Chapter 42
Before the second episode aired, Penguin TV suddenly began intensive marketing the night before. The main draw was the appearance of the long-absent Lin Mengjia, but they didn’t forget to include Gu Ruolan as well. They also released a short clip of the two of them demonstrating, which caused an instant sensation online.
When Meng Qiuran was having lunch with Yuan Yi, the latter happened to be scrolling through the news on her phone. At first, Meng Qiuran simply asked what she was looking at, and upon learning it was a promotional clip, she lowered her head to continue eating.
However, when the name “Gu Ruolan” came from the phone, Meng Qiuran suddenly paused. She realized she had developed a reflexive response to those three characters; she couldn’t help but pay extra attention.
“Let me see.” She put down her chopsticks, wiped her mouth, and signaled for Yuan Yi to turn the screen toward her. Her neck didn’t crane as obviously as it did at the recording site, but her focus was entirely on the phone.
Yuan Yi was very excited. “I knew it! Once the clip of this demonstration aired, people would definitely go crazy.”
Right now, it wasn’t even the full version—just a fragment of a few dozen seconds plus some behind-the-scenes footage—yet the number of shares and comments had already exploded.
From Yuan Yi, Meng Qiuran had learned many indicators that reflected the attitudes of fans and casual viewers. She had also learned about the data the production team prioritized from Xiang Jing. She now possessed a preliminary ability to analyze a show’s impact.
“It looks like tonight will be even more lively than the last episode.”
The previous episode’s critiques by Gu Ruolan alone had garnered a lot of good reputation for the show. Many viewers left comments saying they hoped to see a program truly focused on acting competition rather than a battle of capital. Some even felt Gu Ruolan’s recording time was too short and hoped she would become a permanent fixture.
This episode featured both Gu Ruolan and Lin Mengjia, doubling the points of interest. Not only that, but the two Movie Queens demonstrated in person, instantly pushing expectations to the max.
Yuan Yi grew more excited the more she thought about it. “I hope Penguin TV doesn’t cut too much when they air the full episode tonight, and I hope they don’t insert too many ads in the middle, or it’ll be such a buzzkill.”
Meng Qiuran teased, “We invested so much money; shouldn’t we get exposure during the peak ratings period?”
Yuan Yi stuck out her tongue. “Being interrupted halfway is definitely frustrating. People will remember the ads, but they won’t like them—they’ll resent them.”
“You’re starting to show a bit of a business mind now.”
Yuan Yi gave a low sigh. “I’m just picking up the basics from being around you. I’m probably naturally allergic to these things. I’d rather manage what Gu Ruolan wears for the show.”
As she said this casually, Meng Qiuran’s previous idea resurfaced. Although she hadn’t found the right opportunity yet, she could test Yuan Yi’s willingness.
“Suppose—I’m just saying suppose—you were to become Gu Ruolan’s assistant. You’d have to handle trivial matters and be on standby at all times. What would you think of that?”
Yuan Yi was stunned at first, then smiled so wide her eyes curved into slits. “That would be amazing! Forget trivial matters—I’d even be her janitor. Picking up takeout, receiving packages… I have no problem with any of it.”
“You don’t think that’s a waste of your talent?”
“Not at all.” Yuan Yi was quite invested, counting on her fingers seriously. “Think about it. Gu Ruolan is so nice; she definitely wouldn’t be harsh on her assistant. The pay is likely good, too. And I’ve seen her after shows—she doesn’t bark orders at her assistant, which means she’s easy to serve. Also, I’ve observed her current assistant; she looks healthy and doesn’t look like she’s carrying a heavy burden, which means the work is quite relaxed.”
As she spoke, she grew wistful. “Besides, being able to do things for your idol is a joyful thing in itself. Good pay and a good mood at work—please give me a dozen of those jobs.”
Meng Qiuran was amused by her rapid-fire response. “It seems you’ve fantasized about this quite a bit.”
“Of course.” Yuan Yi suddenly felt a bit shy, her voice dropping. “I’ve even fantasized about having a meal with Gu Ruolan one day.”
Meng Qiuran knit her brows, thinking that wasn’t exactly a difficult task. However, Gu Ruolan spoke so little; having a meal with her would require considering if the conversation would run dry.
“But I’m very satisfied now. Thanks to you, I have an autograph, I can see the live recordings, and… she remembers my name.”
Since Yuan Yi was willing and she was decent at handling administrative tasks, Meng Qiuran decided to start looking for a chance to plant her by Gu Ruolan’s side.
Miraculously, Meng Xiayan had no social engagements tonight and was home. After dinner, Meng Qiuran was preparing to go to her room to watch the show, but Meng Xiayan called her back.
“Let’s watch a bit of TV downstairs together.”
Seeing that he had already headed to the living room, Meng Qiuran followed. Meng Xiayan tuned to Penguin TV, which was currently airing advertisements.
“I saw the report today; it said the placement effect is good, and the show’s ratings are continuing to rise.”
Meng Qiuran hummed, appearing not very interested. Meng Xiayan turned to see his sister’s nonchalant attitude again and said helplessly, “You invested a lot of money too. Don’t you care about these things?”
Meng Qiuran propped her chin on her hand, her head tilted, and said impatiently, “It’s all data; it makes my eyes hurt. Besides, I invested in ads for publicity. As long as people watch the show, it’s fine. I don’t sell products directly, so nitpicking this is meaningless.”
Just as Meng Xiayan was about to explain the underlying business logic, the host’s voice came from the TV; the show was about to start. Combined with Meng Qiuran’s completely resistant attitude, he could only sigh.
In this episode, most of the mentors had changed their style. Their critiques were basically objective and professional, so the effect of Gu Ruolan standing out from the crowd was much weaker. Naturally, no one targeted her for “hogging the spotlight” anymore.
However, once the demonstration part started, “noise” began to appear. Meng Xiayan didn’t have the habit of turning on scrolling comments, so Meng Qiuran initially just scrolled on her phone. As the noise increased, she couldn’t sit still.
“I’m going to the restroom.”
Meng Xiayan had asked about Gu Ruolan’s situation, but his secretary’s report wouldn’t include gossip like a “comment section storm” in detail. Since it was mentioned lightly, Meng Xiayan didn’t care and certainly never thought to turn on the comments.
Meng Qiuran entered the restroom and locked the door behind her. The spacious restroom had three arches; without exaggeration, one could put a bed in there and live in it. She went straight to the innermost area so that even if she used the phone’s speaker, someone outside wouldn’t hear.
The comments were mostly from Xie Zixuan’s fans acting out. Mainly because in this episode, while other students had flaws, they were all working hard—only Xie Zixuan was both uncommitted and unwilling to admit it. In contrast, she made a very poor impression.
But how could her fans endure their idol being outshone? Especially when Gu Ruolan had directly stated that she was the reason the performance failed. Wasn’t that blatant targeting? Gu Ruolan’s critique itself didn’t have many points to attack, so they finally found an opening during the demonstration.
[Thinking she can play a boy just by putting her hair in a bun? She really thinks her acting is supreme, believing she can ignore styling and facts just with her face and mouth.]
[Probably greedy for the dividends of ‘GL’ dramas, trying to test the waters to see the reaction.]
[Truth be told, compared to a veteran Movie Queen, her acting is a bit lacking. The contrast is too obvious; I admire her courage and thick skin.]
Meng Qiuran couldn’t help but frown. Why was it that in the eyes of these people, everything Gu Ruolan did was wrong? Had these people’s eyes grown on the soles of their feet?
She was angrier than last time. Even though the “storm” wasn’t as large—since only Xie Zixuan’s fans were causing trouble—Meng Qiuran didn’t want to see these comments exist for a single second. She knew Gu Ruolan would see these words too.
That time at the café, Gu Ruolan’s tone had been flat, suggesting resignation more than sadness. But the dejection in her eyes proved she actually cared deeply. She cared that she was right, yet was being slandered like this.
Meng Qiuran called Yuan Yi, who was perfectly in sync this time: “Sister Qiu, is it time to work?”
“Yes.”
“Understood.”
Meng Qiuran thought for a moment and added, “Besides cleaning up the noise, do one more thing.”
“Flood the section with positive reviews?”
Meng Qiuran curled her lips. “She doesn’t like those fake things.”
“Then?”
“Check if Xie Zixuan is behind this.”
After the second episode aired, the ratings were even better than the first, and the audience’s evaluations were good, proving the direction was right. Xiang Jing organized a meeting to discuss the next priorities and details. Everyone was happy—except Xie Zixuan, whose reputation and popularity were falling in the opposite direction.
Others were improving; even if she just stayed in place, she looked like she was falling behind. After recording that day, she had tried to find Gu Ruolan to curry favor, hoping she would stop criticizing her so bluntly. An idol cared most about “face”; acting skills were optional for her—in this era, capital was enough to make one famous.
However, Gu Ruolan hadn’t paid her much mind and had left in a hurry, only saying a few words that emphasized putting more heart into her acting. In the past few days, her company had also begun to pressure her to perform better, or at least not be the worst.
She was a top-tier starlet on a direct upward trajectory; her current embarrassing situation was entirely due to Gu Ruolan. What was most hateful was that Gu Ruolan always acted aloof and detached, yet apparently couldn’t tolerate a single negative review. It was like this last time, and the same again. This time, the move was even faster and more ruthless—direct account bans.
If she didn’t tear off this “white lotus” mask, she would definitely be the one to suffer.
The next day, seeing the weather was good, Meng Qiuran called Gu Ruolan.
“Hello.” The female voice on the other end was clear and calm, like a drop of dew in late autumn.
“It’s me, Meng Qiuran.”
“I know.”
“Any work plans today?” Meng Qiuran looked out the window where workers were trimming branches in the yard.
“No.”
Gu Ruolan didn’t ask if she needed something; she just waited quietly, as if guessing what Meng Qiuran wanted to say.
“How about grabbing a coffee?” Before Gu Ruolan could answer, Meng Qiuran added, “To talk about last night’s show.”
“Okay. See you at three? Does that work?”
“Sure.”
Meng Qiuran hadn’t expected Gu Ruolan to be so easy to invite. She had planned to rely on a “chance encounter,” but felt that was too much of a time-waster. After their last call, she felt Gu Ruolan’s sense of distance wasn’t as heavy, so being proactive shouldn’t cause resentment. Sure enough, Gu Ruolan didn’t seem resistant to the invitation.
It was only 10:00 AM, leaving plenty of time before 3:00 PM. Remembering Meng Xiayan’s nagging, she decided to visit the hospital.
Meng Qining just repeated the same old things; he had no career expectations for her, just wanting her to stay home, stop causing trouble, and find a suitable marriage match to settle down. Meng Qiuran responded perfunctorily. She was going to leave eventually anyway; as long as he didn’t use force, she’d let him talk.
After staying less than half an hour, she left. Not long after driving out, she saw Xiao Yan. Because she was Gu Ruolan’s assistant, Meng Qiuran had a strong impression of her. She appeared near a rehabilitation center; it was unclear if she was there for herself or visiting someone.
Meng Qiuran thought about pulling over to ask if she needed a ride, since Xiao Yan looked like she was waiting for a car. To her surprise, a nanny van suddenly pulled up in front of her, and Xiao Yan quickly got in. This van wasn’t the one Gu Ruolan usually used; even the color was different.
Meng Qiuran felt something was wrong and followed quietly. However, because she hesitated for too long, she lost them after two intersections.
In the afternoon, she went directly to the private room at the café. She had called Sister Lin in advance, so it was already reserved. Not long after, Gu Ruolan arrived. She was dressed in low-key everyday clothes again: a cream knit sweater with a dark grey wool coat and tailored wool trousers.
“Sorry, I’m late.” Her first words after taking off her sunglasses were a sincere apology; she hadn’t expected to hit such traffic even leaving half an hour early.
Meng Qiuran didn’t care. “Only three minutes. It doesn’t count as late.”
This meeting was more natural and relaxed than any before. Although they hadn’t reached the familiarity of a gathering of friends, they were at least less stiff.
“Meng…” Gu Ruolan started to call her “Miss Meng,” but remembered their agreement and stopped herself.
Meng Qiuran happened to be pouring tea. Her narrow eyes curved into a smile, the corners dancing beautifully. “Didn’t we agree to use names? Call me Qiuran, otherwise I’ll feel too embarrassed to keep messaging you.”
Gu Ruolan gave a soft laugh and nodded. “I remember now.”
Meng Qiuran set down the teapot, still smiling. “Then, try saying it.”
Gu Ruolan’s hand on the cup moved slightly, her fingertip instinctively tapping against the surface, making a tiny sound. Meng Qiuran didn’t rush her, just keeping a beautiful curve on her lips.
“Qiuran.” Gu Ruolan called her name solemnly and steadily, her tone neither too light nor too heavy.
“Then I won’t be polite either.” Meng Qiuran’s smile widened. “Hello, Ruolan.”
Gu Ruolan didn’t find the address awkward, but she still had some concerns. “It’s perfectly fine for us to use these names in private, but…” she hesitated, choosing her words carefully to avoid misunderstanding, “but if there are many people around, it’s better to stick to how we were before.”
Meng Qiuran sipped her tea. “You’re afraid people will misunderstand?”
Gu Ruolan frowned, wanting to shake her head, but after thinking, she nodded slowly. Meng Qiuran wasn’t displeased; Gu Ruolan choosing to be honest was a good thing.
“If you have concerns in that area, I can cooperate.” She agreed so readily that Gu Ruolan had to look at her twice to ensure she wasn’t speaking out of spite. But Meng Qiuran’s eyes were still curved, as if she didn’t find the request an insult to her pride at all.
Just as she breathed a sigh of relief, she heard Meng Qiuran say cheerfully, “Since there are no others today, I’ll call you Ruolan.”
Author’s Note:
Xie Zixuan: You’re making me so mad! I’m going to take down Gu Ruolan!
Meng Qiuran: Say that again and see what happens?
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