TL: Hua
Lin Yanran stayed with Ultraman for a while, and after seeing it was full, he returned to the staff canteen of the production team.
After asking a staff member for a bowl and filling it with water for the puppy, Lin Yanran left.
As he was leaving, he saw Ultraman retreat under the air conditioning unit again, staring at him, whimpering, and starting to act spoiled.
Its eyes were still pitiful, and it stretched out its paw toward him, seemingly reluctantly trying to keep him there.
Perhaps due to the bonus of his childhood memory, Lin Yanran increasingly felt that the little yellow dog was very similar to the “Ultraman” he had lost that year.
Lin Yanran stopped, turned, and looked at Ultraman a few more times.
He actually wanted to adopt it, but there were a few things he hadn’t confirmed yet.
First, he was worried that Ultraman wasn’t a stray but someone’s lost pet. If he rashly adopted it, the real owner would be very sad if they couldn’t find it.
Second, he wasn’t sure if the residential area he lived in allowed pets.
Third, whether the puppy itself was willing to go home with him.
Most importantly, he wasn’t sure if he could take good care of it.
Raising a pet is not a matter of impulse.
It shouldn’t be about thinking it’s cute or pitiful. What if he took it home on impulse, only to later realize he didn’t have the capacity to properly care for it?
Once you become a pet owner, you take on a responsibility. You have to live up to the trust the little animal places in you and take good care of it for its entire life.
Lin Yanran thought about the job he was currently doing.
His time was very unstable, and he was out of town every other day. If he rashly took it home, the time he could spend with it in the future would surely be very, very little…
It would be lonely following him, wouldn’t it?
After much thought, Lin Yanran temporarily abandoned the idea.
However, the first thing he did after returning was to inquire with his residential area’s property management.
They told him clearly that because there had been an incident where a dog not on a leash bit a child, dogs were now prohibited in the community.
Lin Yanran looked at his small apartment and then searched online for the prices of better-conditioned apartments, finding that they started at at least eight figures. Even renting was very expensive.
He looked at his bank balance, which had barely broken five figures and had only just entered the six-figure savings range.
Lin Yanran gave up the idea of moving.
After all, that six-figure savings only just got there today after Incredible Journey’s production team transferred the money to him.
That night, Lin Yanran had a dream. He was back in his high school days.
After the monthly exams, the classmates all suggested going out to play during the weekend.
Everyone agreed. After discussing, they went to a newly opened camping site on a nearby mountain to experience group camping life.
The class set off in the afternoon, but everyone’s pace was different. By the time the entire class had climbed up, it was already dark.
Everyone was starving, so they quickly rented a barbecue grill, and a few classmates good at cooking started to busy themselves grilling for everyone.
Lin Yanran, an idler with nothing to do, couldn’t help, so he was dragged away by a few friends to play cards.
High school students also knew how to make the game exciting. They bet peanuts, 50 grains per person. If you ran out, you had to take off an article of clothing, with one article counting as ten grains.
With his image on the line, and not wanting to lose all his clothes and pants, Lin Yanran played very cautiously, calculating the cards perfectly with every hand.
However, his luck wasn’t great that day. Although he tried his best to calculate, he couldn’t beat the others’ good luck in winning the hands. So, after playing for over an hour, although he didn’t give others a winning card, he was left with only ten peanuts.
A new round began, and Lin Yanran picked up a bad hand again.
To ensure he didn’t give anyone a winning card, he acted like a ruthless passing machine, not taking any cards he didn’t have to.
But after a few peaceful rounds like this, he suddenly drew a joker.
In accordance with the card game rules, drawing a Joker allows for an additional “fan” (scoring multiple), but at the same time, one must immediately draw a new card and then play one card from hand.
However, as long as you play a card from your hand, there is a risk of “firing the cannon” (giving an opponent a winning card).
Lin Yanran frowned as he looked at the cards in his hand, hesitating over whether playing the 4 or the queen would be safer.
He glanced at Xiao Pang across the table; the opponent had already declared they were ready to win, and one “fired cannon” would mean six “fan” (scoring multiples).
Lin Yanran quietly calculated that if he “fired the cannon,” he would have to pay the costs for the other two players as well, a full 21 peanuts!
This was a huge sum, and he couldn’t afford to lose all the peanuts he had left.
Just as Lin Yanran was hesitating over which card to play, someone leaned in next to him.
Then, a hand gently rested on his shoulder, and the person held a string of fragrant roasted corn up to his mouth.
“Open up,” the person whispered in his ear.
Lin Yanran’s line of sight was blocked. He lowered his head and bit into the corn, taking it from the other person’s hand.
He didn’t hold back at all.
Xiao Pang across the table was so envious he was drooling.
“Brother Ye, how can you do that? You roasted it and fed it directly to Yanran. Why don’t you get me a string too?”
The person next to Lin Yanran heard this and chuckled, replying lazily, “If you want to eat, get it yourself.”
Xiao Pang was unconvinced. “Yanran is still sitting, and he’s happily eating it up!”
Old Gao, sitting next to Xiao Pang, laughed after hearing this, mercilessly pointing out the truth everyone knew.
“Fatty, why are you so shameless? Can your weight in Brother Ye’s heart be compared to Yanran’s?”
Everyone knew that Lin Yanran and his two friends were as close as can be.
So, having a habit of joking around, Old Gao’s words just slipped out.
Lin Yanran was also used to hearing it and didn’t argue. Instead, he held his cards higher and asked the person next to him, “Which one should I play?”
The person loosely lifted the arm around Lin Yanran’s shoulder, casually picked a queen, and played it.
As a result, Xiao Pang across the table immediately lunged forward, picking up the card with a grin.
“Heh heh, Yanran, you calculated cards for so long and still ‘fired the cannon’! I was waiting for this absolute-last-of-its-kind queen. Let me calculate: six fan times seven equals twenty-one. You ‘fired the cannon’ alone and bear all the costs—twenty-one peanuts! Hand over the peanuts, quick.”
Lin Yanran only had ten peanuts in his hand. He lost all of them and was still short of eleven.
Lin Yanran, who had lost everything, didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He looked at the person next to him. “Your luck is something. You encountered the first ‘fired cannon’ of the day, and one as wild as six fan.”
Xiao Pang across the table was rubbing his hands with glee and immediately raised an eyebrow at Lin Yanran. “Yanran, you’re out of peanuts; take off your clothes!”
Lin Yanran smiled and waved his hand. “Why rush? Haven’t you ever seen a hunky guy strip?”
He then looked around. The girls from the class had also come to the camping trip. He was currently only wearing a white T-shirt and long pants. Stripping off either one would not look good. So, he made a deal with Xiao Pang.
“I didn’t play this card. How about you go find the person who ‘fired the cannon’?”
The person next to him smiled when he heard this, immediately pulled back the roasted corn, and whispered, “Are you asking me to strip?”
Lin Yanran looked at the person, tugged on the person’s sports jacket, and nodded, “Didn’t you wear a jacket? Taking off a jacket is fine, isn’t it?”
Xiao Pang saw this and refused to agree, immediately stopping them, “Yanran, turning the disaster on someone else won’t fly!”
After saying this, he also knew that asking Lin Yanran to take off his clothes in public was indecent and unrealistic, and he didn’t dare ask Brother Ye to take off his clothes. So, he changed the condition.
“Forget it. I will be generous this time and change it to a dare.”
Xiao Pang said to Lin Yanran without thinking, “Brother Ye was so thoughtful as to personally feed you. As a thank you, wouldn’t a kiss be appropriate?”
The people playing cards nearby immediately joined in the heckling.
Lin Yanran felt a little embarrassed by Xiao Pang’s request.
Although the two had a good relationship, a kiss… always felt a bit awkward.
Lin Yanran stood still and shot a dagger-like look at Xiao Pang. “Do you want to die?”
Xiao Pang was only joking and didn’t really want to see that kind of scene, so he waved his hand. “Fine, fine, let’s switch to truth.”
“Just tell us about the most heart-wrenching time you’ve ever cried and why.”
“Why is your head full of such strange things? Can’t you ask something more meaningful?”
Lin Yanran was utterly speechless, wishing he could pry open Xiao Pang’s head to see what kind of garbage was inside.
However, the more Lin Yanran tried to refuse, the more Xiao Pang thought he had some unspeakable secret, and he wouldn’t back down.
“No way, this is ‘Truth,’ you must answer honestly, or do you want to take off another piece of clothing?”
“Buzz off.”
Lin Yanran didn’t want to lie, but he would feel very embarrassed if he told the truth.
Just as he was hesitating, Xiao Pang had a wild idea.
“Shit, Ranran, you didn’t secretly like someone and cry over a girl, did you?”
The people next to them also started to egg him on.
“No way! The class heartthrob has someone he can’t get?”
Lin Yanran was about to shoot them down with his eyes one by one when he heard his good friend next to him say with a chuckle, “It’s possible.”
Lin Yanran looked at the person curiously, finding that the person’s beautiful peach blossom eyes were also looking at him.
Xiao Pang across the table was confused and asked the person, “Brother Ye, what do you mean by that? What’s possible? Explain clearly! Do you also have someone you can’t get? Who is it? Who is it?”
Seeing the topic drift further and further away, Lin Yanran initially wanted to use the “bathroom excuse” to avoid the question.
But his friend grabbed him and threw the topic back at him.
“Quick, ask him why he cried.”
With nowhere to hide, Lin Yanran could only steel himself and tell everyone about his puppy, Ultraman, getting lost.
“No way, hahahahaha, Yanran, you actually cried your heart out over a dog!”
“I really can’t imagine that scene… It’s so… innocent?”
“Hahahahahaha, your dog’s name is hilarious. It’s actually called Ultraman.”
Amidst his classmates’ laughter, Lin Yanran woke up.
The last frozen image in his dream was the scene where his good friend, after hearing that Ultraman could not be found, did not laugh at him with others but reached out and patted his shoulder, silently comforting him.
Lin Yanran reached up and covered his right shoulder, as if he could still feel the warmth from the other person’s palm.
This wasn’t a dream; these were things he had truly experienced but had forgotten.
But this time, he was very lucky. The person he had forgotten—he learned their name in the dream, from his classmates.
Xiao Pang called him Brother Ye.
Is it the character Ye from the words “nighttime” and “firelight,” or the Ye that means “settlement”?
When Lin Yanran thought of the last character, Gu Siyue’s face suddenly appeared in his mind.
He seemed to have heard staff members call him that too.
Lin Yanran woke up exactly at seven o’clock.
After a run at the nearby park, he went to the supermarket to buy a dog house, bedding, a food bowl, and a water dispenser for Ultraman.
Although he couldn’t take it home, it’s so cold right now, and seeing such a tiny thing sleeping under the air conditioner, he always worried it would freeze.
After buying the items, he took the dog food and some treats and went to the Super Idol studio early.
He ended up discovering that the area where Ultraman appeared yesterday was littered with a lot of treats.
When Lin Yanran arrived, Xia Xingxing was trying every possible way to entice Ultraman.
“Little doggy, come out; I won’t hurt you.”
Ultraman completely ignored Xia Xingxing, and instead, it was shaking with fear and hid in the innermost corner.
Seeing this, Xia Xingxing blinked at the dog in an aggrieved manner. “Am I that scary?”
No sooner had he finished speaking than he saw the puppy dash out in a flash.
Wagging its tail and whimpering, it rushed towards one direction.
Xia Xingxing turned around and saw that the puppy was actually circling Lin Yanran’s feet.
Its head, which had been so arrogant towards him, was now held high, looking all fawning and trying to please Lin Yanran.
“Huh? Teacher Yanran… this dog isn’t afraid of you?”
Since the stray dog was discovered yesterday, almost everyone in the Super Idol show had come to “visit” this mysterious guest.
However, the puppy was aloof and timid. When it saw anyone, it would hide and curl up into a tiny ball and wouldn’t even come out to eat the food they offered.
He had originally thought the dog was just too scared of everyone.
But he didn’t expect it to be so enthusiastic towards Teacher Yanran!
Seeing Ultraman so happy, Lin Yanran squatted down and tried to stroke its head.
He led it to the air conditioner, took out the food container, and put some dog food and water in it.
“Did you sleep well last night, Ultraman?”
Ultraman, with a mouthful of dog food, looked up at Lin Yanran when it heard him and let out a few whimpering sounds.
Lin Yanran felt that the dog seemed to be complaining to him, so he comforted it, “Is it too cold? How about trying this little house after you finish eating?”
The puppy nodded, as if it really understood what Lin Yanran was saying.
After eating, it even ran into the doghouse and walked around once before coming back to continue burying its head in its food.
Xia Xingxing stared in stunned silence at the puppy, which had suddenly become incredibly well-behaved in front of Lin Yanran.
“Teacher, are you a dog training expert? Why is it so obedient to you!”
Could it be that dogs also judge people by their appearance?
Seeing that Teacher Yanran is the most good-looking, it immediately transformed into a genuine appearance-worshipping dog[mfn]颜狗[yán gǒu] a term for someone or something extremely biased toward good looks.[/mfn]???
After Lin Yanran, with Xia Xingxing’s help, set up the dog’s temporary shelter and other accessories, he went to greet the program staff and tell them about the puppy.
The program staff, who had discovered the puppy even before Lin Yanran, were actually as worried about its situation as he was.
They saw how small the dog was and how it was afraid to approach people, so they felt too sorry to drive it away. After some discussion, they adopted a “turn a blind eye” attitude towards its presence.
The staff promised Lin Yanran that they would not actively drive the dog away. They also told him that they had contacted a vet and would call them in the afternoon to check the dog’s health, as well as deworm it and give it a rabies shot.
Only after learning that the puppy could be properly settled temporarily did Lin Yanran finally feel a little relieved.
Next, he went to the program’s makeup and styling team to discuss tomorrow’s look.
Regarding clothing, he had already communicated with the staff before he went to film Incredible Journey. The program team had always done well in this area and had everything properly arranged.
However, concerning the styling done by the makeup artist, Lin Yanran felt there was still a gap between it and what he had imagined during the first public performance. Some of the makeup even lowered the trainees’ good looks.
So, this time, he learned his lesson and prepared in advance to discuss it with the makeup artist.
He had already made the effect he wanted in the form of a rendering with text yesterday and planned to hand it over to the makeup artist in their team today.
The makeup team was busy with other things right now, so Lin Yanran sat in the dressing room waiting for them.
He took out his phone to check the time, only to find that two people had added him on WeChat.
One was the CEO of Ruiyu Garment, and the other was the person in charge of Sishi Garment.
Lin Yanran accepted both one by one.
Since he started gaining popularity, not only have more people sought out Yingying, but also a lot of companies and program producers have been adding his WeChat these past few days.
So he had long been used to it.
Immediately after Lin Yanran accepted the requests, the CEO of Ruiyu Garment sent him a large red envelope transfer.
Afterward, the person sent a block of text, sincerely expressing their gratitude to Lin Yanran.
Ruiyu Garment is the state-owned apparel brand that produced the extremely warm and functional down jacket Lin Yanran wore during Incredible Journey.
After that live broadcast, thanks to Lin Yanran’s advertisement, not only did the Lin Yanran “same style” down jackets sell out directly, but their company also regained widespread attention from consumers.
After so many years, under the impact of various emerging brands, Ruiyu, which had gradually faded from the public eye, finally returned to the public’s view because of this unexpected event.
The CEO of Ruiyu didn’t know how to express his gratitude to Lin Yanran, so he simply and directly sent a red envelope to thank him.
CEO Li of Ruiyu Garment: We make affordable clothing. We usually spend the money on researching more comfortable, warmer, and cost-effective materials, and we haven’t done any advertising or sponsorships. To be honest, we never dreamed that a celebrity would wear our clothes on a show before this.
The implication was deep gratitude for Lin Yanran’s free publicity.
Looking at the one hundred thousand yuan red envelope the other party sent, Lin Yanran did not accept it.
Instead, he shared some of his experiences as a customer with the other party.
After a cordial exchange between the two parties, the CEO also humbly recorded the suggestions Lin Yanran gave.
After Lin Yanran finished talking with CEO Li, he found that the person in charge of Sishi Garment had also sent him a message.
The other party was also simple and direct in conveying their intention to Lin Yanran, hoping to hire him as the brand’s spokesperson.
Sishi Garment is an emerging mid-to-light luxury brand in recent years. Their clothing is mainly aimed at young people, and their previous spokespersons were all quite popular celebrities.
Lin Yanran was somewhat surprised to see that the other party actually invited a small artist outside the third tier, like himself, to be the spokesperson for their down jacket sub-line.
Of course, Lin Yanran’s surprise was because he hadn’t seen the sales data from the past few days.
Although it was only a small segment on the show, the subsequent high sales volume could almost be said to have revived the nearly bankrupt Ruiyu.
Under normal circumstances, Sishi would definitely not look at a small celebrity like Lin Yanran, who had few fans and little recognition.
But now, seeing his huge advertising effect on the show, they were naturally tempted.
The person in charge offered Lin Yanran a one-million-yuan endorsement fee. In addition to requiring him to shoot some basic print advertisements, they also hoped to arrange for him to appear on an episode of Incredible Journey wearing their down jacket.
This requirement, for Lin Yanran, could be said to be effortless and extremely easy to fulfill.
Not only would he get paid, but he could also earn another appearance fee from Incredible Journey.
Killing two birds with one stone.
However, facing such an attractive offer, Lin Yanran declined without any hesitation.
He had bought Sishi Garment’s clothes before. Not only were they on the expensive side, but the quality and design were generally mediocre.
Especially the quality, which was completely inconsistent with the price.
Lin Yanran himself couldn’t approve of this brand, so naturally he was unwilling to endorse its products.
In fact, if he had to choose one of these two brands to endorse, he would be very happy to choose Ruiyu.
Even if the other party didn’t offer money, at least he, as a consumer, could feel that the company had a self-imposed insistence on quality.
Not only did they insist on good quality, but they also consistently provided jobs for people with disabilities and paid great attention to this group.
He hoped such a company could go further.
After extensive communication, the person in charge of Sishi Garment gave up when they saw that Lin Yanran would not agree to the endorsement no matter what they said.
In business, people can usually part ways amicably even if a deal isn’t made.
But the other party had probably never seen such an unappreciative young celebrity, and the person in charge finally threatened Lin Yanran.
“I hope you don’t regret your decision today.”
“If you refuse this time, you might never get the endorsements from Sishi and some of our affiliated brands in your lifetime.”
Lin Yanran smiled and turned off his phone after reading the threat, choosing not to reply to the other party.
Capital has always been arrogant, and it wasn’t the first time he had encountered it.
Just as Lin Yanran had a falling out with the person in charge of Sishi Garment, the stylists, trainees, and the program’s cameramen all appeared together.
He immediately put his phone away and communicated his ideas to the makeup artists.
Because he clearly and explicitly combined his thoughts with the characteristics of each trainee, the makeup artists had a very clear concept of everyone in their minds after listening.
Lin Yanran’s aesthetic sense was undoubtedly excellent, and the trainees who had worked with him before all knew this, so they had no objection after hearing him and all expressed their agreement.
Just when everyone thought the matter was settled, one of the makeup artists called out to Lin Yanran and Ji Shuai.
He looked a bit hesitant. “Teacher Yanran, are you sure Ji Shuai should be made up in a feminine way? Won’t the final look be too feminine and not ‘masculine’ enough?”
The smile on Ji Shuai’s face suddenly vanished after hearing the word “masculine.”
He belonged to the type with a relatively delicate and soft appearance, not conventionally handsome, and he kept his hair medium-long.
In his aesthetic, he had always felt that shoulder-length hair was beautiful, regardless of gender.
But ever since he was a child, everyone told him that boys should be ‘masculine’ and have short hair and that long hair was only for girls.
Moreover, because of his delicate appearance and non-aggressive personality, he had been excluded and mocked by many classmates since childhood. Everyone ridiculed him, saying he looked like a girl.
Therefore, before becoming a trainee, he never dared to be himself.
Fortunately, the entertainment industry is very inclusive, and now that he keeps this hair, few people say anything or find it unusual.
As a result, today he suddenly heard the makeup artist emphasize the word “masculine” again. He was already quite sensitive, and his face looked a little hurt.
It was precisely because of the so-called ‘masculinity’ that the previous makeup artists also deliberately styled him in that direction. The resulting makeup effect was incompatible with his facial features and temperament, making him look very awkward.
It was also for this reason that he was attacked by many haters for being ugly. Many people on Weibo criticized him and told him not to come out and scare people.
When he heard that his mentor was trying to get him a change of makeup, he was looking forward to it, hoping that his haters would attack him less for his appearance.
He didn’t expect the makeup artist to be somewhat opposed to the plan.
So, Ji Shuai’s heart couldn’t help but feel anxious again.
Lin Yanran smiled at the makeup artist after listening. “It’s okay; you can be bold and try it. Only a groundbreaking change will bring surprises to the audience, and his character setting is also more suitable for this style of makeup.”
The makeup artist was still a bit stubborn, afraid that Lin Yanran’s bold attempt would lead to himself being criticized, so he said tactfully, “Will the audience not accept it and think it’s too ‘girly’?”
Lin Yanran shook his head, “Boys don’t necessarily have only one aesthetic, and neither do girls. No one mandates that boys must be masculine and girls must be feminine. Girls can choose to cut their hair short to be cool, dashing, and handsome, and boys can also wear delicate makeup to make themselves look better. Aesthetics are diverse, and I believe the audience can accept it.”
Ji Shuai was completely stunned after hearing Lin Yanran’s words.
He couldn’t help but start thinking: If someone had said this to him when he was a child, would he have been less anxious and self-conscious about his appearance and instead be more confident?
Seeing that Lin Yanran still insisted, the makeup artist stopped talking, only absolving himself of responsibility: “Then if there are any problems, just don’t blame me.”
Lin Yanran nodded, taking full responsibility. “If the audience truly can’t accept it, I will come out and apologize to everyone.”
After a round of discussion, the makeup and styling issues for Lin Yanran’s group were finally settled.
So everyone returned to the practice room, seizing the last day to practice.
The trainees looked at their sweating reflections in the wall mirror.
Everyone was fully prepared to welcome the second public performance, which would determine their future destiny.
