Shang Yechu slowly rolled up the painting to avoid meeting the mocking eyes of the woman in it: "As a fan, or as Zhuang Sheng?"
Zhuang Sheng frowned and said, "What fans? I'm not your fan—what's the difference?"
Shang Yechu sighed and said tactfully, "If it's a gift from a fan, I'll keep it safe. But if it's a gift from Zhuang Sheng... it's irresponsible for a male artist who follows the idol route to give such a gift to a female artist of the same age as him, both to his fans and to that female artist. If that female artist is also with Qingping Entertainment, then he's also being irresponsible to the company."
Zhuang Sheng blinked, suddenly understanding Shang Ye Chu's meaning. He was currently still pursuing an idol image, with his fanbase primarily consisting of female fans. Ye Chu was reminding him not to forget his responsibilities as an idol!
Seeing Zhuang Sheng standing there blankly, Shang Yechu paused, somewhat exasperated: "Have you thought of an answer? I have to catch a flight."
The company should really take care of these young artists. They haven't even achieved anything in their careers yet, but they're already getting involved in all this nonsense—wait, she doesn't seem to have the right to criticize Zhuang Sheng.
Shang Yechu choked up for a moment, then immediately started her self-comforting technique: How can they be the same?
It wouldn't look good to directly reject a greenhorn like Zhuang Sheng. Rather than creating an awkward situation in the same company, it's better to quickly put an end to this pointless romantic entanglement. Zhuang Sheng has been depressed for so long because he missed out on "Happiness Street," but he still has some ambition. With a little guidance, he'll definitely figure things out. Giving him a way out with his fans will make this all go away.
Zhuang Sheng understood what Ye Chu meant.
As long as he admits that he is a big fan of Ye Chu and that the painting is a fan's loving offering to their idol, then Shang Ye Chu can pretend that nothing happened, and this awkward romantic affair will disappear—when it comes to idol worship, it's not surprising to receive any kind of gift.
If he insists on giving the gift as Zhuang Sheng—no, no, the gift will never even get a chance to be given. Ye Chu will return the painting to him and then flee this mess overnight by plane. She will also contact his agent and team, ordering them to keep an eye on Zhuang Sheng and tell him not to commit such a serious taboo during his career's rise. That will be the end of their relationship. Ye Chu will keep her distance from him, avoiding him whenever she sees him from ten miles away to avoid getting involved in any trouble.
As long as Zhuang Sheng denies his feelings.
Zhuang Sheng knew that if he denied everything at this moment, Ye Chu would admire him. He was so flexible and adaptable, prioritizing his career and cleverly turning his youthful feelings into a misunderstanding about chasing after a celebrity. Ye Chu liked people like that the most. Didn't she see how much she appreciated Wu Jianing, that sycophant?
It's ridiculous. He confessed his feelings to someone for the first time—or rather, it wasn't even a confession, just a tentative, tentative attempt. He was told: if he denied his feelings like a coward, the other person would like him more; if he were honest, the other person would look down on him!
"I've never been in a relationship before," Zhuang Sheng suddenly said. "I've never liked anyone before."
Shang Yechu was taken aback by this brilliant answer: "Uh... well done?" If Zhuang Sheng had talked to her, the company would have to find a way to pay hush money to the non-celebrity girlfriend, which would indeed be quite troublesome.
Zhuang Sheng lowered his head: "I've never been a fan of celebrities."
Shang Yechu suddenly opened his eyes.
"I am not your fan, and never will be," Zhuang Sheng said, emphasizing each word.
The scroll in my hand suddenly felt hot.
Zhuang Sheng gave Shang Yechu a deep look, his face showing a mixture of pain and shame, and then suddenly turned and ran away.
Shang Yechu: "..."
Shang Yechu took a long breath, quickly got into the car, and took out her phone to make a video call: "Old Ji, something's happened, Zhuang Sheng, he... I can't explain it to you in a short time, but we need to control his accounts across the entire platform, monitor his main account's posts, and control his alternate accounts too..."
Even after boarding the plane, Shang Yechu's heart was still pounding. It was unbelievable! Three days of acting! Twenty years old! And she still managed to cause such a mess!
Shang Yechu let out a long sigh and closed her eyes to rest on the plane. Suddenly, she heard 103 ask, "What did Zhuang Sheng mean by that?"
Which sentence?
103 accurately rephrased: "'I'm not your fan, and never will be.'"
"It's meaningless, young people are going crazy."
103 said, "My analysis doesn't seem to indicate that."
"Twelve words, do I even need to analyze them?" Shang Yechu was speechless for a moment. "I presumptuously thought Zhuang Sheng was my fan, but it turns out he wasn't and flatly denied it."
103 slowly said, "Really? I remember your face wasn't included in any art textbooks or tutorials. If he wasn't a fan of yours, the only acceptable drawing he did during art training was your face—"
"Stop, stop, stop." Shang Yechu's head was spinning as soon as she heard about this. "Okay, he's interested in me, but I'm not interested in him. If I reject him directly, it will be awkward since we're in the same company and will still have to work together in the future. That's why I thought of using the fan idol act to cover it up, so that everyone can save face."
Shang Yechu has always been so tactful in handling relationship issues. She just didn't expect Zhuang Sheng to be so headstrong, completely rejecting Shang Yechu's attempts to smooth things over.
103 said, "I noticed that when you were on set, you didn't care whether he felt awkward or not."
Shang Yechu didn't know how to explain the difference between the two things to 103. After thinking for a long time, she said, "I scolded him on set because he was unprofessional. I am a shareholder of Qingping Entertainment and the producer of this show. I am responsible for this show. If he were an artist from another company and this show was produced by another company, I would look down on him, but I wouldn't meddle in other people's business."
Question 103: "What is the logical connection between these two things?"
Shang Yechu sighed, "Were Shao Guangji and Xu Hanwen very kind and friendly to me on set? We're still friends off-set. They're just doing what they're supposed to do. Me and... we're good enough, right? Have we had a proper conversation since that day? Awkwardness at work is like water getting into your clothes, you can wring it out and it'll dry; awkwardness involving relationships is like oil splattered on your clothes, no matter how small, it's hard to wash off."
103 gave a cold laugh: "You're practically becoming a Casanova."
Shang Yechu rested her chin on her hand, looked out the plane window, and sighed softly, "In the end, I'm just someone's boss at work, not their boss in relationships..."
Hearing her sigh, 103 suddenly said, "So what Zhuang Sheng meant by that was actually, 'I will not deny my feelings, never'?"
Shang Yechu groaned, "That's enough."
103 said: "Fans look up to their idols. Perhaps what Zhuang Sheng meant was, 'He will never worship you, look up to you, or worship you like a god'... For someone who was just so badly hurt by you yesterday, he is really confident."
"You're making me sound like a narcissist," Shang Yechu said, covering her eyes. "I never asked him to worship me. I'm his senior; what else can I use to hide it besides idols and fans? Siblings, teacher and student, or friends?"
After a moment of silence, 103 said, "Actually, he's very smart."
Those who are looked down upon will never find love.
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