182: Halo shattered
Half a month later, "First Light," the movie Shen Lian collaborated on with Director Liu Zong, was released.
Starring best actor Su Niansheng, Best Actress Chen Zao, and rising star Jiang Nong, combined with Shen Lian's inexplicable tendency to trend on social media, the fans were eager to support it, even though it wasn't a holiday and was the off-season.
Within a few days, the movie's popularity surged.
Shen Lian's character, "Green Mountain," was flamboyant and youthful yet meticulous. He was vibrant and high-spirited from his first appearance. Because of this, his extraordinary "heroic fearlessness" and "righteousness" made keen viewers immediately realize that he was likely a tragic figure.
After all, Director Liu Zong was an expert at twisting the knife; several of his famous works left the audience bleeding emotionally.
Sure enough, when "Green Mountain" sacrificed himself, faint sobs could be heard throughout the cinema.
Honestly, such a likable character with a handsome face, who acted rationally and decisively without a hint of despondency from start to finish, had died!
He had every buff imaginable.
In the words of netizens: [This is my "White Moonlight" who died young!]
Discussions about the movie and characters grew increasingly heated online. Although Director Liu Zong's handling of some details wasn't perfect, the flaws didn't overshadow the merits. Amidst the repetitive articles, one stood out: [I noticed that no one is complaining about Shen Lian's acting anymore.]
That's true!
Even in his scenes opposite Su Niansheng, Shen Lian held his own, making for a thoroughly satisfying watch.
[Oh, it's nothing much. Our Lian Zai has always been studying hard, hoping to contribute more and better works in the future.]
Shen Lian's fans were humble on the surface, but in reality, they were grinning from ear to ear.
In the past, the lead actors would have a group chat to chat after a movie's release, but because of Jiang Nong, Shen Lian mainly communicated with Director Liu Zong and hadn't even added the contact information of Su Niansheng and the others.
Su Niansheng was, needless to say, a renowned "box office guarantee," while Shen Lian was destined to reach a new level.
As long as he didn't have a scandal, the role of "Green Mountain" would sustain his career for a long time.
With his popularity exploding, invitations and collaborations poured in. Hu Kailan called once, mainly to marvel at the excellent resources, but unfortunately, Chu Yilan was there.
Master Chu's gaze at that moment looked like he wanted to kill someone through the screen.
No one knew what Chu Yilan said, but whenever Hu Kailan called after that, he acted like a thief, staying quiet for two seconds before asking in an almost breathy whisper, "Is it convenient?"
Shen Lian: "..."
Interestingly, while Shen Lian was being praised by everyone, some "anti-fan comments" were overly aggressive and mindless. They were eventually exposed as being from Zheng Ge's fans.
[My god, Zheng Ge's fans are still around? Shen Lian's acting has practically undergone an ultimate evolution, and you're still clinging to those old, trivial matters?]
[If the person above hadn't mentioned it, I would've almost forgotten who Zheng Ge was... I searched for him and remembered. By the way, I found some photos of him at an offline event recently. My god... those dark circles, that scrawny frame, are they serious? As expected, the domestic entertainment industry is really lenient toward male stars.]
[I'm now starting to suspect that the news of Shen Lian interfering in the relationship between Zheng Ge and that boss wasn't true. Shen Lian was just a part of their "play."]
This statement would have been reasonable even for the Original Host before Shen Lian arrived.
The Original Host did like Zhou Tangsi, but once Zhou Tangsi chose Zheng Ge, he wanted to withdraw gracefully. Unfortunately, as the villainous male supporting character in a book, he had to follow his path. He was constantly dragged back in by the two protagonists, making it difficult to escape.
*
It had been raining continuously in Qudu for the past two days. Shen Lian was coaxed into a deep sleepiness and would sometimes sleep through the entire afternoon. One day, upon waking, he noticed that the plane trees outside the window had lost most of their leaves.
The kittens began to open their eyes one by one. With the skylight closed and the temperature just right, Shen Lian would find himself surrounded by little balls of fur as soon as he went up. Picking one up at random could heal his soul for half a day.
Shen Lian discussed with Chu Yilan about taking on some small tasks that could be completed within a day. Otherwise, it would be a total waste of his current good fortune not to work.
Aside from sighing inwardly, Chu Yilan always ended up giving in to Shen Lian's persistent cajoling.
However, there were three conditions: no staying overnight, no leaving Qudu, and no strenuous exercise.
Shen Lian agreed to all of them.
When he told Hu Kailan that he could film a commercial, Brother Hu almost wept with joy.
On the day he went out, Shen Lian almost felt like reciting a poem: "Ah!"
Just as he let out that exclamation, Chu Yilan wrapped an arm around his waist from behind and led him forward. "Stop 'ah-ing.' I'll drop you off and then head back to the company for a meeting."
It was a commercial for a light luxury cosmetic brand. Hu Kailan had arranged everything, so Shen Lian started filming as soon as he arrived. Having a private dressing room meant the days of waiting in line were over. Everyone in the studio was very polite to him, and the photographer fully cooperated with his sense of the camera. The feeling of his status rising and undergoing a major upgrade was incredibly real.
Jiang You murmured in wonder, "Is this what it feels like when one person attains the Tao and even their chickens and dogs ascend to heaven?"
"What nonsense are you talking?" Shen Lian laughed as he came off set to rest. "It's not that extreme."
"Brother Shen! You won't think I'm stupid, will you?" Jiang You looked at him expectantly.
"Don't worry, as long as you don't resign, you'll always be my assistant." Shen Lian took a sip of water after unscrewing the cap. "Don't sell yourself short. Assistant Sun praised you for being clumsy on the outside but clever on the inside, a person with great potential."
"Assistant Sun praised me like that?!" Jiang You was excited.
"Yeah." Shen Lian gave her forehead a light flick. "So work hard. Brother Hu also mentioned giving you a raise at the end of the year."
Jiang You couldn't stop giggling.
"Didn't we reject him yesterday? Why is he back again today?"
Two staff members were gossiping together.
Following their gaze, Shen Lian saw a man who looked like a supervisor speaking with a face full of impatience and his chin held high. Shen Lian was familiar with this expression; he had received the same treatment when he was a low-tier celebrity. Standing opposite the man was a disheveled Zheng Ge and a junior assistant.
The junior assistant, perhaps feeling embarrassed by Zheng Ge, had his collar up to hide half his face. While Zheng Ge was engaged in a war of words with the supervisor, the assistant's eyes wandered, showing no intention of helping, and a faint sense of irritation and helplessness flickered in his expression.
Shen Lian asked the two staff members, "What was he rejected for?"
"Teacher Shen!" The staff members quickly greeted him.
Shen Lian didn't say anything.
Recalling his question, the staff member said, "Zheng Ge wants to rent one of the studios, but as you know, they're all booked up. There's no space."
Renting? Shen Lian found it novel. According to Zheng Ge's character setting, with just a word, the Long Aotian Zhou Tangsi would have built a dozen for him on the spot.
And Zheng Ge's condition was indeed very poor. This was the first time Shen Lian had seen "humility" on his face. Even when he was being targeted by Old Madam Zhou, he only looked a bit pitiful. Looking at him now, the halo that had always surrounded him seemed to have completely shattered.