Chapter 74: CH 71

Chapter 71: My Nian Nian

Once the short interview video of Tang Xiaoke outside the Hersey Fashion Show was broadcasted, it was immediately shared thousands of times.

[It’s not an illusion! I smell the fragrance of melon! Intentionally wearing the same outfit as Yu Nian and directly saying during the interview that Yu Nian can’t afford Hersey’s high-end clothing, thinking that Hersey inviting Yu Nian to watch the show is just for show-off. So, what’s the grudge between Tang Xiaoke and Yu Nian? This targeting is too obvious!]

[I just want to ask, who is Tang Xiaoke? A C-list newcomer trying to climb up by stepping on Yu Nian?First, he copied Yu Nian’s outfit, and now he’s causing trouble? Can’t he leave him alone? Let’s take our Nian Nian away!”

[Talking about Tang Xiaoke trying to ride on the popularity, are these people blind? Tang Xiaoke entered this industry just for fun. So what if he speaks the truth? They call it riding on popularity, but we, Tang Xiaoke’s fans, are wealthy. Even our paper clips are two-hundred-dollar Hersey’s ones. Can that guy surnamed Yu afford it? If you’re poor, don’t pretend!]

[Saying that Yu Nian can’t afford it, their attitude is really ugly. Shouldn’t they take a look at the sales of Yu Nian’s albums and then hand them a calculator to calculate how much money Yu Nian earned with just one EP? It’s not that he doesn’t have money or can’t afford it, but he’s just not like some nouveau riche whose life’s meaning is all about showing off wealth and buying luxury goods!]

For a while, the fans of both sides engaged in intense arguments, and the online forums were flooded with heated discussions. Not long after, the official Weibo account of “Yi Entertainment” released an interview video with Yu Qing, who was currently filming on set.

The reporter wasn’t afraid of causing a stir and asked Yu Qing, “Regarding the incident where Tang Xiaoke intentionally wore the same outfit as Yu Nian at the Hersey Spring-Summer Show, do you have any thoughts on it?”

Yu Qing exuded a queen-like aura as she sat on the light blue plastic chair. She looked puzzled and replied, “Excuse me, who is Tang Xiaoke? Does he have any representative works?”

The reporter was straightforward and answered, “He’s a recently popular male artist, but he doesn’t have any major works yet.”

Yu Qing twirled her hair at the tips of her fingers and said, “I’m sorry, I’m busy and don’t have the spare energy to remember the names of irrelevant people, so I don’t know this person. As for wearing the same outfit, Yu Nian doesn’t care about these things, and I have no opinion on it either.”

Under the video, the comments were filled with laughter.

[Hahaha, I love Yu Qing’s attitude! ‘Who? Any representative works?’ I’m too busy to know! Yu-style strikes three times, hitting right at the heart!]

[Hahaha, our Sister Yu loves her brother dearly. The last sentence was brilliant. Tang Xiaoke is only focused on causing trouble, whether it’s using water armies or making things trend on social media. But when it comes to Sister Yu, if Yu Nian doesn’t care, she has no opinion either. Hahaha! If I were Tang Xiaoke, I’d be so frustrated! All my efforts would be in vain!]

[Hahaha, it reminds me of Sister Yu’s past remark, ‘Who’s trying to compete with me for a role? Zhang Weiwei? Who’s that? I’m too busy, I don’t know her. Her Majesty the Queen has always looked down on the rubbish from the top of Mount Everest!]

After watching Yu Qing’s interview video, Shi Rou eagerly wanted to show it to Yu Nian as well. However, when she saw Yu Nian engaged in conversation with Meng Yuan and sensed the atmosphere wasn’t quite right, she thought twice and stayed put.

Meng Yuan had drunk half a cup of coffee, and there were a few traces of bloodshot in his eyes, indicating fatigue. He asked, “Aren’t you going to ask me about the decision I made?”

Yu Nian smiled and replied, “Don’t we find out soon enough?”

“You, you are so clever for your young age,” Meng Yuan sighed with a smile. “Quietly, you took the initiative and completely seized control of the situation. I’m more than ten or twenty years older than you, but you managed to lead me by the nose in this matter!”

Yu Nian’s expression remained unchanged. “Brother Meng, to be honest, I’m quite nervous.”

“Whether your statement is true or not, I find it comforting,” Meng Yuan said as he put down his empty coffee cup. He spoke slowly, “I thought about it for a long time last night. If I don’t take you, then who should I take? But you have raised my standards. I listed quite a few names, but then I realized I couldn’t see eye to eye with any of them. Starting to train a new talent again has a small chance of finding a good seed, and the cost of risk is high. I don’t know if I can meet or cultivate someone talented.”

Yu Nian listened carefully.

“I also estimated the impact of your relationship on your career, in the worst-case scenario. Even if your career falls to rock bottom or gets shelved because of your relationship, at least I will have collaborated with you, the artist with the most top-notch singing talent. That way, I won’t have any regrets in my professional career.”

Their eyes met, and Yu Nian extended his right hand toward Meng Yuan with a gleam in his eyes. “I’m glad that we can continue to cooperate without any grudges.”

This time, Meng Yuan didn’t hesitate to grasp Yu Nian’s outstretched hand. “Happy cooperation!”

After retracting their hands, Meng Yuan couldn’t help but add, “But Nian Nian, I have to advise you. You need to think carefully about this. As a public figure, as you progress further and hold higher positions, more and more people will like you, but at the same time, more people will be watching you. Can you withstand the endless insults, attacks, and malice, like an unyielding sea?”

“When I debuted, there were people pretending to be fans and deliberately falling over in front of me, claiming that they liked me before but turned into anti-fans. I felt upset back then. But maybe it’s because I’ve matured a bit now and understand that my influence is limited. Making the people I care about happy and content is already something I can be very proud of.”

Laughing, Yu Nian continued, “I don’t demand much from myself. As my grandfather said, ‘Look up to the heavens and never feel subservient to others.’ That’s enough for me.”

Outside the car window, buildings were continuously receding as they rushed from the hotel to the airport. Shi Rou whispered a prayer, “I hope we don’t run into Tang Xiaoke. I hope we don’t run into Tang Xiaoke…”

But as it turned out, prayers didn’t work, and the two parties eventually crossed paths. Tang Xiaoke was busy taking airport photos, and from a distance, Shi Rou was stunned, “His outfit is blinding! Oh my god, it feels like he piled all the latest Hersey items he just bought on himself!”

Not long after, Shi Rou came across the airport photos released by Tang Xiaoke’s studio. Meng Yuan noticed it and asked, “Their studio works so fast? The photo was edited and posted already?”

Shi Rou tapped the screen, “Indeed, they’re quick, but the comments are really a mess! Those fans started praising Tang Xiaoke for wearing all the latest Hersey items, it’s clear they’re just showing off their money. Somehow, they dragged Yu Nian into it, making all sorts of sarcastic and subtle remarks, saying Yu Nian couldn’t afford it. There’s a marketing account talking about Yu Nian taking a photo with Mr. Sleeman and speculating whether it means there’s an endorsement deal in the works. Immediately, Tang Xiaoke’s fans started bombarding that account.”

Meng Yuan was curious, “Tell me, how did they bombard them?”

“Some of the popular accounts with hundreds of thousands of followers directly opened their microphones and said that if there were any real progress, the team would have already prepared a paid promotion. But until now, it’s been quiet as a chicken, clearly indicating that the trip was a waste and there’s no deal. They also said it’s impossible for Hersey to sign Nian Nian, it’s like the probability of a comet colliding with the Earth.”

Meng Yuan habitually touched his chin, pretending to be pensive. “Ah, they don’t understand; we’re being low-key!”

Yu Nian added, “We’re obviously just afraid of making mistakes.”

Shi Rou laughed, “Hahaha, true, but You You is a perfect example. Remember the promotion of ‘Ancient Road’? We received so much mockery, we can’t afford to flip the car again.” Speaking of “Ancient Road,” she asked, “Yu Nian, did ‘Ancient Road’ get any Golden Song Awards?”

“We haven’t received much news yet, but my sister said we should be able to get three awards.” Yu Nian gestured with three fingers. “Director Xu Xianglan put a lot of effort into the movie.”

At that moment, an announcement came over the airport PA system, informing them that the flight would be delayed by about 90 minutes. Shi Rou patted her chest, “Thank goodness my phone is fully charged!”

Shortly afterward, a white man wearing a shirt and suit vest walked up, holding a square box in his hands. He politely stopped two meters away.

“Excuse me, is Mr. Yu Nian here?”

Yu Nian had just sent the flight delay information to Xie You when he heard the voice and looked up, smiling. “Yes, that’s me. Is there something you need?”

The man respectfully nodded and handed the box to Yu Nian, “This is from Mr. Xie, sent for you to pass the time while waiting.”

As the people left, Meng Yuan marveled, “They knew about the flight delay before us and prepared some little toys for you to pass the time in advance?”

Yu Nian didn’t answer, but he lowered his head and opened the square box. Upon seeing its contents, he burst into laughter.

Shi Rou also leaned in to take a look, “This is… glass checkers Chinese Checkers?”

“Yes, you’re right.” Yu Nian recalled mentioning to Xie You before about how he used to play glass checkers with his grandmother when he was a child.

He didn’t expect that Xie You would remember all this time.

Meng Yuan’s eyes lit up, “Rou Rou, take another look. These are not made of glass! Clearly, each piece is made of top-grade crystals!”

Shi Rou gasped in awe.

“Look at the refraction, they should be processed from natural crystal columns. Crystal spheres are not easy to make; they have to be ground and polished, which consumes about four to five times more material, and one small mistake could cause it to shatter, ruining all the previous effort. The surface of these pieces is intricately carved with delicate patterns, each line is extremely smooth, and it’s even coated with silver paint. The difficulty must be on a whole different level!”

Meng Yuan clucked his tongue in amazement, “The world of the wealthy is truly beyond my imagination. A set of checkers, sixty pieces, with the craftsmanship, and the checkerboard inlaid with colored diamonds—”

“How much did it cost?”

“Conservatively estimating, at least… three million? Five million? I can’t even make a precise guess!”

Shi Rou made a motion of fainting backward, muttering, “What are Hersey’s two-hundred-dollar paper clips compared to this? What are they!”

Yu Nian picked up one of the checkers and held it up to the light. The exquisite patterns on it shimmered with a mesmerizing glow, making him hold his breath as he examined it closely.

His gaze fixed on something, and he thought for a moment. Yu Nian slowly adjusted the angle, and sure enough, in the falling shadow, the patterns began to form a neat and precise character—”年” (Nian), written in Xie You’s handwriting.

Yu Nian’s heart skipped a beat.

He picked up his phone and typed a message to Xie You, “Just received the checkers.”

Xie You replied instantly, “Hmm, do you like it?”

Feeling a tingling sensation even in his fingertips, Yu Nian smiled as he replied, “I love it very much. It’s the most beautiful checkers I’ve ever seen.”

Xie You responded: “My Nian Nian deserves the best.”