Chapter 47: News

The next day, Cheng Chen called Wang Tianxiao.

"Who was the reporter who first asked me about my relationship with Yuanyuan?"

He had already watched the video interview of Gao Yuanyuan; after careful observation, he noticed the reporter was consistently steering the narrative.

All the explicit questions were orchestrated by him.

Moreover, from the third-person short video leaked during the press conference, it was clear the scene was chaotic.

The reporter deliberately ran ahead of Gao Yuanyuan and stuck out his foot to trip her, causing her to lose balance and fall.

If the earlier explicit questions could be attributed to his job, the act of making her fall was intentional.

This was malicious intent!

"It's a small tabloid called Beijing Entertainment News, mainly covering entertainment gossip, with low circulation and little influence."

Wang Tianxiao had clearly done some research—he immediately answered Cheng Chen's question.

Cheng Chen silently repeated the name "Beijing Entertainment News," committing it to memory.

"Cheng Chen, the Beijing Entertainment News reporter has already issued a public apology—don't do anything reckless."

Wang Tianxiao knew Cheng Chen's feelings for Gao Yuanyuan and feared he might do something wrong.

Cheng Chen took a deep breath, steadied his emotions, and said slowly:

"Just a written apology? The victim hasn't even gone to the hospital—is that considered an apology?"

"Don't worry, I won't do anything to them right now, but this isn't over."

If the interview had merely gone poorly, Cheng Chen wouldn't have been this angry.

But the reporter's deliberate trip of Gao Yuanyuan, along with their attitude and actions, filled Cheng Chen with rage.

If he let this small tabloid go unchecked, how could he ever hope to establish himself in the entertainment industry?

After hanging up, Cheng Chen called Gao Yuanyuan to check on her condition.

Only after receiving a reassuring reply did he head to the set.

……

"Chengzi, you okay?"

"I saw the news yesterday—those reporters are like dogs, biting anyone randomly."

"Teacher Cheng, we all support you!"

As soon as he entered the makeup room, everyone greeted him, offering words of comfort.

After Cheng Chen's explosive performance on set yesterday, more people had grown close to and respected him.

Given the huge incident yesterday and everyone being in Jingcheng, they had all seen the news.

Actually, it was hard not to see it—the reporters' headlines grew more sensational by the day.

Such as:

"Entertainment Circle Exposed: The Untold Secret Between Rising Singer Cheng Chen and the Clear-Mouthed Girl"

"Drama Couple? Are They Filming or Playing House?"

"Female Star Falls at Press Conference—Leaked Nudity Video? Click to See"

In short, these clickbait headlines had no bottom.

Gao Yuanyuan's fall at the press conference was also covered by major entertainment news outlets.

Magazines, newspapers, channels—all flooded the public with the story.

Since Gao Yuanyuan entered the entertainment industry, every report about her was dredged up, and even Cheng Chen's background was exposed to the public.

Cheng Chen looked at the growing crowd around him and smiled:

"Thank you all for your concern—please go back to work. I'm fine."

Cheng Chen sat on the makeup chair as William applied his makeup.

The chubby Ying Da came over, patted Cheng Chen's shoulder, and comforted him:

"In the entertainment industry, there are eyes watching you everywhere—every movement, every word you say gets amplified endlessly and wildly interpreted. Don't worry too much; it's all baseless speculation."

Cheng Chen nodded seriously and said:

"I've learned, Teacher Ying Da."

"Pfft."

Ying Da waved his hand.

After makeup, Cheng Chen walked to the set—today's scene was filmed in a villa district.

It depicted Zhang Xiaoliu storming into developer Tian Yuanqing's house with a bomb, demanding workers' wages, but accidentally encountering Li Dazeng, played by Li Chengru.

Cheng Chen portrayed Zhang Xiaoqi, who appeared to help Zhang Xiaoliu take Li Dazeng and others hostage.

Cheng Chen had little screen time in this scene—it was primarily Li Chengru and Ying Da's showcase.

After Wang Rui yelled "Action!", Li Chengru and Ying Da slipped into character, bantering, laughing, and raging with seamless rhythm and superb line delivery.

Cheng Chen watched, spellbound and exhilarated—his own acting could only reach "form," while these two had reached "essence."

Their entire performance was effortlessly natural; every motion and stillness was as elusive as a deer's hoofprints on a tree, and their laughter, anger, and mockery fully conveyed "old friends reunited," "showing off," and "calm under pressure."

This was the mastery of veteran actors—one second in character, like masters clashing, back and forth, thrillingly lively.

Since participating in The Actor Please Take Your Place and sharply criticizing Director Xiao Si, Li Chengru's acting had become a topic of discussion.

Some believed he represented outdated acting philosophy, with few landmark works, yet spoke arrogantly and treated newcomers harshly.

But acting has no old or new—only good or bad.

Performance is highly subjective; if an actor has solid fundamentals, he can at least achieve basic accuracy in a role—something felt through eye expression, rhythm of speech, and more.

Actors like Li Chengru and Ying Da, no matter the role, at least make their performances believable.

Not like those post-era pretty boys who stare wide-eyed for anger and blank-faced for coldness.

Why are young actors always getting criticized? Because unlike actors of the past, they don't take a script and carefully study the character, working through the plot.

All kinds of commercial activities take up most of their time, so busy they have no time to properly research the script.

With no real acting skill to begin with and no time to spare, the traffic-driven, fast-food mentality has created a chaotic era where anyone with traffic can act.

"Still, watching today's actors perform is satisfying—at least there are none of those cringeworthy performances like 'ants have been walking for ten years' or 'Hai Wa is dead' that make you want to dig your toes into the ground."

Cheng Chen watched while jotting something down in his notebook.

This was a must-have for him after joining the crew, and he would always ask the actors in advance whether he could take notes on the side.

After all, this was their acting experience—Cheng Chen's behavior, in ancient terms, would be called stealing a teacher's skills.

The veteran actors all said it was nothing, and they were often generous with their guidance toward an eager, studious junior like Cheng Chen, frequently discussing acting problems together.

After Li Chengru and Ying Da finished their scene, Cheng Chen was ready to go on at any moment, but just before that, Wang Rui suddenly called Cheng Chen over.

"Director Wang, you're looking for me?"

"Mm, take a look at this first."

Wang Rui's expression was not good as he handed the laptop over to Cheng Chen.

On a blog site, a glaring headline read:

"The Mysterious Singer Who Blew Up Overnight, Suspected of Hiring Ghostwriters for Lyrics and Music"

……