ABOES 54: Sudden Trending Topic

Xiang Che looked up and spotted Chi Yunxing and Xie Yi.

He raised an eyebrow and walked over without hesitation, greeting Xie Yi with a smile, “Yi Jie, long time no see.”

Xie Yi’s lips twitched. She wasn’t in the mood for pleasantries. “If possible, I’d rather never see you again in this lifetime.”

Xiang Che exaggerated a hurt expression. “That really hurts, Yi Jie. We worked together for years, and now we’re in the same project again. Shouldn’t that make you happy?”

Xie Yi shot him a cold glance that said it all.

His smile faltered for a moment but quickly returned as he turned to Chi Yunxing.

“Oh? Is this your new artist?” Xiang Che smiled and reached out a hand. “If I remember right, his name is Ye Xinian? Hello, I’m Xiang Che. I play Xu Li in the drama. Your on-screen partner, I guess. Nice to meet you.”

Chi Yunxing looked at his extended hand, gave a small chuckle, and unapologetically pushed it aside. “Excuse me, please move.”

Then he sidestepped Xiang Che and walked past him, turning his head slightly, “Yi Jie, let’s go.”

Xie Yi nearly burst out laughing at the sight. As she passed Xiang Che, she caught a glimpse of the vein throbbing on his forehead.

She shot him a dismissive glance. “Looks like your new agent isn’t doing much for you. They didn’t even bother to accompany you into the set, and let you make a rookie mistake like forgetting your co-star’s name. Listen carefully. My artist’s name is Chi Yunxing.”

With that, she hurried after Yunxing, leaving Xiang Che standing there, face dark with rage.

Back in the dressing room, the door had just closed when Xie Yi cursed under her breath.

Chi Yunxing looked over, a little concerned. “Yi Jie…”

She took a deep breath and waved him off. “It’s fine. Don’t worry. I just need a minute.”

Chi Yunxing nodded and let her calm down.

He sat on the sofa, pulled out his phone, and replied to messages from Tan Yao and Chi Xiweng.

Just as he finished, another message popped up—it was from Duan Zhiyan.

[Duan Zhiyan: How’s it going?]

[Chi Yunxing: Not bad. Today was just the launch ceremony and costume photos. Filming starts tomorrow.]

[Duan Zhiyan: Good. If anything comes up, talk to me anytime. I’m free the whole month.]

[Chi Yunxing: Thanks, Zhiyan Ge. I’ll definitely bother you!]

[Duan Zhiyan: You’re never a bother.]

Chi Yunxing smiled, closed WeChat, and glanced at Xie Yi, who still looked upset. He frowned slightly.

He hadn’t expected to end up in the same production with Xiang Che, let alone have to act opposite him.

He opened Weibo and searched “Xiang Che,” clicking into his profile. The bio read: “Singer, signed artist of Future Entertainment.”

A thought struck Chi Yunxing. He looked up and asked, “Yi Jie, you said the director was choosing between two actors. Was Xiang Che one of them?”

Xie Yi met his gaze. “You mean…”

Chi Yunxing handed her his phone. “I don’t know much about Xiang Che, but you used to manage him. Did he act in anything before?”

She narrowed her eyes and shook her head immediately. “No. He’s always focused on stages and variety shows. He was going the pure-idol route.”

Saying that out loud made something click for her.

She smacked her own forehead. “I can’t believe I didn’t catch this earlier,” She said and stood up. “I’ll go check.”

Chi Yunxing nodded and took his phone back. “Okay.”

Thanks to the people Chi Xiweng had connected her with, Xie Yi now had a far wider network. It didn’t take long for her to find out what happened.

“It’s a plant from Future Entertainment.” She returned with an ugly expression. “He wasn’t one of the original two choices the director liked.”

After all, Secret Crush was a low-budget web drama. If an investor wanted to swap out the leads, it would only take a single sentence.

It was a common occurrence in the industry. No one was surprised anymore.

Xie Yi’s brows furrowed. “We didn’t release any official info early on. He must’ve caught wind of something and squeezed his way in. Now that we’re in the same project, his team will probably start planting negative press. His manager is Zhu Fang, she’s notorious for that kind of tactic.”

“It’s okay,” Chi Yunxing said calmly. “We’ll just deal with things as they come.”

That was really the only option.

Xie Yi let out a sigh.

——

After the launch ceremony, it was time for the costume photos.

Since the story spanned high school to college, the makeup artist prepared two different looks for Chi Yunxing.

He first shot the high school photos solo. When it was time for the college look, the photographer suddenly approached.

“Teacher  Chi, would it be okay to get a few shots of you with Xiang Che?”

Chi Yunxing raised an eyebrow. “Hmm?”

The photographer explained, “You two play an on-screen couple, so I thought…”

Before Chi Yunxing could respond, Xie Yi stepped in. “Sorry. When we signed on, we made it clear that any promotions would only be done during the actual broadcast period.”

The photographer looked a bit disappointed.

“I’m sorry—I didn’t know,” he said sincerely. “It’s just… Teacher  Chi looks amazing right now. The shots would be perfect with Teacher  Xiang.”

Xiang Che, who’d been shooting nearby, walked over at the sound of voices. He casually draped an arm over Chi Yunxing’s shoulders.

“Aww, you can’t do it? That’s too bad.”

Chi Yunxing’s expression darkened. He took a sharp step to the side and pushed his hand off.

“Teacher  Xiang, please show some respect,” he said coldly.

Xiang Che’s smile stiffened. He lowered his voice slightly. “Yunxing, I was wrong earlier. I got your name wrong, I admit it but we’re going to be working together. I’ve already apologized. Can’t you cut me a little slack in front of everyone?”

Chi Yunxing gave him a polite but distant smile. “Sorry, I need to get ready for the next shoot.”

He turned and walked away without waiting for a response.

Xiang Che stared at his back, a vein pulsing at his temple. It took every ounce of restraint not to explode.

The staff nearby all pretended not to see anything. Eyes down, minds elsewhere.

After getting snubbed twice, Xiang Che finally snapped. He stormed back into the dressing room and exploded.

“What the hell is Fang Jie thinking? Why the fuck am I supposed to put up with Chi Yunxing’s attitude? Who does he think he is?”

His assistant rushed over to calm him down. “Xiang Ge, please don’t be mad. Fang Jie must have her reasons…”

“Did she ever think about how I feel?” Xiang Che grabbed the nearest thermos and flung it at the wall with a crash.

The assistant shut up immediately.

Xiang Che’s chest rose and fell rapidly. After a long pause, he muttered, “Whatever, you don’t get it…”

This assistant had been with him since his debut. After he split with Xie Yi, he brought the assistant with him to Future Entertainment.

He has left Xie Yi to chase better opportunities but once he signed with Future Entertainment, things didn’t go as expected.

Zhu Fang had another artist under her. It was a newcomer, but one with connections to the company president.

Before signing, Zhu Fang had promised Xiang Che top-tier resources. Yet now, they were all being funneled to the new kid before Xiang Che ever saw them.

Sure, Zhu Fang still gave him projects but they were worse than what he had gotten under Xie Yi. How could he accept that?

And now Xie Yi’s new artist—this Ye Xinian—had become a regular guest on variety shows and landed a male second lead.

Lately, Chi Yunxing has been trending almost every other day. Meanwhile, the last time Xiang Che was trending had been two weeks ago.

The more he thought about it, the more bitter he became.

In the end, he had to pull strings just to land the third male lead. Originally, he wanted to push Chi Yunxing out entirely, but the company wouldn’t allow it. They said this was the best they could offer and if he didn’t want it, plenty of others did.

He’d had no choice but to grit his teeth and accept the role.

He couldn’t act to save his life but now it was do or die.

The assistant, seeing that Xiang Che had calmed down a bit, quickly cleaned up the glass shards and asked, “Xiang Ge, do you think Chi Yunxing has someone backing him?”

At the mention of Yunxing, Xiang Che’s irritation returned. He sneered, “You saw the trending topics. He’s nothing but a marketing product. Who could he possibly have behind him?”

“Then why did Fang Jie tell us to maintain a good relationship with him?”

Xiang Che’s face darkened. “What else? His public favorability hasn’t tanked yet. If we clash with him now, public opinion will side with him…”

Then something seemed to click. His eyes lit up, and he suddenly sat upright.

“That’s it. We can’t go head-to-head with him, but we can…”

His assistant leaned in. “Xiang Ge?”

Xiang Che smirked. “I need you to do something for me.”

He whispered something in the assistant’s ear. The assistant’s eyes lit up.

“Got it. Leave it to me.”

After the assistant left, Xiang Che picked up his phone and called Zhu Fang. “Fang Jie, I have an idea…”

——

Chi Yunxing returned home early after his shoot and video-called Tan Yao. She was still at the hospital, so he also saw Grandma Chi through the screen.

She was doing a bit better but still weak. After chatting for a short while, she dozed off again.

Tan Yao moved to a quieter corner and asked, “Yunxing, how was filming today?”

He smiled. “Good. Nothing to worry about.”

“Any trouble?” After spending time with him, she understood that he never liked to complain, so she pressed a bit more. “If anything happens, promise you’ll tell us. Even if I can’t handle it, your brothers will.”

Chi Yunxing nodded. “Don’t worry, I will.”

He hadn’t expected to run into any problems on the first day.

But by 9 p.m. that evening, #XiangCheChiYunxingAreSoPerfectTogether suddenly landed on the trending list.