Chapter 217

When Lu Yan He was rehearsing in the evening, he found that everyone's eyes on him were strange.

This is the bad thing about being involved in controversy. Once you become the protagonist of controversial news, you are scrutinized wherever you go, like a gorilla in a zoo.

He went on stage for rehearsal. Because it was only a one-song performance, there were no dance moves, just a few simple positions.

After finishing once, the director said it was OK.

Lu Yan He was surprised when he heard it and asked: "Don't I need to sing it once?"

His rehearsal just now only let him walk through the positions, and even the performance wasn't rehearsed.

The director said there were many people waiting for rehearsal behind, and his song had already been heard in the recording studio.

Lu Yan He felt strange. He didn't go off stage, but looked at Chen Ziyan on the side of the stage.

Chen Ziyan was looking at the director with a serious expression, her hands crossed over her chest.

Lu Yan He said: "Director, I still want to sing it live once. It only takes three or four minutes to sing it once."

When the director heard Lu Yan He say this, his brows furrowed instantly.

"I already said you don't need to sing. I know you are a professional singer and can sing, no need—"

"I need to." Lu Yan He interrupted the director's words righteously and said, "Any professional singer needs rehearsal, let alone someone unprofessional like me. Director, please work hard and let me sing it. Tomorrow is a live broadcast, and I'm also worried about problems on the spot."

Other staff members on the scene looked at them in surprise.

Generally speaking, it is the director's team that begs the celebrity artists to rehearse to ensure that everything goes smoothly.

What's going on today?

Why is it the other way around?

Especially the director... why does he not seem to want Lu Yan He to rehearse?

The director looked at Lu Yan He impatiently and said: "Fine, if you want to sing, then sing."

This impatient tone made others surprised, and also made Lu Yan He feel surprised and at a loss. Is his request very excessive? Why is his attitude toward him so strange?

But after some back and forth, the rehearsal finally started. Lu Yan He sang it normally once, and the overall effect was quite good. Only then did he leave and hand the microphone to the staff.

Chen Ziyan came over and said to Lu Yan He: "Wait for me outside."

Lu Yan He was a bit surprised, but seeing Chen Ziyan's somewhat dark face, Lu Yan He didn't ask more, nodded, and left for outside the studio.

Lu Yan He sat in the hallway outside the studio waiting for Chen Ziyan.

People were constantly coming and going in the hallway, including both artist teams and on-site staff.

Lu Yan He sat on a chair alone, and when others saw him, they all showed confusion, as if they didn't understand why he was sitting here.

After a while, Chen Ziyan came out of the studio and said to Lu Yan He: "Let's go."

"Sister Ziyan, did you say anything to the director just now?"

"His attitude toward you is very abnormal, so I asked him a few questions." Chen Ziyan said, "However, he seems to just have some personal opinions about you, not because of the instructions of some high-level executive. Before, Station Master Li's sudden attention to you made me have to be vigilant."

Only then did Lu Yan He know that Chen Ziyan was worried about this.

He nodded and said: "What opinion does that director have about me?"

"It seems that he didn't understand the whole picture of the matter and thought your fans attacked their program team because of the difference in boxed meal treatment, which made him very unhappy." Chen Ziyan waved her hand, "It's okay, if he's unhappy, let him be unhappy. It's not important and won't affect us. Tomorrow, you still perform seriously and don't mess up."

"I won't."

"I've been thinking about finding a suitable film or television drama to put your song 'Childhood' in, so that it will be more conducive to the spread of this song." Chen Ziyan said, "I originally wanted to find a good stage for you to sing it for the first time, but now there is no chance. Don't worry, because I don't intend to let you take the singer route, so there is no need to rush to prove yourself on the singer's stage. To be honest, your singing voice is just a little better than ordinary people. When it comes to professional singers, you are not there yet."

"I know that too." Lu Yan He nodded, touched his nose, and smiled embarrassedly. "Indeed, my singing is okay, but to say how well I can sing, that's not necessarily true. Talent determines it."

Singers are like this; natural vocal conditions are too important.

Without a good voice, just having popularity is hard to go far, unless you really focus on the idol path to the end. But the idol path can at most go to thirty years old. After thirty, you will always go downhill. Chen Ziyan hopes that Lu Yan He will choose a more sustainable path, but after observing for now, Lu Yan He himself has little interest in singing, and his own talent is just like that, so acting is more suitable.

Chen Ziyan: "You always have a very clear understanding of yourself."

Lu Yan He couldn't help but smile bitterly: "I don't feel like you are praising me at all, Sister Ziyan."

When Lu Yan He returned to Hong Mansion, it was already ten o'clock in the evening.

Li Zhibai had already returned.

Seeing Lu Yan He, he immediately blew his beard and stared, asking: "Did that Chen Ziliang lay a hand on you?"

On his way back after getting off the plane just now, he swiped to the GIF of Chen Ziliang rushing into Lu Yan He's lounge. There were various analysis posts online, some saying that Chen Ziliang and Lu Yan He had been at odds for a long time, and some saying that Lu Yan He's fans had angered Chen Ziliang. Seeing this, Li Zhibai was furious.

Lu Yan He shook his head: "No hand laid, what hand laid."

"What did that idiot do tonight? Seeing him rushing into your place to find you with a fierce look."

"He thought I deliberately livestreamed tonight to let everyone see the difference between my boxed meal and his." Lu Yan He explained, "I already had some grudges with him, and it just so happened that some of my fans saw this and angrily stood up for me."

"This idiot." Li Zhibai cursed unceremoniously.

"Stop cursing him, he's probably regretting it too. In a moment of impulse, he was scolded onto the trending list again. Now there are more people discussing him than discussing me." Lu Yan He didn't take it too much to heart. "Aren't you coming back tomorrow? Why did you rush back tonight?"

Li Zhibai: "The drama I filmed before is going to be broadcast tomorrow. I was temporarily notified that there is a media meeting tomorrow afternoon and I need to attend."

Lu Yan He nodded, "Congratulations, your first drama is finally going to be broadcast."

"Accompany You to the End of the World", which Li Zhibai filmed at the beginning of this year, is now online and broadcast in August, which can be considered quite fast.

Li Zhibai shook his head and sighed: "I am very worried that after this drama is broadcast, there will be scolding everywhere."

"Why?"

"Because... to be honest, it's very pretentious." Li Zhibai shook his head, "I didn't want to take this drama at all at first, but Zhou Ping'an insisted on me acting in it. If I get mocked by the crowd, I must screenshot all those comments that humiliated me and send them to Zhou Ping'an, and let him read them word by word."

"Isn't reading them out also humiliating you?" Lu Yan He said speechlessly.

Li Zhibai: "Humiliating me is humiliating him."

Lu Yan He could see that although Li Zhibai was disgusted with this drama in various ways, he was actually looking forward to the broadcast of this drama.

This was his first time acting, and he certainly hoped to know what kind of feedback everyone would have on his performance.

Seeing Li Zhibai like this, Lu Yan He couldn't help but think about what his mood would be after "Golden Age" was broadcast.

There is no need to wait until that time. Just thinking about it now, there is some irrepressible excitement and agitation.

People in this industry all have a little vanity of being seen and recognized. Lu Yan He is no exception.

He said: "Then after my performance tomorrow night, I will rush back. When will your drama go online?"

"Eight o'clock in the evening." Li Zhibai said, "I won't be there either. I have to attend the premiere activity of Ice Field Video, and I have to watch the premiere with Meng Li and the others."

Lu Yan He: "That's fine."

"I will post the promotion of my drama tomorrow, remember to help me forward it." Li Zhibai said.

"Okay." Lu Yan He nodded with a bright smile.

The next day, Lu Yan He slept until he woke up naturally. As soon as he opened his eyes, he received a call from Chen Ziyan—the time this phone call rang was so seamlessly connected that Lu Yan He even thought Chen Ziyan had installed surveillance in his room.

"Are you awake?"

It was actually only eight o'clock in the morning.

"Awake." Lu Yan He sat up, "What's wrong, Sister Ziyan?"

"Last night, Chen Ziliang was drunk, went crazy, and posted an update. As a result, after a night of fermentation, the whole internet exploded." Chen Ziyan briefly explained the background, and then said, "This matter has affected you."

Lu Yan He was completely confused.

He exited the call interface, opened his social platform, and didn't even need to search deliberately. A casual swipe on the homepage was full of discussions about Chen Ziliang going crazy late last night.

Then, Lu Yan He found Chen Ziliang's crazy content:

You never know how much pressure I'm under! How I want to get your recognition, but you will always be attracted by fresh people. You once said that you would love me and support me forever, but you are the ones who left me unknowingly! Lu Yan He is young, handsome, and talented, yes, I admit it, but am I worse than him? Why do you want to condemn me because of a small matter like a boxed meal? I have worked hard for so many years, don't I deserve a more sumptuous boxed meal than him?

Then, a selfie was attached.

In the selfie, he was sitting at a dimly lit street corner, probably squatting, his face completely without makeup, showing the most plain and unbearable side. His two eyes were full of drunkenness that didn't need annotation, and his eyes were also full of unwillingness.

Lu Yan He didn't know how to describe his mood at this moment.

It was like watching an arrogant swordsman suddenly turn into a funny clown. Besides being speechless, there was also a sense of desolation.

The transition before and after was too caught off guard.

Lu Yan He would rather watch someone perish arrogantly than watch someone self-loathe in depression.

Chen Ziyan said: "Now there is a meme on the internet, many people are @ing you, asking you if Chen Ziliang doesn't deserve to eat a better boxed meal than you?"

Lu Yan He sighed speechlessly, looked at his background, and said: "I saw it."

"Regarding this matter, you'd better not respond." Chen Ziyan said, "Now Chen Ziliang's team must be crazy. It's hard to say whether it's a blessing or a curse to have such an artist."

Lu Yan He said: "However, Sister Ziyan, this matter shouldn't have caused any adverse effects on Chen Ziliang, right?"

"More than that, his reputation changed overnight. If I didn't know that Chen Ziliang was really drunk, and his agent went to smash the door with a knife this morning, I would have thought this was an idea from a public relations expert they hired." Chen Ziyan said speechlessly, "Now people on the internet think Chen Ziliang is quite true-natured and quite aggrieved. Suddenly he became a little star who is arrogant on the outside but actually pitiful on the inside. I don't know what to say. This entertainment industry, this public opinion field, heh!"

Hearing this "heh" full of disdain from Chen Ziyan, Lu Yan He couldn't help laughing.

Just as Chen Ziyan said, Chen Ziliang's reputation reversed overnight.

Even Chen Ziliang's team didn't expect it.

While Chen Ziliang's agent, Yan Wei, was surprised, he also immediately realized that this was an opportunity worth seizing.

Chen Ziliang hadn't had such a big explosive memory point for a long time.

As a first-tier singer, just like an actor, if you are not seen by the audience for too long and only immerse yourself in the original fan circle, it is easy to be slowly eliminated by everyone.

Chen Ziliang went crazy drunk late at night, but unexpectedly hit everyone's point, and was suddenly paid attention to by the whole internet, exploding.

Moreover, everyone's evaluation of Chen Ziliang reversed. Before, he was condemned for his fierce look when he rushed into Lu Yan He's livestream room. Now everything has become Chen Ziliang's grievance and his jealousy of Lu Yan He.

Yan Wei immediately contacted the public relations team, seized this opportunity, and began to expand the promotion of Chen Ziliang's image as a "wronged, true-natured male singer".

And Lu Yan He, who was accidentally involved in this storm, inexplicably became a meme.

When Lu Yan He looked at his Weibo at noon, he found that his Weibo comment section was almost fallen, with 100,000+ comments, all of which were playing memes.

——Doesn't Chen Ziliang deserve to eat a better boxed meal than you? Forgive him.

Lu Yan He looked at these people who ran under his Weibo. He knew that many people were just following the trend to play memes, but he still felt absurd.

Chen Ziyan repeatedly emphasized not to make any response.

Lu Yan He closed his phone and decided not to look at it.

Before the formal performance, Chen Ziyan said to Lu Yan He on the way: "When you get in front of people later, you must not express any dissatisfaction. Now netizens like to play memes. If you keep a straight face, others will think you are not generous."

Lu Yan He took a deep breath and said: "Okay, I'll hold it."

Chen Ziyan: "The entertainment industry is like this, changing rapidly. I didn't expect Chen Ziliang to turn around so inexplicably."

"What should I say when I see him later?" Lu Yan He asked, "Greet him enthusiastically?"

"Just greet him on the surface, no need to be hypocritical with him." Chen Ziyan said, "I mean, there must be many cameras in the backstage today. Don't let them take pictures of your dark face. When it is put on the internet, it will be interpreted in various ways by many people."

"I know this, I won't." Lu Yan He said, "I'll smile when I get off the car later."

Hearing Lu Yan He say this, Chen Ziyan couldn't help but say: "I didn't tell you to smile when you get off the car, don't smile like a fool from a landlord's house."

Lu Yan He: "I said I would smile, and you are disgusted again."

"Don't talk back, you know what I'm talking about."

Arriving backstage, it was even busier and more chaotic tonight than during the rehearsal last night.

When Lu Yan He arrived at his lounge, the hallway was crowded with people, all of whom were performers and staff in costumes.

Lu Yan He was led by Chen Ziyan. As soon as they entered, there were already makeup artists waiting inside.

The clothes had also been sent in, and there was a styling team waiting to do his makeup and styling for the performance later.

Lu Yan He changed his clothes first, a gray-blue suit.

Chen Ziyan's requirements for his styling and style were only one point: simple, generous, clean, and refreshing.

Chen Ziyan wanted to create such an impression on the public.

There would be no exaggerated styling appearing in front of everyone. It doesn't have to be stunning, as long as there is ordinary handsomeness.

At this time, Yan Wei suddenly came over.

He came specifically to find Chen Ziyan.

"Sister Ziyan, thank you today." Yan Wei showed an unconcealable joy on his face.

The reason he came to thank her was that Lu Yan He's side did not make any response to Chen Ziliang's drunken misconduct last night, which allowed Chen Ziliang's turnaround battle today to be fought beautifully.

Chen Ziyan hung her eyes and said: "No need to be so polite. In the future, if your Chen Ziliang causes less trouble for Yan He, I will thank God."

"Don't worry, I will definitely manage him well!" Yan Wei said, full of smiles, and said to Chen Ziyan, "Thank you for your magnanimity."

After speaking, Chen Ziyan thought Yan Wei was leaving, but who knew Yan Wei suddenly said: "Sister Ziyan, do you think it's possible to arrange for Chen Ziliang and Yan He to take a photo together later and post it on social platforms? This can also show everyone that the scene that happened in the livestream room yesterday was a misunderstanding."

Chen Ziyan rolled her eyes directly and asked: "Is it a misunderstanding?"

Chen Ziyan's attitude seemed to exceed Yan Wei's expectations, and he looked at Chen Ziyan in surprise.

Chen Ziyan said: "Don't push your luck."

Yan Wei was stunned for a moment, obviously not expecting Chen Ziyan to have this attitude.

He was confused for two seconds before he sullenly put away the smile on his face.

"Okay, then we'll talk about it next time."

Chen Ziyan could see that Yan Wei was still somewhat dissatisfied.

Today, Yan Wei's attitude was completely different from the frustrated look of last night.

It seems that Chen Ziliang's popularity on the whole internet today and his return to the focus of public opinion have also changed Yan Wei's mentality.

Chen Ziyan narrowed her eyes and watched Yan Wei turn and leave unwillingly, and recorded this person again in her little notebook in her heart.