As soon as Xie Lou started stirring up trouble online, Shi Yi noticed.
That’s right, she was the one who hired the water army.
Who knew Gu Zhan’s eyes would be so sharp, spotting her from so far away… Right then, Shi Yi knew things were bad. Sure enough, by the next day, netizens had almost dug up everything about her.
She could only choose to muddy the waters.
Originally, everything was proceeding according to plan. Who knew Xie Lou would start stirring up drama!
Shi Yi ground her teeth in anger, wishing she could tear Xie Lou apart. Why did he have to come out and make a fuss out of nowhere?!
His replies were like pouring a ladle of boiling oil into hot water; the pot instantly exploded. Look at the things he replied with! Look at the comments under his Weibo!
Now, who didn’t know about Gu Zhan and his ex-girlfriend, Shi Yi?!
Could it be that she really had to change her name to Shi Jianqiang?
“…”
Ding dong, Master, you have an incoming call~
Ding dong, Master, you have an incoming call~
On the phone screen, the contact name Xu Meimei was incredibly glaring.
Xu Meimei, plastic best friend, the only one whose contact information she had kept after going abroad… and also the one who called her last time.
—I can’t answer it!
Shi Jianqiang—no, Shi Yi quietly put her number on the blacklist.
Half an hour later, Shi Yi’s WeChat notifications popped up.
“Shi Yi! Answer the phone!”
“Don’t think that just because I’m getting a busy signal, I don’t know you blacklisted me!”
“Come out here right now!”
“Didn’t you say you had nothing to do with Gu Zhan?”
“You huge liar!”
“Come out and fight me one-on-one! I demand a duel!”
Shi Yi blinked, her slender, pale fingers swiping across the screen as she casually uninstalled WeChat. As long as I can’t see it, it doesn’t exist.
The world was quiet again.
Shi Yi pondered for a moment, then logged onto QQ to contact her editor. “Editor, what was that producer’s contact info you mentioned last time?”
Editor: “Which book’s producer are you talking about?”
“For Stop Making Trouble. I changed my phone number a couple of days ago and can’t find his contact info.”
“Alright, I’ll send it to you.”
“Here’s his phone number, and here’s his email.”
Shi Yi noted down the producer’s contact information one by one.
Her return to the country this time was because of Stop Making Trouble. Half a year ago, Stop Making Trouble was signed over to Huanfeng Film and Television for a high price.
A month ago, her editor notified her that the screen adaptation process had begun. According to the contract she signed, she was the screenwriter and was asked to finish writing the script as soon as possible.
Usually, after selling the rights to a novel, Shi Yi wouldn’t participate any further—but this book was different from her other novels. This one was adapted from her and Gu Zhan’s past story.
Before she wrote it, she had never expected this book to become so popular.
Due to some indescribable emotions, she didn’t want to see this book haphazardly adapted and ruined.
Shi Yi snapped back to reality and dialed the producer’s number. The producer, whose surname was Zhang, scheduled a time with her and also gave her the director’s contact info.
“By the way, do you have time to follow the crew? If you don’t have time when the shoot starts, I can hire another experienced screenwriter to handle any sudden situations on set… Of course, they won’t make random changes.”
Shi Yi chuckled softly. “You’re overthinking it. Of course I have time.”
The producer’s tone indicated he leaned toward working with a familiar screenwriter; unfortunately for him, he was going to be disappointed.
Not making random changes didn’t mean they wouldn’t make abnormal changes.
She didn’t want to watch the TV series later on and discover that her story suddenly had a few extra second male leads and second female leads.
The producer laughed. “As long as you have time. We’ll talk more when the time comes.”
Many things were still more convenient to discuss face-to-face.
Hanging up the phone, Shi Yi fell into deep thought. Before making the call, she had planned to sign the contract with the producer and director as soon as possible, and then immediately return abroad. Looking at the situation now, she would have to stay in the country for a while.
Forget it, it doesn’t matter anyway.
It couldn’t possibly be such a coincidence that she’d bump into Gu Zhan again in such a short period of time… right?
—
Coincidentally, Gu Zhan was also reading the comments.
In the relationship between the manager and Gu Zhan, Gu Zhan held the dominant position. Ever since visiting Gu Zhan’s old family estate once, the manager had sensibly learned to yield.
Gu Zhan wasn’t willing to disturb his ex-girlfriend’s life, nor was he willing to outright deny it. Since someone happened to be muddying the waters, the manager simply pushed the boat along with the current.
“But President Xie has already said everything that needed to be said; we can’t keep muddying the waters anymore. What I mean is, we might as well just hype up the CP.”
With the heat so high right now, it would be a shame not to hype the CP.
First, it can gather popularity; second, it can prepare for a future public announcement. It kills multiple birds with one stone.
Gu Zhan gave a hum of agreement. “Arrange for someone to guide the narrative in my fan groups as well.”
The manager was surprised. Was he sure?
It wasn’t that CP fans were bad, but if his solo fans converted into CP fans, they would definitely drop him if he ended up with someone else in the future.
And his girlfriend hadn’t even returned to the country yet.
Gu Zhan’s voice was clear and faint. “What’s wrong with that? Fans should chase stars rationally and stay away from their personal lives.”
He had always insisted on this point and had never changed.
Greed is human nature; when someone invests a lot of emotion, they hope to get a response. Solo fans invested a lot of emotion, which would slowly breed a sense of possessiveness towards him. They’d hope he could stay single forever and might even harbor hostility toward his significant other… This was something he could not accept.
He hoped these people would find a few more idols to stan, just be ordinary face-cons, casually chase stars when they had the time, and focus on their own lives freely when they didn’t.
The manager hesitated, swallowing his words: That wasn’t what he was thinking.
What he was thinking was, was Gu Zhan really so sure that his future significant other would be Miss Ex-Girlfriend?
Forget it, he couldn’t say that out loud.
Manager: “Alright.”
“Anything else?”
“No.”
“Mn.”
Gu Zhan hung up the phone and skimmed through the comments.
The top-voted comment right now was a betting pool: #Come, come, come, let’s take a bet: Will Gu Zhan and Shi Xixi get back together?#
—Before reading President Xie’s Weibo, maybe not. After reading President Xie’s Weibo, I bet a dime, they will.
—One buck, they will.
—Fifty cents, same as above.
—Step aside, I bet a hundred, they will.
A whole row of “they will” followed below. The reason: Does it even need to be said? Once you’ve seen the best, the rest aren’t worth a glance. Once you’ve had a boyfriend with Gu Zhan’s face, how could you ever bring yourself to kiss anyone else?
These commenters had a pretty good eye.
His phone rang with a call.
Gu Zhan withdrew his gaze and answered the phone. “Hello! Wang Wen?”
The voice on the phone was very mysterious. “Bro, I’ve got a surprise for you. Do you want it?”
Gu Zhan was absent-minded. “Hm?”
Wang Wen: “Tell me, isn’t it a coincidence? The hotel your little sweetheart is staying at just happens to be owned by my family.”
A string of laughter came through the phone. “Does Brother Gu want to come over?”
Gu Zhan’s breathing suddenly hitched, his expression becoming unreadable.
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