Chapter 110 Perfect
"Producer Lin, let me confirm with you again. We will release this video footage truthfully..."
After hanging up the call from the "Thousands of People, Thousands of Faces" production team, Lin Chiran looked up and saw Qu Qinghuan and Wu Wen, facing each other, staring at each other.
Qu Qinghuan saw Lin Chiran looking over here with a very subtle expression, and asked, "Did Thousand People Thousand Faces go to your house to film?"
Lin Chiran nodded: "Not long ago." "Thousands of People, Thousands of Faces" will not only record the working scenes of the subjects, but also capture some details of their daily life to reveal the characters' personalities.
Qu Qinghuan's tone was intriguing: "Your home... isn't very suitable for being photographed, right? Aren't there a lot of inconvenient things?"
Lin Chiran was stunned for a moment, then realized what he was talking about. He shook his head and chuckled, "Sure enough, you saw it when you came to my house?"
Before selecting a record producer for Wax&Wane, Lin Chiran had no choice but to pick up the drunk Qu Qinghuan and take him home. He probably noticed it at that time. Lin Chiran was a little surprised that he could hold back and not say anything until now.
"If you mean the iconic Golden Music Award trophy, I did see it." Seeing that he was still able to laugh, Qu Qinghuan stopped beating around the bush and asked directly, "Is that your father Lin Jing's trophy?"
Lin Chiran said without hesitation: "Yes."
This statement was equivalent to directly acknowledging the outside world's speculation about him. Qu Qinghuan had already seen the trophy with his own eyes, so he naturally had some considerations in his mind. He did not show too much surprise when he got a positive answer, but was calmer than before: "How can I help you?"
Hearing this, Lin Chiran glanced at him from head to toe and from toe to head several times, and couldn't help but said to Wu Wen: "Wu Wen, isn't it Qu Qinghuan you're meeting today? Who is this?"
Wu Wen choked, turned his face stiffly to the side, and covered his mouth to hide his laughter.
Qu Qinghuan rolled his eyes. Seeing him like this, he knew that the matter was still under Lin Chiran's control. He did not mention it again and focused on the work content of today's meeting, which was the preparation of Wax&Wane's first album.
According to the conclusions reached at the last meeting with the production department, the preparation work for the first album was officially launched in early August. Lin Chiran, the producer of Wax&Wane, and Qu Qinghuan, who was responsible for the production of the music record, first had to determine the concept of the entire album.
After nearly a year of running-in, everyone is very familiar with the preparation process and startup work.
Listening to the album concept proposed by Lin Chiran, Qu Qinghuan was thoughtful and suddenly wanted to know whether this was an idea he had long ago or an inspiration that came to him recently.
The album launch went very smoothly. When it was over, Qu Qinghuan casually asked, "It's almost your birthday, right?"
Lin Chiran nodded. His birthdays in recent years have been very busy. On the one hand, he had a full schedule for SLANT, and on the other hand, he was busy organizing events for fans. He thought he would have some free time this year, but then this incident happened and everything happened at once. Even he couldn't help but have a headache.
Qu Qinghuan raised his eyebrows slightly, but didn't say anything else. He held his phone and wondered what he was doing.
*
Just like that, amidst the outside world's turmoil, increasingly fierce suspicions and debates, the time came to August 9, Lin Chiran's birthday.
Huanyu released specious news and misled public opinion. It did not make clear statements about Lin Chiran, but instead analyzed past events to guide people's imagination in the direction they wanted.
Fang Yao had put a lot of effort into this, waiting for this day. Everything was ready, except for the final fire that ignited everything.
But what he never expected was that the fire was actually started by Lin Chiran himself.
Watching the birthday greeting video sent by "Thousands of People, Thousands of Faces", Fang Yao felt that God was helping him. This time, Lin Chiran will not be given any room for sophistry.
The pleasure of revenge made Fang Yao laugh wildly. The hatred and unhappiness that had been suppressed in his heart since last year dissipated in this second. He watched the development of events unscrupulously, hoping that this fire could burn everything.
Just as the pointer passed midnight, the "Thousands of People, Thousands of Faces" program team released a notice that Lin Chiran was participating in the recording of the program and sent him birthday wishes. The attached video was a record of the program team shooting at his home.
Just before the end of the video, someone saw something in the camera that Lin Chiran should not have at that moment. It was a trophy designed with high-pitched notes as elements. It was shining all over and belonged to a certain Golden Music Award winner.
Because of this episode, some people began to analyze other elements that appeared in the footage, and more and more evidence appeared in front of the public, whether it was Lin Jing's past records, or photos of Xu Wanqing with the artists she had managed, all of which were presented to everyone almost without any cover-up.
Lin Chiran's life experience has become clear, and all the evidence points to the same conclusion.
The Internet was in an uproar because of this, and countless people expressed various complex emotions in shock, including a lot of misunderstandings. From his debut in SLANT to becoming the producer of Wax&Wane, everything about Lin Chiran's past was nakedly presented in this play that could not be stopped, and was re-examined by everyone.
[…So Lin Chiran is the grandson of Xu Sheng, the founder of Shenghuang? He has been developing in his own company all these years. Does he dare to say that he has not gained any benefits? ? ? It's so unfair to the teammates. I now really think that what Chen Zhou said at the beginning was probably true. It's not easy for the young master to get resources. Who shouldn't make way for him? 】
[What on earth is Lin Chiran thinking about?] With such a family situation, he wants to be an idol. Isn't he trying to take revenge on his fans? This is outrageous. It's not an exaggeration to say that his parents were killed by his fans...】
What does this have to do with fans? ? He can't figure things out and he's blaming the fans. He picks up the bowl to eat and puts it down to curse? Is it crazy for someone who runs an entertainment company at home to do this? If Shenghuang continues like this, it will be ruined by the young master! 】
[But Lin Chi Ran has never done anything excessive before. Why are you targeting him just because of his background? Who can find fault with him in the ten years he has been an idol? It is not an exaggeration to say that he is a perfect idol. What does his family have to do with him...]
[The problem is not what Lin Chiran is like. Put yourself in their shoes. If you were the child of Lin Jing and Xu Wanqing, would you choose to debut as an idol under such circumstances? To be honest, I can't do this and still be sincere to my fans. I feel uncomfortable just thinking about it. In this case, what do you think is his purpose in being an idol? 】
[… I am speechless. Master Lin, you really have a bloody constitution. You have to find something to do to entertain your fans even if you have nothing to do. I thought SLANT was quite pretentious even before he graduated. Isn't it obvious now? He is really good at acting. He appears to be so nice to his fans on the surface, but you never know what he is thinking inside. 】
The concealment over the years has caused great resentment among some people, and some have even directed their anger at Wax & Wane.
[Why do you still want to be an idol producer after all this… Is Wax&Wane also part of your plan to trick your fans? Is it fun to watch others argue to defend you? Or do you think being a producer gives you a clear conscience? 】
[No, this matter has nothing to do with Wax&Wane. Why involve them? This group doesn't do whatever Lin Chiran says. They are just a producer. Many producers of idol groups are just decorations. Who knows if they are just used by the young master to maintain his popularity. There is no need to involve them all. 】
[Oh, are you starting to draw a line again? This is not the attitude you guys use when you brag about it. Top idols are in charge of it themselves, the producers and members have a very good relationship, why don't you talk about the next generation of heavenly groups or something like that? After all, he didn't commit any crime by killing anyone. Isn't it a bit disgusting to speculate about the benefactor for the sake of his own little idol? 】
[I don’t care. As long as Lin Chiran is still the producer of Wax&Wane, I won’t even look at this band again. Thinking about his previous attitude, I feel that something is wrong. Others are just doing business, but he looks like he wants to take his heart out. Only someone who has no feelings at all would be so deliberate. Actor Lin is overacting. 】
[I see through it. I don’t see through Lin Chiran, I see through you, a bunch of fence-sitters. That's ten years! Ten years! How many decades can a person have in his life? ! Do you think it’s necessary for him to suffer for ten years just to curse his fans in his heart? Is it necessary for him to give up being a good young master and try his best to make the people who support him live happier? Just because of such an incident, the sincerity of the past ten years could be misunderstood. You are the ones who make people sick. No matter what others say, I will always support him. I am not blind and can see people clearly. 】
Zhou Qing was typing while crying. She didn't understand why people's hearts could become so dirty in an instant, or if that was just human nature.
As a fan who has supported Lin Chiran for a full ten years, she watched him grow from a teenager to the most gentle and reliable young man in everyone's eyes, and from a newly debuted idol to a producer who leads the entire team forward.
Even if Lin Chiran chooses to reduce his appearances on the screen, there are countless fans like Zhou Qing who are still silently following him.
For her, Lin Chi Ran has long been more than just an idol in the eyes of outsiders. Her youth, her memories, her life, every detail has long been filled with the embodiment of her youthful aspirations.
The photos on the phone case, the posters in the room, the knowing smile when hearing a familiar voice while walking on the street. When life is at its lowest point, as long as she looks up, she can always see his smile and hear his encouragement. Time and again, he has pulled countless people like her out of the fear called despair.
The ten years that Lin Chi Ran spent as an idol were no longer just the ten years of his own life. They were memories that would fade but never disappear in the hearts of countless people who admired him.
But now, this beautiful feeling left in people's hearts is being eroded.
Just because they feel that this is a betrayal from their idol, just like what Lin Jing did back then.
*
Since early morning, public opinion has been fermenting wildly, and Shenghuang’s public relations department almost bombarded Lin Chiran’s phone, but finally received an order from the chairman Xu Sheng. This was an order that made all employees unbelievable, so they kept their troops on hold and wait and see.
If it weren't for Xu Sheng's reputation as a business tycoon, and the confidence and calmness in his tone, no one would dare to just watch.
At the Xu family's home, it was already early morning, but no one could sleep peacefully.
Butler Qu looked at Lin Chiran and Xu Sheng who were sitting in the living room without saying a word, his eyes full of worry.
Lin Chiran looked at the various messages sliding across the screen with a calm expression, however, his slightly clenched hands revealed that his heart was not completely calm.
After Xu Sheng hung up the phone, he kept staring at the portrait of Xu Wanqing in the living room. After a long while, he spoke: "You have wanted to do this for a long time."
It was not a question. Xu Sheng was sure that Lin Chiran had imagined this scenario since the first day he became an idol.
Thinking of this, Xu Sheng almost forced himself not to kick this unfilial descendant out of the house. His crutch knocked on the ground repeatedly, making a loud noise.
Lin Chiran pressed the power button, put his phone aside, and looked deeply at his grandfather: "You are right."
Xu Sheng's teeth were about to break. Even though Lin Chiran had discussed this matter with him a long time ago, when he really saw this scene again, he couldn't help but feel that this was so similar to everything Xu Wanqing had experienced that it made him feel suffocated.
*
Half a month ago, after meeting Bai Yan, Lin Chiran turned around and went back to the old house.
He knew very well that the fact that Bai Yan mentioned Lin Jing was definitely not that simple. Considering the extent of Fang Yao's hatred towards him, he chose this time to make everyone uneasy.
In response to this, Lin Chiran chose to play along.
If it was him a year ago, he might have thought that the time was not right and would not have made such a decision; but now, even if he understands the possible consequences, he can't wait any longer.
When Xu Sheng first mentioned this countermeasure to his grandfather, he was almost furious and was extremely resistant to Lin Chiran's almost crazy behavior of self-destruction.
This entertainment giant that he has painstakingly built up for decades will not be greatly damaged by such a public opinion storm. Even the incident between Lin Jing and Xu Wanqing many years ago could not shake the foundation of Shenghuang, but Xu Sheng has never cared about this.
What he cared about was his blood-related relatives, the only grandson left by his only daughter. Even though Xu Sheng had been extremely opposed for many years, he had never completely ignored Lin Chiran.
The reason why he doesn't want Lin Chi Ran to be active in public is not just because he doesn't want Xu Wanqing's pain to be mentioned again by the world, but more because of his consideration of Lin Chi Ran's own character.
As the grandson of Xu Sheng and the child of Xu Wanqing, Lin Chiran has never been as gentle as he appears to be. Deep down they have a paranoia that is difficult for ordinary people to understand.
This obsession made Xu Sheng a well-known business tycoon who built the Shenghuang entertainment empire; it made Xu Wanqing successful, who had a unique vision and achieved success with her own abilities, and whose name as the witch who could turn stones into gold was extremely well-known in the entire circle; it made Lin Chiran successful, who ran away from home at a young age despite all obstacles and made his debut twice in order to rise from a top idol to a top producer.
This paranoia hurts them at the same time. Xu Sheng is dissatisfied with Lin Jing's complacency with the status quo, and forces people to promote and plan routes for him in a more effective way at the moment; Xu Wanqing firmly believes that indulging in pain cannot change the reality, and what she needs is not sympathy but respect; Lin Chiran is obsessed with the doubts buried in his heart since childhood, and is willing to spend ten years of his life looking for answers. Even though he knows that human nature is unreliable, he still wants to verify it himself.
Knowing well what this crazy paranoia would bring, Xu Sheng could roughly guess what Lin Chiran was thinking by looking at the choices he had made.
He still remembered the questions that the young Lin Chiran had asked when Xu Wanqing was under tremendous pressure from the outside world and fell ill due to overwork.
"My mother once said that her job was to bring happiness to all the audiences, but why is she not happy at all now?"
"Why did those who used to admire my father suddenly become disgusted with him overnight? Why do some people not call him a singer but an idol?"
"If I stand on that stage, will I understand all this? But I want to be liked, not hated. Will everyone eventually hate the people and things they once liked... Why can't we always like them... Is this a cheap thing?"
In this way, as Lin Chiran grew up, he showed a great obsession with the stage, but not just love.
Xu Sheng wanted to stop him from getting deeper into trouble, but he underestimated Lin Chiran's obsession and just watched him get to where he is now.
*
It was late at night, and Butler Qu had to persuade Xu Sheng for a long time before he finally got him to go back to his room to rest for a while.
Lin Chiran turned on his computer and quietly browsed the various reactions which were almost the same as expected. Looking at the people arguing endlessly, he recalled the past years.
The environment in which he grew up had a profound influence on him. Wanting to be liked by many people and making many people smile happily were what Lin Chiran wanted to do most when he was a child.
But after seeing the absurdity unfold scene after scene in reality, this became his initial dream and nightmare.
An inexplicable obsession drove Lin Chiran to step into the spotlight step by step, to personally experience the emotion that drove everyone crazy, how it could make people lose their minds, and how it could draw nutrients from every actor on the stage to nourish the countless pure or chaotic souls below the stage.
His entire idol career is like an experiment in which he is risking his life and there is no turning back. He wants to know how strong or fragile the emotion that binds the performers on and off the stage is, what it actually represents, and can it really bring more happiness than pain to people?
Can such a utilitarian algorithm, which uses the total happiness brought to others minus all the pain a person feels, really measure the severity of emotions?
If just one sentence at the end can reverse everything, then the existence of idols itself is full of absurdity.
Even so, Lin Chiran still decided to devote himself to this problem that he had never been able to forget in his past life, but he encountered variables again and again.
The variable is that during the nine years as an active idol, the perfect idol "Lin Chi Ran" he created is clearly on the stage without stopping for a moment and facing everything with a lie, but he has an extravagant hope called trust and desire for the illusory and inexplicably heavy emotions off the stage.
It became increasingly difficult for him to control himself from merely observing everything. Instead, he wanted to truly step into the cruel but charming dance floor and face the sincerity that might exist with his true self.
From then on, Lin Chiran was no longer a perfect idol. He began to feel the happiness of being loved, the pain of being hated, was moved by the emotions of the audience, and was touched by the existence of idols.
Like a dream that he didn't want to wake up from, he voluntarily grew up in the glass cover of the dream, enduring the increasingly thin oxygen.
He didn't wake up from his dream until the glass cover aged with time, cracks appeared, and was finally broken.
After having the most perfect dream, one can't help but want to experience the fantasy-like beauty in reality. For Lin Chiran, Wax&Wane is the way to bring the illusory beauty in dreams to the real stage.
And he himself returned to his former spectator seat.
The difference is probably that this time he wants to prove that even if there is more pain than happiness at a certain moment, the emotion between the stage and the audience is irreplaceable, and idols exist for this reason.
At the end of the play, he pushed his truest self onto the truest stage, waiting for the final answer.
*
The morning sun shines through the glass and falls on the screen.
Countless people stayed up all night, pouring all their emotions between the lines. Reason and sensibility, praise and criticism, truth and falsehood, all achieved a balance at this moment.
Lin Chiran had no regrets at all for getting the answer after spending ten years of his life there.
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