“That film Lu Ning acted in recently—word is, aside from the original investment, President Lu of the Lu Group personally added extra funding just for him. I looked into Lu Ning’s background—it’s squeaky clean. Just an ordinary young man. I couldn’t dig up anything deeper in such a short time, but one thing’s clear: President Lu values him highly, and it’s not even subtle. Right now, even the neighboring film crew’s lunch is fully provided by President Lu. He even sends over cold drinks from time to time to help the staff cool off.”
Xing Ze’s agent relayed what he had gathered and couldn’t help but advise, “President Lu’s protection of Lu Ning is obvious to anyone. Their relationship is extremely close—it’s common knowledge at this point. Xing Ze, don’t go messing with Lu Ning. With your current popularity and standing in the industry, you don’t need to take risks like this. Just keep putting out better work and take good care of your image. Stay on top for another ten, maybe even eight years—that’s entirely doable.”
Xing Ze sneered. “And what happens after those ten or eight years? Look at the ones who used to be at the top of the game. Now they’re washed up, begging for roles just to get by. You want to see me end up like that? Fans are fickle. Today, they’re worshiping you like a god; tomorrow, they’ve already moved on to someone else. Popularity—can you really rely on something that fleeting?”
The agent looked at Xing Ze seriously. “So what do you want to do? I don’t object to you finding yourself a powerful backer. If you have what it takes, go for it. But if you get it backwards, and you end up losing everything trying to chase that backer, then you’re just digging your own grave. Xing Ze, I raised your career with my own hands. If you succeed, I succeed, too. But if President Lu doesn’t have that kind of interest in you, then don’t try to force yourself into his orbit. Let me give it to you straight. Even if your fanbase is massive right now, with people crying life and death over you, in the eyes of those powerful bosses, you’re still nothing. You want to play games? Fine, but know your limits.”
Xing Ze wasn’t angered by the words. He just chuckled softly. “I’m not stupid. I’m not one of those people who get a little praise and start thinking the world can’t contain them anymore. I’m not dumb enough to throw away my future over something like this.”
“You’d better not be.”
Xing Ze leaned back on the couch, flipping through a magazine. His background wasn’t anything special. At best, his family was middle class. That’s why he loved reading luxury magazines the most. He once heard a joke: a gold-digging girl went with a guy who drove a 300,000-yuan car, but turned down flowers from another guy wearing sneakers worth over a million. He didn’t want to be blind like that. After so many years in the entertainment industry, if nothing else, he knew his way around luxury cars, watches, and major high-end fashion brands. One look, and he could tell exactly how much someone’s outfit was worth.
Thinking of what he saw that day, Xing Ze said to his agent, “Do you know what I was thinking when I saw Lu Ning?”
The agent leaned against the window, smoking. Hearing that, he glanced over. “What were you thinking?”
Xing Ze said, “The shoes he was wearing that day—I have the same pair. Over seven hundred thousand. I keep them in my shoe cabinet and wouldn’t dare wear them unless it’s a major event or a street shoot. But he just wore them and walked around casually in that kind of public restroom. And when he mentions liking a watch worth over ten or twenty million, it just rolls off his tongue. I work my ass off for a whole year just to buy something around a million, and I still feel the pinch. So what if my popularity is higher than his? In this circle, who isn’t racking their brains to keep up appearances just to avoid being overshadowed? It looks glamorous on the surface, but in reality? Hah.”
The agent shook his head. In this world of vanity, money and glory come too quickly. It’s all too easy to lose oneself.
Yang Shun, holding his phone, found Lu Ning waiting on set. Seeing him sitting there with no regard for image, blowing himself in front of a fan, he walked over and pulled the fan back a bit. “I told you not to blast yourself like that. It’ll give you a headache.”
Lu Ning clicked his tongue. “It’s hot, okay? The AC in this studio is basically useless. In a few days we’ve got to shoot outdoors, I feel like I’ll go insane just thinking about it.”
“Don’t go insane just yet. Since when did you get so chummy with Xing Ze? Why didn’t I know about it?”
Lu Ning looked puzzled. “What Xing Ze? What chummy? Did he pay people to smear me?”
Yang Shun handed him the phone. “Smear? More like claiming you two hit it off and saying next time you should have hot pot together.”
Lu Ning took the phone. The screen was showing Xing Ze’s latest Weibo post. The photo was of him in a hat, taking a selfie in front of a hot pot. The caption said he was lucky enough to run into him at the same restaurant, but unfortunately forgot to take a photo together before they parted. He even said Lu Ning looked really handsome, totally worthy of being called a “little fairy guy”, and claimed they had a great conversation and hit it off, even calling him a new friend—very happy.
Reading all this shameless, one-sided nonsense, Lu Ning’s eyes went wide. “How can he be this shameless?! Where did we hit it off? Who wants to be his friend?!”
Yang Shun quickly tugged at his sleeve. “Little ancestor, keep your voice down! No matter what you think inside, you can’t say it out loud! Did you two really meet that day?”
Lu Ning nodded, then launched into his masterful retelling—complete with exaggeration and dramatics—recounting the brief encounter from start to finish: “You didn’t see it, but when Chenghe told him to move aside, that guy’s face turned red like a cooked crab. I thought he had thick skin, but the moment he heard Chenghe agree to buy me a watch worth tens of millions, the look he gave me, he looked like he wanted to eat me alive. And this is what he calls ‘getting along’? ‘Making friends’? How does he have the nerve to say that out loud!”
Seeing Yang Shun frowning in thought, Lu Ning reached out to pull the fan back toward himself again. He slouched in the chair, long legs sprawled out, not caring at all about his image. Yang Shun glanced at this utterly carefree guy and sighed. “I’ll contact Brother Bei Xiao first. This matter needs a response. If we leave it alone, we’re definitely making an enemy.”
Lu Ning interjected, “The enmity’s already set in stone. He tried to seduce my Chenghe. He obviously had bad intentions. That grudge is beyond reconciliation.”
After saying that, Lu Ning couldn’t help adding, “What’s he even trying to do? Is this his way of extending an olive branch, planning to cozy up to me so he can slowly get close to Lu Chenghe? That guy’s got a real scheming mind!”
“I think he’s brewing something big.”
Hearing the voice, both of them turned their heads. Ni Hao had just finished his scene and was walking over carrying his costume to rest. After hearing Lu Ning’s words, he couldn’t resist chiming in. Seeing Ni Hao approach, Yang Shun shut his mouth and gave Lu Ning a pointed look, signaling him not to speak carelessly. No matter how close people seemed on set, it was always smart to stay guarded. Some things just shouldn’t be said in front of outsiders.
Lu Ning asked curiously, “Brewing what kind of big move? Is he pretending to befriend me now, just so he can stage some big public fallout down the line, spin himself as the victim, and then unleash his fans to tear me apart? That would take so much time and effort!”
Ni Hao chuckled lightly. “That’s nothing. There are way worse things in this industry. Hiring thugs, cursing people with Thai black magic—those aren’t even rare. Scheming to ruin someone while walking away squeaky clean, maybe even gaining a good reputation in the process. If that takes a year of planning, so what? That’s a bargain.”
Lu Ning, who was more the type to deal with grievances on the spot, couldn’t make sense of that kind of mindset at all. He turned to look at Yang Shun with wide eyes. Yang Shun helplessly took the phone back from him. “You just focus on acting. Don’t wander off after filming, or the paparazzi will catch you. I’ll handle the rest.”
Lu Ning flopped onto the chair, reached into the small fridge beside him, and fished out two popsicles. He handed one to Ni Hao and tore open the other for himself, gnawing on it as he sighed. “Such a pain. Can’t people just mind their own business and do their own thing? Why do they always have to stir up trouble?”
Halfway through eating his popsicle, Lan Shao, who had been introduced by Lu Ning and landed a small role in the drama, walked over in costume.
Lu Ning waved his paw in greeting. “Hey, you did pretty well just now. There was a lot of tension in your scene. Most of your takes are done in one shot. Looks like I really do have good taste.”
Lan Shao nodded at him. He was used to being alone. Whether it was giving affection or receiving kindness, both made him uncomfortable. But the only reason he’d landed this role was because of Lu Ning. No matter how things turned out in the future, at the very least, Lu Ning had opened a door for him. A person should know how to repay that kind of kindness.
Seeing Lan Shao standing nearby, looking hesitant, Lu Ning stood up with the popsicle still in his mouth. “You’ve got something to say to me?”
Lan Shao nodded, and Lu Ning followed him off to the side. Only after confirming no one else was around did Lan Shao speak in a low voice, “Before I became a trainee, I used to sing at a bar. I once saw that Xing Ze take money from a young girl—she looked like a high school student. It seemed like she had stolen the money from home. After he took it, he turned around and used it to buy drinks for other people.”
Lu Ning immediately clicked his tongue several times. “I knew that guy wasn’t any good.”
Lan Shao stood silently beside him.
Lu Ning asked, “You came over just to tell me this?”
Lan Shao nodded. He’d seen the trending headlines, too. Though he wasn’t sure if telling Lu Ning this would make him seem petty, keeping quiet would go against his conscience.
Lu Ning smiled. “Thanks. I already knew that guy wasn’t a good person, but now that you’ve told me this, I’m even more sure. His character is totally rotten. No way I’m getting tricked by him!”
As soon as he turned around, Lu Ning went straight to Lu Chenghe to tattle: Your baby’s being bullied, wuwuwu, super aggrieved!
Lu Chenghe glanced at his phone and smiled as he replied: Baby’s little fangs aren’t just for show. Go bite.
Lu Ning pouted and sent back a photo of himself licking his canine teeth, along with a hmph emoji to express his dissatisfaction. Hearing the director calling for people, he quickly sent Lu Chenghe a sticker of someone carrying a bundle and heading off to work as if begging for food, then finally put his phone down and went to work.
On the other side, Lu Chenghe set down his phone. He looked silently at Xing Ze’s personal file spread out on the desk for a moment, then pressed the intercom button and instructed his secretary to call Qi Wei over.
