There has been yet another plot twist in the relationship between Chinese actor Huang Xiaoming, 46, and influencer Ye Ke, 32.
After the couple seemingly split in November, Ye Ke was seen with a baby bump, leaving everyone wondering if they were still together.
And did they fake their break-up?
Well, netizens are now convinced that is the case after Ye Ke was recently spotted on holiday with Xiaoming and his parents.
A netizen posted a video of Xiaoming and his parents enjoying the traditional You Shen (which literally means Wandering Gods) procession in Fujian.
In the footage, a woman resembling Ye Ke stood out in the crowd.
She was wearing a white hat, loose-fitting coat and appeared to be around eight months pregnant.
She stood about three metres away from Xiaoming, seemingly keeping her distance to avoid suspicion, and also maintained a “stranger-like” separation when they were walking.
Xiaoming was also highly cautious.
In a video that he shared on Weibo, Ye Ke’s face was deliberately blurred or covered with captions whenever she appeared in close-up shots, so she would not be easily noticed.
This fuelled rumours that their break-up was staged to protect Xiaoming’s image following Ye Ke’s controversies and the couple was mocked for doing such a bad job at hiding their relationship.
“If you’re going to fake a break-up, at least make it look real. He keeps taking Ye Ke everywhere, and netizens have spotted them multiple times!” wrote one user.
Another said: “Suggest that next time Xiaoming wears sunglasses and a mask—just weld ‘I don’t know her’ onto his face!”