Chapter 2: Socially Anxious Star 02
The matter of changing the guest was handled very quickly. Jiang Kong was currently the agency’s top star, so fulfilling a small request like this was child’s play. As for the director, hearing that Jiang Kong was bringing his older sister onto the show meant free publicity and skyrocketing clout—there was no reason on earth to refuse.
Thus, in less than ten minutes, Jiang Kong walked out and flashed a “thumbs up” gesture toward Jiang Yi, indicating everything was completely sorted out.
While Jiang Yi felt her nerves tighten, she couldn’t help letting out a sigh of relief at the same time.
If given a second chance to choose, she was genuinely afraid she might shrink back and pull out.
However, she didn’t know why the original ending had turned out so grim, nor was she familiar with the entertainment industry. The only thing she could do was stay by her younger brother’s side.
It was just social anxiety, right? She could overcome it… probably…
Yet, that very night, Jiang Yi suffered from insomnia until three in the morning.
The wound on her head healed quickly, and the lingering effects of her concussion gradually faded away.
After staying in the hospital for a full week, Jiang Yi was finally discharged and returned home.
During this period, Jiang Kong took on no other work commitments and spent most of his time keeping Jiang Yi company. It wasn’t until he safely escorted Jiang Yi home that he departed for another city to shoot an advertisement.
“Over the next couple of days, the director will officially announce the cast list on Weibo. When that happens, I’ll send you a message. You should register a Weibo account and repost that update.”
Before leaving, Jiang Kong continued, “There might be some nasty comments online, but you don’t need to pay them any mind, and definitely don’t take them to heart. It’s best if you just look at them as little as possible.”
Jiang Yi nodded her head.
Two days prior, she had been caught red-handed by Jiang Kong while searching for news about him online.
“Also, don’t feel anxious about the show. The cameras will primarily be focused on me anyway. When the time comes, I’ll help you complete whatever tasks they assign. You just need to stick with me.”
“If the director doesn’t have any special requirements, you can just hang out in your room. It won’t be much different from being at home.”
Jiang Yi nodded once more. Waiting until he finished speaking, she said, “I transferred some money to your bank card and hired two bodyguards for you. I’ve sent their contact details to your WeChat—just reach out to them directly as soon as you step outside.”
“Alright.”
Jiang Kong agreed with a nod, then turned and left while wheeling his suitcase.
Jiang Yi closed the front door and powered on her computer. A rapid succession of notification chimes instantly pinged one after another.
【 Hesong, Big Boss, you’re finally online! ! ! ! 】
【 Another wealthy buyer has taken a shine to your novel Following the Wind. Are you really not going to sell the screen rights? 】
【 Not selling
Jiang Yi had barely typed those two words when she saw her editor send another message.
【 I heard through the grapevine that a director took a personal liking to it this time. He absolutely adores your book and is willing to let you serve as the screenwriter】
【 Will you really not consider it again? 】
Jiang Yi paused for a moment, then deleted the two words she had just typed into the chat box, feeling a sudden pulse of interest.
A long time ago, she had sold the screen rights to one of her stories, but the screenwriter butchered her favorite character beyond recognition. Jiang Yi had felt terribly aggrieved for a long time after it aired.
Since she didn’t lack the money from selling adaptation rights anyway, she simply refrained from selling any more of them moving forward.
However, if she could serve as the screenwriter herself…
After pondering for two seconds, Jiang Yi didn’t give an immediate agreement, but instead typed back:
【 Does the other party have any specific requirements for the script? 】
The editor’s eyes lit up, and they nearly jumped up in excitement, hastily typing out a reply.
【 The person who wants to buy the rights is a fan of the original book. They don’t have any strict demands, other than hoping the romance storyline in the script can be a bit sweeter. 】
This was precisely why the wealthy buyer asking for rights had agreed to let the original author serve as the screenwriter—compared to anyone else, the original author would undeniably be far more familiar and adept with the plot.
The romance storyline…
Jiang Yi felt a bit troubled. A major reason why the romantic line in Following the Wind wasn’t subtle or prominent was that she wasn’t particularly good at writing delicate romantic interactions.
The editor was clearly aware of this situation as well, quickly adding:
【 Hesong, Big Boss, you can try writing a draft first. There’s no rush to sign the contract. 】
【 It’ll be completely fine to meet up and talk details after the script is written. 】
After a few seconds of hesitation, Jiang Yi typed out her agreement.
Even if it didn’t pan out, she lost nothing. If it succeeded, getting to know a director might even help build a network of connections for Jiang Kong.
That very afternoon, Jiang Yi retrieved the physical copy of Following the Wind from her bookshelf, grabbed a pen, and began re-reading it carefully from the very beginning.
At 8:00 PM the following evening, the official Weibo account of The Strikingly Different Us posted an announcement revealing the regular cast lineup for the show, totaling eight main guests.
Gold-medal director Shen Ping and his son Shen Xiangcheng; Song Queen Luo Jiajin and her daughter Luo Xia; top-tier celebrity Jiang Kong and his older sister Jiang Yi; and Film King Pei Wusi alongside his friend Chang Ximing.
Just as Jiang Kong had instructed, Jiang Yi registered a new Weibo account and reposted the show’s official announcement.
Right after reposting, a quick refresh revealed several notifications in her inbox alongside over a dozen new followers:
【 Jiang Kong’s sister? 】
【 Jiang Kong actually has an older sister? 】
【 Following first 】
【 Jiang Yi… Are there any photos? 】
【 Is she his biological sister? I’ve never heard Kongkong mention her before 】
【 Sister! Your future sister-in-law is here! ! ! ! 】
Jiang Yi clicked into the official Weibo post, looking up each of the other show participants one by one.
Director Shen Ping had just released a movie recently that ranked number one in holiday box-office sales, completely crushing the competition in the same timeframe; he was a gold-medal director through and through.
Song Queen Luo Jiajin had swept every major music award in the industry, and many of her classic tracks were still trending hits today—a woman combining beauty and talent in equal measure.
Film King Pei Wusi was the youngest Film King in domestic cinema history. Apart from his acting works, precious little other relevant news could be found about him.
Jiang Yi narrowed her eyes slightly and leaned closer to her phone screen, looking at the peerlessly handsome grown man on the display. She felt a strange sense of familiarity, as if she had seen him somewhere before.
Yet, when she searched her memories carefully, she couldn’t recall anything clearly.
Aside from these three, most of the companions they brought along were non-celebrities, with almost zero information available on the web.
Using her alt account, Jiang Yi followed everyone on the list. When she refreshed Weibo again, the topic had already climbed up the trending charts.
#TheStrikinglyDifferentUsStarStuddedLineup#
#DirectorSongQueenFilmKingTopTierGatherTogether#
#PeiWusiFirstVarietyShow#
There were several related hashtags, and Jiang Yi even spotted a standalone entry for Jiang Kong.
#JiangKongNewVarietyShow#
#JiangKongSister#
Clicking inside, the level of discussion was exceptionally high.
【 Ahhhhhhh, I get to see Kongkong again! ! I can’t wait! 】
【 Kongkong’s visuals are killing me! ! ! ! So excited for Kongkong’s new variety show 】
【 A new variety show, wow! Kongkong has a bright future ahead 】
【 Jiang… Kong? Visual stans are really getting out of hand 】
【 I feel like I remember Jiang Kong having terrible character/morals, or did I remember it wrong? 】
【 With this kind of variety show configuration, Jiang Kong’s industry resources are actually pretty insane 】
【 Wonder if there’ll be new styling looks, so hyped 】
…
Jiang Yi gave the feed a broad glance. There were nitpicking voices, but not many.
She exited the hashtag, and upon refreshing once more, the hashtag #PeiWusiFirstVarietyShow# had already rocketed to the number one spot on Weibo’s trending topics, accompanied by a bright red “EXPLOSIVE” tag beside it.
【 Ahhhhhhh, what kind of glorious day is today! ! 】
【 A once-in-a-lifetime moment! ! ! ! ! ! 】
【 Sobbing sobbing sobbing, I’m way too emotional! Hubby’s very first variety show! ! 】
【 Finally waited for this day! All my daily praying wasn’t in vain 】
【 Looking forward to Old Pei’s variety debut! ! 】
【 Abnormal things happen for a reason though… 】
【 Charge! ! ! Definitely tuning into this variety show, lalalala 】
【 Air it fast, air it fast, air it fast! I can’t wait to see Gege on a variety show 】
【 Old Pei’s first variety show! ! Full support! Hope the director gives us plenty of screen time, or else I’ll cry my eyes out 】
…
Flipping through the comments casually, Jiang Yi quickly pieced together the reason behind the fans’ intense frenzy.
Having debuted seven years ago, Film King Pei Wusi had acted in three television series and ten movies, every single one of them a masterpiece whose quality pulverized his peers. Yet, apart from movies and TV dramas, auxiliary media content involving him was scarce to the point of absurdity.
Zero endorsements, zero commercial ads, zero variety show appearances. He had only attended a single promotional event even when his own works were premiering, let alone posting on Weibo. His fans routinely questioned whether their idol had long forgotten his Weibo password—otherwise, why wouldn’t he log in even once?
Even this time, when the show officially announced its cast, he hadn’t reposted the update right away.
He was truly unique.
Jiang Yi thought to herself, just about to head over to his Weibo profile for a look, when the home robot began playing soothing music.
“Jiang Yi~ It’s already ten o’clock! Please mind the time and go to sleep promptly~”
The robot, Xiaoxi, rolled over to Jiang Yi’s side and spoke in an adorable, cheerful voice.
Jiang Yi froze, her eyes widening slightly.
Two hours had somehow flown by so quickly.
She hurriedly put away her phone to wash up, lying down in bed with her eyes closed right on time at ten-thirty.
11:00 PM at night.
While early sleepers had slipped into dreamland, night owls were just opening Weibo.
Though the trending topics shifted through several iterations over those three hours, Pei Wusi still held firm control over the number one spot.
At the same time, under his team’s strategic management, Jiang Kong’s heat steadily climbed as well, quickly reaching the second spot on the trending list.
Jiang Kong finished his photoshoot at midnight. The moment he turned around, his assistant hurried over and lowered his voice to say, “Brother Jiang, Brother Wen said someone is smearing you online again.”
Jiang Kong paused briefly, took the water bottle from his hand, and drank a sip. As he walked toward the dressing room, he asked, “When did it start?”
“Tonight, around eleven-thirty.”
Jiang Kong let out a quiet sigh of relief. After walking into the dressing room and taking a seat, he continued, “Still can’t find out who it is?”
The young assistant nodded with a bitter face. “Yeah. But Brother Wen guesses it’s likely the same person as before.”
With that, he added, “Brother Wen said the other party has deep connections and has probably been in the industry for quite some time. He told you to stay vigilant usually.”
Jiang Kong nodded, pulling his phone out of his bag to open Weibo.
Seeing this, the assistant immediately leaned in, wanting to walk him through the sequence of events.
“Their smear tactic this time is pretty sophisticated. They grabbed hold of the previous incident and dragged the conflict over to Teacher Pei Wusi…”
Before he could finish his sentence, he watched as Jiang Kong located Jiang Yi’s account among the cluster of handles tagged by the show’s official Weibo. He clicked in—
Followed her, liked the Weibo post she had reposted several hours ago, and then searched for his own handle among Jiang Yi’s followed accounts.
Only after completing this series of actions did he raise his head to look at the assistant beside him.
“Go on.”
Assistant: “…”
Assistant: “Okay.”
The trigger for the smear campaign targeting Jiang Kong was a Weibo post published by an entertainment blogger with three million followers—
@EntertainmentReporterTurtle: Let’s do a deep dive into the star-studded lineup of The Strikingly Different Us.
First up, Pei Wusi. Ten movies, six Film King titles. There’s a saying in the movie industry: as long as Pei Wusi is nominated, no one else stands a chance. However, this is still the very first variety show he’s attending since his debut…
Second up, Jiang Kong. A top-tier celebrity who debuted as the center position winner of a talent show at the start of the year, then successfully blew up across the net in April through his role as Yan Wushu. However, his variety show performance isn’t great, and opinions on his character are mixed…
…
The blogger posted an overview of the guest lineup for The Strikingly Different Us, detailing Pei Wusi and Jiang Kong in particular. On the surface, it appeared impartial and backed by facts, but in reality, it was subtly goading Pei Wusi’s fans into boycotting Jiang Kong’s participation in the variety show.
A single claim—”Jiang Kong has poor character and loves hogging screen time from seniors”—was more than enough to trigger the countless fans holding bright, hopeful expectations for Pei Wusi’s first variety show.
【 After watching the video of Jiang Kong hogging screen time, I’m already feeling suffocated in advance. Hubby has always been pretty indifferent to fame—won’t all his screen time get snatched up by Jiang Kong during the show? Help—who on earth wants to watch Jiang Kong! ! ! 】
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