Chapter 102
As soon as Atylanthos’s news hit the internet, with the help of various marketing accounts, it immediately went viral.
Mainly because these two seemingly unrelated things were actually connected.
What did this mean?
[It means that Director Ma Sai’s “Mountain” and our A-Ran are truly popular worldwide!]
Many Chinese netizens weren’t familiar with Ross Marine, which was located on the other side of the world, and even wondered if it was a company trying to ride the wave of popularity. But after looking it up, they found that this shipping company was quite extraordinary.
Although its market share wasn’t the highest, and the composition of its professional team was extremely mysterious, never publicly recruiting.
But for orders that other companies in the industry couldn’t handle, as long as you offered enough to hire Ross’s professional team, they could deliver the order to you across coastlines, rain or shine, without fail.
It was as incredible as a marine commando team.
[And this chairman is also very handsome, so his brother must be even cuter?]
[Heehee, then A-Ran’s global fan club has added a powerful member. If this investment is successful, will there be a second film? Resurrect, my A-Ran——]
Of course, some fans were very wary.
[But this guy seems a bit scheming! The angles in the news photos were also carefully chosen, maybe it’s to attract A-Ran’s attention!]
[That’s right, the purpose of this statement is too strong, it makes people feel uneasy. I suggest A-Ran not to casually contact or meet him!!]
However, just as domestic fans were speculating and had mixed opinions, Atylanthos had already quickly registered a Weibo account and even posted a vlog to greet all Chinese fans.
The video showed his brother, Ossi, sitting in the living room of their island villa, his eyes red from crying as he watched the big screen in their private cinema.
He rushed from the nanny’s side to his brother’s arms, stammering that he wanted to find A-Ran.
“A- A-Ran! Want… find A-Ran.”
The little guy’s voice was also very soft, and his looks were just as incredibly handsome as his brother’s, like a small, moving figurine, but he only called for A-Ran.
[Holy crap, dude, you’re even using your brother to attract A-Ran’s attention, this is a bit too much of a cheat]
[But it’s really cute. I even feel that this little guy would be a good match for A-Ran in a movie. Big shot, I have an idea, why don’t you directly invest in a film and have A-Ran and your brother play the main roles?]
[Lol, he looks like he has no worries at such a young age, actually crying like this because of a movie? No wonder his brother is anxious]
However, as soon as Ossi, this cutie, appeared, public opinion instantly turned overwhelmingly positive.
Everyone suddenly felt that Atylanthos might simply want to fulfill his brother’s wish.
After all, he was crying so sadly.
Since the news trended, Lin Ran’s Weibo had already been @ countless times.
“Eh, it really is Ossi!”
But Lin Ran, seeing the little guy’s teary-eyed face in the video, recognized him at a glance.
Interestingly, Ossi’s walking wasn’t as agile as his fishtail in the game.
Although Atylanthos appeared at the last second and picked up Ossi, who almost fell, and made a “we’re coming” gesture at the camera, it still made Lin Ran chuckle.
This guy Atylanthos was really a strange fish.
“Even if there’s a second film, he’s not allowed to invest.”
But just as Lin Ran was thinking about how to reply, a certain jealous golden tabby beside him, whose jealousy was overflowing, directly and firmly extinguished the possibility.
Lin Ran: ?
“There’s no need for his investment here, it’s already fully funded, tell him to change his ticket and go back, don’t come over.”
Shao Mian very seriously started to drive people away.
If Atylanthos invested even a penny, Shao Mian would feel that it was a serious provocation. Was his family that poor!?
“We can directly hire a professional team…” It wasn’t impossible to set up a separate company later.
“Uh, but I’m not planning to act in the second film, Yuanbao.”
Lin Ran’s words successfully silenced Shao Mian, who had already planned the company’s establishment in his mind.
“I know myself quite well, this role just happened to be very suitable for me.”
He took this cameo role, clearly because the character in Director Ma Sai’s hands was very similar to his relationship with Snowball, and it was very natural for him to get into character.
It wasn’t so much acting as simply experiencing it.
If he really became a full-time actor, Lin Ran felt that he might not be able to do it well, and he quite liked his major.
So Atylanthos insisting on filming a second film, he hadn’t even asked Lin Ran if he wanted to act.
Thinking of this, Shao Mian’s originally ruffled mood instantly brightened, and he chuckled, no longer anxious, returning to his usual lazy demeanor.
“I feel like you’re not thinking about anything good, Yuanbao.”
Lin Ran, looking at Yuanbao’s golden lion tail rubbing against his waist, chuckled and reached out to tap it, but his wrist was gently hooked by the tip of the tail.
“Then it’s fine, the company will continue to operate, just leave it to that little guy.”
Shao Mian, transforming back into a lion, successfully nudged closer to Lin Ran. After finding that Lin Ran didn’t refuse, he stretched lazily, showing off his perfect muscles, then wagged his tail and quickly flopped down beside him.
He was blatantly tempting Lin Ran to use him as a giant fluffy pillow.
“You mean leave it to Snowball?”
But Lin Ran clearly wasn’t moved and was more concerned about Snowball’s contract expiration.
That’s right, instead of thinking about changing his agent, wouldn’t it be more thorough to have Snowball set up his own studio and hire a professional team to manage it?
The only drawback was that the investment would be huge.
“And Snowball’s parents might not be easy to communicate with, you can’t be too agreeable.”
Lin Ran frowned, feeling that if Yuanbao was still as straightforward as before, with An Xun’s parents’ personalities, they might take the opportunity to make all sorts of demands.
“…”
Shao Mian didn’t say anything this time, but the look in his light golden eyes made Lin Ran snap back to his senses.
What was he thinking?
Actually worrying that Yuanbao, this evil golden tabby, would be taken advantage of?
It was already a blessing that this guy didn’t bully others.
Or perhaps because Yuanbao always liked to act pitiful in front of him, he had almost forgotten Yuanbao’s true nature.
When Lin Ran was thinking, his expression didn’t seem to change, he was very quiet.
But people familiar with him could tell that his thoughts weren’t difficult to understand.
Especially when he was thinking about something, he would even subtly breathe a sigh of relief, and the black hair by his ear would sway.
Shao Mian couldn’t help but extend his slightly itchy paw, playing with the ends of his hair.
“Don’t move, Yuanbao.”
Lin Ran felt a little itchy being touched, turned around, pressed down Yuanbao’s heavy paw, and rubbed it fiercely in retaliation.
Although this strength was quite comfortable for Shao Mian.
“But I can guarantee that Snowball will be very, very successful in the future. Investing in our Snowball, Yuanbao, you won’t lose out.”
Lin Ran sincerely felt that compared to himself, Snowball was the cub who truly deserved investment, a future star.
In the movie “Mountain,” Snowball’s acting was superb in every stage. Even Lin Ran’s emotions were stirred when he watched the movie.
He felt like Snowball was glowing on the screen.
If Yuanbao was willing to help, Snowball definitely wouldn’t disappoint him!
And Shao Mian, watching Lin Ran’s serious guarantee, inexplicably felt that if these words were said in front of that snow leopard, the little guy would probably cling to him for the rest of his life.
Tsk, just like that fish who insisted on swimming over even though they weren’t even in the same hemisphere.
The older one was one thing, but the younger one was still so young, it would be a headache if he really clung to him for a lifetime.
Shao Mian really wanted to send him back directly.
And the box office performance of “Mountain” didn’t decline as many people initially predicted but visibly became the box office champion during this short holiday.
There was no sign of decline even near the end of the holiday.
The discussion about whether there would really be a “Mountain 2,” as well as the actors who starred in it, undoubtedly became even more heated.
Director Ma Sai’s attitude towards this was unexpectedly consistent with Lin Ran’s.
“‘Mountain’ will indeed not have a second film, this story has already ended perfectly. If we force a second film and resurrect the character, I don’t think it would be a good decision, regardless of the investment.”
Even if filming a second film could earn a lot of money, he wasn’t willing to go against his artistic principles.
Director Ma Sai’s response in a recent live interview further fueled the discussion about a sequel.
He even said in the interview that he had indeed received countless investment offers, and these investors, one more powerful than the other, all had a strange characteristic.
“That is, they all like to call themselves Lin Ran’s fans, haha.”
Director Ma Sai smiled and shared this interesting anecdote with the reporters.
Even Director Ma Sai, who had seen countless storms, felt a strange sense of wonder. Was Lin Ran really a natural at attracting fans?
And these mysterious fans were all incredibly rich and spoiled, and their scale was so large that they were spread all over the world!
“Do you know that an anonymous fan in Continent X directly booked all the local cinemas for a month and then randomly distributed free movie tickets to fans?”
“The same happened in Continent L! A fan, because he loved the character played by Lin Ran so much, directly announced that all fans who supported the box office could receive random gifts.”
“So does Mr. Lin Ran know about these enthusiastic fans’ support? Why hasn’t he participated in any team activities?”
The reporters asked one after another curiously.
But it was An Xun who took the microphone and seriously answered: “Because A-Ran is still studying, he finally has a holiday and needs to help his grandma husk corn, so he didn’t attend the activities.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Director Ma Sai and the rest of the film crew laughed. This was indeed very much in line with Lin Ran’s personality.
As for the reporters present, they were dumbfounded.
If An Xun hadn’t said this with such a serious expression, they would have really believed it!
He was already so popular, and he went back to his hometown to husk corn for his grandma? Why not show his face more and let the fans see him?
“Then is the photo circulating online really of A-Ran holding your hand?”
A female reporter also looked at An Xun and asked with a smile.
“Mm, A-Ran specially came to watch the premiere with me that day.”
An Xun couldn’t help but answer excitedly when this question was mentioned.
An Xun, who thought he was hiding it well, actually only acted like a child when it came to A-Ran, letting those around him see his emotional fluctuations at a glance.
He was clearly very happy, otherwise, why would he emphasize that A-Ran specially came to accompany him!?
“[Lol, but doesn’t this make An more adorable? This little adult feeling of liking someone but pretending to be calm!]”
Even the barrage comments in the live interview had fans laughing and pointing this out.
“[Indeed, I really want to say, An, don’t hide it anymore, haha. If you had a tail, it would probably be wagging, right?]”
Every time he saw A-Ran, he was like a happy puppy, just like in “Mountain.”
“[Sob, sob, sob, although there won’t be a second film, but after following their interactions in real life, I find that it’s even cuter? I’m using the photo of A-Ran and An holding hands as my wallpaper]”
The fans who were still regretting that there wouldn’t be a “Mountain 2” and A-Ran’s resurrection were somewhat comforted at this moment.
Although the story in the movie had ended, the story of A-Ran and An Xun outside the movie was still continuing!
“But many netizens are curious, it seems that someone was cropped out of that photo, is this true?”
This reporter was clearly very familiar with the recent hot topics and continued to ask the question that many netizens and fans were very concerned about.
If they couldn’t find Lin Ran, perhaps they could get the answer from An Xun?
Unexpectedly, An Xun hesitated and didn’t answer directly regarding this question.
Because the big lion guardian’s identity was very special, and there had been rumors about the casting change in the film crew. What if someone used this to attack A-Ran, saying that he had used his connections to snatch the role?
Even though the truth was that after he recommended him, Director Ma Sai found that A-Ran was indeed very suitable for this role.
Having entered this industry since he was young, An Xun was very sensitive to these things that could be taken out of context, and it was crucial not to give any opportunity for rumors.
Moreover, with his contract renewal coming up, An Xun didn’t want to involve A-Ran at all.
“This is A-Ran’s privacy, I think it’s better to let A-Ran speak for himself.”
So An Xun finally answered cautiously.
Fu Yan, who was not far away, snorted disdainfully after hearing this.
Who else could it be?
She had also been to the film set during the filming of “Mountain,” that village was extremely poor, only the scenery was decent.
On the eve of the premiere, An Xun specially asked for several premiere tickets to be sent there, clearly so that Lin Ran could bring his family to watch it.
So who else could it be besides those elderly people who couldn’t even walk properly?
The paparazzi who took the photo clearly also knew that only keeping An Xun and Lin Ran in the photo would generate the most buzz, so he cropped out the third person.
After all, a film’s unexpected huge success naturally made some people happy and others worried.
The more successful “Mountain” became, and the more trending topics there were about Lin Ran, this cameo character, the more Fu Yan felt like she had missed out on a hundred million.
It was such a waste to give such a good resource to an amateur. If she had given it to someone under her and made them popular, her position in the company would have been even more secure.
And there was another problem involved, that is, with the contract renewal approaching, and the film starring An Xun becoming a huge hit, there would be many new changes in the terms.
The company had even arranged a special team overnight to negotiate with An Xun and his family, so Fu Yan, who was used to being in charge, vaguely and unhappily realized that she seemed to have been sidelined.
There were many competitors inside and outside the company who wanted to snatch An Xun away from her.
But An Xun was made popular by her, how could others reap the rewards?
However, that half-cropped photo, due to the missing half of the truth, gave countless talented netizens and fans a huge space to play with.
Since they didn’t know who the other person was, they could say it was whoever they wanted!
[Heehee, maybe it’s Fu Lingling? This young lady was chasing after someone in “Mountain,” maybe her dream came true offline? I think she’s quite a good match for A-Ran, should we ship them?]
[No, no, no, I think it might be Xu Jinshan. Jinshan and A-Ran seemed to have a good relationship during filming, it’s also possible that they came to watch the movie with An Xun together. They’re also close in age, and the Film Academy is quite close to S University!]
[Heh, foolish humans, you don’t understand, actually, that person is me——[Photoshopped photo of the three of them] I went to watch the premiere with A-Ran and An Xun~!]
In the end, some people even started photoshopping. Since there was destined to be one person accompanying A-Ran, why couldn’t it be them?
Where there’s a will, there’s a way, it was reasonable to photoshop themselves in.
And at this time, Yu Le, the reporter who took the photo, tremblingly found that he had been invited to a conference room at Morson headquarters. Seeing the netizens shipping CPs and photoshopping on his phone, he almost fainted.
Please don’t kill me——
Did he crop out that half so that they could make wild guesses!?
“You see, you’ve caused even more trouble.”
Secretary Ser, beside him, pushed up his glasses with an expressionless face, making Yu Le even more tearful.
“But you wouldn’t let me delete it, I’ve already apologized and explained, what else can I do to eliminate the impact? It’s fine if you want to sue me, although selling me wouldn’t be enough to compensate…”
“Who asked you to compensate?”
Secretary Ser looked at Yu Le strangely.
“Then what do I need to do?”
Yu Le asked cautiously.
Secretary Ser looked at Shao Mian, who had finally entered with a sneer, and the moment Yu Le saw Shao Mian, his eyes widened.
Heavens, had he really offended someone important? Was it worth it for a single photo!
Although after Shao Mian examined the original photo, what he said after a few minutes of silence with an expressionless face stunned Yu Le for a long time.
“Post the original photo, then I’ll buy this memory card, you can go.”
Huh? He just had to post the original photo?
And he could even get paid for it!
Was this person his god?
Not long after Yu Le left in disbelief, Shao Mian immediately picked up the photo and started admiring it.
The reason for handling it with such care was simply because this photo taken by the human reporter truly amazed Shao Mian.
The original photo completely outshone the childish photoshopped pictures online.
Even after looking at it for a long time, Shao Mian inexplicably realized… this even looked a bit like a family of three!
The moment this thought appeared, Shao Mian was delighted.
Extremely delighted.
Secretary Ser, seeing that a certain big lion’s lips were almost reaching his ears from smiling, silently closed the door, certain that A-Ran shouldn’t see this.
So, to everyone’s surprise, not long after the live interview ended, the real original photo was suddenly released.
[Entertainment Online Reporter – Yu Le V: Hello everyone, the photo circulating recently was actually taken by me unintentionally. Because I thought it looked good, I privately shared it with my friends. I didn’t expect it to cause such a big reaction.
Now, for certain reasons, I’m releasing the original photo. Please don’t make any more unfounded guesses! [Kneeling and crying] [Original photo]]
As soon as Yu Le’s Weibo post was published, it instantly went viral, making many fans who were about to go back to work or school after the short holiday so excited that they jumped out of bed.
The reason was simply that this amazing photo was too eye-catching!
It instantly made all the previous guesses and photoshopped pictures pale in comparison. Only after seeing the original photo would one know that this atmosphere couldn’t be replicated.
[No way, is this really a photo taken by a paparazzi? The high visual appeal is extremely pleasing to my eyes]
[Okay, okay, no wonder baby An Xun is so happy, even I want to become a cub and be held by them on both sides after seeing this photo]
[So does anyone know the other guardian? Is he An Xun’s cousin or relative? Or A-Ran’s friend?!]
But no matter how they looked at it, it didn’t seem likely, after all, Shao Mian’s features and figure had a very unique aura.
Broad shoulders, narrow waist, long legs striding forward, his temperament completely different from Lin Ran’s, yet they got along inexplicably well.
[And he looks a bit fierce, after looking at it for a while, it feels like he’s saying: If you keep looking at A-Ran, I’ll beat you up… Damn, I’m going to keep looking!]
[How tall is he? From this angle, it feels like he’s almost two meters tall QAQ]
If Lin Ran looking down at the little guy seemed inexplicably gentle, then Shao Mian, holding An Xun’s hand with one hand and coldly glancing at the camera, instantly made the entire photo full of tension.
His casual glance carried a natural sense of oppression.
The story was so strong that it felt like the scene would come to life in the next second.
Perhaps he would immediately snatch the camera from the photographer?
Or directly take A-Ran and An Xun and disappear!
Even Luo Xiao and the others, who had been following the trending topic, were stunned for a long time.
“This should be An Xun’s relative, right? I don’t think Lin-zai has ever had such a friend.”
“I think so too!”
“But he’s so handsome, is he also a celebrity? He looks so good standing next to Lin-zai.”
While everyone was chatting in the class group chat, Luo Xiao, following his strange gut feeling, opened a search engine.
When the results appeared, Luo Xiao’s alarm bells inexplicably went off.
Not to mention that Zhu Yao and the others also quickly saw the answer revealed by countless netizens on the trending topic.
“Holy crap, could Lin-zai have been targeted while interning at Morson…”
Zhu Yao was the first to exclaim.
The three people in the dormitory, as insiders, instantly had the same thought, feeling that Lin-zai was in danger.
This guy definitely had ulterior motives!
Although they could indeed find his identity online, the amount of information available was extremely limited.
They could only find out that he was the owner of Morson Group, this multinational giant. All other information was extremely mysterious, and they couldn’t even find his specific age.
And Lin Ran, on the last day of the holiday, was still at home with Grandma, making corn juice for the family.
Just as he poured two glasses and gave them to Little Feather and Sootball to try, he found that his phone started vibrating frantically again.
Recently, there were so many messages on his phone that Lin Ran had a headache. He basically didn’t look at them, he couldn’t finish reading them anyway, otherwise, he wouldn’t have a holiday.
But this time, when Lin Ran opened his phone, he found that there were an unusual number of people contacting him, even Director Ma Sai, this cute and stubborn old man, carefully sent him a question mark.
Lin Ran: ?
The next second, the dormitory group chat had already sent the photo and frantically @ Lin Ran.
Lin Ran clicked on the original photo and was stunned, finding that the cropped half was finally complete.
It was a really good shot, capturing Yuanbao’s aura and expression vividly.
After looking at it for a long time, Lin Ran chuckled softly and clicked “Save Image.”
“Cheep cheep!?”
But Sootball, who had come over to look at A-Ran’s phone, wasn’t happy.
He indicated that he also wanted such a photo.
O^O
“Ee!”
Little Feather was even more anxious.
Why did Snowball have one, but he didn’t!?
“Wait, you guys calm down!”
Lin Ran instantly realized that these little guys were probably going to make a fuss about being treated equally.
But he couldn’t take them all to the cinema and have someone take photos of them one by one, right?
