Chapter 25

Zuo Mingran and Wen Feifei exchanged a surprised and puzzled glance, both seeing it in each other's eyes.

Wasn't this person a no-show for the entire crew last night? And now he wants to make up for his scenes today? What kind of illness is this?

Xiaofei glanced at his phone and sneered, "He's pretty quick. It's already trending."

The news just reached the crew, and it was already trending on social media. It seemed that he was well-prepared. Zuo Mingran and Wen Feifei forgot about rehearsing and instinctively took out their phones to browse Weibo.

As a popular idol, any news about Ren Luning could become a hot topic. Even changing his hairstyle could trend for a whole day, let alone being hospitalized due to an illness.

The one who leaked the news was a fan who claimed to have seen Ren Luning working hard in the rain the night before. They had been waiting at the hotel entrance this morning, intending to greet their idol with a "good morning" but instead saw Ren Luning being assisted into a car, looking pale.

It's common for fans to wait for celebrities during filming, but each production team takes corresponding measures to ensure safety and privacy. However, fans of Ren Luning, who wanted nothing more than to dig a tunnel straight to the set, easily spotted him and exposed it online.

Zuo Mingran clicked on the attached photo. Ren Luning was wearing sunglasses and a mask, tightly wrapped from head to toe. It was unclear how they could determine that he looked pale.

But the clarity of the photo didn't really matter. As long as it convinced the fans, it was enough.

The person who leaked the news was indeed a fan of Ren Luning, but not a well-known influencer with tens or hundreds of thousands of followers. Yet, within half an hour of posting on Weibo, there were already over ten thousand comments and shares. It was impossible for this to happen without some astroturfing and coordinated control of the comments.

Zuo Mingran was shocked by this clever maneuver. With hundreds of people on the crew, almost everyone knew he wasn't there last night. How did this person market himself so confidently, promoting the image of a dedicated actor?

Xiaofei, being well-versed in the industry, understood Zuo Mingran's confusion and explained, "These things are better left unspoken. No one would casually talk about it, otherwise it would be difficult to join future productions."

Ren Luning was currently in the spotlight, holding onto various good opportunities. It was clear that his supporters were exerting a lot of effort.

Everyone in the industry knew the unspoken rules. As long as it didn't affect their own interests, people rarely spoke up against someone like Ren Luning who was promoting a certain image.

Zuo Mingran nodded with a hint of understanding. In the industry, she only had a working relationship with Ren Luning for this one project. After wrapping up, they would go their separate ways, so she didn't dwell on this matter.

However, compared to that, Wen Feifei seems to be more genuine and sincere. The young girl comes from a prestigious family and has a simple mindset, hating evil and being jealous. She had a conflict with Zuo Mingran before because she lacked acting skills and didn't work hard enough. Now, there's this even more outrageous Ren Luning, which makes her even more angry. 

Zuo Mingran looked at her fingers flying and constantly typing a few sentences on her phone, gesturing to Xiaofei with his eyes, silently saying, "Aren't you going to do something about it?"

Xiaofei whispered, "She only has a small account."

Zuo Mingran suddenly felt a sense of empathy, as if they were both homeless and destitute. 

There were fans controlling the comments, so Wen Feifei's comments were quickly deleted. Even her account seemed to be suspended due to reports, making Zuo Mingran think she might give up. However, he didn't expect Wen Feifei to be relentless. When that account was blocked, she immediately switched to another one. 

Zuo Mingran was silent for a while, unable to help but start doubting whether Wen Feifei had also been badmouthing her online when they were filming the male lead role together. 

Seeing her bored, Xiaofei took out a small notebook from his pocket, as if promoting some undescribable film, "Sister Ran, I have a few more accounts here, do you want one?"

Zuo Mingran: "..."

You're quite skilled, bro.

Holding her soy milk, Zuo Mingran dryly said, "No need, I have one."

The news continued to ferment, and it happened to be the weekend, so the hot search quickly made its way to the top. When it stabilized at number one, Ren Luning's side finally released an announcement. They didn't deny the content of the exposure, only thanked the fans for their concern, stating that she only had a minor cold and nothing serious. 

Although the announcement didn't mention the specific reason for her illness, it indirectly confirmed the fact that she got sick from shooting night scenes in the rain. The comments section was filled with sympathy and virtual hugs, with some fans even starting to criticize the crew for their inhumane treatment and why they had to make their precious baby go through such hardships. 

The more Wen Feifei read, the angrier she got. She wanted to roll up her sleeves and fight Ren Luning through the screen. Holding her phone, she angrily said, "Why is he still boasting about his professionalism? None of the actors in our entire crew have as many body doubles as he does!"

Zuo Mingran comforted her, saying, "That's an exaggeration. We just have more people on our side."

Seeing her calm and composed appearance, Wen Feifei couldn't understand and asked, "Ran Jie, aren't you angry?"

Zuo Mingran gulped down her soy milk in one breath and said, "Why should I be angry? The one who should be angry is the director. Besides, acting with a body double is easier than acting with him, right?"

Wen Feifei: "..."

After thinking for a while, Wen Feifei actually felt like what Zuo Mingran said made a little sense. Propping her chin on her hand, she mumbled, "Yeah, that's true, but why do I still feel like something's not right?"

Zuo Mingran smiled and patted her head, "It's nothing. We'll probably start filming soon, so I'll go prepare."

Once she left, Xiaofei sat down next to Wen Feifei, raising an eyebrow and teasingly said, "How come you're calling her Sister Ran now? I thought you didn't like her?"

Wen Feifei awkwardly hid her face behind the script and muttered, "That was before, this is now."

Xiaofei chuckled quietly, feeling relieved in any case.

With Zuo Mingran's status, whether she was a top female star or Madam Yan, it would be more beneficial than detrimental to have a good relationship with her.

Since they wanted to promote the image of professionalism, it wouldn't justify her staying in the hospital. Ren Luning arrived slightly late, followed by a wave of media. In front of the camera, Director Wang could only maintain a smiling face while being interviewed, taking the opportunity to promote the drama.

Zuo Mingran watched with admiration—Ren Luning naturally brought in a lot of attention, and today's marketing had given the drama another round of publicity. Whether it was good or bad, it was still gaining popularity before its release.

No one would refuse money. This was the result the investors wanted to see, and naturally the director wouldn't say anything against it.

*

Online matters come and go quickly. Zuo Mingran originally thought that this matter had nothing to do with her, but the next morning, she was slapped in the face by reality as she was eating her steamed buns for breakfast. Indeed, it proved that one shouldn't make rash assumptions.

Mao Mao came to pick her up. He still had a cold and spoke with a nasal voice, "Sister Ran, you're on the hot search."

Zuo Mingran choked on her steamed bun and quickly drank some soy milk to suppress it, asking indistinctly, "Hot search? What hot search?"

With her contract nearing its end, the company had been testing the waters regarding Zuo Mingran's intentions to renew it. Upon realizing that she had no intention to renew, they had suppressed their previous promotion of her. Now, being on the hot search, it probably wasn't a good thing.

Finishing breakfast in a few bites, Zuo Mingran wiped her hands and took her phone to see the trending topics.

——Zuo Mingran's acting skills are poor.

After a moment of speechlessness, Zuo Mingran resignedly said, "It's already 9102, and people are still talking about my acting skills?"

Mao Mao: "Sister Ran, can you please not be so skilled at this?"

Zuo Mingran pressed the phone and leaned against the shoe cabinet to change shoes. "Anyway, it's the last film, so just say it."

Maomao thought she had misheard and subconsciously asked, "What do you mean by the last film?"

Since she had already made a decision, Zuo Mingran didn't plan to hide it and said directly, "I plan to retire from the entertainment industry."

Maomao was caught off guard by this news, especially when combined with Zuo Mingran suddenly moving her to become a manager. She immediately understood.

"Sister Zuo, you're not joking, right?" Maomao stood still, having followed Zuo Mingran for seven years and witnessed her journey in the industry. This news was undoubtedly shocking, "It's not April Fool's Day today, is it?"

"I'm not joking." Zuo Mingran shook her head. "I haven't told anyone else. You're the first one. Let's wait until this film is finished before we discuss it. Don't tell Xia Sister for now."

Maomao wanted to say something, but Zuo Mingran preemptively stopped her, "I want to leave with a good reputation. Continuing to stay in this industry without deserving it is not beneficial to me anymore. Besides, I have enough money saved now. I'll open a shop and live a leisurely life."

Tears welled up in Maomao's eyes, but she didn't know what to say. Zuo Mingran sighed and embraced her shoulders, saying, "I said I shouldn't let you guys know. Why be sad? It's just retiring, not disappearing forever. Stop crying quickly. If others see it, they'll think it's this malicious female star bullying her own assistant and it will create another hot topic."

When the topic of hot topics was mentioned, Maomao stabilized her emotions and recounted the information she had gathered from start to finish, "Originally, this matter was a self-promotion by Ren Luning himself. But I don't know if he was too praised or what. Ren Luning posted a dynamic on watching the script in the early morning, and there was also a book titled 'The Self-Cultivation of Actors.' Then his fans started praising him for his professionalism and somehow connected it to you, resulting in the current situation."

Zuo Mingran rubbed her nose, feeling a headache coming on. "What did Ren Luning say about this?"

Maomao said, "Xia Sister has already negotiated, but our company's PR department's attitude is somewhat unclear. Xia Sister has found her own familiar team to handle it, and they are currently dealing with it."

Zuo Mingran nodded and asked, "You are managing my Weibo account now, right?"

Maomao denied it, "No."

Zuo Mingran said, "Stop pretending. I saw it just now."

Maomao remained silent.

Unable to resist, Zuo Mingran finally took out her phone and posted a Weibo, a smiley face that didn't reveal her attitude, along with two pictures. One was a photo that Angel took of her while filming in the rain two nights ago, and the other was a screenshot of the chapter about dedication to work from a high school political science textbook that she found online.

Maomao, confused, asked, "Sister Zuo, what does this mean?"

Zuo Mingran handed her the phone back and smiled, "It's a reminder for someone to read more books."

The online controversy had not yet subsided when Zuo Mingran's Weibo post once again stirred up a frenzy.

After hanging up the phone, Shi Shuangxia finished a whole cup of coffee out of frustration. Her assistant, looking at her expression, cautiously said, "Sister Xia, Ranyan just posted a Weibo."

"What?" Shi Shuangxia felt like she was entering menopause prematurely if things continued like this. She slumped onto her desk and, after seeing what Zuo Mingran had posted, let out a long sigh. "Forget it, let the PR department market it according to this direction."

The assistant hesitated, "But what about Ren Luning?"

Bringing up this topic made Shi Shuangxia angry. How could she forget that Ren Luning and Guanzhenrui were from the same company? Because of a recent incident, she directly took away several resources that Guanzhenrui was negotiating. She was Zuo Mingran's manager, and everyone in the industry knew that they had a close relationship. Her attitude represented Zuo Mingran's attitude. Now that she was getting involved in these matters, it meant that Guanzhenrui had offended Zuo Mingran.

In this industry, the most abundant thing was people who changed their stance with the wind and judged others. Guanzhenrui, who was still feeling proud, was suddenly put on ice by the company. Whether she could continue to appear in the future was a question mark.

Although Guanzhenrui's fame was not high, her career was still developing well. However, it was abruptly blocked by Zuo Mingran's side. Although both parties eventually sat down and reached a "friendly" agreement, the grudge had already formed.

Now, with new grievances added to old hatreds, it could be said that when enemies meet, they become particularly jealous.

Looking at the news still trending on the hot search, Shi Shuangxia said coldly, "If they want to step on us and take over, they'll have to see if they're qualified enough."