Chapter 40 Cannon Fodder Assistant 5 Come with me to the company to see the boss! ...

The headline changed from "Qin and Chu, the young couple, are about to embark on a publicly funded trip" to "Breaking! Qin and Chu are suspected of having broken up in private, and the reason is that one of them has a new love?!" Li Qingran lowered her eyes and stared at the headline for a few moments, then swiped her thumb across the screen to look at the accompanying picture below the news.

Besides the screenshots of Chu Yu and Qin Yanyun accidentally liking the post, there was another secretly taken photo.

The background of the photo is also the shooting location of the advanced party, but the shooting angle is obviously different from that of the cameraman, it is another candid perspective.

The photo is very clear. When zoomed in, you can clearly see Chu Yu rolling his eyes at Qin Yanyun. His impatient expression doesn't seem fake. More importantly, half of Li Qingran's body is also visible in this candid photo.

In the photo, he is facing sideways, his eyelashes are slightly lowered, and his gaze shines brightly through Qin Yanyun, aiming at Chu Yu, whose figure is mostly obscured by Qin Yanyun.

Li Qingran had to admit that the person who took the photo was very skilled, managing to turn Qin Yanyun and Chu Yu's argument into a scene of Qin Yanyun breaking down in a fight and catching Chu Yu cheating, while his new lover was even provocatively looking at Chu Yu with affection in front of Qin Yanyun.

Meanwhile, Chu Yu was also trying to confront Qin Yanyun, whose head seemed to be glowing green.

Li Qingran blinked, then swiped down the screen, her gaze landing on the comments section at the bottom of the marketing account.

The place was in an uproar, with all sorts of things going on.

There are those who say things like, "I've had a feeling they're not on good terms in private for a long time. They weren't even talking in those leaked photos from their military days. I don't know what you guys are shipping."

There are CP fans who, despite their superficial clarification, have actually revealed the truth to some extent. They say things like, "You guys can twist even a minor disagreement between a young couple into something like this. Do you think you never get angry when you're dating in private?! Don't you ever block or delete people?! And when these marketing accounts post photos, can you please make sure the person with half their body showing is Qin Ge's assistant?! You can't even tell the difference, and you call her a new love? I might barely believe you if you said she was Qin Ge's new love!"

There's even a chaotic group of people who think, "Am I the only one who thinks this assistant is pretty too? I can accept the three of them together (shy) (shy) (shy)"

"What do we do? This is the end!"

Because Qin Yanyun was going abroad to film the variety show "Let's See the World Together," Xiao Wen, who had automatically entered paid leave, let go of the clothes she had just folded, and they fell into her suitcase. When she looked up, her eyes were filled with despair as she looked at Li Qingran.

"Why did this have to happen now? What should we do, Brother Li? Am I going to have to take over accompanying Brother Qin on this trip abroad?"

No!

He had planned where he was going to have fun for the next few days two weeks in advance.

If you were to tell him he has to work overtime at this time, it would be like throwing a bomb at him. It would be even more painful than killing him!

Xiaowen was on the verge of tears, while Li Qingran was also somewhat uneasy. After all, in the original plot, the cannon fodder had to go out with Qin Yanyun to film the show so that they could cause trouble during the filming process, expose Qin Yanyun's dirty secrets, and further harass Chu Yu.

Then, in the process, the hostile relationship between the main characters was eased by chance. Finally, in the plot where the main character desperately wanted to have close contact with him, the relationship between the main characters was further promoted, turning the two from mortal enemies into ambiguous partners who felt "why does my heart race when I see him?"

All of this requires cannon fodder to push things along. If he were to be deprived of the opportunity to go abroad with Qin Yanyun by Brother Zhang because of these trending topics, the whole plot would be thrown into chaos.

Li Qingran pursed her lips, and in the brief moment when Xiao Wen was having a meltdown and didn't have time to pay attention to him, she asked 888:

If I can't go this time, and the story can't continue, the main responsibility shouldn't lie with me, right?

After all, these are the two main characters who went crazy. Why did they have to make a mistake at the crucial moment when the assistant was booking the plane tickets?

If Brother Zhang prevents him from going because of public opinion, it's not a decision that a mere assistant like him can resist!

Li Qingran was very troubled.

Meanwhile, on the other side, 888 was also feeling terrible.

The main problem is that the main system had just reminded it to restrain its host, and before long, its host had become the main potential target of the protagonist's new love interest.

Who could possibly stand this!

At this moment, 888 didn't even dare to send this bug report to the main system.

It felt that if it issued another warning this time, it and Li Qingran might really be stripped of their eligibility to do missions.

888 is very worried about losing her job.

"Why is this task so difficult!" it couldn't help but complain. However, as a professional auxiliary system, it still maintained its professionalism. After a slight lapse in concentration, 888 responsibly replied to Li Qingran's question.

Don't worry, host, the main responsibility definitely doesn't lie with you.

Li Qingran breathed a sigh of relief.

But before he could fully exhale the relief he had just felt, Li Qingran heard 888 add another sentence.

However, you might need to take on some minor responsibilities.

While flipping through the tasker's work manual, 888 explained to Li Qingran:

[Although this incident was caused by two main characters accidentally liking a post, the main factor that might prevent the host from accompanying the protagonist to the filming location is the public opinion surrounding the relationship between the two main characters. And the host just happens to be at the center of this public opinion, appearing in front of the public as the protagonist's new love interest...]

Li Qingran: [...]

Actually, this shouldn't have been your responsibility, but we were working on fixing bugs at the time, so...

888 didn't say the rest, but Li Qingran understood what it meant.

The main reason they were photographed was because of a plot bug, which led to the appearance of a new romance that wasn't in the original storyline. If this incident is investigated, it really is their responsibility.

So now, we can only pray that the protagonist's feelings for the other protagonist are still in a nascent stage and that he won't fire you because of this baseless news, and that his agent will be magnanimous enough not to take these fabricated news accounts seriously, allowing us to continue the story.

That's true.

Anyway, the decision-making power is not in his hands now.

Li Qingran logged out of Weibo, and upon hearing this, she twitched the corner of her mouth but didn't say anything more.

Xiao Wen, who was standing next to her, had calmed down after cosplaying as a concubine in the Cold Palace for a while with a silk shirt.

He even went so far as to comfort Li Qingran.

Because after Xiaowen threw down her shirt and kicked her half-full suitcase, she looked up and saw Li Qingran sitting quietly on the sofa, head down, her thumb constantly rubbing the screen, her expression inscrutable, her brows tightly furrowed, as if she was very worried and remorseful because of the trending topic.

That makes sense. After all, he was Qin Yanyun's assistant, but in the mouths of the gossip accounts, he became Chu Yu's new love. Even if she knew that this was not true, it was normal for Li Qingran to worry that she would be ostracized by Qin Yanyun or even fired.

Thinking this, Xiaowen sighed, walked over to Li Qingran, patted him on the shoulder, and said:

"Don't worry, our boss isn't—"

At this point, Xiaowen got stuck.

He originally wanted to say that their boss wasn't a petty person, but anyone who had ever interacted with Qin Yanyun and had a conscience wouldn't say that.

So, Xiao Wen paused, his words swirling on his tongue, before finally refining them into a sentence that would both protect his conscience and comfort Li Qingran.

“Think about how Brother Qin usually treats you. How could he possibly fire you so easily because of a baseless news story?”

Whether he gets fired or not is secondary; the real issue is whether he can actually go and film the variety show now.

Li Qingran forced a smile at Xiao Wen, her voice sounding blank and weak.

"My current worry is that Brother Zhang will replace me. What if I can't be with—"

"Wait a moment!"

Before Li Qingran could finish speaking, Xiao Wen interrupted him with a shocked expression.

"Don't tell me you've been here for most of the day worrying about whether you'll be able to work for the next few days?!"

“Yes,” Li Qingran nodded.

"No!" Xiaowen was even more shocked; he felt like his mind was going blank.

"You mean you don't want to take a vacation right now, you just want to go out to work with Brother Qin?"

“Yes.” Li Qingran nodded again. “That’s exactly what I mean. I don’t want to take a vacation. I just want to go to the filming location with Brother Qin.”

After all, only in this way can the plot continue, and his bugging won't become a responsibility or result in punishment being imposed on him.

"……ox."

Xiao Wen, who didn't know the truth of the matter, hesitated for a long time after hearing Li Qingran say this, and finally managed to utter a single word and give Li Qingran a thumbs up.

These days, it's unbelievable that there are still people who love their work so much that they don't even want to take a vacation.

"Since you've put it that way, I'll say it for you when Brother Zhang and the others come over!"

Perfect timing, he can continue his vacation! Xiao Wen thought happily.

It's like saying, "Speak of Cao Cao, and Cao Cao arrives."

Just as Xiaowen mentioned that Brother Zhang and the others were coming, before he could go over his lines with Li Qingran, the studio door was pushed open from the outside.

Li Qingran and Xiao Wen then looked up.

The first thing that catches the eye is Brother Zhang, who has a fierce look on his face, followed by Qin Yanyun, who has a frank and fearless expression.

The two of them probably didn't attend the subsequent dinner after finishing work, and went straight to the studio. Qin Yanyun still had the makeup from the photoshoot on her face.

The black eyeliner made his dark eyes appear even deeper and sharper, especially when he lowered his eyelashes and remained silent, which made his aloof and distant aura even more pronounced.

If someone didn't know him, seeing Qin Yanyun like this, they probably wouldn't even dare to approach him and say a word.

But Brother Zhang knew him inside and out. At this moment, not only did he not dare to step forward, he pointed directly at Qin Yanyun's nose, and the instant the office door closed, Zero Frame raised his hand and said:

"Tell me the truth, did you drink too much water and it all went into your head?!"

Qin Yanyun: "...Can you please stop talking—"

"Don't use such harsh language, okay?"

That's why Zhang Ge is the one who understands Qin Yanyun the most.

Qin Yanyun had barely uttered the first half of his sentence when he had already finished the second half, and could even instantly give an aggressive reply.

"Could you please not make things so ugly?!"

Qin Yanyun retorted, "It wasn't me who liked it first."

"So after you see it, you have to accidentally click it too, are you a kid? Why do you have to argue about winning and losing over something so trivial?!"

Brother Zhang said speechlessly, "Besides, what if Chu Yu really just accidentally did it? Your actions have made things very awkward for both sides, how are we supposed to film the rest of the variety show?! And that's not all, the main problem is that your actions have also dragged Xiao Li into this—"

As Zhang Ge was talking, he suddenly steered the conversation towards Li Qingran, who had been standing in the corner cosplaying as a mushroom with Xiao Wen ever since they entered. His index finger trembled as he pointed several times in the direction of the bewildered young man.

"He's clearly just an assistant, but now he's inexplicably become the third party who ruined your relationship with Chu Yu, and he's even trending on social media, with so many people seeing his face. What if some extreme CP fans want to hurt him? What if some uninformed solo fans boycott him? How can he still be your assistant? How can he continue to work in this industry after this!"

Zhang Ge kept coming back to hurl insults, leaving Qin Yanyun speechless.

"And what about that photo? What exactly happened?"

Taking advantage of the moment when Qin Yanyun was stunned by his retort and couldn't react, Brother Zhang turned to Li Qingran and asked.

The latter blinked twice and honestly explained the whole story.

Originally, Li Qingran was worried that Brother Zhang would blame everything on his slacking off when he was giving his explanation. However, to his surprise, as soon as he finished speaking, Brother Zhang snorted coldly at Qin Yanyun again:

"See! It's your fault again!"

Li Qingran: "???"

Qin Yanyun: "??? No way, how can this be blamed on me?!"

"Otherwise what?!" Brother Zhang said righteously, "If you hadn't gotten involved, Xiao Li would have gone straight home after pulling the person up, instead of standing there being secretly photographed."

"...I didn't go there because I was worried that Li Qingran would be bullied by Chu Yu."

"You know perfectly well what you're worried about," Brother Zhang retorted coldly, unmoved by Qin Yanyun's stubbornness.

"Fortunately, because of this incident, the popularity of watching the show together has increased rather than decreased. Now everyone is waiting to see if your relationship has broken down. Congratulations to you, Qin, the great movie star, for bringing such unprecedented popularity to the show with your influence in your first variety show appearance."

Qin Yanyun: "..."

He was already immune to Zhang Ge's sarcastic remarks, so what he cared about was just one of the sentences Zhang Ge said.

Qin Yanyun's dark eyes seemed to glance casually at the corner of the office before he looked away and said to Brother Zhang:

"What do you mean everyone's waiting to see if my relationship with Chu Yu will break down? We don't have any feelings for each other at all!"

"What's the point of telling me all this? Go explain it to the audience." While quickly replying to messages on his phone, Brother Zhang asked Qin Yanyun another question.

"Although the trending topic has been removed, the public's attention is still very high. You remember what I told you before, right? This time, let Xiaowen go with you—"

"Brother Zhang!"

Before Brother Zhang could finish speaking, Li Qingran, who had been standing in the corner, hurriedly spoke up:

"Didn't we agree before that I would go and Brother Wen would take a vacation? Isn't it a bit inappropriate to change it like this all of a sudden?"

Zhang Ge was also surprised that among Qin Yanyun, Xiao Wen, and Li Qingran, the first person to object to his decision was Li Qingran, who had the opportunity to take a vacation and get some rest.

Zhang Ge glanced at Qin Yanyun unconsciously before turning to Li Qingran and saying:

"Xiao Li, don't misunderstand. My decision is not to fire you. I just think that the current public opinion is really not good for you, so I want you to take a break. Once this period has passed and the heat surrounding Qin Yanyun and the others has died down, you can continue working."

"After all, most of the filming location this time is overseas, so the safety level is definitely not comparable to that in China. You know, some fans can be quite extreme, and there are also some ill-intentioned people taking advantage of the situation. I'm afraid that if you go with us, you might get hurt. We can ignore the harmless comments online, but at least we need to ensure your personal safety, right?"

Zhang Ge earnestly advised Li Qingran:

"I assure you, this is a vacation, not a dismissal. As soon as Qin Yanyun and the others return from abroad, I'll have you back at work! Okay, think it over carefully. I have a call coming up. Xiaowen, continue packing your things; it's time to head to the filming location. Qin Yanyun, you also need to be a good boss and arrange their upcoming work. Most importantly..."

As Zhang walked out, he patted Qin Yanyun's shoulder twice, implying something.

"You know what I mean, just try to appease them."

With that, Brother Zhang pushed open the door and left to answer the phone.

After he left, Qin Yanyun, who had initially opposed the decision, began to waver.

Too.

It would be bad if Li Qingran got hurt while following him.

Thinking about it this way, Qin Yanyun began to lean towards having Xiaowen go with him to film the variety show.

Although he couldn't see Li Qingran for several days, as a boss, he could still make a video call from time to time to reassure the employee who was forced to take leave.

Besides, this would better protect Li Qingran. Compared to this, what is the longing and pain he feels from not being able to see anyone for the time being?

With her eyelashes slightly lowered, Qin Yanyun sat up straight, and her gaze towards Li Qingran became firm.

"I think Brother Zhang is right, Xiao Li, this time you're—"

"But I want to go."

Before Qin Yanyun could make a final decision, Li Qingran spoke up to him.

The young man standing in the corner was dressed in loose white clothes and black pants. He didn't look bulky at all; in fact, he looked even thinner. When he looked at Qin Yanyun with a pale face, his beautiful peach blossom eyes were full of pleading. Qin Yanyun couldn't help but wonder if the young man would burst into tears on the spot if he continued to insist on Brother Zhang's decision.

Moreover, he said...

He said he wanted to go.

He wanted to go to work with him.

Even if there's a risk of being attacked by extreme fans, and even if he has to give up his paid leave, he still wants to go to work with me.

Li Qingran... is that what you mean?

Qin Yanyun stared intently at Li Qingran, his eyes trembling involuntarily, his voice filled with disbelief:

"You really want to come with me?"

Given the current plot, he was absolutely determined to go!

Qin Yanyun's body hardened even more, and his ears, hidden among his black hair, turned red rapidly to a visible degree.

Furthermore, Xiao Wen also added fuel to the fire behind Li Qing's back.

“Really, Brother Qin, if we were only considering safety, I would definitely give up my vacation immediately and cover Brother Li's shift. But before you guys came here, Brother Li kept telling me that what he was most worried about in this matter wasn't public opinion or work, but that he couldn't accompany you to work this time—”

Qin Yanyun looked at Li Qingran incredulously, "You really want to stay with me that much?"

"I remember how good my brother is to me!"

Li Qingran was really going all out for the plot. "Besides, we have nothing to hide. Fans online have already clarified that I am your assistant. How could I possibly be Mr. Chu's new girlfriend or anything like that? That's too absurd."

"That's true, but mainly it's because you've only been working in this industry for two months and don't understand it well enough. Some fans are really extreme."

Although Xiaowen was speaking up for Li Qingran, she still wanted him to really think this through.

"Some can even hide under the bed in a hotel room, and then come out after you fall asleep. Brother Qin has encountered this before. Fortunately, that fan was just a fanatic who liked Brother Qin and only wanted to see him sleeping, so it didn't cause any more serious consequences. But if it's you, Brother Li..."

Xiao Wen didn't finish his sentence, but Li Qingran understood what he meant.

After all, his only source of fame right now is ruining the relationship between Qin Yanyun and Chu Yu, so he is very likely to be hurt by them in this situation.

But if he doesn't go there, this extreme fan won't be able to hide under someone else's bed.

Li Qingran twitched the corners of her mouth and smiled at Xiao Wen:

"I know, but I still want to go. Brother, please let me go with you."

As Li Qingran spoke, she looked up at Qin Yanyun.

The latter froze for a moment, taking several seconds to process what she was seeing before blinking as if she had just woken from a dream, her voice still slightly unsteady.

"Well... then let's go... since that's what you think... cough cough—"

Qin Yanyun raised his hand to touch his nose, coughed lightly twice, and switched his crossed legs from the left to the right. Then, feeling uncomfortable, he switched them back again.

After changing positions several times, he nodded haphazardly at Li Qingran and said:

"Okay, then I'll tell him when Brother Zhang comes in—"

"Don't tell me yet."

Before Qin Yanyun could finish speaking, Brother Zhang's voice came from behind him.

Besides silencing him, it also brought another piece of news that was certainly not good for Li Qingran.

"Xiao Li, come to the company with me now. I need to take you to meet the big boss."

At that very moment, on the Kyoto Bridge, in a dark Rolls-Royce, the man in the back seat closed his laptop, then pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses, his voice low and cold.

"There's no need to bring an assistant to see me. Just fire him."

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Author's Note: Author (gossipy version): When we meet (chewing), you absolutely have to say the same thing too! [winking emoji][shy emoji]