Having finished reading the previous batch of books, Ji Yan purchased a few more, half of which were recommended by Xie Mingxuan, and the other half came from his unknown pen pal. Ji Yan casually mentioned in a letter that he was learning music theory, and the other person made a long list for him.
When Ji Yan bought books, he also bought some for Xie Mingxuan. When the "Wings" group got together, besides playing games and strolling around, they would occasionally read books and sing songs together. Xie Mingxuan had the most books. He would always buy a book he liked, and the others had also developed the habit of buying one for him when they went to buy books.
According to Xie Mingxuan, the book recommended by his pen pal was very practical.
Ji Yan and the other party had gotten used to chatting. Although letters were the least practical form of communication nowadays, Ji Yan could feel the other party's sincerity between the lines through their letters. They had never mentioned adding each other on WeChat or meeting in person. Of course, the other party must know Ji Yan's identity, but Ji Yan didn't care. He didn't mind if the other party made the contents of the letters public. He was very open about this matter.
As the year drew to a close, the temperature in City A dropped day by day. Ji Yan had to be fully armed whenever he went out. With the Spring Festival approaching, fewer and fewer reporters were still following him. After all, his affair with the Ji family had long been thoroughly investigated. In addition, Ji Ruan had not made any public appearances, and Ji Yan had kept a low profile throughout, so the topic of his continued involvement naturally became less and less popular.
Reporters can't just focus on him alone. The entertainment industry is always bustling, and this month alone, there have been several trending topics on Weibo.
In addition, the Ji family owns several listed companies, and scandals related to their private lives can affect the company's stock price. The Ji family is also deliberately trying to reduce the attention on this matter.
Ji Yan is currently in a state of idleness. His biggest entertainment is watching Xie Mingxuan's variety show every week. Xie Mingxuan is already considered to be very good at writing on the show, but he is still driven crazy by the various problems created by the production team.
Ji Yan and Fang Yu always carry a box of potato chips when watching TV shows. For some reason, seeing Xie Mingxuan's pitiful appearance on TV makes them eat with a little more relish than usual.
Lu Wei: "Are you even human?"
"Please don't steal our potato chips." Fang Yu grabbed the potato chip box—actually, Lu Wei was also enjoying them.
"It's rare to see Lao Xie like this, aren't you happy?"
When Xie Mingxuan is writing and practicing songs, his overly serious attitude is driving them crazy. At this moment, they just want to be entertained by watching the show and maybe even capture some memes of Xie Mingxuan.
"This is the love from his teammates. Lao Xie will definitely be moved to tears."
In the small group chat of the four, Xie Mingxuan's emojis were being spammed. Anyway, since the other party's new variety show was closed, there was nothing they could do even if they saw it.
"Speaking of which, the New Year is just a few days away, isn't it?" Fang Yu looked at Ji Yan. "Teacher Ji, where are you spending the New Year this year?"
"I should stay at the company. I've already spoken to Sister Ying about it."
During the New Year period, "Yi" didn't have many activities. Ye Ying turned down all the unimportant arrangements for them. In fact, many brands had invited "Yi" to cooperate in the past six months, but the slightly bigger brands were only willing to give them the so-called titles of "ambassador" or "recommendation officer", or only give "Yi" a single product endorsement. The contract period was less than half a year, and the shortest was only three months. It was obvious that they were there to make money off the fans. After all, the traffic circle is ever-changing, and there are quite a few traffic stars who become popular for half a year and then fade away.
However, some smaller brands did not fit the image Ye Ying was building for "Wings". Although the brands were willing to offer high endorsement fees, Ye Ying was still unwilling to budge, and the cooperation eventually came to an end.
Ye Ying was wholeheartedly considering "Yi's" future, but DW Entertainment wasn't very proactive in finding collaborations for "Yi." After all, the revenue-sharing contracts for "Yi" were very low. For each endorsement deal, DW Entertainment would only get a small share, while the members would take the lion's share. This wasn't the current situation for idols in the industry. In most cases, idols would be glamorous and receive endorsements left and right, but the ones who would always profit the most were the management companies.
"Why don't you come to my house for the Chinese New Year? My parents would love to welcome you."
Fang Yu's home is in City X, three high-speed rail stops away from City A. It only takes a little over two hours to get back. He's excitedly preparing to go home for the New Year, but Ji Yan hasn't mentioned going home at all. As a teammate, Fang Yu naturally understands the situation. It's not that he feels sorry for Ji Yan spending the New Year alone—the word "sorrow" is never used to describe the relationship between the "Wing" members. He just thinks that Ji Yan would be happier if he went back with him for the New Year.
"No need," Ji Yan smiled. "I'll just order a Manchu Han Imperial Feast and make sure I don't go hungry."
“Then let’s video call on New Year’s Eve and have Lao Xie send us red envelopes.”
Ji Yan gave an OK sign.
The Spring Festival is indeed approaching day by day. Red lanterns are being hung on the streetlights, and DW Entertainment is also conducting its year-end summary. This year, "Wing" is DW Entertainment's highest-earning artist. The revenue from the album "Mist" has doubled DW Entertainment's annual income compared to last year. Although "Wing" does not have many commercial activities, their remuneration for any contracted activities is definitely up to the standard of top-tier artists in the industry.
...
For audiences, the most anticipated events these days are undoubtedly the films released during the Spring Festival season.
This year's Spring Festival film season is just as fiercely competitive. As soon as New Year's Day was over, major film companies announced their lists of films scheduled for release during the Spring Festival. Among the high-budget films, including family comedies, hard science fiction, and special effects blockbusters, director Li Xiang's "I, Nameless" is one of the most anticipated.
Director Li Xiang has produced a large number of high-quality works, consistently achieving great success at the box office and in awards. This is the confidence that the spy film "I, Nameless" dares to take on the Spring Festival season. Even though the pre-sale box office of "I, Nameless" is not as good as that of the sci-fi blockbuster "Star Ring," Director Li Xiang's works represent quality. For movie fans, his films mean safety, and they don't have to worry about paying a high price for a bad movie during the Spring Festival season.
With only three days left until the Spring Festival, the official Weibo account of the film "I, Nameless" released the third trailer for the movie. Prior to this, through extensive publicity, moviegoers had already gained a full understanding of what kind of movie "I, Nameless" is. The trailers released by the production team before were more and more exciting than the last, so when the third trailer arrived, moviegoers were already eagerly anticipating it.
This trailer did not disappoint movie fans either.
In the thick fog, Wei Zheng, codenamed "Nameless," travels alone. The train is scheduled to arrive at the station at 7:18 a.m. A confidential document will be delivered to the puppet regime by Noda, an agent from Japan, via this train. This document will have a significant impact on the organization's next move. "Nameless" is ordered to retrieve the document and, if necessary, eliminate Noda. However, at the same time, Noda also learns about "Nameless's" secrets, and a life-or-death battle is about to erupt.
This is the most critical moment for "Nameless". Under the cover of thick fog, he and Noda are separated by only a wall. The rumbling drumbeats sound densely, intensifying the tense atmosphere of the film. The wall is extremely thin. In this instant, "Nameless" and Noda seem to be aware of each other's presence.
The atmosphere reached its peak of tension. Just as fans were eagerly awaiting the outcome of the battle, a line of black text suddenly flashed on the screen—
Peril.
The booming sounds of artillery fire mingled with cries of agony, and faces of suffering came into view—this was a land ravaged by war.
Belief.
On a sun-drenched campus, a young man teaches with a smile, his face bright and resolute: "One day, we will drive all invaders out of our country; one day, we will no longer hear the cries of women and children; one day, the light will belong to us."
hope.
An unnamed little flower bloomed in front of the cemetery, its white petals swaying in the wind, the sky azure and white clouds drifting by.
The short video, just over two minutes long, switches between multiple different scenes, maintaining a high level of tension and atmosphere. Viewers will recognize Cheng Yuanzhou, who plays "Nameless," and Zhang Jingyi, who plays Noda—they are familiar faces in commercial films. However, the actor appearing in the faith-themed scene—
"Who is that actor? He's quite good-looking."
"He doesn't look like someone who usually acts in movies, but he got a role in Li Xiang's film right out of the gate. He's also photogenic. I guess the film industry will soon produce a Ziwei star."
"By the way...don't you guys usually pay attention to the entertainment industry?"
"I recognized him the moment the camera flashed by, wasn't that Ji Yan?"
"It wasn't revealed beforehand. The production team of 'I, Nameless' didn't promote it, and Ji Yan himself didn't mention it either."
Ji Yan's fans initially had no idea that he appeared in "I, Nameless". It was only after a fan stumbled upon it and joined the fan group that other fans gradually found out.
Fans: "..."
They were truly defeated by Ji Yan.
It's no exaggeration to say that if any idol in the industry appears in director Li Xiang's film, even if it's just a 0.1-second shot, it will definitely be hyped up a month in advance. Some even change their representative work to this film. But Ji Yan... if it weren't for fans seeing it, would he just pretend he never made this movie?
This is a film directed by Li Xiang!
When fans checked Weibo, sure enough, Ji Yan's Weibo was empty. The latest post was about the bowl of noodles he ate last month, with the caption: "Look how awesome I am! A whole bowl of it!"
Yes, you're awesome if you can eat like that.
Fans almost fainted when they saw this Weibo post; it was just... truly outrageous.
On the contrary, the official Weibo account of the "I, Nameless" production team tagged Ji Yan after the trailer was released, which can be regarded as acknowledging Ji Yan's role in the movie.
"Wow! Ji Yan is awesome!"
"He appeared in director Li Xiang's movie without making a sound. Can Ji Yan now call himself 'Li's leading man'?"
"Sorry, your 'Li Nanlang' has gone missing. If you ask, he's eating noodles with dipping sauce."
Because "Yi" has few endorsements, and Ji Yan hasn't signed any endorsements, it's difficult for fans to find the same products. After Ji Yan posted the Weibo about dipping noodles, fans simply went to the noodle shop to try the dipping noodles, which can be considered as getting the same products as Ji Yan.
Although Ji Yan himself isn't very active in promoting his work, his fans are still very excited. After all, director Li Xiang's films are notoriously difficult to get approved for, and actors who are favored by Li Xiang are now all pillars of the film industry.
Although it's still a long way off to expect Ji Yan to star in a movie, it's always good to think about it, right?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
