91: Character explosion

Hengtai rarely gave everyone a half-day off for team building, and the location was the cinema.

The company covered the movie tickets.

It was paid out of someone named Chu's private account.

"CEO Chu, shall I send the retouched photos to your email?"

Sun Binghe sent a message.

Chu Yilan: "Send them to me in the chat window, I'll save the original images."

He looked down; Shen Lian was wrapped in a quilt, sleeping beside him, a faint trace of fatigue between his brows.

Eating only once a day, neither of them held back, especially Shen Lian, who insisted on going from hard-mouthed provocation to begging for mercy until he was dizzy and completely satisfied.

Sun Binghe sent over a dozen messages in a flurry, all about "Li Kuan". The amount of "word-of-mouth promotion" this time was terrifyingly high. Perhaps people liked this character too much; some big names in photography and illustration even got involved, working through the night to produce free fan art.

It's common for a role to explode in popularity, but for the fourth male lead to do so—and it was Shen Lian!

Fans kept bumping up the old posts where haters had slandered Shen Lian's acting as garbage, their mouths splitting from grinning so wide.

Chu Yilan admired the beautiful images and then asked seriously in the group chat: "Are you all not going to watch the movie?"

Feng Yueshan: "? What kind of thing is a movie? I've never had any interest in that."

Ning Sixian: "Don't mind him..."

As expected, Chu Yilan continued typing: "Shen Lian is in it, it's not bad. You should all go, cultivate your artistic sensibilities. I'll cover the costs."

Xu Jingge, who had just joined the group a while ago, laughed: "Chang Qing is also in the entertainment industry, and even I'm not as neurotic as you."

Chu Yilan: "Have your employees go watch it as a group, I'll cover the costs."

Xu Jingge: "..."

Ning Sixian: "...I already said, don't mind him."

The group fell silent. Chu Yilan wouldn't give up and finally typed one last sentence: "Remember to watch it. After you finish, bring me the ticket stubs for reimbursement."

If anyone asked, it was about reimbursement; money had to be spent where it mattered.

Chu Yilan closed his phone, feeling quite satisfied, his eyes filled with smiles, and he leaned over to kiss Shen Lian.

With the "Li Kuan" role exploding in popularity, who was suffering?

The first to bear the brunt was the lead actor, Zheng Ge. It wasn't that Zheng Ge was bad, but his acting style had set in two years ago. Everything he played tasted the same, like following a formula. Besides fans fawning over his face, he had no freshness for the audience. On the same level, he was being thoroughly crushed by the explosive power of Shen Lian.

Zheng Ge's fans were fuming. Anyone could step on their idol, but why did it have to be Shen Lian?

Zheng Ge's fans were aggressive, and the public square immediately became foul and chaotic.

But Shen Lian's fans had an advantage that spread very quickly: you can curse all you want, as long as passersby have eyes.

"How many endorsements has Zheng Ge already lost? And his fans are still acting this jumpy."

"It's more than just being crushed by Shen Lian; when they are in the same frame, they aren't even on the same level. Zheng Ge even added a personal filter, and he still lost miserably."

"Why not call out that CEO or whoever to uphold justice?"

Zhou Tangsi had his own hands full; how could he care about this?

Old Madam Zhou started arranging blind dates for him. If he didn't go, she would go on a hunger strike. The old lady had a stubborn temper and poor health. One hunger strike would cause hypoglycemia, and it would take her days to recover. Zhou Tangsi had been loved and cared for by her since childhood, so how could he bear to resist?

Unfortunately, there were busybodies who would leak the news to Zheng Ge from time to time. You can imagine how lively that got.

Feng Yueshan was a regular at major clubs and restaurants, so he easily stumbled upon amusement. Having just finished watching, he started blowing up the group chat.

"Today, Zhou Tangsi met with the young master of the Chen family. Wait, no, it seems Old Madam Zhou has compromised; she's even arranging men now. As a result, they were blocked at the door of the private room by Zheng Ge. That shura field! Zheng Ge raised his hand to hit the young master of the Chen family, but was stopped by Zhou Tangsi. The next second, the young master of the Chen family slapped Zheng Ge, and then Zhou Tangsi slapped the young master of the Chen family. The young master of the Chen family couldn't take it, called his Bodyguard, and both sides started fighting!"

"Zhou Tangsi didn't have enough Bodyguards and lost. They smashed up a private room, and the manager is there calculating the bill. The young master of the Chen family declared that he wants Zhou Tangsi to come to his door, bow, and apologize."

"Zhou Tangsi saw me, and I laughed even harder."

Feng Yueshan had been annoyed by these two for a long time, so when entertainment was delivered to his doorstep, he had to watch with wide eyes.

That wasn't all. When Zhou Tangsi and Zheng Ge left in a sorry state, they were snapped by paparazzi. The next day, bizarre rumors spread that "The Zhou Corporation is about to go bankrupt, and Zheng Ge is going to drink with clients to save his lover."

Apart from the fans feeling heartbroken, most people were just watching the show.

Shen Lian propped his head with one hand, scrolling through his phone, and raised an eyebrow slightly. The butterfly effect?

Since he and Chu Yilan had broken away from the so-called plot, Zhou Tangsi and Zheng Ge's romantic arc couldn't proceed.

In the original work, Zheng Ge accidentally saved Old Madam Zhou, and the sincerity and innocence he displayed deeply moved her. Combined with her love for her grandson, she quickly accepted their relationship. Now, this path, which should have been smooth sailing, had become hell-level difficulty.

Shen Lian had agreed to Chang Qing's request for a cameo. He looked at the script Chang Qing sent. It was a cultivation background, and he was playing a... heartthrob of the entire cultivation world.

Dressed in black robes with white hair, holding the world in his heart, he sacrificed himself to seal an ancient demon. The influence of this event was tightly linked for a thousand years. Anyway, all the main characters had some connection to him, more or less. Either they were a spirit weapon he raised, a spirit pet he kept, or a beggar he had once shown kindness to. He had a bit of a heartthrob attribute.

There weren't many scenes. If things went smoothly, Shen Lian could really finish it in one day.

Before filming started, Shen Lian went to Ning Sixian for a check-up, accompanied by Chu Yilan. This time, it didn't require as many procedures, and it was done in over an hour.

Ning Sixian wore gold-rimmed glasses, with the glasses chain hanging halfway down, looking very much like a refined scoundrel.

"It's alright, the recovery is good." Ning Sixian nodded. "But you still need to take your medicine on time."

Chu Yilan's expression was stern. "What about the rest?"

"Nothing else." Ning Sixian said. "A happy mood is better than anything."

Shen Lian: "I'm very happy every day."

"Of course you're happy." Ning Sixian continued. "Buddy, I watched 'silent no more' twice. Do you know how much Zheng Ge's scenes tortured my eyes?"

Shen Lian was curious: "If it tortured you, why watch it twice?"

"Let's go home." Chu Yilan took Shen Lian's hand and left.

Ning Sixian snorted with a laugh.

Xu Jingge personally brought Chang Qing to Qudu. On the day he arrived at the set, he ran into Shen Lian.

"Oh, Teacher Shen?" Xu Jingge's tone carried an inherent sense of mockery.

Shen Lian nodded. "CEO Xu."

Xu Jingge deliberately looked behind Shen Lian. "Where is Chu Yilan? He didn't come? That's not up to standard."

"He's in a meeting." Shen Lian said indifferently. "After all, I'll be done in two days at most, while CEO Xu and Chang Qing will have to be separated for at least two months, right?"

Xu Jingge: "..."

Chang Qing: "..." Please spare me, I only just coaxed him last night.

Xu Jingge was silenced by Shen Lian's ultimate move, and finally behaved himself afterward.

Xu Jingge also had to go on a business trip to Region Name, which could be considered using work to numb his empty soul. After arranging everything for Chang Qing, he left without stopping.

Chang Qing: "It looks like Zheng Ge won't be able to tear you down this time."

Shen Lian: "Every time from now on, he won't have a chance to tear me down again."