Chapter 29
“I don’t think she would think that way.”
Facing the camera, Fang Yucheng smiled appropriately and spoke calmly: "Raising such questions is not only disrespectful to Mu Jiu personally, but also a denial of her acting skills."
"Mu Jiu possesses the attitude and ability that a young actor should have. During my collaboration with her, I always felt her respect and awe for the profession. Even now, we still maintain a friendly and tacit working relationship."
"That's why I don't think she's really like what's said online—that she would use someone as a substitute, let alone joke about work."
The response was perfectly timed; though it was polite, it was flawless. Many viewers on screen nodded in agreement, while the comments section outside the screen was much more enthusiastic.
To be fair, Fang Yucheng's response was very magnanimous.
[As expected of Cheng Bao, I'm crying my eyes out]
Those Mu Jiu fans are really crazy. They even said things like they were using Cheng Bao as a stand-in, and Cheng Bao is still defending his colleague like this.
[I'm taking Yu Cheng away, no more dates. And to the fans of these two, please have some self-respect and don't become like those persistent leeches of the actual celebrities. Oh, you get the kind of fans you like, fine then, just wait to be reported, blocked, and attacked.]
Am I the only one who thinks he was deliberately trying to distance himself from the situation?
The +1 at the beginning seems to imply that Mu Jiu is unilaterally pestering him.
Some people had better know their place and stop trying to piggyback on others' fame. Using the term "stand-in" to describe a top star is just asking for trouble.
...
Fang Yucheng maintained his elegant demeanor until he sat in the van and closed the door, at which point the gentle smile on his face slightly faded. He then took out his violently vibrating phone from his pocket.
Sun Jianglin
He looked at the note and a smirk curled at the corner of his mouth with a hint of sarcasm.
Before pressing the call connection button, he simultaneously pressed the record button.
Although he already knew what the other person wanted to say, Fang Yucheng still pretended to know nothing and answered the phone: "Sister Sun?"
"The advertising endorsement interview that was scheduled for today was canceled at the last minute... and do you know who stole the opportunity that should have been yours? It was Ling Zhao!"
When the call connected, I heard a voice on the other end, barely containing its anger: "It's obvious that Ling Zhao's team is behind this, using you as a stepping stone to climb higher..."
"Sister Sun."
Fang Yucheng interrupted her casually, his finger lightly tapping the leather texture on the seat: "Is it an MG perfume ad?"
"You know that?"
The person on the other end of the phone asked in surprise, "Who told you in advance?"
"They didn't say."
Fang Yucheng looked up at the streetlights flashing past the window: "I guessed."
MG is short for MorningGlow, also known as Dawn, and is a perfume brand that has recently received good reviews. However, if that were all, it wouldn't have elicited such a strong reaction from its agent.
After hearing that he had guessed correctly, the other party lost interest and instead spoke to him enthusiastically: "I've already made arrangements. In the next few days, I'll spread the word to those two people and find a few paparazzi to stake out the filming location."
"As long as some workplace bullying is 'accidentally' captured on camera, and some people stir up trouble, saying he's building a persona on TV by putting you down, and that his character is questionable in private, once the public outcry builds up, they won't be able to get involved anymore. At that point, no matter what..."
Fang Yucheng lowered his eyes, concealing the emotions within them, and interrupted her, saying, "MG is not a niche brand. Doing this will definitely lead to the discovery of who is behind it. Not only will it do us no good, but it will also give us gossip and bring trouble upon ourselves."
"Then let's do something shady in the dressing room."
Sun Jianglin casually changed her tune: "If there is an allergic reaction or the person is not in good condition, the brand will naturally consider replacing them."
Fang Yucheng: "That's not appropriate; it would affect the advertising shoot schedule. Although we didn't collaborate this time, in the future..."
"Fang Yucheng! This won't work, that won't work, do you think you're not going to listen now that you're famous?"
Having been repeatedly humiliated, the person on the other end of the phone immediately exploded: "In this industry, who didn't rise to the top this way? Let me tell you, without me actively seizing resources and mediating for you, you would never have achieved what you have today. And now you're ordering me around?"
"You originally wanted to participate in 'I Go,' but the company disagreed. If it weren't for our years of cooperation, I would have pulled some strings. Otherwise, how could those people be worthy of appearing on the same show as you?"
"The key is that you still clung to her so desperately, which lowered your own standards and ended up causing a mess. Now look what's happened, even your and Meng Shuning's CP fans are running out of steam. Without those loyal and wealthy solo fans supporting you, how long do you think you can stay popular with your looks?"
After being subjected to a barrage of insults, Fang Yucheng remained silent for a brief moment.
“I don’t mean to disobey you, and I know you’re doing this for my own good. Over the years, if it weren’t for you taking care of things for me, I really wouldn’t be where I am today.”
He seemed to have taken it to heart, and explained earnestly, word by word: "But since MG has already decided on the candidate, there's no need for us to dwell on it. I remember there's also the UEDARK endorsement?"
“UEDARK?” Sun Jianglin scoffed. “How could a brand with no brand recognition, built on the marketing of a few internet celebrities, be worthy of you? MG may be priced low, but it has a powerful backer, which is key to opening up the youth market. What does UEDARK have?”
"You're still too naive. You don't need to worry about what happens next; I'll handle it."
Before he could say anything more, the phone was abruptly disconnected with a "beep."
Seeing the driver's veiled sympathy, Fang Yucheng slowly put away his phone.
His gaze slowly drifted through the car window toward the small house.
——
"...I don't think she's really like what's said online, that she would do something like using someone as a substitute, let alone joke about work."
As the last few seconds of the video faded away, Ling Zhao expressionlessly removed his headphones.
The algorithm for push notifications on mobile phones is still too stupid. No matter what the user wants to see, it always pushes some boring stuff.
Looking at Mu Jiu, who was intently drinking porridge in the living room, a complex emotion flashed in his eyes.
certainly.
Fang Yucheng couldn't possibly be his stand-in. If we had to say, the other way around is more likely.
If we think about it this way, many things seem to make sense, but there are also many more things that cannot be explained.
For example, when he first met someone and was asked about his relationship with Fang Yucheng, the other person threw out a sentence that caught him off guard: "In the current setting, he is your substitute."
For example, she seemed quite troubled by Fang Yucheng's approach.
These are all different from the information he could find about her on social media platforms.
She wouldn't delve into whether the overwhelming negative comments about him in the past were true, nor would she consider that for a long time after the show ended, their "relationship" would be repeatedly brought up as gossip, and she certainly wouldn't consider whether her career would suffer a downturn because of him.
She simply looked at him openly, approached him, remembered the songs he had written, and expressed his likes and dislikes.
They don't see the labels from the outside world; they only observe what they "can see" through their own eyes.
Occasionally, he would wonder why the other person trusted him so much.
"bite--"
Hearing the sound of the spoon being put down, Ling Zhao came back to her senses and casually took the empty bowl that Mu Jiu had finished eating from.
Mu Jiu instinctively refused, saying, "Let me wash it..."
The sound of rushing water interrupted her words.
She placed one hand on the kitchen counter and the other on the chair that had been pushed back. Just as she was about to straighten up, she saw the other person's gaze shift from the sink to her face.
Ling Zhao: "No need."
In contrast to his somewhat impatient tone, he raised his hand with a gentle movement.
The next second, Mu Jiu felt slender fingers brush past the strands of hair on her forehead, the coolness of the water droplets gently touching her forehead.
Seeing this made me feel better again; how could I not want to ship this?
[This action looks so practiced; you must have done it a lot before. / Her face is flushed]
[This is how fans of the "Morning and Evening" CP (couple pairing) behave: first, they're severely injured and collapse, then they're immediately revived.]
Hang in there, the surgery will pass!
The fans of the CP (couple) from Chaomu were having a wild party, but just a few seconds later, the previously harmonious chat in the live stream suddenly took a turn for the worse:
Audiences these days are so easily fooled; they fall for these kinds of tricks.
[Can the production team please make something so real that it's unbelievably fake?]
[Hilarious! Is this what you call torture? I can practically smell the artificial fragrance through the screen!]
Stop self-hypnotizing yourself, it's obviously scripted.
Now they don't even bother with pretense, they just force-feed sweetness.
Let me guess, is the next step to deliberately fall down and hug?
...
Seeing the overwhelmingly negative sentiment in the live stream, Sun Jianglin curled her lips into a smug, cold smile.
"A bunch of idiots."
Guiding the audience's likes and dislikes is a very basic thing; it was possible before, and there's no reason why it can't be done now. She was just away on a business trip for a while, and the studio's PR staff were just getting paid to do nothing, which is why these ants were crawling on her head and acting like tyrants.
Just by watching a few seconds of the live stream, one can guess what kind of path the recently popular "Chao Mu" CP is taking.
The script is so obviously obvious, yet so many people still praise it?
Just as she was getting bored and preparing to turn off the live stream, the video suddenly froze briefly.
The comments didn't load in time. On the screen, after withdrawing his hand, Ling Zhao lowered his head and rinsed the pots and pans, the water flowing through his fingers.
The camera zoomed in without warning.
The image was completely dominated by a sharply defined face. Silver-gray hair fell casually, with a few stray strands brushing against his brow bone, and beneath the ends of his hair, a pair of seemingly sharp eyes were lowered slightly.
He exudes a clear and sharp aura.
In that instant, he seemed to bear no resemblance to Fang Yucheng whatsoever.
However, just as the live stream chat began to slowly load, it started arguing and cursing all at once.
His voice slowly came out: "The fever will come back. After you've eaten, go back and wrap yourself in a blanket to sleep."
It was as if he were coaxing a child.
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