They may be linked to the same girl, and portray rivals in a program, but ask Rayver Cruz about Zanjoe Marudo and he will answer, “he is a good friend.”

Rumors about their supposed rift began last week as the nation anticipated Rayver’s arrival in “Martha Cecilia’s Kristine,” where he plays Lance Navarro, the newest hunk to rock Paso De Blas.

Rayver revealed he usually spends off time on the set with Zanjoe, who is a friend for a long time already.

“Si Z kasi siya yung lagi kong kasama sa dressing room pero ‘pag may time, nag-uusap kami ni AA (Cristine) tungkol sa mga eksena.”

Since they belong in the same circle of friends, they also get to hang-out and drink. There were reports recently even saying Zanjoe is a bad influence to Rayver, which the latter instantly denied.

“Hindi bad influence si Z. ‘Pag goodtime talaga kayo ng barkada, minsan impossibleng hindi kayo iinom. Pero hindi naman magpapakalasing, o hindi naman sa puntong magpapaka-wasak kami, ‘di ba?” cleared the handsome actor.

If they are buddies in real life, their characters in “Kristine” are the opposite. Jaime will confront Lance this week when he sees him with Jewel. Desperate to fight for his love, Jaime will once again try to speak with Don Leon, but the Fortalejo patriarch will only embarrass him in front of the whole Paso De Blas.

Meanwhile, Emerald (Denise Laurel) will decide to keep the Montecielo Minings owned by their family, the same property her Marco (Rafael Rosell) and his former flame will try to take back.

Because of exciting developments like these, viewers chose to stick with “Kristine” even if GMA7 launched a new program, “Beauty Queen” on the same timeslot. “Kristine” ruled the nationwide overnight ratings last Monday with 13.8% and continues to register strong viewership to this day based on data from Kantar Media.

Don’t end your day without watching the epic TV adaptation of the country’s number one bestselling pocketbook series, “Martha Cecilia’s Kristine,” on ABS-CBN’s Primetime Bida.