After the farewell banquet ended, the production crew packed up their things in the afternoon and prepared to leave.
Because each guest hadn't brought much when they arrived, they had very little luggage when leaving.
Shen Huaiqiu placed his luggage in the car and was just about to help Ji Zhaoxi, who was standing nearby, with hers.
"Zhaoxi..."
The next second, Jiang Yanchen coldly hauled all of Ji Zhaoxi's luggage away.
Did this guy have no tact? Her boyfriend was right here.
Shen Huaiqiu lowered his eyes and got into the car without a word.
He admitted he had been impulsive that day, but wasn't it normal for men to get into a fight? He didn't think it was a big deal.
As the production crew left, the village dogs chased after them, and the villagers stood in the fields watching the cars drive away one by one.
The scene was exactly the same as when they arrived, with the only difference being that this time, it marked the end.
Jiang Yanchen looked at Ji Zhaoxi's somewhat disappointed expression and clumsily comforted her, "If you want to come back in the future, we can come again."
Ji Zhaoxi's eyes curved into a smile. "Jiang Yanchen, you're so sweet."
Jiang Yanchen's face instantly turned red. He looked out the window uncomfortably, not saying a word.
Ji Zhaoxi chuckled secretly beside him; teasing Jiang Yanchen was so much fun.
Jiang Yanchen heard her laughter too, and he rubbed his burning ears.
As her future husband, it was only normal to be the subject of a few little jokes.
After getting off the plane, Ji Zhaoxi was shocked by the sight before her.
There was a dense sea of heads, along with all sorts of cameras and long lenses held high in the air.
Fans pushed forward frantically, and the bodyguards struggled to form a protective circle. With the mixture of screams and camera shutters, Ji Zhaoxi felt like her eardrums were about to burst.
"Ji Zhaoxi! Ji Zhaoxi, look over here!"
"Ahhhhh, Chen and Xi are holding hands!"
"Ji Zhaoxi, I'm your veteran fan, can you please look at my camera!"
"Jiang Yanchen, go to hell! You're dead!"
"Baby Ranbai, ahhhh, can I get an autograph, baby!"
Fans kept trying to squeeze through the gaps between the bodyguards, who had to protect the celebrities while keeping an eye on the crazed fans.
The camera flashes merged into a continuous blinding light, making it impossible for Ji Zhaoxi to even see the road. The lack of oxygen made her feel dizzy.
"Jiang Yanchen, are you even human? Jiang Yanchen, leave the entertainment industry!"
"Jiang Yanchen, go to hell!"
"Jiang Yanchen, quit the industry!"
"Ji Zhaoxi, look here! Baby, look here!"
"Leopard and Cat, can you look at the camera!"
"Shippers, get lost!"
Aside from Jiang Yanchen, the director was also cursed out terribly; it was nothing but insults.
The director's mouth twitched, never expecting that he too would get to experience what it felt like to be a top-tier controversial star.
They finally arrived at their destination, and Sang Ranbai got out of the car.
"See you at the finale gala."
Ye Mubai waved at her, "Stay safe."
That scene just now had nearly scared her to death, yet Jiang Yanchen and Ji Zhaoxi acted like nothing had happened.
Ji Zhaoxi was long used to it, and as for Jiang Yanchen, that was just his personality.
At that moment, photos of Ji Zhaoxi and Jiang Yanchen together were spreading across various forums.
Jiang Yanchen and Ji Zhaoxi had been trending all night. The shippers were thrilled, while the solo fans were cursing them out on the public feeds.
[Can you stop cursing them? Xi-Chen forever.]
[So sweet, it makes me feel at ease.]
[Seriously, what do you guys even like about Jiang Yanchen? He doesn't act and doesn't even have a single piece of work. He has no ambition and just waits for his family to feed him resources. His temper is awful too. It'd be one thing if you liked an idol, actor, or singer, but I really don't get what you see in Jiang Yanchen. Pure bystander here!]
[Finally saw the living Leopard and Cat, can we just bless this little couple? Heart]
[Jiang Yanchen go to hell! Ji Zhaoxi too!]
[Desperado couple? Kind of interesting.]
Brother Li didn't even dare to look at the backstage messages. His other phone had already been blown up by fans, with texts and direct messages full of insults.
Looking at the person lounging lazily on the sofa opposite him, Brother Li said, on the verge of tears, "What do we do, Yanchen? The whole internet is telling you to quit the industry."
Jiang Yanchen finally looked up. He paused for a moment and said, "Go coordinate with her manager. She can shoot the Vantier commercial at the end of the month."
He lowered his head somewhat unnaturally, "Go ask her if she wants to do it. Female stars are probably more suited for jewelry brands."
Brother Li: ...
Brother Li's mouth twitched. Was Jiang Yanchen really going to act as Ji Zhaoxi's manager? They had just finished the show and he was already starting.
"No, Yanchen, shouldn't you be dealing with the public opinion online right now?"
Jiang Yanchen looked at him impatiently. "How am I supposed to deal with it? Didn't you say before that I have no works and very few people actually like me? Isn't it normal for things to be like this now?"
At the time, his manager kept telling him to engage more with fans, but he just stayed at home playing video games every day, or traveled all over the world to have fun. He had absolutely no ambition for his career.
His fan count did indeed drop, but as soon as the company posted a nine-photo grid, those fans would come rushing back, sometimes even more than before.
Jiang Yanchen's rise to fame had been baffling anyway; he had shot a commercial for his brother, and as a result, he blew up.
Jiang Yanchen's attitude towards fans was unlike Sang Ranbai's.
Sang Ranbai had debuted through a survival show, and she had won over every single fan with her own skills. Every step she took now was hard-earned, and she cherished each of her fans.
But Jiang Yanchen? He had everything from the moment he was born, so naturally, he didn't care about anything.
Ji Zhaoxi gained a lot of fans, a tremendous amount.
Among them were shippers, but even more were solo fans.
As soon as Ji Zhaoxi returned to the company, she started shooting promotional photos. Right now was peak popularity for her, and her trending topic with Jiang Yanchen was still up.
As soon as the promotional photos were released, the comment section exploded.
[WTF, releasing promo pics at a time like this, is she that brave?]
[Don't just watch a variety show and forget what Ji Zhaoxi used to do. With such high popularity, do you really think she wouldn't clout-chase?]
[Xixi is so beautiful, don't let the bad news online affect you, we will always support you!]
[To the person above, do you really think Ji Zhaoxi would be affected by hate comments? As someone who has been her anti-fan for years, her comment section used to get millions of hate comments, and she still posted normally.]
[She's a total villainess, I was almost blinded by her performance on the show.]
Her manager looked at Ji Zhaoxi with trepidation.
"Xixi, what if you get cursed at for posting this?"
Why were there even more direct messages in the background than before?
Ji Zhaoxi sprawled out lazily. "Isn't it great to be cursed at?"
She had always been cursed at, after all.
It seemed like after the variety show ended, everyone thought she had become very fragile. Did her behavior on the show give them that illusion?
But she remembered that on the show, she had been quite aggressive, at least when it came to stealing the spotlight.
Ding Li froze for a moment upon hearing this. Right, her artist had always been like this.
It was just that seeing her smiling and chatting with the elderly and children on the variety show, and watching her take care of the other guests, had made an impression.
Sometimes, just like the commenters online, Ding Li felt that her artist had been forced into taking the controversial route out of sheer helplessness.
But she seemed to have forgotten that this was the path Ji Zhaoxi had chosen for herself from the very beginning, and she thoroughly enjoyed the process.
She had always been this way, never changing at all.
