Chapter 21
As a manager, An Lan felt ashamed of her incompetence.
Her boss was truly a jack-of-all-trades. Whatever he did was bound to have more advantages than disadvantages; he just didn’t take Zong Mo’s feelings into account.
He had indeed successfully leeched off the film emperor’s popularity. Zong Mo’s number of fans had doubled. The old trending topic from the magazine was revamped and pushed to the top again. Zong Mo once again happily acquired a batch of “husband fans.”
Of course, there were also those who relentlessly chased and cursed him, leaving a trail of insults under his few Weibo posts.
He was numb from being cursed at!
“If you’re afraid of being cursed at, don’t look,” Ruan Chi took his phone away. “If you’re afraid of being cursed at, don’t be a celebrity.”
…Just be a golden canary obediently, is that it?
Zong Mo refused to accept his fate and wanted to snatch his phone back.
Ruan Chi’s eyes narrowed, his expression holding a hint of danger, but his tone was unusually calm.
First, a “tsk,” a warning.
Then he read in a deep voice, “Received a new message from Lu Bo.”
Zong Mo: …
Ruan Chi’s finger tapped the screen. He continued, “Remember to look at the gift.”
A public execution.
“Gift?” Ruan Chi picked out the keyword.
Zong Mo: “…I woke up in a hospital gown. It probably fell out. It was just an ordinary envelope.”
Of course, a celebrity’s personal belongings wouldn’t be easily lost. Little Wan brought over his clothes from yesterday and handed them directly to the real boss, Ruan Chi.
Ruan Chi pulled the envelope from the pocket. He didn’t shoo them away, so An Lan and Little Wan curiously stood on their tiptoes behind him to see.
Ruan Chi’s expression didn’t change, but An Lan was visibly stunned. Zong Mo was also curious. Bound to the bed by an IV drip, he could only watch the reactions of the three people, waiting for them to read it to him.
Since CEO Ruan didn’t get angry immediately, it meant that what was written in the letter wasn’t anything unspeakable.
…At least not something like “Rest early, wear more tomorrow.”
An Lan couldn’t help but let out a “ya,” the rest of her words half-filled with interjections. “Ah! This, CEO Ruan, ah…”
It wasn’t actually a letter, but a rectangular piece of cardstock. Ruan Chi scanned it twice and handed it to An Lan.
Zong Mo finally saw the contents of the card through his manager. It was actually an invitation.
Fearing he wouldn’t know, An Lan explained:
“Lu Bo is one of the main judges for this actor training program. It starts with thirty contestants, who are gradually eliminated. But that’s not interesting enough, so every episode, someone comes to challenge them. The challengers can be self-recommended, invited by the program, or invited by the main judges with an invitation letter.”
The smile on her face couldn’t be contained. Zong Mo could guess just from her expression that this was a great thing.
“This program is a bit like the director selection competition Director Yang participated in. They are both real, skill-based programs. And with Lu Bo and several other heavyweight judges, the popularity has always been high. Even if you get eliminated in the first round, you can still learn something, not to mention the exposure.”
An Lan turned to Ruan Chi and said, “The program has already recorded five episodes. Among the three main judges, only Lu Bo hasn’t invited anyone yet. If Zong Mo goes with his invitation letter, he can definitely leech a lot of popularity off him!!”
Zong Mo was slightly stunned. The main gong was the main gong for a reason. He was really good.
His help wasn’t another form of sponsorship, but extending an olive branch for him to grab and climb up.
Zong Mo remembered that the original main shou had not participated in this program, but mainly in some light-hearted and pleasant leisure variety shows.
He was still considering whether to accept this invitation, his heart already leaning towards it, when Ruan Chi on the other side spoke faintly, vetoing it.
“No.”
Zong Mo: ?
An Lan was stunned for a moment, then quickly tried to persuade him, “This opportunity is really too rare…”
She really wanted to ask her boss what issue he had with Lu Bo, or with Zong Mo, to so heartlessly destroy this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
But Ruan Chi said, “There’s a time conflict. The next drama will be filmed right during the New Year.”
Zong Mo: ?
“When did we get the script?”
An Lan was also puzzled. What, no vacation for the New Year?
Damn capitalists. So hateful.
“The script has started to be written,” Ruan Chi said. “Soon.”
The New Year was in early February, still more than half a month away.
An Lan thought about it. Not only would they have to work overtime with the crew, but the screenwriter was also quite pitiful. Having just received the task, they had to rush to finish it before the year’s end.
She felt a little more balanced in her heart.
And Director Yang was a high-efficiency man of action, doing post-production while filming. But scheduling the release took time. Zong Mo’s first youth-pain movie was expected to be released in May, preparing to send a wave of coolness to the audience in early summer.
There would also be a wave of promotion before the movie’s release. They would be busy then.
After An Lan and Little Wan were driven out, Zong Mo finally asked, “CEO Ruan, what kind of drama were you talking about just now?”
Ruan Chi said, “I haven’t completely thought it out yet. It will be broadcast while filming, and adjusted while filming.”
Zong Mo pondered for a few seconds. “…Are you writing the script yourself?”
Ruan Chi let out a “heh.” “I am the client.”
Zong Mo added in his heart: Mm, and a very unreasonable one at that!
In a sense, Ruan Chi was also his client. It wasn’t his place to laugh at the screenwriter.
So Zong Mo asked, “Am I the male lead? Are you the director?”
“I don’t know how to direct. I’ll hire someone,” Ruan Chi said, a rather complicated expression on his face. “You… well, you’re considered the protagonist.”
As long as CEO Ruan wasn’t directing, it was fine. It was even better if he wasn’t the male lead. But Zong Mo felt something was wrong and asked again, “Who is the male lead?”
Ruan Chi said faintly, “I am.”
Zong Mo: ?
Isn’t it just being a foil for CEO Ruan? Easy!
It would be even better if they hired Director Yang. He was especially good at tormenting the male lead!
He and his CEO Ruan were a perfect match, made in heaven.
Putting the script matter aside for now, Ruan Chi urged, “Are you better? If you’re better, go back to City A.”
Zong Mo refused verbally, only getting out of bed while holding onto the IV stand. He was still in a set of blue and white striped hospital pajamas. No matter how you looked at it, he was perfect for selling a sob story.
He walked to the window and suddenly forgot about the sob story, turning to say in surprise, “It’s snowing, CEO Ruan!”
“…Didn’t you see enough in City L?”
“It was just frozen every day. It didn’t snow,” Zong Mo said dejectedly. “It snowed in the middle of the night, but I was asleep and didn’t see it.”
When he first arrived in the icy City L, Zong Mo, a native southern dog, was quite excited. But after a few days of being frozen, he fell in love with the heated rooms and would not easily move when not filming.
Even though the ground was white everywhere, he just couldn’t see the snow falling from the sky!
And after the snow on the ground was trampled and crushed, it turned into icy slush, slippery and soaking his shoes, leaving him with many unpleasant memories. If it weren’t for this weather, he wouldn’t have gotten sick so often.
But at this moment, seeing the fresh snowflakes falling from the sky, he felt he was okay again!
“Want to go down and see?” Zong Mo asked carefully, with a hint of expectation.
“You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you, Zong Mo,” Ruan Chi said. “Get sick again, so you can stay in City T for a few more days. You just don’t want to go back, right? Hmm?”
Zong Mo: …
Isn’t it just going downstairs to see the snow?
Ruan Chi continued, “Do you know how much this hospital room costs per day?”
Zong Mo was deflated. “…I don’t really want to know.”
Ruan Chi: “Heh.”
Zong Mo sat back down on the bed. Although he couldn’t go out to see the snow, the room was on a high floor with a good view. The vast white outside the window was also beautiful, and the room was warm.
About an hour later, a nurse came in to remove his IV needle. The door was knocked on a second time. Little Wan came in with a head full of snowflakes, carrying a large paper bag.
“Put it on,” Ruan Chi said.
Zong Mo took out the contents of the bag in confusion. It was a parka that must have weighed several pounds.
Both windproof and cold-proof.
The small garden downstairs of the hospital was empty. It was surrounded by shrubs on all four sides, and directly above was the huge window of the top-floor VIP ward.
Zong Mo looked up, and a goose-feather-like snowflake fell into his eye.
Cool, melting instantly, but without the sour feeling of rain.
Zong Mo, wearing the heavy down jacket, squatted on the ground playing with the snow.
The snow in the north was thick and heavy. When it fell on his shoulders, back, and even the top of his steaming head, it wouldn’t melt easily. It was actually not as cold as the stingy snow in the south.
Playing with snow alone was a bit strange, but Zong Mo was still very happy.
Mm, it’s the feeling of freedom!
Although Ruan Chi was sitting in a pavilion a few meters away, monitoring him, the ceaseless heavy snow wove a dense net, making it hazy and unclear to see, which actually looked beautiful.
Zong Mo made a small snowman.
Ugly, just like CEO Ruan.
Ruan Chi had nothing to do and was cold from just sitting, so he scrolled through his phone. He discovered that Zong Mo was on a small trending topic again.
Marketing Account: [Spotted a certain adult magazine model at a private hospital.]
Heh, spotted.
The picture was of Zong Mo squatting on the ground playing with the snow. Not afraid of getting sick, he had his whole head exposed. The unused hood was already filled with pristine white snow. Under his bangs was a delicate side profile. His dark lashes were also dotted with snow. Black hair, white skin, white snow—a strong black and white contrast.
Only the tip of his nose was red from the cold, very eye-catching.
Ruan Chi found the camera behind the bushes by looking at the shooting angle.
A familiar ringtone sounded. Zong Mo first glanced at Ruan Chi in the pavilion, guessing he probably didn’t want to get wet from the snow and wasn’t willing to walk the few steps. He obediently answered the phone.
“Someone is filming you,” Ruan Chi said.
“…My fan?”
He didn’t have many fans to begin with. How could it be such a coincidence to run into one as soon as he went downstairs?
“Probably paparazzi. They recognized where you were from the window in that Weibo photo.”
Zong Mo: …
Why does this feel so scary?
“So there are paparazzi filming me now?”
“Mm.”
“Should I go back, CEO Ruan?”
“It’s fine. There’s nothing that can’t be filmed,” Ruan Chi said. “Just a silly… mm.”
Zong Mo: …
His CEO Ruan had rare mercy in his words.
“CEO Ruan,” Zong Mo called out. He waited for Ruan Chi to look over before continuing,
“Someone with a camera is heading your way.”
Ruan Chi: ?
Seeing CEO Ruan’s flustered look as he turned his head was quite satisfying.
Zong Mo wasn’t tricking him. Someone really was coming.
“Hello, are you interested in a part-time modeling job?”
Ruan Chi: …How can just anyone get into this hospital?
Knowing that someone was filming him, Zong Mo couldn’t go over to Ruan Chi’s side. He just shook off the snow, squatted on the ground, and scrolled through his phone, breathing warm air onto his hands.
The trending topic was #ZongMoHospital.
He had made it. Not only was he trending with his own name, but he was also ranked 15th in the entertainment section.
[He’s sick and still playing in the snow outside?]
[He probably rushed to the hospital after being found out for staging the photo…]
[Everyone, don’t be too harsh. Maybe he’s sick and silly?]
Zong Mo: …
The marketing account released another short video. The protagonist was a big silly guy on the phone in the snow. Fearing his phone would shut down from the cold, he was even holding it with both hands, his fingers red from the cold. At the end of the several-second video, a hint of a smile appeared on his lips.
[Could he be on the phone with Teacher Lu?]
[Shut your crow’s mouth, ahhh!!!!]
[Everyone, wait. It’s also possible he’s just silly from the cold.]
[It’s not Teacher Lu. I can prove it. Teacher Lu is in my bed right now.]
The scolding wasn’t as harsh anymore. And Zong Mo was numb from the cold. His heart was surprisingly calm. He didn’t even know he had gained some more fans.
An Lan, who had been anxiously scrolling through Weibo: …
Her hand trembled, and she accidentally liked a popular comment that said, “He’s silly.”
She was startled and looked in a panic.
Cough, good thing it was her side account.
