Chapter 65

  The scene was completely different from the press conference held by Jiang Chuan earlier. Even though the press conference had limited the number of reporters, when they arrived at the scene, the car was still surrounded by a sea of reporters - the windows were tinted glass, so you couldn't see inside, but when Jian Ran saw the countless reporters' cameras aimed at the car, he subconsciously turned around and pushed Jiang Chuan down - the latter was suddenly pressed down and almost broke his waist. He immediately struggled free from the black-haired young man who was pressing on him, and retreated backward, almost sticking to the rear window of the car. He glared fiercely and asked: "What are you doing?"

  "It's all reporters outside," Jian Ran said, "what if you don't hide and they take your picture?"

  "Since we've met, let's just meet," Jiang Chuan rubbed his waist and inexplicably swept a tense face of the young black-haired man. "We're both agents, what's strange about appearing in the same place at the same time, or else..."

  Are you still so unwilling to be known with me in the same place?

  The last sentence Jiang Chuan didn't even have time to say, he himself felt like something was off, so the words reached his lips and he swallowed them back, only half of the sentence was said, and the meaning of the whole sentence changed - as soon as the words fell, Jiang Chuan saw the person sitting in front of him with a tense body, his face suddenly changed: "What's wrong?"

  "Not really."

  Jiang Chuan's eyebrows furrowed even tighter, and he subconsciously stretched out his hand to pinch the chin of the person in front of him and turn his face back - but before he could even touch him, a flash of light caught his eye and suddenly saw that there was actually a reporter who dared to rush to the front of the car through the windshield of the driver's seat and take a photo of the back seat!

  The hand that was originally reaching for the young man's face with black hair suddenly changed direction and reached towards his shoulder, so when the camera flash went off at the same time, the two people sitting in the back seat were pressed down by the man's hand together - next to his ear was the driver and agent Fang Yu's thunderous scolding, he carefully heard Fang Yu excitedly demanding that a certain newspaper (probably the one that rushed to the front of the car to take pictures) be disqualified from participating in the press conference, he turned his head to look at Fang Yu, but his lips accidentally brushed against Jiang Chuan's cheek who was hiding with him behind the backrest of the front seat.

  Jian Ran: "......"

  Jiang Chuan seemed to have no big reaction, turned his head and glanced at Jin Ran.

  He slightly moved his lips and was relieved that it was relatively dark around them, so Jiang Chuan couldn't see the expression on his face. He cleared his throat and dryly laughed: "Good thing you reacted quickly."

  Jiang Chuan didn't respond to him, and by this time the car had already entered the exclusive parking lot. The reporters were blocked outside by security personnel. When they arrived at their destination, they sat in the car without moving. Fang Yu made a phone call to have someone send over a set of IM company work uniforms, a duck-billed hat with the company logo, and a pair of glasses with golden frames. After the employee handed these items over through the window, Fang Yu turned around and gave them to Jiang Chuan. Jiang Chuan took them and looked at them briefly before silently putting them on.

  Then, I watched with wide eyes as the "sunshine god" wearing sportswear transformed into a tall and slender im security personnel - at the same time, I couldn't help but feel that as long as one has a good figure and a handsome face, even if they are just a security guard, they would still be the most handsome security guard.

  After changing into his outfit, Jiang Chuan pulled the duck tongue hat on his head very low, and the shadow cast by the brim covered half of his handsome face, only revealing a curved line of his perfect jaw. He got off the car and directly blended into the security personnel's team, walking silently with his head down at the back of the team - while being surrounded by people in the center, Jing Ran was turning his head three times for every step, finally when he subconsciously turned his head to look back for the eighth time, the manager who followed him couldn't help but stretch out his hand and poke his arm: "Are you looking at something? Do I need to install a rearview mirror for you?"

  "Brother Fang, I've discovered a secret." Jian Ran said in a hushed and mysterious tone.

  Fang Yu: "...... What secret? You left your integrity in the car?"

  He gave him a sideways glance: "That thing, I didn't bring it out the door this morning - what I'm saying is, I discovered that our company's security team has an incredibly handsome guy."

  “……………”

  Fang Yu's white eyes almost rolled back to the back of his head.

  A group of people arrived at the rest room, hastily grabbed some time to touch up their makeup, slightly covering up the sick look on their faces, had a sip of tea, and quietly waited for a while before staff came over to notify them that all the reporters had taken their seats in the previously arranged seating area, and they could now get ready to go out.

  He responded with a gentle voice, stood up and approached the mirror to examine himself - hairstyle ok, eyebrows ok, the shading highlight on his nose was also perfectly done, just...

  "Dark circles seem a bit serious, want to add some more powder?"

  "When you've just recovered from a major illness, you should look like you've just recovered from a major illness. If you appear radiant and in high spirits, it will only make the reporters wonder if you really went to get plastic surgery during your disappearance." Fang Yu poured cold water on her enthusiasm.

  After some thought, it's true that based on his many years of experience, most entertainment reporters are hateful but still have some humanity. Generally, when they interview a star who is ill, as long as the star's attitude is slightly better, they will write the entire interview in a way that isn't too sensational... Jianran stood up, adjusted his clothes, faced the mirror, and adjusted his facial expression to completely conceal the previous unorthodox expression. The black-haired young man in the mirror straightened his back, and a warm smile appeared on his face...

  The guy who was clamoring for meat buns and soy milk that morning and even threatened to make a scene at the press conference is nowhere to be found.

  Instead, a well-known good-tempered and professional big star in the entertainment industry, Yuan Jinyan, took his place.

  He took another deep breath and turned around calmly to walk out of the door.

  ……

  This is Yuan Jingyan's first appearance in public after waking up and returning to everyone's vision.

  After that photo of "Scavenger Ah Bo", fans were eager to know about Jian Ran's current situation, and everyone had many questions for him. As a result, due to all these reasons, the flashlights went crazy on him as soon as he appeared on stage.

  From start to finish, his face showed a perfect smile, even when the camera's flash was shining in his eyes, he didn't frown... Seeing him adapt so well, Fang Yu let out a slight sigh of relief, watching as he sat down steadily. Turning his head, he caught a glimpse of something that made his temples throb instantly: Jiang Chuan, who was supposed to be absent from the backstage, appeared wearing an IM company security personnel uniform and standing at the right rear of the stage, his head lowered in a very low-key manner, but that position didn't rule out the possibility of being accidentally caught by the reporters' cameras.

  Fang Yu especially wanted to call security personnel to take this fake security personnel away.

  But it was too late by then, as the press conference had already begun.

  At first, the reporters were politely asking questions and Jian Ran answered one by one. At the end, he didn't forget to reassure his fans that he would adjust his state as soon as possible and return to work... When other reporters were busy taking notes, a reporter stood up and asked Jian Ran if he felt that the eight-month period of silence had caused him any trouble. As soon as this question was asked, Fang Yu couldn't help but want to roll her eyes, thinking: Isn't this a no-brainer? A celebrity without exposure is bound to be troubled.

  However, the black-haired young man sitting next to him said lightly: "Ah, I heard that even when I'm lying in bed, I've been on the headlines several times. Although it's not necessarily a good thing, at least it's still a headline - otherwise, I'd really be afraid that when I wake up, everyone would have forgotten who Yuan Jinran is."

  Jin Ran's words made the reporters burst out laughing, and they whispered to each other about another singer, "Miao Feng", who was also working hard every day to get on the headlines. One of the reporters even wrote in his notebook: "Jin Ran self-destructs, still unstoppable, surpasses headline emperor Miao Feng".

  Fang Yu kicked Jian Ran's leg under the table, signaling him to calm down, but at this moment, he heard the other party continue in a slow and steady tone...

  "But apart from these, there are indeed some real troubles... For example, during my recent break, I accidentally heard my agent mention that this unexpected incident has caused my management company to suffer a lot of losses, including advertising, TV dramas, and film arrangements that need to be re-planned, which has also caused a lot of trouble for many production units. In this regard, I must extend my sincerest apologies on behalf of myself to my management company and those production units."

  He stood up from his seat while speaking, and at the same time, he could feel the scene quieting down slightly. When he straightened up and bowed slightly to express apology, the cameras that had paused for a few seconds suddenly went crazy. If it were under normal circumstances, if a star mentioned the loss and remained unmoved, there was no guarantee that a reporter wouldn't ask the star if they felt guilty about the matter.

  However, at this moment, before they could ask any questions, Yuan Zhenran stood up and admitted his mistake... This action almost proactively shut the mouths of the reporters. Faced with this situation, everyone was stunned and looked at each other in dismay. Then, looking at the young man with black hair standing on the podium, a reporter awkwardly chuckled and said, "This isn't your fault." Soon after, other reporters followed suit and echoed in agreement...

  In the glare of the flashing lights, he stood up straight and smiled: "I promise that to make up for the losses on both sides, I will work hard for the company from now on - and also promise that those production units that had to temporarily change their schedule due to my incident and missed normal working hours, next time they come to cooperate with me, I will definitely give them a 20% discount."

  Everyone in the room burst out laughing, and the atmosphere and rhythm of the scene were well grasped. Jianran also sat back in his own seat.

  Fang Yu gave Jian Ran a thumbs up under the table.

  Jin Yan had just sat down when a reporter stood up in front of him, smiling and asking in a not-so-serious tone: "Excuse me, Jin Yan, after waking up, have you gone on Weibo or any other social media platforms besides that first photo? Or, to put it another way, have you taken a look at the comments under your Weibo posts?"

  As soon as the journalist finished speaking, other journalists around him who had clearly heard his question also burst out laughing in low voices. Jin Yan thought to himself that it was about time they came and that he had been holding back for so long, but on his face, he wore a helpless smile - he even raised his hand to wipe his face: "I know what you're getting at."

  The laughter of the reporter below became clearer.

  "I saw it, in fact, before that I was more expecting than you what kind of scene would happen when I and my junior brother meet."

  This is indeed a true statement.

  While speaking, his eyes flickered, and without anyone noticing, his attention was completely focused on a glimpse he caught out of the corner of his eye - someone who was originally leaning against the stairs with their head down to send a text message suddenly paused, then slightly straightened up and subconsciously turned their head around.

  At the same time, the black-haired young man who had taken in his small action raised the corner of his lips, making that originally hypocritical smile a little more sincere. He heard the reporter ask in front of him: "So, what was the result of your first meeting?"

  She withdrew her gaze calmly.

  As he looked at the reporter, he could feel a silent gaze from the side of the lecture hall staircase stopping on himself - he deliberately paused for a moment, and then smiled slightly and said: "It's not quite like what we agreed before - unexpectedly, it's a shy guy. When I stretched out my hand to him and said 'Hello, I'm Yuan Jinran', he took three steps back and stuck himself to the door of the ward. Really, I wanted to thank him properly, but he had endured a lot of pressure for me alone."

  The reporters all burst out laughing in a low, snickering tone.

  In the direction of the stairs, the guy labeled as "shy" stiffened for a moment, then silently put his phone back in his pocket. He looked around, raised his hand to pull down the brim of his hat, perfectly hiding his awkward and stiff face in the shadow under the brim. Then he took three steps back and disappeared from view.

  She probably got so embarrassed that she went somewhere to cry her heart out.

  There was a thread of revenge in his heart, a thrill at the foolish master's unenthusiastic expression during their first meeting. The smile in the corner of his eyes deepened - although at this moment, under the table, Agent Mr. was almost kicking his feet to pieces. However, Jin Yan didn't quite understand what Fang Yu was tense about. He was very clear about the current preferences of young men and women, such as Jiang Chuan, who was normally quiet and reserved but appeared very sharp and cold at press conferences. If he were to add a "actually very shy in private" label to this character setting, the huge contrast would only attract more fans and be beneficial to him without any harm.

  So, with a smile still on his face, he viciously stepped on Fang Yu's foot under the table - quite forcefully, too. He could clearly hear Mr. Agent take in a sharp breath before quickly withdrawing his foot.

  His smile broadened slightly: "Enough gossip, let's continue talking about work?"

  "What is your next work arrangement?"

  "Because all of my work for the whole year was pushed away earlier, only a few producers who were willing to wait remained, including one main melody anti-war film from Chuan Na Film and Television - "

  "Congratulations, it seems you're about to expand your fan base to include the parents of your current fans."

  He smiled and nodded: "Although it's not a very likable role, this is my first attempt at a mainstream TV drama - in any play there are good roles and bad roles, I just hope everyone won't come to smash my door because I played a villain."

  The reporters again burst into low laughter, the female reporter who asked the question smiled and teased "If you act too well, maybe such a thing will really happen", then kept smiling and sat back in her seat, picked up her notebook and scribbled a few words - it's easy to guess that roughly after tomorrow, Jian Ye would again see praise about his humor and affability on some media outlet.

  At this moment, even Fang Yu couldn't help but admire him. Although he was a certain kind of person in private, at least this guy was reliable in the workplace. His rich experience made him look calm and composed, polite and courteous, effortlessly grasping the rhythm of the entire press conference. When discussing gossip, he naturally discussed gossip, and at critical moments, he subtly and timely stopped the expansion of gossip, bringing the whole topic back to work.

  The atmosphere on the scene was very good, and the Q&A with reporters didn't seem like a press conference but rather everyone sitting in a comfortable place chatting - both sides were very relaxed, which also helped with the bias of the subsequent announcement.

  Soon someone asked if there were any other plans besides the TV series "Chen Na".

  Jian Ran paused for a moment, and when everyone thought he was considering how to answer the question seriously, no one knew that Jian Ran was actually sighing: He patiently sat here answering all sorts of boring questions, waiting for an entire morning, just for this moment.

  At this moment, everyone in the audience looked up and down with their heads, only to see a young black-haired man sitting in the highest position in front of him thinking for a moment before saying: "Ah, yes, Philro Film Company has a series of films that intend to select an actor to perform domestically, but the casting is not yet confirmed, I'm not sure if I will have this honor in the end——"

  "Philro Film Company?" The reporter was taken aback, "……Is it 'Mysterious Seed'?"

  The young man with black hair nodded calmly: "Ah, yes, it's a breakthrough for entering Hollywood movies, a good opportunity..."

  The young man with black hair sitting on the podium had an unchanging smile on his face - although he clearly saw that the reporter's face immediately became embarrassed, he knew in his heart why the reporter was so embarrassed. What was difficult for him was that he still had to pretend to be innocent and unknowing, tapping his fingers lightly on the table, stopping, and asking: "What's wrong? Is there a problem?"

  The reporters looked at each other in dismay, all with a mixture of wanting to watch the show and being somewhat uneasy. The reporter who stood up to ask questions had to force himself to speak, his face filled with embarrassment: "Maybe Jing Yan just woke up and hasn't had time to see the news everywhere, about this movie's casting, it was just recently, ah I remember it was last Monday, Miss Xu Qianqian announced on Weibo that she would definitely be starring..."

  "Huh, is that so?"

  The journalist's words had barely fallen when a young man with black hair sitting in front of him revealed a slightly surprised expression.

  "But yesterday, the production side still emailed me to discuss the issue of re-shooting again."

  No sooner had he finished speaking than he saw with satisfaction that the reporter who had asked the question was left standing there in a daze.

  It wasn't just this reporter, every journalist present at the press conference was sitting there with a stunned expression, and for a moment, it seemed like no one had reacted to what they had just heard - such a heavy statement was spoken out in an innocent tone without any warning, if everyone had expected today's press conference to be a normal Q&A session as a prelude to Yuan's return to the entertainment industry, probably no one would have thought that they could get such a big news today.

  The role in the Hollywood movie "Mysterious Seed" was chosen between Yuan Jinyan and Xu Qianqian, but before the producer had finalized who would play the role, Xu Qianqian took a step ahead and announced to the outside world that Yuan Jinyan wouldn't be able to take on the role in time.

  This is a dagger.

  This is shameless.

  This is...

  "Ah, but things can be eaten casually, words cannot be spoken casually. So if Qianqian has already announced with certainty that she will be performing, I think it should be that my side's information is delayed, or the production team couldn't bear to give up either of us and temporarily expanded the quota to two," Jianyan said with a smile as bright as a sunflower in full bloom, quietly adding another knife, "I guess it should be like this."

  The reporters all smiled and nodded, murmuring "ah yes that's probably it" as they quickly jotted down notes with serious faces.

  Fang Yu twitched the corner of his mouth: "Yuan Jingyan's earth-shattering first slap after waking up."

  "No way," she smiled and nodded at the reporter, shaking her head in greeting, while answering with a slight smile, "After snatching men, she still wants to snatch the show, what a big grudge? She asked for it."

  The press conference is nearing its end.

  Because of Yuan Jin Yan's "outstanding performance", from start to finish, the agent who had been sitting idly without even controlling the scene finally had to exert his last bit of effort. He stood up, took over the microphone and announced: Today's press conference will end here. The exquisite lunch and afternoon tea prepared by IM Company are available for everyone to rest. Once again, thank you to all the media who have taken the time to come, and also remind everyone to watch their step when walking in the future, and never have an accident like Yuan Jin Yan's again.

  The last sentence is naturally sarcastic.

  But Fang Yu didn't expect that before he had even finished speaking, the microphone was suddenly snatched away from him. The young man with black hair who was sitting in his original seat suddenly said coldly: "It's not necessarily an accident, it could also be murder."

  As soon as the words fell, a figure in security uniform flickered at the corner of the stairs, seemingly stretching out his head to take a look at the person on stage.

  The reporters who were getting up and preparing to leave also stopped in their tracks, turning around to look at the young man with black hair.

  The entire venue fell into three seconds of dead silence.

  "Sorry about that, I've been reading too many detective novels lately and got a bit carried away." He stood up straight, hung up the phone, and flashed a smile at the stunned reporters, "Just kidding!"

  He ended with such a shocking and absurd statement, abandoning the room full of stunned reporters, and walked away with his head held high surrounded by staff.

  ……

  Yuan Jinyan's press conference ended like this.

  But on the internet, a carnival has just begun.

  I don't know where the marketing Weibo accounts got their exclusive scoop, but they grabbed onto sensational headlines like "Xu Qianqian announced her role before it was finalized, leaving competitor Yuan Jinyan in an awkward situation after just waking up" - in reality, no one paid attention to how happy Yuan Jinyan was at the press conference, and no one cared what she said there either...

  Xu Qianqian had always appeared in front of everyone as a "close friend" with Jin Ran, but now she has done such a thing, it's really...

  Can't help but be excited.

  Entertainment circle insider Li Dog High comrade said bluntly: 【I asked around with colleagues and it's true that the role in "Mysterious Seed" hasn't been finalized yet, and I heard that the production team had always been leaning towards inviting Yuan Jinyan to play the part——it was only announced last week that Xu Qianqian would be playing the role, she probably didn't expect Yuan Jinyan to wake up at that time……hahahahaha anyway this kind of tragic thing can't be blamed entirely on her hahahahaha!】

  At that time, a group of black powder fans crazily flooded into Xu Qianqian's forwarded Weibo post about Jian Ran waking up. That Weibo post, which was almost drowned out by the blessings from others in the circle, was dug out and the comments quickly rose to a terrifying height in a short period of time.

  "Didn't expect me to wake up so soon?"

  "Fortunately, it's also pitiful to have friends like you - I heard that he was very embarrassed at the press conference today and even helped you out by saying something else, it's really super not worth it for someone like you."

  "Alright, it's not your fault either. That morning when I scrolled through Weibo and saw that trash-picking uncle's face, I was so shocked that I fell off the bed too. This annoying little demon."

  "The knife is inserted well, the knife is inserted cleverly, the knife is inserted with a crunching sound."

  "Anyway, I don't fan, won't go watch the movie either, just came to see: Xu Qianqian are you okay, heart aches for you."

  "This teaches us that in all things we should not make declarations before they are certain; and that we should not divide the estate of a man until he is dead."

  When netizens were crazily attacking Xu Qianqian, Yuan Jinyan was calmly watching the trailer of "Republic of China's Strange News" with his legs crossed, while directing Fang Yu: "How can there be only 300,000 comments? Not enough, not enough! Where did those water armies you bought go? I want high-quality ones - can't just look at the names and see that they are all messy codes. Buy another 300,000, retweet... Oh, and brush up the topic 'Xu Qianqian Stabs Yuan Jinyan' to make it hot, must be first, hang for 24 hours..."

  Fang Yu: "......"

  "Go and do it."

  "A woman who has been robbed of her man is terrifying, but a man who has been robbed of his man is even more terrifying."

  "Snatching men is nothing, those who can be snatched away are all worthless trash. If she wants to pick up garbage, let her do it - I'm saying this because she's done something even more terrifying. Today's press conference is also a reminder for her that if you want others not to know, don't do anything, just honestly withdraw from the competition for 'Mysterious Seeds' and that's it. Although I may or may not take on this drama, regardless of whether I take it or not, she definitely can't have it."

  “why？”

  He paused for a moment, then let out a long sigh...

  "Alright, no more talking, has the previous batch of water army gone on stage? You settle accounts with them—"

  He tossed the juice box in his hand, and with a calm expression, the young man with black hair grabbed the remote control, fast-forwarded it, then stopped it, looking satisfied at the TV screen where Jiang Chuan was wearing a Taoist robe, stepping on lotus leaves floating over the pond... Just as he narrowed his eyes slightly, looking at Jiang Chuan's lithe figure landing lightly on the ground in the camera lens, his eyeballs almost stuck to the handsome face on the screen when he suddenly heard Mr. Agent let out a "hmm".

  "What's wrong?"

  "Xu Qianqian reacted quite quickly, she just posted a Weibo with only text——"

  Before he could finish speaking, the phone in his hand was snatched away by someone next to him. Jing Ran narrowed her eyes slightly and carefully read the comments, only to find that Xu Qianqian had indeed just posted a text Weibo.

  Everyone is spreading rumors that we don't get along, how annoying! I have a big gift for you here, hurry up and come out to receive it and refute the rumors!

  Jian Ran: "......"

  The TV show being broadcast was paused.

  He sat up straight, slid his fingers across the screen and refreshed the Weibo interface again. This time, as expected, he saw a new post -

  So-called Xu Qianqian's big gift.

  That's just a photograph of an oil painting.

  The background is the extremely familiar, Xu Qianqian's home that white-painted studio covering the sky and earth, only this time, occupying the entire picture is not her studio, but a huge oil painting - in the oil painting, the whole scene is an abandoned primary school classroom under a moonlit night, mottled walls, broken windows and curtains that have long lost their original color.

  There are two men in the painting.

  One of them sat on the windowsill, his back to the light, head bowed, eyes cast down... A bright full moon was enlarged by artistic means behind his back, occupying most of the screen. The moonlight passed through his black hair and dense eyelashes, casting a faint glow on his face. The young man with black hair in the painting wore a white shirt, with the top few buttons undone, and at this moment he was smiling quietly.

  His expression was captured very well, and even if you look at him alone, you can guess that he seems to be gazing at someone he loves.

  In the oil painting, with his back to the entire scene, is another tall man, who looks older, standing in front of the young black-haired person, slightly tilting his face - under the moonlight halo, it's hard to see his features clearly, the only thing that can be seen clearly is that one hand is pinching the chin of the young black-haired person sitting on the windowsill, with a slight lift of his head, kissing him.

  The face of the young black-haired person sitting on the windowsill in the oil painting is unmistakably Jian Ran.

  The man standing in front of him, facing away from the screen and kissing him, was naturally Jiang Luocheng.

  He carefully threw his mobile phone aside.

  He knew what Xu Qianqian was using to threaten Jiang Luocheng.