Chapter 649: A Million Times for You (11)Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

However, his rationality repeatedly told him that she must have met him for business matters.

At last, Fan s.h.i.+xin told him, “Young Sir, Yan Ge is confirmed to be playing the male lead in the upcoming television drama Ms. An has invested in.”

“Did I ask?” Jin Qingyan hissed nonchalantly.

Fan s.h.i.+xin pursed his lips and quipped, “Young Sir, why do you insist on denying it? You obviously wanted to know…” What a lunatic! he cursed in his head.

“s.h.i.+xin… I reckon you haven’t been exercising or training vigorously lately. Your health is important. Go and run ten rounds around the estate,” said Jin Qingyan.

“Young Sir, I was wrong. I shouldn’t have been so talkative…”

“No, you weren’t. I’m genuinely concerned about your health. Hurry along.”

“Okay,” Fan s.h.i.+xin conceded with a grimace.

Jin Qingyan went on Weibo and browsed through Yan Ge’s Weibo page. Clearly, the latter was extremely famous and influential, as evidenced by the hundreds of millions of fans he had.

After refres.h.i.+ng the Weibo page, he saw the latest news pop up on his screen.

There was a photo of An Xiaoning and Yan Ge attached to the latest post, which was t.i.tled: “Ms. An personally invited me to take on the lead role in the new drama she has invested in. She was extremely sincere, and I’m sure we’ll have a joyous cooperation.”

The Weibo post immediately shut down all rumors of a possible romance between the two of them.

Numerous fans quickly left comments on his Weibo page.

“You’ve scared us! Thank G.o.d you two aren’t really a couple.”

“I knew it wasn’t real. Our Yan Ge has better taste in women. A thrice-divorced woman doesn’t deserve my idol at all.”

“This An Xiaoning is investing in a television drama again. Why is she so rich? She must’ve gotten all that money from Jin Qingyan after their divorce. She must be paid a hefty sum for alimony fees. An Xiaoning is indeed a scheming wretch…”

“My beloved idol has shown that he doesn’t want to be involved in a scandal with An Xiaoning by jumping out immediately to clarify that there’s nothing between them…”

“I really wonder what about An Xiaoning is so charming and attractive. Just what does Jin Qingyan like about her?”

“I don’t get it either. Outrageous.”

“…”

Jin Qingyan felt a strange urge to immediately break the necks of those netizens who were spreading malicious comments online. He closed the Weibo page and leaned against the couch to rest his eyes.

Ji Yu did not take the matter to heart since he saw the news of Yan Ge clarifying their relations.h.i.+p shortly after he had first read about the rumors.

On the other hand, Tuoba Gucheng was instantly snapped out of his mood to work the moment he read about the rumors. After reading Yan Ge’s latest Weibo post, he finally felt relieved, as if a boulder had been lifted off his shoulders. He then proceeded to do what he was supposed to.

An Xiaoning had not gone on the internet ever since she announced her divorce online; thus, she had not read any of the comments about her left by netizens.

She finally read the comments regarding the rumors about her and Yan Ge.

Every single comment and remark made affected her greatly.

Gossip is a fearful thing.

Many keyboard warriors hide behind their screens to anonymously vent online their pent-up frustration toward their daily lives. They do so by leaving malicious and nasty comments on every discussion forum and platform regarding the latest news.

This just goes to show that one’s words and remarks do reflect their manners and character.

Some people leave such comments as a form of venting their anger and displeasure, while others were simply brainless fans of celebrities.

Most of these fans were young and insensible teenagers who value their idols more than their own parents.

They had never once regarded their family so highly before, and yet, they were willing to put in all their efforts for a celebrity who had no idea of their existence.

Realizing that all information that included her name had been blocked on the internet, An Xiaoning decided to search the Hanyu Pinyin of her name. She let out a long sigh upon reading the comments about her online. I don’t even know these netizens personally. Must they detest a stranger to such a great extent? she thought to herself.

How amusing.

As expected, her mood was affected after reading those comments.

She was no saint, after all.

Thus, she decided to stop reading them altogether.

Instead of leaving C City immediately, she decided to board a flight back to A City the next morning. She decided to spend the rest of the afternoon and evening exploring the television studio.

She checked into a hotel room and embarked on her search for an actress who fit the characteristics of the female lead as closely as possible.

Since she could not find a suitable actress in the theater arts academy, she decided to s.h.i.+ft her attention to other actresses in the s...o...b..z industry.

She would definitely not consider popular actresses who often appear in several television dramas and films, since the viewers were probably already sick of seeing those familiar faces.

She had no choice but to look for an actress who appealed to her.

Yet, the more she yearned to find a suitable actress, the harder it was.

She spent the entire afternoon browsing through photos and articles and videos of actresses starring in dramas. However, her efforts were futile, as usual.

After having dinner, An Xiaoning put on a surgical mask and began strolling around the television studio.

She pa.s.sed by several film sets, one after another.

She could tell with just one look that they were highly unprofessional and sloppy with the production.

When she pa.s.sed by a pond, she chanced upon the sight of a poorly-equipped production team, consisting of only some basic filming equipment, one lighting technician, and one director. There were also a bunch of onlookers surrounding them.

There was a pathetically-small number of crew members and a mismatched backdrop.

An Xiaoning stepped forward to see that a young girl was s.h.i.+vering uncontrollably in the pond, due to the freezing temperature. “Director, can this take make the cut?” the girl asked fearfully.

“Obviously not, didn’t you see how unsightly you looked when you were jumping into the pond? Fang Erlan, how many times have I corrected you? Why are you so stupid? Come up and retake this scene!” the director hollered.

An Xiaoning watched as the girl got up from the pond, still quivering from the cold. She was clearly a rookie actress since she did not even have an a.s.sistant; neither did anyone bother to give her a towel.

She changed into a fresh set of clothing and dried her hair with a hairdryer while standing by the pond. She then took a deep breath while holding her hands tightly together.

The pond must be freezing cold in the winter, especially since there’d been a snowfall not long ago.

An Xiaoning stared at her quietly from a distance away.

She noticed the look of determination and perseverance on Fang Erlan’s face.

Once the director cued for the cameras to start rolling, Fang Erlan jumped into the pond gracefully, plunging in headfirst.

An Xiaoning was thoroughly impressed by Fang Erlan’s acting chops.

However, the director seemed to be making things difficult for her on purpose by being perpetually unsatisfied and las.h.i.+ng out at her for no apparent reason.

Fang Erlan was finally spared after retaking the scene multiple times, over and over again.

Due to the fact that she had to continuously plunge into the freezing waters, Fang Erlan was so cold and clammy that she could not even manage to stand on her feet steadily. She then scurried toward the changing room on an unsteady gait.

Just as An Xiaoning was about to leave, she noticed that the director had also entered the changing room.

Sensing that something was amiss, An Xiaoning subconsciously walked forward and followed suit.

As soon as she reached the door, she heard shrieking sounds coming from inside the room.

She reached out to push the door open, but to no avail. Thus, she had no choice but to knock on the door instead.

The door was not opened, however. Instead, An Xiaoning heard another loud screech from inside. To An Xiaoning’s surprise, the wail of anguish came from the director.

Soon, the door opened and out came a terrorized Fang Erlan, who was gripping onto the hanger tightly.

An Xiaoning immediately understood what had happened when she peeked inside the room to take a look at the director.

“Are you alright?”

Fang Erlan nodded and looked inside the room fearfully.

“Fang Erlan, you must be tired of living!” the director hollered.

An Xiaoning guffawed sneeringly and hissed, “Lewd directors must be the black sheep who give directors a bad reputation. You’re just a despicable and utterly shameless scoundrel with a gilded exterior!”