Author: 颜凉雨 / Yan Liang Yu

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 4

There would never be a hot search on Weibo without a reason.

Even if the onlookers were idle, what was the chance that tens of thousands of them were typing the same keyword in the search bar at the same time? Even twins aren’t that in sync!

So, it wasn’t the masses who created the hot search, but some mysterious force that put it there first, and then you followed the trend, becoming one of those hundreds of thousands, even millions, of searches.

Lu Yiyao’s team had done this kind of thing too.

Especially during the time when the reputation of <Ten Years of Rainy Night> wasn’t particularly good, even him drinking black coffee could make the hot search. The omnipresent articles praising his explosive acting skills seemed to be everywhere online, as if his team wished to portray him as the only saving grace of this drama, making him feel somewhat guilty and question Hong Jie if this might be going too far.

But before his own studio’s PR team could stop, the producers, not wanting to sit idly by, furiously invested in publicity, determined to stir up popularity to compensate for the lackluster reputation.

So, Lu Yiyao, just after drinking black coffee, started to show off his love with the female lead in the hot search.

In all honesty, the female lead had a boyfriend who was a behind the scenes wealthy man crazy about his wife. Therefore, after the drama finished shooting, apart from public promotions, he never even exchanged phone numbers or WeChat with the female lead, let alone something like “Lu Yiyao admits XXX is his standard for choosing a partner”, which was obviously a ridiculously fake headline.

But there was no choice.

The rights to the name “Lu Yiyao” in the hot search no longer belonged to him. It belonged to the management team, to the drama producers. Thus, this name had a doll dress-up game, wearing hot pants today and a dress tomorrow.

The only difference was that the hot searches created by the management team could be about Lu Yiyao’s real life or his drama character, while those created by the drama producers always came with the tag of the character Yun Zhang.

So, the combination of Ran Lin + Lu Yiyao suddenly appearing in the hot search made Lu Yiyao extremely angry.

No matter how much his own team promoted him, they would never bind someone else to him without permission—that was the red line Lu Yiyao set for his PR team.

Yao Hong once tactfully advised him, saying that being too upright in the entertainment industry was fatal. The onlookers didn’t care about your stance. What they saw most directly was that this star was very active, always in the news, while that one was always silent, probably flopped.

But Lu Yiyao didn’t think this was being too upright.

If he were really so high-minded, he wouldn’t have cooperated with appearing on the hot search for every little thing, even managing to act in a crying scene without eye drops, thus becoming a sensation in announcements for his genuine performance without artificial aids.

But hyping himself up was one thing.

Exploiting others was another.

This was Lu Yiyao’s principle, unrelated to whether he was a star or not.

So, he was angry, not just because he was frustrated at being exploited, but more so at his own foolishness and annoyance.

It was all tricks, through and through.

From the moment Ran Lin chose to appear at the airport wearing that baseball uniform that made him ten years younger, the trickery had already begun.

Don’t mention anything about coincidences or misunderstandings.

How could it be such a coincidence that, among so many fans at the airport, only one light board fell? How come, among all the airport staff, only this eighteen-tier star cared about the environment? Why did he stand at the exit in a daze after picking up the light board? The timing of the airport surveillance leak was just so coincidental? The gossip marketers were so idle to do video post-production themselves?

Go to hell!

Once all the accidentals were removed, it was all a trap.

The makeup artist looked at her boss, his chest heaving, burning with rage. His handsome face was frowning, and his facial muscles were as stiff as if he had been over-injected with hyaluronic acid. She wanted to comfort him, telling him not to keep it all bottled up, just curse it out.

But she knew her advice would be useless.

At the age of twelve, he was sent to a private boarding school in England, only returning to China to join the entertainment industry after dropping out of university at twenty.

The most critical eight years of personality development were spent in the thick British atmosphere.

Although Lu Yiyao himself never said it.

But everyone in the studio, including Hong Jie, could see that the mainland star was always striving to be a gentleman with good upbringing.

Lu Yiyao’s black coffee aroma didn’t reach Dream Without Limits.

At that moment, Ran Lin was sitting in the empty meeting room of the company, munching on a bun, sipping soy milk, and scrolling through Weibo.

He was summoned to the company just after ten, and he was left hanging here for almost an hour.

Other than Kang Hui’s words of “Don’t make a sound on Weibo or accidentally like anything,” he received no other instructions.

Bored to death, he could only nibble on his breakfast in this empty time nearing noon.

Had he not been interrupted, he could’ve slept till sunset in his own little nest. But now, even if he wanted to sleep, he couldn’t.

He was suddenly trending on Weibo. It was unbelievable that the company actually spent such money on him.

Even more unbelievable was how effectively they drove the topic. Starting from the “Most Awkward Pick-Up in History” to the current “Together”, the rhythm was perfectly led.

And gradually, videos from TV shows he participated in years ago started to surface. This led to another round of heated comments like “Ahhh, fresh out of water*” and “Why did he debut as a youth and is still a youth now, damn.”

*(鲜出水) Term used online to metaphorically describe someone who appears youthful and vibrant, making them “refreshing” as they have just emerged untouched. It’s basically a compliment that highlights someone’s youthful appearance and their “fresh and energetic” presence.

Step by step, methodically, it was like a textbook case of Weibo promotion.

Kang Hui couldn’t possibly have this level of operational skill.

Ran Lin narrowed his eyes, munching on his bun, brainstorming. The sunlight streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows fell on his youthful side face. His eyelashes cast beautiful arcs in the light and shadow, looking just like a campus idol.

Of course, an idol wouldn’t be eating buns in a study room.

At noon, the meeting room door was finally opened.

Ran Lin, nearly dozing off in the autumn sun, hurriedly climbed up from the table. Upon seeing the visitor, he immediately stood up straight. “Xi Jie.”

Ran Lin, though thin, was a tall guy at 1.8 meters. But in front of Wang Xi, who was 1.68 meters, his presence was instantly overshadowed.

Wang Xi, in her early forties, looked around thirty-five.

She wore a set of ash-gray professional attire, a vest over a white shirt, with cropped pants and high heels today. The vest’s waistline was perfectly cinched, accentuating her graceful waist. The shirt was classic in style with thoughtful details. The pants were slightly tapered at the hem, revealing a bit of ankle, creating a visually cohesive look with the high heels, making her legs appear long and straight.

“Sit.” Wang Xi’s attitude was so natural that it didn’t seem like this was her first direct conversation with Ran Lin, but more like a boss wanting to talk to an employee. After saying this, she went around to the other side of the large conference table and sat down first.

Ran Lin hurriedly walked two steps to the right, sat down directly opposite Wang Xi, and instinctively straightened his back.

“Have you been sleeping here all morning?” Wang Xi’s voice was somewhat cold that even her joking sounded more like mockery.

Ran Lin, who usually seems very jovial and fond of jokes, actually knew very well when to be serious.

“I scrolled through Weibo for two hours, then I was afraid of accidentally liking something and disrupting the rhythm the company had worked so hard to establish for me, so I dared not to continue.”

Wang Xi slightly tilted her head, looking at Ran Lin with interest for the first time. “You are smarter than I thought.”

Ran Lin laughed awkwardly, not sure whether to respond or not, and finally just scratched his head and straightforwardly asked, “Xi Jie, just tell me whatever plans the company has.”

Wang Xi slightly lifted her eyelids. “Before, the company was cooperating with you. From now on, you need to cooperate with the company.”

Ran Lin was stunned, blinking his deer-like eyes, not quite understanding.

What did she mean by the company cooperating with him? He didn’t even dare to leave the conference room all morning except for going to the bathroom.

Wang Xi didn’t expect him to understand immediately and further explained, “What you did last night was good—great timing, and you were lucky. But in this circle, you can’t rely on luck. You need to rely on operations, understand?”

Ran Lin suddenly felt embarrassed and hurriedly said, “No, Xi Jie. Last night’s incident was an acci…”

“No need to explain to me. Whether it was a misunderstanding or intentional, it makes no difference.” Wang Xi leaned forward slightly, her sharp gaze locking onto Ran Lin. “What I care about is how to use this opportunity to make a comeback for you.”

Ran Lin nodded, not speaking further.

A “salted fish*” wasn’t qualified to talk about a comeback.

*It’s a metaphor referring to someone who wants to be lazy and has no great ambitions.

“If there’s no problem, the company will help you post a Weibo tagging Lu Yiyao. If you’re not comfortable, you can post it yourself, but the content must follow what we set. As for the follow-up interactions, let’s see how Lu Yiyao reacts.”

“…”

“Don’t understand again?”

“Can I see the draft of the Weibo post first?”

Wang Xi frowned slightly, not quite appreciating Ran Lin’s overthinking. She preferred obedient artists, who do as told, because her decisions for them were always the most efficient and beneficial.

But it was just the beginning. He would be trained eventually. At least Ran Lin had good comprehension, understanding quickly, saving her a lot of effort.

Most celebrities’ Weibo accounts were managed jointly by the artist and the company. The former would post about life and emotions, interacting with known people or other celebrities, while the latter would post edited street shots, selfies, drama stills, event photos, and all advertising promotions.

The company might suggest celebrities post seemingly high-EQ comments on hot topics, buy and sell personas, as well as how to act cute and interact with other celebrities, but rarely directly posts these kinds of personal things for them. After all, celebrities are also people who want to have their own opinions, views, and social circles.

Therefore, although the company had Ran Lin’s Weibo account password, involving Lu Yiyao, they still needed to notify him in advance.

[I really didn’t mean it 😂 @Lu Yiyao]

Ran Lin looked at the draft message Wang Xi quickly edited on her phone, feeling as if eight hundred horses were galloping through the grasslands in his heart.

If he were Lu Yiyao, seeing this Weibo post, he might first block this Ran Lin, then pull him out of the blacklist to give him a severe punishment on the level of the top ten tortures of the Qing dynasty, and then block him again!

“The video is already so hot. Just repost it and act cute. It’s no big deal,” Wang Xi said lightly.

But Ran Lin could only see two words from this draft—blatantly shameless¹.

“Can I… not tag Lu Yiyao?” Ran Lin struggled internally for a long time before bringing up this request, which was sure to be criticized.

In fact, he didn’t even want to post on Weibo, but if he said that directly, he probably wouldn’t even have a chance to discuss it.

As expected, Wang Xi’s face darkened, and her voice turned completely cold. “Not tag Lu Yiyao? Are you saying that everyone’s been busy all morning for nothing? Or do you think you’re hot enough on your own, not needing to ride on the coattails of a popular actor?”

Biting the bullet and meeting Wang Xi’s sharp gaze, Ran Lin tried to make his attitude seem neither too resistant nor too yielding. “I understand the effort the company has put into me; otherwise, with my level of obscurity, even if I were associated with Lu Yiyao, there wouldn’t be this level of discussion. But now there are already comments on Weibo accusing me of riding on his popularity. If I tag Lu Yiyao now, won’t it be too obvious?”

Wang Xi chuckled and said mockingly, “It’s already very obvious, so whether you continue to ride on his popularity or not, you can’t establish a reputation for integrity.”

The words were harsh, but Ran Lin had no time to be angry. He just hoped to minimize the severity of being blacklisted or criticized by Lu Yiyao’s fans and onlookers. “How about this, Xi Jie. I’ll post the Weibo, and I’ll tag Lu Yiyao, but I’ll edit the content myself. Once it’s done, I’ll show it to you, and if you approve, then I’ll post it.”

Wang Xi looked at him for a long time, searching for any signs of cunning or ulterior motives, but there seemed to be none. It was just a sincere negotiation.

“Okay.” Since he agreed to tag Lu Yiyao so readily, she let it slide.

But—

Wang Xi’s fingernails, painted with nude polish, lightly tapped on the dark wooden table, making her words deliberate. “You only get one chance to turn things around. If you miss it, even God can’t make you popular.”

Ran Lin smiled and said nothing.

Perhaps because he had never been truly popular, he no longer had a strong desire for fame. But he wanted to act, and if being famous meant getting roles, then he’d play by the rules this time.

It was just that he felt a bit sorry for Lu Yiyao.

Five minutes later, Wang Xi, looking at the Weibo draft on Ran Lin’s phone, raised her beautifully shaped eyebrows.

She didn’t look at Ran Lin, but there was rare approval in her eyes as she looked at the phone screen, and her voice turned from cloudy to sunny. “Actually, even if you posted according to my draft, Lu Yiyao wouldn’t publicly confront you. Getting on the hot search without spending a penny, his PR team would be too happy to care. Moreover, he needs to continue playing the role of Mr. Nice Guy. But your version now is more likely to garner sympathy…” Towards the end, Wang Xi finally looked up and gave him a genuine smile. “You’re not that dumb after all.”

Ran Lin laughed awkwardly, while in his heart, he apologized to Lu Yiyao a hundred times over.

At one o’clock in the afternoon, Beijing time, Ran Lin, the subject of the hot search whirlwind, finally spoke up. He reposted the most popular subtitled video and wrote in Weibo—[#Meeting an idol who respects and cares for fans, you’ve become a fan too, #Whether it was before or not, from this moment, I am your die-hard fan. Please accept my beam of love! 🤩* @Lu Yiyao]

*It’s actually an Ultraman emoji. I imagine something like this.

Without the company’s intervention, Ran Lin’s Weibo exploded first!

First, a bunch of girls, whether fans or passersby, fainted in their pink bubbles, then Lu Yiyao’s fan army arrived, uniformly praising Lu Yiyao as the idol who treats fans the best and thanking Ran Lin for liking him.

Of course, there were discordant voices, such as some overly sensitive true fans who came up and accused him of riding on Lu Yiyao’s popularity!

But they were quickly stopped by other fans, saying no one has the right to chase away any fan on behalf of Lu Yiyao. “Poster, please don’t take it to heart.”

Ran Lin breathed a sigh of relief in his heart; this was the best scenario he could have hoped for.

Since he was already riding on the coattails of popularity, he might as well do it openly and simultaneously brush up some good feelings for Lu Yiyao.

This way, even if Lu Yiyao’s fans wanted to complain, they would be more lenient considering he had praised Lu Yiyao.

Ran Lin, you scheming bitch¹!

¹This is referring to him being blatantly shameless (mentioned earlier). The word is (心机婊) which is a colloquialism that combines cunning/scheming with a derogatory term for a woman (usually bitch). 

After scolding himself, Ran Lin silently prayed that Lu Yiyao was an easygoing person.

Because getting angry was inevitable. Everyone in the circle knew how to play the game; being suddenly tagged, nobody should treat anyone else as a fool.

But if someone was easygoing, their temper would come and go quickly, making both Lu Yiyao comfortable and lessening Ran Lin’s guilt.

At the same time, in a shopping mall beside Chang’an Street.

The hall was packed with roaring fans, and on the temporary promotional event stage, the host invited the brand’s spokesperson, Lu Yiyao, to offer some benefits to all his supporting fans at the end.

“This is difficult for me.” Lu Yiyao showed a troubled expression, but his eyes still smiled, curving beautifully and occasionally glancing at the audience, causing waves of screams.

“How about this.” Seeing time was running out, the host cleverly intervened. “Many fans became your fangirls through <Yun Zhang>, so could you perform a line from the drama to let everyone relive the charm of Yun Zhang?”

Lu Yiyao liked this suggestion. He immediately nodded, then faced the audience, and in a few seconds, entered the emotion.

The fans below held their breath, and the entire mall instantly quieted.

When he looked up again, the smile was gone. The man on stage, though dressed in a modern fashion style that didn’t match the drama, anyone who had seen the drama could feel that at this moment, he was no longer Lu Yiyao but Yun Zhang, deeply hurt and hated by his beloved—

“Don’t ask me when I can let go. Because I love you, I will never let go and will never, ever, forgive you!”

Three seconds of dead silence.

Then, thunderous applause and screaming erupted.

At six o’clock in the evening, Beijing time, after fermenting for a whole day, the airport blunder finally received a response from the other party involved, Lu Yiyao—

[The true love fan is too handsome, I’m also desperate 😭 //@Ran Lin: #Meeting an idol who respects and cares for fans, you’ve become a fan too, #Whether it was before or not, from this moment, I am your die-hard fan. Please accept my beam of love! 🤩 @Lu Yiyao]

How hard is it to maintain a good public image?

Lu Yiyao thought it depends on each person’s definition of “hard”.

In his case, smiling and acting cute while his heart bled was already pushing himself to the limit.

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Kinky Thoughts:

Oh god, trying to find matching emojis is killing me… but probably not as much as how Lu Yiyao is feeling right now (lol).

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