YPHC Chapter 77

Jiang Nan’an didn’t understand the meaning of the paint poured from the yogurt carton in his hand-whether it was a game easter egg or someone’s deliberate action.

 

He uncertainly looked at the cups of those around him and could see that everyone else had normal yogurt; only his cup contained paint.

 

He hesitated for a moment and looked toward Qi Hong in the audience.

 

Seeing his expression wasn’t quite right, Qi Hong raised her eyebrows at him, asking what was wrong.

 

“Now our game officially begins. Cheng Cheng, you go first? What’s something you have that others don’t? You must be completely honest!”

 

No one noticed Jiang Nan’an’s small issue as the host had already started cueing the process. Liang Cheng was very cooperative. Holding the microphone, he thought for a moment and smiled:

 

“Does taking the art exam twice count? I didn’t get into my desired school the first time, so I repeated a year and succeeded the second time! This should be exclusive to underachievers like me, haha?”

 

Liang Cheng’s experiences had already been made public, and he had even used them to promote his hardworking image for a while. Now he could mention them openly without any issue.

 

Among the actors present, some weren’t professionally trained, while others had only taken the art exam once. No one had shared his experience, so Liang Cheng won this round, and the other guests had to drink a cup of yogurt as punishment.

 

It was just a small cup of yogurt. The other guests quickly raised their cups to show they had completed the task, but Jiang Nan’an remained motionless, drawing everyone’s attention.

 

“Why isn’t Teacher Jiang drinking?”

 

Liang Cheng was the first to speak up.

 

Before Jiang Nan’an could answer, Liang Cheng had a look of sudden realization:

 

“Oh-I remember Teacher Jiang doesn’t like yogurt, but we should accept the consequences of the game! These are the rules. Come on, come on!”

 

Jiang Nan’an glanced at Liang Cheng, and he wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but he seemed to detect a hint of schadenfreude in Liang Cheng’s eyes.

 

Did Liang Cheng know that what was in his cup wasn’t yogurt?

 

The thought flashed through Jiang Nan’an’s mind.

 

He, or they, did this deliberately?

 

Seeing no response from him, Liang Cheng smiled and said to the host:

 

“Well… let’s not force Teacher Jiang. If he really doesn’t want to drink it, that’s fine. I’ll take his punishment! I’ll drink it for him!”

 

“Sure.”

 

Before the host could respond, Jiang Nan’an agreed to his offer, staring at him calmly:

 

“You drink it for me.”

 

Hearing this, the smile on Liang Cheng’s face froze.

 

Originally, he was just being polite, as he didn’t think Jiang Nan’an would risk being mocked for “being a poor sport” by letting him take the penalty. But he hadn’t expected Jiang Nan’an to break convention and actually accept his offer.

 

“Uh, okay.” Liang Cheng quickly adjusted his expression and nodded, about to drink the yogurt in his hand when Jiang Nan’an blocked him:

 

“It’s my penalty, you should drink mine.”

 

“…”

 

Liang Cheng was stunned, truly not expecting Jiang Nan’an to go this far:

 

“This, this doesn’t seem right?”

 

“What’s not right? Is it because my cup doesn’t taste good?”

 

The atmosphere suddenly became awkward, and the audience below broke into whispers, not understanding what was happening on stage. Qi Hong was grabbing her hair, frozen like a statue.

 

The first time… the first time she tried letting Jiang Nan’an be himself at a press conference, how did it create such a mess?

 

…No, even with his low emotional intelligence, he wouldn’t fixate on such a small matter and make everyone uncomfortable. This was clearly deliberate… what was going on??

 

The host reacted quickly, immediately forcing a laugh to save the situation:

 

“Oh, I forgot to mention, our game actually has a little easter egg. We not only prepared Chen Xiaoliang’s favorite yogurt but also Chu Xiaozhī’s commonly used paint. It seems Teacher Jiang is quite lucky to have received this little surprise.”

 

Jiang Nan’an gave him a cold glance:

 

“You mean you mixed white paint into something people were supposed to drink, without any prior warning, secretly putting paint in a yogurt bottle as a prank, and then saying ‘you’re so lucky’ after someone drinks it? Or perhaps not saying anything at all? Wow, what a surprise! Would you like this surprise for yourself?”

 

Upon hearing that there was white paint mixed into the actors’ yogurt, the audience erupted in shock.

 

The host was sweating profusely and hurriedly had the staff bring Jiang Nan’an a new bottle of normal yogurt.

 

After confirming that this yogurt had no issues, Jiang Nan’an completed his “punishment,” and the game moved to the next round, where it was his turn to ask a question.

 

“Next is Teacher Jiang’s turn. Does Teacher Jiang have any special experiences?”

 

“Yes.” Jiang Nan’an answered without hesitation, in a very natural tone, drawing from what had just happened, and sincerely asked:

 

“Having someone replace yogurt with white paint at a press conference, expecting me to be a fool who would obediently drink paint thinking it’s yogurt. Have any of you experienced that?”

 

“…”

 

Silence.

 

Complete silence.

 

Liang Cheng could no longer maintain his composure, while the other actors kept their eyes down, awkwardly laughing with vague responses of “no, no,” gulping down their yogurt hurriedly, scrambling to get through this segment.

 

This small game was basically the last segment of the press conference. Soon after, everyone said goodbye to the audience, concluding today’s event.

 

As soon as they left the stage, Jiang Nan’an was immediately pulled back to the rest area by Qi Hong.

 

Qi Hong’s heart had been forced to ride countless roller coasters in these short few dozen minutes, going up and down endlessly.

 

She had already contacted emergency PR while she was in the audience, and now back in the rest area, she was simultaneously cursing loudly and calling for help. Her carefully styled curly hair had been messed up by her own hands until it looked like a bird’s nest.

 

Jiang Nan’an’s cutting remarks today that had embarrassed the host and organizing team were indeed a bit harsh. Normally, Qi Hong would have given him a good scolding, but she knew she couldn’t blame him today-the press conference had invited a bunch of troublemakers who were singling him out and making things difficult. If he didn’t get angry, he wouldn’t be Jiang Nan’an.

 

Qi Hong couldn’t direct her anger at Jiang Nan’an, so she could only vent it on others:

 

“Which amateur company picked today’s host? If you don’t know how to ask questions, then don’t ask! Why isolate someone during the previous interactions and games? Huh? And in the only game he participated in, they deliberately gave him paint to drink?! Are they sick?! What are those people at Qijiang doing??”

 

Hearing a certain name, Jiang Nan’an was taken aback: “Qijiang?”

 

“Yes.” Qi Hong said while fixing her long hair:

 

“Isn’t ‘Twelve Hours’ Qijiang’s drama? Liang Cheng is also Qijiang’s person. I’ll never work with them again. Damn it, what’s the use of a company having a big reputation if they’re just pulling dirty tricks behind the scenes? They invited you for a special appearance, talked big before signing the contract, then changed the team once you joined, even switching the lead actor. Isn’t it obvious they’re using your name to boost a newcomer for cheap? It was bad enough when they kept trying to create buzz with you during filming, but now they’re deliberately making things difficult. Aren’t they just pure vampires?”

 

“…” As Jiang Nan’an listened to Qi Hong’s tirade, he recalled a certain incident from a few months ago associated with this name:

 

“…Ah.”

 

Qi Hong detected something unusual in this brief syllable:

 

“What’s wrong? Did you have some unpleasant experience with Qijiang’s people? I’ve been thinking, you had conflicts with Liang Cheng before, but they wouldn’t go this far just to get revenge for one artist, would they?”

 

This didn’t make sense-when Jiang Nan’an was filming, Xiao Sun was with him every day reporting back to her, and she personally accompanied him to all other activities. There shouldn’t be anything she didn’t know about.

 

“Well, I don’t know if it counts,” Jiang Nan’an lowered his eyes and calmly replied:

 

“Someone from their company previously said they wanted to proposition me, and I refused.”

 

“Oh…” Qi Hong nodded, and after a few seconds, her brain finally registered what she had just heard:

 

“What???”

 

–

 

Although today’s press conference wasn’t livestreamed, the entire event was recorded by audience members and simultaneously uploaded to various social media platforms.

 

So, almost as soon as the press conference ended, topics related to this event exploded on Weibo.

 

[Shan Shan is a Cute Cat: ??? Giving an artist white paint to drink??? What kind of divine gold production team??? If there was an easter egg, why not announce it before the game??? Did you have to wait until your precious darling Liang Cheng was embarrassed to say it??? Stupid as hell @TV Drama Twelve Hours @TV Drama Twelve Hours @TV Drama Twelve Hours]

 

[Have a Slice of Cheng Cake: If Jiang fans are worried about their idol, just criticize the production team, why drag your Liang daddy into it? And Jiang, if the production team is targeting you, confront them directly. Why target Liang Cheng and make him drink paint? Liang Cheng didn’t know, he was being kind by speaking up for you, and you repay him with sarcasm?]

 

[Lemon Tart: LMAO LMAO, the drama belongs to Qijiang, parachuted Liang is Qijiang’s precious son, the son pays for the father’s debt, cursing him together is completely justified. He didn’t know? I reward you with a view of your idol’s schadenfreude expression when encouraging Teacher Jiang to drink the paint~]

 

[In Xiao Shan’s Arms: @TV Drama Twelve Hours, why did the press conference host implicitly and explicitly make things difficult for the artist during the Q&A? Why only target Jiang Nan’an? Why marginalize and isolate the artist during the interactive segment? Jiang Nan’an meticulously crafted his performance and cooperated with the promotion, why can’t he receive fair treatment? Why replace the yogurt with white paint without informing the artist? Was it really an easter egg or a deliberate prank betting the artist wouldn’t confront you on the spot? An artist’s low-key and peaceful demeanor is not a reason to bully them! We hope the production team can provide a reasonable explanation!]

 

The online sentiment started out normal, but after half an hour, the opposing side’s trolls entered the fray with a unified narrative, attacking Jiang Nan’an for deliberately sabotaging the press conference and his cutting remarks targeting Liang Cheng. They accused him of being unprofessional, uncooperative with the production team’s promotion, and acting like a diva, among other things.

 

Fortunately, Jiang Nan’an’s fans have always been fighters. Under the guidance of several major fan accounts, they directly hit the opposition’s pain points, focusing on the “targeting,” “isolation,” and “drinking paint” issues, while also criticizing Liang Cheng for stirring up trouble.

 

Jiang Nan’an’s die-hard fans had been with him all along. Although his debut film was a passion project from a major director that laid a solid foundation for him, his subsequent achievements were earned step by step through his own efforts.

 

Unlike some wildly popular artists in the industry who were supported by big companies and capital with abundant resources, he initially filmed mostly low-budget dramas. It was only because he had good taste in scripts and luck that he earned the reputation of “one hit after another.” Later, because he didn’t hype himself, maintain a public presence, or accept endorsements, he didn’t receive very good resources. Additionally, he had high standards for roles, caring about character quality rather than billing order, accepting both lead and supporting roles. Occasionally, major productions would approach him, purely because investors saw his large fan base could carry a drama, or directors appreciated him and gave him a chance.

 

So fans say he’s aloof from worldly disputes, but even so, over the years he has still faced quite a bit of jealousy. Rumors, internet-wide smear campaigns, and battles with rival fandoms are common occurrences, and each time his fans organize their fighting power to coordinate with PR teams to fight back.

 

Today’s incident stirred up another storm of controversy on Weibo. After the press conference, Jiang Nan’an couldn’t go home directly but was dragged back to the company by Qi Hong for several emergency meetings.

 

By the time he was finally allowed to go home, it was quite late.

 

Xiao Sun and the driver originally wanted to take him directly to the underground parking garage, but Jiang Nan’an wanted to walk by himself, so he only let them drop him off at the entrance of the residential complex, preferring to stroll back home at his own pace.

 

The moonlight was beautiful tonight, hanging in the sky like a white, luminous orb. Jiang Nan’an looked up at the sky, then down at his own shadow on the ground.

 

He felt somewhat tired.

 

When he first entered the entertainment industry, it was because he truly had no better options at the time, but he stayed because he genuinely enjoyed acting and interpreting different characters.

 

He just wanted to do this one small thing well, but he still inevitably got dragged into various whirlpools of conflicts and struggles.

 

For him, true relaxation seemed to exist only within his roles. Once outside of character, all sorts of demons and monsters would cling to him.

 

He really didn’t understand why he encountered so many messy situations, nor did he know what he had done wrong, why so many people wanted to cause trouble for him, targeting him openly and secretly to make him uncomfortable.

 

He didn’t want to deal with it, but these matters involved too many people and too many interests to ignore.

 

Countless strangers pursued him with insults, but there were also countless strangers who voluntarily stood in front of him for protection. So whenever such incidents occurred, he could never just represent himself, nor could he make decisions alone. He couldn’t disappoint those who had placed their hopes in him, so he was forced to face these situations.

 

These things were too complicated and exhausting, constantly having to consider this and that, offending people here and there, never having a day of peace.

 

Today…

 

Today was the first time Qi Hong had allowed him to face the audience and handle problems in his own way, but just this once, it had spiraled out of control.

 

Just thinking about it was frustrating.

 

Jiang Nan’an silently sighed.

 

He walked from the residential pathway into the building, took the elevator up, and stood at his front door.

 

His mind was blank, thinking of nothing except quickly getting home to shower and sleep.

 

There was no work tomorrow, so he could sleep until noon. If today’s incident was well-controlled and didn’t escalate further, then tomorrow could be a bit more relaxed. He wondered…

 

The moment he pushed open the door, Jiang Nan’an’s thoughts paused.

 

The home that should have been dark and empty emitted a warm glow of light, accompanied by the aroma of food.

 

Jiang Nan’an’s mind went blank, unable to immediately comprehend the situation.

 

Only Yan Jie had the password to his door, but Yan Jie had some family matters these past two days and had been in Beijing the whole time. He shouldn’t be here.

 

…Had he come back?

 

Jiang Nan’an came to his senses and, without even changing his shoes, walked straight in and peeked around.

 

Then he saw a table of food on the island counter, and Yan Jie walking toward him wearing an apron.

 

Before he could react, Jiang Nan’an was enveloped in Yan Jie’s outstretched arms.

 

“Welcome home! Surprised? Unexpected-”

 

Yan Jie hugged Jiang Nan’an so tightly that his feet left the ground, spinning him around for a while before setting him down, but he didn’t let go.

 

He just held him tightly, lowering his head to place a kiss on the top of his head:

 

“Were you bullied today? Did they upset you? It’s okay, don’t be afraid, don’t be angry. I’m here, baby.”

 

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 (advanced chapters available on kofi)