Huayu: Starting from the top talent show

Chapter 450 You Have No Idea About Your Situation
The spring breeze in Qingdao carries sea fog as it sweeps across the streets.

A beautiful, sunny day has arrived.

Liu Haocun sat on the sofa in the hotel lobby, chewing gum, holding a cup of coffee in her left hand, her right fingertips unconsciously stroking her phone, her eyes occasionally glancing towards the elevator, as if she was waiting for someone to arrive, her eyes filled with a tension and anticipation that she herself was unaware of.

After the meeting last night, she successfully added Shen Juan on WeChat, and as soon as she got back to her room, she started browsing his Moments.

As a hater who constructs a persona for Shen Juan based on rumors and gossip from fan groups, she desperately wants to know everything about Shen Juan! Especially anything related to "Sister-in-Law 101" and "Sister-in-Law 202"!

She desperately wanted to see Shen Juan's scumbag side!

It was discovered that Shen Juan's WeChat Moments contained very little content.

Besides visiting tourist attractions, I also share pictures of delicious food.

For example, a few days ago, he shared the pastoral scenery of Xishuangbanna. Combined with the rumors circulating online that "Back to Field 4" has started filming, Liu Haocun guessed that this scene was probably near the Mushroom House. For example, on the evening of the 20th, he shared a photo of a plane landing, which looked like it was in Shanghai.

For example, the night before last, he posted a picture of himself checking in at a barbecue restaurant in Zibo on his WeChat Moments, along with a caption praising the barbecue in Zibo.

Zibo is also in Shandong.

real or fake?

So, did he make a special trip to Zibo just to eat barbecue before coming to Qingdao to join the film crew?
what the hell!

So this guy is a foodie!

With so much money, can't you flaunt your wealth like Wang Sicong?

Having had so many relationships and supported so many "sister-in-laws," can't he at least show some affection for them?
It's really putting me in a difficult position that you've removed a few more black marks!

But after thinking about it, Liu Haocun felt that it made a lot of sense.

After all, scumbags often hide their true feelings very well. Even if Shen Juan doesn't care, it's unlikely that he would openly show affection on social media. After all, he has so many girlfriends, so he naturally needs to take care of their feelings and prevent them from becoming emotionally unbalanced.

Thinking so
Liu Haocun felt that he was one step closer to understanding and getting to know the real Shen Juan, and couldn't help but feel happy and proud.

At 9:55, five minutes before the agreed time, Shen Juan finally stepped out of the elevator with a crossbody bag on his back.

Despite wearing the mask and baseball cap that are standard for celebrities when they go out, Liu Haocun still recognized him at a glance.

After all, he had imagined or dreamed of this image of him wearing a mask with only his eyebrows and eyes showing more than once.

So she immediately stood up, her smile as sweet as a deer jumping for joy at the chance encounter with a clear spring: "Good morning, Teacher Shen!"

Shen Juan raised his hand to look at his watch, his eyes above his mask curving into a smile: "Didn't I just tell you last night not to call me teacher?"

"Then what should I call you?"

"Either is fine, since we're the same age anyway."

Shen Juan knew that Liu Haocun was born in 98.

Liu Haocun also admitted it.

However, the official explanation given to the public is that they were born in the 00s.

Shen Juan isn't like Yuan Li, who's already exposed Siqin Gaowa, so naturally she wouldn't undermine someone for no reason.

"Then... Juanjuan! What do you think? That's what we fans usually call you online." Liu Haocun had already taken on the role of a fan, looking at Shen Juan with hopeful and expectant eyes. Coupled with her youthful and college-girl outfit today, she looked especially charming and cute.

"Whatever." Although Shen Juan was somewhat surprised by the girl's familiarity, he didn't say much or show any extra expression. After all, many people, including seniors like Huang Lei and He Jiong, called him that, and he was already used to it.

"Oh, right, this is the coffee I bought for you!"

A sweet smile spread across Liu Haocun's eyes.

Shen Juan raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to continue.

"Didn't you say in a previous media interview that your trainee experience in South Korea made you develop a habit of drinking coffee every day? So I thought I'd get up early this morning to buy you a cup of coffee, hoping it would suit your taste."

Liu Haocun's eyes curved into crescent moons with pride as she tilted her head back and smiled radiantly at him: "Actually, we fans remember every word you say! It's a two-way street! The more you love your fans, the more we love you!"

Shen Juan was taken aback for a moment, then thanked him softly.

When he took the coffee from Liu Haocun, he felt a warmth spread from his palm to his heart. Looking into the girl's bright eyes, he suddenly felt that he was quite lucky to have met so many fans who supported and trusted him. So he took out a piece of chocolate from his bag.

"This is all I have to give as a return gift."

Liu Haocun lowered his eyes and took the chocolate from Shen Juan's hand. The rumors that "Shen Juan treats fans like ATMs" that were widely circulated in the anti-fan group turned into a warm feeling with a little body heat in his palm. The moment he tore open the wrapper and bit into the chocolate, the rich aroma exploded on his tongue.

She couldn't help but squint her eyes.

This person seems different from the rumors.

It doesn't seem as bad as I imagined?
Her gentle eyes and brows weren't hidden by the mask, the distance she deliberately maintained while chatting, and her sincere reply at this moment.
All of this stirred ripples in her heart.

This also caused all the goodwill and affection she had previously felt for the subway heartthrob who had left a deep impression on her after only one meeting to tend to shift towards him.

no way.

After all, they look almost exactly alike.

It might even be the same person!

It's just that because she didn't know him well enough before, she forcibly added many settings that she liked to her imagination.

In other words, she simply fell in love with a virtual character who was completely different from the real world.

So when you meet a real person who looks exactly like your favorite character in real life (an otaku met a top-tier cosplayer at a comic convention who perfectly recreated his favorite character), it's really hard not to feel a good impression of him.

Even though his love life has a terrible reputation, and even though she often argues and insults him with his fans online.
They also couldn't resist the body's instinctive attraction.

Turns out I've fallen in love with anime characters too (crying emoji).
But soon, reason surged back into my mind like a tide.

Although she hasn't officially debuted yet, she has long since shed her newbie status. So the more she delves into the Chinese entertainment industry, the clearer she becomes about how fake and dark this circle really is!
He's been in the entertainment industry for so many years, who can guarantee that this wasn't a carefully planned performance to please his fans?
So Liu Haocun immediately flashed a standard, harmless sweet smile and looked up at Shen Juan, whose eyes were gentle.

"Thank you, Juanjuan!"

The sound is crisp and pleasant.

The gaze hidden beneath her eyelashes darkened slightly.

She silently warned and admonished herself in her heart.
Let's wait and see.

Don't be fooled by his appearance!

Don't be fooled by his actions!

And whatever you do, don't fall for him!
As a secret investigator shouldering an important mission and a sacred duty, one must not be too hasty when facing this ultimate boss who may only appear in the final chapter of the story!
Otherwise, she will only unlock a defeat CG, have her background thoroughly investigated by the big boss, and then be injected with a large amount of thick dark energy, leading to a tragic and corrupted ending.

Our first stop today is to go to Zhanqiao Pier in Qingdao to see the seagulls.

Although it is the early stage of the lifting of the lockdown in Yiqing, there are not many tourists from other places and the flow of people is not very large. However, it is still a well-known tourist attraction in Qingdao, so passers-by still need to pay attention to keeping their distance from each other to avoid revealing their identities and causing disturbances.

Liu Haocun squatted by the railing and took photos for a while. Suddenly, he turned to Shen Juan and said, "Juanjuan, I think it's a bit dangerous to take a walk with you. If a passerby takes a picture and posts it online, I feel like I'll be cyberbullied by your fans."

Shen Juan smiled and said, "Haven't you already been cyberbullied? Or do you think that level doesn't count as cyberbullying?"

He was referring to the controversy surrounding her recent collaborations with Zhang Yimou and Shen Juan, which sparked the debate about her being a "resource-backed" actress.

“Strictly speaking, it doesn’t really count, because the level of attack on a collaborator is different from that on your sister-in-law! I’ve been a fan, you definitely don’t know as much about this as I do.” Liu Haocun, a self-proclaimed troll who frequently browses Weibo and Douban, does indeed have a lot of experience in this area.

However, she did not insult the other sisters-in-law, because the more sisters-in-law there were, the more stains Shen Juan would have on her reputation as a public figure.

Faced with this situation, she was overjoyed, so how could she possibly attack her good sisters who were deceived by Shen Juan for various reasons and provided her with a point of attack?
So in fact, she only ever cursed Sister Tian and her gang of "spring dogs" who were always sending people to fight in other people's squares.

After all, they are really too domineering in the fan circle! Even a dog passing by will get slapped twice.

As a result, many people are very unhappy with them and wish they could find an opportunity to get rid of them as soon as possible, settling both old and new scores!

"So you mean they'll think we're dating?" Shen Juan said with a frank smile.

"Uh," Liu Haocun lowered his head and pursed his lips.

Damn it! I almost blushed!
What a scumbag! He can talk about these kinds of topics that make girls blush with such ease and nonchalance! How many girls' feelings have you toyed with using this trick?!
Knowing full well that his reputation isn't good, why would he still try to win over a naive young girl he's just met?

Haki, you bastard.
She really only thinks of herself!
We need to raise your danger level again!

This definitely reaches the level of a Dragon-level disaster!
They took out breadcrumbs and fed the seagulls for a while longer.

Seeing that Shen Juan seemed completely at ease and had no intention of chatting with her, Liu Haocun had no choice but to break the silence first: "Actually, when I invited you to come out with me to Qingdao today last night, I was quite nervous. I thought you would refuse me, after all, it's our first time meeting."

"Hmm?" Shen Juan seemed to be lost in thought. Hearing this, he turned to look at the girl whose hair was ruffled by the sea breeze, smiled at her, and replied softly, "If you hadn't told me you were my fan, I probably would have made up an excuse to refuse. Fans and strangers you meet for the first time are ultimately different."

"How many times has this guy secretly practiced his charming smile?!" Looking at that gentle smile that was almost flawless, Liu Haocun thought to himself that this scumbag really knew how to pamper his fans. Luckily, I'm not a fan of his, or I probably would have fallen for him by now!
After a moment of silence, she blinked and asked with some curiosity, "You never refuse a fan's request?"

"How could I possibly grant every request from my fans? I'm not an omnipotent wish-granting machine."

Liu Haocun felt a little embarrassed, thinking that he had asked a stupid question. He could only awkwardly show his signature silly smile, which was devoid of any emotion, trying to get by by selling his cuteness and making Shen Juan forget his ulterior motive of being tongue-tied (gathering intelligence).

Unexpectedly, this action only amplified her cuteness a thousandfold in Shen Juan's eyes. He thought that this little fan who was born on the same day, month, and year as him was indeed quite adorable.

While the possibility of it being just a charade cannot be ruled out.

But isn't there a saying that goes like this?
When you are weak enough, no matter what schemes or raging rages you have, they all seem like you're just being cute to others.

Well, in Shen Juan's eyes, Liu Haocun was quite cute.

So he didn't care at all whether her fan status was real or fake, nor did he care what her little thoughts were. He only focused on what he saw and the feelings he got.

I strolled around the Zhanqiao Pier in the morning and took a lot of photos. We chose to have dinner at a seafood restaurant in the Buxi Market.

Considering that this was one of the filming locations for the movie, the two decided to come here in advance to scout out the surrounding environment.

In the afternoon, they visited the bustling Sifang Road Market and sampled some Qingdao-style barbecue snacks. Shen Juan hadn't expected that after having barbecue with Wang Chuan in Zibo just two days ago, he would experience new flavors in Qingdao today.

As evening fell, Shen Juan led Liu Haocun to another filming location for Little Red Flower – the Taiping Mountain Cableway, as planned.

The setting sun bathed the seaside city in a warm orange hue. The cable car wound its way through the red-tiled roofs and green trees. Shen Juan was holding a camera, aiming it at the distant skyline of towering buildings, when he suddenly noticed that the girl next to him was secretly pointing her camera at him, and that she had a sweet smile on her fair and delicate face.

He couldn't help but ask, "Why are you taking pictures of me?"

"Why can't I take pictures of you when you're so good-looking?"

Taking advantage of this rare opportunity, Liu Haocun spoke his mind: "Isn't there a saying that goes like this? You stand on the bridge admiring the scenery, while someone else admires you from a building. The bright moon adorns your window, and you adorn someone else's dream. So when you photograph the scenery, I can also photograph you, because you are also scenery in my eyes."

She finished speaking in one breath, then thought for a moment and added a self-affirming sentence: "I think what I said was correct!"

Shen Juan suddenly smiled.

He began to believe that the girl was his fan.

Because when she said those words, the emotions that had been building up over a long period of time were genuine and could not be faked.

"Isn't that right?" Liu Haocun tilted his head to look at him.

Shen Juan didn't reply, but silently turned around and started taking pictures with the girl in front of him who had a silly smile.

Being filmed so closely in his face, Liu Haocun couldn't help but feel a little shy: "Could you turn around and take pictures of the scenery instead?"

Do you think you're good-looking?

"Hmm, why doesn't that count?"

"Isn't that okay?"

Shen Juan smiled and repeated what she had just said to him: "Why can't I take pictures when you're so good-looking?"

Liu Haocun quickly lowered his eyes to hide the fleeting smile in them, his fingertips unconsciously rubbing the hem of his clothes. Although the corners of his lips were brimming with an irrepressible smile, he still maintained a serious tone, refusing with a contradiction between his words and his heart: "No means no."

Zhang Yimou said I'm good-looking, and Shen Juan also said I'm good-looking.

So it seems I really am very good-looking!
Looking at Liu Haocun, who was smiling brightly in the camera but whose eyes kept darting around due to shyness, Shen Juan had a strange sense of déjà vu, like watching a memoir of his deceased wife. He suddenly had an idea and thought he could insert a vlog clip of the male and female leads during their passionate love period at the end of the movie to make the audience cry again.

"Why? Is it because you don't want to appear in the vlog?"

"No, I'm just afraid of being cyberbullied by your fans."

Liu Haocun said something against her will; she wasn't actually afraid of cyberbullying, she was just simply embarrassed.

Knowing how much she felt for the fictional character Shen Juan, she tried her best to avoid developing real feelings for him.

After all, the three-dimensional world can never be as wonderful as the two-dimensional world.

Reality can never be as captivating as fantasy.

Shen Juan stared at her for a moment, then suddenly smiled and said, "Should I apologize to you in advance?"

Are you so sure your fans will criticize me?

"No girl who gets involved with me can escape this fate." Shen Juan silently moved away from the camera that made her feel uncomfortable. He may have a bit of a dark and wicked sense of humor, but that doesn't mean he can't read people's expressions or completely ignore other people's feelings.

"Speaking of which, there are so many people criticizing you online, Juanjuan, what do you think of these comments?" Liu Haocun asked cautiously, voicing a question she had been paying close attention to. Her eyes were fixed on Shen Juan, trying to take in and remember all his reactions to the question.

Shen Juan thought for a moment and replied, "Actually, I quite enjoy reading those hater comments; some of them are really interesting."

"Really?" Liu Haocun clearly didn't believe it.

Did he see my comment?
It can't be that exaggerated, right?

"Why did you lie to me?"

"Okay, then I'm different from you. Although I don't care about what those haters say, I still don't like it."

"Then don't look at those, just look at the ones that praise you."

"Wouldn't that make us ostriches?"

"It depends on how you define the profession of an artist. Some people are not your audience; they just want to find someone online to follow and vent their negative emotions. There's no need to pay attention to these comments."

"By the way, how did you become my fan?"

Liu Haocun was a little nervous and subconsciously repeated Shen Juan's question: "Um, how did I become your fan?"

"Don't be nervous. This is indeed a difficult question to answer. I've asked many people, and they've all thought about it for a long time."

Oh?
Does this mean there are quite a few secret investigators like me around Shen Juan, posing as fans to secretly gather information?

Liu Haocun's feelings suddenly became complicated.

She didn't know whether she should feel happy or sad.

On the one hand, she was happy to see Shen Juan surrounded by haters, then become hopelessly addicted to their praise, and ultimately meet a tragic end where he lost his talent and became just another ordinary person.

(Haki: Haki, you sweet, soft, and cuddly little shrub have no idea what's going on!)

On the other hand, she also felt sorry for Shen Juan.

After spending the whole day together, she still couldn't tell whether Shen Juan was putting on an act or creating a persona in front of her.

After all, you know, friends who love to act and are scheming will always assume that others are just as scheming as they are.

But one thing she was certain of was:

Shen Juan is definitely not as bad as his haters make him out to be!
Some people are really too extreme!
They relentlessly denied all of Shen Juan's merits from various angles, reducing him to the level of a stray dog ​​on the street.

She didn't care before.

Anyway, she's one of the haters.

but now?
She felt that those people had gone a bit too far.

She thought those people were incredibly brainless in their criticism!

Shen Juan is clearly not that bad!
At least he was quite gentle with me.

Yes, he is still very sincere towards his fans.

This led her to develop a rebellious attitude.

I want to cut ties with that extreme version of myself from the past.

Become a rational hater who follows objective facts.

After thinking about it carefully for a long time, she gave an impeccable answer: "I don't know how I became your fan. I only know that I have been following your news and then I fell into the pit without realizing it."

"I see," Shen Juan said with a hint of emotion.

"Yes!" Liu Haocun nodded quickly in affirmation.

"Then thank you for becoming my fan." Shen Juan's face, which shone even brighter in the afterglow, wore a smile that could also be described as his signature youthful charm.

Liu Haocun paused for a moment, then quickly searched his memory for fan culture slang before finally managing to say something he felt awkward even saying while acting: "Thank you for coming into my world. Anyway, every time I see you online, my mood improves!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he began to wail inwardly.

Jiu Min! My answer was practically like a human Kun!
But Shen Juan acted as if nothing was wrong, completely unconcerned about the awkwardness she showed when she spoke. He simply leaned against the cable car railing, quietly lost in thought, feeling the evening breeze brush against his cheeks. After a whole day of walking and stopping, he thoroughly enjoyed this relaxed and leisurely atmosphere.

"So, are you in a good mood today?" he asked softly.

"I had a great day!"

This is the truth.

Although her initial intentions were impure—she simply wanted to become Shen Juan's friend and gather more dirt on him—she still harbored ill intentions.

But we still had a lot of fun.

At the same time, the experience of this day also allowed her to understand Shen Juan in more detail, comparing his personality in real life with the virtual image in her mind.

Then remove the fabricated parts that you've imagined, and you get a Shen Juan who is as close to reality as possible.

This will be very effective in helping her remove the illusion!

Anyway, she doesn't want to date a jerk!

Because she couldn't accept sharing with other women.

Shen Juan put the camera back into his bag; the footage he had shot today was enough to edit into a finished video.

He smiled and looked at the girl beside him, "Then I hope you'll be happy every day for the next two months!"

"Ok!"

Let's work together to make this movie great!

"let's work hard together!"

Liu Haocun felt somewhat happy.

A cool night breeze blew by, her hair brushing against her flushed ears. She leaned against the cable car railing, thinking happily...
Shen Juan should, perhaps, possibly, probably.
You've already accepted me as a fan, right?

　Monday was busy at work and I felt lethargic. I only started writing after get off work, and I'm still experiencing writer's block...
　　Thank you all for your votes, monthly passes, and subscriptions!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)