YPHC Chapter 21

【Jiang Nan’an, Chinese mainland film and television actor, 23 years old, 181cm】

 

【Jiang Nan’an, born in Shanghai, Chinese mainland film and television actor. At the age of 16, he entered the entertainment industry after starring in the movie “Spring Breeze”…】

 

The rest was information about Jiang Nan’an’s personal works. Yan Jie scanned it briefly, then exited and opened several other web pages, which contained content similar to the encyclopedia entry.

 

But he felt there was something strange about this information. After thinking for a moment, he realized-all the content about Jiang Nan’an only began recording after he starred in the movie “Spring Breeze” at sixteen, and it all related exclusively to his entertainment career. There wasn’t a single word about Jiang Nan’an’s childhood experiences, family background, or alma mater.

 

So Yan Jie changed tactics, deleting “Jiang Nan’an” from the search box and instead typing “Spring Breeze.”

 

Actually, Yan Jie had heard of the movie “Spring Breeze.” It was a labor of love from the industry’s most respected director, Wei Yinghua. Reportedly, the script alone was polished for several years before filming began, and to find the most suitable actors for those roles, Director Wei had sifted through countless people round after round. Fortunately, after its release, the film lived up to expectations with explosive popularity and excellent reception. It later swept major awards both domestically and internationally. The previously unknown actors in the film instantly skyrocketed to fame-one movie essentially launched an entire ship of people to stardom.

 

“Spring Breeze” tells the story of a young man’s growth and transformation. The protagonist, Caogen, grew up in the mountains. His mother died early, and his father was an alcoholic who abused him. Tired of his life, Caogen yearned for the world beyond the mountains. Finally one day, completely disappointed with his father and hometown, Caogen packed his belongings and left the mountains. Along the way, he met all kinds of people, experienced deception but also warmth, and after countless hardships, he finally arrived at the coast he had once seen on a cookie package on a warm, sunny spring day.

 

In the movie stills, the protagonist Caogen was thin to the bone, dirty and blackened, with sunburned, peeling skin. He completely lacked the vibrant energy a sixteen-year-old should have, instead resembling a small beast that had wandered into an unfamiliar world, his eyes full of vigilance and wildness.

 

Yan Jie looked through many related topics and finally dug out a years-old interview in a corner, which described how Wei Yinghua had spotted Jiang Nan’an among numerous teenage actors. Apparently, Jiang Nan’an had a modeling background and was picked by Wei Yinghua at first sight because of a photo shoot. The director immediately decided he was the most suitable actor for Caogen. After that, Wei made call after call, asking from the staff who collected the photos to the photographer, and finally found Jiang Nan’an, who was only fifteen years old at the time.

 

Yan Jie also saw in the interview the photo that connected Jiang Nan’an to the entertainment circle. The image appeared to be from a corner of some town street, showing a thin young boy wearing a yellowed white T-shirt and shorts sitting in a corner, holding a worn black backpack. His short hair was messy, his face covered in dirt with wounds from unknown scrapes. His skin was somewhat darkened by the sun, making him look like a little dog abandoned in the sea of humanity-disheveled and pitiful, with only a pair of clear, bright eyes exploring the unfamiliar world before him.

 

Actually, Yan Jie had seen this photo many times before in the posts he had previously browsed. Some said it was a leaked photo from actor auditions, some said it was a still from “Spring Breeze,” and others claimed it was an unused initial concept photo for the protagonist Caogen… There were all kinds of explanations. Through a screen and several years of time, Yan Jie couldn’t tell which statement was true and which was false.

 

He leaned back in his gaming chair, unconsciously rubbing his fingertips with his curled fingers, staring at the photo on the screen for a long time, until a cool, clear voice suddenly cut in beside him:

 

“Yan Jie.”

 

Yan Jie almost jumped in shock.

 

“What are you looking at?”

 

Yan Jie looked to the side and saw that Jiang Nan’an’s screen had gone black, and he was staring at him with a heavy gaze.

 

Yan Jie immediately straightened up:

 

“Oh my, how did our Mr. Hang die? Who killed you?! Who dares to touch my Mr. Hang? Don’t they know whose little captain you are?!”

 

“I asked what you’re looking at.” Jiang Nan’an gave him no opportunity to change the subject.

 

“Well.” Yan Jie slapped his thigh as his performance failed:

 

“Of course I’m admiring our Teacher Xiao Shan’s peerless radiance… Reviewing your journey so that little Spring can better pave a flowery path for you in the future! I must say, our Teacher Xiao Shan has been beautiful from childhood to adulthood. Even this look can’t hide your beauty, tsk tsk tsk…”

 

“…” Jiang Nan’an looked at him, then at the photo on the screen, and after a pause, withdrew his gaze.

 

He sighed slightly, clicking his mouse to control his newly respawned hero out of the fountain:

 

“Aren’t you bored? Anyone who can type can write these reports online. Eight out of ten sentences are fake.”

 

“Oh?” Yan Jie leaned on the armrest, moving a bit closer to him:

 

“Then what were you like before? If there are many lies online, why don’t you tell me some truths yourself?”

 

“…No.”

 

“So heartless? Then I can only continue to tearfully savor the lies, trying to piece together a real Mr. Hang from the sea of falsehoods.”

 

Yan Jie pretended to sigh, exited the report page, and reopened Jiang Nan’an’s encyclopedia entry, browsing through his film and television works one by one after “Spring Breeze.”

 

After “Spring Breeze,” Jiang Nan’an won a basketful of awards. After a period of silence, he acted in a coming-of-age high school drama, playing a lonely teenager with psychological issues. Then he participated in a realistic film, winning his first Best Actor award, commonly known as “Film Emperor.” At that time, Jiang Nan’an was only eighteen years old.

 

This person seemed born with luck in his life. Almost every film he made won awards, and each TV drama he starred in was a hit. Even small-budget niche web dramas that no one believed in could be brought to life by his efforts alone.

 

In those years, some questioned him, saying he was a “resource prince,” since Director Wei treated him like half a son, allowing him to bask in the glory of a major industry director. With this advantage, he naturally got opportunities that other actors couldn’t touch even after fighting in the entertainment circle for a lifetime. Some said he was too lucky, that with such luck even a fool could succeed. Others were more outrageous, claiming he rose to fame because of his looks, and that most of his achievements were bought by powerful backers behind the scenes.

 

Yan Jie disliked the entertainment circle precisely because he was tired of this culture of baseless accusations and attacking people for no reason. He frowned slightly, scanned briefly, and clicked on the next entry.

 

After winning the Film Emperor award, Jiang Nan’an’s next role was the passionate esports male lead that got him into Blazing Holy Grail, and then he took a small role in a suspense criminal investigation drama-the one Sheng Yujia had mentioned during the hot pot dinner.

 

Sheng Yujia played a criminal investigation team leader in this drama, while Jiang Nan’an was a psychiatrist. The two characters were considered friends in the show, with the doctor occasionally helping the protagonist analyze the criminal’s psychology and motives, but he was soon brutally silenced and written off after unfortunately witnessing the killer returning to the crime scene.

 

Yan Jie hadn’t planned to linger on this drama’s entry for too long, since Jiang Nan’an was just making a guest appearance, but as he was about to exit, he suddenly caught sight of a still photo in the corner of the webpage.

 

In the still, Jiang Nan’an’s hair wasn’t as long as it is now. He was wearing black dress pants and a light blue formal shirt, sitting in a café reading a book. There was nothing particularly special about this, but the gold-rimmed glasses on his nose bridge caught Yan Jie’s attention.

 

Yan Jie felt like he had discovered something extraordinary, but for a moment he couldn’t grasp that vague, uncertain thought in his mind.

 

After a moment, he straightened up and looked up the character’s name.

 

The webpage briefly loaded before presenting the answer to him-

 

The character’s surname was Gu, and his name was Gu Qingze.

 

Yan Jie immediately opened a famous short video platform, searched for “Gu Qingze,” and instantly found many fan creations and individual cuts of the character.

 

He clicked on the most popular videos, watched them one by one, then randomly searched for several interviews with Jiang Nan’an, further confirming his suspicion.

 

So when Jiang Nan’an, who had just barely won a ranked match with jungle Siren, looked over to see the person next to him staring at him with a smile that clearly indicated he was up to no good.

 

“?” Jiang Nan’an narrowed his eyes vigilantly, instinctively moving away a bit: “What are you doing?”

 

“Teacher, put on your glasses.”

 

“Why?”

 

“Just put them on, just for a moment, just once!”

 

“…”

 

“Please, Mr. Hang-this is little Spring’s only wish in life-please be kind and fulfill this child’s dream-”

 

“.”

 

The annoying person launched a noise attack, and Jiang Nan’an impatiently raised his eyebrows. With an attitude of “let me see what you’re up to,” he took out his gold-rimmed glasses from his pocket, unfolded them, and put them on his nose bridge:

 

“And then?”

 

Then he saw Yan Jie look him over with a slightly deeper gaze, before suddenly smiling at him:

 

“Hello, Dr. Gu.”

 

Hearing this title, Jiang Nan’an was slightly taken aback.

 

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(advanced chapters available on kofi)