was complete.
Back in the control room, the amusement park staff pressed the stop button, and the pirate ship began slowing down.
But the live chat only grew more frenzied.
[The Story of If?? Wasn’t that the movie CEO Xie said yesterday was his favorite, starring Ning Fei?]
[Was Ning Yuxuan in that? I had no idea!]
[I just checked—her name isn’t even listed in the supporting cast.]
[Given when that movie came out, Ning Yuxuan would’ve been under ten years old at the time.]
[Could the production team have made a mistake?]
The shippers, however, had already zeroed in on the key point.
[The production team definitely did their research—if they say she was in it, she was in it! The real takeaway here: Xie Zhiyan’s favorite movie has Ning Yuxuan in it!!!]
[AHHHH THIS IS BASICALLY A CONFESSION!! MY HEART CAN’T TAKE THIS!!]
The Q&A segment was over.
But for some reason, even as the pirate ship descended, the staff didn’t disconnect the call with Xie Zhiyan.
Ning Yuxuan: "Alright, my challenge is done. Thanks."
Xie Zhiyan: "No problem."
Ning Yuxuan: "We’re moving on to the next segment now."
Xie Zhiyan gave a quiet "Mm."
Ning Yuxuan: "CEO Xie, sorry for bothering you. You can go back to work now."
Xie Zhiyan’s tone was indifferent. "No bother. It’s Sunday—I’m off today."
Ning Yuxuan: "…"
Who cared if he was off? She was just hinting that he should hang up already!
Xie Zhiyan added, "Is Teacher Ning there with you? Send my regards to her."
By now, the pirate ship had nearly come to a full stop.
Ning Yuxuan: "Sure, I will."
A staff member climbed up to help Ning Yuxuan unbuckle her safety harness.
Only after she stepped off the ride and waved to the audience to show she was fine did the staff finally speak up.
"Thank you for your cooperation, CEO Xie. We’ll end the call now."
Ning Fei watched her daughter with concern. "Are you feeling okay?"
The segment had lasted several minutes, and she was worried Ning Yuxuan might be unwell.
"I’m fine," Ning Yuxuan replied with a smile. "The view up there was great—I even spotted a bumper car area. I’d love to try that later."
Seeing that her daughter seemed unaffected, Ning Fei relaxed.
Jiang Ning'an was up next for the challenge, so Ning Yuxuan sat with Ning Fei on a nearby bench.
Knowing her daughter wasn’t ready to go public about her relationship with Xie Zhiyan, Ning Fei avoided mentioning the call and kept her attention on Jiang Ning'an.
But the live audience was still buzzing with theories.
Meanwhile, some netizens have already taken action.
Since the program team said that Ning Yuxuan appeared in the movie "The Story of What If", there must be a basis for it.
This movie is already a few years old, but the original film can still be found and watched on several video - streaming platforms.
Finally, as the saying goes, "Where there's a will, there's a way." A netizen found a clue.
In the credits at the end of the movie "The Story of What If", the name "Ning Yuxuan" did not appear.
However, they found that among the three actresses who played the daughter of the female protagonist, one was named "Lin Yuxuan".
In the movie, these three actresses played the daughter of the protagonist at the ages of four, eight, and fifteen respectively.
According to the information, Ning Yuxuan was around eight years old during the filming of this movie, which matched the age exactly.
Then the netizens found the time period when this "Lin Yuxuan" appeared in the main part of the movie.
The scene was the female protagonist and her daughter playing on the beach at sunset. Since this part was used for a transition, only the back of the daughter was shown.
It was exactly the same scene that Xie Zhiyan said he had a deep impression of in the program.
All the facts pointed to one possibility. Combined with the fact that Ning Fei once quit the entertainment industry, got married secretly and had a child, the answer was obvious.
Ning Yuxuan and Lin Yuxuan were the same person. Probably when the movie was released that year, Ning Fei had just divorced and hadn't successfully changed her daughter's surname yet, which was why the surname "Lin" was written in the credits instead of "Ning".
The netizen who discovered this fact immediately sorted out all the clues into an article and posted it.
At the live - broadcast site of "Mom", Jiang Ning'an had completed her challenge, and the guests had gone to the location for the next game.
On Weibo, the relevant topics quietly climbed up the trending list.
#Ning Yuxuan once played Ning Fei's daughter in a movie#
The popularity of a CP topic was also rising.
#Ning Yuxuan and Xie Zhiyan#
Clicking on the first topic, you could see the detailed analysis process listed by netizens, proving that the actress who played Ning Fei's daughter in the movie was Ning Yuxuan herself.
Clicking on the second topic, it was all about shipping the CP.
Xie Zhiyan said in yesterday's program that his favorite movie was Ning Fei's "The Story of What If". At first, people didn't pay much attention to it and just thought that the movie he liked was relatively niche.
But after discovering that Ning Yuxuan appeared in this movie and Xie Zhiyan specifically pointed out the scene where Ning Yuxuan appeared, the nature of the matter changed.
The CP fans were extremely excited.
[Isn't this just secretly showing their affection? It seems that Xie Zhiyan is saying that he likes the movie, but in fact, isn't he saying that he likes Ning Yuxuan!!]
[Yes! Otherwise, why did he specifically mention the scene where Ning Yuxuan appeared!]
[Moreover! In the latest episode of the program, Xie Zhiyan talked to Ning Yuxuan again and mentioned this movie again. Someone has already recorded the screen and posted it!]
In addition to the original variety - show viewers, some netizens who didn't know the truth clicked into this topic.
With the intention of expanding their group, the CP fans seized every opportunity to promote.
[Interested netizens can go to the super - topic of "Yanxuan CP". There are already many well - edited CP - themed videos in it!]
[It's not too late to join now! I have a hunch that the two of them will definitely announce their relationship soon!]
After the live - broadcast of yesterday's program ended, some CP fans stayed up all night to edit several CP videos using the live - broadcast footage.
All kinds of interactions between Ning Yuxuan and Xie Zhiyan were edited into the videos.
The three scenes of handing grapes, tying an apron, and rolling up sleeves appeared repeatedly in each CP video from various angles, full of pink - bubble romance.
The content in the super - topic was still increasing.
The clip where Ning Yuxuan asked Xie Zhiyan which work he liked best yesterday was not originally the most favorite scene among the CP fans.
In comparison, the scenes with physical contact seemed sweeter and were more favored by the video editors.
But after the news that Ning Yuxuan had a cameo in the movie was dug out, this clip was given new meaning.
Some quick - handed CP fans had already edited yesterday's clip together with today's live - broadcast recording.
Xie Zhiyan's meaningful look when answering the question yesterday and Ning Yuxuan's slight moment of stupefaction were all magnified and slow - motioned, becoming evidence of their secret romance.
And the indistinct "Xuanxuan" heard during their phone call today also became a must - edit clip in every CP video.
In the comment section of a certain CP video, an old viewer noticed a coincidence.
[Why do I think Xie's voice on the phone sounds very similar to a male voice that appeared in a program a long time ago?]
[Yes, I also have an impression! It was when Ning Yuxuan answered a phone call on speakerphone and a man's voice suddenly came out!]
The comments mentioned the second episode of the show, which was three weeks ago.
At that time, Ning Yuxuan and Jiang Ning'an were arranged to cook a lunch together, and they both made phone calls for off - site assistance.
While Ning Yuxuan was on the phone, a very nice male voice suddenly appeared. When the show was broadcast at that time, it caused quite a stir.
However, no netizen could find out who that person was, so it was gradually forgotten by everyone.
Now that the old matter is brought up again, someone has found the replay of the show and compared the voice of Xie Zhiyan on the phone in this episode.
The same person's voice recorded directly through the microphone at the recording site may sound different from the voice transmitted through the phone and then transcribed.
Comparing the voices that are both transmitted through the phone, it can be clearly heard.
The male voice that taught Ning Yuxuan to "put oil first" back then had a similarity of over 80% with Xie Zhiyan's voice when answering questions today.
After this secret was discovered, the CP fans went completely crazy.
[My goodness, you teachers are so amazing! You even found such a hidden piece of candy!]
[So! As early as the second episode, President Xie called Xuanxuan and taught her how to make Coke - flavored chicken wings!!!]
[At that time, Ning Yuxuan's tone was also very telling! It was completely like a girl coquettishly talking to her boyfriend!]
[Woohoo, so our Yanxuan CP is getting more and more interesting and sweeter the more we dig!]
With the efforts of the CP fans, the topic #Ning Yuxuan Xie Zhiyan# kept rising in popularity.
Meanwhile, several marketing accounts suddenly started posting articles almost at the same time.
However, the content they posted was not related to the CP, but the so - called "scandals" of Ning Yuxuan.
Entertainment Spy 001: An insider in the entertainment industry revealed that Ning Yuxuan, the daughter of the movie queen Ning Fei and a popular guest on the variety show "Dear Mom" recently, is completely different in front of and behind the camera. She not only has a very bad attitude towards the staff but also bosses around the actors in the same crew.
Entertainment Sister 17: Let me talk about a second - generation star who has been very popular recently because of a certain family - themed variety show. Many netizens seem to think she is a nice person, and she also presents an image of being very considerate and easy to get along with. But many insiders in the industry say that her temper is actually very bad.
With the revelations of these marketing accounts, an old video was also dug out.
It was a vlog posted by an actress named Yin Xueyao in the crew of the drama "My Crystal Lover" in which Ning Yuxuan starred.
At the beginning of the video, Yin Xueyao said to the camera that today she would introduce the actors in this drama to the fans.
Then Yin Xueyao filmed several actors on the set one by one and chatted with them. The actors who were filmed were also very cooperative.
Until Yin Xueyao walked up to Ning Yuxuan and wanted to strike up a conversation, but was glared at fiercely by Ning Yuxuan.
Ning Yuxuan's expression was defensive and vigilant: "What are you filming me for?"
Yin Xueyao: "Sorry, Xuanxuan, I just..."
Ning Yuxuan: "Don't call me that!"
The next part of the video shows Yin Xueyao smiling at the camera: "Hahaha, Xuanxuan may be in a bad mood today. It doesn't matter. Let's go and see what others are doing!"
When this vlog was first released, many netizens scolded Ning Yuxuan in the comment section.
However, because Yin Xueyao didn't have many fans and Ning Yuxuan was not well - known at that time, the netizens scolded for a while and then it died down without causing much of a stir.
Later, during the live broadcast of the first preview of "Dear Mom", some viewers mentioned that Ning Yuxuan had a bad temper because of this video.
Now this video has reappeared in the relevant recommendations of the marketing accounts' revelations and re - entered the public eye.
Netizens have different attitudes.
Many netizens think the timing of this video's appearance is very delicate.
[Is it because Ning Yuxuan is too popular recently? Why has such an old video been dug out?]
[Is someone jealous and trying to bring Ning Yuxuan down, so they found this vlog?]
Some people also question the content of the video.
[Actually, I don't think Ning Yuxuan said anything particularly excessive in it. Instead, this Yin Xueyao is quite strange. Doesn't the meaning of posting this video seem to be to get her fans to scold Ning Yuxuan together?]
[I also think it's very strange. Especially that sentence "Xuanxuan may be in a bad mood", it's a bit "tea - like".]
But not everyone supports Ning Yuxuan.
Especially on the Internet, there are two groups that hate Ning Yuxuan the most -
The fans of Cen Meng and Cheng Xiyang.
Hate lasts longer than love.
Cen Meng and Cheng Xiyang haven't appeared in public for a long time, and their fans are basically in a state of giving up. But when they saw the scandals about Ning Yuxuan, the old hatred was stirred up again.
[See through but don't say it. Just wait for Ning Yuxuan to fall from grace!]
["I've always said that Ning Yuxuan is not a good person. I didn't expect her to be whitewashed so thoroughly after participating in a variety show."]
With the joint efforts of marketing accounts, the topic #Ning Yuxuan Has a Bad Temper# was also pushed to the top of the hot list.
Next, a recording was exposed in this topic.
First came Ning Shiyue's angry voice: "Cen Meng! How dare you show up here?"
Then Ning Shiyue continued to scold Cen Meng: "Can you have some self - respect?"
In the middle was a section of Cen Meng's sobbing: "Seeing that I can still get acting roles now, you must be very angry, right? But I'm sorry to disappoint you. I still managed to get a role of my own! As long as I can still act, I will never give up!"
Finally, it ended with Ning Yuxuan's cold tone: "You called me here just to say these things?"
The recording ended there.
It sounded as if Ning Shiyue and Ning Yuxuan were bullying Cen Meng together, while Cen Meng was arguing rationally.
The blogger who broke the news of this recording claimed to be a fresh graduate who had just entered the film and television industry. When having a group dinner with the crew, he accidentally came across these three people talking and recorded a part of it.
Some netizens in the comment section questioned:
["A normal person would avoid eavesdropping on others' private conversations. Why did you record it?"]
The blogger replied: "I didn't know any of these three people before. But Cen Meng was really so pitiful. She was almost scolded to tears by this brother - sister pair. I couldn't stand it anymore and just recorded a few sentences to complain to my friends."
Someone pointed out that the recording sounded a bit off: ["Why is it so choppy? Has it been processed in any way?"]
The blogger replied: ["I've said that I recorded it on the spur of the moment because I couldn't stand it. I used WeChat's voice function instead of a professional recording device, so it's not clear."]
There were also netizens asking in the comment section: ["When did this happen? If you really wanted to stand up for Cen Meng, why didn't you post it earlier?"]
The blogger replied: ["The Ning siblings are so popular. Even if I knew what kind of people they are, I didn't dare to say anything. It wasn't until today when I saw someone breaking the news about them that I finally mustered up the courage to post it. You can scold me if you want. I just did what I thought was right."]
At this time, the appearance of this recording just confirmed the claim that Ning Yuxuan was two - faced.
For a moment, most of the anti - fans of Ning Yuxuan, who were originally fans of Cen Meng and Cheng Xiyang, all emerged.
["Good grief! It turns out that Ning Shiyue and Ning Yuxuan are so mean!"]
["I'm just a passer - by and don't know the messy things between Cen Meng and Ning Yuxuan. But it's really ungentlemanly for these two to bully Cen Meng alone."]
Some even tried to rewrite history.
["I always thought there was something fishy about the matter between Cen Meng and Ning Yuxuan. Could it be that those negative news about Cen Meng were fabricated by Ning Yuxuan?"]
["Maybe Ning Yuxuan is the mistress! Cen Meng was framed!"]
...
As time passed, the popularity of both the CP topic of Ning Yuxuan and Xie Zhiyan and the negative news about Ning Yuxuan was increasing.
On one side, CP fans were going crazy over "So sweet! So sweet!", while on the other side, anti - fans were hurling insults, as if they were in two different worlds.
As the two topics were both pushed to the top of the hot list, there was finally an intersection between the two sides.
Some fans in the CP super - topic reminded that Ning Yuxuan was being slandered outside and asked everyone to find ways to support her.
Under the negative news posts about Ning Yuxuan, many fans were defending her.
["These so - called negative news are so lame! A vlog that proves nothing and an obviously processed recording. Only a fool would believe them."]
["Is Cen Meng testing the waters for a comeback? So she's starting to smear Ning Yuxuan again? I'm afraid this recording was made and maliciously edited by Cen Meng herself."]
Under the posts about the CP, it was no longer just a chorus of "Ahh" and "So sweet! So sweet". Discordant voices gradually emerged.
["It's so funny. You claim to be CP fans, but actually you're just Ning Yuxuan's fans having daydreams. You're all imagining yourself as Ning Yuxuan, dreaming of marrying a domineering CEO like a Cinderella?"]
["Wake up! Your CP is fake. Ning Yuxuan and Xie Zhiyan are not in the same league at all. Stop deceiving yourselves with a bunch of pieced - together clips."]
["A shallow woman like Ning Yuxuan should be grateful just to be in the same frame as Mr. Xie. If it weren't for Mr. Xie knowing Ning Fei, do you think these two would have any intersection?"]
Netizens were dazzled by all the drama. Meanwhile, the recording of "Dear Mom" continued.
After the challenge between Ning Yuxuan and Jiang Ning'an, Ning Fei and Qin Man also had a phone call with their friends respectively.
Then the two pairs of mothers and daughters went to the Ferris wheel in the amusement park and took a group photo at the highest point of the entire park.
After getting off the Ferris wheel, the group ended their trip to the amusement park.
The atmosphere was supposed to be very warm, but the turmoil outside had already affected the live - streaming room.
Just like on Weibo, there were also quite a few netizens arguing in the live - streaming comments.
The program crew also knew about the current hot search outside. It seemed that something had happened to Ning Yuxuan.
However, with the previous experiences, the director quickly made a decision to carry on today's live - streaming as normal until the end.
At the moment, the guests were on their way back to the villa. According to the schedule, the live - streaming would end after the guests returned.
After a day of outdoor shooting, Ning Yuxuan leaned on Ning Fei's shoulder to rest and didn't look at her phone.
Ning Fei was also closing her eyes and relaxing. Neither of them knew about the turmoil outside at this moment.
On the other side in Jiangcheng, Ning Shiyue had just finished filming an important scene. He heard about the public opinion outside from other people in the crew.
When telling Ning Shiyue what had happened, the person's tone was very cautious, for fear that Ning Shiyue would be overly excited.
Everyone in the crew knew that Ning Shiyue couldn't tolerate his family being hurt the most.
However, when Ning Shiyue saw the so - called recording released by the whistle - blower, he just slightly twitched the corner of his mouth, showing a sarcastic smile.
These people's methods were still as clumsy and despicable as ever.
Ning Shiyue thanked the person who informed him of the news.
Then Ning Shiyue walked up to his assistant and said casually, "It's time. The recording I asked you to prepare before can come in handy now."
