An Qingyan was practicing with his sword when suddenly someone swung the sword behind his back and slashed his left arm. Even though he couldn't feel the pain, he knew that the force of the blow was considerable.

He frowned imperceptibly, turned around, and saw Duan Ci raise an eyebrow in surprise, saying casually, "Sorry, I wasn't paying attention."

Anyone with eyes could see it was intentional. Duan Ci was clearly standing five meters away just now. An Qingyan's face turned cold. How could there be such a childish and boring person?

"Let's make sure this doesn't happen again."

"Why are you being so fierce? I didn't mean it." Duan Ci shrugged innocently. An Qingyan ignored him and turned back to continue practicing.

But a few minutes later, Duan Ci, who had just said it wasn't intentional, slashed his arm with his sword again.

The boy's eyes sharpened. This time, he didn't listen to the other's explanation. He turned around with his sword in hand and cleanly slashed Duan Ci's left and right arms, finally pressing the sword against the tip of his nose.

The exquisitely crafted prop sword gleamed with a cold light, just like the boy's clear and aloof peach blossom eyes. Duan Ci froze on the spot, not daring to move, and felt a little scared looking into the other's eyes.

"I told you, there shouldn't be a next time."

"Senior Duan, I don't have time to play this kind of boring game with you."

After speaking, An Qingyan sheathed her sword and turned around. (Remember this website: https://m.com/)

Duan Ci stood there watching his back as he drew his sword with fierce speed, still feeling lingering fear. When he came to his senses, he cursed under his breath, "This kid looks so gentle and weak, but he was just pretending!"

Grass!

Duan Ci threw the sword in his hand to the ground with a gloomy face. His arm, which had been hit, was still aching. He gritted his teeth and thought to himself, "An Qingyan, you just wait!"

After a while, he silently picked up the sword, moved aside, and distanced himself from An Qingyan. He didn't cause any more trouble for her. Under Wu Weiguang's stern gaze, he reluctantly began to practice.

Duan Ci didn't cause any more trouble after that, and the training went relatively smoothly.

Wu Weiguang likes to discover promising newcomers. No investors randomly throw people in, so the main actors in this drama are all relatively unknown newcomers who worked very hard during training.

Although the training was tiring, it was very fulfilling.

An Qingyan enjoys the feeling of working hard for her ideal career.

When he finished training that evening and went back to his hotel room to take a shower, he noticed that his arm, which had been hit by Duan Ci's sword, was a little red. His skin was fair, so it was very noticeable.

It seems this person really went all out.

The boy's delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly. He should have hit harder when he retaliated. After he finished showering and came out of the bathroom, someone knocked on the door.

An Qingyan opened the door, and two assistants were standing outside. Their expressions looked a little off, revealing a hint of worry. He asked them what was wrong, somewhat puzzled.

"Yan Yan, did you see Weibo?"

After An Qingyan shook his head, his assistant handed him the phone directly. After seeing the text on it, his brows furrowed even more.

It was a Weibo post from a marketing account with many followers. The gist of it was that the male lead for "The Legend of Kyushu" was originally intended for Duan Ci, but An Qingyan snatched the role.

It was also said that An Qingyan had capital behind him, implying that he had an improper relationship with investors and director Wu Weiguang, and that he got the male lead role through back channels.

Duan Cishi was truly pitiful.

"It's not just this one; other marketing accounts have also released similar press releases, all implying that you used connections to snatch the male lead role from Duan Ci. Many of the comments below are paid trolls hired by the other party, and someone is trying to sabotage you."

An Qingyan silently scrolled through the comments on Weibo. There were several thousand comments, and all of them, especially the ones that were trending, were negative.

[Isn't An Qingyan from a talent show? He's great at singing and dancing, but can he act?]

Please, please! Idols, stop competing with actors for jobs, okay? Why don't you just stick to singing and dancing? Not everyone can act!

[The young master of the An family is really something else. Having powerful backers makes him so remarkable. He easily snatched the male lead role that others had worked so hard to get.]

I heard last month that Duan Ci had been cast as the male lead in "The Legend of Kyushu," but now the actor has suddenly been changed. It would be strange if there wasn't something fishy going on behind the scenes.

Who wouldn't want to say how pitiful Duan Ci is?

[I initially thought An Qingyan was a nice person with a pitiful background while watching the show, but I never expected her to do such despicable things behind the scenes!]

...

"Yan Yan, stop looking at it." The assistant took the phone from her and comforted her, "These are all online trolls. Don't take their words to heart. We've already contacted Sister Fei Fei, and she'll handle this. Just focus on your training."

Another assistant angrily cursed, "It's obvious that Duan Ci is behind this. He failed the audition himself, which proves he doesn't have the ability. Now he's deliberately targeting you. What a despicable person!"

"Don't worry, I'm fine." An Qingyan smiled indifferently, then her facial features tightened, and her light tone carried a hint of coldness. "Justice will prevail. I didn't do it, so I didn't do it. I have a clear conscience."

He proved through the audition that he was capable of playing the role of Shen Tinghan, but these people tried to distort the facts with a few words.

He had experienced far too many instances of being wronged and framed in his past life.

It was getting late, so after sending his two assistants away, his manager, Gao Feifei, called him. Then his parents, family, Lu Yuqi, and a few friends he met during the talent show also sent messages to comfort him.

An Qingyan was touched and patiently replied to them.

He knew that he was no longer the person in his previous life who was trapped in a desperate situation and had no one to help.

The last person to call was Gu Fei; he had just finished a meeting when he learned of the matter.

Upon seeing the content on Weibo, his eyes immediately turned cold. His already expressionless face tightened, making his subordinates beside him tremble with fear.

Which brave soul has the audacity to provoke Master Gu? They probably don't know what death means.

The subordinate was wondering what was going on when he suddenly noticed that their boss, Mr. Gu, was on the phone with someone, speaking in a gentle tone, "Don't worry about things online, don't take it to heart, I'll take care of it for you."

"Be good and don't look at those comments online."

subordinate:"?!"

Is this still the same calm, aloof, impartial, and unsmiling big boss he always was? Why does he sound like he's coaxing a child? Is this something he should listen to?

"Brother Fei, I'm really fine, you don't need to worry." An Qingyan sat cross-legged on the sofa, her chin resting on a cushion, her soft, gentle voice carrying a hint of pride:

"I passed the audition based on my own abilities. The directors all said I was hardworking and talented. I don't care what others say. I'm going to prove myself with my abilities and make them eat their words."

"I don't know any investors, how could I get in through back channels? Those marketing accounts are just talking nonsense."

An Qingyan still doesn't know who the investor is.

Gu, the investor, Fei: "..."

He paused for a moment, then agreed, "Yes, our Yan Yan passed the audition based on her own merit."

Indeed, it was through his abilities that Gu Fei, even though he was an investor in the drama, never revealed his relationship with An Qingyan to the production team, but simply let the director follow his heart.

The two chatted for a few more minutes before hanging up. An Qingyan was both amused and exasperated. He was the one directly involved in the incident, so how did he end up comforting someone else?

Gu Fei told him not to pay attention to this matter, but he still couldn't help but open Weibo.

This matter has already become a trending topic.

Duan Ci originally felt that the role of Shen Tinghan was perfect for him, so he bought marketing accounts a month in advance to release the news, and his fans and some netizens knew about it.

Now that the press release has been issued, besides the online trolls, the most furious people are Duan Ci's fans.

Duan Ci just posted a Weibo message:

@Duan Ci: The character Bai Fantian is also great; it's my first time playing a villain! [Looking forward to it]

The accompanying image below the text is a carefully edited selfie.

Anyone with half a brain can see that Duan Ci's words implicitly acknowledge that An Qingyan stole his role; the lead role was taken by someone else, so he could only play the villain.

Duan Ci's fans are notoriously difficult to deal with in the industry. They immediately became angry, shouting that they felt sorry for their brother and that he was too pitiful, while cursing An Qingyan with all sorts of nasty things.

[I'm so angry! How can someone be so shameless! An Qingyan, you're utterly shameless!]

[Getting in through connections is all that matters! They're just bullying our brother because he doesn't have any powerful backers!]

[Our Xiao Ci worked so hard to get this role, and it was so easily snatched away by someone else. Capital really is something else. [smile]]

Why can't you just be a good idol and go sing and dance?!

...

While the criticism was fierce on one side, An Qingyan's fans were completely bewildered on the other. What? Their Yan Yan has finally emerged from seclusion? Yan Yan is going to film a movie? Has Yan Yan decided not to retire from the entertainment industry?!

Why didn't they know anything about Yan Yan filming?!

Hahaha, this is so great!!

I thought my wife was going to retire from the entertainment industry and go back to inherit the family fortune!

An Qingyan has been really laid-back lately, so much so that his fans thought he was going to retire from the entertainment industry. Who knew that he would pass the audition and get to film a movie, "The Legend of Kyushu," which is a big IP!

Holy crap, An Qingyan is amazing! He's really capable of quietly accomplishing great things!!

Yes, having capital makes you amazing. If you disagree, come and bite me, hehehe!!

[Who says idols can't act? Our Yan Yan is an all-rounder! Not only is she amazing at singing and dancing, but she can also act, speaks fluent English, and can recite classical Chinese poems incredibly well. Can your Duan Ci recite the Li Sao? Can he recite the Chu Shi Biao? Our Yan Yan is going to utterly crush you!]

[Ah, I'm a huge fan of the original Novoland Chronicles novel. When I was reading the book, I imagined Shen Tinghan as my wife's face, and I never thought she'd actually be playing the role!! I'll be laughing in my sleep!]

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