Chapter 63: Sixty-Three Fire
Although Yan Duo confidently told Qi Sixian that the studio could be set up, the actual implementation was not that fast. For one, Yan Duo was busy filming and had no time, and for another, Qi Sixian was still working at Fan Corporation with an overwhelming workload. Both of them simply had no time, so all they could do for now was scout for potential candidates and choose the specific location for the studio. yuedudi.com
Seeing Yan Duo enthusiastically making calls to scout for office spaces, transitioning from full confidence to endless dilemmas, Ji Ran said to her, “I have a 200-square-meter space in the Great Wall Building that hasn’t been rented out yet. Do you need it?”
Yan Duo was somewhat tempted. “How much is it?”
She spent the whole day making calls, almost inquiring about every office space listed for rent online. Either the location was good but the price was too high, or it was very cheap but located in the remote suburbs with extremely inconvenient transportation. Finding a place that met her expectations was harder than climbing a mountain. It was only now that Yanduo realized that truly accomplishing something was far from simple.
Ji Ran quoted a price that was a hundred yuan cheaper per square meter than the market rate. Yan Duo’s eyes lit up, but she suppressed her excitement and pretended to hesitate, saying, “I’ll discuss it with Sister Qi.”
Not only is the Great Wall Building in a prime location, but Ji Ran’s offered price is also lower than the market rate. Whether he intentionally gave her a discount as a favor or not, Yan Duo decided to rent it outright.
Ji Ran saw through her thoughts and deliberately said, “Then you’d better hurry. Several companies are interested in signing long-term contracts.”
Yan Duo indeed took the bait, “Yes, yes, I’ll sign for ten years!”
Ji Ran glanced at her, the corner of his mouth curling subtly.
After the New Year’s holiday, Fan Entertainment’s official Weibo account released a statement announcing the early termination of their management contract with Yan Duo. The wording was sincere and amicable. Yan Duo reposted the Weibo, expressing gratitude for Fan Entertainment’s cultivation and support over the past year and a half, while wishing the company even greater success in the future, and so on.
While Fan Entertainment and Yan Duo were amicably “parting ways,” many netizens found Fan’s actions hard to comprehend. As the most rapidly rising actor in the past two years, shouldn’t the agency have tried everything to extend Yan Duo’s contract? Instead, they terminated it early—wasn’t this like giving up a cash cow? Could another company have poached Yan Duo with a high offer? Yet, there was no news of Yan Duo signing with any new agency!
Just as everyone was speculating about how much Yan Duo had spent to terminate her contract early, someone revealed that despite making significant profits for the company, she had also faced suppression from top executives. Someone had paid a high price to sabotage her—not only cutting her stunt harness ropes on set but also tampering with her audio during the New Year’s Eve gala. Concerned for Yan Duo’s safety, Ji Ran paid a hefty sum to secure her early contract termination, setting her free.
“What the hell is wrong with the Fan Group’s executives? They finally cultivated a star with the potential to become an actress queen, and they want to ruin her? What kind of twisted logic is this?”
“A friend of mine works at Fan Corporation, and I heard that Yan Duo rose too quickly. The company funneled all the best resources to her, blocking the path of some executive’s girlfriend. That executive has been suppressing her in every way possible, leaving Yan Duo with no room to maneuver—so she had no choice but to leave.”
Damn, looking at it this way, being a celebrity is indeed a high-risk profession! You need nerves of steel to face online bullying, relentless pursuit from rivals, and even have to watch your back against your own team—it’s just too tough.
“Just thinking about cutting the safety wire is terrifying. If luck isn’t on your side, wouldn’t that mean breaking your neck or legs?”
“It’s good that she left. That place was like hell. Ji Ran, you must protect your wife from now on!”
【That’s right, Ji Ran, we’ll leave Duoduo in your care from now on!】
“Ji Ran, I’ll leave Duoduo in your care from now on!”
“Ji Ran, I’ll leave Duoduo in your care from now on!”
……
After Yan Duo sparked the online debate about whether live singing or lip-syncing is better, everyone unanimously sympathized with her plight. Who could have imagined that after finally gaining popularity, she would be framed by company executives? It’s simply pitiful.
Huang Rui, at home, grew furious seeing so many people on Weibo sympathizing with Yan Duo and almost threw her tablet in anger. She took out her phone and called the troll agency she had previously contacted.
“What’s wrong with you? Didn’t I tell you to smear Yan Duo relentlessly? Where are your people? Are they all dead?”
After learning that Fan Xian had terminated the contract with Yan Duo and couldn’t reverse the situation, Huang Rui hired a troll army company and prepared a bunch of fake scandals to frame Yan Duo. However, before the troll army could even begin, public opinion had already been controlled by someone else.
Huang Rui saw the fabricated reasons online and felt that the netizens’ intelligence was truly worrying. How could anyone believe such a ridiculous excuse—that a high-level executive suppressed Yan Duo for his girlfriend’s sake, disregarding the company’s interests? And they even said Yan Duo was pitiful? How stupid!
Yet Huang Rui never considered that, as the wife of the Fan family’s boss, using harsh tactics against an employee under her own company might also seem foolish in the eyes of netizens.
The person on the other end of the phone offered no explanation and simply said, “This matter is indeed our fault. I will refund your deposit shortly.”
This order had been planned several days ago, consuming considerable manpower and resources from the water army company. Moreover, Huang Rui offered a very attractive price. If the water army company hadn’t been cornered, why would they back out at the last moment?
Huang Rui fumed, “I “You don’t need to refund the deposit. Just proceed with the online implementation according to the previously established plan. If you do well, I can pay double the amount!”
Even though Huang Rui tempted her with a large sum of money, the person on the other end of the phone still said “I’m sorry” and then hung up.
After being rejected, Huang Rui could no longer contain her anger and threw her phone to the ground.
After the victory in the online war without gunpowder, Yan Duo learned an exciting piece of good news from Zeng Wei, who had temporarily acted as her agent. Zeng Wei was the same person who had previously gone to Fan Corporation to hand over matters with Qi Sixian.
“Are you saying I’ve been nominated for four award ceremonies?”
The end of the year is a season of harvest, and also a time packed with various award ceremonies. With Yan Duo’s works exploding in popularity this year, she received nominations for two Best New Artist awards and two Best Supporting Actress awards. Hearing this great news, Yan Duo was so excited she almost jumped for joy.
For Yan Duo, even if she didn’t win any awards in the end, such a nomination was already the best affirmation for her.
Zeng Wei smiled and replied, “Yes, I think you can start preparing your gown now.”
After terminating her contract with Fan Entertainment, Yan Duo temporarily didn’t have an agent to handle miscellaneous matters. As a result, Ji Ran assigned Zeng Wei to assist Yan Duo. Aside from Li Qiao, Zeng Wei was the most trusted person in Ji Ran’s studio. If Li Qiao hadn’t been overwhelmed with work, Ji Ran would have sent him directly instead.
Yan Duo didn’t have a better choice, so she didn’t refuse Zeng Wei’s help.
“Yes, I understand. Thank you.”
Hanging up the phone, Yan Duo excitedly ran to the walk-in closet to find Ji Ran, “Honey, honey, I’ve been nominated for four award ceremonies, isn’t that great!”
The movie they starred in together, “Waiting for You Year After Year,” will be released on the first day of the Lunar New Year. Starting tomorrow, they will fly across the country for promotions. At this moment, Ji Ran is helping Yan Duo pack her luggage.
Ji Ran smiled and said, “Congratulations!”
Yan Duo chuckled twice, thinking about the news she had learned half an hour ago regarding Ji Ran being nominated for Best Actor in Film and Television. She said, “I’ll definitely be just like you someday!”
Ji Ran patted her head and said, “Go for it!”
Yan Duo nodded emphatically, crouching down to pack the luggage with Ji Ran. In the end, Yan Duo had too many belongings and had to stuff the remaining items into Ji Ran’s suitcase. After their relationship became public, the crew no longer avoided any appearance of impropriety and directly booked them a couple’s suite, so combining their luggage wasn’t an issue.
Once everything was packed, Yan Duo zipped up her suitcase, but out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Ji Ran picking out a few more items from her underwear drawer and preparing to place them in his own suitcase.
“What shady idea are you scheming now?”
Yan Duo frowned at Ji Ran’s “sneaky” movements and asked him.
If I’m not mistaken, the clothes Ji Ran just stuffed into the suitcase were all in black and deep purple hues—those barely-there undergarments made of minimal fabric, utterly unsuitable for everyday wear.
On a business trip, Ji Ran still had the leisure for such indulgences—Yan Duo couldn’t quite understand it.
Thinking about the excitement Ji Ran showed the first time she wore that deep purple outfit a few days ago, along with her nearly hoarse voice, Yan Duo was worried about the hotel’s soundproofing. If it wasn’t good and someone accidentally overheard… If that really happened, she’d be too embarrassed to face anyone!
Also, what if there are hidden cameras in the hotel room?
Don’t think, don’t think, it’s terrifying just to imagine!
Ji Ran kept moving, placing the small garments into a clean bag before tucking them into the bottom of the suitcase.
“The promotional period is long and can be quite dull, so we always need to do something to spice up our lives.”
Previously, his way to unwind was watching movies, but now, it became her.
What’s more important is that movies can grow stale, but she never will.
Yan Duo was speechless. “We can make adjustments, but we don’t need all this stuff, do we?” What kind of tricks was he planning to pull during the trip?
Ji Ran zipped up the suitcase and stood it upright, saying, “Don’t worry, it’s not heavy at all. I can handle it!”
Is that what she meant?
Ji Ran was clearly doing it on purpose!
Unable to win the argument with Ji Ran, Yan Duo planted her hands on her hips and snapped, “Fine, bring it if you want! But you’ll be the one wearing it—I absolutely refuse!”
After saying that, she went into the bathroom to wash her hands.
Ji Ran watched Yan Duo’s retreating figure and finally realized she was truly angry. Smiling, he shook his head, laid the suitcase flat again, and unzipped it.
When Yan Duo came out, she saw Ji Ran taking the small bag of underwear he had just put away from the suitcase and placing it back into the drawer.
Yan Duo was pleased with the rare victory after a struggle. Smiling, she walked toward the bed, ready to sleep.
But this good mood vanished completely when Ji Ran also came to bed, said “Good night,” and turned his back to her to sleep.
Is Ji Ran angry?
Although Yan Duo didn’t think she had done anything wrong, deep down she still didn’t want Ji Ran to be unhappy. She lifted the blanket and got out of bed, then walked over to Ji Ran’s side, lifted the blanket again, and lay down beside him.
Ji Ran opened his He looked at her and asked, “What’s wrong with you?”
Yan Duo replied, “I can’t sleep without you holding me.”
Ji Ran’s heart softened as he pulled her into his embrace and closed his eyes once more.
Yan Duo nestled in his arms and cautiously asked what was on her mind, “Are you angry?”
Ji Ran opened his eyes again and looked at Yan Duo, “Not at all. The fact that you can tell me what you dislike instead of always going along with me—I think that’s commendable.”
From the beginning of their relationship, apart from that one time she forcefully brought up divorce, Yan Duo had always given Ji Ran the impression of a docile little lamb—agreeing with everything he said, never voicing her inner resistance even when she felt it. But as he gradually indulged her, Yan Duo changed a lot, slowly revealing her true nature. Ji Ran privately believed that this version of her was the most authentic.
“Really not angry?” Yan Duo asked again.
Ji Ran was torn between laughter and tears. “It’s true.”
Yan Duo jumped off the bed upon hearing this, said “Wait for me a moment,” and quickly ran into the walk-in closet. A few minutes later, she emerged wearing an all-black outfit.
The room was dimly lit by only a single yellow desk lamp. Ji Ran looked at Yan Duo walking out, slightly surprised—the clothes she was wearing were one of the sets he had just put back in place.
Yan Duo couldn’t quite handle Ji Ran’s undisguised gaze fixed on her. She cleared her throat lightly and said, “I think it’s fine to wear at home, don’t you agree?”