"The official Weibo account posts behind-the-scenes footage every three days. I’ve been keeping an eye on it; the comments and reposts have clearly dropped since the beginning. However, compared to other dramas airing in the same period, *Hidden Shadows* is still doing very well. Once it actually starts broadcasting, the view counts will definitely surge back up."
Inside the dressing room, three vanity tables were cluttered with various cosmetics. A medley of scents hung in the air—a mixture some might find pungent or hard to stomach. Li Qiang, for instance, would sneeze several times whenever he stepped inside. But for actors, no matter how little makeup they wore in their daily lives, they had grown accustomed to it after countless hours spent in these chairs for filming.
Jiang Siyang was one of those who had grown used to the smell. He sat calmly before the vanity mirror, reading his script while the stylist sprayed his hair repeatedly, prepping his look for the afternoon.
There were four people in the room. Aside from himself and the stylist, there were Liu Wenping and Xie Jie.
Xie Jie was perched on the sofa, a laptop balanced on his legs as he typed up a report. Liu Wenping leaned against the wall by the door, clutching her phone as she analyzed the latest online trends for them.
"There must be a ton of variety shows inviting him right now, right?" Xie Jie suddenly looked up and asked.
"You’re using the wrong word. You shouldn't say 'a ton,' you should say 'even more,'" Liu Wenping corrected. "Plenty of shows were sending him invites even before he started doing variety. He just turned them all down back then."
Xie Jie looked thoughtful. "True. Now that he’s actually appeared on a variety show, an artist's influence and the revenue they bring become quantifiable. Production teams can better select the best candidates. The traffic Big Brother brings is obvious to everyone. He’s a big fish now; whichever show lands him wins. No one is going to let him slip away."
"Exactly." Liu Wenping nodded, then remembered her own artist was still in the room. Although she was praising Zhang Jin'an, she worried Jiang Siyang might feel slighted. She raised her voice slightly, intentionally speaking for his benefit. "But Siyang, don't you worry. Your popularity is steadily rising too. Sooner or later, you’ll be as famous as Zhang Jin'an."
Jiang Siyang naturally heard her. He lowered his script and smiled at Liu Wenping’s reflection in the mirror. "Sister Liu, there’s no need for the extra reassurance. I understand."
Xie Jie let out a loud laugh. "Sister Liu, you might need to worry about Siyang feeling unbalanced if you were praising someone else, but with Big Brother, it’s completely unnecessary. If you praise Zhang Jin'an, Siyang might actually be happy about it. Right, Siyang?"
Liu Wenping watched as Jiang Siyang nodded. "Right."
Xie Jie laughed even harder, eventually wiping a tear from the corner of his eye. "But I feel like I haven't seen Big Brother at all these past two days. Where did he go?"
"He’s been away filming a variety show for the last two days. He’ll be back tomorrow," Jiang Siyang answered.
Two days had passed since they finished filming the scene on the main road. Zhang Jin'an had left for the variety show right after Jiang Siyang returned from his own recording.
Over the past few days, Zhang Jin'an had posted several times on Weibo. Even though they were just reposts of funny videos, Jiang Siyang had liked every single one.
What surprised him most was that Zhang Jin'an had actually noticed and even sent him a WeChat message about it.
To think he could spot one specific person among hundreds of thousands of likes.
Recalling this, Jiang Siyang’s admiration for Zhang Jin'an deepened once more.
"There was such a thing? How come I didn't know?" Xie Jie asked, puzzled.
Jiang Siyang rested the script on his lap and replied, "Of course you didn't know. Weren't you away on annual leave during those days?"
"Oh, right. No wonder." Xie Jie scratched his head. "So, what show is Big Brother on today?"
"The same one Siyang just finished recording the day before yesterday, *Play A Game*," Liu Wenping said with a smile. "Speaking of which, that show is quite interesting."
"How so?" Xie Jie asked quickly.
"They sent invitations to both Siyang and Jin'an at the same time. I originally thought they’d be in the same episode, but..."
Before Liu Wenping could finish, Xie Jie interjected, "But they weren't."
Liu Wenping nodded. "Right. I imagine the production team wanted to spread out the hype, using Zhang Jin'an to carry the momentum for the following episode."
Xie Jie clicked his tongue twice. He set his laptop aside, stood up, and walked over to Jiang Siyang. Shaking his head, he patted Siyang on the shoulder.
"Ah... what a pity, Siyang." Jiang Siyang could hear the genuine regret in Xie Jie's voice.
Jiang Siyang, however, didn't feel it was a loss at all.
Looking at Xie Jie in the mirror, he replied, "A pity? I’m fine with it. There will be other opportunities later. Once the drama starts airing, the lead actors will definitely have a chance to go on variety shows together for promotion."
Xie Jie thought about it and realized he was right. He let go of Siyang's shoulder. "True, I totally forgot about that." He turned back to Liu Wenping. "But what are Big Brother's criteria for picking variety shows? First he chose *Friday Morning*, and now this one. He’s passed on so many top-tier shows."
Jiang Siyang was curious about this as well. Keeping his head still for the stylist, he shifted his gaze toward Liu Wenping in the mirror.
"I can guess his standards without even asking," Liu Wenping said, counting them off on her fingers. "It’s nothing more than: original content, no plagiarism, decent post-production, no political controversies, and hosts who don't pull cheap stunts. These have always been his criteria for choosing dramas and movies, too."
Jiang Siyang committed these words to memory, softly repeating, "No plagiarism, good post-production, no political issues..."
Xie Jie clicked his tongue in admiration. "As expected of a Film Emperor and the most popular actor today. He never picks projects based on hype."
"With his level of popularity, why would he need to chase hype? It’s usually other people trying to leech off of his," Liu Wenping remarked.
Xie Jie spread his arms wide toward the ceiling. "I’m jealous. I’m jealous. I’m truly jealous."
Liu Wenping waved a hand dismissively. "Stop being jealous. High popularity comes with high pressure. If I gave you half of Zhang Jin'an's pressure... hiss, half might be too much... let's say a third. If I gave you a third of it, I guarantee you wouldn't last a day. You'd be shut down within half a day."
Xie Jie immediately protested, "Damn, my stress tolerance isn't that bad!"
"It’s not just about stress tolerance; it’s about whether you can rationally control your emotions, vent your stress properly, and make the right judgments," Liu Wenping said. "We live in the internet age. The most advanced technology is information technology, and the internet is never short of people looking for something to criticize. If you say one wrong word or do one wrong thing—whether intentional or not—the netizens will be right there to 'teach you how to behave.'"
Xie Jie: "...Fine, just pretend I never said anything."
Jiang Siyang laughed and patted Xie Jie’s hand, which was still resting on his shoulder. "Don't back down now. Bring back that persistence you had a moment ago. I believe in you."
Xie Jie shook his head. "I believe I can't do it. My mouth moves faster than my brain. My career would probably last three days at most."
"Fame brings unwanted attention—it’s the same principle as a pig being slaughtered once it gets fat. Some people truly have no skeletons in their closets, but that doesn't stop others from making things up out of thin air. There are plenty of people online who just follow the crowd. You might say it’s the fault of those trolls," Liu Wenping said with a disdainful smile. "But people online don't care about that. Everyone is anonymous; they say whatever they want. Even if they hurt someone by mistake, no one blames them. They just delete their posts and move on, leaving others to clear up the rumors. It sounds cruel, but that’s the reality."
Since Xie Jie had one foot in the entertainment industry, he naturally understood what Liu Wenping was saying. He nodded. "That’s true. Everything has a black and white side. No matter how good a person is, there will always be someone saying something bad about them."
Liu Wenping looked surprised. "Not bad, Xiao Jie. You’ve matured. I’m impressed."
"I’ve always been mature."
"Is that so?"
Liu Wenping and Xie Jie continued their banter on the subject.
As Jiang Siyang sat in his chair, the stylist began the final touches, working on his bangs.
The stylist turned Jiang Siyang's chair to face her. Picking up her scissors, she said, "I’m just going to trim some stray hairs."
Jiang Siyang cooperatively closed his eyes. In the darkness, he recalled something from a long time ago.
He had forgotten exactly which day it was, but back then, whenever he and Zhang Jin'an ran into each other, they would chat during their breaks.
The only thing he remembered was that it had been a cloudy day, and they were chatting over breakfast.
At the time, he had asked Zhang Jin'an how he had managed to go so many years since his debut without ever making a mistake.
Zhang Jin'an had told him—"You don't just have to worry about whether you've made a mistake. Even if you aren't wrong, you must be prepared to be treated as if you are."
He hadn't understood what that meant back then. Thinking about it now, it was likely exactly what Liu Wenping had described. Because there would always be people who didn't care about the truth and would attack regardless, one had to be prepared for it in advance.
The higher one stood, the more cautious one had to be.
Jiang Siyang couldn't help but think of the worry Zhang Jin'an hadn't shared with him.
What kind of important matter could it be? Something so heavy that even someone like Zhang Jin'an, who was so good at hiding his stress, couldn't keep it concealed?
If only he could share some of that burden, even just a little.
Unfortunately, since that matter concerned him, Zhang Jin'an would tell anyone but him.
At that thought, Jiang Siyang felt a pang of regret.
"Alright, all done."
Jiang Siyang opened his eyes. The stylist unfastened the cape around him, signaling that he was finally free to move.
He placed his script on the table and stretched.
Just then, there was a knock at the door.
"Excuse me, may I come in?"
It was Ge Xianxu's voice.
"Are you ready?" Liu Wenping whispered to Jiang Siyang.
Jiang Siyang nodded. "Mm."
"Yes, come in," Liu Wenping said, opening the door since she was closest to it.
Standing at the door were Ge Xianxu and her manager.
***
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 暗隐 | Hidden Shadows | The title of the drama the characters are filming. |
| 影帝 | Film Emperor | A title for a top-tier, award-winning male actor. |
| Play A Game | Play A Game | The name of a variety show mentioned in the text. |
| 星期五的早晨 | Friday Morning | The name of a variety show Zhang Jin'an appeared on. |
| 葛纤绪 | Ge Xianxu | A female character/actress in the story. |
| 李强 | Li Qiang | A minor character mentioned as being sensitive to smells. |
| 人怕出名猪怕壮 | Fame brings unwanted attention | Literal: "People fear fame like pigs fear getting fat." An idiom about the dangers of being prominent. |
