CH 94

Live Press Conference

“I’ll just drag it out.” Su Shen looked down and scrolled through her phone, not bothered at all. In any case, if she didn’t say anything, others couldn’t do much about it.

Seeing this, Yao Yin just took another glance at her and said nothing before turning around and leaving the resting room.

While scrolling through her phone, Su Shen accidentally came across her own Weibo. Normally, her posts would only have about 20,000 comments, but now it has exceeded 100,000. Although the trending headline had been removed, many people had taken a screenshot of her reply and were sharing it everywhere.

Netizen A: Su Shen’s definitely the first rising starlet I’ve seen to admit to having a boyfriend. [joy]

Netizen B: I don’t even help* grannies to cross the road, but I’ll stan* xiao jiejie. [joy]

* – this is a play on words, the character for help (扶) is when someone is helping or supporting someone, and stan is (服), both characters have the pinyin (fu) but different tones

Netizen C: Whose idol didn’t keep it a secret? Su Shen’s the first female celebrity I’ve seen who’s so candid. [joy]

Netizen D: NOOOO!!! GODDESS BELONGS TO ME!!!

Netizen E: My Su Su has a boyfriend; the antis can scram. [smiley face]

Netizen F: Is Jiang Yin the boyfriend? Gazing as a CP fan [pitiful]

Female artists had it different from male artists when it came to matters of love. As long as their male S/O was handsome and didn’t have any scandals, fans would generally accept it. However, male artists’ female fans always fantasized that their idol’s girlfriend was themselves, making it difficult for them to accept their idol having another girlfriend.

Even if they did go public, Su Shen’s fans probably wouldn’t cause an uproar, but the same couldn’t be said for Xie Yan’s fans. If they went public now, some would definitely say that they were doing it as a publicity stunt for their drama, only after the drama finished airing would this doubt disappear. 

Su Shen sat there scrolling through her phone. Not long after, a staff member informed her that it was time to enter. Xiao Zhou touched up her makeup before she made her way into the venue. The press conference still hadn’t started, but the seats below were already filled with people. Su Shen’s seat was the second seat, and since Xie Yan hadn’t come, his seat was left empty.

The big screen on stage was currently displaying the promotional poster for their drama. Su Shen remembered that when she first signed the contract, the producer had said that they would put Li Xue’s image next to hers. But now, Li Xue’s position was far away from her. Only she and Xie Yan were front and center, with her being more front too. This was the most realistic aspect of the entertainment industry. If she was still an unknown actress, the producer would’ve definitely placed her and Li Xue on the same level. 

“Why didn’t Yan ge come?” asked Luo Han curiously, leaning over from the side. 

Hearing this, Su Shen simply replied softly, “He’s filming overseas and can’t make it back.”

Perhaps thinking that she and Li Xue were on bad terms, the organizers didn’t arrange her and Li Xue’s seats together. Instead, they placed Luo Han in between. Luo Han played as the third supporting male lead. The second supporting male lead was Dong Gu. In the past two years, he relied on his acting to make a name for himself playing villainous roles. In terms of popularity, he was even more popular than Luo Han. However, he hadn’t taken on supporting male lead roles lately, and this drama was most likely his last one.

As soon as it was 2:00 pm, the press conference began promptly. The host quickly came on stage to liven the atmosphere, and the back row was filled with cameras. When the host called them to come on stage, Su Shen got up and walked up to the stage with the others.

Su Shen stood next to the host while the flashes from below kept going off. Unlike before where she always introduced herself last, the host kindly handed her the mic this time. “Su Shen, why don’t you introduce the role you played in the drama?”

Facing the rows of cameras below, Su Shen smiled and said into the microphone, “I played as He Yan in the drama. She’s a reporter with a strong sense of justice, but because she just stepped foot into society, she’s a bit timid at critical moments.”

“Ahaha, how timid is she?” The host followed up and asked, “Are you also timid in real life?”

The cameras below continued to focus on her, and Yao Yin was also watching her from below. Su Shen just smiled at the question and said to the host, “I’m so-so. I usually don’t meddle in other people’s business, unless something really makes me angry, then I might not be able to control myself.”

“AHHHHHHH! SU SU, I LOVE YOU!”

The fans in the last row were holding up her name and shouting crazily, momentarily filling the entire venue with their screams. Su Shen maintained a smile on her face, occasionally looking down below and didn’t say anything more.

Once the fans below quieted down, the host proceeded to let the other cast members introduce themselves. Each member of the cast had a high popularity and could carry a show as a lead actor or actress. Now that they were all gathered together, there was no doubt that there would be a lot of things to discuss. 

After Luo Han introduced himself, the host directed his gaze toward Su Shen again. “I heard that you have worked with Luo Han before, is that right?”

Su Shen didn’t have a mic in her hand. Just at this moment, Luo Han, next to her, suddenly handed the mic to her. She took it and replied, “Yes, we worked together before on my first drama.”

The cameras below turned to focus on her face again. Su Shen remained indifferent. The male host turned his gaze to Luo Han, “Luo Han, do you think Su Shen has changed?”

Su Shen handed the mic to Luo Han, who remained calm and replied earnestly, “She has changed a lot. There’s a major improvement in her acting. She used to be more girl-like, but she has become more mature now.”

“So you’re saying she’s not a little girl anymore?” The male host chuckled and asked in response.

As his words fell, a trace of discomfort appeared on the handsome and fair face of the man. Su Shen, who was next to him, immediately took the mic and said with a smile, “Maybe there’s an old man living in my heart now.”

“Ahahaha….” The host laughed, looking reproachful. “No, it’s clearly a beautiful young lady!”

“AHHHHHH!”

As the fans below started screaming again, Su Shen laughed. Her exquisite face held a slight smile, and her slender fair legs made the female fans below even more excited.

After everyone had finished introducing themselves, the host looked at the audience solemnly and said, “As Xie Yan is filming, he can’t be here in person, but we have prepared a video call to see what he’s doing.”

Su Shen had thought that they would just ask Xie Yan to record a VCR to be played at the press conference, but she didn’t expect that the organizers wanted a video call. Seeing the staff below making an “OK” sign, the large screen behind them promptly flickered to show a live video feed.

The screen suddenly showed a wide and tidy hotel room with a man in a bathrobe sitting on the sofa. He seemed to have gotten a little paler. His handsome features were slightly softened at this time. It was already nighttime where he was, so it was dark outside the windows. Seeing him, the fans below went crazy and screamed loudly again.

“Hi Xie Yan, can you hear us talking?” said the host holding a mic.

As his words fell, the man on the big screen responded calmly, “Yes.”

As soon as he spoke, the fans below screamed even louder. Su Shen turned her head away and didn’t want to look at him. He knew that he was going to do a video call, yet he still didn’t change his clothes. Who was he wearing a bathrobe for?

“Everyone’s here at the press conference, and since you couldn’t make it, do you feel regretful?” The host asked, starting the usual questionnaire. 

Hearing this, the person on the screen remained indifferent but kept his gaze on the camera. “It is indeed regrettable that I could not be there in person. Thus, thank you for everyone’s hard work.”

There was no undulation in his tone. The fans didn’t know if it was their illusion or not, but they felt that their idol’s gaze was particularly warm, so they screamed like mad down below.

Su Shen was facing the big screen at an angle with no expression on her face. The host felt that Xie Yan was not as difficult to interview as rumored. Striking the iron while it was hot, he asked as he looked at the person on the big screen, “This is your first drama. What was the most appealing and moving aspect of this drama for you?”