Author: 颜凉雨 / Yan Liang Yu

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

---

Chapter 12

Wang Xi helped Ran Lin secure auditions for two roles—one as the second male lead and the other as the third male lead. As the variety show had not yet aired and the airport incident’s hype had almost completely faded, Ran Lin’s life returned to its usual calm during the filming break. He spent his days exercising and preparing for the scenes he had to audition for.

Both auditions were scheduled for the same day, one in the morning and the other in the afternoon. Wang Xi personally accompanied Ran Lin to meet the directors. Although he was nervous, once the actual audition started, he forgot everything else.

On the way back, he asked Wang Xi how he performed. Wang Xi, not usually generous with praise, commented that he acted well but hesitated before adding that he probably wouldn’t get either role.

They were in the company’s business car. Along with the driver, there were only Wang Xi, Ran Lin, and Liu Wanwan. To facilitate communication, Wang Xi and Ran Lin sat in the back, while Liu Wanwan sat in the passenger seat.

Stuck in rush-hour traffic, the driver, bored, asked Wang Xi for permission before opening a window and lighting a cigarette.

In the faint tobacco scent, Wang Xi, who had been silent the whole trip, suddenly looked at Ran Lin with interest and said, “I’ve noticed something interesting about you. You tend to overthink everything you do, except when acting. You immerse yourself completely, oblivious to everything else.”

Ran Lin pondered over this and seemed to grasp something. “Did I not do well in the auditions? Did the directors look displeased?”

“No, no.” Wang Xi clarified. “They had no issues with your acting. But they didn’t really care how you performed. Both directors wanted to interrupt you midway but probably didn’t because of the person who introduced you. And since you didn’t make eye contact with them, they didn’t find a chance to let you finish your performance.”

Ran Lin was surprised. “Are you saying they had decided not to cast me even before my audition?”

Wang Xi shrugged and pulled a face. “Yeah, the main cast was probably already decided, and the auditions were just a formality.”

Ran Lin nodded, asking no further questions.

Despite Wang Xi’s casual tone, as if she were just casually informing him that he didn’t get the roles, the fact that she noticed the situation during the auditions but waited until now to mention it didn’t align with her usual straightforward demeanor. Ran Lin understood that she was considering his feelings, carefully contemplating the best time and way to break the news to him.

Ran Lin wanted to tell Wang Xi that he wasn’t that fragile. She must have put in a lot of effort to secure these opportunities for him. A project always involves negotiations from various parties, especially for significant roles like these, which involve many relationships. The actual investors might have their preferred actors, or the roles might have already been secured through stronger connections.

“We’ll face situations like this again in the future. Just get used to it.” Wang Xi sighed, rubbing her temples. She wasn’t too pleased herself; understanding the industry didn’t mean she wasn’t affected. Moreover, she had been busy with Han Ze’s issues lately, which was exhausting. “We have the second recording the day after tomorrow. You’re okay with that, right?”

“No problem,” Ran Lin quickly assured her. “I’ll just be myself, like you said. I’m getting the hang of it.”

Wang Xi nodded in satisfaction, then added, “Remember to interact more with Lu Yiyao. Don’t just stick with Xia Xinran all the time. He has a great sense of variety, and you won’t stand out next to him.”

Ran Lin was stunned, remaining silent for a long time. Wang Xi, unaware of his reaction, leaned back to rest after her reminder.

Only Liu Wanwan, who had been eavesdropping, was left with complex emotions, staring straight ahead, lost in thought.

The traffic finally started moving. The driver extinguished his cigarette and gently pressed the accelerator, inching forward with the flow of cars.

Ran Lin gazed out the window into the smoggy haze.

He was so deep in thought that he imagined the smog dispersing and the traffic disappearing, replaced by a clear blue sky and a river, with Xia Xinran’s frantic yelling and Lu Yiyao inviting him to try the noodles he had made.

He smiled unconsciously. Turning back from his reverie as if making a decision, he addressed his agent, “Xi Jie.”

“Hmm?” Wang Xi responded without opening her eyes.

Ran Lin’s voice was soft but clear. “Didn’t you say I should just be myself?”

Wang Xi frowned slightly, then opened her eyes reluctantly, looking at him curiously. “What are you talking about?”

Ran Lin knew she had been half asleep, so he repeated, “You said I should be myself, right? Being myself means choosing who I want to hang out with, doesn’t it?”

Wang Xi was now fully awake and sat up straight, her sharp gaze scanning Ran Lin’s face. “Are you trying to tell me that you prefer Xia Xinran over Lu Yiyao?”

Ran Lin shook his head gently. “I don’t dislike anyone, they’re all good. Xia Xinran is genuine and straightforward. Lu Yiyao is dedicated. No matter how bizarre the segments and tasks are, he insists on completing them. Zhang Beichen is friendly, and Gu Jie is reliable. Each person has their qualities. So, if you ask me to be myself, I won’t have a preference. I’ll follow the show’s setup, be in any team they put me in, won’t deliberately avoid anyone, nor do I want to cling to anyone.”

After speaking, Ran Lin waited for Wang Xi’s response.

She looked at him with a half-smile, taking her time before responding coldly, “Why do I feel like you’re not just protesting about the variety show but also complaining about me tying you to Lu Yiyao for publicity?”

Ran Lin pondered for a moment, then raised his eyes to meet Wang Xi’s, without evasion, sincere, and forthright. “Xi Jie, can I talk to you about what’s in my heart?”

“Of course,” Wang Xi responded without hesitation. “You are my artist now, and your future depends on our joint efforts. If you can’t be honest with me, then what am I busy with?”

Ran Lin didn’t expect such openness from Wang Xi, thinking he would be mocked before getting to the point. His prepared defenses relaxed, and he spoke more freely. “Then I won’t hold back. About the hype, I do have some regrets…”

Seeing Wang Xi’s disapproving frown, Ran Lin quickly added, “But that’s in the past, and I did benefit from it, so I won’t complain. I want to talk about the future.”

Wang Xi crossed her arms, listening intently.

“Xi Jie, let me ask you one thing: if I stop tying myself to anyone, if I don’t leech off anyone’s popularity and rely solely on my efforts, can I still make it?”

A long, quiet pause followed.

Finally, Wang Xi, who had been watching him, said softly, “What do you mean by ‘make it’?”

Ran Lin had always known the answer. “To get work, to act in films. I don’t mind not being famous, as long as every role I play is recognized and appreciated.”

Wang Xi scoffed. “Why would anyone give you roles if you’re not famous?”

Ran Lin smiled lightly, exuding a playful confidence. “There are roles for the famous, and there are roles for the not-so-famous. Not all production teams are flush with cash. Some directors pursue art… uh, and cost-effectiveness.”

“Hmm,” Wang Xi nodded as if she were seriously considering it, then said, “Those few anti-Japanese war drama crews in Hengdian right now would welcome an actor like you.”

Ran Lin was bemused by Wang Xi’s sharp tongue. He still held back some thoughts that he felt were too naive to voice. Not that he was afraid to say them, but even he found them childish.

“Alright, stop beating around the bush. You just don’t want to be hyped up, and you want your work to speak for itself, right?” Wang Xi had seen many artists and understood his intentions from his first sentence.

Ran Lin looked at her in surprise, realizing for the first time how inexperienced he really was.

Wang Xi didn’t mince words with him. “With your current resources and conditions, relying on your work to build a reputation and popularity is like starting from zero. You may not see any results until your contract ends. The company has no reason to bypass shortcuts and invest in something that seems unlikely to pay off with you.”

Ran Lin remained silent. What she said was harsh but true, and he couldn’t refute it.

Wang Xi knew he couldn’t argue but also saw his determination. “Still not giving up?”

Ran Lin nodded almost imperceptibly, his movement light and gentle yet persistent: “Xi Jie, I’ve been with the company for over two years. Before the airport fiasco, I hadn’t had any engagements for a long time, and I was prepared to switch careers. So, when the airport incident happened, I was very confused. On one hand, I knew such opportunities were rare, but on the other, something felt off. I even hoped I would never run into Lu Yi’ao again because what was done was quite unscrupulous and hard to justify.”

“Everyone in the circle…”

“I know many people in the circle do this, but I also know many are working diligently, acting, and promoting themselves. There’s nothing wrong with hyping up one’s acting skills, even exaggerating a bit, as long as I’m not feeling guilty. I’d be happy to talk it up to the skies. But creating hype by leveraging others’ popularity and heat—that’s not right… No matter how many people do it, it’s still not right.”

Wang Xi clicked her tongue, still surprised by Ran Lin’s resolve. “Did Lu Yiyao put a spell on you? Have you become his die-hard fan?”

Ran Lin couldn’t help but laugh at her wild imagination. “I’ve spoken less than ten sentences with him over two days.”

Wang Xi was puzzled. “Then why this sudden conscience?”

“It wasn’t sudden.” Ran Lin laid bare his thought process. “I felt guilty from the start, but I didn’t know him then. During the filming, he hardly looked at me, and I almost wanted to apologize…”

“You apologized?” Wang Xi was astonished.

“No, he never gave me a chance, avoiding me as much as possible.” Recalling Lu Yiyao’s disdainful gaze, Ran Lin felt he deserved it. “This is just the first episode, and there are seven more to go. If I continue as you suggested, clinging to him, then that friendship will be completely lost.”

“Young man, you think too much.” Wang Xi sighed helplessly. “No one wants to be friends with a small fry like you.”

Ran Lin said, “Fine, not friends, but we’ll be acquaintances after eight episodes. I really can’t keep leeching off him. If you insist I continue interacting with him, I assure you my performance in front of the camera will be embarrassingly awkward.”

Wang Xi stared at him for a full minute before rolling her eyes and sighing wearily. “I finally know why you can’t become famous…”

Ran Lin nodded in agreement. “I know I’m particularly naïve.”

Wang Xi, having her words stolen from her mouth, paused for two seconds before bursting into laughter. “You’re like this because you haven’t faced setbacks—a naive and romantic idealist—and there’s no need for self-loathing.”

Ran Lin wasn’t sure if Wang Xi agreed or not.

“So, here’s the deal.” Wang Xi, who suppressed her smile and regained her composure, offered a compromise. “Your variety show airs on February 14^th, running for eight episodes, which means it will end in mid-April. I promise from now until mid-March, your promotions won’t be tied to anyone. We’ll see the results. But if your performance doesn’t hold up and the show doesn’t make an impact—if we can’t find a highlight for promotion, I’m sorry, but you’ll have to follow the company’s plans afterward.”

“You really agreed?!” Ran Lin couldn’t believe his luck.

“My artist wants an apple, and even if I have to steal the peaches from heaven for it, it won’t end well. Why bother?” Wang Xi hesitated before reaching out to pat Ran Lin’s head like a strict sister. “But you only have four episodes. Treasure and make the most of them.”

That night, a Weibo blogger named “Curly Curly Eyelashes”, who had once caused a small stir but then faded into obscurity, posted after many days of silence:

[Attention, friends on my homepage: As of today, this blog is stopping updates. From now on, I won’t be a fan of any idols or CPs, officially returning to the real world. Yes, I’m dedicating myself to work!!! ✊]

……

The recording cycle of “National First Love Drifting Story” was the same as its broadcasting cycle, lasting eight weeks, with one episode recorded each week. The day after Ran Lin’s unsuccessful audition, he hurried non-stop to the location for the second episode’s recording in Sichuan.

The two-day recording began with the first day in Jiuzhaigou and the second in the urban area of Chengdu. Perhaps learning from the chaos of the first episode, the production of the second episode was noticeably more compact and organized. The female host was gone, and all segments were communicated to the guests in advance by the crew, who then completed the tasks themselves.

The beautifully snow-covered Jiuzhaigou, the adorable Giant Panda Breeding Base, Du Fu Thatched Cottage, Kuanzhai Alley… Although still centered around game segments, there was less of a competitive feel and more of a touristic vibe, allowing Ran Lin and the others to enjoy a real vacation.

The selected “Spicy First Love” of the episode was Xia Xinran.

The reason was simple: Xia Xinran relished eating super spicy hot pot from start to finish. While the other four, including Ran Lin, were in tears, he remained spirited and didn’t even ruin his makeup. After finishing, he even reminisced about the previous episode, complaining that he wasn’t given the option of insanely spicy rice noodles as a punishment, which led him to drink the dreadful super lemon bitter gourd juice, still feeling its sour and bitter taste on the flight home that evening.

Ran Lin thought this episode would be quite interesting to watch. Compared to the previous one, their interactions had become more natural and smoother, occasionally tossing and catching jokes effectively.

However, his interactions with Lu Yiyao were still limited. He didn’t go out of his way to talk to him, and Lu Yiyao certainly didn’t take the initiative to approach him. The only time they were grouped together, they weren’t paired, resulting in nothing more than polite exchanges throughout the recording.

From Lu Yiyao’s perspective, everything might seem the same. But from Ran Lin’s, since he had let go of his mental burden, even with minimal communication, he felt more relaxed and even found Lu Yiyao more attractive.

But honestly, Ran Lin still felt that Lu Yiyao hadn’t fully let go. Without comparing him to Xia Xinran, even against the normal performances of Gu Jie and Zhang Beichen, Lu Yiyao seemed a bit too reserved.

Initially, Ran Lin thought it was due to fame, as many in the circle behave that way, feeling their status prevents them from mingling freely.

But after observing for two episodes, it didn’t seem to be the case. Firstly, Lu Yiyao’s status wasn’t much higher than Gu Jie and Xia Xinran, at best slightly more popular. Secondly, in their limited interactions, Lu Yiyao didn’t seem to be intentionally elevating himself. He was meticulous in his tasks and cooperative with partners, diligently participating throughout the recording.

What then caused this sense of distance?

Even Zhang Beichen commented on the way back to the hotel after the second episode’s recording, suggesting that Lu Yiyao was perhaps taking himself too seriously.

Ran Lin just smiled and didn’t continue the topic with Zhang Beichen. After returning to Beijing, he thought over the past four days of interactions and felt it wasn’t as Zhang Beichen described. Lu Yiyao’s unapproachability seemed more a trait of his personality rather than his approach to situations.

If Lu Yiyao were in Ran Lin’s less prominent position, Ran Lin believed he would still behave the same way.

So, Ran Lin thought, Lu Yiyao was naturally reserved, or, to put it another way, not warm. Even if occasionally playful, he always maintained a comfortable distance.

Suddenly, it was February 10^th, which was time for the third episode’s recording in Sanya, Hainan.

With the program set to premiere in four days, promotional clips had been online for a week, entering the countdown to broadcast. To boost interest, snippets from the first episode were being released.

These snippets might or might not make it into the final cut, but they were certainly eye-catching or cute enough to stand alone for a minute or two. Ran Lin, having some spare time—as Wang Xi had become more cautious in seeking audition opportunities for him following the previous mishap—spent his days browsing the program’s Weibo. Watching each snippet and recalling the experiences made for an interesting pastime.

However, the behind-the-scenes footage mainly featured the more popular guests. So, although Ran Lin was always included, most of it actually revolved around Lu Yiyao and Xia Xinran, followed by Zhang Beichen and Gu Jie. Ran Lin rarely appeared, and when he did, it was mostly as a background figure for these companions.

The recording was scheduled for February 10^th, with a flight to Sanya on the evening of the 9^th. On the way to the Capital Airport, Ran Lin finally saw a clip about himself on the program’s Weibo.

[#National First Love Drifting Story Premieres on 2.14# Eighth Exclusive Behind-the-Scenes Clip: A single-leaf flatboat on the Li River. Who is the ultimate Landscape Male God? Friendship first, competition second, @Zhang Beichen even offers the first place to @Ran Lin? [XX Satellite TV – National First Love Drifting Story’s short video]]

The video was short, just a few seconds, capturing the moment after a rapid-fire Q&A when he landed second on the bamboo raft and conversed with Zhang Beichen.

“How long have you been here?” That was his greeting to Zhang Beichen upon landing.

“Not long.” Zhang Beichen’s smile in the video was the same as it had been a couple of weeks ago.

“Don’t be modest. You were way ahead. I tried my best but didn’t even catch a glimpse of you.” That was his jest.

“Shall I let you have the first place then, and you can choose the room tonight?” Zhang Beichen said awkwardly, scratching his head.

The clip ended abruptly there.

Ran Lin frowned slightly, taking off his Bluetooth earphones and recalling that day’s events. If he remembered correctly, when Zhang Beichen offered to let him have the first place, he had refused, explaining it was just a joke. But the program’s clip didn’t include any of this.

Ran Lin understood the editing was done for sensationalism. From an audience’s perspective, the clip indeed had many talking points.

The clip had been posted an hour ago.

Unable to resist, Ran Lin scrolled up, and soon the most popular comments caught his eye:

Hui Jie Loves Watermelon: [Am I the only one who thinks Ran Lin’s face looks huge? Everywhere within the four seas is TM*, and he even gets first place handed to him. 🤷‍♀️]

*Clarity: This is a play on the idiom Within the four seas, everyone is a brother (四海之内皆兄弟). The poster replaced brother with TM (which is an abbreviation for 他妈 that is generally a vulgar way to express frustration of disdain). So while the original idiom refers to the meaning along the lines of “everyone is close like family”, this changes the meaning to more like “everyone is a motherfucker/everyone is the fucking same” in reference to basically saying how Ran Lin is a leech (hugging others’ thighs).

Deep Love for Beichen: [Da* Bei is always so warm! 😁]

*Big/Great (大) When used in front of a name, it expresses a kind of endearment or closeness.

Baby Lu’s Jane: [XX Satellite TV, just keep it up. A good show ruined by forcing in a favored person. One rotten apple spoils the whole barrel. 🤮]

Quit Smoking, Drinking, and Bilibili: [This is real sarcasm. You can see even Da Bei was embarrassed, directly offering the first place to him. 🐶]

“Ah—?”

While engrossed in reading, his phone was suddenly snatched away. Ran Lin instinctively exclaimed, only to shut up when he saw it was Wang Xi sitting in front.

Liu Wanwan watched the whole scene but didn’t dare to remind him.

“From now on, I’ll keep your phone until the recording is over,” Wang Xi stated, not asking but informing.

Ran Lin watched as his phone was placed into his manager’s bag. After a while, he managed to say, “I hadn’t finished reading yet…”

“I finished reading it for you.” Wang Xi zipped up her bag. “Eighty percent of it is mocking you. Good, you’ve successfully caught the audience’s attention.”

“What great news…” Ran Lin’s tone was sarcastic, but he felt heavy-hearted.

Although mentally prepared, seeing such relentless mockery was still quite a blow. Deep down, who doesn’t want to be liked? Only those with a thousand years of spiritual cultivation can absorb fighting spirit from such ridicule, and he probably couldn’t achieve that in this lifetime.

“The current public opinion is all superficial. Only when the full program airs will you see the real feedback from the audience. What you need to do now is to not think about anything else and focus on finishing the recording for the next two days.”

“…Yeah.”

Wang Xi knew that Ran Lin couldn’t completely stop thinking about it, but getting criticized is a rite of passage for every star. It doesn’t matter whether you want it or not, or whether you are famous or not.

Initially, she just wanted to take away his phone and not say much. After all, some things are ineffective when told by others and need to be realized personally. Moreover, comforting with kind words wasn’t her usual style.

But somehow, seeing the dejection in Ran Lin’s eyes, she ended up saying more than intended.

In her fifteen years as a manager, Wang Xi had worked with many artists, and Ran Lin was one of the most cooperative.

This cooperation wasn’t just about obedience, but about understanding her plans, grasping her intentions, and spontaneously offering more cooperation while carrying out her arrangements.

What was even more valuable was that Ran Lin knew how to communicate his thoughts and was willing to listen to others’ opinions. It wasn’t scary for artists to have their own ideas; what was scary was being wildly unrealistic.

Wang Xi thought that maybe this was Ran Lin’s charm.

He was comfortable to be around, making people unconsciously want to speak up for him and put in extra effort.

But whether this charm could be conveyed to the audience still depended on his luck.

Suddenly, the driver hit the brakes.

Wang Xi looked up in confusion, only to realize that, after all her thinking, they had already arrived at the airport.

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 颜凉雨 / Yan Liang Yu

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

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Chapter 11

Early the next morning, the five men with dark circles under their eyes gathered in front of the most characteristic Old Town Yangshuo.

The morning task required them to find lost love tokens in the old town.

The exhaustion from the previous day, coupled with the night’s grueling ordeal, made it difficult for everyone to be spirited. Ran Lin was particularly out of sorts until hunger sharpened his mind around noon, and he realized the old town segment had ended.

He had only a vague memory of what they had done, but there was some gain. Due to Wang Xi’s advice the night before and his dazed state that morning, he had actually forgotten about the cameras. Although Bearded Cameraman Sun was always in sight, Ran Lin got used to it, treating it as a backdrop like the blue sky and white clouds.

The winner of the love token search was Zhang Beichen, who thereby earned direct entry into the final selection of the show’s Landscape First Love.

As usual, there was no lunch break, and they moved straight to the next segment. The five men, either resigned to their fate or accustomed to the routine, followed the crew to a quiet asphalt road where five bicycles awaited them.

“Next, we will give each of you a map. The destination is the location of our next segment. The stars need to follow the route and cycle there. Of course, you can also enjoy the beauty of the old town along the way. Sponsored by XXX, ‘National First Love Drifting Story’ now enters the final selection phase. Gentlemen, go go go!”

The female host had mastered her role in segueing and advertising, so after her bit, she immediately left the stage to the guests.

The five men looked at each other, harboring new grudges and old resentments, but in the current situation, they felt like comrades in adversity, each potentially the other’s savior.

“Let’s go.” Gu Jie casually pushed a bicycle forward, showing his colleagues that they just had to accept their fate.

All the bicycles looked the same, leaving no room for choice. Soon, everyone had a bike—except for Xia Xinran.

He stood still, glaring at the bicycle as if it were his arch-nemesis rather than a means of transportation. The others were studying the map, but Ran Lin noticed Xia Xinran’s odd behavior.

“What’s wrong?” Ran Lin approached, pushing his bike, and asked with concern, “Why aren’t you getting a bike?”

Xia Xinran was silent for a long while, until Ran Lin was about to speak again. He blurted out indignantly, “Alright, alright, I can’t ride. Are you happy now?”

His tone was indignant but more embarrassed than angry. Ran Lin was startled for a moment before understanding, and he couldn’t help but laugh.

Xia Xinran narrowed his eyes, shooting a glare that screamed, “I knew you would laugh at me.”

“Sorry, sorry, I won’t laugh.” Ran Lin tried hard to compose himself and then consoled, “It’s okay. Some people can’t blow bubbles with gum their whole life.”

Xia Xinran looked at him seriously, his face filled with despair. “That doesn’t make me feel any better.”

Ran Lin felt a bit guilty and hesitated before deciding to follow his own idea. He might get criticized for overstepping or seeking attention, but he decided to be himself, as Wang Xi had advised him.

Glancing around, he finally spotted the chief director and quickly approached him, asking, “Director Shi, Xia Xinran doesn’t know how to ride a bike, and the route seems quite long. If it’s really not possible, can he just ride in the crew’s vehicle?”

The chief director was a bit stunned by Ran Lin’s sudden intervention for Xia Xinran, and he took a moment to process. Ran Lin waited patiently.

Finally, the director affirmed his stance. “No. In the world of your Drift Story, we are in a parallel universe to the crew, and we cannot interfere with any events in your world.”

Ran Lin was frustrated. Wasn’t it the director who had intervened in their parallel world by starting the motorboat for Xia Xinran and Lu Yiyao?

Of course, these thoughts remained unspoken. What Ran Lin actually said was, “But we can’t let Xia Xinran walk to the endpoint, right? We won’t have enough time for filming.”

As they spoke, Xia Xinran came over. Realizing Ran Lin was advocating for him, he felt a mix of surprise and gratitude.

In truth, Xia Xinran had learned to ride a bike as a child but had poor balance and kept falling. Others learned by falling, but he just got worse. After breaking his leg and wearing a cast for months, his family never let him try again.

But now, talking about these things felt like playing the victim, and as an adult, he was reluctant to dwell on childhood experiences. So, he simply didn’t elaborate; he just couldn’t ride.

The issue Ran Lin raised was indeed a concern for the crew—they couldn’t let a minor segment affect the rest of the filming. But this was only the first episode; if they made exceptions for every difficulty, other guests might also start saying they couldn’t do this or that, jeopardizing the show’s integrity.

As the chief director hesitated, Ran Lin suddenly had an idea. “Director Shi, I have a compromise!”

Ten minutes later, the resourceful crew procured a tandem bicycle.

Ran Lin had seen couples riding such bikes on their way here, so he knew there must be rental places nearby. He hadn’t thought much of it at the time, but Xia Xinran’s situation reminded him of it.

“I said I can’t ride a bike…” Xia Xinran watched as Ran Lin pushed the tandem bike towards him and instinctively stepped back.

Ran Lin sighed and tried coaxing him, like persuading a child to take medicine. “You don’t have to balance or steer—just pedal. Can’t you do that?”

Nearby, Lu Yiyao, Zhang Beichen, and Gu Jie had already burst into laughter when the crew brought the tandem bike. Gu Jie especially looked like he was about to hit the ground laughing.

Xia Xinran glared at his heartless companions several times, steeling his resolve.

“You better hold on tight…” Unfortunately, his voice trembled weakly, betraying his resolve.

Seated at the front, Ran Lin couldn’t help but chuckle. He tilted the bike slightly, but not enough to make it unmanageable, then steadied it firmly. “Hurry up and get on.”

Xia Xinran swung one leg over and sat on the back seat, gripping the rear handles tightly. After a moment of gathering courage, he finally said, “Okay, ready.”

Ran Lin pedaled, and the bike smoothly moved forward. Xia Xinran realized he didn’t have to do anything but pedal along and didn’t have to worry about balancing the bike at all. It was quite enjoyable.

Seeing their companions swiftly riding away, the three onlookers exchanged glances—they had been overtaken!

The filming crew had the hardest job, immediately getting into the prepared follow cars whenever the stars moved. On one side, the driver slowed down to match the speed of the bicycles, and on the other, they continued filming through the car window.

Ran Lin no longer thought about where his “Sun Ge” was. Blue sky, white clouds, the tranquility of the old town. Apart from the cold wind on his face, there was nothing imperfect.

It had been so long since he’d been this carefree. Riding a bike, looking at the scenery, feeling the breeze.

Ran Lin realized that once he changed his mindset, the whole world looked different. The scenery remained beautiful, but now his spirit could fly higher and further.

“Turn left, turn left—” Xia Xinran suddenly shouted.

Ran Lin snapped back to reality and quickly adjusted the bike, turning just in time before entering the fork in the road.

“Aren’t you looking at the map?” Xia Xinran muttered discontentedly, having studied the map since the start.

Ran Lin was both amused and annoyed. “How do you manage to enjoy your blessing and still complain about your God of Fortune?”

Xia Xinran was also embarrassed. “How do you manage to self-proclaim yourself God without my consent?”

The two bantered back and forth, eventually laughing at their own jokes. After the laughter, Xia Xinran suddenly said seriously, “Stop being a fan of Lu Yiyao. Be my fan.”

Ran Lin almost lost his pedal, looking back at him in confusion, but had to turn his head back to watch the road.

Xia Xinran leaned forward, whispering close to Ran Lin’s head, “Haven’t you noticed he’s not happy with you leeching off his popularity? I don’t mind, really. I think you’re a good friend.”

Ran Lin hadn’t expected Xia Xinran to be so direct about the issue of leeching off popularity and even highlighting Lu Yiyao’s attitude. Although they were in the entertainment industry and could guess Lu Yiyao’s feelings, this was in front of cameras.

Turning to look at Xia Xinran again, he saw him removing his hand from the microphone. Ran Lin realized that even those who make it in the entertainment industry, even if seemingly naïve, knew the lines not to cross.

But frankly, Xia Xinran was really sweet—sweet enough that Ran Lin wished he had a younger brother like him.

Pedaling harder, Ran Lin shouted amidst the whooshing wind, smiling warmly, “Why not be my fan instead—”

Their conversation continued, no longer needing to be whispered.

Xia Xinran responded openly, “I’m more popular than you—”

“That’s not about popularity. Even if ten thousand people are your fans, it doesn’t stop you from being mine, especially if you think I’m a good friend—”

“Alright, I’ll follow you when we get back—”

Ran Lin paused, feeling a warmth spreading in his heart. The third time he looked back at Xia Xinran, his eyes were softer than ever, his voice warm and charming. “Hold on tight. I’ll take you flying.”

Xia Xinran was caught off guard by the sudden acceleration and nearly hit his leg on the pedal.

“Easy there! You think this is the Tour de France or what—” Xia Xinran suddenly regretted getting on this metaphorical pirate ship. Ran Lin grinned, feeling even the cold wind become pleasant.

Once he got past the initial unfamiliarity and into the middle of the journey, Xia Xinran slowly found his rhythm and began to enjoy cycling. He eagerly shared his newfound appreciation with Ran Lin. “Ran Lin—”

Ran Lin, having developed a tacit understanding with Xia Xinran, didn’t need to look back to know the expression on his face. He must be eagerly awaiting a response, ready to launch into some whimsical topic.

“Hmm?” Ran Lin responded with interest.

He was starting to get the hang of Xia Xinran’s style. Though seemingly unguarded in his speech, Xia Xinran actually had a magical persona. Always whimsical, never predictable, yet somehow endearing to both strangers and fans. What might seem thoughtless from others became humorous when he said it. Maybe this was just his personality, which the company allowed to flourish freely, or perhaps there was an element of performance in it. But if played long enough, the act might become indistinguishable from his true nature.

“I finally understand why girls like to sit at the back of a bike.” Xia Xinran immediately shared his revelation upon getting a response. “No need to watch the road or maintain balance—just enjoying the scenery and the breeze, it’s totally relaxing…”

Ran Lin couldn’t help but tease him. “Can’t you take responsibility for once? You’re supposed to be the one riding in the front. Your little angels are all waiting to sit on your back seat. Are you just going to shatter their dreams?”

“Why should their dreams be shattered? They love me for who I am,” Xia Xinran said, suddenly letting go of the handlebars and quickly making a heart gesture at the camera on the car window next to them. “I love you all too. Here, heart!”

Ran Lin admired his ability to adapt and round off any topic. Some people naturally have a sense of variety and audience appeal, a gift that can’t be learned.

But, he didn’t want Xia Xinran to get too carried away with his self-congratulation…

“I don’t have many fans, so I can only send my love to the audience,” Ran Lin said, releasing the handlebars without warning and making the same heart gesture towards the camera. “I love you all, heart!”

Xia Xinran was slow to realize Ran Lin had completely let go of the bike and suddenly yelped, “Bike, bike, bike—”

Ran Lin’s gesture was brief. Before Xia Xinran finished shouting, he had already regained control of the bike, laughing heartily.

Ran Lin rarely played pranks, so when he did, the joy was doubled. This was the first time he had felt such pure happiness since the start of the show.

Xia Xinran finally realized he had been pranked amidst the laughter of the driver and couldn’t do anything but howl in mock despair, unleashing a trail of roars along the way.

Gu Jie and Lu Yiyao had been listening to the commotion all along.

The former was trying hard to contain himself, but his uncontrollable facial muscles betrayed his amusement. The sight of two men on a tandem bike was just too unique and funny.

The latter was much more low-key. In fact, he didn’t even glance at them, focusing solely on the road ahead and the map in his hand, and cycled past them.

However, when they arrived at the “Outdoor Training Camp” final destination, Gu Jie was first, Ran Lin and Xia Xinran were second, Zhang Beichen third, and Lu Yiyao fourth. It turned out Lu Yiyao had taken a wrong turn and had to circle back.

The group exchanged glances and eventually burst into laughter. Lu Yiyao, having spent the previous night personally delivering rice noodles to everyone, somewhat regretted his effort.

“Welcome to <National First Love Drifting Story> sponsored by XXX. We’ve now arrived at the final selection stage of this episode’s romantic theme, the Male God Training Camp! As our male gods can see, we have various outdoor training equipment and props set up, and on the table in front of you, there are various exotic ‘dark’ dishes…”

Without the host needing to explain, the five contestants could already sense the darkness in these dishes from their smell and appearance, not to mention the large nameplates in front of them.

Super sour bitter gourd juice, wasabi rice in bamboo tubes, cabbage avocado puree, insanely spicy rice noodles…

Just by looking at the names made their mouths feel odd.

“The rules of this segment are for the male gods to draw the tasks according to the order they arrived in. Of course, you can only see the name of the task after drawing it. You can choose to attempt the task or give it up. Successfully completing the task earns you a spot in the final selection of the Landscape First Love, but failing or giving up means you must taste one of the dark dishes. Moreover, which dish to taste will be decided by the other male gods, and a dish that’s been tasted cannot be chosen again.”

“Let’s start the draw!”

Gu Jie drew first, followed by Ran Lin, then Xia Xinran, with Zhang Beichen and Lu Yiyao drawing last.

“Please take a look at your task names quietly, but don’t tell anyone else.”

Following the host’s instructions, Ran Lin quietly flipped open his task paper, which read “Trust Fall”.

“Okay, now turn your task papers over,” the female host said, approaching Gu Jie. “Everyone still remembers yesterday’s Guanyan Adventure, right? The winner was promised a special privilege for today. Now, we reveal that privilege: Gu Jie can exchange tasks with someone else. Please consider carefully whether you want to switch.”

Gu Jie silently turned his task paper back over, revealing the colorful, lively words—“Naughty Paper Slip”. It felt ominously mischievous.

“I’ll switch.” Gu Jie decided after some contemplation.

“Okay.” The host, of course, loved such a reaction. The more variables in the game, the more exciting. “Please look at the other partners’ task papers in turn and choose who you want to exchange with!”

Although it was just a game, Ran Lin felt a bit of excitement when Gu Jie approached. The last time he felt this way was during a high school class party game of “hot potato”, where the loser had to perform. Ran Lin didn’t mind performing but holding that “potato” felt like holding a live bomb, eager to toss it away immediately.

It wasn’t about the content of the game or the final punishment; it would be the same even if it were a game of tag.

Everyone has a childlike heart.

As long as you’re fully engaged, even the most childish game can stir up enthusiasm.

Unfortunately, Gu Jie didn’t seem too interested in his task, giving it just a quick glance before moving on to Xia Xinran.

Xia Xinran didn’t seem to like his task, so there was a flicker of hope in his eyes when Gu Jie approached. However, after a glance at Xia Xinran and his task, Gu Jie moved on again.

Xia Xinran couldn’t hide his disappointment as Gu Jie quickly finished checking Zhang Beichen and Lu Yiyao’s tasks and returned to his spot, telling the host, “I’ll swap with Xia Xinran.”

Happiness came so suddenly that Xia Xinran’s face lit up like a lightbulb being switched on.

“Good luck,” Gu Jie sincerely said as they exchanged tasks.

Xia Xinran nodded vigorously, for the first time finding this partner quite likable. “Yeah, you too!”

After the swap, Gu Jie immediately announced the task he got from Xia Xinran—”Time-Limited Climbing”.

Xia Xinran lacked the physical strength for it, so he frowned upon seeing the task. But for fitness enthusiast Gu Jie, it was a piece of cake. An easy climbing wall with a 20-minute time limit, Gu Jie finished it in just 14 minutes.

Coming down, he even told the host, “Actually, you guys can make the tasks harder next time.”

The host was thrilled, but the burning gaze from the other four participants could have turned him to ashes.

Next up was Ran Lin’s “Trust Fall”. It wasn’t hard—a common team-building exercise where one stands on a high platform and falls backward into the arms of teammates who form a safety net with their arms.

It looked completely unexciting.

But that moment of falling backward still required courage and trust in one’s partners.

Ran Lin had played this with classmates during school, so he was confident about it. Besides, the crew, worried about accidents, had placed a soft mat below the four men.

Less spectacular than Gu Jie’s climbing, Ran Lin fell backward into the arms of his partners—the whole process took less than two minutes.

Then it was Xia Xinran’s turn.

“I don’t really understand the task,” he said, looking puzzled. “Naughty Paper Slip… what’s that?”

The host, who had been holding back, finally smiled, fetching two paper trays from under the table next to the dark dishes. One was filled with paper slips, and the other was empty, placed at each end of the long table.

Then, she took Xia Xinran to the tray full of paper slips and announced the task. “Naughty Paper Slip means you have to transfer all the paper slips from this tray to the other one using only your mouth within ninety seconds.”

It took Xia Xinran a while to digest this rule, and then he exploded. “Why does it become so bizarre when it’s my turn—”

It was no wonder Xia Xinran was upset. The previous tasks like time-limited climbing and trust fall were typical team-building exercises, fitting the segment’s setting. But this mouth-transfer task seemed absurd.

The other male stars were already laughing themselves into knots; just imagining the scene was enough to amuse them.

Gu Jie didn’t laugh, but he internally sighed in relief and silently applauded his decision.

Xia Xinran sighed and resignedly told the host, “I’m ready. Start timing.”

Unexpectedly, the hostess shook her head, her eyes twinkling mischievously. “I haven’t finished explaining the rules yet. You need to choose one of your fellow participants to help you with this task.”

Xia Xinran: “Huh?”

Gu, Ran, Lu, Zhang: “……”

The hostess gleefully dropped the final bombshell. “You need to transfer the paper slips to your partner’s mouth, and then they have to place them in the tray.”

The three male stars, who had been laughing moments ago, were completely dumbfounded, and the fourth, who hadn’t laughed, quietly joined them, all shaking in fear of the malevolence they sensed.

Xia Xinran’s bewildered gaze swept across the handsome faces of his four companions. Those who were looking at the sky kept looking, and those looking at the ground kept their gaze fixed, determined not to catch any signals.

Xia Xinran narrowed his eyes slightly, making up his mind. “Gu Jie…”

Every debt has its debtor, and the Naughty Paper Slip had its source. Gu Jie couldn’t complain.

The other three felt massive relief, as if reborn after a catastrophe. Gu Jie’s face darkened—the show could indeed stoop even lower.

Xia Xinran didn’t want to do a mouth-to-mouth, even through a paper slip, with another guy, but considering the bizarre juices and food, he’d rather fake a kiss.

“I refuse.” Gu Jie knew he couldn’t blame anyone but himself, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

Xia Xinran didn’t expect this turn of events and blurted out, “You can’t refuse!”

Gu Jie spread his hands. “Why not? I choose the dark dish.”

Xia Xinran was on the verge of a breakdown. “You’d rather eat a dark dish than play a game with me!”

Gu Jie tilted his head, smiling slightly. “You might not like my answer.”

Xia Xinran was utterly despondent. Still, he asked the host in a last-ditch effort. “Can I choose someone else?”

The hostess gently shook her head.

Xia Xinran slumped onto the ground, leaning against the table. “Gu Jie, I hate you—”

Gu Jie, now immune to such childish animosity, swiftly picked up the wasabi rice in bamboo tubes, designated by the other three, and devoured it with grace, his gusto rivaling a grand sacrifice.

Perhaps considering Xia Xinran’s emotional state, and at Ran Lin’s suggestion, Zhang Beichen and Lu Yiyao agreed to give him the least offensive option, the super sour bitter gourd juice. No matter how bitter, he could gulp it down in one go.

So, Xia Xinran had to swallow the most bitter and sour drink of his life.

Zhang Beichen’s task was an obstacle run within two minutes, which he completed effortlessly with his agile skills.

Then it was Lu Yiyao’s turn, revealing his task—”High Altitude Broken Bridge”.

This task usually involved crossing a narrow plank bridge suspended eight meters above the ground, with a gap of about 1.2 to 1.4 meters in the middle. It wasn’t too difficult to step over a meter on the ground, but it was quite a psychological challenge on a narrow bridge in mid-air.

Still, they were all secured with safety ropes, so there was no real danger, making it more about symbolism, like Ran Lin’s trust fall.

As soon as Ran Lin entered the area, he noticed the broken bridge, so he wasn’t surprised when Lu Yiyao’s task turned out to be just that. But Xia Xinran was visibly frustrated, considering all the tasks seemed like team-building exercises except his, which felt like an outlier.

Just when everyone was getting a kick out of Xia Xinran’s situation, Lu Yiyao suddenly spoke up. “I choose the dark dish.”

The atmosphere instantly quieted down.

The four who had been jesting moments ago were stunned, thinking Lu Yiyao’s decision was rather inexplicable. The high-altitude broken bridge wasn’t too difficult, and for him to give up without even trying seemed too hasty.

Even the crew surrounding them was surprised.

If a fun-loving artist had said this, it would have been understandable as part of the show, but Lu Yiyao didn’t seem like someone who would sacrifice himself for the sake of entertainment.

His expression was grave, as if he was making a significant life decision.

“Are you sure?” The hostess asked incredulously.

Lu Yiyao’s lips formed a firm line as he nodded decisively.

The hostess reluctantly accepted his decision but quickly turned to the other four. “Male Gods, don’t hold back. Choose a dish for your partner.”

The four male stars exchanged glances and simultaneously pointed in one direction, their actions synchronized, their voices resolute—

“Insanely Spicy Rice Noodles!”

The entire place erupted in laughter.

Even the director turned away, his shoulders shaking uncontrollably.

Lu Yiyao was in despair.

His current state mirrored the despondent faces he had woken up the night before to deliver rice noodles to.

It just goes to show, one really shouldn’t do bad things; even if it’s just once, the consequences will follow.

After much contemplation, Lu Yiyao finally felt ready. He took a deep breath, picked up the rice noodles, and started eating!

“Cough, cough, cough—”

Just two bites in, Lu Yiyao was forced to stop, coughing uncontrollably from the insanely spicy flavor.

Ran Lin watched with a bit of sympathy. Although they had chosen the spicy noodles for him partly out of retaliation, did the crew really have to make them that spicy? Couldn’t they have gone for something deliciously spicy instead?

“Hey, don’t—” Ran Lin shouted in alarm, but it was too late.

Lu Yiyao, desperate to soothe the burn and not paying attention to what he was grabbing, gulped down half a glass of the display-only lemon bitter gourd juice.

Now combining sour, bitter, and spicy, with only sweetness missing, Lu Yiyao spat everything out, his face contorting more pitifully than a bitter gourd.

No one expected Lu Yiyao to make the situation even worse for himself. Even if it wasn’t an act, it was certainly entertaining enough to last a year. The cameraman almost shoved the camera right up to his face.

Ran Lin couldn’t find it in himself to laugh, seeing the tears in Lu Yiyao’s eyes from the genuine discomfort.

Looking around anxiously, he finally spotted someone from the show’s logistics team.

Ran Lin dashed over, pushed through the crowd, and snatched two bottles of pure water from the crew’s supplies.

He quickly returned and handed them to Lu Yiyao. The coughing man didn’t even look up before unscrewing the cap and chugging the water down. He drank and gargled, finishing half of the bottle in the blink of an eye.

Lu Yiyao finally felt a bit better, catching his breath with his hands on his knees, feeling like he had narrowly escaped death. “Thanks.”

Ran Lin watched his back, wanting to pat him but ultimately refraining, advising instead, “Drink the rest of the water too. Otherwise, even if the spice leaves your mouth, it’ll still burn your stomach.”

Lu Yiyao, surprised to hear Ran Lin’s voice, turned around to look.

Ran Lin felt a bit uneasy under his gaze and cleared his throat, finding another topic. “Regret choosing the dark dish now? That broken bridge wasn’t so bad. I’ve jumped it before. You can cross in one leap, and you’re tied to a safety rope, so it’s perfectly safe.”

Lu Yiyao straightened up and looked at him for a long time.

Ran Lin felt like Lu Yiyao wanted to say something, as his eyes flickered with emotion and his lips moved slightly several times.

But in the end, Lu Yiyao said nothing.

Zhang Beichen was declared the winner of the Landscape First Love.

The final decision was made between him and Gu Jie, with Ran Lin and Xia Xinran both casting their votes for him.

However, even after the filming ended and Ran Lin returned to Beijing late at night, he was still pondering Lu Yiyao’s hesitation. So much so that he even dreamed about it.

In the dream, after hearing his theory about the broken bridge, Lu Yiyao hesitated just as in reality but eventually said—

“What does it matter to you what I choose?”

After that night, Ran Lin lost all curiosity.

In the following week, he spent most of his time preparing for auditions for two roles Wang Xi had secured for him, and the incident was pushed to the back of his mind.

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 颜凉雨 / Yan Liang Yu

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

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Chapter 10

With the motor engine started, the bamboo raft transformed from a bicycle into a Ferrari, effortlessly cutting through the water. Soon, Ran Lin caught up with Gu Jie’s raft.

From a distance of about ten meters, Ran Lin wanted to shout a greeting, but upon closer inspection, he saw Gu Jie holding the same sheet of questions, murmuring to himself. Obviously, Gu Jie had started the rapid-fire Q&A later than him and was now in the midst of the tense part.

Ran Lin swallowed his call and silently overtook the raft. After passing some distance, he looked back and saw Gu Jie sprawled on his raft in a spread-eagle position while the boatman was collecting the bamboo pole to start the motor.

It seemed Gu Jie had succeeded too.

Ran Lin felt happy for his partner in his heart.

Because the program crew was really tricky; rowing the boat actually required technique, not just brute strength. Constantly rowing with low efficiency could easily frustrate the guests. If one were to think conspiratorially, perhaps the crew hoped for an emotional outburst from the guests or even for someone to give up entirely, which would make for an exciting episode.

Ran Lin overtook Gu Jie, becoming the second to arrive at Yangdi. The first was Zhang Beichen, who had been leading the way smoothly all along.

“How long have you been here?” Ran Lin greeted Zhang Beichen after disembarking.

“Not long.” Zhang Beichen smiled.

There was a little sweat, still not wiped off his temples, shining under the sun. It gave him an overall warm and gentle aura.

Ran Lin couldn’t help but tease. “Don’t be modest, you were way ahead. I used all my strength but didn’t even see your shadow.”

Zhang Beichen seemed genuinely embarrassed by the praise, scratching his head awkwardly. “How about I let you have first place? You can choose the room first tonight.”

Ran Lin was taken aback, not knowing how his joke was interpreted so deeply. He quickly clarified, “That’s not what I meant. I was just joking with you.”

Zhang Beichen blinked in confusion, as if still trying to gauge the truth of that statement.

Ran Lin, somewhat helplessly, said, “I can’t joke with you anymore. I’ve never seen anyone take things so seriously.”

Zhang Beichen finally seemed to believe him, exhaling deeply. “As long as you’re not angry, that’s good.”

“I’m too busy congratulating you to be angry.” Ran Lin felt almost defeated by his sincerity.

He had initially thought Zhang Beichen was just good-natured, but now realized he was a straightforward, Guo Jing*-like character. Ran Lin thought to himself that he must be straightforward with this partner in the future and avoid making any supposedly humorous jokes.

*Fictional protagonist of the wuxia novel The Legend of the Condor Heroes. According to the description, he is “dumb”, slow in learning and inarticulate. His most outstanding trait is his constant strife for moral rectitude.

“Beichen, Ran Lin—”

A loud call came from the river.

Both looked and saw that Gu Jie had arrived.

The young man on the bamboo raft was waving his arms with a rare excitement on his face. Ran Lin felt this excitement was more about finally reaching the shore, and it made Gu Jie more lively towards them. Of course, after almost a day of filming, everyone was gradually opening up.

After helping Gu Jie ashore, Ran Lin curiously asked, “Did you see Lu Yiyao and Xia Xinran?”

Gu Jie shook his head. “No, I was following you.”

Ran Lin smiled, then teasingly said, “Too bad, you still couldn’t catch up.”

Gu Jie wasn’t annoyed, just spreading his hands lightly. “How come I heard someone had an extra question during the rapid-fire Q&A?”

Ran Lin was stunned, then looked at Gu Jie, whose expressionless face betrayed a teasing glint in his eyes.

The one who looked clever turned out to be a straightforward, warm guy, while the serious one turned out to be capable of jokes.

Ran Lin was exhausted by this contrast, but he preferred to deal with Gu Jie’s jokes. “You only saw me eating meat, not getting beaten*. Others had bonus points in their extra questions; mine were life-threatening.”

*Metaphor referring to someone only noticing the benefits or good outcomes that a person is enjoying (eating meat) but fails to see the hardships, struggles, or sacrifices (getting beaten) that the person had to endure to achieve that success.

Gu Jie was momentarily stunned, then burst into laughter.

Ran Lin suddenly realized that Gu Jie wasn’t too concerned about the camera; it was just his personality was more reserved at first. Whether it was the indifference in the morning, the surprise attacks in the afternoon, or the current joking, Gu Jie was just being himself. “I’m not familiar with you, so I won’t make unnecessary conversation, but as we get to know each other better, I won’t pretend to be cool or show off.”

“I only heard about the extra question, so what exactly was it?” After laughing enough, Gu Jie finally became curious.

Ran Lin instinctively didn’t want to repeat the question—a kind of self-consciousness only he could understand. But facing Gu Jie, he tried to make his defeated expression look sincere and natural. “It’s too terrible. I don’t want to remember it. You’ll know when it’s broadcast.”

Fortunately, Gu Jie wasn’t the type to dig deeper. Although he couldn’t help but chuckle, he didn’t ask further.

An hour later, Xia Xinran and Lu Yiyao finally struggled to shore, the former a dozen seconds faster than the latter.

In the end, it was the motor that brought them over, but the three who had already arrived learned from the crew’s walkie-talkie—both of these partners had failed the rapid-fire Q&A game and had to continue manually. Later, the crew realized that if they kept going, there wouldn’t be enough time, so they finally allowed the motor to be started, speeding up the last part of the journey.

Lu Yiyao’s face didn’t look too good when he landed, mostly due to exhaustion, but his emotions weren’t too apparent. Xia Xinran was different. He rushed towards the three waiting friends, especially Ran Lin, and started complaining. “They set me up—”

Even a beautiful face couldn’t look good when scrunched up like a bun. Ran Lin laughed unkindly, then, before Xia Xinran completely lost his temper, finally asked the question all the partners were curious about. “What kind of trap did you fall into?”

Xia Xinran was clearly deeply hurt, still indignant. “They actually made me choose the female star I most want to work with among Wen Qiao, Wang Xinyu, Ai Na, and Yu Bingqiu!”

Ran Lin was startled by Xia Xinran’s bluntness.

No, it was more like startled four times. Each name mentioned made him jolt.

Although these four female stars were still considered “Little Flowers*” in the industry, they had already established themselves in the circle, each carrying a certain level of resources and popularity. Any rumor about them could prompt their teams to send out legal letters to marketing accounts.

*[Xiao Hua] (小花) Refers to almost all young actresses, regardless of their popularity, reputation, and acting skills. Because of the varied standards, Xiao Hua is divided into several lines, representing their status and popularity in the industry. Specifically, the first line covers the most popular actresses and whatnot. The most popular ones are generally called Liuliang Xiao Hua (流量小花).

The production crew on-site, like Ran Lin, displayed a subtle quietness.

“What’s with that expression? Isn’t this question tricky?” Xia Xinran misunderstood Ran Lin’s daze and continued indignantly, “They are all good friends. How can I choose one over another? How can we hang out together after this!”

What was a sensitive issue seemed completely trivialized by Xia Xinran’s righteous indignation. The atmosphere suddenly lightened.

Ran Lin was impressed and said with a laugh, “It’s tricky, really tricky. But actually, you could have chosen more than one.”

Xia Xinran looked astonished. “I could have chosen more than one?!”

Ran Lin thought carefully about the rules the staff member had told him. “It seems they didn’t say you couldn’t.”

In fact, his own question sheet didn’t have any multiple-choice questions. It seemed each guest had different questions, specifically targeted by the crew.

“So there’s a way to do this…” The beautiful young man, Xia Xinran, was full of emotion, feeling as if his soul had been elevated through Ran Lin’s guidance.

Xia Xinran’s moment of realization was too endearing. It was a surefire way to melt the hearts of older female fans and intoxicate the younger ones.

Lu Yiyao didn’t join the discussion, merely sitting casually nearby, resting.

Ran Lin wanted to show some concern for his colleague, but after glancing at his expression and considering his own reputation for always clinging to popular figures, he ultimately chose not to approach.

Fortunately, the production crew didn’t let everyone rest for too long. Seeing that all five people were present, they quickly urged everyone to return to the cruise ship.

The journey from Yangdi to Xingping was the most scenic stretch of the Li River. The production crew, finally showing some conscience and didn’t arrange any more tasks, allowed the five male stars to quietly enjoy a peaceful moment.

Ran Lin finally understood why the production team, even at the risk of breaking their own rules, had decided to start the motor for Lu Yiyao and Xia Xinran at the last moment. If they had delayed any longer, it would have been too dark, and they would have missed the opportunity to appreciate such a splendid landscape.

Traveling through the river, it felt as if they were drifting through a painting. If this was the case even in winter, the experience must be even more stunning in spring and summer.

However, the pleasant time was short-lived. The cruise ship soon docked at Xingping, and the five men boarded the familiar seven-seater vehicle, heading to Old Town Yangshuo.

By the time they arrived in Yangshuo, it was completely dark. The town was lively with the onset of evening lights, signaling the start of a vibrant nightlife.

The hungry men finally got to sit down for a meal. Although the crew had prepared local delicacies, the famished group could hardly appreciate the flavors and ate hungrily.

The camera dutifully recorded everything. After dinner, the last task of the day arrived—choosing rooms.

The crew had arranged five types of accommodations: a super luxurious hotel room, a standard hotel room, a hotel single room, a B&B, and a local home stay.

Zhang Beichen, having priority, chose a standard hotel room after some thought.

Ran Lin, second to choose, hesitated but picked the hotel single room.

Gu Jie, going third, sighed lightly, “You two are too polite,” and then calmly chose the luxury big bedroom.

Ran Lin knew that the other party was actually teasing them for their false modesty. Did they really not want to sleep in the luxury big bedroom? Of course, they did. But facing the camera, it was hard not to overthink things.

Actually, Ran Lin admired Gu Jie’s self-assuredness, just as he envied Xia Xinran’s easy-going nature. These were qualities he found hard to emulate. He lacked the courage and confidence.

Just as Ran Lin expected, Xia Xinran, who had thought he finally had a chance, was heartbroken after Gu Jie chose the luxury big bedroom. Xia Xinran was left listless, having to share the B&B and local homestay with Lu Yiyao.

After a satisfying meal and settling their accommodations, the five men went their separate ways.

The camera crew followed Ran Lin to his hotel single room, and he showed them around his soon-to-be residence. About fifteen minutes later, Bearded Cameraman Sun finally turned off the camera, hungry and ready to leave.

The production team had clearly stated in the contract that they would not install surveillance cameras in the guests’ accommodation; all footage came from the following camera. So, Bearded Cameraman Sun’s departure meant the day’s filming was completely over!

Ran Lin wanted to set off a thousand firecrackers in celebration.

He had no time to think about the others. Ran Lin collapsed into the soft mattress, feeling utterly drained.

He had no recollection of falling asleep. When the bedside phone rang, he groggily thought it was morning and that the hotel was providing a wake-up call.

“Were you asleep?” Wang Xi’s voice always had a way of instantly waking someone up.

“Ah, no,” Ran Lin answered hastily, looking confusedly at the still-dark window while searching for his phone to check the time.

“I’m coming up,” Wang Xi said, hanging up before Ran Lin could respond.

Ran Lin was dazed, his mind still not fully functioning, but his hand continued to search for his phone on the bed, as if finding it would bring him a sense of security.

It wasn’t until there was a knock at the door that Ran Lin finally came to his senses—his phone had been with Wang Xi since the early morning, before the program recording began.

It wasn’t just Wang Xi who came, but also Liu Wanwan.

“Ran Ge, you didn’t take any luggage and just wanted to sleep?” Liu Wanwan joked as she brought in Ran Lin’s suitcase, making herself at home.

Wang Xi glanced at her.

Liu Wanwan immediately quieted down, sticking out her tongue when Wang Xi looked away.

The single room wasn’t spacious. Besides a bed, there was only a table and a chair. Now, with two more people, the space seemed even more cramped.

“How do you feel?” Wang Xi pulled the chair to the bedside and sat down, asking Ran Lin while handing back his phone.

Ran Lin glanced at the time; it was only eleven at night.

No wonder he felt so exhausted; he had only slept for just over an hour.

“Not great.” Ran Lin put his phone aside and gave his answer carefully.

During the day, the production team didn’t allow the guests’ teams to follow the program’s filming. So in the morning, as soon as the five of them left, their respective managers and assistants moved here to wait for their artists to finish their engagements.

Therefore, what Wang Xi and the others could see was only the scene of the five leaving the hotel in Guilin in the morning and the scene of them just finishing their meal and choosing rooms in the hotel lobby.

Lu Yiyao and Xia Xinran’s teams had it even worse. To communicate with their artists closely after the recording, they probably had to follow them to the B&B or homestay, waiting until the filming was over and they had finished their discussions before they could return to the hotel to rest.

“What’s not great about it?” Wang Xi leaned back in her chair and asked calmly.

Ran Lin thought for a moment and said honestly, “Overall, the five of us lack chemistry, whether in conversation or games, it’s… particularly awkward. Then there’s my own issue. I always find myself unconsciously mindful of the camera, always afraid of saying something wrong or doing something inappropriate. It feels especially tiring.”

Wang Xi listened very attentively and patiently. It wasn’t until a long while after Ran Lin finished speaking that she slowly began, “So, you didn’t say anything wrong today, nor did you do anything that would attract negative attention?”

Ran Lin was caught off guard by her question and paused for a moment before responding with a wry smile. “I don’t know. All I can say is that my performance was definitely not natural, the kind of unnaturalness that can only be saved by some miraculous editing.”

“And what’s your plan for tomorrow?” Wang Xi raised her eyebrows slightly, her tone rising a bit. “Continue being awkward?”

Ran Lin caught the implied meaning and immediately replied with respectful humility, “I humbly request Xi Jie’s guidance.”

Wang Xi liked Ran Lin’s cleverness; it was one of the reasons she was willing to spend time and effort on him.

“Listen carefully, there are only two types of people who become popular in reality shows. One, those who can portray their intended character convincingly without being too slick or awkward, appearing so natural that all viewers believe that’s their real personality; the other, those who don’t play any character and just be themselves—they may not be perfect, but as long as there’s no major flaw in their personality and they have some shining qualities, sincerity is the easiest way to gain favor…”

Wang Xi said all this in one breath, pausing for a moment before looking deep into Ran Lin’s eyes. “But to the audience…”

“They’re actually the same kind of person.” Ran Lin was beginning to understand her point.

Wang Xi smiled in satisfaction, her delicate face softening with the smile. “Exactly. The audience only wants to see ‘the real artist’. Either be strong enough to act out ‘realness’, or just be yourself. Of course, the latter has its risks too. If you really are a person without any charm, then showing your heart to the audience won’t save you.”

Ran Lin thought hard for a moment. “I feel like I’m… alright, not too bland.” He seemed a bit embarrassed by his own self-praise and smiled sheepishly.

Wang Xi chuckled.

Liu Wanwan, however, was dumbfounded.

Ran Lin’s sudden shyness made him incredibly charming, and she swore that if Ran Lin adopted a shy persona in front of the camera, he could explode the hearts of countless young girls.

A lovable and bright young man, he was absolutely enchanting.

“That’s good. That’s the kind of confidence you need.” Wang Xi stood up, stretching her neck to relieve some stiffness. “Starting tomorrow, act as if the camera doesn’t exist. Apart from things like marketing gimmicks that can’t be discussed, say whatever you want to say and do whatever you want to do. Don’t worry about whether doing this will please the fans or doing that will attract criticism. Remember, anything that the production team dares to include in the show won’t ruin you.”

Ran Lin smiled brightly, feeling a sense of clarity and refreshment. “Okay.”

Only Liu Wanwan, hiding in the corner, secretly felt a bit of regret.

The shyness dissipated too quickly; his usual bright demeanor remained the main theme. Given his personality, it seemed unlikely he would become more subdued. But she then thought a fresh and natural style wasn’t bad either. Although it might not have a strong impact, it was subtly influential.

Wang Xi didn’t know that her assistant had already mentally planned out her artist’s entire career. Seeing that Ran Lin had understood, she felt relieved and instructed Liu Wanwan to help quickly pack up without delaying Ran Lin’s rest, and then left to continue with other tasks.

After Wang Xi left, Ran Lin said to the busy Liu Wanwan, “I can do it myself. You should rest early too.”

“It’s okay.” Liu Wanwan was energetically unpacking, asking, “Ran Ge, which clothes do you want to wear tomorrow? I’ll find them for you…”

Before the clothes came out, the bag for underwear peeked out, and Ran Lin quickly reached over and closed the suitcase with a bang.

Liu Wanwan was startled.

Ran Lin apologized profusely, gently saying, “I can do it, really. Don’t trouble yourself.”

Liu Wanwan looked at him quizzically for a few seconds, then suddenly asked, “Ran Ge, did you not have an assistant before?”

Her question hit the nail on the head, tinged with a sad undertone.

Without waiting for Ran Lin’s response, Liu Wanwan read the answer from his expression and laughed, “Ran Ge, sometimes you’re really cool, and other times, you’re incredibly cute, even cuter than Xia Xinran.”

Ran Lin was torn between laughter and tears. “Complimenting me won’t get you a raise.”

“Ran Ge.” Liu Wanwan abandoned the suitcase, looking up into Ran Lin’s eyes, her tone becoming serious. “Can I ask you a question?”

Ran Lin, not expecting her sudden seriousness, nodded without thinking. “Sure.”

“Is your relationship with Lu Yiyao really not good?”

“……”

Ran Lin was petrified, encapsulating his entire state at that moment.

Liu Wanwan lowered her eyes, sounding somewhat dejected. “This morning at the hotel in Guilin, there was no interaction between you two, and he didn’t even glance at you. Even if you’re not friends, as colleagues, it shouldn’t be like that.”

Ran Lin pondered for a long time, swallowing back the words ‘don’t ask too much’, and instead asked, “Can I first ask, is this question coming from a fan’s perspective, or as my assistant?”

Liu Wanwan lifted her head, blinking in surprise, before firmly saying, “Assistant.”

This wasn’t actually a question.

It was a choice.

If you choose A, you can’t share what you’ve heard with B.

Ran Lin explained the entire airport fiasco to Liu Wanwan, including the potential frustration and resentment of Lu Yiyao and his fans. However, he cautiously omitted the part about the company’s marketing hype.

Even so, this was enough to make the young girl go through dozens of expressions while listening. In the end, she looked deeply apologetic and uneasy.

“Why didn’t you refuse me when I asked you to sign that phrase?” Liu Wanwan, now knowing the full story, could easily guess that her Weibo post had only added fuel to the fire of Lu Yiyao’s disdain for Ran Lin. “Isn’t that like deliberately attracting negativity toward yourself?”

Ran Lin scratched his head somewhat helplessly. “It was me who offered to write you a phrase, so there was no reason to refuse when you asked. Besides, it’s been a whole year since anyone asked for my autograph. I didn’t want to disappoint you.”

Liu Wanwan’s eyebrows furrowed deeply. “At least you should have warned me not to post it on Weibo.”

Ran Lin gave a wry smile. “I didn’t expect you would actually post it.”

Liu Wanwan looked at him in disbelief. “Such an exciting event, of course, I had to post it.”

Ran Lin looked back at her, equally puzzled. “Don’t CP fans always advocate for keeping their fantasies to themselves?”

Liu Wanwan was left speechless. After a while, she sincerely said, “Ran Ge, you really know a lot…”

Meanwhile, Lu Yiyao, staying at a homestay, was still performing the extra task of the lowest-rung guest in front of the camera—making rice noodles.

It was 2:30 in the morning by the time he got to taste the rice noodles he had made himself.

The host, who stayed up late with him but seemed to enjoy every moment, asked, “How does it feel to eat the rice noodles you made yourself?”

Lu Yiyao pondered for a moment, then said, “I want to share this joy with all my colleagues.”

Around 3 in the morning, the National First Loves were awakened by startling knocks at their doors, only to be greeted with a bowl of lovingly made rice noodles.

Even Xia Xinran, staying in the B&B, wasn’t spared.

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 颜凉雨 / Yan Liang Yu

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

---

Chapter 9

After watching his three companions enter the cave, Ran Lin waited for another thirty minutes. He just sat idly in front of the cave entrance, exchanging glances with the circle of show crew members around him.

The bearded cameraman remained diligent with his filming. With no other choice, Ran Lin studied the map for half an hour, occasionally looking up at the camera to complain about his burning desire to start the adventure.

When the director finally said he could go in, Ran Lin felt like he had been granted amnesty.

The cave was cool, and the deeper he went, the more colorful the lighting became. Various shapes of stalactites filled the cave, creating a dreamlike and magical scene under the colored lights.

Being off-season, the cave was quieter, with fewer tourists. Ran Lin first headed to a prominently marked spot on the map, only to find the badge had already been taken, leaving behind an empty box.

Ran Lin stopped and chose a brightly lit spot to study the map again. He finally decided to take a different approach.

Even though the map was crowded with tiny, dense annotations of over a dozen locations, making it hard to match each spot with its adjacent names, Ran Lin noticed some intriguing words: “Taking you into the pit, flying with you.”

Compared to names like “Great Immortal Peach”, or “Black Dragon Head”, or “Triple Flower Liquor”, which clearly referred to scenic spots or commercial points, these words exuded a mysterious charm. More importantly, there were 5 badges at this location—5!

After studying the map back and forth for a few minutes, Ran Lin had an epiphany and immediately started running back the way he came.

Bearded Cameraman Sun, not understanding why his subject suddenly turned into a frenzied rabbit, had no choice but to chase after him with his equipment.

Ran Lin quickly ran back outside the cave—he hadn’t gone far in—and bypassed the cave entrance to run uphill! Beside the entrance was a winding path leading to the highest point on this side of the bank.

The rest of the guests were inside the cave, so the planning team and even the production crew were a bit puzzled as to why he ran out and seemed to be getting further away. They needed to control all aspects and processes of the show, but they might not remember every specific point on the map, even if the planning department briefed them.

Ran Lin kept running uphill and finally saw what he was looking for—a vertical sightseeing elevator!

While waiting at the cave entrance earlier, he had almost memorized the scenic area’s advertisements, one of which mentioned a sea-land-air viewing experience. “Sea” was obvious, referring to boat rides on the dark river. “Land” was understandable with the indication of a small train entering the cave and the option to walk. But the “air” part was intriguing.

Considering the cave’s internal landscape, viewing it from a plane was out of the question. So, how could one achieve a high-altitude downward view?

Ran Lin was puzzled when entering the cave, but after seeing “Taking you into the pit, flying with you” and connecting the dots, he realized. The cave entrance wasn’t the only entry point; the location marked with those words was another entrance, one that could bring visitors in from above!

Admittedly, one could find the elevator inside the cave and ascend from below. But from where Ran Lin was, turning back outside and running up was faster. Moreover, the marking was “Taking you into the pit”, not “Taking you out of the pit”. The badges were likely hidden at the “high entrance”!

After running breathlessly to the elevator, it was still ascending from below and hadn’t reached the ground yet.

Ran Lin looked around and finally saw a corner of the program’s logo behind a medium-sized rock!

Ran Lin was overjoyed, his heart pounding with excitement, completely forgetting that this was just a show being recorded. In his heart, he repeatedly wished that the box wasn’t empty, with special earnestness. It was like returning to childhood when a single game was a whole world, and one could get passionately caught up in winning or losing with friends.

Suddenly, he heard the sound of the sightseeing elevator arriving. As he was about to step forward and check the box, Ran Lin was distracted and turned around.

Through the transparent elevator door, he saw a striking figure in bright green—Lu Yiyao, unmistakable for his flamboyant color.

Their eyes met through the glass, both surprised and stunned.

As the elevator door slowly opened, both of them reacted.

Ran Lin bolted, probably running the fastest in his life. But Lu Yiyao, not to be outdone, squeezed through the partially opened door. Thanks to being four centimeters taller than Ran Lin, his long legs gave him an incredibly wide stride that was infuriatingly consistent, and he was about to catch up!

Both men pounced behind the rock at the same time.

The damned production team had only left a box there!

It was Ran Lin’s first time seeing a medal, and in his excitement, he had completely forgotten about the cameras. He just wanted to make a great start.

Lu Yiyao, on the other hand, had been tormented enough. Just when things were looking up, he was solely focused on performing even better, hoping in the end to throw the medals back in the production team’s face.

Being too serious could be a problem.

Especially when one serious person meets another.

The two men tangled with each other like basketball players fighting over a ball on the court, each employing every trick in the book for the sake of possession.

If this were a basketball game, the referee would have blown the whistle by now.

But this was a variety show, and the director not only hadn’t kept up, but even if he had, he would have been delighted by the scene.

So in the struggle, the lid of the box flew off.

The box itself was also deformed in the fray.

And to make matters worse, the box that was supposed to contain 5 badges only had one marked “worth 5”.

Could there be a bigger letdown?

“Stop, stop, stop—”

Ran Lin couldn’t take it anymore and gasped for a pause, of course, still clutching the badge.

Lu Yiyao was on top of him, arm reaching over the competitor’s body, also holding the badge.

It was a very ambiguous position.

But the two of them, in that moment and scene, from their bodies to their souls were filled with “badge” and “fuck the production team”, pure and candid as two rays of light between heaven and earth.

“We can’t keep fighting like this… It’s a waste of time and inefficient…” Ran Lin’s breathing steadied as he discussed a solution with the handsome face so close to his.

Lu Yiyao thought the other made sense. “If we damage it, the production team might invalidate this badge.”

Ran Lin was stunned. “They wouldn’t go that far, would they?”

Lu Yiyao shook his head with difficulty. “You’re too new to this game. There’s a lot you don’t understand.”

Ran Lin didn’t have the leisure to ponder the deeper meaning of Superstar Lu’s words. His only thought was to resolve the issue quickly. “You get up first, and then we’ll discuss a solution.”

Lu Yiyao raised an eyebrow, clearly not quite trusting him.

Ran Lin quickly realized this and hurriedly said, “Let’s put the badge aside and let go at the same time. I promise not to play tricks.”

Lu Yiyao hesitated for a moment, then half-doubtfully got up from Ran Lin, still clutching the badge.

As the pressure lifted off him, Ran Lin propped himself up with his arms.

Finally, the two good-looking, high-altitude male stars got up from the dirt, standing shoulder to shoulder, making a picturesque scene that could even be used for the program’s official announcement if not for the badge they were holding between them.

Of course, it would also work if the badge were rugged and handsome.

But this valuable 5+ badge had been made into a cute, yellow little star, which from afar looked like Patrick Star had been colored by SpongeBob SquarePants.

Ran Lin: “I’ll count one, two, three, and we let go together.”

Lu Yiyao: “Okay.”

The two crouched down together, solemnly and with a stern expression, placing the star on the ground an arm’s length away.

“One, two…”

“Three! Haha—”

Xia Xinran swooped in like a whirlwind, deftly stealing away the 5+ badge.

Lu Yiyao and Ran Lin looked at their own and each other’s empty hands, simultaneously thinking of the words—death from talking too much.

It was just a badge; they should not have turned it into an Infernal Affairs* rooftop showdown!

*Critically acclaimed Hong Kong film about two men, one a mole for the police department, while the other an undercover cop who infiltrated the triads. Through their actions, they risk exposing their other counterparts while being simultaneously unaware that they both have the same goal. There’s an American film that’s a remake of it called The Departed.

“Gu Jie!!!”

Xia Xinran’s smug laughter stopped abruptly, replaced by an angry roar.

Gu Jie, who had the upper hand, casually waved the 5+ badge in his hand with a rare smile on his rugged face, although still shallow. “Extreme joy turns to sorrow.”

Xia Xinran went crazy again.

Gu Jie didn’t play along with him; seeing the sightseeing elevator about to close, he dashed over and made it at the last second.

Xia Xinran was left jumping outside the elevator, with the cameraman assigned to him trying hard to stifle his laughter, almost unable to hold the camera steady.

“The oriole has escaped*.” Ran Lin, finally regaining his composure from the chaos, reminded Lu Yiyao.

*This is referencing the idiom “The praying mantis catches the cicada while the oriole follows”. It refers to while coveting the gains ahead, one should be aware of the dangers behind.

The latter dusted off the dirt from his clothes and said helplessly, “Us two cicadas might as well disperse too.”

Ran Lin glanced in Xia Xinran’s direction, asking, “Not going after the mantis?”

Lu Yiyao also looked over and couldn’t help but chuckle. “I’m afraid of getting hurt by the sickle.”

This was the first time Lu Yiyao had joked with him. Ran Lin was a bit dazed as he watched the other’s lips curl into a smile.

Lu Yiyao’s smile was attractive and warm, and no matter how many times Ran Lin saw it, it was always good to see. Noticing Ran Lin’s gaze, Lu Yiyao subconsciously restrained his smile and coughed lightly. “I need to go down and continue looking for badges.” Without waiting for Ran Lin’s response, he headed for the sightseeing elevator.

Ran Lin watched as Lu Yiyao walked back to the elevator, passing by Xia Xinran. As another elevator ascended, Ran Lin quickly slipped in and returned to the cave.

What he didn’t know was that as soon as the elevator doors closed and it started to descend, Lu Yiyao’s expression changed from indifference to a conflicted look of wanting to speak but stopping himself. He alternated between frowning and pursing his lips, as if there were two souls inside him at war.

The cameraman following Lu Yiyao captured all the subtle emotional fluctuations through his lens. But he couldn’t delve into Lu Yiyao’s heart to truly understand these micro-expressions.

If there was a mind-reading device in the world, it would surely hear the scolding voice against his chest at that moment—

I told you to stay away from him, and yet you ended up in his arms. Has the production team eaten your brain?

Lu Yiyao was a man with strict demands on himself.

He had a little person in his heart who always helped him reflect.

In the following time, there wasn’t much spark among the five male stars.

Firstly, the cave was winding with three levels, so it wasn’t always possible to meet; secondly, as the remaining badges became scarce, it took longer to find one, and everyone’s spirits were no longer high.

In the end, the medal count was Ran Lin with 5, Zhang Beichen with 7, Xia Xinran with 9, Lu Yiyao with 13, and Gu Jie with 16.

The 5+ gold badge became the key to victory.

Thus, when the results were announced, Xia Xinran wailed again.

Gu Jie initially ignored it, but as Xia Xinran showed no signs of stopping, he frowned slightly and offered a mild warning to his relentless partner. “I don’t know what the privilege of victory will be used for tomorrow. Do you think it could be to assign a punishment to one of the others at will?”

Xia Xinran shut his mouth.

So quickly, in fact, that he choked.

Ran Lin, who had been watching the whole process with peripheral vision and catching every word, pressed his lips tight to keep from showing his amusement too obviously. Xia Xinran naively thought Gu Jie was taciturn and had a gentle temper.

He couldn’t have been more wrong.

Gu Jie’s low-key silence wasn’t due to a good temper, just that he couldn’t be bothered to argue. His character was in high agreement with his image: a straightforward guy, not fussy, without too much hassle.

But if you nagged and annoyed him, he would assure you with one sentence to shut you up and keep you from daring to bounce around again.

The cruise ship was still waiting at the shore, but this time, the staff boarded the cruise ship, and the five stars had to switch to rafts.

There was only one boatman and one program crew member on the raft.

Before boarding the cruise ship, the female host announced the next surprise—all had to follow the boatman’s instructions to paddle the bamboo rafts downstream to Yangdi Pier. The order of arrival at the pier would determine the order of room selection for the night’s accommodation.

In other words, how well tonight would be spent depended on this effort!

So why wait? It’s time for a little bamboo rafting trip down the river.

The five male stars clumsily boarded the bamboo rafts, while the cameramen, who had already scouted the location with the production team, followed their stars with agility, even with equipment in hand.

The boatman began to teach the stars how to paddle. Zhang Beichen learned the fastest and was the first to leave the pier.

Ran Lin was third, closely following Gu Jie ahead of him.

After the three rafts had drifted far away, Lu Yiyao and Xia Xinran’s raft finally set off with difficulty.

But those who had drifted out were not faring well.

Ran Lin didn’t know about the others, but after just fifteen minutes of paddling, his forehead began to sweat, his hands gripping the bamboo pole were tingling with pain, and his arms, which were making large movements, were sore and numb.

What was even more frustrating was that the raft seemed to spin more than it progressed; it might actually be better to let it drift on its own.

This lasted for an hour.

Just when Ran Lin felt he was at his limit, the staff member, who had been sitting quietly on the boat, suddenly smiled brightly. “Actually, our bamboo raft can be powered by a motor.”

Ran Lin knew this; the motor was installed at the rear of the raft and clearly visible. However, he thought the purpose of this segment was to paddle manually, without using the motor.

Now, the staff member, who had been as quiet as a mascot for sixty minutes, mysteriously informed him that the motor could be used. Anyone with an IQ over twenty would suspect a catch.

“But first, you need to play a small game. Only after passing it can you use the motor.”

Ran Lin wasn’t surprised.

“A rapid-fire Q&A for sixty seconds. We will ask fifteen questions, and if you can answer ten within sixty seconds, you pass. You only get one chance, so good luck!”

Handing back the bamboo pole, Ran Lin took the question sheet prepared by the staff, keeping the printed side down to prevent cheating.

“Are you ready?” The staff member smiled enigmatically.

Swallowing nervously, Ran Lin replied, “Yes.”

“Ready, go!”

As the stopwatch started, Ran Lin flipped the A4 sheet and began reading rapidly, racing against time—

“Your favorite color… Blue!”

“Your favorite food… Steamed buns!”

“The kind of man you admire… Loyal!”

“The kind of woman you admire… Confident!”

“The male artist in the mainland entertainment industry you admire the most… Oh no, that’s a trap, pass!”

“The female artist in the mainland entertainment industry you admire the most… Another trap, pass!”

“What do you want your fans to call you, Burning Noodles or Raging Fire… Better Burning Noodles, haha*.”

*Clarity: Burning Noodles/Face [Ran Mian] (燃面) vs Raging Fire [Lin Huo] (磷火). They are using homophones of his name Ran (冉) Lin (霖) as puns for his fanbase.

“What do you admire most about Lu Yiyao… Um, his accomplishments.”

“Do you have a girlfriend now… No!”

“When was your first love… High school!”

“How many girlfriends have you had… None!”

“Your favorite…”

“Time’s up!” The staff member stopped the stopwatch, grinning. “Sixty seconds, nine questions answered, just one short.”

Ran Lin put down the A4 sheet, feeling drained both physically and emotionally, and sadly asked, “Can’t you make an exception for my sincere answers?”

The staff member shook his head regretfully.

Ran Lin felt like crying.

“It’s not entirely impossible…” the staff member added, changing his tone. Ran Lin waited eagerly.

“Can you assure that all your answers were sincere?”

“Of course.”

“Then I’ll add one more question. If you can answer it, you pass.”

Ran Lin handed over the question sheet without hesitation. “Ask anything.”

The staff member didn’t take the sheet but pointed at it. “Before I ask, can you repeat the answers to the tenth and eleventh questions?”

Confused, Ran Lin complied: “When was your first love? High school. How many girlfriends have you had? None.”

After repeating, Ran Lin understood.

The staff member chuckled. “My question is, please explain.”

Ran Lin answered sincerely, “My first love happened in high school. It was unrequited and unsuccessful.”

The staff member said, “…Master*, start the motor!”

*[Shifu] It’s a respectful term, when used in modern day, to refer to a skilled worker or craftsman, thus addressing them as a master or expert in their profession—in this case, the ferryman.

As the motor started and a cool breeze brushed his face, Ran Lin felt a long-missed comfort. Whoever set these questions truly understood him. Any slight change in wording, and he might have fallen into a trap.

In the rush of the moment, he had little time to judge whether a question was safe to answer. Except for the ones about favorite male and female artists, which were clearly traps, the rest were risky. Moreover, his principle was to be as honest as possible, avoiding lies unless absolutely necessary.

So, if those two questions were slightly altered—

“Where did your first love happen?”

“How many people have you dated?”

His answers might have been completely different.

His first love happened in the boys’ dormitory in high school. It was unrequited and unsuccessful.

He had two online relationships. One ended before meeting because he hesitated to send a photo and got ruthlessly blocked; the other was a college mate, who, during their first date at a movie, sneakily texted a casual partner. He could’ve pretended to go to the bathroom to text, but in the dark cinema, his phone screen shone like a searchlight, making it impossible not to notice.

As the wind grew colder, Ran Lin gazed at the scenery of the Li River, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.

That was close.

---

Kinky Thoughts:

Oh. I’m glad we got his sexual orientation all sorted out already.

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 颜凉雨 / Yan Liang Yu

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

---

Chapter 8

At the Mopan Mountain Pier, the starting point for sightseeing in the Li River Scenic Area.

Xia Xinran gave Ran Lin a shocked look when he saw the signs for “Pier” and “Li River”.

“Spill it, do you have a relative in the production team who gave you spoilers?” Xia Xinran asked seriously in front of the camera, making it seem like a variety show stunt.

Ran Lin was amused by this. Before he could respond, the production team hurried them onto a large tourist boat.

The boat, chartered by the production team, had a spacious indoor area on the first level and a bright, clean deck on the second.

The five men were first led to the indoor area on the first level. As soon as they sat down, the hostess re-entered the scene, glowing—

“Guilin’s landscape is said to be the best under heaven, so we chose the beautiful Li River for the first stop of The National First Love Drifting Story! From today, our heartthrobs will travel to eight locations, facing eight adventures, vowing to defend their honor as the National First Love! Who will be the landscape’s First Love in Guilin? Let’s wait and see!”

“The voting channel at the bottom of the screen is now open. Everyone can pick up their phones and shake them to interact with us!”

After the hostess finished her opening remarks and read the advertisements, she left the scene. As the main camera withdrew, the five follow-up cameras took their places. The subjects, whether composed, leisurely, bright, or playful, all shared one thing in their minds—confusion.

Not telling the guests the script indeed made things real. But the clueless guests were just as baffled.

Ran Lin was worried about how this first episode would turn out. At least for now, he hadn’t seen any highlights, neither in the production team’s planning nor in the variety show sense of the guests themselves.

In fact, he had no right to criticize others; he was just as wooden in front of the camera.

Hopefully, things would improve. As Ran Lin comforted himself with these thoughts, he was distracted by the scenery outside the window.

Along the shore were rolling green hills as the boat sailed on clear waters.

The river, not as full in winter as in summer, lacked the sparkling vitality of the warmer months but had its own distant and desolate beauty. The hills along the shore seemed covered in a light mist, creating an ethereal, mysterious feeling.

The banks were quiet, and few boats were on the river. The roaring tourist boat cut through the water, unfolding a picturesque landscape for those who cared to see.

Just a glance was enough to capture one’s attention.

“Ran Lin,” Gu Jie, who had gone up to the upper deck and was now back, called to him. “It’s your turn.”

Ran Lin came back to his senses, feeling as if he had missed the whole world. Without time to ask what was going on, he followed Gu Jie’s direction and headed to the deck alone.

Stepping out of the cabin, the river wind greeted him, slightly chilly but not too harsh.

The staff were already waiting there with a smile, and Ran Lin had a bad premonition.

Sure enough, his task was to pick one of the other four partners he thought most fit the image of a “Landscape Male God” and explain why, all while speaking to a secret camera.

The so-called secret camera was actually in a makeshift single-person booth set up on the deck with a camera inside.

From hearing the task to entering the “booth”, Ran Lin had only a few seconds to think.

The booth felt flimsy, as if the “walls” could be blown away at any moment. But to create a secretive atmosphere, the production team and staff outside were very quiet, leaving Ran Lin alone with the sounds of the wind and the river.

Lowering his eyes, pondering for a moment, Ran Lin let out a gentle sigh and finally looked up at the camera. No, he almost pressed his face against the camera, then said word by word, very seriously, “Although I feel a bit sorry for my idol, for the title of ‘Landscape Male God’, I still have to choose Xia Xinran. The landscape is naturally distant, graceful, and subtle. Although Xia Xinran is far from subtle, ahem, when it comes to beauty, he is second to none… Uh, wait, did I say something wrong…”

“No matter what, my vote goes to Xia Xinran!”

After throwing a flirtatious look at the camera, Ran Lin left the booth satisfied. He wasn’t sure how well he did, but he had done his best.

The boat passed various unique rock formations and peaks, eventually arriving at the Guanyan Pier. During the journey, apart from the booth interviews, there were no substantial segments for interaction. Everyone just enjoyed the scenery, the wind and showed off their good looks.

At the entrance to Guanyan, the five men lined up again. The hostess finally announced the results of the first round of voting for the Landscape Male God—Ran Lin voted for Xia Xinran, Xia Xinran for Lu Yiyao, Lu Yiyao for Gu Jie, Gu Jie for Zhang Beichen, and Zhang Beichen for Lu Yiyao.

Lu Yiyao received two votes, Xia Xinran, Zhang Beichen, and Gu Jie one each, and Ran Lin none.

When the hostess announced Lu Yiyao’s two votes, Ran Lin had a bad feeling, which was confirmed. In front of the camera, he could only jokingly self-deprecate, “I’m so handsome. How can you guys not see it…”

His four companions laughed along perfunctorily, without much sincerity.

The hostess then announced the real highlight of the day—The Guanyan Adventure!

Guanyan, a historic underground cave, had always attracted visitors. The cave had three levels and five chambers, with the two upper levels being dry caves and the lowest level housing an underground river. The caves were interconnected in a complex manner, and even with a map, one could easily get lost without a guide.

The five celebrities were given hand-drawn cartoon maps, marked with fifty badges.

Collecting badges was the ultimate goal of the Guanyan Adventure. They had four hours, and whoever collected the most badges would have a special privilege in a segment the next day.

However, the order of entering the cave was based on the votes received on the boat. This meant Lu Yiyao, with the most votes, would enter first and have the full four hours. The others, each with one vote, would only enter half an hour later, meaning they had only 3.5 hours to collect badges.

Ran Lin, with no votes, would enter last and have only three hours.

How much difference could one hour make in collecting badges? Ran Lin didn’t know.

In fact, Ran Lin didn’t really care about how many badges he could collect.

But with the other partners already inside the cave and only he left waiting at the entrance, the bearded cameraman Sun Ge insisted on filming his lonely situation from every angle. The thought alone was disheartening.

The five men, not yet well-acquainted—excluding Xia Xinran and Zhang Beichen, who also behaved almost like strangers—had instinctively made their choices, resulting in no one voting for him.

Ran Lin was no longer concerned about how viewers would react to this segment. He felt genuinely disheartened from a personal standpoint in his interactions with others.

“Oh my God, is this the map?” Xia Xinran exclaimed in shock upon seeing the “Pier” and “Li River” signs, and after Lu Yiyao had just disappeared into the cave. He held up the hand-drawn map to his camera. “Audience friends, please take a look. This is the map the production team gave us. Compared to this, the Beijing subway map is just a doodle!”

At first, Ran Lin and the others didn’t react much, but by the end of his statement, they all burst into laughter. Xia Xinran’s comparison was so vivid, considering the complex and winding map of Guanyan with fifty badge locations marked on it.

“Alright,” Gu Jie quickly regained his composure, saying seriously, “Instead of complaining, we should study the route.”

Xia Xinran had an epiphany. “Right, we have four people here—more brains are better. Let’s analyze this together!”

Gu Jie felt defeated, realizing that Xia Xinran seemed to have forgotten the adventure’s purpose was to compete for the title of Landscape Male God, which meant they were competitors, not collaborators.

But Xia Xinran had already spread the hand-drawn map on the ground, beckoning everyone over. “What are you waiting for, come here.”

Ran Lin smiled and was the first to respond. Zhang Beichen and Gu Jie followed with some hesitation.

Even so, Gu Jie was somewhat resistant. “It’s not quite right for us to discuss together when Lu Yiyao entered alone. He’s ahead with a full 4 hours.”

Xia Xinran sighed heavily, his face exuding a “you’re too young” kind of benevolence. “Don’t worry, he won’t blame us. He surely understands a principle better than any of us here: the higher the popularity, the greater the responsibility.”

With limited space on the map, it was a challenge for the planners to clearly depict the main routes inside the cave, the badge hiding spots, and the pathways. Fortunately, with four people and eight eyes, they managed to categorize the map within about ten minutes. Attractions, badges, and routes were all sorted.

No matter how clear the map was, it was just theoretical, so they ended the discussion feeling somewhat prepared. The rest depended on their performance inside the cave.

With ten minutes left until Gu, Zhang, and Xia’s departure, the three of them had nothing to do. One sat silently on Ran Lin’s left, studying the map; another sat on his right, looking out at the river, and one paced in front of him, interacting with his camera and the future audience.

Ran Lin had just chosen a clean spot to sit, not intending to stay long since the ground was cold in winter. But for some reason, all three of the one-vote party gathered around him.

He wondered if he had unknowingly picked a spot with good Feng Shui.

“Hey, why did you vote for me?” Having interacted with future fans, Xia Xinran suddenly squatted down close to Ran Lin, looking at him with wide, serious eyes.

Xia Xinran’s beauty wasn’t feminine but rather childlike. So, combined with his straightforward nature, he might come off as brash at first, but over time, his simplicity became relaxing.

“Because I think you’re even more beautiful than the landscape,” Ran Lin exaggeratedly yet seriously said, creating a comedic effect. But Xia Xinran loved being praised for his looks, regardless of whether it was serious or joking.

Like now, his face lit up. “So you’ve become my fan now?”

Ran Lin grinned and nodded hastily. “Yeah, yeah.”

Xia Xinran then bluntly asked, “So, do you like me or Lu Yiyao more?”

Ran Lin, caught off guard by his direct challenge, took a moment before replying, “That depends on who collects more badges.”

Xia Xinran dramatically turned to his camera with a serious face. “Lu Yiyao, watch out. I’m going all out to win over a true love fan!”

Ran Lin couldn’t hold back his laughter. He could already imagine the subtitles in post-production—[Crisis among the Male God Group, A Fierce Battle for Fans!]

Gu Jie watched the entire scene but couldn’t really grasp the point. Logically, he understood that this segment would probably have a good effect on the variety show, given Ran Lin’s reaction. But emotionally, he couldn’t relate to such interactions.

He somewhat regretted signing up for this reality show. For someone like him who preferred not to talk much in daily life, participating in a reality show was almost masochistic.

Zhang Beichen had been deeply engrossed in studying the map even after the group discussion had ended, so engrossed that he was oblivious to the drama unfolding just a few steps away.

Xia Xinran, seemingly fond of picking fights with him, came over right after hamming it up for the camera and bluntly asked, “Why didn’t you vote for Ran Lin? If you had, all four of us could have entered the cave together!”

Zhang Beichen, caught off guard, instinctively retorted, “Didn’t you also vote for Lu Yiyao?”

His tone was a bit sharp, clearly a direct and genuine reaction—both he and Xia Xinran had voted for Lu Yiyao, so why was one blaming the other?

Xia Xinran, however, had his own logic. “But you’re familiar with Ran Lin, right? Didn’t you both record the theme song together?”

Zhang Beichen was speechless at this point. After a while, he glanced awkwardly at Ran Lin.

Ran Lin felt black lines covering him. It seemed like he was being blamed for something he hadn’t done.

“If it were me, I would’ve also voted for Lu Yiyao.” Ran Lin quickly tried to smooth things over. “Who wouldn’t vote for Lu Yiyao as the Landscape Male God over me without feeling guilty?”

Xia Xinran was confused. “But you clearly voted for me, didn’t you?”

Ran Lin believed Xia Xinran didn’t catch the hint that he was trying to steer the conversation away from a sensitive topic. So he decided not to bother anymore and let the situation unravel.

“Actually, I voted for you out of sentiment. I was worried that if you got zero votes, you couldn’t handle it and would lose confidence in your stunning beauty.”

“…Ran Lin!!!”

“My becoming your fan is true.”

“True, my ass— aaahhh!”

Watching Xia Xinran’s meltdown was truly entertaining. He was genuinely upset, with most of his words needing to be censored. Yet, it didn’t make the situation awkward.

Instead, everyone was enjoying his rant, like watching a child who couldn’t have candy throw a tantrum.

Not every kind of genuine emotion was likable. But Xia Xinran’s frankness, unguarded mouth, lack of malice, and a bit of vulnerability made up his unique charm. There were times when he was annoying, but more often, he was endearing.

Meanwhile, Lu Yiyao, who had been in the cave for nearly half an hour, stood at the small dock of the underground river on the lowest level of the three-layer cave, hesitating.

After all this time, he had only collected two badges. He had followed the map diligently, but it seemed either the map was wrong or he misunderstood it. Either way, he was fed up!

Wasn’t the show supposed to be about reality? Fine. The real Lu Yiyao just wanted to enjoy a leisurely trip!

Lu Yiyao had never been taken on a trip when he was a child as his parents were always busy; then he went abroad for middle school, always returning to China during holidays for additional education; later, during college, he had a falling out with his father, who wanted him to study business, and had to work part-time due to reduced financial support, leaving no opportunity for travel; and finally, after entering the entertainment industry, he was so busy he couldn’t even find time to complete his credits, let alone travel.

So, part of the reason he signed up for this reality show was his fondness for the “travel element” in the program’s plan.

But the experience turned out to be entirely different. Constant camera presence made him overthink everything, worrying about what to say and do, unlike acting according to a script. This required improvisation.

Well, he decided to improvise.

Let others collect the badges; he was going to thoroughly enjoy the stunning karst landscape.

“Slow down, step here, right.” On the small boat at the underground river dock, the boatman carefully helped Lu Yiyao and the cameraman aboard, ensuring their stability.

“Sit tight!” Amidst the roaring water, the boatman called out and set sail.

As the boat slowly moved away from the dock, heading deeper, Lu Yiyao put down the hand-drawn map and stretched out without caring about the camera.

He suddenly noticed a familiar logo and, curious, picked up a box with the program’s logo from under the boatman’s feet.

Opening it, he found a badge inside.

Lu Yiyao was astonished. He set the badge aside and picked up the map again.

If he remembered correctly, there were no badges marked at the underground river on the map!

Three minutes later, Lu Yiyao discovered the problem. What he had thought to be the underground river was actually the sightseeing car path, and what he had believed to be the sightseeing car path was, in fact, the walking dry path. The actual underground river was where he had thought the walking path was.

Either the map was drawn incorrectly, or I misunderstood it.

Now it seemed, it was the former. The artistic quality of the hand-drawn map was soul-elevating, but the whimsical placement of the landmark names could drive someone with OCD to madness.

According to the revised understanding of the map, after getting this badge, there was no need to waste more time exploring the underground river, as there were no more badges along that route. There must be another one overlooked near the dock.

Thinking this, Lu Yiyao abandoned his previous resignation and got serious again, politely saying, “Excuse me, could you please take me back to the dock?”

“What?” The sound of the water was too loud, and the boatman didn’t hear him clearly.

Lu Yiyao had to shout, “I want to go back to the dock—”

The boatman finally heard him. “No—”

Lu Yiyao: “…Why?!”

The boatman didn’t reply but instead bent down to pick up a prop board that Lu Yiyao had overlooked, which was placed under the original badge box, and held it up high.

Lu Yiyao looked closely. In the colorful light, playful and clear calligraphy characters were visible:

[The path you choose, even if in tears, must be completed! — The Production Team]

Lu Yiyao stared blankly at the prop board, suddenly wanting to ask, ‘Who am I? Where is this? What am I doing?’

The episode’s planning was a mess, the prop preparation was dubious, and they were professional in playing tricks on the guests.

Hong Jie, how did you manage to pick this show out of so many glamorous and beautiful reality show proposals for me? 

Is the director your relative…?

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 颜凉雨 / Yan Liang Yu

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

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Chapter 7

In addition to featuring five National Boyfriends, <National First Love Drifting Story> had another gimmick: absolutely no script for the stars. Every segment and itinerary were controlled by the production team, and the celebrities were kept in the dark. It was a purely authentic reality show, showcasing celebrities in their natural state.

The official promotional slogan was:

The most unpredictable journey!

The most bizarre challenges!

The most authentic reactions!

The most interesting encounters!

You decide who is the ultimate National Boyfriend!

Any reality show daring to brand themselves as “authentic” these days was truly brave.

Because reality shows did have scripts, and they were always sent to the celebrities. The more earnest and confident production teams only outline the process, segments, and desired end results in the script, such as competition, unity, inspiration, humor, etc., leaving the rest to the celebrities’ improvisation. Other production teams’ scripts might even specify what reactions certain celebrities should have at certain moments, what props they should receive, etc.

With the former type of script, the final outcome retained at least 30% “authenticity”. With the latter, it was essentially just a “show.”

Regardless of the type, these details weren’t usually highlighted. They’d rather have the audience forget the existence of “reality show scripts” and even subtly create an “unscripted, on-the-spot authenticity” in post-production.

However, <National First Love Drifting Story> broke the norm by openly telling the audience they were doing it for real. The same attitude applied to their contracted celebrity guests: if you can’t handle it, don’t come.

Only XX Satellite TV dared to do this. They were always at the forefront of the conversation, making a killing.

Ran Lin truly didn’t receive a script. The production team only informed him about the local weather, around 10°C, and advised him to wear comfortable, warm athletic clothing.

Then, under Wang Xi’s guidance, accompanied by Liu Wanwan, his first-ever personal assistant newly appointed by the company, Ran Lin set off. Liu Wanwan, originally a company administrator, had volunteered for the role after seeing an internal job posting.

Seeing her apple-red cheeks, Ran Lin was worried she might ask for another autograph.

Filming began with him packing at home. It was Ran Lin’s first time being followed so closely by a camera, making him nervous. By the time he realized what he had said, he was already on the plane.

When the production team’s driver picked him up from the airport and brought him to a hotel in Guilin, it was already 8:30 p.m. Gu Jie and Xia Xinran’s flights were even later. Zhang Beichen and Lu Yiyao had already arrived, especially the latter, who had come a day earlier at his own expense for a day of leisure in the city. Of course, that day wasn’t filmed.

The director and production team warmly welcomed Ran Lin, chatting with him and Wang Xi, but their conversation boiled down to one message: Relax and enjoy, haha!

The director was ambitious, but Ran Lin couldn’t relax amidst his laughter.

Wang Xi and Liu Wanwan shared a room, and Ran Lin had his own. The hotel’s air conditioning was warm; he couldn’t even wear his fleece hoodie and had to switch to a T-shirt.

The cameraman didn’t seem to be resting yet, and Ran Lin wondered if he could ask him how long he planned to keep filming. There was a difference between having eaten pork and having seen a pig run*.

*Idiom used to describe people who haven’t personally experienced things but have heard about them, seen them, and have some understanding.

Ran Lin, who had never been under such close surveillance, felt quite pressured.

Considering the cameraman’s hard work, Ran Lin felt he couldn’t just sit around idly. Otherwise, the footage would just be of him staring blankly, which would be difficult to edit later. After some thought, Ran Lin decided to go greet his “partners” ahead of time.

When Zhang Beichen opened the door and saw him, he was quite surprised but quickly welcomed Ran Lin warmly.

For some reason, there was no camera following Zhang Beichen. Ran Lin guessed that Zhang Beichen might have arrived early, and enough footage of him had already been captured.

Being on camera, everyone was somewhat reserved. So, apart from initially discussing the theme song—their only common topic—the conversation was mostly just small talk with occasional awkward pauses. Soon, Ran Lin couldn’t sit still any longer and excused himself.

He originally didn’t want to visit Lu Yiyao. Since it was awkward with Zhang Beichen, it would only be more so with Lu Yiyao.

But before leaving his room, he had already told the following camera that he was going to meet his partners in advance. Having met one and skipping the other would seem odd and could attract criticism.

Reluctantly, he continued to find Lu Yiyao. However, it was his assistant who opened the door.

The assistant didn’t seem too surprised to see Ran Lin, but hesitated upon seeing the camera, then whispered, “Lu Ge is asleep. He was out all day yesterday and is quite tired.”

Ran Lin really wanted to ask why the assistant was still there if Lu Yiyao was asleep, but he held back.

Lu Yiyao’s tactic wasn’t very clever. Or maybe he didn’t intend to hide his “rejection” of Ran Lin.

Although a bit embarrassed, Ran Lin could understand Lu Yiyao’s feelings. He also felt relieved that Lu Yiyao didn’t want to see him. Otherwise, in front of the camera, he couldn’t outright say he was sorry for leeching off Lu Yiyao’s popularity. Meeting would only add to the awkwardness.

The assistant closed the door gently, but it still made a sound. After hesitating, to avoid the atmosphere being too dry, Ran Lin turned to the camera and made a light comment, “Looks like I won’t get to see my idol until tomorrow. What a shame.”

The cameraman finally seemed satisfied. As soon as Ran Lin returned to his room, the cameraman turned off his equipment and stood at the door with a simple smile, saying, “Have a good rest.”

Ran Lin was relieved and quickly grabbed an unopened bottle of water from the table to offer him, saying, “Thanks for your hard work.”

The burly, bearded cameraman suddenly became shy, quickly waving his hand. “No need. I have some in my room.”

Ran Lin didn’t insist and said, “Then you should rest well too, Sun Ge. Tomorrow might be like competing in a decathlon.”

Sun Ge was amused by the comparison. “It won’t be that bad.”

Ran Lin paused, then narrowed his eyes and asked out of the blue, “Sun Ge, do you know the script?”

The cameraman was taken aback, suddenly burping in surprise.

Ran Lin felt a bit guilty but also wanted to laugh, quickly changing the subject. “I was just asking randomly. Even if you did know, I wouldn’t want you to make a mistake. You should go rest.”

The cameraman nearly fled.

Ran Lin regretted it a bit, feeling like he had bullied an honest person.

On one hand, Ran Lin was relieved to end the day’s filming. On the other hand, Lu Yiyao was still mired in gloom over being disturbed.

He had been worried that Ran Lin would come to seek him out after his arrival. And indeed, Ran Lin did come.

But that wasn’t a big deal.

Since the airing of “Yun Zhang”, Lu Yiyao had quickly become a favorite among fans. Many colleagues he knew but had barely interacted with in the past two years started sending congratulatory messages and creating an impression of close friendship in interviews, on Weibo, and at fashion events.

Lu Yiyao usually turned a blind eye to these actions. He wouldn’t go out of his way to embarrass anyone, and even if he encountered them face-to-face and wasn’t happy about it, he would still play along.

But Ran Lin was an exception. The actions of others were predictable, and the results were estimable. At worst, it meant having one more fake friend. Everyone was busy anyway, so there wasn’t much need for interaction.

But Ran Lin was always full of surprises. In Lu Yiyao’s heart, there was an inexplicable fear of the unpredictable future.

His mind and body both resisted being in the same space as Ran Lin. Even if an encounter was inevitable, he wished it could be delayed as long as possible.

“Lu Ge.” The assistant couldn’t stand it any longer. “You’ve been staring at that screenshot for several days. Why bother? I know you’re angry, but the original post has been deleted. Don’t trouble yourself over it.”

Sitting cross-legged on the bed with no sign of sleepiness, Lu Yiyao pondered for a long time before finally putting his phone back on the bedside table and telling his assistant, “You should go back and rest too.”

The assistant was relieved to hear this and quickly left for the standard room arranged by the production team.

As the door closed, Lu Yiyao picked up his phone again, placing it on the bed in front of him. The screen still showed the screenshot saved in the gallery.

It was a Weibo screenshot of a girl named “Curly Curly Eyelashes”.

The post was filled with excited howls of “Ahhhhhhhh”, and one had to strain to make out the words. “I got my idol’s autograph today.”

Then there was a picture of a postcard with the message: [I love Lu Yiyao! – Ran Lin.]

As the assistant said, the original post had been deleted, and there was no need for Lu Yiyao to keep looking at the screenshot. But…

Lu Yiyao placed his hands on his knees, glanced at the screenshot, and took a deep breath as if the phone in front of him wasn’t a device but a martial arts manual.

Tomorrow, he would have to film shoulder-to-shoulder with Ran Lin. He had to be vigilant against any underhanded tactics from him.

So, it wasn’t that he was looking at the screenshot to disgust himself. He was etching those words into his mind—”constant vigilance”.

What was inevitable would come. It was like those two people in a math problem in school, one leaving from point A and the other from point B. Whether they were moving towards each other, away from each other, one fast and one slow, or vice versa, they were destined to meet. Then, you’d be asked how long it would take for them to meet or at which point they would meet.

The hotel lobby was the point where Ran Lin and Lu Yiyao would meet.

At 7 a.m. Beijing time, the five celebrities, who had coincidentally ordered breakfast to their rooms, gathered in the hotel lobby for the first time.

In front of the cameras, they lined up, exchanging polite greetings that seemed warm but were actually distant.

Lu Yiyao stood in the center, with Xia Xinran and Gu Jie on either side of him, while Ran Lin and Zhang Beichen were on the outer ends. The arrangement appeared casual but was actually based on their popularity.

During the handshake, Ran Lin barely touched Lu Yiyao before the latter quickly pulled away.

To the camera, it might have looked like a handshake, though not a warm one, but definitely polite and friendly. However, Ran Lin knew that there wasn’t any actual contact, and Lu Yiyao didn’t even make eye contact with him.

Ran Lin felt disheartened. Lu Yiyao clearly wasn’t indifferent, and it seemed a grudge had been formed.

Just as he thought about returning to his original spot, Xia Xinran suddenly pulled him back next to Lu Yiyao, then quickly moved to Ran Lin’s spot, swapping their positions. This left Ran Lin standing next to Lu Yiyao.

“You probably wanted to stand here, right? Haha,” Xia Xinran joked narrowly, with a mischievous look on his face. He wore a long red down jacket, making him look tall and beautiful.

Describing a man as beautiful might seem odd, but it perfectly suited Xia Xinran. His face was one that many girls would envy: fair, delicate, softer than most men but with more vigor than most women—a natural beauty.

Facing Xia Xinran’s prank, Lu Yiyao could only frown, and Ran Lin, seeing the teasing in his eyes, could only feel helpless.

Xia Xinran, not content with just that, leaned over Ran Lin and asked Lu Yiyao, “Did you see that Weibo post? Ran Lin’s confession to you?”

Lu Yiyao internally cursed Xia Xinran a hundred times but maintained a handsome smile on his face, asking naturally, “What Weibo?”

Xia Xinran, thinking Lu Yiyao genuinely didn’t know, blinked and explained clearly, “The one where he signed an autograph for a fan and also wrote ‘I love Lu Yiyao’. It went viral. Haven’t you seen it?”

Lu Yiyao feigned surprise as if hearing it for the first time, looking at Ran Lin. Ran Lin felt sure Lu Yiyao had seen it but was just playing along. “That was really embarrassing. I’ll explain it to you later.”

Lu Yiyao appeared unsatisfied but decided to let it go, saying, “Alright then.”

Ran Lin smiled graciously at his “idol”.

Of course, the promised explanation in the future would never happen. Both of them disliked their own actions.

The “idol” looked at the distant blue sky, thinking, ‘Lu Yiyao, when did you become so hypocritical?‘

The “fan” looked at the ground, thinking, ‘Ran Lin, can’t you ever speak the truth?‘

Xia Xinran’s mischief didn’t create the expected waves and seemed disappointed. Just when he was about to say something else, the usually quiet Gu Jie suddenly said, “Today, we just happen to represent five colors.”

Everyone looked at him, clueless. Gu Jie wasn’t particularly eloquent, but he spoke firmly. “Green, yellow, red, white, black.”

Only then did everyone realize Gu Jie was referring to their outfits. Xia Xinran wore a bright red down jacket, Zhang Beichen a bright yellow short cotton jacket, Lu Yiyao a green windbreaker, Ran Lin a white short down jacket, and Gu Jie a black leather biker jacket.

Five people, five colors. All in casual wear, the hardest to pull off was Lu Yiyao’s, whose bright green color stood out everywhere, impossible to lose in a crowd, and the outdoor windbreaker lacked any shape. Yet, he wore it with style.

It was a natural ease and composure radiating from his bones, more casual than Xia Xinran’s flamboyance, gentler than Gu Jie’s indifference. As if he was truly there for a holiday, even if slightly awkward in front of the camera, he stayed true to himself.

“So, what’s the significance of these five colors?” Xia Xinran understood that Gu Jie was talking about their clothes but still didn’t grasp the meaning.

Gu Jie slightly leaned forward from the group and explained, “In ancient times, these five colors were considered fundamental. Basically, these five colors could be used to create all other colors.”

Xia Xinran tilted his head. “So?”

Gu Jie looked at him quietly, his masculine face exuding peace and serenity.

Xia Xinran waited for two minutes, finally realizing that Gu Jie had finished speaking.

A gust of wind whistled through the revolving doors, chilling the hotel lobby. The atmosphere turned incredibly cold.

Ran Lin wanted to facepalm. Better yet, he wished the cameraman would turn off the equipment and let them all huddle in a corner for a while.

Finally, even the director couldn’t bear to watch any longer. He had originally wanted the female host to wait a bit longer, giving the guests more time to interact, especially Lu Yiyao and Ran Lin, who had such heated topics to discuss. However, the five of them had managed to turn the conversation into a frozen wasteland.

“Hello, National First Loves. I’m Bai Rong, and I’ll be with you every step of your journey! I bet the fangirls in front of their TVs have already blacklisted me, but for the sake of our idols, I’m willing to take the plunge! Without further ado, I’m sure our idols are most curious about what we have planned for today and the challenges awaiting them…”

The lively hostess said this, then suddenly turned to face the camera.

“I declare here that everything that follows is unknown to our National First Loves. Like everyone else, I’m very curious to see their performances… National First Love Drifting Story, go!”

With the hostess’s lead, the atmosphere finally improved a bit. The five men, led by the hostess, exited the hotel and entered the large seven-seater SUV provided by a sponsor, waiting at the door.

One driver, one cameraman, and the temporarily taskless hostess got into the production team’s car, leaving one seat for each of the five men.

“Aren’t they even going to tell us where we’re going?” Xia Xinran, sitting behind the driver and the most indifferent to the camera, was the most talkative.

Lu Yiyao, sitting behind the co-driver’s seat, kept a gap between him and Xia Xinran.

“You’ll know when we get there,” he said, patience being something he never lacked.

“You really are something. Twenty years old with the patience of an eighty-year-old,” Xia Xinran teased and then turned to the three men in the back. “Hey, aren’t you guys curious at all?”

Zhang Beichen smiled good-naturedly. “It’s more interesting not knowing.”

Xia Xinran rolled his eyes, clearly not impressed.

Ran Lin was surprised. With his back to the camera, Xia Xinran didn’t bother to hide his disdainful attitude. He suddenly remembered that Zhang Beichen and Xia Xinran were from the same company, yet since the beginning, they had barely interacted, almost like strangers.

Zhang Beichen, seemingly used to this, naturally ignored the look, his expression unchanged.

Unaware of these undercurrents, Gu Jie only heard Xia Xinran’s question after Zhang Beichen’s response, “Aren’t you curious?”

Gu Jie replied simply, “No.”

Xia Xinran regretted asking him, even more so than asking Zhang Beichen.

“You can’t be the same as those two, right?” The curious Xia Xinran finally turned to the most transparent person.

Ran Lin, not wanting to leave him empty-handed, thoughtfully analyzed and cautiously shared his guess, “We might be going to the pier.”

Xia Xinran wondered why his answer was so specific. “Why?”

Ran Lin hesitated. Just giving an answer was one thing; if his analysis turned out to be wrong, that would be embarrassing.

Growing impatient, Xia Xinran urgently called out, “Linghu?”

This caught Ran Lin off guard. He was unsure if it was intentional or accidental.

It seemed this was unintentional. Xian Xinran’s expression changed when he realized his slip-up, quickly explaining, “I’ve seen videos of your character online recently. Your ancient costume looks really good. It’s memorable!”

Ran Lin was amused and conflicted. He disliked Xia Xinran’s attitude towards Zhang Beichen but found him to be a straightforward person without much guile, unsure what to make of this interesting character.

“Explain why you think we’re going to the pier?” Xia Xinran brought back the main topic after the digression.

Ran Lin thought since he had joined this supposedly most authentic and realistic reality show, he might as well speak his mind. If he was wrong, then so be it. “When you travel to Guilin, how can you not see the landscape? And to see the landscape, how can you not cruise on the Li River?”

Xia Xinran blinked blankly, swallowing his follow-up question.

This was because he knew nothing about Guilin, and if he let his curiosity get the better of him, his next question might embarrassingly reveal his ignorance about what the Li River was. Clearly, his present “colleague” had done his homework. Although Xia Xinran wasn’t the brightest, he knew better than to keep asking and risk exposing his lack of knowledge or making a fool of himself. So he chose to pretend to understand and keep his lack of knowledge to himself.

Ran Lin realized from Xia Xinran’s expression that he didn’t understand, but kindly didn’t point it out.

Lu Yiyao, who had been sitting upright, looking straight ahead, suddenly turned back. Ran Lin was caught off guard and met his gaze directly.

It was their second eye contact since the airport incident, and this time, Lu Yiyao initiated it.

With his handsome eyebrows slightly raised and a look in his peach blossom eyes that was anything but friendly, as if he disliked Ran Lin showing off his intelligence, he said, “Don’t be so certain. What if you’re wrong and get embarrassed?”

Ran Lin looked back at him intently, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “Then I’ll just act cute.”

A moment of silence followed, with only their gazes locked in wordless conversation.

Finally, Lu Yiyao calmly withdrew his gaze, sitting upright again, chin up, looking forward. He resolved to delete that retweeted post about the airport misunderstanding when he got back!

How hard is it to maintain a good public image?

Lu Yiyao thought it depended on one’s definition of “hard”.

For him, it was like enduring a bleeding heart while still having to smile and act cute. In the end, this even became a dark joke used against him by others. Yet, he still had to maintain a composed and strong facade. This was already pushing the limits of how harshly he could treat himself.

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 颜凉雨 / Yan Liang Yu

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

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Chapter 6

Ran Lin received the contract for the reality show in November, and the filming was set to begin in January, leaving him only two months to prepare.

During these sixty days, besides taking time out to record the theme song for the show, he devoted the rest of his time to fitness training.

According to Wang Xi, he could be the National Little Brother, National Boyfriend, or even the National Husband, but first and foremost, he was a male celebrity. Even if his face was as beautiful as Daji*, his body shouldn’t be weak once the clothes come off.

*A famous figure in Chinese mythology and folklore, often portrayed as a fox spirit who takes on the form of a beautiful woman. She’s said to be the favorite concubine of King Zhou of Shang, the last ruler of the Shang dynasty. Her malevolent influence supposedly led King Zhou into a life of depravity and cruelty, which eventually contributed to the downfall of the Shang dynasty.

Ran Lin was too thin. Although he still had the grace of a young man, there was a certain slightness to his frame.

Wang Xi’s fitness plan for him was to gain some muscle appropriately. The overall image was still to maintain a bright youthful look, not needing bulging biceps or clearly defined abs, but rather a toned and healthy physique.

Ran Lin was obedient, so although it was hard work, he found a sense of achievement in seeing his body and fitness improve in the sweat.

The day he recorded the theme song happened to be Christmas Eve. Recording theme songs usually involved each person singing individually and then combining the recordings later, which saved time and effort and didn’t require coordinating the schedules of all the guests on the same day.

Lu Yiyao, Gu Jie, and Xia Xinran had already recorded separately.

Only he and Zhang Beichen were left.

Zhang Beichen’s TV drama crew had been rushing their schedule and hadn’t given him time off until the day before Christmas Eve. He came hurriedly the next day—if any later, the program’s final promotion wouldn’t be able to air as scheduled.

Ran Lin had the most flexible schedule of all the guests, so he had been waiting for the production team’s arrangement. Probably to save effort, the team didn’t want to record just for him on a separate day, so they waited until Zhang Beichen could come and informed Ran Lin to join on the same day. This way, they only had to set up the equipment once, which was cost-effective and efficient.

Ran Lin had no objections and rushed over early that morning.

The recording studio wasn’t ready yet, which displeased Wang Xi, but she still waited with Ran Lin. About two hours later, everything was prepared, and Zhang Beichen also arrived.

“I’m really sorry for being late. We just finished the drama shoot last night, and I’m quite exhausted. Sorry, sorry.”

Zhang Beichen’s agent, Wu Xuefeng, was a kindly middle-aged man in his forties, known affectionately as Wu Ge. He wasn’t tall, was slightly overweight, had a round face, and wore gold-rimmed glasses. He was often seen smiling with colleagues and the media, rarely showing a stern face.

Zhang Beichen followed behind him, bundled in a down jacket and silent, but his face bore a constant apologetic smile. Everyone could see that the face under his cap was genuinely fatigued, even affecting his handsome looks. He was clearly not well-rested.

His first act upon arrival was to apologize, and objectively speaking, they hadn’t actually delayed the production team—the recording studio had just been set up. So the staff laughed it off and moved on.

The recording engineer hurried the stars to start. Ran Lin didn’t have time to chat with Zhang Beichen and was quickly ushered into the recording booth.

Part of the recording booth footage would be used in the music video and behind-the-scenes clips. Since it was for recording a theme song, not acting or show-making, overly dramatic styling was avoided, so both of their outfits were quite casual.

“I heard you arrived two hours early. Sorry to have kept you waiting so long.”

Just as Ran Lin was about to put on his headphones, he heard a gentle, magnetic voice beside him.

Zhang Beichen’s first words to him were an apology.

Ran Lin turned in surprise, taking a serious look at his partner for the first time.

Zhang Beichen was handsome and tall—taller than Ran Lin’s 180 cm—probably at least 184 cm. He has a sunny disposition, much like the charismatic and popular basketball team captain in college, who inspires many with his youthful vigor, passionately plays, and leads his team forward with enthusiasm and brotherhood.

“No, I came early.” Ran Lin quickly shook his head, meaningfully adding, “You know, my schedule is quite… flexible.”

Zhang Beichen paused, then realized Ran Lin was self-deprecating and laughed, his attitude more relaxed. “I saw what happened at the airport on the internet. It was pretty funny.”

Ran Lin was embarrassed, wishing he could erase that part of his history with correction fluid. “Can we skip this part…”

Zhang Beichen was amused by the pitiful look in his eyes and couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

The recording engineer couldn’t stand it anymore and reminded them from the microphone. “Handsome guys, let’s get started.”

After they put on their headphones, the intro music began.

Who would sing which part of the song was a matter for post-production. During the recording, Zhang Beichen sang the A section, Ran Lin the B section, and then they sang the chorus together.

Ran Lin was known as the singing king of his college’s external department, performing solo every year at the annual event and participating in various campus singing competitions. Although not a professional singer, he definitely had a voice that could perk up ears.

He had practiced the theme song so much that he knew it by heart, playing it on loop in the gym until even his coach begged for mercy, suggesting he use headphones with better sound insulation.

So as soon as the music started, Ran Lin was in the zone, his voice clean and warm, occasionally using subtle breath control.

This pleasantly surprised the entire recording team, who became much more positive in their attitude towards him.

In contrast, Zhang Beichen’s raw voice caused some frowns. Whether it was due to lack of rest or a natural lack of musical talent, his voice was strained, with high notes either breaking or failing to come out at all. Worse, he kept getting the lyrics wrong.

After several attempts, the recording engineer called a halt.

The plan had been to record them together in one go, but it turned out better to let Ran Lin sing solo first, then coach Zhang Beichen later.

By midday, Zhang Beichen was visibly struggling, and the recording team was disheartened.

Wang Xi sat there the whole morning without saying a word, her face growing darker and darker.

Ran Lin glanced over and prayed fervently, hoping she wouldn’t explode, even if it meant she remained as unapproachable as an ice sculpture.

The tense atmosphere persisted until the arrival of a large order of takeout—Wu Xuefeng had taken the initiative to order lunch and afternoon tea for everyone. Of course, he was paying for it.

Clay pot rice, shrimp dumplings, shumai, steamed spare ribs… All grievances seemed to vanish in the harmonious atmosphere akin to a Hong Kong-style tea restaurant.

The smell of coffee and sight of egg tarts made Zhang Beichen’s off-key singing seem more forgivable.

Before the recording team could resume, Ran Lin first approached Zhang Beichen, who was sitting dejectedly in a corner, and began to guide him empathetically.

“For the highest note in the chorus, ‘There’s light in the distance,’ you don’t have to strain your real voice to hit the pitch. The more you worry about reaching it, the more likely you are to make a mistake. Just sing it normally, even if it’s a few notes lower.”

Zhang Beichen was confused. “Wouldn’t that be off-key?”

Ran Lin glanced at the recording team, still engrossed in their meal, and then quietly said, “As long as you sing out, don’t get the lyrics wrong, don’t worry about being off-key. They can fix it, and it will sound good after mixing.”

Zhang Beichen still looked uneasy. He had never seriously recorded a song before. Even during his audition show, he performed street dance and only rapped during group performances, so he wasn’t familiar with these tricks.

“Don’t worry. I don’t hit every note perfectly either. They all need some post-processing.” Ran Lin reassured him and added, “You’re just nervous, focusing too much on that one line, and then messing up the rest. Just relax and let the lyrics flow smoothly, and it will be fine.”

Zhang Beichen seemed persuaded. “Really, it’s okay?”

“Yeah.” Ran Lin patted his shoulder, then chuckled softly. “You think when they mix our chorus with those of the other three, it will blend seamlessly? Besides pitch, there’s rhythm and enunciation. Not just that high note, even other parts won’t be perfectly in sync. It will obviously sound like a quintet.”

Zhang Beichen visualized this “harmonious” future scene and relaxed.

“Thanks,” he said, getting up to stretch and prepare to eat his neglected lunch.

Ran Lin, who had already finished eating, held his milk tea and smiled brightly. “I should thank you. It’s really good.”

After Zhang Beichen walked away, Wang Xi came and sat next to Ran Lin, half-smiling. “I didn’t realize you were such a good Samaritan.”

Ran Lin sensed that Wang Xi was in a bad mood, as if waiting for someone to set off her thunderous wrath, so he just chuckled awkwardly, not daring to add to the conversation.

Wang Xi glanced at him and didn’t pursue the matter further.

Ran Lin turned his face to the wall, silently praying for someone to take this sister away.

The afternoon recording session went very smoothly, and the recording engineer was surprised by the change in Zhang Beichen’s performance. Without any need for his coaching, Zhang Beichen seemed to have shed a great burden. His voice was no longer strained, and the lyrics were correct. Although he went off-key on the highest notes, there were no voice breaks or losses, and the issues were entirely within the scope of what could be fixed with post-production techniques. This improvement was truly heartening and brought a sense of relief.

They finished early, before four o’clock. Before leaving, Zhang Beichen proactively added Ran Lin on WeChat.

This was the first artist, other than Dream Without Limits, to actively add Ran Lin on social media.

During his previous film shoots, he had to take the initiative to add the lead actors, but even after adding them, there was little interaction, and sometimes he was even blocked from viewing their Moments, which was quite disheartening.

Having established a good relationship with one-fourth of his future collaborators, Ran Lin saw this as a positive start.

Leaving the recording studio, Wang Xi’s tense demeanor finally showed urgency, urging the driver to hurry to the company.

Ran Lin couldn’t recall any other tasks that needed to be completed at the company today, but he didn’t ask and just quietly followed along.

Upon returning to the company, they learned that Han Ze had been waiting in Wang Xi’s office for most of the day, and his mood wasn’t good.

Ran Lin then understood that Wang Xi’s low spirits all day had nothing to do with his recording efficiency. In fact, her mind might not have been in the recording studio at all. From the moment she was informed that Han Ze was waiting, she had already mentally returned to Dream Without Limits.

One star was at the peak of his popularity, the other’s future uncertain, both sharing the same agent. It was clear who needed more immediate attention.

Ran Lin understood this.

But human emotions were complex, and it was hard not to feel let down.

Wang Xi entered her office and first closed the blinds. What happened inside remained unknown to outsiders.

Ran Lin took out a packet of instant soymilk powder from his bag, found a paper cup in the pantry, and mixed it with hot water.

The aroma of soy milk was limited, but enough to relax Ran Lin.

The door to the pantry was gently pushed open, and a young girl tiptoed in.

Ran Lin thought she wanted to make coffee and moved aside for her.

Unexpectedly, the girl closed the door and walked straight up to him, her cheeks reddening as she approached, eventually turning as red as a bright apple.

“Um… I really love your portrayal of Linghu Xiaodao. Could you give me an autograph?” She blurted out, too shy to lift her head, extending a pen and a blank postcard.

Ran Lin took it, curious, and flipped it over to see Linghu Xiaodao’s photo from the drama.

When did his character get merchandise?

“I-I really like it, so I had it custom-made online!” she explained immediately, seeing his hesitation.

Ran Lin felt the girl looked familiar—certainly not a new employee. If she worked here daily, she wouldn’t have waited so long for an autograph.

The only explanation was that she was a new fan, not a new employee.

Meeting a new fan in person was a different experience from gaining followers online. The former was much more impactful and real.

Ran Lin knew it was silly, but he was thrilled, almost wanting to spin around in joy. Of course, he had to maintain his image in front of a fan, so he picked up the pen, trying hard not to smile too broadly. “Just an autograph, no blessings?”

The girl, eagerly awaiting, was taken aback by his question. “Ah?”

Ran Lin’s eyes crinkled with a smile. “Besides the autograph, don’t you want me to write something else?”

The girl lit up in disbelief. “Really?”

Ran Lin nodded. “Of course.”

She continued, “Anything?”

Ran Lin joked, “Except curses.”

The girl was amused and finally mustered the courage to say, “I want you to write ‘I love Lu Yiyao’!”

Ran Lin: “…”

Girl: “Aren’t you his die-hard fan?”

Ran Lin: “Yeah!”

Once a public image was established, it was like water poured out—it couldn’t be taken back.

In the evening, Wang Xi and Han Ze finally came out of the office. It was evident that they had reached some sort of agreement, as both seemed in a much better mood.

Seeing Ran Lin still waiting, Wang Xi was initially surprised, then apologized unusually. “Sorry for forgetting about you. There’s nothing else here. You can go back. Remember to work out on time tomorrow.”

Ran Lin felt a mix of frustration and resignation.

That night, the girl posted on Weibo. Although it was from an anonymous account, it still attracted over three thousand comments.

Initially, it was the fans of the CP who were excited. But gradually, a large number of Lu Yiyao’s fans joined in.

Compared to the restraint shown during the initial airport misunderstanding and the video of Yun Zhang and Linghu Xiaodao, Lu Yiyao’s fans seemed to have lost all their composure with this real-life CP, unleashing various complaints and insults. The girl was so frightened that she soon deleted the Weibo post, and the minor controversy subsided.

However, Ran Lin, who had witnessed everything, felt a growing unease.

Finally, on January 10, just before the recording, the reality show’s production team dropped a bombshell—they released the theme song and unveiled the mysterious fifth guest!

All five male celebrities retweeted the show’s Weibo post, but they hadn’t started any interactions with each other yet.

That night, Ran Lin’s Weibo followers increased by tens of thousands. However, among the thousands of new comments, about 70% were from Lu Yiyao’s fans, criticizing him for riding on the coattails of popularity and others mocking him for not deserving the title of National First Love. The remaining 30% were divided between those taking a wait-and-see approach and those staunchly supporting the CP, passionately defending it.

On January 15^th, amid high expectations and mixed reviews, the first episode of the show was recorded in Guilin, amidst a whirlwind of discussion.

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 颜凉雨 / Yan Liang Yu

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

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Chapter 5

For every skilled Daoist, there’s a demon a zhang higher*.

*As virtue rises one foot, vice rises ten (道高一尺，魔高一丈) It’s a proverb often used to suggest that when good increases, evil increases even more in response. Note: A zhang is 3.33 meters.

Lu Yiyao, with minimal effort, harvested all the heat that had been painstakingly generated for Ran Lin.

It’s like you exhaust yourself swinging a shovel and hoe to fry a pot of sugar-coated chestnuts, only to have someone else easily scoop them up for just a few cents when they’re done.

The charm of the airport incident originally revolved around Lu Yiyao. If Ran Lin were replaced by some other low-tier actor, nobody would care. Thus, when Ran Lin’s proactive @ raised expectations to their peak, Lu Yiyao’s response became the brilliant climax of this event.

Whether they were fans or just passersby, they could finally breathe a sigh of relief. Then, either screaming until their voices were hoarse or laughing with great enthusiasm, they eagerly rushed to comment under Lu Yiyao’s Weibo, sharing the thoughts and feelings they had been brewing all day.

By the time Lu Yiyao posted his Weibo, Ran Lin had already been sent back to his dorm apartment.

In reality, he spent the entire day in the company’s meeting room doing just one thing—posting that Weibo tagging Lu Yiyao. The rest of the time was spent waiting for Lu Yiyao’s response.

But Lu Yiyao was too calm, so by four in the afternoon, Wang Xi, having other matters to attend to, let him go after giving some instructions.

There were three things Wang Xi instructed. The amount of information was quite large, but seemingly sure that he would understand, she stated them succinctly:

“First, for the near future, all Weibo-related actions must wait for company instructions; no free play or self-expression allowed. Second, tomorrow the company will arrange for you to visit Han Ze’s drama set. There will be a short interview by a gossip entertainment program also visiting. The airport incident will surely be brought up, so you better prepare in advance. Third, I will take over your scheduling. I might not be able to attend to you daily like Kang Hui, but we don’t need to be like family. Just remember, I can make you famous.”

What’s the relationship between an artist and their agent?

If the artist is famous enough, then the agent serves them.

But if the agent is more famous and has better resources and connections in the circle, then unfortunately, they’re here to lead you towards prosperity. If they tell you to plant rice, you better bend down and get to it.

“Have you seen Weibo?” At 6:02 PM, just two minutes after Lu Yiyao’s Weibo was posted, Wang Xi called.

Ran Lin was in the shower at the critical stage—hair washing. Fortunately, his phone was on the washstand, so despite the awkward situation with foam on his head, he still managed to pull back the shower curtain and answer the call, putting it on speaker.

“Not yet, Xi Jie. What’s up?”

“Lu Yiyao replied.”

“Really? How did he reply?”

“Aren’t you going to check yourself?”

“…”

“Are you in the bathroom?”

Ran Lin was startled. His first reaction was to grab the shower curtain to cover his lower body, then he looked up at the black and white ceiling of the bathroom, as if somewhere in those eerie squares had a hidden surveillance camera beneath them.

“You sound echoey. It’s obviously a closed space.” Wang Xi seemed to imagine his frantic actions from the sound of the shower curtain, her voice carrying a rare hint of amusement. “He interacted with your Weibo post, very cleverly done. You can check it. No need to reply to him. That would be superfluous. But remember to follow him.”

“Okay.”

After hanging up, Ran Lin wiped a clear path on the foggy mirror.

In the limited space of the mirror, a young man with messy hair from shampoo appeared. Bright eyes, white teeth, youthful energy, somewhere between a boy and a man, with a face full of collagen, past the baby fat but not yet maturely chiseled. Handsome and enduring.

“You can only fool little girls.” Ran Lin poked at the harmless face in the mirror. “Lu Yiyao probably wants to curse your entire family tree now.”

After quickly rinsing his hair and hastily finishing with the shower gel, Ran Lin then rolled back onto his bed with his phone.

Taking a deep breath, with the reverence of reading some important document or a great work, he clicked into Lu Yiyao’s Weibo.

Lu Yiyao’s public demeanor was within Ran Lin’s expectations, but his approach was even more brilliant than Ran Lin had anticipated.

Truly worthy of being a star who could grip both popularity and reputation.

Whether this attitude was Lu Yiyao’s own or his team’s suggestion, it was the most beautiful response.

From the replies under Lu Yiyao’s Weibo, it was clear to see that, aside from fans sending hearts, there was a stream of people turning into fans.

Ran Lin let out a soft sigh, somewhat wishfully thinking that since Lu Yiyao agreed or was willing to post such a Weibo, maybe he wasn’t so opposed to being used for popularity…

[😲 God Lu’s acting skills showcased in the mall. Yun Zhang’s angry soul returns!! [Second-hand video]]

“…and will never, ever, forgive you!”

Why did he impulsively click on this fan-taken video?

Why let him see that the video’s filming time was this very afternoon?

Why, long after the drama had finished shooting, could Lu Yiyao’s acting still be so genuine and immediate?

That night, Ran Lin dreamt about these questions.

In his dreams, the temporary stage in the mall had an extra person who looked and was built just like him. Lu Yiyao’s explosive line was no longer directed at the fans below, but at the person on stage with him.

Later, it seemed like Lu Yiyao wanted to get physical, but the host, sensing trouble, immediately made a joke.

Then Ran Lin woke up, frightened, and couldn’t fall back asleep.

—On this quiet autumn night, Ran Lin, an 18th-tier male star, made a wish that he would never cross paths with Lu Yiyao in this lifetime.

The visit to Han Ze’s drama set went smoothly. Although Han Ze was indifferent to him privately, he displayed unity and friendship in front of the camera, as expected of artists from the same company.

Sure enough, the moment the gossip entertainment reporter saw Ran Lin, they perked up, almost eager to interview him thoroughly about the airport incident.

Fortunately, Wang Xi intervened in time and pulled him away. Otherwise, most of the scenes he prepared for might not have been sufficient.

However, what ultimately appeared in the entertainment program was a somewhat shy and inexperienced young man regarding the airport incident. Far from being arrogant, he sincerely expressed his apologies for the trouble he caused Lu Yiyao.

The interview aired two days later. By then, the fervor over the airport incident had significantly cooled, but the lingering interest remained. Thus, Ran Lin gained a substantial number of new fans and followers.

On the day the program aired, Lu Yiyao responded to his follow—by mutually following each other on Weibo.

Mutual following was precisely the development the company hoped for, much like Lu Yiyao’s previous response, which the company also welcomed.

But for some reason, Ran Lin always found the timing of Lu Yiyao’s actions intriguing.

For example, his response to the Weibo post came after a whole day of the incident fermenting and after Lu Yiyao had recited lines at the mall.

And then, like this time, when the interview aired and the discussion, which had been dying down, revived again.

The timing of Lu Yiyao’s choices seemed like… he was using these actions to express his attitude. And Ran Lin always felt that the clearer Lu Yiyao’s response, the more it indicated that his emotions were fluctuating intensely, even though there was no basis for such a deduction.

The broadcast of the interview and mutual following on Weibo weren’t the end. That evening, a renowned two-dimension artist released a CP video of Yun Zhang x Linghu Xiaodao.

Linghu Xiaodao was the most handsome ancient costume character Ran Lin had ever played, among all his male roles. Although the drama’s viewership was abysmal from start to finish, and even the TV station was reluctant to rerun it, Linghu Xiaodao became the cherished character for a small group of two-dimension fangirls.

Needless to say, Yun Zhang had already become the husband of countless fangirls.

What was even more fatal, the video was excellently produced, combining clips of Yun Zhang and Linghu Xiaodao into a heart-wrenching, fanservice MV. From editing to soundtrack, it was seamless and fluent, making the four-minute video almost more exciting than the two original works.

People in the industry could tell it was professionally made.

Although many top fans create videos for their beloved characters, the timing of this release, right after mutual following and immediately being shared by various marketing accounts, was quite suggestive.

Of course, the melon*-eaters didn’t care about such nuances.

*Term used for gossip/rumors. Melon eaters/eating melons, refers to people who are consuming gossip without taking any sides or expressing any particular opinions.

Especially a wave of fangirls, instantly fired up by the video, were charmed to death.

Yun Zhang and Linghu Xiaodao rapidly ascended the hot search list.

The two parties involved didn’t respond further or interact.

But after all, the loving fangirls were a group capable of conjuring an 80-episode idol drama from a simple mutual follow. Thus, the CP hype, riding on the wave of the airport incident, blew even stronger and farther.

A month later, Ran Lin, who had appeared on several small-scale notices, received a contract for the reality show <National First Love Drifting Story>.

<National First Love Drifting Story> was a star-studded travel, adventure, survival, and challenge reality show heavily invested in by XX Satellite TV.

Judging from the planning alone, it seemed unfocused, a bit of a mishmash, unlike other shows where the focus was clear from the name—be it parenting, puzzle solving, singing, or labor. Even pure travel shows had their selling points—beautiful scenery plus celebrities. Audiences could easily choose what interests them.

But the cast of this show was its distinguishing feature—Lu Yiyao + Zhang Beichen + Xia Xinran + Gu Jie + ?.

These four names were among the brightest new generation in the entertainment industry.

The oldest, Gu Jie, was twenty-five, and the youngest, Xia Xinran, twenty-two. Although there were younger stars in the industry, either their popularity didn’t match up or their image didn’t fit the show’s planning.

More importantly, all five had achieved fame at a young age and had been touted as the “National First Love*” by their companies.

*Term in the entertainment industry referring to stars who capture the hearts of the public with their charming, fresh, and innocent image, reminiscent of one’s first love. Generally, these celebrities are youthful, attractive, and possess certain innocence or purity traits.

Lu Yiyao, needless to say, debuted in a youth campus movie adapted from a novel. Although he was still a sophomore at a university in the UK at the time, he took advantage of the holiday to return to China to play a supporting male role. As soon as the film was released, it achieved good box office results. Coupled with the “acting contrast” provided by the leading actors, Lu Yiyao, who had studied drama and performance at the University of Manchester for less than two years, unexpectedly gained the most popularity and successfully entered the entertainment industry. Of course, later on, because he spent most of his time filming in China, he eventually dropped out of university. Consequently, his management company soon stopped marketing him as a scholarly idol. However, his incomplete college education was still modestly listed in his Baidu Encyclopedia educational background section.

Zhang Beichen and Xia Xinran, 23 and 22, respectively, rose to fame four years ago in a talent show called <You Are Still Young>. At the time, countless girls dreamed of being their girlfriends.

Zhang Beichen, with his sharp eyebrows and starry eyes, was dashing, while Xia Xinran, with red lips and white teeth, was delicate and pretty. Both stunning and handsome, they impressed in subsequent film and television works. To this day, people have gradually forgotten their idol show origins but still remember their “youthful boyfriend” images.

Gu Jie was the most distinct among them—the epitome of hormonal appeal.

He became famous at twenty with an ancient detective drama, playing a taciturn but highly skilled young martial artist. Initially burdened with deep vengeance, he later clears his family’s name and avenges them with the help of the male lead, becoming the lead detective’s loyal hound.

That drama made both the male lead and him famous, especially Gu Jie, who initially received unfavorable reviews—his looks were only average in the demanding idol drama environment, and he had a slightly dark complexion and an odd appearance, perhaps having offended the makeup artist. But later, thanks to his heart-wrenching romance with the second female lead, he rebounded.

And in a scene near the end, the screenwriter showcased his physique.

Only then did people realize, “Holy shit, he’s thin in clothes but muscular without! Totally different from the frail, flowery young men outside!” He exuded raw, sexual masculinity!

That’s just human nature. When someone dislikes you, even your beauty appears ugly, and when they like you, even your ugliness seems handsome.

Besides, Gu Jie wasn’t ugly. After the TV series ended and he attended various promotions, he adopted a clean and dashing style. Gradually, no one thought he wasn’t handsome anymore. Everyone felt he was irresistibly charming, the kind whose mere glance could “impregnate”.

There were five guests, but only four names. During the initial promotion of the show, the fifth guest was represented by the silhouette of a killer from the “Conan” series, a move Ran Lin thought was just a gimmick by the production team.

It wasn’t until Wang Xi handed him the contract that he realized the star the production team had in mind was still considering and hadn’t given a final word, forcing them to wait.

Now that the star had declined due to scheduling conflicts, only they knew the real reasons. Wang Xi finally managed to secure this opportunity for Ran Lin.

Partly due to Wang Xi’s efforts and partly due to luck.

In terms of fame, appearing on the show with these four was a step up for Ran Lin. The production aimed to present the “National First Love”, a concept not so easy to personify. There were many popular stars, but few could claim the title of “National First Love”, be available, and not demand exorbitant fees. After much deliberation, they settled on Ran Lin, whose recent popularity was intertwined with Lu Yiyao.

Although his fame might be somewhat inflated, he was affordable. The price Wang Xi negotiated for his participation in this reality show was a bargain for the production team.

One wanted to rise on the heat of the moment, the other sought the best value for a smooth production. Once they negotiated, it was a perfect match.

“The terms are a bit strict but not excessive. We’re the ones asking, so some compromise is necessary,” Wang Xi said nonchalantly as Ran Lin scrutinized the contract.

Ran Lin blinked, returning to the present. In fact, Wang Xi had misunderstood him; although he was pondering over the contract, his mind was occupied with someone else.

Putting down the contract, Ran Lin looked worriedly at Wang Xi. “Are you sure… he will accept my participation?”

The person Ran Lin hoped never to encounter again—not only might they meet, but they would also be shoulder to shoulder on a rough journey.

Ran Lin was now embarrassed to even think of the other’s name, fearing the gods might record another sin against him.

Wang Xi thought he had a serious question. Hearing this, she smiled. “He signed the contract last month. He won’t break it for you. Besides…” Her makeup-perfect face showed a familiar trace of sarcasm. “His status isn’t high enough to influence the production team’s decisions.”

Ran Lin had nothing more to say.

Actually, he wanted to ask if he could avoid participating, or at least join a different show, and not always be associated with the same person.

But he knew there was no need to ask.

Just looking at the lineup, he knew this variety show would be a hot topic. Wang Xi must have worked hard to secure this opportunity. Missing out on this would mean losing a rare chance.

Shanghai, in a dressing room at a magazine cover photo shoot.

After the stylist finished Lu Yiyao’s makeup and left his agent Yao Hong brought hot news, which shocked Lu Yiyao…

“Ran Lin is the fifth person?!”

And infuriated him.

“I’ve tolerated the fake CP hype but is he planning to exploit me forever?!”

In the makeup room, only Lu Yiyao and Yao Hong remained, but the former still kept his voice as low as possible, expressing his vehement feelings through gritted teeth.

Hong Jie gently patted her artist’s shoulder, a light touch with a calming effect. “He’s affordable and can fit the ‘National First Love’ theme.”

Yao Hong’s voice, as plain and kind as her personality, gradually calmed Lu Yiyao. However, he still found the claim of Ran Lin fitting the show’s theme laughable. “Him, a National First Love?”

Lu Yiyao was naturally charismatic; even his angry expressions were charming.

Fortunately, Yao Hong’s son was already in high school, so managing Lu Yiyao was like taking care of a child, with patience and tolerance.

However, Yao Hong’s ability to bring Lu Yiyao to his current status indicates that she wasn’t a pushover. Unlike Wang Xi’s assertive and flamboyant style, Yao Hong possessed a combination of softness and firmness, handling matters with more tact and thoroughness.

Seeing Yao Hong scrolling through her phone, Lu Yiyao curiously asked, “Hong Jie…”

After a moment, she handed him the phone.

It was an entertainment news article from two years ago, the kind written out of desperation for lack of topics— [If there’s a first love, it must look like you: Ran Lin, the most handsome boy in a white shirt in history.]

The content was negligible, full of clichés.

But the accompanying picture was intriguing. Sunset, playground, horizontal bars, a boy in a white shirt.

“See? Fits the first love theme, right?” Yao Hong teased seeing how engrossed Lu Yiyao was.

Lu Yiyao returned the phone, pondering for a while before commenting, “He’s aged well.”

The boy by the playground and the “fake fan” at the airport, except for their clothes, were indistinguishable.

It was a face forgotten by time, forever young.

“Stop thinking about it and prepare well.” Yao Hong knew Lu Yiyao had accepted reality but still needed time to let go. “This is your first variety show. It’s very important.”

Lu Yiyao, however, struggled in his thoughts one last time. “Is there really no way out?”

Yao Hong looked into his eyes, saying softly but firmly, “One day in the future, you will be a true superstar. Then, everyone who wants to stand by your side will need your consent.”

Lu Yiyao was momentarily speechless.

The photography assistant came in to notify the start of the second set.

Lu Yiyao nodded and followed him out.

He was distracted during the second part of the shoot, only gradually focusing after several reminders from the photographer.

He was pondering Yao Hong’s words.

He wasn’t questioning their validity but wondering if that future was what he truly wanted.

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 颜凉雨 / Yan Liang Yu

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

---

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.

---

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).

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 颜凉雨 / Yan Liang Yu

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

---

Chapter 3

“I can’t take it anymore, hahaha. Ran Lin, you’re really talented. How did you come up with the idea of holding up a light sign, hahaha—”

On the way back, He Jiayi, who had watched the whole process, still couldn’t stop laughing while holding his stomach.

Even Chen Ling, who was usually quiet and reserved, couldn’t help but laugh along.

Everyone thought he did it spontaneously, just to ride on the popularity of Lu Yiyao. But this act was really funny, especially after being recognized by the entertainment journalists. The scene was quite amusing. So instead of mocking, everyone just wanted to laugh heartily.

Ran Lin was laughed at until he lost his temper.

He felt like this incident was like the ancient story of ‘ghost hitting the wall*’—picking up the light sign as if possessed, standing still as if under a spell, facing Lu Yiyao as if destined, and taking a warm photo together as if by fate.

*Phrase that describes a situation where a person becomes trapped in a maze, typically while walking in a familiar place. They feel as if they’re walking in circles or unable to find their way out of a seemingly endless repetition of the same path or scenery. Depending on context, it could mean metaphorically a situation where someone is stuck in a repetitive or confusing scenario in life, unable to find a way out despite their efforts. In this case, it’s the latter.

Perhaps that sign carried the spirit of an obsessed fan, so whoever picked it up would be possessed by the fan’s spirit.

Otherwise, there was no way to explain this absurd mix-up.

But until the end, he didn’t say anything to the journalists. From the moment Lu Yiyao hugged him for a photo until he quickly left after the photo, it was only half a minute. Even when they later realized he might also be a star, there was just a flash of surprise in their eyes. Then, without waiting for his reaction, he gently let go, saying, “I’m really tired from the journey and need to rest, sorry everyone,” perfectly concluding the image of a friendly and approachable star.

The journalists, though they let him pass, still followed Lu Yiyao all the way to the door.

Kang Hui called them to take pictures on another floor, saying Han Ze had already gone back, and the ready photographer thought the scenery there was better.

It wasn’t a discussion, just a notification.

All three of them understood and immediately rushed to the designated place.

The journalists might come back after Lu Yiyao got in the car to dig deeper into the gossip of this lesser-known male star greeting his idol with a light sign, or they might not come back and just continue to follow Lu Yiyao. But none of this mattered to Ran Lin anymore.

The subsequent shooting went smoothly, and soon, the three of them followed their manager back in the car.

Kang Hui finally pieced together what happened from He Jiayi’s snickers and brief comments, and his face darkened.

Ran Lin’s heart sank, knowing he was about to be scolded.

Having been in the industry for two years, although he was still a lesser-known star, he was well aware of the various tricks in the industry.

What is popularity¹? It’s about having buzz².

¹Red (红) In terms of the entertainment circle, this means popularity.
²Heat (热度) In terms of the entertainment circle, refers to buzz. This term is commonly used to measure the success or impact of marketing campaigns, celebrity influence, or the reach of news stories and events in the digital age.

How can one achieve popularity? Those with good conditions, strong connections, resources, and willingness to work hard, aside from accumulating goodwill and visibility through roles in various productions, also need to stir up some topics. Those with poor conditions, lacking background and resources, must resort to all means to grab headlines.

An opportunity like the one he just had was a godsend. What he should have done was to cling to Lu Yiyao’s coattail*, expressing his fanboy feelings even though he was a star himself.

*Clinging/Hugging someone’s thigh. Basically, riding on their coattails (currying favor with someone).

If successful, he could not only ride on the news but also use the opportunity to build a relationship with Lu Yiyao.

Lu Yiyao’s team would naturally not let him slap a young fan’s face in front of the cameras, so whether their relationship is good or not doesn’t matter, as long as the fans think they hit it off from today.

The worst-case scenario would be Lu Yiyao’s fans not buying it and heavily criticizing him.

So what?

Criticism* was also a form of buzz.

*Black. Slandering and creating or spreading black materials (negative information/scandals) to defame someone or some projects, usually done by anti-fans.

But he didn’t say a word in front of the camera, missing the chance to make headlines.

Even if tomorrow the news spreads about him holding a sign waiting for Lu Yiyao, without interaction, communication, or catchy phrases—just a few photos or a few seconds of awkward video—there was no angle to stir up news.

Unexpectedly, Kang Hui didn’t say much; he just gloomily stared at him for a long time, eventually took off his glasses, rubbed his temples tiredly, and then asked Chen Ling, “There’s no problem with the fan meeting the day after tomorrow, right?”

Chen Ling, not knowing how the topic shifted to him, was stunned for a moment before answering, “Oh, no problem. We’ve rehearsed it several times.”

Kang Hui nodded and then rested with his eyes closed, not saying another word.

He Jiayi curled his lips, obviously disgusted with Kang Hui’s attitude throughout the whole process.

It wasn’t out of solidarity with Ran Lin; he just didn’t get along with this agent.

If an artist doesn’t get along with their manager, don’t expect them to become popular.

But He Jiayi didn’t care, as he had already given up on his future and was just waiting for his contract to end to change careers, using his savings to start a second profession.

Ran Lin didn’t dislike his agent. After all, he had been with him since his debut.

But he understood He Jiayi’s feelings.

Because both of them were in the same situation: being abandoned.

Yes, it wasn’t just neglect anymore.

Kang Hui, managing three artists alone with limited experience and resources, could only focus on one.

And Chen Ling was the chosen one.

It was simple. Chen Ling could sing, write songs, and perform well, making him suitable for variety shows, fan meetings, and even writing songs for dramas and movies.

The entertainment industry didn’t lack people who looked good, like Ran Lin and He Jiayi.

But talent was appreciated everywhere.

So facing Ran Lin’s hopeless situation, Kang Hui couldn’t even bother to speak.

Ran Lin gave He Jiayi a faint smile, with a sense of relief and helplessness.

Even if he had clung to Lu Yiyao’s coattail just now, what then? Without work, reputation, resources, or prospects, any buzz would be fleeting.

Hot topics* on Weibo updated every hour.

*Think “trending topics”. 

Even the biggest trending events faded away in a couple of days.

The company’s driver drove like he was racing for his life. Ran Lin, sitting next to the door, rested his head against the window, watching the street scenes swiftly recede.

He was twenty-three this year.

He wondered how much more of his youth he could squander in this industry.

The other protagonist of the airport incident, Mr. Lu Yiyao, forgot about this incident as soon as he turned his head.

After returning to his luxurious apartment in the Chaoyang District and taking a refreshing hot shower, he didn’t even have time to reminisce about the wonderful moments at the film festival before diving into his soft bed for a sound sleep.

On the same night, under the same dawn sky.

One in the CBD center, the other almost out of the East Fifth Ring.

Unbeknownst to the two people dancing with the Duke of Zhou* in their dreams, in another space, on Weibo, where there were thousands of sleepless people, their ‘brotherly love video’ was slowly fermenting.

*This is a humorous idiomatic expression (dancing the cha-cha with the Duke of Zhou) to refer to someone who’s in deep sleep and possibly dreaming. The Duke of Zhou is a revered figure in Chinese history known for his wisdom and moral integrity. In Chinese culture, he’s often associated with dreams.

“Lu Ge, your coffee.”

The clever assistant had long figured out Lu Yiyao’s habits—a sandwich for breakfast without fail, accompanied by a latte if the previous day was normal, or black coffee if he was fatigued or had stayed up late for filming.

Few people would both like a latte with hardly any strong coffee flavor and pure black coffee without any embellishments.

But his boss was an exception.

However, if all your colleagues complained about how difficult stars were to serve, and you found your boss quite agreeable, even often calm when you thought he should be angry, then even a bit of unusual preference was endearing.

“Mm.” Lu Yiyao didn’t even lift his head, just grunted. It seemed like he wasn’t in a good mood.

The assistant froze, thinking, ‘You really can’t praise people.’ Just after he did, the coffee wasn’t taken, and the usual “thank you” was gone too. Although he didn’t expect it, after getting used to it, it was still awkward when it was taken away.

Despite his internal complaints, the assistant promptly placed the coffee on the table in front of the makeup mirror.

The makeup artist, who had finished Lu Yiyao’s makeup and was working on his hair, gave the assistant a look, and he understood, quietly stepping back.

The boss was angry.

And it was that kind of anger that couldn’t be resolved by cultivation; only suppressed, causing an internal turmoil.

His phone slammed onto the table, hitting the coffee cup. Fortunately, the coffee shop’s takeaway packaging was sturdy, only sliding half a centimeter to the side before steadying itself.

Lu Yiyao had been scrolling through Weibo all morning, and the makeup artist had been sneakily watching too.

Although it wasn’t nice, from her perspective as a bystander, this matter was really worth calling a few friends for afternoon tea to gossip about.

Here’s what happened.

At 8 a.m., the famous Lu, who reportedly had barely slept a few hours the night before, was brought directly to the makeup room in a nanny car by his manager, Hong Jie. He had a midday engagement in the city to promote a product he was endorsing.

Although Lu Yi Yao was sleepy-eyed, he professionally let the makeup artist do her work. However, yawning one after another, truly bored, and with the assistant who went to buy breakfast perhaps caught in the morning rush and not yet back, he could only scroll through Weibo and check his mentions, a better option than doing nothing, while making sure not to disturb the muscles in his face.

Little did he know, upon checking a message from a friend in the industry, he would see himself.

Seeing oneself on Weibo wasn’t unusual for Lu Yiyao.

But today was different. In today’s Weibo, beside his own face was another.

The topic was still brewing heat. When Lu Yiyao looked, comments were continuously increasing.

The title was [It’s so sad that ugly people can’t even chase stars these days] accompanied by his photo with Ran Lin and a ten-second video.

The video was hastily shot, noisy, but the picture was clear, and the reporters’ teasing at the end was very audible.

He and Ran Lin, standing shoulder to shoulder, objectively speaking, made a pretty scene.

That was when Lu Yiyao remembered last night’s episode.

Soon, the top two or three similar Weibo posts had over a thousand replies, as people who scrolled at night had gone to bed and those up for work continued scrolling.

Most hot comments were like, “Ahhh, this is too handsome” or “Wow wow, my God Lu’s charm is unbeatable.”

There were a few true fans criticizing Ran Lin for riding on popularity, but they were quickly responded to by rational fans with, “There’s nothing wrong with one more person liking him. Please don’t attract hate towards God Lu.”

Lu Yiyao was used to being used for popularity, and besides, Ran Lin hadn’t done anything troublesome on camera or said anything outrageous.

In fact, the guy didn’t say a word.

This made Lu Yiyao uncertain whether it was a publicity stunt or genuine fandom.

But in just half an hour.

The direction of public opinion subtly shifted.

First, a few netizens forwarded the video and asked, “Am I the only one who thinks Ran Lin’s laugh looks very awkward 😂?”

Then, more and more netizens replied, “You’re not alone 😏*.”

*Note: This is supposed to be a doge emoji like this.

And then something miraculous happened—airport surveillance footage leaked.

In the video, from his “body double” attracting the fans away to Ran Lin hesitantly picking up the light sign, then looking at the trash can, and finally, his own dashing arrival at the exit, mistaking someone as a fan and embracing them.

The surveillance video was silent, but just watching it, it could be interpreted as “Ran Lin deliberately picking up the light sign pretending to be a fan.”

But what ultimately led the narrative was “What to do when mistaken as a fan by a star? I really just wanted to protect the environment 😂.”

This topic was much more dramatic than the previous one, and it was the kind of reversal that the public loves to see.

Soon, the two videos were spliced together by some entertainment marketing account with thoughtful post-production, especially the thirty-second video where Ran Lin didn’t say a word, bizarrely given start-to-end subtitles, fittingly dramatic.

He hugged Ran Lin’s shoulder, and Ran Lin was stunned— [This star…. This might be a misunderstanding.]

He pulled Ran Lin to face the camera, and Ran Lin was still stunned— [What should I do? Should I run now?!]

Halfway through the video, Ran Lin subtly sighed— [Well, let’s not face slap anyone. It’s just a mistake.]

In the last third, Ran Lin showed an awkward smile— [I’m so tired…]

In the final scene, reporters shouted randomly, but Ran Lin continued to smile— [Lu Yiyao, you owe me an Oscar.]

The video ended with a dark screen with red text— [I’m not your fan, but I love you deeply. — Ran Lin]

As soon as the video was released, various marketing accounts immediately went crazy sharing it, and it instantly became a hot topic.

The watching crowd was dumbfounded, but because the subtitles added were so humorous, the comments were uniformly filled with “hahahahahaha.”

If Lu Yiyao couldn’t smell something fishy at this point, then his four years in the entertainment industry would have been in vain.

Regardless of whether Ran Lin picking up the light sign was accidental or deliberate, this current trend was definitely led by the other party’s team.

Although Lu Yiyao’s status in the entertainment industry was still that of a junior, he was at the peak of both topic and popularity, a critical phase where traffic and popularity were exploding. If handled well, the future would be a smooth road. To get involved with him at this time was indeed a clever calculation.

Fortunately, Ran Lin was completely unknown, so the gimmick of “star misunderstanding star” in this video was actually not much different from “star misunderstanding a passerby”. The only point of humor was “how awkward”, but once the awkwardness was over, it was over—just a joke that couldn’t stir up much trouble.

This could be seen from the comments; even the hottest marketing accounts only had around two thousand comments below.

As long as he didn’t respond, the heat of this matter would quickly fade.

In this self-comforting relief, Lu Yiyao waited for his assistant’s coffee.

It was really just the assistant’s bad luck.

If he had returned just two minutes earlier, Lu Yiyao wouldn’t have been so angry.

Unfortunately, neither early nor late, at the very moment he spoke, Lu Yiyao’s well-cultivated heart just happened to explode into pieces of shit.

—The names Ran Lin and Lu Yiyao, tied together, parachuted into the hot search*.

*This is the title of the novel. See Kinky Thoughts for more details.

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Kinky Thoughts:

The title of the novel is (空降热搜) which transliterated means Airborne Hot Search. In terms of context, I went with Suddenly Trending (which is basically what’s happening here).

Just a note, I’m not familiar with Weibo or the emojis/gifs/ect. they use. I hear it’s similar to Twitter. For emoticons I can’t find, I’ll try to substitute with what I think match best, leaving a footnote behind (similar to the doge emoji).

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