rival
At nine o'clock in the morning, Chu Yiran's door was pounded on loudly.
"Ran-ge! Wake up!" Sun Xiaoxiao shouted, her fingers tapping Morse code on the doorbell. "The God of Wealth has entered the house!"
Chu Yiran, his hair a mess, opened the door. He had been drinking with Lin Wanxing and the others until 3 a.m. the night before, and his temples were throbbing from the hangover. Sun Xiaoxiao shoved her tablet right in front of him: the clip from "On the Escape" had surpassed 100 million views, and the comments section was filled with phrases like "Chu Yiran's IQ is crushing" and "This man is damn sweet."
"Brother Ran, this variety show is a huge hit! From yesterday to this morning, in less than 48 hours you've gained over a million followers across all platforms, and your Weibo followers have surpassed 1.5 million. Your past posts are also seeing a surge in engagement..." Sun Xiaoxiao excitedly spun around. "The production team just announced in the group chat that they'll be filming the second episode next Friday!"
Chu Yiran rubbed his temples, seemingly unaffected, and turned to flop onto the sofa: "Let me sleep some more..."
"Sleep?! What are you sleeping for!" Sun Xiaoxiao grabbed him by the back of his pajamas. "Sister Kelly will be here in five minutes!"
While the coffee machine was still running, Kelly Li's high heels had already stepped into the living room. The woman was wearing a sharp MaxMara suit, and the diamond studs on her earlobes gleamed coldly in the morning light.
"Back in the drama club at the drama school," she pushed a stack of documents across the coffee table, "when you performed Hamlet's soliloquy, I knew you'd become famous."
“These are all scripts that were submitted overnight, along with cover shoot invitations from two well-known men’s magazines, and variety show invitations from three major TV platforms. This morning I also received business calls from five or six brands…” Li Kaili curled her red lips, “Aran, even though you haven’t made much progress in the past five years, and the boss has been advising me to give up on you and look at other newcomers, I’ve always believed that you are a late bloomer and that you will make it sooner or later. Look—you became famous overnight, didn’t you?”
Chu Yiran didn't speak, but just flipped through the script on the table.
Li Kaili suddenly grabbed his hand, pulled out a file from the bottom and handed it to him: "Aran, your contract with the company expires at the end of the year. Have you considered renewing it? I negotiated with the boss for a long time and changed the previous 30/70 split to 50/50. Aren't I generous enough?"
Chu Yiran smiled and withdrew her hand, then got up and went to the bar to pour two cups of coffee: "Sister Kelly, I understand your good intentions. Newcomers are constantly emerging in this industry. How can someone like me, a nobody, possibly become famous? It's just that thanks to you, I've gotten some exposure by luck..."
He handed the coffee to Kelly, then changed the subject, saying, "But judging from the current situation, there must be quite a few companies that want to sign me, right?"
Li Kaili's expression changed, and the air suddenly froze. Sun Xiaoxiao huddled in the corner of the sofa, desperately trying to signal to Chu Yiran with her eyes.
"Heh... Xiaoxiao told me you're different from before, you've really soared to new heights..." Li Kaili sneered, "Aran, after all these years, I haven't treated you badly, have I?"
“Of course, Kelly, don’t worry,” Chu Yiran said calmly, revealing his true intentions. “I have no objection to a 50/50 split, but I want to add one condition—I want to hold 5% of the company’s shares.”
Li Kaili couldn't believe his ears: "Aran, do you have some kind of misunderstanding about your current net worth? You still want to hold shares?"
“I’m not going to take advantage of you for free,” Chu Yiran suddenly leaned forward. “How about we sign a performance-based agreement? If I triple the company’s revenue within three years, you’ll give me 5% of the shares.”
"It's good for young people to be ambitious, but what if they can't accomplish it—"
"I'll make up for whatever's missing." Chu Yiran picked up his coffee and, amidst Sun Xiaoxiao's gasp, clinked it against Li Kaili's cup.
"Ah Ran, you've really impressed me now!" Li Kaili picked up her bag, stood up, took the contract, and turned to leave. "Wait for me to go back and discuss it with the company."
After a long while, the sofa where Li Kaili had sat had gone cold, and Sun Xiaoxiao was still immersed in the conversation between the two. Chu Yiran's use of feigned arrogance and then revealing his true intentions was truly masterful...
“Brother Ran,” Sun Xiaoxiao swallowed hard, “the way you spoke just now was really…”
Chu Yiran glanced at her sideways: "What do you mean?"
“It’s just…” Sun Xiaoxiao tried hard to find an adjective, “…well…strategizing and strategizing…talking and laughing with ease…”
She couldn't continue, and Chu Yiran said quietly, "Isn't it a bit cheeky?"
“Yes—!” Sun Xiaoxiao’s eyes lit up; she had finally found the perfect adjective! Turning to see Chu Yiran’s expression, she abruptly changed her tone, “It’s not quite what I meant…”
"It's fine, so be it." Chu Yiran shrugged. "I've done my research on being sarcastic."
For some reason, perhaps because he had been dreaming about Su Jing all night, he felt that he had spoken very much like Su Jing just now.
"Xiaoxiao, have I been unemployed these past two days?"
"Yes, Ran-ge, Kelly is still choosing the next schedule."
Chu Yiran had a splitting headache and got up to walk towards his room: "Then I'll go to Shancheng."
——
When Zhao Wei pushed open the door, the makeup artist was styling Su Jing. He placed the latest issue of "Star Fashion Magazine" on the makeup table, the plastic wrap shimmering with rainbow colors under the light.
"Brother Jing, the September issue is out."
Su Jing looked up from his phone screen, his fingertips tracing the magazine cover; his profile was sharply defined in the retouched photo.
"The photos are alright," he commented casually, but stopped abruptly when he turned to the third page.
The face opposite him was none other than Chu Yiran's.
Two double-page spreads were placed face to face. He was wearing a silver-gray suit and leaning against a floor-to-ceiling window, while Chu Yiran was dressed in a black leather jacket and straddling a motorcycle. The photo editor even adjusted their viewing angles—now it looked like a silent confrontation.
“These magazines are really cunning,” Zhao Wei leaned over to take a look. “Originally, Chu Yiran was only featured in an online magazine, but lately everyone in the industry has seen his popularity soar. I heard that before this issue of ‘Star Fashion Magazine’ went to print, the magazine had someone re-layout it overnight and managed to get him into the magazine’s inner pages.”
After the makeup artist finished styling and left, Zhao Wei suddenly lowered his voice and asked, "By the way, Jing-ge, did you actually go and ask Chu Yiran about it last time?"
Ever since sensing Chu Yiran's hostility, Su Jing has been puzzled by it. Zhao Wei knows that his artist is an ISFJ, who is very introverted and unwilling to talk about many things.
"What do you want to ask?" Su Jing asked calmly.
"Ask him why he's targeting you! Ask him if he likes you!" Zhao Wei slapped his thigh. "Didn't we analyze this last time? You had no prior interaction with him, and you didn't offend him, so he has no reason to target you! And Chu Yiran has idolized you since childhood, even saying in an interview that he only went to film school because of you. He was so excited when he saw you at the promotional event, and now that he's finally working with you, he'll definitely try to attract your attention—"
"That's impossible." Seeing Zhao Wei getting more and more agitated, Su Jing interrupted him directly.
"Why is it impossible?" Zhao Wei asked, puzzled. "You asked him, didn't you?"
"Of course not!" Su Jing slammed the magazine shut, the plastic seal making a screeching sound.
Seeing Su Jing suddenly raise his voice, Zhao Wei was stunned: "Brother Jing, what's wrong with you—"
"Wei Zi, you haven't taken your annual leave yet, have you?" Su Jing's tone turned cold. "I'm giving you a week of paid leave now. Go wherever you want."
"Jing-ge, are you kidding me? Your schedule has been so packed lately..."
"You're not going? Then you're not allowed to take any vacation this year—"
Before he finished speaking, Zhao Wei quickly got up and ran outside: "Yes, sir! Brother Jing, I'm going on vacation right now!"
——
On the other side, Chu Yiran spent three days going to Nantang Mountain in Shancheng. Coincidentally, there was also a Taixu Temple there.
After he went up the mountain, he asked people about Master Jingyang. A young Taoist priest on the mountain only said, "Master Jingyang has gone abroad to give lectures and his return date is uncertain. You might as well come back later."
Chu Yiran arrived to find no one there, and with work pressing in Jiang Cheng's area, he had no choice but to return home first.
I thought everything would go smoothly from here on out, but then a message popped up in the group chat over the weekend: "[Apologies everyone, 'Currently on the Escape' is temporarily suspended due to unforeseen circumstances. We are actively communicating with relevant parties...]"
The following words were pushed up by a sudden influx of replies. Chu Yiran swiped open his phone and found that Zhou Xiaoxiao had sent twenty crying emojis, while Cheng Zixuan forwarded a Weibo link—a screenshot of a complaint letter received by the State Administration of Radio and Television, with the title marked in bold red: "Promoting feudal ethics and bloody scenes may affect the mental health of teenagers."
[Cheng Zixuan]: Where did we promote feudal ethics? Aren't we clearly criticizing the dregs of feudalism?
[Lin Wanxing]: Exactly! Kids these days don't have such weak mental resilience. They can all understand!
[Zhao Lingyi]: Director Yu, are you being watched by someone?
[Yu Zhe]: I'm so sorry everyone, we didn't consider the rating system in advance. There are also many uncontrollable factors in live streaming. I'll go and apply for and communicate with them again...
The last message in the group chat, "The Best Escape Team," ended there. As soon as the news of "On the Escape" announcing its indefinite suspension was released, fans of the variety show were not happy. They finally had a show they liked, but it ended so abruptly before it even started.
With no new material to dig up, fans have resorted to meticulously rehashing the first episode. Some have started shipping Lin Wanxing and Zhou Xiaoxiao as a couple, creating clips of their interactions with background music, calling it "a very new kind of sister-dog romance." Others have dubbed Zhou Xiaoxiao and Cheng Zixuan the "Screaming Chicken" duo, creating clips of the two screaming together in an escape room, set to bizarre background music, making it quite comical...
Beneath the surface of harmony, however, fans of Chu Yiran and Su Jing were quietly arguing. Chu Yiran's fans believed their idol was "incredibly intelligent" and "carried the whole show," while Su Jing's fans argued that their idol was the "centerpiece invited to anchor the show," and that Chu Yiran was a "flop trying to ride on the coattails"...
Some people even edited together a clip of Su Jing falling on the show. Su Jing's fans said it was because "Chu Yiran was cunning and deliberately tripped him up," while Chu Yiran's fans thought it was because "the scene was too dark and chaotic, and Su Jing's fans were maliciously labeling him."
The two families were arguing incessantly, and since both Su Jing and Chu Yiran had been rumored to be dating Lin Wanxing, rumors began to circulate that Su Jing and Chu Yiran were at odds and had even fought over love...
Then one day backstage at an awards ceremony, an entertainment reporter approached Su Jing and asked, "Mr. Su, there are rumors that you and Chu Yiran are at odds and even refuse to share the stage. What is your response to this?"
Su Jing paused for a moment, then said, "Sorry, we're not familiar with each other."
With a simple "not familiar," the question was easily dismissed. Chu Yiran, who was also attending the event, sat in the audience and looked at Su Jing's familiar yet unfamiliar appearance. For the first time, he sincerely felt that Su Jing was not the Su Jing from his previous life.
A year passed in the blink of an eye, and Chu Yiran and Su Jing never saw each other again, not even when they attended the same event.
Throughout the year, Chu Yiran was extremely busy, either filming dramas, recording variety shows, or running around for business and shooting commercials. Despite this, he only completed 20% of the performance-based agreement in the first year.
Without the support of a hit drama or popular variety show, Chu Yiran has at best gone from an obscure 18th-tier actor to a second-tier actor, and he's still just one spark away from taking off.
Tonight is another magazine red carpet event. Chu Yiran is resting backstage when Sun Xiaoxiao brings him a notebook: "Brother Ran, Sister Kelly just sent me a script. She said it's a bit urgent and wants you to take a look and see if you want to take it."
The drama is called "Autumn Wind Chant," a historical drama with political intrigue. Chu Yiran glanced at the outline and found that it features an emperor fighting in a chaotic world, an empress dowager wielding immense power, and a powerful minister who is dedicated to saving the country... A love triangle between two men and one woman, plus the added bonus of a historical setting, makes it quite exciting.
"There are only the first three episodes here. The director is Li Zhen, whom we have worked with before. His level is still very good. Sister Kelly said that the competition for the second male lead in this drama is very fierce. If you are interested, she will arrange an audition for you immediately."
Chu Yiran nodded: "Have the male and female leads been decided?"
Sun Xiaoxiao hesitated for a moment: "The male and female leads are currently in contact with Su Jing and Lin Wanxing..."
"No wonder this notebook ended up in my hands..." Chu Yiran teased, "It's been a year, and the rumors about the three of us still haven't died down?"
The three of them haven't been seen together in the past year. Chu Yiran and Lin Wanxing only occasionally get together in private. In addition, Chu Yiran and Su Jing's fans have been arguing non-stop, so Sun Xiaoxiao is now unsure of Chu Yiran's feelings towards the other two.
Sun Xiaoxiao advised, "Brother Ran, putting everything else aside, the team this time is really good!"
It's really good. If it's filmed properly, Chu Yiran might even gain another wave of fans and become a star.
Chu Yiran put the script aside, rubbed his temples, and said, "Let's take another look. Let's finish filming 'Emergency Room Doctors' first."
He's currently filming a public welfare medical drama. Although it doesn't have much viewership, the official support has given his career a lot of boost.
The red carpet walk ended quickly, and just as Chu Yiran was about to go home to rest, Lin Wanxing suddenly called her, asking her to go out for hot pot.
Lin Wanxing also attended the event. Since the timing had finally coincided, Chu Yiran had no choice but to accept the invitation and changed her clothes before going to the event.
The moment Chu Yiran opened the door to the private room, he immediately saw Su Jing wearing a baseball cap.
As the broth boiled for the third time, Lin Wanxing placed the cooked tripe into Chu Yiran's bowl. "You should have received Director Li's script too, right?" She glanced back at Su Jing, smiling obsequiously. "It's that political drama. I told you before, your aura is perfect for playing the emperor!"
Chu Yiran stared at the beer foam swirling in his glass, while out of the corner of his eye he saw Su Jingzheng's right hand, holding the glass and slowly drinking.
"Why isn't anyone saying anything?" Lin Wanxing put down her chopsticks. "How about the three of us act out a play together? It'd be fun!"
She could vaguely sense the undercurrent between Chu Yiran and Su Jing, but she couldn't figure out what the grudge was between them. In addition, there were always rumors circulating outside, so Lin Wanxing always wanted to find an opportunity to reconcile the two.
Su Jing put down her cup, her gaze as calm as a frozen lake: "My schedule might be too tight lately."
"What a coincidence." Chu Yiran picked up his wine glass and downed it in one gulp. "Sister Xing, I've really been too busy lately."
Lin Wanxing's smile froze on her face, and the atmosphere became awkward amidst the steaming hot pot.
"I'm going to the restroom." She suddenly stood up, the chair legs scraping against the floor with a screeching sound.
The door to the private room closed, and the room fell silent again. After a long while, Chu Yiran spoke first: "Long time no see."
“Yeah,” Su Jing replied, unusually, “but you still don’t seem to like me much.”
Chu Yiran's chopsticks pierced the bok choy in his bowl, and he heard himself say, "Actually... I had a dream. In the dream, we seemed to be mortal enemies with a blood feud..."
Su Jing frowned: "So?"
“So…” Chu Yiran looked straight at him, subconsciously tightening his grip on his chopsticks, “Sometimes I really want to kill you.”
Su Jing's brows furrowed even deeper, but his tone remained calm: "Murder is a crime."
He didn't say much, but Chu Yiran seemed to see the words "you're sick" in his calm eyes.
"Pfft—" Chu Yiran suddenly laughed, perhaps feeling that what he had just said was also ridiculous. "Just kidding, don't mind Teacher Su."
"Wanxing and I are childhood friends." Su Jing's voice sounded like she was reciting a prepared line. "She's told me a lot about you. She said you're optimistic, positive, ambitious, and hardworking. She also hopes we can become good friends, but honestly, perhaps like your dream, we're just not compatible and won't have much interaction in the future. However, as a mutual friend of Wanxing, I don't want her to feel awkward about this."
Chu Yiran was taken aback.
“So,” Su Jing stood up, “let’s continue to be strangers.”
When Lin Wanxing returned, Su Jing had already left, and only Chu Yiran was still drinking one glass of wine after another.
Lin Wanxing asked in confusion, "Hey, where did Su Jing go?"
"Sister Xing," Chu Yiran looked at Lin Wanxing, "Can I ask you a question?"
"Go ahead and ask," Lin Wanxing said, sitting down next to him.
"If you had a sworn enemy, someone with whom you shared a blood feud, what would you do?"
"A blood feud?" Lin Wanxing was taken aback by the question and tentatively asked, "Then call the police? Let them arrest him and put him in jail?"
"What if the law can't handle it?"
"Then...we'll find a way to get revenge on him! Let's get someone to beat him up and vent our anger!"
"What if he loses his memory? He forgets everything, doesn't understand your love and hate, and even your emotions and revenge seem puzzling and ridiculous to him."
"Well..." Lin Wanxing thought about it seriously for a moment, "Then let's just forget about it, and just... stay away from him. Life is only a few decades long, do I really want to waste it all on him?"
"Ha..." Chu Yiran laughed out loud and clinked glasses with Lin Wanxing. "You're right, Sister Xing."
Things have changed, so why dwell on it?
Just when Chu Yiran was about to give up, the next day, a bombshell announcement swept across major social media platforms—
Top celebrity Su Jing was accidentally injured by a falling chandelier while filming a brand advertisement. She has been rushed to the ICU and her condition is currently unknown.
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