Chapter 68

  The audition for "Star Fire" went pretty smoothly, and everyone was in a good mood.

  To celebrate the first "red opening" after waking up, Jian Yan decided to invite his agent, Mr. Fang Yu, who had been worried about him for some time, and Jiang Chuan, who had just helped him brush up on his oral skills and received praise from the teachers, to dinner. Unfortunately, due to this sudden decision, it happened to be a Friday, and when the three of them drove to the city center and parked their car, they found that every restaurant was packed with long queues - even the spicy hot pot place had a waiting list.

  At this time, Jianran was already starving, with his chest stuck to his back. He refused to stand in line to feed the mosquitoes. Having no choice, the three of them went to the supermarket again, buying a bunch of vegetables, meat, beer, drinks and snacks. They didn't care if they could finish eating everything, each person's hands were full of big and small bags as they returned - and sped back to Jianran's high-end apartment in G City, where the broker Mr. prepared a big meal by himself.

  "Didn't you say you'd thank me and treat me to dinner?" Fang Yu asked helplessly, looking at the pile of dishes.

  "Right, aren't these things supposed to be paid for with my card?" Jian Yan retorted.

  Fang Yu was thoroughly speechless, sighing and wondering what kind of sin he had committed. He picked up his sleeves, grabbed the bag, and trudged into the kitchen to wash vegetables and prepare dinner... Leaving Jiang Chuan and Jin Ran standing at the kitchen door for a while before turning back to the living room to watch TV - naturally, it was an episode of "Republic of China's Strange Records". Last time, Jiang Chuan had only seen up to the third episode, where Caishen's wife, Susu, had just died. He hadn't even finished watching when he got busy arguing with the actress who played Susu over the phone. This time, he brought a bag of snacks and a can of Coke, sat in front of the TV, and relished the scene where Jiang Chuan stabbed Xu Qianqian with a prop sword, splattering blood everywhere.

  The young man with black hair watched and sighed "tsk tsk tsk": "It would be great if that sword were real."

  Jiang Chuan quietly opened a can of beer beside him and took a sip.

  "You can call the police, she's attempted murder and will go to jail."

  "No way, she must be crazy to send out those intimate photos of me and Jiang Luocheng..."

  Jiang Chuan raised an eyebrow.

  "Alright, it's not a nude photo, but if that picture gets out, it'll be enough to explain some things - Jiang Luocheng's image as a filmmaker is ambiguous and nobody pays attention to it, but I'm different, I'm a public figure who relies on word of mouth and popularity to make a living. If I accidentally take the wrong path in certain things, I'll be dead."

  "It's not as serious as you think."

  "No one dares to tell me 'it's not that serious' when I'm packing my bags, so it must be that serious."

  "Coward."

  "Coward, you're a coward!" Jing Ran's hair stood on end in an instant. "Damn it, do you know how hard I worked to get here today?! When we weren't popular, I'd arrive at the filming location four hours early just to wait for the leading lady who would show up late after sleeping in and getting beauty sleep... that feeling is one I never want to experience again in this lifetime. Now that I've finally climbed to a position where others are waiting for me, how can I risk throwing away all my past hard work? Not to mention being sorry to anyone else, but if something went wrong with this kind of thing, the first person I'd be sorry to is myself! Do you know how much I love and cherish myself?! So this kind of thing absolutely cannot happen."

  The young man with black hair spoke with a straight face, and Jiang Chuan listened with a speechless expression, almost convinced by him - a pair of bright blue eyes stared at the extremely excited guy in front of him. The man's hand, which was originally lazily placed on the sofa, suddenly twitched - and somehow this small movement caught his attention. He suddenly retreated and covered his face: "What's wrong! Even if I'm shameless, you can't hit me."

  Seeing the black-haired young man covering his face with both hands, a look of vigilance on his face, Jiang Chuan was silent for three seconds before asking in a serious and sincere tone: "......Are you sick?"

  Jian Ran: "......"

  Jiang Chuan shook his head and looked straight ahead: "Continue watching TV."

  Actually, I don't know why, but just now, for a moment, I wanted to raise my hand - not to slap this shameless guy's face, but to touch that particularly excited head... But this thought has already disappeared. Jiang Chuan feels like he is inexplicably and somewhat perverted... So, actually, the one who is sick may not be Jin Ran, Jiang Chuan thinks, maybe it's himself who is sick.

  Thinking of this, the man muttered in his native language, raised his hand and rubbed his forehead, as if he had really burned his brain.

  At this time, when the two were talking, the TV was still playing "Republic of China Strange Record". Huai Jin found that the monster he thought had killed Su Su didn't show up. The face on the enlarged screen showed a hesitant expression - Jiang Chuan looked at himself on the TV, slightly stunned, and then suddenly stretched out his long arm, snatched the snack from the young man with black hair who was munching on potato chips beside him, and when the latter turned around to protest, he turned around and asked him expressionlessly: "How's my performance?"

  "...Leng Buding was suddenly asked like this, and Jing Ran didn't react in time, subconsciously blurting out, "It's great, when I fell from the sky it was simply stunning."

  Jiang Chuan furrowed his brow.

  Obviously very dissatisfied with this official and perfunctory response.

  He stretched out his hand, pinched the chin of the young man with black hair - regardless of the potato chip crumbs falling on his own backhand, the man turned his face back to the TV. At this time, on TV, Qiao Sheng was yelling at Huai Jin "Why", Wang Mo's face was scrunched up in a painful expression that was quite comical. He blinked his eyes, unsure if he could laugh, just then he heard Jiang Chuan ask him in a calm tone: "Besides being handsome, what else?"

  He let out two soft "Wu wu" sounds, and Jiang Chuan, in a burst of compassion, released his hand from pinching his chin.

  She slowly let out a breath, rubbed her sore chin and muttered "What's with the physical contact?" She sat up straight again, thought for a moment, then showed a slightly serious expression to the man: "If you want to hear me criticize, I can only say that because this scene was shot early on, the tacit understanding between actors hasn't been developed yet - and you're still new, so your acting skills are a bit stiff. Look at this part..."

  He pointed at the TV and gestured for Jiang Chuan to take a look.

  Here, the Taoist Huajin realizes he has killed the wrong person. When he puts away his sword and leaves, your portrayal of Huajin shows some awkwardness and embarrassment - actually, this shouldn't have been added in... although it's not like it can't be done, but in "Minguo Yihuan Lu", Huajin's initial image is that of an inhumane Taoist who, for the sake of upholding justice and eliminating evil, doesn't think twice about sacrificing a few humans... so, if you want to express this emotion, it should actually appear later on in the script, as part of Xiaosheng's growth under Huajin's tutelage.

  He spoke very seriously and enthusiastically.

  Just like every time he was giving advice to other newcomers, he analyzed it seriously and objectively.

  Until he finished speaking, he suddenly realized that the surroundings were quiet to the point of being terrifying. He turned his head inexplicably and found Jiang Chuan staring at him with those piercing blue eyes that seemed to see right through him. The young man with black hair was taken aback and subconsciously took a step back: "What's wrong?... I said it first, even if what I said isn't right, you can't hit me, a gentleman uses his mouth not his fists."

  The black-haired young man stretched out his hand to pull down the pillow on the sofa and held it in his arms as a shield. At this time, Jiang Chuan finally moved his gaze away from the other person's thin lips that had been moving non-stop since the beginning, turned his head, and stared at a corner of the TV cabinet. He asked with an especially careless tone: "How did you know this shot was taken in front?"

  Jian Ran: “…………………………………”

  It's all over.

  For a moment, he felt the waterfall-like sweat flowing down his back, although Jiang Chuan seemed to be asking casually - a pair of black eyeballs rotated uncomfortably in their sockets, and a stiff smile was forced onto his momentarily paused face. The young man with black hair chuckled and said: "Of course, I'm what people call the Little Prince of H City, the film and television shooting base is my second hometown, I know every scene, which scene is next to which one, the entire Republican Strange Record's prologue was shot there, so it's only natural that they're all concentrated together.

  Jiang Chuan withdrew his gaze and turned his head to glance at him: "Really?"

  Jian Ran: "......"

  Of course it's fake.

  The entire H city film and television shooting base is so big, who the hell knows where what is.

  On one hand, he silently cursed in his heart, but on the other hand, he nodded solemnly and said firmly: "Really."

  Fortunately, Jiang Chuan seemed to have believed him, as he swung his arm and the next second, the potato chips were back in his arms. The young man with black hair lowered his head, stared at the potato chips in his arms for a while, then raised his head to look at the man who was staring intently at the TV, watching himself act in a play that seemed a bit too real. Jian Ran always had a feeling of... returning to the era of Hamster Ah Fei and his foolish owner's unreal world.

  He clutched the potato chips in his hand, listening to the rustling sound of the snack packaging bag, holding his breath and quietly moving his butt closer to Jiang Chuan - fortunately, Jiang Chuan didn't notice that someone was secretly getting closer to him, he seemed to be seriously considering what he had just said, staring at himself on TV, frowning slightly, as if thinking about how to improve his acting skills...

  He carefully leaned his face in a bit and called out "Jiang Chuan".

  Jiang Chuan turned his head around.

  For a moment, their faces were so close that their noses almost touched each other's.

  Behind them, on the TV, Wang Mo was wailing and crying while holding Xu Qianqian's "corpse" and shouting "Su Su".

  Gazing at those beautiful blue eyes that were just inches away, his mind short-circuited and he blurted out -

  "I heard you've been feeling down lately, because your pet hamster went missing..." Before he could finish his sentence, the pair of eyes in front of him, which were originally as blue as the sky, suddenly deepened and turned into a dark blue like the ocean. He felt like he was being sucked in by those eyes. He raised his hand and lightly touched the man's chin with his fingertips. Taking a deep breath, he suppressed the pounding heartbeat that was about to burst out of his chest, looked down, and slowly said, "I want to tell you, I..."

  He hadn't even had time to gather his thoughts.

  He couldn't even think of what earth-shattering words he wanted to say.

  At this time, he and Jiang Chuan's residual light glanced at each other, a black figure rushed out of the kitchen.

  "Malakai!!!!!!!!! Yuan Jinyan!!!!!!!!!! Something's happened!!!!!!!!!!"

  Jian Ran: "......"

  Jiang Chuan: “......”

  The two people who were leaning close together on the sofa quickly separated.

  He tore his gaze away from those eyes that seemed to be taking his life, and suddenly realized what he had just done. He couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat, and didn't dare to look at Jiang Chuan's expression at this moment. He quickly gathered his scattered emotions, turned around, and looked at the agent who was holding a kitchen knife and rushing out of the kitchen: "Don't shout, even if the sky falls there will be someone tall enough to hold it up, and if the ground cracks open there will be someone big enough to fall in first. What's with all the commotion?"

  "I'm telling you, something's happened!!!" Fang Yu's face collapsed, "Did you go online or not? Damn it, someone posted that video of Li Rui yelling at you this afternoon online ——"

  He was taken aback at first, but after figuring out what Fang Yu meant by his words, he immediately changed color: "Recording?!"

  "No! It's just that I casually and vaguely said a few words, saying that you were directed by Li Rui because of Xu Qianqian's oil painting incident, and that your original role was very stable but now it's unclear if it will still work out. And also saying that this is really not interesting, can't celebrities have some integrity? And also saying that Yuan Jinyan is really being wronged..."

  He was so shocked that he jumped up from the sofa and sat back down with a thud, his face pale and disbelieving as he asked: "You're saying that person posted that using my fan's stance and tone?!"

  "Damn it, this time I've encountered a high number of idiots! This is really ridiculous, can't believe someone would say such things to harm you. They're like landmines, wherever they are, that's where the battle will be fought! Wherever there are people who can't understand Li Rui's teachings, that's where the war will be led!

  Fang Yu threw down the kitchen knife and quickly walked towards Jian Ran, "Take a look yourself, it was posted on a certain online forum - now the post has been viewed for many pages. The tone of the original poster is really sincere, not just a random insult, but rather like they're truly concerned about you... Those who don't know better almost think it's you yourself posting, so many of your fans have been deceived and followed suit to scold Chuan Na, the entire post is full of insults towards Chuan Na."

  Fang Yu's last sentence made him almost throw his phone in Jiang Chuan's face.

  Jiang Chuan also sat down on the sofa, stretched out his hand and grasped Jian Ran's arm, muttering "calm down", then leaned over to see what the post said - Jian Ran unlocked his phone, entered a wrong password several times, and then entered a certain forum. On the homepage, he saw the post that Fang Yu mentioned. Jian Ran clicked on it and read for a few moments. The tone of the original poster was indeed very sincere. Whenever a fan of Jian Ran came to scold Jiang Chuan, he would persuade the fan not to scold him to avoid trouble. Whenever someone questioned the original poster's motives, he would immediately pretend to be pitiful and say that he really didn't have any ulterior motives, just trying to stand up for justice.

  I read through the entire post in a daze, as if blown about by the wind.

  I imagined what would happen if Teacher Li Rui saw this post...

  The urge to fly out of the window from this twenty-odd-story apartment building suddenly became so pressing.

  Fang Yu said: "Just now the company called me and asked what's going on. Nima, you should listen to Luo Cheng's tone, he even ate our hearts - asking if we're crazy to post this kind of thing, can't we just talk about it behind closed doors? Then... I couldn't help but counterattack: which normal person has nothing better to do than go to Mop and scrub themselves? If next month's salary is deducted, it must be because of this matter - okay, now isn't the time to talk about this. I think you should quickly call Director Li Rui before he sees this post..."

  He weakly waved his hand and then logged onto Weibo.

  His latest Weibo comments are indeed all about this matter - everywhere fans are sympathizing with him, advocating for freedom of speech, and then taking the opportunity to criticize Chyna for being too rigid and inhumane. In short, reading those comments makes one feel both ashamed and heartbroken. Suddenly, I couldn't help but think that sometimes, fans' intention to defend their idols is good, but it's precisely because of this mindset that they are easily taken advantage of by people with ulterior motives.

  Unfortunately, at this time, celebrities can't just jump out and say something. If you refute it, someone will immediately say that you are shameless and irresponsible, letting your fans take the bullet for you, while you pretend to be innocent.

  He quit Weibo and immediately called director Li Rui.

  The first phone call didn't get through, and he was frightened out of his wits.

  The second call was answered, but the person who picked up the phone was Li Rui's wife. Although her tone was still polite, the content of the conversation throughout the call left one feeling quite desperate: it turned out that Jianran had been a step too late, and before him, someone had already "accidentally" passed on the post to Li Rui, so he knew about its existence even earlier than Jianran. This old man, who was usually very serious and strict, had dedicated his life to the art world and was always respected for it. He didn't understand anything about these online "black fans" and "fans in disguise", so he believed everything that was said on the internet. At this moment, he was so angry that he hadn't even eaten dinner, and was shouting that he had a headache and went to bed early to rest.

  Mrs. Li Rui told Jinran that Teacher Li Rui had a message for him -

  Chuanray Media is a very formal and traditional film and television company, all the themes of their TV dramas are also serious and mainstream. So whether it's the image of the film and television company or the image of the actors, they are all very traditional... Absorbing new blood is also a very courageous thing for them, but they do have high hopes for the new blood that comes in - if you're not satisfied with Li Rui's way of speaking or doing things, you can speak up directly and clearly. There's no need to bring those messy habits and rules from the entertainment industry into this place.

  Upon hearing this, Jin Yan was so angry that he wished to crawl through the telephone line and lie in front of Teacher Li Rui's bed to clearly explain the whole thing. However, after thinking it over, since the teacher was still fuming at the moment, saying these things would not have much effect, so he could only give up.

  After hanging up the phone, Jianran felt very uncomfortable in her heart.

  After a phone call, what he was worried about at this moment was no longer the role of "The Legend of Miyue", but rather the atmosphere and embarrassment, simply not knowing what kind of evil had been done. What kind of mentality did the person who posted it have, to pull a respected old artist into such dirty water when they were idle with nothing better to do?

  Thinking back to the morning, Director Li Rui seriously praised his acting skills, affirming his strength, and then sincerely suggested directions for development and things to pay attention to next, at that moment, I only felt that the suffocation in my heart had no place to vent.

  There was a moment when he suddenly felt that this circle was particularly dirty.

  Black and white, rumors and malicious slander, full of malice and hurting others - those people always say "if you want to be a public figure, be prepared to be scolded, if you can't take it then don't eat this rice" but they never think that some people become actors just because they like acting.

  That's all.

  Many people, when they first enter the film and television industry, also have such a hobby and dream - later on, being able to make money and finding a large number of works that they like is good, but this does not mean that everyone will get lost in these things and forget their original intention.

  But this is something that can't be said out loud, and even if it were said, no one would believe it. This is probably just reality.

  ……

  Fang Yu carefully poured a cup of hot tea, and when he brought it out, Jin Ran was sitting on one corner of the sofa holding his phone, seemingly lost in thought. Jiang Chuan occupied the other corner of the sofa, looking at him, then asked bluntly: "Want to cry?"

  Frowning and shaking his head: "What's there to cry about?"

  Jiang Chuan: “......”

  "It's just infuriating." The young man with black hair furrowed his brow even tighter, "You say they're framing me, fine. Wanting to take away my role in Chuana is also fine. But do you have to drag other people down with me? Leading my fans to attack a senior who has helped me - what kind of thing is this?"

  Jiang Chuan furrowed his brow, weakly waving his hand: "This taste is simply indescribable in words. I'd rather kill those people with ulterior motives - or crawl along the internet cable to take a look at the kind of ugly face that sits behind the computer screen, smugly posting such vicious content."

  Jiang Chuan didn't say a word, he just moved his butt and rubbed against the young man with black hair - sat down next to him again, thought for a moment, picked up his phone from under the sofa, and handed it over to him.

  Jin Yan turned his head and glanced at Jiang Chuan, then to the agent's surprise, Jin Yan seemed to calm down slightly due to this small action. He took over the phone, didn't smash it again, but instead hung up and called Director Baiyan Ge. Unlike when he was talking to Director Li Rui, Jin Yan explained the whole thing from start to finish in a clear and calm tone. Fortunately, compared to Li Rui, Baiyan Ge was more aware of what's going on online. After listening to Jin Yan's explanation, he expressed his willingness to believe Jin Yan and told him not to worry too much. He also said that he would find an opportunity to talk to Director Li Rui about these things.

  After hanging up the phone with Bai Yan, Jin Ran called the company again to explain - on that end, Luo Cheng was probably also scared at first and now woke up, immediately reacting that someone was in the dark, and overnight grabbed the PR team for an emergency meeting to discuss countermeasures.

  It seems that he handled it quite well himself, and Fang Yu also breathed a sigh of relief.

  After all, these things must be done by oneself, and no one can substitute for them.

  After making all the arrangements, I logged onto Weibo and found that Xu Qianqian had reposted the content of that oil painting again, this time pretending to be pitiful.

  I was just joking about this painting, why did Yan Ran suddenly come to scold me? What happened? - Yuan Jinran

  He suppressed his anger and calmly ignored this clown.

  Refreshed again, saw a new Weibo post from Li Gouhai -

  Maintaining a idol's heart is a good thing, but sometimes it can also be the sword that puts him to death - speak carefully and distinguish right from wrong.

  Stared at this Weibo for a long time.

  "You should say something too," Jiang Chuan said expressionlessly. "Normally, you're quite happy jumping around online, at a time like this not saying anything would be unforgivable to the people who care about you."

  He murmured an "oh" and thought for a moment before asking: "What did you say?"

  The dull reaction and the look of being in a trance made the man sitting next to him frown frequently: "Think what you want, say what you want, do you still need someone to teach you?"

  He nodded again and turned his head to look at Fang Yu, who was also speechless. Seeing the inquiring gaze, the agent shrugged: "Anyway, it's all like this, the worst that can happen is losing a role, what else can you do? Just post it, curse 'fuck' and delete it immediately... At least vent your emotions."

  Having received such an unreliable suggestion from the broker, Jian Ran quietly withdrew his gaze, sniffed his nose and muttered: "I'm hungry."

  Fang Yu: "......"

  Jiang Chuan: “......”

  For the next hour, the entire apartment was silent, with only the sound of the young man's fingers typing on his phone and his occasional voice directing the other two people sitting by the pot "Add lamb" "Add winter melon" "Is the beef cooked?" "Add mushrooms" "Why no bamboo shoots?" "Have you added the beef balls?" "I want to eat crab roe"

  An hour later, a long Weibo was born beautifully.

  The young man with black hair put down his phone and squatted down beside him, sucking the freshly cooked rice noodles.

  Fang Yu picked up his phone and took a look, only to find that Jian Ran had spent so much time typing out a message that wasn't even very long. The content of the long Weibo post was also quite elegant compared to the various dirty words he had suggested.

  First of all, he solemnly acknowledged that in the afternoon, he indeed had a similar conversation with Teacher Li Rui. Then, he detailed the content of the conversation and expressed that throughout the entire process, he didn't feel any discomfort or unhappiness, nor did he know how the author of the post could see that "at the time, he looked very pitiful and stifled". Next, he stated that he hoped everyone wouldn't be misled by strange comments and hurt his seniors. He also shared his views on online comments, sincerely saying that even celebrities would fear being scolded and would be troubled by strange comments or rumors. Finally, he solemnly thanked everyone, including the original poster with unknown intentions, and wished for divine light to shine upon the earth.

  He put down his phone and silently sighed, "Being a star is really not easy."

  Although I'm grinding my teeth in anger and would love to flay him alive, in the end I still have to swallow my rage and blood, and force a smile to say: Thank you.

  Reality is just paralysis, thank you.

  Fang Yu's face was unsatisfied, but the young man with black hair seemed to have calmed down, drinking and eating hot pot, occasionally chatting with Jiang Chuan - although at this time, the internet was again stirred up by his long Weibo post, a group of fans who realized they had been used rushed to delete their previous attacking comments on Li Rui's Weibo and apologized solemnly; another group of black fans also jumped out, mocking and ridiculing, thinking that this was a white lotus flower tactic to save themselves from losing their role.

  Pink and black are tied together in a knot.

  The earliest poster disappeared, and when I clicked in to look at his information, I found that it was just a blank account, the kind that can be bought on Taobao for one yuan.

  Well, how else can you say that black people on the internet don't have to pay a price?

  It's just a small amount of money, enough to stir up a big fuss among famous directors and stars.

  "I think you're not being harsh enough, there are still people who can talk back to you, making it seem like you're only speaking up because you're afraid of losing your role in Chuan Na - tsk tsk, do you want to force yourself to give up the role?" Fang Yu muttered while scrolling through Weibo.

  "I won't give up, unless they officially kick me out. After this incident, do you think I still have any face left? No, so there's nothing to be afraid of anymore." Jian Yan said with a mouthful of watermelon seeds, "Let them mock me, the barefooted aren't afraid of those wearing shoes, I'll take off my shoes too, bring my tens of millions of fans and fight!"

  "Are you crazy?"

  The young man with black hair sneered and curled up his lip: "You're crazy."

  "Fang Yu: 'Spend the whole day doing meaningless things, tomorrow morning come with me to the downstairs and tie some wild clematis vines around our bodies, let's go to Teacher Li Rui's house and apologize.'"

  "The vine is too thin, it needs to be tied with two more turns to show sincerity."

  "Madman."

  "Thank you."

  Two people, you one word I one word, in between, hot pot is simmering.

  Jiang Chuan sat at the desk, motionless, with one hand propping up his cheek, listening to their nonsense. After a moment, he said, "I think this is pretty good."

  Jian Ran: "What?"

  Jiang Chuan: "I've said all I wanted to say."

  He carefully put down his chopsticks, thought for a moment, and nodded solemnly: "Mm-hmm."

  Not bad.

  As for what tomorrow will be like, who knows?