TL: Hua
The lawyer Lin Yanran hired was expensive, but their major advantage was a previous, similar lawsuit they’d handled for another celebrity in the industry, which they had won quickly.
Although Lin Yanran’s situation wasn’t identical to the other artist’s, both cases involved “tyrannical contract” disputes.
The lawyer was very experienced. After a detailed discussion with Lin Yanran, he began to collect materials to help him file a lawsuit in court.
When Lin Yanran got home that evening, he felt a huge weight lift off his shoulders.
While he knew the lawsuit ahead might have many twists and turns, at least once the contract was terminated, he wouldn’t have to be controlled by anyone else.
After a shower, Lin Yanran checked the latest schedule that Yingying had sent him.
He had nothing scheduled for the next two days, with his next announcement being an on-location shoot for Super Idol in two days.
Having stayed up late for nearly a week straight, Lin Yanran filled a foot basin with hot water after his shower.
Staring at the water, he suddenly thought of his grandmother.
When he was a child, his father was busy with the family business and often away from home, and his mother was always traveling the world for various dance performances. His brother was busy with his studies and didn’t have time to play with him. So, from kindergarten onwards, Lin Yanran loved to go to his grandmother’s house after school.
His grandmother had a lot of musical instruments at her house.
There were pianos, violins, guzheng, and pipa. Every time he visited, he would ask her to teach him.
Every day, after they played music together until nine in the evening, she would have him soak his feet with her.
His grandmother used a large basin, and he used a small one beside her. Sometimes he was so tired that he would fall asleep while soaking.
Influenced by his health-conscious grandmother, he had stubbornly kept up this habit for over ten years.
It was surprising to him that after he arrived in this world, this habit was so easily broken because of his work.
This small, ordinary habit wasn’t something Lin Yanran ever thought was special.
But now he found that it had become a way to feel connected to those he missed.
However, Lin Yanran wasn’t one to dwell on melancholy.
Although he didn’t know if he would ever have the chance to see his family again, he knew in his heart that he had to stay healthy to be ready for that opportunity.
And the work Ding Weikang had been arranging for him was clearly taking a toll on his health.
Lin Yanran rubbed his throbbing temples, ready for an early night’s sleep. He wanted to spend the next two days recovering his energy.
However, just as he was thinking this, Ding Weikang called him.
He was told he had a last-minute, urgent shoot and that he would be filming for the next two days.
The next day, before he had even woken up, Lin Yanran was pulled into a whirlwind of shoots.
As a small company, Day and Night Entertainment was willing to take on almost any job to make a quick buck.
As long as the money was good, they agreed to have Lin Yanran appear on any show, without any consideration for the quality of the resource. His schedule was completely packed.
In just two days, Lin Yanran rushed through five shoots, and two of the shows were recorded late into the night. He stayed up until two or three in the morning every day.
By the time he arrived for the on-location Super Idol shoot, the normally lively Lin Yanran looked on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion. Yingying was so furious she wanted to tear Ding Weikang apart.
The next round of live performances for Super Idol was about to begin. This on-location shoot was the final event before the new competition format started. As a mentor, Lin Yanran was to participate with the trainees from his team.
For this on-location episode, the four groups of trainees were shooting in different locations.
Tangtang’s group was doing a jungle adventure challenge. Pei Luo’s group was playing an escape room game. Han Zhe’s group was playing a werewolf game, and Lin Yanran’s group had drawn a campus “Battle Royale.”
Lin Yanran hadn’t slept much when the crew’s car pulled up in front of a famous high school.
He rubbed his eyes and stepped out, his face still full of sleepiness.
Just as he got out of the car, he heard someone calling his name from a distance.
“Yanran!”
“Yanran, baby, your mom loves you!”
Lin Yanran paused and looked back, confused.
Your mom loves you??????
Seeing that Lin Yanran was looking at them, a few fans became even more excited and waved, calling his name again.
Lin Yanran waved back and gave them a polite nod and smile.
The fans who received a response screamed even louder.
However, after a few seconds of excitement, they noticed the dark circles under Lin Yanran’s eyes.
The words of confession they were about to say turned into expressions of deep concern.
“Yanran, you need to rest well.”
“Baby, don’t overdo it.”
“Okay,” he replied softly.
Seeing their worry, Lin Yanran responded gently, then followed the staff inside to get his makeup done.
To fit the theme of the campus “Battle Royale,” the stylist put Lin Yanran in a student uniform.
He was too sleepy at first to notice the clothes.
It was only after his hair and makeup were done, and he was more alert, that he realized the uniform he was wearing was identical to the one he wore in high school.
His school’s uniforms were very distinct.
The girls’ uniforms were cute and delicate, and the boys’ uniforms were gentlemanly and refreshing. Although they only had to be worn once or twice a semester, they were truly memorable.
Lin Yanran stared at the uniform on his body for a long time, his handsome brows furrowed slightly.
This was a fictional world from a novel, so how could there be such a coincidence?
“Teacher Yanran, please take a look at today’s schedule.”
The words from a staff member pulled Lin Yanran, who was lost in thought, back to reality.
He hid the surprise in his eyes, took the schedule, quickly scanned it, and followed the staff to the filming location.
His work for this episode was relatively simple. All he had to do was announce the rules to the trainees and act as a checkpoint NPC, since the main focus of Super Idol was always the trainees.
Soon, he stood in front of the camera with his cue cards.
“Hello, students of Rhine Academy.”
Lin Yanran bowed slightly to the camera.
The moment he spoke, the fifteen trainees sitting below him started cheering.
“Wow!!!”
“Hello, senior!”
“You’re so handsome, senior!”
This was the first time they had seen Lin Yanran in a school uniform. Combined with his face, he was the perfect embodiment of a campus heartthrob.
They had long known that Teacher Yanran’s visuals were stunning, but this fresh look truly took their breath away.
Lin Yanran curved his lips into a light smile. After a short interaction with the trainees and a chorus of screams, he announced the rules of today’s game.
The rest of the time was for the trainees to find clues and solve the game’s puzzles around the campus.
As the person providing the checkpoint clues, Lin Yanran followed the crew to various puzzle rooms.
While waiting for the trainees in a physics lab, the door suddenly opened.
Lin Yanran looked up and saw that it was Gu Siyue.
“Teacher Gu.”
Lin Yanran immediately stood up to greet him.
Gu Siyue walked over to Lin Yanran, but his eyes were drawn to the school uniform Lin Yanran was wearing.
“How did you end up here?”
Unaware of Gu Siyue’s intense gaze, Lin Yanran took a sip of water from his thermos.
Gu Siyue slowly pulled his eyes away from Lin Yanran’s uniform and replied, “I have a random filming task, and I was assigned to your group.”
“So you’re going to be an NPC like me?” Lin Yanran asked.
“Yep.” After saying that, Gu Siye glanced at Lin Yanran again. “Did you wear it before…”
Just as he spoke, a trainee ran in, pushing the door open quickly.
“Is this where we exchange clues?” they asked excitedly after solving their puzzle.
Lin Yanran nodded at them. “This is it. Congratulations on getting the first clue.”
After the first group, a second and third group of trainees quickly followed.
Lin Yanran and Gu Siyue became busy. Once all the clues for the first checkpoint were redeemed, they moved to a new location.
The clues for this next checkpoint seemed more difficult to find. Lin Yanran and Gu Siyue waited for a long time in a lecture hall without anyone showing up.
“Have you not been getting enough rest these past few days?”
Gu Siyue, who was sitting next to Lin Yanran, asked quietly after seeing how tired he looked. He was constantly yawning.
Lin Yanran nodded, rubbing his temples with both hands. “The company’s scheduled a lot of announcements for me.”
Gu Siyue remembered what Zhong Xiao had told him about Lin Yanran’s company and frowned. “Your body won’t be able to handle this for much longer.”
Lin Yanran smiled wryly. “My company is pretty demanding.”
But luckily, they won’t be for much longer, he thought.
Gu Siyue’s frown deepened. He wanted to ask Lin Yanran about the progress of his contract termination. However, he hadn’t heard any news and worried that it was too private of a question. He decided to change his approach. “If you ever have any problems, you can tell me.”
Lin Yanran mumbled a soft “okay.” Then, feeling too tired to stay awake, he leaned back and fell asleep.
After a few minutes, Lin Yanran shifted slightly to get more comfortable, resting his head on Gu Siyue’s shoulder.
With the support of another person’s shoulder, Lin Yanran finally fell into a more comfortable sleep. He stopped moving and remained in this position, falling into a deep sleep.
Gu Siyue turned his head slightly and looked at the person sleeping peacefully beside him. His heart, which had been cold for many years, seemed to soften.
Twenty minutes later, Xia Xingxing, who had struggled to find his clue, walked into the room happily, holding his clue card.
But as soon as he entered, he saw Gu Siyue sitting in the front row, signaling him to be quiet. His eyes then fell on Lin Yanran, who was sleeping with his head on Gu Siyue’s shoulder.
Xia Xingxing, understanding Gu Siyue’s signal, immediately covered his mouth with his hands. As he turned to leave, his heart was pounding.
Ahhh, is this a scene that we fanboys are even allowed to see?! ! !
My idol and Gu Siyue! ! !
I’m shipping this! ! !
After filming wrapped up that afternoon, the post-production team worked overtime to release some behind-the-scenes footage.
Lin Yanran only appeared in two shots in the trailer. However, these two shots were screenshotted and viewed by countless people.
[Ahhhhh, this is my husband, right?]
[My dream guy, hello!]
[Senior, I love you!!!]
Rhine Academy’s uniform was already considered stylish and cool, but with Lin Yanran’s handsome face, the combination was stunning. Soon, #YanranDreamGuy was on the real-time hot search list, on its way to the top 50.
But not long after, someone dug up a photo of Lin Yanran working a promotional event for a real estate project on the day of his college entrance exam.
Wanwan Wanwan Wanwan: How dare someone who doesn’t even take the college entrance examination for the sake of money have the nerve to market themselves as a high school heartthrob?
The lack of education among some celebrities in the entertainment industry was already a frequent topic of criticism.
Celebrities with lower education levels were often targets of ridicule. In the public eye, celebrities, as public figures, were expected to set a positive example.
When this old news was brought up again, Lin Yanran’s blatant disregard for the exam was seen by many as more than just a lack of education. It was completely unacceptable.
[I’ve been a fan of his recently, but now I’m so turned off.]
[If you can’t get into university, that’s a problem with your ability. At least you took the college entrance exam and showed your attitude. But Yanran can’t even be bothered to pretend to care?]
[When I heard rumors about him, I used to think he just had a low education level, but I can’t believe he ran off to a promotional event on his college entrance exam day. This is so unsightly.]
[How desperate for money are you? Going to a promotional event… that’s so low-class!!!]
[You just marketed yourself as being smart and a “game bug” for a good image. Does this not make you feel embarrassed now?]
[Don’t you feel ashamed wearing that high school uniform?]
[Now I understand why you had so many haters before. With this kind of attitude, you deserve to not be famous.]
[Damn, someone suspected that Almighty Showdown was scripted and that the production team gave him the answers. I argued that it was impossible, but now I feel so dumb.]
[How could a person with such a limited perspective suddenly become so good? Just listen to the songs he used to release, and you’ll know his real skill level.]
[The show’s just helping him build a good reputation. You actually believed it?]
Lin Yanran’s recent popularity from the two variety shows had gained him many casual fans.
In their eyes, he was capable, smart, and had many endearing qualities.
However, with the old rumors resurfacing and the huge gap between his past and present image, these fans felt deceived, and many began to turn against him.
Within a short time, the #YanranDreamGuy hashtag died down completely. Instead, negative hashtags related to him were trending in the top three.
When a celebrity’s image collapses, the backlash is severe, especially when the contrast is as stark as this. People flocked to Lin Yanran’s Weibo to scold him, demanding an explanation.
In just two hours, there were more than 200,000 angry comments on his Weibo.
When Ding Weikang saw this, he became as anxious as a cat on a hot tin roof.
Lin Yanran had just become famous and hadn’t made enough money yet, but the first big scandal to hit was something they had created.
In the past, he wouldn’t have cared and would have left Lin Yanran to fend for himself. But recently, Lin Yanran had been making so much money for the company that they couldn’t afford to let him go. So, Ding Weikang urgently contacted a PR team to try and handle the situation.
While he was discussing strategies with the PR team, he tried calling Lin Yanran. But no matter how many times he tried, Lin Yanran didn’t answer.
He then sent him a voice message.
“Yanran, don’t reply to this trending topic about you not taking the exam. I’m working on a solution for you right now.”
Still feeling uneasy, he added, “No matter who asks you, keep quiet. Don’t say that the company told you not to go.”
After that, Ding Weikang tried calling Lin Yanran a few more times, but the calls still didn’t go through. He eventually had to ask one of Lin Yanran’s assistants to go find him.
Just as he was giving instructions to the assistant, a senior executive from the company stopped him.
“Don’t bother with PR,” the person told him. “Yanran is terminating his contract with us.”
Ding Weikang’s mind went blank. “What?” he asked in disbelief.
“Check Weibo.”
Ding Weikang frantically opened Weibo and went to Lin Yanran’s page. Sure enough, Lin Yanran’s original post, which had tens of thousands of angry comments, was now buried.
The post pinned at the top was a contract termination statement and a lawyer’s letter.
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Thank you for translation 🙏