Chapter 27

Stay Away From The Boss’ Family (2)

The Weibo fight grew increasingly more intense. To everyone’s surprise, An Yiyuan weighed in as well after Yan Yan jumped in. He reshared Si Huang’s update with the caption: “Tsk tsk… Has A’qiong irritated everyone? Do you need my help?”

An Yiyuan’s fan base was mostly composed of women. They immediately burst into a cacophony of discussion when they saw the picture shared on Weibo.

“Bishop, where did you find this beautiful man? He’s so fresh and juicy! Don’t ruin him!”

“You’re so cute, bishop! You’re sharing this good fortune with us early in the morning!”

“As I recall, A’qiong is Mr. Qianji’s name in The Sovereign Journey. Oh my! Are you going to reinvent yourself and turn into prince charming instead? Give that title back to His Highness! Please don’t cause any more trouble!”

“Check this out! Queen Guan and Cutie Yan are fighting because of Si Huang! But it looks like the Bishop likes Si Huang too! [link attached]”

As An Yiyuan’s fans joined the fray, Yan Yan naturally found herself on the losing end. However, this was not the end. Soon, Director Liu personally updated his Weibo too, his words slapping the hidden trolls: “Si Huang’s acting prowess is undisputed. Are you implying that I lack vision?”

The flames of war diminished greatly after he published his post. Then, The Sovereign Journey’s production team delivered another fatal blow—a promotional video.

The video was less than five minutes long, but it drew the attention of countless people.

It consisted of three snippets. The first snippet featured An Yiyuan in purple-and-black official robes with a wide jade ornament. His robes were embroidered with gold thread, and he was wearing an agate-colored crown with feathers. A smile was on his suave, sexy face, making him seem even more handsome and enticing. He was riding a black horse, his hands drawing a long bow as his long hair fluttered against the wind. He gave off an elegant, unconventional vibe as he drew his bow and arrow. He radiated the imposing force of a mighty general while he laughed loudly and heartily. This man seemed extremely reckless.

Then, the scene faded away to Guan Li, who was wearing long, light green robes. Her black hair was held in place by a single light green hairpin. Her usually cool and indifferent air was nowhere to be seen. Instead, her eyes were filled with the pure liveliness of a naive girl. She stood on a bamboo raft, gently paddling against the water with a bamboo pole. The emerald waters in the lush forest made her seem even more elegant and refined than ever.

Finally, the last snippet featured Si Huang and Guan Li’s scene, albeit an even more exquisite version thanks to post-production editing. The audience was drawn to the exceptional young man in the wheelchair from the moment they laid eyes on him. Then, his soft, sublime voice filled their ears like gentle water, enough to melt their hearts, followed by a close-up of Si Huang’s eyes… All that was left as they stayed silent was the deep emotion conveyed by his pure, sincere gaze, which burrowed deep into the hearts of the audience. Countless men and women were stunned by this very moment. Some of the most unworldly young women even clutched their hearts, their tender faces burning with a furious blush.

The scene ended with a close-up of Si Huang. Guan Li was not featured in the post-production edit, so no one knew that she had broken character or saw the mistake in her eyes.

The video instantly silenced the squabbling on the internet. To be more accurate, it silenced the trolls. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

This was “zero acting ability”? Then what were the criteria to be a skilled actor? Explain that!

Despite being compared to the already immensely popular An Yiyuan and Guan Li, Si Huang, who was featured at the end, was not inferior to them at all. In fact, the most memorable image at the end of the video was not the confident and cocky imperial noble or the fairy of the emerald waters from the secluded mountain. It was the crippled, peerless young man quietly staring at the audience.

The trolls slivered back into their dark caves at the end of the internal battle, and Si Huang’s newly-created Weibo received an influx of fans.

Realizing that the situation had been stabilized, Yu Xi turned to Si Huang and gently said, “This production crew is… pretty great.”

Si Huang ignored Wu Bao’s excited howls in her mind and smiled. “Do you really think that they did that just to help me?”

“Are you saying that they didn’t?” Yu Xi asked.

Si Huang was all too familiar with the rules of this game. “If you’re referring to kindness, Guan Li was genuinely kind. I never thought she would take the initiative to stand up for me. As for An Yiyuan, he was merely putting the icing on the cake. There wasn’t a lot of sincerity in his words. His main goal was to gain publicity for his latest film. Director Liu and the rest were after the same thing. They were simply manipulating the flames to gain more publicity for The Sovereign Journey.”

Si Huang observed the tense look on Yu Xi’s face. Her eyes remained calm and unperturbed the entire time. “They probably decided to release the promo video when the internet was in chaos. I’m sure that Director Liu had someone working overtime at the last minute to edit the video. He’s more aware of my acting skills than anyone else. He pulled out the video just as the battle reached its peak, not just to catch the trolls by surprise but to attract the attention of countless netizens while increasing the production team’s reputation as a ‘family’ that protects its actors. Then, finally, they gratuitously made me owe them a favor.”

Si Huang finished her explanation and picked up her vibrating phone. “Hello, Director Liu?”

“So, how do you plan on thanking me, kid?”

“For using me to release that impressive publicity video?” Si Huang chuckled. “Usually, the cost of that amount of publicity would be quite substantial.”

Director Liu was speechless. ‘Are all kids so sharp these days? What a turn-off!’

“Thank you, Director Liu,” Si Huang replied. “I’ll be counting on you to take care of me from now on.”

Director Liu ended the call.

Meanwhile…

Yan Yan’s manager had just received a call from Prime Entertainment, which bit his head off. Only then did he realize what Yan Yan had done.

“Oh my god, honey! I took a short break and you set the whole world on fire!” Zhou Jian cried out, feeling too heartbroken to shed tears.

“I didn’t do anything!” Yan Yan retorted, looking very impatient. “I gave Si Huang a compliment by calling him cute and praised Guan Li for her kindness. These were compliments! Why is everyone overreacting?”

Zhou Jian ignored her denial. “Delete that post from Weibo right now! The higher-ups have spoken. You must have a lot of nerve to attack the boss’ eldest son like that! You’re a part of The Sovereign Journey’s crew! Who’d destroy their own future like that?”

Actually, Yan Yan was already starting to regret picking a fight with Guan Li. Zhou Jian’s reprimand made her feel even guiltier. She tossed her phone at Zhou Jian. “I’m not deleting it. You do it. It’s not like I was trying to imply anything else. I was just trying to do something nice. You’re being unfair! You’re the ones who twisted my words with your shady thoughts!”

“Yes, yes, yes, you’re right! You just sit right there and be quiet, hon. Rest up and don’t forget to treat Director Liu and the rest with the same indignance.” Zhou Jian immediately went off to deal with that incriminating post. In order to protect Yan Yan’s reputation, he imitated her tone and manner and posted a new Weibo update.

Yan Yan V: “Have I said something wrong? Enough fighting, guys. I’ll delete the post, okay? [Pleading face emoji] [Grieving emoji]”