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

Back at the hotel, Li Ran took a shower first.

He came out drying his hair, which was still dripping wet, and saw that Xiao Chen had already brought over the barbecue and beer, which were piled high on the coffee table.

He changed into a clean and neat set of shorts and a short-sleeved shirt, and dried his hair until it was half-dry and no longer dripping before sitting down on the sofa.

After thinking about it, Li Ran decided to call Long Danni.

I answered the phone after it rang a few times.

"Auntie, you saw what happened with Meng Ziyi, right?" Li Ran leaned back on the sofa, her tone casual.

Long Danni was silent for a moment before slowly saying, "I saw it. The editing by the production team has nothing to do with you."

"I know it has nothing to do with me, but she was scolded because of that sentence, so ultimately it was because of me."

Li Ran paused, then added, "Could you ask the studio to guide the fans and stop them from stirring up trouble? Sister Meng doesn't think before she speaks, but this is truly an undeserved disaster."

Long Danni remained silent for a long time before finally speaking slowly, "What's your relationship with her?"

Li Ran paused for a moment, then smiled and said in a more casual tone, "It's nothing, just a regular colleague. She played Hongshu in 'Snow in the Wind,' so we've worked together before."

He paused, then explained, "I can't possibly have something going on with everyone, can I?"

Long Danni did not ask any further questions.

She probably felt that if she had to worry about every actress who had worked with Li Ran, then she, as the boss, wouldn't need to do anything else.

"Okay, I'll have the studio issue a statement. You should also be careful not to let anyone use this to their advantage."

"Okay, Auntie." Li Ran hung up the phone and tossed it onto the sofa.

Not long after, the door was pushed open.

Wang Churan walked in, already changed into her pajamas, her hair loose, and her face still damp from her recent shower.

She glanced at the barbecue on the coffee table, then looked at Li Ran, and sat down next to him.

"What's the current situation between you and Zhang Ruonan?"

Li Ran was opening a box of grilled oysters when he heard this. He paused, didn't look up, and casually asked, "What's going on?"

Wang Churan rolled her eyes at him, annoyed.

"Don't think I didn't notice. She's been deliberately avoiding you all day. Aside from filming, she hasn't spoken to you much. And several times, I saw her secretly glancing at you, and the look in her eyes..."

She thought for a moment and found a word: "full of resentment."

Li Ran pried open the oyster shell, garlic sauce dripping down the side, and casually replied, "It's nothing, I just confessed to her last night."

Wang Churan frowned, her voice rising slightly: "You confessed to her?"

"Okay." Li Ran handed her the oysters.

She didn't answer, staring at him. "So, did she agree?"

Li Ran placed the oysters in the box in front of her and withdrew his hand.

"Neither agreed nor refused."

Wang Churan clicked his tongue twice and shook his head.

Her expression was hard to decipher—it was a mix of admiration and speechlessness, perhaps both. She picked up the oyster, took a bite, chewed it a couple of times, and seemed lost in thought.

Just then, there was a knock at the door, not too loud, not too soft, three knocks, with a hesitant rhythm.

Wang Churan put down the oyster shell and stood up.

"I'll go open the door."

Both of them knew that Zhang Ruonan had arrived.

Outside the door, Zhang Ruonan stood in the corridor, her heart pounding as if she had just run 800 meters. She stared at the door in front of her, her mind a jumbled mess.

If he wants it, should I give it to him?

No, I can't give it to him. I haven't agreed yet.

But he already kissed her... and he also said that Zhang Jingyi knows about it...

The door opened, and Wang Churan stood in the doorway, looking at her.

Zhang Ruonan was stunned.

Why is she in Li Ran's room? No, she's Li Ran's girlfriend, so it's normal for her to be in his room.

But Li Ran clearly asked me to come today, so why is she here too? Could it be that Li Ran wants to...?

A scene flashed through her mind, and her face flushed instantly.

Ugh, what a scumbag.

Wang Churan looked at Zhang Ruonan, who was standing blankly at the door, and a hint of doubt appeared on her face.

"Come in, what are you standing there for?"

Zhang Ruonan suddenly came to her senses.

She opened her mouth, her voice low, tinged with a hint of probing, nervousness, and something else she couldn't quite define: "Chu Ran, do you guys usually play this... hard?"

Wang Churan was stunned for a second.

Looking at Zhang Ruonan's flushed face, she suddenly understood something and reached out to touch her forehead.

"Are you running a fever? What nonsense are you talking about?" She withdrew her hand, her tone tinged with a mixture of amusement and exasperation. "You seem a bit confused today."

Zhang Ruonan shook her head. Just then, she smelled the aroma of barbecue wafting from the room, a blend of garlic and cumin, which went straight into her nose.

She suddenly realized what was happening, and the blush on her face changed from shyness to embarrassment.

"It's nothing, I'm just a little tired lately..." she said softly, lowering her head as she walked inside.

As I passed by Wang Churan, I wished I could disappear into a crack in the ground.

What are you thinking? They just invited you over for some barbecue, how could you possibly think of that?

Wang Churan looked at her, who seemed to want to bury herself in something, and smiled slightly. He didn't say anything and closed the door.

In the living room, Li Ran had already turned on the barbecue grill and arranged it neatly.

In the living room, Li Ran had already turned on the barbecue grill and arranged it neatly.

He looked up at Zhang Ruonan with a slight smile on his lips, but didn't ask anything.

"You're here? Have a seat." He gestured to the seat opposite him.

Zhang Ruonan hummed in agreement and sat down opposite him.

She didn't dare look at him, keeping her head down and staring at the roasted eggplant in front of her, as if flowers could bloom on it.

Wang Churan sat down next to her, opened a can of beer, pushed it to her side, and opened one for himself.

She took a sip of beer, then looked at Li Ran and asked, "Have you told your aunt about Meng Ziyi?"

Li Ran nodded, took a bite of the last piece of beef from the skewer in her hand, and said while chewing, "I said I'll post on Weibo later on my studio account to clarify things for her."

Wang Churan chuckled and leaned back on the sofa.

"I feel that clarifying it is pointless. Right now, your fans are only a small part of the attacking group; the main ones are the CP fans of Bo Jun Yi Xiao."

Zhang Ruonan was picking up a piece of grilled eggplant when she heard this. She looked up, a little confused in her eyes: "Huh? What happened to her?"

She hadn't checked Weibo at all today. From last night until now, her mind was filled with thoughts of that scumbag Li Ran, and she had no interest in looking at anything else.

Wang Churan glanced at the time; it was almost eight o'clock.

She smiled, picked up the remote, turned on the TV, and switched to the playback page.

"Watch the variety show, you'll find out soon enough."

Wang Churan found the second episode of "Peach Blossom Village" and fast-forwarded to find the segment where Li Ran appeared.

Zhang Ruonan stared at the screen for a few seconds, then quickly looked away and picked up her phone.

On Weibo's trending topics list, #LiRan'sFirstLove# has climbed to second place, followed by the word "hot".

The hashtag for Meng Ziyi has dropped to eighth place, and its popularity continues to decline.

She clicked in, browsed through it, and roughly figured out what was going on.

I looked up at the TV again, and it just so happened that Meng Ziyi's quote was on.

"It's fine if I sleep in the same room as Li Ran, anyway, I'm his head maid."

She pursed her lips and put her phone down.

"Isn't this just a joke? Meng Ziyi really is Li Ran's head maid." She paused, her tone casual, "And I'm also Li Ran's mistress."

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Ran, who was drinking beer, choked and the beer spilled from the corner of his mouth and ran down his chin. He quickly grabbed a tissue to wipe it off and coughed several times before he recovered.

He stared at Zhang Ruonan in shock, his expression as if he had been struck by lightning.

"No, sister," he said, wiping his mouth, his voice still a little hoarse, "I confessed my feelings to you, but you didn't agree. So you just wanted to be my lover?"

Zhang Ruonan's expression froze for a moment.

The stiffness started at the corner of his mouth, spread to the corner of his eyes, and finally his whole face froze, as if someone had pressed the pause button.

"Li Ran, what nonsense are you spouting!" Her voice rose, tinged with a hint of guilt at being exposed. "I was talking about the drama 'The Sword and the Brocade'! And..."

She paused, then her voice suddenly lowered, "Did I say I disagreed?"

She regretted it as soon as she said it.

The words seemed to slip out of her mouth on their own, and by the time she wanted to take them back, it was too late.

Her face turned red starting from her neck, all the way to the tips of her ears, and down to the roots of her hair; even her forehead was tinged with a thin layer of pink.

Li Ran looked at her, who seemed to want to bury herself in her own body, and a slight smile curved his lips. "So you agree?"

Zhang Ruonan quickly gulped down a mouthful of beer. The icy liquid slid down her throat, but the heat still lingered in her chest.

"We're talking about Meng Ziyi now!" she said, her voice rising a half-tone from her previous tone. "Don't change the subject."

Li Ran spread his hands innocently: "Sister, wasn't this you changing the subject?"

"I didn't!" Zhang Ruonan's voice grew louder, but her confidence clearly wavered. "We're talking about Meng Ziyi now!"

Wang Churan sat to the side, glancing at Li Ran and then at Zhang Ruonan with a look of disdain.

She thought Zhang Ruonan could hold out for a few more days, but she didn't expect him to succumb so quickly.

Their struggle didn't even last the length of a single episode of a variety show before they surrendered.

Li Ran looked away, opened another can of beer, and took a swig.

"Even if Sister Meng didn't say that, she would still scold me if I got even slightly close to her." He leaned back on the sofa, his tone as calm as if he were reviewing a game that had already ended.

Zhang Ruonan was stunned for a moment, and Wang Churan was also stunned for a moment.

Why?

Zhang Ruonan spoke first: "Because of your CP (couple) fans?"

Li Ran nodded, then shook his head.

"Not entirely, quite a few of my solo fans also criticized her." He paused, then placed the beer can on the coffee table.

Wang Churan frowned, looking puzzled: "I haven't seen your solo fans attacking Zhang Jingyi and the others. It's just some CP fans tearing each other apart."

Li Ran smiled and explained, "It has something to do with Sister Meng herself. To be honest, she's a controversial figure."

He began to count, his tone as flat as if he were reading a resume.

"She played a maid in 'God of War Zhao Yun,' and the marketing materials claimed she outshone the female lead, Lin Yoona, which drew criticism. She participated in the variety show 'Grade One,' and was so criticized that she withdrew. I don't need to elaborate on the criticism she received from the Bo Jun Yi Xiao CP fans for 'The Untamed.'"

As Zhang Ruonan listened, her expression shifted from doubt to surprise, and then from surprise to a complex, indescribable sympathy.

"Huh? I think she has a pretty good personality!"

Wang Churan pouted, suppressing the urge to roll her eyes, and said irritably, "I can't see anything good about you. You're such a drama queen."

Li Ran chuckled, picked up a skewer of chicken wings and handed it to Zhang Ruonan, slowly saying, "Some people like Sister Meng's personality because they think she's genuine, while others think she's pretentious."

"However, she can't blame anyone else for being targeted. She speaks without thinking, which makes it easy for haters to seize on her words."

Zhang Ruonan took the chicken wing and took a small bite.

She didn't want to talk about Meng Ziyi anymore; they weren't familiar with each other, and talking about her too much would feel like gossiping behind her back.

On television, the second episode of "Peach Blossom Village" has finished airing.

Watching the trailer, Zhang Ruonan casually asked, "What about your first love?"