Chapter 39
◎The White Moonlight of White Moonlight◎
Gany first truly met Regas at Regas's coming-of-age ceremony. The Crown Prince's coming-of-age ceremony was one of the most significant events in the Silver Glow Empire, and he, along with his father and brothers, had come from the Northern Region to the capital star to celebrate with the Crown Prince. Even then, he sensed that his father and brothers valued the Crown Prince's affairs more than those of the current Emperor.
When discussing the emperor in the Northern Regions, his father and brothers, though respectful in their words, were relaxed and casual in their demeanor. However, when speaking of the Crown Prince, both their words and actions were cautious and tense. Even he, who was not interested in politics, could clearly sense that difference.
His Highness the Crown Prince's coming-of-age ceremony was attended by the entire core of the empire's power structure; no one sent a mere ceremonial official, but the prince himself took the stage. It was during this celebration that he first and only saw Duke Lanxi of the Southern Region and the legendary uncrowned king of the Southern Region, Lan Hua. It was also said to be one of the few celebrations in which Duke Lanxi and Lan Hua themselves came to the capital planet.
He had only seen the Crown Prince on a projection before, but it was nothing compared to seeing him in person. The projection was far less impressive than the real person. He still vividly remembered the moment His Highness the Crown Prince appeared; everything in the room lost its color. He seemed to be enveloped in golden light, so dazzling that it left everyone speechless.
At that moment, he knew he had fallen for him. He had previously thought Osei was handsome and gentle, but after meeting His Highness the Crown Prince, Osei had completely faded from being his most admired figure to being nothing more than a mosquito bite; the two were simply incomparable.
But His Highness the Crown Prince was too unapproachable; he couldn't even get close to him, let alone let the Crown Prince see him. One of the reasons he entered the entertainment industry was to get the Crown Prince's attention, but it seemed to have no effect. Before he could even think of a way to get close to the Crown Prince, the devastating news of the Crown Prince's disappearance spread throughout the universe.
Without His Highness the Crown Prince as a point of comparison, Osei seemed to stand out again. Moreover, Osei himself bore a resemblance to the Crown Prince, being the most similar among all the princes. Therefore, Osei seemed to be the best choice. But then, the Crown Prince didn't die; he returned. Everything returned to normal, and Osei was once again reduced to his original state, so dim in comparison to the Crown Prince that he became utterly uninteresting.
He regretted it now. If he had known His Highness the Crown Prince was still alive, he shouldn't have continued his relationship with Ouse. Now, with the wedding date approaching, he felt no joy at all. He considered calling off the wedding, but his father and brothers disagreed. He didn't care about the bigger picture! All he knew was that, knowing His Highness the Crown Prince was still alive, he couldn't bear to spend his life with Ouse.
If he could win the Crown Prince's heart, his current predicament would be resolved. After all, a marriage alliance with the Crown Prince was something his father and brothers had wanted to do, but it hadn't succeeded. However, he couldn't even see the Crown Prince now; how could he possibly develop a relationship with him?
Even he wouldn't dare to covet His Highness the Crown Prince, yet that vile woman Lan Ye dared to spread rumors about him. He understood the hidden meaning when he read the introduction.
Agares is a veiled reference to Crown Prince Regas, Vene refers to Ose, and the Narcissus family refers to the Lan family. This illegitimate son, Lan Ye, dares to secretly identify himself as the heir of the Lan family, isn't he afraid of angering the rightful heir, Lan Hua? He's really courting death.
Gani felt that Lan Ye should really be sent back to the Stafar Sanatorium. This toad lusting after a swan, fantasizing that both the Crown Prince and the Third Prince liked him, even fabricating a noble identity for himself, and going so far as to claim the Crown Prince was dead and that Osei had become Crown Prince with his help. He had offended both the Southern Region and the royal family, as if he was afraid of not dying fast enough.
Although Gani loathed Lan Ye and wished he could slash his face and throw him into a mental hospital right now, he was curious to see what would happen to Lan Ye for offending Lan Hua and the royal family. This was not something that could be resolved by simply throwing him into a sanatorium.
Although the StarNet has been dominated by Lan Ye and "The Crown Prince's Love Affair," some people are still paying attention to Gani deleting her StarNet posts.
"Wait, am I seeing things wrong? Why are there fewer and fewer Starblog posts for Gani?"
"You read that right, Ni Ni Zi is deleting posts online, and most of them are related to the Third Prince."
"Not only have they stopped showing affection in public lately, but they've also deleted their posts. I have a bold guess..."
"Me too, *smile*"
...
Jia Ni's popularity in the entertainment industry is second only to Lan Ye, so his act of deleting posts related to the Third Prince in the middle of the night naturally attracted a lot of attention online and sparked numerous speculations. For a time, news of a breakup between Jia Ni and the Third Prince Ou Sai flooded the entire entertainment news section.
The entertainment industry has been buzzing lately because of Lan Ye's announcement of his comeback. Even Gianni, who has always loved controlling public opinion and maintaining a perfect image, seems to be stepping down from the pedestal she built for herself.
At the celebration banquet for "The Moonlit Beauty," Lan Ye's seemingly gentle but actually sarcastic remarks implying she didn't belong to the aristocratic circle sparked various interpretations and criticisms from netizens, even spawning a series of "white lotus" memes. Although the memes have been blocked time and again, the sheer number of derivative versions makes them impossible to completely suppress.
Netizens are thoroughly enjoying the gossip, and the entertainment industry seems to have returned to its previous joyful atmosphere of everyone being a gossipmonger.
"I don't know if it's just my imagination, but I feel that after Lan Ye announced his comeback, Jia Ni's control over Xingwang's discourse is not as strong as before."
"I also think that previous topics about Lan Ye should have been deleted as much as possible, and comments mentioning Jia Ni's name would definitely have been deleted if they weren't praising her. But now it feels like there are far fewer deletions."
"It's not an illusion, it's true. I've checked the data, and the control is indeed not strict anymore; at least, information containing Lan Ye's name hasn't been deleted much."
"So, Lan Ye does have connections, right...? I even suspect that he was actually sent in before, or that he went in voluntarily to get some peace and quiet."
"The person upstairs has a great idea, and it seems to make a lot of sense...seriously."
"It's been more than half a year since I last saw Lan Ye. I really miss his stunningly beautiful face, and his vulgar yet interestingly shallow soul..."
"I really hope the press conference for 'The Crown Prince's Romance' comes soon! I'm so curious and excited about this movie and Lan Ye!!!"
Amidst everyone's eager anticipation, the press conference for "The Crown Prince's Romantic Affair" finally arrived.
Capital Star Greyves Palace Hotel
The press conference for "The Crown Prince's Romantic Affair" was held in the hotel's largest conference hall. Even so, the spacious hall still felt cramped and small due to the large crowd and numerous pieces of equipment. Outside the conference hall, the corridors were packed with media, netizens, and fans who hadn't received invitations but had managed to gain entry to the hotel.
They crowded in the corridor, hoping to get a glimpse of the news because of their proximity. Although this was not as quick and convenient as watching a live broadcast projection on the StarNet, this virtual illusion could not replace the excitement and exhilaration brought by the real feeling of being close at hand.
Lan Ye hadn't entered yet; only the main creative team was on stage, with the center seat still empty. The media first noticed that the creative team seemed to have no actors, consisting almost entirely of behind-the-scenes personnel. However, the director and screenwriter were both well-known figures in the industry.
Director Cavench is a renowned director in the industry, but he primarily directs virtual composite films, only dabbling in live-action films in his early career. He is known for his extremely picky and meticulous nature, a complete perfectionist. It's said that he withdrew from live-action films because he found the acting of live-action actors problematic and the film sets couldn't achieve the effects he desired, so he decided to dedicate himself entirely to virtual composite films.
Screenwriter Flavin is a top-tier screenwriter in the industry, but his main works are biographical films. His most famous works are the Royal Series and the Four Realms Series, with his breakthrough and most well-known work being *Ambition and Glory: The Life of Séloë Gamondon*. In everyone's mind, Flavin is a serious screenwriter, quite different from this kind of obviously sensationalist, attention-grabbing, fast-paced entertainment film.
These two have both fame and status, and plenty of investors lining up to become their clients. So, what leverage did Lan Ye have over them that made them get involved in this mess? After all, while hype is good, few can truly withstand the turmoil of a bloody storm without collapsing.
However, seeing these two, and noticing the absence of actors in the main cast section, the media present could roughly guess that this film was probably not a live-action movie, but rather a digitally composited film. This guess could be confirmed with Lan Ye when the interviews began.
The once noisy conference hall gradually quieted down as the scheduled start time of the press conference approached. However, despite the silence, those present could still sense an underlying, unspoken restlessness, as if a single spark could shatter this undercurrent of quiet.
Everyone present was waiting for this spark...
The live stream had begun. As soon as the live stream lobby opened, trillions of viewers flooded in, a scene comparable to the live stream of Lan Ye and the Third Prince's wedding years ago.
"I started waiting in the live stream lobby before it even opened, and now that the live stream has started, why isn't Lan Ye here yet?"
"So anxious, so anxious, so anxious... So excited, so excited, so excited..."
"Another one's gone mad, drag them away..."
"Where's Lan Ye? Why hasn't he shown up yet? Is this comeback just a publicity stunt orchestrated by someone with ulterior motives? Where is Lan Ye???"
"Haven't you noticed? Lan Ye hasn't shown his face since announcing his comeback. I suspect this movie is using Lan Ye for publicity!"
"If that's the case, I will hate this movie for life, including the creative team and all those involved!"
"You upstairs probably don't know who the director and screenwriter of this movie are, right? I saw Cavensh and Flavin; they're big names in the film industry, far beyond just pretty faces! But this is really weird... How could they possibly be involved in a movie like this?! Were they kidnapped?"
"Lan Ye is here!!!!!!!!!"
Just one second before the scheduled start time of the press conference, Lan Ye appeared… and the moment Lan Ye appeared, the live broadcast room instantly… crashed…
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