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Join the ServerLiu Pangpang had requested leave from the film crew for Su Xuan. Having pulled an all-nighter, Su Xuan slept soundly until Thursday noon, only to be abruptly woken by a frantic Liu Pangpang.
Su Xuan was still half-asleep, but Liu Pangpang’s dreams of massive stardom were already soaring out the window.
Liu Pangpang roared at Su Xuan: “Hurry up! Get up and get styled! You’re appearing on stage this Saturday! How can you show up looking like this?”
Su Xuan was truly at his limit. He hadn’t slept a wink last night. Liu Pangpang’s shouting made no impression on him as he stubbornly pulled the covers over his head. “Even if you’re asking me to work as a host, at least let me wake up first.”
Liu Pangpang fell silent.
Then, gathering his breath, Liu Pangpang declared, “I’ve worked like an ox and a horse for you my entire life, and this is how you treat me…”
Su Xuan, expressionless, cut off Liu Pangpang’s familiar lament. “I worked like a dog all night, and this is how you treat me…”
Liu Pangpang finally surrendered. “Brother, you’re my own flesh and blood. I don’t care what you do behind the scenes, but please don’t talk like that in public, okay? I’m afraid we’ll get reported! Get up now! This opportunity is a once-in-a-lifetime chance, a sign of good fortune! Haven’t you always wanted to be famous? This is your golden ticket! It’s Shen Chao! You can just reach out and touch…”
Su Xuan stared blankly at Liu Pangpang, whose face was alight with fantastical dreams. “…and have Shen Chao’s fans chop off my hand.”
Liu Pangpang’s smile gradually faded. He fidgeted, winking awkwardly. “It won’t come to that, right? We’re just fabricating a CP. It won’t hurt him. He could just show a little kindness and carry you to success.”
Su Xuan, now in a tank top, hopped around the room on one foot, searching for socks and pulling on a pair of rainbow-striped ones. “Pangpang, I’m genuinely gay. Those who dare to ‘sell rotten’ (feign a gay relationship for marketing) are fake gays. Only the fake ones dare to sell it. Which real gay person in the industry dares to? Real gays are all desperately cultivating homophobic personas. This kind of thing is a death sentence for young actors in the industry. It’s not like you just found out…”
As Su Xuan opened his wardrobe, half a cabinet full of rainbow flags tumbled out. He casually stuffed them back inside, retrieved a decent tracksuit from the bottom, and put it on. Turning to a ashen-faced Liu Pangpang, he shrugged. “Evidence of me being truly gay should be easy to find. My Weibo avatar is a rainbow…”
Liu Pangpang slowly slid down the wall to sit on the floor, despairingly closing his eyes. He couldn’t bear to look at Su Xuan, who was wearing a top emblazoned with the colorful letters ‘LGBT’. Liu Pangpang felt his blood pressure soaring. “…Enough, that’s enough! Stop talking!”
Su Xuan patted his head, a look of pity in his eyes. “Neither of us expected this day. We’ve been giving up for a long time.”
Su Xuan, now dressed, went to brush his teeth, leaving Liu Pangpang alone in the room, pacing frantically like an ant on a hot pan. “Su Xuan,” Liu Pangpang blurted out, “how about I portray you as an LGBT rights activist? You’ve donated money! You’ve done a lot of good deeds! As long as that image is solidified…”
Su Xuan poked his head out of the bathroom, toothbrush still in his mouth. “Solidified? Liu Pangpang, you’d better drop it. Don’t you dare tarnish the image of people who actually do good.”
Liu Pangpang suddenly snapped back to reality. “Wait, your Weibo account is in my hands! I don’t remember you changing your avatar to a rainbow. Damn it, have you been secretly running a side account behind my back?”
Suddenly caught red-handed, Su Xuan fell silent.
Liu Pangpang’s eyes narrowed, his chubby face squeezing them into slits. He grabbed Su Xuan by the collar and shook him back and forth. “Speak! Why are you so opposed to the release of ‘Courtyard House’? You’re always pouring cold water on my plans and interrupting me!”
Su Xuan bit his toothbrush, his tongue tracing the bristles. The thought of ‘Courtyard House’ being released felt like those bristles—a stinging itch, caught in his soft flesh, stirring a flicker of panic within him.
After a moment’s thought, Su Xuan decided it was better to be honest with Liu Pangpang. He admitted bluntly, “Yes, I don’t really want to interact with Shen Chao. I… my mind wasn’t very clear after filming ‘Courtyard House’ back then, and I confessed my feelings to him. His expression wasn’t good at the time; he probably dislikes me intensely. I don’t think he’d want to help me.”
Liu Pangpang gasped. “You confessed to him?!”
Unwilling to give up, Liu Pangpang quickly processed the news and calmly put on a forced smile. “It’s fine, it’s fine. Confessing is no big deal. There aren’t many female celebrities Shen Chao actually wants to promote; they all throw themselves at him. You can just apologize to Shen Chao, and we’ll operate the same way…”
This was clearly a plan to maliciously market using Shen Chao.
Su Xuan debuted at twenty-two and was now twenty-six. If he didn’t achieve fame soon, he would truly miss his chance. The fresh young actors in the industry were all increasingly youthful and handsome, in their teens, innocent, vibrant, and full of starlight, emerging in waves like delicate leaves swaying in the wind. Apart from Shen Chao, the mythical, omnipresent evergreen, there was no room left for Su Xuan to grow.
If he didn’t become famous soon, he would wither away.
Su Xuan lightly glossed over the topic, not wanting to delve deeper, and smiled. “Where did you get the money for marketing?”
Liu Pangpang looked at him. The stout man, thirty-five this year, was usually jovial, but now his eyes were a little red, and his lips trembled. “I put my house up for sale.”
Su Xuan was stunned.
Liu Pangpang avoided Su Xuan’s gaze. “Over a million yuan. Enough for initial marketing…”
Su Xuan slammed down his toothbrush, suppressing his anger as he roared at Liu Pangpang in a low voice. “Liu Pangpang, have you gone mad dreaming? How long has it been since you bought that house? Even if you don’t live there, doesn’t your wife?”
Liu Pangpang muttered softly, “She’s pregnant and went back to her parents’ house. She doesn’t know yet.”
Su Xuan was speechless.
Su Xuan grabbed Liu Pangpang by the collar, his anger flaring. “Damn it, Liu Pangpang! Can you act like a man?! Are you crazy with ambition?! If you sell your house and don’t break even, will your wife and child have to starve?”
Liu Pangpang also grew agitated. He was usually timid, and even in this argument, he looked submissive, but now he was genuinely furious. “I don’t want them to starve!”
He argued and cried simultaneously. “But I only have you! If you don’t become famous, where will I get the money?”
Su Xuan slowly released his grip.
Liu Pangpang had been managing Su Xuan since his debut. Su Xuan and Liu Pangpang were with Yezi Entertainment Media, the same company that was Shen Chao’s former agency. For the past four years, their most profitable project had been Shen Chao’s ‘Galloping Hooves’, and even that wasn’t secured by Yezi Entertainment Media, but by the drama’s director personally selecting Shen Chao.
Shen Chao had never intended to stay long at the company, signing only a one-year contract. When he left, Yezi initially didn’t want to let him go, but Star Culture was too powerful, and the transition was smooth, causing no significant stir.
Su Xuan wasn’t as shrewd as Shen Chao. He and Shen Chao signed with Yezi almost simultaneously, but Su Xuan signed for five years, and Liu Pangpang had been his manager throughout that period.
Liu Pangpang had previously managed several artists.
Due to Shen Chao’s immense popularity, Yezi Media actually had many promising newcomers. However, the upper management was relatively disorganized. These newcomers either left after being suppressed or returned to school after being overlooked. Many terminated their contracts after Shen Chao’s departure. Coupled with the lack of major breakout projects in recent years, Yezi Media, where Su Xuan was, subtly felt like a collapsing edifice.
In the entertainment industry, the turnover of both people and companies is equally rapid. Currently, Yezi Entertainment’s most popular young actor was Fu Mu, nicknamed “Little Shen Chao.”
This “Little Shen Chao” was initially managed by Liu Pangpang.
However, Liu Pangpang was somewhat naive. Su Xuan was his long-time artist, with the best acting skills and appearance, so Liu Pangpang tended to give many resources to Su Xuan. Fu Mu, that kid, held a grudge. He was ruthless enough to undergo plastic surgery, transforming from Fu Mu into “Little Shen Chao.” Then, having inexplicably latched onto someone influential, he returned and practically stripped Liu Pangpang of all his substantial resources, snatching every slightly better opportunity Liu Pangpang had.
Without resources, artists naturally leave. Su Xuan was the only one Liu Pangpang had left.
People thrive when they move, trees die when they don’t. Su Xuan had advised Liu Pangpang to leave, but a middle-aged man is like a tree; decades of cultivation had rooted Liu Pangpang in Yezi Entertainment. Moving would likely lead to his demise. Liu Pangpang, caught between apprehension and not finding a new agency, had no choice but to languish there, barely surviving. Liu Pangpang no longer relied on Su Xuan’s income; he had his own sources of money, but Su Xuan was indeed his only hope.
Su Xuan was Liu Pangpang’s last resort.
Liu Pangpang gazed at Su Xuan expectantly, his palms rubbing together repeatedly. “Although this isn’t honorable, few people who rise in this industry are honorable. And you’re not one to put on airs, are you? Don’t you want to be famous, Su Xuan? If you hitch yourself to Shen Chao, you’ll become famous whether you want to or not. Why are you so unwilling?”
Su Xuan was silent for a few seconds. “I want to be famous, but I don’t want to rely on Shen Chao for it. I care about what he thinks of me.”
Su Xuan turned to look directly at Liu Pangpang, speaking with genuine sincerity. “I truly like him, and I don’t want him to look down on me.”
‘I want to be famous because of him, and being famous *through* him, are still different,’ Su Xuan thought.
He had liked Shen Chao for four years. Although he often cursed ‘toxic straight men’ while looking at Shen Chao’s photos, he didn’t want his affection to become toxic by being mixed with too many other things.
He had confessed openly four years ago, and four years later, he admitted it just as frankly. Su Xuan didn’t feel there was anything shameful about his affection, nor did he consider unrequited love to be humble or inferior. Shen Chao was worthy of his affection, and Su Xuan had every right to like him.
‘I’m quite excellent myself,’ Su Xuan thought shamelessly.
Liu Pangpang was momentarily speechless.
Su Xuan was a promising talent and a good person; otherwise, Liu Pangpang wouldn’t have bet so wildly on him. Su Xuan and he shared many years of friendship, and Su Xuan had never betrayed him. Liu Pangpang couldn’t push him any further. He was also touched by Su Xuan’s genuine feelings for Shen Chao. Wiping his eyes, he self-deprecatingly said, “I’ll go back and pay the agent’s fee to buy my house back.”
Su Xuan asked, “How much is the agent’s fee?”
Liu Pangpang choked out, “Fifteen thousand.”
Su Xuan looked up at Shen Chao’s poster, then generously handed something to Liu Pangpang. “Here, take it! I put it on Idle Fish, someone wants it for fifteen thousand! It’ll cover your agent’s fee—it’s Shen Chao’s out-of-print signed poster!”
Liu Pangpang was speechless.
Liu Pangpang began to waver again, thinking that this scoundrel Su Xuan might not like Shen Chao as much as he claimed.
You think this chapter was thrilling? Wait until you read Jinho's Story! Click here to discover the next big twist!
Read : Jinho's Story
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