2 Immortal Grade

After the rain cleared, by noon, the sky over S City was a brilliant blue.

Liao Sheng finished the discharge procedures for Yi Feicheng and stepped out of the hospital. The sunlight was gentle, but Liao Sheng’s mood was darkened.

The moment Yi Feicheng said “wife,” he was so startled he nearly jumped, but he steadied himself and cautiously asked a few questions. When he learned that the “wife” Yi Feicheng referred to was Jiang Ranyun, Liao Sheng’s heart wavered—unsure whether to let go or hold on.

One thing was clear: Yi Feicheng was not secretly married.

Another was also clear: Yi Feicheng’s mind was troubled.

Heavens above!

Liao Sheng went back to explain the situation to the doctor. The doctor said that based on the scans, Yi Feicheng was fine physically; as for his memory problems, it might be like his previous brief amnesia—he would recover after some time.

…

Once inside the car, Yi Feicheng removed his mask and looked at Liao Sheng. “Did you remind the hospital staff properly?”

“Don’t worry,” Liao Sheng replied.

They had gone to a familiar private hospital with strict confidentiality protocols.

“Feige!” Assistant Xiao Luo hurried into the car, handing Yi Feicheng a bag containing a new phone.

Yi Feicheng activated the phone and logged into WeChat first.

Some unnecessary group messages popped up, then a message from his mother: “No matter what, your grandfather’s birthday is next month. You must come back.”

There was no preceding context.

Yi Feicheng pondered for a moment, slowly recalling his earlier conversations with his mother.

Trying to retrieve memories made his head throb faintly.

On the surface, his amnesia seemed to have lifted, but Yi Feicheng himself knew many memories were still fragmented or missing, especially those involving Jiang Ranyun. As husband and wife, they should have many shared memories, but he could recall very few.

This gave him a subtle unease—perhaps he was afraid she would be angry. After the accident, he had forgotten many things related to her…

Jiang Ranyun had not messaged him.

Opening their chat, Yi Feicheng hesitated, unsure how to start. Liao Sheng mentioned that he hadn’t told Jiang Ranyun about the accident yet. Maybe it was better not to mention it now, so as not to worry her.

Liao Sheng sat in the passenger seat, turning back to discuss the evening’s live broadcast with Yi Feicheng, but when he saw the chat window open to “Jiang Ranyun,” he nearly lost his composure. “Feicheng!”

“Hm?”

“Ranyun is busy with work today. Don’t bother her. You don’t have much going on anyway; let her focus.”

Liao Sheng silently hoped that the memory confusion would clear up in half a day or a day, like before.

Yi Feicheng nodded, accepting Liao Sheng’s suggestion.

“There’s a live broadcast event tonight…” Liao Sheng began.

“I remember.”

“Considering your current condition…” Liao Sheng probed, “We still have time to negotiate a delay of a day or two.”

Yi Feicheng looked up. “No need. I’m fine.”

Liao Sheng: “...Alright.”

It was okay, nothing would go wrong, he reassured himself. He had to trust Yi Feicheng’s professionalism!

The driver took them to the hotel.

“Xiao Luo,” Liao Sheng said, “You’re off today. I’ll accompany Feicheng for the live broadcast tonight.”

“Thanks, Liao Ge!” Xiao Luo was delighted.

“Feicheng, rest well this afternoon,” Liao Sheng reminded Yi Feicheng. “Contact me if anything comes up.”

…

In the hotel room, Yi Feicheng showered, washed his hair and face, brushed his teeth, and changed into clean clothes.

Xiao Luo sent him about a dozen WeChat messages with promotional materials and online reviews of “Flying Birds and Green Hills” — something prepared earlier for tonight’s broadcast, sent again since Yi Feicheng had lost previous data with the new phone.

Yi Feicheng opened each message.

The online reviews puzzled him.

From some comments, it seemed his relationship with Jiang Ranyun was not public.

Was there something wrong with their marriage? When he mentioned it to Liao Sheng earlier, Liao’s expression had seemed odd.

Yi Feicheng thought for a moment.

…

No clues, only a headache.

He closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead, giving up on forcing himself to think, instead trying to gather information from other sources.

He entered both his and Jiang Ranyun’s names into a search engine.

Most results were recent press releases related to “Flying Birds and Green Hills.” Soon, he found an article outlining their relationship over the years.

But the article was superficial.

It simply recounted that they met eight years ago on a film set; seven years ago their first movie launched and made them stars; six years ago, a low-budget romance film they starred in broke box office records, and the TV series they appeared in became wildly popular nationwide; five years ago, a suspense film they starred in made the top ten total box office list. For the next two years they worked separately, both doing well, until last year’s collaboration on the Republican-era spy drama “Flying Birds and Green Hills.”

The article concluded that their success was due to unique on-screen chemistry, and that online speculation about their private relationship was mostly baseless rumors—just two excellent actors playing great roles together.

One comment caught Yi Feicheng’s attention.

Posted by a user named “Feiran Is Real”: “Don’t talk nonsense. We Feiran are already married [heart].”

Yi Feicheng’s heart stirred.

Was this someone in the know?

He clicked into the user’s profile and found a fresh interpretation of his relationship with Jiang Ranyun.

Unconsciously following their online trail, Yi Feicheng ended up on a video site.

He discovered many fan-made “ship” videos of him and Jiang Ranyun.

Some centered on characters they played together in films or dramas; others edited their roles from different projects as if they were a pair. But what most interested Yi Feicheng were the analytical videos of their off-screen interactions.

“Sweet Moments: Come savor our divine Feiran bloopers.”

“Feiran Detail Magnifier: Who gets it? Yesterday’s awards ceremony, the couple didn’t even hide it.”

“Feiran: Watch industry insiders’ genuine reactions to Feiran; the whole world is waiting for their wedding.”

“Feiran: Two-hour live stream highlights with countless details proving they’re real!!”

“Feiran: The truth is true.”

“Yi Feicheng & Jiang Ranyun: This isn’t about my live stream headstand hair wash.”

“Feiran’s Roadshow Collection: Unconsciously, they’ve been by your side for so many years.”

Each video meticulously analyzed their subtle expressions before and after filming, at events.

Glances exchanged intentionally or not, smiles sparked by eye contact, him helping her tidy her gown’s hem, her handing him the microphone…

Comments and chat were wild with shippers: He loves her so much!

Watching the first video, Yi Feicheng thought, was it really that exaggerated?

By the twentieth video, Yi Feicheng thought: I love her so much.

He then watched several videos focusing on Jiang Ranyun’s micro-expressions.

Her ears flushed red during kissing scenes in the bloopers; at the awards ceremony, her burning gaze locked on him; she was the first to rush to his side when he was injured on set; at film festivals, when he passed her by and didn’t notice immediately, her disappointed look…

Yi Feicheng stared for a long moment, his heart aching: She loves me so deeply.

Even during their two-year period of keeping distance to avoid rumors, fans agreed—showbiz was tough, they were young, careers rising; they couldn’t let romance get in the way. The distance showed they cared about each other’s careers—it was true love!

Yet Yi Feicheng was not fully convinced by this reasoning.

He knew their situation: they didn’t rely on fan numbers for resources; even if they announced their relationship, they might lose some fans but it wouldn’t impact their careers.

Yi Feicheng pondered.

After watching so many videos, fragments of memories with Jiang Ranyun seemed to return.

One memory flashed.

He coldly told Jiang Ranyun, “I don’t want our relationship to be public.”

Jiang Ranyun looked at him, eyes moistening, then lowered her gaze and softly said, “Okay.”

Yi Feicheng: “...”

He took a deep breath.

In this relationship, he seemed to have been a… scoundrel.

Jiang Ranyun loved him so much—how could he treat her this way?

Was it because he feared his family’s disapproval? His father and grandfather had always looked down on his acting career and explicitly forbade him from associating with women in the entertainment industry, much less bringing anyone home.

So he had to hide it all?

Unsure what he had been thinking at the time, Yi Feicheng gazed out at the cityscape, feeling as if a fire burned inside him. An indescribable sorrow welled up—pain for Jiang Ranyun, and a silent ache for how poorly he had handled things in the past.

Jiang Ranyun loved him so much—they were married—and yet he had hidden their relationship. He should have given her a proper place in the world.

Perhaps this accident was heaven’s way of giving him a chance,

To summon the courage to face what he must.

…

*

As dusk fell and city lights flickered on,

At the building housing Qingti Video—the exclusive online streaming platform for “Flying Birds and Green Hills”—the live broadcast studio was set up, with hosts, cameramen, and lighting all ready.

Around this time, Jiang Ranyun arrived first.

“Teacher Jiang, this way,” staff greeted her promptly.

Qingti Video employees couldn’t take their eyes off Jiang Ranyun. Only after she disappeared from view did they start furiously typing, messaging friends or posting on social media—

“Just saw Jiang Ranyun in person, so beautiful!!”

“Jiang Ranyun is stunning!!! A fan at first sight!”

“Ranyun came to our office today. When she passed by, I think she looked at me once. I can die happy…”

Inside the live room, Jiang Ranyun calmly glanced around.

“Has Yi Feicheng arrived yet?” she asked.

Staff replied, “He’s on his way, was delayed a bit by traffic. Please take your seat first, Teacher Jiang.”

Jiang Ranyun smiled. “Just call me Ranyun.”

But the scheduled start time passed, and Yi Feicheng still hadn’t arrived.

Fans were urging.

A few minutes later, staff received word and brightened. “Teacher Yi is downstairs!”

Jiang Ranyun said, “Let’s start first; greet the fans who have waited so long.”

Staff sprang into action.

As the live broadcast began, the comment stream flooded in like a tide. Behind screens and networks, fans spoke unabashedly:

“Ranyun looks so beautiful today!” “Drool!” “Big hugs and kisses for Ranyun!” “Wife!!” “Feige?!” “[Heart]Fei[heart]Ran[heart]is[heart]real[heart]” “[Heart]Jiang Ranyun[heart] Jiang Ranyun[heart] Jiang Ranyun”

Jiang Ranyun smiled warmly and greeted everyone good evening.

The chat was soon flooded with “Good evening!”

She said, “Sorry to keep everyone waiting so long.”

“No, not at all!”

“Almost thought the live would be canceled, scared me to death!”

“Don’t believe the rumors spread by marketing haters. No quarrels. Our Feiran is doing great!”

“How could it be canceled?” Jiang Ranyun laughed. “The live will start shortly.”

Just then, hurried footsteps pushed open the door.

Jiang Ranyun looked up to see Yi Feicheng striding in.

Today he wore a white suit, which gave him a gentler warmth compared to his usual cool austerity.

Their eyes met briefly and Jiang Ranyun sensed something unusual.

The way Yi Feicheng looked at her was… intensely focused.

Soon, her attention was drawn away by Yi Feicheng’s manager behind him, who was frantically signaling.

Liao Sheng held up his phone behind the camera, displaying a bold, enlarged message for her to see.

Jiang Ranyun squinted, finally reading the words clearly:

—Feicheng had a minor car accident yesterday and is experiencing some memory issues. Please bear with him, Teacher Jiang.