Huayu: Starting from retirement, sweeping across the domestic entertainment industry

The following afternoon, Li Ran returned to the capital.

As the plane landed, he glanced out the window at the sky, which was hazy and gray, as if veiled by a thin layer of gauze.

He put on a mask and hat and followed the flow of people out of the terminal.

As soon as he exited the airport, he saw a large number of fans waiting to greet him, and at the same time, he noticed several suspicious figures... paparazzi.

The arrival gate of Terminal 3 at Beijing Capital International Airport was completely blocked by a huge crowd of people.

Dozens of young girls huddled together, their support banners waving in the air above the crowd...

Some signs read "Brother Ran, fly bravely," while others featured Li Ran holding a cup in his promotional photo. A few others held up huge light boards, though they were completely useless in broad daylight.

"He's out! He's out! Li Ran is out!"

The crowd stirred immediately, and several girls holding DSLR cameras stood on tiptoe, all pointing their lenses at the end of the passage.

When Li Ran came out, her first reaction was to take half a step back.

He's seen it all; on the day of the final at the Bird's Nest, the cheers from the fans were deafening.

But that scene was far away; the fans sat in the stands, while he sat in a soundproof booth, separated by glass and a screen.

Now, dozens of people are just three meters away, and the overwhelming enthusiasm they exude carries a palpable sense of pressure.

Although Li Ran had encountered fans greeting her at the airport before, this was the first time she had ever seen such a scene.

It's easy to imagine how many fangirls have been drawn to Li Ran's recent trending topics...

In the past, it was rare for long-time esports fans to come and greet their idols at the airport; this kind of behavior was mainly done by female fans in the fandom.

"Burning God!!!"

"Ahhh, Li Ran!"

"Look this way! Ran-ge, look this way!"

Screams surged in like a tidal wave.

Li Ran subconsciously tugged at the brim of his hat and sighed helplessly.

He turned to look at Xiao Chen, who was following behind him. Xiao Chen shrugged, indicating that he was powerless to help.

"Hello everyone." He stepped forward, his voice not loud, but it made several girls in the front row blush instantly.

"God of Fire! We are all your little flames!"

A girl with a high ponytail squeezed to the front, her hand trembling as she held up her phone. "Could I...could I get an autograph?"

Li Ran nodded, took the notebook she handed him, and casually asked as he wrote, "How long have you been waiting?"

"More than three hours!" Several girls nearby answered in unison.

He paused in his work, looked up, and his gaze swept over the young faces, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes.

"Thank you for your hard work." He handed the notebook back, his voice a little gentler than before.

"It's not hard at all!"

"Burning God, you've lost weight!"

When will "The Sword and the Brocade" air?

"Hey, has your movie 'Lighter and Princess Dress' with Jingyi been scheduled for release yet? I'm a big fan of your pairing, could you please sign both of your names for me?"

Problems came in like snowflakes.

Li Ran answered a few questions selectively, his pen never stopping as he handed over a variety of items: autograph books, support fans, photos, and even an IG team jersey.

His hand paused slightly when it touched the black and white team uniform.

The owner of the team uniform was a tall boy, squeezed among a group of girls, his face flushed red, clearly excited.

"So cool! I've been watching your matches since S7! I cried all night the day you retired!"

Li Ran smiled, signed "Burn" on the back of the team jersey, thought for a moment, and then added a sentence next to it: "Burning Heaven and Earth".

This was his cheering slogan when he was a professional player.

The boy took the team uniform, and his eyes visibly reddened.

A commotion suddenly arose from the back of the crowd.

"Don't push, don't push..."

"Holy crap, who stepped on my foot...?"

Li Ran sighed inwardly and quickly called out, "Everyone, please don't crowd. Let's make way for the other passengers."

The situation quickly attracted the attention of airport security.

Airport security personnel were clearly prepared; several uniformed staff members quickly stepped forward and formed a human wall between him and the crowd.

"Everyone, please move back a bit, don't crowd, and be careful!"

"Line up, line up, don't push!"

Standing behind the human wall, Li Ran watched as the security personnel skillfully guided the crowd, and secretly gave a thumbs up to the efficiency of the Capital Airport.

He took off his mask and smiled at the fans in front of him.

"Burning God!!!"

"Ahhh, Li Ran!"

"Look this way!"

The screams exploded instantly, like a pot of boiling water.

Li Ran raised his hand and pressed it down, signaling everyone to calm down.

He had done this move countless times...

Doing it in front of the audience after winning a match, doing it in front of the interview cameras, but doing it now still has an immediate effect.

The screams subsided, turning into shouts of "Burning God" and "Li Ran" rising and falling.

"Thank you everyone for picking me up."

He took a step forward, getting closer to the human wall, and said in a low but clear voice, "One by one, I'll sign a few, but not too many. After all, this is a public place, and we shouldn't disturb the regular passengers."

"This shows me the quality of Little Flame..."

"Li Ran, I'm a fan of the Wildfire CP..."

The fans immediately lined up on their own, and although the line was crooked, their excitement was not diminished at all.

The first thing handed over was an autographed book with a photo of Li Ran from the competition pasted on the title page.

Li Ran took it, signed his name with a flourish, and smiled at her: "Thank you for your hard work."

The little girl took the notebook and almost jumped up on the spot.

The second, the third... the line of people signing their names moved slowly forward.

Although Li Ran said he would only sign a few, he accepted all offers and signed them one by one, occasionally stopping to chat with fans.

"Burning God, could you sign a 'Heart's Desire for Burning' design?"

Li Ran looked up and saw a girl holding a CP light sign staring at him expectantly.

The sign prominently displays the four characters "心怡为燃" (Xin Yi Wei Ran), with a small heart drawn next to it.

Li Ran chuckled and took the photo she handed him... It was a promotional photo of the two of them for "Lighter and Princess Dress," and Li Ran in the photo was still the limited edition blonde.

He signed his name on the back of the photo, thought for a moment, then added the words "Zhang Jingyi" next to it, and then drew a small heart.

"Satisfied?"

The girl took the photo, so excited she almost lost her balance: "Ahhh, I love you, Ran Shen!"

The people queuing behind immediately erupted in excitement.

"Me too! Me too!"

"Give me a signed autograph too, God of Burning!"

"The God of Burning is biased!"

Li Ran waved his hand with a smile: "That's all, that's all for today."

He signed autographs quickly, but there were too many people.

After signing about twenty or thirty copies, assistant Xiao Chen leaned over and whispered, "Brother Ran, that's about enough. We won't have enough time if we keep signing."

Li Ran nodded, straightened up, and called out to the fans still queuing behind him, "Sorry, everyone in the back, I really can't finish signing autographs today. I'll make it up next time. Thank you for coming to pick me up!"

A sigh of disappointment rose from the crowd, but even more so, shouts of "It's okay, it's Burning God!" echoed through the air.

"Take good care of yourself!"

"Keep up the good work on your new movie!"

Li Ran waved to them and walked towards the parking lot under the escort of security personnel.

Fans followed behind, holding up their phones, and the sound of camera shutters filled the air.

The shouts from behind surged forward like a tide, with various slogans rising and falling...

"Take care, Li Ran!"

"May our love burn brightly forever!"

"Wildfire is the real deal!"

"Take good care of yourself!"

"Li Ran, I want to have your babies..."

"Li Ran, I love you!"

Li Ran paused, his lips twitching. What kind of nonsense was this?

He continued walking forward, and just as he was about to turn into the parking lot, he suddenly stopped and looked back.

The group of fans remained standing there, some waving their light sticks, some standing on tiptoe to look, and others taking pictures of him with their phones.

His gaze swept over the young faces, some excited, some reluctant, and some with red eyes still waving goodbye.

Li Ran raised her hand, waved to them, and called out, "I love you all too! Take care of yourselves and don't catch a cold!"

The screams rang out again, even more intense than before.

He turned and walked into the parking lot, a faint smile playing on his lips.

Xiao Chen muttered quietly beside him, "Brother Ran, after what you just did, they probably won't be able to sleep tonight."

Li Ran didn't say anything, he just smiled.

The moment the van door closed, the noise outside was shut out.

Li Ran went to Wajijiwa first.

In Long Danni's office, Li Ran leaned back on the sofa, listening to his aunt explain the upcoming work arrangements one by one.

"You'll be a guest on 'Peach Blossom Village' the day after tomorrow, and you'll be recording for two days."

Long Danni flipped through her schedule, "Then I'll come back to participate in the script reading for 'Since This Love Has Disappeared'."

She looked up at him and said, "There are two more magazine shoots to come, and after that, I'll go straight to the production team."

Li Ran nodded.

Top celebrities have such packed schedules that they have absolutely no time to rest.

Last year, he had just transitioned to a new career path, and the company didn't dare to give him too many resources.

Things are different now... He has passed the test of the market, and even if he doesn't strive for it, all kinds of top resources will come to him on their own.

Long Danni then recounted some details, which Li Ran noted down one by one.

Finally, she added, "From now on, it won't be enough for you to have only one assistant, Xiao Chen, for your public appearances. I'll also provide you with two personal assistants and a security guard."

"It's usually Xiao Chen who follows you around..."

Li Ran nodded, so that if he encountered a situation like today again, he wouldn't be helpless and have to wait for airport security to rescue him.

……

In the underground parking lot, Li Ran looked at Xiao Chen next to her and said, "You can drive my car back to the community."

He handed over the car keys, and Xiao Chen nodded before leaving.

Li Ran put on a mask and hat and quietly walked out of the park where Wajiji Entertainment was located through a side door.

He looked around warily.

After confirming that there were no suspicious people, he quickly walked to the roadside, opened the door of a car parked there, and got in.

Once settled in the back seat, he took off his mask and let out a long breath.

In the driver's seat, Zhang Jingyi turned around, smiled at him, and asked, "Brother Li Ran, shall we go straight to my house?"

Li Ran nodded: "Let's go to your place! Xiao Chen drove my car back."

In the passenger seat, Zhang Ruonan turned around and looked at him with disdain: "Li Ran, aren't you being a little too cautious?"

Zhang Ruonan sighed enviously, "Is this the treatment of a top celebrity? Sometimes I don't even have a single fan to greet me when I get off the plane."

She turned around and handed her phone to Li Ran.

"Look! You're trending again."

Li Ran took the phone; the screen displayed the Weibo trending topics list.

#LiRanAirport# is already at the top of the list. Clicking on it leads to a video of him greeting fans at the airport, which shows him signing "Xin Yi Wei Ran" for a CP fan.

The comment section exploded: "Holy crap, the God of Burning is so gentle!"

"My heart's desire is real!!"

"Wait, he actually signed Zhang Jingyi's name? Does this count as an official stamp?"

"The Wildfire Girls disagree! Zhou Ye is the rightful heiress!"

"What are you talking about upstairs? They're just classmates, okay? Stop spreading rumors."

"No matter which pairing I ship, I'm so envious of how much Ran Shen spoils his fans."

Li Ran scrolled down and saw a comment that had been upvoted a lot: "When he looked back that one time, I really cried. It was like he was still Burn on the field, waving to the audience after the game, he hadn't changed at all."

He stared at the comment for a few seconds, then turned off the screen and handed the phone back to Zhang Ruonan.

Zhang Jingyi had already started her car and slowly merged into the traffic.

As she drove, she said, "What's so good about fans picking you up at the airport? It can easily cause traffic jams and affect other passengers."

Li Ran leaned back in his seat and explained, "There's nothing we can do about it. Many of an artist's schedules are public... Take today for example, many fans know that I just finished filming yesterday and will be returning to Beijing today."

He paused for a moment: "There are also many fans who buy flight information for their idols."

Zhang Ruonan nodded: "Indeed, some extreme fans will even follow cars and such."

Li Ran suddenly leaned forward and looked at the rearview mirror on Zhang Ruonan's side.

Zhang Ruonan looked at Li Ran's face, which was so close to hers, and paused for a moment, then asked, "What are you doing?"

Li Ran sat back down and shook his head: "It's nothing..."

He paused for a moment, then added, "Actually, my private schedule is fine... Also, the number of fans greeting an artist at the airport reflects their current influence."

"Many celebrities' schedules are revealed to fans by their own teams."

Zhang Ruonan shook her head, her tone tinged with helplessness: "Even if I reveal it now, not many fans will come to pick me up at the airport."

Li Ran smiled and said, "Don't you have quite a few 'Nan friends'?"

Zhang Ruonan pursed her lips: "But male fans are rarely as crazy as female fans! They also have their own jobs to take care of."

Li Ran looked at her: "How do you know your 'Nan friends' are all male fans?"

Zhang Ruonan said matter-of-factly, "That's just how it is! My male fans outnumber my female fans."

She paused, then her tone became more relaxed: "But it's fine as it is now. They support my work and like me, that's enough."

Zhang Jingyi laughed and said, "Sister Ruonan, after you work with Brother Li Ran, you'll gain a lot of fans. He has a lot of male and female fans."

Zhang Ruonan shook her head: "I just hope Li Ran's fans won't accuse me of trying to ride on his coattails."

Li Ran chuckled and said, "What's there to be afraid of being scolded? The haters will eventually become true fans."

Zhang Jingyi has a deep understanding of this: "In the past, many of Li Ran's fans also criticized me for trying to ride on his coattails."

"Many of them have now become loyal fans of the 'Xin Yi Wei Ran' couple."

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Ran suddenly looked at her and said, "Jingyi, find a place to park the car up ahead."

Zhang Jingyi was taken aback: "Brother, what's wrong?"

Li Ran leaned forward again, looked in the rearview mirror, and said calmly, "Someone is following us."

In fact, he had noticed the car the moment Zhang Jingyi started it.

He wasn't sure at first either.

But even after traveling almost halfway, the car was still following closely behind, not too close, and they couldn't shake it off even after changing lanes twice.

Now he's sure.

I'm being followed.

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