TL: Hua
The content reposted by the marketing account was quickly deleted after Gu Siye’s team was contacted, following the flood of comments from both CP fans and solo fans trying to control the narrative.
Nonetheless, Zhong Xiao couldn’t help but fall into contemplation, looking at the speculations derived by the Siran CP fans using their “microscope analysis.”
He had wondered why Gu Siye suddenly bought so much fruit; not only did the fans get some, but the staff of their entire team did too.
Even he himself received over 15 kilograms.
Although he knew asking was pointless, Zhong Xiao, adhering to his principle as a responsible manager, still sought confirmation from Gu Siye: “Did you really place the order after watching Yanran’s live stream?”
Gu Siye’s attention was still fixed on the script that had just been delivered. His answer was ambiguous. “Supporting the national effort to alleviate poverty and assist farmers.”
Zhong Xiao, who already had a suspicion, couldn’t help but roll his eyes. “I’d be possessed if I believed you. I’ve never seen you this proactive before.”
Gu Siye couldn’t be bothered to deal with him and didn’t even respond with a single syllable.
But Zhong Xiao didn’t mind and reminded him pointedly, “You used to be scandal-free, a high-mountain flower that no one could successfully create CP hype with.”
He remembered when Gu Siye first debuted, people in the industry didn’t understand him yet, and there was a clueless actor whose team secretly hyped a CP because they had filmed a music video together.
When Gu Siye found out, he immediately deleted the person’s contact information and even removed the song from his album, never releasing it. Following that, no matter who he collaborated with, he maintained a friendly distance, the kind that absolutely couldn’t spark any chemistry.
Of course, the other party’s act of deliberately creating hype without consulting the team was disgusting, but what Gu Siye did was indeed extreme. As a result, after that incident, no one dared to create hype with him unilaterally anymore.
Gu Siye had been like this for all seven years of his career, to the point where Zhong Xiao thought that as long as this man was in the industry, CP would never exist for him.
Yet, who would have thought this time was different?
Gu Siye himself not only tolerated the existence of CP fans—not killing the CP hype—but even proactively gave them ‘sugar’ to enjoy.
After Zhong Xiao finished speaking, the response he received was silence.
After a long time, the person who was leisurely reading the script on the sofa closed it, placed it on the table, and finally spoke unhurriedly as he stood up.
“You said it yourself; that was before.”
Zhong Xiao carefully pondered this statement.
What does “that was before” mean?
So, did he hate CP before because the person wasn’t the right one?
Now that the person has changed to Yanran, he can turn a blind eye?
Tsk-tsk.
Zhong Xiao also stood up, immediately following Gu Siye’s pace, and said leisurely from behind him, “Old Gu, why didn’t I notice before that you were so…”
Gu Siye’s long legs stopped their forward movement because of that sentence.
He turned to look at Zhong Xiao, raising an eyebrow slightly. “Notice I was what?”
Zhong Xiao gave a knowing laugh and shook his head.
“Nothing.”
But at that moment, he silently and seamlessly completed the rest of the sentence in his mind.
Why didn’t I notice before that you were such a scoundrel?!
*
After Lin Yanran signed with Siyu and reorganized his team, he had been too busy to have a meal with everyone.
Now that he had time, he immediately invited Hong Huixue and a few assistants to his home for hot pot.
Everyone was particularly happy to see Ultraman finally brought home.
Since Ultraman was more affectionate toward her, Yingying volunteered to take care of it while Lin Yanran was working.
After the meal, the assistants sang together, while Hong Huixue picked up a chew toy to play with Ultraman.
As she threw the toy, she saw Lin Yanran squatting down as well, so she asked him.
“I heard the boss was taking care of Ultraman a few days ago?” Then she immediately revealed what she knew to Lin Yanran: “I’ve never seen him own a dog, nor did I think he would actively take care of one.”
“He hasn’t owned one?”
Lin Yanran was a bit surprised.
When he went to Gu Siye’s house yesterday, seeing how meticulously he was caring for Ultraman, he thought he was very experienced.
Hong Huixue bluntly revealed the truth, “Of course he hasn’t. He learned everything on the fly.”
Lin Yanran did not reply after hearing this.
He carefully thought over Hong Huixue’s words in his mind.
Learned it on the fly, huh…
A moment later, he asked Hong Huixue, “This house I’m currently living in belongs to Brother Gu, right?”
Hong Huixue did not hide it this time and nodded directly.
“Did he tell you?”
“No.”
After confirming his suspicion, Lin Yanran briefly explained, “I guessed it because the decoration style of his home is very similar to this one.”
It was only a matter of time before Lin Yanran found out, so Hong Huixue was not surprised. Instead, she joked with him, “You don’t need to worry about our boss’s property. As employees, we are entitled to freely appropriate things.”
Lin Yanran smiled faintly and nodded.
But he wasn’t feeling quite so righteous inside.
In fact, he could vaguely sense that Gu Siye had always been very attentive to things concerning him.
After playing with Ultraman for a while, Hong Huixue and Lin Yanran returned to the living room.
As soon as she sat down and saw the work schedule on her phone’s home screen, her professional instincts immediately kicked in, and she couldn’t help but discuss work matters with Lin Yanran.
“Your popularity is high right now, and that show “Guess Who I Am” wants to capitalize on this wave of attention. They came to us yesterday hoping to schedule you to appear on the show in three days.”
Of course, this arrangement was just a suggestion from the other party. Hong Huixue hadn’t responded to them yet.
When Lin Yanran heard the name, he suddenly remembered that it was an announcement he had accepted before signing with Siyu.
He nodded to Hong Huixue, “The schedule doesn’t conflict that day; I can go.”
After hearing this, Hong Huixue’s beautiful, slender eyebrows furrowed.
The reason she hadn’t responded to the show was that she genuinely looked down upon the production team.
Although the show offered talented but previously unnoticed singers a chance to shine again, they were notorious for engaging in various flashy, underhanded tactics.
Ostensibly, they wanted the audience to put aside the singers’ personal halos and simply enjoy the beauty of the singing without knowing who the performer was.
However, what the audience didn’t know was that when inviting guests, the production team often had malicious intentions and tricked the guests into participating.
In previous seasons, the production team specifically invited some internet-famous singers or faded singers with a high degree of contrast to participate in the show.
As a result, when these guests performed poorly or messed up for various reasons, they would be criticized from beginning to end by the malicious commentary panel. Some guests were even brought to tears on the spot.
Once, a very nationally recognized vocal group, who couldn’t be faulted for their singing ability, was openly attacked by the commentary panel for having an old-fashioned song style that was beneath standard.
Therefore, based on overall judgment, this was a high-yield but also high-risk show.
Participating guests had to have absolute ability, or they could easily suffer a reputation collapse.
Since this announcement was booked by Lin Yanran previously, she didn’t feel comfortable saying no now.
But if it were up to her to control, she would definitely reject it outright.
“This program is broadcast live, so you have to speak with your microphone on. The production team won’t give you the opportunity to edit the audio in post-production.”
The production team was good at persuading people, and Hong Huixue, afraid Lin Yanran didn’t understand, directly pointed out their intention: “If I remember correctly, your singing ability has always been heavily criticized. They are probably aiming to see you fail.”
Lin Yanran nodded knowingly. “Mm, when they invited me, I had just trended because my singing was too poor.”
Although some time had passed, Lin Yanran still vaguely remembered the incident.
“Back then, it seems like someone started a challenge about whether they could listen to all six of my songs.”
Hong Huixue looked at Lin Yanran with some surprise.
She noticed that he said this with a calm or even interested expression…
“Since you knew their invitation was ill-intentioned, why did you agree?”
Hong Huixue was very confused.
Although she was Lin Yanran’s manager, she had only been working with him for less than a month.
Regarding Lin Yanran’s singing ability, only the trainees in his group on Super Idol and the core directors of the program knew the actual level.
Since he usually didn’t have a chance to show it and hadn’t mentioned his singing to her, it was normal for others, including Hong Huixue, to be unaware.
Seeing Hong Huixue’s confusion, Lin Yanran explained his reason for taking the offer.
“I felt at the time that my singing ability shouldn’t be as bad as everyone imagined.”
But this explanation was too weak, so Lin Yanran changed his approach and asked Hong Huixue, “Sister Hong, what song do you like?”
Hong Huixue was still contemplating Lin Yanran’s previous sentence. When suddenly asked what song she liked, she quickly thought and told him the only song that came to mind at that moment.
“Half Moon Serenade”
Lin Yanran’s lips curved slightly. “I quite like that song, too.”
After saying this, he casually hummed a few lines.
Hong Huixue looked at the person in front of her. After confirming that the voice truly belonged to Lin Yanran, she finally felt a little relieved.
“Alright, it is indeed much better than I imagined.”
She leaned back, relaxing, and looked at Lin Yanran with one hand supporting her right cheek. “So we agree to it? The timing is tight, so you better choose a song you’re confident in first. I’ll go back and discuss the specifics with them.”
Afterward, just to be safe, Hong Huixue added, “Singing live with a full microphone on is very different from regular singing. I’ll find a vocal coach tomorrow, and you can practice with them.”
Lin Yanran thought this was a good suggestion. He really lacked experience singing live on stage.
After nodding in agreement, he refilled Hong Huixue’s cup with the boiled fruit tea.
“No need to look for a new song. Let’s use this one.”
Hong Huixue froze.
The one she just thought of on the spot?
The next day, Lin Yanran went to the company’s recording studio.
Siyu was wealthy, and the recording equipment was top-notch.
Lin Yanran stood in the recording room wearing headphones and recorded the song as requested by the vocal coach to help him grasp his vocal range and correct any flaws in his performance.
Lin Yanran was doing the sound test inside, while Hong Huixue had to wait outside the recording room.
She had specifically hired a very famous and skilled vocal coach for Lin Yanran today, hoping the coach could help him quickly improve his technique in a short time.
However, because the vocal coach was famous, they also had a strong temper.
They didn’t allow any non-essential personnel inside during the sound test, so she could only wait outside.
It wasn’t Hong Huixue’s first time dealing with the coach, and she knew they were quite critical. Estimating that she would need almost the entire afternoon for the wait, she planned to deal with some work first.
But just as she took out her laptop, before she could even turn it on, she saw Lin Yanran and the vocal coach emerge.
They had only been inside for about ten minutes. Wasn’t that a bit too fast?
Hong Huixue instantly closed her computer, stood up, and walked toward the vocal coach, expertly hiding the astonishment in her eyes. She smiled and subtly inquired, “How was it, Teacher Zhao? Do you need to change locations for guidance?”
Then she looked at Lin Yanran, her eyes asking him what had happened.
However, the vocal coach’s subsequent words left Hong Huixue completely stunned.
Teacher Zhao, who was usually quite serious, smiled at that moment. He patted Lin Yanran on the shoulder and said, “He sings quite well. He knows how to handle all the nuances. I have nothing left to teach him.”
When other teachers say, “I have nothing to teach,” it might be modesty, or it might be sarcasm.
But Hong Huixue knew clearly that Teacher Zhao meant it literally.
Once the realization sank in, she understood: if even someone of Teacher Zhao’s caliber said there was nothing to teach, then Yanran’s singing ability must be…
Yesterday, she had only heard him humming casually; it hadn’t been a formal performance. At the time, she simply thought his pitch was decent enough to cope with the show, so she hadn’t dared to hope for anything better.
Now, hearing such high praise from Teacher Zhao, she couldn’t help but start looking forward to it.
However, Hong Huixue didn’t ask for specific details. Knowing that the fundamentals were secure, leaving a little surprise for herself was one of life’s pleasures.
After seeing Teacher Zhao off, she immediately shared a piece of news with Lin Yanran.
“These past few days, someone has been hiring marketing accounts to subtly trash your singing skills. Xiao Wang just asked me if we should debunk the rumors.”
The corners of Lin Yanran’s mouth lifted in a faint smile. “No need.”
Hong Huixue laughed as well; clearly, their opinions coincided perfectly.
After she looked down to message Xiao Wang, Lin Yanran spoke up again. “Sister Hong, Teacher Zhao just suggested that I could add some live instrumental performance.”
Hearing this suggestion, Hong Huixue stopped in her tracks.
She pondered the advice. For a live broadcast show with fully live vocals, an instrumental performance would indeed add a lot of points.
But which instrument was Yanran planning to add?
Several instruments Yanran knew flashed through Hong Huixue’s mind. “Piano? Or guitar or guzheng?”
But Lin Yanran rejected the expected answers.
“I want to play the violin.” Lin Yanran paused for a moment before continuing, “The intro to this song happens to be on the violin, too.”
Hearing the word “violin,” Hong Huixue didn’t know how to describe her feelings anymore. She could only let the words slip out, “You know how to play that, too?”
“I learned a little bit in the past.”
Actually, it wasn’t just the violin. He had basically learned all the common instruments from his grandmother when he was a child.
He didn’t know if he had inherited his grandmother’s excellent musical genes, but he picked these things up very quickly.
Hearing Lin Yanran say this, Hong Huixue remembered he had said the exact same thing after writing beautiful calligraphy last time.
So, she automatically translated this “little bit” into a “massive amount”!
How does Yanran know how to do everything?!
But thinking about how all-rounded Lin Yanran was and how little worry he required from her, Hong Huixue suddenly felt like she had struck gold.
She couldn’t help but scrutinize Lin Yanran.
He was an all-rounder in singing and dancing; he could compose, he could play instruments, and his looks were top-tier.
Yet, for the past few years, he had remained lukewarm, plagued by negative news and a terrible reputation…
Thinking about how Lin Yanran had wasted so many years and was only now slowly becoming popular, Hong Huixue was happy she signed him, but the regret of meeting him too late and the pity for his wasted time were even stronger.
“That trash company you were with before really knew how to ruin talent.”
*
After Lin Yanran finalized everything with the Guess Who I Am production team, the show couldn’t wait to release the news that very night to start building hype.
To generate buzz and grab attention, the Guess Who I Am teaser was very simple and direct. They posted a black silhouette of Lin Yanran on Weibo with just a short caption:
Guess Who I Am Official: 3285 times.
Back then, Xia Xingxing’s comment about “3285 times” had gone completely viral, staying on the trending search list for a long time. Coupled with a million-follower influencer later creating a listening challenge to play on the meme, even 2D fans1Refers to anime or comic fans who usually didn’t care about the music scene knew what it meant.
So, when the show announced this news, just as they predicted, the post immediately triggered massive attention. The official account’s comment section was instantly flooded.
Top Comment 1: Yanran: Production team, why don’t you just post my ID number instead? [5234 Likes]
Top Comment 2: No way, don’t tell me there’s someone who doesn’t know what 3285 means!! [4444 Likes]
Top Comment 3: What?? I heard Yanran is joining Guess Who I Am?? Am I blind, or are my ears not working anymore? [3333 Likes]
Because the third top comment mentioned Lin Yanran by name, the discussion underneath it was particularly intense.
[You’re not deaf or blind, Yanran is going to sing. It’s true!]
[It’s baffling to me. Do current stars have no self-awareness? Just because fans hype them up, do they not know their own level?]
[The thought of him singing brings me to tears.]
[Is Yanran’s singing that bad? Why is everyone so against it?]
[The person above is a veteran Yanran hater pretending to be a helpless passerby. Come on, do you want to give the clueless public a link? I’ll satisfy you, here it is: [Link]]
[Help! I just became a fan of his after watching his variety show, no! I don’t want to unfollow him now because of his ear-piercing voice!]
[Yanran’s move can be entered into the ‘Confusing Behavior Awards’.]
[Not trying to hate on him, but with his singing skills, who gave him the courage to join a live broadcast show with full live vocals?]
[Fish Leong gave him the courage2An internet meme originates from the song “Courage” sung by singer Fish Leong. It was later used by netizens to tease or ask rhetorical questions, such as “Who gave you the courage? Fish Leong?”.]
[Maybe it’s Rejoice~~ (After all, using Rejoice makes you confident)3Another meme stemmed from Rejoice shampoo commercial..]
When the production team used the “3285” meme, it was obvious they wanted to capitalize on this negative impression to exploit Lin Yanran.
Sure enough, the comments below and the trend on major forums were almost unanimously mocking Lin Yanran’s decision to participate in Guess Who I Am.
Almost everyone thought he couldn’t do it.
Everyone except his fans.
Although the haters were gloating and rubbing their hands in anticipation of seeing Lin Yanran embarrass himself, a message was timely pinned in Lin Yanran’s personal Super Topic:
Sisters, Yanran has always been very independent. I won’t say he does everything perfectly, but he always does things well.
I believe he has thought it through and prepared carefully for this show.
There is no need to care about what others say.
Perhaps the old him wasn’t perfect and had many flaws.
But we have all witnessed his progress and hard work over these past years with our own eyes.
Please trust him and give him the best support.
Let us look forward together to his next, even more wonderful stage!
Since there was no prior evidence to prove Lin Yanran’s singing ability, his fans didn’t offer much rebuttal, choosing instead to steadfastly believe in him.
However, not long after this statement was pinned in his Super Topic, people with ulterior motives immediately took screenshots and spread them across various forums to mock him.
Lin Yanran’s fans were instantly labeled as being just as blindly overconfident as their idol, accused of posting these words merely for self-consolation.
After all, Lin Yanran’s professional skills in other areas were usually too strong. Now that there was finally a widely accepted “black spot” against him, naturally, some people refused to let it go, wishing the whole world knew that Lin Yanran couldn’t sing.
Meanwhile, after observing the public opinion online, the production team of Guess Who I Am was initially worried.
They feared that if things got too negative, Siyu Entertainment would come looking for them.
Yet unexpectedly, even after the public discourse expanded for one round, the other side seemed to have no intention of intervening…
Seeing that Siyu was ignoring it, the production team became even more unscrupulous. On the day of the broadcast, they directly bought a trending topic: #YanranParticipatesInGuessWhoIAm#.
Once the topic trended, it instantly attracted many passersby.
Driven by this wave of hype, the number of online viewers on the day of the broadcast broke through the show’s all-time record.
Under the weight of everyone’s expectations, Guess Who I Am was finally about to air.
Please consider supporting me on Ko-fi if you like what I’m doing. Thank you for reading! (´▽`ʃ♡ƪ)
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MicoLy On FCC Chapter 37.3