Jian Yang’s filming progress had passed one-third of the way. Living a secluded life, he spent two months surrounded by the sounds of ka-ka, OK, ka, ka, ka… At night, his dreams were filled with the sound of old tapes, ka-ka-ka-ka.

The elusive Jiang Ke suddenly appeared on set and told him she had secured three cosmetics endorsements for him. They were domestic brands, not big names, but they had high national recognition.

“Did Mr. Guan arrange this for me?” Jian Yang asked, removing his military cap to fan himself.

It was June, with a subtle warmth beginning to show.

“No, I took the initiative to connect with the brands,” Jiang Ke replied.

“Why would a brand want to use a… nobody?”

Jian Yang wasn’t worried about whether he was well-known or not; he was just a nobody.

“Didn’t you check your phone?”

“I don’t have time to check my phone. Sister, Bai Yingdi and the director are taking turns explaining the scenes to me. I barely have time to sleep.”

“Did Dong Dong not check either?” Jiang Ke asked, incredulously.

“He follows me around every day, worried I’ll overexert myself. He keeps feeding me and making medicine for me. Look, he’s gained another ten pounds,” Jian Yang pointed to Dong Dong, who was beside them juicing fruits and vegetables.

That huge figure was gradually widening. Jiang Ke shook her head. “Mr. Guan really found you a playmate.”

Two kids, both clueless. Jiang Ke handed over the compiled data to Jian Yang. “This is the buzz your role in Director Xu’s movie created. Your Weibo followers have hit seven hundred thousand. I thought no one was handling your marketing and that you were too cautious to post anything, but I was wrong. You’re not that obedient. Here’s the heat index across various platforms. Now’s the time for your popularity to rise. You’re no longer a nobody, Xiao Yang. Be prepared, your life won’t be as free as it used to be.”

Jian Yang: I’ve already gotten used to it.

“How could there be such high popularity? I’m not the lead.”

“Yeah, the promotional campaign was initially focused on the leads’ CPs, but the audience really connected with you. They paired you with the main cast in a multi-person CP. Now you’ve tapped into the heat of every main lead. In the end, it’s because you’re good-looking. Everyone loves to watch pretty faces in youth school dramas.”

Jian Yang clicked his tongue. “The audience’s tastes are really unpredictable. Do the main actors have any opinions about it?”

Jian Yang had a good relationship with them and didn’t want this to affect their dynamic.

“No, they’re all happy. The drama’s popularity has gone up with yours too,” Jiang Ke adjusted her glasses. “But don’t always think like this. The friendships in the entertainment industry aren’t as simple as you think.”

“Hmm.” Jian Yang knew this all too well. He’d been overtaken so many times, but he only avoided it when he could.

“By the way, can you take a couple of days off? After the drama airs, there will be a few variety shows. Initially, only the main cast was scheduled, but now they want you to join too. There’s also a two-day, one-night camping variety show. Want to pick one?”

“Forget it, Sister Jiang,” Jian Yang said seriously. “I still want to focus on acting.”

“Alright. With this level of resources, I can always get a spot for you with Ru Yu Teng. Just focus on acting, and I’ve got your endorsements arranged. They’ll all be scheduled after you finish filming.”

“No problem, thanks, Sister Jiang.”

Jian Yang treated Jiang Ke to a meal and then skipped back to the set.

When he was playing Director Xu’s role, he felt his acting skills were more than enough for the character. Sure enough, hard work pays off! His dedication to improving his acting had finally paid off, and he wondered if people outside would think he was a genius.

Hahahahaha, Jian Yang couldn’t help but laugh, Jian the genius.

Who would know he was drawing on two lifetimes of experience?

“Hello, little dog,” Jian Yang strolled happily, greeting every cat and dog he passed.

Bai Shun came to visit the set, walking behind him, and let out a chuckle.

Jian Yang blushed. “Bai Yingdi, what are you doing here?”

“If I’m not here, how will I see our Jian the genius’ divine acting?”

Jian Yang: Crap, how did he say out loud what I was thinking?

“What’s going on? You seem so happy,” Bai Shun wasn’t like Guan Ciyan, who would make people feel embarrassed to the point they couldn’t face him, and he actively helped to diffuse the awkwardness.

Jian Yang raised a smiling face. “Hehe, I got a little popular.”

He even has a fan group now, though it only contains scattered screenshots of characters and his 108 pairs of CPs. It might be because he portrays rich characters so well, and there’s a big gap between the wealthy roles and the poor main characters, so his CPs with others feel very strong.

Surprisingly, every CP fan is harmonious; there’s no drug-addicted chicken situation, and the CP fans and his solo fans get along very well. His solo fans call him “Zai Zai.”

“Although I’m younger than Zai Zai, isn’t it fine for Zai Zai to call me ‘Mom’?”

“Add multiplication, division, and then subtract!!”

…

Jian Yang himself is also a fan of the producer’s CP, and he’s not opposed to others pairing him up with same-sex CPs. He even registered a secondary account to follow the chaos and posted a poll with the seven main CPs to see which one got the most votes.

“Hahaha, didn’t expect it, the main character is here himself,” Jian Yang said while playing with his phone, showing it to Bai Shun.

Bai Shun smiled without speaking. After Jian Yang had his fun, he said, “Jian Yang, have you ever thought about what path you want to take in the future?”

“Well, acting, I won’t do anything else.”

“At your age, acting offers a lot of options. You’re handsome, even in the entertainment industry, people will notice you right away. You could take on idol dramas, attract younger female fans, then do variety shows to increase your exposure. With a drama like Wen Ye as your foundation, no one will say your acting is bad. You can spend two or three years to become a top star. You could also focus on acting, pursue awards, and be a true actor, hiding behind the character. Maybe movie fans and audiences won’t remember you, but they will remember your characters over and over.”

Jian Yang was taken aback. The first option clearly follows the mainstream path, a more stable one, and it’s what he did in his previous life. Idol dramas demand little from actors in terms of acting and scripts, and as long as you’re good-looking, it’s easy to shine. If fans like you, then doing variety shows will help solidify your fanbase, increase your commercial value, start getting endorsements, and if things go well, you could make enough money to live comfortably for the rest of your life within ten years, and then slowly step back from the public eye to focus on your own industry or work behind the scenes.

Of course, for those who aren’t so lucky, they can fade in a year, even before they start earning money, abandoned by the audience.

In his past life, Jian Yang had no choice. He had no resources, no background, and no right to choose his scripts, so he had to follow this path. But now Bai Shun had enlightened him.

Backed by the Guan family, he could, like Bai Shun, just focus on acting, keep his commercial value high, but not take many endorsements. Except for necessary fan interactions, he wouldn’t expose himself too much in the public media, creating iconic characters.

Even if his birthday fan support wasn’t as grand as a top star’s, without a sea of light boards, as long as people mentioned any of his characters, passersby would be amazed: “Him? I know him, I’ve seen his dramas.”

Jian Yang looked down at his phone, dazed.

This time, he had a choice. No need to run around endlessly for events and programs; he could just focus on studying scripts and creating.

At that moment, Jian Yang deeply felt the benefits of being the “young master of the Guan family,” and how his life had really changed.

“You don’t need to feel embarrassed. Some people enjoy the spotlight and the cheers of fans. Being a top star is great too, and it can help earn more money for Guan Ciyan.”

“But I want to be an actor. I want to create more works, life is only a few decades long, and I want to leave something behind,” Jian Yang’s inner scale tilted. “Actually, success and fame aren’t that attractive to me. Of course, I like earning money, money gives me a sense of security, but wealth and fame are others’ evaluations of me. I just want to do something more meaningful.”

“It’s good that you think like that. Wen Ye will like you.”

Jian Yang: “Wait, if I choose to be a popular star, will you report to Wen Ye?”

“I won’t tell him, but I also won’t recommend him to continue using you in the future.” Bai Shun patted Jian Yang’s shoulder and walked toward the film set.

A few days later, Jiang Ke notified Jian Yang that the drama’s streaming platform had a year-end party, and since Jian Yang’s drama was the hit of the year, and he played the most popular character, they wanted him to walk the red carpet.

It wouldn’t take long, just two days round-trip.

Jian Yang nervously went to ask Wen Ye for leave. Wen Ye pushed up his glasses, “Take your gun with you, don’t forget your role.”

The little prince of the military family, his gun never leaves his side.

Jian Yang agreed and flew to another city. The gala was livestreamed the entire time; in fact, it was just an excuse for the platform to get more exposure for its shows, especially since the two platforms had been fiercely competing recently.

Jian Yang sat with his crew, everyone laughing and joking, but when Director Xu approached, they instinctively quieted down. Director Xu patted Jian Yang’s back, “Stop pretending to be obedient.”

Jian Yang scratched his head, “If it weren’t for Director Xu, I wouldn’t have the qualification to attend this banquet, so I must listen to him.”

“Do you still need me for a show? You’re not even in Wen Ye‘s team anymore. Young Master Guan, stop raising me up,” Director Xu lowered his voice. “Aren’t you going to stay close to Mr. Guan?”

“Mr. Guan… is he here too?” Jian Yang was surprised; how could someone of Guan Ciyan’s level attend this kind of banquet?

“He’s the investor for our show.”

“Huh?” Jian Yang vaguely remembered that the night he ran away from home, Guan Ciyan had chased him and said he invested in Director Xu’s show, so he didn’t have to worry about the broadcast.

At that time, he had been too angry to pay attention to that detail.

“Anyway, I’m just a tool for him to make money. Employees don’t usually go looking for their bosses.” Jian Yang felt that everyone was misunderstanding his relationship with Guan Ciyan and didn’t want to give people the impression that he was clinging to a wealthy person.

“No, that’s not it,” Director Xu shook his head. “He added investment after you passed the audition. Otherwise, how could your scenes be so packed? We finished shooting in just fifteen days.”

“That’s what I thought.” Jian Yang’s scenes were all scheduled in a concentrated manner, unlike when he played supporting roles before, where he spent half of his time waiting for the main characters to finish their scenes first. “So that’s how it is.”

Jian Yang bit his lip. “But he didn’t come to find me.”

After Guan Ciyan left the set, their communication became more frequent than before, but still not too much. Jian Yang felt that there was no need to tell Guan Ciyan about walking the red carpet. But since Guan Ciyan was here, it was impossible for him not to know that Jian Yang was also attending.

But he didn’t come to find him.

Investing in his small supporting role in a drama, at a banquet, but not seeking him out. Jian Yang couldn’t figure out his position in Guan Ciyan’s heart.

He knew he should go find Guan Ciyan now, just in case Guan Ciyan met someone new among the stars, but he just didn’t want to go.