What to Do When Pretending to Be an Alpha Gets Exhausting [Entertainment Industry] - Chapter 18

[Blind guess: Ye Xingyuan is about to say his hand slipped.]

[6666, live face-slapping performance.]

[This move is too flashy. No one will believe he’s not leeching popularity, right? One moment he’s dissing Pei Yanchen for editing his photos, and now he’s liking Best Actor Pei’s swimsuit photo. What does he mean?]

[Can a hand slip all the way into Best Actor Pei’s Weibo? That swimsuit photo was posted last month, right?]

[CP fans are eager to try and have even stretched out a testing little foot.]

…

Ye Xingyuan, who had been preparing to post on Weibo and say his hand had slipped, completely shut down.

“11, can I reload a save?” Ye Xingyuan put down his phone, feeling like life had no meaning. “You can reload saves in games.”

System 001 played dumb. “Hehehehehe…”

It only laughed without speaking, and the laughter grew increasingly creepy, making goosebumps rise.

Ye Xingyuan rubbed his arms and shuddered. “Get lost.”

His popularity today was comparable to a top-tier celebrity’s.

Less than half an hour after the accidental like happened, his hot search climbed to number one, successfully pushing down Pei Yanchen and Ye Mingzhe.

#YeXingyuanHandSlippedAndLikedPeiYanchen#

[Weibo is like a melon farmer today, producing big and sweet melons in abundance.]

[Today’s Weibo is so awkward my toes are digging into the ground.]

[I accidentally imagined a whole segment of love, hate, and grudges…]

[Best Actor Pei: Heh, man, you’ve successfully caught my attention.]

[Best Actor Pei: Heh, you dare say I edited my photos? I’ll deal with you in bed tonight.]

[Best Actor Pei: Heh, aren’t you the clearest on whether I edited my photos or not? If you’re not clear, I’ll deepen your impression.]

[The pen is yours. Hurry and write!]

…

Ye Xingyuan was so embarrassed he wanted to dig a hole and bury himself in it. Meanwhile, his assistant Xu Xiaopan was still diligently reading Weibo comments aloud in an extremely indignant voice.

“Brother Xing, what do we do now? Netizens obviously won’t believe that your hand slipped.”

Just as Xu Xiaopan finished speaking, the phone rang.

When Xu Xiaopan saw the caller ID, he trembled in fright. His hand shook, and the phone nearly fell again.

“Brother Xing, it’s Sister Lu calling.” Xu Xiaopan quickly handed the phone to Ye Xingyuan like it was a hot potato.

When Ye Xingyuan saw the caller ID, he took a deep breath and answered.

“Hello, Sister Lu.”

“Ye Xingyuan!” The lion’s roar from the other end made Ye Xingyuan’s eardrums hurt. “What exactly did you do while I was away? Why did you question whether Pei Yanchen edited his photos on Weibo? What does whether he edited his photos or not have to do with you? Didn’t I warn you before not to offend Pei Yanchen! Don’t offend Pei Yanchen! Don’t offend Pei Yanchen! Why didn’t you listen?”

Important things had to be emphasized three times.

It seemed she really was afraid of Pei Yanchen.

Pei Yanchen’s influence in the industry was indeed very great.

Ye Xingyuan pinched his brow and explained, “Sister Lu, the like really wasn’t intentional. My hand—”

“You want to say your hand slipped? That excuse has been used to death in the entertainment industry. Who would still believe you?” Zhao Lu said furiously.

…As expected, no one believed it.

“But it really was a slip of the hand,” Ye Xingyuan said with a headache.

“If you’re going to say your hand slipped, you might as well say your account was hacked,” Zhao Lu snapped.

“Hacked?” Ye Xingyuan suddenly laughed. He happily bounced on the bed a few times, then picked up the phone and said excitedly, “Sister Lu, you’re really too smart. Hurry and do crisis PR for me. Just say my account was hacked, and from the edited-photo post to the like, none of it was my personal behavior.”

Zhao Lu had a short temper, but she would still sincerely consider things for the actors under her.

After scolding him, half her anger had already faded.

Zhao Lu rubbed her chest, then drank a large cup of water to suppress the anger in her heart. “Hand your Weibo account over to Xu Xiaopan. Before you enter the variety show Let’s Go Adventure next month, don’t play with Weibo again. Not even on a side account.”

Xu Xiaopan’s eyes widened beside them. He suddenly opened his mouth wide and asked, “The Let’s Go Adventure production team came to find our Brother Xing?”

On Zhao Lu’s end, she said, “I was wondering before why the production team suddenly came to us to discuss the contract. After seeing the hot search today, I realized your brother pulled in sponsorship and helped you secure a spot. No matter what, this is a good thing for you. Treasure this opportunity properly. Variety shows are the easiest way to whitewash yourself.”

Xu Xiaopan bit his fingernail in shock beside them.

“I received news that Pei Yanchen and Su Luoqing will both participate in this variety show. You have quite a few grudges with both of them, especially Su Luoqing. Be careful. Don’t recruit more hate for yourself.”

“I know, Sister Lu. I’ll work hard.”

“In short, let me emphasize this again. Whether it’s Su Luoqing or Pei Yanchen, neither of them is someone you should offend. If you want to continue staying in this industry, many resources will inevitably overlap with theirs. So building a good relationship with them is what benefits you the most.”

A manager’s job was to help an artist become popular.

For popularity and traffic, one could pay any price.

“Okay, Sister Lu.” Ye Xingyuan continued behaving obediently.

“I’ll help you settle this matter, but don’t cause trouble again.”

Zhao Lu finally hung up.

Ye Xingyuan rubbed his ears and looked at the assistant beside him, who was still dumbfounded. “Anything else?”

Xu Xiaopan smacked his lips. “Brother Xing, why did you like Pei Yanchen’s Weibo post? And it was that swimsuit photo too. You… don’t tell me you really have that kind of intention toward Pei Yanchen?”

Thinking of what had happened in the dressing room before, Xu Xiaopan could not help becoming suspicious of this matter again.

Ye Xingyuan hurriedly denied it. “No. It’s not what you think.”

…

Xingyao Media’s PR was very effective. By the next day, almost all the hot searches had been withdrawn, and even the discussion around the incident had died down a lot.

Ye Xingyuan’s Weibo account was being managed by his assistant, and the Weibo app on his phone had also been deleted, so he had nothing to do and did not browse Weibo.

The next day, Ye Xingyuan obediently sent his younger brother Ye Rubai to his classmate’s house to do homework.

The car slowly drove into a high-end villa district.

Ye Xingyuan wore oversized sunglasses that almost covered half his small face.

When they reached the destination,

Ye Rubai got out of the car.

Ye Xingyuan also got out, conveniently carrying some fruit.

“Give these fruits to your friend later.”

They were all fresh imported fruits.

Before the fruits could be handed over to Ye Rubai, a boy who was more than half a head shorter than Ye Rubai suddenly ran out from inside.

The boy had red lips and white teeth, a round face, and eyes that were also big and round. He looked very cute.

“Rubai!” The boy was as happy as a little bird. He rushed toward Ye Rubai and excitedly threw himself into his arms, rubbing against him as he said, “Rubai, you finally came. I was afraid you wouldn’t come. I worried for a whole night, plus one morning and noon.”

Even his voice was milky and sweet.

Ye Xingyuan stood beside them and looked at this adorable boy.

A doting uncle-like smile appeared on his face.

What a cute boy.

Although he could not smell his pheromones, he should be an Omega child.

“Yuqian, my second brother brought me here.” On Ye Rubai’s calm face, one could still clearly see his happy emotions.

Ye Xingyuan watched quietly from the side and ate a huge mouthful of lemon sourness.

Although they were young, this youthful budding romance really made people envious.

Ye Xingyuan took off his sunglasses.

When Tong Yuqian saw his face clearly, he suddenly blushed and shyly hid behind Ye Rubai. Showing a shy and cute smile, he looked at Ye Xingyuan and said, “H-Hello. I-I really like you.”

Tong Yuqian was a little shy around strangers. After saying a few words, he had almost completely shrunk against Ye Rubai.

Ye Rubai helped explain. “Second Brother, Yuqian is your fan. He’s always liked you a lot.”

Tong Yuqian poked his head out and nodded seriously. “I really like you. I’ve liked you ever since you debuted. I don’t believe the things said online. Those are all fake. You’re Rubai’s older brother, so you must be a very good person too. C-Can I have your autograph?”

Ye Xingyuan smiled and said, “Of course.”

Tong Yuqian pressed his fingers together and said, “My photos are all upstairs. Can I trouble you to come up with me? If it’s too troublesome, then…”

As he spoke toward the end, his big eyes were full of sad regret.

His adorable little fan had gone this far. Ye Xingyuan, who had decided to be a good idol who doted on his fans, of course would not refuse him.

“Sure. I’ll go up with you.”

Ye Xingyuan conveniently carried the fruits inside.

The Tong family’s adults did not seem to be home. He only saw a helper auntie preparing ingredients for dinner.

Ye Xingyuan followed them to the second floor, to Tong Yuqian’s room.

Tong Yuqian’s room was not much different from his own room back then, except there was no terrifying photoshopped wedding photo by the head of the bed.

His posters and all kinds of merchandise were pasted everywhere.

Ye Xingyuan walked around inside and felt that every trace of his career since debut could be found in this room.

Even some selfies he felt could be classified as ugly photos were carefully preserved here in an album.

This little brother looked so shy, but he was unexpectedly quite a crazy little fanboy.

The little fanboy seemed very embarrassed. Seeing Ye Xingyuan looking at the things in his room, he was so shy he could not even speak.

Shyly, he found the photos and a pen, excitedly brought them over, and with his face flushed red, handed the photos and pen to Ye Xingyuan. In a voice as soft as a mosquito’s, he said, “Thank you. You look even more handsome in person than in photos.”

Ye Xingyuan signed his name on his own photo.

When he handed the photo to the little fanboy, he clearly saw the other boy’s eyes light up.

So he could not help asking, “Do you want to take a photo with me? The three of us can take one together.”

Afraid the little fanboy would be shy, he deliberately pulled Ye Rubai in too.

They took several photos, both with three people and with two.

Tong Yuqian’s slow-to-warm-up personality gradually loosened. He bounced off to personally wash fruit and bring it up, and even begged Ye Xingyuan to stay and taste the dessert he had made himself.

Ye Xingyuan also wanted to learn more about how his younger brother got along with his classmate, and he could also satisfy the little fanboy’s wish, so he agreed.

After eating dessert, Tong Yuqian brought them around to tour his home and even took them to the art studio.

Inside the studio was an unfinished portrait. It was of Ye Xingyuan, based on a photo.

It was remarkably lifelike.

Ye Xingyuan was very interested in the portrait. After asking the little fanboy for permission, he took a selfie alone with the portrait.

The little fanboy was very excited and said he wanted that photo.

He wanted to add Ye Xingyuan on WeChat, but he was also afraid that making such a request would make his idol uncomfortable, so he thoughtfully said that Ye Xingyuan could send the photo to Ye Rubai first, and then Ye Rubai could send it to him.

Facing such an obedient and sensible little fanboy, who was also his younger brother’s classmate, Ye Xingyuan generously said, “I’ll directly add you on WeChat and send the picture to you.”

“Really?” Tong Yuqian was so excited he hopped in place a few times.

After adding him on WeChat, Ye Xingyuan sent the photo to Tong Yuqian.

Tong Yuqian clung to Ye Rubai and talked about how good that photo looked. A moment later, he became frustrated and said his portrait was not good-looking, not even one-tenth as good-looking as Ye Xingyuan in person.

When he became excited, he even picked up his brush on the spot and added a few strokes.

Ye Xingyuan did not disturb their private world.

With nothing to do, he became curious about the little fanboy’s Moments and opened it.

He scrolled down a few times, and it was full of traces of his life.

Including his public schedules, updates…

There were also some very cute, puffed-up remarks scolding antis.

On average, there were at least ten posts per week, and almost all of them were related to Ye Xingyuan.

[Brother Xing is so cute. Finger heart, finger heart.]

[Brother Xing’s outfit today also looks so good. Hehe, finger heart, finger heart.]

[Brother Xing is so handsome and so A.]

[Brother Xing is actually filming in the same crew as Cousin! Ah, worried. Cousin is too cold and heartless. I’m so afraid he’ll bully my Brother Xing.]

[Wuwuwu, Cousin’s fans are so annoying. They cursed Brother Xing again.]

[Angry angry. Cousin stole Brother Xing’s endorsement.]

[I cried until my eyes swelled today. I asked Cousin to help me get Brother Xing’s signed photo, but Cousin refused. Wuwuwu.]

????

Ye Xingyuan’s forehead was full of question marks.

This little fanboy’s cousin couldn’t be…

“Tong Yuqian, what are you hiding in the art studio for again? Painting messy nonsense again?”

A low yet sexy voice sounded from the doorway.

Ye Xingyuan subconsciously looked over and crashed into a pair of deep, steady eyes. He also clearly saw the person who had called him “messy nonsense.”

“Cousin? You’re awake?” Tong Yuqian’s nervous hand trembled, and he drew a stroke across Ye Xingyuan’s face on the drawing paper.

It looked very much like a slap to the face.

Author’s Note:

Pei Yanchen: Heh, delivered himself right to the door?