Ji Wei's sudden appearance was like a pebble thrown into a calm lake; in an instant, his name topped the Weibo hot search list.
With Ji Wei's abilities, removing this trending topic would have been no problem, but he didn't, leaving it on the homepage for several hours.
The question that netizens have been curious about has finally been answered.
"!!!! Ji Ruan and Ji Yan's relationship was actually like that!"
"So they are all actually the four young masters of the Ji family, just one is earlier and the other is later."
"Can Ji Ruan fans please stop patting their idol on the back? Ji Ruan is an adopted son. Do you need me to look up the meaning of 'adopted son'?"
"...So Ji Yan is the real fourth young master of the Ji family, and what about those people who keep saying he's a fake, trying to ride the coattails of others?"
"Now I completely understand why Ji Yan doesn't acknowledge himself as a member of the Ji family. Think about how he is treated, and then think about how Ji Ruan is treated."
"And what happened when 'The Mist' was released? If I were him, I would have fought him directly. Why not just ignore him? Is it worth spending hours arguing about it online?"
"If I were Ji Yan, I would really break down. Ji Yan is just too good."
The internet has a long memory, and besides, Ji Yan hasn't been in the industry for long. The only things that people criticize him for are his poor stage presence and his status as one of the "Four Young Masters of the Ji Family." Now, Ji Yan's stage performances have gradually gained recognition, and as for his status as one of the "Four Young Masters of the Ji Family"—he not only didn't lie, but no matter how harsh the words netizens used to describe him, he never deleted any of the posts.
Netizens couldn't help but compare the treatment of Ji Yan and Ji Ruan, and even those who weren't Ji Yan's fans fell silent.
One wears haute couture jewelry casually, the other...
"If it were me, I wouldn't want to admit it either."
"Last time at the Night Gala, so many of Ji Ruan's fans mocked Ji Yan for being poor and stingy. Of course he would be poor and stingy, because you stole someone else's life! If Ji Ruan had any shame, he wouldn't have done something like releasing an album at the last minute to steal the promotional opportunity for 'Wings'."
Ji Ruan's fans, who had been fiercely criticizing her online, chose to remain silent. Several of them who had been shouting "fake" and "counterfeit" quietly deleted their comments, but they also felt a little aggrieved while remaining silent.
If this is the truth, why doesn't Ji Ruan tell us?
Why did Ji Ruan remain silent when Ji Yan was attacked, insulted, and labeled a fake?
Netizens quickly found the answer—Ji Ruan's Weibo still contained photos of him with Ji Yushi and Ji Xuekong, and traces of support for him remained on the official Ji Group Weibo account.
"The most terrifying thing is that Ji Yan not only had his life stolen by Ji Ruan, but also the love of his family was stolen from him."
"The thief then frames the other person as the thief; this is a world where the thief cries 'stop thief!'"
...
The press conference ended because of Ji Wei's appearance. After the reporters left, Ji Yan looked at Ji Wei with anger in his eyes: "What are you doing here?"
“Yu Shi called me.” Ji Wei’s expression remained unchanged. “Don’t be angry. I’ve already said that you are free to deny that you are my brother.”
"To be honest, we weren't prepared for you to come to this house."
Ji Yan fell silent upon hearing this.
Jiwei continued, "But you have the right to be treated fairly. As an older brother, you can't stop your younger brother from being stupid, but they shouldn't continue to be stupid."
Ji Wei was out of town yesterday, but rushed back immediately after receiving Ji Yushi's call. To his surprise, Ji Yushi was still trying to protect Ji Ruan's reputation while also hoping to win Ji Yan back. Is there really such a good thing?
Especially now, they are pushing Ji Yan further and further away.
Ji Wei made his decision quickly without hesitation.
“You can ignore us, but remember to visit your parents on the anniversary of their death.” Ji Wei patted Ji Yan on the back. “I’m away on a business trip. If you… encounter any problems, you can come to me.”
“No need,” Ji Yan answered decisively. After a moment, he added, “I will go and see.”
Ji Wei was taken aback: "Thank you."
At this point, Ji Wei finally dropped his mask of a business elite: "I promise, Ji Ruan will not bother you again."
Ji Yan was not tempted by Ji Wei's suggestion. He knew very well that cracks would only get deeper and deeper, and once the damage was done, it would be very difficult to repair it completely.
Besides, he wasn't the original owner of this body.
If... Ji Wei had arrived earlier, the outcome might have been different.
The original owner should have received justice, but Ji Wei's so-called justice came far too late.
...
Ji Yan's press conference was a major bombshell in the entertainment industry at the end of the year. Various entertainment reporters, marketing accounts, and even video accounts used it to achieve their KPIs. In recent years, with the development of the Internet, many places have reported news of babies being switched at birth. However, this time, the incident happened in the entertainment industry and involved the Ji family, a wealthy family in City A, so the topic's popularity skyrocketed.
One TV station even replaced its rebroadcast of an old drama with the melodramatic "The Rich and Powerful," which tells the story of a rich young man who was switched at birth. The drama combines ethical dilemmas, sadomasochistic relationships, and extramarital affairs. Because it is so melodramatic, the drama has a total of 99 episodes, with constant infighting throughout, aiming to make it easy for every viewer to watch without using their brain.
Since its release, "The Rise of a Rich Family" has maintained high viewership ratings, even surpassing many newly released dramas. Viewers watch the show while also enjoying the gossip surrounding the Ji family, and some even eat an extra bowl of rice as usual.
Marketing accounts then dug deep into the timeline, starting from Ji Yan's participation in "Idol Century," comparing Ji Yan and Ji Ruan's styles, outfits, and past remarks. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they scrutinized every single picture. After the marketing accounts released the information, netizens realized that Ji Yan was just a bit thoughtless with his words, but what about Ji Ruan?
Who posted the entry "Ji Ruan encourages Ji Yan"?
Who bought the trending topic "Ji Ruan, the son of a wealthy family"?
What's more, while Ji Ruan was holding a concert and taking photos with the second and third young masters of the Ji family, she allowed fans to diss Ji Yan as an imposter and a country bumpkin.
All these details seem normal on the surface, but netizens can't help but put themselves in Ji Yan's shoes—what would Ji Yan think when he sees these trending topics?
"It's disgusting. Stealing someone's life isn't enough; they also have to stab them in the heart."
"That's ruthless! Sigh, I suddenly feel that Ji Yan is a complete naive and innocent person."
"+1, don't be fooled by his 'I'm annoyed by him' comments. That's just his way of being aggressive. He even held a press conference but didn't tell the truth. Even if he refuses to admit he's a member of the Ji family, isn't he the one suffering? Will it have any impact on Ji Ruan?"
After the press conference, Ji Yan's popularity exploded. Starting from the show "The Voice of China", his reputation began to turn around little by little. However, he still had some negative points, namely that he would do anything to gain popularity. But now, these negative points have completely disappeared, and his Weibo followers increased by a full 5 million in one day.
His videos from "The Voice of China," the Night Gala, and the New Year's Eve concert have been wildly recommended, which has even caused the sales of his album "Mist" to soar.
As a result, "Wing" has received unprecedented attention.
In the eyes of fans, the "Wings" group was the one who saved Ji Yan. When Ji Yan stopped mentioning the Ji family and stopped saying that he was the fourth young master of the Ji family, he wrote songs with the members and went out for walks together, and his smile became brighter day by day.
However, because Ji Yan has been in the spotlight recently, Ye Ying suggested that he reduce his public appearances and wait for the hype to die down.
Ji Ruan has not made any response yet, but his fans have been trying to find reasons to prove his innocence, saying things like "of course they have a better relationship since they grew up together", but unfortunately, these words were ridiculed as soon as they were posted.
Most netizens are naturally on Ji Yan's side.
For Ji Yan, the press conference was a chaotic mess. Afterwards, his agent received countless interview invitations on his phone, as well as requests for business collaborations. However, the motives behind these invitations were obviously impure, and he couldn't get past Ye Ying's hurdle first.
Ji Yan could only take a good rest during the time before the Spring Festival, but fortunately, there were many encouraging voices for him. One day when he returned to the company, Ye Ying brought him another letter written by a fan, and that fan he knew was also there.
In this letter, the other party did not discuss music at length. There was a chubby rabbit drawn on the letter paper, holding a bouquet of flowers. It was ugly-cute.
Ji Yan replied with a thank you and moved on.
The rare free time also allowed Ji Yan to learn how to write songs, read books, and practice dancing. He felt that his idol skills could be improved further.
Then, a day later, Ji Yan vowed that he never wanted to improve again in his life.
"Teacher Ji, would you like some chicken feet?"
"I'm not eating!" After finishing his dance practice, Ji Yan felt completely drained. It was unfair that Fang Yu, who had also practiced with him, seemed to be perfectly fine.
"That's because you're too lazy." As soon as Fang Yu's arm touched Ji Yan, Ji Yan collapsed. "Before, I was just in the beginner stage of idol training. Now I've entered the intermediate stage."
"I quit."
"Rise up, young man!"
Seeing Xie Mingxuan's calm expression, Ji Yan felt even more unfair. It was one thing that Xie Mingxuan was good at songwriting, but his dancing skills were also the strongest in "Wings". Compared to him, Ji Yan felt like a complete noob.
The album "Mist" has relatively few dance parts; when "Wings" reunite, they mostly perform standing still. However, they are an idol group after all, and the next album will definitely include more dance parts.
"Let's continue, Teacher Ji."
“Teacher Ji is dead.” Ji Yan sighed. “I’ll rest for a while and practice again tomorrow.”
"You said the same thing yesterday."
"I plan to say the same thing tomorrow."
Unfortunately, Ji Yan couldn't escape it in the end. Fang Yu pulled him up, and he and Lu Wei practiced together until they cried. Lu Wei's skills were certainly better than Ji Yan's, but compared to the other two, he was also bad at dancing.
“A painful life.” Lu Wei stared at the ceiling, her eyes filled with despair. “Next time, I want to hear Lao Xie sing high notes until he’s hoarse.”
Ji Yan: "Then you should write a song with a really high pitch first."
Lu Wei: "..."
Ji Yan: "..."
"Having a great teammate is really annoying."
"Agreed."
When the other members are working, Ji Yan will sit down and think things through quietly by himself. Many fans think that Ji Yan must be feeling complicated and on the verge of a breakdown right now, but in reality, Ji Yan has not been affected too much. He does not derive pleasure from other people's pain. Besides, what bothers him most about Ji Ruan is the album release. At other times, she is just an irrelevant passerby to him.
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