At 3 PM Beijing time, a topic suddenly rises to a high position on Weibo’s trending searches.
“#Jiang Nan’an Persona#”
Clicking into the trending plaza, the top hot post is a screenshot of an anonymous user’s answer on Zhihu.
“Which celebrities in the entertainment circle gain fans through fake personas while acting differently in public and private?”
[Anonymous user: I don’t know about others, but I’ll mention a recent one. A certain star whose fans praise him as the “flower on a high ridge,” “face emperor of Chinese entertainment,” and “ceiling of cool atmosphere” is actually extremely mean-spirited and a workplace bully. I’m a staff member of a certain production, and yesterday this “ceiling master” finished shooting. When a new actor went over for a photo, he was nitpicked and criticized, implying directly and indirectly that the newcomer’s acting wasn’t good enough. Heh, if the acting isn’t good, aren’t you still just playing a supporting role? Just say directly you’re jealous that the newcomer got the male lead in his first drama, instead of putting on a senior’s airs to pressure people. Disgusting, ugh-]
After the topic was listed, it immediately attracted millions of views, and the originally quiet comment section was rapidly filled with lengthy comments.
[There’s a girl called Xiaofang: OP seems very bitter, I can smell the sourness through the screen, haha. If it’s really about the parachuted actor and Xiao Shan[mfn]Little Mountain, Jiang Nan’an’s nickname[/mfn], I’m not surprised, after all, fans follow their idols. But where did the parachuted actor get fans? Someone should use their main account to speak.]
[In Xiao Shan’s Arms: LOL, are the parachuted actor’s fans this arrogant now? Xiao Shan purely likes the character and doesn’t care about screen time or billing. He turned down an S+ male lead role to do charity work and boost your idol’s status, and this is how you repay him-saying he deserves to be a supporting actor for newcomers? 666~]
[Giving You a Big Scoop: Jealous of what? Jealous of whom?? I’m laughing out loud-don’t tell me people don’t know Jiang Nan’an’s first work in the industry was Director Wei’s “Spring Breeze”… Don’t tell me people think Jiang Nan’an would be jealous of a web drama male lead…]
[Ruthless Mother Mantis: Ugh, without recordings or evidence, it’s all treated as rumors. Not to mention, Jiang is indeed a senior… Is a three-time award-winning actor not qualified to guide newcomers?]
[Mountain Factory Worker: LOL, you don’t mention a word about the parachuted male lead wasting resources, acting big despite being small-time, and using stand-ins in every scene, but when a senior says a few words on set, you exaggerate and twist it. Taking Xiao Shan away-instead of wasting time on this, why not go to the theater in a few days to judge Xiao Shan’s new movie “Land of Blood Silence”?]
When agent Qi Hong received the notification and opened Weibo’s trending searches, she felt her vision go black.
“Xiao Sun? Xiao Sun!!”
Assistant Xiao Sun hurriedly ran in upon being summoned. The young man with big blinking eyes carried a hint of clear foolishness, still looking confused as he entered:
“What’s wrong, Sister Hong?”
“Did Jiang Nan’an have another meltdown on set last night? What did he say to Liang Cheng?? Why wasn’t I notified???”
Qi Hong was so angry that steam seemed to rise from her forehead, her freshly permed waves showing signs of straightening again. She slapped the tablet into Xiao Sun’s hands for him to see for himself.
Xiao Sun looked at the screen in confusion, and after a few seconds, his pupils shook:
“Sis- Sister Hong… Yesterday when Brother finished shooting, it was already 2 AM, so I didn’t disturb you. I originally wanted to tell you first thing this morning but I forgot… But it wasn’t like that! How could Brother workplace bully anyone!”
Qi Hong held her forehead and slammed the table in despair:
“Don’t I know what kind of person he is? No need to explain for him, I just want to know what exactly happened yesterday!”
To be honest, when she first saw this topic, Qi Hong almost couldn’t catch her breath.
Only because her artist Jiang Nan’an had become famous at a young age and was extremely popular, with no scandals or negative news to date. What had supported him to safely and cleanly get to where he is today were just two words-his persona.
This man possessed a face and figure so perfect that no flaws could be found, acting skills, insight, and talent praised endlessly by major directors, and he was extremely serious about his work. He never got involved with women or caused trouble for his agent. If there were a “Most Perfect Artist in an Agent’s Heart Ranking,” he would absolutely be in first place by a wide margin based on these points.
Unfortunately, nobody’s perfect. When God opened his door, He inevitably had to close his window, and this closure was a major one-this man had a peculiar personality with extremely low emotional intelligence, and was completely clueless about social niceties. When he went crazy, he would fight against heaven and earth, treating all beings equally, with a mental state frighteningly beautiful.
In the entertainment industry, where any flaw would be infinitely magnified, Jiang Nan’an’s shortcoming was absolutely fatal. Qi Hong had strictly established three rules with Jiang Nan’an, making him talk less and be himself less in order to protect him until today. But she still couldn’t eat or sleep well every day, fearing that this ticking time bomb would one day jump out and cause a huge explosion.
Like now.
“Aiya, this really isn’t Brother’s fault. That Liang Cheng suddenly came over asking for a photo together, and without warning put his arm around Brother’s shoulders, with his eyes and hands wandering to places they shouldn’t go. Hasn’t their side been wanting to hype up a CP relationship with Brother? But you’ve always refused, Sister Hong. I figured he wasn’t giving up and wanted to ride on Brother’s coattails when he finished shooting. Brother himself wasn’t very happy about it.”
Xiao Sun recalled the scene from last night.
Qi Hong listened with her temples throbbing:
“And then? Did Jiang Nan’an go crazy?”
“No, Brother held back!” Xiao Sun clenched his fist with tears in his eyes:
“Brother has really grown up, he could even endure this. But later when Liang Cheng politely said he hoped to work with Brother again… Brother said,” Xiao Sun cleared his throat and imitated Jiang Nan’an’s tone, saying coolly:
“Huh? Work together? That won’t happen.”
“…And then?”
“Then Liang Cheng asked why, and Brother said his acting wasn’t good. After that I was too shocked to think straight, and I don’t remember clearly what else Brother said, just that he kept bringing up old grievances and listed seven deadly sins for Liang Cheng. Oh right, finally he also told Liang Cheng that he wanted to find a prettier tree to hang himself… I think Brother really had it rough this time. Wasn’t the original male lead for this drama supposed to be Teacher Sheng? But suddenly a parachuted actor came and kicked Teacher Sheng out. Not only couldn’t he handle the role, but his work attitude was terrible. Brother’s mood has been much lower during his time in the production.”
“I know all these circumstances. But didn’t I tell him that when there are two or more strangers around, he’s not allowed to be himself???”
Jiang Nan’an usually obeys well, so Qi Hong really couldn’t understand why he slipped up this time.
“Yes, but…” Xiao Sun scratched his face:
“Yesterday Liang Cheng came alone, and Brother was eating a late-night snack in the corner, so there were only the three of us present. So you can’t really say Brother didn’t follow the agreement…”
Hearing this, Qi Hong paused.
If the facts were really as Xiao Sun described, then how did this news get out?
Thinking about it gave her a headache, so Qi Hong didn’t dwell on it further. Anyway, things had already reached this point.
She waved her hand:
“Alright, I got it. You can go now.”
Xiao Sun breathed a sigh of relief and slipped away sneakily. Qi Hong began contacting people to remove the trending topic, working frantically. When she finally had a moment to breathe, she had time to call the person involved and question him.
“Beep beep boop beep-”
The phone vibrated, making strange little robot noises, and the screen lit up, adding a bit of light to the dark room.
The study had thick curtains drawn, enveloping the entire space in darkness.
A slender man sat in a gaming chair, his medium-length hair just long enough to be tied back with a hair tie, with a few loose strands hanging by his cheeks. Perhaps because he had stayed up late the previous night, there was a faint weariness about him, making him look drowsy and lazy.
When the call came in, he had just started a game. Glancing at the caller, he took a moment to swipe the answer button and put it on speaker.
“Hello?” As soon as Qi Hong connected the call, she heard a resounding declaration from the other end:
“Enemy forces will reach the battlefield in thirty seconds, crush them!”
Her blood rushed straight to her head:
“You still have the mood to play games?”
“No law states that people can’t play games during their time off.”
“So?”
“So, the police won’t arrest me for playing games in my own home,” Jiang Nan’an said, staring at the screen while continuing his operations.
“The police won’t arrest you, but negative news will. Don’t you look at trending topics at all, my lord? Tell me how did a hashtag like ‘Jiang Nan’an Bullies Junior’ appear?”
“Hmm?”
Jiang Nan’an replied sincerely:
“I don’t know, I didn’t create that hashtag. Really.”
Qi Hong was speechless.
She immediately got to the point:
“Xiao Sun has already told me the specifics. That Liang Cheng has people backing him, he’s a newcomer the investors want to promote. How others behave is their business. If you don’t like him and don’t want to work with him again, just tell me. He was just being polite; if you really couldn’t handle it, you could have just ignored him. What good does it do to openly break face with someone like this?”
“Ignore him? That seems very impolite.”
Qi Hong thought to herself that his actual response wasn’t particularly polite either:
“Then you could have just given a perfunctory response, saying ‘okay,’ ‘good,’ or even just a ‘hmm’ would have been fine.”
Jiang Nan’an raised his eyebrows:
“Insincere words, don’t want to say them. What if he misunderstands and thinks I really want to continue working with him?”
“…”
No one would think that-not everyone has as low EQ as you, thanks.
Qi Hong’s helplessness was so obvious that Jiang Nan’an sighed:
“Got it, I’ll make it sound nicer next time.”
Qi Hong was a little surprised.
Could it be, just like Xiao Sun said, that Jiang Nan’an has really grown up, become sensible, and even started to think about the art of conversation?
She tested him:
“Oh? Let’s hear it. If you run into this kind of situation again, what are you going to say?”
Jiang Nan’an sighed and immediately rattled off:
“I’ll say, ‘Oh my, I’m not worthy of working with you again, you’re just too amazing. You only needed a bit over ten takes to pass a scene, and everyone’s stony faces under the blazing sun must have been because they were awed by your superb acting. Next time we work together, I’ll ask the production team to raise your pay, since a seven-figure salary just isn’t enough for someone as good-looking, talented, and outstanding as you. Even needing a stunt double for chase scenes must be because your nimble moves are simply beyond what mortal cameras can capture. Also, I’m planning to buy a house on the moon. That way, if your facial features go flying to the moon during your next performance, they’ll have somewhere to land. I’ll ask the Jade Rabbit from the Moon Palace to take care of them, pour them a cup of tea before leaving, and give them some travel money so they don’t get lost on the way home. Would that work?’”
Qi Hong was silent for a full five seconds.
She should have known that talking social niceties with Jiang Nan’an was like playing the lute to a cow.
Maybe she just didn’t know what to say, so she hung up directly, but not before yelling:
“Get lost, get lost, get lost!”
Whenever he runs into a topic he doesn’t want to continue, he just spouts nonsense, and the other person, being human, either doesn’t know how to respond or is so speechless that the conversation ends.
Works every time.
After Qi Hong hung up, Jiang Nan’an glanced at his phone screen and ignored it, focusing on his match.
The game he was playing was called “Blazing Holy Grail,” a hero-battle MOBA competitive online game.
Jiang Nan’an was playing mid lane. Even while talking nonsense to Qi Hong, he managed to solo-kill the enemy mid. After clearing the wave, he retreated under tower and pressed recall, planning to buy items and heal up.
But just as the recall bar was almost full, he suddenly saw a skill effect flash at the edge of the screen. The next second, the enemy jungler, Ars, dashed under tower right onto him.
Jiang Nan’an reacted quickly, using his skills to zone Ars and flashing to create distance. But Ars predicted his movement, landed a skill right where he flashed, locked him down, and finished him off under tower.
[S-Attribute Outburst! Killed “Nice Weather, Go Hang Yourself”]
The screen went dark. Jiang Nan’an frowned, adjusted his keyboard, and waited to respawn.
But soon, he noticed that Ars, who had just killed him, didn’t leave. Instead, he stood at the edge of the tower, staring at his corpse.
While Jiang Nan’an was puzzled, he saw the enemy Ars, who happened to be wearing a matching couple skin, wiggle his hips and dance for him.
At the same time, a new message popped up in the all-chat.
[All] S-Attribute Outburst! (Ars): How about it, Mr. Hang?
[All] S-Attribute Outburst! Yuwen Yan! (Ars): Cool or not?
“……” Jiang Nan’an was speechless.
First, Jiang Nan’an admitted this guy’s mechanics were pretty solid.
Second, he didn’t approve of this peacock behavior-showboating everywhere after a single kill.
Expressionless, he started typing.
[All] Nice Weather, Go Hang Yourself (Siren): [heart] Brother~ Brother~ So~ Cool~ Such~ Amazing~ Moves~ [heart] You’re the strongest Ars I’ve ever seen in the whole canyon~ [heart][heart][heart]
Anyone could tell how sarcastic that was. Sure enough, Ars at the tower stopped dancing, and Jiang Nan’an thought the topic was over.
But a few seconds later, Ars wiggled and made a heart gesture, and two more lines appeared in all-chat.
[All] S-Attribute Outburst! (Ars): Feels good!
[All] S-Attribute Outburst! (Ars): Say a few more nice things.
[All] Nice Weather, Go Hang Yourself (Siren): ?
—
(advanced chapters available on kofi)
