Having some free time at home, Ji Yan searched online for some news about Ji Ruan. He hadn't paid attention to Ji Ruan for a while and suddenly discovered that she was doing quite well as a celebrity, with a large number of fans and interactions, and she updated frequently, sharing not only her works but also her daily outfits and styles.
The other person has appeared on the cover of fashion magazines far more often than I have.
Ji Yan's gaze lingered on the other party's latest Weibo post.
It just so happened that on the day of Ji Wei's wedding, the other party forwarded a news item from a business media outlet about Ji Wei's marriage. The wording was very bland, simply saying, "Brother, happy marriage." Because Ji Wei's wedding was kept completely secret, reporters couldn't even get the details if Ji Wei himself didn't want to reveal them.
Reporters were also unsure who attended Ji Wei's wedding. The Ji family only released a list of a few key figures, partly to increase publicity and boost shareholders' confidence in the Ji family, since a strong partner also signifies the Ji family's stability in business development.
Ji Ruan's Weibo post easily gives the illusion that he himself attended the wedding.
Ji Ruan and Ji Yan have had very little contact in the past two years. As Ji Yan's career has soared, Ji Ruan can no longer compare with him. Unless Ji Ruan has a work or business that needs promotion, he will bring up Ji Yan's name, which also reminds netizens of the complicated relationship between the two.
Ji Yan usually ignored it, but Ye Ying did contact Ji Ruan and warned him to stop using Ji Yan for marketing. Unfortunately, her warning was not very effective. If it got out of hand, it would just be helping Ji Ruan promote her for nothing, and Ye Ying didn't want to do that.
This time, Ji Ruan's proactive message rekindled netizens' memories of the "real and fake young master" incident.
In recent years, Ji Ruan has mentioned the Ji family several times on different occasions, but the real young master of the Ji family has never mentioned the Ji family. Even at Ji Wei's wedding, Ji Yan did not forward a single message.
"This is what they call time reveals true character. Although Ji Yan is the fourth young master of the Ji family, his relationship with his brothers is clearly not as close as that with Ji Ruan."
"While it's good not to rely on the Ji family's resources, isn't Ji Yan being a bit too cold-hearted?"
"Who told Ji Yan to be riding high right now? His fans often say how much he's been wronged by the Ji family, and that Ji Ruan has usurped his place, but they haven't seen him treat the Ji family any better. Maybe his Best Actor award at the Changkong Awards was also due to the Ji family's help?"
Ji Yan felt that this was probably a common tactic used by Ji Ruan's fans.
He really didn't understand Ji Ruan's thinking. The other party had already been warned by Ji Wei, but even under these circumstances, the other party was still trying to use the Ji family and Ji Wei to create hype.
"You think he's stupid?" Ye Ying gave Ji Yan a disdainful look. "Did he say he went to the wedding?"
"Did he promote his relationship with the Ji brothers? He didn't say anything; it was the fans who rushed to the front."
Even if Ji Yan and the Ji family react, Ji Ruan can completely absolve herself of any responsibility by simply stating that it was "fan behavior".
The sentence he posted was simply to express his gratitude to Ji Wei for taking care of him over the years and to show that he had not forgotten Ji Wei's meaning. All the other content came from the fans' imagination. Even if someone deliberately guided the fans, as long as Ji Ruan himself did not personally intervene, such a thing would not exist.
"As it turns out, not posting anything is the smartest thing to do," Ji Yan chuckled. "Anyway, I don't think Ji Wei is particularly happy on his wedding day."
Ji Yan wasn't cursing Ji Wei; he genuinely felt that Ji Wei wasn't very happy, and the same went for the bride. It seemed more like a powerful alliance between the two companies, without much personal emotion involved.
In some ways, Ji Wei really sacrificed a lot for the Ji family and for his brothers.
With Ji Wei supporting them, Ji Yushi and Ji Xuekong can live carefree lives, pursuing the art they love and living the lives they want. Ji Yan sometimes feels a little envious—these two people may not be the smartest, but they are very happy.
Of course, Ji Yan didn't have this thought because he felt unbalanced; he was just marveling at how lucky the two of them were.
However, Ji Yan felt that he wasn't bad either, especially compared to his experience in the Ji family. Ji Yan felt that he was quite happy.
He is easily satisfied, especially when he is given love. He will always remember the kindness others show him and will try to repay it.
...
The speculations among netizens about Ji Wei's wedding directly affected Ji Yan. A reporter came to interview Ye Ying, asking him if Ji Yan had a bad relationship with the Ji family and whether he had attended Ji Wei's wedding. Ye Ying originally wanted to say no comment, but Ji Yan told him that it was okay to tell the reporter the truth.
Just as Ji Yan finished replying to the reporter, Xi Ming revealed details of the wedding in a casual interview: "Ji Yan went to the venue. He was the person I knew best in the whole place. I really felt like he saved me."
“Ji Ruan? There were probably too many people there, so I didn’t see Ji Ruan.” Xi Ming thought for a moment. “It’s probably not her. If someone from the film and television industry had been there, I would have had a better chance of recognizing her.”
Xi Ming's business partner gave the same answer: "Ji Yan attended the wedding, but Ji Ruan did not."
Xi Ming and his boss naturally had no reason to lie, but Ji Yan was puzzled. Xi Ming had never liked getting involved in these melodramatic stories, yet this time, during the interview, he took the initiative to bring up attending the wedding first.
Ji Yan went directly to ask Xi Ming, since the two of them were quite familiar with each other now.
“A generous investor provided the funds,” Xi Ming’s answer was very honest.
"who?"
“Jiwei”.
“Okay.” Ji Yan couldn’t help but complain, “Brother Xi, I always thought you were the kind of person who wouldn’t bow down to money.”
“Generally speaking, no.” Xi Ming paused, “but he gave too much.”
Ji's investment is enough for Xi Ming to produce at least two films, and if he can control the funding, he could make three.
Ji Yan: "...Actually, I have money too."
"Forget it, you're still far behind the big spenders." Xi Ming joked with Ji Yan. "Anyway, I've already said what I wanted to say. If you have time, put in a good word for me with President Ji."
The relationship between Xi Ming and Ji Yan was a major factor in Ji Wei's willingness to invest in Xi Ming's film. However, Ji Wei would not say it outright. He only told Xi Ming through his secretary that he really liked several of Xi Ming's films. After the cooperation was finalized, the secretary casually mentioned that he hoped Xi Ming would take good care of Ji Yan in future collaborations.
"Young Master Ji Yan isn't very good at defending himself. When it's convenient, you can say a few words on his behalf."
Xi Ming understood immediately.
This time, not only did he come forward to reveal the inside story, but his company's boss and several other film and television industry bigwigs who attended Ji Wei's wedding and had a good relationship with Xi Ming also spoke out. Of course, this is a small matter, but Ji Wei did show his sincerity, so in return, they also need to show their sincerity to each other.
Ji Ruan's so-called wedding blessings were immediately proven to be a one-person show.
His fans keep saying that Ji Yan and Ji Wei have a bad relationship, but Ji Yan did go to the scene, while Ji Ruan, who was grateful to Ji Wei, didn't even go to the scene, which is really incomprehensible.
Ji Ruan couldn't possibly reveal to the public that he had been kicked out of the Ji family, as that would have a huge impact on his acting career.
Previously, Ji Yushi and Ji Xuekong were swindled out of an investment by him. Besides the investment, this was also Ji Ruan's way of showing the outside world that he still had the Ji family as his backing. Therefore, after returning to the entertainment industry, although his resources were not as good as before, Ji Ruan's development was not bad. Many fans returned, and his resources in the fashion industry were still maintained.
His only regret was that he acted too decisively before and failed to keep Ji Yushi and Ji Xuekong in check. Now it was impossible for him to deceive them again, which meant that he had cut off his chance to continue developing in the film and television industry.
He did receive some TV drama scripts, but unfortunately, Ji Ruan wasn't a popular young actor. The scripts he received were either for the lead role that he didn't want or for the second male lead in idol dramas. Ji Ruan had been a rising star for a while, and even at his lowest point, he was playing roles in overseas blockbusters. Of course, he wouldn't be interested in the second male lead in a TV drama.
Ji Ruan decided to continue down the high-end route. Thanks to his experience over the past 20 years, he has always had good fashion sense and his own unique style. He still has many classic pieces from various brands. When Ji Wei started to divide the property, Ji Ruan's personal belongings were still kept.
Despite being slapped in the face again, Ji Ruan wasn't too bothered. He didn't rely on public opinion for a living anyway. Even after he had already hit rock bottom, fashion brands were still happy to work with him. His only complaint was Xi Ming's statement, which made him realize Ji Yan's connections in the entertainment industry.
Logically speaking, Ji Yan is not good at socializing, which is why Ji Ruan's tricks have worked so well. No matter what he says, apart from Ji Yan's teammates, almost no one speaks up for him. Ji Yan is questioned time and time again. Over time, netizens who don't understand the situation will probably think, "Why is it always you?"
Even if Ji Yan himself is not at fault, as long as this impression deepens, his public goodwill will gradually diminish.
Regardless of what fans say, audiences still prefer low-key yet talented stars. Even if Ji Yan won the Best Actor award at the Chang Kong Awards, as long as his public image is negative, audiences will naturally not prioritize his films.
When Ji Ruan himself was having a hard time, he didn't want Ji Yan to have an easy time either.
But this time, things took a turn for the worse than Ji Ruan had expected.
His agent hurriedly contacted him: "You don't need to do the promotions for T and C anymore. The brands have said they're withdrawing their cooperation."
"What's going on?" Ji Ruan frowned, but didn't seem flustered.
T and C are brands that Ji Ruan has recently had a good working relationship with, but they are not his main targets. These two brands are not top luxury brands, but they have featured him on two or three magazine covers and introduced him to designers. For Ji Ruan, these are important connections for his continued development in the fashion industry.
However, in less than an hour, his agent's phone kept ringing, and his email inbox was filled with termination notices from various brands, including Brand A, with whom Ji Ruan had the best relationship.
Ji Ruan is already the spokesperson for A brand. He went to great lengths to secure this endorsement. Luxury brands are always arrogant, and once a spokesperson position becomes vacant, celebrities rush out like sharks smelling blood.
Ji Ruan doesn't want to recall that experience. All he can say is that being a luxury brand ambassador is his best asset. He's willing to pay any price to get the opportunity.
"What exactly is the reason, Mr. Pete? Our cooperation has always been very pleasant. As the spokesperson, I have been working hard to increase the brand's sales, and its sales in China have been on an upward trend."
“Ryan, my friend, I understand what you’re saying, but… as a spokesperson, your remarks have brought more uncertainty to the brand.” Pete, the regional president of Brand A, revealed softly, “Headquarters hopes to further expand the Chinese market and enter the service sector. The support that the Ji family can provide is beyond your imagination.”
In one afternoon, all the endorsements were lost, and after that, the agent's phone never rang again.
Although no one specifically instructed them, Ji Ruan was completely blacklisted this time.
—This is almost a tacit understanding within the entire fashion and film industries.
Unlike last time, this ban is very thorough.
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