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Luo Ding breathed evenly and while running he wiped his face with the towel hanging around his neck.

The sky was not completely bright, the moon was still high in the sky, and the world was quiet and silent in the early morning. In the room, other than the sound of heavy breathing there was only the hum of the treadmill.

Luo Ding frowned deeply and felt that his entire body was losing strength. After running for less than half an hour this body already couldn’t bear it.  As expected, it was because the original owner suffered from social phobia and did not often venture outside.

Luo Ding had a strong sense of machismo. He felt that a man should have muscles and an indomitable spirit. However, this body’s foundation was too weak. Initially, he had wanted to work out intensely but for the first time in his life he experienced the horror of hypoglycemia[1] after a bout of strenuous exercise. After that experience, he adopted a gradual approach. Coupled with the current mainstream aesthetic which did not appreciate an overly muscular build he followed the instructions of his fitness instructor from his last life but lowered the intensity of his exercise routine.

Luo Ding was really thin and had a beautiful frame, but certain parts of his body were so thin that it could only be described as skin and bones. While such a figure was beautiful and great for modelling clothes it was detrimental to the health.

After running for some time, Luo Ding finally stopped. He rested on the treadmill for a short while and lifted a few weights. On hearing the sound of the phone, he answered it while walking to the bathroom.

On the other end of the line was Wu Yuan’s voice: “Luo Ding, I sent you a message on QQ, why didn’t you respond?”

“QQ？” Luo Ding froze. “Oh, I was running so I didn’t see it.”

“Did you post on Weibo yesterday?” Luo Ding couldn’t make sense of Wu Yuan’s question.

Luo Ding had really not gone on Weibo at all.

Upon hearing that Luo Ding had not visited Weibo, Wu Yuan sighed in relief: ” It’s best to not go on Weibo. Try to visit Weibo as little as possible these days. After the crew posted the list of cast members yesterday, a bunch of crazy people found you online and are criticizing you. I was very busy till late last night and didn’t dare call you for fear of affecting your rest. Let me tell you now, don’t make any response!”

Luo Ding chuckled and thanked Wu Yuan. After hanging up, he went straight to Weibo.

It was really lively. In the hot topic list #Tang Zhuan# was trending. On visiting the hashtag, the trending topic was the list of cast members published by the crew’s official account.

Luo Ding’s name was right behind that of the two leading actors. Because all the names of the cast members had been released officially everyone could simply click on the link to see the actor’s personal Weibo page.

The second popular topic of discussion under the hashtag was that an account known as “Fu Zhu Support Group” had posted a message full of indignation and anger: “My Fu shi is going to be destroyed!! Keep your hidden rules further away from my Fu shi!”

Post No.6, username << Mr. Fu’s crotch>>: “Ahhhhhhhhhhh, brothers, this young man is very handsome but he does not have what it takes to act as my husband !!!”

Post No. 18, username << Slow down and wait for me>>: “Is this going to be a variety show> Sh*t! What the hell is this?!”

These were posts from the only relatively soft and rational female fans and although Luo Ding’s own Weibo had no content related to the crew, it was filled with abuse.

The original novel was very widely circulated, and it was very popular.  Prior to filming, an active fan support group had been established and each character had its own fans. Fu Zhu, as the person who was recruited by Li Shimin was undoubtedly the fan favorite. Additionally, his life had ended in tragedy thus the mother fans, girlfriend fans, and even the boyfriend fans[2] already considered him their baby.

Everyone was aware that such a role was difficult to play and before the filming, though they were still worried, fans were relieved to learn that the director was Zheng Kezhen. Many had claimed that if the crew couldn’t find a suitable actor for the role they would rather have all of Fu Zhu’s parts cut out of the drama. It would be better to have him not show up at all than to have him ruined.  

But now, the thing that everyone was most worried about had happened, a little-known actor had gained this role.

This actor did not have any representative work. He used to be a singer and after the dissolution of his group his path as a celebrity seemed bleak. For several years, in order to earn income, he was like a prostitute on variety shows.

The point was that he didn’t even show any dedication on these variety shows. In a 50-minute show there were many scenes of him, but he always just looked at the camera evasively. Silent and taciturn as if speaking will reduce his life span. How could such a person with so little confidence, play Fu Zhu?!!

Apart from his appearance, what else did he have in common with Fu Zhu? Besides, Fu Zhu’s excellent appearance in the original novel was never the key point. His ethereal temperament was the key! Additionally, a good appearance was a common thing in the entertainment industry.

For a while, those who were really worried about the destruction of the character had been watching the developments online and were utterly disgusted by what they considered to be the hidden rules of the entertainment industry. Thus, some enterprising people gathered together to start this crusade and the big verified accounts on Weibo reposted their long statements ridiculing and criticizing the casting.

Fu Zhu’s role can be considered to have caught the public’s attention.

Luo Ding glanced at the hurtful comments with his eyes and did not take the critique to heart at all.

Which celebrity has not been criticized before? If you want to wear a crown, you must bear its weight. Is fame and a rich income under the spotlight so easy to get?

Celebrities are originally a group of people with a high incidence of depression, and anyone with a slightly lower psychological quality will begin to doubt themselves when they see so much abuse. However, those who have been able to survive in this circle for twenty years without jumping off a building already have strong hearts. Naturally, Luo Ding was one of the best.

He placed his cell phone on the washstand and in the light he began to look at the man in the mirror.

After this period of exercise his arms had become more toned and his muscle lines more beautiful. The black tank top outlined his tall and good-looking frame. Sweat slowly dripped from his forehead, rolling across his warm skin before finally sinking into the black fabric.

Luo Ding smiled and washed his hands with his head lowered and his eyes fell on his scarred wrist.

The scabs of the wound had already fallen off. Initially, this wound should not have left such an obvious scar, but the original owner had made several shallow cuts because he did not dare to cut too deeply. Thus, several intersecting scars were tangled up and left a pink mark behind after healing.

After a single glance, Luo Ding turned his gaze away. His future would never be obtained from evoking the past. He knew he had a long, long way to go.

On the way to work, Luo Ding received several phone calls, all of which were on his personal number. After a few banquets, the contacts in Luo Ding’s new mobile phone had exceeded three digits. In fact, when you remove the celebrity aura these were just ordinary people and therefore as long as the correct method was used one would have no shortage of contacts in the entertainment circle .

These calls were intended to provide consolation over the furor surrounding Luo Ding’s “Tang Zhuan” casting. The seniors had already experienced the most difficult years, so they felt empathy.  

Luo Ding thanked them with a smile, and sometimes poked fun at himself. His psychological endurance was amazing.

As he approached the crew, his phone buzzed. Thinking it was another consolation phone call Luo Ding glanced casually at the phone screen, then raised his eyebrows.

“Xiao bai?” His voice contained a gentle smile as though the phone call had softened into a wave of water. But in fact, Luo Ding was simply looking out the window with no expression on his face, one could not find even the slightest smile in his eyes.

Su Shengbai’s voice sounded from the earpiece, soft and timid, like a harmless little animal: “Luo Ding, I saw the news on Weibo, how are you doing?”

Luo Ding was silent for a moment, and his voice appeared dry and reluctant: “I am well, these are just some comments, they can’t bother me.”

Hearing this, Su Shengbai apparently believed that Luo Ding didn’t mean what he was saying at all. He softened his words and comforted him. Then said sharply: “It’s a very good crew. The role of” Fu Zhu “is a rare opportunity. Was it Yang Kangding who got it for you? Or did you get the role with Duan Xiubo’s help? You know too little about the entertainment industry. Don’t just thank others, now you can use their influence to help you fix this incident. “

Was this a veiled attack? Luo Ding couldn’t help but want to laugh, yet he made his tone a little bit angry: “It’s not them, I got the role myself by auditioning!”

This was obviously not within Su Shengbai’s scope of thought.  Su Shengbai was noticeably silent for a while and then he laughed twice: “Yes, I’m sorry, I haven’t seen you in a film before, so … but you can still adopt what I said at the end. Duan Xiubo has great influence on the public. You can ask him to help. “

“I will.” Luo Ding agreed in order to end the conversation, and then whispered, “Thank you.”

Su Shengbai’s voice was soft and confused: “Don’t do this, Luo Ding, you know that to you, I’m …” As if he was talking about something forbidden, he suddenly panicked, randomly made a few noises and hang up the call before Luo Ding could respond.

Luo Ding stared at the phone and couldn’t help but be stunned.

If this kind of teasing skill was used on the original owner, then perhaps he would have been lost in fanciful thoughts over the words that were not revealed. But when this method was used on Luo Ding it was no better than a joke.  

Why did Su Shengbai make this call? Without having to think much he guessed the answer from the name that kept appearing in this conversation.

Duan Xiubo. Su Shengbai’s ultimate goal lay in this person. Was this how Su Shengbai intended to probe Luo Ding’s relationship with Duan Xiubo? To use this great film emperor, Su Shengbai could only find a reliable matchmaker.

However, this incident was not all bad, at least he was now sure that Su Shengbai already believed that Luo Ding held an unforgettable love for him. But as he was still an unknown actor Su Shengbai did not want to make any overtures. With this current method, Su Shengbai planned to stabilize Luo Ding first and put other matters off to the future.

Luo Ding ignored Wu Fangyuan in the driver’s seat who had heard his gentle voice and seen his expressionless countenance. He looked out the window as the car slowly entered the film and television city after receiving an entry pass. The surrounding reinforced concrete world was immediately replaced by antique eaves.

This was where he will be staying for the next month.

There were security guards outside the crew’s filming area and there were very few tourists in the early morning. Luo Ding got out of the car and took a few deep breaths of the fresh air and cast aside the distractions in his heart. He looked to the side and saw a Chevrolet van parked quietly.

The door of the van opened just as he looked in that direction

An unexpected person got out of the car.

“Hi.”  In the morning light, the tall man leaned against the door, dressed in dark casual clothes, and waved to Luo Ding with a gentle smile, “I’m here to film and just saw you by the way.”

“… Duan ge?” Luo Ding was stunned for a quick second, then quickly showed a smile, “Good morning.”

“Good morning.” Duan Xiubo’s eyes searched intensely but he could not find any hesitancy in Luo Ding’s eyes. However, in light of the noisy farce on Weibo, he was still uneasy after thinking of Luo Ding’s superb ability to hide his feelings.

[1] Low blood sugar

[2] Generally, in China there are two broad categories of fans: The mother fans who consider the celebrity to be their baby. They are often seen caring after the celebrity’s well-being. Often you’d find them worried about the star’s health, whether he’s resting etc. The girlfriend/ boyfriend fans are the type of fans who fantasize about being in a relationship in with the celebrity. There is also a sub-category known as face/visual fans who only follow a celebrity for their looks, these types of fans never stay with one celebrity for too long.

Translator Notes:

My life has gotten busier. Quarantine was a good time to start up this blog and while I fully intend to continue translating its very likely that going forward there will only be one update a week because my weekdays are full and I can only dedicate my weekends to translations. Apologies in advance.

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