The next day, the full video was uploaded onto the net.
Not only was there a visual output, rather, but there was also a clear, audio recording.
It was very apparent from the video that Ye Meng was the antagonist. She scolded others and was even the first to physically attack the other party.
Once again, the female superstar became a hot topic. She was now extremely infamous.
This time, Ye Meng no longer expressed her views online, as she chose to remain quiet.
Buckling under immense pressure, her management agency made a rather vague apology online.
Following this, Channing published a statement that unilaterally terminated Ye Meng’s brand-ambassador contract. They named reputational concerns as a reason, due to the superstar’s inappropriate behavior.
Few other brands followed suit in Channing’s footsteps and announced that Ye Meng would no longer be their brand ambassador.
Showbiz was a cruel industry. Many people suddenly jumped on the bandwagon as they harshly criticized Ye Meng for her acts. Some even dug up the ugly things that she had done in the past.
Nobody knew whether they were true or false.
However, netizens were left unbothered about the veracity of these matters. Now that the tides had turned, they only cared about following the trend.
In just over a day, the superstar’s image was ruined, as she turned into a target of scorn.
On the other hand, Ning Ran was now viewed in a positive light, as she was praised by many.
“Sound of Thunder 2” received the highest viewers’ ratings. Soon, it became the drama to watch for the year. Not only that, rather, its ratings were the highest from the past three years, amongst dramas of the same genre!
Ning Ran shot to stardom.
Within a week, Star Entertainment received an influx of invitations from brands who were hoping for Ning Ran to become their ambassador. Many TV shows wanted her on board too, and dramas wanted her to be their lead actress!
Ning Ran would never be able to agree to all of them because of the sheer amount of time it would take.
Nan Chen gave direct orders to Star Entertainment stating that all of Ning Ran’s contracts would have to be approved by him personally.
Furthermore, she was not allowed to attend any random reality TV shows. From now on, it was best if she appeared less in front of the camera.
The top management of Star Entertainment did not really understand their boss’ instructions.
Normally, when an artist rose in popularity, the team would work around the clock to promote him or her through publicity events, hoping to profit from the celebrity’s newfound stardom.
This was because it was difficult to even become famous in showbiz. Furthermore, it was tougher to remain popular long-term.
If they did not latch onto this window of opportunity, it would be hard to reap the profits once her hype had died down.
However, Nan Chen did not want that to happen. Hence, he even rejected the idea of letting her go on some rather well-known reality TV shows. His actions were rather contradictory to the normal business practice.
Only Wang Xiaoou was in full agreement with Nan Chen’s idea.
She knew that he did not want to groom a celebrity who could only achieve temporary fame. He wanted someone who would be a classic, in many years to come.
While it was easy to earn money from reality TV shows, participation in such programs came at a huge cost for the celebrity.
Celebrities who participated in too many reality TV shows would ultimately be remembered only for their time in these programs. Gradually, a celebrity’s works would be forgotten.
Furthermore, these celebrities would often shift their focus and stop producing as many films as possible or dramas eventually.
Hence, Nan Chen was, in fact, treating Ning Ran like a treasure. He did not want Star Entertainment to abuse her popularity too much for now.
Hence, Ning Ran was made the most available when she was the most famous.
One might ask to what extent? All she did was read books, watch dramas, and scroll through her phone all day. She was not allowed to head out for groceries or shopping because her fans would bombard her.
Fortunately, this period did not last long. She was going to star in a new movie, and the script and production team were ready. They would begin filming next week.
It was an ancient, Chinese movie called “I Am You”.
There was a slight element of sci-fi in the movie. It was about how a female scientist became traumatized after losing her child in an accident.
Then, she discovered her other self in a parallel world.
Her other self-had a husband, a daughter, and a family, that was identical to hers.
What was different was that she did not lose her child in that world.
Hence, the female scientist turned selfish and became desperate to find the key to enter the parallel world. She wanted to kidnap the child from there to raise the child herself, so as to get over her grief.
Even though it was sci-fi, the message behind the movie was about humanity.
It was a deep movie, and the actors and actresses would have room to showcase their talents and potential.
Ning Ran cried when she first read the script. She had children of her own and she could understand the pain of a mother losing her child.
It was as though the movie was tailor-made for her.
In the movie, she would play two roles. One was the scientist in the real world, and the other was the scientist in the parallel world.
Ning Ran would act out the story of how the former role would kidnap the child belonging to the latter, by attempting to enter the parallel world.
Just as Ning Ran was still bawling over the plot, Nan Chen returned.
It’s only four in the afternoon and he’s back from work? It’s rare that he comes home so early.
Ning Ran never thought that he would be back at such an hour. Hence, was not prepared for his return at all.
Her hair was in a mess and she was still dressed in her cartoon pajamas since she was not allowed to go out. She even had slippers on.
Nan Chen spotted the tear streaks on her cheeks and was shocked. “Who’s bullied you now?”
“No, no. It’s nothing like that.” Ning Ran shook her head.
“Then why are you crying?”
Ning Ran was embarrassed to admit that she had cried merely because of her new movie’s plot. Thus, she just denied crying altogether.
“It’s rather evident that you’ve cried. Don’t try and tell me otherwise! What’s going on?” Nan Chen continued to probe coldly.
“I’m not crying anymore, really!” Ning Ran uttered shyly.
Nan Chen turned and saw the script that she placed down. “Did you cry after seeing the plot? Damn, you are quite the emotional girl, aren’t you?”
Ah, shit. He’s exposed me!
“So what! I’m an actress. Shouldn’t I be emotional and express myself freely?” Ning Ran retorted as she twisted her lips.
Her slight action stunned Nan Chen. He thought that it looked eerily familiar.
Then, he recalled that it was something that Erbao would often do.
So, it seems like Erbao has inherited this from her mother, huh?
“Is there a need to bawl as you’d done earlier? How immature,” Nan Chen remarked with disdain.
“You are the immature one! I wonder who had been depressed, writing such a movie. I mean, the female lead loses her child and kidnaps someone else’s? Come on! I really hate this lead! She’s too selfish!” Ning Ran shouted.
“With that said, the child looks identical to hers. Everyone is selfish at heart. Furthermore, she didn’t kidnap the child at the very end. When the child was diagnosed with a rare disease, she even went to the parallel world to donate her bone marrow. If you read the movie script till its end, you will come to realize her kindness and nobility.”
Ning Ran was surprised that Nan Chen was so familiar with the plot.
“How do you know all the details?”
“Well, the screenwriter could not come up with a good plot even after a week, so I gave him an idea. It was inspired by our children because they are identical too.”
When Nan Chen spoke, his eyes were full of affection and fatherly love.
“So, this is a movie dedicated to our children?”
“No, it is dedicated to you. After this movie goes on screen, you will be famous. Rather, you will become an international superstar. In fact, you will be nominated for many international movie awards, enabling you to start a trophy collection.”
Nan Chen described the future as such a beautiful scene. Thus, Ning Ran grew excited at the thought of it.
She always believed in all of the good that Nan Chen spoke of.
This man’s thoughts are rather infectious!
