Chapter 62: I Am What Your Sister Ruanruan Says
This translation is originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
After a while, Yan Mu's figure finally appeared.
The three of them sat there, and they saw Yan Mu walking towards the door on this side while looking back. Needless to say, his face bore the charming smile that could charm thousands of girls in an instant. He said, "You've all worked hard. Go back now! I love you all!"
From this angle, they couldn't see the group of fans he was waving to, but they could still hear the screams of his fans from afar. Most of his fans were young girls, probably wanting to follow him to the filming location on this side, but they were stopped by the crew members and couldn't get closer. They could only shout hoarsely to express their excitement.
Yan Mu was handsome, suave, and looked stunning in modern attire, while in ancient clothing, he exuded the aura of an otherworldly and elegant young master. He was currently wearing one of Liu Zhao's costumes, with a purple robe and long boots, his features like a painting, carrying the natural grace of a young emperor. He smiled and bid farewell to the fans as he walked, his pace graceful and unhurried.
Finally, he crossed the doorway and entered, disappearing from the sight of the fans.
Then, Yan Mu suddenly seemed to be in a hurry, as if he had been bitten by a dog. He shed his previous graceful demeanor in an instant, jogging over to the folding chairs where Xi Mo and the others were resting. After a few steps, he almost stumbled, perhaps twisting his foot, narrowly avoiding a clumsy fall. Luckily, he reacted quickly, steadying himself and continuing to run towards them.
Xi Mo: "..."
Ruan Yesheng: "..."
Ding Pei: "..."
Yan Mu ran up to the three of them, and seeing him sweating profusely, Ding Pei quickly fetched a folding chair for him. "Brother Mu, have a seat."
"Thanks." Yan Mu sat down, panting heavily, clearly exhausted from all the commotion.
Xi Mo has always maintained a reserved demeanor in the industry, keeping a polite distance from others. While she is courteous, understanding the industry's need for superficial pleasantries, few have managed to become her true friends or enter her personal life. However, Yan Mu is an exception. Despite Xi Mo's initial aloofness, Yan Mu treats her like a sister, regardless of her reserved attitude. Xi Mo's changed attitude towards Yan Mu during their time on set is noticeable. Despite her current position as Ruan Yesheng, she still cares for him, albeit from a distance to deter his frequent visits.
Noticing Yan Mu's peculiar running posture, Xi Mo asks, "Yan Mu, what happened to your foot?" Yan Mu is surprised and pleased by Ruan Yesheng's unexpected concern, replying, "I accidentally got stepped on by some fans, but it's nothing serious." Those fans who unintentionally stepped on him must feel guilty, they likely won't even bother cleaning their shoes out of embarrassment.
Ding Pei expresses surprise, "Your fans stepped on you?" Perhaps he hasn't witnessed the fervor of Yan Mu's large fanbase, who engulfed him in chaos. Without security and assistants, Yan Mu would have been overwhelmed by them.
Yan Mu sighs, "It was chaotic at the time. They weren't paying attention, and I not only got stepped on but almost got kissed too. Luckily, I managed to avoid it."
Ding Pei finally understood.
Ruan Yesheng pointed to the table and said, "Tangtang bought you a drink. Do you want it?"
"Yes, yes." Yan Mu smiled happily, sweating from the run. He took the drink to moisten his throat and drank from the cup.
Yan Mu's assistant came over and said, "Brother Mu, take off your boots. They're so dirty from being stepped on. I'll take them to the costume department to clean."
He still had scenes to film, and it wouldn't be appropriate for his dirty boots to appear on camera. Yan Mu took off his boots, and the assistant gave him a pair of slippers to wear. With him in imperial attire and wearing slippers, it was inevitably a bit comical.
Because of her association with Xi Mo, Ruan Yesheng was mistakenly called "sister" by him several times. This time, of course, she had to say something. She asked him, "Wasn't the fan visit this time not arranged in advance? You seem a bit flustered."
This translation is originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
Yan Mu felt a little troubled and said, "It wasn't arranged. They came on their own, and I didn't know beforehand. Since they came all this way, it wouldn't be right not to meet them."
Yan Mu's fans and his management team often didn't get along. Sometimes many activities weren't communicated with the management team in advance, whether it was picking him up, fan visits, or other events. If there wasn't any preparation and suddenly so many people showed up, it could indeed be overwhelming. However, Xi Mo's various fan clubs generally communicated with Lu Qingming. Although Lu Qingming's status didn't require him to personally handle such trivial matters, he acted like a motherly figure in front of Xi Mo. Fans felt that the management team truly cared about Xi Mo. With such a dedicated management team, Xi Mo wouldn't suffer any grievances, so fans were willing to communicate with Lu Qingming on many matters. The harmony between fans and the management team reduced many of Xi Mo's troubles.
But Yan Mu was not so lucky.
Xi Mo had heard about Yan Mu's management team and knew there were some issues with them.
Originally a singer, Yan Mu hadn't been famous for long. At first, he was just under a regular manager at the company. Later, the company saw his good looks and wanted him to transition into acting, so they moved him to Lu Yao's side.
Lu Yao had a lot of resources and connections and many other stars under her wing. She didn't pay much attention to him at first. However, after Yan Mu starred in a hit TV series, he suddenly became popular as the male lead, gaining countless fans. Afraid of being criticized as an idol-type, he worked hard to improve his acting skills. With his good personality, he eventually became one of the top male idols in the industry. Lu Yao also changed her attitude towards him and became more enthusiastic. However, Lu Yao also had another popular male idol, Xie Dingkun, under her management. Sometimes, she couldn't focus on Yan Mu, which angered his fans. But Lu Yao, relying on her longstanding position in the company, continued to control him, leading to conflicts between the management team and the fans. Yan Mu was caught in the middle and had his own grievances.
Despite the glamorous facade of being a star, many, like Yan Mu, had signed contracts when they were unknown. These contracts were long and had many restrictive clauses, often favoring the company. Even though they were famous now, the company would still prioritize its interests, and they had to endure many frustrations due to the constraints of the contract. Otherwise, there wouldn't be so many stars affected by contract restrictions.
So many stars, after their contracts expire, start their own studios, becoming their own bosses and no longer enduring grievances. Obviously, although Yan Mu is famous, his contract is still firmly in the hands of the company, and he hasn't reached that level yet.
Yan Mu looked at Ruan Yesheng and whispered, "Sister, it's still Brother Qingming who's better. I envy you."
Ruan Yesheng glanced at Xi Mo and smiled, "Well, he's good, but sometimes he's a bit naggy."
"Brother Qingming nags for your sake," Yan Mu sighed.
Before, Lu Qingming had managed many stars, understanding the business well. He managed one, and they would become popular. Many stars, including Yan Mu, were very polite to him and would call him Brother Qingming. Being a manager to this level was considered top-notch. When Qingming used to manage other people, he only did what was required of a manager. Despite being busy, he always attended many events with Xi Mo, personally arranged assistants and bodyguards for her, and even occasionally went to the airport to arrange baggage check-ins for her. He did many things that weren't even necessary for a manager. Although Xi Mo was the company's biggest moneymaker, having Lu Qingming treat her so meticulously was like having a caring mother, although not exactly. It was mostly Lu Qingming's own will. Later, he told the company he was too busy to handle so many people and only wanted to manage Xi Mo, along with two other relatively worry-free talents.
Managers rely on artists to make money, and many managers manage multiple talents simultaneously. It's rare to see someone like Lu Qingming who is so willing to let go of resources.
Taking advantage of a rare moment of leisure, the few of them sat and chatted.
Yan Mu asked what they had been talking about earlier, and Ding Pei honestly replied, "Just Sister Ruanruan rubbing Sister Xi."
Ruan Yesheng: "..."
Xi Mo: "..."
Do you dare to say it again?!
Yan Mu looked confused: "???"
Ding Pei stood up and walked to Yan Mu: "Brother Mu, let me demonstrate it to you, and you will understand."
He added cautiously, "Sister Ruanruan said I can't absolutely do it like that, so I can't show this demonstration with Sister Xi. But I can with you Brother Mu, don't worry, just once, and you'll get it."
Xi Mo and Ruan Yesheng looked at Ding Pei at the same time, with subtle expressions on their faces.
Yan Mu was hesitant and said, "...then you will demonstrate to me?"
Ding Pei nodded solemnly, put his arm around Yan Mu's shoulders, and said, "Sister Ruanruan just rubbed Sister Xi like this."
Yan Mu: "???"
He still doesn’t understand!
"So why did Miss Ruan rub Sister like that?" Yan Mu asked, being very studious.
Ding Pei took back his hand and sat back again: "Sister Ruanruan wanted to give me a correct demonstration of how to rub off on Sister Xi's popularity, so she went to rub Sister Xi."
Yan Mu: "..."
I seem to understand, but I don’t seem to understand.
Ding Pei was afraid that Yan Mu still wouldn't understand, so he took out his phone again, opened the previous Weibo post where he was mocked by the crowd for trying to gain popularity, patiently explaining it to Yan Mu, who gradually began to understand.
Xi Mo and Ruan Yesheng couldn't bear to watch anymore. They glanced at each other, too lazy to bother with them, and simultaneously lowered their heads to look at their phones. They didn't pay attention to what Ding Pei and Yan Mu were saying. After a while, Ding Pei's voice raised slightly in surprise, "What? You had another quarrel with Sister Lu this time?"
Their attention was diverted again, and Ruan Yesheng asked, "Yan Mu, what's going on between you and Lu Yao?"
Yan Mu frowned, saying, "Sister Lu actually wants me to create a CP,* with Xie Dingkun."
*couple pairing/ship
Nowadays, in the fandom circle, trends change rapidly. Companies have found that creating CPs can increase the exposure of artists, so they secretly manipulate various methods to stir up CPs. Especially if a drama becomes popular, it will generate a large number of corresponding CP fans. Companies seize the opportunity to deliberately arrange interactions between the two parties in events or on Weibo, causing excitement among CP fans.
Especially for some artists who actually don't get along but appear in the same drama, sparking chemistry on screen, they are then forced by the company to create a CP. CP fans cry out: ‘They’re so cute’, but in reality, the main actors who don't get along just think: ‘What nonsense.’
Yan Mu and Xie Dingkun have similar acting styles, both being popular young actors under the same agency. However, due to uneven resource allocation, there's inevitably some tension between them. It's just because they previously starred in a TV series together, with Yan Mu playing a thief and Xie Dingkun playing a constable. Whether it was intentional by the production team or not, the storyline had a lot of interaction between the two characters, leading to a plethora of CP fans for them. When Lu Yao saw the opportunity, she decided to pair Yan Mu and Xie Dingkun together to stir up CP. After all, they're both artists under her agency, and why let others benefit from it when they can take it to the next level themselves?
Ding Pei was shocked when he heard this: "Brother Mu, Sister Lu wants you to create a CP with Xie Dingkun, won't people think you're gay?"
Yan Mu was also shocked: "I'm not gay! I'm the universe’s straightest man!" Perhaps to make his words more convincing, he brought up Xi Mo again, emphasizing, "Just like Sister Xi is the universe’s straightest woman too! We're both extremely straight!"
Xi Mo: "..."
What nonsense are you suddenly spouting! And dragging me into it!
Are you crazy!
Ruan Yesheng wanted to laugh in her heart but maintained a composed expression and calmly asked Yan Mu, "So, can you tell if I'm straight?"
Yan Mu, taken aback by this counter-question, continued to be shocked: “Could it be that Sister is not straight?”
Xi Mo: "..."
Ruan Yesheng said: "Of course I am straight, as straight as spaghetti."
This time, Ding Pei was shocked again: "But cooked spaghetti is curved!"
Xi Mo restrained herself, smiling at Ding Pei, and educated him, saying, "Your Sister Xi meant uncooked pasta, of course, it's very straight."
Are all three of you sick?!
Ruan Yesheng's eyes flickered towards Xi Mo, and she nodded: "I am what your Sister Ruanruan says."
Ding Pei stopped being surprised: "Oh, I see.”
Xi Mo felt that they couldn't continue talking about this issue, so she forcefully changed the subject and asked about Yan Mu, "Your manager asked you to do this, but you wouldn't agree, right?"
Yan Mu nodded, "Yes, I refused. It's not good for my future path, and I really can't stand Xie Dingkun. Xie Dingkun doesn't like me either, so what's the point? It's just that after Sister Lu knew about my decision, her expression wasn't great."
Author's Note:
Thank you everyone, muah muah~
