Chapter 147

  Two men were hugging happily, when Jian Yan suddenly felt his phone vibrating in Jiang Chuan's pocket. It seemed to be a text message alert. He lifted his head and looked at Jiang Chuan, who took his hand off Jian Yan's head and pulled out the phone to take a look. Under the glow of the screen, Jian Yan could clearly see the man's expression change slightly.

  "What's going on? A message from the company? Have I been blocked? Have I been terminated? Am I unemployed?"

  "It's Jiang Luocheng, he said he knows who the jumper is, ask him to call back, he might be able to tell you." Jiang Chuan said, "His silence these days was indeed intentional, take a look at what kind of person your ex-boyfriend is, are you blind?"

  I'm deeply moved by the spirit of Jiang Chuan's timely reminder, and my lips tremble slightly: "People in love are all blind, do you know what it means to be blind? It means being blinded."

  Jiang Chuan put his mobile phone in his pocket: "Don't let him make the call, even if he wants to. Wait for the domestic police to investigate and find out who that person is before making a decision - it's not too late. Jiang Luocheng would say this, which means things may not be as simple as everyone thinks. We should trust the law enforcement department's ability to handle things, they will clear your name."

  "...This sentence of yours could be broadcast on the news if it were in a different context." Jian Ran said, "As someone whose main business is smuggling and selling iron utensils, hearing you say something so positive and uplifting really touches my heart."

  "Shut up."

  Two people walked out of the bathroom, one after another, with a completely different mood from when they were alone in the toilet brushing Weibo about ten minutes ago (...) Jian felt like he had just returned to normal from the edge of despair... Can't help but say that there is some credit to Jiang Chuan here.

  When people are entangled, they easily fall into this pattern: one second ago, they just figured it out and let go, the next second they couldn't figure it out again, and the next second they tried to persuade themselves with new reasons, repeating this cycle over and over, without getting tired of it.

  It wasn't easy to persuade the man not to throw his phone into the drain and come back to grab it in his hand. Under Jiang Chuan's supervision, he deleted the Weibo content that hadn't been edited and sent out yet - this process was a bit thrilling, but sometimes doing something irrational is just an instant impulse. After calming down and thinking about it later, if that apology Weibo had really been sent out, what kind of consequences would it have caused? He himself had some lingering fear in his heart: after all, apologizing meant he acknowledged everything he shouldn't be responsible for.

  Jiang Chuan is right, he apologized, but those people will not let him go because of this, and will instead intensify their attacks, grasping the phrase "you're not guilty, why apologize" to attack him mercilessly.

  Now he's glad he didn't go along with it and even has a sense of having narrowly escaped: he almost killed himself.

  Delete those words that have been typed, just like tidying up the bad mood and perking oneself up again. She glanced at the man standing beside her with a blank expression, smiled slightly, stretched out her hand to touch his face, but he grasped her wrist and refused her various disturbances, saying coldly: "Don't think that smiling and pretending it's over will make everything okay."

  She awkwardly withdrew her hand, staring at the phone screen for a long time: "I just think I shouldn't continue to be silent, let those who like me stand in front and fight for me, resist all attacks... whether right or wrong, I should make a statement, after all, even if I don't say a word, they've already discussed it so happily and seemingly because of my silence, they started pouring dirty water on my face without restraint, even when exposed and slapped in the face, they can still continue to forcibly change the subject, making people unable to do anything about them. Ahhhhh, what did these people eat to grow up with such a dark heart?"

  "Has anyone ever told you to shut up? Did Fang Yu say that he would confiscate your phone? Did he tell you not to scroll through Weibo?" Jiang Chuan said, "How can you be so stupid, why would I take a liking to you?"

  "Hmm, so from now on I'll be nicer to you, after all you're already blind."

  He casually made fun of himself, thought for a moment, and quickly typed out a line on his phone. After finishing, he showed it to Jiang Chuan, who raised an eyebrow as if expressing disinterest in the content, but still nodded reluctantly... About ten minutes later, the crew members of "Leviathan" were all staring at Jian Ran's agent Fang Yu holding his phone and laughing loudly with his head thrown back, unsure whether he was happy or angry. On his phone screen, a newly updated Weibo post appeared, which had been posted about five minutes ago...

  The male god is me, Yuan Jinyan: It's my pot and I'll carry it. If it's not mine, don't even think about dumping it on my head. My sexual orientation isn't the original sin you're accusing me of. I won't be glad that the guy who jumped from the building was anyone, nor will I be glad he wasn't anyone - that's a life, and no one can threaten me with this. Rest in peace to the deceased.

  ……

  At night, returned to the hotel, drank a lot and became bolder, didn't go back to the room but ran directly to Jiang Chuan's room to sleep on his bed. After taking a bath, came out to find the man lying on the bed browsing Weibo, wiping his hair. At this time, the alcohol had also sobered up a bit, so casually asked: "What do those black (fans) want to say about my domineering attitude?"

  "You're shameless and have low EQ." Jiang Chuan chuckled as he scrolled through Weibo, saying in a teasing tone, "But in reality, your fans are so moved that they think you're high-end, elegant, and responsible. Many of your friends in the industry directly forwarded your post, and bystanders say they were moved to tears. The Sherlock Holmes types ask who threatened you to make you act so despicably... Ah, Jiang Luo Cheng probably wet his pants!"

  "He didn't think I'd be so brave."

  "An hour ago you were still hiding in a dirty toilet cubicle of an unknown small bar abroad, emotionally collapsing like a dog."

  "Go to sleep."

  Jiang Chuan flipped over, lifted the quilt, patted the bed, and then crawled up... Having someone by your side when sleeping makes you feel especially satisfied and sleep more soundly. If Jiang Chuan hadn't pulled him out of bed early in the morning, he wouldn't have known it was time to start work. Last night's hangover was killing him, and Jin Yan looked in the mirror, his dark circles were shocking.

  "Who invented this situation where we have to film the next day but still take actors out for drinks?" Jian Yan muttered, "Are these foreigners all newcomers or something?"

  "Go down and let Fang Yu make you a cup of tea to refresh yourself. Today's shot is the middle part of the movie, there's a scene where an entire ship capsizes and turns over. Although we're filming in a swimming pool, it's best if you don't look like a ghost, what if you get hurt?"

  Jiang Chuan was tidying up while urging the young man with black hair to hurry up and wash, watching as he slowly made his way to the bathroom in his slippers. Jiang Chuan felt like he had taken on a son prematurely, worrying about him so much... Ten or so minutes later, when Jian Ran came out of the bathroom, Jiang Chuan was opening his computer to check his email. Seeing Jian Ran come out, the man crooked his finger, as if calling a pet, and beckoned him over: "You have mail too."

  He cautiously walked over to take a look and found it was an email sent by the Chuan Na company.

  "I don't want to see it at all."

  "Sticking your head out is one knife cut, and pulling it back in is also one knife cut."

  "This knife is really expensive for mom, you know how heavy the penalty is for this kind of movie."

  "I have money," said Jiang Chuan, "are you going to look or not?"

  He squeezed the man out with his buttocks, sat upright in front of the computer, took a deep breath, and didn't move until Jiang Chuan sneered behind him, "Do you want to burn incense before opening it?" Only then did he take action - before clicking in, Jian Ran had thought that this was probably the result of the losses and penalties calculated by the other side, and after making preparations for a big bloodbath with severe stomach contractions, he suddenly took a deep breath, summoned up his courage, clicked in, quickly scanned it, and then froze in front of the computer.

  Seeing the young man with black hair looking stunned, the man slightly raised his eyebrows and asked: "...... How, are they opening their mouths wide like a lion?"

  He shook his head, not only was it not "lion's big mouth", but also completely different from what he thought. The email didn't mention anything about compensation or contract termination from start to finish, instead asking him if the schedule after Leviathan's shooting had been cleared.

  After leaving the crew of "River Flows in You" quietly, they have not been looking for a new male lead as he thought, although there are probably people waiting in line from the main gate of the company to Tiananmen Square.

  Throughout the email, director Li Rui expressed his apologies to Jianran in a very personal tone. This respected elder statesman of the film industry used phrases and sentences that were typical of an older generation but still managed to move people to elaborate on his thoughts over the past few days.

  In the email, Li Rui mentioned that since Jian Ran actively proposed to withdraw from the crew that day, he has been thinking about some problems. Until yesterday, he suddenly woke up and felt that he had been calling himself a filmmaker for half his life, but in the end, he still didn't understand what this thing called film was... He felt that he had been trapped by some rumors and strange rules, and was drawn into a strange circle, and in the end, he lost the most authentic things.

  The letter reads in part:

  I want to make a good movie that brings different positive energy to people of all ages. So I always hope that the movie, from the script to the actors themselves, should have some kind of positive energy - and these days, they've been telling me in my ear that images like homosexuality are not good, don't meet the standard, after all, movies made by Kawahara have never used such actors before. I listened to them and hesitated, considering whether to take this risk, until you voluntarily offered to leave the crew, but then I saw regret and disappointment on the faces of most young people in the crew.

  Looking at those disappointed faces, I suddenly realized something. Perhaps they are disappointed in us, disappointed in this rigid circle that has fallen into a strange cycle... This circle is changing with the times, and the future will always be handed over to you young people. Coincidentally, only you young people yourselves know what positive energy really is, rather than relying on us old guys who have passed our prime to wildly guess and come up with a self-righteous answer.

  Later, I watched your press conference and to be honest, at that time, I felt very benefited. You spoke well and you were right, taking a person's sexual orientation as the stain of this person, thinking that this person's image is not good, does not meet the standard, we are the ones who should feel ashamed for this.

  We got wrong something even elementary school students should understand: if a person hasn't done anything bad, then no one has the right to criticize him as being of poor character or image.

  And in the various things that followed, I further confirmed my idea. At first, when I was attacked by a group of netizens, I was so angry that I couldn't eat, while you, as a young person who has lived fewer decades than me, handled it even better, despite having the ability to fight back against those who slandered you. Just now, I saw your self-initiated Weibo post, which made me believe even more that you are a responsible young person——

  I think this is probably what actors themselves can convey to others as positive energy.

  Here I beg your forgiveness and sincerely invite you to return to the crew of Chuan Na, to finish shooting this play that has not been completed yet, so as not to leave any regrets between us.

  He took a look at the email sending time, roughly around midnight yesterday in China, which was also shortly after he posted his Weibo.

  He stood up from his seat, sat down again, then stood up once more and sat back down.

  His brain completely short-circuited, and with a trembling hand he quickly typed out "good, wait for me" before clicking send to reply to the email. After thinking about it for a moment, he felt like something was off, so he turned his head around, his lips twitching and his eyes shining brightly as he stared at the man standing behind him, completely looking like he was too excited to say a single word.

  At this time, the man seemed to be affected by his emotions as well. The corners of his mouth couldn't help but slightly curve upwards, and he teased: "Teacher Li Rui is too polite, I'm going to blush from all the praise that's being lavished on me."

  "I can still continue acting!"

  "What time can't you go? There's a play waiting for you to shoot downstairs, get up and comb your hair and go downstairs. Come back at noon to properly respond to others, after all, they are seniors, how can you just dismiss them with five words?"

  "Teacher didn't say it, I wouldn't have known how excellent I am."

  Jiang Chuan sneered and didn't confirm or deny, but he didn't remind the young man with black hair that last night he had firmly said that men could only take a liking to him because they were blind.

  At this time, Jianran had casually scratched his hair with his hand and rushed out of the door to find Mr. Jingji to report the good news, which was the only truly good thing that had happened in so many days.

  This is a good start.

  But I firmly believe that everything will get better.