Chapter 225 Counterattack
"Book Club" aired a little earlier than "Journey".
On the day of the broadcast, Lu Yanhe didn't even know that such a program existed.
Yan Liang sent a few screenshots to the group and asked Lu Yanhe: "Old Lu, do you have a grudge against this writer named Yu Jiang?"
Lu Yanhe was completely bewildered. After seeing what Yu Jiang had said, he said, "No, I don't even know who she is."
Yan Liang: I feel like she's targeting you.
Li Zhibai: This person's face looks rather harsh.
Yan Liang: When did you learn to read faces?
Lu Yanhe: Am I an innocent bystander caught in the crossfire, or am I being targeted?
Yan Liang: I don't know. Actually, more people are the fans of the idol artists who have acted in dramas adapted from her novels than you.
Li Zhibai: Hmm?
Yan Liang: Several of Yu Jiang's books have been adapted into film and television dramas, and many of the actors are idol artists. When she said such things, many fans felt that their idols were being attacked, especially the fans of several very famous people, who are now cursing her on Yu Jiang's social media.
Li Zhibai: I just searched it up, and most of the TV series adapted from her novels are starring idol artists, and they are all popular idols.
Yan Liang: Yes, that's why everyone has so many opinions.
-
The way things have unfolded and the focus of public opinion has shifted is something the Book Club did not anticipate.
At first, everyone assumed that Lu Yanhe's fans would cause trouble, but it turns out that's not the case at all.
The dissatisfaction expressed by Lu Yanhe's fans towards the program and Yu Jiang is only a small part of the voices. The most dissatisfied people are actually the fans of those idols who have worked with Yu Jiang in the past.
When the "Book Club" program team had a meeting, screenwriter Zheng Huai directly complained about the matter: "Now it's all good, everyone's attention is on Yu Jiang, and everyone is attacking Yu Jiang. Now it's all negative news."
Yu Jiang is now under siege from the entire internet—she does have fans, of course, but compared to the fans of idol artists, it's a drop in the ocean. Under these circumstances, Yu Jiang's personal homepage has been almost completely overrun.
Yu Jiang was dumbfounded.
Her original intention was just to criticize Lu Yanhe, so how did it suddenly turn into this?
Yu Jiang herself didn't realize that her words had targeted a large number of people.
She had to call several idol artists she had worked with to explain the situation and ask them to speak on her behalf, but no one was willing to stand up for her.
"Teacher Yu, I'm just a small-time idol, my words are useless."
"Teacher Yu, what should I say? Isn't it you who said that idol artists have no acting skills and are not suitable for acting?"
...
None of the artists she had worked with in the past were willing to speak up for her!
Yu Jiang stood incredulously in his living room, as if suddenly covered in frost, like a forest suddenly hit by a north wind. Not only his expression, but also his movements seemed frozen.
Why is this happening?
-
Zheng Huai went to a restaurant near the company, ordered a chicken cutlet rice for himself, looked around to make sure there were no acquaintances, and then made a phone call.
"It's been a while since I've seen your methods. You're still as swift and efficient as ever," Zheng Huai said with a smile. "When you do make a move, it's astonishing. This time, the conflict has been shifted, and Xiao Lu has been extricated from the situation."
Chen Ziyan's voice came from the other end of the phone: "I have to thank you for giving me a heads-up in advance so I could prepare. That Xu Bantian is still up to his old tricks and wants to trip up Xiao Lu again. How can someone be so despicable?"
Zheng Huai smiled and said, "He looks like a petty person."
Chen Ziyan: "No matter what, thank you very much this time. I will remember this favor."
"Don't mention it. You helped me a lot back then," Zheng Huai said. "On the contrary, when we need a suitable theme for the 'Book Club' program, let's invite Xiao Lu to come and have some fun."
"Let's forget about it. You broadcast Yu Jiang's complaints about Xiao Lu in the first episode. Although we've shifted the focus of public opinion and prevented the controversy from falling on Xiao Lu, wouldn't letting him appear on your show again cause new controversy?"
“That’s true. If there are other suitable programs, we can talk about it then,” Zheng Huai said.
"Next time you direct, I'll have all my artists come on your show."
"Okay." Zheng Huai nodded with a smile.
-
Why did things turn out differently than he expected?
Xu Bantian was filled with doubt.
It inexplicably turned into a conflict between other idol artists and Yu Jiang, while Lu Yanhe was sidelined.
Xu Bantian didn't believe in coincidences. He knew there must be someone manipulating public opinion behind this incident.
Otherwise, Lu Yanhe should not be overlooked in this matter; he is the one who should be the first to be discussed.
Just as he was wondering, Xu Bantian's phone suddenly started buzzing.
"Old Xu, someone is digging into your past online," a colleague from Beijing-Taiwan said incredulously.
"Take my clothes off?" Xu Bantian was even more confused when he heard his colleague say that. "Take my clothes off what?"
"See for yourself."
My colleague hung up the phone and sent me a link.
Xu Bantian clicked on the link and found that it was actually a forum post.
The post is titled "Who exactly is Xu Bandian, the assistant director who appears on various variety shows?"
The article was quite long. It began by listing the production staff of seven or eight variety shows, all of which Xu Bantian had participated in. His name was marked with a red border on the pictures.
After listing them, the question arises: why is Xu Bantian able to participate in so many program productions at such a young age, and serve as assistant director in all of them?
A photo of Xu Bantian followed, but it's unclear where it was found.
Xu Bantian became a little nervous upon seeing this, instinctively worried that someone would accuse him of using his father's connections to get in through back channels.
That is indeed the case.
However, as he read on, Xu Bantian suddenly wished for this version of the story to be true.
Unfortunately, no.
The article suddenly shifts its focus back to the programs he participated in, pointing out a fact: in four of the programs produced by Xu Bantian, a female artist named Xu Xiaowen appeared.
Xu Bantian's expression changed when he saw the name Xu Xiaowen.
Because Xu Xiaowen was his ex-girlfriend, they dated for a while before breaking up.
This matter has never been made public. On the one hand, Xu Bantian himself did not want to make it public, and on the other hand, it was because Xu Xiaowen was a female idol before, and it was not appropriate for her to be in a relationship.
Unexpectedly, even though we broke up some time ago, it has suddenly resurfaced.
The article concludes by mentioning that Xu Bantian and Xu Xiaowen had a romantic relationship, and that they developed feelings for each other through their work.
Xu Bantian's face darkened immediately after reading the exposé.
Only one thought remained in his mind: Oh no.
-
"Li Zhibai's article is quite well written. Are you really not planning to include it in the book?" Xu Mingyue asked.
Lu Yanhe and Chen Siqi exchanged a glance and said, "Publishing this article now is a bit sensitive. Let's take it down and forget about it."
I don't know if Mengli will actually do anything.
Xu Mingyue crossed out Li Zhibai's article with some regret.
"The manuscripts we've received so far total 90,000 words. That's relatively short for a book on the subject," she said. "A few manuscripts haven't been submitted yet?"
Lu Yanhe said, "Jiang Yuqian is the only one who hasn't given me a manuscript yet. Should we go and commission a few more articles if we don't have enough words?"
"It would be better if we could get more manuscripts," Xu Mingyue said. "Otherwise, the book's volume is limited, and it's difficult to set a price. If we set it too low, we'll lose money, and if we set it too high, readers will feel it's not worth it."
“Then let’s go find some more manuscripts,” Lu Yanhe said.
Xu Mingyue nodded, "Actually, I don't think we should limit ourselves to established writers or celebrities. If there are well-written manuscripts, like the one written by this new author named Bai Yu, we can use them too."
“She’s my classmate. I know she writes novels, so I made an appointment with her. Besides her, I don’t know anyone else who writes well.”
Xu Mingyue said, "Why don't we ask Liu Jiazhen and Mingyin? They are both well-known writers with their own writing circles. Maybe they know some people who are willing to write for this book."
Lu Yanhe's eyes lit up. "That's a good idea. I'll contact them right away and ask for their help."
Xu Mingyue took out a stack of manuscripts from her bag and said, "I have reviewed all these manuscripts and have some suggestions for revision. Would you like to communicate with them yourselves, or would you like to give me the authors' contact information and I will communicate with them?"
Chen Siqi thought for a moment and said, "You're the only professional among us. Wouldn't it be smoother for you to communicate directly with them?"
Lu Yanhe said, "I'll handle the artists' manuscripts; just give me the manuscripts."
Xu Mingyue nodded: "I have marked some basic textual issues directly on it. If they don't mind, I can fix them for them directly. But there are some places where I think the content needs to be modified and adjusted. I have written my opinions in the blank space next to them. You can take a look first. If it is not suitable, then forget it."
"Um."
After the three of them finished discussing "Jump Up," Xu Mingyue still had to return to Jiangyin Publishing House.
Lu Yanhe and Chen Siqi stayed at the coffee shop together to look at the manuscript.
After a while, Xin Zixing came over.
She also brought a very young girl with her.
Xin Zixing explained that this person is the art editor of Yemai.com, and her work name is Yilong.
"The layout design for the electronic version of this book can be given to her."
Lu Yanhe and Chen Siqi immediately stood up to greet Yilong.
Yilong looked like a very introverted and innocent girl. She greeted Lu Yanhe and Chen Siqi shyly. After getting to know each other, she took out several printed copies of layouts she had designed and handed them to them.
"These are some designs I did before. Take a look and tell me what style you want."
Lu Yanhe and Chen Siqi received it.
Xin Zixing said, "I have another meeting later. You guys chat first, I'll go now. Good luck."
Xin Zixing came in a whirlwind and left in a whirlwind.
Yilong's design style caught Chen Siqi's eye.
Her works are mostly simple, elegant, and feature clean lines, which coincides with Chen Siqi's ideas.
In Chen Siqi's vision, "Jump Up" is such a book.
It's neither overly elaborate nor overly plain, nor is it the kind of design typical of WeChat official accounts.
Chen Siqi asked Yilong, "Yilong, are you in a long-term partnership with Yemai.com?"
Yilong smiled gently and said, "Yes, I was previously in charge of the layout design for e-reading, and I was also responsible for some other web page art design."
Chen Siqi: "I really like your design style."
Yilong: "Thank you."
The design of the physical book was originally entrusted to Jiangyin Publishing House, but Chen Siqi was not particularly satisfied with the typewriter assigned by Jiangyin.
In comparison, Chen Siqi immediately fell in love with Yilong's design style.
Aesthetic sense is something that can be judged at a glance.
They sat together and talked about what kind of book they wanted to make "Jump Up." As they talked, they started talking about the era when everyone used to read magazines and books.
In the evening, Lu Yanhe's phone suddenly rang.
"Sister Ziyan?" Lu Yanhe answered the phone.
"What are you doing?" Chen Ziyan asked.
Lu Yanhe said, "I'm talking to Siqi about 'Jump Up'. Today, Sister Zixing brought a designer with her."
Chen Ziyan had originally called Lu Yanhe to talk about Xu Bantian, but upon hearing Lu Yanhe's energetic voice, she decided against it.
Not wanting to affect Lu Yanhe's mood with this matter—she had orchestrated Xu Bantian's affair. Chen Ziyan originally wanted to talk to Lu Yanhe about it so he could vent his anger, since Xu Bantian had been so disgusting. However, when Chen Ziyan made this call to Lu Yanhe, she realized that Lu Yanhe didn't actually care much about Xu Bantian's affair.
He has his own things to care about and value.
People like Xu Bantian are only a nuisance.
-
That evening, someone called Chen Ziyan.
The caller was a friend from Beijing and Taiwan.
Chen Ziyan guessed the person's possible intentions as soon as she saw the phone call.
Upon hearing this, it turned out to be true; it was Xu Bantian who had invited the middleman to meet her.
Now they realize they're in a hurry.
Chen Ziyan listened expressionlessly and said, "I have something to do tonight, I don't have time."
"Oh, Ziyan, please give me some face. Xiao Xu is as anxious as an ant on a hot pan right now. He knows he was wrong. Please be magnanimous and give him a chance."
“He already gave me a chance, but he didn’t cherish it,” Chen Ziyan said. “When he first came to apologize, I accepted it, but what did he do? He started doing bad things behind my back. Don’t try to be his advocate.”
Xu Bantian hasn't trended on social media yet.
Xu Xiaowen isn't particularly famous, and this incident didn't attract much attention.
The sheer amount of attention he's receiving is already giving Xu Bantian a major headache.
Xu Bantian's phone kept ringing non-stop, all of them asking about this matter.
Most importantly, Xu Xiaowen also called.
They hadn't been in contact since their breakup, but now they've reconnected because of this incident.
Xu Xiaowen questioned Xu Bantian, asking if he had let something slip and leaked the information.
Xu Bantian immediately denied it.
He didn't know how Chen Ziyan dug this up, but it definitely wasn't a problem on his side.
Xu Bantian said, "I haven't asked you yet, did you leak the news about this?"
Xu Xiaowen said angrily, "As a female celebrity, would I let the news leak out and let others know that I dated you?"
Xu Bantian was provoked by these words and angrily said, "Did you lose face by dating me?"
“I never said that. Don’t try to pin this on me. You know perfectly well that if it’s exposed that I’ve dated someone, I’ll lose a lot of fans!” Xu Xiaowen said. “Xu Bandian, I’ve asked around, and this isn’t directed at me. It’s all about you. You’re the one who got this exposed. You need to figure out how to handle this! We’ve already broken up, so don’t cause me any more trouble!”
Xu Bantian was so angry that his chest heaved.
"Okay, don't worry, I'll deny it right away."
Xu Xiaowen: "If denial were useful, I would have denied it long ago."
"It's just a leaked post, why is denying it useless?"
"Who knows if the person who leaked the information has any evidence?!" Xu Xiaowen said. "Rather than denying it and then being proven wrong, it's better to just admit it now."
Xu Bantian: "Your fans are now cursing me on various online platforms."
“I have just as many people who criticize me as you do,” Xu Xiaowen said coldly.
-
Xu Xiaowen was a female idol before. For fans, idols dating is like their own house collapsing.
Everyone knows that the loyalty between idols and fans is just an illusion, but from the fans' perspective, this is the promise that idols make to them.
This incident had a tremendous impact on Li Zhibai.
He couldn't imagine what kind of storm he would face if Meng Li actually exposed the love letters online.
Now that things had come to this, Li Zhibai realized that what he had done was indeed unethical.
He messaged Zhou Ping'an, asking: "What did Meng Li say? Brother Ping'an."
Zhou Ping'an: You still have the nerve to ask? You've caused such a big problem. We're working on it, so don't bother me.
Li Zhibai: Oh.
Zhou Ping'an: Meng Li is a crazy woman. Stay away from her and don't have any contact with her.
Li Zhibai: Then why did you still make me act in the drama "Take You to the End of the World"? Aren't you pushing me into a fire pit?
Zhou Ping'an: Just because this character became popular, you're saying this character is popular?
Li Zhibai hissed, "Damn, that guy really pulled off the show."
-
Li Zhibai's role in "Take You to the End of the World" has indeed made him a star.
The character of the hot-tempered rich second-generation is particularly dramatic, and coupled with Li Zhibai's own popularity, many scenes from the show have become popular and viral online, especially on some short video platforms, where Li Zhibai's performance clips have received tens of millions of views.
This kept Li Zhibai trending on social media almost throughout August.
The number of business partners seeking cooperation with Li Zhibai has increased significantly.
He's incredibly busy right now—and he's happy to be busy so he doesn't have to worry about being blocked at the door by Meng Li.
He was so suffocated that he developed a psychological trauma.
When Lu Yanhe told him that he was not going to publish the article "Don't be a coward when you should confess!", Li Zhibai had just finished recording a program and was on his way to his next engagement.
He thought Lu Yanhe and Chen Siqi didn't like the content of the article, and muttered: "You guys are so boring! All we did was use you as the prototypes?"
Lu Yanhe: It has nothing to do with us. It's because of your situation with Mengli. We don't know what Mengli will do. If this article is published, you will be the subject of discussion.
Li Zhibai then realized that the person in question was actually concerned about his own affairs.
Li Zhibai: This is really troublesome. Does that mean your book won't have any of my articles?
Lu Yanhe: Well, that's the only way.
Li Zhibai looked at Lu Yanhe's message and fell into deep thought.
He was just lazy, but not stupid; he knew that his name was of great importance to Lu Yanhe's book.
This is Lu Yanhe's first book, and the success of his first book will determine whether he can continue writing subsequent books.
Looking at the city scenery flowing outside the car window, Li Zhibai thought to himself, "Why don't I write another one?"
What should I write?
Li Zhi was filled with worries.
What could he write about during his student days?
-
"What should we do if Li Zhibai's manuscript can't be published?" Lu Yanhe asked Chen Siqi.
Chen Siqi said, "Then we need to find someone of a similar caliber to write it. Jiang Yuqian's article hasn't arrived yet, and Li Zhibai's article can't be published. We don't have the two most popular celebrities. I think we're involved in fraud."
Lu Yanhe was both amused and exasperated.
He thought for a moment and said, "How about I try to make an appointment with Huang Kairen?"
When Lu Yanhe was filming "The Golden Era" with him, he felt that he got along quite well with Huang Kairen.
Chen Siqi said, "If you can get Huang Kairen to write this article for you, that would be great."
Lu Yanhe hadn't commissioned Huang Kairen's manuscript before because he felt they weren't very familiar with each other.
Now I have no choice but to bite the bullet and ask her out.
To Lu Yanhe's surprise, Huang Kairen agreed immediately.
"OK."
Lu Yanhe was extremely surprised.
Even Chen Siqi was shocked, not expecting Huang Kairen to agree so readily.
-
That night, Huang Kairen and Xin Zixing finished their business, both drenched in sweat. Xin Zixing got out of bed to go to the bathroom, while Huang Kairen remained lying on the bed by himself, one hand on his arm, and said, "Lu Yanhe asked me to write an article today."
"You asked me out?" Xin Zixing's surprised voice came from the bathroom.
“Yes,” Huang Kairen said. “I agreed immediately.”
"ah?"
“Since this is the book you’re in charge of, I agreed,” Huang Kairen said. “Tell me, what should I write?”
Xin Zixing: "How would I know? You figure it out yourself."
Huang Kairen looked at the figure reflected in the frosted glass. Even though it was just a shadow, he could still see the graceful figure.
The things in his mind gradually blurred again, leaving only the person in front of him.
"Baby," Huang Kairen called out.
Xin Zixing paused for a moment. "What?"
Huang Kairen said, "Why don't you wash it later?"
Xin Zixing: "You need to get up at five o'clock tomorrow morning to catch your flight."
“Yes, there’s still time.” Huang Kairen gently bit his lip. “Otherwise, we won’t see each other for another week.”
(End of this chapter)
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