Chapter Twenty-One: Lin Ruohe
Outside the filming location of "Home in Yuncheng," a man in his thirties with slicked-back hair in a black suit stood behind a van, impatiently muttering into his phone, "Never mind then... It's just that you guys are too slow... I haven't had time lately... Alright, alright... There's nothing I can do..."
The man looked up and saw the staff member's gesture not far away. He quickly said into the phone, "Okay, I'm about to start filming here. We'll talk about it later." He returned the gesture with an OK sign to the staff member, hung up the phone, and got into his van.
"Ruohe, it's almost your turn. Go wait in the waiting area." The handsome young man, fully made up, looked up from his foreign language book in the van, revealing a gentle and refined face, and replied, "Okay, Brother Du." He stood up and casually placed the book on his phone, which was lying face down on the table.
Lin Ruohe walked towards the film set, smiling and greeting the staff he encountered. The male and female leads who played his parents had not finished filming, and it seemed that a small problem had occurred, so he stood at a distance.
His agent, Cui Du, followed beside him and whispered, "The company's team-building event is on the agenda again. You didn't go last year, but you'll have time after this film ends this year. Do you want to go?"
Cui Du secretly hoped he would go, after all, it was a rare moment of relaxation. The company always chose good locations, and the people who went were all of similar age, so they could quickly become familiar with each other.
Unlike now, Lin Ruo and Zhou were moving around the film set, and she was much quieter, not at all like a freshman in college.
Lin Ruohe stared ahead without speaking. After a long while, she said, "Go."
"Okay." Cui Du smiled with satisfaction.
Meng Fanxi woke up naturally early in the morning. He shared a room with Gu Huailang, but Gu Huailang showed no sign of getting up.
Curious about Xu You and the others' sleeping faces, Meng Fanxi quickly washed up in the bathroom of her bedroom and rushed to the next room.
I turned the doorknob gently. The curtains inside were completely drawn, blocking out all light. It was completely silent. I heard a noise coming from the bathroom, so someone must have gotten up.
There was clearly someone else in the bed. Meng Fanxi quietly walked over. The person in front of her had their head buried under the covers, looking like a big rice dumpling. Ruling out the possibility of Ren Yuchen, Meng Fanxi quickly threw off the covers and shouted, "Get up!"
The person was wearing pajamas, without a blanket, curled up in a ball, and did not respond to Meng Fanxi's voice. He covered his face with his arm and continued to sleep.
This was the first time Meng Fanxi had ever seen Xu You sleeping. Surprisingly, he wasn't grumpy at all; he exuded an adorable, childlike charm. Just then, Ren Yuchen emerged from the bathroom, a smile playing on his lips, radiating a refreshing aura. Without bothering to lower his voice, he said to Meng Fanxi, "Up so early?"
Meng Fanxi scratched his head and said, "I'm a little excited. You got up this early too."
Ren Yuchen walked to the bedside and said, "I'm used to it." Then, pointing to the sleeping Xu You, he said, "He's at his least aggressive during the day."
Meng Fanxi laughed heartily.
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After they had eaten and drunk their fill, they rode in Wei Ye's car to school, discussing interesting things that happened there, creating a relaxed atmosphere in the car. Meng Fanxi sat in the same seat, gazing out the window, but her mood was completely different from yesterday.
His suggestion was not opposed by everyone. Wei also had an impression of Lin Ruohe. When he was 4ward's assistant, he had heard them mention Lin Ruohe a lot. He had also seen her in person at a party. She had excellent appearance and temperament. She could give people a feeling of being bathed in a spring breeze when they first met.
Lin Ruohe had previously formed a debut group, but failed to debut and then switched to acting, indicating that she had no objection to idols forming a group and debuting. However, Wei was a little uncertain when he thought about Lin Ruohe's manager.
Wei tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep. He pieced together the current group with Zhang Yang and Lin Ruohe, repeatedly deliberating and weighing the options. He became increasingly excited. The six people were all different, with sharp edges and smooth sides. If they could really form a group, the energy they would unleash would be unstoppable.
He called Zhou Xingzhi that very night. Zhou Xingzhi had dealt with Lin Ruo and her agent Cui Du quite a bit before, and he could get a general idea of the possibility of bringing Lin Ruo and Cui Du into the project.
"Are you crazy?" This was Zhou Xingzhi's first reaction when he heard Wei Ye's words in the middle of the night. He continued, "After Cui Du's previous group planning failed, his career plummeted. He punished himself by becoming Lin Ruohe's assistant, from the planning team leader to assistant, and now to manager. He must cherish Lin Ruohe like the most. How could he let you manage her?"
Like a bucket of cold water being poured on him, Wei understood Zhou Xingzhi's meaning. Even if he asked Cui Du, the result was predictable. He thought of Meng Fanxi and the others' bright faces as they discussed the future, but he didn't want to give up so quickly.
After hearing the silence on the other end of the phone, Zhou Xingzhi knew that Wei Ye was serious this time. He had witnessed the blow that Zhang Yang's departure from the company had dealt to Wei Ye. It was rare for Wei Ye to cheer up again. He coughed and slowly said, "Go directly to Cui Du. He definitely won't agree. He might even tell Lin Ruohe to avoid you. So why don't you go ask Lin Ruohe directly?"
"Should we just ask him?" Wei was a little doubtful. Although Lin Ruohe was already in college, it seemed that Cui Du was in charge of his career matters. Could Lin Ruohe really make the decisions?
“Don’t underestimate Lin Ruohe, he’s very capable,” Zhou Xingzhi added.
"Okay, do you have his contact information?" Wei also decided to give it a try.
"I have it, but I can't give it to you."
"..." You might as well just say no.
Zhou Xingzhi didn't explain the reason, only saying, "Lin Ruohe has already signed up for the company team building event, so he'll be the only one there. I have a meeting tomorrow morning, bye-bye." He then hung up the phone.
They were caught in the morning rush hour, and the car was stuck in traffic moving at a snail's pace. Wei was thinking about his friend's words and listening to the laughter and chatter inside the car. He slowly opened his mouth and said, "I have something I'd like to ask you for help with."
The four of them stopped chatting at the same time and focused their attention on Wei Ye, waiting for him to continue.
Wei briefly described Lin Ruohe's experience and told them about the current obstacles, then waited for their response.
Ren Yuchen spoke first: "You mean, we should go find Lin Ruohe during the team building activity and ask him for his opinion?"
Wei replied, "That's right."
The group understood immediately, and the pressure instantly mounted. This was a senior artist who already had a reputation; going to ask him if he would like to join their group seemed like a sure way to get rejected.
Even Meng Fanxi, who knew the future, was unsure about the outcome of this trip. He had never participated in team building before, did not understand the process, and who knew if Lin Ruohe had any other reasons for joining VIER in the future.
When Meng Fanxi was an actor in his previous life, he had acted in a drama with Lin Ruohe when he first started out. Lin Ruohe played the lead role and he played the fifth male lead. He had two scenes with Lin Ruohe. However, these scenes were actually shots of him reporting to the male lead. The long shots of the two of them together had already been filmed, so only solo shots were left.
Logically, Lin Ruohe could have rested directly, but he still stood there to support himself. Later, when filming wrapped up, Lin Ruohe also appeared on set. Although he understood that Lin Ruohe was so friendly and considerate to everyone, it was one of the few acts of kindness he had encountered after experiencing setbacks in forming a group and then debuting again.
Later, he regarded Lin Ruohe as his idol. Unlike Xu You, who always talked about Zhang Yang, Lin Ruohe was more like a spiritual pillar. Watching him move forward step by step inspired him greatly.
When Lin Ruohe announced his joining VIER, the public was in an uproar. His fans questioned him, and some unfounded rumors also entangled Lin Ruohe. Although Lin Ruohe remained very popular afterward, Meng Fanxi still felt sorry that he should not have suffered so many rumors.
As for Wei Ye's agent, Meng Fanxi had seen him on set. He was always by Lin Ruohe's side, but no one knew what happened to him later.
Xu Youhao declared defiantly, "If he doesn't agree, I'll beg him while I'm crying!"
Everyone was amused by him. Gu Huailang said, "There's still a long time before the team building event. In this time, let's get to know Lin Ruohe better and make a plan. Maybe it will work out."
With renewed confidence, everyone decided to launch an attack on Lin Ruohe.
A moment later, Xu You asked Wei Ye, "So what do you plan to do about Zhang Yang's matter?"
Wei was taken aback for a moment, then said, "Maybe we should ask him to meet and talk first."
Xu You questioned, "Zhang Yang isn't the kind of person who can be won over with a meeting and a chat." The distrust in his tone was almost palpable.
Meng Fanxi and Ren Yuchen watched the show with smiles, while Gu Huailang, sitting in the passenger seat, glanced at Wei Ye's expression.
Wei replied irritably, "I know better than you." He had long been aware of Zhang Yang's stubbornness and had no intention of persuading him this time. He simply wanted to test the waters before making any plans.
Speaking of Zhang Yang, one can't help but think of Jin Ziran. Meng Fanxi had been watching Zhang Yang's channel on E-Station recently. Sure enough, although the channel was described as a duo, only Zhang Yang appeared on screen. Videos related to Jin Ziran were all codenamed "R," without revealing her real name or face; only the playing of the instrument could be seen.
Does this mean Jin Ziran was already making some kind of plan at this point? Zhang Yang seems so arrogant, yet he didn't notice anything suspicious about Jin Ziran?
Just as Meng Fanxi was struggling with this, Xu You spoke up and told Wei Ye about his recent experience with Meng Fanxi. Wei Ye's expression gradually became serious.
“There’s definitely something wrong with Jin Ziran. I’ve checked. He and Zhang Yang have been going to and from school together lately, and their relationship doesn’t seem to have deteriorated. Yet Jin Ziran is secretly destroying Zhang Yang’s CDs. It’s terrifying to think about.” Xu You hasn’t been idle lately either. In his spare time, he’s been investigating the relationship between Zhang Yang and Jin Ziran. In the end, he found nothing. But it’s precisely because there’s nothing unusual that it’s so scary.
Jin Ziran.
Wei Ye kept repeating this name in his mind. He could make Zhang Yang give up forming a group and leave the company together, and now he was sabotaging his things behind Zhang Yang's back. There must be a connection between them.
His intuition told him that if he could resolve this mystery, Zhang Yang would likely agree to his request.
Time flies. Since Meng Fanxi and his friends learned that they would be forming a group together, they have become even closer and gradually formed a small group of four. Their grades in the following monthly exams did not change, but they felt particularly at ease.
During their monthly breaks, the group of friends made plans to go out together. Ren Yuchen's home was thousands of miles away from the capital, and he would only go back during the Spring Festival and long holidays. Xu You was used to being away from home, and Gu Huailang only went back to clean the house during his monthly breaks, and had nothing else to do.
Meng Fanxi always went home during his monthly break. After Xu You and the other two realized that they couldn't keep him there no matter what they did, they chose a roundabout tactic and went directly to Linyang City, where Meng Fanxi lived, to visit him. Meng Fanxi even invited them to his home, and the group made the most of their rare monthly break.
Many years later, they still reminisced about those happy times on the show.
The other two: ? ? ?
With the winter break approaching, the trainees will be on holiday until after the Lunar New Year, and the company's team-building activities will be arranged after the holiday.
Meng Fanxi hurriedly packed her luggage, feeling a slight reluctance in her heart.
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