Chapter 93: Playing the Fool to Devour the Tiger
On Friday morning, viewers and fans who were following the second episode of the second season of the variety show were all smiles, because they would be able to watch the full episode at noon!
The work week is over, and even the most urgent tasks must be scheduled for next week.
These working oxen and horses, once they get back to their workstations, start slacking off by scrolling through their phones and digging up program materials online.
Seeing netizens post photos of Sister Jiang jogging near Mao'er Hutong in Beijing, those in Beijing immediately took leave to try and bump into her, while those outside Beijing felt envious and jealous.
"I have the utmost respect for Sister Jiang's self-discipline."
"I really envy the fans in Beijing, who seem to bump into Sister Jiang everywhere."
"Hey, didn't Sister Jiang stay at the Langham Hotel last night? Why did she go to Mao'er Hutong so early this morning?"
A netizen from Beijing saw this comment and replied, "Someone called the police at the Langham Hotel last night, and other netizens saw Sister Jiang leaving the hotel with a backpack."
This comment quickly attracted the attention of netizens, who began exchanging and discussing it in the comments section.
"What do you mean? Some stalker went to the hotel to harass Sister Jiang?!"
"We cannot rule out sasaeng fans."
"Does anyone know any staff at the Langham Hotel? I'd like to ask them."
"Regardless, Sister Jiang seemed perfectly fine during her run this morning."
Shortly after, someone claiming to be an employee of the Langham Hotel came up with a story, saying that Jiang Mingyue was acting like a diva. She said that she found a hidden camera installed in her room, and the hotel actively cooperated in handling the matter, not only upgrading her to a suite but also waiving the room fee. However, she insisted on calling the police.
The whistleblower thought netizens would support his views, but who would have thought he would almost be torn to shreds by fans and a bunch of onlookers.
[Assessment complete: The staff at the Langham five-star hotel are extremely unprofessional. In a matter concerning guest safety, calling the police was labeled as arrogance.]
[Learned something new: Avoid Langham Place Hotels]
[Langham Hotel should be glad that Sister Jiang uninstalled Weibo, otherwise, with her number of active followers, the hotel's public relations department would have had to work overtime last night.]
[We've tagged the person in question @Langham Place Beijing for you]
Some rational fans remained silent, deciding to let things play out and wait for more evidence, until a netizen captured a clearer photo.
The scene shows Yan Qian's second uncle, Yan Baixun, talking with police officers at the hotel entrance.
"Attorney Yan specializes in civil litigation and is known in the industry as a fearsome lawyer. Rumor has it that he is Sister Jiang's lawyer."
Netizens, with their incredible abilities, even uncovered the relationship between Yan Baixun and Yan Qian, the general manager of Jinghua Group.
[President Yan and Lawyer Yan are actually uncle and nephew, and both of them are so handsome!]
[Yan Lü is married, ladies, wake up!]
So the black minivan that Sister Jiang was riding in was driven by President Yan.
[Hey, Sister Jiang went to a concert with the movie star last night. Why didn't she ask him for help first when she encountered trouble?]
[The fans of the Jiangtang CP are going to cry their eyes out in the bathroom; the CP they shipped is fake.]
[Upstairs ladies, stop going off-topic and focus on the Langham Hotel. How can a five-star hotel allow hidden cameras?!]
The fans of Jiang were furious, and netizens in Beijing also felt embarrassed. They flocked to the Langham Hotel's official Weibo account to demand that the hotel issue a public apology.
As of 10 a.m., Langham Hotel had not responded, and netizens also noticed that neither the actor nor Jinghua Group had come forward to deny the rumors.
Netizens were completely baffled.
[That's quite intriguing]
[Don't make a big deal out of this. Sister Jiang has friends all over the world. She can ask whoever she wants to help her buy things. And don't forget that there's also Old Money Renato in Italy.]
Wow, my sister's got a sharp mind; I almost forgot about that gloomy old man!
Haha, three men vying for one woman, this is going to be interesting!
[Have you all forgotten something? Sister Jiang is never love-obsessed, and she never talks nonsense. So, is it possible that Sister Jiang deliberately chose President Yan instead of the movie star for some other reason?]
Sister, you've written a lot, I believe you.
Netizens transformed into Sherlock Holmes, creating a thread online. Meanwhile, back in time, Jiang Mingyue was unaware of what was happening online. After her run, she went back to wash up, and when she came out, Aunt Wang had already prepared breakfast.
Shao Quan and Qin Xue went out for a walk early in the morning. They told Aunt Wang to tell Jiang Mingyue to come back and have breakfast first, and not to wait for them.
Aunt Wang made some steamed buns, and fearing it wouldn't be enough for Jiang Mingyue, she also cooked her a bowl of tomato and egg noodles.
After Jiang Mingyue finished eating and drinking, she wanted to help wash the dishes, but Aunt Wang chased her out of the restaurant, saying, "I'm not working for free. I get paid. Go have fun by yourself."
Jiang Mingyue went for a walk in the yard to digest her food. A moment later, she received a call from Tang Huang. Tang Huang called not to ask her out, but to tell her that it was best not to go out today.
“The Langham Hotel incident is still going to cause trouble. I’m worried that paparazzi will try to ambush you. It’s safer for you to stay in Mao’er Hutong.”
"Okay, thank you for your concern, Brother Tang. I'm not going anywhere."
Don Juan's prediction came true; paparazzi, eager to capture exclusive news, unanimously flocked to the vicinity of Mao'er Hutong to ambush him.
Unfortunately, the person who saw Jiang Mingyue jogging this morning didn't know she came out from Gate 63, so the paparazzi could only wander around the alley, waiting for her to come to them.
At noon, Langham Hotel's apology statement arrived belatedly, claiming that a housekeeping intern was a huge fan of Jiang Mingyue, and the hotel deeply apologized for the emotional distress caused to Jiang Mingyue by his inappropriate behavior.
Jiang fans and netizens were extremely busy, watching the second episode of the variety show live while also commenting on the Langham Hotel's official Weibo account.
[I guessed it! It's the interns' fault again.]
[Intern: What the hell did we do to deserve this?!]
[Langham Hotel really knows how to time things right, damn it, I'll catch up on this show first, then I'll come back and argue with you guys!]
When the fans returned to the variety show, the main episode had just finished airing a summary of the previous episode's highlights, and the scene shifted to the entrance of the Aura Hotel in Ragusa at 2 a.m.
The program's surveillance cameras were high-definition and clearly captured two suspicious local men huddled near the car door, holding something in their hands and trying to pry it open.
In the next scene, Jiang Mingyue, draped in a white sheet, suddenly appears behind two henchmen. One of them, thinking he has encountered a ghost, runs away in fright. The other, a little braver, pulls out a dagger to fight back against Jiang Mingyue, but he is no match for her and is easily subdued.
The surveillance footage did not capture Jiang Mingyue's conversation with the other party, but it was probably some kind of warning. After Jiang Mingyue left, the man seemed to be stunned and stood there for a long time before running away after about half a minute.
After watching these scenes, Jiang's fans and netizens were collectively silent and shocked, and then quickly started flooding the screen with comments.
Good heavens! Sister Jiang couldn't sleep in the middle of the night, so she came downstairs and pretended to be a ghost to scare away two car thieves!
[Sisters, that's not the point! The point is, how did Sister Jiang get down here? Did she fall from the sky?]
[Assuming Sister Jiang opened the hotel door, there should have been some noise, right? It would have alerted the production crew or others, but the footage only shows Sister Jiang discovering the car thief, which is very strange.]
[Ahhh, I knew Sister Jiang was a treasure! The more you dig, the more you find. Her skills are good enough to star in martial arts movies!]
Sister Jiang's whirlwind kick and chokehold are so cool, I need to learn them!
[Those who previously accused us of idolizing someone, come out and apologize to us Jiang fans!]
[Those who criticized Sister Jiang during the live stream for only knowing how to lie down, come out and apologize to Sister Jiang!]
[Sister Jiang: A little dust on the hem of her clothes]
Some people may appear frail and weak, but secretly they might beat up thieves.
Looking back now, no wonder the Best Actor team won all the way; it turns out Sister Jiang was quietly putting in the work behind the scenes.
Netizens finally understand what Jiang Mingyue's former agent Zhu Min said: Jiang Mingyue was not harmed by producer Liu Qiang. Given Jiang Mingyue's fierce skills, it was Liu Qiang who was unlucky.
However, some clever netizens still managed to uncover the details.
[The production team must have edited this surveillance footage; they didn't capture how Jiang Mingyue went downstairs. And if you look closely, was the thief too scared to leave? He simply couldn't leave!]
[I analyzed the video frame by frame and zoomed in. It seems that Sister Jiang tapped the man's neck a few times. Sister Jiang seems to know the Sunflower Needle Technique.]
[It turns out Sister Jiang was just playing dumb all along. With skills like hers, why did she retire from the entertainment industry? If she had stayed, she would have become a huge star in martial arts dramas and movies.]
Sister Jiang just doesn't play by the rules.
So, it was Sister Jiang who saved Tingting on West Island, right?
No wonder the guest on the variety show was kidnapped on the way to the airport; Sister Jiang replaced Wang Xia, that makes sense now.
As expected, just ten minutes after the second episode of the second season of the variety show aired, it quickly became a trending topic again, with Jiang Mingyue dominating the top ten trending topics.
Jiang Mingyue pretends to be weak to outsmart others.
Jiang Mingyue dressed up as a ghost in a bed sheet to scare away a car thief.
Jiang Mingyue's Whirlwind Kick
Jiang Mingyue's grappling technique: throat lock
How did Jiang Mingyue get downstairs?
[Jiang Mingyue seems to know the Sunflower Pointing Technique]
[Master tapes of Season 2, Episode 2 of the variety show]
Netizens have sharp eyes and are not easily fooled like they used to be. It's obvious that the production team didn't release all the master tapes, and the content released may not be suitable for broadcast.
This further confirms that Jiang Mingyue's kung fu is unfathomable, and the skill she has shown may only be the tip of the iceberg.
The show's director couldn't stop laughing when he saw the comments and bullet screen messages.
It's impossible to play the master tape. How could we possibly play the master tape? The fact that we were able to edit these clips out already shows that we had Jiang Mingyue's permission.
Many casual fans turned into Jiang Mingyue fans, and one or two haters even repented and came to Jiang Mingyue's last Weibo post.
[What's so great about me? I didn't cherish Sister Jiang before she retired from the industry, and now that she's retired, I can only rummage around online for scraps.]
I'm sorry, Sister Jiang. I was blind before and followed the crowd in criticizing you. I sincerely apologize.
By evening, Jiang Mingyue's Weibo followers had surged at an astonishing rate, breaking the 40 million mark!
His Weibo follower count far exceeds that of established first- and second-tier celebrities in China.
This incredible rate of fan growth has made many celebrities in the industry envious. Let's make a bold assumption: after all ten episodes of the second season of the variety show are released, will her Weibo followers still exceed 100 million?
No one can guarantee anything, because anything is possible.
The second episode of "Adventure Journey" ended with Qi Sheng's group having their luggage stolen. Not only that, but a preview for the next episode was also shown. The movie star's group spent the night in a parking lot outside Syracuse, and Jiang Mingyue was practicing with a peach wood sword while on night duty.
Her swordplay scene lasted only three seconds, but her movements were sharp and her sword techniques were powerful and majestic.
[Ahhhhh, Sister Jiang can actually wield a sword!]
[Okay, okay, if they don't release any good material during the live stream, Sister Jiang has retired from the entertainment industry, so the production team isn't even putting on an act anymore.]
I'm just curious, when did Sister Jiang start carrying a peach wood sword?
[Didn't you see Wei Lai was also confused? She clearly only just realized that Sister Jiang had brought a peach wood sword.]
I can't wait to see episode 3!
[Give the editing team of "Mao Zong" a bonus! The ending hook was brilliant, really great!]
After watching the second episode, fans felt empty and wanted to work as staff members on the variety show so they could get a sneak peek.
Someone reminded them to check Langham Hotel's official Weibo account, and the fans immediately remembered their business and flocked there to discuss it.
Jiang Mingyue had planned to stay in Mao'er Hutong all day without going anywhere.
“Mingyue, it’s rare for you to come to the capital. It’s so boring to just sit around. Come on, let’s go for a walk.”
After having breakfast, Shao Quan and Qin Xue took her to explore the ancient city. They had been invited to film a program there, and Jiang Mingyue, as their assistant, didn't need to make an appointment to go along.
As the three stepped out of the gate, they were spotted by a passing paparazzi. The paparazzi's eyes lit up, and he was about to take out his phone to snap a picture when he was startled by a security guard who rushed out.
"Sir, photography is prohibited here."
Jiang Mingyue looked up, too lazy to pay attention, and helped Qin Xue and Shao Quan down the steps.
The paparazzi were terrified and quickly said they would stop taking pictures and ran away.
This is terrible! We need to inform the others immediately. We can't stake out Mao'er Hutong. We don't want to lose our jobs for taking pictures of Jiang Mingyue.
No wonder Jiang Mingyue retired from the entertainment industry; she simply doesn't care about the money there.
Ancient city.
The production crew was fully staffed, so Jiang Mingyue was completely superfluous standing there. Her two mentors told her to go explore on her own and come back to meet them at 3 p.m.
So, stealing a half-day of leisure, Jiang Mingyue happily wandered into the ancient city by herself.
At 12:30 pm, she was sitting at a table in front of a casual dining shop when she received a call from Yan Qian.
Where is Miss Jiang?
While eating yogurt, Jiang Mingyue replied, "I'm strolling around the ancient city."
"Miss Jiang, you seem to be in a good mood. Langham Hotel has issued a statement; haven't you seen it yet?"
"I don't use Weibo, just tell me directly."
Yan Qian then repeated Lang Hao's statement, "The Ren family asked Ren Kai to contact me and invite you to a banquet at the Ren family's residence tonight. According to what you said last night, you're going to play along with this scheme. Miss Jiang, will you go to this trap tonight?"
It's finally here.
Jiang Mingyue chuckled softly, "Go, of course I'll go. I'm not the one who's afraid."
"Okay, then I'll pick you up at Mao'er Hutong at five o'clock this afternoon."
"OK."
At 3 p.m., the two mentors finished recording the program ahead of schedule. Jiang Mingyue accompanied them back to Mao'er Hutong and told them that she had a dinner party that night.
Qin Xue asked Jiang Mingyue what she should wear to go out for dinner, and Jiang Mingyue pointed to her black hoodie and jeans.
Qin Xue looked disapproving. "Mingyue, you are my and Shaoquan's apprentice. It's not that your clothes are bad, but there's an old saying: 'Clothes and hats can cover up a petty person, and words can overwhelm a gentleman. Respect the clothes first, then the person; respect the appearance first, then the soul.' I'm afraid others will slight you."
"Come on, Master will find you a nice outfit."
"Our Mingyue is so lucky," Shao Quan chuckled beside him. "Teacher Qin has a lot of treasures hidden in her walk-in closet."
“My Master Xue is right. Clothes make the man, and a saddle makes the horse. I can’t let you two down.”
Jiang Mingyue followed along with great interest. She really didn't care about her clothes or appearance; she was just trying to make the two old folks happy.
Qin Xue's wardrobe contains hundreds of cheongsams, in styles for spring, summer, autumn and winter, which dazzled Jiang Mingyue.
Qin Xue picked out a V-neck, square-front, moon-white cheongsam for Jiang Mingyue, a typical Suzhou-style cheongsam, and the embroidery on the cheongsam was hand-embroidered by Shao Quan himself back then.
When Jiang Mingyue put it on, the size was just right, and her temperament was instantly elevated, making her look like an extremely wealthy heiress.
Qin Xue also gave Jiang Mingyue a pair of pearl earrings and put them on her herself, saying, "You need a pair of white leather shoes; my shoe size is a bit too big for you."
"Master, don't worry, I'll have someone bring it to me."
Jiang Mingyue called Yan Qian directly and asked him to bring a pair of size 36 wedge heels when he came over.
At five o'clock, Yan Qian arrived at Mao'er Hutong on time, bringing the wedge-heeled leather shoes that Jiang Mingyue had specifically requested.
Yan Qian's bodyguard brought in seven or eight shoe boxes and opened them for her in front of everyone.
Upon closer inspection, everyone noticed that the shoes came in various styles, including pointed and wide-toed, and were all from high-end brands, costing tens of thousands of yuan per pair.
Qin Xue recognized the young man from the Yan family and quietly explained a few words to Shao Quan. Shao Quan glanced at Yan Qian a few times without revealing much on his face.
Qin Xue made the decision for Jiang Mingyue, "Mingyue, you should choose the wide-toed ones. They won't squeeze your feet and they'll look good."
The remaining shoes were left in Mao'er Hutong; there was no reason for Yan Qian to take the things he delivered back.
Jiang Mingyue put on a cheongsam, let her long hair down, and wore the black coat that Tang Juan had bought for her before getting into Yan Qian's business car.
On her left wrist was a diamond bracelet given to her by Renato, which, in Yan Qian's eyes, was no less than that of a worldly beauty.
Jiang Mingyue wasn't shy at all, and even joked to herself, "This outfit looks good, but it's not convenient for fighting later."
Yan Qian and the bodyguard driving in the front: "..."
Jiang Mingyue opened her phone and accessed the Green Bubble app. "President Yan, please add me, and I'll transfer the money for the shoes to you."
Yan Qian scanned the QR code to add her as a friend, but didn't ask her to pay. "No need to pay for the shoes, how about Teacher Qin's student paints a mural for me?"
Just now in Mao'er Hutong, Jiang Mingyue addressed Qin Xue as "Master" in front of him, and also addressed another elder as "Master".
Her talent was truly astounding.
The sunrise painting that Don Juan shared on Weibo was undoubtedly her work.
He wants a mural, is that too much to ask?
Jiang Mingyue smiled upon hearing this, "This deal is worthwhile, sure, but I'm not free tomorrow, I'll make it up to you next time."
Yan Qian took the opportunity to explain, "It's not a house in Beijing. After the Huai County Film and Television City is completed, we hope Miss Jiang can lend a hand."
Jiang Mingyue: "..." He does know how to scheme.
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