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YPHC Chapter 38

An Inexplicable Discomfort

“What smells so good? What is that fragrance? What’s going on here?”

 

Chenghua could smell the aroma of the expensive crab roe noodles before he even entered the door. He sniffed as he pushed the door open, and when he saw the bowl full of crab meat in front of Jiang Nan’an, his eyes widened:

 

“Damn, crab roe noodles! Is there any for me?”

 

“None for you, go away.”

 

Yan Jie quickly exited his Weibo alt account and put his phone aside:

 

“Why are you back? Your timing is terrible. If you’d come back earlier, you could have snagged a cup of milk tea. If you’d come later, we would have destroyed the evidence and kept you in the dark. Look at you, such bad timing.”

 

“Well, I guess I’m not worthy.”

 

Chenghua looked at the crab roe noodles, smacking his lips and sighing resignedly before getting to business:

 

“I just came back from representing our Makeshift Troupe at a meeting. Come on, everyone listen up. Our first match after the new team formation will be in two weeks, against Very Nice, which is Fangfei’s team. This time the draw is for one-on-one matches, with one group getting a bye. If we win against Fangfei’s team, we’ll go straight to the semifinals. If we lose, we’ll play against the loser from another group. If we lose again, we’ll play against the team with the bye. If we can’t win that one either, we’ll be eliminated and sent home. Understand?”

 

Chenghua had been called away with the other coaches in the afternoon for a meeting with the production team, mainly to explain the competition format and team draw, a bunch of tedious matters that only just finished.

 

“You’ve got terrible luck, man. Fangfei’s team has perfected their protect-the-one strategy, making them like an iron bucket, incredibly hard to beat.” Yan Jie felt dizzy.

 

“It’s fine, we can lose three times, which is better than the group with the bye-they can only lose once… But why are we assuming we’ll lose? Have some ambition. If they’re hard to beat when they’re in formation, we just won’t let them form up. We’ll win all the way to the championship!”

 

Chenghua clenched his fist:

 

“Let’s arrange a training match with Very Nice right away to test their depth! Oh, and by the way, this Sunday is the Blazing Holy Grail Global Finals-everyone knows that, right? It’s on our home turf, right here in Linyun. It’s a rare opportunity, so the production team is planning to organize everyone to go watch. Can everyone make it?”

 

Everyone in the entertainment industry is busy, but during the show period, contestants focused on training and didn’t take many jobs, so they certainly had time to watch a match. Therefore, on Sunday afternoon, the production team arranged commercial vehicles for each team to pick everyone up and go watch the competition together.

 

The finals venue was at Linyun City’s largest stadium. When they arrived, many fans had gathered outside the side entrance specially opened for them, and at a glance, all they could see were phone cameras and various support signs.

 

Yan Jie hadn’t seen such a scene for a long time. Finding it novel, he looked out the window for a moment. When he turned back, he saw that Jiang Shanshan in the back seat had taken out a small mirror and was urgently checking her makeup and hair.

 

inBlue watched her: “You’ve been looking the whole way, aren’t you tired? You look beautiful.”

 

Jiang Shanshan wagged her finger at him:

 

“No way, this is the self-discipline of a female celebrity. Not a single hair can be out of place when facing cameras, to ensure that raw photos don’t show any flaws, eliminating the possibility of unflattering pictures, and giving haters no room to criticize!”

 

Yan Jie listened for a bit, then glanced at North Star who was also touching up her makeup, before finally turning his gaze to Jiang Nan’an beside him.

 

Jiang Nan’an was looking out the window, seemingly lost in thought, who knows what he was looking at.

 

“Mr. Hang?”

 

“Hmm?” Jiang Nan’an responded absent-mindedly.

 

“Don’t male celebrities need self-discipline too?”

 

“What?”

 

Jiang Nan’an raised an eyebrow slightly, followed Yan Jie’s indication to look at Jiang Shanshan and North Star, and finally understood what he meant:

 

“My agent hasn’t emphasized it to me, so I probably don’t need to.”

 

“Oh? Then what has she emphasized to you?”

 

“Obey the law, maintain moral standards, pay taxes on time, stay clean, and stay away from pornography, gambling, and drugs. And also…”

 

“And also?”

 

Jiang Nan’an sighed slightly:

 

“Talk less.”

 

This made North Star laugh. She pressed her freshly applied lipstick:

 

“Actually, I think you’re quite adorable when you talk, and quite likable. Maybe fans like this style? What’s it called now, ultra-machine-like feeling.”

 

Before Jiang Nan’an could figure out how to respond to North Star, the driver stopped the car. Staff members who had been waiting nearby came to open the door, and the enthusiastic screams of fans immediately poured in.

 

Before getting out of the car, Jiang Nan’an remembered to take out his gold-rimmed glasses from his pocket and place them on the bridge of his nose.

 

It seemed like he hadn’t played “Gu Qingze” for quite some time, but Qi Hong had said that he must appear as Gu Qingze when in crowds. This was their agreement, and he had to abide by it.

 

When Yan Jie turned back, he happened to catch this action. His gaze paused slightly, but he didn’t say anything.

 

The path from getting out of the car to entering the venue was short. With a few quick steps, the screams and flashes were left behind.

 

Yan Jie put his arm around inBlue’s shoulder and shook his head:

 

“Tsk tsk tsk… What a scene. Being a celebrity isn’t easy either. As soon as you get out of the car, there are big cameras and flashes everywhere. It makes me feel like I’m running naked.”

 

inBlue glanced at him with a smile: “You’re a world champion after all, what grand occasions haven’t you seen?”

 

“Well, when I was in esports, we didn’t get this treatment, or at least not this exaggerated. Looking at the crowds lined up at the stadium entrance, those fancy light boards, it’s really enviable. Back in the day, our finals were held abroad, and there weren’t many people supporting us. Chenghua and I were craning our necks to see if anyone was holding up signs for us. Ah, thinking about it now, that was ten years ago. It really makes one nostalgic.”

 

“…” Jiang Nan’an took off his glasses, listened to his words, thought for a moment, and said:

 

“But you won.”

 

Yan Jie was stunned for a moment, looked back at him, and then smiled:

 

“Yes, we won.”

 

Today’s finalists were China’s MZG team and Korea’s NX team. The organizers had arranged seats for the show’s team in the first three rows, providing an excellent view.

 

Perhaps due to the home-field advantage, almost everyone in the venue was supporting MZG. Even before the match began, someone was leading the crowd in chanting “MZG, add oil!” It was clear that everyone was eager to see MZG lift that precious trophy on their home turf.

 

“Wow, that’s quite a scene.” Yan Jie raised his phone to take a picture of the audience, not sure who he was sending it to, while casually asking Jiang Nan’an:

 

“Hey, Mr. Hang, can you guess who owns the MZG team?”

 

“How would I know?” Jiang Nan’an found his question puzzling.

 

“No, you can guess it.”

 

“…” Based on his understanding of Yan Jie, Jiang Nan’an conservatively guessed:

 

 

“Your family’s?”

 

Jiang Nan’an truly wasn’t sure. Although he had researched Blazing Holy Grail competitions when acting in related TV dramas years ago, that was already several years in the past, and at that time, China’s division didn’t seem to have a team called MZG.

 

Yan Jie raised his eyebrows:

 

“No, why would everything be mine? So in Mr. Hang’s heart, I’m this successful man who owns a business empire, dabbles in all industries, is surrounded by flowers and brocade, and controls everything with one hand.”

 

“No, I thought this was your opening preamble. So whose is it?”

 

“Cat Paw’s. MaoZhuaGaming, MZG.”

 

“Oh.” Jiang Nan’an nodded:

 

“Your employer’s.”

 

Hearing this, Yan Jie couldn’t help but laugh.

 

“Damn, Yan Jie, you’re really here?”

 

A voice from not far away called out Yan Jie’s name. Jiang Nan’an instinctively looked toward the source and saw a round-bodied man walking toward them.

 

The man looked at Yan Jie, then at inBlue beside him:

 

“Little Blue is here too? All those contestants from your show are here, right? How come I didn’t hear anything about this?”

 

“Oh, you’re here too.” Yan Jie high-fived the man while introducing him to Jiang Nan’an:

 

“Mr. Hang, this is my childhood friend, the owner of Cat Paw, Yu Pang. Just call him Fat Fish. Fish, you know this person, right? The legendary Teacher Jiang Nan’an.”

 

“It’s my own team in the finals, of course I have to be here.”

 

Fat Fish responded to Yan Jie, then shook hands with Jiang Nan’an:

 

“Of course I know Teacher Jiang. Isn’t he the reason you joined this show? Oh my, Teacher Jiang looks even more handsome than on TV. Excuse me, I have a presumptuous request-could I take a photo with Teacher Jiang?”

 

Taking a photo was naturally fine. Fat Fish occupied Yan Jie’s seat, made a peace sign with Jiang Nan’an, and afterward, holding his phone, sighed:

 

“It’s a pity my wife didn’t come. She loves you more than she loves me. When I send her this photo, she’ll probably go crazy with regret.”

 

“Now that you’ve taken the photo, get up quickly.” Yan Jie pulled Fat Fish up, reclaiming his seat.

 

Fat Fish looked at him with disdain: “Who cares about your lousy seat? My VIP special seat is even softer than this.”

 

“But your cold VIP special seat doesn’t have the gentle and kind Teacher Jiang beside it, whom everyone loves.”

 

“Get lost. Does Teacher Jiang himself know about this?” Fat Fish really couldn’t stand his worthless behavior:

 

“Alright, the match is about to start, I’m leaving. Goodbye!”

 

Before the finals officially began, there was an opening ceremony. After Fat Fish left, Jiang Nan’an stared somewhat absently at the colorful lights on the field.

 

After a while, Yan Jie suddenly called out to him: “Mr. Hang?”

 

“Mm.”

 

“Do you like adding people on WeChat?”

 

“Why?”

 

“Fat Fish just now, his wife is your fan. He asked me to check if you’d be willing to add her on WeChat. She says she won’t send messages to bother you, but if you don’t like adding strangers, I’ll tell him no.”

 

“It doesn’t matter.” After thinking for a moment, Jiang Nan’an added:

 

“If she doesn’t send messages, what’s the point of adding on WeChat?”

 

“Well, you don’t understand. Just having a favorite person in your contacts list brings happiness, even if they’re just lying there. Besides, after adding someone, you can see their Moments.”

 

“I don’t post Moments.”

 

“I can see that. Your WeChat looks like a fake account.”

 

The profile picture was blank, the name was his real name, the Moments feed was completely empty, and even the background was the default gray. Yan Jie had flipped through Jiang Nan’an’s account several times, and if he hadn’t personally confirmed it with Jiang Nan’an’s phone in hand, eyes wide open, he would have thought he’d been blocked.

 

Hearing Yan Jie’s words, Jiang Nan’an was a bit confused:

 

“Fake account? What should a real account look like?”

 

“Like mine, of course,” Yan Jie said naturally.

 

“…” Jiang Nan’an fell silent.

 

And from his silence, Yan Jie glimpsed a heartbreaking possibility:

 

“You haven’t looked at my Moments, have you?”

 

Jiang Nan’an answered honestly: “…No.”

 

Yan Jie couldn’t accept this: “We’ve been friends for so long, I message you every day about training, eating, running. If you wanted to, you could just click on my profile picture and look at my Moments, but you’ve never looked?”

 

“No.” After a pause, Jiang Nan’an added:

 

“I haven’t looked at anyone else’s either.”

 

Alright.

 

Then WeChat’s meaning to him really was just for sending and receiving messages.

 

No wonder he doesn’t like playing with his phone-there’s no social entertainment at all.

 

“So you don’t share your life at all?” Yan Jie persisted.

 

“Share with whom?”

 

“With yourself.”

 

“I don’t need to see it myself.”

 

“Then with people who like you and care about you.”

 

“There aren’t any.”

 

This answer came without hesitation, which startled Yan Jie:

 

“Come on, what about all those fans?”

 

“Fans can just look at Weibo.”

 

“…” Yan Jie recalled Jiang Nan’an’s Weibo, which seemed to contain only holiday greetings and work promotions that were clearly written by the company, plus some work records, casual photos, and magazine photoshoots produced by his studio.

 

In that case, before this show, Jiang Nan’an’s life seemed to be nothing but work and more work. At least so far, Yan Jie hadn’t seen him show any particular preference for anything outside of acting. Even with food, he would eat whatever was given to him as long as it filled him up. The only time he had shown a bit of personal preference was when he asked for corn sausages. His emotions were always subdued, showing neither joy nor anger-except, of course, when Yan Jie annoyed him too much.

 

Thinking about it this way, it really did seem to be the case.

 

No wonder Qi Hong had Jiang Nan’an borrow someone else’s identity and personality in front of the camera. First, his own unpredictability made him an automatic trouble-maker as soon as he opened his mouth, and second, perhaps…

 

Any fictional character he had ever played was actually more vivid than the real person he was.

 

#

 

 


 


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