Chapter 44
After calling them over, the director straightforwardly informed them of the incident. Observing their calm reactions, the director silently nodded his approval in his mind.
"These two kids really have a strong mental attitude," he thought. Although they hadn't debuted yet, if they couldn't handle such a minor issue in show business, they shouldn't even consider continuing on a more complicated and challenging path.
It seemed that Gu Ningyan had made some appearances in the past, though he hadn't managed to make a name for himself after five years. "Sometimes, it also comes down to a stroke of luck in this industry," the director mused, thinking Gu Ningyan had lacked a bit of luck. But now, his luck seemed to be turning.
In actuality, this was indeed a minor issue for Gu Ningyan, merely rumors about his relationship with Ling Rong. If this rumor turned true, however, that would be something he could not accept.
Moreover, he had already experienced more unbearable things when his father passed away. Compared to that, what was this?
Ling Rong kept even calmer. This rumor could at best serve as a momentary sensation. There were many people on-site, and the fans, equipped with cameras, would soon reveal the truth, he believed. After all, a little patience and time would quickly flip this whole situation around.
His thinking was correct. When this matter just started fermenting on Weibo, the fans who had witnessed the event were furious. Even though some were not fans of Ling Rong and Gu Ningyan, and it wasn't them held hostage, it was a fact that Ling Rong had saved everyone present. If he hadn't, it was hard to predict what further madness the culprits may have committed.
Just as the fans of Ling Rong and Gu Ningyan were uniting to strike back, a number of other fans began to reach out to them.
[Hey, sister, do you guys need help on Weibo? I happened to capture the whole event with my camera. I can send you the footage.]
[Sister! Notify us once you've edited the Weibo post so we can help share it! We mustn't allow such good guys to be maliciously slandered!]
Thus, unbeknownst to everyone, an operation called "Protecting the best brothers" had quietly begun among the fans.
The director was not completely unfeeling. He had the staff temporarily return the confiscated mobile phones to them: "You guys decide how you want to manage or respond to this. In an hour, someone will collect your phones again. Use your time wisely."
The two of them exchanged glances as they received their phones, both smiling in appreciation. "Thank you, Director!"
"How do you plan to handle this?" Gu Ningyan curiously asked Ling Rong. In truth, he hadn't even thought it through, and his company, Qingniao Entertainment, a small company, wouldn't be much assistance.
"This is simple." Ling Rong found a quiet corner and, using the same movement as before, yanked Gu Ningyan by the collar to his front. In this position, he took a selfie of them both.
After confirming the photo didn't need any further edits or beauty filters, Ling Rong posted it on Weibo, accompanied by a simple sentence.
[Cheer Up, Idol—Ling Rong v: I'm clearly the one bullying him, hmm.]
In the picture, the positions of the two were completely reversed from before. Ling Rong, who looked like a beautiful adolescent, had an icy and superior expression. He seemed to be commanding his most loyal servant. The man he held, forced to lean forward, never took his eyes off Ling Rong. The passion in his eyes seemed to hint at feelings, and his lips, which were always seen as unemotive, curved up into a smile, filled with indulgence and helplessness.
Everyone soon discovered that Gu Ningyan had re-shared this Weibo post and replied with one character.
[Cheer Up, Idol—Gu Ningyan v: Yeah.]
Yeah, only you can bully me.
Regardless of how some trolls and bystanders felt, the "Rongyan" fans who always shipped the two interpreted the above from this single character. Moreover, with the two of them behaving like this, they're clearly just fooling around. Maybe it was the same with that previous picture.
Predictably, the tweets from the two people in question made the comments explode again.
[Ah, it's so sweet! I knew it. RYongyan" is the real deal! The two brothers have such a great relationship. Can trolls please stop misleading others! And fans, stop acting paranoid! Would you prefer they both fail rather than succeed together?]
[Awsl, the loyal dog and the little prince, I'm in love!] (Note: awsl is the pinyin acronym for "啊我死了"(à wǒ sǐ le) = basically, "oh, I'm dead"; used to express excitement when seeing something cute)
Of course, some people didn't buy into this:
[Maybe they're just putting on a show for the benefit of the program. Everyone in the entertainment circle knows how to act.]
[Exactly, both of them didn't explain what happened before. Gu Ningyan's expression at the time couldn't possibly have been faked.]
People also quickly noticed the bandage wrapped around Ling Rong's neck in the picture; this sparked another wave of discussion.
[Is there a bandage on my Rong Rong's neck?! There was definitely none in the previous picture. What exactly happened? Is he injured? Surely it couldn't have been Gu Ningyan's doing!]
Shortly after the Weibo post, Ling Rong received a call from his manager. He said his goodbyes to Gu Ningyan and left to take the call somewhere without people around.
"Hello, Brother Chen, is there something you needed?" Ling Rong's manager's surname was Chen, thus Ling Rong always addressed him as such.
After finally getting through to Ling Rong, the manager sighed in relief, then resumed a more energized tone: "Young Master, how could you post on Weibo without consulting me first? Matters like these should be handled by me."
Ling Rong apologized with an embarrassed laugh, "Ah, I forgot that it would be troublesome for you to handle everything, Brother Chen. I think I handled it reasonably well."
After spending nearly two months in the company, Ling Rong had almost forgotten that he had a manager because he was suddenly assigned to work with him.
Moreover, he posted the Weibo update after deep consideration, it was not an impulsive decision.
One must say that being attractive does indeed allow one a lot of privileges. Initially, when the manager was suddenly tasked with handling a rookie who knew nothing and also happened to be the president's brother, he must have felt reluctant. After all, each of his proteges was a star in the circle. Suddenly adding a newcomer who obviously got in through connections, the manager feared it would damage his reputation.
However, after meeting Ling Rong in person, the manager was so stunned by his looks that no hint of reluctance remained. A face this good-looking was meant to walk down the flowery path of stardom! Furthermore, he had a premonition that Ling Rong was destined to take the entertainment industry by storm one day.
After all, who wouldn't like Ling Rong?
Even though Ling Rong acted on his own this time, the manager didn't feel the slightest resentment. Instead, he was worried that his young charge was upset by online controversies. "Alright, tell me what's going on. You don't know how worried the president is, he's been calling me non-stop to ask what happened."
The manager was now used to the president's protective behavior towards his younger brother.
"The rumors on Weibo are made up, my relationship with Ningyan is good," Ling Rong began to defend Gu Ningyan, successfully garnering the manager's sympathy. He then glossed over the earlier events and gave the manager a summarised version.
After hearing the story, the manager nearly shouted into the phone: "Young Master, your bravery is incredible! That was a criminal with a knife, but you still attempted to rescue people! If something had happened to you, the president would surely dock my pay and banish me from Shengyue, do you know this?"
The thought of such a beautiful man lying pale on a hospital bed seemed like a loss even to the manager.
"And what about the bandage on your neck? If you're really hurt, don't try to hide it from me."
Ling Rong found himself explaining yet again: "It's really just a small cut I accidentally got, a band-aid would have been enough. It was Ningyan who made a big deal out of it and dressed it like this."
As if he feared his manager still wouldn't believe him, Ling Rong continued: "Besides, do you hear any change in my voice?"
"Are you really okay? Young Master, you need to think a bit more about me, your Brother Chen." The manager was still fearful of the president's authority.
"I'm really okay."
"That's good to hear. Don't worry, the President and I will take care of this matter for you. You just focus on your training," the manager assured. Of course, his 'taking care of things' meant dealing with the person spreading the rumors at the root of the problem. Today the person had maliciously tainted Young Master's friend, implicating Young Master as well. Who knew if the next time, they might directly target Ling Rong?
After all, backing Young Master was the President — a President protective of his younger brother, who would never let anyone trying to harm him get away.
Before hanging up, the manager didn't forget to add: "By the way, Young Master, when you get hold of your phone later, don't forget to call the President. He's been worried sick about you, but he's just afraid to disturb you."
Earlier, when the manager had to visit the President’s office regarding the matter, he had seen the usual workaholic man just staring at the contact list on his phone screen, unable to look away. And the name highlighted on the screen was none other than 'Rong Rong’. There was no one else intimately related to the President with ‘Rong’ in their name except Young Master.
"Got it, I'll call Big Brother later, gotta hang up now."
After finally hanging up with the manager, Ling Rong realized that it has indeed been a long time since he had been home. He found a contact saved as 'Big Brother' in his phone, and without hesitation pressed dial.
The phone was picked up immediately after five seconds of ringing.
The man at the other end greeted him with a mature and charming voice, clearly filled with affection, "Hello, Rongrong? How come you have time to call your big brother?"
Given his family, Ling Rong was always patient and cherished his time with them. Moreover, whether it was the system's deliberate selection or not, the families in both of his lives have been extremely good to him.
Dropping the polite demeanor she held in front of others, Ling Rong immediately reverted to a sweet and affectionate sister role in front of her brother, her voice soft and sweet, "Of course, I missed you. What about you, big brother, don't you miss Rongrong?"
"Of course, your big brother misses you, my darling Rongrong. How has it been at the training center? Has anyone been bullying our Rongrong?"
To the other trainees, coming to the training center is an opportunity to climb the ladder to success. But for Ling Yue, it's simply a place where his sister can play and have fun. He was willing to invest in the program just for this reason. But if anyone dared bully his sister or the program targeted her, he'd assure them that the power of Sheng Yue and Ling Family wasn't for show.
After answering all of Ling Yue’s questions and explaining the issue on Weibo, Ling Rong noticed the time and bid her brother goodbye in their usual manner.
"Once the show is done, I'll come see you. Don't tire yourself too much at work. When I get some free time, we'll go visit mom and dad together. Don't worry, you’re always on my mind. I will definitely not forget about you."
Finally pacifying her doting brother, Ling Rong hung up the call. She was about to return the phone to Gu Ningyan when she noticed the smiling man just a few minutes ago now stood, stunned, behind her.
"Ningyan, why did you come here?" Ling Rong asked out of habit.
Unbeknownst to her, Gu Ningyan took his question as an accusation of eavesdropping and quickly defended himself, "I... I just saw that you hadn't come back..." He wasn't intentionally eavesdropping.
Gu Ningyan never expected that by lingering just a few moments longer, he would have overheard Ling Rong talking to a girlfriend. Could it be, he already had a girl that she liked?
The man couldn't help but feel a twinge of bitterness in his heart. He thought about how intimately Ling Rong had been speaking to the person on the other end of the phone. He himself had never received such a warm treatment, and what's more, they had made plans to see their parents together. Had they already reached the stage of introducing their relationship to their parents?
Deep inside, Gu Ningyan thought that no girl was worthy of Ling Rong. But reason glaringly reminded him that there must be girls who were attracted to someone as outstanding as Ling Rong. His unrequited affection was something he should have kept hidden in the first place.
Ling Rong, oblivious to the man's inner turmoil and the very idea that his call with his brother could be misconstrued as a conversation with an imagined girlfriend, would not have guessed his thoughts.
So, without paying attention to the man’s jealous behavior, Ling Rong, as usual, held onto his arm and chatted as they walked, "Alright, I'm not blaming you for eavesdropping. Just don't you dare mention it to anyone."
What Ling Rong was referring to, was his own image of behaving in an affectionate manner with family members, which wasn't very masculine.
Gu Ningyan, however, naturally assumed that Ling Rong was asking him to help keep her relationship a secret. After all, dating prior to making a debut could be detrimental to their future career development.
Even so, Gu Ningyan swallowed his bitterness and responded quietly, "Alright."
If it’s something you ask of me, I will always say yes.
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