I'm Rich - 7
Chapter 7
Since making her debut, Guan Zhiyi had acted in several idol dramas, some as a supporting character, some as the lead. Most of them, however, had flopped, so she was hardly well known. She did have fans, though. The variety show through which she had debuted with her girl group years ago had earned her a small following of “mom fans,” and later, she had appeared on a reality show where her sweet looks won her a following of "face fans."
The woman she had met on that blind date really was one of her fans. The moment she got home that day, she immediately shared the astonishing news with her real-life friends. From there, the story gradually spread throughout the fandom, and the number of reposts began climbing.
[My idol has it so hard. She can't make any money, so she has to go on blind dates.]
[Baby girl! You're still so young! Why would you do this to yourself?!]
[Blame Yixing that bloodsucking leech. They don't give our girl any resources, and on top of that they take such a huge cut. We all know how broke she is.]
[Exactly! She's an actress, for heaven's sake, and they haven't even given her an assistant. Some fans went to pick her up at the airport and said our girl was all by herself.]
[Yiyi is seriously so poor, sob sob sob sob.]
[I heard our Yiyi is even thinking about leaving the industry.]
[Aaaaaah, no! Let's crowdfund to get you back, daughter! Mom will support you!]
……
Under normal circumstances, Zhiyi's private affairs would have stayed within her fan circles. She doesn't have enough clout to make much of a splash beyond it.
This time, however, was different. Overnight, the topic had climbed to number five on the trending list.
The reason was actually quite simple. Guan Zhiyi might not be a huge name, but she was still an actress. An actress going on a blind date? That was news. And after reading her fans' anguished posts, netizens from other fandoms felt a pang of sympathy.
[My favorite actor is pretty miserable too. He got shelved for no reason, sob sob sob sob.]
[It's a brutal winter for film and television industry. So many people are practically unemployed.]
[Resources are obviously distributed unfairly these days. Investors have eyes, they only pay 8f you have traffic.]
[Oh my God, celebrities go on blind dates too?]
[Who is this person……]
[That's Guan Zhiyi. I've seen her in a drama before. Total sweet airhead type.]
[Hahahaha, am I the only one who thinks her outfit is adorable?]
[It's because she's adorable. Any normal person bundled up like that would just look ridiculous.]
……
Guan Zhiyi always put her phone on silent when she slept, so it wasn't until she woke up the next morning that she saw the pile of missed calls and WeChat messages on her phone.
She was startled and immediately called Liu Yun back.
“Hey, Yun-jie. This early in the morning, you……”
“Guan Zhiyi!”
“Huh? Wh-what happened?”
“You went on a blind date? How come you never told me about this?! And if you went on a blind date, then what the hell is going on between you and Qi Chengyan?!”
Guan Zhiyi was momentarily dumbfounded. “How did you know I went on a blind date?”
“You're asking how I know? The whole internet knows!”
Guan Zhiyi's heart lurched. Almost immediately, she thought of the fan she'd encountered on the blind date. At the time, she'd guessed the fan might tell a few people, but she'd figured since she wasn't famous, it wouldn't spread far. After all, who would care……
“The whole internet…… Is it really that exaggerated?”
“What do you think? It's trending at number five!"
“What?” Guan Zhiyi jolted upright in bed. She had actually made the trending searches?!
For an unknown actor, trending wasn't necessarily a bad thing. But after all these years in the industry, her first time making the trending list was because of a blind date.
That was just ridiculous…
Liu Yun ground her teeth. “You'd better have a good explanation."
Guan Zhiyi rubbed her eyes and explained, “Yun-jie, this whole thing… Sigh, my family insisted that I meet the guy. I wasn't trying to date anyone. I only went to get my family off my back, that's all. Really. As for how it spread this far, I honestly didn't see that coming.”
“You…”
“And for Qi Chengyan, we're really not what you think we are……”
“I saw the way Qi Chengyan treated you that day!” Liu Yun said. “Forget it, forget it. We'll leave Qi Chengyan aside for now. But the blind date has to be denied. And don't you dare tell anyone publicly that it was a blind date. You were just having dinner with a friend, understand?”
“…I know.”
After being thoroughly lectured by Liu Yun, Guan Zhiyi finally hung up and went through her WeChat messages.
Sure enough, several friends from the industry had also messaged her in shock. She sent explanations to each of them, then finally collapsed back onto the bed with a helpless sigh.
She rolled over, curled herself into the covers, and opened Weibo.
Her name really was on the trending list, and it had climbed from fifth to third. Guan Zhiyi sighed and tapped on it.
She immediately saw photos of herself at the Western restaurant that day. Fortunately, Hua Hongxi, being a non-public figure, had been blurred out.
She then clicked to her own Weibo. Under her latest post, her fans were desperately trying to convince her not to leave.
Guan Zhiyi found it both funny and helpless.
After a while, she simply posted a Weibo update.
[Don't worry, don't worry. I love being an actress. I'm not leaving the industry!]
**
After the blind-date story spread online, there was naturally plenty of discussion inside the company as well. As for the rumors about her and Qi Chengyan, time, as she'd predicted, had proved everything. Over the next two weeks, Guan Zhiyi received no offers for any important roles or major promotional opportunities, and the people at the company began to seriously doubt whether the rumor had ever been true.
They weren't the only ones. Liu Yun was also wearing an expression of utter despair.
“Yun-jie, don't make that face.” Zhiyi walked beside her after the The Imperial Court audition, trying to cheer her up.
Liu Yun: "You think I'm making this face for no reason? You think?!"
“But I told you from the beginning, there's nothing between me and Qi Chengyan. You were the one who didn't believe me…”
“You still dare to bring him up!”
Guan Zhiyi edged away from her and said, “It's okay. There are good things too. For example, I have a feeling today's audition is definitely going to work out.”
Speaking of the audition, Guan Zhiyi had indeed impressed the room. Both the director and the original author, who was also the screenwriter, had praised both her acting and how well her look fit the character.
Thinking of that, Liu Yun felt a little better. She gave a cold little snort. “You did all right today.”
“Thank you for the compliment, Yun-jie.”
“So you absolutely have to cherish this opportunity!”
Guan Zhiyi straightened her face. "I will."
Liu Yun stared at those bright, limpid eyes of hers, wanting to say something yet somehow not knowing what to say.
She pressed a hand to her forehead, at a loss for words.
Hard. So hard. Making real money off Guan Zhiyi was just too damn hard…
Two days later, the two of them went to Yixing Entertainment and signed the contract for the variety show Get Lost, Fat! The show would begin filming the following week, while The Imperial Court, if she was selected, would not begin production until after the New Year, so the two projects would not conflict.
After signing the contract, Liu Yun still had some matters to deal with, so Guan Zhiyi left the office and headed for the rehearsal room to find Song Qiaofei.
Song Qiaofei had recently joined a dance variety show and had been practicing constantly.
However, on her way to the rehearsal room, Guan Zhiyi ran straight into Zheng Yitong. Since they weren't particularly close, she merely gave her a slight nod in acknowledgment and intended to walk past.
Unexpectedly, Zheng Yitong called out to her.
“You and Qi Chengyan aren't actually involved, are you?” Zheng Yitong asked abruptly.
Guan Zhiyi looked at her, confused, and gave a small nod.
A trace of contempt immediately appeared at the corners of Zheng Yitong's eyes, and her tone carried no politeness. “I knew it. How could you ever have caught his eye?”
Zheng Yitong came from a good family, and her parents had connections with Zhao Zhihui, so she had always been arrogant and looked down on people at Yixing. But after she'd been humiliated because of Guan Zhiyi in that private room that day, many people at the company had started mocking her behind her back, and all that pent-up anger had been pushed to its limit.
“Of course I couldn't catch his eye.” Guan Zhiyi didn't care in the slightest. “President Qi has high standards. You've experienced that firsthand too, haven't you, Yitong?"
Zheng Yitong's expression changed. “What are you implying?!"
Guan Zhiyi shook her head. “Nothing. I'm just saying his standards are high.”
“But if it weren't for you that day, I wouldn't have had to change seats. Things wouldn't have turned out like this.”
Guan Zhiyi considered for a moment, then answered seriously, “Mm. I believe you.”
Zheng Yitong gave a cold laugh. “But you're pretty ridiculous too. I thought that since he took you away with him that day, something might have happened between you two. But then he just left you hanging in the end? You're really laughable.”
Bzzzt, bzzzt……
Guan Zhiyi had just been about to say something when her phone suddenly vibrated. She pulled it out and saw Qi Chengyan's name glowing on the screen. She paused for a second, then turned the phone facedown.
“My abilities really are limited. Not like you, Miss Zheng, you've got a bright future ahead."
Everyone at the company knew how overbearing Zheng Yitong could be, and Guan Zhiyi had no desire to get into it with her. She smiled and said, “Since you like him so much, I wish you luck in winning him over soon. Anyway, I have something to do, so I'll be going first.”
“Hey, you……”
Guan Zhiyi broke into a little run and took off at top speed. Zheng Yitong was left fuming with nowhere to direct her anger.
Guan Zhiyi jogged around the corner and, after making sure no one was there, finally answered the call. “Hello?”
“Xiao Wu, where are you?” Qi Chengyan's voice came through the phone.
Guan Zhiyi said, “I'm at Yixing.”
“What are you doing? Busy?”
Thinking of Zheng Yitong's expression just now, Guan Zhiyi felt like laughing. “Not really, just chatting with a colleague……”
“Mm. I happen to be nearby. I'll come pick you up."
“Huh?” Guan Zhiyi asked. “Why?”
“Your brother wants to have dinner. He's still tied up with work, so he asked me to bring you along."
Her brother had asked them to dinner?
Guan Zhiyi had a feeling there was definitely no good reason for it, so she hesitantly said, “Can I take back what I just said? Actually, I'm…… pretty busy.”
Qi Chengyan gave a low laugh. “It's just dinner. No one's going to lecture you.”
“I don't quite believe that……”
“I'm there. If your brother really does start nagging you, I'll fend him off for you. How about that?”
Guan Zhiyi said, “Really?”
“Really.” Qi Chengyan said, “I'll be there in ten minutes. Wait for me in the parking lot.”
Guan Zhiyi immediately relaxed. “Oh!”
Qi Chengyan arrived right on time. Following the location and license plate number he'd given her, Guan Zhiyi found his car.
“Aren't you cold?” Qi Chengyan asked after Guan Zhiyi opened the door and got in.
Guan Zhiyi had indeed been shivering with cold on her way from the company to the parking lot. She was wearing a wool coat that day, but it was a thin one. She had chosen it for the looks and sacrificed warmth.
“Cold. But I had an audition today, couldn't show up with anything too bulky.”
Qi Chengyan gave a slight shake of his head, then turned and took a blanket from the back seat. “Cover up.”
“Oh.”
The car pulled away, and Qi Chengyan turned up the temperature inside.
Once she'd warmed up a bit, Guan Zhiyi couldn't wait to share her news with him. “Gege, I auditioned a couple of days ago.”
“The Imperial Court?”
“Yeah. I think there's a pretty good chance.” Guan Zhiyi tilted her head to look at him. “My Manager said I did really well, and the director and screenwriter both said I fit the role perfectly."
The corners of Qi Chengyan's lips lifted slightly. “That's impressive. Sounds like you deserve a reward?"
His voice was light and understated, but there was unmistakable indulgence in it.
Guan Zhiyi felt a catch in her chest. It brought her straight back to childhood. Whenever she'd gotten good grades on her final exams, she would run over to Qi Chengyan just like this to show off, and he would always tell her, “Xiao Wu is amazing,” before asking what she wanted as a reward.
Back then, she'd always bounced around excitedly, asking for this and that……
A smile crept into Guan Zhiyi's eyes. Her heart suddenly seemed to have landed on a cloud of cotton candy, sweet and soft. She almost felt she could forgive him for leaving all those years ago without so much as a word.
“The casting isn't final yet, though. If I really get the part, we can talk about it then.”
Qi Chengyan said, “All right. We'll celebrate when the time comes.”
“Mm. Okay.”
---
Author's Note:
Up to this point, the two of them have absolutely no impure thoughts! (No, wait, someone named Guan is vaguely starting to have a problem……)
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