Chapter 635 Indirectly criticizing and feigning ignorance
The late-night snack lasted until 11:30 p.m., and since everyone had to film the next day, they parted ways after the last drink.
Lu Yanhe asked Huang Kairen and Jiang Yuqian.
Are you planning to sleep here for the night before leaving?
"Yes." Jiang Yuqian nodded. "My flight is tomorrow at noon."
Huang Kairen also agreed.
Lu Yanhe: "Where are you staying? I'll take you there."
"No need, the crew has arranged a car. You should go home and rest early," Jiang Yuqian said. "Although I think your alcohol tolerance seems to have increased a bit, you've drunk quite a bit today—"
Jiang Yuqian turned to Wang Biao and said, "Xiao Biao, when you take Yan He back later, keep an eye on him and make sure he gets into bed. Don't let him collapse on the floor as soon as he gets back to his room."
Lu Yanhe: "...How could that be?"
“You men are all about saving face; you’ll never admit it,” Jiang Yuqian said firmly. “Don’t give me any more nonsense, Xiao Biao, watch out.”
Wang Biao smiled and nodded, saying, "Okay."
Huang Kairen: "Tsk tsk, you're treating Xiao Lu like your own younger brother."
"Jealous?" Jiang Yuqian rolled her eyes. "How dare you say that? Why don't you ever care about Xiao Lu even a little bit?"
Huang Kairen: "Isn't it because you're here that I don't need to do anything?"
The two exchanged a few words and then went their separate ways.
Lu Yanhe got into the car, sat down in his seat, and was immediately overcome by drowsiness.
Wang Biao originally wanted to talk to Lu Yanhe about something, but when he turned around, he saw that Lu Yanhe had already closed his eyes, so he didn't say anything.
What Lu Yanhe said tonight touched Wang Biao deeply.
The entertainment industry is increasingly becoming a playground for wealthy children. Recently, a talent show aired, and two-thirds of the dozens of contestants came from affluent families, causing an uproar online. Not long ago, the public perception was that most people struggling in the entertainment industry were from ordinary families; in fact, some stereotypes held that even slightly well-off families wouldn't want their children to pursue a career in entertainment.
But things are completely different now.
Wang Biao also learned from acquaintances at Xingyu that Xingyu now mainly signs trainees whose families can provide some support. Trainees from backgrounds like Lu Yanhe are almost nowhere to be seen.
Just like what everyone was saying tonight.
In the past, actors who brought their own funding to a production were always viewed with disdain. Now, having no funding to bring seems to be seen as a sign of uselessness and incompetence.
In just a few years, people have changed, and so has the environment.
He heard tonight that the roles of Jiang Lingyi and the other main supporting actresses were highly sought after. Many families used all sorts of connections to pull strings, even offering bribes, just to get their children cast—they'd practically write checks for anyone who agreed.
Previously, it was the management company that used all sorts of tactics; now, the family is getting involved too.
If a child wants to do this, the family will support them.
And so, the world changed.
-
Wang Biao and Zou Dong escorted Lu Yanhe back to his room and left only after confirming that he was indeed in good condition and not unconscious.
As they were going downstairs, Zou Dong asked, "What were you trying to say to Yan He just now?"
Wang Biao smiled. "You figured it out?"
"Um."
"I wanted to ask if I could be Huang Feng's agent," Wang Biao said.
Zou Dong looked at him with some surprise.
"You're basically always focused on Yan He, how can you have time to be someone else's agent?"
“No, I’m not an assistant-style agent, but a film and television agent,” Wang Biao said. “I heard that Shi Huo has only assigned Huang Feng an assistant-style agent. In name, he manages everything, but in reality, he has no power. Basically, it’s Sister Ziyan and Sister Qingzhen who handle Huang Feng’s work. That agent is just a puppet who follows orders.”
"Does Huang Feng need a full-time agent right now? He's basically studying at school, and he'll be filming the 'Home Alone' series for the next few years, so he doesn't have the energy to act in other movies. If you're in charge of his film and television agency, you basically won't have any room to develop your career."
Wang Biao said, "If it weren't for this, I wouldn't have dared to have this thought."
“I know you like that kid Huang Feng, but you should stay out of it for now,” Zou Dong said. “You should use these next few years to train a replacement assistant so you can get rid of him and spend more time on your work as an agent.”
Wang Biao: "It's not something you can just find on a whim. Without a suitable person, without someone you don't trust, who would dare to put him next to Brother Lu?"
"You keep saying that, how will you know if you don't try?" Zou Dong said. "Just like Wan Qingqing and Song Jiang before, you didn't like them at first, but they turned out to be great later."
"Then why don't you let the other bodyguards take over some of your work?"
“I let them take care of it,” Zou Dong said. “They handle some daily errands and things like guarding the room doors. You can’t just hand everything over to someone else, but at least you can find someone to take care of some logistical support. You don’t have to worry about everything, even getting Yan He’s lunchboxes from the film crew.”
Wang Biao was speechless.
"If you really want to be Huang Feng's agent, or anyone else's agent, you'll never achieve it unless you break out of your current work situation," Zou Dong said bluntly, hitting Wang Biao where it hurt.
-
Wang Biao has been promoted to executive agent for some time now, but he hasn't hired a new assistant. He gives a hundred reasons, but the real reason is that he's afraid someone will take his position away from him.
He always felt that his job required no technical skills and that anyone could do it.
If a new assistant really comes along, what if Yan He starts to trust him more over time?
Wang Biao never truly let go of this sense of insecurity.
In particular, Lu Yanhe's career has been getting better and better in recent years, reaching such a peak.
Wang Biao didn't have the composure that comes with being around Lu Yanhe for so long and feeling like an old man who could relax and "do whatever he wanted." On the contrary, he always felt a sense of crisis and urgency, worried that his abilities couldn't keep up with Lu Yanhe's career. Under such circumstances, how could he dare to easily hire an assistant who posed a threat to him?
He already has such a heavy workload, yet he's still taking online language classes, learning English and some copyright law-related knowledge, which fully demonstrates his inner anxiety.
However, this wasn't the first time Zou Dong had said something like that.
Wang Biao himself knew that he couldn't keep relying on himself all the time.
Even if he could hold on, Chen Ziyan wouldn't want to see that.
It's already quite unbelievable that no one has taken on the role of "B" in such a demanding position as Lu Yanhe's executive agent and assistant—instead, Zou Dong has been doing it.
Wang Biao pondered for a long time, and then he couldn't sleep.
At 2 a.m., he still couldn't sleep and was hungry, so he took his phone and decided to go downstairs to the 24-hour convenience store next to the hotel to buy some food.
As a result, shortly after he stepped out of the hotel, he saw Li Zhibai get out of a car, wearing a baseball cap and a mask.
Despite these obstructions, it didn't prevent him from recognizing him at a glance.
Li Zhibai...why are you so late coming back?
Wang Biao was puzzled.
He assumed that everyone would disperse and return to their hotels after the dinner.
Li Zhibai didn't even notice Wang Biao.
He hurriedly lowered his head—afraid of being recognized—and rushed into the hotel.
Wang Biao looked at Li Zhibai's retreating figure with a puzzled expression.
-
The next day, Wang Biao told Lu Yanhe about it.
Lu Yanhe was also surprised to hear this.
"Maybe something's wrong with him." Once Li Zhibai arrived, Lu Yanhe immediately asked him, "What did you do last night?"
"What do you mean, where did you go?" Li Zhibai asked back.
There's a problem.
Lu Yanhe noticed that Li Zhibai sounded a little unnatural when he said those words.
Li Zhibai deliberately avoided his gaze.
Lu Yanhe looked at Li Zhibai with suspicion.
“Wang Biao saw you get out of a car at 2 a.m. last night and go back to the hotel,” Lu Yanhe said. “We parted ways at 11:30 p.m., what were you doing for those two hours?”
Li Zhibai: "Oh, I went for a massage. I was so tired that I fell asleep while I was getting it done, and they didn't wake me up."
Excuse.
Lu Yanhe realized almost without hesitation that this was an excuse.
It's definitely not true.
Lu Yanhe looked at Li Zhibai with suspicion.
But because of his denial, Lu Yanhe did not press the matter further.
-
Li Zhibai actually knew that Lu Yanhe did not continue to ask questions, not because he had dispelled his suspicions about him.
But at least at this point, they escaped Lu Yanhe's questioning.
He secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
How come I was caught by Wang Biao when I came back last night?
It's already 2 a.m.
Li Zhibai was helpless.
But to his surprise, Luo Yuzhong walked up to him and asked seriously, "Why are your dark circles so heavy?"
“…” Li Zhibai said quietly, “I didn’t sleep well last night.”
Luo Yuzhong: "Okay, let the makeup artist cover it up for you, otherwise these dark circles are too heavy."
As soon as Luo Yuzhong left, Lu Yanhe looked over.
His eyes clearly conveyed the message, "Aren't you going to tell the truth?"
Li Zhi coughed twice. "I'm thirsty, I'd like some water."
His assistant immediately brought over the kettle.
Li Zhibai, feeling guilty, used the act of drinking water to avoid Lu Yanhe's gaze.
-
However, misfortunes never come singly.
Li Zhibai has scenes with Deng Xiaoyuan, who plays the Spider Demon.
Deng Xiaoyuan's makeup and styling were all done. When she arrived on set, she rehearsed her lines with Li Zhibai.
Because Li Zhibai couldn't help but yawn twice, Deng Xiaoyuan immediately teased him with that knowing, older sisterly smile: "What did you do after dinner last night?"
It was originally just a normal joke.
Deng Xiaoyuan is like this on set. Taking advantage of her age, she likes to tease Lu Yanhe and the other young men.
But at this crucial moment, Li Zhibai's mind went blank, and he suddenly didn't know how to respond.
Even a fool could see that something was going on.
For a fleeting moment, Deng Xiaoyuan panicked.
At this moment, Lu Yanhe stepped in to help out, saying, "He drank too much and vomited for half the night after returning to the hotel."
The others looked on with sudden realization.
But whether they truly believed it or not, there's no way of knowing.
-
Jiang Yuqian had just left the hotel and gotten into her car, ready to head to the airport, when her phone started bombarding her with new messages non-stop, as if it had been dropped into a frying pan.
Oh no, they've figured it out.
—Old Lu is so perceptive, he must have noticed something.
—The crew probably don't think I just picked up a random prostitute, do they?
—The people in the crew all looked at me strangely.
—Damn, Chen Yin asked me privately if I was safe last night. He's worried I'll cause a stir...
—I can't hide it anymore.
...
Jiang Yuqian was comfortably preparing to leave for the airport when she was shocked by the news she suddenly received, causing her to straighten up and sit up straight again.
She: You didn't actually tell them, did you?
After a while, Li Zhibai said: No, but I really can't hide it anymore.
Jiang Yuqian sighed.
She put her hand to her forehead, thought for a long time, and replied: I can't go public right now. You know how critical this is for me. There can't be any variables.
Li Zhibai: I don't mean to tell everyone, but at least tell Lao Lu and Lao Yan first? It's too difficult to keep it from them.
Jiang Yuqian: You only feel it's difficult because you're filming with them all day long. After this movie is finished, you'll hardly see each other even a few times a month.
Jiang Yuqian: This is so embarrassing. I'm not mentally prepared to let Xiao Lu know that I'm with his best friend.
Li Zhibai: Am I so embarrassing for you to show off?
Her tone became aggrieved.
Jiang Yuqian: This is my own problem.
Li Zhibai: This feeling of always having to hide things is so uncomfortable.
Jiang Yuqian: It's not like this will continue forever. Once I get through this year or two and my work becomes more stable, we'll go public.
Li Zhibai: Okay.
Li Zhibai added: "But if Lao Lu figures something out himself, don't blame me, that guy is too perceptive!"
Jiang Yuqian: ...
-
Jiang Yuqian put down her phone.
She covered her face with both hands, rubbed it, and sighed softly.
Hearing this, the assistant asked, "Sister Yuqian, what's wrong?"
"It's nothing," Jiang Yuqian said. "By the way, when did we go to England?"
"the day after tomorrow."
How long will it take?
"Two weeks," the assistant said. "You have four scenes in this movie, and after that, you'll be doing a magazine shoot."
Jiang Yuqian nodded.
"Telephone" will be released at the end of the year, so we need to allocate time for its promotion," she said. "This is my first film as the lead actor, and it's a script written by Yan He, so we must do a good job of promoting it."
"Yes, Sister Heng has taken care of everything. The publicity will be in place."
Jiang Yuqian nodded.
Sunlight streamed in through the window, filtered by the window film, leaving only a thin, slightly tinted layer of light that fell on her face.
She couldn't help but recall that night.
It was a private party organized by a brand executive.
At home.
No media, no cameras, a private party.
The two of them were invited and met there.
At that party, they weren't very familiar with the other people, so they chatted a lot.
I don't know why, but the more we talked, the more excited we got.
After leaving that party, they went to a private club together.
At that time, Jiang Yuqian hadn't even considered that idea—
She genuinely treated Lu Yanhe like a younger brother, so she felt the same way about Li Zhibai, the boy who was as close to Lu Yanhe as a brother.
She was quite surprised to find that she got along well with Li Zhibai. Coincidentally, a script for a romance between an older woman and a younger man came to her, and she inexplicably felt that Li Zhibai was a good match. So she invited him to come along and talk about the script.
The privacy and security of private clubs go without saying.
Therefore, they were able to lower their guard a bit.
Jiang Yuqian still remembers asking Li Zhibai at the time, "Have you ever liked older sister types? Do you think you could play this role?"
Li Zhi laughed, with an expression that said, "Who are you underestimating?" and said, "Why don't you give it a try?"
That one sentence opened a door.
Both of them felt inexplicably awkward.
Jiang Yuqian realized in an instant that Li Zhibai was not Lu Yanhe.
Jiang Yuqian often knew, though she wouldn't say it, whether someone had those kinds of feelings for her.
Just like how she would deliberately ask Lu Yanhe out before filming to create a certain atmosphere in order to act well with him in "The Golden Era," she also knew very well that Lu Yanhe didn't have that kind of feeling for her.
Now, whether Li Zhibai's words were impulsive or thoughtless, Jiang Yuqian is very clear that this boy's attitude towards her is definitely not so innocent.
As a result, Li Zhibai seemed to realize that he had ruined the atmosphere with a single sentence.
To save the situation, he had to tell the story of how he used to have a crush on an older woman.
It was just a crush at first sight, nothing dramatic. My heart pounded for a while, and I tried to jokingly ask a few questions, but when I didn't get a response, I silently swallowed all my thoughts.
Jiang Yuqian felt a strange sense of emotion after hearing the rest of the story.
"I thought a guy with your personality would at least try, and if he failed, he'd just give up."
"I'd like to." She remembered Li Zhibai's smile clearly; it was a listless smile, and suddenly felt a little broken.
Then, Jiang Yuqian noticed that a certain spot in her heart had also skipped a beat.
Later, the two met twice under the guise of discussing the script.
And then, that's it.
With work keeping her constantly on the go, Jiang Yuqian has no plans for dating this year.
However, it appeared so suddenly, in a way she had never anticipated, like a bolt from the blue, leaving her unable to refuse and powerless to resist.
-
Several days had passed before Yan Liang noticed that the atmosphere between Lu Yanhe and Li Zhibai was a bit strange.
In this respect, his ability has never been particularly outstanding.
The situation was that Jiang Lingyi came to Li Zhibai and asked him when they could go over the script together.
Li Zhibai said that after lunch, he had two hours of rest time in the afternoon.
At that time, we were going to film a movie about Lu Yanhe.
Jiang Lingyi agreed.
After she left, Yan Liang teased Li Zhibai, asking him why he didn't take the initiative to ask others to go over the script.
Before Li Zhibai could speak, Lu Yanhe said with a smile, "Let's avoid suspicion."
"Avoid suspicion?" Yan Liang asked, puzzled. "Avoid what suspicion?"
"To avoid being misunderstood as having any feelings for Jiang Lingyi," Lu Yanhe said, raising his eyebrows at Li Zhibai.
Li Zhibai: "..."
Yan Liang glanced at Li Zhibai, then at Lu Yanhe.
"I think you're saying something I don't understand, but Li Zhibai does," Yan Liang said.
Lu Yanhe: "No, no, no, actually I only have a vague understanding. The only one who truly understands is Li Zhibai."
Yan Liang: "I understand even less."
"Because someone is keeping it from us, preventing us from knowing," Lu Yanhe said.
Yan Liang turned to look at Li Zhibai with a puzzled expression.
"What are you hiding from us?"
Li Zhi slapped himself in the face.
I want to die.
Lu Yanhe chuckled twice.
"When you were interrogating Siqi and me, did you ever imagine this day would come?"
Li Zhibai: "..."
Yan Liang was shocked and exclaimed, "Li Zhibai, you—"
Li Zhibai swiftly moved forward and covered Yan Liang's mouth with his hand.
Lu Yanhe: "Sigh, the old man was right, what goes around comes around."
Li Zhibai turned his head and said angrily, "Go to hell."
Lu Yanhe's face was filled with the arrogance of a petty person who had succeeded and the satisfaction of a great revenge.
-
However, even with Lu Yanhe and Yan Liang pressing him together, Li Zhibai still couldn't say anything in the end.
Yan Liang was shocked.
"Who exactly is this person, that you've kept it a secret from me like this!"
Lu Yanhe, on the contrary, revealed a thoughtful expression.
This person must be so closely guarded by Li Zhibai...
In addition, Li Zhibai came back so late that night. Was there anything special about that night?
Thinking about it again, Li Zhibai has a particular fondness for older sister types...
Lu Yanhe's expression suddenly became quite interesting.
To be precise, it's distorted.
He didn't want to think about it anymore.
Really?
He stared at Li Zhibai in disbelief. At that moment, he didn't even want to ask Li Zhibai for an answer anymore.
He was afraid that answer would hurt his ears.
-
The crew gradually noticed that the atmosphere among the trio of Lu Yanhe, Li Zhibai, and Yan Liang seemed to have changed.
They were practically never quiet on set before, always chatting and laughing non-stop. But these past two days, they've been a bit silent, as if neither of them is talking to the other.
Did they have a fight?
They broke up?
Despite the many questions and discussions, no one dared to ask them what had happened.
In any case, none of them affected the acting.
When acting, you still act the same way.
However, not long after, marketing accounts started posting messages suggesting that the three of them were at odds.
In a film crew, there are definitely no secrets that stay hidden forever.
All of this is out in the open; anyone can see it. There's no one being deliberately hidden from anyone.
Even if the news gets out, it's impossible to find out who spread it.
Such rumors spread like wildfire, and although Lu Yanhe and his group saw them, no one went out of their way to clarify or refute them.
This is, of course, a misunderstanding.
There was absolutely no such thing between the three of them.
He had only guessed at one point, and it was a little hard for him to accept, so he was still adjusting himself.
Li Zhibai, on the other hand, had to keep it a secret from them and not be honest, so he simply ignored them.
Yan Liang was a little annoyed with Li Zhi because Li Zhi refused to tell him no matter what.
Given the current state of affairs among the three, if there's any discord, it's at most that Yan Liang dislikes Li Zhibai.
The fact that the three of them don't explain the matter only makes some rumor-mongers and those spreading rumors even more convinced that the three of them might really be at odds.
As a result, all sorts of embellished versions emerged.
It's said that Lu Yanhe deliberately withheld the pay of his two good friends in order to make money for himself, which is why Li Zhibai and Yan Liang were very unhappy.
Yan Liang was unhappy that Lu Yanhe gave the male lead role to Li Zhibai, while only giving himself the second male lead role, which led to a major conflict between them.
After all sorts of messy rumors were released, they caused quite a stir among their fan base.
At first, the fans of the three groups were not very convinced.
The relationship and affection between the three of them has been going on for almost ten years.
How could they just fall out like that? Even if they do fall out, it's probably just a minor disagreement.
All three parties tacitly agreed to post "Don't believe rumors, don't spread rumors" in the comment sections of these marketing accounts.
It was so friendly that it made the marketing accounts want to explode.
If fans can't get into a heated argument, how will this news generate any traffic?
Marketing accounts are increasingly embellishing stories and fabricating all sorts of fake news to attract attention.
Then, the three teams hired a lawyer to publicly send out the lawyer's letter.
They made no mention of whether the three parties were on good terms or not, only saying that marketing accounts deliberately fabricated false news, damaging the reputations of the three individuals.
-
Luo Yuzhong couldn't sit still any longer and asked Lu Yanhe what exactly was going on with them.
Lu Yanhe smiled and explained that it was a small matter, there was no discord, it was just that there were some things that made them less inclined to communicate with each other these past few days.
Luo Yuzhong: "You guys have known each other since you were young, and it's not easy to have such a friendship now. Don't let a little impulsiveness cause you to really break up at such a young age."
Lu Yanhe was both amused and exasperated.
"Teacher, you can rest assured, it's not what you think."
Lu Yanhe took a deep breath, thinking that things couldn't continue like this. If they did, the crew would be in a state of panic, and most of their thoughts would probably be focused on what was wrong with them.
He invited both of them to have some late-night snacks together.
Then, the three young and strong men, in order to maintain their physique, couldn't eat much, so they just ordered a few things, which added up to less than a hundred yuan.
The boss recognized them and gave them a look that said, "You big stars are eating so poorly."
Lu Yanhe said to Li Zhibai, "If you don't want to tell us, you must have a reason, so I won't ask. But if you keep it from us, you must punish yourself with three cups of wine. No matter what your reason is, it's wrong of you to keep it from me and Yan Liang."
Yan Liang picked up his glass and downed a whole glass of beer in one go.
He nodded vigorously and said decisively, "That's right!"
Li Zhibai knew that Lu Yanhe was "giving him a way out," and things couldn't stay deadlocked forever.
Without further ado, he downed three cups as punishment.
Yan Liang: "You can't keep this from us forever, can you?"
"Won't."
"Alright, I'll wait and see which celestial beauty you're with, the one you've been hiding from me like this," Yan Liang said.
Li Zhibai: "Thank you for your understanding."
Lu Yanhe stared at Li Zhibai with a knowing look in his eyes and a hint of an enigmatic smile.
Li Zhi scratched his head.
Lu Yanhe suddenly raised a hand and patted his arm.
"This mosquito! It brazenly bites my blood, as if it doesn't see it!"
Li Zhibai: "..."
This scene is a perfect example of a couplet.
The first line is Lu Yanhe swatting mosquitoes while indirectly criticizing others.
The second line is Li Zhibai pretending to be a fool.
Horizontal scroll: Yan Liang puts down his cup and curses.
-
I recommend the classic entertainment novel, "I Became the Scandalous Leading Lady Overnight".
(End of this chapter)
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